Maren Morris on Speaking Against Racism & Homophobia as a Country Music Artist: ‘Everyone Else Is So Quiet’


Rania Aniftos
Fri, September 30, 2022

Maren Morris says it’s necessary to use her platform to stand up against “normalized” hateful behavior within the country music community.

Here's What Gender-Affirming Care Actually Is, Since Brittany Aldean Seems To Have No Clue09/30/2022

The star sat down for an interview with Apple Music Country’s Proud Radio with Hunter Kelly this week, in which she opened up about feeling like a minority among country music singers when it comes to pushing back against racist and anti-LGBTQ speech.

“I try to rise above — not even bad behavior, but just expected behavior that has become normalized that is bad,” the singer-songwriter shared, adding that she has discussed it with her husband, fellow artist Ryan Hurd. “He’s like, ‘I hate that you always feel like you have to be the hall monitor of modern country music’s behaviors in and around race and homophobia, transphobia.'”

She continued, “I don’t need to feel like I have to always be that person that speaks up. I think I come across a lot louder than I actually am because everyone else is so quiet.”

Last month, Morris and Cassadee Pope got into a heated online feud with Jason Aldean‘s wife Brittany after she posted a transphobic joke on Instagram. “I’d really like to thank my parents for not changing my gender when I went through my tomboy phase. I love this girly life,” she captioned a makeup video.

Doubling down a few days later, Brittany shared via statement via Instagram Stories her thoughts on transgender youth and their rights to gender-affirming care: “Advocating for the genital mutilation of children under the disguise of love and calling it ‘gender affirming care’ is one of the worst evils. I will always support my children and do what I can to protect their innocence,” she wrote. “The other day Memphis wanted to be a dinosaur and tomorrow Navy will want to be a cat. They’re children. Some parents want to be accepted by society so badly that they’re willing to make life-altering decisions for their children who aren’t old enough to fully comprehend the consequences of those actions. Love is protecting your child until they are mature enough as an adult to make their own life decisions. Thankful my parents allowed me to go through my tom boy phase without changing my gender.”

In response to the transphobic comments, Pope wrote on Twitter, “You’d think celebs with beauty brands would see the positives in including LGBTQ+ people in their messaging. But instead here we are, hearing someone compare their ‘tomboy phase’ to someone wanting to transition. Real nice.”

Morris replied to Pope’s tweet in agreement, writing, “It’s so easy to, like, not be a scumbag human? Sell your clip-ins and zip it, Insurrection Barbie.”

On Instagram, Morris continued to talk about Brittany Aldean with Pope: “You know, I’m glad she didn’t become a boy either because we really don’t need another a–hole dude in the world. Sucks when Karens try to hide their homophobia/transphobia behind their ‘protectiveness of the children.’ Weren’t they putting their kids in ‘Biden-is-a-pedo’ shirts on social media? Sounds like a real safe way to protect them from millions of eyes! F— all the way off to Insurrection Barbie and the fellow IB’s trolling this comment section with their hypocritical, hateful a–es.”

On Thursday (Sept. 29), Morris announced that she partnered with GLAAD to design a new T-shirt in honor of Spirit Day. “My mom was really close to her uncle growing up, who sadly died in the early ’90s of AIDS. And so it was just always a conversation in our household that we’re all the same,” she shared with the organization. “And there is no ‘us and you.’ So I think that being instilled in me from such an early age — particularly growing up in the South — was really important.”

The new purple shirt is emblazoned with the phrase “You Have a Seat at This Table” in the shape of a heart. Proceeds from the merch will be donated to GLAAD, and fans can wear the shirt on Spirit Day to show their support for LGBTQIA youth.

First TV ad airs against Kentucky constitutional amendment to eliminate abortion rights

Deborah Yetter, Louisville Courier Journal
Fri, September 30, 2022 

"Everyone hopes for a healthy pregnancy," said the woman identified as Courtney, looking directly at the camera as soft music plays in the background. "We wanted this baby. But me and the baby were at risk."

Relating her heart-wrenching decision to end a pregnancy for medical reasons, Courtney — in the first television ad about Kentucky's proposed constitutional amendment to end abortion rights — warns of the consequences.

"Kentucky politicians don't understand their mandate will put women's lives at risk," she says in the ad sponsored by Protect Kentucky Access, which opposes the amendment. "Please, for our family and yours, vote no."

Access to abortion — except for medical emergencies — is currently outlawed in Kentucky under a "triggerlaw" that took effect after the U.S. Supreme Court on June 24 struck down Roe v. Wade, the landmark 1973 case that established abortion as a federal constitutional right. A legal challenge is pending, seeking to establish it as a state right.

More:On Election Day, you'll decide whether to ban abortion in Kentucky. Here's what to know

If approved, the amendment would eliminate the right to abortion from Kentucky's constitution, effectively cutting off legal challenges. And if rejected, it would leave open the possibility of abortion being established as a state right.

The ad, appearing Friday on television and cable channels, is the start of what is expected to be a fierce campaign both for and against Constitutional Amendment 2 on the Nov. 8 general election ballot.

Protect Kentucky Access purchased broadcast, cable and satellite television advertising space in Louisville, Lexington, Bowling Green and Paducah, as well as the Evansville, Indiana, and Charleston-Huntington, West Virginia, media markets, according to a press release from the campaign. It also is available on YouTube.

