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☆ As earnings season winds down, investors turn to Tuesday's debt ceiling meeting
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-06 | by ( Zev Fima | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +12 min

With only a small fraction of the S & P 500 left to report quarterly earnings, investors are now turning their focus to another major hurdle for the markets and economy: the debt ceiling crisis. Earlier this week, we looked back to debt limit crisis of 2011 for potential lessons. The protracted fight ultimately ended in an agreement in early August of that year, but it was a choppy summertime ride for investors. Within the portfolio, Wynn Resorts will report Tuesday, after the closing bell, and Disney will report on Wednesday, after the closing bell. Estee Lauder (EL) and Emerson Electric (EMR) reported earnings before the opening bell.

☆ Just 5 stocks make up the lion's share of Warren Buffett's equity portfolio. Here’s what they are
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-06 | by ( Alex Harring | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +2 min

More than three-fourths of the equity portfolio for Warren Buffett's Berkshire Hathaway was spread among just five stocks. The same five stocks comprised the list of biggest holding at the end of 2022, though the pecking order changed. Apple's total value in the portfolio came out to $151 billion at the end of the quarter, up from $119 billion at the end of 2022. By comparison, its value in the portfolio was $161.2 billion at the end of 2021. Long-time holdings Coca-Cola , American Express and Bank of America remained among the biggest names in the equity portfolio.

☆ 7-Eleven spin-off would jeopardise growth, CEO says, pushing back at ValueAct
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-05 | by ( Ritsuko Shimizu | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

TOKYO, May 5 (Reuters) - A spin-off of 7-Eleven would jeopardise the convenience store chain's future growth by cutting it off from its parent's strength in the food business, the chief executive of Japan's Seven & i Holdings Co Ltd (3382.T) told Reuters. ValueAct has long been critical of Seven & i's conglomerate structure, calling for a spin-off of the 7-Eleven chain or for a sale of the entire company, but Isaka said that would not be in the chain's best interests. "The risk and probability of 7-Eleven Japan's growth coming to a halt would be very high if the company's product development resources were to be cut off," he said. In April, ValueAct ratcheted up the pressure on the company, calling for Isaka's departure and saying he was responsible for a "flawed strategy". Isaka said 7-Eleven is reliant on staff and know-how from Seven & i's supermarket businesses, such as Ito-Yokado, in developing products for its "Seven Premium" private brand.

☆ A New York couple who saw their cupcake empire soar to a $66 million business in 2011 before going bust paid $350 to revive the brand
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-04 | by ( Huileng Tan | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +3 min

Jason and Mia Bauer, who founded Crumbs Bake Shop in 2003 are now back with an online cupcake store. Crumbs Bake Shop, a hugely popular cupcake store founded in 2003, has been revived by founders Jason and Mia Bauer. They bought back the brand last year — seven years after it filed for bankruptcy, the New York Post reported on May 2. "We felt we left it in the hands of people who would grow it," Jason told the New York Post on Tuesday. "Fast forward to 2023, and we now have the ability to communicate with our consumers via social media without having to be in a physical store," Jason told the media outlet.

☆ Short investor Hindenburg erases fifth of Icahn empire’s value
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-02 | by ( ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +4 min

In a report published on Tuesday, Hindenburg accused IEP of overvaluing its holdings and relying on a “Ponzi-like” structure to pay dividends. The subsequent plunge in IEP shares wiped $2.9 billion off Icahn’s net worth, leaving him with an estimated $14.7 billion, according to Forbes. NAV is a key gauge of a fund’s performance, measuring the market value of securities held by the fund. Driving the frothiness in IEP’s stock, Hindenburg argued, is its dividend yield of 15.8%, the highest of any US large cap company by far. Hindenburg also offered examples it said showed IEP itself was valuing its holdings way above their market value.

In a report published on Tuesday, Hindenburg accused IEP of overvaluing its holdings and relying on a "Ponzi-like" structure to pay dividends. The subsequent plunge in IEP shares wiped $2.9 billion off Icahn's net worth, leaving him with an estimated $14.7 billion, according to Forbes. NAV is a key gauge of a fund's performance, measuring the market value of securities held by the fund. Driving the frothiness in IEP's stock, Hindenburg argued, is its dividend yield of 15.8%, the highest of any U.S. large cap company by far. Hindenburg also offered examples it said showed IEP itself was valuing its holdings way above their market value.

