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Tag: social media platforms

  • France might seek restrictions on VPN use in campaign to keep minors off social media

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    France may take additional steps to prevent minors from accessing social media platforms. As its government advances a proposed ban on social media use for anyone under age 15, some leaders are already looking to add further restrictions. During an appearance on public broadcast service Franceinfo, Minister Delegate for Artificial Intelligence and Digital Affairs Anne Le Hénanff said VPNs might be the next target.

    “If [this legislation] allows us to protect a very large majority of children, we will continue. And VPNs are the next topic on my list,” she said.

    A virtual private network would potentially allow French citizens younger than 15 to circumnavigate the social media ban. We’ve already seen VPN’s experience a popularity spike in the UK last year after similar laws were passed over age-gating content. However, a VPN also offers benefits for online privacy, and introducing age verification requirements where your personal data must be submitted negates a large part of these services’ appeal.

    The French social media ban is still a work in progress. France’s National Assembly voted in favor of the restrictions last week with a result of 116-23, moving it ahead for discussion in the country’s Senate. While a single comment doesn’t mean that France will in fact ban VPNs for any demographic, it does point to the direction some of the country’s leaders want to take. Critics responded to Le Hénanff’s statements with worry that these attempts at protective measures were veering into an authoritarian direction.

    The actions in France echo several other legislative pushes around the world aimed at reducing children and teens’ access to social media and other potentially sensitive content online. The US had seen 25 state-level laws for age verification introduced in the past two years, which has created a new set of concerns around users’ privacy and personal data, particularly when there has been no attempt to standardize how that information will be collected or protected. When data breaches at large corporations are already all too common, it’s hard to trust that the individual sites and services that suddenly need to build an age verification process won’t be an easy target for hacks.

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    Anna Washenko

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  • Tories would ban under-16s from social media

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    The Conservatives say they would ban under-16s from accessing social media platforms if they were in power, promising to follow the example of Australia, which was the first country to introduce the policy.

    Tory leader Kemi Badenoch said if her party was in government, smartphones would also be banned in schools.

    It has been a month since Australia’s ban on under-16s using major social media platforms came into force.

    The Conservatives say that if elected, they would follow suit to try to protect children’s mental health and education, and to stop them from viewing harmful content online.

    The party wants social media companies including TikTok and Snapchat to use age verification tools to prevent under-16s from accessing their platforms.

    The Tories say the scope of the policy would be kept under review.

    Badenoch said the age restriction would protect children while still giving adults choice.

    Separately the NASUWT teachers’ union also called for a similar ban (after taking evidence from its members).

    The government does not currently support the idea but insists it is taking action to ensure children are able to access only age-appropriate content online.

    Since July last year, platforms have been required to prevent young people from encountering harmful content relating to suicide, self-harm, eating disorders and pornography under the Online Safety Act.

    Enforced by Ofcom, the media regulator, platforms that do not comply with the legislation risk fines, jail time or, in very serious cases, a ban in the UK.

    This spring, the government is expected to issue guidance to parents around how long children under the age of five should spend watching TV or looking at computer screens.

    Education Secretary Bridget Phillipson said around 98% of children were watching screens on a daily basis by the age of two, with research suggesting that higher screen use in this age group was linked to poorer language development.

    The terms of reference for the national working group, which will be led by children’s commissioner for England Dame Rachel de Souza and Department for Education scientific adviser Professor Russell Viner, will be published on Monday.

    Parents, children and early years practitioners will all be involved in developing the guidance, which will be published in its first iteration in April.

    The education secretary has insisted it will be “shaped by parents, not dictated to them”.

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  • Guinea junta chief wins presidency in controversial election

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    Gen Mamady Doumbouya has been elected president of Guinea after securing the majority of the vote, according to initial polling results published by the country’s election commission.

    The junta leader is hoping to legitimise his rule after seizing power in a coup four years ago.

    A civil society group campaigning for the return of civilian rule condemned the election as a “charade” after his main challengers were barred from contesting, while opposition candidates said the poll was marred by irregularities.

    On Monday, internet monitoring organisation NetBlocks reported that access to social media platforms TikTok, YouTube and Facebook had been restricted as Guineans waited for the full results.

    There has been no official comment on the restrictions, but opponents see it as an attempt by the junta to stifle criticism of the results.

    The provisional results announced on Tuesday showed Gen Doumbouya winning 86.72% of the 28 December vote, an absolute majority well over the threshold that would trigger a runoff vote. The victory gives the junta leader a seven-year mandate.

    Should the results be challenged, the Supreme Court has eight days to validate them.

    Opposition candidate Faya Millimono said on Monday that the election was marred by “systematic fraudulent practices”, citing expulsion of poll observers, ballot stuffing and intimidation.

    The ruling party and the government have yet to comment on the complaints.

    After overthrowing then-83-year-old President Alpha Condé in 2021, Gen Doumbouya promised not to seek election and to hand power to a civilian.

    “Neither I nor any member of this transition will be a candidate for anything… As soldiers, we value our word very much,” he said at the time.

    The junta leader broke his promise by putting his name on the ballot after a new constitution, implemented in September, permitted him to run for office.

    Eight other candidates took part in Sunday’s election, but with the exclusion of main opposition parties RPG Arc en Ciel and UFDG, none of the participants have a solid political footing.

    Although he is popular with many of Guinea’s youth, Gen Doumbouya has been criticised for restricting opposition activities, banning protests and stifling press freedom in the run-up to the elections.

