-Blackstone's exit adds uncertainty to TikTok US deal -Deadline for ByteDance to divest TikTok US repeatedly postponed -TikTok deal now part of U.S.-China trade talks

July 18 (Reuters) - Private equity giant Blackstone has withdrawn from a consortium seeking to invest in TikTok’s U.S. operations, a source familiar with the matter told Reuters on Friday.

The latest change came as uncertainty has mounted and there have been several delays in the TikTok deal now at the center of U.S.-China trade talks.

Blackstone had planned to take a minority stake in the TikTok U.S. business in a deal orchestrated by President Donald Trump. The consortium is led by Susquehanna International Group and General Atlantic, current investors in TikTok's Chinese owner ByteDance. The group had emerged as the front-runner to secure TikTok’s U.S. business in a deal under which U.S. investors would own 80% of TikTok, while ByteDance would retain a minority stake.

Blackstone declined to comment. TikTok did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

The deadline for ByteDance to divest the popular social media app in the U.S. has been repeatedly postponed, creating uncertainty for investors.

Last month, Trump signed a third executive order extending the deadline for ByteDance to sell TikTok or face a ban, moving the cutoff to September 17. In April 2024, Congress passed a law mandating a sale or shutdown of TikTok by January 19, 2025.

cross-posted from: https://lemmy.world/post/33085817

cross-posted from: https://lemmy.world/post/32643686

Dr. Phil McGraw’s conservative-leaning cable network Merit Street Media is filing for bankruptcy barely a year after its launch, and is also suing its distribution partner Trinity Broadcasting for breach of contract.

In its lawsuit against the Christian broadcaster, Merit Street alleged that Trinity “reneged on its obligations and abused its position as the controlling shareholder of Merit Street,” leaving the upstart channel with over $100 million in debt.

So how many Cybertrucks did Tesla actually sell?

A March recall—in which Cybertruck panels were literally falling off due to faulty glue—betrayed the number: 46,096 sold in the 14 months since deliveries began. That’s less than 3,300 per month.

Lululemon Athletica Canada Inc. is accusing Costco Wholesale Corp. of infringing on its intellectual property by selling knockoffs of some of its most popular products.

A lawsuit filed in a California court recently alleges Costco sells dupes of Lululemon’s Scuba hoodies and sweatshirts, Define jackets and ABC pants.

Europeans still aren't buying Teslas with figures out Wednesday showing sales plunged for a fifth month in a row in May, a blow to investors who had hoped anger toward Elon Musk would have faded by now.

cross-posted from: https://lemmy.world/post/32006346

cross-posted from: https://lemmy.world/post/31730538

Avatars generated by artificial intelligence are now able to sell more than real people can, according to a collaboration between Chinese tech company Baidu and a popular livestreamer.

Luo Yonghao, one of China’s earliest and most popular livestreamers, and his co-host Xiao Mu both used digital versions of themselves to interact with viewers in real time for well over six hours on Sunday on Baidu’s e-commerce livestreaming platform “Youxuan”, the Chinese tech company said. The session raked in 55 million yuan ($7.65 million).

In comparison, Luo’s first livestream attempt on Youxuan last month, which lasted just over four hours, saw fewer orders for consumer electronics, food and other key products, Baidu said.

June 18 - Tesla (NASDAQ:TSLA) shares fell nearly 4% on Tuesday after reports surfaced of a temporary production halt at its Austin, Texas facility, dampening investor sentiment ahead of the company's highly anticipated Robotaxi launch. The stock has declined about 22% so far this year.

According to Business Insider, Tesla plans to suspend manufacturing of its Cybertruck and Model Y models for a week starting June 30. The company reportedly told employees the downtime would allow for maintenance and upgrades on the production lines. No details were provided on which areas may see output improvements.

Crosspost

On June 10th, 2025, four members of the NVSTly team traveled to New York City to attend the 2025 American Business Awards® ceremony, held at the iconic Marriott Marquis in Times Square. It was an unforgettable night as we accepted the Gold Stevie® Award for Tech Startup of the Year—this time, in person.

Meow (left), rich (center), MartyOooit (right)

Representing NVSTly at the event were:

• Rich, CEO & Founder
• Meow, CTO, Lead Developer, & Co-Founder
• MartyOooit, Investor
• Noob, Market Analyst (not shown in photos)

MartyOooit (left), rich (center), Meow (right)

While we shared the exciting news back in April when the winners were announced, being there in person alongside other winners—including eBay, AT&T, T-Mobile, HP Inc., and Fidelity Investments—made the achievement feel even more surreal. To be honored alongside billion-dollar industry leaders was a proud and humbling moment for our startup and a huge milestone in NVSTly’s journey.

🎤 Team Interview at the Event

During the event, our team was interviewed about the win. When asked:

“What does winning a Stevie Award mean for your organization?”
“How will winning a Stevie Award help your organization?”

Here’s what we had to say:
📺 Watch the video

A Big Win for Retail Traders

NVSTly was awarded Gold for Tech Startup of the Year in recognition of our work building a powerful, free social investing platform that empowers retail traders with transparency, analytics, and community-driven tools.

Unlike traditional finance platforms, NVSTly gives users the ability to:

• Share and track trades in real time
• Follow and receive alerts from top traders
• Compete on global leaderboards
• Access deep stats like win rate, average return, and more

Whether you're a beginner or experienced trader, NVSTly gives you the insights and tools typically reserved for hedge funds—but in a free, social format built for the modern investor.

Continued Recognition and Momentum

This award adds to a growing list of recognition for NVSTly:

• 🏆 People’s Choice Winner at the 2024 Benzinga Fintech Awards
• 🔁 Nominated again for Best Social Investing Product in the 2025 Benzinga Fintech Awards
• 🌟 Team members JustCoreGames and Lunaster are nominated for Employee of the Year (Information Technology – Social Media) in the 2025 Stevie® Awards for Technology Excellence

We’re beyond proud of what our small but mighty team has accomplished—and we’re just getting started. 🚀

Thanks to the Stevie Awards for an incredible night in New York, and to our community of 50,000+ traders who’ve helped shape NVSTly into what it is today.
This win is yours, too.

Stay tuned—more big things are coming.

— Team NVSTly

The event brought together some of the most respected names in tech, finance, and business.

One of the grocery giant's labor unions has authorized a strike, which follows a similar vote by Teamsters.

Walmart heiress Christy Walton is facing backlash, and Walmart is facing some calls for a boycott from Trump supporters after placing a full-page ad in The New York Times urging Americans to attend town halls and engage in civic discourse.

While the "No Kings Day" ad did not mention President Donald Trump by name, its emphasis on values like honoring commitments to allies, defending against dictators, and respecting trading partners was widely interpreted as a critique of Trump's foreign policy and "America First" agenda.

Swedish buy-now-pay-later company Klarna, whose CEO once bragged about its automated customer service AI bots doing the work of "700 full-time agents," is now in deep trouble. The fintech outfit is facing net losses of $99 million for the first quarter of this year, CNBC reports, which is more than double compared to the same period last year.

The company had already paused its highly anticipated IPO in the US last month, which once valued it at over $15 billion. And it's all particularly noteworthy because of how CEO Sebastian Siemiatkowski previously bragged that he hadn't hired anyone in a year, following a doubling down on AI tech.