Month: May 2024

Investing.com — Paramount Global’s (NASDAQ:PARA) announcement Monday that CEO Bob Bakish is stepping down as the company’s Board, steered by Chair Shari Redstone, continues to pursue a merger with Skydance, is attracting negative criticism from shareholders and market participants who overwhelmingly view the decision as a move against the interest of the company.

Commenting on his exit, Bakish said in a note on LinkedIn earlier today, “I’m incredibly grateful for the memories, mentors and friends I’ve made in my 27 years here. And, I leave knowing that our company is in great hands with George Cheeks, Brian Robbins and Chris McCarthy – seasoned leaders with deep expertise across our brands and businesses.”

In an exclusive conversation with Investing.com’s Thomas Monteiro, David Katz, President and CIO of Matrix Asset Advisors, one of the more outspoken shareholders of Paramount, expressed his dismay at what he sees as Redstone’s firing of Bakish and the costs this is likely to impose on the company.

“This is a major unforced error that will cost the company upwards of $50M according to reports, plus a massive lack of leadership during a critical period for the company. Bakish was fired because he was fighting for an equitable deal for all shareholders rather than for doing a one-sided deal for Redstone at the expense of the other 90% of the shareholders,” said Katz, adding that, “Bakish being fired was solely driven by Shari Redstone because he wouldn’t roll over and say the deal was a good deal. His exit puts the company in a greater crisis and forces the Board’s hand to do something as they no longer have a world-class CEO.”

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He added that the earnings call which provided no opportunity for analysts to pose questions to the Board further proves that the deal with Skydance makes no sense and that a full and open sale process would result in a better price for shareholders, especially given that the turnaround is seeing results.

“The current quarter’s performance should make Paramount more attractive to Sony/Apollo.It reinforces our belief that going it alone and letting the turnaround take place is a lot better for shareholders than a fire sale to Skydance now,” added Katz.

“If the Board consummates a deal with Skydance, there will be lawsuits from many others.”

Meanwhile, Matrix Asset Advisors remains hopeful that shareholder frustration with Redstone will expedite a deal with Sony (NYSE:SONY)/Apollo (NYSE:APO), with Skydance’s exclusivity period set to end on Friday, May 3.

At 16:00 ET (20:00 GMT), Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 570 points, or 1.1%, S&P 500 dropped 1.5%, while NASDAQ Composite fell 2%. The S&P 500 posted a 3% loss for the month. 

Sticky inflation weighs on rate cut hopes 

U.S. labor costs increased more than expected in the first quarter, driven by a rising wages and benefits, stoking fresh concerns about inflation just as investor bets on Fed rate cuts continue to cool.

The Employment Cost Index increased 1.2% last quarter after rising by an unrevised 0.9% in the fourth quarter, while labor costs increased 4.2% on a year-on-year basis.

The report followed data last week that showed price pressures heating up in the first quarter.

The Federal Reserve kicked off its  two-day policy-setting meeting  Tuesday, and is widely expected to keep its benchmark interest rate unchanged in the current 5.25%-5.50% range, where it has been since July.

Fed Chair Jerome Powell remarks that will follow the monetary policy statement is likely to take on added importance as investors are eager for clues on whether the Fed chief is likely to adopt the market’s less dovish view on the rate outlook.

“The FOMC is likely to stick to its message that higher inflation has delayed cuts at its May meeting,” Goldman Sachs said in a recent note.

Investors have largely priced out the likelihood of rate cuts this summer, with September now seen as the favorite month for the Fed to start a rate-cutting cycle, according to the CME Fedwatch tool. 

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Eli Lilly, 3M, Coca-Cola deliver earnings beat, but McDonald’s earnings misses

Eli Lilly (NYSE:LLY) stock rose 6% after after the pharmaceutical giant reported better-than-expected earnings for its first quarter, and hiked its full-year guidance on strong sales of its blockbuster diabetes drug Mounjaro and newly launched weight loss treatment Zepbound.

3M Company (NYSE:MMM) stock rose nearly 5% after the industrial conglomerate topped analysts’ expectations for its first quarter, adding that it expects its dividend payout ratio to be approximately 40% of adjusted free cash flow. 

Coca-Cola (NYSE:KO) was lower despite the beverage giant reporting quarterly earnings and revenue that beat expectations, and raising its full-year outlook for organic revenue. 

McDonald’s Corporation (NYSE:MCD) slipped after its reporting weaker than expected Q1 earnings as  same-store sales missed analyst estimates as calls to boycott on the chain amid the ongoing Middle East war weighed on growth.

Paramount falls after CEO exits; HSBC in multi-year highs as CEO departs; Paypal shines on earnings stage

Paramount Global (NASDAQ:PARA) fell 7% after announcing that Chief Executive Bob Bakish has stepped down amid ongoing talks over a potential tie-up talks with David Ellison’s Skydance Media.

HSBC (NYSE:HSBC) unveiled a stronger-than-expected Q1 profit and said that Chief Executive Noel Quinn would retire after nearly five years in the role. It shares rose more than 3%, to remain on course for its highest close since May 2019. 

PayPal (NASDAQ:PYPL) stock rose more than 2% after the payments system operator posted a better-than-anticipated 14% year-on-year uptick in first-quarter total payment volume to $403.9 billion.

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Bitcoin dips below $60K 

Bitcoin (BitfinexUSD) fell below $60,000, taking loss to more than 14% on the month as the crypto looks set for largest monthly loss since November 2022 amid a slew of fund outflows. 

(Peter Nurse, Ambar Warrick contributed to this article.)