The New Republic

In the aftermath of Amazon's purchase of the social book website Goodreads last week, the tech press went into a speculative tizzy: How much did the retail behemoth pay for the platform and its 16 million bookworms? The question isn’t motivated purely by envy. While acquisition prices tell us how rich a company’s founders have just become, they also signal what to expect from the new union and serve as benchmarks for future investments. READ MORE >>

In 2011, when the frumpy clothier JCPenney hired Ron Johnson as its new CEO, his mission was clear: Reinvent its retail presence in the image of Apple, where he'd spent the last decade designing iconic stores that became the source of its blockbuster sales. READ MORE >>

In the history of commerce, only one corporation could fairly be compared to a major religion, in that it's amassed a devoted following and often is a source of public debate: Apple. But what happens to a group of believers when the object of their devotion disappoints them? READ MORE >>

The most dramatic trade war in the world today isn’t being waged between nations, but in cyberspace. And instead of tariffs on, say, grain or cars, the barrier is blocked apps.  READ MORE >>

On Monday, while the world was ending on the East Coast, Apple announced some news of its own back in Cupertino: Two key executives had been booted and their duties re-allocated to others, in the company's biggest shakeup since 1997.  READ MORE >>

Apple's latest earnings are in, and they're characteristically whopping: With a big bump from the iPhone 5, the world's most valuable company has brought in $156.5 billion this year. That's more than Facebook, Google, and Microsoft combined.  READ MORE >>

It’s a strange moment for the architecture of technology. READ MORE >>

Editor’s Note: We’ll be running the article recommendations of our friends at TNR Reader each afternoon on The Plank, just in time to print out or save for your commute home. Enjoy! Why is IKEA airbrushing women out of the Arab spring?    The Christian Science Monitor | 2 min (503 words) READ MORE >>

Editor’s Note: We’ll be running the article recommendations of our friends at TNR Reader each afternoon on The Plank, just in time to print out or save for your commute home. Enjoy! The poetry of Romney:  A literary look at the presidential candidate's gaffes.    Harper’s | 3 min (777 words) READ MORE >>

Things look good for Apple right now. Last month, it won its big lawsuit, collecting $1 billion in damages from Samsung for infringing various patents. The iPhone 5 is selling well. And today, it heads to federal court to begin the process of gaining an actual ban on the importation and sale of Samsung’s “contraband” phones.   READ MORE >>