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☆ WWE is combining with Endeavor Group's UFC to form a new company
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-03 | by ( Jordan Valinsky | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +4 min

New York CNN —World Wrestling Entertainment is merging with Endeavor Group, the parent company of competitor UFC, to form a new publicly traded company. The deal values the newly combined company at over $21 billion: UFC is worth $12.1 billion and WWE is valued at $9.3 billion. Endeavor shareholders will own 51% of the newly combined company, while WWE shareholders are getting 49%. Vince McMahon will retain his current WWE title of executive chairman at the new company, which doesn’t yet have name. Endeavor, which also owns Hollywood’s biggest talent agency William Morris Endeavor, became the outright owner of the UFC in 2021.

☆ WWE sells itself to UFC
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-03 | by ( Jordan Valinsky | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +2 min

The deal values the newly combined company at over $21 billion: UFC is worth $12.1 billion and WWE is valued at $9.3 billion. Endeavor shareholders will own 51% of the newly combined company, while WWE shareholders are getting 49%. Endeavor, which also owns Hollywood’s biggest talent agency William Morris Endeavor, became the outright owner of the UFC in 2021. Following his departure, WWE disclosed multiple expenses that Vince McMahon hadn’t previously reported, totaling $19.6 million. The WWE made more than $1.29 billion in revenue in 2022 and its shares up more than 30% for the year.

☆ The Heroes of the Nashville School Shooting
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-30 | by ( The Editorial Board | ) www.wsj.com time to read: +1 min

School buses with children arrive at Woodmont Baptist Church to be reunited with their families after a mass shooting at The Covenant School in Nashville, March 27. Monday’s murder of six people, including three 9-year-olds, by a deranged attacker at a Christian primary school in Nashville is another sign of mental illness unleashed. The heroes in Nashville were the police, who were on the scene quickly. With great discipline and courage, they entered the building, ran toward the shots, and killed the attacker once she was cornered. A timeline posted by the Tennesseean says the attacker entered the elementary school at 10:11 a.m., shooting out the glass doors.

☆ Stocks gain, US treasury yields rise as banking fear eases
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-28 | by ( Xie Yu | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

MSCI's broadest index of Asia-Pacific shares outside Japan (.MIAPJ0000PUS) edged up 0.3% by early morning Hong Kong time. U.S. Treasury yields rose on optimism that stress in the banking sector could be contained and as the Treasury Department saw soft demand for a sale of two-year notes. Benchmark 10-year yields rose to 3.5317%, up from its U.S. close of 3.528% on Monday. Two-year yields rose to 3.957%, up from a six-month low of 3.555% on Friday but below the almost 16-year high of 5.084% hit on March 8. By Tuesday morning Hong Kong time, Brent crude futures and West Texas Intermediate U.S. crude were both hovering around Monday’s closing levels.

☆ Trucking Giant Knight-Swift Transportation to Buy U.S. Xpress
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-21 | by ( Colin Kellaher | ) www.wsj.com time to read: 1 min

The addition of U.S. Xpress’s 7,200 tractors and 14,400 trailers would boost Knight-Swift’s truckload fleet to roughly 25,000 tractors and 93,000 trailers. Knight-Swift Transportation Holdings Inc. is buying rival trucker U.S. Xpress Enterprises Inc. in a deal valued at about $808 million that will bolster the scale of one of the country’s largest trucking operators. Phoenix-based Knight-Swift said Tuesday it would pay $6.15 a share in cash for U.S. Xpress, more than four times Monday’s closing price of $1.50 for the Chattanooga, Tenn.-based carrier and 13% above the stock’s 52-week high of $5.44 reached last April.

CNN —Sri Lanka on Monday secured a much-anticipated loan of about $3 billion from the International Monetary Fund (IMF) as the South Asian nation navigates its worst financial crisis in decades. The deal, nearly a year in the making, will aim to “restore macroeconomic stability and debt sustainability” and “unlock Sri Lanka’s growth potential,” the IMF said in a statement. In July last year, President Ranil Wickremesinghe said Sri Lanka is “bankrupt,” adding negotiations with the IMF were “difficult.”Monday’s loan approval will provide much-needed respite for the nation as it faces an uphill climb to revive its flailing economy. The IMF will immediately disburse an initial $333 million to Sri Lanka, with more funds to follow in the coming months. “For Sri Lanka to overcome the crisis, swift and timely implementation of the EFF-supported program with strong ownership for the reforms is critical,” IMF managing director Kristalina Georgieva said in a statement.

