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Elon Musk still needs lawyer approval to tweet about Tesla, says supreme court 2024-04-29 17:51:00+00:00 - The supreme court on Monday rejected an appeal from Elon Musk over a settlement with securities regulators that requires him to get approval in advance of some tweets that relate to Tesla, the electric vehicle company he leads. The justices did not comment in leaving in place lower-court rulings against Musk, who complained that the requirement amounts to “prior restraint” on his speech in violation of the first amendment. The ruling comes a day after he made an unannounced visit to China aimed at sealing a deal to roll out Tesla’s driver assistance features there. The case stems from tweets Musk posted in 2018 in which he claimed he had secured funding to take Tesla private. The tweets caused the company’s share price to jump and led to a temporary halt in trading. The settlement with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) included a requirement that his tweets be approved first by a Tesla attorney. It also called for Musk and Tesla to pay civil fines over the tweets in which Musk said he had “funding secured” to take Tesla private at $420 per share. The funding was not secured, and Tesla remains public. The SEC’s initial enforcement action against Musk alleged that his tweets about going private violated antifraud provisions of securities laws. The agency began investigating whether Musk violated the settlement in 2021 when he did not get approval before asking followers on Twitter/X if he should sell 10% of his Tesla stock. Musk acquired Twitter in 2022, later renaming it X.
A Strong U.S. Dollar Weighs on the World 2024-04-29 17:35:50+00:00 - Every major currency in the world has fallen against the U.S. dollar this year, an unusually broad shift with the potential for serious consequences across the global economy. Two-thirds of the roughly 150 currencies tracked by Bloomberg have weakened against the dollar, whose recent strength stems from a shift in expectations about when and by how much the Federal Reserve may cut its benchmark interest rate, which sits around a 20-year high. High Fed rates, a response to stubborn inflation, mean that American assets offer better returns than much of the world, and investors need dollars to buy them. In recent months, money has flowed into the United States with a force that’s being felt by policymakers, politicians and people from Brussels to Beijing, Toronto to Tokyo. The dollar index, a common way to gauge the general strength of the U.S. currency against a basket of its major trading partners, is hovering at levels last seen in the early 2000s (when U.S. interest rates were also similarly high).
Delivery firm Getir to quit UK, Europe and US and focus on Turkey 2024-04-29 17:10:00+00:00 - The grocery courier firm Getir is to quit the UK, Germany, the Netherlands and the US to focus on its home market of Turkey amid heavy competition and waning demand for rapid home deliveries. The closure marks the latest shakeout of the fast grocery delivery industry which grew rapidly during the Covid pandemic but has sharply retreated since. It is not clear how many jobs are affected. In late 2021 the group had 1,500 employees in the UK, according to accounts filed at Companies House, most of whom were likely to be delivery riders. However, the group has since ceased operating in several British cities including Liverpool and Birmingham. The latest retreat comes after Getir cut 2,500 jobs – more than a tenth of its workforce – last year. The company pulled out of France, Spain, Italy and Portugal as the cost of living crisis dampened demand for grocery deliveries in less than 20 minutes, while its own costs have also gone up. Getir said it would retain its US arm FreshDirect – only bought a few months ago – and said the closures only affected 7% of sales. Set up in 2015, Getir grew into one of the largest of more than a dozen delivery app companies, promising to deliver groceries in minutes and offering hefty discounts to attract customers. However, most of its rivals have been sold or closed down. Those that remain have tightened their operations, laying off riders and selling warehouses. Getir bought its German rival Gorillas in a $1.2bn (£960m) deal in 2022 after snapping up the UK’s Weezy a year earlier. The smaller London-based firm Jiffy ceased deliveries in 2022 while the US operator Gopuff bought Fancy and Dija, both UK companies, in 2021. skip past newsletter promotion Sign up to Business Today Free daily newsletter Get set for the working day – we'll point you to all the business news and analysis you need every morning Enter your email address Sign up Privacy Notice: Newsletters may contain info about charities, online ads, and content funded by outside parties. For more information see our Newsletters may contain info about charities, online ads, and content funded by outside parties. For more information see our Privacy Policy . We use Google reCaptcha to protect our website and the Google Privacy Policy and Terms of Service apply. after newsletter promotion Getir was valued at up to $11.8bn when it raised funds in March 2022, but its valuation was slashed to $6.5bn in a funding round in April last year. The market continues to be highly competitive: the takeaway delivery firms Deliveroo, JustEat and Uber Eats have tied up with supermarkets to deliver groceries, while Tesco has its in-house service Whoosh, Sainsbury’s has Chop Chop and Ocado has Zoom. One of the last remaining quick grocery specialists, Gopuff, launched in the UK in 2021, and operates in London and other big cities including Bristol, Manchester, Liverpool, Newcastle, Birmingham, Leeds and Cardiff. Zapp continues to operate in London.
