Best printers for Home

Best Mixer Grinder

Best wired Earphones

Best 43 Inch TV in India

Best Wi Fi Routers

Best Home Theatre in India

Smart Watch under 5000

Best Laptops for Education

Best Laptop for Students

<ul class="summary-list"><li>Oura Health Oy is releasing a new smart ring this month, Bloomberg reported.</li><li>CEO Tom Hale said that the company expects to double its annual sales this year, to around $500 million.</li></ul>Oura Health Oy is set to launch a new generation of rings this month, <a target="_blank" href="https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2024-09-30/oura-nears-500-million-in-annual-revenue-and-readies-new-ring?srnd=phx-latest">Bloomberg</a> reported Tuesday.The Finnish company's fourth generation of fitness-tracking rings will feature a slimmer design, improved battery life, and more accurate activity tracking. Sources told Bloomberg that this marks the company's most significant product update in three years.Oura has sold more than 2.5 million rings since its founding 11 years ago, according to a <a target="_blank" href="https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20240614157633/en/%C5%8CURA-Helping-Millions-of-People-Improve-Their-Health-Surpasses-2.5-Million-Rings-Sold">June</a> press release.The company's rings, priced at $299, track various health metrics, including sleep and heart rate. In addition to the hardware, Oura sells a $6 monthly subscription, which provides users with insights into their sleep and other health data.Oura's smart rings are a favorite for athletes, from the WNBA to NASCAR; for royalty — even Prince Harry sports one; and for executives, who were spotted wearing the devices at July's <a target="_blank" class="" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/what-billionaires-ceos-wearing-sun-valley-conference-style-trends-2024-7">Sun Valley Conference,</a> the "summer camp for billionaires."CEO Tom Hale told Bloomberg that he expects the company's annual sales to double this year, to around $500 million.While Oura has yet to disclose details about the upcoming release, its latest smart ring could help maintain its edge in an increasingly saturated market.In July, Samsung entered the smart ring space with the $400 <a target="_blank" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/guides/tech/samsung-galaxy-ring-release-date-price-features-specs">Galaxy Ring</a>, which tracks health metrics and features built-in AI capabilities. Bloomberg reported in February that Apple also toyed with the idea of developing smart rings, although no plans have been publicly announced. Apple's smartwatch tracks some of the same metrics as the Oura ring, including temperature and sleep.In May, Samsung filed a preemptive <a target="_blank" href="https://storage.courtlistener.com/recap/gov.uscourts.cand.430276/gov.uscourts.cand.430276.1.0.pdf">lawsuit</a> against Oura, declaring that its Galaxy Ring does not violate Oura's patents.The complaint said that Oura had a track record of targeting competitors with patent lawsuits over widely used smart ring technologies like sensors and health tracking metrics. Samsung referenced past cases where Oura <a target="_blank" href="https://affiliate.insider.com?h=d219b666c366748a21f7889ab6844f2fdb3c39bce1dfb54433057125366a265d&amp;postID=66fb6f9ad8616474985847e8&amp;postSlug=oura-new-smart-ring-launch-features-thinner-battery-samsung-galaxy-2024-10&amp;site=bi&amp;u=https%3A%2F%2Fouraring.com%2Fblog%2Foura-files-itc-action-for-patent-infringement%2F%3Fsrsltid%3DAfmBOoocAg7b1S1FuAjvE1Vnbz7UcocIaKf9mS6p7lq2gmuPbm-zHbc9">sued</a> competitors including Ultrahuman, RingConn, and Circular. Samsung filed the lawsuit, which is ongoing, after Oura's Hale said in an <a target="_blank" class="" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/oura-ceo-samsung-galaxy-ring-apple-watch-patent-dispute-2024-1">interview</a> with CNBC in January that the company would be watching the Galaxy Ring closely for potential intellectual property violations.<h2 id="b15ef548-4add-424f-94ed-827db37149f2">Big industry growth — but no Oura IPO yet</h2>Smart rings are poised for significant growth, with Samsung's Galaxy Ring potentially playing a key role in the industry's expansion, Avi Greengart, president and lead analyst at Techsponential, told Business Insider in <a target="_blank" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/smart-ring-samsung-oura-health-wearables-mwc-device-2024-2">March</a>.Greengart said customers are increasingly conscious of improving their sleep. In 2021, Oura published a <a target="_blank" href="https://www.mdpi.com/1424-8220/21/13/4302">study</a> that claimed finger monitoring was optimal for measuring sleep quality.Last month, analysts from research firm IDC <a target="_blank" class="" href="https://www.idc.com/promo/wearablevendor">said</a> that the smart ring market could retain its "premium status as a select few brands still lead the category."According to a report by Global Market Insights published this February, the global market for smart rings was $210 million in 2023 and is expected to reach $1 billion by 2032.Companies — and their investors — like smart rings because customers buy a monthly subscription, not just the ring itself. That translates to more stable, predictable revenue over time.Despite stiffening competition, Oura's Hale told Bloomberg that the company doesn't "have to do that much" to continue growing, adding that its profit margins are more similar to those of software manufacturers than those of traditional hardware companies.Hale said Oura has no immediate plans to go public. He said the company is more focused on growth and profitability, calling an initial public offering a potential "energy suck."Oura did not respond to a request for comment by Business Insider sent outside business hours.

Oura, beloved by techies and athletes alike, is launching a new smart ring this month: Bloomberg

