Business

WSJ: Disney Attack Has Chilled Speech By Other CEOs

The Wall Street Journal reports: In private meetings and coaching sessions over the past few weeks, top business leaders have been asking a version of the same question: How can we avoid becoming the next Walt Disney Co.? The fallout from the recent political spat between Disney and Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis has alarmed leaders across the corporate sphere, according …

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Airbnb: No More Refunds Because You Caught COVID

From Airbnb’s corporate blog: As we’ve seen the heroic effort of health authorities and medical advancements around the globe, almost two thirds of the world’s population have received at least one dose of a vaccination against COVID-19. And many countries have now implemented living with COVID-19 plans, as it becomes part of our world. As a result of this new …

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Self-Proclaimed “Discotheque” Inventor Dies At 92

Deadline Hollywood reports: Regine, who claimed to have invented the term “discotheque” as she ran a nightclub empire that stretched from Paris to Los Angeles, has died. She passed on Sunday at age 92, according to her granddaughter. At its height, her nightlife empire had 22 venues. Born Regina Zylberberg in Belgium, Regine opened her first nightclub in Paris’s Latin …

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GOP Arkansas Gov Rips DeSantis On Disney Attack

“In those lower grades, you shouldn’t be teaching sexual orientation and those matters that should not be covered at that age. “But I don’t believe that governors should be punitive against private businesses because they disagree with them. “That is not the right approach either. To me, that is the old Republican principle of having restrained government. “Let’s not go …

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POLL: Majority Back Removing False Or Abusive Tweets

Axios reports: Elon Musk is likely to find out that there’s not a big market for his campaign for more free speech on Twitter, according to an Ipsos poll shared exclusively with Axios. Most Americans don’t have a problem with Twitter or other social media companies removing posts that include misinformation, promote violence or pose a risk to the public, …

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Russians Sue For “Moral Damage” Over Apple Pay Ban

Reuters reports: A Russian law firm on Friday said it had filed a lawsuit against U.S. tech giant Apple seeking 90 million roubles ($1.28 million) in damages for consumers affected by Apple withdrawing its payment service from Russia. Law firm Chernyshov, Lukoyanov & Partners said Apple had violated Russian consumers’ rights after the company restricted the use of its built-in …

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Disney To Investors: Florida Has To Pay Our Bond Debt

Orlando’s NBC News affiliate reports: The Walt Disney Co. has remained publicly silent since Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis signed a law last week dissolving the Reedy Creek Improvement District, but a letter to investors shows they’re not going down without a fight. The law, which DeSantis signed in a special legislative session, would end any independent special district the Legislature …

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Musk Sells $4B In Tesla Stock, Claims No Further Sales

Fortune reports: Elon Musk has been busy selling Tesla shares as he prepares to pay for his $44 billion Twitter bid, but he has no further stock sales planned, the billionaire said late Thursday. In five separate Form 4 filings to the SEC published on Thursday, Musk revealed he has already unloaded a combined total of 4.41 million shares on …

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Musk Loses Battle To End “Twitter Sitter” Deal With SEC

Bloomberg News reports: Elon Musk may soon own Twitter Inc. but the billionaire won’t be able to shake his “Twitter Sitter.” A judge on Wednesday rejected Musk’s request to ditch his 2018 deal with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission that required a company lawyer to screen all his Tesla Inc.-related tweets. The Tesla CEO, who appears to have clinched …

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Boeing CEO Regrets Air Force One Deal With Trump

Defense One reports: Boeing should have rejected then-President Donald Trump’s proposed terms to build two new Air Force One aircraft, the company’s CEO said Wednesday. Dave Calhoun spoke Wednesday on the company’s quarterly earnings call, just hours after Boeing disclosed that it has lost $660 million transforming two 747 airliners into flying White Houses. “Air Force One I’m just going …

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Bank Analysis: DerSantis Attack Won’t Hurt Disney, But Will Raise Orange County Property Taxes 15% To 20%