Importantly, smaller firms are also starting to raise pay even as many of them face a margin crunch. Big firms offered pay hikes of 3.8% this year in annual wage talks with unions that ended in March, the largest increase in three decades. Attention has now shifted to whether small firms, which employ seven out of 10 workers in Japan, would follow suit. The BOJ's tankan business sentiment survey showed last month that small firms' current profits fell 2.7% in the last fiscal year to March, while big firms' earnings rose 11.5%. Less than half of small firms said they were able to pass on rising costs to customers as of last September, government data showed.

☆ A solid start to earnings season will be put to the test in the week ahead
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-29 | by ( Zev Fima | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +14 min

The biggest week of this earnings season showed us that things aren't as bad as many feared. The week ahead of earnings, including several more Club names, should tell us more. The results are always important, but it's the guidance and management commentary we will really hone in on to better understand the path ahead. In Amazon's case, a solid first quarter for its AWS cloud business was overshadowed by management seeing a material slowdown in April. ET: Nonfarm Payrolls Looking back It was the biggest week of this earnings season for the Club as several of our mega-cap holdings and industry bellwethers reported results.

☆ Back From the Brink, Chinese Developer Resumes Buying Land
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-26 | by ( Rebecca Feng | Cao Li | ) www.wsj.com time to read: 1 min

A Country Garden residential development in Shanghai. Photo: Qilai Shen/Bloomberg NewsHONG KONG— Country Garden Holdings Co., one of China’s largest real-estate developers, bought residential land in a local government auction for the first time since December 2021, signaling confidence in its liquidity and a recovering housing market. The company, which used to be an aggressive acquirer of land, had been hit by a sharp slowdown in China’s property sector last year. Its sales of new apartments slumped, and prices of its dollar bonds slid to below 10 cents on the dollar in November, as investors worried that Country Garden could default on its debt like dozens of other developers.

Kirin has offered A$95 cash per Blackmores share, a 23.7% premium to the stock's last close, and a tad higher than its 22.4% jump in morning trade. Before the Kirin deal, its shares had been trading at one-third of their value at the height of the daigou craze in 2016. The board of Blackmores has unanimously recommended shareholders support the deal, with top shareholder and former chairman Marcus Blackmore also agreeing to vote in favour. Blackmores' share price rose as much as 22.4% to A$94, its highest since December 2021. Blackmores shareholders will be able to vote on the offer at a shareholder meeting in July and the companies expect the deal to close in early August.

☆ Big Tech earnings, crucial inflation call — here comes the biggest week of earnings season
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-22 | by ( Zev Fima | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +9 min

Stocks stuck to a holding pattern this week as investors brace for an incoming wave of Big Tech earnings and the Fed's favorite inflation reading. Earnings reports have generally been better than expected so far this first quarter. Humana (HUM) reports before the bell Wednesday; Meta Platforms and Pioneer Natural Resources (PXD) report after the bell Wednesday. ET: Personal Spending & Income (includes PCE Price Index) Club trades this week Just one trade: We added 150 shares of Coterra Energy (CTRA) on Wednesday. As a subscriber to the CNBC Investing Club with Jim Cramer, you will receive a trade alert before Jim makes a trade.

On that unredacted form, Kacsmaryk reported owning about $2.9 million in stock in the Florida-based supermarket company Publix. Federal judges are only required to report financial holdings in ranges, and don’t have to provide exact figures. One possible source of the Publix stock Kacsmaryk reported in 2017 is the judge’s grandmother. In 2020 and 2021, less than 4% of officials required to file judicial financial disclosures requested redaction, according to reports from the Administrative Office of the US Courts. In any case, experts said, the judge’s redacted report prevents transparency that litigants deserve.

☆ GOP lawmaker leading Florida legislature's effort to rein in Disney was a company stock-holder until the DeSantis feud
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-21 | by ( Kimberly Leonard | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +11 min

One key ally, Sen. Blaise Ingoglia, previously held Disney stock but said he sold on principle. Ron DeSantis claw back control of Walt Disney World's special tax district was once a Walt Disney Company investor, annual disclosures show. Ingoglia told Insider that he manages his stocks himself, and that they were long-term holds with a retirement or brokerage account. The financial ties to Disney underscore the company's largess and influence in Florida, where it's the state's biggest attraction. Disney CEO Bob Iger told Time he would be willing to sit down with DeSantis over the feud.