<ul class="summary-list"><li>Investors are seeking S&amp;P 500 downside protection as rate cuts shift focus to growth concerns.</li><li>Hedging strategies include options contracts, indicating the smart money is bracing for volatility.</li></ul>Some investors are beginning to accept that what goes up must come down.Demand for downside protection on the <a target="_blank" class="" href="https://markets.businessinsider.com/index/s&amp;p_500">S&amp;P 500</a> is starting to build. As rate cuts begin, attention is shifting away from inflation to concerns over slumped economic growth and a stock market that looks a bit too rich.There are multiple ways to hedge: short selling, diversifying into uncorrelated assets, buying an inverse <a target="_blank" class="" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/personal-finance/investing/what-is-an-etf#:~:text=An%20exchange%2Dtraded%20fund%20(ETF,liquid%20as%20some%20mutual%20funds.">ETF</a>, and using <a target="_blank" class="" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/personal-finance/investing/option-chain#:~:text=An%20option%20is%20a%20contract,its%20own%20type%20of%20security.">options</a>, among others.But one approach that's beginning to pick up, with advantages in the current market environment, is hedging S&amp;P 500 downside through options contracts. It's a sign that the smart money could be beginning to get into positions early to brace for volatility or a pullback, according to Tanvir Sandhu, the chief global derivatives strategist at Bloomberg Intelligence.It's a bit of a shift from an environment where investors had just been buying the dip during market pullbacks, he added in an interview.Annually, the <a target="_blank" class="" href="https://markets.businessinsider.com/index/vix">CBOE Volatility Index</a> (VIX) — a measurement of implied volatility — gradually rises starting in the middle of summer and into October. And during election years, that pickup is more pronounced, Sandhu noted.So far, October's VIX futures, which cover the election date, have been rising over the last week even though the S&amp;P 500 remains strong. This indicates increased expectations of volatility. On average, investors have gone long on volatility leading up to an election and tend to take profits just before the event, in expectation of volatility fading quickly after, he said at a conference on Tuesday.<h2 id="a8544eb9-d926-4c96-a2a3-c60541035839">Hedging options</h2>A classic hedging strategy is buying calls on the VIX, which gives the buyer the right to purchase the index as its value rises if volatility picks up. Sandhu noted that when the VIX goes down, demand on VIX calls generally increases because there's more upside potential if it does spike.Another approach is buying puts on the S&amp;P 500, which gives the buyer the right to sell the index at a set price before the expiration date. The contract's value rises if the index falls because it allows its buyer to sell at a set price amid uncertainty.Each option has its pros and cons. The approach that works better depends on how the stock market pulls back. Traditionally, the S&amp;P 500 gradually goes up, with quick pullbacks — like an escalator-up, elevator-down scenario, Sandhu said. But more recently, we have been in an upside-down world, where it's more like an elevator up and an escalator down because investors keep buying the dip, making pullbacks more shallow, he added. This has somewhat muted volatility and changed its function.That said, to get a payout from VIX calls, you need a shock-like pullback, where the market sells off, causing the volatility index to spike. So the VIX strategy may not do as well in this type of dynamic, he noted.Even if it seems cheap to hedge since volatility is low, it can still end up being costly as contracts expire worthless. However, it also depends on your outlook over the next few months."When you buy a VIX call option, you are hedging against a tail-risk event," Sandhu said. "So let's say the Middle East scenario gets really bad, and there's a war, Brent goes above $100 a barrel. That's pretty bad for the financial markets."Meanwhile, S&amp;P 500 long-dated put options are a preferred approach for investors expecting a slower downturn because they have a lower cost of carry. You don't have a contract that expires worthless every month or so, he noted.

The smart money is bracing for a stock-market pullback with 2 options strategies. Why one works better in the current environment.

<ul class="summary-list"><li>Investors agree: Short-term rentals are more lucrative but require more time than long-term rentals.</li><li>Some are shifting to offering mid-term rentals, which are typically defined as 30- to 90-day stays.</li></ul>When Business Insider caught up with Amberly Grant in October 2024, she admitted that it had been "a total s--- week and a half."The 36-year-old is <a target="_blank" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/millennial-coast-fire-saved-over-half-her-income-financial-independence-2024-10">on track to retire early</a> thanks to smart investments, including real estate, but her short-term rentals were causing her extra stress at the time of the interview."I had someone trash my unit, steal the TV. I had a cleaner not show up," she told BI. "This week, for whatever reason, is like every five seconds I'm turning around and I'm losing money and having to deal with a problem. And then I could go a whole month and everything's OK and on autopilot. That's the problem with short-term rentals: It just blows up from time to time."Grant puts up with the occasional blow-up because her Airbnb units bring in a lot more money than her long-term rentals. Comparatively, those properties are "simple," said the Colorado-based investor. "You have one person you're dealing with."That's the consensus among real-estate investors: Hosting shorter stays throughout the year is more lucrative than having tenants sign a 12-month lease.Especially with higher interest rates, which increase your monthly mortgage payment, "long-term rentals are just hard," said <a target="_blank" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/real-estate-investing-strategy-how-to-operate-mid-term-rentals-2023-8">seasoned real-estate investor Zeona McIntyre</a>. "In a lot of places with high home prices, and with the higher interest rates, often the mortgage is going to be more than what you could even charge for rent."In her experience, the same property that may produce $200 in cash flow a month from a long-term tenant could earn up to $1,000 a month from tenants doing shorter stays.The trade-off is time and effort. You're managing bookings and multiple guests a month, constantly optimizing your listing, keeping up with local regulations, and coordinating with cleaners.<div type="image" title="amberly grant" height="878" width="814" msid="114592789" hostid="261" sizebytes="64512"></div>Full-time real-estate investor Avery Heilbron categorizes short-term and long-term rentals as "two completely different things."He manages a mixture of both. Two of Heilbron's 14 total units are Airbnbs. He focuses on unique stays — he has a cabin with a fire pit and hot tub, and a tiny home with a sauna — and says he brings in close to $5,000 a month from each."The Airbnb is definitely more work, definitely not what I would consider a passive activity. You're actively thinking about it — how to make it better — and checking pricing and all that stuff, whereas the long-term, you just sign a tenant and might have a couple of maintenance issues or requests throughout the year," he said.It also requires a separate skillet. He considers the short-term rental business "more of a hospitality business than real-estate investing."<h2 id="ce4b9c86-ec50-4ce8-a290-363f0134dcd4">The 'sweet spot' of real-estate investing: Mid-term rentals</h2>Short- and long-term rentals aren't the only options for real-estate investors. There's an in-between — mid-term rentals, which are typically defined as 30- to 90-day stays — and it could offer the best of both worlds: generous cash flow for relatively passive work.McIntyre is convinced that mid-term rentals are the "sweet spot" in real-estate investing.The strategy didn't come on her radar until 2020 when the COVID-19 pandemic hit and sent her Airbnb business into a tailspin."I was ramping up for a busy summer season. Some of my places were booked all the way through May. But when Covid came around in March, Airbnb said, 'We're going to let everyone cancel for free,'" said McIntyre. "I saw one or two cancellations at first, and then it was everything — all of my bookings canceled at once."<div type="image" title="zeona mcintyre" height="864" width="1152" msid="114592793" hostid="261" sizebytes="41374"></div>That's what led her to experiment with mid-term rentals, which she'd heard about through one of her friends who was having success catering specifically to travel nurses.She listed her properties on Furnished Finder, which helps traveling professionals find temporary housing, and was surprised with the result: "I realized there are tons of people looking all the time for longer stays — and longer stays are kind of awesome because people don't need as much from you. They're OK to go buy their own toilet paper and change the batteries because they're living there. It was a whole different vibe from short-term rentals and way less stressful."Today, more than three years after the pandemic hit, "it's my preferred method," said McIntyre, who wrote "<a target="_blank" href="https://affiliate.insider.com?h=371f5fc4fda0515bca1bdc6966e3d3b81bd82f1e2b8fb49b5500260e3c044d7f&amp;postID=671a7818e5b5408300689ea1&amp;postSlug=real-estate-investors-shifting-investing-strategy-offering-mid-term-rentals-2024-10&amp;site=bi&amp;u=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.amazon.com%2F30-Day-Stay-Investors-Mastering-Medium-Term%2Fdp%2F1947200828">30-Day Stay</a>," to help other investors find and operate mid-term rentals. "I want a longer tenant in there, and I don't want to have to think about it for three months."Heilbron is interested in adding some mid-term rentals to his portfolio. He's converting a 750-square-foot detached garage on his primary home's property into a rental that will help offset his current mortgage. He plans to list the garage for "30 plus days stays," he said.Seattle-based investor Peter Keane-Rivera says he's changing his strategy heading into 2025 and "hybridizing" his Airbnb unit, a 70s-themed "<a target="_blank" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/real-estate-investor-setting-up-successful-airbnb-short-term-rental-2023-3">Groovy Guest House</a>," which he's operated as a short-term vacation rental for about two years. He also rents two single-family homes by the room to long-term tenants.<div type="image" title="peter keane rivera" height="3024" width="4032" msid="114592786" hostid="261" sizebytes="1614002"></div>He enjoys the work that goes into managing a short-term rental. "It does allow you to provide a unique service and really to have control over the quality of that service," he said, explaining that he is more interested in offering 30-plus day stays to create more consistent revenue during the slow season."In the summertime, it pulls in a lot — in June and July, I made almost $5,000 on a one-bedroom in the outskirts of Seattle, so I'm fairly satisfied with that — but in the wintertime, there are lower margins," said Keane-Rivera. "I'd rather get something closer to market rent rates, not have to worry about it for four to five months during the slowest seasons, and then spin it back up for spring, summer, and fall to maximize the return."He believes the ability to toggle between short- and mid-term rentals "is a real asset," he said, adding that if he expands to a second Airbnb unit, he'd use the same strategy: "For eight months out of the year I'd run it as an Airbnb and then during the low season, run it as a mid-term rental."

