Apple CEO Tim Cook speaks at an Apple event on the campus of Apple's headquarters in Cupertino, Calif., on Sept. 7, 2022. Apple Music is about to reach a huge numerical milestone — offering an eye-popping 100 million songs available on the streaming service. (AP Photo/Jeff Chiu, File)
Here is a rundown of Cheddar News' top market stories of the day.
BIG BANKS REPORT EARNINGS
Three of the biggest U.S. banks reported earnings before the bell on Friday, marking the unofficial start to the earnings season. Both Bank of America and JPMorgan Chase's earnings beat Wall Street estimates, though the latter said it was putting aside extra funds in case of a recession. Wells Fargo, meanwhile, took a massive hit from a $3.7 billion settlement with the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau for illegally assessing fees on borrowers, but nonetheless beat the Street's admittedly low expectation.
TIM COOK'S PAY CUT
Apple CEO Tim Cook is getting a pay cut. According to an SEC filing, shareholders voted on a $49 million pay package for the coming year, compared to $99.4 million in 2022. The compensation committee was partially responding to pressure from institutional investors who have argued for reducing the executive's pay. Going forward, more of Cook's compensation will be tied to stocks. Shares of Apple are down around 23 percent from a year ago.
SEC CHARGES CRYPTO FIRMS
While it may seem like too little, too late for those who called for more aggressive federal regulation earlier, the Securities and Exchange Commission is charging prominent crypto firms Genesis Global Capital, LLC and Gemini Trust Company, LLC for selling unregistered securities. “Today’s charges build on previous actions to make clear to the marketplace and the investing public that crypto lending platforms and other intermediaries need to comply with our time-tested securities laws," said SEC Chair Gary Gensler in a press release. "Doing so best protects investors. It promotes trust in markets. It’s not optional. It’s the law.”
CRYPTO LAYOFFS
In other crypto news, Crypto.com announced that it's cutting 20 percent of its workforce. "The reductions we made last July positioned us to weather the macro economic downturn, but it did not account for the recent collapse of FTX, which significantly damaged trust in the industry," CEO Kris Marszalek said in a blog post.
Stephen Kates, Financial Analyst at Bankrate, joins to discuss the Fed’s 25-basis-point rate cut, inflation risks, and what it all means for consumers and marke
Big tech earnings take center stage as investors digest results from Alphabet, Meta, Microsoft, Amazon, and Apple, with insights from Gil Luria of D.A. Davidson
Disney content has gone dark on YouTube TV, leaving subscribers of the Google-owned live streaming platform without access to major networks like ESPN and ABC. That’s because the companies have failed to reach a new licensing deal to keep Disney channels on YouTube TV. Depending on how long it lasts, the dispute could particularly impact coverage of U.S. college football matchups over the weekend — on top of other news and entertainment disruptions that have already arrived. In the meantime, YouTube TV subscribers who want to watch Disney channels could have little choice other than turning to the company’s own platforms, which come with their own price tags.
President Donald Trump said he has decided to lower his combined tariff rates on imports of Chinese goods to 47% after talks with Chinese leader Xi Jinping on curbing fentanyl trafficking.
Universal Music Group and AI platform Udio have settled a copyright lawsuit and will collaborate on a new music creation and streaming platform. The companies announced on Wednesday that they reached a compensatory legal settlement and new licensing agreements. These agreements aim to provide more revenue opportunities for Universal's artists and songwriters. The rise of AI song generation tools like Udio has disrupted the music streaming industry, leading to accusations from record labels. This deal marks the first since Universal and others sued Udio and Suno last year. Financial terms of the settlement weren't disclosed.
