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5 Aerospace & Defense Stocks Ready for Liftoff 2024-05-01 12:41:00+00:00 - Key Points The industrial sector has outperformed YTD, up almost 7%, outpacing the overall market's increase of 5.6%. Within the sector, the aerospace & defense industry has outperformed amid economic and political uncertainties. Breakout candidates within the industry include LMT, XON, GD, RTX, and HWM, all of which are currently trading near 52-week highs. 5 stocks we like better than Lockheed Martin https://www.marketbeat.com/stocks/NYSE/HWM/Year-to-date, the industrials sector has demonstrated significant outperformance, surging by over 7% compared to the benchmark SPY ETF, which has seen a more modest increase of just over 5.6%. Stocks in the aerospace and defense industries have notably amplified this trend, with numerous industry leaders achieving double-digit gains year-to-date. This remarkable sector performance and exceptional industry outperformance can be attributed to escalating economic and political uncertainties. Primarily, these uncertainties stem from dwindling probabilities of multiple rate hikes by the Federal Reserve this year and the sustained and escalating tensions in the Middle East, compounded by the ongoing conflict in Ukraine and the resultant rise in gas prices. Get Lockheed Martin alerts: Sign Up Against this backdrop of heightened volatility and outperformance thus far in the year, several aerospace and defense stocks are showing promising signs of a breakout. Here are five stocks within the industry that appear primed to sustain their upward momentum. 5 Aerospace & Defense Stocks Ready for Liftoff Lockheed Martin Corp. Lockheed Martin Today LMT Lockheed Martin $461.73 -3.20 (-0.69%) 52-Week Range $393.77 ▼ $479.50 Dividend Yield 2.73% P/E Ratio 16.89 Price Target $485.40 Add to Watchlist , while not exhibiting year-to-date sector or market outperformance, is currently consolidating above rising Simple Moving Averages (SMAs), positioned just under 3% below its 52-week high, signaling a potential breakout. With anticipated earnings growth of 8.03%, robust dividend growth, and a projected upside of over 4% based on consensus price targets, investor interest remains high. The company recently reported earnings on April 23, surpassing expectations on both revenue and EPS, further bolstering investor confidence in its performance trajectory. Axon Enterprise Inc. Axon Enterprise Today AXON Axon Enterprise $311.57 -2.09 (-0.67%) 52-Week Range $175.37 ▼ $329.87 P/E Ratio 135.47 Price Target $323.09 Add to Watchlist , a prominent law enforcement technology solutions provider, is a growth stock with projected earnings growth of 34.43% for the entire year. The stock has a moderate buy rating alongside positive overall sentiment and has notably outperformed its peers and the overall market year-to-date, boasting gains of over 21%. Currently consolidating just 5% below its all-time high, the stock exhibits substantial upward momentum on a higher timeframe, indicating strong potential for further growth. General Dynamics Corp. General Dynamics Today GD General Dynamics $286.53 -0.56 (-0.20%) 52-Week Range $202.35 ▼ $296.50 Dividend Yield 1.98% P/E Ratio 23.37 Price Target $297.06 Add to Watchlist Raytheon Technologies Corp. Like the previously mentioned companies, General Dynamics NYSE: GD benefits from a bullish uptrend on a higher timeframe, positioned just 2% shy of its 52-week high. The company recently reported earnings, demonstrating year-to-date outperformance with gains exceeding 11%, delivering EPS in line with expectations and revenue that surpassed estimates. With a moderate buy rating based on fourteen analyst ratings and a consensus price target indicating over 3% upside potential, investor sentiment remains favorable toward GD's growth potential. RTX Today RTX RTX $101.22 -0.30 (-0.30%) 52-Week Range $68.56 ▼ $103.89 Dividend Yield 2.33% P/E Ratio 39.69 Price Target $96.93 Add to Watchlist , a multinational aerospace and defense company serving commercial, military, and government clients worldwide, has demonstrated significant outperformance this year, with YTD gains of 21.59%. Noteworthy is the stock's consolidation above rising Simple Moving Averages (SMAs), approaching a multi-year level of resistance. A breakout above $104 would mark a substantial upward movement for the stock and a potential momentum shift. In its recent earnings report on April 23, the company reported EPS of $1.34 for the quarter, surpassing analysts' consensus estimates by $0.11. Additionally, the company generated $19.30 billion in revenue for the quarter, exceeding the consensus estimate of $18.44 billion, indicating a 12.1% year-over-year increase in revenue. Howmet Aerospace Inc. Howmet Aerospace Today HWM Howmet Aerospace $66.78 +0.03 (+0.04%) 52-Week Range $42.17 ▼ $69.55 Dividend Yield 0.30% P/E Ratio 36.49 Price Target $66.00 Add to Watchlist Although smaller in market capitalization compared to the stocks above, Howmet Aerospace NYSE: HWM is a top-rated company providing advanced engineered solutions for the aerospace and transportation industries globally. With a moderate buy rating supported by fourteen analyst ratings and projected earnings growth of 22% for the entire year, HWM is a top-rated stock. The stock has surged by 24% year-to-date, surpassing sector and market performance. Like the above stocks, HWM is consolidating within a bullish formation near its all-time high, with a potential breakout above $68 poised to catalyze a move toward new heights. Before you consider Lockheed Martin, you'll want to hear this. MarketBeat keeps track of Wall Street's top-rated and best performing research analysts and the stocks they recommend to their clients on a daily basis. MarketBeat has identified the five stocks that top analysts are quietly whispering to their clients to buy now before the broader market catches on... and Lockheed Martin wasn't on the list. While Lockheed Martin currently has a "Hold" rating among analysts, top-rated analysts believe these five stocks are better buys. View The Five Stocks Here

Goldman Boosted FMC Stock’s Price Targets, Setting Up a Breakout 2024-05-01 11:38:00+00:00 - Key Points FMC stock is a boost, according to Goldman analysts; others see an even more considerable upside for the stock. With a global agricultural breakout calling for FMC's products, it is perceived to be above its peers this cycle. EPS projections and price targets amplify the stock's discount for investors to squeeze. 5 stocks we like better than UBS Group The first quarter of the 2024 earnings season has kicked off. While markets focus primarily on financial stocks to lead the way into the new year, others focus on more immediate opportunities based on economic trends that have already started to take on water. Shares of FMC Co. NYSE: FMC could become one of these targets for those looking to have a good quarter. Though the stock’s performance over the past year hasn’t been stellar, the rearview mirror only tells half the story. Those at The Goldman Sachs Group Inc. NYSE: GS are leaning on the road ahead, which could now be filled with all the right factors for investors. Get UBS Group alerts: Sign Up Tied to a global economic trend in the agricultural sector, which all evidence points to a breakout, companies like C.F. Industries Holdings Inc. NYSE: C.F. and LyondellBasell Industries NYSE: LYB play a significant role in the sector’s turnaround. However, FMC stock provides the characteristics that Wall Street looks for in this cycle. Different Post-Pandemic Economy FMC Today FMC FMC $57.77 -1.24 (-2.10%) 52-Week Range $49.49 ▼ $121.54 Dividend Yield 4.02% P/E Ratio 5.49 Price Target $71.75 Add to Watchlist The U.S. economy is divided into two diverging sectors for the first time since the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020. On the one hand, the services sector , according to trends in the ISM services PMI index, has been solely responsible for pushing the economy forward. On the other hand, the manufacturing sector had contracted for nearly a year and a half until last month. The manufacturing PMI index shows the industry's first expansionary reading, driving attention to potential stocks that could follow this turnaround behavior. Before knowing which stocks to pick, investors need to identify the right sectors. Based on services and manufacturing surveys, the agricultural sector is driving most of the turnaround forces, all due to one global trend. CF Industries set the pace in its fourth quarter 2023 earnings presentation, showing investors that stock-to-use ratios have recently reached a cyclical bottom. This means rising food demand with too little supply. Hence, farmers need to get going before these dynamics drive inflation higher. Now, an agricultural breakout in the U.S. can only happen with the right components, including seed and crop protection chemicals (where FMC and CF come into play), as well as the proper irrigation and greenhouse film infrastructure (better called LyondellBasell) FMC Remains a Top Pick Among these three, FMC earned the love of the markets. Analysts at Goldman Sachs boosted their price targets on the stock up to $59 a share, roughly where the stock trades today. Being conservative is one of Goldman’s characteristics, so here are other views. The UBS Group NYSE: UBS and KeyCorp NYSE: KEY analysts felt more comfortable showing the actual value in FMC, which is stipulated at an approximate valuation of $84 and $79. To prove these two banks right, the stock would need to rally by as much as 41% from today’s prices. While Goldman’s view is an excellent addition, it isn’t the whole cake. Earnings per share (EPS) projections show investors why FMC fits the turnaround narrative in the manufacturing sector, going from a decline of 14.6% in the past 12 months to an expected 25% advance this year fits the script. Compared to the chemicals sector, FMC’s 5.6x P/E valuation gives investors a 56% discount to the industry’s 12.7x multiple. FMC looks like the better deal compared to LyondellBasell’s expected 13.6% EPS growth and more expensive 15.5x P/E. Honing in on CF’s chemicals, which do compete against FMC’s, analysts still see only 1% EPS growth for that stock. Despite having the lowest projected increase in the group, the stock is still twice as expensive as FMC, as it trades at a P/E valuation of 10.3x. Over the past 12 months, FMC underperformed LyondellBasell and CF by 62%. However, zooming into the past 6 months, FMC outperformed CF by 5%. LyondellBasell remains the leader in price action, though FMC’s discount remains the most attractive. Trading at 48% of its 52-week high and remaining the undervalued stock in P/E terms, FMC’s EPS growth and price targets today could make it a top choice to play the turnaround in agricultural demand in the U.S. Before you consider UBS Group, you'll want to hear this. MarketBeat keeps track of Wall Street's top-rated and best performing research analysts and the stocks they recommend to their clients on a daily basis. MarketBeat has identified the five stocks that top analysts are quietly whispering to their clients to buy now before the broader market catches on... and UBS Group wasn't on the list. While UBS Group currently has a "Moderate Buy" rating among analysts, top-rated analysts believe these five stocks are better buys. View The Five Stocks Here

