Morning Brief: Top Financial Stories Dominating on Thursday, May 19

CNBC

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention is now investigating 180 cases of children who suddenly developed severe hepatitis across 36 states and territories, an increase of 71 cases since the public health agency’s last update earlier this month.
The CDC said the vast majority are not new cases of hepatitis. Instead, the number of patients under investigation has increased as the agency looks more closely at data from October of last year.
The cases the CDC is investigating are unusual because the children have not tested positive for those viruses, and they have suffered severe symptoms, with 9% requiring liver transplants.

Reuters

Georgia To Announce $7B Hyundai EV Investment: Reuters

Georgia Governer Brian Kemp is set to announce a $7 billion investment by Hyundai Motor Company HYMTF on Friday,.
The announcement is expected to coincide with U.S. President Joe Biden’s visit to Seoul.
The auto giant is planning to build a plant in Georgia to produce electric vehicles (EVs).

Wall Street Journal

The Biden administration is invoking the Defense Production Act to increase baby formula production, requiring suppliers to prioritize giving resources to U.S. formula manufacturers.
A new program called Operation Fly Formula would also direct the Defense Department to use its contracts with commercial air-cargo lines to pick up formula from other countries meeting U.S. health and safety standards.
The White House didn’t specify any countries. “The production of baby formula is so specialized and so specific that you can’t say to a company that produces something else: Produce baby formula,” White House press secretary Jen Psaki said.

Bloomberg

British Airways owner International Airlines Group (IAG) ordered a combined total of 50 737-8-200s and 737-10s, plus 100 options, from Boeing Co BA.
This announcement finalizes a commitment made by IAG for the 737 at the 2019 Paris Air Show.
The initial 50 jets ordered by IAG have a list price of about $6 billion, but the aviation company said it had negotiated a “substantial discount,” wrote Bloomberg.

Financial Times

Helicopter shuttle company Blade Air Mobility, Inc BLDE bagged deals worth €48 million with Monaco’s royal family members, Ferrari N.V. RACE shareholder John Elkann and others to begin flying passengers between the French Riviera, Monte Carlo and the ski slopes of Courchevel.
Blade agreed to buy the routes and heliports of Monacair, Héli Sécurité, and a third unnamed European operator.
Blade aims to accumulate the best helicopter routes, infrastructure, and customers and provide those businesses with a seamless transition to electric vertical aircraft.

Benzinga

Netflix Inc’s NFLX troubles seem to be running deeper. The streaming giant is reportedly losing the support of its longtime subscribers as it tries to pull out all the stops to turn around its fortunes.
Netflix subscribers who have been with the company for over three years made up 13% of those who canceled subscriptions in the first quarter, the Verge reported on Wednesday, citing the Information.
Survey data viewed by the Information showed that longtime subscribers accounted for just 6% of cancellations in the second quarter of 2021, and those subscribed to the service for less than a year made up 70%, as per the report.

The uncertainty around the Twitter, Inc. TWTR deal has intensified ever since Elon Musk announced on the company’s namesake platform that the deal had been put on hold.
A Wall Street Journal report, quoting lawyers, suggests it might be difficult for the Tesla, Inc. TSLA CEO to backtrack at this juncture.
Musk negotiated the agreement with several seller-friendly features and the most notable is one legally called “special performance,” the Journal noted. It vests Twitter with the right to ask a court to “force” Musk into honoring his commitment to buy the company.

Brookfield Asset Management Inc BAM BAM disclosed a recommended cash offer for British home repair services provider HomeServe plc HMSVF for £4.08 billion (~$5 billion).
HomeServe shareholders will receive 1,200 pence in cash for each share held.
The offer price represents a 71% premium to the closing price per HomeServe share of 704 pence on March 23, 2022, the last business day before the offer period.

A panel of 36 fintech specialists believes that Shiba Inu SHIB/USD will be completely worthless by the year 2030.
Finder.com’s latest Shiba Inu Price Predictions report revealed that 70% of crypto experts surveyed expect the death of SHIB by the end of the decade.
According to the study, 30% of these panelists think SHIB will have no value by the end of the year and 60% believe that it will die out by 2025.

While COVID-19 has killed 63 people and infected nearly two million people in North Korea, the country’s supreme leader is preparing for a nuclear test or a long-range missile test, U.S intelligence said.
U.S. national security adviser Jake Sullivan on Wednesday, in a press briefing, said that North Korea could be planning a nuclear test, a long-range missile test, or both before, during, or after U.S. President Joe Biden’s official visit to the neighboring nation South Korea.

Melvin Capital, the hedge fund at the center of the GameStop Corporation GME short squeeze saga, will shut down, Reuters reported on Wednesday.
Melvin Chief Investment Officer Gabriel Plotkin said in a letter that the last 17 months have been an “incredibly trying time,” according to Reuters.
“The appropriate next step is to wind down the Funds by fully liquidating the Funds’ assets and accounts and returning cash to all investors.”

Tesla Inc TSLA shares sank to their lowest level this year on Wednesday, wiping out $12.3 billion from CEO Elon Musk’s net worth, Bloomberg News reported.
Musk has lost $49 billion since announcing his formal bid for Twitter on April 14, days after revealing his stake in the microblogging company.
The 50-year-old billionaire on Wednesday sent out a barrage of tweets about his political views and ESG (environmental, social, and corporate governance) ratings, besides typing out replies to dozens of other users.

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