☆ EY's 'paused' split dragged into $2.7 bln London lawsuit
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-20 | by ( Sam Tobin | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

LONDON, March 20 (Reuters) - EY’s plans to split its auditing and consulting arms have been dragged into a $2.7 billion lawsuit brought in London by the administrators of troubled hospital operator NMC Health PLC over concerns EY would be unable to pay if it loses the case. "NMC will be aware from press coverage … that the potential separation under consideration is paused," the document said. However, EY – which denies any breach of duty to NMC – says it has already agreed to provide relevant information about the potential split to NMC. EY’s lawyer Thomas Plewman also said in court filings that, as the proposed separation has been paused, the application is "premature and unnecessary". Court filings for Monday’s hearing indicate that a trial of NMC’s lawsuit will not begin before October, 2024.

Oil prices dropped alongside a continued slide in equities markets (.MIWD00000PUS). A lower rate rise could mean the dollar weakening which in turn is a bullish signal for oil prices. A stronger-than-expected U.S. consumer inflation outcome could put further downward pressure on oil prices. Meanwhile, consumer inflation in China, the world's biggest oil importer, slowed to the lowest rate in a year in February. IEA/SOn the supply side, the American Petroleum Institute is expected to release industry data on U.S. oil inventories at 1630 ET/2030 GMT.

Bank stocks climbed and Treasury yields rose Tuesday, as some traders anticipated that financial-sector distress could remain contained and leave the Federal Reserve free to focus on tackling inflation. Trading steadied compared with Monday’s stormy session, which brought a deep rout for bank stocks and a rally for government bonds. Over the past week, the collapse of Silicon Valley Bank and the shutdowns of Signature Bank and Silvergate Capital heaped new fears of financial strain on top of investors’ yearlong preoccupation with inflation.

Shares of First Republic were up sharply in early Tuesday trading as concern over the state of the regional bank appeared to ease after a day of heavy selling. Shares of other regional banks also surged before the bell. Those moves come after regional banks fell sharply on Monday, even after U.S. regulators took extraordinary measures to backstop all depositors in the now-failed Silicon Valley Bank. In addition the backstopping the deposits at SVB and Signature Bank, which was closed on Sunday, federal regulators also announced efforts on Sunday to stabilize the wider banking system. "Outflows did not accelerate during the last few days and, in fact, some banks have seen net inflows given movement in deposits from SVB and Signature Bank," Tamayo said in a note to clients.

☆ As hawkish Fed pricing goes away, bullish dollar calls fade
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-13 | by ( Karen Brettell | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +4 min

The moves come as investors rush for safe havens and adjust for a less aggressive Fed in the wake of the bank failures. “The market is basically saying that the Fed is done here,” said Mazen Issa, senior FX strategist at TD Securities in New York. Some banks, including Goldman Sachs and NatWest Markets, have also said they no longer expect the Fed to raise rates this month. Traders are also pricing for the Fed to cut rates this year, with the fed funds rate expected to fall to 3.80% in December, from 4.57% now. “From a dollar perspective, that’s very important because the resetting of Fed expectations ever higher was a big part of the dollar rally we had seen before these moves,” he added.

☆ Kakao Strikes Back in the Battle of K-Pop Empires
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-08 | by ( Jacky Wong | ) www.wsj.com time to read: 1 min

South Korea internet company Kakao is flashing its checkbook to secure a seat at the pinnacle of the country’s popular music industry. Entertainment company Hybe, manager for global K-pop sensation BTS, will need to pay up if it wants to compete. Kakao, together with its entertainment unit, on Tuesday made a tender offer of nearly $1 billion for 35% of K-pop label SM Entertainment. The high bid price shows Kakao’s determination to take control of one of the largest K-pop labels. Kakao had already bought nearly 5% of SM, which manages bands like Super Junior and Aespa, last week in the market.

☆ Elon Musk thinks he can fix Twitter’s advertising business after derailing it
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-07 | by ( Catherine Thorbecke | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +4 min

In remarks at a Morgan Stanley Conference, Musk laid out his vision to boost Twitter’s core advertising business by adopting the standard strategy of most of the company’s peers: improving the relevance of the ads it serves. “The advertising relevance is the most gigantic thing,” Musk said. “And because it is useful, because it is relevant, there will be a massive increase in revenue, because it is now useful. At Tuesday’s event, Musk went on a series of unrelated tangents, including repeatedly taking aim at legacy media organizations. “Because what you see on Twitter is the real thing, and what you read in newspapers is not.”

