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☆ Ford doubles down on EVs, while Wall Street looks to Disney for answers. Here's our take on these Club stocks
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-11 | by ( Paulina Likos | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +4 min

Walt Disney (DIS) is facing skepticism from Wall Street over its streaming strategy and softer growth at its parks, while Ford Motor (F) is expanding its electric vehicle production. Disney currently owns a 66% stake in Hulu, while its other streaming platforms include Disney+ and ESPN+. Ford Motor The news: Club holding Ford on Tuesday announced a $1.3 billion investment in its Oakville assembly plant in Ontario, Canada. F 1Y mountain Ford (F) one-year performance. As a subscriber to the CNBC Investing Club with Jim Cramer, you will receive a trade alert before Jim makes a trade.

☆ China could cross a red line and start arming Russia if Ukraine pulls off a major counterattack, leaked Pentagon papers say
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-11 | by ( Tom Porter | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +3 min

Leaked US documents reveal what could prompt China to begin arming Russia, reports say. A Ukrainian attack on Russia using NATO weapons could be a red line for China, they say. The US Defense Department documents posted online appear to contain extensive discussion of the Ukraine conflict, and of China's military plans and capabilities. Since Russia invaded Ukraine in 2021, China has trodden a careful path, seeking to portray itself as neutral in the conflict. The leaked papers suggest that it is attacks within Russia itself that would draw China into the war.

Losses in megacap stocks such as Microsoft Corp (MSFT.O) and Amazon.com Inc (AMZN.O) weighed on the tech-heavy Nasdaq, while gains in industrial stocks such as Caterpillar Inc (CAT.N) boosted the Dow. Hopes that the Fed will soon end its aggressive monetary policy tightening helped the S&P 500 stabilize so far in April after the collapse of two U.S. mid-sized lenders sparked a selloff last month. Analysts expect first-quarter profits at S&P 500 companies to fall 5.2% year-on-year, a stark reversal from the 1.4% annual growth expected at the beginning of the year, according to Refinitiv data. Seven of the 11 major S&P sectors rose, with gains in industrial (.SPLRCI) and material (.SPLRCM) shares offsetting losses in technology (.SPLRCT) stocks. The S&P index recorded three new 52-week highs and no new low, while the Nasdaq recorded 32 new highs and 30 new lows.

☆ Instagram's creator marketplace could see an influx of brand deal opportunities as it opens up to 3rd-party platforms and agencies
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-11 | by ( Sydney Bradley | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +2 min

Instagram is now onboarding third-party influencer-marketing platforms and agencies. Despite being less than a year old, Instagram's test of a creator marketplace has already had its share of ups and downs. That means Instagram's creator marketplace could potentially see an increase in brands and paid opportunities for influencers in the coming weeks. Agencies will be able to communicate with creators directly via Meta's Creator Marketplace. InstagramTikTok's creator marketplace made a nearly identical move in 2021 when it brought on "alpha partners" such as Influential, Whalar, and Captiv8.

☆ Factbox: What is known about latest leak of U.S. secrets
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-10 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +4 min

Here is what we know and do not know about what appears to be the gravest leak of U.S. secrets in years:ARE THE DOCUMENTS REAL? Materials marked that way would have been seen by thousands of people with security clearances. But because not all of the documents are marked FVEY, U.S. officials believe whoever leaked them could be American. - China: Predictions about how China would respond to Ukrainian strikes inside Russia, along with details about British plans in the Indo-Pacific region. - South America: Information about Brazilian officials' plan to visit Moscow in April to discuss a Ukraine mediation scheme.

☆ Top Wall Street analysts expect these five stocks to fetch attractive returns
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-09 | by ( Tipranks.Com Staff | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +7 min

Meta PlatformsWeakness in digital ad spending due to macro pressures has hit social media giant Meta Platforms (META) over the recent quarters. SoFi TechnologiesNext on our list is fintech firm SoFi Technologies (SOFI), which offers digital financial services to over 5.2 million members. The acquisition is expected to drive SoFi's mortgage growth and operational efficiencies and broaden its mortgage product offerings. (See SoFi Insider Trading Activity on TipRanks)PVHApparel company PVH (PVH), which owns popular brands like Calvin Klein and Tommy Hilfiger, delivered better-than-expected results for the fourth quarter of fiscal 2022. The analyst sees "an attractive risk reward profile" in PVH stock based on the company's earnings growth potential and current valuation.

