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☆ The 2023 movie box office will need a strong second half after an inconsistent first six months
▼ + stars: | 2023-07-04 | by ( Sarah Whitten | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +6 min

Hit and missOf course, quality is a big factor in a film's box office success, too. That pullback has already begun with the 2023 summer movie season. Starting the first Friday in May and running until Labor Day weekend, the summer movie season typically represents 40% of all movie ticket sales for the year. So far through July 2, the summer box office has tallied $1.88 billion. In summer 2022, the box office got a boost from Tom Cruise's "Top Gun: Maverick," a Paramount and Skydance feature.

Persons: that's, Mike Polydoros, clamoring, It's, Universal's, Mario, haven't, Shawn Robbins, Robbins, Tom Cruise's, Paul Dergarabedian, Strange, Indiana Jones, Ruby Gillman, Oppenheimer, Dergarabedian, Kraven, Hunter Organizations: PaperAirplane Media, CNBC, Warner Bros, Mario Bros, Guardians, Galaxy, Sony, BoxOffice.com, Labor, Paramount, Comscore, Universal, Disney, Lionsgate

☆ It’s the Perelman Performing Arts Center, But Bloomberg Gave More
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-07 | by ( Robin Pogrebin | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

Year after year, plans to build a cultural institution on the World Trade Center site percolated, only to then fizzle out. The International Freedom Center, the Joyce Theater, the Drawing Center, the Signature Theater, New York City Opera, a design by Frank Gehry — all were discussed as possibilities, but none went anywhere. Now, two decades after the 2003 master plan for ground zero called for a cultural component, a performing arts center is finally preparing to open there in September. The center, which will ultimately cost $500 million — more than twice what was projected in 2016 — is now on track to have a ribbon cutting on Sept. 13. “I can afford it,” Mr. Bloomberg said of his largess during a recent hard hat tour of the center.

Persons: Frank Gehry —, Ronald O, Perelman, Michael R, Barbra Streisand, —, “, ” Mr, Bloomberg, ” Organizations: World Trade, Freedom Center, Joyce Theater, New York City Opera, Bloomberg Locations: New York

☆ The AI craze drove investors to pour a record $8.5 billion into tech funds last week, Bank of America says
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-02 | by ( George Glover | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +2 min

Investors poured a record $8.5 billion of cash into tech funds last week, Bank of America found. The AI "baby bubble" has become the dominant theme for markets, strategist Michael Hartnett said. Tech funds brought in a record $8.5 billion in the week ending May 31, the bank found. Contrarian-minded investors should sell AI stocks and buy shares in Hong Kong-listed companies, which could benefit from China's efforts to revive its faltering economy, Hartnett said. Read more: Tech stocks are outperforming their rivals by the most since the dot-com bubble

Persons: Michael Hartnett, —, Bill Ackman, Stanley, Hartnett, Read Organizations: Bank of America, Nasdaq, Service, Tech, Nvidia, Meta, Federal Reserve Locations: ChatGPT, There's, Hong Kong

☆ The stunning tech rally that boosted Meta and Nvidia by over 100% will fizzle out soon, top RBC strategist says
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-19 | by ( George Glover | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +2 min

Tech stocks' stunning run could soon come to an end, according to top RBC Capital Markets strategist Lori Calvasina. "The tech trade in particular feels like it's starting to run out of catalysts," she told Bloomberg. The sector has soared in 2023, with Meta and Nvidia already seeing their share prices double. Tech stocks have started 2023 with a breakneck rally, benefiting from the surge in demand for ChatGPT and other AI tech as well as traders' expectation that the Federal Reserve will soon end its interest-rate hiking campaign. Read more: Facebook parent Meta and Nvidia have both seen their stock prices double within the first 5 months of 2023

☆ Disney scraps plans for new Florida campus, mass employee relocation amid DeSantis feud
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-18 | by ( Sarah Whitten | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +3 min

Disney has abandoned plans to open up a new employee campus in Lake Nona, Florida, amid rising tensions with the state's governor. "This was not an easy decision to make, but I believe it is the right one," D'Amaro told employees. Many Disney employees balked at the company's relocation plans when they were first announced in July 2021 by former CEO Bob Chapek. Disney's announcement comes amid a bitter feud between the company and Florida Gov. The special district has allowed the entertainment giant to effectively self-govern its Orlando parks' operations for decades.

