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☆ Hot off an up quarter for stocks, investors turn to jobs, manufacturing data
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-01 | by ( Zev Fima | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +6 min

Another busy week of macroeconomic data will kick of the new quarter, following a volatile first quarter for stocks that ultimately finished in the black. The market's second quarter kicks off Monday with the ISM manufacturing report, followed on Tuesday by data on factory orders. We're looking for a Goldilocks report: not so hot to stoke more inflation fears, but not so cold to intensify worries about a recession. Wednesday's ADP employment report is also important, given the Fed's goal of slowing the job market to bring down inflation. As a subscriber to the CNBC Investing Club with Jim Cramer, you will receive a trade alert before Jim makes a trade.

The specific charges against Trump are not yet known as the indictment remains under seal, but CNN on Thursday reported Trump faced more than 30 counts related to business fraud. "This is Political Persecution and Election Interference at the highest level in history," Trump said in a statement. Shortly after, Trump appealed to supporters to provide money for a legal defense. The Manhattan charges will likely be unsealed by a judge in the coming days and Trump will have to travel there for fingerprinting and other processing at that point. Trump could use the case to stoke anger among his core supporters, though other Republican voters might tire of the drama.

☆ Olaplex is launching a serum for your eyelashes as it faces slumping sales and a lawsuit
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-28 | by ( Alex Bitter | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +3 min

Olaplex is launching an eyelash serum, its first product outside of hair care. Olaplex is trying to stoke growth as demand for its hair care products wanes and it faces a lawsuit. The hair care brand is launching a serum designed to strengthen your eyelashes, Women's Wear Daily reported on Monday. But for 2023, sales from products like the lash serum will be small and outweighed by falling demand for Olaplex's core hair care products. In response, CEO Wong has said that Olaplex products are safe, and that the complaints are "a fact of life in our industry."

☆ Morning Bid: Calm returns: Investors switch to bank fundamentals
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-28 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

A look at the day ahead in European and global markets from Anshuman DagaTurbulence in global markets is gradually giving way to stability. A day after regional U.S. lender First Citizens BancShares moved to scoop up the assets of failed Silicon Valley Bank, brave investors can probably begin to ask, "Is the worst over?" A strong show of confidence is coming from U.S. authorities as bank regulators say the system is sound but rules need review. A recover in U.S. markets, especially in beaten-down bank shares, lifted Asian stocks on Monday while the safe-haven dollar declined. While the analysts expect a continuation of declining credit growth which is consistent with monetary tightening, they don't expect any credit crunch.

☆ Can the U.S. See the Truth About China?
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-27 | by ( David Marchese | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +14 min

Photo illustration by Bráulio Amado Talk Can the U.S. See the Truth About China? To see China solely as trying to displace the United States is only going to stoke more fears. The Chinese people believe that a substantially weakened Russia might not be in the interest of China, because if there were the sense that the United States needed to seek out an opponent, China would be next. And then also, the United States thinks that China wants to displace it. The industrial espionage stems from a lack of appreciation from the start of intellectual property, and the United States, by pushing China to do more intellectual-property protection, is actually good for China.

☆ Asian Americans are anxious about hate crimes. TikTok ban rhetoric isn’t helping
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-26 | by ( Brian Fung | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +15 min

And the Chinese government’s authoritarian approach to numerous other issues clashes with important American values, said many Asian Americans interviewed for this article. Concerns about China have gone mainstream as US national security officials and lawmakers have publicly grappled with state-backed ransomware attacks and other hacking attempts. People rallied during a "Stop Asian Hate" march to protest against anti-Asian hate crimes on Foley Square in New York, on April 4, 2021. But to Chu, the incident was an example of the way politics surrounding China, technology and national security have fueled anti-Asian sentiment. “Asian American issues are American issues, and all Americans deserve to be treated with respect.

U.S. West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude futures were down 39 cents, or 0.6%, at $69.28. Traders and analysts will be looking out for data from the U.S. Energy Information Administration on Wednesday to see whether it confirms signs of weaker crude demand. Oil prices posted their biggest declines in months last week, after high-profile U.S. bank failures beginning March 10 and a crisis at Europe's Credit Suisse. An emergency rescue of Credit Suisse over the weekend helped revive oil prices. OPEC+ officials, hedge fund managers and oil market participants have called the recent decline in oil prices speculative and insisted that increasing demand will push prices to higher levels in the coming months.

