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☆ Consumer Reports finds more lead, cadmium in chocolate, urges change at Hershey
▼ + stars: | 2023-10-25 | by ( Jonathan Stempel | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

Hershey's chocolates are pictured for sale on a store shelf in the Manhattan borough of New York City, New York, U.S. July 19, 2017. The magazine said 16 of the 48 chocolate products from various makers that its scientists tested recently in seven categories - dark chocolate, milk chocolate, cocoa powder, chocolate chips, and mixes for brownies, chocolate cake and hot chocolate - contained potentially harmful levels of lead, cadmium or both. The Consumer Reports testing followed its findings last December that 23 of 28 tested dark chocolate bars contained excessive lead or cadmium, including Hershey products sold under its own brand and the Lily's and Scharffen Berger brands. The magazine is again petitioning Hershey to reduce heavy metals in its chocolate. Consumer Reports food policy director Brian Ronholm said Hershey, as a "leading and popular brand," should commit to eliminating "dangerous levels" of heavy metals from its chocolate products, making them safer for consumers.

Persons: Carlo Allegri, Joe's, Scharffen Berger, Hershey, Brian Ronholm, Steve Voskuil, Voskuil, Christopher Gindlesperger, Jonathan Stempel, Bill Berkrot Organizations: REUTERS, Rights, Hershey Co, Nestle, Starbucks, YORK, Hershey, Consumer, Walmart, Target, National Confectioners Association, Thomson Locations: Manhattan, New York City , New York, U.S, New York

A 0.25 mg injection pen of Novo Nordisk's weight-loss drug Wegovy is shown in this photo illustration in Oslo, Norway, September 1, 2023. REUTERS/Victoria Klesty/Illustration/File Photo Acquire Licensing RightsLONDON/NEW YORK, Oct 23 (Reuters) - The growth in demand for appetite suppressing anti-obesity drugs like Novo Nordisk's (NOVOb.CO) Wegovy presents opportunities for food manufacturers and the market's initially downbeat reaction may be overdone, investors say. Still, the stock market impact left some food manufacturers "trembling," said John Plassard, senior investment specialist at Nestle investor Mirabaud Group. The uptake in appetite suppressing drugs seems to be a U.S.-led dynamic, said My Nguyen, research analyst at Legal & General Investment Management America. "Elsewhere, trends such as wealthier, more mobile middle classes in emerging countries can support shifts towards snacking and convenience foods."

Persons: Victoria Klesty, Richard Saldanha, Wegovy, Kiran Aziz, Mark Schneider, John Plassard, Brian Frank, Frank, Nguyen, Richa Naidu, Matt Scuffham, Kirsten Donovan Organizations: REUTERS, Walmart, Nestle, Aviva, Novo Nordisk, EY, Industry, Health Sciences, Wellness, Mirabaud, Tyson Foods, Arcos Dorados, Legal, General Investment Management America, Germany's, Investments, Unilever, Coca Cola, Thomson Locations: Oslo, Norway, Victoria, United States, Denmark, Germany, Arda, Ural, U.S

Real internal growth (RIG) - or a measure of sales volumes - fell 0.6%, meeting expectations. "The ultimate catalyst for the stock's multiple to improve is going to be seeing that volume number going positive." Analysts had on average expected organic sales growth of 8.1%. Nestle confirmed its full-year outlook of organic sales growth between 7% and 8% and underlying trading operating profit margin between 17.0% and 17.5%. The drug's popularity has prompted concerns in the consumer and retail industry over whether food sales will be impacted.

Persons: Denis Balibouse, Nestle, Mark Schneider, Schneider, Richard Saldanha, Maggi, Novo, Richa Naidu, Christopher Cushing, Jason Neely Organizations: Nestle, REUTERS, Gillette, Aviva, Novo Nordisk's, Walmart, Thomson Locations: Romont, Switzerland, Ukraine

Kit Kat chocolate-covered wafer bars manufactured by Nestle are seen in London, Britain, July 25, 2018. REUTERS/Hannah McKay/File Photo Acquire Licensing RightsLONDON, Oct 19 (Reuters) - Nestle (NESN.S) on Thursday said it has started work on products to "companion" weight loss drugs like Novo Nordisk's (NOVOb.CO) game-changing Wegovy, hoping to cash in on their growing popularity. "We're working already on a wide range of products that could serve as companion products," Schneider said during an earnings briefing, noting that some supplements can help with the "loss of lean muscle mass" and "rapid regain of weight". "The largest parts of our portfolio will not be affected" by this new breed of weight loss drugs, he said. Wegovy has been shown to help patients reduce body weight by around 15% when used along with exercise and lifestyle changes.

