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☆ 20 top CNN execs who are on the market after Warner Bros. Discovery layoffs in 2022
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-20 | by ( Claire Atkinson | Lucia Moses | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +1 min

CNN lost a slew of top people after the Warner Bros. Discovery merger and shutdown of streamer CNN+. Insider identified 20 accomplished pros from across the network who are on the market. It's been a year of sweeping layoffs and organizational changes at CNN as Warner Bros. Earlier in the year, CNN cut 239 jobs following the abrupt closure of news streamer CNN+.

☆ U.S. single-family housing starts, building permits plunge in November
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-20 | by ( Lucia Mutikani | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +4 min

Summary Housing starts fall 0.5% in NovemberSingle-family starts drop 4.1%; multi-family up 4.8%Building permits plunge 11.2%; single-family fall 7.1%WASHINGTON, Dec 20 (Reuters) - U.S. single-family homebuilding tumbled to a 2-1/2 year low in November and permits for future construction plunged as higher mortgage rates continued to depress housing market activity. The housing market has borne the brunt of the Federal Reserve's fastest interest rate-hiking cycle since the 1980s as the U.S. central bank wages war against inflation. We don't know about the rest of the economy, but the housing market is clearly in recession." Single-family housing starts, which account for the biggest share of homebuilding, dropped 4.1% to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 828,000 units last month. The jump in multi-family housing projects offset some of the drag from single-family housing units, resulting in overall housing starts falling only 0.5% to a rate of 1.427 million units last month.

☆ The biggest media targets and buyers in 2023, as speculation swirls around Disney's next move under CEO Bob Iger and how Warner Bros. Discovery can shed debt
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-19 | by ( Lucia Moses | Claire Atkinson | Reed Alexander | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +12 min

Continued pressure to get bigger has big media companies in Hollywood looking to scale up. Media bankers and investors predicted to Insider that dealmaking will rebound in 2023 as companies big and small size up their options for possible tie-ups. Pressure on big media companies to get bigger hasn't gone away. Apple: Could eye a big content prizeTim Cook. Paramount's library could help a streaming company bulk up its content; Netflix for one has explored Paramount's studio business before.

☆ 6 key Disney executives working with Bob Iger to remake former CEO Bob Chapek's business structure
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-18 | by ( Lucia Moses | Alison Brower | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +8 min

Disney CEO Bob Iger has returned to a company facing significant pressures on its linear and streaming businesses. He'll also need to unwind the business structure implemented in 2020 by his short-lived predecessor, Bob Chapek — which separated budgeting and distribution decisions from creative content development. Alan Bergman, chairman, Disney Studios ContentAlan Bergman. Disney Interactive/Reuters/Jonathan AlcornPitaro is close to Iger, has a long tenure at Disney, and has a foot in both creative and business sides. Dana Walden, chairman, Disney General Entertainment ContentDana Walden.

☆ Elon Musk restores Twitter accounts of journalists but concerns persist
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-17 | by ( Sheila Dang | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +6 min

Dec 17 (Reuters) - Elon Musk reinstated the Twitter accounts of several journalists that were suspended for a day over a controversy on publishing public data about the billionaire's plane. A Twitter poll that Musk conducted later also showed that a majority of the respondents wanted the accounts restored immediately. Accounts who doxxed my location will have their suspension lifted now," Musk said in a tweet on Saturday. A Reuters check showed the suspended accounts, which included journalists from the New York Times, CNN and the Washington Post, have been reinstated. Musk accused the journalists of posting his real-time location, saying it amounted to providing "basically assassination coordinates" for his family.

☆ Warner Bros. Discovery's new streamer could keep the name HBO Max as execs wrestle over pricing, timing, and content mix
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-16 | by ( Lucia Moses | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +4 min

Discovery is considering the name "HBO Max" as well as "Max" for its forthcoming streamer. They're also debating how to effectively promote all the Discovery and HBO content on one platform. Discovery is still debating the name for its forthcoming streaming app that will combine Discovery+ and HBO Max. Execs are mindful that HBO Max ad-free subscribers are already paying at the top of the market while Discovery+ subscribers pay significantly less. WBD has been preparing for the new streamer launch by moving some Discovery+ content to HBO Max.

