This is a published version of the Forbes Daily newsletter, you can sign-up to get Forbes Daily in your inbox here.
Good morning,
DMâs are seemingly no longer the only way to communicate with someone directly on X. In the latest change since Elon Musk took over the platform formerly known as Twitter, users noticed a new feature that allows them to place video and audio calls to each other.
There was no formal announcement of the change, but CEO Linda Yaccarino said back in August that the new feature would be coming soon as part of an effort to turn X into an âeverything app.â
Of course, whatâs new to X has been a standard feature of other social media platforms like Instagram and Facebook for years.
BREAKING NEWS
Multiple people were killed and dozens more wounded after a gunman opened fire at two locations in Lewiston, Maine on Wednesday, as police remain on the hunt for 40-year-old Robert Card, a firearms instructor with the U.S. Army Reserve who has been identified as a person of interest. According to the Associated Press, at least 16 people were killed in the shooting, while CNN and NBC have reported that the number could be as high as 22, making this the deadliest mass shooting of 2023 so far.
The United Auto Workers union announced a tentative labor agreement with Ford Motor on Wednesday night, which could end an ongoing strike against one of the three American auto manufacturers the union has targeted in recent weeks. The tentative agreement includes a 25% wage increase over the life of the agreement, and an 11% increase in the first year, which would reportedly increase assembly line workers’ compensation from about $32 an hour to around $40 an hour.
Israeli tanks performed a âtargeted raidâ in Northern Gaza on Thursday, striking ânumerous terrorist cells, infrastructure and anti-tank missile launch posts,â before exiting the area and returning to Israeli territory, according to the Israeli Defense Forces in a video posted on X. The raid comes after Israel agreed to delay an expected ground invasion of Gaza at the request of the U.S. so it could get more defenses in place to protect American troops.
BUSINESS + FINANCE
In its latest tale of woe, Boeing was relatively upbeat in its earnings call Wednesday that it would soon leave behind problems that slowed deliveries of 737 MAX commercial airliners over the past two months, but its defense and space division was the biggest contributor to Boeingâs $1.63 billion in red ink. Boeing Defense & Space logged a $924 million loss from operations in the three months ending with September. Boeing shares were down more than 1% in midafternoon trading.
Three-quarters of manufacturing executives think current federal policy on manufacturingâa cornerstone of President Joe Bidenâs economic agendaâstrengthens their sector, according to a new poll by Forbes, Xometry and Zogby. Yet theyâre split over which party would bring about a manufacturing renaissance. The internal contradictions reflect the fractured political environment, said Jeremy Zogby, managing partner of John Zogby Strategies, the veteran polling firm that fielded the survey.
Sam Bankman-Fried will testify in court in the former billionaire and founder of the FTX cryptocurrency exchangeâs trial over fraud and money laundering charges, his lawyer said Wednesday. Bankman-Fried could take the stand as soon as Thursday, once federal prosecutors bring in their final witness and rest their case.
TECH + INNOVATION
Shares of Google parent Alphabet continued their slide Wednesday despite topping analyst forecasts, sliding 9% to about $126, their steepest loss since last October. Investors are worried about the company losing ground to rival Microsoft in AI and cloud computing, as the firmâs cloud business disappointed top and bottom line estimates, but some analysts say the selloff is an overreaction missing the forest for the trees.
Apple officials are reportedly considering using its soon-to-launch $3,500 Vision Pro augmented reality headset to diagnose and treat mental illness, The Information reported Wednesday. The headset, which comes equipped with an array of sensors and cameras, could be used to measure usersâ facial expressions, feelings and emotions, and detect levels of anxiety, depression, post-traumatic stress disorder and other forms of stress, sources familiar with the matter told the publication.
Meta reported its strongest sales and profits in the companyâs history last quarter, driving its stock up about 4% as the social media empire continues to reverse course from a brutal 2022. Meta, which generates more than 95% of revenue from advertising, can trace much of its topline success to advertisersâ increasing willingness to spend once again.
MONEY + POLITICS
The historic three-week impasse in the U.S. House of Representatives is finally over, as the House elected Rep. Mike Johnson (R-La.) as its 56th speaker Wednesday. After three previous candidates failed to unify the far-right and centrist factions, Johnson won unanimous Republican support.
MORE: Johnson is a fervent Trump defender and was dubbed âthe most important architect of the Electoral College objectionsâ by the New York Times. Heâs a hard-line conservative and has endorsed national abortion ban proposals as a Congressman.
SPORTS + ENTERTAINMENT
Jim âMattress Mackâ McIngvale, a Houston furniture entrepreneur renowned for his outrageous sports gambling, had a $10 million wager riding on his hometown team the Astros to win the World Series this year. But McIngvale isnât crushed by the teamâs loss because, as always, he hedged his bet with a mattress sales promotion at his Houston-based Gallery Furniture. During the Super Bowl, March Madness, the World Series, and other marquee events, Mack will place a giant bet on one teamâeither a Texas club or one closest geographically to his home stateâand offer customers a full refund on major purchases.
