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Tiana’s Bayou Adventure, the rethemed Splash Mountain, is set to reopen June 28 at Walt Disney World Resort in Orlando, Florida.
The revamp, which was annouced four years ago, is part of a bigger strategy for Disney to infuse relevant, fan-favorite intellectual properties into its existing rides and theme parks.
It is also the most recent example of Disney’s wider effort to invest $60 billion in its parks business over the next decade.

Tiana’s Bayou Adventure opens June 28 at Walt Disney World Resort in Florida! The ride will take guests on a musical adventure picking up after the events of the Walt Disney Animation Studios film, “The Princess and the Frog.” Guests will encounter fan-favorite characters including Prince Naveen, Mama Odie and more, plus all-new music.
Disney | Olga Thompson

We’re almost there.
Tiana’s Bayou Adventure, the rethemed Splash Mountain, is set to reopen June 28 at Walt Disney World Resort in Orlando, Florida. The refurbishment of the iconic water ride was first announced four years ago. Similar alterations at Disneyland in California are expected to be complete before the end of the year.

Featuring characters from Disney Animation’s “Princess and the Frog,” Tiana’s Bayou Adventure takes guests through the swamps of New Orleans as Tiana preps a massive Mardi Gras celebration. And don’t worry, the more than 50-foot drop remains.
Riders will be immersed in a musical experience as they jettison along the log ride with new, original music alongside favorite songs from the 2009 animated film. Along the way, riders will spot familiar faces like Tiana, Louis and Mama Odie as well as a number of instrument playing critters from the bayou.
The revamp of Splash Mountain into Tiana’s Bayou Adventure is part of a bigger strategy for Disney to infuse relevant, fan-favorite intellectual properties into its existing rides and theme parks. It’s all part of Disney’s wider effort to invest $60 billion in its parks business over the next decade.
Already the company has rethemed the iconic Tower of Terror at California Adventure to feature characters from Marvel’s “Guardians of the Galaxy,” converted the California Screamin’ roller coaster into an “Incredibles” coaster (also at California Adventure) and replaced Maelstrom in the Norway Pavilion at Epcot with a “Frozen” ride.
Disney often refers to these updates as “plussing,” which is done in order to make attractions more relevant and to elevate the guest experience. 

Tiana’s transformation

Splash Mountain has been a staple at Disneyland since 1989 and at Disney World since 1992. There is a third Splash Mountain in Tokyo, which also opened in 1992. In recent years, there were calls from some parkgoers to strip away the “Sound of the South” theme from the ride. The source material, a film released in 1946, has been deemed racist by many even though the ride itself hasn’t been criticized as racist.
For Disney, retheming Splash Mountain allows it to upgrade ride elements, like its animatronics, tie the ride to a popular studio film and develop a slew of new merchandise, food items and drinks for guests to enjoy.
Imagineers have developed all-electronic audio-animatronics for the ride, including for characters such as Louis, the trumpet-playing alligator from the film.
Disney revolutionized animatronics decades ago with its hydraulic, or liquid-fueled, and pneumatic, or air-fueled, systems, but the electronic animatronics for Tiana’s Bayou allow for more refined and precise movement, making them appear more realistic. Similar animatronics can be seen in the rides Smuggler’s Run and Rise of the Resistance, in Galaxy’s Edge.

A preview of Walt Disney Imagineering’s audio-animatronics for the upcoming refresh of Splash Mountain, Tiana’s Bayou Adventure.

Interior pieces of some of the animatronics were crafted using 3-D printing, resulting in a lighter-weight material.
The relaunch also comes with new apparel lines, themed hot sauces, plush toys and a slew of different snack items.
Parks profits
In 2023, experiences was the best-performing part of Disney’s business, accounting for 36% of the company’s total revenue but 70% of its operating income. Meanwhile, Disney’s entertainment division, which includes its theatrical and streaming businesses, represented 45% of revenue but just 11% of operating income.
The ability to get more out of the parks in recent years was crucial for CEO Bob Iger and Disney’s board as they tried to make the company more profitable and improve share performance. 
“I looked at the return on invested capital in our parks and resorts unit over the, my tenure, really, and it was extraordinary,” Iger said during the MoffettNathanson Media Internet and Communications Conference last month. “And I asked about how much we were planning to invest over the next decade, and I realized that if we believe we’re going to basically turn things around from a cash free – a free cash flow generation perspective, which we’ve done, and we’re doing, then we have an opportunity to invest. Why not invest in the business that has the highest returns?”
Disney has already announced that the reimagined Country Bear Musical Jamboree would open on July 17 at the Magic Kingdom Park in Orlando. In an all-new show, the twangin’ bears will sing interpretations of classic Disney songs in different genres of country music including bluegrass, pop-country, Americana and rockabilly.
Additionally, a “The Little Mermaid” theatrical production inspired by the the 1989 film will debut later this year.
The company is also developing what it’s dubbed “blue sky” ideas for its parks — projects that are still in early development and may ultimately not see the light of day.
Disney has teased that an area based on “Coco” or “Encanto,” or both, could be underway in the Magic Kingdom. There were also talks about opening an area of the Magic Kingdom that would be overrun by Disney villains.
During the company’s investor meeting in April, Iger even teased the possibility of an “Avatar” land at Disneyland in California.
Price points for these projects will vary, if they do come to fruition. The recent additions of the two Star Wars: Galaxy’s Edge lands in Disneyland and Disney World are estimated to have cost $1 billion each. More