☆ Netflix, NBCUniversal, BuzzFeed, Vice, and other media companies have laid off thousands in 2022, and there could be more cuts ahead in 2023
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-16 | by ( Lucia Moses | Claire Atkinson | Elaine Low | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +2 min

A fter a year of layoffs across media and entertainment companies, more cuts could come in 2023 .. A pull-back of advertising tied to the declining economic outlook has affected all media. In the blink of an eye, the media and tech jobs market has gone from hot to not. More than 3,300 media jobs were lost through November this year, according to Challenger, Gray & Christmas data — though this was down from an unprecedented 2020, when Challenger data showed 30,000 media sector jobs were lost. Discovery and Paramount Global that are racing to make their streaming businesses profitable to digital media companies such as BuzzFeed and Vice that are trying to bolster their valuations. Here are 15 media and entertainment companies that have laid off staff as of December 2022:

In this guide, we'll give you a crash course on how to quickly earn credit card rewards and book free travel. If everyone in the world expertly utilized credit card rewards to travel for free, there wouldn't be such amazing travel opportunities out there. Identify your travel goalsBefore you begin collecting credit card rewards, you should first identify your travel goals. Recommended credit card strategies for beginnersThe best practice for anyone new to credit card rewards is to invest in flexible points. You'll need: An annual fee-incurring Hilton credit card One of the greatest deals in credit card rewards is the free night certificate that comes with select American Express Hilton credit cards.

