Streetbeat News

Corporate Responsibility

FSR

Fisker Inc. has decided to abandon the direct-sales model, similar to that of Tesla, and instead will utilize traditional dealerships to sell its electric vehicles. This strategic shift is aimed at leveraging the established infrastructure and customer service benefits that dealerships offer, which Fisker believes will be more advantageous for its business model and customer experience.

Portfolio Pulse from Charles Gross

January 04, 2024 | 10:31 am

AMZN

Twitch, owned by Amazon (NASDAQ:AMZN), updated its sexual content policies to ban streamers from implying nudity, even when fully clothed. The policy, effective immediately, prohibits actions like covering body parts suggestively or using censor bars. Twitch is also developing a feature to blur thumbnails and allow users to filter out streams with sexual themes. This follows a December policy change that was partially reversed after community backlash.

Portfolio Pulse from Benzinga Neuro

January 04, 2024 | 9:01 am

TSLA

The National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) has accused SpaceX of wrongfully firing eight employees who criticized Elon Musk's tweets, calling him a 'distraction and embarrassment.' The employees' letter claimed Musk's behavior contradicted SpaceX's diversity and workplace conduct policies. The NLRB alleges SpaceX interrogated and threatened employees over the letter. A hearing is set for March 5, unless SpaceX settles. If guilty, SpaceX could face penalties and be required to reinstate the employees with back pay. This adds to Musk's labor-related controversies, including Tesla's recent changes to equity awards and a legal dispute with a former employee.

Portfolio Pulse from Benzinga Neuro

January 04, 2024 | 4:33 am

AAPL

SPOT

Apple Inc (AAPL) has reached a settlement in a lawsuit over a scam involving its iTunes and App Store gift cards, where scammers convinced victims to pay for various obligations with gift cards. Apple allegedly kept a 30% commission from the stolen funds. The settlement covers U.S. residents who purchased gift cards from 2015 to July 31, 2020, and were scammed without receiving refunds. This follows other legal issues for Apple, including a $500 million 'Batterygate' settlement and a $25 million Family Sharing lawsuit settlement. Spotify Technology (SPOT) was also mentioned in relation to an antitrust fine faced by Apple.

Portfolio Pulse from Benzinga Neuro

January 04, 2024 | 4:16 am

DIS

META

TSLA

Elon Musk, the world's richest person, has been involved in several public disputes with other high-profile figures in 2023, including Meta's Mark Zuckerberg, Microsoft's Bill Gates, Disney's Bob Iger, and politicians. Despite Musk's confrontational stance, these figures have generally not responded in kind. JPMorgan's Jamie Dimon and Amazon's Jeff Bezos have even praised Musk's leadership. The lack of pushback may be due to an intimidation factor, with Musk's significant platform and wealth allowing him to be outspoken without much repercussion. This dynamic is particularly relevant for CEOs of public companies like Iger, who must maintain a certain decorum.

Portfolio Pulse from Chris Katje

January 03, 2024 | 11:59 pm

BFRI

Biofrontera entered into a confidential settlement agreement and mutual release with Maruho, effective December 22, 2023, resolving an arbitration proceeding initiated by Biofrontera in the International Chamber. The details of the settlement were not disclosed.

Portfolio Pulse from Charles Gross

January 03, 2024 | 10:36 pm

SKYH

Sky Harbour Group Corporation (SKYH) announced that Will Whitesell has joined as COO, replacing Alex Saltzman who has amicably separated from the company. Loren Benedict has joined subsidiary RapidBuilt as chief of operations. Additionally, SKYH updated its construction budget for Dallas Addison Airport Phase 1, increasing the estimate from $25-27 million to $30-32 million.

Portfolio Pulse from Benzinga Newsdesk

January 03, 2024 | 10:12 pm

CVS

CVS Caremark has announced that starting April 1, 2024, Humira will be excluded from major national commercial template formularies, and instead, biosimilars to Humira will be covered. This move is part of CVS Caremark's ongoing efforts to promote the adoption of biosimilars.

Portfolio Pulse from Benzinga Newsdesk

January 03, 2024 | 10:03 pm

FEBO

Fenbo Holdings has announced the appointment of Meng Derong as Co-Chairman and Independent Non-Executive Director, effective January 1, 2024. This strategic move could signal a strengthening of the company's governance and oversight.

Portfolio Pulse from Benzinga Newsdesk

January 03, 2024 | 9:32 pm

RM

Regional Management Corp. announced that Executive Vice President and COO John Schachtel is leaving the company. Responsibilities will be absorbed by President and CEO Rob Beck and other executive team members.

Portfolio Pulse from Benzinga Newsdesk

January 03, 2024 | 9:31 pm