The Women’s National Basketball Association is averaging 1.3 million viewers per game, tripling last season’s average of 462,000 viewers.
Much of the growing fan engagement is attributed to popular players such as Caitlin Clark and Angel Reese.
About 400,000 fans attended games in May, the most first-month attendees in 26 years, according to the league.

Indiana Fever guard Caitlin Clark (22) maneuvers past Washington Mystics guard Ariel Atkins (7) and Washington Mystics guard DiDi Richards (12) during the Washington Mystics-Indiana Fever WNBA game at Capital One Arena in Washington, D.C., on June 7, 2024.
Craig Hudson | The Washington Post | Getty Images

The growing popularity of women’s basketball did not stop with the NCAA tournament — fans are showing up and tuning in at record levels for Women’s National Basketball Association games, too, the league reported Monday.
The beginning of the 28th season, which started May 14, has been the most-watched on TV networks in the league’s history, according to a release. Across ABC, ESPN, ESPN2 and CBS, the WNBA is averaging 1.3 million viewers per game, tripling last season’s average of 462,000 viewers.

About 400,000 fans attended games in May, the most first-month attendees in 26 years, according to the league. More than half those games were sold out.
The WNBA attributed much of the growing fan engagement to its powerful rookie class. Jersey sales for big names such as Caitlin Clark of the Indiana Fever and Angel Reese of the Chicago Sky contributed to a 236% jump in merchandise sales year over year.
The league also reported more diverse viewership. The number of people tuning in to games on TV grew 60% year over year among people of color. Viewership in the first week of the season more than doubled for young girls and people under age 35.
“We’re encouraged by growing engagement across all our verticals, especially as we welcome new and diverse audiences into our fandom,” Chief Growth Officer Colie Edison said in the release.

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Roche in a lawsuit accused manufacturers and sellers based in India of selling counterfeit versions of its Accu-Chek devices on Amazon.
Roche said the test strips are expired or nearly expired products that are repackaged with counterfeit labels bearing Roche’s registered U.S. trademarks and fake expiration dates.
Amazon is not a defendant in the case but is alleged to have held the counterfeit products at U.S. facilities and shipped them to customers.

Roche, one of the world’s largest biotech companies, said “dangerous counterfeits” of its diabetes medical devices ended up for sale on Amazon to be bought by patients throughout the United States.
Roche accused manufacturers and sellers based in India of selling counterfeit versions of its Accu-Chek devices, which are used to test blood glucose levels. The company made the claim in a federal lawsuit unsealed late Friday.

“Patients know that Roche’s Accu-Chek medical devices are safe, sterile and accurate,” the complaint said. Roche said the counterfeit test strips are expired or nearly expired products that are repackaged with counterfeit labels bearing Roche’s registered U.S. trademarks and fake expiration dates.
It warned that the counterfeit devices are “likely to give false or inaccurate measurements of blood glucose levels, putting patients at risk of severe and life-threatening complications, such as hyperglycemia and over- or under-dosages of insulin.”
The lawsuit, which was filed under seal in May in the U.S. District Court in the Brooklyn borough of New York City, named as defendants four companies and their executives, all based in India. Roche is seeking unspecified damages.
After the suit was filed, a judge granted Roche’s request for a temporary restraining order to stop the defendants from selling the counterfeit products. The Amazon stores that were offering the products for sale appear to have been taken down.

Roche Diabetes Care Inc. Accu-Chek brand glucose test strips are arranged for a photograph in the Brooklyn borough of New York, U.S., on Thursday, April 4, 2019. 
Alex Flynn | Bloomberg | Getty Images

Amazon is not a defendant in the case, but Roche claims that as part of the alleged scheme all of the counterfeit products sent to the U.S. were stored at Amazon warehouses across the country, including in Brooklyn. The products are typically shipped to businesses and individuals within 48 hours of landing at Amazon facilities.