“On November 8, Kentuckians will vote on Amendment 2, which will mandate government control of our private decisions and pave the way for a permanent ban on abortion, with no exceptions,” said Rachel Sweet, campaign manager for Protect Kentucky Access. “We ask Kentuckians to vote no on Amendment 2 because it puts the lives of women and girls at risk.”

The ad is called "Tragedy" and is among others to be released by Protect Kentucky Access.

"It is important for Kentucky voters across the commonwealth to hear the stories of real Kentuckians who would be impacted by the passage of Amendment 2," Sweet said.

The one-line amendment states: "To protect human life, nothing in this Constitution shall be construed to secure or protect a right to abortion or require the funding of abortion."

About a month until 2022 midtermsPost Roe v. Wade, abortion is the X factor in Kentucky's 2022 election

The first ads come as Protect Kentucky Access and Yes for Life, which supports the amendment, have stepped up fundraising for the campaign with opponents in the lead. Protect Kentucky Access reported in September it has raised nearly $1.8 million since organizing last year, compared to about $435,000 by Yes for Life.

Kentucky's constitutional amendment battle follows a campaign in Kansas in August where opponents caused a national stir when a similar amendment to end abortion as a state right was defeated in the conservative state by about 18 percentage points.

That campaign cost more than $20 million, which each side spending about half.

Another Kansas?Kentucky abortion amendment fight brings millions for opposing groups

Sweet, who managed the Kansas campaign for amendment opponents, is now running Kentucky's campaign for opponents who include Planned Parenthood, the American Civil Liberties Union of Kentucky, the Fairness Campaign, the Kentucky Black Birth Alliance, Sister Song, a reproductive justice collective for women of color, and Sexy Sex-Ed, which promotes information about sex and sexuality.

Supporters of Yes for Life include Kentucky Right to Life, the Catholic Conference of Kentucky, the Kentucky Baptist Convention and the Family Foundation. Addia Wuchner, executive director of Right to Life, is chairwoman for Yes for Life.

This story may be updated.

Contact reporter Deborah Yetter at dyetter@courier-journal.com. Find her on Twitter at @d_yetter.

This article originally appeared on Louisville Courier Journal: KY constitutional amendment 2: TV ad airs opposing ballot measure 

THE PERSONAL IS POLICTAL

AOC talks about her choice of birth control to make abortion debate ‘uncomfortable’ for Republican men

Dave Goldiner, New York Daily News
Thu, September 29, 2022

Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-N.Y.) is talking about her IUD — and she doesn’t care if it makes men feel uncomfortable.

The progressive firebrand disclosed her preferred birth control method during the House Committee on Oversight and Reform hearing on Thursday about the impact of new GOP restrictions on women’s right to choose.

“Since Republicans are forcing this conversation in uncomfortable ways, then I will meet them to it,” Ocasio-Cortez said. “I have an IUD. I’ve had one for years.”

Ocasio-Cortez was seeking to shed light on the possibility of pregnant women being denied critical medical care due to new laws banning abortion care in red states.

“Would (you) have to wait until I was in the process ... of actively dying before you could effectively treat me?” Ocasio-Cortez asked a doctor who was a witness at the hearing chaired by Rep. Carolyn Maloney. (D-N.Y.).

She called abortion rights a “profound economic issue” for women, saying that only men could neglect to consider the life-changing impact that being forced to go ahead with an unwanted pregnancy could have.

To not consider the financial implications of a woman’s right to choose “is certainly something that’s (a perspective of) someone who’s never had to contend with having a child,” Ocasio-Cortez said.

The second-term lawmaker representing parts of Queens and the Bronx further explained the devastating toll the lack of choice has on women.

“When the powerful force people to give birth against their will, they trap millions into cycles of economic setback and desperation,” she said. “Especially in a country without guaranteed healthcare.”

Since the Supreme Court ruled in June to nullify the constitutional right to an abortion, GOP candidates in battleground districts and states have tried to play down the issue while Democrats nationwide have made it a central part of their bid to retain control of Congress. Republicans still say the November elections will be fought on a political terrain focused on the economy and Biden’s standing with the public, although Democrats believe their voters, fueled by anger over abortion, are far more motivated to cast a ballot this fall.

Sen. Lindsey Graham, R-S.C., who recently proposed a federal ban on abortion after 15 weeks of pregnancy, has repeatedly argued that his plan is good politics for Republicans and that his party should tell the public that Democrats support few, if any, restrictions on access to the procedure.

SHE DRIVES THE RIGHT OUT OF THEIR TINY MINDS

AOC: Abortion is an economic issue because giving birth 'conscripts' parents to work ‘against their will’

Peter Kasperowicz
FOX NEWS
Thu, September 29, 2022

Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, D-N.Y., argued Thursday that access to abortion should be treated as an economic issue because policies that force women to have children also force them to work so they can afford to raise those children, which she said was a form of economic conscription.

"Abortion is an economic issue," Ocasio-Cortez said in a House hearing called by Democrats to discuss restrictions on abortion

.
Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, a Democrat from New York, listens during a House Financial Services Committee hearing in Washington, D.C., on Dec. 8, 2021. 

Stefani Reynolds/Bloomberg via Getty Images

"Forcing poor and working-class people to give birth against their will, against their consent, against their ability to provide for themselves or a child, is a profound economic issue and it’s certainly a way to keep a workforce basically conscripted to large-scale employers and to employers to work more against their will, to take second and third jobs against their desire and their own autonomy," she said.

Ocasio-Cortez was responding to comments from Rep. Jake LaTurner, R-Kan., who criticized Democrats for focusing on abortion instead of economic issues like inflation and energy policy.

