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Brad Pitt has sold a 60% stake in his production company, Plan B, to French company Mediawan.
Plan B helped make “The Departed” and Amazon’s “The Underground Railroad.”
The deal values Plan B in the hundreds of millions of dollars.

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Brad Pitt is selling 60% of his production company, Plan B Entertainment, to French media conglomerate Mediawan in a deal that’s set to be announced this weekend, according to people familiar with the matter.
The deal, which has been signed, values Plan B in the hundreds of millions but below $500 million, said the people, who asked not to be named because the discussions are private. Neither Plan B nor Mediawan responded to requests for comment.

Pitt, the Oscar-winning star of films such as “Once Upon a Time in Hollywood” and “Fight Club,” founded Plan B in 2001 with his now ex-wife Jennifer Aniston and his then-manager Brad Grey, who died in 2017. Pitt became the sole owner after he and Aniston divorced.
The production company has helped make both movies and TV series over the past two decades, including Academy Award-winning movies such as “The Departed” and “12 Years a Slave.” It’s produced several films released this year, including Netflix’s “Blonde,” a fictionalized take on Marilyn Monroe, and “She Said,” which detailed The New York Times’ investigation of sexual assault in Hollywood.
For TV, Plan B’s productions have included HBO’s 2014 adaptation of “The Normal Heart,” directed by Ryan Murphy, and Amazon Prime Video’s 2021 miniseries “The Underground Railroad.”
Independent production studios have become hot acquisition properties as large media companies build out their streaming services. Last year, Reese Witherspoon sold a majority stake in Hello Sunshine to what would become Candle Media, founded by Disney veterans Kevin Mayer and Tom Staggs, in a deal that valued the company at $900 million. Candle Media also acquired a minority stake in Westbrook Inc. — the production company founded by Will Smith and Jada Pinkett Smith – earlier this year.
Mediawan is a content studio that produces movies and TV series in Europe and the U.S. It owns more than 60 production labels and was co-founded by Chairman Pierre Antoine-Capton.

The boutique investment bank Moelis led the sale for Plan B. A spokesperson for Moelis declined to comment.
WATCH: Brad Pitt and Jennifer Aniston’s former Beverly Hills home is for sale for $49 million

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Friday marks the one-year anniversary of Starbucks Workers United’s first win, in Buffalo, New York.
The union win at the Elmwood Avenue location has since spurred more than 300 of the chain’s cafes to follow suit.
To date, Starbucks and the union have yet to agree on a contract for any of the newly unionized locations.

Arrows pointing outwards

A year ago, workers at a Starbucks store in Buffalo, New York, voted to unionize, a first for the chain.
The union win at the Elmwood Avenue location has since spurred more than 300 of the chain’s cafes to follow suit with their own petitions for union elections and inspired workers at Chipotle Mexican Grill, REI and Trader Joe’s to organize their own stores. In the past year, more than 260 Starbucks stores have voted in favor of unionizing, giving the union a win rate of 80%, according to data from the National Labor Relations Board.

In April, as the union movement continued to gain steam, Starbucks CEO Kevin Johnson announced he would retire. Howard Schultz, who built the company into a global coffee giant, returned for a third stint in the top job with a goal of reinventing Starbucks that included plans to repair its relationship with workers.
With Schultz at the helm, the Seattle-based company has been fighting back against the union push, and a slowdown in union petition filings since May shows that those efforts may be paying off. Under 3% of the more than 9,000 Starbucks-owned U.S. locations have voted to unionize.
“Over the last year we’re proud to have announced industry-leading, partner-focused additional investments including increased pay, modernized training and collaboration, additional and improved benefits, store innovation, and more, bringing the total investments to nearly $1 billion in this fiscal year alone,” Starbucks spokesperson Rachel Wall said in a comment to CNBC.
Michelle Eisen, an employee at the Elmwood Avenue location in Buffalo, credited much of the gains for workers to the union.
“We have pressured the company to implement raises, seniority pay, credit card tipping and more,” she said in a statement. “We have made Starbucks a better company and a better place to work for all baristas – both union and nonunion.”

