NEW YORK (AP) — Matt Ryan, who retired last week after 15 years in the NFL, will join CBS Sports as a studio analyst on “The NFL Today” and Phil Simms and Boomer Esiason will leave after long runs on the show, the network announced Monday.
Ryan will join James Brown, Nate Burleson, Bill Cowher and JJ Watt. The 2016 NFL MVP and four-time Pro Bowl quarterback joined CBS Sports last season as an NFL game analyst and appeared in studio during the playoffs and Super Bowl.
“Matt had an outstanding first year at CBS Sports, excelling as both a studio and game analyst,” CBS Sports president and CEO David Berson said. “He is the consummate team player and a Hall of Fame person. We love the chemistry he has with the studio crew and we’re excited to see him entertain NFL fans and share his passion, insight and perspective alongside JB, Nate, Coach and JJ.”
The contracts of Simms and Esiason expired after the Super Bowl.
Simms came to CBS in 1998 after the network won the rights to the AFC. He was the lead game analyst until he moved to the studio in 2017.
“Great 26 yrs run with CBS SPORTS. Even though that part of my career is over I look forward to what is next,” Simms posted on social media.
Esiason was on “The NFL Today” for 22 years and was the show's longest-tenured analyst. Esiason will continue working on a New York sports talk radio show simulcast on CBS Sports Network.
“Phil and Boomer set the standard of excellence for NFL analysts,” Berson said. “We are so grateful for their immeasurable contributions to CBS Sports. We genuinely thank them for being incredible teammates and for their passion, dedication and commitment to elevating CBS Sports’ NFL coverage every season.”
Ryan played for the Atlanta Falcons and Indianapolis Colts and ranks in the top 10 in NFL history in passing yards (62,792), touchdowns (381), completions (5,551) and attempts (8,464).
The change is the first significant move under Berson, who took over three weeks ago following the retirement of chairman Sean McManus.
This story has been corrected to show that Simms moved to the studio in 2017, not 2016.
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FILE - At left, former Atlanta Falcons' quarterback Matt Ryan announces his retirement during a news conference in Flowery Branch, Ga. Monday, April 22, 2024. At center, Phil Simms attends the Paramount 2022 Upfront party in New York, May 18, 2022. At right Boomer Esiason before the NFL Super Bowl 58 football game in Las Vegas Sunday, Feb. 11, 2024. Matt Ryan, who retired last week after 15 years in the NFL, will join CBS Sports as a studio analyst on NFL Today and Phil Simms and Boomer Esiason will leave after long runs on the show, the network announced Monday, April 29, 2024. (APm Photo/File)
Former Atlanta Falcons quarterback Matt Ryan looks into the media room and sees former teammates Brian Finneran, Michael Jenkins and Todd McClure, there to support him as he announces his retirement during a news conference Monday, April 22, 2024, in Flowery Branch, Ga. (AP Photo/Brynn Anderson)
NEW YORK (AP) — U.S. stocks are drifting around their record levels Thursday after the Dow Jones Industrial Average briefly topped the 40,000 level for the first time.
The Dow was up 55 points, or 0.1%, at 39,965 in late trading. The S&P 500 index, which is much more widely followed on Wall Street and dictates the performance of many more 401(k) accounts than the Dow, was virtually unchanged, with an hour remaining in trading. The Nasdaq composite was also flat.
All three indexes had rallied on Wednesday to all-time highs. They've charged higher despite high inflation, the punishing effects of high interest rates and worries about a recession that seemed inevitable but hasn’t arrived.
Walmart was one of the strongest forces lifting the market, and it rose 7.2% after reporting stronger profit for the latest quarter than analysts expected. It also said its revenue for the year could top the forecasted range it had earlier given.
Walmart's strength could be an encouraging signal for the broader economy. Worries have been rising about whether U.S. households can keep up with still-high inflation and more expensive credit-card payments, particularly those making lower incomes.
Target, which reports its quarterly results next week, climbed following Walmart's report, along with other retailers like Dollar General and Dollar Tree. Each added at least 2.5%.
Chubb climbed 4.8% after Warren Buffett’s Berkshire Hathaway disclosed it had built an ownership stake in the insurer.
