Top News
* Leslie Moonves resigned as chairman, president and CEO of CBS Corp. as part of a settlement between the media company and controlling shareholder National Amusements Inc. The company tapped COO Joseph Ianniello to be president and acting CEO while a permanent replacement is named, the company said. Also, Moonves and CBS will donate $20 million to one or more organizations that support the #MeToo movement and equality for women in the workplace.
In related news, National Amusements confirmed that it does not plan to propose a merger between CBS and Viacom Inc. and has agreed not to make such a proposal for at least two years after the date of the settlement. The company also said five independent directors and a National Amusements-affiliated director have stepped down from its board. The company has added six new independent directors.
* Apple Inc. is in talks to add some of the biggest U.S. newspapers to the recently acquired digital magazine service Texture, recode reports. Apple executives, led by content head Eddy Cue, have reportedly approached The New York Times, The Wall Street Journal and The Washington Post about joining the app, the sources said.
* Facebook Inc. and Twitter Inc. shares dropped as U.S. lawmakers grilled the companies over bias and misinformation on their platforms. CBS shares jumped amid reports that the company is in settlement talks with National Amusements to end their legal battle.
Internet & OTT
* Apple won a Primetime Emmy award for Apple Music's "Carpool Karaoke" at the Creative Arts Emmy Awards, Deadline.com reports. The series was named Outstanding Short Form Variety Series at the event. The award for the iPhone maker comes ahead of the 70th Emmy Awards ceremony that is scheduled to be held Sept. 17.
* Apple has deleted Alex Jones' Infowars app from its App Store, The New York Times reports. The app was pulled after it was found to be in violation of the company's policies by offering content that was deemed to be "offensive, insensitive, upsetting, intended to disgust or in exceptionally poor taste," an Apple spokeswoman said.
* Verizon Communications Inc. declined to comment on "speculation" that Tim Armstrong is in talks to step down as CEO of Oath Inc. as soon as next month, TechCrunch.com reports. According to a report by The Wall Street Journal, Verizon had also considered spinning off the Oath business, but then decided to integrate some of its operations more closely with the rest of the company.
* Netflix Inc. has picked up rights to "Lionheart," the company's first original film from Nigeria, according to a news release. The movie, which premiered at the Toronto International Film Festival on Sept. 8, is about challenges of running a company by a woman in a male-dominated industry.
* Twitter unveiled a new feature that allows users to create audio-only broadcasts directly from Twitter and Periscope, TechCrunch.com reports. The new feature was confirmed by the company's CEO Jack Dorsey in a tweet.
Film
* Warner Bros.' "The Nun" topped the domestic box office for the Sept. 9 weekend with $53.5 million, followed by Warner Bros.' "Crazy Rich Asians" at the second spot with $13.6 million and STX Entertainment's "Peppermint" at the third spot with $13.3 million, according to comScore Inc. Warner Bros.' "The Meg" took the fourth spot with $6 million, while Sony Corp.'s "Searching" was No. 5 with $4.5 million.
Technology
* Microsoft Corp. has scheduled a Surface event on Oct. 2, TechCrunch.com reports. The company could unveil new hardware, including a Surface Watch, at the event in New York.
* Imran Khan, chief strategy officer at Snap Inc., is leaving the company to pursue other opportunities. According to an SEC filing, Khan will continue as strategy chief for an interim period to assist with the transition period.
Click here to read about today's financial markets, setting out the factors driving stocks, bonds and currencies around the world ahead of the New York open.
The day ahead
Early morning futures indicators pointed to a higher opening for the U.S. market.
In Asia, the Hang Seng was down 1.33% to 26,613.42. The Nikkei 225 rose 0.30% to 22,373.09. In Europe as of midday, the FTSE 100 was up 0.36% to 7,304.01, and the Euronext 100 was up 0.48% to 1,034.28.
On the macro front
The consumer credit report and the TD Ameritrade Investor Movement Index are due out today.
Featured news
The Daily Dose Europe: Sweden may sell shares in Telia; Sky, Openreach sign broadband deal: Sweden's upcoming government may sell state-owned shares in Telia Co. AB, while Sky PLC entered into a wholesale broadband agreement with Openreach Ltd.
The Daily Dose Asia-Pacific: Alibaba co-founder Jack Ma to step down; Didi Chuxing discloses US$585M loss: Jack Ma, co-founder and executive chairman of Alibaba Group Holding Ltd. will reportedly step down after unveiling a succession strategy, while Chinese ride-sharing giant Didi Chuxing Technology Co. Ltd. disclosed a loss of US$585 million in the first half of 2018.
The Program Guide: Netflix revives 'Designated Survivor'; 'Mr. Robot' ending after fourth season: "Designated Survivor" is heading to Netflix for its third season after getting canceled at ABC (US) in May, while drama series "Mr. Robot" will return to USA (US) network for its fourth and final season in 2019.
Data Dispatch: Warner Bros. set to continue terrifying reign at box office with 'The Nun': The AT&T Inc.-owned studio has dominated box offices for five weeks straight, and forecasters expect that to continue with horror film "The Nun" from profitable "The Conjuring" franchise.
Media & Comm, editor's picks: Social media seeks change; Landmark CEO sees hope: Stories about social media executives addressing U.S. lawmakers' concerns on transparency and Landmark Theatre Corp.'s CEO seeing the best year in company history as M&A process proceeds are among the editor's top five story picks for the week ended Sept. 7.
The Best Of: Media & Comm, most read: Film financing; end of Comcast-NBC merger conditions: Stories about film financing models and concerns over the expiration of Comcast Corp.- NBCUniversal Media LLC merger conditions are included in the most read stories for the week ended Sept. 7.
Featured research
Broadcast Investor: Spinoffs from Gray/Raycom merger yield $235.5M: Following Gray Television Inc.'s $3.65 billion acquisition of Raycom Media Inc., spinoffs in nine overlap markets in August added another $235.5 million, or 7.9x, cash flow to the TV deal market.
Economics of Advertising: FOX, Telemundo grow ratings in July with World Cup coverage: An analysis of the July ratings and delivery data from Nielsen Holdings PLC.
Economics of TV & Film: Kagan box office report, week 35: The 2018 summer season ended on a strong note with the final weekly tally up 26.9% from $114.1 million in 2017 to $144.8 million in 2018. The summer season closed out with a $4.45 billion total, the fourth-highest summer on record.
Economics of Internet: Hong Kong subscription online video uptake curbed by free content: Kagan's profile determines that piracy and free-to-air streaming content impede subscription over-the-top from reaching its full potential in Hong Kong.
Economics of Internet: State of US online video: subscription video on demand: Netflix, Amazon Prime and Hulu LLC are spending billions each year on programming, helping to create a positive feedback loop that has so far increased subscriptions and fueled even more spending on content.
Multichannel Trends: Consumer defections leave wireline voice segment spiraling in Q2: Consumer interest continued to wane, with cable operators adding pressure on wireline voice losses in the second quarter.
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