(Reuters) – Perplexity AI revised the merger proposal it had submitted to TikTok parent ByteDance, CNBC reported on Sunday.
The proposal, to create a new entity combining Perplexity and TikTok U.S., would now also allow for the U.S. government to own up to 50% of the new company upon a future initial public offering, CNBC said.
By Jack Kim
SEOUL (Reuters) – South Korea’s authorities investigating last month’s Jeju Air plane crash have submitted a preliminary accident report to the U.N. aviation agency and to the authorities of the United States, France and Thailand, an official said on Monday.
The investigation into the deadliest air disaster on the country’s soil remains ongoing, the report made available on Monday said, focused on the role of “bird strike” and involving an analysis of the engines and the “localiser” landing guidance structure.
“These all-out investigation activities aim to determine the accurate cause of the accident,” it said.
The International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO), the U.N. agency, requires accident investigators to produce a preliminary report within 30 days of the accident and encourages a final report to be made public within 12 months.
The Boeing (NYSE:BA) 737-800 jet, from Bangkok and scheduled to arrive at Muan International Airport, overshot the runway as it made an emergency belly landing and crashed into the localiser structure, killing all but two of the 181 people and crew members on board on Dec. 29.
The localiser aids navigation of an aircraft making an approach to the runway, and the structure built of reinforced concrete and earth at Muan airport supporting the system’s antennae was likely a cause of the disaster, experts have said.
The report highlighted much of the initial findings by the South Korean investigators that was shared with the families of the victims on Saturday, including the pilots discussing a flock of birds they spotted on its final approach.
The exact time of a bird strike reported by the pilots remains unconfirmed, the accident report said, but the aircraft “made an emergency declaration (Mayday x 3) for a bird strike
during a go-around.”
“Both engines were examined, and feathers and bird blood stains were found on each,” it said.
“After the crash into the embankment, fire and a partial explosion occurred. Both engines were buried in the embankment’s soil mound, and the fore fuselage scattered up to 30-200 meters from the embankment,” it said.
The report does not say what may have led to the two data recorders to stop recording simultaneously just before the pilots declared mayday. The aircraft was at an altitude of 498 ft (152 metres) flying at 161 knots (298 km/h or 185 mph) at the moment the blackboxes stopped recording, it said.
Investing.com– Natural gas firm Diversified Energy Company PLC (NYSE:DEC) is in advanced talks to buy Maverick Natural Resources- a private equity owned firm with operations in the Permian Basin, the Wall Street Journal reported on Sunday.
The deal values Maverick at around $1.3 billion, and is Diversified Energy’s biggest buy to date, the WSJ report said.
The move comes amid bets on increased U.S. energy production and fewer restrictions on the industry under President Donald Trump.
Trump declared a national energy emergency last week and called for a ramp-up in domestic oil and gas production, while also scaling back Biden-era climate-related curbs on the industry.
The Permian Basin- located in the southwestern U.S.- is the country’s highest producing oil field, with output estimated at 6.3 million barrels per day in 2024- nearly half of overall U.S. production.
(Reuters) – The U.S. Food and Drug Administration has approved monthly maintenance dosing for Japan’s Eisai and partner Biogen (NASDAQ:BIIB)’s Alzheimer’s drug Leqembi, the companies said on Monday.
The drug received standard U.S. approval in 2023 after showing it slowed cognitive decline in patients with the brain-wasting disease but growth has been slow, in part because its administration is time-consuming and it requires regular MRIs and screenings.
Patients can switch to a monthly dose after having received an intravenous infusion of the drug every two weeks for 18 months, the companies said in a joint statement. They can also continue to dose once every two weeks.
Leqembi clears sticky deposits of a protein called amyloid beta in the brain, believed to be a hallmark of Alzheimer’s disease. Patients receive the drug at an infusion center in almost an hour-long process.
The companies said that modeling simulations of trial data predicted that maintenance dosing would maintain benefits of the therapy.
A rival drug from Eli Lilly (NYSE:LLY), Kisunla, was approved in July and is given by infusion once a month. Patients stop taking the treatment once brain scans no longer show amyloid plaques.
Both drugs have safety warnings regarding the potential for brain swelling and bleeds. Patients are recommended to undergo monitoring with scans.
Eisai has a collaboration agreement with BioArctic on the drug.
By Jonathan Stempel
(Reuters) – Elon Musk asked a federal judge to dismiss a proposed class action by voters who said the world’s richest person defrauded them into signing a petition to support the U.S. Constitution for a chance to win his $1 million-a-day giveaway.
