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☆ Winklevoss twins take strike two with crypto hype
▼ + stars: | 2023-07-11 | by ( Anita Ramaswamy | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

The Winklevii, as they came to be known after “The Social Network” movie debuted, are suing another former friend – crypto baron Barry Silbert. That indicates some investors still believe in crypto even if they’ve lost faith in its former stars. Much like social media, the Winklevii seem to be on the losing end of the crypto streak, too. Follow @AnitaRamaswamy on TwitterCONTEXT NEWSOn July 7, cryptocurrency exchange Gemini sued Digital Currency Group, the parent company of now-bankrupt crypto lender Genesis, seeking over $1.1 billion. Gemini co-founder Cameron Winklevoss claimed in a July 7 Twitter post that DCG and Silbert were partially responsible for losses affecting thousands of Gemini users.

Persons: Tyler, Cameron Winklevoss, Mark Zuckerberg, Barry Silbert, Silbert, DCG, they’ve, Lauren Silva Laughlin, Sharon Lam Organizations: YORK, Reuters, Facebook, Social Network, Digital Currency Group, Gemini, Wall Street, Fidelity, Twitter, Genesis’s, Thomson Locations: bitcoin, BlackRock, U.S

☆ Meta’s Threads isn’t worth 11 Twitters
▼ + stars: | 2023-07-07 | by ( Lauren Silva Laughlin | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

On Wednesday, he launched a Twitter competitor, Threads, promptly encouraging Twitter to threaten to sue. Zuckerberg isn’t doing shareholders any favors. It’s less clear if Twitter’s users have moved, but in that sense, Threads may hurt Meta more than it helps. Even if Threads were to put Twitter out of business, that exercise isn’t worth 11 Twitters. Follow @thereallsl on TwitterCONTEXT NEWSTwitter has threatened to sue Meta Platforms over its new Threads app, Reuters reported on July 6.

Persons: Elon Musk, Mark Zuckerberg, Zuckerberg, Musk, Meta, Jennifer Saba, Sharon Lam Organizations: YORK, Reuters, Twitter, Elon, Facebook, Apple, Public, Meta, Semafor, Thomson Locations: Instagram

☆ Supreme Court knocks Fed diversity goal down a peg
▼ + stars: | 2023-07-05 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

WASHINGTON, July 5 (Reuters Breakingviews) - The U.S. Supreme Court just made the Federal Reserve’s job more difficult. The ruling could make future workforces more homogeneous and, in turn, throws a new obstacle in the way of the Fed’s goal for diverse employment. Getting that back to 2% from the current 4% pace remains the central bank’s “top priority,” Powell said last month. While white unemployment hit 3.3% in May, Black unemployment rebounded to 5.6%, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics. As Powell moves further away from his goal of inclusivity, the Supreme Court’s decision means closing that gap will probably take even longer.

Persons: Jerome Powell, it’s, ” Powell, Powell, Ben Winck, Lauren Silva Laughlin, Sharon Lam Organizations: Reuters, U.S, Supreme, Bureau of Labor Statistics, inclusivity, Twitter, KKR, Thomson Locations: China

☆ LinkedIn ages like fine wine in Microsoft’s cellar
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-28 | by ( Lauren Silva Laughlin | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +5 min

NEW YORK, June 28 (Reuters Breakingviews) - Most corporate acquisitions deteriorate over time, but Microsoft’s (MSFT.O) $26 billion deal for LinkedIn keeps getting better. Buying LinkedIn was a bold step for Satya Nadella, who became the software goliath’s third chief executive in early 2014. Paying a 50% premium for LinkedIn and its 430 million users made it one of the technology industry’s largest deals ever and by far Microsoft’s biggest. The war over the “Call of Duty” maker is just one of many things happening at Microsoft that’s overshadowing LinkedIn. Those market dynamics have buoyed LinkedIn, which was only generating $3 billion in revenue when Microsoft bought it.

