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☆ Disney and DeSantis Reach Agreement, Ending Protracted Fight
▼ + stars: | 2024-06-12 | by ( Brooks Barnes | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

Disney and Gov. Ron DeSantis of Florida have finally ended their feud, clearing the way for $17 billion in planned development at Walt Disney World near Orlando. On Wednesday night, the Central Florida Tourism Oversight District — an entity that Mr. DeSantis took over in 2022, ending 55 years of Disney control and sparking multiple lawsuits — gave the company a big part of what it wanted all along: a locked-in, long-term plan for expanding Disney World. At least for the next 15 years, the length of the new agreement, Disney can develop the resort without worrying about interference by Florida politicians. Put bluntly, state leaders can no longer use growth at the 25,000-acre resort as a political weapon, as Mr. DeSantis did two years ago after Disney said it would fight to repeal a state education law that opponents called anti-gay.

Persons: Ron DeSantis, DeSantis, —, Disney, Jeff Vahle Organizations: Disney, Walt Disney, Central Locations: Florida, Orlando, Central Florida

☆ Disney Ride Tainted by Racist Film Will Reopen With New Story
▼ + stars: | 2024-06-11 | by ( Brooks Barnes | Todd Anderson | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: 1 min

In the summer of 2020, as a reckoning on racial justice swept the country, Disney said it would rip out Splash Mountain, a wildly popular flume ride with a racist back story. Some people cheered, saying the move was long overdue: After 31 years at Disneyland in California and 28 at Walt Disney World in Florida, the attraction — with its animal minstrels from “Song of the South,” the radioactive 1946 movie — had to go. But Disney also faced blowback. Last year, when Splash Mountain finally closed, someone started a makeshift memorial near its entrance — the kind that pops up at scenes of horrific crimes. More than 100,000 fans signed a petition calling on Disney to reverse its “absurd” decision.

Persons: Disney, — Organizations: Walt Disney, Disney Locations: California, Florida

☆ Tiana's Bayou Adventure is the next step in Disney's $60 billion theme park investment
▼ + stars: | 2024-06-10 | by ( Sarah Whitten | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +3 min

In this article DIS Follow your favorite stocks CREATE FREE ACCOUNTTiana's Bayou Adventure opens June 28 at Walt Disney World Resort in Florida! Tiana's Bayou Adventure, the rethemed Splash Mountain, is set to reopen June 28 at Walt Disney World Resort in Orlando, Florida. Featuring characters from Disney Animation's "Princess and the Frog," Tiana's Bayou Adventure takes guests through the swamps of New Orleans as Tiana preps a massive Mardi Gras celebration. The revamp of Splash Mountain into Tiana's Bayou Adventure is part of a bigger strategy for Disney to infuse relevant, fan-favorite intellectual properties into its existing rides and theme parks. A preview of Walt Disney Imagineering's audio-animatronics for the upcoming refresh of Splash Mountain, Tiana's Bayou Adventure.

Persons: Prince Naveen, Mama Odie, Olga Thompson We're, Tiana, Louis, hasn't, Disney, Walt Disney Organizations: Walt Disney World, Walt Disney Animation Studios, Disney, Guardians, California, Epcot Locations: Florida, Orlando , Florida, California, New Orleans, Norway, Tokyo

☆ 15 little-known secrets you probably didn't know about Magic Kingdom
▼ + stars: | 2024-06-09 | by ( Jenna Clark | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +7 min

Here are some little-known secrets even the biggest Disney fans might not know about Magic Kingdom. There's a hidden homage to Walt Disney at the front of the parkWalt Disney Was born in 1901. Kim Renfro/INSIDERAlthough Space Mountain is an iconic attraction that has become synonymous with the park, it was not an opening-day attraction at Magic Kingdom in 1971. There are locations in both Disneyland and Disney World, and the Magic Kingdom Club 33 is located at the entrance to Adventureland near the Adventureland Bazaar. The Walt Disney World Railroad spans 1.5 miles across the parkMagic Kingdom's 20-minute train ride stops on Main Street, in Frontierland, and in Fantasyland.

