DIRS.INFO The most relevant business & tech news

But it was justified in Musk’s mind because of his conviction that Twitter’s management had misled him. At 4:12 p.m. Pacific time, once they had confirmation that the money had transferred, Musk pulled the trigger to close the deal. But when his Twitter email was cut off, it took him a few minutes to get the document into a Gmail message. Hybrid work is winningChief executives aren’t letting up on their push to get workers back to the office. And even Zoom, a symbol of remote work, has ordered some of its employees to work in the office.

Persons: Twitter Elon Musk’s, Wall, Walter Isaacson, Isaacson, “, ”, Musk, Agrawal, Andy Jassy, Amazon’s, “ It’s, Organizations: Elon, Twitter Elon, Twitter, Wall Street, Mr, Meta, Labor Locations: ”

☆ UBS Reports Record-Breaking $29 Billion Profit
▼ + stars: | 2023-08-31 | by ( Michael J. De La Merced | More About Michael J. De La Merced | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

When UBS agreed to buy its archrival Credit Suisse for a little over $3 billion this spring at the Swiss government’s behest, analysts and investors said that price represented a steep discount. UBS’s latest financial results reflect just how much of a steal it was. On Thursday, the bank reported a $29 billion profit in its second quarter — yes, billion with a “b” — the biggest quarterly profit in banking history. But that paper gain belies the challenges that UBS faces as it moves to complete the largest takeover of a bank since the 2008 financial crisis. That process will include absorbing some of its onetime competitor’s domestic footprint and shuttering a large portion of its investment banking operations.

Persons: “, It’s Organizations: UBS, Credit Suisse

The magic of “badwill”When UBS agreed to buy its archrival, Credit Suisse, for a little over $3 billion this spring at the Swiss government’s behest, analysts and investors said that price represented a steep discount. UBS’s latest financial results reflect just how much of a steal it was. Today, the bank reported a $29 billion profit — yes, you read that right — for the second quarter, the biggest quarterly profit in banking history. But that paper gain belies the challenges that UBS faces as it moves to complete the largest takeover of a bank since the 2008 financial crisis. (It’s also known as “negative goodwill.”) UBS reported that its underlying profit for the quarter was just $1.1 billion.

Persons: “, It’s Organizations: UBS, Credit Suisse

A stormy forecast for insuranceHurricane Idalia, strengthened to a Category 3 storm on Wednesday morning, packing soaking rains and destructive winds of up to 125 miles per hour, as it lumbers toward the Florida coastline. Such disasters are becoming more common — and more costly — each year, sending insurance costs soaring for homeowners and businesses. Some firms doubt they can continue to cope with such superstorms, while others have limited their business in the state. One of their big complaints: State regulations prevent them from raising prices for customers, they say, forcing them to say no to new policies. Florida’s woes reflect a nationwide problem, one that is expected to intensify as climate change unleashes more extreme weather events.

Persons: Hurricane, Ian Organizations: Carolinas, Insurance, Insurance Information Institute Locations: Florida, Coast, Georgia

C.E.O.s urge Washington to help with asylum seekersAs New York City’s migrant crisis continues to escalate, with more than 100,000 arrivals from the southern U.S. border straining shelters, some of the city’s top business leaders are intervening in a fight over who’s responsible. But recent communications by the Biden administration suggest that such calls won’t be heeded. The letter underscores the increasing urgency of the crisis, which has pitted Mayor Eric Adams against Gov. Adams has said the crisis could cost the city $12 billion over three years, while Hochul has spent $1.5 billion and deployed nearly 2,000 National Guard members so far. The migrant crisis is a business issue.