Al Capone's "sweetheart" gun is up for auction again — and it could sell for over $2 million 2024-04-29 17:00:00+00:00 - A pistol that the notorious Prohibition-era gangster Al Capone nicknamed "sweetheart" is once again up for auction. This time, prospective buyers can place bids in South Carolina on the weapon that Capone's family members credit with routinely protecting his life, after a Greenville-based auction house acquired what is now considered by some to be an iconic collectible. The winning bid for Capone's pistol is expected to come at an exorbitant cost. Richmond Auctions will host a round of bidding on the gun next month, estimated that the final price will land somewhere between $2 and $3 million. Their auction on May 18 will take place less than three years after it sold for just over $1 million at another auction in California. Bidding starts at $500,000. The .45 Colt semi-automatic pistol was manufactured in 1911 and became one of Capone's most prized possessions when he rose to infamy as a seemingly untouchable Chicago crime boss during the 1920s. According to the FBI, Capone's legacy includes a litany of criminal accusations involving gambling, prostitution, bootlegging, bribery, drug trafficking, robbery, racketeering and murder. It is believed that Capone, who was sometimes known as "Scarface," was behind the brutal St. Valentine's Day massacre in 1929. In this Aug. 25, 2021 file photo, Brian Witherell displays a Colt .45-caliber pistol that once belonged to mob boss Al Capone, at Witherell's Auction House in Sacramento, California. AP Photo/Rich Pedroncelli, File He evaded law enforcement for years before eventually being convicted of multiple charges related to tax evasion and prohibition violations in 1931. He ultimately servied roughly seven and a half years in federal prison in Atlanta and at the notorious Alcatraz penitentiary off the coast of San Francisco. Capone's health deteriorated during the incarceration, and he died in 1947 at 48 years old. The mobster's .45 pistol, supposedly his "favorite" gun, was turned over to his wife, Mae Capone, historians say. She handed it down to their son, Sonny Capone, who in turn left it to his daughters Diane and Barbara Capone following his own death in 2004. Al Capone's granddaughters initially put the pistol up for auction in 2021, alongside about 200 of their grandfather's personal belongings. Witherell's auction house, based in Sacramento, facilitated the bidding on a broad range of items Capone had owned during his life that by then were part of his estate, including jewelry, watches and numerous weapons of varying types. The .45, which sold in the end for hundreds of thousands of dollars more than anticipated, went to a private collector. Al Capone (left) sits in a train compartment with an unidentified associate during his transport to prison in October 1931. Hulton Archive/Getty Images "This gun was kind of his protection and I think it saved his life on a number of occasions and so he called it his sweetheart," said Diane Capone during an interview with CBS News ahead of that auction. She said that as far as she knew, her grandfather carried the pistol with him everywhere he went. Critics have denounced the family's decision to auction off items from Capone's estate, and for turning a profit considering the gangster had a hand in many violent and deadly crimes during his reign in Chicago. But others point to the historical significance of Capone's belongings in the present day, and especially that of his treasured "sweetheart" pistol. "This particular Colt 1911 is more than just a firearm. It's a relic of an era marked by lawlessness and larger-than-life personalities," said Kimmie Williams, a firearms specialist at Richmond Auctions, in a statement. "Its profound connection to Al Capone adds an extra layer of allure, making it a must-have and trump-card for any world-class collector."
Kavanaugh draws the wrong lesson from Ford’s 1974 Nixon pardon 2024-04-29 16:59:53+00:00 - Donald Trump’s immunity claims reached the U.S. Supreme Court last week, and during oral arguments, Justice Brett Kavanaugh — a Trump nominee — thought it’d be a good idea to bring up Gerald Ford’s decision to pardon Richard Nixon in 1974. The then-president’s decision, the conservative jurist said, was “very controversial in the moment.” Former Deputy Solicitor General Michael Dreeben, a member of special counsel Jack Smith’s team agreed. It was “hugely unpopular” and “probably why” Ford lost in 1976, Kavanaugh said, and again, Dreeben agreed. The justice then added, however, that Ford’s decision is now “looked upon as one of the better decisions in presidential history, I think, by most people.” Kavanaugh, kicking around the idea that presidents might need to be shielded, imagined whether Ford might’ve been concerned about facing an obstruction investigation for having interfered with prosecutors’ case against Nixon. In context, the justice’s point seemed to be that Ford did something courageous, and the Republican has been vindicated by history, but the then-president might not have taken this commendable step if he were concerned about possibly being held criminally liable — all of which, Kavanaugh suggested, speaks to the need for some kind of presidential immunity. But there are a handful of important problems with this. First, Ford made no claims to presidential immunity and faced no prosecutorial scrutiny in the wake of his Nixon pardon. Second, Kavanaugh’s claim that “most people” see Ford’s pardon as “one of the better decisions in presidential history” is unsupported by evidence. A Washington Post analysis last week noted that scholars and Americans in general do not necessarily hold Ford’s decision in such a high regard. And third, I’m curious about whether Kavanaugh has ever actually read Ford’s pardon. Perhaps the justice should’ve watched Rachel Maddow talk to Chris Hayes about this in February, when she explained why Ford’s pardon discredits the idea that the immunity argument somehow constitutes an open question. From Ford’s pardon: “As a result of certain acts or omissions occurring before his resignation from the Office of President, Richard Nixon has become liable to possible indictment and trial for offenses against the United States. Whether or not he shall be so prosecuted depends on findings of the appropriate grand jury and on the discretion of the authorized prosecutor. Should an indictment ensue, the accused shall then be entitled to a fair trial by an impartial jury, as guaranteed to every individual by the Constitution.” So let’s take stock. The Supreme Court heard oral arguments last week in a case in which a corrupt and indicted former president, fearing legal consequences, is claiming absolute immunity. At least some of the justices treated the underlying question as legitimate and unresolved. It was against this backdrop that one of the justices chosen for the high court by the corrupt and indicted former president pointed to Ford’s pardon of Nixon — which largely answered the question that the jurist and his colleagues are pondering, by explaining in plain test that a former president was subject to prosecution for alleged crimes he committed while in office.
