Whistleblowers, Bad Books, and Civil Rights Fights
Behind The NumbersJuly 22, 2024 | 2 min read
- Downward Dive – The June 2024 Consumer Price Index reported a 0.1% decline, bringing the 12-month unadjusted average to 3.0%. The gasoline index dropped 3.8% in June 2024, following a 3.6% decline in May 2024 (source: U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics).
- Restrictive Rights? – OpenAI whistleblowers filed a complaint with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission over the company’s restrictive non-disclosure agreements. The complaint alleges that OpenAI required employees to sign an agreement to waive their federal rights to whistleblower compensation (source: Reuters).
- Bad Books – The U.S. Department of Justice and Federal Bureau of Investigation are probing Arbor Realty Trust, a national direct lender, after short sellers published reports alleging the company had a distressed loan book. This resulted in an immediate 19% drop in share price (source: Reuters).
- Outside Expenditures – Expenditures by foreign direct investors to expand U.S. businesses totaled $148.8 billion in 2023. This is a $57.4 billion decline from 2022’s expenditures of $206.2 billion (source: U.S. Bureau of Economic Analysis).
- Data Breach – AT&T disclosed to the Securities and Exchange Commission that an unknown hacker compromised its network, stealing the calls and texts for more than 100 million wireless customers over a five-month period between 2022 and 2023 (source: Bloomberg).
- Flying High – Delta Air Lines released financials for the quarter ended June 30, 2024, announcing a 50% increase to the quarterly dividend and a 5.4% year-over-year increase in revenue. The company also reported pre-tax income of $2 billion despite fuel prices being 25% higher (source: Delta Air Lines).
- Sinking Staff – Wells Fargo & Company, a financial services company, reported a 3% decline in total revenue for the quarter ending June 30, 2024, partly influenced by a 25% drop in auto revenue. Due to the drop in revenue, Wells Fargo & Company also reduced its headcount in home lending by 45% (source: Wells Fargo & Company).
- Civil Rights Fight – Citigroup requested the dismissal of a pending racial discrimination lawsuit that claims the violation of federal civil rights by waiting ATM fees for customers of minority-owned banks. This lawsuit originates from two individuals who do not bank with Citigroup and were charged fees when using the ATM (source: Reuters).
- Raising a Racket – Carlos Alcaraz won Wimbledon, a world tennis tournament, in the finals against Novak Djokovic. Pete Sampras was the last American to win at Wimbledon in 2000 (source: AP News).
- Movie Madness – Pixar started July 2024 off strong, with Inside Out 2 becoming the company’s highest grossing movie on a global scale and the Despicable Me/Minions franchise reaching $5 billion globally (source: Deadline).
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