Persons: —, Walt Disney, Jenna Clark, Walt, isn't, Roberto Machado Noa, it's, Jenna Clark Gaston's, It's, Kim Renfro, Mickey Mouse's, Mickey, Mickey Mouse, ROBERT SULLIVAN, who've, Walter E, Lilly Belle, Walt's, Lillian, Roy O, Roger E, Jenna Clark Just Organizations: Service, Disney, Magic, Business, Walt, Kingdom, Barber, Getty, Magic Kingdom, Kingdom's, Adventureland, Cinderella, Walt Disney World Railroad, Liberty, Hollywood Studios Locations: aren't, Frotierland, USA, New Fantasyland, Tomorrowland, Magic, Pinocchio's, Adventureland, There's, AFP, Frontierland, Fantasyland

Generating income with dividend stocks Dividend stocks have long been a staple of income investors' portfolios. Municipal bonds offer income that's free of federal tax, however. These names trade on exchanges like stocks, and they can offer dividend yields upward of 6%. Options strategies to create income Derivative income funds , such as the JPMorgan Equity Premium Income ETF (JEPI), gathered some $22 billion in 2023, according to Morningstar. Further, consider comparison shopping, as all "derivative income" funds have their own quirks and differences in strategies could affect their risk/return profile.

Persons: Janus Henderson, Walt Disney's, Amber Milam, Jefferies, It's, Savita Subramanian, Subramanian, Russell, Louis, Morningstar, Mike Mulach, Rick Rieder, he'd, Kathleen McNamara, there's, –, Bill Gross, JEPI, Cash, Ashton Lawrence Organizations: Federal Reserve, Meta, Mobile, Bank of America, IBM, . Investment, Fitch, Credit, nab, ICE, Federal Reserve Bank of St, Louis Fed, UBS, UBS Wealth Management, York Life Investments, –, JPMorgan, Mariner Wealth Advisors Locations: U.S, Greenville , South Carolina

☆ It’s all about fun and games now at these dead former Sears stores
▼ + stars: | 2024-06-06 | by ( Parija Bhatnagar | Parija Kavilanz | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +7 min

New York CNN —In Florida, a handful of dead mall anchor Sears stores, left vacant and unmoored by the iconic retailer’s bankruptcy six years ago, are being jolted back to life. Oca said all venues Elev8 Fun uses are converted commercial spaces of more than 100,000 square feet. Construction began in the empty Sears stores at the citrus Park Mall in early 2022 and the facility opened in May 2023. The team also studied the local demographic and competitors to decide which attractions made sense to include in each new Elev8 Fun center. So we decided to put all of the attractions that we could into that former Sears store,” Oca said.

Persons: Oca, ”, Solomon, Victor Calanog, ” Calanog, “, pickleball, Elev8, Lainie Solomon Calanog, Lainie Solomon, “ Sanford, Jim Hull, “ I’m, ” Hull Organizations: New, New York CNN, Sears, Design Lab, CNN, Oca, Seminole, Treasure, Miami International, Entertainment, Manulife Investment Management, Industry, Construction, Walt Disney World, Universal Studios, Hull Property Group, ” Hull Locations: New York, Florida, Tampa , Florida, Sanford , Florida, Tampa, Jensen, Miami, Sanford, Orlando, Hull, Citrus

☆ Leaked Microsoft org chart reveals the top people running Mustafa Suleyman's new AI organization
▼ + stars: | 2024-06-06 | by ( Ashley Stewart | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +5 min

Microsoft in March hired Suleyman, head of startup Inflection AI and cofounder of AI pioneer Deepmind, to be CEO of a newly formed "Microsoft AI" group. Here are top players at Microsoft AI:AdvertisementKarén Simonyan, CVP and chief scientistKarén Simonyan Inflection AI Inflection AISimonyan is one of three Inflection co-founders. Kya Sainsbury-Carter, CVP Microsoft AdvertisingSainsbury-Carter is an 18-year veteran of Microsoft. Qi Zhang, CVP Microsoft AI APRDZhang is based in Beijing and has been at Microsoft for 22 years. Chris Daly, VP strategy and business operationsDaly joined Microsoft AI in May after spending about nine years in investment banking at Robey Warshaw.

