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Don Lemon sues Elon Musk and X, alleging fraud and breach of contract over axed show 2024-08-01 19:42:00+00:00 - Don Lemon has sued Elon Musk and X after axing his show on the platform, accusing the billionaire and his company of failure of payment after the deal fell apart on the heels of their contentious interview earlier this year. The lawsuit filed Thursday claims the billionaire and X lured Lemon into an exclusive show deal promising $1.5 million annually, full authority over his content and financial incentives in a bid to profit off the former CNN anchor's reputation and attract advertisers — only to pull out without payment. Elon Musk and X did not immediately respond to NBC News requests for comment on the lawsuit. The complaint, filed in the Superior Court of California in San Francisco County, alleges fraud, breach of contract and misappropriation of Lemon’s name and likeness. Lemon is a prominent figure in the journalism landscape. After the longtime CNN anchor was terminated in April 2023, he had to find new footing in the media world. Enter Elon Musk. Musk had fully taken over X, formerly known as Twitter, in October 2022 in a tumultuous shake up that saw him fire top executives, initiate a mass layoff and controversially reinstate banned accounts. Amid the upheaval, companies pulled advertising from the platform. The complaint alleges that in a scramble to retain and secure advertising, X and Musk sought to partner with established public figures to "rehabilitate their own reputation." Musk and X allegedly enticed Lemon with “false promises and representations,” according to the complaint. In May 2023, shortly after CNN terminated Lemon, Musk posted on X on May 9 saying: “Have you considered doing your show on this platform? Maybe worth a try. Audience is much bigger.” Lemon had a phone conversation with Musk on June 2023 during which Musk asked him to enter into an exclusive partnership with X, but Lemon had “reservations” due to “the ongoing controversies surrounding the X platform,” the complaint said. Musk insisted that Lemon could have full authority and control over the work he produced, even if Musk didn't like it. The complaint said that Musk induced Lemon to enter into an exclusive partnership deal and “there would be no need for a formal written agreement or to ‘fill out paperwork.’” Lemon had another meeting in December 2023 with Linda Yaccarino, the chief executive officer of X, and Brett Weitz, X's head of content, talent and brand sales, in New York City, where they similarly assured the journalist that he’d have full control over his work. In January this year, X and Musk presented to Lemon a one-year deal proposal for $1.5 million that would give X exclusive rights to specific video content for a 24 hour period before it was dispersed to other platforms. Further, the deal promised Lemon 60% of gross advertising revenue generated from his content and performance threshold payments based on follower counts, according to the complaint. The show was supposed to be 30 minute episodes shared three times a week — covering politics, culture, sports and entertainment — to run exclusively on the platform. Lemon ultimately agreed. However, the complaint said Musk and X “never intended to fulfill their representations and promises to Lemon,” and instead “only intended to publicize a partnership between X and Lemon” to promote the company, improve their reputation and profit off Lemon’s name. Then came the contentious interview on March 8 this year, in which Lemon interviewed Musk for the first episode of “The Don Lemon Show.” In that interview, Lemon pressed Musk for details on his meeting with Donald Trump, asked Musk about his ketamine use and about hate speech on X. Musk was visibly annoyed when asked about his own controversial tweets on X. Within one day of the interview, Musk sent Lemon’s agent a text message stating Lemon’s partnership and contract was cancelled. Around this time Weitz also spoke with Lemon via phone and said the defendants were not going to pay him or follow through with their promises made to him "because there was no signed agreement," the complaint said. “To this day, Defendants have not compensated Lemon pursuant to the exclusive partnership deal that Defendants induced Lemon to enter into,” the filing said. Lemon alleges that X and Musk “gained the benefits of using Lemon’s name” then “reneged” on their agreement with him and failed to compensate him in a breach of their partnership agreement, according to the complaint. It came after Lemon “incurred hundreds of thousands of dollars of expenses in forming his own media company,” including entering a production deal with a content studio and production company, creating a studio to record his content, purchasing production equipment and hiring staff, the suit said. Lemon suffered damages to his career, financial losses, and psychological and emotional distress and humiliation as a result of the ordeal, the complaint said. In addition to fraud, the suit alleges negligent misrepresentation and unjust enrichment. Shortly after the March interview, X’s verified corporate account confirmed the company had “decided not to enter into a commercial partnership" with Lemon's show. In a reply on that post, Musk accused Lemon of being a mouthpiece for former CNN chief Jeff Zucker. Carney Shegerian, Lemon's attorney, told NBC News on Thursday: "You don’t have to be a genius to see the fraud, negligence, and reputational damage here." “This case is straightforward. X’s executives used Don to prop up their advertising sales pitch, then canceled their partnership and dragged Don’s name through the mud," Shegerian said. "Don’s a hard-hitting journalist who’s committed to defending his good name. We look forward to our day in court.”

P&G's rally signals economic worries are back — plus, we're downgrading a consumer stock 2024-08-01 19:41:00+00:00 - Every weekday, the CNBC Investing Club with Jim Cramer releases the Homestretch — an actionable afternoon update, just in time for the last hour of trading on Wall Street. Stocks tumble: It's another tough day on Wall Street with the S & P 500 giving back roughly all its gains from Wednesday and for the week. Treasury yields are tumbling, sending the yield on the benchmark 10-year note below 4% for the first time since February. Thursday's action appears tied to a batch of weak economic data released in the morning, most notably initial jobless claims and U.S. manufacturing activity for July. It's fueling concerns that the Federal Reserve needed to start cutting rates at its meeting that concluded Wednesday, rather than waiting until September at the earliest. That's why some classic slowdown stocks in the health care and consumer staples sectors are outperforming versus cyclicals. When Club holding Procter & Gamble is rallying nearly 3% Thursday, even after a so-so quarter earlier this week, you know the market is worried about growth. Conversely, some of our stocks tied heavily to economic expansion are taking it on the chin. Wells Fargo is down roughly 4%, as is Stanley Black & Decker . Casino worries: Wynn Resorts is having an especially rough day, down about 5%, in reaction to MGM Resorts , which fell more than 10% after reporting earnings Wednesday night. Although MGM's sales and EBITDA topped Wall Street estimates in Las Vegas and the Chinese gaming hub of Macau, it was the commentary that raised concerns. Principally, the company said bookings tied to the Formula One race in November are off to a slower-than-expected start, pressuring room rates. That update caused MGM to give up its initial gains in extending trading Wednesday night and plunge. We don't think the move is all about F1. It's only one weekend within a broader quarter. And if you read the whole conference call, you would hear MGM say upbeat things to say about Vegas, such as room rates up year over year for every month in the third quarter. Also, the recent closing of the Mirage could be a tailwind for other casino operators, taking off approximately 1.5 million room nights. However, we take this news as another troubling sign of a slowdown in discretionary spending as consumers become more selective on spending their hard-earned money. Adding to the pressure was a soft July Gross Gaming Revenue figure reported out of Macau earlier Thursday. Due to these headwinds, we are downgrading our Wynn rating to a 2. It's tough to downgrade Wynn at these prices, especially with shares trading at a big discount on an enterprise value-to-EBITDA basis compared with 2019 levels. The company's ridiculously cheap valuation is the main reason why we've held onto this small position. But the market has wanted nothing to do with Macau-related stocks for a while, and we struggle to identify a catalyst for a change. This earnings season has been a nightmare for anything associated with China. And now if there is some caution about Vegas later this year — whether it be one-off related or due to concerns about a pullback in discretionary spending — Wynn becomes even tougher to own. The market certainly may be overreacting to the F1 commentary considering the race is still months into the future. But with Wynn earnings coming up Tuesday, we'd rather be cautious and downgrade our rating. We also cannot rule out the possibility of this position becoming a source of funds to buy better-performing companies that have been hit hard by this market volatility. When the market gets volatile — tossing out the good with the bad and causing many stocks to move well off their highs — we like to "upgrade" the portfolio by selling our losers and focusing on the high-quality companies with stronger fundamental performance. The highest-quality stocks are always the ones we can count on to rally once this volatile stretch ends. Up next: In a big week of earnings, Thursday night is the biggest yet. Apple and Amazon are set to report alongside fellow portfolio names Nextracker and Coterra Energy . We'll be out with our analysis on Apple, Amazon and Nextracker later Thursday, followed by Coterra on Friday because the company's conference call isn't until 9 a.m. ET that day. Other key reports Thursday include Intel , Coinbase , DraftKings , Roku , Block and Cloudflare . Friday morning we'll see the reports from Club holding Linde and U.S. oil majors Exxon Mobil and Chevron . On the economic data side, there is the July nonfarm payroll report, which is expected to show a 175,000 increase in jobs, a steady unemployment rate at 4.1%, and a 3.7% year-over-year increase in average hourly earnings, according to estimates compiled by FactSet. (See here for a full list of the stocks in Jim Cramer's Charitable Trust.) 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. Every weekday, the CNBC Investing Club with Jim Cramer releases the Homestretch — an actionable afternoon update, just in time for the last hour of trading on Wall Street.

