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M. Night Shyamalan's new thriller 'Trap' is inspired by the true story of a twisted sting operation 2024-08-05 20:00:19+00:00 - By clicking “Sign Up”, you accept our Terms of Service and Privacy Policy . You can opt-out at any time by visiting our Preferences page or by clicking "unsubscribe" at the bottom of the email. Access your favorite topics in a personalized feed while you're on the go. download the app Thanks for signing up! Go to newsletter preferences Sign up to get the inside scoop on today’s biggest stories in markets, tech, and business — delivered daily. Read preview Director M. Night Shyamalan's new thriller, "Trap," is filled with twists and turns, but its premise is grounded in a real-life sting operation that took place in the '80s. "Trap," now playing in theaters, stars Josh Hartnett as Cooper, a middle-aged man who takes his daughter Riley (Ariel Donoghue) to a concert for her favorite pop star, Lady Raven (played by Shyamalan's real-life daughter and musician Saleka Night Shyamalan). This story is available exclusively to Business Insider subscribers. Become an Insider and start reading now. The "twist" revealed in the trailers is that Hartnett's seemingly mundane dad is secretly a serial killer known as "The Butcher" and the concert is actually an elaborate trap designed by the feds to catch him. As it turns out, the concept of "Trap" isn't too far-fetched or unfathomable. The US government used a similar tactic to catch 100 fugitives by luring them to a football game with free tickets. Here's how the sting operation partly inspired Shyamalan's film. Advertisement Operation Flagship was an unconventional trap that resulted in the arrests of 101 wanted fugitives on December 15, 1985 US Marshals arresting fugitives in Operation Flagship in December 1985. Bernie Boston/Getty Images In 1985, the DC police and US Marshals lured in wanted fugitives by capitalizing on the popularity of the football team then known as the Washington Redskins (now the Washington Commanders). The elaborate ruse, known as Operation Flagship, began with the creation of the fictional Flagship International Sports Television, which was a riff on the acronym FIST, the Fugitive Investigative Strike Team. The fake corporation mailed invitations to the last known addresses of more than 3,000 wanted people, telling them they won free tickets to a Redskins vs. Cincinnati Bengals football game. The 101 criminals who responded to the phony invitations attended a brunch at the Washington Convention Center on the morning of the game to pick up their complimentary tickets, celebrate their good fortune, and get free transportation to the game. Advertisement In actuality, the fugitives were surrounded by over 100 undercover cops posing as cheerleaders, mascots, maintenance crew members, and other venue staff. The fugitives were then split into smaller, more manageable groups. When it came time for the big surprise, members of the Special Operations Group burst into the room and arrested the fugitives. Related stories According to The Washington Post, Operation Sting led to 144 arrests. Shyamalan said that the sting operation was 'hilarious' and the absurdity of the fakeout stuck with him Hartnett as Cooper and Donoghue as Riley in "Trap." Sabrina Lantos/Warner Bros. Pictures Shyamalan told Empire magazine that Operation Flagship inadvertently led him to pitch a movie that raises the question, "What if 'The Silence of the Lambs' happened at a Taylor Swift concert?" Advertisement In the press notes for "Trap," Shyamalan said that the idea for "Trap" was born out of conversations with his daughter about merging music with filmmaking by creating a thriller that's also a music-driven movie. "After I was thinking, 'Hey, this could be a killer that's in there,' this notion came to me of, I remember as a kid, this event that happened in the '80s where the police and the FBI created a sting operation at a public event," Shyamalan told Dexerto. "It was hilarious," Shyamalan told Empire magazine of the real-life operation. "The cops were literally cheerleaders and mascots. These guys were dancing as they came in. And they were all caught. It was so twisted and funny." "Trap" isn't a comedy by any means, but the dark humor of Operation Flagship informed the movie. Advertisement "The tone of that absurdity — that you were dancing with them and then your life was over on that day — stuck with me as really strange and wonderful. And so we kind of took that language," Shyamalan told Dexerto.

Blizzard Launches New Studio Focused On Mid-Level Games, Mobile Integration: Report - Microsoft (NASDAQ:MSFT) 2024-08-05 19:56:00+00:00 - Microsoft Corp.‘s MSFT Blizzard Entertainment is expanding its operations with the formation of a new AA studio. According to Windows Central, this new studio will focus on developing games centered around Blizzard’s established franchises, such as World of Warcraft, Overwatch, and StarCraft. See Also: Microsoft’s Satya Nadella: Activision Gives Us A Chance Of Being ‘A Good Publisher’ On Sony, Nintendo Blizzard’s New Studio Focus The new studio will be composed mainly of former employees from mobile game developer King, a subsidiary of Activision Blizzard. This suggests that the studio may work on projects that integrate mobile gaming elements, potentially aligning with Microsoft’s plans for a mobile store expected to launch later this year. According to the report, Microsoft is interested in exploring cost-effective approaches within its gaming divisions. The formation of this new studio is part of a broader strategy to leverage smaller teams to drive innovation and manage costs more efficiently. Moreover, the involvement of former King employees could lead to new developments or expansions of Blizzard's existing franchises, tailored for various platforms, including mobile. Read Next: Photo: Shutterstock

X to Close Flagship San Francisco Office 2024-08-05 19:54:27.989000+00:00 - X, the social media company owned by Elon Musk, plans to shut its San Francisco office “over the next few weeks,” according to an internal email obtained by The New York Times. In the email, which X’s chief executive, Linda Yaccarino, sent to employees on Monday, the company said workers would move to existing offices in San Jose, Calif. X will also open an engineering-focused office in Palo Alto, Calif., which it will share with xAI, the artificial intelligence outfit owned by Mr. Musk, the email said. “This is an important decision that impacts many of you, but it is the right one for our company in the long term,” Ms. Yaccarino wrote to employees. Mr. Musk said last month that he would move the company’s headquarters to Texas, after California passed a law that bans school districts from requiring teachers to notify parents if their children change their gender identification. Mr. Musk, who has had a tempestuous relationship with the state, said that such legislation would “force families and companies to leave California to protect their children.”

