Morning links:
Boeing Posts $6 Billion Loss Ahead of Strike Vote <WSJ>
North Dakota voters could end property taxes — and pour ‘gas on the spark’ of a growing tax revolt <Marketwatch>
U.S. Dollar Dominates Global Payment Network SWIFT <Statista>
Restaurant Bankruptcies Piling Up, TGI Fridays May Be Next <ZeroHedge>
HelloFreefall
Sponsoring every podcast in existence must not be what it used to be. Shares of meal kit delivery service HelloFresh have shed 42% of their value on a weak 2024 forecast and the retraction of its 2025 targets. Deutsche Bank calls the report “disappointing” while UBS bemoans that the guidance is “far worse” than anticipated.
This caps off a disastrous two-year period where the share price has fallen from €90 to €6.70 today.
Source: CNBC
Evening links: March 7, 2024
Sargento recalls nearly a dozen brands of shredded cheese over listeria fears <CBS News>
Someone’s buying votes in Disney’s ugly proxy fight <Morning Brew>
Voyager 1 may have died… <NY Times>
Why Costco is selling gold bars and silver coins <CNN>
Podcast advertising mainstay, Harry’s Inc. has filed for an IPO <Yahoo>
The cover of Kara Swisher’s new book gives me secondhand embarrassment
I’m judging a book by its cover, and wouldn’t be caught dead with the hardcover.
But the reviews are unsurprisingly glowing:
Kara Swisher takes on the “boy-kings” of big tech in “Burn Book” <Axios>
Kara Swisher once again punctures the puffed-up egos of Silicon Valley <Washington Post>
… except for the NY Times which calls it “underwhelming.”
Victoria’s Secret plunges 30% on falling sales guidance
Crotchless panties anyone? Apparently not as Victoria’s Secret is in freefall after projecting lower revenues next year. This coming off a year where same-store sales already saw a 6% drop so with over $3 billion in debt, we can understand why the street is hitting the panic button.
But hey, maybe AI will turn things around!
Vice Media pulls plug on employee town hall meeting after onslaught of “thumbs down” emojis
The embattled “news organization” was holding a town hall where chief content officer Cory Haik was giving an update on a recent round of layoffs when the angry “thumbs down” emotes started flooding the stream from disgruntled employees.
That’s when CEO Bruce Dixon cut in–while Haik was still talking–to say “It’s impossible to ignore the emojis from our side. And I think we’re going to organize this in a way where we can actually give the information to people who want to receive it in the way it’s meant,” he continued. “Thank you for your time and your presence in terms of trying to explain that. I think let’s progress with our own town halls on this. Thank you for all the questions we have received, we’ll do our best to answer those in a forum that makes sense for this company.”
Mnuchin & Liberty Strategic Capital come to the rescue of NYCB
The news on NYCB just keeps coming today, and it appears as if it’s fundraising round was successful. The cash-strapped bank has just issued a press release and it appears Steve Mnuchin and a consortium consisting of Liberty Strategic Capital, Hudson Bay Capital and Reverence Capital Partners has come to the rescue with a $1bil cash infusion.
Some terms of the deal include:
- Reduction of the board size to 9-members (from 15 according to its website)
- Addition of Mnuchin and Joseph Otting to the board
- Otting will become CEO (replacing Alessandro DiNello who was installed last week)
Shares have rebounded and are now up ~5% on the day, which has to help offset some of Jenny Harrington’s losses on the stock.
CNBC Talking Head Jenny Harrington is holding the bag on NYCB losses
Jenny Van Leeuwen Harrington, CEO of Gilman Hill Asset Management and frequent CNBC contributor, owns up to holding on to her NYCB stock, which is in free-fall today and down ~60% over the last week.
Here’s the video:
She calls the management team “arrogant” and excoriates regulators on allowing the merger with Signature Bank.
She claims that she’s reduced it to a small position, but as recently as January, she was calling it “oversold” on social media and acknowledging that her followers had jumped into the position on her recommendation:
Another Tweet the next day saw her sticking by the position and begging “plssss don’t let me regret that statement!”
BowFlex can’t handle the weight
BowFlex is filing for bankruptcy with $140mm in assets and $125.9mm in debt. The home workout equipment maker has said that it has a bid of $37.5 million from Johnson Health Tech which will enable it to continue operating in the interim.
NYCB stock tanks after WSJ report
The WSJ is reporting that New York Community Bancorp (NYCB) is on a desperate quest for equity capital as it battles to regain investor confidence amidst a backdrop of escalating troubles. The once-reliable regional bank is now grappling with a mix of challenges, including real-estate loan losses, and a drastic 70% fall in its stock price since January.
The crisis at NYCB took center stage when it acknowledged problems in its commercial real-estate portfolio earlier this year, resulting in a fourth-quarter loss and a dividend cut. Matters worsened last week as the bank disclosed “material weaknesses” in its loan assessment and monitoring processes, prompting a series of credit downgrades and a new Executive Chairman, Thomas Cangemi.
Everyone’s talking about Target’s new membership program, but no one has said how dumb the name is
Target Circle 360? You’re joking, right?
Countdown until they throw up their hands and call it Target Plus starts now.
SoFi issuing $750mm in new debt
Fintech company SoFi is adding to its $5 billion in debt by issuing $750 million more in convertible notes. The stock is taking a 15% haircut on the news that by 2029 there might be further dilution of the stock due to these notes.
The company recently had a profitable quarter and with interest rates high, we are left wondering why they are feeling light on cash.
JetBlue officially grounds takeover of Spirit Airlines
This was all but inevitable after a judge ruled against the acquisition last month, but it’s now officially dead.
Spirit is now on deathwatch.
Silver spoon Disney heirs “rally” behind Bob Iger
Today in news that shouldn’t be news: eight grandkids of Walt & Roy Disney have come out in support of Bob Iger in his battle with Nelson Peltz. Why does Business Insider care? Who the hell knows, but they’ve given them glowing biographies including quoting Abigail Disney’s spurious claim that “she and her siblings grew up upper middle class before Disney’s stock price skyrocketed.”
Wow! That totally qualifies her to step into this fray.
Let’s see. On one hand, we have a 134 slide presentation with financials and concrete plans. And on the other, we have eight grandchildren rambling on about movie villains. Appeal to emotion, anyone?
