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☆ This tax-exempt fund with a yield surpassing 4% is 'one of the best,' Morningstar says
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-22 | by ( Michelle Fox | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +5 min

The fund invests at least 80% of its assets in investment-grade municipal bonds, and only up to 20% in those below investment grade. Municipal bonds are issued by government entities, such as a city or state, and raise money for public projects, such as building roads or schools. VWAHX 1Y mountain Vanguard High-Yield Tax-Exempt fund The fund, which trades under the ticker VWAHX, currently has a 30-day SEC yield exceeding 4%. "We are not risk averse, but we are very opportunistic about how we apply our risk," Kiselak explained. Opportunity in health care Health-care muni bonds make up about 15% of the fund, Kiselak said.

Persons: Morningstar, Mat Kiselak, —, Bond, Elizabeth Templeton, VWAHX, Kiselak, Jeff DeMaso, DeMaso, He's Organizations: SEC, Morningstar ., Vanguard, Independent Vanguard, Puerto Locations: Puerto Rico

☆ Bull market or fool's market? Investors say the latter
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-18 | by ( Krystal Hur | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +10 min

Mega-cap tech stocks that were battered by rising interest rates in 2022 have also seen a huge boost this year. The Federal Reserve on Wednesday held interest rates steady but indicated that it could hike rates twice more this year. Tech stocks’ record runApple shares closed at a record high on Thursday, creeping closer to reaching a $3 trillion market capitalization. The rally’s next testDespite some bullish signs in the market, investors say the math isn’t adding up to a sustained rally — especially considering a possible recession looms on the horizon. The central bank last Wednesday paused interest rates and indicated that it could raise rates two more times this year.

Persons: Dow, ”, Amanda Agati, Wednesday’s, Stocks, Joe Biden, Dan Ives, “, ” Ives, Richard Steinberg, Jerome Powell, Agati, Sylvia Jablonski, Christopher Waller, Thomas Barkin, ” Waller, Sarah Henry, Henry, Here’s, Price, Refinitiv, Paul Eitelman, ” Eitelman Organizations: CNN Business, Bell, New York CNN, Apple, Nasdaq, PNC Financial Services, Management, “, Federal Reserve, Nvidia, Wedbush Securities, Microsoft, The Colony, Treasury, ”, Federal, Richmond Fed, Logan Capital Management, CPI, PPI, University of, Consumers, North America, Russell Investments, Wednesday, National Association of Realtors, Senate Locations: New York, what’s, Oslo

☆ Here's our internal debate about what to do with stocks making all-time highs
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-16 | by ( Zev Fima | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +10 min

All of the following stocks hit all-time price highs Friday, except for Meta Platforms (META), which was a multiyear high. Apple P/E next 12 months (NTM) ratio: 29x 5 year Average P/E (NTM): 22.7x PEG (NTM) ratio: 2.9x 5 year average PEG (NTM) Ratio: 1.9x Apple 's (AAPL) valuation has gotten stretched in recent weeks, even when factoring in growth expectations. Meta Platforms P/E (NTM) ratio: 21.4x 5 year Average P/E (NTM): 21.2x PEG (NTM) ratio: 1.6x 5 year average PEG (NTM) Ratio: 2.2x Meta has been on an incredible run. Microsoft P/E (NTM) ratio: 31.7x 5 year Average P/E (NTM): 27.7x PEG (NTM) ratio: 2.5x 5 year average PEG (NTM) ratio: 2.1x Microsoft's run has seen its earnings-based valuation (P/E) expand, even when adjusting for growth (PEG). NVDA YTD mountain Nvidia YTD performance Nvidia has a history of beating estimates and ending up cheaper in hindsight.

