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☆ Bumper corporate profits helped prevent mass layoffs and a recession, says leading economist
▼ + stars: | 2024-04-02 | by ( Theron Mohamed | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +3 min

After-tax profits hit a record high of $2.8 trillion in the fourth quarter, per the Commerce Department. "The gangbuster gain in profits helps explain why businesses have been able and willing to hold the line on layoffs, which was key to avoiding recession," he said. Advertisement"It also helps explain the record stock market, and the resulting positive wealth effects and resilient consumer spending." Related storiesAs for stocks, they're generally valued at a multiple to company profits so they've hit record highs too. That has made stockholders feel wealthier and more comfortable spending, Zandi said.

Persons: —, Mark Zandi, That's, Zandi Organizations: Service, Corporate America, Corporations, Commerce Department, Business, Federal Reserve, Companies

☆ Meta's Zuckerberg sees $28 billion windfall after shares rocket
▼ + stars: | 2024-02-02 | by ( Rohan Goswami | In Rohangoswamicnbc | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +2 min

Meta CEO and co-founder Mark Zuckerberg has 28 billion reasons to celebrate the company's gangbuster quarter. As of Friday's close, Zuckerberg is the richest he has ever been, thanks to a 22% surge in Meta stock that has left him with a $28 billion paper windfall. The CEO now has a net worth of $165 billion, making him wealthier than Microsoft co-founder Bill Gates. It is a remarkable change of fortune for a man whose net worth is closely tied to the performance of Meta stock. In 2021, Zuckerberg's net worth peaked at around $142 billion, according to the Bloomberg Billionaires Index, as the Nasdaq reached a fresh high.

Persons: Mark Zuckerberg, Zuckerberg, Bill Gates, He'll Organizations: Facebook, Meta, Microsoft, Bloomberg, Nasdaq, Investors, Reality Labs, CNBC PRO

☆ How America’s economy keeps defying expectations when the rest of the world is struggling
▼ + stars: | 2024-01-26 | by ( Elisabeth Buchwald | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +4 min

Economists were convinced the last quarter of 2023 had to be the one where economic growth slowed significantly after the prior quarter’s gangbuster 4.9% annualized growth rate. Gross domestic product, the broadest measure of economic output, did slow last quarter to a 3.3% annualized rate. It’s remarkable given economists were expecting 1.5% annualized GDP growth last quarter. But what’s perhaps most remarkable about the US economic growth rate is how much it towers over similarly sized advanced economies. Covid stimulus money is helping Americans avoid cutting back on spending.

Persons: Larry David, that’s, rateaccording, Joseph Gagnon, David Paul Morris, Gagnon, That’s, Alicia Wallace, Hanna Ziady, he’s, I’ve, it’s Organizations: New, New York CNN, Gross, Peterson Institute for International Economics, Federal Reserve, Bloomberg Locations: New York, Singapore, Europe, Ukraine

☆ Dividend-paying stocks could rise in 2024. Investors like these plays for the new year
▼ + stars: | 2023-12-28 | by ( Darla Mercado | Cfp | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +6 min

Dividend-paying stocks took a backseat to this year's tech-driven market rally, but 2024 could be the year that they come back in vogue. A couple of catalysts could swing the pendulum back in favor of dividend payers in 2024, including the Fed's forecast for three rate cuts in the new year. "Not only do you get the dividend yield and dividend growth, but you get some capital appreciation perhaps – that's where it gets interesting," he added. Special dividend payers Kim Abmeyer, certified financial planner and founder of Abmeyer Wealth Management in Dallas, sees dividend-paying stocks coming into focus for 2024. The energy company in November announced that it raised its regular dividend by 10% and it declared a $1.50 per share special dividend.

Persons: gangbuster, Charlie Gaffney, Eaton Vance, Gaffney, bode, Bernstein, it's, Nelson, Piper Sandler, Paul Newsome, Kim Abmeyer, Abmeyer, Stocks, Roth MKM's Leo Mariani Organizations: Big Tech, Nasdaq, Morgan Stanley Investment Management, Broadcom, VMware, Evercore ISI, Disney, Allstate, Abmeyer Wealth Management, Costco Wholesale, Costco Locations: Dallas

☆ Nvidia is the stock of the year. Can it last?
▼ + stars: | 2023-12-05 | by ( Nicole Goodkind | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +10 min

New York CNN —It would be an understatement to say that it’s been a good year for Nvidia. The California-based chipmaking giant has seen its shares soar about 220% this year, making it the top performing S&P 500 stock in 2023. What’s happening: Just before Thanksgiving, Nvidia crushed doubts that its star was fading by reporting gangbuster third quarter earnings. By Sosnick’s count, Nvidia executives mentioned AI at least 70 times on their most recent earnings call. Historically, Nvidia has had hard falls after missteps — between 2021 and 2022, shares of the stock fell by 66%.