    The general justified deposing Condé on similar charges – including rampant corruption, disregard for human rights and economic mismanagement.

    Guinea has the world’s largest bauxite reserves and some of its richest iron ore. Last month, authorities launched the gigantic Simandou iron-ore mine to widespread anticipation.

    However, over half of the population lives in poverty, according to World Bank figures.

    You may also be interested in:

    [Getty Images/BBC]

    Go to BBCAfrica.com for more news from the African continent.

    Follow us on Twitter @BBCAfrica, on Facebook at BBC Africa or on Instagram at bbcafrica

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  • New York State will require warning labels on social media platforms

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    The State of New York will social media platforms to display warning labels similar to those found on cigarettes. was passed by the and signed into law by Gov. Kathy Hochul on Friday. It will apply to any platforms that feature infinite scrolling, auto-play, like counts or algorithmic feeds. The labels will caution those on the platform about potential harm to young users’ mental health.

    Social media companies will be required to display these warning labels when a user first interacts with any of the features the state considers predatory. The warning will also be displayed periodically after that interaction.

    “Keeping New Yorkers safe has been my top priority since taking office, and that includes protecting our kids from the potential harms of social media features that encourage excessive use,” Gov. Hochul . The law will apply when any of these platforms are being accessed from New York. Gov. Hochul also signed two bills into law last year aimed at protecting kids from social media.

    Concerns over the mental health effects of social media platforms on younger users have been mounting and government bodies have been increasingly taking action. A bill similar to the one in New York has been . This year became the first nation to ban social media for children, with soon to follow.

    Last year the US surgeon general should come with warning labels and highlighted associating social media use with increased anxiety and depression in youth. The risks of social media use on children’s mental health are and are still .

    We’ve reached out to Meta, Snap and TikTok for comment and will update if we hear back.

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    Andre Revilla

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  • These 5 tech stocks could let you play earnings season like a pro

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    These 5 tech stocks could let you play earnings season like a pro

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  • Nepal parliament set on fire after PM resigns over anti-corruption protests

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    Prime Minister KP Sharma Oli has resigned amid Nepal’s worst unrest in decades, as public anger mounts over the deaths of 19 anti-corruption protesters in clashes with police on Monday.

    On Tuesday, crowds set fire to parliament in the capital Kathmandu, sending thick black smoke billowing into the sky. Government buildings and the houses of political leaders were attacked around the country.

    Three more deaths were reported on Tuesday. Amid the chaos, jail officials said 900 inmates managed to escape from two prisons in Nepal’s western districts.

    The demonstrations were triggered by a ban on social media platforms. It was lifted on Monday – but by then protests had swelled into a mass movement.

    Nepal’s army chief issued a statement late on Tuesday accusing demonstrators of taking advantage of the current crisis by damaging, looting and setting fire to public and private property.

    It said if unrest continued, “all security institutions, including the Nepal Army, are committed to taking control of the situation,” effective from 22:00 local time (16:15 GMT; 17:15 BST), without detailing what this might entail.

    Fire and smoke rise from the Singha Durbar palace, which houses government and parliament buildings, as protesters stormed the premises in Kathmandu [EPA/Shutterstock]

    While the prime minister has stepped down, it’s not clear who will replace him – or what happens next, with seemingly no-one in charge. Some leaders, including ministers, have reportedly taken refuge with the security forces.

    So far, the protesters have not spelt out their demands apart from rallying under the broader anti-corruption call. The protests appear spontaneous, with no organised leadership.

    Inside parliament, there were jubilant scenes as hundreds of protesters danced and chanted slogans around a fire at the entrance to the building, many holding Nepal’s flag.

    Some entered inside the building, where all the windows have been smashed. Graffiti and anti-government messages have been spray painted on the exterior.

    Kathmandu resident Muna Shreshta, 20, was among the large crowd outside parliament.

    Corruption has been a long-term issue, she told the BBC, adding that it is “high time our nation, our prime minister, and anyone in power changes, because we need to change”.

    “It has happened now and we are more than happy to witness this and fight for this. I hope this change will bring something that is positive to us.”

    Ms Shreshta thinks taxes paid by working people need to be used in ways that will help the country grow.

    Last week, Nepal’s government ordered authorities to block 26 social media platforms for not complying with a deadline to register.

    Platforms such as Instagram and Facebook have millions of users in Nepal, who rely on them for entertainment, news and business.

    The government justified its ban in the name of tackling fake news, hate speech and online fraud.

    But young people criticised the move as an attack on free speech.

    Although the ban was hastily lifted on Monday night, the protests had already gained unstoppable momentum, targeting the political elite and plunging the nation into chaos.

    A government minister said they lifted the ban after an emergency meeting late on Monday night to “address the demands of Gen Z”.

    In the weeks before the ban, a “nepo kid” campaign, spotlighting the lavish lifestyles of politicians’ children and allegations of corruption, had taken off on social media.

    Thousands of young people first attempted to storm the parliament building on Monday. Several districts were put under curfew. Most of the deaths occurred around parliament and government buildings on that day.

    On Tuesday, protests continued unabated. A crowd in Kathmandu torched the headquarters of the Nepali Congress Party, which is part of the governing coalition, and the house of its leader, Sher Bahadur Deuba.

    The house of KP Oli – a 73-year-old four-time prime minister who leads the Communist Party – was also set on fire.

