Business
Elon Musk Wins Tesla Shareholder Lawsuit Over 2015 Tweet
Elon Musk has defeated a shareholder lawsuit alleging tweets claiming he had the “funding secured” to take Tesla private cost investors billions of dollars in losses.
The verdict was delivered on Friday in San Francisco federal court after a three-week trial, in a victory for the billionaire chief executive of the electric-vehicle maker. The nine-person jury took just under two hours to reach its decision, which was unanimous.
“The jury got it right,” Alex Spiro, a lawyer for Musk, said after the verdict.
Representing “thousands” of Tesla investors in the class action suit, lead attorney Nicholas Porritt had framed the case as an important test of rules and regulations for financial markets and society more broadly during closing arguments earlier on Friday in federal court.
“Rules that apply to everyone else should apply to Elon Musk,” Porritt said. “Elon Musk published false tweets, with reckless disregard to the truth, and those tweets caused investors harm. Lots of harm.”
He concluded: “All of corporate America is watching.”
Musk, who had taken the stand as a witness in the case, was in court during closing arguments. The case centered on his August 7, 2015, tweet declaring he was considering taking Tesla private at $420 a share and had funding secured to do so. It spun the shares, with Nasdaq temporarily halting trading in the electric vehicle company due to volatility.
During the trial, and again during the plaintiff’s closing argument on Friday, jurors were shown a chart detailing the leap in Tesla’s share price in the immediate aftermath of the contentious tweets. The stock jumped to $379.57 on the day of Musk’s tweet and later fell to $305.50 when it became clear the go-private move would not happen.
Elon Musk’s Tweet
While Musk had held discussions with Saudi Arabian investors to take the company private, no deal ever materialized. But Spiro said Musk had not misrepresented having funding and that raising the money needed was “not an issue”, since Musk’s shares in his company SpaceX could have been used to cover any shortfall.
Although Musk was serious about taking Tesla private and could have tapped enough funding to do so, the company did not go private because “shareholders wanted to stay public”, Spiro told the jury.
“That was his motive — to do what was right for the shareholders,” Spiro continued. “This was always for the shareholders.”
He added: “Ultimately, whatever you think of him, this isn’t the ‘bad tweeter’ trial. This is the ‘did this man commit fraud’ trial.”
Earlier in the trial, Spiro said the “funding secured” tweets were a “split-second decision” from Musk in response to an article the Financial Times was preparing to publish about Saudi Arabia’s Public Investment Fund building a $2bn stake in Tesla. Musk said he was concerned news of the go-private talks would leak.
Tesla Stock
The court has instructed jurors that it is to be assumed that Musk’s tweets were false. At issue was whether the actions caused material harm by misrepresenting the company’s position in a manner that might prompt a “reasonable investor” to buy or sell Tesla stock.
“When Elon tweets about Tesla, people listen,” Porritt said.
Jurors heard earlier in the trial from Glen Littleton, the lead plaintiff, that he interpreted the tweet to mean Tesla’s going private was “completely definite in my mind”.
Another investor, Tim Fries, bought Tesla stock at $380, believing the company would go private at $420, as Musk had suggested in his tweet. “I lost money,” Fries told the jury, saying Musk’s tweet “gave me the confidence” that his investment was sound.
Harvard Law School professor Guhan Subramanian, testifying on behalf of plaintiffs, described Musk’s handling of the matter as “incoherent” and an “extreme outlier” in corporate dealmaking.
The “funding secured” tweet has already proven costly for Musk. He and Tesla each paid $20mn to settle legal action from the Securities and Exchange Commission. Musk also had to resign as the carmaker’s chair, although he kept his position as chief executive.
Business
Deal With Mexican Retailer, Nordstrom’s Founding Family Takes Nordstrom Private.
(VOR News) – The company made the news on Monday that it would transition into a private Nordstrom corporation after the conclusion of a buyout agreement with El Puerto de Liverpool, a Mexican department store, and the founding family of Nordstrom.
The arrangement was reached when the company acquired El Puerto de Liverpool. It is projected that the transaction will end up valued at around $6.25 billion.
The company’s board of directors came to a resolution that was unanimous in order to give their approval to the deal, which is expected to be completed in the first half of the year 2025.
The Nordstrom family would control the corporation under the agreement.
Which will equate to 50.1% of the business, while Liverpool will hold 49.9% of the company. In accordance with a press announcement, common stockholders would receive a cash payment of $24.25 for each share of Nordstrom common stock that they now hold in their possession.
According to a news release, Nordstrom’s Chief Executive Officer Erik Nordstrom remarked that the company has been working on the fundamental principle of assisting customers in feeling well and looking their best for more than a century.
This idea has been the driving force behind the company’s operations. The company is about to embark on an exciting new phase, and today marks the beginning of that chapter.
We, the members of my family, are looking forward to working together with our coworkers to make certain that Nordstrom will continue to be successful well into the foreseeable future.
Over the course of its history, the retail establishment has made repeated attempts to transition into a private operation. 2018 was the year that a previous attempt was unsuccessful at materializing.
In September, the Nordstrom family made an offer to purchase the company at a price of $23 per share, which resulted in the company being valued at around $3.76 billion. The offer was accepted by the company.
