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Coinbase leads crypto stock gains after Ripple Labs' legal victory 2023-07-13 - NEW YORK, July 13 (Reuters) - Shares of Coinbase Global Inc (COIN.O) surged by nearly 25% on Thursday, ahead of other cryptocurrency and blockchain-related companies, following a landmark legal victory in a closely-watched lawsuit involving blockchain company Ripple Labs Inc. A U.S. District Judge ruled on Thursday that Ripple Labs did not violate federal securities law by selling its XRP token on public exchanges, a decision that sent the value of the token soaring by as much as 74%. The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) had accused Ripple Labs and its current and former chief executives of selling unregistered securities when conducting a $1.3 billion offering for XRP, which was created in 2012. It was the first time a U.S. judge had found against the SEC where the agency has alleged a crypto token is a security and subject to its strict investor protection rules, buoying optimism over the future of the crypto market. Shares in Coinbase, which is also embroiled in litigation with the SEC over its trading of crypto tokens, surged 24.5% on Thursday following the decision, finishing at $107. Riot Platforms Inc (RIOT.O) jumped 15%, Marathon Digital Holdings Inc (MARA.O) rose 14.5%, and Microstrategy Inc (MSTR.O) gained 11.7%. Hut 8 Mining Corp (HUT.TO) added 17.7%. Coinbase said it would allow trading of the XRP token again on its platform in line with the court ruling. "We've read Judge [Analisa] Torres' thoughtful decision. We've carefully reviewed our analysis. It's time to relist," Coinbase's chief legal officer Paul Grewal said on Twitter. Bitcoin , the world's largest cryptocurrency, was last up 4.1% at 31,584 while Ethereum , the world's second-largest cryptocurrency, rose 6.43% to $1,993.3. Reporting by Chibuike Oguh in New York; editing by Michelle Price and Deepa Babington Our Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.
Twitter seeks termination of FTC order over data practices 2023-07-13 - July 13 (Reuters) - Twitter asked a U.S. court on Thursday to terminate a consent order with the Federal Trade Commission that governed the social media company's data privacy protections, arguing that the regulatory agency has made "unceasing demands." In a filing with U.S. District Court in San Francisco, Twitter accused the FTC of bias and overreach, saying it had sent letters demanding actions by the company at a rate of one every other week since billionaire Elon Musk acquired Twitter in October. The FTC did not respond to a request for comment. In 2011, Twitter and the FTC reached the consent decree after two data breaches at the social media company, with Twitter agreeing at the time that it would not mislead users about privacy protections. Last year, Twitter agreed to pay $150 million in a settlement with the FTC and the Justice Department to resolve allegations that it misused private user information in order to target advertising. Since Musk took over Twitter, the company has laid off thousands of employees and drastically cut costs, prompting questions about whether the company had the resources to comply with the FTC consent order. Reporting by Sheila Dang in Austin, Texas; editing by Jonathan Oatis Our Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.
Twitter to offer ad revenue share to select content creators 2023-07-13 - July 13 (Reuters) - Twitter said on Thursday that select content creators on the social media platform will be eligible to get a part of the advertising revenue the company earns. The content creators will get a share of revenue from ads displayed in their replies, Twitter said, adding that to be eligible the creators should be verified users with at least 5 million impressions on their posts in each of the last 3 months and have a Stripe payment account. loading Twitter is trying to draw more content creators to the platform. Earlier this year, the company allowed users to offer paid subscription to their content on the platform. Elon Musk, the billionaire who bought Twitter last October, has previously said the company will pass on the entire subscription revenue to creators in the first year excluding payment gateway charges. Reporting by Yuvraj Malik in Bengaluru Our Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.
Microsoft under fire after hacks of US State and Commerce departments 2023-07-13 - WASHINGTON, July 13 (Reuters) - In late June, one of cybersecurity expert Steven Adair's clients got an alert from Microsoft: one of the client's employees working on human rights issues had their email account compromised. The client wanted to know if Adair could get to the bottom of it. Adair, who used to work in cyberdefense at the U.S. space agency NASA before setting up his own firm, Volexity, immediately launched an investigation - and hit a brick wall. "We pored over every detail related to this user's behavior," Adair told Reuters on Thursday. "We couldn't turn up anything." The hackers who broke into his client's emails were the same set of sophisticated cyber spies Microsoft MSFT.O this week blamed for stealing emails from senior U.S. officials, including State Department employees and Commerce Secretary Gina Raimondo. Microsoft said the hacks worked not by hijacking computers or stealing passwords but by taking advantage of a still-undisclosed security issue with the company's ubiquitous online email service. Because Adair's client - whom he declined to identify - was not paying Microsoft for its premium security suite, detailed forensic data was unavailable and Adair had no way to figure out what had happened. "We basically became a spectator at that point," he said. Adair is now pushing for Microsoft to provide the additional data to its clients free of charge, a campaign that has picked up steam in the wake of the breach amid disquiet with the software giant's security practices in government circles. U.S. Senator Ron Wyden said Microsoft should offer all its customers full forensic capabilities, saying that "charging people for premium features necessary to not get hacked is like selling a car and then charging extra for seatbelts and airbags." Microsoft did not immediately return messages seeking comment on Adair's experience, Wyden's comment, or other criticism of its security. In a blog post that first outlined the hack late on Tuesday, Microsoft said that "accountability starts with us" and that it was "continually self-evaluating, learning from incidents" and strengthening its defenses. A STORM IN THE CLOUD For years individuals, organizations and governments have been moving their emails, spreadsheets and other data off their own servers and on to Microsoft's, taking advantage of cost savings and the integration with the Redmond, Washington-based company's suite of office tools. At the same time, Microsoft has promoted the use of its own security products, prompting some clients to abandon what they saw as redundant antivirus programs. The process of migrating an organization's data and services to a big tech firm is sometimes called "moving to the cloud." It can boost security, especially for small organizations that lack the resources to run their own IT or security departments. But competitors squeezed by Microsoft's security offering are sounding the alarm over how wide swaths of industry and government were effectively putting all their eggs in one basket. "Organizations need to invest in security," Adam Meyers of cybersecurity company CrowdStrike said in an email distributed to journalists on Wednesday. "Having one monolithic vendor that is responsible for all of your technology, products, services and security can end in disaster." Frustration is also building with Microsoft's licensing structure, which charges customers extra for the ability to see detailed forensic logs like the ones Volexity's Adair could not access. The issue has been a point of contention between the company and U.S. government ever since a hack of business software company SolarWinds (SWI.N) was disclosed in 2020. Adair said he understood that Microsoft wanted to make money from its premium security product. But he said having more eyes open to cyberthreats would be a win-win for the company and its customers. He noted that the hackers - which Microsoft nicknames Storm-0558 - were caught only because someone at the State Department with access to Microsoft's top-of-the-line logging noticed an anomaly in their forensic data. "Having Microsoft further empower customers and security companies so they can work together is probably the best way," Adair said. Reporting by Raphael Satter in Washington Editing by Matthew Lewis Our Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.
