The Hive's hosts Jon Kelly and Kristen Scholer discuss the latest news in politics, business, and technology. From Hope Hicks' sudden departure from the White House to the Kardashian's impact on social media, we have you covered.
Vanity Fair's Tina Nguyen says that Hope Hicks has always had a special place in the White House, she just hadn't been pushed into the public eye. All that changed when her boyfriend, Rob Porter, was accused of assaulting his ex-wives. That, plus her testimony at a House intelligence briefing over "white lies" she's told seemed to put her over the edge and caused her to resign.
Plus, no one thought John Kelly could nuke out Jared Kushner...but he did! Kushner's security clearance has been downgraded this week and his future at the White House is uncertain.
Stocks closed at session highs on the last trading day of the month, but the major indexes still ended up posting their worst months since the start of the pandemic. The S&P 500 and the Nasdaq both had their worst months since March 2020. Nancy Daoud, Private Wealth Advisor at Ameriprise Financial Services, joins Closing Bell to discuss today's close, her market predictions for the year, how the Federal Reserve's monetary policy will impact stocks, and more.
Rene Ritchie, independent tech analyst and co-founder of the Nebula Podcast, joins Cheddar News' Closing Bell, where he breaks down what investors will be looking for from Mark Zuckerberg this week and how the tech giants stack up when it comes to augmented reality and virtual reality products going forward.
According to multiple reports, President Biden's upcoming executive order for the crypto marke would assign some government entities to study cryptocurrencies, stablecoins and NFT's with the goal of developing a workable regulatory framework. Douglas Borthwick, Chief Business Officer at INX, joins Cheddar News' Closing Bell, where he elaborates on what role the Biden administration would play under this order.
Nutritional supplement beverage company Athletic Greens has achieved unicorn status. The company announced a new $115 million funding round, bringing its valuation to $1.2 billion. The company's flagship product AG1 combines 75 different vitamins, minerals, and other nutrients into one daily serving. Athletic Greens says it is poised to reach the millions of consumers who are currently driving the health and wellness market's exponential growth. Athletic Greens founder and CEO Chris Ashenden joins Cheddar News' Closing Bell to discuss.
Is Spotify a platform for content creators, or is it a media company? The streaming giant may have to find an answer sooner rather than later amid a controversy involving its most popular podcast host, Joe Rogan. Rogan has hosted guests who have made false claims about COVID-19 vaccines, and in turn, some musicians like Neil Young and Joni Mitchell have removed their discographies from Spotify in protest. Rogan says he welcomes content advisories, and will balance out his guests going forward, but is it enough? And is Spotify liable in any way? John Freeman, Vice President of CFRA Research, joins Closing Bell to discuss Rogan's response to the controversy, whether Spotify should be considered a media company with responsibility for its content, and more.
Michael Mitchell, senior director of brand at Mailchimp, joins Cheddar News to discuss the launch of Bloom Season and what every BIPOC entrepreneur needs to know to succeed.
Pax Labs, a leading electronic vaporizer company, plans to release its very first cannabis pod venture, of which different strands of cannabis will be available. COO Steven Jung spoke with Cheddar’s Chloe Aiello to talk about the release of the companies own line of 100 percent cannabis pods for use with its vaporizers. "I think this is the direction that most products are going," Jung noted. "If you look at the data, it would actually show you that most consumers are in fact looking for this kind of delivery mechanism in the product itself."
The gaming industry has seen multiple large scales deals this month alone, including Microsoft's megadeal for Activision Blizzard. And, seemingly in response, rival Sony, picked up Bungie for $3.6 billion, a studio once owned by both Microsoft and Activision. The sector is reportedly on track to spend $150 billion on mergers and acquisitions just this year alone, a record-breaking total, according to investment firm Drake Star Partners. Michael Metzger, a partner at the firm specializing in technology, media, and communications, joined Cheddar to discuss the flurry of deals in the gaming space and what might be behind the hot M&A activity.
Ari Redbord, head of legal and government affairs and TRM Labs, joins Cheddar News to discuss why Facebook is ditching its crypto project and what that means for the space.
