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☆ Stocks making the biggest moves midday: Fox, Albemarle, First Republic and more
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-24 | by ( Pia Singh | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +3 min

People walk by the News Corporation headquarters, home to Fox News, on April 18, 2023 in New York City. First Solar – Shares of the solar company lost 3.2% after a Citi downgrade to sell cited margin risks and concerns that Inflation Reduction Act benefits are already reflected in the share price. Medtronic — Shares added 4% during midday trading after being upgraded to overweight from equal weight by Wells Fargo on Sunday. Sunrun , Enphase Energy — Shares of Sunrun and Enphase Energy were higher Monday after Citi added positive catalyst watches on the solar companies, saying it sees further share gains. The Wall Street bank opened a 90-day positive catalyst watch on Enphase Energy, citing a strong backlog and expectations for record-high margins.

April 19 (Reuters) - Fox News on Tuesday disposed of one legal threat with its $787.5 million defamation settlement with Dominion Voting Systems, but the network still faces a $2.7 billion lawsuit from another voting technology company, Smartmatic USA, over its coverage of debunked election-rigging claims. REUTERS/Shannon Stapleton/File PhotoSmartmatic is seeking $2.7 billion in damages from Fox and five individuals, including former Trump lawyers and hosts. Smartmatic alleges in its lawsuit in New York County Supreme Court that the defendants knowingly spread false claims that its software was used to flip votes. Conspiracy theorists erroneously claimed Smartmatic owned Dominion, and the companies mounted similar allegations in their lawsuits. Fox denies the allegations, saying in a recent statement the network had a right to report on highly newsworthy allegations of voter fraud.

☆ Fox faces similar defamation case from Smartmatic after Dominion settlement
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-19 | by ( Lillian Rizzo | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +3 min

Fox Corp. and its TV networks agreed to pay $787.5 million to settle Dominion Voting Systems' defamation lawsuit this week, but the media giant's legal headaches don't end there. Still hanging in the balance is voting software company Smartmatic USA's defamation case, which is seeking $2.7 billion in damages – over $1 billion more than Dominion initially sought in its lawsuit. Smartmatic, like Dominion, filed its defamation lawsuit against Fox for spreading false claims that its voting software helped rig the 2020 election that saw Joe Biden triumph over Donald Trump. Although Smartmatic's lawsuit was filed shortly ahead of Dominion's in 2021, the pace of the case has lagged in comparison. It remains unclear how or whether the settlement between Fox and Dominion will affect Smartmatic's case.

November 15, 2020 -- Fox’s daytime average audience reaches a 35% decline since the eve of the election, according to statistics cited in Dominion's lawsuit. March 26, 2021 -- Dominion sues Fox News in Delaware Superior Court. March 31, 2023 -- Davis rules that the statements aired on Fox were false, defamatory and not covered by legal protections for the press under the U.S. Constitution's First Amendment. April 12, 2023 -- Davis sanctions Fox after it was revealed that the network failed to turn over relevant recordings and transcripts until the eve of trial. April 16, 2023 -- Davis delays trial by one day without giving a reason, but two sources told Reuters that Fox and Dominion were holding last-minute settlement talks.

A person walks past Fox News Headquarters at the News Corporation building on May 03, 2022 in New York City. - Fox Corp. and its cable networks agreed Tuesday to pay $787.5 million to Dominion Voting Systems to settle a defamation lawsuit over false claims that Dominion's machines swayed the outcome of the 2020 presidential election. The suit by Dominion, which sells voting machines and election software, had argued that Fox News and its sister network Fox Business "intentionally and falsely" blamed Dominion for the 2020 loss of former President Donald Trump to President Joe Biden by airing unsubstantiated claims about the company. Fox had said in court filings that its hosts' statements about Dominion were protected by the First Amendment. The company also said Dominion had not shown that the statements were made with so-called actual malice, which is the threshold for civil defamation claims.

A person walks by Fox News signage posted on the News Corporation building in New York City, April 12, 2023WILMINGTON, Del. — Opening arguments were delayed Tuesday in the Dominion Voting Systems' defamation lawsuit accusing Fox News of spreading the damaging falsehood that the company rigged the 2020 election. The person, a Fox News representative, was forced to delete the photos and permanently exit the courtroom. The Fox representative misunderstood the courtroom rules and apologized, adding that the pictures were deleted immediately, the company told CNBC. I'm not going to give you an extra day," Davis told attorneys for both camps.

