equity
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NASA hopes to make space more accessible by addressing socioeconomic barriers
It's part of a broader push by the federal government to improve racial equity.
Apple reportedly tells workers they're allowed to discuss conditions and pay
Apple has reportedly sent a memo telling staff they can discuss working conditions and pay, although
Apple will build a learning hub in Atlanta as part of its racial equity pledge
Apple has shed more light on its $100 million pledge to improve racial equity. Today, the company announced that it will be making a $25 million contribution to the Propel Center, a learning hub designed for members of the HBCU (Historically Black Colleges and Universities). It will include a physical campus at the Atlanta University Center, a virtual platform for remote learning and events at partner institutions’ campuses.
Apple pledges $100 million to foster racial equity and justice
Apple is launching a Racial Equity and Justice Initiative that will foster education, careers and justice, and it's starting with a $100 million commitment.
Airbnb hopes to give hosts a stake in the company
If Airbnb has its way, hosting travelers won't just get you some spending money -- it'll get you a stake in the company's future. Axios has discovered that Airbnb sent a letter to the SEC asking for the regulator to permit offering equity to hosts. Airbnb primarily supported changes to Securities Act Rule 701 that would allow offering shares to gig economy workers, not just investors and staff. CEO Brian Chesky characterized it as vital to rewarding the company's supporters.
MoviePass tries a financial Hail Mary to keep itself afloat
There's no doubt about it: MoviePass is bleeding cash, and there's no guarantee that a growing subscriber base or investors (who are increasingly jittery) will keep it going. And that, in turn, is leading it to consider more drastic measures. MoviePass parent company Helios and Matheson Analytics (HMNY for short) has filed a statement with the SEC to let it sell as much as $1.2 billion in equity and debt securities over the next three years. This doesn't guarantee that it will raise $1.2 billion, as TechCrunch mentioned -- rather, it would provide a new avenue for raising cash if it doesn't think other options are enough.
Equity crowdfunding is coming, but not on Kickstarter
Think you can do a better job than wealthy venture capitalists at sussing out potential winners and losers in game development? You'll soon be able to put your money where your mouth is thanks to a new wave of up-and-coming crowdfunding sites that will be offering equity instead of plushies and in-game digital goods. In the wake of Oculus' $2 billion Facebook deal, The Verge has published a piece that asks what one of the Rift's original $300.00 Kickstarter backers would've gained had they been actual investors instead of donators. The answer is a cool $43,500, or a substantial 145x ROI. Kickstarter, for now at least, won't be jumping on the equity bandwagon. "We believe the real disruption comes from people supporting things because they like them, rather than finding things that produce a good return on investment," CEO Yancey Strickler told Popular Science.
Sprint stops being Clearwire's majority owner
Sprint has declared that it's no longer Clearwire's majority owner in a move designed to shield the carrier should the worst happen to its troubled bedfellow. While Big Yellow is planning to supplement its own LTE network with Clearwire's TD-LTE backbone, it's looked to distance itself on the business side from a company that finds it very hard to make money -- requiring handouts from Sprint just to stay afloat.
Nokia Siemens Networks chooses a suitor: its own shareholders
A lot of marriages hit rough patches from time to time, and it's no different for companies and their shareholders. The last three months have likely been especially tumultuous for Nokia Siemens Networks as it played the field, conducting a review to assess potential private equity interest. In the end, however, NSN determined the grass was indeed greener on its own side. According to the press release (found after the break), it concluded that "the current shareholders are in the best position to further enhance the value of the company." Given that NSN's reported three successive quarters of year-on-year growth, the troubled relationship appears to be out of hot water for now -- we just hope the shareholders are willing to kiss and make up.
Qualcomm takes a piece of Pantech
Korea's Pantech has always played second fiddle (well, third fiddle, we suppose) to global giants Samsung and LG, but somehow, the little guy has managed to be cash flow positive for the past eight quarters of financial results since undertaking a corporate restructuring. To further strengthen its position, it's in the process of swapping some outstanding debt for equity -- and one of those creditors just happens to be Qualcomm, which has a booming Korean business and enjoys tight relationships with many of the local players. This sounds like it won't really have any material effect on Pantech's day-to-day operations, since Qualcomm says it wants to stay passive and won't move to install any management or board members; that being said, it could end up with as much as 15 percent of Pantech's common stock, which is a nice little chunk. We're guessing this means we won't be seeing many Pantechs with Broadcom basebands, eh? [Via Unwired View]
Niko's voice earned about $100,000 from GTA IV
The New York Times has an interesting piece this morning about how actor Michael Hollick earned about $100,000 for playing GTA IV protagonist Niko Bellic. Had the actor done the role for almost any other medium than video games, he would have received very generous residuals and royalties off the title, which made $500 million in its first week. The piece basically explores how all the actors in GTA IV would be rolling in dough had the work not been in video games.Of course, if the actor gets residuals, does the artist who "made" Niko get a cut? Although the actors provided voices, and apparently motion-capture, what about all the other people that worked on the creation of these characters? People aren't buying these games because of the actors, they're getting it because of the title and its associated gameplay. In time, this issue will probably come to a head (especially as the industry grows), but for now it comes off like actors whining while everyone else is getting a similarly bum deal. Maybe it's time the video game writers, artists and developers started complaining too? Union, union, union!