EU to investigate Meta over election misinformation before June polls 2024-04-29 16:58:00+00:00 - The EU is set to launch formal proceedings against Meta, the owner of Facebook and Instagram, amid concerns it is not doing enough to counter Russian disinformation before the EU elections in June, according to reports. It is also expected to express concerns about the lack of effective monitoring of election content and a potentially inadequate mechanism for flagging illegal content. It is understood the European Commission is concerned that Meta’s moderation system is not robust enough to counterbalance the potential proliferation of fake news and attempts to suppress voting. The Financial Times reported that officials were particularly worried about the way Meta’s platforms were handling Russia’s efforts to undermine upcoming European elections, although it was expected to stop short of citing the Kremlin in proceedings. Reports suggest that the commission is particularly concerned over Meta’s plan to discontinue CrowdTangle, a public insights tool that allows real-time disinformation researchers, journalists and others across the EU to monitor the spread of fake news and attempts to suppress voting. Under sweeping new laws forcing tech companies to regulate their own content for compliance with the law in the EU, Facebook and others are obliged to have systems to guard against the systemic risk of election interference. A spokesperson for Meta said: “We have a well-established process for identifying and mitigating risks on our platforms. We look forward to continuing our cooperation with the European Commission and providing them with further details of this work.” If the move on Meta is confirmed it will come just days after the commission carried out stress tests on all the big social media platforms to determine whether there were adequate safeguards in place against Russian disinformation. The stress tests entailed a series of fictitious scenarios based on historical attempts at influencing elections as well as cyber-enabled information manipulation. This included deepfakes and attempts to suppress authentic opinions through online harassment and threats. Such opinion suppression was identified by the EU in February as a new weapon in silencing legitimate democratic voices. “The aim was to test platforms’ readiness to address manipulative behaviour that could occur in the run-up to the elections, in particular the different manipulative tactics, techniques and procedures,” said the commission. This allowed them to test the resilience of social media to manipulation, which politicians predict will intensify in the next six weeks. skip past newsletter promotion Sign up to Business Today Free daily newsletter Get set for the working day – we'll point you to all the business news and analysis you need every morning Enter your email address Sign up Privacy Notice: Newsletters may contain info about charities, online ads, and content funded by outside parties. For more information see our Newsletters may contain info about charities, online ads, and content funded by outside parties. For more information see our Privacy Policy . We use Google reCaptcha to protect our website and the Google Privacy Policy and Terms of Service apply. after newsletter promotion The European parliamentary elections are being held on 6-9 June against a backdrop of increasing disinformation across the bloc. On Monday the parliament released tips for voters with a list of previous incidents, including claims that only pens with certain coloured ink will be accepted on ballot papers. Politicians have also warned voters to be on the lookout for disinformation, given the experience of recent national elections. In elections in Slovakia, Spain, Finland and Estonia, stories that voting booths had pens with disappearing ink spread on social media, while voters were told of physical threats including bombs at polling stations during last year’s Spanish election. The EU DisinfoLab has tracked 17,000 incidents of disinformation of fake news with many attempts to discredit Ukraine’s defence in the war against Russia, including Vladimir Putin’s pseudo-historical grounds for his invasion. Last week a Czech news agency website was hacked to display fake news. One of the articles claimed that the Czech counterintelligence service had prevented an assassination attempt on the Slovak president, Peter Pellegrini, another carried an alleged reaction from the Czech foreign minister, Jan Lipavský, to the news. Last month the Czech government uncovered what it believed was a Moscow-orchestrated disinformation network. The Belgian prime minister also recently revealed the federal prosecutor had opened an investigation into alleged payments of MEPs by Russia with a view to electing more pro-Russian deputies to the European parliament.
This Disney restaurant is first in theme-park history to win a Michelin star 2024-04-29 16:50:00+00:00 - Why this high-end dinnerware is a fixture of Michelin-starred restaurants The tableware used in Michelin restaurants The tableware used in Michelin restaurants A Walt Disney World restaurant is the first theme-park eatery to earn a Michelin star. Victoria & Albert's at Disney's Grand Floridian Resort & Spa last week joined 26 other restaurants in Florida to be awarded the coveted designation in the Michelin Guide. But even Mickey Mouse will have to leave his mouse ears behind if he wants to get a table at the restaurant, which has a strict dress code and doesn't allow children under 10. Opened in 1988, Victoria & Albert's is "by no means an easy reservation, but the reward is a kind of magic rarely seen these days," according to Michelin, which rates over 30,000 establishments across three continents. As would be expected with pretty much anything at the Magic Kingdom, the restaurant is pricey, with its prix-fixe menus starting at $295 a person.
Royal Mail pauses fines for ‘fake’ stamps after apparent flaw in fraud scanners 2024-04-29 16:46:00+00:00 - Royal Mail has suspended controversial fines for letters with stamps it deems counterfeit after claims that it was penalising the public for its own inadequate technology. Addressees have been forced to pay a levy of £5 to receive post if Royal Mail suspects that a fake stamp was used by the sender. Hundreds of fines have been issued since barcoded stamps became mandatory last July. Some customers whose letters were surcharged claim that the stamps used were bought from Post Office branches and Royal Mail’s own website and questioned the effectiveness of the scanners used to detect fraud. Others have been warned they risk committing fraud and left out of pocket after sending old-style stamps in to Royal Mail’s stamp swap out scheme. Critics have warned that issue has echoes of the Horizon scandal in which bugs in accounting software led to hundreds of post office operators being accused of fraud. Royal Mail has insisted its technology is “robust” and blamed customers for buying bargain stamps online. However, in a sudden U-turn it today announced that it would suspend issuing surcharges until the end of July while it develops an app to allow customers to authentic their own stamps. Currently, only designated Royal Mail staff have the ability to scan the barcodes. Earlier this month, it told the Guardian that its security system had to be kept in-house to prevent fraudsters exploiting it. The company is also appointing an independent expert to assess whether a stamp is genuine when a customer appeals and plans to work with retailers and online platforms to prevent stamp fraud. Post-bearing suspect stamps will now be returned to sender along with a surcharge where possible. Until now recipients have had to bear the cost if a letter is suspected of having been sent fraudulently. Nick Landon, the chief commercial officer at Royal Mail, said: “The combination of new barcoded stamps with added security features and Royal Mail actively working with retailers, online marketplaces and law enforcement authorities, has led to a 90% reduction in counterfeit stamps. skip past newsletter promotion Sign up to Business Today Free daily newsletter Get set for the working day – we'll point you to all the business news and analysis you need every morning Enter your email address Sign up Privacy Notice: Newsletters may contain info about charities, online ads, and content funded by outside parties. For more information see our Newsletters may contain info about charities, online ads, and content funded by outside parties. For more information see our Privacy Policy . We use Google reCaptcha to protect our website and the Google Privacy Policy and Terms of Service apply. after newsletter promotion “We want our customers to buy stamps with confidence and always recommend that customers only purchase stamps from Post Offices and other reputable high street retailers, and not to buy stamps online – unless from the official Royal Mail shop.”
