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The logo of Amazon is seen at the company's logistics centre in Boves, France, October 6, 2021 REUTERS/Pascal Rossignol/File Photo Acquire Licensing RightsBRUSSELS, Nov 27 (Reuters) - EU antitrust regulators said on Monday Amazon's (AMZN.O) $1.4 billion acquisition of robot vacuum maker iRobot (IRBT.O) may squeeze out rival robot cleaners on its online marketplace. The EU competition enforcer said Amazon's online marketplace is an important channel for robot vacuum cleaners (RVCs) in France, Germany, Italy and Spain. "iRobot, which faces intense competition from other vacuum cleaner suppliers, offers practical and inventive products. We believe Amazon can offer a company like iRobot the resources to accelerate innovation and invest in critical features while lowering prices for consumers," the company said. Reporting by Foo Yun Chee; editing by David EvansOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

Persons: Pascal, Foo Yun Chee, David Evans Organizations: Rights, Amazon, Big Tech, European Commission, EU, Commission, Reuters, Thomson Locations: Boves, France, Rights BRUSSELS, Germany, Italy, Spain

☆ Goldman's rising star stocks are seeing the biggest increase in popularity among hedge funds
▼ + stars: | 2023-11-25 | by ( Yun Li | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +1 min

Rising popularity from hedge funds can be a strong signal of outperformance in the near future for stocks, and Goldman Sachs highlighted which names the smart money is loving right now. The Wall Street bank analyzed the holdings of 735 hedge funds with $2.4 trillion of both long and short equity positions at the start of the fourth quarter, based on regulatory filings. Goldman then identified a slew of Russell 1000 stocks with the largest increase in number of hedge fund owners during the quarter. Kenvue , the consumer health business that Johnson & Johnson spun out as an independent company earlier this year, saw 48 hedge funds in total adding it as a holding last quarter, Goldman said. Hedge funds also piled into two merger arbitrage plays — Splunk and Capri Holdings — last quarter.

Persons: Goldman Sachs, Goldman, Russell, Kenvue, Johnson, Eli Lilly, Eli Lilly's, rocketed, Tapestry, Michael Kors, Jimmy Choo Organizations: Food and Drug Administration, Capri Holdings, Cisco, Capri

☆ Here are the biggest tech stock buys by major investors
▼ + stars: | 2023-11-24 | by ( Yun Li | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +2 min

Technology stocks have been powering this year's stock market rally despite the threat of elevated interest rates staying higher for longer. For a better illustration of position changes over the course of the quarter, Dick estimated the notional value of the tech buying using "volume-weighted average prices" (VWAP), a common Wall Street yardstick, last quarter. Meta was the stock that saw the strongest buying from professional investors last quarter, Bank of America said. Meanwhile, Activision Blizzard also saw elevated buying from big investors betting that the merger with Microsoft would get regulatory approval and close. Other well-loved tech names that saw increased buying included Uber, Qualcomm , DataDog and Intel .

Persons: Michael Dick, Dick, Meta, Airbnb Organizations: Securities and Exchange Commission, Bank of America, Technology, Media, Telecommunications, Nasdaq, Meta, Activision Blizzard, Microsoft, Uber, Qualcomm, DataDog, Intel Locations: Airbnb

Nvidia is the world's largest maker of chips used both for artificial intelligence and for computer graphics. Demand for its chips jumped following the release of the generative AI application ChatGPT late last year. Its graphics cards (GPUs) are high-performance devices that enable powerful graphics rendering and processing for use in video editing, video gaming and other complex computing operations. The French watchdog raided Nvidia's local office in September, a person familiar with the matter had told Reuters. Separately, Nvidia has delayed the launch of a new China-focused AI chip, two sources familiar with the matter told Reuters.