Starbucks has also fired organizers for unrelated infractions, closed a handful of union stores and withheld higher pay and enhanced benefits from baristas at unionized locations. The company denies allegations that it has engaged in unfair labor practices to quash to the union.
To date, Starbucks and the union have yet to agree on a contract for any of the newly unionized locations, and negotiations have broken down over disagreements about whether union members can join the talks via Zoom.
Representatives from Starbucks have walked out of meetings minutes after they begin, insisting on only face-to-face negotiations, citing federal regulations. The company has filed 22 complaints tied to negotiations with the National Labor Relations Board.
Labor laws don’t require that the employer and union reach a collective bargaining agreement, only that both bargain in good faith. And after a year, workers who lose faith in the union can petition to decertify, putting a ticking clock on negotiations.
Wall said that Starbucks representatives will have appeared in person for more than 75 bargaining sessions with individual stores by the end of the year.
Cathy Creighton, director of Cornell University’s Industrial and Labor Relations branch in Buffalo, said that companies often use delay tactics to frustrate unions and take away momentum.
Unions are rare in the restaurant industry. Only 1.2% of workers at food and drinking outlets were members of unions last year, which is well below the private-sector unionization rate of 6.3%, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics. But Starbucks’ high-profile union push has led organizers at other restaurants and retailers to follow baristas’ example.
“Outside of Starbucks, I think that it has caused a ripple effect across the economy,” Creighton said. “It’s encouraged other people to file petitions.”
– Data visualization by CNBC’s Gabriel Cortes.

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Workers at a General Motors joint venture battery plant in Ohio overwhelmingly voted in favor of representation with the United Auto Workers, the union said early Friday.
The vote was being closely watched as such battery plants are viewed as crucial for automakers to transition from traditional vehicles with internal combustion engines to all-electric cars and trucks.
Buoyed by a national labor movement and the Biden administration’s pro-union comments, labor and industry experts largely expected workers to vote in support of the UAW’s representation.

Speaking in front of a backdrop of American-made vehicles and a United Auto Workers (UAW) sign, Democratic U.S. presidential nominee and former Vice President Joe Biden speaks about new proposals to protect U.S. jobs during a campaign stop in Warren, Michigan, U.S., September 9, 2020.
Leah Millis | Reuters

DETROIT — Workers at a General Motors joint venture battery plant in northeast Ohio overwhelmingly voted in favor of representation with the United Auto Workers, the union said early Friday.
The vote was being closely watched as such battery plants are viewed as crucial for automakers to transition from traditional vehicles with internal combustion engines to all-electric cars and trucks. Several other multi-billion dollar plants from GM and other automakers are under construction in the U.S.

The UAW reports roughly 98% of votes cast were in favor for the union. The count was 710 votes in support of UAW representation; 16 against; and one was void. The National Labor Relations Board, which was overseeing the election, did not immediately respond for comment.
Buoyed by a national labor movement and the Biden administration’s pro-union comments, labor and industry experts largely expected workers at the Warren, Ohio, plant of Ultium Cells LLC – a joint venture between GM and LG Energy Solution — to vote in support of the UAW’s representation.
“Our entire union welcomes our latest members from Ultium,” UAW President Ray Curry said in a release. “As the auto industry transitions to electric vehicles, new workers entering the auto sector at plants like Ultium are thinking about their value and worth. This vote shows that they want to be a part of maintaining the high standards and wages that UAW members have built in the auto industry.”
The organizing vote comes after Ultium declined to recognize the union through an expediated organizing process called a “card check,” despite comments from GM CEO Mary Barra expressing support for the right for employees to unionize.
Ultium, in a statement Friday, said it respects “the decision of our Ohio workforce supporting representation by the UAW. We look forward to a positive working relationship with the UAW.”

Under NLRB rules, both sides have five business days to submit objections to challenge the results.

The plant for Ultium Cells LLC – a joint venture between GM and LG Energy Solution – started production of battery cells in Warren, Ohio in August 2022.

