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    FCC says it’s investigating Disney and ABC over DEI efforts

    The Federal Communications Commission has alerted the Walt Disney Company and its ABC unit that it will begin an investigation into the diversity, equity and inclusion efforts at the media giant.
    The FCC said in a letter that it wants to “ensure that Disney and ABC have not been violating FCC equal employment opportunity regulations by promoting invidious forms of DEI discrimination.”
    FCC Chairman Brendan Carr, who was recently appointed by President Donald Trump, began a similar investigation into Comcast and NBCUniversal in early February.

    The main gate at The Walt Disney Studios in Burbank, California, on Sept. 25, 2023.
    Mario Anzuoni | Reuters

    The Federal Communications Commission has alerted the Walt Disney Company and its ABC unit that it will begin an investigation into the diversity, equity and inclusion efforts at the media giant.
    The FCC, the agency that regulates the media and telecommunications industry, said in a letter dated Friday that it wants to “ensure that Disney and ABC have not been violating FCC equal employment opportunity regulations by promoting invidious forms of DEI discrimination.”

    “We are reviewing the Federal Communications Commission’s letter, and we look forward to engaging with the commission to answer its questions,” a Disney spokesperson told CNBC.
    FCC Chairman Brendan Carr, who was recently appointed by President Donald Trump, began a similar investigation into Comcast and NBCUniversal in early February. The inquiry comes after Trump signed an executive order looking to end DEI practices at U.S. corporations in January. The order calls for each federal agency to “identify up to nine potential civil compliance investigations” among publicly traded companies, as well as nonprofits and other institutions.
    “For decades, Disney focused on churning out box office and programming successes,” Carr wrote in the letter to CEO Bob Iger. “But then something changed. Disney has now been embroiled in rounds of controversy surrounding its DEI policies.”
    An FCC spokesperson didn’t comment beyond the letter.
    Disclosure: Comcast is the parent company of NBCUniversal and CNBC. More

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    Judge orders CFPB to reinstate fired employees, preserve records and get back to work

    A federal judge on Friday ordered the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau’s leadership, appointed by President Donald Trump, to halt its campaign to hobble the agency.
    Berman ordered Vought to reinstate all probationary and term employees fired after Vought took over at the CFPB, said that he shouldn’t “delete, destroy, remove, or impair agency data,” and struck down Vought’s February stop-work order.
    “To ensure that employees can perform their statutorily mandated functions, the defendants must provide them with either fully-equipped office space, or permission to work remotely” Berman wrote.

    FILE PHOTO: Office of Management and Budget (OMB) Acting Director Russell Vought testifies before House Budget Committee on 2020 Budget on Capitol Hill in Washington, U.S., March 12, 2019. 
    Yuri Gripas | Reuters

    A federal judge on Friday ordered the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau’s leadership, appointed by President Donald Trump, to halt its campaign to dismantle the agency.
    In a filing, Judge Amy Berman Jackson sided with the CFPB employee union that sued acting director Russell Vought last month to prevent him from laying off nearly all the regulator’s staff. Operatives from Elon Musk’s Department of Government Efficiency have also been involved in efforts to fire employees.

    “Defendants shall not terminate any CFPB employee, except for cause related to the individual employee’s performance or conduct; and defendants shall not issue any notice of reduction-in-force to any CFPB employee,” Berman said.
    The order is the latest example in which a federal judge has pushed back against moves by the Trump administration to lay off federal employees and hobble disfavored agencies. It breathes new life into the only federal agency tasked specifically with consumer protection of nonbank financial players, but one that the industry has accused of operating outside its authority under former director Rohit Chopra.
    Berman ordered Vought to reinstate all probationary and term employees fired after Vought took over at the CFPB, said that he shouldn’t “delete, destroy, remove, or impair agency data,” and struck down Vought’s February stop-work order.
    “To ensure that employees can perform their statutorily mandated functions, the defendants must provide them with either fully-equipped office space, or permission to work remotely” Berman wrote.
    In the sweeping document, Berman also said that the CFPB needed to ensure its consumer complaint portal worked and it responded to those complaints; told the CFPB to reverse contract terminations undertaken by Vought, and ordered him to file a report by April 4 confirming compliance with the edicts.

    She specifically said the order applied to all CFPB leaders as well as “any other persons who are in active concert or participation with them, such as personnel from the Department of Government Efficiency.”
    A spokesperson for Vought didn’t immediately return an email seeking comment.