☆ 'Guardians of the Galaxy: Vol. 3' had best second weekend box office hold for MCU in 5 years
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-15 | by ( Sarah Whitten | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +4 min

In its second week in theaters, the director's "Guardians of the Galaxy: Vol. Most blockbuster films' ticket sales drop between 50% and 70% from the opening weekend to the second week. It is the third-best second week fall of any MCU film since 2008, just behind "Thor," which slipped 47.2% during its second week in 2011. For comparison, the first "Guardians of the Galaxy" film tallied $773.3 million globally during its run in 2014 and "Guardians of the Galaxy: Vol. The strong box office for "Guardians of the Galaxy: Vol.

☆ Big tech is still the hope in a sideways stock market
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-15 | by ( Bob Pisani | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +5 min

With the S & P 500 down 1% this month, and essentially flat for the quarter, the best you can say is that the overall trend has moved from down in 2022 to mostly sideways in 2023. Lowry, the nation's oldest technical analysis service, has taken to calling the rally in tech "the mega-cap mirage." Lowry noted over the weekend that "core indicators of market health have demonstrated significant deterioration from the early February market high through recent days." Even as the S & P 500 was near a new rally high for the year recently, the S & P Midcap 400 and S & P Smallcap 600 were 12% and 17% below their February 2nd highs last week. Only 46% of S & P 500 stocks are above their 200-day moving averages, hardly a sign of broad market strength.

☆ Wall St Week Ahead- Tech earnings to test markets' 'most crowded' trade
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-21 | by ( David Randall | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +4 min

NEW YORK, April 21 (Reuters) - A blistering rally in megacap growth and technology shares has buoyed markets this year, and earnings reports in coming weeks could help investors determine if those gains are justified. Technology earnings are seen falling 14.4%. Earnings will show "whether this is really a safe haven if you are worried about recession." Still, gains could fizzle if the Fed does not cut interest rates this year, as widely expected. Growth stocks are especially vulnerable to high borrowing costs, which threaten to erode the value of their longer-term cash flows.

☆ Everyone was wrong about how the pandemic would change shopping — here's how experts are betting on e-commerce now
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-19 | by ( Emma Cosgrove | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +5 min

The idea that e-commerce will keep growing forever, and betting on it will lead to an almost inevitable rising tide, didn't survive the pandemic. Public flame-outs of entire categories of startups, like ultra-fast deliveries and Amazon seller aggregators, have further demonstrated the boom-and-bust nature of pandemic e-commerce investing. Apple's recent moves to give consumers more online privacy has had ripples through the e-commerce ecosystem, leading investors to take a beat. E-commerce logistics — fulfillment and last-mile delivery — said Sloane is fairly well-saturated at this point, he said. For many retailers, the pandemic offered a harsh lesson in how integrated their stores and their websites weren't, she said.

☆ UPS and FedEx are clawing back ground from smaller package-delivery firms. Here's how the little guys plan to defend their share.
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-13 | by ( Emma Cosgrove | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +7 min

Amazon, FedEx, UPS, and the postal service hold 97% of the US package delivery market. Smaller delivery companies were major beneficiaries of the pandemic boom times for e-commerce. "There was a long runway for these delivery companies when FedEx and UPS didn't want your business," said Derek Lossing, an Amazon Logistics alum who now advises investors. Smaller carriers are competing less with UPS and FedEx, and more with each other. UPS and FedEx will still be in the picture, but the smaller players can outperform them in some areas.

☆ Got a thriving side job? Here's how and when to tell your boss about it — and why you probably should.
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-06 | by ( Alexandra York | Rebecca Knight | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +8 min

Experts say it's important to tell your boss about your side hustle. It's probably time to tell your boss about it. If your side hustle is already a thriving business, you tell your boss right away. Alistair Berg/Getty ImagesBut if your side hustle is already a thriving business, you should mention it right away, she said. "The minute you make a mistake or your performance slips, your boss might think you're not focused," Nahrgang said.

☆ Why big investors like Carlyle and Ares are zeroing in on Hollywood and sports deals — and driving private credit in media to new highs
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-28 | by ( Rebecca Ungarino | Reed Alexander | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +7 min

And Ares raised $3.7 billion for a fund last fall geared specifically toward sports, media, and entertainment investments across private debt and private equity. Unlike private equity investing, where managers take stakes in companies or buy them, private credit investors lend to businesses and make money on interest payments. (Private investment firm KKR's media, entertainment, and sports portfolio includes Insider parent company Axel Springer.) Carlyle's $146 billion credit arm has also provided capital to Clair, a media tech company that specializes in live production services and audio products. The strategists said driving that uptick are private credit defaults that include so-called softer forms of default, like breaching a loan's terms and conditions, along with private credit portfolio companies having generally lower ratings and less diversified businesses.

