Should you buy now, pay later for your wedding?

• April 26, 2023

As wedding season approaches, couples are booking venues, compiling guest lists and hiring a dizzying array of vendors — and they’re digging deep into their pockets to pay for it.

The average U.S. wedding cost $30,000 in 2022, a $2,000 increase from 2021, according to a study from wedding website The Knot. Though weddings have long been expensive, inflation is pushing costs higher.

Couples may turn to increasingly popular “buy now, pay later” payment plans to ease the burden. These plans let you divide the total cost of your purchase into installments, often with no interest and zero fees if you pay on time.

But they have risks, and there may be better ways to fund your nuptials.

How buy now, pay later works for weddings

Popular buy now, pay later providers like Affirm, Afterpay and Klarna partner with thousands of merchants, including retailers in the wedding industry.

Affirm partners with David’s Bridal, Men’s Wearhouse, Kay Jewelers and Zales, among others, to offer its pay-later plans to customers. By opting into Affirm when they check out online or in store, couples can break up payments on a wedding-related purchase at no additional cost, depending on the retailer.

“Wedding planning can really get out of control, and an option like Affirm helps couples regain that financial control,” says Katrina Holt, senior vice president of operations at Affirm. “It’s a way to pay in bite-sized amounts that fits into how couples are used to budgeting.”

Repayment terms for buy now, pay later plans range from pay-in-four, which divides your total cost into four equal payments due every two weeks, to monthly payment plans that extend up to five years.

Getting approved for these plans is often easier than for traditional credit. Applications are short, and most providers run only a soft credit check with no minimum credit score requirement.

While providers like Affirm can help couples fund smaller purchases, others focus on big wedding expenses.

Maroo, a payment processing platform with a pay-later option, lets couples pay wedding vendors — think photographers, musicians, caterers, even the venue — over three, six or 12 months.

“If you can buy your Peloton in installments, why shouldn’t you be able to pay for big pieces of your wedding in installments?” says Anja Winikka, co-founder and chief marketing officer at Maroo. “They’re huge expenses, and what ends up happening is couples run into cash-flow issues and throw their wedding invoice amounts onto high-interest credit cards.”

Maroo doesn’t charge interest and, like other providers, requires only a soft credit check to qualify.

Risks of buy now, pay later for weddings

Though these plans can help you break up purchases, they tend to encourage overspending, and couples should be careful.

If you’re successfully sticking to a budget but want help managing your monthly cash flow, using a buy now, pay later plan may be a good option, says Natalie Slagle, a Minnesota-based certified financial planner who works with couples.

“But the people who can’t afford the wedding unless they do this? That’s who I do not think these payment plans are for,” she says.

Slagle urges couples to also think about their wedding in the context of other plans, like buying a house or having a child.

“Is this going to be the only hurdle coming your way financially over the next few years? Because from what I see in my professional experience, it’s not,” Slagle says. “How are you setting yourself up for financial success after the wedding?”

The industry is also facing federal scrutiny. In September 2022, the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau released a study on buy now, pay later that cited inconsistent consumer protections, data security and debt accumulation among its concerns.

A second study, released in March, identified buy now, pay later users as more likely to show signs of financial distress compared with nonusers.

Other ways to pay for your wedding

The best way to pay for your wedding is through savings, Slagle says. Another option is a gift or no-interest loan from a family member.

If you need to finance, there are choices besides buy now, pay later.

Credit cards can help you earn cash back or points, which can offset other costs, like a honeymoon. You’ll want to pay off your balance each month to avoid compounding interest.

Another option is a wedding loan, which is an unsecured personal loan from a bank, credit union or online lender that covers wedding expenses. These loans charge fixed interest and have predictable monthly payments, but rates can be high depending on your credit score.

This article was written by NerdWallet and was originally published by The Associated Press. 

More From NerdWallet

​ Orange County Register 

How the Hollywood Bowl put together the ultimate party for Willie Nelson’s 90th birthday

• April 26, 2023

Dozens of artists and thousands of fans will come together at the Hollywood Bowl in Los Angeles on April 29-30 to wish country music icon Willie Nelson a very happy birthday.

