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☆ Investing in Space: Is SpaceX's Starlink growing satellite internet market share, or taking it?
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-18 | by ( Michael Sheetz | In Michaeljsheetz | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +4 min

CNBC's Investing in Space newsletter offers a view into the business of space exploration and privatization, delivered straight to your inbox. Just over two and a half years after SpaceX's Starlink first rolled out its beta service, the satellite internet company now has more than 1.5 million subscribers. Starlink "introduced a service that leapfrogs the capability, although not quite the cost," of existing satellite and terrestrial competitors. Brazil, he noted, is the most dramatic example of Starlink taking share from incumbent satellite providers, where Starlink has added nearly the same amount of customers that Hughes has lost. With Starlink going after nearly every market vertical – from consumers to governments and everything in between – Prokosh noted customers are often just adding Starlink to existing options.

☆ Ron Johnson insists he won't pocket $8.4 million from donors. But thanks to Ted Cruz, he could legally do exactly that.
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-17 | by ( Bryan Metzger | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +8 min

That's due to a Supreme Court case won last year by Ted Cruz, who defended Johnson repaying himself. In October quarterly filings, Johnson's campaign declared that it was reinstating $8.4 million in loans, citing Ted Cruz vs. FEC. Furthermore, the door is now open for other self-funding candidates to demand payback of campaign loans that they had previously forgiven. And prior to Johnson telling Insider that he wouldn't seek a loan repayment, Cruz vociferously defended the hypothetical repayment. "It is perfectly reasonable that Ron Johnson, after 10 years of making an interest-free loan to the American people, can pay back his own money," Cruz added.

☆ JPMorgan and Barclays back $4.5 billion insurance tech giant Wefox
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-17 | by ( Ryan Browne | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +4 min

German digital insurer Wefox said Wednesday it raised $110 million of fresh funding from backers including JPMorgan and Barclays . The news marks a vote of confidence for the insurance technology space at a time when it faces tough macroeconomic headwinds. Wefox is a Berlin, Germany-based firm focused on personal insurance products, such as home insurance, motor insurance and personal liability insurance. Wefox said it raised the fresh funds through a combination of debt financing and fresh equity. A further of $55 million equity investment was led by Squarepoint Capital, a global investment management firm with $75.7 billion in assets under management.

☆ Consumer spending trailing consumer sentiment lower. Look at Home Depot
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-16 | by ( Bob Pisani | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +6 min

Recent consumer sentiment reports have been poor, so it's reasonable to assume the consumer spending backdrop has softened. The company is cutting guidance due to the weaker lumber prices, weather and is also citing "further softening of demand relative to our expectations, and continued uncertainty regarding consumer demand." If we are on the side of the American consumer (I am), then lower lumber prices are good, right? Running shoes are hot. Second case in point: On Holding (ONON), which makes the trendy ON running shoes, is up 94% YTD.

☆ OpenAI CEO wows lawmakers at closed dinner: 'Fantastic…forthcoming'
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-16 | by ( Lauren Feiner | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +6 min

OpenAI CEO Sam Altman spoke to an engaged crowd of about 60 lawmakers at a dinner Monday about the advanced artificial technology his company produces and the challenges of regulating it. The wide-ranging discussion that lasted about two hours came ahead of Altman's first time testifying before Congress at a Senate Judiciary subcommittee on privacy and technology hearing on Tuesday. The dinner discussion comes at a peak moment for AI, which has thoroughly captured Congress' fascination. "There isn't any question where he pulls back on anything," she said, adding that lawmakers had very thoughtful things to ask. Khanna said the question of openness of the model is something he's discussed with Altman before, though not at Monday's dinner.

While Alphabet has had a strong 2023, Loop Capital thinks the proliferation of artificial intelligence could hinder the stock going forward. Loop downgraded Alphabet to hold from buy. We disagree however with management's characterization that AI proliferation is similar [to] the transition to mobile. Loop found that following Meta, Alphabet has the highest total GAAP expenses per employee among the big four tech names including Microsoft and Apple. "We think long-term structural uncertainties surrounding the AI transition will keep investors nervous as the landscape evolves and put a ceiling on valuation," said the analyst.