US FTC asks court to halt Microsoft's acquisition of Activision 2023-07-13 - WASHINGTON, July 13 (Reuters) - The U.S. Federal Trade Commission asked a federal court on Thursday to order Microsoft (MSFT.O) to hold off on closing its $69 billion purchase of "Call of Duty" maker Activision Blizzard (ATVI.O). A federal judge had ruled for Microsoft on Tuesday, saying the agency had failed to show the deal would be illegal under antitrust law. The FTC appealed that loss late on Wednesday, and Microsoft has said it would fight that appeal. In its motion, the FTC asked for an order preventing the deal from closing until after the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals ruled on a separate stay request filed with that court. Any outstanding regulatory hurdle makes it more likely the agreement between Microsoft and Activision will expire on July 18 without the deal having been completed. After July 18, either company will be free to walk away from the deal unless they negotiate an extension. The FTC asked for the court to decide on the pause as soon as possible, noting that an existing temporary restraining order on the deal ends just before midnight on Friday. Shares of Microsoft and Activision were little changed by the news. Microsoft closed up 1.6% and Activision ended down 0.5%. Microsoft showed no sign of backing down. "We’re disappointed that the FTC is continuing to pursue what has become a demonstrably weak case, and we will oppose further efforts to delay the ability to move forward," said Microsoft President Brad Smith in an emailed statement. In its motion for the pause to Judge Jacqueline Scott Corley, the FTC argued her denial of a preliminary injunction to halt the deal "raises serious, substantial issues for the Court of Appeals to resolve." The FTC said it was seeking a preliminary injunction to temporarily stop the deal until an internal FTC judge could assess it. But Corley applied the standard needed to permanently stop the deal instead, which, the agency argued, was inappropriate. "Granting an injunction pending appeal is warranted because the FTC is likely to succeed on appeal," the agency wrote. The FTC said the judge also erred in assessing the deal effect on multigame subscriptions and in how much credit she gave Microsoft for striking deals with rivals in order to save the proposed transaction. To address the agency's concerns, Microsoft had agreed to license "Call of Duty" to rivals, including a 10-year contract with Nintendo, contingent on the merger closing. "More fundamentally, the Court committed an error of law when it relied upon the self-serving testimony of Microsoft executives that they do not intend to foreclose rivals as a reason to find the FTC had failed to make its prima facie case," the FTC wrote in its motion. The deal, the largest in the history of the videogame industry, was also struggling in Britain until this week. After the ruling in California, Britain's Competition and Markets Authority, which had opposed the transaction, said a restructured deal between Microsoft and Activision Blizzard could satisfy its concerns, subject to a new investigation. It is rare for a merger fight to go to an appeals court. That said, the FTC appealed a ruling more than 10 years ago when it lost its fight against Whole Foods' purchase of Wild Oats. That fight eventually settled. Reporting by Diane Bartz and David Shepardson; Editing by Tim Ahmann and Josie Kao Our Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.
Stock selloff of satellite broadband company ViaSat ‘largely driven by emotion,’ analyst says 2023-07-13 - Viasat Inc.’s stock plunged more than 28% on Thursday after the communications company disclosed a problem that could affect one of its satellites. The ViaSat-3 satellite was launched from Cape Canaveral, Fla., on April 30 to help expand ViaSat’s VSAT, -28.48% North American fixed-broadband business. But William Blair analyst Louie DiPalma said that the satellite setback, while frustrating, has prompted an outsized reaction. “We believe this stock selloff is largely driven by emotion as there are a number of mitigating factors that soften the blow,” he wrote in a note Thursday, adding that insurance and ViaSat’s acquisition of Inmarsat will lessen any impact. “The recent acquisition of Inmarsat already provides ViaSat with global coverage, which was one of the original goals of the ViaSat-3 constellation,” DiPalma wrote. William Blair reiterated its market-perform rating for ViaSat. However, Raymond James analyst Ric Prentiss warned that the ViaSat-3 problem could be “a major blow” to the timing of ViaSat’s growth story. “The coming months will be pivotal as ViaSat looks to address the issue and bring the satellite into at least partial service,” he said in a note released Wednesday. Related: Viasat’s stock soars after $2 billion deal to sell Link 16 TDL business to reduce debt, boost liquidity In a statement released Wednesday, ViaSat described “an unexpected event” that occurred during reflector deployment on its ViaSat-3 Americas satellite. “We’re disappointed by the recent developments,” ViaSat CEO Mark Dankberg said in the statement. “We’re working closely with the reflector’s manufacturer to try to resolve the issue.” Also read: Virgin Galactic’s stock jumps as company sets date for second commercial flight Contingency plans are currently “being refined to minimize the economic effect” on ViaSat, the company said.
