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Goran Gogic of Germany ends up on the floor in the Heavyweight fight against Pedro Carrion during the Arena Boxing Night at the Alterdorfer Sporthalle on December 15, 2006 in Hamburg, Germany.
Friedemann Vogel | Bongarts | Getty Images

Former heavyweight boxer Goran Gogic was charged by the U.S. Department of Justice on Monday with trafficking 22 tons of cocaine worth over $1 billion.
The 43-year-old Montenegrin was arrested on Sunday night at Miami International Airport while trying to board a flight to Zurich. He was previously indicted by a grand jury in New York.

Gogic was charged with three counts of violating the federal Maritime Drug Law Enforcement Act, plus one count of conspiracy. Each of the three counts has a mandatory minimum 10-year prison term with a possible life sentence.
The charges date back to 2019, when 22 tons of cocaine from three commercial cargo ships were seized while docked at Philadelphia’s Packer Avenue Marine Terminal. According to prosecutors, the cocaine was transported to Europe from Colombia using American ports. The scheme used cranes and nets at night to hoist cocaine onto cargo ships.

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Gogic oversaw the logistics and coordinated with crew members, Colombian traffickers and European dockworkers, according to court papers.
U.S. Attorney Breon Peace in Brooklyn called Gogic’s arrest and indictment “a resounding victory for law enforcement.” Larence Hashish, Gogic’s lawyer, said that the charges “came as a surprise to him” and he “maintains his innocence.”
Gogic was a heavyweight boxer from 2001 to 2012, compiling a 21-4-2 record in 27 career matches.

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Bed Bath & Beyond’s chief customer officer, Rafeh Masood, has resigned.
It marks the latest leadership change at the embattled retailer.
The company recently appointed interim CEO Sue Gove to the post permanently.

A security guard stands next to a Bed Bath & Beyond sign at the entrance to a New York City store location.
Scott Mlyn | CNBC

Bed Bath & Beyond’s chief customer officer, Rafeh Masood, has resigned, marking the latest leadership change at the embattled retailer.
Masood also held the role of chief technology officer. His resignation is effective as of Dec. 2, the company said in a regulatory filing.

Bed Bath & Beyond said the departure is “not the result of any disagreement” with the company on any matter relating to its operations, practices or financial statements.
It is the latest in a series of leadership changes at the company. In June, Bed Bath’s board pushed out Chief Executive Mark Tritton and Chief Merchandising Officer Joe Hartsig. Its chief accounting officer resigned and the company eliminated the chief operating officer and chief stores officer roles this summer. Former CFO Gustavo Arnal died by suicide in September.
Last week, Bed Bath appointed interim CEO Sue Gove, who stepped into the role after Tritton’s departure, to the post permanently. Bed Bath is still looking for a new chief financial officer after tapping its chief accounting officer, Laura Crossen, as interim chief financial officer, earlier this fall.
The shifts come at a critical moment for Bed Bath & Beyond, which is gearing up for the key holiday season and working to reverse dwindling sales and inventory strains. The company has closed stores, laid off workers and secured new financing as part of its turnaround efforts.
If you are having suicidal thoughts, contact the Suicide & Crisis Lifeline at 988 for support and assistance from a trained counselor.

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Paramount Global reported $6.92 billion in third quarter revenue on Wednesday, missing analysts’ expectations.
Paramount’s TV network business saw revenue fall 5% due to a drop in advertising and pay-TV subscribers.
Streaming service Paramount+ now has 46 million subscribers, and overall direct-to-consumer revenue increased 38% year-over-year, driven by subscriptions and advertising.

Tom Cruise in “Top Gun: Maverick”
Source: Paramount

Paramount Global on Wednesday reported $6.92 billion in revenue for its third quarter, an increase of 5% year-over-year. Yet the company’s results missed expectations as it suffered from cord cutting and a drop in advertising revenue.
Here’s what the company reported compared with analysts’ expectations, according to Refinitiv:

Adjusted EPS: 39 cents, vs 43 cents expected
Revenue: $6.92 billion, vs $7.01 billion expected

Paramount said revenue for its TV media segment – which includes broadcast network CBS and cable-TV channels such as MTV, Nickelodeon and premium network Showtime – was down 5% to about $4.9 billion compared to the previous quarter as pay-TV subscriber numbers declined.
Paramount shares were down about 8% in premarket trading.
Advertising revenue for the segment also dropped, a sign that macroeconomic headwinds are beginning to hit. Paramount said advertising revenue for its TV networks was down 3% to about $1.9 billion.
Over the summer, Paramount warned that it began to feel a slowdown in the advertising market.
The company noted it also restructured some of its international affiliate TV agreements during the quarter, which shifted revenue from pay-TV services to streaming.

