As Trump Raked In Cash Denying His Loss, Little Went to Actual Legal Fight - The New York Times

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The picture that emerged in new campaign finance reports was of Donald J. Trump waging a public relations effort to falsely argue that he had won the election rather than mounting a serious legal push.

Former President Donald J. Trump and the Republican Party entered this year having stockpiled more than $175 million from fund-raising in November and December based on his false claims of voter fraud, spending only a tiny fraction on lawyers and bills for his effort to overturn the presidential election, according to new campaign finance reports filed on Sunday night.

The picture that emerges in the new Federal Election Commission reports is of Mr. Trump mounting a furious public relations effort to spread the lie and keep generating money from it, rather than making a sustained legal push to try to support his conspiracy theories.

His campaign’s single biggest expense in December was a nearly $5 million media buy paid to the firm that bought his television advertisements. His second-largest payment, $4.4 million, was for online advertising. And the Republican National Committee pocketed millions of dollars in donations — collecting 25 cents for every dollar Mr. Trump raised online — in the final weeks of the year as it spent relatively little on legal costs.

All told, Mr. Trump’s campaign spent only $10 million on legal costs — about one-fifth of what it spent on advertising and fund-raising, according to an analysis of Federal Election Commission filings from Nov. 4 through the end of the year.

During that period, Mr. Trump’s conspiracy-fueled accusations that votes had been miscounted or misappropriated repeatedly fell flat in the courts. Joseph R. Biden Jr. was elected president by voters on Nov. 3, confirmed by the Electoral College on Dec. 14 and ratified by Congress on Jan. 6 — the same day that Mr. Trump incited a mob that stormed the Capitol.

But while Mr. Trump’s efforts to delegitimize the election did not keep him in power, they did spur millions in contributions from loyal supporters and provided both him and the party with an enormous infusion of cash.

The Republican National Committee ended the year with more than $80 million in the bank after the fund-raising blitz, and Mr. Trump had $31 million in the new political action committee he formed in November for his post-presidential political ventures.

That accounts for just some of their haul. The party and the former president had roughly $63 million more in two shared accounts waiting to be distributed between them, with Mr. Trump’s PAC entitled to 75 percent of the money raised in December, giving him an estimated $70 million PAC war chest.

Most of the money appears to have come online and from smaller contributors, with relatively few five- and six-figure checks, especially once the calendar turned to December. One $100,000 check in early December came from Elaine J. Wold, a major Republican donor in Florida.

Though his race was over, Mr. Trump’s voracious online fund-raising from Nov. 24 through the end of the year even outpaced that of the two Republican senators, Kelly Loeffler and David Perdue, who were competing in the Georgia runoff elections that would determine control of the chamber.

During those 39 days, Mr. Trump and his shared committees with the R.N.C. raised $80 million online; Ms. Loeffler and Mr. Perdue combined for closer to $75 million. Both lost.

Mr. Trump did incur some legal costs from more than a dozen law firms.

He paid $1.6 million to Kasowitz Benson Torres, more than $500,000 to Jones Day and about $600,00 to Dechert. The law firm of Kurt Hilbert, who was on Mr. Trump’s phone call pressuring the Republican secretary of state in Georgia, Brad Raffensperger, to “find” votes to overturn the election outcome, was paid more than $480,000. A $3 million payment went to the Wisconsin election commission to pay for a recount.

One major Republican donor, C. Boyden Gray, who contributed more than $2 million to Republicans in the 2020 cycle, also provided legal consulting for Mr. Trump, earning $114,000.

The man who made so many public appearances on behalf of Mr. Trump as his personal lawyer, Rudolph W. Giuliani, reported no payments by the former president’s campaign. His firm was reimbursed for $63,423 in travel in mid-December.

An associate of Mr. Giuliani’s had asked that he be paid $20,000 a day for his work for Mr. Trump, which Mr. Giuliani initially denied. He later acknowledged the request to The New York Times, but he has continued to publicly deny making money for his work, including in a radio appearance on Sunday.

“I haven’t made a penny on it,” Mr. Giuliani said.

The Trump campaign also spent $20,130 in mid-December for what were described as travel reimbursements to the Kerik Group, led by the former New York Police Commissioner Bernard B. Kerik, whom Mr. Trump pardoned last year for his 2010 conviction on eight felonies.

Mr. Kerik is a close ally of Mr. Giuliani’s.

The Trump operation continued to spend on fund-raising, pouring millions more into a secretive limited liability company, American Made Media Consultants, for online and text-message advertising. Family members of Mr. Trump and Vice President Mike Pence once served on the board of that company, which had more than $700 million in spending flow through it during the 2020 campaign.

One of Mr. Trump’s shared committees with the Republican National Committee spent $237,000 on books through a company, Reagan Investments, that has also done work for a PAC controlled by Senator Ted Cruz of Texas. The Trump campaign offered signed copies of Mr. Cruz’s book last fall to donors who gave $75 or more.

And, as they have since the beginning of his candidacy in 2015, Mr. Trump’s campaign accounts patronized his businesses in the postelection period.

The Trump Victory committee paid $34,000 to the Trump Hotel Collection in its final 2020 filing. The same committee also paid a Trump-owned limited liability company that operates a private plane, DT Endeavor, $39,200 on Nov. 24.

Another Trump campaign committee paid $75,000 in rent to the Trump Tower building in December.

Azi Paybarah contributed reporting.

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February 01, 2021 at 12:53PM
https://www.nytimes.com/2021/02/01/us/politics/trump-election-donors-spending.html

As Trump Raked In Cash Denying His Loss, Little Went to Actual Legal Fight - The New York Times

https://news.google.com/search?q=little&hl=en-US&gl=US&ceid=US:en

Box Office: 'The Little Things' Opens No. 1 With $4.8M - Hollywood Reporter

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9:30 AM PST 1/31/2021 by Pamela McClintock

The Los Angeles-set neo noir stars Denzel Washington, Rami Malek and Jared Leto.

The star-packed period crime-drama The Little Things won another subdued race at the weekend box office with an estimated $4.8 million debut. It is the first 2021 film from Warner Bros. to open simultaneously on HBO Max and in cinemas amid the ongoing pandemic, a controversial decision that has irked some in Hollywood.

Warners says The Little Things scored the largest domestic debut for an R-rated film since the pandemic began. Overseas, the Los Angeles-set neo-noir opened to $2.8 million from 18 markets for a worldwide start of $7.6 million.

In normal times, that would be considered a dismal start. In its box office note, Warners notes that 44 percent of theaters remain shuttered domestically because of the COVID-19 crisis. Cinemas are also shut throughout Europe.

Directed by John Lee Hancock, The Little Things features Denzel Washington and Rami Malek as different breeds of cops working to catch their suspect, Jared Leto.

HBO Max did not reveal viewership numbers for The Little Things, just as it hasn't for Wonder Woman 1984.

"We are absolutely thrilled by how Warner Bros.’ The Little Things is performing on HBO Max — it immediately shot up to number one, where it currently remains. Following the breakthrough success of Wonder Woman 1984, The Little Things shows the insatiable appetite our audience has for high quality, feature films," said Andy Forssell, HBO Max and executive VP and general manager.

Universal and DreamWorks Animation's The Croods: The New Age continued to croon loudly in its 10th weekend with $1.8 million — on par with the previous frame — for a domestic tally of $44 million and $144.4 million globally.

The sequel, which is also available on premium VOD, is benefiting from being the only studio family film in the marketplace.

Liam Neeson's action thriller The Marksman and WW84 tied for third place with a estimated $1.3 million each (Warners isn't disclosing grosses on Comscore, but reports grosses on Sundays).

