Business
The Elon effect: Musk has bought a big chunk of Twitter

The Elon effect: Musk has bought a big chunk of Twitter

This week Elon Musk announced that he'd acquired a 9% stake in social media site Twitter, earning him not only a seat on the company's board, but also the title of the company's largest shareholder, with more than 4x the shares held by founder and ex-CEO Jack Dorsey.

The Elon effect

The news has sent shares in Twitter up more than 30%, with more than $13 billion worth of shares changing hands on Monday alone. That's more than double even the busiest days of trading from Twitter's 8-and-a-half years as a public company. It's way more than the $5bn that changed hands on Twitter's first day of trading after its IPO, it's more than was traded when Google was rumored to be looking at acquiring Twitter in 2016 and it's 4x what was traded when Donald Trump was banned from the platform last year.

A billionaire's playground

Musk's interest in Twitter is unlikely to be directly financial. With a net worth north of $200 billion, his stake in Twitter represents just over 1% of his wealth. But he uses the platform more than any other major public figure, promoting Tesla, SpaceX and - increasingly - his views on free speech and politics in between memes and jokes.

At its most serious, Elon's involvement might mean a substantive change in Twitter's moderation or free-speech policies... or he might have literally just spent ~$3bn to get an edit button.

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Delta to increase bag fees by $10 on domestic flights this week, following JetBlue and United, as jet fuel surges

As the price of jet fuel surges amid the war in Iran, Delta Air Lines on Tuesday announced that it will hike its checked bag fees by $10 beginning this week.

Checking one bag on a domestic Delta flight will now cost $45, up from $35. A second bag will cost $55, up from $45, and a third will cost $200, up from $150. In a statement to Sherwood News, Delta issued the following announcement:

“For tickets purchased on or after April 8, Delta will increase fees for first and second checked bags by $10 and for a third checked bag by $50 on domestic and select short-haul international routes. These updates are part of Delta’s ongoing review of pricing across its business and reflect the impact of evolving global conditions and industry dynamics. Delta SkyMiles Medallion Members; customers traveling in First Class, Delta Premium Select and Delta One; active-duty military customers; and those with eligible co-branded Delta SkyMiles American Express Cards will continue to receive their allotment of complimentary checked bags.”

The move follows similar hikes by JetBlue and United Airlines last week. More are likely to come: when one major airline adjusts its fees, others tend to follow quickly behind. Delta last raised its bag fees in 2024, along with other major airlines.

Jet fuel prices were $4.69 a gallon on Monday, per the Argus US Jet Fuel Index. That’s up from the low $2 range for much of January.

business

Paramount reportedly receives $24 billion from Gulf funds to back its Warner Bros. takeover

Three Middle East sovereign wealth funds have agreed to back Paramount’s takeover of Warner Bros. Discovery to the tune of roughly $24 billion, according to Wall Street Journal reporting.

The company’s triumph over Netflix in the bidding war came thanks in part to financial backing from Oracle cofounder Larry Ellison, billionaire father of Paramount CEO David Ellison.

Saudi Arabia’s PIF, which last year led the $55 billion deal to take Electronic Arts private, will provide about $10 billion in the deal. The Qatar Investment Authority and Abu Dhabi’s L’imad Holding Co. is also involved.

According to the WSJ, the funds will not receive voting rights in the combined Paramount-Warner company. Those working on the deal don’t expect the Gulf funds’ involvement to spark any additional regulatory reviews.

The company’s triumph over Netflix in the bidding war came thanks in part to financial backing from Oracle cofounder Larry Ellison, billionaire father of Paramount CEO David Ellison.

Saudi Arabia’s PIF, which last year led the $55 billion deal to take Electronic Arts private, will provide about $10 billion in the deal. The Qatar Investment Authority and Abu Dhabi’s L’imad Holding Co. is also involved.

According to the WSJ, the funds will not receive voting rights in the combined Paramount-Warner company. Those working on the deal don’t expect the Gulf funds’ involvement to spark any additional regulatory reviews.

The entrance of Allbirds seen from Hayes St. in San Francisco, Calif.

Allbirds, the once buzzy multibillion-dollar sneaker startup, is selling up for $39 million

That’s less than 1% of its peak market cap about four years ago.

Tom Jones3/31/26

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