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☆ Atlanta Police investigating an active shooter at a building in Midtown
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-03 | by ( Rebekah Riess | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: 1 min

CNN —The Atlanta Police Department tweeted Wednesday that it is investigating an active shooter incident inside a building in Midtown Atlanta. “Please shelter in place, or stay out of the area,” APD added. “We are working an active shooter situation inside a building on West Peachtree St, between 12th St and 13th St. We are aware of multiple people injured. No suspect is in custody,” the department added. This is a developing story and will be updated.

☆ Morgan Stanley's top strategist says second half profits will disappoint — so own these stable growers
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-01 | by ( Sarah Min | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +3 min

Investors are in for a rocky second half of the year, so it's time to take a look at stable earnings growers, says Morgan Stanley's top strategist Mike Wilson. It's also rooted in the view that companies broadly have already right-sized expenses and that margin expansion can now take hold," Wilson wrote to clients on Monday. In this uncertain climate, the strategist said he prefers stocks with stable earnings. They are: Coca-Cola surfaced on Morgan Stanley's list for stable earnings growers. UnitedHealth Group was identified as a stable earnings grower.

☆ US labor costs increase solidly in first quarter
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-28 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

WASHINGTON, April 28 (Reuters) - U.S. labor costs increased solidly in the first quarter as strong wage gains persisted amid a tight labor market, suggesting inflation could remain elevated for a while. The Employment Cost Index, the broadest measure of labor costs, rose 1.2% last quarter after increasing 1.1% in the October-December period, the Labor Department said on Friday. Labor costs increased 4.8% on a year-on-year basis after advancing 5.1% in the fourth quarter. Wages and salaries increased 1.2% last quarter after rising by the same margin in the fourth quarter. Inflation-adjusted wages for all workers were unchanged on a year-on-year basis after declining 1.2% in the fourth quarter.

That surge is now driving debate inside the U.S. Federal Reserve about how much weight to give ongoing wage increases as policymakers assess the path of inflation. Reuters GraphicsThe Fed will also receive updated data on the personal consumption expenditures price index, the measure it uses to set its 2% price target. Reuters Graphics“The one thing that I think we’re spending too much time looking at is wage growth as an indicator of prices,” Chicago Fed President Austan Goolsbee told CNBC this month, citing recent research by Chicago Fed staff. He said he views rising wages as the result of that still- strong demand, something that should ease alongside price pressures once the money is gone. Reporting by Howard Schneider; Editing by Dan Burns and Andrea RicciOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

☆ UPS CFO Looks to Speed Up Some Cost Cuts as Shipping Volumes Fall
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-27 | by ( Mark Maurer | ) www.wsj.com time to read: 1 min

UPS said it expects U.S. average daily package volumes to fall around 3% this year. Photo: ANDREW KELLY/REUTERSUnited Parcel Service Inc. is working to speed up certain efforts to reduce costs as package volumes continue to drop and U.S. consumers pull back spending. The Atlanta-based delivery company over the past three years has been looking to reduce nonoperating costs, including by streamlining processes and making investments in technology. UPS in 2021 said it would reduce $1 billion in nonoperating costs but hasn’t said if that has been achieved.

☆ Asian shares sink on banking jitters, US economic concerns
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-27 | by ( Stella Qiu | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +4 min

MSCI's broadest index of Asia-Pacific shares outside Japan (.MIAPJ0000PUS) were 0.3% lower on Thursday, while Japan's Nikkei (.N225) lost 0.4%. Data showed that new orders for key U.S.-manufactured capital goods fell more than expected in March, suggesting that business spending on equipment was likely a drag on economic growth in the first quarter. Wells Fargo lowered its forecast for U.S. GDP growth by 100 basis points to a 0.8% rise. The dollar index , which measures the currency against six major rivals, dropped to 101.4 on fresh concerns over a U.S. slowdown. U.S. crude futures edged up 0.3% to $74.5 per barrel, while Brent crude futures rose 0.5% to $78.09 per barrel.

PinnedQuarterbacks, top-10 trades and a bull market for running backs headlined the first round of this year’s N.F.L. The Carolina Panthers chose Alabama quarterback Bryce Young at No. After the Texans picked Stroud, they struck again, leaping from pick No. One unexpected development was the move toward running backs, a position that has been devalued in the N.F.L. But teams picked other quarterbacks or filled other needs, this year’s reminder that pre-draft speculation is just that.