Persons: —, Mustafa Suleyman, Suleyman, Karén Simonyan, Karén, Simonyan, Satya Nadella, Rob Cromwell, Cromwell, Gabor Hirschler, Hirschler, Mikhail Parakhin, Jordi Ribas, Bing, Rukmini Iyer, Iyer, Rajesh Sundaram, Sundaram, Ali Akgun, Panos Panay, Sainsbury, Carter, Qi Zhang, Zhang, Mike Davidson, Davidson, Michael Bhaskar, Bhaskar, DeepMind, Chris Daly, Daly, Robey Warshaw Organizations: Service, Microsoft, Business, Bing, Enterprise, Microsoft Edge, Carter, Microsoft Advertising, Pacific Research, Development, Twitter, NBCNews.com, Walt Disney Internet, Microsoft AI Locations: Copilot, Beijing, Asia, Pacific, London

☆ Here are Wednesday's biggest analyst calls: Apple, Nvidia, Amazon, Meta, Uber, Disney, Coinbase, Tesla & more
▼ + stars: | 2024-06-05 | by ( Michael Bloom | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +6 min

Morgan Stanley reiterates Tesla as overweight Morgan Stanley said it's sticking with its overweight rating heading into the June 13 shareholder meeting. Bank of America reiterates Nvidia as buy Bank of America said it's sticking with its buy rating on shares of Nvidia . "We initiate coverage on Jazz Pharmaceuticals (JAZZ) with a Buy rating and 12-month price target of $169." Needham reiterates Coinbase as buy Needham said it's sticking with its buy rating on Coinbase . "We are initiating coverage of LFMD with an Overweight rating and $12 price target."

Persons: it's, ODFL, Morgan Stanley, Tesla, Elon, Gordon, Gordon Haskett, Oppenheimer, Uber, Guggenheim, Goldman, Bernstein, Needham, Coinbase, Raymond James, Meta, Key Organizations: BMO, Dominion, Bank of America, Nvidia, Barclays, Taiwan Semiconductor, Boston Beer, Materials, Applied Materials, JPMorgan, Citi, Apple, Apple's Worldwide, Conference, Disney, Walt Disney, Jazz Pharmaceuticals, EV, Meta, HSBC Locations: TSMC, China, U.S, CY25

☆ Disney's new development deal with DeSantis could pave the way for a Disney World expansion of mythic proportions
▼ + stars: | 2024-06-02 | by ( Lauren Edmonds | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +1 min

Central Florida's tourism oversight district will soon vote on a development plan with Disney. The plan would greenlight $17 billion in development at Walt Disney World over 10 to 20 years. It could herald the arrival of the much-rumored "fifth theme park" in Florida. AdvertisementRumors that Walt Disney World might build a fifth theme park in Central Florida have persisted for years. A potential new development agreement between Central Florida's tourism board and The Walt Disney Company could usher in the rumored expansion.

Persons: —, Walt Organizations: Disney, Walt Disney World, Service, Walt Disney, Walt Disney Company, Central, Business Locations: Florida, Central Florida, Central

☆ Disney's Bob Iger may be celebrating today after Nelson Peltz's latest move
▼ + stars: | 2024-05-30 | by ( Lauren Edmonds | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +1 min

Billionaire Nelson Peltz is no longer an investor in Disney. Peltz fought a pricey proxy battle with Disney CEO Bob Iger over its board but lost. He's now sold all his Disney shares, which marks the likely end of the power struggle. AdvertisementBillionaire hedge fund founder Nelson Peltz has sold his stake in The Walt Disney Company after losing a pricey proxy battle with CEO Bob Iger. Peltz, the activist investor who founded Trian Partners, once controlled about $3.5 billion in Disney stock.

Persons: Nelson Peltz, Peltz, Bob Iger, He's, —, Jay Rasulo Organizations: Disney, Service, Billionaire, Walt Disney Company, Trian Partners, The New York Times, Business

Here's a rapid-fire update on all 33 stocks in Jim Cramer's Charitable Trust, the portfolio we use for the CNBC Investing Club. Below $200 a share is the level we'd get interested in buying more Salesforce stock, Jim said. The industrial name will continue to be a beneficiary of the AI trade due to Eaton's booming data center business. Alphabet : If this mega-cap name experiences a move lower, investors should scoop up shares, Jim said. Nvidia : There's not much more to say about Nvidia in light of another blowout earnings report and the strong guidance accompanying it.

