In line with Elon Musk, Twitter’s money move stays destructive attributable to “excessive ranges of debt.”

Elon Musk, CEO of SpaceX, Twitter and electric car maker Tesla looks on as he speaks during his visit to the Vivatech technology startups and innovation fair at the Porte de Versailles exhibition center in Paris June 16, 2023. (Photo by Alain JOCARD / AFP ) (Photo by ALAIN JOCARD/AFP via Getty Images)

Alain Jocard | Afp | Getty Images

Tesla SpaceX CEO Elon Musk, who is also Twitter’s CTO and chief executive officer, said early Saturday morning that the social media company’s cash flow remained negative due to a nearly 50% drop in ad revenue and “heavy debt.”

“We need to be cash flow positive before we can afford the luxury of anything else,” Musk wrote in response to a tweet.

Musk acquired Twitter in October last year in a deal worth about $44 billion, including about $13 billion in debt. To fund this deal, he sold his billions of dollars worth of Tesla stock.

By January, hundreds of advertisers had reduced or halted their ad spend on Twitter altogether in response to Musk making drastic staff cuts at the company and making changes to the platform, most notably restoring previously suspended accounts and changing his approach to content moderation.

In April, Musk told a BBC reporter that “almost all” advertisers had started buying ads on Twitter again. He also claimed at the time that the company was “about breakeven” and expected to be cash flow positive in the next quarter.

His statement today on Twitter’s cash flow woes comes a little over a month after Linda Yaccarino, who was previously responsible for global advertising Comcast’s NBCUniversal took on the role of Twitter CEO. NBCUniversal is the parent company of CNBC.

Yaccarino’s appointment raised hopes among media industry insiders that Twitter would address the immediate challenges to its advertising business.

In recent days, Twitter has started to distribute a portion of its advertising revenue to select content creators on its platform. Musk’s comments were in response to supporters who wanted to know why this revenue-sharing program was so limited.

A number of widely followed accounts on Twitter said they were dismayed that they were not yet qualified to start earning income from the program. As The Verge previously reported, the revenue sharing program was only available to users who paid for a Twitter Blue verified subscription, and the amounts paid were “determined by ads in replies to tweets.”

Influencer Andrew Tate, who espouses misogynist views online and is on trial for rape, human trafficking and forming a criminal gang to sexually exploit women in Romania, revealed that Twitter paid him more than $20,000. Tate has sued the accusers who made these allegations.

Several right-wing influencers also posted about receiving Twitter payments, as well as fans and promoters of Tesla stock and products, including Omar Qazi (who uses the alias “@WholeMarsBlog” on Twitter) and Sawyer Merritt, each about receiving more posted as $5,000.

Mainstream and other influencers who shared details of their Twitter earnings included Brian and Ed Krassenstein, Mr. Beast, and the @interneth0f (which stands for Internet Hall of Fame) account. The Internet Hall of Fame posts and reposts screenshots of popular social media posts by others.

It’s not clear how much Twitter paid YouTubers in total in this first round of payments. Twitter sent an automated response with a crude icon on Saturday in response to CNBC’s request for comment. Twitter’s parent company, X Corp., faces countless lawsuits from former employees and suppliers for non-payment of bills and severance pay.

Uninsured folks pay excessive prices for insulin. Eli Lilly vowed to decrease them

A pharmaceutical manufacturing facility owned by Eli Lilly and Company is pictured March 5, 2021 in Branchburg, New Jersey.

Fresh Mike | Reuters

On average, uninsured Americans pay nearly $98 for a vial Eli LillyThe company promised to lower the product’s list price to $25 per vial, according to a report released Thursday by Senator Elizabeth Warren.

Eli Lilly earlier this year promised to lower the list price of its generic insulin Lispro from $82.42 per vial starting May 1. The Indianapolis-based pharmaceutical company is one of the largest insulin manufacturers in the world.

The Massachusetts Senator’s report surveyed more than 300 chain and independent pharmacies across the United States between June 9 and June 28 to determine if Eli Lilly’s announced price cut “resulted in real relief for patients.”

The survey found that a third of pharmacies charged uninsured patients $164 or more for a vial of Eli Lilly’s Lispro.

