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☆ The S&P 500 is enjoying one of the best years since 1927, thanks to the AI buzz
▼ + stars: | 2023-08-02 | by ( Zahra Tayeb | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +2 min

The S&P 500 is riding one of its best years since 1927, thanks to the AI hype. It's only been 10 times since the 1920s that the benchmark index has performed so well, market veteran Jim Bianco said. With price-only S&P 500 data going back to 1927, this year ranks as the tenth best through July 31,"40-year market veteran Jim Bianco said in a tweet. The S&P 500 has jumped nearly 20% this year, defying pessimists like Morgan Stanley's Mike Wilson who recently admitted the Wall Street bank was wrong to write off 2023's sizzling stock-market rally. As the index continues its ascent, analysts at JPMorgan predict that a new record high for the S&P 500 "feels inevitable."

Persons: Jim Bianco, Stocks, Dow Jones, OpenAI's, Morgan Stanley's Mike Wilson Organizations: Service, Nasdaq, Dow, Federal Reserve, JPMorgan Locations: Wall, Silicon

☆ Church & Dwight lifts annual targets on higher prices, steady demand
▼ + stars: | 2023-07-28 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

July 28 (Reuters) - Church & Dwight (CHD.N) raised its annual sales and profit forecasts on Friday, betting on higher prices and steady demand for its household and personal care products including liquid detergents and mouthwash. However, investors have now started flagging their concerns about higher prices to consumer good companies as it can put them at a potential risk of losing customers. The consumer products firm's overall average selling prices increased 5.8%, while its volumes decreased slightly during the quarter ended June 30. Church & Dwight now expects full-year adjusted profit to increase by 6%, compared with its earlier forecast of growth of 2% to 4%. The company sees full-year reported net sales growing by 8%, compared with its previous forecast of a 6% to 7% increase.

Persons: CHD.N, & Dwight, Granth, Maju Samuel Organizations: & Dwight, Unilever, &, Thomson Locations: Bengaluru

☆ European inflation: Relief as producer prices fall for the first time since 2020
▼ + stars: | 2023-07-05 | by ( Anna Cooban | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +2 min

London CNN —European policymakers will have breathed a sigh of relief Wednesday as a key measure of inflation revealed the first drop in prices since 2020. That’s the first time producer prices — which feed into prices paid by consumers — have notched a year-on-year decline since December 2020. The drop was driven by a steep 13.3% annual fall in producer prices in the energy sector, the data showed. According to June survey data published Tuesday, factory output in the euro area recorded its steepest fall since October. The euro area economy slipped into a recession over the winter, and there have been further signs of weakness in the April-June period.

Persons: who’ve, ” Cyrus de la Rubia Organizations: London CNN, Bank’s, ECB, Producers, Hamburg Commercial Bank Locations: Hamburg

☆ Sriracha sauce is selling for as much as $120 amid prolonged shortage
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-29 | by ( Jordan Valinsky | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +1 min

New York CNN —The prolonged shortage of a certain red sauce is making the black market go wild. Prices of Sriracha sauce are as high as $70 on eBay as people look to snap up the spicy sauce. Huy Fong Foods, which makes the rooster-adorned bottled sauce, has been dealing with a years-long shortage of the chilis, which is hurting production and causing some shortages. At this time, we have no estimations of when supply will increase,” a Huy Fong spokesperson said. There’s been a shortage for the past three years, as Huy Fong has said that its chili peppers have consistently been in short supply.

Persons: Huy Fong, it’s, There’s, Fong’s, David Tran Organizations: New, New York CNN, eBay, Huy Fong Foods, CNN, Target, Foods Locations: New York, Huy

☆ Stock market heads into the second half with near 15% total return so far in 2023
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-24 | by ( Michael Santoli | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +8 min

The S & P 500 had just sustained its worst calendar-year loss in half a generation. Textbook consolidation Last week's modest 1.4% decline in the S & P 500 did little to alter either the favorable underlying market trend or the notion that more consolidation might be in store. The median year-end S & P 500 target among Street strategists is 4250, 100 points below Friday's close, and the most-bullish forecast is for about a 5% further gain. And just as the market's performance has been skewed toward these hit hyper-cap tech stocks, so is the S & P 500's valuation. .SPX 1Y mountain S & P 500 1-year Big picture: The market this year has chewed through plenty of perfectly valid excuses to falter without doing so.