My family tried 16 of Costco's premade meals, and we'd buy almost all of them again 2024-08-01 19:40:06+00:00 - My family reviewed and ranked 16 prepared Kirkland Signature meals from Costco. My kids didn't love the chipotle-chicken bowl with cilantro-lime rice, but I liked the hearty meal. The comforting and flavorful meatloaf and mashed Yukon potatoes with glaze came out on top. Sign up to get the inside scoop on today’s biggest stories in markets, tech, and business — delivered daily. Read preview Thanks for signing up! Access your favorite topics in a personalized feed while you're on the go. download the app Email address Sign up 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. Advertisement As a busy dad, finding the time to prepare, cook, and clean up dinner can be challenging. Fortunately, there are a lot of prepared Kirkland Signature meals available at Costco every time I visit, and I'm always curious to see how good they actually are. My family ate and ranked 16 Kirkland Signature meals to see which was the tastiest and easiest to prepare. This story is available exclusively to Business Insider subscribers. Become an Insider and start reading now. Have an account? Log in .

Four families built their own village, spending $50,000 each 70 years ago. Take a rare look inside the idyllic enclave. 2024-08-01 19:36:34+00:00 - In 1957, four Oregon families hired a locally famous architect to build them a mini-neighborhood. There were 12 kids among the families, and one fondly remembered growing up in the little village. Take a look inside the still-mint-condition homes, defined by wood details and lush landscaping. Sign up to get the inside scoop on today’s biggest stories in markets, tech, and business — delivered daily. Read preview Thanks for signing up! Access your favorite topics in a personalized feed while you're on the go. download the app Email address Sign up 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. Advertisement In 1957, four families based in Portland, Oregon, moved into a village of their own making. Each couple paid less than $50,000 for a brand-new home designed by an up-and-coming midcentury architect, according to The Oregonian, a local newspaper. The architect, John Storrs, would go on to become a regional icon, known for warm, natural materials and show-stopping windows. The collection of the four homes became known as the Storrs Quadrant. This story is available exclusively to Business Insider subscribers. Become an Insider and start reading now. Have an account? Log in .

These 9 restaurant chains are now offering deals on their food 2024-08-01 19:34:00+00:00 - Americans have swallowed about as much inflation as they can handle after years of rising food prices, including at restaurants. Some consumers have become so irked by price increases that they've stopped visiting the drive-thru altogether. But food giants like Burger King, McDonald's and Wendy's have taken notice, with many launching value meal deals this year in hopes of drawing in more customers. Here's a list of food promotions currently being offered by popular restaurant chains around the U.S.: Burger King In June, the home of the Whopper began offering a $5 meal to compete with McDonald's. The $5 meal offers customers a choice of one of three sandwiches along with chicken nuggets, fries and a drink. The burger chain didn't give an exact time frame for the offer, but said the $5 meal would begin on a trial basis. Chili's Chili's added a chicken sandwich and cheeseburger to its pre-existing lower-priced menu in April. The restaurant chain said customers can order either of those items, plus fries and a drink, for $10.99 from its 3 for Me menu. Chili's first launched 3 for Me in 2022. Denny's The restaurant that gave America the Grand Slam breakfast revived its $5.99 All-Day Diner Deals in April. The deal offers customers a choice of quarter-pound cheeseburger, country fried steak, scrambled eggs and cheddar or all-you-can-eat pancakes. Denny's hasn't revealed if or when the promo will end. IHOP Speaking of all-you-can-eat flapjacks, the pancake restaurant chain IHOP is offering all-you-can-eat pancakes for $5 until September 15. The promotion is for dine-in customers at U.S.-based locations only. Participating customers get a full stack of five buttermilk pancakes, followed by additional flapjacks, served two at a time, as requested. KFC KFC began offering its Taste of KFC Deals in April. One of the meals includes two pieces of chicken, mashed potatoes and gravy and a biscuit for $4.99. Another value meal, offered on Tuesdays, entails a bucket of eight pieces of chicken for $10. KFC said both promos will last until the end of 2024. McDonald's McDonald's launched a temporary $5 value meal promotion on June 25 and has since extended the promo, according to the fast-food chain. The deal includes a choice of McChicken sandwich, McDouble hamburger or four-piece chicken nuggets, plus small fries and a small drink. Starbucks In June, Starbucks launched its "pairings" menu, which allows customers to buy a tall-sized hot or iced coffee or tea and a croissant for $5. Under the deal customers can also get a tall-sized coffee or tea with a breakfast sandwich at $6 or $7, depending on the sandwich. Starbucks hasn't revealed when the pairings menu deal will end. Taco Bell Taco Bell introduced its $7 Luxe Cravings Box in July. The meal includes a Chalupa Supreme, Beefy 5-Layer Burrito, Double Stacked Taco, chips and nacho cheese sauce, and a medium drink. The Yum Brands-owned chain said Luxe Cravings is a temporary promotion, but hasn't specified when the deal would end. Wendy's In May, Wendy's began offering customers a $3 breakfast combo deal that includes an egg and cheese English muffin sandwich with bacon or sausage, along with a side of seasoned potatoes. Breakfast hours begin between 6:30 a.m. and 8 a.m. local time, depending on the restaurant, according to the Wendy's website. Breakfast hours end at 10:30 a.m.

Jubilation Inside The Wall Street Journal After Gershkovich Is Freed 2024-08-01 19:20:51+00:00 - Early Thursday, Ella Milman and Mikhail Gershkovich sat to eat at the Mayflower Hotel in downtown Washington before a day of celebration — a day they had been waiting to arrive for 16 months. They were joined by their daughter, Danielle, her husband, and executives from Dow Jones and The Wall Street Journal. Shortly, the family would be dropped off blocks away at the White House, where it expected to receive confirmation that the couple’s son, Evan Gershkovich, a foreign correspondent for The Journal, had been released from detainment in Russia as part of a prisoner swap involving seven countries. “There were jokes and anecdotes, but there was a palpable emotional load at that table,” Almar Latour, the chief executive of Dow Jones, which publishes The Journal, said in an interview. “We’ve all worked toward this moment, and the family of course has been an inspiration throughout.” Mr. Gershkovich, 32, was arrested in March 2023 in Russia while on a reporting trip and imprisoned on charges of espionage. Mr. Gershkovich, The Journal and the U.S. government vehemently denied those accusations.

