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☆ Digital ad vultures descend on TV’s carcass
▼ + stars: | 2023-07-28 | by ( Jennifer Saba | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

NEW YORK, July 28 (Reuters Breakingviews) - The digital advertising hunt is back on. Reuters Graphics Reuters GraphicsAlthough Meta and Alphabet dominate the digital ad market, there’s plenty of money yet to fight for. Comcast (CMCSA.O), for example, said on Thursday that U.S. ad revenue at its NBC Universal media division fell 5% and overall EBITDA was down nearly a fifth. Despite the volatile nature of advertising revenue because of its close links to economic trends, it also typically generates healthy operating margins. It’s no wonder then that Amazon.com (AMZN.O), Walmart (WMT.N), DoorDash (DASH.N) and many more are descending on TV’s carcass.

Persons: Mark Zuckerberg, Jerome Powell, WPP’s, Jeffrey Goldfarb, Sharon Lam Organizations: YORK, Reuters, Meta, Google, Uber Technologies, Netflix, Facebook, YouTube, Conference Board, Federal, PepsiCo, Reuters Graphics Reuters, Comcast, NBC Universal, Walmart, Thomson Locations: New York

☆ Big Tech super-regulator would be a super-dud
▼ + stars: | 2023-07-27 | by ( Ben Winck | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

WASHINGTON, July 27 (Reuters Breakingviews) - Two U.S. lawmakers have an idea for reining in Big Tech: get someone else to do it. They include protecting young users of social media, and countering anticompetitive behavior. A new watchdog that sets out to safeguard young users would overlap with some of the Federal Communications Commission’s duties. Instead of spending time and taxpayer dollars on a super-regulator, lawmakers would do better to get their act together, and face Big Tech themselves. The proposal, introduced in the Senate on July 27, would set new rules for tech mergers, data security, and safeguards for young users, according to the essay.

Persons: Elizabeth Warren, Lindsay Graham, Warren, Barack Obama’s, Donald Trump, Joe Biden, Rohit Chopra, John Foley, Sharon Lam Organizations: Reuters, Big Tech, Democratic, Digital Consumer Protection, of Justice, Federal Trade Commission, Federal Communications, Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, Democratic U.S, New York Times, Thomson

☆ Stocks making the biggest moves premarket: Southwest Airlines, Meta Platforms, Align Technology, eBay and more
▼ + stars: | 2023-07-27 | by ( Tanaya Macheel | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +5 min

Chipotle reported $2.51 billion in revenue, while analysts polled by Refinitiv had expected revenue of $2.53 billion. Meta Platforms — The Facebook parent jumped nearly 9% after reporting earnings and revenue for the second quarter that topped analysts' estimates. Same-store sales grew 11.7% in the second quarter. Sunnova Energy — Shares of the solar company slid more than 7% following weaker-than-expected financial results in the second quarter. Sunnova posted a wider-than-expected loss of 74 cents per share, while analysts expected a loss of 42 cents per share, according to FactSet.

Persons: Chipotle, Refinitiv, Edwards Lifesciences, Meta, Lam, McDonald's, Richard Dickson, Sunnova, —, Jesse Pound, Alex Harring, Yun Li Organizations: Southwest Airlines —, eBay, FactSet, Technology, Revenue, Facebook, Lam, Honeywell —, Honeywell, Mattel, Comcast —, NBC, Management, Energy, Comcast, CNBC Locations: Refinitiv, China, FactSet

☆ Stocks making the biggest moves midday: Meta Platforms, Chipotle, Royal Caribbean and more
▼ + stars: | 2023-07-27 | by ( Jesse Pound | In Jesse-Pound | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +7 min

Meta Platforms reported earnings of $2.98 per share on $32 billion in revenue. Royal Caribbean , Norwegian Cruise Line — Shares of Royal Caribbean surged 8.7% after the cruise company beat expectations for the second quarter. Royal Caribbean reported $1.82 in adjusted earnings per share on $3.52 billion of revenue. The company reported $5.98 in adjusted earnings per share on $3.21 billion in revenue. The company reported $2.05 in adjusted earnings per share, below the StreetAccount consensus of $2.33 per share.

