DIRS.INFO The most relevant business & tech news

REUTERS/Cheney Orr/File Photo Acquire Licensing RightsOct 17 (Reuters) - Lockheed Martin (LMT.N) reported higher third-quarter revenue on Tuesday, as geopolitical tensions fueled sustained demand for its military equipment. Lockheed's weapons, such as the guided multiple launch rocket system and Javelin anti-tank missiles, made in conjunction with defense company RTX (RTX.N), have proven critical to Ukraine's war efforts. Revenue at the Missiles and Fire Control unit, which makes the High Mobility Artillery Rocket System, was $2.94 billion, up 3.8% from a year earlier. Bethesda, Maryland-based Lockheed posted a net income of $6.73 per share for the quarter ended Sept. 24, compared with $6.71 per share a year earlier. Quarterly net sales rose around 1.78% to $16.88 billion.

Persons: Cheney Orr, Lockheed Martin, LMT.N, restocking, Frank St John, Pratyush Thakur, Mike Stone, Krishna Chandra Organizations: Lockheed, Association of, United States Army, Global, REUTERS, Reuters, Missiles, Control, High Mobility Artillery, Thomson Locations: Huntsville , Alabama, U.S, Ukraine, Bethesda , Maryland, Bengaluru, Washington

☆ Instacart IPO banks tout e-grocery shopping potential, but challenges loom
▼ + stars: | 2023-10-16 | by ( Savyata Mishra | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

REUTERS/Cheney Orr/File Photo Acquire Licensing RightsOct 16 (Reuters) - Most Wall Street brokerages, including J.P.Morgan and Goldman Sachs, kicked off coverage on Instacart (CART.O) with a bullish view, betting on the grocery delivery app's growth amid a shift to online shopping. The stock — following a lukewarm debut in September — closed at $25.57 on Friday, below its $30 initial public offering (IPO) price. At least half of Instacart's 20 IPO underwriters have initiated coverage with their top ratings after the quiet period ended. Instacart's slow growth compared to rivals is a top concern, as a reduction in food stamp benefits and a shift back to in-store shopping could limit GTV growth, according to Piper Sandler analyst Alexander Potter. As of Friday, the six brokerages that were not involved in the IPO started coverage with an average rating of "hold", LSEG data showed.

Persons: Eric Cohn, Cheney Orr, Goldman Sachs, —, Baird, Colin Sebastian, Scott Devitt, Justin Post, Piper Sandler, Alexander Potter, Savyata Mishra, Shilpi Majumdar Organizations: Safeway, REUTERS, J.P.Morgan, underwriters, Walmart, Wedbush, BofA Global Research, Thomson Locations: Tucson , Arizona, U.S, Instacart, Bengaluru

However since parliament opened on Oct. 1, its foreign affairs commission, which would debate the NATO bid, has received almost 60 international agreements to review - excluding Sweden's, official data shows. A second person familiar with U.S.-Turkish talks said a rough proposal - in which each side would take steps toward ratifying the NATO bid on the one side, and the F-16s purchase on the other - had been delayed. IN NO RUSHTurkey, NATO's second-biggest military, is still expected to ultimately endorse Sweden's bid and could rapidly move on it. Addressing the drone incident, which occurred near U.S. troops on Oct. 5, Erdogan said last week: "Isn't Turkey a NATO ally of the U.S.? Finnish membership was sealed in April, marking an historic expansion of the Western defence bloc, but Sweden's bid remains held up by Turkey and Hungary.