Seven pharmacies charged US$200 or more per vial and two sold the product for more than US$300.

Chain pharmacies charged uninsured customers an average of $123 per vial for generic insulin, compared to an average of $63 at independent pharmacies.

Eli Lilly did not immediately respond to CNBC’s request for comment on the poll.

The results of the survey indicate that “Eli Lilly’s promises to provide affordable and accessible insulin to uninsured patients across the country have not been fulfilled,” Warren said in a statement.

She said the data also showed Congress needed to take more steps to curb overpricing, such as capping insulin co-payments at $35 per month for all patients, regardless of their insurance status.

President Joe Biden’s Inflation Reduction Act currently limits Medicare beneficiaries’ co-payments on insulin to $35 per month.

“My new report confirms that far too many uninsured Americans don’t have access or can’t afford to pay astronomical prices for life-saving generic insulin — lawmakers need to step in and take action,” Warren said in a press release.

Senator Elizabeth Warren, D-MA, speaks during a Senate Banking Committee hearing on Capitol Hill in Washington, DC June 13, 2023.

Michael A McCoy | Getty Images

Insured Americans typically pay a fraction of the list price for insulin. However, uninsured people often have to pay the full cost, which can force them to ration or abandon life-saving diabetes treatment.

Nearly 30% of uninsured patients with diabetes reported skipping insulin doses, taking less than prescribed, or delaying purchases in the past year, Warren said, citing a 2022 study by researchers from Harvard and other institutions.

“No American should ever be forced to choose between life-saving drugs like insulin and their ability to pay for food, shelter and their daily needs,” Warren said.

Earlier this year, Eli Lilly, Sanofi And Novo Nordisk have committed to reducing the list prices of their top-prescribed insulins by at least 70% later in 2023.

Eli Lilly and Sanofi have also capped the monthly cost of insulin for privately insured patients at $35.

Together, the three companies control 90% of the global insulin market.

Their pledges received applause from lawmakers and Biden, who was pleased the companies were finally heeding calls to make diabetes care more affordable in the United States

But Warren’s poll raises questions about how effective their cost-cutting efforts will be.

About 37 million people in the United States, or 11.3% of the country’s population, have diabetes, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

Approximately 8.4 million diabetes patients depend on insulin, according to the American Diabetes Association.

IEA cuts demand forecast amid ongoing financial issues

Two large oil tankers unload at the 300,000-ton crude oil terminal in Yantai port, east China’s Shandong province, 9 July 2023.

Future Publishing | Future Publishing | Getty Images

The International Energy Agency on Thursday lowered its forecast for global oil demand growth for the first time this year, citing a deteriorating economic outlook that is “particularly weighing heavily” on wealthy countries.

The world’s top energy regulator said global oil demand is expected to increase by 2.2 million barrels per day in 2023, reaching an average of 102.1 million barrels per day.

According to the IEA, China is likely to account for 70% of demand growth.

Still, this forecast represents a downward revision of 220,000 barrels per day from last month’s report, when the IEA predicted a 2.4 million barrel per day increase in global growth.

“Persistent macroeconomic headwinds, reflected in a deepening manufacturing slump, have prompted us to downgrade our 2023 growth estimate for the first time this year,” the IEA said in its latest monthly oil market report, which was released on Thursday has been published.

“Global oil demand is coming under pressure from the difficult economic environment, not least the dramatic tightening of monetary policy in many developed and developing countries over the past 12 months,” the agency added.

Looking ahead next year, the IEA expects demand growth to slow to 1.1 million barrels per day “as the recovery loses momentum and increasing electrification and efficiency measures for the vehicle fleet take hold.”

The IEA said last month that global demand will come to a near standstill in the coming years, peaking before the end of the decade as the fossil-fuel transition gathers momentum.

Thursday’s report comes as the latest US inflation and economic data are reviving hopes that the Federal Reserve may soon be ending its cycle of interest rate hikes.

Oil prices traded slightly higher Thursday morning, continuing their month-to-date gains.

September-dated Brent crude futures were up around 0.4% at $80.42 a barrel as of 9am London time, while US West Texas Intermediate crude futures with August delivery were up 0.3% and at traded at $75.98 per barrel.

