📺 Walmart's taking over your screens

Walmart looked to make a move onto the mid-sized screen | UK inflation was kinder than the US's | [Finimize](   TOGETHER WITH   Hi {NAME}, here's what you need to know for February 15th in 3:12 minutes.   🕺 If you want more, more, more, then jump... Into our next event, [Unlocking Trading Opportunities In 2024]( on February 26th, and discover the tips and trends that are guiding pro investors this year. (Hugh Grant has neither confirmed nor denied his attendance.) [Grab your free ticket]( Today's big stories - Walmart eyed up a television manufacturer, and not just to stock up the digital department’s shelves - Uber announced its first-ever stock buyback, jumping on the increasingly rowdy bandwagon – [Read Now]( - Inflation in the UK held steady last month, defying expectations for a slight uptick Mainstreamed Media [Mainstreamed Media] What’s going on here? Talk about a major cable bill: Walmart [planned]( a $2 billion purchase of smart television-maker Vizio. What does this mean? Walmart’s no stranger to flogging TVs, but buying a whole flat screen-focused company isn’t exactly part of the day job. Vizio, known for its budget-friendly smart devices, has found a new side hustle in advertising and streaming. The company’s clearly been studying up on the art of subliminal messaging, selling advertisement slots that pop up every time a viewer turns on their flat screen or works their way through free video services. So of course, Walmart’s been tempted. Not only would the grocery giant take control of all that advertising space and the money it makes, but dossiers full of viewers’ exclusive data – like what they’re watching and when – would be thrown in, too. The television business would just be a bonus. Why should I care? Zooming out: Data equals dollars. Walmart’s brand is all about value, meaning the grocery chain risks losing customers to competitors by jacking prices up too much. So if Walmart wants to pull up profit, the company needs to branch out from bread and milk. The advertising sector is a solid option, already bolstering the bottom lines of major firms like Amazon and Meta. But Walmart will need to tinker with the settings if it wants to catch up: 8% of televisions are hooked up to Vizio’s operating systems, compared to 17% for Amazon. The bigger picture: Amazon’s not in the clear. Nvidia is giving Amazon a run for its money – literally. The chipmaker just became the fifth-biggest business in the world, knocking Amazon off its perch. So far, Nvidia’s investors have been pledging their allegiance to a future run on artificial intelligence, and the chunk of change that would come with buddying up to the company that runs it. But Nvidia’s next results update, due on February 21st, could give them another reason to stay faithful. You might also like: [Can Big Tech keep adapting to survive?]( Copy to share story: [( 🙋 [Ask a question](mailto:questions@finimize.com?body=Ask us a question: Where are you writing from? Let us know and we'll mention it when we reply.&noapp=true&subject=Mainstreamed Media&utm_campaign=daily-global-15-02-2024&utm_source=email) Analyst Take Why Stock Buybacks Are Suddenly In Vogue [Why Stock Buybacks Are Suddenly In Vogue]( By Russell Burns, Analyst Uber revved up investors on Wednesday, announcing its first-ever [buyback](. And Meta lapped up tons of market affection earlier this month, unveiling [a tidy upgrade]( to its buyback, along with its first dividend. In both cases, it was a simple matter of giving shareholders [what they want](. And it’s something we’re likely to see more of this year. That’s today’s Insight: [the market’s latest obsession and how to take advantage of it](. [Read or listen to the Insight here]( SPONSORED BY IG Risk management tips you’ll actually want to listen to To be an investor is to be preached to about risk management. But no matter how much your traditionally-minded father or more risk-averse friends try, their advice isn’t always practical. “Don’t put it all in dogecoin” can only get you so far, after all. [IG’s Axel Rudolph](, though, really knows what he’s talking about. You won’t find any vague, general teachings here: [Axel discusses strategies you could employ that could help to strengthen your portfolio](. Every trade he makes is a carefully considered mathematical equation – and by watching one of his latest interviews, you can start thinking the same way too. [Find out how IG’s Axel Rudolph manages risk with logic](. DisclaimerYour capital is at risk. 69% of retail investor accounts lose money when