CNBC.com’s Pippa Stevens brings you the most important business news headlines of the day. In today’s show, Phil LeBeau explains how airlines are calling pilots to work as they prepare for a busier summer shift now that so many Americans have been vaccinated. In addition, Brian Schwartz explains his coverage of the company’s response to new voting laws that critics say harm the voting rights of people of color.
Disney, Geico and other companies backed Florida lawmakers who now sponsor restrictive voting bills
Republican Florida state lawmakers who received corporate support from Disney and other major corporations during their campaigns are now sponsoring a slew of bills that could limit voting rights in the major swing state.
The Brennan Center for Justice lists three proposals in Florida that it says would amount to voter restrictions in their current form. State lawmakers sponsoring these bills have seen contributions from media giants Disney and Charter, prison giant the GEO Group, insurance company Geico and travel planner Expedia, along with CenturyLink and other major corporations. CenturyLink rebranded itself as Lumen Technologies in 2020. These companies have so far remained silent on the issue of voting rights.
A Roth Capital analyst says Tesla’s stock is worth $ 150 – which would be a 78% discount
Tesla’s stock is overvalued and worth just $ 150, according to Craig Irwin, senior research analyst at Roth Capital, who said the electric carmaker needs to do more to justify its close to $ 700 stock price.
Tesla’s shares closed at $ 691.05 overnight as investors cheered the electric carmaker’s predicted deliveries.
But the possibility that Tesla will beat estimates is “clearly already in appreciation,” Irwin told CNBC’s “Squawk Box Asia” on Tuesday. The company’s valuation of approximately $ 660 billion is close to the aggregate size of the US and European auto market, even though it is only a “small player overall,” the analyst said.
Topps goes public through SPAC deal as baseball card company ventures into NFTs
Topps, best known for its baseball cards and Bazooka candy line, has agreed to go public through a merger with Mudrick Capital Acquisition Corporation II, a special acquisition company that values Topps at $ 1.3 billion.
Former Disney CEO Michael Eisner will remain chairman of Topps. Mudrick Capital and funds and accounts managed by Gamco Investors and Wells Capital Management are expected to invest an additional $ 250 million in the SPAC. Private equity firm Madison Dearborn Partners plans to sell most of its ownership in Topps, but Eisner’s firm The Tornante Company will transfer its entire equity stake to the new combined company.