Raphael Stevens

LIV Golf inked a media rights deal with Fox Sports to broadcast its League competition.
Fox and its family of networks will begin airing LIV tournaments in February.
The announcement comes just a day after LIV named Scott O’Neil as its new CEO.

A general view of the 18th green the LIV Golf logo and Club 54 during the 3rd round of the LIV Golf Invitational Series Bedminster on July 31, 2022 at Trump National Golf Club in Bedminster, New Jersey.
Rich Graessle | Icon Sportswire | Getty Images

LIV Golf announced Thursday a multiyear media rights agreement with Fox Sports to broadcast the pro golf tour to U.S. viewers, starting in February.
The tour’s 14-tournament season will air on Fox, FS1 and other Fox networks, and will also stream on the Fox Sports and LIV Golf+ apps. The LIV Golf League features 13 teams of four golfers each, including two-time major champions Jon Rahm and Bryson DeChambeau.

The news comes a day after the Saudi-financed sports organization named Scott O’Neil, the former CEO of Merlin Entertainments and Harris Blitzer Sports & Entertainment, as its new CEO. He replaces Greg Norman, the tour’s first commissioner and CEO, who will remain informally involved with LIV.
“We are thrilled to partner with FOX Sports, one of the preeminent broadcast networks in the world,” O’Neil said in a news release. “LIV Golf is getting bigger and bolder, and this relationship signals the next phase of growth as our League joins the company of the nation’s premier sports leagues and conferences.”
LIV Golf was originally founded in 2021 as a competitor to the PGA Tour and is backed by Saudi Arabia’s Public Investment Fund. It quickly poached prominent golfers, including Phil Mickelson and Dustin Johnson.
In June 2023, the PGA Tour and LIV Golf reached an agreement to merge, but the leagues have yet to strike a deal after more than 18 months of negotiations.
LIV Golf was previously broadcasted on the Nexstar Media Group-operated CW Network. The upstart golf league struggled to bring in big audiences on The CW.

Fewer than 90,000 fans tuned into the league’s individual championship in September, a fraction of the audience it had when the league kicked off. It’s expected that the move to Fox could help broaden its reach.
This season, LIV will host tournaments in nine different countries, beginning in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia on February 6 and concluding with the team championship in the Detroit suburbs in late August.
— CNBC’s Jessica Golden contributed to this report. More

Auto data firm Motor Intelligence reports more than 3.2 million “electrified” vehicles were sold last year.
That includes 1.9 million hybrid vehicles, including plug-in models, and 1.3 million all-electric models.
Tesla continued to dominate sales of pure EVs but Cox Automotive estimated its annual sales fell and its market share dropped to about 49%.

New Tesla cars are displayed at a Tesla dealership on December 20, 2024 in Corte Madera, California. 
Justin Sullivan | Getty Images

DETROIT — Sales of all-electric vehicles and hybrid models reached 20% of new car and truck sales in the U.S. for the first time last year — marking a landmark year for “green” vehicles but coming at a slower pace than many had previously anticipated.
Auto data firm Motor Intelligence reports more than 3.2 million “electrified” vehicles were sold last year, or 1.9 million hybrid vehicles, including plug-in models, and 1.3 million all-electric models.

Traditional vehicles with gas or diesel internal combustion engines still made up the majority of sales, but declined to 79.8%, falling under 80% for the first time in modern automotive history, according to the data.
Regarding sales of pure EVs, Tesla continued to dominate, but Cox Automotive estimated its annual sales fell and its market share dropped to about 49%, down from 55% in 2023. The Tesla Model Y and Model 3 were estimated to be the bestselling EVs in 2024.
Following Tesla in EV sales was Hyundai Motor, including Kia, at 9.3% of EV market share; General Motors at 8.7%; and then Ford Motor at 7.5%, according to Motor Intelligence. BMW rounded out the top five at 4.1%.
The EV market in the U.S. is highly competitive: Of the 68 mainstream EV models tracked by Cox’s Kelley Blue Book, 24 models posted year-over-year sales increases; 17 models were all new to the market; and 27 decreased in volume.
There’s more uncertainty with how sales of all-electric and plug-in hybrid electric vehicles will perform this year, pending potential actions by the incoming Trump administration.

Currently, sales of EVs and plug-in electric vehicles are being subsidized by a federal credit of up to $7,500 for the purchase of one of the vehicles, which President-elect Donald Trump could remove, along with other support for EVs.
Cox Automotive is expecting 2025 to set another record for EV volume, at about 10% of new vehicle sales. Including hybrids, the company projects one out of every four vehicles sold to be electrified this year.
— CNBC’s Phil LeBeau contributed to this report.

