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Top 2 Cheap Dividend Growers to Buy Now and Ride Into Retirement 2024-06-14 11:10:00+00:00 - The RV industry has had its share of ups and downs, spurred to record heights by the COVID-10 pandemic and social distancing only to contract by 50% in its wake. Today’s takeaway is that the RV industry is returning to growth and is expected to accelerate over the next six quarters. As murky as the outlook for inflation and interest rates can be, it is generally accepted that the FOMC will start cutting rates this year or early next and reinvigorate the economy. Lower rates equate to lower payments, and lower payments will be a trigger for this and all discretionary markets. THOR Industries Today THO THOR Industries $91.50 -2.94 (-3.11%) 52-Week Range $84.54 ▼ $129.31 Dividend Yield 2.10% P/E Ratio 18.56 Price Target $102.00 Add to Watchlist The latest data from the RVIAA is promising. The forecasts for 2024 delivery growth were trimmed but still robust, forecasting a low-to-mid-teens growth pace accelerating to faster levels next year. Today’s opportunity is that industry leaders Thor Industries NYSE: THO and Winnebago’s NYSE: WGO stock prices have corrected to a one-year low because of the weakened outlook, setting up their markets to rebound in the 2nd half and sustain upward price momentum into 2025. Get THOR Industries alerts: Sign Up Winnebago Industries Today WGO Winnebago Industries $55.10 -1.88 (-3.30%) 52-Week Range $54.87 ▼ $75.42 Dividend Yield 2.25% P/E Ratio 16.50 Price Target $73.00 Add to Watchlist Among the critical details for investors include their respective low valuations and reliable yields. Neither can be labeled a high yield, but both are above the broad market average, trading near their lows and are reliable. These are dividend-growing companies with payout ratios below 40% and the ability to continue increasing their payouts long into the future. Balance sheet highlights include strong cash positions, low debt, and increasing equity. Both operate with less than 1.25x total leverage and have the cash flow to sustain it while paying dividends and buying back shares. Investors looking for cheap stocks to buy and hold for income could do worse. Thor Industries Trims Guidance: Reiterates Outlook for Long-Term Growth Thor Industries had a solid FQ3, outperforming on the top and bottom lines as the business contraction slowed. The issue for the market was the guidance, which was trimmed. Even so, the new range is sufficient to sustain operational quality and capital returns until growth returns. That is expected as soon as the first fiscal quarter of 2025, which coincides with the calendar first quarter of 2024. Operational quality is the key. The company aims to maintain margin and spending discipline rather than chase less profitable growth and risk diluting the brand. Winnebago will report its Q3 results in early July and likely report similar strengths. The analysts have lowered their targets significantly since last quarter and set the bar low. The consensus reported by MarketBeat.com forecasts a 10% YOY contraction that is more than double the contraction posted by Thor Industries. The Sell-Side Supports THO and WGO Stocks Prices The analysts trimmed targets for Thor Industries after the Q3 release and will likely do the same for Winnebago, but their support is unwavering. The stocks are rated at Moderate Buy and viewed (in the case of THO) as fairly valued near the current levels. This sentiment may weigh the action and cap gains this summer, but a bearish reversal or downtrend is unlikely. Winnebago is trading well below the low end of the analyst range, suggesting it is a value even with sluggish 2024 sales and price target reductions. The price action in these stocks is choppy but has been trending higher for two years. The volatility is driven by the interest rate outlook as much as anything else, resulting in numerous buying opportunities. Among the buyers are the institutions that hold nearly 100% of both companies. Their activity has been mixed over the last few quarters, but no red flags have been present. Assuming the institutions don’t start shedding them, these stocks should bottom soon and begin the next rebound. The risk is the Fed. The longer the Fed waits to make the first interest rate cut, the longer the rebound will take to gain traction, and the greater the risk these stocks will move lower. Before you consider THOR Industries, you'll want to hear this. MarketBeat keeps track of Wall Street's top-rated and best performing research analysts and the stocks they recommend to their clients on a daily basis. MarketBeat has identified the five stocks that top analysts are quietly whispering to their clients to buy now before the broader market catches on... and THOR Industries wasn't on the list. While THOR Industries currently has a "Moderate Buy" rating among analysts, top-rated analysts believe these five stocks are better buys. View The Five Stocks Here

Tyson Foods CFO John Tyson suspended following alleged drunk driving, Curt Calaway named interim CFO 2024-06-14 05:17:00+00:00 - Tyson Foods suspended CFO John R. Tyson on Thursday after he was arrested early this morning, the company shared in a statement. Curt Calaway, who has been with the company for 18 years, was named interim CFO. Tyson, 34, was arrested at 1:32 a.m. CST for allegedly driving while intoxicated, making an improper turn and U-Turn, and careless driving. Per a court report obtained by Yahoo Finance, Tyson told a police officer that he had five to seven beers. His blood alcohol level was 0.191, more than twice of Arkansas' legal limit of 0.08. He'll need to appear in court, per documents from the Washington County Sheriff's Office. He was released at 10:41 a.m. Thursday. John R. Tyson speaks onstage at the Sheraton New York on Sept. 21, 2022, in New York City. (Leigh Vogel/Getty Images for Concordia Summit) (Leigh Vogel via Getty Images) Tyson, who is the great-grandson of founder John Tyson, pleaded guilty to charges of criminal trespass and public intoxication last year after he was found sleeping in someone's else home in late 2022, shortly after he became the company's CFO. On a call with investors following that incident, Tyson shared he was "embarrassed" and took "full responsibility." He then added, "I also want to apologize to our investors as I have to our employees. This was an incident inconsistent with our company values as well as my personal values. I just wanted you guys to hear this directly from me and to know that I'm committed to making sure this never happens again." Prior to holding the role of CFO, he served as Tyson's chief sustainability officer. Shares of Tyson Foods are slightly lower, down more than 1.5%, in Thursday afternoon trading. "There is some justified concern among the investor community. At a certain point, the board is going to have to decide when enough is enough," CFRA analyst Arun Sundaram told Yahoo Finance. John R. Tyson is the son of Tyson Foods chairman and former CEO John H. Tyson. Calaway, who will take over immediately on an interim basis, most recently served as the CFO for Tyson Foods’ prepared foods division. He's also responsible for the company's merger and acquisitions and corporate development efforts, per a person familiar with the matter. Prior to that, Calaway served as finance and treasurer senior vice president, as well as controller and chief accounting officer. — Brooke DiPalma is a senior reporter for Yahoo Finance. Follow her on Twitter at @BrookeDiPalma or email her at bdipalma@yahoofinance.com. Click here for the latest stock market news and in-depth analysis, including events that move stocks Read the latest financial and business news from Yahoo Finance