She said it’s "disappointing" to hear that point of view from someone who has "never had to contend" with bearing a child, and said abortion is a "profound and central economic and class issue."

Ocasio-Cortez also replied to another Republican lawmaker who sparred with a Democratic witness when he asked whether biological men can get pregnant. The witness, a doctor who is director of trans care for Planned Parenthood, said men "can have pregnancies, especially trans men."

Rep. Andrew Clyde, R-Ga., argued back that "men cannot get pregnant," and asked why Democrats would call up a director of trans care to the hearing.

Ocasio-Cortez accused Clyde of dismissing the needs of trans people.

"The same folks who… told us that COVID’s just a flu, that climate change isn’t real, that January 6 was nothing but a tourist visit… are now trying to tell us that transgender people are not real," she said. "And I would say that their claim is probably just as legitimate as all their others, which is to say not very much at all."

AOC Says Abortion Fight Is ‘Class Struggle,’ Claims Pro-Lifers Want ‘Conscripted’ Workforce

Isaac Schorr

NATIONAL REVIEW
Fri, September 30, 2022 


Representative Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D., N.Y.) argued in a congressional hearing on Thursday that the disagreement over abortion rights is a “class struggle.”

“Forcing poor and working-class people to give birth against their will, against their consent, against their ability to provide for themselves or a child, is a profound economic issue and it’s certainly a way to keep a workforce basically conscripted to large-scale employers and to employers to work more against their will, to take second and third jobs against their desire and their own autonomy,” argued Ocasio-Cortez, who went on to call “abortion access… a profound and central economic and class issue and class struggle.”

Many of America’s largest corporations — including Amazon, Bank of America, JPMorgan Chase, Citigroup, Goldman Sach MasterCard, Microsoft, Paypal, Disney, and Tesla — added an offer to pay for the travel costs associated with seeking out an abortion to their list of employee benefits in the wake of the Supreme Court’s decision to overturn Roe v. Wade.

A number of corporations that employ a high proportion of blue collar workers — including CVS Health, Dick’s Sporting Goods, Starbucks, and Target — also said they would cover those costs for employees.

Polling conducted by Pew Research and Statista show that lower-income Americans are less likely than their more highly paid peers to believe abortion should be allowed in most or all cases.

AOC rebukes anti-trans rant from GOP lawmaker during abortion rights hearing



Alex Woodward
Thu, September 29, 2022 at 2:44 PM·3 min read

During a congressional hearing on the fragile state of abortion care in the US, Democratic US Rep Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez admonished a Republican congressman’s attempt to undermine the idea that transgender people can become pregnant.

Republican US Rep Andrew Clyde asked a physician on the witness panel a series of transphobic questions and repeatedly interrupted his answers.

“The same folks who tell us … that [Covid-19] is just a flu, that climate change isn’t real, that January 6 was nothing but a tourist visit, are now trying to tell us that transgender people aren’t real,” congresswoman Ocasio-Cortez told the House Oversight Committee hearing on 29 September.

In the aftermath of the attack on the US Capitol, the Georgia congressman claimed during a committee hearing that there was “no insurrection” and that images of rioters resembled a “normal tourist visit.” He was barricaded inside the House of Representatives as the mob breached the halls of Congress. He also has called the climate crisis “fake news”.

“I would say that their claim is probably just as legitimate as all their others, which is to say, not very much. At all,” Congresswoman Ocasio-Cortez said.

Abortion providers and advocates testifed to the committee about the far-reaching consequences of state-level anti-abortion laws that have advanced in the weeks after the US Supreme Court decision in Dobbs v Jackson Women’s Health Organization, which overturned precendents affirming the constitutional right to abortion in the cases of Roe v Wade and Planned Parenthood v Casey.

Dr Bhavik Kumar – the medical director for primary and trans care with Planned Parenthood Gulf Coast – practises in Texas, where three overlapping anti-abortion laws include severe criminal penalties for providers, including life in prison.

Transgender men and transgender nonbinary people who have a functioning uterus and ovaries can become pregnant and often face unique and pervasive barriers to abortion care, exacerbated by state-level bans and restrictions.

During Thursday’s hearing, Mr Clyde appeared to repeatedly deny that transgender people exist or could become pregnant.

“Are you saying that a biological female who identifies as a man and therefore becomes pregnant is, quote, ‘a man’?” Mr Clyde asked. “Is that what you’re saying?”

“These questions about who can become pregnant are really missing the point,” Dr Kumar replied. “I’m here to talk about what’s happening in Texas.”

“No, no, no – this is me asking a question and you answering. I’m asking the questions, sir. Not you,” Rep Clyde said.

“Right, and I’m answering the questions. Somebody with a uterus may have the capability of becoming pregnant, whether they are a woman or a man,” Dr Kumar said.

Rep Clyde interrupted him: “OK, we’re done.”

“Not every person with a uterus has the ability to become pregnant,” Dr Kumar added. “This is medicine.”

Following the hearing, Dr Kumar posted on Twitter that “Trans people exist. Trans people have abortions. Abortion is essential healthcare and so is gender-affirming care.”

“I will not let bullies who are out of touch with reality silence or stop me from advocating for people who need trans and abortion care,” he wrote.

German court rejects investors' damages claims against Porsche SE


Fri, September 30, 2022 




BERLIN (Reuters) -A German court on Friday rejected claims by investors for billions of euros in damages over a failed attempt by Porsche SE to take over Volkswagen.

