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Broadcom beats earnings estimates, announces 10-for-1 stock split 2024-06-12 21:19:00+00:00 - Broadcom posted earnings for the second fiscal quarter on Wednesday that beat analysts' estimates. It also announced a 10-for-1 stock split, set to begin trading on a split-adjusted basis on July 15. The stock rose about 10% in extended trading. Here is how the company did versus LSEG consensus estimates for the quarter that ended in May: Earnings per share : $10.96 adjusted vs. $10.84 expected : $10.96 adjusted vs. $10.84 expected Revenue: $12.49 billion vs. $12.03 billion expected The chipmaker expects about $51 billion in sales during its fiscal 2024 year, an increase over the company's previous forecast, and slightly higher than consensus expectations of $50.42 billion. Broadcom reported $2.12 billion in net income during the quarter, or $4.42 per share, versus $3.48 billion in net income, or $8.15 per share, in the year-ago period. Broadcom is one of the chipmakers benefiting from the artificial intelligence boom because its devices can run the sorts of AI applications that have enamored the tech industry. Broadcom said $3.1 billion in sales during the quarter could be attributed to revenue from AI products. For example, Broadcom works with Google , which partially designs its own AI chip called a TPU. "Talking of AI accelerators, you may know our hyperscale customers are accelerating their investments to scale up the performance of these clusters," Broadcom CEO Hock Tan said on the earnings call. "And to that end, we have just been awarded the next-generation custom AI accelerators for these hyperscale customers of ours." The company also said revenue from VMware, an enterprise software company it acquired for $69 billion late last year, contributed to its sales growth and forecast for the rest of the year. The company's overall revenue was up 43% on an annual basis during the quarter. Without VMware sales, it would have been up 12% on a year-over-year basis, Broadcom said. Correction: The consensus estimate was $12.03 billion. An earlier version misstated the figure.

Dimon, Fraser and Moynihan will attend private Trump CEO meeting — some others will skip 2024-06-12 21:11:00+00:00 - US President Donald Trump gestures as CEO of Bank of America Brian Moynihan (L) speaks during a meeting with banking leaders to discuss how the financial services industry can meet the needs of customers affected by COVID-19 at the White House in Washington, DC on March 11, 2020. Former President Donald Trump will address some of the world's most powerful corporate leaders on Thursday, albeit with some notable absences. In addition to Trump, President Joe Biden's chief of staff Jeff Zients will speak to the CEOs in Biden's place because the president is in Italy at the G7 meeting. A spokeswoman for the Business Roundtable said it expects "roughly" 100 of the over 200 chief executives who belong to the exclusive forum to attend its quarterly meeting in Washington on Thursday, a participation rate she described as typical. CNBC reached out to each of the more than 200 companies whose chief executives are listed online as members of the Business Roundtable to ask whether they planned to attend Thursday's meeting. Only 17 would confirm whether or not the company's CEO was attending. The rest — more than 180 companies — did not respond to emails over several days. So here's what we know: Out of the 17 corporate spokespeople who replied to CNBC, four said their CEOs planned to attend: JPMorgan Chase CEO Jamie Dimon, Citigroup CEO Jane Fraser, Bank of America CEO Brian Moynihan and Edison International CEO Pedro Pizarro. Another 13 said their CEOs will not be going to see Trump and Zients speak. Blackstone Group CEO and Trump ally Steve Schwarzman, Goldman Sachs CEO David Solomon, Steelcase CEO Sara Armbruster, ExxonMobil CEO Darren Woods, Delta Air Lines CEO Ed Bastian, Morgan Stanley CEO Ted Pick and the company's executive chairman James Gorman, and Duke Energy CEO Lynn Good are among those who will be absent from the conference, according to their company representatives. Some of these, such as Armbruster, Good and Solomon, are not attending due to scheduling conflicts and travel. BlackRock CEO Larry Fink and Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella, for instance, will reportedly be at the G7 summit in Italy. Representatives for Woods and Bastian did not reply to questions about why their chief executives won't be attending the meeting. Representatives for Fink and Nadella did not return requests for comment.

Oklahoma high court ends last hope of justice for Tulsa Race Massacre survivors 2024-06-12 21:04:18+00:00 - The Oklahoma Supreme Court on Wednesday struck down a lawsuit brought by the last known survivors of the Tulsa Race Massacre, a setback in the pursuit of justice for one of the most destructive single acts of mass violence against Black people in modern U.S. history. In an 8-1 ruling, the state Supreme Court affirmed a lower court decision that the plaintiffs’ public nuisance claim, though legitimate, does not fall under the scope of Oklahoma’s public nuisance statute. The allegations also don’t sufficiently support a claim for unjust enrichment or the unauthorized use of name and likeness, the court ruled. Hughes Van Ellis, Viola Fletcher and Lessie Benningfield Randle filed a lawsuit in 2020 under the state's public nuisance law over the destruction of the wealthy Black neighborhood of Greenwood and the killing of approximately 300 people by a white mob in 1921. Ellies, Fletcher, and Randle — who were young children at the time — sought reparations for the victims of the massacre and descendants, including punitive damages, a compensation fund and a scholarship program for descendants of residents living in Greenwood when the violence took place. Van Ellis died last year at 102. Both Fletcher and Randle are 109. Their lawsuit named the city of Tulsa, Tulsa's board of county commissioners and the Oklahoma Military Department among the defendants. An Oklahoma district court judge dismissed the suit last July, siding with the city's argument that "simply being connected to a historical event does not provide a person with unlimited rights to seek compensation." The plaintiffs appealed their case to the Oklahoma Supreme Court in August. Their attorney, Damario Solomon-Simmons, said in an earlier filing that a decision by the state's highest court would be the final opportunity for survivors to receive justice.

Here's what's next for Paramount after Skydance deal is stopped in its tracks 2024-06-12 21:03:00+00:00 - In this article PARA Follow your favorite stocks CREATE FREE ACCOUNT A view of Paramount Studios's water tank as SAG-AFTRA members walk the picket line outside during their ongoing strike, in Los Angeles, California, U.S., September 26, 2023. Mario Anzuoni | Reuters National Amusements stopped merger discussions between Paramount Global and Skydance this week — throwing into question what's next for the legacy media giant during a tumultuous period for the industry. Paramount, like many of its peers, is grappling with how to make streaming a profitable business as it faces peak competition, a rapidly shrinking universe of cable-TV customers and a slowdown in the advertising market that has especially weighed on the bundle. Now it's up to three leaders at the helm of Paramount to figure out the company's best path forward. Bob Bakish stepped down from the top post in April and was replaced by the so-called "Office of the CEO:" CBS CEO George Cheeks, Paramount Media Networks CEO Chris McCarthy and Paramount Pictures CEO Brian Robbins. The executives are trying to steer Paramount out of a rocky period while working under a structure that few companies have tried. "It's very difficult for a trio of CEOs to work on a long term basis. It's almost unheard of. How will they make decisions on allocating capital and strategic priorities?" said Jessica Reif-Ehrlich, an analyst at BofA Securities. On Wednesday, the leaders sent a memo to Paramount employees saying they would focus on their plan to turn the company around after the proposed deal didn't move forward. "So, what does this mean for Paramount? While the Board will always remain open to exploring strategic alternatives that create value for shareholders, we continue to focus on executing the strategic plan we unveiled last week during the Annual Shareholder Meeting, which we are confident will set the stage for growth for Paramount," the trio said in the memo that CNBC obtained on Wednesday. No deal Following months of negotiations in a sale process that included various twists, National Amusements informed Paramount's special committee and the buying consortium that included Skydance and private equity firms RedBird Capital and KKR minutes before a vote that it was stopping the sale process. The move came a little more than a week after Skydance and Paramount had agreed to financial terms of a merger that would have been valued at $8 billion. The deal had been awaiting signoff from Redstone, who owns National Amusements, the controlling shareholder of 77% of class A Paramount shares. In a statement on Tuesday, National Amusements said that while it had "agreed to the economic terms that Skydance offered, there were other outstanding terms on which they could not come to agreement." National Amusements also voiced its support for Paramount's current leadership. While those near the deal have offered conflicting reasons for why it was called off, a person familiar with the matter said Redstone turned down the offer after Skydance lowered the amount of money she would receive with the altered bid in order to shift some of it to the class B shareholders. In the last iteration of the deal, Redstone would have received $2 billion for National Amusements and Skydance would have bought out roughly 50% of class B shares at $15 apiece, or $4.5 billion, leaving the holders with equity in the new company. In recent days, other potential bidders for National Amusements emerged, according to reports. Redstone plans to explore selling her controlling stake in Paramount Global without an associated transaction involving merging studio assets, as Skydance had proposed. While Apollo Global Management and Sony had formally expressed interest in "a full acquisition" of the company for $26 billion, Redstone favored a deal that kept Paramount whole, which was not the plan for these bidders, CNBC previously reported. Path forward

