Paramount is pushing back the deadline for rival bidders to beat out Skydance's deal for the company following a $6 billion offer from Edgar Bronfman Jr.
Why it matters: Bronfman is now a real threat to scuttle the $8 billion agreement and prolong an already lengthy negotiation.
Drastic shifts in content distribution toward streaming have had an "enormous" fallout effect on the filmmaking community, Soo Hugh, showrunner for the critically acclaimed Apple TV+ series "Pachinko," tells Axios.
Within a week, the universities of Nebraska-Lincoln, Kentucky and North Carolina Charlotte announced they'd disband diversity and inclusion offices as students begin to return to campuses for the fall semester.
Why it matters: These are among the latest of dozens of universities to close such offices or institute other anti-DEI measures — often pushed to do so by state legislation.
The "vast majority" of Federal Reserve officials said the central bank would likely cut interest rates in September—while several saw a case to slash rates last month, according to minutes from the policy meeting in late July released on Wednesday.
Why it matters: It's the clearest indication yet the Fed is on track to cut interest rates next month for the first time since 2020 as worries about the health of the economy mount.
New data released on Wednesday pointed to a labor market that is weaker than initially thought: There were 818,000 fewer jobs added last year through early 2024, the Labor Department said.
Why it matters: The revisions are the first step in an annual process that updates jobs data based on more complete information. This year, they are the largest since 2009 and reveal a labor market that has cooled more drastically than previously known.
Labor strikes could shutter Canada's two biggest rail companies, Canadian National (CN) and Canadian Pacific Kansas City (CPKC), as soon as Thursday.
Why it matters: A strike would hit Canada's economy, and ripple out into the U.S. — potentially reigniting inflation, just as it's easing and the November election looms.
JT Group, a Japanese tobacco company whose U.S. brands include Winston and Camel, agreed to buy Miami-based discount cigarette maker Vector Group for around $2.4 billion.
Why it matters: American cities may now smell like marijuana instead of cigarettes, but this is a reminder that there's still money to be made in the old smoke.
Nearly everyone in the U.S. who's ever signed up for a cellphone, streaming service or account on a website, has signed away their right to take a company to court for wrongdoing.
Why it matters: Most of us never get confronted with that reality, but this week the issue rose to the public's attention in a particularly extreme case involving a widower's lawsuit against Disney.
When companies are feeling rich, they buy back their shares. Similarly, when some countries find themselves with more money than they expected, they should buy back their bonds, per a new paper from sovereign-debt experts Lee Buchheit and Greg Makoff.
Why it matters: Such a mechanism, if enshrined in bond documentation, would finally allow the borrower to see some benefit from making extra payments.
Ford is again shifting its electrification strategy — delaying a planned electric pickup truck by 18 months and killing plans for a 3-row electric SUV.
Why it matters: After losing billions of dollars on electric vehicles in recent years, Ford now says it won't launch any EVs unless they can be profitable in the first 12 months.
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