Persons: Ned Davis, Ed Clissold, Jeremy Schwartz, Lori Calvasina, we'll Organizations: Big Tech, Federal Reserve, Nasdaq, Intelligence, Ned Davis Research, New, Nvidia, General Motors, Whirlpool, RBC Capital Locations: DC

☆ Commercial real estate has taken a beating. But recovery may be slow for one big reason.
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-05 | by ( Al Yoon | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +4 min

Investment volume in commercial real estate fell off a cliff last quarter. But with few transactions on which to peg market values, is the market truly down? Last week, Alfred Brooks, the head of JPMorgan's commercial real estate group, said he's seen distressed buyers already raising money to pick up the pieces, once prices get low enough. Indeed, commercial real estate values are down, by other measures. April was the first month since 2010 that prices of all types of commercial property fell on an annual basis, according to MSCI.

Persons: haven't, —, dealmaking, It's, Alfred Brooks, he's, Richard Rubin, Insider's Alex Nicoll, Rubin, Blackstone, MSCI Organizations: Bank of America, Service, BofA Global Research, RCA, BofA Global

[1/2] Pakistan's Finance Minister Ishaq Dar gestures during a news conference to announce the economic survey of fiscal year 2016-2017, in Islamabad, Pakistan, May 25, 2017. REUTERS/Faisal MahmoodISLAMABAD, May 28 (Reuters) - Pakistan will share its upcoming budget details with the International Monetary Fund (IMF) in order to unlock stalled funds, Finance Minister Ishaq Dar said on Sunday. The IMF funding is crucial for the $350 billion South Asian country, which faces an acute balance of payments crisis. The IMF's $1.1 billion funding to Pakistan, which is part of the $6.5 billion Extended Fund Facility agreed in 2019, has been held up since November. Islamabad hosted the IMF mission in February to negotiate a series of fiscal policy measures to clear the 9th review.

☆ US economy on the brink as time runs low to avert debt default
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-22 | by ( Stephen Collinson | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +10 min

After a weekend of acrimony between negotiators for House Republicans and the White House, Biden will meet House Speaker Kevin McCarthy Monday for critical talks on pulling the economy back from the precipice. Biden and McCarthy to meet MondayThe rhetoric eased a little, however, after Biden and McCarthy spoke as the president flew home on Air Force One. McCarthy already passed a bill raising the debt ceiling in exchange for a wish list of Republican demands. This is a balance of power that ought to drive both sides towards a compromise, but extremist elements in the House GOP could make that impossible. Like McCarthy, Biden also faces political pressure within his own party after some progressive Democrats expressed fears he would offer the speaker too much in any deal.

☆ Desperate for streaming profits, media giants look to a soft ad market for help
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-20 | by ( Lillian Rizzo | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +8 min

(AP Photo/Universal Pictures) Photo Credit: Universal Pictures/Tippett StudioAfter spending years amassing streaming subscribers at great cost, media companies now need to make some profits. Look no further for proof of that than the most recent annual Upfronts, the events where media companies like Fox Corp ., Warner Bros. During Disney's earnings call earlier this month, CEO Bob Iger put new emphasis on ad-supported streaming. 'We need ads'There's been an uptick of consumers signing up for ad-supported streaming subscriptions. But media companies are struggling with the question of whether ad-tier subscriptions make up for other losses.

☆ Lab-grown breast milk startup Biomilq aims to change infant nutrition — if it can release a product
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-20 | by ( Natasha Piñon | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +11 min

Biomilq, the company behind the breakthrough, had been working for nearly a decade to replicate the process of making human milk — but outside of the body. While the crisis has highlighted the importance of a resilient formula supply, human milk experts, milk bank advocates and Biomilq all stress the same message: Breast milk is best. The startup will likely take a "gradual approach" to introducing its science via "an early-life nutrition product in partnership with one of these bigger companies," Strickland explained. Breast milk is woefully understudied — to the point that it's difficult "to even say what human milk is from a nutritional standpoint," Perrin explained. The company is researching which aspects of human milk its system is best suited to produce.

☆ Mohamed El-Erian says regional banks are in a 'hospital' phase of turmoil, but a Fed policy mistake will drive them 'back into the ICU'
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-16 | by ( Carla Mozée | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +3 min

The regional banking crisis has shifted out a severe stage, economist Mohamed El-Erian told Bloomberg on Tuesday. But another Fed policy mistake could drive small to mid-sized lenders "back into the ICU." If there's another [Fed] policy mistake, the patient goes back into the ICU," said the chief economic adviser at Allianz. Depositors have yanked hundreds of billions of dollars out of regional lenders collectively this year, including PacWest and First Republic Bank. What would another policy mistake look like to El-Erian?