Bethenny Frankel said red flags become 'fire engine-red' during divorce. Here are her biggest ones to watch out for when you start dating. 2024-06-12 21:01:40+00:00 - By clicking “Sign Up”, you accept our Terms of Service and Privacy Policy . You can opt-out at any time by visiting our Preferences page or by clicking "unsubscribe" at the bottom of the email. Access your favorite topics in a personalized feed while you're on the go. download the app Sign up to get the inside scoop on today’s biggest stories in markets, tech, and business — delivered daily. Read preview In 2010, Bravo aired "Bethenny Getting Married," a one-season reality show documenting Bethenny Frankel's relationship with pharmaceutical sales executive Jason Hoppy. The marriage lasted two years, and the couple had one child, Bryn Hoppy. The divorce took nearly a decade, finalizing in 2021 after Frankel filed for divorce in 2013. The lengthy process prompted Frankel to create "JUST B DIVORCE," a new YouTube series where the former reality star and business leader shares her insights for women both pre- and mid-divorce. This story is available exclusively to Business Insider subscribers. Become an Insider and start reading now. "It was a brutal, brutal experience," Frankel, 53, told Business Insider. "I thought I would never survive it." Advertisement While Frankel shares practical divorce tips on the show, she also emphasizes the importance of spotting red flags early on. Bethenny Frankel with her daughter, Bryn Hoppy. Cindy Ord/Getty Images "You can't marry someone that you wouldn't want to be divorced from," Frankel told BI. "The red flags that you see in dating will become fire engine-red flags when you're getting divorced." She said people can get "vengeful" throughout the process, especially when navigating custody battles. Frankel shared some of her biggest dating red flags to watch out for early on in a relationship. Charm is disarming Frankel told BI that "charming" men should set off alarm bells. Advertisement She spoke more about the red flag in her series, stating that her life coach told her to run if charm is someone's primary personality trait. "You don't own charm, charm owns you," she quoted the coach. Excessive charm is associated with narcissists and dark empaths, who use it to manipulate the people around them, according to therapists. Related stories Lois M. Brenner, a divorce lawyer in New York, previously told Business Insider that she's had many clients say they were love-bombed and had "no idea who this person was" when they married them because of how charming they were at first. You don't want the 6'5" trust fund guy In April, TikToker Megan Boni shared a sound bite designed to be remixed: "I'm looking for a man in finance, trust fund, 6'5", blue eyes." It went viral, with David Guetta releasing his own version of the song. Advertisement While the song is a joke, Frankel still warned against going after trust fund guys in particular. "You don't want a trust fund guy because of the way that they're going to ultimately treat you and discard you," she told BI. She believes that they will get bored and toss you aside because "they're insecure and they've been given everything." Men can still be boys Immaturity is another quality Frankel said to stay away from, because it can indicate how a partner handles disagreement. She stressed the importance of being with someone who's emotionally mature. "You don't want to date boys, you want to date men," she told BI, adding that physical age means nothing. "A 65-year-old man could be a boy. A 25-year-old boy could be a man." Advertisement On TikTok, Frankel advised viewers to put men they're dating "through a strainer" and be really discerning. "If it's giving boy, it's giving 'bye,'" she said. A weak 'yes' is a hard 'no' Frankel said "cracks become craters" once you're married, so it's important to listen to your reservations. "If you don't have a resounding, emphatic 'yes,' the answer is 'no,'" she told BI. She added that someone's fears and expectations might make them feel obligated to go through with a marriage, such as their parents liking the person or feeling like they need to hit a certain milestone by a certain age. But none of that means you're ready to marry the person, and the consequences can be dire. Advertisement "You have to make smart decisions, and hopefully other people can learn from so many of my mistakes," Frankel said.

Why 4 new bird flu developments have experts worried about the virus 2024-06-12 20:59:16+00:00 - By clicking “Sign Up”, you accept our Terms of Service and Privacy Policy . You can opt-out at any time by visiting our Preferences page or by clicking "unsubscribe" at the bottom of the email. Access your favorite topics in a personalized feed while you're on the go. download the app Sign up to get the inside scoop on today’s biggest stories in markets, tech, and business — delivered daily. Read preview Bird flu is flying wild, and it has many infectious disease experts more worried now than ever. The H5N1 avian influenza virus has killed tens of millions of birds across the planet and more than 40,000 sea lions and seals. For animals, it's a pandemic. Still, the CDC says the risk to humans is low. Most people seem to have very little chance, if any, of catching H5N1 avian influenza right now. This story is available exclusively to Business Insider subscribers. Become an Insider and start reading now. Only three people in the US have tested positive for the virus since its surprising break into the cattle population, and they all had direct contact with infected cows. Advertisement A farmer pets the head of his cow during a cow cuddle session at Luz Farms near Monee, Illinois. Jim Vondruska/Reuters But infectious disease experts are increasingly concerned that the H5N1 virus could make a sustained jump into humans and start spreading among us. That's not inevitable, but several recent developments suggest it's a growing threat. "There's a lot going on," Dr. Monica Gandhi, a professor of medicine and associate chief of the Division of HIV, Infectious Diseases, and Global Medicine at the University of California, San Francisco, told Business Insider. "I'm becoming more worried." You shouldn't panic, but you should probably know what's going on. This virus is a leading candidate for the next pandemic, and four developments in the past month have experts worried. Here's what you need to know. Advertisement Bird flu hospitalized a child in Australia On Friday the World Health Organization announced that a 2-year-old had become Australia's first human case of H5N1 in March. After returning from travel to Kolkata, India, the child's symptoms — loss of appetite, fever, coughing, vomiting, and irritability, according to WHO — put them in the hospital for two and a half weeks, including admission to the intensive care unit. As human cases crop up in different parts of the world, epidemiologists like Christopher Dye become more concerned. "There's such a vast amount of virus at the moment. And clearly it is changing, and it's doing new and unexpected things," Dye, a professor and senior research fellow at the University of Oxford, told BI. Advertisement A researcher prepares milk samples in Sabeti Lab, which is testing purchased milk at area grocery stores for the presence of bird flu. David L. Ryan/The Boston Globe via Getty Images He recently co-authored a paper, published in the medical journal BMJ, arguing that the risk of a major human outbreak is "large, plausible, and imminent." "Influenza has always been a concern for decades and decades, and this particular form of influenza for at least two decades," Dye said. "But now, it's risen to a level of concern, I think, which is greater than ever before." Mice could bring bird flu into homes A total of 47 house mice have tested positive for H5N1 in New Mexico, the US Department of Agriculture reported on Tuesday. "Mice are kind of everywhere," Gandhi said. "They're around other animals, they're around humans a lot. And it's a little worrisome." Advertisement A mouse sits in the snow in New York City's Central Park. Tayfun Coskun/Anadolu Agency via Getty Images The samples were collected from the sick mice in early May. According to The Telegraph, scientists suspect that the mice, as well as some domestic cats, may have gotten the virus from drinking raw milk from infected cows. (Public health experts resoundingly advise that people should not drink unpasteurized, aka "raw," milk.) "This brings the virus closer to human homes," Rick Bright, former director of the Biomedical Advanced Research and Development Authority, told The Telegraph. "This is out of control," he added. Related stories Every new population of animals, and every new exposure to humans, is another opportunity for the virus to mutate and adapt. One mutation suggests the virus has started adapting An avian influenza A(H5N1) virion, viewed through an electron microscope. Cynthia Goldsmith, Jackie Katz/CDC via AP When the CDC analyzed a virus sample from the second US farmworker infected, they spotted a mutation in the virus's replication machinery — the way it gets inside its host's cells to make copies of itself. Advertisement It's a change "associated with viral adaptation to mammalian hosts," the CDC said in a statement in May. The statement also said that studies in mice indicate this type of genetic mutation in the virus is associated with more severe disease and enhanced viral replication. That doesn't make it a human virus yet, though. Other than this one change, H5N1 has mainly "avian virus properties and not human virus properties," Richard Webby, a virologist at St. Jude and director of the WHO Collaborating Centre for Studies on the Ecology of Influenza in Animals and Birds, told BI. That means the virus is better adapted to thrive and spread among birds, not humans. Advertisement Still, that could change. The latest US case had a troubling cough The first two farmworkers to test positive for H5N1 in the US had pink eye. But the third case, reported in Michigan in May, featured a cough and sore throat. That means H5N1 was in that worker's respiratory system, which is a scarier place to find a threatening virus than in our eyes. For one thing, it's easier to spread a virus by coughing or sneezing than by, well, sharing eye fluid. Advertisement The good news is that, as far as scientists can tell, H5N1 is still not adapted to humans enough to transmit between us. The CDC has reported no evidence that the coughing farmworker spread the virus to anyone else. But that doesn't mean H5N1 can't mutate to achieve human-to-human transmission — which brings us to the second unfortunate reality of this farmworker's respiratory infection. Compared to the eyes, human lungs are a more convenient place for an avian virus to get more mammalian, according to Webby. In the lungs, the virus is exposed to more of the cell receptors that a mammalian virus would bind to, giving H5N1 more opportunity to mutate and start grabbing onto those receptors — thereby becoming better adapted to infecting and spreading between humans. Many experts fear the USDA and CDC aren't monitoring cattle and farmworkers closely enough to catch concerning mutations early, and that other human cases may be going undetected. Advertisement Talita de Lima Freitas, federal agricultural inspector, works on a sample to test for avian influenza virus at the Reference Laboratory of the World Organization for Animal Health in Campinas, Brazil. Amanda Perobelli/Reuters "I think there's enough of a threat here to be very alert so that we have a surveillance system in place that, as soon as this happens, we can find it," Dye said. Vaccines are in the works The good news is that bird flu is not COVID-19. Scientists have been tracking this virus and its entire viral family tree, watching for any sign of a growing threat to humans, for decades. As a result, the key elements of a vaccine are already on standby. The US is beginning to manufacture millions of vaccines using "candidate vaccine viruses" — weakened influenza viruses — that the CDC has developed. If H5N1 becomes a threat to humans, it could be part of your seasonal flu shot. Marko Geber/Getty Though the candidates are not necessarily perfect matches to H5N1, and the vaccines' use of eggs may be a manufacturing roadblock if bird flu is sweeping the chicken population, they may provide some immunity in the case of a human outbreak. Advertisement Furthermore, scientists now have proven mRNA vaccine technology at the ready. Vaccines that use mRNA, of which the COVID-19 vaccines were the first approved for use, are more flexible and faster to develop than traditional vaccines — and they don't require eggs. Bird flu has driven up egg prices multiple times in the past few years. Terry Chea/AP Photo Researchers at the University of Pennsylvania have already developed an experimental mRNA vaccine for H5N1, which they've successfully tested in mice and ferrets. If H5N1 becomes a problem in humans, a vaccine could be offered with the flu shot you get later this year. In the meantime, bird flu is a looming threat to keep an eye on. Advertisement "As far as I can see, this is not going to go away anytime soon," Dye said.