    He said he had resigned to pave the way for a constitutional solution to the current crisis.

    “In view of the adverse situation in the country, I have resigned effective today to facilitate the solution to the problem and to help resolve it politically in accordance with the constitution,” Oli wrote in his letter to President Ramchandra Paudel.

    An aide to Paudel told Reuters news agency the president had accepted the resignation and begun the “process and discussions for a new leader”.

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  • Chinese social media platforms roll out labels for AI-generated material

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    Major social media platforms in China have started rolling out labels for AI-generated content to comply with a law that took effect on Monday. Users of the likes of WeChat, Douyin, Weibo and RedNote (aka Xiaohongshu) are now seeing such labels on posts. These denote the use of generative AI in text, images, audio, video and other types of material, according to the . Identifiers such as watermarks have to be included in metadata too.

    WeChat has told users they must proactively apply labels to their AI-generated content. They’re also prohibited from removing, tampering with or hiding any AI labels that WeChat applies itself, or to use “AI to produce or spread false information, infringing content or any illegal activities.”

    ByteDance’s Douyin — the Chinese version of TikTok — similarly urged users to apply a label to every post of theirs that includes AI-generated material while noting it’s able to use metadata to detect where a piece of content content came from. Weibo, meanwhile, has added the option for users to report “unlabelled AI content” option when they see something that should have such a label.

    Four agencies drafted the law — which was — including the main internet regulator, the Cyberspace Administration of China (CAC). The Ministry of Industry and Information Technology, the Ministry of Public Security and the National Radio and Television Administration also helped put together the legislation, which is being enforced to help oversee the tidal wave of genAI content. In April, the CAC a three-month campaign to regulate AI apps and services.

    Mandatory labels for AI content could help folks better understand when they’re seeing AI slop and/or misinformation instead of something authentic. Some US companies that provide genAI tools offer similar labels and are starting to bake such identifiers into hardware. Google’s are the first phones that implement (Coalition for Content Provenance and Authenticity) content credentials .

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    Kris Holt

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  • Mark Zuckerberg could pay millions to the IRS on Meta dividends. He still might be getting ‘a major break’.

    Mark Zuckerberg could pay millions to the IRS on Meta dividends. He still might be getting ‘a major break’.

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    Mark Zuckerberg delighted Meta shareholders and Wall Street this week with news of the social media giant’s first-ever dividend.

    The IRS may also be happy, now that it’s staring at millions in taxes on the Meta stock dividends bound for Zuckerberg’s portfolio.

    Zuckerberg, the CEO of Meta Platforms Inc.
    META,
    +20.32%    ,
    is poised to make $700 million in dividends yearly. He owns nearly 350 million shares, according to FactSet, and the company will start paying a quarterly dividend of 50 cents a share.

    That would yield nearly $167 million in federal taxes yearly, after a qualified-dividend tax of 20% and another 3.8% tax on the investment returns of rich households, two accounting experts said.

    California income taxes of 13.3% on the dividends could cost Zuckerberg another $93.1 million, said Andrew Belnap, an accounting professor at the University of Texas at Austin’s McCombs School of Business.

    All in, that’s a combined $259.7 million in federal and state taxes annually on the Meta dividends, Belnap estimated.

    For context, U.S. taxpayers reported over $285 billion in qualified-dividend income to the IRS though mid-November 2023, according to agency statistics. Nearly 30 million tax returns reported qualified dividends through that time.

    Meta said it plans a quarterly cash dividend going forward, with the first such payment in March.

    Meta shares soared 20.5% on Friday, ending with a record-high close of $474.99. The Dow Jones Industrial Average
    DJIA,
    S&P 500
    SPX
    and Nasdaq Composite
    COMP
    all closed higher Friday.

    ‘Zuck is getting a major break’

    Meta announced the dividend payment in its earnings results Thursday, on the same week that Americans began filing their income taxes.

    A look at Zuckerberg’s dividends and their tax implications offer a peek at the debate about the varying ways wages and wealth are taxed.

    “Zuck is getting a major break,” said Andrew Schmidt, an accounting professor at North Carolina State University’s Poole School of Management who also crunched the numbers for MarketWatch.

    Approximately $167 million “seems like a high tax bill,” he said. But if Zuckerberg received the $700 million as a straight salary, Schmidt estimated he’d be looking at a roughly $259 million tax bill on the wages after they were taxed at the top marginal rate of 37%.

    Federal income tax brackets run from 10% to 37%.

    Meanwhile, the IRS taxes qualified dividends and capital gains at 0%, 15% and 20%, depending on income and household status. The net investment income tax adds another 3.8% for individuals making at least $200,000 or married couples worth $250,000.

    For federal and state taxes on the Meta dividends, Zuckerberg would face a combined rate of 37.1%, Belnap noted. “His tax rate on this is actually fairly high,” he said.

    The gap in tax rates on income derived from wages and investments “has been a big criticism with U.S. tax policy,” Schmidt said, especially as lawmakers look for ways to come up with more tax revenue.

    Regular retail investors enjoy the same preferential rates on capital gains and dividends as the top 1% of taxpayers, Schmidt added. The issue is that those dividends and stock profits are a smaller part of their income while salaries, taxed at higher rates, are a bigger proportion.

    Belnap noted that California’s state tax rules don’t provide special treatment to dividends.

