The social networking company’s stock price declined -20% during the quarter, amidst a correction in the broad market.
In September 2017, Zuckerberg announced that he would offload 35 million to 75 million Facebook shares over the following 18 months as part of his pledge to give away almost all of his fortune during his lifetime.He has sold around 30.4 million shares worth $5.6 billion since then.
Facebook was mired in controversies in 2018, regarding issues like inadequate handling/protection of user data against a major incident of hacking and the Cambridge-Analytica scandal.
Delta Airlines stock price plunged -10% on Thursday, following the U.S. carrier’s statement that fourth-quarter unit revenue would slightly fall short of its prior forecast.
Delta now projects total revenue per available seat mile to rise about 3 percent, compared with the 3.5 percent growth it forecast earlier.Lower-than-expected improvement in last-minute fares booked by travellers was cited by the airline as a reason behind the less-than-expected unit revenue.
Delta said, "While close-in yield momentum continues, the pace of improvement in late December was more modest than anticipated" .
Chipotle, eager to promote itself as a healthy choice, tweaked its menu to fit with trendy diet plans.
Beginning Wednesday, the Mexican food chain will begin offering "Lifestyle Bowls," a new collection of meals that fit into paleo, ketogenic and Whole30 diets.READ MORE...
What's the price of censoring one episode of a Netflix show in Saudi Arabia?
Though Netflix has not released specifics on the number of subscribers in the country, the recent controversy over its removal of an episode of comedian Hasan Minhaj's show "Patriot Act" is throwing a sharp spotlight on how media and tech companies balance artistic freedom against local laws, and their business.READ MORE...
Now the country's economic slowdown is putting their earnings at risk.
Apple (AAPL) on Wednesday said that it expected a weaker Chinese economy to hurt its holiday sales numbers, prompting its stock to plunge up to 8% in after hours trading.CEO Tim Cook said in a letter to investors that the company had been blindsided by "the magnitude of the economic deceleration" there.
It isn't the only company that could suffer.
In one the first large mergers of 2019, Bristol-Myers Squibb announced it is buying Celgene Corp, for about $74 billion.The merged company will have many so-called blockbuster cancer drugs under its umbrella.
The deal will create a company with nine treatments bringing in more than $1-billion in annual sales and a significant potential for growth in oncology, immunology and inflammation and cardiovascular disease. Talks opened in September, with Bristol-Myers approaching Celgene, according to a Rueters report. Celgene shareholders will receive one Bristol-Myers Squibb share and $50 in cash for each share held, or $102.43 per share, a premium of 53.7 per cent to Celgene’s Wednesday close.
More than 250 prescription drugs will have price increases, according to a Reuters report.The news agency says that during a White House meeting with members of his Cabinet, U.S. President Donald Trump on Wednesday said he expected to see a tremendous decrease in drug prices.
The overall number of price increases was down by around a third from last year, when drugmakers raised prices on more than 400 medicines, according to data provided by Rx Savings Solutions, which helps health plans and employers seek lower cost prescription medicines.
CoreLogic is now projecting a smaller, 4.8 percent gain in November 2019.
"The rise in mortgage rates has dampened buyer demand and slowed home-price growth," said Dr. Frank Nothaft, chief economist for CoreLogic."Interest rates for new 30-year fixed-rate loans averaged 4.9 percent during November, the highest monthly average since February 2011.
On the other hand, Tesla’s share price rose 7%, but it’s difficult to draw a conclusion on that basis alone -- if the year had ended a week earlier, Tesla’s price would have dropped by 5%.Volatility surrounding Tesla has been an area of concern.
Perhaps a more useful way to look at the two companies is by their respective growth strategies.
While FCAU’s growth story is an impressive one with an ever expanding SUV brand boosting the company’s margins, Tesla is yet to report a full year profit.
According to one Morgan Stanely analyst, however, Tesla has the potential of an eventual addressable market at $15 trillion – nearly 20% of the entire world's GDP.
Middleby Corporation, a global leader in the foodservice equipment industry, declared on Monday the acquisition of EVO America Inc. – another global leader in the same industry specializing in design and ventless cooking equipment, which generates approximately $8 million in revenues annually.
The chairman and the CEO of Middleby Corporation explained that this latest acquisition will help add to the diversity of the company’s portfolio of ventless cooking solutions.This acquisition is timely because operators are increasingly becoming aware of the significant costs attached to installation of traditional ventilation.
Customers are also recognizing the restrictions imposed by externally vented hoods and duct work as they acquire new and more kitchen equipment with time.
The vision behind this acquisition is that EVO’s patented ventless technology can be integrated with quality designs that will empower Middleby’s customers with cooking versatility and flexibility, along with he
Growing trade tensions, slowing growth in China and long order backlogs made 2018 a difficult year for aircraft manufacturers in terms of winning new commercial aircraft orders.And it's highly unlikely that Airbus, which has captured 380 net firm orders in the same time period, will be able to muster another December surprise just like 2017.