WW84, which debuted on Christmas Day in cinemas that were open and on HBO Max, finished Sunday with an estimated global total of $152 million, a sobering number for a tentpole that cost $200 million to produce before marketing and other costs.

More to come.

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February 01, 2021 at 12:30AM
https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/news/box-office-the-little-things-opens-no-1-with-4-8m

Box Office: 'The Little Things' Opens No. 1 With $4.8M - Hollywood Reporter

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Denzel Washington’s ‘The Little Things’ Leads Box Office Despite HBO Max Debut - Variety

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Would audiences pay to see a new movie on the big screen if they could watch the same title at home from the comfort of their couch? Prior to the pandemic, the response from theater operators and cinema purists would have been a resounding “no.”

Yet Hollywood is finding that, at least while a plague of Biblical proportion rages, the answer is: sorta.

“The Little Things,” a crime thriller starring Denzel Washington and Rami Malek, topped domestic box office charts, debuting to $4.8 million from 2,171 venues in North America. At the same time, it was available to HBO Max subscribers for a monthly fee that’s less than a single movie ticket in some parts of the country. “The Little Things” is one of 17 films from Warner Bros. that will premiere simultaneously in cinemas and on the HBO Max streaming service.

In normal times, those box office receipts would spell disaster. But today, it actually ranks as one of the stronger COVID-era opening weekends. HBO Max didn’t report how many viewers opted to stream “The Little Things.” However, Warner Bros. and its parent company WarnerMedia said the film “immediately shot up to No. 1” on HBO Max. It’s unclear what that benchmark means.

“We are absolutely thrilled by how Warner Bros.’ ‘The Little Things’ is performing on HBO Max — it immediately shot up to number one, where it currently remains,” said HBO Max executive VP and general manager Andy Forssell. “Following the breakthrough success of ‘Wonder Woman 1984,’ ‘The Little Things’ shows the insatiable appetite our audience has for high quality, feature films.”

John Lee Hancock directed “The Little Things,” which centers on two police officers trying to catch a serial killer. Overseas, where HBO Max is not yet available, “The Little Things” kicked off with $2.8 million from 18 countries. The R-rated action film had the strongest showing in Russia with $1.1 million in sales, followed by Saudi Arabia with $871,000.

Still, these are bleak times for movie theater operators. Any film exhibitors hoping that ticket sales could return to pre-pandemic levels in 2021 were stymied by another round of release date delays. Earlier in January, MGM postponed the James Bond sequel “No Time to Die” from April to October. That prompted rival studios to once again push their films scheduled for early 2021, such as “Morbius,” “Ghostbusters Afterlife,” “Cinderella,” and “A Quiet Place Part II.” It’s also widely expected that Universal will delay “Fast & Furious” installment “F9” (set for May 28) and Disney may bump the Marvel adventure “Black Widow” (set for May 7), which would clear the film calendar until at least June. Should that come to pass, it would be devastating to those in the business of showing movies on the big screen. By summer, it’ll have been over a year since theaters have operated at normal levels. Most U.S. venues have already gone 10 months without much — if any — revenue.

In some ways, the theatrical market is equally as impaired as it was last March when theaters were entirely closed. As of late January, around 65% of theaters remain shuttered and those that reopened have been running at limited capacity. It seems that conversations about reopening theaters in major markets like New York City and Los Angeles have been all but abandoned. A botched COVID-19 vaccine rollout, combined with new strains of the virus, have only further complicated plans to get people back to the movies.

Box office analysts predict the theatrical business will get back to normal in 2022. David A. Gross, who runs the movie consulting firm Franchise Entertainment Research, says that timeline is based on “heathy demand for quality, reasonably priced, out-of-home entertainment.”

“The vaccination process will pick up through the spring as the supply bottlenecks open up,” Gross said. “The government will spend whatever it takes to make the vaccination campaign successful, including overcoming the new COVID variants.”

Elsewhere at the domestic box office, Universal and DreamWorks Animation’s “The Croods: A New Age” collected $1.84 million in its 10th week of release, enough for second place. Those ticket sales represent a 2% increase from last weekend, which is impressive because the animated family film has been available to rent on home entertainment for almost two months. It has made $43.9 million in North America. Overseas, “The Croods” sequel made $1.3 million, bringing it past the $100 million mark for a global total of $144.38 million.

“Wonder Woman 1984” came in third place with $1.3 million from 1,864 locations. The Warner Bros. superhero adaptation, which premiered concurrently on HBO Max, has brought in $39.2 million after six weeks in North American theaters. To illustrate how depreciated the box office is, the original “Wonder Woman” grossed $38 million in its first day in theaters in 2017. Internationally, “Wonder Woman 1984” added another $1.1 million, bringing box office receipts to $112.8 million overseas and $152 million gloablly.

Liam Neeson’s action thriller “The Marksman” plunged to the No. 4 spot after leading the box office the last two weekends. It made $1.25 million in its third outing for a domestic tally of $7.8 million. The movie is currently playing in 2,018 theaters.

Rounding out the top five was Sony’s “Monster Hunter” with $740,000 in its seventh week of release. The film, an adaptation of a popular video game, has generated $11.1 million to date.

At the indie box office, Bleecker Street’s drama “Supernova” opened with $98,670 from 330 screens for a bleak $299 per-screen-average. Stanley Tucci and Colin Firth star in the emotional film about a longtime couple who find a way to cope after one is diagnosed with early onset dementia. It’s gotten strong reviews (Variety’s critic Guy Lodge called it “delicately heart-crushing”), yet the film’s target audience of older adults is one that’s been especially reluctant to return to the movies. In today’s theatrical landscape, it’s that much harder for movies from specialty studios to find their footing.

But, notes Paul Dergarabedian, a senior media analyst with Comscore, “with great reviews and an excellent cast, ‘Supernova’ should find favor over the long haul.” And it’ll help that indie films won’t have notable competition in the coming weeks.

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February 01, 2021 at 12:24AM
https://variety.com/2021/film/news/denzel-washington-the-little-things-box-office-hbo-max-debut-1234896742/

Denzel Washington’s ‘The Little Things’ Leads Box Office Despite HBO Max Debut - Variety

https://news.google.com/search?q=little&hl=en-US&gl=US&ceid=US:en

Arizona governor says state GOP's censuring him is 'of very little consequence' - POLITICO

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Arizona Republicans this month voted to censure GOP Gov. Doug Ducey and two other prominent members in a sign of loyalty to the former president. | Ross D. Franklin, Pool/AP Photo

Arizona Gov. Doug Ducey on Sunday brushed off the state Republican Party’s censure of him as an “action of very little consequence.”

“The party in Arizona has had a long history of discontent. This is just the latest example,” the Republican governor said on CNN’s “State of the Union.”

“The state party chairman should focus on winning races. That should be a top priority,” Ducey said.

Over the past two years, Republicans lost both Senate seats, and the state flipped Democratic in the 2020 presidential race for the first time since 1996.

Still, the state Republican Party has signaled loyalty to former President Donald Trump, censuring the governor, along with former Republican Sen. Jeff Flake and Cindy McCain, the wife of the late Republican Sen. John McCain. Ducey publicly opposed the president’s efforts to overturn the election results, and Flake and McCain endorsed Democrat Joe Biden for president.

“I worked incredibly hard to deliver the state for Donald Trump and red up through Election Day," Ducey said. "Then, after Election Day, of course, once all the ballots were certified in all 15 counties, the vote had been audited and determined accurate, I had very little choice but to do the right thing, follow the law and the Constitution."

