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☆ Lithium has started coming back after a 'freefall' in China. What to know about the investing landscape
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-17 | by ( Alex Harring | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +6 min

Investors should focus on the long-term story in the lithium investing landscape, not the volatile price swings seen in recent months. Moves in China are driving changes in the global market for lithium as demand for electric vehicles increases, said Keybanc analyst Aleksey Yefremov. DeYoe reiterated his buy rating on Canadian producer Sigma Lithium earlier this month, calling it "the next big thing in lithium." Among the biggest names: Global X has a Lithium & Battery Tech ETF , Sprott has a Lithium Miners ETF and Horizons Global has a Lithium Producers Index ETF . "That's going to be quite a challenge, if we don't literally right now start digging up and finding sites for lithium," Langan said.

[1/3] Oliver Blume, Chairman of the Board of Management of Volkswagen AG and Dr. Ing. He did not mention the company's Xinjiang plant in China, a joint venture with SAIC Motor (600104.SS), which has become a sore point for human rights activists as well as some shareholders, including top-20 investors Deka Investment and Union Investment. "Volkswagen must be certain that its supply chains are clean," said Ingo Speich, head of sustainability and corporate governance at Deka. Volkswagen's China chief visited the plant in Xinjiang earlier this year and said he saw no evidence of forced labour. Shareholders flagged rising competition from Chinese EV competitors in China, with BYD (002594.SZ) outselling Volkswagen as the top passenger car brand earlier this year.

☆ Watch the moment a cosmonaut tossed a bag of parts into space but NASA said the space litter is harmless
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-10 | by ( Jessica Orwig | Morgan Mcfall-Johnsen | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +4 min

Technically, it's space littering. About 6.5 hours into the spacewalk, Prokopyev tossed an 11-pound bag of leftover equipment into space. Basically, space littering is like if someone came along after the electrician, burned the bag, and discarded the ashes. —International Space Station (@Space_Station) May 4, 2023We're not saying that space junk, in general, isn't a problem. In fact, multiple times a year the space station fires its booster to push itself out of the path of incoming orbital debris — and for good reason.

☆ Gundogan brace takes Manchester City four points clear at top of Premier League
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-06 | by ( Lori Ewing | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

[1/3] Soccer Football - Premier League - Manchester City v Leeds United - Etihad Stadium, Manchester, Britain - May 6, 2023 Leeds United's Joel Robles in action as Manchester City's Ilkay Gundogan misses from the penalty spot REUTERS/Molly DarlingtonMANCHESTER, England, May 6 (Reuters) - Hard-charging Manchester City went four points clear of Arsenal at the top the Premier League on Saturday, beating Leeds United 2-1 with a pair of near-identical goals from Ilkay Gundogan, stretching their winning league run to 10 games. Mahrez teed up Gundogan again eight minutes later in a carbon copy of his first goal. Allardyce admitted it looked bound to be a blowout at halftime, but Leeds "changed in terms of pushing up the pitch." Despite numerous scoring chances, and with the Etihad Stadium crowd cheering him on, Haaland was unable to extend the Premier League single-season record of 35 goals he set earlier in the week. Treble-chasing Manchester City, who play Real Madrid on Tuesday in the first leg of the Champions League semi-final, are unbeaten in 20 games through all competitions.

☆ Man City face Leeds with points vital for very different reasons
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-04 | by ( Lori Ewing | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

The pair were also brought in to try to save their teams from the threat of relegation this season. The match is a departure from the usual rules that ban the TV screening of live games on Saturday afternoon. Watching avidly no doubt will be everyone at Arsenal, hoping Leeds can do them an unlikely favour as the Gunners cling to the fading hope of their first league title since 2004. A loss at third-placed Newcastle coupled with a City win over Leeds would all but end Arsenal's title challenge. They are third with 65 points, six ahead of fifth-placed Liverpool, who have played a game more.

☆ Why the Bud Light sales nosedive won’t register on Anheuser-Busch’s earnings report this week
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-03 | by ( Jordan Valinsky | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +3 min

New York CNN —Anheuser-Busch will report earnings Thursday, marking the first time it will face Wall Street analysts’ questions since its Bud Light brand erupted in controversy. Sales of Bud Light have tumbled over the past month after the company delivered a custom can to Dylan Mulvaney, a transgender woman with a large Instagram following. The video went viral, with some supporting Mulvaney and the company, and others responding with anti-trans reactions and calls for a Bud Light boycott. The week prior, Bud Light revenue was down 17%, even as sales of rivals Miller Lite and Coors Light increased. Bud Light sales have been declining for years, but this situation has “snowballed” and made its troubles even more pronounced, Roth said.

