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    Josh Harris says you likely won’t see more sports assets going public as values soar

    Game Plan Summit

    Josh Harris said Harris Blitzer Sports & Entertainment wouldn’t look to go public as sports valuations soar.
    HBSE owns majority stakes across many of the most valuable sports leagues in the world. That includes stakes in the NFL’s Washington Commanders, the NBA’s Philadelphia 76ers, the NHL’s New Jersey Devils and the Premier League’s Crystal Palace.
    “When you think about IPOs and sports assets being public so far, they’ve been valued more highly as private assets,” Harris said at CNBC Sport and Boardroom’s Game Plan conference in Santa Monica, California, on Tuesday.

    Washington Commanders managing partner Josh Harris (L) signs a Commanders helmet while joined by Washington D.C. Mayor Muriel Bowser (C) and NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell (R) during a news conference on construction of a new Commanders stadium in Washington, D.C., on April 28, 2025.
    Win McNamee | Getty Images

    Over the last decade, private equity investor Josh Harris has built one of the largest conglomerates in sports.
    Harris Blitzer Sports & Entertainment, which he co-founded with Blackstone executive David Blitzer in 2017, owns majority stakes across many of the most valuable sports leagues in the world. That includes stakes in the NFL’s Washington Commanders, the NBA’s Philadelphia 76ers, the NHL’s New Jersey Devils and the Premier League’s Crystal Palace. Earlier this year, the group paid a $250 million franchise fee for a Philadelphia WNBA expansion team, expected to begin play in 2030.

    That has quickly made HBSE one of the most valuable sports ownership groups in the world. In fact, it ranked third in CNBC’s 2025 Most Valuable Sports Empires list at a value of $14.58 billion.
    But those continued rising valuations raise a question that harkens back to Harris’ time as a private equity executive: Will HBSE, or other sports teams and large ownership conglomerates, start to look toward going public?
    “I don’t think so,” Harris told CNBC’s Scott Wapner at CNBC Sport and Boardroom’s Game Plan conference in Santa Monica, California, on Tuesday.
    “When you think about IPOs and sports assets being public so far, they’ve been valued more highly as private assets,” Harris said. “You haven’t seen the public valuations exceed the private valuations; therefore, people have tended to keep them private.”
    Madison Square Garden’s sports assets, which include the New York Knicks and Rangers, are among the only U.S. sports teams to be owned by public companies.

    Harris said that if you look at those instances, “they generally trade below their intrinsic value, and they haven’t been embraced as much as we would like.”
    One big consideration has kept most clubs off the public markets, Harris said.
    “People have tended to keep them private because ultimately as someone who is running a team, you want to be able to spend to win,” he said. “You want to be able to take a very long-term perspective, and the public markets haven’t always embraced that.”
    Harris notched a massive win for the Commanders this year, striking a $3.7 billion deal to relocate the team from its current stadium in Landover, Maryland, to Washington, D.C., on the grounds of the Robert F. Kennedy Memorial Stadium.
    “We’re not going to see the profits from that for years and years later,” he said.
    Most teams, especially in the NFL, are intergenerational assets, and leagues have opened up new ways to raise money. Last year the league voted to approve select private equity firms to take minority stakes in NFL franchises.
    Harris said that approach has been positive so far.
    “Many of the funds are long-date funds, and they don’t have the typical things that private equity usually has, like control,” he said. “That allows for owners such as myself to think very long term, … They know over the long run they’re betting on the city, the fan support and the league growth.” More

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    Mortgage rates drop to 3-year low ahead of Fed meeting

    The average rate on the 30-year fixed mortgage dropped 12 basis points from Monday to 6.13%, according to Mortgage News Daily.
    That is the lowest level since late 2022.

    Mortgage rates dropped sharply Tuesday, as investors in mortgage-backed bonds seemed to buy in ahead of a widely expected rate cut by the Federal Reserve.
    The average rate on the 30-year fixed mortgage dropped 12 basis points from Monday to 6.13%, according to Mortgage News Daily. That is the lowest level since late 2022.

