News (NWSA) Stock News

News Corp (NWS) has announced that its Chief Executive Robert Thomson will be participating in the Morgan Stanley Technology, Media & Telecom Conference on March 3, 2025. The session is scheduled to begin at 6:20 PM EST (3:20 PM PST).

Investors and interested parties can access the live webcast through the News Corp investor relations website at investors.newscorp.com/calendar-events. A replay of the webcast will be made available at the same location following the conference for those unable to attend the live session.

FiscalNote Holdings (NYSE: NOTE) has announced a definitive agreement to sell Oxford Analytica and Dragonfly to Dow Jones for $40 million. The transaction, expected to close in Q1 2025, will help reduce FiscalNote's senior term loan and strengthen its balance sheet, resulting in a cumulative debt paydown of over 60% in the past year.

The divestiture of these UK-based portfolio companies from FiscalNote's Global Intelligence business aligns with the company's strategy to focus on its core Policy platform serving 4,000+ global policy customers. The sale aims to streamline operations, expand Adjusted EBITDA margins, and accelerate the path to positive free cash flow.

Oxford Analytica, acquired in February 2021, provides geopolitical analysis and advisory services, while Dragonfly, acquired in January 2023, offers global security intelligence services. Both businesses have operated independently of FiscalNote's core products.

Dow Jones has announced the acquisition of Dragonfly Intelligence and Oxford Analytica from FiscalNote Holdings for $40 million. The deal, expected to close in Q1 2025, includes a $4 million tax benefit for News Corp. Both companies will operate under Dow Jones Risk & Compliance, enhancing its geopolitical risk and security intelligence offerings.

Dragonfly, with offices in London and Singapore, provides real-time security intelligence to multinational companies and public sector entities. Oxford Analytica, founded in 1975, delivers macroeconomic and geopolitical risk analysis through its global expert network.

This acquisition follows Dow Jones Risk & Compliance's strong performance, with revenue growing 16% year-over-year to nearly $300 million in fiscal 2024. The company recently acquired WorldECR and expanded its stake in Ripjar, demonstrating its commitment to strengthening its risk and compliance services.

Realtor.com's January Rent Report reveals that renting remains more affordable than buying in 48 of the 50 largest U.S. metros, with only Detroit and Pittsburgh as exceptions. The average U.S. median asking rent reached $1,703, showing a slight 0.2% year-over-year decline.

Despite falling rents, current rates still exceed January 2020 levels by $257 (16.1%). Pittsburgh ($229,700) and Detroit ($239,950) maintain the lowest median listing prices among top 50 metros. Three metros - New York, San Jose, and Detroit - show increasing income shares for both renting and buying, while Kansas City is becoming more buyer-favoring. Notably, 18 metros have become more rent-favoring, with higher income shares needed for buying compared to last year.

Texas leads the nation in new house construction, issuing 15% of U.S. building permits in 2024 despite having only 9% of the population, according to a new Realtor.com® report. The state attracts residents primarily due to affordable housing, favorable climate, and job opportunities, with more than 1 in 4 home shoppers coming from out of state, particularly from California and international locations.

The median listing price in Texas was $360,000 in December 2024, approximately $40,000 below the national median. The state has focused on building smaller, more affordable homes, with the median new construction size decreasing 5.3% to 2,073 square feet since 2020. Nearly half (47.5%) of Texas's for-sale inventory was priced at $350,000 or below, compared to 40.1% nationally.

Among major Texas metros, San Antonio leads in affordable housing availability, followed by Houston, Dallas, and Austin. Despite improvements in inventory levels reaching pre-pandemic numbers, affordability remains a challenge, with only 17% of for-sale inventory being affordable to the 51% of Texans who earn less than $75,000 annually.

Realtor.com®, a News Corp subsidiary, announced the relocation of its corporate headquarters from Santa Clara, California to Austin, Texas. The company has designated Austin as its primary hiring location, committing to long-term growth in Texas through talent development and office expansion.

The decision aligns with Texas's robust real estate market growth. According to a new Realtor.com® report, Texas is the fastest-growing state, projected to surpass California as the most populous state by 2045. The report highlights Texas's leadership in housing development, accounting for 15% of U.S. permitted housing units in 2024, exceeding its 9% population share.

The move is attributed to Texas's strong talent pool, growing economy, housing affordability, tech community, and business-friendly environment, including no corporate or personal income taxes. The company has already established a presence in Austin through hiring initiatives, community engagement, and an internship program.

News (NWS) reported strong financial results for Q2 FY2025, with revenues increasing 5% to $2.24 billion compared to $2.14 billion in the prior year. Net income from continuing operations surged 58% to $306 million, while Total Segment EBITDA rose 20% to $478 million.

Key highlights include record revenues at REA Group ($343 million, up 17%) and Dow Jones ($600 million), with the latter driven by improved circulation and professional information business revenues. Book Publishing revenues grew 8%, while Segment EBITDA increased 19%. The company announced the sale of Foxtel to DAZN for an A$3.4 billion enterprise value.

Digital performance remained strong, with Dow Jones digital revenues representing 81% of total revenues. The Wall Street Journal's digital-only subscriptions grew 7% to nearly 3.8 million. The company declared a semi-annual cash dividend of $0.10 per share.

New York-based medical aesthetic clinic IT Intelligent Treatment unveiled SomaCell™, a groundbreaking innovation in non-surgical facelifts, at a launch event ahead of NY Fashion Week. The event, hosted by Page Six's Elana Fishman, showcased SomaCell™ to media and influencers. This novel treatment offers pain-free, non-surgical facial regeneration, restoring facial contours without causing dermal damage. According to Kim Laudati, Founder and President, SomaCell™ is effective for patients of all adult ages, genders, and ethnicities, providing excellent results without downtime. The event included a Q&A session led by Elana Fishman, discussing the technological advancements SomaCell™ brings to skincare. For further information, please contact James Lambert, Vice President at Rubenstein Public Relations.

January 2025 housing market shows increased seller activity with newly listed homes growing 37.5% month-over-month and 10.8% year-over-year. The median listing price decreased 2.2% to $400,500 compared to January 2024. Active listings increased 24.6% compared to last year, marking the 15th straight month of inventory growth.

Notable market trends include: Sacramento (+31.7%), Phoenix (+27.3%), and Seattle (+24.7%) saw the highest increases in new listings. Price reductions increased to 15.6% of listings, up from 14.7% last year, with Florida markets showing significant price cuts. The South and West regions led inventory growth at 31.0% and 27.2% respectively, while Denver (+54.8%), Las Vegas (+49.4%), and Tucson (+45.0%) experienced the highest inventory increases.