Los Angeles Times - 23.08.2019

L ATIMES.COM/BUSINESS FRIDAY, AUGUST 23, 2019C3

Overstock.com Inc.’s
Patrick Byrne finally gave
his critics the flameout
they’ve been predicting for
years.
In a 1,600-word email
statement in which he
vowed to disappear “for
some time,” Byrne, 56, re-
signed as chief executive and
board member of Overstock,
the online retailer he has led
for 20 years.
In a series of public an-
nouncements in the last two
weeks, the flamboyant
entrepreneur cited entan-
glements with the “deep
state” that included cooper-
ating with law enforcement
agents he called “Men in
Black” with their “Clinton
Investigation” and “Russia
Investigation.”
Byrne said he’d been ro-
mantically involved with
Maria Butina, a Russian
operativejailed for failing to
register as a foreign agent.
When it came to explain-
ing how these confessions fit
together and why they
forced his resignation,
Byrne has proved less than
coherent.
“While I believe that I did
what was necessary for the
good of the country, for the
good of the firm, I am in the
sad position of having to
sever ties with Overstock,”
Byrne wrote in the Thursday
statement.
Byrne’s bizarre com-
ments — contained in
Thursday’s statement, in an
Aug. 12 release and a New
York Times interview pub-
lished Aug. 15 — come as lit-
tle surprise to followers of his
career. After all, this is the e-
tail impresario and cryp-
tocurrency and blockchain
evangelist who espoused
grassy-knoll theories about
Wall Street and the evil —
and unnamed — “Sith Lord”

hedge fund manager who, he said, conspired to take him down. He likened Overstock’s crypto ambitions to Jonas Salk’s polio vaccine and joked on a conference call in recent weeks about lending office space to the Securities and Exchange Commission amid an investigation into the company’s tZero blockchain push. Byrne has talked about the dark underbelly of Wall Street, been spoofed in the tabloids with UFOs hover- ing over his head and ac-

cused journalists of per- forming sex for access. He launched Overstock in 1999 as a sort of internet garage sale. His departure was effec- tive Thursday. He’ll be suc- ceeded by director Jonathan Johnson on an interim basis. Johnson has been with the company for nearly 17 years and recently served as president of Overstock’s blockchain business, Medici Ventures. Passages in Byrne’s Aug. 14 release bewildered in- vestors and left some won-

dering about his stability. The statement quoted Byrne as saying the investi- gations were “less about law enforcement and more about political espionage.” He elaborated in the New York Times interview, saying he went public this month because of concern about the U.S. government’s prosecution of Butina, who is serving an 18-month pris- on sentence. Butina is a self-styled Russian gun-rights activist who befriended senior offi- cials from the National Rifle

Assn. and Republican Party in the run-up to the 2016 elec- tion. Aspects of Byrne’s story remain fuzzy, but some of it can be fashioned from the New York Times’ ac- count of its interview with him, Overstock’s state- ments and articles pub- lished on the website of a Fox News contributor named Sara Carter, which Byrne “confirmed.” In those, Byrne is de- picted as becoming involved with Butina after they met in 2015, growing suspicious of her as she pressed for infor-

mation on Donald Trump and Hillary Clinton, noti- fying the FBI of their inter- actions, then coming to re- gret the handling of her prosecution. Overstock shares surged as much as 18% in trading Thursday after the an- nouncement. They later pared gains, closing up 8.3% at $21.12. That’s still down more than 15% since Overstock pub- lished Byrne’s statement Aug. 12. Byrne’s exit “is a tremen- dous catalyst for the stock,” said D.A. Davidson’s Tom Forte, one of two Wall Street analysts covering Over- stock. “I think the latest con- troversy was one too many.” Overstock has been con- sidering selling its online re- tail business and Byrne’s departure will probably accel- erate that process, said Forte, who is bullish on Overstock. “I think his legacy will be the shareholder value cre- ated on the blockchain in- vestments,” he said. “He saw the writing on the wall early on.” For all his weird, inspired and ill-considered pro- nouncements, Byrne was done in not by something he said but rather by his relationship with a Russian operative. How long he remains out of the public eye is one more mystery in his volatile life story.

