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☆ Wells Fargo upgrades AT&T, says its growth forecast looks more attractive than Verizon's
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-10 | by ( Samantha Subin | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +1 min

AT & T is coming out on top in the epic battle between wireless companies to win over customers and gain subscribers, according to Wells Fargo. Analyst Eric Luebchow upgraded the telecom company to overweight from an equal weight rating, saying in a Tuesday note that shares look more attractive than Verizon 's and offer a superior growth trajectory. Luebchow also views AT & T as a way for investors to play defense in a difficult market and inflationary backdrop. The company's growth momentum looks better positioned than that of Verizon, which faces earnings risks from rising rates and consumer phone declines, he added. The stock outperformed in 2022, falling just 0.9% and is already up 3.4% in the new year.

The events of the year took many investors by surprise and made the task of predicting bitcoin's price that much harder. The crypto market was awash with pundits making feverish calls about where bitcoin was heading next. When asked about his $250,000 target earlier this month, the Draper Associates founder told CNBC $250,000 "is still my number" — but he's extending his prediction by six months. The entrepreneur says he's also done making bitcoin price predictions. Buehler said lack of risk management in the crypto industry, missing regulation and fraud have also been major factors affecting prices.

☆ There could be a new market low in 2023. Investors can hide in these 5 stocks, MKM Partners says
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-17 | by ( Carmen Reinicke | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +4 min

The stock market could reach new lows in the new year, but there are some stocks where investors can weather market volatility, according to MKM Partners. That doesn't bode well for stocks and means there's a high risk that the equity market will see a new low next year, he said. In that market environment, MKM recommends focusing on stocks that are defensive and avoiding sectors trading at high-cyclical adjusted valuations. MKM sees investors overlooking the amount of leverage that Arch has as a positive going into the current cycle. The pick with the largest potential upside is Talos Energy , which MKM sees surging 47% to its target price.

☆ Bank of America downgrades Caesars, Penn Entertainment as gaming industry faces a growth slowdown
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-14 | by ( Samantha Subin | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +2 min

It's time for investors to take a pause on shares of Caesars Entertainment and Penn Entertainment , Bank of America said Wednesday. Analyst Shaun Kelley downgraded both gaming stocks to neutral from buy and lowered the bank's price targets to $55 and $40, respectively. He said in the note to clients Wednesday that growth trajectories are stabilizing for both stocks, with shares shedding more than 2% before the bell. Going forward, don't be surprised if Caesars struggles to gain market share as it focuses on its digital business and pays down its debt, Kelley said. For Penn, Kelley anticipates risks as momentum from its stake in sports media company Barstool unwinds.

☆ Here are Monday's biggest analyst calls: Apple, Amazon, Tesla, Netflix, Coinbase, Costco, Etsy & more
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-05 | by ( Michael Bloom | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +7 min

JPMorgan reiterates Apple as overweight JPMorgan said Apple's iPhone supply chain challenges appear to be moderating. JPMorgan reiterates Netflix as overweight JPMorgan said it sees a "heavily backend-weighted quarter" for Netflix. Morgan Stanley initiates Marriott as overweight Morgan Stanley said it likes how the hotel chain has transformed its business and that it sees a "further re-rating." Jefferies reiterates Amazon and Etsy as buy Jefferies said Amazon and Etsy will be winners this holiday shopping season. Morgan Stanley downgrades Silvergate to underweight from equal weight Morgan Stanley said in its downgrade of the crypto bank that it sees too many headwinds due to the FTX collapse. "

"I remember reading a book once called, 'Sacred Cows Make the Best Burgers,'" Poirier said at the company's investor day. Calgary, Alberta-based TC is widely known for its Keystone oil pipeline, a critical artery for moving Canadian oil to U.S. refiners that dominated headlines over the past decade for an expansion that ultimately failed. Keystone could fetch TC C$12.8 billion, said CIBC analyst Robert Catellier in a note. He added that reducing TC's oil exposure would help it reach its emissions-reduction goals. TC's stake in the Millennium natural gas pipeline in New York state is another logical sale candidate and could fetch $1 billion, said Scotiabank analyst Robert Hope.

☆ Here are Monday's biggest analyst calls: Amazon, Apple, DraftKings, Tesla, Live Nation & more
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-28 | by ( Michael Bloom | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +6 min

Here are Monday's biggest calls on Wall Street: JPMorgan reiterates Apple as overweight JPMorgan said its survey checks show Apple's iPhone Pro lead times are moderating. JPMorgan names Amazon a top idea heading into 2023 JPMorgan said Amazon is the "most diversified mega-cap across revs & profit & has numerous large growth opportunities." Morgan Stanley downgrades Aptiv to equal weight from overweight Morgan Stanley said in its downgrade of the auto tech supplier that it thinks Aptiv will be affected by a slower rollout of electric vehicles. Morgan Stanley downgrades Williams-Sonoma to underweight from equal weight Morgan Stanley said in its downgrade of Williams-Sonoma that "negative revisions are set to begin." JPMorgan downgrades First Solar to neutral from overweight JPMorgan downgraded the solar stock mainly on valuation.

