Business News

Potential $50 billion Southwestern energy giant emerges as Diamondback seeks to buy rival Endeavor

Diamondback Energy will attempt to buy rival Endeavor Energy Resources to create an energy giant in the Southwestern United States worth more than $50 billion. Growing confidence in an economic recovery, particularly in the U.S., has driven massive deals in the energy sector in recent months, including Chevron’s $53 billion acquisition of Hess in October, and a $59.5 billion deal two weeks before that by Exxon Mobil. Diamondback will buy Endeavor in a cash-and-stock deal valued at about $26 billion. The combined company would oversee 838,000 acres and be able to produce 816,000 oil-equivalent barrels each day.

Recession risks are fading, business economists say, but political tensions pose threat to economy

WASHINGTON (AP) — Just a quarter of business economists and analysts expect the United States to fall into recession this year. And any downturn would likely result from an external shock — such as a conflict involving China — rather than from domestic economic factors such as higher interest rates. But respondents to a National Association of Business Economics survey released Monday still expect year-over-year inflation to exceed 2.5% — above the Federal Reserve’s 2% target — through 2024.

Mobileye CEO Shashua expects more autonomous vehicles on the road in 2 years as tech moves ahead

DETROIT (AP) — Five years ago, automakers and tech companies thought they were on the cusp of putting thousands of self-driving robotaxis on the street to carry passengers without a human driver. Then an Uber autonomous test vehicle hit and killed a pedestrian in Arizona and General Motors’ Cruise robotaxis ran into trouble in San Francisco. Yet Amnon Shashua, co-founder and CEO of Mobileye, which makes automated driving systems, says the technology is moving ahead. Shashua says he expects his company to sell a system that allows drivers to take their eyes off the road, and a fully driverless system, each in about two years.

Super Bowl ads keep it heavy on the celebrities, light on the politics

NEW YORK (AP) — The Kansas City Chiefs were crowned victorious over the San Francisco 49ers in this year’s Super Bowl — and, off the field, big-name advertisers competed for viewers’ attention with celebrity-filled, glitzy messages. Airing a Super Bowl commercial is no easy feat. On top of the reported $7 million price tag for a 30-second spot during the game, brands enlist the biggest actors, invest in dazzling special effects and try to put together an ad that more than 100 million expected viewers will like — or at least remember. On Sunday, scores of advertisers tapped into light humor and nostalgia to give game breaks a mostly “feel good” energy. Still, there were also a few serious and somber moments.

Jeff Bezos sells nearly 12 million Amazon shares worth at least $2 billion, with more to come

SEATTLE (AP) — Jeff Bezos has filed a statement with federal regulators indicating his sale of nearly 12 million shares of Amazon stock worth more than $2 billion. The Amazon executive chairman notified the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission of the sale of 11,997,698 shares of common stock on Feb. 7 and Feb. 8. The collective value of the shares of Amazon, based in Seattle, was more than $2.042 billion. The stocks were grouped in five blocks between over 1 million to more than 3.2 million. In a separate SEC filing, Bezos has listed the proposed sale of 50 million Amazon shares around Feb. 7 with an estimated market value of $8.4 billion.

This small New York village made guns for 200 years. What happens when Remington leaves?

ILION, N.Y. (AP) — Workers have turned out hunting rifles, shotguns, carbines, revolvers and more at the Remington plant in upstate New York for about two centuries. Now locals are bracing for Remington’s exit from the village of Ilion. The nation’s oldest gun-maker is consolidating operations in Georgia and recently announced plans to shutter the Ilion factory in early March. The move will eliminate 300 local jobs. The current owners of Remington Firearms blamed “production inefficiencies” for the plant closing in a letter to union officials. Meanwhile, local officials are facing the prospect of a dramatic revenue loss and a vacant old factory.

Israel’s finance minister blasts Moody’s downgrade of the the country’s credit rating

TEL AVIV, Israel (AP) — Israel’s finance minister has slammed a decision by the financial ratings agency Moody’s to downgrade Israel’s credit rating. Bezalel Smotrich says the decision “did not include serious economic claims.” In its announcement Friday, Moody’s warned that the ongoing war in Gaza and a possible war in the north with Hezbollah could adversely affect Israel’s economy. It downgraded Israel’s rating from A1 to A2 and said the outlook for the country’s economy was “negative.” It’s the first time Moody’s has lowered Israel’s credit rating, which is used by investors to measure the riskiness of investing in a global entity or government. Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu says Israel’s economy remains strong.

Stock market today: Wall Street listless early Monday following record-breaking week

Coming off a record-breaking week, Wall Street drifted toward modest losses early Monday with more corporate earnings on tap and another inflation update coming from the U.S. government. Futures for the S&P 500 were flat before the bell, while futures for the Dow Jones Industrial Average fell less than 0.1%. This week brings an important update from the Labor Department on consumer inflation. Corporate profits have mostly been better than expected for the big companies in the S&P 500 this reporting season, which is roughly two-thirds finished. Later this week, Shopify, DoorDash and WK Kellogg report their most recent financial results.

Mardi Gras beads are creating a plastic disaster in New Orleans. Are there green alternatives?

NEW ORLEANS (AP) — It’s a beloved Carnival season tradition in New Orleans — masked riders on lavish floats fling strings of beads or other trinkets to parade watchers. But environmentalists are worried about the huge amount of nonbiodegradable plastic beads that wind up mixed in all the other Mardi Gras trash. It has led to movements to collect and reuse plastic beads to reduce demand. And it has sparked a growing effort to replace beads with other items. One New Orleans nonprofit now markets a variety of alternative parade favors — including beads made out of paper, acai seeds or recycled glass; wooden yo-yos; and packets of locally-made coffee or jambalaya mix.

The economy of this Palestinian village depended on Israel. Then the checkpoint closed

NILIN, West Bank (AP) — Israel’s war on Hamas in Gaza has also wreaked havoc on the Palestinian economy in the West Bank. In response to Hamas’ Oct. 7 attack that triggered the war, Israel severed economic ties with the West Bank, barring tens of thousands of Palestinian workers from entering the country. In the four months since, the Palestinian economy in the West Bank has contracted by over one-fifth. One-third of businesses in the territory either closed or reduced production. And one-third of jobs were lost. Daily losses run to $25 million. Palestinians are running out of savings and racking up debt to buy food.