The Weekly Scan April 4, 2023

Welcome to the Weekly Scan. Here’s what we’re following for the week of April 3, 2023. 

WWE enters the ring. Endeavour Group, the owner of Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC), will reportedly purchase World Wrestling Entertainment (WWE). Following the merger, UFC and WWE will become one publicly traded entity. People who own shares in Endeavor will hold a 51% stake in the new company, and those who own WWE shares will hold 49%. This new company will be helmed by Endeavour Group’s CEO Ari Emanuel. Vince McMahon, the former CEO of WWE, will be executive chairman of the company. zEarlier, this year, McMahon returned to WWE after retiring in 2022 due to sexual misconduct and rape allegations. 

Wall Street Journal

Armored up. The U.S. Army reached a $4.5 billion deal with Lockheed Martin, which will provide the U.S. with Joint Air-to-Ground missiles (JAGM) and Hellfire missiles over the coming years. The deal is an attempt to build up resources against China. The Biden administration has requested $842 billion for the Pentagon and $44 billion for other defense programs, increasing the defense budget $28 billion year-over-year.

Reuters

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Barreling forward. Due to a decision made by the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC+), oil prices have surged. Oil production will be cut again by 1.6 million barrels, after reducing output by 2 million barrels in October 2022. Brent crude increased 5.31% to $84.13 per barrel and West Texas Intermediate (WTI) increased 5.48% to $79.83 per barrel. As a result, analysts from Goldman Sachs said they expect the price to reach $95 per barrel. Increasing oil prices are expected to add to concerns over inflation, which central banks have been attempting to curb. 

CNN

In hot water. Starbucks fired Alexis Rizzo, the worker who spearheaded the Starbucks Workers United union movement. The termination came after Starbucks’ CEO Howard Schultz testified in front of Congress about alleged union-busting at the coffee chain. Rizzo had been a shift supervisor at a Starbucks location on Genesee Street in Buffalo, New York—which was one of the first in the country to unionize. Rizzo was fired after being late four times. The Starbucks Workers Union has called the decision “retaliation at its worst.”

CNBC