☆ Jeremy Siegel says bitcoin's rush higher will fizzle out once people trust banks again
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-22 | by ( Zahra Tayeb | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +2 min

Wharton professor Jeremy Siegel said bitcoin's recent boost will fade out once people start trusting banks again. He said cryptocurrencies push a narrative that the conventional financial system is terrible, helping drive bitcoin gains amid a banking crisis. The world's largest cryptocurrency is trading around the $28,000 mark – it's highest level in nine months. "Bitcoin was launched with a mantra that the banking system was terrible, and the economy needed an alternative. So, the narrative is helping drive money into bitcoin with a 30% gain in the last week," Siegel said.

☆ Trump extends lead over DeSantis in new poll of possible GOP primary field
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-15 | by ( Kevin Breuninger | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +3 min

Ron DeSantis, who will likely start as the former president's top competitor in the 2024 Republican presidential primary if he runs, according to a poll of a potential GOP field released Wednesday. Quinnipiac University's latest survey of Republican and Republican-leaning voters found Trump winning 46% of support in a hypothetical GOP primary field, with DeSantis receiving 32%. That's a welcome change for Trump, who held just a 6-percentage-point lead over DeSantis in Quinnipiac's February poll of the prospective primary field. None of the 11 other candidates in the poll's hypothetical GOP primary field received more than 2% of the remaining support. Quinnipiac found that larger shares of registered voters have negative views than hold positive views of Biden, Trump, DeSantis, Pence and Haley.

☆ Cryptocurrencies rally despite shutdown of crypto friendly Signature Bank, bitcoin breaks through $24,000
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-13 | by ( Tanaya Macheel | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +3 min

Since the January rally in risk assets began to fizzle out, chart analysts have been looking for a meaningful break above $25,000. "Bitcoin is one of the most sensitive assets to market liquidity, since its 'risk' profile is unencumbered by earnings or ratings concerns," she said. Signature Bank was another famously crypto-friendly institution and the next biggest one next to Silvergate, which announced its impending liquidation last week. Wall Street analysts Friday had maintained buy ratings on Signature Bank, even as the bad news around Silvergate and SVB unfolded. The end of the Silvergate-Signature duo leaves crypto with few "on-ramps" that allow fiat money to flow into crypto assets.

☆ Real-estate investors seized upon a tried-and-true strategy to fix up homes and make money. Then the market turned.
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-05 | by ( Aj Latrace | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +6 min

One way: buy a home, fix it up to rent out, then refinance to get cash and buy the next one. "We looked at long-term rent and we would have been in the hole a few hundred dollars per month based on interest rates and property taxes," Holland told Insider. But a perfect storm of softening home prices, increasing taxes, higher mortgage rates, and steep building-material costs has made the BRRRR model less attractive to investors. When the BRRRR numbers don't work, Holland said, there are a few strategies investors could consider instead. But even that strategy has its own competitive advantages and disadvantages, she said, such as seasonality and uncertain income.

☆ The stock market's euphoric rally has been a head fake, Wall Street's top strategists warn
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-25 | by ( Morgan Chittum | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +5 min

The year-to-date rally can't last, according to Morgan Stanley's chief US equity strategist. Sign up for our newsletter to get the inside scoop on what traders are talking about — delivered daily to your inbox. He added: "This is a perfect analogy for where equity investors find themselves today, and quite frankly, where they've been many times over the past decade." Goldman Sachs' chief US equity strategist David Kostin has said he is also skeptical of the market's gains so far in 2023. Meanwhile, JPMorgan's top stock strategist Marko Kolanovic, a long-time equities bull, says investors should ditch stocks because a recession is coming.

☆ Pernod Ricard eyes more price hikes in second half, confident on China
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-16 | by ( Dominique Vidalon | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

The world's second largest spirits group after Diageo (DGE.L) reported forecast-beating first-half profit and sales, helped by price hikes of around 10%. During the COVID pandemic Pernod Ricard and its rivals benefited from people drinking more expensive types of alcohol at home. There have been, however, growing signs the spirits industry growth was stabilising, notably in the United States, as positive effects from the pandemic fizzle out. The strong first-half reflected a 5% rise in the United States, Pernod's top market, with growth driven by strong price hikes across its portfolio. In China, first-half sales grew 4%, reflecting a strong first quarter with solid demand for Martell cognac during the Mid-Autumn festival but a soft second quarter due to COVID-19 restrictions.

