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☆ Tenacious stock market heads into new quarter aiming to show it's not beholden to the Fed's rate plans
▼ + stars: | 2024-04-01 | by ( Michael Santoli | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +9 min

.SPX YTD mountain S & P 500, YTD Here's a scouting report covering a few relevant themes at play heading into the second quarter. The tenacious tape The behavior of the market itself is perhaps the strongest selling point for a bullish outlook from here. After the S & P has returned 10% or more in a first quarter? The index continued higher the following quarter nine of those 11 and was up the remainder of the year all but once. All but one of the previous episodes saw the market higher nine months later, which in this case would take it through 2024.

Persons: It's, YTD, we've, it's, —, Joe Kalish, Ned Davis, – Organizations: Federal, Ned, Ned Davis Research, Treasury, Fed, JPMorgan, Microsoft, Nvidia, Broadcom, AMD, Eaton Corp

Piper Sandler raised its rating on Rivian to overweight, noting the stock can rally 96% from here. Baird's $1,050 price target implies that Nvidia stock could still rally another 19%, adding onto its eye-watering 78% gain so far this year. After soaring more than 200% last year, Nvidia shares have surged another 77% in 2024. "Make no mistake: buying RIVN is risky and a botched midyear re-tooling effort could yet surprise investors negatively," Potter wrote. Snowflake shares have struggled this year, losing 20%, in part due to Frank Slootman stepping down his CEO role.

Persons: Piper Sandler, Guggenheim, Baird, Trista Gerra, Blackwell, Gerra, Lisa Kailai Han, Alexander Potter, Tesla, Rivian hasn't, Potter, Rivian, John DiFucci, DiFucci, Snowflake, Frank Slootman, Fred Imbert Organizations: CNBC, Nvidia, GTC, Guggenheim Locations: Rivian

☆ Is New York City Back? Not for Everyone.
▼ + stars: | 2024-03-05 | by ( Emma G. Fitzsimmons | Jeffery C. Mays | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

Nearly four years after the coronavirus pandemic hit, New York City is back in many ways. As of September, New York City had the most jobs ever recorded. Tax revenue projections were $1.3 billion higher than expected for the current fiscal year, allowing Mayor Eric Adams to rescind midyear budget cuts that would have affected nearly every city agency. “We’re not surviving — we are thriving in this city,” Mr. Adams said at a recent news conference celebrating the city’s strong bond rating. The recovery of New York City, the nation’s financial capital, is critical to the American economy and to the eight million people who call the city home.

Persons: Eric Adams, “ We’re, Mr, Adams Organizations: Tourism Locations: New York City

☆ Bey and Tay save the movies! AMC says 'literally all' of its Q4 revenue growth was from their concert films.
▼ + stars: | 2024-03-01 | by ( Grace Eliza Goodwin | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +2 min

AMC owes Taylor Swift and Beyoncé — big time. CEO Adam Aron says 'literally all' of AMC's revenue growth in Q4 was from their concert films. To that end, it is no surprise that our praise for Taylor Swift and Beyoncé Knowles-Carter has no limit." And it wasn't just AMC that benefited from "Taylor Swift: The Eras Tour" and "Renaissance: A Film by Beyoncé." Aron said that the concert films made up one-ninth of Q4 box office earnings across the entire industry domestically.

Persons: Taylor Swift, Adam Aron, —, Aron, Beyoncé Knowles, Carter, clamoring Organizations: AMC, Service, Beyoncé

☆ All of AMC's revenue growth came from Taylor Swift and Beyoncé films, theater chain says
▼ + stars: | 2024-02-29 | by ( Alex Harring | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +2 min

Popcorn buckets are pictured during the "Taylor Swift: The Eras Tour" concert movie world premiere at AMC The Grove in Los Angeles on Oct. 11, 2023. "Literally all" that growth was tied to concert films from Taylor Swift and Beyoncé, AMC CEO Adam Aron told analysts Wednesday. AMC was behind "Taylor Swift: The Eras Tour" and "Renaissance: A Film by Beyoncé," the first movie distributions in the company's 103-year-old history. U.S. market share for AMC, based outside Kansas City, expanded as a result of the two movies, Aron said. To that end, it is no surprise that our praise for Taylor Swift and Beyoncé Knowles-Carter has no limit."

