Sam Bankman-Fried’s cryptocurrency exchange FTX has filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection in the U.S., according to a company statement posted on Twitter. Bankman-Fried has also stepped down as CEO and has been succeeded by John J. Ray III, though the outgoing chief will stay on to assist with the transition.
Approximately 130 additional affiliated companies are part of the proceedings, including Alameda Research, Bankman-Fried’s crypto trading firm, and FTX.us, the company’s U.S. subsidiary.
In the 23-page bankruptcy filing obtained by CNBC, FTX indicates it has more than 100,000 creditors, assets in the range of $10 billion to $50 billion, as well as liabilities in the range of $10 billion to $50 billion. Bankman-Fried also indicated he wishes to appoint Stephen Neal as the firm’s new chairman of the board.
CNBC reached out to Adam Landis, founding partner of Landis Rath & Cobb LLP, who filed the Chapter 11 proceedings on behalf of FTX. CNBC did not immediately hear back to our request for comment.
“The immediate relief of Chapter 11 is appropriate to provide the FTX Group the opportunity to assess its situation and develop a process to maximize recoveries for stakeholders,” said the new FTX chief, Ray.
“The FTX Group has valuable assets that can only be effectively administered in an organized, joint process. I want to ensure every employee, customer, creditor, contract party, stockholder, investor, governmental authority and other stakeholder that we are going to conduct this effort with diligence, thoroughness and transparency,” continued Ray.
He added that stakeholders should understand that events have been fast moving, that the new team is engaged only recently and that they should review the materials filed on the docket of the proceedings over the coming days for more information.
It caps off a tumultuous week for one of the biggest names in the sector.
In the space of days, FTX went from a $32 billion valuation to bankruptcy as liquidity dried up, customers demanded withdrawals and rival exchange Binance ripped up its nonbinding agreement to buy the company. FTX founder Bankman-Fried admitted on Thursday that he “f—ed up.”
Anthony Scaramucci, founder of SkyBridge Capital and short-time Trump communications director, flew to the Bahamas this week to help Bankman-Fried as an investor and friend. When Scaramucci got there, he says, it appeared beyond the point of a simple liquidity rescue. He said he didn’t see evidence of this mishandling when he and other investors first screened FTX as a potential business partner.
“Duped I guess is the right word, but I am very disappointed because I do like Sam,” Scaramucci said Friday morning on CNBC’s “Squawk Box.” “I don’t know what happened because I was not an insider at FTX.”
An FTX spokesperson did not immediately respond to CNBC’s request for comment on this story, including on Scaramucci’s remarks.
In a short period of time, FTX expanded into non-crypto elements of life, such as pop culture. For example, in the past Super Bowl, it aired a commercial featuring comedian Larry David, in which David turned down an opportunity to invest in crypto. “Ehh, I don’t think so. And I’m never wrong about this stuff. Never.”
GameStop is winding down its partnership with FTX, according to people familiar with the matter. Under the agreement, announced in September, GameStop sold FTX gift cards in select stores and while FTX promoted the retailer on its exchange.
The winding down of business agreements, like the one with GameStop, will likely continue following the FTX bankruptcy filing.
The Chapter 11 proceedings exclude the following subsidiaries: LedgerX LLC, FTX Digital Markets Ltd., FTX Australia Pty Ltd., and FTX Express Pay Ltd.
— CNBC’s Jack Stebbins and Lillian Rizzo contributed to this report.
We’re selling 125 shares of Morgan Stanley (MS) at roughly $90.44 each, and buying 45 shares of Constellation Brands (STZ) at roughly $242.25 each. Following Friday’s trades, the portfolio will own 1,475 shares of Morgan Stanley, decreasing its weighting in the portfolio to 4.69% from 5.07%; and 435 shares of Constellation Brands, increasing its weighting to 3.58% from 3.22% The Morgan Stanley trim will right-size our position, which had grown to an over 5% weighting due, in part, to its spectacular run higher for the past month. We are also downgrading the stock to a 2 rating , which is also a reflection of its recent strength and not any change in our long-term view. We still very much believe in Morgan Stanley going forward. This sale will lock in a small gain of about 1% on stock purchased in July 2021. Following our consistent buying of Morgan Stanley in the spring to early summer in the low $80s and the stock’s outperformance over the past month — up nearly 18% versus 10% for the S & P 500 — our position in Morgan Stanley had swelled to the second largest in the portfolio. Although we are rightsizing this position following Thursday and Friday’s strength, we continue to like shares of this investment bank and asset gather for its push into fee base revenues, an eventual resurgence in IPO market, and its steady dividend and buyback programs. We’re taking the Morgan Stanley funds and redeploying them into Constellation Brands on a nearly dollar-for-dollar basis. This was a milestone week for the Corona beer maker as it received enough shareholder votes at a special meeting to execute its plan to remove its dual-class share structure. We wrote all about the event Thursday, explaining why this is great news from a corporate governance standpoint and should lead to a more shareholder-friendly capital allocation policy. We anticipate less expensive and unprofitable acquisitions, greater investment in the growth of the beer portfolio, and more share repurchase. If Constellation allocates its capital in this fashion, we think the stock’s price-to-earnings multiple will expand over time. But with shares down a bit Friday — more so when we mentioned the buy on the “Morning Meeting” — some may wonder if this decline is an indictment on Constellation’s decision to pay a premium to remove the super-voting Class B shares. We do not think that is the case and think STZ is getting swept up in this sector rotation move out of defensives. Given our propensity to buy strength and sell weakness, we are adding to our STZ position. (Jim Cramer’s Charitable Trust is long MS and STZ. See here for a full list of the stocks.) As a subscriber to the CNBC Investing Club with Jim Cramer, you will receive a trade alert before Jim makes a trade. Jim waits 45 minutes after sending a trade alert before buying or selling a stock in his charitable trust’s portfolio. If Jim has talked about a stock on CNBC TV, he waits 72 hours after issuing the trade alert before executing the trade. THE ABOVE INVESTING CLUB INFORMATION IS SUBJECT TO OUR TERMS AND CONDITIONS AND PRIVACY POLICY , TOGETHER WITH OUR DISCLAIMER . NO FIDUCIARY OBLIGATION OR DUTY EXISTS, OR IS CREATED, BY VIRTUE OF YOUR RECEIPT OF ANY INFORMATION PROVIDED IN CONNECTION WITH THE INVESTING CLUB. NO SPECIFIC OUTCOME OR PROFIT IS GUARANTEED.
Traders work on the trading floor at the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE) in Manhattan, New York City, U.S., November 11, 2022.
Andrew Kelly | Reuters
We’re selling 125 shares of Morgan Stanley (MS) at roughly $90.44 each, and buying 45 shares of Constellation Brands (STZ) at roughly $242.25 each.
Following Friday’s trades, the portfolio will own 1,475 shares of Morgan Stanley, decreasing its weighting in the portfolio to 4.69% from 5.07%; and 435 shares of Constellation Brands, increasing its weighting to 3.58% from 3.22%
The Morgan Stanley trim will right-size our position, which had grown to an over 5% weighting due, in part, to its spectacular run higher for the past month. We are also downgrading the stock to a 2 rating, which is also a reflection of its recent strength and not any change in our long-term view. We still very much believe in Morgan Stanley going forward. This sale will lock in a small gain of about 1% on stock purchased in July 2021.
Following our consistent buying of Morgan Stanley in the spring to early summer in the low $80s and the stock’s outperformance over the past month — up nearly 18% versus 10% for the S&P 500 — our position in Morgan Stanley had swelled to the second largest in the portfolio. Although we are rightsizing this position following Thursday and Friday’s strength, we continue to like shares of this investment bank and asset gather for its push into fee base revenues, an eventual resurgence in IPO market, and its steady dividend and buyback programs.