Persons: Foo Yun Chee, Susan Fenton Organizations: Regulators, European Union, Nvidia, French Competition Authority, Reuters, Thomson Locations: BRUSSELS, China, France, U.S, California

☆ Stocks making the biggest moves midday: Fisker, Nvidia, Coinbase and more
▼ + stars: | 2023-11-24 | by ( Pia Singh | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +2 min

Check out the companies making headlines in midday trading. Nvidia — Nvidia shares fell 1.9%. Reuters , citing sources, reported that Nvidia notified its China clients that it will delay until next year a new artificial intelligence chip designed to comply with U.S. export restrictions. First Solar , SolarEdge — The solar panel manufacturer declined 3.3% Friday, while SolarEdge fell about 0.8%. Retailers — Shares of major retailers were mixed in trading during Black Friday, with Walmart and Target up less than 1%.

Persons: Fisker, SolarEdge, Apple — Apple, Coinbase, bitcoin, Changpeng Zhao, Binance, —, Nordstrom, Alex Harring, Jesse Pound, Yun Li, Sarah Min Organizations: Nvidia, Reuters, European Union, Vista, Colt CZ Group, Apple, Counterpoint Research, Department of Justice, Black, Walmart, Target Locations: China

☆ Homebuyers can expect mortgage rates in the 6% range next year, says NAR's Lawrence Yun
▼ + stars: | 2023-11-24 | 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 EmailHomebuyers can expect mortgage rates in the 6% range next year, says NAR's Lawrence YunLawrence Yun, National Association of Realtors chief economist, joins 'Squawk Box' to discuss the state of the housing market, why he believes it's a strange market of record-high home prices, deep-slumping home sales, and more.

Persons: NAR's Lawrence Yun Lawrence Yun Organizations: National Association of Realtors

The logo of Amazon is seen at the company logistics center in Lauwin-Planque, northern France, January 5, 2023. REUTERS/Pascal Rossignol/File Photo Acquire Licensing RightsBRUSSELS, Nov 23 (Reuters) - Amazon (AMZN.O) is set to win unconditional EU antitrust approval for its $1.4 billion acquisition of robot vacuum maker iRobot (IRBT.O), three people familiar with the matter said on Thursday. The Commission, which is due to decide on the deal by Feb. 14, declined to comment. The deal announced in August would add iRobot's Roomba robot vacuum to U.S. online retail giant Amazon's portfolio of smart devices, includes the Alexa voice assistant, smart thermostats, security devices and wall-mounted smart displays. Reporting by Foo Yun Chee Editing by Mark Potter and David GoodmanOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

Persons: Pascal, Foo Yun, Mark Potter, David Goodman Organizations: REUTERS, Rights, Big Tech, European Commission, Amazon, Thomson Locations: Lauwin, France, Rights BRUSSELS

The latest proposal from EU cybersecurity agency ENISA concerns an EU certification scheme (EUCS) which vouches for the cybersecurity of cloud services and determines how governments and companies in the bloc select a vendor for their business. The document retains key provisions contained in earlier drafts such as a requirement that U.S. tech giants set up a joint venture with an EU-based company to qualify for the EU cybersecurity label. Another provision states that cloud service must be operated and maintained from the EU, while all cloud service customer data must be stored and processed in the EU, with EU laws taking precedence over non-EU laws regarding the cloud service provider. The latest draft sets out the possibility for these tough requirements to be extended to the third highest security level. EU countries are now reviewing the latest draft after which the European Commission will adopt a final scheme.

Persons: OpenAI's, CCIA, ENISA, Alexandre Roure, Foo Yun Chee, Jonathan Oatis Organizations: European, Google, Microsoft, Big Tech, EU, Tech, European Banking Federation, European Savings Banks Group, Association for Financial Markets, Federation, Insurance, Thomson Locations: BRUSSELS, European Union, EU, Europe

A number of companies have recently demanded that antitrust enforcers pay default interest on fines in annulled antitrust cases. Deutsche Telekom challenged the fine at the Luxembourg-based General Court, Europe's second highest, which cut it to 19 million euros in 2018, forcing the EU competition enforcer to repay the difference. Deutsche Telekom returned to the court after the EU competition enforcer refused to pay interest for the period between the payment and the reimbursement and got judges to back its fight. The Commission then appealed to the Luxembourg-based EU Court of Justice (CJEU). The case is C‑221/22 P European Commission v Deutsche Telekom AG.

