Verizon Says It Will Promote Yahoo and AOL to Apollo: Reside Updates

Here’s what you need to know:

Recognition…Richard Drew / Associated Press

Verizon Communications announced Monday that it had ceased its media business and agreed to sell Yahoo and AOL to private equity firm Apollo Global Management for $ 5 billion.

The sale also includes Verizon’s advertising technology business, and the company will retain a 10 percent stake in the business, Verizon said in a statement announcing the deal on Monday.

The transaction marks the last turning point in the history of two of the earliest pioneers of the Internet. Yahoo used to be the front page of the internet, cataloging the rapid pace of new websites that emerged in the late 1990s. AOL was once the service most people used to get online.

But both were eventually superseded by more nimble startups like Google and Facebook, though Yahoo and AOL still publish high-traffic sites like Yahoo Sports and TechCrunch.

The sale signals the reversal of a strategy Verizon announced in 2015 when it acquired the faded internet giant AOL for $ 4.4 billion. The purchase should provide Verizon with a mobile phone entry with the aim of using AOL’s advertising technology to sell ads against digital content. Verizon doubled that strategy in 2017 with the $ 4.48 billion acquisition of Yahoo, which it combined with AOL under the Oath umbrella.

However, Google and Facebook have proven to be excellent competitors in the digital advertising market. Verizon recognized its power in 2018 when it wrote off Oath’s value by $ 4.6 billion, in part due to “increased competitive and market pressures” that had resulted in “unexpectedly low sales and earnings.” .

Nevertheless, the media business generates a lot of revenue. In the first quarter, sales of 1.9 billion US dollars were achieved, an increase of 10 percent over the previous year.

An employee of MTA, an electronic components manufacturer, in Codogno, Italy.  The manufacturers in the euro zone have reported new orders.Recognition…Flavio Lo Scalzo / Reuters

  • The S&P 500 is poised to open positively when trading starts Monday and European indices are higher amid positive economic news across Europe and ongoing inflation concerns.

  • The Stoxx Europe 600 Index rose by 0.2 percent and the Dax in Germany by 0.3 percent. In Asia, the indices ended lower on the day.

  • In the US, the S&P 500 futures were 0.3 percent higher at the start of the new month. The benchmark index closed April up 5.2 percent, the largest monthly gain since November.

  • The price of oil fell, as did 10-year Treasury bond yields. Markets in London were closed for a bank holiday and trade was generally subdued as some countries marked the May Day holiday.

  • Investors may have inflation on their minds after investor Warren E. Buffett spoke about the “glowing” economy at the annual general meeting of Berkshire Hathaway, which he runs on Saturday.

  • Mr Buffett said the company had seen the cost of building materials go up. “We are seeing significant inflation,” said Buffet.

  • Indeed, raw material shortages are causing prices to rise in several industries, including construction, Alan Rappeport and Thomas Kaplan report in the New York Times. The stresses are the result of soaring demand that is seeing supply chain disruptions and Trump-era tariffs.

  • Although the Federal Reserve has described the price hikes as temporary and unlikely to get out of hand, pressure on the Biden government to intervene could mount as it seeks a $ 2 trillion infrastructure investment package, a price that comes with Road construction costs could rise, bridges and EV charging stations are on the rise.

  • According to the index report by the purchasing manager at IHS Markit, European manufacturing companies are signaling “considerable increases in production and incoming orders” for April.

  • The seasonally adjusted index reached 62.9 points, its highest level since the survey data was available in 1997, IHS Markit said on Monday.

  • The news came after data on Friday showed the eurozone economy had slipped into recession for the first three months of the year. However, economists pointing to rising vaccination rates and easing government restrictions believe the rest of the year should see robust growth.

  • A lawsuit against Epic Games, the company behind the popular Fortnite game, and Apple will begin in federal court in California on Monday. Epic has sued Apple claiming it has way too much control over developers over its app store.

  • On Friday, job data for April will be published by the Ministry of Labor. A sharp jump in attitudes is expected as the US economy continues to pick up after the years of pandemic.

Apple and Epic Games, makers of the popular Fortnite game, will compete against each other on Monday in a test that could determine how much control Apple can exert over the app economy. The trial is set to open with statements from Epic’s boss Tim Sweeney as to why he believes Apple is a monopoly that abuses its power.

The process, which is expected to take three weeks, is having a significant impact, Jack Nicas and Erin Griffith report in the New York Times. If Epic wins, it will improve the economics of the $ 100 billion app market and create a path for millions of businesses and developers to avoid sending up to 30 percent of their app sales to Apple.

An epic victory would also enliven the cartel war against Apple. The federal and state supervisory authorities are reviewing Apple’s control over the App Store. On Friday, the European Union accused Apple of violating antitrust laws regarding app rules and fees. Apple is facing two other federal lawsuits over its App Store fees – one from developers and one from iPhone owners – that are seeking class action lawsuit status.

Beating Apple would also bode well for Epic’s upcoming test against Google for the same issues in the App Store for Android devices. This case is expected to go to trial this year and will be ruled by the same federal judge, Yvonne Gonzalez Rogers of the Northern District of California.

However, if Apple wins, it will strengthen its hold on mobile apps and stifle its growing criticism, further strengthening a company that is already the World’s Most Valuable Company, with over $ 200 billion in revenue for the past six months Has.

As the post-pandemic economic recovery accelerates, prices of goods like toilet paper, diapers, and hardwood floors are rising – and the surge could soon be felt in consumer wallets.

Procter & Gamble increases prices on items like Pampers and Tampax in September. Kimberly-Clark said in March that it would raise prices for Scott toilet paper, huggies and pull-ups in June, a move “necessary to offset significant raw material cost inflation”.

And General Mills, maker of brands of grains like Cheerios, is facing increased supply chain and freight costs “in this higher demand environment,” the company’s chief financial officer Kofi Bruce said recently.

These price hikes reflect what some economists are calling a major shift in the way companies responded to demand during the pandemic, Gillian Friedman reports in the New York Times.

Before the virus emerged, when suppliers raised the prices of goods, retailers often took on the cost because fierce competition forced retailers to keep prices stable. The pandemic has changed that.

The people who benefit from Corporate America’s use of offices are trying to get Corporate America back into the office.

They’ve honed their sales pitches to improve air filtration systems, flexible rental terms, and swing space, and brokers are back in place in their own workplaces. They acknowledge that some things have changed while trying to prove to their clients and themselves that the office will soon be returning to something close to what it was, reports Rebecca R. Ruiz in New York Times.

With New York City slated to fully reopen in July and many businesses expect to recall workers this summer and fall, commercial real estate agents are hoping the rebirth they have been trying to hasten will finally materialize.

“We will open our offices as soon as we are approved across the country,” said David Lipson, vice chairman of Savills, a global brokerage firm. “If you are in the office real estate business, should you be comfortable working from home?”

In the industry, which has seen a steady growth boom, commissions have fallen as vacancy rates rose to their highest level in decades. Real estate managers who are characteristically optimistic about their prospects face existential questions.

With 1.3 billion square feet of office space in America’s top markets – and, according to research firm CoStar, more currently on the market in Manhattan than in all of Nashville, Orlando or San Antonio – the projections are rosy.

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