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| Hello Insiders! Today's business newsletter covers: - 🚗 Tesla adds cheaper Model S and Model X variants.
- 📺 Cable falls under 50% of TV viewership for the first time.
- 🎥 Disney accused of withholding profit from the company that financed Avatar: The Way of Water.
Also, tell us how you think businesses can adapt to changing consumer behaviors and preferences here! If you find this newsletter useful, please share it with your friends and colleagues. Thank you. Arbër
p/Arber | |
| 1 | | Tesla has added cheaper and lower-range base versions of its Model S and Model X. The new models cost $10,000 less than previous versions. More: - The Standard Range Model S now starts at $78,490 and has 320 miles of range, while the Standard Range Model X starts at $88,490 and has a 269-mile range.
- The Model S and X made up only 3.4% of Tesla's H1 deliveries but are considered important for its profit margins.
- The starting price of the Model S has now dropped by $26,500 since the beginning of 2023, while the Model X has come down by $32,500.
Zoom Out: - On Monday, the company slashed Model Y's price in China by $1,900.
- In 2022, CEO Elon Musk stated that Tesla's vehicles were priced too high and that the company would work to bring those prices down. Since then, the company has slashed prices aggressively, using the fact that it has higher profit margins than other EV manufacturing companies to pressure them into doing the same.
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What happened: Cable and broadcast combined have fallen to less than 50% of all TV viewing for the first time ever. The decline comes as streaming has hit an all-time high. This report matches the trend of recent years, as U.S. adults are consistently less inclined to subscribe to cable TV. More details: Broadcast fell to 20% of all viewing in July, while cable channels pulled in 29.6%. Streaming services such as YouTube, Netflix, and Hulu led the way, with 38.7%. The rest of the viewership gap was filled by gaming and other channels. Why it matters: While the summer is considered a worse period for cable, considering that the NFL and NBA are in the off-season, the data confirms that streaming services currently have all the momentum in the entertainment industry. | | | |
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| 3 | | TSG Entertainment, a financing partner of "Avatar: The Way of Water," is accusing Disney of withholding hundreds of millions of dollars in profit. The company claims to have invested $3.3B in Disney's projects since 2012. More: - TSG helps fund the production and marketing of films in exchange for a share of the box-office earnings.
- The company claims to have co-financed around 140 films produced by 20th Century Fox, which Disney acquired in 2019.
- TSG's filed lawsuit alleges that Disney and 20th Century Fox have not only withheld profits but also made suspicious business deals regarding streaming platform numbers and its stock price.
- These deals depleted TSG of cash, it claimed, making it difficult for the company to invest in other projects.
- TSG claims that after requesting an audit, it found major irregularities and has missed out on at least $40M of profits generated.
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| 4 | | Berkshire Hathaway has disclosed its $814M investment in three U.S. homebuilding companies. Berkshire also slashed its positions in Activision Blizzard, Chevron, and General Motors. More: - Berkshire disclosed it had purchased 6 million shares of DR Horton, worth about $726M, 152,572 shares of Lennar, and 11,112 shares of NVR.
- The purchase of DR Horton shares makes Berkshire one of the company's 10 largest shareholders, with about 1.8% of the total stock.
- The investments mark a continuation of Berkshire's exposure to the housing sector, as the Warren Buffett-led company has several housing-related businesses in its portfolio.
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| 5 | | Rising mortgage rates (at their highest level in 2023) and high inflation are making home affordability a challenge, with the Federal Reserve's next move in question. The benchmark 10-year Treasury yield hit its highest level since November (closing above 4.23%) as traders continue to bet that the Federal Reserve will hike rates further. More: - This is a follow-up to the story we published in our July 20, 2023, issue.
- The yield on the 10-year note rose to 3.2% from 3.1% on Friday.
- The Fed aims to bring inflation down to its 2% target, but it is unclear how long it will take to get 40-year-high inflation under control.
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| 6 | | Ireland-based TechMet has closed a $200M funding round to invest in critical global minerals. The company is set to reach a $1B valuation in the upcoming months. More: - TechMet is an investment company that invests across the critical minerals value chain, starting from mining and up to battery component manufacturing.
- Some of its portfolio companies include:
- Brazilian Nickel,
- US Vanadium,
- Rainbow Rare Earths,
- TechMet-Mercuria, REEtec,
- Xerion Advanced Battery Corp, etc.
- Since being founded in 2017, the company has raised around $321M.
- Mercuria Energy, one of the world's largest energy trading companies, is a major shareholder in the company.
- The company is based in Dublin, Ireland, and also has an office in London.
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- Mexico City-based fintech company Klar has raised a $100M debt round from Victory Park Capital. The company is believed to be Mexico's largest digital banking company.
- Norway's $1.4T Wealth Fund has posted 10% returns, boosted mainly by the surge in tech stocks.
- Retail sales in July grew by 0.7%, according to a new report.
- Hedge funds are selling their shares in Chinese companies as most Wall Street analysts predict the country will go through economic turmoil in the near term.
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Term of the Day Common area maintenance (CAM): CAM includes the fees tenants must pay to cover the expenses associated with the maintenance and operation of the common areas. 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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