Earlier this week data showed falling factory orders and soft manufacturing activity. Traders' bets of a pause by the Fed in May stood at 60.5%, while odds of a 25-basis point interest rate hike was at 39.5%, according to CME Group's Fedwatch tool. Defensive stocks such as consumer staples (.SPLRCS) were in the green among major S&P 500 sectors, with healthcare (.SPXHC) and utilities (.SPLRCU) hitting their highest in close to two months. The benchmark S&P 500 and the tech-heavy Nasdaq are now on track for their first weekly declines in four in the holiday-shortened week. The S&P index recorded eight new 52-week highs and two new lows, while the Nasdaq recorded 23 new highs and 185 new lows.

The ADP National Employment report showed U.S. private employment rose by 145,000 jobs last month, compared with economists' projections of an increase of 200,000 jobs, adding to recent signs of a cooling labor market. With growing concerns about a worsening economic outlook following the recent turmoil in the banking sector, market expectations have shifted in favor of the U.S. central bank hitting the brakes on its interest rate hikes. "But at the same time, I think investors are closely watching to make sure that we don't fall into a deep recession." Traders' bets of a pause by the Fed in May shot up to 62.2%, while odds of a 25-basis point interest rate hike fell to 37.8%, according to CME Group's Fedwatch tool. All eyes are now on the non-farm payrolls data for March, a more comprehensive employment report, that is due on Friday for more conclusive clues on the state of the labor market.

☆ Stock-Based Pay and Bonuses Fall Under Finance Chiefs’ Cost-Cutting Knife
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-05 | by ( Mark Maurer | Jennifer Williams-Alvarez | ) www.wsj.com time to read: 1 min

Videogame company Unity Software is looking at reducing the number of shares it grants as part of compensation but hasn’t made any decisions yet. Some finance executives are tweaking compensation expenses—including stock-based pay and bonus eligibility—in the latest move among U.S. companies to cut costs from increasingly lean operations as recession concerns grow. Videogame company Unity Software Inc. and business-software firm Salesforce Inc. are among businesses weighing or moving ahead with bringing down stock-based compensation, while companies such as DSW Designer Shoe Warehouse parent Designer Brands Inc. and Facebook owner Meta Platforms Inc. are planning adjustments to worker bonuses. Firms like Google are making other trims to the employee experience by eliminating popular perks like snack bars and choosing software and equipment vendors based on cost.

☆ Italy probes Meta over abuse of position in music rights case
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-05 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

MILAN, April 5 (Reuters) - Italy's antitrust authority said on Wednesday it would investigate Meta Platform (META.O) over the possible abuse of its position in talks over the rights to music posted on Meta's platforms and potentially hurting competition in the sector. According to the antitrust regulator, Mark Zuckerberg's company may have "unduly interrupted the negotiations for the stipulation of the licence for the use on its platforms" of SIAE's music rights, it said in a statement. Last month, Meta, which owns Facebook, Whatsapp and Instagram, failed to reach a deal with SIAE to renew the copyright license. Protecting the copyrights of songwriters and artists is an important priority for us," a spokesperson for Meta said on Wednesday. The investigation involves Meta Platforms Inc, Meta Platforms Ireland Limited, Meta Platforms Technologies UK Limited and Facebook Italy S.r.l.

The ADP National Employment report showed U.S. private employment rose by 145,000 jobs last month, compared with economists' projections of an increase of 200,000 jobs, adding to recent signs of a cooling economy. Traders' bets of a pause by the Fed in May shot up to 60.8%, while odds of a 25-basis point interest rate hike fell to 39.2%, according to CME Group's Fedwatch tool. Defensive stocks such as healthcare (.SPXHC), utilities (.SPLRCU) and consumer staples (.SPLRCS) were in the green among major S&P 500 sectors. All eyes are now on the non-farm payrolls data for March, a more comprehensive employment report, that is due on Friday for further clues on the state of the labor market. Both the benchmark S&P 500 and the tech-heavy Nasdaq (.IXIC) are now on track for their first weekly declines in four in the holiday-shortened week.

☆ Meta's job cuts are gutting customer service, leaving influencers and businesses with nobody to call
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-05 | by ( Jonathan Vanian | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +13 min

As part of the company's two rounds of layoffs, equaling roughly 21,000 job cuts, Meta gutted wide swaths of its customer service operation, leaving influencers and businesses with nobody to contact about their accounts. CNBC spoke with influencers, small businesses and Meta account managers as well as a half-dozen former contractors and former Meta employees about the deterioration in customer service at the company since the job cuts began in November. Holliday said it appears that the only people who get customer service are those who represent a company that's spending heavily on advertising. However, some influencers say Facebook has had such poor customer service that there's no reason to pay for it. After all the problems she's experienced, Karlova questions whether Meta will be able to provide better customer service.