Persons: Kat, Hannah McKay, Mark Schneider, Nestle, Schneider, Wegovy, Richa Naidu, Christopher Cushing Organizations: Nestle, REUTERS, Walmart, Thomson Locations: London, Britain, Swiss, United States, Norway, Denmark, Germany

☆ Corporate America weighs risks of the Ozempic effect
▼ + stars: | 2023-10-19 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

Walmart (WMT.N) expects revenues from its health and wellness products to increase in the second half of the year, mainly due to the popularity of weight-loss drugs. PepsiCo (PEP.O) Chief Financial Officer Hugh Johnston has said the company is "not seeing any impact" yet from the popularity of weight-loss drugs. Abbott Laboratories (ABT.N), which makes glucose monitoring products, has said that the market was overestimating the impact to its sales from growing popularity of the drugs. Abbott CEO Robert Ford has said that diabetes patients could end up using glucose monitors with the weight-loss drugs in the long term. DRUG DISTRIBUTORSCencora (COR.N), formerly called AmerisourceBergen, Cardinal Health (CAH.N) and McKesson (MCK.N) have flagged potential boost to revenues this year owing to the growing demand for weight-loss drugs.

Persons: George Frey, Eli Lilly's, Hugh Johnston, Johnson, Joseph Wolk, Robert Ford, Bhanvi, Mrigank Organizations: Novo Nordisk, Pharmacy, REUTERS, Walmart, PepsiCo, Abbott Laboratories, Insulet Corp, Cardinal Health, Thomson Locations: Provo , Utah, U.S, Bengaluru

☆ India's Tata Group mulls $1 bln infusion into super-app venture - Bloomberg News
▼ + stars: | 2023-10-19 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

The logo of Tata Group is seen at a business meeting organised by the Confederation of Indian Industry (CII) in New Delhi March 23, 2009. REUTERS/Vijay Mathur/File photo Acquire Licensing RightsBENGALURU, Oct 19 (Reuters) - India's Tata Group is considering a $1 billion capital infusion into its super app Tata Neu to improve its digital business, Bloomberg News reported on Thursday, citing people familiar with the matter. Tata may provide the capital in 2024, the report said, adding talks are ongoing and details of the deal could change. A super app combines multiple services onto one platform. Tata Neu was launched in April 2022 and offers products ranging from apparel to airline tickets, and aims to compete with a fast-growing market dominated by Amazon.com (AMZN.O) and Walmart's (WMT.N) Flipkart.

Persons: Vijay Mathur, Tata Neu, Ashna Teresa Britto, Sonia Cheema Organizations: Tata Group, Confederation of Indian Industry, REUTERS, Rights, India's Tata Group, Bloomberg, Tata, Reuters, Amazon.com, Thomson Locations: New Delhi

☆ As Rite Aid's bankruptcy shutters drugstores, these retailers will benefit
▼ + stars: | 2023-10-18 | by ( Pia Singh | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +7 min

Rite Aid's bankruptcy is likely to be a bigger boost to retailers such as Walmart and Costco than it will be to other drugstore chains, according to UBS. And as drugstore closures accelerate, dollar stores may be able to scoop up some of the abandoned locations. Discount chains Dollar Tree and Dollar General could also benefit from drugstore closures. Dollar stores, in particular, could also expand into store fronts once operated by drugstore chains. For dollar stores, the real advantage will be the real estate left behind.

