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Vice Media Files For Chapter 11 Bankruptcy

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NEW YORK – Vice Media, the most recent digital media company to fall after a spectacular rise, filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection on Monday.

A group of lenders, including Fortress Investment Group, Soros Fund Management, and Monroe Capital, is buying Vice Media for around $225 million and taking on a major portion of the company’s debt. Other parties will also be able to submit bids.

Vice Media anticipates completing the sale within the next two to three months. It stated that its media brands will continue to produce content and that the company will continue to pay its employees and vendors during the process.

Vice Media co-CEOs Bruce Dixon and Hozefa Lokhandwala stated in a prepared statement that the “accelerated court-supervised sale process” will strengthen the company and position it for long-term growth, “thereby safeguarding the kind of authentic journalism and content creation that makes VICE such a trusted brand for young people and such a valued partner to brands, agencies, and platforms.”

According to the disclosure on Monday, vice assets and liabilities are worth between $500 million and $1 billion.

According to the Wall Street Journal, the bankruptcy filing comes only weeks after the firm announced that it would eliminate its flagship “Vice News Tonight” program as part of a wave of layoffs affecting more than 100 of its 1,500-person workforce. The corporation also announced the demise of its Vice World News brand.

A broader wave of media layoffs and closures has occurred, including employment cuts at Gannett, NPR, the Washington Post, and other organizations. BuzzFeed Inc. stated in April that its Pulitzer Prize-winning digital media company BuzzFeed News would be shuttered as part of its corporate parent’s cost-cutting push.

vice media

Vice Media, the most recent digital media company to fall after a spectacular rise, filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection on Monday.

This year, digital advertising has plunged, reducing the income of big technology corporations ranging from Google to Facebook.

“Advertising is down across the board, so it’s a litmus test for a lot of digital publications,” Megan Duncan, an assistant professor at Virginia Tech’s School of Communication, told The Associated Press.

Duncan and others also mentioned the shifting nature of social media, a sector where sites like Vice formerly flourished in terms of audience reach.

“One of the things I think really hurt Vice Media, and thus BuzzFeed, is social media networks like Facebook changing their algorithms,” said Jason Mollica, professor at American University’s School of Communication. “You’re losing money when you’re not bringing in the numbers you’d expect from advertising.”

Aside from advertising and the changing digital landscape, Mollica and Duncan highlighted today’s news consumers’ changing habits and the obstacles media firms face in reaching viewers.

Vice media

Vice Media, the most recent digital media company to fall after a spectacular rise, filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection on Monday.

“With such a focus on youth, it can be really difficult to keep being youth-oriented — and change your brand and appeal for the next generation,” Duncan explained.

Duncan also stated that Vice has relied on several rounds of investment and investors throughout the company’s existence and “never really found the business model in its most recent, modern digital age that was going to sustain it.” Aside from that, the corporation has a “complicated history” with issues in leadership and personnel, she added.

Vice Media’s origins may be traced back to 1994 when Vice’s inaugural punk magazine was launched in Montreal. Vice quickly relocated to New York and grew into a global media organization.

Vice Media has built a reputation for outspoken journalism that has covered bold subjects worldwide, particularly among new, youthful audiences on digital media. Other assets of the media organization include film and television production, an in-house marketing agency, and brands such as Refinery 29 and Unbothered.

In recent years, the media organization has struggled to earn a profit. According to the disclosures on Monday, Vice has a total outstanding debt of $834 million.

Vice Media was valued at $5.7 billion in 2017. However, according to The New York Times, most experts now believe the company is worth only a fraction of that.

The bankruptcy filing on Monday comes just months after Nancy Dubuc announced her resignation as CEO. Dixon and Lokhandwala, both experienced Vice executives, have been named co-CEOs.

Dubuc took over for Vice co-founder Shane Smith in 2018 after a 2017 Times investigation revealed systemic sexual harassment and misbehavior at the organization.

SOURCE – (AP)

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Forced Sale Google Chrome Could Fetch $20 Billion

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Antitrust officials in the US could force the sale of Google’s Chrome browser for up to $20 billion, demonstrating the tremendous worth of the world’s most popular web browser.

