Alexander Shapovalov/iStock Editorial via Getty Images Investment Thesis Governance topics can be theoretical instead of practical. However, in Tesla, Inc.'s ( TSLA ) case (and many founder-led enterprises in general), governance is critical, if not the most important aspect, for investors. Tesla fails the governance benchmark in my view. The CEO is simply too distracted, torn by his own ambitions...
Alexander Shapovalov/iStock Editorial via Getty Images Investment Thesis Governance topics can be theoretical instead of practical. However, in Tesla, Inc.'s ( TSLA ) case (and many founder-led enterprises in general), governance is critical, if not the most important aspect, for investors. Tesla fails the governance benchmark in my view. The CEO is simply too distracted, torn by his own ambitions. As an innovator, Elon Musk is using Tesla and leading it into financial distress, in my view. To understand where Tesla is going, look at the character of its CEO. Unlikely Merger A recent WSJ article covered the rumors circulating on Wall Street of a potential merger between Tesla and SpaceX ( SPACE ). If that happens, it would be a major win for Tesla's shareholders, signaling that Musk has finally seen the benefits of building all his innovations in one company. But the merger is unlikely to happen. Here's why. First, looking closer at the September 2025 incentive agreement, a paragraph written by the board's "special committee" states that Musk works best when working on multiple projects at once, drawing inspiration from one workflow into the next. Musk consistently transforms his bold ideas into multi-billion dollar ventures, cementing his status as a rare, serial growth-driven value creator. From online payments to space exploration and AI, each venture disrupts the entrenched industries and scales at a remarkable speed, evidencing Musk’s strategic vision matched by his tireless execution. We believe these ventures give Musk the opportunity to develop new innovative processes that may not fit squarely within Tesla’s mission and, therefore, should not be built using Tesla’s resources. Musk’s pursuit of these other ventures provides him with knowledge and experience that often offer favorable synergies to Tesla - Tesla 2025 Proxy Statement . Secondly, a merger would make Musk less money. It is in Musk's interest that different companies bid for his attention rather t...
The FBI’s disclosure that hackers broke into one of its wiretap management systems is alarming former national security officials who warn that the breach marks another exposure of the US government’s law enforcement secrets. The Justice Department notified Congress last week that a breach of an unclassified FBI network used to manage wiretaps and other court-authorized surveillance work qualified...
The FBI’s disclosure that hackers broke into one of its wiretap management systems is alarming former national security officials who warn that the breach marks another exposure of the US government’s law enforcement secrets. The Justice Department notified Congress last week that a breach of an unclassified FBI network used to manage wiretaps and other court-authorized surveillance work qualified as a “major incident” under US law. That designation is given to security incidents that expose significant amounts of personal information or are deemed likely to harm national security and other US interests. The US government hasn’t publicly blamed anyone for the breach at the FBI, but former national security officials worry that it could amount to foreign spies peeking into the work of those charged with catching them. US cyber officials previously said that separate Russian and Chinese cyber-espionage campaigns resulted in the compromise of sealed records from the US judicial system, and vast troves of Americans’ phone records. The FBI is still investigating the latest incident, which it detected in February, and is working to strengthen its cyber defenses, according to a notification about the breach that the Justice Department sent lawmakers. Steven Kelly, a former senior FBI official and chief trust officer at the Institute for Security and Technology, described the breach as “extremely serious.” “The watchers have become the watched,” said Kelly, who served on the National Security Council during the Obama and Biden administrations. “This is yet another wake-up call: against actors this sophisticated, our investigative tradecraft has to be better than theirs — and we’ve clearly got work to do.” If information from the compromised system were exposed, it could prompt the subjects of FBI investigations to flee, destroy evidence or change their methods, said Brian Levine, a former senior counsel in the Justice Department’s computer crime and intellectual property se...
First Brands Group ’s former chief strategy officer asked a judge to dismiss a civil lawsuit that blames him in part for the auto-parts supplier’s collapse, arguing that founder Patrick James and his brother, Edward, concealed the alleged fraud that brought down the company. Michael Baker, who joined First Brands after practicing corporate finance in New York, said in an April 6 court filing that ...
First Brands Group ’s former chief strategy officer asked a judge to dismiss a civil lawsuit that blames him in part for the auto-parts supplier’s collapse, arguing that founder Patrick James and his brother, Edward, concealed the alleged fraud that brought down the company. Michael Baker, who joined First Brands after practicing corporate finance in New York, said in an April 6 court filing that Patrick James and other insiders used his reputation and experience to build relationships with lenders. Federal prosecutors have uncovered evidence that James ‘and his inner circle’ kept separate books and limited access to the company’s financial information, and that Baker was not aware of it, according to the filing. Prosecutors charged Patrick and Edward James with fraud, and two other executives pleaded guilty. Read more: First Brands Executive Brumbergs Detailed Fraud in Guilty Plea A spokesperson for Patrick James said in an email Thursday that former First Brands officers had a duty to raise concerns at the time and are now trying to “shift responsibility in a manner that serves their own interests.” “What has happened to the business of First Brands is a tragedy, but the narrative that the blame for this should fall on Patrick James is false,” his spokesperson said, adding that James looks forward to presenting his case in court. Baker resigned on Sept. 25, a day after First Brands filed for Chapter 11, saying in court papers that he stepped down when it became clear that “significant information was being withheld from him.” He joined First Brands in 2021 after serving as a partner at Paul Hastings. He previously worked at Shearman & Sterling LLP. “The lenders who extended credit to First Brands knew Mr. Baker’s name and reputation on Wall Street as a Chambers-ranked leveraged finance partner at two leading international law firms; they knew he would not sacrifice a decades-long career of credibility for a salary far less than what he would have been earning as a...