Real-estate investors agree: Short-term rentals bring in more money but cause headaches. Here's the 'sweet spot' some are shifting to.

<ul class="summary-list"><li>Meta unveiled its Orion AR glasses at the Meta Connect 2024 developer conference.</li><li>The company has faced scrutiny for over $50 billion in losses from its metaverse efforts since 2019.</li></ul>It's no secret Meta has been burning billions a year on Mark Zuckerberg's big metaverse bet.He's made it clear it's a long-term play that could make Meta a leader in the next big computing platform since the iPhone ushered in the smartphone era. He's preached patience to Wall Street.But on Wednesday's <a target="_blank" class="" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/meta-connect-live-updates-mark-zuckerberg-keynote-2024-9">Meta Connect 2024 developer conference</a>, the CEO was finally able to unveil what many of those billions had been spent developing: the <a target="_blank" class="" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/orion-meta-ar-smart-glasses-review-2024-9">Orion AR glasses</a>.Zuckerberg and his CTO, Andrew Bosworth, are clearly excited about the milestone — even if you won't be able to buy the glasses for multiple years. As they see it, it's an important step toward convincing people to buy into the company's vision.In <a target="_blank" class="" href="https://stratechery.com/2024/an-interview-with-meta-cto-andrew-bosworth-about-orion-and-reality-labs/">an interview</a> with analyst and Stratechery's Ben Thompson, Bosworth said that he felt "so gratified" to finally reveal the physical manifestation of Zuckerberg's vision after years of "intense pressure.""Until a year ago probably, we didn't know if we could build any of them still, it was still a bit of a risk," he said. "Then to come up a few months ago and play the software, it was genuinely an emotional moment for me."Meta has garnered <a target="_blank" class="" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/facebook-doubles-down-on-metaverse-spending-despite-calls-cut-costs-2022-10">scrutiny</a> from investors for its colossal cumulative <a target="_blank" class="" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/mark-zuckerberg-metaverse-bet-take-decade-fully-realized-meta-executive-2024-1">loss of over $50 billion</a> since 2019 in its Reality Labs division, which includes Meta's virtual and augmented reality operations as well as its metaverse software efforts. Despite recent <a target="_blank" class="" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/mark-zuckerberg-cuts-spending-reality-labs-meta-report-2024-7">attempts to rein in costs</a>, the tech giant's latest <a target="_blank" class="" href="https://investor.fb.com/investor-news/press-release-details/2024/Meta-Reports-Second-Quarter-2024-Results/default.aspx#:~:text=Revenue%20%E2%80%93%20Total%20revenue%20was%20%2439.07,%25%20year%2Dover%2Dyear">second-quarter results</a> reported losing another $4.48 billion in operating costs for the metaverse — and the company expects those losses to "increase meaningfully year-over-year."However, while <a target="_blank" class="" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/orion-meta-ar-smart-glasses-review-2024-9">Orion</a> has been marketed as the future of computing, it seems it will stay in the future — for a while. Each pair of glasses reportedly costs $10,000 to make, and Bosworth said scaling that down to be suitable for purchase will take roughly three to five years.<div type="image" title="Meta Connect 2024 orion" height="1526" width="2872" msid="113718561" hostid="261" sizebytes="62028"></div>But Bosworth said the company still wanted to showcase its vision of where things are going — and the tangible results after a decade of investing in AR."The first reason we're showing it is as a proof point for people," he said. "It's like, 'Hey, invest with us, believe in us, if you're a technologist, come work with us, this is the thing.'"The second target audience was the developers. The CTO said the goal was to "ignite" enthusiasm for those investing in making apps for Meta's platform."If you're investing in our social platform, you're going to get that dividend not just in the Quest ecosystem, but eventually also in the AR ecosystem," he said, referencing the company's Quest mixed-reality headsets.And Zuckerberg has long been a staunch believer in augmented reality being tech's next big thing after the iPhone. The Facebook founder <a target="_blank" class="" href="https://www.theverge.com/24253481/meta-ceo-mark-zuckerberg-ar-glasses-orion-ray-bans-ai-decoder-interview">told</a> The Verge that Orion is "the quintessential vision" of AR as the "next major multibillion-person computing platform."Meta, then called Facebook, missed out on the latest platform shift from PC to smartphones, with Apple and Google dominating the hardware and software. When Meta ships out a new version of Facebook, Instagram, or WhatsApp, it has to play by Google and Apple's app store rules.This time around, Zuckerberg is hoping to come out ahead with Meta's software and hardware ecosystem."And then all these other things are going to get built out around it," he told The Verge.<div type="image" title="Meta Connect 2024 holographic glasses Mark Zuckerberg" height="1550" width="2872" msid="113718558" hostid="261" sizebytes="68414"></div>Both Zuckerberg and Bosworth are facing fierce competition, especially from Apple.In 2020, Apple CEO Tim Cook <a target="_blank" class="" href="https://www.siliconrepublic.com/machines/tim-cook-ar-war-ducks-healthtech">once said</a> that he viewed AR as "the next big thing" and that it would "pervade our entire lives." The company released its own wearable spatial computer with the <a target="_blank" class="" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/my-apple-vision-pro-nightmare-surveillance-privacy-2024-3">Apple Vision Pro</a> in February, angling for the high-end market with a $3499 price tag. Heavy and bulky, the Vision Pro is currently up against Meta's lower-priced Quest lineup, which now starts at $299.But as Apple eyes cheaper versions and lighter form factors more akin to glasses, and Meta works to lower the price to manufacture Orion, the stage is set for them to battle for control of the next platform shift.Mark Zuckerberg knows it. He said earlier this month that he sees Apple as Meta's <a target="_blank" class="" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/mark-zuckerberg-meta-apple-culture-differences-competition-rivalry-2024-9">"primary competitor"</a> over the next decade.With Orion existing, even as an absurdly expensive almost-developer kit, Meta feels like it's finally found a potential successor to the smartphone."It could do it, that's exactly how I feel," Bosworth told Thompson.

