Warren Buffet Announces Retirement

 

Warren Buffet is set to go into retirement at the end of 2025. Buffet for years has been the CEO of  Berkshire Hathaway. Greg Abel is said to be the successor to Warren Buffet's leadership. It was in 1965 that Warren Buffet took a failing textile mill and transformed it into a conglomerate. Warren Buffet owns $160 billion in Berkshire stock and at the moment the largest shareholder of the company's stock. Buffet has not intention of selling those shares. Warren Buffet has been presented to the public as a humanitarian philanthropist. This carefully crafted image from the media and public relations distorts the reality. Warren Buffet represents the obscene wealth and decadence of the upper class elite. Acts of philanthropy by Buffet are nothing more than a marketing measure. As the capitalist system continues to fail the average worker, billionaires are viewed in a more negative light. Warren Buffet  attempted to soften the image of avarice with charity. Philanthropic actions do not challenge the economic system or the billionaires who control government. Warren Buffet's image as humanitarian philanthropic billionaire was created in the 2010s. Speculation over his retirement still persists. Age could be a factor seeing as Warren Buffet is 94 years old. Health and energy become concerns. Another plausible reason is that Buffet seeks retirement before a possible economic crash or recession. The world economy was damaged by Covid-19, corporate price gouging, supply chain issues, and the new set of tariffs being imposed by the United States. Growing public resentment could be making CEOs consider retirement. At the end of 2025 the Warren Buffet era of Berkshire will be over. Buffet's influence is not going away. Warren Buffet donates funds to the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation and his children run the Susan Thompson Buffet Foundation. Buffet could still be serving Berkshire is some capacity, just not as CEO. 

The Hasbro Layoffs

 

Toy companies are a large part of business. Children and adults are consumers of various toys and games. Adults are getting collectors items and children wants toys for general play. Hasbro did layoffs in 2023 which was an estimated 20% of the workforce. A total of 1,100 workers were left unemployed. The reason for this was the decline in sales. A total of 800 jobs were cut in 2023. This was a significant spike. Sales were doing better during the pandemic. Children were not in school and spending more time at home. Parents purchased more toys to keep children occupied. When the lockdowns were over, the purchase of Hasbro products decreased. The layoffs are expected to continue into 2025. Decline in sales cannot solely be blamed for layoffs. The CEO and management never offer to take pay cuts to retain employees. The reduction in workforce means those remaining will have to be more productive. There is no promise of an increase in pay. Layoffs are not an indication of a strong economy. Despite what politicians state, the data shows possible economic downturn. Hasbro, like other companies is experiencing the challenge of inflation. The rise in cost related to materials is going to increase prices of toys. Waves of layoffs are going to continue. Hasbro might not survive under these conditions. Hasbro did not make significant financial gains from lending its intellectual property to film. The only solution is to create better products or explore possibilities of electronic entertainment. CEO Chris Cocks is going to have to make adjustments and find a way to retain employees. Otherwise Hasbro will have to be sold or cease operations. 

The Collapse of Silicon Valley Bank

 

The collapse of Silicon Valley Bank represents a negative turn in the economy. One of the top US banks had its assets confiscated by regulators. These actions and bank failures seem very familiar to the 2008 global financial crisis. The collapse of  Silicon Valley Bank is one of the biggest bank failures in US history. The bank mostly provided services to workers in tech and and start-up companies. Some longtime tech companies also had investments in the bank. The assertion that this was just one case and should not be deemed disturbing is misguided. The banking sector is becoming unstable under the lack of regulation and mismanagement. The assets of Silicon Valley Bank are being transferred to  a newly created institution. The Deposit Insurance Bank of Santa Clara will pay for insured deposits. SVB had an estimated $209 billion in assets. The violation according to the FDIC was that accounts exceeded the $250,000 limit. The technology sector will be negatively impacted by the collapse of SVB. A combination of CEO avarice and layoffs have made the situation worse. Simultaneously, the Federal Reserve has failed to counter inflation. The Silicon Valley Bank has been active since 1983, but after 39 years it could not survive. The government has made a promise to ensure that depositors would get their money back. SVB demonstrates a combination of corruption and the hardship that start-up companies face. Large corporations can survive and new businesses are at a disadvantage.  

Indicators of A Recession

 

There are indications that the economy could be heading for recession. High inflation and increasing interest rates are having an impact on economic growth. The stock market should not be an indicator of economic health. This represents a small portion of the population, not  the combined microeconomic and macroeconomic dynamics. Companies are cutting advertising,  cutting back on hiring, or eliminating jobs. This is not a sign of a functional economy. The economy is heading to recession, yet there is denial among economists and politicians. The definition of recession is the decline in economic activity and the reduction of growth. The result of this is unemployment, reduced profits from corporations,  and limited investment. Output comes to a halt due to these obstacles. The indicators have gradually been exposing themselves to the public. The COVID-19 pandemic, the supply chain disruption, and sanctions on Russia have contributed to this economic condition. Attempts to redefine the attributes of a recession are not going to change the economic forecast. This was not some random occurrence. The coming recession was a product of policy. Certain measures must be put in place to prevent another possible global economic meltdown.  

The Microsoft Corporation Set To Purchase Activision Blizzard

 

The Microsoft Corporation is in the process of buying Activision Blizzard. This purchase could change the nature of the video game industry. Popular franchises such as the Call of Duty, World of Warcraft , and Fall Out would come under their ownership. The two companies have yet to finalize transactions. Microsoft has been reported to pay $68.7 billion dollars for Activision. The two corporations will continue to operate independently until a final deal and price of purchase is made. The concern is that games that are available on multiple platforms will stop. Microsoft is responsible for the Xbox system and might wnat to have an edge on its competitors. Another possible problem is that creativity could be effected by a change in ownership. If one company has too much dominance, consumers have very little options. The video game industry does not need a monopoly. A industry crash similar to 1983 would be worse if  electronic entertainment  functioned on such a model. Activision Blizzard was not failing by business measures. The sale comes at a time when Activision Blizzard  faces allegations of a hostile work environment and CEO Bobby Kotick being subpoenaed by the Securities and Exchange Commission. The reason for the sale could be more public relations related, rather than business acumen.     

Facebook Will Rebrand As Meta

 

Facebook will be calling itself Meta. The world's most popular social media platform is undergoing a rebranding process. The company seeks to also do more with virtual reality. The circumstances surrounding this are not entirely about expanding the company. Facebook has come under criticism from the public and government for sharing user data with other corporations . The controversy of disinformation on its platform, content moderation issues,  and censorship have damaged Facebook's image. Privacy is not protected and what is classified as disinformation has a political bias. Claims that the platform contributes to worsening mental health can be disputed. Individuals would most likely have self-esteem or depression issues even if the social media giant did not exist.   The fact checking system need vast improvement. Facebook has been described as a monopoly, but there exist other social media platforms. MeWe, VK Media, and Myspace are other social media platforms. These companies have not attained the same amount of users. There will come a time in which Facebook will have formidable competition. Creating a metaverse which combines virtual and augmented reality. Corporations do change their names as a form of public relations offensive after scandals. The sudden rebranding is evidence of this. The other objective is to keep Facebook as dominant in the tech industry .