Reads
- How America Drives Gun Exports and Fuels Violence Around the World
- Russia Strikes Danube Port, Escalating Attacks on Ukraine Grain Routes
- The Little Known Metals Giant that Rules a Global Market
- Warren Buffett Lifts Fossil Fuel Bets
- China’s New Central Banker Once Fixed a Crisis. He May Need to Again
- I.R.S. Halts Surprise Visits to Homes and Businesses
- Clash of Fed Doves and Hawks Over Rates Deepens
- UBS Is Fined Nearly $400 Million in Credit Suisse’s Archegos Mess
- The World Tied $3.5 Trillion-Plus of Debt to Inflation. The Costs Are Now Adding Up
- How to Fight Inflation When Consumers Think Home Prices Can Only Go Up
- Tech Firms Once Powered New York’s Economy. Now They’re Scaling Back
- GE Boosts Outlook on Aerospace Gains, Rebound in Renewables
- Slow Battery Production Crimps G.M.’s Electric Vehicle Rollout
- Musk Explains Why He’s Dumping Twitter Name and Iconic Logo
- TikTok’s Next Plan for U.S. Dominance: Selling Made-in-China Goods
- A Soap Maker Cracks the Code to ‘Made in America’
- Unilever Says Inflation Has Peaked as Sales Growth Rises
- At Spotify, Podcast Cuts and Higher Music Royalties Deepen Losses
- ‘Barbenheimer’ Weekend Was a Real Team Effort
- Parents Hire $4,000 Sorority Consultants to Help Daughters Dress and Impress During Rush
- China Holds Off on Major Stimulus as It Signals Property Easing
- Housing-Market Rebound Poses Challenge for Fed’s Inflation Fight
- Why the Fed Isn’t Ready to Declare Victory on Inflation
- It’s Taylor Swift’s Economy, and We’re All Living in It
- The Great M&A Slump Is Shaking Up Giants of Investment Banking
- What Is the ‘Basel III Endgame’ and Why Are Banks Worked Up About It?
- Wall Street Is Grappling With Crypto’s Trillion-Dollar Custody Question
- OpenAI’s Sam Altman Launches Worldcoin Crypto Project
- Why Businesses Can’t Stop Asking for Tips
- Big Pharma Bets Big on China
- Drugmakers Are ‘Throwing the Kitchen Sink’ to Halt Medicare Price Negotiations
- Apple Aims to Keep iPhone Shipments Steady Despite 2023 Turmoil
- Musk Makes Fan-Created ‘X’ Twitter’s New Logo in Abrupt Change
- Tesla Is Lapping Germany’s Automakers in the Global EV Race
- Why GE Shares Are Hotter Than Apple, Meta or Tesla
- AT&T, Verizon Investors Have More Than Lead Cables to Worry About
- 3M’s Dark Chapter Deepens as CEO Faces Beaten Down Investors
- How a Mexican Lager Quietly Rose to Become America’s Best-Selling Beer
- At Hotel Spas, CBD Oil Nets 900% Markups—and Guests Pay Happily
- ‘Barbie’ Box Office to the World: The Pandemic Is Officially Over
Todays Open Interest Change
PREMIUM
Prepper
Market participants are shifting their focus to Big Tech as earnings season goes into overdrive with some of the biggest names in the industry set to publish Q2 results. On tap for today are earnings from Google (GOOG, GOOGL) and Microsoft (MSFT), which will report after the bell, as well as quarterly numbers from Meta Platforms (META) on Wednesday. The stocks are also part of the "Magnificent Seven," which has led the big stock rally this year, as well as the Nasdaq 100 (NDX), which just underwent a "special rebalance" due to overconcentration.
What to watch: Artificial intelligence is likely to be the buzzword during post-earnings conference calls, which could further boost sentiment about future revenues. Microsoft, which spearheaded the AI frenzy with its multi-billion-dollar backing of ChatGPT-maker OpenAI, will especially be on watch, though eyes will also be on Google's AI developments. Signs of cooling inflation and the end of a Fed hiking cycle have also benefited the biggest names in tech and helped propel the market rebound in 2023.
