Top Stories Friday, July 7: TikTok's Entry Into Music Streaming Raises Concerns For Spotify, Novo Nordisk Accuses Pharmacies Over Illegal Sale Of Obesity Drugs, ChatGPT's Popularity Takes a Hit - Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL), Broadcom (NASDAQ:AVGO)

Reuters

Spotify Technology S.A. SPOT could be up for a rough ride as ByteDance Ltd-owned short-video company TikTok shared plans to launch a new music streaming service in Brazil and Indonesia.
Previously ByteDance said it would stop its existing music streaming service Resso as of September 5 in both countries and maintain its operations only in India.
Last year reports suggested ByteDance was eyeing expansion into more countries of its music streaming service.

Cronos Group Inc CRON is exploring options that could include a potential sale after attracting acquisition interest.
The Canadian cannabis producer backed by cigarette maker Altria Group Inc MO has a market value of C$972 million ($727.54 million), is purportedly working with a financial adviser to handle expressions of interest in a deal from other companies, including Curaleaf Holdings Inc CURLF.
The sale talks involving Cronos highlighted the outlet, come at a time of uncertainty for the cannabis industry "as more favorable regulatory regimes in North America have fueled fierce competition among a growing field of companies."

DISH Network Corp DISH Chair Charlie Ergen is weighing the merger of the two halves of his telecom empire, Dish and EchoStar Corp SATS.
In 2008, EchoStar Communications, which Ergen founded as a satellite television equipment distributor in 1980, changed its name to Dish Network and spun off its technology arm as a new company named EchoStar.
Currently, Ergen is desperate to sell some of Dish's assets, trying to sell everything that is non-core and to finance financeable holdings as the company struggled to sell assets and battle speculation of possible bankruptcy.

Novo Nordisk A/S NVO has reportedly filed lawsuits against TruLife Pharmacy, Brooksville Pharmaceuticals, and WellHealth Inc in Florida federal court, accusing the pharmacies of illegally selling products claiming to contain semaglutide, the active ingredient in Novo Nordisk's weight loss and diabetes drugs.
The agency said it had received reports of adverse events after patients used compounded versions of semaglutide.
Novo Nordisk sought court orders to prohibit the pharmacies from selling the products and requested monetary damages.

Alibaba Group Holding Limited BABA stock is trading higher Friday amid reports of China looking to end its regulatory overhaul on fintech affiliate Ant Group with a penalty of at least 8 billion yuan ($1.1 billion) by Friday.
It comes at a time Chinese authorities are keen to boost private sector confidence as the economy struggles to recover.
The record penalty will help pave the way to secure a financial holding company license, seek growth, and revive its listing plans.
The People's Bank of China (PBOC), pivotal to Ant's revamp, looks to disclose the penalty amount shortly.

The National Labor Relations Board has sued Starbucks Corporation SBUX for refusing to reemploy 33 workers after reorganizing stores in Seattle.
Starbucks reorganized three downtown Seattle stores, including its flagship store in Pike Place Market.
In the plea filed in Seattle federal court, NLRB said SBUX illegally forced 73 workers to reapply for jobs, going against the unionization efforts at one of the branches.

Washington Post

Mobile and desktop traffic to ChatGPT's website worldwide declined 9.7% in June over May for the first time since its launch in November, according to Similarweb.
Downloads of the bot's Apple Inc's AAPL iPhone app, launched in May, have also steadily fallen since the June peak, according to Sensor Tower.
ChatGPT zoomed to an estimated 100 million monthly users in its first two months.

CNBC

Zoom Video Communications Inc ZM stock is trading higher Friday amid reports of the company "doubling down" on its technology investments in the Asia-Pacific region to boost growth.
Zoom's head of international, Abe Smith, acknowledged on CNBC's "Squawk Box Asia" a firm commitment about two years ago to turn on the speed and step on the gas.
Smith said Zoom is "extremely optimistic" about the growth of its phone product in Asia Pacific.

Benzinga

Broadcom Inc AVGO proposed to invest in a European Union-funded program to develop a semiconductor industry in Spain, CEO Charlie Kawwas tweeted Thursday.
The project concerning Broadcom would be worth $1 billion. However, Broadcom is yet to divulge its actual investment in the project.
The project would include constructing "large-scale back-end semiconductors facilities unique in Europe," the ministry said.

Airbus SE EADSY EADSF delivered 72 airplanes to 48 customers in June, with gross orders totaling 902.
The company's year-to-date deliveries totaled 316 airplanes to 73 customers.
Airbus registered 1,044 net orders in the year's first half after 36 cancellations.

KKR & Co Inc KKR disclosed a deal to acquire a majority stake in PangeaCo and existing fiber optic networks of Telefonica del Peru SAA CPNBF and Entel Perú.
As per the deal, KKR will buy a stake in PangeaCo, which will subsequently acquire the existing fiber optic networks of Telefónica del Perú and Entel Perú.
KKR is investing in its KKR Global Infrastructure Investors III fund. The financial terms were not disclosed.

Bloomberg

In a recent development, Tesla Inc TSLA has begun laying off some battery production workers at its Shanghai plant.
The layoffs come amidst a fierce price war in China, leading to heavy discounts on cars across manufacturers. The exact number of workers to be let go and the specific reasons behind the layoffs remain unclear. Some employees have been offered the option to transfer to other workshops such as stamping, painting, or general assembly.

The French fashion giant LVMH Moet Hennessy Louis Vuitton SE LVMHF backed private equity firm is exploring strategic options for Birkenstock, including an initial public offering.
Birkenstock is expected to be valued at over $6 billion at IPO.
Th firm is working with advisers for potential company listing in the U.S. stock market.
As per the report, the IPO may happen this or next year.

Photo by solen feyissa via Unsplash

TikTok's Entry Into Music Streaming Raises Concerns For Spotify, Novo Nordisk Accuses Pharmacies Over Illegal Sale Of Obesity Drugs, ChatGPT's Popularity Takes a Hit: Today's Top Stories