Persons: Taylor Swift, Nicole Kidman, Adam Aron, Aron, Beyoncé, Beyoncé Knowles, Carter Organizations: AMC, Disney Locations: Los Angeles, ., Kansas City

☆ Eurozone Inflation Dips at Start of Year
▼ + stars: | 2024-02-01 | by ( Melissa Eddy | More About Melissa Eddy | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

Why It Matters: The timing of interest rate cuts depends on dataInvestors are watching for signs that the European Central Bank will lower interest rates, which policymakers last week held at a record high of 4 percent. The numbers released on Thursday could raise expectations that rates may come down sooner rather than later. Core inflation, the rate of inflation that excludes the volatile prices of food and energy, continued its downward trend, cooling to 3.3 percent in January from 3.4 percent in December. That figure is crucial to the E.C.B., as it reflects underlying trends in prices across the eurozone. will remain cautious, he said, “and will not contemplate any rate cut before June.”

Persons: Christine Lagarde, “, Peter Vanden Houte, ” Organizations: European Central Bank, ING Locations: midyear, Germany, Europe’s

☆ Experimental Drug Cuts Off Pain at the Source, Company Says
▼ + stars: | 2024-01-30 | by ( Gina Kolata | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

Vertex Pharmaceuticals of Boston announced Tuesday that it had developed an experimental drug that relieves moderate to severe pain, blocking pain signals before they can get to the brain. Vertex says its new drug is expected to avoid opioids’ potential to lead to addiction. In its clinical trials, Vertex measured the drug’s effect with a standard pain scale in which patients rated pain severity from 1 to 10, with 10 the most severe. Those taking its drug had a statistically and clinically meaningful reduction in pain, it reports. A third study looked at safety and tolerability of the drug in people experiencing pain from a variety of conditions.

Persons: midyear Organizations: Pharmaceuticals, Boston, Food and Drug Administration

☆ GM unveils 2025 Chevy Equinox with new rugged design, standard heated seats
▼ + stars: | 2024-01-23 | by ( Michael Wayland | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +3 min

In this article GM Follow your favorite stocks CREATE FREE ACCOUNTThe 2025 Chevrolet Equinox RS. ChevroletDETROIT — General Motors is redesigning its gas-powered Chevrolet Equinox crossover to look more rugged than its predecessors in an attempt to move the vehicle upmarket and attract new buyers. The 2025 Equinox, which GM revealed Tuesday, will feature additional standard safety and convenience features. The 2025 Chevrolet Equinox RS. ChevroletThe 2025 model will have heated seats and a heated steering wheel standard on all models — a first for the Equinox and many mainstream brands.

Persons: Brad Franz, Franz, we've Organizations: Chevrolet DETROIT —, Motors, GM, Chevrolet

☆ A lack of employee engagement at work could cost the economy nearly $2 trillion
▼ + stars: | 2024-01-23 | by ( Noah Sheidlower | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +6 min

Employees who aren't engaged at work may cost the economy $1.9 trillion, according to Gallup. Workers feel increasingly disconnected from their workplaces and feel their expectations are unclear. AdvertisementA lack of employee engagement at work may cost the economy nearly $2 trillion as workers are dealing with unclear expectations, weak connections to their companies, and lower satisfaction levels. This comes as the proportion of employees in hybrid and remote positions stabilizes, as 52% of those in remote-ready jobs work hybrid. These include discussions about employee strengths and goals, opportunities for collaboration, and how employees' work impacts the larger organization.

Persons: aren't, —, they're, Jim Harter, Harter, midyear, Gallup, " Harter Organizations: Gallup, Workers, Service, Employees

FRANKFURT, Germany (AP) — Cutting interest rates too soon could threaten Europe’s progress in battling the inflation that has ravaged the economy, the head of the European Central Bank said Wednesday amid widespread speculation that the bank soon will lower rates from record highs. But higher prices have spread through the economy in the form of high prices for services and higher wages. Meanwhile, sluggish economic growth and the impact of higher interest rates on economic activity have sparked bets on rate cuts. Higher rates are the typical antidote to high inflation because they make it more expensive to borrow and buy things, reducing demand for goods. “The first question for next week's European Central Bank meeting is how the bank will react to current market pricing,” Brzeski wrote in a preview of the meeting.

