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Bitcoin recovers after new low, Apple to offer interest-bearing savings, Netflix to launch $6.99 ad-supported plan, Kroger to buy Albertsons for $24.6 billion, Briggs & Stratton bankruptcy, Beyond Meat to cut jobs, and more financial news.
Bitcoin recovered and moved higher by 1.3% at $19,388.89 after falling as low as $18,201. Ether also lost 0.7 percent to trade at $1289.20 after falling to $1192.80 on Thursday, CNBC reported. June saw the previous lows for the two cryptocurrencies when Bitcoin fell below $17,800 and Ether fell under $900.
Apple will soon allow iPhone users to put their credit card rewards and additional funds from separate bank accounts into an interest-bearing account, with Goldman Sachs administering the savings account, CNBC reported. The account will be primarily accessed through the iPhone’s wallet app, Apple said.
Netflix will roll out a new ad-supported plan in the US that will charge $6.99 a month beginning on November 3, CNBC reported. The offering is one dollar less per month than Disney+ and Hulu with commercials. It will be named the “basic with ads” tier, which will include an average of four to five minutes of commercials (15 or 30 seconds in length) that will play before and during Netflix content. The tier will have a 720P resolution.
Kroger, the second largest grocer by market share in the United States behind Walmart, has agreed to buy grocery chain Albertsons for $34.10 a share in a deal valued at $24.6 billion, CNBC reported. Albertson’s is the fourth-largest grocer by market share in the US after Costco. Combined, Kroger and Albertsons employ over 700,000 people across roughly 5000 stores. The boards of both companies unanimously approved the agreement, which is awaiting regulatory approval.
Briggs & Stratton Corporation, founded in Milwaukee in 1908, is the world’s largest manufacturer of small gasoline engines. The company also sells engines to other manufacturers such as Deere & Co., the Toro Co., and Viking. However, it has filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection with plans to sell its assets to a private equity firm specializing in manufacturing. Briggs & Stratton employs about 5,000 people worldwide, including roughly 1,300 in the Milwaukee area. As part of the bankruptcy, PS Capital Partners LP, a New York private equity firm, agreed to buy all of Briggs’ assets for approximately $550 million, the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel reported.
Beyond Meat has cut its revenue projections along with announcing job cuts and executive departures. The plant-based meat alternative producer said it will cut around 200 jobs this year. The layoffs are expected to save the company roughly 39 million over the next 12 months. The company’s finance chief is leaving the company, its operation head has already left the company, and the North American President post will be eliminated. Shares of Beyond Meat fell 3.6% amid rising competition from traditional names such as Tyson Foods and Kellogg, as well as other newbies who are angling for a share of the plant-based meat space by offering large discounts, US News reported.
