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Bullish Earnings Means More of the Same for Constellation Brands 2024-04-11 15:53:00+00:00 - Key Points Constellation Brands is moving higher after a double beat in its fourth-quarter earnings report. The company cites higher beer sales as a key reason for the results as sales of its Modelo brand continue to increase. STZ stock looks ready to move to all-time highs as long as inflation doesn't impact consumer tastes. 5 stocks we like better than Constellation Brands Constellation Brands Inc. NYSE: STZ stock is up 2.4% in early trading after the adult beverages company reported a double beat in its fourth quarter 2023 earnings report. Revenue of $2.14 billion topped estimates for $2.10 billion. But it was the earnings per share (EPS) that got the most attention. Constellation delivered $2.26 EPS, 7.5% higher than the expected $2.10 EPS. Before the earnings report, STZ stock was up 9.4% in 2024, which is higher than the 8.2% gain for the S&P 500 and significantly higher than many other consumer staples stocks. Investors should expect more of the same for STZ stock going forward. That's supported by bullish guidance from the company, which is forecasting full-year EPS for 2025 in a range between $13.50 and $13.80 per share compared to the consensus estimate of $13.43. Get Constellation Brands alerts: Sign Up The Anti-Boycott Brand Continues to Roll On The company cited increased sales of its Modelo brand beer as a critical reason for the revenue and earnings growth. The brand overtook Bud Light in June 2023 to become America's Most Popular Beer brand. That reflected the backlash and subsequent boycott of Anheuser-Busch InBev NYSE: BUD, specifically the company's Bud Light brand. If these results are any indication, consumers will continue to favor the Modelo brand. The company reported 14% depletion growth for the Modelo Especial brand and 22% depletion growth for its Pacifico brand. Constellation Brands also said its operating margin for the beer business jumped by 30bps to 34.4% of sales. That's particularly impressive since the company has to offset higher packaging and raw materials costs. Inflation is Impacting Consumer Tastes Not everything in the report was ideal for Constellation Brands. The company reported that wine and spirits sales were down 6%, citing "unfavorable marketplace dynamics" that continued to pressure volumes. The company said the change was most noticeable in its largest premium brands. This isn't surprising given that when money gets tight, consumers trade down to beer, which is generally less expensive than wine and spirits. Analysts Gave Investors a Bullish Hint Before the earnings report, analysts were sending off bullish signals about STZ stock. The Constellation Brands analyst ratings on MarketBeat show that in April alone, Barclays and Wedbush reiterated their Overweight or Outperform ratings, respectively. Both of those are the equivalent of a Buy. Both agencies have a price target higher than the consensus price of $292.78, with Wedbush coming in at $300. All Signs Point to a New Record High STZ stock hit a record high in June 2023. After a sharp pullback that followed the broader market, the stock fell just short of that high before its recent pullback. But right now, the analyst ratings and the company's internal projections are aligning to send STZ to a new record high. Of course, it's tricky to account for inflation and how that may affect consumer spending. However, in addition to the growth in the STZ stock price, investors have another reason to own Constellation Brands stock. That comes by way of the company's dividend. Constellation Brands announced a quarterly dividend of $1.01, a 13% increase. It's also the fourth consecutive year the company has increased its dividend. Before you consider Constellation Brands, 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 Constellation Brands wasn't on the list. While Constellation Brands currently has a "Moderate Buy" rating among analysts, top-rated analysts believe these five stocks are better buys. View The Five Stocks Here