On Sunday, the governor also once again squashed rumors that he might challenge Sen. Mark Kelly (D-Ariz.) in 2022. “I'm not running for the United States Senate, no,” Ducey said.

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February 01, 2021 at 12:58AM
https://www.politico.com/news/2021/01/31/arizona-governor-gop-censure-464147

Arizona governor says state GOP's censuring him is 'of very little consequence' - POLITICO

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Tesla's dirty little secret: Its net profit doesn't come from selling cars - CNN

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Eleven states require automakers sell a certain percentage of zero-emissions vehicles by 2025. If they can't, the automakers have to buy regulatory credits from another automaker that meets those requirements -- such as Tesla, which exclusively sells electric cars.

It's a lucrative business for Tesla -- bringing in $3.3 billion over the course of the last five years, nearly half of that in 2020 alone. The $1.6 billion in regulatory credits it received last year far outweighed Tesla's net income of $721 million -- meaning Tesla would have otherwise posted a net loss in 2020.

"These guys are losing money selling cars. They're making money selling credits. And the credits are going away," said Gordon Johnson of GLJ Research and one of the biggest bears on Tesla (TSLA) shares.

Tesla top executives concede the company can't count on that source of cash continuing.

"This is always an area that's extremely difficult for us to forecast," said Tesla's Chief Financial Officer Zachary Kirkhorn. "In the long term, regulatory credit sales will not be a material part of the business, and we don't plan the business around that. It's possible that for a handful of additional quarters, it remains strong. It's also possible that it's not."

Tesla also reports other measures of profitability, as do many other companies. And by those measures, the profits are great enough that they do not depend on the sales of credits to be in the black.

The company reported 2020 adjusted net income, excluding items such as $1.7 billion stock-based compensation, of $2.5 billion. Its automotive gross profit, which compares total revenue from its car business to expenses directly associated with the building the cars, was $5.4 billion, even excluding the regulatory credits sales revenue. And its free cash flow of $2.8 billion was up 158% from a year earlier, a dramatic turnaround from 2018 when Tesla was burning through cash and in danger of running out of money.

Its supporters say those measures show Tesla is making money at last after years of losses in most of those measures. That profitability is one of the reasons the stock performed so well for more than a year.

But the debate between skeptics and devotees of the company whether Tesla is truly profitable has become a "Holy War," according to Gene Munster, managing partner of Loup Ventures and a leading tech analyst.

"They're debating two different things. They'll never come to a resolution," he said. Munster believes critics focus too much on how the credits still exceed net income. He contends that automotive gross profit margin, excluding those sales of regulatory credits, is the best barometer for the company's financial success.

"It's a leading indicator," of that measure of Tesla's profit, he said. "There's no chance that GM and VW are making money on that basis on their EVs."

The future of Tesla

Tesla's lofty stock performance -- up 743% in 2020 -- makes it one of the most valuable US companies in the world. Yet the 500,000 cars it sold in 2020 were a sliver of more than 70 million vehicles estimated to have been sold worldwide.

Tesla shares are now worth roughly as much as those of the combined 12 largest automakers who sell more than 90% of autos globally.

What Tesla has that other automakers don't is rapid growth -- last week it forecast annual sales growth of 50% in coming years, and it expects to do even better than that in 2021 as other automakers struggle to get back to pre-pandemic sales levels.

The entire industry is moving toward an all-electric future, both to meet tougher environmental regulations globally and to satisfy the growing appetite for EVs, partly because they require less labor, fewer parts and cost less to build than traditional gasoline-powered cars.

"Something most people can agree on is that EVs are the future," said Munster. "I think that's a safe assumption."

While Tesla is the leading maker of electric cars, it faces increased competition as virtually every automaker rolls out their own EVs, or plan to do so. Volkswagen has passed Tesla in terms of EV sales in most of Europe. GM said last week it hopes to shift completely to emissions-free cars by 2035.

"The competition is rendering Tesla's cars irrelevant," said GLJ' Resarch's Johnson. "We do not see this as a sustainable business model."

Other analysts contend Tesla's share price is justified given how it can benefit from the shift to electric vehicles.

"They're not going to stay at 80-90% share of the EV market, but they can keep growing even with much lower market share," said Daniel Ives, a technology analyst with Wedbush Securities. "We're looking at north of 3 million to 4 million vehicles annually as we go into 2025-26, with 40% of that growth coming from China. We believe now they are on the trajectory that even without [the EV] credits they'll still be profitable."

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January 31, 2021 at 11:13PM
https://www.cnn.com/2021/01/31/investing/tesla-profitability/index.html

Tesla's dirty little secret: Its net profit doesn't come from selling cars - CNN

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Denzel Washington & Rami Malek Thriller ‘The Little Things’ Counts $4.8M Debut, Best For Older Guy Fare During Pandemic B.O. - Deadline

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Refresh for more analysis and Top 10 chart: If you’re looking for any exciting financial action to come out of the movie business, it’s not at the box office, but the stock exchange. The continued closure of movie theaters during Covid, with only 45% of all 5,8K U.S. and Canada movie theaters opened, yielded Warner Bros. Denzel Washington-Rami Malek thriller The Little Things this past weekend which only opened to $4.8M at 2,171 theaters, the best for an R-rated movie and older guy fare during the pandemic. Worldwide The Little Things made $7.6M with money from 20 markets including Russia, Saudi Arabia, Taiwan, and United Artists Emirates.

However, even though there’s not a lot of people coming through movie theaters, including No. 1 chain AMC, that exhibitor capped off a wild week seeing its market cap boom to $4.5 billion and its closing stock price up close to 300% week-over-week on Friday with $13.26 after a square off between short-selling investors and Reddit group buyers. Market business was so great for AMC, its notable stakeholder Silver Lake cashed out on Friday, converting $600M in the exhibitor’s debt into equity, and then selling those shares for a handsome profit.

Little Things’ 3-day weekend reps a high point in a low-ceiling marketplace since August for older guy fare, besting Solstice Studios’ Unhinged ($4M opening), Focus Features’ Let Him Go ($4M), Open Road’s Liam Neeson movies Honest Thief and The Marksman (respectively $4.1M and $3.1M), and Universal’s News of the World ($2.25M). Warners notches its Little Things notable opening in sync with the pic’s simultaneous release on HBO Max. We’ll assess that whole experiment again in a bit as new intelligence was released this past week.

As far as the exhibition landscape goes as newly elected U.S. President Joe Biden seeks to get the whole nation inoculated by summer, Illinois and Chicago re-opened theaters this past weekend. Boston is reopening with 25% capacity limits starting Monday; the city’s theaters haven’t had their lights on since well before mid-December. AMC Boston Common and South Dorchester will reopen on Feb. 5. Seattle will reopen some cinemas next weekend as well. According to sources, to date, close to 2K theaters haven not given a reopening date. In regards to the B.O. capital states, New York has just over 20% of all movie theaters open, while California has just above 5%.

We still have a long way to go, and with the studios delaying product, even though they’re selling a bulk upfront, I gotta think there remains a belief in the tried-and-true revenue generating theatrical window system — even if physical media is retiring, and streaming is booming. In regards to this whole controversial 2021 theatrical-simultaneous HBO Max release strategy, AT&T Boss John Stankey was on the defense during a Q4 call claiming, and it’s hard to argue this point with him, that “the data points have come in and are consistent with the assumptions,” meaning Warners’ was correct about how the marketplace was going to suck wind for a while as more studios abandoned the first half of the year (that said we await with bated breath for moviegoing to return).

