Battle Royale

[The beef 675] [I'm an image] “Gamers have a point here...” - Jason Hey there carnivores, Markets were mixed Thursday but the S&P briefly eclipsed its all-time high from February... Today we’re discussing the big tech battle royale. Keep raging, Jeff & Jason [Image] [I'm an image] Cracked Apple, Google, and Epic, the maker of Fortnite, are finally squaring off after the two phone makers [announced]( that they’d be pulling Fortnite out of their respective app stores. Fortnite’s parent, Epic Games, responded by suing. Presumably after asking "do you know who my father is?" So what’s the issue? Apple and Google take a [30% cut]( of any revenue made through their app stores (or whatever the f*ck Google calls it), and Fortnite has been subject to that... until now. Epic Games announced that it would be offering its users a way to pay for in-game purchases directly, thus circumventing Apple and Google’s 30% fee. What would Epic do with the extra bucks? It said it would offer a 20% discount to its fans. PR 101, folks. What do you have to say for yourself? In a statement, Apple defended itself... right on cue… saying that it removed Fortnite after Epic acted with “express intent of violating the App Store guidelines.” Fortnite reacted with arguably the most legendary troll of 2020, offering a parody video of Apple’s “1984” called [Nineteen Eighty-Fortnite.]( The bottom line... While this will be the most high profile challenge of Apple’s app store practices, it’s not the first. Apple has [been sued]( by the EU over its practice of skimming 30% off the top of in-app purchases. Meanwhile, Apple is still putting its blinders on and pushing ahead, this time planning to [bundle]( its subscription services for users. A plan to bundle Apple Music, Apple Arcade and Apple TV+ could drop as soon as October, with its new phones. [Image] [Alternate text]( [I'm an image] ☑️ Feature presentation. AMC has been in the editing room long enough. The US’ largest movie theater company announced [it is opening its doors]( on August 21st, as are competitors Regal and Cinemark. Unfortunately, I don’t think they will be accepting MoviePass anymore. AMC’s stock price surged 22% on the news. 400 of the company's 600 movie theaters will be open just in time for Christopher Nolan’s 'Tenet' to hit the big screen. Big markets in California, New York, North Carolina, and New Jersey remain in question, though. After securing debt financing in July to stay solvent through 2021, AMC is hoping moviegoers will be looking to get the f*ck out of their homes. ☑️ Big fans. Sports retailer, Fanatics, scored a big W yesterday after it closed a funding round that netted it $350M [valuing the company at $6.2B.]( The combination of its online strategy and the return of some sports has investors confident that the retailer can continue its momentum since coming onto the scene in 2011. This is expected to be its last fundraising round before going public, though no IPO date has been set. Fanatics has licensing agreements with all of the major US sports leagues, as well as 150 universities, which unfortunately for them includes the Big 10. It had revenue of $2.5B last year, up from $2B the year before, mostly through direct to consumer channels. ☑️ Going low. New weekly US unemployment claims [dropped below 1M]( for the first time since the pandemic started in March. The seasonally adjusted number came in at 963k for the week, decreasing for the second straight week. But the good news doesn't stop there. The total number of people receiving unemployment benefits also decreased to 15.5M at the beginning of August. While the numbers are still well above pre-COVID levels, it is a good sign that businesses are looking to staff up. Whether the economy (and coronavirus) cooperates, however, remains to be seen. ☑️ Risky business. Despite tensions between the US and China, KE holdings [quietly raised $2B]( in an IPO on the NYSE yesterday. Known also as Beike Zhaofang, the company is a real estate services provider that operates mostly online. Think: Re/Max meets Zillow. Shares opened at $20 apiece, higher than the $17 price target it set in its initial offering. CFO Tao Xu cites the company's culture and transparency (LOL) as the biggest reasons for its stellar opening. Still, the IPO is not without risk thanks to recent calls for higher scrutiny of Chinese companies’ financials from POTUS and other government regulators. RagingBull, LLC 62 Calef Hwy. #233, Lee, NH 03861 DISCLAIMER: To more fully understand any Ragingbull.com, LLC ("RagingBull") subscription, website,application or other service ("Services"), please review our full disclaimer located at [(disclaimer. FOR EDUCATIONAL AND INFORMATION PURPOSES ONLY; NOT INVESTMENT ADVICE. 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