Elon Musk’s latest about-face over his $44 billion deal to buy Twitter has him poised to take over a company that is weaker than it was before he tried to abandon the agreement—thanks in part to his own actions.

Broad economic concerns have intensified since July 8, when Mr. Musk made public his intention to terminate the deal. The Federal Reserve has raised interest rates by 0.75 percentage point at a second and third straight meeting, the Dow Jones Industrial Average last week fell into what investors call a bear market, and Twitter’s social-media rival Snap Inc. is slashing jobs.

While Twitter’s stock price has held up because of Mr. Musk’s potential acquisition, its performance has declined. The company reported a surprising decline in revenue in the second quarter that it blamed on weakness in the advertising industry and uncertainty related to Mr. Musk’s acquisition.

Source: Wall Street Journal

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