Here's where Biden and Trump stand on immigration in the 2024 race 2024-06-12 20:57:49+00:00 - By clicking “Sign Up”, you accept our Terms of Service and Privacy Policy . You can opt-out at any time by visiting our Preferences page or by clicking "unsubscribe" at the bottom of the email. Access your favorite topics in a personalized feed while you're on the go. download the app Sign up to get the inside scoop on today’s biggest stories in markets, tech, and business — delivered daily. Read preview Very few issues animate Americans more than immigration. And under the presidencies of both Donald Trump and Joe Biden, divisions over the issue have only sharpened further. Trump's 2016 presidential campaign was defined by his hard-line views on immigration: arguing for a wall at the US-Mexico border and insisting that Mexico pay for said barrier, pushing for the deportations of millions of undocumented immigrants, and calling for a temporary ban on Muslims entering the country. This story is available exclusively to Business Insider subscribers. Become an Insider and start reading now. Once in office, Trump sought to execute his broad vision. His administration constructed 455 miles of fencing along the southern border, but much of the wall simply replaced anti-vehicle barriers with taller steel bars. And despite Trump's rhetoric on ramping up deportations, the number of individuals who were removed from the US declined from October 2018 to September 2019. Advertisement Biden in the 2020 election strongly denounced Trump's immigration policies, voicing his opposition to a border wall, blasting the GOP administration's family separation policy, and promising a more humane approach toward migrants at the southern border. But since Biden took office, an explosion in border apprehensions — along with scores of migrants arriving in Democratic-led cities like Chicago and New York — has became a political liability, with voters giving him low marks on the issue. Related stories Here's a look at Biden and Trump's positions on immigration, one of the defining issues of the November election: Where Joe Biden stands on immigration Immigration has been one of the trickiest policy areas for Biden, as he came into office seeking to reverse many Trump-era policies but has instead often found himself on the defensive on the issue. Advertisement Republicans across the country have routinely excoriated Biden over border security since taking office, pointing their fingers at him over record levels of apprehensions at the border. In February, the GOP-controlled House of Representatives impeached Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas, contending that he had not enforced the country's immigration laws. (The Democratic-led Senate subsequently squashed the impeachment charges against Mayorkas.) Texas GOP Gov. Greg Abbott over the past two years has pushed back against what he said is Biden's lack of border security by sending hundreds of thousands of migrants to Chicago and New York. And it's created a difficult situation for Democratic officials like New York City Mayor Eric Adams, who has had to tackle budgetary challenges in housing migrants. Biden this year pushed for the passage of a Senate-crafted bipartisan bill, which would have overhauled the US asylum system, among other measures intended to strengthen security at the border. The bill seemingly put the president on the offensive on the issue, as he challenged congressional Republicans to back to proposal to get a handle on immigration. But Senate Republicans overwhelmingly voted against the bill after Trump pressed them to tank it. Advertisement Biden last week signed an executive order that restricts asylum protections — to the frustration of immigration advocates — for migrants if there are more than 2,500 unauthorized daily border crossings over a seven-day average. Where Donald Trump stands on immigration Trump has staked much of his 2024 campaign on Biden's vulnerabilities on immigration among voters. In a New York Times/Siena College poll conducted in April, 50% of registered voters approved of Trump's handling of the issue while he was in office. Meanwhile, only 32% of registered voters approved of Biden's handling of immigration. The former president was instrumental in tanking this year's bipartisan immigration bill, blasting it as a "horrible open borders betrayal" during a January rally in Las Vegas. Advertisement Trump has made it clear that he intends to crack down on illegal immigration should he retake the White House. The former president's conservative allies have already begun drafting executive orders and memos in preparation for potential early actions to restrict migration at the US-Mexico border, according to The Wall Street Journal. During Trump's sole term in the White House, he also made it more difficult for foreign-born workers — which included many highly-skilled scientists and engineers — to come to the US on visas. A second Trump administration could very well see a return to such policies.

