Unusual Whales

labor shortage

Labor shortages affect US companies trying to attract and retain workers

Per WP Persistent labor shortages in the United States have reportedly affected many companies that are trying to attract and retain workers. This was especially true for small businesses and service industry businesses. This comes when the average hourly earnings per month rose by 0.3%. The Fed notes that

warren buffett

Warren Buffett increases exposure in Japan's stock market

Per CNBC Warren Buffett has decided to increase his exposure in Japan's stock market by placing more money into five major trading houses. Berkshire Hathaway increased its stake in those houses to 7.4%. Berkshire Hathaway's CEO shared his feelings about investing in the five major

Twitter Inc has merged with X Corp, and no longer exists as Twitter Inc

Twitter Inc has merged with X Corp., and no longer exists as Twitter Inc, according to lawsuits discovered by Slate. A court filing submission dated April 4 states: “Pursuant to Rule 7.1(a)(1) of the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure, the undersigned counsel for Defendant X Corp., as

Super Mario Bros has hit a new record for biggest opening weekend of an animated movie in history, surpassing the $358 million global opening of 2019's Frozen II

Super Mario Bros has hit a new record for biggest opening weekend of an animated movie in history, surpassing the $358 million global opening of 2019's Frozen II. Mario also notched the biggest five-day domestic opening in history, beating Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen's $200 million.

39% of Americans say they’ve skipped meals to make housing payments

39% of Americans say they’ve skipped meals to make housing payments, per Clever Real Estate survey. And among millennials, that figure rose to 44%. Among Baby Boomers, it was 20%. Meanwhile, Housing affordability in the US is near all-time-lows, per $GS. In November, nationwide, households need six-figure incomes to

Americans could see promised Social Security benefits cut by 27% in just 10 years

Americans could see promised Social Security benefits cut by 27% in just 10 years, per Bloomberg. Reuters reported on March 31 that according to reports from the trustees of the programs, the main trust fund reserves of the U.S. Social Security system will be depleted in 2033, which is

META is asking many of its managers and directors to transition to individual contributor jobs—or leave the company

$META is asking many of its managers and directors to transition to individual contributor jobs—or leave the company, per Bloomberg. This is after numerous layoffs. Mark Zuckerberg warned in the $META layoffs announcement to prepare for a ‘new economic reality’ that could last ‘many years’, per BI. After already

US troops in Taiwan ‘on the table’ if China invades, House Foreign Affairs Committee chairman Representative Michael McCaul has said

US troops in Taiwan ‘on the table’ if China invades, House Foreign Affairs Committee chairman Representative Michael McCaul has said. “Now there’s a political debate here, the two different parties. One party wants to talk to China. President Tsai’s party does not want to be a part of

Prompt engineers for AI, including ChatGPT, are getting paid up to $335,000

Prompt engineers for AI, including ChatGPT, are getting paid up to $335,000, per Bloomberg. Meanwhile, with over 43% of professionals reportedly using ChatGPT at work, 68% said they did not tell their bosses. This came from a survey by Fishbowl, which involved 11,700 workers from Jan 26 to

The majority American corporate offices are currently half-empty

The majority American corporate offices are currently half-empty, per CNN. Offices were the worst-performing US commercial properties in 2022. About $270 billion in commercial real estate loans held by banks will come due in 2023, according to Trepp. Roughly $80 billion, nearly a third, are on office properties. Average occupancy

French President Macron says that Europe must reduce dependence on US Dollar

French President Macron says that Europe must reduce dependence on US Dollar. "The worst thing would be to think that we Europeans must become followers on this topic and adapt to the American rhythm or a Chinese overreaction," he said. Europe must better fund its defence industry, develop

Deputy Defense Secretary Kathleen Hicks loses composure when pressed about government fraud, waste, and abuse

Jon Stewart discusses with the Deputy  Defense Secretary Kathleen Hicks. She appears to lose composure when pressed about government fraud, waste, and abuse. Jon Stewart says, "The audit that is in the military does not look if there is efficacy." Hicks: "That is any audit." Stewart:

Some top Washington officials fear that between his business empire, his vast wealth and his political alliances, Elon Musk is close to untouchable

Some top Washington officials fear that between his business empire, his vast wealth and his political alliances, Elon Musk is close to untouchable, per Bloomberg. Recently, Elon Musk has also expressed his worries about how the Federal Reserve could potentially affect the entire stock market's value. He says