Lawyers for Hunter Biden plan to sue Fox News 'imminently' 2024-04-29 16:45:00+00:00 - Lawyers for Hunter Biden plan to sue Fox News “imminently,” according to a letter sent to the network and obtained by NBC News. The letter, dated April 23, puts the Fox News Channel and Fox News Digital on notice for litigation claims arising from the network’s alleged “conspiracy and subsequent actions to defame Mr. Biden and paint him in a false light, the unlicensed commercial exploitation of his image, name, and likeness, and the unlawful publication of hacked intimate images of him.” Biden has hired attorney Mark Geragos and his firm to represent him in the Fox litigation efforts. The letter is the second outreach to Fox this month. An earlier letter was hand-delivered to Fox’s counsel two weeks ago, and the network asked for more time to respond, according to a source familiar with Biden’s legal efforts. The network has not yet responded to the letter sent April 23, which included a Friday evening, April 26, deadline to respond, according to Geragos. The letter is signed by Tina Glandian, a partner at Geragos & Geragos working on the case. President Joe Biden's son Hunter Biden departs a court appearance on July 26, 2023, in Wilmington, Del. Jabin Botsford / The Washington Post via Getty Images file Fox News did not immediately respond to requests for comment. The new threat of litigation comes almost a year after Fox News agreed to pay almost $800 million to Dominion Voting Systems to settle defamation claims related to Fox’s airing of election fraud claims in the 2020 election. Fox News also agreed to a $12 million settlement with a former employee who alleged she was pressured to provide misleading information as part of the Dominion case. Fox is currently facing a $2.7 billion lawsuit brought by Smartmatic, another voting system company that was the focus of Fox News coverage, as well as suits brought by shareholders against directors of the company for allowing the channel to air the allegations during its 2020 election coverage. Fox said in its latest financial disclosures that it will contest the lawsuits, but acknowledges that there could be a “material” adverse impact on the company’s business and financial position. The plan for Hunter Biden to pursue legal action against Fox News has been in the works for over a year, according to sources familiar with Biden's legal efforts, and was inspired in part by the success of the Dominion lawsuit and the ongoing Smartmatic lawsuit. The effort took on new importance with the revelations that the bribery allegations cited on air originated from the FBI informant Alexander Smirnov, who was indicted by special counsel David Weiss in February. In a statement, Geragos said: “For the last five years, Fox News has relentlessly attacked Hunter Biden and made him a caricature in order to boost ratings and for its financial gain. The recent indictment of FBI informant Smirnov has exposed the conspiracy of disinformation that has been fueled by Fox, enabled by their paid agents and monetized by the Fox enterprise. We plan on holding them accountable.” Hunter Biden has been a focus of Fox News coverage for the last several years. A review of network transcripts by the group Media Matters cites at least 13,440 mentions of Hunter Biden since January 2023. Biden’s legal team believes the number of mentions over many years makes the potential case as significant if not more so than the Dominion case, according to sources familiar with the legal strategy. The Biden letter specifically cites Fox’s advancement of bribery allegations by Smirnov, who was indicted in February on charges of making false statements about the Bidens to the FBI. “Smirnov and the post indictment revelations basically closed the loop on the conspiracy,” Geragos told NBC News. The letter alleges that Fox News knew that the bribery allegations were unverified at the time but continued to report that the source was “highly credible,” and demands corrections and retractions — including on-air statements by television hosts “including Sean Hannity, Jesse Watters, and Maria Bartiromo, to inform their viewers on air that they have been sharing a debunked allegation from a source who has been federally indicted.” The letter also alleges that Fox’s airing of “intimate images” belonging to Hunter Biden that his lawyers claim were “hacked, stolen, and/or manipulated” violates Biden’s civil rights as well as copyright law. Much of the letter is focused on a six-part “mock trial” titled “The Trial of Hunter Biden” that aired in October 2021, described by Fox as what a trial might look like if Biden was charged with Foreign Agents Registration Act or bribery charges — neither of which Biden has been charged with. “While using certain true information, the series intentionally manipulates the facts, distorts the truth, narrates happenings out of context, and invents dialogue intended to entertain. Thus, the viewer of the series cannot decipher what is fact and what is fiction,” the letter says. The letter demands that the series be removed from all streaming services. This new litigation push comes as Biden prepares for a summer of criminal trials. His trial on gun charges in Delaware starts June 3, and his tax case is expected to go to trial in August. He’s pleaded not guilty in both cases.
Supreme Court rejects Peter Navarro’s long-shot prison release bid 2024-04-29 16:38:57+00:00 - Peter Navarro is staying locked up, after the Supreme Court rejected his bid to stay out while he appeals his contempt conviction. It’s the former Trump White House adviser’s second such rejection in as many months. How is that even possible, you might wonder? Recall that Navarro was sentenced in January to four months’ imprisonment for contempt of Congress after he refused to comply with a subpoena from the House Jan. 6 committee. Trying to stay free pending appeal, he filed an application to Chief Justice John Roberts, who handles emergency requests from Washington courts. In a March 18 opinion, Roberts wrote that he saw no basis to side with Navarro, who then reported to prison. Though he could have done so, the chief justice apparently didn’t feel the need to involve his colleagues, which prolonged the matter in retrospect. That’s because Navarro subsequently asked for a redo at the beginning of this month — from a different justice, Neil Gorsuch. He was allowed to try, but the odds of success were low, to put it generously. Those long odds were confirmed Monday morning, when his bid was rejected again. This time, unlike Roberts, Gorsuch referred the matter to the full court, setting up for a definitive resolution. And this time, there was no explanation accompanying Navarro’s loss. Roberts’ colleagues likely felt that the chief justice already said all that needed to be said, or perhaps that nothing needed to be said in the first place. To be sure, this doesn’t mean that the Supreme Court is done with Navarro. His underlying appeal attacking his conviction is still pending in the Washington federal appeals court. If he loses there, he may press on to the justices. By then, of course, he’ll have long been released. The Federal Bureau of Prisons lists his release date as July 17. Navarro said in his bid to Gorsuch that the briefing alone in his D.C. Circuit appeal won’t be done until July 19. 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.
