🍟 Disney's big bet
Disney bets on another Bob for its survival, Zoom and Coinbase take a beating, while FIFA announced a $1bn spike in revenue!
Hello everyone! So, what happened this week in the finance, tech, and startup world? 🌍
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What Happened This Week?
10 finance, tech, and startup stories in 163 super short seconds.
🎩 Disney replaces Bob with Bob - Bob Iger is returning to Walt Disney Co as chief executive less than a year after he retired, a surprise comeback that coincides with the entertainment company's attempt to boost investor confidence and profits at its streaming media unit.
🛵 Ride, rest, and relax - foodpanda has launched its new Rider Hub, which allows its delivery partners to rest and relax in between delivery shifts. It has a dedicated lounge space that has charging stations, beverages, as well as entertainment systems, which include a darts machine and game consoles. Sounds like it’s a great time to be a panda!
🏦 SocGen and AllianceBernstein agree equities merger - French bank Société Générale has agreed to create a joint venture with US investment company AllianceBernstein, merging their equities research and cash equities businesses. SocGen will have the option of buying outright five years after it launches, which is expected to happen by late 2023.
🌳 Ureca raises US$1.5m - Singapore-based climate tech firm Ureca said it has raised US$1.5 million in pre-seed money, extending past its US$1 million target. Launched in Mongolia, Ureca is currently working on a blockchain-powered carbon credit marketplace that allows “virtually anyone” to trade high-quality carbon offsets, as well as enhancing its digital MRV (measurement, reporting and verification) technology!
⚽️ FIFA announces $1B spike in revenue - As the World Cup kicks off in Qatar, FIFA President Gianni Infantino has announced record revenue of $7.5 billion for the four-year cycle leading up to the tournament, and profits of $1 billion for soccer’s global governing body. However, FIFA's revenue is dwarfed by the amount Qatar spent leading up to perhaps the most expensive World Cup ever— as much as $300 billion.
🎯 Holmes sentenced for fraud - Elizabeth Holmes, the founder of the failed blood-testing start-up Theranos, has been sentenced to more than 11 years in prison for defrauding investors about her company’s technology and business dealings. Dive into the rise and fall of Elizabeth Holmes here.
📉 An all-time low for Coinbase- Coinbase stock took a beating on Monday, setting a new low-price point after dropping 8% as investors dial down crypto-related risk in the wake of FTX. Coinbase’s stock is down 37% in November so far, and a staggering 84% below where it started the year. The top US crypto exchange by trade volume, is now valued on par with American Airlines and GoDaddy.
🐤 Elon Musk postpones Twitter Blue relaunch indefinitely - In the latest sign of the challenges the billionaire is facing as he attempts to overhaul the social media platform, the billionaire entrepreneur said in a tweet on Monday evening that he was “holding off” from launching the product again until there was a “high confidence of stopping impersonation”.
🐝 Moving away from Twitter to a new Hive - In the wake of Elon Musk’s takeover of Twitter, users have been fleeing to other social apps. Now, another social app called Hive, recently hit 1 million users after it saw a surge of sign-ups over the weekend. The app found itself in the top 20 on the U.S. App Store as the situation at Twitter continues to devolve.
🖥 The Zoom boom is more than over - Shares of Zoom have tumbled about 90% from their pandemic peak in October 2020 as the former investor darling struggles to adjust to a post-COVID world. The stock was down nearly 10% on Tuesday after the company cut its annual sales forecast and posted its slowest quarterly growth, prompting at least six brokerages to cut their price targets.
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