Impinj Proves The Internet-of-Things (IoT) is No Fluke 2024-05-01 11:30:00+00:00 - Key Points Impinj manufactures RAIN RFID tag chips used by retailers, merchandisers, manufacturers and logistics companies to track inventory supply chains, improve loss prevention and enable the self-checkout of billions of items. Impinj IC tags are seeing accelerated demand as new merchandisers are tagging items for the first time. Imping raised its Q2 2024 EPS guidance more than 3x to 72 cents to 77 cents versus 19 cents consensus estimates. 5 stocks we like better than Impinj Internet-of-Things (IoT) technology provider Impinj Inc. NASDAQ: PI is riding a strong secular tailwind as the world continues to become more connected. The computer and technology sector leader manufacturers radio identification (RAIN) radio frequency identification (RFID) tag chips and provides a cloud connectivity platform. Its integrated circuit (IC) tags help retailers manage inventory supply chains and optimize inventory management, boost loss prevention and enable self-checkout. Impinj has over 305 IoT patents, has enabled the sale of over 44 billion items in 2023, and has shipped over 100 billion ICs as it seeks to expand the IoT to trillions of everyday items. Some of its well-known clients range from retailers like Macy’s Inc. NYSE: M, Sephora, The Coca-Cola Co. NYSE: KO and The Home Depot Inc. NYSE: HD to logistics companies like United Parcel Service Inc. NYSE: UPS to manufacturers like The Boeing Co. NYSE: BA and Siemens AG OTCMKTS: SIEGY. Get Impinj alerts: Sign Up What Exactly Is the Internet of Things (IoT)? While IoT is a common technology term these days, many people still don’t understand what it is and its significance. Chances are you’ve come in contact with the IoT every day and not realized it. The IoT is a network of connected devices that collect, share and upload data automatically via the tags or ICs attached to items like equipment, apparel, food, devices, machinery, pharmaceuticals, auto parts and everyday items. These items each have a unique identifier and the ability to seamlessly collect and transfer data autonomously without any human intervention. These connected everyday items share data inside a larger ecosystem, the IoT. That data is analyzed using apps to improve efficiencies and monitor and optimize interactions. The devices most commonly used are RAID RFID tag chips that provide connectivity in real-time without barely any power consumption. The tags look like basic labels with barcodes that can be stuck on billions of items. Daily Bull Flag Breakout PI’s daily candlestick chart illustrates a bull flag breakout pattern triggered by its raised Q2 2024 guidance. The flag formed after the pole peaked at $130.49 on March 28, 2024. The flag formed on the parallel upper and lower trendlines, marking lower highs and lower lows. The breakout occurred on the earnings release as volume climbed over 3 million shares. The daily relative strength index (RSI) surged through the 70-band and has stalled on it. Pullback support levels are at $134.50, $120.50, $109.25 and $99.50. Solid Q1 2024 EPS Beat Impinj Today PI Impinj $154.66 -4.72 (-2.96%) 52-Week Range $48.39 ▼ $160.71 Price Target $132.89 Add to Watchlist General Merchandise Category Drives Growth Impinj reported a modest Q1 2024 EPS of 21 cents, beating 10 cents analyst estimates by 11 cents. Revenues fell 10.6% YoY to 76.8 million, beating $73.58 million consensus estimates. The company has chipped over 100 billion ICs, connecting more than 4.5 million devices through more than 2000 partners. The growing demand for retail and general merchandise continued to accelerate into the new year. Retail apparel is its largest end market, generating 65% to 75% of its total revenues. Despite the slowdown in consumer spending and retail headwinds, Impinj is seeing continued acceleration in the retail space. They are also expanding into the much larger segment of general merchandise, which includes toys, stationary and electronics, as the company onboarded many new clients who are stamping RFID tags for the first time. The growth is expected to continue through the year. Impinji Raises Q2 2024 Guidance Impinj raised its Q2 2024 EPS guidance dramatically from 72 cents to 77 cents, blowing out the 19 cents consensus estimates. Revenues are expected between $96 million to $99 million versus $79.4 million consensus analyst estimates. Momentum Expected to Accelerate in 2024 Impinj Co-Founder and CEO Chris Diorio credited Q1 2024 strength on its focus on silicon and enterprise solutions, which will pave the way for multi-year growth tailwinds. Impinj M800 tag chip volumes are expected to double in Q2 as production ramps up. Loss prevention and self-checkout solutions are performing nicely for a major European retailer and are expected to drive gateway demand through 2024. A large North American retailer's RAIN usage has accelerated thanks to additional products being tagged along with new products. Impinj expects the second large North American supply chain and logistics client to increase their label consumption in 2024. Diorio concluded, “We see continued strength looking into the second quarter. Looking further out, we see growing opportunities to drive recurring licensing and services revenue, monetizing our IP, platform and cloud services. As we continue driving our bold vision to connect every item in our everyday world, I remain confident in our market position and energized by the opportunities ahead.” Get Impinj analyst forecasts and price targets at MarketBeat. Before you consider Impinj, you'll want to hear this. MarketBeat keeps track of Wall Street's top-rated and best performing research analysts and the stocks they recommend to their clients on a daily basis. MarketBeat has identified the five stocks that top analysts are quietly whispering to their clients to buy now before the broader market catches on... and Impinj wasn't on the list. While Impinj currently has a "Moderate Buy" rating among analysts, top-rated analysts believe these five stocks are better buys. View The Five Stocks Here