After bizarre twists, Overstock CEO quits

Patrick Byrne made

strange comments but

was done in by his

relationship with a

Russian operative.

bloomberg

OVERSTOCKCEO Patrick Byrne has talked of entanglements with the “deep state” and cooperating with law enforcement agents he called “Men in Black” with their “Clinton Investigation” and “Russia Investigation.”

Steven FerdmanGetty Images

‘While I believe

that I did what

was necessary for

the good of the

country, for the

good of the firm,

I am in the sad

position of having

to sever ties with

Overstock.’

—Patrick Byrne, Overstock chief executive

Apple Inc. is readying a
clutch of new hardware for
the coming weeks and
months, including “Pro”
iPhones, upgrades to iPads
and its largest laptop in
years.
The Cupertino, Calif.-
based technology giant is
planning to announce three
new iPhones at an event
next month, according to
people familiar with the situ-
ation. The handsets will
likely go on sale in Septem-
ber, contributing to fiscal
fourth-quarter sales. But
the real test will come in the
crucial holiday season.
That’s when the company is
banking on a combination of
new hardware, software and
services to drive revenue
higher, following a huge miss
at the end of last year.
Also coming in 2019: re-
freshed versions of the iPad
Pro with upgraded cameras
and faster chips, an entry-
level iPad with a larger
screen, new versions of the
Apple Watch, and the first
revamp to the MacBook Pro
laptop in three years, the
people said. Updates to key
audio accessories, including
AirPods and the HomePod
speaker, are in the works,
too, these people added.
They asked not to be identi-
fied discussing private
plans. An Apple spokes-
woman declined to com-
ment.
Beyond these unan-
nounced products, Apple is
gearing up to launch a re-
freshed Mac Pro and its ac-
companying monitor,
iPhone, iPad, Apple TV, Mac
and Apple Watch software
updates, as well as its Apple
TV+ video and Apple Ar-
cade gaming subscription
services.
Here’s what to expect:

iPhone

Apple is planning to
launch three new iPhones,

as it has done each year since 2017: “Pro” iPhone models to succeed the iPhone XS and iPhone XS Max as well as a successor to the iPhone XR. 8 The main feature of the Pro iPhones will be a new camera system on the back with a third sensor for cap- turing ultra-wide-angle photos and videos. The extra camera will let users zoom out and capture a larger field of view. The sensors will capture three images simulta- neously and use new artifi- cial intelligence software to automatically correct the combined photo if, for exam- ple, a person is accidentally cut out of one of the shots. The new system also will take higher-resolution pic- tures rivaling some tradi- tional cameras. Photos tak- en in very low-light environ- ments will improve, too. 8 The high-end handsets will have upgraded video re- cording capabilities, getting them closer to professional video cameras. Apple has developed a feature that allow users to retouch, apply effects, alter colors, reframe and crop video as it is being recorded live on the device. 8 Another notable new feature: a reverse wireless charging system so that a user can power up the latest

AirPods in the optional wireless-charging case by leav- ing it on the back of the new Pro phones. This is similar to a capability that Samsung Electronics Co. rolled out for its Galaxy handsets earlier this year. 8 The high-end iPhones will look nearly identical to the current models from the front and feature the same size screens, but at least some colors on the back will have a matte finish versus the existing glossy look. The new models should hold up better when they’re dropped because of new shatter-resistance technology. 8 The phones will include a new multi-angle Face ID sensor that captures a wider field of view so that users can unlock the handsets more easily — even when the devices are flat on a table. 8 Apple has dramatically enhanced water resistance for the new models, which could allow them to be sub- merged under water far longer than the 30-minute rating on the current iPhones. 8 The new models will have updated OLED screens that lack the pressure-sensi- tive 3D Touch technology. Apple is replacing this with Haptic Touch, which essen- tially mirrors 3D Touch’s