Other parts of the tech titans' businesses will also go under the microscope. Investors will be paying attention to whether growth will bounce back at Microsoft's Azure cloud computing unit, as well as PC demand and its Windows and Office businesses. Over at Alphabet, Search and YouTube will be on the radar, which will provide a snapshot of online ad spending. Meanwhile, better monetization will be the focus at Meta, with stats and user numbers surrounding social platforms Facebook, Instagram, WhatsApp and the newly released Threads.
SA commentary: "Well-known large-cap names (NFLX, TSLA) sold off hard last week, and I think the same will occur with some of the names here," wrote Investing Group Leader David Lerner, outlining a list of stocks of interest this week. "I am not sure this theme will remain throughout earnings season... but if one or two names do sell off, they could be mighty good opportunities. There are still a lot of money managers that haven’t participated in this rally and many of them are hoping for a chance. There are also trillions in money markets and as interest rates settle down, they should go lower... this will pull in more funds to stocks." (13 comments)
The Biden administration may expand its crackdown on household appliances and items with a proposed rule aimed at making residential water heaters more efficient. New standards would require many electric water heaters to achieve efficiency gains by using heat pumps, while gas-fired water heaters would be required to make improvements through condensing technology. It follows a series of related measures from the Department of Energy, including the rolling out of new efficiency standards for central AC units, proposed limits on washing machines and dishwashers, and the banning of incandescent lightbulbs in favor of LEDs. Climate action was also discussed in yesterday's WSB survey. If you haven't taken the poll, you can still do so here, or add your investing views on the subject in the comments section. (105 comments)
There might be a new meme stock in the making. Tupperware (TUP) shares soared 75% yesterday to $1.58 - notching their best session on record - following sky-high volume and heightened interest in the survivability of the consumer products company. Some are even asking if the latest movement could mirror the rally of used-car retailer Carvana (CVNA), which is up 900% YTD and was also once thought to be on the brink of bankruptcy. Shorts could be put to the test if things continue, with short interest on TUP over 23% of the total float. In April, Tupperware's board actively engaged with management to improve the company's capital structure and near-term liquidity, and also engaged financial advisors and partners to assist in securing supplemental financing, among other measures. (13 comments)
U.S. wheat futures on the Chicago Board of Trade are on watch again after surging by their daily maximum on Monday. Russia attacked Ukrainian ports and grain infrastructure on the Danube River, expanding its air campaign that began last week after it pulled out of the Black Sea Grain Initiative. Three warehouses were reportedly destroyed in the port of Reni by Russian drones, which continue to pound Ukrainian food export ports almost daily. Corn and soybeans followed wheat futures higher, with outlooks for hot weather in the U.S. crop belt adding support, while the EU's monitoring service further reduced its crop yield forecasts for this year's harvest. (1 comment)
Today's Markets
In Asia, Japan -0.1%. Hong Kong +4.3%. China +2.1%. India flat.
In Europe, at midday, London +0.1%. Paris +0.2%. Frankfurt flat.
Futures at 6:30, Dow +0.1%. S&P +0.1%. Nasdaq +0.3%. Crude +0.2% to $78.91. Gold -0.2% to $1957.90. Bitcoin -0.5% to $29,150.
Ten-year Treasury Yield +4 bps to 3.90%
Today's Economic Calendar
FOMC meeting begins
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 $43B, 5-Year Note Auction
1:00 PM Money Supply
Companies reporting earnings today »
What else is happening...
IPO Roundup: Surf Air Mobility (SRFM), Opti-Harvest (OPHV) and more.
UBS (UBS) to pay $387M to settle Credit Suisse's Archegos missteps.
Apple (AAPL) said to keep shipments of next iPhone in line with prior model.
Negotiations continue as FedEx (FDX) pilots reject labor agreement.
Brief filed asking Supreme Court to OK Mountain Valley Pipeline.
Gasoline futures return to October highs after Exxon (XOM) refinery outage.
Disinflation could become a headwind - Morgan Stanley.
J.P. Morgan bear Marko Kolanovic spies an AI bubble.
Spotify (SPOT) sinks after announcing increase in U.S. premium prices.
Report: Adobe (ADBE) won't offer EU remedies over Figma deal.