PayPal’s Strong Earnings Growth and Strategic Evolution 2024-05-01 11:28:00+00:00 - Key Points PayPal's Q1 2024 earnings reveal solid revenue and earnings growth driven by increased payment volume and operational efficiency. The company focuses on revitalizing its branded checkout solutions and expanding into new markets to maintain its competitive edge. PayPal's strong cash flow generation enables strategic investments, acquisitions, and shareholder value enhancement through share buybacks. 5 stocks we like better than PayPal PayPal Holdings, Inc. NASDAQ: PYPL is one of the global leaders in the financial solutions sector. PayPal’s earnings for the first quarter of 2024 were recently released, offering valuable insights into PayPal’s financial performance and strategic direction. PayPal’s analyst community is upbeat about the earnings report, as indicated by numerous analyst upgrades to PayPal’s price target data. As a critical facilitator of online transactions for individuals and businesses, PayPal's performance serves as a barometer for the health of the digital payments industry, and it provides investors with valuable information for assessing its future potential. Get PayPal alerts: Sign Up PayPal's Q1 2024 Earnings Report PayPal Today PYPL PayPal $66.14 -1.78 (-2.62%) 52-Week Range $50.25 ▼ $76.54 P/E Ratio 17.22 Price Target $70.72 Add to Watchlist PayPal's Q1 2024 earnings report provided insight into the company’s expansion and strategic evolution. Revenue surged by 9% year-over-year, reaching $7.7 billion, propelled by the robust performance of Braintree, its subsidiary specializing in e-commerce payment solutions, and the sustained growth of its branded checkout offerings. The quarter has also been marked by a company's financial reporting approach shift. Seeking greater transparency and a more accurate depiction of its cost structure, PayPal incorporated stock-based compensation (SBC) expenses and associated employer payroll taxes into its non-GAAP metrics. Consequently, Q1 2024 non-GAAP earnings per share (EPS) exhibited a 27% year-over-year increase, reaching $1.08. It is important to note that under the previous non-GAAP methodology, which excluded SBC, EPS would have reached $1.40, signifying a 20% year-over-year growth and surpassing the company's initial projections. PayPal's commitment to operational efficiency was evident in the expansion of its non-GAAP operating margin, which grew by 84 basis points to 18.2%. This improvement underscores the effectiveness of cost management strategies implemented by the company's leadership. Analyzing the dynamics of payment volume helps investors understand PayPal's growth trajectory. Total payment volume (TPV), a critical measure of platform activity, experienced a substantial 14% year-over-year rise, reaching $403.9 billion. This growth was primarily driven by three core segments: Unbranded Card Processing (PSP): Anchored by Braintree's comprehensive payment processing solutions, this segment witnessed a remarkable 26% FX-neutral expansion, signifying the increasing adoption of PayPal's services within the e-commerce sector. "FX-Neutral" refers to a state where exposure to foreign exchange (FX) rate fluctuations is minimized or eliminated. This is achieved through various hedging strategies, ensuring that the value of an investment or a portfolio remains unaffected by changes in currency exchange rates. Anchored by Braintree's comprehensive payment processing solutions, this segment witnessed a remarkable 26% FX-neutral expansion, signifying the increasing adoption of PayPal's services within the e-commerce sector. "FX-Neutral" refers to a state where exposure to foreign exchange (FX) rate fluctuations is minimized or eliminated. This is achieved through various hedging strategies, ensuring that the value of an investment or a portfolio remains unaffected by changes in currency exchange rates. PayPal Branded Checkout: Despite navigating a competitive landscape of digital wallets, PayPal's branded checkout solutions achieved a commendable 7% FX-neutral growth, bolstered by heightened utilization in global marketplaces and a minor contribution from the leap day. Despite navigating a competitive landscape of digital wallets, PayPal's branded checkout solutions achieved a commendable 7% FX-neutral growth, bolstered by heightened utilization in global marketplaces and a minor contribution from the leap day. Venmo: The company's popular peer-to-peer payment platform, Venmo, sustained its steady growth trajectory with an 8% TPV increase, underscoring its enduring popularity among consumers. Further evidence of PayPal's financial strength is reflected in the 4% growth of its transaction margin dollars, reaching $3.5 billion. This metric represents the revenue remaining after deducting transaction-related expenses and losses. The positive trend can be attributed to increased interest income generated from customer balances, expansion within the branded checkout segment, and effective loss provision management. User engagement metrics provide valuable insights into the health and vitality of PayPal's platform. Despite a slight 1% year-over-year decline in active accounts, a sequential increase of 0.4% (equivalent to 2 million accounts) suggests stabilization and potential for future user base expansion. Monthly active accounts (MAA), representing users with at least one transaction within the month, experienced a 2% year-over-year increase, driven by Venmo and PayPal consumer accounts growth. Additionally, transactions per active account (TPA), a measure of average transaction frequency per account over 12 months, demonstrated a robust 13% year-over-year rise, indicating increased user engagement and platform utilization. PayPal's consistent ability to generate strong cash flow remains a cornerstone of its financial success. The company delivered $1.8 billion in free cash flow during Q1 2024, fueled by higher earnings and reduced cash taxes. This cash flow generation empowers PayPal to invest in strategic growth initiatives, pursue potential acquisitions, and return value to shareholders. Share repurchases are a central element of PayPal's capital allocation strategy. In Q1 2024, the company repurchased approximately 25 million shares, returning $1.5 billion to stockholders. This approach and consistent earnings growth are crucial in enhancing earnings per share and building long-term shareholder value. PayPal's Strategic Roadmap The digital payments sector presents a complex and fiercely competitive landscape. Established industry giants such as Apple NASDAQ: AAPL Pay and Google NASDAQ: GOOG Pay contend for market dominance while a surge of agile fintech startups introduces disruptive innovations. To maintain its competitive edge in this volatile environment, PayPal leverages its well-established brand reputation, expansive user base, and comprehensive suite of payment solutions. A cornerstone of PayPal's strategy involves revitalizing its branded checkout solutions. Recognizing their crucial role in fostering user engagement and loyalty, the company focuses on enhancing user experience, expanding strategic partnerships, and developing innovative features that align with evolving consumer preferences. By providing a seamless and secure checkout process, PayPal aims to reinforce its position as a preferred payment method for merchants and consumers. Furthermore, PayPal actively seeks expansion opportunities in new and emerging markets. The company acknowledges the immense growth potential in regions experiencing rapid smartphone penetration and burgeoning e-commerce adoption. By extending its reach into these untapped markets, PayPal can access new customer segments and capitalize on the global shift toward digital payment solutions. Strategic partnerships form another crucial element of PayPal's approach. Collaborations with key players across the financial and technology sectors, including card networks, banks, and technology companies, enable PayPal to broaden its reach, enhance its capabilities, and offer innovative payment solutions catering to diverse needs. These partnerships foster synergistic relationships that drive industry-wide progress and elevate the overall user experience. Continuous product innovation is paramount to remain at the forefront of the evolution of digital payments. PayPal demonstrates its commitment by investing in developing cutting-edge solutions that leverage emerging technologies such as artificial intelligence and blockchain. This focus on technological advancement enhances security measures, streamlines transaction processes, and ultimately optimizes the user experience. By embracing innovation, PayPal ensures its ability to adapt and thrive amidst the ever-changing digital payments landscape. Before you consider PayPal, you'll want to hear this. MarketBeat keeps track of Wall Street's top-rated and best performing research analysts and the stocks they recommend to their clients on a daily basis. MarketBeat has identified the five stocks that top analysts are quietly whispering to their clients to buy now before the broader market catches on... and PayPal wasn't on the list. While PayPal currently has a "Hold" rating among analysts, top-rated analysts believe these five stocks are better buys. View The Five Stocks Here