Elon Musk wins Tesla shareholder battle to keep his record-breaking pay 2024-06-14 05:11:00+00:00 - Tesla (TSLA) shareholders re-approved Elon Musk’s record-breaking pay pact and signed off on a new Texas incorporation, a show of support for the CEO as he fights legal battles on multiple fronts. "Hot damn I love you guys," Musk said after the votes were tabulated, while speaking at the company's annual shareholder meeting in Austin, Texas. The company did not immediately release the percentage of shareholders who voted for or against a $56 billion compensation package that was awarded in 2018 and then voided this year by a Delaware judge. The pay plan is now valued at roughly $48 billion. It received 73% support when the pact was first granted six years ago. Tesla’s stock rose slightly in after-hours trading. It was up 3% during market hours Thursday after Musk previewed this final outcome by saying that both proposals were "passing by wide margins." Musk became the latest of many bosses this year who successfully defeated attempts to tamp down their pay. Just two companies out of 340 that held such shareholder votes as of June 6 had their executive pay packages rejected, according to ISS-Corporate. That failure rate of 0.6% is lower than any full year since 2020. But Thursday’s results may not spell the end of the corporate governance drama at Tesla. For one, shareholders unhappy with the result could challenge its legality before the same Delaware court that voided Musk’s pay earlier this year. One shareholder already filed a lawsuit last week in that state challenging both Tesla's pay and redomestication proposals, alleging that Musk used "strong-arm, coercive tactics" in his efforts to persuade shareholders to ratify the proposals. "It is likely Tesla will end up back in Delaware courts defending the package against lawsuits," Jerry Comizio, a business law professor at American University's Washington College of Law, told Yahoo Finance. Comizio said shareholders might claim that the process leading to Thursday's vote suffered from the same type of disclosure, corporate governance, and fiduciary duty deficiencies that caused a Delaware judge to invalidate the 2018 vote. That judge, Kathaleen McCormick, ruled that Tesla’s board didn’t act "in the best interests" of Tesla shareholders in approving the $56 billion deal. The central thrust of McCormick's decision, according to Case Western Reserve University School of Law corporate law professor Anat Alon-Beck, was that Tesla's board did not follow proper procedures and disclosures, or address numerous conflicts of interest with Musk. Story continues Elon Musk arrives at a prize ceremony in April at the Academy Museum of Motion Pictures in Los Angeles. (Photo by Jordan Strauss/Invision/AP) (Jordan Strauss/Invision/AP) "They always had the opportunity to do so, but chose not to," Alon-Beck said. "Instead, they materially failed to comply with disclosure obligations to shareholders that have been central tenants of Delaware law for decades." But corporate compensation and governance attorney Bob Lamb said it's possible the company disclosed enough this time around to insulate itself from added litigation. "[Y]ou can’t disclose everything," Lamm said. "At some point, the court’s got to say: 'Tesla, you've done your job.'" 'Motivating' Musk The ongoing drama around the vote intensified in recent weeks as Tesla chair Robyn Denholm and Musk advocated forcefully for a newly submitted pay package that was similar to the original 2018 award invalidated by the judge. Publicly, Denholm submitted an open letter urging shareholder approval of Musk’s compensation package. "Fairness and respect require that we honor the collective commitment we made to Elon — a commitment that was, and fundamentally still is, about retaining Elon’s attention and motivating him to focus on achieving astonishing growth for our company," Denholm wrote in her letter. Denholm’s choice of words — "retaining Elon’s attention and motivating him" — raised eyebrows, as most independent board chairs generally do not pen open letters urging shareholder approval of management pay packages, let alone claiming the compensation is needed to keep the CEO motivated. Even before the 2018 pay package was invalidated by the Delaware court, Musk threatened shareholders about his divided attention, as he is in charge or spends significant amounts of time at SpaceX, X.com (formerly Twitter), and the Boring Co., among other ventures. "I am uncomfortable growing Tesla to be a leader in AI & robotics without having 25% voting control. Enough to be influential, but not so much that I can’t be overturned," Musk said from his X account in January. "Unless that is the case, I would prefer to build products outside of Tesla." Tesla board chair Robyn Denholm. (Photo by Alex Ellinghausen/Sydney Morning Herald via Getty Images) (Fairfax Media via Getty Images) Case in point: Tesla recently had to deal with reports that Musk ordered Nvidia (NVDA) AI chips meant for Tesla to be diverted to X.com. Musk defended the move after the report's release, claiming Tesla lacked space to use the chips, and they would have sat in a warehouse otherwise. In the days leading up to the vote, there were even more legal distractions for Musk and Tesla. Late Tuesday the Employees' Retirement System of Rhode Island (ERSRI) filed another lawsuit in Delaware accusing Musk and his brother Kimbal Musk of selling a combined $30 billion of stock using inside information — that being the two knew the proceeds would be used to fund Elon's purchase of Twitter (now X) and that two brothers were also aware that Tesla's vehicle deliveries had fallen below projections. The Wall Street Journal also published a story late Tuesday night alleging Musk had numerous inappropriate relationships with employees at SpaceX, the rocket and spaceship company Musk founded and where he still serves as CEO. Then separately on Wednesday eight former SpaceX employees filed a lawsuit against Musk for sexual harassment and retaliation in California state court, alleging that Musk created an "unwelcome hostile work environment" based on his behavior, among other allegations. 'Key man risk' Musk was apparently involved in some efforts to bring big shareholders over to Tesla's side. He reportedly joined recent meetings with proxy adviser Glass Lewis and money management giants Vanguard Group, State Street and BlackRock, all of which are among the top five institutional holders of Tesla. Glass Lewis and another proxy adviser, ISS, recommended that shareholders vote against the remuneration. But Tesla’s lobbying campaign apparently succeeded with at least some of those giant investors. The New York Times reported Thursday that both BlackRock and Vanguard voted in favor of the pay package. Both Tesla shareholder resolutions are currently passing by wide margins! ♥️♥️ Thanks for your support!! ♥️♥️ pic.twitter.com/udf56VGQdo — Elon Musk (@elonmusk) June 13, 2024 This time around, Tesla shareholders had slightly more information than they did before the vote on Musk’s pay six years ago. Back then, in 2018, no one knew that Musk would satisfy all of the deal's revenue and operating milestones that unlock his right to purchase Tesla options at $70. Had Musk failed to satisfy the escalating revenue and market cap requirements, his stock-option-based CEO compensation would have been zero. There were some smaller shareholder groups that came out against Musk's pay package, as well as one big one: Norway's $1.7 trillion sovereign wealth fund. "We remain concerned about the total size of the award, the structure given performance triggers, dilution, and lack of mitigation of key person risk," Norges Bank Investment Management (NBIM), the operator of the fund, said. Thank you. Thank you to each and every one who voted. And to those who still can't, you will be able next time. I will do everything in my power to help. Your votes will help to remedy a true injustice. And it's just the beginning. Don't mess with Tesla Retail Shareholders ❣️ pic.twitter.com/T6la80aGhO — Ale𝕏andra Merz (@TeslaBoomerMama) June 13, 2024 The fund, which also opposed Musk's pay package in 2018, holds a $5.6 billion stake encompassing 31.57 million shares, or 0.99% of all shares outstanding, making it Tesla's seventh-largest shareholder, per Capital IQ. And the California State Teachers' Retirement System (CalSTRS) also said it would vote against Musk's pay package, with the pension fund's chief investment officer telling CNBC the stock awards were "ridiculous." CalSTRS owns around 4.7 million shares of Tesla. But some Musk supporters doubled down on the argument that his presence is necessary for the future of Tesla. Longtime Tesla shareholder Baillie Gifford said it would vote in favor of Musk's package, according to Bloomberg sources, with the reasoning being the package was aligned with shareholder returns. "Elon is the ultimate ‘key man’ of key man risk," billionaire Tesla investor Ron Baron wrote last week in an open letter arguing for approval of the pay package. “Without his relentless drive and uncompromising standards, there would be no Tesla.” Some small stockholders took to social media to drum up votes and support for Musk. One who posted on X as @TeslaBoomerMama said Thursday, before the final vote was announced, that "your votes will help to remedy a true injustice." "Don't mess with Tesla Retail Shareholders." Click here for in-depth analysis of the latest stock market news and events moving stock prices. Read the latest financial and business news from Yahoo Finance

