Current Events in July 2018

American Honda Motor Co. is recalling 13 model year 2018 Honda Civics.

The manufacturing date area of the certification labels may have random characters which can affect the owners' ability to determine if a safety recall includes their vehicle.

If an owner is not able to verify if his vehicle is involved in a safety recall, it can increase the risk of injury or crash.

What to do

Honda will notify owners, and dealers will replace the certification label, free of charge.

The recall is expected to begin August 9, 2018.

Owners may contact Honda customer service at 1-888-234-2138. Honda's number for this recall is U23.

H-E-B is recalling two variety packs of Creamy Creations ice cream and sherbets in 3-oz., cups.

Broken metal was found in processing equipment during routine maintenance.

There have been no injuries reported to date due to this incident.

The following products, distributed to H-E-B stores in Texas, are being recalled:

The product code dates can be found on the back of the packaging.

What to do

Customers who purchased the recalled items should stop eating them and return them to the store where purchased for a full refund.

Consumers with questions or concerns may contact H-E-B customer service at (855) 432-4438 Monday through Friday from 8 a.m. – 6 p.m. (CST).

More Wells Fargo customers may be in line for refunds.

The bank, which was hit with huge fines in 2016 after it opened checking and credit card accounts for customers without their knowledge, has spent the last three years auditing the bank's marketing of add-on services.

The investigation has centered around credit monitoring and identity theft protection services some customers said they paid for but never received.

The Wall Street Journal, citing sources familiar with the issue, reports many customers who paid for pet insurance and other add-on services will receive tens of millions of dollars in refunds.

The matter is reportedly under investigation by the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB), which is trying to determine whether customers were deceived or knew how to cancel the products, for which they paid a monthly fee.

Under review

Wells Fargo told The Journal it is still “reviewing add-on products sold to consumers by the bank or its service providers and if issues are found during this review, we will make things right with customers in the form of refunds or remediation.”

A bank spokeswoman told the newspaper the bank is cooperating with regulators in an ongoing review.

This is just the latest challenge for Wells Fargo, which in 2016 was slapped with a $185 million fine from federal and state regulators for the unauthorized checking and credit card accounts, opened for 3.5 million unsuspecting customers.

The following year it was revealed that some Wells Fargo customers unknowingly purchased auto insurance they didn't need. The bank said the additional costs may have led to 20,000 defaults and car repossessions.

Financial advisors under scrutiny

Earlier this year, a whistleblower charged that the bank's financial advisor unit often made decisions with an eye toward compensation rather than what was best for the client.

Last month, Wells Fargo agreed to a settlement with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), resolving charges that its advisers unit engaged in misconduct in the sale of financial products, known as market-linked investments (MLI), to small investors.

According to the SEC, the bank was able to charge huge fees by encouraging its retail customers to actively trade the products, even though they are designed to be held until they mature.

The SEC found that from 2009 to 2013, Wells Fargo Advisors improperly encouraged investors to sell MLIs before maturity, then invest the money in new MLIs. The bank assessed substantial fees on each transaction.

In an unanimous vote likely to quash the deal, the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) has voted against approval of Sinclair Broadcast Group’s purchase of Tribune Media Company.

In a nutshell, the FCC thought Sinclair’s plan was fraught with too many ifs, ands, or buts. FCC Chairman Ajit Pai’s disapproval of the merger is centered around the structure of the acquisition. Pai says Sinclair's plans for divested stations would violate the law and recommended a “hearing designation order” (HDO) which would require Sinclair to appear before an administrative law judge and explain its offenses, a move that could kill the deal completely.

"When the FCC confronts disputed issues like these, the Communications Act does not allow it to approve a transaction,” Pai said. “Instead, the law requires the FCC to designate the transaction for a hearing in order to get to the bottom of those disputed issues.”

The proposed merger between Sinclair and Tribune Media was quite a can of worms. In essence, all of Tribune's 42 TV stations would move to Sinclair, raising Sinclair’s total ownership to 215 stations. In their application to the FCC, the combined companies said the new arrangement would reach 72 percent of U.S. television households and would own and operate the largest number of broadcast television stations of any station group.

Too much influence?

Naysayers had been lining up in opposition to the merger. The ACLU, American Cable Association, National Hispanic Media Coalition, Free Press, Newsmax Media, and the Communications Workers of America all submitted thunderous objections.

“Our opposition to the Sinclair merger has nothing to do with where Sinclair sits on the ideological spectrum,” the ACLU wrote in a press release. “The problem is that Sinclair’s attempt to acquire Tribune Media would give it control over some 200 TV stations, virtually guaranteeing less viewpoint diversity in local news.”