Persons: Michael Lasser, it's, Lasser, Stephen Buschbom, Buschbom, Gordon Haskett, we've Organizations: Walmart, Costco, UBS, Rite Aid, CVS Health, Walgreens, CVS, Kroger, Target, KR, Wall Street, FactSet, Albertsons, HSBC Locations: U.S

☆ Amazon rolls out robotic system at Houston warehouse to speed up deliveries
▼ + stars: | 2023-10-18 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

The logo of Amazon is seen at the company logistics center in Lauwin-Planque, northern France, November 15, 2022. REUTERS/Pascal Rossignol/File Photo Acquire Licensing RightsOct 18 (Reuters) - Amazon.com (AMZN.O) said on Wednesday it was using a robotic system at one of its Houston warehouses to improve inventory management and speed up deliveries, building on its years-long bet that automation will help boost sales and worker safety. The technology, called "Sequoia", brings together a series of systems including mobile robots and robotic arms. Amazon said Sequoia can help identify and store inventory 75% faster, while reducing the time to process orders at a warehouse by as much as 25%. The company said it would begin testing a bipedal robot called "Digit" from Agility Robotics, a startup backed by Amazon.

Persons: Pascal, Zaheer Kachwala, Shounak Dasgupta Organizations: REUTERS, Walmart, Agility Robotics, Amazon, Ford, Thomson Locations: Lauwin, France, Houston, Bengaluru

☆ Walmart beefs up its third-party marketplace as it challenges bigger online rival Amazon
▼ + stars: | 2023-10-18 | by ( Melissa Repko | In Melissa-Repko | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +8 min

In this article WMTAMZN Follow your favorite stocks CREATE FREE ACCOUNTWalmart hosted its first seller summit for its third-party marketplace this summer. Walmart leaders gave third-party marketplace sellers an early gift, too: Waiving extra fees for storing merchandise during the peak season. Already, the company is using the third-party marketplace to try to drum up early business. About 70% of items included in Walmart Plus Week, which coincided with Amazon Prime Day in July, were marketplace items. There are signs Walmart's growing third-party marketplace could help the company defy slower spending patterns and capitalize on inflation-wary shoppers.

Persons: Doug McMillon, Santa Claus, Sam Walton, Walmart's, Tom Ward, Rick Watson, Watson, Melissa LaCognata, Jaré Buckley, Cox Organizations: Walmart, Amazon's, Amazon, Walmart U.S, eBay, RMW Commerce Consulting, Federal Trade Commission, Disney, Reebok, Lucky Locations: Las Vegas, Amazon

☆ Walmart-owned India's PhonePe revenue soars 77% in FY23
▼ + stars: | 2023-10-18 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

BENGALURU, Oct 18 (Reuters) - Walmart-owned (WMT.N) PhonePe said on Wednesday its consolidated revenue for financial year 2023 surged 77%, as more customers used its platform to send and receive money in India's booming digital payments market. The company's loss before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortisation on a standalone basis widened to 17.55 billion rupees ($210.8 million) from 16.12 billion rupees a year ago, PhonePe said in a statement. Consolidated revenue grew to 29.14 billion rupees from 16.46 billion rupees a year ago. PhonePe, which has more than 490 million registered users, had a near 51% share of the value of transactions on India's instant money transfer system, Unified Payments Interface (UPI), as of March end. ($1 = 83.2420 Indian rupees)Reporting by Rama Venkat in Bengaluru; Editing by Dhanya Ann ThoppilOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

Persons: PhonePe, Rama Venkat, Dhanya Ann Thoppil Organizations: Walmart, Atlantic, Tiger Global, Thomson Locations: BENGALURU, India, Singapore, Bengaluru

☆ Here are Wednesday's biggest analyst calls: Nvidia, Microsoft, Apple, Amazon, Arm, Meta, Ulta & more
▼ + stars: | 2023-10-18 | by ( Michael Bloom | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +6 min

KeyBanc initiates Arm Holdings as overweight Key said it sees "meaningful market share gains" for Arm. " Bank of America reiterates Microsoft as buy Bank of America said Microsoft remains a top pick heading into earnings next week. Deutsche Bank reiterates Ulta as buy Deutsche said despite softening beauty sales, Ulta remains "compelling." "After tripling its market share in China in the last decade, NetEase is emerging as a global video games content powerhouse by forming synergistic partnerships with gaming industry veterans globally that will likely drive a similar runway for its global market share." "As we had anticipated (although we thought it would come in January), ASML reset expectations for CY24 to flat revenue growth vs prior guide of 'growth.'"

