Dow surged 683 but still 200 below the high, advancers over decliners 4-1 & NAZ went up 117. The MLP index advanced 3+ to the 291s & the REIT index shot up 7 to 402 on hopes for lower interest rates. Junk bond funds edged higher & Treasuries were purchased taking yields lower. Oil slid back 1+ to the 76s & gold jumped 30 to 2383 (more on both below),
Dow Jones Industrials
Warner Bros Discovery (WBD sued the National Basketball Association as it tries to maintain broadcast rights for a package of live games. “Given
the NBA’s unjustified rejection of our matching of a third-party offer,
we have taken legal action to enforce our rights,” the company's TNT
Sports unit said. “We strongly believe this is not just
our contractual right, but also in the best interest of fans who want to
keep watching our industry-leading NBA content with the choice and
flexibility we offer them through our widely distributed WBD video-first
distribution platforms – including TNT and Max.” The
media company seeks to prevent the NBA from awarding the rights to
Amazon (AMZN), whose games package WBD tried to match, or
aims to win monetary damages. The NBA said it had reached agreements with Disney (DIS), Comcast's (CMCSA) & AMZN on 3 different packages of games, ending its nearly 40-year
relationship with WND's Turner Sports. The 11-year
media rights deal is worth roughly $77B, a massive increase over
the previous agreement as the value of live sports booms. In
response, NBA spokesman Mike Bass said “Warner Bros.
Discovery’s claims are without merit and our lawyers will address them.” WBD said earlier this week
it submitted paperwork to the league to match 1 of the packages,
which people familiar with the matter identified as the $1.8B-per-year group of games earmarked for AMZN. The tech giant’s
deal includes regular-season games, the in-season tournament & some
playoff games. The NBA granted WBD matching rights
when it signed its previous media deal in 2014. The provision is meant to give an incumbent company the right of last refusal to maintain its position as a media partner. But
WBD's decision to match the AMZN package, rather
than the $2.5B-per-year NBCUniversal agreement, caused the league
to say that the matching rights are invalid. WBD's offer for that package involves airing the NBA games on its
cable network TNT & simulcasting them on its streaming service, Max. That's not an apples-to-apples comparison to Amazon Prime Video, which
is a streaming-only service, the league argued. WBD stock rose 32¢.
Warner Bros. Discovery sues NBA to secure media rights awarded to Amazon
The Federal Aviation Administration has approved SpaceX to resume flights of its mainstay Falcon 9 rocket after a brief grounding, with Elon Musk's company planning to launch its next mission carrying satellites as soon as Sat. The FAA clearance came just 15 days after the rocket suffered a rare inflight failure while in orbit during a launch of Starlink satellites. “The FAA determined no public safety issues were involved” in the Jul 11 mishap, the regulator said, allowing the rocket to “return to flight operations while the overall investigation remains open.” The hiatus was unusually brief following a flight failure, but SpaceX argued the rocket's rapid launch pace – on average every 2-3 days this year – & “unprecedented levels of flight data” from nearly a decade of over 300 consecutive successful orbital launches supported a quicker return to service. “Safety and reliability are at the core of SpaceX’s operations. It would not have been possible to achieve our current cadence without this focus,” the company wrote Thurs.
FAA approves SpaceX to resume Falcon 9 rocket launches after two-week hiatus
Hasbro (HAS) beat expectations for the 2nd qtr, thanks in part to growth in its digital gaming segment. HAS reported EPS of 99¢ for the qtr. That marked a significant gain
from the same qtr last year, when the company reported a net loss of $1.69 per share. Though HAS revenue
declined 18% overall for the qtr, its Wizards of the Coast &
digital gaming segment saw 20% revenue growth. This partially offset a
drop in consumer product revenue of 20%, as well as a decline in the entertainment segment of 90%, driven by the divestiture of production studio eOne. HAS
attributed the revenue increase for Wizards of the Coast & digital
gaming to the launch of Magic's card game, Modern Horizons 3 & the
continued impact of licensed & digital gaming, with Monopoly Go!
leading along with Baldur’s Gate 3. CEO Chris Cocks said that it continues to invest in its digital
gaming portfolio, highlighting the recent appointment of John Hight as
pres of Wizards of the Coast & digital gaming. “Between
our board move and talent we brought on board, most recently with John
... we’re going all in on becoming a digital play company,” Cocks said. HAS
anticipates further revenue declines for the full year, with consumer
product revenue projected to be down 7-11% & Wizards of the Coast
revenue anticipated to be down 1-3%. The company estimates a
total adjusted EBITDA for the full year of $975M - $1.025B & also expects to cut costs by $750M by the
end of 2025. The stock went up 2.33.
Hasbro beats second-quarter estimates, goes ‘all in’ on digital gaming segment
Gold prices rose 1% as Treasury yields fell on optimism for an interest rate cut by the Federal Reserve in Sep after data showed US prices rose modestly in Jun. Spot gold rose 0.8% to $2382 per ounce, after hitting its lowest since Jul 9 yesterday. US gold futures for Aug settled 1.2% higher at $2381. Fed policymakers got fresh evidence of progress on their battle against inflation, fueling expectations they will use their meeting next week to signal interest rate cuts starting in Sep. Lower rates reduce the opportunity cost of holding non-yielding bullion. The personal consumption expenditures (PCE) price index nudged up 0.1% last month after being unchanged in May, the Commerce Dept's Bureau of Economic Analysis said. Following the data, benchmark 10-year note yields fell to a 1-week low. Meanwhile, physical demand in India, the 2nd-largest consumer, received a boost as the country slashed import duties on gold & silver earlier this week. Gold premiums in India jumped to their highest level in a decade this week as well.
Gold Rises as Yields Slip After U.S. Data Lifts Rate-Cut Hopes
Oil prices were little changed but on track for a 3rd consecutive weekly decline, pressured by muted demand in China & expectations of a Gaza ceasefire deal that could ease Middle East tensions & accompanying supply concerns. Brent crude futures for Sep dipped 1¢ to $82.36 a barrel & West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude for Sep fell 6¢ to $78.22. The benchmarks have lost about 5% in the past 3 weeks. Brent is trading marginally lower this week while WTI is down more than 2%. Chinese data this week showed the country's apparent oil demand fell 8.1% to 13.66M barrels per day (bpd) in Jun, prompting concerns over consumption. In the Middle East, hopes of a ceasefire in Gaza have been gaining momentum. The leaders of Australia, New Zealand & Canada called for an immediate ceasefire in a joint statement. VP Kamala Harris, meanwhile, has pressed Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to help efforts at reaching a ceasefire deal, striking a tougher tone than Pres Biden. A ceasefire has been the subject of negotiations for months, but US officials believe the parties are closer than ever to an agreement for a 6-week ceasefire in exchange for the release by Hamas of women, sick, elderly & wounded hostages.
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