What Bulls and Bears May Be Getting Wrong about SOFI Stock 2024-04-29 16:29:00+00:00 - Key Points SOFI stock is down sharply despite delivering a mostly solid earnings report. Weak revenue guidance and high short interest give the bears the upper hand in keeping SOFI stock under pressure. The company’s digital-only business model has been expensive, but much of that investment is paid, which could lead to more robust growth in coming quarters. 5 stocks we like better than SoFi Technologies SoFi Technologies Inc. NASDAQ: SOFI posted solid first quarter numbers and raised its full-year 2024 guidance. But you wouldn't know that by looking at SOFI stock. After its quarterly earnings report, the fintech company's stock is down 8.3% in early trading. What immediately comes to mind is the 18% short interest on SOFI stock. It's already down 23% in 2024, so it wouldn't take much for short sellers to get the upper hand. That appears to be part of what's happening here. Despite what was otherwise a strong report, SoFi did guide for lower revenue in the coming quarter, and sellers are latching on to the words "transitional year" that were used in the report. Get SoFi Technologies alerts: Sign Up However, since the market opened, SOFI stock is up about 2% from a low of $7.01 as of this writing. That lends credence to SoFi supporters who can view the sell-off as being overdone. This is a polarizing stock and will likely remain that way until there is clarity about which camp is "more right" or perhaps "less wrong" when it comes to SOFI stock. What Did the Report Say? SoFi Technologies Today SOFI SoFi Technologies $7.05 -0.82 (-10.42%) 52-Week Range $4.45 ▼ $11.70 Price Target $9.08 Add to Watchlist SoFI reported topline revenue of $581 million, which was 26% higher year-over-year (YOY). The company also notched its second consecutive profitable quarter. The two cents in earnings per share (EPS) was just under a penny higher than the forecast. Furthermore, the company reported that revenue from its financial services and tech platform segment was up 54%. This segment was 42% of SoFi's consolidated adjusted net revenues. And the company guided higher for the full year. SoFi now projects adjusted net revenue between $2.39 billion to $2.43 billion, higher than the $2.365 billion to $2.405 billion it previously forecasted. It also guided higher earnings of 8 to 9 cents per share, above the previous guidance of 7 to 8 cents. Both numbers, at the low end, align with analysts' estimates. However, the company's guidance was lower for the current quarter. Revenue of $555 million to $565 million is less than the $581 million analysts expected. Investors can interpret this item in the report however they want to see the company. On the one hand, revenue would be sharply lower than the prior quarter. On the other hand, it would be approximately 13% higher YOY on the low end. Is SoFi Just a Bank? That's the bearish argument that's been hanging over SoFi for some time. The company exploded into the national consciousness as a preferred student loan provider. This helped the company capture the Gen-Z demographic, but that turned into a double-edged sword in 2020 when the federal government issued a moratorium on student loan repayments. The company is still trying to recover from that. But in the meantime, SoFi received its banking charter and is adding new customers. In the last quarter alone, it reportedly added nearly 622K new members, with deposits growing from $18.6 billion at the end of 2023 to $21.6 billion at the end of the first quarter. However, bears will say that's not enough growth for a stock trading at about 79x forward earnings, even with the upwardly revised SoFi forecast. The Growth is Almost Paid For Bank stocks, even of the fintech variety, do not have a wide moat. However, SoFi's business model still has the possibility to set it apart. The company operates as a digital-only bank. Digital applications, by themselves, are not that exciting. Virtually all brick-and-mortar banks utilize digital applications to remove friction between themselves and their customers. And critics of Sofi will point out that consumers can get more competitive interest rates at some of these banks. However, SoFi bulls will point out that because the company does not have the overhead that comes with brick-and-mortar locations, it doesn't have to allocate as many resources to acquiring customers. That will, in theory, allow SoFi to use its capital for faster and more efficient innovation. So far, that growth has come at a cost. But as two straight profitable quarters show, much of that initial growth is paid for. Plus, management is forecasting ongoing profitability through at least 2026. SOFI Stock is a Hold Analysts haven't issued their opinions on SoFi's earnings as of this writing. However, prior to earnings, the SoFi Technologies analyst ratings on MarketBeat forecast a 27% upside for SOFI stock. But that will be mainly on the retail investor to achieve. SOFI stock only has about 38% institutional ownership. That could be a heavy lift. For now, a key for SOFI bulls will be to hold $7 as a level of support. If it falls beneath that, and with such high short interest, there's not much to prevent it from going back down to around $5. Before you consider SoFi Technologies, 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 SoFi Technologies wasn't on the list. While SoFi Technologies currently has a "Hold" rating among analysts, top-rated analysts believe these five stocks are better buys. View The Five Stocks Here
Tesla, Domino’s Pizza rise; AMC Entertainment, SoFi Technologies fall, Monday, 4/29/2024 2024-04-29 16:25:26+00:00 - NEW YORK (AP) — Stocks that traded heavily or had substantial price changes on Monday: Tesla Inc., up $25.76 to $194.05. The electric vehicle maker reportedly gained approval for its self-driving technology in China. AMC Entertainment Holdings Inc., down 38 cents to $3.03. The movie theater chain expects a lingering impact from last year’s Hollywood strikes. Paramount Global, up 34 cents to $12.25. The owner of Paramount Pictures and CBS is reportedly considering removing its CEO. Domino’s Pizza Inc., up $28.06 to $527.13. The pizza chain beat analysts’ first-quarter earnings and revenue forecasts. UMB Financial Corp., down $5.42 to $77.75. The bank is buying Heartland Financial USA for about $2 billion in an all-stock deal. Deciphera Pharmaceuticals Inc., up $10.63 to $25.28. Japan’s ONO Pharmaceuticals is buying the biopharmaceutical company for about $2.4 billion. Fulton Financial Corp., up $1.18 to $16.80. The financial holding company bought Republic First Bank from the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation. SoFi Technologies Inc. (SOFI), down 83 cents to $7.05. The online financial services company gave investors a weak revenue forecast for the current quarter
