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☆ Thorns owner stepping down as CEO after NWSL misconduct report
▼ + stars: | 2022-10-11 | by ( Amy Tennery | Frank Pingue | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

Oct 11 (Reuters) - Merritt Paulson, the CEO of the Portland Thorns and their Major League Soccer counterparts, the Timbers, said he was removing himself effective immediately, following a report that detailed abuse in the National Women's Soccer League (NWSL). An investigation released earlier this month said that abuse and sexual misconduct were systemic throughout the NWSL and that the league and U.S. Soccer failed to put in "basic measures" to safeguard players. The report also said that the Thorns failed to be transparent about the 2015 firing of a former coach, who was accused of abuse, and that U.S. Soccer and the NWSL did not stop him from coaching elsewhere. A report in The Athletic a year ago detailed allegations of misconduct against Riley, prompting a reckoning throughout the league. "No matter what happens, ensuring the long-term health and success of the Portland Thorns is critical to me, as I know it is for our players and the community."

☆ Stocks sink after JPMorgan Chase CEO Jamie Dimon warns of recession
▼ + stars: | 2022-10-10 | by ( Paul R. La Monica | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +2 min

Stocks weren’t doing much Monday morning but took a nasty – albeit brief – turn lower in the afternoon following stark comments from JPMorgan Chase CEO Jamie Dimon, who warned that the United States is likely to enter a recession within the next six to nine months. “You can’t talk about the economy without talking about stuff in the future…and this is serious stuff,” Dimon said in the CNBC interview. He added that he thinks Europe is in a recession already and that the US is probably next. Shares of JPMorgan Chase (JPM), which is one of the 30 stocks in the Dow, were down nearly 1.5%. JPMorgan Chase (JPM) is one of several big banks that will report earnings on Friday.

☆ Congress is still considering changes to the retirement system, including catch-up contributions
▼ + stars: | 2022-10-10 | by ( Sarah O'Brien | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +8 min

Tom Brenner | ReutersThere's still a decent chance that changes to the U.S. retirement system will be enacted before the end of the year. "There's still tremendous bipartisan interest in doing another retirement security bill," said Paul Richman, chief government and political affairs officer for the Insured Retirement Institute. Upping the catch-up contribution anteNosystem Images | E+ | Getty ImagesCurrently, retirement savers age 50 or older can make so-called catch-up contributions to their retirement savings. The House bill would expand the 401(k) catch-up to $10,000 for individuals who are age 62, 63 or 64. The Senate proposal differs by allowing people from age 60 through age 63 make the extra $10,000 catch-up contribution.

☆ Stocks week ahead: Get ready for earnings season
▼ + stars: | 2022-10-09 | by ( Paul R. La Monica | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +6 min

We’ll get a better sense this week when several top financial firms and consumer companies report third-quarter earnings. The robust greenback will hurt sales and profits for these firm’s international operations. “Bank balance sheets and capital positions both remain in solid shape,” said KBW analyst David Konrad in a bank earnings preview report. The US government will report the latest monthly reads on consumer prices and wholesale prices next week. The consumer price index, or CPI, is the one investors will be watching most closely.

☆ Fact Check-Video does not show Rand Paul ‘unleashing evidence’ on Pelosi
▼ + stars: | 2022-10-06 | by ( Reuters Fact Check | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

A video viewed over 58,000 times on Facebook claims without basis that U.S. Republican Senator Rand Paul released “evidence” on U.S. House of Representatives Speaker Nancy Pelosi during a speech. The clip, however, compiles months-old footage from three events that make no mention of Pelosi. Rand Paul UNLEASHES Evidence on Nancy Pelosi During EPIC SPEECH,” reads the Facebook post from Oct. 4 with the almost 12-minute-long video (here). The third and last clip does not depict Paul, but Republican Representative Jim Jordan questioning Google CEO Sundar Pichai during a congressional hearing on June 29, 2020 (youtu.be/LX2VrlegaWk?t=229). The video combines three unrelated clips that are months old and do not mention Pelosi.