    “The overall set-up is reminiscent of September 2024 when rates were doing the same thing for the same reasons ahead of Fed meeting with a virtual 100% chance of a rate cut,” said Matthew Graham, chief operating officer of Mortgage News Daily. “Back then, mortgage rates moved paradoxically higher after the Fed rate cut. The same thing could happen this time, but it’s by no means guaranteed.”

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    It also follows historical trends. In a video podcast for CNBC’s Property Play, Willy Walker, CEO of commercial real estate firm Walker & Dunlop said there have been similar trends in the past.
    “If you go back to 1980 and the nine Fed rate cut periods over that 45-year period, the ones where the Fed cuts in a recessionary environment end up pulling down the long end of the curve, pull down the 10-year, pull down the 5-year,” Walker said. “In those where it’s not a recession, which is like right now, it does not impact long-term rates. And so as much as I’m expecting us to see at least a 25 basis point cut, and then probably another 25 basis point cut, even if you take 50 basis points out of the short end of the curve, I don’t expect it’s going to impact the long end of the curve very much.”
    He added that he thinks yields are well below where they will be two or three weeks from now.
    “I don’t try to predict where rates are going, but I think people … might buy on the rumor and sell on the news. I think you probably see the 10-year sell off a little bit after the Fed actually announces their 25 basis point cut,” Walker said. More

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    Fed set to cut rates, but forecast for rest of 2025 is key to markets with politics clouding the picture

    The Fed meets with some big items on the agenda: An important rate decision and forecast of what’s ahead, combined with a healthy dose of political intrigue uncommon for central bank policymakers.
    While the rate decision is fairly pretty much in the bag, what happens from there is anybody’s guess.
    Markets are betting heavily that the Fed will stick to a quarter-point, or 25 basis point, reduction from the current target range of 4.25%-4.5%.

    Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell speaks at Jackson Hole on Aug. 22, 2025 in Wyoming.
    David A. Grogan | CNBC

    The Federal Reserve meets this week with some big items on the agenda: An important rate decision and forecast of what’s ahead, combined with a healthy dose of political intrigue uncommon for central bank policymakers.
    On the monetary side, the Federal Open Market Committee on Wednesday will release its ruling on where it will set the overnight borrowing rate. Along with that, officials will sketch their outlook for what’s ahead for rates on the closely followed “dot plot” grid.

    Politically, there will be one new Fed governor, President Donald Trump’s appointee Stephen Miran, who almost certainly will dissent from the widely expected decision to lower the federal funds rate by a quarter percentage point, opting for an even bigger cut. Others may vote against the move as well, and there even could be a vote against the reduction as officials weigh softening in the labor market against worries of tariff-induced inflation.
    So while the rate decision is fairly pretty much in the bag, what happens from there is anybody’s guess.
    “The goals of the Fed’s dual mandate are in ‘tension’ and are likely to become more so going forward,” said John Velis, Americas strategist at BNY. “Add in the growing politicization of the Fed, and things are getting complicated for the central bank.”

    Push for a big cut

    The two-day meeting kicked off Tuesday with the swearing in of new Governor Stephen Miran, the Council of Economic Advisers’ chair and staunch Fed critic. The Senate on Monday confirmed Miran, who will serve out the remainder of former Adriana Kugler’s term, which runs through January.
    Though he has not stated explicitly where he will vote, Miran is expected to buck the committee’s decision to lower incrementally. Trump on Monday again urged the committee and Chair Jerome Powell to lower aggressively, saying in a social media post that the FOMC “MUST CUT INTEREST RATES, NOW, AND BIGGER THAN [Powell] HAD IN MIND.”

