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Investors will look for clues on whether inflation is continuing to ease following the Labor Department's consumer price index (CPI) report on Wednesday. Shares of PayPal Holdings (PYPL.O) dropped and pressured the benchmark S&P 500 after the company cut its margin forecast. Traders work on the floor of the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE) in New York City, U.S., May 4, 2023. Under Armour Inc (UAA.N) fell 5.66% as the sports apparel maker forecast its annual sales and profit below street expectations. The S&P 500 posted 14 new 52-week highs and 14 new lows; the Nasdaq Composite recorded 77 new highs and 171 new lows.

Shares of PayPal Holdings (PYPL.O) dropped 12% and led declines on the benchmark S&P 500 index (.SPX) after the company cut its margin forecast. They were also among the top drags on the Nasdaq Composite index (.IXIC). Shares of other Apple suppliers including Qualcomm (QCOM.O), Broadcom (AVGO.O), Qorvo (QRVO.O) and Corning (GLW.N) fell between 1.2% to 2%. The action-packed week will see the release of the much-awaited inflation data on Wednesday. The S&P index recorded 13 new 52-week highs and 12 new lows, while the Nasdaq recorded 52 new highs and 130 new lows.

Yields on U.S. short-dated Treasury bills , jumped sharply as investors sold off bonds, which mature as early as June. That weighed on shares of high-growth companies, including Apple Inc (AAPL.O) and Microsoft Corp (MSFT.O), which fell about 0.5% each. ET, Dow e-minis were down 82 points, or 0.24%, S&P 500 e-minis were down 15.25 points, or 0.37%, and Nasdaq 100 e-minis were down 73.25 points, or 0.55%. Chip-gear maker Skyworks Solutions Inc's (SWKS.O) shares tumbled 11.7% after forecasting current-quarter revenue and earnings below estimates. Shares of other Apple suppliers including Qualcomm (QCOM.O) and Qorvo (QRVO.O) fell 0.9% and 2.3%, respectively.

Shares of PayPal Holdings (PYPL.O) dropped 10.5% and led declines on the benchmark S&P 500 index (.SPX) after the company cut its margin forecast. They were also among the top drags on the Nasdaq Composite index (.IXIC). Shares of other Apple suppliers including Qualcomm (QCOM.O), Broadcom (AVGO.O), Qorvo (QRVO.O) and Corning (GLW.N) fell between 0.9% to 2%. That weighed on shares of high-growth companies, including Apple Inc (AAPL.O) and Microsoft Corp (MSFT.O), which fell about 0.3% each. The S&P index recorded six new 52-week highs and 10 new lows, while the Nasdaq recorded 20 new highs and 54 new lows.

☆ US Declining Population, Worker Shortage Will Cause Economic Crisis Without a Fix
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-04 | by ( Gadel Valle | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +15 min

That means that unless people start having a lot more kids, the US population could eventually start to shrink — just like China's population has. While the US population has managed to avoid an outright drop, population growth reached an unprecedented low of 0.12% in 2021. One way the US could encourage more immigration is by focusing on temporary visas for specific industries that need workers. And the treatment of workers in the country on temporary visas has been a problem for decades. After all, the US is running out of options, and soon its growing people shortage is going to spell economic disaster.

☆ 'Oh Amazon, why are you making this issue so difficult?' Employees who can't commute to their assigned offices fear the consequences.
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-28 | by ( Eugene Kim | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +10 min

Change in remote statusSome Amazon employees hired during the pandemic said they were promised permanent remote work, through what they saw as a "handshake agreement." One employee shared their vice president's email in the Slack channel, saying this manager was willing to be more flexible. People walk into the lobby of Amazon offices in New York. Over 30,000 Amazon employees joined an internal Slack channel shortly after the RTO announcement and signed a petition to demand a reversal of the mandate. "Amazon, oh Amazon, why are you making this issue so difficult?"

☆ California's reappearing phantom lake could remain for two years in the Central Valley
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-26 | by ( Emma Newburger | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +4 min

An aerial view of a home (C) surrounded by floodwaters in the reemerging Tulare Lake, in California’s Central Valley, on April 14, 2023 in Corcoran, California. Mario Tama | Getty Images News | Getty ImagesSatellite images taken over the past several weeks show a dramatic resurrection of Tulare Lake in California's Central Valley and the flooding that could remain for as long as two years across previously arid farmland. This week, a heat wave could prompt widespread snow melt in the mountains and threaten the small farming communities already dealing with the resurrected Tulare Lake. Satellite imagery shows a large swath of farmland before water filled the Tulare Basin. Planet LabsSatellite images show miles of flooding after California's Tulare Lake returns.