Meta CTO explains why it was important for Mark Zuckerberg to show off $10,000 smart glasses you can't buy

<ul class="summary-list"><li>You need more than a battery-powered car to get Wall Street's attention these days.</li><li>The hype train has moved on to EV software.</li></ul>A battery-powered car alone is no longer enough to excite Wall Street.Many companies are now on the same playing field when it comes to EV range, charging times, and the ability to mass-produce these vehicles. That leaves Wall Street investors looking for something else to set an electric vehicle maker apart: software.Leading this change in investor interest is, once again, Tesla. As an ongoing slowdown in the growth of electric car sales <a target="_blank" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/tesla-sales-miss-ev-slowdown-new-wave-customers-2024-4">finally pinched Elon Musk's car company</a> this year, the billionaire has been putting more emphasis on the power of Tesla's software to underpin a driverless robotaxi fleet, which would create an entirely new revenue stream just as sales revenue is shrinking.The plans helped reverse a weekslong rout in Tesla's stock price as Musk once again hyped "a combination of Airbnb and Uber," that would up utilization of owners' cars when they'd otherwise sit parked and help them gain value over time — the opposite of what usually happens with new vehicles. As <a target="_blank" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/automakers-over-estimated-electric-vehicle-demand-early-adopters-2023-10">demand for EVs wanes</a> and Tesla's plans for a more affordable model are no more apparent, investors have latched onto Musk's software-based plans for the company."The key for Tesla's stock looking ahead is the Street recognizing that Tesla is the most undervalued AI play in the market," Dan Ives, a longtime Tesla bull at Wedbush, wrote in a note to clients in early July.Tesla has a <a target="_blank" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/tesla-stock-price-prediction-tsla-deliveries-demand-robotaxi-elon-musk-2024-07">Robotaxi day scheduled</a> for investors next month that Ives says "will lay the yellow brick road to FSD and an autonomous future."<h2 id="a5e24519-ca4a-4a8b-afa6-8a0dc96da797">All aboard the hype train</h2>It appears Tesla's competitors are recognizing the same change in the hype cycle.Rivian, which has been facing its own issues with a falling stock price and disappointing financial results, is now riding high after announcing a software <a target="_blank" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/volkswagen-invests-5-billion-rivian-software-development-r2-suv-affordability-2024-6">joint venture with Volkswagen</a>.The companies said that Volkswagen will make an initial $1 billion investment in Rivian as part of a software development deal. It's Rivian's second high-profile joint venture with a major automaker since it burst onto the scene a few years ago.The first was a $500 million investment from <a target="_blank" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/rivian-electric-vehicle-ford-to-invest-500-million-2019-4">Ford to build EVs</a> in a joint venture Rivian struck before it had even started production. That deal eventually fizzled, and the companies did not end up building a car together.Now, heading into the <a target="_blank" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/rivian-ugrades-r1-truck-suv-ev-more-power-range-speed-2024-6">second generation</a> of its pickup truck and SUV lineup, Rivian is joining forces with Volkswagen on the brain of the vehicle.After <a target="_blank" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/rivian-layoffs-wall-street-expectations-production-customers-r1t-r1s2023-2">losing its post-IPO luster</a>, Rivian has struggled to boost its stock price in recent years despite decent demand for their cars and well-received redesigns and <a target="_blank" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/rivian-r2-suv-release-price-range-specs-photos-2024-3">new models announced earlier this year</a>.In a sign that the hype train has moved on from just EVs to the software that powers them, Rivian's stock enjoyed a 49% surge in after-hours trading following the announcement of the VW deal.<h2 id="3fb89ae1-5ac2-4025-98b1-39d8ab05d296">EV startups have always followed Wall Street's interests to raise money</h2>Joint ventures like the one between Rivian and <a target="_blank" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/volkswagen-is-using-ai-to-speed-up-and-scale-marketing-while-also-integrating-chatgpt-into-its-vehicles-says-cmo-susanne-franz-2024-6">Volkswagen</a> have become a common occurrence in recent years, and while the contents of these deals often change, the motivation remains the same.Startups like Rivian need to follow Wall Street's interests to keep money flowing. This time, a software-focused deal appears to have done the trick.As of Friday afternoon, <a target="_blank" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/rivian-r2-everything-we-know-pricing-production-details-2024-2">Rivian</a>'s stock was still hovering above its more recent averages, up about 22% since its last closing price before the deal was announced June 25.The day after Rivian and Volkswagen announced the partnership Bank of America analyst John Murphy praised the deal as a smart money-raising move for Rivian.Murphy said the deal, totaling $5 billion in investment from VW over time, will aid in funding Rivian's ongoing production ramp-up of the R2 lineup in Normal, Il, as well as <a target="_blank" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/rivian-layoffs-after-delaying-georgia-factory-r2-2024-4">a second factory in Georgia</a> that will house the R3 vehicle platform."We have assumed RIVN would need to raise more capital, and VW's investments in RIVN will prove valuable in helping it achieve the scale necessary to get to positive free cash flow," Murphy wrote.While Volkswagen's stock price hasn't enjoyed the same ride as Rivian's, investors are pleased to see the German automaker focusing on improving its software development programs. JP Morgan analyst Jose Asumendi called the joint venture "a positive step in the right direction to accelerate the transition of VW Group into becoming a more agile entity."