Persons: Chipotle, Refinitiv, Lam, L3Harris, Willis Towers Watson, Northrop Grumman, Northrop, Sunnova, Edwards, StreetAccount, —, Alex Harring, Hakyung Kim, Samantha Subin, Yun Li Organizations: Refinitiv, Cruise, Royal Caribbean, Lam Research, KLA Corp, —, L3Harris, Northrop Grumman, Northrop, Management, Energy, Honeywell, Honeywell International, Comcast —, Comcast, Southwest Airlines, eBay, Wall Street, CNBC Locations: Royal Caribbean, Refinitiv

☆ Consumers will win in cannabis-credit card clash
▼ + stars: | 2023-07-27 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

The $376 billion payments network wants its financial partners in transactions for cannabis to crack down on using its debit cards, Bloomberg reported on July 26. The budding industry is running out of convenient options for customers to pay for its products. By definition, payments networks such as Mastercard and Visa (V.N) are middlemen, facilitating the movement of money between parties. In the weed business, that means they take the money from the buyer’s bank account and ship it into the dispensary’s. In Washington, D.C., some cannabis shops peddle quasi-worthless knickknacks such as stickers to customers while “gifting” small amounts of pot.

Persons: workarounds, Mastercard’s, Anita Ramaswamy, Lauren Silva Laughlin, Sharon Lam Organizations: YORK, Reuters, Mastercard, Bloomberg, Visa, D.C, Twitter, Thomson Locations: Washington

☆ Big Tech super regulator would be a super dud
▼ + stars: | 2023-07-27 | by ( Ben Winck | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

Persons: Elizabeth Warren, Lindsey Graham, Warren, Barack Obama’s, Donald Trump, Joe Biden, Rohit Chopra, John Foley, Sharon Lam Organizations: Reuters, Big Tech, Democratic, Republican, Digital Consumer Protection, of Justice, Federal Trade Commission, Federal Communications, Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, Democratic U.S, New York Times, Thomson

Meta Platforms (META.O) gained 8.6% in premarket trading after it also reported a jump in second-quarter advertising revenue, topping Wall Street financial targets. Outsized gains in megacap growth stocks has helped Nasdaq (.IXIC) lead the charge on Wall Street so far this year, but Dow (.DJI) is catching up as investors bet on sectors beyond technology. ET, Dow e-minis were up 48 points, or 0.13%, S&P 500 e-minis were up 26 points, or 0.57%, and Nasdaq 100 e-minis were up 186 points, or 1.19%. Southwest Airlines (LUV.N) tumbled 6.9% after the airline warned of higher labor costs for the year and posted a dip in second-quarter profit. Reporting by Bansari Mayur Kamdar and Johann M Cherian in Bengaluru; Editing by Shinjini GanguliOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

Persons: FEDWATCH, Jerome Powell, Powell, David Mericle, Goldman Sachs, Bansari Mayur Kamdar, Johann M, Shinjini Organizations: Netflix, Microsoft, Dow, Nasdaq, Wall, U.S, U.S . Federal, Meta, Facebook, U.S . Federal Reserve, Commerce Department, Dow e, EBay, Nvidia, Micron, Marvell Technology, Lam Research, Citigroup, Bank of America, Southwest Airlines, Thomson Locations: U.S ., U.S, Wells Fargo, Bengaluru

☆ Snap’s boss destroys $43 bln in a snap
▼ + stars: | 2023-07-26 | by ( Jennifer Saba | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

NEW YORK, July 26 (Reuters Breakingviews) - Snap’s (SNAP.N) value is disappearing almost as quickly as its messages. Snap is still struggling to pry money from advertisers, a worrisome trend for a relatively young company. When the then 26-year-old co-founder brought Snap public, the company, whose deal was 10 times oversubscribed, had promises of being the next Facebook. Snap’s shares should be worth some $37, or $60 billion overall. Snap’s shares fell 19% in morning trade on July 26.