Persons: Jim Cramer's, Jim, Apple's, Goldman Sachs, Salesforce, We've, Danaher, he'd, Walt Disney, We're, Estee Lauder, Eaton, Ford, Motors, Mary Dillon's, It's, Linde, Eli Lilly, Mark Zuckerberg's, Morgan Stanley, we're, Stanley Black, we've, Wynn, Jim Cramer, Michael M Organizations: Jim Cramer's Charitable Trust, CNBC, Club, Apple, Abbott Laboratories, Abbott Labs, Amazon Web Services, Broadcom, Dell, Samsung, Costco Wholesale, Coterra Energy, DuPont De Nemours, DuPont, The, Eaton, Ford, GE Healthcare, Honeywell, Jim, Linde, Microsoft, Nvidia, Palo Alto Networks, Palo Alto, Change, Procter & Gamble, Constellation Brands, Constellation, Modelo, Corona, Federal Reserve, TJX, Marshalls, Wynn Resorts, Jim Cramer's Charitable, Traders, New York Stock Exchange, Santiago, Getty Locations: China, Dover, Eaton, U.S, Maxx, HomeGoods, Wells Fargo, Macau, New York City

☆ Cramer's Lightning Round: 'Stay away' from Crown Castle
▼ + stars: | 2024-05-29 | by ( Julie Coleman | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +1 min

Stock Chart Icon Stock chart icon Walt Disney's year-to-date stock performance. Stock Chart Icon Stock chart icon Topgolf's year-to-date stock performance. Stock Chart Icon Stock chart icon Crown Castle's year-to-date stock performance. Stock Chart Icon Stock chart icon Oklo's year-to-date stock performance. Stock Chart Icon Stock chart icon AppLovin's year-to-date stock performance.

Persons: Walt Disney's, Walt Disney, Nelson, I've, Dick's, AppLovin, I'm, Jim Cramer's Organizations: GE

☆ Activist Investor Nelson Peltz Is Said to Sell His Disney Stake
▼ + stars: | 2024-05-29 | by ( Lauren Hirsch | More About Lauren Hirsch | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

Nearly two months after losing an epic corporate battle to get on the board of the Walt Disney Company, Nelson Peltz is no longer an investor in the entertainment company. Mr. Peltz, the billionaire head of the hedge fund Trian Fund Management, controlled about $3.5 billion in Disney stock, a vast majority of it owned by Ike Perlmutter, a former chairman of Marvel Entertainment. Mr. Peltz has now sold his portion of those shares, a person familiar with the investment said, requesting anonymity to discuss confidential matters. By selling his shares, Mr. Peltz is seemingly removing a thorn in Disney’s side. Mr. Peltz, an activist investor, began criticizing Disney’s management under Robert A. Iger, the chief executive, early last year, pointing to the company’s streaming strategy, lagging stock price and succession planning.

Persons: Nelson Peltz, Peltz, Ike Perlmutter, Robert A, Trian Organizations: Walt Disney Company, Fund Management, Disney, Marvel Entertainment

☆ US box office on track to have worst Memorial Day weekend since 1995
▼ + stars: | 2024-05-27 | by ( Eva Rothenberg | Alicia Wallace | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +8 min

CNN —The summer movie season typically starts with a bang during the month of May and, particularly, during Memorial Day weekend. Memorial Day weekend (Friday through Monday) movie ticket sales are estimated at $128.3 million, according to Comscore data provided to CNN. In fact, the US box office is on track to have its lowest-grossing Memorial Day weekend since the $117.1 million seen in 1995, when “Casper” haunted the screens — and that’s not even adjusting for inflation. The tepid Memorial Day weekend continues what’s been a lukewarm start to the summer box office, a movie-going season that’s still reeling from the effects of last year’s Hollywood strikes. Industry experts agree that the 2024 box office has been sluggish so far , but remain hopeful that the box office can rebound by the end of the year and beyond.

Persons: it’s, ”, “ Casper ”, that’s, ” Paul Degarabedian, Comscore, “, Max, what’s, ” Dergarabedian, “ Barbie ”, “ Oppenheimer ”, Shawn Robbins, there’s, Degarabarian, Deadpool, ” “ Oppenheimer, Barbie ”, Dory, bloomer, Daniel Loria, ” Loria, ” Disney, Loria, “ Deadpool, Fandango, Robbins, “ That’s, ’, ” Robbins Organizations: CNN, Guild, SAG, Labor, “, Warner Bros, Warner Bros ., Star, Walt Disney Studios, Disney, Box, showtime, Century Entertainment, Writers Guild of America, Pixar, Marvel, Industry Locations: United States, “

☆ The summer box office is playing catch-up after a rough start to the year
▼ + stars: | 2024-05-25 | by ( Eva Rothenberg | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +6 min

New York CNN —The summer box office is off to a lukewarm start. Last summer, blockbusters “Barbie” and “Oppenheimer” combined added nearly a billion dollars to the domestic box office, according to Comscore data. “Barring some major overperformances, this summer looks like it’ll be down 20% to 25% in box office grosses between May and August from last year,” said analyst Shawn Robbins, founder and owner of Box Office Theory. Industry experts agree that the 2024 box office has been sluggish so far , but remain hopeful that the box office can rebound by the end of the year and beyond. “Box office earnings have been down largely because of staggered gaps between widely appealing releases in the first half of the year,” said Robbins.