EVs aren't exciting anymore. Investors want to hear about software.

<ul class="summary-list"><li>Vinod Khosla on Sunday urged Democrats to select a moderate candidate against Trump.</li><li>Elon Musk pushed back in defense of Trump, sparking a heated exchange with Khosla on X.</li></ul>Shortly after <a target="_blank" class="" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/joe-biden-dropping-out-what-happens-next-2024-7">President Joe Biden withdrew</a> his candidacy from the 2024 presidential race, <a target="_blank" class="" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/business-leaders-billionaires-respond-biden-drops-out-elon-musk-2024-7">Vinod Khosla</a>, a venture capitalist and OpenAI investor, posted on X that the Democratic Party should select a moderate candidate to <a target="_blank" class="" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/kamala-harris-wants-to-unite-democratic-party-defeat-trump-biden-2024-7">defeat former president Donald Trump</a>.<a target="_blank" class="" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/openai-investor-vinod-khosla-says-he-works-80-hour-weeks-2023-12">Khosla</a> first posted that an open convention could yield a candidate who could "easily" beat Trump, such as Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer or Pennsylvania Gov. Josh Shapiro — in a later post, he also called on Vice President <a target="_blank" class="" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/kamala-harris-nominee-democrats-endorse-republicans-attack-ads-2024-7">Kamala Harris</a> or Kentucky Gov. Andy Beshear to declare their candidacy. He noted these politicians could lead the US without the nation being "held hostage between MAGA extremists and DEI extremism."<a target="_blank" class="" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/elon-musk-biden-dropping-out-2024-7">Elon Musk</a>, CEO of Tesla, was not impressed."Come on, Vinod. Trump/Vance LFG!!" he replied.Musk, who <a target="_blank" rel="" class="" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/elon-musk-endorses-trump-after-pennsylvania-rally-incident-2024-7">fully endorsed Donald Trump</a> last Saturday after the shooting at a Trump rally, has been praised by the former president as a "<a target="_blank" class="" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/donald-trump-loves-elon-musk-45-million-donation-pac-2024-7">brilliant guy</a>" — despite Trump saying he hadn't heard about Musk's reported plan of donating <a target="_blank" rel="" class="" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/elon-musk-donate-45-million-pro-trump-pac-report-2024-7">$45 million each month </a>to a pro-Trump super PAC.Khosla is a Democratic donor who <a target="_blank" class="" href="https://puck.news/silicon-valley-megadonor-power-rankings/">hosted a fundraiser</a> for Biden in May and previously endorsed Hillary Clinton in 2016. He snapped back, noting it would be hard to support Trump."Hard for me to support someone with no values, lies, cheats, rapes, demeans women, hates immigrants like me," Khosla replied. "He may cut my taxes or reduce some regulation but that is no reason to accept depravity in his personal values. Do you want President who will set back climate by a decade in his first year? Do you want his example for your kids as values?"The two tech leaders exchanged more messages. Musk said the Republican Party has replaced the Democratic Party as the party protecting people's freedoms."I'm not suggesting that Trump is without flaws, however we need an administration that is more likely to be meritocratic and promote individual freedoms over the heavy hand of government," Musk wrote.Though Khosla agreed with Musk's comment on meritocracy and individual freedoms, he took issue with Trump's stances on climate and America's global leadership.Khosla continued to post throughout the afternoon, asserting his views on the climate crisis, advocating for ranked-choice voting, and stressing the importance of "values and morals" in the age of AI acceleration.In another post, Khosla tagged <a target="_blank" class="" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/elon-musk-twitter">Musk,</a> asking if he would be "willing forgive him for trying to subvert democracy on <a target="_blank" class="" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/category/capitol-riot">Jan 6</a> and push for insurrection just to win?"Musk did not reply to that post.Khosla added later in the evening that he couldn't agree with Trump's energy policy of "drill, baby, drill" and <a target="_blank" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/trump-abandon-nato-mafia-type-hate-alliances-ex-us-general-2024-2">abandoning</a><a target="_blank" class="" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/trump-abandon-nato-mafia-type-hate-alliances-ex-us-general-2024-2"> the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO)</a>. Musk responded that "civilization does need oil &amp; gas for quite some," a notable response from the chief executive of an electric vehicle company who once said climate change is one of humanity's greatest <a target="_blank" class="" href="https://www.rollingstone.com/culture/culture-news/why-elon-musks-ambition-is-an-antidote-to-climate-pessimism-196804/">existential threats</a>."I don't think we should demonize an industry that is essential for humanity to function," Musk wrote. "However, as you know, sustainable energy production and consumption is growing very rapidly and is tracking to exceed use of hydrocarbon fuels. That will happen no matter what Trump does."Sam Altman, CEO of <a target="_blank" class="" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/openai-new-safety-hack-ai-models-policing-each-other-2024-7">OpenAI</a>, has not publicly shared his thoughts about Biden's decision.Musk touted how some White House aides learned about Biden dropping out by reading X. The platform estimated Biden's announcement got over 289 million views by Sunday night. He also noted on X that his "smartest friends," including lifelong Democrats, "are excited about <a target="_blank" class="" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/jd-vance-elon-musk-tesla-electric-vehicle-tax-credit-oil-2024-7">Trump/Vance</a>."Yann LeCun, Meta's chief AI scientist, replied, "Your smartest friends aren't very smart."

Elon Musk asked OpenAI investor Vinod Khosla to support Trump. Khosla said he doesn't 'accept depravity'.