☆ JPMorgan double-upgrades AB InBev, says shares are cheap and will benefit from light beer sales recovery
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-28 | by ( Samantha Subin | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +2 min

Slowing demand for hard seltzer opens up an opportunity for beer giant Anheuser-Busch InBev, according to JPMorgan. Analyst Jared Dinges double-upgraded shares of the beer manufacturer to overweight from underweight, saying the stock is trading at a 23% discount to the broader sector and should benefit from improving demand for domestic light beer in the United States. A resurgence in demand for domestic light beer — Anheuser-Busch's "bread and butter" — and the decline in hard seltzer demand in the U.S. should also bode well for the company going forward, Dinges said. "It's commonly believed that Hard Seltzer sales are primarily being replaced by [ready-to-drink beverages], however, we believe a bigger benefactor from the seltzer slowdown is domestic light beer - domestic light beer has improved its share trajectory by 120bps in 2022 alone," he wrote. Demand for beer in the region correlates strongly with the global commodities cycle and should remain strong even as commodities prices remain elevated.

☆ Mobile operator Veon to sell Russian business for $2.2 bln
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-24 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

Veon also operates Beeline in Kazakhstan and Kyivstar in Ukraine. Veon said the management buyout of Vimpelcom implied an expected enterprise value of approximately 370 billion roubles. Though Veon is selling at a discount, the transaction represents a relatively rare example of money changing hands between parties as companies race to exit Russia. The shares have traded near record lows since tumbling after Russia began what it calls its "special military operation" in Ukraine. "The management buyout of our Russian operations will benefit all involved," Veon CEO Kaan Terzioglu said in a statement to Reuters.

☆ The CEO of a company that's purchased $7 billion in real estate expects competitors who've relied on cheap debt will get washed out
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-21 | by ( Alex Nicoll | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +4 min

As borrowers' debt comes due, rising interest rates will cause defaults and sales. Defaults could cascade through the financial system, putting "trillions" of dollars at risk. After nearly 15 years of rock-bottom interest rates, financial markets — including real estate — are being weaned from easy money by Federal Reserve rate hikes, Benjamin Miller, the CEO, said. Suddenly, landlords might be on the hook for 20% or more of the total value of the property, and their interest rates will be at least double what they were. An even bigger risk to the financial system lies with interest-rate derivatives, or financial contracts used to mimic or bet against rate moves.

☆ Crypto's Lehman moment: Here's how Sam Bankman-Fried's FTX compares to the biggest collapse of the Global Financial Crisis
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-11 | by ( Phil Rosen | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +7 min

Experts have drawn comparisons between the collapse of crypto exchange FTX and the fall of Lehman Brothers in 2008. Here's how the two events compare and what FTX's fall means for the broader financial system. In the years leading up to the Great Financial Crisis, Lehman loaded its balance sheet with vast amounts of subprime mortgage debt. When the "bank run" began this week, FTX didn't have the funds to meet withdrawal requests. But compared to 14 years ago, it probably won't be FTX's downfall that sparks a broader financial crisis, Allen said.

☆ What Cramer is watching Thursday — cooler inflation, FTX crypto fallout, TJX upgrade
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-10 | by ( Jim Cramer | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +3 min

Binance backs out of rescue of Bankman-Fried's FTX, leaving the crypto exchange on the brink of collapse. Citi cuts price target on Coinbase Global (COIN) to $80 per share from $105, believing the FTX troubles could be a clearing event in the crypto market. Oppenheimer cuts price target on Club holding Salesforce (CRM) to $200 per share from $240; keeps outperform (buy) rating. Gordon Haskett upgrades Club holdings TJX Companies (TJX) to buy from hold, with an $80 per share price target. As a subscriber to the CNBC Investing Club with Jim Cramer, you will receive a trade alert before Jim makes a trade.

Crypto markets have come under intense pressure this year, as rising interest rates prompt investors to ditch risky or speculative assets. In the case of FTX, U.S. residents can't trade on its global platform due to strict regulations for the crypto space in the United States. Ken Lo, co-founder at Hong Kong-based crypto exchange and custodian Hong Kong Digital Asset Exchange, said counterparty risk, which comes from a lack of transparency and information disclosure, underscores the need for "clear regulatory framework and vision statement." In an interview with Reuters in July, Bankman-Fried said his company still had a "few billion" on hand to shore up struggling firms that could further destabilize the digital asset industry. Max Boonen, co-founder of digital asset liquidity provider B2C2, said FTX's problems have set the crypto space back by six months.

