—— China May Inject ¥2 Trillion Into Stock Market; Blackstone Sells Arizona Hotel for $700M; U.S. Firms Lose $1.9 Trillion in Productivity; Major Homebuilder Misses Sales Expectations; Netflix Buys $5B WWE Streaming Rights; Top YouTuber Joins Bilibili; Oral Weight-Loss Drug Firm Plans IPO
1. China May Inject ¥2 Trillion Into Stock Market
Sources revealed that Chinese regulators plan to inject ¥2 trillion ($278 billion) into the domestic stock market by reallocating funds from offshore state-owned enterprises to restore investor confidence.
Additionally, the China Securities Finance Corp. and Central Huijin Investment Ltd. will purchase at least ¥300 billion in local equities.
This week, the CSI 300 Index hit a five-year low. Retail investors have been especially shaken by the property market crisis, making confidence-building measures a high priority.
Bloomberg analysts noted that while emergency support may stop the bleeding short-term, long-term effectiveness will depend on further policy action.
After the news, the Hang Seng China Enterprises Index rose 2.8%.
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2. Blackstone Sells Arizona Hotel for $700M
ources said Blackstone agreed to sell the luxury Arizona Biltmore resort in Phoenix for $705 million to London-based private equity real estate firm Henderson Park.
Six years ago, Blackstone acquired the Waldorf Astoria-branded resort from Singapore’s GIC for $400 million and invested another $150 million in renovations.
Over the past year, hotels have outperformed other commercial real estate sectors. While domestic tourism dipped, international travelers helped revive business. Many hotel stocks have also outpaced the S&P 500.
Brookfield recently sold a Ritz-Carlton property as well.
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3. U.S. Firms Lose $1.9 Trillion in Productivity
According to Gallup, American companies may have lost $1.9 trillion in productivity last year due to disengaged and dissatisfied employees.
Employee dissatisfaction has been rising for more than a decade, peaking during the pandemic, as workers became increasingly disconnected from employers.
Companies must prioritize employee engagement and satisfaction, which are tightly linked to revenue and retention.
Only one-third of respondents reported high engagement at work, while nearly half admitted to “coasting” on the job. Gallup estimates global losses from disengagement total $8.8 trillion.
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4. Major Homebuilder Misses Sales Expectations
D.R. Horton, a leading U.S. homebuilder, reported a 35% year-over-year increase in home orders in the last quarter—but that fell short of expectations, sending its stock down 9% to $143.50.
With 30-year mortgage rates hitting 8%, buyer affordability was heavily constrained. D.R. Horton offered price cuts and interest rate buydowns to attract customers.
CFO Bill Wheat told analysts that the company will continue offering assistance to help buyers, and that many completed homes have now matched with potential buyers as rates decline.
The company slightly raised its 2024 full-year forecast to 90,000 home sales.
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5. Netflix Buys $5B WWE Streaming Rights
Sources confirmed that Netflix agreed to pay $5 billion for exclusive streaming rights to WWE’s Raw over the next 10 years.
WWE’s current deal with Comcast ends in January 2025. From then on, Raw will stream live on Netflix in the U.S., Canada, and Latin America.
Netflix subscribers will also get access to WWE’s pay-per-view events, including WrestleMania, SummerSlam, and Royal Rumble.
Shares of WWE parent company TKO Group Holdings jumped 21% after the news. TKO also added Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson to its board.
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6. Top YouTuber Joins Bilibili
Jimmy Donaldson—aka MrBeast, one of YouTube’s biggest creators with over 230 million subscribers—has officially launched on Chinese video platform Bilibili.
He posted a 90-second short video that quickly amassed over 3 million views and 270,000 likes.
His agent, Eyal Baumel, said the move to Bilibili was because of its similarity to YouTube. MrBeast will also expand to Douyin, Kuaishou, Weibo, and Xiaohongshu.
Chinese fans had already been re-uploading MrBeast’s videos. His official entry will include collaborations with local creators.
MrBeast videos can cost over $1 million to produce and often exceed 100 million views.
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7. Oral Weight-Loss Drug Firm Plans IPO
Sources revealed that oral weight-loss drug developer Kallyope Inc. is exploring an IPO to capitalize on investor interest in obesity treatments. The company has hired JPMorgan as lead underwriter.
Kallyope currently has two oral drugs in mid-stage clinical trials for obesity and type 2 diabetes. Founded by three Columbia University researchers, it reached a $1.14 billion valuation in its 2022 VC round.
Its investors include Bill Gates and Abu Dhabi’s sovereign wealth fund.
The U.S. IPO market hit its lowest point since 2009 last year, but Kallyope may help revive activity in 2024.
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This content is sourced from Financial Times, Bloomberg, and The Real Deal, among other financial news outlets.