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: That college sports association just agreed to a $2.8 billion class-action settlement that, if approved by a judge in California, would pay student athletes after a century of deeming them amateurs. and its member institutions allowing athletes to make money from sports programs that have made millions for their schools. Starting in the fall of 2025, schools could have about $20 million a year to pay their student athletes. payments, giving student athletes a big stream of revenue. And in March, the Dartmouth men’s basketball team voted to unionize, adding potentially more pressure on universities to pay athletes.

Persons: It’s Organizations: Dartmouth men’s Locations: California, Southeastern, Atlantic Coast ,

The Haley rationale for backing TrumpAfter months of speculation, Nikki Haley said — in her first appearance since dropping out of the Republican presidential primary — that she would vote for Donald Trump, the man against whom she waged a sometimes scathing campaign. But it may provide cover to prominent donors like Ken Griffin who in recent weeks has suggested that he might come in from the cold and donate to Trump. Deep-pocketed Republicans flocked to Haley during the primary. “I think she is just what we need right now,” Langone said on Fox News. “What Trump put this country through the last three months of his presidency was disgraceful.”But donors are rethinking their aversion to Trump, who handily beat Haley and other rivals and is now leading President Biden in some polls.

Persons: Haley, Nikki Haley, —, Donald Trump, Ken Griffin, Griffin, Paul Singer, Henry Kravis, Barry Sternlicht, Cliff Asness, Stanley Druckenmiller, Ken Langone, Reid Hoffman, wasn’t Trump, Nikki, ” Sternlicht, ” Langone, Trump, Biden, White, Israel Organizations: Trump, Republican, PAC, Elliott Management, KKR, Starwood Capital, AQR Capital Management, Democratic, LinkedIn, Times, Fox News Locations: Gaza

All eyes on NvidiaDespite concerns about stubbornly high inflation, elevated interest rates and ballooning U.S. debt, the S&P 500 is trading at a record on Wednesday, having soared 27 percent over the past year. Among the factors driving the rally, few are bigger than the boom in stocks tied to artificial intelligence — and the biggest of all of those is Nvidia. Investors have high hopes for Nvidia’s earnings on Wednesday. Expect a torrent of trading when the chip maker reports results for its fiscal first quarter after market close. A year ago, Nvidia’s stock jumped more than 24 percent after it posted knockout earnings.

Organizations: Nvidia, Investors

OpenAI’s Scarlett Johansson problemWhen OpenAI unveiled the latest version of ChatGPT last week, a chatbot that can listen to spoken questions and respond verbally, many users had one question: Is that Scarlett Johansson? It’s another sign of eroding trust in OpenAI, which has taken fire from creative industries and former employees. In her statement, Johansson shed more light on the matter:Last September, I received an offer from Sam Altman, who wanted to hire me to voice the current ChatGPT 4.0 system. Altman tried again two days before the ChatGPT product announcement, she added, but released the service before they could connect. Johansson — no stranger to waging war against big companies — suggested that she was ready to take legal action.

Persons: OpenAI’s Scarlett Johansson, OpenAI, Scarlett Johansson, ”, OpenAI —, ” Johansson, Sam Altman, Mira Murati, Johansson, Altman, Johansson —, — Locations: OpenAI

OpenAI’s fear factorThe tech world’s collective eyebrows rose last week when Ilya Sutskever, the OpenAI co-founder who briefly led a rebellion against Sam Altman, resigned as chief scientist. “Safety culture and processes have taken a backseat to shiny products,” Jan Leike, who resigned from OpenAI last week, wrote on the social network X. Along with Sutskever, Leike oversaw the company’s so-called superalignment team, which was tasked with making sure products didn’t become a threat to humanity. Sutskever said in his departing note that he was confident OpenAI would build artificial general intelligence — A.I. Leike spoke for many safety-first OpenAI employees, according to Vox.

Persons: Ilya Sutskever, Sam Altman, hadn’t, ” Jan Leike, Sutskever, Leike, —, Vox, Daniel Kokotajlo, Altman Organizations: OpenAI, C.E.O

No matter who wins the White House and control of Congress this autumn, one aspect of trade policy is likely to endure: Washington’s tough-on-China protectionist stance. But several trade experts predict that the America-first model of slapping tariffs on adversaries — as President Biden did this week — will backfire. Critics of tariffs and export restrictions say they not only will potentially exacerbate inflation and drag down economic growth, but are also likely to fail for a simpler reason: Chinese companies may see their businesses slowed down by the restrictions, but have found ways to beat them. As Alex Durante, an economist at the Tax Foundation, a nonpartisan think tank that works with policymakers in the United States and Europe, bluntly put it: “They don’t work.”Huawei has shown that companies can find workarounds. Last year, the Chinese telecom giant unveiled the Mate 60, a smartphone powered by a high-end semiconductor.

