Day: September 7, 2024

Grant Cardone, a well-known real estate mogul and Donald Trump supporter, has recently aroused controversy by urging his followers to “quit doing business with the enemies.” Cardone’s tweet, which names companies like Facebook, Google, YouTube, Big Pharma, and the IRS, has sparked many reactions.

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As expected, his followers gave mixed responses. Some were confused and wondered how they could realistically stop using these companies. One follower even joked, “Do I have to give up YouTube? That’s where I learned how to replace my toilet.”

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Some pointed out the irony of quitting platforms like Google and Facebook, given how essential they are to modern life and business. One person commented, “I wish I could quit Google, but that’s where I get all my business.”

Others were more skeptical, suggesting Cardone’s message was contradictory since he uses social media to spread his ideas: “Man, you are on IG, Facebook, YouTube, and everywhere. WTF are you talking about?”

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Another asked him whether he’s “leaving those platforms and no longer taking medicine.” Most of the medicines we take today come from the pharmaceutical industry, which operates just like any other business.

Nevertheless, some of Cardone’s followers took his message at face value and suggested even more companies should be avoided. They mentioned everything from Dunkin’, TikTok, and Levi’s to energy drinks, fast food chains and Yeti products, adding to the list of businesses they see as harmful or too powerful.

Of course, responses also included Cardone Capital and even Cardone himself as brands people should avoid.

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Cardone’s message oversimplifies a complex issue. Many of the platforms and companies he labels as “enemies” are deeply embedded in everyday life, and he himself relies on them to build his brand and connect with his audience. It’s no wonder that some of his followers wonder if his message is more about getting attention than providing practical and sincere advice.

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In a recent post on X, Cardone also shared 11 ideas to improve America, including banning elected officials from stock trading, implementing flat or zero taxes, stopping funding wars, and enforcing laws.

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This article Grant Cardone Urges His Followers To ‘Quit Doing Business With The Enemies.’ Facebook, Google, YouTube, Big Pharma And IRS Top His List originally appeared on Benzinga.com

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The latest batch of hundreds of Goldman Sachs bankers to lose their jobs as part of the investment giant’s annual culling exercise will face a much bleaker job market than the last round of underperformers. There are 9.4% fewer banking and finance jobs available today than there were a year ago, according to the Indeed job posting index, which tracks the seven-day trailing average of job postings by sector.

There are currently 1.36 million American banking jobs, according to U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics data—33,000 fewer than last year, meaning job seekers must compete for fewer opportunities.

The shrinking job market for bankers is even worse if you look back to August 2022, when there were 47% more jobs on Indeed than there are today, and 45% more on Santa Monica–based competitor ZipRecruiter. In total, there are 16,500 fewer American banking jobs today than there were back then.

The reduction in jobs coincides with a record year for banks. The Dow Jones U.S. Banks Index that tracks the weighted average performance of American banks of all sizes has increased by 41% over the year ending Sept. 6.

Those two things are likely related, according to Andrew Crowell, vice chairman of wealth management for investment firm D.A. Davidson. Crowell says the current bull run “could continue for several more years” and relies heavily on tech investments.

“Bringing efficiencies to businesses,” he says, “whether through computerization, automation, AI, or culling from the bottom of the least productive individuals in a company is just good discipline.” Cromwell’s observations are consistent with a Citigroup report in June, which predicted 54% of banking jobs could be “displaced” by artificial intelligence, more than any other industry.

There is, however, reason for optimism. In spite of the net decrease in banking jobs according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, ZipRecruiter is already seeing an uptick in job postings since a year ago.

It’s also important to note that Goldman isn’t the only bank that routinely culls its weakest performers. Both JPMorgan and Citi also annually cut underperformers, and all three are also hiring. Goldman’s global head of communications told Fortune in a statement that the bank expects to employ more people in 2024 than in 2023.

“Our economy has reopened,” says Crowell. “Supply chains have have smoothed out; the disruptions we saw globally have now loosened.”

This story was originally featured on Fortune.com

• Mark Cuban said that taxing unrealized capital gains would “kill the stock market.”

• President Joe Biden proposed taxing unrealized gains for people worth over $100 million.

