Good morning. Happy Friday.
The Asian/Pacific markets leaned to the upside. Japan, China and India led while Malaysia was weak. Europe, Africa and the Middle East are doing well. Turkey is weak, but the UK, Denmark, Germany, Switzerland, Norway, Hungary, Spain, Italy, Portugal, Israel and Austria are doing well. Futures in the States point to a slight down open for the cash market.
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The dollar is up slightly. Oil is up; copper is down. Gold is up; silver is flat. Bonds are down.
Stories/News from Seeking Alpha…
Drugs and the market
There are many factors in setting drug policy, which often center around the benefits or detriments to a society and its economy. On one side stands regulation that can create new tax revenues, expand jobs, limit criminal behavior, and reduce costs related to enforcement. On the other side, arguments have been made for protections against addictive and dangerous substances, maintaining public order, and the adverse effects on mental health and innocent lives. Interestingly, many countries and regions are backpedaling on their recent decisions, which can have major impacts and effects on corporate bottom lines.
Smoking: New Zealand this week reversed a ban on tobacco sales to younger generations that was due to go into effect in July. The government repealed a law passed under former Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern’s administration that would have banned people who were born after Jan. 1, 2009, from buying cigarettes for their entire lives. Health department officials said the coalition government was committed to reducing smoking, but planned on using different strategies instead of mandating the world’s first smoke-free society. See related tobacco stocks here.
Weed: Thailand just announced that it would ban the use of recreational cannabis by the end of this year, citing the “negative impacts of misuse” and risks of “leading to other drugs in the long run.” It’s a big reversal for the first Asian nation that decriminalized pot, especially on a continent where many countries impose long prison terms or even death sentences for cannabis possession or trafficking. Around 20,000 Thai pot shops sprung up in recent years, in an industry that had been forecast to be worth up to $1.2B by 2025. Check out publicly traded marijuana firms.
Hard drugs: Over three years after the first U.S. state decriminalized things like heroin, meth, cocaine and psychedelics, Oregon is getting some second thoughts. Governor Tina Kotek has declared a fentanyl state of emergency, while lawmakers are in the middle of repealing Measure 110, with opioid overdoses tripling since 2020. Currently, penalties are limited to citations with a maximum $100 fine, but the infractions could be avoided if a user attends a treatment screening or calls a hotline for addiction services. Discover some psychedelic industry players.
Record territory
U.S. stocks ended higher on Thursday after a late-session push, helping the Nasdaq (COMP.IND) post a new record close more than two years since its previous milestone. Market participants were undeterred by the hotter PCE inflation data – the Fed’s preferred inflation gauge – which met expectations and showed little progress in the central bank’s fight to push inflation down to its 2% goal. Seasonality also played a factor in the January numbers. “Cooling incomes and spending suggest inflation will moderate again in the coming months, leaving the door open to a June rate cut,” wrote ING Economic and Financial Analysis. (44 comments)
Security risks
In a move that can lead to curbs on auto parts, President Biden has directed Commerce Secretary Gina Raimondo to investigate connected vehicles amid national security risks. He warned that such vehicles from China could collect sensitive data about U.S. citizens and infrastructure, as they can be remotely accessed. The probe would be Washington’s latest move to protect U.S. manufacturing against Chinese cyberattacks, following an executive order on maritime cybersecurity. Experts have raised alarm bells on China’s hacking capabilities, while Tesla’s (TSLA) Elon Musk previously said Chinese carmakers will “demolish” foreign rivals if there are no trade barriers. (9 comments)
Regional concerns
New York Community Bancorp (NYCB) tumbled 21.7% AH on Thursday after delaying its 10-K filing. Material weaknesses were identified in internal accounting protocols, stemming from ineffective oversight, risk assessment and monitoring activities. NYCB also disclosed a $2.4B hit to Q4 and 2023 earnings, as well as immediate leadership changes. The bank’s shares have fallen 53% so far this year, triggered by its slashed dividend and huge provision for loan losses, but Investing Group Leader The Value Portfolio believes the odds of a bank run are low, given NYCB’s profitability and high insured deposits. (124 comments)
Today’s Economic Calendar
8:30 Fed’s Barkin Speech
9:45 PMI Manufacturing Index
10:00 ISM Manufacturing Index
10:00 Construction Spending
10:00 Consumer Sentiment
10:15 Fed’s Waller and Logan: “2024 report, Quantitative Tightening around the Globe: What Have We Learned?”