Persons: Hannah de Wolf, Colette Kress, There’s, ”, Steve Sosnick, we’ve, Nvidia …, Dan Ives, Goldman Sachs, Piper Sandler, Harsh Kumar, Sarat Sethi, DCLA, Sethi, it’s, missteps, hasn’t, Matt Egan, Robert Jackson Jr, Joshua Mitts, “, Mitts, it’s “, ” Mitts, Jackson, Catherine Cortez Masto, Biden, Cortez Masto, “ I’m, Todd Young, Tim Kaine, Mark Warner, Rand Paul, Mitch McConnell, Bill Hagerty, Marsha Blackburn ,, Joe Manchin, Roger Marshall, Katie Britt Organizations: CNN Business, Bell, New York CNN, Nvidia, Revenue, Nvidia can’t, Washington Service, Interactive, CNBC, Columbia University, New York University, Israel, Fund, SEC, NYU, …, CNN, US, EU, Indiana Locations: New York, California, China, Wedbush, Israel, Gaza, Columbia, Nevada, American, Virginia, Kentucky, Tennessee, Marsha Blackburn , West Virginia, Joe Manchin , Kansas, Alaska

☆ Reuters NEXT White House's Bernstein upbeat on economy despite Mideast war, shutdown threat
▼ + stars: | 2023-11-08 | by ( Jeff Mason | Thomson Reuters | Jeff Mason Is A White House Correspondent For Reuters. He Has Covered The Presidencies Of Barack Obama | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

"On the headwind side, certainly being in a higher rate environment is something we have to be mindful of. Bernstein said the U.S. economy was outperforming virtually all its competitors and urged Congress to pass the necessary appropriations bills to keep the government running. We've got a very strong backdrop to a U.S. economy that's outperforming virtually all our competitors," he said. Asked about recent negative polls reflecting concern about President Joe Biden's handling of the economy, Bernstein said Americans had to reset their price expectations given an increase in their buying power. Bernstein said the Biden administration had taken a series of steps to ease prices while maintaining a strong labor market.

Persons: Jared Bernstein, Amanda Andrade, Rhoades, Washington, Bernstein, We've, Joe Biden's, Biden, Jeff Mason, Eric Beech, Andrea Shalal, Dan Burns, Richard Chang Organizations: of Economic Advisers, Banking, Housing, Urban Affairs, Capitol, REUTERS, U.S . Council, Economic, Reuters NEXT, Thomson Locations: Washington , U.S, Israel, Gaza, U.S, New York, joblessness

☆ Republicans are desperate for attention — and it's decimating their ability to govern
▼ + stars: | 2023-10-28 | by ( Bryan Metzger | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +15 min

In the end, the only man who could unify House Republicans behind him was a relatively little-known and mild-mannered evangelical Christian from Louisiana. AdvertisementAdvertisementAs the speaker saga wore on, it provoked questions among some House Republicans: How could it be that they had failed to elect a speaker for so long? While Gaetz maintains otherwise, his angry GOP colleagues have plenty of evidence to make their case that it was an attention ploy. Rep. Matt Gaetz surrounded by reporters and cameras after the House voted to oust Kevin McCarthy from the speakership. The attention economy doesn't preclude an ability to govern — an effective politician might seek to harness their celebrity towards worthy ends.

Persons: Mike Johnson's, Matt Gaetz, Kevin McCarthy, Garrett Graves, Sen, Thom Tillis, Madison Cawthorn, Tillis, Drew Angerer, Greg Murphy of, Nancy Mace, McCarthy, Mace, I'm, Win McNamee, Josh Hawley, Ronald Reagan, Donald Trump's, Nicole Wallace, Obama, JD Vance, Ohio, Vance, Ted Cruz, Jose Luis Magana, denialism, Jim Jordan, Marjorie Taylor Greene, Brett Kavanaugh, Jen Psaki, Symone Sanders, it's, Rep, Alexandria Ocasio, Cortez, Kelly Armstrong, Adam Schiff, Chip Somodevilla, Bob Good, Virginia, Gaetz, —, Ken Buck, Colorado, Hawley deadpanned, Mike Lawler, I've, Cruz, Buck, Joe Biden, Liz Cheney Organizations: Republicans, GOP, North Carolina Republican, Getty, Twitter, South Carolina, Republican, Rep, Fox News, Republican Party, Conservative Political, Conference, AP, Cannon, South, Democratic, Supreme, Biden, MSNBC, Democrats, Capitol, New York Post, Colorado Locations: Louisiana, Florida, Greg Murphy of North Carolina, Missouri, Hollywood, California, South Carolina, Alexandria, Cortez of New York, Ukraine, New York, Ted Cruz of Texas

