NEWS
Stocks Backfill As Bitcoin Breaks Out

It was another mixed session in the market, with the major indexes closing lower as single-stock news ruled the day. Let’s see what you missed. 👀

Today's issue covers Boeing’s management shakeup, Fisker flatlining as EV turmoil continues, and European regulators eying big tech. 📰

Here's today's heat map:

3 of 11 sectors closed green. Energy (+0.93%) led, & technology (-0.66%) lagged. 💚

New home sales fell 0.3% MoM in February but are up 5.9% YoY to an adjusted annual rate of 662,000 units. The median home price is now $400,500, that’s down 2.5% MoM and 7.6% YoY. 🏘️

March’s Dallas Fed Manufacturing data showed that business conditions continue to worsen, marking the 23rd consecutive month in contraction territory. The Chicago Fed data showed a slight uptick in activity, with all four broad categories rising from January. 🏭

Novo Nordisk shares jumped marginally after the Danish pharmaceutical giant said it would buy Cardior Pharmaceuticals for $1.1 billion to strengthen its cardiovascular pipeline. And medical technology company Masimo pumped 12% intraday after considering a spinoff of its consumer business. 💊

Digital World Acquisition Corp. ($DWAC) jumped 35% today ahead of Trump Media & Technology Group beginning to trade on the Nasdaq tomorrow under the ticker symbol $DJT. Go join the conversation there! 📱

GameStop shares popped 15% ahead of its earnings report tomorrow after the bell as animal spirits continue to drive buyers beyond big tech and into other areas of the market. 🎮

Sporting goods and ammunition manufacturer Vista Outdoors jumped 3% after receiving a $3 billion takeover offer from family office MNC Capital. 💰

Other active symbols: $LABP (+173.31%), $OCGN (+11.59%), $CGC (-19.38%), $MLGO (+19.90%), $RDDT (+30.00%), $MSTR (+21.86%), & $CLSK (+19.88%). 🔥

Here are the closing prices: 

COMPANY NEWS
Fisker Flatlines As Lucid Locks In $1B

The electric vehicle market remains in turmoil, and it’s becoming more likely that not every company in the space will survive. ☠️

That became abundantly clear for Fisker shareholders today after its shares were halted following news that its deal talks with a large potential automaker had collapsed. As a result, it’s stuck with paused operations, a depleting cash balance, and few strategic options left in its toolbelt.

To make matters worse, the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE) suspended shares from trading due to their “abnormally low” price levels, forcing them to trade on the over-the-counter (OTC) market. ❌

In a filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), it stated that the delisting would trigger a requirement to offer to buy back some of its unsecured debt due in 2025 and 2026, which it does not have the “financial cushion” for. ⚠️

In other words, the company is hinting that it might be on the verge of filing for bankruptcy if it cannot find a strategic alternative quickly.

$FSR shares were down about 28% before being halted, putting the company’s market cap at roughly $50 million. Surprisingly, sentiment on Stocktwits remains neutral as some of its cult-like following continues to hold. 🪫

In other EV news, Wall Street continues to sour on the space, with Tesla, Nio, and Rivian all catching downgrades due to slowing demand and pricing pressures. 👎

Meanwhile, Nissan says it’s looking to address ‘extreme market volatility’ in the EV space with 30 new models. While some automakers are taking “a less is more” approach, it seems Nissan is betting on more being more. 🚗

And lastly, while we hate to call Lucid Motors a diamond in the rough given its long-term performance, it did stick out today for a positive reason. 

The luxury EV maker raised another $1 billion from its biggest financial backer, Saudi Arabia, as it looks to increase its runway. That comes despite the CEO saying three weeks ago that he was “wary of relying too heavily on Saudi Arabia to keep shoveling money into its proverbial furnace.” 🔥

COMPANY NEWS
Boeing’s Boss Backs Away

After a rough series of safety issues in 2024 adding to an already rough stretch, Boeing’s CEO is channeling his inner Gen Z and “quiet quitting” after a lot of noise from passengers, regulators, investors, and other stakeholders.

