Hollywood Wants To Use AI Replicas Of Actors, Major US Banks Deliver Q2 Earnings, Artificial Sweetener Aspartame Classified As 'Possible Carcinogen:' Today's Top Stories

Benzinga

Hollywood Wants To Use AI Replicas Of Actors For Eternity And Give Them Just One Day's Pay

• The tussle between Hollywood studios and the actors' guild SAG-AFTRA has taken a dark turn reminiscent of a Black Mirror episode – the studios want to use AI replicas of actors for eternity for the cost of just one day's pay.
• SAG-AFTRA (Screen Actors Guild – American Federation of Television and Radio Artists) national executive director Duncan Crabtree-Ireland revealed that Hollywood studios have proposed "protecting" actors' digital likenesses using AI.

Craze For Threads Fading? Zuckerberg's App Sees Decline In Engagement After Bumper Debut

• Engagement on Meta Platforms Inc META social media app, Threads has seen a significant drop in daily active users and time spent on the app since the weekend.
• Despite a strong start, with Mark Zuckerberg's Threads hitting 100 million users in just five days, the app's engagement metrics have started to decline.

Citigroup Beats On Q2, Shows Resilience Across Business Segments

• Citigroup Inc C reported a second-quarter FY23 net revenue decline of 1% year-over-year to $19.44 billion, beating the consensus of $19.27 billion.
• EPS was $1.33, above the consensus of $1.30.
• Citigroup expects FY23 adjusted revenue of $78 billion - $79 billion vs. consensus $78.86 billion.

UnitedHealth Stock Pops On Q2 Earnings Beat and Raised Outlook - Earnings By The Numbers

• UnitedHealth Group Inc UNH reported nearly $5.5 billion, up 8% Y/Y in Q2 profits as its health insurance plans and Optum medical provider businesses grew by "double-digit" percentages despite rising costs.
• The company reported Q2 FY23 sales of $92.9 billion, up almost 16% Y/Y, beating the consensus of $91 billion.
• Adjusted EPS of $6.14 increased 14% Y/Y, surpassing the consensus of $6.01.
• UnitedHealth again raised its FY23 net earnings outlook, increasing it to "$23.45-$23.75 per share and adjusted net earnings to $24.70-$25.00 per share.

Wells Fargo Posts Over 50% Jump In Q2 Profits On Strong Interest Income, Lifts 2023 Guidance

• Wells Fargo & Company WFC reported Q2 EPS of $1.25, beating the consensus of $1.15, with revenues of $20.53 billion, up 21% Y/Y, above the consensus of $20.07 billion.
• Wells Fargo's profit surged 57% to $4.9 billion as it earned more in interest payments from customers. CEO Charlie Scharf commented, "Our strong net interest income continued to benefit from higher interest rates."
• The net interest income climbed 29% to $13.16 billion as banks raised their borrowing costs following a series of rate hikes by the Federal Reserve to tackle inflation.

JPMorgan Chase Shares Jump On Strong Q2 Earnings

• JPMorgan Chase & Co JPM reported Q2 net revenue (managed) of $42.4 billion, up 34.1% year-over-year, beating the consensus of $38.96 billion. 
• Reported revenue was $41.31 billion, up 34.5% Y/Y.Noninterest revenue was $20.5 billion, up 25%, or up 6% YoY excluding First Republic, driven by higher CIB Markets noninterest revenue.
• JPMorgan expects net interest income and net interest income excluding Markets of ~$87 billion. It anticipates card services NCO rate of approximately 2.60%.

BlackRock Q2: Bottomline Beat, Net Inflow Strong At $80B, Continued Strength In Bond ETF Inflow

• BlackRock Inc BLK reported a Q2 revenue decline of 1% Y/Y to $4.46 billion, slightly below the consensus of $4.47 billion.
• Market movements impacted revenue over the past twelve months on average assets under management.
• Adjusted operating income declined 3% Y/Y to $1.68 billion, with margins contracting to 42.5% from 43.7% a year ago.