☆ Mall of America Wins Supreme Court Case Over Sears Lease
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-19 | by ( Akiko Matsuda | ) www.wsj.com time to read: 1 min

The U.S. Supreme Court on Wednesday ordered an appeals court to review Mall of America’s dispute with the former chairman of Sears Holdings Corp. over a $10-a-year store lease, potentially opening the door for landlords or vendors to challenge the sale of bankrupt businesses. The justices unanimously ruled against Transform Holdco LLC, the real-estate company backed by former Sears Chairman Eddie Lampert that purchased some of the best-performing Sears and Kmart stores out of chapter 11 in 2019. Transform had argued that a bankruptcy provision protects asset buyers from such disputes to encourage them to close on sales.

In a 9-0 ruling written by Justice Ketanji Brown Jackson, the Supreme Court overturned a lower court's decision against MOAC Mall Holdings LLC, the parent company of the mega-mall located in Bloomington, Minnesota. The lease provided Sears with a three-story, 120,000-square foot (11,000 square meters) location at the mall for a rent of just $10 a year. Mall of America went to court to try to stop the lease transfer during the Sears bankruptcy process. Circuit Court of Appeals found in 2021 that bankruptcy law does not allow for appeals of court-approved bankruptcy sales. While bankruptcy law limits the ability of courts to unwind a sale after appeal, it does not prevent appeals entirely, the Supreme Court ruled.

☆ Exclusive: The University of California has invested billions in venture capital firms since 2000 and it has lost hundreds of millions so far. Here's why.
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-11 | by ( Ben Bergman | Darius Rafieyan | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +6 min

Insider obtained UC Investments' returns through a Public Records Act request. Unlike many other financial institutions, VC funds are not required to show their return on investment in startups. UC Investments, which has been managed by Jagdeep Singh Bachher since 2014, declined to comment. Though selling early produced an initial windfall, UC Investments could have ultimately missed out on substantial gains from these VC funds. By comparison, UC Investments earned a 8.3% return for its investment in public markets.

Stellantis NV and Bayerische Motoren Werke AG are talking to Panasonic Holdings Corp. about teaming up to build electric-vehicle battery plants in North America, people familiar with the talks said. Panasonic specializes in cylindrical batteries, which resemble an oversize version of the AA batteries commonly used in consumer devices. Over the past decade, Japan-based Panasonic has churned out billions of cylindrical cells for its main car-making customer, Tesla Inc.

☆ ETF outlook: Why Wall Street strategists aren't chasing a growth stock trade just yet
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-01 | by ( Jesse Pound | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +6 min

The rally in growth and tech stocks in the first quarter caught much of Wall Street off-guard, but many ETF strategists are sticking to their call and not chasing the hot sectors quite yet. The big winners in the stock market during the first quarter were found among growth stocks. QQQ YTD mountain Growth stocks rebounded in the first quarter. One area that is popular among value investors is income funds, which can help investors offset market declines by generating cash. To be sure, the iShares strategy team has an improving view of growth stocks, at least in high quality names.

☆ Japan to restrict chipmaking equipment exports as it aligns with US China curbs
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-31 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +4 min

Japan, home to major global chip equipment makers such as Nikon Corp (7731.T) and Tokyo Electron Ltd (8035.T), did not specify China as the target of those measures, saying equipment makers will need to seek export permission for all regions. Japan and the Netherlands in January agreed join the U.S. in restrict chipmaking equipment exports to China that could be used to manufacture sub-14 nanometre chips, but did not announce the pact to avoid provoking Beijing, sources earlier said. The Netherlands' government in a letter to parliament this month said it plans to restrict chipmaking equipment exports. The ministry said it will impose export controls on six categories of equipment used in chip manufacturing, including cleaning, deposition, lithography and etching. Tokyo Electron and Screen were little changed.