    ‘Cannot look away’

    In a separate, 112-page opinion that cited Musk’s Feb. 7 social media post declaring “CFPB RIP,” Berman explained her rationale in granting the union’s request for a preliminary injunction.
    “The Court cannot look away or the CFPB will be dissolved and dismantled completely in approximately thirty days, well before this lawsuit has come to its conclusion,” she wrote.
    The injunction “maintains the agency’s existence until this case has been resolved on the merits, reinstating and preserving the agency’s contracts, work force, data, and operational capacity, and protecting and facilitating the employees’ ability to perform statutorily required activities,” she wrote. More

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    Startup founder Charlie Javice found guilty of defrauding JPMorgan Chase in $175 million deal

    Charlie Javice, founder of a startup purchased by JPMorgan Chase in 2021, was convicted in federal court Friday of defrauding the bank by vastly overstating the company’s customer list.
    The jury decision comes after weeks of testimony in New York over who was to blame for the flameout of a once-promising startup. Frank, founded by Javice in 2016, aimed to help users apply for college financial aid.
    JPMorgan has accused Javice, 32, of duping the bank into paying $175 million for a company that had more than 4 million customers, when in reality it had fewer than 300,000.

    Charlie Javice, who is charged with defrauding JPMorgan Chase & Co into buying her now-shuttered college financial aid startup Frank for $175 million in 2021, arrives at United States Court in Manhattan in New York City, June 6, 2023.
    Mike Segar | Reuters

    Charlie Javice, founder of a startup purchased by JPMorgan Chase in 2021, was convicted in federal court Friday of defrauding the bank by vastly overstating the company’s customer list.
    The jury decision comes after weeks of testimony in New York over who was to blame for the flameout of a once-promising startup. Frank, founded by Javice in 2016, aimed to help users apply for college financial aid.

    JPMorgan has accused Javice, 32, of duping the bank into paying $175 million for a company that had more than 4 million customers, when in reality it had fewer than 300,000.
    The largest U.S. bank by assets sued Javice in late 2022 after attempting to send marketing emails to some of the thousands of “customers” it thought Frank had. In its suit, JPMorgan released emails in which Javice hired a data scientist to generate a fake roster of customers.
    Then, in April 2023, the Justice Department charged Javice with four crimes including wire and bank fraud, counts which carry multi-decade maximum sentences. Javice was arrested at Newark Airport on April 3 of that year and had been out on bail.
    Javice had pleaded not guilty and said she was innocent throughout the trial; her lawyers blamed JPMorgan for rushing to close the Frank acquisition because it feared that other suitors would emerge.
    Sentencing will happen in August, CNBC’s Leslie Picker reported.
    A spokesman for New York-based JPMorgan declined to comment on Friday, while the office of a lawyer representing Javice didn’t immediately return a call seeking comment. More

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    China’s Xi calls on top executives to help ‘uphold global order’ as trade tensions with U.S. rise

    Chinese President Xi Jinping met with foreign executives on Friday in Beijing and emphasized that the country was a safe and stable place for companies. 
    Business leaders Xi met included Bridgewater Associates’ Ray Dalio, Standard Chartered CEO Bill Winters and Blackstone Group CEO Steve Schwartzman.
    “To invest in China is to invest in tomorrow,” Xi said in Mandarin translated by CNBC. 

    Chinese President Xi Jinping met with global executives on Friday, March 28, 2025.
    CNBC | Evelyn Cheng

    BEIJING — Chinese President Xi Jinping on Friday met with global executives and made a case for investing in the country, as Beijing focuses on reaching out to businesses amid escalating trade tensions with the U.S.
    He said multinational companies had a big responsibility to “uphold global order” and that they needed to work hand in hand with China.

    Xi emphasized that China was a safe and stable place for foreign companies. “To invest in China is to invest in tomorrow,” he said in Mandarin translated by CNBC. 
    Echoing recent policy plans, Xi said that China would ensure fair opportunities for foreign businesses to participate in government procurement bids.
    More than 40 people, mostly foreign executives and business officials, attended the roundtable meeting with Xi, including Bridgewater Associates’ Ray Dalio, Standard Chartered CEO Bill Winters and Blackstone Group CEO Steve Schwartzman.
    U.S. President Donald Trump has raised tariffs by 20% on China since January over its alleged role in the U.S. fentanyl crisis, and threatened a swath of new duties on major trading partners starting early April. Trump this week said he might reduce China tariffs to help close a deal that forces Beijing-based ByteDance to sell TikTok’s U.S. operations.
    The U.S. this week also added dozens of Chinese tech companies to its export blacklist, the first such restrictions under the Trump administration.

