After months of rumors, the private equity firm Epiris on Monday confirmed its purchase of Time Inc. U.K., one of Britain’s largest consumer magazine and digital publishers, from Meredith Corp. READ MORE
Fed puts brakes on Wells Fargo when bank needs to step on gas
The Federal Reserve's surprise ban on Wells Fargo & Co growing its balance sheet comes at a difficult juncture for the United States' third-largest lender.
The San Francisco-based bank has been dogged by higher expenses related to a long-running sales practices scandal and investors want it to reboot its revenue engine to help boost earnings. READ MORE
Shares of Meredith Corporation Slump 13% Despite Topping Estimates
What happened?
Shares of Meredith Corporation, an American media company focusing on marketing services and publications for home, family, food, and lifestyle markets, are down 13% as of 3 p.m. EST Thursday, despite Meredith reporting second-quarter results that topped analysts' estimates. READ MORE
Federal Reserve Shackles Wells Fargo After Fraud Scandal
The Federal Reserve on Friday imposed unusually harsh penalties on Wells Fargo, punishing it for years of misconduct and barring it from future growth until the bank fixes its problems.
The central bank blasted Wells Fargo’s board for failing to oversee the bank, and it announced that the company would replace four members of its 16-person board by the end of the year. READ MORE
Meredith's Acquisition Of Time Inc. Receives Antitrust Clearance
Meredith Corporation (NYSE: MDP; www.meredith.com) announced that early termination of the waiting period has been granted under the Hart-Scott-Rodino Antitrust Improvement Act of 1976 applicable to its acquisition of Time Inc. (NYSE: TIME; www.timeinc.com). As a result, Meredith plans to complete the transaction – first announced on November 26, 2017 – within the next 30 days, subject to satisfaction of the other terms and conditions of the tender offer. READ MORE
The CEO of Wells Fargo Might Be in Big, Big Trouble
Late last year, Congress scrapped Obama-era rules from the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau that would have banned forced-arbitration clauses in financial contracts. This bill, which President Trump quickly signed, was self-evidently bad for consumers at the time—and if anyone needs further proof of how ridiculous and harmful these clauses are, just look at what Wells Fargo has been up to over the past several months. The mega-bank famously issued at least 3.5 million fake accounts without consumer consent, triggering a $185 million fine to state and federal regulators. The bank aimed to demonstrate sales growth to investors and boost the stock price with bogus numbers, but millions of customers got caught up in the exchange, paying unnecessary fees and taking hits to their credit scores. Scores of defrauded customers sued Wells Fargo in a series of class-action lawsuits. READ MORE
'The engine of the economy roared back to life': US small-business confidence hit a record high in 2017
Small-business confidence hit a record high in 2017, according to the National Federation of Independent Businesses.
The right-leaning lobbying group on Tuesday released its latest index of small-business optimism, capping what it said was "an all-time record-setter" of a year. READ MORE
Time Shareholders Fight $2.8B Merger With Meredith
Shareholders filed a federal class action challenging Time Inc’s proposed $2.8 billion sale to the Koch-backed Meredith Corporation. READ MORE
Fizzle or Sizzle? What’s Behind the Numbers For Principal Financial Group, Inc.
Principal Financial Group, Inc. (NYSE:PFG) presently has a current ratio of 2.98. The current ratio, also known as the working capital ratio, is a liquidity ratio that displays the proportion of current assets of a business relative to the current liabilities. The ratio is simply calculated by dividing current liabilities by current assets. The ratio may be used to provide an idea of the ability of a certain company to pay back its liabilities with assets. Typically, the higher the current ratio the better, as the company may be more capable of paying back its obligations. READ MORE
Wells Fargo to Show Unpopular Tax Cut Helps Workers
Athene Enters into Reinsurance Agreement with Voya Financial
Athene Holding Ltd. (“Athene”) today announced it has entered into an agreement with Voya Financial (“Voya”) to reinsure approximately $19 billion of fixed and fixed indexed annuity liabilities. READ MORE
Grocery Disruptor of the Year: Hy-Vee
The Midwestern chain has branched out into gyms, apparel and burger joints — and is disrupting the traditional supermarket model in the process. READ MORE
3 Tips To Help Managers Understand Their Employees
Have you ever worked for a manager who showed little enthusiasm for your personal interests, unique talents, and long-term career aspirations? Based on the statistics about employees quitting managers, the answer for many people to this question is likely to be a resounding “yes." READ MORE
CVS and Aetna Say Merger Will Improve Your Health Care. Can They Deliver?
When CVS Health and Aetna announced their merger on Sunday, their executives painted an image of a dawning health care utopia. READ MORE
Meredith: Time Inc. purchase will bring 'sizable chunk' of jobs to Des Moines
Meredith CEO Steve Lacy received several emails Monday morning with the same message: Third time's the charm.
After two failed rounds of talks, the Des Moines-based publishing company pulled off the monumental purchase Sunday of Time Inc., a publishing powerhouse that includes titles such as Time, Sports Illustrated, People, Fortune and Money. READ MORE
Time Inc. Sold To Meredith Corp., Backed By Koch Brothers
Time announced Sunday night that it had sold itself in a deal backed by the billionaire brothers known for using their wealth and political connections to advance conservative causes. READ MORE
Time Inc. insiders on edge over Koch-backed Meredith bid
Shock waves jolted Time Inc. on Thursday after reports that Meredith, with backing from the billionaire brothers Charles Koch and David Koch, was making another run at the legendary magazine publisher. READ MORE
Amazon is cutting prices at Whole Foods again
The grocer announced Wednesday it's slashing prices again, this time on several "holiday staples," including sweet potatoes, canned pumpkin and turkey. READ MORE
Buyout Stocks Plunge on Tax Plan
Shares of Apollo Global Management LLC and other private equity firms fell after House Republicans introduced a tax plan that throws up a roadblock for Athene Holding Ltd., the insurer that accounts for about a quarter of Apollo’s asset-management fees. READ MORE
United Tech to buy Rockwell Collins in $30B deal
Aerospace supplier United Technologies has struck a $30 billion agreement to buy avionics and interiors maker Rockwell Collins, the companies said on Monday, in a deal that bulks up UTC's power with plane makers by creating one of the world's largest makers of civilian and defense aircraft components. READ MORE