Porsche SE's Oct. 2008 notification, in which it declared that it had already secured almost three quarters of Volkswagen through purchases and option transactions, was not grossly misleading or false, Judge Matthias Wiese said in his ruling.

Hedge funds and private investors accused Porsche's management of concealing its true intentions prior to the Oct. 2008 announcement that made it clear it wanted to take control of the much larger Wolfsburg-based automaker.

As a result, investors who had bet on falling prices with short sales were caught on the wrong foot when Volkswagen's stock price jumped to over 1,000 euros per share, briefly making it the most valuable company in the world.


The plaintiffs, who claimed share price losses of 5.4 billion euros ($5.27 billion), are expected to appeal. Porsche SE, through which the Porsche and Piech families hold a majority stake in Volkswagen, welcomed the ruling.

($1 = 1.0246 euros)

(Reporting by Jan C Schwartz; writing by Miranda Murray; editing by Jason Neely and Elaine Hardcastle)

Porsche shares flat at close after landmark $72 billion listing

Wed, September 28, 2022 

By Victoria Waldersee and Emma-Victoria Farr

FRANKFURT (Reuters) - Porsche AG shares had a see-saw start on Thursday, after Volkswagen defied volatile markets to list the sports car brand at a valuation of 75 billion euros ($72 billion) in Germany's second-biggest market debut.

The shares closed at 82.50 euros ($80.74), returning to their issue price from the session high of 86.76 euros.

Volkswagen priced Porsche AG shares the top end of the indicated range, and raised 19.5 billion euros via the listing to fund the group's electrification drive.

Cornerstone investors including Qatar Investment Authority, T. Rowe Price, Norway's sovereign wealth fund and Abu Dhabi's laid claim to 40% of the share offering.

Some 25% plus one ordinary share went to the Porsche and Piech families via Porsche SE, Volkswagen's largest shareholder which now has a blocking minority on the sportscar brand.

The shares peaked at 86.76 in late morning.

The share performance puts Porsche AG's valuation at about 75.43 billion euros, only slightly below former parent Volkswagen, which is worth around 80.1 billion euros, and ahead of rivals such as Ferrari. It is Germany's biggest listing since Deutsche Telekom in 1996.

Shares in Porsche SE, Volkswagen's largest shareholder, which now also owns a blocking minority in the sportscar brand, were down by 10.9% as investors switched across. Volkswagen's shares were down 6.9% from Thursday's open to 128.5 euros.

Traders said some investors who bought Volkswagen and Porsche SE as an IPO play could be unwinding their positions and switching into Porsche AG, undermining Volkswagen's aim of bumping up its capitalisation by showcasing the value of just one of its brands.

"Porsche was and is the pearl in the Volkswagen Group," said Chris-Oliver Schickentanz, chief investment officer at fund manager Capitell. "The IPO has now made it very, very transparent what value the market brings to Porsche."

Volkswagen CEO Arno Antlitz told Reuters the listing had done its part in helping to fund the carmaker's electrification drive.

Of the 19.5 billion euros raised from the IPO, around 9.6 billion will go to Volkswagen - just under a fifth of the 52-billion euro budget needed for electrification plans - with the rest distributed among shareholders as a special dividend.

"We are well set-up financially have strong cash flows to fund our electromobility strategy ourselves," the chief financial officer said.

'NOT A DREAM ENVIRONMENT'

Volkswagen priced Porsche AG shares at the top of the range despite broadly weaker stock markets after red-hot German inflation data and general market turmoil stirred by rising interest rates.

"This is not exactly a dream environment for an IPO today," said QC Partners wealth manager Thomas Altmann.

Volkswagen has said the market's volatility was precisely why fund managers were sorely in need of a stable and profitable business like Porsche AG in which to invest.

A banker involved in the transaction described the Porsche listing as a one-off, predicting the market would freeze over again very soon.

The listing broke records, reaping the highest amount since Deutsche Telekom in 1996.

But Porsche is trading at a multiple of around 7.2 times its earnings - far below Ferrari's multiple of 40.

Companies in the region have raised $44 billion from equity capital markets deals up to Sept. 27, Refinitiv data shows, with only $4.5 billion from initial public offerings.

"There's a lot to like about the company, with its aggressive electrification plans, expected strong cashflow generation and premium brand positioning in the market," Chi Chan, Portfolio Manager European Equities at Federated Hermes Limited, told Reuters.

"However, it is coming to market at a time of unprecedented turmoil and consumer confidence is falling."

Graphic: Porsche vs rivals and VW https://fingfx.thomsonreuters.com/gfx/mkt/movanxjjqpa/Porsche.PNG

Porsche AG Chief Executive Blume, whose dual role as the new head of Volkswagen has drawn criticism from some investors, hailed the listing as an "historic moment" and dismissed the idea that he would at some point give up one of the two positions.

Up to 113,875,000 Porsche AG preferred shares, carrying no voting rights, were sold in the initial public offering.

Bank of America, Citigroup, Goldman Sachs and JPMorgan worked as joint global coordinators and joint bookrunners on the deal, while Mediobanca acted as financial adviser to Porsche.

($1 = 1.0218 euros)

(Reporting by Victoria Waldersee, Emma-Victoria Farr, Hakan Ersen, Christoph Steitz, Alexander Huebner, Sinead Cruise and Pamela Barbaglia; Writing by Victoria Waldersee and Matthias Williams; Editing by Jane Merriman, Mark Potter and David Goodman)

The long, winding road to Volkswagen's Porsche IPO


Thu, September 29, 2022 






FRANKFURT (Reuters) - Shares in Volkswagen's sportscar brand Porsche started trading on Thursday in what marks Germany's second-largest listing ever as well as a new phase in a sometimes fraught relationship between the two auto brands that goes back decades.