UK house prices fall unexpectedly for second month in a row 2024-05-01 09:08:00+00:00 - UK house prices have fallen unexpectedly in April for a second consecutive month, according to the building society Nationwide, as interest rate uncertainty and more expensive mortgages put a dampener on the traditional spring homebuying season. With some economists saying that two month-to-month falls in the closely watched index “start to look like a trend”, and new fixed mortgage rates continuing to creep up, the data will put further pressure on the Bank of England before next week’s interest rate announcement. The average house price in April was £261,962 – down by 0.4% on March, when the lender’s monthly index recorded a 0.2% month-on-month drop. A typical UK home is now worth £11,700 less than it was in August 2022, weeks before Liz Truss’s disastrous mini-budget prompted financial chaos. Nationwide also said the rate of annual house price growth fell to 0.6% in April from 1.6% the previous month. Robert Gardner, the lender’s chief economist, said: “The slowdown likely reflects ongoing affordability pressures, with longer-term interest rates rising in recent months, reversing the steep fall seen around the turn of the year.” He added: “House prices are now about 4% below the all-time highs recorded in the summer of 2022, after taking account of seasonal effects.” Last week, major lenders including Barclays, HSBC and NatWest increased the rates on their fixed mortgage deals in response to some economists pushing back their forecasts for when the Bank of England will start to cut interest rates. More lenders put up the cost of their new deals this week: on Tuesday, Nationwide lifted some of its fixed rates by up to 0.25 percentage points. Meanwhile, Moneyfacts, the financial data provider, said the average new two-year fixed mortgage rate was continuing to creep up and now stood at 5.91%. The Bank is expected to announce an interest rate cut later this year, and while some economists believe this could come as soon as June, many others believe August or September is more likely. Commenting on Wednesday’s figures, Tom Bill, the head of UK residential research at the estate agent Knight Frank, said the house price growth seen in the first two months of this year “is going into reverse” as higher mortgage rates take their toll on demand. However, he added: “We believe demand and house price growth will pick up later this year as a rate cut moves on to the horizon.” The Nationwide analysis pointed to some moderation in the recent recovery in housing market activity, in which mortgage approvals rose in March to their highest level since September 2022. skip past newsletter promotion Sign up to Business Today Free daily newsletter Get set for the working day – we'll point you to all the business news and analysis you need every morning Enter your email address Sign up Privacy Notice: Newsletters may contain info about charities, online ads, and content funded by outside parties. For more information see our Newsletters may contain info about charities, online ads, and content funded by outside parties. For more information see our Privacy Policy . We use Google reCaptcha to protect our website and the Google Privacy Policy and Terms of Service apply. after newsletter promotion In a survey of first-time buyers commissioned by the building society, 49% of those hoping to take their first step on the property ladder in the next five years said they had delayed plans over the past 12 months. Of those holding back on buying their first home, 53% said it was because house prices were too high, while 41% said higher mortgage costs were preventing them from buying. Of those surveyed, 55% said they would be willing to buy in a different part of the country where house prices were cheaper, or they could get a bigger home. Tomer Aboody, a director of the property lender MT Finance, said: “With a drop in house prices said to be created by a lack of affordability among buyers and uncertainties around interest rates and inflation, some stability or help is needed. “Whether this comes from reduced interested rates, more flexibility on mortgages or potentially some stamp duty reform, buyers need to feel confident that they can commit to a purchase and move.”

Fed Holds Rates Steady, Noting Lack of Progress on Inflation 2024-05-01 09:03:01+00:00 - “My expectation is that we will, over the course of this year, see inflation move back down,” Mr. Powell said on Wednesday. But he added that “my confidence in that is lower than it was because of the data that we’ve seen.” As the Fed tries to assess the outlook, officials are likely to also keep an eye on momentum in broader economy. Economists generally think that when the economy is hot — when companies are hiring a lot, consumers are spending and growth is rapid — prices tend to increase more quickly. Companies are more likely to raise wages as they compete for workers, and they will try to raise prices to cover their climbing labor costs. Consumers who are earning more are less likely to balk at heftier price tags. Growth and hiring have not slowed down as much as one might have expected given today’s high interest rates. A key measure of wages climbed more rapidly than expected this week, and economists are now closely watching a jobs report scheduled for release on Friday for any hint that hiring remains robust. But so far, policymakers have generally been comfortable with the economy’s resilience. That is partly because growth has been driven by improving economic supply: Employers have been hiring as the labor pool grows, for instance, in part because immigration has been rapid.

Super Micro misses quarterly revenue estimates on stiff competition, shares fall 2024-05-01 05:21:00+00:00 - (Reuters) -Super Micro Computer reported third-quarter revenue below estimates on Tuesday, hurt by stiff competition in the server-making industry, however it forecast fourth-quarter revenue above estimates as it expects steady demand for its AI servers. Shares of the San Jose, California-based company, which have more than tripled in value so far this year, were down nearly 8% in trading after the bell. The AI server maker was added to the S&P 500 index last month. Super Micro is banking on its in-house liquid cooling technology for servers to gain market share in a competitive industry. "As new solutions ramp, including fully production ready DLC (Direct Liquid Cooling), we expect to continue gaining market share," Super Micro CEO Charles Liang said in a statement.Its close relations with chip giants Nvidia and Advanced Micro Devices, whose headquarters are less than 10 miles from Super Micro's, help it receive early samples of chips to check prototypes, giving it further advantage over rivals. The company expects fourth-quarter revenue between $5.1 billion and $5.5 billion, compared with estimates of $4.89 billion, according to LSEG data. The company raised its annual sales forecast to a range of $14.7 billion to $15.1 billion from the previously stated $14.3 billion to $14.7 billion. Excluding items, Super Micro reported a profit of $6.65 per share in the first quarter, compared with analysts' estimates of $5.78 per share. Revenue for the quarter ended March 31 stood at $3.85 billion, compared with estimates of $3.95 billion, according to LSEG data. Rivals Dell and Hewlett Packard Enterprise could eventually catch up and heat up competition in the sector and drive down prices. But for now analysts see Super Micro as being well placed. Gross margin for the three-month period was 15.5%, compared with 17.6%, a year ago, in line with analyst expectations. (Reporting by Akash Sriram in Bengaluru; Editing by Tasim Zahid)

Super Micro Sales Fail to Clear High Investor Expectations 2024-05-01 05:00:00+00:00 - (Bloomberg) -- Super Micro Computer Inc. reported quarterly sales that tripled from the same period last year but fell slightly short of estimates, disappointing investors who had sky-high expectations for the server maker’s business to benefit from AI-related demand. Most Read from Bloomberg Revenue in the fiscal third quarter, which ended March 31, climbed to $3.85 billion, the company said Tuesday in a statement. That’s just below the consensus estimate of $3.86 billion, according to data compiled by Bloomberg. Profit, excluding some items, was $6.65 per share, ahead of the $5.58 expected by Wall Street analysts. A jump in demand for the equipment that powers artificial intelligence training and applications has helped drive sales at Super Micro, which makes data center servers. Growth rates at the San Jose, California-based company have climbed higher in recent quarters on the back of deals with large corporations and an improving supply of high-powered chips. Tuesday’s results weren’t enough to advance the hype. The shares dropped about 7% in extended trading after closing at $858.80 in New York. The company has more than tripled in value this year and been added to the S&P 500 Index. Still, the stock had declined about 25% since a peak in March after the company announced a share sale to raise as much as $2 billion. Chief Executive Officer Charles Liang said in the statement that the company should “continue gaining market share” as new products are released. A major point of investor caution is whether Nvidia Corp., the world’s most valuable chipmaker, will cut into Super Micro’s revenue as the semiconductor giant invests in new business lines, wrote George Wang, an analyst at Barclays, in a note before the results were released. Revenue in the quarter ending in June will be $5.1 billion to $5.5 billion, the company said. Analysts, on average, projected $4.73 billion, according to data compiled by Bloomberg. Profit, excluding some items, will be as much as $8.42 per share, compared with an average estimate of $6.97. (Updates with extended trading in the fourth paragraph.) Most Read from Bloomberg Businessweek ©2024 Bloomberg L.P.