Persons: Evan Spiegel, Mark Zuckerberg’s, Spiegel, that’s, Snap’s, Jeffrey Goldfarb, Sharon Lam Organizations: YORK, Reuters, Revenue, Spiegel, Thomson Locations: California

☆ Lam Research forecasts strong quarterly revenue on AI boom
▼ + stars: | 2023-07-26 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

July 26 (Reuters) - Chip-making tools supplier Lam Research (LRCX.O) forecast quarterly revenue above Wall Street estimates, as semiconductor makers scramble to meet a surge in demand fueled by rising adoption of artificial intelligence (AI) technology. The company expects first-quarter revenue of $3.4 billion plus or minus $300 million, above expectations of $3.3 billion, according to IBES data from Refinitiv. The AI boom has also helped chipmakers cushion a post-pandemic downturn in demand for personal computers and smartphones. Lam reported fourth-quarter revenue of $3.21 billion, lower than $4.64 billion last year but above market expectations of $3.13 billion. Excluding items, the company posted a profit of $5.97 per share, compared with estimates of $5.07.

Persons: OpenAI's ChatGPT, Lam, Akash Sriram, Devika Organizations: Lam Research, Materials, Thomson Locations: Lam, Bengaluru

☆ Morning Bid: Tech splits, banks merge and Fed decides
▼ + stars: | 2023-07-26 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +5 min

Unlucky for some perhaps, but a 13th today would make it the longest winning streak for the Dow since 1987. Meta Platforms (META.O) is up next after Wednesday's closing bell and its share rose 2%. Wells Fargo (WFC.N), meantime, climbed 2.8% after the bank's board authorized a new $30 billion share buyback program. The Fed decision comes in the wake of another set of forecast-beating U.S. consumer confidence readings for July. Elsewhere, the European earnings season was in full swing too, with banks dominating the diary and the European Central Bank meeting tomorrow.

Persons: Mike Dolan, Dow Jones, Wells Fargo, Kazuo Ueda, Jerome Powell, Molina, Rollins, Edwards, John Stonestreet Organizations: Microsoft, Dow, Netflix, Google, Federal Trade Commission, European Central Bank, Deutsche Bank, Bank of Japan, HK, . Federal, eBay, Boeing, General Dynamics, Seagate, Union Pacific, CME, Hilton Worldwide, Lam Research, Water Works, United Rentals, Otis, Treasury, Reuters, Reuters Graphics Reuters, Thomson Locations: U.S, Wall, Nasdaq, California, Lam, Everest

☆ Stocks making the biggest moves after hours: Meta Platforms, Chipotle Mexican Grill, ServiceNow and more
▼ + stars: | 2023-07-26 | by ( Samantha Subin | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +4 min

Check out the companies making headlines after the bell:Meta Platforms – Shares of Meta Platforms jumped nearly 6% on stronger-than-expected quarterly results. Chipotle reported adjusted earnings of $12.65 a share on $2.51 billion in revenue. The entertainment technology company reported adjusted earnings of 26 cents a share. Lam posted adjusted earnings of $5.98 per share, beating estimates by 91 cents per share, per Refinitiv. L3Harris reported adjusted earnings of $2.97 a share on $4.69 billion in revenue, and lifted earnings and revenue guidance.

Persons: Chipotle, Refinitiv, Lam, — ServiceNow, FactSet, Sunnova, Richard Dickson, L3Harris, Aerojet, Macheel, Sarah Min, Darla Mercado Organizations: Meta, Revenue, Lam, eBay, Energy, Technology, Mattel –, Mattel, Seagate Technology, Technologies, Federal Trade Commission, L3Harris Locations: FactSet, Refinitiv

☆ Biotech’s doldrums are a warning amid exuberance
▼ + stars: | 2023-07-25 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

The sector’s doldrums are a warning sign, despite the broader market shrugging off recession concerns. In 2000, the index peaked weeks before the S&P 500 Index (.SPX) and hit bottom three months earlier. In the 2009 financial crisis, the biotech index peaked later, but both emerged at about the same time. Yet biotech stocks have been lackluster since. Since January, the index is down 2%, while the S&P 500 Index is up 19% and the Nasdaq Composite Index is up 35%.