    In a CNBC interview Tuesday, Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent encouraged the Fed to provide a “fulsome” cut.
    “President Trump’s very sophisticated economically, and I think he has been right at almost every turn,” he said. “The problem has been that the Fed has been behind the curve. We’re hoping they will start catching up in a rather fulsome way.”
    Fed watchers expect Governors Christopher Waller and Michelle Bowman, both Trump appointees, also could dissent in favor of a larger move, while Kansas City Fed President Jeffrey Schmid and perhaps St. Louis Fed President Alberto Musalem might opt to favor no cut, though nothing is certain.
    Regardless of the White House’s demands and whatever fissures there are on the FOMC, markets are betting heavily that the Fed will stick to the quarter-point, or 25 basis point, reduction from the current target range of 4.25%-4.5%. From there, traders are assigning a better than 70% chance of cuts in both October and December, according to the CME Group’s FedWatch Tool, which gauges rate cut probabilities using 30-day fed funds futures contract prices.
    “The dissents would highlight the splits emerging on the committee, but still leave a much larger center group that agrees that it is time to start the recalibration process by cutting 25 [basis points] in September,” wrote Krishna Guha, head of global policy and central bank strategy at Evercore ISI.
    That pace may not be enough to satisfy Trump, who in addition to getting Miran confirmed has been pushing for the ouster of Governor Lisa Cook and has indicated he will replace Powell as chair when his term expires in May 2026.

    Focus on Powell

    However, it follows the expectation of most economists.
    “The key question for the September FOMC meeting is whether the committee will signal that this is likely the first in a series of consecutive cuts,” Goldman Sachs economist David Mericle said in a note. “We expect the statement to acknowledge the softening in the labor market but do not expect a change to the policy guidance or a nod to an October cut. However, Chair Powell might hint softly in that direction in his press conference.”
    Mericle expects the dot plot to signal two rather than three cuts “though by a narrow margin.”
    Indeed, Powell’s choice of words at the post-meeting parley with reporters often is more important than the FOMC statement. Along with the statement and dot plot release, officials will update their forecasts for gross domestic product, unemployment and inflation.
    At his Jackson Hole, Wyoming speech in August, Powell struck a slightly dovish tone, indicating it’s likely policy changes are ahead while not quantifying how aggressive he thinks those moves should be.
    “I think he sounds like he did in Jackson Hole, where for the first time he said the data dependency that drives our decision making has changed significantly, and we need to defend our full employment mandate more than we need to defend our inflation mandate,” said Art Hogan, chief market strategist at B. Riley Wealth Management. “The tone is going to be very pragmatic, but more dovish than hawkish.” More

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    Versant strikes multiyear media deal with League One Volleyball

    Versant has signed a multiyear media rights deal with League One Volleyball.
    USA Network will air professional volleyball matches Wednesday nights at 8 p.m. ET in addition to playoff and championship matches.
    LOVB features athletes with a combined 23 Olympic gold medals.

    LOVB Austin middle blocker Molly McCage (5) spikes the ball past LOVB Houston outside hitter Jess Mruzik (5) during the League One Volleyball match between LOVB Austin and LOVB Houston February 19,, 2025, at H-E-B Center in Cedar Park, Texas.
    Icon Sportswire | Icon Sportswire | Getty Images

    Comcast spinoff Versant has struck a multiyear media rights deal with League One Volleyball, the company announced Tuesday.
    Versant’s USA Network will exclusively air the league’s “Match of the Week” in primetime at 8 p.m. ET every Wednesday, in addition to the league’s playoff and championship matches. The deal comes as women’s sports, specifically volleyball, have seen a major uptick in popularity.

    Terms of the deal were not disclosed. ESPN also holds broadcast rights to LOVB.
    “It’s really about the growth that we feel is ahead for them as a league and for volleyball as a sport,” said Matt Hong, Versant’s president of sports. “We saw a common vision, how we could lend our assets and that would complement what they are doing to grow their sport.”
    The LOVB deal marks the second sports rights deal for Versant, which is expected to spin off from Comcast in 2026. In August, Versant and NBCUniversal announced a six-year deal with the United States Golf Association. That deal is worth about $95 million annually, according to people familiar with the agreement who spoke on the condition of anonymity about nonpublic terms.
    Hong said the company began negotiating with LOVB just a couple of months ago. The deal adds to Versant’s existing women’s sports rights, which includes more than 500 hours of LPGA coverage annually and future media rights with the WNBA beginning in 2026.
    For LOVB, the deal means millions of more eyeballs in the coveted primetime timeslot.

