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GameStop Stock is Heading Back to the $10 Level Soon: Take 2 2024-06-07 15:25:00+00:00 - GameStop NYSE: GME shares have retested the $10 level once and will do it again because the company is lost. Like Blockbuster before it, its once-hot business lost relevancy and has nowhere to go but out of business, and it looks like the failure is accelerating. The takeaways from the Q1 report are that this company is shedding business fast, losing money, and diluting shareholder value in a way that will make many short-sellers drool. GameStop Today GME GameStop $28.22 -18.33 (-39.38%) 52-Week Range $9.95 ▼ $64.83 P/E Ratio 352.79 Price Target $7.00 Add to Watchlist Among the biggest takeaways is the company's plans for another share sale. The company registered to sell up to 75 million more shares, 65% more than the sale completed last month and will dilute value again. The only good news is that GameStop will be able to shore up its balance sheet and keep itself in business for longer, providing more opportunities for meme-mania to drive volatility and entertainment value. Get GameStop alerts: Sign Up GameStop Circles the Drain as it Slowly Eats Itself to Death The capital drain, share sales, and dilution offered by GameStop are no-win situations for investors. The company reported $881.8 million in revenue for the quarter. There is some business to be found, but this is 29% lower than last year and 50% lower than last quarter, suggesting deterioration is accelerating. The revenue is also weaker than expected, and there is no hope for it to pick up due to the rapidly changing nature of video games from traditional models to cloud-based. Segmentally, all units performed poorly, leading to a 30% decline in the key hardware and software segments. Collectibles sales fell by 20%. Margin news is mixed. The company improved the gross margin and reduced the year-over-year losses. Still, deleveraging and increased costs cut into the operating margin, leaving losses that were worse than expected on a GAAP and adjusted basis. The adjusted loss of $0.12 is 3300 basis points short of the consensus and is not expected to improve this year. The balance sheet is still in good shape and even great despite the cash burn. The company sold some marketable securities during the quarter, bolstered the cash balance, and still has no significant debt. The cash balance is just over $1 billion and does not reflect last month's share sales. Adding that to the balance should put it near $2 billion at the end of the current quarter, not counting any new sales. The new filing allows for 75 million shares, diluting value by another double-digit amount but potentially raising another $1 billion or more in proceeds. The question is whether Mr. Cohen and GameStop can use that money to drive income and value or if it will slowly burn away as this company eats itself to death. GameStop Market Has Little Conviction There are some high-conviction participants in the GameStop market, but the market itself has no conviction that matters to investors. The analysts don’t buy, hold, or even sell it, and the institutions avoid it. Short-sellers are still in the mix and likely doubling down, with the price flip-flopping to multi-year highs on meme-mania. This means to investors and traders that volatility is the only thing to count on, and the bias for long-term action is lower. The price action in GME spiked in early market trading due to an announced live stream by Roaring Kitty, but it was quickly reversed. The early release of the Q1 results and announced share sale results in a 50% contraction from the early highs, leaving the market under pressure. The price action confirms resistance at $40 and suggests a move back to $20 or lower is coming. A move below $20 would be very bearish and likely lead to $10. If this thing hits $10 again, the odds are high it will fall into the single-digit range. Before you consider GameStop, 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 GameStop wasn't on the list. While GameStop currently has a "Sell" rating among analysts, top-rated analysts believe these five stocks are better buys. View The Five Stocks Here

Top 3 Bargain Stocks to Watch Near Their 52-Week Low Prices 2024-06-07 15:08:00+00:00 - Stocks are often exposed to the emotional ups and downs of the market cycle, where investors tend to amplify bullish and bearish sentiment, reflecting these extremes in their price swings. What savvy investors can do is take advantage of these swings to the benefit of their wealth-building pursuits, also known as buying the dip. Today, three stocks stand out when scanning for price action. CVS Health Co. NYSE: CVS is topping this list, trading at only 72% of its 52-week high price. It is followed by Nike Inc. NYSE: NKE, which recently fell to 77% of its 52-week high price. Lastly, McDonald’s Co. NYSE: MCD has traded down to 85% of its 52-week high. These stocks are big enough in their consumer discretionary and healthcare sectors. Their market capitalizations should be enough to keep these companies from falling to the low levels they have lost to today. Because of their recent discounts, they may soon be in the hands of those looking for solid brands to load onto their portfolios. Get WBA alerts: Sign Up Why Free Cash Flow Matters More Than Ever in Today’s Economy When the COVID-19 pandemic hit its peak months, the Federal Reserve (the Fed) was forced to lower interest rates to near zero to boost the economy through forced lockdowns. Because of cheap money and financing, the market has become complacent about taking on risk. What media outlets may call a ‘risk on’ attitude created a false sense of ease for investors to profit in the markets, but that changes today. As the U.S. GDP growth rate was revised down to only 1.3% in the past quarter, a period that also saw inflation above 3%, the economy is now under a phenomenon called stagflation. Defined as low economic growth along with high inflation, this environment calls for companies that can compound their capital reliably and predictably, which is where free cash flow (operating cash flow minus capital expenditures) comes into play, as it isn’t as easily manipulated as net income on a company’s financial statement. How CVS Stock’s Free Cash Flow Leverages Technology Investments for Future Growth CVS Health Today CVS CVS Health $61.78 +0.84 (+1.38%) 52-Week Range $52.77 ▼ $83.25 Dividend Yield 4.31% P/E Ratio 10.86 Price Target $75.05 Add to Watchlist Unlike its rival, Walgreens Boots Alliance Inc. NASDAQ: WBA, CVS has ample room to reinvest its profits into growth developments that will likely propel its stock price higher in the coming years. In its second quarter 2024 earnings results, Walgreens posted an operating cash outflow of $918 million, leaving the company with no cash flow to invest with. On the other hand, CVS posted an operating cash flow of $4.9 billion. Even after investing $705 million into capital expenditures, the company had roughly $4.2 billion left in free cash flow to do a few cool things for its investors. First, it bought $3 billion worth of stock, or roughly 30 million shares. This profitability also allowed management to partner with Microsoft Co. NASDAQ: MSFT and its cloud computing (Azure) healthcare capabilities. Because of this, CVS could likely differentiate itself from Walgreens in the coming years, making today’s price level somewhat of a bargain for investors looking to beat stagflation. Analysts at J.P. Morgan Chase also think that CVS could reach up to $86 a share, daring it to rally by 40.5% from where it trades today. Nike Stock on the Rise: Returning to True Value After Recent Dip NIKE Today NKE NIKE $96.55 +0.83 (+0.87%) 52-Week Range $88.66 ▼ $123.39 Dividend Yield 1.53% P/E Ratio 28.40 Price Target $116.26 Add to Watchlist After struggling to break out of its $90 to $100 a share channel, Nike stock investors could find a new reason to keep buying, and it’s all found in the company’s financials. Its positioning in the global athletic brands market drives the company’s moat and strong financials, of which Nike takes 43.7%. Because of this worldwide penetration and recognition, the company can generate returns on invested capital (ROIC) rates of over 12% a year. ROIC is essential because it's how a business compounds its capital, and a 12% rate or more definitely helps beat stagflation today. More than that, today's P/E ratio of 28.4x makes Nike stock the cheapest it has been since 2016 (Ex. COVID). Analysts could be right about the projected 21% upside through a $116.3 share price target. Why McDonald’s Can Outpace Inflation and Grow Profits McDonald's Today MCD McDonald's $256.21 -4.51 (-1.73%) 52-Week Range $245.73 ▼ $302.39 Dividend Yield 2.61% P/E Ratio 21.75 Price Target $316.15 Add to Watchlist Another giant moat is found in McDonald’s stock, taking a similar 43.8% market share over the fast food industry, opening a path for management to leverage this pricing power and global presence into compounding profits for shareholders. This trend can be spotted in the company’s 16% plus ROIC rates over the past five years, making today’s 22x P/E ratio not only the cheapest in nearly a decade but also unjustifiably low, considering how reliable the business is at compounding investor wealth. There’s a reason why Warren Buffett owns the stock, and posting $7.1 billion in free cash flow over the past year could be one of them. With this profitability, McDonald’s management gave back $3.4 billion to its shareholders by buying back over 10 million shares off the market. Wall Street analysts see these trends as a surefire way to escape stagflation. They now project a 22% upside from today’s prices via a $316.2 share price target. Before you consider Walgreens Boots Alliance, 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 Walgreens Boots Alliance wasn't on the list. While Walgreens Boots Alliance currently has a "Reduce" rating among analysts, top-rated analysts believe these five stocks are better buys. View The Five Stocks Here

