Biotechnology company Regeneron Pharmaceuticals is buying 23andMe for $256 million, two months after the genetic testing company filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection.

In March 23andMe said that it was looking to sell “substantially all of its assets” through a court-approved reorganization plan. Its co-founder and CEO Anne Wojcicki also resigned from the top post, but remained as a board member.

23andMe has faced an uncertain future for some time. Beyond battles to go private, the company struggled to find a profitable business model since going public in 2021. Privacy concerns related to customers’ genetic information have also emerged, notably spanning from a 2023 data breach — along with questions around what new ownership could mean for users’ data.

The proposed transaction with Regeneron includes 23andMe’s personal genome service and total health and research services. It does not include the Lemonaid Health subsidiary, a telehealth services provider that 23andMe plans to wind down.

Rate cut could be coming in september

Two Federal Reserve officials, including New York Fed chief John Williams, suggested policymakers may not be ready to lower interest rates before September as they confront a murky economic outlook.

“It’s not going to be that in June we’re going to understand what’s happening here, or in July,” Williams said Monday at a conference organized by the Mortgage Bankers Association. “It’s going to be a process of collecting data, getting a better picture and watching things as they develop.”

The Fed’s next three meetings are in June, July and September.

Investors now see less than a 10% chance of a rate cut when policymakers next meet June 17-18 in Washington. Based on pricing in fed funds futures, investors expect two quarter-point reductions by year’s end, down from the four seen at the end of April.

Atlanta Fed President Raphael Bostic struck a similar tone in an earlier interview Monday, signaling an unwillingness to move rates for some time.

“The economy is in a lot of flux, policy is in flux, there’s a lot of uncertainty,” Bostic told CNBC. “I think we’ll have to wait three to six months to start to see where this settles out.” Fed officials held interest rates steady in early May, expressing heightened uncertainty largely due to tariffs. Policymakers also see risks of both higher unemployment and inflation.

iphone creator will help opena1 project

OpenAI has recruited Jony Ive, the designer behind Apple’s iPhone, to lead a new hardware project for the artificial intelligence company that makes ChatGPT.

OpenAI said it is acquiring io, a product and engineering company co-founded by Ive, in a deal valued at nearly $6.5 billion.

Ive became renowned for a meticulous design aesthetic that shaped the cultural zeitgeist during a 27-year career at Apple, which he left in 2019.

The new OpenAI deal now thrusts Ive at the vanguard of AI — a technology driving the biggest industry shift since the iPhone’s arrival.

Verizon gets OK to acquire frontier

Verizon Communications won Federal Communications Commission approval for its $9.6 billion acquisition of Frontier Communications Parent Inc. after agreeing to agency demands to pare back diversity initiatives in line with President Donald Trump’s policies.

The deal “will unleash billions of dollars in new infrastructure builds in communities across the country — including rural America,” FCC Chairman Brendan Carr said in a statement Friday.

The transaction values the Dallas-based company at $20 billion, including debt.

Moody’s cuts some ratings for deposits

Moody’s Ratings cut its ratings for deposits at some of the biggest banks, including Bank of America Corp., JPMorgan Chase Co., citing a downgrade of the U.S. and the government’s weakened ability to support the firms.

Long-term deposit ratings at units of Bank of America, JPMorgan and Wells Fargo Co., were lowered by one step to Aa2, Moody’s third-highest level. The bond grader also downgraded the senior unsecured debt ratings for some units of Bank of America and Bank of New York Mellon Corp, cutting them to Aa2 from Aa1.

Additionally, Moody’s cut the long-term counterparty risk ratings for some units of Bank of America, BNY, JPMorgan, State Street Corp. and Wells Fargo, lowering them one notch to Aa2.

Compiled from Bloomberg and Associated Press reports.