Persons: Fabian Bimmer, Deutsche, Anthony Michael Collins, refunding, Foo Yun Chee, Kirsten Donovan Organizations: Deutsche Telekom, ITS, REUTERS, Companies Deutsche Telekom AG, Intel, Deutsche, European Commission, EU, Court of Justice, Deutsche Telekom AG, Thomson Locations: Hamburg, Germany, Slovakia, Luxembourg

AI (Artificial Intelligence) letters are placed on computer motherboard in this illustration taken, June 23, 2023. "As European digital industry representatives, we see a huge opportunity in foundation models, and new innovative players emerging in this space, many of them born here in Europe. The signatories, who said just 3% of the world's AI unicorns come from the European Union, backed a joint proposal by France, Germany and Italy to limit the scope of AI rules for foundation models to transparency requirements. They also said the current broad scope of the draft AI rules could clash with existing legislation in certain sectors such as healthcare. The companies also rebuffed calls from creative industries for the AI rules to tackle copyright issues.

Persons: Dado Ruvic, DigitalEurope, Georgina Prodhan, Foo Yun Chee, Sharon Singleton Organizations: REUTERS, Rights, Airbus, European Union, Apple, Ericsson, Google, LSE, SAP, Siemens, Thomson Locations: BRUSSELS, Europe, France, Germany, Italy

☆ South Korea court orders Japan to compensate 'comfort women', reverses earlier ruling
▼ + stars: | 2023-11-23 | by ( Hyonhee Shin | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

REUTERS/Jason Reed/File Photo Acquire Licensing RightsSEOUL, Nov 23 (Reuters) - A South Korean appellate court on Thursday ordered Japan to compensate a group of 16 women who were forced to work in Japanese wartime brothels, overturning a lower court ruling that dismissed the case and prompting a stern protest from Tokyo. In response to the court's decision, Japanese vice minister for foreign affairs Masataka Okano summoned South Korean ambassador Yun Dukmin to lodge a "strong protest". The Seoul High Court, however, reversed the lower court's decision, recognising the jurisdiction of South Korean courts over the Japanese government as a defendant. In a statement, Japanese Foreign Minister Yoko Kamikawa said the judgment went against international law and agreements between the two countries, calling it "extremely regrettable and absolutely unacceptable." South Korea's foreign ministry said it was looking into details of the latest ruling, without elaborating.

Persons: Jason Reed, Yoon Suk Yeol, Fumio Kishida, Masataka Okano, Yun Dukmin, Yoko Kamikawa, Lee Yong, I'm, 1,294.3500, Hyonhee Shin, Chang, Ran Kim, Makiko Yamazaki, Ed Davies, Simon Cameron, Moore, Sharon Singleton Organizations: REUTERS, Rights, South, Seoul Central, Court, Seoul High Court, Thomson Locations: Sydney, Australia, Korea, Rights SEOUL, Japan, Tokyo, South Korean, Seoul, South, Republic of Korea

Mortgage rates have been falling consistently for several weeks now, and 30-year mortgage rates are finally back down near 7% after spiking close to 8% last month. So far this year, high mortgage rates have made homeowners reluctant to sell and give up the low rates they're currently paying. See more mortgage rates on Zillow Real Estate on ZillowMortgage CalculatorUse our free mortgage calculator to see how today's mortgage rates will affect your monthly and long-term payments. 15-Year Fixed Mortgage RatesAverage 15-year mortgage rates were 6.76% last week, according to Freddie Mac data, which is a five-basis-point drop from last week. Now that the Fed has paused hiking rates, mortgage rates have come down a bit.