Bargain Alert: MongoDB Stock Upside Potential Just Exploded 2024-06-07 15:00:00+00:00 - If the 25% drop after their Q1 earnings didn't tell you enough, the further 6% that MongoDB Inc NASDAQ: MDB has slid should. At a time when many of the bigger tech companies out there are back trading near, if not at, all-time highs, this was not good. MongoDB Today MDB MongoDB $227.02 -2.86 (-1.24%) 52-Week Range $222.78 ▼ $509.62 Price Target $364.11 Add to Watchlist Investors would already have been feeling the pinch since MongoDB shares began slipping in early February, as their multi-month rally came to an end. Having lost more than 75% in the selloff following 2021's all-time high, the recovery story had been building potential. However, a run of negative updates meant that while the likes of corporate software peer Salesforce Inc NYSE: CRM were hitting a high in March, MongoDB was starting what has now become a 55% haircut. Get MongoDB alerts: Sign Up MongoDB's Strong Earnings But Weak Guidance The latest twist of the knife came from the company's Q1 earnings, which were released last week. While the data giant managed to top expectations for both topline revenue and bottom-line earnings, its forward guidance was well off the mark. Despite posting solid year-over-year revenue growth of 22% for the previous quarter, the company is now expecting $460 million to $464 million for Q2, which missed the consensus expectation of $471 million. This deceleration warning was echoed in management's forward guidance for their Q2 earnings, too, with them now expected to land between $0.46 and $0.49, against the previous consensus of $0.57. As CEO Dev Ittycheria said with the release, "We had a slower than expected start to the year for both Atlas consumption growth and new workload wins, which will have a downstream impact for the remainder of fiscal 2025." Golden Entry Opportunity for MongoDB Investors However, those of us on the sidelines could be looking at a golden entry opportunity. While the poor forward guidance would usually be enough to warrant multiple analyst downgrades and calls for the stock to be avoided at all costs, the opposite is the case with MongoDB. MongoDB MarketRank™ Stock Analysis Overall MarketRank™ 4.66 out of 5 Analyst Rating Moderate Buy Upside/Downside 60.4% Upside Short Interest Healthy Dividend Strength N/A Sustainability -0.59 News Sentiment 0.38 Insider Trading Selling Shares Projected Earnings Growth Growing See Full Details Within a day of last week's release, multiple analysts were out reiterating their Buy and Outperform ratings and calling this a "buy the dip" opportunity. Stifel, for example, acknowledged the "consumption slowdown," which had materialized as a significant headwind, but they still see the company maintaining year-over-year revenue growth of 20% into 2025 and beyond. While they trimmed their price target back to $300 as part of their Buy reiteration, that's still pointing to a targeted upside of some 30% from where MongoDB shares were trading going into the weekend. It was a similar story with the team at Loop Capital, who also reiterated their Buy rating while trimming their price target back to $325. In a note to investors, they spoke to MongoDB, remaining one of the strongest growth stories out there, and their targeted 40% upside speaks volumes about this. In fact, some analysts who had previously been bearish on MongoDB took the opportunity to change their outlook. Seize the Rare Investment Opportunity in MongoDB Guggenheim was one of those few teams that actually had MongoDB rated a Sell before their latest earnings report but who saw fit to upgrade them to a Neutral in the aftermath. All told, there were at least 14 upgrades or Buy reiterations in the days following the release, with the highest refreshed price target being the $380 from JMP Securities. The potential 65% upside might be too enticing for investors to ignore. Such opportunities are rare, making it hard to pass up this chance. Some readers may find the fact that shares have yet to bottom out off-putting, so as a starting point, look for them to put in a strong close where they finish at or near their high of the day. This could signal that the bears are losing control and that momentum is swinging around to the bulls. Before you consider MongoDB, 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 MongoDB wasn't on the list. While MongoDB currently has a "Moderate Buy" rating among analysts, top-rated analysts believe these five stocks are better buys. View The Five Stocks Here

Stock market today: Stocks slip and bond yields jump following a hotter-than-expected jobs report 2024-06-07 07:03:16+00:00 - NEW YORK (AP) — Stocks slipped and Treasury yields rose sharply Friday after the government released a jobs report whose headline numbers came in hotter than expected. Overall, the report suggests markets may have to wait even longer for interest rate cuts from the Federal Reserve. The S&P 500 fell 5.97 points, or 0.1%, to 5,346.99. The listless finish capped off an otherwise strong week for the benchmark index that included a record high. It rose 1.3% for the week. The Nasdaq composite slipped 39.99 points, or 0.2%, to 38,798.99. It was a meek finish to a week where it gained 2.4%, while also reaching a record high. The Dow Jones Industrial Average slipped 87.18 points, or 0.2%, to 38,798.99. Smaller company stocks fared much worse. The Russell 2000 fell 1.1%. U.S. employers added 272,000 jobs in May, up from April and greater than economists expected. The report also showed the unemployment rate rising for a second straight month. Overall, it signals continued strength in the jobs market, with some minor signs of weakening. The strong jobs market has supported consumer spending and the broader economy, but it has also been complicating the Federal Reserve’s path ahead for interest rates. The yield on the 10-year Treasury jumped to 4.43% from 4.29% just before the jobs report was released. The two-year yield, which more closely tracks expectations for the Fed, jumped to 4.89% from 4.74% prior to the report’s release. Wall Street is hoping for at least one cut to the Fed’s benchmark interest rate before the year ends. The central bank raised its interest rate to its highest level in more than two decades in an attempt to cool inflation to its target of 2%. However, inflation has been stubbornly hovering around 3% after dropping sharply over the last two years. A strong economy could keep fueling price increases. “To those who are worried about inflation, especially the Federal Reserve, the report should raise concerns that wage pressure and sticky inflation is more likely to persist than be transitory,” said Chris Zaccarelli, chief investment officer for Independent Advisor Alliance. A cooldown for the economy can drive inflation lower and prompt the Fed to deliver the cuts to interest rates that traders desire so much. The danger is if the slowdown for the economy overshoots and turns into a recession, which would ultimately hurt stock prices. Economic data from earlier in the week had hinted that the economy could be cooling. The latest reports show that manufacturing contracted in May, worker productivity isn’t as strong as economists thought and job openings are dropping. Those softening signals, along with big gains for chip companies focusing on artificial-intelligence technology, helped push the market to record highs throughout the week. Updates next week on prices at the wholesale and consumer levels will be closely watched by both investors and the Fed to get a clearer view of inflation’s path. Fed officials are expected to hold interest rates steady at their meeting next week. After the jobs report came out, investors took even more bets off the table that the Fed would cut rates at its July meeting, according to data from CME Group. Wall Street has also been monitoring earnings from retailers, which have shown that customers have been pulling back on items that aren’t essentials. Consumer spending has been the main support for the economy, but stubborn inflation is hurting consumers, especially those with lower incomes. GameStop, the troubled video game retailer at the center of the meme stock craze, slumped 39.4% after reporting another quarterly loss and saying it planned to sell up to 75 million more shares.