In a late Friday filing in the Austin, Texas federal court, Musk rejected the claim the giveaway was an illegal “lottery” that violated a Texas law against deceptive trade practices.
Arizona resident Jacqueline McAferty claimed that Musk and his political action committee America PAC falsely induced voters in seven battleground states to sign the petition by promising that winners would be chosen randomly.
Musk founded America PAC to support Republican Donald Trump’s successful 2024 presidential run.
According to Musk, however, voters were told they would be reviewed for an opportunity to earn the $1 million by becoming America PAC spokespeople.
This, Musk said, defeated any notion that the money was a “prize” to be won.
“Make no mistake: an eligible voter’s opportunity to earn is not the same thing as a chance to win,” Musk said.
Chance, he added, “was not involved here.”
Musk also rejected the suggestion that petition signers suffered harm by providing their names, addresses and phone numbers, which they said Musk and America PAC could then sell.
Lawyers for the proposed class did not immediately respond to requests for comment on Sunday.
The lawsuit was filed on Election Day, Nov. 5, 2024.
A day earlier, a Philadelphia judge refused to end Musk’s giveaway, saying that city’s top prosecutor also failed to show it was an illegal lottery.
McAferty’s lawsuit seeks at least $5 million in damages for everyone who signed the petition.
Musk is a Texas resident and his electric car company Tesla (NASDAQ:TSLA) is based in Austin.
The case is McAferty v Musk et al, U.S. District Court, Western District of Texas, No. 24-01346.
(Reuters) – Universal Music Group (AS:UMG), the world’s biggest music label, and Swedish streaming giant Spotify (NYSE:SPOT) have reached a new multi-year agreement for recorded music and music publishing, they said on Sunday.
The publishing agreement establishes a direct license between Spotify and UMG across Spotify’s current product portfolio in the U.S. and several other countries, they said in a statement.
“Artists, songwriters and consumers will benefit from new and evolving offers, new paid subscription tiers, bundling of music and non-music content, and a richer audio and visual content catalog,” the companies said.
The partnership will ensure constant innovation, making music subscriptions even more attractive to a broader worldwide audience, Spotify founder and CEO Daniel Ek said.
Spotify has laid off employees, pulled back podcasts and cut marketing spending over the past year to boost profitability. It has also raised prices of its U.S. plans to capitalize on demand for its premium products.
Investing.com – Israel stocks were higher after the close on Sunday, as gains in the Insurance, Technology and Biomed sectors led shares higher.
At the close in Tel Aviv, the TA 35 added 0.12%.
The best performers of the session on the TA 35 were NICE Ltd (TASE:NICE), which rose 6.16% or 3,510.00 points to trade at 60,480.00 at the close. Meanwhile, Ormat Technologies (TASE:ORA) added 2.63% or 610.00 points to end at 23,770.00 and Phoenix Holdings Ltd (TASE:PHOE) was up 2.04% or 120.00 points to 5,998.00 in late trade.
The worst performers of the session were Shikun & Binui (TASE:SKBN), which fell 2.61% or 35.00 points to trade at 1,305.00 at the close. Camtek Ltd (TASE:CAMT) declined 2.57% or 940.00 points to end at 35,580.00 and Energean Oil & Gas PLC (TASE:ENOG) was down 1.88% or 87.00 points to 4,549.00.
Falling stocks outnumbered advancing ones on the Tel Aviv Stock Exchange by 236 to 212 and 89 ended unchanged.
Crude oil for March delivery was up 0.05% or 0.04 to $74.66 a barrel. Elsewhere in commodities trading, Brent oil for delivery in April rose 0.27% or 0.21 to hit $77.55 a barrel, while the April Gold Futures contract rose 0.50% or 13.90 to trade at $2,806.60 a troy ounce.
USD/ILS was unchanged 0.00% to 3.57, while EUR/ILS unchanged 0.00% to 3.75.
The US Dollar Index Futures was down 0.57% at 107.25.
(Reuters) – Diageo (LON:DGE) does not intend to sell its beer brand Guinness or its stake in Moet Hennessy, LVMH’s drinks unit, the world’s top spirits makers said on Sunday.
On Friday, Bloomberg News reported that the company was exploring options for Guinness, a star performer in Diageo’s portfolio, as well as reviewing its investment in Moet Hennessy. The report said that Guinness could be valued at more than $10 billion.
“We note the recent media speculation around the Guinness brand and our stake in Moet Hennessy and we can confirm that we have no intention to sell either,” Diageo said in a statement. The company also said that it would provide further updates on its business with interim results on Feb. 4.
