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Top News
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U.S. lawmakers’ focus on recommender algorithms in a recent pair of bills may be ineffective as legislators seek to address broader harms caused by social media platforms. The algorithms have become the center of legislative attention, including a bipartisan, bicameral push to mandate an option for users to opt out of personalized content targeting. The move comes after leaked documents from Facebook whistleblower Frances Haugen highlighted how the platforms impact teenage girls’ mental health, among other concerns, including promulgating hate speech. Recommender algorithms — automated tools that make content more personalized and social media more addictive — ultimately design what users see online.
In fintech, Chile’s new law would contribute “substantially” to growth in the industry, as well as boost startups’ access to investor capital, Kevin Cowan, vice president of the country’s Financial Market Commission, told S&P Global Market Intelligence. The proposed bill to regulate financial technology services in the country is expected to sharply increase competition in the Chilean financial system. “Impact of the bill on the financial sector as a whole should be substantial,” the official said.
On the healthcare side, COVID-19 vaccine makers AstraZeneca and Moderna both missed EPS estimates for the third quarter, while the majority of biopharma companies exceeded expectations. Sixteen of the 19 top biopharmaceutical companies surpassed analysts’ EPS forecasts for the quarter, with only Eli Lilly and Co. joining AstraZeneca and Moderna in missing their estimates — though each of the stragglers painted a picture of a brighter future.
Chart of the Week
Zoom share-price decline steepens as revenue growth shrinks
Zoom’s stock plunged in the wake of the company’s fiscal 2022 third-quarter results, which came in ahead of expectations but furthered concerns around slowing revenue growth.
Tech, Media and Telecom
Social media critics may have wrong target in federal push for algorithm opt-out
A series of bipartisan, bicameral bills target the use of recommender algorithms, automated tools that make content more targeted and products more addictive
Searching for clues on who spent what in latest mid-band spectrum auction
After 151 rounds and $21.9 billion in total proceeds, the Federal Communications Commission’s auction of 100 MHz of contiguous spectrum in the 3.45 GHz band concluded its clock phase earlier in November.
Ericsson dials into enterprise wireless market with $6B Vonage buy
The transaction is motivated by Ericsson’s expansion into the fast-growing communications-platform-as-a-service market, which uses cloud tech to give customers the flexibility to add voice, video and messaging features to their business software.
Fintech
Chile’s fintech bill raises expectations for growth in the sector
If approved, Chile’s fintech law should accelerate growth in the industry and boost funding for startups, Kevin Cowan, vice president of Chile’s financial market regulator, told S&P Global Market Intelligence.
Lending fintechs in Argentina target low-income adults
During the pandemic, financial technology companies expanded to the interior of Argentina to deliver loan products. Online lenders in Argentina serve the underbanked, a high-risk segment overlooked by traditional banks that can provide opportunities for strong gains.
KeyBank acquired payments firm XUP as ‘connective tissue,’ exec says
KeyBank started using XUP Payments’ software to package and deliver its payments and banking products to merchants in mid-2020.
Energy
Target Zero: CMS striving to keep lights on amid storms, net-zero pressure
CMS Energy and principal subsidiary Consumers Energy have committed to achieving net-zero carbon emissions by 2040, but their resource plan remains heavily reliant on gas-fired resources that will even grow by over 2 GW with planned acquisitions.
US utilities ramp up spending plans, brace for winter and legislation
Management teams kept their eyes on rising gas prices, supply chain constraints and the passage and impact of federal energy policy during third-quarter earnings calls and the 2021 Edison Electric Institute Financial Conference.
Healthcare
COVID-19 shots fail to immunize drugmakers from EPS misses in broadly upbeat Q3
Sixteen of the 19 top biopharmaceutical companies surpassed analysts’ EPS forecasts for the quarter, with only Eli Lilly, AstraZeneca and Moderna missing their estimates — though each of the stragglers painted a picture of a brighter future.
License to Pill: Pfizer’s $500M migraine deal; Zai Lab buys rights to 2 drugs
Pfizer’s offering of $150 million in cash and a purchase of $350 million in equity in Biohaven Pharmaceutical to commercialize its migraine drug rimegepant was the largest up-front payment for the licensing deals announced Nov. 6-19.
Top Research
From Kagan, a media research group within S&P Global Market Intelligence:
Q3’21 global game content revenue floats on early FIFA release
Hardware shortages and lower pandemic-related demand continue to weigh on game sales, but Kagan estimates that a tentpole title’s move to the third quarter helped lift revenue 9.2% year over year.
State of US online video: Virtual multichannel, 2021
Seeking a path to sustained profitability has become one of the more important challenges that U.S. virtual multichannel services face as reaching scale remains elusive and programming costs continue to mount.
From 451 Research, an offering of S&P Global Market Intelligence:
Simplifying transformation to a cloud operating model
As cloud adoption of cloud becomes mainstream, suppliers are increasing their focus on programs that assist customers with the cloud operating model development, thereby securing their roles as landing zones for customer applications and workloads.
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Using the 451 Research Datacenter KnowledgeBase dataset, now available via Xpressfeed™ and Snowflake, you can assess market and region energy current and future demand from data centers.
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Click here to listen to the latest episode of “MediaTalk,” an S&P Global Market Intelligence podcast. In this episode, Alexandra Reeve Givens, head of the Center for Democracy and Technology, and Sheryl Kingstone, head of customer experience and commerce at 451 Research, provide insights on privacy legislation in the U.S., how online companies are storing our data and growing concerns among consumers about privacy in the wake of the pandemic.
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Click here to listen to the latest episode of “Next in Tech,” a weekly podcast featuring 451 Research and other areas of S&P Global Market Intelligence. The increasing use of renewable energy sources is transforming the planet and cutting emissions, but they’re complicating the operation of energy grids. The internet of thing’s capabilities and appropriate analytics can help adapt the grid to make better use of these options and senior research analyst Johan Vermij joins host Eric Hanselman to talk about where they come into play and how they’re being put to work. They’re part of ensuring that the benefits of these improvements are being distributed equitably.
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