Persons: Robert Cyran, Jonathan Guilford, Sharon Lam Organizations: YORK, Reuters, Biotechnology, Nasdaq Biotechnology, Nasdaq, Twitter, Thales, Thomson Locations: Spain

Both theory and past practice suggest that higher interest rates weigh on investment and consumption, crimping companies’ profit and forcing them to reduce hiring or lay off staff. It could also be that higher interest rates weigh on prices by pushing up borrowing costs and weakening financial markets, without requiring widespread layoffs. But economic forecasters have wrongly anticipated layoffs and higher unemployment for much of the past year. Until disinflation becomes less immaculate, the central bank has the unholy problem of choosing between lessons from history and those of the last 12 months. The U.S. unemployment rate dipped to 3.6% in June, the BLS announced on July 7.

Persons: Jerome Powell, Donald Trump, Joe Biden, Powell, There’s, Ben Winck, Francesco Guerrera, Peter Thal Larsen, Sharon Lam, Streisand Neto Organizations: Reuters, Federal Reserve, Wall, U.S, Fed, UBS –, Bank of International, Workers, United, Refinitiv, Consumer, of Labor Statistics, BLS, Thomson Locations: U.S, United States, payrolls, Washington, London

☆ Here are Monday's biggest analyst calls: Apple, Tesla, Meta, Nvidia, Shopify, Netflix, Disney & more
▼ + stars: | 2023-07-24 | by ( Michael Bloom | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +9 min

Goldman Sachs initiates Amylyx Pharmaceuticals as buy Goldman said it sees an attractive entry point for shares of the biotech company. " Goldman Sachs reiterates Nvidia as buy Goldman said it's standing by its buy rating on Nvidia and that it likes stocks with "room for meaningful positive EPS revisions." UBS downgrades Tesla to neutral from buy UBS said in its downgrade of Tesla that strong growth is already priced in. Goldman Sachs initiates Savers Value Village as buy Goldman said the thrift store operator is a share gainer. Goldman Sachs reiterates ServiceNow as buy Goldman said it sees more upside in shares of ServiceNow as the stock remains a key beneficiary.

Persons: Piper downgrades Estee Lauder, Piper, Baird, Goldman Sachs, Goldman, Wells, Evercore, it's, Stifel, Lam, Tesla, Moffett, Rosenblatt, Raymond James, Becton Dickinson, SLB, Horton, BTIG, Needham, ServiceNow Organizations: Express, Netflix, Amylyx Pharmaceuticals, Bank of America, NTR, RBC, Research, Nvidia, MU, UBS, Semiconductor, Deutsche Bank, Apple, Deutsche, Mac, Med Tech, Schlumberger, Disney, DIS, American Express Locations: China, underperform, ServiceNow

☆ Office landlord offers glimpse of what’s to come
▼ + stars: | 2023-07-24 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

NEW YORK, July 24 (Reuters Breakingviews) - Piedmont Office Realty Trust (PDM.N) is sifting through the rubble. The $910 million owner of high-quality office buildings in Boston, Dallas and beyond just borrowed at 9.25%, more than twice the interest rate it’s replacing. It’s an ominous sign for U.S. office landlords facing $60 billion of debt maturing at the end of 2023 and 2024, per data miner RCA. Office prices have fallen so much that cap rates are approaching 10%, according to Jonathan Litt, founder of activist hedge fund Land and Buildings Investment Management. Pricier debt means less income, but if rents have stabilized and interest rates keep rising, Piedmont was wise to start reconstructing its balance sheet sooner rather than later.