Persons: Tayyip Erdogan, Ulf Kristersson, Jens Stoltenberg, Yves Herman, Joe Biden, RUSH Turkey, NATO's, Sweden's, Erdogan, Yasar Guler, Humeyra Pamuk, Simon Johnson, Bernadette Baum Organizations: NATO, REUTERS, Rights, Washington, State Department, AK Party, U.S, U.S . State Department, RUSH, Kurdistan Workers Party, European Union, Turkish Defence, Swedish, U.S . Senate, White House, Lockheed Martin Corp, Palestinian, Hamas, aircraft, Thomson Locations: Swedish, Vilnius, Lithuania, Rights ANKARA, Turkey, Sweden, Ankara, United States, Syria, U.S, NATO, Finland, Russia, Ukraine, Hungary, Brussels, Stockholm, Helsinki, Iraq, Gaza, Riyadh

☆ Walmart staffed up for holidays; US retailers cautious about economy
▼ + stars: | 2023-10-16 | by ( Siddharth Cavale | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

"We're staffed and ready to serve the customers this holiday season," Maren Dollwet Wagonner, senior vice-president of people, said in a LinkedIn postlast week. Walmart, like other retail chains, has been cautious in its holiday season outlook, saying customers are stressed by high food prices, depleted savings and higher interest rates. The statement from America's largest private employer with 1.7 million employees offered analysts insight into possible holiday shopping results. Except for Amazon, which plans to hire 250,000 holiday season workers, several other U.S. chains including Macy's have issued muted hiring plans for the period. While U.S. retail job applications are up 46%, job openings are down 25% and actual retail hiring is down by 12% in the year through September, according to talent acquisition company iCIMS.

Persons: Kamil Krzaczynski, sprees, We're, Maren Dollwet Wagonner, Andrew Challenger, Neil Costa, Walmart's, Spencer, Siddharth Cavale, Mark Porter, Richard Chang Organizations: Walmart, REUTERS, Challenger, U.S, Walmart's LinkedIn, Thomson Locations: Chicago , Illinois, U.S, Britain, New York

☆ Exclusive: Activist hedge fund Starboard eyes Rupert Murdoch's News Corp -sources
▼ + stars: | 2023-10-13 | by ( Svea Herbst-Bayliss | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

The fund's plans and the size of its stake in News Corp could not be learned. News Corp declined to comment and Starboard did not respond to a request for comment. Starboard, which has pushed for changes at companies ranging from Salesforce (CRM.N) to Darden Restaurants (DRI.N), would struggle to shake up News Corp without Murdoch's consent. Irenic did succeed in drumming up investor opposition to Murdoch's proposed merger with his other company Fox Corp (FOXA.O), forcing him to abandon the plan. Reporting by Svea Herbst-Bayliss in New York Editing by Greg Roumeliotis and David GregorioOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

Persons: Rupert Murdoch, Lachlan Murdoch, Bing Guan, Jeffrey Smith, Rupert Murdoch's, Smith, Murdoch, Dow Jones, Irenic, Murdoch's, Lachlan, Svea Herbst, Bayliss, Greg Roumeliotis, David Gregorio Our Organizations: News Corporation, News Corp, Fox, REUTERS, 13D, Investment, New York Times Co, Darden, Corp, Irenic Capital Management, Wall Street, Fox Corp, Reuters, Svea, Thomson Locations: New York, U.S

☆ Waning demand for IT services hits hiring at Indian tech majors
▼ + stars: | 2023-10-13 | by ( Sethuraman N R | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

Tata Consultancy Services (TCS.NS), Infosys (INFY.NS) and HCLTech (HCLT.NS) have seen employee headcount reducing in the second quarter as they reported weak results. Infosys added over 83,000 employees in the last two fiscal years, while TCS' employee headcount surged by over 120,000 and HCL added about 57,000. In contrast, Infosys' net employee headcount has fallen by 14,470 in the first half of this year and HCLTech's by about 4,800. "In a way we hired ahead of demand predicted ... with that slowing down this year, our employee utilization fell. Infosys is targeting 84%-85% in employee utilization from the current 81.8%, Roy said.

