The mammoth integration of failed bank Credit Suisse into its former rival UBS will act as a ”case study,” UBS CEO Sergio Ermotti said Friday, one that will show that big bank mergers should be allowed. ”It’s going to be a case study to be evaluated globally, but also particularly in Europe, where eventually the necessity of creating stronger banks, and stronger and more competitive banks from a global standpoint of view, is in my point of view a necessity,” Ermotti told CNBC’s Steve Sedgwick at an event at the Ambrosetti Spring Forum in Italy. ”Of course, we can’t just...

Paramount Global’s stock slumped 8% on Thursday after CNBC’s David Faber reported the company would need to raise as much as $3 billion in new equity if it were to merge with David Ellison’s Skydance Media, according to sources familiar with the deal. This deal comes as media mogul Shari Redstone, the controlling shareholder of Paramount, is said to be in exclusive talks with Ellison on selling her stake to him, according to Bloomberg. The companies have also reportedly entered exclusive merger discussions. Faber said Ellison and his partners would likely step up to provide a good amount of that...

Bob Iger poses with Mickey Mouse attends Mickey’s 90th Spectacular at The Shrine Auditorium on October 6, 2018 in Los Angeles. Valerie Macon | AFP | Getty Images Disney shareholders on Wednesday reelected the media conglomerate’s full board, preliminary results show, handing a stinging defeat to activist Nelson Peltz and former Marvel CEO Ike Perlmutter, both of whom agitated for change at one of America’s most storied companies. The widely expected victory caps a combative months-long process and affirms the board’s decisions, from the move to bring back CEO Bob Iger to his efforts to re-invigorate the $223 billion media...

Cleveland Federal Reserve President Loretta Mester said Tuesday she still expects interest rate cuts this year, but ruled out the next policy meeting in May. Mester also indicated that the long-run path is higher than policymakers had previously thought. The central bank official noted progress made on inflation while the economy has continued to grow. Should that continue, rate cuts are likely, though she didn’t offer any guidance on timing or extent. ”I continue to think that the most likely scenario is that inflation will continue on its downward trajectory to 2 percent over time. But I need to see...

A pump jack operates in front of a drilling rig at sunset in an oil field in Midland, Texas U.S. August 22, 2018. Nick Oxford | Reuters Crude oil futures rose on the first day of second-quarter trading Monday amid reports that the Iranian consulate in Damascus, Syria, was hit by a missile strike. The West Texas Intermediate contract for May delivery gained $1.28, or 1.54%, to $84.45 a barrel. The Brent contract for June delivery added 93 cents, or 1.07%, to $87.93 a barrel. Syrian and Iranian state media said Monday that an Israeli missile strike hit the Iranian...

People learn about Baidu’s artificial intelligence chatbot service Ernie Bot during the 2nd Global Digital Trade Expo at Hangzhou International Expo Center on November 23, 2023 in Hangzhou, Zhejiang Province of China.  China News Service | China News Service | Getty Images Nvidia’s rocket-ship ride in the stock market underscores the extent to which chip quality and availability will dictate the winners in the generative AI era. But there’s another aspect to measuring early leads in the space. In China, which is angling to produce its own chips or get more from Nvidia, no dominant gen AI contender to OpenAI...

On TikTok you’ll find millions of users diagnosing themselves using the term ”high-functioning” — high-functioning anxiety, high-functioning depression, high-functioning autism. The term ”high-functioning” isn’t actually clinical, but, generally, it refers to those who perform well in work and in school. So if someone has high-functioning depression, it means they are excelling at their job, despite being in poor mental health. After the pandemic, when levels of depression and anxiety both spiked, people became more aware of the fact that you can have depression or anxiety and still be excelling in certain parts of your life, says Irina Gorelik, a psychologist...

MSC, the largest ocean carrier in the world, has joined the list of ocean carriers terminating the delivery of diverted containers outside of the port for shipping clients as a result of the container ship accident near the Port of Baltimore that led to the tragic bridge collapse. With the Baltimore port indefinitely closed, the decision places the onus of cargo pick up at a diverted port and transport to its final destination on the shipper. In an email to customers obtained by CNBC on Thursday, MSC explained that for customer containers already on the water bound for the Port...

FTX founder Sam Bankman-Fried was sentenced to 25 years in prison on Thursday for the massive fraud and conspiracy that doomed his cryptocurrency exchange and a related hedge fund, Alameda Research. The sentence in Manhattan federal court was significantly less than the 40 to 50 years in prison that federal prosecutors wanted for Bankman-Fried. But it was much more than the five to six-and-a-half years suggested by his attorneys. ”There is a risk that this man will be in position to do something very bad in the future,” Judge Lewis Kaplan said before sentencing the 32-year-old and ordering him to...

Former U.S. President and Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump addresses the Pray Vote Stand Summit, organized by the Family Research Council in Washington, September 15, 2023. Jonathan Ernst | Reuters Donald Trump on Tuesday started promoting a line of pricey Bibles in partnership with country music star Lee Greenwood, whose song ”God Bless the U.S.A.” is omnipresent at the former president’s political rallies. ”All Americans need a Bible in their home, and I have many,” Trump said in a video on Truth Social announcing the business deal. ”It’s my favorite book. It’s a lot of people’s favorite book,” he said....