☆ Norfolk Southern Says Ohio Derailment Has Cost $387 Million
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-26 | by ( Will Feuer | ) www.wsj.com time to read: 1 min

Photo: Alan Freed/ReutersNorfolk Southern Corp. said the train derailment that spilled toxic chemicals in a small Ohio town earlier this year has cost the company almost $400 million so far. The Atlanta-based railroad operator said Wednesday that it was taking a $387 million initial charge associated with the accident. The charge doesn’t reflect money that the company could potentially recover through its insurance policies.

☆ Coca-Cola’s CFO Expects to Slow Price Hikes as Inflation Cools
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-26 | by ( Jennifer Williams-Alvarez | ) www.wsj.com time to read: 1 min

Coca-Cola is using lessons learned over the past few years with the pandemic to keep up with and pivot based on consumer preferences. Photo: Gene J. Puskar/Associated PressAfter increasing prices last year and into 2023 to offset the impact of inflation, Coca-Cola Co. is expecting to slow price hikes later this year. The Atlanta-based beverage giant anticipates that inflationary pressures will moderate this year, particularly in the second half of 2023, and that means it will institute fewer price increases. “Our approach to pricing, whether it’s in inflationary times or not, is to make sure that we keep pace with inflation,” said President and Chief Financial Officer John Murphy . “Our pricing in 2022 and even in some markets in the early part of 2023 reflects that.”

☆ Economic growth likely was solid to start the year, but that could end the good news for a while
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-26 | by ( Jeff Cox | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +4 min

The U.S. economy likely grew at a solid pace to start the year, though things are expected to get worse before they get better. "It shows an economy that so far is resilient, weathering all kinds of storms so far and growing at pretty close to potential. Where the growth is So far, consumers have managed to withstand the higher rates. "We expect a solid 2.3% (QoQ SAAR) increase in Q1 real GDP, with details that appear even more positive for the economic backdrop. Despite rising debt levels and the prospects that financing will become more difficult to come by, consumers are in fairly solid shape.

☆ NBA roundup: Hawks use late rally to stay alive
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-26 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

Boston's Jaylen Brown (35 points) posted his second straight 30-plus-point game and Jayson Tatum had 19 points, eight rebounds and eight assists. Jamal Murray scored 35 points, Bruce Brown and Aaron Gordon each had 14 and Michael Porter Jr. grabbed 10 rebounds for Denver. The top-seeded Nuggets are headed to the Western Conference semifinals for the fourth time in five seasons. Anthony Edwards put up 29 points, Karl-Anthony Towns had 26 points and 11 rebounds and Rudy Gobert had 16 points and 15 rebounds for the eighth-seeded Timberwolves. Kevin Durant scored 31 points and Deandre Ayton added 21 points and 11 rebounds for the No.

☆ The banking crisis is having a slow-burn impact on the economy
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-25 | by ( Jeff Cox | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +6 min

That's a credit hit on Middle America, on Main Street," said Steven Blitz, chief U.S. economist at TS Lombard. Watching growth aheadIn the immediate future, the reading on first-quarter economic growth is expected to be largely positive despite the banking problems. In fact, the most recent recession was just two years ago in the early days of the Covid crisis. Consumer spending has seemed to hold up fairly well in the face of the banking crisis, with Citigroup estimating excess savings of about $1 trillion still available. [The banking situation] is a headwind, but it's not a gale-force headwind, it's just kind of a nuisance."

Persons: Spencer Platt, Steven Blitz, Stocks, Robert Sockin, it's, Dow Jones, isn't, It's, Moody's, Mark Zandi, headwind, Covid, Jim Baird, Plante, Baird Organizations: New York Stock Exchange, Getty, JPMorgan Chase, Bank of America, TS Lombard, First, Bank, P Bank ETF, Citigroup, Commerce Department, Silicon Valley Bank, Signature Bank, Moody's, Financial Advisors Locations: New York City, U.S, America, First Republic, Atlanta

☆ MLB roundup: Braves' Spencer Strider flirts with no-no vs. Marlins
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-25 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +8 min

He has pitched 16 consecutive scoreless innings and has allowed three hits during that span. Joe Jimenez pitched a scoreless ninth inning to finish the game. Yennier Cano pitched a scoreless ninth inning for his first career save. Three relievers completed the Blue Jays' three-hitter, with Jordan Romano earning his eighth save by tossing a 1-2-3 ninth inning. Alex Lange fanned two in a perfect ninth inning for his second save.

