- US hiring soars past expectations in sign of resilient market
- As EU targets Chinese cars, European rivals sputter
- Top EU court finds against FIFA in key transfer market ruling
- Oil extends gains, Hong Kong stocks resume rally
- 'A man provides': Ukrainian miners send families away as Russia advances
- EU states greenlight extra tariffs on EVs from China
- Hong Kong stocks resume rally, oil dips after Middle East-fuelled surge
- Crude stable after Israel-Iran surge, Hong Kong stocks resume gains
- Hera spacecraft to probe asteroid deflected by defence test
- US dockworkers to head back to work after tentative deal
- After Helene's destruction, North Carolina starts to rebuild
- Dockers end three-day strike at Montreal port
- What next for OpenAI after $157 billion bonanza?
- Israel-Hamas war causes 86-percent dive in Gaza GDP: IMF
- Milan's Morata moves house after Inter-fan town mayor 'violates' privacy
- 'Devastating' storm hits Augusta National but Masters will go on
- Relief in Brazil, Asia over delay to EU deforestation rules
- Oil prices jump, stocks fall on Middle East tensions
- Biden says 'discussing' possible Israeli strikes on Iran oil facilities
- Oil prices rise, stocks fall on Middle East tensions
- Oil rallies, stocks mostly retreat on Middle East tensions
- Phasing out teen smoking could save 1.2 mn lives: study
- 'Welcome relief': Asia producers hail EU deforestation law delay
- Japan PM slated to announce plans for 'happiness index'
- Turkish inflation falls less than expected in September at 49.4%
- Easing inflation lifts profit at UK supermarket Tesco
- Skiing calls on UN climate science to combat melting future
- China wine industry looks to breed climate resilience
- Tokyo rallies on weak yen, Hong Kong drops after surge
- Dutch airline KLM unveils 'firm' cost-cutting measures
- Carpe diem: the Costa Rican women turning fish into fashion
- Senegal looks to aquaculture as fish stocks dwindle
- Will AI one day win a Nobel Prize?
- Climate change, economics muddy West's drive to curb Chinese EVs
- Argentina's Milei vetoes university budget after huge protests
- TotalEnergies plans to grow oil and gas production until 2030
- 2024 Nobels offer glimmer of hope as global crises mount
- Tokyo rallies on weak yen, Hong Kong reverses after surge
- Tunisia readies for vote as incumbent Saied eyes victory
- High childcare costs in US weigh on women's employment
- US voters seek help with crushing childcare costs
- Taiwan shuts down for second day as Typhoon Krathon to land
- Supercharged storms: how climate change amplifies cyclones
- Biden official urges talks as US port strike enters second day
- Huge protests in Argentina over public university cuts
- Rally in oil prices loses steam on mixed day for global stocks
- South America treated to rare 'ring of fire' eclipse
- Biden official says port strike deal not as far as parties think
- Mexico's new president offers apology for 1968 student massacre
- Historic funding round values OpenAI at $157 billion
RBGPF | 100% | 58.93 | $ | |
CMSC | -0.16% | 24.74 | $ | |
CMSD | -0.16% | 24.89 | $ | |
SCS | -1.98% | 12.62 | $ | |
BCC | -0.9% | 138.29 | $ | |
GSK | -2.81% | 38.37 | $ | |
AZN | -2.12% | 77.93 | $ | |
RIO | -1.42% | 69.83 | $ | |
BTI | -2.45% | 35.11 | $ | |
NGG | -2.7% | 66.97 | $ | |
RYCEF | 1.15% | 6.98 | $ | |
RELX | -1.46% | 46.61 | $ | |
BCE | -1.77% | 33.84 | $ | |
JRI | -0.6% | 13.3 | $ | |
VOD | -0.52% | 9.69 | $ | |
BP | 0.28% | 32.46 | $ |
Facebook's Meta takes on bond debt, in a first
Facebook-owner Meta is ending a run as one of the few major firms without debt, launching its first bond sale as the company battles uncertainty and bets heavily on its metaverse vision.
Worries over the social media giant's future and fierce competition from TikTok have sent its stock plummeting, while the firm spends billions on its plan for the internet's next iteration.
Meta reported to the US markets watchdog on Thursday that it has begun offering bonds to raise money for uses such as "capital expenditures, repurchases of outstanding shares of its common stock, acquisitions, or investments."
The firm, which also owns Instagram and WhatsApp, declined to comment beyond its filing to the Securities and Exchange Commission.
Its filing does not indicate the amount of funds it wants to raise, nor the term of the bonds, but Bloomberg news agency reported Meta may sell $8-10 billion in debt.
Last week, Meta reported its first year-on-year drop in quarterly revenue, and its net profit dropped 36 percent to $6.7 billion.
The firm, which relies almost exclusively on advertising revenue, has been hit by a decline in advertisers' spending driven in part by economic uncertainty and TikTok's rise.
"I'd say that the situation seems worse than it did a quarter ago," CEO Mark Zuckerberg told analysts after disappointing results last week.
Some analysts said the company, which rebranded itself last year, should have taken on debt long ago.
"Meta has no debt on its balance sheet unlike other big technology players and the company will aggressively build out its metaverse strategy and that take a lot of capital," said analyst Dan Ives.
"This is a smart move," he added.
Facebook renamed itself Meta to signal its pivot to building its vision for an interactive virtual and augmented reality world that it sees as the future.
But since February, its share price has been divided by two, with more than $400 billion in market capitalization disappearing.
"We're focused on making the long term investments that will position us to be stronger coming out of this downturn," Zuckerberg told analysts last week.
P.Schmidt--CPN