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| Hello Insiders! Today's business newsletter covers: - 👨⚖️ U.S. judge sends Sam Bankman-Fried to jail over witness tampering, revokes his bail.
- ⚖️ Supreme Court sides with Apple, denies request from Epic Games.
- 📧 Amazon emails employees who aren't showing up at the office, says they should do so three times per week.
Also, tell us how you think businesses can adapt to changing consumer behaviors and preferences here! If you find this newsletter helpful, please share it with your friends and colleagues. Thank you. Arbër
p/Arber | |
| 1 | | A U.S. judge has decided to send Sam Bankman-Fried to jail over witness tampering, choosing to revoke his bail. The FTX founder had paid a $250M bail package which demanded that he reside at his family's house in California. More: - The request to revoke Bankman-Fried's bail was made by federal prosecutors and approved by Judge Lewis Kaplan.
- According to these prosecutors, Bankman-Fried had sent over 100 emails and had made over 1,000 calls during the last few months.
- These calls and emails included lengthy conversations with journalists that lasted over 20 minutes.
- Prosecutors stated that the former FTX CEO flagrantly abused his bail package when he leaked parts of his ex-girlfriend's private diary to the New York Times.
- His ex-girlfriend, Caroline Ellison, pleaded guilty to federal charges in December 2022.
- His $250M bond is considered the largest in history by a federal judge.
- Bankman-Fried is expected to head to jail today.
Zoom Out: - Bankman-Fried rose to fame as the founder and CEO of the cryptocurrency exchange FTX. The exchange went bankrupt over a 10-day period in November 2022, when news broke out that the company was highly leveraged, causing holders of FTT, its native token, to sell their positions.
- Before the company's bankruptcy, he was the 41st richest American, with a net worth that peaked at $26B.
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| 2 | | 
What happened: The U.S. Supreme Court has said that Apple doesn't have to change its monetization rules while it is battling Epic Games in court. The decision upholds a decision made by another court, which blocked any business model changes on Apple's side while the case is ongoing. How it started: Epic, the developer of the popular video game Fortnite, sued Apple to make the company change the way it handles payments to developers that make software for its devices. Epic sued Apple on the pretext that Apple has a monopoly on software distribution through the App Store, where it takes 30% of payments made by users to developers. In 2021, a U.S. court sided with Apple, denying most of the changes Epic had demanded. The same court, however, ordered Apple to allow developers to inform users of alternative payment options outside of Apple. Why it matters: Apple earned $85B in revenue from the App Store in 2021. Its ability to offer apps for consumers and a reach to billions of users for developers is an important part of its ecosystem. | | | |
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| 3 | | Amazon emailed employees who are not returning to the office, saying it expects them to show up at least three times per week. More: - The email was sent to employees who came into the office fewer than three days a week for five or more of the past eight weeks or three or more of the past four weeks.
- Some employees claim that the emails they received were likely a technical mistake, something the company admitted could have happened in individual cases.
- Amazon updated its rules in May 2023, saying that it expects its employees to show up to the office at least three times per week.
- The decision sparked a protest, with employees claiming that morale in the company is at an all-time low.
Zoom Out: - Remote work became common during the COVID-19 lockdowns. After the lockdowns, many companies chose to continue working remotely but later retracted. The decision has resulted in outrage from many employees.
- Facebook, Zoom, Apple, and other major tech companies all have implemented hybrid office work rules, while Tesla has scrapped the idea altogether, telling its employees to show up at the office five days a week.
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| 4 | | UBS has voluntarily ended a $10.3B safety net agreement with the Swiss government in order to accelerate Credit Suisse's integration. The bank acquired Credit Suisse five months ago as the latter declared bankruptcy. More: - The decision means that it will be able to manage UBS and its assets more independently. The company can individually separate assets based on its projections, likely placing the ones it doesn't want in the "Non-Core and Legacy unit."
- After the takeover was announced in March, UBS officials claimed that Credit Suisse's most valuable assets would not be sold, but later declared that the company would take a balanced approach and will evaluate all options.
- UBS' decision to voluntarily give up a $10.3B safety net from the Swiss government means that the bank is confident in its ability to handle the transition process without risking its own financial stability.
- Earlier this year, UBS stated that it will benefit up to $34.8B in windfall profit thanks due to the acquisition.
- Industry experts estimate that UBS will post a record profit of around $58B in its upcoming earnings report.
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| 5 | | FC Barcelona has announced that it is going to list its content unit via a $1B SPAC. The special merger will be done in partnership with Swiss equity fund Mountain Partners. More: - The unit will be listed on the Nasdaq and will be traded under the ticker BRME.
- FC Barcelona, one of the world's most popular sports teams in the world, has struggled financially during the last few years. The team owed over $1B in debt, leading to the resignation of its former club president Josep Bartomeu.
- Barca Media controls the Catalan club's digital media assets, including video content, esports, and social media, which has 421 million followers.
- Barca Media shareholders will own 80% of the company.
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| 6 | | Princeton Equity Group has closed a $575M fund to invest in franchisor and multi-unit companies. More: - The firm stated that the oversubscribed funding round was raised over a five-month period.
- Prince Equity Group has invested in companies such as:
- Five Star Franchising,
- D1,
- IFPG,
- and Pronexis.
- Its portfolio of franchising companies has over 4,800 locations.
- The company is based in New Jersey and Texas.
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| 7 | | Quick Hits: - Wiz surveyed security orgs at hyper-scaling enterprises to uncover how they're adapting in 2023 and beyond. Cloud Security Workflow Handbook.*
- Major retailers such as Macy's, Sephora, and UltaBeauty have driven $14B in revenue for Black-owned businesses since May 2020 by participating in the Fifteen Percent Pledge. The pledge asks that major retailers dedicate 15% of their shelf space to Black-owned businesses.
- Brazilian president Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva has presented a $76B investment plan that aims to create economic growth through infrastructure projects.
- Texas-based company Renewa has raised a $450M funding round led by QIC. Renewa specializes in providing capital for renewable energy project developers.
- The SEC is investigating Illumina's $7.1B acquisition of Grail, a cancer test manufacturing company.
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Term of the Day Bridge financing: Bridge financing rounds are defined as interim financing that a startup raises between two rounds of financing. Question of the Week Do you share details about your salary with your coworkers? Join the conversation |
INSIDE BUSINESS LEADERBOARD (7 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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