Weekend Business News Roundup January 20, 2024

A federal judge blocked low-cost carrier JetBlue’s $3.8 billion takeover of ultra-low-cost carrier Spirit Airlines this week, putting the smaller airline’s future in jeopardy. - Ananya Bhattacharya Read More

The Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation approved its largest annual budget ever, committing $8.6 billion to help plug gaps in overall aid for health programs in the world’s poorest countries. The spending increase in 2024 will support a range of goals including the eradication of polio, development of new tuberculosis drugs, and delivery of supplies to stem child and maternal mortality. - Heather Landy Read More

On the sidelines of the World Economic Forum annual meeting in Davos, Switzerland, two very different visions of the future unfolded, courtesy of OpenAI chief Sam Altman and musician-turned-activist-turned-Davos-regular Will.i.am. - Heather Landy Read More

There have been more than 7,500 layoffs in the tech industry in just the first 17 days of 2024, squashing hopes for an end to last year’s doom and gloom in the sector. - Laura Bratton Read More

Don’t ring the funeral bells just yet, but the self-checkout kiosk horror show could be nearing its end. So far, the grand experiment in robot cashiers is an abject failure. Stores across the country are reversing course on the machines, and consensus is growing among analysts and insiders that self-checkout has been a disaster for consumers and retailers alike, according to a new report in the BBC. The machines aren’t disappearing anytime soon, but if nothing else, you can expect fewer stores to force them on you in the near future. - Thomas Germain / Gizmodo Read More

A new rule proposed by the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) Wednesday (Jan. 17) would limit overdraft fees charged on consumers’ checking accounts by big banks. - Laura Bratton Read More

At the Burger King nearest the Quartz offices in New York City, $1 billion will buy you 126,742,712 Whoppers before tax. Restaurant Brands International (RBI), the parent company of Burger King, instead announced today (Jan. 16) that it will spend that much acquiring its biggest US franchisee, Carrols Restaurant Group. The deal will yield more than 1,000 new company-owned locations. - Melvin Backman Read More

When two corporations (and their shareholders) love each other very much, they do a special hug called a merger. Back in April 2022, JetBlue Airlines was really excited to do a merger with Spirit Airlines. Frontier Airlines had planned to do it first, ponying up $2.9 billion to do so, but then JetBlue threw down $3.8 billion. Spirit’s shareholders loved that offer very much, and in October that year the two companies agreed to merge. - Melvin Backman Read More

More than 250 billionaires and millionaires have signed on to an open letter calling for wealth taxes to pay for public services around the world.

“If elected representatives of the world’s leading economies do not take steps to address the dramatic rise of economic inequality, the consequences will continue to be catastrophic,” the letter writes. “Our request is simple: we ask you to tax us, the very richest in society. This will not fundamentally alter our standard of living, nor deprive our children, nor harm our nations’ economic growth. But it will turn extreme and unproductive private wealth into an investment for our common democratic future.” - Gabriela Riccardi Read More

The Republic of Singapore has long prided itself on being one of the world’s rare anti-corruption havens — but things are changing now in a wild saga that involves Formula 1's Grand Prix in the city-state. Transport Minister S. Iswaran has resigned after being charged with corruption, CNN reports, and part of that corruption involves allegations that he accepted gifts from Malaysian billionaire Ong Beng Seng, a hotel tycoon who helped bring F1 to Singapore and serves as the sole shareholder of the Grand Prix. Right now, Singapore insists that the upcoming September 2024 race will go on as planned, but it’s time to dig into this saga. - Elizabeth Blackstock / Jalopnik Read More