Sony Pictures buys dine-in movie theater chain Alamo Drafthouse 2024-06-12 20:57:00+00:00 - The most anticipated movies out this summer Most anticipated movies out this summer Most anticipated movies out this summer Alamo Drafthouse, the dine-in movie theater chain that faded during the pandemic before declaring bankruptcy three years ago, has a fresh lease on life after finding a new corporate owner. Sony Pictures said Wednesday it has purchased Alamo and will keep its 35 locations open. The theater, whose headquarters will remain in Austin, Texas, will be folded into a new division called Sony Pictures Experiences. As part of the transaction, Sony also acquired Alamo's genre film festival, Fantastic Fest. Sony didn't disclose the purchase price or other terms of the deal. Sony Picture President Ravi Ahuja said the deal aligns with the company's mission of "engaging entertainment fans outside the home in fun and distinctive ways," adding that "Alamo Drafthouse's differentiated movie-going experience, admired brand and devoted community fit well with this vision." Alamo is the nation's largest privately owned theater chain, with locations in California, New York, Texas, Virginia and other states. The theaters attract more than 10 million customers a year, according to Sony. Alamo, launched in Austin in 1997, distinguished itself in the land of movie chains by offering customers alcoholic drinks, seat-side food service and a vibe that quickly made a splash among theater goers. The company's tagline: "The Alamo Drafthouse Theater is good food, good beer and good film, all at the same place!" "We were created by film lovers for film lovers," Alamo CEO Michael Kustermann, who will retain his position, said in a statement. "We know how important this is to Sony, and it serves as further evidence of their commitment to the theatrical experience." Social-distancing restrictions due to the pandemic, coupled with the delayed release of new films, slammed its business, Alamo said in filing for bankruptcy in 2021. Alamo had 41 theaters before seeking protection from creditors, but the company closed six locations across north Texas. Alamo was one of a number of movie theater chains that cratered during the pandemic. The owner of Regal Cinemas, Cineworld, declared bankruptcy in 2022. AMC Theatres risked running out of cash last year until it received a $917 million cash infusion from investors. Private equity firms Altamont Capital and Fortress Investment bought Alamo as part of its bankruptcy. The theater company emerged from Chapter 11 in March of 2021. —The Associated Press contributed to this report.

In an unfortunate stunt, Republicans hold AG Garland in contempt 2024-06-12 20:48:44+00:00 - As the Republican Party’s broader offensive against the Justice Department and federal law enforcement intensifies, Attorney General Merrick Garland wrote a Washington Post op-ed this week, calling on some partisan restraint. “Disagreements about politics are good for our democracy. They are normal,” the nation’s chief law enforcement official wrote. “But using conspiracy theories, falsehoods, violence and threats of violence to affect political outcomes is not normal. The short-term political benefits of those tactics will never make up for the long-term cost to our country.” One day later, House Republicans responded — by voting to hold the attorney general in contempt. The final tally on the House floor was 216 to 207. (Seven Democrats did note vote, though the measure would've passed anyway.) The outcome was hardly a foregone conclusion. As recently as late yesterday, Axios reported that the contempt resolution was “hanging by a thread” and “in severe danger of being pulled by GOP leadership.” As recently as this morning, Politico reported that there was “lingering skepticism” within corners of the House Republican conference, and given the party’s tiny majority in the chamber and the unanimous opposition of Democratic lawmakers, the resolution would’ve failed if only a few GOP members balked. They didn't. Ultimately, only one House Republican — Ohio's Dave Joyce, a former prosecutor — opposed the measure. In terms of how we arrived at this point, it was early last year when President Joe Biden and his team made an unexpected announcement: The Delaware Democrat, after leaving the vice presidency, inadvertently took some classified documents with him. Team Biden contacted the authorities, returned the materials and announced plans to cooperate with any investigation. Soon after, Garland appointed Robert Hur to serve as a special counsel in the matter and eventually to prepare a report on his findings. It concluded more or less how everyone assumed it would: The prosecutor decided not to indict the incumbent president. Soon after, Hur wrapped up his work and released a report, including a transcript of an interview that Biden volunteered to participate in. (Donald Trump, in contrast, refused to be interviewed by either special counsel Robert Mueller or special counsel Jack Smith.) In theory, that ended the story. In practice, however, there was one additional element that Republicans decided to pursue: the audio recording of the incumbent president’s Q&A with investigators. The Biden administration has declined GOP lawmakers’ requests for the tape, and there’s no great mystery as to why: Officials realize that Republicans are simply looking for a political toy they can play with ahead of Election Day 2024. Former Republican Rep. Ken Buck admitted as much last month, explaining that Congress already has the transcript and relevant information, adding that his former GOP colleagues are “just looking for something for political purposes.” House Oversight Committee Chairman James Comer went even further to prove Democrats right, declaring in a recent fundraising appeal that he wanted the recordings as part of an effort to target “swing voters across the country.” If there was any question as to whether or not House Republicans were engaged in a partisan, election-year stunt, Comer appeared to answer it. As for what happens now, the answer is "not much." Given that there’s no legitimate or legislative reason to release the audio, Team Biden asserted executive privilege. White House Counsel Ed Siskel told congressional Republicans in a letter last month, “The absence of a legitimate need for the audio recordings lays bare your likely goal — to chop them up, distort them, and use them for partisan political purposes.” (NBC News and other media organizations are suing to force the release of the audio on the grounds that it’s part of the public record.) With this in mind, NBC News reported that the White House’s move “all but eliminated the possibility that Garland would be prosecuted for ignoring the subpoenas. It’s also unheard of for Justice Department prosecutors to go after the head of their agency over a contempt issue.” House Republican leaders and their members are well aware of the obvious details. They know their resolution will be ignored. They know their gambit has been exposed as a partisan stunt. But GOP members nevertheless wanted to scratch a partisan itch, so they did. The public can expect to see a great many House Republicans boasting on conservative media and in fundraising appeals about their willingness to "get tough" with Garland, even if the contempt resolution doesn't amount to anything. This post updates our related earlier coverage.

WeWork has emerged from bankruptcy. What’s next for the co-working office space provider? 2024-06-12 20:46:15+00:00 - NEW YORK (AP) — WeWork has officially emerged from bankruptcy. And all eyes are on whether its new leadership can guide the long-embattled provider of co-working office space to success. Once a Wall Street darling promising to revolutionize the world of work, WeWork took a stunning — but anticipated — fall last November when it filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection. Early overexpansion shackled WeWork with mounting debt and unsustainable real estate costs, and the New York-based company turned to restructuring in a bid to resurrect its business. WeWork emerged from the restructuring, which took effect Tuesday after being finalized in court last month, as a private company. That means its future financial disclosures will be limited, but the company says it’s shed more than $4 billion in debt, raised $400 million of additional equity capital, and cut future lease obligations in half — which it expects to bring some $12 billion in future savings. WeWork’s real estate footprint also got smaller. The company exited 170 “unprofitable” locations — bringing its portfolio to about 600 wholly owned, franchisee and joint-venture locations in 37 countries. That’s down from around 770 locations across 39 countries reported ahead of November’s Chapter 11 filing. “They rejected a great deal (of leases), so it’s obviously going to put WeWork in a much better position in terms of being lean enough ... to exit bankruptcy and operate without so much crushing overhead,” said John D. Giampolo, a member partner at New York-based law firm Rosenberg & Estis who specializes in corporate bankruptcy reorganization and represented several landlords and creditors in WeWork’s bankruptcy case. Still, the future is uncertain. “Is it going to be enough so that WeWork becomes sufficiently profitable long-term?” Giampolo added. “I think only time is going to tell.” The company’s new leadership is also being watched. Corresponding with Tuesday’s announcement about emerging from bankruptcy, WeWork revealed that David Tolley has stepped down as CEO and is being replaced by John Santora, of real estate company Cushman & Wakefield, effective Wednesday. Santora is the fourth permanent CEO that WeWork has seen over the last five years. His predecessor Tolley, who joined WeWork just last year, became interim CEO in May 2023 — a position that became permanent in October. In a prepared statement, Santora sounded an optimistic note about the company’s role in the co-working space. “I firmly believe that flexible work is no longer just an option, but rather a strategic imperative for companies wanting to maximize the efficiency of their real estate footprint, as well as their dynamic workforce,” he stated. Beyond the new chief executive appointment, WeWork also unveiled a new board of directors. More than half of the new members come from real estate software company Yardi Systems, which agreed to acquire a majority stake in WeWork through its wholly owned subsidiary Cupar Grimmond during bankruptcy proceedings. Commercial real estate experts like David Putro, senior vice president at Morningstar Credit Analytics, note that demand for co-working spaces remains strong — and, while WeWork is still the biggest name in the market today, many competitors have popped up over the years. Still, he and others add, having a sustainable business model and keeping up with consumers’ evolving needs is crucial. While post-pandemic return-to-office efforts have taken “forever to truly manifest” for many workers, Putro says, demand for co-working spaces should be a sizeable part of that conversation. Still, WeWork’s reemergence from bankruptcy also arrives at a time when demand for office space remains weak overall. The COVID-19 pandemic led to rising vacancies in commercial real estate — with many Americans still spending at least part of the week working from home. Major U.S. markets struggling to improve office space occupancy include San Francisco, New York, Chicago and Washington, D.C. That makes it even harder for landlords who may have lost major tenants, like WeWork, to fill their spaces again. “We’re still seeing the residual effects,” said Putro, whose team has tracked WeWork locations that have been shuttered or seen leases terminated both before and after the company’s bankruptcy filing. “In some cases, that means (potentially) losing a building.” WeWork was founded by Adam Neumann and Miguel McKelvey in 2010. In its early years, the startup saw a meteoric rise — once reaching a valuation as high as $47 billion — but over time, WeWork’s operating expenses soared and the company relied on repeated cash infusions from private investors. WeWork went public in October 2021, after its first attempt to do so two years earlier collapsed spectacularly. That debacle led to the ousting of Neumann, whose erratic behavior and exorbitant spending spooked early investors. During the bankruptcy process, Neumann himself made a bid to buy back the company, but eventfully accepted defeat.