Persons: Wedbush, Key, IoT, Raymond James, Brinker, FWRG, Jefferies, Ulta, Morgan Stanley, NetEase, Redburn, Guggenheim, Doug McMillon, Bank of America downgrades Sherwin, Williams, Sherwin, Ecolab, McDonald's Organizations: UBS, Apple, Citi, Nvidia, NVIDIA, Holdings, ARM, JPMorgan, Bank of America, Microsoft, Jefferies, Deutsche Bank, Deutsche, Avis Deutsche, Walmart, of America Locations: China, Europe, Japan, Dutch, ESTC, Brazil, underperform

☆ Instacart IPO banks tout e-grocery shopping potential, but challenges loom
▼ + stars: | 2023-10-16 | by ( Savyata Mishra | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

REUTERS/Cheney Orr/File Photo Acquire Licensing RightsOct 16 (Reuters) - Most Wall Street brokerages, including J.P.Morgan and Goldman Sachs, kicked off coverage on Instacart (CART.O) with a bullish view, betting on the grocery delivery app's growth amid a shift to online shopping. The stock — following a lukewarm debut in September — closed at $25.57 on Friday, below its $30 initial public offering (IPO) price. At least half of Instacart's 20 IPO underwriters have initiated coverage with their top ratings after the quiet period ended. Instacart's slow growth compared to rivals is a top concern, as a reduction in food stamp benefits and a shift back to in-store shopping could limit GTV growth, according to Piper Sandler analyst Alexander Potter. As of Friday, the six brokerages that were not involved in the IPO started coverage with an average rating of "hold", LSEG data showed.

Persons: Eric Cohn, Cheney Orr, Goldman Sachs, —, Baird, Colin Sebastian, Scott Devitt, Justin Post, Piper Sandler, Alexander Potter, Savyata Mishra, Shilpi Majumdar Organizations: Safeway, REUTERS, J.P.Morgan, underwriters, Walmart, Wedbush, BofA Global Research, Thomson Locations: Tucson , Arizona, U.S, Instacart, Bengaluru

☆ Walmart staffed up for holidays; US retailers cautious about economy
▼ + stars: | 2023-10-16 | by ( Siddharth Cavale | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

"We're staffed and ready to serve the customers this holiday season," Maren Dollwet Wagonner, senior vice-president of people, said in a LinkedIn postlast week. Walmart, like other retail chains, has been cautious in its holiday season outlook, saying customers are stressed by high food prices, depleted savings and higher interest rates. The statement from America's largest private employer with 1.7 million employees offered analysts insight into possible holiday shopping results. Except for Amazon, which plans to hire 250,000 holiday season workers, several other U.S. chains including Macy's have issued muted hiring plans for the period. While U.S. retail job applications are up 46%, job openings are down 25% and actual retail hiring is down by 12% in the year through September, according to talent acquisition company iCIMS.

Persons: Kamil Krzaczynski, sprees, We're, Maren Dollwet Wagonner, Andrew Challenger, Neil Costa, Walmart's, Spencer, Siddharth Cavale, Mark Porter, Richard Chang Organizations: Walmart, REUTERS, Challenger, U.S, Walmart's LinkedIn, Thomson Locations: Chicago , Illinois, U.S, Britain, New York

☆ Dollar General bets on old boss’s old magic
▼ + stars: | 2023-10-13 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

NEW YORK, Oct 13 (Reuters Breakingviews) - Dollar General (DG.N) is reaching back to happier days. In that time, shares plummeted 60%, compared to rival Dollar Tree’s (DLTR.O) gentler decline of roughly a fifth. Meanwhile, Dollar General has repeatedly missed analyst expectations as net profit margin fell from nearly 7% to estimates of 3% for this quarter, according to LSEG. Under his previous stint from 2015 until 2022, shares returned an annualized 19%, beating Dollar Tree, Walmart (WMT.N) and Big Lots (BIG.N). Dollar General faces plenty of challenges shared by all retailers, from rising wages to shifting consumer spending.