Deutsche Bank currency guru says it’s ‘time to sell the dollar’ as greenback sees longest losing streak since 2021 2023-07-13 - A top Deutsche Bank currency analyst has declared that it’s time to sell the U.S. dollar. George Saravelos, global co-head of FX research at Deutsche Bank, said in a note to clients shared with MarketWatch on Thursday that he’s once again betting that the dollar will weaken against the euro EURUSD, -0.01% , as well as the Japanese yen USDJPY, -0.00% , British pound GBPUSD, -0.04% and other major currencies. See: U.S. dollar on pace for sixth consecutive day of decline as inflation cools See: U.S. Dollar Index chart breakdown warns that further losses loom Updated forecasts included in the note have the dollar weakening through 2024, with further weakness, or stagnation, seen in 2025. Saravelos maintained a bullish call for the euro for most of 2023, but went “tactically” bullish on the greenback in May. But Wednesday’s CPI report, showing U.S. inflation showing to the lowest level since 2021, was the evidence he was waiting for to suggest that the U.S. dollar is likely headed lower, as the Federal Reserve likely won’t need to hike interest rates quite as high, or keep them elevated for longer. “We have had a bullish bias on EUR/USD throughout this year but tactically took profit in early May awaiting for more confirmation that dollar drivers are turning bearish. [Wednesday’s] US inflation print is the last piece of evidence we have been waiting for to recommend going long EUR/USD again,” Saravelos said. While his forecast has the euro rising to $1.15 by the end of the year, an advance to $1.20 is “entirely possible.” The shared currency was trading at $1.1228 on Thursday. According to Saravelos, the dollar is suffering from a double-whammy of sustainable disinflation and strong — but not too strong — economic growth. “First, we feel increasingly confident that the US disinflation process is well under way,” he said in the note. “Second, the disinflation process looks increasingly benign. We have been arguing that the most bearish outcome for the dollar is a combination of declining US inflation under relatively OK growth conditions,” he said. The dollar rallied in 2022 as the Fed’s aggressive interest-rate hikes, including four consecutive jumbo hikes of 75 basis points, widened the differential between the yield investors could reap from holding dollars vs. other currencies, tilting it heavily in the dollar’s favor. What’s more, fears of a recession, stoked by both aggressive Fed monetary policy and two consecutive quarters of negative economic growth in 2022, caused a rush for safety by international investors into the greenback. The ICE U.S. Dollar Index DXY, -0.76% rose 7.9% in 2022, its best yearly advance since 2015, according to FactSet data. At its peak, the dollar index traded just below 115 in late September 2022, its highest level in more than 20 years but has been sliding ever since. The dollar index was at 99.8 on Thursday after falling 0.8%, its sixth consecutive day in the red. It marked the currency’s longest losing streak since September 2021, according to Dow Jones Market Data. It’s also the indexes lowest level since April 2022. The index has fallen 3.6% so far this year. Just as the dollar’s September high last year nearly coincided with the stock market’s lows, the greenback’s latest nadir has coincided with a fresh 15-month high for U.S. stocks.
Opinion: It’s all systems go for stock market bulls 2023-07-13 - The stock market, as measured by the S&P 500 Index SPX, +0.85% , is now racing to new 2023 highs. We continue to recommend holding a “core” bullish position. There is stronger resistance at 4630 but beyond that, the next resistance area is the all-time high just above 4800. As for downside support, look to 4330. If the 4300 level were to be violated, the chart would take a slightly negative turn, and a “core” bullish position would no longer be warranted. Even so, there is also support at 4200 — the area that was resistance for so long, until the breakout in early June. The only bearish signal that we have amongst our indicators right now is the McMillan Volatility Band (MVB) sell signal. It would be stopped out if SPX were to close above the +4σ “modified Bollinger Band.” That Band is currently at 4520 and rising. The equity-only put-call ratios continue to edge lower. That means they are still on buy signals and will continue to be as long as they are declining. The fact that they are so low on their charts indicates that they are quite overbought, but that is not a sell signal. A sell signal will only be confirmed when these ratios roll over and begin to trend higher. Breadth has continued its pattern of swinging wildly back and forth with market movements, not really being a predictor, but a follower. At this time, both breadth oscillators are on buy signals and are in overbought territory after four straight days of advances dominating declines. Given the frequent whipsaws by these oscillators in recent months, we are not holding a position based on breadth at the moment. A potential highly bullish indicator is cumulative advance-decline volume (CUMAD), which is nearing a new all-time high. It still has a short way to go but could conceivably make a new all-time high within a few days. If it makes a new all-time high, SPX normally follows to a new all-time high of its own. New 52-week highs on the NYSE have expanded strongly this week (there were more than 200 new highs yesterday). This indicator remains on a buy signal as well. VIX VIX, +0.52% probed higher with the market decline last week, but never closed much above 15. It is now back into its recent 13-15 range. It’s probably not going to go much lower, because a lot of larger traders are still wary of market dangers. In any case, the trend of VIX buy signal remains in place. The only worry would be if VIX were to quickly rise 3.0 points or more in three days or less (using closing prices). The construct of volatility derivatives remains bullish for stocks. The term structures of the VIX futures and of the CBOE Volatility Indices continue to slope upward. Overall, the indicators are overwhelmingly bullish, and thus we are maintaining a “core” bullish position. However, since the market is also overbought, we recommend tightening trailing stops and rolling long calls up to higher strikes when they become deeply in-the-money. We will eventually trade other confirmed signals around this “core” position. New recommendation: Cronos Group (CRON) Cronus CRON, +3.00% has been on our unusual volume list for four days in a row, and that is the only reason we are recommending these calls. There are rumors that the company has received unsolicited indications of interest. Stock volume patterns have not improved, which is a negative, but with low-priced stocks, the calculations regarding the pattern of stock volume can sometimes be distorted. Under the guise of the old adage of “where there’s smoke, there’s fire,” we are recommending a small position here. We will hold these calls without a stop initially, while the takeover rumors play out. Buy 8 CRON Aug (18th) 2 calls at a price of 0.25 or less. New recommendation: Oric Pharmaceuticals (ORIC) Oric Pharmaceuticals ORIC, +1.16% stock broke out in late June on news of a private placement. It consolidated some and is now moving higher again. Stock and option volume patterns are extremely strong. Buy 6 ORIC Aug (18th) 7.5 calls at a price of 1.20 or less. The option markets are wide here, so be sure to use a limit when buying the calls. If bought, use a trailing closing stop at 7.40. Follow-up action: All stops are mental closing stops unless otherwise noted. We are using a “standard” rolling procedure for our SPY SPY, +0.79% spreads: in any vertical bull or bear spread, if the underlying hits the short strike, then roll the entire spread. That would be roll up in the case of a call bull spread, or roll down in the case of a bear put spread. Stay in the same expiration and keep the distance between the strikes the same unless otherwise instructed. Long 0 AMAM AMAM, +2.88% July (21st) 12.5 calls: Stopped out on July 11th. Long 800 KOPN KOPN, +4.02% : The stop remains at 1.70. Long 2 SPY July (21st) 439 calls: This is our “core” bullish position. Stop out of this trade if SPX closes below 4330. The position was rolled twice. Roll up every time your long SPY option is at least 6 points in-the-money. Long 1 SPY July (21st) 439 call: Bought in line with the “New Highs vs. New Lows” buy signal. Stop out of this trade if, on the NYSE, New Lows outnumber New Highs for two consecutive days. The position was rolled up twice. Roll up every time your long SPY option is at least 6 points in-the-money. Long 2 PFG PFG, +1.65% July (21st) 70 calls: roll up to the July (21st) 75 calls. We will hold this position as long as the weighted put-call ratio remains on a buy signal. Long 1 SPY Aug (18th) 434 put and Short 1 SPY Aug (18th) 404 put: Tis position was established in line with the MVB sell signal of June 23rd, when SPX closed below 4151. We will hold it until SPX trades at the -4σ Band (the profit “target”) or trades above the +4σ Band, which would stop out the trade. Long 10 VTRS VTRS, +0.49% August (18th) 10 calls: We will hold this position as long as the weighted put-call ratio for VTRS is on a buy signal. Long 5 CCL CCL, -2.58% Aug (18th) 17 calls: Raise the stop to 16.80. Long 2 PRU PRU, +0.98% Aug (18th) 87.5 calls: We will continue to hold these calls as long as the weighted put-call ratio remains on a buy signal. Send questions to: lmcmillan@optionstrategist.com. Lawrence G. McMillan is president of McMillan Analysis, a registered investment and commodity trading advisor. McMillan may hold positions in securities recommended in this report, both personally and in client accounts. He is an experienced trader and money manager and is the author of “Options as a Strategic Investment.” www.optionstrategist.com ©McMillan Analysis Corporation is registered with the SEC as an investment advisor and with the CFTC as a commodity trading advisor. The information in this newsletter has been carefully compiled from sources believed to be reliable, but accuracy and completeness are not guaranteed. The officers or directors of McMillan Analysis Corporation, or accounts managed by such persons may have positions in the securities recommended in the advisory.
