Media

6 Most Important Things in Business Today

Douglas A. McIntyre

Published: June 7, 2018 4:51 am

Last Updated: March 13, 2020 3:34 pm

Consumers will be hit by rising fuel prices. According to The Wall Street Journal:

Jet-fuel prices have surged more than 50% over the past year, pushing carriers to raise fares and Delta Air Lines Inc to cut its profit expectations.

Delta, the nation’s No. 2 carrier, said Wednesday it could take six to 12 months to recoup the extra fuel costs via pricier tickets.

Twitter Inc. (NYSE: TWTR) plans to raise money:

Twitter Inc. said Wednesday it plans to sell at least $1 billion in bonds that convert to equity, joining a rush of tech companies taking advantage of soaring share prices to issue convertible debt.

The move comes as Twitter shares have surged to three-year highs after S&P Dow Jones Indices said the company would be added to the S&P 500 before the start of trading Thursday.

The CEO of Athenahealth Inc. (NASDAQ: ATHN) left under a cloud. According to The Wall Street Journal:

Athenahealth Inc. co-founder Jonathan Bush stepped down as president and chief executive amid takeover pressure from an activist hedge fund and roughly a week after apologizing for domestic abuse involving his then-wife more than a decade ago.

The health-software company on Wednesday said that the departure of Mr. Bush was effective immediately and that the firm had begun exploring strategic alternatives, a move that could lead to a sale or other changes.

Volvo announced new plans to grow. According to the Financial Times:

Volvo aims to double sales by middle of next decade. Business plan aims for 50% of cars to be fully electric by around 2025

Two of America’s most prominent businessmen want public companies to end the practice of forecasting earnings. According to Bloomberg:

Warren Buffett and Jamie Dimon are doubling down on their plea for corporations to stop providing quarterly earnings guidance.

Buffett, who runs Berkshire Hathaway Inc., and Dimon, JPMorgan Chase & Co.’s chief executive officer, said in a joint Wall Street Journal editorial that they are encouraging all public companies to consider moving away the practice, arguing that it can stifle long-term investments.

“Quarterly earnings guidance often leads to an unhealthy focus on short-term profits at the expense of long-term strategy, growth and sustainability,” they said.

Short sellers in Tesla Inc.’s (NASDAQ: TSLA) stock were burned. According to Bloomberg:

Investors betting against Tesla lost more than $1 billion Wednesday as the company’s shares rallied the most in over two years, according to estimates from financial technology firm S3 Partners.