12:15 PM Fed’s Bostic: Economic Outlook
1:00 PM Baker Hughes Rig Count
1:30 PM Fed’s Daly: “AI and the Labor Market”
3:30 PM Fed’s Kugler: “Pursuing the Dual Mandate”
What else is happening…
Dell (DELL) soars as strong AI server demand aids results.
Fisker (FSR) in free-fall after flagging going concern doubts.
Regulatory drag: Value of General Motors’ (GM) Cruise cut in half.
Vanguard CEO and chairman Tim Buckley to retire by end of year.
Meta (META) to do away with Facebook News in U.S. and Australia.
Zuckerberg looks to Samsung (OTCPK:SSNLF) to diversify Asia risk.
SoundHound AI (SOUN) slides as Q4 results miss expectations.
Kodak (KODK) surges as it mulls unlocking pension fund surplus.
Trump Media, DWAC (DWAC) merger at risk as co-founders sue.
AI robotics startup confirms $675M funding from Bezos, Nvidia, others.
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Good morning. Happy Thursday.
The Asian/Pacific markets were mixed. China, Turkey, Australia and the Philippines did well; Hong Kong, Indonesia and Thailand were weak. Europe, Africa and the Middle East mixed and little changed. Turkey, Russia, Greece and Israel are up; Finland, Austria and the Czech Republic are down. Futures in the States point to a gap up open for the cash market.
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The dollar is unchanged. Oil is flat; copper is up. Gold and silver are down. Bonds are down.
Stories/News from Seeking Alpha…
Leaping to conclusions
It’s Leap Day today, and for the markets, the focus will be on how much of a leap inflation took during the last monthly sprint. In fact, stocks haven’t moved much this week ahead of the reading on the core personal consumption expenditures price index, which will be released at 8:30 AM ET. The figure is the Federal Reserve’s preferred inflation barometer, and has the potential to reset interest rate expectations, hence its importance in determining market direction.
“Bumps in the road”: That’s the message central bankers have been trying to get across in the final fight against inflation, and to not take any one reading as a definitive symbol of where prices are going. “The disinflationary process has been, and may continue to be, bumpy and uneven,” Fed Governor Lisa Cook said last week, while Fed Vice Chair Philip Jefferson echoed the sentiment with similar comments. “We are bound to have bumps along the road to disinflation,” declared Philly Fed President Patrick Harker, saying that more data was needed to assess the right path forward for monetary policy.
On that note, today’s core PCE reading is expected to come in hot on a monthly basis. A 0.4% increase is forecast for January, which would be double the prior reading and mark the biggest rise in nine months. On the other hand, the annual rate is expected to inch down to 2.8% (from 2.9%), though that is still above the Fed’s 2% goal. While there are likely to be some knee-jerk reactions to the data, investors, as opposed to traders, will take a broader look at all the incoming economic and market data to gauge any longer-term impacts on their portfolios.
SA commentary: “Granted, we saw a stronger-than-expected read on the Consumer Price Index and Producer Price Index for January, but neither disrupted the disinflationary trend. In fact, incoming economic data alongside those figures tell us that the rate of economic growth is slowing, as retail sales revealed, which is just the opposite of inflationary,” writes Lawrence Fuller, Investing Group Leader of The Portfolio Architect. “Following the rates of change can be difficult in a soft landing environment because the rate of economic growth must slow, which is a headwind, to realize lower rates of inflation, which is a tailwind. The key variable is the Fed’s benchmark interest rate, which must begin returning to neutral in an easing process within a window of time that prevents the rate of economic growth from slowing too much.”
