Morning Reads
- Oil Hits $85 for First Time Since October as Market Tightens
- Shell Says Support for the Energy Shift Will Wane If Prices Soar
- The $40 Billion Fund That’s Gambling With Europe’s Climate Goal
- Poor Nations Are Writing a New Handbook for Getting Rich
- Australia’s Central Bank Says Risks Around Economy a Little More Balanced
- South Korea’s Inflation Tops 3% for Second Straight Month
- Bond Comments by China’s Xi Hint at Possible Expansion of PBOC Toolkit
- Is China’s Economy Finally Bottoming Out?
- A Million Simulations, One Verdict for US Economy: Debt Danger Ahead
- A Higher-for-Longer Good Friday From the Fed
- Markets Are Back to Seeing Fewer Rate Cuts Than the Fed
- UBS to Launch Buyback of Up to $2 Billion
- Trump-and-Dump: Speculators Bet on Truth Social ‘Meme’ Stock
- Apple Flirts With Support Levels After Worst Quarter in a Decade
- Regulators Force Another Microsoft Split
- Legal Battle Kicks Off to Minimize Baltimore Bridge Liabilities
- Americans Are Buying Cheaper Cars
- Xiaomi’s Unproven EV Is Proving a Hit With Investors
- Tesla Cyberbeast Heads to Auction in First Test of Resale Value
- China Developers’ Shares Suspended in Hong Kong for Missing Results Deadline
- How One Tech Skeptic Decided A.I. Might Benefit the Middle Class
- GE Completes Three-Way Split to Start Trading As Separate Companies
- Verve Tumbles After Pausing Gene-Editing Trial on Safety Issues
- You Can Bet on Caitlin Clark Making Threes. The N.C.A.A. Isn’t Happy
- The Battle Lines in the War Over Disney’s Board
Options
PREMIUM
Prepper
The Google graveyard
There have been many services killed by Google in recent years (think Google+, Project Loon, Hangouts, Stadia, etc.) and the latest one is now joining the tech cemetery. Google Podcasts is coming to an end today, with users being told to switch their subscriptions to the newly integrated YouTube Music. It's big news for a service that has garnered 500M downloads since its launch in 2018, allowing users to host, discover and listen to podcasts for free.
Behind the decision: YouTube is one of the most frequently visited sites on the web and Google (GOOG) (GOOGL) hopes to capitalize on traffic there to boost its podcast base. It'll also help the tech giant invest all of its podcasting money into one platform, with YouTube offering better brand awareness amid the growing popularity of video podcasts. In addition, YouTube Music features a premium version, which might be incorporated into the podcast experience as inflation-conscious consumers get subscription fatigue for multiple services.
The one-stop shop will be Google's fourth iteration of a podcast platform as it looks to turn up the heat on Spotify (SPOT) and Apple Podcasts (AAPL). There was Google Listen which shut down in 2012, and was replaced with Google Play Music, before Google Podcasts took over for the past six years. After today, users in the U.S. will no longer have the ability to stream on Google Podcasts, but can migrate their subscriptions until June, giving extra time for those who may have missed the announcement.
Seeking Alpha podcasts: Episodes of Wall Street Breakfast had been available on Google Podcasts. You can also find them on Apple Podcasts, Spotify and the Seeking Alpha website. The daily show has a morning edition (Wall Street Breakfast) and an afternoon program (Wall Street Lunch), as well as a new Sunday special (Wall Street Brunch). (4 comments)
DJT wipeout
Trump Media (DJT) shares slumped over 20% on Monday, erasing the gains seen since the social media network merged with SPAC Digital World Acquisition Corp. Donald Trump, its biggest shareholder, beneficially held around 57.3% of its outstanding shares, meaning the plunge slashed his stake by $1B. SA analyst On the Pulse last week recommended investors sell and take profits on DJT, adding that Trump Media's present market valuation of $6.6B "appears wildly inflated." The latest decline also came after Trump Media disclosed a net loss of $58M in 2023 on $4.1M in revenue. (358 comments)
New fees
Starting on June 3, Fidelity Investments will impose a new $100 servicing charge for 59 ETFs issued by nine companies to meet the cost of listing these products on its platform. The list, representing less than 0.5% of mutual funds and ETFs on Fidelity's platform, will be periodically updated and is subject to change before the effective date. A bigger item to watch will be whether the number continues to expand amid growing competition that has pushed firms to cut expense ratios. In recent years, ETFs have become more popular than mutual funds, resulting in massive inflows and more conversions. (1 comment)
Smartphones to EVs
iPhone maker Apple (AAPL) is stepping back from the market as another smartphone giant hits the accelerator. Xiaomi's (OTCPK:XIACF) first-ever electric vehicle SU7 has garnered strong interest from customers, sending its Hong Kong-listed shares soaring as much as 16% overnight. It received 88,898 SU7 pre-orders within the first 24 hours of sales, and reportedly directed its suppliers to increase production capacity to meet a monthly target of 10,000 cars. China's EV market is increasingly getting crowded, resulting in an intense war that saw the SU7 come with a starting price that was $4,000 less than Tesla's (TSLA) Model 3. (2 comments)
Today's Markets
In Asia, Japan +0.1%. Hong Kong +2.4%. China -0.1%. India -0.2%.
In Europe, at midday, London +0.3%. Paris +0.1%. Frankfurt -0.1%.
Futures at 7:00, Dow -0.4%. S&P -0.3%. Nasdaq -0.3%. Crude +1.92% to $85.27. Gold +1.2% to $2,284.10. Bitcoin -5.1% to $66,015.
Ten-year Treasury Yield +2 bps to 4.35%.
Today's Economic Calendar
Auto Sales
10:00 Factory Orders
10:00 Job Openings and Labor Turnover Survey
10:10 Fed's Bowman Speech
12:00 PM Fed’s Williams Speech
12:05 PM Fed's Mester Speech
1:30 PM Fed's Daly Speech
Companies reporting earnings today »
What else is happening...
WSB survey results: Lab-grown meat seen as a niche product.
CSX (CSX) adds new rail service to avoid Baltimore port closure.
Antitrust woes: Microsoft (MSFT) to unbundle Teams and Office.
Health insurer stocks slide on Medicare Advantage payment update.
Report: China opposes 'arbitrarily' revised U.S. chip export rules.
Mexico said to cut some crude exports as global supplies tighten.
FedEx lost USPS contract to UPS (UPS). Should traders be worried?
Florida Supreme Court allows adult-use cannabis bill to go to ballot.
EV bust? Canoo raises going concern doubts amid cash crunch.
The most shorted S&P 500 (SP500) stocks as a percentage of float.