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Today's big stories

Cinema chain Cineworld plans to shut down all its venues
Some professional money managers have ideas about where you might want to invest this quarter – Read Now
Bristol Myers Squibb announced a $13 billion biotech purchase

1/3

Cineworld Is Not Enough

What’s Going On Here?

Cineworld announced plans to shut all 663 of its movie theaters worldwide after another Bond delay killed any hopes of a big payday.

What Does This Mean?

The massive movie house owns 536 Regal theaters in the US and 127 Cineworld and Picturehouse theaters in the UK. And ever since the pandemic struck, it’s seen its earnings knocked by compulsory shutdowns and, more recently, a serious shortage of new tentpole films. Studios, after all, don’t want to release their expensive blockbusters to small audiences and low ticket sales.

Tenet’s been the only major release since lockdowns loosened, and its poor performance hasn’t gone unnoticed. In fact, it may have prompted Disney to release Mulan on its Disney+ streaming service rather than in theaters, while the new and already-delayed James Bond film has just been postponed again until spring. And seeing as Cineworld doesn’t see much point in keeping its cinemas open if there’s nothing to show, its 45,000 workers around the world are now at risk of losing their jobs.

Why Should I Care?

For markets: Roll credits.
Cineworld’s stock fell 40% on Monday, and US cinema chains AMC and Cinemark’s shares felt the effects too, falling 11% and 13% respectively. As for whether Cineworld will reopen further down the line, it depends on whether it can survive: the company lost over $1.5 billion in the first half of 2020, versus an almost $120 million profit in the first half of 2019. And with just $285 million left in the bank, the cinema chain will need to raise extra money however it can – and fast.

The bigger picture: Night night, nights-out.
If Cineworld’s problems weren’t proof enough of a suffering leisure industry, restaurant chain Pizza Express’s recent bankruptcy protection filing in the US sure is. So much for dinner and a movie: looks like date nights are more about Uber Eats and Netflix these days (tweet this).

Dive deeper: How the media industry can survive the pandemic.

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2/3 Premium

Where To Invest This Quarter, Part 1

What’s Going On Here?

If you’re looking for somewhere to put your money this quarter, a few professional money managers think you may want to move away from America…

Find out where to invest this quarter in today’s Premium Insight

🥗 Skip the grocery store this week

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3/3

A Heart Bargain

What’s Going On Here?

Love was in the air on Monday after US pharmaceuticals giant Bristol Myers Squibb agreed to buy biotech MyoKardia – along with a potentially lucrative heart treatment – for $13 billion.

What Does This Mean?

Bristol Myers – which bought cancer-focused rival Celgene for $74 billion last year – is a cancer treatment heavyweight: over 80% of its sales so far this year have been cancer-related. But just like all the world’s big pharmaceutical companies, Bristol makes drugs that treat everything from HIV to heart problems.

That’s where biotech MyoKardia comes in: its most promising drug treats a chronic condition that can cause an abnormal heartbeat. And if it’s approved, it could become a “blockbuster” that transforms Bristol Myers from a cancer-focused pharma firm to a heart-focused one.

Why Should I Care?

The bigger picture: What a cliffhanger.
One big reason the pharma companies are so keen to strike deals is the threat of so-called “patent cliffs”. See, pharma firms can sell new drugs exclusively (and often at eye-watering prices) for about 20 years as a reward for spending billions to develop them. But once that time’s up and the patent vanishes, competitors can make and sell cheaper copycats of the drug. Buying into companies with new products on the way, then, can help companies recoup the money they lost from their outgoing bestsellers with sales of their new rockstars.

For markets: Health is wealth.
Bristol Myers is paying $225 of cash for every share of MyoKardia out there – 61% more than the shares were worth on Friday. And after the latter’s stock jumped to close to the takeover price, its existing shareholders might’ve been pleased with their windfall. But maybe more surprising was the rise in Bristol’s share price: buyers’ stocks normally drop when mergers and acquisitions are announced, given that they typically destroy value over time. The fact Bristol’s didn’t suggests its shareholders might actually think it’s onto a good thing…

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🙋 Ask a question

💬 Quote of the day

“It took me quite a long time to develop a voice, and now that I have it, I am not going to be silent.”

- Madeleine Albright (an American politician and diplomat)

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⚡️ New Pack alert

🤨 Wait, wait, wait – let’s recap

Everything’s moving at a hundred miles an hour right now, and you probably haven’t had a chance to stop and make sense of all the questions niggling away at you.

Questions that only a Monthly Review can answer, like why are so many companies buying each other? What’s with the flood of initial public offerings? Will the economic rebound be K-shaped? And why oh why do banks always seem to be breaking the rules?

So hit the pause button, take a deep breath, and catch up on everything you’ve missed with our latest Monthly Review. Carl has a therapeutic voice, we promise.

Listen Now

Finimize - 🎬 Cineworld calls cut

Today's big stories

Cineworld Is Not Enough

What’s Going On Here?

What Does This Mean?

Why Should I Care?

Where To Invest This Quarter, Part 1

🥗 Skip the grocery store this week

A Heart Bargain

What’s Going On Here?

What Does This Mean?

Why Should I Care?

🤨 Wait, wait, wait – let’s recap

Older messages

🥤 Pepsi smashes Coke

📉 Last quarter’s worst stocks

💨 Uber’s high-speed deal

🎰 Caesars’ 4 billion dollar wager

🎮 Amazon pwns Google

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