Latest news with #OnTheMoney
New York Post
2 days ago
- Business
- New York Post
Trump legal team, Paramount mull proposal for CBS to run free ads to break quagmire over $20B lawsuit: sources
A proposal to break the legal quagmire between CBS News parent Paramount and President Trump involves the Tiffany Network running millions of dollars in public service ads for causes that appeal to the administration, On The Money has learned. The idea was floated in recent days by people involved in the explosive legal dispute as part of a long anticipated settlement, sources said. The PSAs would involve Paramount's CBS news subsidiary — the defendant in Trump's controversial $20 billion lawsuit — running what would be paid ads across its platforms that address issues such as the rise of antisemitism in American society that followed the Oct. 7 massacre of Jews by Hamas terrorists, according to people with direct knowledge of the matter. 4 Paramount and the White House are in mediation over Trump's lawsuit against the media giant over alleged deceptive editing of a '60 Minutes' interview with Kamala Harris. 60 Minutes / CBS The spots would also promote issues that support US veterans, these people add. Sources close to the matter say the Trump legal team likes the idea. It's unclear if the Paramount legal team is supportive. Reps for Paramount and the White House declined comment. The two sides are in mediation over Trump's lawsuit against the media giant over alleged deceptive editing of a '60 Minutes' interview with Kamala Harris. In order for the mediator in the case to consider the proposal and make it part of the bargaining discussions, both sides need to officially vet the idea and get a sign-off from management. The settlement plan comes as parties involved seek common ground to bring the litigation to an end. Trump has taken steps to stamp out antisemitism, particularly on college campuses, since returning to the White House. Paramount's controlling shareholder Shari Redstone also has spoken out against antisemitism since Oct. 7 and has even been critical of how CBS has covered the matter. As On The Money first reported, Redstone is willing to pay Trump up to $50 million to settle the matter and get a deal done. 4 The settlement plan comes as parties involved seek common ground to bring the litigation to an end. Trump has taken steps to stamp out antisemitism, particularly on college campuses. FRANCIS CHUNG/POOL/EPA-EFE/Shutterstock She has so far recused herself from the negotiations, leaving the decision-making to her senior management team. But management has been hesitant to reach a deal that involves handing over significant cash to Trump, worried that such a large payment could run afoul of anti-bribery laws since his appointed head of the Federal Communications Commission still needs to approve the Skydance deal, On The Money previously reported. Aside from the high-stakes legal tussle, the lawsuit is also seen as a key impediment to getting the Trump administration to approve a plan by the media heiress to sell the company to independent studio Skydance for $8 billion. 4 Shari Redstone is willing to pay Trump up to $50 million to settle the matter and get a deal done. Getty Images FCC chair Brendan Carr is probing whether CBS broke 'public interest' rules that govern the use of public airwaves (as opposed to cable) by exhibiting left-wing bias in its news programming. The Harris interview is a focal point of the investigation that has delayed the deal indefinitely. If approved, however, Redstone would walk away with $2 billion and preserve some of the wealth left to her by her late father, media-merger king Sumner Redstone. The controversy over the lawsuit – and the possibility of a settlement with Trump – has roiled CBS in recent weeks. CBS News chief Wendy McMahon resigned earlier this month, saying, 'It's become clear that the company and I do not agree on the path forward.' 4 If the deal is approved, Redstone would walk away with $2 billion and preserve some of the wealth left to her by her late father, media-merger king Sumner Redstone. Christopher Sadowski In April, '60 Minutes' boss Bill Owens quit, citing increased pressure from senior management over his programming. Sources said Trump's legal team wants a settlement along the lines of what it received from Disney's ABC, which he sued for libel. ABC made a payment of $16 million and issued an apology for misstating the facts surrounding a civil judgment against Trump.
