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☆ MLB roundup: Down 6, Rays stun Gerrit Cole, Yanks
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-08 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +12 min

Cole gave up six runs (five earned) and eight hits, striking out six and walking two in his five-plus innings. The winning pitcher was Michael Tonkin (3-1), who did not allow a hit over two scoreless innings. Lourdes Gurriel Jr. homered twice, scored four runs and had four RBIs and Christian Walker also homered for Arizona, which had its win streak snapped at three. Pittsburgh starter Roansy Contreras (3-3) allowed five runs and nine hits in five innings, with four strikeouts and three walks. Yarbrough allowed one run on three hits over 5 2/3 innings, his longest start since July last year with the Tampa Bay Rays.

☆ Loews CEO James Tisch uses a famous Warren Buffett quote to explain the banking fiasco - and warns more lenders may get into trouble.
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-03 | by ( Theron Mohamed | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +4 min

Loews CEO James Tisch used a colorful Warren Buffett quote to describe the recent banking chaos. Tisch warned of more turmoil ahead, and urged the Fed to pause its rate hikes for three months. "As Warren Buffett says, 'When the tide goes out, you see who was swimming without a bathing suit,'" Tisch said. If authorities hadn't intervened, they risked a "full-fledged banking catastrophe" and a "massive, uncontrolled bank scare" with huge repercussions, he continued. However, Tisch warned of more trouble ahead.

☆ Consumer goods stocks are set to keep running, and it's not too late to buy, Jim Cramer says
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-28 | by ( Natasha Piñon | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +1 min

Food and consumer goods stocks are poised to keep running, Jim Cramer said Friday, at least if no external news drags down the entire market. The resilience of snack and packaged-goods stocks will hold particularly true as debt-ceiling talks flounder, he added. Colgate-Palmolive also rallied following an earnings report that topped revenue expectations. Cramer also saw the same promise in General Mills , which hit a new 52-week high Friday, and Procter & Gamble , which beat earnings and revenue expectations last week. "Even as these consumer-packaged good stocks have run a great deal, I don't think it's too late," Cramer said.

☆ Top Republicans Balk at WinRed’s Plan to Charge More for Online Donations
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-28 | by ( Shane Goldmacher | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

A battle over a threatened price increase has exposed growing tensions between top Republican Party officials and the company with a virtual monopoly on processing Republican campaign contributions online. Party leaders have risen up in opposition to the plan to raise prices, which would siphon millions of dollars from G.O.P. campaigns less than 20 months after the company, WinRed, had said its finances were robust enough to forego an extra fee on every transaction. Mr. Lansing’s company, a private for-profit firm responsible for processing almost all online Republican political donations, charges 3.94 percent of almost every donation made online. But he said it wasn’t enough, citing an unforeseen slowdown in online G.O.P.

☆ Phoenix Suns and Mercury to move games from cable to local network and streaming
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-28 | by ( Lillian Rizzo | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +3 min

A general view during the second half in Game Two of the NBA Finals between the Milwaukee Bucks and the Phoenix Suns at Phoenix Suns Arena on July 08, 2021 in Phoenix, Arizona. The NBA's Phoenix Suns and the WNBA's Phoenix Mercury reached a deal with broadcast station owner Gray Television to air the entirety of their regular seasons on local broadcast networks available throughout Arizona. Regular season games for the Suns were previously available on Diamond Sports' Bally Sports Arizona channel. Bally Sports Arizona also airs the NHL's Arizona Coyotes and MLB's Arizona Diamondbacks regular season games. Overall, Gray and Kiswe will carry the Suns games for five years, while the deal with three-time WNBA champion Mercury runs for two years.

At $517 billion, Tesla's market capitalization ended Thursday below Meta Platforms' (META.O) for the first time since 2021. Tesla's automotive gross margin, excluding regulatory credits and leasing, stood at 18.3%, missing an 'above 20%' target provided in January by Tesla CFO Zachary Kirkhorn. At least 15 analysts cut their Tesla price targets following Tesla's report, pulling the median target of 42 analysts from $210 down to $200, or about 23% above the stock's current level, according to Refinitiv data. Investors dumped automaker shares from Europe to the United States on fears that they too will sacrifice margins to maintain market share. Tesla remains up 32% year to date, far outperforming the S&P 500's (.SPX) 8% rise.

