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☆ Macau casino stocks, bonds on a roll as Chinese visitors return
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-23 | by ( Georgina Lee | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

HONG KONG, Feb 23 (Reuters) - Chinese tourists are returning to Macau in hordes after Beijing lifted its restrictions on travel to the world's biggest gambling hub, lifting stocks and bonds of casino operators as investors bet on a boom in their revenues. The casino operators' bonds are in demand as investors look for exposure to Chinese junk debt but seek to avoid property developers' bonds. Those bonds account for a large chunk of the high-yield market and the developers' fortunes remain under a cloud after a crackdown by Beijing. Among the three U.S. casino groups that operate in Macau, CreditSights has an "outperform" rating on Wynn Macau bonds due to higher yields. Sands China's (1928.HK) 10-year bond, rated at investment grade by Moody's Investors Service and Fitch, trades at a yield of 6.59%, compared with 9.3% on Wynn Macau's bond of the same maturity.

☆ These highly rated value stocks are doing well this year, and analysts expect them to build on those gains
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-23 | by ( Michelle Fox | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +3 min

They also have at 10% or more upside to the average analyst price target, per FactSet. Five-star rated Citigroup is up 11% for the year and has almost 12% upside to the average analyst price target. Shares are up more than 10% year to date and have another 5% upside to the average analyst price target. TFC YTD mountain Truist Financial's year-to-date performance Truist can rally nearly 11% upside over the next 12 months, based on the average analyst price target. Ford Motor shares could also rally almost 11%, according to the average analyst price target.

☆ New Rolls-Royce boss says more to come after profit beat
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-23 | by ( Paul Sandle | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

SummarySummary Companies FY op profit 652 mln stg, up 57%Profit beats consensusNew CEO says 2023 profit will riseLONDON, Feb 23 (Reuters) - The new chief executive of Britain's Rolls-Royce (RR.L) forecast more profit growth in 2023 after last year beat expectations, and said the engineering company was capable of "much more" as his transformation plan starts to take shape. As Rolls-Royce announced a 57% rise in underlying operating profit on Thursday, he said his transformation programme was already underway and moving at pace. The company posted operating profit of 652 million pounds ($786.4 million) for 2022, beating an analyst forecast of 478 million pounds, helped by an improving performance in civil aerospace, its biggest division, as travel recovers from the pandemic. For 2023, Rolls guided to underlying operating profit of 0.8-1.0 billion pounds and free cash flow of 0.6-0.8 billion pounds, helped by the early benefits of the transformation. ($1 = 0.8291 pounds)Reporting by Paul Sandle; additional writing by Sarah Young and Kate HoltonOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

Stellantis said it had achieved cash synergies of 7.1 billion euros last year, far exceeding the 5 billion euros by 2024 target it had set at the time of the merger. Stellantis's adjusted second-half earnings before interest and tax (EBIT) grew 17% to 10.95 billion euros, topping a consensus estimate of 9.63 billion euros in a Reuters poll of analysts. The margin on adjusted EBIT was 12% in the second half, down from 14.1% in the first six months of the year. It reiterated the same margin target for 2023, as well as one for positive cash flows. ($1 = 0.9393 euros)Reporting by Giulio Piovaccari; Editing Jan Harvey, Mark Potter and Alexander SmithOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

☆ Baidu’s ChatGPT-Style Bot Will Be No Magic Bullet
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-22 | by ( Jacky Wong | ) www.wsj.com time to read: 1 min

ChatGPT—and its feistier relative, the new Bing—have been lighting up computer screens recently. China’s search giant Baidu hopes its own artificial intelligence-powered chatbot will put the company back on the path to growth. Investors seem to agree: Baidu stock is up 26% so far in 2023, outperforming the Hang Seng Tech index. But it might not be so straightforward: It isn’t still clear how much chatbots will actually enhance existing services such as search, or how costly the rollout will be. Meanwhile, Baidu’s core revenue source—advertising dollars—risks returning to slow growth once the initial bounce from China’s reopening fades.

☆ Bumper merger savings help Stellantis profit top forecast
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-22 | by ( Giulio Piovaccari | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

It will also pay a dividend of 4.2 billion euros on 2022 results, or 1.34 euros per share. Adjusted earnings before interest and tax (EBIT) came in at 10.95 billion euros for July-December, topping analysts' consensus estimate in a Reuters poll of 9.63 billion euros. It reiterated the same margin target for 2023, as well as one for positive cash flows. Increased industrial costs had an overall impact on the group's results last year of over 9 billion euros. "Challenges continue in securing capacity for (vehicle) outbound transportation: initially it was from plants to compounds and from compounds to dealers.

