Business and Finance News - 10.1.24

The FTC has barred Hess Corp. CEO John Hess from serving on Chevron's board as a condition for their $53 billion merger, alleging he encouraged OPEC to lower inventories and raise oil prices. Hess and Chevron have agreed to this condition, but still face an arbitration dispute with Exxon Mobil over Hess’ oil assets in Guyana. (CNBC)

*Chevron (CVX) - Chevron is an integrated energy company, primarily known for its exploration, production, and refining of oil and natural gas.

*Hess Corp.(HES) - Hess Corporation is a global independent energy company focused on the exploration, production, transportation, and refining of crude oil and natural gas.

DirecTV announced a deal to acquire Dish Network in a merger valued at nearly $10 billion, which will create the largest U.S. pay-TV provider. As part of the transaction, TPG will acquire AT&T's 70% stake in DirecTV, giving it full ownership, while regulatory approval is expected by late 2025. (Variety)

*DirecTV - DirecTV is a satellite television service provider offering a wide range of digital television, audio programming, and interactive services to residential and commercial customers. It delivers channels including entertainment, sports, news, and on-demand programming.

*Dish Network (SATS) - Dish Network is an American television provider that offers satellite television, pay-per-view programming, and over-the-top (OTT) streaming services.

Ford has introduced the "Ford Power Promise" initiative to encourage EV adoption, offering new EV buyers or lessees a complimentary home charger and standard installation, or a $2,000 cash equivalent if they already have a charger. Despite growing EV sales, Ford faces challenges with customer concerns around EV range, battery life, and costs. (The Verge)

*Ford (F) - Ford Motor Company is a global automotive manufacturer that designs, produces, markets, and services a full line of cars, trucks, SUVs, electrified vehicles, and luxury vehicles under the Ford and Lincoln brands.

SoftBank’s Vision Fund plans to invest $500 million in OpenAI’s latest $6.5 billion funding round, which values the AI company at $150 billion, according to The Information. This would be SoftBank's first investment in OpenAI, as the company considers restructuring to remove a profit cap for investors. (Reuters)

*OpenAI - OpenAI is an artificial intelligence research organization and company with a mission to ensure that artificial general intelligence (AGI) benefits all of humanity. 

*SoftBank (SFBTY) - SoftBank Group is a Japanese multinational conglomerate that primarily focuses on investment management. It is well-known for its Vision Fund, one of the largest technology investment funds globally, which has invested in various tech startups and companies like Uber, Alibaba, and WeWork.

Stellantis shares dropped nearly 14% after the company reduced its full-year profit and cash flow forecasts due to weaker global sales and increased competition from Chinese automakers. The automaker plans to reduce North American vehicle shipments by 200,000 in the second half of 2024 and cut inventory levels in the U.S. (CNN)

*Stellantis (STLA) - Stellantis N.V. is a multinational automotive manufacturing corporation formed in 2021 through the merger of Fiat Chrysler Automobiles (FCA) and the PSA Group. Stellantis sells vehicles under a variety of well-known brands, including Jeep, Ram, Dodge, Chrysler, Fiat, Peugeot, Citroën, and Opel.

Here’s how the major indexes did yesterday:

• Dow Jones Industrial Average: 42,330.15 +17.15 (+0.04%

• S&P 500: 5,762.48 +24.31 (+0.42%)

• Nasdaq Composite: 18,189.17 +69.58 (+0.38%)

• Russell 2000: 2,229.97 +5.27 (+0.24%)

Here’s how leading market ETFs did yesterday:

• SPDR S&P 500 ETF Trust (SPY): 573.76 +2.29 (+0.40%)

• iShares Core S&P 500 ETF (IVV): 576.82 +2.75 (+0.48%)

• Invesco QQQ Trust (QQQ): 488.07 +1.32 (+0.27%)

• Vanguard S&P 500 ETF (VOO): 527.67 +2.29 (+0.44%)

• Vanguard Total Stock Market ETF (VTI): 283.16 +1.11 (+0.39%)

Here’s how The Magnificent Seven did yesterday:

• Apple (AAPL) [3.573T]: 233.00 +5.21 (+2.29%)

• Microsoft (MSFT) [3.198T]: 430.30 +2.28 (+0.53%)

• Nvidia (NVDA) [2.992T]: 121.44 +0.04 (+0.03%)

• Alphabet (GOOGL) [2.07T]: 165.85 +1.90 (+1.16%)

• Amazon (AMZN) [1.939T]: 186.33 -1.64 (-0.87%)

• Meta Platforms (META) [1.452T]: 572.44 +5.08 (+0.90%)

• Tesla (TSLA) [834.38B]: 261.63 +1.17 (+0.45%)

Here’s how the major cryptocurrencies did yesterday:

• Bitcoin (BTC): $63,930.59 (11:30PM PST on 9/30/24)

• Ethereum (ETH): $2,644.01 (11:30PM PST on 9/30/24)

• Solano (SOL): $155.90 (11:30PM PST on 9/30/24)