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☆ BlackRock is spending 'a huge amount of time' on AI, CEO Larry Fink says
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-31 | by ( Rebecca Ungarino | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +3 min

BlackRock CEO Larry Fink said the firm is spending a lot of time analyzing artificial intelligence. The firm's experts believe AI will increase productivity by 30%, Fink said on Wednesday. A BlackRock team called AI Labs that works on natural language processing and other areas. If AI can meaningfully increase productivity, Fink said, then "you don't have to own just these AI companies. Bank of America research analysts have called AI a "baby bubble" for the investment mania around the tech.

Persons: Larry Fink, Fink, " Fink, He's, Deutsche Bank CEO Christian Sewing, OpenAI's ChatGPT, ChatGPT, Catalyst, Andreessen Horowitz Organizations: BlackRock, Deutsche Bank, Deutsche Bank CEO Christian, of America Locations: BlackRock, New York, Palo Alto , California, Edinburgh, Scotland

That means portfolio managers are having to factor a stronger yen into global stock selection in way they have not for years, with some even anticipating mergers and acquisitions as the Japanese market revs up. "The trigger for the revaluation of the Japanese markets is higher rates and then a stronger yen. Japan's insurers and pension funds alone hold $1.84 trillion in foreign assets, Deutsche Bank calculates, greater than the size of South Korea's economy. "Policy normalisation could turn back the clock for Japanese investors," Deutsche Bank strategists said in a note. Carmignac, like many global investors, has maintained an underweight position towards Japanese stocks but, Leroux said, it was looking to raise this to neutral.

☆ What the loss of Samsung search engine business could mean for Alphabet's stock
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-18 | by ( Brian Evans | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +4 min

A weekend report from The New York Times said Samsung is thinking of switching its default search engine to Microsoft's Bing. Samsung represents roughly 27% of the smartphone market and has a 60% share of Android phones, according to Barclays. Barclays estimates that Samsung represents about $20 billion of Google's gross revenue and $7.3 billion of operating income. If the cellphone maker were to move away from the search engine, Google may have to recapture 70% of lost queries organically to recoup the lost operating income, the firm found. He thinks Google will remain the search engine heavyweight and successfully integrate Bard to rival Bing's use of ChatGPT.

☆ Wall Street says bad news is no longer good news. Here’s why
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-09 | by ( Krystal Hur | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +6 min

New York CNN —There’s been a seismic shift in investor perspective: Bad news is no longer good news. Markets teetered after a slew of economic reports signaled that the red-hot labor market is finally cooling (more on that later), flashing warning signals across Wall Street. Now that Wall Street is in “bad news is bad news and good news is good news” mode, it will be looking for signs that the economy remains resilient. President Joe Biden said in a statement Friday that the March data is “a good jobs report for hard-working Americans.”The March jobs report revealed that US employers added a lower-than-expected 236,000 jobs last month. The jobs report was also the first one in 12 months that came in below expectations.

☆ Alibaba hands parched dealmakers a glass half-full
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-30 | by ( Antony Currie | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +4 min

Then New York- and Hong Kong-listed Alibaba (9988.HK) revealed it was creating six independently run businesses. That will keep dealmaking teams busy for months if, as CEO Daniel Zhang envisions, multiple listed companies emerge from the $250 billion parent. And if a breakup is good for Alibaba, they can dust off pitchbooks for its domestic rivals. Follow @AntonyMCurrie on TwitterCONTEXT NEWSAlibaba CEO Daniel Zhang said on March 29 that he hopes multiple listed companies will emerge from the group. “I hope there will be multiple listed companies emerging from the Alibaba system, and that they will continue to nurture their own sons and daughters, and cultivate more listed companies”, Zhang said, according to the South China Morning Post.

☆ BofA's Michael Gapen expects a 'dovish 25 bps hike' and maintained balance sheet runoff
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-20 | by ( ) www.cnbc.com time to read: 1 min

Share Share Article via Facebook Share Article via Twitter Share Article via LinkedIn Share Article via EmailBofA's Michael Gapen expects a 'dovish 25 bps hike' and maintained balance sheet runoffMichael Gapen, Bank of America Research head of U.S. economist, joins 'The Exchange' to discuss the Fed's next move.