1931

Ferdinand Porsche opens a design office, the first stage of a business that will later become the eponymous sports car maker.

1938

Porsche, who designed the first VW Beetle, oversees the building of the first production hall for Volkswagen.

1960

State-owned Volkswagen is privatised, with both the federal government and the company's home state of Lower Saxony receiving a 20% stake.


1993

Ferdinand Porsche's grandson Ferdinand Piech becomes chief executive of Volkswagen, meaning "the people's car" in German. His revolutionary "platform strategy", which involves using the same basic design for different models and adding bespoke components on top, allowed economies of scale and was credited with saving the company from possible collapse.

2002

Piech appoints Bernd Pischetsrieder as his successor as CEO and Piech becomes Volkswagen's chairman, a position he will hold until 2015.

2005

September - Porsche says it plans to buy a 20% stake in VW and later emerges with a 10.3% voting stake.

November - Porsche's supervisory board authorises an increase in the stake to 29.9%, triggering speculation it plans to gain majority control.

2007

April - Porsche submits a mandatory takeover offer for Volkswagen after crossing 30% threshold.

2008

March - Porsche SE's supervisory board gives the go-ahead to raise its Volkswagen voting stake to over 50%.

October - Porsche SE says it holds stock and options that give it control of 74% of Volkswagen's votes and announces plans for a "domination" agreement. A resulting scramble for Volkswagen shares by shortsellers caught out by the announcement briefly makes VW the world's most valuable company.

2009

January - Porsche SE says it has raised its VW voting stake to 50.8% and confirms its plan to raise stake to 75% later if conditions allow.

May - Porsche SE drops the Volkswagen takeover plan and says it will instead pursue a merger with Europe's largest auto maker. Volkswagen Chairman Piech says Porsche must get its 9 billion euro debt under control before any deal can be agreed.

July - Porsche SE Chairman Wolfgang Porsche, Piech's cousin, calls an extraordinary supervisory board meeting for July 23 to discuss a possible sale of a stake in Porsche SE to Qatar worth over 5 billion euros. A proposal by Porsche's board to prepare for a capital increase of at least 5 billion euros ($5 billion) in cash and/or a contribution in kind, is approved by the supervisory board, setting the stage for a merger with Volkswagen. Porsche SE Wendelin Wiedeking steps down.

December - Volkswagen says it has bought 49.9% of Porsche SE's sports car business Porsche AG at a cost of 3.9 billion euros.

2010

January - A group of investment funds sues Porsche SE and two of its former top executives, accusing them of fraud in a "short squeeze" that caused the funds to lose more than $1 billion from Porsche's attempted takeover of Volkswagen AG in 2008.

April - Elliott Associates, L.P. says the securities fraud and manipulation lawsuit against Porsche SE has got bigger, that it is seeking more than $2 billion in losses and 18 investment funds have joined the lawsuit.

October - Auto holding Porsche SE says it may not be absorbed into Volkswagen by the end of 2011, as planned, due to some unresolved legal and tax issues related to the deal, the CEO of both companies, Martin Winterkorn, says.

2012

July - Volkswagen agrees to buy the remaining 50.1% stake in Porsche AG from Porsche SE for about 4.5 billion euros.

Porsche AG, the carmaker, is now fully owned by Volkswagen AG, while Porsche SE, which is controlled by the Porsche and Piech families, is Volkswagen's largest shareholder and holds a majority of voting rights.

2022

February - Volkswagen and Porsche SE say they are examining a possible initial public offering of Porsche AG, under a proposed structure that would give Porsche SE a blocking minority in the eponymous carmaker.

September - Volkswagen announces its intention to list Porsche at the end of September or early October. On Sept. 29, shares in Porsche AG start trading on the Frankfurt stock exchange at 84 euros apiece, above the issue price of 82.5 euros.

($1 = 0.9984 euros)

(Compiled by Christoph Steitz; editing by Alistair Bell and Jason Neely)

DIVE BRIEF
Tyson heir CFO pick draws ethical fire

Published Sept. 30, 2022
By
Elizabeth Flood

Associate Editor
“Tysons Food Donation 2012” by Central Texas Food Bank is licensed under CC BY-ND 1.0

Dive Brief:Tyson Foods, Inc.’s promotion of John R. Tyson, son of board chairman John H. Tyson, to the CFO seat could potentially be a conflict of interest, legal experts have said. Tyson, the world’s second largest processor and marketer of chicken, beef and pork announced the promotion in a Tuesday filing.
Tyson, 32, has minimal experience in executive financial leadership positions compared to his predecessor, Stewart Glendinning, who took his first CFO position back in 2005 at Molson Coors UK, according to his LinkedIn profile.

 
Tyson previously served as chief sustainability officer for the group from September 2019 until the present. His move to CFO is set to take effect Oct. 2. The promotion comes as the company is struggling to fulfill customer orders amid rising labor, feed ingredients, live animal and freight costs.

Learn why financial leaders must identify the pitfalls and potential impact of current practices to enable a well-informed decision-making process.Download now
Dive Insight:

Experts say the promotion raises questions about a potential conflict of interest, although it does not directly violate any securities regulations.

