STOCK MARKET UPDATES: FAA chaos, Mega Millions jackpot climbs, IRS issues refunds after error

FTX logo seen at the entrance of the FTX Arena in Miami, Fla., Nov. 12, 2022. (Reuters/Marco Bello)

ECONOMY

FTX bankruptcy judge terminates Miami Heat arena naming rights deal

A federal bankruptcy judge reportedly moved Wednesday to terminate the naming rights agreement between Miami-Dade County and cryptocurrency exchange FTX for the Miami Heat's arena.

FTX and Miami-Dade County have agreed to terminate the bankrupt cryptocurrency exchange’s naming rights to FTX Arena, a court document said . A judge approved the agreement in an order signed Wednesday.

Under a stipulation between the parties, the parties agreed the naming rights were terminated as of Dec. 30, 2022.

All licenses and other rights granted by the debtors to Miami-Dade County pursuant to the naming rights under any trademarks or trade names, including any naming rights partner marks and arena marks were terminated, released, canceled and extinguished.

FTX struck a 19-year, $135 million deal in March 2021 for naming rights for the home of the NBA’s Miami Heat.

Assassin’s Creed Mirage (Photo: Ubisoft)

Ubisoft is increasing its writedown estimate to 500 million euros ($538 million) and cutting its full-year revenue target after ending 2022 with weaker-than-expected sales, the French video game maker said on Wednesday.

Ubisoft cited the deteriorating economy, marked by lower spending on non-essential goods, to explain the acceleration of the depreciation, previously targeted at 400 million euros.

The group is also postponing the release of its game "Skull and Bones", and plans cost cuts of 200 million euros over two years, including for staff reduction, Chief Financial Officer Frederick Duguet said in a call with reporters.

Duguet declined to elaborate on the size of the staff reduction, which will be made through attrition, the company said. It is now expecting full-year net bookings to be down by more than 10%, compared with a previous target of growth of 10%, it added.

Net bookings in the third quarter are now expected at 725 million euros, down from a previous estimate of 830 million euros. Ubisoft's fiscal year ends on March 31.

BlackRock logo outside their headquarters in the Manhattan borough of New York City, May 25, 2021. (Reuters/Carlo Allegri)

BlackRock Inc is cutting up to 500 jobs, Insider reported on Wednesday, citing a memo, as Wall Street continues to downsize in the face of high interest rates that have raised the risk of a recession.

The world's largest asset manager had 19,900 employees as of Sept. 30, according to a filing with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission.

Earlier in the day, Goldman Sachs also began laying off staff in a sweeping cost-cutting drive, a source familiar with the matter told Reuters.

The Insider report comes a month after BlackRock Chief Financial Officer Gary Shedlin said the firm was freezing most hiring and reducing expenses due to short-term performance challenges.

The company is expected to post a 22.4% drop in fourth-quarter profit to $8.09 per share when it reports results on Friday, according to Refinitiv estimates.

New York-based BlackRock will be notifying staff on Wednesday about whether they were going to be laid off, after its human resources department alerted employees' managers on Tuesday, the report said.

The company did not immediately respond to a Reuters request for comment.

MONEY

Your tax refund may be smaller in 2023. Here's why

There are fewer tax deductions and no stimulus payments in store for taxpayers this year, meaning they could be in store for smaller tax refunds in 2023.

Many Americans may be surprised by the size of their tax refund this year. It could be smaller than in year’s past due to the lack of COVID-19 relief measures.

The government did not give out stimulus payments in 2022 and a one year boost in the child tax credit in 2021 expired.

Nearly three-quarters of filers received a tax refund in 2022, with an average payment worth about $3,176 – up from about $2,800 in 2021.

MARKETS

Tom Brady owned more than 1M FTX shares before collapse, a stake that's likely gone

The FTX collapse has left the cryptocurrency world reeling and former brand ambassador Tom Brady held over 1 million shares before it filed for bankruptcy.

Tom Brady and former wife Gisele Bündchen stand to lose million of dollars in the FTX bankruptcy.

The pair own almost 1.8 million shares of the failed cryptocurrency exchange, which they are unlikely to fully recover.

They became FTX brand ambassadors in 2021 and starred in commercials for the cryptocurrency exchange company. 

Other high profile figures, including billionaire owner of the New England Patriots, Robert Kraft, and Shark Tank star turned spokesman for FTX, Kevin O’Leary, are set to lose significant amounts of money.

MARKETS

FTX has recovered $5B in liquid assets, bankruptcy lawyer says

An attorney for bankrupt crypto exchange FTX told a judge Wednesday the failed platform has recovered more than $5 billion liquid assets, including cash and securities

Crypto exchange FTX has recovered more than $5 billion in liquid assets but the extent of customer losses in its collapse is still unknown, an attorney for the bankrupt company founded by Sam Bankman-Fried said on Wednesday.

The company, which was valued a year ago at $32 billion, filed for bankruptcy protection in November and U.S. prosecutors accused Bankman-Fried of orchestrating an "epic" fraud that may have cost investors, customers and lenders billions of dollars.

