STORY: From another twist in Paramount’s buyout talks, to a huge bid for a convenience store giant, this is the Week in Numbers.
:: $4.3 billion
$4.3 billion is how much one top media executive reportedly bid for Hollywood powerhouse Paramount.
Edgar Bronfman Jr.’s bid is the latest twist in a sale process marked by unexpected turns.
It threatens to undo a planned buyout by tech leader David Ellison and his firm Skydance Media, who reached an agreement last month to acquire Paramount.
:: 818000
818,000 is how many jobs the United States may have overstated it created in the year through March.
That’s according to the Labor Department.
It puts pressure on the Federal Reserve about the health of the labor market as it gears up to cut interest rates next month.
FBB Capital Partners Senior Portfolio Manager Mel Casey doesn’t think that should stop the U.S. central bank cutting rates.
“But the market seems more comfortable to focus less on the softness or the loosening of the labor market and focusing more on the resilience of the consumer. There’s some really, really good things to look at in terms of consumer spending. How that’s holding up. So, the data all seems to support a path towards easing.”
:: $38 billion
$38 billion is the valuation of Japan’s Seven & i in a takeover offer.
Canada’s Alimentation Couche-Tard made the bid for the 7-Eleven owner.
Seven & i shares surged almost a quarter on the news, but a source said talks were only ‘at a very early stage’.
:: 36.3%
Up to 36.3% is the European Union’s final proposed duty on Chinese-made electric vehicles entering its market.
Auto giants like BYD and Geely face significant tariffs, although Tesla’s duties were reduced from 20.8% to 9%.
In a sign of even more tensions, China opened its own anti-subsidy probe into EU dairy imports this week.
:: $3.74 billion
$3.74 billion is how much Walmart got for selling its entire stake in e-commerce firm JD.com.
The U.S. retailer was the biggest shareholder in the Chinese company.
China’s e-commerce sector has seen poor margins recently due to brutal price competition and weak consumer demand.
