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By WYATTE GRANTHAM-PHILIPS, AP Business Writer

NEW YORK (AP) — Skydance-owned Paramount is again extending the tender offer window in its $77.9 billion hostile takeover bid for Warner Bros. Discovery, while doubling down on a coming proxy fight.

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  4 in 5 small businesses had cyberattacks last year and almost half of those were AI powered

Warner stockholders now have until Feb. 20 to sell their shares to Paramount for $30 apiece in cash — a price that remains unchanged, giving the offer a total enterprise value of over $108 billion including debt. It marks the second extension the company has made since challenging Warner’s merger agreement with Netflix last month. read more

By ALEX VEIGA, AP Business Writer

The average long-term U.S. mortgage rate ticked higher this week, but remains near its lowest level in more than three years.

Related Articles

• 
  Inflation fears are high. A new poll shows one group is particularly worried

• 
  Proposal to require state oversight of insurance affiliate payments clears first hurdle in Legislature

• 
  Prices ticked up in November as Americans keep spending a key inflation measure shows

• 
  4 in 5 small businesses had cyberattacks last year and almost half of those were AI powered

• 
  US applications for jobless benefits inch up last week to a still-low 200,000

The benchmark 30-year fixed rate mortgage rate rose to 6.09% from 6.06% last week, mortgage buyer Freddie Mac said Thursday. One year ago, the rate averaged 6.96%.

Borrowing costs on 15-year fixed-rate mortgages, popular with homeowners refinancing their home loans, also rose this week. That average rate inched up to 5.44%, up from 5.38% last week. A year ago, it was at 6.16%, Freddie Mac said. read more

By TERRY TANG and LINLEY SANDERS, Associated Press

WASHINGTON (AP) — Anxiety about costs and affordability is particularly high among Asian Americans, Pacific Islanders and Native Hawaiians, even at a moment when economic stress is widespread, according to a new poll.

Related Articles

• 
  Average US long-term mortgage rate edges higher, but still near lowest point in more than 3 years

• 
  Proposal to require state oversight of insurance affiliate payments clears first hurdle in Legislature

• 
  Prices ticked up in November as Americans keep spending a key inflation measure shows

• 
  4 in 5 small businesses had cyberattacks last year and almost half of those were AI powered

• 
  US applications for jobless benefits inch up last week to a still-low 200,000

About half of Asian American and Pacific Islander adults said they wanted the government to prioritize addressing the high cost of living and inflation, according to the survey from AAPI Data and The Associated Press-NORC Center for Public Affairs Research, which was conducted in early December. In comparison, a December AP-NORC poll found that about one-third of U.S. adults overall rated inflation and financial worries as the most pressing problems. read more

Property insurance companies would face increased scrutiny by state regulators over payments they make to parent and affiliate companies — which critics say can be used to cloud profits and justify rate increases — under a bill unanimously supported by a House insurance committee.

Supporters say the measure, if enacted by the full Legislature, will save policyholders money by preventing insurers from paying excessive fees.

The bill, sponsored by Pinellas County Republican Kimberly Berfield, addresses findings and recommendations in a study that surfaced last year and was later investigated by the House Insurance and Banking Subcommittee.

The study, by Risk & Regulatory Consulting LLC, covered three years — 2017 to 2019 — after hurricanes Irma and Michael, when many insurers sought rate increases by claiming they lost money on claims and litigation.

It found that during that period, 19 insurers based in Florida or surrounding regions funneled billions of dollars in fees to holding companies and other affiliates that were not “fair and reasonable,” as defined by various industry rules. The insurers were not identified in the study. read more

By CHRISTOPHER RUGABER, AP Economics Writer

WASHINGTON (AP) — The Federal Reserve’s preferred inflation gauge ticked up in November in the latest sign that prices remain stubbornly elevated, while consumers spent at a healthy pace.

Related Articles

• 
  Average US long-term mortgage rate edges higher, but still near lowest point in more than 3 years

• 
  Inflation fears are high. A new poll shows one group is particularly worried

• 
  Proposal to require state oversight of insurance affiliate payments clears first hurdle in Legislature

• 
  4 in 5 small businesses had cyberattacks last year and almost half of those were AI powered

• 
  US applications for jobless benefits inch up last week to a still-low 200,000

Consumer prices rose 2.8% in November from a year earlier, the Commerce Department said Thursday, up from a 2.7% annual pace in October. Excluding the volatile food and energy categories, core prices also increased 2.8% in November from a year ago, slightly higher than October’s 2.7%. read more