Plus: EV maker VinFast set to invest $2B in India

Inside Business

For January 06, 2024

Here are today's top Business stories:

🍎 Apple's share price drops following antitrust news.
✈️ United Airlines grounds multiple 737 Max-9 planes following Alaska Airlines incident.
💊 Florida receives the green light from the FDA to import drugs from Canada.

Thank you.

Arbër
p/Arber

Apple's share price dropped today following news that the U.S. Justice Department may file an antitrust lawsuit in 2024. The lawsuit could target the iPhone, iMessage, and ApplePay.

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The lawsuit would represent the biggest antitrust case that Apple would deal with in recent years, during a period in which companies such as Facebook, Google, Amazon, and Adobe have all had their share of struggles with regulators and law authorities.
This case could deal with how Apple, iMessage, and Apple Watch integrate, a feature that Apple considers key for its ecosystem of products.
Tim Cook is set to meet with the European Commission's head of antitrust regulator, Margrethe Vestager, this upcoming week.

United Airlines grounded multiple Boeing 737 Max-9 planes following Friday's incident where a panel blew off a plane in an Alaska Air flight. No serious injuries were reported on the Alaska Airlines flight.

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The plane returned to Portland shortly after takeoff on Friday after a pressurization issue was reported.
- Boeing delivered the planes late last year.
Following this incident, the FDA ordered 737 Max 9 planes to be grounded and inspected immediately.
The airline said that it inspected around 25% of its MAX-9 fleet and did not find technical issues.
United had about 8,000 flights scheduled with the MAX-9 for January, while Alaska Airlines had about 5,000 flights scheduled.

Florida has received the FDA green light to purchase cheaper drugs from Canada. This marks the first-ever case of its kind in U.S. history.

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The decision could potentially lead to lower prices for American consumers, but the plan will likely be blocked, at least temporarily, by lawsuits from pharma companies.
Before being able to distribute Canadian drugs, Florida must send the FDA details on the medications it plans to import, guarantee their safety, and relabel those drugs to match FDA standards.
Along with Florida, other states such as Colorado, North Dakota, and Vermont have also presented similar plans to import drugs from other countries.

EV maker VinFast has announced a $2B investment in a manufacturing plant in India. The plant is expected to create up to 5000 jobs.

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The plant will be located in Thoothukudi, Tamil Nadu, while construction is expected to begin this year.
- Its manufacturing capacity is expected to be at 150,000 vehicles per year.
- The region of Tamil Nadu is home to many manufacturing plants built by companies such as BMW, Renault-Nissan, Hyundai, BYD, etc.
The company will initially invest $500M, with a further $1.5B planned to be deployed later.
Vietnam-based VinFast posted a $623M Q3 loss in November 2023 but doubled its sales compared to the same month in 2022.

Zoom Out:

India is the world's third-largest automobile market and the world's most populated country.

Pat McAfee has called out an ESPN executive on-air for trying to "sabotage" his show. The network will not suspend the host but will investigate the case.

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Pat McAfee is a former NFL player who joined ESPN after launching a popular online sports show.
The sports analyst has made headlines multiple times due to comments made on his show regarding the COVID-19 vaccines as well as ties between Hollywood artists and publically shamed sex offenders.
A recent article by The New York Post claimed that he is maintaining just 302,000 viewers on his show, which is a 48% drop from the 500,000+ viewers he has as a lead-in from "First Take," featuring Stephen A Smith and Shannon Sharpe.
McCafee claims that Norby Williams, an ESPN executive, is leaking statistics on purpose to sabotage his show.

Radio continues to hold a stable listenership compared to TV, which has faced a drop in viewership in recent years. 82% of Americans 12 or older listen to the radio in a given week.

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The media format is helped by the fact that most cars come with a free radio connection.
According to data, most drivers choose to listen to the radio over any other media format while they are in the car.
Pay TV penetration has fallen 20 percentage points between 2014 and 2023.
In Q3 2022, the pay-TV industry shrank at a record pace, with advertising revenue reflecting the loss in viewership as well.

Quick Hits:

Need to close more deals, faster? See 6 tips on how Calendly helps sales & marketing teams automate the meeting lifecycle and grow revenue. Read the blog.*
Chesapeake Energy and peer Southwestern Energy are close to reaching a merger deal. If the deal is finalized, it would create an entity worth $17B.
Cruise Robotaxi has offered to pay $75,000 in order to settle a pedestrian-crash case.
Netherlands-based genetics company Vico Therapeutics has raised a $60M Series B funding round. The round was led by Ackermans & van Haaren, with participation from Droia Ventures, EQT Life Sciences, Kurma Partners, and others.

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Arbër Musliu

Writer

Arbër is an Inside analyst who has previously incubated his startup at the largest incubator in Southeastern Europe. He has collaborated with multiple major publications and holds a business degree from XAMK University in Finland.

This newsletter was edited by Vibha Chapparike

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