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☆ The new era of investing is here and stocks will no longer be the key player, a top global strategist says
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-04 | by ( Phil Rosen | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +5 min

I'm eager to share today's conversation with a top strategist about changes to the current investing landscape — but first I have a question. Seema Shah, Chief Global Strategist at Principal Asset Management. Courtesy of Principal Asset ManagementSeema Shah is the chief global strategist at Principal Asset Management. Seema Shah: The key part of it is that we're not in an era of unlimited central bank liquidity. Historically, in a period of low economic growth and higher-than-expected inflation, it outperforms global fixed income and global equities, almost without exception.

☆ The Fed's going to have to come down hard on consumer demand to tame inflation
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-28 | by ( Phil Rosen | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +5 min

But remember, a strong consumer means high demand, which helps inflation stick around. Higher-for-longer rate hikes don't bode well for the stock market. In JPMorgan's view, the stock market has yet to come to terms with that possibility. (It's worth noting that just a couple months ago, markets were expecting interest rate cuts by late 2023.) The stock market bubble has burst and those betting on a rebound are in denial, according to Richard Bernstein Advisors.

☆ Buy these 7 value stocks to help your portfolio thrive during 'economic purgatory,' according to the manager of a $17 billion fund
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-25 | by ( James Faris | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +3 min

Detailed below are seven top stocks to buy now, according to the $17.5 billion value fund manager. The silver lining is that most Wall Street firms think the economy will experience a soft landing, which would be characterized by a mild downturn. This means buying value stocks that will both succeed amid a soft landing, as well as those poised to benefit from the more extreme event of a full-blown recession. Overall, he sees the group as attractively valued, especially in a soft landing scenario. Below are seven of Linehan's favorite value stocks to own in this environment along with the ticker, market capitalization, sector, and thesis for each.

☆ Reasons Plane Travel, Airline Customer Service, Airports Are so Terrible
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-20 | by ( Bartie Scott | Juliana Kaplan | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +15 min

It's almost impossible to imagine a time when air travel was pleasant, much less enjoyable. Lost baggage, overbooked flights, outdated equipment, hidden fees, and disorganized staffing have fliers at their wits' end; consumer complaints about airline service have risen by 300% from pre-pandemic levels. Many of these measures had been put in place to improve safety following some rattling accidents in the early days of commercial air travel. So in 1978, at the urging of the economist and "inflation czar" Alfred Kahn, President Jimmy Carter enacted the Airline Deregulation Act. He added that "airline service, by any standard, has become unacceptable."

☆ Here are Thursday's biggest analyst calls: Apple, Tesla, Generac, Coinbase, Meta, Roku, Roblox & more
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-16 | by ( Michael Bloom | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +7 min

Here are Thursday's biggest calls on Wall Street: Bernstein reiterates Tesla as underperform Bernstein said Tesla sharers remain overvalued. Loop reiterates Apple as buy Loop said it sees attractive iPhone revenue upside for Apple. Canaccord upgrades Generac to buy from hold Canaccord said it sees "storm clouds breaking" for shares of Generac. JPMorgan reiterates Roku as overweight JPMorgan said it's standing by shares of Roku after the company's earnings results on Wednesday. " Bernstein reiterates Meta as outperform Bernstein kept its outperform rating on the social media giant and says it likes the company's "clear cost takeout plan."

☆ A husband-wife duo turned the $1,700 Snoo into the holy grail of parenting, but some say they run their company like a dysfunctional 'surveillance state'
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-13 | by ( Kate Taylor | Jake Swearingen | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +31 min

Karp and Montée Karp built the hype into a parenting-media empire that put out three books and two instructional films in 10 years. Karp and Montée Karp met at a Hollywood party in the early '90s. Karp and Montée Karp promised her independence and flexibility to accommodate her two young children's day-care schedules and a 90-minute commute. Karp and Montée Karp insisted on being involved in minutiae that most top executives hand off. Karp and Montée Karp turned the Snoo into an award-winning holy grail of parenthood in just a few years.

