Bitcoin has increased 1,000% in over a year and has forced the finance world to take note. But why has the price skyrocketed? PCMag.com editor Rob Marvin says it's because the rest of the cryptocurrency landscape has changed. In addition to Bitcoin there is now: Ethereum, Litecoin, Zcash, the forked Bitcoin Cash.
Plus, the former Chief Economist of the of The World Bank wants Bitcoin banned but is that going too far? Marvin and Fortune's Robert Hackett say that's a bit extreme, but more regulation may need to be put in place if the price continues to rise.
Ford CFO John Lawler joined Cheddar News to talk about the auto giant's Q1 earnings report that beat on revenue and EPS. Despite the good numbers, Lawler spoke to challenges Ford had to navigate. "We also see the continued disruption to the supply chain impacting our production, and that hit us in the first quarter as well. So it kept us from having an even stronger quarter," he said. Lawler noted that chip shortages leading to the supply constraints should ease up throughout the year.
Tech giant Microsoft won a military contract for the production of its IVAS (integrated visual augmentation system) combat goggles, based on its HoloLens ARG tech, worth up to $21.9 billion over 10 years. However, the Pentagon is now saying that the device "has not yet demonstrated the capability to serve as a fighting goggle," and that the Army made mistakes in the program's initial stages by not clearly describing minimum performance standards. While testing continues, concerns have grown outside of the Defense Department to Congress and even within Microsoft itself. Cheddar's Ken Buffa takes a deeper look at the possible boondoggle.
U.S. stocks fell sharply to close Tuesday's session, with the Nasdaq dropping 3.95% and hitting a new one-year low. Frances Newton Stacy, Director of Strategy for Optimal Capital, joins Cheddar News to discuss her reaction to how markets closed the session, and to break down Q3 2022 earnings from Microsoft. "Netflix was sort of the big warning, and I think Big Tech was down today in anticipation of these earnings," she says.
With Netflix losing 200,000 subscribers in one quarter, and CNN+ shutting down just weeks after launch, the streaming industry is in a place of uncertainty. Hundreds of people who once thought they had steady jobs now face potential unemployment as streamers figure out how to navigate the constantly changing landscape. Greg Martin, co-founder of Rainmaker Securities, joined Cheddar's Opening Bell to discuss the state of streaming, its troubles, and how its impacting hundreds of workers.