GameStop surges almost 50% as 'Roaring Kitty' teases livestream 2024-06-07 04:29:00+00:00 - (Reuters) -Shares of GameStop surged nearly 50% on Thursday after the online stock influencer known as "Roaring Kitty" posted on YouTube that he would host a livestream on Friday. Thursday's surge was the latest in a bout of volatile trading in the struggling videogame seller's shares that kicked off last month after the influencer, whose real name is Keith Gill, returned to X.com after a three-year hiatus. The "Roaring Kitty" channel on YouTube on Thursday showed an upcoming livestream scheduled for 12 p.m. ET (1600 GMT) on Friday. On Monday, GameStop shares closed over 20% higher after Gill's Reddit profile returned with a post showing a $116 million bet on the stock after a three-year gap. Gill was a key player in the 2021 rally in GameStop and other so-called meme stocks that was fueled by individual investors on Reddit's wallstreetbets forum. His recent return to social media rekindled rallies in GameStop, as well as other shares popular with individual traders on social media. AMC Entertainment jumped 12% on Thursday, while headphone maker Koss rallied 15%. Gill developed a cult following of traders who fueled sharp gains in GameStop, which scalded hedge funds that had bet against the shopping mall retailer that was struggling with shrinking sales as videogame fans shifted to online purchases. Ending Thursday at $46.55 per share, GameStop has surged over 160% in 2024. In 2021, the stock reached an intra-day peak of nearly $121 before tumbling nearly 90% in the following five sessions. Gill did not immediately respond to a request for comment about the upcoming livestream. The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission investigated the meme stock craze of 2021, ultimately finding that marketplace systems worked well. (Reporting by Noel Randewich; Editing by Nick Zieminski and Lisa Shumaker)

US prepares for antitrust clash with AI heavyweights Nvidia, OpenAI, Microsoft 2024-06-07 03:01:00+00:00 - The biggest antitrust regulators in the US are stepping up their scrutiny of the nation’s most powerful developers of artificial intelligence. The Justice Department and the Federal Trade Commission have launched and divided up investigations of Nvidia (NVDA), Microsoft (MSFT) and OpenAI, according to reporting from the New York Times and Wall Street Journal. The DOJ will lead a probe of Nvidia’s (NVDA) dominance in the market for microprocessors that power AI, according to the Times. The FTC would lead antitrust investigations into Microsoft and OpenAI. Federal Trade Commission Chair Lina Khan, left, and assistant attorney general for antitrust Jonathan Kanter participate in a discussion on antitrust reforms last October in Washington, DC. (Photo by Drew Angerer/Getty Images) (Drew Angerer via Getty Images) The new scrutiny is part of a wide-ranging effort by the Biden administration to rein in what it views as anticompetitive behavior across a number of industries, from healthcare to groceries to tech. The administration has already alleged anticompetitive conduct against tech giants Apple (AAPL) and Amazon (AMZN), and claimed that Microsoft's acquisition of gaming giant Activision Blizzard would create a gaming market monopoly. It also took to trial a case filed by the Trump administration over Alphabet's (GOOG, GOOGL) dominance in search. A judge is currently weighing the evidence in that case, with a decision expected this year. The efforts have not always been successful. The FTC failed in its challenge against Microsoft’s acquisition of Activision Blizzard and fell short in a separate battle to prevent Meta (META) from being able to purchase VR company Within. The FTC made it clear last year that it wanted to look a lot closer at the burgeoning field of AI. It said last July that it had started a consumer protection-based investigation into OpenAI’s data collection practices, and potential harms caused by the output of its large language models (LLMs). Then in January, it began a broader inquiry into deals between Big Tech and AI developers, including Microsoft’s $13 billion investment in OpenAI, and Alphabet’s relationship with rival AI developer Anthropic. The Wall Street Journal reported that the FTC’s probe of Microsoft will extend beyond an examination of the tech giant's conduct to include a deal it reached with AI developer Inflection AI. According to the Journal, the FTC wants to know why Microsoft chose to pay Inflection a $650 million licensing fee to resell Inflection's technology, rather than buy it. The regulator's interest was piqued, according to the report, because Microsoft also acquired most of Inflection’s staff as part of the accord. In response to the report, Microsoft’s spokesperson said the agreements with Inflection gave it an opportunity to recruit Inflection AI staff and accelerate development of its AI chat interface Microsoft Copilot. Story continues That structure, Microsoft said, enables Inflection to continue pursuing its independent business and ambition as an AI studio. "We take our legal obligations to report transactions under the HSR Act seriously and are confident that we have complied with those obligations," the spokesperson said. Both companies received subpoenas from the FTC asking for information tied to the deal, the Journal reported. Nvidia declined to comment on the reports. Michael Carrier, an antitrust expert and co-director of Rutgers Institute for Information Policy and Law, said antitrust regulators looking to test the Microsoft agreement against antitrust laws will look to the substance and not the structure of the deal. "The agency will try to determine whether Microsoft restructured this deal in a way that gave it control of InflectionAI while avoiding FTC review of the transaction," Carrier said. Alexis Keenan is a legal reporter for Yahoo Finance. Follow Alexis on Twitter @alexiskweed. Click here for the latest technology news that will impact the stock market. Read the latest financial and business news from Yahoo Finance