Small companies are on the lookout for a youthful workforce trying to rent aggressive employees through the summer season

As the hiring market heats up over the summer, small and seasonal businesses may find they are missing a key target audience for hiring – a youth workforce.

Outplacement firm Challenger Gray forecasts that teens will gain 1.1 million jobs in 2023, down slightly from last year’s figures and the lowest forecast since 2011. The group said in the spring that teens were returning to work at pre-pandemic levels, but warned many teens who are ready to take a job are likely already in the workforce.

The unemployment rate for youth ages 16-19 rose slightly to 11% in June from the previous month, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics’ Friday June jobs report. Meanwhile, the labor force participation rate fell to 36.3% year-on-year from 42.9% in June 2022.

According to hiring chief Glenn Byrum, this could mean that companies like Grotto Pizza, which rely heavily on youth, have fewer workers available.

At Grotto’s 20 locations in Delaware and Maryland, teenagers make up just under a third of the company’s 1,100 employees. They’re constantly hiring new staff but are well staffed for this summer, he said.

“They are a critical factor in our success,” Byrum said, adding that both younger workers and J-1 Visa employees help fill seasonal beach locations.

“Hiring teenagers is always a process,” he said. “They seem much more self-aware of the flexibility of their job, the level of their salary and the work environment.”

Byrum described what he believed to be a general mentality among young workers that had emerged from a plethora of summer job opportunities.

“If they don’t like something that the employer is asking them to do, even though it’s part of the job, they can just go out on the street and work somewhere else and find another job with the same pay or maybe even better,” he said. “So it keeps us in the loop to make sure we’re providing the best possible work environment.”

According to Byrum, Grotto often hires youthful workers above minimum wage and offers incentives for some to move between locations when seasonal demand fluctuates.

Lexi Mathis, 16, got a raise to work at a Grotto beach location during the summer months. She said the company is flexible with her schedule and the extra pay will help her cover commuting expenses as inflation remains somewhat stubborn.

“I moved here to try and earn a little extra tip. And that was one of the best decisions ever because it was a big step up and then they gave me a small raise,” said Mathis.

The hiring and availability of labor is a constant headache, especially for small business owners.

The dynamics of labor availability and demand have changed in the wake of the pandemic, and owners often struggle to find skilled and unskilled labor to fill vacancies.

The catering sector is one of those suffering from the shortage of workers. The National Restaurant Association projects restaurants will add an additional 500,000 jobs by the end of the year. However, there was only one job seeker for every two vacancies, increasing competition for labour.

Makiah Grindstaff has worked at Famous Toastery in Davidson, North Carolina for more than two years, both during the school year and in the summer. The high school graduate has saved for multiple goals and said her wages could be as high as $25 an hour depending on the role she fills at the restaurant and the day of the week.

She and her friends pride themselves on having cash on hand for shopping, eating and driving, Grindstaff said.

“I started driving and gas is expensive and I wanted to start saving for college,” she said. “And I just want to have my own money.”

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With a abstract, Rachel Maddow reveals why Republicans maintain dropping

Rachel Maddow looked at recent events involving Republicans in Michigan, Ohio, Arizona and Tennessee and painted a picture of a party completely out of step and becoming more extreme.

Video clips:

#Maddow talks about how Tennessee Republicans are leading the GOP race to the bottom with their attack on trans rights. pic.twitter.com/CkEuRzNjee

— Sarah Reese Jones (@PoliticusSarah) July 11, 2023

maddow said:

But you know, if we’re looking for a grand prize here, let’s just jump in. Obviously, Ohio is at odds, Michigan is at odds with their repeated fist fights at statewide Republican Party conventions. Arizona is apparently at odds with a Republican speaking tour at a neo-Nazi college. But I think if anyone has come out on top in this current news cycle, it’s probably not the Republican parties in any of those states. It’s probably Tennessee.