Persons: Jamie Dimon, JPMorgan Chase, Larry Fink, BlackRock, Jane Fraser, Citigroup —, Biden, won’t, Eric Adams, Kathy Hochul —, Adams, Hochul Organizations: JPMorgan, Citigroup, Gov, Biden, National Guard Locations: Washington, York, U.S, New

Her visit, which will include meetings with business leaders and government officials, including her Chinese counterpart, Wang Wentao, will be closely watched as she looks for common ground on trade, even as she seeks to curtail it. Here is what Ms. Raimondo expects to focus on during her trip, according to The Times’s Ana Swanson, Alan Rappeport and Keith Bradsher. Ms. Raimondo is likely to defend the escalating tech war, which she will argue is meant to protect U.S. national security. (Ms. Raimondo said on Monday that she would neither compromise nor negotiate on that point.) The White House this month announced plans to bar private equity and venture capital firms from making investments in China in quantum computing and advanced semiconductors.

Persons: Raimondo, Gina Raimondo, Wang Wentao, Ana Swanson, Alan Rappeport, Keith Bradsher, Ms Organizations: China, Biden administration’s, U.S Locations: Beijing, China

One area looks safe from the dreaded “R” word: the housing market. Goldman predicts home prices will rise even more next year, in part because housing supply is so constrained. Forecasts of a prolonged housing market slump haven’t materialized. Those moves have helped push mortgage rates to a 22-year high. “Home buyers have demonstrated behavior that, in our view, reflects unsustainable adaptations to elevated mortgage rates,” the Goldman Sachs strategists Roger Ashworth and Vinay Viswanathan wrote in a research note.

Persons: Goldman Sachs, Goldman, Bankrate, Roger Ashworth, Vinay Viswanathan Organizations: Fed Locations: U.S

The markets await a new testInflation fears are like a zombie menace stalking the markets this summer. Concerns that the Fed’s battle with rising prices may not be finished have roiled stocks and bonds this month, and investors will be glued to the release of Fed meeting minutes for July at 2 p.m. Eastern on Wednesday for clues on what’s next for rates. Since the last rate-setting meeting in July, economic data has showed that inflation is cooling, but that’s hardly calmed the markets. Tuesday’s strong retail sales data, and hawkish comments from some central bankers, have put the markets on edge. He said on Tuesday that he was seeing “positive signs” that inflation was easing, but warned: “I’m not ready to say that we’re done.”

Persons: Mary Ann Bartels, DealBook, ” Neel Kashkari, “, ” Organizations: Fed, “, Federal, Minneapolis Fed

Charles Kohnen, co-founder of the submersible manufacturer SEAmagine Hydrospace, estimates that there are 200 manned vessels worldwide. Some are used by scientific institutions, others for tourism. But a growing number belong to a select group of yacht owners. “It’s not like a fancy car,” Kohnen said. “It’s more like a $5 million spacecraft.”Just as having a helicopter and launchpad on a yacht was hot in the 1980s, Kohnen said, getting a personable submersible is increasingly a thing for the wealthy.

Persons: Charles Kohnen, “ It’s, ” Kohnen, “, Kohnen

Disney’s next moveEven if Bob Iger, Disney’s C.E.O., didn’t have much to reveal about big-ticket M.&A. Streaming is Disney’s future, Mr. Iger said, but the era of pursuing breakneck growth in the business is over. The strategy now is to extract more money from subscribers via hefty price increases for Disney+, and hoping that those efforts don’t drive them away. While the latest figure was less than analysts had expected, that performance is still untenable in the long term, leading Mr. Iger to follow Netflix’s example and raise prices for Disney+ and Hulu. “We grew this business really fast, really before we even understood what our pricing strategy should be or could be,” he told analysts.

Persons: Disney’s, Bob Iger, Iger, don’t, ” Organizations: Disney

Dentons, the largest Western law firm in China in terms of staff, said yesterday it would separate from Dacheng, its unit there. The two firms merged in 2015, and Dentons even added Chinese characters to its logo to signal its commitment to the country. That made it impossible to follow legal industry standards and best practice, a person familiar with Dentons’ decision-making told DealBook. “Standards are diverging between China and Western economies,” Eswar Prasad, a trade policy professor at Cornell and a former head of the I.M.F.’s China division, told DealBook. Employees at financial firms operating in China have reportedly been forced to attend lessons in the ideology of President Xi Jinping.

