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☆ Revival of Meme Stock Mania Continues for GameStop and AMC
▼ + stars: | 2024-05-14 | by ( Bernhard Warner | More About Bernhard Warner | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

Wall Street is feeling meme stock déjà vu. The shares of the movie theater chain AMC Entertainment were similarly buoyant, and obscure cryptocurrencies named after Roaring Kitty and GameStop posted huge gains. Retail traders have been spurred on by the return of Roaring Kitty to social media after a three-year hiatus. Aside from Roaring Kitty’s return to social media, the rally was not driven by any evident news about GameStop or AMC. “Given my past experience in analyzing the periodic bouts of meme stock activity, consider me suspicious,” Sosnick wrote in a research note.

Persons: Keith Gill, Roaring, Gill, Steve Sosnick, ” Sosnick Organizations: GameStop, Netflix, AMC Entertainment, Retail, AMC, Interactive

But this year’s event will be the first without Munger, who died in November at age 99 — and comes amid growing questions about Berkshire post-Buffett, who’s 93. Buffett will have a different crew answering questions alongside him on Saturday. Berkshire’s vice chairmen, Greg Abel and Ajit Jain, will be on hand for much of the day. Shareholders most likely will be focused on what Abel, Buffett’s appointed successor as C.E.O. In Buffett’s annual letter to investors, he noted challenges to Berkshire’s biggest businesses, including the BNSF railroad (falling shipment volumes) and its utility business (forest fires).

Persons: Warren Buffett, Charlie Munger, Munger, Buffett, Greg Abel, Ajit Jain, Abel, Buffett’s Organizations: Berkshire, Shareholders Locations: Berkshire, Omaha, Woodstock, America

ImageHERE’S WHAT’S HAPPENINGExxon Mobil strikes an agreement to win regulatory approval of its $60 billion megadeal. Elsewhere, shares in Shell were up after the producer reported $7.7 billion in adjusted quarterly earnings, beating analyst expectations. The U.S. imposes sanctions on Chinese companies over military support for Russia’s war effort. The Biden administration announced on Wednesday nearly 300 sanctions, including on more than a dozen Chinese businesses, aimed at disrupting Moscow’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine. The culprit: pressure on prices, amid growing competition from Eli Lilly’s Zepbound, supply constraints and scrutiny from lawmakers.

Persons: Scott Sheffield, Biden, Janet Yellen, Antony Blinken, Eli Lilly’s Zepbound, James Comer, Comer Organizations: Labor Department, Exxon Mobil, Natural Resources, Wall Street, Novo Nordisk, Republican, European Commission Locations: Shell, U.S, Ukraine, Danish, Kentucky, iRobot

Tesla plungesElon Musk and Tesla shareholders are at a crossroads. Shares are down roughly 8 percent on Thursday in premarket trading after Wednesday’s lackluster year-end results. He asked investors to look beyond 2024, predicting a “major growth wave” fueled by a low-cost Tesla model that will be built partly in Austin, Texas, and Mexico. The latest stock fall comes after Tesla reported that fourth-quarter profit nearly doubled to $7.9 billion — largely thanks to a one-time tax break. The company also declined to give detailed full-year guidance, but said it expected sales growth to be “notably slower.”

Persons: Tesla, Elon Organizations: Tesla Locations: North America, Europe, China, Austin , Texas, Mexico

☆ Boeing Faces Backlash From Airline Chiefs
▼ + stars: | 2024-01-24 | by ( Bernhard Warner | More About Bernhard Warner | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

Airline bosses on both sides of the Atlantic are lashing out at Boeing over a number of recent safety and production issues — loose bolts, a discarded wrench found under the floorboards, delayed shipments — as the crisis over the aircraft maker’s 737 Max 9 shows little sign of ending soon. Boeing’s stock has fallen nearly 15 percent since Jan. 5, when a door plug flew off a Max 9 during an Alaska Airlines flight shortly after takeoff. The Federal Aviation Administration grounded some Max 9 jets until they were inspected and said it would investigate whether Boeing failed to ensure that the plane was safe. (Here’s an explanation from The New York Times about how the door panel may have flown off that Alaska plane.) Ms. Cantwell said last week that she planned to hold hearings on the Max 9 groundings.

