CNBC reports that FTX was rocked by
a sell-off that gained momentum... .
... after Binance CEO Changpeng Zhao publicly announced that his company was selling its holdings in FTT, its competitor's native token.
FTX CEO Samuel Bankman-Fried reportedly went to venture capitalists and other investors in addition to Binance in an attempt to remedy liquidity issues.
.
Zhao later revealed that the world's largest cryptocurrency firm and FTX came to a nonbinding agreement that would have helped FTX avert its crisis.
But CNBC reports that one day after reaching that deal, on Nov.
9, Binance backed out.
Zhao also reportedly sent a memo to employees on Nov.
9 stating that he
"did not master plan" FTX's collapse
Sam Bankman-Fried , Speaks Out After Sentencing.
The former FTX CEO was sentenced
to 25 years in prison on March 28.
He was previously convicted of fraud, conspiracy and money laundering.
In an exclusive interview with ABC News,
the 32-year-old exhibited remorse for his actions, saying, "It's most of what I think about each day.".
Bankman-Fried attributed FTX's downfall to many "bad decisions" made in 2022, ABC News reports. .
I never thought that what I was
doing was illegal. But I tried to hold
myself to a high standard, and I
certainly didn't meet that standard. , Sam Bankman-Fried, to ABC News.
I've heard and seen the despair,
frustration and sense of betrayal from
thousands of customers; they deserve
to be paid in full, at current price, Sam Bankman-Fried, to ABC News.
That could and should have
happened in November 2022,
and it could and should happen
today. It's excruciating to see
them waiting, day after day, Sam Bankman-Fried, to ABC News.
Bankman-Fried went on to say that he's "haunted, every day, by what was lost.".
I'd give anything to be able to help
repair even part of the damage.
I'm doing what I can from prison,
but it's deeply frustrating not
to be able to do more, Sam Bankman-Fried, to ABC News.
Bankman-Fried plans to
appeal based on trial testimony that
"greatly misstated what actually happened.".
I'd give anything to be out there, trying
to make a positive difference in the
world, but I know that's not going to
happen. I can't help from prison, Sam Bankman-Fried, via statement
Credit: Wibbitz Top Stories Duration: 01:31Published
Sam Bankman-Fried , Sentenced to 25 Years , for FTX Fraud.
On March 28, Sam Bankman-Fried was sentenced to
25 years in prison after being found guilty of defrauding
users of FTX, the now-collapsed cryptocurrency exchange. .
NBC reports that Lower Manhattan federal district
Judge Lewis Kaplan found the defense's arguments
misleading, speculative and logically flawed.
The judge accused Bankman-Fried of committing
obstruction of justice and tampering with
witnesses while mounting his defense.
Kaplan reportedly said that those
factors played a role in his decision
about how to sentence Bankman-Fried.
Prosecutors had originally sought a longer sentence
of 50 years, while the defense fought for
Bankman-Fried to get no more than six and a half years.
Prosecutors had originally sought a longer sentence
of 50 years, while the defense fought for
Bankman-Fried to get no more than six and a half years.
In November, Bankman-Fried was convicted on seven
criminal counts. He has been held at Brooklyn's
Metropolitan Detention Center while awaiting sentencing.
In November, Bankman-Fried was convicted on seven
criminal counts. He has been held at Brooklyn's
Metropolitan Detention Center while awaiting sentencing.
At one time, FTX was valued at over $30 billion
but ultimately collapsed in November of
2022 after announcing a major cash shortfall.
At one time, FTX was valued at over $30 billion
but ultimately collapsed in November of
2022 after announcing a major cash shortfall.
While on trial, Bankman-Fried was accused
of robbing FTX customers of nearly $8 billion,
which was partially used to fund the extravagant
lifestyles of the exchange's executives.
While on trial, Bankman-Fried was accused
of robbing FTX customers of nearly $8 billion,
which was partially used to fund the extravagant
lifestyles of the exchange's executives.