AMD beats on Q1 revenue and EPS, stock edges lower on light guidance 2024-05-01 04:51:00+00:00 - Chip giant AMD (AMD) reported its first quarter earnings on Tuesday beating analysts' expectations on the top and bottom lines, but lighter-than-anticipated guidance for the current quarter sent the stock lower. AMD's announcement follows rival Intel’s disappointing report last week, in which it posted a lower-than-anticipated revenue outlook for the current quarter. AMD said it expects Q2 revenue of between $5.4 billion and $6 billion; estimates called for $5.72 billion. AMD reported adjusted earnings per share (EPS) of $0.62 on revenue of $5.5 billion. Wall Street was looking for adjusted EPS of $0.61 on revenue of $5.45 billion. The company reported EPS of $0.60 on revenue of $5.35 billion in the same quarter last year. Importantly, AMD saw better-than-anticipated Data Center revenue in the quarter, with the company reporting sales of $2.34 billion. Wall Street was looking for $2.31 billion. AMD’s MI300 chips are meant to go head-to-head with Nvidia’s (NVDA) bestselling H100 line of accelerators. The company previously said that its MI300X beats out Nvidia’s chips, a claim Nvidia rejected. Intel is also chasing Nvidia’s H100 platform with its Gaudi 3 accelerators. Lisa Su, CEO of AMD, speaks onstage during Vox Media's 2023 Code Conference at The Ritz-Carlton, Laguna Niguel on Sept. 26, 2023, in Dana Point, Calif. (Jerod Harris/Getty Images for Vox Media) (Jerod Harris via Getty Images) Nvidia, however, announced its follow-up to the H100, the Blackwell platform, during its GTC conference in March. This platform should offer better performance than its predecessor. The AI arms race isn’t slowing anytime soon, either. Microsoft (MSFT), Google (GOOG, GOOGL), and Meta (META) each announced that they’re pouring money into AI data center capabilities to build out and support their various software offerings. But whether AMD can steal significant market share away from market leader Nvidia remains to be seen. According to UBS Global Research analyst Timothy Arcuri, MI300X sales should bring in billions this year. “We still very much see $5 billion to $6 billion as still conservative for MI300 revenue this year and we also see guidance being fine,” he wrote in an investor note ahead of earnings. On the PC side, AMD reported Client revenue of $1.37 billion, ahead of Wall Street's estimates of $1.29 billion. According to IDC, global PC shipments grew 1.5% in the first quarter of 2024, marking the first quarter of growth after two years of declines. Intel, for its part, reported a 31% year-over-year bump in Client Group revenue, the company’s PC chip segment, in its latest quarter. But AMD and Intel aren’t the only companies pushing for a slice of the AI PC market. Qualcomm (QCOM) is angling for its own cut with its new Snapdragon X Elite and Snapdragon X Plus chips for laptops. Story continues Gaming and Embedded revenue, meanwhile, fell short of Wall Street's expectations. AMD reported gaming sales of $922 million in the quarter, shy of the $965.5 million analysts had anticipated. Embedded revenue came in at $846 million. Analysts expected sales of $922.6 million. Subscribe to the Yahoo Finance Tech newsletter. (Yahoo Finance) Email Daniel Howley at dhowley@yahoofinance.com. Follow him on Twitter at @DanielHowley. For the latest earnings reports and analysis, earnings whispers and expectations, and company earnings news, click here Read the latest financial and business news from Yahoo Finance.

Amazon reports strong 1Q results driven by its cloud-computing unit and Prime Video ad dollars 2024-05-01 04:45:00+00:00 - NEW YORK (AP) — Amazon on Tuesday reported strong results for the first quarter, driven by growth in its cloud-computing unit and a new surge of advertising dollars from its Prime Video streaming service. The Seattle-based e-commerce giant said it brought in $143.31 billion in revenue in the first three months of this year, a 13% jump compared to the same period last year. Net income came out to $10.43 billion, or 98 cents per share. That soundly beat Wall Street analysts' expectations for 84 cents a share, according to FactSet. “It was a good start to the year across the business, and you can see that in both our customer experience improvements and financial results,” Amazon CEO Andy Jassy said in a statement. The nation’s biggest online retailer is coming off better-than-expected results for the holiday shopping period, when it saw strong consumer spending aided by discounts and faster shipping speeds. Amazon held another discount event in late March, right before the end of the first quarter. Aside from its core retail business, Amazon said first-quarter sales in its cloud computing unit, Amazon Web Services. amounted to $25.04 billion, up 17% from the same period last year. Sales in the company's online advertising business also spiked 24%, partly driven by an influx of ad dollars coming from Prime Video. After years of giving Prime subscribers ad-free access to their favorite movies and TV shows, Amazon implemented a new policy in late January that lets viewers avoid ads only if they pay an additional $2.99 a month. Shares in Amazon.com Inc. rose 3% in after-hours trading. The company says it expects to post net sales between $144 billion and $149 billion during the second quarter. Analysts are expecting $150.2 billion, according to FactSet.

UPDATE 1-Super Micro forecasts quarterly revenue above estimates as AI powers server demand 2024-05-01 04:23:00+00:00 - (Adds shares, background, details in paragraph 2-7) April 30 (Reuters) - Super Micro Computer forecast fourth-quarter revenue above estimates on Tuesday as it expects continued demand for its servers used in artificial intelligence applications. Super Micro's in-house liquid cooling solutions for servers have helped it get products to the market quicker than its competitors, who rely partly on third-party vendors. Its close relations with chip giants Nvidia and Advanced Micro Devices, whose headquarters are less than 10 miles from Super Micro's, help it receive early samples of chips to check prototypes, giving it further advantage over rivals. Super Micro's stock, which has nearly tripled so far this year, was added to the S&P 500 index last month. The company expects fourth-quarter revenue between $5.1 billion and $5.5 billion, compared with estimates of $4.89 billion, according to LSEG data. Revenue for the quarter ended March 31 stood at $3.85 billion, compared with estimates of $3.95 billion, according to LSEG data. The company posted a net income of $402.5 million in the third quarter, compared with $85.9 million a year ago. Gross margin for the three-month period was 15.5%, compared with 17.6%, a year ago, in line with analyst expectations. Shares of the San Jose, California-based company were down 3% in volatile trading after the bell. (Reporting by Akash Sriram in Bengaluru; Editing by Tasim Zahid)

Walmart shuttering health units, including telehealth and 51 clinics 2024-05-01 04:20:00+00:00 - Walmart (WMT) announced it is closing down its healthcare business Tuesday. The move will impact 51 locations in five states, as well as relationships with health systems, like the one penned with Florida's Orlando Health in November. In its announcement, Walmart cited a "challenging reimbursement environment and escalating operating costs" as contributing to a "lack of profitability that make the care business unsustainable for us at this time." The company declined to comment to Yahoo Finance on the business segment's profitability, or lack thereof. "We continually assess our business, once we made the decision, we moved quickly and with appropriate speed, which we believe was in the best interest of our associates, patients and communities," Walmart said in an emailed response. A spokesperson said the locations would likely close within a 45- to 90-day time frame. Walmart store in suburb north of Pittsburgh. (bgwalker via Getty Images) Walmart is just the latest in a string of retail healthcare pullbacks. Walgreens (WBA) announced that it will close 160 of its VillageMD clinics and only maintain the busiest sites, just a few years after investing $5.2 billion to acquire a majority stake in the business. And recently, UnitedHealth Group's (UNH) Optum division confirmed it was ending its telehealth services — which it started offering during the pandemic at no out-of-pocket cost to members. Industry challenges Craig Garthwaite, health economist and professor at Northwestern University's Kellogg School of Management, said that Walmart relied too heavily on its retail strategy in the more complex healthcare system. The idea that "we use our scale to cut costs, deliver lower prices to gain share — that's just not going to work given the cost structure of what they were involved with here," Garthwaite said. Even with the volume of customers Walmart has walking through its doors daily, and the various attempts to expand its health offerings over the years — including as an insurer — it couldn't crack the code. Sachin Jain, president and CEO of SCAN Health Group, said in part there's a disconnect between the healthcare business and the needs of for-profit publicly traded companies that have to think about profit and increasing shareholder value every three months. "It raises the question of whether there is this incompatibility between building a reliable ... primary care business and the public markets in an environment where rates are declining," Jain said. The reimbursement rates from insurers and the federal government's Medicare program have been blamed for razor-thin margins in hospitals and in physician practices. Story continues Stephen Klasko, a former hospital CEO and currently at General Catalyst, told Yahoo Finance he believes this could be a lesson for other retail efforts, such as Amazon's (AMZN) One Medical. If a newcomer to the health space isn't thinking about how to operate as an insurer or as a pharmacy simultaneously, "it just doesn't work financially," Klasko said. He also added that if Walmart, with its scale and resources, could not make it, it's unlikely that retail health will ever take off. Walmart's stock was trading down 2% Tuesday, at just above $59 per share. Anjalee Khemlani is the senior health reporter at Yahoo Finance, covering all things pharma, insurance, care services, digital health, PBMs, and health policy and politics. Follow Anjalee on all social media platforms @AnjKhem. Click here for in-depth analysis of the latest health industry news and events impacting stock prices Read the latest financial and business news from Yahoo Finance

