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☆ Doughnuts, smoothies, pizza, MoonPie, eyewear — brands are going all out-of-this-world with solar eclipse-themed goodies
▼ + stars: | 2024-04-04 | by ( Parija Bhatnagar | Parija Kavilanz | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +5 min

On Monday, April 8, millions of people will witness a rare total solar eclipse as it passes over Mexico, the United States and Canada. For starters, Pizza Hut will give customers a “Total Eclipse of the Hut” deal on eclipse day, offering any large-sized pizza for $12. This is the second time Krispy Kreme has created a new one pegged to a total solar eclipse. Back in 2017, during the last total solar eclipse in the US, the brand used chocolate to cover its original glazed doughnut. NASA recommends wearing a set of eclipse glasses that complies with the ISO 12312-2 international standard when viewing any solar eclipse.

Persons: New York CNN —, celestially, Kreme, Koen Pauwels, ”, ” Pauwels, “, Smoothie King, Burger, Parker, MoonPie, graham, Tory Johnston, MoonPie's, Johnston Organizations: New, New York CNN, Eclipse, Northeastern University, NASA, Chattanooga Bakery, Inc, Kroger Locations: New York, Mexico, United States, Canada, Chattanooga

☆ Trump Media is the most expensive U.S. stock to short — by far
▼ + stars: | 2024-04-03 | by ( Dan Mangan | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +6 min

Trump Media, which began being publicly traded last week, is now far and away the most expensive U.S. stock to sell short, according to S3 Partners , a leading financial data marketplace platform. You need a lot of cash — and guts — to short Trump Media stock right now. "It's the most expensive stock borrow," Dusaniwsky said of Trump Media. As of Wednesday, the short interest in Trump Media — or value of shares borrowed for short trades — was about $255 million. The investors who are able to borrow shares from their brokers for a Trump Media short sale are "good customers" of those brokers, he said.

Persons: Donald Trump, Ihor Dusaniwsky, Dusaniwsky, Trump, —, there's, Nick Wells Organizations: Trump, Trump Media, Investors, Partners, S3 Partners

Hedge fund managers gathered Wednesday at the 2024 Sohn Investment Conference in New York to share their best investment ideas. It kicked off with "Next Wave Sohn," a session that features ideas from rising stars within the hedge fund industry. Endocrinology is an $8 billion market, but the cumulative market size, including the company's future therapy targets, is upward of $200 billion, which includes estimates for future obesity drugs, the investor said. It has CA$75 billion market cap with an "unbelievable record of success," according to the investor. The short seller noted that the company has a $5 billion market cap with about $4.8 billion of debt.

Persons: Sohn, Eric Wolff, Wolff, Michelle Ross, Cushing, Ross, Eli Lilly, Crinetics, XBI, Nikhil Daftary, Alimentation, Daftary, Chris Drose, Nate Koppikar, Fahmi Quadir Organizations: Investment, Gumshoe Capital Management Investment, Pason Systems Energy, Pason Systems, Gumshoe Capital Management, StemPoint, Pharmaceuticals, Crinetics Pharmaceuticals, StemPoint Capital, Endocrinology, Novo Nordisk, P Biotech, NK Capital Investment, NK Capital, Starbucks, McDonalds, Bleecker Street Capital, Orso Partners, Justice Department, Federal Trade Commission, Safkhet, Global Education Locations: New York, Canada, U.S

☆ These are Piper Sandler's favorite stocks for the second quarter
▼ + stars: | 2024-04-03 | by ( Lisa Kailai Han | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +3 min

As a cloak of unease shrouds the market, it might be time for investors to consider turning to quality stocks, according to Piper Sandler. Piper Sandler also identified United Airlines as a quality stock to buy. The airline carrier stock moved to a ranking of 2 in the current quarter, from its previous ranking of 4. Microsoft is another quality name that could win big, Piper Sandler said. Microsoft stock rose on Monday after a report from The Information said that the company was planning a $100 billion data center project with OpenAI .