NBC reports that Bankman-Fried's sentence
is harsher than other white-collar crimes
in recent memory, such as Theranos founder
Elizabeth Holmes who received just 11 years.
NBC reports that Bankman-Fried's sentence
is harsher than other white-collar crimes
in recent memory, such as Theranos founder
Elizabeth Holmes who received just 11 years.
The outlet also notes that the judgement is more
similar to the 25-year sentence given to former
WorldCom CEO Bernie Ebbers or the 24-year
sentence given to Enron CEO Jeff Skilling.
The outlet also notes that the judgement is more
similar to the 25-year sentence given to former
WorldCom CEO Bernie Ebbers or the 24-year
sentence given to Enron CEO Jeff Skilling
Credit: Wibbitz Top Stories Duration: 01:30Published
Key Federal Reserve Inflation Gauge , Rose 2.8% in March.
According to Commerce Department
data released on April 26.
the personal consumption expenditures
(PCE) price index, not including food or energy, rose 2.8% year-over-year in March. .
That exceeded Dow Jones
estimates of 2.7%, CNBC reports. .
When also accounting for food and energy, the all-items PCE measure rose 2.7%,
which was above the 2.6% estimate.
Inflation reports released this morning
were not as a hot as feared, , George Mateyo, chief investment officer at Key Wealth, via CNBC.
... but investors should not get
overly anchored to the idea that
inflation has been completely
cured and the Fed will be cutting
interest rates in the near-term, George Mateyo, chief investment officer at Key Wealth, via CNBC.
The prospects of rate cuts remain,
but they are not assured, and the
Fed will likely need weakness in
the labor market before they
have the confidence to cut, George Mateyo, chief investment officer at Key Wealth, via CNBC.
Consumers continue to spend despite
higher prices, CNBC reports.
Personal spending increased 0.8% in March, while personal income rose 0.5%.
The personal saving rate dropped to 3.2% as more people are having to dip into their savings to cover the cost of living.
The Fed continues to target 2% inflation, which the core PCE has exceeded for
the last three years, CNBC reports.
Credit: Wibbitz Top Stories Duration: 01:30Published
Netflix Exceeds Earnings Estimates , As Subscribers Increase.
Netflix Exceeds Earnings Estimates , As Subscribers Increase.
Netflix released a Q1 earnings report on April 18, indicating that its number of subscribers jumped 16% year-over-year to reach 269.6 million.
Analysts only expected the streamer to have about 264.2 million subscribers, CNBC reports. .
The company also brought in $9.37 billion in revenue versus analysts' expectations of $9.28 billion. .
However, Netflix said that its membership numbers are no longer the main factor contributing to the company's growth.
As a result, the company will stop providing "quarterly membership numbers or average revenue per user" beginning in 2025, CNBC reports. .
Instead, it will divulge "major subscriber milestones as we cross them.".
Price hikes, terminating password sharing
and offering an ad-supported tier are all tactics that have boosted revenue.
Netflix is also seeking to gain traction within the video game space and recently partnered with TKO Group Holdings to offer WWE on the platform.
We’re in the very early days of
developing our live programming and
I would look at this as an expansion of
the types of content we offer, the way
we expanded to film and unscripted and
animation and most recently games, Ted Sarandos, co-CEO of Netflix, via earnings call.
We believe that these kind of event cultural
moments like the Jake Paul and Mike Tyson
fight are just that kind of television, and we
want to be part of winning over those
moments with our members as well, so that
for me is the excitement part of this, Ted Sarandos, co-CEO of Netflix, via earnings call.
As of the morning of April 18,
Netflix's stock was up 27%
Credit: Wibbitz Top Stories Duration: 01:30Published
Google Fires Employees , for Protesting Israel Contract.
28 Google workers have been fired for protesting
a $1.2 billion contract that the company has with
the Israeli government and military to provide
cloud and AI services, NBC News reports. .
