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☆ PGA Tour Raises $1.5 Billion From Group of U.S. Investors
▼ + stars: | 2024-01-31 | by ( Lauren Hirsch | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

The PGA Tour announced on Wednesday that it had reached a deal to raise more than $1.5 billion from a group of U.S. investors, led by the Fenway Sports Group, the parent company of the Boston Red Sox and Liverpool Football Club. The deal would give the PGA Tour a significant amount of cash at a time when it is facing steep competition from its well-financed rival, LIV Golf, which is backed by Saudi Arabia’s sovereign wealth fund. The influx of money raises questions about whether a deal the PGA struck six months ago to align itself with the Saudi wealth fund remains necessary. The PGA and the Saudi fund initially set a Dec. 31 deadline to work out details and finalize their deal. The tour’s commissioner, Jay Monahan, said Wednesday on a call with PGA players before the official announcement that the tour “does remain in active and frequent dialogue” with representatives for the Saudi wealth fund.

Persons: LIV Golf, Jay Monahan Organizations: PGA, Fenway Sports Group, Boston Red Sox, Liverpool Football Club, Tour, Saudi Locations: U.S, Saudi, Saudi Arabia

Tech giants are set to report quarterly earnings, starting on Tuesday with Alphabet and Microsoft. Wall Street is expecting good news, including more progress on artificial intelligence. The cuts aren’t as widespread as last year, when hundreds of thousands of jobs were eliminated. About 100 companies have cut 25,000 positions this year, according to Layoffs.fyi. By comparison, more than 1,000 companies eliminated about 260,000 last year.

Organizations: Tech, Microsoft, Activision Blizzard, Google

What next for Evergrande’s creditors? A Hong Kong court on Monday ordered the liquidation of Evergrande, the heavily indebted Chinese property giant. The company’s dissolution raises questions about fairness for overseas creditors — which could have wider implications for foreign businesses operating in China. But as the economy slowed, property sales plummeted, and Chinese regulators began clamping down on excessive leverage and speculation. The judge presiding over Evergrande’s bankruptcy case has now called time after two years of talks.

Persons: Evergrande Organizations: Hong, Monday Locations: Hong Kong, Evergrande, China

deals in the cross hairsTech giants like Microsoft, Amazon and Google have sought an edge in the artificial intelligence race by investing in innovative start-ups like OpenAI and Anthropic. But that strategy is drawing more attention, as the F.T.C. joins international counterparts in scrutinizing those deals. It’s the latest effort by the agency to check the power of Big Tech, but raises questions about whether it also will impede the ability of start-ups to raise needed cash. The big question: Do these deals hinder competition?

Persons: Sam Altman, OpenAI’s Organizations: Tech, Microsoft, Google, Big Tech

Tesla plungesElon Musk and Tesla shareholders are at a crossroads. Shares are down roughly 8 percent on Thursday in premarket trading after Wednesday’s lackluster year-end results. He asked investors to look beyond 2024, predicting a “major growth wave” fueled by a low-cost Tesla model that will be built partly in Austin, Texas, and Mexico. The latest stock fall comes after Tesla reported that fourth-quarter profit nearly doubled to $7.9 billion — largely thanks to a one-time tax break. The company also declined to give detailed full-year guidance, but said it expected sales growth to be “notably slower.”

Persons: Tesla, Elon Organizations: Tesla Locations: North America, Europe, China, Austin , Texas, Mexico

Trump marches onAs widely expected, Donald Trump handily won the New Hampshire Republican primary, defeating Nikki Haley by double digits. That has left anti-Trump donors and the broader business community glimpsing an increasingly likely future: The former president will become the Republican nominee, and stands a good shot of winning in November. Haley said she would fight on, arguing last night that “this race is far from over.” But the former South Carolina governor will head to her home state — she’s skipping the Nevada caucuses on Feb. 8 — badly trailing Trump in polls there, with many of her Palmetto State colleagues having endorsed her opponent. A growing number of Republicans are now suggesting that she should drop out: Senator John Cornyn of Texas, a senior G.O.P. lawmaker, said that his party needed “to unite around a single candidate.”