☆ Futures edge higher as tech and growth stocks gain; focus on jobs data
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-04 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

Oil prices extended gains on Tuesday, with investor attention shifting to demand trends and the impact of higher prices on the global economy. Energy firms Chevron Corp (CVX.N), Exxon Mobil Corp (XOM.N) and Occidental Petroleum Corp (OXY.N) were set to extend gains, rising between 0.5% and 0.9% premarket. Among stocks, Virgin Orbit Holdings Inc (VORB.O) tanked 25% after the satellite launch company filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy on failing to secure long-term funding. Etsy Inc (ETSY.O) gained 3.8% after Piper Sandler upgraded the consumer e-commerce platform's stock to "overweight". Reporting by Ankika Biswas in Bengaluru; Editing by Shounak DasguptaOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

☆ Welcome to the era of viral AI generated ‘news’ images
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-02 | by ( Clare Duffy | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +8 min

None of these things actually happened, but AI-generated images depicting them did go viral online over the past week. The images ranged from obviously fake to, in some cases, compellingly real, and they fooled some social media users. There are also concerns that AI-generated images could be used for harassment, or to further drive divided internet users apart. Eliot Higgins, founder and creative director of the investigative group Bellingcat, posted fake images of former President Donald Trump to Twitter last week. Many of the recent viral AI-generated images were created by a tool called Midjourney, a less than year-old platform that allows users to create images based on short text prompts.

☆ Welcome to the era of viral AI generated 'news' images
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-02 | by ( Clare Duffy | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +8 min

☆ Meta to Let Users Opt Out of Some Targeted Ads, but Only in Europe
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-30 | by ( Sam Schechner | Jeff Horwitz | ) www.wsj.com time to read: 1 min

Meta Platforms Inc. is planning to let European users of Facebook and Instagram opt out of certain highly personalized ads as part of plans to limit the impact of a European Union privacy order, according to people familiar with the planning. Under the plan, Meta, beginning Wednesday, will allow EU users to choose a version of its services that would only target them with ads based on broad categories, such as their age range and general location—without using, as it does now, data such as what videos they watch or content they click on inside Meta’s apps, the people said.

☆ 'FIFA' publisher EA to cut 6% of workforce, reduce office space
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-30 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

March 29 (Reuters) - Electronic Arts Inc (EA.O) said on Wednesday it would lay off about 6% of its workforce and reduce office space, making it the first major videogame publisher to announce job cuts. Meta Platforms Inc (META.O) and Amazon.com Inc (AMZN.O) announced a second round of job cuts this month. Video game sales so far this year were flat and spending on video game content across platforms is down 2%, according to analytics firm Circana. Newly launched "Hogwarts Legacy" game from Warner Bros Discovery (WBD.O) topped the videogame sales charts in February, according to Circana. Reporting by Akash Sriram in Bengaluru; Editing by Devika Syamnath and Sriraj KalluvilaOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

☆ Meta explores ban on political ads in Europe - FT
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-30 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

March 30 (Reuters) - Meta Platforms Inc (META.O) executives are discussing a company-wide ban on political advertising in Europe due to concerns that Facebook and Instagram will be unable to comply with upcoming EU regulations targeting online campaigns, the Financial Times reported on Thursday. EU lawmakers in February agreed to tougher rules on targeted political advertising aimed at countering misinformation during elections. The proposed rules require U.S. tech giants to provide more data on their targeted political ads, with fines up to 4% of their global turnover for breaches. Meta executives are concerned the definition of political ads under EU plans will be excessively broad that it will be easier to refuse all paid-for political campaigns on the company's sites, the newspaper said, citing two people briefed on the discussions. Reporting by Kanjyik Ghosh in Bengaluru; Editing by Sherry Jacob-Phillips and Subhranshu SahuOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

☆ Meta rolls out long-sought tools to separate ads from harmful content
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-30 | by ( Katie Paul | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

The system offers advertisers three risk levels they can select for their ad placements, with the most conservative option excluding placements above or below posts with sensitive content like weapons depictions, sexual innuendo and political debates. Meta also will provide a report via advertising measurement firm Zefr showing Facebook advertisers the precise content that appeared near their ads and how it was categorized. Marketers have long advocated for greater control over where their ads appear online, complaining that big social media companies do too little to prevent ads from showing alongside hate speech, fake news and other offensive content. Under a deal brokered several months later, the company, now called Meta, agreed to develop tools to "better manage advertising adjacency," among other concessions. However, she cautioned that the pricing dynamic could change, given the auction-based nature of Meta's ads system and the reduction in inventory associated with any restrictions.

