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First Citizens Bancshares ' acquisition of Silicon Valley Bank should result in a higher-quality earnings stream, according to UBS. Analyst Brody Preston double upgraded shares to buy from sell. The U.S. Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation announced March 27 that First Citizens would buy Silicon Valley Bank's deposits and loans less than three weeks after the collapse of the venture-capital focused bank . "We view the balance sheet as more well positioned to handle a recession going forward given the low loss nature of the SIVB loan portfolio, which should result in a higher quality earnings stream," Preston wrote in a Wednesday note. FCNCA YTD mountain First Citizens Bancshares stock —CNBC's Michael Bloom contributed to this report.

JPMorgan refreshed its list of top stock picks heading into April, including a bank stock that's had a rocky start to the year. To kick off the month of April, JPMorgan added two new names to its focus list: VICI Properties and Regions Financial. The other new name on the list, Regions Financial , has declined 15% in 2023. GM shares are up 6.2% in 2023. JPMorgan removed two names from its list: Intellia Therapeutics and Jones Lang LaSalle .

Etsy — The e-commerce company's shares rose 3.9% after Piper Sandler upgraded them to overweight from neutral. Virgin Orbit — The satellite launch company sank 14% in the premarket after filing for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection. Tesla — Shares of the electric vehicle maker ticked up nearly 1% in premarket trading. Tesla stock declined 6.1% a day earlier, with investors seemingly responding to the company's vehicle delivery report from the weekend. The media company's shares have jumped 7.8% year to date.

Investors may want to look somewhere other than tech for safety, according to Morgan Stanley's Mike Wilson. Tech is the best-performing sector this year, up more than 20% and outpacing the S & P 500 's 7% advance. Recently, tech stocks got a boost after bond yields fell amidst volatility in the banking sector. Morgan Stanley looked for defensive stocks to own in a bear market. His 2023 S & P 500 target of 3,900 is also the third-lowest in CNBC Pro's Market Strategist Survey.

Michael M. Santiago | Getty ImagesThere's one group of people that's being disproportionality hurt by high inflation: women. First, a jump in child care prices has started to pressure women out of the workforce. Child care inflation, which has increased 214% from 1990 to 2022, has outpaced average family income gains, which have risen 143%. Surprisingly, over 50% of parents spend over 20% of their income on child care in the US." Women and minorities are underrepresented in higher-wage industries, such as technology or finance, that are more insulated from inflation pressures, Gosai noted.

Wolfe Research warned investors to avoid these low-quality stocks that could blow up. Using fourth-quarter corporate results, Wolfe Research identified potentially underperforming stocks using its earnings quality score, which considers several variables including sentiment, valuation metrics and various financial ratios. From this group, Wolfe Research found the names in the bottom 10% of its earnings quality score. Wolfe Research also identified names with high short interest relative to the company's sector. Wolfe also found the company has the lowest earnings quality score of all energy stocks tracked at just 2.

The firm has a price target of $65, which implies 9.6% from the stock's closing price on Tuesday. Meanwhile, JPMorgan said that it is "starting to see some light at the end of the tunnel" for Micron as inventory levels begin to improve. The firm has a price target of $75, implying 26.5% upside from Tuesday's close price. His price target of $46 implies shares falling by almost a third from their closing price on Tuesday. Micron shares have rallied more than 18% in 2023, but have tumbled 27.7% over the last 12 months.

It's time to buy Marathon Petroleum , according to Goldman Sachs. Marathon Petroleum was previously its top pick within the refining oil segment from 2018 to 2022, but was "prematurely" downgraded to neutral, Goldman said. Analyst Neil Mehta upgraded the stock again, saying that he still sees momentum for the stock's return of capital and execution. Marathon Petroleum shares were up more than 1% following the upgrade. MPC 1D mountain Marathon Petroleum shares —CNBC's Michael Bloom contributed to this report.

UBS is bearish on Foot Locker , saying that the shoe retailer is unlikely to drive revenue growth in a recession. Sole said he does not believe "enough bad news is priced in" for Foot Locker and several other softline stocks. UBS said Foot Locker also faces more challenges to growth as Nike — which currently accounts for 70% of Foot Locker's sales — grows its direct-to-consumer businesses. UBS' downgrade comes after Foot Locker issued a mixed fourth-quarter report. Foot Locker shares were down 2.6% during premarket trading on Wednesday.