Markets are clamoring for the Fed to start cutting soon: 'What is it they're looking for?' 2024-08-01 19:20:00+00:00 - If the Federal Reserve is starting to set the table for interest rate reductions, some parts of the market are getting impatient for dinner to be served. “What is it they’re looking for?” Claudia Sahm, chief economist at New Century Advisors, said on CNBC just after the Fed concluded its meeting Wednesday. “The bar is getting set pretty high and that really doesn’t make a lot of sense. The Fed needs to start that process back gradually to normal, which means gradually reducing interest rates.” Known for formulating the Sahm Rule that uses changes in the inflation rate to gauge when recessions occur, Sahm has been clamoring for the central bank to start easing monetary policy so it doesn’t drag the economy into recession. The rule states that when the three-month average of the unemployment rate is half a percentage point above its 12-month low, the economy is in recession. The 4.1% jobless level is only a short distance from triggering the rule, and Sahm said the Fed’s insistence on holding short-term interest rates at their highest level in 23 years is endangering the economy. “We don’t need a weak economy to get that last little bit out of inflation,” she said. “We do not have to be afraid of a good economy. If the inflation job is done, or we’re on that glide path, it’s OK, the Fed can start stepping aside.” Asked about the Sahm Rule during his post-meeting news conference, Fed Chair Jerome Powell called it a “statistical regularity” that doesn’t necessarily hold true this time around as the jobs picture remains strong and the pace of wage gains decelerates. “What it looks like is a normalizing labor market, job creation and a pretty decent level of wages going up at a strong level but coming down gradually,” he said. “If it turns out to ... show something more than that, then we’re well positioned to respond.” Cautious approach Markets, though, are pricing in an aggressive path for rate cuts starting in September with a quarter percentage point reduction, which would be the first since the early days of the Covid crisis. After that, markets expect cuts in November and December, with an about 11% probability assigned to the equivalent of a full percentage point lopped off the fed funds rate by year-end, according to the CME Group’s FedWatch gauge of 30-day fed funds futures contracts. Instead of starting to take its foot off the brake, the Fed on Wednesday said it is keeping its overnight borrowing rate in a range between 5.25%-5.50%. The post-meeting statement did note progress made on inflation, but also reiterated that policymakers on the rate-setting Federal Open Market Committee need “greater confidence” that inflation is heading back to 2% before they will be ready to lower rates. DoubleLine CEO Jeffrey Gundlach also thinks the Fed is risking recession by holding a hard line on rates. “That’s exactly what I think because I’ve been at this game for over 40 years, and it seems to happen every single time,” Gundlach said, speaking to CNBC’s Scott Wapner on “Closing Bell” on Wednesday. “All the other underlying aspects of employment data are not improving. They’re deteriorating. And so once it starts to get to that upper level, where they have to start cutting rates, it is going to be more than they think.” In fact, he thinks the Fed could end up slashing rates by 1.5 percentage points over the next year, a pace that’s more aggressive than the policymakers charted when they last updated the “dot plot” of individual projections. Gundlach figures that the consumer price index will be below 3% soon, making real rates, or the difference with the fed funds rate, particularly high. “If you have a positive real interest rate that’s even one and a half percent, that would suggest you have 150 basis points of room to cut rates without even thinking that you’re being excessive about it,” he said. “I think they should have cut today, quite frankly.”

Venu, a $42.99 per month sports streamer, has a tough marketing challenge to find an audience 2024-08-01 19:19:00+00:00 - Call Don Draper, Venu Sports may have a marketing problem The Disney, Fox and Warner Bros. Discovery jointly-owned streaming service said Thursday it will launch this fall at $42.99 per month. That’s much more expensive than Netflix, Max, Peacock or any other major subscription streaming service. It’s a lot less than the $73-per-month YouTube TV or a standard cable bundle — but those offerings include a wide variety of entertainment content beyond sports. Venu will give consumers access to a bundle of networks: ESPN, ESPN2, ESPNU, SECN, ACCN, ESPNEWS, ABC, Fox, FS1, FS2, BTN, TNT, TBS, and truTV. Subscribers will also get ESPN+. The plan is to debut in time for the football season. It doesn’t include CBS and NBC, two networks that have the rights to many sports, including college football and NFL games. Venu’s theoretical user is someone willing to pay a hefty monthly subscription for a narrow segment of media — live sports, but not all live sports. The service is marketing itself as a product for so-called “cord nevers” — a set of younger consumers who haven’t wanted to pay for cable because it’s too expensive but have been yearning for access to ESPN and other live sports. It’s entirely unclear this user base will materialize. There are two major obstacles for Venu to succeed. First, the total addressable market of users who are OK with paying $43 per month for some sports but not OK with paying for cable may not be that high. Many non-cable subscribers are content to watch highlights on YouTube and their favorite influencers for commentary. According to a survey by Kantar, cited by YouTube at its 2024 upfront, 54% of people would rather watch creators break down a major live event than actually watch the event. On the other end of the spectrum, NFL-crazed younger people will have to buy Peacock and Paramount+ — the streaming services attached to NBC and CBS — to get a full slate of NFL games. They could also get a digital antenna to pair with Venu, but antenna uptake among younger viewers may be a tad oxymoronic. Other major sporting events — such as the ongoing Olympics — simply won’t be available on Venu, because Olympic broadcaster Comcast’s NBCUniversal isn’t a part of the service. An existing player The second problem is potentially bigger: A product like Venu already exists — and it may already be a better deal than Venu. For $60 per month, Echostar’s Sling TV offers the popular networks that come with Venu — ESPN, TNT, TBS, Fox and ABC — but it also includes NBC. Moreover, it also comes with CNN, Fox News, MSNBC, Bravo, USA, HLN, Discovery NFL Network, and a slew of other networks — 46 in all, to Venu’s 14. Plus, it comes with an introductory offer where consumers can pay just $30 for the first month. As of the end of March, Sling TV had 1.92 million subscribers, and it’s not growing. It lost 135,000 customers in the first quarter, which was actually a narrower loss than the 234,000 subscribers it lost in the first quarter a year ago. At the end of 2021, Sling TV had 2.5 million customers, down from the 2.7 million subscribers it topped out at in 2019. The company blamed the existence of other streaming services for its decline last quarter. “We continue to experience increased competition, including competition from other subscription video-on-demand and live-linear OTT service providers, many of which are providers of our content and offer football and other seasonal sports programming direct to subscribers on an a la carte basis,” Echostar said in a filing. To sum up, Sling TV — a more robust offering than Venu for about $17 more per month — has been losing subscribers for five years and never got more than 2.7 million as its peak. That’s quite the marketing challenge for Venu, which will need to convince consumers that it’s worth signing up for on the strength of branding and technology. Or, it will hope that its $43 per month offer lasts long enough that it can take advantage of the $17 delta. The typical pattern for bundles of live networks is they start with an introductory offer only to raise prices. Venu hinted at this in its press release, telling consumers they could lock in the $43 per-month price for 12 months from time of sign-up — suggesting a price increase may be coming. Venu wants to add more sports to the serve in time, but that will likely cause the price to increase, making the value proposition an even tougher sell for cord-nevers. Further undercutting Venu, Disney is already planning an ESPN Flagship streaming service in the fall of 2025, which will include ESPN for a lower price than Venu. Disney, Warner Bros. Discovery and Fox will argue that it’s going for maximum coverage here — kind of like the Apple iPad mini did in slotting into the tech company’s existing product line-up between its phones and larger tablets. Maybe there’s an audience for Venu, and if there is, the companies want to serve it. Fox CEO Lachlan Murdoch has already predicted the service can get 5 million subscribers in the next five years. But even 5 million seems ambitious given Sling TV’s struggles. Getting there will require a lot of money spent on marketing. And that effort may be so costly that it defeats the purpose. Disclosure: CNBC parent NBCUniversal owns NBC Sports and NBC Olympics. NBC Olympics is the U.S. broadcast rights holder to all Summer and Winter Games through 2032. NBC Sports broadcasts NFL games.