You may have seen over the weekend that there was a weekend ruling from a federal appeals court in Tennessee. Republicans in Tennessee have cracked down on transgender people in every way they can. A federal appeals court this weekend on Saturday allowed this state to ban certain forms of health care for transgender people in a split 2-1 decision. And that’s not, you know, some remote threat or something that’s sort of locked up in court now. Thanks to the Court of Appeals’ decision this weekend Saturday, this weekend’s decision is now officially illegal for anyone under the age of 18, regardless of the ongoing health care they received in Tennessee. This judgment took effect immediately. Any such health care, ongoing health care you have received to date must be stopped immediately.

But that’s also happening in the context of this other thing that Republicans are doing in the state of Tennessee. I think they’re sort of on the front lines at the moment. The Republican Attorney General in Tennessee uses his office to obtain private medical records, unredacted complete medical records of patients treated at a specific Tennessee clinic at Vanderbilt University Medical Center. He uses his office as Attorney General to take over people’s private, unredacted medical records for the purpose of an investigation at his state Attorney General’s office. Now, Vanderbilt University Medical Center says they had no choice but to turn over the records after the attorney general asked for them, but they also didn’t notify their patients that they had turned over their records until they were already with the handover had begun.

The Michigan Republican Party’s descent into Lord Of The Flies chaos is funny, but shows how extreme and dysfunctional it has become. Arizona College Republicans support Nazism, which poses a long-term threat that needs to be watched. Republicans in Ohio are trying to bar people from voting against them in a blatant assault on democracy, but what’s happening in Tennessee is chilling.

The former small government and privacy party is using the biggest tactics of big government to violate the rights of Tennessee people and deny them access to health care.

After the 1/6 attack, it became clear that far-right is no longer something to laugh at and dismiss.

Republicans are a dangerous threat, and the more elections they lose, the more extreme they become. Looking at Rachel Maddow’s overview, it’s clear why the Republicans, but what’s not so easy to see is how, or if, they’re interested in halting their slide into authoritarianism.

Jason is the managing editor. He is also White House press secretary and congressional correspondent for PoliticusUSA. Jason has a bachelor’s degree in political science. The focus of his thesis was on public policy with a focus on social reform movements.

Awards and professional memberships

Member of the Society of Professional Journalists and the American Political Science Association

What sufferers and docs ought to know

Alzheimer’s drug Leqembi can be seen in this undated handout picture obtained by Reuters on January 20, 2023.

Eisai | via Reuters

Medicare has agreed to fund Leqembi’s Alzheimer’s treatment, a major game-changer for patients diagnosed with the disease in its early stages.

Leqembi is currently the only drug on the market that has been shown in a clinical study to slow the progression of early stages of Alzheimer’s disease. The monoclonal antibody, given intravenously twice a month, slowed cognitive decline by 27% over an 18-month period in the study.

Leqembi is made by Japanese drugmaker Eisai and its partner biogenicbased in Cambridge, Massachusetts.

Medicare’s decision to acquire Leqembi, which came shortly after the drug was fully approved by the Food and Drug Administration on Thursday, promises to make the treatment more accessible to patients.

For most patients, Medicare coverage is critical to being able to afford Leqembi at all. Eisai has priced Leqembi before insurance coverage at $26,500 per year, which is prohibitively expensive for Medicare patients, who have an average income of about $30,000.

Medicare covers most of the bill, though many patients still face thousands of dollars in out-of-pocket expenses.

According to the Federal Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services, patients with traditional Medicare coverage pay 20% of the bill for Leqembi. That means these patients could be billed more than $5,000 annually, according to an estimate by KFF, a nonprofit group that studies healthcare issues.

People with Medicare Advantage plans also typically pay 20% for drugs like Leqembi, up to their maximum deductible, which the KFF said averaged about $5,000 for on-net services.

According to the KFF, patients with supplementary insurance such as Medigap or Medicaid may pay less.

People of modest means might not be able to afford the cost of Leqembi even with Medicare insurance, said Tricia Neuman, Medicare expert at KFF.

This is of particular concern because black and Hispanic people are at higher risk for Alzheimer’s disease but are also more likely to have lower incomes, Neuman said.

When demand for Leqembi is high, there are also concerns that patients may have to wait long to see a specialist and receive IV fluids.

Which insurance conditions apply?

Medicare has set certain conditions that must be met for patients to be eligible for Leqembi insurance.