    “Versant’s commitment ensures that women’s volleyball has the platform it deserves — consistent, national primetime coverage that reflects the caliber of our athletes and the passion of our fans,” Raquel Braun, chief media officer for LOVB, said in a statement.

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    Volleyball at nearly every level has been on a major rally. Overall, court volleyball participation was up 6.7% in 2024, according to the Sports & Fitness Industry Association. At the high-school level, more than 479,000 girls participated in volleyball during the 2023-24 season, marking an all-time high, according to the National Federation of State High School Associations.
    College volleyball is also spiking. The 2024 Women’s NCAA Volleyball Tournament was the most-consumed ever for ESPN, with more than 1.3 billion minutes watched across its platforms, according to the network. The audience for the entirety of the NCAA Women’s Volleyball Tournament was 41% higher year over year, ESPN said. And, when the Nebraska Huskers’ women’s team took on the Omaha Mavericks in 2023, more than 92,000 fans were in attendance, the largest-ever crowd for a women’s sports event.
    LOVB, which features both youth and a professional league, got its start in 2020. The professional league, which features a group of players with a combined 23 gold medals, kicked off its inaugural season in January.
    Disclosure: Comcast is the parent company of NBCUniversal, which owns CNBC. Versant would become the new parent company of CNBC upon Comcast’s planned spinoff of Versant.

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    Eli Lilly to build $5 billion Virginia facility to boost production of targeted cancer drugs, other treatments

    Eli Lilly said it will spend $5 billion to build a manufacturing facility in Goochland County, Virginia, to boost production capacity for targeted cancer drugs and other treatments.
    The plant is the company’s first of four planned U.S. manufacturing sites, which are expected to begin making medicines within five years.
    Eli Lilly said the facility will help increase domestic manufacturing of targeted treatments called antibody drug conjugates and its monoclonal antibody portfolio.

    Eli Lilly Biotechnology Center is shown in San Diego, California, March 1, 2023.
    Mike Blake | Reuters

    Eli Lilly on Tuesday said it will spend $5 billion to build a manufacturing facility in Goochland County, Virginia, to boost production capacity for targeted cancer drugs and other treatments — the first in a string of new planned U.S. investments by the drugmaker. 
    The company announced in February that it would spend at least $27 billion to build four new domestic manufacturing plants, adding to $23 billion in previous investments since 2020. Eli Lilly said it will announce the three remaining U.S. sites this year and expects to begin making medicines at all four facilities within five years. 

    Drugmakers have been scrambling to boost their production in the U.S. as President Donald Trump threatens to clamp down on the industry with tariffs on imported pharmaceuticals. Trump has said those levies will encourage companies to re-shore production after domestic drug manufacturing shrank dramatically over the past decade. 
    In a release Tuesday, Eli Lilly said the new Virginia plant will develop active ingredients for cancer and autoimmune drugs, along with other advanced treatments. It will be the company’s first dedicated active ingredient and drug product site for its bioconjugate platform and portfolio of monoclonal antibody drugs. 
    Eli Lilly said the facility will particularly boost domestic manufacturing of targeted treatments called antibody drug conjugates — a type of bioconjugate that links a monoclonal antibody to a toxic “payload” to kill cancer cells. Eli Lilly is among several pharmaceutical companies developing or currently marketing those drugs, which drugmakers are also studying in autoimmune conditions and other diseases. 
    “This is new capacity to allow for pipeline growth. We’ve got a number of new assets coming that will use both biologics but also these antibody drug conjugates,” Eli Lilly CEO Dave Ricks said in an interview with CNBC. “This site will be unique in that we’ll be able to make that kind of medicine for us — we don’t currently have that capacity in the company — and even put it in the drug product form, so into the vial and ship it.” 
    Ricks said the company will move some production from third parties and “other nodes in our network, mostly from Europe,” to the new Virginia site. 

