One of the oldest movie studios in Los Angeles is up for sale, perhaps to the newest generation of content creators.
The potential sale of Occidental Studios comes amid a drop in filming in Los Angeles as the local entertainment industry faces such headwinds as rising competition from studios in other cities and countries, as well as the aftermath of filming slowdowns during the pandemic and industry strikes of 2023.
Occidental Studios, which dates back to 1913, was once used by Mary Pickford and Douglas Fairbanks to make silent films. It is a small version of a traditional Hollywood studio with soundstages, offices and writers’ bungalows in a 3-acre gated campus near Echo Park in Historic Filipinotown.
Kermit the Frog above the Jim Henson Company studio lot in Hollywood.
(AaronP/Bauer-Griffin/GC Images)
The seller hopes its boutique reputation will garner $45 million, which would rank it one of the most valuable studios in Southern California at $651 per square foot. A legendary Hollywood studio founded by Charlie Chaplin in 1917 sold last year for $489 per foot, according to real estate data provider CoStar.
The Chaplin studio known until recently as the Jim Henson Company Lot was purchased by singer-songwriter John Mayer and movie director McG from the family of famed Muppets creator Jim Henson.
Occidental Studios may sell to one of today’s modern content creators in search of a flagship location, said real estate broker Nicole Mihalka of CBRE, who represents the seller.
She declined to name potential buyers but said she is showing the property to new-media businesses who don’t present themselves through traditional channels such as television shows and instead rely on social media and the internet to reach younger audiences.
Occidental Studios, which dates back to 1913, was once used by Mary Pickford and Douglas Fairbanks to make silent films.
(CBRE)
New media entrepreneurs may not often need soundstages, “but they like the idea of having the history, the legacy” of a studio linked to the early days of cinema, she said. It might lend credibility to a brand and become a destination for promotional activities as well as being a place to create content, she said. Mihalka envisions the space being used for events for partners, sponsors and advertisers as well as press junkets for new product launches.
Entertainment businesses located nearby include filmmaker Ava DuVernay’s Array Now, independent film and production company Blumhouse Productions and film and production company Rideback Ranch.
Neighborhoods east of Hollywood such as Los Feliz, Silver Lake, Echo Park and Highland Park have become home to many people in the entertainment industry, which Mihalka hopes will elevate the appeal of Occidental Studios.
“We’ve been seeing film and TV talent heading this way for a while,” she said, including executives who also live in those neighborhoods.
The owner of of Occidental Studios said it’s gotten harder for smaller studios to operate in the current economic climate that includes competition from major independent studio operators that have emerged in recent decades.
“Once upon a time, you did not have multibillion-dollar global portfolio companies swimming in the waters of Hollywood,” said Craig Darian, chief executive of Occidental Entertainment Group Holdings Inc., citing Hudson Pacific Properties, Hackman Capital Partners and CIM Group. “They are not content producers, but have a long history of providing services for multiple television shows and features.”
Competition now includes overseas studios in such countries as Canada, Ireland and Australia, he said. “When production was really robust and domiciled in Los Angeles, it was much easier to remain very competitive.”
Another factor threatening the bottom line for conventional studios is rapidly changing technology used to create entertainment including tools as simple as lighting.
“You used to know that equipment would last for decades,” Darian said. “The new tools for production are becoming obsolete in far shorter order.”
Writers’ bungalows at Occidental Studios.
(CBRE)
Nevertheless, Darian said, the potential sale “is not motivated by distress or urgency. Nothing is driving the decision other than the timing of whether or not this remains to be a relevant asset to keep within our portfolio. If we get an offer at or above the asking price, then we’re a seller.”
Darian said he may also seek a long-term tenant to take over the studio.
Occidental Studios at 201 N. Occidental Blvd. comprises over 69,000 square feet of buildings including four soundstages and support space such as offices and dressing rooms.
It’s among the oldest continually operating studios in Hollywood, used by pioneering filmmakers Cecil B. DeMille, D.W. Griffith and Pickford, who worked there as an actress and filmmaker in its early years. Pickford reportedly kept an apartment on the lot for years.
More recently it has been used for television production for such shows as “Tales of the City,” “New Girl” and HBO’s thriller “Sharp Objects.”
Local television production area declined by 30.5% in the first quarter compared with the previous year, according to he nonprofit organization FilmLA, which tracks shoot days in the Greater Los Angeles region. All categories of TV production were down, including dramas (-38.9%), comedies (-29.9%), reality shows -(26.4%) and pilots (-80.3%).
Feature film production decreased by 28.9%, while commercials were down by 2.1%, FilmLA said.
After living in her two-bedroom apartment in Los Feliz for more than a decade, Debra Weiss encountered a problem experienced by many renters in Los Angeles: She was evicted.
“I moved into the apartment in 2014, and four years later, my landlord sold it to a wealthy family who bought it at a loss,” said Weiss, 69, who works as a textile artist. “They knew they couldn’t evict us due to rent control.”
In this series, we spotlight L.A. rentals with style. From perfect gallery walls to temporary decor hacks, these renters get creative, even in small spaces. And Angelenos need the inspiration: Most are renters.
When the landlords put the three-unit complex on the market in 2022, however, they offered Weiss $50,000 to move out — far more than the amount required by law — to make the building easier for them to sell. She declined, concerned it would affect her Social Security benefits, as there is a limit to how much one can earn and still receive full benefits.
Then, last February, the three tenants received eviction notices under the Ellis Act, which allows landlords to evict renters from rent-controlled apartments if the building is being torn down or removed from the rental market. It’s currently for sale for $3.2 million.
As a senior, Weiss was entitled to a full year’s notice because she had lived in her unit for more than a year. Still, she knew she would eventually have to move out of the comfortable 1,200-square-foot duplex, for which she paid $2,670 a month in rent.
Artist Debra Weiss stands in her dining room where she often works as a fiber artist.
When she began looking for another apartment in the area, Weiss quickly learned that she could no longer afford to live in Los Feliz. “The apartments were so much more expensive than what I was used to paying, and they had no parking or a washer and dryer,” she said. (Weiss was paid $24,650 in relocation assistance, which was taxed, due to her age and the length of time she lived in her Los Feliz apartment.)
She also visited some small studios and considered purchasing a TIC, or Tenancy in Common, where buyers purchase a share in a corporation that owns a building. However, to secure a loan, she’d need someone to co-sign. “Even though they are cute, they are tiny and not necessarily in the best neighborhoods,” she said. Another option, a Craftsman apartment near USC, wasn’t in a good walking neighborhood, something that was important to Weiss. It was also dark and hundreds of dollars more a month than her previous apartment. “I’m almost 70 years old and I need light to work,” she added.
Handknitted sculptures, embroidered weavings and a tufted rug adorn the guest room.
When her son-in-law spotted a charming two-bedroom apartment near the Los Angeles County Museum of Art for $2,950 a month on Zillow, Weiss decided to check it out.
“My initial reaction was, ‘I want this,’ ” Weiss said of the fourplex.