The source, who was not authorized to speak publicly, told Reuters that Fox was seeking a possible settlement. The Washington Post and the Wall Street Journal also reported that Fox was pursuing settlement talks, citing sources. Dominion is suing Fox Corp (FOXA.O) and Fox News in a defamation lawsuit over the network's coverage of the 2020 U.S. presidential election. Davis on Wednesday sanctioned Fox News, handing Dominion a fresh chance to gather evidence after Fox withheld records until the eve of the trial. An expert report commissioned by Dominion attributed scores of lost contracts to Fox's coverage, though much of the report remains under seal.

☆ Rupert Murdoch's divorce settlement with Jerry Hall banned her from sharing story ideas with 'Succession' writers, report says
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-12 | by ( Bethany Biron | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +3 min

Media mogul Rupert Murdoch abruptly divorced his fourth wife, Jerry Hall, last summer. As part of the settlement, he banned Hall from giving story ideas to the "Succession" writing team, according to Vanity Fair. The HBO show was largely inspired by the Murdoch family and turmoil around electing a successor. The report comes amid ongoing turmoil within the Murdoch family in selecting a successor to News Corporation, the multi-billion dollar media company created and led by Murdoch, now 91. The Murdoch family largely served as inspiration for the HBO hit show "Succession."

☆ Rupert Murdoch reportedly spent a night on a gurney in a hospital parking lot after he broke his back falling on son Lachlan's yacht
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-12 | by ( Aaron Mcdade | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +3 min

Rupert Murdoch reportedly broke his back after he fell while aboard his son Lachlan's yacht in 2018. A new report from Vanity Fair detailed previously unreported health scares experienced by the 91-year-old media mogul. The yacht, which was sailing near Guadeloupe, reportedly docked at the nearest island to take Murdoch to the hospital, per Vanity Fair. Sources close to the family said he was in critical condition, and "kept almost dying," according to Vanity Fair. According to the report, Murdoch later tore an Achilles tendon after tripping over a box in March 2019, leaving him wheelchair-bound.

☆ Rupert Murdoch testified that Fox News hosts lied about the 2020 election. Here's why it wasn't a misstep.
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-06 | by ( Jacob Shamsian | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +8 min

Rupert Murdoch admitted Fox News hosts endorsed falsehoods about the 2020 election. Murdoch chairs Fox Corporation, which argues it isn't responsible for claims made on subsidiary Fox News. Here was the chair of Fox Corporation, a 91-year-old mogul atop a conservative media empire, admitting to lies that damaged democracy. When asked by Dominion's lawyers in a January deposition whether he thought Fox hosts were truthful about the election, Murdoch was candid. Fox Corporation also manages subsidiaries like Fox Sports, a large number of local TV stations, TMZ, Tubi, and a blockchain company.

☆ Fox News hosts and executives privately mocked pro-Trump election conspiracy theories after he lost, internal texts show
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-17 | by ( Jacob Shamsian | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +12 min

It enrages me," Tucker Carlson wrote in a text message to his producer Alex Pfeiffer. "Not a single Fox witness testified that they believe any of the allegations about Dominion are true," Dominion lawyers wrote. Imho they need to address but wtf do I know," Hannity wrote in a text message, referring to Newsmax. That email, Dominion's lawyers write, came from an unnamed author who claimed to be a beheaded ghost who talks to the wind. President Trump not only was the sitting President, he was the key figure that day," Dominion's lawyers wrote.

☆ Fox News hosts, Rupert Murdoch were skeptical of Trump election fraud claims
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-16 | by ( Lillian Rizzo | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +2 min

Rupert Murdoch and Fox News hosts expressed disbelief in former President Donald Trump's false election fraud claims, according to evidence released from Dominion Voting Systems' $1.6 billion lawsuit against Fox Corp and its cable-TV networks. In court papers filed Thursday, text messages and testimony from depositions show that Fox executives and TV personalities were skeptical about claims that the election between the victorious Joe Biden, a Democrat, and Trump, a Republican, was rigged. And damaging," Fox Corp Chairman Rupert Murdoch said in an email on Nov. 19, days after the election, regarding claims Trump lawyer Rudy Giuliani was making on Fox News. "Sydney Powell is lying," Tucker Carlson said in a text message to his producer. Our viewers are good people and they believe it," Carlson responded, according to court papers.

☆ Dominion Voting attorney calls out Fox for missing evidence in defamation lawsuit
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-08 | by ( Lillian Rizzo | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +4 min

While this issue was already raised in July and January, the Dominion attorney said Wednesday they are still missing documents. We pointed out categories of missing documents for both Fox News and Fox Corp that are still missing. Fox attorney Dan Webb, a veteran trial attorney added to Fox's roster last year, said he disagreed with much of what Nelson said during the hearing Wednesday. Dominion brought the defamation lawsuit against Fox and its right-wing cable news networks, Fox News and Fox Business, seeking $1.6 billion in damages. "We are put in this impossible situation of preparing for trial where there are missing documents," Nelson said.

