 A Boeing 737-800 passenger plane operated by China Eastern Airlines crashed into the mountains of southern China, over Wuzhou, in the Guangxi region. The China Eastern Flight 5735, carrying 132 people – 123 passengers and nine crew members – was flying from Kunming to Guangzhou on Monday afternoon. According to Flightradar24’s tracking data, the jet was traveling 526 miles an hour at an altitude of 29,100 feet at 2:19 p.m. local time when it went into a steep decline. China’s President, Xi Jinping, expressed shock over the incident and has ordered a search-and-rescue mission. More: - China’s Civil Aviation Administration said it has activated its emergency mechanism and has sent a working group to the scene.
- According to a China Eastern Airlines source, the company has grounded all its Boeing 737-800 aircraft.
- A Boeing spokesman said the company is aware of the initial media reports and was working to gather more information.
- The U.S. Federal Aviation Administration (FAA), in a statement, said it is aware of the reports of the crash and is ready to assist in investigation efforts if asked.
- Usually, when a crash happens, the country where the crash occurred leads the investigation. However, since Boeing is the plane manufacturer and the FAA is its regulator, the FAA will most likely be involved in the investigation.
- CFM International, a joint venture of GE and France’s Safran, which makes the engines of the Boeing 737-800, expressed sadness over the news of the crash.
- Boeing shares fell over 5% in early trading on Monday but recovered slightly by midday trading.
Zoom out: - The 737-800 is one of the world’s most common jetliners. There are over 4,200 jets in service worldwide and 1,177 in Chinese airlines’ fleets.
- Boeing’s 737 Max jet, different from the 737-800, was grounded from March 2019 to Dec. 2020 following two fatal crashes in Oct. 2018 and March 2019 that killed all 346 people on board the two flights.
- Both planes nose-dived due to a sensor failure tied to a new and undisclosed control function unique to the 737 MAX – the Maneuvering Characteristics Augmentation System (MCAS).
- In 2016 the FAA approved Boeing’s request to remove references to the new Maneuvering Characteristics Augmentation System from the flight manual.
- Boeing avoided revealing MCAS until pilots requested further explanation after the two fatal crashes.
- Further engineering reviews found other design problems unrelated to MCAS in the 737 MAX computers and cockpit displays.
- After the fatal crashes, China was the first country to ground the Boeing 737 MAX.
In related news: - Boeing is trying to push through the certification of a new Boeing 737 MAX 10 before the FAA’s new safety standard on cockpit alerts takes effect at the end of the year.
- The FAA is introducing several new regulatory reforms after the two fatal crashes of Boeing’s 737 MAX planes in 2018 and 2019.
- Boeing has held talks with some U.S. lawmakers about potentially asking for more time to push through the certification of its new 737 MAX before the new regulatory reforms take effect.
- Only Congress can extend the deadline if the FAA does not certify the new 737 MAX 10 by the end of the year.
- Boeing and Delta are reportedly in talks for the U.S. airline to order up to 100 of Boeing’s new 737 MAX 10 passenger jets.
- In January, Boeing reported its third annual loss in a row in 2021 – $4.29B or $9.44 a share. In 2020, the company reported a net loss of $11.94B or $23.25 a share.
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On Monday, Warren Buffett’s Berkshire Hathaway announced that it has agreed to buy insurance company Alleghany for $11.6B in cash. Berkshire is paying $848.02 per share for Alleghany, a 25.3% premium on the company’s Friday closing price of $676.75 and 1.26 times Alleghany’s book value at the end of 2021. The deal is expected to close in Q4 of this year. Alleghany and its units will continue to operate independently after the sale closes. More: - Alleghany was founded in 1929 as a holding company for railroads. At one point, it owned about a fifth of all tracks in the U.S.
- Alleghany’s current core businesses are property and casualty insurance; the company also operates in toy production, funeral products production, hotel development, and custom trailers.
- Alleghany earned $1B in profits in 2021.
- The acquisition is Berkshire Hathaway’s largest in six years; the company ended 2021 with $146.7B in cash and cash equivalents.
- The deal includes a 25-day “go-shop” period, allowing Alleghany to seek a better offer.
