Trump Supporters Face Backlash | WhatsApp's Deadline | Earnings Season's Expectations

Plus: Elon Musk Has Become The World’s Richest Person

Good morning.

Some of America’s largest companies have taken actions to distance themselves from enablers of Wednesday’s insurrection. We also look at how Elon Musk finally overtook Jeff Bezos as the world’s richest person and at whether it’s time to find an alternative to WhatsApp.

In The News Today

The Trump National Golf Club in Bedminster has been removed as the host of one of golf’s four major championships—the PGA is the latest organization looking to distance itself from the president.

With cases spiking to a five-month high, China has finally greenlighted the World Health Organization team to enter the country to investigate the origins of Covid-19.

Top Take-Aways

Following on from Facebook and Twitter’s permanent bans on Trump’s social media accounts, other corners of corporate America are turning words of condemnation for the attack against the U.S. Capitol into action.

Some of America's biggest businesses have suspended political donations to members of Congress who supported challenges to the result of the November 3 presidential election.

Others turned their attention to social media app Parler, which has become increasingly used by pro-Trump supporters alleging censorship on other platforms, with Amazon effectively pulling the plug after shutting off access to its web hosting services.

Amazon is still hosting sellers of merchandise linked to the conspiracy group QAnon on its marketplace platform, while its e-commerce competitors eBay and Shopify have either pledged to ban it or have done so already.

It remains unclear whether individuals investigated for their participation in Wednesday’s insurrection will be placed on federal no-fly lists—nonetheless, airlines can play a role in preventing rioters from returning to the nation’s capital.

With all that’s happening in DC, it’s easy to forget earnings season is upon us—this is what Wall Street will be focusing on as a number of pandemic-stricken companies report their results next week.

The latest SPAC on the Wall Street block is no laughing matter despite what its name, LMFAO, would suggest—shares of its parent company, LM Funding America, have floundered for years.

WhatsApp is informing its users that they either accept its new terms by February 8, which will enable commercial services on the platform, or will be barred from using the app. So is it time to switch to a new messaging app? Here’s all you need to know. 

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