"Phhhoto has failed in its 69-page amended complaint of 222 paragraphs to allege sufficient facts that cure the untimeliness of all of its federal claims," Matsumoto wrote. The court declined to allow Phhhoto to fine-tune its case and bring another complaint. Phhhoto's lawsuit, filed in 2021, alleged Facebook aimed to "crush" the photo-sharing application, which called itself in court filings "an innovative nascent competitor." Facebook is defending against claims from the U.S. Federal Trade Commission in Washington, D.C., federal court that the company abused its personal social networking dominance. The case is Phhhoto Inc v Meta Platforms, U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of New York, No.

☆ The Metaverse Is Quickly Turning Into the Meh-taverse
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-29 | by ( Meghan Bobrowsky | ) www.wsj.com time to read: 1 min

The metaverse that was the hot thing in tech less than two years ago has cooled. Walt Disney Co. has shut down the division that was developing its metaverse strategies, The Wall Street Journal reported this week. Microsoft Corp. recently shut down a social virtual-reality platform it acquired in 2017. And Mark Zuckerberg, who renamed Facebook to Meta Platforms Inc. to signal his seriousness about the metaverse, focused more on artificial intelligence on an earnings call last month.

☆ Alibaba shares soar 15% in Hong Kong on news of major overhaul
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-29 | by ( Jihye Lee | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +2 min

Signage at the Alibaba Group Holding Ltd. offices in Beijing, China, on Tuesday, Jan. 17, 2023. Hong Kong-listed shares of Alibaba surged 15% at the open on Wednesday after the company announced a significant overhaul to split the tech giant into six business groups. On Wall Street overnight, Alibaba stocks soared to close 14.26% higher. The decision to split into different units means each will be managed by its own leadership and executive board, and can pursue independent fundraising and IPOs when they're ready. The company said the move aims to "unlock shareholder value."

[1/3] A 3D printed Meta logo is seen in front of displayed Google logo in this illustration taken on November 2, 2021. If upheld, their appeals could establish jurisprudence for future cases concerning liability for internet content, at a time when social media companies are under pressure in Brazil due to a surge of political disinformation. According to Ruf, declaring it unconstitutional would increase removals of subjective content, including critical content that is important for democratic public debate. In mid-March, Brazil's government said it was planning to regulate internet platforms to reduce misinformation but also to tax platforms making money from advertising. Google Brasil lawyer Guilherme Sanchez said the company does not wait for court orders to remove content from its platforms.

☆ Facebook Parent Meta Plans Lower Bonus Payouts for Some Staff
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-28 | by ( Salvador Rodriguez | ) www.wsj.com time to read: 1 min

Facebook parent Meta Platforms Inc. plans to lower some bonus payouts and to assess employee performance more frequently, according to an internal memo, amid a sweeping revamp of the social-media company that includes large head-count reductions. Employees who are given a rating of “met most expectations” in their 2023 year-end reviews are set to receive a smaller percentage of their bonus and restricted stock award due in March 2024, the social-media company on Monday told managers in a memo viewed by The Wall Street Journal. The bonus multiplier for that grade has been cut to 65%, according to the memo. It was 85%, according to an internal document viewed by the Journal.

☆ Facebook Parent Plans Lower Bonus Payouts for Some Staff
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-28 | by ( Salvador Rodriguez | ) www.wsj.com time to read: 1 min

Meta is among the growing number of tech employers cutting staff and trying to trim costs. Facebook parent Meta Platforms Inc. plans to lower some bonus payouts and will more frequently assess employee performance, according to an internal memo, part of a sweeping revamp of the social-media company that includes large head-count reductions. Employees who are given a rating of “met most expectations” in their 2023 year-end reviews are set to receive a smaller percentage of their bonus and restricted stock award due in March 2024, the social-media giant on Monday told managers in a memo viewed by The Wall Street Journal. The bonus multiplier for that grade has been cut to 65%, according to the memo. It was 85%, according to an internal document viewed by the Journal.

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