Devastated by his videos being posted to a porn site, this founder hit on an AI startup idea 2024-05-01 03:45:00+00:00 - Dan Purcell, the founder and CEO of Ceartas, recalls feeling devastated when he realized that a former partner had, unbeknownst to him, uploaded private, intimate videos of them onto a porn site. Over a call, Purcell told me, “I was dating a girl who was in the tech industry, and she asked me if I wanted to make some personal videos with her. About four or five years later, they all ended up on the internet, and I was the last one to find out. My then-girlfriend slid her phone across the counter to me with the videos on the phone. It was pretty horrible.” Purcell then looked into services that could help him take the videos down, but most were aimed at large enterprises rather than creators. “There wasn't really anything out there to help individuals," he recalled. Resolved to come up with a solution to help prevent such violations, Purcell roped in his co-founder Jonny Smyth (now CTO of the startup) to build Ceartas in 2021. The startup applies AI to bolster brand protection and anti-piracy services for content creators and brands and has now raised $4.5 million in a seed round from Earlybird Venture Capital, as well as Upside VC, a fund established by Sidemen, a YouTube influencer group. Ceartas’ claim is that it automates the delisting process and can identify deepfakes quickly. Leveraging its proprietary AI platform, the company's product scans digital platforms to identify unauthorized content, including deepfakes. It then de-indexes the content and automatically issues legal DMCA (Digital Millennium Copyright Act) takedown notices for pirated content. The platform claims its system significantly lowers problematic content’s visibility on Google by 98%. Purcell said Ceartas is currently aimed at YouTubers and Instagram users, but he added that as the company moves into the enterprise space, it would be tuning the service to consider physical goods, such as counterfeit merchandise. "We've used the content creators to build out that model — essentially, build up a dataset,” he added. Based out of Dublin and Berlin, the company plans to open an office in Los Angeles and has signed partnerships with platforms such as OnlyFans and Fanfix (a content monetization platform for creators). As well as working with influencers like Sidemen, Ceartas has partnered with physical goods brands that put their content on social media. Ceartas has four main competitors in this space: Rulta also offers DMCA takedown services to creators on Twitch, OnlyFans, X, Patreon and other platforms, and BranditScan offers similar services. In the B2B brand protection space, Red Points out of Barcelona has raised $106.6 million, and Vobile, which caters to large enterprises in movies and TV content, has raised $181.6 million. Story continues All companies that submit DMCA notices, especially to Google, are publicly identified and scored based on the accuracy of the removals they facilitate. This information is part of a public repository called the Google Transparency Report, and also the Lumen Database. On Google Web (removals of images aren't scored), Ceartas is rated as having delisted about 90% to 100% of the URLs it has tackled. On Google's transparency index, Rulta is at 63%, BranditScan at 54%, Red Points at 31%, and Vobile at 42%. These numbers suggest that an AI-driven approach is likely to overtake older delisting methods in the near future. Purcell said, “We've essentially built out our own dataset using machine learning. The AI is contextually aware. The AI will go look at the page. It'll use things like optical character recognition to look at watermarks, face recognition, and if people are leaving disparaging comments or sexualized comments. If it's above 90%, it will automatically send a legal notice. If it's under 90%, it goes to a copyright specialist for a manual review. The legal notices are written by lawyers. We work with a law firm in LA called Morrison Cooper.” He added that the firm has a provisional patent on the AI model, as it doesn't rely on any third-party technology. Purcell said the startup chose to work with Earlybird because the VC firm had been proactively looking to back a company in the brand protection space. “We didn't actually go out and pitch them; they actually found us," he told me. "They’d been researching this since 2019, and they couldn't find anybody who could scale it and monetize it. So when we pitched them, they pitched us back." Andre Retterath, a partner at Earlybird, said in a statement: “Across media and the entertainment industry, individuals and enterprises alike are facing unprecedented piracy challenges. … Training modern AI large language models (LLM) also opened the floodgates for the use and dissemination of unauthorised content.” The recent funding round also draws backing from new angel investors: Thomas Hesse (former president of Sony Music), Andrej Henkler (10x Founders), Michele Attisani and Niccolo Maisto (Faceit), and Ryan Morrison (Evolved Talent/Morrison Cooper), among others from the gaming, content creation, music and television sectors.

Clear is now enrolling people for TSA PreCheck at these airports 2024-04-30 22:56:00+00:00 - TSA experiments with new remote technology to speed up airport security screenings There's a new way to enroll in the Transportation Security Administration's PreCheck program to help get through airport security lines faster. Clear, a private identity screening company, is now enrolling passengers in TSA PreCheck at select airports across the U.S. The announcement makes Clear the third company to partner with the TSA to expand enrollment options for low-risk travelers. Previously, Telos and Idemia were the only enrollment providers for TSA PreCheck, which launched in 2013 and now has more than 19 million members. The program provides customers with a dedicated line and lets them keep their shoes and jackets on while going through screening. They can also keep their laptops and liquids in their bags. According to TSA, PreCheck lane wait times are under 10 minutes, compared with 30-minute wait times in standard lanes. "The TSA PreCheck trusted traveler program enables vetted, low-risk travelers to move through security more efficiently," TSA Administrator David Pekoske said in a statement Tuesday. "Additional enrollment providers make it easier for the public to enroll and enjoy a seamless travel experience." Clear CEO Caryn Seidman-Becker said the company's enrollment opportunities provide passengers with "a fast and efficient airport experience." "This is a win-win for U.S. travelers who will have access to more enrollment locations, expanded hours and other benefits," she said in a statement. Clear charges $77.95 for TSA PreCheck. Idemia's enrollment fee is $78, and Telos' is $85. Here's where it's available Clear's TSA PreCheck enrollment and renewal services are now available at three U.S. airports. Passengers can enroll in-person at Orlando International Airport, Sacramento International Airport or at Newark Liberty International Airport. Memberships last for five years.

Dave and Buster's to allow betting on arcade games 2024-04-30 22:14:00+00:00 - Arcade, sports bar and restaurant Dave and Buster's will allow guests to place wagers on its games, like Skee-Ball through its app. The entertainment chain on Tuesday announced a partnership with Lucra, which makes gamification software, to bring the betting feature to Dave and Buster's guests. The chain's five million loyalty members can compete with other arcade users to earn rewards and what it described as "exclusive perks." The technology will be available at all 223 Dave and Buster's locations across the U.S., meaning friends can bet against one another on who will sink the most baskets playing Hot Shots, for example. "We're thrilled to work with Lucra to bring this exciting new gaming platform to our customers," Simon Murray, senior vice president of entertainment and attractions at Dave and Buster's said in a statement Tuesday. "This new partnership gives our loyalty members real-time, unrivaled gaming experiences, and reinforces our commitment to continuing to elevate our customer experience through innovative, cutting-edge technology." Neither Dave & Buster's nor Lucra immediately replied to CBS MoneyWatch's request for comment on how much guests can wager at a time. Betting on professional sports has ballooned into a multibillion dollar industry, while social betting platforms have also cropped up, that let people bet with virtual currencies. Some critics say they can encourage young people to develop bad habits and even gambling problems.