Persons: Max, Dave Calhoun, Maria Cantwell, Cantwell, groundings Organizations: Boeing, Alaska Airlines, Federal Aviation Administration, New York Times, Washington Democrat, Commerce Locations: Alaska, Washington

☆ Investors Pull Billions From Sustainable Funds Amid Political Heat
▼ + stars: | 2024-01-19 | by ( Bernhard Warner | More About Bernhard Warner | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

The investing strategy has become increasingly politicized after being used by companies to address E.S.G. Investors pulled $5 billion out of E.S.G.-focused “sustainable” investment funds last quarter, according to a new report by Morningstar. The withdrawals came amid a wider market rally at the end of 2023. For the full year, $13 billion was pulled from E.S.G. All in all, it was the “worst calendar year on record,” wrote Alyssa Stankiewicz, Morningstar’s director of sustainability research.

Persons: Morningstar, ”, Alyssa Stankiewicz Organizations: Economic, Investors Locations: Davos, Switzerland, E.S.G

Climate concerns boil overTensions are rising on Monday over contentious comments by Sultan Ahmed al Jaber, the oil executive and Emirati politician presiding over the COP28 climate summit. His skepticism about the world’s ability to halt a rise in global temperatures by reducing the use of hydrocarbons is casting fresh doubts over the U.A.E.’s commitment to addressing the climate crisis. “There is no science out there, or no scenario out there, that says that the phaseout of fossil fuel is what’s going to achieve 1.5 C,” he said at an event before the summit. The controversy revived concerns about his role as leader of COP28, given that he is also the chairman of the Abu Dhabi National Oil Company. Al Jaber has long contended that fossil fuel companies should play a prominent role in the world’s energy transition to bring down global temperatures.

Persons: Sultan Ahmed al Jaber, Al Jaber, ”, COP28 Organizations: Abu Dhabi National Oil Company Locations: Abu Dhabi

Some of that loss may be because of disappointing news about the Cybertruck’s pricing and availability. But some may also reflect renewed concern about Elon Musk’s latest comments, made at the DealBook Summit this week, and whether his self-inflicted damage at X is distracting from his other businesses. Advertisers aren’t impressed by Musk’s recent tirade. On Wednesday, he asserted that brands were trying to “blackmail” him by suspending their advertising after he endorsed an antisemitic conspiracy theory on X. “There is no advertising value that would offset the reputational risk of going back on the platform,” Lou Paskalis, the founder and C.E.O.

Persons: Tesla’s, Elon Musk’s, aren’t, Musk’s, ”, Lou Paskalis Organizations: Tesla, AJL, Times

The lineup for DealBook Summit 2023On Wednesday, DealBook will be live and in person at our annual summit in New York. The DealBook team and reporters from The Times will be reporting live from the conference. Even if you are not with us, you can follow along here beginning at 8:30 a.m. Eastern. Here are the speakers:Vice President Kamala HarrisElon Musk , the chairman and C.E.O. Is this a technology that will unleash a new wave of productivity, or is it a force that could do irreparable harm?

Persons: DealBook, Andrew, Kamala Harris Elon Musk, Tesla, X Tsai Ing, Taiwan Lina Khan, Jamie Dimon, JPMorgan Chase Bob Iger, Kevin McCarthy, California Jensen Huang, Nvidia David Zaslav, Jay Monahan Organizations: DealBook, The, SpaceX, Federal Trade, JPMorgan, Disney, Republican, Nvidia, Warner Bros, White House Locations: New York, Taiwan, California, Israel, China, U.S, Beijing, Washington

Shein aims to win over Wall Street and WashingtonIn filing confidentially for an initial public offering, Shein, the ultrafast-fashion retailer, is showing ambition on two fronts. The company and its underwriters are betting that investors will be more receptive to I.P.O.s, even though high-profile market debuts this fall largely fizzled out. Shein is also testing whether it can endure what’s likely to be an increase in political heat on the China-founded e-commerce giant. The company has also set up operations in Ireland and Indiana and hired an array of lobbyists in the U.S. “No one should be fooled by Shein’s efforts to cover its tracks,” Senator Marco Rubio, Republican of Florida, wrote in a letter to other lawmakers.