Is It Worth Investing in Netflix Based on Wall Street's Bullish Views? - Netflix (NASDAQ:NFLX) 2024-06-12 20:42:00+00:00 - Loading... Loading... The recommendations of Wall Street analysts are often relied on by investors when deciding whether to buy, sell, or hold a stock. Media reports about these brokerage-firm-employed (or sell-side) analysts changing their ratings often affect a stock's price. Do they really matter, though? Let's take a look at what these Wall Street heavyweights have to say about Netflix NFLX before we discuss the reliability of brokerage recommendations and how to use them to your advantage. Netflix currently has an average brokerage recommendation of 1.91, on a scale of 1 to 5 (Strong Buy to Strong Sell), calculated based on the actual recommendations (Buy, Hold, Sell, etc.) made by 39 brokerage firms. An ABR of 1.91 approximates between Strong Buy and Buy. Of the 39 recommendations that derive the current ABR, 21 are Strong Buy and two are Buy. Strong Buy and Buy respectively account for 53.9% and 5.1% of all recommendations. Brokerage Recommendation Trends for NFLX Do you wonder why? As a result of the vested interest of brokerage firms in a stock they cover, their analysts tend to rate it with a strong positive bias. According to our research, brokerage firms assign five "Strong Buy" recommendations for every "Strong Sell" recommendation. In other words, their interests aren't always aligned with retail investors, rarely indicating where the price of a stock could actually be heading. Therefore, the best use of this information could be validating your own research or an indicator that has proven to be highly successful in predicting a stock's price movement. With an impressive externally audited track record, our proprietary stock rating tool, the Zacks Rank, which classifies stocks into five groups, ranging from Zacks Rank #1 (Strong Buy) to Zacks Rank #5 (Strong Sell), is a reliable indicator of a stock's near -term price performance. So, validating the Zacks Rank with ABR could go a long way in making a profitable investment decision. Zacks Rank Should Not Be Confused With ABR Although both Zacks Rank and ABR are displayed in a range of 1-5, they are different measures altogether. Broker recommendations are the sole basis for calculating the ABR, which is typically displayed in decimals (such as 1.28). The Zacks Rank, on the other hand, is a quantitative model designed to harness the power of earnings estimate revisions. It is displayed in whole numbers -- 1 to 5. Analysts employed by brokerage firms have been and continue to be overly optimistic with their recommendations. Since the ratings issued by these analysts are more favorable than their research would support because of the vested interest of their employers, they mislead investors far more often than they guide. In contrast, the Zacks Rank is driven by earnings estimate revisions. And near-term stock price movements are strongly correlated with trends in earnings estimate revisions, according to empirical research. Furthermore, the different grades of the Zacks Rank are applied proportionately across all stocks for which brokerage analysts provide earnings estimates for the current year. In other words, at all times, this tool maintains a balance among the five ranks it assigns. Another key difference between the ABR and Zacks Rank is freshness. The ABR is not necessarily up-to-date when you look at it. But, since brokerage analysts keep revising their earnings estimates to account for a company's changing business trends, and their actions get reflected in the Zacks Rank quickly enough, it is always timely in indicating future price movements. Is NFLX Worth Investing In? Looking at the earnings estimate revisions for Netflix, the Zacks Consensus Estimate for the current year has increased 0.1% over the past month to $18.31. Analysts' growing optimism over the company's earnings prospects, as indicated by strong agreement among them in revising EPS estimates higher, could be a legitimate reason for the stock to soar in the near term. The size of the recent change in the consensus estimate, along with three other factors related to earnings estimates, has resulted in a Zacks Rank #1 (Strong Buy) for Netflix. Therefore, the Buy-equivalent ABR for Netflix may serve as a useful guide for investors. To read this article on Zacks.com click here.

Colorectal Cancer Survival Rate After 5 Years Is 90% With Early Detection, Yet Testing Is Inaccessible For Many – Mainz Biomed Wants To Change That - Mainz Biomed (NASDAQ:MYNZ) 2024-06-12 20:41:00+00:00 - Colorectal cancer is a leading cause of death in America, killing 50,000 people each year. But if it’s caught early, the survival rate after five years is 90%. Despite those favorable odds, only about four in 10 colorectal cancers are spotted at the early stage. There are several reasons why more people aren't getting screened for this devastating cancer. Some aren't aware that regular testing can save their lives, many can't afford it, while others don't have access. Colonoscopies done at ten-year intervals and occult blood tests (FITS) performed annually or biannually are the two forms of screenings, but both have disadvantages. Colonoscopies, while very precise, involve an unpleasant procedure and lengthy intestinal cleansing. Occult blood tests are more widely accepted, but they can only provide indirect evidence of disease and often only in later, bleeding stages. Advanced Screening Equals Early Detection To be effective, cancer screening has to be simple, readily available and affordable, which is where Mainz Biomed MYNZ comes in. The molecular genetics diagnostic company specializing in the early detection of cancer is revolutionizing the colorectal cancer testing industry with ColoAlert, its flagship product. ColoAlert is an early detection screening that spots bleeding and non-bleeding tumors through tumor DNA analysis, offering what the company says is better early detection than fecal occult blood tests. That's important since almost all colorectal cancers develop from polyps that grow over time. The longer the polyps are present, the higher the risk of them becoming cancerous, which is why early screening has the potential to dramatically impact treatment and prevention. Colorectal cancer originates from the genetic mutation of intestinal cells. These are continuously excreted through the stool and can be examined for tumor DNA using modern genetic diagnostic methods. ColoAlert analyzes samples for the four tumor markers associated with cancer: KRAS-mutation, BRAF-mutation, total amount of human DNA and occult blood. That's something competing at-home screenings can't claim to do. By analyzing tumor DNA, Mainz says ColoAlert detects 85% of colorectal cancer cases – often in the very early stages of the disease. That is a key differentiator, given the company says 71% of the diagnoses made are in the later stages of the disease. Market Opportunity Is Broad If ColoAlert proves to be game-changing in terms of getting more people to screen for colorectal cancer, it’s a big opportunity for Mainz. As it stands, 37 million people in the U.S. get screened for rectal cancer each year. That could increase to 52 million per year within ten years as the population ages. In the United States there are 112 million people over 50, which is expected to increase to 157 million in the next decade. Of the U.S. population between 50 and 75, about 40% have never been screened. While the common practice is to start the screening at 50, the Food and Drug Administration says screening should start at age 45 and be conducted every three years. If that guidance is followed, it presents an even bigger opportunity for ColoAlert. All told, Mainz pegs the U.S. opportunity at $4 billion and the European market opportunity at $6 billion. ColoAlert is already proving to be more accurate than rivals' at-home tests, which should drive adoption rates and help Mainz Biomed achieve its goals. A recent multicentric study of 566 patients simultaneously using the occult blood test, M2-PK test and ColoAlert, found ColoAlert, with a sensitivity of 85% and a specificity of 92%, was the most accurate test result among the non-invasive screening methods. The company plans to engage in further testing to validate the effectiveness of its screening over what's already available in the market. "Combined DNA stool assay represents a reliable assay for detecting colorectal cancer, sufficient to be recommended as a supplement to colonoscopy screening," the study researchers reported. Making It Easy On top of being accurate, ColoAlert is easy to use, which could be a big driver of adoption. Within five minutes, the sample is collected and packaged and on the way to the lab. Patients receive a kit in the mail that includes instructions, a stool collector and a shipping label to return the kit to their local lab for testing. Patients receive the results in a few days. Unlike the rival ColoGuard, Mainz says ColoAlert requires very small samples to test, which is one of the reasons the company boasts 98% patient satisfaction. Colorectal cancer is the third most commonly diagnosed cancer and a leading cause of cancer death globally, but it doesn't have to be. Early detection means all the difference, yet far too many people don't get screened each year. Mainz is hoping ColoAlert will change that, helping to lower incidents of this and other gastrointestinal cancers. To learn more about ColoAlert and the science behind it, click here. Featured photo by National Cancer Institute on Unsplash. This post contains sponsored content. This content is for informational purposes only and not intended to be investing advice.