How UK’s new border controls will affect animal and plant imports 2024-04-29 16:23:00+00:00 - After more than three years of delays, Tuesday finally sees the introduction of physical checks on animal and plant imports coming into Britain from the EU. Importers and trade associations have warned that the new bureaucracy could heap significant costs on to importers, resulting in increases to prices on shop shelves. But what exactly are the new checks coming in, and what impact will they have on businesses and the consumer? Here is a rundown of what to expect. What are the new checks? The new regime will mirror checks brought in by the EU when the UK left the single market in January 2021. They make up the second stage of the government’s Border Target Operating Model (BTOM) plan. The first phase, which was introduced on 31 January this year, introduced new requirements which meant the majority of meat, dairy and plant products require a health certificate before they can enter the Britain. The second phase, beginning on Tuesday, will be the most significant, with lorries from the continent being held up for the first time at border control posts at ports around the country, so they can be inspected. The government has divided all plant and products of animal origin into three risk groups. The low risk products, which are largely processed food goods, will receive no checks and require no health certificates. The medium risk categories, which include eggs, dairy, meat and cut flowers, and high risk goods, plants for planting and live animals, will all need certificates and be subject to checks. Will these result in queues at the border? It is unlikely that we will see long queues in the coming weeks after the government chose to scale back the level of checks due to concerns over disruption. Initially, it was intended that between 1% and 30% of medium risk goods would be checked, depending on products, while all high-risk products would receive 100% inspections. However, the Financial Times reported earlier this month that the government would not “turn on” the checks, with checks “set to zero” for all but the highest-risk products. The government has insisted that there will be checks but has said it would take a more pragmatic approach to checks, compared with its initial plans. The government will now prioritise the “highest risk” products across risk categories, with checks more “intelligence-led”, and take into account factors such as the country of origin and the company delivering. It will also be adjusted based on compliance of goods and disruption levels. It then intends to scale these up to full checks in the future but has not given a timeline on when. William Bain, head of trade policy at the British Chamber of Commerce, said firms face “mounting confusion and uncertainty about exactly how and when the borders checks and costs will be fully implemented”. skip past newsletter promotion Sign up to Business Today Free daily newsletter Get set for the working day – we'll point you to all the business news and analysis you need every morning Enter your email address Sign up Privacy Notice: Newsletters may contain info about charities, online ads, and content funded by outside parties. For more information see our Newsletters may contain info about charities, online ads, and content funded by outside parties. For more information see our Privacy Policy . We use Google reCaptcha to protect our website and the Google Privacy Policy and Terms of Service apply. after newsletter promotion Is this the first delay to checks? Far from it. This is the latest in a long running series of delays, which has seen five other start dates pushed back since 2021. Initially earmarked to be brought in July 2021, the first three delays were largely because the border control posts, the facilities set up to carry out the checks, were either half finished or not even started. In April 2022, Brexit opportunities minister, Jacob Rees-Mogg, announced a fresh delay, the fourth, over fears that it would add extra costs to household bills. This was followed by a further delay in October 2023 due to concerns over business readiness and inflation. How much will it cost business? The government has estimated that the new border checks will cost businesses and extra £330m a year, and increase food inflation by 0.2% across the three years. A recent Allianz Trade report said it would cost £2bn a year, adding 0.2% to headline inflation. Earlier this month, the government published its rates for how much it would cost to send goods through the government-run Sevington inland border control post, the Kent facility that will process goods travelling through the Port of Dover and Channel tunnel. This common user charge (CUC) was set at £29 for each type of product, with a £145 cap for mixed consignments. However, when added with the other additional costs around the new rules, such as the health certificates, port health costs and additional admin costs, it could be much more. The Cold Chain Federation recently calculated that sending five different products through Dover could cost a business £761 in extra costs for each load. The body estimated that the new requirements could add £1bn a year in costs for those moving plant and animal products through Sevington alone. Several of the other private border control posts have yet to publish their charges but would probably have similar fees to remain competitive. Nigel Jenney, the chief executive of the Fresh Produce Consortium, said: “They’ve [the government] created a strategy that is both incompetent and hugely expensive. “This will drive up costs for our sector, which will ultimately be passed on to consumers already struggling with the rising cost of living.”
Inflation Is Stubborn. Is the Federal Budget Deficit Making It Worse? 2024-04-29 16:11:51+00:00 - A crucial question is hanging over the American economy and the fall presidential election: Why are consumer prices still growing uncomfortably fast, even after a sustained campaign by the Federal Reserve to slow the economy by raising interest rates? Economists and policy experts have offered several explanations. Some are essentially quirks of the current economic moment, like a delayed, post-pandemic surge in the cost of home and auto insurance. Others are long-running structural issues, like a lack of affordable housing that has pushed up rents in big cities like New York as would-be tenants compete for units. But some economists, including top officials at the International Monetary Fund, said that the federal government bore some of the blame because it had continued to pump large amounts of borrowed money into the economy at a time when the economy did not need a fiscal boost. That borrowing is a result of a federal budget deficit that has been elevated by tax cuts and spending increases. It is helping to fuel demand for goods and services by channeling money to companies and people who then go out and spend it.