Persons: Vivek Prakash, Phil Fersht, headcount, Nilanjan Roy, Roy, Nivedita Organizations: Infosys, Electronics City IT, REUTERS, Rights, Tata Consultancy Services, HCL, Analysts, TCS, Sethuraman, Navamya, Thomson Locations: Bangalore, Indian, U.S, Bengaluru

"I just want to say how deeply saddened that we all are about the recent horrific attacks on Israel ... He warned that the war in Ukraine, compounded by the attacks on Israel, could have "far-reaching impacts on energy and food markets, global trade, and geopolitical relationships." On Friday, Citigroup CEO Jane Fraser included Israel in her opening remarks on the bank's earnings call. "Once someone ventures into the space of, 'who is the perpetrator and who is the victim,' you enter into the exposure of social media disinformation and risk," Kotok said. Some large companies including Apple (AAPL.O) and Walmart (WMT.N) had yet to issue statements, while some prominent personalities including NBA star LeBron James have spoken out.

Persons: JPMorgan Chase, Jamie Dimon, Albert Bourla, Jefferies, Michael Bloomberg, Goldman Sachs, Jane Fraser, Israel, Fraser, Larry Fink, David Kotok, Cumberland, Kotok, Antonio Neri, Andy Jassy, Sundar Pichai, Satya Nadella, LeBron James, Gigi Hadid, Lananh Nguyen, Aditya Soni, Stephen Nellis, Siddharth Cavale, David Gaffen, Arriana, Sayantani Ghosh, David Gregorio Our Organizations: JPMorgan, Pfizer, UBS, New York City, Bloomberg, Delta Air Lines, Citigroup, BlackRock, Cumberland Advisors, Hewlett Packard Enterprise, Amazon, Meta, Union, Google, Microsoft, Apple, Walmart, NBA, Thomson Locations: Israel, Ukraine, New York, Florida, Bengaluru

☆ Dollar General bets on old boss’s old magic
▼ + stars: | 2023-10-13 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

NEW YORK, Oct 13 (Reuters Breakingviews) - Dollar General (DG.N) is reaching back to happier days. In that time, shares plummeted 60%, compared to rival Dollar Tree’s (DLTR.O) gentler decline of roughly a fifth. Meanwhile, Dollar General has repeatedly missed analyst expectations as net profit margin fell from nearly 7% to estimates of 3% for this quarter, according to LSEG. Under his previous stint from 2015 until 2022, shares returned an annualized 19%, beating Dollar Tree, Walmart (WMT.N) and Big Lots (BIG.N). Dollar General faces plenty of challenges shared by all retailers, from rising wages to shifting consumer spending.

Persons: Todd Vasos, Jeff Owen, Vasos, Walt Disney, Bob Iger, Howard Schultz, outperforming, doesn’t, Jennifer Saba, Larry Fink, Uncle Sam, Jonathan Guilford, Sharon Lam Organizations: Reuters, Walmart, Walt, Starbucks, X, Infosys, Thomson Locations: Europe

[1/2] The Kroger supermarket chain's headquarters is shown in Cincinnati, Ohio, U.S., June 28, 2018. Bonta said the decision has not been made, but added: "Right now there's not a lot of reason not to sue." In September, the companies announced a plan to sell more than 400 grocery stores to C&S Wholesale Grocers in an effort to get regulatory approval for the deal. A Kroger spokesperson said only non-unionized retailers, like Walmart and Amazon, will benefit if the merger is blocked. Research from the University of Southern California in 2021 found one in three neighborhoods in 30 populous U.S. cities had inadequate access to needed pharmacy services.

Persons: Lisa Baertlein, Rob Bonta, Bonta, Lina Khan, Diane Bartz, Leslie Adler, Bill Berkrot, Aurora Ellis Organizations: Kroger, REUTERS, Rights, Albertsons, S Wholesale Grocers, Walmart, U.S, Water Watch, Federal Trade, FTC, University of Southern, Thomson Locations: Cincinnati , Ohio, U.S, California, America, Food, Washington, University of Southern California

☆ Biden to meet with Target, IBM and other CEOs
▼ + stars: | 2023-10-12 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