Persons: Trump, Donald Trump, Nikki Haley, Haley, John Cornyn of, ” Organizations: New Hampshire Republican, Trump, Republican, South, Palmetto State Locations: South Carolina, Nevada, John Cornyn of Texas

(Both men already hold sizable amounts of Alibaba stock.) Alibaba itself bought back $9.5 billion worth of stock last year, reducing its share count by over 3 percent. The stock purchases will probably bring attention back to Ma, a former English teacher who helped start Alibaba as an e-commerce platform. Ma, who hasn’t held a management role at Alibaba or Ant in years but remains a lifetime partner in the Alibaba Partnership, now largely focuses on Bill Gates-style philanthropy. And she’s expected to take swipes at Trump’s economic record as president.

Persons: Tsai, Ma, Alibaba, Ant, hasn’t, Bill Gates, Nikki Haley, Donald Trump, Eric Rosengren, Robert Kaplan, Kaplan, Rosengren, Archer, Daniels, Vikram Luthar, Scott Stuber, Spike Lee, Martin Scorsese, Jane Campion, Stuber, Ted Sarandos, Netflix’s, Bela Bajaria, Biden’s, Janet Yellen, Lael Brainard, they’re, Biden, ” Ray Fair Organizations: Pool Management, Alibaba, Brooklyn Nets, New York Liberty, Nets, Boston Fed, Dallas Fed, Republican, Biden, Yale, Times Locations: U.S, Hong Kong, China, Ma, Beijing, ’, Paris, New Hampshire, Dixville

(Other former hopefuls, including Vivek Ramaswamy and Tim Scott, have also endorsed Trump.) The Republican faithful are coalescing around Trump in a way that raises questions about the next move by the wealthy donors who have sought to stop him. Among his strategic errors was betting that “anti-woke” fights, including his battle against Disney, would resonate with voters. Haley has embraced her status as the last anti-Trump candidate standing: “May the best woman win,” she said on Sunday. But polls put her some 15 percentage points behind Trump in New Hampshire, as voters head to the polls tomorrow.

Persons: Haley, Donald Trump, Ron DeSantis, Vivek Ramaswamy, Tim Scott, Nikki Haley, DeSantis, ”, “ Organizations: Trump, Republican, Disney, Politico Locations: Trump, Florida, New Hampshire

☆ Macy’s Rejects Takeover Bid, but Remains ‘Open to Opportunities’
▼ + stars: | 2024-01-22 | by ( Lauren Hirsch | More About Lauren Hirsch | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: 1 min

The retailer Macy’s rejected a $5.8 billion takeover bid late Sunday that valued the struggling department store chain at roughly 20 percent above its closing share price on Friday, but suggested it was “open to opportunities.”The bidders, Arkhouse Management and Brigade Capital, are seeking to acquire Macy’s stock they do not already own at $21 a share and have threatened to take the offer to shareholders. With a potential hostile bid looming, questions are rising over how Arkhouse and Brigade could pull off a deal and whether additional suitors could appear, potentially setting off a bidding war. In a statement released Sunday night, Macy’s board questioned whether the investment firms had the money to finance the deal, which it said “lacks compelling value.” It noted that the bid was accompanied by a letter with “numerous” untraditional stipulations.

Persons: Macy’s Organizations: Arkhouse Management, Brigade

It was the first Davos gathering since 2020 without any Covid-related restrictions, as fears about the pandemic almost completely receded. Here are some of the big takeaways from the five-day conference, which ended Friday. Many of the meeting spaces on the main street of Davos billed themselves as places to learn about A.I. Attendees also discussed potential risks of A.I., including job losses, widening social inequality and the rapid spread of misinformation. One industrial executive mused in a private discussion about whether the cost of retraining workers whose jobs were altered by A.I.

Persons: Sam Altman, OpenAI, Mustafa Suleyman, Aidan Gomez Organizations: Economic Locations: Davos, Switzerland, Cohere

The Davos consensus on the presidential electionPublicly, the global business leaders who gathered at the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland, haven’t wanted to predict the winner of the upcoming U.S. presidential election. In an interview with Andrew on CNBC, he didn’t predict that Trump would win, but suggested that dismissing the former president and his supporters would be a mistake. “He wasn’t wrong about some of these critical issues, and that’s why they’re voting for him,” he said. “Trump is already the president at Davos — which is a good thing because the Davos consensus is usually wrong,” Alex Soros, the son of George Soros, said on a panel. A little history: The Davos consensus was that Hillary Clinton would beat Trump in 2016.

