Elon Musk is no stranger to headlines, but his latest offer of free Starlink internet to Hurricane Helene victims has left many raising questions.

While SpaceX initially announced it would waive the $120 monthly subscription fee for the first month in affected areas, there’s a significant caveat – victims still need to buy Starlink hardware, which costs between $300 and $400, including taxes and shipping. This added cost feels like a slap for people already dealing with the hurricane’s devastation.

Don’t Miss:

The reaction on the ground has been a mix of gratitude and frustration. Reports from The Register highlighted the experience of a North Carolina resident, Kinney Baughman, who described the offer as a “bait and switch.”

Beyond the cost, there’s the issue of timing. Even if someone can scrape together the money for the hardware, delivery can take two to three weeks. By then, regular internet may already be back up and running, leaving many wondering if the purchase was necessary. After all, spending $400 on equipment that arrives after you’ve resolved your connectivity issues feels like pouring salt on the wound.

Trending: Studies show 50% of consumers think Financial Advisors cost much more than they do — to debunk this, this company provides matching for free and a complimentary first call with the matched advisor.

Then there’s the power problem. Many areas hit hardest by the hurricane are still without electricity, rendering a satellite dish useless until power is restored. It’s not just the money – the logistics of it all seem off.

Critics quickly point out that Elon Musk, whose fortune is estimated at $260 billion according to Bloomberg, could have offered a more immediate, practical solution. Instead, as some have argued, this offer looks suspiciously like a marketing move disguised as charity.

See Also: How do billionaires pay less in income tax than you? Tax deferring is their number one strategy.

And the controversy doesn’t stop there. Musk has recently faced criticism for political donations that have raised eyebrows. Reports show that he’s contributed tens of millions of dollars to far-right causes, including America First Legal, a group associated with former Trump advisor Stephen Miller.

Still, for some, the Starlink service is a game-changer. Satellite internet could be a lifeline in remote areas where infrastructure recovery is slow. It’s easy to see the appeal – connecting with emergency services, contacting family or getting reliable updates could be worth the upfront cost, even if it stings a little.

Story continues

Read Next:

Up Next: Transform your trading with Benzinga Edge’s one-of-a-kind market trade ideas and tools. Click now to access unique insights that can set you ahead in today’s competitive market.

Get the latest stock analysis from Benzinga?

This article Elon Musk’s $260 Billion Empire Will Now Charge Helene Victims $400 For Internet – Are We Seeing Exploitation At Its Worst? originally appeared on Benzinga.com

© 2024 Benzinga.com. Benzinga does not provide investment advice. All rights reserved.

HONG KONG (AP) — Asian stocks were mixed on Friday as Chinese markets declined as investors await a key briefing about the details of the upcoming stimulus plan this weekend.

U.S. futures rose while oil prices were lower.

Chinese stocks fell in morning trading on Friday. The Shanghai Composite lost 1.6% to 3,249.14, and the CSI 300 Index, which tracks the top 300 stocks traded in the Shanghai and Shenzhen markets, gave up 1.9%.

Hong Kong markets were closed Friday for a public holiday. On Tuesday, the index dropped more than 9%, marking its worst loss since the 2008 global financial crisis.

All market attention was on a briefing China’s Ministry of Finance has scheduled for tomorrow, where it is expected to unveil long-anticipated fiscal stimulus plans. Earlier this week, details of economic stimulus plans from Beijing officials disappointed the markets, as many had hoped that the new fiscal policies would follow the steps of the previous announcements made in late September aimed at reviving the struggling property market and boosting economic growth.

Elsewhere, South Korea’s central bank cut its benchmark interest rate by 25 basis points to 3.25% on Friday, signaling a shift to an easing cycle intended to stimulate economic growth. This is the Bank of Korea’s first rate cut since 2020, which comes after a contraction in gross domestic product in the second quarter, along with an inflation rate in September that fell below the central bank’s target of 2%.

The Kospi in Seoul added 0.4% to 2,610.64.

Australia’s S&P/ASX 200 dipped 0.1% to 8,218.40.

On Thursday, U.S. stocks edged back from earlier records after reports showed inflation was a touch warmer last month than expected and more workers filed for unemployment benefits last week.

The S&P 500 slipped 0.2% to 5,780.05, and the Dow Jones Industrial Average dipped 0.1% to 42,454.12 after setting an all-time high the day before. The Nasdaq composite edged down by 0.1% to 18,282.05.

Stocks had stormed to records in large part on excitement about easing interest rates, now that the Federal Reserve is cutting them as it widens its focus to include keeping the economy humming instead of just fighting high inflation.

Thursday’s report showed inflation slowing to 2.4% in September from 2.5% in August, according to the consumer price index, but economists were expecting an even sharper slowdown to 2.3%. And after ignoring the swings for food, gasoline and other energy prices, underlying trends that economists say can be a better predictor for where inflation is heading were a touch hotter than expected.

Story continues

At the same time, a separate report showed 258,000 U.S. workers filed for unemployment benefits last week. That number is relatively low compared with history, but it was a sharper acceleration than economists expected. Hurricane Helene and a strike by workers at Boeing may have helped make the number look worse.

In the bond market, Treasury yields rose immediately after the release of the economic data, only to then swing up and down as traders tried to handicap what it would all mean for the Fed.