☆ Citi upgrades Alcoa, says aluminum producer is a buy with China reopening
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-22 | by ( Sarah Min | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +1 min

There's a buying opportunity in shares of aluminum producer Alcoa now that China is reopening, according to Citi. Analyst Alexander Hacking upgraded shares to buy from neutral, saying that aluminum is "the next leg of the China reopening trade." The rolling smelter cuts from southwestern China due to power availability restrict supply response to margins," Hacking added. What's more, Alcoa shares can rise 35% from Tuesday's close, according to the analyst. The aluminum stock added more than 1% in Wednesday premarket trading.

☆ Asian shares slip, dollar rally on hold as Fed cues eyed
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-21 | by ( Ankur Banerjee | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

MSCI's broadest index of Asia-Pacific shares outside Japan (.MIAPJ0000PUS) slipped 0.7% to 529.97, hovering around six-week lows of 529.30 touched last week. European stock futures indicated stocks were set to decline, with Eurostoxx 50 futures down 0.14%, German DAX futures 0.07% lower and FTSE futures down 0.13%. The yield on 10-year Treasury notes was up 2.3 basis points to 3.852%., after touching a three-month high of 3.929% on Friday. Investor focus is firmly on the release on Wednesday of the minutes of the Fed's latest meeting earlier this month when it raised interest rates by 25 basis points. The yen weakened 0.11% to 134.38 per dollar, while sterling was last trading at $1.2026, down 0.10%.

☆ Palo Alto Networks lifts earnings guidance as it pursues profitable growth
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-21 | by ( Jordan Novet | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +3 min

Here's how the company did:Earnings: $1.05 per share, adjusted, vs. 78 cents per share as expected by analysts, according to Refinitiv. $1.05 per share, adjusted, vs. 78 cents per share as expected by analysts, according to Refinitiv. The company called for fiscal third-quarter adjusted earnings of 90 cents to 94 cents per share on $1.695 billion to $1.725 billion in revenue. Analysts surveyed by Refinitiv had expected 78 cents in adjusted earnings per share on $1.74 billion in revenue. In November guidance was $3.37 to $3.44 in adjusted earnings per share.

☆ Shares of this little-known footwear company can rally more than 30%, Piper Sandler says
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-21 | by ( Sarah Min | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +2 min

It's time to buy Caleres ahead of the footwear company's earnings next month, according to Piper Sandler. Analyst Abbie Zvejnieks upgraded shares to overweight from neutral following a preannouncement from Caleres earlier this month that bolstered her confidence in the footwear stock. Caleres shares are outperforming this year, up 16% in 2023, better than the S & P 500's 6% gain. The footwear stock did relatively well last year as well, falling more than 1% while the broader index dropped 19%. CAL 1D mountain Caleres shares 1-day —CNBC's Michael Bloom contributed to this report.

☆ The 'profitless Nasdaq junk' stocks leading the recent rally pose the biggest risk to investors, says Josh Brown
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-21 | by ( Samantha Subin | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +2 min

Tech stocks are outperforming in the new year, but some of the names leading the market right now pose some of the biggest risks for investors, according to Ritholtz Wealth Management CEO Josh Brown. The comments from Brown come amid Tuesday's sharp market selloff, with the Nasdaq Composite last trading down about 2.3% on the day as concerns mounted that a Federal Reserve pivot may not come as soon as expected. The dropdown in technology stocks during Tuesday trading, Brown added, is likely an example of "machines chasing machines." "What's going on is profits are being taken because volatility has come back," Brown said. Many investors bought a slew of tech stocks believing that they looked cheap after the recent pullback in shares.

☆ Goldman sees another robust year for spinoffs. How to spot those that will outperform
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-21 | by ( Christina Cheddar Berk | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +5 min

In a research note published last week, Kostin updated that study to look at the track records of more recent spinoffs, completed over the past two years. "However, while 11 of the 20 spinoffs completed during 2022 outperformed the S & P 500 since transaction completion, only six of the spinoffs outperformed their parent entities." The largest completed deal in 2022 was General Electric' s spin off of GE HealthCare , a $26 billion business. The next largest completed deal last year was Intel's spinoff of Mobileye , which wrapped up on Oct. 26, 2022 . In 2021, the value of the completed spinoffs hit $112 billion, and included Dell's spinoff of VMWare , the largest deal at $57 billion.