A new Wall Street survey paints a positive picture for these 4 consumer stocks we own 2024-06-12 20:38:00+00:00 - The latest Wall Street survey of U.S. shoppers suggest many of our consumer-facing stocks are in a strong spot for the current economy. A key theme from investment bank Jefferies' survey of more than 1,000 U.S. consumers is that spending behavior is much different across income cohorts, which could "result in a more bifurcated recovery ahead," the analysts wrote to clients Wednesday. Perhaps unsurprisingly, higher-income people are demonstrating resilience in their spending, the survey found. But with years of elevated inflation taking its toll, "value-seeking behavior is prevailing, and should sustain near-term," analysts wrote. The Club stocks identified by Jefferies as its top ways to play the current economy fall on both ends of the spectrum. Consumer staples giant Procter & Gamble and Mexican beer king Constellation Brands were touted as companies with the least exposure to shoppers trading down to cheaper alternatives and private-label brands. The firm has buy ratings on both stocks. PG STZ 1Y mountain Procter & Gamble's stock performance compared with Constellation Brands over the past 12 months. We've long viewed Procter & Gamble as a solid consumer play that can perform regardless of the economic environment. In May, when the stock was a few bucks higher than Wednesday's levels, we trimmed some shares into strength following its third-quarter earnings on April 19. P & G did face a period of volume declines, but its most-recent report showed a highly encouraging sequential improvement. Constellation Brands' Mexican beer brands like Corona and Modelo have consistently been gaining market share despite softness facing the broader group. Still, there is some belief on Wall Street that Constellation's July 3 earnings report could miss expectations due to the industry weakness. But as we head into the summer season – a strong time of the year for Constellation amid the warmer weather – along with expansion in supermarket shelf space , we're hopeful that its stock can move higher. It fell more than 10% between its 2024 peak of $272.04 per share on March 27 and May 29, but it has started to trend higher this month. On the other side of the coin is TJX Companies , which Jefferies called out as one of its favorite stocks to benefit from the areas where shoppers are trading down. "Traffic trends remain strong" at off-price retailers, the analysts said. TJX 1Y mountain TJX Companies' stock performance over the past 12 months. The growing appeal of TJX's off-price business to both high- and low-income consumers was on display in its earnings report in late May . The release sent to the stock to new highs, and it kept on climbing in the days that followed. It's less than a $1 away from its record close of $107.44 on June 7. Unlike many of its brick-and-mortar retail competitors who are pulling back in the current economic climate, TJX recently struck a deal to enter the Mexican market through a joint venture with an off-price chain operator in that country, Grupo Axo. Another company we own for similar reasons that not mentioned by Jefferies is Costco . We like Costco for the retailer's ability to "drive amazing bargains" on a relatively small assortment of goods, which allows management to focus on items that offer the best quality and price, Jim Cramer said during the Morning Meeting Wednesday. The company has been reluctant to raise its membership fee during a period of elevated inflation. But it remains a key catalyst on the horizon for the stock, which closed at an all-time high Tuesday. It was down slightly in Wednesday's session. The results of Jefferies' survey were not especially favorable for the houseware, furniture and appliances category — part of the larger "hardline" retail segment. Still, spending expectations weren't quite as negative when Jefferies conducted the survey in 2023, and the one stock analysts called out happens to be a Club name: Best Buy . The firm said it still likes Best Buy as a way to play the consumer electronics replacement cycle set to begin in the second half of this year. BBY 1Y mountain Best Buy's stock performance over the past 12 months. We are bullish on Best Buy for the artificial intelligence upgrade cycle for personal computers that should start to play out. While consumers are making selective purchases, CEO Corie Barry said AI-enabled PCs should be a catalyst for company growth during the company's fiscal first quarter of 2025 earnings webcast. That sent the stock surging in late May and continuing higher into June. After closing at almost $89 a share June 5, Best Buy has dropped about 3%. Our thesis remains intact. (Jim Cramer's Charitable Trust is long PG, STZ, TJX, COST, BBY. See here for a full list of the stocks.) As a subscriber to the CNBC Investing Club with Jim Cramer, you will receive a trade alert before Jim makes a trade. Jim waits 45 minutes after sending a trade alert before buying or selling a stock in his charitable trust's portfolio. If Jim has talked about a stock on CNBC TV, he waits 72 hours after issuing the trade alert before executing the trade. THE ABOVE INVESTING CLUB INFORMATION IS SUBJECT TO OUR TERMS AND CONDITIONS AND PRIVACY POLICY , TOGETHER WITH OUR DISCLAIMER . NO FIDUCIARY OBLIGATION OR DUTY EXISTS, OR IS CREATED, BY VIRTUE OF YOUR RECEIPT OF ANY INFORMATION PROVIDED IN CONNECTION WITH THE INVESTING CLUB. NO SPECIFIC OUTCOME OR PROFIT IS GUARANTEED. A shopper carries a bag outside a TJ Maxx store in New York, U.S. Victor J. Blue | Bloomberg | Getty Images