U.S. President Joe Biden participates in a roundtable with Jewish community leaders regarding the Palestine-Israel conflict, in the Eisenhower Executive Office Building on the White House campus in Washington, U.S. October 11, 2023. REUTERS/Jonathan Ernst/File Photo Acquire Licensing RightsWASHINGTON, Oct 12 (Reuters) - President Joe Biden will meet with the chief executives of several large companies on Thursday to get their perspective on the U.S. economy, a White House official said. The meeting at the White House includes the CEOs of Target(TGT.N), IBM(IBM.N) and Exelon(EXC.O), Bechtel Group, General Catalyst, TIAA and Otis Worldwide, representing the construction, manufacturing, clean energy, finance and retail industries. Biden is seeking the executives' perspectives on the economy and on his administration's efforts to provide domestic investment, the White House official said. He pushed Congress to pass sweeping legislation to invest in infrastructure, target student loan debt and has been a vocal supporter of workers' rights.

Persons: Joe Biden, Jonathan Ernst, Catalyst, Biden, Steve Holland, Susan Heavey, Doina Organizations: White, REUTERS, Rights, White House, Target, IBM, Bechtel Group, Otis Worldwide, Democratic, Wednesday, Thomson Locations: Palestine, Israel, Washington , U.S, U.S

Traders work on the floor of the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE) in New York City, U.S., September 11, 2023. ET is expected to show the producer price index for final demand increased 0.3% last month after a 0.7% rise in August, ahead of Thursday's closely watched consumer inflation data. Yields on government bonds have eased from their multi-year highs on dovish remarks from Fed officials earlier this week. Central bank officials such as Fed Governor Christopher Waller, Atlanta Fed President Raphael Bostic and Boston Fed President Susan Collins are also scheduled to speak on Wednesday. Exxon Mobil (XOM.N) lost 1.7% as the oil and gas producer is set to buy shale producer Pioneer Natural Resources (PXD.N) in an all-stock deal valued at $59.5 billion.

Persons: Brendan McDermid, Fed's Bowman, Michelle Bowman, Christopher Waller, Raphael Bostic, Susan Collins, Mark Haefele, Birkenstock, Tim Wentworth, Piper Sandler, Drugmaker Eli Lilly, LLY.N, Novo, Shashwat Chauhan, Ankika Biswas, Arun Koyyur, Shounak Organizations: New York Stock Exchange, REUTERS, Companies, Fed's Bowman Exxon, Futures, Dow, Nasdaq, Treasury, Federal, Labor Department, Atlanta Fed, Boston Fed, UBS Global Wealth Management, Traders, Microsoft, Nvidia, Palestinian, Hamas, Dow e, Walgreens Boots Alliance, Arista Networks, Exxon Mobil, Natural Resources, Novo Nordisk's, Baxter International, Thomson Locations: New York City, U.S, Gaza, Thursday's, Middle East, Israel, Bengaluru

The hubs are networks of hydrogen producers and consumers that will use local infrastructure to accelerate the deployment of clean hydrogen. The Mid-Atlantic Clean Hydrogen Hub that involves parts of Pennsylvania, Delaware and New Jersey will receive a $750 million grant, according to the sources familiar with the forthcoming announcement. The Appalachian Regional Clean Hydrogen Hub (ARCH2) that includes western Pennsylvania, Ohio and West Virginia will also receive one of the grants, according to two sources. The 2021 bipartisan infrastructure bill allocated up to $7 billion to launch the initiative, called the Regional Clean Hydrogen Hubs program, which will help fund six to 10 regional clean hydrogen hubs across the U.S. Each of the proposed regional hub projects involve dozens of partners from energy companies, academia and local and state governments.