We’re taking the Morgan Stanley funds and redeploying them into Constellation Brands on a nearly dollar-for-dollar basis. This was a milestone week for the Corona beer maker as it received enough shareholder votes at a special meeting to execute its plan to remove its dual-class share structure. We wrote all about the event Thursday, explaining why this is great news from a corporate governance standpoint and should lead to a more shareholder-friendly capital allocation policy. We anticipate less expensive and unprofitable acquisitions, greater investment in the growth of the beer portfolio, and more share repurchase.
If Constellation allocates its capital in this fashion, we think the stock’s price-to-earnings multiple will expand over time. But with shares down a bit Friday — more so when we mentioned the buy on the “Morning Meeting” — some may wonder if this decline is an indictment on Constellation’s decision to pay a premium to remove the super-voting Class B shares. We do not think that is the case and think STZ is getting swept up in this sector rotation move out of defensives. Given our propensity to buy strength and sell weakness, we are adding to our STZ position.
(Jim Cramer’s Charitable Trust is long MS and STZ. See here for a full list of the stocks.)
As a subscriber to the CNBC Investing Club with Jim Cramer, you will receive a trade alert before Jim makes a trade. Jim waits 45 minutes after sending a trade alert before buying or selling a stock in his charitable trust’s portfolio. If Jim has talked about a stock on CNBC TV, he waits 72 hours after issuing the trade alert before executing the trade.
THE ABOVE INVESTING CLUB INFORMATION IS SUBJECT TO OUR TERMS AND CONDITIONS AND PRIVACY POLICY, TOGETHER WITH OUR DISCLAIMER. NO FIDUCIARY OBLIGATION OR DUTY EXISTS, OR IS CREATED, BY VIRTUE OF YOUR RECEIPT OF ANY INFORMATION PROVIDED IN CONNECTION WITH THE INVESTING CLUB. NO SPECIFIC OUTCOME OR PROFIT IS GUARANTEED.
Bitcoin continues to trade in a tight range of $18,000 to $25,000 mark, keeping investors on edge about where the price is going next. The crytpo market has been plagued with a number of issues from collapsed projects to bankruptcies.
Bitcoin fell 6% to $16,576.50, while ether lost 7% to $1,215.67, according to Coin Metrics. They’re down 21% and 25%, respectively, for the week.
Sam Bankman-Fried – the CEO of the company that became a so-called white knight for the industry, helping bring crypto to the masses through his relationships with high-profile celebrities, regulators and institutions in addition to his exchange product – has also resigned, according to a statement posted to FTX’s Twitter account Friday.
Investors are still monitoring the fallout of FTX and its sister company, the trading firm Alameda Research, still unclear on the extent of the damage that will spread to the rest of the market.
FTX was valued at $32 billion during its last funding round. Some of the biggest names in finance — including SoftBank, BlackRock, Tiger Global, Thoma Bravo, Sequoia and Paradigm.
An attendee wears a “Will Work for NFTs” shirt during the CoinDesk 2022 Consensus Festival in Austin, Texas, US, on Thursday, June 9, 2022. The festival showcases all sides of the blockchain, crypto, NFT, and Web 3 ecosystems, and their wide-reaching effect on commerce, culture, and communities.
Jordan Vonderhaar | Bloomberg | Getty Images
A year ago this week, investors were describing bitcoin as the future of money and ethereum as the world’s most important developer tool. Non-fungible tokens were exploding, Coinbase was trading at a record and the NBA’s Miami Heat was just into its first full season in the newly renamed FTX Arena.
As it turns out, that was peak crypto.
In the 12 months since bitcoin topped out at over $68,000, the two largest digital currencies have lost three-quarters of their value, collapsing alongside the riskiest tech stocks. The industry, once valued at roughly $3 trillion, now sits at around $900 billion.
Rather than acting as a hedge against inflation, which is near a 40-year high, bitcoin has proven to be another speculative asset that bubbles up when the evangelists are behind it and plunges when enthusiasm melts and investors get scared.
And the $135 million that FTX spent last year for a 19-year deal with the Heat? The crypto exchange with the naming rights is poised to land in the history books alongside another brand that once had its logo on a sports facility: Enron.
In a blink this week, FTX sank from a $32 billion valuation to the brink of bankruptcy as liquidity dried up, customers demanded withdrawals and rival exchange Binance ripped up its nonbinding agreement to buy the company. FTX founder Sam Bankman-Fried admitted on Thursday that he “f—ed up.”
“Looking back now, the excitement and prices of assets were clearly getting ahead of themselves and trading far above any fundamental value,” said Katie Talati, director of research at Arca, an investment firm focused on digital assets. “As the downturn was so fast and violent, many have proclaimed that digital assets are dead.”
Whether crypto is forever doomed or will eventually rebound, as Talati expects, the 2022 bloodbath exposed the industry’s many flaws and served as a reminder to investors and the public why financial regulation exists. Bankruptcies have come fast and furious since midyear, leaving clients with crypto accounts unable to access their funds, and in some cases scrapping to retrieve pennies on the dollar.
If this is indeed the future of finance, it’s looking rather bleak.
Crypto was supposed to bring transparency. Transactions on the blockchain could all be tracked. We didn’t need centralized institutions — banks — because we had digital ledgers to serve as the single source of truth.
That narrative is gone.
“Speaking for the bitcoiners, we feel like we’re trapped in a dysfunctional relationship with crypto and we want out,” said Michael Saylor, executive chairman of MicroStrategy, a technology company that owns 130,000 bitcoins. “The industry needs to grow up and the regulators are coming into this space. The future of the industry is registered digital assets traded on regulated exchanges, where everyone has the investor protections they need.”
Saylor was speaking on CNBC’s “Squawk on the Street” as FTX’s demise roiled the crypto market. Bitcoin sank to a two-year low this week, before bouncing back on Thursday. Ethereum also tanked, and solana, another popular coin used by developers and touted by Bankman-Fried, fell by more than half.
Equities tied to crypto suffered, too. Crypto exchange Coinbase tumbled 20% over two days, while Robinhood, the trading app that counts Bankman-Fried as one of its biggest investors, fell by 30% during the same period.
There was already plenty of pain to go around. Last week, Coinbase reported a revenue plunge of more than 50% in the third quarter from a year earlier, and a loss of $545 million. In June, the crypto exchange slashed 18% of its workforce.
“We are actively updating and evaluating our scenario plans and prepared to reduce operating expenses further if market conditions worsen,” Alesia Haas, Coinbase’s finance chief, said on the Nov. 3 earnings call.
The downdraft started in late 2021. That’s when inflation rates started to spike and sparked concern that the Federal Reserve would begin hiking borrowing costs when the calendar turned. Bitcoin tumbled 19% in December, as investors rotated into assets deemed safer in a tumultuous economy.
The sell-off continued in January, with bitcoin falling 17% and ethereum plummeting 26%. David Marcus, former head of crypto at Facebook parent Meta, used a phrase that would soon enter the lexicon.
“It’s during crypto winters that the best entrepreneurs build the better companies,” Marcus wrote in a Jan. 24 tweet. “This is the time again to focus on solving real problems vs. pumping tokens.”
The crypto winter didn’t actually hit for a few months. The markets even briefly stabilized. Then, in May, stablecoins became officially unstable.
A stablecoin is a type of digital currency designed to maintain a 1-to-1 peg with the U.S. dollar, acting as a sort of bank account for the crypto economy and offering a sound store of value, as opposed to the volatility experienced in bitcoin and other digital currencies.
