Arm's IPO Could Be Valued At $54B, Google Slashes Jobs in Global Recruiting, Starbucks Founder And Former CEO To Leave: Today's Top Stories

Financial Times

Investor Frenzy Over Arm's IPO Pushes Valuation To New Heights, Could Skyrocket To $54B

• The UK-based chip design firm Arm Holdings is gearing up for a blockbuster initial public offering that could value the company at a staggering $54 billion. The IPO is slated to be the most significant in the tech sector in two years.
• Arm and its parent company, SoftBank SFTBF, are in the final stages of pricing their shares for the IPO.

Goldman Axed Top Banking Executive Amid Communication Violation Scandal

• Goldman Sachs Group Inc GS has reportedly dismissed multiple employees from its budding corporate cash management division due to severe violations of its communications guidelines. 
• Four workers were terminated, including the Bank's partner, Hari Moorthy, the global head of transaction banking.
• Earlier, banking institutions have paid fines for unapproved messaging apps such as WhatsApp to conduct company business.

 

CNBC

Hiring Pullback: Google Slashes Jobs in Global Recruiting

• Alphabet Inc GOOG GOOGL Google is undergoing a significant workforce reduction in its global recruiting department as part of a larger-scale hiring slowdown projected for the coming quarters. 
• Despite the difficulty of this decision, Brian Ong, Google's Vice President of Recruiting, emphasized its necessity in light of the reduced hiring needs for the foreseeable future.

 

Benzinga

Starbucks Founder, Former CEO To Leave Company Immediately; Former Alibaba Exec Joins Board

• Starbucks Corp SBUX announced on Wednesday that founder and former CEO Howard Schultz is leaving the coffee chain's board effective immediately.
• The move follows his departure as CEO in March of this year.
• Reflecting on his 41-year tenure, Schultz thanked the company's employees and shareholders, and gave his support for the next generation of Starbucks leadership.

Marvel's VFX Artists Vote for Unionization Amid Industry Labor Struggles

• Amidst the backdrop of ongoing labor strikes in Hollywood, Marvel Studios' visual effects (VFX) workers have voted unanimously in favor of unionization under the International Alliance of Theatrical Stage Employees (IATSE). 
• This marks the first time a dedicated unit of VFX professionals has joined forces with the group.
• In recent years, VFX artists have grappled with mounting workloads and stringent deadlines while working on some of the industry's most high-budget franchise films. These challenges have given rise to tensions between VFX professionals and the studios.

Singapore To Review Ride-Hailing Regulations, Grab And GoTo On The Radar

• Singapore could subject ride-hailing companies like Grab Holdings Ltd GRAB to new rules after it hinted at a crackdown on the regulations and structure governing the fast-growing industry.
• The Land Transport Authority looks to revise the framework for the taxi and ride-hailing industries, focusing on the availability of supply, resilience, and the inclusivity of services while overseeing the adoption of clean-energy vehicles.

Kroger's Home Chef Battles Grubhub Over Sizzling Fork-And-Knife Logo Controversy: Who Wins?

• Kroger Company's KR Home Chef division, flaunting a fork-and-knife logo, faces a spicy twist as a U.S. appeals court wasn't swayed by their claim that Grubhub's look-alike logo could confuse consumers. Grubhub is part of Just Eat Takeaway.Com N.V. JTKWY.
• The legal tiff began as Home Chef and Grubhub used strikingly similar fork and knife logos.

 

Reuters

'Shrinkflation' Shame!: French Supermarket Carrefour Targets PepsiCo, Unilever and Others By Issuing Price Alerts

• Carrefour CRERF CRRFY has taken a proactive stance by issuing price alerts on several products as a strategic move to exert pressure on leading consumer goods suppliers such as Nestle SA NSRGF NSRGY, PepsiCo Inc PEP, and Unilever Plc UL to combat inflation in anticipation of forthcoming contract negotiations.
• Carrefour is affixing labels to products that have undergone downsizing while their prices have increased, even after a decline in raw material costs. 
• Carrefour has marked 26 products in its French stores with labels stating, "This product has seen its volume or weight fall, and the effective price by the supplier rise." 

Texas Billionaire Timothy Dunn Backed US Oil & Gas Player Explores $10B Sale

• CrownRock is reportedly in the early stages of preparing for a potential sale, with insiders indicating that the company's valuation could surpass $10 billion, including its outstanding debt. 
• This prospective deal, slated for early 2024, could mark a significant milestone in the U.S. oil and gas industry, as it may be the largest transaction involving an oil and gas producer in the past three years.
• Notable oil industry giants like Exxon Mobil Corp XOM and Chevron Corp CVX are expected to be approached to gauge their interest in the potential acquisition of CrownRock.

Airlines Caught In Airfare Scandal: Antitrust Lawsuit Shakes Delta, United

• Delta Air Lines Inc DAL and United Airlines Holdings Inc UAL find themselves at the center of an antitrust class action lawsuit.
• The accusations? Conspiring to inflate airfares across the U.S. by artfully reducing available seats on domestic flights.
• U.S. District Judge Colleen Kollar-Kotelly dropped a legal bombshell on Tuesday, greenlighting the antitrust class action lawsuit.

Billionaire Ron Baron Holds $1B Stake In Elon Musk's SpaceX

• Ron Baron, the Billionaire investor and fund manager, reportedly holds more than $1 billion worth of shares in Elon Musk's rocket company, SpaceX.
• Baron is a close associate of Musk and a long-time investor in the electric car company Tesla Inc TSLA.
• He has also invested about $100 million to take X, formerly Twitter, private.

 

Bloomberg

Microsoft Faces Formal EU Complaint Over Teams App Despite Remediation Efforts

• Microsoft Corp's MSFT attempt to address EU concerns about its Teams video-conferencing app failed, with the European Union's antitrust enforcers now preparing a formal complaint against the tech giant. 
• Microsoft's proposal to separate Teams from its broader business software package and offer it to customers independently with an annual discount did not alleviate regulators' worries.

Electronic Arts' Star Wars Visionary Stig Asmussen Departs - What's Next for the Gaming Giant?

• Video game director Stig Asmussen, known for his role in reviving Electronic Arts Inc's EA Star Wars game franchise, is bidding farewell to the company. 
• This news comes as a significant development in the gaming world. Electronic Arts confirmed Asmussen's departure. 
• An EA spokesperson noted that seasoned Respawn leaders would step up to continue their work on "Star Wars Jedi: Survivor," ensuring a smooth transition.

AI Frenzy: OpenAI Expands Global Presence with New Dublin Office

• Microsoft Corp MSFT backed OpenAI Inc. eyes a second base outside the U.S. office, this time in Dublin.
• CEO Sam Altman praised Ireland's tech and startup ecosystem's "impressive growth and advancement." 
• The ChatGPT parent previously announced its first outside the U.S. in June in London.

Casino Giants Face Cybersecurity Crisis: Caesars Entertainment Falls Prey To Hackers Post-MGM Attack

• In a recent cybersecurity breach, Caesars Entertainment Inc. CZR reportedly paid millions to cyber attackers to prevent the leak of company data.
• The fallout of this incident has led to a substantial drop in the company's share prices.
• Caesars Entertainment reportedly paid a hefty sum to a group of hackers called "Scattered Spider" or "UNC 3944." The cyber attackers breached the company's systems via an external IT vendor's network.