Business

MASAYOSHI SON is a man of contrasting superlatives. At the height of the dotcom bubble in early 2000 the Japanese technology mogul was briefly the world’s richest person, before losing $77bn in paper wealth, more than anyone before. In 2021 SoftBank Group, his telecoms-and-software conglomerate turned investment powerhouse, reported the biggest annual net profit in the history of Japan Inc, followed a year later by the second-biggest loss. His $20m wager in 2000 on Alibaba, a tatty online marketplace that grew into China’s mightiest e-emporium, counts as one of the best in the annals of venture capital (VC); his later $16bn punt on WeWork, an office-rental startup with tech pretensions, is an all-time dud. He has been called a “genius” and “dumb money”. More

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A smartphone is a testimony to the power of standardisation. Comprising components from hundreds of suppliers, it can find a signal almost anywhere in the world and connect to a wide array of ancillary devices all because countless companies have subjected themselves to a common set of technical specifications. More

Not long ago, as consumers emerged from pandemic lockdowns, it seemed the moment for luxury e-commerce had arrived. Cashed-up shoppers, now accustomed to buying almost anything online, were hunting for new outfits to parade in. Online purchases of luxury goods hit €73bn ($80bn) globally in 2022, up from €33bn in 2019, outpacing the already rapid growth of in-store luxury sales, according to Bain, a consultancy (see chart). More

New England Patriots owner Robert Kraft and his foundation unveiled a star-studded ad titled “Time Out Against Hate” on Thursday.
The campaign is in collaboration with Major League Baseball, Major League Soccer, the National Basketball Association, the Women’s National Basketball Association, the National Football League, the National Women’s Soccer League and NASCAR.
The ad will premiere as part of Amazon’s Thursday Night Football programming featuring the San Francisco 49ers and Seattle Seahawks.

The biggest names in sports are joining forces in a new campaign to combat antisemitism.
New England Patriots owner Robert Kraft and his foundation unveiled a star-studded ad titled “Time Out Against Hate” on Thursday in collaboration with Major League Baseball, Major League Soccer, the National Basketball Association, the Women’s National Basketball Association, the National Football League, the National Women’s Soccer League and NASCAR.

The campaign follows a new report out Sunday by the Anti-Defamation League that revealed there have been more than 10,000 antisemitic incidents in the U.S. in the year since the Oct. 7 Hamas terrorist attack in Israel. The Foundation to Combat Antisemitism, founded by Kraft, says 10% of U.S. adult males are blatantly prejudiced against Jewish people and tend to be outspoken about it.
“What’s going on now in the country — I’ve never seen anything like it,” Kraft told CNBC’s “Squawk Box” Thursday. “And I’m concerned what will happen after the election.”

Robert Kraft, Founder of the Foundation to Combat Antisemitism (FCAS), Lights the Empire State Building to Stand Up to Jewish Hate and All Hate on October 7, 2024 in New York City. 
mpi099 | MediaPunch | IPX | AP

The ad spot, which includes names like Billie Jean King, Shaquille O’Neal, Jim Harbaugh, Doc Rivers, Joe Torre, Ryan Blaney and Candace Parker will premiere Thursday as part of Amazon’s Thursday Night Football programming featuring the San Francisco 49ers and Seattle Seahawks. The campaign will also be seen on digital platforms and on billboards across the country.
“By uniting under a common cause, we amplify our message and demonstrate that the power of sports extends beyond stadiums, arenas and fields, and into our communities,” Kraft said in a statement announcing the campaign. “This initiative is a call to action for everyone to join us in creating a world where hate is met with a unified stand for empathy, understanding, and respect.”
Last year, Kraft organized a meeting of sports commissioners from nearly ever league to try and address the hateful dialogue taking place. The leaders discussed ideas and opportunities to work together.

The campaign has since expanded to include all hate, whether it’s gender, religion or race.
“We wanted to make sure it included anti-black, anti-LGBTQ, anti-Muslim,” said NBA Commissioner Adam Silver in the CNBC interview, alongside Kraft and NWSL commissioner Jessica Berman. “Because hate is corrosive to our society and the underpinnings of our democracy.”
Berman said Kraft asked the commissioners to lean in and change the narrative when it comes to hate.
“I think we have a responsibility as professional sports league leaders in that we have an outsized impact,” said Berman. “We know throughout history that sport has the power to change the world.”
Kraft founded the Foundation to Combat Antisemitism in 2019 to help address the rising hate against Jews in the United States. His organization has been working with companies like Bank of America and shoemaker Adidas as well as with colleges to raise awareness of on-campus incidents of antisemitism.
“We’re able to tell college campuses what’s going on in their campuses before their security people see it,” Kraft said.
In April, Kraft said he was no longer comfortable financially supporting his alma mater, Columbia University, over the administration’s handling of anti-Israel protesters on campus. In June, he announced a $1 million donation to Yeshiva University to cover tuition for Jewish students who wish to transfer. More

Delta expects fourth-quarter earnings of between $1.60 and $1.85 a share.
Delta had previously said the CrowdStrike outage cost it $380 million in revenue and amounted to a 45-cent hit to earnings in the third quarter.
CEO Ed Bastian said consumers will likely pause travel plans around the U.S. election.