☆ Retailers bought so much stuff during the pandemic that it's overburdening warehouses — and it may be causing a 'freight recession,' analyst says
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-26 | by ( Nidhi Pandurangi | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +3 min

Executives at trucking giant JB Hunt recently sounded the alarm about a freight recession. Over-buying during the pandemic is depressing the demand for goods, which is impacting freight and transport. Executives at trucking giant JB Hunt sounded the alarm over a "freight recession" at a first-quarter conference call last week. A freight recession basically means there are fewer trucks delivering goods across America. Notably, the freight recession is not a US-only problem.

The external financing is needed to fully fund the balance of payments gap for the fiscal year that ends in June. Last week Saudi Arabia also told the IMF it would provide financing of $2 billion to Pakistan. Dar has said Pakistan has given details of the scheme to the IMF, which has asked how it would it find the resources needed. The IMF program will disburse another tranche of $1.4 billion to Pakistan before it concludes in June. Reporting by Gibran Naiyyar Peshimam, writing by by Shilpa Jamkhandikar; editing by Sudipto GangulyOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

☆ A top tip for central banks: talk less, smile more
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-11 | by ( Ben Winck | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +8 min

WASHINGTON, April 11 (Reuters Breakingviews) - Investors hang on central bankers’ every word, hoping to gain an edge for their next trade. But with consumer prices rising at the fastest pace in decades, central bankers can’t easily cut borrowing costs, either. Chatty central banks are a relatively new phenomenon. Investors are also more sensitive to central banks today than in years past. Still, being more careful about what’s said, and how it’s said, could help central banks better balance their priorities.

☆ Europe cannot turn its back on China, Spanish minister says
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-11 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

MADRID, April 11 (Reuters) - Europe cannot ignore China's role as a key trading partner and important geopolitical player that could help put an end to the war in Ukraine, or provide debt relief for low-income countries, Spanish Economy Minister Nadia Calvino said on Tuesday. "We need to use the time to reinforce our common safety net protecting most vulnerable countries ... and here again we cannot just ignore China. Top officials from China will make their first in-person attendance at the Washington meetings in three years. Calvino said she hoped to deliver good news on debt relief to these countries later this year. Reporting by David Latona and Belen Carreno; Editing by Andrei Khalip and David HolmesOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

☆ Yellen to push for 'speedy' action on debt relief for Zambia, Ghana
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-10 | by ( Andrea Shalal | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

WASHINGTON, April 10 (Reuters) - U.S. Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen will push this week for urgent resolution of requests by Zambia and Ghana for restructuring of their sovereign debts, and moves to conclude a debt treatment for Sri Lanka, Treasury said on Monday. "During the week, Secretary Yellen will ... maintain urgency for the speedy resolution of Common Framework cases like Zambia and Ghana to remove debt overhangs and foster growth in developing countries," Treasury said. Sri Lanka, Zambia and Ghana have already defaulted on their overseas debt and are working towards debt reworks with creditors. Yellen will discuss the debt issue in separate meetings with officials from the G20 group of major economies and the Global Sovereign Debt Roundtable on Wednesday, the official said. The official expressed hope the global sovereign debt roundtable meeting on April 12 would yield "actual accomplishments," the official said.

☆ FBI warns against using public phone charging stations
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-10 | by ( Rohan Goswami | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +1 min

The FBI recently warned consumers against using free public charging stations, saying that bad actors have managed to hijack public chargers that can infect devices with malware, or software that can give hackers access to your phone, tablet or computer. "Avoid using free charging stations in airports, hotels or shopping centers," a tweet from the FBI's Denver field office said. "Bad actors have figured out ways to use public USB ports to introduce malware and monitoring software onto devices. The Federal Communications Commission has also warned about "juice jacking," as the malware loading scheme is known, since 2021. The FCC told consumers to avoid those public stations.

☆ The FBI says you may want to think twice before plugging into a free phone-charging station
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-10 | by ( Samantha Delouya | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +2 min

The FBI warned people to avoid using free phone-charging stations found in hotels, airports, and other public places. A Los Angeles deputy district attorney once warned that "a free charge could end up draining your bank account." Free phone-charging stations are often found in shopping centers, airports, and hotels. Some cities also offer free charging at public bus stops. Charging stations that have USB cords already plugged in could signal a hack, according to a report in the New York Times.

☆ 'The credit crunch has started': Here's what tighter lending standards mean for American consumers and businesses as banks navigate the SVB wreckage
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-08 | by ( Carla Mozée | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +6 min

"Each bank is going to apply those credit standards differently," a source told Insider. Requiring higher minimum credit scores and minimum repayments and curbing credit limits were among tweaks banks were making. Lending to consumers dropped and credit standards and terms "continued to tighten sharply," with marked rises in loan pricing. A "dramatic worsening of firm and consumer access to bank credit," is how a 2014 paper on the Federal Reserve's website describes a credit crunch. Tighter lending standards may have a big impact on floating-rate loans versus fixed loans, CFRA equity analyst Alexander Yokum told Insider.