☆ Factbox: The Japanese chipmaking equipment manufacturers navigating export curbs
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-31 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +4 min

Here are some of Japan's leading manufacturers of tools used to make semiconductors. In October-December, its chip equipment sales in China fell 22.3% from a year earlier to 102.7 billion yen, accounting for 22.4% of its total chip equipment sales in the quarter. SCREEN HOLDINGS CO LTD (7735.T)Screen is the world's largest manufacturer of equipment used to clean silicon wafers. The company expects shipments to China to make up 20% of chipmaking equipment sales of 375 billion yen for the year to March. About 40% of sales from its lithography machines business, which combines semiconductor lithography and flat panel display lithography equipment, is generated in China.

☆ Japan to restrict chipmaking equipment exports as it aligns with U.S. China curbs
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-31 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

It did not specify China as the target of those measures, saying equipment makers will need to seek export permission for all regions. Japan and the Netherlands in January agreed join the U.S. in restrict chipmaking equipment exports to China that could be used to manufacture sub-14 nanometre chips, but did not announce the pact to avoid provoking Beijing, sources earlier said. A nanometre, or one-billionth of a meter, refers to a specific semiconductor industry technology, with fewer nanometres generally meaning the chip is more advanced. The Netherlands' government in a letter to the country's parliament this month also said it plans to restrict chipmaking equipment exports. China, which has accused the U.S. of being a "tech hegemony" because of its export restrictions, urged the Netherlands "not to follow export control measure by certain countries".

☆ Shanghai exchange cancels Syngenta IPO hearing -filing
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-28 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

HONG KONG, March 28 (Reuters) - The Shanghai Stock Exchange has cancelled a hearing to review Swiss agrichemicals and seeds group Syngenta's initial share offering (IPO) plan, a filing posted on the exchange showed. Syngenta, which planned to raise 65 billion yuan ($9.44 billion) in its Shanghai flotation, was bought for $43 billion by ChemChina in 2017 and folded into Sinochem Holdings Corp in 2021. The Shanghai exchange, which planned to conduct the hearing on Wednesday, did not provide a reason for the cancellation. Companies planning IPOs on the exchange need to appear before a panel for a hearing as a requirement for proceeding with their listing. ($1 = 6.8821 Chinese yuan renminbi)Reporting by Meg Shen and Twinnie Siu; editing by Jason Neely, Jane Merriman and Louise HeavensOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

☆ Syngenta 4Q profit falls as raw material prices increase
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-22 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

ZURICH, March 22 (Reuters) - Swiss agrichemicals and seeds group Syngenta on Wednesday reported a 25% drop in fourth quarter earnings due to higher raw materials and energy costs. Sales rose 4% to $7.5 billion boosted by strong growth in its seeds business. "As previously indicated, farmers accelerated their purchases earlier in the year due to supply concerns, moderating fourth quarter growth," the company said. "The group continued to maintain higher prices necessary to offset elevated raw material and other costs," it added. The parent company plans to keep a majority stake after its $10 billion flotation, which is expected to value Syngenta at around $50 billion.

☆ What are AT1 bonds and why are Credit Suisse’s now worthless?
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-20 | by ( Anna Cooban | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +4 min

But it is the owners of Credit Suisse’s $17 billion worth of “additional tier one” (AT1) bonds who have been left fully in the cold. David Benamou, chief investment officer at Axiom Alternative Investments, a French wealth management firm with exposure to AT1 bonds, called the decision “quite surprising, not to say … shocking.”What are AT1 bonds? AT1 bonds are also known as “contingent convertibles,” or “CoCos”. It is not the write-down of Credit Suisse’s AT1 bonds that has rocked investors, but the fact that the bank’s shareholders will receive some compensation when bondholders will not. But because Credit Suisse’s demise has not followed a traditional bankruptcy, analysts told CNN, the same rules don’t apply.

☆ Top 10 things the Club is watching in the stock market Friday: First Republic, semis, energy
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-17 | by ( Jeff Marks | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +3 min

JPMorgan keeps FRC as a top pick but lowers price target to $62 per share from $150. No price target at Atlantic Equities. Even after a big run, Morgan Stanley thinks it is not too late to get long Club holding Nvidia (NVDA). Disney (DIS) is a Club holding. Club holding Alphabet 's (GOOGL) Google raises pricing on YouTube TV to $73 per month from $65.

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