Insider Finance - Business - Insider Today: Billionaires summer camp

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July 14, 2023

Happy Friday! The Eagles guitarist Joe Walsh officially has the best take on AI’s impact on the job market.

“It can't destroy a hotel room, it can't throw a TV off the fifth floor into the pool and get it right in the middle,” Walsh told the AP. "When AI knows how to destroy a hotel room, I'll pay attention to it."

Speaking of hotels, Idaho’s Sun Valley Lodge is home to one of the biggest conferences of the year.

In today’s edition:

Happy with where the economy is headed? Thank Taylor Swift.
Demand for some of Ford’s electric vehicles seems to be dropping.
AWS just created a new org focused on getting its customers to use AI.

But first, esto perpetua!

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THE BIG STORY

Sun Valley storylines

Getty/Kevin Dietsch

It’s one of the biggest conferences of the year that almost no one is allowed to go to.

Allen & Co.’s annual conference in Sun Valley, Idaho, often referred to as “summer camp for billionaires,” is a who’s who of the biggest players in media and tech. This year’s attendees include Disney’s Bob Iger, Warner Bros. Discovery’s David Zaslav, Apple’s Tim Cook, and OpenAI’s Sam Altman.

The event even got the “Succession” treatment.

Unlike other high-profile conferences like Davos or Milken, Sun Valley isn’t open to the press. But just because we’re not there doesn’t mean we can’t speculate on what the biggest topics of discussion might be.

We talked to Alison Brower, our LA bureau chief, and Alistair Barr, Insider’s global tech editor, about what some of the most powerful people are talking about behind closed doors.

For the media biz, smaller deals take center stage amid a megamerger drought. Sun Valley has long served as a breeding ground for megadeals, from Disney’s acquisition of ABC to Comcast taking a majority stake in NBCUniversal. But amid layoffs, disappointing box-office returns, and actors joining Hollywood writers on strike, media executives are unlikely to consider monster deals, Alison said. But that doesn’t mean it’ll be a complete washout for media M&A. Small to midsize deals could end up being the focus as streamers like Netflix look to add to their content library.
But when it comes to tech, megadeals may be all anyone wants to talk about. The potential for Big Tech M&A seems a lot brighter after a federal judge ruled Microsoft could proceed with its $69 billion bid for Activision Blizzard, Alistair said. The decision was another blow to the FTC chair, Lina Khan, who has a history of fighting deals on the grounds they violate antitrust laws. The most recent ruling might have tech execs considering major tie-ups. "The FTC keeps losing in court," Mark Schilsky, a TMT sector specialist at Bernstein, wrote earlier this week, adding: "Will this embolden more M&A deals? Who’s at the top of your M&A short list?"
The Bob Iger era rolls on at Disney. The House of Mouse’s announcement that its CEO would remain at the helm through the end of 2026 will also be top of mind for most attendees, Alison said. The new deal gives Iger time to right the ship and pick a successor who might actually stick. (No offense, Bob Chapek.) Iger seems ready to make changes, saying the company is “looking expansively at opportunities” when it comes to selling TV and cable businesses like ABC, FX, and National Geographic.
Sports! Perhaps the lone bright spot in the media industry these days is live sports. (Iger called it an “advertiser’s dream.”) It also happens to be an area where media and tech are converging as Big Tech players like Apple (MLS, MLB), YouTube (NFL), and Amazon (NFL) have cut deals with professional leagues, Alistair noted. Meanwhile, questions about the future of the biggest player in the space — ESPN — remain up in the air.

TOP READS

Taylor Swift, Ford EVs, & Essence Magazine

Lisa Lake/Getty Images

It’s Taylor Swift’s economy, and we’re all just living in it. The singer’s Eras Tour, which consists of 131 concerts across 17 states and five continents, got a shoutout in a recent Fed report for the hotel revenue generated from Swift’s three shows in Philadelphia. The US tour alone could lead to $4.6 billion in total consumer spending, according to a research group.
How a couple in their 30s built a net worth of nearly $2 million. In August 2021, Brennan and Erin Schlagbaum finished paying off their debts and started investing. A year later their net worth hit $1 million. They revealed their simple investment portfolio.
Can I interest you in a Ford EV? The automaker is all in on electric vehicles, but demand is slowing for some of its models. It sold only 27.7% of its Mustang Mach-E inventory within 30 days in the second quarter of 2023, compared with 86.4% during the same time period in 2022.
Shopify leaked memo: “Your calendar is a strategy.” The e-commerce company has a new internal tool that calculates how much time and compensation a meeting takes up. It factors in the average salary for a particular role, the number of attendees, and the length of the meeting.
Amazon Web Services launches a new AI team. AWS just created a new organization to compete with OpenAI’s ChatGPT, according to leaked internal communications. The new org — called Next Generation Developer Experience — will create generative-AI tools for customers.
A bunch of companies that pledged to boycott Russia have not actually boycotted Russia. Heineken, Sbarro Pizza, TGI Fridays, and WeWork are among the international brands still doing business in Russia despite promising they would stop, according to investigators.
From “Black girl magic” to “Black girl tragic” at Essence Magazine. An anonymous letter published three years ago accused the iconic publication for Black women in America of having an unhealthy work environment. Current and former employees detail their experience there and why some remain unsatisfied despite changes being made.

BEFORE THE OPENING BELL

Inflation, Dimon, & Industry Ventures

Experts are divided on whether the US should still be concerned about inflation. New data showing inflation falling to a two-year low of 3% in June has the Johns Hopkins professor Steve Hanke feeling good, suggesting “the inflation story is history.” But the Nobel-winning economist Paul Krugman and Mohamed El-Erian, Allianz’s chief economic advisor, aren’t as sold.
JPMorgan’s CEO sounds off. Jamie Dimon covered a lot in a wide-ranging interview that touched on everything from US politics to working from home. Here are some of his best quotes.
Industry Ventures raised a ton of money for a fund focused on the secondary market. The firm raised $1.4 billion for its flagship secondary fund, which aims to buy shares in startups at steep discounts. The raise comes at an opportune time as startups look to sell shares as their valuations drop and the IPO drought continues.

WHAT ELSE IS GOING ON

Actors strike, US’s oldest craft brewery, & cruise tips

Hollywood actors are on strike. For the first time since 1960, actors and writers are striking at the same time. "Everybody's really nervous because there's going to be no cash flow — they won't be making anything," a top talent agent said before the strike, which began at midnight in California.
The oldest craft brewery in the US is closing its doors. San Francisco-based Anchor Brewing is shutting down after 127 years because of "a combination of challenging economic factors and declining sales since 2016," the company said.
He’s been on more than 300 cruises. Here’s what you need to know for your next trip. Stewart Chiron, known as “The Cruise Guy,” shared 10 tips for spending a vacation at sea, including why travel agents and travel insurance may not be a bad idea. Speaking of trips, consider booking US domestic flights now as prices are dropping.

LAST LOOK

1980s McDonald’s

Universal History Archive/Universal Images Group/Getty Images

Photos show what McDonald’s was like in the 1980s. The menu was simpler (and cheaper). And employees wore bowling-style hats and shirts. But the iconic gold arches were still everywhere.

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