The rental had high ceilings, oak floors, ample sunlight, an appealing fireplace, a garage and a washer and dryer. A newly redone modern kitchen felt out of character for the 1930s building, but that didn’t bother Weiss. “The kitchen is a blank canvas,” she said of the all-white cabinets and countertops. “The white background makes all of my stuff stand out,” including ceramics by Mt. Washington Pottery and Altadena artist Linda Hsiao.
Weiss knits a sweater for her granddaughter with yarn she purchased in Japan.
Concerned that the landlord wouldn’t want to rent to her because of her age, she was pleasantly surprised when she got the apartment. “The light is amazing,” Weiss said. “I was initially worried about some of the modern touches like the overhead lighting, but it floods the room with bright light that allows me to work at night.”
Nearly a year after moving in, Weiss has filled the apartment with her stitched collages, quilts and the artworks of others, many of which she described as “trades.” “I like color and pattern and objects,” she said as she pointed out some Japanese ceramics on her buffet and a dress that she crocheted with scraps of fabric, yarn and metal.
In the guest room, a wall hanging composed of three separate weavings in a gingham check pattern is embroidered with a series of characters she based on her 5-year-old granddaughter’s drawings. “It’s about people coming together in chaos and supporting each other,” Weiss said. “I like the pattern; it reminds me of eating together on picnic tables.”
“I like objects,” Weiss said of the many treasures and collections of things that are featured throughout her rental.
On the opposite wall of the guest room above her sewing machine, a series of metal sculptures she knitted with copper and silver hangs alongside cloth dolls and purses. In the corner, a cowl made of macrame, textiles and yarn adorns a mannequin. There’s also a colorful latch hook rug that she made with acrylic yarn that looks more like artwork than a functional accessory.
In her bedroom, a coverlet that Weiss assembled from vintage quilts adorns the bed.
The long hallway ends at the laundry room and is lined with her colorful quilts, some of which are mounted on Homasote board, along with weavings and stitched works, which, like her cooking, are improvisational.
“I work without planning and respond to the materials and see what it becomes,” she said. “I start knitting and see where it goes. I get excited about the material, and then I go for it. “
The hallway in Weiss’s apartment is lined with her artworks.
Much of the wood furniture in her apartment was made by her father, who died 13 years ago.
“I’ve had this since my kids were little, and you can see all the markings,” she said of the hutch in the corner of her dining room. “My dad made it 40 years ago for the Van Nuys house I grew up in.”
It is here, at the dining room table that her father made, that she works, hosts workshops and teaches lessons in fiber art, collage and stitching. Later this year, she hopes to host a sale of her work at a holiday open house in her apartment.
Weiss is an expert in mixing texture, pattern and color in her Mid-Wilshire apartment.
The mixing of colorful Persian rugs, textiles, natural materials, chunky wood pieces and intricately knitted metal sculptures creates a warm balance throughout her apartment.
Bursting with color and pattern, the rooms offer a sense of calm that Weiss appreciates as a woman who raised three daughters alone and has had to pivot during major life changes. Over the years, she has run a clothing company, Rebe, which closed in 2019 due to economic uncertainty, declared bankruptcy and sold her Woodland Hills house. Most recently, she was forced to weather the eviction process.
“I’ve always been an entrepreneur,” said Weiss, who works six to eight hours a day at home and sells her artwork and sewing patterns on her Specks and Keepings website and at L.A. Homefarm in Glassell Park. “I’ll always figure out a way to make money by selling the things that I make.”
Even though the process of having to move was stressful, Weiss is happy with her new home and neighborhood. “I take the Metro bus everywhere and hardly ever drive,” she said. “I go to the Hollywood Farmer’s Market on Sundays. Kaiser is nearby and I can walk to LACMA. Everything worked out perfectly.”
Weiss pulls out a drawer of her flat files cabinet filled with her artwork.
On May 27, Chinese EV battery giant CATL raised HK$41 billion (about $5.23 billion) in the world’s largest IPO of 2025 on the Hong Kong Stock Exchange.
Shares jumped 16.4% on its debut, with JPMorgan Chase underwriting the deal that propelled the bourse to the top of global rankings.
“CATL’s Hong Kong listing is a significant milestone, not just for the company but for the broader regional market,” said Joshua Chu, a Hong Kong-based lawyer at CITD.
“The scale of the IPO, given the current global macroeconomic headwinds and the cautious investor sentiment in Asia, is impressive,” he added.
The advisers also managed a complex dual-listing process, underscoring Hong Kong’s growing capability to handle large strategic offerings. After all, these were some of the most seasoned global and regional financial institutions and law offices, according to Anandaday Misshra, managing partner of Indian law firm AMLEGALS.
“It is clear that CATL has leaned on deep institutional and sectoral expertise to structure a deal of this magnitude,” Misshra added.
Also, CATL’s Hong Kong listing “shows growing confidence in zero-carbon technologies and the companies building them,” Kapil Dhiman of Quranium said.
“As a company building secure digital infrastructure for the future, we see this as a sign that Hong Kong is ready to play a leading role again in supporting bold, forward-looking industries,” Dhiman adds.
CATL reported a 40% year-on-year increase in EV battery deliveries in the first quarter of the year. Seoul-based SNE Research suggests it also acquired a 38.2% global market share.
CATL’s Hong Kong listing proceeds would be utilized for factory construction in foreign markets—accounting for 30% of its total revenue.
“For now, it looks far more like a war chest. The large earning to spending suggests China will take up any new technologies slowly anyway,” said economist Dr. Bryane Michael of Oxford University.
CATL’s IPO also reflects a broader shift in global capital flows.
“As US-China trade tensions ease, Chinese equities have rebounded strongly, while ongoing US-EU tariff disputes and political uncertainties continue to weigh on US markets,” Chu said. “Hong Kong’s mature market infrastructure and strategic positioning make it an increasingly attractive destination for international investors seeking stability and growth in Asia.”
European equities tumbled when the market opened on Friday and oil prices surged, as investors reacted to Israel’s large-scale air strikes on Iran’s nuclear infrastructure, fuelling fears of a broader Middle East conflict.
The operation, named Rising Lion, marks the most extensive Israeli military action on Iranian soil to date, targeting over 100 facilities including the Natanz complex and missile sites near Tehran.
As of 9.15am CEST, the Euro STOXX 50 had dropped 1.5%, extending weekly losses to 2.7% — the worst performance since early April.
Financials led the downturn among Eurozone blue chips. Deutsche Bank fell 2.73%, UniCredit 2.56%, Banco Bilbao Vizcaya Argentaria 2.48% and Banco Santander 2.46%.
Germany’s DAX lost 1.34% to 23,453, France’s CAC 40 dropped 1.35% to 7,660, Italy’s FTSE MIB retreated 1.68% to 39,271, and Spain’s IBEX 35 fell 1.70% to 13,849.