☆ Nina Montée Karp and Dr. Harvey Karp turned the $1,700 Snoo into the holy grail of parenting. But some say they overhyped the crib's abilities and created a nightmarish corporate culture.
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-13 | by ( Kate Taylor | Jake Swearingen | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +31 min

☆ U.S. wants World Trade Organization dispute system fixed by 2024
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-26 | by ( Emma Farge | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

The WTO's appeals bench, which rules on top disputes, has been mothballed for over two years due to Trump-era blockages of adjudicator appointments. Under President Joe Biden, Washington has resisted calls by WTO members to approve appointments and has instead been leading negotiations on how to reboot the WTO's dispute system. "Our goal is a fully functioning (dispute system) by 2024," Deputy United States Trade Representative Maria Pagan told Reuters in her first public comments on the closed-door talks, saying Washington was "very committed" to reforms. The United States has criticized the WTO's alleged overreach and lengthy processes and it has strongly contested some of its recent rulings against the United States. Pagan described the process as "frustrating" but said she was hopeful a breakthrough had been found, without elaborating.

☆ Microsoft layoffs show that no tech company is safe to work at right now
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-19 | by ( Diamond Naga Siu | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +6 min

On Wednesday, Amazon started its largest round of layoffs in company history after giving employees the heads up that they were coming two weeks earlier. I'm Diamond Naga Siu, and today, we dive into why all Big Tech employees are at risk of losing their jobs. Microsoft's layoffs proves that there is no such thing as a safe tech company to work at right now. The list of tech layoffs is long: Facebook, Amazon, Meta, Twitter, Salesforce, Microsoft, and more. The SVP of People Experience and Technology sent two missives on the first official days of Amazon layoffs.

☆ Here are Wednesday's biggest analyst calls: Apple, Tesla, Netflix, Amazon, Salesforce, Levi's & more
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-11 | by ( Michael Bloom | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +8 min

Bank of America downgrades Coinbase to underperform from neutral Bank of America said it sees too many headwinds for the crypto exchange. Goldman Sachs downgrades Jefferies to neutral from buy Goldman said it sees a "backlog decline" for the investment bank company. Bank of America upgrades Toll Brothers and Pulte Group to buy from neutral Bank of America upgraded several homebuilders, citing compelling valuations. "We upgrade PulteGroup to Buy (from Neutral), Toll Brothers to Buy (from Neutral), and Lennar to Neutral (from Underperform). Bank of America upgrades Dow to neutral from underperform Bank of America said it's taking a more "offensive" approach to the stock.

☆ Stocks making the biggest moves premarket: CarMax, Salesforce, Coinbase and more
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-11 | by ( Tanaya Macheel | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +3 min

CarMax fell 53% in 2022 but has risen 18% since its disappointing quarterly results in December. Coinbase shares dropped 86% in 2022 as macro conditions and scandal dragged down the crypto market. Tesla — Tesla shares rose 2% after the EV maker registered with the state of Texas to expand its electric vehicle factory in Austin this year. Levi Strauss & Co — Shares of the clothing company slipped 2.2% after Citi downgraded the stock to neutral from buy. Shares were higher by less than 1% premarket.

☆ Bernstein downgrades Salesforce, says stock could fall nearly 20% as it enters a 'growth purgatory'
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-11 | by ( Samantha Subin | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +2 min

Salesforce is falling into a "growth purgatory," and it may have some trouble clawing its way out, according to Bernstein. "Salesforce's growth is slowing and mgmt is implementing large force and cost reductions as they scramble to drive margin improvement," he wrote in a Wednesday note to clients. Much of the savings are necessary to offset slowing growth, and therefore, the big lift to margins is unlikely to occur." According to Moerdler, Salesforce's growth has been on a deceleration path for years, with a slew of acquisitions helping shield the downward cycle. Salesforce's stock plummeted in 2022, falling nearly 48% as growth names took a hit in an environment defined by rising interest rates and recession fears.