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The SEC has formally proposed new requirements for publicly traded companies to report information on greenhouse gas emissions and risks related to climate change. The commission voted 3-1 to issue the proposal, which would require companies to report greenhouse gas emissions from their operations and from the energy they consume. The companies would also need to obtain independent certification of the estimates they submit to the SEC. More: - In some cases, companies would be required to report Scope 3 emissions, the greenhouse gas output of their supply chains and consumers.
- The proposal will be open for public comment for at least two months before the agency begins work on a final rule.
- The commissioners voted along party lines, with all three Democrats backing the proposal and one Republican against.
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U.S. private equity firm Thoma Bravo has agreed to buy enterprise software company Anaplan for $10.7B in cash. Thoma Bravo is paying $66 per share for Anaplan, a 30% premium on its Friday closing price of $50.62. Anaplan was founded in 2006 in a barn in Yorkshire, England; it is currently headquartered in San Francisco and has over 1,900 customers. The business planning software company competes with Microsoft, SAP, and Oracle. The transaction is expected to close H1 of 2022. More: - Last week, hedge funds Sachem Head Capital Management and Corvex Management disclosed they had teamed with JS Capital Management to launch an activist campaign against Anaplan.
- The three investors, who own a 9% stake in Anaplan, formed a consortium on March 7 and notified Anaplan’s CEO Frank Calderoni of their intention to nominate four members to the company’s board.
- Thoma arranged a financing package from a consortium of private capital lenders, including Owl Rock Capital, Blackstone, Apollo Global, and Golub Capital.
- The $10.7B deal would be the largest leveraged buyout to bypass traditional bank financing.
- On the news of the purchase, Anaplan’s stock jumped ~28% on Monday, closing at $64.63 a share.
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 Image Credit: AP/ Eric Risberg Over 500 Chevron employees went on strike at the company’s Richmond, California, refinery on Monday amid a contract dispute with the United Steelworkers Local 5 union. According to the United Steelworkers, the contract Chevron had with them expired on Feb. 1, and the union members had been working on a rolling extension. More: - Chevron said the demands of the United Steelworkers Local 5 were more than what the company considers reasonable and went beyond the national pattern bargaining agreement.
- The larger United Steelworkers union reached a pattern agreement with Chevron in February, but individual units can bargain over local issues as well.
- The Richmond refinery employs about 3,000 workers.
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Match Group, the parent company of Tinder, Hinge, and others, launched a new dating platform on Monday designed exclusively for single parents – Stir. The company hopes to provide a platform for 20 million single parents in the U.S. who are currently being under-served by existing dating platforms. March 21 is national single parent's day. More: - Stir's main feature is a schedule option called "Stir Time," which allows single parents looking to connect with someone to coordinate their differing schedules.
- The app also prompts users to answer questions that better describe what sort of relationship they are looking for and showcase their personalities.
- Stir generates revenue through subscriptions, which offers users various features, including the ability to see who likes them and have their profile boosted.
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- Supreme Court nominee Ketanji Brown Jackson defended her judicial career on Monday at the first session of the Judiciary Committee. If confirmed, Brown Jackson would be the first Black woman on the U.S. Supreme Court.
- On Monday, Apple suffered a widespread network outage that impacted Apple Music, iCloud, Map, iCloud and other platforms. The outage also prevented corporate employees from working from home.
- GM has bought out SoftBank's $2.1B stake in self-driving startup Cruise LLC, giving the carmaker 80% ownership in the startup. GM plans to invest an additional $1.35B in the company.
- Christie's New York will auction Andy Warhol's iconic silk-screen portrait of Marilyn Monroe starting at $200M. This is a record asking price for any artwork at auction.
- Shares of embattled property developer China Evergrande Group were halted from trading on Monday in Hong Kong. Trading for Evergrande and two of its subsidiaries on the Hong Kong exchange were suspended pending the release of inside information related to the company's restructuring plans.
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 |  | Vanessa Omeokachie is a Researcher at Inside. Her interests include finance, tech, and startups. In her free time, she enjoys reading, hiking, attending music festivals, and traveling. Connect with her on Twitter @VanessaOmeo or through email at vanessa@inside.com |  | | Editor | Aaron Crutchfield is based in the high desert of California. Over the last two decades, he has spent time writing and editing at various local newspapers and defense contractors in California. When he's not working, he can often be found looking at the latest memes with his kids or working on his 1962 Ford. | |
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