    Read also: Where Trump, Biden and Haley stand on capital gains, the child tax credit and other key tax questions

    Zuckerberg received a $1 base salary in 2022, a figure that hasn’t changed in several years. He is now worth $142 billion, according to the Bloomberg Billionaires Index, making him the fifth-richest person in the world.

    Meta did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

    Taxes on the Meta dividends will not be something Zuckerberg, or any Meta shareholders big or small, need to deal with until next year’s tax season, Belnap and Schmidt observed.

    But as taxpayers amass their 1099-DIV forms on dividend income, IRS figures show that it’s mostly upper-echelon taxpayers reaping the rewards on the preferential rates for qualified dividends.

    Households worth at least $1 million accounted for 40% of the approximate $285.3 billion in qualified dividends reported through mid-November, according to agency figures.

    For less affluent investors, “it’s usually a nice supplement, but I’d say very few people are living off dividends,” Belnap said.

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  • Meta’s stock is the most overbought in 11 years, but that could be a good thing

    Meta’s stock is the most overbought in 11 years, but that could be a good thing

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    There’s a common belief that “overbought” is a technical condition for a stock, but in practice it seems to be more of an ability.

    Meta Platforms Inc.’s stock
    META,
    +20.32%
    soared so much Friday after a blowout earnings report, that some technical readings have reached levels not seen in 11 years.

    The stock rocketed 20.9% to close at a record $474.99, to book the third-biggest gain since going public in May 2012. The only bigger rallies were 23.3% on Feb. 2, 2023 and 29.6% on July 25, 2013, which were also after earnings reports.

    The stock’s Relative Strength Index, which is a momentum indicator that measures the magnitudes of recent gains and losses, climbed to 86.48. That’s the highest level seen since it closed at a record 89.39 on July 30, 2013.

    But that shouldn’t scare off Meta bulls.

    Many chart watchers believe RSI readings above 70 are signs of “overbought” conditions, which suggests bulls need a breather after running faster and farther than they are used to.

    There are also many who believe the ability to become overbought is a sign of underlying strength, since a stock tends to be trending higher when RSI hurdles 70. (Read Constance Brown’s “Technical Analysis for the Trading Professional.”)

    For example, the record RSI reading came three days after the record stock-price rally of 29.6% on July 25, 2013. Even though RSI closed at what was then a record of 88.27 after a record price gain on the 25th, the stock continued to rally and become even more overbought.

    It was that spike that snapped the stock out of the year-long doldrum that followed the initial public offering, and flipped the long-term narrative on the stock to bullish. (Read “Facebook’s ‘breakaway gap’ is a bullish game changer,” from The Wall Street Journal.)


    FactSet, MarketWatch

    And while the record RSI readings in July 2013 did lead to a minor short-term pullback, it didn’t stop the stock from embarking on a long-term uptrend, in which RSI made multiple forays above 70.


    FactSet, MarketWatch

    And the last time RSI closed above 85 was Feb. 2, 2023, when it closed at 86.07, also after a blowout earnings report.

    And similar to 10 years earlier, that historically high overbought reading helped launch another long-term rally.


    FactSet, MarketWatch

    So yes, Meta’s stock is now facing historically high overbought conditions. But as many chart watchers like to say, overbought doesn’t mean over.

    One thing to consider, however, is that the two prior times RSI spiked above 85 were while the long-term fates of the stock were still in question — the stocks were working on short-term bounces following long-term downtrends.


    FactSet, MarketWatch

    But Friday’s blast off happened just days after the stock closed at a record high. There was no resistance to hurdle, so rather than a bullish “breakaway gap,” Friday’s jump could be considered more a bullish leap of faith.

    Also read:

    Meta’s killer stock rally could add $200 billion in market cap — a historic haul.

    Nvidia’s stock could rise above $600 — despite signs it’s already overbought.

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  • So Long, Apple and Tesla. We Built a Better Magnificent 7.

    So Long, Apple and Tesla. We Built a Better Magnificent 7.

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    By Nicholas Jasinski

    Jan 12, 2024, 1:00 am EST

    In this article

    AMZN

    AAPL

    MSFT

    NVDA

    SPX

    The Magnificent Seven had an extraordinary year in 2023—one that will be very difficult to repeat. And there will be a new Magnificent Seven in 2024.

    Continue reading this article with a Barron’s subscription.

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  • Mark Zuckerberg sold $428 million of Meta stock in the last two months of 2023

    Mark Zuckerberg sold $428 million of Meta stock in the last two months of 2023

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    Mark Zuckerberg cashed in on his company’s 2023 stock rally in a big way — selling nearly $428 million worth of shares in Meta Platforms Inc. over the final two months of the year.

    The Meta
    META,
    -0.53%
    co-founder and chief executive offloaded just under 1.8 million shares over the course of every trading day between Nov. 1 and the end of last year, according to a regulatory filing with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission on Tuesday. 

    The sales were in accordance with a Rule 10b5-1 trading plan adopted by Zuckerberg in July and saw him capitalize on Meta’s rebounding stock price, which soared 194.1% in 2023 — and nearly threefold since it hit a seven-year low in November 2022. By comparison, the S&P 500
    SPX
    and the Nasdaq Composite
    COMP
    indexes gained 24.2% and 43.4%, respectively, in 2023.

    The moves also broke a two-year hiatus, dating back to November 2021, during which Zuckerberg did not sell any of his stock in the Facebook parent company, according to Bloomberg, which first reported the news. Zuckerberg, who owns roughly 13% of Meta, is ranked the seventh-richest person in the world with a net worth of $125 billion, according to the Bloomberg Billionaires Index.

