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☆ US House rebuffs bid by Republican hardliners to end some sanctions
▼ + stars: | 2023-07-18 | by ( David Morgan | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +4 min

WASHINGTON, July 18 (Reuters) - The Republican-controlled U.S. House of Representatives on Tuesday turned back a bid by hardline conservatives to end five presidential emergency declarations that allow for sanctions against America's enemies in the Middle East and Africa. Trump, a hero to Republican hardliners, did use a 2019 national emergency declaration to fund construction of a wall at the U.S.-Mexico border over the opposition of congressional Democrats. "Trump was probably the first president to use the National Emergency Act and national emergency declarations for the express purpose of getting around Congress on a question of long term policy," Goitein said. Both Republicans and Democrats said they agreed with the objective of improving the national emergency system. "While I understand my colleagues' desire to reform the national emergency process, empowering terrorists, corrupt officials and war criminals is not the answer.

Persons: Lauren Boebert, Matt Gaetz, Paul Gosar, Eli Crane, Republican George W, Bush, Barack Obama, Donald Trump's, Biden, Hardliner, Kevin McCarthy, Joe Biden, somebody's, Gosar, Elizabeth Goitein, Trump, Goitein, Mike Lawler, David Morgan, Scott Malone, Lincoln Organizations: Republican, House, Four Republican, Democratic, Republicans, Democrats, Washington, Colorado firebrand, Hardliner Republicans, Freedom Caucus, Brennan Center for Justice, New York University, Trump, Emergency, Thomson Locations: East, Africa, Syria, Yemen, Iraq, Libya, Democratic Republic of Congo, Colorado, Iran, U.S, Mexico

☆ Wells Fargo shares rise after second-quarter results beat estimates
▼ + stars: | 2023-07-14 | by ( Jesse Pound | In Jesse-Pound | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +2 min

Wells Fargo beat Wall Street estimates on the top and bottom lines for the second quarter, sending its stock higher in premarket trading Friday. $1.25 in earnings per share vs $1.16 expected$20.53 billion in revenue vs $20.12 billion expectedShares of Wells Fargo rose more than 3% before the bell. Wells Fargo hiked its full-year guidance for net interest income, saying it expected the metric to rise 14% in 2023 instead of the previous projection for 10%. "When you talk about commercial real estate, you're really talking about the office part of commercial real estate, because the rest of the commerical real estate portfolio is performing quite well," Santomassimo said on a media call. Wells Fargo said it spent $4 billion buying back 100.2 million shares during the quarter.

Persons: Wells, Wells Fargo, Charlie Scharf, Mike Santomassimo, Santomassimo Organizations: Wall, Consumer, KBW Locations: Wells Fargo, U.S

☆ I don't think there'll be a need for further rate hikes in the U.S., Nobel Laureate economist says
▼ + stars: | 2023-07-13 | by ( ) www.cnbc.com time to read: 1 min

Share Share Article via Facebook Share Article via Twitter Share Article via LinkedIn Share Article via EmailI don't think there'll be a need for further rate hikes in the U.S., Nobel Laureate economist saysChristopher Pissarides, awarded the Nobel Memorial Prize in Economic Sciences in 2010, says Europe "might be a different story."

Persons: Christopher Pissarides Organizations: Economic Sciences Locations: U.S, Europe

☆ Inflation is falling, fast – but it's time to get ready for different sorts of economic pain
▼ + stars: | 2023-07-12 | by ( George Glover | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +3 min

The latest Consumer Price Index report showed inflation cooling to just 3% in June. But there could be other types of economic pain ahead, with the jobs market slowing and some forecasters warning of a recession. But there could be other types of economic pain ahead. There are also other factors totally out of the Fed's control that could cause economic pain. In other words, while it's a welcome relief that inflation is falling, the US economy is nowhere near out of the woods just yet.

Persons: – who've Organizations: Federal Reserve, Service, Fed, Philadelphia Fed Locations: Wall, Silicon, Russia, OPEC

☆ A Russian sub commander was shot to death while on a morning run inside Russia — and Ukrainian intelligence knows surprising details about his killing
▼ + stars: | 2023-07-11 | by ( Chris Panella | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +3 min

A Russian submarine commander was shot dead while on a morning run inside Russia. Ukrainian intelligence shared details about the killing but didn't take responsibility. But it seems that Ukrainian intelligence is already ahead of them. It's unclear if the assailant knew about Rzhitsky's Strava account or whether it was used in the killing. While Ukrainian intelligence didn't immediately take responsibility for Rzhitsky's death, the head of Ukraine's military intelligence service has previously said that his assassins had been successfully targeting pro-Russian war propagandists inside Russia's borders away from the frontlines.