Furthermore, with Boeing’s two late December noteworthy aircraft orders from Nigeria-based airline start-up Green Africa Airways and Saudi Arabia's Flyadeal, the chances of Airbus making a comeback have become even more difficult.
Can Apple rebound from an uneven 2018 in which its shares dropped 7%, or are there more choppy waters ahead?
Since reaching a high of $233.47 on Oct. 3, a mix of trade fears, weak iPhone reports, legal troubles and more have dragged down the once high-flying stock, though it has jumped 7% since Christmas.Here are a few of the biggest issues facing Apple in the coming year. READ MORE...
More than a dozen retailers — including major department store chains, mattress sellers and shoe companies — filed for bankruptcy protection in 2018, despite strong consumer spending that otherwise lifted the U.S. economy.READ MORE...
Big banks are reportedly looking to reduce or change some rewards plans on credit cards.
According to a Wall Street Journal article, large financial institutions including JP Morgan Chase & Co., Citigroup Inc., and American Express Co. are planning to reduce upfront rewards bonuses that they offer to borrowers on credit cards – but in a way that encourages card usage as well, according to the Journal article which cited people familiar with the matter.
The cost of rewards programs had increased at an average rate of +15% on a year-over-year basis as of the third quarter of 2018 at several large credit card providers, bank analyst Charles Peabody told the Journal.
Also, fees paid by retailers to the credit card companies are reportedly thinning since retailers are slapping lawsuits against what they consider excessive charges (as reported by the Journal).
Tesla stock price fell -9% on the news.
At 90,700 vehicles, total deliveries of Tesla vehicles fell a bit short of Wall Street’s delivery estimates, but was higher than the previous quarter’s figure.Tesla also announced that it is slashing prices by $2,000 for Model S, Model X and Model 3 each – a move that is apparently a response to the reduction in federal tax credit.
Total production of Tesla vehicles increased +8% to 86,555 vehicles.
The final month of the year brought no joy for Wall Street with the S&P 500 losing 10.9% on renewed global growth worries, Fed’s policy tightening and the government shutdown.Though markets saw the biggest single-day jump on Boxing Day since 2009, most of the dissuading factors are still in place (read: Alternative ETFs See Solid Volume: Are Investors Still Shaky?).
READ MORE...
At the start of 2018, Wall Street had predicted that oil prices would surpass the $100 mark in 2018 – for the first time in four years.The declines mark the first annual loss and the biggest yearly drop since 2015, when both contracts fell more than 30%.
So, what went wrong for oil?
First, following the Trump administration’s restored sanctions on Iran, fear of a supply shortage resulted into OPEC members and its allies led by Russia abandoning their 2016 agreement to restrict supply, adding about 1 million barrels per day between June and November.
Second, forecasts of a weaker than expected demand growth for oil resulted into broad stock market sell-off as investors dumped riskier assets.
2018 proved to be a miserable year for the U.S. stock market.Out of the 505 companies in the S&P 500, only 160 managed to post a positive year in 2018 – less than a third.
Amidst such a challenging environment, Chipotle emerged as one of the best stocks of 2018 after its shares soared nearly 50% in 2018 — the stock's best performance since its 80% surge in 2013.
Chipotle’s investors scored big in 2018, thanks to the new CEO of the company, Brian Niccol, who not just helped reinvigorate investor confidence but also helped the stock grow nearly 67% since the announcement of him taking charge in February 2018.
After reaching its peak in August 2015 at $758.61 a share, currently trading at $431 a share, Chipotle’s shares came down the hill at an alarming rate and found it hard to regain customer trust after being hit by a series of foodborne illness outbreaks.
According to a Wall Street Journal report, the e-commerce giant is so pleased with its collaboration with Whole Foods since the acquisition of the company in 2017, that now it plans to add more Whole Foods stores in cities like Idaho, southern Utah and Wyoming.
Amazon’s optimism for its physical presence is such that the to-be launched stores are supposed to cover an area larger than the average Whole Foods store, which are currently operational.Further, this is reflected in the company’s revenue from its physical stores swelling to more than $4 billion in the third-quarter, in addition to $29 billion generated through its online sales.
Amazon’s growing bet on physical stores is also evident in its other physical store formats like the recently opened Amazon go stores and bookstores across U.S., especially in cities like Seattle, Chicago and San Francisco.
But analysts expect the rise to be just temporary, amidst lingering concerns over a demand-supply imbalance.
Driven by healthy demand and a suitable equilibrium, oil prices rose consistently from January to October 2018.After reaching a four-year high of $86.74 per barrel in early October, oil prices dropped continuously.
After dropping nearly 25% in 2018, U.S. West Texas Intermediate crude futures ended the year at $45.55 a barrel.