Business, Financial & Legal News - Page 59
Elon Musk and Jeff Bezos lose billions amid horror stock market crash
Over the last seven days, the stock market has taken a tumble causing top technology billionaires to lose a considerable amount of money.
Following the announcement that the Federal Reserve is expected to announce an increase in interest rates in an effort to combat inflation, the stock market has dipped, marking the biggest decrease since the start of the COVID-19 pandemic in March 2020. Billionaires such as Elon Musk felt the dip as his personal fortunes decreased by a staggering $25 billion over seven days.
Notably, former Amazon CEO and Blue Origin founder Jeff Bezos also felt the drop as reports indicate a loss of $20 billion over seven days. According to a Bloomberg analysis, the dip in the stock market didn't just affect Musk and Bezos, as the top five technology billionaires collectively lost $67 billion over the same seven-day period. Facebook founder Mark Zuckerberg lost $10.4 billion, Google founder Larry Page lost $7.6 billion, and Microsoft founder Bill Gates lost $4.3 billion.
Continue reading: Elon Musk and Jeff Bezos lose billions amid horror stock market crash (full post)
Netflix subscribers hit 221 million in 2021 as paid adds miss mark
Netflix's Q4 earnings show an 18% increase in revenues and 221.8 million total paid subscribers.
Netflix's subscriber numbers have missed the company's internal estimates by 220,000. The service now has 221.84 million worldwide subscribers, however executives expected total subscribers to hit 222.06 million. Total revenues for 2021 were $29.697 billion, up nearly 19% over last year's $24.996 billion.
Net income during the period was $5.116 billion, up a mighty 85% over 2020. However operating profit was down -83% to $392 million due to rising costs of asset contents and operating assets. Cash from financing was also at a $1 billion loss due to a $500 million repayment of debt, a $600 million payment for share repurchases, and $224 million withheld for taxes on equity awards.
Continue reading: Netflix subscribers hit 221 million in 2021 as paid adds miss mark (full post)
Samsung aims for 2030 to beat TSMC's foundry business dominance
Nearly 18 months ago now I wrote a news article titled "TSMC is so ahead of the game, Samsung might not catch up until 2030" and yeah... well, it will be 2030 before Samsung can catch up to TSMC and its dominant foundry business.
A new report from DigiTimes and their industry insiders said that Samsung will be mass-producing 4nm chips for Qualcomm, and will be getting into a better position to fight TSMC as we lead into 2030... some 8 years from now. Samsung recently announced a rather gigantic $151 billion investment into its chip manufacturing business through to 2030.
The DigiTimes report said: "Samsung Electronics recently announced its wafer foundry now serves over 100 customers. Based on current conditions, the wafer foundry market in 2022 looks to be just as hot as it was in 2021. As a result, the South Korean industry is optimistic about Samsung's wafer foundry, which is about to enter a full-scale growth stage. However, Samsung is still relatively new to the automotive and AI chip fields".
Continue reading: Samsung aims for 2030 to beat TSMC's foundry business dominance (full post)
Microsoft to buy Activision-Blizzard in monster $70 billion deal
In a huge surprise announcement, Microsoft has announced it will be acquiring Activision-Blizzard in a monster $70 billion deal -- all-cash, by the way.
Once the deal is all over, it will make Microsoft the third-largest gaming company in revenue, where it will only be behind Sony and Tencent. Activision-Blizzard is home to some of the largest game franchises on the planet, including Call of Duty, Warcraft, Diablo, Overwatch, and so much more.
Activision-Blizzard CEO Bobby Kotick -- drama surrounding him, and the company -- will remain as CEO where he and his team will "maintain their focus on driving efforts to further strengthen the company's culture and accelerate business growth. Once the deal closes, the Activision Blizzard business will report to Phil Spencer, CEO, Microsoft Gaming".
Continue reading: Microsoft to buy Activision-Blizzard in monster $70 billion deal (full post)
Facebook to be sued over its alleged role in murder of federal officer
The sister of a federal officer is suing Facebook's parent company, Meta, over its alleged role in the murder of Dave Patrick Underwood.
Angela Underwood Jacobs has officially filed a complaint in Alameda County Superior Court that claims the shooting of her brother, Dave Patrick Underwood, "was not a random act of violence" and that stems from a "culmination of an extremist plot hatched and planned on Facebook by two men who Meta connected through Facebook's groups infrastructure and its use of algorithms designed and intended to increase user engagement."
Underwood was killed in a drive-by shooting outside of a federal building in Oakland, California, in May 2020. The two men charged with his murder were found to be linked to an anti-government Facebook group that was later banned from the platform in June 2020. Jacobs claims that Facebook bears the responsibility of her brother's murder for allowing these groups to exist on its platform and furthermore allowing extremists within these to connect and plot.