☆ Bank of America reveals the winning market share gainers with more room to run
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-04 | by ( Michael Bloom | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +6 min

Analysts at Bank of America named a slew of companies this week that they believe are winning market share in this tough economic environment and so the stocks have more room to run. They include: Analog Devices , TJX Companies, Zeta Global , Costco and Union Pacific. TJX Companies The discount retailer has room to grow, especially as shoppers look to save money by trading down, according to analyst Lorraine Hutchinson. We value ADI at the higher end of peer comps due to ADI's growth potential and free cash flow generation." as we view TJX as a market share gainer that is well positioned to benefit from trade-down and the high level of inventory availability.

☆ Bank of America reveals the most undervalued stocks on Wall Street, including this motorcycle giant
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-11 | by ( Michael Bloom | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +6 min

CNBC Pro combed through top Bank of America research to find the most undervalued stocks on Wall Street. The firm says its base case is that the already "undervalued" stock can re-rate from current levels. In addition, Harley's management team is executing well with electric vehicle motorcycles on the horizon and burgeoning international growth opportunities. The says it sees "asymmetrical upside potential" meaning that when peers in the sector go up, KKR shares could go even higher. Remain Buy for undervalued growth and pipeline with two launches worth 5bn euros peak in 23E.

Jan 31 (Reuters) - Caterpillar Inc's (CAT.N) fourth-quarter earnings slid by 29%, the company reported on Tuesday, citing higher manufacturing costs and foreign currency effects that weighed on the industrial bellwether's margins. The Texas-based company noted that profit was also hit by a $925 million "goodwill impairment" charge and margin-eroding restructuring costs. Strong pricing that the company implemented over the past two years in an effort mitigate rising manufacturing costs have sustained top-line growth. Caterpillar's sales and revenue for the quarter rose 20% to $16.6 billion despite weaker sales in the Asia Pacific region. Operating profit rose 4% to 1.7 billion while free cash flow from the ME&T division came in at $5.8 billion.

☆ Premarket stocks: Is this the beginning of the end for Big Oil's windfall?
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-31 | by ( Nicole Goodkind | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +6 min

Brutally high oil and gas prices were the talk of the town and one of the largest contributing factors to sky-high inflation. That was bad news for drivers, but ended up being great for the energy industry as oil prices and energy stocks are closely interlinked. As markets fell under the pressures of economic uncertainty, geopolitical chaos, elevated inflation and a hawkish Fed, the energy sector thrived. The S&P ended 2022 down nearly 20%, while the energy sector grew by about 60%. But analysts say US oil companies can’t keep winning for much longer.

☆ Bank of America unveils the most 'attractive' must-own stocks for 2023
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-07 | by ( Michael Bloom | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +6 min

Bank of America analysts said this week there are several stocks every investor must own for 2023. CNBC Pro combed through Bank of America research to find its top stocks to own this year. Bank of America says China reopening is a positive catalyst likely to send Starbucks shares higher. Shares are up more than 25% over the last six months and Bank of America calls Tapestry one of its best ideas for 2023. Tapestry "Tapestry remains a top pick given our view of its sustainable pricing power and solid capital return plan.

Southwest finished first in economy and budget airline rankings published by the consumer research firm last May. Analysts say that Southwest's position among consumers remains strong despite the airline leaving hundreds of thousands of passengers stranded over the Christmas holiday weekend. "People think you're getting great value for the money," said Michael Taylor, managing director for travel, hospitality and retail at J.D. On Tuesday, the airline said it would issue 25,000 rewards points to anyone whose flight was affected. Taylor at J.D.

☆ Bank of America says these stocks have the most 'potential upside' this holiday season
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-10 | by ( Michael Bloom | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +6 min

Analysts at Bank of America named five stocks this week that they say every investor must own heading into 2023. CNBC Pro combed through Bank of America research looking for stocks with major upside potential. Netflix Shares of Netflix are down 46.8% this year, but analyst Jessica Reif Ehrlich is standing by the streaming giant. Kroger Kroger shares have gained nearly 2.6% this year, but the stock has a lot more room to run, according to analyst Robert Ohmes. ... We rate Solo Brands' shares Buy as we believe its unique platform strategy should enable its high growth Leisure brands."

