5 Things to Know Before the Opening Bell 2/9/2026

Squawk Pod

CNBC

Business News, News, Investing, Business

4.2 • 543 Ratings

🗓️ 9 February 2026

⏱️ 2 minutes

🔗️ Recording | iTunes | RSS

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Summary

Hong Kong media tycoon and vocal Beijing critic Jimmy Lai has been sentenced to 20 years in prison, President Trump has reversed his position on the Nexstar-Tegna broadcast TV deal, Hims & Hers has pulled its weight loss pill claiming to compete with Wegovy’s obesity pill, Block may lay off 10% of its workforce, and Kroger could be planning to hire a former Walmart executive as its next CEO.

Transcript

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0:00.0	Hi, I'm Becky Quick, co-host of Squawk Box, and this is five things you need to know before today's opening bell.
0:08.7	Hong Kong media tycoon Jimmy Lai sentenced to 20 years in prison under a China-imposed national security law that has reshaped the city's political landscape.
0:18.6	Lai is a China critic and the founder of the now shut down Apple Daily newspaper.
0:24.5	President Trump's endorsing NextStars media's proposed $6.2 billion acquisition of Tegna.
0:31.8	In November, the president had come out against that deal and the potential for more TV industry
0:36.7	consolidation. You can see
0:38.4	shares of Tegna up by about 4.8% this morning. And shares of Wagovi maker, Novo Nordisk, are jumping
0:45.8	today right now up by 6.7% after Hems and Hers said that it would pull its copycat weight
0:52.3	loss pill off the market.
0:58.7	Nova Nordisk and the FDA had threatened legal action against him and hers,
1:02.3	Hems and hers now off by about 15%. Bloomberg is reporting that FinTech Company Block may lay off up to 10% of its workforce.
1:09.8	At grocery giant Kroger reportedly planning to hire former Walmart U.S. CEO Greg Foran
1:15.6	to be its next chief.
1:17.6	Kroger has been searching for a permanent leader for nearly a year after longtime CEO Rodney
1:23.6	McMullen was ousted for an undisclosed ethics violation.
1:26.6	We'll be back later today with Squawk Pod, our daily podcast featuring the best of Squawk Box.
1:32.9	Stay tuned to your feed, wherever you get your podcasts, and listen anytime.

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