Persons: Jim Cramer, Jim, we've, Rather, Eli Lilly P, Eli Lilly's, Eli Lilly YTD, Lilly, we're, Eli Lilly, Jim Cramer's, Michael Nagle Organizations: Nasdaq, Nvidia, Meta, Apple, UBS, Credit Suisse, Mounjaro, Microsoft, Palo Alto Networks, CNBC, Bloomberg, Getty Locations: —, Palo

The rapid rise in gilt yields has consequences for the wider economy. To some investors, gilts now increasingly look a bargain as 6% BoE interest rates appear unrealistic. Two-year gilt yields have risen by 1.1 percentage points this year, compared with a 0.3 percentage point increase for German two-year yields and 0.2 percentage points for U.S. Treasuries . Raising interest rates to 6% would "succeed in destroying demand" in the wider economy, he said. Ten-year gilt yields now pay an interest rate nearly 2 percentage points higher than the equivalent German government bond .

Persons: BoE, Liz, Britain's, Jim Leaviss, BoE Governor Andrew Bailey, gilts, We've, Mike Riddell, Riddell, Moyeen, There's, Islam, Naomi Rovnick, David Milliken, Toby Chopra Organizations: Labour Party, Bank of England, Bank of, Italy, Reuters Graphics, Allianz Global Investors, U.S, Barclays, Thomson Locations: Bank of England, Britain, British, gilts

☆ Opinion: This TV mom changed everything
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-14 | by ( Opinion Raakhee Mirchandani | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +7 min

Raakhee Mirchandani Kim Lorraine PhotographyI never searched for either of us on TV. I’m grateful NHIE gave Indian moms — Brown moms, Desi moms, South Asian moms — the crown we deserve. (L to R) Poorna Jagannathan as Nalini Vishwakumar, Maitreyi Ramakrishnan as Devi in episode 410 of "Never Have I Ever." But now, among the cohort of timeless TV mothers, there’s Devi’s mom — and let me tell you: Nalini, as realized by the inimitable Jagannathan, certainly has got it going on. (And anyone with a Brown mom knows the eyes; one look is all it takes.)

Persons: Kalpana Chawla, ”, Brady, Roseanne, Angela Bower, Clair Huxtable, Aunt Viv, Raakhee Mirchandani Kim Lorraine, Desi, Vishwakumar, Poorna Jagannathan, I’m, NHIE, — Brown, Mindy Kaling, Lang Fisher, Maitreyi Ramakrishnan, Jessica Brooks, —, Brown, there’s, Devi, Nalini, wasn’t, Will, Jamie Ryan, Niecy Nash, let’s, She’s, she’s Organizations: CNN, Netflix, Princeton, Twitter, Facebook

☆ Oil prices rise 3% after China rate cut
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-13 | by ( ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +2 min

Oil prices climbed 3% on Tuesday, recovering from steep losses the previous session, after China's central bank lowered a short-term lending rate for the first time in 10 months. The rate cut, aimed at adding momentum to a hesitant post-pandemic recovery in the world's second-largest economy and biggest crude importer, is likely increase oil demand. The Fed's rate hikes have strengthened the dollar , making dollar-denominated commodities more expensive for holders of other currencies and weighing on oil prices, so a rate hike pause could be bullish. Worries about demand have unraveled the temporary boost in oil prices from Saudi Arabia's pledge announced early this month to cut more production in July. The Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) kept its forecast for 2023 global oil demand growth steady for a fourth month on Tuesday, slightly increasing expectations of Chinese demand growth.

Persons: Phil Flynn, Giovanni Staunovo, Saudi Arabia's Organizations: Brent, U.S . West Texas, Price Futures, European Central Bank, of Petroleum Exporting, International Energy Agency, Reuters Locations: U.S, Saudi

☆ Economic stimulus in China would be a win for 3 stocks tied to Chinese consumers
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-13 | by ( Paulina Likos | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +6 min

The recovery in China has been much slower than what other major countries experienced when they lifted their pandemic restrictions. Still, the Chinese consumer has proved to be resilient in the face of these broader economic challenges. It marked the fastest pace of growth since the first quarter of 2022, fueled by higher spending from Chinese consumers. Club stock results Recent financial results from our China-exposed companies show that Chinese consumers have been holding up even as broader economic recovery is delayed. China is a growth market for each company and improvement in economic activity there should be a catalyst for these stocks.