☆ Why Wall Street shouldn’t sweat the midterms
▼ + stars: | 2022-10-06 | by ( Paul R. La Monica | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +4 min

New York CNN Business —The midterm elections are a little more than a month away, and if Wall Street had a vote, it’d be for more gridlock. Just a few months ago, many political observers and Wall Street experts were predicting that the GOP would gain control of the Senate and possibly even the House. The conventional wisdom on Wall Street is that the market prefers when politicians bicker and little actually gets done. Clifton also pointed out that “there were two notable exceptions” to the usual midterm market moves: 1974 and 1978. The Fed’s next scheduled meeting is on November 2, just six days before the midterms.

☆ Why tomorrow’s big jobs report has global implications
▼ + stars: | 2022-10-06 | by ( Allison Morrow | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +6 min

Seems counter-intuitive, but the Fed (and much of Wall Street) is actually rooting for that number to go down. Here’s the thing: Before the pandemic and its whiplash-inducing economic rebound, the US economy averaged about 200,000 new jobs each month. In the last jobs report, wages were up 5.2% over the last 12 months. GRIM PROGNOSIS(CNN Business) Peloton announced yet another round of layoffs — its fourth round of cuts this year — as its new CEO attempts to shore up the company’s bottom line. And if it fails, McCarthy told The Wall Street Journal, Peloton likely isn’t viable as a stand-alone company.

☆ Premarket stocks: Markets are starting to act super strange
▼ + stars: | 2022-10-06 | by ( Nicole Goodkind | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +6 min

A weakening labor market puts downward pressure on wages and inflation. The labor market is still tight with about 1.7 job openings for every unemployed worker in the US. New private employment data on Wednesday by payroll services firm ADP suggested that the labor market isn’t losing any steam. The rise in oil gave a lift to energy stocks, helping to boost the overall market, reports Paul R. La Monica. Plus: US Department of Labor reports weekly jobless claims at 8:30 a.m.

☆ Housing is slumping, but this real estate CEO explains why it’s not 2008 all over again
▼ + stars: | 2022-10-05 | by ( Paul R. La Monica | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +4 min

New York CNN Business —Mortgage rates are soaring. And for many prospective home buyers, especially first-time purchasers, the combination of rising home loan costs and still sky-high real estate prices make the idea of purchasing a home prohibitively expensive…if not impossible. But don’t tell that to the CEO of real estate developer Howard Hughes Corp. In an interview with CNN Business, David O’Reilly said that he’s not too worried about another housing market crash and explains why. apartment buildings) but that they are “running away from retail, offices and hotels.”Weakness in commercial real estate is probably one of the main reasons why Howard Hughes (HHC), like the stocks of other real estate companies, has plunged this year.

☆ Stocks end Wednesday slightly lower following huge two-day surge
▼ + stars: | 2022-10-05 | by ( Paul R. La Monica | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +2 min

Stocks were mostly unchanged Wednesday, even as a fresh batch of economic data revealed continued strength in the job market and America’s services sector. That’s led to new worries that the Federal Reserve’s aggressive rate hikes, meant to curb inflation, will eventually lead to a recession. The Dow ended the day with a loss of a little more than 40 points, or 0.1%. The rise in oil gave a lift to energy stocks, helping to prop up the overall market. Chevron (CVX) was one of the top Dow stocks, rising about 1%.

☆ Dow plunges and is back in a bear market
▼ + stars: | 2022-09-29 | by ( Paul R. La Monica | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +2 min

The Dow is now back in bear market territory, more than 20% below the all-time high it set in January. The tech-laden Nasdaq Composite sank 3.4% Thursday and has plummeted even more than the Dow and S&P in 2022. The stock market had a promising start to the quarter, soaring in July. But fears about inflation, rate hikes, rising bond yields and recession returned with a vengeance in August and September. But two popular, widely held bond funds, the Vanguard Total Bond Market Index Fund ETF (BND) and iShares Core U.S.

