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☆ Paul Singer, the Man Who Saw the Economic Crises Coming
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-08 | by ( James Freeman | ) www.wsj.com time to read: 1 min

New York“Men and nations behave wisely,” the Israeli statesman Abba Eban observed, “when they have exhausted all other resources.” Imagine if our economic policy makers listened to Paul Singer instead. Mr. Singer, 78, is founder of Elliott Management and one of the world’s most successful hedge-fund proprietors. Before the financial crisis of 2008, he tried to alert investors and public officials about the dangers of subprime mortgages. In the 15 years since, he’s repeatedly warned that the landmark Dodd-Frank Act of 2010, and the expansive monetary policies along the way, were inviting disaster.

☆ Salesforce is culling management layers across the company, making some managers individual contributors
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-03 | by ( Ashley Stewart | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +2 min

A broad culling of management layers at Salesforce began on Monday. Salesforce is undergoing a major flattening this week as the company eliminates layers of management in response to pressure from activist investors to become more efficient. The moves, which began on Monday, involve making many managers individual contributors, two people familiar with the matter said. One of the goals is to reduce the "spans" and "layers of control" across Salesforce by giving managers a certain number of direct reports. This is designed to cut the number of management layers from the CEO down, one of the people explained.

☆ Cineworld drops major sale plan and proposes new debt deal
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-03 | by ( ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +2 min

Cineworld, which operates 9,000 theatres in 10 countries, has warned that a lack of blockbusters is hurting admissions. Cineworld has scrapped plans to sell its U.S., UK and Ireland businesses after failing to find a buyer, the cinema chain operator said on Monday, as it proposed a new debt restructuring plan. Under a new tentative deal with lenders it said it aimed to reduce debt by about $4.53 billion, mainly through creditors getting equity in a reorganized group. It had net debt of $8.81 billion including lease liabilities as of June 2022. The company reiterated that shareholders will be wiped out under its restructuring plans.

☆ Salesforce employees are not happy
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-31 | by ( Paayal Zaveri | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +4 min

That said, there's plenty happening in tech news, from Salesforce layoffs to an unusual new perk for Meta employees. Salesforce CEO Marc Benioff Salesforce1. Employees aren't happy about how the cloud giant is handling its plan to cut 10% of its workforce. The cost-cutting did help Salesforce avoid a proxy battle for control of its board, as activist investors pushed for Salesforce to focus on efficiency. Read why Salesforce employees are upset at how the company is handling layoffs.

☆ Salesforce employees blast low morale, lack of communication in internal messages as layoffs continue: 'It's like checking the missing bulletin board after a major disaster'
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-30 | by ( Ashley Stewart | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +4 min

"There just has to be a better, more human way of doing this," one employee wrote. Salesforce conducted another round of layoffs this week as part of its plan, announced in January, to reduce its workforce by 10%, Insider has learned. It's like checking the missing bulletin board after a major disaster," one employee wrote in a message viewed by Insider. "6 of my colleagues were laid off this morning," one employee wrote in a comment viewed by Insider with hundreds of supportive reactions. Are you a Salesforce employee or do you have insight to share?

☆ Envestnet names three new directors, ends board fight with Impactive Capital
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-28 | by ( Svea Herbst-Bayliss | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

Longtime banking executive Barbara Turner, veteran board member Wendy Lane and Lauren Taylor Wolfe, the co-founder of Impactive Capital, joined the board in the last days. Envestnet, which provides technology and automation software for financial advisors and banks, also said it will suggest that all of its directors stand for election every year. "These appointments were informed by Envestnet's ongoing dialogue with shareholders as we continue to execute on our strategic plan to deliver enhanced value to shareholders," James Fox, Envestnet board chairman, said in a statement. Impactive, founded by veteran investors Taylor Wolfe and Christian Asmar, owns a 7.5% stake in Envestnet and in January nominated four director candidates to the board. Impactive blamed poor profit margins and capital allocation for Envestnet's underperformance and said its management and board directors were overpaid.

☆ Salesforce’s Marc Benioff Lives to Deal Another Day
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-27 | by ( Dan Gallagher | ) www.wsj.com time to read: 1 min

Salesforce CEO Marc Benioff has made it clear that major acquisitions are off the table. Salesforce might not have to fight a war, but it still has plenty of battles ahead. The cloud-software pioneer issued a joint statement Monday with Elliott Management , one of a handful of activist investors that had taken a position in the once-beaten-down stock. According to the statement, Elliott won’t mount a proxy challenge on Salesforce’s board at the company’s coming annual meeting. In return, “Salesforce and Elliott have committed to continue the productive working relationship they have developed together.”

