TikTok is getting closer to a ban. TikTok CEO, Zi Chew, did not exactly instill confidence that the CCP is not using TikTok to spy on the US in his hearing on Capitol Hill Last Thursday. TikTok is fighting back though. Many TikTok Influencers arrived in DC to plead their case that TikTok is a net positive for society. Though the arguments are weak and fall on deaf ears since the influencers are seen as just trying to preserve their personal income. To sum the
whole story up, the US Gov is mad that the CCP is feeding our citizens trash and spying on us, because…well…The US Gov thinks its their job to spy on us and feed us trash.
Character AI gets a $1 Billion valuation. The AI company that was founded by ex-google employees allows you to communicate with AI versions of famous people both dead or alive, fiction or real. Think about having a conversation with Peter Griffin from Family Guy, Michael Jordan, or the late Queen
Elizabeth II. Talking to made-up versions of people will absolutely have positive effects on society…right? It’s not like we are already too addicted to tech, and crave attention from people in increasingly unhealthy ways. Some Kids growing up today will not know the difference between talking with a real live human being with a soul from talking with a computer program.
Another Crypto arrest. Do Kwon, the co-founder of Terraform Labs oversaw a $40 billion crypto loss last May. He was recently
arrested by US officials in epic fashion. Do Kwon and others were founding Montenegro while they were trying to fly to Dubai using fake Costa Rican documents? Crypto cannot catch a break and it is ultimately because it is still, and perhaps always will, be treated like a speculative asset rather than an actual form of currency. This situation inevitably leads to corruption and schemes for making quick cash.
Apple wants to invest $1 Billion per
year to make movies. They see that movies are still a favorite pastime of the cultures and unique streaming content-based movies seem to have promise. Apple wants to become a major movie producer by attracting big-time talent (Actors, Directors, & Producers).
Hindenburg Research, the short seller known for digging up dirt on publicly traded companies has targeted Block (The owner of Cashapp). Hindenburg claims that Block is letting Fraud run rampant on their Cashapp
platform for the sake of growth. This corruption for the sake of growth trend is something that is all too common for publicly traded companies. Once you go public you must “grow” at all costs. Hindenburg may have legitimate claims or it may not be about the companies it showcases, but make no mistake the main goal for this short seller is to short-sell stocks of companies they defame. It’s a lucrative process!
The AI race is going to have big implications. And no, we are not talking about all the moral issues, though we are tempted to go down that rabbit hole. What we are talking about is compensation for original content creators. AI bots are
being fed articles, posts, and papers so it can learn how to generate its own material. This has many creators and journalists ticked off because their content is being used to make money and they are not being compensated. Their content is also being used for what could eventually lead to them being replaced by AI bots. Lots of lawsuits are on the horizon for big AI pushers like Google and Microsoft. Though Big Tech has proved that their ask for forgiveness later instead of permission now
approach pays off financially. Meta for years was willing to pay fines for harvesting data because the revenue was worth it.
Coinbase is likely going to court with the SEC and a lot is at stake for the crypto world. The essential reason for the court case or at least its biggest potential outcome is making a decision on whether cryptocurrencies are securities. That decision could reshape the entire crypto world. In more bad news for Crypto, the CFTC is suing Binance.
QUICK HITTERS
- Fords EV unit lost over $2 Billion last year, because of the splurge it made on electric production.
- Lululemon is looking to expand to China, which could end up being its biggest market.
- The Tech industry has been laying people off like crazy but those people are getting jobs pretty quickly after being fired. The Tech industry
has a very low 2.2% unemployment rate which is below the already low national average of 3.6%
- Apple and Microsoft now make up 13% of the S&P 500.
- Disney plans to fire 7,000 employees so it can make streaming profitable.
There is a political and economic fire brewing in Israel and it is supposedly because Israeli Prime
Minister Benjamin Netanyahu just fired his defense minister. In essence, what is going on is PM Netanyahu wants to overhaul the judiciary because it has become what he calls “too interventionist.” On the other hand, critics believe the overhaul would weaken Israel’s checks and balance systems. This will be a big financial story that everyone should be aware of.