When TerraUSD, or UST, and its sister token called luna dove below the $1 mark, a different kind of panic set in. The peg had been broken. Confidence evaporated. More than $40 billion in wealth was wiped out in luna’s collapse. Suddenly it was as if nothing in crypto was safe.
The leading crypto currencies cratered, with bitcoin dropping 16% in a single week, putting it down by more than half from its peak six months earlier. On the macro front, inflation had shown no sign of easing, and the central bank remained committed to raising rates as much as would be required to slow the increase in consumer prices.
In June, the bottom fell out.
Lending platform Celsius paused withdrawals because of “extreme market conditions.” Binance also halted withdrawals, while crypto lender BlockFi slashed 20% of its workforce after more than quintupling since the end of 2020.
Prominent crypto hedge fund Three Arrows Capital, or 3AC, defaulted on a loan worth more than $670 million, and FTX signed a deal giving it the option to buy BlockFi at a fraction of the company’s last private valuation.
Bitcoin had its worst month on record in June, losing roughly 38% of its value. Ether plummeted by more than 40%.
Then came the bankruptcies.
Singapore-based 3AC filed for bankruptcy protection in July, just months after disclosing that it had $10 billion in assets. The firm’s risky strategy involved borrowing money from across the industry and then turning around and investing that capital in other, often nascent, crypto projects.
After 3AC fell, crypto brokerage Voyager Digital wasn’t far behind. That’s because 3AC’s massive default was on a loan from Voyager.
“We strongly believe in the future of the industry but the prolonged volatility in the crypto markets, and the default of Three Arrows Capital, require us to take this decisive action,” Voyager CEO Stephen Ehrlich said at the time.
Next was Celsius, which filed for Chapter 11 protection in mid-July. The company had been paying customers interest of up to 17% to store their crypto on the platform. It would lend those assets to counterparties willing to pay sky-high rates. The structure came crashing down as liquidity dried up.
Meanwhile, Bankman-Fried was making himself out to be an industry savior. The 30-year-old living in the Bahamas was poised to pick up the carnage and consolidate the industry, claiming FTX was in better position than its peers because it stashed away cash, kept overhead low and avoided lending. With a net worth that on paper had swelled to $17 billion, he personally bought a 7.6% stake in Robinhood.
SBF, as he’s known, was dubbed by some as “the JPMorgan of crypto.” He told CNBC’s Kate Rooney in September that the company had in the neighborhood of $1 billion to spend on bailouts if the right opportunities emerged to keep key players afloat.
“It’s not going to be good for anyone long term if we have real pain, if we have real blowouts, and it’s not fair to customers and it’s not going to be good for regulation. It’s not going to be good for anything,” Bankman-Fried said. “From a longer-term perspective, that’s what was important for the ecosystem, it’s what was important for customers and it’s what was important for people to be able to operate in the ecosystem without being terrified that unknown unknowns were going to blow them up somehow.”
It’s almost as if Bankman-Fried was describing his own fate.
FTX’s lightning-fast descent began this past weekend after Binance CEO Changpeng Zhao tweeted that his company was selling the last of its FTT tokens, the native currency of FTX. That followed an article on CoinDesk, pointing out that Alameda Research, Bankman-Fried’s hedge fund, held an outsized amount of FTT on its balance sheet.
Not only did Zhao’s public pronouncement cause a plunge in the price of FTT, it led FTX customers to hit the exits. Bankman-Fried said in a tweet Thursday that FTX clients on Sunday demanded roughly $5 billion of withdrawals, which he called “the largest by a huge margin.” Lacking the reserves to cover the virtual bank run, FTX turned to Zhao for help.
Binance announced a nonbinding agreement to acquire FTX on Tuesday, in a deal that would’ve been so catastrophic for FTX that equity investors were expecting to be wiped out. But Binance reversed course a day later, saying that FTX’s “issues are beyond our control or ability to help.”
Bankman-Fried has since been scrambling for billions of dollars in an effort to stay out of bankruptcy. He says he’s also been working to maintain liquidity so clients can get their money out.
Venture firm Sequoia Capital, which first backed FTX in 2021 at an $18 billion valuation, said it was marking its $213.5 million investment in FTX “down to 0.” Multicoin Capital, a crypto investment firm, told limited partners on Tuesday that while it was able to retrieve about one-quarter of its assets from FTX, the funds still stranded there represented 15.6% of the fund’s assets, and there’s no guarantee it will all be recouped.
Additionally, Multicoin said it’s taking a hit because its largest position is in solana, which was tumbling in value because it “was generally considered to be within SBF’s sphere of influence.” The firm said it’s sticking to its thesis and looking for assets that can “outperform market beta across market cycles.”
“We are not short term or momentum traders, and we do not operate on short time horizons,” Multicoin said. “Although this situation is painful, we are going to remain focused on our strategy.”
It won’t be easy.
Ryan Gilbert, founder of fintech venture firm Launchpad Capital, said the crypto world is facing a crisis of confidence after the FTX implosion. While it was already a tumultuous year for crypto, Gilbert said Bankman-Friedman was a trusted leader who was comfortable representing the industry on Capitol Hill.
In a market without a central bank, an insurer or any institutional protections, trust is paramount.
“It’s a question of, can trust exist at all in this industry at this stage of the game?” Gilbert said in an interview Thursday. “To a large extent the concept of trust is as bankrupt as some of these companies.”
The stock came within a penny of Tuesday’s all-time high of $125.99 before pulling back. Nonetheless, the San Diego-based biotech finished the session with a gain of $1.40, or 1.15%, at $123.22. Trading volume was lighter than average.
The company develops and commercializes pharmaceutical treatments for neurological, endocrine, and psychiatric conditions.
On November 1, it easily trounced Wall Street’s third-quarter expectations. Earnings came in at $1.08 per share, way ahead of analysts’ consensus, calling for $0.81 a share. That marked a 69% year-over-year increase.
Revenue was up 31% to $387.9 million, beating forecasts of $377 million. In the past five quarters, revenue grew between 15% and 31%, with the latter number being a steady growth rate for the past three.
A glance at MarketBeat earnings data for Neurocrine reveals that the company has a mixed history when it comes to meeting, beating or missing views on the top and bottom lines.
One standout in the quarter was Ingrezza, Neurocrine’s product to treat a movement disorder called tardive dyskinesia, which may occur as a side effect of antipsychotic medications. Those sales came in at $376 million, which constituted nearly 97% of total revenue.
Ingrezza’s revenue was ahead of expectations, and the company increased its full-year guidance.
In his remarks accompanying the earnings release, Neurocrine CEO Kevin Gorman addressed additional potential for Ingrezza, using its chemical name.
“With the submission of the sNDA of valbenazine for the treatment of chorea associated with Huntington Disease, we have the potential to help even more patients with our valbenazine franchise,” he said.
He also discussed clinical programs for drugs in the pipeline, such as crinecerfont, a treatment for congenital adrenal hyperplasia and for certain seizures. The former refers to genetic disorders that can affect adrenal glands. Gorman also mentioned the company’s lead muscarinic program for the treatment of schizophrenia.
While Ingrezza essentially makes up all the company’s revenue at this point, Gorman was drawing attention to other treatments in the pipeline, signaling to Wall Street that Neurocrine is not satisfied being a one-trick pony.
The stock climbed out of a flat base in early October, then trended higher along its 50-day average for the next four weeks. After the earnings report, the stock jumped nearly 4% and has been forming a potentially bullish ascending channel with higher highs and higher lows.
This stock has notched strong performance relative not only to its biotech and biomedical industry peers, but also relative to the broader market. In this case, the best broad-market comparison is the S&P 400 Midcap index, of which Neurocrine is a component.