☆ Salesforce Shakes Off Proxy Fight From Elliott
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-27 | by ( Dean Seal | ) www.wsj.com time to read: 1 min

Salesforce managed to ease some activists’ concerns earlier this month when it posted strong earnings. Elliott Management Corp. no longer plans to nominate directors to the board of Salesforce Inc., avoiding a proxy fight at the company’s coming shareholder meeting, the two sides said Monday. Elliott decided to back down following the business-software provider’s better-than-expected financial results, as well as other changes initiated at the company in recent weeks, including cost cutting, boosting share buybacks and disbanding a mergers-and-acquisition committee, according to the two companies.

☆ Cineworld creditors plan management shuffle amid takeover interest - Bloomberg News
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-27 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

March 27 (Reuters) - Creditors of British cinema operator Cineworld Group PLC (CINE.L) are outlining plans for a new board and executive team after nine years under CEO Mooky Greidinger and his deputy Israel Greidinger, Bloomberg News reported on Monday. The Greidinger brothers are set to be replaced, but creditors have considered providing them compensation and a transitional role during the handover period, the report added, citing people familiar with the matter. Earlier in the day, Sky News reported that private equity firm CVC Capital Partners had proposed a takeover of parts of Cineworld, within days of a similar offer from activist investor Elliott Management. Cineworld said in February it may emerge from Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection in the first half of this year. ($1 = 0.8148 pounds)Reporting by Rishabh Jaiswal and Sinchita Mitra in Bengaluru; Editing by Devika SyamnathOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

☆ Elliott Management drops plans to nominate directors to the Salesforce board
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-27 | by ( ) www.cnbc.com time to read: 1 min

In this videoShare Share Article via Facebook Share Article via Twitter Share Article via LinkedIn Share Article via EmailElliott Management drops plans to nominate directors to the Salesforce boardCNBC's David Faber reports on news from Elliott Management and Salesforce.

Other investors who have held Toshiba longer may not be so lucky: the offer price represents a 15% discount from a December 2014 high. Some were introduced to JIP by Toshiba's management, some of the people said, declining to be identified because the information is not public. Toshiba's management, including CEO Taro Shimada, will stay on, while the government keeps Toshiba's sensitive defence and nuclear technologies in Japanese hands. Toshiba felt stable shareholders were desirable to end the tumult, unlike current shareholders "with many differing views", it said. JIP does not see the need for big strategy adjustments, Toshiba said.

☆ Salesforce says Elliott will not nominate directors to board
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-27 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

March 27 (Reuters) - Salesforce Inc (CRM.N) said on Monday activist investor Elliott Management Corp has decided to not proceed with director nominations to the board of the cloud-based software provider, due to its strong earnings and 2024 transformation initiatives. "Salesforce and Elliott have committed to continue the productive working relationship they have developed together," a joint statement from the companies said. Earlier this month, Reuters reported Elliott nominated a slate of directors to Salesforce's board. Elliott unveiled its multi-billion dollar stake in Salesforce January. Other hedge funds with stakes include Jeff Ubben's Inclusive Capital Partners, Jeff Smith's Starboard Value, ValueAct Capital and Third Point.

☆ Salesforce, Caterpillar and Disney are in the news. Here's our take on the headlines
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-27 | by ( Kevin Stankiewicz | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +7 min

Meanwhile, analysts who cover Caterpillar (CAT) put out fresh research that cuts against our own thinking, and layoffs will soon begin at Disney (DIS). The Salesforce co-founder echoed the we-can-learn-from-everybody philosophy he laid out on March 1 in an interview with Jim Cramer. Salesforce shares, which rose modestly Monday, has surged more than 44% this year, the third-best performing Club stock behind Nvidia (NVDA) and Meta Platforms (META). Baird turns bearish on CAT CAT 1Y mountain Caterpillar's 12-month stock performance. "It's very hard to get in and out of CAT," Jim said Monday.