    Eli Lilly chose the state for the new plant “because of the location, logistics, the workforce, and frankly, just a site that’s ready to go,” Ricks added. He said the construction had begun on the facility in previous years for a different industrial use. 
    “Now, utilities and all those things are all ready to roll, and we’re in a bit of a hurry to get these up and running as our pipeline is advancing,” Ricks said. 

    David Ricks, CEO, Eli Lilly
    Scott Mlyn | CNBC

    He said “the main thing about building in America was really related to the tax situation” rather than the threat of pharmaceutical tariffs, adding that “it makes more sense to build in the U.S. than ever before.” Ricks previously touted Trump’s 2017 Tax Cuts and Jobs Act for pushing the company to increase its U.S. manufacturing investments. 
    That legislation, passed by a majority-Republican Congress during Trump’s first term, was the largest tax code overhaul in nearly three decades and cut the corporate tax rate to 21%, among other efforts.
    Eli Lilly said it will use advanced technologies such as machine learning and artificial intelligence at the site, which will “enable right-first-time execution, all in support of the safe and reliable supply of medicines.” 
    The company said the site will bring more than 650 new jobs to Virginia, including engineers, scientists, operations personnel and lab technicians. It will also create 1,800 construction jobs in the region, the company said. 
    Eli Lilly’s other U.S. plants include sites in North Carolina, Indiana and Wisconsin. 
    The new U.S. investments build on the success of Eli Lilly’s weight loss drug Zepbound and diabetes counterpart Mounjaro, which have vied for dominance of the booming market for so-called GLP-1 drugs with rival treatments from Novo Nordisk. Both companies have funneled billions into boosting manufacturing capacity for those drugs, which has helped alleviate shortages of the treatments in the U.S. 
    But Eli Lilly’s new investments aren’t solely dedicated to current and future obesity and diabetes treatments. The company is charting its future beyond Zepbound and Mounjaro, with hopes to deliver drugs from its broad pipeline of products for cancer, Alzheimer’s disease and other conditions.
    — CNBC’s Angelica Peebles contributed to this report. More

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    Bessent quips about his reported threat to punch Pulte in the face: Treasury secretaries ‘have a history of dueling’

    Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent brushed off recent reports of heated arguments inside President Donald Trump’s administration, saying disputes were a part of the normal push-and-pull of policymaking.
    “Treasury secretaries dating back to Alexander Hamilton have a history of dueling,” Bessent joked Tuesday to CNBC’s “Squawk Box.” “I think with the President’s team, I turned out a little better for the Treasury’s side this time.”

    “With President Trump’s team, just like any the great sports team, you can argue in the locker room, but we get out in the field and do the best for the President and the American people every day,” he said.
    Bessent’s remarks come after recent stories detailed a series of fiery confrontations between him and other Trump officials, including Federal Housing Finance Agency chief Bill Pulte, over the direction of economic policy and influence in Trump’s orbit.
    Tempers flared during meetings this summer where Bessent reportedly demanded to know why Pulte was bad-mouthing him to Trump, threatening to punch Pulte “in the —-ing face.”
    There was also other incidents of elevated tensions internally at the White House. In April, Bessent and Tesla CEO Elon Musk, who at the time headed the Department of Government Efficiency, got into a heated fight outside of the Oval Office about the Internal Revenue Service.
    A hedge fund veteran, Bessent became Treasury Secretary in January. Bessent, who has been leading trade negotiations for the administration, said Tuesday a trade deal with China is likely before the November deadline. More

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    JPMorgan can now help you find a private jet or butler

    J.P. Morgan Private Bank is launching a new lifestyle service for its wealthy clients.
    The service will offer discounts and referrals on everything from private jet flights and travel to household staffing and art restoration.
    The move comes as private banks and wealth management firms seek to find ways of serving clients outside of core investing and financial advice.

