Category: News and Views

Why Uber and Lyft rallied last week | TechCrunch

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Heading into earnings season, you might have expected Uber and Lyft to suffer.

After all, global travel slowed toward the end of Q1, so how could these companies have done well? Continuing the same line of thinking, given that they are both unprofitable and are valued more on growth than trailing earnings, with growth slowing would there be much to celebrate?

The answer was a resounding “yes.” Uber and Lyft both rallied toward the end of last week following their successive earnings reports.

Today, let’s go back and remind ourselves how Uber and Lyft performed against Q1 expectations and what they said about the hits they took in March (Q1) and early April (Q2). Then we’ll ask ourselves why their shares rallied despite telling investors that their businesses had begun to fall sharply in the COVID-19 world.

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Breakfast was a bright spot for America’s biggest restaurant chains. Now it’s a problem | CNN

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Last year, America’s biggest chain restaurants went all in on breakfast.

Companies ranging from Wendy’s to McDonald’s to Dunkin’ invested heavily in the meal, testing out everything from new chicken sandwiches to plant-based options.

Now, with people stuck at home because of the coronavirus pandemic, it’s one of the industry’s worst-performing segments. McDonald’s (MCD) CEO Chris Kempczinski said during the company’s first-quarter analyst call last week that “breakfast is down” compared to other meals.

Similarly, Jose Cil, CEO of Restaurant Brands International (QSR), which owns Burger King, Popeyes and Tim Hortons, said during an earnings call last week that breakfast and snacking “have seen a disproportionate decrease, while lunch and dinner have shown more strength.”

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Alphabet grew more than expected in Q1, but its ad business saw ‘significant slowdown’ in March | TechCrunch

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Today after the bell, Alphabet, parent company of Google, reported its Q1 2020 performance. The company’s $41.16 billion in revenue for the three-month period came in ahead of expectations, besting analyst estimates of $40.33 billion. However, its earnings per share came in under expectations, with the street anticipating $10.38 in per-share profit, while Alphabet delivered a slimmer $9.87 in per-share income.

Shares of Alphabet rose around 2.8% in after-hours trading after shedding 3.3% in regular trading.

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A New Generation Of Zoomers | Getentrepreneurial.com

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Can’t stop confusing your Zoomers and millennials? When it comes to hiring, the differences matter. According to Pew Research, millennials were born between 1981 and 1996 which makes them 24 to 39 years old in 2020; Zoomers (or Zers or Generation Z) were born starting in 1997, so the oldest turn 23 this year. This all means your potential hiring pool will change as Gen Z  is 24 percent of the global workforce this year, according to research by Manpower.

Although, you may think these successive generations aren’t all that different, their experiences, needs and actions are diverse enough to pay attention before you hire them. Here’s what you should know.

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Starbucks China adds Beyond Meat, Omnipork and Oatly options to the menu | CNN

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Fans of Starbucks in China are about to get a whole lot more oat milk lattes and meatless pastas.

Starbucks (SBUX) is teaming up with oat milk maker Oatly and plant-based protein companies Beyond Meat (BYND) and Omnipork in mainland China, offering more options free of meat or animal products at a time when a growing number of Chinese consumers are seeking choices they perceive to be healthier.

Starting Tuesday, 4,200 Starbucks stores in China will be serving vegetarian-friendly items such as oat milk matcha lattes, lasagne made with Beyond Meat’s beef product and Asian noodle salads with Omnipork.

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Baby leatherback sea turtles thriving due to COVID-19 beach restrictions | Live Science

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Baby leatherback sea turtles are doing better than they have in years, now that many humans are opting (or being ordered) to stay off beaches due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

On one beach in Thailand, for instance, environmentalists have found 11 leatherback sea turtle (Dermochelys coriacea) nests since November, the largest number of nests found there in the past two decades, according to The Guardian.

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Escaped circus zebra runs loose through suburban Paris streets | UPI.com

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Surprised witnesses in a Paris suburb captured video of a zebra running loose through the town alongside a duo of horses.

The zebra and horses were caught on video running through the streets of Champigny-sur-Marne after escaping from an outdoor enclosure at the Badin circus in nearby Ormesson-sur-Marne.

The owner of the Badin circus said the animals escaped when their enclosure was left unlocked. He said the zebra and horses were only on the loose for about 15 minutes before being recaptured.

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With $23 million for its plant-based, liquid meals, Kate Farms pushes into consumer and healthcare | TechCrunch

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Kate Farms, the supplier of a plant-based liquid meal formula used by hospitals and healthcare providers around the country as a nutritional supplement for patients who cannot process solid foods, has raised $23 million in a round of funding.

The new money will allow the company to ramp up its production as it looks to meet significant new demand from both consumers and healthcare providers, according to chairman and chief executive, Brett Matthews.

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