    Nasdaq-listed Meta shares, which fell 0.5% on Wednesday to $344.47, are now roughly 11% off their all-time closing high of $382.18 from September 2021.

    Representatives for Meta could not immediately be reached for comment.

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  • These 20 stocks soared the most in 2023

    These 20 stocks soared the most in 2023

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    (Updated with Friday’s closing prices.)

    The 2023 rally for stocks in the U.S. accelerated as more investors bought the idea that the Federal Reserve succeeded in its effort to bring inflation to heel.

    The S&P 500
    SPX
    ended Friday with a 24.2% gain for 2023, following a 19.4% decline in 2022. (All price changes in this article exclude dividends). Among the 500 stocks, 65% were up for 2023. Below is a list of the year’s 20 best performers in the benchmark index.

    This article focuses on large-cap stocks. MarketWatch Editor in Chief Mark DeCambre took a broader look at all U.S. stocks of companies with market capitalizations of at least $1 billion, to list 10 with gains ranging from 412% to 1,924%.

    The Fed began raising short-term interest rates and pushing long-term rates higher in March 2022 by allowing its bond portfolio to run off. That explains the poor performance for stocks in 2022, as bonds and even bank accounts because more attractive to investors.

    The central bank hasn’t raised the federal-funds rate since moving it to the current target range of 5.25% to 5.50% in July, and its economic projections point to three rate cuts in 2024.

    Investors are anticipating the return to a low-rate environment by scooping up 10-year U.S. Treasury notes
    BX:TMUBMUSD10Y,
    whose yield ended the year at 3.88%, down from 4.84% on Oct. 27 — the day of the S&P 500’s low for the second half of 2023.

    Read: Treasury yields end mostly higher but little changed on year after wild 2023

    Before looking at the list of best-performing stocks of 2023, here’s a summary of how the 11 sectors of the S&P 500 performed, with the full index and three more broad indexes at the bottom:

    Sector or index

    		 2023 price change

    		 2022 price change

    		 Price change since end of 2021

    		 Forward P/E

    		 Forward P/E at end of 2022

    		 Forward P/E at end of 2023
    Information Technology

    		 56.4%

    		 -28.9%

    		 11.5%

    		 26.7

    		 20.0

    		 28.2
    Communication Services

    		 54.4%

    		 -40.4%

    		 -7.6%

    		 17.4

    		 14.3

    		 21.0
    Consumer Discretionary

    		 41.0%

    		 -37.6%

    		 -11.4%

    		 26.2

    		 21.7

    		 34.7
    Industrials

    		 16.0%

    		 -7.1%

    		 8.0%

    		 20.0

    		 18.7

    		 22.0
    Materials

    		 10.2%

    		 -14.1%

    		 -4.9%

    		 19.5

    		 15.8

    		 16.6
    Financials

    		 9.9%

    		 -12.4%

    		 -3.4%

    		 14.6

    		 13.0

    		 16.3
    Real Estate

    		 8.3%

    		 -28.4%

    		 -21.6%

    		 18.3

    		 16.9

    		 24.7
    Healthcare

    		 0.3%

    		 -3.6%

    		 -3.3%

    		 18.2

    		 17.7

    		 17.3
    Consumer Staples

    		 -2.2%

    		 -3.2%

    		 -5.4%

    		 19.3

    		 20.6

    		 21.4
    Energy

    		 -4.8%

    		 59.0%

    		 51.8%

    		 10.9

    		 9.8

    		 11.1
    Utilities

    		 -10.2%

    		 -1.4%

    		 -11.4%

    		 15.9

    		 18.7

    		 20.4
    S&P 500
    SPX     		24.2%

    		 -19.4%

    		 0.4%

    		 19.7

    		 16.8

    		 21.6
    Dow Jones Industrial Average
    DJIA     		13.7%

    		 -8.8%

    		 3.8%

    		 17.6

    		 16.6

    		 18.9
    Nasdaq Composite
    COMP     		43.4%

    		 -33.1%

    		 -3.5%

    		 26.9

    		 22.6

    		 32.0
    Nasdaq-100
    NDX     		53.8%

    		 -33.0%

    		 3.5%

    		 26.3

    		 20.9

    		 30.3
    Source: FactSet

    A look at 2023 price action really needs to encompass what took place in 2022 for context. The broad indexes haven’t moved much from their levels at the end of 2022 (again, excluding dividends). We have included current forward price-to-earnings ratios along with those at the end of 2021 and 2022. These valuations have declined a bit, which may provide some comfort for investors wondering how likely it is for stocks to continue to rally in 2024.

    Biggest price increases among the S&P 500

    Here are the 20 stocks in the S&P 500 whose prices rose the most in 2023:

    Company

    		 Ticker

    		 2023 price change

    		 2022 price change

    		 Price change since end of 2021

    		 Forward P/E

    		 Forward P/E at end of 2022

    		 Forward P/E at end of 2021
    Nvidia Corp.