☆ JPMorgan says FTX collapse fallout could cut the value of cryptocurrencies in half before it's over
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-10 | by ( Carmen Reinicke | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +3 min

The tumult stems from the potential collapse of crypto-exchange FTX, which was in the process of being acquired by Binance, amid a liquidity crisis. On Wednesday, Binance backed out of the deal, leaving FTX near collapse. At the end of this latest deleveraging cycle, the asset class could see its value cut in half. "A production cost of $13k implies 25% downside from here which would bring the crypto market cap to a low of $650 billion," said Panigirtzoglou. This will be with the goal to safeguard client assets, limit asset concentration and create more diligent risk management, including counterparty risk among crypto market participants.

☆ The FTX fiasco could spark an industry meltdown - and slash bitcoin's price by 25% to $13,000, JPMorgan strategists say
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-10 | by ( Theron Mohamed | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +4 min

FTX's financial woes are likely to transform the crypto industry, JPMorgan strategists said. Bitcoin could plunge 25% to $13,000, and crypto firms might act more carefully in future, they said. "The number of entities with stronger balance sheets able to rescue those with low capital and high leverage is shrinking within the crypto ecosystem," the JPMorgan strategists said. "With the crypto market cap standing at just above $1tr before the FTX/Alameda Research collapse, our guess is that the crypto market will find a floor above $500bn in the current deleveraging phase," they added. Commentators have warned about dangerous amounts of debt and excessive risk-taking in the crypto industry before.

☆ Why the energy stock rally can keep going in 2023-24 after a 60% surge this year, according to the ETF strategy lead at $18 billion SS&C ALPS
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-02 | by ( Marley Jay | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +3 min

Energy stocks have been the biggest winners in the stock market over the last year. While nothing lasts forever, there are good reasons to think energy stocks still have plenty of bright days ahead of them, according to Paul Baiocchi. The S&P 500's energy sector is up about 60% so far this year, a remarkable result with the overall S&P 500 down nearly 20% year-to-date. Along with energy companies, he says that value stocks are better positioned than growth stocks in this higher-interest rate environment. And if energy can continue to outperform, it would be a dramatic change considering how bearish investors were about energy companies just a few years ago.

☆ Saudi Aramco joins oil results bonanza with 39% jump in net income
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-01 | by ( Hadeel Al Sayegh | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

Aramco's net income rose to $42.4 billion for the three months to Sept. 30 from $30.4 billion a year earlier, it said in a regulatory filing. The company's free cash flow rose to $45 billion from $28.7 billion a year-earlier. Aramco's reported net income, while higher year on year, was slightly lower than its record second quarter. Net income was also partially offset by increased production royalties, resulting from stronger crude oil prices and higher sales volume. Royalties and other taxes more than doubled year-on-year in the third quarter to $24.3 billion, from $10.48 billion last year.

☆ European banks are posting bumper profits — but don’t buy their shares yet, strategist says
▼ + stars: | 2022-10-27 | by ( Ganesh Rao | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +4 min

Those are comments from one investment advisor despite lenders on the continent posting bumper third-quarter results this week. Barclays on Wednesday reported net profits of £1.5 billion ($1.73 billion), while Deutsche Bank revealed a net income of 1.12 billion euros ($1.11 billion). Deutsche Bank's net interest margin grew to 1.5% in the quarter, up from 1.4% in the prior quarter and from 1.2% in the year-ago period. But this income source for banks is unlikely to be long-lived as European capitals debate imposing a "windfall tax" on banks' profits. Hickmore said that senior debt from European banks is more attractive now as they are immune to many risks banks face.

REUTERS/Tingshu WangSummary Sept new home prices fall 0.2% m/m, down for second monthNew home prices down 1.5% y/y, fastest pace since Aug 201554 cities out of 70 report price declinesBEIJING, Oct 24 (Reuters) - China's September new home prices fell for the second straight month as mortgage boycotts, a heightened debt crisis and COVID-19 curbs weighed on homebuyers' sentiment. China's property sector has been beset by multiple headwinds after regulators clamped down on excessive borrowing since mid-2020. In monthly terms, new home prices in tier-two cities fell 0.2% and declined 0.4% in tier-three cities. Property investment fell 12.1% from a year earlier, slightly narrowing from a 13.8% fall in August. "There is little room to give more help to real estate property developers as doing so will risk the credibility of government reform (for property developers, that means the deleveraging reform)," said Iris Pang, chief economist for Greater China at ING.