Investors and execs eye Trump's potential return to the White House

<ul class="summary-list"><li>Indicators are pointing to a major correction coming for stocks, market strategist Paul Dietrich says. </li><li>The B. Riley Wealth chief investment strategist says the market is "bizarrely overvalued."</li></ul>The stock market looks "bizarrely" overvalued and indicators are pointing to a big correction on the way, according to Paul Dietrich, chief investment strategist of B. Riley Wealth.Speaking to <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oCCIWlcgpeU&amp;ab_channel=YahooFinance" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Yahoo Finance</a>, Dietrich pointed to a handful of indicators in the market, which are all flashing a collective warning sign for stocks. Red flags are arising in the price-to-earnings ratio of the S&amp;P 500, and multiples mirror levels seen prior to the dot-com bubble crash. "Every single indicator seems to tell us we're in a historic, historic bubble," Dietrich said. "It's hard to look at that and say that we're not going to see a major, major correction coming. Now is not the time to be putting new money in the market," he warned.The biggest indicator of a coming correction is "smart money" investors, who are moving out of the stock market and into safer cash equivalents, Dietrich said. He pointed to recent stock sales from billionaires like <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/jeff-bezos-50-million-amazon-shares-sell-off-is-complete-2024-2#:~:text=Jeff%20Bezos'%20great%20big%20February%20stock%20sell%2Doff%20is%20complete&amp;text=Jeff%20Bezos%20has%20finished%20selling,to%20step%20down%20as%20CEO.">Jeff Bezos</a>, <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/warren-buffett-letter-munger-berkshire-annual-shareholder-stock-speculation-ai-2024-2">Warren Buffett</a>, and the <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/life-of-the-walton-family-behind-walmart-and-sams-club-2018-12">Walton family</a>, the heirs to the Walmart empire, as a sign big investors sense the market is poised to correct.While sales by insiders or big shareholders are often <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/walton-family-sells-walmart-stock-during-rally-2024-2">scheduled in advance</a>, they can also be a sign that investors are concerned the market is approaching a peak, Dietrich suggested."There's just no ambiguity here. It is bizarrely overvalued," Dietrich said of the stock market. "You're seeing the smart money right now moving massive amounts into cash … It's not that they don't believe in their companies. They do. They know it's just completely overvalued and if they sell it now, they can buy it back cheaper later." It's unclear what could trigger a coming stock correction, Dietrich said, noting that prior crashes, like the one that preceded the 2008 crisis, were sparked by <a href="https://markets.businessinsider.com/news/stocks/stock-market-outlook-black-swan-crash-rally-bubble-burst-earnings-2023-4">unpredictable, Black Swan events</a>. A spike in oil prices <a href="https://markets.businessinsider.com/news/commodities/oil-gas-prices-israel-gaza-war-middle-east-houthi-iran-2024-2">as a result of geopolitical conflict</a>, or more <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/commercial-real-estate-big-trouble-crash-bank-crisis-2024-2">regional banking troubles</a> stemming from the commercial real estate sector, could set the downfall for stocks in motion, he speculated.Dietrich has cast himself among the most bearish of Wall Street forecasters at a time when most investors are still feeling bullish about stocks and the economy. Previously, he predicted that the <a href="https://markets.businessinsider.com/news/stocks/stock-market-outlook-recession-economy-fed-inflation-ai-bubble-crash-2024-2">stock market could crash as much as 40%</a> if the US encounters a mild recession.

The 'bizarrely' overvalued stock market is poised for a big correction and the smart money is moving into cash, chief strategist says

<ul><li>Research shows that the biggest concern amongst organisations leveraging cloud is managing costs. </li><li>Data egress costs can hinder adherence to cloud budgets as businesses are forced to pay thousands of dollars per year. </li><li>High data egress costs are prevalent among OTT platforms, e-commerce websites and online education providers. </li></ul>Cloud - the omnipresent and imperative catalyst of innovation has today become synonymous with a citadel ensuring business resilience for many organisations. Echoing this, <a href="https://www.intelligentcio.com/apac/2022/05/09/gartner-forecasts-worldwide-public-cloud-end-user-spending-to-reach-nearly-us500-billion-in-2022/#:~:text=Sign%20up-,Gartner%20forecasts%20worldwide%20public%20cloud%20end%2Duser%20spending%20to%20reach,US%24500%20billion%20in%202022&amp;text=Worldwide%20end%2Duser%20spending%20on,the%20latest%20forecast%20from%20Gartner.">Gartner</a> predicts that the worldwide end-user spending on public cloud services will reach a significant $494.7 billion in 2022. Even with all the benefits, there are still some challenges and lack of understanding associated with cloud acceptance that makes many organisations hesitant, leading to delays in their cloud journey or a retreat to their monolithic traditional processes. Amongst such challenges, the top spot is claimed by the inability to ensure excellent cloud economics due to unexpected fees or lack of planning and understanding. Even when organisations learn to map out an economical cloud journey, hidden costs creep up in arrears to disrupt their near- to-perfect approach. Research by <a href="https://www.oreilly.com/radar/the-cloud-in-2021-adoption-continues/">O’Reilly</a> also found that the biggest concern amongst organisations leveraging cloud is managing cost. Mounting data egress cost These hidden costs are especially alarming in today’s time when cloud isn’t just an additional business process but is the foundation for creating future-ready organisations. Enterprises are often hit with egress cost or data outbound cost as a surprise billed in arrears, preventing them from planning smart extraction of data in advance. This has globally become a significant hindrance towards ensuring adherence to cloud budgets, with some businesses paying thousands of dollars per year. Businesses of every size and in every sector find these costs unmanageable mostly due to lack of a prior understanding. While smaller organisations may struggle with finding the budget, bigger ones with businesses across multiple countries and multiple regions find it challenging to track these costs, with many teams working simultaneously. Due to these hefty hidden costs, return on investment for cloud hosting comes down considerably, making it seem like a less efficient way of doing business. Every business leveraging cloud will eventually move their data out in one form or the other regardless of the industry they are in, but a significant example of sectors caught in the egress whirlwind would be OTT platforms, e-commerce websites and online education amongst many others. These platforms have witnessed a massive uptick in recent times, causing them to move data at an unprecedented rate and resulting in significant data egress cost. Even beyond this, any large organisation with business spillover systems running across multiple locations or at multiple data centres is bound to witness a huge egress bill as these systems inevitably need to interact with one another. For instance, an e-commerce platform is bound to interact with multiple external parties to ensure business is conducted smoothly, thus leading to excessive data input and output. In such specific instances, it becomes extremely difficult to predict egress costs as the organisations cannot forecast the number of users that are going to leverage their platform. Even when organisations learn to predict the costs, they are presented with another challenge – a baffling cost structure. There are multiple tiers and complexities in calculations besides hidden clauses, making it a difficult task to effectively calculate the egress charges in advance. The baton must lie with the cloud providers to ensure that businesses–big or small–are able to effectively plan and understand any hidden costs well in advance. As we aim for a world where 100% of organisational processes are cloud-led, we may eventually witness a global slowdown on cloud acceptance with a domino effect if cloud investments begin to seem like an uncurbed burden. Such high egress costs will also eventually become a hindrance to ensuring innovation via an extremely beneficial multi-cloud environment, considering they can rack up excessive data outbound costs. Navigating hidden expenses As cloud becomes a necessity, organisations must leverage it but at the same time ensure superior cloud economics by learning to navigate these costs. The first step would be to find a cloud provider whose services don’t end at product delivery but start there. A cloud provider must be a strategic advisor that guides the organisation to receive an excellent return on investment. While the egress cost remains a huge source of revenue for cloud providers and therefore cannot be completely eliminated, businesses should try to find a vendor who has lowered these costs considerably, and also has an existing low standard billing and techniques in place that will help reduce costs further. Ultimately, cloud today is not a choice but a necessity for organisations to sustain. Therefore, businesses must become smart cloud investors by choosing the right cloud partner. Cloud providers must also engage deeply with businesses and help them receive maximum returns on investment. <keyword id="14585597" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="Shabeer-Mohamed" source="Orion">Shabeer Mohamed</keyword> is Senior Director at <keyword id="3435756" type="General" weightage="80" keywordseo="oracle-digital" source="Orion">Oracle Digital</keyword>. The opinions expressed by the author do not necessarily reflect the views of <keyword id="1857762" type="General" weightage="80" keywordseo="business-insider-india" source="Orion">Business Insider India</keyword>. SEE ALSO : <a target="_blank" class="c-link c-message_attachment__title_link" href="https://www.businessinsider.in/tech/enterprise/news/how-automation-is-making-it-service-desks-more-efficient/articleshow/93203071.cms">How automation is making IT service desks more efficient</a> <a target="_blank" class="c-link c-message_attachment__title_link" href="https://www.businessinsider.in/stock-market/news/markets-trend-higher-as-fii-flows-reverse-and-top-companies-hit-52-week-high/articleshow/93202891.cms">Markets trend higher as FII flows reverse and top companies hit 52-week high</a>