    		 NVDA,
         		239%

    		 -50%

    		 68%

    		 24.9

    		 34.4

    		 58.0
    Meta Platforms Inc. Class A

    		 META,
    -1.22%         		194%

    		 -64%

    		 5%

    		 20.2

    		 14.7

    		 23.5
    Royal Caribbean Group

    		 RCL,
    -0.37%         		162%

    		 -36%

    		 68%

    		 14.3

    		 14.9

    		 232.4
    Builders FirstSource Inc.

    		 BLDR,
    -1.02%         		157%

    		 -24%

    		 95%

    		 14.2

    		 10.7

    		 13.3
    Uber Technologies Inc.

    		 UBER,
    -2.49%         		149%

    		 -41%

    		 47%

    		 56.9

    		 N/A

    		 N/A
    Carnival Corp.

    		 CCL,
    -0.70%         		130%

    		 -60%

    		 -8%

    		 18.7

    		 41.3

    		 N/A
    Advanced Micro Devices Inc.

    		 AMD,
    -0.91%         		128%

    		 -55%

    		 2%

    		 39.7

    		 17.7

    		 43.1
    PulteGroup Inc.

    		 PHM,
    -0.26%         		127%

    		 -20%

    		 81%

    		 9.1

    		 6.3

    		 6.2
    Palo Alto Networks Inc.

    		 PANW,
    -0.24%         		111%

    		 -25%

    		 59%

    		 50.2

    		 38.0

    		 70.1
    Tesla Inc.

    		 TSLA,
    -1.86%         		102%

    		 -65%

    		 -29%

    		 66.2

    		 22.3

    		 120.3
    Broadcom Inc.

    		 AVGO,
    -0.55%         		100%

    		 -16%

    		 68%

    		 23.2

    		 13.6

    		 19.8
    Salesforce Inc.

    		 CRM,
    -0.92%         		98%

    		 -48%

    		 4%

    		 28.0

    		 23.8

    		 53.5
    Fair Isaac Corp.

    		 FICO,
    -0.46%         		94%

    		 38%

    		 168%

    		 47.1

    		 29.3

    		 28.7
    Arista Networks Inc.

    		 ANET,
    -0.62%         		94%

    		 -16%

    		 64%

    		 32.7

    		 22.3

    		 41.4
    Intel Corp.

    		 INTC,
    -0.28%         		90%

    		 -49%

    		 -2%

    		 26.6

    		 14.6

    		 13.9
    Jabil Inc.

    		 JBL,
    -0.45%         		87%

    		 -3%

    		 81%

    		 13.5

    		 7.9

    		 10.3
    Lam Research Corp.

    		 LRCX,
    -0.81%         		86%

    		 -42%

    		 9%

    		 25.2

    		 13.5

    		 20.2
    ServiceNow Inc.

    		 NOW,
    +0.57%         		82%

    		 -40%

    		 9%

    		 56.0

    		 42.6

    		 90.1
    Amazon.com Inc.

    		 AMZN,
    -0.94%         		81%

    		 -50%

    		 -9%

    		 42.0

    		 46.7

    		 64.9
    Monolithic Power Systems Inc.

    		 MPWR,
    -0.23%         		78%

    		 -28%

    		 28%

    		 49.1

    		 27.3

    		 57.9
    Source: FactSet

    Click on the tickers for more about each company.

    Click here for Tomi Kilgore’s detailed guide to the wealth of information available for free on the MarketWatch quote page.

    Don’t miss: Nvidia tops list of Wall Street’s 20 favorite stocks for 2024

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  • Musk Strategy to Contain Anti-Semitism Fallout Is to Go ‘Thermonuclear’

    Musk Strategy to Contain Anti-Semitism Fallout Is to Go ‘Thermonuclear’

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    Elon Musk employed an aggressive strategy—including the threat of a “thermonuclear” lawsuit— to contain the fallout after his endorsement of anti-Semitic rhetoric on X that prompted an advertising backlash at the billionaire’s social media company and some on Wall Street to call for his censure.

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  • Elon Musk’s X apocalyptic moment

    Elon Musk’s X apocalyptic moment

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    Is this the beginning of the end for X, the social-media site previously known as Twitter?

    In the last two days, major advertisers, ranging from IBM Corp. IBM, Apple Inc. AAPL, Lions Gate Entertainment Corp. LGF.A, Walt Disney Co. DIS, even the European Union, have pulled their ads from X, after Elon Musk appeared to endorse antisemitic conspiracy theories and because these big spenders weren’t thrilled with the algorithm’s product placement nestled alongside pro-Nazi posts.

    Earlier…

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  • IBM pulls ads from X after Elon Musk’s incendiary comments over white pride

    IBM pulls ads from X after Elon Musk’s incendiary comments over white pride

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    IBM Corp.
    IBM,
    +0.31%
    has abruptly pulled ads from X, formerly Twitter, amid a maelstrom of controversial comments from billionaire owner Elon Musk and the placement of IBM ads.

    “IBM has zero tolerance for hate speech and discrimination and we have immediately suspended all advertising on X while we investigate this entirely unacceptable situation,” the company said in a statement emailed to MarketWatch.

    IBM suspended advertising following a report by the Financial Times on Thursday that IBM ads appeared next to posts supporting Adolf Hitler and the Nazi Party. A Media Matters study also found ads from Apple Inc.
    AAPL,
    +0.90%    ,
    Oracle Corp.
    ORCL,
    +0.53%    ,
    and Comcast Corp.’s
    CMCSA,
    -0.28%
    Xfinity and Bravo were adjacent to pro-Nazi content.

    On Wednesday, Musk agreed with a post on X supportive of an antisemitic conspiracy theory that Jewish people hold a “dialectical hatred” of white people. “You have said the actual truth,” Musk wrote in response to the post.

