Category Archives: Business

Business

Warren Buffett surprised shareholders by announcing his plans to retire at the year’s end

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The esteemed investor stunned an audience packed with shareholders on Saturday when he expressed his wish to step down by the end of the year.

Buffett stated he would suggest to Berkshire Hathaway’s board that Greg Abel should assume the role of CEO by year-end.

“I believe the moment has come for Greg to take on the position of Chief Executive Officer of the company at the end of the year,” Buffett remarked.

For years, Abel has been Buffett’s chosen successor and currently oversees Berkshire’s non-insurance operations. However, it was traditionally believed he would not take charge until after Buffett’s passing. Previously, the 94-year-old Buffett had consistently claimed he had no intention of retiring.

Warren Buffett revealed some information

Buffett revealed this information at the conclusion of a five-hour session of questions and answers and did not entertain any inquiries regarding the announcement. He mentioned that the only board members aware of this announcement were his two children, Howard and Susie Buffett. Abel, sitting beside Buffett on the stage, was caught off guard.

Many investors believe that Abel will effectively lead Berkshire, but it remains uncertain how adept he will be at managing the company’s investments. On Saturday, Buffett publicly supported him by confirming that he would continue to have his wealth invested in the firm.

Business

Zelle is experiencing issues for some banking customers

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Breaking Rumors – Certain bank customers are facing difficulties with Zelle, which the well-known peer-to-peer payment service attributed to a complication with another company.

DownDetector, a platform that allows users to monitor outages, has noted an increased number of customers reporting payment issues starting Friday morning.

Zelle users are facing issues

“We are aware that some Zelle users at various financial institutions are currently unable to access Zelle,” Zelle stated. “We are actively collaborating with our partners to address this issue as quickly as possible. In the meantime, Zelle users may notice transactions labeled as ‘payment pending.’”

Reports of outages on DownDetector began to decrease after reaching a peak late Friday morning.

Zelle did not specify which banks are affected. However, users from Truist and Navy Federal Credit Union reported problems on DownDetector.

A Truist user mentioned on DownDetector that their rent payment has been in a pending status since Thursday evening.

“I feel like my money is just hanging in limbo, and no one is assisting or taking responsibility!” the user expressed.

A representative from Bank of America, Matthew Card, confirmed that some customers are “facing delays in sending and receiving specific payments.”

“This issue is vendor-related and is impacting multiple banks. We are working with the vendor to restore service as quickly as possible,” said the BofA representative.

Americans utilize Zelle to quickly transfer billions of dollars to one another each day.

Zelle is owned by Early Warning Services (EWS), which is jointly owned by major banks including JPMorgan Chase, Bank of America, and Wells Fargo.

Business

Kohl’s stock has risen nearly 10% following the dismissal of CEO Ashley Buchanan due to unethical conduct

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The company stated that Buchanan’s firing was ‘not connected to the performance of the business,’ which has suffered from reduced sales.

Kohl’s stock performance

Shares of Kohl’s Corporation (NYSE: KSS) increased by almost 10% on Thursday after the board terminated CEO Ashley Buchanan just four months into his tenure. Michael Bender, the board chair, has been appointed as the interim chief executive officer, effective immediately.

Buchanan’s dismissal followed an investigation by the Kohl’s board, which discovered that he breached the company’s code of conduct twice and was involved in undisclosed conflicts of interest due to a personal relationship with a vendor, as reported by The Wall Street Journal.

“Kohl’s stated that Buchanan’s termination is not related to the company’s performance, financial reporting, or operational results and did not involve any other company personnel.”

According to USA Today, the former CEO had a total compensation package exceeding $20 million.

On Thursday, Bender and other executives held a company-wide meeting to communicate the leadership changes and to reassure employees, as reported by the WSJ. Bender now becomes the fourth CEO to lead the struggling retailer in just three years, which continues to experience a downturn in sales.

Along with the leadership announcement on Thursday, Kohl’s also shared preliminary predictions for its first-quarter financial results, estimating that sales would likely decline by approximately 4%. The company will disclose these earnings at the end of this month on May 29 at 9 a.m.

Similar to many retailers, Kohl’s has been facing challenges with falling sales and reduced foot traffic due to consumers cutting back on spending in light of rising living costs and preferring online shopping over in-store visits.

Business

Starbucks reported earnings that fell short of expectations, but the coffee chain claims to be experiencing ‘momentum’ in its turnaround efforts

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The starbucks coffee giant disclosed weaker-than-anticipated earnings on Tuesday, along with another decline in same-store sales; however, it stated that its turnaround plan is beginning to show early positive results.

“Our financial outcomes do not yet reflect our advancements, but we are genuinely gaining momentum with our ‘Back to Starbucks’ initiative,” CEO Brian Niccol mentioned in a video shared on the company’s website. “We’re experimenting and learning quickly, and we’re observing changes in our coffeehouses.”

The company’s stock slipped 2% during after-hours trading.

Here’s the information the company provided compared to Wall Street’s expectations.

Starbucks share: according to a survey of analysts by LSEG

Earnings per share: 41 cents adjusted versus the anticipated 49 cents
Revenue: $8.76 billion compared to the expected $8.82 billion

Starbucks reported a net income of $384.2 million for the fiscal second quarter, or 34 cents per share, a decrease from $772.4 million, or 68 cents per share, a year ago.

When excluding restructuring expenses, the company made 41 cents per share.

Net sales increased by 2% to reach $8.76 billion.

For the fifth consecutive quarter, Starbucks experienced a decline in same-store sales. The company has seen a drop in sales as consumers in both the U.S. and China, its largest markets, look for more affordable coffee alternatives.

Since taking over in September, Niccol has been working to revive the U.S. business by focusing on getting “back to Starbucks” and enhancing the coffee and customer experience. In October, the company withdrew its forecast for fiscal 2025 as it revealed the initial phases of its turnaround plan.

The global same-store sales dipped 1% in the second quarter, driven by a 2% decrease in transactions. The decline in traffic was even more pronounced in Starbucks’ primary market.

In the U.S., transactions fell by 4%, which contributed to a 2% drop in same-store sales. In China, same-store sales remained unchanged for the quarter, as a lower average transaction value offset growth in the number of transactions.

Business

Newark Liberty International Airport experienced delays on Monday afternoon due to equipment problems

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Delays occurred at Newark Airport on Monday afternoon because of equipment malfunctions.

The Federal Aviation Administration indicated that arrival flights faced delays of 30 minutes, while departures were delayed by two hours.

Footage shows multiple planes waiting on the tarmac for takeoff.

Newark Airport Delays

Travelers are encouraged to verify how these delays could affect their flight schedules.

Although the technical issues have been resolved, some delays remained, with FAA officials attributing ongoing problems to staffing shortages in Philadelphia.

“The FAA is coordinating slower arrivals and departures at Newark Liberty International Airport following telecommunications and equipment problems at the Philadelphia TRACON, which manages aircraft movements to and from EWR. Both issues have been fixed, but staffing challenges at Philadelphia TRACON are still a concern,” the FAA stated.

Business

Alphabet has released its earnings report – here are the details

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Alphabet, which is the parent company of Google and YouTube, disclosed its earnings for the first quarter on Thursday after the market closed.

Here’s how the company performed compared to the projections from analysts surveyed by LSEG:

Revenue: $90.23 billion versus $89.12 billion, as estimated
Earnings per share: $2.81 versus $2.01, as estimated.

Investors are also paying attention to several other figures in the Alphabet report:

  • YouTube advertising revenue: $8.97 billion, according to StreetAccount
  • Google Cloud revenue: $12.27 billion, according to StreetAccount
  • Traffic acquisition costs (TAC): $13.66 billion, according to StreetAccount.
Business

Tesla falls short on revenue consensus, missing Q1 EPS

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After the market closed on Tuesday, Tesla (TSLA) announced first-quarter adjusted earnings per share (EPS) of $0.27, which was below Wall Street’s consensus estimate of $0.41.

The revenue of $19.34 billion also missed expectations by $2.07 billion and represented a 9.2% decline year over year.

In the initial minutes of after-hours trading, TSLA shares dipped 1% but later saw a slight uptick of less than 1%.

Management attributed the drop in vehicle deliveries for the quarter, which had already been disclosed, to the updates made to the Model Y across all four production facilities. Furthermore, management indicated that a decrease in the average selling price was due to necessary sales incentives.

Tesla Business

Tesla reported delivering 336,681 vehicles in Q1 2025, a decrease from 386,810 a year prior and a significant drop from 495,570 in Q4 2024. Overall, total deliveries fell by 13%, and total production saw a 16% decline.

Total automotive revenue plummeted by 20% year over year to just under $14 billion this quarter. Meanwhile, revenue from energy generation and storage experienced a 67% year-over-year increase to $2.7 billion, while Services & Other brought in $2.6 billion, marking a 15% year-over-year rise.

Ahead of the earnings announcement, Jeff Kilburg, the founder and CEO of KKM Financial, stated on CNBC that the recent fluctuations in TSLA stock were more related to political factors than the company’s operational performance. Kilburg referred to Tesla as the “purest AI play” and downplayed the recent challenges in vehicle deliveries.

Business

TCS experienced a 1.7% decline in profit for Q4, yet FY25 revenue has surpassed the $30 billion threshold

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The company reported revenue of ₹64,479 crore, reflecting a 0.8% increase compared to ₹63,973 crore in the December quarter. A CNBC-TV18 forecast had anticipated a revenue growth in rupee terms of 1.2%, reaching ₹64,741 crore.

In U.S. Dollar terms, the IT giant achieved revenue of $7,465 million, slightly falling short of the CNBC-TV18 projection of $7,481.5 million.

For FY25, TCS’ constant currency growth was reported at 4.2%, exceeding estimates that ranged between 3.8% and 4%.