Persons: Todd Vasos, Jeff Owen, Vasos, Walt Disney, Bob Iger, Howard Schultz, outperforming, doesn’t, Jennifer Saba, Larry Fink, Uncle Sam, Jonathan Guilford, Sharon Lam Organizations: Reuters, Walmart, Walt, Starbucks, X, Infosys, Thomson Locations: Europe

☆ 3 ways Costco can win leveraging AI and its treasure trove of member shopping data
▼ + stars: | 2023-10-13 | by ( Paulina Likos | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +7 min

For the entire grocery industry, Cowen sees AI amplifying "loyalty by harnessing customer interaction data to offer prescriptive advice." Customer experience Costco has the "unique opportunity to drill into the buying habits of their individual members," Morningstar retail analyst Noah Rohr told CNBC in an interview. Rohr believes that generative AI advancements could be as simple as making promotional emails more relevant to each individual member. The retailer utilizing its large customer data sets is "a big advantage when it comes to inventory planning," Morningstar's Rohr said. Rohr said Costco can also optimize its data with AI by making sure store employees are using their time efficiently.

Persons: TD Cowen, Cowen, Noah Rohr, Joe Feldman, ChatGPT, Rohr, Feldman, it's, Morningstar's Rohr, Kirkland, Jim Cramer's, Jim Cramer, Jim Organizations: Costco, Walmart, Morningstar, CNBC, Kirkland, Advisory, Corbis, Getty Locations: Kirkland, Teterboro , New Jersey

"I just want to say how deeply saddened that we all are about the recent horrific attacks on Israel ... He warned that the war in Ukraine, compounded by the attacks on Israel, could have "far-reaching impacts on energy and food markets, global trade, and geopolitical relationships." On Friday, Citigroup CEO Jane Fraser included Israel in her opening remarks on the bank's earnings call. "Once someone ventures into the space of, 'who is the perpetrator and who is the victim,' you enter into the exposure of social media disinformation and risk," Kotok said. Some large companies including Apple (AAPL.O) and Walmart (WMT.N) had yet to issue statements, while some prominent personalities including NBA star LeBron James have spoken out.

Persons: JPMorgan Chase, Jamie Dimon, Albert Bourla, Jefferies, Michael Bloomberg, Goldman Sachs, Jane Fraser, Israel, Fraser, Larry Fink, David Kotok, Cumberland, Kotok, Antonio Neri, Andy Jassy, Sundar Pichai, Satya Nadella, LeBron James, Gigi Hadid, Lananh Nguyen, Aditya Soni, Stephen Nellis, Siddharth Cavale, David Gaffen, Arriana, Sayantani Ghosh, David Gregorio Our Organizations: JPMorgan, Pfizer, UBS, New York City, Bloomberg, Delta Air Lines, Citigroup, BlackRock, Cumberland Advisors, Hewlett Packard Enterprise, Amazon, Meta, Union, Google, Microsoft, Apple, Walmart, NBA, Thomson Locations: Israel, Ukraine, New York, Florida, Bengaluru

[1/2] The Kroger supermarket chain's headquarters is shown in Cincinnati, Ohio, U.S., June 28, 2018. Bonta said the decision has not been made, but added: "Right now there's not a lot of reason not to sue." In September, the companies announced a plan to sell more than 400 grocery stores to C&S Wholesale Grocers in an effort to get regulatory approval for the deal. A Kroger spokesperson said only non-unionized retailers, like Walmart and Amazon, will benefit if the merger is blocked. Research from the University of Southern California in 2021 found one in three neighborhoods in 30 populous U.S. cities had inadequate access to needed pharmacy services.

Persons: Lisa Baertlein, Rob Bonta, Bonta, Lina Khan, Diane Bartz, Leslie Adler, Bill Berkrot, Aurora Ellis Organizations: Kroger, REUTERS, Rights, Albertsons, S Wholesale Grocers, Walmart, U.S, Water Watch, Federal Trade, FTC, University of Southern, Thomson Locations: Cincinnati , Ohio, U.S, California, America, Food, Washington, University of Southern California

How GLP-1 drugs work Sorting through the facts reveals some likely winners and losers. LLY YTD mountain Eli Lilly shares year to date performance It is still early days for GLP-1 medications. Many have seen the rise of GLP-1 drugs as a threat to the medical device industry. Also, not all patients are able to tolerate GLP-1 drugs, which can cause side effects such as nausea. Among other medtech stocks, Plovanic sees GLP-1 drugs as an "incremental positive" for Dexcom, which makes continuous glucose monitors (CGMs), but an "incremental negative" for insulin pump makers like Insulet.