Disney, Fox and Warner Bros Discovery reveal price for new sports streaming service 2024-08-01 19:18:00+00:00 - Examining the future of sports broadcasting as NFL and Netflix partner up Disney, Fox and Warner Bros Discovery's new sports streaming service, Venu Sports, is launching this fall at the price of $42.99 a month, the trio of media giants announced Thursday. Considered by some to be the equivalent of Hulu for sports, Venu will include games from the NFL, NBA, MLB, NHL, WNBA, NASCAR and college sports, as well as golf, tennis and soccer. Besides games, there will be studio shows, pre- and post-game programming and access to ESPN's 30 for 30 library, ESPN Films and documentaries from Fox Sports Films. The platform will feature offerings from 14 linear networks — ESPN, ESPN2, ESPNU, SEC Network, ACC Network, ESPNEWS, ABC, FOX, FS1, FS2, Big Ten Network, TNT, TBS, truTV — as well as ESPN+. Subscribers will have the ability to bundle the product with Disney+, Hulu and/or Max. "We will launch at a compelling price point that will appeal to the cord cutter and cord-never fans currently not served by existing pay TV packages," Venu Sports CEO Pete Distad said in a statement. Venu Sports is coming amid increased competition in the business of streaming sporting events, with industry giants including Amazon and Netflix each striking deals with various sports leagues to add content for their streaming customers. Whether it's sports or more general programming, entertainment and media giants like Comcast-owned NBCUniversal, Warner Bros. Discovery and Paramount Global (the parent company of CBS News) have struggled to turn a profit on streaming given the hefty costs of producing content. Those companies trail Netflix, which achieved critical mass and profitability before its streaming rivals. But while the Venu Sports service touts a big game, anyone who signs up will actually miss a ton of games, particularly in football and basketball, said Richard Greenfield, an analyst at LightShed Partners. Greenfield and other analysts point out that under Venu's deal, New York Giants and Philadelphia Eagles fans would miss five televised games while Dallas Cowboys fans would miss four games. That's because those Giants, Eagles and Cowboys games are scheduled this upcoming season to be broadcast on networks, such as CBS (the parent company of CBS News), NBC, NFL Network, that are not affiliated with Fox, Disney or Warner Bros. Discovery. "We find it hard to believe any real NFL fan would be OK missing 4-5 games out of a 17-game season," Greenfield wrote in an investors note Thursday. "Additionally, Venu will only have one-third of the NBA games after next season, as NBC and Prime Video take over Turner's package." — The Associated Press contributed to this report.

Regeneron Tops on Q2 Earnings, Eylea HD, Dupixent Fuel Sales - Bayer (OTC:BAYRY), Regeneron Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:REGN) 2024-08-01 19:10:00+00:00 - Regeneron Pharmaceuticals, Inc. REGN reported earnings per share of $11.56, which beat the Zacks Consensus Estimate of $10.57. The company recorded an EPS of $10.24 in the year-ago period. The upside in the bottom line can be attributed to higher revenues. Total revenues increased 12% year over year to $3.54 billion, fueled by higher Dupixent, Eylea HD and Libtayo sales. Revenues also beat the Zacks Consensus Estimate of $3.38 billion. Shares are trading up in response to the better-than-expected results. Regeneron's shares have risen 22.8% year to date against the industry's decline of 0.6%. Image Source: Zacks Investment Research Quarterly Highlights Eylea's sales in the United States declined 18% year over year to $1.2 billion, primarily due to increased competition resulting in lower volumes and a reduced net selling price. Please note that Regeneron co-developed Eylea with the HealthCare unit of Bayer AG BAYRY. Regeneron records net product sales of Eylea in the United States and Bayer does the same outside the country. Regeneron records its share of profits/losses in connection with the sales of Eylea outside the United States. In August 2023, the FDA approved Eylea HD (higher dose of Eylea) for the treatment of patients with wet age-related macular degeneration, diabetic macular edema and diabetic retinopathy. Eylea HD generated revenues of $304 million in the United States, driven by the addition of new patients and the transition of patients from other anti-VEGF products, including Eylea. Total Eylea and Eylea HD sales in the United States were $1.53 billion, up 2% year over year. The figure also beat the Zacks Consensus Estimate of $1.52 billion. Total revenues include collaboration revenues of $1.52 billion from Sanofi SNY and Bayer. The figure increased 15.7% from that recorded in the year-ago quarter. Total collaboration revenues beat the Zacks Consensus Estimate of $1.43 billion. Sanofi's collaboration revenues increased 21% to $1.1 billion, driven by profits associated with higher Dupixent sales. We note that Sanofi records global net product sales of Dupixent and Kevzara, while Regeneron records its share of profits/losses in connection with the global sales of both drugs. Dupixent's sales increased 27% year over year to $3.5 billion. Bayer's collaboration revenues totaled $375 million, down 1% year over year. Regeneron records net product sales of Praluent in the United States and Sanofi does the same outside the country. SNY pays REGN a royalty on such sales. Regeneron records global net product sales of Libtayo and pays Sanofi a royalty on such sales. Total Libtayo sales came in at $297.4 million, up 42% year over year. The figure beat the Zacks Consensus Estimate of $285 million. Praluent's net sales in the United States were $56.1 million. Kevzara recorded global sales of $109.7 million, up 10% from the year-ago quarter's level. Adjusted R&D expenses jumped 10% year over year to $1.1 billion due to the advancement of the company's late-stage oncology programs, and higher headcount and headcount-related costs. Adjusted SG&A expenses increased 19% to $667 million due to higher commercialization-related expenses to support the launch of Eylea HD and higher headcount and headcount-related costs. Pipeline and Regulatory Update In June 2024, the European Commission approved Dupixent as an add-on maintenance treatment for adults with uncontrolled chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) characterized by raised blood eosinophils. However, in May 2024, the FDA extended the target action date of its priority review of the supplemental biologics license application (sBLA) for Dupixent as an add-on maintenance treatment in certain adult patients with uncontrolled COPD by three months. The revised target action date is Sep 27, 2024. The FDA accepted (for priority review) the sBLA for Dupixent as an add-on maintenance treatment for adolescents aged 12 to 17 years with inadequately controlled chronic rhinosinusitis with nasal polyposis (CRSwNP), with a target action date of Sep 15, 2024. The European Medicines Agency's, Committee for Medicinal Products for Human Use adopted a positive opinion recommending conditional marketing authorization of odronextamab to treat adults with relapsed/refractory (R/R) follicular lymphoma or R/R diffuse large B-cell lymphoma (DLBCL), after two or more lines of systemic therapy. Regeneron initiated a phase II study on fianlimab, an antibody to LAG-3, in combination with Libtayo, for the treatment of perioperative non-small cell lung cancer. A phase II/III study evaluating fianlimab, in combination with Libtayo, for treating perioperative melanoma was also initiated. A phase II study was initiated for trevogrumab, an antibody to myostatin (GDF8), in combination with semaglutide with and without garetosmab, for the treatment of obesity. Our Take Regeneron's performance in the second quarter was impressive with both the top and bottom lines surpassing their respective estimates. Regeneron Pharmaceuticals, Inc. Price, Consensus and EPS Surprise Regeneron Pharmaceuticals, Inc. price-consensus-eps-surprise-chart | Regeneron Pharmaceuticals, Inc. Quote While Eylea sales have been under pressure due to competition from Roche's RHHBY Vabysmo, the uptake of the higher dose of the drug is encouraging as Eylea patients transition to the higher dose. Regeneron's efforts to broaden its oncology portfolio and foray into the lucrative obesity space are also encouraging. The uptake of Vabysmo has been outstanding. Roche has designed Vabysmo to block pathways involving Ang-2 and VEGF-A. Roche recorded CHF 1.8 billion of Vabysmo sales in the first half of 2024 on strong demand in all regions. Zacks Rank Regeneron currently carries a Zacks Rank #3 (Hold). To read this article on Zacks.com click here.