Persons: Piper Sandler, Piper Sandler's, CNBC's Michael Bloom Organizations: Piper, Communications, Verizon, Airlines, Boeing, United Airlines, Reuters, U.S . Federal Aviation Administration, Microsoft, Jefferies

☆ Weekly mortgage demand remains stalled, as interest rates stay stubbornly high
▼ + stars: | 2024-04-03 | by ( Diana Olick | In Dianaolick | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +2 min

Mortgage rates didn't move much last week, and for the second week in a row, neither did mortgage demand. Total mortgage application volume last week was essentially flat, dropping 0.6% from the previous week, according to the Mortgage Bankers Association's seasonally adjusted index. "Elevated mortgage rates continued to weigh down on homebuying. Purchase applications were unchanged overall, although FHA purchases did pick up slightly over the week," noted Joel Kan, an MBA economist. Mortgage rates bounced higher to start this week, after new economic data on manufacturing came in higher than expected and noted higher prices.

Persons: Joel Kan, Matthew Graham Organizations: Mortgage, Federal Reserve, Mortgage News Locations: homebuying

☆ Traders Are Betting Millions That Trump Media Will Tumble
▼ + stars: | 2024-04-03 | by ( Joe Rennison | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

Before former President Donald J. Trump’s social media company made its stock market debut, many investors were lining up to bet on its collapse. After the company’s share price plunged following an initial surge, the appetite to bet against the stock has grown even more ravenous. Trump Media is the most “shorted” special purpose acquisition vehicle in the country, according to the financial data company S3 Partners. Short-sellers bet that the price of a stock will fall. The demand to short Trump Media, the parent company of the social media platform Truth Social, is so great that stock lenders can charge enormous fees, making it hard for short-sellers to turn a profit unless the shares fall significantly.

Persons: Donald J Organizations: Trump Media & Technology Group, Trump Media, Partners

DETROIT (AP) — Tesla sales fell sharply last quarter as competition increased worldwide, electric vehicle sales growth slowed, and price cuts failed to draw more buyers. In its letter to investors in January, Tesla predicted “notably lower” sales growth this year. In March it temporarily knocked $1,000 off the Model Y, its top-selling vehicle. During the quarter, Tesla lost production time in Germany after a suspected arson attack cut its power supply. But sales growth slowed toward the end of the year.

Persons: Tesla, FactSet, Dan Ives, ”, Elon Musk, ” Ives, Ives, Itay Organizations: DETROIT, Tesla, Citi, U.S, EV Locations: Austin , Texas, Fremont , California, Red, China, Germany

☆ I was a renter. Then I bought my house from my landlord.
▼ + stars: | 2024-04-02 | by ( Jordan Pandy | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +10 min

About four years ago, when my landlord bought the property, I was his very first tenant. Before the pandemic, I had been in the market for quite a long time looking to buy a house. When I signed that first rental lease with my landlord in May 2020, I completely pulled myself out of the market. After being bummed about that, a few days later my landlord texted me saying, "Hey, I'm putting this house on the market. He shared with me that he bought his own place and that he was no longer going to be living in that house.

Persons: Dom Guerra, —, There's, Guerra, Selena Tovanche, — I'm, you've, It's Organizations: Service, Ohio Housing Finance Agency Locations: Cleveland, Parma , Ohio

☆ Why streamers are shrinking their content libraries
▼ + stars: | 2024-04-02 | by ( Sarah Whitten | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +6 min

Last year many streaming services began shrinking their once-robust content libraries in order to pay smaller licensing fees. In the face of profit pressures and growing competition for viewers, streamers have taken to removing content to avoid the residual payments and licensing fees. On one side is Netflix , Amazon and Apple — companies that agnostically license content from other studios to bolster their streaming libraries. Disney-owned Hulu, meanwhile, has seen success with "feel good" 30-minute sitcoms and prestige dramas, Fandom's data shows. Disclosure: Peacock is the streaming service of NBCUniversal, the parent company of CNBC.