Solar-solutions company Nextracker is a market leader in both technology and share, according to Bank of America. Analyst Julien Dumoulin-Smith upgraded Nextracker to buy from neutral. Dumoulin-Smith also raised his price target for the company's shares to $40 from $36, implying 23% upside from Tuesday's close price. He raised his estimates as he anticipates Nextracker receiving credits from the Inflation Reduction Act. NXT 3M mountain Nextracker stock More specifically, Dumoulin-Smith said that Nextracker is on track for an upward trajectory in 2023 as project deliveries accelerate.

Lululemon is "checking all the right boxes," according to Citi, with "all systems ready to go" for accelerated growth in 2023. Citi raised its rating on Lululemon shares to buy from neutral, after the company topped fiscal fourth-quarter estimates and offered an upbeat forecast for the coming year. "Inventory-to-sales gap [was] better than expected," Lejuez said, with a "pathway to further improvement (with limited markdown pressure)." Citi increased its price target on Lululemon shares to $440 from $350, implying 37.4% upside from Tuesday's closing price. Lululemon shares jumped more than 15% on Wednesday.

While Alibaba announced it would split its company as a move "designed to unlock shareholder value and foster market competitiveness," " Fast Money " traders aren't so sure about buying the stock. The Chinese tech giant announced Tuesday it would divide its company into six business groups. BABA 1D mountain Alibaba stock However, a couple of the "Fast Money" traders are hesitant as to whether the stock is now a good play. This is a wait-and-see moment," said Tim Seymour, founder and chief investment officer of Seymour Asset Management. She said that while sentiments with Chinese tech companies could potentially have bottomed out, she is unsure how the split will be executed.

Dividend stocks may be the way to go for investors as a recession becomes more likely, according to UBS. Dividend stocks on average outperformed the market by 4.5% during the 2001, 2008 and 2020 recessions, the bank said. "Dividend stocks can provide a margin of safety during uncertain times." Given this backdrop, UBS highlighted a slew of dividend stocks with big upsides, based on the bank's price targets. Analysts also forecast three-year dividend growth that's at least in the mid-single digits, in addition to sustainable payout ratios.

This valuation comes after a rich global history showcasing wars fought over salt, trade routes built for commodities, taxes levied against the mineral and even cities named in sodium's legacy. "You could not have an international economy if you didn't have salt," Mark Kurlansky, author of "Salt: A World History," told CNBC. "We're seeing that the majority is deicing salt," Seth Goldstein, equities analyst with Morningstar, told CNBC. However, if too much salt permeates our environment, the effects can be dangerous, according to the Environmental Protection Agency. Runoff from deicing salts that keep our roads safe in wintry weather is the most obvious way that salt enters the environment.

As the likelihood of a hard landing this year rises, Barclays says investors should seek quality stocks that are not overly expensive. Large-cap tech stocks have been outperforming the market in 2023, with the S & P 500's tech sector up more than 16%. "Rather than chasing yet another crowded trade that is vulnerable to the next unwind, we recommend seeking safe haven among quality stocks at less demanding valuations," Krishna wrote in a report on Monday. With the growing market uncertainty in mind, Barclays recommended a basket of quality stocks trading at lower valuations as a way to position for the growing risk of an economic downturn this year. Several tech stocks made the list, including Microsoft and Accenture .

The Federal Reserve's reluctance to cut interest rates this year is a mistake, according to Wharton School professor Jeremy Siegel. Fed Chair Jerome Powell announced during his press conference Wednesday that despite tightening lending conditions from the banking sector crisis, "rate cuts are not in our base case." He added that Fed policy has been "overkill" on inflation. "I'm just wondering — oh my God, [Powell's] not even thinking about lowering interest rates given what I think the economy is facing under the Fed policy? However, Siegel believes that inflation is "absolutely under control," with the economy currently facing a supply-side issue, not an excess of demand.

America's biggest retailers say organized retail crime has grown into a multibillion-dollar problem, but the effectiveness of their strategies to solve it and the validity of the data overall have come into question. However, the problem isn't as clear-cut as retailers and trade groups have made it seem. External retail crime accounts for only 37% of those losses, or about $35 billion, the NRF data shows. Still, law enforcement agencies and retailers insist organized retail crime remains an issue and said they stand behind their data. We see it every day in our stores," Scott Glenn, Home Depot's vice president of asset protection, told CNBC.