AI disclosures
Apple’s (AAPL) shareholders have rejected a labor union-backed proposal for an artificial intelligence transparency report that would also disclose related ethical guidelines. AI adoption raises a number of social policy issues, according to AFL-CIO Equity Index Funds’ proposal, such as mass layoffs, privacy violations, and spread of misinformation in political elections. Apple had recommended that shareholders reject the proposal, saying its policies already address these issues and the report “could encompass disclosure of strategic plans harmful to our competitive position.” To note, AFL-CIO is also pushing other companies on AI transparency, including Disney (DIS) and Netflix (NFLX). (3 comments)
To the moon!
Bitcoin (BTC-USD) is on a roll, surging toward its all-time high and racking up its biggest monthly gain since December 2020. The latest bull run, which saw bitcoin’s market cap jump to a staggering $1.23T over the past 24 hours, has been fueled by several factors, including the spot bitcoin ETF boom that opened the door for mainstream investors and the upcoming April halving event. In another sign of growing institutional investor interest, Morgan Stanley (MS) is reportedly considering offering spot bitcoin ETFs on its broker-dealer platform. While it may be far out, SA analyst Stony Chambers Asset Research has also predicted that bitcoin will reach $175,000 before 2026. (110 comments)
Same old
Congressional leaders have struck a last-minute deal to avert a partial government shutdown, reaching an agreement on six of the 12 funding bills that have been stalled for months. One set of federal agencies, including the Departments of Commerce, Energy, and Justice, will be temporarily funded through Mar. 8, and the rest, including the Departments of Defense and Homeland Security, through Mar. 22. Lawmakers plan to vote on the continuing resolution this week, giving them time to iron out the details of the ~$1.6T federal spending package. Elsewhere, Mitch McConnell said he would step down as Senate Republican leader in November after 17 years in the job, setting up another leadership contest during the presidential election season. (2 comments)
Today’s Economic Calendar
Initial Jobless Claims
8:30 Personal Income and Outlays
9:45 Chicago PMI
10:00 Pending Home Sales
10:30 EIA Natural Gas Inventory
10:50 Fed’s Bostic: Economic Outlook and Monetary Policy
11:00 Fed’s Goolsbee: “Monetary Policy at an Unusual Time”
11:00 Kansas City Fed Mfg Survey
1:15 PM Fed’s Mester: “Financial Stability/Regulation”
3:00 PM Farm Prices
4:30 PM Fed Balance Sheet
8:10 PM Fed’s Williams Speech
What else is happening…
Wendy’s (WEN) reverses on surge pricing after frosty customer reaction.
Snowflake (SNOW) plunges as sales outlook, CEO change rattle investors.
Salesforce (CRM) stumbles as tepid guidance overshadows strong results.
Biden issues order to protect Americans’ data from ‘countries of concern.’
UnitedHealth (UNH) cyberattack: Hackers claim theft of millions of records.
AB InBev reaches deal with union; Molson Coors (TAP) strike continues.
Cost cuts: Electronic Arts (EA) announces workforce reduction plan.
Constellation Energy (CEG) scores rating upgrade; shares continue rising.
FAA issues order to fix Boeing’s (BA) shortcomings in safety culture.
WW International (WW) says Oprah Winfrey will not stand for re-election.
$8.5B giant: Disney (DIS), Reliance to merge Indian TV and streaming assets.
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Good morning. Happy Wednesday.
The Asian/Pacific markets closed mostly down. South Korea and Indonesia did well, but China, Hong Kong, India, Malaysia, Singapore and Thailand were weak. Europe, Africa and the Middle East are weak. Russia is up, but the UK, Poland, Greece, South Africa, Spain, the Netherlands, Portugal and Israel are doing poorly. Futures in the States point to a moderate gap down open for the cash market.