Persons: “ Barbie ”, “ Oppenheimer ”, “, Max, ” Paul Dergarabedian, ”, Shawn Robbins, ” “ Oppenheimer, Barbie ”, Dory, bloomer, Daniel Loria, ” Loria, ” Disney, Loria, “ Deadpool, Fandango, Deadpool, Robbins, “ That’s, ’, ” Robbins Organizations: New, New York CNN, Guild, SAG, CNN, Labor, “, Warner Bros, Warner Bros ., Star, Walt Disney Studios, Disney, Box, showtime, Century Entertainment, Writers Guild of America, Pixar, Marvel, Industry Locations: New York, United States, “

☆ Jenny Nicholson breaks down Disney’s ‘Star Wars’ hotel closure
▼ + stars: | 2024-05-23 | by ( Aj Willingham | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +6 min

Some of her most popular videos cover shows and movies like “The Vampire Diaries,” “Pirates of the Caribbean” and installments in the “Star Wars” franchise. None of them are nearly as long as her most recent video, “The Spectacular Failure of the Star Wars Hotel.”Over the course of 20 video chapters, Nicholson details her 2022 stay at the “Star Wars: Galactic Starcruiser” hotel in Orlando, Florida. The tale is likely familiar to Disney and Star Wars fans, many of whom heard about the high-dollar, high-concept hotel and its closure in 2023. The big draw of the hotel lay in what Disney marketing called an “immersive, customizable Star Wars experience” that Nicholson equated to LARPing, or live-action roleplaying. “I couldn’t care less about some dumb Star Wars hotel, but give me those 4 hours,” one X user said.

Persons: YouTuber Jenny Nicholson, ”, Nicholson, Allen J, Gen, Disney, Bob Iger, CNN’s Natasha Chen Organizations: CNN, Disney, Walt Disney, ” “ Pirates, “, Wars, Star Wars, Los Angeles Times, Star, Google, Magic, Orlando’s Walt Disney, Disney Parks, Galactic, ’ Locations: Caribbean, Orlando , Florida, Walt, Orlando’s, Anaheim, Florida

☆ CNBC Daily Open: S&P 500 and Nasdaq hit new heights ahead of Nvidia's earnings
▼ + stars: | 2024-05-22 | by ( Abid Ali | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +3 min

CNBC Daily Open brings investors up to speed on everything they need to know, no matter where they are. Wall Street reaches new highsThe S&P 500 and the Nasdaq Composite rose to fresh record highs as investors await earnings from AI chipmaker Nvidia after the close on Wednesday. Nvidia's shares rose 0.6% with option traders pricing in swings of as much as 9% up or down in reaction to its earnings. Rate cuts several months awayFederal Reserve Governor Christopher Waller said he does not think further rate increases are necessary, but he will need convincing before backing any rate cuts. [PRO] When Nvidia risesCNBC's Ganesh Rao takes a look at six artificial intelligence-related stocks that have historically reacted positively to Nvidia's quarterly earnings.

Persons: Christopher Waller, Waller, Biden, Jennifer Granholm, Walt Disney, Bob Iger, Ganesh Rao Organizations: New York Stock Exchange, CNBC, Nasdaq, Nvidia, Dow Jones, Federal, Gasoline, East, Pixar, Studios, Disney, Walt Disney Animation, CSI, Nikkei, Reserve Bank of New Locations: New York City, Israel, Asia, Hong Kong, Reserve Bank of New Zealand, United States, Japan

☆ CNBC Daily Open: New highs on Wall Street, Fed's Waller says rate cuts months away
▼ + stars: | 2024-05-22 | by ( Abid Ali | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +3 min

This report is from today's CNBC Daily Open, our new, international markets newsletter. CNBC Daily Open brings investors up to speed on everything they need to know, no matter where they are. Rate cuts several months awayFederal Reserve Governor Christopher Waller said he does not think further rate increases are necessary, but he will need convincing before backing any rate cuts. Singapore Airlines: one dead, 30 injuredOne person died and 30 people were injured aboard a Singapore Airlines flight that was hit by severe turbulence and forced to land in Thailand. Singapore Airlines Flight 321 encountered "sudden, severe turbulence" about 10 hours into a flight from London to Singapore, the airline said.

