ConocoPhillips is doubling down on its commitment to the Midland basin by buying Concho Resources Inc. in “an all-stock transaction valued at $9.7 billion,” even “as the American shale-drilling industry is facing a downturn...more
New Disney CEO Bob Chapek made one of his biggest moves yet since taking the reins, announcing a realignment “of its business divisions on Monday that placed the focus squarely on Disney+ and its other streaming services as...more
If not immune to surprise at this point in 2020, that might be the appropriate feeling at the apparent emergence of late-stage suitor Oracle as the winner of the TikTok sweepstakes. Though terms between ByteDance and Oracle...more
Last Friday’s US Jobs Report saw unemployment fall to 8.4%, but the end of federal aid programs and a solid-but-not-gangbusters 1.4 million jobs gained in August leads many to fear a much worse employment picture ahead....more
Unlike much of the world, the U.S. has not turned the corner on the coronavirus outbreak. But you wouldn’t know it by looking at the markets. On Tuesday, the S&P 500 topped out at its highest level ever, “capping a remarkable...more
Eight months after firing its CEO, Steve Easterbrook, for “sexting with a subordinate,” McDonald’s has sued Easterbrook for allegedly “lying, concealing evidence and fraud” in what appears to be a series of other workplace...more
Google cut costs by rescinding offers to more than 2,000 contract workers due to the strains of the pandemic....more
The Senate unanimously passed a hotly anticipated third COVID-19-related stimulus bill last night, and the House is set to take up the measure today and vote tomorrow on the bill that would deliver $2 trillion in loans, tax...more
Volatility’s the name of the game these days on Wall Street. So what was down on Monday was up (a bit, at least) yesterday, although the basics of the situation haven’t improved at all....more
It’s been a week or so, and we’re running out of ways to say that this is bad. But it certainly is. Your bear market stats for the day: the biggest daily drop by percentage for both the S&P 500 and the Dow Jones Industrial...more
Oil jumped for a second straight day, with futures near $70/barrel as fallout from the U.S.’s drone-strike assassination of Iran’s Qassem Soleimani continues to raise “the prospect of disruptions in the world’s most important...more
Fiat Chrysler and rival Peugeot have agreed to binding merger terms that, if approved by US and European regulators, would create a “$50 billion auto giant that would rank among the world’s largest car companies by sales”....more
Dean Foods, the largest milk company in the U.S., has filed for bankruptcy protection, a “fresh setback to a U.S. dairy industry struggling against declining U.S. milk consumption and rising competition.” Industry experts...more
We Work’s largest investor, SoftBank, is reportedly sketching out plans in which it would drop billions of additional money on the company in return for giving Masa Son control of WeWork “and further sidelin[ing] its founder...more
The White House is reportedly extending the temporary license for some US businesses to work with Huawei, a move that would likely help smooth the way for trade negotiators between the US and China to see their way back to...more
The US and China have resumed trade talks in an effort to cool down an increasingly heated trade war between the economic powerhouses....more
Dealbook gives us this uncomfortable take on China’s “nuclear option” in the trade war with the United States—its holdings of more than $1 trillion in US foreign debt and the possibility of stepping back from buying (or even...more
In what can only be described as a Lazarus-like return, the Ex-Im Bank is reportedly nearly back on its feet again. The White House has chosen Kimberly Reed to helm the agency after prior nominee Scott Garrett was rejected by...more
An early look at the reaction from allies Canada, Mexico, and the EU to this week’s announcement from the White House that it was moving forward with steel and aluminum tariffs against these US trading partners....more
Facebook may have had a difficult day on the Hill. But a 79% rise in Q3 profit—driven, ironically enough, by online ads—should help soften the blow....more