Move over FANG! There may be another acronym on investors lips in the New Year.
Rob Cox, the global editor at Reuters Breakingviews, says Spotify, Lyft, Airbnb, and WeWork - aka SLAW - will be the next generation of disruptive companies to watch.
“We think they’re going to be a great way to play a whole bunch of different ways that we think about working, that’s WeWork; the way we think about playing, Spotify, and the way we get around the world and have fun, whether it’s Airbnb when we travel or of course Lyft,” he said.
These start-ups, all of which are candidates to tap the public markets in 2018, are shooting to change more than the way people consume products, though. Spotify, for example, is reportedly looking to bypass the traditional IPO process entirely, eschewing underwriters, and list its shares directly on the New York Stock Exchange.
Cox says that would be a big blow to bankers.
“They’re going to lose out because this deal is going to go straight to market,” he said. “They are not going to underwrite the IPO, so they’re not going to get the 7 percent [fee] on the deal.”
Lyft meanwhile, which just hired a new vice president of investor relations, would be the first time investors get an opportunity to buy into transportation as a service -- an opportunity, Cox says, is disruptive in its own right.
For full interview [click here](https://cheddar.com/videos/the-tech-ipos-to-watch-in-2018).
A big-screen adaptation of the anime “Chainsaw Man” has topped the North American box office, beating a Springsteen biopic and “Black Phone 2.” The movie earned $17.25 million in the U.S. and Canada this weekend. “Black Phone 2” fell to second place with $13 million. Two new releases, the rom-com “Regretting You” and “Springsteen — Deliver Me From Nowhere,” earned $12.85 million and $9.1 million, respectively. “Chainsaw Man – The Movie: Reze Arc” is based on the manga series about a demon hunter. It's another win for Sony-owned Crunchyroll, which also released a “Demon Slayer” film last month that debuted to a record $70 million.
The Federal Aviation Administration says flights departing for Los Angeles International Airport were halted briefly due to a staffing shortage at a Southern California air traffic facility. The FAA issued a temporary ground stop at one of the world’s busiest airports on Sunday morning soon after U.S. Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy predicted that travelers would see more flights delayed as the nation’s air traffic controllers work without pay during the federal government shutdown. The hold on planes taking off for LAX lasted an hour and 45 minutes and didn't appear to cause continued problems. The FAA said staffing shortages also delayed planes headed to Washington, Chicago and Newark, New Jersey on Sunday.
Boeing workers at three Midwest plants where military aircraft and weapons are developed have voted to reject the company’s latest contract offer and to continue a strike that started almost three months ago. The strike by about 3,200 machinists at the plants in the Missouri cities of St. Louis and St. Charles, and in Mascoutah, Illinois, is smaller in scale than a walkout last year by 33,000 Boeing workers who assemble commercial jetliners. The president of the International Association of Machinists says Sunday's outcome shows Boeing hasn't adequately addressed wages and retirement benefits. Boeing says Sunday's vote was close with 51% of union members opposing the revised offer.