The “On the Road Again” singer-songwriter, musician and political activist turns 90 on Saturday, April 29 and several of his famous friends and longtime collaborators will be performing alongside him during a special concert to mark the occasion.

“He certainly seems to be having a moment this year,” said Bill Silva, promoter of Live Nation Hewitt Silva, during a recent phone interview. “If you just look at this year, he won two Grammy awards and has a Rock and Roll Hall of Fame nomination. It really feels like the year of Willie and it just happens to coincide with this 90th.”

RELATED: George Strait, Kris Kristofferson, Stephen Stills added to Willie Nelson’s 90th at Hollywood Bowl

“(This) is one of the best lineups we have ever put together for one show,” Silva’s booking partner Andrew Hewitt added.

Nelson did pick up two Grammy awards in February in the best country album category for “A Beautiful Time” and the best country solo performance award for his cover of Billy Joe Shaver’s “Live Forever” off of the album, “Live Forever: A Tribute to Billy Joe Shaver.” He’s also a 2023 Rock and Roll Hall of Fame nominee alongside Kate Bush, Missy Elliot, Joy Division/New Order, George Michael, Rage Against the Machine and several others.

The cherry on his year, or atop his birthday cake, is this massive two-day celebration dubbed Long Story Short: Willie Nelson 90, which is scheduled to included appearances by Alisson Russell, Beck, Billy Strings, Bobby Weir, Booker T. Jones, Buddy Cannon, Charley Crockett, Chris Stapleton, Daniel Lanois, Dave Matthews, Dwight Yoakam, Edie Brickell, Emmylou Harris, Gary Clark Jr., George Strait, Jack Johnson, Jamey Johnson, Kris Kristofferson, Leon Bridges, Lyle Lovett, Margo Price, Miranda Lambert, Nathaniel Rateliff, Neil Young, Norah Jones, Orville Peck, Particle Kid, Rosanne Cash, The Lumineers, Sheryl Crow, Shooter Jennings, Snoop Dogg, Stephen Stills, Sturgill Simpson, The Avett Brothers, The Chicks, Tom Jones, Tyler Childers, Warren Hayes, Waylon Payne, Ziggy Marely, Nelson’s sons, Lukas and Micah Nelson, and several more special guests.

“I mean, it’s a once-in-a-lifetime kind of thing,” said Brian Smith, Live Nation California senior vice president of booking, during an interview. “Willie is an American icon not only for his music, but he’s just done so much for us culturally. To be able to put together his 90th birthday and celebrate with him like this at The Bowl is breathtaking. I’m excited to see it.”

Silva can’t pick out which artists and collaborations he’s the most interested in seeing. Without revealing any set list secrets, he added “I think there’s just going to be so many special moments created in this, so I hope I get to see the full show.”

It’s a diverse lineup — with hip-hop, indie rock, folk, country, R&B, pop, reggae, jazz and blues artists all on one bill. There was an entire team, including Silva, Hewitt and Smith, along with Nelson’s longtime manager Mark Rothbaum, that came up with a list of artists to perform at the birthday bash. All of the acts that were available and not already booked for a tour, responded “yes” immediately to this exclusive invite.

“We really wanted to celebrate the diversity of all of the different music Willie has created in his career — he did that reggae album with Ziggy (Marley) and ‘Roll Me Up and Smoke Me When I Die’ with Snoop Dogg,” Silva said.

Related Articles

The artists on the lineup were tapped because they’ve either covered a Nelson song in the past, he’s covered one of their songs or they’ve collaborated together live on stage or in the recording studio.

Nelson and Neil Young are longtime friends, having performed at the annual Farm Aid music festival together, playing songs like “Heart of Gold” and “Four Strong Winds.”

Masked alternative country singer Orville Peck has covered Nelson’s “Cowboys Are Frequently Secretly Fond Of Each Other” and Sturgill Simpson teamed up with Nelson for the song “Juanita” on Simpson’s 2021 album “The Ballad of Dood and Juanita.” Chris Stapleton, who is also the Sunday headliner at the Stagecoach Country Music Festival out in Indio this weekend, has performed the cover “Always on My Mind” with Nelson several times.