With that many small and large stocks all outpacing their indexes, it’s clear that biomedical and biotech stocks are a leading industry. When scouting for new opportunities, it’s generally a good idea to focus on industries with multiple top-performing stocks. That kind of breadth indicates strong demand in the “rising tide lifts all boats” sense.
Neurocrine is out of buy range at the moment, and if Thursday’s rally gathers steam in the coming weeks, it could move even further away from a reasonable buy point. However, it’s a good candidate to put on a watch list, and monitor it for a pullback to a key moving average.
U.K. businesses are bracing for a difficult winter amid soaring inflation and higher energy bills.
Andrew Matthews – Pa Images | Pa Images | Getty Images
LONDON — The doors to The 25, a Torquay-based boutique bed and breakfast on the U.K.’s southwest coast, are now closed for the winter period. But this season, they will remain shut for longer than usual.
With rising energy bills and higher costs piling pressure on U.K. businesses, owner Andy Banner-Price has deferred reopening by a month until well into the spring.
And while forward bookings from regular guests remain strong, new enquiries are down 50% and bookings 15% lower than previous years, painting an uncertain outlook for the year ahead.
“I suspect many people are having a wait and see approach as there is so much uncertainty in the economy at present,” Banner-Price told CNBC.
Many (businesses) are aiming to get the Christmas rush over, and then close the doors in January.
Tina McKenzie
chair of policy and advocacy, Federation of Small Businesses
“It’s a cumulative effect of bad news every time you turn the TV on or open a newspaper,” he said.
“I think we talk ourselves into recession sometimes,” he continued. “Negative growth will just make some people even more worried about their jobs and wary of spending money.”
The Bank of England warned last week that the U.K. is now headed for its longest recession since records began a century ago.
Data Friday showed that the economy contracted by 0.2% in the third quarter of this year — likely marking the start of an official recession (defined as two straight quarters of negative growth).
The central bank expects GDP (gross domestic product) to continue falling through 2023 and into the first half of 2024. The projected two-year downturn is set to be “very challenging,” the Bank said, costing around 500,000 jobs, and piling the pressure on already pinched businesses and households.
A woman walks past rundown, shuttered shops in Romford, England.
John Keeble | Getty Images News | Getty Images
Tina McKenzie, chair of policy and advocacy at the Federation of Small Businesses, said many small and medium-sized U.K. businesses are now “under attack from various sides,” citing reduced access to cash and labor, as well as inflationary pressures.
U.K. consumer inflation hit a 40-year high of 10.1% in September, while the producer input prices remained stubbornly high at 20%. The BOE has warned that interest rates, currently set at 3%, will now likely have to rise further than previously predicted to push inflation back toward its 2% target.
Still, the worst effects of a forthcoming downturn may not become apparent until the first or second quarter of 2023, McKenzie said. In the meantime, many businesses — particularly those in the hospitality and retail sectors — are just biding their time.
“Businesses are under a huge amount of pressure. Many are aiming to get the Christmas rush over, and then close the doors in January,” McKenzie told CNBC via zoom call.
More than a third (35%) of the U.K.’s hospitality sector say they are at risk of closure early next year due to higher costs, soaring energy bills and weakened consumer spending, according to a survey of operators released last week.
“It’s stark and frightening,” said David Holliday, co-founder of Norfolk, England-based brewer Moon Gazer Ale, which supplies ales and craft lager to pubs across the country.
The Bank of England has warned that the U.K. is facing its longest recession since records began a century ago.
Huw Fairclough | Getty Images News | Getty Images
Until now, Holliday said his business has been “taking the hit” and absorbing increased production and energy costs to buffer customers. But if by the spring those price rises look set to continue, he’ll have to pass on those costs.
“We’ve been sharing the pain with our customers, but that’s not going to be sustainable in six to 12 months’ time,” Holliday said. This year alone, he estimates that Moon Gazer Ale’s energy bills have risen by £25,000-£30,000 ($29,000-$35,000) as costs in Europe have surged following Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.
A percentage of the industry will say, for me, there is no next.
David Holliday
co-founder, Moon Gazer Ale
For many, however, a further surge in costs could be the death knell in a “three-year uphill struggle” for an industry already maimed by Covid-19 restrictions, staff shortages and inflationary pressures.
“They’re kind of running out of fight,” Holliday said. “A percentage of the industry will say, for me, there is no next.”
Businesses owners will now be looking ahead to the U.K.’s much-anticipated Nov. 17 Autumn Statement, during which Finance Minister Jeremy Hunt is expected to outline £60 billion ($69 billion) of spending cuts and tax hikes to plug the hole in the country’s battered public finances.
But many worry that the Treasury could go too far in its attempts to recover the U.K.’s economic standing — damaged as it was by Liz Truss’ chaotic mini-budget — that it would spell further trouble for struggling industries and stymy economic growth going forward.
“Because of Liz Truss and Kwasi Kwarteng, they went the other extreme and they’re in such a cautious mode,” said McKenzie.
Early drafts of the government’s plan contain up to £35 billion of spending cuts and around £25 billion of tax rises, according to the Guardian. That as the BOE’s Chief Economist Huw Pill warned Monday that extensive tax rises and spending cuts could put Britain at risk of a deeper than expected “economic slowdown.”
The U.K. Treasury said it would not comment on “speculation around tax changes” when contacted by CNBC.
“Our fear is they’re going to go so extreme to please investors. And if they don’t do anything to protect the most vulnerable, then they won’t get the growth,” McKenzie said, citing improved migration policies and a VAT rate reduction as potential areas in which the government could offer support.
And while some business owners like Banner-Price are confident they will pull through as consumers scale back to fewer but more quality experiences and products, his fortunes and those of many others will depend on the wider business community’s ability to weather the storm.
“Even if we survive well, our guests still need to visit thriving local restaurants, cafes, tourist attractions etc. They still need to be able to shop and visit the theatre, catch a taxi and use all the other small businesses,” Banner-Price said.
Vision Hydrogen Corporation (OTCMKTS: VIHD) is a renewable energy company with a primary focus on developing clean hydrogen production facilities which supply clean hydrogen to manufacturers and gas and power traders. They also work with consumers in the industrial and heavy and marine transportation sectors.
MarketBeat.com – MarketBeat
Earlier this month, Vision Hydrogen Corp started a steady—and rapid—climb up the market, from $5 on Monday Oct 31 to a closing price of $10.00 by Friday, November 4. Although the stock is thinly traded, Friday’s dollar volume increased by 25% to $1.7 million. This is only the most recent action from the same stock that shot up from $2.50 in December 2020 to upwards of $50 within the next month.
Now known as Vision Energy Corporation (OTCMKTS: VIHDD), the stock is currently trading at $14.79 with a market valuation of $420M.
Strategic Stock Split Should Boost Shares
This recent—and dramatic—shift in momentum came after the energy company announced the approval of a 1 for 2 stock split on November 7, 2022. The declaration also included the intention to change its name from “Vision Hydrogen Corporation” to “Vision Energy Corporation.”
As of on November 8, then, Vision Energy Corporation common stock is now currently trading under the ticker symbol VIHDD, designating the forward split, for the first 20 days. Effectively, then, by the end of the month, they will receive a new ticker symbol.
For now, we know the company’s common stock new CUSIP number is 92837Y200. This Forward Split results in an increase in outstanding common shares, from 21,048,776 to 42,097, 552. It will also increase double the number of authorized shares, to 200,000,000.
Expanding Hydrogen Operations Shows Promise
At the same time, Vision Energy Corporation also offered an update on their pioneering Green Energy Hub project in the North Sea Port of Vlissingen, the Netherlands. Through Vision Energy’s wholly-owned subsidiary, Evolution Terminals BV, has now reached the advanced stages of planning for both construction and the delivery of Northwestern Europe’s first import, storage, and handling terminal designed exclusively for hydrogen carriers, renewable energy products and low-carbon fuels.
