THREAD: amazon shocking power grab shopify

AMAZON’S Shocking Power Grab: Shopify Deal Rocks Wall Street After Bank Collapse

27 May 2025 — Amazon just announced it will buy Shopify for $85 billion. This move could make Amazon even stronger in online shopping and cloud services. Stocks for both companies shot up after the news came out. Regulators are now expected to take a hard look at the deal because of its massive size and impact on competition.

At the same time, First National Financial, a big Wall Street bank, went bankrupt after losing money in the latest crypto crash. The bank’s failure rattled financial markets and caused banking stocks to fall fast. Investors are now worried that more trouble could be coming as crypto keeps shaking up regular banks.

These two events signal major changes for tech giants and America’s financial system. Many Americans will be watching closely as government officials decide what comes next.

How regulators handle this Amazon-Shopify deal — and the fallout from another big bank collapse — could shape our country’s economic future for years to come.

APPLE-GOOGLE Merger Shock: Tech Giants’ Power Play Sparks Fears

23 May 2025 — Apple and Google are close to joining forces. Reports say they plan to merge their AI, cloud, and hardware divisions. If this happens, it will create the biggest tech company in history. Many say this could give them too much control over the market.

Insiders believe the deal could be wrapped up in a few weeks if regulators approve it. News of the possible merger sent tech stocks on a wild ride as investors tried to guess what comes next.

Some experts warn that combining these two giants could bring antitrust problems worldwide. They worry about less competition and higher prices for regular people if one company gets too strong.

UPS LAYOFFS Spark Fear: American Jobs At Risk From Trade Shock

02 May 2025 — UPS just announced it will lay off 20,000 workers and shut down 73 buildings. The company blames falling package numbers and new tariffs for the cuts. UPS hopes to save $35 billion as Amazon sends fewer shipments after recent trade changes.

Amazon is also under stress. Many sellers are piling up extra inventory to avoid shipping delays, but this is only a short-term fix. Even Amazon’s cloud service isn’t doing as well as some of its competitors.

Other big names like McDonald’s and General Motors have warned that sales could drop because of tariff worries. Chinese shopping app Temu is now trying to work with more American sellers to get around these rules.

In retail news, Kohl’s fired CEO Ashley Buchanan over business deals tied to his girlfriend. These changes show how trade policies can shake up everything from shipping companies to major retailers across America.

UPS STOCKS Plummet: Amazon Partnership Slashed, Investors Shocked

31 January 2025 — United Parcel Service Inc. (UPS) shares have dropped sharply after announcing a major cut in its business dealings with Amazon.com Inc. UPS plans to reduce its low-margin Amazon business by half, surprising analysts and impacting the company’s revenue projections. Daniel Imbro from Stephens Inc. noted the unexpected nature of this rapid shift in strategy.

The company has projected $89 billion in revenue for 2025, falling short of analysts’ expectations of $94.9 billion, following a reported $91.1 billion for 2024. UPS is focusing on higher-margin sectors like healthcare, aiming for $20 billion in revenue from this segment by 2026 as it raises prices and implements surcharges to offset losses from Amazon’s reduced contribution.

Amazon accounted for 11.8% of UPS’s revenue last year, making the decision to slash this partnership significant amid weak demand recovery for parcel services this year. This strategic pivot highlights UPS’s efforts to stabilize its financial outlook by prioritizing more profitable ventures over volume-driven partnerships with lower margins like Amazon’s delivery services.;

UPS SHARES Plummet: Bold Move to Slash Amazon Business Stuns Investors

31 January 2025 — UPS shares dropped sharply after the company revealed plans to cut its business with Amazon in half. This move comes as UPS faces lower-than-expected revenue projections, signaling that a rise in parcel demand isn’t likely this year. To cope, UPS has been hiking prices and adding surcharges.

In a bid for bigger profits, UPS is focusing on growing its health-care segment, aiming for $20 billion in revenue by 2026. The company predicted $89 billion in revenue for 2025, which is below analysts’ expectations of $94.9 billion. In 2024, UPS reported revenues of $91.1 billion with Amazon making up 11.8% of that total.

The sudden cutback with Amazon caught many investors and analysts off guard. Daniel Imbro from Stephens Inc., noted the swift change as surprising news within industry circles. This strategic shift shows UPS’s dedication to prioritizing higher-margin ventures over volume-driven deals like the one with Amazon.

AMAZON’S BOLD Move: New South Africa Center Shakes UP Market

17 January 2025 — Amazon has opened a new center in Cape Town, South Africa, to support its independent sellers. This is part of Amazon’s plan to grow its market share and compete with local leader Takealot, owned by Naspers. The center aims to help sellers attract more customers and expand Amazon’s product range, potentially boosting revenue.

APPLE’s CHINA TROUBLES: iPhone Shipments PLUMMET

Apple shares fell 3.2% after research firm Canalys reported a 17% drop in iPhone shipments in China for 2024. This decline pushed Apple down to third place in China’s market share rankings. Despite the stock’s volatility, this news is significant but doesn’t drastically change the company’s business outlook.

STOCK MARKET SLUMP: Earnings Reports RATTLE Investors

The stock market took a hit following Wednesday’s rally due to retail sales data and major bank earnings reports taking the spotlight. Analysts remain hopeful about gains for the S&P 500 by year-end despite current swings. Focus is also on upcoming hearings on tariff plans before President-elect Donald Trump that could affect future economic strategies moving forward.

AMAZON and META Bow to UK Antitrust Pressure, Pledge Fair Play

06 November 2023 — Amazon and Meta, two tech behemoths, have put an end to separate antitrust investigations in the United Kingdom. They’ve agreed to halt practices that unfairly tip the scales in their favor against vendors and consumers on their platforms. This agreement was reached with the Competition and Markets Authority (CMA), effectively closing the investigations into their online marketplaces.

The CMA had been examining Amazon’s potential threat to competition by preferentially treating merchants who shell out for extras like storage, packaging, and delivery. The watchdog also probed Amazon’s choice of suppliers for its “buy box” feature as well as its data collection habits. As part of this settlement, Amazon will stop using data from third-party sellers for competitive advantage.

Meta’s probe focused on whether its data collection methods provided it an unfair leg up over competitors offering classified data and online dating services. Both companies have embraced these settlements; Amazon previously settled a similar EU antitrust case in December by agreeing to make substantial changes in how it does business.