Failure to raise the debt ceiling would lead to default that would shake the U.S. and world economies. McCarthy said the package would lower spending by $4.5 trillion over the coming 10 years. Biden reiterated his position that Congress should raise the $31.4 trillion debt limit without conditions, as it did three times under his Republican predecessor, Donald Trump. POTENTIAL CONSEQUENCESThe nonpartisan Committee for a Responsible Federal Budget praised McCarthy's plan as a "realistic and extremely welcome first step." A lengthy 2011 standoff over the debt ceiling led to a first-ever downgrade of the federal government's credit rating, which rattled markets and raised borrowing costs.

☆ Republicans want to ban banning gas ovens as part of their legislation to raise the debt ceiling
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-19 | by ( Juliana Kaplan | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +3 min

Republicans have finally put their demands for the debt ceiling in writing and released legislation. They also want to preserve consumers' access to gas stoves, a fiery issue for the right. When Richard Trumka Jr., a commissioner at the Consumer Product Safety Commission, told Bloomberg that the agency was contemplating banning gas stoves, uproar ensued. Ultimately, the CPSC said it wasn't looking to outright ban gas stoves, and instead wanted to look how to reduce potentially hazardous emissions from stoves. What remains to be seen, then, is if McCarthy has enough votes to pay the country's debts and hold onto gas stoves.

☆ MLB roundup: Phillies score 9 in first, bash 23 hits to rout Reds
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-17 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +11 min

Lopez allowed two runs and seven hits in six innings. Both were 2-for-4 as Boston finished with seven hits. Alcantara (1-2) allowed seven hits and five runs (four earned) in six innings for the Marlins. Alek Manoah (1-1) allowed seven runs, nine hits and four walks in 4 2/3 innings for the Blue Jays. Castillo allowed two hits, didn't walk a batter and struck out nine over seven innings.

☆ How Electrifying Everything Became a Key Climate Solution
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-14 | by ( Nadja Popovich | Brad Plumer | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +19 min

Water heating Air conditioning Space heating Refrigeration Washing and dry. Refrigeration Air conditioning 16% electric Water heating 99% Refrigeration Air conditioning Residential Cooking Space heating Refrigeration Other 96% Lighting and electronics Lighting and elec. Cooking 2021 Current Electricity Use Electricity as percent of total energy consumed in 2021 36% Water heating Space heating Washing and dry. Cooking 2050 Net Zero Pathway Electricity as percent of total energy consumed in a high-electrification scenario Water heating Space heating 63% Washing and dry. Air conditioning Refrigeration Other Air conditioning Water heating 99% Refrigeration Space heating 96% Other Lighting and electronics Lighting and elec.

☆ Spring training roundup: Astros pound Cardinals 24-1
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-27 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +8 min

Astros starter Jose Urquidy scattered four hits over four innings, allowing the lone run on a multiple-error play in the second that scored Oscar Mercado. Cardinals starter Jack Flaherty yielded six earned runs on four hits and three walks over 3 2/3 innings. Wil Myers hit an RBI double and Michael Siani added an RBI single for the Reds. Elehuris Montero hit his fifth homer of the spring, a two-run shot, and Brenton Doyle went 2-for-3 with an RBI triple for the Rockies. Padres starter Michael Wacha went five innings and yielded eight hits, two walks and four runs.

Asia's economic data and policy calendar this week is light, which is perhaps just as well because investors' focus is firmly fixed elsewhere - the global banking crisis and what it means for growth, markets, and policy. Fears over deteriorating credit conditions are rising, despite the swift and bold action from U.S. and Swiss authorities. Fed and European Central Bank officials raised the warning flags on Sunday, echoing soundings from across the private sector last week. The turmoil and volatility across interest rates and fixed-income markets since Silicon Valley Bank was shuttered by California regulators on March 10 has been severe. Currency market volatility has been surprisingly subdued since the banking crisis flared up.