The main concern lies in whether or not the board will be able to terminate Tyson should he not perform, given the father-son relationship that exists between the chairman and the finance chief.

“A conflict may exist if a situation arises where a Team Member’s or a family member’s personal interest conflicts with the interests of Tyson Foods, or a Team Member uses his or her position at Tyson Foods to achieve personal gain,” reads the company’s Code of Conduct from what appears to be filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). Donnie Smith, then-CEO of the Springdale, Ark.-based company noted in the filing that these guidelines are drawn from existing policies and procedures and that there is “no single document” that can address every situation that may arise. The company asserts that, “You have a duty to avoid a conflict of interest or even the appearance of a conflict,” per the company website.

“Research on cognitive biases demonstrates that we often think of decisions as ‘business decisions’ rather than ethical ones. One risk here is a ‘slippery slope,’ where the CFO might make small lapses (such sharing company documents that only the CFO might have access to with family members) that grow into larger ones,” said Nicole Coomber, assistant dean and professor of management & organization at the Robert H. Smith School of Business at the University of Maryland in an emailed response to questions.

Another concern around the appointment is Tyson’s age. The average age for CFOs at the top 1,000 U.S. companies by revenue is 54, according to a Korn Ferry study. The younger John Tyson will take the financial helm at just 32.

“I think we will see more C-suite leaders in their 30s. Experience is a double-edged sword; it can lead us to think we know the right answer when we are faced with situations similar to what we have already experienced,” said Coomber.

Although Tyson has experience as chief sustainability officer at the company, his financial industry experience is limited to various roles in investment banking, private equity and venture capital, including J.P. Morgan from 2012 to 2017, said the company in the SEC filing.

“We can have blind spots when it comes to our loved ones,” said Coomber in an email. “Typically, any family run business where a family member is appointed to leadership needs to make sure they have a transparent governance model, and a family charter that specifically addresses how they will manage any conflicts of interest,” she said.

Former WeWork CEO Adam Neumann notoriously appointed his wife to a high-level marketing position and then allowed her to start a school using company funds, noted Coomber. This is not to say that family members should never be appointed to high level positions, she said.

Tyson Foods has a long history of placing family members in positions of power, making them one of the wealthiest lineages in the U.S., according to Forbes.

Barbara A. Tyson, board director and the elder John Tyson’s aunt, has “substantial personal interest” in Tyson Foods as the sole income beneficiary of the BT 2015 Fund, which is a limited partner in the Tyson Limited Partnership, according to her biography on the company website.

Additionally, John H. Tyson, the new finance chief’s father and chairman of the board has been at his position since 1984 and also has “substantial financial interest” in the company through his interest in the partnership.

The company did not respond to requests for comment.

Conflict of Interest | Tyson Code of Conduct

Conflict Of Interest


You have a duty to avoid a conflict of interest or even the appearance of a conflict. A conflict of interest arises when you have a financial or personal interest that could interfere with your obligation to act in the best interests of the Company, or when you use your position with the Company for personal gain. If we don’t handle potential conflicts of interest properly, these situations can impact the decisions we make, create the appearance of a lack of fairness and integrity, and harm the Company’s reputation. Our Conflict of Interest Policy requires team members and Directors to disclose both actual and perceived conflicts of interest so that others do not question their integrity.

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Policy Reference & DisclosureQuestions and Answers

Video

 Nike’s Inventory Glut Sets Up Biggest Stock Plunge in Two Years

Kim Bhasin
Fri, September 30, 2022 

OVERPRODUCTION IS THE CRISIS OF CAPITALI$M

(Bloomberg) -- Nike Inc. shares headed for their biggest drop since the early days of the pandemic after a glut of unwanted merchandise eroded the sportswear giant’s profitability.

North American inventories surged 65% in the fiscal first quarter ended Aug. 31, and resulting markdowns caused gross margin to miss Wall Street’s expectations. The retailer also cited higher freight costs and foreign-exchange effects in its earnings report, released late Thursday, and downgraded its outlook for the full year.

Nike is the latest company to grapple with an increasingly complex economic panorama that began with supply-chain delays and port congestion. By the time companies were able to get supplies to store shelves, demand shifted as stubbornly high inflation eroded some consumers’ purchasing power. In Nike’s case, shipping woes caused a surge in out-of-season merchandise. On top of this, the dollar’s relentless rise has crimped results from other countries.

Elevated inventories are “driving intense margin pressure pressure,” Wedbush Securities analyst Tom Nikic said in a research note. Nike is going to need “excess clearance activity in order to clean up the marketplace,” he said.

Wedbush was one of several banks that slashed their price targets on Nike shares in the wake of the disappointing earnings report.

The shares fell more than 11% in early New York trading as of 8:24 a.m., on pace for their worst intraday slump since March 2020. Concern about a lack of pricing power weighed on rivals in Europe Friday, with Adidas AG shares dropping about 6% and Puma SE declining about 7%.

The company now sees gross margin falling 200 to 250 basis points this fiscal year -- versus a previous forecast that the gauge of profitability would be flat or decline as much as 50 basis points. The margin erosion is expected to be particularly steep in the company’s second quarter. While full-year sales are still expected to grow in a low double-digit range when adjusting for currency, real expansion is now seen in a range of low to mid-single digits.

Nike in particular has struggled to resolve logistics issues stemming from port congestion and shipping logjams. Overall inventory rose 44% in the most recent quarter compared to the prior year. The amount of merchandise in transit also spiked, even though executives noted that shipping times are improving.