Florida Politics reports: Getting rid of Disney World’s government isn’t likely going to hurt the Mouse, Deutsche Bank analysts wrote in a new research note published Tuesday. “We don’t see a material negative outcome from this situation for Disney; and financially speaking, we think it could end up being a positive development,” analysts Bryan Kraft, Benjamin Soff and Connor Murphy …

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Reuters: Tesla Stock Crash Could Imperil Twitter Deal

Reuters reports: Tesla Inc lost $126 billion in value on Tuesday amid investor concerns that Chief Executive Elon Musk may have to sell shares to fund his $21 billion equity contribution to his $44 billion buyout of Twitter Inc. Tesla is not involved in the Twitter deal, yet its shares have been targeted by speculators after Musk declined to disclose …

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JCPenney Offers To Buy Rival Kohl’s For $8.6 Billion

The New York Post reports: The owners of JCPenney have made an offer to acquire archrival Kohl’s in a deal that could value the department-store chain at upwards of $8.6 billion, The Post has learned. Under the proposal, shopping-mall giant Simon Property and Canada-based Brookfield Asset Management — which together scooped JCPenney out of bankruptcy in December 2020 — have …

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Toyota Breaks Vow On Donations To Sedition Caucus

CBS News reports: Toyota is again contributing to lawmakers who resisted certifying the official results of the 2020 presidential election, despite the Japanese automaker’s pledge last summer to halt such financial support. The company said at the time, “We are actively listening to our stakeholders and, at this time, we have decided to stop contributing to those members of Congress …

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BREAKING: Elon Musk Buys Twitter In $44 Billion Deal

Business Insider reports:  Twitter accepted Elon Musk’s offer to buy the company, it announced Monday — a dramatic coup for the billionaire as he seeks to unlock the social network’s “extraordinary potential.” Musk will pay $54.20 per share for Twitter, matching his original offer, totaling $44 billion. The two parties met Sunday after Twitter executives opted to re-examine Musk’s original …

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FB To Open Physical Store To Sell Metaverse Gadgets

The Washington Post reports: Facebook said Monday that it’s opening its first physical retail space — its latest gambit to transform itself from a social media platform into a hardware giant inventing the “metaverse.” In the store, customers will be able to test out Facebook’s growing line of smart hardware devices including its virtual reality headset Quest 2, its smart …

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Exxon Mobil Bans Pride Flags From Corporate Flagpole

Bloomberg News reports: Exxon Mobil Corp. plans to prohibit the LGBTQ-rights flag from being flown on the corporate flagpole outside its offices during Pride month in June, prompting a furious backlash from Houston-based employees. Exxon updated company guidance on what flags can be displayed outside its offices, banning “external position flags” such as PRIDE and Black Lives Matter, according to …

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NYT: Twitter Close To Reaching Buyout Deal With Musk

The New York Times reports: Twitter is nearing a deal to sell itself to Elon Musk, two people with knowledge of the situation said, a move that would unite the world’s richest man with the influential social networking service. Twitter’s board was negotiating with Mr. Musk into the early hours of Monday over his unsolicited bid to buy the company, …

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WSJ: Twitter Reconsidering Elon Musk’s Buyout Offer

CNBC reports: Twitter could be becoming more receptive to a takeover bid from Elon Musk after the billionaire disclosed he has secured $46.5 billion in financing, The Wall Street Journal reported Sunday. The social media company had been expected to shoot down the offer and had adopted a so-called poison pill to fend off a potential hostile takeover. But executives …

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Beer Giant To Take $1 Billion Loss To Leave Russia

Bloomberg News reports: Anheuser-Busch InBev will sell its stake in a Russian joint venture, taking a $1.1 billion hit as the world’s largest brewer joins the global move to exit operations following the country’s invasion of neighboring Ukraine. Leuven, Belgium-based AB InBev said it will dispose of its holding in the AB InBev Efes venture, adding that it’s already in …

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