Oil prices surged following the Israeli strike, as markets began to price in a higher geopolitical risk premium. Brent crude jumped over 5% to trade at $73 (€68) per barrel, while West Texas Intermediate rose to $71.5 (€66.60). For the week, oil prices are up more than 10%, on track for the strongest weekly gain since October 2022.
As energy prices rallied, oil majors such as Italy’s Eni and Spain’s Repsol gained 2%.
German defence powerhouse Rheinmetall also rose 2% as investors turned to military and security-exposed stocks.
Dutch TTF natural gas futures climbed 2% to €37.12 per megawatt hour, amid concerns over potential disruptions to energy flows.
The Israeli campaign involved over 200 fighter jets, according to the IDF, and reportedly resulted in the death of senior Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps commanders Hossein Salami and Mohammad Bagheri.
Gold eyes new record, dollar rebounds
Demand for safe-haven assets surged. Gold rose 1% to $3,430 (€3,200) per ounce, nearing its all-time high of $3,500. Silver also held ground, hitting $36.5 per ounce overnight.
The dollar gained strength following days of steady declines. The euro fell 0.5% to $1.1540 after touching a three-year high of 1.16 on Thursday. On the data front, Germany’s final inflation reading for May was confirmed at 2.1% year-over-year. Spain’s annual inflation was upwardly revised from 1.9% to 2%.
The pound also slipped 0.5% to $1.1350.
The Israeli shekel tumbled 1.8% against the dollar, heading for its steepest daily loss since the Hamas attack of October 2023.
Analysts see upside risks for oil prices
“The Israeli strike on Iran’s nuclear facilities has sent oil prices spiking and has offered the oversold and undervalued dollar a catalyst for a rebound,” said Francesco Pesole, currency strategist at ING.
While there are currently no confirmed disruptions to oil production, analysts warn that the situation could escalate rapidly.
“The key difference from previous standoffs is that nuclear facilities have now been targeted,” Pesole added.
Warren Patterson, head of commodities research at ING, noted: “In a scenario where we see continued escalation, there’s the potential for disruptions to shipping through the Strait of Hormuz. Almost a third of global seaborne oil trade moves through that route.”
He warned that up to 14 million barrels per day could be at risk, with oil potentially surging to $120 per barrel in the event of a prolonged disruption — levels not seen since 2008.
Benedict Corpuz has always been a “day one” type of person when it comes to fueling his video game habit.
Beginning in his high school years, the 45-year-old flight attendant from Kent, Wash., has tried to get his hands on new Nintendo systems on the day of their release, whether it was the Nintendo 64 or its less popular successor, the GameCube. The new Nintendo Switch 2 was no different. He lined up at 6:30 p.m. Wednesday at the Federal Way Best Buy in Washington, was allowed in the store at 9:01 p.m. and was back in his car with the coveted item — which he had preordered — by 9:13 p.m.
“It’s a good feeling to be one of the first,” he said. “I just really enjoy playing the games.”
Demand for the roughly $450 handheld device, which officially launched Thursday, was high as eager shoppers like Corpuz waited in line for hours to acquire the newest iteration of the Switch, which launched eight years ago to robust sales. “Let the games begin!” Nintendo of America posted on social media, showcasing photos of excited customers holding up their Switch 2 devices.
By afternoon in Los Angeles, there were reports of the devices selling out at some retailers, a clear indication of the console’s success. Shortages were reported in a number of international markets. The last time a console release generated so much attention was in 2020, when Sony’s PlayStation 5 and Microsoft’s latest Xbox were released during the same month.
“Realistically, it’s going to be sold out for quite a while,” Michael Pachter, a managing director at Wedbush Securities, said of the new Switch. “By January, maybe they’ll get supply and demand in balance.”
The popular device, which introduces several new games including “Mario Kart World,” will provide a boost to the global video game and game services market, which is expected to grow 1% to $201 billion this year, according to estimates from London-based Ampere Analysis. Video games are a massive business in entertainment, with gross revenues far exceeding annual worldwide box office ticket sales for movies, for example.
Console sales alone are projected to hit $16.5 billion this year, up from $13.4 billion in 2024.
Ronald Santa-Cruz, a research manager at Ampere, estimates that Switch 2 will sell 13.6 million units in 2025, and attributes its popularity to a large install base of Switch users ready to upgrade, improved performance and capabilities to support higher fidelity games, and the loyalty of fans to Nintendo’s franchises, which include “Super Mario Bros.” and “The Legend of Zelda.”
The original Switch, which launched in 2017, saw sales soar for Nintendo during the COVID-19 pandemic as people looked for ways to entertain themselves at home. Nintendo said it has sold 152 million units of Nintendo Switch hardware as of March 31.
Before launching the Switch, Nintendo’s future was uncertain. The video game pioneer, based in Kyoto, Japan, had struggled to compete in the intense consoles market against the likes of Sony and Microsoft, said Rob Enderle, principal analyst with advisory services firm Enderle Group. Nintendo’s onetime chief rival, Sega Corp., stopped making and selling consoles in 2001 after a series of failures.
But the Switch heralded a turnaround. Its hybrid design, which allowed for on-the-go playing, broadened its appeal beyond the typical console gamers.
“Back before the Switch, it was really kind of unclear whether Nintendo was going to survive,” Enderle said, adding that the Switch was different enough from the other offerings and portable. “The end result is it allowed them to restore their market opportunity. But without the Switch, I think they would have gone under.”
Nintendo is forecasting that Switch 2 hardware sales will total 15 million units in its fiscal year, with the goal of reaching the sales that the company had with the first Switch in the 10-month period from its launch in March 2017, said Shuntaro Furukawa, president of Nintendo Co. Ltd. in a briefing last month. Furukawa said that the tariff situation in the U.S. and the possibility of a recession did not reduce the company’s forecast.
“Our first goal is to get off to the same start we did with Nintendo Switch, and we are working to strengthen our production capacity so we can respond flexibly to demand,” Furukawa said.
“We appreciate the positive response from our fans,” Nintendo said in a statement, declining to share launch-day sales numbers.
Nintendo said it supplied its retail partners with “a significant amount of products for launch” and encouraged anyone who didn’t get a Switch 2 during preorder to visit their favorite retailers.
“We’ll work hard to replenish our retail partners with a steady stream of product as we make every effort to meet demand,” Nintendo said.
Nintendo of America President Doug Bowser told CBS News on Thursday that the company has been “delighted with the demand we’ve seen thus far” and that preorders sold out in a “very quick period of time.”
While the Switch is off to a strong start, its future pricing remains uncertain as the Trump administration imposes tariffs. Despite the uncertainty, analysts said that they think demand will remain strong for the device.
Gorgeous Frome has a historic centre, burgeoning crafts scene and beautiful walks. Many people are flocking to the market town for a more affordable and quieter lifestyle
Frome was once the largest market town in Somerset(Image: Getty)
A delightful market town set in the heart of Somerset’s countryside offers something for everyone. The charming town of Frome boasts a historic core, a thriving arts and crafts scene, and picturesque walking routes. Situated a mere 13 miles from Bath, it’s becoming a hotspot for those seeking a more affordable and tranquil way of life away from the bustling city.