☆ Here are Wednesday's biggest analyst calls: Tesla, Amazon, Robinhood, Microsoft, Sunrun, Block & more
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-25 | by ( Michael Bloom | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +6 min

Here are Wednesday's biggest calls on Wall Street: BMO downgrades Microsoft to market perform from outperform BMO downgraded the stock after Microsoft's earnings report, noting it has concerns about Azure growth. Bank of America initiates Papa John's as buy Bank of America said the pizza chain stock is attractive and that it sees a return to growth. " Bank of America downgrades Booking Holdings to neutral from buy Bank of America said it sees "less valuation upside" for the online travel booking company. Bank of America downgrades Union Pacific to neutral from buy Bank of America it's concerned about "service and cost pressures" for Union Pacific. Bank of America reiterates Amazon as buy Bank of America said it's standing by its buy rating heading into Amazon earnings, but it's concerned about Amazon Web Services following Microsoft's disappointing quarterly results.

☆ Stocks making the biggest moves premarket: Boeing, News Corp, AT&T, Microsoft and more
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-25 | by ( Pia Singh | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +3 min

Boeing – Boeing's stock dropped about 1.7% premarket after the aircraft maker posted earnings and revenue that missed expectations, despite a demand recovery. Microsoft — Microsoft shares declined by nearly 3% after the software giant shared a dismal revenue forecast for the current quarter. The tech bellwether topped earnings expectations but said new business growth slowed in December, including within its Azure segment. Sunrun , SunPower — The solar companies both fell more than 3% after being downgraded by Barclays due to a potential slowdown in solar demand. Intuitive Surgical – The maker of robotic surgical systems suffered a 9% drop after the company reported fourth-quarter earning and revenue that fell just short of expectations.

☆ Rupert Murdoch abandons plan to recombine Fox and News Corp
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-24 | by ( Oliver Darcy | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +1 min

New York CNN —Rupert Murdoch has abandoned plans to combine Fox Corporation and News Corporation, a move that would have reunited his broadcasting and print publishing companies under one roof. Murdoch had proposed the deal last fall, nearly a decade after Fox Corporation and News Corporation split apart in 2013. Fox Corporation operates the right-wing channel Fox News, in addition to Fox Sports and Fox TV Stations. News Corporation is the parent of The Wall Street Journal, New York Post, HarperCollins, and other iconic print publications. Spokespeople for both companies did not immediately respond when asked whether Murdoch had a comment

☆ Lachlan Murdoch biographer breaks down his relationship with father Rupert Murdoch and why a merger of Fox and News Corp is about 'entrenching Lachlan's control'
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-30 | by ( Claire Atkinson | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +10 min

A new unauthorized biography of Lachlan Murdoch explores his business profile and family relationships. Its author, Paddy Manning, speculates about who might exit if Rupert Murdoch's Fox Corp and News Corp recombine. Rupert Murdoch remains executive chairman of News Corp and chairman of Fox. Lachlan Murdoch was named Fox's CEO, and James Murdoch, after four years as CEO of 21st Century Fox, was left to carve his own path. If you're looking longer-term about who's going to run the company beyond the merger, if it happens, [News Corp CEO] Robert Thomson is probably retiring.

☆ Murdoch deal will struggle to be fair and balanced
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-17 | by ( Jeffrey Goldfarb | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +7 min

A decade ago, Murdoch split his movies-to-books empire because it had become too broad and complex. As it stands, both $16 billion Fox and $10 billion News Corp suffer from significant valuation discounts, partly due to their common owner’s grip. It owns roughly 62% of Australian housing portal REA, a stake worth $6.7 billion based on its Wednesday closing price in Sydney. On the same 16 times multiple as New York Times (NYT.N), it would be worth about $8 billion. Rupert Murdoch and his family trust control about 42% of Fox voting shares and 39% of News Corp voting shares.

☆ Lachlan Murdoch biographer breaks down his relationship with dad Rupert and why his siblings want to change 'destructive' Fox News
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-10 | by ( Claire Atkinson | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +9 min

A new unauthorized biography of Lachlan Murdoch explores his business profile and family relationships. Its author, Paddy Manning, speculates about who might exit if Rupert Murdoch's Fox Corp and News Corp recombine. Lachlan Murdoch was named Fox's CEO, and James Murdoch, after four years as CEO of 21st Century Fox, was left to carve his own path. Why did you want to write a book about Lachlan Murdoch? Did you talk to Lachlan Murdoch?