The substantial redevelopment will allow Evolution Terminals to adopt industry-leading sustainable operating practices to reduce emissions from terminal activities. It will also introduce a green and renewable energy business model to the Netherlands at an opportune time.
Why Split the Stock Now?
On April 1, 2017 VIHD hit a historical high of $32.50 only to IMMEDIATELY plummet back to a new low of $5.207 on November 01, 2018. The stock made a quick rebound and peaked, again, at $11.50 on January 1, 2018. It hit a bit of a plateau at $10 before another slide and bounce and then flattened out to around $2.05 through the second half of 2020. Fortunately, the stock shot up to $14.75 by the end of that year, only to begin another decline to reach its most recent low of $2.375 on September 1, 2022.
Net income has been negative for a majority of the company’s operations. This is particularly notable because net income went from -$478.4K in 2016 to +$8.9K in 2017 and then fell back down to -$554.0K in 2018. This translated to Earnings Per Share (EPS) of -$0.17, $0.00, and -$0.07, respectively.
At the same time, revenue has been increasing: from 20.9k in 2016 to 7.5M in 2018. Gross income from operating expenses also increased from 418K to 2.0M between 2016 and 2017, but then settled at 1.8M in 2018.
Observing all of this, it makes sense that Vision Hydrogen considered a split. With the decline, they’ve seen the last year this could give them a fresh start.
A Complicated Position in A Complex Industry
Moving forward, it is difficult to say how VIHDD will perform against its peers and competitors but its current state certainly implies the stock has a lot of room to grow. Yes, its current value is still around $15—basically, the historical high for the [new] stock—which is significantly better than the recorded historical low ($1.25); indeed, the year-to-date is up +224.32%.
However, these are probably the only positive values for VIHDD right now, especially when compared with companies like NextEra Energy (NYSE: NEE) and The Southern Corporation (NYSE: SO). NextEra ($81.61; +4.36%) is the largest electric utility holding company in the United States, including both fossil fuels as well as green energy like wind and solar. The Southern Company is a more traditional fossil-fuel-based electrical company (which Forbes has recently named the “2nd best Large Employer in America”)
Neither of these companies is having a stellar year, as NEE and SO are down -16.24% and -7.49%, respectively, on the year so far. That said, analysts have some positive expectations, suggesting upsides of around 19% for both energy companies. Furthermore, Southern has a Price-to-Earnings ratio (P/E) of 20.18; NextEra’s is roughly double that. These are also particularly excellent metrics, especially when compared against VIHDD’s current—and, let’s remember, limited—P/E of -45.42. Finally, both NEE and SO have favorable Return-on-Equity metrics—around 12.25% each—while VIHDD’s RoE is currently -391.22%.
By comparison, though, other hydrogen stocks are also down, despite the promise that hydrogen offers for the future of energy. Ballard Power Systems (Nasdaq: BLDP), Plug Power (Nasdaq: PLUG), and Bloom Energy Corp (NYSE: BE) are also all on an upswing from recent lows, hoping to recover their once-great heights.
At the end of the day, though, VIHDD gets a BUY rating, mostly because the split gives it more opportunity to grow; and the evidence suggests it will continue to do just that.
Traders and shippers say the decline in global consumer demand is not a sign the global economy is normalizing after a frantic post-lockdown consumption rush but a downwards shift in consumption appetites.
What has happened now is that the cargo is ‘on time’ again and hence you’ll see a slowdown in new ordering…
Andrea Monti
Chief executive, Sogese
“There is just not enough depot space to accommodate all the containers,” online container logistics platform Container xChange chief executive Christian Roeloffs said in an industry update this week.
“With the further release of container inventory into the market, for example from the disposal of leasing fleets, there will be added pressure on depots in the coming months.”
Italian container depot owner Sogese chief executive Andrea Monti told Container xChange his depots are full.
“Whatever was coming in and out of, for instance, our Milan depot is quite stuck. And the container volume at the depots is increasing to an extent that we are returning some requests for depot service agreements.”
“We are in a situation where we are not able to accept new clients for some locations.”
Monti told Container xChange that the peak season of goods shipments — as Christmas looms — “technically did not happen this year.” Retailers are cautious about the high level of inventory they have on hand, Monti said.
“There is enough inventory with retailers,” Monti said.
“What has happened now is that the cargo is ‘on time’ again and hence you’ll see a slowdown in new ordering as companies adjust to more efficient turnaround times in ocean freight delivery.”
The latest Drewry composite World Container Index — a key benchmark for container prices — has fallen again to $2,773 per 40-foot container. That’s 73% lower than the peak rate in September last year.
Blank or canceled sailings are also on the rise in what is usually the opposite, as the year’s biggest spending period approaches.
A blank sailing happens when a shipping company decides to skip a port or an entire leg of its schedule to manage changes in demand and capacity.
There is a significant dent in consumer demand which then leads to less demand for freight and cargo, and therefore, a proportionate dent in container demand globally.
Spokesperson
Container xChange
In its latest canceled sailings analysis, Drewry said between late November and early December, 14% of sailings have been canceled across major container shipping routes.
Nearly 60% of the 200 freight forwarders, traders and shippers that Container xChange spoke to in a survey last month said they were grappling with geopolitical, economic and political risks which have imposed downward pressures on consumption and therefore demand for containers.
“We know already that the market is bearish on consumer demand because of multiple factors like recessionary fears and inflationary risks,” a Container xChange spokeswoman told CNBC.
“So of course, there is a significant dent in consumer demand which then leads to less demand for freight and cargo, and therefore, a proportionate dent in container demand globally.”
Shippers are giving containers away to reduce crowding at depots while many have resorted to blank sailings, Container xChange added.
Annalisa Di Chiara of Moody’s Investors Service says it has not seen a rebound in sales, and the liquidity profiles of these property companies have remained acute and at risk.
Berkshire Hathaway sold a portion of U.S. Bancorp , a bank stock that the conglomerate has held since late 2007, a regulatory filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission showed. The conglomerate reported owning 52.5 million shares of U.S. Bancorp as of Oct. 31, roughly 3.5% of the bank’s outstanding shares, the filing showed. That’s down from a stake of 137.4 million shares, including 17.6 million held by its New England Asset Management subsidiary, as of the end of the second quarter on June 30. The filing indicates that Berkshire has sold 84.9 million shares, currently valued at $3.8 billion. The sale was prompted by Berkshire’s stake falling below 5%, the filing stated. The filing also showed that Buffett himself owns almost 499,000 shares in his personal accounts. Buffett first bought 23.3 million shares of U.S. Bancorp in the fourth quarter of 2007 . Shares of U.S. Bancorp are down about 20% this year, compared to a roughly 17% loss for the S & P 500. Berkshire started unloading its bank stocks this year, exiting positions in JPMorgan, Goldman and Wells Fargo. The conglomerate still owned a sizable stake in Bank of New York Mellon at the end of the second quarter.
Not having anyone show up for your birthday party is a harrowing experience — but it can be made better by a little cake.
That was the philosophy of one Domino’s worker who’s going viral for stepping up to help a child facing loneliness on her special day, according to Fox 5 Atlanta.
In October, a girl’s mom had called the Queensland, Australia restaurant about an order previously placed for a large group of people that would not be needed.
“When she arrived at the store to collect the one pizza, shift supervisor Miles surprised her with a custom chocolate dessert pizza topped with churros & brownies!” the company’s Australia page wrote in a Facebook post about the event.
“Thank you Miles for going the extra ‘mile’ to help turn this customer’s day around,” the company added.