    Private jets parked at the Friedman Memorial Airport during the Allen & Company Sun Valley Conference on July 10, 2025 in Sun Valley, Idaho.
    Kevin Dietsch | Getty Images

    J.P. Morgan Private Bank is launching a new lifestyle service for its wealthy clients, offering discounts and referrals on everything from private jet flights and travel to household staffing and art restoration.
    The move comes as private banks and wealth management firms seek to find ways of serving clients outside of core investing and financial advice, which have become increasingly commoditized. J.P. Morgan said ultra-high-net-worth clients and family offices are more and more turning to their wealth advisors for broader nonfinancial advice.

    “There is a growing trend among clients who want our advice outside of traditional wealth management,” said William Sinclair, co-head of J.P. Morgan Private Bank’s Global Family Office Practice. “They view J.P. Morgan as a trusted source because of our clients.”
    The services will give J.P. Morgan Private Bank’s U.S. clients access to a specialized network of companies that have been carefully vetted and curated by the bank. There is no additional charge to access the services, and clients will get exclusive offers, free consultations, discounted rates and other deals from the companies on the platform.
    The services include everything from private jet flights and luxury travel to household staffing, health-care management and collectibles advice. They also include aggregated financial reporting programs, bookkeeping and bill pay services (known as “CFO services”), which are in strong demand by ultra-wealthy investors and family offices.
    For travel advice, clients will be able to access Valerie Wilson Travel, which J.P. Morgan acquired in 2022 as part of its purchase of travel management company Frosch. The bank didn’t name other companies available on the platform but said they include a wide range of providers across various services.

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    In private aviation, clients will be able to choose from a jet card program, fractional ownership or charter, depending on their needs. For collectibles, clients will be able to get advice on managing, maintaining or selling their collections, from cataloging and restoration, to selling or buying in the primary or secondary markets.

    For household staffing, clients will get access to recruiting firms that specialize in family offices and households. The service will also feature financial management services and financial reporting tools, where clients can see all of their investments in one place.  
    Sinclair said private jet services tend to be the most requested by private bank clients, along with bill paying and payroll management for household employees. He said business owners who sell their enterprises often ask the bank to help find new health insurance plans.
    Emily Margolis, head of lifestyle services for the private bank, said J.P. Morgan will add more services to the platform as it grows.
    “We’re looking at physical security, insurance, more in-depth HR, areas that we see more requests,” Margolis said. More

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    United Airlines CEO confident in flight expansion ‘because customers are choosing us’

    United Airlines is expanding flying more than its competitors in the U.S.
    CEO Scott Kirby told CNBC the carrier’s technology, on-board amenities like Bluetooth connectivity and seat-back screens, and network are drawing more customers.

    Scott Kirby, CEO of United Airlines, speaks during the WSJ’s Future of Everything 2025 at the Glasshouse on May 29, 2025 in New York City.
    Michael M. Santiago | Getty Images

    NEWARK, New Jersey — An oversupply of flights forced airlines to cut fares this year and pushed carriers to scale back their growth plans.
    United Airlines’ expansion, however, is outpacing its large-airline rivals, a plan CEO Scott Kirby told CNBC is paying off because of the company’s product, network and technology.

    “This year is going to wind up demonstrating two things: If you’re a brand loyal airline, you’re resilient, even in downturn,” Kirby said in an interview Tuesday, referring to a customer pull-back earlier this year, when consumers weighed an onslaught of on-again-off-again tariffs. “And I think our fourth-quarter results are going to demonstrate the upside when the economy starts to recover.”
    United will report third-quarter results and provide its fourth-quarter outlook in mid-October.
    United is set to grow domestic U.S. capacity 5.7% in 2025 from last year, according to aviation-data firm Cirium. On average, U.S. airlines are expanding just shy of 2%, with Delta Air Lines and American Airlines domestic growth up about 3%, and Southwest Airlines growing 1.4% from 2024, Cirium data show.
    “When you’re a brand loyal airline, we’re just a different place because customers are choosing us, and I think that’s one of the biggest changes in the industry,” Kirby said. “So many airlines thought of air travel as a commodity.”
    Kirby was speaking at the airline’s hangar at Newark Liberty International Airport in New Jersey, where in June 2021, United unveiled new interiors for its fleet of narrow-body Airbus and Boeing planes. More