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The dollar is up. Oil and copper are down. Gold and silver are down. Bonds are up.
Stories/News from Seeking Alpha…
No contract, no beer
Industrial action is returning to the fore after historic strikes in 2023 that threatened to upend large swathes of the economy. Among those involved were the pilot associations at major airlines like American (AAL) and Southwest (LUV), the Teamsters Union at UPS (UPS), Workers United at Starbucks (SBUX), and the International Association of Machinists and Aerospace Workers at Spirit AeroSystems (SPR). Don’t forget the damaging walkouts that plagued Hollywood – with both writers and actors conducting a historic double strike – as well as the unrest at the United Auto Workers union, which saw staff at Ford (F), General Motors (GM) and Stellantis (STLA) join the picket lines.
Up next: Things are getting hoppy at Anheuser-Busch InBev (BUD), with more than a quarter of its U.S. workforce, or 5,000 employees, threatening to walk off the job at 12 breweries across the country. “Without a contract by February 29, there won’t be any beer come March,” warned the Teamsters union, which is fighting for substantial wage increases, job security and other benefits. It was only a week ago that 400 Teamsters members went on strike at a Molson Coors (TAP) brewery in Fort Worth, Texas, meaning workers could soon walk out at two of the nation’s largest beermakers.
AB InBev is being extra mindful due to the long recovery that followed the Dylan Mulvaney controversy last April. The marketing campaign involving the transgender influencer prompted a backlash and boycott that led to Modelo Especial supplanting Bud Light’s top spot in the U.S. beer market, and BUD’s stock price has only recently returned to its previous levels. While securing a contract with organized labor remains a top priority, Anheuser-Busch has outlined a continuity plan and precautionary measures that could see beermaking outsourced to other facilities if necessary.
Thought bubble: Conditions are ripe for discontent, as wages in many industries have not kept up with the pace of inflation and the rising cost of living. At the same time, record sales and profits have been seen at the biggest of brewers. That’s prompted both AB InBev (BUD) and Coors (TAP) to announce billion-dollar stock buybacks to please Wall Street, though the announcements have only made more employees feel left out of their fair share. Forcing companies to the bargaining table last year also resulted in strong deals with better working terms and conditions, especially when backed by a U.S. administration that calls itself the “most pro-union in American history.”
Slamming the brakes
Apple (AAPL) has reportedly canceled work on its electric vehicle initiative – Project Titan – and shifted some of the employees to work on generative artificial intelligence. It comes amid rising costs and competition that has worried many automakers, as detailed in Wall Street Breakfast: Winning The Race. Apple had spent billions of dollars on Project Titan, something that CEO Tim Cook once called “the Mother of all AI projects.” The iCar was initially rumored to be fully autonomous, but eventually downshifted dramatically to Level 2+ from Level 4, which SA analyst Arne Verheyde said was a massive setback given the “already highly saturated market.” (223 comments)
Wider war?
As Russia’s invasion of Ukraine enters the third year, European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen said the region should prepare for the risks of a wider war and consider using windfall profits from frozen Russian assets to buy weapons for Ukraine. “We need to move fast,” she warned, while U.S. Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen called on the G7 coalition to unlock $285B in frozen Russian assets to support Kyiv. Elsewhere, Germany asserted that European countries would not send troops to Ukraine after French President Emmanuel Macron previously said the option had not been “ruled out.” In response, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov warned that sending troops would lead to a direct confrontation. (2 comments)
Shorts get torched
Beyond Meat (BYND) ripped 73.5% higher AH on Wednesday after reporting better-than-expected Q4 earnings, as strong international sales more than made up for weak U.S. demand. CEO Ethan Brown noted that in 2024, the firm plans to “steeply reduce” operating costs and cash use, while employing pricing actions and right-sizing of its production footprint to support margin expansion. The plan also includes “a core platform renovation in Beyond IV,” and certain non-cash charges related to inventory and assets that are no longer consistent with its path to profitability. While BYND traded in double digits for the first time this year, short interest on the stock was close to 40%, which likely contributed to the big swing. (57 comments)
Today’s Economic Calendar
7:00 MBA Mortgage Applications
8:30 GDP
8:30 International Trade in Goods (Advance)
8:30 Retail Inventories (Advance)
8:30 Wholesale Inventories (Advance)
10:30 EIA Petroleum Inventories
11:00 Survey of Business Uncertainty
12:00 PM Fed’s Bostic Speech
12:15 PM Fed’s Collins Speech
12:45 PM Fed’s Williams Speech
What else is happening…
Bitcoin (BTC-USD) soars to two-year high as halving event looms.
