Business and Finance News - 6.20.24

California Fines Amazon $6M for 59,017 Warehouse Quota Violations; Amazon Appeals Amid Nationwide Regulation Trends

• California fined Amazon (AMZN) nearly $6 million for violating the state's Warehouse Quotas law.

• Investigations found 59,017 violations at Amazon warehouses in Moreno Valley and Redlands.

• The Warehouse Quotas law requires employers to disclose quotas and related disciplinary actions.

• Amazon failed to provide written notice of quotas, according to the Labor Commissioner’s office.

• Amazon uses a "peer-to-peer evaluation system," which the law aims to prevent.

• States like New York, Washington, and Minnesota have passed similar warehouse quota regulations.

• Amazon disputes the allegations and has filed an appeal against the fine.

*Amazon is a multinational technology and e-commerce company based in the United States, known for its vast online retail platform, cloud computing services through Amazon Web Services (AWS), digital streaming services, and artificial intelligence innovations.

U.K. Inflation Hits 2.0% Target in May Amid Falling Food Prices; Potential Rate Cut by Bank of England This Summer

• U.K. inflation fell to 2.0% in May, matching the Bank of England's target.

• The headline reading declined from 2.3% in April.

• This data is crucial ahead of national elections in July.

• Core inflation dipped to 3.5% from 3.9% in April.

• Services inflation was at 5.7% in May, down from 5.9%.

• Falling food prices were the largest contributor to the decline.

• The Bank of England may cut interest rates over the summer.

*The Bank of England is the central bank of the United Kingdom and plays a crucial role in the country's financial system.

Meta Restructures Reality Labs into Metaverse and Wearables Groups, Resulting in Leadership Layoffs and New Heads

• Meta (META) announced a major restructuring of its hardware division, Reality Labs.

• The restructuring consolidates Reality Labs into Metaverse and Wearables groups.

• The Metaverse group includes Quest headsets, Horizon, and related technologies.

• The Wearables group focuses on Meta's hardware, including Ray-Ban smart glasses.

• Layoffs resulted from the restructuring, primarily affecting redundant leadership roles.

• Meta CTO Andrew Bosworth emphasized a commitment to AR and the Metaverse.

• Alex Himel and Vishal Shah now head the Wearables and Metaverse groups, respectively.

*Meta, formerly known as Facebook Inc., is a multinational technology conglomerate that operates a variety of social media platforms and technology products.

Nvidia Surpasses Microsoft as World's Most Valuable Public Company with $3.34 Trillion Market Cap

• Nvidia (NVDA) surpassed Microsoft to become the world's most valuable public company.

• Nvidia's market cap hit $3.34 trillion, overtaking Microsoft's $3.32 trillion.

• Nvidia shares rose 3.6% on Tuesday, up over 170% this year.

• Nvidia has about 80% of the AI chip market used in data centers.

• Revenue in Nvidia’s data center business rose 427% to $22.6 billion.

• Nvidia announced a 10-for-1 stock split, effective June 7.

• CEO Jensen Huang’s net worth increased to $117 billion.

*Nvidia Corporation is a leading technology company specializing in designing and manufacturing graphics processing units (GPUs) and related technologies for gaming, professional visualization, data centers, and automotive markets.

Toyota Chairman Akio Toyoda Faces Lowest Shareholder Support Amid Governance Concerns and Certification Violations

• Toyota shareholder backing for Toyota Chairman Akio Toyoda fell to 72% amid governance concerns.

• This marks the lowest support for Toyoda since Toyota began disclosing vote breakdowns in 2010.

• Proxy advisers ISS and Glass Lewis recommended voting against Toyoda’s re-election.

• Concerns include certification testing violations and board independence.

• Foreign investors, including U.S. public pension CalPERS, voted against Toyoda.

• Toyota plans to enhance board independence and redefine criteria for assessing independence.

• Toyota shares fell 9% after new certification testing violations were revealed in June.

*Toyota Motor Corporation is a multinational automotive manufacturer headquartered in Toyota City, Japan. It is one of the largest automakers in the world.

Here’s how the markets closed on Tuesday (markets were closed yesterday):

• Dow Jones: 38,834.86 +56.76 (+0.15%)

• S&P 500: 5,487.03 +13.80 (+0.25%)

• Nasdaq: 17,862.23 +5.21 (+0.03%)

• Bitcoin (BTC): $64,908.33 (4:20PM PST on 6/19/24)

• Ethereum (ETH): $3,566.15 (4:20PM PST on 6/19/24)

Here’s how the THE SUPER SIX STOCKS did on Tuesday (markets were closed yesterday):

• Nvidia (3.341T): 135.58 +4.60 (+3.51%)

• Microsoft (3.317T): 446.34 -2.03 (-0.45%)

• Apple (3.286T): 214.29 -2.38 (-1.10%)

• Alphabet (2.181T): 176.45 -2.33 (-1.30%)

• Amazon (1.902T): 182.81 -1.25 (-0.68%)

• Meta Platforms (1.267T): 499.49 -7.14 (-1.41%)