February Recap: 10 Top Finance Press Releases

A roundup of the most newsworthy financial press releases from PR Newswire, including a drop in consumer confidence, FTX payouts and the company that awarded employees $10 million in bonuses.

NEW YORK, March 7, 2025 /PRNewswire/ -- With thousands of press releases published each month, it can be difficult to keep up with everything on PR Newswire. To help finance journalists and consumers stay on top of the month's most popular releases and newsworthy trends, here's a recap of some of the past month's most read- and engaged-with stories.

The list below includes the headline (with a link to the full text) and an excerpt from each story. Click on the press release headlines to access accompanying multimedia assets that are available for download.

1. US Consumer Confidence Dropped Sharply in February
   For the first time since June 2024, the Expectations Index was below the threshold of 80 that usually signals a recession ahead. February's fall in confidence was shared across all age groups but was deepest for consumers between 35 and 55 years old.
2. Howard Lutnick Confirmed as 41st United States Secretary of Commerce; Steps Down from Newmark Board and Executive Officer Position
   Lutnick entered the commercial real estate industry in 2011 when he acquired Newmark. In 2017, he successfully took the company public and helped transform it into a leading commercial real estate services firm. Lutnick has agreed to divest his interests in Newmark to comply with U.S. government ethics rules and does not expect any arrangement which involves selling shares on the open market.
3. Rhino and Jetty Merge to Create the Largest Security Deposit Insurance Company in the Market
   The merger unites two established companies that serve more than 6 million rental units. The combined company has helped renters retain over $4 billion in move-in costs, providing a solution to the growing challenge of upfront housing expenses facing American renters.
4. Leading Supreme Court Attorney and Former Acting Solicitor General Neal Katyal Joins Milbank's Litigation & Arbitration Group
   Milbank, an international law firm, hired Katyal to lead the firm's appellate practice and join its market-leading commercial litigation team. He is one of a few living individuals to have argued more than 50 cases before the Supreme Court of the United States.
5. Elliott Sends Letter and Presentation to the Board of Phillips 66
   Elliott, which manages funds that together have an investment of more than $2.5 billion in Phillips 66, sent a letter to the Board of Directors of Phillips 66 regarding the company's operating performance. The activist investor recommended Phillips simplify their portfolio, commit to ambitious refining targets and elect new independent directors.
6. FTX Announces Initial Distribution Date of February 18, 2025 for Convenience Class Creditors
   The cryptocurrency exchange began paying back creditors on February 18th, staying consistent with the company's Chapter 11 reorganization plan. BitGo and Kraken will assist in distributing recoveries to both retail and institutional customers and other creditors in accordance with the plan.
7. Rocket Makes Super Bowl History with Own the Dream Ad and Live In-Stadium Singalong
   As the final words of the 60-second ad filled the screen, the fintech platform delivered a Super Bowl first. When the broadcast returned to the game, more than 65,000 fans at Caesars Superdome broke into a live singing of John Denver's anthem, "Take Me Home, Country Roads."
8. Everview Partners Launches New Private Investment Firm and Announces Key Initial Hires
   The private investment firm will operate based on the idea that applying both private equity and credit expertise to real asset investments could yield enduring performance across market cycles. In addition to founder Billy Rahm, the Everview Board of Directors includes Marne Levine, former chief business officer of Meta, and Richard Wallman, former CFO of Honeywell.
9. Hard Rock Hotel & Casino Atlantic City Team Members Awarded $10 Million in Bonuses Based on 2024 Record-Breaking Results
   Addressing thousands of team members in two town hall sessions, Hard Rock International Chairman Jim Allen said the bonuses demonstrate the company's appreciation and gratitude to team members for their commitment to excellence in the Atlantic City marketplace.
10. Spirit Airlines Proceeds with Standalone Recapitalization; Rejects Most Recent Proposal from Frontier
    Spirit Airlines provided an update on its restructuring process regarding a new proposal for an alternative restructuring plan submitted by the parent company of Frontier Airlines. Spirit will continue to advance and conclude its restructuring process, which will significantly deleverage the company and position it for long-term success.

For more news like this, check out all of the latest finance-related releases from PR Newswire.

Trending Topics

Among the finance news that was distributed in February, the PR Newswire team was able spot several larger stories that highlight the trends shaping the industry.

• Strategic (and surprising) partnerships: When industry competitors form strategic partnerships, the markets pay attention — and many eyes were on Zillow's licensing deal with Redfin. We also saw Simon and Shopify team up to help e-commerce brands expand into brick-and-mortar businesses. Crypto is continually becoming more mainstream, with companies like BitGo investing in software deals to enhance security. And as digital wallets gain more popularity with travelers, we noticed more partnerships like this one between PayPal and Norwegian Cruises.
• Private equity remains strong: Despite economic uncertainty, private equity firms remain optimistic according to survey research from Deloitte and Bain & Company. We saw numerous PE acquisitions in the month of February, including Warburg Pincus and Berkshire Partners acquiring Triumph Group for $3 billion and New Mountain Capital's deal with NSM Insurance. Another private equity transaction that caught readers' attention was Vestar's sale of Simple Mills to Flowers Foods for $795 million.
• Earnings continued: Large financial institutions such as S&P, Fannie Mae and Farmer Mac reported Q4 and full-year results via PR Newswire but the most-read financial earnings reports on our site in February came from dividend leader Realty Income and bitcoin miner Riot Platforms.

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