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Shareholders in Tesla voted in favor of his two big asks, reaffirming a multibillion-dollar compensation package that a Delaware judge had nullified and approving the company’s reincorporation in Texas. “I think we’re not just opening a new chapter for Tesla, we’re starting a new book,” a jubilant Musk told shareholders at the company’s annual meeting. The vote doesn’t end Tesla and Musk’s legal fights in Delaware, including over the compensation plan. About 84 percent of votes cast, excluding the Musks’ shares, backed the reincorporation proposal. DealBook hears that Tesla succeeded in getting retail investors, who were overwhelmingly supportive of Musk, to vote in far greater numbers than they usually do.

Persons: Elon Musk, “, Tesla, ”, Musk, ” Musk, aren’t, Kimbal Organizations: Tesla, Wall Street, Vanguard, BlackRock Locations: Delaware, Texas

The markets and Fed diverge againThe bull market rally is continuing to run on Thursday. The S&P 500 is poised to set yet another record, as investors see inflation in retreat — even if Fed policymakers don’t quite see it that way. The gulf between investors and the central bank is widening again. That makes the Fed more hawkish than other central banks, especially those in Europe, that are expected to trim borrowing costs several times this year. He reiterated that inflation remained above the central bank’s 2 percent target and that U.S. households’ spending power had diminished over the past two years.

Persons: Jay Powell, ” Organizations: Fed Locations: Europe

☆ Sony Pictures is buying Alamo Drafthouse theater chain
▼ + stars: | 2024-06-12 | by ( Sarah Whitten | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +2 min

Sony Pictures has acquired Alamo Drafthouse, the seventh-largest movie theater chain in North America, the company announced Wednesday. Alamo Drafthouse CEO Michael Kustermann will remain at the helm of the dine-in movie theater chain and will report to Ravi Ahuja, president and CEO of the newly formed Sony Pictures Experiences division. The company's 35 cinemas will continue to be operated by Alamo Drafthouse and its headquarters will remain in Austin, Texas. The acquisition comes after Alamo Drafthouse filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection in 2021 due to Covid-19 pandemic disruptions. "We are excited to make history with Sony Pictures Entertainment and have found the right home and partner for Alamo Drafthouse Cinema," said Kustermann.

Persons: Walter Reade, Michael Kustermann, Ravi Ahuja, Alamo Drafthouse, Ahuja, Tim League Organizations: Sony Pictures, Alamo, Department, Paramount, Warner Bros, Century Fox, MGM, Universal, United Artists, Columbia Pictures, Sony, Walter Reade Organization, Lowes, Disney, El Capitan Theatre, Netflix, Egyptian, New York's, Altamont Capital Partners, Fortress Investment Group, Sony Pictures Entertainment Locations: North America, Columbia, New York's Paris, Austin , Texas, Texas

☆ Sony Pictures is buying Alamo Drafthouse
▼ + stars: | 2024-06-12 | by ( Ramishah Maruf | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +1 min

New York CNN —Sony Pictures Entertainment has bought dine-in movie theater chain Alamo Drafthouse, the companies announced Wednesday. Sony said in a press release that the movie theater chain will be managed under a new division, Sony Pictures Experiences. While other Hollywood studios have jumped into streaming, Sony Pictures CEO and chairman Tom Rothman has expressed his commitment to movie theaters, according to various trade publications including The Hollywood Reporter. Sony Pictures touted its other spaces in the press release, such as Wonderverse, an immersive entertainment space, in Chicago and a Wheel of Fortune LIVE! Sony acquired Alamo from owners Altamont Capital Partners, Fortress Investment Group and founder Tim League.