☆ Young moviegoers are more likely to pay more for good seats in theaters, new survey says
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-24 | by ( Sarah Whitten | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +3 min

Young moviegoers don't mind paying extra fees to see films on the big screen, if it means they get to sit in the best seats in the house, a new survey says. For example, moviegoers who want to sit in the middle of the auditorium would pay a few dollars more and those who choose the front row would pay a few dollars less. In both generations, more than 50% of respondents said they'd be willing to pay a few extra dollars for preferred seats. "While catering towards younger generations is important to the future of moviegoing, they also shouldn't completely ignore the older generations," Blancaflor said. Already, cinema chains such as Alamo Drafthouse have said they do not plan to implement dynamic pricing in their theaters.

☆ Spring training roundup: A's yield inside-the-park HR, rally past Angels
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-22 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +5 min

Taylor Ward scored an inside-the-park home run for the Angels in the first inning. Ward's liner to center got past a diving Esteury Ruiz, and the A's were slow to chase it down. Jake Cave hit his third homer of spring training for Philadelphia, while Pirates veteran Andrew McCutchen hit his first of the spring, a two-run shot. Washington got a two-run homer from Victor Robles and outhit St. Louis 15-6. The Giants had 16 hits, hanging six hits and six runs on Dodgers starter Noah Syndergaard (1-2) over 4 1/3 innings.

Economists who obsess about tightly calibrating the quantity of money in the system balk at QE as a tool. Two weeks of turmoil in mid-sized U.S. banks follow just nine months in which the Fed had been winding down its outsize balance sheet that peaked near $9 trillion during the pandemic. "Illiquidity episodes may force central banks to slow the process of reserve withdrawal. Reuters GraphicsILLIQUIDTY EPISODESThis could become a trap that prevents normalisation of the balance sheet longer term, they said. Better-measured and more forward-looking liquidity regulations, incentives for longer-duration deposits during QE bouts and rethinking stress tests were all options, they wrote.

☆ Founders and VCs reveal why they're sticking with the failed Silicon Valley Bank, at least for now: 'We owe them to keep them healthy'
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-18 | by ( Stephanie Palazzolo | Samantha Stokes | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +5 min

But for some startup customers of the failed Silicon Valley Bank, there's nothing to fix about their banking situation — yet. After Silicon Valley Bank's ultimate failure on March 10, federal regulators stepped to seize control and announced two days later that all depositors would be made whole. But some founders and VCs, like Shaprio, have chosen to stay with their hometown bank. Although their own business' health comes first, for many, the survival of Silicon Valley Bank is crucial, as a long-standing emblem of the tech community and a figure that welcomed risky startups when traditional institutions turned them down. And Silicon Valley Bank, by being there for 40 years, is the hub of this community, it's the thing the most startups have in common.

Employees have been working around the clock to onboard as many startups as possible in the wake of the implosion of Silicon Valley Bank. Silicon Valley Bank, which had more than $175 billion in deposits and served nearly half of US VC-backed startups, was taken over by US regulators on March 10. "That said, I am worried that this bias towards a Big Four bank is a double-edged sword," Shekar added. "SVB did not think like a big bank. They could understand your operating plan when a big bank would balk at it," Ashley Tyrner, CEO and founder of FarmBoxRX, told Insider.

☆ Subway will sell 50% discounts for its footlong sandwiches to app users — and they could sell out within hours
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-17 | by ( Nancy Luna | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +3 min

Subway is bringing back its Footlong Pass subscription program. Passes will be available on the chain's app, which has seen a surge in downloads lately, as well as online. And, they're about to surge even more as the chain plans to bring back its wildly popular $15 Footlong Pass deal. One million Subway app downloads in a monthAccording to app intelligence firm Apptopia, Subway's menu overhaul, and recent promotions are causing a surge in app downloads. McDonald's (3.2 million downloads) and Starbucks (1.3 million downloads) came in at No.

☆ Silicon Valley Bank's meltdown shows that tech's elites need the government after all
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-13 | by ( Emilia David | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +4 min

The Silicon Valley Bank meltdown is teaching the tech industry that regulators are sometimes needed. Tech's relationship with regulation has long been contentiousGovernment regulations, some of tech's most vocal figures contend, can stifle innovation and creativity. "I would suspect that this failure will result in some significant changes to banking regulation," Griffin said. "My logic for that is it isn't sustainable to have a run on a bank triggered mainly on Twitter." Very few in the VC world believe that the move to protect depositors will be bad for the industry's overall health.