The yield on the 10-year Treasury held at 4.07%, the level it was at late Wednesday. The two-year Treasury yield, which more closely tracks expectations for the Fed, fell to 3.96% from 4.02% late Wednesday.

In other dealings, U.S. benchmark crude oil lost 19 cents to $75.66 per barrel. Brent crude, the international standard, declined 27 cents to $79.13 per barrel.

The dollar rose to 148.69 Japanese yen from 148.51 yen. The euro cost $1.0942, up from $1.0936.

___

AP Business Writer Stan Choe contributed.

A look at the day ahead in European and global markets from Tom Westbrook

Friday’s session brought a cautious mood to the markets, ahead of a smattering of data and an uncomfortable weekend.

China’s finance minister has called a fiscal policy briefing for Saturday against a backdrop of high expectations and jittery trade. Investors and, as of Thursday, Swedish furniture shop IKEA want fiscal stimulus to reinvigorate the economy.

Markets are expecting Beijing to announce 2 trillion to 3 trillion yuan ($280-$420 billion) in new spending, and worries about whether it will deliver – after a similar disappointment from policymakers’ briefing early this week – had Chinese equities falling on Friday.

On the geopolitical front, Israel is mulling its response to an Iranian missile attack, and a retaliatory strike on oil or military targets would likely draw a sharp reaction in financial markets.

Investors in Asia were taking chips off the table.

Chinese stocks are set for a weekly drop as follow-up details on promises to support the economy have so far underwhelmed.

Hong Kong markets were closed for a holiday on Friday, leaving the Hang Seng nursing its largest weekly drop in two years as investors hit pause on one of its sharpest ever rallies. Gold was creeping higher.

British monthly GDP data is due in the European session and, while it is hard to really gauge growth from monthly figures, signs of strength in the services sector may have investors dialling back expectations for interest rate cuts.

Markets price about a 3/4 chance of a 25 basis point rate cut in November, while opinions at the Bank of England itself are also divided.

Rate cuts should come gradually, BoE chief economist Huw Pill told the Institute of Chartered Accountants in England and Wales last week, a day after Governor Andrew Bailey was quoted in the Guardian saying the central bank could move aggressively.

Among U.S. earnings, J.P. Morgan, BNY and Wells Fargo are due before the open. Tesla shares may react to the long-awaited showcase of an autonomous taxi in Los Angeles, which came with fanfare but few details on timing. Production is not set to begin until 2026.

U.S. producer prices data is also due and will frame expectations for the Federal Reserve’s preferred PCE measure out later in the month. Slightly stronger-than-expected inflation in September has, for now, knocked out market expectations of anything more than a 25 bp interest rate cut at the Fed’s November meeting.

Key developments that could influence markets on Friday:

– British monthly GDP

Story continues

– U.S. PPI

– J.P. Morgan, Wells Fargo earnings

(By Tom Westbrook; Editing by Edmund Klamann)

(Bloomberg) — Toronto-Dominion Bank will pay about $3 billion in penalties and face restrictions on its US growth in a settlement with regulators over its failure to catch money laundering, the Wall Street Journal reported.

Most Read from Bloomberg

Regulators are likely to announce a settlement with the Canadian bank on Thursday, though that timing may change, a person familiar with the matter told Bloomberg, asking not to be named discussing confidential information. The bank said it plans to hold a conference call and will confirm the time later.

The Office of the Comptroller of the Currency is expected to impose a cap on Toronto-Dominion’s US retail banking assets as part of the agreement, the Journal said, citing people familiar with the matter it didn’t identify.

The size of the financial penalty doesn’t come as a surprise because Toronto-Dominion has already set aside $3 billion in provisions for the settlement. But an asset cap seems certain to prevent the bank from carrying on the growth-by-acquisition strategy it has followed in US retail banking for much of the past two decades. Wells Fargo & Co. has been under similar regulatory limits on the size of its balance sheet for several years.

Canada’s second-largest bank has faced an array of legal challenges south of the border, including probes by the OCC, the Department of Justice and the Federal Reserve into alleged failures to catch money laundering and other financial crimes at several branches in New York, New Jersey and Florida.

The investigations have had a wide-ranging impact on the bank, including marring the end of Chief Executive Officer Bharat Masrani’s decade-long tenure. He took responsibility for the anti-money-laundering challenges when Toronto-Dominion announced his retirement last month. Raymond Chun, who currently leads its Canadian division, will take the top job on April 10.

Toronto-Dominion was also forced to scrap its $13.4 billion deal to acquire US regional bank First Horizon Corp. last year after saying it couldn’t get timely regulatory approvals.

Spokespeople for the bank and the OCC weren’t immediately available for comment Wednesday, while a representative for the Federal Reserve declined to comment.

The Canadian bank has more than 10 million US customers and almost 1,200 branches concentrated along the East Coast, and its American retail operations account for about a quarter of its revenue. But there have been persistent questions about whether it will be able to continue to expand that business.

Story continues

Toronto-Dominion recently reached a deal with US prosecutors and regulators to pay more than $20 million to resolve a Treasuries spoofing case and, separately, agreed to pay almost $28 million in fines and restitution for sharing inaccurate US customer data with consumer reporting companies.

–With assistance from Russell Ward and Katanga Johnson.

(Updates with information on conference call in second paragraph.)

Most Read from Bloomberg Businessweek

©2024 Bloomberg L.P.