Roaring Kitty nearly doubles GameStop holdings to 9 million shares, Reddit post shows 2024-06-14 05:06:00+00:00 - NEW YORK (Reuters) - Keith Gill, the stock influencer known as Roaring Kitty, updated his holding of GameStop on Thursday to show he now owns 9 million shares of the company, up from 5 million at the start of the week. Gill's update, posted on Reddit after the close of trading, showed the value of his position at $262.1 million. That is 2.1% of GameStop's 426 million outstanding shares, according to a recent regulatory filing. The update also showed he no longer holds the 120,000 June 21, $20 strike call options he had disclosed in his last update. Gill who helped launch the meme-stock phenomenon in 2021, recently disclosed a sizeable GameStop stock and options position in a screen shot posted on Reddit on June 2. The move has spurred big swings in GameStops shares. On Thursday the stock finished up 14% at $29.12. The stock was last down to $28.66 in extended trading on Thursday. GameStop shares are up 66% for the year. (Reporting by Saqib Iqbal Ahmed; Editing by Daniel Wallis)

Why American Superconductor Stock Popped 8% Today 2024-06-14 02:50:00+00:00 - American Superconductor (NASDAQ: AMSC) is a green energy company, and helping electric grids "optimize network reliability, efficiency and performance" provides roughly 84% of the company's revenue, while providing control systems for wind turbines accounts for the remaining 16%. But did you know that in its spare time, American Superconductor also moonlights as a defense stock? I know. I was as surprised as you to hear this. But it's true. It's also the reason American Superconductor stock is up 8.7% through 1 p.m. ET today. American Superconductor's big military contract American Superconductor announced today that it's won a $75 million "multi-year and multi-unit delivery contract" with Canadian shipbuilder Irving Shipbuilding, the company that builds 80% of Canada's navy ships. Beginning in 2026, American Superconductor will deliver Ship Protection Systems (SPS) to Irving for installation aboard Royal Canadian Navy vessels. SPS is a sea mine protection system already used on U.S. Navy large amphibious warfare vessels, and it will soon be installed on much smaller RCN Surface Combatant Ships, a new ship class roughly similar in size to U.S. (Flight I) Arleigh Burke-class destroyers. SPS operates by "degaussing" the vessel to reduce a ship's magnetic signature, making it less "visible" to mines. American Superconductor described the ability to produce SPS in a "reduced footprint" size as a "breakthrough ... in world class mine protection." The company also mused that the breakthrough could help it to drive international growth in this new military segment of the business. Is American Superconductor stock a buy? American Superconductor has been growing pretty well without the new military business, by the way. According to data from S&P Global Market Intelligence, sales have grown about 21% annually over the last five years. While the stock is not yet profitable, American Superconductor generated positive free cash flow for the first time since the start of the pandemic last year and is expected to turn non-GAAP profitable this year -- with GAAP profits arriving sometime after 2025. While not yet an obvious buy, I think the stock bears watching. Should you invest $1,000 in American Superconductor right now? Before you buy stock in American Superconductor, consider this: The Motley Fool Stock Advisor analyst team just identified what they believe are the 10 best stocks for investors to buy now… and American Superconductor wasn’t one of them. The 10 stocks that made the cut could produce monster returns in the coming years. Story continues Consider when Nvidia made this list on April 15, 2005... if you invested $1,000 at the time of our recommendation, you’d have $767,173!* Stock Advisor provides investors with an easy-to-follow blueprint for success, including guidance on building a portfolio, regular updates from analysts, and two new stock picks each month. The Stock Advisor service has more than quadrupled the return of S&P 500 since 2002*. See the 10 stocks » *Stock Advisor returns as of June 10, 2024 Rich Smith has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy. Why American Superconductor Stock Popped 8% Today was originally published by The Motley Fool

Gamestop's annual shareholder meeting disrupted after 'unprecedented demand' causes tech issue 2024-06-14 02:22:00+00:00 - NEW YORK (AP) — Gamestop's highly-anticipated shareholder meeting ran into a technical problem Thursday — resulting in many eager investors being unable to log on to the livestream. A spokesperson for Computershare, the company hosting the webcast, confirmed that “unprecedented demand" from shareholders looking to access the meeting led to a “technical issue” that prevented some from getting through. The meeting was then adjourned. “We’re really sorry that this happened and are working with our supplier to ensure that it does not happen again,” the spokesperson said in a statement sent to The Associated Press Thursday afternoon. The meeting was originally slated to begin at 11 a.m. ET. Around that time, those attempting to use the link found that it wouldn’t load or received an error message. According to social media accounts of those who appeared to make it on the call, Gamestop briefly cited “technical difficulties” before adjourning the meeting. It was not immediately clear when the event would be rescheduled. The Grapevine, Texas-based video game retailer did not immediately respond to request for comment Thursday. Despite the fumble, Gamestop's shares were still up for than 6% by Thursday afternoon. At the center of the meme stock craze, Gamestop saw a resurgence last month after Keith Gill, better known as “Roaring Kitty,” returned online for the first time in three years. All eyes have been on whether Gamestop can make a comeback. Roaring Kitty recently took to YouTube on Friday, to tell his hordes of followers that he still believes GameStop’s management team can turn the struggling company around following a disappointing earnings report. There's a long way to go. Gamestop managed to narrow its losses in the first quarter, but its revenue fell as sales weakened for hardware and accessories, software and collectibles. GameStop also filed paperwork with securities regulators to sell up to 75 million shares of stock.