"We have located over $5 billion of cash, liquid cryptocurrency and liquid investment securities," Andy Dietderich, an attorney for FTX, told a U.S. bankruptcy judge in Delaware at the start of Wednesday's hearing.

Dietderich also said that the company plans to sell nonstrategic investments that had a book value of $4.6 billion.

People pass a window display at a branch of Victoria's Secret in New Bond Street in London, Britain, March 31, 2021. (Reuters/Toby Melville)

Victoria’s Secret & Co has narrowed its fourth quarter outlook and announced a new share buyback program.

The world's largest intimates specialty retailer is now forecasting fourth quarter 2022 operating income to be in the range of $245 million to $265 million, or approximately 12% to 13% of sales, compared to its previously communicated guidance range of $240 million to $290 million.

Net income for the fourth quarter 2022 is seen to be in the range of $2.05 to $2.25 per diluted share, compared to its previously communicated guidance range of $2.00 to $2.45 per diluted share.

The owner of PINK and Adore Me also announced a $250 million share buyback program, to begin upon exhaustion of the current $250 million share repurchase program which is scheduled to be completed by the end of January 2023.

World Wrestling Entertainment elected former chief Vince McMahon as the executive chair of the board on Tuesday, the company said, adding that co-chief executive officer and chair Stephanie McMahon resigned from her role.

Nick Khan will serve as the new WWE CEO, the entertainment firm added.

SPORTS

Stephanie McMahon resigns as WWE co-CEO

Stephanie McMahon, the daughter of longtime WWE chief Vince McMahon, announced she is resigning as co-CEO of WWE months after being appointed to the role.

Vince McMahon, 77, returned to the board last week and elected himself and two former co-presidents and directors Michelle Wilson and George Barrios to the board.

Vince McMahon, who ran the company for four decades, said last week that the only way for WWE to fully capitalize on growing demand for content and live entertainment was for him to return as executive chair.

The company also announced at the time that it would explore strategic alternatives.

McMahon retired in July last year, as the company's CEO and chairman, following an investigation into his alleged misconduct. Later, WWE said that it found some unrecorded expenses tied to McMahon.

Bridge decorated wBayer AG logo, in Wuppertal, Germany, Aug. 9, 2019. (Reuters/Wolfgang Rattay)

Bayer is facing demands from activist investor Bluebell Capital Partners to break up, a person familiar with the matter told Reuters, pushing shares in the diversified health and agriculture group to a five-week high.

The source said Bluebell had invested in Bayer a few months ago and is pushing for a sale of the company's consumer health unit and, at a later stage, for a separation of Bayer's pharmaceuticals and agriculture businesses.

Bluebell is also seeking to have supervisory board Chairman Norbert Winkeljohann and Chief Executive Werner Baumann replaced, the person said.

Bluebell did not immediately respond to a request for comment. The size of Bluebell's holding was not immediately clear.

On Monday, another activist investment fund, hedge fund veteran Jeffrey Ubben's Inclusive Capital Partners, said it had also acquired a stake in Bayer.

The German industrial icon has seen its market value slide in the wake of its 2018 takeover of Monsanto.

A Bayer spokesperson said the company was open in general for constructive dialogue with stakeholders and declined to comment further.

Representations of cryptocurrencies and Voyager Digital logo in this illustration taken July 7, 2022. (Reuters/Dado Ruvic/Illustrations)

Bankrupt crypto lender Voyager Digital received initial court approval on Tuesday for a proposed $1 billion sale of its assets to Binance.US, and said it will seek to expedite a U.S. national security review of the deal.

U.S. Bankruptcy Judge Michael Wiles in New York allowed Voyager to enter into an asset purchase agreement with Binance.US and to solicit creditor votes on the sale, which will not become final until a future court hearing.

Voyager attorney Joshua Sussberg said during Tuesday's court hearing that Voyager was responding to concerns raised over the holidays by the U.S. Committee on Foreign Investment in the United States (CFIUS), an interagency body that vets foreign investments into U.S. companies for national security risks. He said Voyager intends to address any issues that would lead CFIUS to oppose the transaction.

CFIUS said in a Dec. 30 court filing that its review "could affect the ability of the parties to complete the transactions, the timing of completion, or relevant terms."

The Binance transaction includes a $20 million cash payment and an agreement to transfer Voyager's customers to Binance.US's crypto exchange, Sussberg said. Customers would then be able to make withdrawals for the first time since July.

Voyager estimates the sale will allow customers to recover 51% of the value of their deposits at the time of Voyager's bankruptcy filing.

If CFIUS blocks the transaction, Voyager will be forced to repay customers with the crypto it has on hand, resulting in a lower payout for Voyager users, Sussberg said.

The IRS is refunding some Americans millions. Here's why.

MONEY

IRS issues 12 million tax refunds after correcting for 2020 unemployment benefit break

The Internal Revenue Service said that it has issued tax refunds to millions of Americans who overpaid taxes on their unemployment benefits in 2020.