☆ Google just showed how Big Tech will win again in AI
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-12 | by ( Hugh Langley | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +6 min

OpenAI and other AI startups will struggle to match this reach, unless they team up with other tech giants, like Microsoft. After Google I/O this week, it's looking like AI will be another 80/20 situation where a few Big Tech companies benefit the most. Some examples:In Google Docs, ask Google's AI model to help you write a job description. For a Google Slides presentation with photos, you can ask the company's AI model to create speaker notes based on the images. Insider ran into a high-level Google product manager at the conference who'd just watched a developer presentation.

☆ Ambani’s finance listing will measure disruption
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-11 | by ( Shritama Bose | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

Back in 2019 the boss of $200 billion Reliance Industries (RELI.NS) had pledged to spin out its giant retail and digital units. He has since lured big strategic and financial investors including Meta (META.O), Alphabet’s (GOOGL.O) Google and KKR (KKR.N)into those businesses. Jio Financial could be listed as soon as September. The entity will be renamed Jio Financial Services. Jio Financial will list as soon as September, a person familiar with the situation told Breakingviews.

☆ ISS backs all four ValueAct director candidates in Seven & I boardroom fight
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-10 | by ( Svea Herbst-Bayliss | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

"A vote AGAINST company nominees Isaka, Goto, Yonemura, (Shinji) Wada and (Fuminao) Hachiuma is warranted." ISS said ValueAct is calling for a deliberate succession process for the CEO. On Tuesday, ISS extended support for ValueAct's campaign by endorsing all of its candidates and spelling out where the company has faltered. ValueAct and other investors had urged the company to undertake a strategic review and consider spinning off its 7-Eleven chain or selling the entire company. ISS said that ValueAct's nominees bring board experience, capital allocation and executive experience, and Levinson would add a shareholder perspective.

☆ Digital health faces the same hurdle as fintech: Get profitable or get lost.
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-10 | by ( Dan Defrancesco | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +6 min

Digital health, once the darling of the healthcare industry, is having a tough go of it. After a pandemic-fueled surge when health services and offerings utilizing tech were prioritized, digital health has come back down to earth. The similarities between digital health and fintech are striking. For both fintechs and digital health, this year has served as a reminder that they're only partly tech companies. Click here for predictions from 16 bankers and dealmakers on the future of digital health.

☆ FTC Chair Khan on regulation: To ensure incumbents don't squash competition with existing dominance
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-10 | by ( ) www.cnbc.com time to read: 1 min

Share Share Article via Facebook Share Article via Twitter Share Article via LinkedIn Share Article via EmailFTC Chair Khan on regulation: To ensure incumbents don't squash competition with existing dominanceFTC Chair Lina Khan joins 'Squawk Box' to discuss the push for A.I. regulation, the Microsoft-Activision merger, the enforcement of antitrust & consumer protection laws, and more.

☆ ISS backs all 4 ValueAct director candidates in Seven & I boardroom fight
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-09 | by ( Svea Herbst-Bayliss | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

"A vote AGAINST company nominees Isaka, Goto, Yonemura, (Shinji) Wada and (Fuminao) Hachiuma is warranted." ISS said ValueAct is calling for a deliberate succession process for the CEO. On Tuesday, ISS extended support for ValueAct's campaign by endorsing all of its candidates and spelling out where the company has faltered. ISS said that ValueAct's nominees bring board experience, capital allocation and executive experience, and Levinson would add a shareholder perspective. ValueAct has experience on boards at Japanese companies, having won seats at Olympus and JSR Corp.

