'The Big Short' investor is now betting against Tesla: CNBC After Hours
On today's show, Lora Kolodny breaks down the news that Michael Burry's regulatory filings revealed a short position against Tesla. Plus, Alex Sherman explains how the WarnerMedia merger with Discovery puts NBCUniversal and ViacomCBS on notice. Michael Burry of 'The Big Short' reveals a $530 million bet against TeslaFamed investor Michael Burry on Monday revealed in a regulatory filing a short position against Tesla worth more than half a billion. As of March 31, Burry owned 8,001 put contracts, with unknown value, strike price, or expiry, according to the filing. Given that context, it may not be surprising that WarnerDiscovery -- the leading candidate for a name, according to a person familiar with the matter -- is structuring itself for a future sale.
cnbc.comJohn Malone says platforms like Apple, Amazon and Roku will dominate streaming
Liberty Media Chairman John Malone told CNBC that Amazon, Apple or Roku could dominate in the crowded streaming space given their ability to scale globally. "I think these global platforms will be enormously powerful," Malone said in an interview that aired Thursday with CNBC's David Faber. It looks increasingly like that's going to be, you know, Amazon ... or it's going to be Apple, or it's going to be Roku. The largest U.S. media companies, including Disney, Comcast's NBCUniversal, AT&T's Warner Media, have launched their own streaming services, while the entertainment world is being disrupted by tech giants like Apple and Amazon. Malone said Amazon and Apple are providing "extremely high quality services" and meeting consumer needs, while Roku, which aggregates content on its platform, is well-positioned for growth in the long run.
cnbc.comJohn Malone says he's buying hard assets like housing in bet on currency devaluation
Liberty Media Chairman John Malone said hard assets look attractive as the unprecedented coronavirus stimulus is poised to lead to a depreciation in currencies. "We've survived this [pandemic] because of enormous fiscal and monetary stimulus," Malone said in an interview that aired Thursday with CNBC's David Faber. "And I've got to believe this will lead to devaluation of currencies, that hard assets ... will increase in value in currency terms. Hard assets refers to tangible assets including real estate and commodities. "I've been trying to invest or diversify into hard assets," Malone said.
cnbc.comLiberty CEO sees Sirius well positioned in audio boom with exclusive content like Howard Stern
Liberty Media CEO Greg Maffei believes the company is well positioned to capitalize on the growing popularity of podcasts and other audio content. Maffei, who joined CNBC's David Faber from Liberty's investor day in New York, said that while there is competition for audio content, exclusive agreements should prove lucrative over time. "We have an exclusive with Marvel, we have an exclusive now with Lebron James called 'Uninterrupted,'" he continued. I think there's an opportunity to see increases in how podcasts and other forms of audio content are monetized," Maffei said. "Yes, there's a little bit of a bidding war for audio content, but you can't spend on audio.
cnbc.comLiberty's John Malone sees HBO losing out in the streaming wars
Liberty Media Chairman John Malone has some reservations about HBO's bid to enter an extremely crowded streaming market. AT&T's WarnerMedia announced last month its HBO Max streaming service will launch in the U.S. in May of 2020. "The way I look at it is in the U.S., if you wanted HBO, you already have HBO. AT&T aims to reach 75 to 90 million subscribers by 2025, WarnerMedia CEO John Stankey said previously. The company said it will spend $4 billion over the next three years building HBO Max.
cnbc.comMedia mogul John Malone says Trump causes 'chaos' and he would vote for Bloomberg in 2020
John Malone, chairman of Liberty Media and Liberty Global, and CEO of Discovery Holding, arrives at the conference. Getty ImagesThe Trump White House "is chaos" and the president isn't the right person to lead the United States, media mogul and Liberty Media Chairman John Malone said Thursday. "Look: I think a lot of the things Trump has tried to do identifying problems and trying to solve them has been great. I just don't think he's the right guy to do it," Malone told CNBC's David Faber from New York. Instead, Liberty's Malone said he'd vote for former New York mayor Michael Bloomberg in the 2020 presidential election despite his own reservations as a pronounced libertarian.
cnbc.comJohn Malone says Apple may be a surprise winner in the streaming wars, getting 'large numbers fast'
Liberty Media Chairman John Malone thinks that Apple could stun investors down the road as a winner in the intense streaming wars that have engulfed Silicon Valley and Hollywood in a bid for viewers and content alike. "Apple is going to surprise everyone with numbers they achieve in a short period of time. On Amazon, Malone said the company's video unit will evolve to be "a bundler of other peoples' services." The Liberty Media chairman also is a director on the board of Discovery Communications, which closed its $15 billion acquisition of Scripps Networks in March of 2018. Correction: Discovery Communications closed its acquisition of Scripps Networks in March of 2018.
cnbc.comJohn Malone says he doesn't understand investing in 'deep-loss businesses' like WeWork and Uber
Liberty Media Chairman John Malone took issue with SoftBank CEO Masayoshi Son's investment approach in light of the botched WeWork IPO. He's got a balance sheet no one can understand," Malone told CNBC's David Faber in an exclusive interview Thursday. WeWork pulled its IPO filing in September after investors balked at its mounting losses and unusual corporate governance structure. "I look at each one of these deep-loss businesses ... you've got to have to have an argument that the scale will improve the marginal economics," Malone said. "I never quite understood Uber and I never quite understood why Dara took the job," Malone said of Dara Khosrowshahi, who succeeded CEO Travis Kalanick in 2017 following a series of scandals.
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