U.S. West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude futures were down 47 cents, or 0.7%, at $69.20. Data from the American Petroleum Institute on Tuesday showed U.S. crude inventories rose by about 3.3 million barrels in the week ended March 17, sources said. Following the meeting, Chair Jerome Powell is expected to unveil new economic projections and the central bank's path for interest rate hikes. Oil prices posted their biggest declines in months last week, after high-profile U.S. bank failures beginning March 10 and a crisis at Europe's Credit Suisse culminated in an emergency rescue over the weekend. OPEC+ officials, hedge fund managers and oil market participants have called the recent decline in oil prices speculative and insisted that increasing demand will push prices to higher levels in the coming months.

Separately, in a televised interview on Wednesday, Erdogan downplayed the significance of the meeting with Simsek, saying such meetings were ordinary. A senior government official told Reuters the AKP was somewhat divided with some members opposed to Simsek's return, and described the outcome of the Erdogan meeting as "undesirable". The party may now need to revise its economic platform ahead of the election campaign, he added. The AKP declined to comment on whether it was revising its economic strategy ahead of the vote. Two recent polls by MAK and Turkiye Raporu show the opposition presidential challenger Kemal Kilicdaroglu between 4 and 9 percentage points ahead of Erdogan.

The fallout from the crisis of confidence in Credit Suisse Group AG (CSGN.S) and the failure of two U.S. banks could continue to ripple through the financial system next week, the two executives separately told Reuters on Sunday. The two banks have held their own internal deliberations on how soon the European Central Bank should weigh in to highlight banks' resilience, specifically their capital and liquidity positions, the people said. The executives said that their banks and the sector are well capitalized and liquidity is strong, but they fear that the crisis of confidence will sweep up more lenders. But it stressed it was monitoring market tensions and would respond as necessary to preserve price stability and financial stability in the currency bloc. As one of 30 global systemically important banks, Credit Suisse's problems could ripple throughout the entire financial system, industry executives have said.

☆ Charles' mugs and plates: Workers busy making pottery fit for a new king
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-16 | by ( Ben Makori | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

STOKE-ON-TRENT, England, March 16 (Reuters) - British pottery makers are continuing a tradition going back centuries by producing tens of thousands of commemorative mugs, plates and teapots to mark the upcoming coronation of King Charles. Charles will be the first British monarch to be crowned for seven decades following the record-breaking reign of his mother Queen Elizabeth. Workers at the Emma Bridgewater ceramics factory in Stoke-on-Trent, a city in central England famed for its pottery, are already busy producing swathes of handmade and decorated ceramics for the occasion. It follows a tradition of producing pottery to mark notable royal occasions such as births, weddings and anniversaries which goes back hundreds of years, to the time of the current monarch's namesake and predecessor Charles II. Charles himself visited the factory back in 2010, while his daughter-in-law Kate, the Princess of Wales, toured it five years later.

☆ Analysis: Investors brace for hard landing as banking woes stoke recession fears
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-16 | by ( David Randall | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +5 min

[1/3] The Charging Bull, or Wall Street Bull, is pictured in the Manhattan borough of New York City, New York, U.S., January 16, 2019. “The no landing scenario has quickly evaporated,” said Emily Roland, co-chief investment strategist at John Hancock Asset Management. A financial accident has happened, and we are going from no landing to a hard landing driven by tighter credit conditions,” he wrote in a Wednesday note. Some investors believe regulators' quick backstop of Silicon Valley Bank, which included guaranteeing the funds of depositors, will prevent a crisis and allow for a soft landing. “The odds of a soft landing have gone down and the likelihood of a hard landing has gone up,” he said.

The world's third-biggest economy has struggled to make a solid post-COVID recovery, undermined by lacklustre household consumption and a global slowdown. Slowing shipments to China, which fell for a third straight month, have also shattered policymakers' hopes for a quick rebound from the pandemic doldrums. Exports to China, Japan's largest trading partner fell 10.9% year-on-year in February, registering a second straight month of double-digit decline, as demand weakened for cars, auto parts and display-making equipment. Japan has now posted a trade deficit for 19 straight months. "Chances are 50-50 that Japan may slide into recession," said Takeshi Minami, chief economist at Norinchukin Research Institute.

