Month: February 2018

First National Bank of Omaha said it will stop issuing an NRA-branded Visa card as the national debate over guns reaches a fever pitch.

“Customer feedback has caused us to review our relationship with the NRA. As a result, First National Bank of Omaha will not renew its contract with the National Rifle Association to issue the NRA Visa Card,” spokesperson Kevin Langin said in a statement Thursday. The bank declined further comment.

First National Bank of Omaha had been taking heat on social media due to its relationship with the National Rifle Association. Some users said they would move their business because it offered the branded Visa card.

Visa stressed in a statement that it has no “contractual or financial relationship with the NRA,” adding that financial institutions decide which organizations to partner with on Visa co-branded cards.

“FNBO has informed us of its intention not to renew the NRA co-branded card program when its agreement with the NRA expires,” Visa said. “We will support the issuer’s efforts to wind down the portfolio smoothly.”

Controversy surrounding guns and gun violence has reached new heights since another mass shooting last week. Seventeen people were killed at a high school in Parkland, Florida. Since then, survivors of the shooting have joined with students across the country to press for tougher gun laws.

It’s not just First National Bank of Omaha that’s being pressured to end its relationship with the country’s most powerful gun lobby.

Lists of companies that offer discounts to NRA members have been circulating on Twitter (TWTR) and Facebook (FB). Activists say they want to know why these businesses won’t cut ties with the NRA.

Among those listed: The company that owns Enterprise, Alamo and National Car rental services, and FedEx (FDX). Both advertise discounts to NRA members.

A spokesperson for Enterprise Holdings said the company had “ended the discount program, effective March 26,” but did not answer CNNMoney’s inquiries about when and why the program was terminated. FedEx declined to comment.

Using the hashtag #StopNRAmazon, Twitter users are also threatening to stop buying products on Amazon (AMZN), or cancel their Prime memberships, if the platform doesn’t stop carrying NRATV on its streaming service. The channel is a forum for pro-gun conservatives like Dana Loesch, a spokeswoman for the National Rifle Association.

NRATV host Grant Stinchfield dismissed the Twitter calls as an attempt to squash the First and Second Amendment.

“I would hope that Amazon realizes, and these knuckleheads of social media realize, that the five million NRA members are the most patriotic and most pro-American members of our society,” Stinchfield said to CNNMoney. “We have every right to be on Amazon.”

Amazon did not immediately return requests for comment.

— CNNMoney’s Aaron Smith contributed reporting.

CNNMoney (New York) First published February 22, 2018: 8:00 PM ET

Quest’s Profitable Moment

How on earth does a fast food restaurant that specializes in chicken run out of … chicken?

This week KFC temporarily closed up to 800 stores in the UK and Ireland after a failure in its supply chain for chicken.

KFC had recently switched delivery and logistics suppliers from Bidvest Logistics to DHL (DPW). It was a massive win for DHL: Britain is KFC’s largest market in Europe, and one of its top five globally. For its part, DHL promised to set “a new benchmark for delivering fresh products to KFC.”

A new benchmark was achieved — just not the one either company anticipated. It all fell apart. (The service, not the chicken.)

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There’s a simplicity to this story that makes it fascinating. No doubt dozens of people were involved in this massive transfer of contract. And no doubt there is a sophisticated explanation for the “operational issues” that DHL cited. 

Yet it still went spectacularly wrong. This is a sharp reminder to guard against hubris. If it can go wrong, it will.

I guess we finally know why the chicken crossed the road: Because KFC was closed. 

All signs point to more Fed rate hikes in 2018

The Fed is increasingly optimistic about U.S. economic growth this year. That means more rate hikes are on the way. For now, the central bank has penciled in three rate hikes, and two more in 2019. But investors will be closely watching Fed Chairman Jerome Powell’s first appearance on Capitol Hill next week and the Fed’s March meeting for clues about whether even faster interest-rate hikes are in the works.

— Danielle Wiener-Bronner

Venezuela tries cryptocurrency to help its collapsing economy

This week the leaders of crisis-ridden Venezuela began selling the world’s first sovereign cryptocurrency, the petro. It’s supposedly backed by Venezuela’s vast oil reserves, although petro investors don’t get an ownership stake in the state-run oil company or the oil itself. The United States has warned investors that buying the petro could violate sanctions. And you can’t buy it with Venezuela’s actual currency, the bolivar. Some crypto experts say the petro is innovative but violates the unregulated ethos of cryptocurrencies. And mainstream investors and economists say it won’t solve Venezuela’s mounting problems.

