 Image: ByteDance China’s Cyberspace Administration has issued new investing guidelines for the country’s top tech companies. The internet regulator now requires tech companies with 100 million or more users or companies that earned 10 billion yuan (~$1.57B) in revenue the prior year to seek formal approval before pursuing any investment deal. Earlier this week, the regulator notified companies the new rules apply to, such as Alibaba Group, TikTok parent company ByteDance, and Tencent. More: - Many believe the new rule will slow the growth of China’s biggest tech companies as they would be required to seek approval before making any acquisition.
- This move joins a growing list of actions China has taken to curb the growth of its tech giants over concerns of user data and national security.
- Last year the state established a new antimonopoly and antitrust department and proposed a tougher legislature to update the country’s antitrust laws.
- In March, China’s State Administration for Market Regulation, its antitrust regulator, fined over a dozen tech companies 500,000 yuan (~$77,000) each for failing to report their investment deals.
- In July, the state blocked Tencent’s $5.3B bid to merge the country’s two biggest gaming platforms – Huya and Douyu.
In related news: - On Wednesday, ByteDance announced it was shutting down its strategic investment department. In a statement, the company said it decided to reduce its investments in areas outside its core business.
- The company has been going through a re-organization following the departure of its founder and Chairman Zhang Yiming in November.
- According to CB insights, ByteDance is the world’s most valuable private start-up at $140B.
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Bank of America released its Q4 and full-year earnings on Wednesday, beating analysts’ expectations on revenue and profits. The U.S.’s second-largest bank reported it had the lowest loans loss rate in over 50 years. It reported Q4 revenues of $22.17B, a 10% increase YoY. Earnings came in at $7.01B or 82 cents per share, a 28% increase YoY. Full-year revenues came in at $89.1B, and profits came in at $32B or $3.57 per share. More: - Consumer Banking reported $8.9B in revenue for Q4, an 8% increase YoY, and $3.1B in profits.
- Average deposits saw a 16% increase to $1.03T.
- Wealth and Investment Management reported $5.4B in revenue, a 16% increase YoY, and $1.2B in profits, a 47% increase YoY.
- Global Banking reported $5.9B in revenue, up 24%, and net income of $2.7B, almost tripling from a year earlier driven by increased revenue and lower credit costs.
- Global Markets reported $3.8B in revenue, down 2% from a year earlier, and net income of $669M, down 15% from a year earlier.
- The bank’s shares rose 2% in early morning trading. It closed at $46.44, up less than a percent for the day.
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 Image: Peloton Peloton's top executives sold roughly $500M worth of the exercise equipment company's stock right before its decline in 2021. According to SEC filings, the company's CEO sold $119M worth of stock, about 1 million shares, from Nov. 2020 through Aug. 2021 as part of a pre-planned 10b5-1 sale. Peloton's co-founder and chief legal and culture officer sold about $90M worth of stock. The company's president, William Lynch, sold $105M of his shares. More: - Other company execs who sold include the company's chief product officer, Tom Cortese, selling $60M in shares, Mariana Garavaglia, the company's COO, selling over $25M in shares, and some members of the company's board.
- Peloton's shares have fallen over 80% since its high of $166 per share in 2021.
- On Tuesday, the company hit a new low of $29.11 per share, slightly higher than its 2019 IPO price of $29.
- Also Tuesday, the company announced it has hired consulting firm McKinsey & Co to help it review its cost structure and make recommendations to help it cut costs.
- Over the weekend, the company announced it will start charging customers an additional $250 to deliver and set up its bike and $350 for its treadmill effective Jan 31.
- In November, the company instituted a hiring freeze and cut its 2022 fiscal outlook, projecting revenues between $4.4B and $4.8B, down from the previously stated $5.4B.