The public wasn’t shy about its issues with the deal, either.

At a public protest outside Sinclair’s Hunt Valley MD headquarters where it was holding its annual meeting, Max Obuszewski of Baltimore held a sign that read “enough is enough.”

“I’m against the merger of bringing so many stations together, and I’d be opposed even if it was a more progressive diet of news,” Obuszewski told The Baltimore Sun. “Nobody should have so much concentration of the media. … And you have political messages disguised as news. I’m very offended by that.”

The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has announced it is considering a change in its policy that would allow imports of certain prescription drugs in an effort to lower prices for consumers.

FDA Commissioner Scott Gottlieb said the agency has formed a working group to look at options. He notes that when there is a shortage of drugs, it presents a public health hazard for patients.

By the same token, when there is a single source for medication, high prices can also make it unavailable for many patients who can't afford it. In some instances, Gottlieb says prices of old generic drugs have surged because it is available from just one company.

"We want to examine whether—under these narrow conditions—the additional market competition from the short-term importation of foreign versions of the drug may complement the FDA’s current efforts, and help meet near-term patient need in the U.S. until new competition is able to enter the domestic market," Gottlieb said in a statement.

Considerations

The working group will consider, among other things, how the FDA and the Department of Health and Human Services will evaluate the public health need for access to foreign-approved drugs in certain situations.

It will also consider how the FDA will protect patient safety through a secure drug supply chain and pursue enforcement against unsafe and illegal drug products.

Currently, it is illegal to purchase drugs from overseas, where many medications are available at much lower prices than in the U.S. Gottlieb says any change in policy to allow drug imports would be temporary until adequate competition levels out prices in the U.S.

Drug companies respond

The same day Gottlieb raised the possibility of importing lower priced drugs to the U.S., pharmaceutical giant Merck announced that it would limit price increases for several treatments.

The company said it is lowering the price of ZEPATIER by 60 percent, and several other medicines by 10 percent to reduce out-of-pocket costs for patients. It said it selected the products for price reductions based on a range of factors, including the gap between list price and actual discounted prices paid in the market.

"Going forward, we will continue to evaluate our portfolio of products to look for opportunities to further reduce costs for patients and the health care system," the company said in a press release.

Earlier this week, both Pfizer and Novartis announced they would freeze prices, after coming under a Twitter barrage from President Trump. Novartis CEO Vas Narasimhan told Bloomberg News the company thought freezing prices for the rest of 2018 "was the prudent thing to do."

McDonald's salads are now blamed for making 163 people sick in 10 states. Three people have reportedly been hospitalized.

The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) identified the cause of the illnesses as the Cyclospora parasite, a foodborne contamination associated with fecal matter.

A week ago, the FDA reported there were 61 illnesses in seven states, most of them in Illinois. Since then, the number of cases has nearly doubled.

Last week, the fast food chain pulled salads at 3,000 restaurants in 14 states in a precautionary move. The company is in the process of switching to a different lettuce-mix supplier.

"We have removed lettuce blend provided by Fresh Express’ Streamwood, Illinois, facility," a McDonald's spokesperson said in a statement to the media. "Many restaurants already have a new lettuce blend supply, while we expect all identified restaurants will have new supply in the next few days."

Could get worse

The FDA says it's possible the issue will get worse before it gets better. That's because people who were contaminated after June 7 may not have reported it yet, due to the lag time between illness and reporting. Many Cyclospora infections take weeks to be identified.

According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), Cyclospora infects the small intestine and usually causes watery diarrhea, with frequent, sometimes explosive, bowel movements.

Other symptoms can include loss of appetite, weight loss, stomach cramps or pain, bloating, increased gas, nausea, and fatigue. Other symptoms are similar to influenza.

On Thursday, the White House launched its “Pledge to America’s Workers" job training initiative, which seeks to train and prepare workers for computer and data-based jobs.

Nearly two dozen companies and associations committed to the initiative, which was launched with the aim of spurring hiring by U.S. employers in a variety of trades and professions currently experiencing a labor shortage.

Companies that committed to expanding apprenticeships for potential workers included IBM, FedEx, Walmart, and Lockheed Martin.

"They will sign the pledge, committing to train and re-train more than 3.8 million American students and workers for new jobs and rewarding careers," Trump during the executive order signing event.

