From Apple Pie To $AAPL News

The world’s largest company was in the news for a couple of reasons today. Let’s recap. 📝

First was a report that the company could see a production shortfall of almost 6 million iPhone Pro models due to the unrest in China. The covid lockdowns and pro-democracy/pro-worker protests continue to affect production at Foxconn’s plant, where workers have left in droves. 🏭

Additionally, Elon Musk claimed that Apple threatened to remove the Twitter app from the App Store. He claims it is part of Apple’s “app review moderation process” and that they won’t provide a reason why Twitter’s app could be removed.

Lastly, traders are watching $AAPL shares make a lower high, which many traders view as a sign of further downside to come. The bellwether stock has held up better than its peers but would weigh on the market heavily if it began to move lower.

We’ll have to see if today’s weakness continues or if it was a one-off. Either way, traders will definitely be watching this chart into year-end. 👀

AI’s Copyright Crisis Begins

We all knew copyright law would be a key issue at the heart of the artificial intelligence (AI) revolution, but we didn’t know when. Well, the time has come. ⌛

Today, The New York Times filed a lawsuit against Microsoft and OpenAI, accusing them of infringing copyright and abusing the newspaper’s intellectual property. In its court filing, the publisher said it looks to hold the two companies accountable for the “unlawful copying and use of The Times’s uniquely valuable works,” claiming billions in statutory and actual damages.

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Japan’s Nippon Takes Over U.S. Steel

After months of bidding, U.S. Steel finally has a buyer. However, the auction’s winner has some parties concerned. 🤔

Japan’s Nippon Steel emerged as the top bidder for the 122-year-old steelmaker, beating out offers from Cleveland-Cliffs, ArcelorMittal, and Nucor. Its $55 per share price represents a 142% premium to where $X shares were trading before Cleveland-Cliffs’ $35-per-share offer kicked off the bidding war.

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Justice Department Targets UnitedHealth

With the upcoming presidential election looming, the current administration is itching to accomplish more before a potential shakeup. While antitrust regulators have had a field day with big tech, airlines, grocery chains, and others this year, they’re taking another look at UnitedHealth, especially given its recent cybersecurity issues. 🕵️‍♂️

The Justice Department is poking around to figure out the relationship between the company’s UnitedHealthcare insurance unit and its Optum health-services division. They’ve asked how UnitedHealth’s acquisitions of doctor groups might affect competitors and consumers. 🤔

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PayPal Pops Ahead Of Key Event

It’s been a rough few years for payment giant PayPal, with shares falling 85% peak-to-trough. Recently, the stock has begun to rebound with other beaten-down tech names but remains about 80% below all-time highs. In other words, it would need to nearly 5x its share price to reach those levels again. 📈

While that may seem a ways off, investors have recently pushed shares to their best three-day run since the end of 2022. That’s because the company promised to roll out new “customer-backed innovation” at an event next Thursday, with its new CEO Alex Chriss saying, “It is very clear what we need to do.”

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