Jerome Powell could spark a serious stock market surge—even though he’s not cutting rates, Wall Street guru Ed Yardeni says 2024-06-07 01:58:00+00:00 - Investors will be closely watching Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell’s press conference after next week’s rate-setting meeting. Federal Open Market Committee (FOMC) officials are widely expected to hold interest rates steady on June 12, as inflation has stuck well above its 2% target and consumers are proving largely resilient to higher borrowing costs. But with just a few key words at his press conference next week, Powell could still give investors hope that rate cuts are on the way sometime this year, sparking a stock market rally. At least that’s the opinion of Ed Yardeni, the veteran Wall Street strategist and former Fed economist who now runs Yardeni Research. Yardeni currently sees a 20% chance of a “melt-up” for the stock market, but if Powell “sings a dovish tune” at his press conference next week, he promises to raise those odds. And it’s no wonder why, really. Powell has proven his ability to move markets with just a single phrase on numerous occasions, most famously at the Fed’s Jackson Hole symposium in August 2022. There, Powell warned that he was dedicated to fighting inflation, even if it meant there would be some “pain” for Americans. The comments led stocks to plummet in the following weeks as investors penciled in more aggressive interest rate hikes. Now, markets could be in for a different kind of surprise—and it’s one that would be far more appealing. Still, in his Wednesday note to clients, Yardeni opined that there is no reason for the Fed to cut rates, given that the economy is slowing just as officials had hoped, enabling inflation to cool (slowly) without triggering a recession. The U.S. is experiencing the “soft landing” that Powell has been dreaming of since 2022 even with higher interest rates, according to Yardeni; not the “hard landing” that Wall Street wrongly predicted for years. That means interest rate cuts meant to stoke growth will do more harm than good—at least for the economy. Yardeni has warned for months that cutting rates at any time in the coming months would be a “mistake” that would only serve to reignite inflation. Of course, for investors, Fed rate cuts are a different story. Lower borrowing costs and the promise of increased lending and investment in the economy are apt to supercharge the already impressive rally in stocks, which have clocked a nearly 13% rise year to date. Or as Yardeni put it: “If they do act prematurely [and cut rates]—before inflation is convincingly back down to their 2.0% target—they risk fueling a melt-up in the stock market, one that may already be underway.” Story continues Still, most experts, including Yardeni, believe Powell will be careful not to sound too dovish in his post-FOMC press conference next week. “We expect Fed Chair Jerome Powell to push back against the markets’ excitement about the prospects of Fed easing,” he said. Michael Gapen, chief U.S. economist at Bank of America, is also predicting Powell will “preach patience” at the press conference. In a Thursday note, Gapen said he sees the Fed revising its outlook to include slower economic growth that would typically call for rate cuts, but also “firmer” inflation that would call for rate hikes. To his point, the Fed’s favorite inflation gauge hasn’t cooled as much as officials would have liked this year. Year-over-year inflation as measured by the core personal consumption expenditures (PCE) price index, which excludes more volatile food and energy prices, has fallen only slightly, from 2.9% last December to 2.8% in April. That would normally signal that interest rates need to remain high. But at the same time, GDP growth slowed from 3.4% in the fourth quarter of last year to just 1.6% in the first quarter of this year, and that figure was revised down to a paltry 1.3% on May 30. With these mixed messages coming from economic data, Gapen said, Powell is likely to signal that he will hold rates steady for “as long as is needed” to gain confidence that inflation is under control, but his fundamental disposition toward cuts won’t change, given the weaker economic growth. “The bottom line is we think the message will be that the April employment and inflation reports, among other data, have reaffirmed the Fed's view that the next move will be a cut. That said, it has not seen enough data to think that cut is coming soon,” he wrote. This story was originally featured on Fortune.com

GameStop stock soars 47% as 'Roaring Kitty' announces livestream, reveals $382 million unrealized gain 2024-06-07 01:38:00+00:00 - GameStop (GME) stock rose 47% on Thursday after a YouTube account believed to be tied to investor Keith Gill, also known as "Roaring Kitty" on social media, posted a livestream scheduled for Friday at noon ET. After the market close, Reddit user DeepF—ingValue, an account previously tied to Gill, posted a new screenshot purporting to show their position in the video game retailer ballooning to $586 million, including stock holdings and unexercised options positions. DeepF——ingValue's purported GameStop holdings. (Screenshot via Reddit) Earlier this week, the same user revealed they'd paid $175 million for a position in GameStop at that time valued closer to $210 million. Shares surged following that disclosure, too. Friday's live strean would be the first live appearance on the channel since Gill helped ignite the meme stock rally in 2021 via bullish videos and posts about the video game retailer. "The Roaring Kitty channel and live streams are for educational and entertainment purposes only. I don't provide personal investment advice or stock recommendations during the stream," read the YouTube account's description. The channel has more than 730,000 subscribers. Shares of GameStop have been on a rollercoaster over the past month as Gill reemerged across social media. Late Monday, following the user's emergence over the weekend, the Wall Street Journal reported that executives at Morgan Stanley's E-Trade platform were considering kicking off an account tied to the screenshot. Shares of GameStop fell some 5% the next day. "Is whoever controlling this account doing this in your best interest or in their best interest? And, really, you should think that one through because, to me, it [is] pretty obvious whose interest it's in," Steve Sosnick, chief strategist at Interactive Brokers, told Yahoo Finance earlier this week. "If you're chasing the stock up here, you're more likely than not the source of liquidity for whoever is controlling this account to sell into your enthusiasm." GameStop rallied 180% over a span of two days in mid-May after "Roaring Kitty" posted for the first time on X, formerly known as Twitter, since 2021. Last month's rally was short-lived, and analysts warned the meme action this time around was a far cry from the level of retail inflows seen in 2021. More than three years ago, Gill, along with the CEOs of Robinhood (HOOD), Citadel, Reddit (RDDT), and Melvin Capital, all appeared as part of a congressional committee’s investigation into the wild retail investor-driven short squeeze of GameStop’s stock price. Story continues In his testimony before the House Financial Services Committee, Gill laid out his case for why he invested in the struggling video game retailer. Keith Gill, a GameStop investor, also known in social media forums as Roaring Kitty, testifies during a virtual hearing on GameStop in Washington in 2021. (House Financial Services Committee via AP, File) (ASSOCIATED PRESS) Correction: An earlier version of this story referred to E-Trade as JPMorgan's trading platform. The platform is owned by Morgan Stanley. We regret the error. Ines Ferre is a senior business reporter for Yahoo Finance. Follow her on X at @ines_ferre.