Yes, prime minister, it’s a scandal so many of us are signed off work. Maybe you Tories should stop making us ill | Zoe Williams 2024-04-29 15:58:00+00:00 - Another week, another phantom menace for Rishi Sunak. The people he is talking about, regarding his benefit reforms, do not exist. The 1.35 million people who could work but just don’t want to, who have a label of depression or anxiety but are just a little bit sad, who could have their benefits replaced by vouchers and find that incentivising: these people do not exist. People are not signed off work because we are all a little bit more comfortable talking about our moods. People are not on disability benefits because Prince Harry did a podcast. We don’t have a “sicknote culture” because it’s too easy to get a sicknote. The pressure on GPs will not be lifted by parcelling out sicknotes to private contractors. Those with depression and anxiety severe enough to claim a personal independence payment (Pip) are catastrophically unwell. If numbers have surged over the past 14 years, which they have, it is because Conservative governments make you catastrophically unwell. Pushback on this new narrative of cruelty has so far been pathetic: at the most, you might hear a minister challenged on the scarcity of NHS mental health provision. All that is true: child and adolescent mental health services in particular are now so poor as to be almost nonexistent. There are areas of the country where a child can wait so long for help that by the time it arrives, four years later, they are no longer a child. In a grim, idiotic irony that is the trademark of a government that marries callousness to incompetence, the more severe your illness, the more labyrinthine and inaccessible the treatment: hospital trusts might meet the referral targets for psychotic episodes, but most then fail to meet the standard for providing treatment. Waiting times for severe mental illness besides psychosis aren’t recorded and people describe it as endless limbo. But the problem starts further up the pipeline: our mental health is worse because our general health is worse. “Britain is objectively sicker than it was a decade ago,” the epidemiologist Michael Marmot wrote in January. Poverty is driving down life expectancy and driving up infant mortality – and, along the way, it’s destroying people’s sanity. Being chronically hungry – as the UN rapporteur noted in November, with some horror, that many people are in Britain – harms your state of mind, as does not being able to feed your children. Conservative governments have driven people to despair, and now they want to engage us in a conversation about snowflakes Debt, precarious housing, low wages, punitive benefit sanctions – any one of these factors might reasonably cause a person to fear for their existence. Successive Conservative governments have driven a large number of people to despair and now they want to engage us in a conversation about snowflakes. We shouldn’t dignify it. If the premise is built on an untruth, it is not surprising that no single point is true, either. Mel Stride, the work and pensions secretary, is calling these ideas the “biggest welfare reforms in a generation”, but 14 years is much less than a generation and, in this time, welfare has been reformed significantly. Universal credit, introduced 11 years ago, was never benchmarked to a meaningful assessment of need, with the result that 90% of households claiming it, as of last summer, are unable to afford the essentials. If that was the intention – to move low-income families on to the breadline – that is hands down the most successful reform the Tories have enacted. Pip, the benefit these reforms are coming for, was itself a reform of the disability living allowance. It is known for assessment criteria so harsh and nonsensical that, if anxiety isn’t one of your symptoms at the start of it, it generally is by the end. The whole wheeze is underpinned by the fact that Sunak doesn’t have time to make meaningful changes to anything. Maybe he thinks he is laying a trap for Labour. Maybe he thinks the injection of fresh cruelty will boost his support in the local elections. If there is anything more disgusting than the sight of a half-billionaire rolling up his sleeves for a “benefits crackdown” in the middle of a cost of living crisis, the realities of which he wouldn’t be able to imagine even if it occurred to him to try, I can’t think of it. Zoe Williams is a Guardian columnist
A second new nuclear reactor is completed in Georgia. The carbon-free power comes at a high price 2024-04-29 15:50:54+00:00 - ATLANTA (AP) — The second of two new nuclear reactors in Georgia has entered commercial operation, capping a project that cost billions more and took years longer than originally projected. Georgia Power Co. and fellow owners announced the milestone Monday for Plant Vogtle’s Unit 4, which joins an earlier new reactor southeast of Augusta in splitting atoms to make carbon-free electricity. Unit 3 began commercial operation last summer, joining two older reactors that have stood on the site for decades. They’re the first two nuclear reactors built in the United States in decades. The new Vogtle reactors are currently projected to cost Georgia Power and three other owners $31 billion, according to calculations by The Associated Press. Add in $3.7 billion that original contractor Westinghouse paid Vogtle owners to walk away from construction, and the total nears $35 billion. Electric customers in Georgia already have paid billions for what may be the most expensive power plant ever. The reactors were originally projected to cost $14 billion and be completed by 2017. Utilities and their political supporters on Monday hailed the plant’s completion. Georgia Gov Brian Kemp proclaimed he was “thankful for this historic achievement by Georgia Power and its partners.” Chris Womack, CEO of Atlanta-based Southern Co., which owns Georgia Power, argues Vogtle will make the state’s electrical grid more reliable and resilient and help the utility meet its goal of zeroing out carbon emissions by 2050. “These new Vogtle units not only will support the economy within our communities now and in the future, they demonstrate our global nuclear leadership,” Womack said in a statement. Each of the two new reactors can power 500,000 homes and businesses without releasing any carbon. Even some opponents of Vogtle have said the United States can’t achieve carbon-free electricity without nuclear power. But Georgia Power, like other utilities, plans to build more fossil fuel generation in coming years, saying demand is rising sharply. That demand, driven by computer data centers, is being felt by multiple utilities across the country. Calculations show Vogtle’s electricity will never be cheaper than other sources the owners could have chosen, even after the federal government reduced borrowing costs by guaranteeing repayment of $12 billion in loans. “Hopefully, despite being seven years late and billions over budget, the two new units at Plant Vogtle will finally perform well for at least the next 80 years to justify the excessive cost,” said Liz Coyle, executive director of Georgia Watch, a consumer group that fought to limit rate increases. In Georgia, almost every electric customer will pay for Vogtle. Georgia Power owns 45.7% of the reactors. Smaller shares are owned by Oglethorpe Power Corp., which provides electricity to member-owned cooperatives, the Municipal Electric Authority of Georgia and the city of Dalton. Utilities in Jacksonville, Florida, as well as in the Florida Panhandle and parts of Alabama also have contracted to buy Vogtle’s power. Regulators in December approved an additional 6% rate increase on Georgia Power’s 2.7 million customers to pay for $7.56 billion in remaining costs at Vogtle, with the company absorbing $2.6 billion in costs. That’s expected to cost the typical residential customer an additional $8.97 a month in May, on top of the $5.42 increase that took effect when Unit 3 began operating. Even as government officials and some utilities are looking to nuclear power to alleviate climate change, the cost of Vogtle could discourage utilities from pursuing nuclear power. American utilities have heeded Vogtle’s missteps, shelving plans for 24 other reactors proposed between 2007 and 2009. Two half-built reactors in South Carolina were abandoned. But Westinghouse is marketing the reactor design abroad. China has said it will build more reactors using the design, while Bulgaria, Poland and Ukraine also say they intend to build nuclear power stations using the Westinghouse reactor.