Tesla shareholders approve $46 billion pay package for CEO Elon Musk 2024-06-13 22:41:00+00:00 - In the history of U.S. corporate pay packages, there have been plenty of massive payouts worth almost $1 billion in today's dollars. But none comes close to the $46 billion pay deal Tesla shareholders on Thursday handed to CEO Elon Musk. The results of the shareholder vote, which concluded today, were announced during Tesla's annual meeting, prompting a standing ovation from shareholders attending the Thursday event at Tesla's headquarters in Austin, Texas. Musk had already declared victory, writing late Wednesday on his social media platform X that shareholders were voting to approve the pay package by "wide margins." "Hot damn, I love you guys," an exultant Musk said at the shareholder meeting after the vote results were announced. He also capitalized on the occasion to tout Tesla's success in selling electric vehicles and what that means for the fight against climate change. "It's incredible. I think we're not just opening a new chapter for Tesla, we're starting a new book," he said, adding, "We're starting to make a real noticeable dent in carbon emissions." The pay package has become a lightning rod over executive pay, with some critics calling the package "excessive." Supporters argue that such a deal is necessary to tether Musk to Tesla and ensure he doesn't decamp to start another business. Along with Tesla, the billionaire currently owns five additional businesses including X (formerly Twitter), Neuralink and SpaceX, the latter of which he is also CEO. With Musk trumpeting his apparent win ahead of the final tally, shareholders sent the stock up 3% in Thursday trading, indicating that many view the pay package as essential to ensuring Musk's future at the company. "It is a pop-the-champagne moment for Musk and Tesla shareholders," noted Wedbush Securities analyst Dan Ives in a Thursday research note about the preliminary vote results. "[L]arge shareholders at the end of the day knew that voting no would risk Musk potentially eventually leaving as CEO." Ives said he believes Musk is now likely to pledge to remain CEO of Tesla for another three to five years, given the apparent approval of his pay package. Still, questions remain about whether Tesla will be able to actually deliver the pay package to Musk, given a Delaware court ruling earlier this year that struck down the plan's earlier 2018 shareholder approval. Meanwhile, Tesla shareholders on Thursday also approved a proposal to move the company's legal jurisdiction from Delaware to Texas, which could play a part in whether Musk's payout materializes. For instance, with Tesla shareholders approving the move to Texas, reapproval of the pay package could now be handled as a Texas corporation, which means the issue could fall under the purview of Texas courts. Why does the pay package need to be voted on? The vote on Musk's payout stems from a court ruling in January that struck down his previous pay deal, worth more almost $56 billion earlier this year. The value has since declined due to a slide in Tesla's share price. That package, approved in 2018 by Tesla shareholders, sparked a shareholder lawsuit that accused Musk and Tesla's board of directors of breaching their duties and unjustly enriching the billionaire. A Delaware judge ruled that Musk and his his company failed to prove that the massive payout was fair. Because that initial pay deal was struck down, Tesla said in April that it would once again take the issue to its shareholders, asking them to re-ratify the package. How much does Musk earn from Tesla? Tesla hasn't paid Musk a base salary since 2019, according to the company's regulatory filings. Instead, his compensation has been paid through "performance awards" of stock options that are based on Tesla hitting certain milestones, such as vehicle production or increasing the company's market value. After the pay package was struck down by the Delaware court, Tesla Chairwoman Robyn Denholm wrote to shareholders that they should re-ratify the package as "Elon has not been paid for any of his work for Tesla for the past six years that has helped to generate significant growth and stockholder value." Denholm described the situation as "fundamentally unfair, and inconsistent with the will of the stockholders who voted for it." However, Musk is hardly without financial resources: He owns almost 13% of Tesla shares, worth $73 billion. He also has stakes in SpaceX, worth $71 billion, and multiple other businesses, giving him a total net worth of $203 billion, according to the Bloomberg Billionaires Index. That makes him the world's third richest person. Why are some shareholders supporting the pay package? According to Ives, some shareholders are concerned that Musk might decamp for another business or start a rival company if he isn't richly rewarded for working at Tesla. That's a threat that Musk himself has issued, stating in a post on X in January that he wanted 25% voting control of Tesla or he might leave. Tesla chairwoman Denholm echoed those sentiments, writing in a June shareholder letter, "If Tesla is to retain Elon's attention and motivate him to continue to devote his time, energy, ambition and vision to deliver comparable results in the future, we must stand by our deal." Are some shareholders voting against the pay deal? Yes, some shareholders had spoken publicly against the package, most notably the California's State Teachers Retirement System. The large pension fund said Tuesday that it would vote against Musk's pay "based on its sheer magnitude, and because the award would be extremely dilutive to shareholders. We also have concerns with the lack of focus on profitability for the company." Tesla's top five institutional shareholders — Vanguard, BlackRock, State Street, Geode Capital and Capital Research — either said they wouldn't announce their votes or wouldn't comment. They control about 17% of the votes. How is Elon Musk's pay package structured? The pay deal is structured to deliver several rounds of stock options that will allow Musk to buy about 304 million shares of Tesla stock. Musk is able to receive each round of options after the company hits certain milestones — such as when Tesla reached a market value of $100 billion, and then at every $50 billion mark beyond that. (Currently, Tesla's market cap is about $580 billion.) Based on today's stock price, the value of the pay package stands at about $46 billion. The package also includes a requirement that Musk hold onto the shares for five years after he exercises the options, according to regulatory filings. Do large payouts ensure better CEO performance? The underlying question of the debate over Musk's payout is whether such grandiose packages actually make a difference in CEO performance. In other words, do CEOs actually outperform when they are given larger-than-normal packages? And if they don't receive such jaw-dropping deals, do they underperform? Generous CEO pay packages don't actually guarantee better results, according to a 2017 study from investment research firm MSCI. In fact, the analysis found that the companies with the smallest equity incentive awards outperformed those with the heftiest packages by almost 39% on average over a 10-year period. — With reporting by the Associated Press

Beatrice Advisors launches to serve millennial and Gen Z investors from diverse backgrounds 2024-06-13 22:33:00+00:00 - Christina Lewis, founder of Beatrice Advisors, at her home office with a portrait of her father, Reginald Lewis. “This is about families and their assets and how you think about them,” she said. “When you’re inclusive, when you look at diverse perspectives, when you empower women, when you empower your children, when you educate your clients, when you allow them authority and autonomy and independence, that’s a better way to live. Your family will be healthier, wealthier, happier and more functional.” Over the next 30 years, Lewis would work with six different institutional wealth managers and 12 different relationship managers. Her experience and success in forming her own family office and running two foundations has led her to her new venture: a multifamily office aimed at the next generation, targeting people like herself. That new world involved a tragic loss and sudden inheritance. Her father, Reginald Lewis, the founder of the food giant TLC Beatrice International and the first African American to build a business with $1 billion in revenue, died at the age of 50 from a cerebral hemorrhage. Christina was left with a large fortune and few answers. “I remember the meeting well,” Lewis said. “It was a turbulent time for my family. And [the advisor] was the only one who had the information I needed and [knew] how to talk to me for this new world I was in.” Christina Lewis had her first asset allocation meeting with her wealth manager when she was 13. The Inside Wealth newsletter by Robert Frank is your weekly guide to high-net-worth investors and the industries that serve them. Lewis’ company, called Beatrice Advisors, aims to change the traditional business of managing the fortunes of the wealthy and inheritors. With more than $84 trillion expected to be passed down from older to younger generations in the next 30 years, according to estimates from Cerulli Associates, a market research firm, Beatrice aims to be at the forefront of managing the wealth of inheritors. Beatrice Advisors aims to make education and accessibility paramount since many young inheritors will be new to managing wealth, Lewis said. It will welcome a more diverse group of wealth-holders in terms of race, ethnicity and gender. And it will take a “holistic approach” to a family’s assets, considering not just their money but also their values, skills and life paths, Lewis said. Since today's younger generations are more tech-focused, the advisory firm has spent years building a high-tech dashboard that gives families an up-to-the-minute, unified view of their portfolio and assets. “We build the dashboard and advise the clients, but they drive the car,” she said. Multifamily offices like Beatrice combine the hyper-personalized and confidential approach of a single-family office — which manages the fortunes and logistics of one family — with the shared costs and resources of an investment firm. In addition to managing investments, multifamily offices typically handle taxes, trusts, family governance, philanthropy and legal issues. A growing number of ultra-wealthy families are turning to multifamily offices for generational wealth transitions, given their expertise in family wealth dynamics and governance. Lewis’ own personal investing education began when she was 7 years old, helping her father manage his stock portfolio. In addition to owning his own company, Reginald Lewis had a portfolio of personal stocks and designated Christina as his “broker.” “I would read the stock tables in the newspaper in the morning,” she said, “And then at the end of the day, after market close, I would call to get the evening’s close. And I had this notebook where I tracked everything.” After her father’s death, she worked with her first wealth manager to pick stocks and build an aggressive portfolio. Among her stock picks: Disney and Limited “because we talked about investing in what I know.” Over the years, her wealth advisors were constantly churning: Firms got acquired and her relationship managers changed year by year. It was hard, she said, to find an asset manager “who sees you for you, not just an appendage of another entity.” Eventually, she created a family office, BFO21, and hired her own team. Beatrice will be separate from BF021, but it will have team members in common and will share best practices, investments and expertise. Meredith Bowen, a former partner at Seven Bridges Advisors who is now president and chief investment officer of Beatrice, said the advisory firm will put a high priority on tax efficiency and custom tax structures. “We are really trying to create an investment infrastructure that is specific to an individual taxpayer’s picture,” Bowen said. Beatrice will target clients with between $25 million and $300 million in net worth, although Bowen said that “the largest families will get a lot out of us.” As an active philanthropist, Lewis founded All Star Code, a nonprofit organization that provides young men of color with basic web and coding skills. She also co-founded Giving Gap, formerly Give Blck, a searchable database of vetted, Black-founded nonprofits. She is also vice chair of the Reginald F. Lewis Foundation. Lewis said that by making wealth advice accessible to a more diverse and young population, she hopes to help more families like her own. “When I was looking at firms, I wanted that alignment with the values and style of the clients,” she said. “I feel like [Beatrice] will be diverse and inclusive from the get-go.”