    China has increased its trade with Southeast Asian countries and the European Union, but the U.S. remains Beijing’s largest trading partner on a single-country basis.
    Xi said U.S.-China trade tensions should be resolved through negotiations. “We need to work for the stability of global supply chains,” he added, noting there was no way out under decoupling.
    Politburo standing committee member Cai Qi, China’s top diplomat Wang Yi and Vice Premier He Lifeng also attended the meeting along with the heads of China’s economic planning agency, finance ministry and commerce ministry.
    Seven foreign executives spoke at the event before Xi gave closing remarks, according to an agenda seen by CNBC.
    Xi gave individualized comments on the speaker’s remarks based on past history with the person or the company, according to Stephen Orlins, president of the National Committee on US-China Relations.
    Orlins pointed out that the companies present at the meeting already had interests in China.
    Beijing has sought to offset trade pressures, rather than retaliate forcefully. It courted the executives of major U.S. businesses at a state-backed annual conference that ran from Sunday to Monday. Apple CEO Tim Cook was among those who attended the conference, while Tesla CEO Elon Musk was conspicuous by his absence. Neither were at Friday’s meeting with Xi.
    Also on Sunday, U.S. Republican Senator Steve Daines met Chinese Premier Li Qiang in Beijing — the first time a U.S. politician has visited China since Trump began his latest term in January.
    “This was the first step to an important next step, which will be a meeting between President Xi and President Trump,” Daines told the Wall Street Journal. “When that occurs and where it occurs is to be determined.”
    The White House did not respond to CNBC’s request for comment.
    Li urged cooperation and said no one could gain from a trade war, according to state media.
    Top executives of major firms including FedEx, Pfizer, Cargill, Qualcomm and Boeing as well as U.S.-China Business Council President Sean Stein were also present at Daines’ meeting with Li, according to a foreign media pool report. More

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    Pony.ai wins first permit for fully driverless taxi operation in the center of China’s Silicon Valley

    In the latest step towards building a revenue-generating robotaxi business, Chinese startup Pony.ai said it has obtained the first permit to charge fares for fully driverless taxis in core parts of a business district of Shenzhen.
    The permit allows Pony.ai to charge fares for rides — without any human staff inside — from the Shenzhen international airport and Shenzhen Bay Port to key parts of the district of Nanshan, home to tech giants Tencent and DJI.
    While Pony.ai did not disclose how many robotaxis it could operate in the region, the company said the driverless cars could run daily from 7:30 a.m. to 10 p.m. local time.

    A Pony.ai robotaxi drives on a public road in a suburb in southern Beijing on July 11, 2024.
    China News Service | China News Service | Getty Images

    BEIJING — In the latest step toward building a revenue-generating robotaxi business, Chinese start-up Pony.ai said it has obtained China’s first permit to charge fares for fully driverless taxis in core parts of a business district of Shenzhen.
    The city is a coastal tech hub in southern China, sometimes dubbed the country’s Silicon Valley.

    The license allows Pony.ai to charge fares for rides — without any human staff inside — in key parts of the district of Nanshan, home to tech giants Tencent and DJI. The permit does not cover trips across the entire space, limiting it to areas such as the financial sub-district.
    Pony.ai has already operated robotaxis in parts of a neighboring Shenzhen district and can run taxis with human staff inside on routes that connect to the Shenzhen international airport and Shenzhen Bay Checkpoint on the border with Hong Kong.
    While Pony.ai did not disclose how many robotaxis it could operate in the Shenzhen region, the company said the driverless cars could run daily from 7:30 a.m. to 10 p.m. local time.
    Residents can book the robotaxi rides through Pony.ai’s app or a mini-program inside the WeChat messaging app, according to a press release.

    Pony.ai also operates robotaxis in parts of the major Chinese cities of Beijing, Shanghai and Guangzhou, for a total of more than 250 cars across the country as of late November.

    In late 2021, local authorities in Beijing started allowing Baidu’s Apollo Go and Pony.ai to charge fares for robotaxis in a southern suburb of the city.
    In mid-March, Pony.ai also said it was the first company to launch a paid robotaxi route from the suburb to Beijing South Railway Station. Users must reserve the ride a day in advance, and a human staff worker must sit in the driver’s seat, according to current regulations.
    Pony.ai this week reported “a significant increase” in passenger fares in the fourth quarter from a year ago, without disclosing exact figures. But the company said its overall revenue from robotaxi services fell by nearly 61.9% year-on-year to $2.6 million in the fourth quarter due to reduced service fees for autonomous vehicle engineering solutions. It also noted its revenue from robotruck services rose by 72.7% year-on-year to $12.9 million due to the expansion of its robotruck fleet. More

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    Lululemon shares drop more than 10% as CEO says inflation, economic concerns are weighing on spending

    Lululemon reported earnings and revenue beats for its fourth-quarter earnings on Thursday.
    But the retailer’s 2025 guidance came in below expectations.
    Revenue for the fiscal fourth quarter of 2024 totaled $3.61 billion.