☆ Too cheap? 18 stocks with single-digit P/Es that are expected to rally
▼ + stars: | 2022-10-20 | by ( Alex Harring | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +2 min

This year's relentless market sell-off may have made some stocks way too cheap, based on certain metrics. Still, there are some parts of the market where the selling may be overdone, creating buying opportunities in stocks that could rally going forward. The stock is trading at a forward price-to-earnings ratio of 6.5, and analyst expect Ford earning's to grow by 24.5% this year. The stock is trading at a forward price-to-earnings ratio of 7.9, and analysts see upside of more than 27% on average. This shows the earnings potential of Pfizer beyond the loss of exclusivity of key drugs through the end of the decade.

☆ News Corp. stock up, Fox shares down as investors weigh possible merger
▼ + stars: | 2022-10-17 | by ( Jack Stebbins | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +2 min

Shares of News Corp. rose while Fox shares fell Monday as investors weighed the possibility of Rupert Murdoch's media companies recombining nearly decade after they split. The companies had announced Friday that they were exploring a merger, with each News Corp. and Fox saying they formed special committees to explore the possibility. News Corp. has a market capitalization of around $9.45 billion, while Fox Corp. is worth about $14.76 billion. Alphabet has a market cap of $1.32 trillion, Apple's market cap is $2.29 trillion and Amazon's market cap is $1.15 trillion. The source said Irenic would oppose the combination of News Corp. with Fox if the real estate arm remained undervalued.

☆ What Cramer is watching Monday — BofA nice beat and my informal poll says people hate the market
▼ + stars: | 2022-10-17 | by ( Jim Cramer | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +4 min

WFC price target hikes at BMO Capital and Piper Sandler. Citi lowers price target on American Airlines (AAL) to $15 per share from $16. Mizuho cuts price target on Dow Inc. (DOW) to $46 per share from $62, pricing is falling apart. RBC Capital cut price target on Datadog (DDOG) to $105 per share from $125, getting more conservative. As a subscriber to the CNBC Investing Club with Jim Cramer, you will receive a trade alert before Jim makes a trade.

☆ Credit Suisse downgrades Fox, says reunion with News Corp. could hurt more than it would help
▼ + stars: | 2022-10-17 | by ( Alex Harring | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +2 min

Fox 's potential reunification with News Corporation could actually be a set back from the stock's value, Credit Suisse warned. He said the potential combination of Fox and News Corp. would be a bad investment — and even just the idea could hurt the stock. "The pivot seems a tacit admission of challenges for Fox," he said in a Sunday note to clients. "Even if this merger does not ultimately come to fruition, the investment backdrop for Fox has been altered." He said a stock merger could take place, or one could rein if there's a perceived discount involved.

☆ Rupert Murdoch is exploring the rejoining of Fox and News Corp into one single company
▼ + stars: | 2022-10-14 | by ( Claire Atkinson | Lakshmi Varanasi | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +3 min

Rupert Murdoch is considering bringing together Fox Corp and News Corp. Late Friday, News Corp announced it had formed a special committee to begin looking at a potential combination with Fox, following letters from Murdoch and the Murdoch Family Trust. While the television and film assets were renamed under a private company called 21st Century Fox, according to The Journal. The latter was eventually renamed as Fox Corp, and now owns Fox News, Fox Broadcast network, local television stations, and the Tubi streaming service. In May 2021, the younger Murdoch told Insider that "it's a terrific job."

☆ Top Fox News personalities face questioning as Dominion Voting's defamation lawsuit moves forward
▼ + stars: | 2022-09-02 | by ( Lillian Rizzo | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +3 min

Alexi Rosenfeld | Getty ImagesNext week, Maria Bartiromo will join the parade of Fox personalities who are being called to answer questions in Dominion Voting Systems' defamation lawsuit against the network. Dominion has argued that Fox Corp. 's Fox News and Fox Business made false claims that its voting machines rigged the results of the 2020 election between Donald Trump and Joe Biden. But in December, the Delaware judge overseeing the Dominion case denied Fox News' request to have the case dismissed. Fox has asked the court to keep all of the collected materials private, claiming that Dominion mischaracterized what the documents show as actual malice. FOX Business' "Mornings With Maria" anchor Maria Bartiromo at Fox Business Network Studios on April 6, 2018 in New York City.

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