The daily business briefing: August 9, 2022

1. FAA says Boeing to resume 787 Dreamliner deliveries within days

The Federal Aviation Administration said Monday it expects Boeing to deliver its first 787 Dreamliners in more than 14 months "in the coming days." The FAA said Boeing had made all the necessary changes for the jets to meet all government certification standards. "The FAA will inspect each aircraft before an airworthiness certificate is issued and cleared for delivery," the regulator said in a written statement. The FAA suspended Dreamliner delivers in May 2021 over paper-thin gaps between fuselage sections that required costly repairs and inspections. About 120 of the wide-body passenger planes, worth more than $25 billion, are parked at a South Carolina plant and other sites around the U.S., awaiting pickup.

The Post and Courier

2. Axios agrees to buyout by Cox Enterprises

Digital media company Axios has agreed to sell itself to Cox Enterprises. Axios was founded five years ago, breaking into a crowded field with distinctive bulletin-style reports, focusing on political and business scoops. The deal values the company at $525 million, about five times its projected 2022 revenue. The agreement includes financial incentives for Axios' founders — CEO Jim VandeHei, president Roy Schwartz, and journalist Mike Allen — to remain on board, each as minority shareholders. They also will continue to make day-to-day decisions in the newsroom and on business matters. Axios gained attention for its reporting and national political correspondent Jonathan Swan's on-camera interviews with then-President Donald Trump and members of his administration.

Subscribe to The Week

Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.

SUBSCRIBE & SAVE

Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters

From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.

From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.

Sign up

The New York Times

3. Pfizer agrees to buy Global Blood Therapeutics for $5.4 billion

Pfizer said Monday it has agreed to buy blood disorder drugmaker Global Blood Therapeutics in a $5.4 billion deal. The acquisition will boost Pfizer's share of the rare disease treatment business with Oxbryta, a drug to treat sickle cell disease. Pfizer will pay $68.50 per share, which amounts to a 42.7 percent premium over the stock's closing price on Thursday, before The Wall Street Journal reported that Pfizer was in advanced acquisition talks with Global Blood. Pfizer, sitting on extra cash from its COVID-19 vaccine sales, agreed to pay $11.6 billion for migraine drug maker Biohaven Pharmaceutical Holding in May, and recently sealed a $6.7 billion deal to acquire Arena Pharmaceuticals.

CNBC

4. WSJ: Pay gap already stark between men and women 3 years after graduation

A Wall Street Journal analysis found that a pay gap emerged between men and women almost immediately after they joined the workforce. Median pay for men exceeded that of women, including those graduating from the same schools, three years after graduation in nearly 75 percent of 11,300 degree programs at 2,000 universities. Three years after graduating, men with accounting degrees from Georgetown University made a median salary of $155,000, a 55 percent premium over the salaries of their female classmates, the Journal reported Monday. Men with University of Michigan law degrees earned $165,000 after three years, while women made $120,000. The data was compiled by the Education Department using federal tax records. The Labor Department says women make 82.3 cents per dollar men earn.

The Wall Street Journal

5. Stock futures mixed ahead of new data

U.S. stock futures fluctuated early Tuesday ahead of more corporate earnings results and inflation data. Futures tied to the Dow Jones Industrial Average were flat at 6:30 a.m. ET, after giving back slight early gains. S&P 500 and Nasdaq futures were down 0.1 percent and 0.4 percent, respectively. The S&P 500 and the tech-heavy Nasdaq fell 0.1 percent Monday as investors searched fresh earnings reports for indications of how companies are handling higher inflation. Nvidia shares fell 6.3 percent after the chipmaker reported preliminary quarterly revenue that fell short of analysts' forecasts. The company said it expects challenging market conditions to continue in the third quarter of 2022. The Dow gained 0.1 percent Monday after a strong July jobs report on Friday eased recession fears.

CNBC The Wall Street Journal