Persons: Stephanie Fried, Fried, Hey Arnold, Bell, Severance, Jacob, Jack Ryan, Bel, Universal's, Max, Peacock Organizations: NBC, Netflix, Apple, Universal, Warner Bros . Discovery, Paramount, Hollywood, Nickelodeon, Warner Bros, Disney, Amazon Prime, Hulu, HBO, CNBC Locations: auctioning, Kingstown, NBCUniversal

☆ The housing shortage is getting no help from aging baby boomers
▼ + stars: | 2024-04-02 | by ( Filip De Mott | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +3 min

78% of home-owning baby boomers plan to age in their current homes, a Redfin survey found. Financial incentives are keeping boomers put, with current mortgage rates and home prices too high. That's not good news for housing supply, which is already dwindling at historic lows. Politicians should focus on expanding housing stock that meets the needs of older Americans, which could help with housing affordability and availability for all," Fairweather added. Prospective homebuyers could see some inventory relief as mortgage rates continue to gradually fall through this year, bringing back sellers.

Persons: boomers, —, Redfin, It's, millennials, Daryl Fairweather, aren't, Fairweather Organizations: Service

Politicians and auto executives on both sides of the Atlantic are calling for more protectionist measures. After Tesla lost its crown to BYD as the world’s biggest E.V. Otherwise, the Tesla C.E.O. said, Chinese E.V. The continent’s auto sector employs 13 million people and generates 8 percent of the bloc’s G.D.P.

Persons: China Tesla, —, Warren Buffett, Tesla, Elon Musk, ” Luca de Meo, Vivienne Walt, DealBook, ”, June’s E.U Organizations: Renault Group’s, Airbus Locations: China, Europe, June’s

☆ The Realtors settlement is already changing the way some Americans buy and sell homes
▼ + stars: | 2024-03-30 | by ( Samantha Delouya | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +6 min

The mere prospect of a future settlement has already caused some Americans to change their behavior when buying and selling their homes. If approved by a judge, the settlement comes with new rules for Realtors. Potential for lower homebuying costsThe new rules could help lower home prices, experts say. Sales commissions, traditionally shared between a buyers’ agent and the agent who lists a home on the market, are usually between 5% and 6% of a home’s selling price. But, for the time being, buyers’ agents will still be able to see that Hanley isn’t offering them compensation, potentially disincentivizing them from showing his home to clients.

Persons: homebuyers, ”, Debra Dobbs, Jeremy Cannon, Cannon, ” Cannon, “, Matt Hanley, ” Hanley, “ I’m, Hanley isn’t, Hanley, “ We’ve, ‘ Let’s, ’ ”, Mariya Letdin, Letdin, ” Letdin Organizations: CNN, National Association of Realtors, Realtors, ”, NAR, Florida State University Locations: Chicago, Corona , California, Minnesota

☆ ‘Lose weight quick’ online schemes don’t work. Dr. Mike offers these 5 tips instead
▼ + stars: | 2024-03-30 | by ( Andrea Kane | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +9 min

Dr. Mikhail Varshavski is known as Dr. Mike on social media. “Zoom out of just thinking about, ‘What I can take or what I can eat?’ and understand that there’s a lot of other things that impact your weight,” Dr. Mike said. “(Make) sure that you get help when it comes to mental health issues and concerns,” Dr. Mike said. For example, Dr. Mike said he recently had a guest on his podcast who tried to equate a chocolate kiss to a grape. While you may compare them based on their sugar content, that’s one way to categorize them,” Dr. Mike said.

Persons: Sanjay Gupta, what’s, Mikhail Varshavski, Mike, “, Ponce de León, we’re, ” Dr, Dr, ”, ” “, edu ”, ‘, That’s, “ It’s, You’re, Skip, you’re, Jennifer Lai Organizations: CNN, Facebook, YouTube, TED, Inc, US Centers for Disease Control, Harvard Medical Locations: Chatham , New Jersey, Ponce, “ .