☆ Moderna CEO Defends Pricing Plans for Covid-19 Shot
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-06 | by ( Jared S. Hopkins | ) www.wsj.com time to read: 1 min

Moderna Inc. Chief Executive Stéphane Bancel pushed back against criticism of the company’s pricing plans for its Covid-19 vaccine at Monday’s Wall Street Journal Health Forum. U.S. politicians including Sens. Bernie Sanders (I., Vt.), Elizabeth Warren (D., Mass.) and Peter Welch (D., Vt.) have questioned the company’s strategy around commercial pricing, which could be unveiled in the coming months. Moderna received funding from the U.S. government related to development of its Covid-19 vaccine.

☆ Moderna CEO Defends Pricing Plans for Covid Shot
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-06 | by ( Jared S. Hopkins | ) www.wsj.com time to read: 1 min

Moderna CEO Stéphane Bancel, said public funding sped the vaccine’s development. Moderna Inc. Chief Executive Stéphane Bancel pushed back against criticism of the company’s pricing plans for its Covid-19 vaccine at Monday’s Wall Street Journal Health Forum. Bernie Sanders (I., Vt.), Elizabeth Warren (D., Mass.) and Peter Welch (D., Vt.) have questioned the company’s strategy around commercial pricing, which could be unveiled in the coming months. Moderna received funding from the U.S. government related to development of its Covid-19 vaccine.

☆ Twitter hit by another outage as Musk complains platform is ‘so brittle’
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-06 | by ( Clare Duffy | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +2 min

Outage tracker site DownDetector showed more than 8,000 Twitter outage reports around noon on Monday. For users who were able to access the platform, “Twitter API” was trending as people tweeted about the issues. We’re working on this now and will share an update when it’s fixed.”In a separate tweet on Monday, Musk said: “This platform is so brittle (sigh). Other users were met with a “Welcome to Twitter!” message as if they had just joined the platform. Three weeks ago, Twitter users encountered various issues with the platform, including the inability to tweet, send direct messages or follow new accounts.

☆ Google tells employees that fewer of them will get promotions to senior roles
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-06 | by ( Jennifer Elias | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +2 min

Sundar Pichai, CEO of Google Inc. speaks during an event in New Delhi on December 19, 2022. Google is warning employees that fewer of them will receive promotions to more senior levels this year than in the past. The L6 distinction refers to the first layer of staff that's considered senior and typically includes people with about a decade of experience. The changes come as Google implements a new performance review system called Google Reviews and Development (GRAD), which as CNBC reported in December, will result in more Google employees receiving low performance ratings and fewer receiving high marks. In Monday’s email, Google said it's promoting fewer people to senior roles "to ensure that the number of Googlers in more senior and leadership roles grows in proportion to the growth of the company."

☆ The 10 biggest revelations from Dominion’s explosive Fox News legal filing
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-28 | by ( Oliver Darcy | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +6 min

Murdoch rejected that Fox News, as an entity, endorsed former President Donald Trump’s election lies. They endorsed,” Murdoch said, according to the filing, when asked about the hosts’ promotion of false claims about the election. ► Behind the scenes, Paul Ryan repeatedly warned the Murdochs to stop allowing the spread of election lies. “Maybe best to let Bill go right away,” which would “be a big message with Trump people” the filing said. These documents reveal that Fox News executives and hosts knew the truth and yet they peddled election lies to the audience.

☆ Tesla, tech and travel stocks have ginormous gains this year
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-28 | by ( Paul R. La Monica | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +3 min

Beaten-up travel stocks have also enjoyed solid gains this year, as investors bet that the worst-case fears of an imminent recession may turn out to be for naught and consumers catch up on missed travel. Some fear this ferocious rebound in consumer and tech stocks may be happening too quickly. “That means there are broader opportunities outside of tech and growth stocks and more in the value and small cap sectors.”Growth stocks, and tech in particular, make more sense as investments if the Fed were set to start slashing interest rates. Add all that up and it could mean that the recent rebound for Tesla, big techs and media firms and other consumer stocks could be short-lived. “Inflation and interest rate uncertainty means we continue to believe value stocks, including the global energy sector, will outperform growth stocks,” Haefele said.

