BWIB Finance Newsletter

Wednesday, May 12 to Tuesday, May 18, 2021

Tesla ceases use of Bitcoin

Source: CNBC

• Tesla will no longer accept Bitcoin as a way to pay for Tesla cars due to rising environmental concerns over the increase in use of fossil fuels for Bitcoin mining.
• The price of Bitcoin decreased as soon as Elon Musk released a tweet with the announcement.
• Tesla is currently looking for other types of cryptocurrencies that are more environment-friendly and use less than 1% of Bitcoin’s energy.

AT&T will merge its media business with Discovery

Source: WSJ

• AT&T has agreed to merge its WarnerMedia assets, which include HBO and CNN, with Discovery to form a new publicly traded company, which has yet to be named.
• Discovery’s portfolio includes Discovery Channel, Animal Planet, TLC, HGTV, Food Network, and more.
• If the deal is approved, AT&T will get $43B, about a little more than half the amount it paid to buy WarnerMedia in 2018 ($81B).
• The move comes as traditional media giants struggle to compete with streaming platforms and cord-cutters. Unscripted programming, which comprises the majority of Discovery’s library, has become a popular asset on streaming platforms.

Some companies no longer require customers and employees to wear masks

Sources: CNBC, CNBC, CNBC

• On Thursday, the CDC had announced that fully vaccinated people don’t need to wear a face mask or social distance in most indoor or outdoor settings.
• Walmart announced that fully-vaccinated customers are no longer required to wear a mask in stores, and Walmart employees are allowed to skip wearing masks unless required by the state law.
• Companies such as Starbucks, Target, Costco, and Trader Joe’s are also easing mask mandates.

COVID-19

• British Prime Minister, Boris Johnson, warned that the COVID-19 variant from India may be more transmissible. The U.K. is going to speed up second-dose vaccinations for individuals over 50 due to the concern. (Source: CNBC)
• The World Health Organization says that despite speedy vaccination rates in countries such as the United States, the pandemic is far from over. Some countries are seeing a decline in COVID-19 cases; others are facing waves of new infections. (Source: CNBC)

Technology

• Apple plans to have Tim Cook testify against the monopoly claims in the case with Epic Games, the company that made Fortnite. (Source: WSJ)
• Amazon creates a new program called WorkingWell, in which staff watch safety videos, enjoy staff meditation zones, and participate in stretching exercises in order to reduce worker injuries. (Source: WSJ)
• Darkside, the criminal hacking group responsible for last week’s ransomware attack on Colonial Pipeline, announced that they’re shutting down operations due to pressure from the U.S. Colonial had paid 75 Bitcoin, or nearly $5M for the ransom. (Source: NY Times)

Stocks

• AMC Entertainment stock gained 7.4% on Monday, and was up another 7% during premarket trading on Tuesday. This gain was catalyzed by the recent company’s earnings report. (Source: Barron’s)
• Disney’s stock fell more than 3% in after-hours trading on Friday after they announced in their quarterly earnings report that Disney+ only added new 9M subscribers when analysts had expected 14.4M. (Source: Barron’s)

Politics and World News

• Tension around the Israeli-Palestinian conflict rise, and more than around 14 children and more than 50 Palestinians have been killed amongst the Israel-Palestinian dispute. (Source: NY Times)
• On May 17th, the Supreme Court agreed to hear arguments in the Mississippi abortion case that may potentially easy abortion laws established in the famous case, Roe v. Wade. This will be the first case to test Donald Trump’s appointees, including Justice Amy Coney Barrett. (Source: CNBC)

Written By:

Director: Jacquline Ruan

Managers: Vaibhavi Bamane, Melissa Chen, Stacy Kim