Persons: Satya Nadella, Steve Ballmer, There’s, Mark Zuckerberg, Tesla, Elon Musk, faddish, Microsoft’s, It’s, Jeffrey Goldfarb, Sharon Lam Organizations: YORK, Reuters, LinkedIn, Nokia, aQuantive, Activision, Microsoft, Facebook, Twitter, Sprout Social, Bing, Thomson

☆ Corporate boycotts clash with political reality
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-15 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

WASHINGTON, June 15 (Reuters Breakingviews) - Republicans are firing from the hip when it comes to corporate boycotts. Conservative Americans’ changing beer habits may have contributed to Bud Light being pulled from its spot as the number one beer in the United States for the first time in more than two decades. In May, Bud Light sales dropped a quarter compared to the same month last year, consulting companies Bump Williams and NielsenIQ said Wednesday. As conservatives encourage consumption based on political views, they may in some cases pull cash from their own pockets. They do not reflect the views of Reuters News, which, under the Trust Principles, is committed to integrity, independence, and freedom from bias.

Persons: Bud Light, Marjorie Taylor Greene, Ted Cruz, Marsha Blackburn of, Busch, influencer Dylan Mulvaney, Bud, Bump Williams, NielsenIQ, Ben Winck, Lauren Silva Laughlin, Streisand Neto Organizations: Reuters, Conservative, Republican, Anheuser, Bud Light, Democratic, Constellation Brands, Target, Twitter, Thomson Locations: United States, Marjorie Taylor Greene of Georgia, Ted Cruz of Texas, Marsha Blackburn of Tennessee

☆ What Wheel of Fortune can do, Wall Street can, too
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-14 | by ( Lauren Silva Laughlin | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

NEW YORK, June 13 (Reuters Breakingviews) - “Wheel of Fortune” is finally going to get a new host. The charade that unfolds nightly on traditional American television has similarities to Wall Street. And earlier this year Sajak’s daughter replaced White as the letter-turner for one game where White became a contestant. And while “Wheel of Fortune” fans and behind-the-scenes crew may feel as if the wheels won’t turn in quite the same way without their leading man around, it’s likely that Sajak – and his Wall Street counterparts – can step aside knowing the game will still go on. Follow @thereallsl on TwitterCONTEXT NEWSPat Sajak, host of gameshow "Wheel of Fortune," plans to retire at the end of his upcoming record 41st year, he said on June 12.

Persons: ”, Pat Sajak, He’s, Sajak, Vanna White, Jamie Dimon, Larry Fink, White, –, I've, It's, John Foley, Streisand Neto Organizations: YORK, Reuters, Entertainment, Twitter, Thomson Locations: U.S, gameshow’s

☆ Pampered pets unleash booming market: podcast
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-06 | by ( Lauren Silva Laughlin | ) www.reuters.com time to read: 1 min

NEW YORK, June 6 (Reuters Breakingviews) - The pet craze brought on by the pandemic has become a boon for companies that sell products to dog-loving owners. FidoCure founder Christina Lopes explains to The Exchange podcast how this might be able to help humans, too. Listen to the podcastFollow @thereallsl on TwitterSubscribe to Breakingviews’ podcasts, Viewsroom and The Exchange. Editing by Katrina HamlinOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles. They do not reflect the views of Reuters News, which, under the Trust Principles, is committed to integrity, independence, and freedom from bias.

Persons: Christina Lopes, Katrina Hamlin Organizations: YORK, Reuters, Exchange, Twitter, Thomson

☆ Apple could overcome VR’s nerd and creepy factors
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-06 | by ( Robert Cyran | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

NEW YORK, June 6 (Reuters Breakingviews) - To be successful at launching a new technological device, a company must overcome both nerd and creepy factors. Meta Platforms (META.O), after buying headset company Oculus in 2014, uses its products to push Mark Zuckerberg's pet project, the Metaverse. And people may still be uncomfortable about switching between the real world and the virtual one. But as far as finding a device that is both aesthetic and copacetic, Apple's real world experience suggests it has a better chance at success than others. Follow @rob_cyran on TwitterCONTEXT NEWSApple revealed Vision Pro, the company’s virtual and augmented reality headset on June 5.

