Tron is embarking on an ambitious journey to transform the Bitcoin ecosystem, as announced by its founder, Justin Sun. Through the integration of Bitcoin Layer two solutions, Tron seeks to decentralize and interconnect a variety of token types, including major stablecoins, with the Bitcoin network. Justin Sun’s Outlines Vision to Merge Tron and Bitcoin Networks […]
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Sun Country Airlines Holdings (SNCY 7.71%) outperformed expectations in the final three months of 2023, and its stock is taking flight as a result. Shares of Sun Country opened up more than 12% on Thursday and remain up 6% as of 12:30 p.m. ET.
Sun Country operates a fleet of 54 aircraft engaged in scheduled service, charter flights, and cargo. The company has relationships with Amazon for cargo and with collegiate and pro sports teams, as well as the U.S. government, for charter, helping it to maintain one of the more diverse revenue mixes in the business.
In the fourth quarter, that mix paid off. Sun Country earned $0.12 per share, topping the $0.05 per-share estimate despite revenue that, at $245.5 million, was a little light compared to expectations.
Costs were up 7.7% year over year, including higher wages, but the airline operated more flights than a year ago and was therefore able to bring down its cost per available seat mile, a common industry metric, by about 2.2%. Charter revenue grew by 8.8% from last year, and cargo sales were up 3.6%.
“We are excited that Sun Country’s uniquely diversified business model, and the efforts of our outstanding employees, produced another strong quarter,” CEO Jude Bricker said in a statement. “Additionally, we continue to maintain solid cost control.”
The airline is forecasting year-over-year revenue growth of between 5% and 9% in the current quarter, and operating income margin flat to up slightly as higher wages are at least partially offset by lower fuel costs. Salaries, wages, and benefits grew 20.2% in 2023, while maintenance expense increased 30% in part due to Sun Country’s growth, so investors are likely to be satisfied with flat margins.
The issue for Sun Country, and the rest of the airline industry, is so much of what happens in 2024 is out of their control. A spike in fuel costs or a falloff in demand could eat into the best-laid plans.
It’s that uncertainty that likely has Sun Country’s early gains fading as the day goes on. Investors considering buying in would be getting a well-run airline, but the volatility of this business should not be underestimated.
John Mackey, former CEO of Whole Foods Market, an Amazon subsidiary, is a member of The Motley Fool’s board of directors. Lou Whiteman has positions in Amazon. The Motley Fool has positions in and recommends Amazon. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy.
On Thursday night, Algorand CEO Staci Warden’s X Account (formerly known as Twitter) was compromised. Since then, the crypto community and the hacker have been having a back-and-forth conversation.
Algorand Foundation’s X account was the first to inform about the hack and advised users to be careful when interacting with the compromised account or any link promoted by it. The hacker then took Staci Warden’s compromised account to start a series of controversial posts and replies.
The hacker called Algorand’s community “poor” in the initial post, later suggesting it would be better for the community if they “sold ALGO and instead bought Ether.” Both posts have amassed a combined total of 150,000 views and, as it’s worth noting, contain racial slurs.
Additionally, the hacker offered a fake airdrop giveaway, claiming they would send “1 $ETH for every % $ALGO drops this week.” While following some users’ petitions, the hacker shared music and changed the account’s bio, claiming that Warden had exited Algorand Foundation and had become a “semi-professional pole dancer.”
Staci Warden's X Account biography was changed by the hacker. Source: X
Most notably, a fake story was shared in the account narrating a call with Tron founder Justin Sun, referred to as “his excellency” by the hacker. In the fake story, Sun promised to take Algorand to “new heights” under the condition that Algorand’s CEO gave total control over the network and allowed Sun to mint any token to back TRUE USD (TUSD).
A sarcastic comment insinuating that Sun’s projects will be the reason behind “the next major financial collapse in crypto” closed the story.
Just when I thought it was all over for Algorand — my phone rang — it was his excellency. Justin told me that he would boost Algorand to new heights by launching TUSD (TRUE USD) and VRUSD (VERY REAL USD) on Algorand, and all I had to do was agree to give him total control over… pic.twitter.com/Rr9K28uGwh
— staci.algo (@StaciW_DC) January 26, 2024
The original announcement about the hack and the different posts shared on the compromised account ignited comments from the crypto community. Most users took the incident with humor, while others have taken the opportunity to express their discontent with the CEO.
One user claimed that Algorand CEO “qualifies to be an intern” at the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), clearly referencing the recent hack to the SEC’s X account suffered and resulted in a false report about the approval of spot Bitcoin ETFs.
Similarly, known crypto sleuth ZachXBT shared his thoughts about the hack, “Unpopular opinion: Staci hacker would make a better CEO for Algorand Foundation.” To which the hacker jokingly replied, “Hey bro, I just send you $10,000. Keep up the good work for this industry, buy your mom some flowers, and take your father out for a nice dinner,” referencing a previous X post informing the crypto detective of a donation made about a week ago.
No further posts have been shared in the last hours, but the account appears to still be under the hacker’s control, as none of the posts have been taken down, and there’s no official statement about the account’s recovery.
As reported by NewsBTC, ALGO outperformed the general crypto market growth in Q4 2023, experiencing an increase in market capitalization, transaction volume, revenue, and user adoption. ALGO’s prince trades at $0.1652, a 3.18% surge in the last 24 hours.
ALGO is trading at $0.1652 in the hourly chart. Source: ALGOUSDT on TradingView.com
Featured image from Unsplash.com. Chart from TradingView.com
Disclaimer: The article is provided for educational purposes only. It does not represent the opinions of NewsBTC on whether to buy, sell or hold any investments and naturally investing carries risks. You are advised to conduct your own research before making any investment decisions. Use information provided on this website entirely at your own risk.
Circle has refuted allegations linking it to terrorist funding and denies affiliation with crypto entrepreneur Justin Sun or his associated companies, including Tron (TRX) and HTX (formerly Huobi).
In a letter addressed to Senators Sherrod Brown and Elizabeth Warren, Circle’s Chief Strategy Officer and Head of Global Policy, Dante Disparte, stated that the Campaign for Accountability’s (CfA) claims that the stablecoin company’s USDC was involved in crypto terror financing were “replete with errors, omissions, and misleading information.”
Circle explicitly stated that it does not bank Sun and his companies, including HTX and Tron Foundation.
The USDC stablecoin issuer clarified that it had terminated all accounts associated with Sun as far back as February despite the U.S. government’s lack of specific designation for them.
Circle’s stance follows recent reports that the Tron blockchain was increasingly being used to finance terrorist activities and organizations.
However, Sun defended the blockchain saying it has a similar decentralized structure to Bitcoin and Ethereum. He added that the network was “committed to combating terrorist financing by integrating various analysis projects and partners .”
Circle further argued that it does not support or finance illicit actors like Hamas, directly or indirectly, and highlighted its compliance with the necessary financial laws.
“Circle is subject to multiple regulatory regimes – including the Bank Secrecy Act (BSA) and applicable laws focused on anti-money laundering and countering the financing of terrorism – and has forcefully advocated for a comprehensive federal prudential regulatory regime in the United States,” Disparte wrote.
Disparte pointed out the firm’s efforts to combat illicit finance by collaborating with regulators in various countries, including the U.S. and Israel, to prevent any unlawful use of its stablecoin.
Disparte noted that Circle has also led efforts for a comprehensive federal framework to govern stablecoins. He added:
“Circle has consistently called for federal prudential regulation of stablecoins to ensure that every issuer must meet the highest reserving, redemption, disclosure, liquidity, and operational risk management standards”