Google loses antitrust case over search 2024-08-05 19:54:00+00:00 - CEO of Alphabet and Google Sundar Pichai meets Polish Prime Minister at the Chancellery in Warsaw, Poland on March 29, 2022. A federal U.S. judge ruled Monday that Google has illegally held a monopoly in two market areas: search and text advertising. The landmark case from the government, filed in 2020, alleged that Google has kept its share of the general search market by creating strong barriers to entry and a feedback loop that sustained its dominance. The court found that Google violated Section 2 of the Sherman Act, which outlaws monopolies. The ruling marks the first anti-monopoly decision against a tech company in decades. "Google is a monopolist, and it has acted as one to maintain its monopoly," Judge Amit Mehta of the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia wrote in the decision. The Department of Justice and a bipartisan group of attorneys general from 38 states and territories, led by Colorado and Nebraska, filed similar but separate antitrust suits against Google in 2020. The suits were combined for pretrial purposes, such as discovery of evidence. Attorney General Merrick Garland called the decision a "historic win for the American people." "No company — no matter how large or influential — is above the law," Garland wrote in a statement. "The Justice Department will continue to vigorously enforce our antitrust laws." In its ruling, the court homed in on Google's exclusive search arrangements on Android and Apple's iPhone and iPad devices, saying that they helped to cement Google's anticompetitive behavior and dominance over the search markets. General search services, according to the court, applies to Google's core search engine, where it traditionally competed with Yahoo. General search text advertising refers to the text ads that run alongside search results. The court ruled that in both of those areas, Google has operated as a monopoly. However, the ruling found that general search advertising is not a market so there can be no monopoly control. Kent Walker, Google's president of global affairs, said in a statement that the company plans to appeal the ruling. He highlighted the court's emphasis on the quality of Google's products. "This decision recognizes that Google offers the best search engine, but concludes that we shouldn't be allowed to make it easily available," Walker wrote. "As this process continues, we will remain focused on making products that people find helpful and easy to use." Alphabet shares fell more than 4% on Monday, dragged down by a broad decline in stocks worldwide. WATCH: Google loses DOJ antitrust lawsuit over search

Justice Clarence Thomas didn't disclose yet another trip with Harlan Crow, senator says 2024-08-05 19:52:16+00:00 - By clicking “Sign Up”, you accept our Terms of Service and Privacy Policy . You can opt-out at any time by visiting our Preferences page or by clicking "unsubscribe" at the bottom of the email. 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 Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas missed publicly disclosing another jaunt on billionaire and conservative megadonor Harlan Crow's private jet, Democratic Sen. Ron Wyden of Oregon alleged in a letter on Monday. According to the letter, Thomas and his wife, Virginia Thomas, took a round-trip flight on Crow's private jet from Hawaii to New Zealand in November of 2010. This story is available exclusively to Business Insider subscribers. Become an Insider and start reading now. Wyden, who is the chairman of the Senate Finance Committee, sent the letter to Crow's lawyers as part of an investigation into the ties between the right-wing donor and the Supreme Court justice. In it, he writes that Customs and Border patrol records show evidence of the trip, but that Thomas did not list it on his 2010 financial disclosures. Justices are legally obligated to fill out financial disclosure forms every year, which include any external sources of income and gifts. Advertisement Thomas had amended some of his disclosure documents to include travel on Crow's jet after ProPublica revealed the lavish gifts and vacations Thomas received. But Thomas made no such edits to his 2010 disclosures, the New York Times reported. In the past, Thomas has said that he doesn't think he needs to disclose gifts from friends who don't have business before the court. Related stories At the end of his letter, Wyden requests a "detailed list of all flights Justice Clarence has taken on any private jets under Mr. Crow's ownership or control." Under that, he enumerates 19 known flights between 2010 and 2022, starting with the newly discovered trip from Hawaii to New Zealand. The letter is part of a congressional investigation into whether Crow is improperly listing the gifts on his tax records. In a statement, Crow's lawyers said that the senator's allegations "have no legal basis and are only intended to harass a private citizen." Advertisement When Thomas does list travel from Crow, he calls them "personal hospitality." The Senate committee, Wyden said, is seeking evidence that Crow has not listed the trips as business expenses and received tax deductions as a result. Neither Thomas nor Wyden immediately responded to Business Insider's request for comment. Supreme Court ethics have been under scrutiny for some time, and the new revelations come just after President Biden proposed sweeping changes at the court, including a binding code of conduct. Though Biden's proposals are unlikely to get Republican support, they keep the spotlight on an increasingly unpopular high court and on Thomas in particular, whose many trips with Crow sparked much of the outrage.

Nvidia, Microsoft, Apple, Amazon Erase $1.1 Trillion In Monday Sell-Off: Bubble Burst Or Market Correction? - Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL), American Airlines Gr (NASDAQ:AAL) 2024-08-05 19:49:00+00:00 - The battered tech sector continued to suffer on Monday as a global sell-off of stocks and other assets pulled markets towards bear territory. A slight uptick in U.S. unemployment, published on Friday, reignited fears of a recession that rippled across the globe. Some indices saw historical drops, including Japan's Nikkei 225 stock index, which dropped more than 13.4% at its lowest point on Monday. The Nasdaq Composite has been the worst affected among the main U.S. averages. Some Saw It Coming: The correction had been anticipated by several analysts for at least a month before the downturn began. Wedbush's Daniel Ives minimized the panic, calling the sell-off "just a white knuckle moment in a multi-year bull run for tech stocks." Ives and other pundits have argued against fears of a market bubble bursting around AI-oriented stocks. Tesla Inc TSLA CEO Elon Musk has said that renowned investors like Warren Buffett were "clearly expecting a correction." Tesla stock is down over 3% on Monday at the time of this writing, with the EV maker losing over 13% in the past five trading days. On Monday, Buffett's Berkshire Hathaway Inc Class B BRK got rid of half its stake in Apple Inc AAPL, causing the tech giant to lose almost 10% of its value after the market bell rang on Monday morning. The company quickly recovered throughout the day, and is down 5.5% on an intraday basis at the time of writing. Berkshire itself has also been hit by the sell-off, and is down over 5% in the last five trading days. At its worst point on Monday, Apple’s market cap lost $364 billion in just a few minutes when compared to its closing price on Friday. That exceeds the combined market cap of 3M Co MMM , Dow Inc DOW , DuPont de Nemours Inc DD and BASF SE BASFY . Amazon.com Inc AMZN has also been struck by the market panic, losing over 12% in the last five trading days. The company is down 4.1% on Monday alone. At its lowest point on Monday, Amazon's market cap was down by $171 billion when compared to Friday's closing price. That's more than Intel Corp‘s INTC entire market cap. Microsoft Corp MSFT is down by 7.3% in the last five trading days and 2.8% on Monday. The company’s market cap was down $172 billion at its lowest point on Monday, or three times the combined market caps of American Airlines Group Inc AAL , United Airlines Holdings Inc UAL , Delta Air Lines, Inc. DAL and Southwest Airlines Co LUV . Read also: Google’s Bold AI Ad Backfired Amidst Olympic Fervor, Stirring Public Debate On Technology Versus Human Creativity As Shares Tumble 6.59% At Opening Nasdaq Takes The Worst Blow: The Nasdaq Composite has been the worst hit among the major indices. The average, which covers the tech-heavy Nasdaq exchange, has lost about 6% of its value in the last five days. ETFs following the 100 biggest companies in the Nasdaq have also taken a hit. Invesco NASDAQ 100 ETF QQQM is down 5.3% in the last five days, following a similar trajectory of its sibling fund Invesco QQQ Trust, Series 1 QQQ. Semiconductor stocks continued to lead the drop after a months-long rally that took major players to record market caps. Intel Corp has been one of the worst hit in the sell-off, losing more than 34% in the last five trading days, with losses of almost 6% on Monday alone. The generalized market panic was added on top of the company's worse-than-expected quarterly results last week. NVIDIA Corp NVDA has lost 10% of its value in the last five trading days and 6.4% on Monday alone. The company saw losses of more than 13% on Monday at the market open, quickly recovering throughout the day. Nvidia’s market cap was down by $407 billion at its lowest point on Monday, when compared to its Friday closing price. That's about half the entire government spending on Medicare for 2023. Taiwan Semiconductor Mfg. Co. Ltd. TSM experienced a drop of over 10% at its worst point on Monday, but quickly recovered and is down 2% at the time of this writing, with losses of over 8% in the last five trading days. VanEck Semiconductor ETF SMH , the largest ETF following the semiconductor sector, has lost 11% of its value in the last five trading days and is down 2.1% on Monday. iShares Semiconductor ETF SOXX and SPDR S&P Semiconductor ETF XSD , which also follow the chips sector, have experienced a similar trend. Read Next: Image created using Shutterstock photos.