Tom Jones’ song “Opportunity to Cry” was written by Nelson and Lyle Lovett wrote the song “Farther Down the Line,” which Nelson has covered. Norah Jones and Nelson have played and recorded several jazz songs together and bluegrass artist Billy Strings has covered Nelson’s “Hands on the Wheel” and joined him on stage during the Outlaw Music Festival tour.

In his nearly 70-year-career Nelson has recorded and released more than 100 studio, live and compilation albums.

“He’s never quit putting out music,” Silva said. “There was one decade where he put out about two albums a year; in the ’80s he put out 23 albums. His album output has been so consistent that it gives him the ability to continue to connect with younger artists and connecting with different audiences. We’re now seeing generations of fans and artists influenced by his music. Willie’s art and the songs have been cherished for so many generations. How many times to we get to celebrate an artist still performing at 90 years old, still on tour and still singing with that voice.”

Siliva has worked with Nelson for a long time, first booking him at the San Diego Sports Arena when he was just starting out as a promoter back in January 1982. The idea to celebrate Nelson’s 90th at the Hollywood Bowl, a venue Silva and Hewitt have booked outside the Los Angeles Philharmonic’s scheduled season since 1991, came when Silva was thumbing through Nelson’s autobiography a few years ago.

“I realized he was 88 at the time and about to be 89, so the 90th was right around the corner,” he said. He reached out to Rothbaum and the plotting began. “We convinced him that he deserved a moment on the Hollywood Bowl stage to really highlight the iconography of his career because it’s not solely based in country and western music.”

“This is a guy who touches everything from Patsy Cline to Snoop Dogg,” Smith added. “Who else has that breadth?”

Additional acts may be announced in the days leading up to the event, but others will be kept under wraps to surprise those attending these unique concert dates.

“There are so many special things happening here,” Smith said. “The event itself is special, but there are so many acts performing that haven’t even been announced yet, so I think that will tickle the audience when they find out. There’s a lot of behind-the-scenes stuff going on and I think that it will be a day of celebration and surprises.”

Long Story Short: Willie Nelson 90

When: 7 p.m. Saturday, April 29; 6:30 p.m. Sunday, April 30

Where: Hollywood Bowl, 2301 N. Highland Ave., Los Angeles

Tickets: Two-day tickets start at $325 at Ticketmaster.com.

​ Orange County Register 

George Strait, Kris Kristofferson, Stephen Stills added to Willie Nelson’s 90th at Hollywood Bowl

• April 26, 2023

Willie Nelson’s 90th birthday party guestlist just grew by a dozen plus superstar invitees.

Promoters announced that Booker T. Jones, Buddy Cannon, Daniel Lanois, Dave Matthews, Dwight Yoakam, Jamey Johnson, Emmylou Harris, Gary Clark Jr., George Strait, Jack Johnson, Kris Kristofferson, Lily Meola, Rodney Crowell, Shooter Jennings, Stephen Stills and Waylon Payne have been added to the already bursting two-day lineup that takes over the Hollywood Bowl in Los Angeles on April 28-29.

RELATED: How the Hollywood Bowl put together the ultimate party for Willie Nelson’s 90th birthday

These artists will join previously announced acts: Allison Russell, Beck, Billy Strings, Bobby Weir, Charley Crockett, Chris Stapleton, Edie Brickell, Leon Bridges, Lukas Nelson, Lyle Lovett, Margo Price, Miranda Lambert, Nathaniel Rateliff, Neil Young, Norah Jones, Orville Peck, Particle Kid, Rosanne Cash, Sheryl Crow, Snoop Dogg, Sturgill Simpson, The Avett Brothers, The Chicks, The Lumineers, Tom Jones, Tyler Childers, Warren Haynes and Ziggy Marley.

Though originally announced, country and pop singer-songwriter and longtime Nelson collaborator Kacey Musgraves has dropped off the bill.

The four-hour shows will be packed with tributes to Nelson as the artists perform songs from throughout his career and celebrate his 90th birthday, which is on Saturday, April 29. Each day will be a different lineup of artists performing different songs. There will also be celebrity presenters and other surprises.

There are still some two-day tickets available starting at $325 at Ticketmaster.com.

Related Articles

​ Orange County Register 

California poised to ban new diesel trucks

• April 26, 2023

By Nadia Lopez | CalMatters

California’s trucking industry is bracing for state regulators this week to enact unprecedented rules that would ban sales of new diesel big rigs by 2036 and convert large companies’ existing trucks to zero emissions by 2042.