• Kamala Harris is unlikely to endorse Biden’s plan, Cuban said.

Any proposal to tax unrealized capital gains would “kill the stock market,” the billionaire investor Mark Cuban said in a CNBC interview on Thursday.

As part of his wide-ranging tax proposals, President Joe Biden has suggested taxing unrealized capital gains for people with a net worth of more than $100 million.

While Vice President Kamala Harris has not endorsed or dismissed Biden’s proposal on unrealized capital gains, Cuban said, it’s dead on arrival.

“If you tax unrealized gains, you’re going to kill the stock market, and it’s going to be the ultimate employment plan for private equity because companies are not going to go public because you can get whipsawed,” Cuban said.

Cuban’s “whipsaw” comment alluded to the main question investors have surrounding proposed taxes on unrealized capital gains: What happens if those unrealized capital gains eventually turn into unrealized capital losses in a volatile stock market?

But according to Cuban, who said he’d been talking with the Harris campaign often in recent weeks, Harris is highly unlikely to endorse such a plan.

“They realize that’s the issue,” he said, adding of Harris: “Even though she is not directly conflicting the Biden tax plan, to her, her value proposition is we need to tax everybody fairly, starting from the Biden plan as a starting point. But that’s not necessarily her ending point.”

Harris has already rejected some aspects of Biden’s tax proposals, offering her own vision of what she would propose as president.

While Biden proposed to move the long-term capital-gains tax rate to 39.6% for households with taxable income of more than $1 million, Harris says that’s too high and has proposed raising it to 28% instead.

“The point I’m really trying to convey is: She’s open-minded. She’s not an ideologue. She wants to do what’s best for business,” Cuban said.

Cuban defended the Democratic presidential nominee despite criticism that Harris has yet to unveil a slew of detailed economic-policy proposals with the November election fast approaching.

“Like any good CEO trying to turn around a battleship, there’s only so much you can do every single day,” Cuban said. “Like any good CEO, you’ve got to do it when you get it right.”

Read the original article on Business Insider

A close friend of Mike Lynch has accused the US software company Hewlett Packard Enterprise (HPE) of a “complete lack of humanity” for suing the tech tycoon’s surviving family.

Patrick Jacob said that the business had “already begun circling like vultures” by confirming that it planned to continue a £3bn fraud lawsuit against Lynch’s estate. Antonio Neri, HPE’s chief executive, said the company had a “fiduciary duty” to pursue damages.

“The chief executive’s recent comments show that HPE has reverted to its old tactics – pursuing a man through a relentless battle in the press and now his widow,” Mr Jacob said.

“Before the bodies are even laid to rest, they’ve already begun circling like vultures, demonstrating a complete lack of humanity. This is nothing short of heartless and distasteful.”

Lynch and his 18-year-old daughter Hannah were among seven people who died after his superyacht, Bayesian, sank off the coast of Sicily last month. Lynch’s wife, Angela Bacares, survived. The couple have another daughter, Esme.

HPE had pursued Lynch for fraud over the £7bn sale of his software company Autonomy to Hewlett Packard, a previous incarnation of the company, in 2011.

While Lynch had been cleared of US criminal charges in June over the deal, HPE had won a civil lawsuit in the High Court in 2022. A judge had been expected to award damages in the case by the end of the year, with HPE demanding $4bn (£3bn).

HPE said this week: “It is HPE’s intention to follow the proceedings through to their conclusion.”

Speaking to Bloomberg, Mr Neri said: “Fundamentally we believe the things that took place were not in the interest of the shareholders and we need to see it through.”

Mr Jacob, who runs the financial advisory firm Anthem Corporate Finance, was a close friend of the Lynch family and visited Lynch while he awaited trial in San Francisco. Invoke Capital, Lynch’s investment firm, had nominated him to a board position at the cyber security company Darktrace. He served for a year until voters rejected his election in December due to his association with Lynch.

HPE is able to continue its lawsuit against Mr Lynch’s estate, which will be able to appeal the 2022 judgment after a decision on damages is made. Mr Justice Hildyard said when delivering the judgment in 2022 that damages would be “substantial” but “considerably less than claimed”. HPE had originally claimed $5bn in damages – believed to be significantly more than Lynch’s net worth.