Persons: haven’t, Donald Trump, DealBook, Trump, Jamie Dimon, JPMorgan Chase, Andrew, “, ” Dimon, ”, MAGA, bode, “ Trump, ” Alex Soros, George Soros, Hillary Clinton, Sting, Biden, It’s, Reddit, Macy’s, Tony Spring, Warren Buffett, Morningstar Organizations: Economic, JPMorgan, CNBC, Trump, NATO, Biden, Trump’s Republican, Davos, Apple Watch, Reuters, Investors Locations: Davos, Switzerland, U.S, China, American, Indonesia, E.S.G

But one topic dominating a lot of discussion among U.S. business leaders and policymakers has been largely missing from the official agenda: rising antisemitism after the Oct. 7 Hamas-led attacks on Israel. Only one panel to discuss the topic is on the agenda out of the forum’s hundreds of presentations. The panelists at the session this afternoon include Doug Emhoff, the husband of Vice President Kamala Harris; Michal Herzog, the wife of Israel’s president; and Jonathan Greenblatt of the Anti-Defamation League. (Isaac Herzog, Israel’s president, spoke this morning.) “I’m disappointed that there isn’t more of a conversation about antisemitism here,” Leon Kalvaria, the chairman of Citigroup’s Institutional Clients Group and a longtime Davos attendee, told DealBook.

Persons: Doug Emhoff, Kamala Harris, Michal Herzog, Jonathan Greenblatt, Isaac Herzog, “ I’m, ” Leon Kalvaria, DealBook, ” Organizations: Economic, Defamation League, Group Locations: Davos, Switzerland, Ukraine, U.S, Israel

Zelensky and Trump loom over DavosTwo people are having an outsize impact at the World Economic Forum, and one of them isn’t even there. One is Volodymyr Zelensky, Ukraine’s president, who put on a full-court press of business and global leaders at the forum in Davos, Switzerland. Zelensky isn’t the only leader at Davos worried about Trump. The Ukrainian leader has sought to shore up global business support. And the annual wine tasting hosted by Anthony Scaramucci, the financier and former Trump official, well, ran out of wine.

Persons: Volodymyr Zelensky, Donald Trump, Zelensky, Vladimir Putin, Andrew, Trump, Putin, “, ” Zelensky, Republican Party ”, DealBook, thumped, JPMorgan Chase, Steve Schwarzman, Blackstone, Ray Dalio, David Rubenstein, Carlyle, Michael Dell, John Kerry, Biden’s, Anthony Scaramucci, Christine Lagarde, Christopher Waller, Nelson Peltz’s, James Gorman, Morgan Stanley, Mary Barra, General Motors —, Bob Iger, Disney’s, Murray Auchincloss, Bernard Looney, Auchincloss, Yi Fuxian Organizations: Trump, Economic, Ukraine, Republican Party, Republican, JPMorgan, Congress Center, Dell, European Central Bank, Fed, Disney, General, BP, University of Wisconsin – Locations: Davos, Switzerland, Europe, Ukraine, American, Iowa, Bridgewater, China, Beijing, Russia, Britain, U.S, Asia, University of Wisconsin – Madison

The meetings behind the meetingThousands of global leaders have once again descended on snowy Davos, Switzerland, for the World Economic Forum’s annual meeting. The theme of this year’s event: “rebuilding trust.”But there are the public meetings, and then there are the real ones behind closed doors that the attendees are talking about most. These include discussions touching on U.S.-China tensions, the war in Gaza, artificial intelligence and the future of Ukraine. If the answer is zero, you’ve won. Top U.S. officials are set to appear on the main stage, including Secretary of State Antony Blinken and Jake Sullivan, the national security adviser.

Persons: you’ve, Antony Blinken, Jake Sullivan Organizations: Center, U.S Locations: Davos, Switzerland, China, Gaza, Ukraine

Now the company plans to go big on the business of investing in airports, bridges, oil pipelines and more. Alongside announcing its quarterly earnings, the firm said on Friday that it would acquire Global Infrastructure Partners for about $12.5 billion in cash and stock. The deal is BlackRock’s biggest takeover since 2009, when it bought Barclays Global Investors for $13.5 billion and became the world’s biggest provider of index funds. It’s a major bet by BlackRock on infrastructure, in which financial firms invest in, or take over and run, assets like tunnels, highways, and oil and gas networks. “Policymakers are only just beginning to implement once-in-a-generation financial incentives for new infrastructure technologies and projects,” Larry Fink, BlackRock’s chairman and C.E.O., said in a statement.