Stronger-than-expected profit reports have been one of the main reasons U.S. stock indexes jumped through May to records following a tough April. Another has been revived hopes that the Federal Reserve will be able to cut its main interest rate at least once or twice this year. The Fed has been keeping its federal funds rate at the highest level in more than two decades.
A string of worse-than-expected reports on inflation at the start of the year had put the potential for such cuts in jeopardy, but some more encouraging data has since arrived.
Treasury yields have largely eased in May as hopes rose that the economy could hit the hoped-for sweet spot, where it cools enough because of high interest rates to stifle inflation but not so much that it causes a bad recession. Yields rose Thursday following some mixed data on the economy.
One report showed slightly more workers applied for unemployment benefits last week than economists expected, though the number remains low compared with history. Others said homebuilders broke ground on fewer projects last month than expected, manufacturing growth in the mid-Atlantic region was weaker than hoped and import prices rose more than forecast.
“Today’s numbers were in line with the overall theme of the week — nothing dramatic, but showing signs of a steady-to-cooling economy,” said Chris Larkin, managing director, trading and investing, at E-Trade from Morgan Stanley.
The yield on the 10-year Treasury ticked up to 4.37% from 4.35% late Wednesday. The two-year yield, which moves more closely with expectations for action by the Fed, rose to 4.79% from 4.72%.
On the losing end of Wall Street, Deere fell 4.5% despite reporting stronger profit for its latest quarter than expected. It cut its forecast for profit over the full fiscal year below analysts’ estimates, as farmers buy fewer tractors and other equipment.
Homebuilders fell following the weaker-than-expected report on housing starts. They gave back some of their big gains from the day before, when hopes for lower mortgage rates had sent them sharply higher. Lennar fell 2.3%, and D.R. Horton sank 3.2%.
GameStop and AMC Entertainment slid for a second straight day, pulling back further from their jaw-dropping starts to the week. They’ve been moving more on excitement drummed up by investors than any changes to their financial prospects.
GameStop fell 24.7%, though it’s still up 70% for the week so far. AMC Entertainment lost 11.9%.
Under Armour swung between losses and gains after it warned that its revenue will be likely down by “a low double-digit percentage rate” this upcoming fiscal year, citing weaker demand from wholesalers and “inconsistent execution across our business.” The company announced a restructuring plan to cut costs and also announced a program to buy back up to $500 million of its stock. It was down 1.5%.
In stock markets abroad, indexes were modestly lower in much of Europe after mostly rising in Asia. Hong Kong’s Hang Seng jumped 1.6% after reopening following a holiday, while Japan’s Nikkei 225 rose 1.4%.
AP Business Writers Matt Ott and Elaine Kurtenbach contributed.
FILE - An entrance to the New York Stock Exchange is shown on May 8, 2024, in New York. Shares opened lower in Europe on Thursday, May 16, 2024, after most Asian benchmarks gained, tracking a Wall Street rally driven by hopes that inflation is heading back in the right direction. (AP Photo/Peter Morgan, File)
A person passes an entrance to the Wall Street subway station in New York on Wednesday, May 15, 2024. Trading on Wall Street is muted early ahead of the U.S. government's latest reports on inflation and retail sales. (AP Photo/Peter Morgan)
A currency trader passes by the screen showing the Korea Composite Stock Price Index (KOSPI) at the foreign exchange dealing room of the KEB Hana Bank headquarters in Seoul, South Korea, Thursday, May 16, 2024. (AP Photo/Ahn Young-joon)
Banners for Pinterest, displayed to mark the fifth anniversary of the company's listing, hang on the front of the New York Stock Exchange in New York on Wednesday, May 15, 2024. U.S. stocks are rising toward records with hope that inflation is heading back in the right direction. (AP Photo/Peter Morgan)
A currency trader passes by the screen showing the Korea Composite Stock Price Index (KOSPI), left, and the foreign exchange rate between U.S. dollar and South Korean won at the foreign exchange dealing room of the KEB Hana Bank headquarters in Seoul, South Korea, Thursday, May 16, 2024. (AP Photo/Ahn Young-joon)
Currency traders work near the screen showing the Korea Composite Stock Price Index (KOSPI) at the foreign exchange dealing room of the KEB Hana Bank headquarters in Seoul, South Korea, Thursday, May 16, 2024. (AP Photo/Ahn Young-joon)
