Short sellers were apparently delighted in Facebook parent Meta’s plunging stock price today — but they’d be even happier if the consumer discretionary sector charted a similar path.
By the numbers: Consumer discretionary stocks are the most shorted sector, with short sellers holding 4.6% of their shares, according to S&P Global Market Intelligence.
The number of permanent store closures in the aftermath of the holiday shopping season has plummeted, compared to the same period last year.
Why it matters: The plunge comes at a time when many stores historically close up shop, indicating the holiday season buoyed a sector that was facing an existential crisis earlier in the pandemic.
Amazon on Thursday said it made more than $31 billion in advertising last year, a huge feat for the tech giant, which for years kept the size of its budding ad empire under wraps.
Why it matters: Amazon has one of the fastest-growing advertising businesses in the world. It now makes more money than Microsoft, Snapchat and Twitter combined on advertising annually.
Snap Inc.'s stock jumped more than 50% in after-hours trading Thursday after the tech giant posted its first-ever quarterly net profit as a public company, while also beating Wall Street estimates on revenue and user growth.
Why it matters: Snapchat's massive beat stands in stark contract to Facebook, which lost more than $200 billion in market value yesterday after reporting weak first quarter guidance, attributable in part to changes to Apple's privacy policies, impacting Facebook's ad business.
CNN staffers on Wednesday pummeled WarnerMedia CEO Jason Kilar with tough questions in the wake of the resignation of CNN boss Jeff Zucker, according to a recording of the roughly 40-minute meeting obtained by Axios.
Why it matters: The meeting showcased the frustration and confusion inside CNN over how and why their leader of nine years was forced to resign.
The Federal Reserve's central dilemma in 2022 is this: Inflation is very high. Unemployment is very low. Yet monetary policy is currently set as if the reverse were true.
The big picture: If the Fed readjusts policy to fit economic conditions too rapidly, it could cause a recession and/or financial panic. So instead, they're applying a strategy you can think of as the Powell Ratchet.
The January numbers that are due out at 8:30am Friday are going to be a hot mess express.
Why it matters: We generally look to the monthly jobs report for guidance about how the economy is evolving. That will be harder than usual this month.
Andreessen Horowitz is in advanced talks to lead a large funding round for Yuga Labs, the company behind the NFT project Bored Ape Yacht Club, Axios has learned from multiple sources.
Why it matters: Bored Apes is among the most popular community-based NFTs, below CryptoPunks and above Pixel Vault (which just raised $100 million of its own). Last week, Justin Bieber paid $1.29 million for a Bored Ape, while another last year sold for $3.4 million at Sotheby's.
A group of hawks was seen at Threadneedle Street in London Thursday. There were no such sightings in Frankfurt.
Driving the news: The Bank of England raised interest rates, and four of nine policymakers dissented, wanting to raise them more. The European Central Bank, by contrast, held pat with its low interest-rate policies.
In the past few years, the leaders of CNN, CBS, Fox News and others have all been forced to resign in the wake of public scandals, pointing to how the news media struggles with its own accountability.
Why it matters: In almost all of those instances, staffers said they weren't surprised by the conduct, but that their seemingly invincible bosses were finally brought down for behaviors that were open secrets.
More driverless trucks and taxis are going to be on the roads in the near future — if you know where to look. (Primarily San Francisco and Phoenix.)
Why it matters: Years of simulations and supervised, real-world testing with backup safety drivers are now giving way to fully driverless practice runs on some well-tested routes, which means we could finally be on the cusp of the autonomous revolution.
Meta on Wednesday said the Facebook app lost roughly 1 million daily active users in the most recent quarter — its first ever drop.
Why it matters: The numbers reinforce the sense, inside and outside the company, that the Facebook social network is now a legacy product for Meta, where the focus has shifted to newer realms like messaging, Instagram video and the metaverse.
The Senate Banking Committee's confirmation hearing Thursday for three Biden nominees to the Federal Reserve will be a high-stakes and potentially tense affair.
Why it matters: If one were to falter, it would undermine President Biden's push to remake the Fed to be more concerned about climate change and racial equality.
The Biden administration’s COVID-19 vaccine-or-test mandate is history, but about half of U.S. employers are proceeding with one anyway.
By the numbers: Nearly a quarter of employers are already requiring vaccinations without a testing option despite the Supreme Court scrapping the Biden mandate, according to the Jan. 27 poll by human resources consultancy Mercer.
