Morning Brief: Comcast makes $65B bid for Fox assets

Thursday, June 14, 2018

What to watch today

The world’s central banks are tightening monetary policy. On Wednesday, the Federal Reserve announced a quarter point interest rate hike and signaled two more hikes would come by the end of the year. Later Thursday morning, the European Central Bank is expected to announce its plan to end its stimulative asset purchase program. Analysts warn these actions could lead to some market volatility as liquidity is pulled out of the financial system.

Meanwhile, bitcoin (BTC-USD) and cryptocurrencies have been getting slammed in recent days. Bitcoin is now below $6500. This will be a hot topic at Yahoo Finance’s All Markets Summit: Crypto, which kicks off at 12:00 p.m. ET today.

Read More

Top news

Photo/REUTERS/Eduardo Munoz
Photo/REUTERS/Eduardo Munoz

Comcast offers $65B to lure Fox from Disney bid: Comcast Corp. (CMCSA) offered $65 billion on Wednesday to lure Twenty-First Century Fox Inc. (FOXA) away from a merger with Walt Disney Co. (DIS), setting up a bidding war between two of the largest U.S. media companies with its 20% higher offer. Comcast Chief Executive Brian Roberts said he was highly confident regulators would allow Comcast to acquire most of Fox’s media assets after AT&T Inc.’s (T) court victory on Tuesday, which allowed it to buy Time Warner Inc. (TWX) for $85 billion. [Reuters]

Apple closing iPhone security gap: The gap that allowed outsiders to pry personal information from locked Apple (AAPL) iPhones without a password, a change that will thwart law enforcement agencies that have been exploiting the vulnerability to collect evidence in criminal investigations. The loophole will be shut down in a forthcoming update to Apple’s iOS software, which powers iPhones. [AP]

Trump to meet advisers on China tariffs as Beijing urges talks: U.S. President Donald Trump will meet with his top trade advisers on Thursday to decide whether to activate threatened tariffs on Chinese goods, a senior Trump administration official said, as China again urged talks to settle the dispute. Trump is due to unveil revisions to his initial tariff list targeting $50 billion of Chinese goods on Friday. [Reuters]

WeWork is raising funds at $35B valuation: WeWork Cos. is seeking to raise funds at a $35 billion valuation, a price tag that would place the co-working startup above companies like Airbnb and SpaceX, according to an executive at SoftBank Group Corp., which is a major WeWork investor. [Bloomberg]

For more of the latest news, go to Yahoo Finance

Achilles the cat, one of the State Hermitage Museum mice hunters, lies on a table after attempting to predict the result of the opening match of the 2018 FIFA World Cup between Russia and Saudi Arabia in St.Petersburg, Russia, Wednesday, June 13, 2018. Achilles chose Russia. (AP Photo/Dmitri Lovetsky)
Achilles the cat, one of the State Hermitage Museum mice hunters, lies on a table after attempting to predict the result of the opening match of the 2018 FIFA World Cup between Russia and Saudi Arabia in St.Petersburg, Russia, Wednesday, June 13, 2018. Achilles chose Russia. (AP Photo/Dmitri Lovetsky)

Yahoo Finance Originals

Facebook, Google, and your data played a part in the AT&T-Time Warner decision

3 key takeaways about managing credit card debt

What citizens around the world worry about most

Reviewed: Apple HomePod goes stereo and multi-room

Like what you just read? Get the Morning Brief sent directly to your inbox every Monday to Friday by 6:30 a.m. ET. And feel free to share it with a friend!

The Morning Brief provides a quick rundown on what to watch in the markets, top news stories, and the best of Yahoo Finance Originals.