trading spread bets and CFDs with this provider. You should consider whether you can afford to take the high risk of losing your money. [Find Out More]( When you support our sponsors, you support us. Thanks for that. A Rate Of Suspense [A Rate Of Suspense] What’s going on here? Data out on Wednesday showed that British inflation [stayed]( at 4% in January, eerily similar to December despite economists bracing for a jumpscare. What does this mean? Investors were caught off guard by sharp US inflation earlier this week, so they ramped up the pessimism ahead of the UK’s report and readied their “I told you so”s. But while economists and the Bank of England (BoE) expected prices to pick up faster in January than the month before, they actually rose at the same pace. That’s partly because services inflation – which tracks categories like education, culture, and hospitality to more accurately measure homegrown price pressures – came in at a slightly better-than-expected 6.5%. That has investors betting that the BoE will start cutting interest rates this summer. Mind you, they’ve hardly nailed their predictions this year. Why should I care? Zooming in: All the wage. The BoE needs to make sure Brits’ paychecks are flattening out before touching rates, though. That’s because companies tend to pass higher wage costs onto customers, pushing shoppers to demand more pay, in turn stoking up spending and inflation. So far, not so good: wages without bonuses were 6.2% higher in the last quarter of last year from the same time the year before, more than economists predicted. The bigger picture: The UK needs a rate break. Now that energy prices are slipping, the BoE expects inflation to hit the 2% target as early as spring. Problem is, the central bank reckons it’ll soon head back toward 3%, as the impact of cheaper energy wears off. But even then, inflation would be squat enough to justify lower rates. And while the UK economy is only expected to grow by 0.25% this year, more manageable rates should push that up to 0.75% for 2025. Not a lot, but Brits will take it. You might also like: [A revived UK economy could lift its undervalued stocks.]( Copy to share story: [( 🙋 [Ask a question](mailto:questions@finimize.com?body=Ask us a question: Where are you writing from? Let us know and we'll mention it when we reply.&noapp=true&subject=A Rate Of Suspense&utm_campaign=daily-global-15-02-2024&utm_source=email) 💬 Quote of the day "Dreams are necessary to life." – Anais Nin (a French-American diarist and essayist) [Tweet this]( 📍 Be in the right place at the right time. And by right place, we mean right here: [introduce yourself to our one-million-strong community of modern investors](. [Promote Your Brand]( SPONSORED BY CONSUMERDIRECT The investment that could soften millions of Americans’ debt problem Over 92 million Americans have bad credit scores.* That means they’re more likely to face higher insurance, mortgage, and credit card rates, plus rental application rejections. In other words, life can be a real drag. [ConsumerDirect has the tools they need to build their credit score](. Case in point: over 300,000 users have saved 2.9 billion in auto and mortgage interest loans alone.** So talk about a win-win: ConsumerDirect made [$91 million*** in revenue last year, up 540% from 2019](.**** What’s more, ConsumerDirect’s CEO has successfully led two tech startups to the public market. And now, [the platform is looking for new early-stage investors](. [Find Out More]( *Based on information obtained from the following publications: [FICO](, [Experian](. **Calculation Methodology: Our savings calculations are estimates using historical internal data. 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Our calculation is subject to change without notice. ***Based on an Internal financial statements evaluation of gross revenue calculated for the trailing 12 months ending December 2023. ****Based on an Internal financial statements evaluation of growth revenue calculated between 10/19-09/23. When you support our sponsors, you support us. Thanks for that. 🎯 On Our Radar 1. Your savings aren't the only thing at risk. [Vacations ruin friendships](, too. 2. Modern investors are busy, smart, and discerning. Here's how to [make content they'll actually read](. 3. Charcuterie boards will never be the same. Camembert may be on [the brink of extinction](. SPONSORED BY HEALTHWORDS.AI [HEALTHWORDS.AI]( When you support our sponsors, you support us. Thanks for that. 🌍 Finimize Live 🤩 Coming Up Soon... 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