Crypto lender BlockFi filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection on Monday in New Jersey, weeks following FTX’s collapse. In the filing, BlockFi said its exposure to FTX and its affiliated companies created a liquidity crisis. BlockFi said it has more than 100,000 creditors and liabilities and assets between $1B and $10B each. More: - BlockFi listed FTX as its second-largest creditor, noting it owes the defunct crypto exchange $275M from a rescue loan it received earlier this year.
- In July, following the collapse of crypto firms Terra/Luna, Three Arrows Capital, and Celsius, BlockFi signed an agreement with FTX, with an option for FTX to buy BlockFi for up to $240M.
- BlockFi also received a $400M revolving credit facility from FTX.
- Earlier this month, BlockFi halted withdrawals from its platform and said it was exploring all options with outside advisers.
- BlockFi lists Ankura Trust Company as its largest unsecured creditor.
- Ankura acts as a trustee for BlockFi’s interest-bearing crypto accounts.
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U.S. stocks fell on Monday following news of social unrest in China over the government’s strict zero-COVID policy. Over the weekend, protests broke out across China as citizens voiced their frustrations with the country’s COVID-19 control policies. As infections rose recently, many local governments issued more COVID controls, some prohibiting residents from leaving their homes. Protesters blamed the policies for 10 deaths in an apartment building fire in the Xinjiang region last Thursday. More: - The Dow lost 497 points or 1.5%; the S&P 500 fell 1.5%, and the tech-heavy Nasdaq dropped 1.6%.
- Oil futures fell to near 2022 lows before recovering on rumors of an OPEC+ production cut.
- International bench Brent Crude was trading as low as $80.61 a barrel.
- U.S. West Texas Intermediate traded as low as $73.60 a barrel.
- Bloomberg reported that Apple could see a production shortfall of up to 6 million iPhone Pro units this year due to worker COVID protests at its Foxconn manufacturing facility in Zhengzhou, China.
- Apple shares fell nearly 3% on Monday.
- Europe’s STOXX 600 index fell 0.5%, Asia’s MSCI index lost 1.1%, and Japan’s Nikkei declined 0.42%.
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Disney's new CEO, Bob Iger, said the company would keep its hiring freeze announced earlier this month. Iger made the announcement at a companywide town hall on Monday. He was reinstalled as Disney's CEO on Nov. 20. More: - Iger said he would review some of the company's policy changes and decisions his predecessor Bob Chapek implemented, including requiring reservations for guests visiting theme parks.
- Iger also said he would review the company's decision to relocate about 2,000 theme park designers and other workers to Florida.
- Iger said he would focus on profitability in the company's online TV businesses rather than on subscribers.
- Iger addressed the rumor about a possible merger between Disney and Apple, calling the rumor pure speculation.
- When asked about Florida and the Reedy Creek Improvement District, Iger noted that the state of Florida has been vital to the company for a long time, and Disney has also been crucial to the state of Florida.
- Florida lawmakers recently voted to terminate Disney's Reedy Creek Improvement District.
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Meta Platforms received a €265M ($274M) fine from Irish Data Protection Commission over its handling of user data. European regulators have fined the Facebook and Instagram parent about €1B (~$1B) so far this year. More: - The fine ends an investigation Ireland's privacy regulator launched in April 2021 after information belonging to 533 million Facebook and Instagram users was published online in 2019.
- The personal information of Facebook and Instagram users, including names, locations, and some email addresses of users across 106 countries, were published on a hacking forum.
- Meta fixed the vulnerability, which allowed user data to be collected by third parties through a process called scraping.
- Meta said it is reviewing the fine decision and would continue working to protect users' privacy and security.
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The Qatari owners of French football club Paris Saint-Germain (PSG) are targeting a valuation of more than €4B ($4.1B) in talks with potential investors. The football club is looking to sell a stake of up to 15% to potential new investors, which include at least two U.S.-based funds. More: - A valuation of more than $4B would surpass the price paid earlier this year for English Premier League football club Chelsea.
- In May, a U.S.-led consortium purchased Chelsea FC from Russian oligarch Roman Abramovich for £2.5B (~$3B).
- PSG’s valuation could set expectations for other football clubs looking for investors and/or a sale, including Manchester United, Liverpool FC, and Inter Milan.
- PSG president Nasser al-Khelaifi noted that the current talks over PSG were not a sign of Qatar losing its appetite for football but an opportunity to bring in outside experts.
- PSG’s Qatari owners purchased the football club in 2011 for about €70M ($72.4M).
- According to Transfermarkt, the club has spent about €1.6B ($1.7B) on players since then.
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Shell has agreed to buy Danish biogas producer Nature Energy for €1.9B ($1.96B). Nature Energy is Europe’s largest biogas or biomethane producer, a natural gas produced by processing agricultural, industrial, and household waste. More: - Nature Energy has 14 plants and produces roughly 3,000 oil barrels of biomethane daily.
- Nature Energy is expected to operate as a Shell subsidiary under its existing brand.
- The acquisition comes weeks after BP announced it was buying U.S. biogas producer Archaea Energy for about $4.1B.
- Shell and BP have been looking to diversify their energy portfolios and reduce their dependence on fossil fuels.
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Quick Hits - HubSpot and Brandwatch partnered this year to survey over 1,000 individuals across the U.S. to better understand consumer purchasing habits, thoughts, and behaviors.*
- Saudi Arabia plans to transform its Riyadh airport into a massive aviation hub with six parallel runways designed to accommodate up to 120 million travelers by 2030. Saudi Crown Prince and Prime Minister Mohammed bin Salman made the announcement on Monday.
- Private equity firm Carlyle Group announced it has raised about €3B ($3.12B) for a European technology fund. The fund, CETP V, exceeded its €2.5B ($2.6B) target in less than a year of fundraising and will focus on lower mid-market and growth technology companies across Europe.
- Elon Musk claims Apple has threatened to remove the social media platform from its App Store as part of its app review moderation process. Musk said Apple did not provide a reason to remove the app and called Apple’s App Store fees a secret 30% tax.
- The world’s largest active volcano erupted in Hawaii at 11:30 p.m. local time Sunday or 4:30 a.m. ET Monday. The volcano, called Mauna Loa, had not erupted since 1984.
- Tech innovation is surging in education, finance, health care, and other industries. See what your competitors are building with Crowdbotics.*
*This is a sponsored post.
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 |  | Vanessa Omeokachie is a writer for Inside.com; she writes the daily Inside Business newsletter. Her interests include finance, technology, and entrepreneurship. In her free time, she enjoys reading, hiking, attending concerts and music festivals, traveling, and exploring. Connect with her on Twitter @VanessaOmeo or on LinkedIn. |   | | Editor | Aaron Crutchfield is based in the high desert of California. Over the last two decades, he has spent time writing and editing at various local newspapers and defense contractors in California. When he's not working, he can often be found looking at the latest memes with his kids or working on his 1962 and 1972 Fords. | |
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