UnitedHealth (UNH) falls on report of DOJ launching antitrust review.
Meet the new Macy’s (M): Fewer stores and increased focus on luxury.
Senator Elizabeth Warren says it’s time to break up corporate giants.
DIY demand slowdown? Latest outlook from Lowe’s (LOW) disappoints.
OpenAI asks judge to dismiss parts of NYT lawsuit over alleged ‘hack.’
JetBlue (JBLU), Spirit (SAVE) flip the script on competition argument.
First Solar (FSLR) surges after-hours on earnings beat, upbeat outlook.
eBay (EBAY) tops revenue and gross merchandise value expectations.
Report: WBD (WBD) is halting merger talks with Paramount (PARA).
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Good morning. Happy Tuesday.
The Asian/Pacific markets were mixed. China, Hong Kong and Malaysia did well while South Korea, Taiwan, Thailand and the Philippines were weak. Europe, Africa and the Middle East are mixed and mostly little changed. Germany, the UAE and Saudi Arabia are up; Denmark, South Africa and Spain are down. Futures in the States point to a positive open for the cash market.
————— Online Course: Jason Leavitt’s Masterclass in Trading —————
The dollar is down. Oil is down; copper is up. Gold and silver are up. Bonds are up.
Stories/News from Seeking Alpha…
Flush with cash
Bipartisan talks
With lawmakers still debating over spending bills and foreign aid, President Joe Biden will meet the top four Congress leaders in the White House today to push them to break the deadlock and avoid a partial shutdown on Friday. The leaders are House Speaker Mike Johnson, Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer, House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries, and Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell.
More aid: Biden also plans to press for the Senate-passed foreign aid package, which includes aid for Ukraine and Israel, as well as humanitarian assistance in Gaza. Johnson has refused to bring the bill up for vote in the GOP-controlled House unless Democrats agree to border restrictions. “While we hoped to have legislation ready this weekend, it is clear now that House Republicans need more time to sort themselves out,” said Schumer. Johnson responded: “House Republicans will continue to work in good faith and hope to reach an outcome as soon as possible.”
What’s at stake: Lawmakers have been trying to hammer out the details of 12 funding bills totaling $1.6T, resorting to temporary extensions since Sept. 30 to avoid a shutdown. Funding for the Transportation Department and some other agencies will expire on March 1, while the rest – including the Pentagon – will expire on March 8. Federal employees and military service members will be furloughed if the additional funding isn’t approved, and economic data releases will be delayed. Moody’s previously warned that a shutdown would be credit negative for the U.S.
SA analysis: “Washington has a long history of ‘kicking the can’ to avoid doing its job of governing,” Investing Group Leader Lance Roberts previously noted. “The problem with using ‘Continuing Resolutions’ is that it uses the previous spending levels and increases that spending by 8%. Such is why, since 2008, the debt has exploded as spending is compounding annually.”