The net profit for the quarter amounted to ₹12,224 crore, while a CNBC-TV18 poll had estimated this figure to be ₹12,546 crore.

For the fourth quarter, TCS noted EBIT of ₹15,601 crore, which was below the expected ₹16,034 crore. The EBIT margin was recorded at 24.2%, compared to the expected 24.8% as per the CNBC-TV18 poll.

During the quarter, TCS secured deals totaling $12.2 billion, which is an increase from the $10.2 billion in the December quarter.

  • The BFSI sector grew by 2.5%, up from a 0.9% growth in Q3.
  • The communications sector saw a decline of 9.8%.
  • The consumer services sector experienced a slight decrease of 0.2%.
  • The manufacturing sector fell by 2.9%, contrasting with a 0.4% growth in Q3 and a 9.7% increase from the same quarter last year.
  • Life sciences and healthcare dropped by 5.6% compared to a 4.3% decline in Q3.
  • Regional businesses grew by 22.5%.
  • The tech and services sectors grew by 1.1%.

TCS Offer Dividend

Additionally, TCS declared a final dividend of ₹30 per equity share for FY25. The total dividend for the previous financial year amounted to ₹126.

The dividend will be disbursed five days after the company’s Annual General Meeting, pending shareholder approval. The date for the AGM has yet to be determined.

On Wednesday, TCS shares closed down 1.64% at ₹3,239, marking a 21% decline year-to-date.

Business

Apple’s stock price surged on Wednesday as the market reacted to the latest tariff developments, which can be somewhat perplexing

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President Donald Trump announced that he would implement a 90-day pause on tariffs for most countries with rates over 10%, effective immediately.

However, Apple’s increase in stock value was somewhat confusing; Trump also stated that the tariff rate on China would rise to 125%, intensifying the trade conflict between the two largest economies globally.

As Apple primarily manufactures its iPhones in China through its partner Foxconn, these elevated tariffs could result in higher prices for products like iPhones and MacBooks than previously anticipated.

Apple’s Stock Performance

On Wednesday afternoon, the S&P 500 climbed by 8.2%, while the tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite soared by 9.7%, aiming for its most significant gain since October 13, 2008, according to Dow Jones Market Data.

Apple’s stock shot up by 12% to $193.59, positioning itself for its most considerable percentage gain since November 24, 2008.

Wedbush analyst Dan Ives commented, “This was a much-needed relief for tech stocks, helping pull the market and these stocks back from the brink, yet China still poses the most significant risk factor for Apple and the wider supply chain.”

Trump is encouraging companies to relocate their manufacturing to the United States, using tariffs as a strategy to expedite this shift.

He wrote on Truth Social on Wednesday morning, “This is a GREAT time to move your COMPANY into the United States of America, as Apple and many others are doing in record numbers.”

Nevertheless, it seems improbable that Apple would undergo a complete transformation in its manufacturing process.

BofA Securities analyst Wamsi Mohan noted on Wednesday morning, “Even though Apple could locate labor for iPhone assembly in the U.S., a substantial part of the sub-assemblies would still need to be produced in other countries, assembled in China, and then imported to the U.S.”

He also pointed out that while relocating final assembly to the U.S. might be feasible, transforming the entire iPhone supply chain would be a far more complex challenge that could take several years, if it’s even achievable.

Business

The recent surge in the VIX could indicate a bullish trend for the stock market

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Wall Street’s measure of fear might not be as alarming if one focuses on long-term investments.

According to Charlie Bilello, the chief markets strategist at Creative Planning, the CBOE Volatility Index (^VIX) experienced its largest three-day surge of the year recently. On April 7, the VIX hit its highest point in 2025 at 46.98 as international markets responded to worries over Trump’s tariffs.

Market Performance of VIX

From April 4 to April 7, the VIX surged by 118%, making it the fifth-largest increase recorded since 2014, based on Bilello’s analysis.

Interestingly, although traders frequently utilize the VIX as a short-term indicator of market fear, historically, its extreme levels have suggested a bullish outlook for stocks over the long term.

After analyzing VIX spikes over the last decade, which ranged from 63% to 176%, Bilello found that the average one-year return for the S&P 500 (^GSPC) amounted to around 4.4%. Furthermore, five years following the VIX increase, the S&P 500 has shown an average return of 10.2%.

“Bilello mentioned on X that ‘high volatility and fear present a chance,’ seeking to explain the beneficial aspects associated with a measure frequently seen as bearish.”

Currently, the VIX is at 40. In line with Bilello’s findings, buyers have started to surface in the currently depressed stock market.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average (^DJI) surged by 3.4%, gaining over 1,300 points at the opening, as traders seized on reports that the Trump administration has begun trade talks with Japan and other nations. Notable rises are also happening in the S&P 500 (^GSPC) and the Nasdaq Composite (^IXIC).

This development is interpreted as an indication that Trump’s widespread tariffs, which are expected to be implemented on Wednesday, will serve as a negotiating strategy.