New "Hunger Games" book announced for 2025 — 4 years after last release 2024-06-06 22:24:00+00:00 - Where's Alexus? Checking out 'Hunger Games' movie props at Washington Street Books and Music in Har Where's Alexus? Checking out 'Hunger Games' movie props at Washington Street Books and Music in Har 02:46 Inspired by an 18th century Scottish philosopher and the modern scourge of misinformation, Suzanne Collins is returning to the ravaged, post-apocalyptic land of Panem for a new "The Hunger Games" novel. Scholastic announced Thursday that "Sunrise on the Reaping," the fifth volume of Collins' blockbuster dystopian series, will be published March 18, 2025. The new book begins with the reaping of the Fiftieth Hunger Games, set 24 years before the original "Hunger Games" novel, which came out in 2008, and 40 years after Collins' most recent book, "The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes." Lionsgate, which has released film adaptations of all four previous "Hunger Games" books, announced later on Thursday that "Sunrise on the Reaping" will open in theaters on Nov. 20, 2026. Francis Lawrence, who has worked on all but the first "Hunger Games" movie, will return as director. The first four "Hunger Games" books have sold more than 100 million copies and been translated into dozens of languages. Collins had seemingly ended the series after the 2010 publication of "Mockingjay," writing in 2015 that it was "time to move on to other lands." But four years later, she stunned readers and the publishing world when she revealed she was working on what became "The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes," released in 2020 and set 64 years before the first book. Collins has drawn upon Greek mythology and the Roman gladiator games for her earlier "Hunger Games" books. But for the upcoming novel, she cites the Scottish Enlightenment philosopher David Hume. "With 'Sunrise on the Reaping,' I was inspired by David Hume's idea of implicit submission and, in his words, 'the easiness with which the many are governed by the few,'" Collins said in a statement. "The story also lent itself to a deeper dive into the use of propaganda and the power of those who control the narrative. The question 'Real or not real?' seems more pressing to me every day." The "Hunger Games" movies are a multibillion dollar franchise for Lionsgate. Jennifer Lawrence portrayed heroine Katniss Everdeen in the film versions of "The Hunger Games," "Catching Fire" and "Mockingjay," the last of which came out in two installments. Other featured actors have included Philip Seymour Hoffman, Josh Hutcherson, Stanley Tucci and Donald Sutherland. "Suzanne Collins is a master storyteller and our creative north star," Lionsgate chair Adam Fogelson said in a statement. "We couldn't be more fortunate than to be guided and trusted by a collaborator whose talent and imagination are so consistently brilliant." The film version of "Songbirds and Snakes," starring Tom Blyth and Rachel Zegler, came out last year. This fall, a "Hunger Games" stage production is scheduled to debut in London.

GameStop stock soars after Keith Gill, or "Roaring Kitty," reveals plan for YouTube return 2024-06-06 22:18:00+00:00 - Why are GameStop shares on the rise again? Why are GameStop shares on the rise again? Why are GameStop shares on the rise again? GameStop shares surged Friday after Keith Gill, whose relentless cheerleading under his online handle "Roaring Kitty" has spurred retail investors to back the struggling video game chain, revealed plans to appear on YouTube for the first time in three years. The Roaring Kitty YouTube channel, which has more than 700,000 subscribers, revealed that Gill has scheduled a June 7 livestream. The post sent GameStop's stock price, which trades under the ticker symbol "GME," rocketing up 47% on the day to $47.55. GameStop's stock also spiked three weeks ago when Gill initially resurfaced online after a long hiatus, posting a cryptic image on X of a sketched man leaning forward in a chair. As Roaring Kitty, Gill posted videos on YouTube during the pandemic — at a time when Americans were stuck indoors, leading some to try their hands at investing. But Gill largely vanished from the retail investor scene in 2021 after testifying before Congress about the "meme stock" craze. Fur in the game Gill, a financial analyst turned social media influencer, certainly appears to have some fur in the game. Earlier this month, he posted a screenshot in Reddit forum showing that Gill's holding in GameStop shares topped $115 million — a stake that would be even larger given the latest upturn in the stock. Gill's return to social media has also propelled gains in other downtrodden stocks embraced by amateur investors, including AMC Entertainment and BlackBerry. Yet Gill's rabid social media following is also attracting scrutiny. The Wall Street Journal reported Monday that E*Trade was considering booting Gill from the trading platform because of concerns about possible stock manipulation related to his GameStop activities. Before Gill's rise to popularity, GameStop had experienced declining sales amid an industrywide pivot from game cartridges to video game streaming and digital downloads. But with the help from meme stock investors, the company in March turned its first profit in two years. GameStop said in a regulatory filing last month that it sold a new batch of 45 million shares, generating more than $933 million in fresh capital. Prior to March, GameStop had posted seven straight quarterly losses. In January, the company reported its first annual profit since 2018. The company appointed Ryan Cohen, the billionaire founder of online pet supplies company Chewy, as its new CEO last September. As of February, GameStop had 4,169 locations, including 2,915 in the U.S.

Milwaukee-based retail giant Kohl's says 'No' to sponsoring Republican convention events 2024-06-06 22:00:00+00:00 - A Kohl's department store sign hangs outside the building on March 12, 2024 in Miami, Florida. Shares of Kohl's fell as it posted a drop in same-store sales in the fourth quarter. Milwaukee based department store giant Kohl's says it will not sponsor any events related to the Republican National Convention in that city this summer, where Donald Trump will be crowned the party's nominee for president. "Kohl's is not a political organization nor donor and is not sponsoring nor engaging in any specific RNC events," a spokeswoman for the company told CNBC. "We support the business community through the Metropolitan Milwaukee Association of Commerce." The convention is expected to bring around 50,000 people to the Brew City from July 15 - 18, culminating in Trump's all but certain acceptance of his party's nomination on the final night. The announcement comes as both Republicans and Democrats are scrambling to secure corporate support for their party conventions at a time when many big name brands are trying to stay far away from politics. Among Wisconsin's largest companies on the Fortune 500, the top two are planning to directly sponsor the convention: Northwestern Mutual and Fiserv. The next two, ManpowerGroup and Kohl's, are not. ManpowerGroup told CNBC it is supporting the nonprofit Milwaukee 2024 Host Committee through donations to the Metropolitan Milwaukee Association of Commerce (MMAC). "We have not directly provided funds to the RNC but rather MMAC has provided funds on our and others behalf, just like they did for the DNC [Democratic National Convention]," a spokeswoman said. Northwestern Mutual, on the other hand, is on the host committee, and its CEO John Schlifske is reportedly helping to raise money for the group. Trump narrowly won Wisconsin in his first presidential campaign in 2016. But he lost the state to President Joe Biden in 2020. The state is viewed by both Republicans and Democrats as a must-win this November. Kohl's has not funded either the Republican or Democratic conventions for over a decade, according to Federal Election Commission filings. In 2002, the company donated $10,000 to the Republican National Committee's state elections committee, with funds mostly dedicated to GOP state parties, according to FEC records. The state's late Democratic senator, Herb Kohl, was president of his family-founded company until the late 1970s. The absence of Kohl's from the list of Republican convention sponsors notable, given that convention organizers have publicly touted the importance of Wisconsin-based companies helping to fund and organize the event. Former Trump chief of staff Reince Priebus, who is chair of the city's host committee, told The Wall Street Journal that virtually all of Wisconsin's Fortune 500 companies have pledged financial support. The Republican convention is aiming to raise roughly $70 million. Representatives for the Republican National Committee and the Milwaukee host committee did not return requests for comment. Kohl's' decision to hold off on donating to the convention coincides with the company's renewed effort to find its footing in a competitive market. Kohl's is chasing a turnaround and trying to capitalize on its locations in suburban strip malls, especially as rival Macy's closes about 150 of its namesake stores. Yet, the company's sales have been shrinking and it has relied on an aging customer base as it competes with an expanding field of retail competitors, including Target, Shein and Amazon. Kohl's stock tumbled more than 20% earlier this month, after it missed Wall Street's expectations for earnings and revenue. It's been trying to woo younger shoppers by opening more Sephora shops inside of Kohl's, adding Babies R Us shops and expanding its mix of trendier merchandise, such as more fashion-forward apparel and a larger department of home décor. CNBC's Melissa Repko contributed to this story.