CEO Dave Calhoun announced he would step down at the end of 2024 as part of a broad management shakeup. As part of that shakeup, board chairman Larry Kellner is not standing for reelection, and Stan Deal, CEO of the commercial plane unit, is out immediately. 👨‍💼

Stephanie Pope is moving into the role of head of the commercial plane unit. She recently became Boeing’s chief operating officer (COO) after running Boeing Global Services for years. ✈️

Dave Calhoun wrote to employees, “As you all know, the Alaska Airlines Flight 1282 accident was a watershed moment for Boeing. We must continue to respond to this accident with humility and complete transparency. We also must inculcate a total commitment to safety and quality at every level of our company. The eyes of the world are on us…”

After initially popping at the open, $BA shares slid throughout the day to close up about 1%. 🔺

Stocktwits sentiment remains in neutral territory, representing continued skepticism around the company’s commitment to change. After so many instances of letdown, Boeing is clearly in a “show me, not tell me” situation with investors. 🤨

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POLICY
EU Eyes Big Tech With New Regulation

The European Union (EU) announced its first probes under the sweeping new Digital Markets Act tech legislation, targeting Apple, Alphabet, and Meta. 🕵️‍♂️

This major piece of legislation has been in the works for years and finally went into effect on March 7th. However, apparently, not all six tech giants covered under the legislation have met all of the requirements to regulators’ liking.

As a result, the EU has opened two probes centered around “anti-steering rules” and targeting Alphabet and Apple. Under these rules, tech firms cannot block businesses from telling users about cheaper payment options outside of an app store. 🛒

The way these two companies implemented these rules into their operations appears to be at odds with the law's point. They are still charging various recurring fees and, therefore, limiting steering.

It’s also opened a third inquiry to investigate whether Apple has made it easy for users to uninstall apps on iOS and change default settings. ❌

Meanwhile, a fourth probe targets Alphabet and whether Google’s search results lead to self-preferencing in relation to the company’s other services like Google Shopping. 🔍

And lastly, the fifth probe is into Meta’s “pay and consent” model, which the company introduced last year in Europe via an ad-free subscription model for Facebook and Instagram. The investigation will look at whether asking users to pay for an ad-free experience or making them consent to terms and conditions to use the service for free is in violation of the rules. 💸

Ultimately, a lot of these rules and regulations are still up for interpretation. The companies all believe they’ve met the standard of compliance, while regulators feel they haven’t gone far enough.

We’ll have to wait and see how these new investigations pan out, but big tech has had a rough go of it when it comes to taking on European regulators. That’s why the three tech stocks mentioned were all down on the day (albeit marginally). 🤷

Bullets From The Day

🚫 China unveils new guidelines blocking Intel and AMD chips. The procurement guidance prevents these chips from being used in government PCs and servers, also seeking to sideline Microsoft’s Windows operating system and foreign-made database software in favor of Chinese solutions. Government agencies higher than the township level have been ordered to purchase “safe and reliable” processors and operating systems as geopolitical tensions spread. CNBC has more.

🧑‍🏫 Spotify enters the EdTech industry with video courses. The music streaming, podcast, and audiobook giant is looking to the e-learning market to drive further growth with its over 600 million users. Starting with the U.K., Spotify is testing the waters for an online education offering of freemium video courses produced in partnership with third parties like the BBC and Skillshare. With the EdTech market worth more than $315 billion as of last year, there are plenty of competitors in the space, but Spotify hopes its vast audience and resources will help it stand out from the crowd. More from TechCrunch.

📝 New bill in Florida will require parental consent for children under 16’s social media accounts. Florida Governor Ron DeSantis just signed into law HB 3, which will give parents of teens under 16 more control over their kids’ access to social media and require age verification for many websites. DeSantis has staked much of his political championing parents’ rights over the sort of information kids have access to, signing the Parental Rights in Education Act in 2022. Many see this bill as building on that initiative as other states move to limit social media’s reach. The Verge has more.

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🛳️ Carnival Freedom's next two sailings canceled after funnel fire, second within 2 years

💸 Department of Energy announces largest-ever investment to decarbonize industry

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