Likes on X are now anonymous as platform moves to keep users' identities private 2024-06-13 22:27:00+00:00 - Social media platform X is now hiding your identity from your likes. In an update posted on the platform formerly known as Twitter earlier this week, X's engineering team said it would be "making Likes private for everyone to better protect your privacy." That means that users will still be able to see their own likes, but others will not — putting an end to a feature that many had long used. The change went into effect Wednesday. As of the afternoon, the "Likes" tab appeared to only be available on users' own profile page. But when visiting other accounts, that tab is no longer available. Users also received a pop-up notification that seemed to suggest the change would result in more user engagement. "Liking more posts will make your 'For you' feed better," the message read. According to the engineering team's update, like counts and other metrics for a user's own posts will still show up under notifications. Posts still appear to show how many likes they have — but the author will be the only person who can see a list of those who liked it. The option to hide likes was previously just available to paying Premium subscribers. When X announced that option in September, it said users could "keep spicy likes private by hiding your likes tab." The hidden like count is one of many changes that have come to the platform since billionaire Elon Musk purchased it for $44 billion in 2022. Beyond a new name and logo, other changes include doing away with the once-coveted blue checks for non-Premium users — and then restoring them to some. The in-app changes have seen mixed receptions on the platform. In the early days of X stripping the verification badges from prominent officials and news organizations, for example, many voiced misinformation concerns. The platform has also faced both rising user and advertiser pushback amid ongoing concerns about content moderation and hate speech on the San Francisco-based platform, which some researchers say has been on the rise under Musk.

Yellen: More Ukraine aid can be backed by frozen Russian assets after initial $50 billion loan 2024-06-13 22:23:00+00:00 - U.S. Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen speaks to the Economic Club of New York in New York City, U.S., June 13, 2024. U.S. Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen said Thursday that the $50 billion loan to Ukraine that President Joe Biden and other leaders of Group of Seven highly developed nations have agreed to could be the first of multiple loans backed by frozen Russian assets. "This is not the last time this can be done. This is the first tranche and if necessary, there's more behind it," Yellen told reporters at an event hosted by the Economic Club of New York. "We're getting Russians to help pay for the damage that it's caused." The $50 billion loan will be backed with at least $260 billion worth of frozen Russian central bank assets as collateral. Most of those funds are held in European Union countries. On Thursday, Biden and his G7 counterparts struck a deal on the loan, which will help pay for military resources, humanitarian aid and support for rebuilding Ukraine, as Russia's bloody invasion stretches well into its second year. Yellen has been actively involved in negotiating the loan. But she said that actually distributing the funds would be complicated. "While we're trying to move quickly on this, I can't give any type of timeline as to when money would actually start flowing to Ukraine," Yellen said. Part of hashing out the details will be figuring out how much money each G7 nation is willing to contribute to the loan. If necessary, the U.S. will commit the entire $50 billion, a senior administration official told reporters Thursday on a press call. But Washington expects at least some of the G7 nations to pledge at least a portion of total. "I think it's important for Putin to realize that we remain completely united in support of Ukraine," Yellen said. "We intend to give Ukraine the resources it needs to wage an effective war against Russia."

Tesla shareholders vote to reinstate Elon Musk’s $56 billion pay package 2024-06-13 22:06:00+00:00 - Tesla shareholders on Thursday voted to ratify CEO Elon Musk's mammoth 2018 pay plan, five months after a judge in Delaware ordered the company to rescind the package, finding it had been improperly granted by the board. At Tesla's annual meeting in Austin, Texas, the vote in support of the compensation plan, doesn't override the court's ruling, but provides a public relations victory for Musk and could help his effort to sway a court to give him his performance options in the future. Taking the stage after the preliminary results were announced, Musk said, "I just want to start off by saying hot d---! I love you guys." Watch Elon Musk speak at the Tesla shareholder meeting now The compensation package was previously worth as much as $56 billion in Tesla stock. In January, a Delaware court called the pay "unfathomable." Judge Kathaleen McCormick found that Tesla's board members lacked independence from Musk, failed to properly negotiate at arm's length with the CEO and didn't to give shareholders the full picture before asking them to vote on his pay plan. Tesla shares rose 2.9% in regular trading on Thursday to close at $182.47 after Musk posted on X that the proposal was set to be approved. The stock is still down 27% for the year, as Tesla reckons with declining sales tied to an aging lineup of electric vehicles and increased competition in China. The annual meeting featured final votes on a dozen proxy proposals, including an effort by Musk to move Tesla's site of incorporation out of Delaware, where most large publicly traded companies are incorporated, and into Texas, home to the automaker's largest U.S. factory. Shareholders voted in favor of the move. At the last shareholder meeting, in May 2023, Musk predicted the economy would pick up after 12 months, said that Tesla would deliver production Cybertrucks in late 2023, and informed investors that Tesla would "try out a little advertising" and see how it goes. Recent inflation and jobs numbers point to some improvement. Tesla held a Cybertruck deliveries event in late 2023, and has been advertising over the past year, including on X, the social media company formerly known as Twitter that Musk acquired for $44 billion in late 2022. However, during last year's meeting, Musk promised shareholders he would spend less time on the app going forward, calling the business a "short-term distraction." He's still spending plenty of time on other things. Musk is CEO of SpaceX and brain computer interface company Neuralink. Last year he also started a new company called xAI, which has raised billions of dollars to developing large language models and an AI chatbot called Grok that uses data and data center capacity from X. An exuberant Musk, calling himself "pathologically optimistic," promised Tesla shareholders at the meeting that the company is making such great progress on developing "vehicle autonomy," or systems to turn existing Tesla cars into self-driving vehicles, that he believes they can "10x the value of the company." While Musk has been promising that level of autonomous technology since 2016, it's yet to deliver. Meanwhile, competitors including Pony.ai, Didi and Waymo have developed robotaxis and already operate commercial services. Musk described the company's ambition to create a ridehailing network populated with Tesla vehicles equipped with self-driving systems, though he didn't provide a timeline for development and rollout. "There'll be some cars that Tesla owns itself." he said, "But then for the fleet that is owned by our customers, it will be like an Airbnb thing. You can add or subtract your car to the fleet whenever you want." Regarding the Cybertruck, which hit the market in late 2023, Musk said deliveries are picking up. He said the company hit a weekly record of 1,300 shipments. WATCH: CNBC's full interview with ARK Invest CEO Cathie Wood