☆ Is Beyond Meat beyond saving?
▼ + stars: | 2022-09-28 | by ( Paul R. La Monica | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +4 min

Companies like Beyond Meat, rival Impossible and plant-based milk producer Oatly are still doing big deals with supermarket chains and restaurants to get their products on store shelves and menus. But in the company’s most recent earnings call, Beyond Meat CEO Ethan Brown conceded that the company (and the industry) faces challenges. Inflation is a problem for plant-based food biz too“We went from a pandemic into record inflation,” Brown said. “After years of growth, plant-based meat sales in the United States are stagnating,” said consulting firm Deloitte in a recent report. So there is nothing fake about Wall Street’s concerns regarding the big drop in demand for “fake” meat and milk.

☆ Key US bond yield tops 4%, highest since 2008
▼ + stars: | 2022-09-28 | by ( Paul R. La Monica | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: 1 min

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☆ Gen X is late to the leadership table in US politics, prompting the question: Will it ever produce a president?
▼ + stars: | 2022-09-28 | by ( Darren Samuelsohn | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +21 min

By historical standards, Gen X should be in charge of the US by now. Think of them as the godparents of the "Xennials" — those born in the late 1970s or early 1980s who aren't fully Gen X or millennial. No matter whether you deny the 61-year-old Obama is a boomer, Gen X is starting to get up there in age. Michael Ciaglo-Pool/Getty ImagesWhat's the US missing without a Gen X president? "It's like seeing a ghost that doesn't appear," she said of any expectation the presidency would just suddenly open up for Gen X.

☆ LeBron James is a pickleball fan. And now he's buying a team
▼ + stars: | 2022-09-28 | by ( Jessica Golden | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +4 min

LeBron James, the king of basketball courts, is one of the newest owners of a professional pickleball team. "When I started playing pickleball, I immediately connected with the sport's community and its capacity to be both fun and competitive," Carter told CNBC in an interview. "We had this immediate connection over their passion for playing pickleball, their passion for growing pro pickleball grassroots. Worcester said the demand for owning a pickleball team is high with more than 60 different groups expressing interest. "Yes, we would welcome LeBron or Draymond or Kevin Love to think about playing," Worcester said laughing.

☆ Four people plead guilty in North Carolina ballot probe of 2016 and 2018 elections
▼ + stars: | 2022-09-27 | by ( The Associated Press | ) www.nbcnews.com time to read: +4 min

RALEIGH, N.C. — Four people pleaded guilty on Monday to misdemeanors for their roles in absentee ballot fraud in rural North Carolina during the 2016 and 2018 elections. It is generally against the law in North Carolina for anyone other than the voter or a family member to handle someone’s completed ballot. The state investigation also led to charges of similar absentee ballot activities in Bladen for the 2016 general election and 2018 primary. Each of the four originally had been indicted on charges of conspiracy to commit felony obstruction of justice and possessing illegally an absentee ballot that belonged to someone else. Hendrix, who was indicted for both the 2016 and 2018 elections, met Dowless while she worked at a Hardee’s in Bladen County, according to Freeman.

☆ Toy companies expect grown-ups to shop more for other adults this holiday season
▼ + stars: | 2022-09-27 | by ( Paul R. La Monica | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +4 min

The toy giants realize that many adults aren’t just looking to buy toys for their children, grandkids, nieces and nephews. Companies like Hasbro (HAS) are increasingly looking to adults (and not just parents) as buyers for nostalgic products, whether its gifts for older loved ones, friends or for themselves. Toy companies and other collectibles makers clearly recognize that grown-up shoppers are still invested in the brands that they played with as kids. Mattel (MAT) is hoping to cash in from more adults buying toys for other grown-ups as well. “The Bear Cave has more lighthearted products for adults,” Price John said, including some bears drinking a glass (or bottle) of wine.

☆ Forget a soft landing. The market’s best hope is a ‘growth’ recession
▼ + stars: | 2022-09-26 | by ( Nicole Goodkind | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +7 min

It wants to achieve a soft landing — that Goldilocks ideal of cooling the economy enough to bring down prices but not enough to cause a recession. The new aim appears to be for a so-called growth recession: A prolonged period of meager growth and rising unemployment. The pain is sharper and lasts longer than that of a soft landing, but a “growth” recession doesn’t pull the entire economy into contraction the way a proper recession would. It looks like a recession, and feels like a recession, but it isn’t a recession — at least not officially. A growth recession is still painful.