Stocks making the biggest moves after hours: Amazon, Starbucks, Pinterest, Advanced Micro Devices and more 2024-04-30 22:10:00+00:00 - Check out the companies making headlines in extended trading. Amazon — Shares gained nearly 2% after the company beat on both top and bottom lines. Amazon posted earnings of 98 cents per share on $143.31 billion in revenue. Analysts surveyed by LSEG had forecast earnings of 83 cents per share on $142.5 billion in revenue. The advertising and Amazon Web Services segments also topped expectations. However, the company's second-quarter revenue forecast was shy of estimates. Starbucks — Shares slipped almost 10% in extended trading after the coffee chain missed fiscal second-quarter estimates on the top and bottom line. Starbucks earned 68 cents per share on revenue of $8.56 billion, and missed the forecast from analysts polled by LSEG of 79 cents per share for earnings and $9.13 billion for revenue. Advanced Micro Devices – The chip company fell more than 7% after its gaming segment revenue for the first quarter came in at $922 million, down 48% on a year-over-year basis. Total revenue was slightly ahead of the Street's expectations at $5.47 billion, versus the consensus estimate of $5.46 billion, per LSEG. It forecast revenue for the current quarter in line with the analyst forecast of $5.70 billion. Pinterest — Shares surged nearly 19% following an earnings and revenue beat in the first quarter. Pinterest reported adjusted earnings of 20 cents per share, topping forecasts for 13 cents per share, according to LSEG. Revenue growth also accelerated in the quarter. Super Micro Computer — Shares dropped nearly 8% after Super Micro Computer posted fiscal third-quarter revenue of $3.85 billion, missing the $3.95 billion consensus estimate, according to LSEG. Adjusted per-share earnings of $6.65 topped the per-share estimate of $5.78. The company also issued strong fourth-quarter revenue guidance. Chesapeake Energy — Shares were little changed after the natural gas producer posted disappointing earnings of 56 cents per share, excluding items. The results missed the FactSet consensus estimate of 59 cents per share. Caesars Entertainment — The casino stock lost about 3% on disappointing first-quarter results. Caesars posted a wider-than-expected loss of 73 cents per share, while analysts had estimated losses of 7 cents per share, per LSEG data. Revenue also missed forecasts, coming in at $2.74 billion versus consensus estimates of $2.84 billion. Mondelez International — The snack company's shares slipped more than 1% despite announcing better-than-expected first-quarter results. Mondelez posted adjusted earnings of 95 cents per share on $9.29 billion in revenue. Analysts' estimates called for earnings of 89 cents per share and $9.16 billion in revenue, according to LSEG data. However, management said it expects currency translation to reduce net revenue growth by around 1.5% this year. Diamondback Energy – The oil and gas company posted earnings of $4.50 per share, excluding items, that beat analysts' estimates by 4 cents per share, according to FactSet, for the first quarter. Revenue came in at $2.23 billion, beating expectations of $2.10 billion. The shares fell 1% after hours. Clorox — The consumer goods company slipped 3%. Revenue in the fiscal third quarter came in at $1.81 billion, missing estimates of $1.87 billion, according to LSEG. — CNBC's Sarah Min, Brian Evans, Alex Harring, Darla Mercado and Tanaya Macheel contributed reporting

U.S. bans most uses of paint-stripping solvent after dozens of deaths 2024-04-30 21:59:00+00:00 - Family of man who died after methylene chloride exposure call EPA decision "step in the right direction" The Environmental Protection Agency is banning most uses of a toxic chemical often used to refinish furniture and bathtubs that has been linked to dozens of deaths since 1980. The agency announced a rule Tuesday that will limit all consumer uses of methylene chloride, as well as most industrial and commercial uses. Exempted uses include those "highly industrialized and important to national security and the economy," such as climate-friendly coolants and parts for electric vehicles, according to the EPA. The EPA is restricting use of methylene chloride roughly six years after a CBS News investigation prompted three major retailers — Home Depot, Lowe's and Sherwin-Williams — to agree to pull products with the chemical off their shelves by the end of 2018. Methylene chloride is known to cause a range of cancers, as well as neurotoxicity and liver damage, while direct exposure can lead to death, according to the EPA. At least 88 people have died from acute exposure to methylene chloride since 1980, most of them who were refinishing bathtubs or stripping paint, the agency said. The fatalities included trained workers who were equipped with personal protection equipment. "Exposure to methylene chloride has devastated families across this country for too long, including some who saw loved ones go to work and never come home," EPA Administrator Michael S. Regan said in a statement. "EPA's final action brings an end to unsafe methylene chloride practices and implements the strongest worker protections possible for the few remaining industrial uses, ensuring no one in this country is put in harm's way by this dangerous chemical." The sweeping restrictions come a year after the EPA proposed the ban, citing the known and potentially deadly health risks of methylene chloride, which is also used to make pharmaceuticals and refrigerants. It also follows the EPA's move earlier this month to limit so-called "forever chemicals" in tap water. The EPA rule would allow certain "critical" uses in the military and industrial processing, with worker protections in place, said Michal Freedhoff, assistant administrator for the EPA's Office of Chemical Safety and Pollution Prevention. For example, methylene chloride will continue to be allowed to make refrigerants as an alternative to other chemicals that produce greenhouse gases and contribute to climate change. It also will be allowed for use in electric vehicle batteries and for critical military functions. Chemical companies contend that the EPA is overstating the risks of methylene chloride and that adequate protections have mitigated health risks. The American Chemistry Council, the industry's top lobbying group, called methylene chloride "an essential compound" used to make many products and goods Americans rely on every day, including paint stripping, pharmaceutical manufacturing and metal cleaning and degreasing. —The Associated Press contributed to this report

Starfield's Shattered Space Expansion Set For Fall Release, More Updates On The Way - Microsoft (NASDAQ:MSFT) 2024-04-30 21:51:00+00:00 - Loading... Loading... Microsoft Corp.’s MSFT Bethesda Game Studios is set to enhance their space RPG, Starfield, with a forthcoming expansion titled Shattered Space, anticipated to launch this fall. Todd Howard, the studio’s director, provided insights into the post-launch content plans in an April 29 interview with Kinda Funny. See Also: Starfield And Indiana Jones On PS5? Microsoft’s Xbox’s Potential Shift To Multi-Platform Gaming Howard revealed that updates and improvements to Starfield should be "announced in a few days." “It's got some great stuff for ship building as well,” he said, highlighting the targeted areas for enhancement in response to player feedback. In the same interview, Howard also hinted at significant improvements to the game’s navigation aids. “We redid the map stuff, so we have some city map stuff,” Howard added. Moreover, the director touched upon the Starfield Creation Kit, which represents Bethesda’s ongoing support for the game’s modding community. He reassured fans about the continued development and eventual release of this toolkit, saying, "We've delivered it to some people, some of our creators for Starfield. You're going to hear some information about that soon." Read Next: Big Cup Of Mediocrity? Starfield’s Rating Plunge Hits ‘Mostly Negative’ On Steam Image credits: Shutterstock.

Ex-Tesla worker says he lost job despite sacrifices, including sleeping in car to shorten commute 2024-04-30 21:49:00+00:00 - Tesla is known as a demanding workplace, with its Glassdoor reviews noting that employees typically work long hours and put in time on the weekends. But a recent LinkedIn post from a Tesla worker who lost his job earlier this month is sparking a debate about whether workers should make such sacrifices for their employers. In the post, former Tesla worker Nico Murillo writes about his dedication to the electric vehicle maker, noting that he slept in his car on weekdays at one point in 2023 to cut out his 1.5 hour commute. "Showered at the factory and slept in the parking lot. Microwaved dinner in the break room," he wrote. Then, Murillo wrote, he logged into his computer on April 15 at 4:30 a.m. to find his account had been deactivated. He soon noticed an email that read, "Unfortunately as a result, your position has been eliminated by this restructuring." Murillo nevertheless drove to his office and tried to badge in. "[T]he security guard took my badge and told me I was laid off," Murillo wrote. "Sat in my car in disbelief." Describing his roughly five years at Tesla, where his most recent role was as a production supervisor, he added, "Sacrificed a lot for the company." Tesla, which had more than 140,000 workers as of December, is in the process of cutting 10% of its employees as it copes with a slump in demand for its electric vehicles. Tesla CEO Elon Musk said in a memo to staff that the layoffs are needed to "enable us to be lean, innovative and hungry for the next growth phase cycle." Neither Tesla nor Murillo immediately responded to requests for comment about the post. Yet Murillo's description of his dedication to Tesla and his abrupt firing has sparked an outpouring on LinkedIn, with more than 1,600 replies. One common refrain came from people who described having gone through similar experiences, leading them to question whether it's worth giving so much time and energy to an employer. "After 17 years with a company and 1 year away from retirement, headquarters in Utah phoned me to tell me my position was being eliminated and I was to vacate the building immediately," one LinkedIn member responded to Murillo. "I also gave everything to my job but made too much. Corporations do not care about the people." Another commenter added, "[D]o not sacrifice your health, time and well-being for any organization because as you see they will let you go without any remorse." Meanwhile, Tesla is laying off even more employees, according to Monday reports in Eletrek and The Information. Musk wrote in a Monday memo that the company is cutting two senior executives, supercharger senior director Rebecca Tinucci and head of new products Daniel Ho, according to The Information. Tesla is also laying off almost all of its 500-person charging team, Eletrek reported. Earlier this month, Tesla reported its first-quarter profit plummeted 55%, the victim of falling global sales and the carmaker's own price cuts. Revenue slipped 9% to $21.3 billion. Consumer demand for EVs has slowed amid concerns over their cost and usage issues, such as batteries that lose effectiveness in cold weather. And rival automakers are rolling out their own EVs, causing Tesla's market share to shrink. To be sure, companies often need to cut costs or restructure when they hit rough patches. But the experience for the workers who lose their jobs can be painful, especially for those who put in long hours and sacrificed their personal lives, as expressed by Murillo. Still, he added that he views his five years at Tesla as just part of his story. "I'm only 29 years old and have a lot more career time in me," he wrote.