There were other highlights coming away from the 31-day play of Wonder Woman 1984 on fledgling streaming service HBO Max and in theaters: Q4 HBO Max subscribers doubled to 17.4M and Nielsen reported that viewing of the Patty Jenkins directed Gal Gadot DC movie was a monster over the year-end holiday during the Dec. 21-27 corridor with 2.25 billion minutes of streaming, squashing Disney+’s Soul by 35%.

However, with all these horns blaring, it remains to be seen whether AT&T is making any money off this WarnerMedia experiment. It might be a good form of marketing for the streaming service in the short term, and a means to spike subs during the pandemic by tapping inventory that’s lying around, but where’s the money? Especially on a picture-by-picture basis. WW1984 has only grossed $152M WW off a $200M production cost, not including P&A spend. The sequel ranked third in its 6th weekend with $1.3M and a running domestic take of $39.2M.  I continue to beat the drum that WarnerMedia should have segued product on a picture-by-picture basis to HBO Max in response to the pandemic versus this knee-jerk full slate move.

As such stats came out this week, AT&T Q4 expenses including roughly $780M “from the impairment of production and other content inventory at WarnerMedia” with $520M “resulting from the continued shutdown of theaters during the pandemic and the hybrid distribution model for our 2021 film slate” the telecom reported.

How did Little Things do on HBO Max. We don’t know statistically with Andy Forssell, EVP and General Manager of HBO Max only boasting sans numbers, “We are absolutely thrilled by how Warner Bros.’ The Little Things is performing on HBO Max — it immediately shot up to number one, where it currently remains. Following the breakthrough success of Wonder Woman 1984, The Little Things shows the insatiable appetite our audience has for high quality, feature films.”

On CinemaScore, audiences weren’t wowed by Little Things giving it a B-, which is lower for Washington in his action thriller genre compared to the A received by Washington’s Equalizer 2 and A- of Equalizer, B+ from 2 Guns, and A- from Safe House. Some will try to defend that CinemaScore isn’t working with the same sized audience as they are during a normal marketplace, but an audience score is an audience score and Comscore/Screen Engine’s PostTrak shows a lower 67% positive and a 40% recommend. Those who bought tickets where theaters were open were 55% males, close to 80% over 25, with close to 60% over 35 years old. Caucasians repped 47% of ticket buyers, African Americans 29%, Hispanic 17% and 7% Asian/other. Critics on Rotten Tomatoes weren’t amused with Little Things at 48% Rotten, but they weren’t amused with Washington’s Equalizer pics either, part 1 and 2 getting a low 59% and 51% Rotten.

In regard to Little Things’ marketing, RelishMix noticed that Warner Bros. “used a short runway Covid-centric-tactic, given date and day/day release pivots, tapping the studio’s social channels with a SMU Social Media Universe of 53.8M SMU cross-promoted with HBO Max social channel with the emerging 1.8M SMU — and bypassed the tradition ramp-up of new dedicated pages for the film. The Warner Bros. Facebook with 34.3M connected fans, and although only one trailer, posting is robust over the last 3 weeks with moderate engagement for Facebook views just over 500k, but, the well boosted materials on YouTube have just crossed 20M views for owned and earned posts and reposts which is strong. Jared Leto’s super social channels (33.1M SMU) for he and his 30 Seconds To Mars band feeds are lifting the SMU Social Media Universe to 109.5M which is good for the drama/thriller genre.”

Despite WarnerMedia’s newfound love affair with streaming, RelishMix points out, “On the WBPictures Instagram, they want to send a clear message of where you can see the film on the big screen.”

Top markets for Little Things were 1. Dallas-Ft. Worth, 2. Phoenix, 3. Houston, 4. Greater New York Metro area (NJ, CT, and Long Island/Upstate NY theaters), 5. Chicago, 6. Atlanta, 7. Denver, 8. Salt Lake City, 9. Tampa, 10. Orlando.

The pic’s 10 locations this past weekend were: 1. Harkins Estrella Falls Phoenix, 2. West Wind Sacramento Drive-In, 3. AMC Disney Springs Orlando, 4. Santikos Casa Blanca San Antonio, 5. iPic River Oaks District Houston, 6. Santikos Palladium San Antonio, 7. West Wind Solano Twin Drive-In (Concord, CA), 8. West Wind Capitol Drive-In (San Jose, CA), 9. Cinemark North Canton (Ohio), 10. AMC Thoroughbred Nashville.

Meanwhile, some clapping here for Universal which continues to see its DreamWorks Animation Croods: A New Age continually stay afloat at the weekend box office, even though it’s on PVOD. It just shows family in those parts of the nation where theaters are open, prefer to head to the cinemas for a diversion. The feature is +2% in weekend 10 in the No. 2 sport with $1.84M and a running domestic $43.9M, with foreign shooting past $100M for a $144.4M WW take. On the recent DEG year-end report, Universal estimated the 18 films it has put out on PVOD in the past 10 months have brought in more than $500 million in revenue in a $30 billion home entertainment 2020, +21% from 2019.

Comscore shows as of this AM, the weekend box office earning $13.1M, +52% from last weekend, but greatly off 84% from the same weekend in 2020. The first month of 2021 has only grossed $70.5M at the domestic box office off 92% from the $906.6M that 2020 racked up pre-pandemic. Yikes.

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February 01, 2021 at 12:09AM
https://deadline.com/2021/01/the-little-things-weekend-box-office-denzel-washington-hbo-max-1234684258/

Denzel Washington & Rami Malek Thriller ‘The Little Things’ Counts $4.8M Debut, Best For Older Guy Fare During Pandemic B.O. - Deadline

https://news.google.com/search?q=little&hl=en-US&gl=US&ceid=US:en

Returning to ‘normalcy’ in Washington means little to Californians who are suffering - San Francisco Chronicle

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How many times have we heard in the last week that Joe Biden’s presidency is “a return to normalcy”?

The term generally refers to Washington, D.C., normalcy — the theater of politics that has little effect on most people. Many Californians are still dealing with the old normalcy — the one where unemployment is high, schools are closed and many businesses are struggling to survive.

“To me, that is viewed through the lens of someone of privilege,” said John Jones III, a community activist in East Oakland. “It is a privilege to be able to assert that a presidential election is going to change your life.

“For decades, it hasn’t mattered to many people in my community who is in the White House. We’ve been suffering,” said Jones, community engagement director at Just Cities, an Oakland social justice organization. “Ask someone who is unemployed or homeless or suffering whether they have returned to normal.”

The dozens of people who were in line outside the food pantry at Shiloh Church in East Oakland one day last week have different ideas about what normalcy looks like.

They don’t care that Biden’s press secretary is holding daily briefings, unlike her predecessor, or that the new president doesn’t spend his days watching cable news and insult-tweeting like the old one. They’re not wondering how Chuck Schumer and Mitch McConnell will reach agreement on Senate rules or whether Democrats will kill the filibuster.

The people waiting in a drizzle outside Shiloh for a 25-pound box of food had more immediate concerns. Every week, Shiloh helps 425 families with food from the Alameda County Community Food Bank (where I have volunteered, and which provides food to a different pantry where I regularly help out). Before the coronavirus pandemic, Shiloh fed roughly 200 families a week. Nearly one in every four residents of the county is facing food insecurity, up from one in five before the pandemic, according to the food bank.

Many are like Gloria Tome, who hasn’t worked since she lost her $17-an-hour cafeteria job at UC Berkeley in March as the pandemic struck and much of the economy shut down. College students can stay at home and take classes online, but Tome couldn’t do her job from home.

Her husband is a roofer who has been out of work for months. Three of her four adult children are living at home; none has worked since the pandemic began. For much of the past year, Tome, 52, has had to line up at pantries around the East Bay to feed her family.