☆ The 2023 CNBC Disruptor 50: How we chose the companies
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-09 | by ( David Spiegel | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +5 min

The last Disruptor 50 company to go public was Gojek, which debuted on the Indonesia Stock Exchange more than a year ago. The last Disruptor 50 IPO in the U.S. market, Nubank , happened on December 9, 2021. Here's how we chose them:All private, independently owned startup companies founded after Jan. 1, 2008, were eligible to be nominated for the Disruptor 50 list. The 2023 list also features the first founder to have two companies make the Disruptor 50 (Rodney Williams of SoLo Funds). Imagine what that number could have been a year or two ago …Special thanks to the 2023 CNBC Disruptor 50 Advisory Council, who again offered us their time and insights.

☆ Fintech Finix is now a payments processor. The startup's CEO details how it wants to upend the industry and take on industry giants like Fiserv and FIS.
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-04 | by ( Paige Hagy | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +4 min

Finix is now a payments processor, Insider has learned. The financial-technology startup is now a payments processor in addition to being a payments facilitator, Insider has learned. By becoming a payments processor, Finix is reducing the number of third-parties in a given transaction as it looks to compete against legacy processors such as Fiserv and FIS. As a processor, Finix can own yet another portion of the payments' lifecycle. And while a legacy processor can take up to 24 hours to test new code, Finix takes 30 minutes.

☆ Fintech Finix just became a payments processor as the startup looks to compete with industry giants like Fiserv and FIS
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-02 | by ( Paige Hagy | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +4 min

☆ Opinion | The ‘Woke Mind Virus’ Is Eating Away at Republicans’ Brains
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-02 | by ( Jamelle Bouie | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

There’s the Electoral College, which could still favor the Republican Party just enough to give Trump 270 electoral votes, even if he doesn’t win a popular majority. There’s Biden’s overall standing — around 43 percent of Americans approve of his job performance — which doesn’t compare favorably with past incumbents who did win re-election. And even if it doesn’t, Biden will still have presided over the highest inflation rate since the 1980s. Lastly, there’s Biden himself. But Biden’s biggest advantage has to do with the opposition — the Republican Party has gotten weird.

☆ Opinion | A Hot Mess in the Georgia Republican Party
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-01 | by ( Michelle Cottle | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +2 min

At what point does this party become mostly a bastion of wingnuts, spiraling into chaos and irrelevance? Just cast your eyes upon Georgia, one of the nation’s electoral battlegrounds, where the state Republican Party has gone so far down the MAGA rabbit hole that many of its officeholders — including Gov. The backstory: Some Republican incumbents took offense last year when the Georgia G.O.P.’s Trump-smitten chairman, David Shafer, backed Trump-preferred challengers in the primaries. (Mr. Trump, you will recall, was desperate to unseat several Republicans after they declined to help him steal the 2020 election.) “That’s a burn that’s hard to get over,” says Brian Robinson, a Republican strategist who served as an adviser to former Gov.

☆ Hakeem Jeffries is enjoying an early honeymoon leading House Democrats. But one day, he'll have to make 'hard commitments.'
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-01 | by ( Bryan Metzger | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +16 min

House Democrats say Hakeem Jeffries is a better listener and is more consensus-oriented than Pelosi. There's one big reason for it: House Democrats can't pass any of their own bills right now. Pelosi and Jeffries on the House floor after she announced she would step down from party leadership on November 17, 2022. 'He gets it'Jeffries, 52, has enjoyed a rapid ascent to the top of the Democratic caucus. "There were always very different views within the Democratic caucus on people who voted their district," said Slotkin.

☆ The 10 Senate seats most likely to flip in 2024
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-30 | by ( Simone Pathe | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +19 min

The GOP needs a net gain of one or two seats to flip the chamber, depending on which party wins the White House in 2024, and it’s Democrats who are defending the tougher seats. Jim Justice announcing his Senate bid in West Virginia – the seat most likely to flip party control in 2024. In a presidential year, the national environment is likely to loom large, especially with battleground states hosting key Senate races. Two businessmen with the ability to tap into or raise significant resources could be in the mix – Eric Hovde, who lost the GOP Senate nomination in 2012, and Scott Mayer. Still, unseating Cruz in a state Trump won by nearly 6 points in 2020 will be a tall order.