Persons: Christine Lagarde, Lagarde, Carsten Brzeski, ” Brzeski, “ Organizations: European Central Bank, Bloomberg, ECB, U.S . Federal, Wall Street, Union, ING, Central Bank Locations: FRANKFURT, Germany, Davos, Switzerland, Israel, Europe, Ukraine

Political Cartoons View All 253 ImagesStill, country music has broken new ground. He says country music is now in a position where people who “maybe never gave us a chance” are listening to country music with an open-mindedness. Smyers has his own theories to why country music is experiencing this explosive period. “And I feel like country music kind of does the authenticity thing better than any other genre.”Up-and-comer Megan Moroney agrees. “I just kind of stay in my lane and do the best I can with supporting country music,” she told AP.

Persons: Morgan Wallen, Zach Bryan, Luke Combs, Roll, Harvey Mason, ”, Kacey Musgraves, Jason Aldean’s “, Wallen’s “, Combs, Tracy Chapman’s, Oliver Anthony’s, “, Richmond ”, Wilson’s Deana Carter, Bailey, Wilson, Gabby Barrett, Carly Pearce, Ingrid Andress, Dan Smyers, Dan, Shay, Justin Bieber, I’ve, Smyers, Dustin Lynch, Darius Rucker, “ I've, Megan Moroney, there's, Reba McEntire, Blake Shelton, John Legend, Chance, Garth Brooks, Brooks, fiddles, ” Brooks, it’s Organizations: ANGELES, Recording Academy, Associated Press, North, Richmond, “, AP, United, CBS, Paramount, Crypto.com Locations: —, U.S, Luminate, United States, Philippines, Indonesia, India, Brazil, Mexico, Germany, Vietnam, Europe, America, Nashville, Los Angeles

☆ The free version of ChatGPT may provide false answers to questions about drugs, new study finds
▼ + stars: | 2023-12-05 | by ( Sawdah Bhaimiya | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +4 min

Long Island University researchers challenged ChatGPT with real drug-related questions in the past year. OpenAI advises users not to use its tools including ChatGPT for medical information. The responses provided a base criteria according to which the answers produced by ChatGPT would be compared with. The researchers found that ChatGPT only provided a satisfactory response in accordance with the criteria to 10 of the 39 questions. For the other 29 questions ChatGPT either didn't directly address the question or provided an incorrect or incomplete answer.

Persons: OpenAI, —, ChatGPT, Sara Grossman, Grossman Organizations: Long Island University, Service, American Society of Health, University's, of Pharmacy, OpenAI, United, Stanford Medical Locations: Long, Anaheim , California, United States

☆ JPMorgan is out with its global commodities outlook. Here's where it sees opportunity
▼ + stars: | 2023-12-01 | by ( Spencer Kimball | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +3 min

Investors will need to be tactical to harvest returns from commodities next year but there is an area where J.P. Morgan is making a broadly bullish call — precious metals. The firm expects a breakout rally the middle of 2024 with gold prices hitting a targeted peak of $2,300 an ounce, according to the investment bank's commodities outlook. Silver, meanwhile, will push above $30 per ounce on the rate cutting cycle, according to J.P. Morgan. The global economy is expected to slow, but will avoid a recession from 2024 to 2025, making it difficult to provide an overarching bullish or bearish call on commodities, according to the bank. There is value in oil and gas but how investors time their entry and exits will be critical, according to J.P. Morgan.

Persons: Morgan, Gold, Brent, J.P Organizations: Federal, Bloomberg, Precious Metals, Commodities, Morgan, New York Mercantile Exchange, Livestock Locations: Agriculture, China

☆ Canada to add spending for housing amid slow growth and high debt payments
▼ + stars: | 2023-11-21 | by ( Steve Scherer | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

Canada's Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Finance Chrystia Freeland attends the Canada-CARICOM Summit in Ottawa, Ontario, Canada October 18, 2023. Housing Minister Sean Fraser on Monday confirmed the government is considering such a measure. Many Canadians are dealing with higher living costs and housing affordability has emerged as the main criticism against the government. Freeland has promised to use the FES to try to boost housing supply and to help Canadians struggling with inflation. The Bank of Canada hiked rates to a 22-year high of 5.00% between March of last year and July of this year.