The 2% inflation target is key to the Federal Reserve's vision for stable prices in the U.S. economy, according to the Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis. But, "the 2% inflation target, it's relatively arbitrary," Josh Bivens, director of research at the Economic Policy Institute, told CNBC. "We led the way in inflation targeting," Arthur Grimes, professor of wellbeing and public policy at Victoria University, told CNBC. Canada announced its inflation target in 1991, and the United Kingdom followed suit in 1992. Then, Sweden and Finland declared inflation targets in 1993, according to the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development.

Car insurance costs are on the rise in 2023. Here are three ways to make sure you find the best car insurance deal for you. Bundle your renters or homeowners insurance with your car insuranceIf you already have homeowners or renters insurance, you might be able to save on your car insurance by getting your car insurance from the same company. According to InsuranceQuotes data, the average driver saves about 16% on their insurance premiums by bundling their homeowners insurance with their car insurance. If you don't have homeowners insurance yet and are looking for a provider, CNBC Select has picked the best homeowners insurance on the market.

(See our methodology to see how we choose the car insurance companies for high-risk drivers.) Best car insurance for high-risk driversBest overall: State FarmState Farm Best for at-fault accidents: ErieErie Best for speeding tickets: GeicoGeico Best for DUI/DWI: ProgressiveProgressive Best for military members and veterans: USAASubscribe to the Select Newsletter! What's the best car insurance for high-risk drivers? Each car insurance company considers your risks differently and will price your car insurance premium accordingly. Our methodologyTo find the best insurance companies for high-risk drivers, CNBC Select looked at dozens of insurers offering coverage to high-risk drivers.

Black families face unique, racist barriers to creating wealth, from homeownership to business ownership, says Salene Hitchcock-Gear, president of individual life insurance at Prudential. To work towards closing the racial wealth gap and building generational wealth for Black Americans, it's important to understand what obstacles stand in the way. Black Americans face lower median credit scoresWhile the credit scoring system was created to take the bias out of lending, it's become yet another hurdle that prevents many Black Americans from building wealth. The bottom lineAfter many generations of being excluded from wealth-building, Black Americans still face a unique set of challenges stemming from racial discrimination. However, making homebuying and financial literacy more accessible could start to narrow the wide racial wealth gap in the US, and help Black families build generational wealth.

China's e-commerce market was valued at $2 trillion in 2022, according to GlobalData, and the country also has a rapidly growing middle class, making it an attractive market for American companies. Amazon entered the China market in 2004 through a $75 million acquisition of Joyo.com, an online book and media seller. The joint venture rebranded to Amazon China at the domain Amazon.cn in 2011. Between 2011 and 2012, Amazon's market share hovered at approximately 15%, but it later plunged to less than 1% by 2019, according to iResearch. Amazon officially closed its China online marketplace in July 2019.

It's that simple," Larry Olmsted, author of "Real Food/Fake Food," told CNBC. Some estimates say food fraud affects at least 1% of the global food industry at a cost as high as $40 billion a year, according to the Food and Drug Administration. "We might not know the overall impact of food fraud because so much of what fraudsters do is hidden from us and has been for centuries." Between 2012 and 2021, the most common type food fraud was lying about an animal's origin and dilution or substitution, both ranking at 16% of recorded incidents by food-safety monitor Food Chain ID. The Food Fraud Prevention Think Tank suggests five questions a consumer can ask themselves to reduce their vulnerability to product fraud.

Dean Baldwin Painting is a 57-year-old aircraft painting company based in Macon, Georgia. The Federal Aviation Administration sets the safety standards for aircraft paint, and throughout the entire painting process, the plane is continually inspected to ensure those standards are being met. Painting typically involves four to five layers but only tends to be as thick as a fraction of a millimeter. Those layers include an anti-corrosion primer, protective intermediate layers and a final outer layer, which is typically white. The global commercial aviation aircraft paint market was estimated at nearly $18.5 billion in 2020 and is expected to grow to a $65 billion market by 2027.

The United States has just about 90 million planted acres of corn, and there's a reason people refer to the crop as yellow gold. In 2021, U.S. corn was worth over $86 billion, according to calculations from FarmDoc and the United States Department of Agriculture. "We're really good at [corn production]," Seth Meyer, chief economist at the USDA, told CNBC. Corn is in what we buy, including medications and textiles, and corn is turned into ethanol, which helps to fuel cars across the nation. "Do we get the corn acres because we've got the support, or do we have the support because we have the corn acres?"

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