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The Morning Risk Report: Facebook Begins New Year in Fixer-Upper Mode |
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Mark Zuckerberg, chief executive officer and co-founder of Facebook Inc., speaks at an event in San Jose, Calif., in September. PHOTO: DAVID PAUL MORRIS/BLOOMBERG NEWS
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One year ago Friday, Mark Zuckerberg set his sights on “fixing” Facebook Inc. That remains very much a work in progress. At the top of the 2019 to-do list: find a balance between the social-media giant’s deeply held drive for growth and its heightened commitment to improving safety and security across its many platforms.
These sorts of issues, including an effort to decrease political polarization on the platform and a separate effort to minimize misinformation, were once peripheral as Facebook’s growth powered ahead but are now central to the company’s business prospects, The Wall Street Journal’s Deepa Seetharaman and Georgia Wells report.
[Continued below...]
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Facebook remains hugely profitable—it earned more than $5 billion in the third quarter—but its once-torrid revenue growth is slowing and Mr. Zuckerberg has said the company is in a transition that will lead to slower growth and higher costs. Among other investments, Facebook now has more than 30,000 employees focused on policing content that could violate the site’s rules.
Many current and former Facebook employees chafe at the tenor of media coverage about the company, and some question why there hasn’t been a broader overhaul in the upper ranks, where many executives have worked at Facebook for a decade or longer during a time when the social-media giant was intent on expanding its reach across the world.
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| From Risk & Compliance Journal |
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International Cooperation in Bribery Enforcement Continued in 2018 |
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U.S. authorities resolved 17 corporate cases of Foreign Corrupt Practices Act violations in 2018, matching the average amount struck over the past 10 years. They announced about $2.9 billion in penalties connected to those cases, but in several instances collected only a portion of that amount, as the companies involved struck simultaneous settlements with multiple countries, Risk & Compliance Journal’s Samuel Rubenfeld reports.
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Carlos Ghosn to Get First Public Hearing |
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Carlos Ghosn is likely to get his first chance to make his case in public on Tuesday after his lawyer made the unusual demand that the Tokyo District Court justify his detention. Mr. Ghosn, the former Nissan Motor Co. chairman, has been held in a Tokyo jail since Nov. 19.
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Career Education Corp. Forgives $493.7 Million in Student
Debt |
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Career Education Corp. will offer $493.7 million in debt relief to 179,529 former students to settle allegations it misled prospective students about costs, transfer credits and the value of its credentials in the workplace.
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USAA to Pay $12 Million in Restitution to Customers, $3.5 Million
Fine |
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USAA Federal Savings Bank will pay more than $12 million to over 66,000 customers—and pay a $3.5 million fine—after it failed to stop payments or resolve errors involving preauthorized electronic fund transfers, according to a settlement announced by the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau.
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Former Bankers Arrested for Alleged Roles in Mozambique Debt
Deals |
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Three former Credit Suisse Group AG bankers were arrested Thursday in London in connection with a $2 billion fraud scheme, according to a statement by the U.S. Department of Justice.
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Judge Blocks Airbnb Crackdown in New York City |
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A federal judge blocked a New York City law intended to curb Airbnb Inc., giving a boost to the company and others that offer short-term rentals in the city.
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A pullback in spending by Chinese consumers is taking a toll on the world’s No. 2 economy. PHOTO: WU HONG/EPA-EFE/REX/SHUTTERSTOCK
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Chinese Consumers Curb Spending, Likely Deepening
Slowdown |
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A slowdown in China’s economy is piling stress on to a previously reliable growth driver—the Chinese consumer—likely deepening an economic pullback that is rattling global markets. Meanwhile, White House Economist Kevin Hassett warns that other U.S. firms that rely heavily on sales in Chinese markets could join Apple Inc. in seeing weaker sales.
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Apple iPhone Loses Ground to China’s Homegrown Rivals |
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Apple Inc. brought the high-end smartphone to China. Now it is sputtering as homegrown rivals win over consumers by offering similar designs and features at far lower prices.
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Delta Cuts Revenue Forecast, Sparking Airline Selloff |
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Delta Air Lines Inc. said fare revenue didn’t climb as much as expected during the holiday travel season, fanning concerns that major carriers will struggle to maintain profits as lower fuel prices lead customers to expect cheaper flights.
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Sales of factory-made products pulled back sharply in December. PHOTO: SCOTT EISEN/BLOOMBERG NEWS
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U.S. Factory Activity Decelerates Sharply Amid Global
Slowdown |
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American manufacturing growth slowed sharply in December, adding to concerns about cooling economic expansions in the U.S. and abroad. The Institute for Supply Management said Thursday that its manufacturing index fell to 54.1 in December, the largest one-month drop since the end of 2008, during the financial crisis. Still, a reading above 50 indicates factory activity is expanding.
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MSC Megaship Loses 270 Containers in Rough North Sea Waters |
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The MSC Zoe, one of the world’s biggest boxships, spilled the containers Wednesday off the German island of Borkum. They then washed up on the shores of the Dutch islands of Vlieland and Terschelling.
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Petrobras’s New CEO Promises to Continue Cutting Costs |
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Brazilian state-controlled oil giant Petrobras’s new chief executive officer, Roberto Castello Branco, took office Thursday and promised to continue the job of cutting debt, selling assets and reducing costs begun by his predecessors.
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Bristol-Myers Squibb to Acquire Celgene for About $74 Billion |
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Bristol-Myers Squibb Co. agreed to buy rival Celgene Corp. in a deal valued at about $74 billion, combining two leading sellers of cancer drugs and potentially signaling the return of dealmaking to the pharmaceutical industry.
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Accounts for Low-Income Customers Find Broader
Audience |
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No-frills bank accounts developed for low-income customers, known as checkless bank accounts or safe-transaction accounts, are gaining popularity among a broader swath of customers.
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Wall Street’s Big Landlords Are Building Houses |
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A shortage of houses in the entry-level price range where first-time buyers and big rental-home companies both shop is prompting some institutional landlords to start building new ones themselves.
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GM, DoorDash to Test Autonomous Food Deliveries |
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Winklevosses’ Crypto Exchange Says the ‘Revolution Needs
Rules’ |
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Gemini Trust Co., the cryptocurrency exchange founded in 2014 by Cameron and Tyler Winklevoss, argues in a new ad campaign that its chaotic sector should protect investors by adopting standard best practices and following regulations. The campaign suggests that Gemini already provides shelter from the storm.
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