☆ UPS shares fall after delivery giant reports disappointing earnings
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-25 | by ( Natasha Piñon | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +4 min

United Parcel Service shares fell Tuesday after the American trucking and delivery giant reported first-quarter misses on both earnings and revenue. To some analysts, the relatively weak report from UPS hints at a wider economic slowdown, particularly when coupled with CEO Carol Tomé's comments. Tomé told CNBC on Tuesday that a larger, industry-wide decline in retail sales in the month of March impacted UPS as well. Previously, UPS projected revenue between $97 billion and $99.4 billion, versus analysts' estimates of $99.98 billion. In its fourth-quarter earnings call, Chief Financial Officer Brian Newman said the company expected 2023 "to be a bumpy year."

☆ EUROPE All aboard the tech hype train as earnings rumble in
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-24 | by ( Wayne Cole | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

It's been a subdued start to a busy week studded with tech earnings and major data from both sides of the Atlantic. Analysts at Wedbush Securities are tipping upside surprises from the tech majors, with an accent on cost cutting and job shedding across the industry. Another risk bubbling away in the background is the U.S. debt ceiling with the House set to vote on the Republican plan to extend the debt limit in exchange for spending cuts. The cost of insuring exposure to U.S. sovereign debt rose to the highest level since 2011 last week. One-year CDS have climbed to around 100 bps, well above the 82 bps seen during the 2011 U.S. sovereign debt downgrade.

☆ Asia stocks off to slow start in earnings-rich week
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-24 | by ( Wayne Cole | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +4 min

MSCI's broadest index of Asia-Pacific shares outside Japan (.MIAPJ0000PUS) eased 0.1%, while Japan's Nikkei (.N225) nudged up 0.2%. S&P 500 futures and Nasdaq futures both eased 0.2% ahead of a busy week of earnings. The U.S. House of Representatives could this week vote on a Republican plan to raise the debt ceiling in exchange for spending cuts. Figures on U.S. wages and economic growth due this week will likely reinforce the case for further tightening. Oil prices also lost ground last week, though planned production cuts from OPEC offer some support.

☆ Georgia DA probing Trump says she will announce charging decisions during summer
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-24 | by ( Kevin Breuninger | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +2 min

Fani Willis, the District Attorney of Fulton County, Georgia inside her office chambers in the Fulton County Justice Center Tower in Atlanta, Georgia on Tuesday, September 20, 2022. The Georgia prosecutor leading an election interference probe of former President Donald Trump and his allies said Monday she would announce charging decisions in the matter this summer. Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis said she plans to make her announcement during the Fulton County Superior Court's fourth term, which begins July 11 and ends Sept. 1. The probe began weeks after Trump urged Georgia officials to "find" him enough votes to overturn President Joe Biden's victory in the state. Law enforcement officials in Georgia were watching how Trump's arraignment in Manhattan played out, a source familiar with the Fulton County probe previously told NBC.

They said two in five people seeking food assistance in the Atlanta region this year have not done so before. In central Ohio, the local food bank says the number of households seeking aid has increased by nearly half since last year. Craig Gundersen, a Baylor University economics professor who is a prominent researcher for Feeding America, said that food banks experiencing spikes above COVID levels are outliers. The Highland Food Pantry in Winchester, Virginia, said it served about 90 families a week during the pandemic. In early April, White visited a community center to donate old clothes and noticed a line for the food pantry.

☆ Koko Da Doll, Star of Film on Transgender Sex Workers, Is Killed in Atlanta
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-21 | by ( Michael Levenson | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

Koko Da Doll, who was featured in “Kokomo City,” a documentary about four Black transgender sex workers that won awards at the Sundance Film Festival this year, was fatally shot in Atlanta on Tuesday, the film’s director said. Koko Da Doll, 35, whose name was Rasheeda Williams, “was the latest victim of violence against Black transgender women,” the director, D. Smith, said in a statement. “I created ‘Kokomo City’ because I wanted to show the fun, humanized, natural side of Black trans women,” Ms. Smith said. “I wanted to create images that didn’t show the trauma or the statistics of murder of transgender lives. But here we are again.”The Atlanta Police Department said that it was actively investigating three violent crimes against transgender women this year — the fatal shooting on Tuesday, another fatal shooting on April 11 and a shooting that critically injured a female victim in January.

