Hello friends and Coins2Day readers.
Wall Street stock futures are lower this morning as investor sentiment wanes amid bad signs from Greece and fears about the U.S. Economic recovery.
Today’s must-read story is from Coins2Day‘s Matthew Ingram and it takes a hard look at whether Rupert Murdoch’s son, James Murdoch, is ready to take over 21st Century Fox with his father reportedly stepping down as CEO.
Here’s what else you need to know today.
1. Greek drama
Shares in some of Greece’s biggest banks are down sharply on the Athens Stock Exchange following a new blow to the nation’s debt negotiations. On Thursday, officials from the International Monetary Fund (IMF) pulled out of talks with Greek politicians in Brussels due to “major differences.” Greece on Friday said the move was designed to put pressure on both Athens and its European creditors. In a signal that it had not softened its stance in the talks, a Greek government official also said Athens would not cross its “red lines” as it looked to intensify political negotiations for an agreement. Time is fast running out for Greece to reach a deal with its EU and IMF lenders and avert a default at the end of June that could see it tumbling out of the euro zone.
2. Net Neutrality
The new open Internet rules the FCC passed in February go into effect today after a federal appeals court yesterday denied a request from the telecom industry to suspend their implementation. Industry leaders like AT&T (T), Comcast (CMCSA), and Verizon (VZ) were among those claiming that the FCC overstepped its reach with the net neutrality rules, which ban Internet providers from blocking certain websites or allowing companies to pay for faster content delivery.
3. May PPI
Today, the Labor Department will release the Producer Price Index for the month of May. The index, which measures changes in the prices businesses receive for their goods and services, is expected to have increased by 0.4% last month after falling by that same amount in April.
4. Wingstop serves up IPO
Restaurant IPOs have been a regular source of market excitement over the past year (think Shake Shack (SHAK)), even though some of those chains have seen their stock regress a little bit after posting sizzling market debuts. Chicken wing chain Wingstop will be the latest restaurant to launch an IPO when the company goes public today with plans to raise $99 million after raising its price range earlier this week.
5. Orange is the New Black is back
The online “dramedy” returns for a third season on Netflix (NFLX) starting today. The series, which follows an ensemble cast of female prison inmates, is one of Netflix’s most popular pieces of original content, winning three Emmy Awards last year. Netflix has been busy bolstering its portfolio of original content in recent years as the online streaming site battles more traditional entertainment outlets for television and film viewers. The company’s latest content coup is a deal to produce a film starring Brad Pitt, announced earlier this week.
[Coins2Day-brightcove videoid=4285537835001]
—Reuters contributed to this report.