Yet like many people in line, she holds out hope that life will improve. Soon.

“Maybe,” Tome said, “in three or four months they will open the university. I will wait.”

Politics with Joe Garofoli

A few feet away stands Victorina Calmo. All six members of her family had COVID-19 four months ago, but have since recovered. She’s 50 and hasn’t worked since she lost her job at a cookie factory nearly a year ago. Neither has her husband, a house painter. Two of her adult daughters are working just one or two days a week.

She isn’t thinking about a return to normalcy. Instead, another emotion nags at her.

“Preocupada,” she said in Spanish. She’s worried.

Calmo has been coming to Shiloh since March. The chicken and ground beef and vegetables in the box that the pantry hands out is “good food,” she said, better and more plentiful than what she could afford in a store.

She doesn’t think her life will return to normal right away just because someone different is sitting behind the Resolute desk. But eventually, she believes, it will.

“Everything takes time to come back to normal,” Calmo said.

Normal to Calmo means having a full-time job. Not having to wear a mask. Being free to go where she pleases and to see her extended family and friends.

“To not be scared anymore,” she said.

Across the state, other Californians are struggling with problems that extend beyond partisan politics.

At his home in the Central Valley, Benedicto Cazares wrestles with daily fears that have little to do with Washington. Cazares hasn’t been able to drink the water out of the tap of his Tulare County home in more than a decade, through Republican and Democratic presidencies.

His normalcy: The 69-year-old retired farm worker is one of the more than 1 million Californians who don’t have regular access to safe drinking water.

Once every two weeks, a local water company delivers five 5-gallon containers of water to his home in East Orosi, an unincorporated community of about 700 residents, most of whom are low-income Latino farm workers.

That’s not enough water during the hot Central Valley summers for him and the five people he lives with — his wife, their daughter and her three children.

“It doesn’t last. It’s not enough,” Cazares said in Spanish through a translator. “I always have to buy three or four more.”

He’s supported Republicans and Democrats in the past, but didn’t vote in November. Local politics matter more in his life. He said he’s tried everything over the past few years to get a reliable source of water, a basic necessity that most Californians take for granted.

“We fought. We’ve collaborated. We’ve gone to meetings and (public officials) say they’re going to help,” Cazares said. “We’ve been doing this for 14 years.”

East Bay community organizer Leo Mercer is also looking more to local government for help than to Washington.

For many California communities of color, Mercer said, no matter who is the president, “we’ve got the same issues. Whether it’s Biden or Trump or Obama” as president.

He is looking at the effects of mass incarceration and how the pandemic has disproportionately affected Black and Latino communities and how police treat communities of color. Nationally, low-income Black people are projected to lose 35% of their earnings compared to 2018 because of the pandemic, reversing their economic gains from the last decade, according to a study from the Center on Budget and Policy Priorities think tank.

The current unemployment rate among Black Californians is 12.2%. It’s 11.7% for Latinos and 9.9% for white people.

So the daily “normal” in his hometown of Oakland won’t change unless big, structural reforms come out of the nation’s capital, says Mercer, a rapper who incorporates music into his activism. Washington normalcy won’t cut it.

“President Biden might look like someone who is great,” said Mercer, 29. “But we know that the work is done within the community. Unless they co-sign with people who are at the bottom of the ladder, it’s not going to make much of a difference.”

Joe Garofoli is The San Francisco Chronicle’s senior political writer. Email: jgarofoli@sfchronicle.com Twitter: @joegarofoli

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January 31, 2021 at 07:03PM
https://www.sfchronicle.com/politics/article/Returning-to-normalcy-in-Washington-means-15910174.php

Returning to ‘normalcy’ in Washington means little to Californians who are suffering - San Francisco Chronicle

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After a decade fighting for acknowledgement, campaign for official recognition of 'Little Arabia' progresses - Los Angeles Times

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Community organizers have been fighting for about a decade for Little Arabia to be officially designated by the city of Anaheim.

The dozens of businesses lining Brookhurst Street in West Anaheim have for years served as a cultural hub for Orange County’s Arab American community.

Yet City Council members have resisted the push for designation.

Rashad Al-Dabbagh, executive director of the Arab American Civic Council, said council members have repeatedly said over the years that they don’t know whether the issue has garnered widespread support among residents.

In response, the nonprofit partnered with UC San Diego’s U.S. Immigration Policy Center to conduct a poll of Anaheim residents.

The recently released report shows that 58% of registered voters who responded to the poll support Little Arabia’s designation. That number increased to more than 75% for respondents who have been to Little Arabia or know about it.

The poll gives Al-Dabbagh hope that the City Council may now consider the designation because of public support.

“I think we’re very close, especially that this time we are showing with a poll that we conducted that there is support in the city,” Al-Dabbagh said. “You cannot use that excuse anymore.”

Kareem Hawari, owner of Kareem’s Falafel in Anaheim, prepares lunch.

(Scott Smeltzer / Staff Photographer)

In addition to the poll, the Arab American Civic Council sponsored a petition that has gathered nearly 1,200 signatures.

Al-Dabbagh said the designation would be helpful to the businesses of Little Arabia because it would bring increased advertising and signage.

The increased revenue to the area from the advertising is much needed, Al-Dabbagh said, due to the crippling impact of the pandemic economy on small businesses.

“It would take it to the next level and hopefully that would get more funding to the area,” Al-Dabbagh said.

Al-Dabbagh said he’s still mobilizing support. Little Arabia business owners will be meeting with the Chamber of Commerce about the proposed designation.

Kareem Hawari, owner of Kareem’s Falafel in Little Arabia, said a designation would reinvigorate Little Arabia businesses.

“There’s a lot of pessimism, especially in this time,” Hawari said. “So I think that designating the area would really bring a lot of confidence back into the businesses. A lot of new hope.”

Nara Bistro is one of several businesses in Anaheim’s Little Arabia.

(Scott Smeltzer / Staff Photographer)

Hawari said Kareem’s Falafel was the first Mediterranean restaurant on Brookhurst Street. His parents started the restaurant 26 years ago after emigrating from Nazareth, Israel.

“We have customers who have been here for 20 years and will have their kids come with them,” Hawari said. “And eventually now their kids are adults and they have their own families, and we’re catering to those people.”

At a recent Anaheim council meeting, Councilman Jose Moreno proposed adding an item for the designation of Little Arabia to the agenda, but he did not receive a second from another council member. The Anaheim council requires a second and third before a proposed item by a council member can be put on the agenda.

“When he saw that there’s a push from the community, I think he wanted to take the initiative, but there are other council members who said they would support,” Al-Dabbagh said. “But, you know, they didn’t take the initiative.”

It’s unclear whether Moreno’s proposal failed because council members don’t support a designation or because Moreno generally doesn’t receive support from other council members when he proposes items.

Moreno, who says he sits on a political island amid the council, said there have been instances in the past where council members have failed to second him when he proposes certain items for the agenda, but then they repropose the same or similar item at a later time.

Either way, Moreno said he would like to see Little Arabia officially designated.

“From a commerce side, it does promote our city to say that we have this area where one can go and get authentic food, shop at authentic shops and just be a part of the mosaic of our diversity,” Moreno said.

“It would really just say something powerfully symbolic about how we value diversity and inclusion in our city. A designation of that nature recognizes a community that has been dealing with struggles in the social space for decades.”

Serene Hawari prepares cauliflower at Kareem’s Falafel in Anaheim.

(Scott Smeltzer / Staff Photographer)

City Council members Jordan Brandman and Stephen Faessel both said in 2016 that they support a designation for Little Arabia.