☆ Amazon's rush to bring employees back to office stirs anxiety over badge tracking, relocation, and impact on performance reviews
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-25 | by ( Eugene Kim | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +9 min

this person asked in the Slack channel called "remote-advocacy," according to a screenshot seen by Insider. Change in remote statusSome Amazon employees hired during the pandemic said they were promised permanent remote work, through what they saw as a "handshake agreement." One employee shared their vice president's email in the Slack channel, saying this manager was willing to be more flexible. People walk into the lobby of Amazon offices in New York. Over 30,000 Amazon employees joined an internal Slack channel shortly after the RTO announcement and signed a petition to demand a reversal of the mandate.

Many DLE technologies use lots of potable water and electricity. SQM (SQMA.SN) and Albemarle Corp (ALB.N), Chile's two existing lithium producers, use evaporation ponds to produce the metal. Livent Corp (LTHM.N) uses a variation of DLE technology in Argentina alongside evaporation ponds. Lake Resources is working with Bill Gates-backed Lilac Solutions Inc to deploy Lilac's DLE technology in Argentina. In Chile, DLE companies see a business opportunity despite the nationalization plans given that Boric's new state lithium company is expected to need technical support.

[1/2] The new GM logo is seen on the facade of the General Motors headquarters in Detroit, Michigan, U.S., March 16, 2021. Many teem with lithium, calcium and other minerals, and DLE technologies aim to separate out the lithium and leave the rest. LITHIUM METAL FROM BRINEEnergyX has said its technology can make lithium metal directly from brine, a tantalizing prospect for GM that could let the automaker bypass lithium refining, which is widely seen as a key supply chain bottleneck. The EnergyX investment comes after GM in January agreed to pay $650 million to become the largest shareholder in Lithium Americas Corp (LAC.TO), which is developing the Thacker Pass clay lithium project in Nevada. "This GM investment will completely change the trajectory of EnergyX," said Teague Egan, the startup company's founder and chief executive.

☆ Companies That Went Public via SPACs Log Billions of Dollars in Goodwill Write-Downs
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-07 | by ( Mark Maurer | ) www.wsj.com time to read: +1 min

Cryptocurrency platform Bakkt Holdings, which listed on the New York Stock Exchange in October 2021 after merging with a special-purpose acquisition company, recorded a $1.51 billion pretax goodwill impairment for the following year. Companies that went public through mergers with special-purpose acquisition companies in recent years booked billions of dollars in goodwill write-downs in 2022, reflecting in part a reckoning of the heady premiums paid to secure deals during the SPAC boom. Some of the biggest goodwill impairments in 2022 came from SPAC-backed companies like cryptocurrency platform Bakkt Holdings Inc., business-services provider Advantage Solutions Inc., 3-D printing firm Fathom Digital Manufacturing Corp., self-driving vehicle startup Aurora Innovation Inc. and now-bankrupt bitcoin miner Core Scientific Inc., according to financial and risk advisory firm Kroll LLC. Each of these five companies’ pretax impairments exceeded $1 billion last year.

☆ FDA Approves Narcan for Non-Prescription Sale
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-29 | by ( Julie Wernau | ) www.wsj.com time to read: 1 min

Narcan is an over-the-counter version of a widely used opioid-reversal nasal spray. People will soon be able to walk into a pharmacy and purchase medication to reverse an opioid overdose alongside other non-prescription items like aspirin and vitamins. The Food and Drug Administration on Wednesday said the overdose reversal medication Narcan could be sold over-the-counter for the first time since the opioid crisis began. Narcan’s manufacturer, Emergent Biosolutions Inc., said the nasal-spray version of the medication naloxone would likely begin appearing on shelves by late summer. Emergent is the first company to gain approval to sell naloxone without a prescription.