Persons: Joe Biden's, Biden, Joe Manchin, Valerie Volcovici, Jarrett Renshaw, Nick Zieminski, David Gregorio Our Organizations: Reuters, Department of Energy, Pennsylvania, White House, Democratic, Energy Department, DOE, Dominion, Battelle, TC Energy, Thomson Locations: Pennsylvania, Appalachian, U.S, Delaware, New Jersey, Philadelphia, Ohio, West Virginia, California, Washington

Companies Cloudflare Inc FollowGoogle Inc FollowAlphabet Inc Follow Show more companiesWASHINGTON, Oct 11 (Reuters) - Internet companies Google, Amazon and Cloudflare say they have weathered the internet's largest-known denial of service attack and are sounding the alarm over a new technique they warn could easily cause widespread disruption. Internet protection company Cloudflare Inc (NET.N) said the attack was "three times larger than any previous attack we've observed." Amazon.com Inc's (AMZN.O) web services division also confirmed being targeted by "a new type of distributed denial of service (DDoS) event." The firms urged companies to update their web servers to ensure that they do not remain vulnerable. None of the three companies said who was responsible for the denial of service attacks, which have historically been difficult to attribute.

Persons: we've, Raphael Satter, Sandra Maler Organizations: Google, Inc, Cloudflare Inc, Thomson Locations: WASHINGTON

☆ AI may force IT spending into economic decoupling
▼ + stars: | 2023-10-11 | by ( Pranav Kiran | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

BENGALURU, Oct 11 (Reuters Breakingviews) - Global CEOs are under pressure from investors to adopt generative artificial intelligence into their businesses. Outsourcers like $200 billion Accenture are sounding the alarm. Accenture sold $300 million in generative AI deals in the year to August, less than 1% of its $72 billion in total new bookings. Blackstone-backed Mphasis, a smaller firm, says one-third of its total contract value of $707 million for the quarter to the end of June was from “pure AI deals”. The full spectrum of how businesses can use generative AI is still emerging but there are obvious applications: customer support agents and coders are seeing productivity increases of 14% and 55% respectively.

Persons: ChatGPT, Julie Sweet, Una Galani, Thomas Shum Organizations: Reuters, Global, Accenture, Tata Consultancy Services, Infosys, HCL Technologies, Consulting, Gartner, Blackstone, Thomson Locations: BENGALURU, U.S, India

Private credit players like HPS Investment Partners and Blue Owl Capital (OWL.N) have a workaround, but it could prompt a painful hangover. Cashed-up private credit funds offered sums previously unseen outside of traditional bank financing on riskier deals. Private credit assets swelled 460% to over $1.4 trillion between 2010 and the end of 2022, Preqin says. Reuters GraphicsThe attraction of “mezz” and similar exotic lending isn’t just that it helps private credit source new deals. In 2021, that dynamic meant private loans briefly became cheaper than liquid, tradable loans – flying in the face of financial orthodoxy.

Persons: –, Zendesk, Preqin, LSEG, HPS, Goldman, Blackstone, Angelo Gordon, dealmaking, George Hay, Oliver Taslic Organizations: Reuters, HPS Investment Partners, Owl, Blackstone, Apollo, Treasury, Private, Management, Partners, Reuters Graphics Reuters, Sabre, Companies, Wolf, ADC Therapeutics, Equity, Thomson Locations: EBITDA

☆ Walmart expands online healthcare benefits for US employees
▼ + stars: | 2023-10-10 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

REUTERS/Siddharth Cavale/File Photo Acquire Licensing RightsOct 10 (Reuters) - Walmart (WMT.N) said on Tuesday it will expand online primary care benefits as part of its employee health insurance plan to its workers in 28 U.S. states. Walmart said it has partnered with virtual healthcare services provider Included Health to expand its online primary care services, which are already available in 21 states. The expansion comes months after Walmart announced plans to open new healthcare centres in the U.S. next year, as the company looks to expand its footing in the industry. Walmart said in a blog post it had observed an 11% reduction in the total costs of care for its employees and their families from a pilot run for its virtual primary care service. The company added that most of its online health services offered as part of the plan were available at no additional cost.