Persons: Insulet, Medtronic, Dexcom, BAX, NASH, Eli Lilly, Peter Verdult, Lilly, Eli Lilly aren't, Piper Sandler, Wegovy, Yasmeen Rahimi, Robbie Marcus, Marcus, hasn't, Baxter, David Low doesn't, William Plovanic, Craig Wong, Pan, Plovanic, Matt O'Brien, O'Brien, Rippling, Simeon Gutman, Morgan Stanley, Gutman, — CNBC's Michael Bloom Organizations: Novo Nordisk, Baxter International, Baxter, GLP, Citi, Novo, Bank of America, Viking Therapeutics, Pharmaceuticals, Pfizer, Amgen, Companies, Fisher, Reuters, Inspire, Systems, JPMorgan, RBC Capital, Walmart, underperformance Locations: GLP, U.S, DaVita, ResMed

☆ Walmart expands online healthcare benefits for US employees
▼ + stars: | 2023-10-10 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

REUTERS/Siddharth Cavale/File Photo Acquire Licensing RightsOct 10 (Reuters) - Walmart (WMT.N) said on Tuesday it will expand online primary care benefits as part of its employee health insurance plan to its workers in 28 U.S. states. Walmart said it has partnered with virtual healthcare services provider Included Health to expand its online primary care services, which are already available in 21 states. The expansion comes months after Walmart announced plans to open new healthcare centres in the U.S. next year, as the company looks to expand its footing in the industry. Walmart said in a blog post it had observed an 11% reduction in the total costs of care for its employees and their families from a pilot run for its virtual primary care service. The company added that most of its online health services offered as part of the plan were available at no additional cost.

Persons: Siddharth Cavale, Juveria Tabassum, Sherry Jacob, Phillips, Shweta Agarwal Organizations: REUTERS, Walmart, Health, Thomson Locations: Teterboro , New Jersey, U.S, United States

A woman pushes shopping carts during a sales event on Thanksgiving day at Walmart in Westbury, New York, U.S., November 28, 2019. In recent years, retailers like Amazon and Walmart have sought to boost their bottom lines and spread out demand by hosting holiday shopping events online in early October. Inflation remains a top concern for holiday shoppers, according to a KPMG survey, leading some to seek out deals on possible gifts. Walmart, which revealed discounts for its four-day Holiday Kickoff event at midday on Monday, posted deals on Dyson vacuums, HP (HPE.N) laptops and Apple (AAPL.O) products, much like Amazon and Target. The Target Circle event started nearly a week earlier than its October sales event in 2022.

Persons: Shannon Stapleton, Neil Saunders, Matt Kramer, Dyson, Arriana McLymore, Jamie Freed Organizations: Walmart, REUTERS, Black, Deloitte, Amazon, Deal, KPMG, KPMG Consumer, Retail National, U.S, HP, Apple, Target, Apple Watches, Thomson Locations: Westbury , New York, U.S, New York

☆ Pepsi has long way to go to win Ozempic challenge
▼ + stars: | 2023-10-10 | by ( Anita Ramaswamy | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

The purveyor of Gatorade and Cheetos boosted operating profit 14%, to about $4 billion, after hiking prices by at least 10% for the seventh consecutive quarter. The quantity of drinks and snacks sold is slumping, however, and anti-obesity drugs are just starting to make their mark. Pepsi’s shares have tumbled 14% since May, lagging the 5% gain in the S&P 500 Index (.SPX) over the same period. The head of Walmart’s (WMT.N) U.S. drugstores told Bloomberg that customers taking Ozempic, Wegovy and others are pulling back on junk-food purchases. The latest results from Pepsi quelled fears of any immediate impact, but also raise questions about the future.

Persons: Brendan McDermid, Eli Lilly, drugstores, Morgan Stanley, Boss Ramon Laguarta, Laguarta, Lay, Hugh Johnston, Jeffrey Goldfarb, Sharon Lam Organizations: REUTERS, Reuters, PepsiCo, Gatorade, Novo Nordisk, Bloomberg, Pepsi, Frito, Thomson Locations: New York City, U.S, Wegovy

The U.S. government in May ended the COVID public health emergency declaration during which it bought the shots and provided them to all Americans for free. In the current privatized system, health insurance plans by law must cover the shots at no cost. McKesson (MCK.N), one of the largest U.S. wholesalers, said it has distributed over 3.8 million shots so far. "Health insurance providers continue to educate Americans about where and how to get their COVID vaccines within their plan’s coverage," David Allen, a spokesperson for insurance lobby group AHIP said. Now that the government is no longer footing the bill for their vaccine supply, pharmacy owners need to pay for the shots.