Filling vacancies

Trump noted that the nation’s unemployment rate fell to an all-time low of 4 percent last month, but said “people with training” were needed to fill vacancies in a range of industries and professions.

"We want every American to have the chance to earn a great living doing a great job that they love," Trump said at the White House. "When they wake up in the morning, they can't get to work fast enough."

White House adviser Ivanka Trump was also present at the signing ceremony. She said the initiative will equip workers with the training they need to fit new technology-based roles by expanding apprenticeships and increasing on-the-job training to help Americans at all stages of their careers.

"This will spur much-needed action to provide current and future American workers with the training and job opportunities they will need to succeed in our thriving economy and ensure they are able to achieve success not only today, but throughout their careers,” she said.

The White House said the pledge could lead to the creation of more than 500,000 new job opportunities.

"Today, we're lifting Americans off the sidelines, out of the margins, and back into the workforce," Trump said. "By signing the Pledge to America's Workers, these great companies... are affirming their commitment to train American workers for American jobs, because America's strength, America's heart, and America's soul is found in our people."

Motorists will get an unexpected break at the gas pump this weekend as gasoline prices have declined three cents a gallon in the last few days.

The AAA Fuel Gauge Survey puts the national average price of regular gas at $2.85 a gallon, down from $2.88 just five days ago. The national average price of premium is $3.40 a gallon and the price of diesel is $3.16.

Prices softened at midweek when the Energy Information Administration reported a jump in U.S. oil production to 11 million barrels a day, spurred in large part by the recent run-up in oil prices. However, the news of increased domestic production sent oil prices lower.

At the same time, U.S. oil stockpiles also rose. Patrick DeHaan, head of petroleum analysis at GasBuddy, says he expects the increase in supply to be a one-off event, without a lasting impact on prices.

"It appears that a high level of imports, combined with refineries processing slightly less crude oil last week, were main factors," DeHaan told ConsumerAffairs. "I think the imports number is a bit high and isn't likely to be high next week."

Until the last day or two, AAA had noted an increase in gasoline prices in just about every state. At the beginning of the week, some states were paying a dime a gallon more since July 4, including Delaware, Florida, and Michigan.

Today, drivers in Michigan are enjoying one of the biggest one-week drops in gas prices in the nation, with a statewide average of $2.93 a gallon, down from $3.03 a week earlier.

States with the most expensive gas

Here are the states with the most expensive average gas prices, according to AAA:

• Hawaii ($3.78)

• California ($3.63)

• Washington ($3.42)

• Alaska ($3.39)

• Oregon ($3.30)

• Nevada ($3.21)

• Idaho ($3.12)

• Utah ($3.11)

• Connecticut ($3.07)

• Pennsylvania ($3.04)

States with the cheapest gas

Here are the states that currently have the lowest average gas prices:

• Alabama ($2.55)

• Mississippi ($2.55)

• South Carolina ($2.55)

• Arkansas ($2.59)

• Louisiana ($2.59)

• Virginia ($2.61)

• Tennessee ($2.62)

• Oklahoma ($2.62)

• Texas ($2.62)

• Missouri ($2.63)

Last month, a federal judge in Washington dismissed a suit from the Justice Department that sought to block the merger between AT&T and Time Warner. The judge allowed the deal to proceed without conditions.

The deal was completed not long after, and it was in place for a month before the government said it would be appealing the deal.

Now, the Justice Department wants the proceedings to carry out as quickly as possible. The deadline for the briefs is October 18th, and the Justice Department is looking to have the arguments start not long after.

The government is now arguing that by owning Time Warner, AT&T would have “both the incentive and the ability to raise its rivals’ costs and stifle growth of innovative, next-generation entrants that offer attractive alternatives to AT&T/DirecTV’s legacy pay-TV model -- all to the detriment of American consumers.”

Despite Judge Richard Leon’s decisive ruling in June, the government believes he has ignored basic economic principles.

“The government’s case is based on well-accepted and non-controversial economic principles of bargaining, but the district court effectively discarded those principles and their logical implication that the merged firm will raise prices to its rivals,” the Justice Department wrote in the motion. “In so doing, the Court committed multiple errors.”

Opinions from both sides

When Judge Leon gave the green light to the AT&T/Time Warner merger, he said that the government did not prove its case with either its arguments or witness testimony. Judge Leon knew the government would have the opportunity to appeal the deal, but he urged his contemporaries to allow the companies to proceed with the merger.