Google loses antitrust case over search 2024-08-05 19:46:00+00:00 - A federal U.S. judge ruled Monday that Google has illegally held a monopoly in two market areas: search and text advertising. The landmark case from the government, filed in 2020, alleged that Google has kept its share of the general search market by creating strong barriers to entry and a feedback loop that sustained its dominance. The court found that Google violated Section 2 of the Sherman Act, which outlaws monopolies. The ruling marks the first anti-monopoly decision against a tech company in decades. “Google is a monopolist, and it has acted as one to maintain its monopoly,” Judge Amit Mehta of the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia wrote in the decision. Google CEO Sundar Pichai in 2023. Boris Streubel / Getty Images for DFB The Department of Justice and a bipartisan group of attorneys general from 38 states and territories, led by Colorado and Nebraska, filed similar but separate antitrust suits against Google in 2020. The suits were combined for pretrial purposes, such as discovery of evidence. Attorney General Merrick Garland called the decision a “historic win for the American people.” “No company — no matter how large or influential — is above the law,” Garland wrote in a statement. “The Justice Department will continue to vigorously enforce our antitrust laws.” In its ruling, the court homed in on Google’s exclusive search arrangements on Android and Apple’s iPhone and iPad devices, saying that they helped to cement Google’s anticompetitive behavior and dominance over the search markets. General search services, according to the court, applies to Google’s core search engine, where it traditionally competed with Yahoo. General search text advertising refers to the text ads that run alongside search results. The court ruled that in both of those areas, Google has operated as a monopoly. However, the ruling found that general search advertising is not a market so there can be no monopoly control. Kent Walker, Google’s president of global affairs, said in a statement that the company plans to appeal the ruling. He highlighted the court’s emphasis on the quality of Google’s products. “This decision recognizes that Google offers the best search engine, but concludes that we shouldn’t be allowed to make it easily available,” Walker wrote. “As this process continues, we will remain focused on making products that people find helpful and easy to use.” Alphabet shares fell more than 4% on Monday, dragged down by a broad decline in stocks worldwide.

We're tapping our cash pile again to upgrade the portfolio with 2 more stock buys 2024-08-05 19:44:00+00:00 - We are buying 70 shares of DuPont at roughly $78.14 and 85 shares of Wells Fargo at roughly $52.12. Following the trades, Jim Cramer's Charitable Trust will own 1,385 shares of DD, increasing its weighting to 3.5% from 3.3%, and 2,365 shares of WFC, increasing its weighting to 4.00% from 3.85%. We're nibbling on stocks again Monday afternoon to take advantage of the fear and volatility in the markets. It's probably too soon to count on the S & P 500 Short Range Oscillator — our trusted indicator of how to act during big upswings or huge downdrafts in the market — to flash "oversold" just yet. But we're making more small buys to accomplish our goal from the start of the session. Our plan has been to almost fully replace the cash we raised this morning through sales in lower-quality stocks like Ford and Wynn Resorts and redeploy almost all that capital throughout the session in high-quality companies with better businesses, balance sheets, and management teams. This is what we call "upgrading the portfolio" in times of volatility. We're going back to the well and topping off our positions in Dupont and Wells Fargo. Both stocks have bounced from our first trades on Monday, but there's still solid upside in both at the current levels. DuPont's beat-and-raise quarter last week confirmed our view that the worst of its de-stock is in the past, setting the company up for growth in the quarters ahead. There's also a catalyst here in the company's breakup into three independent companies, which should make more money for shareholders based on current market multiples. We're buying more Wells Fargo because it's way too early to write off the U.S. economy after one bad job report. And with a good dividend yield now north of 3% and a stock buyback, we like the capital return story here. After these trades, we'll still be slightly short on fully replacing the capital from the sales this morning. And that's intentional. We want to keep some dry powder in case the volatility continues throughout the week. (See here for a full list of the stocks in Jim Cramer's Charitable Trust.) As a subscriber to the CNBC Investing Club with Jim Cramer, you will receive a trade alert before Jim makes a trade. Jim waits 45 minutes after sending a trade alert before buying or selling a stock in his charitable trust's portfolio. If Jim has talked about a stock on CNBC TV, he waits 72 hours after issuing the trade alert before executing the trade. THE ABOVE INVESTING CLUB INFORMATION IS SUBJECT TO OUR TERMS AND CONDITIONS AND PRIVACY POLICY , TOGETHER WITH OUR DISCLAIMER . NO FIDUCIARY OBLIGATION OR DUTY EXISTS, OR IS CREATED, BY VIRTUE OF YOUR RECEIPT OF ANY INFORMATION PROVIDED IN CONNECTION WITH THE INVESTING CLUB. NO SPECIFIC OUTCOME OR PROFIT IS GUARANTEED.

Online trading platforms down for thousands, Downdetector shows 2024-08-05 19:39:00+00:00 - Charles Schwab, Fidelity Investments and Vanguard were among the online brokerages that went down for several hours on Monday amid a global stock market rout. The reported outages topped 15,000 Charles Schwab users roughly 15 minutes after Wall Street's opening bell, and then dwindled to a negligible number by early afternoon, according to Downdetector.com, a website that tracks outages. "Due to a technical issue, some clients may have difficulty logging in to Schwab platforms," the brokerage posted on X. The company is working to resolve the problem as quickly as possible, it added. Outage reports on Fidelity surpassed 3,000, and Vanguard and TD Ameritrade also had thousands of outage reports, Downdetector showed earlier on. "We are aware some customers may have experienced issues logging in to Fidelity platforms earlier today. This is now resolved. We apologize for any inconvenience," Fidelity posted early Monday afternoon in response to a complaint on social media about its outage. Online trading firm Robinhood remained in service Monday. The reported outages came as U.S. stocks plummeted for a third consecutive trading day, with the Dow Jones Industrial Average dropping more than 1,200 points in early trade, continuing a global selloff sparked by concerns about the economy.