Persons: Marco Rubio Organizations: Wall, Washington, underwriters, Republican Locations: China, Washington, Singapore, Nanjing, Ireland, Indiana, U.S, Florida

on trialThe Supreme Court will hear a landmark case this week that could determine the future of the S.E.C.’s in-house enforcement arm and have serious consequences for how other regulators operate. Jarkesy was found guilty in an administrative proceeding overseen by an administrative law judge. But he won a later challenge to that process in federal court, saying that the Seventh Amendment guaranteed the right to a jury trial. Most justices have shown an inclination to limit agency power and this is just one of several cases challenging the power of federal regulators. The Supreme Court is also mulling the future of the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau and whether to overrule a principle that requires judges to defer to agencies’ interpretations of administrative rules.

Persons: Napoleon, ”, George Jarkesy, Jarkesy Organizations: Disney, Consumer Financial Protection Bureau

Overnight, OpenAI announced that it had an “agreement in principle” to reinstall Sam Altman as C.E.O., while the board members who pushed him out are departing. The news was greeted rapturously by the ChatGPT creator’s employees, most of whom had threatened to quit and join Altman at Microsoft. Altman and those focused more on commercializing the technology came out ahead of those worried about its apocalyptic potential. Gone are Tasha McCauley, Helen Toner and Ilya Sutskever, three of the four directors who ousted Altman. That board will help select a bigger permanent one, according to The Verge, which may include representation for Microsoft, OpenAI’s biggest investor.

Persons: OpenAI, Sam Altman, Altman, Tasha McCauley, Helen Toner, Ilya Sutskever, Bret Taylor, Larry Summers, Adam D’Angelo, Satya Nadella, Microsoft’s, ” Organizations: Microsoft, Treasury Locations: Silicon

Microsoft had no official say with the board when Altman, the company’s key contact, was fired. That is partly as a hedge for the fact it has no control over the start-up’s board. It involves the holy grail of OpenAI’s work: achieving artificial general intelligence, or A.G.I. Scott Syphax, a corporate governance expert, told DealBook that the deal could raise red flags with regulators if it threatens the nonprofit’s tax-exempt status. Another area Syphax is watching: the valuation that Microsoft placed on OpenAI after its investment and whether it acquired the I.P.

Persons: Altman, Nadella, Kara Swisher, Brockman, ”, Microsoft’s, Scott Syphax, DealBook, Bill Gurley, Satya Organizations: Microsoft, Times Locations: “, Grubhub

of OpenAI, the leader in commercializing generative A.I. By Monday, he had not only been fired by his board — he had also joined Microsoft, the start-up’s biggest backer. A recap:OpenAI’s board fired Altman for not being “consistently candid.” Greg Brockman, another co-founder, was stripped of his chairman title and quit. Talks to bring Altman back broke down, with OpenAI’s board eventually naming Emmett Shear, the former C.E.O. (Some OpenAI employees workers wrote on X that “OpenAI is nothing without its people,” posts that Altman liked.)

Persons: Sam Altman, Altman, Greg Brockman, OpenAI —, —, Emmett Shear, Mira Murati, Brockman, Ilya Sutskever, Elon Musk, Geoffrey Hinton Organizations: Microsoft, up’s, OpenAI Locations: OpenAI, ChatGPT

Social media’s antisemitism problemThe rise in antisemitism since the outbreak of war in the Middle East has ignited a clash between Wall Street donors and universities, and divided some workplaces. Now, the pressure is building on social media platforms, particularly Elon Musk’s X and TikTok, with advertisers, celebrities and influencers pulling spending and confronting executives about the proliferation of hate speech. He posted to X his support for white nationalist conspiracy theories that Jewish communities were spreading hatred. Yaccarino was brought in to win back advertisers after Musk bought Twitter last year and culled many content moderators. More than a dozen Jewish celebrities and creators, including the actors Sacha Baron Cohen, Debra Messing and Amy Schumer, confronted TikTok executives this week.