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Target raised its fourth-quarter sales forecast, as customer traffic across stores and its website rose and deals attracted holiday shoppers.
The discounter said Black Friday and Cyber Monday saw record-high sales.
So far, data from the retail industry’s key season has been better than feared but has failed to impress investors.

Ugly Sweater display, OMG! Santa! I know Him! from the movie Elf, on display in Target store, Queens, New York. 
Lindsey Nicholson | Getty Images

Target raised its fourth-quarter sales forecast Thursday after more consumers turned to its stores and website for holiday shopping — particularly on days known for deep discounts.
The big-box retailer now expects comparable sales in the fiscal fourth quarter to grow by about 1.5%. That’s better than its most recent outlook that the metric would be approximately flat. Comparable sales includes sales on Target’s website and stores open at least 13 months. 

Yet the Minneapolis-based discounter did not lift its profit outlook — an indication that deals motivated shoppers. Target anticipates fourth-quarter earnings per share will range from $1.85 to $2.45 and full-year earnings per share will be between $8.30 and $8.90. Target will report full fourth-quarter earnings results March 4.
Target cut its profit guidance in early November after it posted its biggest earnings miss in two years and blamed some of its troubles on softer sales of discretionary merchandise and the costs of preparing for a short-lived port strike in October.
Target’s report is the latest glimpse into a crucial season for the industry. Data so far has suggested it went better than feared, but investors have not been impressed. Lululemon, Abercrombie & Fitch and American Eagle, for example, all raised their fourth-quarter outlooks Monday, but shares of some of those companies traded lower that day.

Black Friday sale signs are seen at a Target store in Chicago on November 26, 2024, ahead of the Black Friday shopping day. 
Kamil Krzaczynski | Afp | Getty Images

Nordstrom on Friday bumped up its full-year sales forecast, but only after a conservative prior outlook. And department store rival Macy’s on Monday said its sales will be at or slightly below the low end of its previously stated range of between $7.8 billion and $8.0 billion.
The industry’s major trade group, the National Retail Federation, is expected to report its holiday sales recap Thursday.

Discounts and sales events have remained a significant sales driver, as consumers emerge from a more than two-year stretch of high inflation. It’s unclear how much those deals will cut into Target’s and other retailers’ profit margins, and whether sales will keep improving if promotions fade away.
In the combined months of November and December, Target said, total sales increased 2.8% and comparable sales rose 2% year over year. Digital sales grew nearly 9% compared with the year-ago holiday period. 
Some of Target’s growth areas contributed to holiday sales. Its subscription service, Target Circle 360, contributed to a more than 30% year-over-year increase in same-day deliveries in November and December. Sales through the company’s third-party marketplace, Target Plus, grew nearly 50% in that time.
Guest traffic increased nearly 3% during the two holiday months from the year-ago period as online and in-person visits rose, the company said. Target said December marked the eighth consecutive month of year-over-year traffic gains.
Target has made aggressive moves to attract selective shoppers. In May, it said it would cut prices on about 5,000 frequently purchased items, including diapers, bread and milk. And then it announced another wave of price cuts in October on more than 2,000 items during the holiday season, including cold medicine, toys and ice cream. The company said that would amount to more than 10,000 items with price cuts this year by the end of the holiday season.

Black Friday signs at a Target store ahead of Black Friday in Smyrna, Georgia, US, on Tuesday, Nov. 21, 2023. 
Elijah Nouvelage | Bloomberg | Getty Images

In a news release Thursday, Target said Black Friday and Cyber Monday saw record-high sales. The company said discretionary categories, especially apparel and toys, saw a “meaningful sales acceleration” when compared with the fiscal third quarter. Those categories tend to be higher margin than essentials such as milk and paper towels, but often go on sale during the holiday season.
In remarks at the NRF’s annual “Big Show” conference Monday, Target Chief Operating Officer Rick Gomez said the company saw a sharp jump in sales on promotional days such as its Circle Week, an event in early October that coincided with Amazon Prime Day.
“It was one of our biggest Circle Weeks that we have ever had,” he said. “But the sales before the week and the sales after the week were lower. There was a dip in sales. The consumer was being very intentional.”
He said U.S. consumers are “working on a budget,” but still are willing to spend on special moments like holidays or on a “must-have item.” For example, the retailer sold almost 1 million copies of Taylor Swift’s hardcover book about The Eras Tour, he said.
On Thursday, Target also announced several changes to its leadership team that will start to take effect in early February. Chief Stores Officer Mark Schindele will retire after 25 years at Target and be replaced by Adrienne Costanzo, who is currently senior vice president of store operations.
Chief Information Officer Brett Craig will retire after 15 years with Target and be replaced by Prat Vemana, the company’s chief digital and product officer. And Sarah Travis will become the company’s chief digital and revenue officer, a new leadership role, after serving as senior vice president of Roundel, Target’s advertising business, and social commerce.
Target recently got a new chief financial officer: Jim Lee, the former deputy chief financial officer of PepsiCo, who stepped into the role in late September. He succeeded Michael Fiddelke, who is now Target’s chief operating officer. 
Target is also on track for a leadership change at the top of the company. In fall 2022, Target’s longtime CEO, Brian Cornell, agreed to stay for three more years in a move that required the company’s board to scrap its retirement age. Target has not yet announced when his contract ends and who will be his successor.  More