Persons: Stanislav Rzhitsky, Rzhitsky, there'll, Makarov, Rzytsky, didn't Organizations: Kyiv Post, Service, TASS, Ukraine's Defense Intelligence, of Culture Locations: Russian, Russia, Ukrainian, Kyiv, Wall, Silicon, Krasnodar

☆ Even Wall Street has no clue which way the economy is going
▼ + stars: | 2023-07-10 | by ( George Glover | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +2 min

Wall Street hasn't been so divided for two decades, according to Bloomberg. Get the inside scoop on today’s biggest stories in business, from Wall Street to Silicon Valley — delivered daily. Similarly, the Federal Reserve's own forecasters say it's a 50-50 call whether the US will manage to escape a severe economic slump. And you can add Wall Street to the list of places where there's limited agreement on if there'll be a recession before the end of this year. The range of views on Wall Street is so wide that when it comes to stocks, analysts haven't been so divided for 20 years, according to Bloomberg.

Persons: Joe Biden, Janet Yellen, there'll, Goldman Sachs, there's, Morgan Stanley's, Mike Wilson, haven't Organizations: Bloomberg, Service, Federal, Bank of America, JPMorgan Locations: Wall, Silicon

☆ Economist Hao Hong discusses China's economic outlook
▼ + stars: | 2023-07-10 | by ( ) www.cnbc.com time to read: 1 min

Share Share Article via Facebook Share Article via Twitter Share Article via LinkedIn Share Article via EmailThere'll be a greater urge to roll out blanket stimulus if China's economy slows further: EconomistHao Hong, Grow Investment Group's chief economist, says there's a debate about whether to hand out coupons, like Western economies do, to Chinese consumers.

Persons: Hao Hong, there's Organizations: Grow Investment

☆ Music containing AI-generated elements could win a Grammy as long as a human contributes in 'a meaningful way,' Recording Academy CEO says
▼ + stars: | 2023-07-04 | by ( Dominick Reuter | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +2 min

Music containing AI-generated elements is eligible to win a Grammy, the Recording Academy CEO said. While the award will only be given to "human creators," those artists can use AI in their work. In order to win a Grammy, you need a great song, excellent distribution — and a pulse. "Music that contains AI-created elements is absolutely eligible for entry and for consideration for Grammy nomination. "What's not going to happen is we are not going to give a Grammy or Grammy nomination to the AI portion."

Persons: Harvey Mason Jr, Mason, What's Organizations: Recording Academy, Associated Press, Oxford, Cambridge

☆ Why any M&A boom in banks will mirror shale oil in 2020 — all-stock offers and small premiums
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-27 | by ( Scott Schnipper | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +2 min

Pioneer Natural bought Parsley Energy at an 8% premium. Devon Energy bought WPX Energy at a 3% premium. Bilson points to Yellen last week highlighting a likely decline in earnings when banks report second-quarter earnings next month. That's already reflected in plenty of well-known banks "now trading with mid-single digit forward EPS multiples" as they are suddenly forced to pay more for their deposits, Bilson wrote. There are other hurdles standing in the way of bank deals, Bank of America analysts led by Ebrahim Poonawala said Monday.

Persons: Janet Yellen, there'll, Don Bilson, Gordon Haskett, Bilson, Ebrahim Poonawala, dealmaking, Poonawala, — CNBC's Michael Bloom Organizations: Silicon Valley Bank, Signature Bank, First, Federal Reserve, Dominion, Chevron, Noble Energy, ConocoPhillips, Concho Resources, Energy, Devon Energy, WPX Energy, Yellen, Bank of America, Regulators, U.S . Department of Justice, Federal Trade Commission, MTM Locations: U.S, Wall, Silicon, Toronto, Concho

☆ Big Tech fund manager reveals how to trade expensive valuations — and the stocks to buy
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-27 | by ( Ganesh Rao | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +4 min