Trump insulted Milwaukee and then things got strange 2024-06-13 21:39:53+00:00 - By clicking “Sign Up”, you accept our Terms of Service and Privacy Policy . You can opt-out at any time by visiting our Preferences page or by clicking "unsubscribe" at the bottom of the email. Access your favorite topics in a personalized feed while you're on the go. download the app Sign up to get the inside scoop on today’s biggest stories in markets, tech, and business — delivered daily. Read preview Former President Donald Trump on Thursday reportedly insulted Milwaukee, the site of the Republican National Convention in just a few weeks. "Milwaukee, where we are having our convention, is a horrible city," Trump told House Republicans during their closed-door meeting, according to PunchBowl News. The strangest part wasn't even Trump's reported insult for the city whose name is a translation of "The Good Land," as Alice Cooper once helpfully taught us. Rather, it was the apparently contradictory ways that Republicans tried to either deny or clarify Trump's remark. This story is available exclusively to Business Insider subscribers. Become an Insider and start reading now. "I was in the room. President Trump did not say this," Rep. Bryan Steil of Wisconsin, wrote on X, quoting PunchBowl reporter Jake Sherman's initial tweet. "There is no better place than Wisconsin in July." Advertisement Steil later told a local TV station that Trump "wasn't talking about the city, he was talking about specific issues in the city." "We were having broad conversation about the challenges we face in as a country, in particular the challenges we've seen in Milwaukee," Steil said mentioning issues with elections, crime, and public schools. GOP Rep. Bryan Steil on Trump's Milwaukee comments: "He wasn't talking about the city. He was talking about specific issues in the city." "I don't think that's the context at all. I'm saying we were talking about specific issues, not the city of Milwaukee." pic.twitter.com/KKPKpWCisE — Matt Smith (@mattsmith_news) June 13, 2024 A spokesperson for Steil later told Business Insider that since no one was taking notes, it was not clear whether or not Trump said "Milwaukee" and "horrible" next to each other. Related stories "He's not saying Milwaukee itself is horrible," the spokesperson said. "He was saying the crime and election integrity that the city is facing is what's horrible." Advertisement A convention spokesperson told a local TV station that Trump was discussing his concerns about the security perimeter for the convention, which has been the subject of GOP frustration related to whether protests can occur in a park close to the main convention arena. Both parties have historically hosted their conventions in cities or states that may have different politics than their own. This is especially true for Republicans, who have hosted their conventions in cities like New York. Local officials are known for playing nice though in order to garner the big business and spotlight that comes with hosting one of the two major political parties as they formally nominate their presidential candidate. Trump's reported insult quickly landed back in Wisconsin where local reporters jumped on the story. The former president's campaign disputed the report. "Wrong. Total bullshit," spokesperson Steven Cheung wrote on X, quoting Sherman's initial tweet. "He never said it like how it's been falsely characterized as. He was talking about how terrible crime and voter fraud are." Advertisement Sherman has stood by his reporting. "Trump absolutely said it - undoubtedly," he wrote later on X. "People hear what they want. This is familiar to all who have covered Trump or Trump-adjacent stories for the last 10 or so years." Democrats and the Biden campaign were quick to defend the largest city in a key swing state. Democrats were originally set to host their convention in Milwaukee in 2020 before the COVID-19 pandemic forced them to switch to a largely virtual event. "Once he's settled in with his parole officer, I am certain he will discover that Milwaukee is a wonderful, vibrant and welcoming city full of diverse neighborhoods and a thriving business community," Rep. Gwen Moore of Wisconsin, whose district includes most of Milwaukee, wrote on X. Biden's own account chimed in with an old photo of him celebrating the Milwaukee Buck's 2021 NBA championship at the White House. Advertisement I happen to love Milwaukee. pic.twitter.com/QRfgwbETV7 — Joe Biden (@JoeBiden) June 13, 2024 Milwaukee Mayor Cavalier Johnson took his own shot at Trump. "Well, if Donald Trump wants to talk about things that he thinks are horrible, all of us lived through his presidency, so right back at ya, buddy."

What the Manhattan DA’s closing slides tell us about Trump’s guilt 2024-06-13 21:33:52+00:00 - June 13 was the date on which House Judiciary Chairman Jim Jordan had hoped to haul Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg and Assistant District Attorney Matthew Colangelo in front of Congress to embarrass and excoriate the New York prosecutors. Why? For having the audacity to investigate and prosecute former President Donald Trump, whom a jury ultimately convicted of 34 felony counts of falsifying business records in order to conceal a conspiracy to promote Trump’s 2016 candidacy through one or more unlawful acts. And while Bragg and Colangelo have now agreed to testify voluntarily on July 12, the day after Trump’s sentencing, it appears that Jordan didn’t exactly choose June 13 out of a hat. Instead, he may have chosen that date because it is also Trump’s deadline for any post-trial motions, theoretically including a revived written motion to set aside the jury’s verdict due to a paucity of evidence. I suspect, however, that even if Trump’s team does file such a motion, it would almost certainly fail. (To the extent Trump seeks post-trial relief, it’s also not clear when such a motion or motions would become public.) And that’s not because of the now-standard GOP refrain that Judge Juan Merchan, who presided over the case, is impermissibly conflicted and/or biased against Trump. Rather, it’s because the evidence collected and then presented at trial by the DA was not only extensive, but was interwoven together by the DA’s team to devastating effect. How do I know? In part, it’s because I attended the trial all day, every day. But more importantly, it’s because I have now obtained — and am sharing with you — the 400-plus slides that the Manhattan DA’s office used in its hourslong closing argument to the jury. From his own words, whether written or recorded, and his signature, on the one hand, to his pattern of phone calls right as other significant developments and communications unfolded, it was the weight and quality of the evidence that did Trump in with the 12 jurors. Collectively, the slides illustrate the breadth and depth of the DA’s evidence. From his own words, whether written or recorded, and his signature, on the one hand, to his pattern of phone calls right as other significant developments and communications unfolded, it was the weight and quality of the evidence that did Trump in with the 12 jurors. The slides also highlight how to the extent that others helped ensure Trump’s current fate, those others are not named Alvin Bragg or Matthew Colangelo. They are David Pecker and Hope Hicks, two of Trump’s closest allies once upon a time and people whose affection for him is still palpable, even through just a cold read of the trial transcript. With more than 400 slides overall, it’s hard to pick out which ones were the most effective or influential. But my favorite slide — and the one I could not wait to get my hands on after the trial — is the penultimate one. Manhattan district attorney's office In contrast to defense lawyer Todd Blanche’s insistence that prosecutors neither adequately tied Trump to the creation of the business records nor proved he intended to commit or conceal any other prior crime, my pet slide reminded the jurors of all the significant evidence they heard and saw about Trump’s own direct involvement in both the conspiracy and the cover-up. Overall, the slides do not necessarily contain information that’s new for anyone who closely followed the trial. Yet as Trump confronts his first post-trial deadline to contest the verdict, they are nonetheless a powerful reminder of how the person Trump should most blame for his current predicament is Trump himself.

