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☆ Gold trades in tight range as investors await Fed decision
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-07 | by ( ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +2 min

Bars of gold are seen at the Krastsvetmet company, one of the world's largest producers of precious metals in Moscow, Russia on January 31, 2023. Gold prices inched higher on Wednesday, trading in a tight range as support from a weaker dollar countered concerns surrounding the U.S. Federal Reserve's next interest rate decision. Spot gold rose 0.1% to $1,963.86 per ounce by 0220 GMT. Non-interest-bearing bullion tends to become less attractive in a high interest rate environment. Fed fund futures indicate traders have priced in an 80.6% chance that the Fed will hold interest rates in the 5%-5.25% range, according to CMEGroup's Fedwatch tool.

Persons: Ilya Spivak Organizations: U.S . Federal, New York Fed, Fed Locations: Moscow, Russia, U.S ., Asia, Pacific

☆ China stretched its gold-buying spree into the 7th straight month in May, signaling more central bank de-dollarization
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-07 | by ( Filip De Mott | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +2 min

It's not alone in boosting its gold holdings, as central banks shed dollar reserves. The country's central bank purchased 16 tons of the reserve commodity last month, continuing a trend started in November. According to a WGC survey from May, half of central banks expect the dollar's share of reserves to continue sliding, accounting for 40-50% in the next five years. The same survey found that a quarter of central banks intend to add to their gold holdings over the next year. China ended May with $3.18 trillion in foreign currency reserves, compared with April's $3.20 trillion, data from the People's Bank of China showed.

Persons: It's, — Organizations: Service, Bloomberg, Gold, China, People's Bank of China Locations: China, Russia, Ukraine, Singapore

☆ Morgan Stanley's best stock picks to play the transition to clean energy
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-31 | by ( Brian Evans | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +4 min

The transition to clean energy won't be equal across sectors, according to Morgan Stanley Research. The Wall Street bank broke down segments of the energy transition that will benefit and others that will be challenged by the transition to clean energy. For this list, CNBC picked stocks Morgan Stanley thinks stand to benefit from the move toward clean energy, with a special focus on shares with overweight and equal weight ratings. The stocks in this list fall into one of four categories: — Energy storage and fuel cells. "Not all incumbent utilities will gain from the energy transition," Byrd wrote Wednesday.

Persons: Morgan Stanley, Stephen Byrd, Stocks, Byrd, Morgan Stanley's Organizations: Morgan Stanley Research, CNBC, Products, Chemicals Inc, Linde PLC, Air Products, Chemicals, Energy, Occidental Petroleum, Exxon Mobil, Chevron, Oil, Pacific Gas and, Edison International Locations: California, U.S

☆ Jim Cramer says the Fed needs to slow down before making a rash decision
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-31 | by ( Julie Coleman | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +2 min

CNBC's Jim Cramer told investors on Wednesday that the Federal Reserve needs to calm down before it makes a rash decision about rate hikes that could make the market even worse. With two weeks to go before its next meeting, Cramer stressed the need for prudence, not recklessness, in times of market confusion. "There are plenty of Fed heads who believe they need to keep raising interest rates, rather than take their time to assess the situation," Cramer said. Maybe the Fed needs to tighten more, but would it kill them to wait another month or two?" Cramer stressed that many industry giants are sending out warning signs that the central bank should not ignore, especially brick-and-mortar retailers, which are seeing "discouraging earnings and almost uniformly tepid forecasts."

Persons: CNBC's Jim Cramer, Cramer, —, I'm, Patrick Harker Organizations: Federal Reserve, American Airlines, Philly Fed, Costco, Meta

☆ 49 people have been killed at Dollar General stores since 2014. Workers are protesting for safer conditions
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-31 | by ( Nathaniel Meyersohn | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +5 min

But following repeated violent incidents and federal workplace safety violations at stores, some Dollar General workers and labor advocates are calling for stronger safety and health protections. Since 2014, there have been 49 people killed and 172 people injured at Dollar General stores, according to data from non-profit group Gun Violence Archive. The Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) has cited unsafe conditions at dozens of Dollar General stores in recent years. Since 2017, the federal agency has proposed more than $21 million in fines against Dollar General. Dollar General workers and their allies are rallying Wednesday outside Dollar General's headquarters in Goodlettsville, Tennessee, ahead of the company's annual shareholder meeting.

Persons: Doug Parker, ”, Kurt Petermeyer Organizations: New, New York CNN —, Workers, Dollar, CNN, Occupational Safety, Health Administration, General, Retail, Violence, Economic Policy Institute, OSHA, United, Funds Locations: New York, America, Goodlettsville , Tennessee, Louisiana, Atlanta

☆ Dollar nudges lower as U.S. debt ceiling deal dents safe-haven appeal
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-29 | by ( Dhara Ranasinghe | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +4 min

Summary Dollar edges down following U.S. debt ceiling dealRisk currencies rallyTurkish lira touches new record lowLONDON, May 29 (Reuters) - The dollar nudged lower on Monday, pulling back from six-month peaks against the yen as a U.S. debt ceiling deal lifted risk appetite across world markets and dented the greenback's safe-haven appeal. Having briefly touched a six-month high of 140.91 yen during Asia trade, the dollar drifted lower and was last down 0.25% at 140.25 yen. "We've got a risk-positive response so far to the debt deal news," said Ray Attrill, head of FX strategy at National Australia Bank. "Obviously there's still the need to get this debt deal over the line, but I think markets are happy to travel on the presumption that it will get done before the new X-date." Talk that the U.S. rate hiking cycle may not be over as soon as hoped given signs of economic strength have bolstered the dollar this month and could support the currency even as U.S. debt ceiling worries abate.

☆ People of color and low-income residents bear the brunt of extreme weather. To fight it, America's fastest-growing city is investing in cleaner air and affordable housing.
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-26 | by ( Kelsey Neubauer | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +7 min

Indeed, these residents have borne the brunt of Austin's extreme weather events, from heat waves to cold snaps, over the past 10 years. Certain communities are affected the most by extreme heat, flooding, and freezesMore often than not, extreme heat and flooding wreak the most havoc on marginalized communities in Austin. Then there's the extreme heat: Swaths of this area are paved and lacking in green space, which makes them even hotter than the rest of the city, Llanes said. With a goal to build 135,000 new housing units — nearly half within the affordable range — by 2027, the Austin Housing Finance Corporation has already funded "several thousand" of that total, according to the tracker. "The reality is that plans tend to be repositories in the city of Austin for complaints and suggestions and then we sit on them."

☆ Dollar Tree is considering locking up products to deter theft
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-25 | by ( Alex Bitter | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +3 min

Dollar Tree faced higher "shrink" during the company's first quarter, executives said Thursday. Like many retailers, Dollar Tree is considering "defensive merchandising" or restricting product access. One of the steps Dollar Tree is considering is "defensive merchandising," a retail industry term for locking up merchandise and requiring customers to retrieve it with an employee's help. The chain also said its customers bought more groceries and other consumable goods, which generally are less profitable than other things Dollar Tree sells. Do you work or shop at a dollar store and have a story to share?

☆ JPMorgan agrees to purchase $200 million worth of carbon removal
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-23 | by ( Catherine Clifford | In Catclifford | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +2 min

JPMorgan Chase announced Tuesday that it has agreed to spend more than $200 million on a combination of carbon removal technologies. The investment in carbon removal and long-term contracts with carbon removal companies is both a move to support the still nascent carbon removal industry and will enable the bank to remove the equivalent of the carbon emissions that are otherwise hard to abate from its direct operations by 2030, JPMorgan said. Climeworks is one of the market leaders in direct air capture, a process akin to vacuuming carbon dioxide out of the air. The deal with Charm aims to remove and store the equivalent of approximately 28,500 metric tons of carbon dioxide over five years. The carbon removal and storage deliveries from Charm for JPMorgan have already started, the bank said.

☆ Here are Friday's biggest analyst calls: Tesla, Netflix, Planet Fitness, Bloom, Wendy's, Dell & more
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-19 | by ( Michael Bloom | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +6 min

Goldman Sachs initiates SQM as sell Goldman said the Chilean chemical company is exposed to ongoing lithium price weakness. Cantor Fitzgerald initiates Intuitive Machines as buy Cantor said the space exploration company has a "first-mover" advantage. Credit Suisse upgrades TE Connectivity to outperform from neutral Credit Suisse said the consumer electronics company is an Inflation Reduction Act beneficiary. JPMorgan upgrades Bloom Energy to overweight from neutral JPMorgan said the selloff in the the energy company is "overdone." RBC initiates Planet Fitness as outperform RBC said it sees an attractive entry point for the gym stock.

Companies Walgreens Boots Alliance Inc FollowMay 17 (Reuters) - Walgreens Boots Alliance Inc (WBA.O) has reached a $230 million settlement with San Francisco over its alleged role in that city's opioid epidemic, city attorney David Chiu said on Wednesday. Chiu said the accord followed a trial where the court found Walgreens substantially contributed to the epidemic and created a public nuisance. U.S. District Judge Charles Breyer had ruled last August that the drugstore chain failed to properly investigate suspicious opioid orders for nearly 15 years. Walgreens had been the only remaining defendant, after several drugmakers and distributors had settled with the city. San Francisco subsequently estimated it might cost $8.1 billion to abate the opioid crisis, and said Walgreens was legally liable for the entire amount.