Barra on Thursday said if the Ohio plant voted in favor of organizing, she would like to reach a deal with the union “as soon as possible.”
“My view on when do you want to get a labor agreement done is as soon as possible,” Barra said during an Automotive Press Association meeting in Detroit. “It’s one of those things that usually doesn’t get better with time.”
Reaching a deal could be more contentious than the organizing vote. Barra and other executives have said hourly pay for factory workers at the battery plants should be closer to that of auto supplier workers — about $20 or less — rather than traditional assembly line jobs that top out at more than $30 an hour. Ultium said hourly workers currently make between $16 and $22 an hour with full benefits, incentives and tuition assistance.
Joint venture battery facilities are viewed as crucial for the UAW to grow and add members, as automakers such as GM transition to electric vehicles, which require less traditional labor and parts than cars with internal combustion engines.
The Ultium plant in Ohio, which started production in August, is the first of at least four U.S. battery facilities for the GM-LG joint venture. The plants are expected to employ thousands of workers in the coming years. Ford Motor, Stellantis and other automakers have announced similar plants, which would each have to be organized separately in addition to other Ultium plants.
How to transition traditional auto workers into new jobs for EVs has been a major concern for the UAW for several years. Ford CEO Jim Farley last month said the company expected electric vehicles to require 40% less workers than conventional cars and trucks.

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In some of the most mature legal cannabis markets across the U.S., sales are declining after surging earlier in the pandemic. 
Investment money is also drying up, making it harder for small businesses and startups to succeed in a crowded marketplace.
The industry is awaiting federal regulation that could help it scale nationwide.

A customer lights a joint at Lowell Farms, America’s first official Cannabis Cafe offering farm-to-table dining and smoking of cannabis in West Hollywood, California, October 1, 2019.
Mike Blake | Reuters

After enjoying a sales surge during the pandemic, the U.S. cannabis industry is showing signs of a slowdown as it faces economic and regulatory challenges and people choose to spend their money elsewhere.
In states with established marijuana markets such as Oregon and Washington, sales at retail outlets and dispensaries have declined from a year ago, according to a report from cannabis data firm Headset. In Colorado, one of the country’s most established markets, sales in June were down 11.4% from a year ago.

“What we saw in 2020 was a massive spike in sales tied to the pandemic as people stayed home, had government stimulus money, and not a lot to do,” said Chris Wash, CEO of Marijuana Business Daily.
Between March 2020 and March 2021, average monthly year-over-year sales were up 25.8% in Colorado, according to Headset. But as the pandemic began easing last summer, the report found, both the frequency of marijuana purchases and the amount of money people spent began declining.
In July, for example, people spent an average of $55.21 per visit at the median Colorado store. That was about $4 less than the average of $59.73 in July 2021, according to Headset research.
“Retailers are discounting in a time of high inflation because they’re trying to move product from the shelves,” said Wash, adding that businesses are also facing intense competition from a “thriving” illegal market that isn’t taxed.
“We are operating in an incredibly challenging and competitive landscape, with our biggest competitor being the illicit market,” said Troy Datcher, CEO of The Parent Company, a cannabis company in California.

Overall retail sales across the industry are still rising and are still projected to do so as new large markets come online, including New York, Maryland and Missouri.

The long-term horizon is extremely bright. This is just what industries go through.

Chris Wash
CEO, Marijuana Business Daily

According to an analysis by Marijuana Business Daily, combined U.S. medical and recreational cannabis sales could reach $33 billion by year’s end, up from $27 billion last year. Sales are projected to reach $52.6 billion by 2026.
“The long-term horizon is extremely bright,” Wash said. “This is just what industries go through.”
For now, however, investment money is drying up as the market gets more crowded.
According to Viridian Capital Advisors, a New York-based cannabis advisory firm, total U.S. marijuana capital raised year to date is down 62.6% from a year ago, and equity financing is down 96.3%, from $2.1 billion a year ago to $78 million currently.
Part of the problem, experts said, is that investors are tired of waiting for federal regulation.
The lack of federal regulation means cannabis businesses in states where recreational sales are legal still can’t access traditional banking services or institutional capital. A congressional bill called the Secure and Fair Enforcement Banking Act, or SAFE, would lift such restrictions but hasn’t made it through the Senate, despite passing in the House several times.
“A lot of investors had jumped in under the assumption that there would be some movement at the federal level to either reschedule the drug or pass a sort of banking legislation,” said Matt Hawkins, founder of Entourage Effect Capital, a cannabis investment firm.
Hawkins said he and other investors have become more selective in the types of businesses they finance, prioritizing those that already have significant market share. That could end up hurting smaller players hoping to get their footing, he said.
“The industry remains in an internal consolidation state, with the new licensees finding it difficult to find capital and scale with efficiency,” said Robert Beasley, CEO of Fluent, which operates medical dispensaries in Florida, Pennsylvania and Texas.
Despite the economic headwinds, however, Beasley said he’s hopeful that “a few small measures of regulatory relief” will help get the industry back on track.