☆ These 4 global consumer tech stocks are set to win on China reopening, HSBC says
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-09 | by ( Ganesh Rao | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +2 min

Four technology stocks are set to be "winners from a potential consumer recovery" in China, according to HSBC. Consequently, shares of Luxshare, Wingtech and Sunny Optical have fallen between 37% and 57% this year. That means the two companies face downside risks if orders from Apple do not materialize or there is a drop in consumer demand for Apple products. According to recent Bank of America research, a handful of global chip tech stocks are also set to soar on strong EV car sales in China. While a rise in consumer demand was assured in the near term, Xiaolin Chen, head of international business at ETF firm KraneShares, warned that sustained Chinese GDP growth of 5% every year faced hurdles.

☆ Inside the private-debt boom: Wall Street's hottest asset faces a tremendous test in a dimming economy
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-05 | by ( Rebecca Ungarino | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +10 min

Defaults on private loans, which have fallen steadily since the pandemic's height in 2020, are ticking up. Private credit, or private debt, are catch-all terms to describe privately negotiated loans outside the public debt markets. Private credit firms engage in what's known as direct lending, making these private loans to companies who turn to them instead of a traditional bank. Analysts and asset management executives say private debt has held up well in 2022 in the face of brutal stock and bond market volatility. 'Fighting for allocation'A challenge for private debt funds in the past decade has been a dearth of companies they can lend to.

☆ Wall Street is debating whether the bear market still has legs
▼ + stars: | 2022-10-17 | by ( Jason Ma | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +6 min

So far, results from the big Wall Street banks have been mixed, with JPMorgan and Citigroup beating but Morgan Stanley falling short of forecasts. He told CNBC on Friday that Thursday's wild reversal wasn't just a bear market rally and could be the start of a new upswing. "We are, in my opinion, coming to the end of this bear market," Scaramucci told CNBC on Friday. Is the stock market poised for a sustainable uptrend or still teasing with bear market rallies? But the stock market isn't out of the woods yet as there could be more pain in the short-term.

☆ Stocks have further to fall after the market's 'bear hug' rally as the Fed isn't ready to pivot from its aggressive rate policy, Bank of America says
▼ + stars: | 2022-10-14 | by ( Carla Mozée | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +2 min

The Thursday rally in US stocks was a "bear hug" and not yet the start of a sustainable upswing in equities, Bank of America said Friday. The firm said the rally was ignited in a market that's oversold and where investors are holding high levels of cash. The "Big Low" in the market is coming but there hasn't been enough macro/market pain yet, said BofA's chief US strategist Michael Hartnett. Bank of AmericaLooking forward, Hartnett still sees a "Big Low" coming in markets — but he's still waiting for signs of panic from the Fed. He points specifically to the labor market and manufacturing data, which isn't yet weak enough for the Fed to "fold.

☆ US stocks fall to cap off rocky week as traders weigh bank earnings and stubbornly high inflation
▼ + stars: | 2022-10-14 | by ( Carla Mozée | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +2 min

US stocks fell Friday, giving up early gains and failing to build on the sharp rally that occurred in the previous session. Top Wall Street banks posted mixed third-quarter earnings results. Wall Street's major indexes locked in losses for the volatile week of trade that ended with mixed earnings results from top banks. JPMorgan shares rose after the firm posted a third-quarter earnings beat. Wells Fargo shares rose after quarterly net interest income beat expectations.

☆ Gen Z's 6-figure side hustles should scare companies more than quiet quitting, says Gary Vaynerchuk: 'There's so many goddamn options for these kids to make money on the internet'
▼ + stars: | 2022-09-28 | by ( Jason Lalljee | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +5 min

Gary Vaynerchuk said on TikTok that companies need to court Gen Z with better pay and career growth potential. He said Gen Z has more avenues than ever to make money on side hustles. That dynamic is more dangerous for companies than the "quiet quitting" trend, Vaynerchuk said. He said as much in a recent TikTok video, when asked about the "quiet quitting" trend. "We shit on Gen Z for being entitled and lazy, and what they're being is thoughtfully understanding of their options."

☆ AllianceBernstein's CEO leans into private assets and ETFs as active managers face the worst market in decades
▼ + stars: | 2022-09-27 | by ( Rebecca Ungarino | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +5 min

AB CEO Seth Bernstein spoke with Insider recently about the active asset manager's plans. Portfolio managers of active ETFs are actively overseeing a basket of securities, while typical passive ETFs track indices. Branded black water bottles promoting the new products read: "AB ETFs. Its first two ETFs are fixed income products — the AB Ultra Short Income ETF and the AB Tax-Aware Short Duration Municipal ETF. "We will continue to diversify the platform into private alts," Bernstein said during the Morgan Stanley conference in June.

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