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What next on inflation and rate cuts? The mood music on rate cuts has changed again. All eyes now are focused on the upcoming Consumer Price Index data for clues on when the Fed might finally start cutting interest rates. Economists on Tuesday are forecasting higher growth but also higher-for-longer inflation and rates. Traders are penciling in fewer than three cuts this year — lower than the Fed’s own projection — with the first coming not before July.

Persons: That’s

Jamie Dimon sees America at a ‘Pivotal Moment’Jamie Dimon’s annual letter to JPMorgan Chase shareholders has just been published. The economy is resilient but the government underpinning it is a red flag. Consumers are spending and investors expect a soft landing. But Dimon warns that the economy is being fueled by government spending and rising deficits. “These markets seem to be pricing in at a 70% to 80% chance of a soft landing — modest growth along with declining inflation and interest rates,” Dimon writes, adding that the odds are actually a lot lower.

Persons: Jamie Dimon, Jamie Dimon’s, Dimon, ”, ” Dimon Organizations: JPMorgan Chase Locations: America, Ukraine

Oil spike ripples through global marketsThe price of Brent crude rose again on Friday, at one point topping $91 a barrel. Growing tensions in the Middle East have pushed the global benchmark to levels last reached in October. Some analysts believe the oil rally is just beginning, creating a fresh inflation risk for central bankers who are struggling to keep price-increases in check. JPMorgan Chase forecast last week that oil would climb above $100 by September. And, in a bad sign for motorists, gasoline prices in the U.S. have climbed 6 percent in the past month just ahead of the North American summer driving season.

Persons: Brent, Biden Organizations: JPMorgan Chase Locations: U.S

Disney fended off the activist investor Nelson Peltz for the second time in two years, as its shareholders rejected his effort to win two seats on its board. The House of Mouse claimed a “substantial” margin of victory, after a bitterly fought contest with Peltz and his major backer, the former Marvel chair Ike Perlmutter. Based on preliminary results from Wednesday’s annual investor meeting, Disney’s board candidates won the backing of 75 percent of individual shareholders, an outsize investor base. But like any good Disney tale, the board fight provided a series of lessons for the future — for companies and activists alike. That included cost-cutting efforts, an investment in the video game giant Epic Games and a shake-up in the struggling movie division.

Persons: Iger, Nelson Peltz, Mouse, Peltz, Ike Perlmutter, Bob Iger Organizations: Disney, Marvel, Wall Street

Tesla’s woes prompt an E.V. reassessmentWall Street has sounded the alarm for weeks that the transition to electric vehicles may be stalling, despite billions in government subsidies and huge investments by auto giants. Tesla’s latest sales figures suggest that the pullback may be worse than thought — and beyond one company’s ability to fix. Tesla’s numbers undershot forecasts. That has contributed to a more than 30 percent decline in Tesla’s stock, which has made it one of the worst performers on the S&P 500 this year.

☆ Endeavor, the Entertainment Company Led by Ari Emanuel, to Go Private
▼ + stars: | 2024-04-02 | by ( Michael J. De La Merced | More About Michael J. De La Merced | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

Endeavor, the sports and entertainment company led by the Hollywood super agent Ari Emanuel, said on Tuesday that it planned to go private with the help of Silver Lake, the investment firm that has been its longtime financial backer. Under the terms of the deal, Silver Lake will buy the shares in Endeavor that it doesn’t already own for $27.50 a share in cash. That price is 55 percent above where Endeavor’s shares were trading on Oct. 25, the day before the company said it was weighing deal options. The deal values Endeavor, including its debt, at $13 billion. The long-awaited transaction is meant to usher in a new era for Endeavor, whose ambitious growth story failed to gain traction on Wall Street.

Persons: Ari Emanuel, Silver, Emanuel, Patrick Whitesell, Dwayne Johnson, Ben Affleck — Organizations: Endeavor, Hollywood Locations: Silver

Microsoft unbundles, againMicrosoft is separating Teams, its popular video and chat app, from its Office software suite in markets around the world, broadening a split that began in the European Union last fall. It appears to be the latest effort by the software giant to head off investigations by global antitrust enforcers as regulators examine the power of Big Tech. Microsoft first added the video and document collaboration program to its business software suite in 2017, and saw Teams’s popularity soar after the coronavirus pandemic unleashed a boom in hybrid and remote working. At the height of the lockdown in 2020, Slack filed a complaint with the European Commission accusing Microsoft of anticompetitive behavior by bundling Teams with Office. (Three months later, Slack agreed to sell itself to Salesforce for $27.7 billion.)

