Activist Investors Call on Apple to Address Youth Phone Addiction
Apple under fire after two Apple investors urged the company to step up and play a bigger role in managing smartphone overuse and addiction. David Benoit, Activism Reporter at The Wall Street Journal, was with us to discuss why Jana Partners has decided to push Apple to develop tools and research the effects of smartphone overuse by young people.
Benoit says the investors aren’t saying its necessarily Apple’s responsibility to monitor phone usage. Instead, he thinks they believe that Apple could play an important role in acknowledging that they aren’t sure what the impact of all this phone usage will be, but could score points by giving parents the option to monitor usage.
Activist investors typically focus on things like buybacks and acquisitions. Benoit says this move by Jana Partners to take a stance on corporate responsibility is very different. He thinks following Jana's advice could help protect Apple from potential backlash on teen iPhone usage. In addition, Benoit says goodwill could help drive future sales if consumers feel Apple made a phone that is safe for kids.
“Extraneous materials” triggered nine recalls in 2022 of more than 477,000 pounds of food regulated by the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Food Safety and Inspection Service — triple the number of recalls tied to food contaminated with toxic E. coli bacteria.
About 146,000 U.S. auto workers are set to go on strike this week if General Motors, Ford and Stellantis fail to meet their demands for big pay raises and the restoration of concessions the workers made years ago when the companies were in financial trouble.
The Week's Top Stories is a guided tour through the biggest market stories of the week, from winning stocks to brutal dips to the facts and forecasts generating buzz on Wall Street. This week we talk about Kroger, Apple, Roku, Quantas Airways and Warners Bros. Discovery.