Continue reading: Facebook to be sued over its alleged role in murder of federal officer (full post)
Apple CEO Tim Cook's compensation was nearly $100 million in 2021
Apple CEO Tim Cook earned $98 million in total compensation in 2021, a massive 568% increase over 2020.
New SEC filings outline executive pay for Apple's current C-suite leadership, and CEO Tim Cook saw a meteoric rise in total compensation. According to the filing, Tim Cook received a total of $98 million in compensation through 2021 that consists of $3 million in base salary pay, $82 million in stock awards, $12 million in incentive pay, and nearly $1.4 million from "other compensation."
Cook's record incentive payout was due to Apple's stellar performance throughout 2021:
Continue reading: Apple CEO Tim Cook's compensation was nearly $100 million in 2021 (full post)
HBO Max hits 73.8 million subscribers, but Netflix and Disney+ conquer
HBO Max and HBO have hit a combined 73.8 million global subscribers by 2021's end, Warner CEO Jason Kilar tells Deadline.
According the latest figures provided by WarnerMedia, HBO Max is now the third leading subscription-base streaming service in the world. In tandem with its base HBO service, HBO Max has accrued a massive 73.8 million subscribers throughout 2021. Heavy-hitting day-and-date film releases like Dune and The Matrix Resurrections helped surge its yearly numbers, however Kilar affirms this simultaneous release structure isn't intended to last.
Despite these monumental gains, Netflix (213 million) and Disney+ (118 million) conquer the streaming wars with sizable leads. Meanwhile, NBC's Peacock comes in at 54 million subscribers, followed by Paramount+ with 47 million. Hulu, which includes shows across a variety of labels including FX, falls behind with 43.8 million subscribers. All companies are expected to announce updated figures in their Q4 earnings reports.
Continue reading: HBO Max hits 73.8 million subscribers, but Netflix and Disney+ conquer (full post)
Here's how much Netflix executives will make in 2022
Netflix's latest SEC filings reveal full year pay structures for CEO Reed Hastings and other executives.
A new Form 8-K filing shows how much Netflix's top brass will make in 2022. Each exec will receive multi-million salaries with the exception of Reed Hastings, who takes a $650,000 annual salary and a hefty $35 million stock option. The payout plan has been approved by shareholder votes and the internal board of directors compensation committee.
Netflix is currently enjoying its strongest performance of all time. 2021 has been a boon year for the streaming titan as mega-popular series like Squid Game and the League of Legends-based animated show Arcane take hold. The company's 9-months revenues currently sit at $21.98 billion, almost as high as 2020's full-year earnings of $24.99 billion, and overall net income achieved an astronomical new record high of $4.5 billion.
Continue reading: Here's how much Netflix executives will make in 2022 (full post)
Malaysia's new copyright laws: streaming pirates = 20 years prison
Malaysia's House of Representatives has just passed new amendments to the country's copyright laws, which would see people imprisoned for up to 20 years.
There are already laws that forbid the illegal uploading and downloading of copyrighted content, but with the introduction of the world of streaming, there are changes that need to be made to the legislation. With the world of streaming through various means (which I won't go into here) has landed a new decision by the High Court in May 2021 that the sale and distribution of streaming devices (like piracy-ready Kodi-based devices) does actually constitute infringement under the Copyright Act.
Domestic Trade and Consumer Affairs Minister Datuk Seri Alexander Nanta Linggi said: "Act 332 is amended to ensure copyright laws implemented will provide more efficient and effective protection in line with current demands and to fulfill the needs of the business community and stakeholders".
Continue reading: Malaysia's new copyright laws: streaming pirates = 20 years prison (full post)
Facebook dubbed 'worst company of 2021', probably partying with EA
In news that isn't surprising at the least, Facebook -- or should I say Meta -- has been voted the Worst Company of 2021, as voted by participants in a recent Yahoo Finance survey.
The social networking giant has gone from one dumpster fire to another over the last 12 months, with Yahoo Finance noting that Microsoft won its Company of the Year 2021 award -- while Facebook won the Worst Company of 2021 award. I'm sure it's something Mark "Project LifeLog" Zuckerberg running the company that has been awarded Worst Company of 2021. What an honor.
Yahoo Finance writes that the open-ended survey was run between December 4-5 with 1541 people responding, showing the site that Facebook (now Meta) had 8% of the vote for Worst Company of 2021. The second-worst company was Alibaba, but Meta led them with over 50% more hate voted for them.
Continue reading: Facebook dubbed 'worst company of 2021', probably partying with EA (full post)