Here's what's next for Paramount after Skydance deal is stopped in its tracks 2024-06-12 20:36:00+00:00 - National Amusements stopped merger discussions between Paramount Global and Skydance this week — throwing into question what’s next for the legacy media giant during a tumultuous period for the industry. Paramount, like many of its peers, is grappling with how to make streaming a profitable business as it faces peak competition, a rapidly shrinking universe of cable-TV customers and a slowdown in the advertising market that has especially weighed on the bundle. Now it’s up to three leaders at the helm of Paramount to figure out the company’s best path forward. Bob Bakish stepped down from the top post in April and was replaced by the so-called “Office of the CEO:” CBS CEO George Cheeks, Paramount Media Networks CEO Chris McCarthy and Paramount Pictures CEO Brian Robbins. The executives are trying to steer Paramount out of a rocky period while working under a structure that few companies have tried. “It’s very difficult for a trio of CEOs to work on a long term basis. It’s almost unheard of. How will they make decisions on allocating capital and strategic priorities?” said Jessica Reif-Ehrlich, an analyst at BofA Securities. On Wednesday, the leaders sent a memo to Paramount employees saying they would focus on their plan to turn the company around after the proposed deal didn’t move forward. “So, what does this mean for Paramount? While the Board will always remain open to exploring strategic alternatives that create value for shareholders, we continue to focus on executing the strategic plan we unveiled last week during the Annual Shareholder Meeting, which we are confident will set the stage for growth for Paramount,” the trio said in the memo that CNBC obtained on Wednesday. No deal Following months of negotiations in a sale process that included various twists, National Amusements informed Paramount’s special committee and the buying consortium that included Skydance and private equity firms RedBird Capital and KKR minutes before a vote that it was stopping the sale process. The move came a little more than a week after Skydance and Paramount had agreed to financial terms of a merger that would have been valued at $8 billion. The deal had been awaiting signoff from Redstone, who owns National Amusements, the controlling shareholder of 77% of class A Paramount shares. In a statement on Tuesday, National Amusements said that while it had “agreed to the economic terms that Skydance offered, there were other outstanding terms on which they could not come to agreement.” National Amusements also voiced its support for Paramount’s current leadership. While those near the deal have offered conflicting reasons for why it was called off, a person familiar with the matter said Redstone turned down the offer after Skydance lowered the amount of money she would receive with the altered bid in order to shift some of it to the class B shareholders. In the last iteration of the deal, Redstone would have received $2 billion for National Amusements and Skydance would have bought out roughly 50% of class B shares at $15 apiece, or $4.5 billion, leaving the holders with equity in the new company. In recent days, other potential bidders for National Amusements emerged, according to reports. Redstone plans to explore selling her controlling stake in Paramount Global without an associated transaction involving merging studio assets, as Skydance had proposed. While Apollo Global Management and Sony had formally expressed interest in “a full acquisition” of the company for $26 billion, Redstone favored a deal that kept Paramount whole, which was not the plan for these bidders, CNBC previously reported. Path forward Paramount’s Office of the CEO acknowledged the company faces more uncertainty after the deal dissolved. “We recognize that the last several months have not been easy as we manage through ongoing change and speculation,” the leadership trio said in Wednesday’s memo to employees. “And, we should all expect some of this to undoubtedly continue as the media industry and our business continue to evolve.” Though the company reached financial terms on the proposed deal with Skydance, Paramount’s new leadership team outlined a plan at last week’s shareholder meeting in the event a transaction didn’t take place. The strategic priorities that were highlighted included exploring streaming joint venture opportunities with other media companies, eliminating $500 million in costs through measures like layoffs and divesting noncore assets. The memo noted more would be discussed at a company town hall on June 25. The leaders are also expected to flesh out more details of the plan during August’s earnings call. The executives set those priorities with an eye toward lowering Paramount’s debt load and returning the company to investment grade status after it was downgraded earlier this year. Paramount has $14.6 billion in debt. In the memo to employees on Wednesday, Paramount’s leadership team said it would focus on executing this plan. “Work is already underway, as we focus on three pillars: Transforming our streaming strategy to accelerate its path to profitability; Streamlining the organization and reducing non-content costs; Optimizing our asset mix, by divesting some of our businesses to help pay down our debt,” the leaders said in the memo. Redstone has backed the trio of CEOs since they took over in late April, and voiced that support before introducing them during the shareholders’ meeting presentation. In Wednesday’s memo, the leadership once again emphasized growing content and franchises while also focusing on slashing costs and lowering debt, a priority the executives outlined during their presentations. But the unorthodox nature of the CEO office — which Redstone admitted during the shareholders call — has industry analysts wondering if the plan can succeed. “The company needs to focus on a couple of things, like fixing the balance sheet so it gets flexibility back and focus on the businesses that really profits. Also, possibly selling assets or changing the asset mix,” said Reif-Ehrlich. “But this is a very difficult situation. Uncertainty is the worst thing.” Whether it’s these CEOs putting this plan to work, or an acquirer that takes over, they have to contend with various challenges, said Robert Fishman, an analyst at MoffettNathanson, in a research note. Among those, Paramount’s earnings are driven by its traditional TV networks, which are primarily general entertainment — possibly the most challenged content in media, as Disney’s Bob Iger said last year. A weak weak advertising market could also weigh on the company in the coming months.

S&P 500 closes above 5,400 for the first time as Fed notes 'modest' inflation progress 2024-06-12 20:29:00+00:00 - The S&P 500 jumped to a record and closed above 5,400 for the first time Wednesday after the Federal Reserve’s latest policy announcement and May inflation data pointed to easing pricing pressures. The broader market index climbed 0.85%, closing at 5,421.03, while the Nasdaq Composite gained 1.53%, ending at 17,608.44. Both the S&P 500 and Nasdaq hit all-time highs and closed at records on Wednesday. The Dow Jones Industrial Average slipped 0.09%, or 35.21 points, to end at 38,712.21. The Fed kept interest rates unchanged, as was widely expected. The central bank also indicated forward movement has been made on the inflation front, noting, “In recent months, there has been modest further progress toward the Committee’s 2 percent inflation objective.” However, the Fed’s latest projections, also released Wednesday, showed the central bank only sees one rate cut taking place this year. That is down from three expected rate cuts in early 2024. Wednesday’s announcement followed the release of fresh U.S. inflation data, which seemed to suggest a cooling trend. The consumer price index was unchanged for the month of May, lower than the Dow Jones estimate for a 0.1% monthly increase. Year over year, the inflation metric increased 3.3%, which also came in below expectations and represented a slowing from the prior 3.4% pace. Monthly and yearly numbers for core CPI, which excludes the volatile prices associated with energy and food, were also lower than anticipated. “The CPI neutralized the hawkish Fed,” said Jay Hatfield, founder of InfraCap. “Most market participants believe the economy is slowing, and they’re going to have to cut rates. So that’s why we think the market was shrugging off this really hawkish [Summary of Economic Projections] of just one cut.” The cooler-than-expected CPI data spurred a decline in Treasury yields, with the rate on the 10-year note falling as low as 4.25%, its lowest level since April 1.

These AirPod Dupes Might Sound Just As Good As Apple's Earbuds 2024-06-12 20:28:38+00:00 - AirPod competitors are pouring into the wireless earbud industry, challenging Apple’s seat on the throne. We tried out cheaper AirPod dupes to see how they stack up against the real thing. This story is available exclusively to Business Insider subscribers. Become an Insider and start reading now. Have an account? Log in .

Sony Pictures Acquires Alamo Drafthouse in Lifeline to Cinema Chain 2024-06-12 20:23:01.466000+00:00 - Sony Pictures Entertainment is acquiring Alamo Drafthouse Cinema and will manage the theater chain’s 35 cinemas, marking the first time in more than half a century that a traditional Hollywood studio has gotten into the theater business. The deal, announced Wednesday, was made possible by the Justice Department’s decision in 2020 to rescind the so-called Paramount consent decrees — movie distribution rules dating to 1949 that forced the largest Hollywood studios to sell off their theater holdings. Those rules were intended to prevent studios from controlling the film business, from creation to exhibition. In 2019, the Justice Department’s then-antitrust chief, Makan Delrahim, said changes in the entertainment industry “made it unlikely that the remaining defendants can reinstate their cartel.” Sony’s move to test that regulatory shift could open the door to similar deals by other leading studios. In recent years, Netflix, the leading streaming company, has bought theaters to show films. Alamo, the seventh largest theater chain in North America, operates theaters in 25 metro areas across the United States and has invested in distinctive programming and food offerings in an attempt to lure in moviegoers away from major multiplexes.

Here’s the difference between a presidential pardon and commutation 2024-06-12 20:16:35+00:00 - White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre was asked Wednesday whether President Joe Biden will commute the impending sentence of his son Hunter, who was convicted of federal gun charges Tuesday. She said that she hadn’t spoken with the president about the subject since the verdict and noted that the sentencing hadn’t been scheduled yet. I confess that I hadn’t considered the possibility of a Hunter Biden commutation to be an open question, as the president has said that he wouldn’t pardon his son. I had presumed that that covers any clemency — clemency being the umbrella term covering pardons, which are executive expressions of forgiveness that can restore certain rights, as well as commutations, which reduce sentences. Perhaps the president’s prior remarks do cover both, as the average person is probably more familiar with the term “pardon” than “commutation,” and many people outside of the Trump-era clemency crony clown car don’t have much reason to know the difference, anyway. Again, Hunter Biden’s sentencing isn’t even scheduled yet. So to make the question ripe from a practical standpoint, he’d first need to face a prison term. But while we’re on the subject, it would be a potentially odd distinction to pre-emptively rule out a pardon but hold open the possibility of commutation. Not that that’s what’s happening here, and perhaps the president will clarify this in the wake of a rash of headlines saying he hasn’t ruled it out. The potential oddity stems from the notion that the president’s pre-emptive stance on a pardon was seemingly rooted in not wanting to appear as if he would give preferential treatment. Of course, vowing not to pardon a certain defendant ahead of time is actually giving the president’s son worse-than-average treatment, because it involves prejudging his eligibility before he has served any time or, obviously, submitted a clemency application. That aside, if the president’s reasoning behind ruling out a pardon is of the no-one-is-above-the-law variety, then taking any action in his son’s favor could cut against that. That aside, if the president’s reasoning behind ruling out a pardon is of the no-one-is-above-the-law variety, then taking any action in his son’s favor could cut against that. Though we could think of distinctions: If Hunter Biden receives a truly draconian sentence, disproportionate to what any similar defendant has received (though that raises another issue of the below-the-law variety, as his charges are rarely brought as they were here), then the president could use his authority to reduce the sentence to one that’s more in line with similar precedents, while simultaneously not issuing a pardon. But before going further on this point, let’s see what the sentence is and whether the president himself further clarifies the issue in the meantime. Subscribe to the Deadline: Legal Newsletter for weekly updates on the top legal stories, including news from the Supreme Court, the Donald Trump cases and more.