Persons: Kate MacDowell, MacDowell, Kaiser, David Allen, AHIP, David Kohll, James Daily, he's, Suzanne Berman, Michael Erman, Ahmed Aboulenein, Caroline Humer, Bill Berkrot Organizations: Pfizer, U.S . Department of Health, Human Services, Kaiser Permanente, COVID, Moderna, CVS, Walmart, Walgreens, Walgreens Boots Alliance, Cardinal Health, Reuters, Kohll's Pharmacy, Thomson Locations: WASHINGTON, U.S, Portland , Oregon, Oregon, California, Nebraska, Readington , New Jersey, Crossville , Tennessee, New York, Washington

☆ How I'm approaching the market in the wake of the attack on Israel
▼ + stars: | 2023-10-08 | by ( Jim Cramer | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +5 min

It's terrible to be clinical after watching horrifying pictures and having real feelings about the tragedy in Israel this weekend. But it is difficult to believe that there will be another embargo when Israel was so clearly not the aggressor. Do you sell American stocks off of something tragic that happens in Ukraine or Israel or to any of our allies? No, it is because we have the ability — good or bad — to focus on what's existential for our country, not for Israel. As a subscriber to the CNBC Investing Club with Jim Cramer, you will receive a trade alert before Jim makes a trade.

Persons: It's, Treasurys, that's, Frito Lay, Will, —, Tyson, Jim Cramer's, Jim Cramer, Jim, Pepsi sodas, Brandon Bell Organizations: PepsiCo, Frito, Walmart, TSN, It's, Adobe, Jim Cramer's Charitable, CNBC, Pepsi, Getty Locations: Israel, Kippur, Ukraine, Austin , Texas

☆ Nestle shares at two-year low as investors weigh Wegovy rollout
▼ + stars: | 2023-10-06 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

REUTERS/Hannah McKay/Photo Illustration/File Photo Acquire Licensing RightsOct 6 (Reuters) - Nestle (NESN.S) shares were under pressure on Friday as investors weighed the potential impact of Novo Nordisk's (NOVOb.CO) blockbuster weight-losing drug Wegovy and how it could reduce spending on food. The KitKat and Nescafe coffee maker's shares were down 2% and headed for their lowest level in more than two years. However, Cox does not regard this as a substantial risk to Nestle and the broader food industry in the long term. Bruno Monteyne from Bernstein also pointed to the Wegovy impact, but saw little logic in the sell-off. "Danone sells water, baby milk powder, and yogurt: not sure how those would be negatively impacted by GLP1 / Wegovy?"

Persons: Kat, Hannah McKay, Wegovy, Peers, Kepler Cheuvreux, Jon Cox, John Furner, Cox, Bruno Monteyne, Bernstein, Andrey Sychev, John Revill, Mark Potter Organizations: Nestle, REUTERS, Peers Danone, Unilever, Kepler, Bloomberg, Danone, Health, Thomson Locations: London, Britain, U.S

☆ These top 5 dividend stocks will consistently increase payments to investors, and are poised to rebound during a surprisingly strong 4th quarter, according to the CIO at a $250 billion hedge fund
▼ + stars: | 2023-10-06 | by ( Laila Maidan | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +4 min

Consensus estimates for the third quarter were recently lowered with expectations for flat revenue growth and slightly positive earnings growth. The three stocks below are also growing revenues, earnings, cash flows, and dividends as they have fundamentally attractive businesses that are less cyclical. Motorola Solutions (MSI) is a video and telecommunications equipment, software, systems, and services provider with an annual yield of 1.28%. It has an annual yield of 1.38%. And Eaton Corporation (ETN), is a power management company with an annual yield of 1.68%.

Persons: Saira Malik, Malik, I'm Organizations: Investors, Treasury, Retail, Walmart, Motorola Solutions, Linde, Eaton Corporation

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