China Results

China, which has seen its Covid Zero policy weigh on the economy, represents another headache. Nike said sales fell 16% in its Greater China region in the quarter.

Despite volatile demand, executives have said they still see the country as a long-term growth market and have pledged to continue pumping investment into the region.

Chief Executive Officer John Donahoe said Chinese consumers are emerging from pandemic restrictions with an appetite to spend and the company expects results to start improving. He added that North America demand also is robust. First-quarter sales in Nike’s home region beat analysts’ estimates.

Globally, sales rose 10% on a currency-neutral basis in the period. Total revenue was $12.7 billion, above analysts’ average estimate of $12.3 billion, but those sales were less profitable amid markdowns. Earnings per share missed expectations.

Nike: 'It will be a difficult Christmas season' — but there's hope, analyst explains

Josh Schafer

·Producer

Fri, September 30, 2022 

Santa Claus shows off the Nike Air Kringle shoes in a 2015 ad. (screenshot/ESPN via SneakerFiles)

Supply chains and too much inventory continue to hammer Nike, as shown in the footwear giant's latest earnings results, with the company reporting inventories up 44% year-over-year and up 65% in North America.

“It will be a difficult Christmas season and Nike and other have projected that with inflation affecting consumer spending and the ongoing weakness in China,” Morningstar Equity Analyst David Swartz told Yahoo Finance Live (video above). “But I think it’s generally improving.”

Nike saw revenues decline 16% year-over-year in Greater China, the company’s highest margin region. Nike executives believe inventory issues will be normalized by the end of its current fiscal quarter, but investors appear wary amid a sector-wide inventory pile up and increased discounting.

“We plan to compete… in a more promotional environment,” Nike CFO Matt Friend said on Thursday’s earnings call. “And given the macro uncertainty that's out there for the consumer, we're taking a more measured approach and we're tightening our inventory buys around the world based on some of the risks that could materialize in the second half.”

Nike stock (NKE) fell around 11% in pre-market trading on Friday and was down more than 42% so far in 2022 entering the last trading day of the third quarter.

Nike reported revenue of $12.69 billion for the first quarter, up 4% from last year and beating analyst estimates. The company's $0.93 adjusted earnings per share came in slightly higher than analyst expectations — but fell 22% compared to the same quarter last year.

Growing strength in the U.S. dollar also proved to be a laggard for Nike in the first quarter and could be moving forward as well. Currency changes drove down reported revenue by 16% in Europe and 12% in Asia Pacific and Latin America. After exchanges, the company reported just 2% growth in Europe while Asia Pacific and Latin America remained flat.

“Headwinds from foreign exchange have also shifted significantly in the last 90 days as the trend of U.S. dollar strengthening has accelerated,” Friend said on the earnings call.

On the bright side, Nike showed signs of growth in its direct-to-consumer business with sales up 8%.

“Nike has a very strong brand that’s why we rate it as a wide moat company,” Swartz said. “We say it has a competitive advantage because people do love Nike products and they do sell a lot of them at very good prices. Nike has to do discounting and it will continue the next couple quarters. But generally, I don’t see them having to do a huge amount of discounting.”

And despite acknowledging how the gloomy macroeconomic could impact consumer demand, the retailer didn’t waiver on its forward revenue guidance — something that analysts had feared prior to the report. Friend noted that Nike met its internal guidance for double-digit revenue growth in the first quarter and now has its sights set on “low double digit” growth in the coming quarter.

“We're coming off a strong quarter and we feel very good about our competitive position, and we have not yet seen any signs of slowdown,” Nike President and CEO John Donahoe said on the earnings call. “That said, we don't have any crystal ball around the external factors, whether it's FX, whether it's inflation, whether it's the impact of energy prices on consumer spending.”

Banks Dealt Fresh Blow With Collapse of Brightspeed Debt Sale

Davide Scigliuzzo and Paula Seligson
Thu, September 29, 2022


(Bloomberg) -- For the second time in two weeks, Wall Street bankers suffered a painful reminder of how quickly risk appetite is evaporating from credit markets as a $3.9 billion debt sale for a leveraged buyout collapsed.

A group of underwriters led by Bank of America Corp. and Barclays Plc pulled the loan and bond offering for telecom provider Brightspeed on Thursday after struggling to attract demand from investors.

The transaction, which was meant to help fund Apollo Global Management Inc.’s purchase of the company, is the latest large acquisition financing to stumble. Banks face significant losses on tens of billions of dollars in buyout debt that they committed to months ago and are trying to offload just as rising interest rates and fears of a deep recession are causing investors to flee risky debt.

Only last week, a separate group of lenders led by Bank of America, Credit Suisse Group AG and Goldman Sachs Group Inc. crystallized losses of around $600 million on the take-private of Citrix Systems Inc., and agreed to keep on their books around $6.5 billion of debt that they weren’t able to sell.

Read more: Citrix Debt Debacle Heralds a Day of Reckoning on Wall Street

Between Citrix and Brightspeed, banks are now expected to fund with their own cash over $11 billion of buyout debt that was originally meant to be syndicated to investors, according to Bloomberg calculations. More looms on the horizon as additional acquisitions approach closing, including deals for the take-private of Nielsen Holdings Plc and Tenneco Inc.

Brightspeed is the new brand for the telecom and broadband assets that Apollo agreed to acquire from Lumen Technologies Inc. last year. The debt offering was expected to include a $2 billion leveraged loan, a $1.9 billion junk bond, and an additional $1 billion loan that banks had already planned to hold. The acquisition is expected to close on Oct. 3, according to a filing.