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 Image: NTUC Procter & Gamble released its Q2 FY 2022 earnings on Wednesday, beating analysts’ expectations and raising its sales growth outlook for the year. The consumer goods company reported sales of $20.95B, a 6% increase YoY, driven by price increases on some of its goods. Earnings came in at $4.22B, or $1.66 per share, a 13% increase YoY. The company shared that it will increase the prices of some of its fabric care products, like Tide and Downy, and some of its personal health care products. The price change is to take effect starting at the end of February. More: - Beauty reported $3.9B in revenue, a 3% increase YoY.
- Grooming reported $1.8B in revenue, a 4% increase YoY.
- Healthcare reported $2.9B in revenue, an 8% increase YoY.
- Fabric & Home Care reported $6.9B in revenue, a 7% increase YoY.
- Baby, Feminine & Family Care reported $5.1B in revenue, a 5% increase YoY.
- The company increased its sales growth outlook for 2022, now expecting a 3% to 4% increase, from 2% to 4% previously stated.
- P&G shares rose ~4% in early morning trading. It closed at $162, up 3.3% for the day.
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 Photo: Josh Edelson/AFP/Getty Images AIG and Chubb are cutting back their homeowners' insurance in California, pointing to strict state regulations related to policy rates in areas with high wildfire exposure. AIG notified its 9,000 customers that it will not renew home policies this year. The company is planning to close the state-regulated Private Client Group but will offer new policies under another unit where it has more flexibility to set policy rates and coverage. More: - AIG and Chubb are the largest issuers of homeowner insurance for multimillion-dollar properties in the state of California.
- Policies under AIG's other unit costs about three to five times more and offers less coverage compared to policies under AIG's state-regulated unit.
- Part of the reason the companies are ending their homeowners' business is the state of California requires that they set policy rates based on past loss experience.
- Insurance companies would prefer to set rates based on projections of future losses to take into account the increase in wildfire activity due to climate change.
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Morgan Stanley released its Q4 and full-year earnings on Wednesday, surpassing profit expectations for the quarter but slightly missing revenue expectations. The bank reported Q4 revenue of $14.52B, ~7% increase YoY. Earnings came in at $3.7B or $2.01 per share, a 9% increase YoY. The bank reported record-setting revenues and earnings in 2021. Full-year revenues came in at $59.8B, a 23% increase YoY, and profits of $15B, up 37% from a year earlier. More: - Institutional Securities net revenues came in at $6.67B for Q4 and $29.8B for the year, a 13% increase YoY.
- Investment banking brought in $2.4B in Q4 and $10.27B for the year.
- Equity trading revenue came in at $2.86B, a 13% increase YoY.
- Wealth Management net revenues reported $6.25B in Q4 and $24.24B for the year.
- Investment Management net revenues reported $1.75B for Q4 and $6.2B for the year.
- AUM rose to $1.6T, doubling in size from a year earlier.
- The bank’s share rose 2% following the report. It closed at $95.73, up 1.8% for the day.
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- Fashion journalist and former Vogue creative director Andre Leon passed away following a heart attack on Tuesday. He was 73 years old.
- On Tuesday, New York's attorney general office announced that it found evidence that former President Trump and his company falsified asset values to get loans and other financial benefits.
- Consumer prices in the U.K. rose 5.4% in December, hitting a 30-year high.
- Canada's 1Password has raised $620M in a Series C funding round, giving the company a $6.8B valuation. The round was led by Iconiq Growth, Tiger Global, Accel, and Lightspeed Ventures.
- Several foreign airlines have canceled their flights to the U.S. following concerns about the 5G service rollout and airplane interference.
- The University of Michigan reached a $490M settlement with former students and athletes who accused the school's former physician Robert Anderson of sexual assault.
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 |  | Vanessa Omeokachie is a Researcher at Inside. Her interests include finance, tech, and startups. In her free time, she enjoys reading, hiking, attending music festivals, and traveling. Connect with her on Twitter @Ms_Omeo. |  | | Editor | Aaron Crutchfield is based in the high desert of California. Over the last two decades, he has spent time writing and editing at various local newspapers and defense contractors in California. When he's not working, he can often be found looking at the latest memes with his kids or working on his 1962 Ford. | |
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