Somewhere in Omaha, Warren Buffett and Charlie Munger must be smiling, as the upheaval in cryptocurrency punctuates their disdain for the sector.
Why it matters: Crypto’s been more of an undercard to what ails the broader market, but it’s slowly moving from undercard to a main event. A lot of small investors piled into crypto as the market boomed – money they may not be able to recover if they’re not ‘hodl-ing’ for the long-term.
The FDA is defending its handling of the baby formula shortage, as prominent Republicans say the Biden administration has allowed the situation to spiral into a full-blown crisis.
Why it matters: Parents are scrambling to find formula with retailers reporting about 40% of their supplies out of stock and actively limiting purchases. About 3 in 4 parents of young babies rely on it.
Mattel on Wednesday unveiled a set of new Barbie dolls that aims to represent more children from various backgrounds and communities, including one doll with a behind-the-ear hearing aid.
Why it matters: Multiple legacy toy brands have released more diverse and inclusive dolls in recent years.
Disney's stock was up around 3% in after-hours trading Wednesday, after the entertainment giant beat Wall Street expectations on subscriber growth.
Why it matters: Disney is quickly closing in on Netflix's long-established streaming lead. The entertainment giant now has 205 million paid subscribers across all of its services globally, while Netflix has 221 million.
What’s happening: Fitness chains like Life Time and Planet Fitness reported sharp increases in revenue and users this week at the same time as Peloton’s slump deepens.
The Federal Reserve Bank of Dallas has named a new leader, appointing Lorie Logan its new president. Logan is a veteran of the New York Fed, and thus will bring a mix of expertise in economics and markets to the central bank.
Driving the news: Logan will begin August 22, the bank said in a news release, which will put her at the table as the Fed's policymaking committee decides how long to continue raising interest rates to try to quash inflation.
Hillary Frey, a former executive editor at HuffPost and Fusion, is joining Slate as its new editor-in-chief, Slate CEO Dan Check announced in a note to staff Wednesday.
Why it matters: Frey replaces Jared Hohlt, Slate's previous editor-in-chief, who stepped down from the company in January after three years on the job.
The crypto market has been in a downward trajectory since November, but venture investors — and the crypto companies they've backed in Q1 — do not seem to have gotten the memo, per new data from CB Insights.
Why it matters: With the sharp market dive in recent days, expect numbers to look different going forward.
Kohl's shareholders voted to re-elect all 13 of the department store's nominees, according to a preliminary count following Wednesday's annual shareholder meeting, beating out activist investor Macellum's slate.
Why it matters: The shareholder vote and results of the board election play a critical role in the future of the company, as Kohl's has withstood an intense attack from Macellum, which nominated 10 directors and has pressured the company to put itself up for sale.
What we're watching: During the proxy fight, suitors interested in a Kohl's takeover emerged, including Hudson's Bay and a joint bid by Simon Property Group and Brookfield Asset Management.
With the results of the board election nearly final, all eyes are on whether the acquisition interest in Kohl's turns into a full sale process or if the company elects to go forward on its own.
"The board remains focused on running a robust and intentional review of strategic alternatives while executing our strategy to drive shareholder value," said chair Peter Boneparth in a statement.
Remote hiring startup Deel has raised new venture capital funding at a $12 billion valuation, after having been valued at $5.5 billion last fall, Axios has learned from multiple sources.
Why it matters: This price increase stands in stark contrast to plummeting tech valuations in the public markets.
"Look out below" is the new mantra for tech valuations. So let's peek at how that's playing in the deals universe, as investors try to determine the sharpness of those falling knives:
Private equity: This is widely being viewed as a buying opportunity, with PE pros kicking tires on tech companies they previously viewed as overvalued.
Banijay, the production house behind such television shows as "Black Mirror" and "Keeping up with the Kardashians," agreed to go public at an implied €7.2b enterprise valuation via Pegasus Entrepreneurs, an Amsterdam-listed SPAC formed by Tikehau Capital and Bernard Arnault.
Why it matters: This would be Europe's largest-ever SPAC merger, for one of reality television's most prolific producers.
Chicken Soup for the Soul Entertainment, a consumer video and entertainment company, said Wednesday that it plans to acquire Redbox, the struggling video rental company, in an all-stock transaction.
Why it matters: The deal gives Chicken Soup for the Soul Entertainment direct-to-consumer distribution. It gives Redbox much-needed liquidity after its business took a hit due to COVID.
A key measure of consumer prices surged ahead in April, diminishing hopes that inflation will fade in the near future.
Driving the news: The Consumer Price Index rose 0.3% in April and was up 8.3% from a year earlier, the Labor Department said Wednesday. The previous year-over-year inflation had been 8.5%.
Corporate bonds have had a tough year. The rout has been difficult to stomach: high yield bond funds, for example, have returned a negative 10% since the new year, while investment-grade funds are down 13%.
Why it matters: Swift losses can make it feel like markets are on shaky ground — especially given the risks built into the Federal Reserve’s monetary tightening mission. But underneath the hood, there are signs that corporate yields are rising in a pretty orderly fashion.
Does the market think that Elon Musk's bid for Twitter is likely to fail? A Reuters story on Tuesday suggested as much, after Twitter shares fell to $46.75. That was roughly halfway between Musk's $54.20 takeover price, and the $39.31 at which Twitter shares were trading before Musk revealed he had bought a substantial stake in the company.
Why it matters: There is undoubtedly worry in the market that this deal might not go through. But professional merger arbitrageurs say the market-implied probability of a deal is closer to 65% than 50%. And other calculations put the probability higher still.
Ford's F-150 Lightning — which is just hitting the market — is more than simply another pickup truck: It's poised to open the floodgates for electric vehicle adoption in the U.S. by showing how much an EV can do.
Why it matters: While Tesla started the EV revolution, Ford will likely get credit for taking these vehicles mainstream. Priced just under $40,000, the F-150 Lightning is a versatile and affordable gateway product that can (sometimes) be charged in under an hour.
The recent surgein mortgage rates has snuffed out last year's massive refinancing boom.
Why it matters: It shows the Fed's effort to lift interest rates — which began as a verbal campaign last fall and proceeded to actual rate hikes this year — is already starting to bite.
