Oct 11, 2019

Hooters serves up pharma deal

Photo: Raymond Boyd/Getty Images

Sonnet BioTherapeutics, a Princeton, N.J.-based cancer drug developer, agreed to go public via a reverse merger with Chanticleer Holdings (Nasdaq: BURG), a Charlotte-based owner and operator of Hooters restaurants and various burger chains.

Why it matters: Reverse mergers often involve odd bedfellows, but this takes it to a new level.

By the numbers: Chanticleer peaked at $35 per share in 2015, but was trading below $1 per share before the merger announcement. It plans to spin off its restaurant assets into a separate company owned by current shareholders, with Sonnet paying $6 million for a 96% stake in the public listing that will be re-tickered SONN.

The bottom line: "Chanticleer has suffered amid a broader decline in fast-casual dining. Hooters, once known for its scantily clad female waitstaff, has increasingly seemed out of date," writes Bloomberg.

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Ben Sasse emerges as GOP Trump critic ahead of November

Sen. Ben Sasse walks to the Senate from the subway to vote in June. Photo: Bill Clark/CQ-Roll Call via Getty Images

Sen. Ben Sasse (R-Neb.) has dialed up his spicy slams of President Trump, including this swipe at yesterday's signing ceremony: "The pen-and-phone theory of executive lawmaking is unconstitutional slop."

Why it matters: Trump increasingly looks — to business and to fellow Republicans — like a loser in November. So they're more likely to create distance to save their own skins. Sasse also won his May primary, further freeing him.

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Pelosi: "States don't have the money" for Trump's unemployment order

House Speaker Nancy Pelosi claimed on "Fox News Sunday" that states don't have the funds to comply with the executive order President Trump signed on Saturday, which requires them to cover 25% of an additional $400 in weekly unemployment benefits.

Why it matters: Many state and local governments have had their budgets devastated by the economic impacts of the coronavirus, which have caused expenses to soar and revenues to plunge.

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2 hours ago - Politics & Policy

Kudlow says he regrets claiming Trump couldn't use executive order for unemployment

White House economic adviser Larry Kudlow said on CNN's "State of the Union" Sunday that he regrets suggesting this week that unemployment benefits can only be extended by Congress.

Why it matters: President Trump's decision to bypass Congress to sign four executive actions, including one that provides $400 per week in extra unemployment benefits, has prompted outcry from Democrats and even some Republicans who believe he is overstepping his constitutional authority.