Investors should focus on trading momentum rather than worry too much about lofty valuations in Big Tech stocks, according to chief investment officer Patrick Armstrong. "I've kept the mega-cap tech stocks that have really been the driver of returns for my portfolio and for the market," Armstrong told CNBC's Squawk Box Europe Monday. Yet Big Tech valuations have pushed the index's forward average price-to-earings ratio to 21 times, its highest level since 2004, barring a brief period in 2018 and 2021, according to FactSet data. Despite his discomfort about these steep valuations, Armstrong said he's not selling yet for two reasons. Armstrong added that if the economy slips into a recession, the recent tech rally could become a period of stagnation, with Big Tech stocks treading water as they attempt to grow into their lofty valuations.

Persons: Patrick Armstrong, Armstrong, I've, CNBC's, It's, he's, you've Organizations: Global Equity Strategy, Big Tech, Tech, Microsoft, Apple, Adobe, Investors Locations: Big Tech

"He's vulnerable and kind of finding his way in this," Jackson told Reuters about his character, the protagonist with the eye patch in the TV action series "Secret Invasion." It follows Nick Fury as he and his allies fight to stop the shapeshifting reptilian humanoids known as the Skrulls from committing international terrorist attacks and eventually invading Earth. The cast includes Ben Mendelsohn as Talos, a Skrull ally of Nick Fury, Emilia Clarke as G'iah, Talos' daughter, and Olivia Colman as agent Sonya Falsworth. While the series, directed by Ali Selim, is based on other projects from the Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU), it takes a different direction from previous Marvel shows. "It happens in a very organic kind of way, to know that we're inside something that doesn't have a superhero solution," Jackson said.

Persons: Samuel L, Jackson, Marvel, Nick Fury, Ben Mendelsohn, Emilia Clarke, Talos, Olivia Colman, Sonya Falsworth, Ali Selim, Clarke, they're, They're, Danielle Broadway, Rollo Ross, Mary Milliken, Rosalba O'Brien Organizations: Reuters, Disney, Marvel, Strategic, Intervention, Logistics, Thomson Locations: ANGELES

☆ Goldman Sachs CEO David Solomon warns of pain ahead for commercial real estate
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-12 | by ( Hugh Son | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +2 min

CEO David Solomon, Goldman Sachs, during a Bloomberg Television at the Goldman Sachs Financial Services Conference in New York, Dec. 6, 2022. Goldman Sachs CEO David Solomon said Monday that his bank will disclose markdowns on commercial real estate holdings as the industry grapples with higher interest rates. Solomon told CNBC's Sara Eisen the New York-based firm will post impairments on loans and equity investments tied to commercial real estate in the second quarter. "There's no question that the real estate market, and in particular commercial real estate, has come under pressure," he said in an interview on CNBC's "Squawk on the Street." Goldman posted almost $400 million in first-quarter impairments on real estate loans, according to Solomon.

Persons: David Solomon, Goldman Sachs, Solomon, CNBC's Sara Eisen, Goldman Organizations: Bloomberg Television, Goldman Sachs Financial Services Locations: New York, York, U.S

☆ Protesters prepare last-ditch bid to stop French pension overhaul
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-06 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

"Protests have been going on for six months, it's unprecedented," Sophie Binet, the new leader of the hardline CGT union said on BFM TV. "There's a lot of anger but also fatigue," she said, adding that strikers were feeling the pinch on paychecks. Between 400,000 and 600,000 people are expected to turn out at protests across France, authorities said, which would be down from more than a million who took part in marches at the height of the pension protests earlier this year. But unions hope a big protest turnout could pressure lawmakers into reviewing the bill anyway and holding a vote. Opposition lawmakers, meanwhile, say the bill being rejected would revive public anger, branding any such move "antidemocratic".

Persons: Emmanuel Macron's, Sophie Binet, I'm, Jean, Claude Mailly, Macron, Michel Rose, Hugh Lawson Organizations: CGT, Inter, SNCF, Thomson Locations: Macron, France, Paris, Orly

☆ Stocks surge in Asia as US averts default, Fed pause bets rise
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-02 | by ( Ankur Banerjee | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +4 min

The exuberant mood looked set to continue in Europe, with Eurostoxx 50 futures up 0.45%, German DAX futures up 0.49% and FTSE futures 0.18% higher. The Treasury Department had warned it would be unable to pay all its bills on June 5 if Congress failed to act. "The market's focus is shifting to the economic front and Fed's decision on rates now," said Tina Teng, markets analysts at CMC Markets. AMP's Oliver said the prevailing sentiment now is that there will be a pause in June and that's helped markets. Australia's S&P/ASX 200 index (.AXJO) rose 0.42%, while Japan's Nikkei (.N225) was 1% higher, continuing its hot run.