Senate Rejects Bipartisan Tax Deal 2024-08-01 18:57:09+00:00 - The Senate rejected a bill on Thursday that would have restored lapsed tax breaks for businesses and expanded the child tax credit, as many Republicans in the chamber lined up against the bipartisan deal in hopes of gaining an advantage in bigger tax legislation expected next year. The roughly $80 billion bill had seemed to have everything. It soared through the House earlier this year with broad bipartisan support, a rare feat. Business groups loved it and hoped Congress would again allow companies to immediately deduct the full cost of capital investments and research expenses from their tax bills. And anti-poverty activists cheered its expansion of federal support for parents with children. But the effort — spearheaded by Representative Jason Smith, Republican of Missouri and the Ways and Means Committee chairman, and Senator Ron Wyden, Democrat of Oregon and the Finance Committee chairman — still ran aground in the Senate. Republican senators worried that the bill’s expansion of the child tax credit veered into creating a new welfare program, stalling the legislation. Though Republican opposition doomed the bill’s fate months ago, Senator Chuck Schumer, the New York Democrat and majority leader, brought it up for a procedural vote on Thursday. The vote failed 48 to 44, falling short of the 60 votes needed to advance. Three Republicans joined Democrats in favor of the bill, while two independents who caucus with Democrats — Senator Joe Manchin III of West Virginia and Senator Bernie Sanders of Vermont — opposed it. Mr. Schumer also ultimately voted against the bill, a decision that allows him to potentially bring it back up for another vote.

Don Lemon sues Elon Musk and X for $35 million, claiming fraud over canceled content deal 2024-08-01 18:51:00+00:00 - Elon Musk moving SpaceX from California to Texas Elon Musk moving SpaceX from California to Texas 01:15 Don Lemon, a former CNN anchor, is suing Elon Musk and his social media network X for $35 million, alleging fraud and breach of contract after the billionaire abruptly scrapped a content partnership between them in March. The lawsuit, posted by Variety, which earlier reported on the legal claim, claims that Musk and X promised that Lemon would have "full authority and control over the work he produced even if disliked" by the Tesla CEO and his executives. Lemon also alleges he never received any pay for his content deal, which the lawsuit states amounted to a "guaranteed" $1.5 million in the first year. Lemon's attorney, Carney R. Shegerian, and a representative for X didn't immediately respond to requests for comment. Lemon's suit comes less than five months after the much-touted content deal fell apart even before it officially started. X announced the arrangement was ending just days before its maiden broadcast was set to air on X in March, while Musk derided Lemon's approach at the time as "basically just 'CNN, but on social media.'" The first episode, which Lemon released on social media after the content deal was canceled, showed a sometimes prickly conversation with Musk in which the billionaire defended his prescription usage of ketamine, saying the drug helped him alleviate a "negative chemical mind state." Musk also complained in the interview about the way Lemon was asking questions, describing it as "not cogent. The lawsuit alleges that Musk and his representatives, including X CEO Linda Yaccarino, "deliberately misrepresented what they intended to do," which it claims was to capitalize on Lemon's name and professional status to rehabilitate X's reputation after major advertisers fled the service following Musk's endorsement of an antisemitic post. Lemon alleges he incurred "hundreds of thousands of dollars" to create his own media company in order to produce the X content.