“When I first heard that one of our customers wanted to cancel a large pizza order after only one friend turned up to her daughter’s birthday party, I knew I wanted to do something to cheer her up,” Miles told FOX Television Stations, adding that the only thing better than pizza, “is a chocolate one.”
Domino’s has about 700 stores in Australia per a press release from March 2020, when it also announced it was opening its 17,000th store globally in the country. The company has over 5,000 stores in the U.S.
Last month, the company’s earnings came in better than anticipated, with same-store sales up 2%.
The question of which political parties control one or both chambers of Congress for the next two years could take until early December to sort out.
But whether Republicans have managed in the midterm elections to narrowly wrest majority control away from Democrats in the U.S. House of Representatives could be resolved within the coming days as ballots are processed in 11 states.
Republicans are projected to win 221 seats in the House, three more than the 218 needed to take the majority, while Democrats look like they will win 214 seats, according to NBC News. That estimate has a margin of error of seven seats. And election officials are still counting ballots in at least 31 races.
And that result could be dragged out even further if one or more of the House races is so close it triggers a recount.
As of Thursday, two days after polls closed around the nation, three seats in the Senate had yet to have winners projected by NBC News.
All three of those seats, in Arizona, Georgia and Nevada, are currently held by Democrats.
The outcome of those races will determine if Democrats retain the slimmest possible majority in the Senate, with the potential to actually increase the majority slightly.
While the results of Senate races in Arizona and Nevada could both be known by next week, Georgia is headed to a run-off special election on Dec. 6 because of the failure of either major-party candidate to garner more than 50% of the vote.
Currently, there are 48 Democratic senators and two independents who caucus with them, compared with 50 Republican senators who make up the remainder of the chamber.
Democrats hold the majority there since Vice President Kamala Harris, a fellow Democrat, has the power to break ties as president of the Senate.
To maintain that control starting in January, Democrats need to win at least two of the three elections that haven’t been called yet.
But the party gained some breathing room after Pennsylvania’s Democratic Lt. Gov. John Fetterman defeated GOP contender Dr. Mehmet Oz for the Senate seat being vacated by Republican Sen. Pat Toomey, who’s retiring.
“Like all of you, I’m just watching and waiting for them to finish counting the votes,” Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell, R-Kentucky, told reporters Thursday. McConnell is favored to become majority leader, again, if Republicans win at least two of the remaining Senate races
In Arizona, incumbent Democrat Mark Kelly had 51.4% of the votes cast as of Thursday, compared with 46.4% of the votes held by Blake Masters, his Republican challenger, who was trailing him by more than 95,000 votes.
NBC News reported that 76% of the expected votes were in Arizona as of Thursday afternoon, with 670,000 ballots remaining.
Arizona’s count tends to be slower than other states because of the need to verify the signatures of voters who dropped off so-called early ballots on Election Day. About 290,000 early ballots, which could have been turned in before Election Day, were submitted that day — an increase of 115,000 of the number of ballots seen that day in 2020.
The results of several tens of thousands of early ballots that were delivered by hand to Maricopa County polling sites on Tuesday are expected to be released Thursday night.
In Nevada, Republican challenger Adam Laxalt was leading Sen. Catherine Cortez Masto, a Democrat, by 49.4% to 47.6%. NBC estimated that 84% of the expected vote had been counted, with a 165,713 ballots remaining.
Nevada’s race could take several more days to resolve. Most of the votes were submitted by mail, and ballots that were postmarked by Election Day can be counted if they arrive by 5 p.m. PT Saturday,
Clark County, Nevada, which is the nation’s 11th largest county by population, in a statement Thursday pushed back on claims by former President Donald Trump that cast doubt on the vote-counting process there.
“We have heard his outrageous claims, but he is obviously still misinformed about the law and our election processes that ensure the integrity of elections in Clark County,” the county said. “First, we could not speed up the process even if we wanted to.”
The county pointed out that by law it has to “check each signature on every mail ballot envelope, and if one does not match what is in our records, we are required by law to give that voter until 5 p.m. on Monday, Nov. 14, to cure their signature.”
“In addition, there are provisional ballots to process, and we will not be able to complete that task until we receive reports from the Nevada Secretary of State’s Office on Wednesday, Nov. 16. This process ensures that individuals do not vote twice in Nevada,” the statement said.
In Georgia, the run-off on Dec. 6 was set after incumbent Sen. Raphael Warnock, a Democrat, received 49.6% of the vote, compared to 48.3% by his Republican challenger Herschel Walker, the former pro and college football star, while a third candidate got just over 2% of the votes. Georgia law requires a runoff of the top two candidates if no one gets more than 50% of the vote.
Warnock, who is seeking his first full term, won a special election runoff for the seat in January 2021, along with Georgia Democratic Sen. Jon Ossoff. Their double victory gave Democrats majority control of the Senate.
The largest number of uncalled House seats are in California, where 15 races have yet to be called as of Thursday afternoon.
Nevada has three uncalled House races.
Arizona, Colorado, Oregon and Washington state each have two uncalled House races.
Alaska, Maine, Maryland, New Mexico, and New York each have one uncalled House race.
The average rate on the 30-year fixed plunged 60 basis points from 7.22% to 6.62%, according to Mortgage News Daily. That matches the record drop at the start of the Covid 19 pandemic. The rate, however, is still more than double what it was at the start of this year.
In turn, stocks of homebuilders such as Lennar, DR Horton and Pulte jumped, along with broader market gains. Those stocks have been hammered by the sharp increase in rates over the past six months.
The Consumer Price Index rose in October at a slower pace than expected. As a result, bond yields dropped sharply, and mortgage rates followed, as they follow loosely the yield on the 10-year Treasury.
So what happens next?
“This is the best argument to date that rates are done rising, but confirmation requires next month’s CPI to tell the same story,” said Matthew Graham, chief operating officer of Mortgage News Daily. “This was always about needing two consecutive reports of this nature combined with acknowledgement from the Fed that the inflation narrative is shifting.”
But Graham said rates are not out of the woods yet. They are also unlikely to move dramatically lower, as there is still plenty of economic uncertainty both in U.S. and global financial markets.
Going on a cruise may seem like a frightening vacation option for those who are scared of being stranded at sea or being onboard a sinking ship.
Getty Images
However, a new fear was unlocked for cruise passengers when a Norwegian Cruise Line ship’s gangway (the walkway that connects the ship to land) suddenly collapsed earlier this week, injuring several guests. The boat was stopped in Panama.
“We have dispatched our CARE Team to Panama City to offer additional support to these guests,” a spokesperson for the cruise line told USA Today, noting that the injured passengers were taken to nearby medical facilities.
The cruise, which is a 21-day-long voyage, started in Seattle and will stop in Miami on November 13. Norwegian did not specify how many cruisegoers were injured or what exactly injuries were sustained.
According to Cruise Critic, the gangway will either connect one main deck of the ship to a cruise terminal or when docking at a port (as this ship did) it will usually be connected on a lower deck bridging the gap between the dock and the ship. It was not made clear where on the ship this specific gangway was connected.
The ship, the Norwegian Encore, is about 1,094 feet long with a 136-foot max beam height. It can hold up to 3,998 guests at a time. It’s the newest ship in the cruise line’s fleet and offers the largest race car track at sea on any ship as well as a complete VR world called Galaxy Pavillion.
Entrepreneur has reached out to Norwegian Cruise Line for further information.
Earlier this year, a different ship, the Norweigan Pearl, collided with a fishing boat during a 7-day trip from Boston to Bermuda in July. No injuries were reported aboard the Pearl.
Caring for a family member or friend is a big task. Not only are you anticipating the medical treatment, but you are also thinking about their recovery. And there’s a probable chance that you haven’t cared for someone going through this type of treatment. Because of this, it can be challenging to anticipate their needs.