While both President Trump and Democrat Bernie Sanders were opposed to the deal -- Sanders told the Justice Department that the deal “represents a gross concentration of power that runs counter to the public good” -- AT&T referred to the deal as “vertical integration.” This would mean AT&T and Time Warner are not competitors -- which is one of the Justice Department’s main arguments against the merger.

Lawyers for AT&T argued that the companies are not competitors, and that their services simply overlap, which was eventually the argument that prevailed. The court’s decision to appeal was surprising to AT&T’s General Counsel David McAtee.

“The Court’s decision could hardly have been more thorough, fact-based, and well-reasoned,” McAtee said. “While the losing party in litigation always has the right to appeal if it wishes, we are surprised that the DOJ has chosen to do so under these circumstances.”

Toyota Motor Engineering & Manufacturing is recalling 114,998 model year 2007-2011 Lexus GS350 & GS450h, model year 2006-2013 IS350, and model year 2010-2014  IS350C vehicles, equipped with 3.5L V6 2GR-FSE gasoline engines.

The diaphragms in the fuel pulsation dampers may harden over time and develop cracks, possibly causing a fuel leak.

A fuel leak in the presence of an ignition source can increase the risk of a fire.

What to do

Toyota will notify owners, and dealers will replace the fuel delivery pipe with a new pipe that has improved pulsation dampers, free of charge.

The recall is expected to begin August 9, 2018.

Owners may contact Lexus customer service at 1-800-255-3987. Toyota's number for this recall is JLF.

Win Opportunity Knocks, doing business as Ottomanelli Wholesale Meats of St. Petersburg, Fla., is recalling approximately 6,020 pounds of fresh and frozen, raw ground beef.

The products may be contaminated with Shiga toxin-producing E. coli (STEC) O45, O103 and O145.

The following fresh and frozen, raw ground beef products were produced from June 18, 2018, through July 11, 2018, are being recalled:

• 5-lb boxes of (20/4oz.) frozen, raw “Packers Plus Patties” with “Approved JUN 18 2018” through “Approved JUL 11 2018”
• 10-lb. boxes of (8-oz.) frozen, raw “Debren Foods Inc. BEEF PATTIES” with “Approved JUN 18 2018” through “Approved JUL 11 2018”
• 10-lb. boxes of (40/4-oz.) frozen, raw “Nu Vista Foods Group Inc. BEEF PATTIES” with “Approved JUN 18 2018” through “Approved JUL 11 2018”
• 10-lb. boxes of (40/4-oz, 30/5-oz, 28/6-oz) of frozen, raw “Ottomanelli Beef Patties” with “Approved JUN 18 2018” through “Approved JUL 11 2018”
• 10 lb. bulk bag of fresh raw “Beef Patty Mix Ottomanelli Wholesale Meats Inc.” with “Approved JUN 18 2018” through “Approved JUL 11 2018”

The recalled products, bearing establishment number “EST. 11167” inside the USDA mark of inspection, were distributed for institutional use in Florida.

What to do

Institutions that purchased the recalled products should not serve or sell them, but discard them or return them to the place of purchase.

Institutions with questions may contact Tommy Dietch at (727) 328-7020 or by email at Ottomanelliwholesale@gmail.com.

Hy-Vee of West Des Moines, Iowa, is recalling its Hy-Vee Spring Pasta Salad.

The product may be contaminated with Salmonella.

Approximately 20 illnesses in Minnesota, South Dakota, Nebraska and Iowa are potentially linked to customers consuming the salad.

The recall product includes Hy-Vee Spring Pasta Salads in both 1-pound (16-oz.) and 3-pound (48-oz.) containers produced between June 1, 2018, and July 13, 2018, and available from the deli service case.

The pasta salad, which comes in a plastic container with a plastic lid and an expiration date range between June 22, 2018, and Aug. 3, 2018, on the side of the container, was distributed to all Hy-Vee’s 244 grocery stores in Iowa, Illinois, Missouri, Kansas, Nebraska, South Dakota, Minnesota and Wisconsin.

What to do

Customers who purchased the recalled product should dispose of it or return it to their local Hy-Vee store for a full refund.

Consumers with questions may contact Hy-Vee customer care at (800) 772-4098 24 hours a day, seven days a week.

A lawsuit filed by 20 states could have a huge impact on the millions of consumers who still have health insurance under the Affordable Care Act (ACA), also known as Obamacare.

While Congress has been unsuccessful in its attempts to repeal the law, the Trump administration has taken steps to dismantle parts of it.

The tax cut passed by Congress in December removed the fine associated with the individual mandate, the requirement that everyone have health insurance. That led to the lawsuit, currently making its way through the courts.