Representatives for Apollo and Barclays declined to comment. Representatives for Bank of America and Lumen did not respond to requests for comment.

Investors viewed the Brightspeed transaction as having significant execution risk in part because the company is planning a multibillion-dollar capital investment strategy to transition from copper to fiber optic networks.

The cost of borrowing for riskier credits has increased sharply in recent months, with US junk bonds now yielding about 9.57%, according to Bloomberg index data. That’s still below the 11.7% high reached at the beginning of the pandemic.

Banks Said to Shelve $3.9 Billion Debt Sale for Brightspeed LBO

Gillian Tan, Gowri Gurumurthy, Davide Scigliuzzo and Paula Seligson, Bloomberg News

(Bloomberg) -- A group of banks led by Bank of America Corp. and Barclays Plc shelved a roughly $3.9 billion debt offering on Thursday after struggling to attract demand from investors for the deal.

The transaction, which is helping to finance a buyout by Apollo Global Management Inc., is the latest large buyout financing to struggle. Wall Street banks face significant losses on tens of billions of dollars in high-risk leveraged buyout debt that they’re trying to offload, and are finding it increasingly tough to lure investors as yields surge. 

The banks underwrote the debt commitment for Apollo’s acquisition of the telecom and broadband assets from Lumen Technologies Inc., which will be run under the Brightspeed brand. That means they would be on the hook to provide the cash themselves and retain the risk on their balance sheets. The deal is expected to close on Oct. 3, according to a filing.

The transaction consisted of a $2 billion leveraged loan and a $1.9 billion junk bond, and an additional $1 billion loan that banks had already planned to hold. 

Representatives for Apollo and Barclays declined to comment. Representatives for Bank of America and Lumen did not immediately respond to requests for comment. 

Investors viewed the Brightspeed transaction as having significant execution risk in part because Brightspeed is planning a multi-billion dollar capital investment strategy to transition from copper to fiber. 

Read more: Banks Struggle to Find Demand for Apollo’s Brightspeed LBO Debt

The cost of borrowing has also increased sharply in recent months, with average junk-bond yields now yielding about 9.57%, according to Bloomberg index data.

(Updates with junk-bond yields. An earlier version of this story corrected the spelling of Bank of America in the first paragraph.)

©2022 Bloomberg L.P.

Barclays hit by $361 million U.S. penalty for 'staggering' blunder



By John McCrank, Michelle Price and Iain Withers
Thu, September 29, 2022 

(Reuters) - British lender Barclays agreed a $361 million penalty with U.S. regulators on Thursday for "staggering" failures that led it to oversell $17.7 billion of structured products, racking up further costs for an error that has blighted CEO C.S. Venkatakrishnan's first year in charge.

Barclays shares rose 2% in early trading on Friday following the news, and were last up 0.5% at 08.46 GMT - broadly in line with gains made by the wider FTSE 100.

The conduct concerned dates back to March this year when Barclays disclosed that it had accidentally oversold complex structured and exchange-traded notes, overshooting by about 75% a $20.8 billion limit on such sales it had agreed with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

The bank had failed to implement any internal controls to track such transactions in real time, the SEC found.

"While we acknowledge Barclays' efforts to identify, disclose and remediate this conduct, the control deficiencies and the scope of the conduct at issue here was simply staggering," Gurbir Grewal, director of the SEC's Division of Enforcement, said in a statement.

Barclays was not immediately available for comment on Friday. A spokesperson for Barclays, which did not admit or deny the SEC's findings, declined to comment on Thursday.

Buyers of the notes, considered "unregistered securities," had the right to demand Barclays buy back the products at the original price plus interest. The bank took a charge of 1.3 billion pounds in the second quarter to cover the costs of buying back the securities, denting its profits.

On Thursday, the SEC said Barclays had also agreed to pay a $200 million civil penalty for the control lapses. In addition, it agreed to pay disgorgement and interest of more than $161 million, although the regulator said that additional charge was satisfied by the buyback offer.

While the SEC settlement helps draw a line under the incident, which has been an embarrassment for Venkatakrishnan - known at the bank as 'Venkat' - it still faces private litigation relating to the incident.

Barclays also still has to outline the final costs of its so-called rescission offer to buy back the securities it sold in error. Venkat told an investor event this month that it would do so in "relatively short order".

Barclays said this month that investors had submitted claims for $7 billion out of the $17.7 billion worth of securities it over-sold.

WELL-SEASONED ISSUER

Under a previous enforcement settlement Barclays agreed with the SEC in 2017, the bank was stripped of its "well known seasoned issuer" status that had allowed it to sell notes in the United States with flexible filing requirements.

As a result, Barclays had to quantify the total number of securities that it anticipated offering and selling and pay registration fees for those offerings in advance. In August 2019, the bank and the SEC agreed Barclays could offer or sell approximately $20.8 billion of securities, for a period of three years.

Given this requirement, staff knew they had to keep close track of actual offers and sales of securities against the amount of registered offers and sales on a real-time basis, but the bank failed to establish a mechanism to do this, the SEC said.

Around March 9, staff realized that they had oversold the agreed amount of securities and alerted regulators a few days later, the SEC said.

(This story refiles to correct headline and lede to make clear $361 million was size of penalty, not payment and removes analyst comment)

(Reporting by John McCrank in New York, Kanishka Singh in Washington and Iain Withers in London; editing by Deepa Babington and Jason Neely)