(Jason Armond/Getty Images) |
Rivals turned friends turned rivals |
|
|
Life imitates HBO: the children of media mogul Rupert Murdoch reportedly watched an episode of "Succession" and wrote a memo meant to prevent a chaotic inheritance fight. But it may've been a self-fulfilling prophecy: their family drama is an ongoing court battle. The Nasdaq broke past 20K for the first time yesterday as tech biggies surged, and Tesla hit a record high for the first time since 2021. The November inflation report matched up with forecasts, boosting expectations of a quarter-point rate cut from the Fed next week. |
|
|
If it please the cart… it doesn't. After a federal judge blocked the $25B merger between two of America's largest grocery chains, Albertsons wants Kroger to know "it's not me, it's you." Albertsons yesterday officially backed out of the deal and sued Kroger for billions, accusing its larger peer of not doing enough to appease regulators. The grocers spent a combined $1B+ on the deal over the past two years to walk down the merger aisle. |
- Cleanup: In July, the supermarket chains agreed to sell about 600 stores to a small rival to placate regulators, but Albertsons is accusing Kroger of not agreeing to divest from more locations.
- Checked out: The merger would've created a $200B grocery behemoth with 720K employees, which regulators said could've suppressed wages and created local monopolies. The chains argued it was necessary to compete with Amazon, Walmart, and Costco.
|
End of an era… The decision to block the Kroger-Albertsons merger is a victory for the Biden admin's FTC, helmed by Lina Khan, and it could be its last hurrah. Under Khan the FTC (along with the DOJ's antitrust division) cracked down on Big Tech, Big Aviation, Big Healthcare, and even Big Mattress. The admin's antitrust regulators brought a record level of merger challenges, with enforcers opposing 4x the number of billion-dollar mergers as the previous two admins did. Still, M&A may make a comeback soon… |
|
|
Timing's everything… Goldman Sachs analysts expect mergers to spike 20% in President-elect Trump's first year. Andrew Ferguson, Trump's pick to lead the FTC, is expected to be friendlier to M&A than Khan. As a Republican commissioner in Khan's FTC, he voted against several of the agency's rules. After Trump's election win, shares of several ready-to-merge companies (including Frontier, Discover, and Capital One) climbed. |
|
|
The Problem in the $200B Data Storage Market – 7,500+ Investors Back Atombeam's Solution |
Kevin O'Leary is a paid spokesperson for StartEngine. See his 17(b) disclosure, https://www.startengine.com/17b.This Reg A+ offering is made available by StartEngine. |
🚨 A data deluge is making storage scarce… By 2025, it's estimated that we'll generate 90+ zettabytes of data. With global databases straining to meet demand, Atombeam has a big idea — to make data smaller. 📡 75% Average Data Size Reduction. Atombeam's patented AI software compacts data to make networks up to 4x faster and potentially more secure. 💡 Trusted by Industry. The company has secured $2.4M in defense contracts from the U.S. Air Force and Space Force, plus partnerships with NVIDIA, Ericsson, and more.1 ⏳ $11M+ raised, 6 Days Left… A previous offering sold out with a $3M+ waitlist. Invest in Atombeam before this opportunity closes on 12/18 — and get up to 35% bonus shares.2 1 The partnership relationship varies between companies and can include the following: inclusion on a preferred vendor list, invitations to participate in certain forums; listed on the other company's website, and introduction and networking opportunities. |
|
|
The Problem in the $200B Data Storage Market – 7,500+ Investors Back Atombeam's Solution |
Kevin O'Leary is a paid spokesperson for StartEngine. See his 17(b) disclosure, https://www.startengine.com/17b.This Reg A+ offering is made available by StartEngine. |
🚨 A data deluge is making storage scarce… By 2025, it's estimated that we'll generate 90+ zettabytes of data. With global databases straining to meet demand, Atombeam has a big idea — to make data smaller. 📡 75% Average Data Size Reduction. Atombeam's patented AI software compacts data to make networks up to 4x faster and potentially more secure. 💡 Trusted by Industry. The company has secured $2.4M in defense contracts from the U.S. Air Force and Space Force, plus partnerships with NVIDIA, Ericsson, and more.1 ⏳ $11M+ raised, 6 Days Left… A previous offering sold out with a $3M+ waitlist. Invest in Atombeam before this opportunity closes on 12/18 — and get up to 35% bonus shares.2 1 The partnership relationship varies between companies and can include the following: inclusion on a preferred vendor list, invitations to participate in certain forums; listed on the other company's website, and introduction and networking opportunities. |
|
|
Breaking a coin to bits… The crypto industry's head was on a swivel this week after a Google announcement that some investors feared could threaten the foundation of bitcoin. On Monday the tech giant said its latest "quantum chip" (meet Willow) solved a computation in under five minutes that'd take modern supercomputers 10 septillion years to work out. Crypto's concern: quantum computers could one day undermine bitcoin's encryption (as well as other coins' security) and in the process defeat the integrity of the $2T blockchain. |
- Showin' cracks: Hodlers use their private keys — an alphanumeric code generated alongside a public key — to move their bitcoin. Quantum computers have the potential to defeat this mathematical protection.