☆ Here's why 2023's stock rally could fizzle out and end up burning bullish investors
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-06 | by ( Phil Rosen | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +5 min

Now let's turn to the stock market. Traders gather on the floor of the New York Stock Exchange, Friday, March 18, 2016. The surging stock market suggests that investors are fairly optimistic these days. In a Friday note, strategists said the stock market is set to peak in the next two weeks because inflation could come roaring back. US stock futures fall early Monday, after Friday's strong US jobs report fueled speculation that interest rates will rise further.

☆ Here's what the stock market is facing down this week, from Fed moves to earnings that will set the tone for the rest of 2023
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-31 | by ( Phil Rosen | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +6 min

This is a make-or-break week for the stock market. Not only that, but a slate of mega-cap earnings from Apple, Amazon, and Alphabet are also due later this week. Any negative surprises could derail the January rally, Stockton said, and negate much of the recent recovery from 2022's vicious bear market. "We believe the rally rests on the shoulders of heavyweights Apple, Amazon, and Alphabet, which are showing softness today as the market anticipates their earnings," Stockton wrote. Better-than-expected earnings and the potential for a Fed pivot have fueled a sharp rebound in the stock.

☆ The stock-market rally that's jumpstarted 2023 is about to fade as the Fed reasserts its resolve in fighting inflation, Morgan Stanley's top stock strategist says
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-30 | by ( Carla Mozée | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +3 min

Stocks are off to a "surprisingly good start" in 2023, but the upside momentum looks set to fizzle, Morgan Stanley said Monday. This week's FOMC meeting may remind investors of the cardinal rule: "Don't Fight the Fed," said strategist Mike Wilson. The investment bank is now leaning more toward its bear case of per-share earnings of $180 for the S&P 500. He said recent price action in stocks has prompted investors to participate more actively as they fear missing out. "We think it's important to note that typically when forward earnings growth goes negative, the Fed is actually cutting rates.

☆ Investors should sell stocks and take profits as the latest rally is set to falter amid surprises from the Fed and weak corporate earnings, JPMorgan says
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-18 | by ( Matthew Fox | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +3 min

Investors should sell stocks and take profits as the current market rally is set to fizzle, according to JPMorgan. The bank said stocks will face several curveballs this year thrown by the Fed and weak corporate earnings. "We... are reluctant to chase the past week's rally as recession and overtightening risks remain high," JPMorgan said. Given the risk-reward profile, JPMorgan increased its underweight recommendation for equities and took profits in credit in its model portfolio. While JPMorgan has a bearish view on stocks in the short-term, longer term it still sees the potential for upside.

Jan 13 (Reuters) - Oil prices rose on Friday, set to gain more than 6% for the week, on solid signs of demand growth in top oil importer China and expectations of less aggressive interest rate rises in the United States. Brent crude futures rose by 5 cents to $84.08 a barrel by 0746 GMT, off a session low of $83.50. U.S. West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude futures gained 13 cents to $78.52 a barrel after falling to $77.97 earlier in the session. Brent has jumped 6.7% so far this week and WTI is up 6.2%, recouping most of last week's losses. A weaker greenback tends to boost demand for oil, as it makes the commodity cheaper for buyers holding other currencies.

☆ Twitter alternatives like Mastadon see downloads plunge
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-09 | by ( Kali Hays | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +9 min

Long before Elon Musk came along, Twitter users bemoaned the service yet remained addicted to it. It is a text-based social platform, or "microblogging" site, home to independent servers, or "instances." In early November, the hashtag TwitterMigration was trending on Mastodon for several days as Twitter users set up accounts amid Musk's chaotic takeover. Daily users have held steady though, at 1.4 million, a major increase from its usage prior to Musk's takeover of Twitter, which typically hovered around 20,000 daily users. Downloads of the iOS app have grown 290,000% to 1.5 million since Oct. 24, with daily users up 660,000% to 321,000, according to Apptopia data.

☆ Jim Cramer predicts these ten S&P 500 stocks will perform well in 2023
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-04 | by ( Krystal Hur | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +2 min

CNBC's Jim Cramer on Wednesday offered investors a selection of stocks that he believes will do well this year. To come up with his picks, he examined the best- and worst performers in the S&P 500 from last year and chose five potential 2023 winners from each list. Here are the best-performers from 2022 that Cramer believes could continue to see gains this year:HalliburtonCramer predicted that the stock has a multi-year rally ahead of it. Enphase EnergyCalling it the "renewable golden boy," Cramer said the solar energy technology company is a profitable, solid business. Northrop GrummanThe company's stock could be the best defense contractor to own as the war between Russia and Ukraine continues, according to Cramer.

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