Persons: —, Biden, Alex Durante, ” Organizations: White, Tax Foundation, ” Huawei Locations: China, America, United States, Europe, Washington

Regulatory warsThe Supreme Court lifted the existential threat hanging over the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, rejecting a challenge to the agency’s funding. The decision could have huge consequences for a raft of conservative-led lawsuits involving administrative authority — but business groups and Republicans are vowing to fight on. A recap: Payday lenders had sued the C.F.P.B. over a rule that would limit the number of times they could withdraw money from a customer’s account for repayment. The companies and conservative groups argued that the practice wasn’t harmful, and said the way the regulator is funded — via annual allocations from the Fed’s profits rather than from Congress — was unconstitutional.

Persons: Congress — Organizations: Consumer Financial Protection, Congress

Inflation euphoria goes globalStocks in Asia and parts of Europe rose on Thursday as investors bet that new data showing inflation easing would finally persuade central bankers to lower interest rates from multidecade highs. Another test comes on Thursday when Walmart, a bellwether for U.S. consumer sentiment, reports quarterly results. The market moves follow Wednesday’s Consumer Price Index report, which came in better than expected. Inflation remains well above the Fed’s 2 percent target, but traders were encouraged by the results. The futures market now sees two Fed rate cuts this year, the first most likely coming in September.

Organizations: Walmart Locations: Asia, Europe

Behind a big shake-upA day after OpenAI announced major updates to its ChatGPT chatbot, the company said its chief scientist and co-founder was leaving. There were signs that Ilya Sutskever would quit, six months after he helped lead the rebellion that briefly ousted Sam Altman as OpenAI’s C.E.O. But it also raises questions about the future of a leading developer of generative A.I. “OpenAI would not exist without him and certainly was shaped by him,” Altman told The Times about Sutskever. But Sutskever’s presence at OpenAI may have become untenable.

Persons: OpenAI, Ilya Sutskever, Sam Altman, OpenAI’s, “ OpenAI, ” Altman, Altman, Elon Musk, Sutskever Organizations: Times

The restrictions build on Trump-era measures, and many are likely to appeal to voters in battleground states ahead of the election. But it’s less clear if they are enough to rebuild America’s industrial base in a global race with China to lead in the new economy. The new duties will apply to about $18 billion of annual Chinese imports, the Biden administration said. Biden is at pains to say that he’s being smarter than Trump on China. Trump imposed sweeping trade barriers and has vowed to impose more if he’s re-elected.

Persons: Biden, Donald Trump, Trump, he’s Organizations: China, Trump Locations: China, American, U.S

Wall Street is increasingly divided over whether the Fed will cut interest rates by Election Day. New inflation data out this week will go a long way toward settling that question, as polls show that President Biden is struggling to convince voters that he’s done a good job on the economy. A first-quarter uptick in inflation has forced the Fed to keep borrowing costs at a 23-year high. Economists see a slight improvement, forecasting that April’s Consumer Price Index report on Wednesday will show that inflation moderated slightly last month. (Economists will also be watching Tuesday’s Producer Price Index and retail sales data on Wednesday.)

Persons: Biden, he’s, Sarah House, ” Organizations: Fed Locations: Wells Fargo

At the Milken Institute’s Global Conference this week, a little-known risky financial tool became the subject of a hot debate among Wall Street titans. Many private equity firms have quietly begun mortgaging their investment funds, piling leverage upon leverage. In other words, they’re taking out loans against the businesses they’ve already taken out loans to buy. At a time when dealmakers are desperate to raise new cash after the boom of the pandemic era, this mechanism — known as a net asset value loan — is allowing them to do it overnight. firms are using the tool as they set out to raise their next funds, especially those confronting a hurdle during a slow period for dealmaking: They have yet to return cash to the limited partners they tapped for their last round.

Organizations: Milken Institute’s Global Conference, Wall Street titans

The “stretched” consumerBetter than expected quarterly earnings have helped propel the S&P 500 to within a whisker of a record high on Friday. But Wall Street and Washington are closely monitoring another worrying economic indicator: the struggling consumer. The split-screen view of the economy is becoming clearer as earnings season draws to a close. Mass-market brands, like the fast-food companies McDonald’s, KFC and Starbucks, have reported that a lot of customers are pulling back on spending as high inflation bites. This is “an economy of the haves and have-nots,” Michael Reid, an economist for RBC Capital Markets, told DealBook.