☆ FDA Makes Overdose-Reversal Drug Narcan Available Over-the-Counter
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-29 | by ( Julie Wernau | ) www.wsj.com time to read: 1 min

The nasal-spray version of naloxone will likely be available on pharmacy shelves by late summer. People will soon be able to walk into a pharmacy and purchase medication to reverse an opioid overdose alongside other nonprescription items like aspirin and vitamins. The Food and Drug Administration on Wednesday said the overdose reversal medication Narcan could be sold over-the-counter for the first time since the opioid crisis began. Narcan’s manufacturer, Emergent BioSolutions Inc., said the nasal-spray version of the medication naloxone would likely begin appearing on shelves by late summer. Emergent is the first company to gain approval to sell naloxone without a prescription.

☆ US FDA approves first OTC opioid overdose reversal drug
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-29 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

[1/2] A box of NARCAN nasal spray is photographed at an outpatient treatment center in Indiana, Pennsylvania, U.S. on August 9, 2017. The approval for OTC use of the naloxone-based nasal spray will help align the federal government's stance with states that have provisions to offer the drug without prescription at pharmacies. Drug-related overdose deaths in the United States rose about 15% year-over-year to more than 100,000 in 2021, as per official data. While the approval puts Emergent ahead in the OTC product race, analysts have said it is not likely to derive significant sales from the approval. Benchmark analyst Robert Wasserman said ahead of the approval that Narcan sales peaked in 2020 and have declined since.

The remainder was equity checks by the private equity firms. Typically, debt accounts for between 60% and 80% of the deal consideration, allowing the buyout firms to juice returns. REFINANCING RISKTo be sure, a handful of private equity firms have already been accustomed to this kind of refinancing risk. An upside to the shift toward equity financing, dealmakers say, is that the companies owned by the private equity firms have more cushion to absorb losses if their business deteriorates. Many of the leveraged buyouts that became bankruptcies in the wake of the 2008 financial crisis were the result of private equity firms saddling companies with debt to the hilt.

☆ Big Oil’s old profligacy lives on Down Under
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-15 | by ( Antony Currie | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +4 min

Throw in dividends and Santos shareholders have received a measly 6% total return during that period. Santos’ 15% return on capital employed last year puts it at the bottom of the class; BP delivered almost 25%. It looks slated to stay in the basement, with analysts projecting a sub-8% return for 2025, per Refinitiv data. The bonus is mostly tied to successful “growth projects”, which arguably encourages him to overinvest. If that happens again at next month’s annual meeting, it would, under Australian rules, allow investors to boot the entire board.

☆ Apollo Global to Buy Univar in $8.1 Billion Deal, Including Debt
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-14 | by ( Laura Cooper | Lauren Thomas | ) www.wsj.com time to read: 1 min

Apollo Global Management Inc. has agreed to acquire chemical company Univar Solutions Inc. for $8.1 billion including debt, according to people familiar with the matter, in one of the biggest recent leveraged buyouts. The deal is expected to value Univar at $36.15 a share and to be unveiled Tuesday, the people said. Shares of Univar closed at $31.17 on Monday.

☆ Apollo Global to Buy Univar in $8.1 Billion Deal Including Debt
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-14 | by ( Laura Cooper | Lauren Thomas | ) www.wsj.com time to read: 1 min

Apollo Global agreed to buy Univar Solutions, a global specialty chemical and ingredients business. Apollo Global Management Inc. has agreed to acquire chemical company Univar Solutions Inc. for $8.1 billion including debt, in one of the biggest recent leveraged buyouts. Shares of Univar were up more than 10% in premarket trading on the news, which The Wall Street Journal first reported early Tuesday.

☆ Atlas Energy valued at $1.75 billion after shares fall in U.S. debut
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-09 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

March 9 (Reuters) - Shares of Atlas Energy Solutions Inc (AESI.N) fell nearly 3% in their U.S. market debut on Thursday, valuing the oilfield services firm at $1.75 billion. The Austin, Texas-based company's shares opened at $17.5, below its initial public offering price of $18 a share. Atlas raised $324 million in its IPO on Wednesday after it sold 18 million shares at $18 apiece, below a range of $20 to $23 set earlier. Reuters was the first to report last year that Atlas was preparing for an IPO which could value the company at $2 billion to $3 billion. Calgary-based energy company Greenfire Resources and clean energy producer NET Power plan to merge with blank-check companies to go public in the United States.

