Morning Reads
- Turkey Finally Stamps Out Credit Oddity as Hikes Lift Loan Rates
- Meloni-Style Capitalism is Reshaping Corporate Italy
- Adani Ports Auditor Deloitte to Resign After Flagging Concerns
- Biden Calls China’s Economy a ‘Ticking Time Bomb’
- Interest Rates on Loans Hit 790% in Latin America’s Big Fintech Shakeout
- U.K. Economy Grows Weakly
- New U.K. Alcohol Taxes Cut Beer Costs In Pubs, But Other Drink Prices Will Rise
- Hard Landing Is Here for Trade, Roiling World Export Champs
- CFOs Are More Optimistic on Side-Stepping a Recession
- UBS Ends Taxpayer Backstop Granted for Credit Suisse Rescue
- Consulting Firms Are Paying Undergrads $25,000 to Do Nothing
- Regulators Give Green Light to Driverless Taxis in San Francisco
- UPS Pay Hikes for Package Handlers Raise Pressure on FedEx
- Airline Passengers Will Be Forced to Pay for $5 Trillion Carbon Cleanup
- Before Joining Federal Safety Program, Freight Railroads Push to Change It
- Goldman’s C.E.O. Is Stuck, Without a Clear Lifeline
- Outrage as Chinese Real Estate Giant Wobbles and Its Stock Dives
- The Summer Women Flexed Their Spending Power
- Diamonds Are on Sale. They Won’t Be Forever
- Amazon Cuts Dozens of House Brands as It Battles Costs, Regulators
- Colleges Spend Like There’s No Tomorrow. ‘These Places Are Just Devouring Money.’
- Paul Krugman on AI, Superconductors, and Why Alien Invasions Are Inflationary
Todays Open Interest Change
PREMIUM
Prepper
A strange vibration is coming in the 2020s as driverless vehicles are set in motion. A whole generation has a new explanation for the future of mobility, but instead of flowers in their hair, technology is the new love-in there. If you're going to San Francisco, be aware of a supercharged initiative that will likely transform the automotive industry and the ways people operate all across the nation.
Summertime: In a contentious vote, California regulators gave the green light to Alphabet's Waymo (GOOGL, GOOG) and General Motors' Cruise (GM) to expand the breadth and location of their operations. The companies, which collectively have more than 500 autonomous vehicles already operating in San Francisco, will be able to take paying passengers without a human safety driver during the day or at night, and throughout the entire city. Waymo will also be permitted to drive in inclement weather, and at speeds of up to 65 miles per hour, while Cruise will be limited to a speed of 35 mph.
"While we don't yet have the data to judge AVs against the standard that humans are setting, I do believe in the potential of this technology to increase safety on the roadway," said California Public Utilities Commissioner John Reynolds. The technologists agree, citing the elimination of human error and challenging the "inaccessible transportation status quo." On the other side of the debate were residents, as well as police and fire departments, frustrated at the potential for traffic incident interference, or job threats to human drivers of Uber (NYSE:UBER) and Lyft (LYFT) - which are also based in San Francisco.
Expensive endeavor: GM (GM) has been shelling out around $2B a year to make the self-driving dream a reality, hoping to gain from a first-mover advantage that's also being sought after by Tesla (TSLA) and Amazon's (AMZN) Zoox. The strategy is part of CEO Mary Barra's plan to double the automaker's revenue by 2030, though its Cruise subsidiary only recorded $102M in revenue last year, compared to $3.3B in expenses. Regarding Waymo, Investing Group Leader Stone Fox Capital argued that drastic cuts weren't needed after shareholders in November urged the tech giant to slash its losses, while SA analyst Albert Lin penned an article on what Alphabet (GOOGL, GOOG) would look like without its "Other Bets" category. (4 comments)
CPI recap
The odds of the Federal Reserve leaving its current policy rate unchanged have risen after the latest inflation data showed prices continuing to moderate. The Consumer Price Index held steady in July, rising 0.2% as expected, though services inflation remained sticky, driven by elevated rental costs. Following the prints, Victor Dergunov said in a Wall Street Lunch podcast that similar readings could lead to a Fed pivot early next year, adding that "we pretty much hit the Goldilocks zone." Traders also initially cheered the CPI report, but Fed speaker Mary Daly's hawkish-leaning comments led the markets to lose some steam. (194 comments)
Coach to first class
Tapestry's (TPR) purchase of Capri Holdings (CPRI), which flies in the face of Amazon’s (AMZN) recent move to cut private-label brands, has drawn largely positive reviews. The combination of Coach, Kate Spade, and Stuart Weitzman together with Versace, Jimmy Choo, and Michael Kors is said to create a new powerful global luxury house that is anticipated to deliver immediate value. Wells Fargo said the $8.5B deal positions Tapestry to own the affordable luxe handbag market in the U.S., but the threat to high-end behemoth LVMH (OTCPK:LVMHF) seems limited for now, given the latter's sheer size and diversification. Knee-jerk trading on Thursday saw TPR shares end down 16%, while CPRI finished the session 56% higher. (3 comments)
'Ticking time bomb'
As China slides into deflation, President Biden called the country a "ticking time bomb" that puts the rest of the world at risk. At a political fundraiser, he pointed to China's economic slowdown, the fact that people of retirement age outnumber those of working age, and referred to the Belt and Road Initiative as a "debt and noose." "They got some problems," Biden declared. "That's not good because when bad folks have problems, they do bad things." China has been grappling with slumping trade, deflationary worries and soaring youth unemployment, and the latest statements come a day after the White House restricted U.S. investments in China, raising concerns of aggressive retaliation. (19 comments)
Today's Markets
In Asia, Japan +0.8%. Hong Kong -0.9%. China -2%. India -0.6%.
In Europe, at midday, London -1%. Paris -0.7%. Frankfurt -0.4%.
Futures at 7:00, Dow flat. S&P -0.1%. Nasdaq -0.2%. Crude +0.3% to $83.06. Gold +0.1% to $1,950.10. Bitcoin -0.6% to $29,361.
Ten-year Treasury Yield +2 bps to 4.10%.
Today's Economic Calendar
8:30 Producer Price Index
10:00 Consumer Sentiment
1:00 PM Baker Hughes Rig Count
Companies reporting earnings today »
What else is happening...
GM (GM), Ford (F), Stellantis (STLA) slide as threat of strike looms.
Biden asks Congress for another $40B for Ukrainian defense and aid.
Supreme Court to hear arguments on Purdue's $6B settlement.
Australian LNG producers in talks to avert potential strikes.
Mortgage rates near 7% on the back of a resilient U.S. economy.
Alibaba (BABA) pops as Q1 results cruise past estimates.
Virgin Galactic (SPCE) takes tourists to space for the first time.
Meta (META) may only build around 1K units of new AR glasses.
Medicare Part D drug price increases far exceed inflation, AARP finds.
Novo Nordisk (NVO) to buy weight loss drugmaker Inversago for $1.1