Below is a complete list of all-inclusive resorts you can book with Hyatt points in Latin America and Europe — and the number of points you'll need to do it. Caribbean/Latin AmericaHotel Category Zoëtry Agua Punta Cana C (25,000 points) Zoëtry Casa del Mar Los Cabos C (25,000 points) Zoëtry Curaçao Resort & Spa C (25,000 points) Zoëtry Montego Bay Jamaica C (25,000 points) Zoëtry Marigot Bay St. Lucia F (50,000 points) Zoëtry Paraiso de la Bonita Riviera Maya C (25,000 points) Zoëtry Villa Rolandi Isla Mujeres Cancun C (25,000 points) Sunscape Akumal Beach Resort & Spa A (15,000 points) Sunscape Curaçao Resort, Spa & Casino B (20,000 points) Sunscape Dorado Pacifico Ixtapa A (15,000 points) Sunscape Puerto Plata Dominican Republic A (15,000 points) Sunscape Puerto Vallarta Resort & Spa A (15,000 points) Sunscape Sabor Cozumel A (15,000 points) Breathless Cabo San Lucas Resort & Spa C (25,000 points) Breathless Cancun Soul Resort & Spa C (25,000 points) Breathless Montego Bay Resort & Spa C (25,000 points) Breathless Punta Cana Resort & Spa B (20,000 points) Breathless Riviera Cancun Resort & Spa B (20,000 points) Secrets Akumal Riviera Maya C (25,000 points) Secrets Aura Cozumel C (25,000 points) Secrets Bahia Mita Surf & Spa Resort B (20,000 points) Secrets Cap Cana Resort & Spa C (25,000 points) Secrets Huatulco Resort & Spa B (20,000 points) Secrets Maroma Beach Riviera Cancun C (25,000 points) Secrets Moxché Playa del Carmen C (25,000 points) Secrets Papagayo Costa Rica C (25,000 points) Secrets Playa Mujeres Golf & Spa Resort C (25,000 points) Secrets Puerto Los Cabos Golf & Spa Resort C (25,000 points) Secrets Riviera Cancun Resort & Spa C (25,000 points) Secrets Royal Beach Punta Cana B (20,000 points) Secrets St. James Montego Bay C (25,000 points) Secrets St. Martin Resort & Spa C (25,000 points) Secrets The Vine Cancun C (25,000 points) Secrets Vallarta Bay Puerto Vallarta B (20,000 points) Secrets Wild Orchid Montego Bay C (25,000 points) Dreams Acapulco Resort & Spa A (15,000 points) Dreams Aventuras Riviera Maya B (20,000 points) Dreams Bahia Mita Surf & Spa Resort B (20,000 points) Dreams Curaçao Resort, Spa & Casino B (20,000 points) Dreams Dominicus La Romana B (20,000 points) Dreams Huatulco Resort & Spa B (20,000 points) Dreams Jade Resort & Spa B (20,000 points) Dreams Karibana Cartagena Golf Resort & Spa B (20,000 points) Dreams Las Mareas Costa Rica C (25,000 points) Dreams Los Cabos Suites Golf Resort & Spa B (20,000 points) Dreams Macao Beach Punta Cana B (20,000 points) Dreams Natura Resort & Spa B (20,000 points) Dreams Onyx Resort & Spa B (20,000 points) Dreams Palm Beach Punta Cana A (15,000 points) Dreams Playa Bonita Panama A (15,000 points) Dreams Playa Mujeres Golf & Spa Resort C (20,000 points) Dreams Punta Cana Resort & Spa A (15,000 points) Dreams Riviera Cancun Resort & Spa B (15,000 points) Dreams Royal Beach Punta Cana B (20,000 points) Dreams Sands Cancun Resort & Spa B (20,000 points) Dreams Sapphire Resort & Spa B (20,000 points) Dreams Tulum Resort & Spa B (20,000 points) Dreams Vallarta Bay Resort & Spa B (20,000 points) Dreams Villamagna Nuevo Vallarta B (20,000 points) Dreams Vista Cancun Golf & Spa Resort B (20,000 points) Hyatt Ziva Cancun C (25,000 points) Hyatt Ziva Los Cabos B (20,000 points) Hyatt Ziva Puerto Vallarta B (20,000 points) Hyatt Ziva Riviera Cancun C (25,000 points) Hyatt Ziva Cap Cana C (25,000 points) Hyatt Ziva Rose Hall C (25,000 points) Hyatt Zilara Cancun C (25,000 points) Hyatt Zilara Riviera Maya C (25,000 points) Hyatt Zilara Cap Cana C (25,000 points) Hyatt Zilara Rose Hall C (25,000 points)EuropeHotel Category Alua Atlántico Golf Resort A (15,000 points) Alua Boccaccio A (15,000 points) Alua Calas de Mallorca Resort B (20,000 points) Alua Golf Trinidad A (15,000 points) Alua Gran Camp de Mar A (15,000 points) Alua Helios Bay (opening expected May 1, 2023) A (15,000 points) Alua Illa de Menorca A (15,000 points) Alua Leo (participation effective October 17, 2022) A (15,000 points) Alua Suites Las Rocas A (15,000 points) Alua Tenerife A (15,000 points) AluaSoul Carolina A (15,000 points) AluaSoul Costa Málaga A (15,000 points) AluaSoul Menorca A (15,000 points) AluaSoul Orotava Valley A (15,000 points) AluaSun Cala Antena A (15,000 points) AluaSun Continental Park Hotel & Apartments A (15,000 points) AluaSun Costa Park A (15,000 points) AluaSun Doblemar A (15,000 points) AluaSun Far Menorca A (15,000 points) AluaSun Helios Beach (opening expected May 1, 2023) A (15,000 points) AluaSun Lago Park A (15,000 points) AluaSun Lago Rojo A (15,000 points) AluaSun Marbella Park A (15,000 points) AluaSun Mediterráneo A (15,000 points) Dreams Lanzarote Playa Dorada Resort & Spa B (20,000 points) Dreams Sunny Beach Resort & Spa B (20,000 points) Secrets Lanzarote Resort & Spa B (20,000 points) Secrets Mallorca Villamil Resort & Spa C (25,000 points) Secrets Sunny Beach Resort & Spa (opening expected May 1, 2023) B (20,000 p

Organizations: & $

☆ U.S. retail sales fall after hefty gains; labor market still tight
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-15 | by ( Lucia Mutikani | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +7 min

Economists also noted that goods prices tumbled in November, which could have weighed on retail sales last month. Retail sales fell 0.6% last month, the biggest drop since December 2021, after an unrevised 1.3% jump in October. Online retail sales decreased 0.9%, which was at odds with reports of strong Black Friday sales. Sales at food services and drinking places, the only services category in the retail sales report, increased 0.9%. Data for October was revised lower to show these so-called core retail sales increasing 0.5% instead of 0.7% as previously reported.

☆ U.S. retail sales fall more than expected in November; weekly jobless claims decrease
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-15 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +4 min

The Commerce Department said on Thursday that retail sales dropped 0.6% last month. Retail sales are mostly goods and are not adjusted for inflation. Excluding automobiles, gasoline, building materials and food services, retail sales slipped 0.2% last month. Data for October was revised lower to show these so-called core retail sales increasing 0.5% instead of 0.7% as previously reported. Powell described the labor market as "extremely tight," adding "it feels like we have a structural labor shortage out there."