Persons: Estee Lauder, —, Ting Lu, WYNN, hasn't, Jim Cramer's, Jim Cramer, Jim, Jason Lee Organizations: Starbucks, Wynn Resorts, WYNN, China Index Academy, National Bureau of Statistics, Club, Gaming, Prestige, CNBC Locations: China, China's, Beijing, Macao, Asia, SBUX

☆ As regional bank stock rally regains steam, investors should watch out for these spoilers
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-13 | by ( Christina Cheddar Berk | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +6 min

With the Federal Reserve expected to pause its rate-hiking campaign at this week's meeting, regional banks stocks have made a comeback, but that doesn't mean all the trouble is in the rearview mirror. Still, the upward march resumed on Tuesday, begging the question of what's ahead for bank stocks. As the Treasury sells tens of billions of dollars in Treasury bills, it could pressure bank deposits. Graseck predicts that a reacceleration of deposit outflows would snuff out the bank stock rally. In addition, regional bank earnings estimates, which had been cut severely in March and April, had leveled off in May.

Persons: Jack Ablin, Ablin, outflows, SVB, Aditya Bhave, Bhave, Morgan Stanley, Betsy Graseck, Graseck, Nicholas Colas, Huntington Bancshares, Matt O'Connor, KeyCorp, Albin Organizations: Federal Reserve, Fed, Cresset, Silvergate, Silicon Valley Bank, Signature Bank, PacWest Bancorp, Bank of America, Treasury, DataTrek Research, Citizens Financial Group, Truist, Morgan Stanley U.S, Financials, CRE Conference, Deutsche Bank, TFC Locations: Silicon, Federal, U.S, 2Q23, New York

☆ Many are declaring the bear over, but a new bull market is more a process than a single moment
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-10 | by ( Michael Santoli | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +7 min

The review is merely to note that the beginning of a potential bull market is a process, not a moment, occurring as the weight of the evidence gradually shifts in favor of the optimists. A new bull market, even if in place, doesn't always mean a timely sprint to hefty further gains. In a bear market, that's toppy; while in a bull market backdrop, such a level of optimism is fairly routine. In a bear market, 14 is "too low," In a bull market, it's middling. The S & P 500 has built a cushion with which to absorb routine pullbacks without jeopardizing the broader trend.

Persons: JFK, didn't, –, doesn't, Stephen Suttmeier, Bull headwinds, I've, they've, there's Organizations: Bank of America, Investment Group, Lehman, Investment, American Association of Locations: New York, –

☆ Bernstein says Anheuser-Busch InBev selloff is overdone even as Bud Light sales volumes are expected to drop
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-06 | by ( Brian Evans | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +1 min

Bernstein said Bud Light volumes have further to fall, but is still optimistic on AB InBev's stock going forward. Analyst Trevor Stirling noted that the massive selloff in the stock stemming from customer backlash over the company's social media partnership with a transgender influencer was largely "overdone." Still, he said Bud Light volumes could continue to take a hit after already falling by roughly 30% in the U.S. in the second quarter. "We also assume that Bud Light volumes will take a permanent -15% haircut with an associated drag on operating leverage," the analyst said. Last month, HSBC downgraded Anheuser-Busch InBev stock over what the firm labeled a " Bud Light crisis ," and noted that the company could be contending with larger problems than it wants to admit.