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U.K. passport control staff and rail workers have announced a series of walkouts through December.
Interior Minister Suella Braverman said people planning to travel abroad should “think carefully about their plans because they may well be impacted.”
Workers are striking over pay and job security.

A train makes its way through the snow in Penistone, South Yorkshire, in March 2022. Passengers face Christmas travel disruption as workers strike over pay and working conditions.
Nurphoto | Nurphoto | Getty Images

LONDON — Passengers traveling into or around the U.K. over the holiday period face significant disruption due to strikes, with the government urging people to reconsider their plans.
Airport staff working for the U.K. Border Force are due to walk out from Dec. 23 to 26, and again from Dec. 28 to New Year’s Eve.

It will impact services at the U.K.’s busiest airport, London Heathrow, as well as London Gatwick, Manchester, Birmingham, Cardiff and Glasgow. The government is set to bring in soldiers to assist at passport control and with staffing, it confirmed Thursday, as between 2,000 and 3,000 workers plan to strike.
Suella Braverman, the U.K.’s interior minister, warned there would be “undeniable, serious disruption,” and said people planning to travel abroad should “think carefully about their plans because they may well be impacted.”
The affected airports are due to see 10,072 flight arrivals, totaling more than 2 million seats, between Dec. 23 and 31, according to aviation analytics firm Cirium. One million of those are into Heathrow.

The head of the Public and Commercial Services Union, Mark Serwotka, said the government could stop the strikes by meeting their demands, which include a pay raise, job security and no cuts to redundancy terms. Serwotka said some of its members were using food banks due to low pay.
Meanwhile the RMT, the rail workers’ union, has confirmed strikes will take place on Dec. 13 to 14, Dec. 16 to 17, and from 6 p.m. on Christmas Eve until Dec. 27, as well as on some days in January. Around half of railways are due to be shut on these dates.

Rail bosses have said people should only travel if necessary and check their train operator’s network for the status of their particular journey. Travel may also be disrupted on non-strike days due to trains being in the wrong location.
Some pub and restaurant traders have said they fear a reduction in trade during what is usually the busiest time of the year as a result.
The union is calling for a pay raise in line with inflation, a guarantee of no compulsory redundancies until April 2024, and changes to working conditions, which it says currently make train travel less safe.
December is set to see a wave of strike action in the U.K., including by postal and ambulance workers.

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National authorities announced Wednesday sweeping changes to make it easier to travel domestically, keep businesses operating and allow Covid patients to quarantine at home.
The path forward for China to reopen may take a few months, with a surge in infections likely, Goldman Sachs Chief China Economist Hui Shan and a team said in a Dec. 4 report.
In the near term, about 60% of people may get infected, regardless of how policy is adjusted, Feng Zijian, former deputy director of China’s Center for Disease Control and Prevention, said Tuesday during a Tsinghua University talk.

Passengers wait to board a train at Hongqiao railway station in Shanghai on December 6, 2022.
Hector Retamal | Afp | Getty Images

BEIJING — As mainland China relaxes many of its stringent Covid controls, analysts point out the country is far from a quick return to a pre-pandemic situation.
National authorities announced sweeping changes on Wednesday to make it easier to travel domestically, keep businesses operating and allow Covid patients to quarantine at home.

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“These measures are much welcome for an economy that has been severely battered this year,” Nomura’s chief China economist Ting Lu and a team said in a report.
“However, we would also caution that the road to full reopening may still be gradual, painful and bumpy,” they said. The country does not appear well prepared for a massive wave of infections, and the infection rate of 0.13% leaves the country far below that needed for herd immunity, according to the report.
Mainland China’s daily Covid infections, mostly asymptomatic, surged to a record high above 40,000 in late November. The number has since tapered off as cities reduced virus testing requirements.
The path forward for China to reopen may take a few months, with a surge in infections likely, according to a Goldman Sachs report on Dec. 4.

