Raphael Stevens

News Corp. said Thursday it plans to cut 1,250 positions, or about 5% of its head count, by year-end.
Rupert Murdoch’s media company owns such names as The Wall Street Journal, Barron’s, the New York Post and HarperCollins.
The announcement comes as media and tech industries have been hit with a slew of layoffs in recent months.

Pedestrians walk past the News Corporation headquarters building in New York.
Michael Nagle | Bloomberg | Getty Images

News Corp. said Thursday it will cut about 1,250 positions, or 5% of its workforce, in the latest round of layoffs that have hit the media and tech industries in recent months.
Rupert Murdoch’s media company, which owns such names as The Wall Street Journal, the New York Post, Barron’s and HarperCollins, said the tough marcoeconomic environment and higher interest rates have been hurting the company.

On Thursday the company reported earnings results and said its quarterly revenue decreased 7% to $2.52 billion from the year-earlier period. Media companies, particularly digital media, have been trying to contend with a challenging advertising market.
“Just as our company passed the stress-test of the pandemic with record profits, the initiatives now underway, including an expected 5 percent headcount reduction, or around 1,250 positions this calendar year, will create a robust platform for future growth,” CEO Robert Thomson said in the earnings release Thursday.
Thomson noted that despite “the obvious global challenges,” its professional information business at Dow Jones, the publisher of the Journal, saw revenue surge. Quarterly revenue for the overall Dow Jones segment rose 11% from the year-earlier period.
Last month, Murdoch and his son Lachlan Murdoch called off the proposed merger between News Corp. and Fox Corp., after determining “a combination is not optimal for shareholders” of either of the companies at this time.
The withdrawn proposal came as News Corp. has been in advanced talks to sell its stake in Move Inc., the parent company of Realtor.com, to commercial real estate company CoStar Group. The company said Thursday it was still engaged in those discussions.

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NEW YORK, NEW YORK – JULY 25: Traders work on the floor of the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE) on July 25, 2022 in New York City.
Spencer Platt | Getty Images News | Getty Images

This report is from today’s CNBC Daily Open, our new, international markets newsletter. CNBC Daily Open brings investors up to speed on everything they need to know, no matter where they are. Like what you see? You can subscribe here.
U.S. stocks drop as the Treasury yields widen their inversion. The U.S. economy gives conflicting signals.

What you need to know today

U.S. stocks closed lower Thursday, giving up a midday rally. The Nasdaq saw the biggest loss of the major indexes, dropping 1.02%. Asia-Pacific largely fell on Wednesday, though Chinese markets beat the trend and rose.

Speaking of activists, Dan Loeb’s hedge fund Third Point is the latest activist investor to take a stake in Salesforce, CNBC confirmed. It joins ValueAct Capital, Elliott Management and Starboard Value.  Salesforce has been hit recently by slowing revenue growth and criticism that it paid too much for targets such as Slack.

The bottom line

The January rally seems to be fizzling as investors process the strange state of the U.S. economy.
Weekly jobless claims in the U.S. hit 196,000 for the week ending Feb. 4. Though it’s an increase of 13,000 from the prior week, it’s still one of the lowest numbers historically. Yet the number is more than what analysts expected and runs contrary to January’s jobs data, which reported record low unemployment.
Despite a strong labor market, the Treasury yield curve remains inverted — meaning the yield on the 2-year Treasury exceeds that of the 10-year Treasury. On Thursday, the inversion widened. That usually indicates investors are worried about market conditions in the near term, and it sometimes signals a recession.
Those economic signals, in combination with the Federal Reserve’s continuing, hawkish tones, seemed to give investors pause. On Thursday, U.S. stocks continued their two-day losing streak. The Dow Jones Industrial Average lost 0.73% and the S&P 500 fell 0.9%. The tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite, weighed down by a 4% slide in Google-parent Alphabet and a 3% decline in Meta, dropped 1.02%.
Until economic data paints a more coherent picture of the U.S. economy, it’s likely that markets stay choppy.
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Health Secretary Xavier Becerra officially informed the state governors on Thursday that he is renewing the Covid public health emergency a final time but will let it expire on May 11.
HHS officials in call with reporters laid out what the the public can expect when the emergency ends.