New York Post
3 days ago
- Business
- New York Post
Target CEO blames lousy earnings on anti-woke ‘headwinds' — and Wall Street is chuckling
Investors and traders got a good laugh last week when Target's CEO Brian Cornell suggested that a lousy quarter was partly the result of a consumer backlash against the retailer for rolling back its DEI efforts, On The Money has learned. DEI, or Diversity Equity and Inclusion, is a management philosophy that says pure merit-based hiring is overrated. Instead, companies must tailor their workforces to match an intersectional matrix — skills be damned. DEI also holds sway over ads, marketing and other corporate functions. Under Cornell, Target went all in on DEI, most infamously in its Pride celebrations, a corporate marketing and sales effort that targeted the LBGTQ+ community. Nothing wrong with that – unless you do it in a way that spoils the shopping experience of most of your customers. Target CEO Brian Cornell suggested that a lousy quarter was partly the result of a consumer backlash against the retailer for rolling back its DEI efforts. Jack Forbes / NY Post Design Those are mainly working class people who just want to buy Target's low-priced goods and didn't want the company to proselytize to them about gender fluidity – particularly when they show up to a store with their kids. As I wrote in my book 'Go Woke Go Broke: The Inside Story of the Radicalization of Corporate America,' Target and Cornell were on the cutting edge of the woke movement and took it to disastrous extremes. Google the product known as the 'tuck-friendly bathing suit' and you will get the full story so I don't have to recite the gory details. In 2023, a full-on customer revolt ensued, and let's say Target never recovered. Earlier in the year, Target took note and began to unwind some of its DEI policies. Gone also were the flamboyant Pride displays. DEI in hiring was rolled back after the courts ruled that discriminating based on race is illegal, and the Trump administration announced it will enforce these edicts. Now, if Cornell is to be believed, Target is suffering from what might best be described as a counter-customer revolt. Our very own Rev. Al Sharpton believes DEI is a civil right, and recently said he would support a boycott of Target stores. Rev. Al Sharpton recently said he would support a boycott of Target stores. Getty Images Target's latest quarterly earnings of $1.30 a share and revenue drop to $23.8 billion both missed estimates – and by a lot. All this and the impact of the Trump tariff increases hasn't totally settled in. Cornell's explanation to investors for all of the above: Ending DEI and becoming less political represented a 'headwind.' That's why investors and traders who spoke to On The Money are getting a chuckle out of Cornell's rationalization. It makes no sense because Target has been flailing for a while, mostly after it went all in on woke. As my pal the 'Sarge,' the veteran trader and investor Stephen Guilfoyle, wrote in The 'For Target, this was the third quarter in five that the firm failed to both meet Wall Street's projections for adjusted profitability and Wall Street's expectations for total revenue generation. Going further back, Target has failed to meet earnings expectations for six of the past 13 quarters.' On The Money asked a Target rep how Cornell could be so sure DEI headwinds, and not management ineptitude (analysts say its stores are in need of a massive upgrade), are to blame for the lousy first-quarter results. We will let you know what they say when (if) they get back to us.