“The amount of chaos and dysfunction that is going to be created by this rule will be like nothing we’ve ever seen before,” said Chris Shimoda, senior vice president of the California Trucking Association, an industry trade group. “The likelihood that it is going to fail pretty spectacularly is very high. It’s very unfortunate.”

The state Air Resources Board will hold a public hearing on its proposed regulation on Thursday, then is expected to vote on Friday.

Related links

Irvine will be home to country’s first all-electric hospital
EV charging hub in Riverside will power 40 Sysco trucks, 40 trailers
Two bills would put a buffer between warehouses and homes. One is much better, activists say
Owners of Balboa Island Ferry asking for more time to convert to electric engines
EPA approves California’s rules phasing out diesel trucks

The proposal aims to clean up noxious diesel exhaust and greenhouse gases spewed by big rigs, garbage trucks, delivery trucks and other large vehicles by converting them to models powered by electricity or hydrogen.

Trucking companies and local government officials call the deadlines in the rule unachievable. They say the new technology still has major drawbacks, including the high cost of electric trucks and their low vehicle range. The state also has not yet developed a charging network to support electric trucks, and the existing chargers can take hours to recharge, industry officials say.

A worldwide first, California’s rules would transform how goods are transported throughout the state, adding millions of new, pollution-free trucks on the roads. The state currently has very few large, zero-emission vehicles: only 1,943 in California — and nearly all of them are buses.

Unveiled last September, the air board’s proposal would set aggressive timelines for the purchase and manufacture of zero-emission medium and heavy-duty trucks. The move is considered a critical part of California’s strategy to clean up its severe smog, switch to clean energy, end its reliance on fossil fuels and become carbon neutral by 2045.

Under the proposal, in 2036, 100% of new sales of medium-duty and heavy-duty trucks must be zero emissions in California, scaling up from phased-in timelines that vary by the type of truck. The rules also would force companies that operate 50 or more trucks to gradually convert their fleets into electric or hydrogen models, reaching 100% zero-emissions by 2042, with these timelines also based on the type of truck.

The earliest requirements would be for drayage trucks, which carry cargo to and from the ports of Los Angeles, Long Beach and Oakland and cause severe air pollution in nearby communities. All of them must be converted to electric models by 2035, and new sales beginning in 2024 must be zero emissions.

READ MORE: Ports of LA, Long Beach join state bid to be federal hydrogen fuel hub

The state requirements to switch existing truck fleets to zero emissions by 2042 would apply to “high-priority fleets,” which are owned or operated by companies with 50 or more trucks or $50 million or more in annual revenue, and to federal trucks.

Included are all vehicles weighing 8,500 lbs or more, as well as package delivery vehicles, including U.S. Postal Service, FedEx, UPS and Amazon fleets.

The proposal builds on a previous state clean trucks regulation, enacted in 2020, that mandated the number of zero-emission trucks that manufacturers must sell from 2024 through 2035.

California’s truck rules are “going to have significantly positive implications for both air quality and for pushing the market forward,” said Sam Wilson, a senior vehicles analyst in the clean transportation program at the environmental group Union of Concerned Scientists.

Still, he said the air board “missed an opportunity” to strengthen the rule, by failing to set stricter requirements for fleets with fewer than 50 trucks.

Trucking companies and local governments say fundamental changes are needed in California to help them meet the proposed timelines to stop buying new diesel trucks and phase out their existing trucks.

Large trucks are more difficult and expensive to convert to electric models than cars because of their size, weight and long distances that they’re driven.

But air board officials said they are confident that the truck market can adjust in time to speed the transition to electric models.

“All of the provisions are intended to address those concerns that stakeholders brought forward, including needing to move more aggressively in some areas and needing to provide flexibility in others,” said Air Resources Board Executive Officer Steven Cliff.

“We want to be mindful of the concerns of those who are regulated, but we also know that we have health benefits that we need to achieve. Getting that balance is a really critical part of the overall approach,” he said.

The proposed rule could put about 510,000 carbon-free medium and heavy-duty vehicles on California’s roads in 2035, increasing to 1.2 million in 2045 and about 1.7 million in 2050, according to the air board.