☆ US stocks trade mixed as Credit Suisse troubles stoke fears of a banking crisis
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-15 | by ( Jennifer Sor | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +1 min

US stocks fell on Wednesday as fears of a banking crisis continued to rip through the market. Troubles at Credit Suisse alarmed investors, sparking a steep sell-off in shares of the Swiss bank. But the Swiss National Bank later said it will provide Credit Suisse with liquidity, if necessary. US-listed shares of Credit Suisse plummeted 22%, hitting a new all-time low in intraday trading. But the Swiss National Bank later said it will provide Credit Suisse with liquidity, if necessary, adding that it "meets the capital and liquidity requirements imposed on systemically important banks."

☆ Imran Khan says to attend court hearing in bid to end Pakistan clashes
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-15 | by ( Mubasher Bukhari | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

[1/3] Former Pakistan's Prime Minister Imran Khan addresses a news conference after he was wounded following a shooting incident during a long march in Wazirabad, at the Shaukat Khanum Memorial Cancer Hospital & Research Centre in Lahore, Pakistan November 4, 2022. "We have asked the police to wait until the court decision on the matter," added Chaudhry, a former information minister. Current Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif has rejected Khan's demands, saying the election would be held as scheduled later this year. "If anything happens to me, or I go to prison, or they kill me, you have to prove that this nation will continue to struggle even without Imran Khan," he said. "Instead of cooperating with law enforcement officials, Imran Khan is breaking the law, defying court orders and using his party workers... as human shields to evade arrest and stoke unrest," she added.

☆ Wolfe Research downgrades Tesla, says SVB failure adds to automaker's macro pressures
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-13 | by ( Hakyung Kim | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +1 min

Analyst Rod Lache downgraded Tesla shares to peer perform from outperform. Tesla has cut prices in recent months to stoke sales, raising concern among some analysts that profits could be under pressure going forward. Now, the company could be hurt by the Silicon Valley Bank failure, Lache said. Silicon Valley Bank failed Friday. Tesla shares were down 0.5% on Monday before the bell.

☆ LIVE: Silicon Valley Bank's collapse fanned fears of a financial meltdown, but officials seem to have averted a crisis for now. Here's what's happening, what experts are saying, and what it all means.
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-13 | by ( Theron Mohamed | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +1 min

We're live-blogging the fallout from Silicon Valley Bank's collapse last week. US authorities have guaranteed the lender's deposits and promised its customers will be made whole. Bill Ackman, Michael Burry, and others have weighed in on the fiasco rocking financial markets. We're live as Silicon Valley Bank's collapse continues to rattle investors and stoke fears of further bank runs and financial catastrophe. Others have warned it could encourage banks to be more reckless, and SVB might be the first of several institutions to fail.

☆ A major inflation report and fallout from Silicon Valley Bank hang over markets in week ahead
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-10 | by ( Patti Domm | In | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +7 min

February's consumer inflation report should be a big driver for markets in the week ahead, as investors watch for continued fallout from the shutdown of SVB Financial Group's Silicon Valley Bank. The consumer price index report on Tuesday is the last major inflation data ahead of the Federal Reserve's March 21 and 22 meeting. Silicon Valley Bank's troubles overshadowed nearly everything else in markets Thursday and Friday, as investors sought safety in the bond market and sold bank stocks. Those odds had been as high as 70% before the Silicon Valley Bank news began to hit the market. Now inflation data is being watched carefully since a very hot number could mean the Fed will become more aggressive.

HOUSTON, March 8 (Reuters) - Billions of dollars in clean energy incentives are poised to speed investment on American soil while putting the European Union's energy transition at risk by luring away money and talent, executives at the CERAWeek energy conference said this week. European energy companies echoed the call for Europe to come up with its own new incentives. Patrick Pouyanne, CEO of French energy giant TotalEnergies told the conference the IRA was an "invitation to accelerate green infrastructure." In Europe, you begin to regulate," he said, adding that Europe and the United States should consider forming a free trade agreement on renewable energy infrastructure. Ken Gilmartin, CEO of British engineering firm Wood Plc, said the IRA would put the United States in first place in the decarbonization race.