☆ Fact Check-Posts misidentify Atlanta jail inmate who died after being ‘eaten alive by insects’
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-20 | by ( Reuters Fact Check | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

A tweet reads, in part, “Lashawn Thompson (below) died after being devoured by insects and brutalized for 3 months in a filthy cell in the Atlanta jail” (archive.ph/X22vW). He died at the Fulton County Jail in Atlanta in September 2022. A search for the photo on the right leads to news reports of a separate incident at an Indiana jail in 2021. The Jackson County Sheriff’s Office didn’t respond to Reuters requests for comment. The posts share photos of inmates who died in separate incidents at jails in Atlanta and Indiana.

☆ Genuine Parts raises 2023 profit outlook on strong demand for auto parts
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-20 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

Companies Genuine Parts Co FollowApril 20 (Reuters) - Genuine Parts Co (GPC.N) beat first-quarter profit estimates and raised full-year earnings forecast on Thursday, helped by growing demand for auto and industrial parts. Strong demand for cars and trucks has kept older vehicles on the road for longer, driving demand for components and aftermarket services at parts distributors. The segment contributed nearly two-thirds to the company's total sales in 2022. Genuine Parts affirmed its previous outlook for total annual sales growth at 4% to 6%. The company's total revenue in the first quarter rose 8.9% to $5.8 billion, beating average estimate of $5.67 billion.

☆ Atlanta Prosecutor in Trump Election Probe Seeks to Disqualify Lawyer
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-19 | by ( Jan Wolfe | Cameron Mcwhirter | ) www.wsj.com time to read: 1 min

Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis said at a January court hearing that charging decisions were imminent. The Atlanta prosecutor investigating former President Donald Trump and his allies said on Tuesday that self-identified “alternate electors” have turned on one another and shouldn’t be represented by the same lawyer, providing new details on the criminal probe. In a motion filed on Tuesday, Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis said investigators in her office recently interviewed some of the 16 Republican Party activists who signed an unofficial electoral certificate for Georgia in 2020.

That's a good reason to pause after one more rate increase, he said, to study how the economy and inflation evolve, and try to limit the damage to growth and jobs. 'HAD TO DOWNSHIFT'The Atlanta Fed chief spoke in detail about how the recent turmoil in banking markets buffeted his monetary policy views. At first, high inflation made him open to a half-percentage-point increase at the March 21-22 Fed meeting. Indeed, Bostic sketched out why he still believes the inflation battle can be won without a recession or even much of a rise in the unemployment rate. People and businesses "are sitting in a financial condition that is abnormal, and abnormal in a way that would drive excess consumption," Bostic said.

☆ Slutty Vegan, the buzzy $100 million restaurant empire backed by Shake Shack's Danny Meyer, faces wage theft lawsuits in two states
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-14 | by ( Jordan Hart | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +3 min

Three employees are filing a lawsuit against Brooklyn's Slutty Vegan restaurant. The workers claim the restaurant failed to pay bonuses, did not adequately compensate for overtime, and miscalculated paychecks, according to the lawsuit. Founder Pinky Cole is also facing a lawsuit from an employee of her Atlanta restaurant Bar Vegan over alleged wage theft. Slutty Vegan opened its Brooklyn location in September 2022. Cole addressed the lawsuit in an Instagram post, writing "I don't lie, I don't steal and more importantly, I DON'T PLAY WITH PEOPLE'S MONEY."

☆ James leads surging Lakers into playoffs, Bucks enter as favourites
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-14 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

[1/2] Apr 11, 2023; Los Angeles, California, USA; Los Angeles Lakers forward LeBron James (6) celebrates the victory against the Minnesota Timberwolves following overtime at Crypto.com Arena. By clinching the Western Conference's seventh seed, the Lakers earned the right to face electrifying guard Ja Morant and the No. He's going to get to the paint one way or another," ESPN NBA analyst JJ Reddick said on a conference call. "He's going to elevate. He's going to decide what the hell to do in the air and he's probably going to score.

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