“With most of the population uninfected before reopening, lower elderly vaccination rates than many other economies, and cultural similarities, we think Hong Kong and Taiwan’s reopenings are most relevant for Mainland China,” said chief China economist Hui Shan and a team.

“Their experiences suggest that cases are likely to skyrocket upon reopening and linger for a while, a high elderly vaccination rate is key to a safe reopening, and mobility declines sharply as cases rise,” the Goldman report said.
In the last two months, Taiwan no longer required international travelers to quarantine upon arrival, and said people did not have to wear masks outdoors.

60% of people may get Covid

Last week, mainland Chinese authorities announced another push to vaccinate the country’s elderly.
In the near term, about 60% of people may get infected, regardless of how policy is adjusted, Feng Zijian, former deputy director of China’s Center for Disease Control and Prevention, said Tuesday during a Tsinghua University talk. He said that figure could ultimately climb to 80% or 90%.
New measures released by the health commission Thursday focused on how to treat Covid patients at home, and included a list of medicines.
Whether out of necessity or precaution, local demand for related medication was already on the rise.
JD Health said online sales have climbed for cold medicines, fever-reducing drugs and related products. The company said its latest data showed transaction volume for the week ended Monday surged by 18 times versus October.
Looking ahead, it’s pretty clear that China’s Covid policy is about to cross a turning point, said Bruce Pang, chief economist and head of research for Greater China at JLL.
As of Wednesday, negative virus tests are no longer needed to travel within China, while large numbers of people typically travel around the upcoming Lunar New Year holiday, he said. That means there may be a surge in Covid infections, and China’s policy will never go back, Pang said.
Chinese travel booking site Trip.com said after the relaxation in domestic travel policies, flight ticket searches for the Lunar New Year, which falls in late January 2023, surged to the highest in three years.

Not a full reopening, yet

Health authorities emphasized Wednesday the latest changes do not imply a full reopening. There was no reduction in quarantine time for international travelers, and the measures include instances in which a negative virus test is still required.
At a local level, Beijing city said Wednesday evening that people wanting to dine in at restaurants would still need to show a negative virus test from within the last two days.
But it’s taking longer to process virus test results due to an increase in positive cases, local Beijing media reported Wednesday, citing a virus testing firm worker. Since virus tests are done in batches of 10, if one person’s result turns out positive, the machine needs to process additional tests, the report said.

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Goldman Sachs analysts expect China’s reopening — defined as a shift away from lockdowns — to come in the second quarter of 2023, according to a separate report on Wednesday.
“An earlier-than-expected reopening would add more downward pressure to near-term growth but moderate upside risk to our 2023 full-year GDP growth forecast,” the analysts said.
They expect any initial reopening to create a drag on the economy “due to surging infections, a temporary shortage of labor supply and increased supply chain disruptions.”
Goldman forecasts 3% growth for China’s economy this year, and 4.5% in 2023.

