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- E-Bay Gets a Lift from Meta
E-Bay Gets a Lift from Meta
& TikTok pushes users to Lemon8
E-Bay and Meta’s Strategic Alliance
eBay and Meta announced a groundbreaking partnership to test eBay listings on Facebook Marketplace, a platform with over a billion monthly visitors. The deal, seen as a win for eBay, sent its stock soaring 10% to a three-year high, adding to its strong 2024 performance with a 42% annual gain. For Meta, the move could help address antitrust scrutiny, including an $821 million fine from the European Commission last year for tying Marketplace to Facebook's core app.
eBay’s Comeback through Recommerce
Source: FactSet
eBay once veered into Amazon’s lane, focusing on brand-new, fixed-price items — an experiment that eventually fizzled as Amazon’s sprawling warehouses and lightning-fast delivery proved unbeatable. That’s why four years ago, eBay stopped trying to out-Amazon Amazon, returning to its roots as a marketplace for used (and rare) goods and focusing once again on “recommerce” (pre-owned, refurbished goods and collectibles), which has proved successful so far. Now, thanks to Meta, now eBay has a chance to piggyback on their platforms
Lemon8 is Gaining Popularity Amid TikTok Ban
This week marks a pivotal moment for ByteDance as its representatives make urgent appeals to the Supreme Court in a bid to prevent the impending US ban on TikTok. The ban, set to take effect on January 19 unless ByteDance sells the app to an American company or intervention occurs, stems from bipartisan safety concerns over user data. With over 170 million US users, a ban wouldn’t erase TikTok overnight but would block new downloads and updates, rendering the app unusable over time.
Meanwhile, TikTok users are flocking to ByteDance's alternative app, Lemon8, which saw over 2.3 million US visitors last month, partly fueled by paid promotions from creators. However, Lemon8 may not offer a safe haven — the legislation applies to all ByteDance-owned properties, potentially placing the app’s future in jeopardy. As public support for the ban wanes, ByteDance will be forced to sell TikTok to an American company, with reports emerging that Chinese Officials might be considering selling the U.S. operations of the business to Elon Musk
Hershey’s Seeks Special Approval to buy over 90,000 Metric Tons of Cocoa
Hershey Co. is seeking permission from the Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) to purchase over 90,000 metric tons of cocoa—more than nine times the current exchange limit—through ICE Futures US. This rare request comes as global cocoa shortages, caused by crop diseases and poor weather in major producers like Ivory Coast and Ghana, have pushed prices to record highs. Hershey, which is already bracing for higher cocoa costs in 2025, saw its shares dip 3.4% on the news, while cocoa futures in New York fell 6.8%.
The amount of cocoa Hershey wants to buy is equivalent to roughly all of the beans currently in exchange warehouses that are certified or could be certified for delivery against futures contracts in New York. A larger position limit is likely to send the price of earlier-dated futures to a significant premium above the later-dated ones, disrupting the futures market. The scarcity has made it cheaper to source cocoa via the New York exchange rather than the physical market, causing certified stockpiles to plummet by over 70% since mid-2023. Hershey’s request, if granted, could disrupt the futures market by pushing earlier-dated contracts to a premium.