☆ People of Color Fill One Out of Five Corporate Board Seats for the First Time
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-21 | by ( Joseph De Avila | ) www.wsj.com time to read: 1 min

Some large institutional investors, state legislators and regulators have pushed for more diversity on corporate boards. Racial and ethnic minorities now hold 20% of all board seats at the nation’s largest public companies for the first time, according to a new study. Black people have experienced some of the biggest gains, according to ISS Corporate Solutions Inc., an analytics firm that provides corporate governance data to companies and a unit of Institutional Shareholder Services Inc. Black directors now hold 8.3% of all board seats, up from 4.4% four years ago.

Feb 15 (Reuters) - Emergent BioSolutions Inc's (EBS.N) over-the-counter version of opioid overdose reversing drug received unanimous support from U.S. Food and Drug Administration's panel of advisers, sending shares of the contract drugmaker up nearly 16% after market. The vote puts the naloxone-based treatment Narcan on track to potentially become the first opioid overdose drug to be sold OTC nationwide. Naloxone rapidly reverses or blocks the effects of an overdose, restoring normal respiration. However, most panelists emphasized that OTC use of the nasal spray was safe and proposed ways to improve its labeling, to avoid using the drug wrong. Signage is seen outside of the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) headquarters in White Oak, Maryland, U.S., August 29, 2020.

☆ Bavarian Nordic to buy travel vaccine portfolio for up to $380 mln
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-15 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

Feb 15 (Reuters) - Danish pharmaceuticals company Bavarian Nordic (BAVA.CO) has agreed to buy a portfolio of travel vaccines from Emergent BioSolutions Inc (EBS.N) for up to $380 million, it said on Wednesday after delivering an upbeat outlook for 2023. The company said it would acquire a typhoid fever vaccine, one against cholera and a Chikungunya virus treatment that is in Phase III trials. Bavarian Nordics makes the only approved mpox vaccine and started receiving massive orders last year as the virus became a global issue. The company expects 2023 revenue of about 6 billion Danish crowns ($863 million) against the 3.15 billion crowns in preliminary 2022 results, with 4.4 billion crowns coming from mpox and smallpox vaccined contracts alone. Earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and amortisation (EBITDA) are expected to reach 2.2 billion crowns this year, up from 329 million crowns in the preliminary results for 2022.

☆ EV batteries getting second life on California power grid
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-07 | by ( Nichola Groom | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

[1/2] A view of the SEPV Sierra solar and storage facility owned by startup, B2U Storage Solutions, in Lancaster, California, U.S. in this handout photo taken in 2022. B2U Storage Solutions/Handout via REUTERSFeb 7 (Reuters) - Hundreds of used electric vehicle battery packs are enjoying a second life at a California facility connected to the state's power grid, according to a company pioneering technology it says will dramatically lower the cost of storing carbon-free energy. B2U Storage Solutions Inc, a Los Angeles-based startup, said it has 25 megawatt-hours of storage capacity made up of 1,300 former EV batteries tied to a solar energy facility in Lancaster, California. B2U's technology allows the EV battery packs to be bundled together without having to be taken apart first. "Second life and re-use helps the overall lifecycle be more energy efficient, given all the efforts that go into making that battery," Hall said in an interview.

☆ Companies, Lenders Clash Over Loan Spreads in Switch From Libor
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-13 | by ( Mark Maurer | ) www.wsj.com time to read: +7 min

As part of the shift, companies typically propose changes to their loan agreements with lenders, adjusting for the price difference between SOFR and Libor. The adjustment of the credit spread adds basis points to the interest rate on a loan to make up for the fact that SOFR has traded lower than Libor. The difference between SOFR and Libor can be as much as 25 basis points for loans with maturities of five to seven years. There will likely be more disagreements over credit spread adjustments as companies stop using Libor prior to its end. “There’s no reason to burn bridges over a few basis points,” Mr. Kerschner said.

☆ Lab-grown meat could be served up for dinner soon. What does it taste like?
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-19 | by ( Julia Horowitz | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +11 min

It has a capacity of 600 liters, or 159 gallons, allowing the company to produce 6,000 pounds of cultivated meat per year. Right now, Singapore is alone in allowing the sale of cultivated meat to consumers, having issued a green light in late 2020. Yet delivering on the promise of lab-grown meat won’t just come down to regulators. CNN“The promise of cultivated meat [is] to bring forth a taste and texture component, and to deliver sustainability,” said Gautam Godhwani, managing partner at Good Startup, a Singapore-based venture capital firm that has invested in eight cultivated meat startups. “I think the whole of the cultivated meat industry will go hybrid first,” Ivy Farm’s Dillon said.

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