Persons: Christopher Waller, Waller, Biden, Jennifer Granholm, Walt Disney, Bob Iger, Jesse Pound, JPMorgan's Marko Kolanovic Organizations: New York Stock Exchange, CNBC, Nasdaq, Nvidia, Dow Jones, Federal, Gasoline, East, Pixar, Studios, Disney, Walt Disney Animation, Singapore Airlines, Singapore Airlines Flight, Boeing, Wall Street Locations: New York City, Israel, Thailand, London, Singapore

☆ Pixar is laying off 14% of its workforce as Disney scales back content
▼ + stars: | 2024-05-21 | by ( Sarah Whitten | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +2 min

Long-expected layoffs are hitting Pixar Animation Studios on Tuesday. Pixar will lay off about 175 employees, or around 14% of the studio's workforce, a spokesperson for parent company Walt Disney told CNBC. Initially, it was reported that 20% of the animation studio's employees would be laid off. When theaters closed during the pandemic, Disney sought to pad the company's fledgling streaming service Disney+ with content, stretching its creative teams thin and sending theatrical movies straight to digital. As a result, no Disney animated feature from Pixar or Walt Disney Animation has generated more than $480 million at the global box office since 2019.

Persons: Walt Disney, Bob Iger, Disney, — CNBC's Julia Boorstin Organizations: Pixar, Studios, CNBC, Disney, Marvel, Walt Disney Animation

☆ Why Jay Powell really wants to lower interest rates this September
▼ + stars: | 2024-05-20 | by ( Nicole Goodkind | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +9 min

It’s interesting to me that the equity market is cheering the idea that the Fed is going to be cutting rates. There tends to be a fine line between cutting rates and extending the economic cycle or cutting rates because the cycle is coming to an end (and the economy is softening). When the Fed is cutting rates, it’s cutting rates because a recession is about to happen, right? That’s why I say there’s a fine line between the Fed cutting to extend the cycle and the Fed cutting because a recession is about to happen. The Fed has been in this precarious space where they’re trying to avoid recession while lowering interest rates.

Persons: Dow, stoking, Bell, Tom Porcelli, Jerome Powell, Jay Powell, they’re, that’s, Donald, Goofy, Eva Rothenberg, Mickey Mouse, Snow White, Captain Hook, ”, Kate Shindle, “, Uber, Lyft, Jamie Long, Read Organizations: CNN Business, Bell, New York CNN — Markets, Federal Reserve, Fed, ’ Equity Association, Equity, National Labor Relations Board, Disneyland, Disney, ’ Equity, Walt Disney Company, Uber, Democratic, Minneapolis City Council Locations: New York, Anaheim , California, Minnesota, Minneapolis

☆ Scarlett Johansson says OpenAI ripped off her voice after she told the company not to use it in software
▼ + stars: | 2024-05-20 | by ( Jennifer Elias | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +5 min

ROME, ITALY - NOVEMBER 10: Actor Scarlett Johansson attends 'Her' Premiere during The 8th Rome Film Festival at Auditorium Parco Della Musica on November 10, 2013 in Rome, Italy. (Photo by Vittorio Zunino Celotto/Getty Images)Actor Scarlett Johansson says OpenAI CEO Sam Altman used a voice similar to hers for its artificial intelligence voice software despite declining his invitation for its use. "Sky's voice is not an imitation of Scarlett Johansson but belongs to a different professional actress using her own natural speaking voice," the company wrote in a blog post on Sunday. Two days before the ChatGPT 4.0 demo was released, Mr. Altman contacted my agent, asking me to reconsider. Consequently, OpenAI reluctantly agreed to take down the "Sky" voice.

