GM's Cruise Shakeup Apple Record; Pfizer Collapse

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GM's Cruise Shakeup

“We are committed to full transparency and are focused on rebuilding trust”, according to a memo from General Motors’ [GM] Cruise; as a result, “we believe that new leadership is necessary”. Nine key leaders have duly been dismissed, as safety investigations continue following October’s accident in San Francisco, Reuters reported. Among them are the heads of the legal, government affairs, commercial operations and safety and systems teams.

Apple (Nearly) Bigger than Paris (Again)

The iPhone maker closed Wednesday at a record high, Bloomberg reported, with a market value of $3.1trn; the combined value of the companies listed on the Paris stock market, meanwhile, was some $3.2trn. Last year Apple [AAPL] eclipsed Paris several times as central banks began raising rates. Elsewhere, EU regulators might hit Apple with a major fine and a ban on its App Store, in their latest crackdown on tech firms.

Pharma Titan Hits 10-year Low on Forecast

Pfizer [PFE] on Wednesday said that sales in 2024 could be as much $5bn below analyst expectations. “We want to be conservative,” Pfizer CEO Albert Bourla said on a call with investors. “We want to be reliable so we won't create uncertainty (again), which was the case, unfortunately, this year.” Nevertheless, the company’s share price dropped to a 10-year low on the news.

Amazon Off the Hook on EU Fine

The European Court of Justice on Thursday ruled that Amazon [AMZN] does not have to pay €250m in back taxes to Luxembourg. The Court found that the European Commission “has not established that the tax ruling given to Amazon by Luxembourg was state aid that was incompatible with the (EU's) internal market”, Reuters reported, in a defeat for EU antitrust chief Margrethe Vestager’s campaign against tax deals for multinationals.

Indian E-commerce: Set to Boom?

In India, digital-led wholesale is tipped to see $150bn in sales in a decade, according to McKinsey. In a sign of the growing health of the sector, Bangalore-based e-commerce firm Udaan has raised $340m in a Series E round. Slated to IPO in 2025, Udaan provides an online marketplace and logistics networks that cater to family-owned stores, counting Reliance [RELIANCE:NS] and Flipkart among its competitors...