DIRS.INFO The most relevant business & tech news

Dropping anchorsFox News’s firing of Tucker Carlson, the most popular prime-time host in cable news, sent shock waves through the media and political spheres yesterday. Few had thought that repercussions from Fox’s $788 million defamation settlement with Dominion Voting Systems would reach Mr. Carlson, who commanded a following of millions and has the ear of Donald Trump. But Fox and Rupert Murdoch, who are used to courting controversy and legal settlements as the costs of doing business, may be betting that getting rid of Mr. Carlson is the smarter financial move. Since gaining his prime-time show in 2017, Mr. Carlson became the brightest star in the Fox News orbit, with “Tucker Carlson Tonight” averaging over three million viewers every night. (Shares in Fox Corporation fell 3 percent yesterday — more than they did after the company settled with Dominion last week.)

For many shoppers, Bed Bath & Beyond’s bankruptcy filing on Sunday was a call to action. Its 360 Bed Bath & Beyond stores would soon be closing, as would its 120 Buy Buy Baby locations. Shoppers have until Wednesday to use their coupons. Around the country, they rounded up the ubiquitous blue slips of paper offering 20 percent off, stuffed them in pouches and plastic bags, and made their way to the nearest Bed Bath & Beyond. At a store in Manhattan’s Chelsea neighborhood on Monday, Sylvia Ward, a self-described Bed Bath & Beyond aficionado from the Bronx, said news of the closings had “absolutely devastated” her.

The challenges of saving a troubled lenderFirst Republic will report quarterly earnings on Monday, its first since the collapse of Silicon Valley Bank sparked a regional banking crisis. And despite a $30 billion lifeline provided by some of the country’s largest banks, First Republic’s shares have fallen nearly 90 percent over the past six months. So why hasn’t there been a deal to raise more cash or sell assets — or itself? First Republic is not expected to announce a deal alongside its earnings. Assuming those have moderated, First Republic has time to solve its problem.

☆ Bed Bath & Beyond Files for Bankruptcy
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-23 | by ( Jordyn Holman | Lauren Hirsch | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

Bed Bath & Beyond came out of the 2008 downturn a winner. Competitors like Sharper Image and Linens ‘n Things filed for bankruptcy, but Bed Bath & Beyond actually expanded its business by acquiring other retailers. Now, as the U.S. economy experiences another period of uncertainty, Bed Bath & Beyond is no longer on top, the result of an increasingly unwieldy corporate structure and its failure to fully reckon with the ascendance of online shopping. The company’s 360 Bed Bath & Beyond stores and 120 Buy Buy Baby stores and websites will remain open. To help fund its operations in bankruptcy, Bed Bath & Beyond has raised $240 million from the investment firm Sixth Street Specialty Lending.

Organizations: & $

The reason this news pioneer is closingBuzzFeed’s decision to shut its news division — an innovator in digital journalism that published both prizewinning investigations and listicles designed to get clicks — drew many bittersweet tributes online. But its closure is the latest reminder that digital media start-ups, which deep-pocketed investors once valued at astronomical sums, are facing headwinds. With even tech giants struggling to navigate hurdles like a declining advertising market, smaller companies are facing potentially existential crises. BuzzFeed and its peers have also suffered from the same drop-off in online ads that is forcing sharp job cuts at Alphabet, Meta and others. BuzzFeed used one to list on the Nasdaq in late 2021 — and ended up raising just $16 million, far short of the $250 million it could have collected.

Fox can take a tax deduction from the settlement, Lever News reports. U.S. tax law allows companies to write off at least some portion of settlement fees as part of the cost of doing business. (There are some exceptions, including for cases involving accusations of sexual harassment or abuse with nondisclosure agreements; Fox News has paid out settlements involving those in the past.) It is unclear how much Fox will save, though a spokesman confirmed that tax deductibility is at play. Lever News estimated that the company could reap as much as $213 million in tax savings.

The tech company will begin its latest round of layoffs today, in its Facebook, WhatsApp, Instagram and Reality Labs units, according to Vox, with up to 4,000 positions possibly set to go. Disney will cut thousands of jobs next week, as part of the C.E.O. Commentators and investors said the moves were a long-awaited recognition that Goldman should focus on its strengths. The online chatboard company told The Times that it would start making others pay to use its application programming interface, the method that allows outside entities to download its vast offering of user discussions. projects by tech giants — which must be trained on huge amounts of data — as a reason for the move.

Its stock fell nearly 4 percent lower in premarket. State Street, M&T Bank and Charles Schwab on Monday reported nearly $60 billion in deposit outflows last quarter. State Street’s shares fell more than 9 percent on Monday, its worst single-day performance in three years. Banks are under pressure to raise interest rates to stem the deposit exodus. About $12 billion in deposits left State Street last quarter as customers sought higher rates elsewhere, according to Gerard Cassidy, a banking analyst at RBC Capital Markets.

Organizations: & $

Endeavor, the Hollywood entertainment colossus that owns the Ultimate Fighting Championship, is close to a deal that would combine that league with World Wrestling Entertainment, two people familiar with the negotiations said on Sunday. The combination would mean a behemoth in combat entertainment, both real and scripted. The deal could be announced as early as this week, said the people, who requested anonymity to discuss confidential negotiations. The deal would create a new, publicly traded company, according to the people, with Endeavor’s U.F.C. league composing 51 percent of the business and W.W.E.

Search resuls for: "Lauren Hirsch"

9 mentions found