Persons: Dentons, DealBook, Eswar Prasad, “, Xi Jinping Organizations: Cornell Locations: China, Western, ’, Sequoia

Goldman makes a big executive changeThe man who has been perhaps the most influential executive inside Goldman Sachs for more than a generation has begun to hand over some of his responsibilities. John Rogers, who over his quarter-century at the Wall Street bank has been known as a board and C.E.O. whisperer, will give his role as chief of staff to Russell Horwitz, his onetime deputy, Andrew and DealBook’s Lauren Hirsch are first to report. Rogers has an outsized influence and an intentionally understated public profile. He also wielded considerable influence outside the firm, helping Paulson become Treasury secretary in 2006.

Persons: Goldman, Goldman Sachs, John Rogers, Russell Horwitz, Andrew, DealBook’s Lauren Hirsch, Rogers, David Solomon, Reagan, George H.W, Bush, ” Rogers, Jon Corzine, Hank Paulson, Lloyd Blankfein, Solomon, Paulson Organizations: Goldman Locations: Washington

Mr. Gensler outlined some of his biggest concerns in an interview with DealBook’s Ephrat Livni. could be the next big systemic risk to the financial system. In 2020, Mr. Gensler co-wrote a paper about deep learning and financial stability. Mr. Gensler expects that the United States will most likely end up with two or three foundational A.I. “This technology will be the center of future crises, future financial crises,” Mr. Gensler said.

Persons: Gary Gensler, Gensler, DealBook’s Ephrat Livni, A.I, Mr Locations: United States

When Nikola Swann heard that Fitch Ratings had removed the United States from its list of risk-free borrowers this week, he felt a sense of satisfaction. More than a decade ago, Swann played a key role in a similar decision: He was Standard & Poor’s primary analyst for its sovereign credit rating on the United States when the agency became the first ever to downgrade the nation’s long-term credit rating amid a debt ceiling standoff in 2011. Bloomberg called the reasons for the downgrade “fundamentally political” in 2011, while others argued that it appropriately reflected a worsening debt crisis. Both a decade ago and this week, partisan politics were cited as one reason for the downgrade. S&P cited “the gulf between the political parties.” Fitch, which made the call two months after the United States narrowly avoided defaulting on its debt, cited “the repeated debt-limit political standoffs and last-minute resolutions.”

Persons: Nikola Swann, Fitch, ”, Swann, ” Fitch Organizations: Treasury Department, Bloomberg, & $ Locations: United States

But the tech giants provided a snapshot of the state of the global economy: Consumers and companies are cutting back on some costs, but refusing to stop spending on increasingly essential services. Much of the revenue decline was caused by a drop in iPhone sales, which comprise half of Apple’s overall revenue. But revenue from services — including Apple Music, Apple TV+ and App Store sales — grew 8 percent, reaching a record $21 billion. In India, the company set a record for iPhone sales. The company enjoyed a surge in its core online retail business, showing that customers are still spending despite headwinds like rising interest rates.

Persons: they’re, Apple Organizations: Apple, Apple Music Locations: China, India

The fallout from Fitch’s downgrade continuesStocks appear set to open lower today, after falling yesterday in the wake of Fitch Ratings downgrading the United States’s AAA credit rating. But others have said Fitch’s move, while largely symbolic, still points to long-term troubles for the nation and its fiscal health. “There is no willingness on any side to really tackle the underlying challenges,” Mr. Francis said. But “it doesn’t really matter much,” Jamie Dimon, JPMorgan Chase’s C.E.O., told CNBC yesterday, echoing a common refrain to Fitch’s move. Critics of the move noted that according to criteria laid out last year by Fitch itself, including debt-to-G.D.P.

