The UK’s four-day working week pilot program has concluded. And in the least surprising results of all time, employees indicated that they preferred to work four days rather than five, provided they receive the same pay. But don’t worry, we are going to keep grinding five days a week here at Balance Sheet to bring you the latest news and funniest memes.

The lowdown

• 📉 US stocks have their worst day of 2023 so far.

• ✂️ McKinsey to cut 2,000 staff to help preserve Partners’ compensation pools.

• 🎮 Microsoft and Nvidia sign 10-year game streaming deal likely to help Activision merger.

Featured stories

Newcrest rejects $17 billion offer

Last week, US gold miner Newmont made a $17 billion offer for rival Australian gold miner Newcrest. The offer was firmly rejected by Newcrest as the board considered it did not offer sufficient value to shareholders.

However, the door for a new offer was left ajar. The board agreed to open its books to Newmont on a non-exclusive basis in a move that indicates that the company may well be for sale if the price is right. It is understood that Newmont may be happy to sweeten its offer.

The Newmont/Newcrest deal may be another sign that mining M&A is picking up. Late last year, BHP signaled its intent to buy smaller rival OZ Minerals. In this case too, the initial offer was rebuffed and had to be sweetened before a deal could be agreed. It remains to be seen whether Newmont will make a new offer for Newcrest.

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The content we're consuming today

• Acquired podcast: LVMH.

• Reuters: Chinese bank seeks to reassure over missing star dealmaker.

• Yahoo Finance: Walmart CFO: ‘There is considerable pressure on the consumer’.

Off-balance sheet items

• You’ve probably heard of the book ‘The Power of Habit’ by now but, if not, I would definitely recommend it if you hate self-help books but still want some help creating a habit – like getting up early, not like smoking.

The bottom line