The company’s direct-to-consumer streaming segment performed better, however. Paramount+, the company’s answer to premium subscription services like Netflix and Disney+, added 4.6 million subscribers, bringing its total to 46 million customers. Paramount+ also lost 1.9 million subscribers during the quarter as SkyShowtime, its joint venture with Comcast in Europe, launched in the Nordics and replaced Paramount+.
Paramount+’s subscriber growth was driven by sports, particularly the NFL and international soccer, as well as the launch of its partnership with Walmart+. The company also announced Wednesday that its blockbuster “Top Gun: Maverick” would hit Paramount+ by the end of the year.
Meanwhile Pluto TV, the company’s free, ad-supported streaming service, reached 72 million monthly active users globally and grew its total viewing hours by double digits, the company said. On Tuesday, Fox Corp. reported that its Pluto competitor, Tubi, was a bright spot for the company, with revenue and advertising growing significantly for the service.
Disclosure: CNBC is owned by Comcast.

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Yum Brands missed Wall Street’s earnings estimates but beat quarterly revenue expectations.
Same-store sales rose at KFC, Pizza Hut and Taco Bell.
In October, Yum announced it reached a deal to sell its Russian KFC restaurants to a local operator, allowing it to fully exit the country.

Signage is displayed outside a Yum! Brands Inc. Taco Bell and Kentucky Fried Chicken (KFC) restaurant in Louisville, Kentucky, U.S., on Thursday, Jan. 30, 2020.
Luke Sharrett | Bloomberg | Getty Images

Yum Brands on Wednesday reported quarterly earnings that missed analysts’ expectations as the strong U.S. dollar weighed on its results.
Revenue came in above expectations, however, as same-store sales rose at its KFC, Pizza Hut and Taco Bell chains.

Shares of the company were flat in premarket trading.
Here’s what the company reported compared with what Wall Street was expecting, based on a survey of analysts by Refinitiv:

Earnings per share: $1.09 adjusted vs. $1.14 expected
Revenue: $1.64 billion vs. $1.62 billion expected

Net sales rose 2% to $1.64 billion. Worldwide, Yum’s same-store sales increased 5% in the quarter, topping StreetAccount estimates of 2.5%. More than 40% of Yum’s transactions came from digital channels, like its mobile app.
KFC reported same-store sales growth of 7%, beating Wall Street’s estimates of 2%. Excluding China, its largest market, same-store sales climbed 9%.
In October, Yum announced it reached a deal to sell its Russian KFC restaurants to a local operator, allowing it to fully exit the country.

Taco Bell’s same-store sales rose 6% in the quarter, falling short of expectations of 7.5%. In the U.S., same-store sales rose 7%. The Mexican-inspired chain is typically the strongest performer in Yum’s portfolio.
Pizza Hut reported same-store sales growth of 1%, beating Wall Street’s projections that its same-store sales would decline. The pizza chain has been struggling to stage a comeback for years. Demand for pizza delivery during the pandemic helped boost sales, but has since waned with people going out more again.
For the quarter ended Sept. 30, Yum reported a net income of $331 million, or $1.14 per share, down from $528 million, or $1.75 per share, a year earlier. The company said foreign currency rates weighed on its earnings per share by 10 cents.
Excluding Russian profits, lower investment gains and other items, the restaurant company earned $1.09 per share.

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Mortgage rates dropped for the first time in more than two months, but demand continued to weaken.
The average contract interest rate for 30-year fixed-rate mortgages with conforming loan balances ($647,200 or less) decreased to 7.06% from 7.16%
Mortgage applications to buy a home fell 1% for the week and were 41% lower year over year.

