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.
U.S. stocks closed sharply lower on Monday as investors weighed record-high Treasury yields, the ongoing Russia-Ukraine conflict, potential policy moves from the Federal Reserve, and the start of earnings season. Ross Mayfield, investment strategy analyst at Baird, joined Cheddar News' Closing Bell to discuss. "We expected volatility to continue after this recent rally of the last past few weeks. None of the big headwinds have really changed," he said.
Dana Peterson, Chief Economist at the Conference Board, joined Closing Bell to break down March CPI numbers, and discuss how skyrocketing prices are affecting American consumers.
McLaren displayed its all-electric, off-roading racing vehicle, the Odyssey, in from of the New York Stock Exchange on Tuesday. Zak Brown, CEO of McLaren Racing, joined Cheddar News to discuss bringing the heavy-duty vehicle to a new racing series with an emphasis on sustainability — and even gender equity with a male and female team of two drivers required. "This is McLaren's first-ever Odyssey, which is an EV. Looks like an SUV — but not really much of an SUV — that we raced five times around the world in various locations where climate has impacted the world," he said.
According to Mark Zuckerberg, a select number of creators in Meta's Horizon Worlds will now have the option to sell virtual assets and experiences they create to other players for a profit.
Jannese Torres-Rodriguez, Host of the 'Yo Quiero Dinero' podcast, fills us in on what taxpayers can write off and highlights the best uses for tax refunds.
Beth Ann Bovino, the U.S. chief economist at S&P Global Ratings, joined Cheddar to break down the March CPI data and outline the bright spots of consumer spending amid rising costs. She noted that with consumers switching more to services coming out of quarantine rather than purchasing goods, it could create a lessening of demand that will help reduce inflationary pressures going forward, but the Fed will still have to move aggressively. "We expect now that the Fed is going to raise rates about 6 to 7 times — a 50-point basis hike is basically baked in the cake right now," Bovino said. "Could there be a second 50-point basis? Certainly, we wouldn't be surprised."
Catching you up with what you need to know on Apr 12, 2022, with Russia concentrating forces in eastern Ukraine, rising inflation, severe weather from Minnesota to the Gulf Coast, Philadelphia brings back its indoor mask mandate, PG&E pays $55 million for wildfire settlement, and more