☆ Problems are mounting in the economy, big companies say, and another Fed rate hike may be one too many
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-03 | by ( Eric Rosenbaum | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +8 min

While that's good for them, it also means "we're definitely moving towards a slowdown," one CFO said. "They are trying to fight a problem but there's evidence around the U.S. that says the economy is slowing. One concern voiced by CFOs is that the top end of the consumer market has been masking deeper problems in the economy, with companies tracking a rise in credit delinquencies, and that is now starting to spread. But inside major corporations, executives say they see signs of mounting trouble for the economy and as another interest rate hike looms, it may be time for the Fed to stop. While traders are betting on rate cuts before year-end, the CNBC Fed Survey shows a belief from economists and money managers that the Fed will hold rates higher for eight months.

☆ Bankers’ pitch to save First Republic: Help us now, or pay more later when it fails
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-26 | by ( Hugh Son | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +4 min

CNBC's David Faber, who first reported on the rescue plan Tuesday, said that the coming days are crucial for First Republic. But that model broke down in the aftermath of the SVB failure as its wealthy customers quickly pulled uninsured deposits. Other possible, but less-likely moves include converting the big bank's deposits into equity, or even finding a buyer. They also benefited the buyers who were able to cherry-pick the best assets while the FDIC retains underwater bonds, the First Republic advisors noted. "If anything, last night's discouraging update will make it even harder for First Republic to keep what it has."

☆ China's c.bank official says no basis for long-term deflation
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-20 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

BEIJING, April 20 (Reuters) - A recovery in Chinese consumer demand needs time to pick up due to the "scarring effect" of COVID-19, but there is no basis for any long-term deflation, an official from the People's Bank of China (PBOC) said on Thursday. Despite the bounce in growth, consumer price inflation is slowing sharply and factory gate prices are in freefall. The PBOC expected consumer price inflation to pick up later this year, but there is no basis for sustained deflation or increases in inflation in China, Zou Lan, head of the monetary policy department at PBOC, told a news conference in Beijing. Amid the global economic recession jitters, Zou said the PBOC will continue to implement prudent monetary policy. Ruan Jianhong, spokesperson of the PBOC, expected household loan demand to steadily increase.

☆ Mysterious glowing 'SpaceX spirals' in the night sky seem to be linked to rocket launches
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-19 | by ( Rebecca Cohen | Morgan Mcfall-Johnsen | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +4 min

It's likely a cloud of excess fuel from a SpaceX rocket launched earlier that day. "SpaceX spirals" are rare, but they may be getting more common. These spirals are appearing shortly after SpaceX rocket launches, and are probably residual fuel the rockets released during flight, space physicist Don Hampton told the Associated Press. SpaceX spirals, jellyfish, and smoke rings may happen more oftenThis is the third time in the past year that a Falcon 9 rocket has appeared to produce a SpaceX spiral. A SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket carrying the company's Crew Dragon spacecraft launches at Cape Canaveral, Florida.

☆ Israeli turmoil alarms business leaders: There's 'fear over what happens next'
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-29 | by ( Jason Gewirtz | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +5 min

The uncertainty in Israel's political situation extends deep into the business sector. This month, ratings service Fitch warned that the courts controversy "could weaken Israel's credit profile." Weingarten's big fear is an irreparable divide in Israel, a country where a great degree of unity was once seen as a given. Such a drop would make the prime minister push his right-wing coalition partners into a deal that's more aligned with the country's citizens at large. Women dressed as handmaidens from "The Handmaid's Tale" attend a demonstration after Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu dismissed the defense minister and his nationalist coalition government presses on with its judicial overhaul, in Jerusalem on March 27, 2023.

☆ Trump casts 2024 contest in apocalyptic terms, slams prosecutors
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-25 | by ( Nathan Layne | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +5 min

“The Biden regime’s weaponization of law enforcement against their political opponents is something straight out of the Stalinist Russia horror show,” Trump said. Trump depicted the United States as a failed state whose economy was in freefall - a description at odds with the country’s record-low unemployment rate. Several times Trump repeated the false claim that his election loss in 2020 was due to a systemic fraud orchestrated by the Democrats. “Either the Deep State destroys America or we destroy the Deep State,” Trump said. Speaking ahead of Trump’s speech, Matt Schomburg, 45, said he believed the rally was a way to energize his supporters for the 2024 race.