“Amazon currently has untold numbers of these dangerous counterfeit medical devices in its warehouses across the country, ready to deliver to unsuspecting American consumers at the click of a button,” the complaint said.
Roche said the counterfeiters participated in Amazon’s Fulfillment by Amazon program, through which “Amazon agrees to receive, store, and accept orders on behalf of the counterfeiters; to pick, pack, and ship the counterfeit goods; and to provide customer service for the counterfeiters. … Amazon, in return, receives a sizable percentage of the revenue from the counterfeit sales,” according to the complaint.
An Amazon spokesman told CNBC that the company has “a zero tolerance policy for counterfeit products. We have proactive measures in place to prevent counterfeit products from being listed and continuously monitor our store. If we identify an issue, we act quickly to protect customers and brands, including removing counterfeit listings and blocking accounts, and collaborating with brands and law enforcement to protect our customers from bad actors attempting to abuse our store.”
The complaint was filed on behalf of Roche Diabetes Care Inc., Roche Diabetes Care GmbH and Hoffmann-La Roche Inc, by attorneys with the New York-based law firm Patterson Belknap Webb & Tyler.
The defendants are JMD Enterprises doing business as DKY Store USA, JMD Enterprises founder and owner Dileep Kumar Yadav, JMD International, JMD International owner and founder Abhishek Jain, Medical Hub_USA Store, Medical Hub_USA owner Ratnakar Sharma, Authentic Indian Store and Authentic Indian Store owner Atikur Rahman.
CNBC contacted the defendants for comment, but has not yet received responses.
A spokesperson for Roche told CNBC that the company does not comment on ongoing lawsuits.

Counterfeit medical devices

Roche’s Accu-Chek diabetes care medical devices, used by millions of patients, include Accu-Chek glucometers, blood glucose test strips and lancets. The company’s blood glucose test strips and lancets can be purchased with or without a prescription at pharmacies and online marketplaces, including Amazon.

Roche Accu-Chek SoftClix
Source: Roche

The lancets are specialized disposable needles used to draw blood for testing.
The packaging on the counterfeit devices at the center of the lawsuit includes a misspelling of the name of the product as well as fake serial numbers and expiration dates, according to the complaint.

Arrows pointing outwards

These counterfeit Roche products show the product’s name misspelled.
Source: U.S. District Court filing

The company launched an investigation into the counterfeits in late March when a whistleblower reached out with information, according to the complaint. Its investigators then purchased the products from the three Amazon stores listed in the complaint, the lawsuit said.
As recently as May, a customer left a negative review on Amazon’s platform, complaining that he had ordered test strips from the DKY Store but received a different product. In March, a different customer said the lancets she purchased from DKY were fake.

Arrows pointing outwards

Fake identical serial numbers on the packages are another indicator of counterfeits.
Source: U.S. District court filing

Roche did not specify how long the counterfeit items were being sold on Amazon, or how many ultimately made it to customers.
The issue of potentially dangerous glucose test strips emerged in 2019 when the Food and Drug Administration warned against using test strips from a previous owner or ones not authorized for sale in the U.S. At the time, the FDA said faulty test strips were being sold via online marketplaces and individual sellers.
In 2011, Johnson & Johnson said it found counterfeit versions of its glucose test strips in India.
CNBC in March reported findings of an investigation into stolen items sold on Amazon’s marketplace via organized retail crime rings. The report centered on millions of dollars of items stolen from Ulta Beauty that were being sold for more than a decade on the platform.
And in 2023, a CNBC investigation revealed how counterfeiters illegally alter prescription medications, which are then funneled into a gray market supply chain for resale to pharmacies and ultimately to patients. More

Delta is planning to launch its premium economy service on some transcontinental flights.
Premium economy seats can cost twice as much as standard economy for some flights.
Delta has said revenue from seating like premium economy or first class is growing faster than sales from standard economy.

A Boeing 767 passenger aircraft of Delta Air Lines arrives from Dublin at JFK International Airport in New York as the Manhattan skyline looms in the background on Feb. 7, 2024.
Charly Triballeau | Afp | Getty Images

Delta Air Lines said Monday that it will bring its premium economy service to transcontinental flights in September, its latest attempt to boost sales of higher-priced tickets to customers willing to splurge for more space and perks.
Premium economy is a relatively new class of service that major airlines offer on longer, mostly international flights. It sits between first or business class and the rest of economy and can command a ticket price often twice as much as standard coach.