Persons: Richard Francis, Fitch’s, standoffs, ” Mr, Francis, ” Jamie Dimon, JPMorgan Chase’s, Fitch Organizations: Fitch, United States’s AAA, Wall, U.S, Times, JPMorgan, CNBC Locations: U.S

It’s unlikely that the move — only the second downgrade in American history — will dent investor appetite for Treasury notes. But the decision is another sign that Wall Street is worried about political chaos, including brinkmanship over the debt limit that is becoming entrenched in Washington. The move came two months after Washington narrowly avoided a U.S. default, following a prolonged argument over the debt ceiling. (That said, some on Wall Street remain skeptical that the country is headed for a so-called soft landing.) Fitch’s own model shows the U.S. economy deteriorating during the Trump administration and recovering under President Biden.

Persons: Fitch, “, Trump, Biden Organizations: Fitch, United States ’ AAA, Washington, Social Security Locations: U.S, Washington

Mr. Jobs will still be dedicated to fighting cancer. “My dad succumbed to cancer when I was in college at Stanford,” Mr. Jobs said. “I was pre-med because I really wanted to be a doctor and cure people myself. But he returned to the field after completing his master’s degree and led Emerson’s health care division, which has invested in companies and given grants to labs. Of his career path, Mr. Jobs said: “I had never ever wanted to be a venture capitalist.

Persons: Jobs, “, ” Mr, you’re, — Organizations: Stanford Locations: Yosemite

has brought back two former heirs apparent, Kevin Mayer and Tom Staggs, to advise on the future of Disney’s legacy TV businesses were sure to get Hollywood talking. Mr. Mayer and Mr. Staggs will help Iger think about “linear” TV properties like ABC, according to Puck. Both men had once been tipped as potential successors to Iger — Mr. Mayer as head of M.&A. (Mr. Iger chose Bob Chapek to take over, but he was ousted after two years and replaced by … Mr. Mr. Mayer and Mr. Staggs now run Candle Media, an investment company that has bought an array of production studios.

Persons: Robert Iger, Kevin Mayer, Tom Staggs, Iger’s, Mayer, Staggs, Puck, Iger, Mr, Bob Chapek, … Mr Organizations: Disney, ESPN, Media

The principle is that nature is an unpaid worker providing services, like carbon sequestration, soil retention, water filtration, replenishing raw materials and more. It is providing an invisible subsidy to world economies. Take carbon pricing. Poor countries that have abundant natural resources are loaning their economic resources, like the carbon-sequestering value of their rainforests, to rich countries without compensation. Why add such a pricing structure when economies can exploit nature for free?

Persons: John Kerry, ” It’s Organizations: Democratic, Resilience Locations: Democratic Republic of, Congo

Now, two prominent senators are pushing to create a new federal agency to rein in the power of Big Tech. Elizabeth Warren, Democrat of Massachusetts, and Lindsey Graham, Republican of South Carolina, plan to introduce the Digital Consumer Protection Commission Act, which they say would restrain tech titans while letting them continue to innovate. But these companies have fought hard against increased oversight, and it’s unclear how a new agency will fit into a Washington already full of regulators. The bill is in the vein of legislation that established agencies to oversee fast-growing industries, much like how Congress created the Interstate Commerce Commission, the Federal Communications Commission and the Nuclear Regulatory Commission. “For too long, giant tech companies have exploited consumers’ data, invaded Americans’ privacy, threatened our national security and stomped out competition in our economy,” Ms. Warren told DealBook’s Ephrat Livni.