Making a plan to pay for long-term care: Insurance and other alternatives 2024-06-12 20:05:00+00:00 - Almost three-quarters — 70% — of people turning 65 will need long-term care in their lifetime, according to a report by the Urban Institute and the Department of Health and Human Services. How to pay for that care is worrisome for many families. Stacey Hachenberg, 58, and her partner, Sharon Fleming, 53, have been caring for their parents for several years. Hachenberg’s father died in April after staying at an assisted living facility for two years. While she coordinated his care, the cost was covered by his savings, pension and veterans benefits. “It took about a year to actually get those benefits,” Hachenberg said, even with the facility’s help navigating the Veterans Affairs application process. “Had we not had a tiny little bit of money in my father’s savings, we would have been in trouble,” she said. Finding benefits to pay for care Understanding what benefits you have or may qualify for is a critical part of planning for long-term care, financial advisors say. Figuring out where you want to receive long-term care, who will be your caregiver and how you’ll pay for the care should all be part of the planning process, said certified financial planner Marguerita Cheng, CEO and founder of Blue Ocean Global Wealth in Gaithersburg, Maryland. “Long-term care insurance can be helpful because it allows you to transfer some of the risk,” said Cheng, who is a member of the CNBC Financial Advisor Council. Long-term care insurance typically pays for care if you have a chronic illness, have dementia or a severe cognitive decline, or can’t do at least two out of six “activities of daily living” without assistance: bathing, dealing with incontinence, dressing, eating, getting on or off the toilet or getting in or out of a bed or chair. Fleming said her mother, Toni Arfa, has Alzheimer’s disease and is now in an assisted living facility that costs about $8,000 a month. “She doesn’t need skilled nursing. She just needs to be safe,” Fleming said. Arfa is not eligible for veterans benefits and never purchased long-term care insurance, so her savings are covering the cost, Fleming said. She figures her mother can pay for about another two years of care before the money runs out. “Then my brother and I will have to help, or she’ll have to go to another facility,” she said. Most Americans wind up paying for long-term care by depleting savings and other assets, experts say. Medicaid will pay for long-term care, but it only kicks in for people with few assets and limited income. LTC policy costs are like ‘a car payment, without the car’ Fleming and Hachenberg are now considering buying long-term care coverage for themselves. They don’t want to become a burden on their adult children, they said, but affording the high cost of insurance is challenging. “It’s like having a car payment, without the car,” said Fleming. Howard Gleckman, a senior fellow at the Urban-Brookings Tax Policy Center who also works on long-term care issues for the Urban Institute’s Program on Retirement Policy, said the problem is many companies mispriced these insurance policies years ago and lost money on them — so the long-term care coverage isn’t as generous now and rates are higher. Insurers are “very afraid of what they call the tail risk, which is people who need care for a very long period of time,” Gleckman said. “It’s really expensive for them.” It’s costly for consumers too. Premiums for a healthy 55-year-old woman can range from $1,500 to $7,000 a year, depending on the benefits, according to the American Association for Long-Term Care Insurance. If she’s healthy at that age, the cost averages about $3,700 a year for a benefit that grows at 3% yearly and would yield a benefit of about $400,000 at age 85. Premiums are generally lower for men, since they don’t live as long and are less likely to use the benefits. For both men and women, as they age, premium costs rise and it gets harder to qualify. To compare, a 60-year-old woman would pay $4,400 in annual premiums for a benefit that grows at 3% yearly and would yield about $345,500 at age 85, based on AALTCI figures. “We’re both really aware that long-term care insurance would be a very smart investment right now. Not just for us, but for our kids,” Hachenberg said. Fleming’s daughter, Alexa, is a financial advisor and is helping them review their options. “It’s important to be comfortable with the facility that you’re going to be moving in, and feeling safe and feeling accepted and feeling supported,” said Alexa Fleming. “If you don’t have the funds to be able to do that, it’s not going to be a great end-of-life experience for you.” Cheng said there are two important considerations to make when shopping around for long-term care insurance: Does the policy cover at-home care? Is there “inflation protection,” meaning does the daily benefit increase as the cost of living rises? “You want to make sure that you don’t cut corners on home care, or inflation, even if it means you have to get a lower benefit” to cover the cost of care, Cheng said. Few people have long-term care insurance Only an estimated 3% to 4% of Americans have long-term care insurance, according to LIMRA, a life insurance industry research group. Many companies have stopped selling stand-alone long-term care policies as their risk increased and many consumers saw spikes in premium prices on older inflation-adjusted policies. “It’s a classic market failure,” Gleckman said. “People don’t want to buy it, and insurance companies don’t want to sell it.” Hybrid policies, such as life insurance or annuities with long-term care benefits, are alternatives to a traditional, standalone long-term care insurance. You can also boost your savings in a tax-advantaged health savings account or high-yield savings account to pay for care as you go. “Don’t feel like traditional long-term care policies, if they put a poor taste in your mouth, [are] the only option,” Cheng said. “It’s really important to take a measured, tailored approach, whatever you do.”

Southwest CEO vows changes as activist investor pushes for new leadership 2024-06-12 20:05:00+00:00 - Southwest Airlines CEO Bob Jordan said the company is ready to adapt to changing customer trends like premium seating as pressure from an activist investor mounts. “We will adapt as our customers’ needs adapt,” Jordan said at an industry event hosted by Politico on Wednesday. Jordan’s comments came two days after hedge fund Elliott Management disclosed a $1.9 billion stake in Southwest and said the carrier needs a new CEO and new chairman. In April, Jordan told investors that the airline is considering major changes to its product, potentially ditching its system of unassigned seating that has made the Dallas-based carrier a standout among airlines, and even reevaluating its single class of service. Jordan reiterated those considerations Wednesday, saying that the airline, which started flying in 1971 and now carries more passengers in the United States than any other, is in its “third generation.” He said the airline’s leaders are open to big shifts to increase revenue, while rivals like Delta and United capitalize on customers willing to pay up for a seat with more space or other perks. Elliott didn’t immediately respond to a request for comment about Jordan’s remarks on Wednesday. Southwest on Monday said in response to the activist campaign that its board backed the company’s leaders and the airline’s strategy, while it will also “look forward to further conversations with Elliott.” Southwest has struggled with weaker margins than some of its competitors as it faces increased airline capacity in the U.S., shifting post-pandemic travel patterns and a spiraling problem that is out of its control: delays of new planes from Boeing, its sole aircraft provider, as that company grapples with several manufacturing and safety crises. The airline expects to receive just 20 Max jets from Boeing this year, down from an earlier forecast for close to 80 new planes. Southwest had also taken months to find its footing after a year-end holiday meltdown in 2022 cost it more than $1 billion. The company later acknowledged its technology couldn’t handle the hundreds of flight and crew changes triggered by a winter storm, prompting it to quickly upgrade its system. Meanwhile, Jordan said Southwest has continued to work toward improving the customer experience. It’s upgraded its inflight Wi-Fi and added power outlets on its fleet of Boeing 737s in recent years. “I think customer preference is going beyond that,” Jordan said Wednesday. The carrier has spent months surveying customers to figure out what changes are needed, he added. “It’s been several years since we last studied this in-depth, and customer preferences and expectations change over time,” an airline spokeswoman told CNBC. “We are also studying the operational and financial benefits of any potential change.” — CNBC’s Rohan Goswami contributed to this article.