Bloomberg Intelligence attributes Chrome’s projected worth to its more than 3 billion monthly active users. The US Department of Justice is preparing to request a federal judge order the browser’s separation from Google’s parent company, Alphabet.

Chrome’s worth comes from its overwhelming 61% market share and its crucial role in Google’s advertising ecosystem. User data enables businesses to better target adverts, and the browser also acts as an important distribution mechanism for Google’s AI technologies.

Industry analysts think it may be difficult to find a suitable buyer. While tech behemoths like Amazon could finance the purchase, they would likely face regulatory scrutiny.

AI businesses, such as OpenAI, may emerge as more viable contenders. They could potentially leverage Chrome to broaden their reach and develop an advertising business.

“It’s not directly monetizable,” one analyst told Bloomberg. “It functions as a gateway to other things. It’s unclear how you would assess that in terms of pure revenue generation.”

Google opposes prospective sales, claiming that they will hamper innovation. The firm does not break out Chrome’s revenue individually in its financial filings, even though the browser’s user data plays an important part in the company’s principal revenue stream, advertising.

The DOJ’s suggestion follows Judge Amit Mehta’s August decision that Google had illegally monopolized the search industry. The judge will consider the recommended remedies at a two-week hearing in April 2024, with a final judgment due in August 2025.

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Bitcoin Has Set a New Record And Is Approaching $100,000.

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(VOR News) – Bitcoin broke beyond the $98,000 mark for the first time on Thursday as investors awaited Donald Trump’s second term as president. All of this happened during the day. As such, cryptocurrency has reached a significant turning point.

According to Coin Metrics, the top cryptocurrency was trading at $97,541.61 during the most recent trading session. Merchants provided this information. This suggests a price gain of more than three percent during the previous trading session.

When the period began, Bitcoin peaked at $98,367.00.

During the premarket trading session, MicroStrategy, a platform that facilitates cryptocurrency foreign exchange trading and serves as a bitcoin proxy, saw a 13% gain. Coinbase, on the other hand, had a 2% rise during that period. Furthermore, all of these increases occurred simultaneously.

The market value of Mara Holdings increased by 9%, which helped raise the valuation of mining companies overall. This was among the factors that led to the total rise.

Because of the widespread belief that President Trump will usher in a new era of prosperity for cryptocurrencies, one marked by more favorable laws and the possible creation of a national strategic bitcoin reserve, the price of Bitcoin has been rising steadily this month.

The most recent change brought about by the increase was the consequence of higher financing rates and more open interest in the futures market during Asian trading hours. The rise was the catalyst for this change. This action was prompted by the ensuing rush.

Throughout its lifespan, this legislation was the catalyst for this change for a variety of reasons. At the same time, spot market premiums decreased, according to CryptoQuant statistics. All of this happened at the same time.

Furthermore, a number of short liquidations have been sparked by the recent spikes in Bitcoin’s price, which has caused the price to rise overnight. As a result, the price has gone up much more. As a result, the total number of short liquidations has increased.

According to CoinGlass, these liquidations have effectively produced more than $88 million in capital during the last 24 hours.

Rob Ginsberg, an analyst at Wolfe Research, noted in a study released on Wednesday that “historically, following previous movements of this magnitude, Bitcoin has either entered a consolidation phase or disregarded the overbought condition as investors accumulate.” This phrase relates to the fact that this particular move has happened before.

Ginsberg stated this in reference to the evolution of Bitcoin over time.

Ginsberg’s answer makes reference to Bitcoin’s propensity to go through a period of consolidation. The comment also made reference to this.

He said, “Considering we are emerging from an extended consolidation phase and the price has reached a new high, it suggests that the pursuit is underway.”

The crucial psychological milestone of $100,000 is expected to be reached in the upcoming weeks, and this breakthrough could happen as early as Thursday. It seems likely that this level will be reached. There is a chance that this new development will take place.

This task will be carried out against the backdrop of this historical era. In addition, if Trump were to win a second term, federal budget deficits would increase, inflation would likely increase, and the dollar’s position in international affairs would change.

The administration that Trump would run during his presidency would be responsible for these consequences. All of these characteristics would positively impact the value of Bitcoin as a currency if they were taken into account in the order that they are presented.