Persons: Tim Cook, Mark, Cook, Tim Cook’s, Lauren Silva Laughlin, Katrina Hamlin Organizations: YORK, Reuters, Apple, Google, Meta, Thomson

NEW YORK, June 6 (Reuters Breakingviews) - Sequoia is blazing another new trail in venture capital. As one of Silicon Valley’s pioneers, Sequoia Capital has backed everything from Apple (AAPL.O) to Zoom Video Communications (ZM.O) over the past half-century, and many others in between, including Instagram, 23andMe (ME.O) and DoorDash (DASH.N). The world has changed, however – and changed yet again – since Sequoia opened its doors. Valentine named Sequoia after a tree that lives thousands of years, signifying a plan to survive and grow through any sort of climate. Follow @thereallsl on TwitterFollow @anshumandaga on TwitterCONTEXT NEWSVenture capital firm Sequoia Capital said on June 6 that it would separate its China, India and Southeast Asia, and U.S. and European arms into three businesses.

Persons: Don Valentine, – Roelof Botha, Neil Shen, Shailendra Singh –, Valentine, Sequoia, ByteDance, Jeffrey Goldfarb, Sharon Lam Organizations: YORK, Reuters, Sequoia Capital, Apple, Video Communications, Investments, HK, Sequoia, Venture, Thomson Locations: China, India, U.S, Sequoia, Southeast Asia, United States, Mumbai, Shanghai

☆ Binance charges are a last gasp for crypto
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-05 | by ( Anita Ramaswamy | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +4 min

NEW YORK, June 5 (Reuters Breakingviews) - Binance founder Changpeng Zhao doesn’t have much to look forward to. The SEC alleges that Binance knowingly helped U.S. customers trade illegally on its exchange. Binance, in a blog post, trotted out a familiar crypto defense: The SEC, which has been vague on how cryptocurrency should be regulated, is beyond its reach. In March, the U.S. Commodity Futures Trading Commission filed similar charges against the company. Follow @AnitaRamaswamy on TwitterCONTEXT NEWSThe U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission is suing Binance, the world’s largest cryptocurrency exchange by volume.

Persons: Changpeng Zhao doesn’t, Zhao, –, Sam Bankman, Fried, Binance, Gary Gensler, FTX, Changpeng Zhao, Richard Teng, Coindesk, Teng, Zhao “, Lauren Silva Laughlin, Sharon Lam Organizations: YORK, Reuters, U.S . Securities, Exchange Commission, SEC, U.S . Commodity Futures Trading Commission, U.S . Federal Trade Commission, U.S . Commodities Futures, Commission, Thomson Locations: United States, U.S

☆ Economic policies sacrifice poor Americans
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-02 | by ( Lauren Silva Laughlin | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

NEW YORK, June 2 (Reuters Breakingviews) - Dollar General (DG.N), the ultra-low-cost retailer with 19,000 stores reaching 75% of the U.S. population, has never been a comfortable reflection of the American consumer. That underscores troubling consequences of current U.S. economic policy: the poor are being sacrificed. Over the past two decades, dollar stores have upended how the cross section of the United States shops. In smaller towns, Dollar General and competitors including Dollar Tree (DLTR.O) offer cheap and accessible groceries. Reuters GraphicsIn the past week, U.S. Congress has continued to roll back policies that would help Americans with less to go around.

Persons: Jeffery Owen, Lululemon, Nordstrom, Ralph Lauren’s, Joe Biden’s, Lululemon Athletica’s, Erik Nordstrom, Jennifer Saba, Sharon Lam Organizations: YORK, Reuters, Dollar, Walmart, Shoppers, Reuters Graphics, Congress, Thomson Locations: United States

☆ Debt deal sacrifices $140 bln return on investment
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-31 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

The budget deal agreed to by President Joe Biden and top congressional Republican Kevin McCarthy would move $20 billion away from the Internal Revenue Service over the next two years. The change shores up cash for other agencies, but projections suggest the IRS funding would’ve made a significant step toward closing the government’s $925 billion budget gap. Biden approved $80 billion of new cash for the IRS in 2021, arguing the funding would strengthen enforcement and increase revenue collected by Uncle Sam. The CBO estimated in 2021 that for every $1 increase to IRS funding the government would recoup $6.40 to $7.10. The $20 billion being diverted from the agency could therefore raise as much as $142 billion through 2031.

