—— Clif Bar’s founding couple received $1.55 billion; JPMorgan Chase’s mortgage department lays off 100 people; Fed chairman sees the possibility of a weak landing; only 23% of New Yorkers can easily afford median rent; FDA requires Juul to be completely removed from the US market; Comcast Google Compete for Netflix cooperation opportunities; Goldman Sachs South expands Dallas or tens of millions of government incentives.
1. Clif Bar’s founding couple snatch $1.55 billion
As early as 2000, Gary Erickson, founder of the well-known energy bar brand Clif Bar & Co., received a $120 million takeover offer from Quaker Oats, but Gary made his life The most correct decision and declined Quaker.
More than 20 years later, Gary and his wife, Kit Crawford, accepted a $2.9 billion takeover offer from snack giant Mondelez International Inc. After the deal, the California couple will officially become billionaires.
In 2010, the couple awarded 20% of the company’s shares to early employees and held the remaining 80%. After the deal, the couple could pocket $1.55 billion after taxes. The pair also run a venture capital fund called White Road Investments, as well as Napa Winery’s organic winery and farm.
Buyer Mondelez’s most famous products include Oreo cookies and Cadbury chocolates.
After rejecting Quaker’s offer, Gary gets 24 times more offers after more than 20 years
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2. JPMorgan’s mortgage division cuts hundreds of jobs
JPMorgan Chase & Co.’s home loan business has been severely negatively impacted recently as mortgage rates have risen rapidly.
The company plans to fire or transfer more than 1,000 employees, half of them to other departments, according to people familiar with the matter.
A JPMorgan spokesman said the company was making difficult decisions because of the cyclical nature of the mortgage market, and the company is also actively helping affected employees find new employment opportunities, both internally and externally.
Wells Fargo & Co., the nation’s largest mortgage lender, also recently fired or moved a large number of employees. Earlier this month, real estate companies including Compass Inc. and Redfin Corp. also announced they would lay off 10% and 6% of their workforce.
The Fed’s interest rate hike can be described as a single strand and a whole body
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3. Fed chair sees a low possibility of soft landing
Today, Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell said bluntly in a congressional hearing that a “soft landing” is very difficult and that a sharp rate hike is likely to lead to a recession.
He said that it is surprising that inflation is so serious, but the Fed will be flexible based on new data released every month, and it will push inflation back to 2% anyway.
The US Republican Party believes that Powell has seriously neglected his duties when dealing with inflation.
Bill Dudley, a former Fed New York branch president, said in an interview that a recession is inevitable in the next 12 to 18 months. Federal Reserve economist Michael Kiley said today that the odds of a surge in unemployment over the next year could already exceed 50 percent.
Fed chair also sees soft landing as extremely challenging, the recession may be inevitable
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4. Only 23% of New Yorkers can easily afford the rent
Finding an affordable apartment in New York City is getting harder and harder, according to a new survey released by the New York City Department of Housing Preservation and Development.
Currently, the median rent for an apartment in New York City is $2,750. That means New Yorkers would need to earn $110,000 a year to keep housing costs no more than 30 percent of their total salary. Yet only 23 percent of full-time workers across New York earn six-figure salaries.
The median rent for an apartment in Manhattan hit a staggering $4,000 in May, up 25% year-over-year. In the future, there will be 1 million stable rent apartments facing more substantial rent increases.
While wages for many workers have also risen, inflation in rents and other living costs has easily wiped them out.
Only 23% of New Yorkers’ housing costs are about 30% of the total salary
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5. FDA asks Juul completely be off the U.S. market
The Wall Street Journal reported that the U.S. FDA plans to remove Juul Labs Inc. branded e-cigarettes from the U.S. market, with an official announcement as soon as this week.
Previously, Juul was criticized for seriously affecting the physical and mental health of young people, and regulators have also strengthened the supervision of the e-cigarette market.
Juul’s largest shareholder is Altria Group Inc., maker of Marlboro cigarettes, which holds a 35 percent stake and is valued at around $1.6 billion. As soon as the news came out, Altria’s stock price fell as much as 10% today.
Juul is popular with young people because e-cigarettes help them reduce traditional tobacco use to a certain extent, but public health agencies believe that premature e-cigarette use by younger generations can also lead to nicotine addiction and a higher risk of lung disease.
Juul e-cigarettes still contain nicotine, which is very detrimental to the health of young people
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6. Comcast and Google vie for Netflix partnership
According to people familiar with the matter, there has been fierce competition recently between Comcast Corp.’s NBCUniversal and Google (Google). Both companies want to partner with Netflix and help it build a new tier of paid, ad-supported business.
Netflix hopes to increase the company’s overall revenue by introducing ad placement.
If Netflix and NBCUniversal reach a partnership, the latter’s video advertising unit FreeWheel can provide Netflix with ad placement technology, and NBCUniversal’s ad sales team will also promote it in the United States Europe.
Google, on the other hand, could bring the company’s own ad-introduction technology and experience operating the YouTube video platform.
Netflix said that the company is still considering how to create a paid business with lower prices and advertising, and has not made any decisions yet.
Netflix’s dwindling subscribers, stock price tumble, company continues to seek new sources of profit
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7. Goldman Sachs South Dallas wins government incentives
Goldman Sachs and developer Hunt Realty will invest $500 million in a new office tower in Dallas, Texas, with at least 800,000 square feet of office space, according to city documents.
Today, the City of Dallas approved a total of $18 million in incentives for the project, including tax breaks and grants. Goldman Sachs can bring at least 5,000 new jobs to Dallas by 2028, with an average base salary of $90,000.
City Council member Tennell Atkins said Dallas welcomed Goldman’s expansion and said government funding was necessary.
Goldman Sachs currently employs more than 4,000 people in North Dallas, and its office building is located in the Trammell Crow Building in downtown Dallas.
Goldman Sachs could bring 5,000 jobs to Dallas with base salaries over $90,000 by 2028
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The content of this article comes from various financial news media such as The Wall Street Journal, Financial Times, Bloomberg