Car ownership is getting more costly even as vehicle prices dip. Here's why. 2024-06-06 21:43:00+00:00 - Prices for new or used cars may have fallen in the past year, but the overall cost of owning a vehicle is growing even more expensive. That's because extra costs associated with having a car, like interest rates on auto loans and insurance, have been climbing. The average interest rate on a six-year auto loan grew to 8.41% in February, up from 6.97% last year, according to the most recent data from the Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis. Meanwhile, auto insurance rates jumped 22.6% between April 2023 and April 2024, according to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. Those percentages add up to hundreds of extra dollars per month on a car note, automotive experts told CBS MoneyWatch. "The all-in cost of car ownership is not what people [would] think if you haven't shopped in recent years," said Jessica Caldwell, head of insights at Edmunds. "You're in for a different experience." Hit from interest rates, gas Rising auto loan rates have "cast a dense shadow over the car market" so far this year, Caldwell said. Rates have climbed so much that the average buyer will now pay an additional $10,668 in interest payments over the life of their loan, she said. In 2021, that figure was $6,418. "I've had conversations with consumers and there will be people who are sitting out of the market," Caldwell said. "These monthly payments are tougher to fit into your monthly budget." Car buying activity typically picks up during the spring and summer months, experts said, because customers like to stroll dealership lots in warmer weather. But auto loans and insurance rates are starting to threaten what should be a fruitful season for automakers. Gas prices and regular maintenance on a vehicle — like getting the oil changed or the tires rotated — are also weighing down household budgets, Caldwell said. A Bank of America survey from March found that Americans feel vehicle maintenance and loans are two of the top five most difficult household expenses to afford. The average age of cars, trucks and SUVs in the U.S. keep getting older, hitting a record of 12.6 years in 2024, thanks in part to rising interest rates. "Faced with these higher 'all in' automotive costs, it could be that some consumers are waiting for auto prices to fall further — or holding out for newer inventories — before purchasing," Bank of America said in its survey. "That may explain why owners are keeping their vehicles for longer." Why car prices are falling To be sure, dealerships will still make plenty of sales this year, but shoppers are being more careful these days about how much it costs to insure a vehicle and where to get financing, Caldwell said. New vehicle sales in the U.S. rose nearly 5% from January through March, U.S. sales numbers reported by automakers earlier this year show. "Some people have accepted the fact that this is how it is and things are not going to change in the next six months," she said. The average new car price was about $49,111 in May, down 1.5% from a year ago, according to Cars.com. The average used car price was $28,910, down 6.3% from a year ago in May, Cars.com said. Prices have fallen because automakers are ramping up inventory and because dealerships are bringing back more discounts in an effort to entice buyers, Caldwell said. But even as prices fall, Americans are struggling to keep up with their car payments. More car owners have fallen into delinquency on their auto loan, according to February data from the New York Federal Reserve. Americans owe $1.6 trillion in auto debt, as of February, up $55 billion from a year prior.

Mike Lynch, U.K. Tech Mogul, Is Acquitted of Fraud 2024-06-06 21:42:37.531000+00:00 - Mike Lynch, a British software mogul who was once one of his country’s most celebrated chief executives, was acquitted of fraud on Thursday in San Francisco federal court, clearing him of charges that he had led one of the biggest frauds in the technology industry. A jury found him not guilty of falsely inflating revenue at Autonomy, the company he founded and led, when he sold it to Hewlett-Packard for $11 billion in 2011. Mr. Lynch, 58, who faced decades in prison, had initially been charged with 16 counts of fraud and conspiracy, though one fraud charge was eventually dismissed. Thursday’s verdict, coming after a monthslong trial in California, is a milestone in Mr. Lynch’s decade-long odyssey to clear his name.

Here's what to expect from Friday's big jobs report 2024-06-06 20:56:00+00:00 - Investors will be looking to May's nonfarm payrolls report for more clarity on whether the Federal Reserve can ease up in its battle against inflation. Economists surveyed by Dow Jones expect the Bureau of Labor Statistics to report that the U.S. economy added 190,000 more jobs on the month, which would be a slight step up from the 175,000 gain in April. Moreover, markets will be taking a close look at wage numbers, as average hourly earnings are expected to show a 0.3% increase, slightly higher on the month, putting the 12-month increase at 3.9%, or the same pace as the previous month, and an indication that the central bank still has more work to do. Other employment indicators this week showed a deceleration in private payrolls growth, as ADP reported growth of just 152,000, and a slight uptick in the pace of initial filings for unemployment benefits. "The jobs report for May is now particularly consequential," Citigroup economist Andrew Hollenhorst said in a note. "A weaker reading [of less than 175,000 jobs and an unemployment rate of 4% or more] would be a final piece of evidence that the slowdown will continue. On the other hand, an unexpected strengthening would reinforce the idea that there is no urgency to cut rates and send Treasury yields higher again." Citi expects that the report will show just 140,000 jobs, with the unemployment rate hitting 4% for the first time since January 2022. If that is the case, it could give the Fed impetus to cut interest rates sooner than expected. Markets currently are pegging the first rate cut to come in September, with one more on the way in December. Citi is below consensus on its jobs outlook and by far has the most out-of-consensus Wall Street view on rate reductions, with an expectation the Fed will start in July and keep going with four reductions by the end of the year. However, Goldman Sachs also expects a below-consensus 160,000 gain in payrolls as it sees seasonal adjustments holding back job growth. However, the firm also anticipates an extra pay week in the month to offset some of the seasonal distortions. On wages, Goldman Sachs is mostly in consensus, keeping gains at a rate that Fed officials say is inconsistent with its 2% inflation target. The BLS will release the report at 8:30 a.m. ET.

Alito recused from a Supreme Court case. No, not that one. 2024-06-06 20:39:16+00:00 - The Supreme Court issued three opinions Thursday, none of which were on Donald Trump’s immunity claim, abortion, guns or anything of the sort. One of them was a unanimous bankruptcy ruling whose most noteworthy feature may have been the justice who didn’t participate in the case: Samuel Alito. Alito “took no part in the consideration or decision of the case,” according to a notation accompanying the ruling in Truck Insurance Exchange v. Kaiser Gypsum Company. His absence wasn’t a surprise; it's been noted on the docket ever since the court took the case up in October. The justice (unnecessarily) didn’t explain why he sat this one out, but he has recused from previous cases involving companies in which he (unnecessarily) owns individual stock. Whatever the reason Alito sat out Thursday’s case, there was a reason — according to his own judgment — that could have made his participation improper. So even if the outcome didn’t turn on his vote, his absence is meant to inspire greater confidence for both the parties to the litigation and the public at large. That stands in great contrast to Alito’s refusal to recuse from forthcoming decisions involving Jan. 6 and the 2020 election, including the immunity ruling that didn’t come Thursday. (The court’s unhurried handling of that appeal may itself prevent Trump’s prosecution, no matter how the justices ultimately rule.) Unlike the bankruptcy case, whose significance I don’t doubt, the question of whether Trump can be tried for his alleged election subversion is at least as momentous, and likely more contentious within the court. It’s fair to say that more of the public is watching that one and has reason to doubt Alito’s impartiality in the dispute, seeing as his justification for the controversial flags flown outside his houses is unraveling by the day. That he has a hand not only in the case's resolution but its equally important procedural movement (or lack thereof) is a stain on the case and the court itself. Likewise, Justice Clarence Thomas recused himself from a petition involving John Eastman at the beginning of the term, in a dispute that overlaps in substance with the 2020 election that his wife supported overthrowing. Thomas didn’t explain why he sat that one out, and unlike Alito, he didn’t attempt to explain why he feels it's appropriate to participate in the forthcoming Trump and Jan. 6 decisions. When it comes to both justices, that they appear to understand — and can act on — the propriety of recusal in other cases makes their failure to do so here even less excusable. Subscribe to the Deadline: Legal Newsletter for weekly updates on the top legal stories, including news from the Supreme Court, the Donald Trump cases and more.