    Compounding matters, Musk on Thursday said on X it was “super messed up” that white people are not, in the words of one far-right user’s tweet, “allowed to be proud of their race.”

    Adding fuel to the fire, Musk said on Wednesday that the Jewish advocacy group the Anti-Defamation League “unjustly attacks the majority of the West, despite the majority of the West supporting the Jewish people and Israel.” (Musk has threatened to sue the ADL because of its criticism of lax moderation practices on X that it says have allowed antisemitism to spread.)

    The cascading conflagration prompted Tesla Inc.
    TSLA,
    -3.81%
    bull and investment adviser Ross Gerber to grumble on X: “Getting a flood of messages from clients wanting out of tesla and anything to do with Elon Musk. Many saying they are selling their cars as well. What is he doing to the tesla brand??!!?!?”

    Earlier this year, Gerber backed down from his “friendly activist” efforts to join Tesla’s board, saying he felt his concerns had been addressed. His firm, Gerber Kawasaki Wealth and Investment Management, has its own ETF, AdvisorShares Gerber Kawasaki 
    GK,
     which has Tesla as its top investment, and has attracted many clients with Tesla shares in its portfolios

    In an interview on CNBC late Thursday, Gerber said that while he is not selling his Tesla stock, ” I’m not going to mince words about it anymore as a shareholder. It’s absolutely outrageous, his behavior and the damage he’s caused to the brand.”

    Gerber said Musk has essentially abdicated his responsibilities as Tesla CEO: “It’s all about Twitter, and what he can tweet, and how many people he can piss off… What’s going to happen to Tesla over the next 10 years, are they gonna achieve their mission if the CEO isn’t actually the CEO? Because he’s certainly not acting as the CEO of Tesla.”

    An X executive told MarketWatch that the company did a “sweep” of the accounts next to the IBM ads. Those accounts “will no longer be monetizable” and specific posts will be labeled “Sensitive Media.”

    The executive said 99% of measured ad placements on X this year have appeared adjacent to content scoring “above the brand safety floor” criteria set by industry standards.

    Late Thursday, X’s chief executive, Linda Yaccarino, tweeted: “X’s point of view has always been very clear that discrimination by everyone should STOP across the board — I think that’s something we can and should all agree on. When it comes to this platform — X has also been extremely clear about our efforts to combat antisemitism and discrimination. There’s no place for it anywhere in the world — it’s ugly and wrong. Full stop.”

    The posts and ad placement come amid a wave of antisemitism on digital forums including X and a downturn in advertising on the platform linked to hate speech and misinformation. Musk said in July that ad revenue had plunged about 50%.

    The latest kerfuffle is likely to complicate the efforts of Yaccarino, who was hired in June from Comcast Corp.’s
    CMCSA,
    -0.28%
    NBCUniversal to sway advertising agencies and major brands to stay on, or initiate relationships with, the platform now known as X.

    Tesla shares fell nearly 4% on Thursday but are still up about 90% to date in 2023.

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  • Apple, Microsoft, Nvidia—What Tech Stocks Hedge Funds Are Buying and Selling

    Apple, Microsoft, Nvidia—What Tech Stocks Hedge Funds Are Buying and Selling

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    It’s filing season for a string of major hedge funds, and big tech names like Apple, Microsoft, and Nvidia were among the most-traded equities in the third quarter.

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  • Meta’s Earnings Story Will Be a Good Ol’ Rebound in Ads

    Meta’s Earnings Story Will Be a Good Ol’ Rebound in Ads

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    Oct 25, 2023, 1:00 am EDT

    In recent quarters, Meta Platforms CEO Mark Zuckerberg has been talking more about artificial intelligence and cost cutting, while focusing less and less on the company’s multibillion-dollar investment in the metaverse. Expect more of the same when the parent of Facebook, Instagram, WhatsApp, and Threads reports results after the close Wednesday. 

    Continue reading this article with a Barron’s subscription.

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  • Apple says it will fix app software problems blamed for making iPhone 15 models too hot to handle

    Apple says it will fix app software problems blamed for making iPhone 15 models too hot to handle

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    Apple Inc. is blaming a software bug and other issues tied to popular apps such as Instagram and Uber for causing its recently released iPhone 15 models to heat up and spark complaints about becoming too hot to handle.

    The Cupertino, Calif., company
    AAPL,
    +0.30%
    said Saturday that it is working on an update to the iOS17 system that powers the iPhone 15 lineup to prevent the devices from becoming uncomfortably hot and is working with apps that are running in ways “causing them to overload the system.”

    Instagram, owned by Meta Platforms
    META,
    -1.23%    ,
    modified its social media app earlier this week to prevent it from heating up the device on the latest iPhone operating system.

    Read: The Magnificent Seven could be considered the messy seven after a ‘meh’ third quarter

    Uber
    UBER,
    -0.33%
    and other apps such as the video game Asphalt 9 are still in the process of rolling out their updates, Apple said. It didn’t specify a timeline for when its own software fix would be issued but said no safety issues should prevent iPhone 15 owners from using their devices while awaiting the update.

    “We have identified a few conditions which can cause iPhone to run warmer than expected,” Apple in a short statement provided to The Associated Press after media reports detailed overheating complaints that are peppering online message boards.

    The Wall Street Journal amplified the worries in a story citing the overheating problem in its own testing of the new iPhones, which went on sale a week ago.