In an emailed statement, Mayor Harry Sidhu said he loves Little Arabia, but the city has to “take a broader, more inclusive view when it comes to formal designations.”

“We also need to ensure that all feel welcome,” Sidhu said. “The area home to Little Arabia includes a range of people and backgrounds, with Hispanics making up half of the area’s population. There’s also a mix of businesses along Brookhurst Street, and some may not see themselves as part of Little Arabia.

“Our goal is to see diversity within a unified city. We look forward to the continued, natural growth of Little Arabia, and nothing can take away from the important role it plays in our city.”

In the statement, Sidhu said the city promotes the businesses of Little Arabia and that Arab American and Middle Eastern immigrants have played a “welcome role in revitalizing” the area of the city where Little Arabia is located.

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January 31, 2021 at 07:04AM
https://www.latimes.com/socal/daily-pilot/entertainment/story/2021-01-30/after-decade-fighting-for-acknowledgement-campaign-for-official-recognition-of-little-arabia-progresses

After a decade fighting for acknowledgement, campaign for official recognition of 'Little Arabia' progresses - Los Angeles Times

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Trail Blazers' Nassir Little: Joins starting lineup - CBSSports.com

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Little will start Saturday's game at Chicago, Jay Allen of NBC Sports Northwest Rip City Radio 620 reports.

The 20-year-old will receive his first start of the season with Derrick Jones (foot) sitting out versus the Bulls. Little has played double-digit minutes in only one of seven appearances this season, so it's difficult to expect much production despite the increased playing time Saturday.

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January 31, 2021 at 06:38AM
https://www.cbssports.com/fantasy/basketball/news/trail-blazers-nassir-little-joins-starting-lineup/

Trail Blazers' Nassir Little: Joins starting lineup - CBSSports.com

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'The Little Things': Why Jared Leto Finally Agreed to Play Another Villain - Hollywood Reporter

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The actor at first balked at the idea of playing another possible bad guy in Warner Bros.’ film, but the opportunity to pull off a total transformation changed his mind: "I just went to town."

In John Lee Hancock's The Little Things, Oscar winners Denzel Washington and Rami Malek play police officers on the hunt for a serial killer in 1990 Los Angeles. Their pursuit leads them to Albert Sparma, a prime suspect who seems to know as much about their case as they do. What ensues is a psychological game of cat and mouse, with Sparma always one step ahead of the men trying to capture him. It's a deeply unsettling role, one in which Oscar winner Jared Leto completely immerses himself, bringing a humanity and a sinister sense of humor to the character. Leto tells THR about his approach to the role and why, after playing a string of onscreen villains, he reluctantly embodied one more.

Director John Lee Hancock said that the two of you first connected because you were a fan of his film The Founder. Is that right?

Yeah, I was, and I am. I thought it was just an absolutely beautiful movie, so well shot. And Michael Keaton was astounding in it. I think I reached out to meet [John], or we both did at the same time, about a year or so before The Little Things.

What were your first impressions of the script?

Well, my first thought was to say no. I wasn't sure about playing a murder suspect or potential villain again. But after talking to John, there seemed to be an amazing opportunity. If we could make this heavy on character and make this a really transformative role, I could be interested in having this be the last walk on the dark side of the moon, but only if we could really push it as far as possible. He was open to that and excited. So I just went to town.

You have played a lot of villains in the past few years.

[Rayon, my character in] Dallas Buyers Club was an angel sent from heaven — the character with a heart of gold. And yes, I have explored some darker territory. With this, I really wanted to see how complete of a character, from head to toe, from the way that I carried my feet to the way that I spoke — I really wanted to push the boundaries a bit to see how far we could walk toward that line without crossing it.

Albert Sparma is a character who isn't at all what he seems to be.

That was an interesting part of it. Not only do we have the script, but we have to write the script underneath the script. How does Albert Sparma know where to be? How does he have this information? Is he guilty? Is he not? All of these big questions that we had to kind of create a logic board for, which we did. But the physical part of it … The voice was a big key into the character, developing the walk, the research and conversations with criminology experts. I examined FBI transcripts and interrogations. It was quite intense, quite heavy, but really fascinating. For a bit — it starts to take its toll after a while.

Albert is a dark character, but he also provides a little bit of comic relief as he antagonizes the detectives played by Denzel Washington and Rami Malek.

Yeah, I really went for it, for better or worse, and leaned into that. I thought that Albert's the type of guy who has a great sense of humor — other people just don't seem to get his jokes. There was a lot of ad-libbing. I have to really thank John Lee Hancock, Denzel Washington and Rami Malek for putting up with that, because I came in every day with quite a lot of material. One of the things that Albert does is keep people on their toes by using the element of surprise to create a feeling of instability. Humor was a tool for me and for the character. I kind of found him endearing and quite funny, to be honest. And I'm sure there's lots on the cutting room floor. Maybe we can get a Sparma release, like the [Zack] Snyder cut [of Justice League, in which Leto plays Joker after not appearing in the 2017 movie]. (Laughs.)

That would go in a completely different direction.

Ten percent more jokes, 5 percent more scary.

You get to share scenes with two great actors with very different screen presences. What was it like to work with Denzel and Rami?

Denzel Washington is one of my heroes. He's one of my favorite actors of all time. To work with him was a dream, and it was a master class in acting. Here's a guy who's put together an incredible career, an incredible variety of roles. His consistency and his commitment to throwing himself physically and emotionally into every single role. It doesn't matter if a movie doesn't work — he is always great. And Rami is just terrific, the perfect partner for Albert Sparma. He was incredibly generous and patient. You know, as Albert's a wise guy, he can easily get on your nerves.

I imagine that's also very fun to play, someone who gets to poke at other people a bit.

It's all the things that you can't do [in your real life]. You have full permission. I felt like [the role] transcended my expectations, or my reluctance that I had when I initially signed on. We were able to craft something that went further toward the place that I wanted to go, to find the full breadth of a human.

What's your process to find the humanity in such a character?

I think if you have some respect, or empathy, you can find some humanity in a morally bankrupt sociopath and a psychopath. Maybe "empathy" is the wrong word. Even though some people could question Albert's motives, or just question him in general, I grew quite fond of certain parts of who he was. There were some things that were hard to let go of when you make that kind of commitment — sometimes it can be a little harder to let go of things when you're finished.

The audience gets its first unsettling glimpse of Albert Sparma about 40 minutes into the film. What was your reaction to your character's look?

I don't watch [most of my films] much at all — it really allows me the freedom to not get caught up in some of the external stuff. Maybe in a rehearsal, or a screen test or a camera test period, I would weigh in on choices. In this film, I have different color eyes. And I think a lot of people don't notice these things, but together, they all add up to the final product. I had a different nose, which nobody brings up to me.

I was going to ask if that was a prosthetic.

Yeah, people don't notice that, no pun intended. I had some other prosthetics — actually, fake teeth. And my body was different. We did try out about 20 different, really horrible wigs. We were trying to find the worst wig in all of Hollywood and we couldn't find it. But I really enjoyed that process.

Do those external elements help you find the physicality of the character?

Sometimes you find the character from the outside in and inside out — you can't really separate [the body and the mind]. You put on a pair of shoes that might make you walk a little differently, and you start walking a little differently and that might make you gesture differently. It's all connected, you know — the thigh bone's connected to the hip bone, as we sang when we were kids. I haven't said it quite this way, but I wanted to step as far away from me as I could — the physical me, the outside of me, how I look, sound, walk, talk … I wanted to put this Albert into a different place.

A theme I took away from the film, particularly relating to Denzel's and Rami's characters, was that the work these men do really gets under their skin and leaves them a little broken. Does your job affect you in a similar way? How do you leave work at work?