Delta Air Lines expects to grow earnings in the fourth quarter, thanks to resilient travel demand and strong bookings for year-end holidays.
The Atlanta-based carrier on Thursday forecast fourth-quarter adjusted earnings of $1.60 to $1.85 per share, compared with Wall Street estimates of $1.71, according to LSEG, and above the adjusted $1.28 per share it reported a year earlier.

Delta shares were down more than 5% in premarket trading.
Revenue will likely rise between 2% and 4% from a a year earlier, compared with estimates of a 4.1% increase. The carrier warned it expects a 1-point revenue hit from lower demand before and after the Nov. 5 U.S. presidential election.
“We do anticipate seeing a little choppiness around the election, which we’ve seen in past national elections,” CEO Ed Bastian said in an interview. “Consumers will, I think, take a little bit of pause in making investment decisions, whether its discretionary or other things. I think you’re going to hear other industries talking about that as well.”
He added that holiday bookings are very strong.

Here’s how Delta performed in the third quarter, compared with Wall Street expectations based on consensus estimates from LSEG:

Earnings per share: $1.50 adjusted vs. $1.52 expected
Revenue: $14.59 billion adjusted vs. $14.67 billion expected

Delta reiterated that the CrowdStrike outage in July amounted to a 45-cent hit to adjusted earnings, which came in at $1.50 per share, slightly below analyst estimates. Delta struggled to recover after the outage, which took thousands of Microsoft Windows machines offline, and prompted the airline to cancel thousands of flights. The incident was a $380 million hit to revenue, Delta said.
Bastian has said Delta is seeking compensation from CrowdStrike and Microsoft from the outage.
“The havoc that was created deserves, in my opinion, to be fully compensated for,” he told CNBC. “This matter is now in the hands of our attorneys. We hope that we’ll see a resolution but we keep all of our options open.”

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Still, Delta’s net income rose 15% from a year earlier to $1.27 billion in the three months ended Sept. 30, with total revenue up 1% to $15.68 billion. Passenger revenue was steady from last year, but sales from premium offerings like first class continued to outpace the main cabin.
An oversupplied domestic market had kept a lid on airfare but Delta’s president, Glen Hauenstein said the airline “industry supply growth continues to rationalize, positioning Delta well in the final quarter of the year and as we move into 2025.” The carrier plans to expand capacity 3% to 4% in the fourth quarter.
Delta said it still expects its full-year adjusted earnings to come in between $6 to $7 a share, excluding the CrowdStrike impact.

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United is planning flights to far-flung destinations like Mongolia, Greenland and northern Spain next year.
The carrier is looking for off-the-beaten track destinations to keep consumers coming back to United.
United’s expansion includes more transatlantic flights and destinations from its hub from Toyko’s Narita airport.

United airplanes are seen at the Newark Liberty International Airport in Newark, Unitted States on July 16, 2024. 
Jakub Porzycki | Nurphoto | Getty Images

United Airlines is plotting a 2025 international expansion that spans Senegal to Mongolia and Greenland to Palau, a bid to win over travelers who have already had their fill of the well-trodden streets of Paris, Rome and Tokyo.
Starting May 21, United will fly three times a week between its Newark, New Jersey, hub to Palermo, Sicily; on May 16, it will launch nonstops four days a week to Faro in Portugal’s Algarve region; on June 7 it plans three-days-a-week-service to Portugal’s Madeira Island; and on May 31 it’s starting nonstop flights to Bilbao in northern Spain, destinations that will beef up existing service to Italy, Spain and Portugal.

Its inaugural flight between Newark and Nuuk, Greenland, will begin June 14, United said Thursday.
“The savvy traveler has been to Paris, Rome and Madrid so many times that they’re looking for something different,” Patrick Quayle, United’s senior vice president of global network planning and alliances, told reporters.
The experimentation with routes makes United a standout among U.S. and global airlines that have largely stuck with bread-and-butter additions. The expansion is part of United’s strategy to “skate where the puck is going,” Quayle said, as the company wants to make sure it can be all things to all travelers, offering destinations from U.S. cities like Corpus Christi, Texas, to Cape Town, South Africa.
United is planning to launch daily, nonstop service to Dakar, Senegal, from Washington Dulles International Airport on May 23. Service from Tokyo’s Narita airport to Ulaanbaatar, Mongolia, is set to begin May 1. United has been beefing up service from Tokyo and will offer year-round nonstop flights to Koror, Palau, from there.
Not all destinations work. United had discontinued a nonstop flight to Bergen, Norway, in 2023 due to a lack of demand, but Quayle said the airline has wiggle room to continue expanding to far-flung destinations and that a diverse network can help drive sign-ups for lucrative rewards credit cards.

“The more unique content, the more we differentiate ourselves from our competitors and the more people are going to spend on United,” Quayle said.
United had originally planned to start the Faro, Portugal, service this year but was forced to delay it because of a Federal Aviation Administration safety review, which the agency ended earlier this month without identifying any “significant safety issues.”
United is also planning to expand flying from the West Coast, but it didn’t disclose any details on Thursday.

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Two things are often said of Ratan Tata, former head of the Tata Group, one of India’s mightiest conglomerates: he was a giant of Indian business, and among its most virtuous figures. For a society as fractious as India, the esteem in which he was held was remarkably wide. More