The company most famous for catching your eye with a package of Peanut Butter M&Ms in the checkout line is hoping to tempt you with savory snacks.

Mars announced yesterday that it will acquire Kellanova, maker of Pringles and Cheez-Its, in a deal worth $35.9 billion, and the first thing these people need to do is finally put a real potato chip inside of Swoops.

• The size of the merger blows other recent snack food deals like J.M. Smucker’s $5.6 billion purchase of Hostess in 2023 out of the water.
• It’s also one the biggest deals of the year in any industry—and there’s no way Exxon Mobil’s $60 billion acquisition of Pioneer Natural Resource had as many bowls of Skittles on the conference table.

Mars enters another new aisle

Mars is known for its chocolate candies, but it’s been slowly snapping up other brands to spread its reach across the grocery store. It acquired its first pet food company in 1935, bought Dove ice cream in 1986, Wrigley gum in 2008, and has kept ramping up purchases. Since 2020, Mars has also bought healthier snack companies like Kind and Nature’s Bakery.

Kellanova seemed like the next logical step. The brand behind Eggo, RXBAR, and MorningStar Farms veggie meat substitutes broke off last year from Kellogg’s (which kept its cereal heavy hitters). In 2023, Kellanova did $13 billion in sales.

Its product line is close enough to Mars’s wheelhouse but likely not similar enough to upset any antitrust watchdogs. Analysts still expect regulators to flag the merger because of its sheer size, and Kellanova said it doesn’t expect the deal to be finalized until early 2025.

Big picture: Companies are still nervous that consumers are bristling at name-brand products because of high prices. Those nerves could lead to more consolidation in the sector as big brands try to stay competitive.—MM

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The WHO declared mpox outbreaks a global health emergency. The World Health Organization determined that outbreaks in the Democratic Republic of Congo and other African countries constitute an emergency, saying international organizing and funding are needed to curb the spread of a deadly new disease strain. In Africa, more than 500 people have died in the recent outbreaks of the ailment, formerly known as monkeypox, and vaccines are scarce.

Ernesto knocked out out Puerto Rico’s power and became a hurricane. As a tropical storm, Ernesto deluged Puerto Rico with rain and brought 74 mph wind gusts, leaving more than 700,000 homes and businesses—representing half of all power customers on the island—without power. Another 46,000 customers lost power in the Virgin Islands. Traveling north, the storm strengthened into a Category 1 hurricane, and it is expected to become even stronger over open waters in the Atlantic, potentially stirring up strong waves and currents along the East Coast of the US.

DraftKings scraps tax surcharge. We can’t guarantee that your bets on the big game will be winning ones, but at least you won’t have to pay more just because you live in a state with high taxes. Just two hours after the parent company of rival FanDuel said it wouldn’t be imitating DraftKings’s controversial plan to implement a surcharge on winning bets in states that demand sports betting companies pay higher taxes, DraftKings gave up on the idea. The planned surcharge would have impacted bettors in Illinois, New York, Pennsylvania, and Vermont. The swift decision could mean DraftKings was bluffing to get states to lower taxes.

The purchasing power of a sack of Benjamins hidden under a mattress is diminishing slower than it has in a while. Yearly price growth cooled to 2.9% last month, dipping below 3% for the first time since March 2021, the Labor Department said yesterday.

Prices rose 0.2% in July on a month-to-month basis, compared to a drop of 0.1% in June.

• Used and new cars, medical care, and clothes all became cheaper in July.
• Meanwhile, stubbornly rising housing costs were responsible for 90% of last month’s inflation.

Excluding notoriously volatile food and energy prices, annual inflation declined for a fourth month in a row to 3.2%, making anyone who doesn’t expect the Fed to lower interest rates next month a contrarian.

Your move, Fed

“Duh” became the most common exclamation in discussions of a potential rate cut after a recent jobs report showed a hiring slowdown. And analysts say that inflation’s approach toward the Fed’s 2% target rate will likely dispel any second thoughts central bankers may have had.

Looking ahead: The tea leaf readings are now about how much interest rates will go down, with investors shifting their bets toward a less drastic rate cut after yesterday’s numbers.—SK

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The place where dreams come true is trying to convince a judge that it can’t be sued for a Disney World guest’s death because of the terms and conditions you have to accept before watching The Mandalorian.

Jeffrey Piccolo filed a $50,000+ wrongful death lawsuit against Disney after his wife died last year from an allergic reaction following a meal at a theme park restaurant.

“Preposterous,” “inane,” and borderline “surreal.” That’s how lawyers for Piccolo described the motion filed by Walt Disney Parks and Resorts to dismiss his lawsuit on the grounds that he waived his right to sue when he signed up for a free Disney+ trial in 2019, and again when he bought an Epcot ticket via app last year.

Huh? The terms of use for Disney+ and the theme park app include a requirement that users settle disputes with the company via arbitration, which is a confidential negotiation that is handled outside of court.

• Piccolo’s lawyers blasted Disney for extrapolating its digital contracts to cover matters of life and death and implying that its 150+ million subscribers have signed away their right to sue the company in any situation.
• They also argue the arbitration clause is irrelevant because the deceased never agreed to the terms and conditions—her husband did, but he’s acting on behalf of her estate.

What now? A Florida judge will consider Disney’s motion in October.—ML

Looking for a job that doesn’t require paying off student loans for decades? Turns out tech companies really need people to staff up all those energy-hoovering data centers they’re building to support AI. Job ads for data technicians have spiked 18% since January 2020, even as tech industry want-ads overall have declined by more than half, according to the Wall Street Journal. Pay is rising, too: CompTIA said salaries have increased 43% over the last three years. The median pay is now $75,100, but experienced techs can command six figures. Job duties vary and may include fixing servers or running cooling systems. Some need specific technical know-how—but most don’t count a college degree among the necessary experience.