Persons: It's, Lawrence Yun, Freddie Mac Organizations: homebuyers, National Association of Realtors, NAR, Zillow, Fed Locations: Chevron

REUTERS/Dado Ruvic/Illustration/File Photo Acquire Licensing RightsBRUSSELS, Nov 22 (Reuters) - EU lawmakers agreed on Wednesday to draft rules requiring Alphabet's (GOOGL.O) Google, Meta (META.O) and other online services to identify and remove online child pornography, saying that end-to-end encryption would not be affected. EU lawmakers have to thrash out the final details with member states before the draft can become legislation in a process that may be finalised next year. An EU Centre on Child Sexual Abuse will be set up to act as a hub of expertise and to forward reports to the police. To avoid mass surveillance, EU lawmakers beefed up detection orders to allow judicial authorities to authorise time-limited orders to find and delete CSAM. These can only be issued if there is reasonable grounds of suspicion of child sexual abuse.

Persons: Dado Ruvic, Foo Yun Chee, Alexander Smith Organizations: Facebook, REUTERS, Rights, Google, European, European Union, EU, Liberal, Thomson Locations: Rights BRUSSELS

I asked financial planners where I could invest my money other than the stock market. Early last year, when I finally decided to invest some of the cash sitting idle in my high-yield savings account, I turned to the stock market. I've come a long way since then, optimizing my stock market strategy to include studying earnings reports and being more strategic with my picks. Real estateA good amount of my friends have turned to real estate investing over the past few years. "You can invest in real estate through REITs — Real Estate Investment Trusts — which pool together investor money to purchase, and sometimes operate, different forms of property.

Persons: —, Jason Dall'Acqua, Carolyn Yun, Privately, Yun, Get, Marguerita Cheng, Cheng Organizations: Service, Investment, SEC, Venture Locations: REITs —

☆ Soaring mortgage rates take their toll on the US housing market as sales slump to a 13-year low
▼ + stars: | 2023-11-22 | by ( George Glover | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +3 min

Activity is now at a 13-year low as rising borrowing costs take their toll on the US housing market. Mortgage rates have cleared 7.5% this year, driven higher by the Federal Reserve’s war on inflation. AdvertisementThe spike in mortgage rates dragged on the US housing market once again last month, as activity plunged to a 13-year low even as prices ticked up. Soaring mortgage rates, driven to their highest level since the turn of the century by the Federal Reserve's war on inflation, have fueled the housing-market slowdown. As a result, existing homeowners have opted to cling to the historically low mortgage rates they locked in over the last 15 years rather than move house.

Persons: —, Freddie Mac, Lawrence Yun, Yun Organizations: National Association of Realtors, Federal, Service, Biden Administration, NAR

☆ Here are the stocks — led by Microsoft — that matter most to hedge fund managers
▼ + stars: | 2023-11-22 | by ( Yun Li | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +1 min

Many hedge funds have been skillfully navigating this year's market volatility. For investors seeking to follow the smart money, here are the stocks that mattered the most to these managers. VerityData analyzed 565 "fundamental" hedge funds that own between 10 and 300 positions each. The research firm then created a list of stocks that most frequently appear among the 10 largest holdings of those hedge funds. Other than Microsoft, the majority of the so-called " Magnificent Seven " mega-cap tech stocks — Amazon, Meta, Apple, Nvidia and Google's Alphabet — also made the list, VerityData said.

Persons: VerityData, Philippe Laffont's Coatue, Chase, Meta, Berkshire Hathaway Organizations: Microsoft, Philippe Laffont's Coatue Management, Tiger Global, Apple, Nvidia, JPMorgan, Berkshire

☆ Leon Cooperman says it's a stock picker's market. Here are his new favorite bets
▼ + stars: | 2023-11-21 | by ( Yun Li | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +1 min

Billionaire investor Leon Cooperman thinks that it's a stock picker's market and only individual names will offer value for investors as the overall market struggles. Cooperman became overweight the energy sector about two years ago when the group was still unloved. On the broader market, Cooperman recently said investors might not see a new high for a long time, partly because of the risk of a fiscal crisis. "Ultimately, we will have a crisis in public sector finance, and the market is not discounting a crisis. He said he would be very surprised if the S & P 500 climbs above 4,600 anytime this year.