Mortgage application volume barely moved last week, falling 0.5% compared with the previous week, according to the Mortgage Bankers Association’s seasonally adjusted index.
Rates, meanwhile, dropped back a little bit last week, but they’re still near a 22-year high.

The average contract interest rate for 30-year fixed-rate mortgages with conforming loan balances ($647,200 or less) decreased to 7.06% from 7.16%, with points falling to 0.73 from 0.88 (including the origination fee) for loans with a 20% down payment. That rate was 3.24% the same week one year ago.
The slight drop was enough to move the needle a tiny bit on refinance demand. Those applications rose 0.2% for the week but were still 85% lower than the year before. There are now precious few qualified borrowers who don’t already have a rate lower than what is being offered today.
Mortgage applications to buy a home fell 1% for the week and were 41% lower year over year. Real estate agents and homebuilders alike say buyer traffic has slowed to a crawl. Agents say today’s buyers see no sense of urgency, and some may be waiting for rates to pull back more significantly.
“Apart from the ARM loan rate, rates for all other loan types were more than three percentage points higher than they were a year ago. These elevated rates continue to put pressure on both purchase and refinance activity and have added to the ongoing affordability challenges impacting the broader housing market, as seen in the deteriorating trends in housing starts and home sales,” said Joel Kan, an MBA economist.
Mortgage rates started this week slightly higher again, according to Mortgage News Daily, but all ears are now on Wednesday’s meeting of the Federal Reserve. While the Fed is widely expected to raise its funds rate by 0.75 percentage point, investors are focused more on what it will signal for future rate moves. Some believe the Fed is getting ready to end or at least slow its rate hikes.
“If they go so far as to throw that bone to the market, it would likely be good for rates at first,” wrote Matthew Graham, chief operating officer at Mortgage News Daily. “If they completely shy away from it, rates are going to have a bad [Wednesday] afternoon. … Either way, volatility risk is high.”

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The company has received backing from mining giant Glencore, among others.
So-called gigafactories are facilities that produce batteries for electric vehicles on a large scale.
Tesla CEO Elon Musk has been widely credited as coining the term.

Charging points for electric vehicles in London, England.
Jon Challicom | Moment | Getty Images

LONDON — U.K.-based electric vehicle battery firm Britishvolt said Wednesday it had secured short-term funding, a move that will enable it to stave off administration for the time being. The company said its employees had also agreed to a pay cut for November.
In a statement sent to CNBC, the firm said: “While the weakening economic situation is negatively impacting much business investment at present, at Britishvolt we are continuing to pursue positive ongoing discussions with potential investors.”

“In addition, we have also received promising approaches from several more international investors in the past few days.”
“The result is we have now secured the necessary near-term investment that we believe enables us to bridge over the coming weeks to a more secure funding position for the future.”
“To further reduce our near-term costs, our dedicated employee team has also voluntarily agreed to a temporary salary reduction for the month of November.”

Read more about electric vehicles from CNBC Pro

Britishvolt is looking to build a gigafactory in the county of Northumberland, northeast England. The company has received backing from mining giant Glencore, among others.
So-called gigafactories are facilities that produce batteries for electric vehicles on a large scale. Tesla CEO Elon Musk has been widely credited as coining the term.

Britishvolt, which attracted attention due to its bullish plans, had previously said its plant would have the capacity to produce more than 300,000 EV battery packs each year.
In January of this year, it said the first phase of the gigafactory would begin production in the fourth quarter of 2023 or the start of 2024.
The U.K. is looking to increase the number of electric vehicles on its road in the years ahead.
Authorities wants to stop the sale of new diesel and gasoline cars and vans by 2030. They will require, from 2035, all new cars and vans to have zero tailpipe emissions.
The European Union, which the U.K. left on Jan. 31, 2020, is pursuing similar targets. More

Chinese electric car startup Xpeng delivered about half the number of cars that rivals Nio and Li Auto did in October, according to company statements Tuesday.
Among the three companies, Li Auto’s U.S.-listed shares have held up the best in a year of broad market declines.
Xpeng said deliveries of its newly launched G9 SUV surged in October from September, after the vehicle began mass deliveries on Oct. 27.

