FirstFT: Iger returns to Disney as Chapek ousted as chief government

Bob Iger, who served as Disney chief government for 15 years, has changed successor Bob Chapek after a rocky tenure that lasted simply 33 months.

Iger, who handpicked Chapek as his successor solely to see the connection rapidly bitter, will serve one other two years within the job that made him one of many world’s most celebrated enterprise leaders.

In a press release, Disney stated that Iger had “a mandate from the board to set the strategic course for renewed development”. He can even work intently with the board to discover a successor.

Iger, who delayed his retirement 4 occasions earlier than lastly leaving the corporate, stated in a memo to employees on Sunday that he felt “a little bit of amazement” that he was returning to the corporate as chief government.

Disney shares jumped 8 per cent in pre-market buying and selling in New York on Monday. Earlier than at the moment, the inventory had fallen greater than 40 per cent this 12 months amid rising investor considerations concerning the excessive prices of its streaming enterprise. Disney has spent billions — its content material finances this 12 months alone was $30bn — because it competes with Netflix and different streamers for subscribers.

5 extra tales within the information

1. FTX companies owe greater than $3bn to largest collectors The crypto change FTX and linked firms based by Sam Bankman-Fried filed a listing of their 50 largest collectors yesterday, all of that are prospects and owed greater than $20mn, with two of them due greater than $200mn.

2. Joe Biden’s antitrust adviser warns of ‘profusion of junk charges’ In an interview with the Monetary Instances, Tim Wu stated there was a “sense there had been a profusion of junk charges throughout the [US] economic system, issues that confuse individuals, coercive charges, misleading practices”, as he pushes to develop the battle on hidden prices to incorporate these within the securities market.

“We wish to develop virtually a jurisprudence of pricing or junk charges that businesses perceive and have a playbook to work from.” — Tim Wu

3. US retailers face first real-terms fall in gross sales since monetary disaster Retailers ought to report headline gross sales development of 4.5 per cent 12 months on 12 months this vacation season, in keeping with S&P World Market Intelligence. However after stripping out the inflation that has precipitated retailers to extend costs to offset their very own larger prices, that may equate to a real-terms drop of 1.2 per cent.

4. Tesla provider warns of graphite provide threat in ‘opaque’ market Western provide of graphite will likely be constrained within the coming decade, the world’s largest pure graphite producer exterior China has warned. Shaun Verner, chief government of Australia’s Syrah Assets, stated that the dearth of transparency over pricing out there for the important thing battery materials was making bankers hesitant to fund new initiatives.

5. UN local weather summit ends in discord Poor international locations affected by the consequences of local weather change will get monetary assist from richer nations beneath a historic settlement at COP27 yesterday. However negotiators failed to achieve a deal on larger cuts to greenhouse gasoline emissions and an finish to fossil gas use.

The day forward

Company earnings Zoom, Dell Applied sciences and City Outfitters publish outcomes for the third quarter, whereas Agilent Applied sciences has fourth-quarter earnings.

World Cup Consideration shifts to the primary full day of opening fixtures, together with Wales vs USA. Captains of England, Wales and the Netherlands had deliberate to put on “One Love” rainbow armbands of their matches at the moment to advertise inclusion. See at the moment’s fixture listing and occasions right here.

Fedspeak Mary Daly, president of the San Francisco Fed department, will converse concerning the “path to cost stability” in an occasion with the Orange County Enterprise Council. Daly lately instructed the Monetary Instances that the federal funds charge would in all probability attain 5 per cent, greater than markets had priced in on the time. (Federal Reserve Financial institution of San Francisco)

US Thanksgiving ceremony President Joe Biden pardons a turkey as a part of the White Home’s annual Thanksgiving custom. (White Home)

What else we’re studying

Coinbase’s Brian Armstrong: ‘I’m simply as bullish on crypto as ever’ In a lunch with the FT, the founder and chief government of the crypto change mentioned his enduring religion in blockchain, his “no politics within the office” coverage and why the answer to the downturn in crypto is . . . extra crypto.

One other interview: Stephen Diehl, the software program engineer who has lobbied for crypto to be regulated like different belongings, has denounced crypto as a automobile for pure hypothesis. His views have made him a goal of harassment, together with loss of life threats.

When your boss turns into your banker Inevitably, staff deliver their monetary considerations into the office. As the price of residing disaster deepens, firms are discovering methods to supply monetary providers similar to loans and pay advances to their employees. So, what’s the threat?

Anti-war protests stretch throughout central and japanese Europe “Germany is serving as a puppet completely for American pursuits and people of Nato,” the primary orator stated to a hundreds-strong crowd. In Germany, some protests over the influence of the Ukraine battle have been organised by the unconventional left and a few by the populist proper.

Massive Pharma targets $50bn weight problems medication market as demand booms The race to launch a brand new technology of medication to deal with weight problems — a illness that impacts about 650mn individuals worldwide — has precipitated unease amongst some critics, who warn about their potential misuse and side-effects. However most well being specialists say the medication ought to have a optimistic influence on sufferers with weight problems, a illness that may have devastating well being implications and that largely goes untreated.

CNN needs to be much less opinion-heavy in a divided America Chris Licht, the community’s lately appointed chief government, is getting ready a recent method to information and deep job cuts after a stoop in revenues. Will anybody watch?

Books

From enterprise and sport to audio books, our annual round-up brings you high titles picked by FT writers and critics — in addition to FT readers’ finest books of 2022.