Apple TV quietly raised the cost of its premium subscription from $6.99 to $9.99, the latest streaming service to increase its monthly rate this year, joining Netflix, Disney+, Hulu and Max, amid escalating competition. The price of its Apple One plansâwhich also include Apple Music and its gaming service Apple Arcadeâincreased from $16.95 per month to $19.95 for its individual package.
A judge ruled that Carnival Cruises was negligent in allowing an early-pandemic cruiseâon which almost 700 passengers contracted Covid and 28 people later died of the illnessâto depart from Sydney despite having already experienced coronavirus outbreaks aboard several of its ships. Carnival and its subsidiary Princess Cruises âknew or ought to have known about the heightened risk of coronavirus infection on the vessel and its potentially lethal consequences,â the judge ruled.
Humanity is moving âperilously close to the brinkâ of multiple environmental tipping points that could be disastrous to both people and the environment, UN researchers warned in a report published Wednesday. The report identified six key risks: accelerating extinctions, depletion of groundwater, melting glaciers, extreme heat, the increasing amount of junk orbiting Earth from satellites or rocket launches, and âuninsurableâ areasâas insurance companies hike premiums or pull policies altogether to limit risks amid soaring damages from weather-related disasters.
DAILY COVER STORY
TOPLINE Less than four years ago, the entry price for an NBA expansion team was $2.5 billion. Once the league signs off on its next round of central media rights deals, that number will balloon to $4 billion to $5 billion.
Today, the average NBA team is worth $3.85 billion, according to our 2023 list of the Most Valuable NBA Teams, an increase of 35% from a year ago and 75% higher than in 2019. And with the league set to rake in some $13 billion this season (before debt payments and revenue sharing), 23% more than last season, valuations are still heading skyward.
One of the NBAâs growth areas is sponsorships, which inched up last season but could see double-digit growth during the 2022-23 campaign due to the leagueâs new in-season tournament and more jersey patch deals.
And while the Denver Nuggets may have captured the NBA title last season, no one is close to usurping the Golden State Warriors, who are the leagueâs most valuable team for the second consecutive year at $7.7 billion, up 10% from a year ago. The Warriors generated $765 million in revenue (net of arena debt service and revenue sharing during the 2022-23 season), 48% more than any other team. The Knicks ($6.6 billion) and Los Angeles Lakers ($6.4 billion) are the other teams worth more than $6 billion.
The surge in values this year was driven by the two sales of NBA teams during the past 12 monthsâthe Phoenix Suns sold for $4 billion to Matt and Justin Ishbia in February, and in August, Michael Jordan sold the Charlotte Hornets for $3 billion to Rick Schnall and Gabe Plotkinâas well as 25% of the Milwaukee Bucks at a $3.2 billion valuation by Jimmy and Dee Haslam in April.
The three transactions are among the top four all-time NBA sale prices and underscore the lofty multiples of revenue buyers are willing to pony up to own a team.
WHY IT MATTERS The escalation in sale price multiples is due to the expectations over a major increase in media rights. The leagueâs current deal for U.S. rights with ESPN and Turner Sports average a total of $2.66 billion a season through 2025-26, while international rights, splintered among many distributors (including DAZN and Sky Sports), bring in about $500 million annually. The consensus from media experts and sports bankers is that by bringing in new distributors such as Appleï»ż, YouTube TV and Amazon Prime, and bundling its international rights, the NBA will more than double the value of its current media rights.
MORE The NBAâs Highest-Paid Players 2023
FACTS AND COMMENTS
The Texas Rangers and Arizona Diamondbacks are headed into a World Series matchup few would have predicted at the start of the MLB season. The playoff games that landed them there drove big ratings:
7 million: The number of viewers on Fox for the first playoff game between the Houston Astros and the Rangers, the most-viewed opening game of the American League Championship Series since 2010
22.86 million: The number of people who tuned in to TBS for the first five games of the playoff series between the Diamondbacks and the Philadelphia Phillies
1,750 to 1: The odds of a Rangers-Diamondbacks World Series when betting on the season opened last fall, the Associated Press reported
STRATEGY AND SUCCESS
A greater share of corporate executives now see diversity, equity and inclusion as contributing to business success, and for many organizations, fostering and sustaining a strong DEI culture has become imperative. To incorporate DEI into your team and organization, start by defining it and regularly measure understanding of what DEI means, be a role model for inclusive leadership for employees and consider DEIâs strategic potential. Itâs not just beneficial for addressing talent shortagesâDEI initiatives can also fuel learning, change and innovation.
VIDEO
QUIZ
Consumer Reports said it found âconcerningâ levels of lead or cadmium, which are concentrated in cocoa, in one-third of chocolate products it tested, such as cake mixes and hot chocolateâthough the industry says chocolate remains safe to eat. The CFO of the company that makes which chocolate product(s) previously said the brand âwould love to eradicateâ traces of the heavy metals in its chocolate products?
A. Nestlé
B. Hersheyâs
C. Toblerone
D. Godiva
ACROSS THE NEWSROOM
- Get inspired by young movers and makers out to change the worldâour Under 30 newsletter sends every Friday. You can sign-up here.
Thanks for reading! Follow along with us on Twitter for by-the-minute updates on the latest business and financial news throughout the day.