☆ Tesla has declared a price war on electric-vehicle and traditional automakers alike. There are signs Elon Musk's company is making early gains.
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-09 | by ( George Glover | Beatrice Nolan | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +6 min

The automaker has slashed Model 3, Model Y, Model X, and Model S prices in 2023. While it's too soon to call a winner in the price war, there are signs Tesla is making early gains. Tesla also lowered prices for its Model S sedan and Model X SUV in January, then reduced them again in early March. The basic Model S now retails at $89,990, down 14% from the start of the year, while the entry-level Model X costs $99,990, down 17%. "Price cuts also annoy customers," Caspar Rawles, the chief data officer at Benchmark Mineral Intelligence, a price-reporting agency, told Insider.

☆ US Senator Schumer condemns Speaker McCarthy for supplying Jan.6 videos to Fox
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-08 | by ( Richard Cowan | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +4 min

On Monday, Fox's right-wing commentator Tucker Carlson used some of the security videos, showing protesters walking through the Capitol, to argue that they were merely "sightseers". In a Senate speech, Schumer condemned the broadcast and urged the cable network to cancel any follow-up segment. He added that McCarthy was "every bit as culpable as Mr. Carlson" for providing the footage. "To say January 6 was not violent, is a lie, a lie, pure and simple," Schumer said. Senate Republican Leader Mitch McConnell declined to comment on McCarthy's decision to supply the videos.

☆ Russia tried to influence U.S. elections in 2022 and will do it again, nation's top intel agency says
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-08 | by ( Kevin Breuninger | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +3 min

Russia conducted malign influence operations in the 2022 U.S. midterm elections and is using increasingly clandestine means to "penetrate the Western information environment," the U.S. intelligence community said in a new report Wednesday. The 2023 report came four months after the most recent midterm elections, where concerns about Russian influence efforts were more muted in comparison with the two previous presidential election cycles in 2016 and 2020. Trump — who during that campaign had called on Russia to find his then-rival Hillary Clinton's emails — later questioned whether Russia interfered in the 2016 election. In 2022, for instance, the office determined that Russia "almost certainly" sees U.S. elections as opportunities for malign influence to influence its foreign policy goals. "These activities can include disseminating false content and amplifying information perceived as beneficial to Russian influence efforts or conspiracy theories."

☆ Tesla a 'screaming buy' or bellwether for zombie stocks? The bulls and bears state their case
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-08 | by ( Weizhen Tan | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +4 min

Tesla's stock closed at $193.81 on Monday — 49.2% off its 52-week high, compared to an average drop of 18% among its peers, according to FactSet. Over the year so far, Tesla shares are up around 57%, but looking ahead, analysts are divided on the company's prospects. The bears: 'Bellwether' for zombie stocks Apart from the recent price cuts, Tesla has hinted at a cheap, next-generation model that would cost $25,000. David Trainer, CEO of investment research firm New Constructs, said that it's "nosebleed high because the cash flow expectations baked into the stock price are unreasonably optimistic." And you look at the relative growth to large cap tech companies and it's a screaming buy," he said.

HOUSTON, March 8 (Reuters) - Enormous challenges remain across global energy markets in the wake of the war in Ukraine, U.S. Energy Secretary Jennifer Granholm said on Wednesday, with continued risks for energy security and the need to mitigate climate change. Russia's invasion of Ukraine led to an energy crisis in Europe as the Russian gas the continent depended on stopped flowing and Western sanctions disrupted Russian oil supplies. U.S. industry had responded to the energy crisis in Europe by producing and exporting more energy to become an indispensable energy partner to allies, Granholm said. Granholm called on executives from the fossil fuels and renewable industry to play their part in the energy transition to a low-carbon economy. Oil and gas would remain part of the energy mix for years to come, she said, and abated fossil fuel use would continue in mid-century.

WASHINGTON, March 8 (Reuters) - The White House said on Wednesday that Fox News anchor Tucker Carlson "is not credible," after the right-wing commentator showed footage from the Jan. 6, 2021, attacks on the U.S. Capitol that portrayed rioters as peaceful. "We also agree with what Fox News's own attorneys and executives have now repeatedly stressed in multiple courts of law: that Tucker Carlson is not credible," Bates added. The Biden White House has tread carefully in its criticism of Fox's coverage of the 2020 election and its aftermath in the past, sometimes citing the Hatch Act that prevents administration officials from speaking about campaign-related matters. Carlson has defended his decision to run the footage, saying it was needed for transparency. Supporters of former President Donald Trump stormed the Capitol on Jan. 6, 2021, as Congress was certifying the outcome of the 2020 elections.

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