Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen said on Wednesday that the U.S. would consider a range of actions to help protect industries threatened by China — including the possibility of trade barriers like tariffs.
Why it matters: It's the strongest signal yet that the Biden administration is willing to take dramatic steps to blunt the economic effect of what officials see as subsidized over-production in China — even if it risks further inflaming tensions between the world's two largest economies.
Not only do today's car buyers have to pick what brand, color and features they want, they must now also choose among a dizzying array of propulsion systems.
Gas? Hybrid? Plug-in hybrid? Electric? Hydrogen? The options are confounding to the average consumer.
Paramount and Skydance have entered into exclusive merger discussions, the Wall Street Journal reported Wednesday, citing people familiar with the situation.
Why it matters: This brings a sale of Paramount a step closer and would end months of intrigue around the future of Shari Redstone's media empire.
Billionaire Don Hankey has gone beyond campaign donations to support former President Trump ahead of the 2024 election.
The big picture: Hankey, California-based chairman of Knight Specialty Insurance, underwrote Trump's $175 million bond in a New York civil fraud case, as the 2024 presidential candidate's legal team appeals the judgment.
Disney fended off Trian Partners' Nelson Peltz and his bid to gain seats on its board of directors, the company said on Wednesday.
Why it matters: The shareholder tally culminates the most expensive proxy fight ever and is a victory for the board and leadership team at the $225 billion entertainment giant.
Zoom in: Trian sought to replace Disney directors Maria Elena Lagomasino and Michael Froman.
Blackwells Capital, an activist hedge fund that nominated three directors in a separate campaign, did not get majority support for any of its candidates.
Peltz received about 30% backing, while Iger was supported by 94% of shareholders, a source familiar with the preliminary voting data tells Axios.
Around 75% of Disney's retail investors backed Disney's slate, the source added. Retail shareholders make up around 40% of its total shareholder base.
Rasulo lost his vote by a 5 to 1 margin against Lagomasino, said the source, who was not authorized to speak publicly since results are not yet final.
The latest: Disney and its CEO Bob Iger put up a full-forced defense to keep Peltz, and fellow Trian nominee Jay Rasulo, off the company's board.
Disney's shareholder vote was counted at the annual meeting on Wednesday, with the company saying that Disney's board nominees won by a substantial margin. Detailed results were not yet available.
Iger won the proxy battle but will continue to have to defend the company, whose share price has risen sharply this year but it was well below where it was five years ago.
"We continue to believe the board bears responsibility for this track record," Peltz said at the annual meeting,
Flashback: Trian and Peltz have led some of the largest and most contentious proxy fights in the history of modern Corporate America.
Trian lost its proxy fight with U.S. chemical conglomerate DuPont in 2015, but within months of the vote, pressure mounted on the CEO, who later stepped down.
Two years later, Trian took Procter & Gamble to a vote that went to a recount. In the end, P&G named Peltz to the company's board. He stepped down from the board in 2021.
What they're saying: "Trian will be watching the company's performance," Peltz said at the Disney annual meeting. A follow-up statement from Trian thanked shareholders and said "we are proud of the impact we have had in refocusing this Company on value creation and good governance."
Iger, in a statement, said: "With the distracting proxy contest now behind us, we're eager to focus 100% of our attention on our most important priorities."
A powerful earthquake struck Taiwan, killing at least nine people and wounding nearly 1,000 on Wednesday morning, according to Taiwan's fire department.
The big picture: Taiwan's National Fire Agency said the deaths occurred in Hualien County, near the strongest quake in 25 years' epicenter, as the island's Central News Agency reported hundreds of residents were trapped beneath partially collapsed buildings in the city of Hualien.
Autism Impact Fund, a venture capital group focused on autism and other neurodevelopmental disorders, has closed its debut fund with $60 million.
Why it matters: 1 in 36 kids in the U.S. has autism, up from the prior rate of 1 in 44, according to the CDC. But treatments lag far behind the rampancy.
The legacy of former GE CEO Jack Welch lies in tatters. GE no longer exists — its split into three separate parts concluded Tuesday — and his school of management has barely fared any better.
Why it matters: Welch was the most important CEO of his generation, a man who was richly rewarded for using financial engineering to goose his company's share price at the expense of its employees' jobs.