Some employers mandate etiquette classes as returning office workers walk barefoot, burp loudly and microwave fish 2023-07-13 - Some employees who are now having to go into the office may have never done so before — and they’re joining others who may have forgotten how to act or dress professionally because of the past three years of pandemic-induced remote work. To address these and other concerns, more than 60% of companies are giving or plan to give their employees etiquette classes by next year, according to a new survey by ResumeBuilder.com. The survey of 1,548 business leaders last week found that many of them were concerned about the way employees are dressing, as well as their interactions with one another or with customers. Among the C-suite executives, HR managers and other leaders who said they plan to offer etiquette courses, 60% said the courses will be required for all employees; 21% said the courses will be optional; and 19% said they will be required for some employees. Among those who said the classes will be required for only some employees, 54% said the training will be required for most or all new college graduates and employees ages 18 to 27, according to ResumeBuilder’s survey. That makes sense to Brandi Britton, the executive director of Robert Half, the global talent and business consulting firm. A recent report by Robert Half on the multigenerational workforce found that “one of the top things Generation Z wants is guidance,” she said. “They want feedback about what’s appropriate and not appropriate.” Britton added that some recent college graduates who are now navigating an office environment in person may have even had to finish college remotely. “‘We’ve had to do some basic training about how to dress for work for a client who had people showing up looking like they were hanging out at a wild frat house on a Saturday.’” — Kate Zabriskie, a trainer at Maryland-based Business Training Works But she said that across generations, among the things she has seen come up with clients recently include employees walking around the office barefoot, burping loudly while sitting next to each other, and microwaving fish — a timeless office offense. Some companies are bringing in outside help. Business Training Works, a Maryland-based training and consulting company that serves clients around the country, has seen an uptick in requests for team-building training, etiquette courses and general communication, according to one of its trainers, Kate Zabriskie. “We’ve had to do some basic training about how to dress for work for a client who had people showing up looking like they were hanging out at a wild frat house on a Saturday,” she said. Other things her company has had to do: teach employees not to steal food from the office refrigerator, and tell them, “Don’t get drunk at work functions with clients.” Zabriskie said some of the training she and her colleagues are being asked to do is familiar — they had to do some of that before the pandemic. “Whenever environments shift, someone will have a training need somewhere,” she said. In 2020, she added, she had a worker dial in as he was getting out of the shower and “show up naked for a virtual training.” Luckily, she said, she was only “greeted by a hairy chest.”
U.S. stocks just reached another market milestone. Here’s how the S&P 500 could climb even higher. 2023-07-13 - The S&P 500 index reached 4,500 on Thursday for the first time in more than 15 months. It’s the latest milestone that has Wall Street’s equity bulls taking a victory lap. Ed Yardeni, founder and president of Yardeni Research, correctly anticipated that the S&P 500’s closing low from Oct. 12 would mark a durable bottom. He reaffirmed his year-end target of 4,600 during an email exchange with MarketWatch on Thursday. But if the market gets there early, he could raise his target even higher, a prospect he also discussed during an appearance on Bloomberg TV. “My year-end target has been 4,600 since the start of this year. If it gets there ahead of schedule, I will probably raise my target to 4800 for the end of this year,” he said. Right now, it looks like the market will indeed reach his target in the not-too-distant future, according to Julius de Kempenaer, the senior technical analyst at StockCharts.com. He told MarketWatch that he doesn’t expect the market to face much resistance until 4,600. Why is he so optimistic? De Kempenaer pointed to signs that the rally in U.S. stocks has broadened dramatically over the past month as cyclical areas of the market, like industrials, materials, consumer discretionary, financials and small-cap stocks have joined megacap technology names in powering the rally. As a result, the number of S&P 500 SPX, +0.85% stocks trading above their 50-day moving average, a closely watched momentum gauge frequently used by technical analysts, has risen to 83.2% as of Wednesday’s close. That’s up from a low of 16.4% on March 10, according to StockCharts data. “There was a long period of people saying that this was a very fragile market. But that has stopped,” Kempenaer said during a phone interview with MarketWatch. “The fact that this is happening while the Fed is still raising rates makes it even more impressive,” he added. Here are a few other notable factoids that illustrate just how far the market has come from the doldrums of last fall. The S&P 500 has risen 26% off its closing low on October 4 last year of 3,577.03, according to FactSet data. The index closed at 4,357.86 on March 16, 2022, the day the Fed announced its first interest rate hike of the cycle. Stocks are now trading more than 3% above that level. On Jan. 4, 2022 year the S&P 500 hit an all-time intraday high of 4,818.62. The index is now within 7.2% of this level. To be sure, the technical setup isn’t the only factor working in the market’s favor. The fundamental outlook for the U.S. economy has improved following the release of Wednesday’s CPI report, which showed inflation in June slowed to its weakest level since August 2021, taking economists by surprise. Consumer prices increased by 0.2% in June, less than the 0.3% increase that economists polled by The Wall Street Journal had expected. Neil Dutta, head of economic at Renaissance Macro, summed up the reaction by declaring that the U.S. economy has entered “goldilocks” territory. The term was closely associated with the decade-long bull run that followed the financial crisis in 2008. It signifies an economic equilibrium where growth is robust and inflation subdued. “Inflation is poised to moderate over the summer as the Fed dials back its tightening campaign in response. This is a positive combination for risk assets,” Dutta said in research shared with MarketWatch on Thursday. Of course, it’s possible something could go wrong to derail the rally. Stocks have risen rapidly since the S&P 500 finally saw a sustainable break above 4,200 back in May. Last week’s pullback, the second losing week for the S&P 500 in three, gave investors a taste of what a pullback might look like when ADP private payrolls data showed nearly half a million jobs were created in June. The data sent Treasury yields surging, which sparked a selloff in U.S. stocks. The following day, the June nonfarm payrolls report from the Department of Labor showed that number was way off. But hotter than expected wage growth of 0.4% helped cement expectations that the Fed would need to push rates higher, and keep them elevated for longer, to tame inflation. That notion has passed seemingly as quickly as it arrived. Still, de Kempenaer believes another leg higher in long-duration Treasury yields, like the 10-year note TMUBMUSD10Y, 3.768% and 30-year bond TMUBMUSD30Y, 3.903% , could create problems for stocks. “If you look at the ratio of stocks vs. bonds, stocks are just ripping. But the stock market needs the bond market to be able to continue its rally,” he said.