Once Somerset’s largest market town, surpassing even Bath until the mid-17th century, Frome was a hub for the wool and cloth trade, as well as metalworking and printing industries, which have all dwindled over time. Nevertheless, this heritage-rich town has managed to retain much of its past, with numerous buildings gaining listed status.
Catherine Hill transforms into an award-winning, destination street market(Image: Getty)
A significant portion of the town centre is designated as a conservation area, inviting tourists to meander through its quaint streets, home to nearly 30,000 residents.
Frome is dotted with an array of independent art spaces, retro boutiques, grand gardens, and cosy cafés that beckon visitors to explore or simply relax and take in the scenery, reports the Express.
Exploration is further rewarded by the town’s labyrinth of narrow alleyways and hidden nooks waiting to be discovered. Among Frome’s treasures is Nunney Castle, dubbed a “hidden gem” and one of Somerset’s “most romantic castles” by TripAdvisor.
This medieval fortress, complete with its own moat, is maintained by English Heritage and welcomes guests free of charge to delve into its storied past.
Every first Sunday of the month, from March through November, Catherine Hill bursts into life with the Frome Independent, an acclaimed street market that has won hearts and awards. This monthly mini-festival entirely captivates the town, drawing in throngs of people.
Visitors are encouraged to explore the town’s cobbled lanes and secretive corners(Image: Getty)
The Frome Independent is a cornucopia of local culinary delights, artistic talents, fresh produce, plants, flowers, retro finds, vintage goods, collectables, homewares and lively street performers.
Featuring this bustling monthly market and the well-known yearly bash, Frome is cementing its status as a mecca for the creatively inclined.
Summer visitors have the added treat of the nationally celebrated Frome Festival, a ten-day extravaganza in July glorifying community spirit and the arts, literature, music, and local history.
Time Out, which hailed it as one of the top weekend getaways from London in 2019, dubbed it “Somerset’s answer to Versailles”. Further acclaim came in 2021 when The Sunday Times honoured it as one of the “best places to live in the UK”.
Which? Travel asked more than 9,000 people to rate their favourite inland towns and villages’ food and drink offering. Ludlow, a historic market town in Shropshire, came out on top
Views of the English town of Ludlow (Image: Getty Images)
The quaint market town is one of the UK’s top foodie destinations, according to a survey by Which? Travel. After polling over 9,000 people in 2024, Ludlow in Shropshire emerged as the nation’s best-rated inland town for its culinary delights, boasting an impressive five-star rating for its food and drink offerings.
This picturesque town, with its 500-plus listed buildings, has long been admired for its charm, with poet John Betjeman once describing it as “the loveliest town in England”. Ludlow’s recipe for success lies in its emphasis on fresh, locally sourced ingredients, which are showcased in its numerous pubs, cafes and restaurants.
A spokesperson for Which? said: “Instead of a handful of high-end eateries, there’s a culture of local produce as well as numerous pubs and cafes, served by people who care about the food.”
Some of Ludlow’s top-rated eateries include The Old Downton Lodge, Vaughan’s Sandwich Bar, The Boyne Arms gastropub, and CSONS, a riverside cafe.
Visitors can sample the best of the region’s produce at the Ludlow Local Produce market, held on the second and fourth Thursdays of the month.
St Laurence Church in Ludlow(Image: Getty Images)
The market features food and drink produced within a 30-mile radius of the town, promoting sustainable and locally sourced fare.
Wells, the UK’s second-smallest city, took second place in the survey as the best inland destination for foodies. Top UK Towns and Villages for Foodies.
SAN FRANCISCO — In recent years, San Francisco’s image as a welcoming place for businesses has taken a hit.
Major tech companies such as Dropbox and Salesforce reduced footprints in the city by subleasing office space, while retailers including Nordstrom and Anthropologie pulled out of downtown. Social media firm X, formerly Twitter, vacated its Mid-Market headquarters for Texas, after owner Elon Musk complained about “dodging gangs of violent drug addicts just to get in and out of the building.”
While the city remains on the defensive, one bright spot has been a boom in artificial intelligence startups.
San Francisco’s 35.4% vacancy rate in the first quarter — among the highest in the nation — is expected to drop one to three percentage points in the third quarter thanks to AI companies expanding or opening new offices in the city, according to real estate brokerage firm JLL. The last time San Francisco’s vacancy rate dropped was in the fourth quarter, when it declined 0.2% — the first time since the COVID-19 pandemic, according to JLL.
“People wanted to count us out, and I think that was a bad bet,” said Mayor Daniel Lurie. “We’re seeing all of this because the ecosystem is better here in San Francisco than anywhere else in the world, and it’s really an exciting time.”
Five years ago, AI leases in San Francisco’s commercial real estate market were relatively sparse, with just two leases in 2020, according to JLL. But that’s since soared to 167 leases in the first quarter of 2025. The office footprint for AI companies has also surged, making up 4.8 million square feet in 2024, up from 2.6 million in 2022, JLL said.
“You need the talent base, you need the entrepreneur ecosystem, and you need the VC ecosystem,” said Alexander Quinn, senior director of economic research for JLL’s Northwest region. “So all those three things exist within the greater Bay Area, and that enables us to be the clear leader.”
AI firms are attracted to San Francisco because of the concentration of talent in the city, analysts said. The city is home to AI companies including ChatGPT maker OpenAI and Anthropic, known for the chatbot Claude, which in turn attract businesses that want to collaborate. The Bay Area is also home to universities that attract entrepreneurs and researchers, including UC Berkeley, UC San Francisco and Stanford University.
OpenAI leases about 1 million square feet of space across five different locations in the city and employs roughly 2,000 people in San Francisco. The company earlier this year opened its new headquarters in Mission Bay, leasing the space from Uber.
OpenAI began as a nonprofit research lab in 2015 and the people involved found their way to San Francisco for the same reason why earlier generations of technologists and people pushing the frontier in the United States are drawn to the city, said Chris Lehane, OpenAI’s vice president of global affairs in an interview.
“It is a place where, when you put out an idea, no matter how crazy it may seem at the time, or how unorthodox it may seem … San Francisco is the city where people don’t say, ‘That’s crazy,’” Lehane said. “They say, ‘That’s a really interesting idea. Let’s see if we can do it.’”
The interior of OpenAI’s new San Francisco headquarters in the Mission Bay neighborhood. (OpenAI)
Databricks, valued at $62 billion, is also expanding in San Francisco. Databricks in March announced it will move to a larger space in the Financial District next year, boosting its office footprint to 150,000 square feet and more than doubling its San Francisco staff in the next two years. It pledged to hold its annual Data + AI Summit in the city for five more years.
The company holds 57,934 square feet at its current San Francisco office in the Embarcadero, according to CoStar, which tracks real estate trends.
“San Francisco is a real talent magnet for AI talent,” said Databricks’ co-founder and vice president of engineering Patrick Wendell. “It’s a beautiful city for people to live and work in and so we really are just following where the employees are.”
