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☆ Hertz CEO out following electric car ‘horror show’
▼ + stars: | 2024-03-18 | by ( Chris Isidore | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +5 min

New York CNN —Trouble and turmoil continue at rental car company Hertz. But the problem for Hertz wasn’t necessarily that the cars were electric, and customers simply do not want to drive electric cars. There might not be a charging station, or enough time, for a rental car customer to charge an EV, Ives said. These cases sometimes resulted in Hertz customers being arrested and even imprisoned. Scherr wasn’t the one who decided to make the big bet on EV demand by rental car customers.

Persons: Stephen Scherr, Goldman Sachs, He’ll, Gil West, Hertz, EVs, Tesla, ”, Daniel Ives, Ives, ” Ives, Scherr, Mark Fields, Ford, Paul Stone, Stone Organizations: New, New York CNN, Hertz, Delta Air Lines, General Motors, American, Wedbush Securities, EV, Volvo, Avis Budget Group, Tesla, Avis Budget, Enterprise Locations: New York, EVs, Tesla, Polestar

☆ Former Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin is interested in buying TikTok
▼ + stars: | 2024-03-14 | by ( Elisabeth Buchwald | Matt Egan | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +3 min

New York CNN —Former Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin said Thursday he’s assembling a team of investors to make a bid to buy TikTok. “It’s a great business and I’m going to put together a group to buy TikTok,” Mnuchin told CNBC Thursday morning. Even though TikTok is likely unprofitable, “it’s worth a lot of money,” he added. Mnuchin, though, said he’s looking to find a solution where the Chinese government will allow TikTok to be sold without a technology transfer. Even if that happens, any kind of TikTok ban would likely be fought in courts.

Persons: Steven Mnuchin, “ It’s, ” Mnuchin, TikTok, Mnuchin, “, ”, TikTok didn’t, Dan Ives, ” Ives, Donald Trump’s, Trump, Marjorie Taylor Greene, Nancy Mace, didn’t, Thursday’s, Joe Biden, Ives Organizations: New, New York CNN, Former, CNBC, Wedbush Securities, CNN, Liberty Strategic Capital, Facebook, Meta, Community Bank, Senate, Microsoft, Oracle Locations: New York, China, Montana

☆ Who will buy TikTok from ByteDance?
▼ + stars: | 2024-03-14 | by ( Allison Morrow | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +6 min

At $100 billion, there are few companies that could afford to buy TikTok outright. Citing people familiar with the matter, the Journal wrote that Kotick “floated the idea of partnering to buy TikTok to a table of people that included OpenAI CEO Sam Altman.”CNN couldn’t independently confirm the report. Its one go at the social media scene, the buggy and short-lived Ping, was one of Apple’s biggest flops. And any tech executive or private equity investor thinking of buying TikTok would need to be prepared to enter the social media quagmire. A key question in assessing the value of a TikTok deal is whether China would allow ByteDance to export its algorithm — the secret sauce that keeps TikTok users glued to their phones.

Persons: CNN Business ’, There’s, Joe Biden’s, who’d, Dan Ives, ” Ives, Who’s, ”, Gene Kimmelman, OpenAi, Bobby Kotick, Activision Blizzard, “, Sam Altman, ” CNN couldn’t, Altman didn’t, doesn’t, quagmire, They’d, Mark Zuckerberg, Shou Chew, It’s, Trump, —, Brian Fung Organizations: CNN Business, New York CNN, Senate, Microsoft, Department, Google, ” Meta, Facebook, Street Journal, Activision, ” CNN, Kotick, Apple, Oracle, Walmart, Communist Party, ByteDance Locations: New York, United States, Beijing, Europe, China

☆ With a low cocoa supply, this Valentine’s Day chocolate prices are up
▼ + stars: | 2024-02-12 | by ( John Towfighi | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +9 min

Rising cocoa prices aren’t the only concern for customers this Valentine's Day. Last Thursday, Hershey Co. said it would cut 5% of its workforce after historic cocoa prices and inflation-weary consumers dampened fourth quarter earnings. “And it looks like it’s not necessarily going to subside anytime soon.”The Supreme Valentine’s Day SweetRoughly 92% of Americans say they plan to share chocolate and candy for Valentine’s Day this year, according to the National Confectioners Association. In 2023, Valentine’s Day chocolate and candy sales exceeded $4 billion, the NCA says. Issaka said that while high demand and low supply raise prices, cocoa farmers are getting squeezed.