Over the course of the early trading session, the stock of Nordstrom witnessed a decrease of nearly one percent. As a result of a report that was published by Reuters in March, which said that the family intended to take the company private, the shares of the company have undergone a large boost.
November revenues beat Wall Street forecasts for Nordstrom’s fiscal third quarter.
This was due to the fact that the company’s revenue climbed approximately 4% year-over-year. However, the company claimed that it anticipated a dismal holiday season, which resulted in a little more optimistic prediction for the full year’s revenues. This was the case since the corporation anticipated that the holiday season would be weak.
Customers continue to be picky when it comes to purchasing things that are desires rather than needs, and they have paid greater attention to pricing, according to the majority of merchants, including Walmart, Best Buy, and Target.
These businesses have also said that customers have become more price conscious. This has led to an increase in the amount of pressure that is being placed on luxury clothing businesses.
Nordstrom, a department store, was initially founded in 1901 as a shoe business but later expanded into other areas. Since then, it has developed into a department store that provides customers with a diverse range of clothing and accessories at more than 350 sites around the United States. These locations include Nordstrom Rack, Nordstrom Local, and Nordstrom.
El Puerto de Liverpool is responsible for the management of two further department store chains under the names Liverpool and Suburbia. In addition, El Puerto de Liverpool is home to 29 shopping centers that are dispersed across the entirety of Mexico
SOURCE: CNBC
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Business
Sonic the Hedgehog Dominates Christmas Wish Lists
Sonic the Hedgehog is dominating Christmas wish lists this year. The lovable blue hedgehog is back in the spotlight, from sonic the hedgehog toys and games to sonic the hedgehog coloring pages and movie hype.
Sonic-themed holiday merchandise is on fire, from quirky sweaters to action figures flying off shelves. Sonic the Hedgehog Christmas outfits for kids are selling out fast, making them a go-to gift option for festive fun.
Retailers have been quick to recognize Sonic’s holiday appeal. Special promotions and exclusive items, like the Sonic holiday t-shirts, are everywhere.
Everyone’s stocking up on Sonic merchandise, from big-box stores to boutique retailers.
Online shopping platforms are seeing a surge in searches for Sonic items. Whether it’s Sonic Christmas-themed tops or Sonic the Hedgehog coloring pages, Sonic the Hedgehog toys or Sonic and the Hedgehog 3, the demand is skyrocketing.
Retailers who tap into this trend are sure to see strong holiday sales.
Sonic has been around since the early 90s, but his popularity never wanes. With the release of Sonic 3, fans are more excited than ever.
Sonic the Hedgehog 4
Meanwhile, Paramount Pictures is preparing “Sonic the Hedgehog 4,” with the newest addition in the family-friendly genre set for a spring 2027 release.
The announcement comes as “Sonic 3” opens in theatres on Friday, estimated to gross $55 million to $60 million from 3,800 North American locations.
The sequel is shaping up to be a good holiday season blockbuster for Paramount, which explains the desire in future “Sonic” adventures. On the international front, the film will be released on Christmas Day in 52 markets.
On Rotten Tomatoes, critics gave “Sonic 3” an outstanding 87% fresh score.
The first two films grossed a total of $725.2 million at the global box office and generated over $180 million in global consumer expenditure through home entertainment rentals and digital purchases.
They also inspired a spinoff Paramount+ series, “Knuckles,” which premiered earlier this year.
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Business
Amazon Strike Called By Teamsters Union 10,000 Walkout
An Amazon strike has hit facilities in the United States in an effort by the Teamsters union to pressure the corporation for a labour agreement during a peak shopping season.
The Teamsters union told the Associated Press that Amazon delivery drivers at seven facilities in the United States walked off the job on Thursday after the firm failed to discuss a labour contract.
According to the union, Amazon employees in Teamsters union jackets were protesting at “hundreds” of additional Amazon facilities, which the union billed as the “largest strike” in US history involving the company.
The corporation, which employs over 800,000 people in its US delivery network, stated that its services will be unaffected.
It was unclear how many people, including members of Germany’s United Services Union, participated in Thursday’s demonstration. The Teamsters union reported that thousands of Amazon employees were implicated in the United States.
Amazon Strike at 10 Locations
Overall, the group claims to represent “nearly 10,000” Amazon strikers, having signed up thousands of people at roughly ten locations across the country, many of whom have joined in recent months.
The organization has claimed recognition from Amazon going on strike, claiming the firm illegally neglected its obligation to bargain collectively over salary and working conditions.
The Teamsters is a long-standing US union with nearly one million members. It is well-known for securing lucrative contracts for its members at companies like delivery behemoth UPS.
Most of the Teamsters’ Amazon campaigns have concerned drivers working for third-party delivery companies that partner with the tech behemoth.
Amazon denies that it is liable as an employer in those circumstances, which is a point of legal contention. In at least one case, labour officials have taken a preliminary stance in favour of the union.
Stalled Contract Negotiations
Amazon employees at a major warehouse on Staten Island in New York have also chosen to join the Teamsters. Their warehouse is the only Amazon facility in the United States where labour officials have formally recognized a union win.
However, the Amazon strike is because contract negotiations have not progressed since the 2022 vote. It was not one of the areas scheduled to go on strike on Thursday.
Amazon, one of the largest employers in the United States, has long received criticism for its working conditions and has been the target of activists seeking to gain traction among its employees.
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