Persons: Elizabeth Warren, Lindsey Graham, Ms, Warren, DealBook’s Ephrat Livni Organizations: Apple, Meta, Microsoft, Big Tech, Republican, Digital Consumer Protection, Interstate Commerce Commission, Federal Communications Commission, Nuclear Regulatory Commission Locations: Massachusetts, South Carolina, Washington

☆ Joe Lewis, Billionaire Owner of Tottenham Hotspur, Charged with Insider Trading
▼ + stars: | 2023-07-26 | by ( Michael J. De La Merced | More About Michael J. De La Merced | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

Federal prosecutors charged Joseph C. Lewis, the British billionaire who owns the Tottenham Hotspur English soccer club, with insider trading on Tuesday, accusing him of illegally funneling nonpublic information to associates to trade on. In a 29-page indictment, prosecutors in Manhattan accused the 86-year-old financier of doling out tips to friends and associates, including his pilots, personal assistants and romantic partners from 2019 to 2021. “He used inside information as a way to compensate employees and shower gifts on friends and lovers,” Damian Williams, the United States Attorney for the Southern District of New York, said in a statement. “It’s cheating and against the law.”Prosecutors also accused Mr. Lewis of conspiring to hide a roughly 20 percent stake in Mirati Therapeutics, a pharmaceutical company, through a series of shell companies and false statements to the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Persons: Joseph C, Lewis, ” Damian Williams, “ It’s, ” Prosecutors Organizations: Tottenham Hotspur English, United States, Southern, of, ”, Mirati Therapeutics, Securities and Exchange Commission Locations: Manhattan, of New York

Legacy admissions in the cross hairsIn opening a civil rights investigation into Harvard’s legacy admissions policy — in which relatives of alumni and donors are given preference — the Biden administration inserted itself into a fierce debate amid efforts to remake the world of higher education. Opponents of legacy admissions have argued that the policy is unfair, especially after the Supreme Court struck down affirmative action in higher education. But Harvard and other elite schools have defended the practice as a crucial means of raising money. Legacy admissions policies, they say, tilt overwhelmingly toward white and wealthy students and discriminate against Black, Hispanic and Asian applicants. About half of legacy students at the elite colleges examined by the study wouldn’t be there without such an admissions boost.

Persons: Biden Organizations: Harvard, Education

keep Big Tech booming? Nasdaq futures are up on Tuesday morning, ahead of a Big Tech earnings bonanza that kicks off when Microsoft and Alphabet report second-quarter results after the closing bell. Mike Wilson, Morgan Stanley’s chief U.S. equity strategist, apologized to clients on Monday, writing that his pessimistic stock market calls failed to spot the surge in A.I.-related stocks. On the other hand, Marko Kolanovic, JPMorgan Chase’s chief market strategist, is unconvinced that tech fervor will help the markets avoid a sharp decline this year. All eyes will be on Microsoft and Alphabet, which are at the forefront of commercializing generative A.I., the technology behind chatbots like ChatGPT that have captured the public’s imagination.

Persons: Mike Wilson, Morgan Stanley’s, Marko Kolanovic, — Organizations: Big Tech, Nasdaq, Microsoft, Nvidia, Citigroup, JPMorgan Chase’s, Google

Twitter has flown awayBye-bye, blue bird: Twitter overnight began rebranding itself as X, replacing its longtime logo with a stylized symbol that was projected onto its San Francisco headquarters. X!” wrote Linda Yaccarino, the company’s C.E.O., as the social network starting rolling out its new branding. Gone is the stylized bird, once dubbed Larry T. Bird by the Twitter co-founder Biz Stone, which became one of the most famous internet logos — and which the company has described as its most recognizable asset. The platform’s about page hasn’t yet been updated, but Ms. Yaccarino repeatedly referred to X in a series of tweets outlining the company’s ambitions. Expect X to more fully pervade the company: Mr. Musk described an internal message to employees over the weekend as the last he’d send from Twitter, and he told a user that a post should be called an “x” instead of a tweet.

Persons: Elon, ”, Linda Yaccarino, Larry T, Stone, Yaccarino, Musk Organizations: Twitter, San Locations: San Francisco

Search resuls for: "La Mer"

25 mentions found