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The Athletic cuts nearly 20 jobs, 4% of newsroom for New York Times-owned sports site
WASHINGTON (AP) — The Athletic, a subscription sports outlet owned by The New York Times, is laying off about 4% of its newsroom staff as part of reorganization efforts. The job cuts will impact nearly 20 journalists of The Athletic’s 450-person newsroom. In addition to the layoffs, more than 20 additional reporters from the San Francisco-based outlet will be moved to new assignments. The New York Times Co. bought The Athletic for $550 million in January 2022, marking one of the news company’s largest-ever acquisitions. In a Monday statement to The Associated Press, a Times spokesperson noted that the company had reorganized the sports site “to cover the most compelling stories that matter to fans across all the teams in a given league daily.”
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Apollo Theater CEO Jonelle Procope to leave the historic landmark on safe financial ground
NEW YORK (AP) — Jonelle Procope’s 20-year tenure as president and CEO of The Apollo Theater evolved into an era of prosperity and expansion, markedly different from the tumultuous, cash-strapped decades that preceded it. Sure, the early years were a struggle, as the hub of the Harlem neighborhood dealt with financial difficulties and a shifting business model. However, when Procope steps down at the end of June, she will leave her successor Michelle Ebanks with nearly $80 million raised to complete a renovation and expansion of the historic theater by 2025. On Monday night, Procope will be honored, alongside hip-hop mogul Sean “Diddy” Combs and basketball superstar Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, at The Apollo’s Spring Benefit for her service.
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The Great Grift: How billions in COVID-19 relief aid was stolen or wasted
WASHINGTON (AP) — An Associated Press analysis found that fraudsters potentially stole more than $280 billion in COVID-19 relief funding; another $123 billion was wasted or misspent. Combined, the loss represents 10% of the $4.2 trillion the U.S. government has disbursed in COVID relief aid. Fraudsters used Social Security numbers of dead people to get unemployment checks. Cheaters collected benefits in multiple states. And federal loan applicants weren’t cross-checked against a Treasury Department database that would have raised red flags about sketchy borrowers. All of it led to the greatest grift in U.S. history.
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Jeffrey Epstein victims settle sex trafficking lawsuit against JPMorgan for $290 million
JPMorgan Chase announced a tentative settlement with the sex victims of financier Jeffrey Epstein, the bank said Monday, which had accused the bank of being the financial conduit that Epstein used to pay off his victims for several years. According to the lawsuits, JPMorgan provided Epstein loans and regularly allowed him to withdraw large sums of cash from 1998 through August 2013 even though it knew about his sex trafficking practices. The bank said in a statement it now regretted any interaction the bank had with Epstein over the several years that he was a JPMorgan client. The settlement must still be approved by the judge in the case.
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Jury finds electric utility PacifiCorp liable in devastating Oregon wildfires; company to appeal
PORTLAND, Ore. (AP) — A jury in Oregon has found electric utility PacifiCorp responsible for causing devastating fires during Labor Day 2020 in a civil lawsuit. The jury awarded millions of dollars each to 17 homeowners who sued PacifiCorp a month after the fires, with most receiving $4.5 million and others $3 million for emotional distress. The jury also applied its liability finding to a larger class including the owners of nearly 2,500 properties damaged in the fires, which could push the price tag over $1 billion. Those damages will be determined later. PacifiCorp said it will appeal. The Portland utility is one of several owned by billionaire Warren Buffett’s Omaha, Nebraska-based investment conglomerate Berkshire Hathaway.
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Nasdaq to buy financial software company Adenza in $10.5 billion cash-and-stock deal
Nasdaq is buying software company Adenza from software investment company Thoma Bravo in a cash-and-stock deal valued at $10.5 billion. The transaction includes $5.75 billion in cash and 85.6 million shares of Nasdaq common stock. Adenza was created through the combination of Calypso and AxiomSL. Calypso serves capital markets participants with end-to-end treasury, risk, and collateral management workflows, and AxiomSL supports financial institutions with leading regulatory and compliance software.
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Washington Post publisher Fred Ryan leaves paper after 9 years at helm
Washington Post publisher and chief executive Fred Ryan is leaving the newspaper after nine years in charge. Newspaper owner Jeff Bezos announced Ryan’s departure in a memo to staff on Monday. He’ll continue as publisher and CEO for two more months before leaving to lead the Center on Public Civility at the Ronald Reagan Presidential Foundation. The Post has been aggressive in transitioning to a digital world, but has still suffered from the financial problems of many organizations in the media industry. Ryan oversaw the appointment of Sally Buzbee as the Post’s top editor in 2021.
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Food prices are squeezing Europe. Now Italians are calling for a pasta protest
MILAN (AP) — High food prices are pinching households across Europe, where food inflation is outpacing other major economies like the U.S., Japan and Canada. Some governments have responded with price controls or loose agreements with supermarkets to keep costs down. In Italy, a consumer group is taking matters into its own hands, calling for a pasta strike to force down prices by bottoming out demand. The sharply higher prices in Europe are driven by higher energy and labor costs and the impact of Russia’s war in Ukraine. That is even though costs for food commodities have fallen for months from record highs, including wheat for the flour used to make pasta.
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UBS completes takeover of Credit Suisse in deal meant to stem global financial turmoil
BERLIN (AP) — UBS says it has completed its takeover of embattled rival Credit Suisse. The announcement comes nearly three months after the Swiss government hastily arranged a rescue deal to combine the country’s two largest banks in a bid to safeguard Switzerland’s reputation as a global financial center and choke off market turmoil. A statement from the bank on Monday said that “UBS has completed the acquisition of Credit Suisse today, crossing an important milestone.” UBS had said last week that it expected to complete the acquisition worth 3 billion Swiss francs ($3.3 billion) as early as Monday.
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New York City will implement minimum wage for app-based workers, marking national first
WASHINGTON (AP) — In a national first, New York City will implement a minimum pay rate for app-based food delivery workers. The new rule could nearly triple average earnings for workers on apps like Uber Eats and DoorDash in the coming years. According to the city, New York’s more than 60,000 delivery workers currently make an average of $7.09 an hour. But on July 12, an increased pay rate of $17.96 an hour will take effect — and that minimum wage is set to rise to $19.96 by April 2025, the city said. Labor organizers applauded the move, which comes amid nationwide calls for better pay and improved working conditions for gig workers. They note that further protections are needed. Meanwhile, Uber Eats, DoorDash and Grubhub have pushed back on the new rule.
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The S&P 500 rose 40.07 points, or 0.9%, to 4,338.93. The Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 189.55 points, or 0.6%, to 34,066.33. The Nasdaq composite rose 202.78 points, or 1.5% to 13,461.92. The Russell 2000 index of smaller companies rose 7.51 points, or 0.4%, to 1,873.21.
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