Xpeng said deliveries of its newly launched G9 SUV surged in October from September, despite a drop in the brand’s overall monthly deliveries.
China News Service | China News Service | Getty Images

BEIJING — Chinese electric car startup Xpeng delivered about half the number of cars that rivals Nio and Li Auto did in October, according to company statements Tuesday.
While the two other startups reported monthly deliveries of more than 10,000 each, Xpeng said it delivered just 5,101 cars — a third-straight month of decline.

Xpeng shares fell by 3% in U.S. trading overnight. Nio’s rose by 0.4% and Li Auto shares jumped by 6.9%.
China’s electric car market is highly competitive. Older automakers BYD and Tesla lead monthly deliveries by far, while new entrant Huawei claims its Aito brand has topped the 10,000-a-month mark less than a year since launch.
Deliveries of Xpeng’s best-selling model, the P7 sedan, halved from September to October, with just over 2,100 units delivered last month. The company’s newly launched G9 SUV saw deliveries surge from 184 units in September to 623 units in October.
Xpeng said mass deliveries of the G9 began on Oct. 27. The company has said it expects the new model to become its best-selling car next year.

Nio

Nio, which has targeted a higher price range for both SUVs and sedans, said it delivered 10,059 vehicles in October. That marked a slight decline from September, but marked a fifth-straight month of deliveries that topped 10,000.

“Vehicle production and delivery were constrained by operation challenges in our plants as well as supply chain volatilities due to the COVID-19 situations in certain regions in China,” Nio said in a press release.
The company said its October deliveries included vehicles sold in Europe, but not those offered under a local subscription program.

Li Auto

Li Auto delivered 10,052 vehicles in October. Since May, the company has delivered more than 10,000 cars every month, except in August.

Read more about electric vehicles from CNBC Pro

After having only one model on the market since 2019, Li Auto has launched three new models in the last few months — the L9 which began deliveries in August, the L8 which is set to begin deliveries this month and the L7 which is set to reach consumers early next year.
Unlike Xpeng and Nio, Li Auto’s vehicles are not purely electric as they come with a fuel tank to charge the battery and extend driving range.
Among the three companies, Li Auto’s U.S.-listed shares have held up the best in a year of broad market declines. The stock is down by about 55% so far this year, while Nio shares have dropped by 69% and Xpeng is down by 87%.

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Migos rapper Takeoff died after he was shot outside of a downtown bowling alley in Houston early Tuesday, an attorney for the rapper confirmed.
Bandmate Quavo was also present at the scene, according to the Houston Police Department.
Takeoff was part of Migos along with Quavo and Offset.

Takeoff, a member of the Atlanta-based hip-hop trio Migos, died early Tuesday in a downtown Houston shooting, an attorney for the rapper confirmed.
“Takeoff was not only a brilliant musical artist with unlimited talent but also a uniquely kind and gentle soul. He will be greatly missed now and always,” said attorney Drew Findling in a statement to NBC.

The 28-year-old rapper, whose real name is Kirshnik Khari Ball, was fatally shot outside of a bowling alley where he and bandmate Quavo, 31, attended a private party.

Rapper Takeoff of the group Migos performs onstage at the Rolling Loud Festival at NOS Events Center on December 16, 2017 in San Bernardino, California. Images)
Scott Dudelson | Getty Images

Police responded to the shooting at 810 Billiards & Bowling shortly after 2:30 a.m. and once there, found one man dead from a gunshot wound to the head or neck, police said. A large crowd of 40 to 50 people were at the location when the shooting took place, NBC Houston affiliate KPRC reported, and two victims in unknown conditions were taken to nearby hospitals.
Security guards who were in the area heard the shooting but did not see who did it, a police spokesperson said. No arrests have been announced.
Takeoff was part of Migos along with Quavo and Offset. The rap group, founded in the Atlanta suburb of Lawrenceville in 2008, had four Top 10 hits on the Billboard Hot 100 including 2016’s Grammy-nominated “Bad and Boujee.” They released a trilogy of top-charting albums called “Culture,” “Culture II” and “Culture III.”
Earlier this month, Takeoff and Quavo debuted a new album “Only Built for Infinity Links,” without member Offset. Offset, who is married to rapper Cardi B, released a solo album in 2019.

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