New York Post
23-05-2025
- Business
- New York Post
How GENIUS ACT squeaked through – despite Trump's impotent ‘crypto council'
The stablecoin bill passed a key procedural vote, finally, but it was a heavy lift engineered in the 11th hour Monday night by the bill's sponsor, Tennessee GOP Sen. Bill Hagerty. He had to remind crypto-friendly Democrats what was at stake – and to ignore the politicization of the legislation by the crypto-hating Massachusetts Sen. Elizabeth Warren, On The Money has learned. First the good news: The bill, known as the GENIUS Act, is the first major piece of crypto legislation ever, and hopefully not the last. It helps clear a major hurdle for the $3.5 trillion crypto industry by setting clear rules for the creation of stablecoins, popular digital assets, backed up by real assets like US Treasuries, as opposed to the hot air of most crypto. The Senate will be debating amendments etc., in the coming days, before an all-but certain passage before it heads to the GOP controlled House and then, if all goes according to plan, President Trump's desk to sign into law. Advertisement The stablecoin bill passed a hurdle, but it was a heavy lift engineered in the 11th hour by the bill's sponsor, Tennessee GOP Sen. Bill Hagerty. Jack Forbes/NY Post Design If all that happens (again, it's likely given what just went down, but with this crew who knows?), there will be better disclosures of the hard assets, better ways to transact the stablecoins, and rules for keeping them in reserve, which according to sources, will be more efficient because it prevents the big banks from profiting off of one of the traditional banking system's anachronisms. They won't be able to profit from the 'float' because transactions can take place seamlessly, one of the benefits of digital coins and its underlying blockchain technology. More good news: On The Money has learned that Hagerty has emerged as crypto's most effective, and much-needed spokesman on Capitol Hill. Sources in the digital coin business tell me that first, he fought skepticism in his own party (Sens. Rand Paul and Josh Hawley were no votes), and managed to twist enough arms to get the bill to a vote before the Senate turned to passage of President Trump's 'big, beautiful budget' early Thursday morning. Advertisement He also fought Elizabeth Warren. When the procedural vote on the Genius Act came down late Monday, Warren began telling her Dem colleagues that passage of the bill is part of a Trumpian crypto grift since the president and his wife have meme coins, he went to battle again. The numbers soon went sideways; Hagerty worried he didn't have the minimum 60 mandatory votes to pass the measure given Senate filibuster rules. 'It will be either 59 votes or 70″ voting in favor, a nervous Hagerty predicted, sources said In the end, he got 66 votes, with nearly all the senate Republicans (except Paul, and GOP Senator Jerry Moran) plus a handful of Dems. His winning argument: Stablecoins aren't meme coins. The legislation has little to do with Trump's crypto side hustle. It's just good law. Before allowing Sen. Elizabeth Warren to kill the bill, Hagerty made sure reluctant senators knew the facts. Getty Images for Student Borrower Protection Center Advertisement Now some bad news. Trump's crypto business isn't the scandal of the century that Warren & Co. tried to make it. Unlike Hunter Biden's swampy overseas dealings, talk of payments to the 'big guy,' it's totally disclosed for the public to debate. And yet, you can make the case that it looks bad. It's still an optics problem for the GOP that can be exploited when the senate tries to pass other more important crypto bills. Amendments about Trump's business dealings could bogged down full passage of the legislation. It's the likely reason for some of the GOP holdouts. The problem is obvious: The president appoints the people heading crypto regulation, the heads of the Securities and Exchange Commission and the Commodity Futures Trading Commission. Trump is literally de-regulating an industry he's profiting from. This appearance problem could be a sticking point when Congress takes its next legislative step, a rewrite of securities laws to better serve digital coins. More bad news: Where was Trump's crypto council, the industry experts who were appointed by him to mainstream the industry and get legislation that does just that? Advertisement Led by venture capitalist David Sacks and a former congressional candidate Bo Hines, the council, in the words of crypto experts I spoke to, had 'no juice' on Capitol Hill, as I reported last week, when Hagerty needed to twist arms just to bring the bill to a vote. When the vote came, Hagerty was alone again. The White House is pushing back on this interpretation of council's work; it assembled some formidable counter arguments from industry sources including Cody Carbone, the CEO of the Digital Chamber of Commerce, a leading crypto advocacy group who said in a statement: 'The White House Crypto Council has played a pivotal role in advancing digital asset policy in the United States since Inauguration Day. Thanks to Bo and David's leadership and coordination, we're on the brink of real, meaningful legislative action for the first time.' Maybe, but based on what I saw last week, Hagerty better prepare for more arm twisting.
