The second night of the first Democratic primary debate of the 2020 cycle broke records with 18.1 million people tuning in on live television across NBC, MSNBC and Telemundo, according to a press release from NBC.
Why it matters: Executives were expecting modest viewership for the first Democratic primary debates of the 2020 cycle, largely due to the fact that a single candidate has not emerged as the standout media star. But debate viewership on the second night of the 2-day event broke records for the most-watched Democratic primary debate in history.
Sanford Health and UnityPoint Health have agreed to merge, a move that would create a 76-hospital, tax-exempt system with $11 billion in revenue and an influential position throughout the Midwest and Great Plains.
Why it matters: Regional hospital systems mergingintosuper-regionalbehemoths has been the trend for the past several years. But studies continue to show the combinations often to lead to higher prices and premiums for patients as the systems gain greater market power over health insurers.
Carmakers are in a tough spot: Global auto sales are slowing faster than they can reinvent themselves as transportation service providers.
Why it matters: It will be years before investments in new technologies like electric, self-driving cars pay off — if ever. With sales stagnating in major markets like the U.S. and China, and traditional sources of revenue drying up, carmakers are slashing fixed costs and contemplating their place in the new order.
Raising venture capital for a "vice" product used to be almost impossible, due to specific restrictions in limited partnership agreements. And many of those anti-vice clauses persist, even with the mainstreaming of cannabis.
The big picture: Dockery's big pitch is that the relative lack of competition — and of federal legalization, in the case of cannabis — means that many valuations are artificially depressed. The fund already has invested in a handful of startups, including Recess (CBD-infused drink), Indose (cannabis vaporizer), and Bev (canned rosé wine).
A delegation of Walmart food buyers went to the Summer Fancy Food Show in New York this week to sing the praises of cauliflower-crust pizza and tell small entrepreneurs: "We're eager to work with you."
Why it matters: Walmart has been ardently courting "the wealthy shoppers in superstar cities who traditionally shop on Amazon," as Axios' Erica Pandey writes. Going toe-to-toe with Amazon’s Whole Foods means cozying up to mom-and-pops who sell artisanal halva, Malaysian condiments, organic cotton candy and other items at the trade show.
Shares of Oracle closed at another record high on Thursday, continuing to build on momentum from the company's strong earnings report last week. Thursday's gains show investors are still high on the software giant, even after its 8% jump following the earnings report.
By the numbers: Co-CEO Safra Catz said during a call with investors that she expects earnings of $0.80 to $0.82 a share and flat revenue growth, warning that currency headwinds from the strong dollar could weigh on profits. Of the 32 analysts who cover Oracle, 8 have overweight or buy ratings, 22 have hold ratings and 2 have sell ratings, MarketWatch reported.
Data from hedge fund Renaissance Capital shows that the second quarter was significantly better than the first for the IPO market.
Between the lines: The second quarter's strong numbers were masked by the ugly showing in Q1, when IPO activity was slowed significantly by the U.S. government shutdown. Capital raised for both domestic and cross-border IPOs during the first half of the year fell by 37% year-over-year, with volume down 34%, according to data from law firm Baker McKenzie.
CNN chief media correspondent Brian Stelter has begun a book about Fox News in the age of President Trump, and Trump in the age of Fox.
What we know: The book — no title yet — will be out next year from One Signal, an imprint of Simon and Schuster. The publisher says the book will go "behind the scenes of a TV network and a White House merging in unprecedented fashion."
The U.S. Treasury yield curve has now been inverted for more than a month — meaning the 3-month bill is paying a higher interest rate than the 10-year note.
Why it matters: An inversion of Treasury bond yields is a near-perfect recession indicator that economists at the Federal Reserve recently called "the best summary measure" for an economic downturn.