☆ The economy probably showed gangbuster growth in the third quarter. But will it last?
▼ + stars: | 2023-10-25 | by ( Jeff Cox | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +5 min

If the projection is correct, it will be the strongest output since the fourth quarter of 2021, when growth was just shy of 7%. However, policymakers, economists and markets will be focused more on forward-looking signals from an economy that repeatedly has defied expectations. For Q3, GDPNow is projecting growth of 5.4%, with more than half — 2.77 percentage points — to come from consumer spending. That expectation intensified during a brief banking industry crisis in March 2023 that the Fed expected would constrain credit enough to bring about a downturn. Central bank officials have raised rates aggressively while professing to not want to drag the economy into recession.

Persons: Spencer Platt, Dow, Joseph LaVorgna, Goldman Sachs, Donald Trump, LaVorgna, Steven Ricchiuto, Ricchiuto, —, Quincy Krosby, that's Organizations: Getty, Gross, Dow Jones, Commerce Department, Nikko Securities America, Federal Reserve, Fed, White, Mizuho Securities USA, Department, Treasury, LPL Locations: Manhattan, New York City, U.S

☆ This energy giant is the 'leader of the pack' and set to jump more than 20%, UBS says
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-19 | by ( Sarah Min | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +2 min

It's time to buy "leader of the pack" Exxon Mobil , according to UBS. Analyst Josh Silverstein assumed coverage of Exxon Mobil and upgraded shares to buy from neutral, and raised his price target, saying the energy giant is set to outpace its peers. XOM YTD mountain Exxon Mobil shares YTD Exxon Mobil shares are higher by 6% in 2023 even after a slight dip in energy prices. Regardless, that follows a gangbuster two years for Exxon Mobil, which jumped 80% in 2022 and 48% the year prior. "Additionally, we forecast that the balance sheet goes into a net cash position by mid-2024, providing flexibility to push shareholder returns above the $17.5Bn/yr buyback pace, while providing downside support," he added.

Austin has emerged as a hub for relocating tech talent during the pandemic. Investors in Austin closed 416 deals in 2022 worth $4.9 billion, according to PitchBook. For this list, we asked VCs from across the country about which Texas investors we need to know. To qualify, an investor needed to be a Texas resident, but their firms and portfolio companies could be anywhere. Check out Insider's list of 46 top investors in Texas.

☆ A renowned market bear who called the dot-com crash warns stock valuations are at 'nosebleed' levels — and suggests that tech stocks could be the market's 'Achilles' heel'
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-24 | by ( William Edwards | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +3 min

Societe Generale's Albert Edwards warns stock valuations are at 'nosebleed' levels. Historically, when yields are low, higher stock valuations are accepted as investors seek yield. But currently high yields in the Treasury market mean stock valuations, on a historical basis, should be lower. Societe GeneraleEdwards said the drop in long-term growth expectations could be assigned to a deteriorating outlook for tech stocks. Societe Generale"An expensive US CAPE ratio has long been justified by the US market's far higher weighting in tech," he said.

☆ Stripe, Reddit and Instacart valuations take a beating in Fidelity's latest markdowns. Here's how they fared.
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-31 | by ( Samantha Stokes | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +3 min

Several other startups like Instacart and Reddit have fared poorly in terms of external valuations this year. Year-end numbers in mutual fund filings show that other late-stage startups like Instacart and Reddit also suffered throughout 2022. From November to December, Fidelity dropped the value of its Reddit shares nearly 9%. Its current share value, however, is a 1.5% improvement from the mutual fund's previous markdown in its holdings to $36.90 a share in May. But the public markets might not be the silver bullet needed to pull these companies out of their slumps: Many of Stripe, Instacart, and Reddit's public counterparts are also struggling.

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