The lottery jackpot is now the second highest on record after no winning numbers were drawn on Tuesday.

LIFESTYLE

Mega Millions $1.35B jackpot is game’s second highest

The Mega Millions lottery jackpot has ballooned once again to an estimated $1.35 billion after no player claimed the top prize in a drawing on Tuesday night.

Stocks were higher early Wednesday as traders are wagering consumer data will show inflation is lower. (Associated Press)

U.S. stock futures are rallying again ahead of the opening bell on Wednesday as commodities like gold and oil continue to rise.  

The Dow Jones Industrial Average futures is up roughly 56 points, or 0.17%, while the S&P and Nasdaq futures are approximately 0.22% and 0.15% higher, respectively.

Over the last five days, the Dow is now up around 1.53%, the S&P is up around 2%, while the tech-heavy Nasdaq is now 2.87% into the green.  

In commodities, West Texas Intermediate crude futures jumped 0.71% to $76.65 a barrel, as gold popped 0.27% to $1,881.50 an ounce.

Cryptocurrency prices were mixed early Wednesday morning with Bitcoin and Ethereum higher, while Dogecoin was lower.

Cryptocurrency prices were mixed early Wednesday, with Bitcoin and Ethereum higher, but Dogecoin lower.

At approximately 4:45 a.m. ET, Bitcoin was trading at nearly $17,458 (+0.14%), or higher by $25.

For the week, Bitcoin was trading higher by nearly 4.6%. For the month, the cryptocurrency was higher by more than 1.89%.

Ethereum was trading at approximately $1,336 (+0.07%), or higher by about $0.9.

For the week, Ethereum was trading higher by nearly 10%. For the month, it was trading higher by approximately 4.75%.

Dogecoin was trading at $0.077095 (-0.40%), or lower by approximately $0.000306. 

For the week, Dogecoin was higher by almost 9.7%. For the month, however, the crypto was lower by nearly 19.6%.

Gasoline and diesel prices fell for the third consecutive day nationwide. (gasprices.aaa.com)

The nationwide price for a gallon of gasoline slipped on Wednesday to $3.267. On Tuesday, a gallon of gasoline nationwide cost $3.27. On Monday, that same gallon of gasoline cost $3.28, according to AAA.

A year ago, the price for a gallon of regular gasoline was $3.31. One week ago, a gallon of gasoline cost $3.26. A month ago, that same gallon of gasoline cost $3.277.

Gas hit an all-time high of $5.016 on June 14.

Diesel remained below $5.00 per gallon on Wednesday, falling to $4.627. On Tuesday, the price for a gallon a diesel fell to $4.638. On Monday the price stood at $4.653, but that is still a far cry from the $3.58.6 of a year ago.

A glut of crude and fuel products in the US has caused oil prices to fall. (Getty Images)

Oil prices fell on Wednesday as an unexpected build in crude and fuel inventories in the United States, the world's biggest oil consumer, and economic uncertainty reignited demand worries. 

U.S. West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude futures slipped by 54 cents, or 0.72%, to $74.58 a barrel at 0700 GMT, while Brent crude futures fell by 50 cents, or 0.62%, to $79.60. 

Both contracts rose on Monday and Tuesday, rebounding from a sharp selloff in the first week of 2023. U.S. crude oil stockpiles jumped by 14.9 million barrels in the week ended Jan. 6, sources said, citing data from the American Petroleum Institute (API).

At the same time, distillate stocks, which include heating oil and jet fuel, rose by about 1.1 million barrels. Analysts polled by Reuters had expected crude stocks to fall by 2.2 million barrels and distillate stocks to drop by 500,000 barrels. 

The large increase in U.S. inventories in the API estimates has dragged down oil prices, while the risk of recession is also capping the oil price uptrend in the short run, said analyst Leon Li at CMC Markets. 

Traders will be looking out for inventory data from the U.S. Energy Information Administration due later on Wednesday to see if it matches the preliminary view from API. 

The oil market has been pulled lower by worries that sharply higher interest rate hikes to tame inflation would trigger a recession and curtail fuel demand. The prevailing market sentiment is bearish on the demand side, with China still dealing with a widespread COVID-19 outbreak and the U.S. and Europe at risk of economic slowdowns, with supply disruptions minimal for the time being, Claudio Galimberti, a senior vice president at Rystad Energy, said by email. 

The market structure for futures reflects that weakness with both the front-month Brent and WTI contracts remaining in contango, where prompt month prices are trading lower than forward month prices, typically a sign that there is less short-term demand for oil. 

Prices gained earlier this week on hopes for fuel demand growth in China, the world's second-largest oil consumer, after it eased its COVID-19 curbs and allowed the resumption of international travel. 

"Monday's news that China had issued a fresh batch of import quotas suggests the world's large importer is ramping up to meet higher demand," ANZ Research analysts said in a note. The big focus this week is on U.S. inflation data, due on Thursday.

If inflation comes in below expectations that would drive the dollar down, analysts said. A weaker dollar can boost oil demand as it makes the commodity cheaper for buyers holding other currencies.