Several years ago, Wendell said his company was considering whether to expand in San Francisco. At the time, it was unclear whether people would return to offices after the pandemic, and some businesses raised concerns about safety and cleanliness of San Francisco’s streets. Wendell said his company decided to invest more in the city after getting reassurances from city leaders.
“People are seeing an administration that is focused on public safety, clean streets and creating the conditions that also says that we’re open for business,” said Lurie, who defeated incumbent mayor London Breed last November by campaigning on public safety. “We’ve said from day one, we have to create the conditions for our arts and culture, for our small businesses and for our innovators and our entrepreneurs to thrive here.”
Laurel Arvanitidis, director of business development for San Francisco’s Office of Economic and Workforce Development, said that the city’s policy and tax reforms have helped attract and retain businesses in recent years, including an office tax credit that gives up to a $1-million credit for businesses that are new or relocating to San Francisco.
On Thursday, Lurie announced on social media that cryptocurrency exchange Coinbase is opening an office in San Francisco after leaving the city four years ago.
“We are excited to reopen an office in SF,” Coinbase Chief Executive Brian Armstrong wrote in response to the mayor’s social media post. “Still lots of work to do to improve the city (it was so badly run for many years) but your excellent work has not gone unnoticed, and we greatly appreciate it.”
Santa Clara-based Nvidia is also looking for San Francisco office space, according to a person familiar with the matter who declined to be named. The news was first reported by the San Francisco Chronicle. Nvidia, which also has California offices in San Dimas and Sunnyvale, declined to comment.
“It’s because of AI that San Francisco is back,” Nvidia Chief Executive Jensen Huang said last month on the Hill & Valley Forum podcast. “Just about everybody evacuated San Francisco. Now it’s thriving again.”
But San Francisco still has challenges ahead, as companies continue to push workers to return to the office. While the street environment has improved, it will be critical for the city to keep up the progress.
Lurie said his administration inherited the largest budget deficit in the city’s history and they have to get that under control. His administration’s task is to make sure streets and public spaces are clean, safe and inviting, he said.
“We have work to do, there’s no question, but we are a city on the rise, that’s for sure,” Lurie said.
Times staff writer Roger Vincent contributed to this report.
AN iconic Grand Designs house dubbed “perfect” by fans has hit the market for £1.5million after 20 years of “painstaking” renovation.
Green Dragon Barn, in South Hams, Devon, was forged from three connected barns by couple Sue Charman and Martin Whitlock.
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Kevin McCloud originally visited the home in 2001Credit: Channel 4
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The Grand Designs home was dubbed “perfect”by fansCredit: Stags
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After two decades the renovation is completeCredit: Stags
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The property is listed on the market for £1.5millionCredit: Stags
The pair took on the mammoth renovation task in 2001, when the property also featured on Kevin McCloud’s show.
After 20 years the eco-project has been completed, but is now listed for sale.
The decision came after Sue sadly died in 2023, and Martin chose to embark on a new chapter elsewhere.
When Grand Designs host Kevin re-visited the five-bedroom home, after last seeing it in 2001, he said: “This is a home lovingly, painstakingly, time-consumingly transformed.
“Resplendent with 20 years of devoted care.”
Martin explained: “The revisit in 2021 was a delight – we were completely ready and the house was looking at its best.
“A complete absence of drama! Of course things were very different back in 2000. We were racing against the clock and the weather, and the programme makers made the most of that.”
The homeowner told how they chose the house in 2000 because they wanted to near the sea, and Totnes.
“The barn was a complete wreck – actually three barns built together over three centuries, and a bigger project than we were planning, but it allowed us to really go to town and create some stunning rooms,” he added.
The couple enlisted the help of architect Adrian Slocombe, of Earthway Design, to navigate how to build on the sloping landscape.
Despite dedicating two decades to the renovation, Martin said the couple relished in the adventure.
“Although it took 20 years, it wasn’t 20 years of work on the house,” he said.
“We moved into two rooms in 2001 and gradually expanded out from there as we found time to do the work in our busy lives.
“So every so often there would be new rooms or features to enjoy. A real adventure.”
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Natural light floods into the spacious kitchenCredit: Stags
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A vaulted room under the thatch roofCredit: Stags
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A full height entrance atriumCredit: Stags
The property boasts a large kitchen area which connects to an incredible 30-foot reception – kitted out with an oak floor and wood burning stove.
Potential buyers will also be able to enjoy an atrium and grand hall with dramatic pillar features.
As well as a utility room, there’s a stone larder and box room for more storage.
Upstairs, there’s four spacious bedrooms, two of which offer en-suit shower rooms, as well as a shared family bathroom.
And, one of Martin’s favourite areas is a huge vaulted room that lies beneath the thatch roof.
While creating the stunning renovation, the couple wanted to focus on keeping the project environmentally friendly.
Martin said: “Sue was passionate about environmental issues and we were determined to make the house as natural and sustainable as possible.
“It was a matter of principle but also very much in the spirit of the building.
“So the house is eco-conscious in its use of traditional, natural materials such as lime, stone, cob, slate and thatch, but is also highly insulated, has modern double glazing, a reed bed, a heat recovery system and a wood pellet boiler.”
Outside, the property boasts a private driveway which leads to a large parking and turning area in front of the house and garage.
Green Dragon Barn is now listed for sale by Stags at a guide price of £1,500,000.
Grand Designs’ most ‘bizarre’ house ever leaves fans raging
GRAND Designs’ most ‘bizarre’ house ever has left fans raging – as a pensioner builds a £600k replica of her own house.
In the latest episode of the property show 82-year-old Kathryn decided to build a 21st-century mirror image of her Edwardian home with a budget of £607,000 but she soon run into trouble.
The episode centred around Kathryn, who decided to move out of her home in North London following the death of her late husband.
Speaking to host Kevin McCloud, she said that she could no longer look after her home and that she couldn’t cope due to the stairs.
With the help of her son Gordon, Kathryn explained that she wanted to build a mirror image of her house right next door.
Fans of the show couldn’t understand the widow’s decision and slammed her decision as ridiculous.
“That was one ridiculous, overpriced, unnecessary, rip off builds I’ve seen in the history of this show.
“There’s skullduggery at play here, isn’t there Gordon?!” said one viewer.
Another added: “Omg 900k, would love to know the value now?
“Surely they could have updated the original, made the side a plot of land to sell to help with the costs #GrandDesigns.”
A third stated: “Nah that exterior is awful good lord. 900k??? Could have just fired a stair lift in her old place.”
While another fan added: “Oh dear, overpriced disaster imo. Should have just moved. All that money and already owned the land!”
During the show it was revealed that Kathryn had gone over budget by 100k due to a series of misfortunes out of her control.
Presenter Kevin described it as “dire” financially but worse was still to come.
As she was given a £19,000 bill for road cables to connect the house to electricity, and a dumbfounded Kevin was astonished.
The vast increase in costs caused fans to comment further as they couldn’t believe how much she had spent.