☆ Walmart enters the metaverse with Roblox experiences
▼ + stars: | 2022-09-26 | by ( Ramishah Maruf | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +2 min

New York CNN —Walmart (WMT) has entered the metaverse. The retail giant announced Monday it is launching two immersive online experiences with Roblox, a metaverse mega-platform extremely popular with young kids. Its virtual dressing room offers products such as afp4, Halsey’s makeup brand, and YouTubers Brooklyn and Bailey’s skincare line with Walmart. Roblox began trading last March, immediately valuing the company at $45 billion when it debuted on Wall Street. Despite the buzz around the metaverse, Roblox shares have dropped almost 64% year-to-date.

☆ Stocks week ahead: Intel is the Dow's biggest loser
▼ + stars: | 2022-09-25 | by ( Paul R. La Monica | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +6 min

Shares of Intel (INTC) are down more than 45% this year, making it the biggest dog of the Dow. Intel (INTC) is struggling despite well-publicized plans to build more plants in the United States and hire more at home. To be fair, Intel is not the only chip company that’s having a tough time this year. But longer-term, I think Intel will right the ship,” said Jeff Travis, portfolio manager of Oak Associates Funds. Travis does think that semiconductor stocks are still a good “secular growth industry” and that valuations are now attractive given how sharply the stocks have fallen.

“What we’re going to roll out today is a commitment to America in Washington — not Washington, D.C., Washington County, Pennsylvania. It’s about you; it’s not about us,” McCarthy told a crowd at a metal sheet working plant in Monongahela, Pennsylvania, just outside Pittsburgh. Democrats “control the House, the Senate, the White House. They control the committees, they control the agencies … but they have no plan to fix all the problems they created,” McCarthy added. Commitment to America is reminiscent of Newt Gingrich’s Contract with America agenda, which in 1994 helped propel House Republicans into power for the first time in 40 years.

☆ Marc Benioff would buy Twitter if he could
▼ + stars: | 2022-09-23 | by ( Paul R. La Monica | Cnn Business | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +1 min

New York (CNN Business) Marc Benioff is obsessed with Twitter. Salesforce CRM Benioff, chairman and co-CEO , told CNN's Poppy Harlow in an interview that if it were up to just him, he would "absolutely" buy Twitter. "I will never buy Twitter," Benioff told Harlow. Twitter'sr TWTR His comments come in the middle of legal battle with Elon Musk , who offered to buy the company but then terminated the deal. Benioff added that he still thinks Twitter "is the greatest, most unrealized, most un-monetized brand" in tech and that "it's an amazing company, amazing brand, amazing platform and can do incredible things for the future," adding that "I've always been in love with the product.

☆ Home builders getting hit by rising rates
▼ + stars: | 2022-09-22 | by ( Paul R. La Monica | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: 1 min

☆ Rising mortgage rates hit home builders as buyers pull back
▼ + stars: | 2022-09-22 | by ( Paul R. La Monica | Cnn Business | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +1 min

Mortgage rates have also skyrocketed to their highest level in 14 years. "Sales have clearly been impacted by rising interest rates," Stuart Miller, Lennar's executive chairman, said in the company's earnings release. Miller added that "there remains a significant national shortage of housing, especially workforce housing, and demand remains strong." Lennar also reported that orders for new homes fell 12% from a year ago and that it is trying to "navigate the rebalance between price and interest rates." Mortgage rates are likely to head even higher given the Federal Reserve's series of big interest rate increases and likely plans for even more hikes in the coming months.

☆ Time for someone else to ride the Peloton bike?
▼ + stars: | 2022-09-20 | by ( Paul R. La Monica | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +3 min

Peloton also announced job cuts at the time of McCarthy’s hiring and revealed more layoffs in August. Peloton is one of several pandemic era winners that are now finding it difficult to keep the boom times going. With that in mind, Nike (NKE) or Adidas (ADDDF) could work out as potential Peloton buyers. Amazon (AMZN) is also compelling as a potential Peloton owner. Nike and Amazon were both mentioned in various media reports as potential acquirers for Peloton in February, just before McCarthy was hired.

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