Persons: ”, Michele Buck, Billy Roberts, ” Roberts, Lindsey Nicholson, Marnie Ives, Ives, ” Ives, “ It’s, Karl Schneider, Roberts’s, Issifu, Issaka, ” Issaka, “ I’m, Cote, Will Kletter, Sabi Ibarra Guerrero, Uwe Gneiting, Gneiting, Joke Aerts, Aerts, ” Aerts, Sia Kambou, Price, Tony’s, “, they’ve, CNN’s Eva Rothenberg Organizations: CNN, Hershey Co, National Confectioners Association, NCA, Cocoa, Oxfam America, Getty, Fairtrade, Cote d’Ivoire, “ Locations: West Africa, North America, Manhattan, Queens , New York, Neck, NY, Bloomfield , NJ, Ghana, North Region, Cote d’Ivoire, Silicon, Africa, Accra, Cote, Hermankono, AFP

The United Auto Workers union has once again escalated its strikes against big Detroit automakers, this time adding a factory that makes Ram pickup trucks for Stellantis. No progress was reported with Ford, which last week said it had the best offer of the three. The union went on strike Sept. 15 at one assembly plant from each company. By taking down the Stellantis factory, the union is signaling Ford and GM to improve their offers, Wedbush analyst Dan Ives said. Each time the automakers make an offer, Fain said, they insist it’s the best they can do, only to return days later with a better offer.

Persons: Shawn Fain, Ford, Stellantis, Dan Ives, Fain, ” Ives, “ We’ve, they’ve, ” Fain, ” ____ Koenig Organizations: United Auto Workers, Detroit automakers, Sterling, General Motors, Ford, UAW, Fiat Chrysler, France's PSA Groupe, GM Locations: Sterling Heights , Michigan, Louisville , Kentucky, Stellantis, Dallas

☆ AI deals give investment banks a glimmer of hope
▼ + stars: | 2023-09-26 | by ( Nicole Goodkind | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +6 min

About a third of all M&A deals in the first half of 2023 were technology deals, and a lot of that was related to AI, said Berlin. The success of these deals mean more M&A is likely on the horizon, said Dan Ives, a tech analyst at Wedbush. Costco members now have access to $29 online health care visitsCostco is known for its giant tubs of mac and cheese, cheap hotdogs and more-for-less warehouse deals. The retailer is offering the new service in partnership with Sesame, a direct-to-consumer health care marketplace that connects medical providers nationwide with consumers. Costco is among several retailers, including Amazon, CVS and Walgreens, who are directly providing health care to customers as the demand booms for urgent care access outside of a traditional hospital setting.

Persons: CNN —, Goldman Sachs, Goldman, ” Goldman, David Solomon, Instacart’s, ”, Mitch Berlin, “ You’re, Dan Ives, ” Ives, Taavon Naja, Ramishah Maruf, Parija Kavilanz, Sesame Organizations: CNN Business, Bell, CNN, Wall, Companies, Renaissance, Nasdaq, Cisco, Wedbush, of Foreign, Control, Costco, Costco Pharmacy’s, Amazon, CVS, Walgreens Locations: Americas, Berlin, Iran, Switzerland, United States, PFAS, New York

☆ Tesla delivered a record number of cars last quarter, beating expectations
▼ + stars: | 2023-07-02 | by ( Ramishah Maruf | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +1 min

New York CNN —Tesla beat expectations in the second quarter of 2023, announcing Sunday it produced nearly 480,000 vehicles and delivered over 466,000. The majority of production and deliveries were the Model 3 sedan and Model Y crossover, with 460,211 produced and 446,915 delivered. In the second quarter 2022, Tesla reported 254,695 deliveries and produced 258,580. In the first quarter of 2023, Tesla produced about 441,00 vehicles and delivered about 423,000. The company will post its financial results for the second quarter on July 19.

Persons: New York CNN — Tesla, Dan Ives, Tesla, Ives, “ Price, ” Ives Organizations: New, New York CNN, Wedbush Securities, Musk &, Reuters Locations: New York

☆ Bull market or fool's market? Investors say the latter
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-18 | by ( Krystal Hur | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +10 min

Mega-cap tech stocks that were battered by rising interest rates in 2022 have also seen a huge boost this year. The Federal Reserve on Wednesday held interest rates steady but indicated that it could hike rates twice more this year. Tech stocks’ record runApple shares closed at a record high on Thursday, creeping closer to reaching a $3 trillion market capitalization. The rally’s next testDespite some bullish signs in the market, investors say the math isn’t adding up to a sustained rally — especially considering a possible recession looms on the horizon. The central bank last Wednesday paused interest rates and indicated that it could raise rates two more times this year.

Persons: Dow, ”, Amanda Agati, Wednesday’s, Stocks, Joe Biden, Dan Ives, “, ” Ives, Richard Steinberg, Jerome Powell, Agati, Sylvia Jablonski, Christopher Waller, Thomas Barkin, ” Waller, Sarah Henry, Henry, Here’s, Price, Refinitiv, Paul Eitelman, ” Eitelman Organizations: CNN Business, Bell, New York CNN, Apple, Nasdaq, PNC Financial Services, Management, “, Federal Reserve, Nvidia, Wedbush Securities, Microsoft, The Colony, Treasury, ”, Federal, Richmond Fed, Logan Capital Management, CPI, PPI, University of, Consumers, North America, Russell Investments, Wednesday, National Association of Realtors, Senate Locations: New York, what’s, Oslo

☆ Perseverance rover captures new images of ancient river evidence
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-18 | by ( Ashley Strickland | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +6 min

The Perseverance rover has captured new images that appear to reveal geologic evidence of a fast-flowing river that fed into Jezero Crater, the site of an ancient Martian lake. The bands of rocks in this image of "Skrinkle Haven" taken by the Perseverance rover may have been formed by a fast-flowing river. The rover also captured a mosaic of "Pinestand," where layers of sedimentary rock could have been formed by a deep, fast-flowing river. The Perseverance team is also analyzing other images taken by the rover. We struggle even with early Earth rocks to answer this question.

