Universal Music appoints Matt Ellis as new CFO
Ellis, a former finance chief at Verizon Communications (VZ.N), opens new tab, will succeed Boyd Muir, who was made chief operating officer of UMG in October 2024.
The change will become effective on June 9, the company said.
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Reuters
3 minutes ago
- Reuters
Rise in US jobless claims adds to signs of labor market softness
Aug 21 (Reuters) - The number of Americans filing new applications for jobless benefits rose by the most in about three months last week and the number of people collecting unemployment relief in the prior week climbed to the highest level in nearly four years, signaling recent labor market softness continued into August. The data may also add to the argument for the Federal Reserve to lower interest rates at its next meeting in about four weeks. Initial claims for state unemployment benefits climbed 11,000 - the largest increase since late May - to a seasonally adjusted 235,000 for the week ended August 16, the Labor Department said on Thursday. Economists polled by Reuters had forecast 225,000 claims for the latest week. The data covered the survey week for the August nonfarm payrolls report from the Bureau of Labor Statistics, and while it does not yet suggest large-scale layoffs are afoot, it nonetheless points to another month of sub-par job growth. "Directionally, the data show some deterioration in labor market conditions since last month, but the magnitude is limited," said Thomas Simons, chief U.S. economist at Jefferies. "Based on this report alone, we expect (August) NFP will print in the 60,000 to 80,000 range." The labor market has split into low firings and tepid hiring as businesses navigate President Donald Trump's protectionist trade policy, which has raised the nation's average import duty to its highest level in a century. Job growth has averaged 35,000 jobs per month over the last three months, the government reported in early August. Domestic demand grew in the second quarter at its slowest pace since the fourth quarter of 2022. "The latest rise in claims, if sustained, would indicate some pickup in layoffs, albeit from very low levels," Nancy Vanden Houten, lead U.S. economist at Oxford Economics, wrote in a note. The number of people receiving benefits after an initial week of aid, a proxy for hiring, rose 30,000 to a seasonally adjusted 1.972 million, the highest level since November 2021, during the week ending August 9, the claims report showed. The elevated so-called continuing claims align with consumers' rising perceptions that jobs are hard to find. Economists said the continuing claims trend was consistent with the unemployment rate rising to 4.3% in August from 4.2% in July. BLS will release the August payrolls report on September 5, and it will be watched closely not just for its estimates of job growth this month, but for whether the accompanying revisions to the two prior months are anywhere near as large as they were in the report for July. That report featured revisions of an historic magnitude that erased more than a quarter of a million jobs previously thought to have been created in May and June. Trump fired the BLS commissioner as a result. Other data released on Thursday sent somewhat conflicting signals about the economy's health. A monthly survey of purchasing managers at both manufacturers and services firms suggested business activity and hiring have picked up pace appreciably this month. S&P Global's flash U.S. Composite PMI Output Index increased to 55.4 this month, the highest level since December, from 55.1 in July. A reading above 50 indicates expansion in the private sector. "A strong flash PMI reading for August adds to signs that U.S. businesses have enjoyed a strong third quarter so far," Chris Williamson, chief business economist for S&P Global Market Intelligence, said in a statement. "The data are consistent with the economy expanding at a 2.5% annualized rate, up from the average 1.3% expansion seen over the first two quarters of the year." The improvement came largely from the manufacturing sector, where the flash PMI surged to 53.3 - the highest level since May 2022 - from 49.8 in July and defying economists' expectations for a second month of contraction. Manufacturing received a bump from new orders activity, which was the highest since February 2024. The services sector, meanwhile, eased back to 55.4 from 55.7 in July. Economists polled by Reuters had forecast the services PMI would slip to 54.2. The survey's measure of employment rose to the highest level since January, a finding apparently at odds with the jobless claims data. Its inflation gauge also rose again, reflecting the effects of Trump's tariffs - both in higher input costs and higher prices being passed on to consumers by businesses. Many economists expect the tariffs to slow activity and keep prices elevated, a dynamic that could make it hard for the Fed to deliver the series of rate cuts through the end of this year that investors seem to anticipate. The prevailing view is that the Fed will lower its benchmark interest rate by a quarter of a percentage point at its September 16-17 meeting to provide a cushion for the job market, but with inflation not currently on a trajectory back toward the central bank's 2% target, officials may be hesitant to signal more cuts are coming. Expectations for a Fed rate reduction recently have helped lower mortgage rates somewhat, and that dynamic appears to have helped sales of previously owned homes to rebound a bit last month from a nine-month low in June. Home sales rose 2.0% in July to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 4.01 million units from 3.93 million in June, the National Association of Realtors said. Sales edged up 0.8% on a year-over-year basis. Lawrence Yun, the NAR's chief economist, saw the data as suggesting that some relief in the factors that have weighed on home sales - high borrowing costs and prices and limited inventory - may be in the offing. "The ever-so-slight improvement in housing affordability is inching up home sales," Yun said in a statement. "Wage growth is now comfortably outpacing home price growth, and buyers have more choices."
Reuters
3 minutes ago
- Reuters
Report: MLB, ESPN reach framework media rights deal
August 21 - ESPN and Major League Baseball have a framework agreement in place that would give ESPN the exclusive rights to sell out-of-market regular-season games over the next three years, according to a report from The Athletic on Thursday. The deal would also include the rights to in-market games for five teams -- the Arizona Diamondbacks, Cleveland Guardians, Colorado Rockies, San Diego Padre and Minnesota Twins -- for the next three years. The deal is not finalized or official and likely won't be any earlier than next month, per the report. The financials of the deal are unknown, but expected to be "substantial," according to the report. MLB and ESPN declined to comment to The Athletic. ESPN would no longer have rights to its long-owned "Sunday Night Baseball," and would move its primetime matchup to a different day of the week. ESPN would continue to broadcast about 30 regular-season games exclusively through its network, according to the report. This comes after ESPN's reported deal with the NFL in which ESPN would take control of NFL Network properties in exchange for 10 percent of its company. ESPN opted out of its initial media rights deal with MLB. There were still three seasons remaining on the deal that had given ESPN the rights to "Sunday Night Baseball," eight-to-12 first-round playoff games and the Home Run Derby at a price of $550 million per year. If the two sides push the agreement across the finish line, it's expected to go into effect next season. --Field Level Media
Reuters
3 minutes ago
- Reuters
NBCUniversal, MLB nearing three-year deal approaching $600 million, WSJ reports
Aug 21 (Reuters) - Comcast-owned (CMCSA.O), opens new tab NBCUniversal is in advanced talks with the Major League Baseball to carry games on NBC and the Peacock streaming service in a three-year deal approaching $200 million annually, the Wall Street Journal reported on Thursday.
