Business Highlights: Murdoch stepping down from CEO role at News Corp; S&P has worst day since March
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Rupert Murdoch, whose creation of Fox News made him a force in American politics, is stepping down
NEW YORK (AP) — Rupert Murdoch is stepping down as leader of both Fox’s parent company and his News Corp. media holdings. Fox says he will become chairman emeritus of both corporations. His son, Lachlan, will control both companies. The 92-year-old Australian media magnate’s creation of Fox News made him a force in American politics. He built his empire from a single newspaper in Australia. He moved on to England and then to the United States with the invention of Fox News and the purchases of both the New York Post and The Wall Street Journal. Forbes estimated the Murdoch family’s net worth at roughly $19 billion in 2020. Fox News Channel has profoundly influenced television and the nation’s politics since its start in 1996, making Murdoch a hero to some and pariah to others.
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Who are Rupert Murdoch’s children? What to know about the media magnate’s successor and family
NEW YORK (AP) — Media magnate Rupert Murdoch is stepping down as the leader of both Fox News’ parent company and his News Corp media holdings, with his son, Lachlan, set to take his place. In addition to the multi-billionaire’s legacy, Murdoch’s family has risen into the spotlight over the years, accompanied by stories of vindictive business tactics and interfamily rivalries. Murdoch and his family, particularly children James, Lachlan, Elisabeth and Prudence, were said to be the model of the HBO show “Succession.” Murdoch has been married four times and shares six children with three of his wives.
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DuckDuckGo founder says Google’s phone and manufacturing partnerships thwart competition
WASHINGTON (AP) — The founder of the small search engine company DuckDuckGo is testifying against Google in the biggest antitrust trial in a quarter of a century. Gabriel Weinberg testified Thursday that Google’s deals with phone companies and equipment manufacturers make it hard for his company to compete. That’s because Google has negotiated contracts to make its product the default search option on many smartphones and other devices. The government is arguing in U.S. District Court that Google has smothered competition by paying companies such as Apple and Verizon to lock in its search engine as the first one users see on many laptops and smartphones.
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Cisco buying cybersecurity firm Splunk for $28 billion, bolstering defenses as use of AI widens
Silicon Valley tech giant Cisco is buying cybersecurity firm Splunk in a $28 billion deal as it looks to keep up with potential security threats that could be brought about by the increasing use of artificial intelligence. Cisco will pay $157 per Splunk Inc. share.
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Stock market today: Stocks drop in an ugly day as allure grows to buy a Treasury bill and chill
NEW YORK (AP) — Wall Street slumped as stocks fell worldwide on expectations for U.S. interest rates to stay high well into next year. The S&P 500 lost 1.6% Thursday, its worst drop since March. Big Tech stocks tumbled again after the Federal Reserve indicated Wednesday it may cut rates next year by only half what it earlier predicted. The Nasdaq composite fell 1.8% and the Dow lost 370 points. The 10-year Treasury yield rose to 4.48% and is near its highest level since 2007. When bonds pay more interest, investors are less willing to pay high prices for stocks.
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McCarthy gives in to right flank on spending cuts, but they still deliver a defeat as shutdown looms
WASHINGTON (AP) — House Speaker Kevin McCarthy’s latest plan to prevent a looming federal shutdown by appeasing his hard-right flank quickly collapsed Thursday. It’s a crushing defeat that makes a disruption in government services almost certain. A government closure is increasingly likely as time runs out for Congress to act. McCarthy’s bid to move ahead with a traditionally popular defense funding bill as a first step toward keeping the government running was shattered by a core group of Republican colleagues. They refused to vote with the increasingly endangered speaker whose job is on the line. Afterward, McCarthy acknowledged his frustration, saying, “This is a whole new concept of individuals who just want to burn the whole place down.”
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Bank of England joins US Fed in keeping interest rates unchanged after inflation declines
LONDON (AP) — The Bank of England has paused nearly two years of interest rate increases after a surprising fall in U.K. inflation eased concerns about the pace of price rises. In a development Thursday that few predicted just two days ago, the central bank kept its main interest rate unchanged at a 15-year high of 5.25%. It comes to the relief of millions of homeowners who are facing higher mortgage rates. The U.S. Federal Reserve also held rates steady a day earlier. News Wednesday that inflation unexpectedly fell to 6.7% in August, its lowest level since Russia invaded Ukraine in February 2022, clearly influenced the bank’s decision.
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Home sales fell again in August as homebuyers grapple with rising mortgage rates and prices
LOS ANGELES (AP) — Sales of previously occupied U.S. homes fell for the third month in a row in August, as higher mortgage rates, rising prices and a dearth of properties on the market shut out many would-be homebuyers. Existing home sales fell 0.7% last month from July to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 4.04 million, the National Association of Realtors said Thursday. Sales slumped 15.3% compared with the same month last year. The national median sales price rose 3.9% from August last year to $407,100.
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The average long-term US mortgage rate edged up to 7.19% this week, slightly below its 2023 high
LOS ANGELES (AP) — The average long-term U.S. mortgage rate edged up again this week, another setback for would-be homebuyers navigating an increasingly less affordable housing market. The average rate on the benchmark 30-year home loan rose to 7.19% from 7.18% last week, mortgage buyer Freddie Mac said Thursday. A year ago, the rate averaged 6.29%. High rates can add hundreds of dollars a month in costs for borrowers, limiting how much they can afford in a market already unaffordable to many Americans. They also discourage homeowners who locked in low rates two years ago from selling.
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Anti-Defamation League says Adidas CEO apologizes for misstatement about Kanye West
The head of the Anti-Defamation League said in a post on X on Thursday that he was in touch with Adidas CEO Bjorn Gulden who apologized for his remarks about Kanye West and reiterated the sportswear company’s fight to end antisemitism. ADL’s CEO Jonathan Greenblatt’s comments on X followed Gulden’s remarks on an investing podcast when said he doubted that Ye, the artist formerly known as Kanye West, “meant what he said” when he made a series of antisemitic and other offensive remarks last year. In a statement emailed to The Associated Press on Thursday, Adidas confirmed that the company had been in touch with ADL. It didn’t offer any details on the conversation between Greenblatt and Gulden but linked back to Greenblatt’s comment on X.
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The S&P 500 fell 72.20 points, or 1.6%, to 4,330. The Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 370.46 points, or 1.1%, to 34,070.42. The Nasdaq composite fell 245.14 points, or 1.8%, to 13,223.98. The Russell 2000 index of smaller companies fell 28.28 points, or 1.6% to 1,781.83.