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Fang

‘Big Tech’ takes on Washington

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Twitter and Facebook… will be represented in Washington on Wednesday as the companies appear before the Senate Intelligence Committee. And you can probably guess what this is about – foreigners using their platforms to ruin our elections in America. So this is nothing new, and don’t expect either stock to react much to this meeting.

 

But we will learn more… about how these companies are keeping our data secure and reliable. Keeping data safe covers everything from fake news to harassment on the platforms. And, of course, managing the so-called Russian trolls from spreading lies.

 

Jack Dorsey will be a busy man… because after meeting with the Senate Intelligence Committee, he will be meeting separately with the House Energy and Commerce Committee to address claims that Twitter is silencing voices of Republicans.  Who knew Twitter and Facebook were going to cause so much trouble!?

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Start-up

WeWork’s rent just went waaay up

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WeWork is currently… the second-largest renter in Manhattan only to JPMorgan. However, the company is looking to take on another 200,000 square feet and surpass the banking giant very soon. Not too shabby for a company that is just eight-years-old, right?

 

What do they do, exactly… well, WeWork offers tiered pricing for co-working spaces and can cost over $1,000 per month. A co-working space typically involves a shared workplace; but those co-working are not usually part of the same organization (i.e., single employees rent work space). Members can rent desks or entire offices. So you can see why the company needs the extra office space.

 

WeWork is valued at… around $20 billion and the company is looking to raise money that would value the company as high as $35 billion. WeWork is also expanding this idea with shared spaces for education (WeGrow), health and fitness (WeRise), and co-living (WeLive). All this after just eight years – you could say that WeImpressed…

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Blue Chip

Goldman Sachs is for the people!

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More than just a Wall Street bank… because Goldman Sachs has been reaching out to consumers like you and I, and the banking giant just introduced its new home improvement calculator. What does this mean? Well, it looks like Goldman Sachs is going to be giving out more home improvement and personal loans very soon.

 

You’ll find Goldman Sachs… under the company’s online Marcus brand, which launched in 2016. The company has been taking deposits on the banking side and looking to lend that money out through personal loans. Not a bad move either – the economy and job market are both doing well, and people are very willing to take on more loans.

 

What lies ahead for GS… possibly more consumer banking, as other parts of the business have been slowing down. The bank could expand into life insurance, mortgages, auto loans, and wealth management services – basically everything your current bank does. But in the meantime, GS will look to keep growing what they already have and lend more money. Anyone need a loan?

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Miscellaneous

More CEOs are behaving badly…

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You may have heard… that the CEO of JD.com, one of China’s largest e-commerce websites, was arrested in Minneapolis on Friday. But now the company is saying CEO Richard Liu was falsely accused of sexual misconduct and will return to business as usual. The police are still actively investigating the situation, so this may not be the last we hear about it.

 

You may be asking… why was this guy in Minneapolis, anyway? Apparently, Liu is a student at the University of Minnesota in a program for “top-level executives” working in China. So, not your typical university experience – the average age of the students enrolled in this program is 50.

 

JD.com is kind of like… the second-place Amazon of China, selling everything from appliances and apparel to groceries. The company also has some high-profile investors, including Walmart and Tencent, who combined hold 28% of JD.com. Liu himself owns 16% of the company but has 80% of the voting rights (so he calls the shots). The company is also moving west and plans to compete with Amazon in Europe by 2019. Another CEO [allegedly] behaving badly – what’s new?

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