New York Post
23-05-2025
- Business
- New York Post
Retailers won't swallow Trump's ‘eat the tariffs' demand for much longer before hiking prices
The retail industry is alerting President Trump that they can't 'eat' his tariffs forever – and price increases are likely to hit in the coming weeks, On The Money has learned. Whether this gets translated into higher official inflation numbers is anyone's guess at this point. But for many items enjoyed by Americans who like cheap goods brought in from abroad – a majority of them from China – these things will soon be getting a lot less cheap. The warning to the president came weeks before his now-famous remarks over Walmart's announced plans to pass through tariff costs to consumers, where in his own understated way, Trump shouted on social media that the discount retailer should 'EAT THE TARIFFS.' 3 Walmart's warning to the president came weeks before his now-famous remarks over the company's announced plans to pass through tariff costs to consumers Jack Forbes/NY Post Design Walmart was the first out of the gate about its need to raise prices. However, Home Depot on Tuesday said it will continue to eat tariffs, though sources in the retail industry doubt that will last forever given the tight margins most retailers operate under. When the price increases begin to spread, that could set up an interesting catfight between the president and a huge chunk of the business community. The president believes Walmart, like many other big US companies, is a highly profitable company and they should all do a solid for the American people as corporate America adjusts to his new trade policy that slaps a 10% levy on every country, plus additional taxes on certain goods – and significantly higher tariffs on unscrupulous trading partners like China. No one is doubting China's intransigence on trade (trade-secret theft, currency manipulation and a lot more), of course. But Trump's 'eat the tariff' demand was a bit much for your humble correspondent, who has covered Trump Inc. for decades and has never seen him eat a cost when it came to his business dealings. Quite the opposite, actually. 3 Home Depot said it will continue to eat tariffs, though sources in the retail industry doubt that will last forever given the tight margins most retailers operate under. REUTERS Plus, the sweep of the Trump trade policy is so dramatic that retailers who source some goods mainly from China (think nearly every baby product) are now facing a certainty of a hit to their bottom line. These are public companies that have a fiduciary responsibility to shareholders, and if they can't pass along costs they will begin layoffs. Walmart earned a significant $15 billion-plus last year. Its ability to provide Middle America with affordable products – from apparel to food – is vital to its profitability. Unlike many retailers, it can spread tariff costs across many products so it can survive and eat tariffs for now. Those retailers that can't – smaller shops with niche products–will be facing a difficult future. By most accounts, the retailers' warnings to the president about how they can't just eat tariffs indefinitely were well received in the sense that Trump didn't chase them out of the Oval, sources said. 3 Team Trump has been busy trying to work out compromises with trading partners, so in a sense he gets what they're saying. Getty Images As readers of the column know, Team Trump has been busy trying to work out compromises with trading partners, so in a sense someone in the White House including Trump himself must get some of what they're saying. My retail industry sources say they expect further exemptions, stuff along the lines of Trump's 2020 China trade pact that exempted baby items imported from there, and certain types of food. There also seems to be a less hard-line stance from the Trump people, including the one-time trade hawk Howard Lutnick, and an air of compromise as the more trade-centrist Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent leads negotiations. One unknown is whether the turmoil surrounding Trump's initial trade scheme is baked into retailer price models, as suggested by the volatility in markets, including the recent spike in bond yields that foreshadow inflationary pressure from the price increases. When all is said and done, we aren't going to zero tariffs with any country, even if Bessent manages to cut deals. That will lead to higher prices. There is a political angle here as well. Trump was elected in part because President Biden seemed clueless to how his overspending stoked inflation, and then when the inflation rate came down, he had no clue that prices remained high and the wage rates for Middle America never caught up. Yes, gas prices are down for lots of reasons in the early days of the Trump presidency, including oil traders pricing in a possible tariff-induced recession on top of inflation hitting certain products. More people out of work could mean a lower CPI. What's unclear is how much the tariffs will hurt when all retailers begin forcing Americans to 'eat' Trump's tariffs in the coming weeks. With the midterms just a year away, you can bet every GOP lawmaker in DC and beyond will be closely watching this diet.
New York Post
22-05-2025
- Business
- New York Post
Redstone waffles on $20B Trump suit
Shari Redstone-controlled Paramount is poised to settle a closely watched legal battle with President Trump over alleged deceptive editing of a controversial '60 Minutes' interview with Kamala Harris – but warring factions within the company have delayed the move, On The Money has learned. NY Post columnist Charles Gasparino shares this story.