“Has she not heard of a stannah stair lift, what a waste of money” exclaimed a viewer.
“900k! And couldn’t even put a stairlift in! What a waste, should have saved the stress and bought a adapted bungalow.
“And it looks like a 1950s community centre” slated another.
One fan went as far as saying: “£900k for a three bed semi? Someone’s taking the p**s.”
The listing reads: “Green Dragon Barn enjoys a peaceful setting near the popular village of Blackawton, which offers a strong community spirit, a highly regarded primary school, a parish church, and a traditional village pub.
“The vibrant market town of Kingsbridge lies approximately 7 miles to the west and provides a wide range of shops, amenities, and a well-respected secondary school, serving nearby coastal villages such as Salcombe and Thurlestone.
“Totnes, around 7 miles to the north, offers an eclectic mix of independent shops, cafes, and galleries, along with a mainline railway station providing direct services to London in around three hours.
“To the south, the historic town of Dartmouth sits at the mouth of the beautiful River Dart and is renowned for its maritime heritage, excellent sailing facilities, and the prestigious Britannia Royal Naval College, also approximately 7 miles away.”
However, Martin said he “wouldn’t blame” new owners if they want to change the style to suit their personal preferences.
He also highlighted the potential their 1.3 acre garden and orchard have to offer.
Looking forward, Martin said: “I can’t imagine living in any house that I didn’t want to make changes to, so I’m open to a new project if I can find one.
“But whatever happens it will be a lot smaller – something on the scale of Green Dragon Barn is really a once-in-a-lifetime project.”
Elinor and Born Barikor, from Richmond in south west London, have created the “healthy house” for their three children.
The couple’s two sons, Avery and Pascal, both have potentially life-threatening dairy, wheat, egg, gluten, soya, oat, pulses, fruit, nut, dust, pollen and animal fur allergies.
Elinor and Born bought their property in 2018 with the hopes of forging a “safe haven” for the boys.
Bitcoin just hit a new all-time high (ATH), but Solana is setting the pace among crypto majors with a 6.8% gain today. Can it rally to $200 this month?
Meanwhile, the new Solana layer 2 Solaxy displays incredible strength in its presale, raising $39 million. Will this follow Solana’s lead and explode once it hits exchanges?
Solana Outpaces Peers as Ecosystem Explodes
The market is euphoric right now, with Bitcoin trading above $110,000 and altcoins green across the board.
But amidst this excitement, Solana leads the way among large-cap cryptos. With a 6.8% gain in the past 24 hours, it has just tapped the $180 level.
This makes it the best-performing top five crypto by market cap today, underlining that investors are eager to get involved as market conditions show positive signs.
But this momentum extends beyond $SOL and into its ecosystem tokens. Solana-based meme coin SPX6900 is the biggest gainer among the top 100 cryptos by market cap today, with a 24% gain. It’s followed by fellow Solana meme coins Fartcoin and Dogwifhat, up 21% and 20%, respectively.
It’s no surprise that Solana leads the way in terms of daily active users among all blockchains, with 4.5 million people interacting with it today alone. This figure stretches to a staggering 82 million users over the last month, almost double the next-most-active blockchain, Near Protocol, with 42 million daily active users.
Solana’s vibrant ecosystem is the reason it’s performing so well today, and judging by its on-chain activity, there’s no sign that it will slow down anytime soon. With that in mind, Solana looks poised for an uptrend continuation, but what does its chart say?
Expert Says Solana to Break $200 Within 1 Month
A breakout above $180 will spark a rally to $200 and beyond, says prominent crypto analyst Posty.
He awaited $SOL to retest the $150 level, but noted that it displayed too much strength. Now, he thinks that’s unlikely to happen. Rather, he anticipates a breakout above $180, followed by an upswing to $200, which will happen in early June.
The analyst’s price chart displays the next major resistance level after $180 at $220, suggesting that could be the next target.
But what’s interesting is that analysts don’t believe that $SOL will slow down once it hits $200, or even once it hits $250. Rather, this might just be the start. According to long-term Solana holder Jelle, $SOL could explode to between $350 and $450 once it breaches its current $250 all-time high (ATH).
From a fundamental standpoint, Solana is solid. From a technical outlook, things are even more exciting. With that, we could certainly see $SOL rally to $200 in the near future and then potentially well beyond that level.
As Solana gains pace, analysts are also backing new project Solaxy to see huge gains, given its promising use case and massive presale raise.
Solana Layer-2 Project Solaxy Tipped to 100X as Presale Nears $40M
Solaxy is building the world’s first Solana layer 2 blockchain to resolve the network’s pressing congestion issue.
Although Solana is highly scalable, it can become overwhelmed in periods of peak network activity, leading to longer wait times and increased rates of transaction failures.
Solaxy will solve this with off-chain computation and rollup technology, aiming to provide cheaper, faster, and more reliable transactional throughput than if users were to trade directly on the Solana layer 1 chain.
If it achieves its goal, Solaxy will enable Solana to function flawlessly at all times and even open the network to new use cases.
We’ve seen Solana meme coins make huge gains today, so there’s every chance that $SOLX also explodes. As to how far it could go, Umar Khan from 99Bitcoins thinks it could 100x.
The $SOLX presale has raised a staggering $39 million so far, showing huge investor support.
However, it’s set to end in 25 days, so there’s little time for prospective buyers to get involved.
This article is for informational purposes only and does not provide financial advice. Cryptocurrencies are highly volatile, and the market can be unpredictable. Always perform thorough research before making any cryptocurrency-related decisions.
The theme park rivalry in Orlando, Fla. is heating up.
This week, Universal will open its latest park, Epic Universe, a reportedly $7 billion bet for the Comcast-owned company and the newest salvo in its ongoing push to expand its tourism and entertainment empire.
That puts pressure on Walt Disney Co., whose Walt Disney World Resort has long dominated the Orlando vacation landscape, but is now seeing increased competition, particularly from Universal.
Sprawled across 750 acres, Epic Universe represents the biggest Universal theme park expansion since the opening of the Wizarding World of Harry Potter 15 years ago.
It touts five different themed areas, four of which are tied to well-known franchises: “Harry Potter,” “How to Train Your Dragon,” Universal’s Dark Universe of classic movie monsters and Nintendo video game properties, in addition to a cosmic central Celestial Park hub.
The resort, which also includes three hotels, features technologically-advanced animatronics and detailed rides like Monsters Unchained: The Frankenstein Experiment, which showcases many of Universal’s monsters. Reviews of the park have been largely positive, with critics highlighting the immersive nature of the attractions.
“Comcast has come on so strong with what they’ve developed and brought forth in the Orlando market,” said Dennis Speigel, founder and chief executive of Cincinnati-based consulting firm International Theme Park Services Inc. “Over the last 15 years, they have brought that distance between Universal and Disney much closer, and it has really become a prize fight. It’s the most intense and competitive situation in the industry.”
Disney was the first of the two to the Orlando market back in 1971, when it opened the Magic Kingdom at Disney World. It wasn’t until 1990 that Universal opened its own Orlando park, giving Disney a nearly two-decade head start.