First Republic Bank, $FRC, has suspended dividend payments on preferred stock

First Republic Bank, $FRC, has suspended dividend payments on preferred stock. This is after $30 billion was provided to First Republic Bank to stop panic from spreading. he biggest deposits * JPMorgan Chase & Co. - made a $5 billion uninsured deposit * Citigroup Inc. - made a $5 billion uninsured deposit

Elon

Elon Musk's brother Kimbal Musk sold 100,000 Tesla shares

Per Fortune Elon Musk's younger brother, Kimbal Musk, sits as Tesla's board director, and recently, he decided to cash in on 100,000 Tesla shares. This was revealed to take place despite a blackout period that prevented insider sales until after April 19. The reason for

france

France and China discussed deals regarding nuclear and wind energy

Per Reuters China's Xi Jinping and France's Emmanuel Macron have met to discuss countless topics, including Russia and Ukraine. Aside from this, the two even discussed deals regarding energy, involving nuclear and renewable energy, specifically wind. This happened during Macron's visit to China, which

walmart

Walmart plans thousands of U.S. stores to offer EV charging in 2030

Per The Washington Post As the leading retail company by revenue, Walmart plans to expand its business further, entering the EV industry on the "charging" end. By 2030, the company wants thousands of its stores in the U.S. to offer EV charging, adding another potential profit driver

samsung

Samsung's operating profit dropped over 95% for the three months ending in March, resulting in the lowest profit output since 2009

Bloomberg Samsung's operating profit dropped by over 95% for the three months ending in March. This comes as the company has announced that it experienced its lowest profit output since 2009. Due to this, the company said it would scale back on chip production. The company said it

tax

IRS plans to use $80 billion new funds to hire 30,000 employees over two years

Per Reuters The Internal Revenue Service has announced plans to expand its workforce by tapping into its $80 billion new funds budget. In two years, the agency plans to expand its workforce to 30,000 workers. The $80 billion budget was directed toward the IRS' customer service and tax

Justin Trudeau’s plan to add billions of dollars in new annual spending has some economists worried that Canada is at risk of racking up unsustainable debt

Justin Trudeau’s plan to add billions of dollars in new annual spending has some economists worried that Canada is at risk of racking up unsustainable debt. Coupled to that, Bloomberg notes Canada’s population growth from immigration is causing rents to surge in its biggest cities, per Bloomberg. They

treasury

US Treasury gives DeFi warning, saying it poses 'the most significant current illicit finance risk'

Per Coin Desk The US Treasury has released its "2023 DeFi Illicit Finance Risk Assessment" and gave its two cents regarding DeFi. The post discussed the risks that could be associated with decentralized finance. Brian Nelson, Under Secretary of the Treasury for Terrorism and Financial Intelligence, gave a

chatgpt

Researchers pinpoint a specific group of people to especially be impacted by ChatGPT: college graduate, tech worker, and $80,000 earner

OpenAI and University of Pennsylvania researchers conducted a survey and found that the group ChatGPT could have the most impact. They highlighted that this could be college graduates working in tech, earning up to $80,000 annually. The researchers were studying how GPT-4 would affect the American workforce by discovering

google

Google's Bard AI program used Microsoft's & OpenAI's ChatGPT data, per Google AI researcher that resigned

Per The Information Google's Bard AI program reportedly used data from Microsoft and OpenAI's ChatGPT. This was according to a Google AI researcher who decided to resign after warning Alphabet CEO Sundar Pichai and other senior executives. OpenAI's ChatGPT has already raised eyebrows for

mortgage

Monthly mortgage vs. rent sees the largest gap since 2006, the peak of the housing bubble

Per Business Insider The difference between paying mortgage compared to rent has seen its largest gap since 2006, which was around the peak of the housing bubble. This peak eventually led to the Great Financial Crisis, which saw multiple bankruptcies, foreclosures, and banks collapsing. The National Multifamily Housing Council, which

twitter

White House won't pay for Blue verification on Twitter

Per Axios Since Elon Musk's acquisition of Twitter for $44 billion, the new CEO has made massive changes to the platform. One is the decision to charge users for the Blue verification, meaning former verified individuals would need to pay to keep their verification. Now, the White House