Here's why predicting a bottom in this global market plunge is so difficult 2024-08-05 19:36:00+00:00 - Every weekday, the CNBC Investing Club with Jim Cramer releases the Homestretch — an actionable afternoon update, just in time for the last hour of trading on Wall Street. Bottom challenges: The recent sell-off in U.S. stocks accelerated Monday and there's no telling when we'll hit the bottom. A key reason, according to Jim Cramer: Overseas trading is weighing heavily on Wall Street's moves. The dramatic action in Japan, in particular, is rippling throughout markets around the world. The Nikkei 225 and Topix — two prominent indexes in the country — plunged more than 12% Monday and entered into bear market territory, down over 20% from a recent high. "I am an adamant believer that you must find the epicenter of selling, at all times, before you try calling a bottom. The epicenter is Japan," Jim said during the Club's Morning Meeting."So, if it's Japan, you should: One, be looking to buy" stocks in the U.S. that are getting unfairly dinged, Jim added. "But, two, understand that it may not be done because we don't have a grasp of what's going on in Japan. It's very opaque." One factor believed to be playing a role in the intense selling pressures, though, is the unwinding of the "carry trade," a popular strategy in recent years that seeks to profit on interest rate differentials. Traders borrow in a currency with low interest rates, like the Japanese yen, and invest in higher-yielding assets. However, significant changes in the currencies can "force you to unwind the trade," Jim explained. Indeed, the U.S. dollar has trended lower in recent weeks, punctuated by a steep fall Friday. That was triggered by the weaker-than-expected jobs report, which inflamed fears about the health of the U.S. economy and raised expectations around Federal Reserve interest rate cuts in the coming months. The U.S. dollar index , which measures the greenback against a basket of other currencies including the yen, was down again Monday and trading at multimonth lows. This backdrop — although volatile and complicated given the overseas market influence — is nevertheless an opportunity to put cash to work in quality U.S. stocks that are being dragged down. That's we why scooped up shares of Dover , DuPont , Nextracker and Wells Fargo early in Monday's session, then in a separate trade later added to our Microsoft holdings. In a third round, we bought more DuPont and Wells Fargo. "Maybe this is a good moment domestically. Remember, we're not Japan," Jim said. "We're American — there are a lot opportunities. It's not necessarily going to bottom today, but you have to buy something." Dividends in focus: U.S. Treasury yields, which move inversely to prices, continued to decline Monday on mounting recession fears. The benchmark 10-year note briefly yielded 3.666% in the morning, hitting its lowest level since June 2023. The 10-year yield inched back up to 3.789% by the afternoon. As bond yields drift lower, stocks with higher dividend yields start to look more attractive. But it's crucial that these dividend payouts are backed by cash flow and can grow over time. We see this in companies with good, healthy balance sheets. As of Monday, our portfolio holds two names with stellar dividends that surpass the benchmark note's 3.789% yield. Best Buy : 4.68% Morgan Stanley : 3.98% Meanwhile, we have four other holdings with good balance sheets that yield in the 3% range. Moving forward, these are worth watching as Treasury yields could slide even lower if economic concerns intensify. Stanley Black & Decker : 3.41% Coterra Energy : 3.39% Starbucks : 3.1% Up next: There's no major economic data releases to speak of Tuesday, but the latest tranche of corporate earnings is headlined by the likes of Uber Technologies and Caterpillar before the bell, followed by Super Micro Computer , Airbnb and Timberland owner VF Corp after the close. Investors will be looking for clues about the health of the U.S. economy and consumer in all forthcoming reports and conference calls. (Jim Cramer's Charitable Trust is long DD, DOV, NXT, WFC and MSFT. See here for a full list of the stocks.) As a subscriber to the CNBC Investing Club with Jim Cramer, you will receive a trade alert before Jim makes a trade. Jim waits 45 minutes after sending a trade alert before buying or selling a stock in his charitable trust's portfolio. If Jim has talked about a stock on CNBC TV, he waits 72 hours after issuing the trade alert before executing the trade. THE ABOVE INVESTING CLUB INFORMATION IS SUBJECT TO OUR TERMS AND CONDITIONS AND PRIVACY POLICY , TOGETHER WITH OUR DISCLAIMER . NO FIDUCIARY OBLIGATION OR DUTY EXISTS, OR IS CREATED, BY VIRTUE OF YOUR RECEIPT OF ANY INFORMATION PROVIDED IN CONNECTION WITH THE INVESTING CLUB. NO SPECIFIC OUTCOME OR PROFIT IS GUARANTEED. Every weekday, the CNBC Investing Club with Jim Cramer releases the Homestretch — an actionable afternoon update, just in time for the last hour of trading on Wall Street.