The trucks that would be affected by the new rule make up just 7% of the vehicles on California’s roads — about 1.8 million out of 30 million. But they are the single largest source of air pollution from vehicles, representing about 70% of smog-forming nitrogen oxides and 80% of carcinogenic diesel soot, according to the air board.

A fleet of Tesla Semis on display at PepsiCo Beverages North America’s Sacramento facility on April 11, 2023. PBNA hosted an event to celebrate the arrival of 18 Tesla Semi-trucks to its Sacramento location. (Miguel Gutierrez Jr., CalMatters)

Communities near ports, warehouses ‘suffer a lot’

Truck emissions hang heavy in the air in much of the Inland Empire, Los Angeles County and the Central Valley, where many disadvantaged and low-income residents like Ada Trujillo live. Trujillo is a 42-year-old Guatemalan immigrant who has lived in San Bernardino for more than 20 years. The region is home to explosive growth of warehouses, where air pollution comes from idling trucks that transport goods.

Trujillo said diesel pollution has been increasingly causing health problems for her family.  She doesn’t allow her children to play outside for long periods of time due to the headaches, eye and skin allergies, nose bleeds and breathing problems that they experience.

Diesel exhaust is one of the most harmful air pollutants since it is a known cause of cancer, and it contains fine particles that can trigger heart attacks and asthma.

Trujillo said in Spanish that her children “do suffer a lot,” adding that “as a mother, it worries me. We live close to these warehouses and we keep seeing more of them in our communities.”

California has been cutting emissions from diesel and gas-powered vehicles for decades. The new proposal comes less than nine months after California enacted another far-reaching mandate that bans sales of gas-powered cars by 2035.

California often prides itself on being a leader in setting stringent vehicle standards that other states follow. Six other states adopted the 2020 California trucks rule, with Colorado and Maryland being the most recent states to enact them, just this week.

The trucking industry said unresolved issues could pose serious challenges for an already strained supply chain and the state’s economy.

“If the rule moves forward and is implemented the way that it’s written today, you are going to see a lot of the same problems that we had during the pandemic, but we created the problem,” Shimoda of the California Trucking Association said. “It’s a supply chain crisis of our own making.”

The air board staff earlier this year made some minor changes in their proposal for garbage truck operators who raised concerns at the first public hearing in October. They issued a revised version of the proposal in March that delays electrification phase-in dates for fleets that run on biogas captured from landfills, wastewater facilities and compost.

But the most significant change in the proposal actually toughened the rules after an appeal by environmental justice advocates: The original proposal required 100% zero-emission truck sales in 2040; the air board staff accelerated it by four years at the request of some board members.

Local governments call the deadlines ‘impossible’

It’s not just the trucking industry that is vehemently opposed. Local governments are opposed, too, since they own truck fleets. With some exceptions, half of the specified truck purchases for public agencies must be zero emissions by 2024, ramping up to 100% by 2027. Some exemptions apply if there are a lack of available models.

In a letter to the air board, the League of California Cities, California State Association of Counties and the California Special Districts Association said the air board is “overlooking some important realities” and that fulfilling the timeline would be “impossible.”

The coalition of local officials is urging the board to delay the rule’s deadline by four years, adopt more exemptions and impose price caps on the electric models to keep them more affordable.

The local leaders wrote that the proposal “ignores existing market realities and the time needed to develop and ramp up an infrastructural system that can support an electrified fleet of essential vehicles.”

“The vehicles don’t exist, the infrastructure does not exist, grid reliability is sketchy, there’s nothing to protect public agencies from price gouging, and no one seems willing to discuss where the money will come from — other than raising rates on consumers,” their letter said.

The rule banning diesel and gasoline truck sales would not apply to emergency vehicles like ambulances and fire trucks.

Some entrepreneurs are hoping to ramp up construction of truck charging stations in time to meet the timeline.

The technology exists, it’s just a matter of getting it ready, said Scott Fisher, a senior vice president at Voltera, a company developing truck charging stations.

To help bring some costs down, Voltera and similar companies have been developing new business models where they build the charging stations, and own and operate them so trucking companies do not have to make those investments, he said.