☆ World stocks slip to near 2-yr low ahead of U.S. CPI data
▼ + stars: | 2022-10-13 | by ( Marc Jones | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +6 min

Global markets have suffered a torrid few weeks and there was little sign of respite in either Asia or Europe as weak equities knocked MSCI's 47-country world index (.MIWD00000PUS) down for a seventh straight day. It has fallen nearly 4.3% in the last six days, with markets worried that aggressive global interest rate hikes will trigger recessions. Data had already confirmed German harmonised inflation was +10.9% y/y in September but all eyes are on U.S. CPI data due at 1230 GMT. The dollar index, which gauges the greenback against six major rivals, barely budged from around 113.25 ahead of the CPI data. "Markets still feel very dysfunctional"Meanwhile, crude oil markets remained weak following a 2% slide on Wednesday amid worries over demand.

☆ Ray Dalio says buy forward the fundamental things you'll need, and shares 3 additional tips that can help investors navigate the current economic environment.
▼ + stars: | 2022-10-13 | by ( Laila Maidan | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +4 min

Ray Dalio says we will be searching for a true store hold of wealth for the next 10 years. On Tuesday, Bridgewater Associates founder Ray Dalio took the stage during the Greenwich Economic Forum to discuss the state of the global economy. Central to his discussion was the belief that the Federal Reserve will need to navigate between inflation and a weak economy going forward. But the magnitude of the current economic crisis is not something we're used to, he noted. What is the true store hold of wealth will be the question of our time, Dalio said.

☆ The US economy is 'doing very well' and there aren't signs of instability in financial markets despite intense volatility, Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen says
▼ + stars: | 2022-10-12 | by ( Jennifer Sor | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +3 min

The US economy is "doing very well" and there aren't signs of instability in financial markets, Janet Yellen said. Yellen pointed to the strong labor market, and added she believed inflation could come down without hammering jobs. "While there's some concern about liquidity in markets, I don't think we've see anything that rises to the level of a serious concern," she said. El-Erian has also warned markets of "unsettling volatility," pointing to turmoil in the bond market. "We really haven't seen signs of financial instability in the United States and our financial markets continue to function well.

☆ Factbox: Ticking bomb: The risks the IMF sees to financial stability
▼ + stars: | 2022-10-11 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

Oct 11 (Reuters) - The International Monetary Fund warned on Tuesday of a disorderly repricing in markets, saying global financial stability risks have increased, raising the potential of contagion and spillovers of stress between markets. The IMF's Global Financial Stability Report, which warned of the risks to markets, came as the Fund also cut its growth outlook in its latest World Economic Outlook. read moreHere are key indicators of stress and risks the IMF sees to financial stability:Register now for FREE unlimited access to Reuters.com Register* LIQUIDITYDeteriorating market liquidity conditions may poserisks to financial stability, the IMF said. * CURRENCY SWAPSInternational short-term dollar funding markets have begun to show signs of concern with a widening of the cross-currency basis swap spreads, a proxy for the marginal cost of offshore US dollar funding, the IMF said. * LEVERAGE LOAN MARKET CREDIT CRUNCHTighter financial conditions, mounting liquidity strains, and decelerating earnings growth could presage ratings downgrades and eventual defaults and lower returns for collateralized loan obligations (CLO) investors, the IMF said.

☆ U.S. economy is 'doing well' amid global economic uncertainty, says Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen
▼ + stars: | 2022-10-11 | by ( Chelsey Cox | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +2 min

US Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen during an armchair discussion at the Rotman School of Management in Toronto, Ontario, Canada on Monday, June 20, 2022. Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen said Tuesday that the U.S. economy was "doing very well" as rising energy prices, Covid-19 variants and Russia's war with Ukraine have caught global markets in a vice grip. "From the perspective of the United States, I think the United States is doing very well," Yellen told CNBC's Sara Eisen Tuesday. Yellen acknowledged that inflation is too high and that lowering it is a priority for the Biden administration. "The dollar is a safe haven, so when times are uncertain, we experience capital inflows into our safe markets," Yellen said.

☆ Here are Monday’s biggest analyst calls: Planet Fitness, Lyft and more
▼ + stars: | 2022-09-26 | by ( Yun Li | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +2 min

Here are the biggest calls on Wall Street on Monday. Raymond James upgrades Planet Fitness to strong buy from market perform Raymond James said in its upgrade that Planet Fitness is still in great shape despite its pullback. UBS downgrades Lyft to neutral from buy UBS said in its downgrade that it's skeptical that Lyft can deliver industry-level top line growth "We are downgrading shares of Lyft to Neutral from Buy and reducing our ests. Jefferies downgrades Anheuser-Busch InBev to hold from buy Jefferies in its downgrade that the beer company is not as cheep as its peers. EBITDA upside and above avg.

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