People walk past a COVID-19 walk up testing site on July 28, 2022 in New York City.
Liao Pan | China News Service | Getty Images

The Health and Human Services Department on Thursday laid out what will change and will remain the same when the three-year-long Covid public health emergency ends in May.
Health Secretary Xavier Becerra officially informed the state governors on Thursday that he is renewing the declaration a final time but plans to let the emergency expire on May 11. The White House had already informed Congress of these plans last week.

HHS officials in call with reporters laid out what the the public can expect when the emergency ends.

Immediate changes:

People with private health insurance may have to pay for Covid tests, both over-the-counter and lab, depending on their plan.
Seniors with Medicare Part B will start paying for over-the-counter tests, though the program will cover lab tests.
Hospitals will lose flexibility to expand capacity in response to surges.
The federal government can no longer require labs to report Covid test results to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

Longer-term changes

Covid vaccines and antivirals such as Paxlovid will remain free to everyone regardless of insurance status until the current federal stockpile runs out.
Expanded telehealth through Medicare will also remain in place through December 2024 under federal spending legislation passed in December. But it will end after that without congressional intervention.

The Food and Drug Administration will still have the authority to rapidly authorize Covid vaccines, tests and treatments through its separate emergency powers.
Millions of people are also at risk of losing health insurance through Medicaid this year as federal protections that kept people covered during the pandemic come to an end. These protections were once tied to the public health emergency, but Congress then decided to phase them out separately.
In short, states can start kicking people off Medicaid as early as April if they no longer meet eligibility requirements for the public health insurance program. HHS plans to open a special enrollment period so these individuals can apply for coverage through the Affordable Care Act.

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Although Covid vaccines and treatments will remain free for everyone after the public health emergency ends, this may change for uninsured adults when the federal stockpile runs out.

The Biden administration plans to stop buying vaccines and treatments for the public as early as this fall in part because Congress has not appropriated additional funding. When the federal government pulls out, vaccines and treatments will be purchased and distributed through the private market.
This means Pfizer and Moderna will sell the shots directly to health-care providers and whether you pay will depend on whether you are insured.
People with insurance through the Affordable Care Act and Medicare will still get the shots for for free. Those on Medicaid will get the shots for free through September 2024, after which coverage will vary from state to state.
Adults who are uninsured will likely have to pay for the shots when the stockpile runs out, though the White House has said it’s developing plans to help them.

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The limited-edition vehicle is the 2023 Wrangler Rubicon 392 20th Anniversary with heavy-duty off-road parts customization from American Expedition Vehicles.
Only 150 of the SUVs will be produced as part of a broader 20th Anniversary collection of Wrangler’s popular Rubicon model.
Automakers such as Stellantis, Jeep’s parent company, have of late been testing their pricing power on high-end and special-edition models.

Rubicon 20th Anniversary Level II by American Expedition Vehicles (AEV) upfit for 2023 Jeep Wrangler Rubicon 392

CHICAGO – Jeep on Thursday revealed its most expensive Wrangler SUV ever, topping more than $115,000.
The limited-edition vehicle is the 2023 Wrangler Rubicon 392 20th Anniversary with heavy-duty off-road parts customization from upfitter American Expedition Vehicles.

Only 150 of the AEV SUVs will be produced as part of a broader 20th Anniversary collection of Wrangler’s popular Rubicon model. Automakers such as Stellantis, Jeep’s parent company, have of late been testing their pricing power on high-end and special-edition models.
“We’re testing a different level for sure but the aftermarket is doing that now,” Jim Morrison, senior vice president and head of Jeep brand North America, told CNBC during an interview at the Chicago Auto Show. “Capability is the king for Wrangler, and we’re seeing it happening a lot more and we’re happy to be a part of it.”

