The daily business briefing: April 14, 2023

1. Snyders reach deal to sell Washington Commanders for record $6 billion

Washington Commanders owners Dan and Tanya Snyder reached a preliminary deal on Thursday to sell the NFL team for the highest price ever paid for a North American sports franchise. A group led by Josh Harris, already a co-owner of the NBA's Philadelphia 76ers and the NHL's New Jersey Devils, has agreed in principle to pay $6.05 billion for the Commanders, multiple media outlets reported, citing people familiar with the deal. A sale would need the approval of three-quarters of the professional football league's owners. The bid by Harris' group, which includes Magic Johnson, exceeded the previous record price for an NFL team of $4.65 billion, which a group led by Walmart heir Rob Walton paid for the Denver Broncos in August.

ESPN CBS Sports

2. Enel announces plan to add 10,000 EV fast chargers in U.S.

Italian energy giant Enel announced Thursday it would add 10,000 electric-vehicle fast chargers in the United States by 2030. The push, coming as the Biden administration increases its effort to speed up the shift from gasoline-powered vehicles to EVs, would nearly double the number of fast chargers in the country by the end of the decade. Earlier in the week, the Biden administration imposed tougher tailpipe emissions restrictions that would encourage drivers to switch to EVs. The effort will require broader availability of public places to repower cars fast, but many companies are holding back on investing in these facilities before expensive power upgrades are in place and the demand is there to make them profitable, according to The Wall Street Journal.

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The Wall Street Journal

3. French workers protest ahead of decision on pension reform legality

Hundreds of thousands of people protested across France ahead of a Constitutional Council verdict expected Friday on the legality of President Emmanuel Macron's widely unpopular plan to raise the retirement age from 62 to 64. Trade unionists and striking workers stormed the Paris headquarters of luxury goods company LVMH, maker of the Louis Vuitton and Christian Dior brands, which is owned by the richest person in the world, Bernard Arnault. "You're looking for money to finance pensions? Take it from the pockets of billionaires," said the Sud Rail trade unionist Fabien Villedieu at LVMH headquarters, as the offices filled with red smoke from flares. Demonstrators set fires in Rennes, and clashed with police in Nantes, a protest hot spot.

The Guardian France24

4. Stock futures edge down after Thursday's big gains

U.S. stock futures fell slightly early Friday after an unexpected March decline in producer prices fueled big gains on Thursday. Futures tied to the Dow Jones Industrial Average and the S&P 500 were down 0.1 percent at 7 a.m. ET. Nasdaq futures were down 0.3 percent. The Dow and the S&P 500 jumped 1.1 percent and 1.3 percent, respectively, on Thursday. The Nasdaq surged by 2.0 percent after the release of the March producer price index, which showed that prices paid by companies fell 0.5 percent from February. Economists surveyed by Dow Jones had expected the index to be flat. Excluding volatile food and energy prices, the index fell 0.1 percent compared to an expected 0.2 percent increase, the latest indication inflation is easing.

CNBC

5. Suspect arrested in fatal stabbing of Cash App founder Bob Lee

San Francisco police on Thursday arrested a suspect in the stabbing death of Cash App founder Bob Lee. District Attorney Brooke Jenkins charged 38-year-old Nima Momeni, identified on LinkedIn as an information technology consultant and entrepreneur for a company called Expand IT, with murder, the San Francisco Chronicle reported. Momeni is accused of stabbing Lee twice in the chest on a sidewalk late at night in San Francisco's wealthy Rincon Hill neighborhood. Lee was a well-known figure in tech circles, due to his past leadership role at Square and his involvement in the launch of Google's Android operating system. Momeni reportedly knew Lee.

San Francisco Chronicle