Persons: Michael Kustermann, Ravi Ahuja, Tom Rothman, “, Tim League Organizations: New, New York CNN, Sony Pictures Entertainment, Alamo, Business, Sony, Sony Pictures, SPE, Hollywood, Hollywood Reporter, Altamont Capital Partners, Fortress Investment Group, Fest Locations: New York, Austin , Texas, Chicago

A.I., the Apple wayAfter months of anticipation, Apple finally introduced its plan to infuse its products with artificial intelligence: Meet Apple Intelligence, which weaves the technology into core features of iPhones, iPads and Macs. But while the tech giant announced a slew of new features, the announcement reflected a very Apple-like cautious approach to A.I. Yes, the company will add OpenAI’s ChatGPT to Siri — but it’s leaving the door open for adding other chatbots. It all suggests that Apple is hedging its bets (or is simply behind its rivals), while slowly ramping up what A.I. iPhone users will be able to direct queries to the latest version of ChatGPT if Siri can’t handle them on its own.

Persons: Siri —, OpenAI, Siri can’t Organizations: Apple, Apple Intelligence, Worldwide

Apple tries to close the A.I. leaders, like Nvidia and Microsoft, have soared since OpenAI introduced ChatGPT in November 2022. Big Tech C.E.O.s have fallen over themselves to show they are in the race. But Apple hasn’t yet introduced a new A.I. (The New York Times has sued OpenAI and Microsoft over use of copyrighted articles related to A.I.

Persons: Apple, Tim Cook, Apple’s, OpenAI Organizations: Apple’s Worldwide, Apple, Nvidia, Microsoft, Big Tech, Wall Street Journal, New York Times Locations: China

☆ Cognizant CEO on acquiring Belcan for $1.3 billion
▼ + stars: | 2024-06-10 | by ( ) www.cnbc.com time to read: 1 min

Share Share Article via Facebook Share Article via Twitter Share Article via LinkedIn Share Article via EmailCognizant CEO on acquiring Belcan for $1.3 billionCognizant CEO Ravi Kumar joins 'Money Movers' to discuss the strategic rationale behind the company's latest acquisition, parts of the old economy yet to be digitized, and more.

Persons: Ravi Kumar

antitrust fight is comingNvidia has joined the $3 trillion valuation club as a blistering A.I. rally has turned it into the world’s second-most valuable company behind Microsoft. and Justice Department are set to proceed with antitrust investigations against the duo, and OpenAI, writes The Times’s David McCabe. is already looking into Microsoft, according to The Wall Street Journal, over how the company structured a deal with the start-up Inflection AI to avoid scrutiny. In March, Microsoft hired almost all of the start-up’s staff and agreed to pay around $650 million to license its technology.

Persons: David McCabe Organizations: Nvidia, Microsoft, Justice Department, Wall Street

Thursday is a big day for the European Central Bank. It is widely expected to lower interest rates by a quarter percentage point, its first cut since 2019 — and outpace the Fed in lowering borrowing costs. The big questions on our mind: Will Christine Lagarde, the central bank’s president, signal further cuts at its July and September meetings? The good news: Economists say the era of elevated rates around the world is coming to an end. But they add that sticky inflation will tie central bankers’ hands, limiting their ability to lower borrowing costs much.

Persons: Will Christine Lagarde, Holger Schmieding, DealBook Organizations: European Central Bank, Berenberg Bank Locations: Brussels

☆ Bob Menendez's congressman son survives fight of his political life amid father's 'gold bars' corruption scandal
▼ + stars: | 2024-06-05 | by ( Bryan Metzger | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +1 min

Rob Menendez — the son of Sen. Bob Menendez — just survived a tough primary challenge. download the app Email address Sign up By clicking “Sign Up”, you accept our Terms of Service and Privacy Policy . It's a significant victory for the younger Menendez, who had found himself in the fight of his life amid his father's lurid corruption scandal. Sen. Menendez has been accused of accepting bribes in the form of wads of cash and gold bars in exchange for, among other things, acting as a foreign agent. This story is available exclusively to Business Insider subscribers.

Persons: Rob Menendez —, Sen, Bob Menendez —, Ravi Bhalla, —, Rob Menendez, Menendez Organizations: Hoboken, Service, Rob Menendez of New, Democratic, Associated Press, Business Locations: New Jersey, Rob Menendez of, Rob Menendez of New Jersey

Betting on AckmanBill Ackman has gained new prominence in recent months for his outspoken presence on social media. But he has also made riches for his investors and himself — and now others are hoping he’ll continue to do so. His Pershing Square Capital Management has sold a 10 percent stake for just over $1 billion to an array of outside investors, giving the hedge fund a lofty valuation. The question is whether Ackman’s newfound fans on social media will follow him as he grows his empire, including through a new listed fund and, eventually, an I.P.O. That has bolstered Ackman’s paper worth to $8 billion, Bloomberg calculates, making him 333rd among the world’s wealthiest people.