Persons: DAX, Shane Oliver, Tina Teng, Patrick Harker, Harker, AMP's Oliver, that's, there'll, Australia's, Sterling, Brent, Ankur Banerjee, Lincoln, Kim Coghill Organizations: Federal Reserve, U.S . Senate, Representatives, Treasury Department, AMP, CMC Markets, Labor, Philadelphia Federal, Japan's Nikkei, Treasury, Thomson Locations: SINGAPORE, Asia, Pacific, Japan, Europe, Sydney, U.S, China, Shanghai

☆ Streaming services like Hulu, Discovery+, and Disney+ have been ramping up the amount of ads in their shows
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-22 | by ( Lucia Moses | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +4 min

But in the past year, ad loads have crept up on almost all the top services, per MediaRadar. Now that streaming companies have fallen in love with ads, viewers can expect to see a lot more of them. Discovery+'s ad load grew 69%, to about 5 minutes per hour, while Hulu's jumped 38%, to 7.3 minutes per hour. MediaRadar shared numbers for standard commercial spots, which are the most common form of ads on streaming services. Disney+ Basic and Netflix's Basic with Ads are also increasing their ad loads — which is to be expected, as they're still ramping up.

☆ 'He lied to us about what he was doing and who he was': Anthony Scaramucci reflects on the top 3 lessons he wants all investors to learn from his experience with Sam Bankman-Fried.
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-19 | by ( Laila Maidan | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +7 min

Anthony Scaramucci's investment firm SkyBridge Capital had a rough run in 2022 after being burned by the collapse of the bankrupt crypto exchange FTX. Scaramucci told Insider that the amount of leverage in the system and the tax-loss selling in December depressed their overall performance. Still, there are spillover effects — and lessons — from last year's debacle with FTX that Scaramucci and SkyBridge are working through. Lessons learned from the FTX debacleLast year, Sam Bankman-Fried through FTX, the crypto exchange he founded, bought 30% of SkyBridge for $45 million. And finally, as the majority shareholder of the firm, Scaramucci holds the right of refusal to reject any transfer of the shares.

☆ FDA advisors recommend Pfizer’s RSV vaccine for infants but raise safety concerns
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-18 | by ( Annika Kim Constantino | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +3 min

The Food and Drug Administration's independent panel of advisors on Thursday recommended full approval of Pfizer's vaccine that protects infants from RSV, but raised safety concerns over premature births that may be tied to the shot. Ten of the advisors said the safety data on Pfizer's shot was adequate, while four said it was not. The FDA earlier this month approved the first RSV shot for adults ages 60 and older from GlaxoSmithKline. The agency is expected to make a decision within weeks on Pfizer's other RSV shot for that same age group. Pfizer's shot for infants is administered to expectant mothers in the late second or third trimester of their pregnancy.

☆ As G-7 Summit kicks off in Hiroshima, China and Russia are on everyone’s minds
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-18 | by ( Jihye Lee | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +5 min

A man rides his bicycle past a "G7 Hiroshima" flower sign at the Peace Memorial Park in Hiroshima, ahead of the G7 Leaders' Summit, on May 17, 2023. (Photo by Philip FONG / AFP) (Photo by PHILIP FONG/AFP via Getty Images) Philip Fong | Afp | Getty ImagesThe annual Group of 7 summit officially kicks off on Friday in Hiroshima, Japan. A sign of G7 Hiroshima Summit is pictured in Hiroshima, ahead of the G7 Leaders' Summit, on May 16, 2023. G-7 finance leaders and central bankers finalized a three-day meeting in Niigata last week. "The U.S. will have a package of sanctions associated with the G-7 statement that will center on this enforcement issue," he told reporters.