    Lululemon store in Manhattan, New York City, U.S., on July 15, 2024.
    Beata Zawrzel | Nurphoto | Getty Images

    Lululemon beat Wall Street expectations for fiscal fourth-quarter earnings and revenue, but issued 2025 guidance that disappointed analysts.
    On an Thursday earnings call, CEO Calvin McDonald said the athleticwear company conducted a survey earlier this month that found that consumers are spending less due to economic and inflation concerns, resulting in lower U.S. traffic at Lululemon and industry peers. However, he said, guests responded well to innovation at the company.

    “There continues to be considerable uncertainty driven by macro and geopolitical circumstances. That being said, we remain focused on what we can control,” McDonald said.
    Shares of the apparel company fell more than 10% in extended trading.
    Lululemon was only the latest retailer to say it expects slower sales for the rest of this year as concerns grow about a slowing economy and President Donald Trump’s tariffs.
    Here’s how the company did compared with what Wall Street was expecting for the quarter ended Feb. 2, based on a survey of analysts by LSEG:

    Earnings per share: $6.14 vs. $5.85 expected
    Revenue: $3.61 billion vs. $3.57 billion expected

    Fourth-quarter revenue rose from $3.21 billion during the same period in 2023. Full-year 2024 revenue came in at $10.59 billion, up from $9.62 billion in 2023.

    Lululemon’s fiscal 2024 contained 53 weeks, one week longer than its fiscal 2023. Excluding the 53rd week, fourth-quarter and full-year revenue both rose 8% year over year for 2024.
    Lululemon expects first-quarter revenue to total $2.34 billion to $2.36 billion, while Wall Street analysts were expecting $2.39 billion, according to LSEG. The retailer anticipates it will post full-year fiscal 2025 revenue of $11.15 billion to $11.30 billion, compared to the analyst consensus estimate of $11.31 billion.
    For the first quarter, the company expects to post earnings per share in the range of $2.53 to $2.58, missing Wall Street’s expectation of $2.72, according to LSEG. Full-year earnings per share guidance came in at $14.95 to $15.15 per share, while analysts anticipated $15.31.
    CFO Meghan Frank said on the Thursday earnings call that gross margin for 2025 is expected to fall 0.6 percentage points due to higher fixed costs, foreign exchange rates and U.S. tariffs on China and Mexico.
    Lululemon reported a net income for the fourth quarter of $748 million, or $6.14 per share, compared with a net income of $669 million, or $5.29 per share, during the fourth quarter of 2023.
    Comparable sales, which Lululemon defines as revenue from e-commerce and stores open at least 12 months, rose 3% year over year for the quarter. The comparison excludes the 53rd week of the 2024 fiscal year. Analysts expected the metric to rise 5.1%.
    Comparable sales in the Americas were flat, while they grew 20% internationally. Lululemon has been facing a sales slowdown in the U.S., although McDonald said its U.S. business stabilized in the second half of the year and partially attributed the improvement to new merchandise. He added that Lululemon will expand its stores to Italy, Denmark, Belgium, Turkey and the Czech Republic this year. More

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    Why GM stock is getting hit the hardest by Trump auto tariffs

    General Motors stock fell more than 6% Thursday after President Donald Trump announced new tariffs on auto imports.
    The divergence from shares of other automakers stems from the amount of vehicles that GM imports, and its exposure to Mexico in particular.
    Roughly 30% of GM vehicles sold in the U.S. during the first three quarters of 2024 were assembled in Canada and Mexico.

    The GM logo is seen on a water tank of the General Motors assembly plant in Ramos Arizpe, in Coahuila state, Mexico, on Feb. 11, 2021.
    Daniel Becerril | Reuters

    As auto stocks reacted to the latest tariff announcement out of Washington, D.C., on Thursday, General Motors took the brunt of the hit.
    Shares of GM fell more than 7% in Thursday trading, far underperforming the likes of Ford and Stellantis, which shed more than 3% and roughly 1%, respectively. Tesla stock was essentially unchanged for the day.

    The divergence stems from the amount of vehicles that GM imports, and its exposure to Mexico in particular.

