Morning Reads
- Japan’s Economy Grows at 6% Rate
- Taiwan’s Election Is All About War
- Argentine Shops Hit With 20% Overnight Price Hike After Election
- Uganda Cuts Rate for First Time in Two Years on Easing Inflation
- Russia’s Emergency Rate Hike Fails to Lift Ruble After Crash
- China Slashes Rates, Suspends Youth Jobless Data as Economy Signals Sharper Downturn
- The Fed’s Interest-Rate Debate Is Shifting
- How (Many) Economists Missed the Big Disinflation
- Binance Files for Protective Order Against SEC
- FDIC to Propose Comprehensive Changes to Regional US Bank Living Wills
- Fitch Warns It May Be Forced to Downgrade Multiple Banks, Including JPMorgan
- Steve Schwarzman Is Pushing Blackstone Growth to Get its Act Together
- Suncor Energy’s Quarterly Profit Halves on Lower Oil and Gas Prices
- Home Depot Beats Earnings Estimates, But Sales Slide As Consumers Pull Back on Big-Ticket Buys
- Target’s Struggles Are Only Getting Worse
- Streaming Prices Are Up Nearly 25% in a Year. That’s Part of the Plan
- Using a Credit Card? At These Restaurants It’ll Cost You.
- More Americans Are Ending Up Homeless—at a Record Rate
- Serve a Drink, Then Save a Life: This Is Restaurant Work During the Opioid Epidemic
- The Airport Is an Increasingly Dangerous Place to Work
Todays Open Interest Change
PREMIUM
Prepper
nvestors are paying close attention to the retail space over the next few days. Big-box retailers like Home Depot (HD) are set to report Q2 earnings today, with Target (TGT) and TJX Companies (TJX) publishing results tomorrow, followed by Walmart (WMT) on Thursday. The macro figures may be just as important as individual earnings, with the U.S. Commerce Department releasing retail sales data this morning at 8:30 AM ET (expected to grow 0.4% M/M vs. June's lower-than-expected gain of only 0.2%).
State of the consumer: Spending patterns on goods will be eyed closely, especially for items like apparel, food, furnishings and electronics. Earnings reports will also give a closer read on consumer behavior and their response to the current price environment. If costs rise by a smaller amount or even dip, that can impact spending patterns, especially in an era of low unemployment. More spending can also influence margin estimates and inventories, which could show up in retailer guidance.
The figures should additionally provide a better assessment of the U.S. economy, which appears to be on stable footing. Gross domestic product grew at an annualized rate of 2.4% in Q2, helped by strong consumer spending, while Fed staff subsequently canceled a prediction for a U.S. recession given the resilience of the economy. It still took some time for Wall Street to get the memo, with BofA recently revising its outlook to favor a soft landing, while J.P. Morgan bailed on its "mild contraction" that was set to come as early as next quarter.
Further insights: For a full breakdown of earnings season, check out Seeking Alpha's earnings calendar, which highlights EPS and revenue estimates, as well as analyst revisions and ratings.
The AI conversation
Responses to this week's WSB survey are coming in fast, with already 3,000 respondents participating in the poll. Take the survey and see the results on whether publishers should be required to use a disclaimer when using artificial intelligence. Some good discussion is taking place in the comments section, covering the future of the publishing industry and investing in the sector. Legal implications also surround copyright law, creative properties and rights to content. "Let an AI figure that one out," adds Premium user Rondayvous. (28 comments)
'Smart money'
The 13F filing season is here, giving investors a chance to see what hedge funds with at least $100M in assets under management bought and sold during Q2. Warren Buffett's Berkshire Hathaway (BRK.B) added new holdings in homebuilders like D.R. Horton (DHI), NVR (NVR), and Lennar (LEN), sending the stocks higher in premarket trading, while reducing and divesting stakes in Activision Blizzard (ATVI), Chevron (CVX) and McKesson (MCK). Michael Burry's Scion Asset Management ditched positions in bank stocks and Alibaba (BABA), while investors also eyed reports from David Tepper's Appaloosa and Elliott Management, among others. Note that long positions, and call and put options, are disclosed in the filings, though shorts aren't included in the statements. (41 comments)
Big ambitions
Netflix (NFLX) is moving forward with its videogame aspirations as it begins limited testing of games on TVs, PCs and Macs. The company will start with two titles in the U.K. and Canada: Oxenfree, a thriller made by Night School Studio (acquired by Netflix in September 2021), and the gem-mining arcade game Molehew's Mining Adventure. While the streaming pioneer launched mobile games on its app two years ago, it is now looking to make the games available on every device. In April, SA analyst Allen Greathouse said Netflix's videogame offering was challenging, but noted that it has a big head start, given its huge customer base that pays into a recurring revenue model.
Today's Markets
In Asia, Japan +0.5%. Hong Kong -1%. China -0.1%. India closed.
In Europe, at midday, London -1.4%. Paris -1.2%. Frankfurt -1.1%.
Futures at 7:00, Dow -0.6%. S&P -0.6%. Nasdaq -0.6%. Crude -1.1% to $81.60. Gold -0.5% to $1,934. Bitcoin -0.1% to $29,359.
Ten-year Treasury Yield +5 bps to 4.23%.
Today's Economic Calendar
8:30 Retail Sales
8:30 Empire State Mfg Survey
8:30 Import/Export Prices
10:00 Business Inventories
10:00 Housing Market Index
11:00 Fed's Kashkari Speech
4:00 PM Treasury International Capital
Companies reporting earnings today »
What else is happening...
U.S. Steel (X) extends gains as Esmark jumps in with higher takeover bid.
Russia central bank sharply hikes interest rates to stem ruble crash.
Saudi Arabia, UAE buys 'thousands' of Nvidia (NVDA) GPUs for AI.
Montana judge sides with youth plaintiffs in landmark climate change case.
PayPal (PYPL) names Intuit's (INTU) Alex Chriss as its next CEO.
Economy watch: China cuts policy rate, halts youth unemployment data.
UBS (UBS) to pay $1.4B to settle crisis-era mortgage bond case.
Ron DeSantis calls on Bob Iger to drop Disney (DIS) lawsuit.
Nvidia (NVDA) rebounds as recent selloff seen as 'good entry point'.
Apple (AAPL) expected to unveil major changes to Watch next year.