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| Hello Insiders! Today's business newsletter covers: - ⚖️ Grayscale wins lawsuit against the SEC.
- 📈 Best Buy beats Wall Street's sales estimates.
- 🚗 Chinese EV maker NIO reports wider-than-expected Q2 revenue loss.
If you find this newsletter useful, please share it with your friends and colleagues. Thank you. Arbër
p/Arber | |
| 1 | | Grayscale has won its lawsuit against the SEC, opening the way for the creation of the first Bitcoin ETF. The company filed the lawsuit in 2022 after being denied of converting its trust into an ETF. More: - Grayscale filed to make its Bitcoin Trust, known as GBTC, an ETF back in October 2021. After multiple delays, the SEC rejected the application last summer, citing the failure by Grayscale to answer questions related to concerns about market manipulation and investor protections as one of the main reasons.
- The decision caused controversy among cryptocurrency entrepreneurs in the U.S., who stated that the regulator was pushing U.S. companies out of the market and was leaving a vacuum that could be filled by other countries.
- Following the rejection, Grayscale filed for a lawsuit, saying that the denial was not based on previous decisions by regulators that had greenlit other bitcoin ETFs that were based on futures markets and those that allow investors to short the crypto market.
- The District of Columbia Court of Appeals made the verdict.
Question: Do you think cryptocurrencies like Bitcoin will rise to record highs if a Bitcoin ETF is approved? Tell us here. |     | |
| 2 | | 
What happened: Best Buy has reported better-than-expected quarterly sales results, beating Wall Street estimates. The company, which had $9.58B in revenue, is seeing growth in its sales after suffering a multi-billion drop during the COVID-19 pandemic. More details: Best Buy's $9.58B in revenue beat the $9.52B Wall Street estimate. Following the report, the company's share price surged more than 5% in early trading Tuesday to nearly $80. Net sales in the quarter dropped from $10.3B YoY. Compared to the $306M in the previous year, Best Buy's net income fell to $274M. Why it matters: Retail stores faced a steep decline in sales during the COVID-19 lockdown. Weaker consumer spending and inflation continued to hurt retailers' sales. Best Buy's recovery could signal an increase in consumer spending for the retail sector. | | | |
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| 3 | | Chinese EV maker Nio has reported a wider-than-expected Q2 loss of $831M. The company's net loss represents a 100% YoY increase. More: - While company officials had previously stated that it would double its sales in 2023 to 250,000 vehicles, Nio delivered only 54,561 cars in H1 2023.
- The company also missed its annual target last year, being forced to delay investments in fixed assets, postpone research and development plans, and be more cautious about its overseas expansion.
- While it missed revenue estimates, Nio delivered a record 20,462 units last month after the company cut prices, joining the price war started by other EV makers.
- The company said it plans to deliver 55,000 to 57,000 vehicles in Q3 2023, which would generate revenue of between $2.5B and $2.6B.
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| 4 | | Toyota has suspended production in 14 assembly plants in Japan due to a glitch. The plants represent around one-third of Toyota's global production. More: - Toyota will resume operations at 25 production lines of a dozen plants in its home market from Wednesday morning and add the final two plants in the afternoon, it said.
- The company continues to investigate the cause of the glitch, which it said was not due to a cyberattack and prevented it from ordering components.
- Last year, Toyota had to stop production due to a cyberattack, forcing the company to activate its backup network.
- Toyota's innovative method of inventory management is known for keeping costs down but leaves space for supply chain missteps due to its by-the-minute approach.
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| 5 | | General Motors is working with Google to find ways to implement AI technology in its vehicles. The two companies have previously collaborated on similar initiatives. More: - The two companies are seeking to create a partnership around generative or conversational AI.
- The partnership would be based on the previous collaboration between the companies, which led to the launch of GM's OnStar Interactive Virtual Assistant.
- The IVA system is powered by "intent-recognition algorithms" that use Google Cloud's conversational AI technologies, providing OnStar users with responses to common inquiries, as well as routing and navigation assistance, GM said Tuesday.
- GM has previously explored creating AI tools with ChatGPT through its Microsoft partnership.
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| 6 | | Alternative funding company Lighter Capital has raised $130M in debt to provide non-dilutive capital to startups. The firm has provided hundreds of millions of dollars in funding since its inception in 2010. More: - Lighter Capital is a revenue-based financing lender that provides financial capital to small technology companies.
- The company was one of the first to offer this kind of service.
- Lighter Capital invests in companies that:
- Are based in the U.S., Canada, or Australia.
- Have at least $200,000 in ARR,
- Operate in Software, SaaS, and tech services.
- Some of the startups that have partnered with the company include:
- List Reports,
- Kevel,
- Adzerk,
- ThinQ,
- Qorus, etc.
- The firm is based in Seattle, Washington.
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- San Francisco-based Apollo.io has raised a $100M Series D funding round. The round, led by led by Capital Ventures, values the company at $1.6B. Sequoia Capital, Tribe Capital, and Nexus Venture Partners also participated.
- The Biden administration has unveiled 10 prescription drugs that will be subject to price negotiations between manufacturers and Medicare.
- Apple is reportedly set to announce the iPhone 15 on Sept. 12.
- WhatsApp Messenger has announced that it has launched its native app for MacOS.
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Term of the Day White-collar crime: A white-collar crime is committed by someone of a higher social or economic status in the course of their occupation, motivated by financial gain. Question of the Week Do you share details about your salary with your coworkers? Join the conversation |
INSIDE BUSINESS LEADERBOARD (30 DAYS) |
 | Writer | | Arbër is an Inside writer who also has experience in entrepreneurship. He has experience covering Consumer Tech, Venture Capital, NFTs, Crypto, etc. Arbër holds a Bachelor's degree in Business from XAMK University in Finland. When he is not reading(and writing) business news, he chooses to watch sports or anime...and then read news about sports or anime. | | This newsletter was edited by Aaron Crutchfield | |
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