☆ An $18 million Ferrari leads record classic-car auction at Amelia Island. See all 10 top sellers
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-08 | by ( Robert Frank | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +2 min

Wealthy car collectors spent a record amount at the classic-car auctions at Amelia Island over the weekend, suggesting the market remains strong despite recession fears and falling stocks. Total sales at the Amelia Island auction reached $178.4 million — a record for the event, topping the 2016 record of $140 million, according to classic-car insurance and events company Hagerty. Over 390 cars sold, at an average price of $455,293, up from $435,939. The most expensive car sold at Amelia Island was a 1962 Ferrari 250 GT SWB California Spider, sold at Gooding & Company for $18 million — setting a record for a car sold at the Amelia Island auctions. Here are the top 10 cars sold by value at the Amelia Island auctions, according to Hagerty.

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☆ Live Nation shows why concert tickets aren't going down anytime soon
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-24 | by ( Bob Pisani | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +4 min

We kicked around the idea of going, until someone said that ticket prices were likely $1,000 and up for the sold-out event. Ticket seller Live Nation on Thursday reported astonishing numbers: fourth quarter revenues at $4.29 billion were up about 60%, well north of the $3.6 billion expected. Live Nation said this reinforced "the global nature of untapped fan demand and the opportunities we have for growth." Regarding the high ticket prices, Live Nation addressed the problem directly:"We believe that greater transparency on the entire ticketing ecosystem will improve the industry, and we have been engaging with policymakers to advocate for reforms. Live Nation made several suggestions to combat this, including that artists should decide resale rules.

☆ Wagner Group's turn from prison recruitment could be effort to tap soldiers who might balk at 'serving with rapists and murderers,' historian says
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-14 | by ( Erin Snodgrass | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +4 min

Wagner Group, the Russian paramilitary organization, has stopped recruiting prisoners for the war. An expert in Russian history told Insider the move could be an attempt to recruit more competent fighters. "It was people deciding they would take their chances dying in Ukraine as opposed to dying in a Russian prison." While Prigozhin's quest for influence is well-documented, it's also entirely possible that Wagner ceased its prison recruitment efforts simply because the well had run dry, Miles said. The group could look to other war-torn countries where experienced soldiers might fight for pay, Miles said.

☆ Discovery flips script on Warner Bros deal logic
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-08 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

NEW YORK, Feb 8 (Reuters Breakingviews) - Warner Bros Discovery (WBD.O) is rewriting the rationale for its value-destructive $43 billion acquisition of AT&T’s (T.N) media assets. The company led by David Zaslav plans to keep the Discovery+ streaming service, home to “Shark Week,” separate from the newly added HBO Max, the Wall Street Journal reported on Wednesday. HBO Max is one of the most expensive options, at $16 per month with no advertising. If Warner Bros Discovery can’t even work out an internal merger, it suggests the industry’s reckoning may be further off. They do not reflect the views of Reuters News, which, under the Trust Principles, is committed to integrity, independence, and freedom from bias.

☆ 'Big Short' investor Michael Burry compares the stock market's rally to the dot-com bubble - and hints he's bracing for an epic crash
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-08 | by ( Theron Mohamed | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +4 min

Michael Burry signaled the stock-market rebound this year reminds him of the dot-com bubble. The "Big Short" investor highlighted how stocks and interest rates both plunged in 2001 and 2002. Burry has warned the S&P 500 could plunge by over 50%, and recently tweeted one word: "Sell." Notably, Burry emphasized in October that he's bracing for a collapse in stocks that dwarfs the dot-com crash, as there's so much money parked in index funds today. Burry shot to fame after his billion-dollar bet against the mid-2000s housing bubble was immortalized in the book and movie "The Big Short."

☆ Fears of Losing Out to China Put U.S. Under Pressure Over Kenya Base
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-02 | by ( Michael M. Phillips | ) www.wsj.com time to read: 1 min

MOKOWE, Kenya—Kenya is asking the U.S. to pay for the expansion of a joint counterterrorism base, raising concerns in Washington that the East African country could turn to China if the Americans balk, according to U.S. officials. The Kenyan military has drawn up plans for a new runway long enough to handle jet fighters at Manda Bay Airfield, a hub for U.S. and Kenyan operations against al-Shabaab, al Qaeda’s affiliate in neighboring Somalia, the U.S. officials said.

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