01 Dec M&A BOOM TO CONTINUE DESPITE OMICRON FALLOUT; DID DISNEY CENSOR ITS ‘SIMPSONS’ EPISODE IN HONG KONG?
Welcome to this week’s business and media intelligence update.
OUTLOOK 2022: M&A BOOM TO CONTINUE DESPITE OMICRON FALLOUT
Omicron may put the kybosh on some of your Christmas plans, but it is unlikely to dampen the M&A boom.
According to Corrs Chambers Westgarth, the fundamental drivers – low rates, the hunt for yield, and private capital looking for a profitable home – are likely to remain going into the new year.
Despite the COVID-19 pandemic, 2021 was a banner year for M&A in Australia, with more than 52 deals closing in the 12 months to September.
So where to next for the M&A lawyers? Well, according to The Australian, the retail sector is next, after infrastructure, healthcare, renewables and technology.
DID DISNEY CENSOR ITS ‘SIMPSONS’ EPISODE IN HONG KONG?
Meanwhile, in global censorship news, Disney’s new streaming service Disney+ is under fire for removing an episode of The Simpsons from its Hong Kong programming roster.
The episode depicts the cartoon family encountering a plaque in Beijing’s Tiananmen Square that states, “On this site, in 1989, nothing happened” – a reference to the Chinese Communist Party’s obsession with removing all references to the 1989 massacre of civilians in Tiananmen Square.
It’s the latest example of a global corporation censoring itself to operate in the Chinese market, and comes hot on the heels of the Women’s Tennis Association’s decision to suspend all its tournaments in China, over concerns about the safety of Chinese tennis star Peng Shuai.
WSJ: WHAT TO GET ALL THE QUITTERS IN YOUR LIFE
Heard about the Great Resignation? It’s a big trend in the United States and rapidly catching on here, too, from all reports.
So, Mark Byrne from the Wall Street Journal has put together the ultimate Christmas gift guide for “quitters”, which you can read here.
Mr. Bryne knows the perfect gift for those who went from “actor to TikTok star”, from “software engineer to tie-dye artist”, or from “day trader to NFT trader”.
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