Persons: Elon Musk’s, Adolf Hitler, Musk, X’s, Linda Yaccarino, Yaccarino, “ Linda, ” Martin Sorrell, DealBook, TikTok, Sacha Baron Cohen, Debra Messing, Amy Schumer, “ Hitler, Anne Frank ”, Cohen, ”, Osama bin, bin Laden, —, Alex Haurek, George Santos, Biden, Xi Jinping, Doug McMillon, Walmart’s, “, ” Brian Cornell, ’ Organizations: IBM, Media, America, Nazi Party, Apple, Oracle, Defamation League, Twitter, S4 Capital, House, Big, General Motors, Hyundai, Republican, Justice Department, Business, APEC, West Texas Intermediate, Consumers, Depot, Walmart Locations: TikTok, New York, Hong Kong, China, San Francisco, Beijing, Washington, U.S

Biden and Xi try direct diplomacyThe mood music was upbeat but pragmatic after the first face-to-face meeting in a year between President Biden and his Chinese counterpart, Xi Jinping. There was no joint communiqué after Wednesday’s talks, but both sides issued positive statements trumpeting where they found common ground, including on tackling climate change and improving communications. The leaders agreed to restart military communications that were suspended last year after Nancy Pelosi, then speaker of the House, visited Taiwan. Larry Fink of BlackRock and Steve Schwarzman of Blackstone reportedly sat at the Chinese leader’s table. The measure would keep the federal government funded through early next year, clearing the way for President Biden to sign the legislation.

Persons: Biden, Xi, Wednesday’s, Nancy Pelosi, —, Larry Fink, BlackRock, Steve Schwarzman, Blackstone, Tim Cook, Albert Bourla, Ray Dalio, ” Richard McGregor, DealBook, “, they’re, Kamala Harris, Elon Musk, Jensen Huang, Nelson, Trian Organizations: Hyatt Regency, Apple, Pfizer, Bridgewater Associates, Lowy Institute, SpaceX, Tesla, Nvidia, Disney, ValueAct Capital, 13D, Microsoft Locations: San Francisco, U.S, Taiwan, China, Beijing, Iran, Israel, Australia, Ukraine

Good news for global marketsYesterday’s impressive rally in U.S. stocks and bonds has gone worldwide this morning, as investors see central banks making gains in their fight against inflation. Adding to the good news was a breakthrough in the House last night that could avert a government shutdown. The question now is whether this represents a false dawn on inflation, or the start of a durable decline in rising costs — and interest rates. President Biden, whose poll ratings have been hurt by inflation, also cheered the numbers. And consumer spending and industrial output in China rebounded last month, a hopeful sign for the world’s No.

Persons: Biden Locations: Britain, China

The summit won’t end the standoff between the world’s biggest economies. But it’s a sign that Biden and Xi want to maintain ties, despite trade tensions, tit-for-tat sanctions and questions about the future of Taiwan — and business leaders will be hoping for some sign of a thaw. Officials have been at pains to emphasize that the U.S. and China are competitors rather than zero-sum rivals. “We have a $700 billion trading relationship with China. The vast majority — 99 percent of that — has nothing to do with export controls,” Gina Raimondo, the commerce secretary, told CNN this weekend.

Persons: Biden, Xi Jinping, Xi, —, ” Gina Raimondo, Jake Sullivan, Janet Yellen, ” Xi, ” Organizations: CNN Locations: China, Washington, Beijing, San Francisco, Taiwan

☆ ‘The Climate’s No Good’: The Hunt for White Truffles Gets Pricier
▼ + stars: | 2023-11-11 | by ( Bernhard Warner | More About Bernhard Warner | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

For nearly three hours, their olfactory senses were on high alert for white truffles, a delicacy with soaring prices, in large part because they are under extreme threat by climate change. Gram for gram, the white truffle is one of the most expensive foods on the planet. In Italy, fresh white truffles run as high as 4,500 euros per kilogram (or nearly $2,200 per pound), according to Coldiretti, Italy’s biggest agricultural trade group. Last year, at an auction in Alba, Italy, a one-and-a-half-pound specimen fetched a record price of €184,000 (nearly $200,000). Supply constraints notwithstanding, bidders are set to converge on Alba, Italy’s truffle capital, on Sunday to do it all over again.

Persons: Primo, Scilla Locations: Amandola, Italy, Coldiretti, San Francisco, Trufflephiles, London, Dubai, Alba, Italy’s

There are three classic theories:Deterrence: Severe sentences send a message to would-be criminals and prevent crimes. “If you’re going to deter, you have to reach an audience,” John Coffee, a Columbia University law professor and an expert on white-collar crime, told DealBook. Incarceration for economic crimes has an “expressive value,” Taub said. Bankman-Fried was famously obsessed with calculating risk — an effective sentence would signal to others like him that it’s not worth rolling the dice. — Ephrat LivniWe want to hear from you: How should judges approach sentencing for white-collar crime?