Persons: Finance Chrystia Freeland, Blair Gable, Chrystia Freeland, Justin Trudeau's, Freeland, Derek Holt, Holt, Sean Fraser, Trudeau, Pierre Poilievre, Steve Scherer, Matthew Lewis Organizations: Finance, Canada, CARICOM, REUTERS, OTTAWA, Canada Finance, Justin Trudeau's Liberal, Scotiabank, Canadian Broadcasting Corp, Toronto Star, Housing, Monday, Conservative, Bank of Canada, Reuters, Thomson Locations: Ottawa , Ontario, Canada, FES, United States, Ottawa

☆ Fed's Mester wants 'much more evidence' that inflation has been defeated
▼ + stars: | 2023-11-16 | by ( Jeff Cox | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +2 min

"We're making progress on inflation, discernible progress. "We're going to have to see much more evidence that inflation is on that timely path back to 2%. But we do have really good evidence that it has made progress and now it's just, is it continuing?" Following the reports, market pricing in the futures market completely eliminated the possibility that the Fed would be approving any additional interest rate hikes. Comparing the Fed's position to navigating a ship, Mester said, "We're at the crow's nest.

Persons: Loretta Mester, Mester, CNBC's Steve Liesman, hasn't Organizations: Cleveland Federal, Labor Department Locations: midyear

☆ Mom and pop shops are cutting software spending, creating jitters on Wall Street
▼ + stars: | 2023-11-16 | by ( Jake Piazza | In | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +9 min

Joe Coffee founders Nick and Brenden Martin Joe CoffeeWall Street is on edge. Over the past two decades, small businesses have accounted for 40% of U.S. gross domestic product, according to the Chamber of Commerce. "If America is really built on the backbone of small business owners, why are they the ones that never catch the break?" In 2021, Joe Coffee, which now has 17 employees, created a full software and payments suite for coffee shops. WATCH: Xero will remain focused on core segments such as small businesses

Persons: PAYC ZI, Nick Martin, Joe Coffee, Martin, Joe Coffee's, aren't, Bill, Nick, Brenden Martin Joe Coffee, John Rettig, Cameron Hyzer, Yamini Rangan, Rangan, Bill didn't, Jake Dollarhide, Martins, Brenden Martin, Nick's, Brenden, Zhang Peng, they'd, Taylor McGinnis, ZoomInfo, we've, Bryan Keane Organizations: Starbucks, CNBC, Bill Holdings, Bureau of Labor Statistics, Joe, Nasdaq, Chamber of Commerce, Longbow Asset Management, Microsoft, Coffee Fest, UBS, Deutsche Bank Locations: Seattle, Paycom, West Richland , Washington, Coffee, Los Angeles

☆ Morning Bid: Murky US inflation picture
▼ + stars: | 2023-11-14 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +6 min

According to consensus forecasts at least, U.S. headline inflation is expected to have retreated sharply again in October back toward midyear lows around 3.3%. But underlying 'core' inflation is expected to stay stickier at an unchanged annual rate of 4.1% last month and still more than twice the Fed's target. But the Fed may want to hang tough long enough into a slowing economy to ensure that inflation is squeezed back to its 2% goal. And perhaps the negative tilt on October core inflation going into today's release leaves more room for a positive surprise. The International Energy Agency on Tuesday raised its oil demand growth forecasts for this year and next despite the weakening economic picture.