Persons: Brent Smith, Jonathan Litt, Lauren Silva Laughlin, Jeffrey Goldfarb, Sharon Lam Organizations: YORK, Reuters, Realty Trust, Refinitiv, RCA, Buildings Investment Management, Twitter, Thomson Locations: Boston, Dallas, Piedmont, Spain

☆ Chevron’s restraint paying off
▼ + stars: | 2023-07-24 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

NEW YORK, July 24 (Reuters Breakingviews) - Chevron’s (CVX.N)second-quarter profit was cut nearly in half as production rose slightly, according to a surprise early release of the oil giant’s earnings on Sunday night. Chevron’s profit jumped, too. Each barrel Chevron was producing brought in about $20 of profit, some 40% less than it had in the quarter earlier. Oil prices have continued to fall, but the drop in profit per barrel is less dramatic than before – just 8%. As long as restraint holds the upper hand, so will Chevron’s profit.

Persons: Brent, Goldman Sachs, Robert Cyran, Lauren Silva Laughlin, Sharon Lam Organizations: YORK, Reuters, Chevron, Reuters Graphics, Twitter, Thomson Locations: U.S, Spain

☆ AMC can build Dreamhouse on Barbenheimer buzz
▼ + stars: | 2023-07-24 | by ( Anita Ramaswamy | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

AMC Entertainment (AMC.N), the struggling movie theater chain wrestling with a meme-stock hangover, saw its busiest day since 2019 this past Saturday. The company needs cash to survive, and this weekend might add enough fantasy to help it. AMC has refiled to try again, and in some ways, Barbenheimer helps. The biggest risk to the movie theater business was that it would never return to pre-pandemic levels. AMC Entertainment, one of the U.S.’s largest theater chains, recorded over 7 million moviegoers in attendance over that weekend.

Persons: Barbie, “ Oppenheimer ”, Adam Aron, Aron, –, “ Barbie ”, “ Oppenheimer, ”, Lauren Silva Laughlin, Sharon Lam Organizations: YORK, Reuters, Warner Bros, Comcast, Universal Pictures, AMC Entertainment, Monday, AMC, Malibu, Thomson Locations: Barbenheimer, Delaware

☆ What we hope to see from 9 Club stocks out with earnings in the week ahead
▼ + stars: | 2023-07-22 | by ( Zev Fima | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +14 min

Looking to next week, earnings season will ramp up — and though we'll get some important economic data, expect the corporate releases and management commentary on the post-game calls to be firmly in the driver's seat. Here are two important things to know for the week ahead. Quarterly earnings : As important as economic releases are, it's earnings that will garner the bulk of investors' attention. For those looking to review first-quarter performance ahead of these releases, keep our first-quarter earnings report card handy. Here's the full rundown of all the important domestic data in the week ahead.

Persons: Dow, we'll, we've, Lawrence Yun, Jerome Powell's, Sartorius, Sartorius preannounced, It's, management's, We'll, Tesla, Ford's, Sherwin, Williams, Archer, Clark, Lam, Edwards Lifesciences, Hewlett, Northrop, Dr Pepper, Davidson, Jim Cramer's, Jim Cramer, Jim, Spencer Platt Organizations: Nasdaq, Economic, National Association of Realtors, Nine, GE Healthcare, Microsoft, YouTube, Linde, LIN, Honeywell, Aerospace, Technologies, Ford, Procter & Gamble, Dynex, HBT, Hope Bancorp, NXP Semiconductors, Cadence Design Systems, Whirlpool, Logitech International, Liberty Global, Verizon Communications, General Motors, General Electric, GE, Spotify, Raytheon Technologies, Daniels, Midland, Albertsons Companies, ACI, Polaris Industries, Inc, Dow Chemical, DOW, Xerox, Texas Instruments, WM, Canadian National Railway Company, Chubb Corporation, Universal Health Services, Powell, Boeing, Hilton, Union Pacific, General Dynamics, Quest Diagnostics, Otis Worldwide, Grill, Lam Research, eBay, EBAY, Mattel, Hewlett Packard, L3Harris Technologies, Gross, Royal Caribbean Cruises, Southwest Airlines, Mastercard, Myers Squibb, Northrop Grumman, Hertz, Tractor Supply Company, HCA Healthcare, Boston, Hershey, Comcast, Harley, Norfolk Southern, Intel, Mobile, United States Steel Corp, KLA Corporation, Boston Beer Company, Nation Entertainment, Texas, Procter, Gamble, Exxon Mobil, Chevron, Charter Communications, AstraZeneca, Colgate, Palmolive, Newell Brands, Sanofi, Dwight, Jim Cramer's Charitable, CNBC, New York Stock Exchange, Getty Locations: U.S, Hollywood, Cleveland, Corning, Kimberly, Bristol, Norfolk