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Costco Wholesale (COST) reported mixed fiscal first-quarter results after the closing bell Thursday, amid weaker consumer demand. But the Club continues to see the fundamentals of the business as solid and are encouraged by the bulk retailer’s expected membership fee hike and special dividend. Total revenue , which includes revenues from membership fees, increased 8% year-over-year, to $54.44 billion, slightly below the consensus estimate by analysts of $54.64 billion, according to Refinitiv. E-commerce comparable sales fell 3.7% year-on-year, or 2% on an adjusted basis. For the total company, comparable sales increased 6.6% year-on-year, or 7.2% on an adjusted basis. Earnings-per-share grew 3% year-over-year, to $3.07 a share, missing analysts’ forecasts of $3.11 a share. The results were weighed down in part by one-off items. And with about 25% to 30% of Costco’s earnings generated outside the United States, the strong U.S. dollar was also a drag on earnings. Bottom line Costco’s numbers were slightly below expectations, but the Club holding isn’t being penalized at the moment, with shares down just 0.27% in afterhours trading Thursday evening. Still, the stock has weathered a challenging December so far, down nearly 11% on weaker-than-expected comparable monthly sales for November — news that likely prepared the market for today’s earnings miss. More importantly, the long-term direction of the business remains strong with positive catalyst events on the horizon, including a likely membership-fee increase and special dividend. And we are encouraged by apparent record e-commerce sales for Black Friday and Cyber Monday, according to management. Those days were not included in Costco’s fiscal first quarter, which ended on Nov. 20. Nonetheless, we locked in some gains at a higher price late last week, given short-term concerns that the slowdown in November sales could indicate a larger trend. Membership stats Revenue from membership fees is a closely followed metric from which Costco earns the majority of its profits. Revenue from membership fees increased 5.7% year-over-year, to $1 billion, slightly missing estimates of $1.01 billion. Foreign exchange had a $32 million negative impact. Costco ended its quarter with 66.9 million paying household members and 120.9 million cardholders. Both are up 7% year-over-year. Renewal rates in the U.S. and Canada were 92.5%, compared to 92.4% a quarter ago. The worldwide renewal rate was 90.4%, in line with the previous quarter. Margins Reported gross margins fell 45 basis points year-over-year, and 21 basis points excluding gas inflation. Core merchandise margins fell 52 basis points on a reported basis, and 31 basis points excluding gas inflation. The core-on-core gross margin was down 31 basis points, with food and sundries up slightly, offset by a decline in nonfood- and fresh food margins. Ancillary and other businesses’ margins increased 23 basis points on a reported basis, and 30 basis points excluding gas inflation. Gas business centers and travel were up year-over-year, while e-commerce, food courts, and optical were lower. Elsewhere, “2% reward” reported margins were down 2 basis points on a reported basis, and fell 5 basis points excluding gas inflation, implying higher sales penetration coming from executive members. LIFO — last in, first out — margins increased 3 basis points on a reported basis, and 3 basis points excluding gas. Costco still had a very small LIFO charge this quarter of less than $1 million, but it was less than the $14 million charge recorded in the first quarter last year. Other margins — a catchall bucket — fell 17 basis points on a reported basis and 18 points excluding gas inflation. Other items Costco opened up 7 new net warehouses in the quarter and plans to open 24 net stores this fiscal year. Costco is seeing commodities prices mostly come down, including corn flour, sugar, butter and steel. Potential catalysts When asked about plans for a membership-fee increase, CFO Richard Galanti once again pointed out that the current timing is still not at the average of the past three increases. Costco historically increases its membership fee every 5-years-and-7-months, the next anniversary of which comes in January 2023. The company has the pricing power to increase fees if it wants to, and the timing is a when, not if, situation. Another when, not if, situation is Costco’s next special dividend. The company has paid out a special dividend 4 times in the past 8 years, the last being in November 2020. With nearly $11 billion of cash and cash equivalents on the balance sheet, Costco has plenty of capacity to reward shareholders again. (Jim Cramer’s Charitable Trust is long COST. See here for a full list of the stocks.) As a subscriber to the CNBC Investing Club with Jim Cramer, you will receive a trade alert before Jim makes a trade. Jim waits 45 minutes after sending a trade alert before buying or selling a stock in his charitable trust’s portfolio. If Jim has talked about a stock on CNBC TV, he waits 72 hours after issuing the trade alert before executing the trade. THE ABOVE INVESTING CLUB INFORMATION IS SUBJECT TO OUR TERMS AND CONDITIONS AND PRIVACY POLICY , TOGETHER WITH OUR DISCLAIMER . NO FIDUCIARY OBLIGATION OR DUTY EXISTS, OR IS CREATED, BY VIRTUE OF YOUR RECEIPT OF ANY INFORMATION PROVIDED IN CONNECTION WITH THE INVESTING CLUB. NO SPECIFIC OUTCOME OR PROFIT IS GUARANTEED.

Costco Wholesale (COST) reported mixed fiscal first-quarter results after the closing bell Thursday, amid weaker consumer demand. But the Club continues to see the fundamentals of the business as solid and are encouraged by the bulk retailer’s expected membership fee hike and special dividend. More