FEI Weekly

September 16, 2020

A simple formula to determine if you can return to the office and Snowflake's Achilles' heel.

Nikola: The DOJ Gets Involved

WSJ - Paywall

The Justice Department has joined the SEC in examining allegations that electric-truck startup Nikola, a maker of electric and hydrogen-powered semi-trucks that listed publicly in June, misrepresented progress it made in developing key technology core to releasing new models. GM CEO Mary Barra said the auto maker remains committed to the Nikola deal and defended the company’s due diligence.

TikTok's Windy Road Ahead

The Verge

Oracle plans take an ownership stake in a newly formed TikTok corporation as part of the recently announced deal, the Financial Times is reporting. The new arrangement will create a separate corporate entity for the app, in which Oracle will take a minority stake. Oracle will also ensure that data from American users is stored and processed in the United States. Treasury Secretary Steve Mnuchin described the deal as part of a broader effort to establish TikTok as a 'US-headquartered company.'

AMC Networks CFO Heading to SiriusXM

Deadline

AMC Networks said Sean Sullivan, CFO, will be jumping to SiriusXM in mid-October, as the satellite broadcaster announced that its CEO Jim Meyer and its CFO David Frear are both stepping down. AMC also announced plans for a modified Dutch-auction tender offer, which lets shareholders say how much stock they want to tender -- and at what price -- within a range.

Snowflake's Achilles' Heel

Fortune

Snowflake is among the hottest of this year's growing crop of tech IPO candidates and it’s expected to go public with a market value of around $30 billion. Snowflake may have a hidden vulnerability, however. Snowflake is completely dependent on running its apps via the cloud platforms of Amazon, Microsoft, and Google, also its biggest competitors. That means the three rivals could raise the price of running Snowflake,

A Simple Formula to Determine if You Can Return to the Office

Ladders

First, find out the percentage of infected individuals in your population with the CDC’s weekly surveillance report. Next, adjust population risk based on the protection offered by the type of mask being employed in a given area. After you’ve determined the effectiveness of your masks, enter the number of times you’ll be entering the space you’re assessing, the square feet of space per person, and lastly the effectiveness of the masks worn by other parties in the space. For offices, the researchers define a safe space as one “with very low airflow and moderate talking and movement.”