Persons: Scarlett Johansson, Vittorio Zunino Celotto, Sam Altman, OpenAI, Johansson, Altman, Samantha, " Johansson, Mr, Walt Disney, We've, OpenAI didn't, Scarlett Johansson's Organizations: Parco, Musica, CNBC, Disney, Microsoft Locations: ROME, ITALY, Rome, Italy, ChatGPT

☆ Disneyland character performers vote to unionize
▼ + stars: | 2024-05-19 | by ( Eva Rothenberg | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +2 min

Equity described the vote as “a landslide victory,” with 953 cast members favoring unionization and 258 opposed. There are more than 21,000 Disneyland “cast member” employees, who are represented by more than a dozen unions. “Whatever the outcome, we respect that our cast members had the opportunity to have their voices heard,” the spokesperson said. On the other side of the country, Disney World character actors have been represented by Teamsters since the 1980s. Today, Equity estimates they represent around 800 cast members at Disney World.

Persons: Donald, Goofy, Mickey Mouse, Snow White, Captain Hook, ”, Kate Shindle, “ Organizations: New, New York CNN, ’ Equity Association, Equity, National Labor Relations Board, Disneyland, Disney, ’ Equity, Walt Disney Company, Walt Disney, ”, CNN, Disneyland Resort, Teamsters Locations: New York, Anaheim , California, Orlando , Florida

☆ Does a Smash Hit Like ‘Lion King’ Deserve a $3 Million Tax Break?
▼ + stars: | 2024-05-17 | by ( Jay Root | Michael Paulson | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: 1 min

There is no greater success story on Broadway than “The Lion King.” It is reliably among the top-grossing stage shows in New York, where it has brought in nearly $2 billion over its 26-year run; its global total is five times that amount. The musical’s producer is the theatrical division of the Walt Disney Company, an entertainment industry behemoth that earned $89 billion in revenue during its last fiscal year. And yet, the show was one of roughly four dozen productions that have received millions of dollars in assistance from New York State under a program designed to help a pandemic-hobbled theater industry in New York City. Over the three years since the program was established, New York State has bestowed over $100 million on commercial Broadway productions.

Organizations: Walt Disney Company, New York, New York State Locations: New York, New, New York State, New York City

☆ International Disney parks target U.S. customers with American influencers and bloggers
▼ + stars: | 2024-05-17 | by ( Kat Tenbarge | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +6 min

As they were originally conceived, Disney's international parks were meant to "bring the unforgettable Disney magic to an international audience," according to the company. While the international parks themselves have always taken steps to accommodate diverse audiences — providing shows and attractions in multiple languages — Disney appears to be marketing the international parks to American audiences in more direct ways. In addition to the content creator efforts, Disney has begun to include its international parks in its own content consumed by Americans. In the Disney+ show "Behind the Attraction," which premiered in 2021, numerous variations on American rides at international parks were discussed and digested for American audiences. Disney creators around the world grew their followings, and demand for content from international Disney parks rose alongside them.

Persons: Peter Pan, Disney, Quincy Stanford, AllEars, Stanford, Emma Kenner, Kenner, Taylor Swift, Rolling Stone Organizations: Disney, Tokyo Disney, YouTube, Disney Parks, NBC, Tokyo Disneyland, Magic, Tokyo Disney Resort, Stanford, Walt Disney Co, Paris La Défense, Rolling, Swift Locations: China, Japan, Tokyo, Shanghai, Hong Kong, U.S, California, Florida, Tokyo ., Paris

☆ Why we care so much about the Dow, the stock market’s dumbest index
▼ + stars: | 2024-05-16 | by ( Allison Morrow | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +4 min

New York CNN —The Dow Jones Industrial Average is, at best, an imperfect barometer of stock market activity among a narrow band of very large US companies. It’s clunky, and too limited in scope for any Wall Street pros to pay serious attention to it. “Mention ‘the Dow’ and, to most people, that means the stock market,” said Art Hogan, chief market strategist at B. Riley Financial, in a note to CNN. It’s just an index that tracks the stock market activity of 30 large US companies, from Amazon to McDonald’s to the Walt Disney Company. Market capitalization measures the total value of a company on the stock market.

Persons: Dow, ”, Hogan, It’s, “ Dow Jones ”, “, Nick Colas, you’re, ” Colas, Daniel Alpert, wasn’t, Goldman Sachs, Colas, I’ve, ” Alpert Organizations: New, New York CNN, Dow Jones, Dow, Riley Financial, CNN, Walt Disney Company, Westwood Capital, Standard Oil, US Steel, Microsoft, Apple Locations: New York, Amazon, Silicon

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