    Read more CNBC auto news

    “Tesla and Ford appear to be the most shielded given location of vehicle assembly facilities although Ford does face incremental exposure on imported engines,” Deutsche Bank analysts wrote in a note Thursday. “GM has the most exposure to Mexico.”
    President Donald Trump on Wednesday announced his administration would impose 25% tariffs on “all cars that are not made in the United States” and some automobile parts. The executive order signed Wednesday allows for some leniency for components that are compliant with the United States-Mexico-Canada Agreement, but it was not immediately clear what relief that might offer the North American automotive industry.

    Stock chart icon

    General Motors stock falls after Trump tariff announcement.

    Mexico accounted for 16.2% of vehicle imports into the U.S. as a percentage of sales in 2024, according to GlobalData. That was the largest share of any country, about double the shares of South Korea and Japan, which ranked second and third in terms of import volume, respectively.
    Roughly 52% of GM vehicles sold in the U.S. during the first three quarters of 2024 were assembled in the U.S., according to research by Barclays analyst Dan Levy. That leaves 30% assembled in Canada and Mexico, and another 18% brought in from other countries.

    Levy also pointed out that GM relies heavily on Mexico and South Korea for production of some of its small crossovers, including its Equinox and Blazer vehicles.
    “Roughly half of GM’s US sales are produced in the US, but imported parts are a concern,” he said.
    During the same period, 57% of Stellantis vehicles and 78% of Ford vehicles sold in the U.S. were assembled stateside. Levy reported Stellantis assembled 39% of its U.S.-sold units in Canada and Mexico, and Ford, just 21%.
    Wolfe Research’s Emmanuel Rosner said the tariffs primarily affect foreign-brand automakers, but noted that 15% of GM’s U.S. vehicles come from South Korea.
    John Murphy from Bank of America said in comparison to the broader automotive market, GM is “relatively exposed to the tariffs” and may need to rebalance.
    GM stock is down 13% year to date. Shares fell sharply in late January after investors worried that the automaker did not address concerns about tariffs in its most recent earnings report. More

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    Peyton Manning’s Omaha Productions sells 10% stake to new Patrick Whitesell-led platform at a valuation of more than $750 million, sources say

    Peyton Manning’s Omaha Productions has sold an approximately 10% stake to a new platform run by former Endeavor executive Patrick Whitesell.
    The stake sale will value Omaha at more than $750 million, according to people familiar with the matter.
    Omaha Productions has produced more than 30 TV series and live events, including the “ManningCast” on ESPN.

    Peyton Manning on Sunday, February 16, 2025.
    Theo Wargo | NBCUniversal | Getty Images

    Peyton Manning has a new business partner.
    A new platform run by Patrick Whitesell, the former executive chairman of Endeavor, has acquired a minority stake in Manning’s Omaha Productions.

    The stake, which is approximately 10% of the company, values Omaha Productions at more than $750 million, according to people familiar with the matter.
    Private equity firm Silver Lake announced Whitesell’s new platform, which will invest in sports, media and entertainment companies, earlier this week. Silver Lake is contributing an initial $250 million to the fund. The Omaha Productions deal is the first investment.
    A spokesperson for Whitesell and spokespeople for Omaha and Silver Lake declined to comment on financial terms.
    “Omaha’s strong track record of creating engaging content puts them in a strong position to capitalize on new opportunities across entertainment and sports,” said Whitesell in a statement.

    Patrick Whitesell Executive chairman of Endeavor.
    Courtesy: Endeavor

    Omaha Productions has produced more than 30 TV series and live events for a variety of media partners, including Disney, Netflix and Comcast’s NBCUniversal. The company is the executive producer of Netflix’s “Quarterback” and “Receiver” documentary series and developed “Monday Night Football with Peyton and Eli,” colloquially known as the ManningCast, where the Manning brothers comment on the game and interview celebrities.

    Silver Lake is a longtime investor in Endeavor. This week, it closed its transaction to take the company private. When accounting for Endeavor’s existing stake in TKO Sports, Silver Lake marked the deal at an enterprise value of $25 billion.
    Manning and media executive Jamie Horowitz founded Omaha in 2020. As it takes on Silver Lake as an investor, the company aims to grow into new business ventures that can utilize Manning in other ways beyond media, the company said in a statement. Omaha recently announced an investment in Good Good Golf, a golf and lifestyle company.
    Omaha has been profitable since its founding, the company said, suggesting the investment is more about increasing Omaha’s value and expanding its opportunities than needing cash.
    Both Silver Lake and Whitesell were instrumental in moving Endeavor beyond a talent agency into an expansive sports and entertainment empire. The company, run by Ari Emanuel, eventually acquired both UFC and WWE, merging them into a new publicly traded entity called TKO Group.
    Disclosure: Comcast’s NBCUniversal is the parent company of CNBC. More