Persons: Bernstein, Bud, Trevor Stirling, BUD YTD, BUD, Bud APAC, Stirling, — CNBC's Michael Bloom Organizations: Anheuser, Busch, InBev, HSBC, Busch InBev Locations: Monday's, U.S

☆ Further stock market advance depends on rally broadening out
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-05 | by ( Bob Pisani | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +4 min

The advance in those indexes, particularly the S & P 500, has been very uneven, even with last week's broad rally. Lowry Research analysts noted that investors simply in the S & P 500, or in tech stocks, were clearly in an up market. Lowry noted that 48.2% of all operating-company only stocks are 20% or more below their 52-week highs, which Lowry and others define as bear market territory. That's far worse than the 32% that were in bear market territory on February 2, when the S & P 500 was at a new high for the year. "Bull markets are hard-pressed to last when the number of stocks entering 'bear market territory' grows," Lowry noted.

Persons: You'd, Chadha, SPX, Venu Krishna, Lowry, Russell, Quincy Krosby Organizations: Deutsche Bank, Barclays, Street Journal, Lowry Research, LPL

☆ Here are Monday's biggest analyst calls: Apple, Tesla, Meta, Micron, Bowlero, Nike, Disney and more
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-05 | by ( Michael Bloom | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +7 min

Oppenheimer reiterates Meta as outperform Oppenheimer raised its price target on the stock to $350 per share from $285 and said it's well-positioned. Deutsche Bank upgrades Rio Tinto to buy from hold Deutsche Bank said shares of the metals and mining company are very attractive. Morgan Stanley reiterates Disney as overweight Morgan Stanley lowered its price target on the stock to $110 from $120 but said it's standing by the shares. " Morgan Stanley downgrades Dollar General to equal weight from overweight Morgan Stanley said in its downgrade of Dollar General that it sees too many risks right now. Morgan Stanley upgrades Equitrans Midstream to overweight from underweight Morgan Stanley said the energy company is better positioned after the debt ceiling raise.

Persons: Tesla, Canaccord, Oppenheimer, it's, TD Cowen, Cowen, Bernstein, it's bullish, Needham, Coinbase, Morgan Stanley, Disney, KeyBanc, Jefferies, Wolfe, Wells, Wells Fargo, Estee Lauder, Morgan Stanley downgrades, Equitrans, Stifel, Brett Parker, JPMorgan Chase Organizations: U.S, Formula, Deutsche Bank, Rio Tinto, Disney, Media, Target, Costco, Jefferies, Oracle, Palo Alto Networks, Alpha, Citi, Micron, Wells Fargo, Nike, Bank of America, Apple, of America, Pipeline, Barclays, Meta, JPMorgan Chase, JPMorgan Locations: China, Rio, Lido, Binance, Palo, SKX

☆ Netflix shareholders reject sky-high executive pay packages
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-02 | by ( Nicole Goodkind | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +3 min

New York CNN —Netflix shareholders voted on Thursday to reject multi-million dollar pay packages for the company’s top executives including for co-CEOs Ted Sarandos and Greg Peters. Frederic J. Brown/AFP/Getty ImagesNetflix’s proposed executive pay packages for 2023 included up to $40 million for Sarandos, including base salary, a performance bonus and stock options. Netflix’s board, meanwhile, is able to disregard the results of this “say on pay” vote and approve executive compensation plans in spite of shareholder wishes. The board has already unanimously recommended voting for the pay packages. Last year, just 27% of Netflix shareholders approved of 2022 executive compensation packages.

Persons: Ted Sarandos, Greg Peters, ”, Meredith Stiehm, Frederic J . Brown, Peters, Reed Hastings, Spencer Neumann, David Hyman, Rachel Whetstone Organizations: New, New York CNN, Netflix, Writers Guild of America, Hollywood, WGA, Guild of America, Comcast, Getty, Securities and Exchange Commission Locations: New York, Hollywood , California, AFP

☆ Cost of insuring against US default contracts further on debt bill hopes
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-30 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

LONDON, May 30 (Reuters) - The cost of insuring exposure to a U.S. debt default fell further on Tuesday, reflecting investor optimism over a tentative deal by U.S. lawmakers to raise the $31.4 trillion debt ceiling. Trading picked up on Tuesday after much of Europe and the United States were closed on Monday for holidays. U.S. five-year CDS fell to 41 bps from 56 bps at Monday's close, the data showed. Some investors though remained apprehensive about the debt limit agreement, as some of the proposed bill's provisions could undermine economic growth. "We suspect these fears are likely overdone," wrote Karl Schamotta, chief market strategist at Corpay in Toronto.