Persons: Lucas Jackson, Mike Dolan, Goldman Sachs, Xi Jinping, Joe Biden, Biden, Xi, Shunichi Suzuki, Philip Jefferson, Loretta Mester, Austan Goolsbee, Michael Barr, Huw Pill, Christina Fincher Organizations: New York Stock Exchange, REUTERS, New, Bank of America's, Treasury, International Energy Agency, U.S, Economic Cooperation, Reuters, Bank of Japan, Japan's Finance, Home, Federal, Cleveland Fed, Chicago Fed, Banking, Housing, Urban Affairs, Bank of England, Thomson Locations: New York, U.S, California, San Francisco, Asia, China, Japan, Teck, United States

The world's biggest shopping event happens in China each year - and it's called Singles Day. WHEN DID THE IDEA OF SINGLES DAY ORIGINATE? The idea for Singles Day had originated at China's Nanjing University back in 1993 and was originally called "Bachelor's Day." Cyber Monday immediately follows Black Friday, which falls on the day after the U.S. Thanksgiving Day holiday, the busiest shopping day of the year in the United States. "The presale period of Tmall and particularly on -- in general, the Singles Day, confirms a softer trend versus a year ago," said Estee Lauder CEO Fabrizio Freda last week, adding that the company was more optimistic about the next part of the Singles Day events in November.

Persons: it's, Bain, Jacob Cooke, Pinduoduo, Cooke, Estee Lauder, Nike, JD.com, Fabrizio Freda, Nicolas Hieronimus, Hieronimus, Granth, Aditya Soni, Diane Craft Organizations: China's Nanjing University, Adobe Analytics, U.S, Reuters, Technologies, Cyber, HK, PDD Holdings, Adobe, Bain, HOPE, Nike, Procter & Gamble, Apple, L'Oreal, Thomson Locations: China, United States, Beijing, Greater China, Bengaluru

REUTERS/Dado Ruvic/Illustration/File Photo Acquire Licensing RightsLONDON, Nov 8 (Reuters) - If the notorious 'term premium' is evaporating again, then last month's bond rout may just have been a nightmare. "If that's coming from term premium and it's tightening, then we have got to take that into account." As Summers estimated this week, a term premium just back at 60-year averages would put it at 150bps - 130bps above current levels. Morgan Stanley estimates an additional near $1 trillion in gross debt sales from G7 governments are coming down the pike next year. Morgan Stanley chart on G7 debt sales in 2024Reuters GraphicsThe opinions expressed here are those of the author, a columnist for Reuters.

Persons: Dado Ruvic, Christopher Waller, Larry Summers, selloff, York Fed's, Jerome Powell, Austan Goolsbee, Lisa Cook, Summers, Morgan Stanley, Mike Dolan, Josie Kao Organizations: REUTERS, Federal Reserve, Treasury, Fed, ., The, NY, Reuters Graphics Reuters, Reuters, Chicago Fed, Congress, Thomson Locations: York, midyear, 150bps

☆ Morning Bid: Oil-fueled rally turns to Powell
▼ + stars: | 2023-11-08 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +5 min

[1/2] Federal Reserve Board Chairman Jerome Powell answers a question during a press conference following a closed two-day meeting of the Federal Open Market Committee on interest rate policy at the Federal Reserve in Washington, U.S., November 1, 2023. And that's hit home by dragging U.S. pump prices down to levels not seen since March. Overall, U.S. 10-year yields remained on the back foot at 4.57% first thing and ahead of Wednesday's auction. Although Asian and European stocks fell back a bit, Wall St stock futures were unchanged before the bell. They do not reflect the views of Reuters News, which, under the Trust Principles, is committed to integrity, independence, and freedom from bias.

Persons: Jerome Powell, Kevin Lamarque, Mike Dolan, who's, Christine Lagarde, Andrew Bailey, Michelle Bowman, Austan Goolsbee, Christopher Waller, BoE, Ping, Donald Trump, White, Philip Jefferson, Michael Barr, Lisa Cook, John Williams, Joachim Nagel, Walt Disney, Ralph Lauren, Toby Chopra Organizations: Federal Reserve, Federal, Committee, REUTERS, Mike Dolan Wall, European Central Bank, Bank of England, Atlanta, Fed, Chicago Fed, St, Reuters, Ping An Insurance, HK, New York Fed, Warner Bros Discovery, MGM Resorts, Biogen, Energy, Treasury, Federal Reserve Bank of New, Thomson Locations: Washington , U.S, U.S, Gaza, Tokyo, Ohio, Kentucky, Brussels, Federal Reserve Bank of New York

And some banks think the Bank of England may be the latest to paper over the QT cracks as soon as this week. Already, there's been some awkward shuffling of feet around a process that was meant to be just balance sheet plumbing. The Federal Reserve may be further away from dealing with the QT issue head on. Deutsche Bank's UK strategists agree and think "the bar for a shift in QT policy is lower heading into yearend." Deutsche argues the BoE could either skew gilt sales shorter or agree to sell evenly based on current market valuations.

