Earnings will likely be front and center over the next few weeks, as the first quarter results announcements pick up the pace. The weekend, though quiet, had its fair share of interesting developments that have ramifications for the trading week.
Here's a recap of a few major headlines that hit the wire over the weekend:
1. Twitter (NYSE:TWTR) Folding In? Twitter, Inc.'s (NYSE: TWTR) board met with Tesla, Inc. (NASDAQ: TSLA) CEO Elon Musk on Sunday regarding a potential takeover, the Wall Street Journal reported, citing people familiar with the matter. The Journal reported a deal could be reached between both parties as early as this week. Musk reportedly made his pitch to several shareholders, mainly actively-managed funds, over a series of video calls.
Wedbush analyst Daniel Ives sees the rumored development as a function of a lack of a competing bid and Twitter's shaky fundamentals that could manifest in the quarterly earnings report due this week.
2. Nonagenarian Warren Buffet Fit As Fiddle: Warren Buffett said he couldn't be in better health as he continues to lead Berkshire Hathaway (NYSE:BRKa), Inc. (NYSE: BRK-A) (NYSE: BRK-B) for over five-and-a-half decades. The billionaire investor said in an interview with Charlie Rose that although his senses aren't sharper like earlier, he can run a business effectively. The investment guru also suggested that his successor is in place at Berkshire but he isn't warming up yet.
The comments come even as investors in the holding company are calling for Buffett to give up his role as chairman of the board while retaining his CEO position.
3. Dogecoin Backers Debate Way to Increase Utility: As Dogecoin (CRYPTO: DOGE) languishes along with the rest of the cryptocurrencies, the meme coin's co-founder Billy Markus mulled over three ways of adding utility to it. His suggestions, which came in the form of a tweet, included increasing business adoption, usage of the meme coin as a tipping currency and allowing its usage with web3.
Musk chimed in with his response, which was along the expected lines. He agreed with the first two recommendations but said he wasn't in favor of the third utility. The Tesla CEO has been a skeptic of Web3.0, which is an iteration of the internet that will allow users directly access the web without third parties such as Twitter or Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ: FB) or Alphabet, Inc. (NASDAQ: NASDAQ:GOOGL) (NASDAQ: GOOG).
Related Link: Why This Analyst Thinks Tesla's Disruptive Potential Can Put These Companies Out Of Business
4. Foxconn Succumbs to China COVID-19 Lockdown: Apple, Inc.'s (NASDAQ: NASDAQ:AAPL) Taiwanese iPhone assembler Hon Hai Precision Industry Company Ltd. (OTC: HNHPF) finally had to shutter two of its factories in Kunshan, located in the Jiangsu province amid the rise in COVID-19 cases. Hon Hai, commonly called Foxconn, was so far managing to keep its plants humming despite tightening lockdowns.
5. New EU Regulations On Illegal Online Content: Online platforms such as Google and Meta's Facebook (NASDAQ:FB) may be subject to increased scrutiny in Europe in the future. EU nations and lawmakers have agreed on the broad terms of the Digital Services Act, which mandates that the digital platforms assume greater responsibility to optimize the content on their platforms to curtain illegal content.
What Else: Readers may also want to check Benzinga's weekend box coverage, with the recent installment showing "The Bad Guys" topping the charts with $24 million in ticket sales.
The Central African Republic became the second country to adopt Bitcoin (CRYPTO: BTC) as legal tender, following in the footsteps of El Salvador.
A slew of Food and Drug administration decisions and big pharma earnings will dictate sentiment toward biopharma stocks this week.
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