Persons: Siddharth Cavale, Juveria Tabassum, Sherry Jacob, Phillips, Shweta Agarwal Organizations: REUTERS, Walmart, Health, Thomson Locations: Teterboro , New Jersey, U.S, United States

A woman pushes shopping carts during a sales event on Thanksgiving day at Walmart in Westbury, New York, U.S., November 28, 2019. In recent years, retailers like Amazon and Walmart have sought to boost their bottom lines and spread out demand by hosting holiday shopping events online in early October. Inflation remains a top concern for holiday shoppers, according to a KPMG survey, leading some to seek out deals on possible gifts. Walmart, which revealed discounts for its four-day Holiday Kickoff event at midday on Monday, posted deals on Dyson vacuums, HP (HPE.N) laptops and Apple (AAPL.O) products, much like Amazon and Target. The Target Circle event started nearly a week earlier than its October sales event in 2022.

Persons: Shannon Stapleton, Neil Saunders, Matt Kramer, Dyson, Arriana McLymore, Jamie Freed Organizations: Walmart, REUTERS, Black, Deloitte, Amazon, Deal, KPMG, KPMG Consumer, Retail National, U.S, HP, Apple, Target, Apple Watches, Thomson Locations: Westbury , New York, U.S, New York

☆ Pepsi has long way to go to win Ozempic challenge
▼ + stars: | 2023-10-10 | by ( Anita Ramaswamy | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

The purveyor of Gatorade and Cheetos boosted operating profit 14%, to about $4 billion, after hiking prices by at least 10% for the seventh consecutive quarter. The quantity of drinks and snacks sold is slumping, however, and anti-obesity drugs are just starting to make their mark. Pepsi’s shares have tumbled 14% since May, lagging the 5% gain in the S&P 500 Index (.SPX) over the same period. The head of Walmart’s (WMT.N) U.S. drugstores told Bloomberg that customers taking Ozempic, Wegovy and others are pulling back on junk-food purchases. The latest results from Pepsi quelled fears of any immediate impact, but also raise questions about the future.

Persons: Brendan McDermid, Eli Lilly, drugstores, Morgan Stanley, Boss Ramon Laguarta, Laguarta, Lay, Hugh Johnston, Jeffrey Goldfarb, Sharon Lam Organizations: REUTERS, Reuters, PepsiCo, Gatorade, Novo Nordisk, Bloomberg, Pepsi, Frito, Thomson Locations: New York City, U.S, Wegovy

1 Permian shale producer Pioneer Natural Resources (PXD.N) could further restrain output growth in the largest U.S. oilfield, squeezing pipeline companies and suppliers, executives and energy advisors said. Consolidation, steep cost inflation and investor demands for returns have shrunk production growth this year in the Permian shale formation in West Texas and eastern New Mexico. U.S. oil producers are pumping more oil, but the pace of growth has slowed due to lower drilling activity. Overall, oil companies have cut 36 active drilling rigs in the Permian in the last year, a 10% drop. Recent shale consolidation, including Civitas Resources (CIVI.N) and Callon Petroleum-Percussion (CPE.N), also led to reductions in the combined companies' active drilling rigs.

Persons: Exxon Mobil's, they've, Ajay Bakshani, Darren Woods, Ben Crook, East Daley's Bakshani, Webster, Robert Webster, Arathy Somasekhar, Arunima Kumar, Marguerita Choy Organizations: U.S, Exxon, Natural Resources, Reuters, Daley Analytics, Civitas Resources, Callon Petroleum, roughnecks, Hennessy Energy, Fund, Targa Resources, Energy, East, Plains, Oil, Thomson Locations: West Texas, New Mexico, Houston, Bengaluru

Energy (.SPNY) was the top S&P 500 sector gainer, jumping 3.6% and on track for its best single-day performance in six months. The airlines' shares were down around 5% each, dragging the S&P 500 Passenger Airlines index (.SPLRCALI) down 4.5% to its lowest in a year. The broader S&P 500 Aerospace & Defense index (.SPLRCAERO) jumped 4.9%. Exchange-traded funds exposed to Israel including iShares MSCI Israel ETF and the ARK Israel Innovative Technology ETF slid 7.8% and 4.6%, respectively. The S&P index recorded four new 52-week highs and 18 new lows, while the Nasdaq recorded 24 new highs and 236 new lows.