Delta and its rivals like United are locked in an arms race to outfit planes with more premium seating, upgrade lounges and sell more rewards cards to capitalize on higher-spending travelers, while airfare overall slips. JetBlue Airways this year said its turnaround plan will emphasize profitable routes that offer its Mint business-class cabin. Even Southwest Airlines, under pressure to increase revenue, is considering a more expensive seat on its planes, breaking from its decades-old business model.
Ticket revenue from Delta’s main cabin rose 4% in the first quarter to $5.4 billion from a year ago, while premium-product revenue came in 10% higher at $4.4 billion.
The added service will start Sept. 10 on four of 11 peak-day flights between Los Angeles and New York’s John F. Kennedy International Airport on Boeing 767s. Delta said it plans to expand service later this year.
Delta customers who purchase standard economy tickets will be able to pay for upgrades to premium economy on the transcontinental flights.
Delta said Medallion elite members of its loyalty program, will be eligible for complimentary upgrades to so-called Delta Premium Select, but they will also be able to list for upgrades to its top-tier Delta One product on those flights.

Some of Delta’s planes flying some routes previously had premium economy seats on them, but the carrier wasn’t offering the service that comes along with it, like amenities kits, noise-canceling headphones, a full meal and a blanket. The seats were sold as extra legroom tickets, which are a rung below premium economy.
Some American Airlines’ shorter domestic flights operate a similar model, featuring lie-flat seats but not the Flagship service offered on international flights. More

Activist Elliott Management has a $1.9 billion stake in Southwest Airlines and plans to push for leadership changes at the struggling company.
The stake makes Elliott one of Southwest’s largest shareholders.
Southwest has struggled with challenges including Boeing’s 737 Max delivery delays.

A Southwest Airlines jet comes in for a landing at Laguardia Airport in New York City, New York, U.S., January 11, 2023. 
Mike Segar | Reuters

Activist hedge fund Elliott Management has amassed a $1.9 billion stake in Southwest Airlines and plans to push for leadership changes at the airline that has lagged big rivals.
The stake makes Elliott one of Southwest’s largest shareholders, according to FactSet. Shares of Southwest were up 7% in premarket trading Monday.

The company had a market capitalization of $16.6 billion as of Friday’s close.
Southwest has struggled with delays at Boeing of new 737 Max planes, the newest models of the plane which the carrier exclusively flies, as well as shifting travel demand patterns after the pandemic.
The airline’s leaders are now looking for new ways to drum up revenue to better compete with rivals that offer travelers more perks and products. Southwest CEO Bob Jordan, who took the helm in February 2022 after decades with the airline, told CNBC in April that the carrier is considering ditching its single class of airplane seating and longtime boarding method.
The airline also faced a reckoning from a holiday meltdown at the end of 2022 that cost it more than $1 billion and forced the airline long known for good customer service to win over the flying public and make quick fixes to its internal staff scheduling software.
Southwest shares are down by more than 50% from three years ago when travel demand, led by domestic trips, was starting to come back. In contrast, Delta Air Lines shares are up around 10% over that period and United Airlines are down about 7%.

Elliott’s campaigns at other companies have likewise centered on a change in leadership. Elliott’s second campaign at Crown Castle in 2022 and settlement agreement with automotive parts supplier Sensata earlier this year are just two instances.
In just the last few months, the activist has taken a $2.5 billion stake in semiconductor firm Texas Instruments, a $2 billion stake in Japanese conglomerate SoftBank and a $1 billion stake in mining concern Anglo American.  More

A majority of family offices made at least six direct investments last year, where they buy a stake in a private company or provide lending, according to a survey by BNY Mellon Wealth Management.
Investing directly allows them to contribute their expertise and management advice to the portfolio companies, as well as their capital.
Private companies are increasingly attracted to family offices as banks tighten lending and private equity firms do fewer deals.

Westend61 | Getty Images

Family offices are increasingly becoming their own private equity funds and investing in companies directly, according to a new survey.
A majority (62%) of family offices made at least six direct investments last year, where they buy a stake in a private company or provide lending, according to the survey of family offices by BNY Mellon Wealth Management.

An even larger number of family offices (71%), plan to make the same number or more direct investments in 2024. With the number of family offices tripling since 2019, and their total assets reaching an estimated $6 trillion or more, the flood of family office money into private companies could reshape private markets and the private equity industry.
“Direct investment presents exciting opportunities for family offices to leverage their unique competencies,” according to the report.

