TOKYO: Snoopy may be joining Sony.
Japanese electronics maker Sony Corp.’s music unit said Monday that it is buying a stake in Peanuts Holdings, the company behind Snoopy and Charlie Brown.
Sony Music Entertainment signed a deal with DHX Media, based in Nova Scotia, Canada, to acquire 49 percent of the 80 percent stake DHX holds in Peanuts.
Under the deal, Sony Music will own 39 percent and DHX 41 percent. The family members of Charles Schulz, the creator of Peanuts, will continue to own 20 percent of Peanuts. The parties hope to complete the acquisition on or about June 30, according to Tokyo-based Sony.
DHX is a leading children’s content and brand company, known for Strawberry Shortcake as well as producing children’s shows, in addition to Peanuts.
Sony said it sees Peanuts as “world-class,” and hopes to use its character business expertise to strengthen the brand and push the business to grow.
Sony has a range of characters under its wings, including those from its PlayStation video games. Its film division makes the Spider-man movie series.
Snoopy and other Peanuts characters are extremely popular in Japan, featured in a variety of everyday goods from T-shirts to plastic chopsticks.
The comic series was translated into Japanese decades ago, becoming an instant hit.
Peanuts began as a comic, first published in American newspapers in 1950. It’s now carried in 2,200 newspapers around the world in 21 languages. In 2020, it will celebrate its 70th anniversary. Schultz, who used to say that all he wanted to do was to “draw funny pictures,” died in 2000.
The popularity of Peanuts was stems partly from its ability to connect with a wide audience through its poetic portrayal of a children’s world, exploring with sensitivity and humor themes such as failure, heartbreak and pursuit of music.
Snoopy joining Sony? Music unit buying stake in Peanuts
Snoopy joining Sony? Music unit buying stake in Peanuts
US trade policy uncertainty sees muted response from markets
RIYADH: President Donald Trump renewed his condemnation of the US Supreme Court on Monday after it ruled against his sweeping tariff program last week, vowing to turn to other powers and licenses but giving no details.
The Supreme Court, in a 6-3 ruling on Friday, voided most of the tariffs Trump imposed in 2025, finding that the emergency law he relied on did not allow the imposition of the levies.
Trump said on Saturday he would raise a temporary tariff from 10 percent to 15 percent on US imports from all countries, the maximum level allowed under the law, a day after the court ruled he had exceeded his presidential authority when he imposed an array of higher rates under an economic emergency law.
"The court has also approved all other Tariffs, of which there are many, and they can all be used in a much more powerful and obnoxious way, with legal certainty, than the Tariffs as initially used," he wrote in a social media post.
US stock index futures slipped on Monday as traders reacted to the latest twist in the US’s economic policy.
At 12noon GMT, Dow E-minis were down 162 points, or 0.33 percent, Nasdaq 100 E-minis were down 129 points, or 0.51 percent, and S&P 500 E-minis were down 23.75 points, or 0.34 percent.
Most megacap and growth stocks were lower in premarket trading, though Alphabet bucked the trend with a 0.3 percent gain after rising around 4 percent on Friday.
“It’s really hard from a business standpoint when you are at a company to know how do you plan if you’re not even sure about suppliers, supply chains and what the tariffs are going to look like,” said Arthur Laffer Jr., president of Laffer Tengler Investments, according to Reuters.
“That’s a huge concern for corporate America and why it was really important to get that hammered out and ironed out as fast as possible, so that companies know what the playing field really looks like, and they can plan accordingly,” he added.
All three main stock indexes clocked weekly gains on Friday as markets took the Supreme Court’s decision in stride, with the Nasdaq snapping a five-week losing streak.
Other stock markets across the world greeted the latest wave of uncertainty with a muted response.
In the Gulf region, Saudi Arabia’s main market — which had been closed on Sunday due to a national holiday — ended the day up 0.34 percent.
Dubai’s main share index closed up 1.82 percent, led by a 3.64 percent gain in blue-chip developer Emaar Properties and a 2.92 percent leap in Emirates NBD Bank.
In Abu Dhabi, the index ended the session up 0.55 percent, with Americana Restaurants International leading the gainers with its share price surging 7.73 percent.
Qatar’s index closed up 1.08 percent, driven by banking shares, including a 0.43 percent uptick in Qatar National Bank, the region’s largest lender.
Other global markets faced a mixed picture, with the UK's FTSE 100 subdued on Monday.
The blue-chip index was up 0.1 percent at 12:00noon GMT, after closing at record highs last week. For the UK, the tariff rate has increased from 10 percent to 15 percent,
Unicredit analysts noted, following Trump's latest announcement.
Vijay Valecha, chief investment officer at Century Financial said the possible US tariff increase from 10 percent to 15 percent “ has brought trade tensions back into focus, tempering the optimism seen after the recent Supreme Court tariff ruling.”
He added: “Markets are now reassessing the economic impact of higher import costs, possible retaliation from trade partners, and the broader implications for global growth.”
