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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

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

Tim Cook has delivered at least seven commencement addresses since becoming the chief executive of Apple. The superstar Taylor Swift, whose concerts have been credited with lifting local economies, addressed New York University’s graduation ceremony in 2022. Bill Gates, Oprah Winfrey, Jamie Dimon — they’ve all given graduation speeches more than once. The appeal of being a commencement speaker, however, seems to be waning. Just three Fortune 50 chief executives appear to be commencement speakers this year, as colleges have faced campus protests over the war in Gaza, student arrests and wealthy alumni threatening to break ties with their alma maters over antisemitism.

Persons: Tim Cook, Taylor Swift, Bill Gates, Oprah Winfrey, Jamie Dimon —, They’re, ”, David Murray Organizations: Apple, Fortune, Professional Speechwriters Association Locations: New, Gaza

: 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

☆ Africa’s richest man says he needs 35 visas to travel in Africa – way more than a European visitor
▼ + stars: | 2024-05-22 | by ( Larry Madowo | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +5 min

The 67-year-old entrepreneur’s visa woes have reignited a fresh firestorm about the frustrations of traveling within Africa for Africans. But many African countries still require visas from other Africans and the experience is fraught with discrimination, hostility and sky-high fees. He has also been detained at airports in Kenya and South Africa because of his Nigerian passport. “There’s a fear in richer African countries that people from poorer nations might be looking for a way to permanently move there,” he explains. His new St Kitts passport allows him to go to more African countries than his Nigerian passport.

Persons: Aliko Dangote, ” Dangote, ”, Patrick, Pouyanné, Tayo Aina, Aina, YouTuber, hasn’t, Marco Longari, Alan Hirsch, “, Sotunde, William Ruto, Tayo Organizations: Rwanda CNN, Forum, CNN, African, African Continental Free Trade, Getty, University of Cape, New, Institute, Travelers, East African Community, Kenyan, REUTERS, Reuters Kenyan, St Kitts Locations: Kigali, Rwanda, Nigerian, Africa, “, Benin, The Gambia, Seychelles, Addis Ababa, London, Kenya, South Africa, Caribbean, St Kitts, Nevis, AFP, University of Cape Town, Johannesburg, Southern, West Africa, Abuja, Nigeria, East

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

Read previewWall Street is investing big in artificial intelligence — and that's good news for machine-learning engineers and other tech talent. Hirsch said that investment banks are hiring AI engineers to build in-house tools that they can use "across their trading, research, and risk-management functions." The 8 banks reviewed are JPMorgan Chase, Bank of America, UBS, Citibank, Barclays, Deutsche Bank, Goldman Sachs, and Morgan Stanley. We pulled data for roles containing keywords like "AI," "data science," "machine learning," and "prompt." AdvertisementCheck out data-science and AI salaries for JPMorgan, Goldman Sachs, Citi, Bank of America, and other investment banks:

Persons: —, JPMorgan Chase, Jamie Dimon, Dimon, Gil Perez, Giancarlo Hirsch, Hirsch, Goldman Sachs, Morgan Stanley Organizations: Service, JPMorgan, Business, Deutsche Bank, Wall, of Foreign Labor, JPMorgan Chase, Bank of America, UBS, Citibank, Barclays, Department, Labor, Citi Locations: America

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

Sony Pictures Entertainment and Apollo Global Management have taken a significant step forward in their effort to court Paramount, three people familiar with the matter said on Friday. Paramount previously shared materials with another suitor, the Hollywood studio Skydance. Early this month, Sony and Apollo sent Paramount a nonbinding expression of interest in acquiring the company for $26 billion. But Sony’s shareholders have fretted over the possible acquisition, given the potential cost of a bid for Paramount and the headwinds facing the subscription streaming business. Sony and Apollo are now contemplating a variety of approaches to acquire the company’s assets, but are backing away from their plan to make an all-cash, $26 billion offer for Paramount, two of the people said.

Organizations: Sony Pictures Entertainment, Apollo Global Management, Paramount, Hollywood, Sony, Apollo, CBS, MTV

☆ An AI-powered adtech startup wants to automate the busy work in ad operations. Read the pitch deck it used to raise $3 million.
▼ + stars: | 2024-05-16 | by ( Lara O'Reilly | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +3 min

download the appSign up to get the inside scoop on today’s biggest stories in markets, tech, and business — delivered daily. Thousands of ad operations professionals log in daily to several different adtech platforms, setting campaigns live, tinkering with budgets and targeting, and producing reports. AdvertisementThe no-code platform allows users to use natural-language prompts to configure different "autopilots" across the various platforms they use. An ad-operations professional at a streaming company might use PilotDesk to automate tasks related to managing orders, campaign tracking, and post-campaign reporting. Check out the key slides from the pitch deck that helped PilotDesk secure $3 million in seed funding.

Persons: —, PilotDesk, Joe Hirsch, Hirsch, Phil Herget, Herget Organizations: Service, Business, Google, Labor, Ardent Venture Partners, Roster Capital, Ardent

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

☆ The Billionaire Frank McCourt Mounts Bid to Buy TikTok
▼ + stars: | 2024-05-15 | by ( Lauren Hirsch | Sapna Maheshwari | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

The billionaire Frank McCourt has put up his hand. Mr. McCourt said Wednesday he was working to put together a group of bidders to buy the social media app. His goal in doing so is to rethink how TikTok, and the internet overall, use data and consider privacy. “This seemed like a great opportunity to actually create the alternative to the current internet, which has been colonized by large platforms and including TikTok,” Mr. McCourt said in an interview. He said the deal could help users “control their identity, own and control their data.”

Persons: Frank McCourt, McCourt, Jonathan Haidt, Mr, ” Organizations: Los Angeles Dodgers, Facebook, Liberty

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

☆ Sony and Apollo’s Plan for Paramount: Break It Up
▼ + stars: | 2024-05-08 | by ( Benjamin Mullin | Lauren Hirsch | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

Shari Redstone helped build Paramount Global into a sprawling media empire, but if Sony Pictures Entertainment and private-equity giant Apollo Global Management succeed in acquiring it, they plan to break it all up, according to three people familiar with the matter. Paramount Pictures — home to blockbusters like “The Godfather,” “Top Gun” and the “Mission Impossible” franchise — would be combined with Sony’s existing business. They have not yet outlined this plan to Paramount or its advisers. CBS and Paramount have been controlled by the Redstone family for decades, since the media mogul Sumner Redstone assembled the sprawling conglomerate in a series of audacious deals. His daughter, Shari Redstone, championed a 2019 deal to reunite it through a merger with CBS, and remains Paramount’s controlling shareholder.

Persons: Shari Redstone, SpongeBob, Sumner Redstone Organizations: Paramount, Sony Pictures Entertainment, Apollo Global Management, CBS, MTV, Paramount Pictures, Sony

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

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