Billionaire Frank McCourt's TikTok bid wins key backer as he looks past app’s prized algorithm 2024-06-06 20:37:00+00:00 - In the race to buy TikTok, billionaire Frank McCourt is pitching investors with a chance to create a new platform that gives users the ability to control their own data. “I don’t want to own TikTok,” he told reporters Thursday. “I don’t want to be the CEO of a social media platform. I want a new internet. A new improved alternative to what we have.” McCourt’s move comes at a time when concerns about data privacy and child safety online have led to dozens of bills at the state level, and a bipartisan push to move federal legislation. His pitch has drawn a key group: Parents whose children died after being influenced by social media or bullied on various platforms. “Once Frank’s built the infrastructure and the public finds out that there’s a safer way to go, a more profitable way to go, then the people will start coming,” said Sam Chapman, who said his son Sammy died from a fentanyl overdose after buying drugs on Snapchat. Chapman said McCourt’s vision would appeal to “hundreds of thousands of parents” who are seeking a safer internet for their kids. As a business executive and philanthropist, McCourt spent years advocating for a new internet in which a user’s data is owed by the user. He founded the nonprofit Project Liberty to build a healthier version of social media. Project Liberty is working with Guggenheim Securities and law firm Kirkland & Ellis to buy the viral video platform. McCourt said he has also been approached by a wide-ranging group of potential investors including pension funds, philanthropies, academics and private investors. TikTok parent company ByteDance has repeatedly said it will not sell the app and sued to block a new law that would require it to either find a new buyer by early next year or be banned in the U.S. McCourt said he thinks that if the courts rule against ByteDance, the company will sell. He said since his group is primarily interested in TikTok’s community, rather than the app’s powerful algorithm, they are a “nonthreatening buyer.” “Our bet is they’re going to sell,” McCourt said. “Because remember, there’s a lot of American capital invested,” he said. “Are they just gonna wipe all that out?” Another group looking to buy TikTok is led by former Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin, who said earlier this year that he was building an investor group for a potential purchase. When asked about rival bids, McCourt noted Mnuchin’s private equity firm has ties to funding from Saudi Arabia. “If you replace Chinese money with Saudi money, what’s been solved here?” McCourt said. “It’s the same exploitive model, scraping everybody’s data, aggregating it and making money and harming kids.”

Why Steve Bannon’s effort to avoid prison failed legally 2024-06-06 20:32:36+00:00 - Before Steve Bannon’s trial, where he was convicted on two counts of contempt of Congress, he tried to use an “advice of counsel” defense, arguing that his lawyer had advised him that he could essentially blow off the House Jan. 6 committee’s subpoenas because Donald Trump would invoke executive privilege. That lawyer was Robert Costello, who has become better known lately as the only real defense witness at Trump’s hush money trial. Yet Bannon’s reliance on Costello’s advice was never what most of us would consider reasonably placed. For one, Trump lawyer Justin Clark advised Costello in writing that Trump was not, in fact, invoking executive privilege for Bannon, who left the White House in 2017, with respect to his testimony. Clark also insisted that Trump had never advised Bannon to withhold his testimony or documents until executive privilege issues were resolved. Yet Bannon’s reliance on Costello’s advice was never what most of us would consider reasonably placed. U.S. District Judge Carl Nichols, a Trump nominee who presided over the case, initially agreed to stay Bannon’s four-month sentence because he believed the case presented serious appellate issues. In particular, as Bannon recounted in a recent brief, Nichols noted his disagreement with a 1961 opinion by the U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit. Under that opinion, Licavoli v. United States, reliance on the advice of counsel cannot negate the defendant’s willfulness where contempt charges are concerned. Nichols therefore explained, on the record, that while he had “serious reservations” that Licavoli is “not consistent with modern case law surrounding the use” of “willfully,” he was bound by that 1961 ruling. But in its opinion upholding Bannon’s conviction last month, the D.C. Circuit reaffirmed its precedent and rejected Bannon’s other challenges to his contempt convictions: Bannon insists that ‘willfully’ should be interpreted to require bad faith and argues that his noncompliance does not qualify because his lawyer advised him not to respond to the subpoena. This court, however, has squarely held that ‘willfully’ in Section 192 means only that the defendant deliberately and intentionally refused to comply with a congressional subpoena, and that this exact ‘advice of counsel’ defense is no defense at all. ... As both this court and the Supreme Court have repeatedly explained, a contrary rule would contravene the text of the contempt statute and hamstring Congress’s investigatory authority. Because we have no basis to depart from that binding precedent, and because none of Bannon’s other challenges to his convictions have merit, we affirm. It was that opinion that led Justice Department prosecutors to move to lift the stay on Bannon’s sentence, which, in turn, led Nichols to order Bannon to report to prison by July 1.

Good Earth recalls 1.2 million lights after multiple fires and 1 death 2024-06-06 20:25:00+00:00 - More than 1.2 million Good Earth Rechargeable integrated Lights sold nationwide are being recalled due to multiple fires — one deadly — as the product's battery can overheat and ignite its plastic casing, according to a notice posted Thursday by the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission. One person died and another was treated for smoke inhalation when the product overheated and caused a fire in their home last year, according to Mount Prospect, Illinois-based Good Earth. The company knows of nine additional reports of lights overheating, including six that resulted in fire and property damage, it said. After investigating the 10 reports of the lights overheating, Good Earth "removed the lights involved in these incidents from sale to the public in January," the company said in a statement to CBS MoneyWatch, citing "an abundance of caution." Good Earth did not immediately respond to a question about why the company waited until June to announce its voluntary recall. Manufactured in Cambodia and China, the recalled lights were sold at hardware and home improvement stores including Ace Hardware, Lowe's, Menards, Meijer and online at Amazon, Goodearthlighting.com and QVC. They were sold from October 2017 through January 2024 for about $20 for a single unit or roughly $35 for a bundle. Manufactured in Cambodia and China, recalled Good Earth Lighting lights (above) were sold at hardware and home improvement stores including Ace Hardware, Lowe's, Menards, Meijer and online at Amazon, Goodearthlighting.com and QVC. U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission Beyond those sold across the U.S., an additional 37,800 lights were sold in Canada. The recalled lights have model numbers starting with RE1122, RE1145, RE1362 and RE1250 printed on a white sticker on the back. The product's lithium-ion batteries are meant for use as alternatives to permanently wired fixtures in places like closets, cupboards and staircases where there are barriers to installing wired lights. Consumers with the recalled lights should stop using them and contact the company for a replacement. Good Earth Lighting can be contacted by calling at 800-291-8838 from 8:30 a.m. to 5 p.m. Central, Monday through Friday. Consumers can also email the company at productrecall@goodearthlighting.com. Good Earth Lighting will provide "a free replacement light of at least equal value to the purchase price of the recalled light, including no cost shipping," the company said in its statement. It also urged customers to use an appropriate USB charger with its rechargeable lights.