☆ Warner Bros. Discovery is planning to run ads on HBO originals on HBO Max, a move that could be controversial in Hollywood
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-15 | by ( Lucia Moses | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +3 min

Discovery is exploring running ads on HBO originals like "Game of Thrones." HBO Max launched its ad-supported tier in June 2021 for $10 a month versus the streamer's $15 ad-free version. HBO Max capped ads at four minutes per hour, limited how often users would see the same ad, and said no ads would run on original HBO programming. Since then, HBO Max parent WarnerMedia has been acquired by Discovery, and under new CEO David Zaslav, the merged entity Warner Bros. It's also unclear whether WBD will charge a premium for ads appearing in HBO originals — and if so, how much.

☆ Ad campaigns on Netflix's cheaper ad-supported tier have missed targets and the streamer is letting advertisers take their money back
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-15 | by ( Lucia Moses | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +5 min

Some advertisers' campaigns on Netflix's new ad-supported tier have fallen significantly short of expectations. The streamer was aggressive in signing on advertisers but didn't market the tier with viewers before launch. One month into Netflix's launch of a cheaper, ad-supported tier, it's running into some growing pains. Netflix is letting advertisers take money back after some ad campaigns fell short of their viewer targets, with some delivering around 70% of their estimated targets while others hit as little as half that, according to multiple ad agency execs. Netflix estimated the ad tier would have 40 million viewers by late 2023, the Wall Street Journal reported.

☆ U.S. manufacturing output dragged down by motor vehicle weakness
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-15 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

Manufacturing output fell 0.6% last month, the Federal Reserve said on Thursday. Mining output fell 0.7% last month, matching the decline in October. That offset some of the weakness in manufacturing and mining, leading to a 0.2% drop in overall industrial production. Industrial output slipped 0.1% in October. It is 0.1 percentage point above its 1972-2021 average.

☆ U.S. import prices drop further; inflation pressures easing
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-14 | by ( Lucia Mutikani | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +4 min

Economists polled by Reuters had forecast import prices, which exclude tariffs, would fall 0.5%. In the 12 months through November, import prices increased 2.7%, the smallest gain since January 2021, after rising 4.1% in October. Excluding fuel and food, import prices fell 0.6%. Core import prices are being depressed by the dollar's strength against the currencies of the United States' main trade partners. The report from the Labor Department also showed export prices fell 0.3% in November after declining 0.4% in October.

☆ Gun-loving Bolsonaristas challenge Lula's pledge to disarm Brazil
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-13 | by ( Gabriel Stargardter | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +10 min

The president-elect has pledged to "disarm" an increasingly gun-toting country where personal firearms have become a symbol of Bolsonaro's conservative base. Reuters interviewed eight other people working on, or advising, Lula's transition team on bolstering gun controls once he takes office on Jan. 1. The priority will be to reimpose civilian prohibitions on certain high-caliber weapons, including the rifle used by Jefferson, the sources said. The political context is a sharp departure from Lula's 2003-2010 presidency, when he passed sweeping gun laws to combat violent crime. Last week, they charged him with four counts of attempted murder, resisting arrest, and weapons charges.

☆ The M&A market just went out with a bang after a terrible year, and it could be a sign of good times to come
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-13 | by ( Dan Defrancesco | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +6 min

(Hint: it's not on Wall Street.) Meanwhile, the largest deal of the year — Microsoft's $68.7 billion bid for Activision — might not even happen, thanks to regulators. But credit unions and community banks aren't happy with the new terms, The Wall Street Journal reports. Big tech nabs from Wall Street. Company culture on Wall Street: not great!

☆ 21 production companies that are acquisition targets as streamers race to get profitable and private equity bets big on Hollywood content
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-12 | by ( Lucia Moses | Elaine Low | Claire Atkinson | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +4 min

The streaming wars have fueled a wave of deal-making for Hollywood production companies. Private equity is leading the charge, with firms like Apollo and Blackstone spending big on content. Insider identified 21 top production companies that could attract buyers or investors in 2023. Media companies need fresh content to win and keep subscribers who have more options than ever to choose from. Insider spoke with five industry dealmakers, consultants, and other experts who named 20 companies that could be hot acquisition targets as the drive for content continues.