Republicans reportedly prepping possible convention where Trump is under house arrest 2024-06-13 21:28:03+00:00 - Former President Donald Trump is facing the possibility of serving his sentence for his hush money conviction at the same time that he is officially nominated by the GOP for president. As a result, the Republican National Committee is reportedly planning for a scenario in which Trump does not attend the convention in person — or at all. Citing two anonymous sources familiar with the planning, NBC News reports that organizers are making preparations at Mar-a-Lago in Florida and at the event site in Milwaukee where the convention will be held "should Trump either choose to make appearances from afar or be unable to attend." Trump, who was found guilty on 34 felony counts in the New York case last month, faces up to four years in jail for each count. But as a first-time offender, he is a candidate to get a lighter sentence, ranging from a fine to probation to conditional discharge, which could see him placed under house arrest. The RNC is erecting convention-themed staging at Mar-a-Lago, as well as a large screen at the Milwaukee venue in case Judge Juan Merchan orders house arrest for the former president, according to NBC News. After NBC published its report, however, Trump campaign senior adviser Brian Hughes issued a statement saying, “At no time has convention planning involved any option than President Trump in person to accept his formal nomination as president.” In any event, it is a possibility that Trump may be unable to attend the convention, given that it starts just four days after his sentencing hearing on July 11. Having Trump appear virtually to accept his nomination for president because he is under house arrest would be yet another first for him and for the country. If he is indeed unable to travel to Wisconsin for any reason, it might be just as well: Trump reportedly called Milwaukee a "horrible city" in a closed-door meeting with House Republicans on Thursday. His campaign disputed that, although several GOP lawmakers who were in the room had wildly different accounts of the comment.

Duke Energy power equipment in Durham found damaged from gunfire after power outage, police say 2024-06-13 21:26:30+00:00 - RALEIGH, N.C. (AP) — Damage to a utility’s power equipment by gunfire found in Durham was associated with an outage that left hundreds of people without power on Monday, the company said. About 730 people experienced a power outage for about two hours on Monday after reports of “a fire and equipment failure” on Duke Energy’s power distribution grid, spokesperson Jeff Brooks said in an email. A day later, the Durham Police Department, with assistance from the FBI, responded to an area in southeast Durham after receiving a call about the damaged power equipment, according to a police news release. The company’s workers told officers that the equipment had been damaged by gunfire within the past week. Damage from the gunfire caused a “slow oil leak” from the power equipment, which ultimately led to a fire breaking out, police said. The incident is under investigation and no one had been arrested as of Thursday. While Duke Energy verified the damage was associated with the outage, Brooks said the company hasn’t confirmed what ultimately led to the equipment failing and is waiting until the investigation is completed. “We have been working to strengthen our electric grid to make it more resistant to extended outages from severe weather, as well as physical and cyber threats,” Brooks said. “We are also improving the resiliency of the grid to help restore power faster when a disruption occurs.” Officials didn’t immediately specify what kind of equipment was damaged. The incident comes as North Carolina lawmakers have advanced legislation to toughen penalties for people who carry out attacks on infrastructure such as public water sites and manufacturing facilities. Property damage to utility services has gotten attention since two power substations were shot at in Moore County in December 2022. The incident left thousands of residents without power in frigid temperatures for days. Arrests still have not been made. In response, Gov. Roy Cooper signed a bill unanimously passed by state legislators last year that increased penalties for people who purposefully damage energy facilities and telephone and broadband equipment. Now, the state legislature is looking to expand punishments for intentionally damaging a wider variety of infrastructure services, including public water systems, wastewater treatment facilities, public utilities and manufacturing facilities. The penalty for damaging those areas on purpose would be a felony, according to the bill. It also allows for people who suffer harm as a result of infrastructure property damage to sue the person who committed the crime or aided it. “This is just an extension of our critical infrastructure protection in our state,” Senate Majority Leader Paul Newton said in the Senate Agriculture, Energy, and Environment Committee last week. The bill has since been referred to another committee since its approval in the agriculture committee, but it has yet to be scheduled for a hearing.

I'm an only child who was raised by my grandmother. My childhood was lonely, but I'm still choosing to be child-free. 2024-06-13 21:20:16+00:00 - By clicking “Sign Up”, you accept our Terms of Service and Privacy Policy . You can opt-out at any time by visiting our Preferences page or by clicking "unsubscribe" at the bottom of the email. I´m in my 30s, but I joke that I´ve been a grandma since birth. I'm an only child, and my grandmother raised me while my parents were out of the picture. I grew up in a sleepy town built around fishermen and summer tourists. My grandmother's house was on a peninsula, a seven-mile stretch of the Atlantic on the south shore of Massachusetts. My grandmother was my world, and I understood from a young age that I was lucky to live with her; grandparents aren't obligated to raise their child´s child, and if it weren't for her willingness to act as my guardian, I´m not sure what would have become of me. But I still envied my peers with siblings or close cousins; I'd walk the beach with my grandma and long to join kids who were learning to surf with their parents or playing volleyball as a family, activities my aging grandmother simply couldn't keep up with. I´ve always had poor eyesight and often became clingy and afraid without my glasses. I'd never been able to see my grandmother from the water and dreaded seeing her become a blurry speck on shore. I remember her best up close: big dark eyes, small stature, knuckles gnarled from arthritis. Advertisement I felt safer right beside her, where I could see her clearly and trust she wouldn´t simply disappear, but I knew better than to ask her to swim with me; she wore slacks and blouses to the beach for a reason. She raised six children, then me — I understood she was fragile, and that I was lucky to live with her during her golden years. She often told me, "My body doesn't recover like yours," and encouraged me to do scary things on my own, like search for shells underwater and say hi to strangers. I was lonely in childhood, but I still choose to be child-free I didn't much enjoy childhood, but as a child-free adult by choice, I'm embracing the freedom being childless gives me with the support of my chosen family. Since moving from my grandmother's home more than a decade ago — first to New York, then Boston, then DC, then Atlanta, then Seattle, and now an island in the Caribbean — I´ve greeted many strangers and felt both lonely and beloved. Related stories Since her death eight years ago, I've traveled the world like my grandmother never got to — taken solo trips to Iceland for all-night sunshine, gone to Montreal for Pride, and recently, visited the French Alps to spend time with a friend and her wife — and even saved up for corrective eye surgery, hoping Lasik would make me braver, as well as more sporty and spontaneous. Advertisement After Lasik, I did become braver — I joined strangers to go hiking, signed myself and my wife up for snowshoeing, and went camping with girls I knew from the internet. I felt less nerdy, less the shy girl hiding behind a book (though I did, and do, always carry a book with me). It's taken a return to the Atlantic, where my wife and I live for her job, to realize what I don't need is to simply see clearly, but to trust I have people looking out for me. We fill our lives with the love of our friends My wife and I are firm on our decision not to have children, but after moving cross-country for work repeatedly, we´ve come to love hosting people at our home to build memories. My friend and her wife came to visit us from France, bringing with them a penchant for home cooking and tips on how to air-dry clothes. We snorkeled, swam, and spent long hours exploring the island. I fretted about nature cooperating, but my friend just reassured me they came to spend time with me — she doesn't even like the heat! Our friends are already planning to come back and stay with us again, creating new memories and traditions. They even discussed the logistics of bringing a future child and talked about names and parenting values. Advertisement I hoped I'd have shaken the chronic loneliness of my childhood by the time I became an adult and learned to embrace being alone without feeling alone, but instead, I'm giving myself the company I always longed for. Over the years, I've joined a queer bowling league, played bingo orchestrated by drag queens, and dragged my wife to board game nights. Growing up, I was jealous of kids who had siblings because at least they had someone as a built-in companion, but nurturing friendships in adulthood is teaching me the value of a small but earnest circle. It's not about having people beside me, as I once envied, but about people who will forge the distance, even when it's a plane ride away. Watching my friends excitedly become parents affirms my decision not to. It could be tempting to have kids to facilitate the childhood I didn't have, filled with siblings and active parents, but parenting to heal childhood wounds feels misguided and puts the onus on a child who didn't ask to be here. I also don't trust myself to teach someone about the world when I´ve barely figured it out myself. My younger self wouldn't believe I´m not only openly gay but married, and she especially wouldn't believe I have people looking out for me, even when they're out of sight.