Mr Jacob’s remarks came as Poppy Gustafsson, Darktrace’s chief executive, announced that she would step down as the business prepares for a sale.

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Ms Gustafsson, who co-founded the company and had previously worked for Lynch at Autonomy, said it was the “right time to hand over the reins” ahead of the business going private in a £4.3bn deal.

Jill Popelka, who joined the company at the start of the year and took over as chief operating officer at the company earlier this summer, will become chief executive. She has held senior roles at technology companies including Accenture and Snapchat’s owner, Snap.

Darktrace is preparing to leave the London Stock Exchange after a three-year stint on the market. The company agreed to a takeover by private equity firm Thoma Bravo in April.

Lynch had been poised to net £300m from the disposal of the business. He held 7pc of the company in April along with Ms Bacares – although they had sold down some of their stake since.

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Summary

With Labor Day weekend now behind us, insider sentiment, as expressed by data from Vickers Stock Research, doesn’t suggest a broad mover higher for stocks, nor does it suggest a big move lower. Compared to the prior week, Vickers’ sell/buy ratios have remained largely stable, with the Total One-Week Sell/Buy Ratio rising slightly to 4.22 from 4.05, while the Total Eight-Week Sell/Buy Ratio has fallen slightly to 4.52 from 4.75. Meanwhile, Vickers’ Insider Index is now at -19.57 compared to last week’s -19.49, but is improved from the annual low of -20.98 set in early August. Surrounded by an environment of swirling geopolitical issues, ‘pending’ interest-rate cuts, and a contentious presidential election ahead, it is hard to blame any investor, insider or not, for thinking a seat on the sidelines may be reasonable right now. On a sector basis, insider buying outpaced selling in the Energy sector last week by a factor of 9.5-times. On the flipside, selling by insiders last week was greatest in Fi

It’s been a terrible couple of weeks for Super Micro Computer (SMCI) stock.

Shares of the data center server maker, considered one of this year’s biggest beneficiaries of the AI craze, have cratered more than 30% since the delay of its annual report in late August, shortly after short seller Hindenburg Research accused the AI high flyer of accounting manipulation.

On Friday, the stock took a hit falling more than 6% amid an overall tech sell-off. JPMorgan analysts downgraded Super Micro to Neutral from Overweight and slashed its price target almost in half to $500.

“As a result of our expectations for a near-term overhang for the shares from the uncertainty, we prefer to recommend new investors to remain on the sidelines till the company is back in compliance,” wrote JPMorgan’s Samik Chatterjee and his team.

The analysts clarified the downgrade was not led by lower confidence in the company’s ability to regain compliance with regulators by issuing its annual financial filing, nor the content of the Hindenburg report.

Apart from the filing, JPMorgan analysts expect “a response from Super Micro to ensure that customers do not divert orders, which could involve aggressive pricing, in our view, and the competitive response from peers.”

Analysts from Barclays and CFRA also downgraded the stock in recent days after the San Jose, Calif.-based company said it needed more time to file its annual report for its fiscal year ending June 30.

“Additional time is needed for SMCI’s management to complete its assessment of the design and operating effectiveness of its internal controls over financial reporting as of June 30, 2024,” the company said in a statement on Aug. 28.

The announcement came a day after Hindenburg Research claimed, among other things, “accounting manipulation” at the artificial intelligence high flyer.

The short seller claimed that despite a $17.5 million settlement in August 2020 with the SEC following an inquiry for “widespread accounting violations,” Super Micro’s business practices did not improve, and senior executives who had left amid the scandal were later rehired.

“All told, we believe Super Micro is a serial recidivist,” read the report.

Shares of Super Micro soared from below $300 in early January to a peak of nearly $1,200 by March, when the stock was added to the S&P 500 (^GSPC).

The ticker also joined the Nasdaq 100 index (^NDX) in July.

On Friday, shares were trading just below the $400 level. Despite the steep declines, Super Micro is still up roughly 35% year to date.

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The company recently announced a 10-for-1 stock split effective Oct. 1.

Ines Ferre is a senior business reporter for Yahoo Finance. Follow her on X at @ines_ferre.

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