What we’re reading (6/27)
“Nike Earnings Top Wall Street’s Expectations, Despite Inflation In The U.S. And Covid Lockdowns In China” (CNBC). “Nike on Monday said demand for sneakers and sportswear largely held up in the fiscal fourth-quarter, despite a Covid lockdown in China and a tougher consumer environment in the U.S.”
“Meme Stocks Were Too Good To Robinhood” (Matt Levine, Bloomberg). “Last week the US House Financial Services Committee released a report about that week at the end of January 2021, and it is fascinating reading. It is mostly about Robinhood, and specifically it is about the tension inside Robinhood between the fact that it [the last week of January 2021] was a great week and the fact that it almost blew up Robinhood.”
“All The Recession Warning Signs This Week” (CNN Business). “It’s the question everyone is asking: Are we about to enter a recession? A tepid stock market, soaring inflation, and rising interest rates have left Americans less than optimistic about the state of the economy. Consumer sentiment has plunged to a record low, according to a University of Michigan survey released last week, fueled by frustration over high prices.”
“Elon Musk Fuels Record C.E.O. Paydays” (DealBook). “In 2018, Elon Musk unveiled a groundbreaking compensation plan that was composed entirely of an enormous stock grant tied to Tesla’s performance. The plan linked his compensation to the future value of Tesla and the electric vehicle company’s ability to hit hugely ambitious targets for sales and operating profit. The gamble seems to have paid off: Musk has so far received shares for the award worth just over $60 billion. But it’s not only Musk that has profited: Compensation experts say they see the influence of Mr. Musk’s deal everywhere.”
“Biotech Wizard Left a Trail of Fraud—Prosecutors Allege It Ended in Murder” (Wall Street Journal). “He started out in biotechnology with only his ideas. One of the first was curing HIV with a one-time cell transplant to block production of a protein used by the virus to penetrate human cells. The idea had been tried before but failed because patients’ bodies rejected the transplanted cells. He claimed to have come up with a way to make it work.”