☆ Ant Group Won’t Be Squashed After All
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-10 | by ( Jacky Wong | ) www.wsj.com time to read: 1 min

Chinese billionaire Jack Ma would cede control of Ant Group, the company said on the weekend. China’s fintech giant Ant Group seems to be finally crawling out of Beijing’s regulatory purgatory. That will lift sentiment on the Chinese tech sector—though investors still need to grapple with the industry’s changed landscape. More regulation and slower growth than in the pre-crackdown days will still be the norm, but the combination of a less actively hostile central government and a recovering Chinese consumer sector in mid-2023 seem very likely to boost both shares and earnings.

Vanish into the vaporThe hammam treatment (380 dirhams) at Azur Art & Spa is like a journey into some mythological wellness underworld. Nearly naked, you are led into a hot, dark room flickering with candles, where an attendant washes you and leaves you to absorb the heat and moisture. The ritual instrument is a rough glove that the attendant rubs forcefully all over your body to remove dead skin. It can be painful, but purgatory soon gives way to paradise. After an invigorating massage, you emerge an hour later from the darkness, don a white robe, drink restorative tea and climb a set of white stairs into the sunlight.

☆ Review: The $38,000 Kia Sorento Hybrid 3-row SUV is the affordable, stylish way to stop stressing about gas
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-15 | by ( Alanis King | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +8 min

The Kia Sorento Hybrid, a traditional hybrid SUV, starts at $36,590 for the 2023 model year. The Kia Sorento Hybrid: The perfect middle ground for our electric futureThe Sorento is Kia's midsize SUV that comes in both front- and all-wheel drive. The Kia Sorento Hybrid. Here's how all the powertrains compare on fuel efficiency in combined city-highway driving, according to the EPA:Kia Sorento (gas only, FWD): 25 to 26 mpg combined25 to 26 mpg combined Kia Sorento (gas only, AWD): 24 mpg combined24 mpg combined Kia Sorento Hybrid (FWD): 37 mpg combined37 mpg combined Kia Sorento Hybrid (AWD): 35 mpg combined35 mpg combined Kia Sorento Plug-In Hybrid (AWD only): 79 mpg-e with electricity, 34 mpg without(The numbers listed above are for the 2022 model year, because the EPA doesn't have all the numbers for 2023 yet.) The Kia Sorento Hybrid.

☆ Nuclear fusion triggers an overreaction
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-13 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

NEW YORK, Dec 13 (Reuters Breakingviews) - A fusion breakthrough unveiled on Tuesday by the U.S. Department of Energy is a scientific tour de force, and a commercial irrelevancy. It’s a notable feat that researchers produced more energy from fusing atoms together than they used to start the process. Unless there are more breakthroughs, fusion probably would take place in massive facilities like today’s fission plants. The cost of power from a new nuclear plant runs about five times more expensive than a solar equivalent, Lazard analysts estimate. Making fusion cheaper and practical could be as big a challenge as fusion itself.

☆ Rent prices conceal better U.S. inflation picture
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-13 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

WASHINGTON, Dec 13 (Reuters Breakingviews) - The U.S. battle against inflation is faring even better than its own data suggest. The country’s Consumer Price Index rose just 0.1% in November, the Bureau of Labor Statistics reported on Tuesday. Yet a lag between market trends and CPI data means that true inflation is lower than the government’s reading. According to the government’s measure, shelter prices rose 0.7% last month, but Zillow’s (ZG.O)gauge of nationwide rent prices fell for a second consecutive month in November, by 0.4%. Once CPI catches up, the inflation picture is going to look much more encouraging.

☆ Ukraine’s Nestlé boost is as important as EU aid
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-13 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

Consumer group Nestlé (NESN.S) on Monday announced a small war-time investment in Ukraine which may be as important for the country’s future as an 18 billion euro European Union aid package agreed on the same day. Nestlé will invest 40 million Swiss francs (41 million euros) in a new facility that will help to produce cold sauces, seasonings, soups and instant food. The Swiss consumer group, which already has 5,800 employees in the country, will add 1,500 new jobs in the process. Meanwhile the EU struck a deal with holdout Hungary that will allow it to disburse aid to Ukraine next year. While still at war with Russia, Ukraine needs Western aid to help the government pay its teachers, doctors and soldiers, and start rebuilding railroads and power plants.