AI glitch
Alphabet (GOOG, GOOGL) fell more than 4% on Monday as Google’s AI-powered face generator won’t return for a couple of weeks. “We hope to have that back online in a very short order,” said Demis Hassabis, head of Google DeepMind. “This is one of the nuances that comes with advanced AI.” Google paused image generation of people from its Gemini model last week amid criticism over how it handled race, including the AI tool’s refusal to depict white people. “The bigger issue is the cause of these output errors,” said SA analyst A.J. Button. “Google appears to be playing it so ‘safe’ with its AI rollout, that the ‘safety’ features are producing results that aren’t what users intended.” (158 comments)
Surge pricing
In a first for the fast-food industry, Wendy’s (WEN) is planning to test surge pricing next year, like Uber (UBER) and Lyft (LYFT). This means menu items would be more expensive during peak hours, with prices updated in real time depending on demand at no extra cost to the restaurant operator. Wendy’s plans to invest around $20M to roll out digital menu boards by the end of 2025. While dynamic pricing is the standard in the airline industry and ridesharing sector, there are some concerns that Wendy’s could face consumer backlash for the initiative. “If people feel like they’re getting gouged, they’re not going to take kindly to this pricing strategy,” warned George Washington University Professor Steven Suranovic. (83 comments)
CRE risk
It looks like JPMorgan (JPM) CEO Jamie Dimon is not too worried about commercial real estate, saying the sector’s issues will only worsen if there is a recession. “If we don’t have a recession, I think most people will be able to muddle through this, refinance, put more equity in,” he said, adding that a lot of property owners can handle the current level of stress. Dimon noted that offices are worth less only because of higher interest rates, and mounting defaults are part of the “normalization process.” He also said markets are pricing in 70%-80% odds of a soft landing. “I give it half that. We may have one, but there’s also a higher chance than the market thinks of rates being a little bit higher.” (4 comments)
Today’s Economic Calendar
8:30 Durable Goods
9:00 S&P CoreLogic Case-Shiller Home Price Index
9:00 FHFA House Price Index
10:00 Consumer Confidence
10:00 Richmond Fed Mfg. Index
1:00 PM Results of $42B, 7-Year Note Auction
1:00 PM Money Supply
What else is happening…
WSB survey results: Cash is not king, investors want to go all in.
Biden administration to seek bids for 3M crude barrels to refill SPR.
FTC sues to block Kroger’s (KR) planned acquisition of Albertsons.
Unity Software (U) slumps as guidance widely misses estimates.
Exxon to weigh pre-emption rights to Hess (HES) Guyana oil stake.
Whirlpool (WHR) to cut more debt as rates to stay higher for longer.
Broadcom (AVGO) halts $1B Carbon Black sale amid weak interest.
Alibaba (BABA) leads record $1B funding round for Chinese AI firm.
Palo Alto Networks (PANW) surges as Pelosi discloses purchase.
Author Larry McDonald publishes long-term high conviction list.
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Good morning. Happy Monday. Hope you had a good weekend.
The Asian/Pacific markets leaned down. Japan did well, but China, Hong Kong and South Korea were weak. Europe, Africa and the Middle East are little changed. Russia is up, but South Africa, Portugal and Saudi Arabia are down. Futures in the States point to a slight positive open for the cash market.
————— Online Course: Jason Leavitt’s Masterclass in Trading —————
The dollar is down. Oil and copper are down. Gold and silver are down. Bonds are up.
Stories/News from Seeking Alpha…
Flush with cash
It seems like a lot of bigwigs are cashing in on the market while the going is good. The selling is also taking place across different industries, with Jeff Bezos dumping $9B worth of Amazon (AMZN) shares this past week, while JPMorgan (JPM) CEO Jamie Dimon unloaded $150M of the bank’s stock in his first-ever sale. Meta’s (META) Mark Zuckerberg additionally took profits by dropping $650M in shares of the social media giant in recent weeks, as well as a number of big sales by other executives and directors like the Walton family of Walmart (WMT).
Snapshot: These bulletins may get some investors nervous, even if the sales were telegraphed in advance, with smart money departing some of the most valuable companies in the world. Over the weekend, the latest glimpse of Warren Buffett further showed that Berkshire Hathaway’s (BRK.A, BRK.B) cash pile continued to grow, hitting a record of $167B at the end of 2023, up nearly $40B over the course of the year. As the market continues to hit all-time highs, are these high-profile players getting liquid and out when they can, or is there a bigger picture at play?