☆ Buyout barons feast on excesses of last boom
▼ + stars: | 2023-07-21 | by ( Jonathan Guilford | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +7 min

That opens up plenty of potential loopholes which could allow borrowers to keep their old loans even after a deal. Lenders explicitly allow a company’s so-called “permitted holders” - typically its management or long-time investors - to assume responsibility for the debt. For example, one definition of a change of control is where the majority of board seats change hands. That means the company’s debt can stay put, news service 9fin reported. Interest rates for loans provided by private lenders have risen from 6.2% to 11.6% over a similar time frame.

Persons: Clayton, Rice, Breakingviews, 9fin, Cooper’s, Blackstone, Datacenters, Murray, dealmakers, Peter Thal Larsen, Sharon Lam, Streisand Neto Organizations: YORK, Reuters, Partners, P, Reuters Graphics Reuters, Cornerstone, Focus Financial, Stone, Point, Smart, Securities, Exchange, NRG Energy, QTS Realty Trust, Foresight Energy, American Consolidated Natural Resources, Foresight, P Global Market Intelligence, Thomson, & $ Locations: Dubilier, Delaware

☆ Tesla’s new burden: shouldering the market
▼ + stars: | 2023-07-20 | by ( Jonathan Guilford | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +4 min

Back then, Tesla had three-quarters of the U.S. electric vehicle market, according to Cox Automotive. Its U.S. growth flatlined in 2022, Cox reckons, as the overall quarterly growth rate of electric sales downshifted. It needs the entire electric-vehicle market to grow beyond its current 7% share of the U.S. market, to bring in new buyers. Cox found 51% of consumers are now at least interested in an electric car. But Tesla’s operating margin has fallen to under 10%.Gross profit per car delivered is also down, 44% year-over-year, despite costs also declining.

Persons: Elon, Tesla, Cox, Biden, can’t, Musk, Gross, Elon Musk, Lauren Silva Laughlin, Sharon Lam Organizations: YORK, Reuters, General Motors, U.S, Cox Automotive, Ford, Thomson Locations: U.S, United

☆ Netflix’s cash gun starts to whir
▼ + stars: | 2023-07-19 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

NEW YORK, July 19 (Reuters Breakingviews) - Netflix (NFLX.O) is putting out some programming worthy of more eyeballs. But its forecast on free cash flow – once a horror flick– shows that the business is only getting stronger. The revenue outlook for the third quarter of $8.5 billion is below analysts’ estimates of $8.7 billion, according to Refinitiv. Netflix raised its outlook for free cash flow this year to at least $5 billion from approximately $3.5 billion. At a time when high interest rates make greenbacks more expensive, and competitors Walt Disney (DIS.N) and Warner Bros Discovery (WBD.O) are squirming, Netflix’s cash story is one to watch.