- Nakamot-oh wait: The price of bitcoin slid after Google's announcement, but as of yesterday had largely clawed back the loss.
|
Keep calm and hodl on?… Despite the blockchain-breaking potential of Google's quantum breakthrough, the crypto industry largely avoided panicking. One reason: developers, including ethereum founder Vitalik Buterin, have said that just as quantum tech is developed and upgraded, so too are blockchains. So quantum-proofing a blockchain like bitcoin, ethereum, or solana could be just several code upgrades away. Bitcoin's been upgraded before: in 2021 the protocol adapted the Taproot upgrade to boost privacy, efficiency, and security. |
|
|
A distant threat gives time to prep… Quantum advancements on the heels of Willow could eventually help discover new drugs, improve weather forecasting, and, yes, break some forms of encryption. But for now, Willow solves a standard computation that has no commercial application, and any possible threats to crypto and bitcoin are likely years away. |
|
|
We've reached peak product review — and ironically, it's turned online shopping into an oppressive drudgery. Read more. |
|
|
$1B Startup Disrupting the Retirement Industry |
|
|
$1B Startup Disrupting the Retirement Industry |
|
|
- Telehealth startup Ro partnered with Eli Lilly to offer lower-priced vials of the pharma powerhouse's blockbuster weight-loss drug Zepbound through Ro's platform.
- Zara parent Inditex saw quarterly sales growth slow to 9% as shoppers scooped up cheaper clothes from Shein and H&M.
- Nike renewed its contract to be the NFL's exclusive uniform provider through 2038, though the league had briefly considered other bidders.
- JetBlue plans to include a "junior Mint" first class on some domestic flights as airlines keep expanding their tiers (Frontier's also adding a first class).
- Macy's found that the creation and coverup of $151M in accounting errors, which prompted the retailer to delay its earnings call, was caused by one employee.
|
|
|
- Consumer price index
- Earnings expected from Macy's and Adobe
|
Authors of this Snacks own bitcoin and ethereum and shares of: Alphabet, Amazon, Tesla, Eli Lilly, and Walmart |
Advertiser's disclosures:
² This is a paid advertisement for Atombeam's Regulation A+ Offering. This Reg. A+ offering is made available through StartEngine Primary, LLC, member FINRA/SIPC. Please read the Offering Circular and related risks at Atombeam's webpage on StartEngine before investing. This was a paid for ad. Sherwood Media has been compensated for this ad by the Atombeam Reg A+ Campaign hosted on StartEngine. In addition, as described in the Offering Circular, the Company retains the right to continue the offering beyond the Termination Date, in its sole discretion. Investing in private company securities is not suitable for all investors because it is highly speculative and involves a high degree of risk. It should only be considered a long-term investment. You must be prepared to withstand a total loss of your investment. Private company securities are also highly illiquid, and there is no guarantee that a market will develop for such securities. The up to 35% bonus requires a minimum investment of $5000 and either a membership in the StartEngine Venture Club or meeting an additional bonus requirement listed on their StartEngine Atombeam website. 3 This is a private company. There is no guarantee that the stated valuation and other terms are accurate or in agreement with the market or industry valuations. This valuation was calculated in 2021. 4 This amount was raised in 8 rounds since 2012. 5 "The Use and Value of Financial Advice for Retirement Planning" (2020). The projections or other information regarding the likelihood of various investment outcomes are hypothetical in nature, do not reflect actual investment results, and are not guarantees of your future results. Please follow the link to see the methodologies employed in the Journal of Retirement study. To assess the value added by an advisor, the authors develop a unique metric of retirement income replacement that incorporates health-based life expectancy and household-specific financial circumstances. The approach estimates the percentage of annual pre-retirement income that a household will be able to spend each year in retirement. Please see Journal of Retirement study for further details. 6 There is no cost associated with using the SmartAsset matching tool. If you choose to work with an adviser, the adviser charges fees for their services. 7 SmartAsset's services are limited to referring users to third party advisers registered or chartered as fiduciaries ("Adviser(s)") with a regulatory body in the United States that have elected to participate in our matching platform based on information gathered from users through our online questionnaire. SmartAsset receives compensation from Advisers for our services based on lead generation. SmartAsset does not review the ongoing performance of any Adviser, participate in the management of any user's account by an Adviser or provide advice regarding specific investments. We do not manage client funds or hold custody of assets, we help users connect with relevant financial advisors. |
|
|
Sherwood Media, LLC produces fresh and unique perspectives on topical financial news and is a fully owned subsidiary of Robinhood Markets, Inc., and any views expressed here do not necessarily reflect the views of any other Robinhood affiliate... See more |
|
|
|