Nokia Cuts Annual Guidance On Weak Macroeconomic Environment

• Nokia Oyj NOK shares are trading lower by around 9% after it reduced its 2023 net sales guidance and narrowed the operating margin outlook. 
• 2023 guidance: The company cut net sales expectations to €23.2 billion-€24.6 billion (from €24.6 billion-€26.2 billion previously) and now projects comparable operating margin to 11.5%-13% (from 11.5%-14% guided earlier).
• The company expects weaker demand in H2 due to both the macroeconomic environment and customers' inventory digestion. 

Ericsson Shares Move Down After Q2 Earnings

• Ericsson ERIC reported sales growth of 3% year-on-year to SEK 64.4 billion ($6.125) billion, in line with the consensus of $6.130 billion.
• Group organic sales declined by 9% Y/Y. Networks' organic sales decreased by -13%, partly mitigated by a 20% organic growth in Enterprise.
• The sharp decline in sales in North America was partly offset by solid sales development in India. In Networks, Ericsson saw strong execution with record build-out speed in India, which now has a leading market share. 

Wall Street Journal

Republican Presidential Candidate Vivek Ramaswamy Founded Roivant In Discussions With Roche For $7B Stomach Disease(s) Drug Deal

• Roivant Sciences Ltd ROIV, a biotech company founded by Vivek Ramaswamy, a Republican presidential candidate, is reportedly in discussions with Roche Holdings AG RHHBY regarding the potential sale of an experimental drug for a debilitating stomach disease. 
• The drug at the center of the talks is RVT-3101 for ulcerative colitis and Crohn's disease.
• The deal, which may exceed $7 billion in value, could be announced in the near future. However, the negotiations are still ongoing, and there is a possibility that the talks could collapse or another buyer could emerge.

New York Times 

Key Ingredient In Drink Guzzled By Musk, Trump Labeled Possible Cancer Hazard By WHO: What You Should Know

• The World Health Organization (WHO) announced that aspartame — a key ingredient in Diet Coke that Tesla CEO Elon Musk and former President Donald Trump are known to guzzle — could potentially cause cancer. The decision was keenly awaited since last month.
• The WHO declared that aspartame, a widely used artificial sweetener in diet drinks and low-sugar foods, might be a potential carcinogen.
• Despite this, another WHO committee held steady on assessing a safe level of aspartame consumption.

Bloomberg

Microsoft, Activision Mull UK Rights Divestiture To Appease Regulators

• Microsoft Corp MSFT and Activision Blizzard Inc ATVI stocks are trading higher Friday amid reports of the companies exploring giving up some control of their cloud-gaming business in the U.K. to appease regulators to complete their $69 billion merger by the July 18 deadline.
• The relinquishing of control could involve selling off the cloud-based market rights for games in the U.K. to a telecommunications, gaming, and internet-based computing company.

Reuters

Nissan Motor Mulls ~$725M Investment In Renault's Ampere Unit

• Nissan Motor Co., Ltd NSANF NSANY is reportedly planning an investment worth 100 billion yen ($725 million) in Renault SA's RNLSY new electric vehicle unit.
• The Japanese automaker on Thursday expressed its plans to revamp its partnership with Renault via the investment in the EV unit called Ampere.

Germany's Strict Healthcare System: Novo Nordisk Popular Weight Loss Drug's Four Week Course Available For €301.91

• Novo Nordisk A/S's NVO widely used weight-loss medication, Wegovy, will be priced at €301.91 ($338.35) for a four-week course of the highest dosage in Germany. 
• The drug will be launched in Europe's biggest pharmaceutical market by the end of this month.
• The company urged German doctors to restrict prescriptions to medically necessary cases and prioritize patients with a body mass index of 30 or more or those with a chronic condition and a BMI of at least 27.

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