The 2023 Jeep Wrangler Rubicon 4xe 20th Anniversary Level II edition with American Expedition Vehicles (left) and the 2023 Wrangler Rubicon 392 20th Anniversary edition at the 2023 Chicago Auto Show.
Michael Wayland/CNBC

Jeep owners more than any others in the automotive industry are well-known for adding massive amounts of accessories and aftermarket parts to their SUVs.
The new vehicle is powered by a V8 engine with 470 horsepower and 470 pounds-feet of torque that can accelerate 0-60 mph in about 4.5 seconds, according to the company.
Off-road parts include 37-inch tires and special AEV lights, bumpers, skip plates, shocks and other equipment for scaling rocks and other rough terrain.

The record-breaking $115,668 price tag is for the Jeep-AEV vehicle. The 2023 Wrangler Rubicon 392 20th Anniversary vehicle, without the extra off-roading capability, starts at $94,485. A plug-in hybrid electric version of the 20th Anniversary Wrangler Rubicon SUV starts at $71,380. All pricing includes mandatory logistics and destination fees.
All of the vehicles feature special-edition styling and badging for the 20th Anniversary of the Rubicon models, which are named after a renowned trail in California. They also include a new seven-slot grille, beadlock-capable wheels, 83-piece tool kit and other features.
Ordering for the vehicles will begin later this month, according to Jeep. They are expected to arrive in Jeep dealerships during the second quarter.

The 2023 Jeep Wrangler Rubicon 4xe 20th Anniversary Level II edition with American Expedition Vehicles (AEV) was revealed Feb. 9, 2023 at the Chicago Auto Show.
Michael Wayland/CNBC

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The Consumer Product Safety Commission is warning parents their children could be at risk of death or injury while using Baby Trend’s Sit N’ Stand Double and Ultra Strollers.
A 14-month-old child was killed after it became entrapped in the stroller and a 17-month-old was injured, the safety group said.
The strollers have been sold nationwide since 2009 and are available at major retailers including Amazon, Walmart, Target and Buybuy Baby.

Baby Trend Sit N’ Stand Double stroller
Source: U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission

A baby was killed and another was injured after they became entrapped in a popular Baby Trend stroller that’s sold at retailers like Amazon, Walmart and Buybuy Baby, the Consumer Product Safety Commission announced Thursday. 
The safety group and the company issued a warning saying children could be at risk of head or neck entrapment in Baby Trend’s Sit N’ Stand Double and Ultra Strollers if they aren’t properly strapped in or, a child climbs on the exterior of the stroller. 

A 14-month-old child who wasn’t sitting in the stroller was fatally asphyxiated after its neck became entrapped in the space between the front of the canopy tube and armrest of a Baby Trend Sit N’ Stand double stroller, the CPSC said. 
The child’s father was nearby but unable to see the kid, the group said. 
The other child, a 17-month old, was partially secured in the stroller and became entrapped in the space between the back of the canopy tube and the seat back of the front seat, resulting in neck bruises, the CPSC said. 
The strollers have been sold nationwide since 2009. It’s unclear when the incidents happened or whether there have been other cases. 
“Baby Trend and the CPSC agree that Sit N’ Stand Double and Ultra strollers with detachable canopy are completely safe when used as intended and in accordance with the company’s operating instructions,” a company spokesperson said. “This tragic and exceedingly rare accident could have been altogether avoided if the young toddler had not been permitted to climb and play on the stroller, which was not being used as intended at the time.”

The CPSC and Baby Trend are warning consumers to remove and separately store the canopy when it’s not in use and ensure children are always fully secured in the stroller with its built-in five-point harness. They also warned that children shouldn’t play on the stroller by climbing on it.
The impacted strollers have model numbers beginning with SS76 or SS66, which can be found on a sticker on the left inside rear of the frame. 
Baby Trend is a global manufacturer of products for children that’s been in business for more than 30 years, according to company news releases. In 2016, it was acquired by the Alpha Group Co. Ltd. for $94 million. 
The Alpha Group is an animation and pan-entertainment platform based in China that started as a toy company. 

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