☆ Apple says your iPhone will soon be able to speak in your voice with 15 minutes of training
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-17 | by ( Pete Syme | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +2 min

That includes "Personal Voice," which will replicate your voice through AI in 15 minutes. If you have an iPhone or iPad, you'll soon be able to hear it speak in your own voice, Apple announced Tuesday. The Personal Voice feature in use. It's not the first time Apple has ventured into the AI voice market, as iPhone users will be familiar with Siri. It's not clear exactly when Personal Voice will be available, but Apple says it'll be before the end of the year.

☆ U.S. dollar struggles, pound hits one-year high
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-08 | by ( ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +2 min

The dollar index, which measures the currency against six rivals, was slightly higher at 101.41, a better showing than the one-year low of 100.78 reached last month. Fed funds futures traders are now pricing for the fed funds rate to reach 4.993 in July, and remain below that all year. Sterling hit a more than one-year peak against the dollar on Monday, with the pound trading as high as $1.2668, its highest since April 2022, but slipped slightly below that, and was last seen at $1.2614. The pound remains in focus this week ahead of an expected Bank of England rate increase on Thursday, and has also been firming versus the euro. Meanwhile, U.S. inflation data due on Wednesday, could indicate whether the Fed must do more to rein in inflation.

☆ Regional bank stocks could be a market afterthought in the week ahead
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-05 | by ( Scott Schnipper | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +7 min

For the immediate economic and earnings and growth outlook, it almost seems irrelevant whether regional bank stocks rally, steady or sell off more next week. Regional banks were top of mind for investors this past week, as First Republic failed , the SPDR S & P Regional Banking ETF tumbled more than 10% — twice the five-day loss in the S & P 500 Energy Index, the hardest hit S & P sector — and lenders such as PacWest Bancorp and Western Alliance Bancorp lost billions in market value. And, for all that, the S & P 500 only fell about 0.75% this week. Now the conventional wisdom on Wall Street is that regardless of how the regional bank stocks trade, it's a given that bank lending officers are going to pull in their horns and risk management desks will grow more risk averse. But stocks still face a host of issues, none of which are going away next week.

☆ After First Republic's rescue, economists predict further pain with a 'new era' of higher inflation
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-03 | by ( Elliot Smith | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +5 min

Leah Millis | ReutersAfter the rescue of First Republic Bank by JPMorgan Chase over the weekend, leading economists predict a prolonged period of higher interest rates will expose further frailties in the banking sector, potentially compromising the capacity of central banks to rein in inflation. Almost 80% of chief economists surveyed said central banks face "a trade-off between managing inflation and maintaining financial sector stability," while a similar proportion expects central banks to struggle to reach their inflation targets. Yet several leading economists told a panel at the World Economic Forum Growth Summit in Geneva on Tuesday that higher inflation and greater financial instability are here to stay. That means inflation, the impulse of inflation will be higher." She added that it "defies logic" that as the industry tries to pivot rapidly to a higher interest rate environment, there won't be further casualties beyond SVB, Signature, Credit Suisse and First Republic.

☆ 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.

☆ Business travel spending in the US and Europe could bounce back to pre-pandemic levels by 2024, but inflation may shrink the spending pie: Deloitte
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-27 | by ( Nidhi Pandurangi | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +3 min

Business travel could recover to pre-pandemic levels by the end of 2024, per a Deloitte survey. But travel spending might be 10% to 20% lower than pre-pandemic levels due to inflation, per Deloitte. There's good and bad news for those hoping for a full recovery in business travel to pre-pandemic levels. Of the 106 US-based respondents, 71% told Deloitte they expected companies to revert to 2019 travel spending levels by the end of 2024. In comparison, 68% of the 228 European respondents said business travel could recover to pre-pandemic levels by the end of next year.

☆ Nvidia releases software tools to help chatbots watch their language
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-25 | by ( Stephen Nellis | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

April 25 (Reuters) - Nvidia Corp (NVDA.O), a major supplier of chips and computing systems for artificial intelligence, on Tuesday released a set of software tools aimed at helping chatbots watch their language. But the chatbots can still be unpredictable and say things their creators wish they did not. Nvidia's software tools, provided free of charge, are designed to help companies guard against unwanted responses from chatbots. U.S. lawmakers have called for regulations around AI systems as apps like ChatGPT have surged in popularity. Few legal rules or industry standards exist on how to make AI systems safe.

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