☆ Tech firm says “you’re welcome” with $8 bln LBO
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-12 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

NEW YORK, Dec 12 (Reuters Breakingviews) - Coupa Software (COUP.O) wants its investors to know one thing: Business is terrible. The developer of corporate expenditure-tracking software released a presentation Monday after announcing an $8 billion deal to be sold to private equity firm Thoma Bravo. Once the domain of hockey-stick growth charts and wild-eyed optimism, the humbling of the software industry promises a new era of real-talk. Coupa’s Thoma agreement comes after near-5% shareholder HMI Capital Management warned management about selling on the cheap. So Coupa came prepared with a bevy of charts showing growth stalling and management expectations below even analyst estimates.

☆ Microsoft plugs into LSEG data drive
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-12 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

LONDON, Dec 12 (Reuters Breakingviews) - LSEG (LSEG.L) has enlisted Microsoft (MSFT.O) to upgrade its data business. First, LSEG will shift its data platform to Microsoft’s Azure cloud business, spending at least 2.3 billion pounds ($2.8 billion) over a decade. Potentially more significant is LSEG’s plan to offer data and analytical tools through Microsoft products, including the Teams messaging platform. It also allows LSEG to charge customers for data based on how much they consume. LSEG shares rose 3% on Monday morning.

☆ Deal whiz Byron Trott suffers minor grill burns
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-12 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

NEW YORK, Dec 12 (Reuters Breakingviews) - Weber (WEBR.N) is a rare miscue for dealmaker Byron Trott, who typically serves up deals just right. It’s a reputational blemish for Trott just as he embarks on a major expansion. BDT, which focuses on family-owned businesses, did not sell down its roughly 60% stake at the time of the IPO, or subsequently. Outside investors may nevertheless recall Trott buying low – 43% below the IPO price, valuing Weber at $3.7 billion – the next time the firm brings a portfolio company to market, and wonder if they’ll get burned. They do not reflect the views of Reuters News, which, under the Trust Principles, is committed to integrity, independence, and freedom from bias.

☆ Rio Tinto’s Mongolian purgatory is finally over
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-09 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

LONDON, Dec 9 (Reuters Breakingviews) - Finally, something has gone right for Rio Tinto (RIO.L) in Mongolia. Rio boss Jakob Stausholm squeaked home with 60.5% of minority votes cast, just over the 50% threshold. It’s a massive win for Stausholm and Rio copper boss Bold Baatar. Oyu Tolgoi still needs more than $3.5 billion of funding. Instead, Rio is handing them C$43 per share in cash – a 70% premium to the price in March.

☆ European startups are on course to raise $85 billion this year – over $18 billion short of 2021's record, new report shows
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-07 | by ( Hasan Chowdhury | Tasmin Lockwood | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +6 min

European startups are on track to raise $85 billion this year, a new report has stated. We've analysed the key highlights from the industry-wide report on Europe's tech sector. European startups are on course to raise $85 billion by the end of 2022, which would leave it 17% – or $18.6 billion – short of last year's record dealmaking, according to Atomico's State of European Tech 22 report. Investment in European startups was up 52% in the first quarter of 2022 to $29.2 billion. In theory, this comes down to a cooling off of what Wehmeier described as "capital markets becoming overheated through cheap available capital."

☆ Elon Musk has waged war on Apple, claiming the tech giant "hates free speech"
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-29 | by ( Jordan Parker Erb | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +5 min

From Elon Musk's war with Apple to the rise and fall of a pharmacy startup, it's a packed edition. Elon Musk is going to war with Apple. The world's wealthiest man slammed the world's biggest tech company, questioning if Apple "hates free speech" and suggesting that it's threatening Twitter's presence in the App Store. According to a book, Cook swore at Musk after he asked to be the CEO of Apple. According to career site Indeed, tech companies Intuit, Google, and Apple offer the most flexibility in terms of where and when employees are expected to work.

☆ Zoom Stuck in Single-Digit Purgatory for a While
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-22 | by ( Dan Gallagher | ) www.wsj.com time to read: 1 min

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