Bank of England cuts interest rates to 5% in first reduction since March 2020 2024-08-01 18:46:00+00:00 - The Bank of England has cut interest rates for the first time in four and a half years, easing pressure on households after it raised borrowing costs to the highest level since the 2008 financial crisis in response to soaring inflation. In a finely balanced decision after the worst inflation shock in decades, the Bank’s monetary policy committee (MPC) voted by a narrow majority to cut its base rate by a quarter of a percentage point to 5%. With inflation holding at the Bank’s 2% target for a second consecutive month in June, financial markets had expected rates would be cut, although City economists predicted it would be a close call. The pound fell against the US dollar and euro after the decision. The Bank of England governor, Andrew Bailey, said inflationary pressures had “eased enough” to enable the first cut since the Bank stopped ramping up borrowing costs this time last year. However, Bailey said savers and borrowers should not expect large reductions over the coming months, amid concerns about lingering risks to the economy. “We need to make sure inflation stays low, and be careful not to cut interest rates too quickly or by too much,” he said. “Ensuring low and stable inflation is the best thing we can do to support economic growth and the prosperity of the country.” Threadneedle Street’s decision to start easing pressure on households came after a sharp fall in inflation this year and will be a welcome step for the new Labour government as Keir Starmer aims to revive flatlining living standards and a stagnating economy. Share your experience Have you struggled to make your mortgage payments? You can tell us if you have had difficulty making your mortgage payments by filling in the form below, or messaging us on WhatsApp on +447766780300. Please share your story if you are 18 or over, anonymously if you wish. For more information please see our terms of service and privacy policy Tell us here Your responses, which can be anonymous, are secure as the form is encrypted and only the Guardian has access to your contributions. We will only use the data you provide us for the purpose of the feature and we will delete any personal data when we no longer require it for this purpose. For true anonymity please use our SecureDrop service instead. Name Where do you live? Tell us a bit about yourself (e.g. age and what you do for a living) Optional What has your experience been like trying to make your monthly mortgage payments? Please include as much detail as possible. If you have remortgaged recently, what has your experience been like? 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Submit Show more Rishi Sunak and Jeremy Hunt, the Conservative leader and shadow chancellor, claimed the decision showed they had been making progress on the economy when in government, albeit too late to benefit the former prime minister’s gamble that falling inflation could strengthen his hand in a snap general election. In a political battle after the Bank’s announcement, the chancellor, Rachel Reeves, claimed millions of families were still facing higher mortgage rates after Liz Truss’s mini-budget. However, Hunt argued that Labour’s plan for above-inflation public sector pay increases risked keeping interest rates higher for longer. Bailey disagreed, telling a press conference that public sector pay rises would have little impact. The governor said: “The proverbial back of the envelope suggests an increment in the inflation space which is very small.” skip past newsletter promotion Sign up to Business Today Free daily newsletter Get set for the working day – we'll point you to all the business news and analysis you need every morning Enter your email address Sign up Privacy Notice: Newsletters may contain info about charities, online ads, and content funded by outside parties. For more information see our Newsletters may contain info about charities, online ads, and content funded by outside parties. For more information see our Privacy Policy . We use Google reCaptcha to protect our website and the Google Privacy Policy and Terms of Service apply. after newsletter promotion Households and businesses across Britain have been under pressure from a sharp rise in mortgage repayments after the Bank put up rates 14 times in a row from a record low of 0.1% in December 2021, in response to the highest rates of inflation since the early 1980s. Inflation peaked at 11.1% in October 2022, amid a surge in energy prices triggered by the Russian invasion of Ukraine. Inflation fell back to the 2% government target in May, but prices remain significantly higher than three years ago and are still rising. The Bank remains concerned over stubborn price increases in the service sector of the economy and resilience in wage growth. After its vote, the MPC warned that headline inflation was on track to rise to about 2.75% within months, overshooting its target. However, the Bank forecasts inflation will fall back to about 1.7% in two years’ time, before dropping to 1.5% in 2027. The MPC was split by five votes to four, exposing divisions within the central bank’s most senior ranks, with Bailey casting the deciding vote for a quarter-point reduction. The cut was opposed by the Bank’s chief economist, Huw Pill, alongside the external MPC members Jonathan Haskel, Megan Greene and Catherine Mann, who warned that domestic inflationary pressures remained. Bailey was joined in voting for a cut by the deputy governors Clare Lombardelli, Sarah Breeden and Dave Ramsden, alongside the external member Swati Dhingra. The MPC said there were several potential paths for inflation that could materialise: either a continued reduction in inflationary pressures as high borrowing costs weigh on the economy and the jobs market, or a scenario with higher inflation for longer if economic activity remained stronger than anticipated. Britain’s economy has grown at a faster rate than anticipated in recent months, exiting recession in the first quarter with growth of 0.7% – double the levels recorded in France and Germany. While the economy flatlined in April, it grew at a faster rate than anticipated in May. The Bank upgraded its growth forecasts for this year to 1.25%, more than double the previous estimate of 0.5%. However, it warned that quarterly growth would probably be weaker than in recent months, while unemployment was on track to rise. Signalling caution over its future decisions, the MPC said its policy stance would remain at “restrictive” levels that would bear down on economic activity even after the reduction in interest rates. “Monetary policy will need to continue to remain restrictive for sufficiently long until the risks to inflation returning sustainably to the 2% target in the medium term have dissipated further,” it said.

Developer pulls out of Frome regeneration project after public outcry 2024-08-01 18:37:00+00:00 - A residential developer has unexpectedly pulled out of a controversial regeneration project in one of England’s most progressive towns after an outcry from local people. Somerset council leaders had faced heavy criticism after agreeing to sell a 12-acre brownfield site called Saxonvale in the town of Frome to Acorn Property Group. But less than 24 hours after the decision, Acorn announced it was dropping out because the people of Frome had made it clear they did not want to work with it. The move may clear the way for a not-for-profit project called Mayday Saxonvale run by a social enterprise to buy the site. It wants to build a large number of affordable homes, extensive workspaces and a lido in what is being billed as the largest community-led development in the UK. Acorn was clearly stung by the reaction to its successful bid on Wednesday night. Residents criticised the council’s executive for plumping for the company, claiming they had chased the money, and expressed concern they would be left with a “cookie-cutter” housing development at the heart of their bohemian town. In a statement released on Thursday afternoon, it said: “Acorn Property Group prides itself in working with local communities to provide much-needed regeneration through residential-led schemes. “It has become abundantly clear that in this case, despite our best endeavours to work with all the stakeholders, the local community does not wish to work with Acorn and on that basis we have decided to withdraw from the process. View image in fullscreen Paul Oster, of Mayday Saxonvale, said he believed the council had chosen Acorn simply because its bid was higher. Photograph: Sam Frost/The Guardian “Acorn wishes Frome and the local community the best of luck going forward in developing this wonderful site in whatever way they choose to take the matter forward”. Mayday Saxonvale and Acorn have been vying to buy the land, a former factories site derelict for more than a quarter of a century, from Somerset council. Acorn had proposed 300 homes, with 160 being affordable, and employment space about half the size of that proposed by Mayday. The Mayday Saxonvale scheme included plans for 263 homes with at least 30%, and possibly more than 50%, being affordable. It wanted to provide more than 10,000 sq metres of employment space, a boutique hotel, lido, two public squares and a community kitchen, with the site remaining in community ownership. View image in fullscreen Kate Moore reacts to the council’s decision. Photograph: Sam Frost/The Guardian After Acorn’s announcement on Thursday, Damon Moore, a director of Mayday, said: “We’ve got our future back. It’s extraordinary.” He said he hoped the council would sell the site to Mayday, adding: “There’s no other candidate now.” His wife, Kate Moore, who runs an artists’ studio and gallery on the Saxonvale site, was in tears at the meeting when the decision was announced. She said on Thursday: “I was heartbroken. It feels like the clouds have lifted. It sounds as if Acorn finally listened to us. It shows what people can do. There’s hope again.” skip past newsletter promotion Sign up to First Edition Free daily newsletter Our morning email breaks down the key stories of the day, telling you what’s happening and why it matters Enter your email address Sign up Privacy Notice: Newsletters may contain info about charities, online ads, and content funded by outside parties. For more information see our Newsletters may contain info about charities, online ads, and content funded by outside parties. For more information see our Privacy Policy . We use Google reCaptcha to protect our website and the Google Privacy Policy and Terms of Service apply. after newsletter promotion Shane Collins, a Green councillor in Frome, said: “This is unprecedented news. In nine years of being a councillor, I’ve never heard of a developer pull out due to community feeling. This shows the power of community in Frome. Fantastic news, from the depths of depression yesterday to elation today.” During the meeting, Acorn said it would work with the residents, and rejected the notion it would create a “cookie cutter” development, insisting it would build “individually designed” homes. All the residents who spoke at the meeting supported Mayday Saxonvale. The town councillor Anita Collier, who has lived in Frome for 60 years, said she remembered Saxonvale when it was a vibrant place, alive with various industries – and wanted that back. View image in fullscreen Simon Gait, of Acorn Housing, attending the meeting flanked by colleagues. Photograph: Sam Frost/The Guardian The executive said the Mayday scheme was “innovative and unique”, and praised the community land trust ownership model it included. But it voted in favour of Acorn, who offered more money, reminding residents they had declared a financial emergency because of a £100m budget gap. As the decision was announced, local people called out: “Shame on you”, “You don’t have to do this” and, “It’s all about the money”. Several walked out. On Thursday after the Acorn announcement, the Somerset council leader, Bill Revans, said: “We note the decision from Acorn Property Group and will now carefully consider our next steps.”