This week, 30-year mortgage rates averaged 6.37%, according to Zillow data. Most major forecasters expect mortgage rates to decline in 2024, but so far we haven't seen any signs of a sustained drop. As we get more data showing that inflation is cooling, mortgage rates should start trending down more definitively. The sooner the Fed can start cutting rates, the sooner mortgage rates will start to fall. This means your entire monthly mortgage payment, including taxes and insurance, shouldn't exceed 28% of your pre-tax monthly income.

Persons: you'll, Fannie Mae Organizations: Commerce Department, Fed, Zillow, Mortgage, Association, Sky Locations: Chevron

☆ The housing market is thawing as an increasing number of 'mortgage lock' homes go up for sale, JPMorgan says
▼ + stars: | 2024-03-29 | by ( Jennifer Sor | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +3 min

The housing market looks to be gradually approaching a recovery. A growing number of mortgage-locked homes are going up for sale, JPMorgan said. AdvertisementThe housing market looks like it's starting to thaw, thanks to a growing number of mortgage-locked sellers who are opting to put their homes on the market anyway, according to JPMorgan Asset Management. Homeowners could now be more willing to dip into the housing market, as many are realizing high mortgage rates aren't going away anytime soon, real estate economists have said. Researchers from the Federal Housing Finance Agency recently warned that the mortgage lock-in effect could linger for years to come, barring a sudden drop in mortgage rates.

Persons: —, Stephanie Aliaga, Aliaga Organizations: JPMorgan, Service, Asset Management, National Association of Realtors, Homeowners, Fed, Buyers, Federal Housing Finance Agency

☆ How to check if your solar eclipse glasses are real
▼ + stars: | 2024-03-29 | by ( Ashley Strickland | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +11 min

Otherwise, experts say it’s absolutely necessary to wear certified eclipse glasses or use handheld solar viewers that meet a specific safety standard, known as ISO 12312-2, when watching all other phases of a total or partial solar eclipse. And sunglasses won’t work in place of eclipse glasses or solar viewers. Counterfeit eclipse glasses with black lenses that have straight left and right edges from China (top) are printed with text copied from real eclipse glasses, but the counterfeit glasses are missing the company address. Meanwhile, real eclipse glasses from American Paper Optics (bottom) have reflective lenses with curved left and right edges. Never look through an unfiltered optical device of any kind in this situation, even while wearing eclipse glasses.

Persons: ”, Rick Fienberg, “, ” Fienberg, Ronald Benner, doesn’t, ” Benner, Benner, ‘ I’m, ’ Organizations: CNN, American Astronomical Society, NASA, Planetary Society, American Optometric Association, Astronomical Society, ‘, Optics, APO, Eclipse, Force, “, AAS Locations: Mexico, United States, Canada, China, U.S, Cangnan, Europe

☆ Tesla's stock wraps up one of its worst quarters on record as global dominance wanes
▼ + stars: | 2024-03-29 | by ( Lora Kolodny | In Lorakolodny | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +11 min

Deliveries are the closest approximation of sales reported by Tesla but are not precisely defined in the company's shareholder communications. Tesla's Model 3 is about $4,000 more than that. Aging lineup, early days for Cybertruck While EV sales are still gaining popularity worldwide, the growth rate has slowed. In a push for end-of-quarter sales, Musk recently mandated that all sales and service staff install and demo FSD for customers before they hand over their cars. Despite its name, Tesla's premium option requires a human driver at the wheel, ready to steer or brake at any moment.