Amazon (NASDAQ:AMZN) shares are up 5% in Thursday’s session, climbing from $221.25 to $232 as of midday. Multiple independent catalysts are landing simultaneously, each capable of moving the stock on its own. CEO Andy Jassy’s annual shareholder letter is the primary driver of Amazon stock, but reports of acquisition talks with Globalstar (NASDAQ:GSAT) and a ... Amazon Gains 5% on Shareholder Lette...
Amazon (NASDAQ:AMZN) shares are up 5% in Thursday’s session, climbing from $221.25 to $232 as of midday. Multiple independent catalysts are landing simultaneously, each capable of moving the stock on its own. CEO Andy Jassy’s annual shareholder letter is the primary driver of Amazon stock, but reports of acquisition talks with Globalstar (NASDAQ:GSAT) and a ... Amazon Gains 5% on Shareholder Letter, Globalstar Deal, $15 Billion AWS AI Revenue
NiseriN/iStock via Getty Images Libya's National Oil Corporation announced late Wednesday a trio of oil and gas discoveries with Italy's Eni ( E ), Spain's Repsol ( REPYF ) ( REPYY ), and Algeria's Sonatrach, as exploration activity regains traction across some of the country’s most important producing regions. The highest-profile result came offshore western Libya, where NOC and Eni ( E ) confirm...
NiseriN/iStock via Getty Images Libya's National Oil Corporation announced late Wednesday a trio of oil and gas discoveries with Italy's Eni ( E ), Spain's Repsol ( REPYF ) ( REPYY ), and Algeria's Sonatrach, as exploration activity regains traction across some of the country’s most important producing regions. The highest-profile result came offshore western Libya, where NOC and Eni ( E ) confirmed a new gas discovery ~95 km from shore; the well reached a total depth of 10,458 ft, with two separate tests showing flow rates of 14M cf and 24M cf. NOC and Repsol ( REPYF ) ( REPYY ) reported a new oil discovery in the Murzuq Basin, ~800 km south of Tripoli; the well was drilled to 4,325 ft and is producing an average rate of 763 bbl/day. The third discovery included oil and gas near the Wafa field in the Ghadames Basin with Sonatrach, where the exploration well was drilled to 8,440 ft, flowing at 13M cf/day of gas and 327 bbl/day of condensates. More on Eni and Repsol Eni Returned Over 100% Since My Buy Call: Here Is How Much Upside Is Left Eni Analyst/Investor Day - Slideshow Repsol: Strong Buy Following Capital Markets Day
US President Donald Trump said he plans to impose a 20 per cent tariff on all cars imported from the European Union unless the trade bloc “soon” removes import duties and other barriers to US goods, escalating global trade tensions. “Based on the Tariffs and Trade Barriers long placed on the US and it great companies and workers by the European Union, if these Tariffs and Barriers are not soon bro...
US President Donald Trump said he plans to impose a 20 per cent tariff on all cars imported from the European Union unless the trade bloc “soon” removes import duties and other barriers to US goods, escalating global trade tensions. “Based on the Tariffs and Trade Barriers long placed on the US and it great companies and workers by the European Union, if these Tariffs and Barriers are not soon broken down and removed, we will be placing a 20% Tariff on all of their cars coming into the U.S....
Intercontinental Exchange Inc. will boost the margins traders have to post for its Brent crude and European diesel futures contracts as the war in Iran sends volatility surging across commodity markets. The increases effectively more than double the cost of trading the world’s most liquid crude and diesel futures contracts. Clearing houses require investors to put up cash, known as initial margins...
Intercontinental Exchange Inc. will boost the margins traders have to post for its Brent crude and European diesel futures contracts as the war in Iran sends volatility surging across commodity markets. The increases effectively more than double the cost of trading the world’s most liquid crude and diesel futures contracts. Clearing houses require investors to put up cash, known as initial margins, to manage the risk associated with the contracts. Those margins tend to rise sharply in times of heightened volatility. Margins for the nearest Brent futures contract will more than double to just over $11,000, while for the nearest ICE gasoil, or diesel, contract they will rise more than four times to almost $21,000. Brent futures have soared since the war in Iran, at times approaching $120 a barrel, before tumbling after a ceasefire agreement emerged this week. Fuel markets like diesel have been the epicenter of the oil crisis and so volatility there has been even greater. ICE said the hikes would be effective from close of business on Friday, April 10th.