Ford To Allow All US Dealers To Sell Electric Vehicles, Scraps Model E Program - Ford Motor (NYSE:F) 2024-06-13 21:16:00+00:00 - Loading... Loading... Ford Motor Co. F is allowing all of its dealerships in the U.S. to sell electric vehicles (EVs) from July 1. This decision comes as the automaker discontinues its voluntary Model e certification program. What Happened: The Model e program, introduced in 2022, required dealers to make substantial investments in charging stations, training, and other equipment to support the sales and service of EVs. Dealers who didn’t meet these requirements were ineligible to sell EVs. The program was implemented during a surge in EV demand due to the global microchip shortage, which disrupted the production of traditional vehicles. The Model e program faced legal challenges, and EV sales didn’t grow as expected due to customer concerns about pricing, access to charging stations, and lifestyle changes. The decision to discontinue the program will double the number of U.S. Ford dealers eligible to sell EVs to 2,800. Marin Gjaja, Ford’s Chief Operating Officer of the Model e EV business division, said, “We’re getting into the tough innings. We’re getting into the early majority customer who isn’t in it just for technology and willing to pay a premium. They want a practical, usable vehicle.” He added, “We need Ford and our dealers pulling together to help bring the market along.” See Also: Biden Says He Can Answer Questions That Trump Can’t – ‘You Won’t Catch Me Ranting On Truth Social At 3 O’C Why It Matters: The decision to allow all dealers to sell EVs comes as Ford has been making significant strides in its EV strategy. In June, it was reported that Ford was recruiting top talent from Rivian, Tesla, and Apple to bolster its low-cost EV team. This move was part of Ford’s efforts to build a flexible platform that could be used for various types of vehicles. Despite the challenges, Ford’s EV sales have seen an 88% increase this year. The decision to allow all dealers to sell EVs is expected to further boost EV sales. Gjaja also mentioned that the company will require its dealers to install two Level 2 charging stations by March 31, 2025, to sell EVs and have their employees participate in EV training. Despite the challenges, Ford’s EV sales have seen an 88% increase this year. The decision to allow all dealers to sell EVs is expected to further boost EV sales. Gjaja also mentioned that the company will require its dealers to install two Level 2 charging stations by March 31, 2025, to sell EVs and have their employees participate in EV training. Read Next: Donald Trump Opens 21-Point Lead In 2024 Presidential Race, According To Crypto Bettors This content was partially produced with the help of AI tools and was reviewed and published by Benzinga editors.

Tesla Shareholders Approve Big Stock Package for Musk 2024-06-13 21:13:08+00:00 - Tesla shareholders have reaffirmed a pay award of more than $45 billion for Elon Musk, the chief executive, after it was thrown out in a legal challenge. The vote result, announced at Tesla’s annual meeting at its headquarters in Austin, Texas, on Thursday, is a strong sign that shareholders still believe in Mr. Musk and it could persuade the judge who voided the award to reinstate it. Support for the pay plan will come as a relief to Mr. Musk’s admirers, who feared that rejection would prompt him to spend less time managing Tesla or even quit. The vote was a setback for investors who had hoped it would send a message about the accountability of chief executives and the limits of executive pay. The outcome may also help Mr. Musk qualify as the world’s richest person, worth well over $200 billion.

Adobe shares soar 17% on better-than-expected results 2024-06-13 21:13:00+00:00 - Adobe shares jumped 17% in extended trading on Thursday after the design software maker reported earnings and revenue that topped estimates and lifted full-year guidance. Here's how the company did in comparison with LSEG consensus: Earnings per share: $4.48 adjusted, vs. $4.39 expected $4.48 adjusted, vs. $4.39 expected Revenue: $5.31 billion vs. $5.29 billion expected Adobe's revenue grew 10% year over year in the quarter, which ended on May 31, according to a statement. The company called for adjusted earnings per share of $4.50 to $4.55 for the fiscal third quarter, with $5.33 billion to $5.38 billion in revenue. Analysts polled by LSEG were looking for $4.48 in adjusted earnings per share and $5.4 billion in revenue. Net-new annualized recurring revenue for the Digital Media business that includes Creative Cloud subscriptions came in at $487 million, above the StreetAccount consensus of $437.4 million. Adobe bumped up its view for the 2024 fiscal year, calling for full-year adjusted earnings per share between $18.00 and $18.20 and revenue of $21.40 billion to $21.50 billion. Analysts surveyed by LSEG had projected $18.02 per share in adjusted earnings and $21.46 billion in revenue. The forecast in March was $17.60 to $18.00 in adjusted earnings per share, with $21.30 billion to $21.50 billion in revenue. In recent weeks software peers SentinelOne, UiPath, Veeva reduced their full-year revenue guidance citing economic weakness and corporate interest in artificial intelligence development. CEO Shantanu Narayen told analysts on a conference call that there were no changes to the economy that were worth calling out. During the quarter, Adobe announced the availability of a service for fine-tuning the company's Firefly generative artificial intelligence models to deliver image content consistent with clients' brand guidelines. "We're excited about the accelerating pace of innovation across the Digital Media business and pleased with the adoption of AI functionality as well as its early monetization across Document Cloud and Creative Cloud, including our flagship applications, Firefly services and Express," David Wadhwani, president of Adobe's Digital Media business, said on the call. Adobe is seeing Creative Cloud subscribers upgrading their plans to access Firefly capabilities, he said. Before Adobe issued Thursday's statement, shares were down 23% so far this year, while the S&P 500 index was up around 14%. This is breaking news. Please check back for updates. WATCH: Adobe CEO on AI innovation, expanding AI strategy and revenue growth

The life and career of Larry Ellison, Oracle's CTO and cofounder, who went from college dropout to the world's 7th richest person 2024-06-13 21:11:28+00:00 - Oracle announced in April that it would be moving its headquarters to Nashville, Tennessee. Ellison said in April that the new Nashville location will be a "huge campus." Malcolm MacGregor/Getty Images Despite its big move to Austin only four years ago, Ellison said that Oracle is planning to move its world headquarters to Nashville, Tennessee. In April 2024, the exec announced that Oracle has plans for a "huge campus" in Nashville that will one day serve as the software giant's world headquarters. The company relocated from the San Francisco area to Austin, Texas in 2020. "It's the center of the industry we're most concerned about, which is the healthcare industry," Ellison said at the Oracle Health Summit in Nashville, CNBC reported. Matt Weinberger and Taylor Nicole Rogers contributed to an earlier version of this story. Correction: May 7, 2024 — An earlier version of this story misstated Larry Ellison's role at Oracle. He's the chief technology officer, not the CEO.