☆ Walgreens reaches $230 million opioid settlement with San Francisco
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-17 | by ( ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +2 min

San Francisco said on Wednesday it reached a $230 million settlement with Walgreens Boots Alliance Inc over its role in the city’s opioid epidemic. Breyer faulted Walgreens for its “15-year failure” to properly scrutinize opioid prescriptions and flag possible misuse of the sometimes highly addictive drugs. At a press conference, San Francisco City Attorney David Chiu called Walgreens’ settlement the largest awarded to a local government in years of opioid litigation nationwide. Breyer found that Walgreens’ San Francisco pharmacies had received more than 1.2 million opioid prescriptions with “red flags” from 2006 to 2020, yet performed due diligence on less than 5% before dispensing them. Last May, Walgreens reached a $683 million opioid settlement with Florida, paying more than three-quarters of the $878 million that four other companies, including rival CVS Health Corp, agreed to pay in similar, earlier settlements.

☆ Amazon is the 500-pound gorilla in a room full of puppies when it comes to corporate buying of wind and solar power
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-06 | by ( Catherine Clifford | In Catclifford | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +10 min

In 2022, Amazon bought 10.9 gigawatts of clean power, making it the largest corporate buyer of renewable power in the world, according to data from the market research company BloombergNEF. It's also more than four times the amount of clean energy that the second-largest purchaser of clean power, Facebook parent company Meta , bought in 2022. Since 2019, Amazon has scaled from having one gigawatt of renewable energy to more than 20 gigawatts of publicly announced renewable power. Amazon is focused on building new wind and solar projects, Daitch told CNBC. But that's really more of a bridging solution and not our core strategy, which is around enabling new wind and solar projects," Daitch said.

We're buying 45 shares of Morgan Stanley (MS), at roughly $84.29 apiece. Following Friday's trade, Jim Cramer's Charitable Trust will own 1,400 shares of MS, increasing its weighting in the portfolio to 4.35% from 4.21%. Morgan Stanley has dropped 6% since its April 28, even with Friday's roughly 2% advance in the broader stock market rally. Angela Weiss | AFP | Getty ImagesWe're buying 45 shares of Morgan Stanley (MS), at roughly $84.29 apiece. Stock Chart Icon Stock chart icon Morgan Stanley YTD performance

☆ Stocks could be in for big gains ahead if this is the Fed's last rate hike, history shows
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-03 | by ( Brian Evans | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +2 min

History shows that Wall Street could be in for solid gains ahead if the Federal Reserve makes Wednesday's expected rate hike its last. A full year after the 2000 cycle saw the S & P 500 down 12.35%. The S & P 500 added a mere 0.1% in late July and 0.3% in August. December of 2018 saw the S & P 500 rebound 6.53% the following month. Still, the central bank could be wary of ending its tightening cycle yet in an effort to tackle still elevated inflation.

☆ US manufacturing contacts again in April but pulls off 3-year low
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-01 | by ( Lucia Mutikani | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +5 min

The ISM said its manufacturing PMI increased to 47.1 last month from 46.3 in March, which was the lowest reading since May 2020. It was the sixth straight month that the PMI remained below the 50 threshold, which indicates contraction in manufacturing. The proportion of manufacturing GDP with a composite PMI calculation at or below 45 percent - a good barometer of overall manufacturing weakness - was 12 percent in April, compared to 25 percent in March, said Timothy Fiore, chair of the ISM Manufacturing Business Survey Committee. Only two of the six biggest manufacturing industries, petroleum and coal products as well as transportation equipment, reported growth last month. The ISM survey's forward-looking new orders sub-index rose to 45.7 last month from 44.3 in March.

☆ US manufacturing contracts again in April, but pace slows
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-01 | by ( Lucia Mutikani | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +6 min

The ISM said its manufacturing PMI increased to 47.1 last month from 46.3 in March, which was the lowest reading since May 2020. The ISM said 73% of manufacturing gross domestic product was contracting, up from 70% in March. "The proportion of manufacturing GDP with a composite PMI calculation at or below 45 percent - a good barometer of overall manufacturing weakness - was 12 percent in April, compared to 25 percent in March," said Timothy Fiore, chair of the ISM Manufacturing Business Survey Committee. Only two of the six biggest manufacturing industries, petroleum and coal products as well as transportation equipment, reported growth. Higher prices align with government data showing wages and salaries in the manufacturing industry growing solidly in the first quarter.

☆ Visa earnings offer evidence of consumer strength and signals inflation is falling
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-26 | by ( Bob Pisani | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +2 min

"Starting in March and through the summer, we will be lapping the peaks in fuel prices last year," Prabhu said. In 2022, fuel prices continued to rise through spring and peaked in June." Another reason ticket prices are lower: Retailers are discounting. Strong consumer. Lower inflation.

