Plus, Uber is acquiring the remaining stake in grocery delivery start-up Cornershop, Wingstop is launching its new Thighstop brand, and salad chain Sweetgreen has reportedly confidentially filed to go public.
Stocks were higher at the open on Monday with the Dow adding 23 points, or less than 0.1%. The S&P 500 gained nearly 0.2 %, while the Nasdaq rose 0.1%.
Bitcoin fell to a two-week low of $31,744.99 early this morning on reports that China has intensified its crackdown on cryptocurrency mining. Other cryptos fell as well, with Ethereum dipping as low as $1,893.15, XRP dropping to $0.65, and Dogecoin falling to $0.21. Bitcoin mines in Sichuan were shuttered on Sunday after authorities in the southwestern Chinese province were ordered to halt crypto mining, following similar developments in China’s Inner Mongolia and Yunnan regions. It is now estimated that 90% of China’s Bitcoin mining capacity has been shut down. Also on Monday, China’s central bank said it had urged several payment firms and banks to clamp down on cryptocurrency speculation. “China often does this,” said Charles Hayter, CEO of crypto data firm CryptoCompare. “When China sneezes, Bitcoin catches a cold. But this flexing of regulatory muscle is often just that – in the past eight years, this story has risen its head at least three times.”
Uber said it is acquiring the remaining 47% interest in grocery delivery start-up Cornershop in an all-stock transaction. The acquisition demonstrates how Uber is investing more outside of its core ride-hailing business, which has so far failed to prove profitable. Uber bought a majority stake in Cornershop—which currently operates in the U.S., Peru, Brazil, Colombia, and Canada—two years ago, and the deal to fully acquire the company is expected to close in July. “Uber already owns ~50% of Cornershop and we’ve seen how working together can deliver great results, like our joint 2020 launch of Brazil, where in no time we became a leading player,” said Oskar Hjertonsson, founder and CEO of Cornershop. “But to truly unlock the full potential of this partnership, we need to operate as one company.”
Wingstop said it is creating a new delivery and carryout brand, Thighstop, given rising prices and short supply of chicken wings. Customers will be able to pick from 11 flavors and opt for either a bone-in or boneless thigh. Thighstop will be available for delivery or carryout in 1,400 locations nationwide via DoorDash or on Thighstop.com. “It will allow us to buy the whole chicken,” said CEO Charlie Morrison. “There’s a real supply constraint out there and it centers on the availability of workers to actually process the chicken. The amount of chickens that are being put in the supply chain is actually far lower than it has been in the past. It makes it a little trickier for us. … Too often these days, thighs are stuck in the bottom of a bucket of chicken. We believe that we can finally give thighs the focus and attention they deserve.”
DoorDash said today that it is partnering with Albertsons Companies to offer on-demand grocery delivery from nearly 2,000 Albertson’s stores, including Safeway, Vons, and Jewel-Osco. “Consumers’ desire to get everything in their neighborhood on-demand has increased dramatically. We are thrilled to partner with Albertsons, one of the largest food and drug retailers in the world, as they expand their already strong local footprint beyond their four walls to offer consumers convenient access to on-demand grocery delivery,” Fuad Hannon, Head of New Verticals at DoorDash, said in a press release. “Leveraging our extensive logistics network and Albertsons wide selection of fresh groceries, we are creating a one-stop shop for customers to access any of the essentials they need, delivered to their doorstep within an hour.”
And salad chain Sweetgreen has reportedly confidentially filed for an initial public offering. The healthy fast food chain has been rumored to be planning a public debut for years, and this latest report comes after the coronavirus pandemic fueled a big increase in digital sales. Like Chipotle, Sweetgreen has invested in technology to fuel sales growth even before the health crisis made it necessary. Sweetgreen has a mobile app, and its restaurants are formatted to make picking up digital orders as easy and quick as possible to cut down on the long lines often seen in its stores during lunch hour.
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Comtech Telecommunications (NASDAQ: CMTL): Comtech shares jumped as much as 9% on Friday after the company announced that its Comtech Solacom Technologies subsidiary was awarded a Next Generation 911 modernization project for a U.S. Government end customer, in a contract worth $5 million. “Comtech’s commitment to innovative next generation emergency communication solutions has been recognized by the selection of the Solacom Guardian solution to modernize the 911 operations of a major U.S. Government end customer,” said Fred Kornberg, Chairman of the Board and Chief Executive Officer of Comtech Telecommunications Corp. “Deployed and supported in close cooperation with the prime contractor, the Guardian solution will further enhance our long-standing partnership with this customer allowing them to focus on critical missions.”