Persons: ” Larry Fink Organizations: Global Infrastructure Partners, Barclays Global Investors, BlackRock Locations: BlackRock, It’s

Some of that loss may be because of disappointing news about the Cybertruck’s pricing and availability. But some may also reflect renewed concern about Elon Musk’s latest comments, made at the DealBook Summit this week, and whether his self-inflicted damage at X is distracting from his other businesses. Advertisers aren’t impressed by Musk’s recent tirade. On Wednesday, he asserted that brands were trying to “blackmail” him by suspending their advertising after he endorsed an antisemitic conspiracy theory on X. “There is no advertising value that would offset the reputational risk of going back on the platform,” Lou Paskalis, the founder and C.E.O.

Persons: Tesla’s, Elon Musk’s, aren’t, Musk’s, ”, Lou Paskalis Organizations: Tesla, AJL, Times

Yes, I was surprised at what Elon Musk said at the DealBook Summit on Wednesday — you can see that in the moment from our conversation when he left me temporarily speechless. But I would encourage everyone to watch the entire interview, as we covered so much more than that. Coming into Wednesday’s DealBook Summit, few could predict what Elon Musk — whose SpaceX, Tesla and X are among the most consequential and talked-about companies in the world — would say. Yes, there was the moment when, using profane language, Musk denounced companies that had suspended advertising on X following his endorsement of an antisemitic conspiracy theory. (He did try to clear the air, saying he hadn’t meant to support bigots.

Persons: Andrew, Elon Musk, Musk, “ Organizations: SpaceX, Tesla

The lineup for DealBook Summit 2023On Wednesday, DealBook will be live and in person at our annual summit in New York. The DealBook team and reporters from The Times will be reporting live from the conference. Even if you are not with us, you can follow along here beginning at 8:30 a.m. Eastern. Here are the speakers:Vice President Kamala HarrisElon Musk , the chairman and C.E.O. Is this a technology that will unleash a new wave of productivity, or is it a force that could do irreparable harm?

Persons: DealBook, Andrew, Kamala Harris Elon Musk, Tesla, X Tsai Ing, Taiwan Lina Khan, Jamie Dimon, JPMorgan Chase Bob Iger, Kevin McCarthy, California Jensen Huang, Nvidia David Zaslav, Jay Monahan Organizations: DealBook, The, SpaceX, Federal Trade, JPMorgan, Disney, Republican, Nvidia, Warner Bros, White House Locations: New York, Taiwan, California, Israel, China, U.S, Beijing, Washington

This year’s DealBook Summit will include conversations with global leaders and powerful figures from Wall Street, Silicon Valley and Hollywood. Jamie Dimon has been the chief executive of JPMorgan Chase since 2006 and its chairman since 2007, making him one of Wall Street’s longest-serving banking leaders. Bob Iger returned as Disney’s chief executive last year, after stepping down from the role in 2020. David Zaslav orchestrated Discovery’s takeover of WarnerMedia and became the chief executive of the new company, Warner Bros. The transaction helped transform his modest cable television company into an empire that includes the Warner Bros. movie and TV studios, HBO and CNN.

Persons: Andrew Ross Sorkin, Kamala Harris, Ms, Harris, Biden’s, Tsai Ing, Tsai, Elon Musk, Musk, Jamie Dimon, Jensen Huang, chipmaker, Bob Iger, Long, Iger, Lina Khan, Khan, ”, David Zaslav, Jay Monahan, LIV Golf, Monahan, Kevin McCarthy, Mr, McCarthy, Shonda Rhimes, Rhimes Organizations: Wall, Israel, Elon, SpaceX, JPMorgan Chase, First, Nvidia, Fox, Marvel, Pixar, Hollywood, ESPN, Federal Trade Commission, Columbia Law, WarnerMedia, Warner Bros, HBO, CNN, Republican, Republican Party, Shondaland, Netflix Locations: Silicon Valley, Hollywood, United States, California, San Francisco, Gaza, Taiwan, China, First Republic, Saudi

Shein aims to win over Wall Street and WashingtonIn filing confidentially for an initial public offering, Shein, the ultrafast-fashion retailer, is showing ambition on two fronts. The company and its underwriters are betting that investors will be more receptive to I.P.O.s, even though high-profile market debuts this fall largely fizzled out. Shein is also testing whether it can endure what’s likely to be an increase in political heat on the China-founded e-commerce giant. The company has also set up operations in Ireland and Indiana and hired an array of lobbyists in the U.S. “No one should be fooled by Shein’s efforts to cover its tracks,” Senator Marco Rubio, Republican of Florida, wrote in a letter to other lawmakers.