It's a great question. I mean, I think I leave a little bit shattered, like Denzel and Rami, right? You have to rebuild your life, and sometimes you're heartbroken because you're walking away from these [characters]. I look forward to this happening in my career at some point: just showing up and doing a rom-com. What if my biggest challenge is like, "How do I get my six-pack to glow enough?" Not saying I have one now. (Laughs.)

We entertain people, and that's a lofty goal, an admirable one, I'm not picking on that. But for me, I tend to dive in fairly deeply. It's the way that I know how to do the best job. And I feel like it's my responsibility to Denzel Washington, to Rami Malek, to John Lee Hancock, to the producers in the studio, the writers, the crew — to show up and to do the absolute best I can. And also to provide some delight and joy and surprise. Some of my favorite times on set is when I'm going off the rails with Albert Sparma, and I see the camera shaking behind the lens because people are trying to stifle the sounds of laughter from the monitor. That makes the whole day worth it to me.

Interview edited for length and clarity.

This story first appeared in a January stand-alone issue of The Hollywood Reporter magazine. To receive the magazine, click here to subscribe.

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January 30, 2021 at 05:45AM
https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/news/the-little-things-why-jared-leto-finally-agreed-to-play-another-villain

'The Little Things': Why Jared Leto Finally Agreed to Play Another Villain - Hollywood Reporter

https://news.google.com/search?q=little&hl=en-US&gl=US&ceid=US:en

'Little Things' Hits HBO Max and Theaters Amid an Uneasy Truce - Bloomberg

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Denzel Washington and Rami Malek in The Little Things.

Source: Warner Bros. 

Warner Bros., which drew the ire of theater chains after announcing plans to put all of its 2021 movies online the same day they premiere in cinemas, is likely to dominate the big screen over the weekend with the debut of a new Denzel Washington film.

“The Little Things,” a cop drama starring the two-time Oscar winner, opened on Friday in cinemas and on HBO Max. It’s the only new movie from a major studio set to debut over the weekend, and adds another chapter to the ongoing friction between Hollywood and the exhibitors who show its films.

While theater executives were angered that AT&T Inc.’s WarnerMedia division forced them to share the 2021 movie slate with online audiences, they are dependent on the studio for new films to draw in customers. Though “The Little Things” will probably only generate about $2.5 million in domestic ticket sales over three days, that’s precious revenue for cinemas starved for almost a year by the coronavirus pandemic.

The film will show at all of the large chains that are open, a little over a third of the nation’s total, including venues run by AMC Entertainment Holdings Inc. and Cinemark Holdings Inc. Both companies issued sharp statements in December when the HBO Max streaming decision was announced, raising questions about whether they would boycott Warner Bros. films.

Theaters used to enjoy up to three months of exclusive rights to new movies, and last year AMC briefly boycotted films from Universal Pictures after that studio began to release movies online far sooner.

But instead of outright warfare, the studio and theaters have reached a truce while Covid-19 is still raging, compensating cinema owners. Prior to the pandemic, studios and theaters roughly split movie-ticket sales. Exhibitors have asked for a greater cut of those sales, and in some cases a piece of online revenue, in exchange for giving studios more flexibility in how they distribute films.

With these new deals, theaters have ensured they have new fare to show audiences. Most big movies were delayed last year, due to coronavirus, and few big-budget films are on the theatrical schedule before July. The other movies expected to round out the top spots at the box office this weekend are all old, including Universal’s “The Croods: A New Age,” which came out on Thanksgiving weekend, and Warner’s “Wonder Woman 1984,” which premiered on Christmas Day.

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January 30, 2021 at 06:00PM
https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2021-01-30/-little-things-hits-hbo-max-and-theaters-amid-an-uneasy-truce

'Little Things' Hits HBO Max and Theaters Amid an Uneasy Truce - Bloomberg

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Little Village shooting: Teen boy hurt - Chicago Sun-Times

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A 17-year-old boy was shot early Saturday in Little Village on the West Side.

He was sitting in a parked vehicle about 2:55 a.m. in the 3400 block of West 23rd Street when he heard shots and felt pain, Chicago police said.

The boy suffered a gunshot wound to the leg and brought himself to Saint Anthony Hospital where he was listed in good condition, police said.

He did not know where the shots came from, according to police.

No one is in custody as Area Four detectives investigate.

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January 30, 2021 at 05:13PM
https://chicago.suntimes.com/crime/2021/1/30/22257508/teen-boy-shot-little-village-police

Little Village shooting: Teen boy hurt - Chicago Sun-Times

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As GameStop and the Little Guys Soar, Big Tech Gets Forgotten - Barron's

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Budrul Chukrut/SOPA Images/LightRocket via Getty Images

It’s not often that Big Tech gets to slip under the radar, but nothing was normal this past week. As the investing world obsessed over small stocks, the country’s two largest companies reported their earnings. The results were tremendous, and I’m not sure many folks noticed. Chalk it up to the GameStop effect, which my colleagues have covered in Barron’s this week.

On Tuesday night, Microsoft (ticker: MSFT) said that its December-quarter revenue was $43.1 billion, up 17%, from a year ago, beating Wall Street’s consensus estimate by about $3 billion. Its profits came in at $2.03 a share, up 34%, topping analysts’ forecast by about 40 cents. That’s a huge beat. The stock was flat on the news.

Apple (AAPL) reported the next day, and its numbers were even more impressive. Revenue was a record $111.4 billion, up 21% from a year ago, beating consensus estimates by an astonishing $8.5 billion—Apple is generating $50 million in sales per hour. Profits were $1.68 a share, up 35%, and 28 cents ahead of consensus.

The biggest boost came from the iPhone, with consumers smitten over the new iPhone 12 lineup. Apple’s iPhone sales were up 17% from a year ago to $65.6 billion, $6 billion above Wall Street’s consensus.

So how did investors react to Apple’s beat? By sending shares down 3.5%. Microsoft and Apple clearly need a little more love from the Reddit crowd.

Possibly, this is just good-old fashioned profit-taking. Apple shares doubled from the end of 2019 to a recent intraday high around $145, adding more than $1 trillion in market cap over that span. (Let’s see GameStop do that.) Microsoft rallied about 50% over the same period and sits close to its all-time high. Still, the tepid response worries some investors.

“I’m short-term queasy about big tech given the bad reactions to good news,” says Paul Meeks, portfolio manager of The Wireless Fund. “Also, if rates and inflation begin to rise, that’s the death knell to expensive tech valuations. This is probably the greatest thing to worry about, and likely more important than company fundamentals.”

David Readerman, who runs Endurance Capital, a San Francisco-based tech hedge fund, agrees that rising rates could cause tech multiple compression, but he sees that as a bigger risk for profitless cloud software companies trading at high multiples of sales than for Apple and Microsoft.

Readerman owns both stocks in his portfolio. One positive factor he points to is “gearing”—the ratio of per-share profit growth to overall revenue growth. For Apple, the ratio this quarter was an impressive 1.7. For Microsoft it was better still, at 2.0—profits are growing at twice the rate of revenues. High gearing ratios imply smart cost controls, strong management, expanding margins—and ongoing stock purchases that reduce shares outstanding, thereby boosting per-share earnings.

Apple has become an increasingly broad bet on technology. It beat expectations for every major product line, from Macs and iPads to Wearables and Services. It expanded margins, saw surging demand in China, and bought back more than $25 billion in stock.

There’s “no need for Reddit mentions with performance like this,” Evercore ISI analyst Amit Daryanani wrote in a research note.