functionality with a long press, as it did with the iPhone XR last year. 8 The iPhone XR’s successor will gain a second back camera for optical zoom, the ability to zoom in further without degrading quality, and enhanced por- trait mode. 8 All of the new iPhones will have faster A13 processors. There’s a new compo- nent in the chip, known in- ternally as the “AMX” or “matrix” co-processor, to handle some math-heavy tasks, so the main chip doesn’t have to. That may help with computer vision and augmented reality, which Apple is pushing as a core feature of its mobile devices. 8 None of the new models will include 5G, but next year’s will. They’ll also have rear-facing 3-D cameras that will boost augmented reality capabilities.

iPad 8 After launching new mid-tier iPad Air and iPad mini modelsearlier this year, Apple is planning to refresh the iPad Pro and its low-end iPad for schools. 8 The 11-inch and 12.9- inch iPad Pros will get similar upgrades to the iPhones, gaining upgraded cameras

and faster processors. Oth- erwise, the new iPads will look like the current versions. 8 The low-end iPad’s screen will be 10.2 inches. That means Apple will likely no longer sell a new model with a 9.7-inch display, dis- continuing the original display size after using it for nearly a decade.

Apple Watch, AirPods, HomePod 8 After revamping the Apple Watch last yearwith a new design and bigger screens, this year’s changes will be more muted, focusing on the watchOS 6 software update, and new case fin- ishes. References to new ce- ramic and titanium models have been found in an early version of iOS 13, Apple’s latest mobile operating system. 8 Apple is working on new AirPods that are likely to be more expensive than the current $159 model. New features will include water resistance and noise cancella- tion with a launch planned by next year. Apple introduceda new version of the entry-level AirPods in March with hands-free Siri support and longer battery life. 8 Apple is also working on a cheaper HomePod for as early as next year. The current $300 model hasn’t sold very well. The new model is likely to have two tweeters (a type of loudspeaker), down from seven in the current HomePod.

Mac 8 Apple is planning a re- vamped MacBook Pro with a screen that measures more than 16 inches diagonally. The bezels on the new laptop will be slimmer so the overall size of the laptop will be close to the current 15-inch models. 8 The new laptop would mark Apple’s largest since the 17-inch MacBook Pro was discontinued in 2012. 8 Apple is also launching the previously announced Mac Pro and 32-inch XDR Pro Display later this year.

Gurman and Wu write for Bloomberg.

Apple set to unveil host of new devices

IPhones will feature

better cameras, and a

number of other tech

products will see

improvements.

By Mark Gurman
and Debby Wu

APPLE will release three new iPhones next month, with an eye toward the crucial holiday shopping season, which was a disappointment for the company in 2018.

Spencer PlattGetty Images

Hundreds of millions of dollars in federal student loan debt owed by tens of thousands of disabled mili- tary veterans will be erased in an expedited process under a directive President Trump signed this week. Trump ordered the Edu- cation Department on Wednesday to “eliminate ev- ery penny of federal student loan debt” owed by U.S. veterans who are completely and permanently disabled. Only about half of the roughly 50,000 disabled veterans who qualify to have their federal student loan debt forgiven have received the benefit, and the adminis- tration blames a “burden- some” application process. The document directs the government to develop an expedited process so veterans can have the debt dis- charged “with minimal bur- dens.” Trump said they won’t have to pay federal income tax on the forgiven debt and called on states to waive their taxes as well. The action will wipe out an average of $30,000 in debt per person owed by more than 25,000 eligible veterans, Trump said, calling them “incredible people” who have made “the ultimate sacrifice, in many ways, for our nation.” Student debt remains a heavy burden on genera- tions of Americans. As the federal government has stepped up collections on delinquent loans, Sens. Eliz- abeth Warren (D-Mass.) and Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.), Democratic presidential candidates, have proposed plansto forgive such debt.

Veteran

debt is

ordered

cleared

Trump will expedite

process for disabled

vets’ student loans.

associated press

Los Angeles Times - 23.08.2019

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