☆ Ryan Seacrest's marketing agency has hired a top NBC News journalist to lead its push into brand storytelling
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-12 | by ( Lucia Moses | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +3 min

Ryan Seacrest's marketing agency, Civic, has made a big hire to expand its brand storytelling work. The 23-year-old Civic, whose clients include Amazon and Ford, is focused on making journalistic-style content for brands. Ryan Seacrest's marketing agency, Civic, has made a big hire to expand its brand storytelling work. "No one wants branded content," Civic cofounder and co-CEO Stuart Ruderfer told Insider. Fully 86% of companies use digital content marketing, according to an Insider Intelligence estimate.

German-style Christmas markets crop up all over the world this time of year. For me, a visit to a Christmas market is an essential part of the festive season. Whether with family, friends, or colleagues, a Christmas market and a few glasses of mulled wine always hit the spot. I visited the "Weihnachten an der Spree," or Christmas on the Spree, all-inclusive Christmas market in Berlin, Germany, to see if it was worth it. So if, like me, you like to stroll through Christmas markets and look at stalls full of handcrafted objects, decorations, and other knickknacks, you'll be disappointed.

Bakhmut has been facing the relentless firepower of a frustrated Russian army for months. There was blood everywhere.”Vyacheslav Tarasov, a 48-year-old builder, lost his right arm after shelling in Bakhmut. Peter Rudden/CNNSurgeon Yuri Mishasty treats civilians injured in nearby Bakhmut every day. Jo Shelley/CNNAs the Russian army intensifies its campaign to take Bakhmut, the shelling comes ever nearer to Kostiantynivka, 25 kilometres (about 15 miles) to the west. Since the beginning of the month, the town has been hit almost every day, the hospital director says.

☆ 'The White Lotus' season finale review: 'Arrivederci' says goodbye to a brilliant second season (SPOILERS)
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-11 | by ( Brian Lowry | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +4 min

Editor’s Note: The following contains spoilers about “The White Lotus” season finale, “Arrivederci.”CNN —It started with floating bodies, and finally brought home its various threads with a sly nod to the fact that the sex in this visit to “The White Lotus” tended to be transactional. In between, the second installment proved almost as engrossing, uncomfortable and meme-worthy as its Emmy-winning predecessor, which is no small accomplishment for writer-director Mike White. Tanya, however, wasn’t the only character being manipulated for money or advantage, which is what connected the show’s various threads. Discovery), but thanks to “The White Lotus,” it’s home to one of the best things on television, and as anthology-style concepts go, potentially one of the most durable. So now that everyone obsessed with the show has said “Arrivederci” to Sicily, the only real question is, “Where are we going next?”

☆ How We Turned Pigeons Into Pests
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-10 | by ( Bethany Brookshire | Photographs Lucia Buricelli | ) www.wsj.com time to read: +1 min

Today city-dwellers tend to think of pigeons as “rats with wings”—pests that are good for nothing but tarnishing buildings and spreading disease. In fact, the pigeons strutting the streets today are descendants of birds that were raised in dovecotes by human beings who found them very useful. The reason why feral pigeons thrive in cities today is that we bred them for skills that serve them well in an urban environment. Wild pigeons love nesting in cliff faces, leaving home daily to forage on grains and seeds and returning home at night. Even before humans started domesticating the birds on purpose, they were probably following farming settlements, says Will Smith, a zoologist at the University of Oxford who studies feral pigeons.

☆ U.S. producer prices increase in November; trend slowing
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-09 | by ( Lucia Mutikani | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +4 min

The report from the Labor Department on Friday also showed underlying producer prices increasing at their slowest pace since April 2021 on a year-on-year basis. "Easing producer prices foreshadow an improving inflation environment," said Jeffrey Roach, chief economist at LPL Financial in Charlotte, North Carolina. However, the monthly increase in producer prices illustrates the need for continued tightening." A 3.3% increase in food prices was offset by a 3.3% drop in energy costs. Excluding the volatile food, energy and trade services components, producer prices gained 0.3% in November.

☆ 2023 is shaping up to be a big year for dealmaking in live sports. Here's why.
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-09 | by ( Dan Defrancesco | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +6 min

Big deals for the big (and little) screen. Next year is shaping up to be a big one for media deals. Like many other industries, media quickly turned quiet on the dealmaking front this year as the economy soured. However, a stabilization of interest rates, along with money burning a hole in investors' pockets, could lead to a big 2023, insiders say. The landscape for media deals is fascinating when you consider the two opposing forces, as Lucia pointed out to me.

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