Walmart CEO Retires, US Head to Lead Retailer Into AI Age

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-Jennifer Bartashus, Bloomberg Intelligence Senior Analyst, Retail Staples & Packaged Food, discusses Walmart’s CEO retiring in February. Chief Executive Officer Doug McMillon, who over a decade ushered the big-box behemoth into the Internet age, will be replaced by US head John Furner. Furner, 51, takes over as Walmart faces a fast-moving shift toward artificial intelligence, an uneven US economy, and a rapidly changing global workforce. 

-Madison Muller, Bloomberg News Health Reporter, discusses Merck agreeing to acquire Cidara Therapeutics, a biotech company developing a flu treatment, as part of its ongoing efforts to make up for the upcoming patent loss of its blockbuster cancer drug Keytruda. Merck will pay $221.50 a share in cash for Cidara in a tender offer, more the twice Thursday’s closing price, for a total transaction value of about $9.2 billion, the companies said Friday in a statement. 

-John Butler, Bloomberg Intelligence Senior Telecom Analyst, discusses the latest at Verizon. Verizon Communications is discussing plans to announce job cuts next week that could downsize the company by as much as 20%, according to people familiar with the wireless carrier’s plans. It's a major step in a transformation led by new Chief Executive Officer Dan Schulman. The size and scope of the potential layoffs are still being discussed, but they could impact 15,000 to 20,000 workers, the people said. Verizon has about 100,000 employees. The planned cuts are part of an aggressive strategy that Schulman recently unveiled to reclaim market share. 

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