Most Medicare patients who hit the new $2,000 cap on out-of-pocket spending for prescription drugs could see significant savings, according to a report from AARP. 
The findings suggest the spending maximum could be hugely beneficial for older adults in Medicare who struggle to afford high-cost drugs for cancer, rheumatoid arthritis and other serious conditions.
It is one of the most consequential provisions in President Joe Biden’s 2022 Inflation Reduction Act, designed to cut high drug costs.

U.S. Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-VT) speaks about prescription drug costs during an event at NHTI Concord Community College in Concord, New Hampshire, U.S., October 22, 2024. 
Elizabeth Frantz | Reuters

Most Medicare patients who hit the new $2,000 cap on out-of-pocket spending for prescription drugs could see massive savings, despite changes in premiums, according to a report released Thursday by AARP. 
The findings suggest the cap could be a huge benefit to older adults in Medicare who struggle to afford high-cost drugs for cancer, rheumatoid arthritis and other serious conditions. Those seniors and other U.S. patients pay two to three times more for prescription drugs than people in other developed nations.

The limit went into effect at the beginning of this year. It is one of the most consequential provisions in President Joe Biden’s 2022 Inflation Reduction Act, designed to cut high drug costs — along with a new $35 monthly cap on insulin and Medicare drug price negotiations with manufacturers.
The report found that 94% of the more than 1 million enrollees in Medicare Part D expected to reach the new cap in 2025 will have lower out-of-pocket costs — including premiums and cost-sharing — and save an average of $2,474. That’s a 48% decrease on average in their total out-of-pocket costs, according to the report, which analyzed plan enrollment and premium data, among other information. 
That 1 million tally excludes Medicare beneficiaries who receive a certain low-income subsidy and those in employer waiver plans.
An estimated 62% of those 1 million enrollees will save an average of more than $1,000 in 2025, while 12% will save more than $5,000, the report said. The remaining 6% of Part D enrollees who are projected to reach the new cap are expected to have higher out-of-pocket costs, with an average of $268 in additional spending in 2025, the report said. 
Notably, the share of Part D enrollees expected to reach the cap and have lower total out-of-pocket costs in 2025 is estimated to be 95% or higher in 33 states and Washington, D.C.

“When you’re able to provide these types of savings, that frees up those funds for other really important things that maybe [patients] were having to make trade-offs for, paying for their food or paying for their rent,” Leigh Purvis, prescription drug policy principal at AARP, said in an interview. “It’s a really meaningful impact, especially for a population that’s on a fixed income.” 
She added that the median income of Medicare beneficiaries is around $36,000 a year. 
Those savings come despite changes to Part D premiums in 2025, AARP said. Purvis said the new prices for the first 10 medications selected for Medicare negotiations — and the lower costs expected from them — do not go into effect until 2026, so premiums have increased in some cases.
She said critics have been trying to blame the law for those premium increases and higher costs for Medicare enrollees overall. But the report said the lower out-of-pocket costs for most patients who reach the $2,000 cap will more than offset higher premiums.
The positive effect “will only grow larger” as new negotiated prices for the first round of drugs go into effect in 2026, according to the report. 
“The Medicare program is going to be saving a lot of money, so this is really a story that is much bigger than it appears, just because these savings go to a lot of different people in a lot of different ways,” Purvis said. 
A separate report from AARP found that 3.2 million Medicare recipients are expected to see savings from the out-of-pocket cap in 2025. By 2029, the number is expected to increase to 4.1 million enrollees.
Medicare covers about 66 million people in the U.S., and 50.5 million patients are enrolled in Part D plans, according to 2023 data from health policy research organization KFF.
The new price cap applies to all prescription drugs under Medicare Part D, but doesn’t include drugs given to patients in the hospital or other health-care settings such as anesthesia and chemotherapy. 
Before the change, people on Medicare typically had to spend $7,000 or more out of pocket on prescription medications before they qualified for so-called “catastrophic coverage,” when insurance kicks in and covers most of the drug’s cost. 
Under this coverage, patients are charged a small co-payment or a percentage of a drug’s cost, usually 5%. More