*By Alisha Haridasani*
Regulating how tech companies use consumers' personal data could help them grow and innovate, said the billionaire tech investor Steve Ballmer.
“You actually do need regulators across the world to provide some framework,” said Ballmer, the former CEO of Microsoft, in an interview Tuesday with Cheddar's CEOJon Steinberg. “When you’re in a time of uncertainty, and you don’t know what the rules are, that’s when it’s toughest to innovate.”
Silicon Valley has been grappling with privacy concerns for years, said Ballmer. “It takes, sometimes, a crisis to get things to move,” he said, and Facebook may have provided that impetus.
Even before the social media company's CEO Mark Zuckerberg testified in Congress last month about the Cambridge Analytica data privacy breach, analysts and lawmakers had been discussing possible regulation. Since Zuckerberg's two-day grilling on Capitol Hill, Facebook and its competitors have had to consider new rules governing data privacy ー voluntary or imposed.
“They’re going to have to work hard to manage, whether it’s partly their own initiative or some regulation,” said Ballmer. “I trust they’ll get through it, I have a lot of belief in the people who run that company.”
Ballmer succeeded Bill Gates as the chief executive of Microsoft in 2000 and served as CEO until 2014. During his tenure, Microsoft faced immense competition from Apple. Ballmer oversaw Microsoft's entry into cloud computing services with Azure, the Windows software redesign, and the launch of the XBox game console.
But, by the time Ballmer resigned, smartphones and tablets were eating into the personal computer business, and the company needed a radical turn around. He was succeeded by current CEO Satya Nadella, who has implemented [a cultural shift](https://cheddar.com/videos/microsoft-cmo-says-rivalry-with-apple-is-a-thing-of-the-past) at the company that is driving growth.
Ballmer, owner of the Los Angeles Clippers of the NBA, also runs USAFacts, a company he founded to try to make government data more accessible.
For the full interview, [click here](https://cheddar.com/videos/from-microsoft-to-basketball-steve-ballmer-on-creating-a-winning-team-with-la-clippers).
U.S. stocks closed Thursday at their lowest levels of the trading day, as investors continue to eye inflation ahead of the May CPI report out Friday. Art Hogan, Chief Market Strategist for National Holdings, joins Cheddar News' Closing Bell to discuss.
U.S. markets opened sharply lower on Friday on hotter-than-expected inflation data. The May CPI showed an 8.6% jump in consumer prices year-over-year, higher the expected 8.3%. Mark Howard, Senior Multi-Asset Specialist at BNP Paribas joined Cheddar's Opening Bell to discuss.
U.S. stocks closed Friday at session lows after May CPI data showed inflation in the U.S. has not peaked and is still rising rapidly. For the week, the S&P fell 5.06%, the Dow lost 4.58%, and the Nasdaq dropped 5.60%, marking the worst week since January for all three major indexes. Mike Zigmont, Head of Trading and Research at Harvest Volatility Management, joins Cheddar News' Closing Bell to discuss.
Benefits brokerage, Nava Benefits, raised $40 million in a Series B round. Nava says it's on a mission to fix healthcare, one benefits plan at a time. The startup is working to bring benefits to small business that are normally available to only Fortune 500 companies. Brandon Weber, Co-Founder and CEO of Nava Benefits, joined Cheddar News' Closing Bell to discuss.
The electric vehicle maker filed a proposal for a three-for-one stock split, increasing the accessibility of shares for investors for a stock trading at around $700 a share. The move comes not long after tech giant Amazon announced a 20-for-one split. The number of authorized shares rises from two billion to six billion. It was also revealed that board member Larry Ellison does not intend to stand for reelection as it pertains to Tesla.
President Biden proposed a new rule that would add 500,000 chargers for electric vehicles nationwide. The proposal comes amid the rapid shift to EVs with dozens of automakers announcing plans for all-electric fleets within the next decade. But with the new surge will the U.S. have the proper infrastructure to keep up? Scott Painter, founder and CEO of Autonomy.com joined Cheddar's Opening Bell to discuss. "I really think the idea of standardization is a big deal. Standardization certainly makes it much better for everybody to be able to get a charge when they need one," he said.