☆ Citi lays out the possible outcomes for First Republic after banking crisis
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-23 | by ( Sarah Min | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +3 min

The path forward for First Republic after this month's banking crisis remains unclear, but Citigroup identified some possible scenarios for the embattled San Francisco-based bank. While the bank hasn't specified its deposit outflows, Citi noted that they've been substantial. In fact, CNBC's David Faber reported this month that JPMorgan is advising First Republic on strategic alternatives , including a capital raise or possible sale. Again, without knowing the actual level of deposit outflows, the underlying situation could vary quite a bit from our estimates," Cyganovich continued. "Given the challenges of the first two outcomes above, some form of government intervention seems increasingly likely, albeit in what form remains unclear," the analyst wrote.

☆ Ex-Google employees' A.I. chatbot startup valued at $1 billion after Andreessen Horowitz funding
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-23 | by ( Jennifer Elias | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +3 min

Character.AI, an artificial intelligence start-up founded by two former Google employees, is capitalizing on venture capitalists' unquenchable thirst for deals in technology's hottest space. The two-year-old company said on Thursday that it raised $150 million at a $1 billion valuation in a funding round led by Andreessen Horowitz. Andreessen Horowitz has been a significant player in driving up prices in both markets. The firm announced a $4.5 billion crypto fund in mid-2022 as the digital currency market was in freefall. A year earlier, it added to its investment in audio app Clubhouse, valuing the early-stage startup at $4 billion.

☆ From spying to Swiss bailout: How years of turbulence at Credit Suisse came to a head
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-17 | by ( Elliot Smith | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +6 min

The logo of Swiss bank Credit Suisse is seen at an office building in Zurich, Switzerland February 21, 2022. The announcement that Credit Suisse would borrow up to 50 billion Swiss francs ($54 billion) from the central bank came after consecutive sessions of steep drops in its share price. It made Credit Suisse the first major bank to receive such an intervention since the 2008 Global Financial Crisis. Scandals Credit Suisse is currently undergoing a massive strategic overhaul in a bid to address these chronic issues. These oversight failures resulted in a massive shakeup of Credit Suisse's investment banking, risk and compliance and asset management divisions.

☆ First Republic Bank Executives Sold $12 Million in Stock in Months Before Crash
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-16 | by ( Ben Foldy | Tom Mcginty | ) www.wsj.com time to read: 1 min

Top executives of First Republic Bank sold millions of dollars of company stock in the two months before the bank’s shares plummeted during the panic over the health of regional lenders. The bank’s chief risk officer sold on March 6, according to government documents. Two days later, Silicon Valley Bank shocked the market and sent other banks into freefall. First Republic was among the worst hit.

☆ Gen Z congressman Maxwell Frost calls out Biden for breaking climate promise to young voters that helped him win in 2020
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-15 | by ( Nicole Gaudiano | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +6 min

President Joe Biden's positions in recent weeks have put him at odds with some members of his party. That includes Rep. Maxwell Frost who says Biden broke his promise to young voters. Rep. Maxwell Frost, the first Gen-Z member of Congress, says he is "very disappointed" in Biden for approving the $8 billion ConocoPhillips Willow oil project in Alaska, one of the largest-ever drilling projects on federal land. In November, Frost praised Biden in an interview with CNN, saying: "He's been unafraid to put forth bold, transformational ideas and policies, and that's really what excites young voters." When contacted after the Willow project decision, which Bowman opposed, he said his thinking had not changed.

☆ Embattled Adani Group receives a vote of confidence from U.S. asset manager
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-06 | by ( Seema Mody | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +3 min

Chairperson of Indian conglomerate Adani Group, Gautam Adani, speaks at the World Congress of Accountants in Mumbai on November 19, 2022. Indranil Mukherjee | AFP | Getty ImagesIndia's embattled industrialist Gautam Adani received a much-needed vote of confidence from a well-respected U.S. asset manager ahead of a crucial bond roadshow that's underway. "Controversy is part of how you get better returns," Jain told CNBC in an exclusive interview. Jain's investment follows a massive decline in Adani's stock price amid criticism of the Indian firm's practices. Shares of Adani Enterprises and Adani Ports are up 66% and 23% over the past seven days, respectively.

