Plus, Unilever appoints Hein Schumacher as new CEO.
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TikTok CEO Shou Zi Chew has agreed to appear before the House Energy and Commerce Committee on March 23 to address growing concerns about the popular video-sharing platform. This will be Chew’s first appearance before a congressional panel. TikTok is owned by Chinese firm ByteDance. More: - The hearing will give lawmakers a chance to address various concerns about the app, including its alleged sharing of U.S. users’ data with China and concerns the app could be used for propaganda or manipulation of U.S. users.
- Committee chair Rep. Cathy McMorris Rodgers, R-Wash., has accused TikTok of allowing the Chinese Communist Party to access U.S. user data.
- Rodgers also asked for more information on TikTok’s impact on young users and how the company protects young users.
- TikTok has denied claims that it allowed interference by the Chinese government.
- Earlier this month, the company revealed a $1.5B plan to reorganize the company’s U.S. operations, including creating a system for monitoring the secret algorithms that determine which content is shown to users.
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The Third U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals has dismissed Johnson & Johnson’s attempt to use a bankruptcy filing to resolve lawsuits related to its talcum powder product. J&J is facing billions of dollars in legal claims from customers who claim the healthcare company’s talcum powder caused cancer. More: - The U.S. appeals court dismissed a bankruptcy filing by J&J subsidiary LTL management, preventing the firm from moving thousands of legal claims out of trial courts and into the bankruptcy system.
- J&J was employing a legal scheme referred to as the “Texas two-step” to split the company into two independent entities and place the one facing the talcum powder lawsuits into bankruptcy.
- J&J is facing more than 40,000 talcum powder cancer claims.
- J&J said its use of the bankruptcy system was not an attempt to reduce the size of payouts to cancer claimants.
- The company claims the move would lead to a more efficient and equitable resolution to the claims.
- J&J has agreed to fund its subsidiary LTL management’s talcum powder liabilities with up to $61B.
- The appeals court ruled that only companies facing financial stress could call on the bankruptcy system to help with restructuring.
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Twitter has started applying for regulatory licenses in the U.S. for payment services on its platform. According to sources, the social media company has also begun designing software that would allow various payment services on the platform, such as peer-to-peer transactions, savings accounts, and debit cards. More: - CEO Elon Musk aims to diversify Twitter’s revenue stream and turn the social media platform into a “super app” that includes messaging, payments, and commerce.
- Prior to Musk’s takeover of the company, Twitter had set up a subsidiary called Twitter Payments LLC in August.
- Musk recently appointed Twitter’s director of product management, Esther Crawford, as the chief executive of Twitter Payments.
- Crawford and a small team have begun to map out the architecture needed to facilitate payments on the platform, including conceiving a vault for storing and protecting user data.
- Crawford joined Twitter in 2020 after the social media company acquired her startup, Squad.
- She led the development of various early products at Twitter, including Spaces and Communities.
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Japanese automaker Nissan and French automaker Renault have agreed to reorganize their 24-year-old alliance. The new deal includes Renault reducing its 43% stake in Nissan to 15%, matching the stake Nissan has in Renault, and Nissan investing in Renault’s EV business. More: - Nissan has been seeking to lessen Renault’s control over its management.
- Under French law, Nissan has not been able to vote its 15% stake in Renault because the French automaker had a stake in Nissan greater than 40%.
- Under the new agreement, Nissan would be able to vote its 15% stake in Renault.
- The financial terms of Nissan’s investment in Renault’s EV business were not disclosed.
- Executives from both firms have been working for months to reach an agreement on the automakers’ continued partnership.
- Both firms said their goal was to “strengthen the ties of the alliance and maximize value creation for all stakeholders.”
- The boards of both companies still need to approve the deal; a formal announcement is expected on Feb. 6.
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China’s Baidu is working on its AI-powered chatbot like OpenAI’s ChatGPT and plans to incorporate the service into its main search engine in March. The company would be the first to bring the technology to China as ChatGPT is blocked there. In December, Baidu CEO Robin Li said the technology presents new opportunities. More: - Li said turning AI-powered technology into a product everyone needs is the hardest step but also the greatest and most influential.
- According to sources, Baidu plans to limit its chatbot outputs in alignment with China’s censorship rules.
- Google and Microsoft are also working on developing the technology underlying ChatGPT and integrating it into their respective products.
- Microsoft recently announced an up to $10B investment in OpenAI.
- In 2021, Google released a similar technology called LaMDA, and in 2020 Meta Platforms released a chatbot called BlenderBot.
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Ford increased its EV production and cut the price of its electric Mustang Mach-E models by $600 to $5,900. The automaker said it keeps its prices competitive and reduces customer wait times. The move comes weeks after Tesla lowered the price of some of its vehicles. Ford released its Mustang Mach-E in late 2020 to rival Tesla’s Model Y. More: - The Mach-E has a starting price of $46,000, with its fully loaded versions costing over $60,000.
- Earlier this month, Tesla cut the prices of some of its vehicles sold in the U.S. by almost 20%.
- Tesla’s price cut on its baseline Model Y crossover and high-performance Model 3 sedan enables customers to qualify for the $7,500 EV federal tax credit.
- The tax incentive is for U.S.-made EVs priced below $55,000.
- Ford shares were down more than 2% during afternoon trading following news of the price cut.
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Quick Hits - This year, try a resolution that sticks — going to therapy with BetterHelp. Save 25% off your first month.*
- Unilever has appointed Hein Schumacher as its new CEO, effective July 1. Schumacher will succeed Alan Jope, who is set to retire this year.
- The Kansas City Chiefs will face the Philadelphia Eagles in the 2023 Super Bowl. The Chiefs defeated the Cincinnati Bengals 23-20 in the AFC Championship game on Sunday. The Eagles defeated the San Francisco 49ers 31-7.
- Paramount Global is combining its Showtime TV network and its Paramount+ streaming service. A Paramount spokesperson said the pricing of the new combined platform and other details would be announced in the coming weeks.
- The European Commission is planning to relax state-aid rules to support investment in green sectors, including through the creation of tax benefits. The move is in response to the U.S.'s recent $369B Inflation Reduction Act.
- Automation is your finance team's best productivity strategy. See five finance tasks you should be automating today.*
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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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