☆ This financials ETF is racing ahead of cheaper sector funds. Here's how it works
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-21 | by ( Jesse Pound | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +2 min

The FXO has pulled in more than $1 billion of inflows over the past month, according to FactSet, and is outperforming cheaper sector funds this year. The fund has a total return of more than 11% so far in 2023, compared with 6.4% for the Financial Select Sector SPDR Fund (XLF) and 7.7% for the Vanguard Financials ETF (VFH) . The First Trust fund has also has been a long-term winner, as its 10-year total return tops those of its rivals as well. Berkshire Hathaway , for example, has a large market cap and has underperformed the financial sector this year. "The portfolio is going to in general almost always underweighting some of the largest stocks, especially within sector funds, because those tend to be really top heavy.

☆ JPMorgan downgrades AutoNation, says car dealer stock is overvalued
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-21 | by ( Sarah Min | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +2 min

It's time to sell AutoNation as consumer demand for vehicles starts to pull back, according to JPMorgan. Analyst Rajat Gupta downgraded AutoNation to underweight from neutral, saying the car dealer stock is starting to look overvalued after its solid performance during the pandemic. AutoNation shares outperformed at the onset of the Covid pandemic. The car dealer stock jumped more than 40% in 2020, and surged more than 60% in 2021. On Friday, following strong fourth-quarter results, AutoNation shares surged to an all-time high and posted its best day in about three years .

☆ Truist downgrades Generac, says higher interest rates could hurt power generator maker this year
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-21 | by ( Sarah Min | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +1 min

It's time to sell Generac amid greater macro challenges this year, according to Truist. Analyst Jordan Levy downgraded shares to hold from buy, saying higher interest rates and inflation hurt the outlook for the power generator maker. "Adjusting our ests to reflect a slower recovery in HSB & clean energy sales, we now forecast FY23 revs/EBITDA ~3%/~9% below the Street respectively," Levy added. Generac shares are higher this year, up 25% in 2023, outperforming the S & P 500's gain. On Friday, Wells Fargo downgraded the stock to equal from overweight , saying Generac could fall short of its 2023 guidance.

ORLANDO, Fla., Feb 16 (Reuters) - The notion that higher interest rates would slam stocks has been turned on its head by Wall Street's resilience to the most dramatic upward repricing of the U.S. rate outlook in decades. More remarkable still, it is the areas most sensitive to higher borrowing costs - tech, the Nasdaq and growth stocks - that are outperforming in the face of soaring bond yields, implied rates and Fed expectations. These sectors are more sensitive to rising yields because future cash flows and profits are discounted at higher rates. "Higher interest rates are less bad for stock prices, even though rates can continue to weigh on multiples." In a higher rate regime, profitability matters.

☆ Top 10 things to watch in the stock market Friday: Market slide, optimism on Club stocks
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-17 | by ( Jeff Marks | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +3 min

Deere (DE) posts a big earnings beat: $6.55 per share for fiscal 2023 first quarter, beating estimates of $5.53. Roku (ROKU) double upgraded at Bank of America to buy, price target to $85 per share. As a subscriber to the CNBC Investing Club with Jim Cramer, you will receive a trade alert before Jim makes a trade. Jim waits 45 minutes after sending a trade alert before buying or selling a stock in his charitable trust's portfolio. THE ABOVE INVESTING CLUB INFORMATION IS SUBJECT TO OUR TERMS AND CONDITIONS AND PRIVACY POLICY , TOGETHER WITH OUR DISCLAIMER .

☆ Air France-KLM sees robust bookings after better-than-expected quarter
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-17 | by ( ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +1 min

Air France-KLM said on Friday its 2023 bookings were almost back to pre-pandemic levels as it reported a better-than expected fourth-quarter operating profit with global travel demand seeing a rebound. The airline's shares rose more than 6% in early trade, hitting their highest since June and outperforming the broader weak stock market. The carrier reported its highest fourth-quarter revenue at 7.1 billion euros ($7.55 billion), up almost 50% year-on-year. Operating profit fell 45% to 134 million euros on the back of higher costs including fuel, but it beat estimates. He added that the premium leisure market had "exploded" and was filling business class, first class and premium economy cabins, bridging the gap left by a lag in the return of business travel.

☆ Bernstein downgrades Tripadvisor, says strategic plan is 'more defensive than offensive'
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-16 | by ( Alex Harring | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +2 min

Tripadvisor 's strategic plan, coupled with its recent outperformance, put Bernstein on the sidelines. Analyst Richard Clarke downgraded the stock to market perform from outperform. That price target implies the stock could rise 3.2% over the next year from where it closed Wednesday. Management laid out what Clarke called a "highly sensible" strategic plan for its core business during fourth-quarter earnings. The stock has gained 40.2% since the start of 2023, regaining ground after losing 34% in 2022.