Calendar – Calendar
While every medical treatment is different, putting your loved one at ease is the main priority. Remember, they are likely nervous and anxious about the treatment itself. Therefore, they may not be thinking as much about the recovery as they are about the procedure itself. This is where you can step in and help. Below are four ways to help loved ones during medical treatment and recovery.
1. Plan Ahead and Put it on your Calendar
First and foremost, planning ahead will do wonders. If it’s a scheduled procedure, you and your loved one should talk about their plans. They may express their worry to you and make how they hope the treatment day will go. For instance, they may want a few close family members present during the procedure, or they may only want one person. This is where you should also discuss their recovery plans, including who will be the primary care person.
However, not all procedures are scheduled far in advance. If this is the case, do your best to plan as much as possible but don’t burden yourself too much. Focus on your loved one during this time rather than worrying about how they will be doing weeks from now. Ask the medical team what they suggest as far as recovery is concerned. They will be able to share specific recovery tools, such as bandages for wounds or heating pads for soreness.
Once you have a sense of these expectations, you can begin planning for treatment day and the first few days at home. Help your loved one pack a bag for the hospital and ensure you know when and where they need to be at the facility. Also, know who will be visiting them while they are in the hospital and while at home. The hospital may limit who can visit, so be sure to ask these questions ahead of time. Lastly, make sure their home is set up well for recovery, especially if their mobility is going to be limited.
2. Set Calendar Reminders
After going through any kind of procedure, it’s all too easy to just lay around in bed and watch television. Hours and days can easily blend together, making it harder to focus on getting better. Even though resting is essential, being sedentary can actually impede recovery. For example, staying immobile after knee surgery can lead to a buildup of scar tissue. Setting reminders on your Calendar or your loved one’s phone to remind them to get up and move can benefit how quickly they rebound from the surgery.
Calendar reminders can also be utilized and set for other tasks that may be easy to forget. Laying around all day makes it easier not to have an appetite. Creating a timer for when your loved one needs to eat meals can ensure they are getting the nutrition they need to heal. The same can be said for drinking water stretching. If physical therapy is part of the recovery process, make a note of what exercises need to be completed and how often.
Of course, there’s a balance when it comes to setting too many reminders. It can end up being annoying and burdensome for a calendar alert to go off every other minute! While your loved one is still trying to get into a groove with their recovery, little reminders can be helpful. However, once they remember to get up and take their medications after eating, then you can pull back on how many reminders you set.
3. Meal Prep
Another way to set you and your loved one up for success is to meal prep. Eating nourishing, well-rounded meals is important for healing. And yet, it’s all too easy to order takeout when you aren’t feeling great. Having pre-cooked and planned meals that are readily available can help avoid the delivery temptation.
Chances are, however, that you, as a caretaker, already have enough on your plate. In this case, you can send out a meal planning calendar. That way, friends, neighbors, and family members can all sign up for days to bring food. Another option is to set up a meal delivery service that provides cooked meals that only require heating.
And if you like to cook, think about meal-prepping different items that will freeze well for your loved one. Casseroles, soups, chilis, and stews all tend to do well frozen and can be easily defrosted and heated. Other items, such as canned goods and pasta, can also be purchased beforehand and kept on hand. Lastly, think about making a grocery delivery schedule so your loved one can also have items that they really enjoy available.
4. Provide Entertainment
It’s normal for you and your loved one to feel isolated and somewhat depressed during this time. You will likely feel burdened by having to care for them, and they will likely get bored sitting around during recovery. To avoid both of you feeling out-of-sorts or bored — try to think of entertaining ways for everyone to be engaged. There are only so many T.V. shows to binge-watch — but they are still worth a try. Ask your co-workers and family members for some recommendations.
Before the procedure, think of hobbies or pastimes that your loved one currently enjoys. If they like to read, go to the library or buy some new books. Again, ask for suggestions so that you get a variety of book titles that are engaging to keep your loved one, neighbor, or friend involved and entertained.
Most people will need to feel connected to others — so inform their friends of the situation and ask them to call your loved one occasionally. Learning a new craft like knitting or needlepoint can also be a fun way to spend time. And thankfully, there are numerous YouTube videos and classes available online for various crafts.
This is also a great time to dust off board games and puzzles! If you have kids in the family, they will likely be thrilled to have a readily available friend to play with. With all of these suggestions, you shouldn’t feel like you have to plan every hour of their day. They will, of course, need the time to take naps and recuperate.
Remember, It’s Normal to Struggle
Caring for a loved one during and immediately after a medical treatment is a major responsibility. Even if you want to be there for them 24/7, it may not be realistic. Your life will be compromised too much to be there for them around the clock. However, you may feel solely responsible to care for them. Still, it’s important that you don’t neglect your own needs. Planning ahead can help ease this feeling, as can reaching out to others for additional support.
If your loved one’s needs are beyond what you can provide, consider hiring a part-time nurse or caregiver. A professional understands the unique situation of caring for someone and can be there in ways that you may not be able to. Not to mention, they can take night shifts so you can maintain your strength and rest peacefully too.
With all of this in mind — no matter how much or how little you can provide — know that your loved one is appreciative of you. While they may not say it aloud every day, just being there for them is enough. Anything else you can do to make their day easier is icing on the cake.
Featured Image Credit: Photo by Pavel Danilyuk; Pexels; Thank you!
KFC Germany has apologized over what it said was a mistakenly sent notification inviting customers to “treat themselves” to KFC on the anniversary of Kristallnacht, when Jewish homes and businesses in Germany were looted leading up to World War II and the Holocaust, according to The Jerusalem Post.
KFC provided a statement to Entrepreneur via email.It was “obviously wrong, insensitive, and unacceptable, and for this, we sincerely apologize,” the company said.
The notification was sent to KFC app users in Germany. It said, per the Post, “Commemoration of the Reichspogromnacht – Treat yourself to more tender cheese with the crispy chicken. Now at KFCheese!”
Reichspogromnacht is the German name for Kristallnacht.
Kristallnacht occurred on November 9 and 10, 1938, as part of an ongoing campaign in Nazi Germany to discriminate and commit violence against Jewish people in the country. Hitler’s paramilitary group, the SAs, used the pretext of the assassination of German diplomat Ernst vom Rath to organize mass violence, which included breaking windows in Jewish homes in businesses — hence, the name Kristallnacht, or the “Night of Broken Glass.” As many as 1,400 synagogues were destroyed and hundreds of thousands were sent to concentration camps.
New photos of the November nights were donated to Israel’s Holocaust museum Yad Vashem on Wednesday, per the Associated Press.
Users took to social media to express outrage about KFC’s notification, including Dalia Grinfeld of European Affairs at the Anti-Defamation League, a group that fights antisemitism.
Per a Google translation of the Tweet, the user wrote, “How wrong can you actually be at #Reichspogromnacht… Shame on you!”
Other users posted the notification as well:
Wow, just wow! I am utterly speechless and repulsed! @kfc Germany puts out promotional campaign inviting customers to treat themselves on #Kristallnacht … with some “crispy chicken with tender cheese.”
The company said the notification happened because of an automatic holiday event schedule.
KFC uses “a semi-automated content creation process linked to calendars that include national observances. In this instance, our internal review process was not properly followed, resulting in a non-approved notification being shared,” it wrote.
The company further said it was stopping all communications on the app. “We understand and respect the gravity and history of this day, and remain committed to equity, inclusion, and belonging for all,” its statement said.
The notification error comes amid a public rise in antisemitism. According to the Anti-Defamation League, there has been a 34% increase in instances of anti-semitic violence in the U.S. in 2021 compared to 2020.