The firings follow an April 16 sit-in at
Google's offices in California, New York and Seattle in which nine workers were arrested.
The group that coordinated the demonstration
is known as No Tech for Apartheid. .
Google issued a statement about the recent firings.
A small number of employee
protesters entered and disrupted
a few of our locations. , Google spokesperson, via statement.
Physically impeding other employees’
work and preventing them from
accessing our facilities is a clear
violation of our policies, and
completely unacceptable behavior. , Google spokesperson, via statement.
We have so far concluded
individual investigations that
resulted in the termination of
employment for 28 employees,
and will continue to investigate
and take action as needed, Google spokesperson, via statement.
No Tech for Apartheid claims that the
workers were fired "indiscriminately.".
This excuse to avoid confronting
us and our concerns directly,
and attempt to justify its illegal,
retaliatory firings, is a lie, No Tech for Apartheid, via statement.
Meanwhile, many of Google's workers have
reportedly quit after experiencing "mental health consequences of working at a company that is using their labor to enable a genocide," No Tech for Apartheid said.
On a personal level, I am opposed
to Google taking any military
contracts — no matter which
government they’re with or what
exactly the contract is about. , Cheyne Anderson, a Google Cloud software engineer based
in Washington who was arrested during a sit-in, to CNBC
Credit: Wibbitz Top Stories Duration: 01:31Published
Amazon Cuts Hundreds , of Cloud Computing Jobs.
An Amazon Web Services (AWS)
spokesperson issued a statement about
the job cuts on April 3, CNBC reports. .
We’ve identified a few targeted areas of
the organization we need to streamline
in order to continue focusing our efforts
on the key strategic areas that we
believe will deliver maximum impact, AWS spokesperson, via statement.
We didn’t make these decisions
lightly, and we’re committed
to supporting the employees
throughout their transition to new
roles in and outside of Amazon, AWS spokesperson, via statement.
Cuts are being made to the store technology division “as a result of a broader strategic shift in the use of some applications in Amazon’s owned as well as in third-party stores,” the spokesperson said.
The layoffs come after Amazon announced that it was ending its Just Walk Out technology in Fresh stores.
The cashierless technology is overseen
by teams within the AWS unit. .
Beginning in 2022, Amazon started
its largest layoffs in history by letting
go of 27,000 roles company-wide. .
So far in 2024, the retail behemoth has cut jobs at Audible, Buy with Prime, Prime Video, MGM Studios and Twitch, CNBC reports. .
This latest round of cuts will
allow U.S. employees to collect pay
and benefits for a minimum of 60 days.
They will also be offered a severance package.
Credit: Wibbitz Top Stories Duration: 01:30Published
UPS to Become US Postal Service’s , Main Air Cargo Provider.
On April 1, United Parcel Service announced
that it will replace FedEx as the primary air
cargo provider for the USPS, CNBC reports. .
On April 1, United Parcel Service announced
that it will replace FedEx as the primary air
cargo provider for the USPS, CNBC reports. .
FedEx is walking away from a
22-year partnership after failing to
secure a better contract with the agency. .
FedEx is walking away from a
22-year partnership after failing to
secure a better contract with the agency. .
In fiscal year 2023, USPS paid FedEx $1.73 billion
for its services, down from the $2.4 billion
FedEx received in fiscal year 2020.
The decrease in payments was partially due
to the postal service using more economical
trucks in place of planes, CNBC reports. .
The parties were unable to reach
agreement on mutually beneficial
terms to extend the contract, FedEx, via securities filing.
Since FedEx will lose nearly $2 billion in annual
business from letting go of the contract, .
hundreds of pilots will likely
lose their jobs, CNBC reports .
Following the announcement, UPS shares
increased 1.4% while FedEx stock dropped 1.6%.
FedEx's current contract is
set to expire on Sept. 29
Credit: Wibbitz Top Stories Duration: 01:30Published
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