Persons: Bill Ackman, —, he’ll, BTG, Marc Lasry, Doug Hirsch Organizations: Pershing, Capital Management, Arch Capital, Iconiq Investment Management, Bloomberg

☆ New Jersey 8th Congressional District Primary Election Results
▼ + stars: | 2024-06-04 | by ( ) www.nytimes.com time to read: 1 min

Representative Rob Menendez faces a tough primary challenge from Ravi Bhalla, the mayor of Hoboken. Mr. Menendez’s opponents have sought to capitalize on the travails of his father, Senator Robert Menendez, who is on trial on bribery charges.

Persons: Rob Menendez, Ravi Bhalla, Menendez’s, Robert Menendez Locations: Hoboken, Mr

MicroStrategy and its founder settle tax case for $40 millionThe attorney general for the District of Columbia has reached a $40 million settlement with the billionaire Bitcoin investor Michael Saylor and MicroStrategy, the software company he founded, over tax fraud, DealBook’s Lauren Hirsch is first to report. Officials say the agreement is the biggest-ever income tax fraud recovery in the district. The lawsuit accused Saylor of evading more than $25 million in income taxes. The attorney general sued the tech executive and MicroStrategy in 2022, saying he enlisted the company’s help to file fraudulent tax forms from 2005 through 2020. The lawsuit said Saylor and the company claimed that he lived in Virginia or Florida, states with significantly lower income tax rates.

Persons: Michael Saylor, DealBook’s Lauren Hirsch, Saylor Organizations: District of Columbia Locations: It’s, Virginia, Florida

Instead, Wall Street and Silicon Valley money is flowing into his re-election campaign following the ruling. “This verdict will have less than zero impact on my support,” Omeed Malik, the president of 1789 Capital and a co-host of a Trump fund-raiser last night at the Pierre hotel, told Bloomberg. “I haven’t heard anybody who gives a …,” he told CNBC of the conviction, using an expletive. Some big Silicon Valley names are doubling down. One who did is Shaun Maguire, a partner at Sequoia Capital, who gave $300,000 to the Trump campaign after the ruling, even though he acknowledged the decision could cost him friends and hurt business.

Persons: Donald Trump, ” Omeed Malik, Andy Sabin, ”, Biden, Bill Ackman, Trump, David Sacks, Shaun Maguire Organizations: Republican, Pierre, Bloomberg, CNBC, Trump, Sequoia Capital Locations: Silicon, San Francisco

Trump and Musk’s growing courtshipFor much of President Biden’s time in the White House, his relations with Elon Musk have been tense. They may be about to plunge to a new low after Biden’s re-election campaign hit out at reports that Donald Trump could make Musk an adviser if the Republican were to win in November. The president’s campaign sees mileage in targeting Trump’s ties to moguls. Musk and Trump met in March at the billionaire investor’s Palm Beach, Fla., estate, where the advisory role discussions took place. Peltz and Musk have also briefed Trump on a plan to invest in a project to prevent the possibility of voter fraud.

Persons: Trump, Biden’s, Elon Musk, Donald Trump, ” James Singer, DealBook, he’s, Musk, David Sacks, Peter Thiel, Steven Mnuchin, Rupert Murdoch, Nelson Peltz, hasn’t, Don Lemon, “ Let’s, ”, Biden, Tesla Organizations: Elon, Republican, Wall Street, Trump, Los Locations: Los Angeles, Palm Beach, Fla

Another mega oil dealBullish predictions for $100 crude oil may not have come to fruition, but that hasn’t stopped the deal frenzy in the fossil fuel sector. The latest: The Houston-based company ConocoPhillips has agreed to acquire its smaller rival, Marathon Oil, in an all-stock deal that values the company at $22.5 billion, including debt. The news comes a day after Hess shareholders approved Chevron’s $53 billion takeover in a contentious vote. The oil majors have pulled off some of the biggest deals in the past year despite tough regulatory scrutiny from the Biden administration and volatility in the oil market. Still, the U.S. giants are sitting on record profits, giving them the firepower to acquire smaller drillers with operations in the oil-rich Permian Basin and in the Gulf of Mexico.