“We’re mindful of the challenges in terms of fleets complying with this rule and we think we have a way to help,” he said. “The fleet basically doesn’t have to spend the money… They get this charging infrastructure as a service, which is more of an operational month-to-month cost rather than an upfront capital investment.”

Companies and other fleet owners could choose to comply with the regulation in two ways: They could only purchase zero-emission vehicles beginning in 2024 while retiring diesel trucks at the end of their useful life. Or they could phase in zero-emission trucks as a percentage of their fleet, starting with 10% of delivery trucks and other types that are the easiest to electrify in 2025, then ramping up to 100% between 2035 and 2042.

The requirements for converting fleets would not apply to smaller companies unless they were using a larger company’s trucks.

Air board officials plan to create a future rule for smaller operators with fleets under 50 vehicles, according to Tony Brasil, chief of the air board’s transportation and technology branch.

​ Orange County Register 

Trinity League lacrosse teams turn up the heat before the CIF-SS playoffs begin

• April 26, 2023

A week ago the outlook for the CIF-SS boys lacrosse playoffs seemed pretty clear.

The pecking order in Orange County seemed set and it appeared that the league championship races had mostly been decided.

But then the Trinity League teams decided to make things interesting and play some of the most competitive games of the season.

The chaos began when Servite upset Santa Margarita 11-10 in overtime. Servite is unranked in the CIF-SS poll and Santa Margarita is ranked No. 7 in Division 1-2.

Santa Margarita bounced back with a win Friday over Mater Dei, which had been ranked No. 1 in the CIF poll for the entire season. Ethan Messer had seven points for the Eagles in the 12-11 win.

Servite was unable to carry its momentum over to Friday and lost 11-9 to JSerra. Lions goalie Jack Neiger had 14 saves and earned high-praise from his coach, Adam Guy. Jack Almy and Gabe Seldow each had three goals for the Lions.

Here is the updated Trinity League outlook: Santa Margarita has clinched at least a share of the league championship. If Mater Dei beats fifth-place St. John Bosco Thursday, the Monarchs will be co-champs in the Trinity League. If JSerra beats last-place Orange Lutheran on Wednesday, JSerra and Servite will tie for second place.

BOYS LACROSSE NOTES

Defending CIF-SS Division 1 champion Corona del Mar had a major win over St. Margaret’s last week. Senior midfielder Gavin Gossen scored twice for the Sea Kings and Emerson Tingley scored the game-winning goal. …

Corona del Mar will play Foothill on Wednesday in a rematch of the 2022 Division 1 championship game. …

Aliso Niguel beat San Juan Hills 12-11 in comeback fashion to win its fourth consecutive Sea View League championship. The Wolverines trailed 8-6 at halftime. Colin Barker had six points in the game (five goals) and had 14 points last week. …

Canyon beat Yorba Linda for the first time in school history last week. Midfielder Andrew Schuerger and attack Andrew Demogines lead the Comanches offense. Canyon has clinched a second-place finish in the Crestview League and is ranked No. 4 in the Division 3 poll. …

San Clemente beat Tesoro 6-5 on Monday to clinch second place in the South Coast League and beame an automatic qualifier for the playoffs. Junior attack Brady Fish leads the Tritons in goals this season. …

The CIF-SS boys playoff pairings will be announced Saturday at 11 a.m. Playoff alignment and seedings will be determined through Massey ratings, which is done by computer. …

Forty schools, which were determined prior to the season, will be eligible for the Division 1 or 2 playoffs and the Division 3 teams were determined prior to the season.

GIRLS LACROSSE NOTES

Portola beat Northwood 12-8 on Monday to win its first Pacific Coast League championship in school history.

Jadyn Zdanavage scored her 100th goal of the season in the game and is averaging 10 ground balls per game this season.

The Bulldogs did not have a coach until just before the season started and are being coached by the girls soccer coaching staff: Joshua Stringer, Samantha Ezratty and Jeralyn Newton. Despite this, Portola is ranked No. 1 in the Division 3 poll. …

San Clemente has dominated the South Coast League largely due to the scoring of twins Sophia and Charlotte Yeskulsky. The twins are the two leading goal scorers for the team with 124 goals between them. San Clemente is the second-highest ranked OC team in the Division 1 poll. …

Related Articles

Edison beat Corona del Mar 22-19 Tuesday to clinch the Sunset League championship. Sofia Chock and Madison Kruis each had six goals for Edison. …

Dana Hills beat Mission Viejo 15-10 Tuesday to clinch the Sea View League championship. It’s the first league championship in school history. …

Santa Margarita won the Trinity League championship. Sophomore Paige Peters is one of the county leaders in points with 93. Catie Maroutsos is second on the team in points and leads the team in draw controls.