    Read: Here’s what Apple’s iPhone 15 says about the world

    It’s not unusual for new iPhones to get uncomfortably warm during the first few days of use or when they are being restored with backup information stored in the cloud — issues that Apple already flags for users. The devices also can get hot when using apps such as video games and augmented reality technology that require a lot of processing power, but the heating issues with the iPhone 15 models have gone beyond those typical situations.

    In its acknowledgement, Apple stressed that the trouble isn’t related to the sleek titanium casing that houses the high-end iPhone 15 Pro and iPhone 15 Pro Max instead of the stainless steel used on older smartphones.

    Apple also dismissed speculation that the overheating problem in the new models might be tied to a shift from its proprietary Lightning charging cable to the more widely used USB-C port that allowed it to comply with a mandate issued by European regulators.

    Although Apple expressed confidence that the overheating issue can be quickly fixed with the upcoming software updates, the problem still could dampen sales of its marquee product at time when the company has faced three consecutive quarters of year-over-year declines in overall sales.

    The downturn has affected iPhone sales, which fell by a combined 4% in the nine months covered by Apple’s past three fiscal quarters compared with a year earlier.

    Apple is trying to pump up its sales in part by raising the starting price for its top-of-the-line iPhone 15 Pro Max to $1,200, an increase of $100, or 9%, from last year’s comparable model.

    Investor worries about Apple’s uncharacteristic sales funk already have wiped out more than $300 billion in shareholder wealth since the company’s market value closed at $3 trillion for the first time in late June.

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  • Sorry, Elon, a ‘super app’ is never going to fly in the U.S.

    Sorry, Elon, a ‘super app’ is never going to fly in the U.S.

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    “Super apps” have never truly existed in the United States, and it is apparent at this point that they never will.

    That isn’t stopping some executives and investment analysts from still dreaming of becoming one-stop shops for their users’ needs, something only a small handful of apps in Asia have managed to do. The most prominent is Elon Musk, the Tesla Inc. TSLAchief executive who purchased Twitter last year and has proclaimed that he will turn it into an “everything app” called X that resembles super apps in China.

    “I…

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  • ‘Magnificent Seven’ stocks are losing some of their shine, but their bonds are doing fine

    ‘Magnificent Seven’ stocks are losing some of their shine, but their bonds are doing fine

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    The so-called Magnificent Seven grouping of technology stocks lost some of its luster this week after four of the seven moved into correction territory, meaning their stocks have fallen at least 10% from their recent peaks.

    The corporate-bond market, in contrast, seems to like all seven names.

    The group is made up of Facebook parent Meta Platforms Inc.
    META,
    -0.65%    ,
    Apple Inc.
    AAPL,
    +0.28%    ,
    Microsoft Corp.
    MSFT,
    -0.13%    ,
    Nvidia Corp.
    NVDA,
    -0.10%    ,
    Amazon. com Inc.
    AMZN,
    -0.57%    ,
    Google parent Alphabet Inc.
    GOOGL,
    -1.89%

    GOOG,
    -1.80%
    and Tesla Inc.
    TSLA,
    -1.70%    .

    One caveat: Tesla has no outstanding bonds. In the past, the electric-car maker issued convertible bonds, but they have all been converted into equity.

    The group is credited with helping drive the stock market’s gains in the first half of the year, driven by excitement about artificial intelligence. But the rally has stalled in recent weeks as investors have fretted over the potential for U.S. interest-rate increases, surging Treasury yields and China worries, with property developer Evergrande filing for U.S. bankruptcy protection late Thursday.

    On Thursday, Meta followed Apple, Microsoft and Nvidia into correction territory, as MarketWatch’s Emily Bary reported. Tesla, meanwhile, is in a bear market, meaning it’s down more than 20% from its recent peak.

    Read: Have AI stocks like Nvidia reached bubble territory? Here’s what history can tell us.

    The following series of charts from data-solutions provider BondCliQ Media Services show how many bonds each company has issued by maturity and how they have traded as the stocks have pulled back.

    The first chart shows that Microsoft has by far the most bonds, mostly in the 30-year bucket. The software and cloud giant has more than $50 billion in long-term debt, according to its 2023 10-K filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

    Outstanding Magnificent Seven debt by maturity bucket.


    Source: BondCliQ Media Services

    This chart shows trading volumes over the last 10 days, divided by trade type. The green shows customer buying, while the red is customer selling. The blue shows dealer-to-dealer flows. Microsoft, for example, has seen almost $1.3 billion in customer buying from dealers in the last 10 days and $960 million in customer sales to dealers.

    Magnificent Seven debt trading volumes (last 10 days).


    Source: BondCliQ Media Services

    This chart shows that every name in the group has enjoyed better net buying in the last 10 days, with Microsoft leading the way.

    Net customer flow of Magnificent Seven debt (last 10 days).


    Source: BondCliQ Media Services

    This chart shows spread performance over the last 50 days for an intermediate-term bond from each of the seven issuers. Most have tightened or remained steady over the period.

    Historical spread performance of Magnificent Seven debt.


    Source: BondCliQ Media Services

    Read also: Red flags waving for tech stocks as AI bounce fades, China fears escalate

    Apple’s stock entered correction Wednesday upon falling more than 10% from its July 31 peak of $196.45. The company sells mainly discretionary products, and right now “consumers are still being pinched” and thinking more carefully about where they spend their money, according to Matt Stucky, senior portfolio manager for equities at Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management.

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