Persons: there's, BOE, BoE, BofA, Deutsche, Mike Dolan, Lisa Shumaker Organizations: Bank of England, European Central Bank, Federal, . Treasury, Bank, Treasury, Bank of America, Deutsche Bank's, Reuters Graphics Reuters, Reuters, Thomson Locations: Treasuries, yearend

Speaking at this week's global finance meeting in Riyadh, HSBC boss Noel Quinn warned of a potential "tipping point on fiscal deficits" for a number of countries across the world. And some analysts fear the uncertainty of next year's funding crush is filtering out the steepening yield curve via the term premium. Term premium at highest in 8 yearsReuters GraphicsCBO long-term US debt and deficit projections'DOOM LOOP'? That's spooky enough, until you start to factor in the recent yield spike and or a return of the term premium to 60-year averages of 150 bp. Tipping point or not, there's a danger the market is starting crystallise the problem it fears most.

Persons: Sukree, Noel Quinn, it's, that's, Stephen Jen, Jen, Goldman Sachs, Jeremy Hunt, Mike Dolan Organizations: HSBC, New York Fed, Federal Reserve, Fed, JPMorgan, Treasury, CBO, Moody's, Reuters Graphics Reuters, Reuters, Thomson Locations: Kasikornbank, Bangkok, Riyadh, U.S, Washington, Europe, Italy

☆ Morning Bid: Big Tech reports as bond yields recoil
▼ + stars: | 2023-10-24 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +5 min

The two tech giants report after the bell on Tuesday, with Meta (META.O) following on Wednesday and Amazon (AMZN.O) on Thursday. Partly lifted by the year's artificial intelligence craze, the tech behemoths have clearly flattered year-to-date gains of 10% in the overall S&P500. And yet the seemingly endless squeeze in bond markets since midyear has seen megacap indexes (.NYFANG) retreat some 12% from their highs for the year. The upshot of the whole picture is to give U.S. stock futures a lift ahead of the open on Tuesday - with Asia and European bourses in positive territory too as bond markets stabilised. Ten-year U.S. Treasury yields held about 4.83% - some 19 basis points below Monday's peak at 5.02%.

Persons: Brendan McDermid, Mike Dolan, Bill Ackman, Clark, Chubb, Paccar, Centene, Sherwin, Williams, Archer, David Evans Organizations: NVIDIA Corp, New York Stock Exchange, REUTERS, Mike Dolan Big Tech, Microsoft, Meta, Treasuries, U.S, Bank of England, Treasury, Britain's FTSE, Barclays, P Global, Richmond Fed, Philadelphia Fed, Texas Instruments, Verizon, General Electric, NextEra Energy, HCA Healthcare, General Motors, Halliburton, Dow, Waste Management, Daniels, Midland, Reuters, Thomson Locations: New York City, U.S, Gaza, United States, Asia, European, Britain's, Philadelphia, Danaher, Fiserv, Kimberly, Spotify, Dover, Nucor

The 40-year bond bull market - a slow-inflating bubble like any other to some people - has crashed. Bank of America chart on survey of global funds' bond positioningBond Multiverse Returns Flip Positive2008... OR 2000? Of course, bond bubbles and bursts - at least for top-rated sovereigns - are not same as their equity counterparts, even if the short-term performance of bond funds seems to ape them. But for bond funds praying for a shorter-term price performance pickup, the situation looks nervier. With such an ephemeral variable at work, picking a durable turn in the battered bond market may prove fiendishly difficult.

Persons: Jason Lee, That's, Fed's, Olivier Davanne, midyear, Davanne, Mike Dolan Organizations: Hong, REUTERS, Treasury, U.S, Bank of America's, Federal Reserve, of America, Bloomberg, Invest, Reuters, Thomson Locations: Hong Kong, Paris

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