The states claim that ACA is now unconstitutional, since the Supreme Court upheld the law only because it said the individual mandate penalty was a tax. Now that the penalty is not being imposed, the states say the individual mandate -- forcing consumers to purchase something the might or might not want -- is unconstitutional.

But the government estimates nearly 9 million consumers are covered by an ACA policy, even though the law has been weakened and insurance premiums have skyrocketed.

In many cases, policyholders can't get insurance through their employers or couldn't afford health insurance before ACA was passed.

Preexisting condition protection at stake

Many who could afford policies were denied coverage because they had preexisting conditions. Under ACA, insurance companies can't deny coverage because of a preexisting condition, but public health advocates now worry that protection is in the crosshairs.

The National Patient Advocate Foundation (NPAF) says the Trump Administration's support of the states' lawsuit is worrisome.

"The Administration's decision to oppose existing federal law imperils millions of patients nationwide," said the group's CEO, Alan Balch. "Not only does it bring back uncertainty to individuals' lives, it also destabilizes the entire marketplace, driving up costs for everyone."

Balch says if the states win in their court battle to overturn the ACA, consumers will return to the time when health insurance was unaffordable -- and for millions of people with a preexisting condition, such as diabetes or high blood pressure, unattainable.

Back to the past

"By allowing insurers to discriminate against people with preexisting conditions, the Administration will thrust millions of Americans back into that life," Balch said.

As the states' lawsuit awaits action by the courts, the Trump administration continues to whittle away at the law, which it has vowed to abolish. This month it all but eliminated advertising to encourage enrollment. It also cut funding for "navigators," people to help consumers select the right policy, by 40 percent.

It also cut $10 billion in "risk adjustment" payments to health insurance companies that provide policies to the sickest customers.

U.S. tariffs imposed on a wide variety of imports will likely raise prices for consumers, and some of the price increases may come in unexpected places.

A coalition of car insurance industry groups is warning that if the U.S. imposes a 25 percent tariff on auto parts, an unintended consequence would be a rise in most consumers' car insurance rates.

In comments filed with the Commerce Department, the American Insurance Association, National Association of Mutual Insurance Companies and Property Casualty Insurers Association of America said insurance costs could rise an average of 2.7 percent.

That's because it will cost significantly more to repair vehicles that have been in accidents. Not only would the parts cost more, they could be harder to get. That could lead to repair delays, increasing costs for consumers.

More car thefts

“Motor vehicle theft rates could well rise, as many stolen vehicles are sold for their parts,” the groups said in their comment.

U.S. tire manufacturers warn of a ripple effect. In joint comments filed with the government, they say car owners facing higher expenses for maintaining their vehicles are more likely to put off replacing their tires, which could become a safety issue.

As yet, a tariff on auto parts is only under discussion. However, tariffs that have already been imposed are creating problems for some American industries.

Alcoa is calling U.S. tariffs on aluminum imports "a significant headwind" to its profits. In its 2018 profit projection, the company said it has already incurred $15 million in additional costs because it produces some of its aluminum in Canada and imports it to the U.S.

Worrying about tariffs

Just about everyone, it seems, is worried about rising trade tensions. In its latest Beige Book report, the Federal Reserve said it found growing concern about the potential impact of tariffs on business in all regions of the country.

“Manufacturers in all districts expressed concern about tariffs and in many districts reported higher prices and supply disruptions that they attributed to the new trade policies,” the report said.

The report found businesses have already faced higher costs for metals and lumber, but so far had not passed along those costs to consumers.

In spite of business concerns about tariffs, the Fed survey found moderate economic growth is occurring in 10 of the 12 regions of the U.S.

The exceptions were the Dallas District, where growth was described as "strong," and the St. Louis District, where growth was labeled "slight."

Amazon’s Prime Day continues to grow each year, and the 2018 event was no different.

The company is hailing it as the “biggest global shopping event,” with customers purchasing over 100 million products. Sales surpassed Cyber Monday, Black Friday, and 2017’s Prime Day -- even when adjusted for the 36-hour period of the sale.

“The first ten hours of Prime Day grew even faster, year-over-year, than the first ten hours last year,” the company said in a press release.

This year’s Prime Day had extended hours, was featured in four new markets, and internet traffic so heavy it overwhelmed the company’s servers. Though many users had connectivity issues over the course of Prime Day, analysts say it was nothing more than a hiccup.