Today, Disney World has four theme parks and two water parks, while Universal Orlando will have three, including Epic Universe and Islands of Adventure (opened in 1999), and a water park, Volcano Bay (2017).
Though Universal was late to market, its 2010 opening of the Wizarding World of Harry Potter land across Universal Studios and Islands of Adventure in Orlando pushed the theme park competition to new heights. Building a land solely around a specific intellectual property — instead of a general theme — was novel at the time, and the concept would later show up in Disney parks, such as Cars Land in Anaheim and later, “Star Wars”-themed lands in California and Florida.
Demand at the time for the “Harry Potter”-themed land pushed Universal’s attendance up 36% compared with the previous year, Speigel said.
“They realized after ‘Harry Potter’ that it was a new world order,” he said. “They’ve just kept the pedal to the metal on everything they’ve done in terms of growth and internal experience.”
There’s good reason for that.
Both Universal and Disney have honed in on theme parks as a profit-generating part of their business that is less volatile than the ever-changing media, television and film markets. Disney’s experiences division, which includes its theme parks and cruise lines, has long brought in the lion’s share of the company’s profit, particularly as pay TV shrinks.
“Disney has been pretty steady and consistent, but Universal is very rapidly expanding,” said Carissa Baker, an assistant professor of theme park and attraction management at the University of Central Florida’s Rosen College of Hospitality Management. “They’re highly encouraging their theme park sector right now.”
Both companies have recently announced new properties — Disney in Abu Dhabi and Universal with a smaller kids resort in Texas, a theme park in Britain and a year-round Halloween Horror Nights-esque experience in Las Vegas.
“The plan is to keep driving growth in a business that we think we’re one of two players in a market that is, within media, not at all exposed to the shift in time on screens from one venue to another,” Comcast Corp. President Mike Cavanagh said during the company’s fiscal first quarter call with analysts last month. “Live experiences, parks experiences have been thrilling to people, and we think we lean into that and continue to do so.”
So far, he said, advance ticket sales and hotel bookings are “strong” for Epic Universe and the other Universal parks in Orlando. A one-day ticket starts at $139.
That’s why analysts have consistently flagged the upcoming park during earnings calls for rival Disney, querying executives about the potential pressure on Disney World and how the company plans to compete.
But if Disney is worried, it has shown little sign of it. Last week, Disney Chief Financial Officer Hugh Johnston said hotel bookings for the fiscal third quarter are up 4% compared with last year, with about 80% of available nights reserved. For the fourth quarter, bookings are up about 7%, with about 50% to 60% of capacity filled, he said.
That’s despite broader worries that concerns about a potential recession — spurred by President Trump’s tariffs on foreign goods — will dampen travel and consumer spending.
“Experiences is obviously a critical business for Disney and also an important growth platform,” company Chief Executive Bob Iger said on a recent earnings call. “Despite questions around any macro-economic uncertainty or the impact of competition, I’m encouraged by the strength and resilience of our business.”
The company has previously announced it is investing $30 billion into its parks in Florida and California, which will fund such additions as a “Monsters Inc.”-inspired land and a villains land in Disney World. The parks have also added attractions throughout the last 10 years, including the revamped Tiana’s Bayou Adventure ride (which replaced Splash Mountain).
Disney is betting that the influx of visitors coming to Florida for Epic Universe will still make a stop at its parks. Last year, Orlando tallied more than 75 million visitors, up 1.8% compared with 2023, according to the Visit Orlando trade association. Josh D’Amaro, chairman of Disney Experiences, said at an investor conference last week that Disney gets more tourists any time something new opens up in central Florida — even if it’s not a Disney property.
“If we just go back five or 10 years, and you think about what’s happened at Walt Disney World, we’ve always been on the offensive,” D’Amaro said. “If something is built new in Central Florida, like Epic Universe, and if it brings in additional tourists, I can almost guarantee you that new tourist coming into the market is going to have to visit the Magic Kingdom.”
Malevolent trading practices aren’t new. Struggles against insider trading, as well as different forms of market manipulation, represent a long-running battle for regulators.
In recent years — however — experts have been warning of new threats to our financial systems. Developments in AI mean that automated trading bots are not only smarter, but they’re more independent too. While basic algorithms respond to programmed commands, new bots are able to learn from experience, quickly synthesise vast amounts of information, and act autonomously when making trades.
According to academics, one risk scenario involves collaboration between AI bots. Just imagine: hundreds of AI-driven social media profiles begin to pop up online, weaving narratives about certain companies. The information spread isn’t necessarily fake, but may just be the amplification of existing news. In response, real social media users start to react, highlighting the bots’ chosen message.
As the market is tipped by the crafted narrative, one investor’s roboadvisor rakes in profits, having coordinated with the gossiping bots. Other investors, who didn’t have the insider information, lose out by badly timing the market. The problem is, the investor profiting may not even be aware of the scheme. This means that charges of market manipulation can’t necessarily be effective, even if authorities can see that a trader has benefitted from distortive practices.
Social platforms are changing trading
Alessio Azzutti, assistant professor in law & technology (FinTech) at the University of Glasgow, told Euronews that the above scenario is still a hypothesis — as there’s not enough evidence to prove it’s happening. Even so, he explains that similar, less sophisticated schemes are taking place, particularly in “crypto asset markets and decentralised finance markets”.
“Malicious actors… can be very active on social media platforms and messaging platforms such as Telegram, where they may encourage members to invest their money in DeFi or in a given crypto asset, to suit themselves,” Azzutti explained.
“We can observe the direct activity of human malicious actors but also those who deploy AI bots.”
He added that the agents spreading misinformation may not necessarily be very sophisticated, but they still have the power to “pollute chats through fake news to mislead retail investors”.
“And so the question is, if a layman, if a youngster on his own in his home office is able to achieve these types of manipulations, what are the limits for the bigger players to achieve the same effect, in even more sophisticated markets?”
The way that market information now spreads online, in a widespread, rapid, and uncoordinated fashion, is also fostering different types of trading. Retail investors are more likely to follow crazes, rather than relying on their own analysis, which can destabilise the market and potentially be exploited by AI bots.
The widely-cited GameStop saga is a good example of herd trading, when users on a Reddit forum decided to buy up stock in the video game company en masse. Big hedge funds were betting that the price would fall, and subsequently lost out when it skyrocketed. Many experts say this wasn’t a case of collusion as no official agreement was created.
A spokesperson from ESMA, the European Securities and Markets Authority, told Euronews that the potential for AI bots to manipulate markets and profit off the movements is “a realistic concern”, although they stressed that they don’t have “specific information or statistics on this already happening”.
“These risks are further intensified by the role of social media, which can act as a rapid transmission channel for false or misleading narratives that influence market dynamics. A key issue is the degree of human control over these systems, as traditional oversight mechanisms may be insufficient,” said the spokesperson.
ESMA highlighted that it was “actively monitoring” AI developments.
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Is regulation ready?