Persons: Joe Biden, Kevin McCarthy, would’ve, Biden, Uncle Sam, Ben Winck, Lauren Silva Laughlin, Sharon Lam Organizations: Reuters, U.S, Internal Revenue Service, Office, CBO, IRS, White, Twitter, Toyota, Lufthansa, Thomson Locations: Saudi, East, Italy

NEW YORK, May 30 (Reuters Breakingviews) - Nvidia (NVDA.O) has made a boisterous entry to the $1 trillion club, but it might not remain there for long. While Nvidia has been around for ages – it was founded in 1993, making it older than Amazon and Alphabet – its valuation growth of late has been prodigious. Its trip from $500 billion to $1 trillion has taken about 500 days, which is about one-third what it took Apple. Unlike Apple or Google-owner Alphabet, the brand has little consumer cachet to fall back upon. Alphabet, Amazon.com, Apple, and Microsoft are the four other United States-based companies worth over $1 trillion, according to Refinitiv data.

Persons: Jensen Huang, Lauren Silva Laughlin, Sharon Lam Organizations: YORK, Reuters, Nvidia, Tuesday, Apple, Microsoft, Amazon, Twitter, Thomson Locations: States

☆ Breakingviews: Biden gives little, gets less in debt ceiling deal
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-28 | by ( Ben Winck | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +4 min

WASHINGTON, May 28 (Reuters Breakingviews) - For President Joe Biden, a debt-ceiling victory comes with a bittersweet taste. The White House and top congressional Republican Kevin McCarthy reached a tentative deal for lifting the government’s borrowing limit on Saturday night. After months of negotiation, Biden and McCarthy reached an agreement just nine days before U.S. Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen said the country was expected to run out of cash. The deal lifts the debt ceiling about $4 trillion from its current level of $31.4 trillion, extending the government’s borrowing power for two more years. Follow @BenWinck on TwitterCONTEXT NEWSThe Biden administration and top congressional Republican Kevin McCarthy reached an agreement in principle on May 27 for raising the U.S. government’s debt ceiling.

☆ Economic stability hangs on US love of BBQ
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-26 | by ( Lauren Silva Laughlin | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

NEW YORK, May 26 (Reuters Breakingviews) - The threat of U.S. default isn’t the only thing bringing lawmakers to the negotiating table. That unofficial deadline adds urgency, and also makes it likely that a deal will be no better than just good enough. But lawmakers are also ditching Washington ahead of Memorial Day, a U.S. holiday marking the start of warmer months. In the meantime, a banking crisis, inflation crisis, and potential economic crisis are all pushed into the background. Investors will come back from their weekend of burgers and beer and see stability, which means they will be ready to take risks again.

☆ Meta becomes cross-border tech mascot
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-22 | by ( Anita Ramaswamy | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

NEW YORK, May 22 (Reuters Breakingviews) - Meta Platforms (META.O) is acting as a Big Tech mascot in a cross-border decision about the transfer of data. The $1.3 billion fine is a drop in the bucket for Meta, which has over $40 billion in its cash coffers. The decision, handed down from the Irish Data Protection Commission, gives Meta until October to completely cease moving data from Europe to the United States. Rather, the tension between data and the cross-border watchdogs can become more troubling for U.S.-based Big Tech. The decision gives Meta five months to stop transferring users’ data to the United States.

☆ JPMorgan finds jewels in US banking ashes
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-22 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

NEW YORK, May 22 (Reuters Breakingviews) - JPMorgan (JPM.N) boss Jamie Dimon didn’t buy First Republic Bank in a crisis-hewn weekend deal just for the fuzzy glow from helping to stabilize the U.S. banking system. The giant lender laid out some of the impact of acquiring First Republic out of receivership in its investor day on Monday. There’s the $3 billion of contribution to net interest income from the deal, boosting this year’s expected total to $84 billion. More enticing, perhaps, is the $200 billion in wealth-management money the bank has taken from its defunct rival, along with roughly 200 advisers. JPMorgan is so big, with nearly $4 trillion of assets, it’s hard to move the needle in regular banking.