☆ Tesla is losing its most loyal customers — and that’s bad news for Elon Musk.
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-28 | by ( Diamond Naga Siu | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +5 min

Plus, it's even more gross, since this generation obsession appears to be a capitalism-fueled strategy to get our money. They stuck with Elon Musk along a bumpy ride: "production hell," multiple federal investigations, and other catastrophes. Meanwhile, the company keeps losing its edge elsewhere. Nora breaks down how Musk keeps Elon-ing, while Tesla keeps getting beat down. It's part of the multi-day Mobile World Congress — the largest mobile telecommunications event in the world — in Barcelona, Spain.

☆ Halftime traders are bullish on these energy names, including two that could be a buying opportunity on earnings
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-27 | by ( Michelle Fox | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +2 min

Energy stocks may be lagging the market, but don't count them out just yet, according to "Halftime Report" traders. The Energy Select Sector SPDR Fund gained a whopping 57.6% in 2022, compared with the S & P 500 's 19.4% drop. XLE YTD mountain Energy Select Sector SPDR Fund YTD performance However, he still advocates an overweight exposure to the energy sector. Sarat Sethi, portfolio manager at Douglas C. Lane & Associates, is also slightly overweight in energy and sees a potential buying opportunity. "Generally speaking, European energy trades much cheaper to US energy for a variety of historical reasons that I think are no longer relevant," she said.

☆ Bidding wars no more: Regular people have a better shot at scoring a home as investors flee once-hot cities from Phoenix to Atlanta
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-23 | by ( Aj Latrace | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +5 min

But investors have backed off, especially in formerly hot areas like Phoenix, Redfin found. The significant drop in investor purchases means less competition for regular homebuyers. Investors purchased approximately $31 billion worth of properties — equivalent to 48,445 homes —nationwide in the last three months of 2022. They include Las Vegas, Phoenix, the New York City suburb of Nassau County, Atlanta, and Charlotte, all of which saw investor purchases fall over 60% year-over-year, the report said. But the drop in home prices and investor purchases last year could signal even more dire conditions in 2023, some analysts and experts predict.

☆ India's stock market crisis isn't just the Adani Group's problem — it's a political issue for Prime Minister Modi too
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-07 | by ( Huileng Tan | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +4 min

Indian tycoon Gautam Adani's companies have lost over $110 billion in market value since a US short seller attack in January. Even Modi has been dragged into the kerfuffle — since both he and Adani are from the western Indian state of Gujarat. The prime minister's political opponents say that the leader favors Adani — a claim the Modi government has rejected, per Reuters. "The Hindenburg scandal is the perfect weapon for the Indian political opposition against PM Modi. On its part, the Adani Group has been troubleshooting hard.

Gautam Adani has accumulated wealth through companies that own coal mines, ports, cement producers and other assets. A giant Indian conglomerate couldn’t stop the freefall in its shares and bonds set off by an American short seller in what has grown into a bitter fight over the empire created by one of India’s richest and most politically connected businesspeople. Adani Group, an energy and infrastructure company, released its 413-page rebuttal to the short seller’s claims just as the trading week began in Asia. Investors weren’t convinced and dumped shares of the company on Monday, bringing the total value lost to $64 billion since last week.

☆ AMD delivers a Q4 beat amid industry headwinds, validating the Club investment case
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-31 | by ( Jeff Marks | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +7 min

But the deal was ultimately necessary for AMD, as it helped it expand its data center business, boost margins, and further diversify away from PCs. Bottom line Despite facing industry-wide headwinds, including a chip glut and soft PC demand, AMD managed to outperform low expectations. Q4 segment results Data center revenues increased 42% but were a little softer than what analysts had forecasted. Sequentially, embedded revenues are expected to increase, providing some upside, while gaming and PC revenues are expected to decline, consistent with seasonality. No specific financial guidance was provided for the full year of 2023, but management expects the data center and embedded segments to grow year-over-year.

☆ How US Navy SEALs train new special-operations units to make the seas into 'our playground'
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-30 | by ( Stavros Atlamazoglou | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +6 min

US Navy SEALs travel around the world to train with other countries' special-operations forces. In 2022, SEALs in Europe trained with Croatia's ZSS, a relatively new special-operations unit. Through these training deployments, US Navy SEALs help new special-operations units to become proficient in new missions and skill sets. When it comes to progression of training, SEALs use the same "crawl, walk, run" approach they employ in their own training. These relationships with foreign special-operations units give US special operators access to almost any region of the world.

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