Persons: Leon Cooperman, Cooperman Organizations: Omega Advisors, Devon Energy, Ashland Global Holdings, Cooper Group, Lithia Motors, Apollo Global Management

☆ October home sales fell because of high mortgage rates, soaring prices and low inventory
▼ + stars: | 2023-11-21 | by ( Anna Bahney | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +3 min

Sales slumped in October and prices continued to climb, as mortgage rates surged last month and inventory remained extraordinarily low. Home sales remained at 13-year lows as buyers competed for the few available homes on the market and continued to push up prices. Elevated prices, together with the average rate for a 30-year fixed rate mortgage nearing 8% in October, have created the least affordable market in several decades. Home sales were down in lower priced categories – under $750,000 – due to lack of inventory and sales grew in higher price categories where there was more inventory. “The lack of inventory and higher interest rates really hitting the home sales market,” said Yun.

Persons: —, ”, Lawrence Yun, Yun, “ Organizations: DC CNN —, National Association of Realtors, West, NAR, “ Locations: Washington, Northeast, Midwest, South

☆ Home sales fell to a 13-year low in October as prices rose
▼ + stars: | 2023-11-21 | by ( Diana Olick | In Dianaolick | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +2 min

The October sales count is based on closings from contracts likely signed in August and September. At the end of October there were 1.15 million homes for sale, down 5.7% from a year earlier. Sales fell in all price categories up to $750,000, but there was an increase in sales of higher end homes. Yun also noted that there are more homes available for sale on the higher end of the market. First-time buyers represented 28% of October sales, unchanged from a year ago and still significantly lower than the 40% share they have represented historically.

Persons: Lawrence Yun, Yun Organizations: National Association of Realtors

☆ Stocks making the biggest moves before the bell: Lowe's, Dick's, Best Buy, Kohl's and more
▼ + stars: | 2023-11-21 | by ( Alex Harring | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +3 min

Lowe's — The home-improvement retailer dropped 3.9% after cutting its sales outlook for the full year. Lowe's also missed analyst expectations for revenue in the third quarter, as sales slid 13% year over year. Best Buy — Shares of the consumer electronics retailer fell 5.9% after the company cut its full year sales outlook in an effort to prepare for price-conscious holiday shoppers. Best Buy beat Wall Street's quarterly earnings expectations, but fell short on revenue. Kohl's lowered the low end of its full year same-store sales outlook.

Persons: Lowe's, Kohl's, Medtronic, LSEG, Oppenheimer, Goldman Sachs, Goldman, Morgan Stanley, Cloudflare, Macheel, Sarah Min, Michelle Fox, Yun Li, Jesse Pound Organizations: Dick's, Goods, American Eagle Outfitters, Burlington Stores, Baidu, Wall, LSEG, Gen, — Locations: Burlington

☆ Goldman's hedge fund VIP portfolio is up 31% this year. These are the stocks on the list
▼ + stars: | 2023-11-21 | by ( Yun Li | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +1 min

Hedge funds' favorite stocks have crushed the broader market in 2023, returning 31%, thanks to mega-cap technology companies, according to Goldman Sachs. It then compiled a basket of the most popular long positions, dubbed Goldman's "Hedge Fund VIP basket," consisting of 50 stocks that most frequently appear among hedge funds' 10 largest holdings. "From an implementation standpoint, the Hedge Fund VIP list represents a tool for investors seeking to 'follow the smart money' based on 13-F filings," Goldman said. "Mirroring the increasing concentration in the equity market, concentration in hedge fund portfolios has risen; the typical hedge fund holds 70% of its long portfolio in its top 10 positions," Goldman said. Goldman also noted that the overweight in mega-cap names lifted hedge fund exposure to "momentum stocks" to a near record.

