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On April 4, the Yangtze River Delta Railway ushered in the peak of passenger flow during the Qingming Festival. It is expected to send 4.1 million passengers today, 365,000 more than the same period last year, an increase of about 9.8%, and is expected to set a new record for single-day passenger volume. This years Qingming Festival railway transportation will start from April 3 to 7. The Yangtze River Delta Railway is expected to send 17.6 million passengers in 5 days, with an average daily passenger flow of 3.52 million, a year-on-year increase of 6.8%.The yield on the two-year U.S. Treasury note fell to a six-month low of 3.6550% and was last at 3.6611%.On April 4, local time on April 3, U.S. Secretary of Health and Human Services Robert Kennedy Jr. said that about 20% of the layoffs in the Department of Government Efficiency were wrong and needed to be corrected. The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services laid off about 10,000 people on the 1st. Kennedy said that people who should not have been laid off were laid off, and the department is restoring their positions. Kennedy said that canceling the entire lead poisoning prevention and monitoring department of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention was one of the mistakes. At present, it is unclear what other projects Kennedy may plan to restore.Bank of Japan Governor Kazuo Ueda: Will consider the impact of food costs on consumers.On April 4, local time on the 3rd, the automobile company Stellantis said that due to the impact of the US import automobile tariff policy, the company decided to lay off 900 employees in its five US factories and suspend production operations at two assembly plants in Canada and Mexico. Antonio Filosa, Chief Operating Officer of Stellantis Americas, said that the US factories that were laid off were powertrain and stamping parts factories, which produced spare parts for two assembly plants in Canada and Mexico. According to the plan, the assembly plant in Canada will stop production for two weeks, and the assembly plant in Toluca, Mexico will suspend production throughout April. Filosa said the company is "continuing to evaluate the medium- and long-term impact of tariffs on operations."

BTS Agency HYBE Aims to Acquire K-pop Competitor SM Entertainment

Charlie Brooks

Feb 10, 2023 11:10

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South Korean entertainment business HYBE announced on Friday that it will acquire $335 million worth of shares in rival SM Entertainment in order to bolster its dominance in the K-pop sector.


The transaction will make HYBE the top shareholder of SM Entertainment, as it acquires a 14.8% stake in its rival from the previous largest shareholder and SM founder, Lee Soo-man, for an 18.4% stake, the company stated in a statement.


"HYBE agrees completely with former Chief Producer Lee's strategic ideas, such as metaverse, a multi-label system, and the sustainable vision campaign," stated HYBE Chairman Bang Si-Hyuk.


The agency HYBE oversees the K-pop supergroup BTS. NCT and Aespa are two further popular K-pop bands that call SM their home.


Friday, HYBE also made an offer for SM shares owned by minority owners, attempting to acquire up to 25 percent of the rival agency in order to acquire managerial powers.


SM, JYP, and YG Entertainment dominated the South Korean pop music industry for many years, until the international success of K-pop boy band BTS made HYBE larger than the other three.


But over the next couple of years, all seven BTS members are slated to complete their military service, beginning with Jin, the group's oldest member, who enlisted in December. The septet will not return in its entirety until 2025.


Kim Do Heon, a music critic, believes that SM Entertainment's large portfolio may prove economically advantageous for HYBE now that the group is on hiatus.


"HYBE grew into a giant, but its flaw was that it lacked a legacy. SM is a corporation that has existed throughout the history of K-pop and will bring its legacy to HYBE "Kim stated.


As of 11:05 a.m., HYBE and SM Entertainment shares were up 6% and 16%, respectively (0205 GMT).


This Monday, the South Korean tech company Kakao Corp announced that it would purchase a 9.05 percent share in SM Entertainment in order to develop cooperative ventures, such as global K-pop auditions.