Trump blames Harris, Biden for stock market meltdown after taking credit for past upswing 2024-08-05 19:34:00+00:00 - U.S. Vice President Kamala Harris and Republican presidential nominee and former U.S. President Donald Trump. Republican presidential nominee Donald Trump on Monday blamed Vice President Kamala Harris for the stock market's dramatic plunge, months after claiming he deserved credit for the market's then-record upswing. "Of course there is a massive market downturn. Kamala is even worse than Crooked Joe," Trump wrote in a post on Truth Social about Harris, the de facto Democratic presidential nominee. The night before, as Asian markets fell dramatically, the former president wrote, "STOCK MARKETS CRASHING. I TOLD YOU SO!!! KAMALA DOESN'T HAVE A CLUE. BIDEN IS SOUND ASLEEP. ALL CAUSED BY INEPT U.S. LEADERSHIP!" U.S. stocks dropped sharply Monday, apparently in reaction to fears of a recession that were sparked in part because of Friday's weaker-than-expected jobs report. But in January, when the Dow Jones Industrial Average and S&P 500 reached record highs, Trump said the surge was because investors thought he would beat President Joe Biden. "THIS IS THE TRUMP STOCK MARKET BECAUSE MY POLLS AGAINST BIDEN ARE SO GOOD THAT INVESTORS ARE PROJECTING THAT I WILL WIN," he wrote on Truth Social that month. Trump's comments reflect the political risk of tying a campaign to the ever-changing behavior of the markets, Moody's chief economist Mark Zandi told CNBC. "Throughout history, I think politicians have avoided trying to peg their fortunes to the stock market as a signal of their policies or anything because the market goes up and down all around," Zandi said. "Former President Trump is the first to do that," Zandi added. "I'm confused by it." When Trump was president in March 2020, the S&P 500 experienced several steep drops, including a 12% plunge on March 16, 2020, as fears about the spread of the Covid-19 pandemic in the United States grew. That was one of the worst drops in S&P history. The former president has lost his polling lead since Biden dropped out of the election in July and endorsed Harris to be the Democratic nominee. A CBS News/YouGov poll released Sunday found Harris one percentage point ahead of Trump with likely voters in a head-to-head matchup, a lead that is within the survey's margin of error. The poll surveyed 3,102 registered voters from Tuesday through Friday. As Harris rides that early groundswell of support, Trump is working to tie her candidacy to Biden's record, which some voters blame for their high costs of living. Trump, as a result, tried to spin Monday's market wreck and the consequent recessionary panic into a broader case against Harris' economic record. But Zandi said the markets are in correction territory and that Monday's dip is not necessarily reflective of the broader economic downturn that Trump described on social media. "The stock market, based on my experience, could end up green by the end of the day," Zandi said, noting that the market is still up for the year. "So I'd say, what downturn?" The Harris campaign, when asked for comment on Trump's posts, pointed to a campaign speech the vice president gave last week in Atlanta. Trump "intends to give tax breaks to billionaires and big corporations. He intends to gut our investments in clean energy jobs. He intends to end the Affordable Care Act," Harris said in that speech. "To take us back to a time when insurance companies had the power to deny people with preexisting conditions," the vice president said. "Do you guys remember what that was? Children with asthma. Breast cancer survivors. Grandparents with diabetes. Georgia, America has tried these failed policies before, and we are not going back. We're not going back. We're not going back." — Additional reporting by CNBC's Kevin Breuninger.

Google illegally maintains monopoly over internet search, judge rules 2024-08-05 19:33:20+00:00 - WASHINGTON (AP) — A judge on Monday ruled that Google’s ubiquitous search engine has been illegally exploiting its dominance to squash competition and stifle innovation in a seismic decision that could shake up the internet and hobble one of the world’s best-known companies. The highly anticipated decision issued by U.S. District Judge Amit Mehta comes nearly a year after the start of a trial pitting the U.S. Justice Department against Google in the country’s biggest antitrust showdown in a quarter century. After reviewing reams of evidence that included testimony from top executives at Google, Microsoft and Apple during last year’s 10-week trial, Mehta issued his potentially market-shifting decision three months after the two sides presented their closing arguments in early May. “After having carefully considered and weighed the witness testimony and evidence, the court reaches the following conclusion: Google is a monopolist, and it has acted as one to maintain its monopoly,” Mehta wrote in his 277-page ruling. He said Google’s dominance in the search market is evidence of its monopoly. Google “enjoys an 89.2% share of the market for general search services, which increases to 94.9% on mobile devices,” the ruling said. It represents a major setback for Google and its parent, Alphabet Inc., which had steadfastly argued that its popularity stemmed from consumers’ overwhelming desire to use a search engine so good at what it does that it has become synonymous with looking things up online. Google’s search engine currently processes an estimated 8.5 billion queries per day worldwide, nearly doubling its daily volume from 12 years ago, according to a recent study released by the investment firm BOND. Kent Walker, Google’s president of global affairs, said the company intends to appeal Mehta’s findings: “This decision recognizes that Google offers the best search engine, but concludes that we shouldn’t be allowed to make it easily available.” For now, the decision vindicates antitrust regulators at the Justice Department, which filed its lawsuit nearly four years ago while Donald Trump was still president, and has been escalating it efforts to rein in Big Tech’s power during President Joe Biden’s administration. “This victory against Google is an historic win for the American people,” said Attorney General Merrick Garland. “No company — no matter how large or influential — is above the law. The Justice Department will continue to vigorously enforce our antitrust laws.” The case depicted Google as a technological bully that methodically has thwarted competition to protect a search engine that has become the centerpiece of a digital advertising machine that generated nearly $240 billion in revenue last year. Justice Department lawyers argued that Google’s monopoly enabled it to charge advertisers artificially high prices while also enjoying the luxury of not having to invest more time and money into improving the quality of its search engine — a lax approach that hurt consumers. Mehta’s ruling focused on the billions of dollars Google spends every year to install its search engine as the default option on new cellphones and tech gadgets. In 2021 alone, Google spent more than $26 billion to lock in those default agreements, Mehta said in his ruling. Google ridiculed those allegations, noting that consumers have historically changed search engines when they become disillusioned with the results they were getting. For instance, Yahoo was the most popular search engine during the 1990s before Google came along. Mehta said the evidence at trial showed the importance of the default settings. He noted that Microsoft’s Bing search engine has 80% share of the search market on the Microsoft Edge browser. The judge said that shows other search engines can be successful if Google is not locked in as the predetermined default option. Still, Mehta credited the quality of Google’s product as an important part of its dominance, as well, saying flatly that “Google is widely recognized as the best (general search engine) available in the United States.” The Consumer Choice Center, a lobbying group that has fought other attempts to rein in businesses, decried Mehta’s decision as a step in the wrong direction. “The United States is drifting toward the anti-tech posture of the European Union, a part of the world that makes almost nothing and penalizes successful American companies for their popularity,” said Yael Ossowski, the center’s deputy director. Mehta’s conclusion that Google has been running an illegal monopoly sets up another legal phase to determine what sorts of changes or penalties should be imposed to reverse the damage done and restore a more competitive landscape. The potential outcome could result in a wide-ranging order requiring Google to dismantle some of the pillars of its internet empire or prevent it from paying to ensure its search engine automatically answers queries on the iPhone and other devices. Or, the judge could conclude only modest changes are required to level the playing field. “Google’s loss in its search antitrust trial could be a huge deal — depending on the remedy,” said Emarketer senior analyst Evelyn Mitchell-Wolf. “A forced divestiture of the search business would sever Alphabet from its largest source of revenue. But even losing its capacity to strike exclusive default agreements could be detrimental for Google. Its ubiquity is its biggest strength, especially as competition heats up among AI-powered search alternatives.” Regardless she added, a drawn-out appeals process will delay any immediate effects for both consumers and advertisers. Lee Hepner, senior legal counsel for the American Economic Liberties Project, believes the tenor of Mehta’s ruling makes it likely the judge will decide to prohibit Google from making default search deals and may even look at separating some of its different lines of business. The appeals process could take as long as five years, predicted George Hay, a law professor at Cornell University who was the chief economist for the Justice Department’s antitrust division for most of the 1970s. That lengthy process will enable Google to fend off the likelihood of Mehta banning default search agreements, Hay said, but it probably won’t shield the company from class-action lawsuits citing the judge’s findings that advertisers were gouged with monopolistic pricing. If there is a significant shakeup, it could turn out to be a coup for Microsoft, whose own power was undermined during the late 1990s when the Justice Department targeted the software maker in an antitrust lawsuit accusing it of abusing the dominance of its Windows operating system on personal computers to lock out competition. That Microsoft case mirrored the one brought against Google in several ways and now the result could also echo similarly. Just as Microsoft’s bruising antitrust battle created distractions and obstacles that opened up more opportunities for Google after its 1998 inception, the decision against Google could be a boon for Microsoft, which already has a market value of more than $3 trillion. At one time, Alphabet was worth more than Microsoft, but now trails its rival with a market value of about $2 trillion. If Mehta decides to limit or ban Google’s default search deals, it could squeeze Apple’s profits, too. Although parts of his decision were redacted to protect confidential business information, Mehta noted that Google paid Apple an estimated $20 billion in 2022, doubling from 2020. The judge also noted Apple has periodically considered building its own search technology, but backed off that after a 2018 analysis estimated the company would lose more than $12 billion in revenue during the first five years after a break-up with Google. Google’s payments have helped Apple’s steadily growing services division, which generated $85 billion in revenue during the company’s last fiscal year. Apple didn’t immediately respond to a request for comment. The Justice Department’s antitrust division has recently taken on some of the biggest companies in the world. It sued Apple in March and in May announced a sweeping lawsuit against Ticketmaster and its owner, Live Nation Entertainment. Antitrust enforcers have also opened investigations into the roles Microsoft, Nvidia and OpenAI have played in the artificial intelligence boom. The Biden administration has won some big cases, including blocking mergers of some of the world’s biggest publishers as well as JetBlue Airways and Spirit Airlines. It’s also had some notable setbacks, including in the sugar and healthcare industries. Google faces several other legal threats both in the U.S. and abroad. In September, a federal trial is scheduled to begin in Virginia over the Justice Department’s allegations that Google’s advertising technology constitutes an illegal monopoly. —— Associated Press writers Alanna Durkin Richer and Barbara Ortutay contributed to this report.