☆ Elliott plans bid for parts of embattled Cineworld, Sky News reports
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-25 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

March 25 (Reuters) - Activist investor Elliott Management is planning a takeover of parts of the embattled British cinema operator Cineworld Group (CINE.L) , Sky News reported on Saturday. Elliott has tabled a bid to buy Cineworld's operations outside Britain and the United States, and is understood to have explored a bid for the whole of the London-based group, the report said. Elliott is interested in acquiring Cineworld's operations in eastern Europe and Israel, Sky said. Cineworld, which is currently under Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection, did not immediately respond to a Reuters request for comment. Cineworld said in February it may emerge from Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection in the first half of this year.

☆ The long-running crisis at Japan's Toshiba
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-23 | by ( Makiko Yamazaki | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +5 min

Faced with more than $6 billion in liabilities linked to Westinghouse, Toshiba decides to put prized chip unit Toshiba Memory up for sale. Nov. 2021 - Toshiba says it will split into three companies, one for energy, one for infrastructure and the third to manage its Kioxia stake. Feb. 2022 - Toshiba announces a new plan to split into two, spinning off only its devices unit. April 2022 - Toshiba sets up a special committee to resume a strategic review that could see it taken private. Under pressure from shareholders, Toshiba announces a special dividend of some $545 million.

☆ Independent bookstores once considered Barnes & Noble the enemy, but its CEO loves small bookstores so much, he owns 9 of his own
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-17 | by ( Avery Hartmans | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +3 min

Barnes & Noble's CEO owns nine independent bookstores scattered throughout London. But back in the 1990s, the book retailer was considered the enemy of small bookstores everywhere. That was before Barnes & Noble went into decline — these days, it's in the midst of a revamp. Chains like Barnes & Noble were the enemy of anyone who truly loved books, according to the film. Daunt now oversees roughly 600 Barnes & Noble stores across the US, as well as 100 Paper Source stores and nearly 300 Waterstones shops in the UK and Europe, according to Barnes & Noble.

☆ Salesforce salaries revealed: See how much the company paid before changing course and conducting layoffs
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-16 | by ( Thomas Maxwell | Ellen Thomas | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +2 min

Salesforce grew exponentially during the coronavirus pandemic, and it paid top dollar for talent. The company discloses salary data in visa applications, and Insider analyzed the data. See how much money Salesforce has paid engineers, managers, and other employees. Under pressure from a swarm of activist investors, Salesforce is shedding workers after rampant hiring during the early years of the coronavirus pandemic. Because Salesforce began its cuts in January, the following data provides a snapshot of how the company paid lavish salaries to compete for talent before the tech sector entered a historic downturn.

☆ Top analysts are bullish on these five stocks in uncertain times
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-12 | by ( Tipranks.Com Staff | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +6 min

Here are five stocks to weather the storm, according to Wall Street's top professionals on TipRanks, a platform that ranks analysts based on their past performance. Despite the ongoing pressures, cloud-based data warehouse company Snowflake (SNOW) delivered upbeat quarterly results. The company's fiscal 2023 fourth-quarter results missed expectations due to macro pressures, higher costs, supply chain issues and increased promotional activity. TD Cowen analyst Shaul Eyal remains bullish about Zscaler and reiterated a buy rating with a price target of $195 following the results. (See Zscaler Hedge Fund Trading Activity on TipRanks) Eyal holds the 15th position among more than 8,000 analysts on TipRanks.

☆ Marc Benioff praises Elon Musk's vision, bemoans not buying Twitter, and rings the recession alarm in a new interview. Here are the Salesforce CEO's 9 best quotes.
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-10 | by ( Theron Mohamed | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +4 min

Marc Benioff praised Elon Musk, hailed AI's potential, and warned of an impending US recession. The Salesforce CEO said he regretted not buying Twitter years ago, and has always loved the company. Benioff hinted Bob Iger and Howard Schultz felt obligated to return as CEOs of Disney and Starbucks. Benioff spoke during the Upfront Summit this month, in an interview aired during a recent episode of the "On With Kara Swisher" podcast. (Benioff was discussing the recent return of Bob Iger and Howard Schultz as CEOs of Disney and Starbucks respectively.)