Persons: ” John Coffee, DealBook, Coffee, warranting, Judge Kaplan, Jennifer Taub, Taub, ” Taub, Fried, it’s, — Ephrat Livni, Biden, Sienna, Donald Trump Organizations: Columbia University, Alameda Research, Democratic, Biden, Times Locations: Western, England, Alameda, Virginia , Kentucky , Ohio, Pennsylvania

Stock futures this morning are pointing to another weak open. The subdued jobs report released last week led many on Wall Street to predict that the Fed would stop increasing borrowing costs. Not so fast, the central bank’s chief suggested at an event hosted by the International Monetary Fund in Washington. He called out the “head fakes” posed by fluctuating inflation data, and reiterated that the door remained open for further interest rate increases. (Speaking of doors: Powell appeared to lose his cool when climate change protesters disrupted his speech, issuing a profanity as they were escorted off the stage.)

Persons: Jay Powell, —, Powell hasn’t, ”, Powell Organizations: Stock, International Monetary Fund Locations: Ukraine, Washington

Hollywood is poised to get back to workAfter months of strikes that shut down most of Hollywood, the end appears in sight. The SAG-AFTRA union that represents some 160,000 members tentatively agreed to a new contract with media giants that, if approved, will reinvigorate the $134 billion American movie and television business. Union members are hopeful that the deal will bring significant financial concessions that made SAG-AFTRA’s longest-ever strike worth it. But the changing economics of Hollywood may temper some gains, echoing the dilemma facing resurgent unions elsewhere in the country. Led by the actress Fran Drescher, of “The Nanny” fame, SAG-AFTRA took a maximalist negotiating approach that involved accusing studios of plutocracy and belittling their bosses.

Persons: Fran Drescher, ”, AFTRA Organizations: Hollywood, SAG, Writers Guild of America Locations: Hollywood, plutocracy

Investors await news on deals, cuts and moreOn Wednesday, Bob Iger will deliver one of the most consequential earnings reports for Disney since returning as C.E.O. He has had to confront many problems, including a slumping share price, strikes that have crippled much of Hollywood, the wrenching transformations wrought by streaming and renewed pressure from the activist investor Nelson Peltz. Progress on potential deals and asset sales: Since Iger opened the door to selling Disney’s declining but profitable traditional TV business and bringing in an investor for ESPN, investors have eagerly awaited what’s next. (Disney, which last month began breaking out financial results for ESPN, has concluded that any deal should be with a sports league or leagues.) Cost cuts: Months of Hollywood strikes — talks between studios and the actors’ on Wednesday will resume on Wednesday — may have saved Disney money on production costs.

Persons: Bob Iger, Nelson Peltz, Iger, what’s, —, ’ Organizations: Disney, ESPN, Hulu Locations: Hollywood

Biden’s troubles stem in large part from negative perceptions about the economy, even as several indications show that it is performing strongly. Here’s a deeper look at what “Bidenomics” has, and hasn’t, accomplished. Since Biden took office, employers have created 14 million jobs, and the unemployment rate has been hovering around a 50-year-low for months. “Bidenomics is just another way of saying the American dream,” he said in a speech. The economy grew last quarter at nearly 5 percent, belying a global slowdown.

Persons: Biden, Donald Trump —, ”, Bidenomics, It’s Organizations: Infrastructure Investment, Jobs Locations: America

From crypto wunderkind to felonIt took jurors just four-and-a-half hours yesterday to reach a verdict in the monthlong fraud trial of Sam Bankman-Fried, the founder of the fallen cryptocurrency exchange FTX. The result was unanimous: guilty on all counts. Bankman-Fried has now completed a narrative arc from whiz-kid founder of a crypto empire to fraudster who stole billions in customer funds. Prosecutors moved to paint the FTX founder — who appeared on magazine covers and hobnobbed with former world leaders — as a scammer who repeatedly lied about his business and profited from illegal use of investor and customer funds. “This was a fraud that occurred on a massive scale,” Nicolas Roos, a prosecutor, said in closing arguments.

Persons: Sam Bankman, Fried, fraudster, —, ” Nicolas Roos Organizations: Stanford, Prosecutors

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