In this issue:

• Softbank's Dreams and Downside Protection

• Payments as a Protocol

• Distressed Investing

• Self-Service

• Loyalty

• Housing Supply

Softbank's Dreams and Downside Protection

Masayoshi Son's early life has a sort of Horatio Alger/Ayn Rand flavor to it. Consider:

• When he was born, his family was technically homeless, and lived in an illegal settlement in Japa…