British tech magnate Mike Lynch acquitted of fraud charges in $11 billion deal with Hewlett Packard 2024-06-06 20:23:55+00:00 - SAN FRANCISCO (AP) — Mike Lynch, once hailed as Britain’s king of technology, has been cleared of charges alleging he orchestrated a fraud and conspiracy leading up to an $11 billion deal that turned into a costly albatross for Silicon Valley pioneer Hewlett Packard. The not-guilty verdicts reached Thursday by a federal court jury in San Francisco followed an 11-week criminal trial that delved into the history of HP’s 2011 acquisition of Autonomy, a business software that Lynch founded and then oversaw as CEO in Britain. HP at first celebrated the purchase as a huge coup that would propel the Palo Alto, California, company down a promising new path, but then quickly came to regret under its then-CEO Meg Whitman. The jury acquitted Lynch on all 15 felony counts facing him. Toward the end of the trial, U.S. District Judge Charles Breyer threw out a count of securities fraud included in the U.S. Justice Department case against him in an indictment dating back to 2018. It took years to extradite Lynch from the U.K. and then more legal wrangling before the trial finally began in mid-March. Lynch, 58, had been free on $100 million bail. Being accused of a massive fraud represented a dramatic turn in fortune for an entrepreneur once described as the Bill Gates of Britain — a title he seemed to live up to when he negotiated the Autonomy sale that generated a more than $800 million windfall for him. The acquittal vindicates Lynch, who spent years fiercely denying he did anything wrong, while painting HP as a technological train wreck. It’s yet another setback for HP, which had spent years blaming Lynch for duping the company into a deal that deepened its troubles and stained a legacy dating back to the company’s 1939 inception in a Silicon Valley garage. In a statement, Lynch said he was elated with the verdict and thanked the jury for poring over the facts in the complex case. “I am looking forward to returning to the UK and getting back to what I love most: my family and innovating in my field,” Lynch said. The Justice Department didn’t immediately respond to a request for comment. Another former Autonomy finance executive, Stephen Chamberlain, faced fraud charges alongside Lynch during the complex trial. The same jury acquitted Chamberlain, too. After prosecutors called more than 30 witnesses to the stand to help make their case, Lynch testified in his own defense over several days last month and occasionally spoke directly to the jurors while explaining various turns of British phrasing. Like his own lawyers, Lynch contended he did nothing wrong and argued that Whitman unjustly turned him and Autonomy into a scapegoat for HP’s own mismanagement and deteriorating financial condition. Whitman, who became HP’s CEO after an unsuccessful campaign to become California’s governor in 2010, ended up recognizing $8.8 billion in losses in the Autonomy deal and eventually fired Lynch in 2012 while accusing him of cooking the books. She also laid off thousands of workers as HP’s fortunes sagged and eventually split the company in two to separate its personal computer and printer operations from products and services sold to other businesses. Although Whitman wasn’t called to testify, the trial probed into HP’s downfall under her direction. Another former HP CEO, Leo Apotheker, who negotiated the Autonomy deal, was called to the stand by federal prosecutors to outline Lynch’s alleged misconduct. Apotheker initially saw Autonomy as a key piece of his plan to lessen HP’s dependence on selling PCs and printers during the advent of the smartphone. Evidence presented at the trial indicated that HP had internally valued Autonomy at as much as $46 billion, primarily because of its software that helped other businesses quickly find valuable information buried in email and other digital documents. While federal prosecutors depicted Lynch as an iron-fisted and underhanded boss during his 16-year reign as Autonomy’s CEO, his lawyers cast him as the prototypical tech nerd who enjoyed eating cold pizza late at night while brainstorming through ideas that could turn into gold.

Robinhood to acquire Bitstamp crypto exchange in $200 million deal 2024-06-06 20:21:00+00:00 - Popular stock trading app Robinhood is putting its money on digital currencies, announcing Thursday that it will acquire crypto exchange Bitstamp for about $200 million. The deal marks the trading platform's biggest-ever push into the digital assets industry, the company said in a statement Thursday, and will make it a competitor to larger crypto trading firms like Binance and Coinbase. The deal is expected to close in the first half of 2025. The transaction comes as some of the country's biggest financial companies introduce products aimed at ordinary investors eager to put money in digital currencies. "The acquisition of Bitstamp is a major step in growing our crypto business. Bitstamp's highly trusted and long-standing global exchange has shown resilience through market cycles," Robinhood Crypto general manager Johann Kerbrat said in the statement. He added that the acquisition will allow Robinhood to grow its footprint internationally and acquire institutional customers. Robinhood is an online trading platform that promotes commission-free investing. It's the equivalent of an online brokerage firm, but doesn't complete client trades. Instead, it sends them to other trading firms, that match buyers with sellers of stocks and pay Robinhood a commission on the trades. "Bringing Bitstamp's platform and expertise into Robinhood's ecosystem will give users an enhanced trading experience with a continuing commitment to compliance, security and customer-centricity," Bitstamp CEO JB Graftieaux said in a statement. Indeed, Robinhood's recent profitability has been tied to its fledgling crypto business. The company reported a profit of $157 million or 18 cents per share for the first quarter, beating analyst estimates. Its profits were driven in party by high crypto trading volumes. "[C]ompanies like Robinhood see there is probably a lot more growth in all things related to crypto than there is just remaining a traditional equities and options brokerage," Columbia Business School professor Omid Malekan, an expert on the crypto industry, told CBS MoneyWatch. "It makes sense that they are acquiring an exchange that brings with it a few different things they don't have today." After the Securities and Exchange Commission approved spot bitcoin exchange-traded funds, industry giants including BlackRock, Fidelity Investments and Franklin Templeton raced other players to roll out crypto ETFs. These investments allow buyers to gain exposure to bitcoin without directly owning it, among other benefits. Malekan expects to see more traditional brokers entering the crypto space. "If you combine this acquisition and more traditional brokers partnering with crypto exchanges and the success of the bitcoin ETFs, then I think we can conclude that access to investing in crypto products is going to become much more widely available," he said of the Bitstamp deal. "And it's also going to become available through service providers, or in formats people are already familiar with. There are a lot of potential investors who like getting exposure to crypto assets via traditional service providers, and Robinhood is clearly planning to expand that." Christian Catalini, founder of MIT Cryptoeconomics Lab, told CBS MoneyWatch that the deal "marks a new chapter for crypto." "Previously, mainstream entities only dabbled in it, but now they are placing significant bets on its future role in payments and financial services... This move is part of a broader trend of mainstream fintech players becoming crypto players, and the other way around," Catalini said.