AMC Networks CEO steps down / U.S. shoppers spent $9.12B over Thanksgiving holiday / HSBC sells Canadian Business for $10B

Plus, China launched a spacecraft carrying three astronauts to its newly completed space station.

Inside.com Part of   Network November 29, 2022

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AMC Networks Chairman James Dolan sent a memo to employees on Tuesday noting that the company is planning significant layoffs. The notice was sent shortly after the company announced that CEO Christina Spade will step down after less than three months in the position. More: AMC Networks is not affiliated with the movie theater chain AMC Entertainment. AMC Networks is known for popular TV shows like “Breaking Bad,” “Mad Med,” and “The Walking Dead.” The network also has a streaming service, AMC+, and a horror-focused platform, Shudder. In the memo, Dolan said it was a confusing and uncertain time for the TV industry, as the company had expected to make up the losses from customers cutting their cable with gains from its streaming platforms. Dolan noted that this has not been the case. AMC reported a 16% drop in revenue to $682M for the quarter that ended Sept. 30. AMC shares were down more than 4% by afternoon trading. The company is down nearly 50% YTD. AMC said its board is finalizing its decision for the company’s new CEO.

According to the National Retail Federation, a record 196.7 million people shopped in stores or online over the Thanksgiving holiday through Cyber Monday. According to Adobe, consumers spent a record $9.12B shopping online on Black Friday. Online Black Friday shopping rose 2.3% compared to last year. More: The use of “buy now pay later” payment options rose 78% compared to last week. Some popular items purchased over the weekend were electronics, including gaming consoles, laptop computers, and drones. Toys and large household items also topped the list. Consumers spent around $325 on holiday-related items, up from last year’s average of $301. More than 122.7 million people shopped in physical stores over the weekend, up 17% compared to the same period last year.

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Nestlé is exploring strategic options, including a possible sale, for its peanut allergy treatment drug Palforzia. The food company said it had high hopes for the drug after it acquired its developer, Aimmune Therapeutics, for $2.6B in 2020. However, Palforzia has seen limited demand from doctors and patients. More: Palforzia works by gradually exposing patients who are allergic to peanuts to doses of peanut powder. The treatment requires the patient to visit a doctor every two weeks for four to five months. Patients were also required to remain under medical supervision for at least one hour after taking the treatment. The drug doesn’t cure the allergy but lessens the frequency and severity of an allergic reaction. Palforzia was approved by the FDA in 2020 and costs several thousand dollars annually. Nestlé expects to complete its review of Palforzia in H1, 2023. Nestlé ADRs shares were down ~2% during afternoon trading on Tuesday. In Related news: Nestlé also plans to spin off its meal kits business, Freshly. The company purchased Freshly in 2020 for $950M. Freshly will merge with Kettle Cuisine, a premium food manufacturer owned by private equity group L Catterton. Nestlé will retain a minority stake in the merged entity.

QatarEnergy and ConocoPhillips signed two sales and purchase agreements on Tuesday that have Qatar supplying Germany with liquefied natural gas for at least 15 years. The agreement comes as Europe has been working to wean itself off Russian gas. More: Under the agreement, Qatar will supply Germany with 2 million tons of liquefied natural gas a year starting in 2026. This is the first long-term LNG agreement by a European country since the start of the Russia-Ukraine war in February. German economy minister Robert Habeck noted that the contract was between the two energy companies and not between the governments. Habeck added that Germany plans to buy less LNG in the future as the country aims to adhere to its climate goals of moving away from fossil fuels. Russian gas accounted for about 45% of Europe’s gas imports last year.

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Italian football club Juventus FC announced that chairman Andrea Agnelli would step down from the role. Juventus also said its entire board has resigned amid an investigation by Italian authorities over allegations of false accounting and market manipulation related to player salaries and transfers. More: The football club said the resignations were in the best interest of the company, pending the outcome of the investigations. Italian prosecutors have accused the club of violating international accounting rules. Following news of the departures, Juventus shares fell more than 2%. New board members will be announced on Jan. 18 at the club’s shareholders’ meeting. Juventus is majority owned by Exor, a holding company for the Agnelli family. Andrea Agnelli also serves as a director for Stellantis, the automaker behind Chrysler, Fiat, and Jeep.

HSBC has agreed to sell its Canadian business to the Royal Bank of Canada for $10B. The move comes as the bank has been under pressure from its largest shareholder, Chinese insurer Ping An, to split its Asian and Western businesses. HSBC said it might return some proceeds from its Canadian business sale to investors. More: HSBC’s Canadian business has 130 branches and more than 780,000 retail and commercial customers. The Royal Bank of Canada is the largest lender by assets in the country. The deal is expected to close in late 2023; it is still subject to regulatory approval. Following news of the sale, HSBC shares rose ~5%.

Quick Hits HubSpot and Brandwatch partnered this year to survey over 1,000 individuals across the U.S. to better understand consumer purchasing habits, thoughts, and behaviors.* Twitter said it has ended its COVID-19 misinformation policy. The social media platform will no longer apply labels to posts containing false information about COVID-19 or provide supplemental corrective information. Twitter stopped enforcing the policy on Nov. 23. Snap Inc CEO Evan Spiegel told employees in a memo that starting in February, they are required to be in the office 80% of the time. Spiegel said he believes spending time together in person will help the company achieve its full potential. Crypto exchange Bitfront said it is shutting down its operations in a few months. The firm was backed by Japanese social media firm Line Corp. Bitfront said it had suspended new sign-ups and credit card payments. China launched a spacecraft carrying three astronauts to its newly completed space station. China’s space station is the second permanently inhabited outpost in low-Earth orbit after the NASA-led International Space Station. Alibaba founder and founder CEO Jack Ma has been living in Tokyo, Japan, for almost six months. Ma disappeared from public view after he criticized Chinese regulators in 2020. His companies, Ant Group and Alibaba, have been under regulatory review. Tech innovation is surging in education, finance, health care, and other industries. See what your competitors are building with Crowdbotics.* *This is a sponsored post.

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Vanessa Omeokachie is a writer for Inside.com; she writes the daily Inside Business newsletter. Her interests include finance, technology, and entrepreneurship. In her free time, she enjoys reading, hiking, attending concerts and music festivals, traveling, and exploring.  Connect with her on Twitter @VanessaOmeo or on LinkedIn. 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 and 1972 Fords.

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