Thousands stranded as British travel company Thomas Cook collapses
British tour operator Thomas Cook shut down on Monday and bookings for its more than 600,000 customers vacationing outside the United Kingdom were canceled after the 178-year-old company failed to secure rescue funding.
Thomas Cook said that talks held during the weekend did not result in an agreement between its stakeholders and potential investors, leaving it with “no choice but to take steps to enter into compulsory liquidation with immediate effect.”
The move triggered the largest peacetime repatriation in UK history, with the government hiring planes to bring an estimated 150,000 British holidaymakers home. Thomas Cook has come under pressure from intense online competition, and was desperately seeking approximately $250 million from private investors to keep it running.
Its demise leaves about 22,000 jobs in jeopardy, including an estimated 9,000 in the UK.
WeWork board members discuss removing Adam Neumann as CEO
A group of WeWork board members is reportedly seeking to oust Adam Neumann as chief executive of the co-working real estate company.
The group includes officials linked to WeWork’s biggest investor, SoftBank Group Corp., according to a report by the Wall Street Journal reported, which cited people familiar with the matter.
Earlier this month, the New York-based company postponed plans to go public after widespread criticisms of its spending and corporate governance.
Investors were spooked by revelations that Neumann cashed out $700 million and reportedly owns stakes in properties that WeWork rents. He has also come under fire after the Journal reported about his drug use.
However, he is the controlling shareholder of WeWork, meaning he can kill any proposal that he doesn’t agree with or even fire the board.
Wall Street set to open slight lower
U.S. stock index futures pointed to a slightly lower open on Monday, with the blue-chip Dow futures dropping 50 points, or 0.19% to 26,844 at 5:25 a.m. ET.
The S&P 500 futures indicated a decline of 3.62 points, or roughly 0.12% to 2,985.88, while the tech-heavy Nasdaq 100 futures were down 4.25 points, or 0.05% to 7,826.25.
Meanwhile, oil prices climbed as doubts continued to rise over how fast Saudi Arabia can bring back full crude output after last week’s attack.
At 5:25 a.m. ET, Brent crude futures were up $0.02, or around 0.03%, at $64.30 a barrel. U.S. West Texas Intermediate crude oil futures were at $58.2 per barrel, up $0.11, or about 0.19%.