Persons: Brendan McDermid, Tesla, Israel, Lloyd Austin, It's, Peter Andersen, Northrop, Lockheed Martin, iShares, decliners, advancers, Shashwat Chauhan, Ankika Biswas, Arun Koyyur, Shounak Organizations: New York Stock Exchange, REUTERS, Nvidia, Big Tech, U.S, Israel, Dow, Nasdaq, Hamas, U.S . Defense, Dow Jones, Treasury, Columbus Day, Apple, Microsoft, U.S ., Andersen Capital Management, Boston . Energy, United Airlines, Delta Air Lines, American Airlines, Airlines, Defense, Northrop Grumman, General Dynamics, Lockheed, Aerospace, . Exchange, ARK Israel Innovative Technology, Federal, NYSE, Thomson Locations: New York City, U.S, China, Israel, Palestinian, Lebanon, Gaza, United States, Boston, Tel Aviv, Bengaluru

Traders work on the floor of the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE) in New York City, U.S., September 28, 2023. ET, Dow e-minis were down 152 points, or 0.45%, S&P 500 e-minis were down 24.25 points, or 0.56%, and Nasdaq 100 e-minis were down 109.5 points, or 0.72%. Traditional safe-haven assets including gold and the U.S. dollar gained, while growing uncertainty pushed crude prices higher. The Nasdaq (.IXIC) and the S&P 500 (.SPX) posted weekly gains on Friday as mixed jobs reports kept investors on edge around the Federal Reserve's interest rate outlook. Tesla (TSLA.O) shed 1.7% as data showed the company's China-made EV sales volume for September decreased 10.9% from a year ago.

Persons: Brendan McDermid, Tesla, Lloyd Austin, Stuart Cole, Northrop, Lockheed Martin, Philip Jefferson, Michael Barr, Nelson Peltz's, Shashwat Chauhan, Arun Koyyur, Shounak Organizations: New York Stock Exchange, REUTERS, Nvidia, Big Tech, U.S, Israel, Dow, Nasdaq, Hamas, . Defense, Dow e, U.S ., Equiti, Energy, Chevron, Exxon Mobil, Occidental Petroleum, United Airlines, Delta Air Lines, American Airlines, Barrick Gold, Northrop Grumman, General Dynamics, Lockheed, Columbus Day, Apple, Intel, Qualcomm, Devices, JPMorgan Chase, Citigroup, BlackRock, Management, Thomson Locations: New York City, U.S, China, Israel, Palestinian, Gaza, United States, Tel Aviv, Wells Fargo, Bengaluru

The U.S. government in May ended the COVID public health emergency declaration during which it bought the shots and provided them to all Americans for free. In the current privatized system, health insurance plans by law must cover the shots at no cost. McKesson (MCK.N), one of the largest U.S. wholesalers, said it has distributed over 3.8 million shots so far. "Health insurance providers continue to educate Americans about where and how to get their COVID vaccines within their plan’s coverage," David Allen, a spokesperson for insurance lobby group AHIP said. Now that the government is no longer footing the bill for their vaccine supply, pharmacy owners need to pay for the shots.

Persons: Kate MacDowell, MacDowell, Kaiser, David Allen, AHIP, David Kohll, James Daily, he's, Suzanne Berman, Michael Erman, Ahmed Aboulenein, Caroline Humer, Bill Berkrot Organizations: Pfizer, U.S . Department of Health, Human Services, Kaiser Permanente, COVID, Moderna, CVS, Walmart, Walgreens, Walgreens Boots Alliance, Cardinal Health, Reuters, Kohll's Pharmacy, Thomson Locations: WASHINGTON, U.S, Portland , Oregon, Oregon, California, Nebraska, Readington , New Jersey, Crossville , Tennessee, New York, Washington