Persons: Joe Biden, Kevin McCarthy, Karl Schamotta, Schamotta, Dhara Ranasinghe, Karin Strohecker Organizations: U.S, P Global Market Intelligence, Democratic, Republican, U.S . Treasury Department, Thomson Locations: U.S, Europe, United States, Monday's, ., Toronto

☆ Stocks making the biggest moves midday: Ford, Marvell Technology, Paramount, Gap and more
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-26 | by ( Michelle Fox | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +3 min

Tesla 's stock gained 4.72%. Marvell Technology — The semiconductor stock soared 32.42% after the company's earnings beat analyst expectations. Despite reporting an earnings and revenue beat, shares fell on the company's reduced operating margin outlook for the full year. Paramount — Shares of the media company gained 5.89% after National Amusements, Paramount's majority voting shareholder, announced a $125 million preferred equity investment by BDT Capital Partners. Workday also raised the low end of its full-year subscription revenue guidance and named a new chief financial officer, Zane Rowe.

☆ Insiders are loading up on regional bank stocks in a big way, Raymond James analysis shows
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-22 | by ( Sarah Min | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +2 min

Insiders are snapping up regional bank stocks following the crisis in the sector, according to a Raymond James analysis. During the period between March 10 and May 15, shares purchases totaled 2.3 million shares, while shares sold reached 335,000 shares. Since the first quarter of 2005 to the first quarter of 2023, only seven quarters notched positive net insider transactions. It's also the greatest number of net insider transactions since the end of 2009. Raymond James recently reiterated an outperform rating on the stock, citing its rising earnings power, though it also lowered its price target to $26.

☆ Bank of America says buy these five tech stocks before it's too late
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-20 | by ( Michael Bloom | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +6 min

Bank of America named a slew of tech stocks that are just too attractive to ignore. IBM The evolution of IBM continues, Bank of America analyst Wamsi Mohan said after attending the company's recent Think event. "We believe IBM will embark on further cost cutting, and enhance its services and software offerings through acquisitions," he said. The stock finished the week up 3.6% this year, and Bank of America sees plenty more gains for the legacy tech giant. IBM "IBM expect to monetize AI first through Services and expects a later inflection in Software as adoption scales.

☆ 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.

☆ JPMorgan says there's a big buying opportunity in this clean energy stock, sees more than 45% upside
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-19 | by ( Alex Harring | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +2 min

Bloom Energy 's recent retreat has created a buying opportunity, JPMorgan said. Analyst Mark Strouse upgraded the electricity and hydrogen producer's stock to overweight from neutral. Still, Strouse's new target implies the stock could rally 46.5% from where it closed Thursday's session. BE YTD mountain Bloom Energy He did note that the company gave lackluster EBITDA margins when reporting first-quarter earnings. Taken together, Strouse said the improving gross margins and balance sheet will allow growth-focused investments to continue being made.

☆ Charles Schwab's director of trading shares the 3 key factors to look for when picking stocks in 2023 — but says investors may be better off buying bonds
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-18 | by ( Lisa Kailai Han | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +6 min

He shares three key factors investors should look for when buying stocks in 2023. But in fact, investors may actually be too optimistic right now, according to Joe Mazzola, Charles Schwab's director of trading and education. At this point, Mazzola believes it's pretty clear the Federal Reserve is planning to pause its rate-hiking cycle in June. One key metric Mazzola tracks is the earnings yield spread, or earnings divided by asset price — the inverse of the more widely followed price-to-earnings ratio. Fundamentally, the earnings yield shows an investor how much they're paying for potential earnings, Mazzola explained.

