The New York Times reported on Friday that Twitter “teeters on the edge” after 1,200 employees resigned rather than accept Elon Musk’s demand to accept a “hardcore” work culture. Perhaps that’s true, but if Musk is successful transforming Twitter into a profitable company with less than half its previous workforce, it will further underscore how tech company valuations are grossly inflated.
It hurts to admit this, but here’s why I’m rooting for Musk.
Some thoughts on why lawyers for Theranos fraudster Elizabeth Holmes convinced me she deserves significant jail time; a misguided advocate’s attempts to cancel Henry Ford in Detroit because of his antisemitism; the resurging demand for manual transmissions; and fall colors in West Los Angeles.
As deftly reported by Ashley Rindsberg in the online magazine Tablet, the media played an integral role creating the myth of Sam Bankman-Fried, the disgraced CEO of crypto exchange FTX.
Bankman-Fried donated to various publications, including the Intercept, an online publication that possibly contributed to the election of President Biden.
The collapse of crypto exchange FTX serves as yet another reminder as to why the public should be wary of executives the media peddles as geniuses, particularly when they profess to adhere to the highest standards of morals and ethics.
How’s this for a modern-day version of the sitcom hit “Friends?”: A group of tech nerds are given $2 billion by some of the smartest people in Silicon Valley and Wall Street to create a crypto exchange. Instead of living in a Manhattan apartment they live in a $30 million, five-bedroom penthouse in a luxury residential complex in the Bahamas. To spice things up, some of these friends formerly dated each other.
A far-fetched plot? This is just a smattering of the real-life story about the collapse of the crypto exchange FTX and its founder, Sam Bankman-Fried. Here’s the FTX scandal explained for those who don’t understand cryptocurrency and some info on critical people the media has so far ignored or glossed over.
Rest assured, this will make one heck of a Hollywood movie.
I’ve tired of Elon Musk, and I suspect I’m not alone in my weariness. While I’d never bet against the Chief Twit, he would be wise to watch himself. The universe is sending him a message.
This will come as a shock to the media, but most Americans, particularly those with families to feed, couldn’t care one iota about what Elon Musk charges for his blue Twitter checkmarks. A story of greater importance is Kroger’s acquisition of Albertsons, which will likely increase already soaring food prices.
The takeover has a private equity wrinkle that even by that industry’s immoral and unscrupulous practices is obscene. Fortunately, a half dozen attorneys general are fighting the good fight to prevent a $4 billion smash and grab.
“Just look around and you’ll see an amazing story. … Companies are choosing to build new factories here, when just a few years ago, they would have built them overseas,” President Biden crowed in his State of the Union address earlier this year.
This morning I looked around and was greeted with this Reuters headline: “U.S. automaker Ford opens $260 million campus in Mexico.”
The opening, coming just one week before the election, makes clear that Ford CEO Jim Farley has the same low regard for Biden as he does for Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer, who Ford has previously played for a fool, among other Michigan leaders. The announcement also underscores how Ford is singing a very different tune with Biden running than country than when Donald Trump was in charge.
Ford Motor Co. for decades has demonstrated a hearty appetite for litigation risk, which explains the more than 50 safety recalls the company has issued this year. Investors would be wise to take note of two significant legal defeats that recently resulted when two of America’s top litigation lawyers chose to take Ford on.
If electric vehicles are the future of automotive, General Motors CEO Mary Barra continues to suffer major missteps, admitting this week that her ambitious EV sales promises will be delayed another year. As well, Barra has issued yet another recall for her monster Hummer pickup, this one for a faulty battery seal allowing water to seep in.
One upon a time, Barron’s would be the publication sounding the alarm and warning investors about Barra’s track record of broken promises and GM’s history of shoddy manufacturing. Now it’s just another voice in the legacy media’s EV choir.