(CNN Business)Our Big Story for Monday contains an M. Night Shyamalan-worthy twist we don’t typically see in real life, but hey, welcome to 2020. Let’s get into it.
PHANTOM FUNDS
If you haven’t heard of Wirecard, that’s partly by design.
It’s a German fintech company is supposed to sit quietly in the background of daily business, just processing payments and, one hopes, generally being good with numbers. But Wirecard made global headlines last week after auditors found a hole in the books β a $2 billion hole. That’s roughly a quarter of the company’s assets just gone, poof, auf wiedersehen, bye-bye. The CEO resigned over it. Read MoreBut that was Friday. Come Monday, the company’s managers said the “prevailing likelihood” is that the cash never existed. TWIST! It was a ghost the whole time! The stock lost more than 85% over three trading sessions β wiping out $12.5 billion in market value.This debacle could be fatal for a company that was once one of Europe’s most successful tech stories. CNN Business’ Charles Riley has more.
APPLE
Every year, Apple likes to give developers a little taste of what’s in the works for the new hardware it’ll unveil later in the year. It’s usually a big to-do with thousands of people descending on San Jose to hobnob over drinks, but this year it was all virtual, of course.You can find plenty of capital-T Ttakes about what Apple’s up to, but here’s mine: The Long Overdue End of Screen Takeovers From Incoming Calls Is Finally Here and Sweet Lord Not a Moment Too Soon.
COFFEE: SO HOT RIGHT NOW
What’s worse than an incoming call when you’re about to beat your best time solving the Monday crossword? Waking up during quarantine and realizing you’re out of coffee. It’s 6 am and all of a sudden you’ve got to get dressed, put on a mask and go to the grocery store when all you wanted was to not have to put shoes on today.You’re not alone: Coffee subscriptions have taken off during the pandemic for reasons both practical and emotional. Coffee is perfect, and people need a warm cup of perfection to get through it. Or, as Matthew Berk, chief executive officer of subscription coffee company Bean Box, told CNN Business: “When things get hard for people, they look to have small, very meaningful luxuries.”
FACEBOOK BOYCOTT EXPANDS
Patagonia became the fourth major brand to join a boycott of Facebook and Instagram, pulling its ads from the platforms at least through the end of next month. Why boycott? Civil rights and activist groups are calling onΒ major corporations to put a pause on advertising on Facebook in July over what they say is a “repeated failure to meaningfully address the vast proliferation of hate on its platforms.”Other participating brands include:
- The North Face
- REI
- Upwork
ICYMI: Facebook is under fire for not doing enough to police President Trump’s posts β even its own employees have walked off the job in protest. It’s also been accused of not doing enough to shut down extremist groups like the Boogaloo movement, some of whose members have been active on Facebook and were charged in the recent killing of two law enforcement officials.
IN OTHER NEWS
- Microsoft made a surprise announcement it is shutting down Mixer and partnering with Facebook Gaming.
- Asia’s richest man, Mukesh Ambani, just joined the ranks of the top 10 wealthiest people in the world.
- In May, 4.3 million homeowners missed their mortgage payments, the highest level since 2011.
- Virgin Galactic signed a deal with NASA to train private astronauts and coordinate potential trips to the International Space Station.
Source: edition.cnn.com