Persons: Microsoft unbundles, Slack, Eric Yuan Organizations: Microsoft, European Union, Big Tech, Rivals, Commission

Politicians and auto executives on both sides of the Atlantic are calling for more protectionist measures. After Tesla lost its crown to BYD as the world’s biggest E.V. Otherwise, the Tesla C.E.O. said, Chinese E.V. The continent’s auto sector employs 13 million people and generates 8 percent of the bloc’s G.D.P.

Persons: China Tesla, —, Warren Buffett, Tesla, Elon Musk, ” Luca de Meo, Vivienne Walt, DealBook, ”, June’s E.U Organizations: Renault Group’s, Airbus Locations: China, Europe, June’s

Kushner and Kloss take over Life magazineLife, the iconic photography-focused chronicler of the 20th century, has taken on many forms, including a weekly magazine, a website and the occasional special issue. Kushner and Kloss are buying the publication rights to Life from Dotdash Meredith, the print and digital publisher. The deal is being done through Bedford Media, the media start-up that Kloss leads as C.E.O. Life was once a central part of American culture, featuring the work of renowned photographers like Robert Capa and writing by top authors. (Ernest Hemingway’s “The Old Man and the Sea” first appeared in its pages.

Persons: Kushner, Kloss, Barry, Josh Kushner, Dotdash Meredith, Robert Capa, Ernest Hemingway’s “ Organizations: IAC, Bedford Media Locations: OpenAI

A settlement that could scramble the credit card businessA long-running fight between the credit card giants Visa and Mastercard and retailers in the United States is nearing an end, with the promise of lower fees for merchants. But the proposed class-action settlement could have wider consequences, including for the lucrative business of high-end credit cards — and for retailers. What’s in the settlement: Visa and Mastercard said on Tuesday that they had agreed to reduce swipe fees, costs associated with the use of a credit card, for about five years. Perhaps more important, merchants will be able to raise their prices based on the kind of card. For example, buying groceries with a higher-fee card — typically a premium card like the Chase Sapphire Reserve — could become more expensive than paying with a lower-end one.

Organizations: Visa, Mastercard, Chase Locations: United States

BlackRock’s chief wants to rethink a fiscal time bombAs the chairman and C.E.O. In his latest letter to investors, published on Tuesday, Fink weighs in on a new topic: a looming global retirement crisis, and what can be done to address it. The way retirement is handled around the world needs to change, Fink writes. In the U.S. in particular, people are living longer, a trend that’s likely to grow given the advent of weight loss drugs like Wegovy, Fink writes. But he adds that four in 10 Americans don’t have $400 in emergency savings, let alone proper retirement funds.

Persons: Larry Fink, Fink Organizations: BlackRock

Raised stakes in a firearms takeover contestA battle over Vista Outdoor, the company behind top ammunition brands like Remington and Camelbak water bottles, is escalating — and national security is becoming a bigger factor in the fight. MNC is offering $37.50 a share for all of Vista, up from a bid of $35 last month and 16 percent higher than where Vista’s stock closed on Friday. In a letter to Vista’s board reviewed by DealBook, the investment firm reiterated that it had lined up financing for its offer, despite questions by Vista about how solid those commitments were. Vista rejected MNC’s previous offer, saying a planned breakup of itself would be more valuable for shareholders. (Vista has agreed to sell its ammunition business to CSG for $1.9 billion, leaving its nonfirearm division, Revelyst, as a stand-alone public company.)

Persons: DealBook, Vista Organizations: Vista, Remington, MNC Capital, Czechoslovak, MNC, CSG Locations: U.S, Vista

These are accusations that the Justice Department leveled against a technology giant it accused of running an illegal monopoly. But they aren’t from this week’s antitrust lawsuit against Apple — they’re from the case the department brought against Microsoft in 1998. And federal prosecutors are explicitly connecting the Apple lawsuit to that earlier fight. “They’re really presenting this case as a successor to that: Microsoft 2.0,” said Gus Hurwitz, a senior fellow at the University of Pennsylvania Carey Law School. And it isn’t clear whether the Justice Department will be able to achieve here what it claims to have done by suing Microsoft.

Persons: Apple —, Department’s, Clinton, “ They’re, ”, Gus Hurwitz Organizations: Justice Department, Apple, Microsoft, Google, University of Pennsylvania Carey Law School

Are investors buying Nvidia’s latest A.I. Nvidia’s stock has soared more than fivefold since ChatGPT debuted in November 2022, a rally that has vaulted the chipmaker into the trillion-dollar market cap club on the back of investor fervor for artificial intelligence — and the high-end processors that power these models. But shares in Nvidia are down in premarket trading on Tuesday after investors gave the first day of the company’s annual developer conference (known as “A.I. Woodstock”) a tough grade. That’s even after the semiconductor company introduced its latest chip, which is capable of running increasingly complex computing models.