☆ Premarket stocks: Bad sign for stocks: Bond yields are white hot again
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-28 | by ( Nicole Goodkind | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +8 min

The recent global bond rally appears to be tapering off as investors are getting a cold wet dose of reality about Fed rate hikes. Bonds compete with stocks for investors’ dollars, and when yields go up, equities often go down. That tonal shift has sent stocks lower and Treasury yields higher, as investors rethink their views on the path of interest rates. The Federal Reserve’s efforts to date to bring down inflation while maintaining a strong labor market appear achievable, she added. “As a result, although Fed rate hikes could slow the labor market in the coming months, we think labor supply faces persistent headwinds in the longer run.”

Although winter weather has been gentle to Ukraine’s crops, the ongoing conflict has reduced the country’s 2023 winter wheat plantings 22% below last year’s harvested area. CROP CONDITIONSRecent rains for parched winter wheat in the U.S. Plains have also added to wheat market pressure, though updated crop conditions released late on Monday suggest risks remain. Winter wheat in Texas and Oklahoma is not doing well, but it is better than a year ago. This week, Oklahoma is at 36% GE versus 17% a month ago, 31% in November and 11% a year ago. Kansas, Texas and Oklahoma planted half of this year’s U.S. winter wheat acres, and producers there are hoping yields will rebound from last year’s drought.

☆ SpaceX Prepares to Launch Crew to International Space Station
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-26 | by ( Micah Maidenberg | ) www.wsj.com time to read: 1 min

The SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket and Dragon spacecraft being readied for Monday’s launch at the Kennedy Space Center. SpaceX is set to launch another crew to the International Space Station, the latest human flight the company has handled for NASA since bringing such missions back to the U.S. about three years ago. The Elon Musk-led company is scheduled to blast four people to the research laboratory at 1:45 a.m. ET on Monday from the Kennedy Space Center in Florida, the National Aeronautics and Space Administration said.

☆ Michigan State University Shooting Spotlights Campus Security Efforts
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-15 | by ( Melissa Korn | ) www.wsj.com time to read: 1 min

Colleges nationwide are tapping increasingly high-tech tools to try to prevent or respond to violent attacks, but their open gates can complicate efforts to bolster campus security, school officials and safety experts said in the wake of Monday’s fatal mass shooting at Michigan State University. On Monday night, police said, 43-year-old Anthony Dwayne McRae , of Lansing, Mich., fired shots in two Michigan State buildings, killing three students and injuring five more. He died of a self-inflicted gunshot wound a few hours later, after being confronted by police off campus. Mr. McRae had no known ties to the university, police said.

☆ Voice of Democracy, one of Cambodia’s last independent media outlets, has been shut down
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-14 | by ( Heather Chen | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +4 min

CNN —One of Cambodia’s last remaining independent media outlets has been shut down by Prime Minister Hun Sen ahead of national elections in July, in a move condemned by rights groups as a blow to press freedom. Based in the capital Phnom Penh, Voice of Democracy (VOD), a local outlet run by the Cambodian Center for Independent Media, published radio and online reports about labor and rights issues, environmental crime and political corruption. Media mainstayHun Sen has served as the country’s prime minister since 1985, making him one of the world’s longest serving leaders. Suy Se/AFP/Getty Images“The Prime Minister should immediately withdraw this heavy handed and disproportionate order,” it said. “The freedom of press in Cambodia has lost one of its last remaining independent media outlets.”

☆ Syrians in Rebel-Held Northwest Saw Little Aid After Earthquakes Struck
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-12 | by ( Jared Malsin | Photographs Ahmed Deeb For The Wall Street Joural | ) www.wsj.com time to read: 1 min

BAB AL-HAWA, Syria—Three-month-old Mohammed Ghiath Rajab, who suffered a serious head injury during last Monday’s earthquakes, lay unconscious in an incubator in an overflowing ICU. He was breathing with the help of a mechanical ventilator, a surgical drainage tube protruding from his skull. Around him, in a hospital run by an American nonprofit, dozens of other children, bloodied and bandaged, were being treated over the weekend, part of a flood of casualties from the devastating double quakes that struck the border region between Turkey and Syria.

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