Companies Archives - The Michigan Star

Debt-Laden Companies Are Headed Toward Doom as Interest Rates Take Their Toll

October 7, 2023October 6, 2023 Michigan Star Staff

Companies around the world could be in trouble in the first half of 2024 as the rising cost of debt due to heightened interest rates threatens a half-trillion dollar refinancing scramble, according to Reuters.

Businesses, particularly across Europe, the Middle East and Africa, that previously borrowed when rates were low and businesses that need to take out new loans to meet capital requirements need around $500 billion in the next half-year for refinancing to avoid cutting operations, according to Reuters, citing analysis from restructuring consultancy Alverez & Marsal. The value of company loans in the next six-month period is projected to be higher than any other similar period until the end of 2025, threatening businesses that will need to borrow during that time and risking corporate failures.

Companies Are Throwing Thousands of Diversity Officers Overboard: Report

July 24, 2023 Michigan Star Staff

Top companies are laying off thousands of diversity-focused workers, according to The Wall Street Journal.

Major companies that have championed diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI) initiatives, like Netflix, Disney and Warner Bros. Discovery, recently announced the exit of high-profile DEI executives, and thousands of employees working in diversity-related positions have been laid off since last year, according to the WSJ. Employee opinions about the importance of DEI and the funding for related initiatives are changing too, with many workers not seeing it as important.

Survey: 56 Percent of Companies Dropping COVID-19 Vaccine Mandates to Retain Talent, Grow Workforce

August 28, 2022August 27, 2022 The Center Square

According to Price Waterhouse Coopers 2022 Pulse survey, business leaders are implementing a range of measures to retain talent and grow their workforce, including dropping COVID-19 vaccine mandates as a condition of in-person employment.

According to the survey, 56% of companies said they were dropping COVID-19 vaccine mandates for on-site work. The survey findings, published Aug. 18, came after vaccine mandates continue to be challenged and overturned in courts and after it remains questionable that the COVID-19 vaccines were effective in preventing the spread of the coronavirus.

Walmart to Hire Tens of Thousands of Workers

March 21, 2022 Admin

The nation’s largest private employer announced plans to hire tens of thousands of workers before the end of the quarter to help expand its business amid a tightening labor market.

Walmart announced Wednesday a plan to hire more than 50,000 workers in the U.S. by the end of April, the time of year when many companies decrease hiring following the busy holiday shopping season, The Wall Street Journal first reported. The new hires will reportedly fill positions in stores but also add staff in areas such as health, wellness and advertising.

Trump’s Entertainment Venture Outperforming All Similar Companies: REPORT

January 25, 2022January 24, 2022 Michigan Star Staff

Former President Donald Trump’s entertainment venture is currently outperforming all other special purpose acquisition companies (SPACs), according to a recent market report.

Digital World Acquisition Corp (DWAC), the SPAC used to take Trump Media & Technology Group (TMTG) public, is outperforming all other SPACs, according to a market analysis by SPAC Research reported by Reuters. The company’s shares ended trading at $73.12 on Friday, giving the company a valuation of roughly $13 billion, according to Reuters.

A SPAC is a company that acquires private companies and lists them publicly on a stock exchange without the private company engaging in an initial public offering (IPO). In this case, Trump used DWAC to take his company public in order to raise funding for his social media venture, TRUTH Social, which he has billed as an alternative to major tech platforms like Facebook and Twitter.

Securities and Exchange Commission to Crack Down on Private Companies, Heighten Disclosure Requirements

January 11, 2022January 10, 2022 Michigan Star Staff

Securities and Exchange Commission building

The Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) plans to crack down on private companies, forcing them to disclose financial and operation statements more frequently, The Wall Street Journal reported.

Regulators have grown more concerned over the lack of oversight regarding private fundraising for companies, the WSJ reported. The private investment market has become a popular way for companies to raise money without undergoing the regulatory scrutiny required for public trading.

“When they’re big firms, they can have a huge impact on thousands of people’s lives with absolutely no visibility for investors, employees and their unions, regulators, or the public,” SEC Commissioner Allison Lee told the WSJ. “I’m not interested in forcing medium- and small-sized companies into the reporting regime.”

Top House Antitrust Lawmakers Held Meeting with Facebook Whistleblower

October 24, 2021October 23, 2021 Michigan Star Staff

Top lawmakers in the House Judiciary antitrust subcommittee met with Facebook whistleblower Frances Haugen on Thursday, a person familiar with the matter confirmed to the Daily Caller News Foundation.

Democratic Rep. David Cicilline, who chairs the subcommittee, and Republican Rep. Ken Buck, who serves as ranking member, held a meeting with Haugen to discuss Facebook and issues related to social media competition, Politico first reported, citing two sources. A person familiar with the matter confirmed the meeting to the DCNF, and said the lawmakers also discussed potential antitrust reforms, as well as matters related to privacy and social media algorithms.

Buck and Cicilline worked together to advance a series of antitrust bills targeting major tech companies out of the House Judiciary Committee in June, and have both advocated for breaking up Facebook and other large platforms. The antitrust bills are currently set to reach the House floor in November.

Conservative Media Company Is the Fastest-Growing Advertising And Marketing Business in the U.S., According to Inc. 5000

August 21, 2021August 20, 2021 Michigan Star Staff

Person setting up lighting in front of green screen filming location

A conservative digital media company’s focus on the culture wars in America appears to be paying off, as it is the fastest-growing private advertising and marketing business in the U.S., according to the 2021 Inc. 5000 list released Tuesday.

“We focus on working with groups that are advocating for or otherwise advancing conservative causes or conservative beliefs,” Olympic Media Founder and CEO Ryan Coyne told the Daily Caller News Foundation on Thursday.

Olympic was founded in 2018 and has had many high-profile clients, such as Reps. Elise Stefanik, Jim Jordan, and Madison Cawthorn, Sen. Bill Hagerty and Turning Point USA.

Surging BBQ Companies Go Public, Signaling Continued Post-Pandemic Shift to Home Cooking

July 27, 2021July 26, 2021 Michigan Star Staff

Multiple home barbecue companies are going public after a successful year and a half amid the COVID-19 crisis, an apparent reflection of increasing consumer orientation toward home cooking after many months during which dining out was sharply curtailed.

Traeger — a manufacturer of automated wood-pellet smokers — this week announced an initial public offering of 23,529,411 shares of common stock at as much as $18 per share. The company was expecting to realize around $400 million in the IPO.

The company in its IPO prospectus said it “more than doubled revenue from $262.1 million in 2017 to $545.8 million in 2020,” with huge surges in social media followings last year

Commentary: Why Do CEOs Make So Much Money?

October 15, 2019October 15, 2019 Michigan Star Staff

Certain politicians and social critics would have us scandalized that the annual income of CEOs of large corporations is often several times that of the employees who work in those companies. Is it unfair that executives make substantially more than a middle manager, an executive assistant, or an assembly-line worker? How are those salaries determined? Is significant income disparity unjust? To consider these questions, let’s take a look at the unique role and responsibilities of a chief executive officer.