Persons: ChatGPT, A.I Organizations: Nvidia Locations: Woodstock

A different kind of battle for Third PointA small computer chip design company, R2 Semiconductor, has been notching wins in a potentially big patent fight against Intel over the past few months — a dispute that could force Intel to stop selling several chip lines in Europe. The context: R2 sued Intel, as well as two customers, Hewlett Packard Enterprise and Dell, in Germany, alleging that the chipmaker had infringed on a patent dealing with voltage regulation in semiconductors. A regional court in February issued injunctions against the sale of at least some Intel chips. And on March 8, a higher court rejected Intel’s effort to halt the decision. Meanwhile, a trial in Britain over the patent is set to begin next month.

Persons: DealBook, Dan, haven’t Organizations: R2 Semiconductor, Intel, Amazon Web Services, Fujitsu, Hewlett Packard Enterprise, Dell Locations: Europe, Germany, Britain

☆ Americans Invested Billions in Chinese Companies. Now Their Money Is Stuck.
▼ + stars: | 2024-03-16 | by ( Lauren Hirsch | Michael J. De La Merced | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: 1 min

When investors talk about “zombie” companies, they’re usually referring to distressed start-ups that are hobbling along, unable to grow and unlikely to ever return the money they’ve raised. But as deal makers feverishly debated efforts this week by lawmakers to force TikTok’s Chinese parent company, ByteDance, to sell the app, they talked about a new version: China zombies. China zombies may have booming businesses, but they’re unlikely to provide investors with any immediate return because they’re stuck in geopolitical cross hairs. It’s not just the investors in ByteDance who, after handing it more than $8 billion, are stuck. What looked like a mammoth growth opportunity just a few years ago — inspiring investors to pour money into companies like Ant Financial, PingPong and Geekplus — has turned hostile.

Persons: they’re, — Organizations: Ant Locations: China, ByteDance

☆ Mike Lynch, Former U.K. Tech Mogul, Faces the Trial of His Life
▼ + stars: | 2024-03-16 | by ( Michael J. De La Merced | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

Every morning in his townhouse in the tony San Francisco neighborhood of Pacific Heights, the man once referred to as Britain’s Bill Gates gets to work. That man, Mike Lynch, checks in with his investment firm, Invoke Capital, on its recent performance. He receives updates on the heritage Red Poll cattle and other livestock at his farm in Suffolk, in the east of England. Eventually, Mr. Lynch, 58, turns to his most important task: defending himself against 16 criminal counts of conspiracy and fraud. The trial begins on Monday in San Francisco, where federal prosecutors — who extradited Mr. Lynch from Britain in May and placed him under house arrest — have accused the former tech mogul of defrauding Hewlett-Packard of billions when he sold HP his software company, Autonomy, for $11 billion in 2011.

Persons: tony, Bill Gates, Mike Lynch, Lynch, —, Mr Organizations: tony San, Red Poll, Hewlett, Packard, Autonomy Locations: tony San Francisco neighborhood, Pacific Heights, Cambridge, England, Suffolk, San Francisco, Britain

☆ Soho House Seeks to Knock Back Its Critics
▼ + stars: | 2024-03-15 | by ( Michael J. De La Merced | More About Michael J. De La Merced | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: 1 min

Since going public nearly two years ago, the members club chain Soho House has endured a sharp decline in its stock price, economic turmoil and a short seller declaring that its shares are worthless. But the company’s chief executive, Andrew Carnie, insists it is on the right track — even as its main shareholders consider taking the business private again. “There’s no looking back,” Mr. Carnie said in an interview. “We’ve been pretty consistent over the past 12 months in delivering results.”The company released its latest quarterly financial results on Friday, reporting that it lost $118 million last year, down from a loss of $220.6 million in 2022. Using the pro forma earnings measure known as adjusted EBITDA, which excludes some expenses, it doubled its profit to $128 million.

Persons: Andrew Carnie, “, ” Mr, Carnie, “ We’ve Locations: Soho

What’s next for ByteDance’s U.S. investors? DealBook has spoken with people in the know about what these investors, including financial giants like the Susquehanna International Group, can do, with billions of dollars on the line. Mnuchin, a former Treasury secretary, told Andrew on CNBC on Thursday that he was in talks with a “combination of U.S. investors” about a TikTok deal. He added that he had spoken with some of the investors in ByteDance, TikTok’s Chinese parent, about possibly rolling over their stake. of the video game giant Activision Blizzard, also reportedly has been looking for potential partners for a bid.