☆ A luxury buying spree is sending shares of companies like Gucci owner Kering and Hermes soaring
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-16 | by ( Morgan Chittum | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +2 min

Shares of Kering and Hermes are up 17% and 23% year-to-date, partly on optimism around China's reopeningShares of LVMH hit an all-time high of $176.13 earlier this month. Kering, Hermes, and LVMH helped lead the French CAC 40 to a record high on Thursday. Shares of LVMH Moët Hennessy Louis Vuitton, commonly known as LVMH, hit an all-time high of $176.13 earlier this month. Kering, Hermes, and LVMH made up a third of the French CAC 40 index's 14% gain this year, which helped propel the benchmark index to a record high on Thursday. The CAC 40 is outperforming the Stoxx Europe 600 Index, which has increased about 9% year-to-date as well.

☆ Top 10 things the Club is watching in the stock market Thursday: PPI hot, stocks drop, Cisco pops
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-16 | by ( Jeff Marks | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +4 min

The PPI data comes two days after a slightly hotter-than-expected consumer price index for last month. Cloud communications platform Twilio (TWLO) finally makes the pivot to emphasize profitability and the stock gets rewarded ... up 9% early Thursday. As a subscriber to the CNBC Investing Club with Jim Cramer, you will receive a trade alert before Jim makes a trade. Jim waits 45 minutes after sending a trade alert before buying or selling a stock in his charitable trust's portfolio. If Jim has talked about a stock on CNBC TV, he waits 72 hours after issuing the trade alert before executing the trade.

☆ Market shows resiliency in face of bad news like hot PPI — listen to the 'Homestretch'
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-16 | by ( ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +7 min

>>> HELLO, EVERYBODY. WELCOME TO THURSDAY'S EDITION OFTHE "HOMESTRETCH" AND YOU KNOW,I HAVE TO SAY THAT WE WERE DOWNEARLIER WHEN WE LAST BROKE ATTHE MORNING MEETING, AND IT'S,YOU KNOW, A LOT OF THE SAMETHEMES AS WHAT WE HAVE BEENSEEING ALL WEEK. THE CLEANEST GROWTH STORIES INALL OF PHARMA WHICH IS MAJOMAWHICH IS APPROVED FOR OBESITYTHIS SPRING, AND J&J IS A TOUGHONE AFTER BEING RESILIENT NEXTYEAR, AND ANOTHER ONE THAT ISGOING TO BE ADDEDOPPORTUNISTICALLY, AND I WILLLUMP DANAHER IN AS A HEALTH CARESTOCK, AND THIS IS ANOTHER ONEWE LIKE WITH THE UPCOMINGSEPARATION OF THE ENVIRONMENTAND APPLIED SOLUTIONS BUSINESS. WE WILL WAIT FOR THE REST OF THEDAY. I'M JEFF MARKS FOR THE"HOMESTRETCH" AND I WILL SEE YOUTOMORROW ON THE HOME MEETING.

☆ Wall Street luminaries say it's time to get out of the stock market before the Fed crushes the economy
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-15 | by ( Phil Rosen | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +6 min

Tuesday's CPI data showed inflation climbed 0.5% in January, slightly higher than expected, and year-over-year it slowed to 6.4%. Prices, it seems, aren't cooling down as smoothly or quickly as anyone wants, especially the Fed. To Kolanovic, a recession is all but guaranteed if the Fed is serious about its 2% inflation target. And like Kolanovic, Morgan Stanley Wealth Management investment chief Lisa Shalett warned that Fed policy is going to pull stocks lower. US stock futures fall early Wednesday, as investors pick over yesterday's CPI inflation report to assess what it means for the Fed.

☆ Buy these 20 cost-cutting stocks that are set up to post strong growth and outperform, according to Wall Street firm Evercore
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-15 | by ( Marley Jay | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +2 min

Investors have sometimes rewarded companies that are cutting jobs or spending recently. Evercore says these 20 stocks have lagged, but should be able to turn their performance around. In the past, companies that announced those job cuts have sometimes been rewarded. Companies that announce job or spending cuts are getting ahead of that, which can be positive for their share prices. The following 20 companies have all announced job cuts since late September and have all underperformed the market since then.

☆ Buyers swoop in to help the S&P 500 shake off earlier losses — listen to the 'Homestretch'
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-15 | by ( ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +17 min

I LIKE A STOCK THAT'S DE-RISKEDWHICH IS WHY I THINK EMERSON ISA GREAT BUY. I THINK THAT'S A GOOD STRATEGY. JEFF, I DON'T KNOW HOW ELSE TOPUT IT. I DON'T THINK ANYONE SHOULD SELLTHIS ON THE NOTION THAT THERE'SAN ANALYST WHO MISSED THE WHOLETHING IS SAYING SELLING. >> THAT'S GREAT.

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