Guinness is an outlier in Diageo’s business, which consists mostly of spirits rather than beer, but its performance recently has outshone that of key liquor labels, such as Johnnie Walker whisky.
Spirits sales have struggled after a post-pandemic boom in demand for more expensive liquor went into reverse. Meanwhile, Guinness sales have grown by double digits every year since 2021, with its zero-alcohol version also surging.
Investing.com – Saudi Arabia stocks were higher after the close on Sunday, as gains in the Real Estate Development, Hotels & Tourism and Energy & Utilities sectors led shares higher.
At the close in Saudi Arabia, the Tadawul All Share gained 0.26% to hit a new 6-months high.
The best performers of the session on the Tadawul All Share were Kingdom Holding Company (TADAWUL:4280), which rose 9.80% or 0.91 points to trade at 10.20 at the close. Meanwhile, Al Baha Investment and Development Company SJSC (TADAWUL:4130) added 9.30% or 0.04 points to end at 0.47 and Saudi Fisheries Co. (TADAWUL:6050) was up 7.84% or 1.78 points to 24.48 in late trade.
The worst performers of the session were AL JOUF CEMENT COMPANY (TADAWUL:3091), which fell 3.57% or 0.46 points to trade at 12.44 at the close. Arabian Pipes Company (TADAWUL:2200) declined 2.50% or 0.34 points to end at 13.26 and Rasan Information Technology (TADAWUL:8313) was down 1.94% or 1.80 points to 90.80.
Rising stocks outnumbered declining ones on the Saudi Arabia Stock Exchange by 209 to 112 and 23 ended unchanged.
Crude oil for March delivery was up 0.05% or 0.04 to $74.66 a barrel. Elsewhere in commodities trading, Brent oil for delivery in April rose 0.27% or 0.21 to hit $77.55 a barrel, while the April Gold Futures contract rose 0.50% or 13.90 to trade at $2,806.60 a troy ounce.
EUR/SAR was up 0.77% to 3.93, while USD/SAR unchanged 0.00% to 3.75.
The US Dollar Index Futures was down 0.57% at 107.25.
Investing.com — Analysts at Wolfe Research have identified ten key questions for the power sector as it navigates 2025.
These questions touch on market performance, regulatory changes, mergers, and other factors likely to influence utilities and independent power producers (IPPs).
The first question examines whether the power sector can sustain its recent run of outperformance.
Over 2023 and 2024, stocks such as Vistra, Constellation Energy (NASDAQ:CEG), and Talen Energy saw massive gains.
Analysts are monitoring whether this momentum will persist or taper off, as investor enthusiasm has shown signs of slowing.
Next (LON:NXT), Wolfe Research considers the potential for mergers and acquisitions or new initial public offerings.
With Constellation’s $29 billion acquisition of Calpine sparking activity, questions linger about whether private portfolios like Lightning Power or Alpha Gen might go public or if they will instead merge with existing players.
Data center expansion remains a pressing issue. Companies such as Vistra, NRG Energy (NYSE:NRG), PSEG, and Constellation are expected to announce projects to maintain investor confidence.
However, competition among independent and regulated markets could create challenges.
A key risk for the sector lies in the hyperscale spending by companies like NVIDIA (NASDAQ:NVDA) and major tech firms like Microsoft (NASDAQ:MSFT), Amazon (NASDAQ:AMZN).
Wolfe Research warns that any slowdown in AI-related data center growth could disrupt projections, particularly for IPPs reliant on those deals.
The regulatory landscape presents additional uncertainties. The Federal Energy Regulatory Commission has yet to establish a clear policy on co-located generation, an issue that has pitted Constellation against Exelon (NASDAQ:EXC).
The resolution of this debate will determine how quickly projects in regions like PJM can move forward.
Analysts are also tracking the potential effects of the political landscape, particularly the influence of a new administration.
Key issues include whether the Biden administration’s greenhouse gas rules for power plants will be rolled back and whether there will be new subsidies for natural gas under former President Trump.
Capacity auction pricing in PJM markets is another area of focus. Pricing for 2025/2026 reached an all-time high of $270 per megawatt-day, raising questions about sustainability amid rising demand and rule changes.
Tight market conditions also loom large for regional grids like ERCOT, PJM, and MISO, where reliability risks could drive energy prices higher.
Building new buildings and deciding what to do with existing assets are structural questions facing the sector.
Key trends include delayed retirements, coal-to-gas conversions, and regulated utilities potentially owning generation.
Among the recent developments are those in Pennsylvania and Ohio, as well as those under the Texas Energy Fund.