XRP stages 80% rally as judge rules the crypto not a security in retail sales 2023-07-13 - Cryptocurrencies were soaring Thursday, led by a monster surge of the asset associated with Ripple Labs, XRP. The rally for the crypto, which was enjoying a double-digit percentage gain, came as a federal judge ruled that the crypto isn’t a security when sold to retail investors on digital-asset exchanges. XRP XRPUSD, -2.41% has rallied over 80% Thursday to around $0.85, representing its highest level since around December of 2021, at last check, based on CoinDesk data. U.S. District Judge Analisa Torres said Ripple’s sales to sophisticated institutional investors would, however, qualify as an unregistered sale of investment contracts, in violation of federal law, representing only a partial win for those who have advocated that XRP isn’t a security. Ripple’s CEO Brad Garlinghouse has argued that XRP, developed for cross-border payments, isn’t a security. Still, the XRP lawsuit “shows a clear pathway for tokens other than BTC to be deemed “not a security,” Jeff Dorman, chief investment officer at Arca, wrote on Twitter. The ruling may be especially bullish for crypto other than bitcoin. Ether ETHUSD, +0.00% prices rose by about 5.7% to around $2,011, marking the highest level since May; while Solana SOLUSD, +0.43% rose 18% on Thursday and Polygon MATICUSD, -0.70% values rallied 20%. Bitcoin BTCUSD, -0.23% prices were up 3% over the past 24 hours. Read: Ripple token not a security in retail sales, judge rules in partial win for crypto Whether cryptocurrencies are “securities” is a central basis for the regulatory strategy of the Securities and Exchange Commission. Securities sold to the public must be registered with the SEC, which requires providing investors with regular financial statements and disclosures about business and potential risks. Gary Gensler, SEC chairman, has repeatedly claimed that most crypto are securities and therefore should fall within the remit of his agency. Bitcoin, the original and largest crypto by size, is the only digital asset that the chairman has described as a commodity and not a security.
Shopify’s cure for too many meetings: putting a $1,600 price tag on them 2023-07-13 - Shopify Inc. SHOP, +6.72% believes that too many meetings are taking over the workplace, so it’s begun showing workers just how much money their meetings are costing the company. Shopify debuted its internal meeting cost calculator on Wednesday, part of the company’s efforts to decrease the meetings-clutter on people’s calendars. The calculator, built as a Google GOOG, +4.36% Chrome extension, shows Shopify employees the estimated cost of their meeting to the company, using factors like the meeting’s length, the number of attendees and compensation data based on job position. “The average size of a meeting at Shopify includes three people, and the average length of a meeting is about 30 minutes,” Shopify told MarketWatch. “A typical meeting of this size and length would cost between $700-$1600.” Plus, that cost would go up if the number of attendees increased, and/or the meeting included higher-level executives. See also: Some employers mandate etiquette classes as returning office workers walk barefoot, burp loudly and microwave fish Shopify Chief Executive Kaz Netajian gave a demonstration of the tool to CBS in April. Shopify CEO Kaz Netajian shows off his company’s meeting cost calculator. Shopify, via CBS This Morning The estimated meeting cost at a Shopify meeting is right below the meeting invitation. Shopify, via CBS This Morning Shopify is hoping that this tool may make employees think twice about scheduling a meeting, unless it’s extremely necessary. “People ask questions: what is this meeting for? Why are this many people in it? And those questions will put an immense amount of pressure on organizers to organize fewer meetings — and leave the rest of us alone,” Netajian said. The introduction of the calculator is the latest move by Shopify to curb company meetings. The company said it began axing all recurring meetings, and it eliminated Wednesday meetings to give workers a meetings-free day each week, at the start of 2023. “No one at Shopify would expense a $500 dinner,” Nejatian recently said in an interview. “But lots and lots of people spend way more than that in meetings without ever making a decision. The goal of this thing is to show you that time is money. If you have to spend it, you think about it.” See also: 3 innovations that could revolutionize work meetings In fact, unnecessary meetings could cost larger companies an estimated $100 million annually, according to a 2022 report produced for Otter.ai, which transcribes conversations for meetings and other events, by UNC Charlotte professor Steven G. Rogelberg. The survey, which took 632 responses from employees in various industries, stated that office workers have 17.7 meetings (totaling 18 hours) per week on average — and the time spent in meetings and the frequency of meetings tend to increase as management level increases, with some exceptions. Many workers are spending more and more time in meetings these days, as the number of overall meetings at work is up from pre-pandemic levels. One study revealed that people attend 13% more meetings today than before the COVID pandemic, with many of them occurring online. Some companies, including tech giant Microsoft MSFT, +1.62% , have seen the total number of meetings increase much more at their workplace. “Meetings are still consuming a lion’s share of our time. Since February 2020, the average Teams user saw a 252% increase in their weekly meeting time, and the number of weekly meetings has increased 153%,” the company said in 2022. Much of the increase in meetings may be linked to the higher proportion of employees working remotely, as these types of meetings have became more frequent, one Harvard Business Review study suggests. They found that there were 60% more remote meetings per employee in 2022 compared to 2020, or five to eight more meetings per week per employee, on average. Many workers agree that there are too many workplace meetings, and surveys show they felt that way even before the pandemic meeting boom. According to a 2019 poll of 1,945 workers by organizational consulting firm Korn Ferry, 67% of workers said excessive meetings kept them from getting their best work done. “Too often, the answer to any work issue is ‘let’s meet.’ While collaboration is absolutely what drives innovation and success in today’s global marketplace, it’s time to get creative with how we use our time together,” said Korn Ferry Senior Client Partner Cathi Rittelmann. “Meetings aren’t necessarily bad, but the way we prep and lead them can sometimes derail productivity. The bottom line is this: clear objectives, an agenda and identified roles never go out of style.” Shares of Shopify rose 6.72% during Thursday’s trading, and are up 102% year-to-date. Read on: These fully remote jobs pay over $100,000 a year — but there are a couple of caveats