​ Orange County Register 

UK blocks Microsoft’s $69 billion Activision deal 

• April 26, 2023

By Katharine Gemmell | Bloomberg

Microsoft’s $69 billion takeover of Activision Blizzard was vetoed by Britain’s antitrust watchdog, in a potentially fatal blow for the gaming industry’s biggest ever deal.

The Competition and Markets Authority said its concerns couldn’t be solved by remedies such as the sale of blockbuster title Call of Duty or other solutions involving promises to permit rivals to offer the game on their platforms, according to a statement Wednesday. Microsoft said it will appeal the decision.

Pressure had been mounting on Microsoft as it lobbies at home and in Europe to convince watchdogs to clear the deal — one of the 30 biggest acquisitions of all time. Crucially, the CMA’s conclusions come before decisions from the European Union and the US Federal Trade Commission, which is waiting on a hearing in the summer after formally suing to veto the transaction.

READ MORE: FTC sues to block Microsoft’s $69 million takeover of Call of Duty maker Activision Blizzard

Microsoft gained 7% to $294.82 at 9:58 a.m. in New York, while Activision was down 8.8% to $79.11. If the deal is eventually blocked, Microsoft could be on the hook for a breakup fee of as much as $3 billion.

“Microsoft already enjoys a powerful position and head start over other competitors in cloud gaming and this deal would strengthen that advantage giving it the ability to undermine new and innovative competitors,” Martin Coleman, chair of the independent panel of experts conducting this investigation, said.

The CMA took a view that the merger could result in higher prices, fewer choices and less innovation for UK gamers. However, earlier this month it narrowed its original scope to focus on cloud gaming rather than consoles, after weighing new evidence.

“We remain fully committed to this acquisition and will appeal,” Brad Smith, vice chair and president of Microsoft, said. “The CMA’s decision rejects a pragmatic path to address competition concerns and discourages technology innovation and investment in the UK.”

Microsoft had been fighting the regulatory battle in the UK and Europe with an eye-catching road show of Brussels press conferences and full page advertisements in British newspapers to try to influence sentiment on the deal.

The CMA said the deal would solidify Microsoft’s advantage in the market by giving it control over Call of Duty, Overwatch, and World of Warcraft titles. The watchdog found that without the merger Activision would be able to start providing games on cloud platforms in the future.

The Call of Duty’s latest installment, Modern Warfare II, was released in October and topped $1 billion in sales within 10 days. It became the best-selling game of 2022, according to industry researcher NPD Group.

‘Good for competition’

“We’ve already begun the work to appeal to the UK Competition Appeals Tribunal. We’re confident in our case because the facts are on our side, this deal is good for competition,” Bobby Kotick, Activision’s chief executive officer, in a note to employees.

Britain’s competition watchdog said any potential remedy would need some degree of regulatory oversight and it is typically against behavioral remedies.

The regulator has attempted to assert itself as a powerful global regulator since the country left the EU. In recent shows of strength, it’s taken on Big Tech, including ordering Meta Platforms Inc. to reverse its acquisition of Giphy after worries it could take a stranglehold of the GIF market.

“Essentially, there has never been a successful appeal in the UK on an antitrust decision,” said Aaron Glick, a merger arbitrage strategist at TD Cowen. “There does not appear to be a path forward for Microsoft.”

The European Commission is still due to issue the final word on its own probe into the deal on May 22, while the FTC has scheduled a hearing into the deal in August.

​ Orange County Register 

Clippers’ star Kawhi Leonard reportedly suffered torn meniscus in right knee

• April 26, 2023

After the Clippers announced five-time All-Star Kawhi Leonard as a late scratch ahead of Game 3 of their first-round Western Conference playoff series against the Suns, they labeled the injury as a “knee sprain” and called him day to day.

