The Fortune 500’s sleepiest CFO John R. Tyson pleaded guilty to charges of public intoxication and criminal trespass. The charges stem from an incident in which Drowsy John entered and then fell asleep inside the house of a woman he did not know. He was fined $150 for his actions but, given his base salary is $650,000, this is unlikely to be much of a deterrent for the very tired Tyson. A very impressive demonstration of cost control by a CFO, nonetheless.

The lowdown

• 🗞️ Rupert Murdoch scraps proposal to combine Fox and News Corp after resistance from shareholders.

• ⚖️ US Department of Justice sues Google over monopoly control of digital ad market.

• 🌥️ Microsoft earnings beat expectations owing to strong cloud computing results.

Featured Stories

Activist investor shakes up Dai Nippon Printing

Activist fund Elliott Management has built a stake in Japanese conglomerate Dai Nippon Printing. Established in 1876, Dai Nippon Printing is, as the name suggests, a printing company that prints everything from magazines to high-tech components that form part of electric vehicles and smartphones.

Elliott's usual approach is to invest in a company and then push for changes to improve profitability, such as cost-cutting and strategic changes. This again appears to be the case, as it is being reported ($) that Elliott's engagement in Dai Nippon Printing has so far focused on three demands:

• A more aggressive share buyback scheme

• Divestment of its real estate assets, and

• Divestment of its cross-shareholdings in other Japanese companies – a practice common among Japanese conglomerates.

Cross-shareholdings have long been considered controversial by outsiders, as they are seen to reduce shareholder value and can be used as a way for Japanese conglomerates to stifle competition and protect incumbent boards. If Elliott can overcome this, then perhaps its latest investment will also start printing money.

The content we're consuming today

• The New Yorker: What Monks Can Teach Us About Paying Attention ($).

• The Economist Podcasts: Editors Picks: January 23rd 2023.

• The Economist Podcasts: The World Ahead 2023: The art of forecasting.

Off-balance sheet items

• I’ve really been getting into spy stuff after reading the first few books in the Slough House series, so the new podcast, ‘The Sound: Mystery of Havana Syndrome’ has come at a perfect time for me.

The bottom line