Simone Biles wins gold in the Olympics all-around final 2024-08-01 18:32:49+00:00 - Simone Biles sprung to the top of the podium in the women’s gymnastics individual all-around final at the Paris Olympics on Thursday, winning a gold medal and further cementing her place in sporting history. Biles is the first American to nab two Olympic all-around titles and just the third woman ever to do so — the feat was last achieved by Věra Čáslavská of Czechoslovakia in 1968. Biles’ first individual all-around gold came in 2016 in Rio de Janeiro. Biles finished with 59.131 points after coming back from a mistake on the bars to ace the beam and floor routines. Rebeca Andrade of Brazil took silver with 57.932 points, and American teammate Sunisa Lee captured the bronze with 56.465 points. Biles and Lee were already gold medalists in Paris, with Team USA having won the women’s team final Tuesday. That win also gave Biles her eighth Olympic gold medal, making her the most decorated U.S. gymnast of all time. Andrade had won the world championships in 2022, followed by Biles taking gold in 2023. The 25-year-old Brazilian gymnast was widely seen as the only competitor who could potentially best Biles in Paris. At 27, Biles is the oldest Olympic gymnast to win the all-around gold since the Soviet Union’s Maria Gorokhovskaya won in 1952 at age 30.

Billionaire former Glencore oil trader charged with corruption in West Africa 2024-08-01 18:07:00+00:00 - The UK’s Serious Fraud Office has charged Glencore’s billionaire former head of oil trading with conspiring to make corrupt payments to benefit the commodities company’s oil operations in West Africa. Alex Beard, who ran Glencore’s oil division from 2007 until his retirement in 2019, will face charges alongside former Glencore executives Andrew Gibson, Paul Hopkirk, Ramon Labiaga and Martin Wakefield after a long-running investigation into allegations of bribery at the company. Beard, who became a billionaire when Glencore listed in London in 2011, is the highest profile individual charged after the SFO’s sweeping investigation into Glencore which began in 2019 under the codename Operation Azoth. The SFO said the executives have been charged in connection with the awarding of oil contracts spanning Cameroon, Nigeria and Ivory Coast from 2007 to 2014. They are expected to appear at Westminster magistrates court on 10 September. Nick Ephgrave, the director of the SFO, said: “Bribery damages financial markets and causes lasting harm to communities. Today’s action is an important step towards exposing overseas corruption and holding those who are responsible to account.” Glencore pleaded guilty in 2022 to corruption and market manipulation cases in the US and UK, after admitting that it had paid bribes to win business in eight countries including Brazil and South Sudan. The company set aside up to $1.5bn to settle two investigations against it in the US. The first case involved what prosecutors described as a decade-long bribery scheme, and in the second Glencore pleaded guilty to using an eight-year scheme to manipulate US fuel oil price benchmarks. It was also ordered to pay more than £280m in the UK after an SFO investigation revealed it paid $29m in bribes to gain preferential access to oil in Africa in what a crown court judge called “highly corrosive” and “endemic” corruption. Beard will face two charges of conspiracy to make corrupt payments to government officials and officials of state-owned oil companies in Nigeria between 2010 and 2014, and Cameroon between 2007 and 2014. He stepped down in July from his role as chair of Adaptogen Capital, the investment company he set up after leaving Glencore to invest in large-scale batteries connected to the UK grid. His second in command at Glencore, Gibson, will face four charges of conspiracy to make corrupt payments to government officials and officials of state-owned oil companies in Nigeria and Cameroon between 2007 and 2014, and Ivory Coast between 2007 and 2010. Gibson also faces one charge of conspiracy to falsify documents between 2007 and 2011. skip past newsletter promotion Sign up to Business Today Free daily newsletter Get set for the working day – we'll point you to all the business news and analysis you need every morning Enter your email address Sign up Privacy Notice: Newsletters may contain info about charities, online ads, and content funded by outside parties. For more information see our Newsletters may contain info about charities, online ads, and content funded by outside parties. For more information see our Privacy Policy . We use Google reCaptcha to protect our website and the Google Privacy Policy and Terms of Service apply. after newsletter promotion Hopkirk, Labiaga and Wakefield, who were involved in trading West African oil, also stand accused of conspiring to make corrupt payments to government officials and employees at state-owned oil companies in Nigeria, Ivory Coast and Cameroon. A Glencore spokesperson said the company noted the charges and had “co-operated with the SFO in its investigation into this past conduct and resolved its SFO investigation in 2022”. “This (alleged) conduct has no place in Glencore and we are committed to acting ethically and responsibly across all aspects of our business and have taken significant action towards building a best in class ethics and compliance programme,” the spokesperson said.

How Rolls-Royce’s winning run could go on and on 2024-08-01 18:01:00+00:00 - The main news in Rolls-Royce’s half-year numbers was obviously further proof that the engine-maker and defence group, which was virtually bust during the Covid pandemic, is now in soaraway financial form. Dividends are coming back; the chief executive, Tufan Erginbilgiç, increased forecasts for profits and cash generation; and the shares went on another tear. Congratulations if you caught the bottom at 40p, around the time of the 2020 rescue rights issue – the price is now 481p, up 7% on Thursday. It is the most astonishing turnaround at a major FTSE 100 company in decades. What does Rolls-Royce do for its next trick? Well, the next big thing would be re-entry into engines for narrow-body civil aeroplanes. At the moment, the Derby factory produces 200-odd engines a year for wide-body aircraft, but the narrow-body market is much larger and Rolls-Royce hasn’t been in it since its cash-strapped days of 2011. Work is currently concentrated on proving its next-generation UltraFan engine can be scaled down to power smaller aircraft. If it can be – and if the orders flow – there is an enormous new market into the 2030s. Then there’s small modular reactors (SMRs), the cut-down versions of a nuclear power plant that advocates argue offer better economies than behemoths such as Hinkley Point C in Somerset. SMRs have been talked about as the coming nuclear technology for years without anybody being wholly convinced they will actually happen. But we may soon be at a point where Rolls-Royce receives an actual order from the UK government. View image in fullscreen Rolls-Royce’s SMR (small modular reactor) is said to be the most advanced design of its type. Photograph: AP Ed Miliband, the energy secretary, has pledged “absolute support” for SMRs and, since Rolls-Royce’s version is the most advanced through the multi-year safety and technical assessments, it would be amazing if its design was not chosen as one to take forward. There should be an order by the end of the year, although the earliest a site could be up and running would be 2031. But an order would be a critical moment, if Erginbilgiç is correct in saying that other European countries are watching the actions of UK authorities for reassurance. Sweden has already shortlisted Rolls-Royce to potentially deploy a fleet of SMRs, and the hope is that there might be a flood of interest if and when the UK commits. Erginbilgiç has an interest, of course, in arguing that the UK should not squander its “first mover advantage” in SMRs, but his argument sounds broadly correct. There is a chance for the UK to build the supply chain and manufacturing base in a way that never happened with the development of offshore wind. Each SMR, with a generating capacity of 470MW, might cost £2.5bn, which adds up to a large sum if it is conceivable that hundreds of the plants may eventually be dotted around the world in pursuit of decarbonisation. skip past newsletter promotion Sign up to Business Today Free daily newsletter Get set for the working day – we'll point you to all the business news and analysis you need every morning Enter your email address Sign up Privacy Notice: Newsletters may contain info about charities, online ads, and content funded by outside parties. For more information see our Newsletters may contain info about charities, online ads, and content funded by outside parties. For more information see our Privacy Policy . We use Google reCaptcha to protect our website and the Google Privacy Policy and Terms of Service apply. after newsletter promotion Little of the long-term stuff is captured in City analysts’ projections for Rolls-Royce’s future, for understandable reasons. Both narrow-body engines and SMRs are purely entries in the cost line at the moment; it is also too soon to expect detail on funding and the necessary outside partnerships. Thus the stock market continues to hang on every word of Erginbilgiç ’s lengthy analyses of the productivity efficiencies for the business as it is today. But one can also catch a glimpse of how, if the stars align (a critical qualification), Rolls-Royce’s astonishing recovery can become a long-haul affair.