On Wednesday morning, hours after the fourth-seeded Phoenix Suns eliminated the Clippers in Game 5 of their seven-game series, The Athletic’s Shams Charania tweeted that Leonard “has been diagnosed with a torn meniscus in his right knee.”

He added: “Leonard averaged (34.5) points in first two games of this postseason vs. Suns before the meniscus injury was revealed and he was shut down by medical staff.”

Clippers star Kawhi Leonard has been diagnosed with a torn meniscus in his right knee, sources tell @TheAthletic @Stadium. Leonard averaged 35 points in first two games of this postseason vs. Suns before the meniscus injury was revealed and he was shut down by medical staff.

— Shams Charania (@ShamsCharania) April 26, 2023

Leonard missed all of last season with a torn right anterior cruciate ligament he suffered in the Clippers’ second-round playoff series against Utah in 2021.

In his first season back from that injury, he played in 52 regular-season games and averaged 23.8 points, 6.5 rebounds, 3.9 assists and 1.4 steals per game. In two postseason games in Phoenix, including a Game 1 victory over the favored Suns, Leonard was shooting 54.5% from the field and averaging 6.5 rebounds, 6.0 assists and two steals in those games.

The Clippers expressed regret on Leonard’s behalf that he’d been sidelined by an injury without revealing specifics.

“The fact that he got hurt Game 1, tried to play through it Game 2 and people think that he’s out ’cause he doesn’t want to play,” fellow Clippers star Paul George said Tuesday morning before shootaround. “I think it just attacks his character, where people don’t understand. Like, he’ll play through it. It’s got to be a reason why he’s out.”

Related Articles

But the day before, Clippers coach Tyronn Lue hedged Monday when asked if there was any possibility Leonard could play Tuesday in Game 5: “I mean, there’s always a possibility, yes.”

​ Orange County Register 

Knott’s Berry Farm brings back chaperone policy amid increasing unruly behavior

• April 26, 2023

Knott’s Berry Farm has brought back a chaperone policy that went into effect after multiple fights broke out involving teenagers last summer following a series of incidents marred by violence and weapons at sister parks in recent weeks.

Under the updated policy, all visitors 15 years old or younger must be accompanied by a chaperone at least 21 years old after 4 p.m. daily to enter the Knott’s Berry Farm theme park or Knott’s Soak City water park.

SEE ALSO: Theme park fights escalate into a nationwide problem

“Over the past two years, there have been increasing incidents of unruly and inappropriate behavior across our industry and at other major entertainment venues,” according to the Knott’s website.

A single chaperone can accompany up to 10 underage visitors per day at the Buena Park theme park. The chaperone must have a valid ID with date of birth, provide a phone number and remain with the minors throughout the entire visit. Visitors 15 years old and under found in the park without a chaperone face ejection.

The reinstituted chaperone policy at Knott’s follows incidents at other Cedar Fair amusement parks involving minors, violence and weapons. An opening day fight involving more than 100 teens erupted in early April at Worlds of Fun in Missouri. A 17-year-old arrested with a gun at Kings Island in mid-April forced the Ohio amusement park to partially halt operations on opening day.

SEE ALSO: What to expect from Montezooma coaster renovation at Knott’s Berry Farm

In addition to Knott’s, parent company Cedar Fair has instituted chaperone policies at Worlds of Fun, Kings Island, Virginia’s Kings Dominion, Pennsylvania’s Dorney Park, Minnesota’s Valleyfair and California’s Great America in Santa Clara. The latest Knott’s chaperone policy went into effect on April 22.

Knott’s initially instituted a chaperone policy in July after multiple altercations involving teenagers caused the park to close early. Since then, Knott’s has expanded, scaled back, dropped and reintroduced its chaperone policy. The latest change expands the evolving chaperone policy from weekends only to a daily requirement, drops the age requiring an accompanying adult from 17 to 15 years old and allows chaperones to supervise more minors.

A nationwide outbreak of theme park fights have occurred at major players like Disney, Universal and Busch Gardens and regional parks like Kings Island, Kennywood and Waldameer.

Before the COVID-19 pandemic, fights were rare in recent decades at American theme parks that bill themselves as family-friendly safe havens.

​ Orange County Register