CNBC.com's MacKenzie Sigalos brings you the day's top business news headlines. On today's show, the After Hours team dives into Nintendo's eye-popping profits, and explores the effect of the pandemic on the future of gaming. Plus, CNBC's Robert Frank explains Senator Bernie Sanders' latest wealth tax proposal on billionaires.
Nintendo just reported a wild 428% surge in profits thanks to the lockdown gaming boom
Nintendo's operating profits skyrocketed 428% in the fiscal first quarter, the company said Thursday, a wild jump that reflects just how much the video game industry has benefited from the coronavirus pandemic.
The Japanese gaming giant reported operating profit of 144.7 billion yen ($1.4 billion) in the April-June quarter, smashing analyst expectations and representing a massive climb from the 27.4 billion yen it posted in the year-ago quarter.
Sen. Sanders proposes one-time tax that would cost Bezos $42.8 billion, Musk $27.5 billion
Top tech leaders and other billionaires would be forced to hand over billions of dollars in wealth they've gained during the coronavirus pandemic under a new bill introduced by Sens. Bernie Sanders, I-Vt., Ed Markey D-Mass., and Kirsten Gillibrand D-N.Y.
The "Make Billionaires Pay Act" would impose a one-time 60% tax on wealth gains made by billionaires between March 18, 2020 and Jan. 1, 2021. The funds would be used to pay for out-of-pocket healthcare expenses for all Americans for a year. As of Aug. 5, the bill would tax $731 billion in wealth accumulated by 467 billionaires since March 18, according to a press release. If passed, the bill would tax billionaires on wealth accumulated through Jan. 1, however.
Uber revenue drops 29% but delivery bookings double
During the period ending June 30, 2020, the coronavirus pandemic continued to limit people's travel and commuting, and to weigh heavily on Uber's core ride-hailing business, sending gross bookings down 73% in constant currency measurements. The pandemic did drive demand for Uber's food delivery business, however, and bookings were up 113% there.