Persons: What’s, ”, DealBook, Steven Mnuchin, Andrew, Bill Ford, Bobby Kotick Organizations: ByteDance’s U.S, U.S, Susquehanna International Group, CNBC, Activision Locations: Beijing, China, ByteDance

Though its fate in the Senate is unclear, anti-China sentiment and pressure on lawmakers from the White House could force the issue. That belies the technical and legal hurdles in selling TikTok, as well as divisions within the U.S. tech community over the proposed legislation. The heads of the chamber’s Intelligence Committee — Mark Warner, Democrat of Virginia, and Marco Rubio, Republican of Florida — support the bill. So do the sometimes progressive John Fetterman, Democrat of Pennsylvania, and the hawkish Ted Cruz, Republican of Texas. It’s long overdue to push back and this bill does exactly that,” Fetterman posted on social media.

Persons: Mark Warner, Marco Rubio, John Fetterman, Ted Cruz, ” Fetterman Organizations: TikTok, Senate, chamber’s Intelligence, Democrat, Republican Locations: Washington, China, Virginia, Florida, Pennsylvania, Texas

TikTok faces a crucial voteThe House is set to vote on Wednesday on a bill that would ostensibly present ByteDance, the Chinese owner of TikTok, with an ultimatum: sell TikTok’s U.S. operations, or have the app barred. But there’s a fight brewing over whether it’s actually possible for ByteDance to sell TikTok — or if the bill is effectively a ban disguised as a call for divestment. Does the bill allow for a sale? The proposal forbids any deal that allows TikTok’s U.S. and foreign operations to cooperate on a content recommendation algorithm or share data. While TikTok says it already walls off the data of U.S. users from its parent company, it’s not clear the company could operate without any foreign support.

Persons: it’s, ” TikTok, TikTok Organizations: TikTok’s U.S Locations: U.S, United States

Trump’s TikTok U-turnTikTok users have continued to flood the social media platform — and lawmakers’ inboxes — with pleas to halt a bill that would force its Chinese owners to divest or face a ban in the U.S.That effort to keep TikTok online has now attracted some unlikely backers, including Donald Trump. A recap: Last week, a powerful House committee voted 50-0 to remove TikTok from U.S. app stores by Sept. 30 unless its Beijing-based parent company, ByteDance, sold its stake. President Biden said on Friday that he’d sign the bill if it reaches his desk — even as his campaign has embraced the platform. But Trump has potentially scrambled the political calculus in Washington. Starting last week, the former president has pushed back against a TikTok ban, arguing that such a move would strengthen Meta’s Facebook — the “true Enemy of the People!” (Remember that as president, Trump issued an executive order ordering ByteDance to divest its American assets.)

Persons: ’ inboxes, Donald Trump, Biden, Trump Organizations: Facebook Locations: U.S, Beijing, Washington

☆ I've only used drugstore makeup for years, but there are 3 high-end products I swear are worth splurging on
▼ + stars: | 2024-03-11 | by ( Jill Robbins | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +5 min

I'm usually frugal, but some Tom Ford, Westman Atelier, and La Mer products are worth the splurge. I've also added a high-end concealer and mascara to my makeup bag and don't regret it at all. Westman Atelier Eye Love You volumizing mascara gives me volume without the clumpingThis Westman Atelier Eye Love You volumizing mascara doesn't clump or flake on me. I think these Westman Atelier and La Mer products are worth the splurge. Jill RobbinsThe Westman Atelier mascara is awesome for both volume and length.

Persons: Tom Ford, TikTok, I've, mascara, —, Tom Ford Traceless, Jill Robbins, you've, I'm Organizations: Service, Amazon, Nordstrom, mascara Locations: Mer, La Mer

Biden goes on the offensivePresident Biden sought to reinvigorate his re-election campaign, delivering an animated and mostly gaffe-free State of the Union address that put the economy and business front and center. In the prime-time slot, he pitched Bidenomics as delivering for Americans, and outlined a policy wish list that may appeal to progressive voters and some in his party but which could also put him at loggerheads with big corporations. Heading into a November rematch with Donald Trump, Biden sought to frame the presidential race in stark terms for the democracy while holding business to account. Among the areas that could rankle business leaders: a call to raise the minimum tax on multinationals to 21 percent. He also singled out “Big Oil, private jets, and massive executive pay” in his speech as areas ripe for boosting tax revenue.

Persons: Biden, Donald Trump, ” Organizations: Oil

Inflationary pressure and presidential politicsPresident Biden and Donald Trump dominated Super Tuesday, setting the stage for a rematch of the 2020 election. One topic that’s high on the agenda for voters: Inflation. Inflation is kryptonite for any politician, and especially for Biden. Trump again pounded the president on high prices, an issue that’s lifting the Republican in polls even as a range of indicators show that the economy is performing strongly. (The White House is putting the blame on corporations that “try to rip off Americans.” Watch for that theme at Thursday’s State of the Union address.)

Persons: Biden, Donald Trump, Jay Powell, Trump Organizations: Super, Biden, ” Locations: Thursday’s State

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