Becoming a smart cloud investor: Managing hidden egress costs

<ul class="summary-list"><li>Walmart quietly reduced its store count in 2023 even though the company was doing really well.</li><li>In addition to closing underperforming stores, the retailer sold 79 Moosejaw and Bonobos locations.</li></ul>Last year was unquestionably a good one for Walmart, with the retail giant showing <a target="_blank" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/walmart-sales-boom-target-slides-as-shoppers-shift-to-groceries-2023-8">respectable performance</a> across nearly every aspect of its business.The coming year is also set to be a big one for the company, due in large part to the kickoff of an expansion plan that will see <a target="_blank" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/walmart-new-stores-expansion-2024-1">150 new or upsized Walmart locations</a> over the next five years.But one figure has gotten noticeably smaller last year: the number of US stores.The company quietly reduced its fleet by more than 100 locations between January and August last year, according to data from the company's investor <a target="_blank" href="https://stock.walmart.com/financials/unit-counts-and-square-footage/default.aspx">website</a>.Walmart reported a combined 4,717 supercenters, discount stores, and smaller format locations at the start of its fiscal year, and declined to 4,616 in the span of two quarters. No closures were reported in the third quarter, and one discount store was reported closed in the fourth quarter.Over most of last year, BI tracked the <a target="_blank" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/walmart-store-closings-2023-full-list">major Walmart closures</a> across the US through federally required layoff notices filed with state workforce agencies.Of the combined 23 supercenters, stores, and neighborhood markets that fell off the company's tally during the year, spokespeople said the locations' <a target="_blank" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/walmart-store-closings-openings-2024-full-list">financial performance was not meeting expectations</a>.As it happens, the reduction of 79 small format locations was not due to closure per se, but the <a target="_blank" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/walmart-sells-moosejaw-bonobos-eloquii-in-post-marc-lore-era-2023-4">sale of the Moosejaw and Bonobos brands</a>, which at the time had 14 and 65 stores, respectively.Dick's Sporting Goods, which bought Moosejaw, went on to close most of those stores.In addition, Walmart's 20 remaining small-format stores are a comparatively tiny 2,500 square feet on average, and may not typically employ enough workers to trigger the layoff notice requirement if they were to close.Those locations are primarily standalone fuel stations and pharmacies, according to a new footnote that was included with the fourth quarter counts, which were released after initial publication of this article.Given <a target="_blank" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/walmart-and-target-are-looking-increasingly-similar-these-days-2023-12">what Walmart has planned for the next few years</a>, the move away from smaller locations makes sense. Analysts told BI that both the closing of underperforming stores and the pivot away from unsuccessful formats are smart moves for a company that wants to stay in good financial shape.Walmart under <a target="_blank" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/walmart-ceo-doug-mcmillon-bio-career-life-salary-first-job-2021-6">CEO Doug McMillon</a> has shown a willingness to experiment with different retailing ideas, to let them go if they don't perform well, and to reinvest the savings in other areas of the business, said Scot Ciccarelli, managing director and senior equity research analyst at Truist Securities."It's a repositioning more than anything, and good retailers are going to do the same with their store portfolio," Ciccarelli told BI.Small stores simply weren't working for Walmart, GlobalData retail analyst Neil Saunders told BI."Walmart has always struggled with smaller stores," Saunders said. "Partly because they don't really know what to put in them — it's not really what Walmart is known for and the economics are much more challenging."Large retailers — and Walmart is of course the <a target="_blank" href="https://fortune.com/company/walmart/">largest</a> of them all — typically are more concerned with the total square footage of their physical footprint than they are with the number of locations.In other words, big box brands care more about floors than doors, Ciccarelli said.By that metric, Walmart will offset last year's square-footage reductions from closing dozens of small-format stores with the opening of just one new supercenter, and the company has plenty more of those in the queue.In addition to new stores, many existing locations are being upgraded to <a target="_blank" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/visiting-walmart-recently-renovated-supercenters-in-wisconsin-2023-11">Walmart's "store of the future" concept</a>, including 650 projects this year.These bigger buildings are far better aligned with Walmart's omni-channel retailing strategy than their itty-bitty counterparts. The extra space is especially important when it comes to offering a broad selection of food and non-food products, as well as<a target="_blank" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/walmart-going-after-amazon-with-ecommerce-strategy-from-target-2023-12"> fulfilling e-commerce orders</a>.In short, Walmart's paring back in 2023 set the stage for its expansion in 2024 and beyond." US store remodels continue to perform well," CFO John David Rainey said in the company's earnings call on Tuesday. "We're also excited to be returning to store growth in the US."Correction, February 19, 2023: After the publication of this article, Walmart clarified that the reduction in 79 small format stores was a result of the sales of Moosejaw and Bonobos, not location closures as stated in the original headline and story text.Update, February 20, 2023: This story was revised to include final full-year figures and quotes from Walmart's earnings call Tuesday.