☆ Salesforce sheds hundreds of sales and marketing employees, part of a plan to cut 10% of its workforce
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-09 | by ( Ashley Stewart | Ellen Thomas | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +2 min

Salesforce conducted another round of layoffs, mostly affecting sales and marketing. Salesforce conducted another round of job cuts, mostly affecting sales and marketing, part of a plan to reduce its workforce by 10%, Insider has learned. The layoffs affected hundreds of employees in locations including New York and Atlanta, according to one person's estimate. "This morning, I lost half my team to another round of Salesforce layoffs. Activist investors have been swarming Salesforce, including Starboard Value and Elliott Management.

☆ M&A bankers trip over their cracked crystal balls
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-08 | by ( Liam Proud | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +7 min

The M&A pipeline generally has three components: announced deals that are almost certain to happen; announced deals that may not get over the line; and deals that have neither been announced or perhaps even conceived. Reuters GraphicsThere’s a much tighter relationship between equity markets and M&A, implying that CEOs pursue corporate marriages when their share prices are high. One common way to get around this problem is to look at the value of announced deals as a percentage of total worldwide market capitalisation. WEAKNESS IN NUMBERSUnsurprisingly, given all the uncertainty, some bankers take their pipeline estimates with an appropriately large pinch of salt. Reuters GraphicsFollow @liamwardproud on TwitterCONTEXT NEWSCompanies announced $3.6 trillion of mergers and acquisitions in 2022, according to Refinitiv, compared with $5.7 trillion in 2021.

☆ Here's what market forces and company innovations Club members care about most
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-05 | by ( Jim Cramer | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +6 min

I spent the day last weekend with CNBC Investing Club members in New York City. We own Meta, Amazon and Alphabet for my Charitable Trust, which we use as our Club portfolio. As a subscriber to the CNBC Investing Club with Jim Cramer, you will receive a trade alert before Jim makes a trade. THE ABOVE INVESTING CLUB INFORMATION IS SUBJECT TO OUR TERMS AND CONDITIONS AND PRIVACY POLICY , TOGETHER WITH OUR DISCLAIMER . NO FIDUCIARY OBLIGATION OR DUTY EXISTS, OR IS CREATED, BY VIRTUE OF YOUR RECEIPT OF ANY INFORMATION PROVIDED IN CONNECTION WITH THE INVESTING CLUB.

Futures extended losses after data showed the number of Americans filing new unemployment claims fell again last week, pointing to sustained labor-market strength. Another set of data showed non-farm unit labor costs were revised to 3.2% in the fourth quarter, against economists' estimate of a 1.6% rise. The two-year yield , which best reflects short-term rate expectations, hit a fresh 15-year high at 4.94%. The benchmark S&P 500 (.SPX) and the tech-heavy Nasdaq (.IXIC) fell on Wednesday after data showed U.S. manufacturing contracted for a fourth straight month in February, although raw material prices increased last month. ET, Dow e-minis were up 56 points, or 0.17%, S&P 500 e-minis were down 21.75 points, or 0.55%, and Nasdaq 100 e-minis were down 107 points, or 0.89%.

☆ Salesforce's strong results are impressive given activist pressure, Wall Street analysts say
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-02 | by ( Sarah Min | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +4 min

Salesforce 's strong earnings were impressive, as it works toward improving profitability in the midst of ongoing activist pressure at the firm, according to Wall Street analysts. The results help Salesforce CEO Marc Benioff fend off pressure from activist investors such as Third Point and Elliott Management that have leaned on the firm. The new price target suggests shares can jump 43% from Wednesday's closing price of $167.35. JPMorgan's Mark Murphy also reiterated an overweight rating on the stock, and raised his price target to $230 from $200 — implying about 37% upside. Nevertheless, he maintained a neutral rating on the stock, with a $182 price target implying just 8% upside.

☆ Top 10 things the Club is watching in the stock market Thursday: Bond yields pop, Salesforce supports Dow
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-02 | by ( Jeff Marks | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +4 min

The Dow Jones Industrial Average looks like it's going to get spared because of the surge in Dow stock Salesforce (CRM). Snowflake (SNOW) drops more than 9.5% early Thursday, the morning after lowering its full-year product revenue guidance to 40% growth year over year from 47%. Dollar Tree (DLTR) downgraded to neutral at JPMorgan after the quarter; price target trimmed to $150 per share from $160. Canaccord downgrades to hold from buy; big catch-up price target cut to $9 per share from $25. As a subscriber to the CNBC Investing Club with Jim Cramer, you will receive a trade alert before Jim makes a trade.

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