Marketing firm fined $40,000 for 2022 GOP mailers in New Hampshire 2024-08-01 16:58:56+00:00 - CONCORD, N.H. (AP) — A Virginia-based political marketing company has agreed to pay a $40,000 fine to settle allegations that flyers it designed during the 2022 New Hampshire state primary violated the law. Forms submitted to the U.S. Postal Service identified the owner of the 189,000 mailers as “Robert Burns for Congress,” but Burns had nothing to do with them, and they lacked the required “paid for” language, the attorney general’s office said Thursday. Burns won the GOP primary in the 2nd Congressional District but lost to incumbent Democratic Rep. Annie Kuster in the general election. The attorney general’s office investigated the matter but decided not to bring criminal charges in part due to questions about whether federal law would have preempted the state law at issue. In agreeing to the settlement, Deliver Strategies did not admit to criminal liability. A lawyer for the company called the matter an unintentional postal form error made by a vendor. “None of the mail pieces received by New Hampshire voters contained any false information and all were in compliance with federal law,” Bill Christie said in a statement. In addition to the fine, it agreed to train employees about compliance with relevant laws. ___ This story has been corrected to show that postal forms, not the actual mailers, featured the words “Robert Burns for Congress.”

Apple sales rise 5%, topping estimates as iPad and Services revenues jump 2024-08-01 16:56:00+00:00 - Apple CEO Tim Cook attends the annual developer conference event at the company's headquarters in Cupertino, California, U.S., June 10, 2024. Apple reported fiscal third-quarter earnings on Thursday that beat Wall Street expectations, with overall revenue rising 5%. Apple shares were flat in extended trading. Here's how Apple did versus LSEG consensus estimates for the quarter ended June 29: EPS : $1.40 vs. $1.35 estimated : $1.40 vs. $1.35 estimated Revenue : $85.78 billion vs. $84.53 billion estimated : $85.78 billion vs. $84.53 billion estimated iPhone revenue : $39.30 billion vs. $38.81 billion estimated : $39.30 billion vs. $38.81 billion estimated Mac revenue : $7.01 billion vs. $7.02 billion estimated : $7.01 billion vs. $7.02 billion estimated iPad revenue : $7.16 billion vs. $6.61 billion estimated : $7.16 billion vs. $6.61 billion estimated Wearables, Home, and Accessories revenue : $8.10 billion vs. $7.79 billion estimated : $8.10 billion vs. $7.79 billion estimated Services revenue: $24.21 billion vs. $24.01 billion estimated $24.21 billion vs. $24.01 billion estimated Gross margin: 46.3% vs. 46.1% estimated Apple expects about similar overall revenue growth in the current quarter as the June quarter, which was 5%, Apple CFO Luca Maestri said on a call with analysts. Apple also expects Services to grow at about the same rate as the previous three quarters, which was about 14%. Apple expects September quarter operating expenditures between $14.2 and $14.4 billion, Maestri added. Apple said it expected September quarter gross margin to be between 45.5% and 46.5%. Apple reported $21.45 billion in net income during the quarter, versus $19.88 billion, or $1.26 per share, in the year-ago period. Apple's most important business remains the iPhone, which accounted for about 46% of the company's total sales during the quarter. While Apple beat LSEG estimates, the product line still declined about 1% on an annual basis to $39.29 billion in revenue. "On a constant currency basis, we grew year on year. And so that's sort of how we look at it from an operational point of view," Apple CEO Tim Cook told CNBC's Steve Kovach. Cook said that while Apple doesn't know about the positive sales impact from its newly announced Apple Intelligence service until it starts shipping to customers later this fall, he said that Apple had been increasing spending to get the service ready. "What we've done is we've redeployed a lot of people on to AI that were working on other things," Cook said. "From a data center point of view, as you know, we have a hybrid approach. So we both have our own and we partner with people. And so that capex would be in the partners' financials, and we would be paying expense." "Certainly embedded in our results this quarter is an increase year over year in the amount we're spending for AI and Apple intelligence," Cook continued.

Don Lemon sues Elon Musk and X over terminated talkshow deal 2024-08-01 16:27:00+00:00 - The former CNN anchor Don Lemon has sued Elon Musk and X over a cancelled deal with the social media platform formerly known as Twitter. His filing in California superior court in San Francisco includes claims of fraud, negligent misrepresentation, misappropriation of Lemon’s name and likeness, and breach of express contract. Musk abruptly terminated a planned partnership with Lemon in March, hours after Lemon filmed an interview with him. Shortly after the interview concluded, Musk texted Lemon, “contract terminated”, according to Lemon. Carney Shegerian, an attorney for Lemon, said: “This case is straightforward. X executives used Don to prop up their advertising sales pitch, then canceled their partnership and dragged Don’s name through the mud. “You don’t have to be a genius to see the fraud, negligence and reputational damage here. Don is an accomplished and hard-hitting journalist who’s committed to defending his good name and holding X’s executives accountable. We look forward to our day in court.” When the Guardian contacted X for comment, its press inbox generated the automatic response: “Busy now, please check back later.” Lemon was previously one of CNN’s marquee talents before internal conflicts and a poorly received run as host of a morning show led the network to fire him in April 2023. Linda Yaccarino, the CEO of X who joined the firm last year, initially reached out to Lemon’s agent several months after his termination from CNN with an offer to create a new show that would stream on X. The company announced its deal with Lemon in January, in a statement that declared X was now a “video-first platform”. Lemon’s first episode for the platform was set to be an hour-long interview in March with Musk at Tesla’s Austin headquarters. The interview quickly became tense and awkward as Lemon questioned Musk on a variety of issues from his thoughts on white privilege and opposition to diversity, equity and inclusion programs to his ketamine usage and the rise of antisemitic content on the platform. Musk became visibly upset at numerous times during the interview, telling Lemon: “The only reason I’m doing this interview is because you’re on the X platform and you asked for it.” skip past newsletter promotion Sign up to Headlines US Free newsletter Get the most important US headlines and highlights emailed direct to you every morning Enter your email address Sign up Privacy Notice: Newsletters may contain info about charities, online ads, and content funded by outside parties. For more information see our Newsletters may contain info about charities, online ads, and content funded by outside parties. For more information see our Privacy Policy . We use Google reCaptcha to protect our website and the Google Privacy Policy and Terms of Service apply. after newsletter promotion Musk claimed that he axed the show over its creative direction, posting that it was too similar to CNN’s content and alleging Lemon was a mouthpiece for former network president Jeff Zucker. In many ways, Lemon was a strange fit for the platform. Musk has become more overtly conservative and opposed to critical news outlets in recent years, most recently vowing full support for Donald Trump in the 2024 presidential election and promoting a range of rightwing posts that include anti-trans and anti-immigration rhetoric. Musk and Yaccarino’s attempt to court influencers and cable news personalities such as Lemon was part of the platform’s pivot towards videos and creator content. Although Musk managed to woo former Fox News host Tucker Carlson to air a show on X, he has otherwise largely failed to attract mainstream talent to the platform. A rise in extremism and degradation of content moderation following his takeover has also pushed away big-name advertisers.