This $119 houseplant is bioengineered to remove harmful air pollution in your home. 2024-04-30 21:41:02+00:00 - By clicking “Sign Up”, you accept our Terms of Service and Privacy Policy . You can opt-out at any time. Access your favorite topics in a personalized feed while you're on the go. download the app Sign up to get the inside scoop on today’s biggest stories in markets, tech, and business — delivered daily. Read preview Looking at Neo Px, you'd never know that it was anything but a typical houseplant. But on a microscopic level, this plant is supercharged with billions of pollution-eating bacteria. This week, the France-based biotech company Neoplants released the first houseplant bioengineered to remove harmful chemicals from indoor air. It targets volatile organic compounds (VOCs), which are emitted by the everyday stuff in our homes: gas stoves, paints, even furniture. This story is available exclusively to Business Insider subscribers. Become an Insider and start reading now. NeoP1 looks like an ordinary marble queen pothos plant. Neoplants Indoor air can be two to five times (and in extreme cases, up to 100 times) more polluted than outdoor air, according to the American Lung Association. This is, in part, driven by higher levels of VOCs indoors. Long-term exposure to these compounds can cause eye, nose, and throat irritation, headaches and dizziness, even liver damage and cancer. The best ways to remove VOCs from your home are opening the windows and getting rid of their sources, Glenn Morrison, a University of North Carolina environmental science and engineering professor who studies indoor air pollution, told BI. Some types of mechanical air purifiers can remove them too, but many of them can produce other harmful chemicals like carbon monoxide, ozone, and formaldehyde. Advertisement But Neoplants co-founders Patrick Torbey and Lionel Mora weren't satisfied with these options. They argue that opening windows only temporarily reduces indoor pollution to outside levels, and not everyone can easily get rid of VOC sources in their homes. What's more, they believe existing VOC-removing technologies aren't worth their drawbacks. So, they turned to biology to invent their own solution. The result, Neo Px, is 30 times more effective at removing indoor air pollution than the average houseplant, Torbey and Mora told Business Insider. "What we care about is putting nature at the center of innovation again," Torbey said. Harnessing the power of bacteria This petri dish was cultured with Neoplants' bioengineered bacteria. But only the pink side was also swabbed with toluene, a VOC. The dots on that side are bacterial colonies, showing that this species can live off of VOCs. Neoplants Non-engineered houseplants are equipped with some natural air-purifying power, and some types are more effective than others. But research has shown that it would take hundreds of regular houseplants to purify the air inside a 1,500 square-foot home. Advertisement Torbey and Mora wanted to achieve air purification with a single houseplant. To do that, they hacked into the plant's microbiome. They targeted a strain of bacteria called Pseudomonas putida, which have a particular appetite for three common VOCs: benzene, toluene, and xylene. There are tens of thousands of types of VOCs that can be present in homes, Morrison points out. But Neoplants chose to target these three because they are especially harmful and prevalent in indoor spaces, Mora said. This species of bacteria can live off VOCs as their sole carbon source, metabolizing them into harmless sugars and amino acids, according to the Neoplants white paper. What's more, these bacteria naturally occur in the soil around plant roots and form a mutually beneficial relationship with their host plants. If Torbey and Mora could figure out how to supercharge these VOC-eating bacteria, they'd create a natural air-purifying system. Advertisement Through directed evolution — the process of reproducing organisms in a lab to enhance a selected trait over time — they created a new version of Pseudomonas putida that is extremely effective at metabolizing VOCs. "These are like tiny, tiny air purifying machines that build more air purifying machines the more pollution there is," Torbey said. Related stories But keeping these bacteria abundant presented a challenge. Plant microbiomes are difficult to maintain, and their viability declines as soon as you ship that plant to someone, Jennifer Brophy, assistant professor of Bioengineering at Stanford University, told MIT Tech Review. To solve that problem, Neo Px comes with "power drops," a solution of their engineered bacteria that can be used to replenish the plant's microbiome once a month and ensure that it's working at its maximum air-purifying capacity, similar to regularly replacing an air purifier's filter. Advertisement Limitations UNC's Morrison thinks that there are other limitations to consider before purchasing Neo Px. "It doesn't really matter how much they modify the plant or modify the bacteria in the soil if they can't get the air into and through it," he said. Neo Px is potted in a biodegradable shell that's designed with vents to maximize airflow between the soil and the room, but Morrison argues that the airflow would still be too minimal to make a significant difference in air quality for the average home. "It might actually remove some VOCs, it just doesn't remove very much," he said. But Torbey and Mora are confident in their product. "We know that phytoremediation (plants-based solution) is not an approach that most in the indoor air quality community believe in," Torbey told BI in a later email in response to Morrison's skepticism. He and his colleagues have built two VOC measurement rooms at their headquarters in Paris, which they will use to study the phytoremediation potential of their system. "We will be publishing this data as soon as possible to help the world better understand the power of phytoremediation," he added. Advertisement Unpacking the Neo Px system The Neo Px system comes with a marble queen pothos potted in a specially designed "shell," and a six-month supply of power drops. Neoplants The Neo Px air purifying system comes with a marble queen pothos plant, popular species of houseplant which serves as the perfect host for their VOC-eating bacteria, Mora said. Eventually, Mora and Torbey hope to expand Neoplants to include different types of plants, but for now, pothos is the only species available for purchase. The Neo Px package includes the biodegradable, vented shell, which also has a built-in self-watering system. "Even people who don't have a green thumb at all can very easily take care of this plant," Mora said. This $119 package comes with a six-month supply of power drops. When they run out, customers can sign up to auto-replenish them for $39 every three months. Advertisement Striving for sustainability Every part of the Neo Px air purifying system is manufactured in the US. Neoplants For Mora and Torbey, the most exciting aspect of this new product is that it's made entirely in the US. Even the recycled plastic and agricultural waste used to make their self-watering shell comes from the US. Achieving this proved challenging, Mora said, but he and Torbey wanted to manufacture their product as close to their main customer base as possible. To them, it didn't make sense to ship a product designed to clean the air across the world. And manufacturing Neo Px in the US helped ensure their product was made responsibly. "What we tried to do is build a product that is as sustainable as possible. So, you don't need to use any electricity, you don't need to replace filters that have a lot of pollution in them and throw them away," Mora said. This sustainable model is part of Neoplants overarching goal: to drive progress towards solutions to even bigger environmental issues. Advertisement "If we project ourselves in five years from now, not only will we have this product family for indoor spaces that people can put in their homes, but we'll also start hitting some of the first fundamental technical milestones for climate change applications," Mora said.