A Look Into Yum Brands' Debt - Yum Brands (NYSE:YUM) 2023-07-13 - Over the past three months, shares of Yum Brands Inc. YUM fell by 1.18%. When understanding a companies price change over a time period like 3 months, it could be helpful to look at its financials. One key aspect of a companies financials is its debt, but before we understand the importance of debt, let's look at how much debt Yum Brands has. Yum Brands Debt Based on Yum Brands's financial statement as of May 9, 2023, long-term debt is at $11.35 billion and current debt is at $398.00 million, amounting to $11.75 billion in total debt. Adjusted for $349.00 million in cash-equivalents, the company's net debt is at $11.40 billion. Let's define some of the terms we used in the paragraph above. Current debt is the portion of a company's debt which is due within 1 year, while long-term debt is the portion due in more than 1 year. Cash equivalents includes cash and any liquid securities with maturity periods of 90 days or less. Total debt equals current debt plus long-term debt minus cash equivalents. To understand the degree of financial leverage a company has, investors look at the debt ratio. Considering Yum Brands's $5.75 billion in total assets, the debt-ratio is at 2.04. Generally speaking, a debt-ratio more than 1 means that a large portion of debt is funded by assets. As the debt-ratio increases, so the does the risk of defaulting on loans, if interest rates were to increase. Different industries have different thresholds of tolerance for debt-ratios. A debt ratio of 35% might be higher for one industry, but average for another. Importance of Debt Debt is an important factor in the capital structure of a company, and can help it attain growth. Debt usually has a relatively lower financing cost than equity, which makes it an attractive option for executives. However, due to interest-payment obligations, cash-flow of a company can be impacted. Having financial leverage also allows companies to use additional capital for business operations, allowing equity owners to retain excess profit, generated by the debt capital. Looking for stocks with low debt-to-equity ratios? Check out Benzinga Pro, a market research platform which provides investors with near-instantaneous access to dozens of stock metrics - including debt-to-equity ratio. Click here to learn more. This article was generated by Benzinga's automated content engine and reviewed by an editor.
Double Strike In Hollywood: Actors And Writers Unite In Work Stoppage - Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL), Walt Disney (NYSE:DIS) 2023-07-13 - In an unprecedented move, Hollywood is witnessing a double strike from both actors and writers for the first time in over six decades. The Screen Actors Guild - American Federation of Television and Radio Artists (SAG-AFTRA) and the Writers Guild of America (WGA) have both decided to down tools, causing a significant disruption to the industry, CNBC reports. Unions Demand Fair Compensation and Express AI Concerns During a press conference on Thursday, Fran Drescher, president of the actors union, expressed her outrage at the situation. "We are the victims here," she said. "We are being victimized by a very greedy entity. I am shocked by the way the people that we have been in business with are treating us." The two unions are demanding compensation throughout all stages of production, and have expressed concerns over the use of artificial intelligence in scriptwriting. In response to the strike, the Alliance of Motion Picture and Television Producers (AMPTP) stated that a deal has been offered with significant pay increases and protections for actors' digital likenesses. However, SAG-AFTRA's National Executive Director, Duncan Crabtree-Ireland, criticized the AMPTP's proposal on AI, and Drescher called the producers' response "insulting." Disney CEO Expresses Concern Over Strikes Bob Iger, the CEO of Walt Disney Co. DIS, expressed his concerns about the strikes during an interview on CNBC's "Squawk Box". He stated that the unions' expectations were unrealistic, and their actions were adding to the challenges the industry is already facing, Variety reports. The strikes come at a time when the industry is still recovering from the effects of the COVID-19 pandemic. Iger described the situation as "very disturbing" and warned of the potential damage to the industry and the wider economy. He also expressed his disappointment that the unions were not considering the current business environment and what the industry could realistically deliver. Also Read: DeSantis's 'Lasting Harm' To Disney In Florida Pushes Mouse House To Boost California Investments It is expected that the actors' union will join the writers' strike, effectively halting all scripted film and TV production. This is the first time in over four decades that SAG-AFTRA has gone on strike, and the first time since 1960 that both unions have been on strike at the same time. Streaming Platforms Dominate Amid Industry Turmoil Meanwhile, streaming platforms are dominating the Emmy Award nominations, indicating a shift in the television landscape. Platforms like Netflix Inc. NFLX, Apple TV+ from Apple Inc. AAPL, HBO/HBO Max from Warner Bros. Discovery WBD, and Hulu from Disney had a combined 280 nominations. This dominance of streaming platforms in the nominations could be indicative of the future of television. Despite the ongoing strikes, Iger confirmed that he would remain as Disney's CEO until 2026, extending his tenure beyond the original end date of next year. He also addressed the recent attacks on Disney by Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis over the company's opposition to Florida's "Don't Say Gay" bill, describing the notion that Disney was in any way sexualizing children as "preposterous and inaccurate". Now Read: Paul Krugman Asks If June Inflation Print Is Just 'Another Head Fake' Or Real: 'History Makes Me Nervous' This content was partially produced with the help of AI tools and was reviewed and published by Benzinga editors. Photo: Shutterstock
Why Leslie's Stock Is Diving After Hours - Leslies (NASDAQ:LESL) 2023-07-13 - Leslie's Inc LESL shares are doing a little more than just taking a dip in Thursday's after-hours session. The stock is trading down nearly 20% after the company released preliminary results and announced a CFO transition. What Happened: Leslie's said it expects fiscal third-quarter revenue to come in at $611 million versus estimates of $703.74 million, according to Benzinga Pro. The pool supply company anticipates adjusted earnings in a range of 39 cents to 41 cents per share versus estimates of 69 cents per share. Comparable sales are expected to be down 12% year-over-year, and the trend is expected to continue into the fourth quarter. As a result, Leslie's lowered its full-year 2023 revenue outlook to a range of $1.43 billion to $1.45 billion. Full-year adjusted earnings are now expected to be between 28 cents and 32 cents per share. "Our fiscal third quarter results were well below our expectations as low double digit traffic declines in our Residential and Pro businesses drove negative comps across both discretionary and non-discretionary categories," said Mike Egeck, CEO of Leslie's. "While abnormal weather continued to pressure traffic levels, customer surveys conducted towards the end of the quarter also indicated increased price sensitivity and that consumers entered the pool season with a greater than normal amount of chemicals leftover from last year." Leslie's also announced that CFO Steve Weddell is stepping down from his role, effective Aug. 7. He will be replaced by Scott Bowman, who is set to join the company as CFO designate on July 17. Weddell will serve as an advisor through the end of the year to help with the transition. Leslie's said it would report full financial results for the third quarter after the close on Aug. 2. See Also: Office Real Estate Crisis Predicted To Worsen By 2030: How Major Cities Can Adapt LESL Price Action: Leslie's shares were down 18.3% after hours at $7.78 at the time of publication, according to Benzinga Pro. Photo: Carl from Pixabay.