☆ Rally splutters as Europe ploughs on with rate hikes
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-23 | by ( Marc Jones | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

The European-wide STOXX 600-share index (.STOXX) fell 0.75% with banks and insurers the main culprits again, suffering 1.6%-2% drops. Norway had also hiked, although MSCI's main world share index (.MIWD00000PUS) was still in positive territory after overnight gains in Asia. Focus now shifts to the Bank of England, with investors expecting a quarter-percentage-point increase in its main rate after a surprise jump in inflation squashed hopes of it pausing its tightening campaign. /FRXElsewhere in the bond markets, although UK yields were up those on German Bunds were down at 2.281%, happy to match the falls seen on 10-year U.S. Treasuries yields that had taken them to 3.440%. Germany's European Central Bank rate setter Joachim Nagel had even said he now thought the ECB was "approaching restrictive territory" with its rates, referring to a level that curtails growth.

☆ Cathie Wood says the Fed's rate hikes hit Ark's strategy like an 'earthquake' as the fund logs a $2 billion loss
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-22 | by ( Zahra Tayeb | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +3 min

Cathie Wood said the Federal Reserve's interest-rate hikes hit Ark Invest's strategy "like an earthquake." "The valuation hit ... has been so severe to our strategy," Wood said in a CNBC interview. The famed money manager said her flagship fund ARKK logged a $2 billion loss from selling stocks during 2022's market rout. The weakness in equities weighed on ARKK's performance, with the fund plunging nearly 70% last year, as increased interest rates damped investor appetite for growth-focused stocks. "The valuation hit ... has been so severe to our strategy, ... and that was all related to the Fed jacking up interest rates 19-fold in less than a year.

☆ Cathie Wood says rising rates hit her strategy like an earthquake and cyclical stocks are next
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-21 | by ( Yun Li | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +1 min

Ark Invest's Cathie Wood said rapid interest rate hikes over the past year are now starting to hit cyclical pockets of the market, extending beyond her strategy to invest in companies offering what she calls disruptive technology. "The valuation hit ... has been so severe to our strategy, ... and that was all related to the Fed jacking up interest rates nineteenfold in less than a year. Higher interest rates make stocks with lofty valuations less attractive by hurting the present value of promised future profits. We now think the earthquake is rolling off of our strategy and into other strategies and those that are cyclical," Wood said. Energy, for example, a classic cyclical sector, is the only S & P sector in the green over the past 12 months, with a 5% gain.

☆ Analysis: Wage catch-up to prolong Europe's inflation battle
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-10 | by ( Balazs Koranyi | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +6 min

"Part of the wage increase is understandable," said Jens Ulbrich, chief economist at Germany's Bundesbank. Yet the rapid wage growth underway now will hamper the European Central Bank's efforts to get inflation back to its 2% target, and possibly force it to keep interest rates high for longer. "We are taking a first step, but much more is needed to reverse the years of lopsided wage growth," Kager added. "The inflation trend, food and especially energy prices are tearing deep holes in our workers' budgets," ver.di Chairman Frank Werneke said. "The high levels of wage growth projected for 2023 and 2024 can be expected to make wages an increasingly dominant driver of underlying inflation in the euro area," Lane says.

☆ Some of Wall Street's top commentators fear a recession is at hand as rates set to go higher for longer
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-09 | by ( Phil Rosen | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +6 min

Yesterday on Capitol Hill, Jerome Powell reiterated his warning that the Fed's more than ready to keep jacking up rates if necessary. Inflation hasn't gone away as easily as policymakers want, and Powell thinks that may just warrant a steeper policy path. That's not the most reassuring assessment of the situation as some of the biggest commentators in markets are saying a recession is right around the corner. The exec also broke down how to use the strategy in today's stock market to make extremely cheap bets that garner "through the roof" returns. Fannie Mae's Home Purchasing Sentiment Index dropped this week while mortgage rates moved higher.

☆ Morning Bid: Is China exporting deflation?
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-09 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

Relief wasn't immediate, as the figures were tinged by doubt on the robustness of China's consumption rebound, with inflation in the country also at its slowest in a year. That's likely welcomed since analysts are making their latest upward revisions to U.S. and European interest rate expectations and do not need another inflationary shock from China's reopening. European futures steadied in Asia as markets assumed a holding pattern with the focus on U.S. data as the driver of interest rate movement. The Bank of Japan concludes a two-day meeting on Friday, though it is increasingly dancing to its own beat. MSCI's broadest index of Asia-Pacific shares outside Japan fell 0.3%; Japanese stocks rose 0.6% on Thursday.

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