Rupert Murdoch is selling his triplex penthouse in New York City. See what it looks like. 2024-04-11 15:50:00+00:00 - Rupert Murdoch steps down as chairman of News Corp. and Fox Media mogul Rupert Murdoch's penthouse apartment in Manhattan could be yours for $38.5 million — a chunk of change, sure, but a relative bargain compared with the previous price. Murdoch, the former chairman of News Corp. and Fox News, has re-listed his condominium at a steep discount from the $62 million he originally was asking for in 2022, according to a listing by real estate firm Compass. The effort to sell the triplex comes as Murdoch is engaged to be married for a fifth time, Rupert Murdoch's penthouse at One Madison is for sale for $38.5 million. Compass At its current price, the home will cost a buyer $5,390 per square foot. The 7,100 square foot apartment, located in the tony One Madison tower 23 E. 22nd St. in Manhattan, spans the 58th, 59th and 60th floors, the building's top three levels. The five-bedroom, six-and-a-half bathroom unit features double-height windows, offering expansive views of the city, including the both East and Hudson rivers, along with amenities like a private elevator, indoor pool, steam room, fitness center, terrace and "social lounges. The building, constructed in 2009, has 53 residences. Murdoch's triplex spans One Madison's top three floors;. Compass Compass' Kyle Blackmon, the listing agent, told CBS MoneyWatch the home is priced to sell. "The revised price reflects current realities and is closer to where the market values the residence. Blackmon added that the penthouse unit's vast wall space is a unique asset, particularly for a buyer who wants to display their art collection. Representatives for Murdoch declined comment. The unit features double height windows that offer views of iconic structures. Compass The building's amenities include an indoor pool, steam room and fitness center. Compass The skyline and both the East and Hudson Rivers are visible from the triplex apartment. Compass "We will sell this residence, and the buyer, who will likely be an art collector, will secure an exceptional value for this important and rare offering," he said. Despite its high price, the current listing isn't close to setting any records. Blackmon sold a penthouse at 15 Central Park West for $88 million, or $13,048 per square foot, making it the most expensive apartment sold on a square foot basis in the U.S. for an officially listed condo resale, according to Compass.

Riding Rage Over Israel to Online Prominence 2024-04-11 15:28:54+00:00 - Jackson Hinkle has cultivated an online persona so incendiary that he has been kicked off YouTube, Twitch and Instagram. He rages on undaunted, even energized. He produces a regular podcast on Rumble, a website popular with many prominent conservatives. He writes dozens of posts a day on X, where his following has surged to 2.5 million from 417,000 in the six months since Oct. 7 — the day Hamas fighters mounted their assault on Israel. Along the way, he has employed false or misleading content, promoted manipulated images and made comments that watchdog organizations have denounced as antisemitic. He calls himself an American patriot even as he praises American adversaries, including Vladimir V. Putin, Xi Jinping and Ayatollah Ali Khamenei. “DROP A LIKE if you stand with IRAN in the face of ISRAELI TERRORISM!” he wrote last week on X after an Israeli airstrike in Syria killed several Iranian military officials. A day later he addressed the Houthi leadership in Yemen over video, praising the group for its attacks on shipping in the Red Sea.