Leqembi coverage requirements

  • You must be enrolled in Medicare.
  • You must be diagnosed with mild cognitive impairment or mild Alzheimer’s disease with signs of amyloid plaque in the brain.
  • You’ll need a doctor to participate in a registry that collects information about the tests you’ve had as part of your diagnosis, to determine if you’re taking blood thinners, and to document if you’ve had any side effects with Leqembi.

To be diagnosed with Alzheimer’s or mild cognitive impairment, patients must undergo cognitive testing and undergo a PET scan or spinal biopsy to detect the amyloid protein associated with the disease. PET scans are the most common method of detecting amyloid because they are less invasive.

Medicare currently covers a single PET scan per life to detect amyloid. CMS is reconsidering this policy and plans to issue a proposed rule soon, an agency spokesman said.

The requirement that doctors must enter information about the patient in a register system is controversial. The Alzheimer’s Association and some members of Congress fear that mandatory data collection will add unnecessary bureaucracy to treating patients.

The Federal Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services have created a statewide portal to make it easier for physicians to enter the necessary information about their patients. CMS has released a video showing doctors how to navigate the system:

Physicians can access the free register on this website.

dr David Knopman, an Alzheimer’s neurologist at the Mayo Clinic in Minnesota, said the registry is minimalist and likely won’t be a burden on patients and doctors.

What are the benefits and risks?

Patients who have been diagnosed with mild cognitive impairment or mild Alzheimer’s disease need to talk to their doctor about whether Leqembi’s benefits outweigh its risks, according to CMS.

Although Leqembi slightly slowed cognitive decline in the clinical trial, the treatment also carries serious risks of brain swelling and bleeding. In the study, 13% of the patients receiving Leqembi experienced swelling and 14% bleeding.

The swelling and bleeding were usually mild with no obvious symptoms, but these episodes can be fatal, based on the Food and Drug Administration’s independent review of clinical trial data. When symptoms do occur, they include headache, confusion, dizziness, blurred vision, and nausea.

People with two copies of a gene mutation called APOE4 are at higher risk of swelling and bleeding, and patients should be tested before taking Leqembi to confirm if they have the mutation, the FDA said. Medicare covers testing for the APOE4 mutation, a CMS spokesman said.

And patients taking anticoagulants also appear to be at higher risk of cerebral hemorrhage, according to the FDA.

Three patients who received Leqembi in the study died, although the FDA could not determine whether these deaths were related to the treatment.

Knopman said appropriately diagnosed and informed patients should be able to make their own decision about taking Leqembi after weighing the benefits of the treatment against the risks of potential serious side effects.

Fed Chair Goolsbee sees the “golden street” to bringing down inflation with no recession

Chicago Federal Reserve Chairman Austan Goolsbee said Friday he’s confident inflation can be contained without a recession, even if more rate hikes are likely.

Speaking to CNBC after the release of June’s nonfarm payrolls report, he said continued job growth is part of the Fed’s “golden road” to restoring price stability without hurting the economy.

“The Fed’s primary objective right now is to bring down inflation. We’re going to get there, and to do that without creating a recession would be a triumph,” Goolsbee told CNBC’s Steve Liesman in a Squawk on the Street interview. “This is the golden road and I feel like we are on that golden road. So I hope we delay the recession forever. Let’s never have a recession again.”

Economists, including those who work at the Fed, expect the contraction in credit to result in at least a mild recession later this year or in early 2024.

However, one of the most important cogs in the economy, the labor market, is showing only slight signs of weakening. Job count rose just 209,000 in June, below Wall Street estimates, but an unemployment rate of 3.6% suggests a resilient economy.

“Overall, the labor market is excellent and returning to a balanced, sustainable level,” said Goolsbee.

However, inflation remained stubbornly high, well above the Fed’s 2% target.

After the June meeting, a large majority of Federal Reserve Open Market Committee officials indicated in their updated quarterly forecasts that they expect at least two more quarter-point rate hikes by the end of 2023. Although Goolsbee said he was confident that inflation would ease, he also said it was likely to tighten further.

“Almost all FOMC members agree in the forecast statement that we will do one or two more rate hikes this year. I haven’t seen anything to suggest that’s wrong,” he said. “That’s the golden path, where we bring inflation down to around our target without a recession.”