☆ The sell-off in Estee Lauder has been overdone, so we're snapping up more shares
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-17 | by ( Jeff Marks | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +2 min

We are buying 25 shares of Estee Lauder at roughly $196. Following the trade, Jim Cramer's Charitable Trust will own 325 shares of EL, increasing its weighting to 2.38% from 2.20%. As discussed in the May Monthly Meeting on Wednesday, we think the recent sell-off in Estee Lauder (EL) has gotten overdone. Indeed, it will take time for Estee Lauder's retail partners in Travel Retail in Asia to work down their excess inventory. An Estee Lauder pop-up store is seen inside daimaru Department Store on Nanjing Road Pedestrian street in Shanghai, China, August 6, 2021.

Berkshire acquired 9.92 million shares in Capital One, a stake worth $954 million based on the closing price on March 31, regulatory filings showed on Monday. The bank's shares have shed around 15% since early March as the banking crisis has clobbered shares of U.S. regional lenders. Silicon Valley Bank, Signature Bank, and First Republic Bank are the three banks that have so far collapsed during the current crisis. The KBW Regional Banking Index (.KRX) fell 0.38%. Fed Vice Chair for Supervision Michael Barr said the central bank was "carefully considering" rule changes for larger regional banks, including requiring them to account for unrealized losses on their banks when considering capital levels.

☆ AI Is Now Cooking, but It Shouldn’t Be Overdone
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-16 | by ( Mustafa Suleyman | ) www.wsj.com time to read: +1 min

We needn’t brace for the bubble to pop or fear an uptick in popular disillusionment with the technology. AI has only recently exploded into public view. When OpenAI launched ChatGPT in November 2022, few people outside industry had heard of large language models, let alone used one. “In 20 years following the internet space,” wrote a UBS analyst, “we cannot recall a faster ramp in a consumer internet app.” Venture capitalists poured more than $40 billion into AI enterprises. Chipmaker Nvidia saw a huge spike in its share price, briefly taking it to a trillion-dollar market capitalization, and Meta announced its plan to spend $33 billion on its “build-out of AI capacity.”

Persons: Sam Altman, Christina Montgomery, Gary Marcus, Mark Kelly, OpenAI, ” Organizations: IBM, Getty, UBS, ” Venture, Nvidia, Meta

Follow for live updates on the Trump CNN town hall meeting. Those objections intensified on Tuesday after Mr. Trump was found liable for the sexual abuse and defamation of the writer E. Jean Carroll. And foes of Mr. Trump will cringe at seeing him on air at all. He is backed by David Zaslav, the Warner chief executive, who has batted away objections to Wednesday’s Trump town hall. There is the awkward fact that Mr. Trump still has a pending $475 million defamation lawsuit against the network.

☆ Oil prices ease in cautious trade ahead of US inflation data
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-09 | by ( Emily Chow | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

TOKYO, May 9 (Reuters) - Oil prices fell on Tuesday, relinquishing some of the strong gains of the previous two sessions with the market cautious ahead of U.S. inflation figures for April, which will be key to the Federal Reserve's next interest rate decision. "Oil prices have rebounded somewhat in the last two sessions, so now is time for a pause ... with no real positive data coming out," said Suvro Sarkar, lead energy analyst at DBS Bank. "The market is cautious today ahead of the inflation data.... With net long positions declining sharply over the last two weeks, a lot of traders are already out of the market, so volumes are low." "If tomorrow's CPI data remains at around 5% by market consensus, and if the core CPI does not drop significantly, it will likely continue to support the rise in oil prices," said CMC Markets analyst Leon Li. While oil markets fell sharply last week, prices rose on Friday and Monday as fears of recession eased in the U.S., the world's biggest oil consumer, and some traders saw crude's three-week slide on demand worries as overdone.

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