Nasdaq Removes Activision Blizzard From Index: Is Microsoft Merger Now 'Highly Probable'? - Activision Blizzard (NASDAQ:ATVI) 2023-07-13 - The tech and video game sectors were rocked this week when the Federal Trade Commission's request to halt a $69-billion merger in the space was turned down. The news could lead to the merger ultimately being approved and might have kickstarted stock market index shuffling. What Happened: Technology giant Microsoft Corporation MSFT announced a $69-billion acquisition of Activision Blizzard ATVI in January 2022, valuing shares of the video game company at $95 each. Since the acquisition was announced, the deal has faced regulatory roadblocks. Among those fighting against the merger were foreign regulatory agencies, the FTC and other video game companies like Sony Group Corp SONY. Federal Judge Jacqueline Scott Corley denied a request from the FTC to stop the merger earlier this week, citing a lack of evidence that the deal poses competitive concerns. “After considering the parties’ voluminous pre-and-post hearing writing submissions, and having held a five-day evidentiary hearing, the Court DENIES the motion for preliminary injunction,” the judge said. The judge does not see enough evidence that competition in the video game sector would be lessened by the merger or that Microsoft willpull titles like those from the “Call of Duty” franchise from Sony and make them exclusive to Xbox consoles. Shares of Activision Blizzard traded higher on the news of the judge’s decision Tuesday. The FTC has the option to appeal the decision and did so Thursday. Related Link: EXCLUSIVE: Activision Blizzardd's Focused Strateegy Is Working, Mobile Was Largest Segment In Q1 One Indicator That Deal Is Close: With shares of Activision Blizzard trading high, investors could see that it is more likely the merger ultimately wins out and goes through after a year and a half of challenges and decisions. One new piece of evidence on Wednesday may signal the merger is more likely to go through. As one of the largest companies on the Nasdaq stock exchange, which is a unit of Nasdaq NDAQ, Activision Blizzard is a member of the Nasdaq 100 Index. “The Nasdaq 100 Index is designed to measure the performance of 100 of the largest Nasdaq-listed non-financial companies,” a description for the index reads. The popular index is also tracked by the Invesco QQQ QQQ, one of the most-searched tickers on Benzinga Pro. On Wednesday, the Nasdaq announced that Activision Blizzard would be removed from the Nasdaq 100 and the Nasdaq 100 Equal Weighted Index. The Trade Desk TTD will replace Activision, and the change will occur before the market open July 17. It’s interesting to note that Activision Blizzard has a market capitalization of $71 billion compared to Trade Desk's market cap of $41 billion. In the press release announcing the change, Nasdaq also clarifies that the swap of The Trade Desk and Activision Blizzard does not have to do with a special rebalancing being done by the index related to the seven largest stocks making up over 50% of the index. Activision Blizzard is not being delisted from the Nasdaq, as the merger has not been completed. Here's where the wording in the methodology of selecting when to remove companies from the Nasdaq 100 Index comes in. “In the case of mergers and acquisitions, the effective date for the removal of an index issuer or security will be largely event-based, with the goal to remove the issuer or security as soon as completion of the acquisition or merger has been deemed highly probable,” the report reads. The key here is “highly probable.” By removing Activision Blizzard from the index, Nasdaq could be signaling the merger is now “highly probable” to occur after the judge’s decision to block the FTC’s injunction request. Replacing the stock before the merger goes through could be a risky move if the Nasdaq did not believe the deal will be completed. Would the Nasdaq re-add the stock back to the index down the road if the deal is ultimately blocked and admit it made a premature move? Benzinga has reached out to the Nasdaq for clarification on the removal of Activision Blizzard from the index and has not heard back as of the time of publication. ATVI Price Action: Activision Blizzard shares closed at $89.54 Thursday and have traded between $70.94 and $92.91 over the last 52 weeks. Read Next: 3 Analysts Weigh In On Court Ruling Favoring Microsoft's Activision Blizzard Deal:,'A Major Black Eye For The FTC' Photo via Shutterstock.
Looking Into Honda Motor Co's Recent Short Interest - Honda Motor Co (NYSE:HMC) 2023-07-13 - Honda Motor Co's HMC short percent of float has fallen 9.09% since its last report. The company recently reported that it has 1.67 million shares sold short, which is 0.1% of all regular shares that are available for trading. Based on its trading volume, it would take traders 1.28 days to cover their short positions on average. Why Short Interest Matters Short interest is the number of shares that have been sold short but have not yet been covered or closed out. Short selling is when a trader sells shares of a company they do not own, with the hope that the price will fall. Traders make money from short selling if the price of the stock falls and they lose if it rises. Short interest is important to track because it can act as an indicator of market sentiment towards a particular stock. An increase in short interest can signal that investors have become more bearish, while a decrease in short interest can signal they have become more bullish. See Also: List of the most shorted stocks Honda Motor Co Short Interest Graph (3 Months) As you can see from the chart above the percentage of shares that are sold short for Honda Motor Co has declined since its last report. This does not mean that the stock is going to rise in the near-term but traders should be aware that less shares are being shorted. Comparing Honda Motor Co's Short Interest Against Its Peers Peer comparison is a popular technique amongst analysts and investors for gauging how well a company is performing. A company's peer is another company that has similar characteristics to it, such as industry, size, age, and financial structure. You can find a company's peer group by reading its 10-K, proxy filing, or by doing your own similarity analysis. According to Benzinga Pro, Honda Motor Co's peer group average for short interest as a percentage of float is 10.79%, which means the company has less short interest than most of its peers. Did you know that increasing short interest can actually be bullish for a stock? This post by Benzinga Money explains how you can profit from it. This article was generated by Benzinga's automated content engine and was reviewed by an editor.