Fed policy is expected to have a lag, meaning the 10 rate hikes since March 2022 are unlikely to have had an impact on the economy yet. Goolsbee said he was unsure about raising rates at the July 25-26 FOMC meeting.

“There are still some modest increases to come, but we have already taken many measures and are now waiting to see the impact,” he said.

US Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen meets Chinese language Prime Minister Li Qiang

US Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen arrived in Beijing on July 6, 2023 for her first visit under the Biden administration.

Mark Schiefelbein | Afp | Getty Images

BEIJING – US Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen defended US measures to protect her national security in remarks prepared for a meeting with Chinese Prime Minister Li Qiang.

“The United States will need to take targeted action in certain circumstances to protect its national security,” Yellen said in prepared remarks on Friday.

“And in those cases, we can disagree,” she said.

Among other things, the US announced sweeping export controls in October that limit the ability of Chinese companies to develop advanced semiconductors.

This week, China’s Commerce Ministry said that companies in China that want to export two metals for making chips will have to apply for licenses from August 1. The ministry said Thursday the measures were not targeted to any specific country and it had informed the US and Europe before the public announcement.

“We should not allow disagreements to lead to misunderstandings that unnecessarily worsen our bilateral economic and financial ties,” Yellen said in her prepared remarks.

She said there are “major global challenges” on which the US and China “need to work together and show leadership.”

Yellen was scheduled to meet the Chinese prime minister on Friday, the second day of her four-day trip to China.

She previously met with former Vice Premier Liu He and former Governor of the People’s Bank of China Yi Gang. A Finance Ministry official said the meeting lasted an hour and 15 minutes, longer than planned.

“They discussed the global economic outlook as well as the respective economic outlook for the United States and China,” the official said.

Her trip follows US Secretary of State Antony Blinken’s high-profile visit to Beijing last month and comes at a time when China’s economic growth has been slowing.

According to state media, Li met with economic experts on Thursday to discuss growth trends and proposals for economic work. According to the report, Li said that the complex global political and economic situation has greatly affected China’s development.

Nikola shareholders will vote on the inventory sale plan on Thursday

Nikola TRE FCEV2

Courtesy Nikola

Electric heavy-duty truck maker Nikola will learn later on Thursday whether its shareholders have approved its plan to raise money by selling more shares.

Nikola is hoping to raise more capital to boost production of its new heavy-duty fuel cell electric truck, which is due to launch later this month. But before the company can sell additional shares to raise money, it must increase the total number of shares it can issue from 800 million to 1.6 billion. This move requires shareholder approval.

Nikola first presented the plan to its shareholders at its annual general meeting in June. Although 77% of voters were in favour, the total number of votes cast was not enough to pass the proposal. Nikola is incorporated in Delaware and under that state law at least half of all outstanding common shares of a company must vote to accept a stock increase proposal.

The company adjourned its AGM by a month to encourage more shareholders to vote. The gathering will resume Thursday at 4:00 p.m. ET. At that point, Nikola will announce whether the proposal has passed — or whether it will be adjourned again to try to get more shareholders to vote.

This isn’t the first time Nikola has had to adjourn a shareholders’ meeting to gather more votes on a proposal to sell new shares. Last year’s annual meeting was adjourned three times before Nikola won enough votes to increase the total number of outstanding shares from 600 million to 800 million.

Nikola said Wednesday it built 33 of its battery-electric Tre semi-trailer trucks and shipped 45 to its dealerships in the second quarter. Its dealers sold 66 trucks to customers in the reporting period, a total of 99 since the beginning of 2023.

Nikola said on May 9 that it had halted production of the battery-electric Tre to focus on launching the fuel-cell version of the Tre, which has significantly longer range. At that time, it was said that twelve fleet customers had ordered a total of 140 of the upcoming fuel cell trucks.

Nikola is working on building a network of hydrogen fueling stations to support upcoming fuel cell trucks. On Tuesday, it said the California Transportation Commission, in partnership with the state’s Department of Transportation, awarded her a $41.9 million grant to build six of those Southern California train stations.

Nikola is expected to release its second-quarter results in early August.