#Amazon.com #investors voted against all 14 resolutions that asked the retailer to disclose more about its carbon emissions and its directors' donations, and to form a committee to oversee artificial-intelligence development, among other issues.
The company had asked #shareholders to reject all of the outside proposals.
My experience has been that VCs are pattern-matchers, who spent the last 15 years finding founders and #business models which subverted any inefficient, good-faith system, abstracted away inefficiencies with code, and relied on the repeated use of the #software to generate some free #cashflow, which was the justification for the book value, that would be used to offload the speculative asset to public #markets, or subsequent #investors.
Did you know that #Shinzo Abe's grandfather was known as a #monster?
This is a 19-point #thread on the tumultuous years during & after #WW2 from Japan's POV, on the #problem of #US peace-keeping efforts & on Japan's ongoing nepotism issues.
3/ To make this profitable, he lowered the wages of workers to such an extent, that by 1937, #slave labour was deemed acceptable as long as it benefitted the #war with China & profited the #investors.
Yes, the company went public. No, it is not a financial success—or even a lifeboat.
Debuting on the charts w/a “DJT” ticker, #TrumpMedia saw a 55% surge in valuation right after markets opened.
Huge influx of cash, right? w/Trump holding ~79M shares, equating to 58% of available stock, the #SPAC debut balloons his #NetWorth by nearly $5B; there were ~136M shares outstanding post-merger.
…those pitiful earnings represent a steep drop from the hundreds of millions that #DWAC had raised from investors, some of whom yanked out their commitments before the merger. Bloomberg reported Mon that some initial DWAC #investors were so bearish that they redeemed their shares before the merger was approved, taking a 75% loss on those #investments. In other words: The company is a #financial mess.
…that’ll only work if #Trump has confidence in his #platform & doesn’t dump a bunch of #stock, or even give a hint he’s thinking of doing such a thing (like by requesting a waiver), which would scare smaller-scale #investors, piss off #JeffYass, & send #TrumpMedia’s valuation plummeting.
…Does Trump have that kind of confidence in his platform?…he still needs money, fast, & not just because he might not have enough liquid cash to even cover the reduced $175M #bond he needs to pay off by April 4.
"Unilever said on Tuesday it would spin off its ice cream unit, home to popular brands such as Magnum and Ben & Jerry's, and cut 7,500 jobs in a new cost-savings programme.
The #gold price is surging (but has yet to reach the peaks of 1980s, in inflation adjusted terms):
Generally speaking, a shift into gold suggests #investors anxiety about the future. At present that may also be compounded by a surge in demand in #China where people are looking both to hedge against disruption, and by some accounts are looking to have mote portable wealth due to political concerns.
Whatever the reasons, historically rises gold prices have been a warning of trouble ahead.
In an extensive report on #PrivateEquity in the FT this morning, this little data nugget appears:
in the decade up to 2022, the creation of 'value' in PE controlled firms, almost entirely reflected a rise in the scale of activity, not any increase in margins, or increases in #productivity.
In other words despite claims for #innovation & productive reorganisation, PE just increased turnover... which while not necessarily easy, is a very different & less unique story for #investors!
"The head of the IPCC has compared the rollout of carbon capture and storage (#CCS) to "trying to push water uphill," questioning a technology that the oil and gas industry has long touted as integral to net-zero emission plans.
The International Energy Agency has previously called for the oil and gas industry to let go of the "illusion" that carbon capture is a solution to climate change, pushing instead for energy majors to ramp up investments in clean energy."
"[#Exxon] is suing #investors to intimidate them from ever trying to influence corporate decisions.
“What they’re trying to do is silence shareholder voices, specifically to silence the voices of shareholders who are concerned about #ClimateRisk,” he added. “It’s noteworthy that a company like Exxon is so determined to shut down the conversation… amongst shareholders about these long-term risks.” "
Sounds like they're soiling their pants over "climate risk".
The wild probe into investors of #DWAC, #Trump#Media’s proposed merger ally
Sales of #DigitalWorldAcquisition stock triggered a widespread federal probe that involved a confidential informant, a secret airport phone scan & an elite anti-#MoneyLaundering squad. Three people were indicted, but the investigation continues.
Digital World’s chief exec, #PatrickOrlando, a Miami financier #Trump had hosted at his golf clubs, had been telling #investors privately for months that he’d been talking w/Trump about the deal, the filings assert — a violation of #FederalSecurities#law, the #SEC would say later, given his company’s pledge in regulatory filings that its leaders had held no talks w/any merger targets.
Those profits caught the attention of federal ofcls who launched a sprawling investigation into #DWAC’s #investors, the details of which raise questions about how #Trump, who built his #political reputation in part on having mastered “the art of the deal,” ended up committed to a business arrangement that federal agents now allege was undermined from its inception by #FinancialFraud. #criminal#law#SEC#FederalSecurities
It's reporting season for UK academics funded by #UKRI. UKRI mandates use of #ResearchFish, a commercial product that was originally spun out (maybe from #MRC?) and is now owned by #Elsevier 🙃. For the first time IIRC, I will have to accept Elsevier #privacy policy when I upload my #research outcomes.
Oligopoly and massive vertical integration in this sector: in medium term, most likely to benefit #investors.
#Gold is often seen as a refuge from #economic turmoil, so what do we make of two groups buying sprees that are supporting the current $2,000 gold price?
Central banks' demand for gold is currently high & this is compounded by a major shift by #investors & private individuals in #China which has seen demand for Gold greatly exp[and in the last year.
It may be just one more sign that the mid-2020s are going to be a rough time for many of us....
#TheMetalDogArticleList #MetalSucks
Hallowed Be Thy Game: Heavy Metal is Big Business in Board Games at PAX Unplugged
Turns out board games are getting metal as f*ck.
"The report counts 2,485 climate #lawsuits filed globally against large corporate carbon emitters so far. Chevron alone could be liable for up to $8.5 trillion, the report estimates."