Persons: Florence Lo, Tesla, Troy Teslike, Tesla's, China's BYD, BYD, Lei Jun, Emmanuel Rosner, Rosner, Elon Musk, Krisztian Bocsi, Rohan Patel, Musk, Sandy Munro, Forbes, Larry Magid, Donald Trump, He's, he's, Investor Ross Gerber, who've, Brad Gerstner, Gerstner, FSD Organizations: Reuters, FactSet, Independent, Qin, Tesla's, China Passenger Car Association, Bloomberg, Deutsche Bank, Tesla, Volvo, Elon, Tesla Inc, Getty, IF Metall, IF Metall's, IF, Pew Research, Gallup, Investor, CNBC, Bears, S3 Partners, U.S Locations: Beijing, China, China In China, Shanghai, Europe, Red Sea, Iran, Gruenheide, Germany, Brandenburg, Berlin, Swedish, Sweden, U.S, Austin , Texas, San Jose , California, Fremont , California, Florida, Haiti, Texas, Delaware

☆ Wall Street could be in for another good quarter after an exuberant start to the year, history shows
▼ + stars: | 2024-03-28 | by ( Sarah Min | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +7 min

Wall Street could be in for another solid quarter as stocks have embarked on a strong start to the year. Specifically, in the second quarter, the S & P 500 was higher 9 out of 11 times, averaging a 2.7% gain. Significantly, two occurrences of those 10% first-quarter gains Detrick reviewed took place during election years, with the S & P 500 ending higher on the year. In 1976, the S & P 500 went on to register a 1.5% increase in the second quarter, and a 4.6% jump for the rest of the year. The Wall Street firm maintained its year-end S & P 500 target of 5,050, representing a 3.8% slide from Wednesday's close.

Persons: Ryan Detrick, We've, there'd, Detrick, CNBC's, Research's Sam Stovall, Stovall, Piper Sandler, Craig Johnson, Brian Nick, Nick, John Stoltzfus, Ayako Yoshioka, Yoshioka, CFRA's Stovall, FactSet Organizations: Nvidia, VanEck Semiconductor, Dow Jones, Carson Group, Macro, PMI, Manufacturing, ADP, Survey, Services PMI, Weston Holdings, Conagra Brands, Consumer Credit Locations: U.S

☆ Homebuyers' Biggest Mistake: Waiting for Mortgage Rates to Fall
▼ + stars: | 2024-03-27 | by ( James Rodriguez | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +11 min

Then, as the Federal Reserve began its battle against inflation in 2022, mortgage rates shot up, eventually hitting a 20-year high in October. Over the past decade, there's been a clear correlation between mortgage rates and inventory: When mortgage rates fall, the number of available homes for sale at a given moment shrinks. So, yes, waiting it out until mortgage rates decline sure seems appealing. The Federal Reserve has signaled that it plans to drop borrowing rates this year, which would likely push down mortgage rates. Advertisement"People are focusing on mortgage rates because every week they hear about mortgage rates changing," Doerner of the FHFA told me.

Persons: swiping, there's, Mike Simonsen, Freddie Mac, CoreLogic, —, homebuyers, Redfin, John Burns, Alex Thomas, There's, Will Doerner, Doerner, They're, Simonsen, it's, Jerome Powell Organizations: Federal Reserve, Buyers, Altos Research, Bank of America, John, John Burns Research, Consulting, Federal Housing Finance Agency, Federal, Fed

☆ Jim Cramer shares his thoughts on Mastercard, Visa, Reddit, McCormick, Hershey and UPS
▼ + stars: | 2024-03-26 | by ( Kevin Stankiewicz | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +1 min

Jim Cramer's daily rapid fire looks at stocks in the news outside the CNBC Investing Club portfolio. Mastercard , Visa : The companies reached a settlement with merchants over swipe fees. "I think that Mastercard and Visa are both terrific stocks and this only makes them better." Reddit : Shares of the social media firm continue to rally since their initial public offering last week. McCormick : Shares surged nearly 10% after the spice maker delivered better-than-expected quarterly results and offered an upbeat guidance.

Persons: Jim Cramer's, They've, Jim Cramer, McCormick, Cramer, Brendan Foley Organizations: CNBC, Club, Mastercard, Visa, Hershey, BNP, United Parcel Service Locations: McCormick

☆ Why investors aren't betting against Trump's Twitter clone — yet
▼ + stars: | 2024-03-26 | by ( Peter Kafka | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +4 min

Trump Media & Technology Group Corp — Donald Trump's social media company — is a flashing red light of a stock. In other words: It seems like a perfect candidate for short sellers — investors who bet that a company's stock price is overvalued and will fall. But not that much, for now: More than 3 million shares of Trump Media have been shorted, says short-tracker S3 Partners. Related storiesS3's managing director, Ihor Dusaniwsky, offers one explanation: It's particularly hard to short Trump's company for technical reasons. There is extraordinarily little stock borrow available in [Trump Media] to support new short sales and stock borrow rates are extremely high.