Persons: Marco Rubio Organizations: Wall, Washington, underwriters, Republican Locations: China, Washington, Singapore, Nanjing, Ireland, Indiana, U.S, Florida

In recent years, Shein has gained popularity among U.S. consumers, particularly teenagers and young adults, for its wide variety of low-priced trendy apparel and accessories. But Shein has also faced claims that it has copied designs and unevenly benefited from a U.S. trade rule that allows it to avoid paying custom fees. In April, two members of Congress asked the Securities and Exchange Commission to require Shein, as a condition of its expected offering, to certify through an independent party that it doesn’t use Uyghur forced labor. It has also teamed up with Forever 21, the fast-fashion mall stalwart, which could lead to more Shein apparel in brick-and-mortar locations. In June, a trip that it hosted for influencers at some of its warehouses in China was widely panned on social media as being tone-deaf.

Persons: Shein, ” Shein Organizations: Securities and Exchange Commission, influencers Locations: U.S, Xinjiang, China

on trialThe Supreme Court will hear a landmark case this week that could determine the future of the S.E.C.’s in-house enforcement arm and have serious consequences for how other regulators operate. Jarkesy was found guilty in an administrative proceeding overseen by an administrative law judge. But he won a later challenge to that process in federal court, saying that the Seventh Amendment guaranteed the right to a jury trial. Most justices have shown an inclination to limit agency power and this is just one of several cases challenging the power of federal regulators. The Supreme Court is also mulling the future of the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau and whether to overrule a principle that requires judges to defer to agencies’ interpretations of administrative rules.

Persons: Napoleon, ”, George Jarkesy, Jarkesy Organizations: Disney, Consumer Financial Protection Bureau

The 2022 climate law has accelerated investments in clean-energy projects across the United States. It has also delivered financial windfalls for big banks, lawyers, insurance companies and start-up financial firms by creating an expansive new market in green tax credits. The law, signed by President Biden, effectively created a financial trading marketplace that helps smaller companies gain access to funding, with Wall Street taking a cut. The law created a wide range of tax incentives to encourage companies to produce and install solar, wind and other low-emission energy technologies. But the Democrats who drafted it knew those incentives, including tax credits, wouldn’t help companies that were too small — or not profitable enough — to owe enough in taxes to benefit.

Persons: Biden Locations: United States

Overnight, OpenAI announced that it had an “agreement in principle” to reinstall Sam Altman as C.E.O., while the board members who pushed him out are departing. The news was greeted rapturously by the ChatGPT creator’s employees, most of whom had threatened to quit and join Altman at Microsoft. Altman and those focused more on commercializing the technology came out ahead of those worried about its apocalyptic potential. Gone are Tasha McCauley, Helen Toner and Ilya Sutskever, three of the four directors who ousted Altman. That board will help select a bigger permanent one, according to The Verge, which may include representation for Microsoft, OpenAI’s biggest investor.

Persons: OpenAI, Sam Altman, Altman, Tasha McCauley, Helen Toner, Ilya Sutskever, Bret Taylor, Larry Summers, Adam D’Angelo, Satya Nadella, Microsoft’s, ” Organizations: Microsoft, Treasury Locations: Silicon

Microsoft had no official say with the board when Altman, the company’s key contact, was fired. That is partly as a hedge for the fact it has no control over the start-up’s board. It involves the holy grail of OpenAI’s work: achieving artificial general intelligence, or A.G.I. Scott Syphax, a corporate governance expert, told DealBook that the deal could raise red flags with regulators if it threatens the nonprofit’s tax-exempt status. Another area Syphax is watching: the valuation that Microsoft placed on OpenAI after its investment and whether it acquired the I.P.

Persons: Altman, Nadella, Kara Swisher, Brockman, ”, Microsoft’s, Scott Syphax, DealBook, Bill Gurley, Satya Organizations: Microsoft, Times Locations: “, Grubhub

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