Samsung Shakes Up Leadership, Consolidates Business Units

Samsung surprised the business world today by replacing the “heads of its three major business units and merg[ing] the company’s mobile and consumer electronics businesses into a single unit.” The moves mean the South Korean conglomerate now has two co-CEOs (rather than three)  and new leadership for the first time in over 4 years - WSJ and Bloomberg and CNet and TechCrunch

The SEC has launched a probe into Tesla’s solar-cell activity (and its Solar City arm) that appears premised on 2019 complaints that the company “failed to properly notify shareholders and the public of fire risks associated with its equipment” - WSJ and Bloomberg

The agency’s also investigating “the $11.75 billion special purpose acquisition company merger featuring California electric car company Lucid Motors,” that closed in July and valued the company at nearly $24 billion – Law360

BuzzFeed saw an uneven day of trading in its first day as a public company, with shares jumping some 50% at the opening bell only to end the day down roughly 11%.  The “choppy start came after BuzzFeed raised a lot less money than it expected from the deal” with a special purpose acquisition company  “that brought it onto the stock market” - NYTimes

Wall Street’s wild ride continued on Monday, as investors tempered fears about the emergence of the Omicron variant based on early reports of a “milder illness than previously feared.” Cryptos also rebounded after a rough weekend - WSJ and Bloomberg and MarketWatch

Overall, though volatility persists, markets are proving much more resilient when it comes to recovering from the latest bad Covid news - NYTimes

Though it didn’t manage to uncover the identity of bitcoin’s mysterious first mover, a Florida-based lawsuit over a disputed partnership at the heart of the cryptocurrency’s creation wrapped yesterday with a jury rejecting “claims that Craig Wright and David Kleiman formed a partnership to launch bitcoin.” It did, however, still deliver a $100 million judgment against Wright, who immediately declared the verdict a win - WSJ and Law360 and Bloomberg and MarketWatch

We’ve looked at evidence of its opaqueness here before in specific industries, but China’s recent moves across its entire economy to restrict the flow of information across its borders means that it’s “even harder for foreigners to understand what’s happening in the country.” From a restrictive new data security law to less sharing from shipping contacts about port activity, the “black box” is becoming “even blacker”—even as “its presence on the world stage grows” - WSJ

For today’s look at what shortages mean in a globally connected economy, consider urea, the key ingredient in agricultural fertilizer.  An improbable chain of events—from increased coal and natural gas prices to electricity rations—have left farmers around the world wanting and truck drivers (who need the urea-based additive that reduces diesel’s greenhouse gas emissions) idled, all of which has led to increased food prices for just about everyone - NYTimes

As the Fed prepares for its last OMC meeting of 2021 next week, it’s looking increasingly likely that a faster-than-expected taper will be on the agenda—especially as inflation remains persistent - WSJ and MarketWatch

Former Amazon Echo exec Miriam Daniel, who left the company last month, has landed at Google, where she will “help develop the search giant’s maps services” - Bloomberg

Jack in the Box is buying Del Taco restaurants for a reported $455 million as part of “deal that ties up two West Coast fast-food chains” - WSJ

Toyota announced this week that it’s planning to build a factory in North Carolina to manufacture batteries for electric vehicles, a $1.3 billion venture it expects to complete by 2025. The news is the latest demonstrated a market shift from the Japanese carmaker, which had put most of its eggs in the hybrid vehicle market rather than going all in on EVs - NYTimes and TechCrunch

John Oliver on the 90’s era heyday of the snacks & gaming mashup you completely forgot ever happened - LastWeekTonight

Stay safe, and get boosted,

MDR