Deal Them In: The Bloomberg Close, Americas Edition

Good afternoon. Here’s what you need to know to end your day.

• Microsoft wins US court’s blessing for $69 billion Activision deal.
• Miami Beach wants to put a “stake in the heart of spring break.”
• What do you get when you cross Barbie with a nuclear scientist?

Big win for Microsoft: The tech giant received US court approval of its $69 billion Activision deal.

• The UK swiftly agreed to reconsider blocking the deal less than an hour after a US judge gave it the green light.
• Odds of success doubled to about 80%. Activision surged 10%, the most since the plan was hatched in January 2022.
• VMware is poised for good news as well, rising 5.2% on signs the EU may approve Broadcom’s $61 billion acquisition as soon as Wednesday.
• PGA-LIV documents, meanwhile, raised antitrust flags in the US Senate about how that deal came together.

What Else Is Happening

Record high global temperatures driven by climate change and El Nino will extend into the European and North American harvest seasons, scientists predict. A mild winter may suppress gas prices as heating demand drops. A heat wave from California to the Gulf of Mexico is set to pose health risks and strain power grids.

In other news:

• Amazon’s Prime Day will probably bring in $12.9 billion, up about 11% from last year.
• The S&P 500 rose beyond 4,400 before Wednesday’s CPI report that’s expected to show a slowdown in inflation
• The BOC will probably lift rates by 25 bps on Wednesday, taking Canada’s benchmark to a 22-year high.

Motherhood shouldn’t stifle women’s pay, Sarah Green Carmichael writes. Firms should lengthen paid maternity leave and offer equal time off for new dads to put men and women on a level footing at work. That could lay the groundwork for more-equal parenting later.

Going high-brow. Miami Beach is hoping more art and culture can help wash out its reputation for rowdy spring break crowds. The city is selling $97.6 million of debt, backed by property taxes, for improvements to theaters, arts venues and museums. “I want to put a stake in the heart of spring break,” Mayor Dan Gelber said.

Maybe ask the neighbor for a loan. In the much bigger city of Miami, Mayor Francis Suarez is paid $126,000, which he converts into crypto. Despite last year’s market rout, his net worth more than doubled to $3.5 million. He’s also acquired new real estate properties and a $235,000 boat. But as his side gigs multiply, so does criticism for possible conflicts of interest related to outside jobs.

By the Way

Beauty and the Bomb. In the meme phenomenon known as Barbenheimer, fans worldwide are planning to see two of the most-anticipated movies of the summer on the same day: Oppenheimer. Movie chains report increased demand for the double feature ahead of their July 21 releases, so all that’s left to decide is which to watch first—the one about the bomb, or the one about the bombshell.