Persons: Biden, ” Michael Reid, DealBook Organizations: KFC, Starbucks, RBC Capital Markets Locations: Washington

Splitting the Paramount empireEver since Sony Pictures Entertainment and Apollo Global Management expressed interest in buying Paramount Global, a big question has loomed over the potential $26 billion deal: What would they do with the company? The answer: Break it up, write The Times’s Ben Mullin and DealBook’s Lauren Hirsch. Sony and Apollo would keep Paramount Pictures. Paramount Pictures would become part of a joint venture controlled by Sony, with Apollo taking a minority stake in the new entity that it could eventually sell to Sony or to another buyer. The venture would also keep Paramount’s library of films and TV shows, as well as the rights to characters like the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles.

Persons: Ben Mullin, DealBook’s Lauren Hirsch, “ Organizations: Sony Pictures Entertainment, Apollo Global Management, Paramount Global, Sony, Apollo, Paramount Pictures, Paramount

The company argues that the law violates the First Amendment by effectively killing an app in the U.S. that millions of Americans use to share their views. Another problem: a divestiture within 270 days is practically impossible, Sapna Maheshwari and David McCabe report for The Times. DealBook spoke with Maheshwari about the lawsuit filed yesterday and what happens next. Do legal experts think TikTok has a chance at winning? Alan Rozenshtein, an associate professor at the University of Minnesota Law School, says that a victory is possible based on the “very, very substantial First Amendment challenge” involved.

Persons: TikTok, Sapna Maheshwari, David McCabe, DealBook, Maheshwari, Alan Rozenshtein, ” Organizations: U.S, The Times, University of Minnesota Law School Locations: Washington, ByteDance, U.S

The numbers behind a big fundOn Wall Street, one mystery has been whispered about for months: How accurate is the valuation of Blackstone’s flagship real estate fund? The speculation has arisen because the fund, the $59 billion Blackstone Real Estate Income Trust — more commonly known as BREIT — has managed to keep an “appraised” value of its assets that far exceeds virtually every other real estate fund. Many rivals have fallen in value, some quite dramatically, in the face of high interest rates and a flagging property market. BREIT’s performance has floated above its competition, and it has boasted a 10.5 percent annual return since its 2017 debut. (Those appraisals help to determine a firm’s management fees: The higher the appraisal value, the higher the fees.)

Persons: —, Blackstone, DealBook’s Andrew Ross Sorkin, Michael de la Organizations: Blackstone Real Locations: Michael de la Merced

But there’s an overlooked set of winners as well: utilities and energy companies. The power demands of the huge data centers that underpin the A.I. Wall Street is taking notice — but the climate effect isn’t getting as much attention. Tech’s energy needs are coming into focus as investors get to grips with how much of an “energy hog” generative A.I. Analysts at Wells Fargo see the A.I.

Organizations: Microsoft Locations: Wells

☆ Berkshire Reports Drop in Profits but Formidable Cash Stockpile
▼ + stars: | 2024-05-04 | by ( Michael J. De La Merced | More About Michael J. De La Merced | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

Berkshire Hathaway on Saturday reported a sharp drop in first-quarter profits, driven largely by lower investment income, as the conglomerate’s chief executive, Warren E. Buffett, prepares to speak at its annual investor meeting. Those results belie an increase in operating earnings, which track the actual profits that Berkshire’s array of companies produce, and in Berkshire’s formidable cash hoard — which totaled nearly $189 billion as of March 31 — that points to the company’s robust health. The company’s latest results set a backdrop for the meeting in downtown Omaha, which will be the first for Berkshire since the death in November of Charles Munger, Mr. Buffett’s longtime business partner and alter ego, at age 99. For the first three months of the year, Berkshire reported $12.7 billion in earnings attributable to its shareholders, down 64 percent from the same time a year ago. Driving the drop was a steep fall in the paper value of Berkshire’s vast investment portfolio though Mr. Buffett has long warned shareholders to ignore fluctuations in the company’s stock holdings.

Persons: Berkshire Hathaway, Warren E, Buffett, Charles Munger, Buffett’s Organizations: Berkshire Locations: Omaha, Berkshire

Paramount’s proposed merger with Skydance has been the most tumultuous media deal in years. Now it has taken yet another turn after the exclusivity period for negotiations expired without an agreement in hand. Paramount shareholders grumbled that granting exclusivity was a mistake, and that the company should have engaged with Apollo instead. This week, the special committee told Skydance that it was letting the exclusivity period lapse. But it does allow Paramount to open up negotiations with Apollo and Sony Pictures Entertainment, which joined Apollo’s bid.

