Big Business This Week is a guided tour through the biggest market stories of the week, from winning stocks to brutal dips to the facts and forecasts generating buzz on Wall Street.
ENTERTAINMENT MERGER?
Could two entertainment bigwigs combine forces for a streaming superpower? Reports that Warner Bros. Discovery and Paramount Global met to discuss a possible merger created buzz on Thursday. Axios was the first to break the news, but the companies have not released any statement on the report. If true, the deal is still in its very early stages, but investors didn't seem too enthused. Warner Bros Discovery stock was down 8 percent for the week and Paramount Global ended the week down nearly 7 percent.
RITE AID'S NEXT MOVE
Pharmacy chain Rite Aid has agreed to bankruptcy mediation, which gave investors a sigh of relief. The organization will be eligible for a $200 million loan while it sorts out what it owes to creditors and those who have accused the company of contributing to the opioid epidemic. Meanwhile, Rite Aid has been banned from using facial recognition technology in its stores for more than five years because the FTC says it didn't use "reasonable procedures" to prevent similar theft-prevention tech from falsely identifying people, particularly Black, Latino and female shoppers.
NIPPON STEEL TO BUY U.S. STEEL
U.S. Steel will be American no more. Japan's Nippon Steel will acquire the producer in a deal worth about $14.9 billion. U.S. Steel will keep its headquarters in Pittsburgh, where it has been based since the turn of the 20th century and played a major role in the industrialization of America. However, the White House has said the deal deserves "serious scrutiny." The company turned down a deal from Ohio-based Cleveland Cliffs over the summer that would have been worth about half the price. U.S. Steel stock soared on the news, which broke before the U.S. markets opened on Monday, so although it was down nearly 4 percent for the week, it's actually up nearly 38 percent over the last month. Nippon Steel stock was up 3 percent for the week.
ADOBE DROPS FIGMA DEAL
Another major deal that would have reshaped the cloud technology landscape has been called off. Adobe backed out of a $20 billion acquisition of the online design company Figma after concerns that EU and UK regulators would push back over antitrust concerns. Adobe will pay Figma $1 billion to kill the agreement. Adobe stock closed the week up 1 percent.
ILLUMINA UNWINDS GRAIL DEAL
The biotech world also saw an about-face on a major deal when Illumina announced it will unwind its purchase of cancer-screening company Grail. The $7.1 billion deal closed in 2021, but didn't get approval from the EU. Last week, a U.S. appeals court ruled the deal may have also violated antitrust laws stateside. That's when Illumina decided to throw in the towel. Illumina stock rose on the news of the divestment, closing the week up 6 percent.
Chris Williamson, Chief Business Economist at S&P Global, breaks down September’s CPI print and inflation trends, explaining what it means for markets.
A big-screen adaptation of the anime “Chainsaw Man” has topped the North American box office, beating a Springsteen biopic and “Black Phone 2.” The movie earned $17.25 million in the U.S. and Canada this weekend. “Black Phone 2” fell to second place with $13 million. Two new releases, the rom-com “Regretting You” and “Springsteen — Deliver Me From Nowhere,” earned $12.85 million and $9.1 million, respectively. “Chainsaw Man – The Movie: Reze Arc” is based on the manga series about a demon hunter. It's another win for Sony-owned Crunchyroll, which also released a “Demon Slayer” film last month that debuted to a record $70 million.
The Federal Aviation Administration says flights departing for Los Angeles International Airport were halted briefly due to a staffing shortage at a Southern California air traffic facility. The FAA issued a temporary ground stop at one of the world’s busiest airports on Sunday morning soon after U.S. Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy predicted that travelers would see more flights delayed as the nation’s air traffic controllers work without pay during the federal government shutdown. The hold on planes taking off for LAX lasted an hour and 45 minutes and didn't appear to cause continued problems. The FAA said staffing shortages also delayed planes headed to Washington, Chicago and Newark, New Jersey on Sunday.
Boeing workers at three Midwest plants where military aircraft and weapons are developed have voted to reject the company’s latest contract offer and to continue a strike that started almost three months ago. The strike by about 3,200 machinists at the plants in the Missouri cities of St. Louis and St. Charles, and in Mascoutah, Illinois, is smaller in scale than a walkout last year by 33,000 Boeing workers who assemble commercial jetliners. The president of the International Association of Machinists says Sunday's outcome shows Boeing hasn't adequately addressed wages and retirement benefits. Boeing says Sunday's vote was close with 51% of union members opposing the revised offer.
The stunning indictment that led to the arrest of more than 30 people — including Miami Heat guard Terry Rozier and other NBA figures — has drawn new scrutiny of the booming business of sports betting in the U.S. The multibillion-dollar industry has made it easy for sports fans — and even some players — to wager on everything from the outcome of games to that of a single play with just a few taps of a cellphone. But regulating the rapidly-growing industry has proven to be a challenge. Professional sports leagues’ own role in promoting gambling has also raised eyebrows.
Tesla, the car company run by Elon Musk, reported Wednesday that it sold more vehicles in the past three months after boycotts hit hard earlier this year, but profits still fell sharply. Third-quarter earnings fell to $1.4 billion, from $2.2 billion a year earlier. Excluding charges, per share profit of 50 cents came in below analysts' estimate. Tesla shares fell 3.5% in after-hours trading. Musk said the company's robotaxi service, which is available in Austin, Texas, and San Francisco, will roll out to as many as 10 other metro areas by the end of the year.
