UNH - Wall Street Lunch: Content Providers Look For OpenAI License Deal

2023-12-29 11:34:00 ET

Summary

• News Corp., Gannett, and other publishers are in talks with OpenAI to license their content amid legal issues.
• Fisker jumps after an update on deliveries.
• Foreign investors are pulling out of China stocks, with foreign investment down 87% since August.

Listen below or on the go on Apple Podcasts and Spotify

Providers like News Corp. and Gannett look to negotiate following the New York Times lawsuit. (0:15) UnitedHealth is shedding its Brazil business . (2:47) Foreign investors are bailing on a big bet on China stocks. (3:03)

The following is an abridged podcast

Our top story today so far

Several publishers, including News Corp ( NWS ) (NWSA), have held talks with OpenAI to license their content amid legal issues regarding third-party content being used to train artificial intelligence.

Also included in the group are IAC (IAC), Gannett (NYSE: GCI ) and the News/Media Alliance, which represents more than 2,200 North American news organizations. That’s according to The New York Times

News Corp. owns The Wall Street Journal, Barron's and Marketwatch, among other properties. IAC owns properties such as Dotdash Meredith, The Daily Beast and Investopedia. Gannett houses brands such as USA Today and many local publications, including NorthJersey.com , The Tennessean and Detroit Free Press.

Microsoft (MSFT), which is OpenAI's largest investor, has also held talks.

News of the negotiations comes just days after The New York Times Company ( NYT ) sued Microsoft and OpenAI for copyright infringement.

In today’s trading

It’s all about watching levels. The S&P 500 ( SP500 ) is little changed right now, but just needs a small gain of 15 points to notch a new record close, which would also confirm a bull market from the October lows.

It also looks on track to close out the year with its 9 ^th -straight winning week, a streak it hasn’t matched since January 2004.

And with all the twists and turns we’ve seen in the bond market this year, the 10-year Treasury looks to finish, if not exactly, right near where it finished 2022. It’s around 3.9% now and ended last year at 3.88%.

In the morning data, the lone indicator showed some weakness. The December Chicago PMI slumped more than expected to 46.9 from 55.8 the month before. Economists expected the measure of manufacturing to stay in expansion territory, falling to 51.

Among active stocks

Fisker ( FSR ) is rallying after a business update showed the electric vehicle maker's deliveries increased 300% between Q3 and Q4. So far this year, the company has delivered 4,700 vehicles, the vast majority of which are Fisker Ocean Ones. The model has a list price of $68,999.

Jabil ( JBL ) said it has closed the divestiture of its Mobility business to BYD Electronic (International) and also updated guidance. It now anticipates the midpoint of the prior guidance range for net revenue to be lower by about $400 million. The midpoint for core earnings per share is seen lower by $0.30. This aligns with the expectations the company outlined on its first-quarter earnings call.

UnitedHealth Group ( UNH ) has inked an agreement with a private investor to sell its operations in Brazil, incurring a one-time charge of nearly $7 billion. The company intends to close the transaction in H1 2024, subject to regulatory and other closing conditions.

In other news of note

Foreign investors are unwinding a $33 billion bet on China equities as doubts grow that the government can fight flagging growth.

Foreign investment in China-listed stocks ( FXI ) ( MCHI ) is down 87% to 30.7 billion renminbi ($4.35 billion) since peaking at 235 billion renminbi in August, the Financial Times reported.

Wang Qi, CIO for wealth management at UOB Kay Hian in Hong Kong, says: “The confidence issue goes beyond real estate, although real estate is key. I’m referring to consumer confidence, business confidence and investor confidence - both from domestic and foreign investors.”

China has trailed broader global markets of late. Since the start of August, the Shanghai Composite ( SHCOMP ) is down more than 10%, while the S&P 500 ( SP500 ) is up more than 6%.

And in the Wall Street Research Corner

Yesterday we looked at the Morgan Stanley equity team’s list of stocks to buy in 2024.

In addition, they have chosen 20 stocks to short next year.

Among the names are: American Eagle Outfitters (AEOS), BlueScope Steel (BLSFF), Etsy (ETSY), Mobileye (MBLY), UPS ( UPS ) and Williams-Sonoma (WSM).

For further details see: