NYC ad agency titans Omnicom and Interpublic to form $30 billion marketing powerhouse Omnicom is buying Interpublic Group in a stock-for-stock deal that will create an advertising powerhouse with combined annual revenue of almost $26 billion. The companies have had a hand in iconic marketing campaigns like “Got Milk” for the California Milk Processor Board, “Priceless” for Mastercard, “Because I’m Worth It” for L’Oreal and “Think Different” for Apple. The combined company will be worth more than $30 billion. Shares of Interpublic jumped more than 15% before the opening bell Monday, while Omnicom’s stock fell more than 2%. How should the opioid settlements be spent? Those hit hardest often don’t have a say People with substance use disorder are not getting a direct say on how most opioid settlement money is used. Some advocates say keeping them out of the process is a major reason money is going to law enforcement efforts instead of other programs more likely to prevent overdose deaths. Companies have agreed to pay more about $50 billion over time to resolve lawsuits filed by governments. Most of the money is required to be used to fight the crisis. Figuring out exactly to do with it is up to state and local governments that have used a variety of structures to make those decisions. The Onion's bid to buy Infowars goes before judge as Alex Jones tries stopping sale The Onion's bid to buy conspiracy theorist Alex Jones' Infowars is scheduled to return to a Texas courtroom. A federal judge in Houston is set to hold a hearing Monday on whether a bankruptcy auction was run properly as Jones alleges collusion and fraud. The Onion satirical news outlet was named the winning bidder last month over a company affiliated with Jones. The auction was held to help pay nearly $1.5 billion in defamation judgments that Jones was ordered to pay families of victims of the 2012 Sandy Hook Elementary School shooting. The families won lawsuits against Jones for calling the shooting a hoax. It's his job to keep American's planes running on time FORT WORTH, Texas (AP) — It's the job of American Airlines' chief operating officer to make sure the carrier's flights take off on time and fly safely during one of the busiest travel periods of the year. David Seymour oversees flight and airport operations for American, which expects to make about 6,500 flights a day between now and New Year’s Day. A West Point graduate and former U.S. Army infantry officer, Seymour has held a variety of operations-related jobs and was promoted to his current post in 2020. He spoke with The Associated Press recently about managing huge passenger numbers during the holidays and preventing people from getting on a plane before their boarding group is called. Stock market today: Nvidia drags Wall Street from its records as oil and gold rise NEW YORK (AP) — A slide for market superstar Nvidia helped pull U.S. stock indexes down from their records. The S&P 500 fell 0.6% Monday, coming off its 57th all-time high of the year so far. The Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 0.5%, and the Nasdaq composite dropped 0.6% from its own record. Nvidia was the market's heaviest weight after China said it's probing the chip giant for potential antitrust violations. Stocks in Hong Kong jumped after top Chinese leaders agreed on a “moderately loose” monetary policy. Prices for oil and gold rose following the ouster of Syrian leader Bashar Assad. Taylor Swift’s Eras Tour ends by shattering own record, grossing an estimated $2.2B, Pollstar says NEW YORK (AP) — Taylor Swift’s Eras Tour brought in approximately $2.2 billion in its nearly two-year run, making it the highest-grossing tour of all time for a second year in a row. That's according to Pollstar estimates from data collected across 149 shows and provided to The Associated Press on Monday. Last year, Swift’s landmark Eras Tour became the first to cross the billion-dollar mark. In North America, Swift’s tour earned an estimated $1.04 billion. Globally, that number jumps to an estimated $2.2 billion. Pollstar data is pulled from box office reports, venue capacity estimates, historical Pollstar venue ticket sales data, and other undefined research, collected from November 2022 to December 2024. Cyprus and the US double down on a joint effort to combat financial crimes with more training NICOSIA, Cyprus (AP) — Cyprus and the U.S. say they’re doubling down on a joint effort to crack down on illicit finance with additional training of Cypriot law enforcement authorities to identify, investigate and prosecute financial crimes. According to a joint statement issued Monday, an “ambitious” plan for next year will involve 21 weeks of training for different Cypriot law enforcement agencies on financial investigative and forensic accounting techniques, as well as the use of technology in investigations. The plan adds to a U.S. initiative launched 20 months ago following a pledge by Cypriot President Nikos Christodoulides to clean up the island nation’s sullied reputation as a money laundering and sanctions evasion hub. Mexican soldiers will get a pay raise after elimination of oversight agencies, president says MEXICO CITY (AP) — Mexico's president says much of the money gained by eliminating independent oversight and regulatory agencies will go to the army to fund a rise in soldiers’ pay. The announcement by President Claudia Sheinbaum on Monday is the latest in a a series of strange funding sources to pay for the country's increasingly influential military. Mexico's Congress last week approved charging every cruise ship passenger a $42 immigration fee with much of that money also going to the armed forces. The military has been given powers to build and run everything from railways, airports and airlines in Mexico. And some of those projects appear to be losing money. Nvidia's stock dips after China opens probe of the AI chip company for violating anti-monopoly laws Shares of Nvidia have slipped after China said it is investigating the high-flying U.S. microchip company over suspected violations of Chinese anti-monopoly laws. In a brief press release with few details, Chinese regulators appear to be looking into Nvidia’s $6.9 billion 2019 acquisition of network and data transmission company Mellanox. Nvidia shares dipped 2.7% in early trading Monday, falling below $139 each. Considered a bellwether for artificial intelligence demand, Nvidia has led the AI sector to become one of the stock market’s biggest companies, as tech giants spend heavily on the company’s chips and data centers needed to train and operate their AI systems. Meta shareholders seek sanctions for Sandberg, Zients for deleting Cambridge Analytica emails WILMINGTON, Del. (AP) — Attorneys for Meta shareholders are asking a Delaware judge to sanction former Chief Operating Officer Sheryl Sandberg and fellow Facebook board member and current White House chief of staff Jeff Zients for deleting emails related to the Cambridge Analytica privacy scandal. The plaintiffs say Sandberg and Zients used personal email accounts to communicate about key issues relating to their 2018 shareholder lawsuit alleging that Facebook official failed for years to protect the privacy of user data. The plaintiffs say the former board members were either “reckless or intentional” in destroying documents, even after being told to preserve records for litigation purposes. A defense attorney argued Monday that there was no intent or “grand scheme” to destroy relevant documents.