Persons: hasn’t, Hess, Biden Organizations: ConocoPhillips, Marathon Oil Locations: Houston, U.S, Gulf of Mexico

☆ Bob Menendez: 4 questions that could determine his legal – and political – fate
▼ + stars: | 2024-05-28 | by ( Gregory Krieg | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +8 min

Prosecutors from the Southern District of New York are fighting a legal battle on two fronts. The government’s ability to sketch a clear and convincing picture for the jury despite these growing constraints will likely determine Menendez’s legal fate. “(She) communicated with the bribe payers, she passed messages to Menendez, and she collected some of the bribes,” Pomerantz said. Rob Menendez – rotten to the core.”Menendez Jr. directly addressed that line of attack in a recent spot of his own. But for Menendez, the senator and father, the will of the 8th District’s primary voters could weigh heavily on his political future – and legacy.

Persons: New Jersey Sen, Bob Menendez, Sidney Stein, Stein, Menendez, Prosecutors, –, Menendez –, Will Menendez, Donald Trump, Nadine, Nadine Menendez, Avi Weitzman, “, Lara Pomerantz, ” Pomerantz, ”, Rob Menendez Jr, Ravi Bhalla, Bhalla, Rob Menendez, Rob Menendez –, ” Menendez Jr, That’s, ” Menendez, “ I’m Organizations: New, New York CNN, New Jersey Democrat, Southern, of, US, McDonnell, United, Manhattan Criminal, Congressional, Democratic, Hoboken, Garden State Democrats ’ Locations: New York, New Jersey, Manhattan, Hudson, of New York, United States, Lower Manhattan, North Jersey’s, “ Jersey

Big Oil’s big climate showdownMonths of tensions between oil majors and activist investors could reach a boiling point at the annual meetings of Exxon Mobil and Chevron Wednesday, as the U.S. giants pump record levels of crude and sit on bumper profits. Activists’ efforts to pressure Big Oil to clean up its polluting ways are faltering. Last week, climate change protests rocked Shell’s annual meeting in London. Exxon could face an even fiercer battle this week — not only with the activist investors it is suing, but from powerful institutional investors as well. They include Norway’s huge sovereign wealth fund, and CalPERS, the California pension fund, both of which strongly oppose Exxon’s attempt to quiet some of its most vocal climate critics.

Persons: Vivienne Walt Organizations: Exxon Mobil, Chevron, DealBook, Exxon Locations: U.S, London, Dutch, Norway’s, California

☆ The high-end consumer is embracing travel this summer. These stocks will benefit, says Morgan Stanley
▼ + stars: | 2024-05-25 | by ( Michelle Fox | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +5 min

Therefore, companies with exposure to the wealthier consumer should benefit, said a team of Morgan Stanley analysts led by Michelle Weaver. "This has changed post-Covid and we believe travel names exposed to high end consumers will continue to outperform those exposed to low end consumers." "We see a record spring and summer travel season with our 11 highest sales days in our history all occurring this calendar year," he said. Morgan Stanley continues to prefer the premium airlines. Its management has also noted its premium revenue is nearly 20% from last year and currently makes up 61% of revenue, he said.

Persons: Morgan Stanley, AlphaWise, Michelle Weaver, Ed Bastian, Ravi Shanker, Morgan, Shanker, Stephen Grambling, Hilton, Grambling, Wyndham, Jamie Rollo, Rollo, — CNBC's Leslie Josephs Organizations: Delta Air, Alaska Air, Alaska Airlines, American Airlines, Marriott, CCL, Royal, Norwegian Cruise Locations: Grambling, Royal Caribbean, Norwegian

: 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

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

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