☆ Ron DeSantis is polling at RFK Jr.'s level
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-30 | by ( Harry Enten | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +5 min

Ron DeSantis has spent the past few months running to the right ahead of his expected entry into the 2024 Republican presidential primary campaign. So far at least, those efforts have not paid off in Republican primary polling, with DeSantis falling further behind the current front-runner, former President Donald Trump. Early polling problemsThe Fox poll is not alone in showing DeSantis floundering. Candidates polling the way DeSantis is now have gone on to win about 20% of the time. Moderates and liberals made up about 30% of potential Republican primary voters in the Quinnipiac poll.

☆ Elon Musk's potential plan for turning Twitter into a super app is an uphill battle. These are the 3 biggest things holding the strategy back, according to experts.
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-27 | by ( Paige Hagy | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +8 min

And while he's never publically detailed specific plans for a super app, recent changes at Twitter offer some clues. He first teased his intentions to transform Twitter into a super app called "X" prior to acquiring it in October 2022. It 'makes no sense' to build on TwitterFor starters, Twitter is a peculiar place to build a super app, some experts said. A super app in the US is difficultPerhaps a bigger issue not specific to Musk's plans for Twitter is whether a super app in the US is even possible. So if anyone can build a super app in the US, it would be him.

☆ Elon Musk's everything app could include Twitter. But industry experts can't make sense of the strategy.
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-26 | by ( Paige Hagy | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +8 min

Elon Musk wants to create a US super app, but industry experts have some concerns. And while he's never publically detailed specific plans for a super app, recent changes at Twitter offer some clues. He first teased his intentions to transform Twitter into a super app called "X" prior to acquiring it in October 2022. It 'makes no sense' to build on TwitterFor starters, Twitter is a peculiar place to build a super app, some experts said. A super app in the US is difficultPerhaps a bigger issue not specific to Musk's plans for Twitter is whether a super app in the US is even possible.

☆ Biden vs. Trump? Why 2024 could be the most boring presidential primary season ever
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-23 | by ( Harry Enten | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +6 min

At this point, Biden doesn’t look likely to break that streak. First, primary endorsements are as good a predictor at this point of primary success as polling is. Second, it’s true that Democratic primary voters tell pollsters they are open to listening to a credible challenger to Biden. So it’s not like Democratic voters will be kicking and screaming if they have to support Biden for another term. Trump, like Biden, seems to have two things going for him: a large share of Republican voters and the party behind him.

☆ Elon Musk spoke about crystal balls, bank lending, self-driving cars and lithium refineries this week. Here are his 10 best quotes from Tesla's Q1 earnings call.
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-22 | by ( Theron Mohamed | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +4 min

Elon Musk spoke about banks, self-driving cars, crystal balls, and lithium refineries this week. He warned of "stormy weather" ahead and said rate hikes, layoff fears, and bank lending are worries. (Musk was discussing Tesla's Dojo's supercomputer platform, and nodding to the failure of Silicon Valley Bank and Signature Bank in March.) (Musk was hinting at a possible credit crunch if banks, facing deposit outflows and the prospect of further bank runs, pull back on lending.) (Musk was outlining his vision of eventually rolling out autonomous driving to all Tesla vehicles via a software update, allowing them to serve as robotaxis and generate income.)

US President Joe Biden during an event at the International Union of Operating Engineers Local 77 training center in Accokeek, Maryland, on Wednesday, April 19, 2023. President Joe Biden is preparing to make his intention to seek a second term official next week, with advisers planning to launch his re-election campaign as soon as Tuesday, three sources familiar with the plans said. And as he did four years ago, Biden would launch his candidacy with a campaign video message, the sources said. The Washington Post first reported that Biden is preparing to announce his re-election bid next week. The timing and method of the announcement mirror how the Obama-Biden ticket launched its re-election bid in 2011.

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