One challenge for regulators is that collaboration between AI agents can’t be easily traced.
“They’re not sending emails, they’re not meeting with each other. They just learn over time the best strategy and so the traditional way to detect collusion doesn’t work with AI,” Itay Goldstein, professor of finance and economy at the Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania, told Euronews.
“Regulation has to step up and find new strategies to deal with that,” he argued, adding that there is a lack of reliable data on exactly how traders are using AI.
Filippo Annunziata, professor of financial markets and banking legislation at Bocconi University, told Euronews that the current EU rules “shouldn’t be revised”, referring to the Regulation on Market Abuse (MAR) and the Markets in Financial Instruments Directive II (MiFID II).
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Even so, he argued that “supervisors need to be equipped with more sophisticated tools for identifying possible market manipulation”.
He added: “I even suggest that we ask people who develop AI tools for trading on markets and so on to include circuit breakers in these AI tools. This would force it to stop even before the risk of manipulation occurs.”
In terms of the current legal framework, there’s also the issue of responsibility when an AI agent acts in a malicious way, independent of human intent.
This is especially relevant in the case of so-called black box trading, where a bot executes trades without revealing its inner workings. To tackle this, Some experts believe that AI should be designed to be more transparent, so that regulators can understand the rationale behind decisions.
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Another idea is to create new laws around liability, so that actors responsible for AI deployment could be held responsible for market manipulation. This could apply in cases where they didn’t intend to mislead investors.
“It’s a bit like the tortoise and the hare,” said Annunziata.
“Supervisors tend to be tortoises, but manipulators that use algorithms are hares, and it’s difficult to catch up with them.”
Novo Nordisk CEO Lars Fruergaard Jorgensen is stepping down per mutual agreement with the company. The company said Friday he will continue as CEO for a while to smooth the leadership transition. Novo Nordisk is a Danish pharmaceutical company that makes popular weight-loss drugs Ozempic and Wegovy. File Photo By Ida Marie Odgaard/EPA-EFE
May 16 (UPI) — Novo Nordisk announced Friday that CEO Lars Fruergaard Jorgensen is stepping down per mutual agreement with the company.
The company said Friday that Jorgensen will continue as CEO for an unspecified period to smooth the leadership transition.
“A search for Lars Fruergaard Jorgensen’s successor is ongoing, and an announcement will be made in due course. In connection with the change, Lars Rebien Sorensen, chair of the Novo Nordisk Foundation, will join the Novo Nordisk Board, initially as an observer,” Novo Nordisk said in statement,
The company said the changes are being made “in light of the recent market challenges Novo Nordisk has been facing, and the development of the company’s share price since mid-2024.”
Company share prices have declined amid the market challenges and an accelerated CEO succession was decided after “a dialogue” between the Novo Nordisk Foundation Board and the Novo Nordisk Board.
“Novo Nordisk’s strategy remains unchanged, and the Board is confident in the company’s current business plans and its ability to execute on the plans,” Helge Lund, chair of the Novo Nordisk Board, said in a statement.
Rebien joins the Novo Nordisk Board as the result of an agreement between that board and the Novo Nordisk Foundation Board. He will be nominated as a board member in 2026.
“Serving as Novo Nordisk’s CEO for the past eight years has been a privilege and an experience that I will always cherish. I am proud of the results I have helped create together with my leadership team, the Board, and the thousands of employees who work every day to drive change to defeat serious chronic diseases,” Jorgensen said in a statement.
The company said Friday that Jorgenson led Novo Nordisk through “a significant growth journey and transformation.” It said in his eight-year tenure as CEO the company’s profits, share price and sales nearly tripled.
Novo Nordisk is a Danish pharmaceutical company that makes popular weight-loss drugs Ozempic and Wegovy.
Bitcoin Pepe has gone viral as one of the best crypto presales ahead of the next meme coin market explosion.
As the first meme-focused Layer 2 built on Bitcoin, it merges Solana’s lightning-fast trading experience with BTC’s unmatched security.
With its PEP-20 token standard, Bitcoin Pepe makes it possible to launch and trade tokens directly on Bitcoin for the first time.
The presale, already in stage 10, has gained momentum, raising over $8m as investor interest surges. As meme coin hype builds across the market, early supporters of Bitcoin Pepe could be holding one of the best meme coin presales.
Shiba Inu breaks out of consolidation with 19% weekly rally
Shiba Inu (SHIB) has broken free from its recent sideways pattern, shifting from a quiet consolidation phase into a strong upward rally. After weeks of low volatility and market indecision, SHIB is now flashing signs of renewed momentum.
Currently trading at $0.00001600, the token has seen a 5.77% gain in the past 24 hours and an impressive 22.48% increase over the past week. With $528 million in daily trading volume and a $9.3 billion market cap, this surge reflects growing bullish sentiment and suggests that Shiba Inu may still have room to run in the current cycle.
Dogecoin poised for rally as analyst predicts $0.27 breakout
In his latest analysis, crypto analyst Ali Martinez states that Dogecoin (DOGE) is gearing up for a strong surge. Martinez noted on X that DOGE is reflecting some resilience by finding support in a vital ascending trendline, which had become a trigger for growing the price in the past and an insurance against sharp corrections.
Martinez is predicting a possible $0.27 increase in DOGE in the short term based on the development of bullish momentum from the current formation. If DOGE maintains this trajectory and market sentiment holds, traders could see a significant upside in the near term.
Bitcoin Pepe ($BPEP) builds momentum ahead of the next market explosion
$BPEP, the native token of the Bitcoin Pepe ecosystem, is quickly becoming one of the best meme coin presales in the current market cycle. Now in its crypto presale phase, the project has already raised over $8m and is on the verge of entering the next Stage.
Bitcoin Pepe stands out by introducing meme coin trading to the Bitcoin blockchain through its purpose-built layer 2 network. By combining Bitcoin’s unmatched liquidity and security with Solana-like transaction speeds, Bitcoin Pepe provides a powerful platform for meme coin developers. Through its PEP-20 token standard, Bitcoin Pepe allows developers to launch and trade meme coins on Bitcoin—something never before possible.
The $BPEP token plays a central role in the ecosystem, powering transaction fees and enabling smart contract interactions. With utility baked into its design, $BPEP could soar in value once listed on exchanges.
Early-stage buyers have already seen gains of over 40%, with the price rising from $0.021 in Stage 1 to $0.0326 in stage 10, thanks to a 5% price increase per round. For those seeking the next big crypto winner, $BPEP remains a compelling bet ahead of its Q2 launch.
As the May 31 launch of Bitcoin Pepe draws closer, excitement is hitting new highs. With growing rumors of major centralized exchange (CEX) listings, the buzz surrounding $BPEP is intensifying. With less than a month to go, the window to buy low is closing fast.
To learn more and to buy Bitcoin Pepe, check out the Official Website.
This article is for informational purposes only and does not provide financial advice. Cryptocurrencies are highly volatile, and the market can be unpredictable. Always perform thorough research before making any cryptocurrency-related decisions.