Oakland A’s to sell stake in Coliseum to local Black development group 2024-08-05 19:31:35+00:00 - SAN FRANCISCO (AP) — The departing Oakland Athletics has reached a tentative agreement to sell its half of the Coliseum to a private Black development group for $125 million, paving the way for the group to build a giant entertainment and sports complex in a long-neglected part of the San Francisco Bay Area city. The African American Sports & Entertainment Group and the A’s affiliate, Coliseum Way Partners, announced the deal in a joint statement Monday. The development group struck a deal in May to purchase the other 50% ownership interest from the city of Oakland for $105 million. The sports and entertainment group states on its website that it plans for a “thriving sports, entertainment, educational and business district” on the property, which houses the Oakland-Alameda County Coliseum and Oakland Arena. The group was founded in 2020 with the primary purpose of using sports and entertainment “to create a path for enhanced economic equity” for Black residents. The group’s managing member Ray Bobbitt said they are still in the general plans and ideas stage, but in all scenarios, the Oakland Arena would stay and continue hosting profitable ventures such as Disney shows and singers, such as Céline Dion. Developers have also discussed hotels, a restaurant row, open parks space and housing that is both affordable and market rate on the property by Interstate 880, he said by phone. The group’s deal with Oakland calls for any housing built to be at least 25% affordable. “It’s really Oakland’s opportunity to invest in East Oakland and to create a revitalization of the entire area,” he said. The A’s announced this year that the Major League Baseball team will temporarily relocate to West Sacramento until its ballpark is built in its new home of Las Vegas. The team’s affiliate purchased its stake in the property for $85 million in 2019. The Coliseum and Arena were once home to the Oakland Raiders and Golden State Warriors. The NFL’s Raiders moved to Las Vegas and the NBA’s Warriors left for San Francisco in recent years, leaving professional sports fans in the East Bay Area desolate.

Bristol Myers Squibb Terminates Cancer Drug Development Program With Agenus - Agenus (NASDAQ:AGEN), Bristol-Myers Squibb (NYSE:BMY) 2024-08-05 19:27:00+00:00 - In a regulatory filing Friday, Agenus Inc AGEN revealed Bristol Myers Squibb & Co BMY terminated a license, development, and commercialization agreement forged in 2021. The company said that as part of a broader strategic realignment of their development pipeline, which involves other licensed products, Bristol Myers Squibb is returning AGEN1777, a TIGIT bispecific antibody, to Agenus and voluntarily terminating the BMS License Agreement, effective as of January 26, 2025. Related: Agenus Faces Regulatory and Financial Challenges: Analyst Downgrades Stock Pending Trial Clarity. Most recently, Roche Holdings AG's RHHBY TIGIT drug, tiragolumab, failed in Phase 3 SKYSCRAPER-02 study in extensive-stage small-cell lung cancer (ES-SCLC) and did not meet its co-primary endpoint of progression-free survival. In August last year, Roche was made aware of the inadvertent disclosure of the second interim analysis of the Phase 3 SKYSCRAPER-01 study, evaluating tiragolumab plus Tecentriq (atezolizumab) versus Tecentriq alone as an initial (first-line) treatment for PD-L1-high locally advanced or metastatic non-small cell lung cancer. In May, Merck & Co Inc MRK discontinued the vibostolimab, its TIGIT drug, and pembrolizumab coformulation arm of the Phase 3 KeyVibe-010 trial. Results from Merck's Phase 2 KeyVibe-002 trial of vibostolimab/pembrolizumab combo, with or without docetaxel for metastatic non-small cell lung cancer with progressive disease after treatment with immunotherapy and platinum-doublet chemotherapy, did not show an improvement in median PFS compared to docetaxel alone. Bristol Myers acquired AGEN1777 in 2021 by paying Agenus $200 million in cash. Price Action: AGEN stock is down 7.10% at $5.23 at last check Monday. Read Next: Don't miss the opportunity to dominate in a volatile market at the Benzinga SmallCAP Conference on Oct. 9-10 at the Chicago Marriott Downtown Magnificent Mile. Get exclusive access to CEO presentations, 1:1 meetings with investors, and valuable insights from top financial experts. Whether you're a trader, entrepreneur, or investor, this event offers unparalleled opportunities to grow your portfolio and network with industry leaders. Secure your spot and get your tickets today!