How Is The Market Feeling About Snowflake? - Snowflake (NYSE:SNOW) 2023-07-13 - Snowflake's SNOW short percent of float has fallen 15.33% since its last report. The company recently reported that it has 11.63 million shares sold short, which is 3.7% of all regular shares that are available for trading. Based on its trading volume, it would take traders 1.54 days to cover their short positions on average. Why Short Interest Matters Short interest is the number of shares that have been sold short but have not yet been covered or closed out. Short selling is when a trader sells shares of a company they do not own, with the hope that the price will fall. Traders make money from short selling if the price of the stock falls and they lose if it rises. Short interest is important to track because it can act as an indicator of market sentiment towards a particular stock. An increase in short interest can signal that investors have become more bearish, while a decrease in short interest can signal they have become more bullish. See Also: List of the most shorted stocks Snowflake Short Interest Graph (3 Months) As you can see from the chart above the percentage of shares that are sold short for Snowflake has declined since its last report. This does not mean that the stock is going to rise in the near-term but traders should be aware that less shares are being shorted. Comparing Snowflake's Short Interest Against Its Peers Peer comparison is a popular technique amongst analysts and investors for gauging how well a company is performing. A company's peer is another company that has similar characteristics to it, such as industry, size, age, and financial structure. You can find a company's peer group by reading its 10-K, proxy filing, or by doing your own similarity analysis. According to Benzinga Pro, Snowflake's peer group average for short interest as a percentage of float is 6.24%, which means the company has less short interest than most of its peers. Did you know that increasing short interest can actually be bullish for a stock? This post by Benzinga Money explains how you can profit from it. This article was generated by Benzinga's automated content engine and was reviewed by an editor.
If You Invested $100 In This Stock 10 Years Ago, You Would Have $400 Today - Diamondback Energy (NASDAQ:FANG) 2023-07-13 - Diamondback Energy FANG has outperformed the market over the past 10 years by 3.64% on an annualized basis producing an average annual return of 13.98%. Currently, Diamondback Energy has a market capitalization of $25.25 billion. Buying $100 In FANG: If an investor had bought $100 of FANG stock 10 years ago, it would be worth $369.69 today based on a price of $139.41 for FANG at the time of writing. Diamondback Energy's Performance Over Last 10 Years Finally -- what's the point of all this? The key insight to take from this article is to note how much of a difference compounded returns can make in your cash growth over a period of time. This article was generated by Benzinga's automated content engine and reviewed by an editor.
Meta Threads engagement has dropped off since red-hot debut, tracking firms say 2023-07-13 - What comes up must come down — at least in the case of user engagement on Threads, Meta 's new Twitter competitor. Last week, the text-based social media platform reported a record 100 million sign-ups in just five days, but according to data from Sensor Tower and Similarweb, the service has seen some dropoff in growth and engagement. "The Threads launch really did 'break the internet,' or at least the Sensor Tower models," Anthony Bartolacci, managing director at Sensor Tower, a marketing intelligence firm, told CNBC. "In the 10-plus years Sensor Tower has been estimating app installs, the first 72 hours of Threads was truly in a class by itself." But, he added, Sensor Tower data suggests a significant pullback in user engagement since Threads' launch: On Tuesday and Wednesday, the platform's number of daily active users were down about 20% from Saturday, and the time spent for user was down 50%, from 20 minutes to 10 minutes. "These early returns signal that despite the hoopla during its launch, it will still be an uphill climb for Threads to carve out space in most users' social network routine," Bartolacci said. "The backing of Meta and the integration with Instagram likely gives Threads a much higher flood than other services, but it will need a more compelling value proposition than simply 'Twitter, but without Elon Musk.'" Data from Similarweb, a digital data and analytics company, showed similar trends. Threads saw a dropoff of more than 25% in daily active users between its July 7 peak and Monday for Threads users on Android phones worldwide. The company is not yet finished calibrating its model with iOS data. Similarweb data also suggested that usage time dropped by more than half, with the average amount of time U.S. users spent on the app dropping from about 20 minutes on July 6 to just over 8 minutes on July 10. "We did see engagement drop somewhat over the weekend, and on Monday we estimate Threads had 36.6 million active users on Android," David Carr, senior insights manager at Similarweb, told CNBC, adding, "While there was intense interest in checking out the app initially, not every user has made a habit of visiting Threads as often as they might other social apps." Since its debut on July 5, Threads made headlines for its Instagram sign-up integration, algorithmic feed and positive sentiment from advertisers. Within one day of Threads' launch, The Verge reported that users had already posted more than 95 million posts and 190 million likes, based on internal company data it had viewed. Threads is still in its extremely early days, and it's natural for a sign-up boom to taper off as users explore a new service and whether the community, and the topics it pushes, are a fit. Adam Mosseri, head of both Instagram and Threads at Meta, has been vocal about the fact that he does not plan to prioritize news or politics on the new platform, meaning that it may not serve as an apples-to-apples Twitter replacement for some power users. "Politics and hard news are inevitably going to show up on Threads - they have on Instagram as well to some extent - but we're not going to do anything to encourage those verticals," Mosseri wrote on Threads. "Meta only needs 1 in 4 Instagram users to use Threads monthly for it to be as big as Twitter," Jasmine Enberg, principal analyst at Insider Intelligence, said in a statement. "Some of the engagement Threads has enjoyed seems to have been siphoned straight from Twitter," Similarweb's Carr told CNBC. "In the first couple of days of peak Threads activity, last Thursday and Friday, Twitter web traffic was down about 5% from the same days of the previous week. These are admittedly very early indicators, but they do show Threads has the potential to steal significant usage away from Twitter, particularly as the Threads app team starts to fill in missing features like hashtags and topical search." Meta did not immediately return a request for comment.