Persons: Goldman Sachs, Goldman, — CNBC's Michael Bloom Organizations: Microsoft, Devices

Sales of existing homes fell by 4.1% in October as a shortage of houses for sale and higher mortgage rates dampened activity, the National Association of Realtors said on Tuesday. The annual level of sales reached 3.79 million, down 14.6% from a year ago when sales were 4.44 million. “Prospective home buyers experienced another difficult month due to the persistent lack of housing inventory and the highest mortgage rates in a generation,” said NAR Chief Economist Lawrence Yun. There is some relief, however, as mortgage rates have fallen in the past week. Some housing industry analysts believe rates could trend under 7% early next year as overall interest rates begin falling amid expectations the Federal Reserve is done raising rates.

Persons: ”, Lawrence Yun, ” Yun, “, Danielle Hale Organizations: National Association of Realtors, Midwest, Federal Locations: “

☆ Warren Buffett makes big donation before Thanksgiving, assures shareholders Berkshire is built to last
▼ + stars: | 2023-11-21 | by ( Yun Li | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +3 min

Warren Buffett, chairman and CEO of Berkshire Hathaway, smiles as he plays bridge following the annual Berkshire Hathaway shareholders meeting in Omaha, Nebraska, May 5, 2019. Warren Buffett donated more than $870 million in Berkshire Hathaway stock to four family foundations before Thanksgiving, assuring investors in a letter that the conglomerate is "built to last." The 93-year-old legendary investor donated 1.5 million Class B shares of his conglomerate to the Susan Thompson Buffett Foundation, named for his first wife. He also gave 300,000 Class B shares to each of the three foundations run by his children: the Sherwood Foundation, the Howard G. Buffett Foundation and the NoVo Foundation. The "Oracle of Omaha" pledged to give away the fortune he built at Berkshire, the Omaha-based conglomerate he started running since 1965.

Persons: Warren Buffett, Berkshire Hathaway, Susan Thompson Buffett, Howard G, Buffett, Greg Abel, he's Organizations: Berkshire, Berkshire Hathaway, Susan Thompson Buffett Foundation, Sherwood Foundation, Buffett Foundation, NoVo Foundation, Oracle, BNSF Railway, Apple Locations: Omaha , Nebraska, Berkshire Hathaway, Omaha, Berkshire, United States

☆ EU antitrust regulators raid online food delivery companies, probe no poach deals
▼ + stars: | 2023-11-21 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

Companies Delivery Hero SE FollowBRUSSELS, Nov 21 (Reuters) - EU regulators on Tuesday raided several online food delivery companies in two EU countries on concerns that they may have breached EU rules against cartels, with the focus also on their no poach agreements. The European Commission, which did not name the companies nor the EU countries, said the ongoing dawn raids were conducted in the context of those made in July last year. German online takeaway food company Delivery Hero (DHER.DE) and its Spanish business Glovo had confirmed last year's raids. Companies risk fines as much as 10% of their global turnover for breaching EU antitrust rules. Reporting by Foo Yun CheeOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

Persons: Glovo, Foo Yun Chee Organizations: European Commission, EU, Thomson Locations: BRUSSELS

LOS ANGELES (AP) — Sales of previously occupied U.S. homes slumped in October to their slowest pace in more than 13 years as surging mortgage rates and rising prices kept many prospective homebuyers on the sidelines. That’s weaker than the 3.90 million sales pace economists were expecting, according to FactSet. They have fallen five months in a row, held back by climbing mortgage rates and a thin supply of properties on the market. Political Cartoons View All 1260 Images“Lack of inventory along with higher mortgage rates (are) really hindering home sales,” said Lawrence Yun, the NAR’s chief economist. That amounts to just a 3.6-month supply, going by the current sales pace.

Persons: ”, Lawrence Yun, Freddie Mac, homebuyers Organizations: ANGELES, National Association of Realtors, Homes, NAR Locations: U.S

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