*By Alex Heath*
Facebook said Friday that it won’t partner with the crypto firm Stellar, despite a report that the two companies recently held talks.
“We are not engaged in any discussions with Stellar, and we are not considering building on their technology,” a Facebook spokesperson told Cheddar.
Business Insider [reported](https://www.businessinsider.com/facebook-is-talking-to-cryptocurrency-stellar-about-making-a-big-move-into-crypto-2018-7) Friday that Facebook had discussed creating its own variant of the Stellar blockchain network. Stellar didn’t respond to Cheddar’s request for comment on the report.
Stellar’s cryptocurrency asset, called Lumens, is the sixth most valuable at around $4.3 billion. After the Business Insider report, the price of Lumens spiked by roughly 10 percent on Binance, the world’s largest crypto exchange.
On Friday, before the Business Insider report, Facebook vice president David Marcus [stepped down from the board](https://www.coindesk.com/facebooks-david-marcus-steps-down-from-coinbases-board/) of the crypto exchange Coinbase citing a conflict of interest.
Earlier this year, Marcus was put in charge of forming a group of Facebook employees dedicated to developing blockchain technology, and [Cheddar reported](https://cheddar.com/videos/facebook-plans-to-create-its-own-cryptocurrency) that the group was exploring the creation of a Facebook cryptocurrency.
“Because of the new group I’m setting up at Facebook around blockchain, I’ve decided it was appropriate for me to resign from the Coinbase board,” Marcus said in a statement to Cheddar. “I’ve been thoroughly impressed by the talent and execution the team has demonstrated during my tenure, and I wish the team all the success it deserves going forward."
Maks Chmerkovskiy and wife Peta Murgatroyd, of "Dancing With the Stars" fame, are branching out into skincare.
Donald Trump began testifying Monday morning in his civil fraud trial, producing the spectacle of a former president and the leading Republican presidential candidate defending himself against allegations that he dramatically inflated his net worth.
The trial between Google and the maker of the game Fortnite will begin Monday as a San Francisco jury will hear Epic Games' case claiming the Google Play Store takes an unfair commission on purchases made through apps.
One of the most self-made and success stories in the country, Emma Grede, has worked along with the Kardashian Jenner family on many of their best-known brands. Grede, CEO and co-founder of Good American, gave back to the next generation of business leaders as a featured speaker at the Chase for Business Make Your Move summit last week. She spoke with Cheddar News about her career, her company's fashion brand, working with the famous Kardashian-Jennifer family and balancing her own family life.
Berkshire Hathaway, the conglomerate run by businessman Warren Buffett, reported its operating earnings in its most recent quarter jumped more than 40% from a year ago but posted its first net quarterly loss in a year.
Elon Musk's company XaI has announced a new chatbot called Grok.
SAG-AFTRA said over the weekend that it received the studios' last best and final offer following a meeting on Saturday, with the union saying it's reviewing it and considering a response "within the context of the critical issues addressed in our proposals."
Stocks rose slightly as Wall Street looks to continue its momentum with earnings season winding down.
Tyson Foods is recalling about 30,000 of its dino-shaped chicken nuggets after some consumers reported finding small metal pieces in those nuggets.
Google on Monday will try to protect a lucrative piece of its internet empire at the same time it’s still entangled in the biggest U.S. antitrust trial in a quarter century.