“Amazon Prime Day’s ‘early jitters’ with website glitches had minimal impact on the sales success of the annual event, with our view that given Amazon’s prodigious spending, it is safe to say that any day compared to the prior year should be much better from a sales perspective, with the continuing challenge for the company driving margin and profitability in its retail business,” said Charlie O’Shea, Moody’s Lead Retail Analyst.

Prime Day stats

According to Amazon, the Fire TV Stick with Alexa Voice Remote and the Echo Dot were the two best selling items of the sale. Also of note was the surge in Prime membership, as Amazon reported more new subscriptions to the Prime service on July 16th than it has on any other day in its history. The company has nearly doubled its Prime members since 2016, with over 100 million paid Prime members -- a figure that’s 20 million more than just last year.

Amazon sold over 300,000 six-quart Instant Pots and 150,000 LifeStraw personal water filters. Additionally, the 23andMe DNA test was another best seller in the United States. The Instant Pot was the highest-selling non-Amazon device in the United States.

Prime Day was celebrated in 17 countries, and the top-selling items in different countries were just as varied as here in the U.S. In Japan, customers favored Whey Protein and “Super Nanox Liquid Laundry Detergent,” while U.K. customers stocked up on Bosch Cordless Drills and the Philips Hue Personal Wireless Lighting Light Strip.

Prime Day was just as lucrative for small- and medium-sized businesses that sell their products on Amazon, as they grossed over $1 billion in sales.

“Prime Day has always been our biggest day ever,” said Jurgen Nebelung, vice-president of e-commerce and digital at Tea Forte. “During our peak hour, customers were purchasing one Tea Forte product every two seconds.”

Chris Guiher owns Vintage Book Art Co. and said his company sold ten times as many items as they do on a regular, marking Prime Day as “the biggest sales day of the year.”

The sales event also benefited other retailers like Target, as the company said it experienced “the highest single day of traffic and sales of 2018” on its website.

This morning, Comcast announced it will no longer be in the mix to acquire 21st Century Fox and its film and television assets. Instead, the company will focus on the acquisition of the European satellite provider Sky. The decision is likely to clear the way for Disney, who recently upped its bid to $71.3 billion -- split between cash and stock.

“Comcast does not intend to pursue further the acquisition of the Twenty-First Century Fox assets, and, instead, will focus on our recommended offer for Sky,” the company said in a statement.

Brian L. Roberts, Chairman and CEO of Comcast, said, “I’d like to congratulate Bob Iger and the team at Disney and commend the Murdoch family and Fox for creating such a desirable and respected company.”

Fox has currently set a shareholder meeting for July 27 to vote on the deal with Disney. If either Comcast or Fox’s acquisition of Sky has yet to be completed by that date, Disney would be forced to bid £14 a share for the 61 percent of Sky that Fox doesn’t own -- which is less than the £14.75 a share that Comcast offered last week.

History with Disney

Last December, Fox and Disney agreed to a $54.2 billion deal that would include control over many of Fox’s assets, including: the FX and Nat Geo cable channels, the 20th Century Fox film studio, and Fox’s stake in Hulu.

Then, just last month, Comcast came onto the scene with an “unsolicited” $65 billion offer.

That prompted Disney to raise its bid to $71.3 billion in late June. The new deal increases the value of Disney’s original offer from $28 a share at $52.4 billion to $38 a share at $71.3 billion -- plus a new cash component. At the time of the bid’s announcement, a Fox representative said the offer was “superior to the proposal” from Comcast.

Fox’s Executive Chairman Rupert Murdoch said a Disney-Fox merger “will create one of the greatest, most innovative companies in the world.”

“We are extremely proud of the businesses we have built at 21st Century Fox, and firmly believe that this combination with Disney will unlock even more value for shareholders as the new Disney continues to set the pace at a dynamic time for our industry,” Murdoch said.

Comcast and Sky

Now out of the bidding war for Fox, Comcast is looking to focus its efforts on acquiring Sky Network.

Early last month, 21st Century Fox was given the green light to proceed in negotiations for Sky Network, in an entirely different bidding war involving both Disney and Comcast. Initially, U.K. Culture Minister Matt Hancock was skeptical of the United Kingdom’s media losing its independence based on the Murdoch family’s influence. However, both Sky and Fox were pleased with the decision.

Comcast made a $29 million offer for the British broadcasting network, and acquiring the company would be a huge win. Sky currently has 23 million subscribers across five countries, and owns broadcasting rights that are particularly valuable in today’s market, such as English Premier League games, Formula One races, and other sporting events.