Philips Settles CPAP Breathing Device Lawsuits for $1.1 Billion 2024-04-29 15:44:32+00:00 - Philips Respironics has reached a $1.1 billion settlement over claims that people who used their CPAP and other breathing devices were harmed by noxious gasses and flecks of foam that lodged in their airways, sometimes for years. Thousands of people contended in lawsuits that they had been injured by popular Philips DreamStation machines. The settlement affects CPAP, or continuous positive airway pressure, machines that people with sleep apnea or other respiratory difficulties use at night to improve their breathing, as well as other types of machines used at home and in hospitals. Philips did not admit any fault in the settlement, including whether the devices caused the injuries, according to a financial report issued Monday. The personal injury settlement follows a $479 million settlement reached in September over economic losses to the patients and medical equipment sales companies that financed replacement devices. Philips also agreed to a consent decree earlier this year that forced the company to halt U.S. sales of new devices until certain conditions are met.
Skydance Offers Paramount a Deal Sweetener: A $3 Billion Cash Infusion 2024-04-29 15:41:39+00:00 - With the fate of Paramount hanging in the balance, its leading suitor has just upped the ante. Skydance, which has been in talks to merge with Paramount for months, in recent days offered to provide the combined company with a $3 billion cash infusion that it can use to pay down debt and buy back stock, according to two people with knowledge of the proposal. Skydance also offered to give Paramount shareholders a larger stake in the combined company than it had initially proposed. The revised bid is aimed at assuaging investors who have come out against the deal in recent weeks, saying it would enrich Shari Redstone, Paramount’s controlling shareholder, at the expense of other investors. The vociferous pushback by investors, combined with the complicated nature of the transaction, means the Skydance deal could still fall apart, people familiar with the process said. Paramount’s special committee has discussed conditioning the deal on approval by a vote of a majority of minority shareholders. Paramount has been in deal discussions with the movie studio Skydance for months, after Ms. Redstone decided late last year to consider a sale for her media empire. Since then, the company has entertained interest from suitors including Apollo, the private-equity giant, and Skydance, which is proposing a merger.
FDA brings lab tests under federal oversight in bid to improve accuracy and safety 2024-04-29 15:13:56+00:00 - WASHINGTON (AP) — Makers of medical tests that have long escaped government oversight will have about four years to show that their new offerings deliver accurate results, under a government rule vigorously opposed by the testing industry. The regulation finalized Monday by the Food and Drug Administration will gradually phase in oversight of new tests developed by laboratories, a multibillion-dollar industry that regulators say poses growing risks to Americans. The goal is to ensure that new tests for cancer, heart disease, COVID-19, genetic conditions and many other illnesses are safe, accurate and reliable. “The agency cannot stand by while Americans continue to rely on results from these tests without assurance that they work,” FDA Commissioner Robert Califf told reporters on a conference call. Califf said inaccurate tests can lead to unnecessary treatment or delays in getting proper care. But in a significant move, the FDA decided that the tens of thousands of tests currently on the market will not have to undergo federal review. The agency said it will essentially grandfather those tests into approval to address concerns that the new rule “could lead to the widespread loss of access to beneficial” tests. Under the government’s plan, most newly developed tests that pose a high risk — such as those for life-threatening diseases — will need to be FDA approved within 3 1/2 years. Lower risks tests will have four years to obtain approval. All lab tests — old and new — will be required to register with the agency and report problems or errors. Based on this information, FDA officials said they will be able to target problematic tests. “If we identify problems with the tests we can move forward to take action against them,” said Dr. Jeff Shuren, director of the FDA’s device center. “We think this overall strikes the right balance.” The agency also won’t require approval of tests for which there are no alternatives, such as those for certain rare diseases. The FDA already reviews tests and kits made by medical device manufacturers. But labs, large hospitals and universities that develop their own in-house tests have been able to market them without each one undergoing agency review. The industry has resisted additional scrutiny for decades, saying it will stifle innovation and drive up costs. There are an estimated 80,000 medical tests currently available from about 1,200 labs, according to the agency’s estimate. They include tests for complex diseases, as well as simpler conditions like high cholesterol and sexually transmitted infections. In the 1970s and ’80s, most lab-based tests were “lower risk, small volume” products used mostly for local patients, according to the FDA. Over time, the tests have grown into a nationwide business, with labs processing thousands of blood, urine and other samples per week from hospitals and clinics. Others advertise directly to consumers — including some claiming to measure the risk of developing ailments like Alzheimer’s and autism. FDA officials have long voiced concerns about the accuracy of some tests, pointing to patients who have received inaccurate results for heart disease, Lyme disease and other conditions. Inaccurate tests can lead to patients getting an incorrect diagnosis, skipping treatments or receiving unnecessary medication or surgery. More than a decade ago, the agency drafted tougher guidelines for the industry, but they were never finalized. For years, U.S. labs have successfully lobbied Congress and other federal institutions against tougher regulation. When FDA released a draft of the new rule last September, a leading industry group argued the agency did not have legal authority to step into the testing market. The American Clinical Laboratory Association said Monday it “has grave concerns about this rule as a matter of both policy and law. The rule will limit access to scores of critical tests, increase health care costs, and undermine innovation in new diagnostics.” The group represents large testing chains such as Quest Diagnostics and LabCorp, as well as smaller labs and test makers. ___ The Associated Press Health and Science Department receives support from the Howard Hughes Medical Institute’s Science and Educational Media Group. The AP is solely responsible for all content.
Taylor Swift’s ‘Tortured Poets’ Breaks Records With Blockbuster Debut 2024-04-29 14:33:04+00:00 - There was never any doubt that Taylor Swift’s latest release, “The Tortured Poets Department,” was going to be big. The question was just how big. And the answer is, gigantic. “The Tortured Poets Department,” Swift’s 11th studio album, opens at No. 1 on the Billboard 200 album chart with historic numbers, including huge results in streaming and vinyl sales. It is Swift’s 14th chart-topping title, tying her with Jay-Z for the second-most No. 1 albums by any act in the 68-year history of Billboard’s flagship album chart; only the Beatles, with 19, have more. In its first week out, “Tortured Poets” had the equivalent of 2.6 million album sales in the United States, according to Luminate, which tracks the data behind Billboard’s charts. That is the biggest overall first-week take for any album since Adele’s “25” in 2015, which opened with nearly 3.5 million, driven by in-store CD sales.