CrowdStrike says it isn't to blame for Delta Air Lines flight chaos 2024-08-05 19:24:00+00:00 - Here's how to get Delta to reimburse you after the CrowdStrike outage Here's how to get Delta to reimburse you after the CrowdStrike outage 03:17 CrowdStrike is hitting back at Delta Air Lines, accusing the carrier of trying to blame the cybersecurity firm for its own response to last month's devastating outage that resulted in thousands of canceled flights. The technology company's allegations came in a letter Sunday, with lawyers for CrowdStrike writing that Delta had rebuffed repeated offers of assistance, included one from its CEO George Kurtz to Ed Bastian, Delta's chief executive. "CrowdStrike's CEO personally reached out to Delta's CEO to offer onsite assistance, but received no response," according to the letter, signed by Michael Carlinsky, co-managing partner of law firm Quinn Emanuel Urquhart & Sullivan. Delta's ensuing threat to sue CrowdStrike has added to a "misleading narrative" that the security software company is to blame for the carrier's technology decisions and its reaction to the outage, the attorney wrote. CrowdStrike hopes that Delta will "work cooperatively to find a resolution," the company said in a separate email. Delta declined to offer specific comment on the letter, but cited Bastian's prior remarks to CNBC, in which the CEO said the airline had no choice other than to sue CrowdStrike to seek damages for the carrier's outage-related losses. Bastian told CNBC the outage had cost Delta $500 million. The airline last week hired the law firm of famed attorney David Boies to evaluate claims against CrowdStrike and Microsoft related to a CrowdStrike bug that disabled Microsoft programs, taking down Delta's systems and creating chaos for travelers. Delta is now under investigation by the U.S. Department of Transportation's Office of Aviation Consumer Protection. The Atlanta, Georgia-based carrier's operations were hit the hardest hit among airlines. CrowdStrike has blamed the failure of its Falcon security platform to an errors in a quality control tool that it uses to check system updates for mistakes. The update was distributed to more than 8 million devices around the world running Microsoft Windows, causing them to crash.

Small-Cap Cancer-Focused Nuvation Bio Pulls Plug On Early-Stage Program After Considering Phase 1 Solid Tumor Data - Nuvation Bio (NYSE:NUVB) 2024-08-05 19:23:00+00:00 - In its second-quarter earnings release, Nuvation Bio Inc. NUVB announced that it has decided to halt work on NUV-868, its BD2-selective BET inhibitor, while considering the program’s future. The company said it concluded the Phase 1b dose escalation study of NUV-868 in combination with AstraZeneca Plc AZN-Merck & Co Inc’s MRK Lynparza (olaparib) for ovarian, pancreatic, metastatic castration-resistant prostate (mCRPC), triple-negative breast cancer, and other solid tumors, and with Pfizer Inc PFE-Astellas Pharma Inc’s ALPMF ALPMY Xtandi (enzalutamide) for mCRPC. The company completed an internal analysis of efficacy and safety data from Phase 1 monotherapy and Phase 1b combination studies of NUV-868. Following this analysis, Nuvation Bio decided not to initiate a Phase 2 study of NUV-868 as a monotherapy or combined with olaparib or enzalutamide in the advanced solid tumor indications that were part of the Phase 1 and Phase 1b study designs. The company is evaluating the next steps for the NUV-868 program, including further development in combination with approved products for indications in which BD2-selective BET inhibitors may improve patient outcomes. “As we focus on our late-stage pipeline and prepare to potentially bring taletrectinib to patients in the U.S. in 2025, we have decided not to initiate a Phase 2 study of NUV-868 in the solid tumor indications studied to date. This decision comes after a careful review of the data generated in the Phase 1 monotherapy study and Phase 1b study of NUV-868 in combination with olaparib or enzalutamide. We are exploring next steps for NUV-868 in new indications and will share updates as available,” said David Hung, Founder, President, and CEO of Nuvation Bio. Two years back, Nuvation Bio discontinued the clinical development of NUV-422 after an internal risk-benefit analysis factoring in feedback from the FDA in a partial clinical hold letter for monotherapy Phase 1/2 study and clinical hold letters for its combination Phase 1b/2 studies. As of June 30, 2024, Nuvation Bio had cash, cash equivalents, and marketable securities of $577.2 million. Price Action: NUVB stock is down 7.41% at $3.11 at last check Monday. Read Next: Don’t miss the opportunity to dominate in a volatile market at the Benzinga SmallCAP Conference on Oct. 9-10 at the Chicago Marriott Downtown Magnificent Mile. Get exclusive access to CEO presentations, 1:1 meetings with investors, and valuable insights from top financial experts. Whether you’re a trader, entrepreneur, or investor, this event offers unparalleled opportunities to grow your portfolio and network with industry leaders. Secure your spot and get your tickets today!

Merck's Blockbuster Vaccine Gardasil Sales In China: Analyst Highlights Challenges and Opportunities - Merck & Co (NYSE:MRK) 2024-08-05 19:21:00+00:00 - Goldman Sachs recently discussed with Joe Romanelli, President of Human Health International at Merck & Co Inc MRK, to review Gardasil’s performance and future outlook in China. Gardasil vaccine is indicated for girls and women 9 through 45 years to prevent cervical, vulvar, vaginal, anal, oropharyngeal, and other head and neck cancers caused by Human Papillomavirus (HPV) types. Also Read: Bristol Myers, Johnson & Johnson, AbbVie, AstraZeneca Expect Minimal Impact From Upcoming Medicare Price Negotiations. During its second-quarter earnings report, Merck revealed challenges in the broader Chinese vaccine market and operational issues with its partner Zhifei, which led to weaker-than-expected second-quarter sales and a more cautious growth outlook for the second half of 2024. Gardasil’s sales revenue from China makes up about 50% of its total Gardasil sales, with the U.S. contributing around 20% and the remaining 30% coming from other international markets. In China, Gardasil has generated approximately $15 billion in sales so far, reaching an estimated 30-40% of the 200 million target population of females aged 9-45 who can afford the vaccine. The goal is to achieve 90% penetration in this demographic. Merck reported a marginal increase of 1% in Gardasil sales to $2.48 billion in the second quarter of 2024. Lower sales in China largely offset growth. Merck’s global efforts, especially in China over the past 7-8 years, have positioned the company to meet the growing demand for HPV vaccinations. This supports Merck’s confidence in achieving over $11 billion in Gardasil sales by 2030. In the near term, Goldman Sachs remains cautiously optimistic about the potential for key players in China’s vaccine market. Despite limited third-party data to reassure investors, the analyst sees positive signs. The analyst says it is reassured by Merck’s confidence in their plans to improve commercial execution with Zhifei and their ability to navigate evolving competitive dynamics through scientific and tactical innovations. “Overall, we came away from our conversation, net positive, relative to initial concerns,” Goldman Sachs added. Goldman Sachs reiterates the Buy rating on Merck. Price Action: MRK stock is down 2.20% at $112.66 at last check Monday. Photo via Shutterstock Read Next:

Lorenza de’ Medici, Who Elevated Italian Cooking, Is Dead at 97 2024-08-05 19:19:45.170000+00:00 - Before Lorenza de’ Medici began publishing her cookbooks in the late 1980s, Italian cuisine outside of Italy was often considered unremarkable fare: red sauce, white sauce, pizza and pasta, all of which could be whipped up in haste from frozen, processed ingredients. But in books like “Italy the Beautiful Cookbook” (1988) and “The Renaissance of Italian Cooking” (1989), and later in her 13-part PBS show, “The de’ Medici Kitchen,” Ms. de’ Medici showed that Italian cooking could be something else entirely: light salads and soups, elegant preparations and, above all, fresh ingredients, ideally bought that morning from a local farmer. For those with enough money, she offered intimate one-day to one-week cooking courses at her family’s winery outside Florence, Badia a Coltibuono. Her students stayed in the estate’s thousand-year old complex, originally an abbey, in between lessons on things like how to pick the right vegetables, properly stuff potatoes and separate eggs by hand.

Elon Musk sues OpenAI, renewing claims ChatGPT-maker put profits before ‘the benefit of humanity’ 2024-08-05 18:59:53+00:00 - LOS ANGELES (AP) — Elon Musk filed a lawsuit on Monday against OpenAI and two of its founders, Sam Altman and Greg Brockman, renewing claims that the ChatGPT-maker betrayed its founding aims of benefiting the public good rather than pursuing profits. The lawsuit, filed in a Northern California federal court, called Musk’s case a “textbook tale of altruism versus greed.” Altman and others named in the suit “intentionally courted and deceived Musk, preying on Musk’s humanitarian concern about the existential dangers posed by artificial intelligence,” according to the complaint. Musk was an early investor in OpenAI when it was founded in 2015 and co-chaired its board alongside Altman. In the lawsuit, he said he invested “tens of millions” of dollars and recruited top AI research scientists for OpenAI. Musk resigned from the board in early 2018 in a move that OpenAI said — at the time — would prevent conflicts of interest as he was recruiting AI talent to build self-driving technology at the electric car maker. The Tesla CEO dropped his previous lawsuit against OpenAI without explanation in June. That lawsuit alleged that when Musk bankrolled OpenAI’s creation, he secured an agreement with Altman and Brockman to keep the AI company as a nonprofit that would develop technology for the benefit of the public and keep its code open. “As we said about Elon’s initial legal filing, which was subsequently withdrawn, Elon’s prior emails continue to speak for themselves,” a spokesperson for OpenAI said in an emailed statement. In March, OpenAI released emails from Musk showing his earlier support for making it a for-profit company. Musk claims in the new suit that he and OpenAI’s namesake objective were “betrayed by Altman and his accomplices.” “The perfidy and deceit are of Shakespearean proportions,” the complaint said.

From Tokyo to Wall Street: Japan’s Market Impact on U.S. Stocks 2024-08-05 18:55:00+00:00 - Most investors, retail and professional, no matter where they are located in the world or what they invest in, tend to believe that the United States stock market operates in a vacuum. This couldn't be further from the fundamental truth, and investors would benefit from remembering that the stock market is a forward-looking reflection of the economy itself. So, if the economy operates co-dependent with other international markets such as Japan and China, it would make sense to expect all good things happening in different markets to affect the S&P 500 positively and vice versa. This is why the 20% (and growing) sell-off being reported out of the Nikkei 225 index (Japan's version of America's S&P 500) is starting to influence markets worldwide. Sell-offs in stocks like Toyota Motor Co. NYSE: TM have sent one of Japan's most prominent companies to trade at only 70% of its 52-week high, which is not far from comparing the recent sell-offs in one of the S&P 500's darling names like Apple Inc. NASDAQ: AAPL. Following the broader market sell-offs, Apple shares have been trading lower by 8% over the past week. Here's a breakdown for investors still wondering how Japan's situation might affect America's. Get Barrick Gold alerts: Sign Up Money Knows No Borders: The Global Reach of Central Banks Toyota stock was trading at an all-time high just four months ago, in April 2024. So, what happened to that blue-chip Japanese name? More importantly, how does that affect stocks in the United States? Well, it’s all about manufacturing and currency exchanges. The dollar-yen exchange started rising to levels not seen since the 1980s, which was one of the bullish factors for Japan’s economy and its stocks. As a net exporter, having a weaker currency to the dollar places Japan’s exports at an advantage since foreign buyers can afford more exports with their now relatively stronger currencies. This is why stocks like Toyota had no issues rallying to new highs, as further exports were expected to continue due to a weaker yen. However, the Bank of Japan (BOJ) recently decided to step in to raise interest rates directly and intervene with their falling currency, and with higher rates comes a stronger currency. As investors can guess, the next domino to fall after a stronger yen is weaker exports, one of the main reasons Toyota is selling off by over 30% in two quarters. Knowing that Japan is stepping out of the global export market, this nation’s spot is available for the taking, and the U.S. is looking to fill it soon. Of course, this implies that the dollar has to be weaker to stimulate the manufacturing sector onshore. This is a big ask after investors realize the space has been on a consecutive 21-month contraction, judging by the ISM manufacturing PMI index readings. However, there are some on Wall Street who are already taking the view of a weaker dollar to the bank. Among these is the Oracle himself, Warren Buffett. A Weaker Dollar Doesn't Have to Mean Stock Losses Historically and truly, a weaker dollar is typically bad for the S&P 500 but also good for everything quoted in dollars. One example is oil. Since the price per barrel is quoted in dollars, a weaker dollar will directly translate into more expensive oil. This is why analysts at Goldman Sachs expect to see the price of oil at $100 a barrel this year and also why Warren Buffett—after a nine-day buying streak—ended up owning up to 29% of Occidental Petroleum Co. NYSE: OXY. To amplify his view, Buffett also (reportedly) sold half of his stake in Apple stock in the recent quarter. Adding to the good news, investors can look further into the energy sector and expect to see rising earnings per share (EPS) in that space, namely within the Energy Select Sector SPDR Fund NYSEARCA: XLE. But, for those who don’t like to copy-trade the big whales like Buffett, there are still other alternatives. Gold is another commodity that is priced in dollars, and expecting a weaker dollar should also mean expectations for higher hold prices. This could be why Wall Street analysts forecast up to 31.9% EPS growth for the next 12 months in Barrick Gold Corp. NYSE: GOLD, pushing those at CIBC to slap a valuation of $27 a share on the stock, daring it to rally by 56% from where it trades today. All told, investors need to remember that as long as sentiment remains bearish and the economy stays tightening in Japan, U.S. stocks might underperform as well. Knowing this, sticking to the fundamentals of currency effects and business models can pay off in the coming months. 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