Persons: Paramount’s, Skydance, David Ellison — Organizations: Apollo Global Management, Paramount, Skydance, Apollo, Sony Pictures Entertainment

But this year’s event will be the first without Munger, who died in November at age 99 — and comes amid growing questions about Berkshire post-Buffett, who’s 93. Buffett will have a different crew answering questions alongside him on Saturday. Berkshire’s vice chairmen, Greg Abel and Ajit Jain, will be on hand for much of the day. Shareholders most likely will be focused on what Abel, Buffett’s appointed successor as C.E.O. In Buffett’s annual letter to investors, he noted challenges to Berkshire’s biggest businesses, including the BNSF railroad (falling shipment volumes) and its utility business (forest fires).

Persons: Warren Buffett, Charlie Munger, Munger, Buffett, Greg Abel, Ajit Jain, Abel, Buffett’s Organizations: Berkshire, Shareholders Locations: Berkshire, Omaha, Woodstock, America

ImageHERE’S WHAT’S HAPPENINGExxon Mobil strikes an agreement to win regulatory approval of its $60 billion megadeal. Elsewhere, shares in Shell were up after the producer reported $7.7 billion in adjusted quarterly earnings, beating analyst expectations. The U.S. imposes sanctions on Chinese companies over military support for Russia’s war effort. The Biden administration announced on Wednesday nearly 300 sanctions, including on more than a dozen Chinese businesses, aimed at disrupting Moscow’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine. The culprit: pressure on prices, amid growing competition from Eli Lilly’s Zepbound, supply constraints and scrutiny from lawmakers.

Persons: Scott Sheffield, Biden, Janet Yellen, Antony Blinken, Eli Lilly’s Zepbound, James Comer, Comer Organizations: Labor Department, Exxon Mobil, Natural Resources, Wall Street, Novo Nordisk, Republican, European Commission Locations: Shell, U.S, Ukraine, Danish, Kentucky, iRobot

A flicker of hope for the weed businessFor years, the dreams of the cannabis industry looked like they might go up in smoke, with the U.S. government classifying marijuana as a drug as dangerous as heroin. But the multibillion-dollar industry now has some hope that could change. The bet is that this will give the industry a new lease on life — though it shouldn’t expect big changes immediately. Shares in Tilray, a giant in the industry, jumped 39 percent on Tuesday, while those in Canopy Growth leaped nearly 79 percent. That’s welcome news for investors in both companies: Canopy Growth’s stock is down 97 percent over the past five years, while those in Tilray are down 95 percent.

Persons: Biden Organizations: U.S, Justice Locations: Tilray

Paramount’s cloudy futureThe boardroom intrigue at Paramount Global — the drama that has gripped the corporate world — just got messier. Bob Bakish is out as C.E.O., replaced by three subordinates who will form an “office of the C.E.O.” His departure caps a year of rising tension between him and Shari Redstone, Paramount’s controlling shareholder, who is pushing for a deal with David Ellison’s Skydance. Bakish’s exit removed an executive who didn’t support that transaction, but it doesn’t resolve all of the big questions hanging over the company’s future. Why Bakish was pushed out: Redstone picked the low-profile company veteran to lead Paramount after years of internal strife, but they still ended up clashing.

Persons: Bob Bakish, ”, Shari Redstone, David Ellison’s Skydance, Bakish Organizations: Paramount Global, Redstone, Paramount

Why Elon Musk went to ChinaJust days after Secretary of State Antony Blinken traveled to Beijing and warned China about unfair trade practices, Elon Musk landed in the Chinese capital. 2 official may have paid off: Musk reportedly cleared two obstacles to introducing a fully autonomous driving system in the world’s biggest car market. Musk is betting big on self-driving, and China is key. Tesla last week reported its worst quarter in two years as a price war hurts profit. Fully autonomous driving is also crucial.

Persons: Elon Musk, Antony Blinken, Tesla, China’s, they’ve, Musk, ” Organizations: Elon Locations: China, Beijing

An effort to give Trump more say on ratesThis week, investors had planned to examine the latest inflation data, due out at 8:30 a.m. Eastern on Friday, for clues about when the Fed would start cutting interest rates. The Wall Street Journal reports that allies of Donald Trump are devising ways of watering down the central bank’s independence if he is re-elected president. But it also raises questions about whether such a plan is possible — or whether Trump’s Wall Street supporters would back it. Among the most consequential would be asserting that Trump had the authority to oust Jay Powell as Fed chair before Powell’s term is up in 2025. While Trump gave Powell the job in 2017, he has since soured on his pick for raising rates, and has publicly said he wouldn’t give Powell a second term.

Persons: Donald Trump, Trump, Jay Powell, Powell, wouldn’t Organizations: Trump, Street Journal, Wall

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