☆ Office landlords are in store for retail redux
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-19 | by ( Jennifer Saba | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

NEW YORK, May 19 (Reuters Breakingviews) - Office landlords are in store for pain, but there’s a light at the end of the hallway. Though vacancy rates in the United States recently hit a 30-year high, owners of retail space – shopping malls and grocery stores – have shown that a bounce back is possible. A reset is in store, but the best office landlords can make it, too. But retail real estate, which includes everything from malls to shopping centers, went through its own misery. It might be a slog, as retail shows, but office could be in store for a redux.

☆ Breakingviews: Disney can play Scrooge with Florida
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-19 | by ( Lauren Silva Laughlin | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

NEW YORK, May 18 (Reuters Breakingviews) - Walt Disney (DIS.N) isn’t mickey-mousing around. Disney’s threatened retreat from the state is meaningful, and it can get worse for the state’s leader, Governor Ron DeSantis. But overall, Disney is one of the largest employers in Florida, and a massive contributor to the tourism economy. Follow @thereallsl on TwitterCONTEXT NEWSWalt Disney is cancelling plans to build a nearly $1 billion corporate campus, according to an email to employees on Thursday. Disney parks chief Josh D'Amaro said "changing business conditions" prompted Disney to reconsider its 2021 plan to relocate employees.

☆ Disney can play Scrooge with Florida
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-19 | by ( Lauren Silva Laughlin | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

☆ Supreme Court gifts Big Tech best kind of boring
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-19 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

WASHINGTON, May 19 (Reuters Breakingviews) - American tech giants have two new things to celebrate, and one less thing to worry about. The U.S. Supreme Court on Thursday unanimously protected Twitter from being sued for militant-group content on its platform. Together, the rulings reinforce internet platforms’ legal shield and kick a regulatory crackdown further down the road. With the Supreme Court siding in their favor, Big Tech can breathe a sigh of relief. The Supreme Court ruling leaves that debate stuck in Congress, exactly where tech giants want it.

☆ Debt-ceiling talks are more theater than substance
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-16 | by ( Ben Winck | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

U.S. President Joe Biden will meet with congressional leaders including House Speaker Kevin McCarthy on Tuesday to attempt to make progress on talks to raise the debt ceiling. The two efforts would raise $33 billion over the next decade, the Congressional Budget Office estimated last month. Biden also signaled openness to a two-year limit on government spending, Roll Call reported last week, which would raise an estimated $331 billion. loadingComing to terms on these pieces likely means both sides agree to raise the debt limit and push a new budget through. Failure to raise the debt ceiling could leave the government unable to pay its bills and trigger a historic sovereign default.

☆ Gig work value is too great to rush a US overhaul
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-11 | by ( Ben Winck | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +4 min

Julie Su, the president’s choice for labor secretary, has a history of redefining gig work. And while health insurance and retirement savings are valuable perks, gig workers view flexibility in the same way. Half of surveyed gig workers, meanwhile, make less than a quarter of their income from freelancing. Gig work has also grown alongside traditional employment, not at its expense. With most gig workers happy as they are, a one-size-fits-all rethink threatens pointless harm to a growing corner of the economy.

☆ Mattress M&A is stuffed with sweet dreams
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-10 | by ( Lauren Silva Laughlin | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

Memory foam bedmaker Tempur Sealy International (TPX.N)agreed to buy rival Mattress Firm in a $4 billion cash-and-stock deal that combines manufacturing and retail. Mattress Firm filed for bankruptcy in 2018. Tempur’s superior 17% EBITDA margin, nearly double that of Mattress Firm, also helps make a deal stack up. Boosting Mattress Firm’s operating profitability from 10% to 13% could double those synergy projections. The buyer will retain slightly more than 83% of the combined company while Mattress Firm’s owners will hold the rest.

☆ Amazon applies therapy to retail
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-09 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

Rising costs and customers battered by inflation are hampering Amazon’s efforts to get its retail division on a path to sustainable profitability. While the rate of sales growth has outstripped growth in costs of distribution, the retail business over the past 12 months has lost $8 billion. More important, investors haven’t loved the idea of subsidizing delivery costs at the expense of profit. Applying therapy to its retailing business won’t change its consumers’ co-dependency. They do not reflect the views of Reuters News, which, under the Trust Principles, is committed to integrity, independence, and freedom from bias.

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