☆ US readies new Ukraine arms package despite tumult in Congress
▼ + stars: | 2023-10-06 | by ( Mike Stone | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

Commander of the Joint Forces of the Armed Forces of Ukraine Serhiy Nayev fires an American Browning M2 machine gun during a military exercise, amid Russia's attack on Ukraine, in Kyiv region, Ukraine September 27, 2023. Those funds have allowed the Biden administration to send Kyiv arms, supplies and munitions despite the exclusion of new Ukraine aid from a stopgap spending bill passed by the House of Representatives last weekend to prevent a government shutdown. Biden has vowed to replenish stocks of arms sent to Ukraine. The Biden administration is also considering using a State Department grant program to send Ukraine additional military aid, a U.S. official said. Democrats, who strongly support aid to Ukraine, insist that Congress will back continued assistance.

Persons: Ukraine Serhiy Nayev, Gleb Garanich, Biden, congressionally, Lockheed Martin, Kevin McCarthy, Mitch McConnell, Mike Stone, Rami Ayyub Organizations: Joint Forces of, Armed Forces, REUTERS, Rights, Pentagon, Kyiv, Republicans, Ukraine Defense Contact, of Defense, General Dynamics, State Department, U.S, Republican, Thomson Locations: Ukraine, American, Kyiv region, Brussels, U.S

☆ Wall St Week Ahead Surging Treasury yields upend stock market's "bond proxies"
▼ + stars: | 2023-10-06 | by ( Lewis Krauskopf | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +5 min

Such areas are often referred to as "bond proxies" for their strong, stable dividends, which over the past decade have usually exceeded Treasury yields. But surging bond yields have dulled the appeal of bond proxies. As a result, shares of bond proxies have taken an outsize hit in recent weeks. The S&P 500 utilities sector (.SPLRCU) has tumbled 13% since last month’s Fed meeting. While the sector is expected to see stronger growth than the overall S&P 500 in the third and fourth quarters, its projected 8.6% increase in 2024 lags the expected 12% rise for the overall S&P 500, according to LSEG IBES.

Persons: Brendan McDermid, Irene Tunkel, LSEG, James Ragan, Davidson, Ragan, Lewis Krauskopf, Ira Iosebashvili, David Gregorio Our Organizations: New York Stock Exchange, REUTERS, Treasury, Fed, Staples, AT, Verizon, Investors, BCA Research, Reuters Graphics, Friday's, U.S, sector's, Nextera Energy, Nextera Energy Partners, KeyBanc, Markets, Thomson Locations: New York City, U.S, Philadelphia, VandaTrack

☆ Nestle shares at two-year low as investors weigh Wegovy rollout
▼ + stars: | 2023-10-06 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

REUTERS/Hannah McKay/Photo Illustration/File Photo Acquire Licensing RightsOct 6 (Reuters) - Nestle (NESN.S) shares were under pressure on Friday as investors weighed the potential impact of Novo Nordisk's (NOVOb.CO) blockbuster weight-losing drug Wegovy and how it could reduce spending on food. The KitKat and Nescafe coffee maker's shares were down 2% and headed for their lowest level in more than two years. However, Cox does not regard this as a substantial risk to Nestle and the broader food industry in the long term. Bruno Monteyne from Bernstein also pointed to the Wegovy impact, but saw little logic in the sell-off. "Danone sells water, baby milk powder, and yogurt: not sure how those would be negatively impacted by GLP1 / Wegovy?"

Persons: Kat, Hannah McKay, Wegovy, Peers, Kepler Cheuvreux, Jon Cox, John Furner, Cox, Bruno Monteyne, Bernstein, Andrey Sychev, John Revill, Mark Potter Organizations: Nestle, REUTERS, Peers Danone, Unilever, Kepler, Bloomberg, Danone, Health, Thomson Locations: London, Britain, U.S

Search resuls for: "T.N"

25 mentions found