The price of bitcoin had risen by more than 130% by the beginning of 2024.

SOUREC: CNBC

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Target Struggles in the Third Quarter: Offers Tempered Holiday Outlook and Price Cuts

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Target

(VOR News) – Target experienced a modest rise in sales during the third quarter; nevertheless, profitability declined due to reduced customer spending attributed to inflation and adverse effects from the ongoing costs associated with the October dockworker strike.

Despite ongoing consumer expenditure in the United States, but with more prudence, the Minneapolis retailer did not meet Wall Street’s forecasts for the quarter and similarly disappointed industry analysts with its projections for the final quarter of the year.

Target’s reduction in prices for Christmas products, including a Thanksgiving promotion that lowered the cost of the holiday feast relative to last year’s total, raises concerns about disappointing quarterly results.

Target’s latest quarter sharply contrasts with competitor Walmart, which reported another quarter of exceptional revenues on Tuesday and provided positive forecasts for the forthcoming holiday season. Amazon disclosed last month that its quarterly profits had risen. Amazon surpassed projections with an 11% rise in quarterly revenue.

Target fell over 21% on Wednesday morning.

Chairman and CEO Brian Cornell stated, “We encountered distinct challenges and financial constraints that impacted our overall performance.”

FactSet reports that Target’s net income for the quarter ended November 2 was $854 million, or $1.85 per share, markedly below the anticipated $2.30 and a decline from $971 million, or $2.10 per share, in the same quarter of the previous year.

Despite an increase in sales to $25.67 billion from $25.4 billion the previous year, they fell short of Wall Street’s projections.

Target announced that for the fiscal fourth quarter, it anticipates earnings per share to fall between $1.85 to $2.45. This amount is below the $2.65 per share forecast by analysts surveyed by FactSet.

The retailer announced that in the third quarter, its comparable sales, derived from stores and digital platforms operational for a minimum of one year, increased by 0.3%.

This is inferior to the second quarter’s 2% growth. Several months of decreases, comprising a 3.7% reduction in the first quarter and a 4.4% reduction in the company’s final quarter of 2023, were counterbalanced by the rise in the April–June period.

Cosmetics sales rose by almost 6%, whilst food, beverages, and necessities such as shampoo experienced gains in the low single digits relative to the previous year.

The positive attributes were negligible. Target’s quarterly customer traffic rose by 2.4%. Target officials report that this represents an increase of 10 million sales transactions compared to the previous year. Digital comparable sales rose by 10.8% due to a 20% enhancement in same-day delivery facilitated by the Target Circle loyalty program and double-digit growth in its drive-up service.

Target encountered several challenges.

Target’s food and beverage sales constitute under 25% of overall sales, indicating a greater dependence on luxury items such as apparel and accessories.

Target management acknowledged that the company, similar to other retailers, had to redirect specific items due to the strike of 45,000 dockworkers, the first occurrence since 1977.

The accumulation of commodities in warehouses escalated operational expenses and diminished corporate earnings.

The commitment by President-elect Donald Trump to impose elevated import tariffs is resulting in difficulties for Target and other enterprises. Trump advocates for a 60% tariff on Chinese imports and a 20% levy on all other products. Cornell stated that, despite monitoring trends meticulously, the corporation has prioritized diversifying its supplier network.

“Currently, there exists considerable uncertainty regarding future developments, and we will exercise our flexibility to adapt as necessary,” he stated on the call.

Buyers remain apprehensive due to ongoing uncertainty, as prices, albeit decreasing, remain elevated compared to a few years prior.

“They are exhibiting significant patience, pursuing promotions and outstanding value on essential pantry items,” Cornell stated during a conference call with reporters. “Over the year, they have consistently focused on discretionary categories and are practicing prudent shopping behaviors.”

Target officials indicated a decline in television purchases, although they expressed interest in incorporating candles, frames, and flowers into their home décor.

Target has been reducing prices to boost sales. Last spring, it reduced costs for numerous essentials, including milk and diapers. Almost fifty percent of the numerous goods offered this Christmas are priced below $20. Target is offering a Thanksgiving dinner bundle for four people at $20, which is $5 less than its 2023 Thanksgiving meal package.

SOURCE: USN

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