Persons: Donald Trump's, Ihor, Trump's, I'd Organizations: Service, Trump Media & Technology Group Corp, Nasdaq, Business, Trump Media, SPACs, GameStop Locations: U.S

☆ As the CEO of eBay, I keep employees productive by asking this simple question about our work
▼ + stars: | 2024-03-26 | by ( Madeline Stone | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +8 min

Jamie Iannone, the CEO of eBay, says the company is using AI to boost efficiency and creativity. After getting this direct feedback, our product teams developed tools powered by AI, including a description generator and an image-based listing flow. eBay is using AI to drive the company forwardeBay has been using AI for years. We also know that happy employees are more productive employees. We take this responsibility very seriously because millions of sellers count on eBay to make them more productive.

Persons: Jamie Iannone, —, we've, they'll, We're, We've Organizations: eBay, Service

☆ NBCUniversal describes how it's using generative AI to match ads to viewers — and says they can perform up to 49% better
▼ + stars: | 2024-03-25 | by ( Lucia Moses | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +4 min

NBCUniversal is testing gen AI-driven ads, joining Google and Meta in the race to use generative artificial intelligence to sell advertising. Megan Pagliuca, chief activation officer at Omnicom Media Group, said the agency planned to test NBCU's approach with a number of advertising clients. The gen AI ads and other One24 initiatives come as NBCU and other TV sellers are looking for an edge leading up to the upfronts, TV's big annual selling period. It's also introducing shoppable TV ads aimed at sports fans and a new way for advertisers to see the effectiveness of their ads overall. Apple is also experimenting with using AI to sell ads, Business Insider has reported.

Persons: NBCU, it's, John Lee, Lee, Megan Pagliuca, It's, Max, Google Organizations: Google, Business, Omnicom Media, Disney, Meta, Apple Locations: One24

☆ Home price growth is back at pre-pandemic levels. Here's what that means for buyers and sellers
▼ + stars: | 2024-03-25 | by ( Ana Teresa Solá | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +1 min

"We're back to that trend, despite these higher mortgage rates," she said. However, the market today is vastly different from the market two to eight years ago, experts say. The average home is still unaffordable for most potential buyers while inventory has slightly improved but not enough to meet demand. "The sentiment we're getting from our agents is that neither sellers nor buyers are satisfied with this market," Fairweather said. And buyers are disappointed in rising prices and rising mortgage rates."

Persons: Daryl Fairweather, Matthew Walsh, It's, Fairweather, Sellers Organizations: Finance, Moody's Locations: U.S

☆ Bank of America helps its clients sell their art, watches, and Birkin bags. It's all part of a drive to be the one-stop shop for the art world.
▼ + stars: | 2024-03-25 | by ( Hayley Cuccinello | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +6 min

Most banks, including UBS and Morgan Stanley, refer clients to third-party consultants to broker deals with auction houses. The bank secured a minimum sale price guarantee and negotiated how the house would market the painting. Courtesy of Bank of AmericaThe bank typically approaches two to three auction houses, such as Christie's, Sotheby's, and Philips. You've got to look at it in the holistic context of the sales strategy and also the financial terms," Watson explained. Advertisement"We try to get them to sharpen their pencil while we still have leverage with the other houses," Watson said.

Persons: Bank of America's Drew Watson, Watson, Morgan Stanley, Henri Rousseau, Whitney, Les, Drew Watson, Price, You've, Merrill Lynch, Birkin Organizations: Service, Bank of America's, UBS, Bank of America, Bank of, of America, Christie's, Philips Locations: Bank

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