The daily business briefing: May 15, 2023

A building with the Vice logo on its side

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1. Vice files for bankruptcy protection
2. Biden and congressional leaders likely to discuss debt limit on Tuesday
3. Twitter's new CEO tweets she's excited to help Musk transform company
4. Stock futures gain as hope rises for debt ceiling deal
5. Oneok and Magellan Midstream reach deal to form pipeline giant

By Harold Maass, The Week US

published 15 May 2023

1. Vice files for bankruptcy protection

Vice Media Group on Monday filed for bankruptcy protection as it tries to organize a sale. Under the potential deal, a group of lenders, including Fortress Investment Group, Soros Fund Management and Monroe Capital, would provide $225 million in credit and assume significant liabilities in exchange for the assets of the company, which owns popular websites Vice and Motherboard. Vice, once valued at $5.7 billion, has struggled with financial difficulties and the departure of top executives for years. It started as an alternative magazine in Montreal nearly 30 years ago, and gained popularity in recent years for its documentary-style videos. Its fall came despite a shared Pulitzer Prize in 2020 and multiple Emmys for Vice News Tonight.

President Biden and congressional leaders have agreed to meet Tuesday for more talks on raising the debt limit ahead of a potentially catastrophic default that could hit as soon as June 1. The meeting had been scheduled for Friday but was postponed to give staff more time to hammer out proposals for a deal. Biden and his fellow Democrats are calling for raising the debt ceiling with no conditions, but Republicans, led by House Speaker Kevin McCarthy (R-Calif.), want deep spending cuts in exchange for increasing the borrowing limit. Plans for the Tuesday meeting haven't been finalized. Biden is scheduled to leave for a Group of 7 summit in Japan on Wednesday.

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Newly appointed Twitter CEO Linda Yaccarino tweeted over the weekend that she was excited to help the social media platform owner Elon Musk transform the company, which he purchased last October for $44 billion. "I've long been inspired by [Musk's] vision to create a brighter future," Yaccarino wrote. "I'm excited to help bring this vision to Twitter and transform this business together!" Yaccarino served as advertising chief for Comcast Corp's NBCUniversal, and led an effort to modernize its ad business. She takes over from Musk, who is stepping back from day-to-day control, as Twitter tries to generate new revenue streams after seeing its ad revenue plummet as major clients left following Musk's takeover.

U.S. stock futures rose early Monday as hope increased for a deal to raise the debt ceiling and avert a catastrophic debt default. Futures tied to the Dow Jones Industrial Average and the S&P 500 were up 0.4 percent at 6:45 a.m. ET. Nasdaq futures were up 0.3 percent. The Dow and the S&P 500 fell 1.1 percent and 0.3 percent, respectively, last week as consumer sentiment fell to a six-month low. The tech-heavy Nasdaq gained 0.4 percent. "The weak parts of the market remain weak and unable to rally, while the strong parts of the market are extended and vulnerable," BTIG's Jonathan Krinsky said in a Friday note, according to CNBC.

Pipeline operator Oneok on Sunday agreed to buy Magellan Midstream Partners for about $14 billion in a deal that would create one of biggest U.S. oil and natural gas pipeline operators. The price amounted to a 22 percent premium on smaller rival Magellan's Friday stock price. Oneok also will take on $5 billion in Magellan debt in what will be the biggest U.S. energy deal so far this year if it closes as planned in the third quarter. Regulators and investors still have to sign off. Pipeline operators are increasingly turning to mergers and acquisitions as a way to grow as the shift to renewable energy limits the need for new projects.

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Harold Maass is a contributing editor at The Week. He has been writing for The Week since the 2001 debut of the U.S. print edition and served as editor of TheWeek.com when it launched in 2008. Harold started his career as a newspaper reporter in South Florida and Haiti. He has previously worked for a variety of news outlets, including The Miami Herald, ABC News and Fox News, and for several years wrote a daily roundup of financial news for The Week and Yahoo Finance.