BARCELONA, April 25 (Reuters) - Europe's cost of living crisis has benefited discount retailers but mid-market names are being squeezed as shoppers watch their spending, executives and analysts at an industry conference said on Tuesday. Although price rises are slowing, retailers globally are still worried inflation will dampen consumer spending and are looking for new ways to attract customers. In Europe especially, some have seen sales slow as high energy bills lead customers to buy less or cheaper food and clothes. And passing higher costs on to shoppers is likely to become harder: 72% of respondents said they expected consumers to be more price-sensitive this year. "It's a very positive moment," said Ying Xu, president of Chinese supermarket chain Wumart, referring to the reopening.

☆ Fed's Cook sees a less certain outlook for future of monetary policy
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-21 | by ( Michael S. Derby | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

Officials have signaled that they expect to raise rates by a quarter percentage point to between 5% and 5.25%, matching market expectations. But they are also unclear how much credit conditions might tighten and restrain growth as a result of the banking sector turbulence. In her remarks, Cook said that inflation has been moving down but underlying price pressures still remain strong and embedded in the economy. Cook also said the labor market remains strong but there are signs that’s also starting to slow down. “Wage growth has moderated somewhat from the rates reached about a year ago” and “indicators of hiring have slowed,” Cook said.

☆ Demand for Obesity Drugs Has Insurers Paying Close Attention
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-17 | by ( David Wainer | ) www.wsj.com time to read: 1 min

UnitedHealth has signaled there will be a tough approach on pricing and on who gets to take the obesity drugs. Not too much is standing in the way of a new class of obesity-diabetes drugs from becoming one of the biggest blockbusters the pharmaceutical industry has ever seen. Doctors are excited about the potential health benefits, the social-media hype just won’t abate and the weight loss can be dramatic. There is one major question still looming over this drug class, known as GLP-1s, though: What do insurers, who ultimately foot the bill, think about this new revolution in the treatment of obesity? If this class of drugs can truly surpass $100 billion in annual sales, as many analysts expect, insurers (and ultimately employers and the government) will have to foot the bill.

Below are key extracts from the G7 climate, energy and environment ministers' communique, including the annex. RUSSIA"We condemn Russia's illegal, unjustifiable, and unprovoked war of aggression against Ukraine;"We stand ready to support the sustainable and resilient recovery and green reconstruction of Ukraine." "Currently $13 billion fiscal support that can be used for domestic and foreign projects is prepared across the G7 countries." PLASTIC POLLUTION"We are committed to end plastic pollution, with the ambition to reduce additional plastic pollution to zero by 2040." Reporting by Katya Golubkova; Editing by David Dolan and William MallardOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

"The G7 countries have agreed that the first response to the energy crisis must be to reduce energy and gas consumption… For the first time ever, the G7 said that we must accelerate the phasing out of all unabated fossil fuels... The event has also put focus on the need to help emerging countries reduce emissions, including through financing. Nishimura said ministers would like to discuss ways to use finance to help reduce carbon in so-called "hard-to-abate" industries, which include chemicals, shipping and steel. "Developed countries first need to follow through on the $100 billion pledge they made to developing countries over a decade ago." G7 countries must exert "much stronger leadership" in leveraging financial and technology resources to help developing countries reduce emissions, Meyer said.

SAPPORO, Japan, April 15 (Reuters) - Members of the Group of Seven rich nations must act to help emerging countries reduce emissions, including the financing of decarbonisation in "hard-to-abate" industries, Japan's economy and trade minister said on Saturday. Ministers from the G7 are meeting for climate and energy talks in the Japan's northern city of Sapporo on Saturday and Sunday, as part of Japan's G7 presidency this year. The issue of emissions in emerging markets has long been a focus for developed countries. However, the world's richest countries need to do more to help emerging nations reduce carbon, said Alden Meyer, a senior associate at E3G, a climate change think tank. There needs to be "much stronger leadership" from G7 countries in leveraging financial and technology resources to help developing countries reduce emissions, Meyer said.

☆ Morningstar: Stocks are historically cheap — buy these 33 top undervalued names to brace for a volatile market today and profit from the recovery later this year
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-15 | by ( Lisa Kailai Han | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +5 min

In a recent note, Morningstar shared its top 33 undervalued stocks to buy for the second quarter. While the near term may look difficult for investors, Sekera believes that these headwinds will force the Federal Reserve to pump the brakes on its rate-hiking program sooner rather than later. Valuations-wise, small-cap firms remain the cheapest, while mid-cap and large-cap stocks respectively remain just below and above market average. In a separate note, Morningstar analysts listed their top 33 undervalued stocks for the second quarter of 2023. The full list of names is below, along with each company's ticker, sector, market capitalization, and price versus fair value estimate.

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