New York CNN —Global banks just suffered their worst week since 2008. Credit Suisse and First Republic: Two more banks wobbled but remained upright through the week. Meanwhile, First Republic bank received a $30 billion lifeline on Thursday from some of the largest banks in the United States. US-traded shares of Credit Suisse were down nearly 7% and First Republic shares plunged by about 33% on Friday. That doesn’t mean that banks taking money from the FHLB and participating in the Federal Reserve’s emergency Bank Term Lending Program, which lent out $12 billion to banks this week, are in big trouble.

☆ Apple is the only US tech giant to have avoided significant layoffs
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-01 | by ( Catherine Thorbecke | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +4 min

CNN —In less than three months, four of the big five US tech companies have cut tens of thousands of employees combined, shattering myths about the industry’s seemingly unstoppable growth in the process. Tom Forte, a senior research analyst at DA Davison, agreed there will be staff reductions, but likely not as drastic as those at other large tech companies. How Apple avoided layoffs, so farFueled by a surge in demand for digital products earlier in the pandemic, Big Tech went on a massive hiring spree. Inflation pinched consumer and business spending, and rising interest rates evaporated the easy money tech companies had tapped into. Like other Big Tech companies, it has faced threats of antitrust action in the United States and EU.

☆ Elon Musk voted out as CEO of Twitter by poll he created
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-19 | by ( Brian Fung | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +3 min

Washington CNN —A Twitter poll created by Elon Musk asking whether he should “step down as head of Twitter” ended early Monday morning with most respondents voting in the affirmative. But Tesla shares were up 5% in premarket trading after the poll results were revealed. After taking over Twitter, Musk dissolved the company’s board and its C-Suite emptied out. As the sole board director and owner of the company, Musk can appoint the next CEO – and also tell that person what to do in the role. Shortly after Musk posted his latest poll, Calacanis posted a poll of his own asking who should take over as Twitter’s next CEO: himself, Sacks, or Calacanis and Sacks together as co-CEOs.

☆ Foxconn restoring production at world's largest iPhone factory
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-05 | by ( Juliana Liu | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +2 min

The “epidemic situation” at the facility, known as iPhone City and normally home to hundreds of thousands of workers, has been brought under control, the Taiwanese contract manufacturer said in a statement on Monday. Its executives were quoted as telling Reuters that full production would resume between late December and early January. Analysts said the production woes at iPhone City would speed up the pace of Apple’s supply chain diversification away from China. In recent weeks, according to The Wall Street Journal, Apple (AAPL) has accelerated plans to shift some of its production outside China. If Apple moves aggressively, more than 50% of iPhone production could come from India and Vietnam by the 2025/2026 fiscal year, versus the single-digit percentage currently, he added.

Twitter’s new “Chief Twit” spent the weekend tweeting — and it’s still not much clearer what Elon Musk will do with his new company. He denied a report from The New York Times that he planned to make major layoffs Monday ahead of a date when many Twitter employees receive stock grants. Musk has surrounded himself with Silicon Valley veterans, some of whom have criticized Twitter’s moderation work. Later, he appeared to poke fun at his deleted tweet while also taking a swipe at The New York Times. “This is fake — I did *not* tweet out a link to The New York Times!” Musk wrote alongside a screenshot of the Times’ coverage of his deleted tweet.

New York CNN Business —General Motors is pausing its advertising on Twitter now that the social media platform is owned by Tesla CEO Elon Musk, the company said in a statement Friday. “We are engaging with Twitter to understand the direction of the platform under their new ownership. As is normal course of business with a significant change in a media platform, we have temporarily paused our paid advertising,” the company said in an emailed statement. Musk took control of Twitter Thursday evening, ending a six-month round of on-again-off-again negotiations and court wrangling about purchasing the social media platform. But he said if advertisers do continue to pull their dollars from Twitter, it won’t just be automakers.

☆ Labor proposal could upend rules for gig workers, companies
▼ + stars: | 2022-10-11 | by ( Associated Press | ) www.nbcnews.com time to read: +2 min

Misclassifying workers as independent contractors denies those workers protections under federal labor standards, promotes wage theft, allows certain employers to gain an unfair advantage over businesses, and hurts the economy, the department said Tuesday. The misclassification of workers has negatively impacted delivery workers, custodians, truck drivers, waiters, construction workers and more, according to the department. Wedbush analyst Dan Ives said the proposal would constitute a major change for workers and employers from previous years. Last year the Biden administration repealed a Trump-era rule that would have made it easier to classify workers as independent contractors. The repeal meant the Labor Department was able to continue using existing rules under the 1938 Fair Labor Standards Act to determine whether a worker should be classified as an independent contractor.

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