CPI Movements, Acquisition Updates, and Company Separations
- Minimal Movement – The May 2025 Consumer Price Index grew by 0.1%, bringing the 12-month increase to 2.4%. The indexes for shelter and food both increased by 0.3%, while the energy index decreased by 1.0% (source: U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics).
- Parting Ways – Warner Bros Discovery bondholders have approved a plan to split the corporation into two publicly traded companies, separating its HBO Max streaming service from its cable networks (source: Reuters).
- Buying Banks – Commerce Bancshares will acquire FineMark Holdings in an all-stock deal valued at $585 million. This comes after $1.61 billion in bank mergers and acquisitions in Q1 2025, the highest first quarter since 2021 (source: Yahoo Finance).
- Slight Surge – The Producer Price Index for final demand rose by 0.1% in May 2025, bringing the 12-month increase to 2.6% (source: U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics).
- Steel Deal – Nippon Steel’s $14.9 billion bid to buy U.S. Steel was approved by President Trump on June 13, 2025. The executive order gave the companies permission to proceed if they sign an agreement with the Treasury Department to solve national security concerns (source: Reuters).
- Under Review – The U.S. Justice Department antitrust enforcers are reviewing Google’s planned acquisition of Wiz, a cybersecurity company, to determine if the deal will illegally limit marketplace competition. The $32 billion deal would be Alphabet’s largest acquisition (source: Reuters).
- Unimportant Inflation – Of the 500 companies on the S&P 500, 228 cited the term “inflation” during their first quarter 2025 earnings calls. This number is below the five-year average of 254 companies citing “inflation” and marks the fifth straight quarter that less than 250 S&P 500 companies have used the term “inflation” (source: Factset Insight).
- Talkin’ Trump – The Trump Organization will enter the mobile phone market, offering a $499 smartphone that is expected to launch later in 2025. The new smartphone will come with service through Trump Mobile for $47.75 with unlimited talk, text, and data (source: CNBC).
- Adding Up – Studies show that 53% of U.S. adults hear or read about Ozempic extremely or very often, with another 27% hearing about it sometimes. This comes after Ozempic ad spending was $21.7 million during the 2025 March Madness tournament alone (source: Pew Research Center).
- Banking Birdies – J.J. Spaun won his first major at the 2025 U.S. Open at Oakmont after putting for a birdie from 64 feet (source: Yahoo Sports).
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