Meanwhile, Microsoft’s Azure public cloud business grew 50%, accelerating a few points from the September quarter. The company’s operating profit margin expanded by almost 4 percentage points. The company’s March-quarter forecast was ahead of expectations, and it bought back $6.5 billion of stock in the quarter. As for the big picture? Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella says we’re in the middle of “the dawn of a second wave of digital transformation sweeping every company and every industry.”

And yet, Readerman concedes that the stocks are no longer cheap. He points out that the two companies trade at an almost identical valuation, about 31 times estimated calendar 2021 per-share profits. The S&P 500, he notes, trades for about 22 times earnings, which are expected to rise 25% overall. He notes that despite the recent apparent lack of interest, Apple shares rose 7% in January, with Microsoft up 5%, and the S&P 500 flat. In short, the market priced in December-quarter results before they were announced.

Mark Stoeckle is CEO and portfolio manager for Adams Diversified (ADX), a 92-year-old closed-end large-cap equity fund. His two largest positions are Microsoft and Apple. And he thinks any current worry about the stocks misses the bigger picture.

“Apple has been a rocket ship for a long time,” he says. “It’s been a champ. If you can point to companies with top line growth, expanding margins and gobs of free cash flow in good durable businesses, why wouldn’t you buy them? What Apple did was reward the people who drove the rise in the stock with good results. It confirmed the move in the stock. Over time, stock prices follow earnings.”

It might just be that simple. In a world focused on titanic struggles between bulls and bears, Apple and Microsoft shares seem to be taking a breather after a fantastic run. Both seem poised to grow revenue and profits for many quarters to come. They are efficient and inventive companies, with the two most respected CEOs in tech, and huge opportunities ahead. And both are richly valued. It simply may be time for the pause that refreshes.

Write to Eric J. Savitz at eric.savitz@barrons.com

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January 30, 2021 at 06:24AM
https://www.barrons.com/articles/as-gamestop-and-the-little-guys-soar-big-tech-gets-forgotten-51611962651

As GameStop and the Little Guys Soar, Big Tech Gets Forgotten - Barron's

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Raúl Montes, Little Village community leader, dead of coronavirus at 72 - Chicago Sun-Times

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Raúl Montes used to say his block had the cleanest alley in Little Village. So clean, he would say, you could eat off the ground.

Though he said it in jest, part of you would believe he was serious.

For nearly five decades, Mr. Montes was known as the fixer on the 2600 block of South Kolin Avenue. Those who knew him said he was selfless, helping neighbors in need and making sure the block was clean of any debris — and never asking anything in return.

Mr. Montes died Jan. 23 at McNeal Hospital in Berwyn due to complications of the coronavirus. He’d been hospitalized almost a month, according to his son Jose Montes. He was 72 years old.

He was only 17 in 1965 when he left Chihuahua, Mexico on a train bound for Chicago to join his father and other siblings.

His first job was as a busboy at Marshall Field’s department store in the Loop. By 1967, he was working at Western Electric, where he met Maria Gutierrez, a fellow employee. They married in 1972 and purchased a home on the 2600 block of South Kolin Avenue.

Friday would’ve been their 49th anniversary.

Marie and Raúl Montes.

Provided

“One thing he taught me and my brothers was work ethic,” Jose Montes said. “Work as hard as you can, and nothing is unreachable. Everything is within reach as long as you put your heart into it.”

Mr. Montes launched a block club in the late 1970s to organize and bring resources into his neighborhood, after seeing how Little Village looked compared to more affluent neighborhoods. He wanted to change that.

As block club president, he organized his neighbors to lay sod and install light fixtures outside neighbors’ homes — and he was always seen cleaning the streets.

Through the block club he met labor leader Rudy Lozano and Jesus “Chuy” Garcia, who both lived nearby. Garcia’s political career included stints on the Chicago City Council and Cook County Board; he’s now a congressman.

“Raúl created a block club in our neighborhood that worked to improve and beautify homes, backyards and streets. They installed lamps in their front lawns, planted sod in parkways, and established block watches and activities for children and teens,” Garcia said, praising his friend’s “deep involvement in community life.”

When Garcia was elected to the City Council, he made Mr. Montes a precinct captain. In that role, Garcia said, Mr. Montes was “effective and loved” working tirelessly to get people out to vote.

Mr. Montes, Lozano and Garcia would talk about what they could do to improve the community around them which ultimately led them to the so-called Black and Brown coalition movement that helped elect Mayor Harold Washington.

“My dad started helping out Harold Washington in the early ’80s and he did so because he wanted to help out his community and somehow bring resources in,” Jose Montes said. “He told me numerous times when he started helping out Washington, Chuy and Rudy that he never wanted anything in return other than to clean up his block.”

That block also was famous for its parties.

Raúl Montes singing at a family gathering.

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“My dad was very instrumental with the block parties and they were known as the best block parties in the city because he would always have live entertainment,” Jose Montes said. “He would have live mariachi and norteño bands. Mostly because he was an avid fan of mariachi music.”

Jose Montes said his father loved to sing, eventually taking over the microphone at any party.

Working with Chicago progressive leaders did bring countless memories, Jose Montes said, like when Washington and Garcia visited their home in early 1986 and brought along a guest — Richard Dent, the Chicago Bears’ defensive end and, by then, a Super Bowl champion.

After leaving Western Electric in 1983, Mr. Montes held several city jobs, eventually serving as 22nd Ward superintendent for the Department of Streets and Sanitation. He was known for driving his city-issued truck up and down the streets and alleys, often stopping to chat with neighbors about problems they had that he might be able to fix.

“My dad would leave home at 6 a.m. and sometimes be gone until 9 p.m. at night because he would go after work and drive around the neighborhood and report on lights out or trees that needed to be cut,” Jose Montes said. “He would basically spend the night going around the 22nd Ward and asking people what they needed help with.”

Raúl Montes (foreground) with (to his left), former Mayor Harold Washington, U.S. Rep. Jesus “Chuy” Garcia and Richard Dent, the Chicago Bears’ Hall of Fame defensive end.

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He retired in 2010, but people still approached him with problems.

“Even in retirement, Raúl didn’t sit still. He and Maria enjoyed traveling, spending time with their children and grandchildren, and of course, having big parties,” Garcia said. “He also enjoyed helping at the corner grocery store or restaurant to stay busy and catch up on what was going on in the neighborhood, in Chicago politics, and in Mexico.”

Mr. Montes also mentored up-and-coming leaders in Little Village, like Michael Rodriguez, the current 22nd Ward alderman. Rodriguez met Mr. Montes shortly after graduating college in 2000.

“He leaves behind a legacy of service,” Rodriguez said. “He was one of the main people that taught me to work hard, remember where you come from and the importance of giving back.”

Mr. Montes, he said, was simply from a different generation of people who believed you put in an honest day of work for an honest day of pay.

“He leaves a major void in Little Village,” Rodriguez said. “He was a straight arrow guy, a family man, a God-fearing man from another era. He will be missed.”

A wake is planned Saturday, 3 p.m. to 9 p.m., at Hann Funeral Home, 8230 S. Harlem Ave. in Bridgeview. Survivors include his wife, Maria; sons Jose, Raúl Jr. and Miguel; and three grandchildren.

Raúl Montes (right) and his Department of Streets and Sanitation truck were a familiar sight in his Little Village neighborhood.

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January 30, 2021 at 07:53AM
https://chicago.suntimes.com/2021/1/29/22256567/raul-montes-obituary-little-village-22nd-ward-block-club-kolin-avenue

Raúl Montes, Little Village community leader, dead of coronavirus at 72 - Chicago Sun-Times

https://news.google.com/search?q=little&hl=en-US&gl=US&ceid=US:en