While the personal moves make splashy headlines, it’s important to recognize that many CEOs or founders wait until stocks hit records to cash in or diversify their wealth, which is the case in all the firmly established companies mentioned above. It doesn’t mean that the market is going to tank or enter a correction anytime soon, but rather a recognition that these players have been waiting several rocky years in the aftermath of the pandemic to take money off the table. As for Buffett, he’s been sitting on a cash hoard for a long time, and he’s known to only put his money to work if an opportunity is undervalued, the price is right, and he fully understands the investment.
Oracle of Omaha: “There remain only a handful of companies in this country capable of truly moving the needle at Berkshire, and they have been endlessly picked over by us and by others,” Buffett detailed in his annual letter. “Some we can value; some we can’t. And, if we can, they have to be attractively priced. Outside the U.S., there are essentially no candidates that are meaningful options for capital deployment at Berkshire. All in all, we have no possibility of eye-popping performance.” Take the WSB survey.
Latest wearable
The Mobile World Congress kicked off today in Barcelona, with Samsung Electronics (OTCPK:SSNLF) taking one of the spotlights with its Galaxy Ring. It will “offer users an all-new way to simplify everyday wellness, empowering them with health insights, all while being delivered in lockstep with Samsung’s broader vision for a more connected and seamless digital wellness platform.” The smart ring will provide readings on heart rate and respiratory rate, as well as sleep monitoring data. Samsung is also working on adding non-invasive glucose monitoring and blood pressure sensing to its wearables, but those features have previously prompted some warnings from the FDA.
Search battle
Here’s some big news. Microsoft (MSFT) offered to sell Bing to Apple (AAPL) in 2018, or form a joint venture related to the search engine, according to a recently unsealed post-trial brief from the DOJ’s antitrust case against Google (GOOG, GOOGL). The case relates to Google’s alleged search monopoly and the methods it used to ensure dominance, such as spending billions of dollars to make its search engine the default option on mobile phones. Google argued it had competed fairly, outlining that Apple declined to make Bing its default option, despite Microsoft approaching the iPhone maker multiple times. (9 comments)
$5 credit
AT&T (T) is reimbursing Wireless customers – both consumers and small businesses – that were most impacted by last week’s network outage. The $5 credit, or the “average cost of a full day of service,” will appear within two bill cycles, and “is fully manageable while achieving the 2024 business objectives we have set for ourselves,” according to AT&T CEO John Stankey. However, many unhappy customers took to social media to say that the reimbursement was not enough. AT&T has blamed the outage that hit thousands of customers and prompted federal scrutiny on an update glitch, and not a cyber attack. (8 comments)
Today’s Economic Calendar
10:00 New Home Sales
10:30 Dallas Fed Manufacturing Survey
11:30 Results of $63B, 2-Year Note Auction
1:00 PM Results of $64B, 5-Year Note Auction
7:40 PM Fed’s Schmid: Economic and Monetary Outlook
What else is happening…
Disney (DIS), Reliance sign pact to merge Indian media operations.
Alcoa (AA) to buy Australia’s Alumina (OTCQX:AWCMF) in $2.2B deal.
ECB has one message for crypto traders: Bitcoin (BTC-USD) is bad.
Ford (F) halts shipments of electric F-150 truck due to quality issue.
EV winter? Don’t tell Toyota, Ferrari (RACE) sitting at multiyear highs.
Haley stays in the race despite Trump’s South Carolina primary win.
Broadcom (AVGO) nears sale of unit to KKR (KKR) for about $4B.
Record U.S. solar, wind investment not enough to meet climate goals.
Next Apple iPhone might be an ‘AI’ device. What could that look like?
Radiopharmaceutical market expected to reach around $14B by 2032.
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