Rapper and designer Kanye West, now known as Ye, was dropped from several brands, including Adidas, after unprofessional behavior and comments about violence against Jewish people. Brooklyn Nets star Kyrie Irving is currently serving a five-game suspension for sharing, then deleting, an antisemitic documentary on social media. Nike’s co-founder told CNBC that Irving’s deal with the athletic company is “likely over.”
It looks more like a project at NASA than a home construction site.
Just outside Austin, Texas, massive machines are squeezing out 100 three- and four-bedroom homes, in the first major housing development to be 3D-printed on site.
One of the nation’s largest homebuilders, Lennar, is partnering with ICON, a 3D printing company, to develop the project. Lennar was an early investor in ICON, which has printed just about a dozen homes in Texas and in Mexico. These homes will go on the market in 2023, starting in the mid-$400,000 range.
“This is the first 100 homes, but we expect to be able to bring this to scale, and at scale we really bring cycle times down and we also bring cost down,” said Stuart Miller, executive chairman of Lennar.
ICON claims it can build the entire wall system of the home, which includes mechanical, electrical and plumbing, two to three times faster than a traditional home and at up to 30% of the cost.
Read more real estate coverage
“We exceed code requirements for all the different kinds of strength, wind, compressive strength by about 4x. We’re about two and a half times more energy efficient,” said Jason Ballard, co-founder and CEO of ICON.
The printers are designed to operate 24 hours a day, but they don’t because of area noise restrictions. They are almost fully automated, with just three workers at each home. One monitors the process on a laptop, and one checks the concrete mixture, which has to be adapted to the current weather conditions. Another works in support, misting the area with water or adding new material into the system.
“The promise of robotic construction is a promise of automation, reducing labor – therefore reducing labor costs,” Ballard said.
ICON aims to get the number of operators down to two over the next 12 months, Ballard added. Eventually, he wants even fewer operators. “I think the sort of Holy Grail is where one person can watch a dozen systems you need one person to watch a dozen systems,” Ballard said.
An ICON 3D printer at a housing development in Georgetown, TX.
Diana Olick | CNBC
The way it works is a digital floor plan is loaded into the software system called Build OS, which then prepares it for robotic construction. It will automatically map out the structural reinforcement, placing the electrical and plumbing outlets during the print. The printers then squeeze out rows and rows of a proprietary concrete mixture that looks much like toothpaste, slowly building up the structure.
Other companies, like California-based Mighty Buildings, are also using 3D printing technology, but they print the homes in a factory and then move them on-site. ICON brings the factory to the site.
“With this project, we’re improving our total house count 400%, and we expect to like continue at least doubling for the next three to five years,” said Ballard. He said he already has plans to work with other large-scale builders. DR Horton is another of ICON’s early investors.
Lennar’s Miller said his primary focus is on bringing more affordable homes to the market, and he sees this as one way to do that. But he knows it’s also still the early stages.
“This is all about innovation. If you go around the country and speak to officials at the local and state level, the single biggest question is: How do we provide workforce housing, affordable housing,” he said.
Lennar began plans on the project with ICON when the housing market was still red-hot, driven by strong demand and record-low mortgage rates. Now mortgage rates are more than double what they were at the start of the year, and demand has fallen off sharply, suggesting their could be added risk to this project.
“We still focus on our core business, making the trains run on time, building homes across the country, and as the market cycles up and cycles down we adjust our business,” said Miller. “Innovation is a cycle as it sits on the side of our business because we know, looking forward, there’s a housing shortage out there.”
Employees stand next to a ET7 sedan at a NIO Inc. dealership in Shanghai, China, on Wednesday, June 8, 2022.
Qilai Shen | Bloomberg | Getty Images
Chinese electric vehicle maker Nio on Thursday reported a loss of $577.9 million for the third quarter, significantly wider than a year ago, despite strong revenue following a 29% increase in vehicle sales.
Shares of the company were up over 10% in early trading Thursday.
Nio said on Oct. 1 that it delivered 31,607 vehicles in the third quarter, up 29% from the third quarter of 2021 and a record for the company.
Nio’s gross margin was 13.3%, slightly improved versus the 13% margin it reported in the second quarter, but down from 20.3% a year ago. Nio said the year-over-year margin decline was due to lower sales of regulatory credits, higher costs that have squeezed margins on its vehicles, and higher spending on its charging and service networks.
CEO William Bin Li said in a statement that the company has seen strong interest in its new ET5 sedan, which he expects “will support a substantial acceleration of our overall revenue growth in the fourth quarter of 2022.” The ET5, the company’s second sedan, began shipping in September.
With the ET5 now available, Nio is working to increase production and shorten customer waiting times, Li said. Nio said that investors should expect it to deliver 43,000 and 48,000 vehicles in the fourth quarter, generating total revenue between RMB17,368 million ($2.4 billion) and RMB19,225 million ($2.7 billion).
The sharp jump in attendees associated with some of the world’s biggest polluting oil and gas giants at COP27 is thought to reflect the rise in the influence of the fossil fuel industry to shape the debate.
Ahmad Gharabli | Afp | Getty Images
SHARM EL-SHEIKH, Egypt — More than 600 fossil fuel industry delegates have been registered to attend the COP27 climate talks in Egypt, according to analysis from campaign groups, reflecting an increase of over 25% from last year.
The sharp jump in attendees associated with some of the world’s biggest polluting oil and gas giants at the U.N.’s flagship climate conference is thought to reflect the rise in the influence of the fossil fuel industry to shape the debate.
Campaigners described the findings as a “twisted joke” and said it appeared to set the stage for COP27 to be a “festival of fossil fuels and their polluting friends, buoyed by recent bumper profits.”
A spokesperson for Egypt’s COP presidency was not immediately available to comment on the findings of the report.
Around 35,000 delegates from nearly 200 countries are expected to convene in the Red Sea resort town of Sharm el-Sheikh to discuss collective action to tackle the climate emergency.
An analysis of data from the U.N.’s provisional list of named attendees by campaign groups Corporate Accountability, Corporate Europe Observatory and Global Witness found that 636 fossil fuel lobbyists had been registered to take part in the talks.
That reflects an increase of over 100 when compared to last year’s talks in Glasgow, Scotland.
It means that more fossil fuel lobbyists are represented at the two-week-long summit than any single country besides the United Arab Emirates, which has 1,070 delegates registered compared to 176 last year.
The data also showed that more fossil fuel industry delegates were set to attend COP27 than any national delegation from the African continent, despite the talks being described as the “Africa COP.”
Researchers pored through the U.N.’s provisional list of named attendees to count the number of individuals registered either acting on behalf of the fossil fuel industry or those directly affiliated with oil and gas companies, such as BP, Shell and Chevron.
“With time running out to avert climate disaster, major talks like COP27 absolutely must advance concrete action to stop the toxic practices of the fossil fuel industry that is causing more damage to the climate than any other industry,” a spokesperson for the groups said.
“The extraordinary presence of this industry’s lobbyists at these talks is therefore a twisted joke at the expense of both people and planet,” they added.
To be sure, the burning of fossil fuels such as coal, oil and gas, is the chief driver of the climate crisis.
A flurry of major U.N. reports published in recent weeks delivered a grim assessment of how close the planet is to irreversible climate breakdown, warning there is “no credible pathway” in place to cap global heating at the critical temperature threshold of 1.5 degrees Celsius.
“There’s been a lot of lip service paid to this being the so-called African COP, but how are you going to address the dire climate impacts on the continent, when the fossil fuel delegation is larger than that of any African country?” said Philip Jakpor of Corporate Accountability and Public Participation Africa.
“More than 450 organisations around the world are calling on world governments to do what they should have done from day one,” Jakpor said in a statement. “It’s time to kick Big Polluters out! No more writing the rules or bankrolling the climate talks.”