Persons: Reed Hastings, Walt Disney, Jennifer Saba, Gucci, Xavier Niel’s, Lauren Silva Laughlin, Sharon Lam Organizations: YORK, Reuters, Netflix, Hollywood, Warner Bros Discovery, Twitter, Xavier Niel’s GAM, Commonwealth Games, Thomson

☆ Asia shares slip as China casts a pall, dollar's slide abates
▼ + stars: | 2023-07-18 | by ( Selena Li | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

[1/2] FILE PHOTO-People walk past a screen displaying the Hang Seng stock index outside Hong Kong Exchanges, in Hong Kong, China July 19, 2022. Investors are waiting for clearer signs that inflation is cooling, with the readings on U.S. retail sales and industrial production to be released later on Tuesday. Economists reckon retail sales in June will show a 0.5% rise from May, strong enough to keep the soft landing scenario without rekindling worries about inflation. The Fed, European Central Bank and Bank of Japan are holding policy reviews next week. The U.S. dollar index dipped slightly to 99.71 in Asia trade, having struck its lowest since April 2022 on Friday.

Persons: Lam, Morgan Stanley, Goldman Sachs, Gary Ng, Ng, Brent, Selena Li, Simon Cameron, Moore, Sam Holmes Organizations: Hong Kong Exchanges, REUTERS, Federal, Bank of America, Natixis Corporate, Investment Bank, The, European Central Bank and Bank of Japan, Japan's Nikkei, ECB, Fed, Bank of England, U.S, Bank of Japan, Thomson Locations: Hong Kong, China, HONG KONG, Asia, Pacific, Japan

☆ Meme investors could spoil AMC’s next act
▼ + stars: | 2023-07-18 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

AMC is already fighting another lawsuit over its attempt to convert preferred stock into common shares, a novel scheme to avoid getting investors’ approval for share sales. It fits with other forays since AMC became a retail-favorite meme stock – like buying into a gold miner – that seem to disregard conventional governance niceties. Attracting a rush of retail traders means there are plenty of investors to call foul. If their push against the preferred stock gambit succeeds, AMC could struggle to raise new funds, which bodes poorly for repaying its $5 billion in debt. It turns out that, for a meme stock’s final act, the audience starts throwing tomatoes.

Persons: Adam Aron, Kevin Barnes, Barnes ’, Anita Ramaswamy, Xavier Niel’s, Jonathan Guilford, Sharon Lam Organizations: YORK, Reuters, AMC, Twitter, Xavier Niel’s GAM, Commonwealth Games, Thomson

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Persons: I've, Jackson Organizations: Service Locations: Wall, Silicon, Jackson Hole , Wyoming, Las Vegas, Portland, Santa Fe , New Mexico

☆ BlackRock’s Aramco embrace makes sense in a vacuum
▼ + stars: | 2023-07-18 | by ( Lauren Silva Laughlin | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +4 min

The $109 billion asset manager run by Larry Fink said on Monday it would add Saudi Aramco (2222.SE) Chief Executive Amin Nasser to its 16-strong board. But judged through an investment lens the appointment makes sense. Nasser, who led Aramco through its 2019 initial public offering, will take the seat currently occupied by Bader Alsaad, a former managing director of the Kuwait Investment Authority. Follow @thereallsl on TwitterCONTEXT NEWSBlackRock on July 17 said Amin Nasser, chief executive of Saudi Aramco, would join its board as an independent director. “Amin’s distinguished career at Aramco, spanning more than four decades, gives him a unique perspective on many of the key issues facing our firm and our clients,” BlackRock Chief Executive Larry Fink said in a statement.

Persons: Larry Fink, Amin Nasser, Nasser, Bader Alsaad, Jamal Khashoggi, Randall Stephenson, Fink, Richard Blumenthal, T Rowe Price, Fink –, “ Amin’s, Peter Thal Larsen, Sharon Lam Organizations: YORK, Reuters, BlackRock, Aramco, Kuwait Investment Authority, of, Petroleum, Saudi, Golfers ’ Association, Global Energy, Exxon Mobil, Chevron, Shell, Thomson Locations: BlackRock, Saudi Aramco, Kuwait, Saudi Arabia, United States, U.S, Texas, Connecticut, Aramco

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