-— Patrick Gillespie

British unemployment rises for first time since Brexit

Unemployment rose in Britain for the first time since the 2016 Brexit referendum. The rise in the jobless rate surprised economists, and the pound dropped as investors wondered whether the data could delay the next increase in interest rates. Unemployment remains low, and British companies are still creating jobs, but inflation is rising faster than wages. Economists have blamed the drop in real wages on Britain’s decision to leave the EU.

— Nathaniel Meyersohn

Global thirst for oil may finally be quenched

Just a decade ago, “peak oil” was a legitimate fear — the limit on how much oil could be pumped out of the ground. Now talk of peak oil is back, but it’s about demand, not supply. BP thinks the global appetite for crude is likely to “plateau” during the late 2030s. Why? Mostly because of the transformation of the auto industry, oil’s No. 1 customer. BP predicts the number of electric vehicles on the road will spike to 320 million by 2040, up from just 2 million in 2016.

— Matt Egan

Trump is picking a fight with America’s biggest creditor

As President Trump considers steep tariffs on steel and aluminum, he might want to consider an unpleasant side effect — alienating China, the biggest foreign buyer of American debt. Restricting Chinese imports would leave China with fewer dollars to plow back into the Treasury bonds that help pay for the U.S. government. Bond rates are already going up, raising borrowing costs for everybody. If China loses its appetite, that won’t help.

— Erin McClam

Quick takes

General Electric isn’t planning a hasty divorce from oil services giant Baker Hughes after all.

More than a year into Trump’s presidency, the coal industry is deeply pessimistic about a comeback.

Walmart found out that competing head-to-head with Amazon isn’t quite as easy as it thought.

Albertsons is buying the part of Rite Aid that Walgreens didn’t scoop up to help it keep pace with Amazon and Walmart.

What’s next

New Fed chairman’s first appearance on Capitol Hill: Jerome Powell will testify before the House Financial Services Committee on Tuesday and the Senate Banking Committee on Thursday. Congress is sure to have questions about the economy and the Fed’s plans for interest rates.

Mobile World Congress kicks off: The smartphone and mobile gadget extravaganza begins Monday in Barcelona. Just about every smartphone company not named Apple (AAPL) will be there.

Lots of retail earnings: Macy’s (M), Lowe’s (LOW), TJX (TJX) and L Brands (LB) all report earnings next week. We’ll get a glimpse at how the holidays treated them.

— This story has been updated to reflect a change in the date of Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell’s scheduled testimony to the House Financial Services Committee.

CNNMoney (New York) First published February 23, 2018: 12:03 AM ET

Kylie Jenner is not happy about Snapchat’s new redesign.

Snap (SNAP) stock closed down 6% on Thursday after the reality TV star said she is no longer using the app. The plunge wiped about $1.3 billion off the company’s market value.

Jenner has been one of Snapchat’s most influential users.

“Sooo does anyone else not open Snapchat anymore? Or is it just me… ugh this is so sad,” Jenner tweeted on Wednesday.

In another tweet she said, “Still love you tho snap … my first love.”

Related: Snapchat responds to users critical of redesign: ‘We hear you’

Snapchat has been under fire from users who have criticized the app’s new layout for being too confusing to navigate. Over 1.2 million people have signed a petition on Change.org asking Snapchat to remove the redesign.

Snap did not respond to a request for comment.

Jenner wields extraordinary influence on the platform. Her celebrity adds fuel to the backlash surrounding the app’s major redesign, according to Daniel Ives, chief strategy officer and head of technology research at GBH Insights.

“We believe this is an overreaction as Wall Street is hypersensitive to the app redesign,” he told CNN. “With roughly 25 million followers, [Jenner] carries a loud mouthpiece that speaks to today’s knee jerk reaction in shares.”

Related: Snap CEO made $638 million last year

Ives believes the update was necessary to expand Snapchat’s user base. He said the previous app design was confusing, and the format shunned older users and advertisers.

“Snap is doing the right strategic moves but needs to manage this process well,” he said.

Related: Snapchat faces backlash after app redesign

Earlier this week, Snapchat announced an update aimed at making it easier for users to view content they want to see.

“We hear you, and appreciate that you took the time to let us know how you feel. We completely understand the new Snapchat has felt uncomfortable for many,” the company wrote on Change.org, in response to the petition.

Snapchat said it will soon roll out tabs in the app’s Friends and Discover sections to make it easier for users to find Stories, which are photos and videos shared by users that disappear after 24 hours.

Jenner isn’t the only celebrity who has been vocal about disliking the redesign.

Earlier this month, model Chrissy Teigen tweeted: “How many people have to hate an update for it to be reconsidered?”

— Daniel Shane contributed to this report.

CNNMoney (New York) First published February 22, 2018: 1:52 PM ET