Walmart reduced its store fleet by 102 locations last year &mdash; a smart move for what's next

<ul class="summary-list"><li>Ray Dalio still considers China to be worth investing in, he said in a <a href="https://www.linkedin.com/pulse/answer-question-why-i-invest-china-ray-dalio-bmsxe/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">LinkedIn post</a> on Monday.</li><li>It follows another recent post where he forecasted a "100-year storm" if policymakers don't act.</li></ul>Now is the best moment to invest in China, even with the country on course for choppier waters, billionaire investor Ray Dalio <a href="https://www.linkedin.com/pulse/answer-question-why-i-invest-china-ray-dalio-bmsxe/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">wrote on LinkedIn</a>."I have invested throughout many cycles in many countries and learned the adage 'the time to buy is when there is blood in the streets,'" he said. "The time to buy is when everyone hates the market and it's cheap (which is now the case in Chinese equities), especially when it looks increasingly likely that the economic leadership is about to do something like a 'beautiful deleveraging.'" The <a href="https://www.linkedin.com/pulse/answer-question-why-i-invest-china-ray-dalio-bmsxe/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Monday post</a> followed up on an earlier piece from Dalio, warning that a <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/ray-dalio-china-commentary-economic-geopolitical-macro-outlook-climate-storm-2024-3">"100-year storm" could cloud over China</a>, if Beijing didn't counter some key challenges. Those included a rising wealth gap, mounting debt, and geopolitical strain with the US.Such issues have been top of mind for investors over years now, made hard to ignore by China's <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/china-evergrande-property-real-estate-crisis-debts-collapse-what-happens-2024-2">debt-burdened property market</a> and trade clashes with the West. Many have fled the country's equities in droves, and <a href="https://markets.businessinsider.com/news/stocks/china-economy-crash-real-estate-property-stock-market-foreign-investors-2024-2">Chinese firms have suffered a $7 trillion market hit</a> since 2021.But Dalio argues that they're manageable problems, as long as Chinese leaders are "smart and courageous," he wrote. Already, the country's policymakers are pursuing quantitative easing and debt restructurings, he noted, deleveraging actions Dalio suggested in his original post. "Like all countries throughout history, they can restructure the financial system economy to be productive. They can also manage how to deal with political, geopolitical, nature, and technology forces well," he now wrote. Although Dalio didn't write off investor concerns about ongoing conditions in China, there are still good investments to snap up if focused on fundamentals, he said. Meanwhile, emerging concern over China's political structure or its tension with the US aren't strong enough to pull out of its markets."I can't diversify as well as I'd like to without investing in China. For example, China and the US are the only dominant powers in the most important industries and how these two nations are with each other will shape the world," he said, citing that the nation will remain a core position in his portfolio.

Billionaire investor Ray Dalio explains why he's still investing in China despite a '100-year storm' looming

<ul class="summary-list"><li>In a pair of open letters to shareholders, Disney's heirs put their weight behind CEO Bob Iger.</li><li>The investor Nelson Peltz's Trian Fund Management is seeking seats on Disney's board.</li></ul>In a pair of <a target="_blank" href="https://twitter.com/ScottGustin/status/1763344904032227514">letters to shareholders</a> on Thursday, the grandchildren of Walt Disney and Roy O. Disney endorsed CEO Bob Iger and spoke out against "activist investors" such as Nelson Peltz."Disney stories are filled with heroes and villains. We know who the villains are in this story, and we know they cannot be entrusted with protecting this company's rich legacy or guiding its bright future," one letter said. The two letters were collectively signed by eight Disney heirs, including <a target="_blank" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/abigail-disney-millionaire-heiress-tax-the-rich-wealth-2024-1">Abigail Disney</a>.The heirs said Iger and his management had been "faithful" to Disney's "magic," and the CEO had "grown this company in a modern world."They also said their grandfathers would be very concerned about investors such as Peltz, who they said were attempting to take over the company only to break it apart.Peltz's Trian Fund Management, which owns about $3 billion of Disney stock, has <a target="_blank" rel="" href="https://markets.businessinsider.com/news/stocks/nelson-peltz-disney-bob-iger-activist-investor-stock-market-analysis-2023-12">criticized Disney's leadership</a> and is seeking seats on its board. In early February, <a target="_blank" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/disney-bob-iger-nelson-peltz-trian-proxy-fight-continues-2024-2">Iger and Peltz threw jabs at each other</a> following Disney's better-than-expected <a target="_blank" href="https://www.nasdaq.com/articles/disney-dis-q1-earnings-beat-estimates-revenues-rise-y-y-0#:~:text=The%20Walt%20Disney%20Company%20DIS,the%20consensus%20mark%20by%200.58%25.">earnings report</a>.Trian Fund Management didn't immediately respond to a request for comment from Business Insider sent outside regular working hours.Read the full letters here, which were first published in full by <a target="_blank" href="https://variety.com/2024/biz/news/disney-grandchildren-activist-investors-shareholder-letters-1235927252/">Variety</a>:From Roy O. Disney's grandchildren:From Walt Disney's grandchildren:

You Searched For "Smart Investor" and got 12 results

Oura, beloved by techies and athletes alike, is launching a new smart ring this month: Bloomberg

Lian Kit Wee

The smart money is bracing for a stock-market pullback with 2 options strategies. Why one works better in the current environment.

Laila Maidan

Real-estate investors agree: Short-term rentals bring in more money but cause headaches. Here's the 'sweet spot' some are shifting to.

Kathleen Elkins

Meta CTO explains why it was important for Mark Zuckerberg to show off $10,000 smart glasses you can't buy

Jaures Yip

EVs aren't exciting anymore. Investors want to hear about software.

Nora Naughton

Elon Musk asked OpenAI investor Vinod Khosla to support Trump. Khosla said he doesn't 'accept depravity'.

Noah Sheidlower

Investors and execs eye Trump's potential return to the White House

Dan DeFrancesco

The 'bizarrely' overvalued stock market is poised for a big correction and the smart money is moving into cash, chief strategist says

Jennifer Sor

Becoming a smart cloud investor: Managing hidden egress costs

guest author

Walmart reduced its store fleet by 102 locations last year a smart move for what's next

Dominick Reuter

Billionaire investor Ray Dalio explains why he's still investing in China despite a '100-year storm' looming

Filip De Mott

Read the open letters Disney heirs wrote to shareholders, defending Bob Iger and slamming activist investors as 'villains'

Shubhangi Goel

Popular Keywords

Buying Guides