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Family offices — the private investment arms of wealthy families — are often founded by entrepreneurs, who are skilled at running a private company, according to the report. Investing directly allows them to contribute their expertise and management advice to the portfolio companies, as well as their capital.
At the same time, private companies are increasingly attracted to family offices as banks tighten lending and private equity firms do fewer deals. Family offices have the advantage of offering more patient capital, since they’re typically investing for decades or even generations.
“Successful private market deals capture the illiquidity premium, meaning that they can potentially achieve significantly higher returns than are available through public markets or even pooled private market investments,” the report said.

Family offices are also co-investing alongside private equity firms, which can reduce the fees and increase carried interest payments.
Direct investing has its challenges, of course. Family offices typically succeed in industries where the family office built their fortune or have special expertise, which can limit their investing range. Doing proper due diligence – a deep dive into the financials and management of a company – can be difficult for small family offices. As a result, many are seeking help from larger wealth management firms and deal advisors.
While two-thirds of family offices do their own internal due diligence on direct investments, nearly half also seek input from an investment consultant.

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Moderna said its combination vaccine targeting Covid and the flu was more effective than existing standalone shots for those viruses in a late-stage trial. 
The biotech company is the first to release positive phase three data on a Covid and flu combination shot, giving it a potential lead over rivals Pfizer and Novavax. 
Moderna plans to file for regulatory approval for its combination jab this summer in the U.S. and hopes it can enter the market in 2025, said the company’s CEO Stephane Bancel.

Moderna on Monday said its combination vaccine that targets both Covid-19 and the flu was more effective than existing standalone shots for those viruses in a late-stage trial. 
The biotech company is the first to release positive phase three data on a Covid and flu combination shot, giving it a potential lead over rival vaccine makers Pfizer and Novavax. 

Moderna plans to file for regulatory approval for its combination jab this summer in the U.S. and hopes it can enter the market in 2025, the company’s CEO Stephane Bancel said in an interview. 
Moderna, Pfizer and Novavax have said that combination shots will simplify how people can protect themselves against respiratory viruses that typically surge around the same time of the year. The added convenience is critical as fewer Americans roll up their sleeves to get vaccinated against Covid. 
Bancel added that combination shots could reduce the burden of respiratory viruses on pharmacists and the broader U.S. health-care system, which has been grappling with a labor shortage that has many workers stretched thin.
Moderna’s messenger RNA combination shot, called mRNA-1083, is made up of both the company’s vaccine candidate for seasonal influenza and a newer, “next-generation” version of its Covid shot. Both of those experimental vaccines – mRNA-1010 and mRNA-1283 – have shown positive results in separate phase three trials. 
The ongoing late-stage trial on mRNA-1083 examined the combination shot in 8,000 patients. 

The study compared the combination shot with an enhanced flu vaccine called Fluzone HD and Moderna’s currently licensed Covid shot, Spikevax, in one group of patients ages 65 and above. The trial also compared Moderna’s combination jab with a standard flu shot called Fluarix and Spikevax in another group of participants between the ages of 50 and 64. 
In both age groups, a single dose of Moderna’s combination vaccine produced “statistically significantly higher” immune responses against three strains of influenza and the Covid omicron variant XBB.1.5.
Moderna said the safety of the combination shot, along with how well patients could tolerate it, was acceptable. The most common side effects were injection site pain, fatigue, muscle pain and headache. The majority of those effects were mild to moderate in severity. 
Moderna is also developing a combination shot targeting the flu and RSV, and another vaccine targeting all three respiratory viruses: Covid, flu and RSV. 
Meanwhile, Pfizer and BioNTech also are studying a vaccine that targets both Covid and the flu in a late-stage trial. Novavax is developing a combination for those viruses as well, but its Covid shot uses protein-based technology.

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Pity OpenAI’s HR department. Since the start of the year the maker of ChatGPT, the hit artificial-intelligence (AI) chatbot, has lost about a dozen top researchers. The biggest name was Ilya Sutskever, a co-founder responsible for many of the startup’s big breakthroughs, who announced his resignation on May 14th. He did not give a reason, though many suspect that it is linked to his attempt to oust Sam Altman, the firm’s boss, last December. Whatever the motivation, the exodus is not unusual at OpenAI. According to one estimate, of the 100-odd AI experts the firm has hired since 2016, about half have left.That reflects not Mr Altman’s leadership but a broader trend in the technology industry, one that OpenAI itself precipitated. Since the launch of ChatGPT in November 2022, the market for AI labour has been transformed. Zeki Research, a market-intelligence firm, reckons that around 20,000 companies in the West are hiring AI experts. Rapid advances in machine learning and the potential for a “platform shift”—tech-speak for the creation of an all-new layer of technology—has changed the types of skills employers are demanding and the places where those who possess them are going. The result is a market where AI talent, previously hoarded at tech giants, is becoming more distributed. More