O.J. Simpson dies of cancer at 76 after storied NFL career and notorious murder trial 2024-04-11 14:55:00+00:00 - O.J. Simpson, the former NFL star who was acquitted of murdering his ex-wife and her friend in a televised trial that gripped the nation, has died of cancer, according to his family. He was 76. "He was surrounded by his children and grandchildren," the family said in a statement posted on X. "During this time of transition, his family asks that you please respect their wishes for privacy and grace." Reports circulated in February that Simpson had been diagnosed with prostate cancer and was in hospice care as he underwent chemotherapy. He denied that he was in hospice in a video posted on X, but did not address whether he'd been diagnosed with cancer. “Hospice? Hospice? You talking ‘bout hospice?” he said in the video with a laugh, adding that he doesn’t know who started the rumors. Orenthal James Simpson played 11 seasons in the National Football League and was known as "The Juice" to his fans, but his sports legacy was tarnished forever in the 1990s after his ex-wife Nicole Brown Simpson and her friend Ronald Goldman were killed. O.J. Simpson of the Buffalo Bills breaks away from Steelers' tacklers in 1975. Bettmann Archive Brown Simpson, 35, and Goldman, 25, were found stabbed to death outside her Los Angeles home in 1994. On June 13, 1994, Goldman was returning sunglasses that the mother of Brown Simpson had left at a restaurant where he worked. The two were stabbed and slashed dozens of times, and their bodies were found the next day. When Los Angeles police officers went to Simpson's home to speak to him about the slayings, Simpson did not answer the door but officers noticed a trail of blood leading to his car, as well as blood on his car. Once a revered athlete, Simpson went from a Hall of Fame icon to a murder suspect. Days later, officials charged Simpson with the murders and he attempted to evade arrest, resulting in an infamous hourslong police chase along Southern California's highways in his white Ford Bronco. Simpson's case went to trial in 1995 and was broadcast to millions of viewers across the nation. The court case was dubbed the "trial of the century" as it dragged on for months and transformed into a public spectacle. Feelings over the trial have remained mixed over the years, with many accusing the Los Angeles Police Department of racism in its handling of the case. Others believe that Simpson's ability to retain high-powered attorneys allowed him to get away with murder. A white Ford Bronco, driven by Al Cowlings and carrying O.J. Simpson, is trailed by police cars as it travels on a Southern California freeway in Los Angeles on June 17, 1994. Joseph R. Villarin / AP file The trial made prosecutors Christopher Darden and Marcia Clark household names, in addition to Simpson's defense attorneys Johnnie Cochran, Alan Dershowitz and Robert Kardashian. He was acquitted of both murders in a controversial verdict. Two years later, he was found civilly liable for wrongful death in the double homicide case. Despite his acquittal in the criminal trial, many still believed Simpson was guilty, a belief bolstered by a jury ordering him to pay $33 million to Goldman's family in the civil case — damages that were never paid in full. O.J. Simpson holds up his hands before the jury after putting on a new pair of gloves similar to the infamous bloody gloves during his double murder trial in Los Angeles on June 21, 1995. Vince Bucci / AP file Goldman's father, Fred Goldman, spoke to NBC News by phone Thursday and described Simpson's death as "no great loss." “The only thing I have to say is it’s just further reminder of Ron being gone all these years," he said. "It’s no great loss to the world. It’s a further reminder of Ron’s being gone.” In 2007, Simpson led an armed robbery attempt of a sports memorabilia dealer in Las Vegas. He argued in court that he was recovering his own stolen items, but his defense failed to sway the jury. O.J. Simpson, in Clark County District Court in Las Vegas on May 14, 2013. Ethan Miller / AP file He was convicted and sentenced to 33 years in prison, of which he served only nine before he was released on parole. Simpson spoke to The Associated Press by phone in 2019, telling them that he was healthy and happy living in Las Vegas. He maintained that he believed his robbery conviction was unfair, but said: “I believe in the legal system and I honored it. I served my time.” The Simpson murder trial was re-enacted and relitigated decades later in FX’s “The People v. O.J. Simpson,” an installment of the network’s popular “American Crime Story” series in 2016. Released that same year was the Academy Award-winning documentary "O.J.: Made in America," detailing Simpson's rise and fall. Simpson was born in San Francisco and raised in public housing, going to a local community college before transferring to the University of Southern California. He was part of the school's national championship in 1967 and earned the Heisman Trophy the next year. He was drafted by the Buffalo Bills in 1969 as a No. 1 overall pick. According to NBC Sports, Simpson was the first player in the league to rush for 2,000 or more yards in a season and is considered the best running back of his era. Simpson had three children from his first marriage to Marguerite Whitley, one of whom died in a drowning accident as a toddler. He also shared two children with Brown Simpson. Following her murder and his acquittal, Simpson won custody of their shared children and moved to Miami with them. His custody fight with his former-in-laws also drew headlines as the children's grandparents took him to court in a bitter legal battle.

O.J. Simpson, Football Star Whose Trial Riveted the Nation, Dies at 76 2024-04-11 14:53:29+00:00 - O.J. Simpson, who ran to fame on the football field, made fortunes as an all-American in movies, television and advertising, and was acquitted of killing his former wife and her friend in a 1995 trial in Los Angeles that mesmerized the nation, died on Wednesday at his home in Las Vegas. He was 76. The cause was cancer, his family announced on social media. The jury in the murder trial cleared him, but the case, which had held up a cracked mirror to Black and white America, changed the trajectory of his life. In 1997, a civil suit by the victims’ families found him liable for the deaths of Nicole Brown Simpson and Ronald L. Goldman, and ordered him to pay $33.5 million in damages. He paid little of the debt, moved to Florida and struggled to remake his life, raise his children and stay out of trouble. In 2006, he sold a book manuscript, titled “If I Did It,” and a prospective TV interview, giving a “hypothetical” account of murders he had always denied committing. A public outcry ended both projects, but Mr. Goldman’s family secured the book rights, added material imputing guilt to Mr. Simpson and had it published. In 2007, he was arrested after he and other men invaded a Las Vegas hotel room of some sports memorabilia dealers and took a trove of collectibles. He claimed that the items had been stolen from him, but a jury in 2008 found him guilty of 12 charges, including armed robbery and kidnapping, after a trial that drew only a smattering of reporters and spectators. He was sentenced to nine to 33 years in a Nevada state prison. He served the minimum term and was released in 2017.

UK government to relax rules to get 18-year-olds driving buses 2024-04-11 14:47:00+00:00 - It’s not just police officers: bus drivers will be officially getting younger under government plans to relax laws on 18-year-olds behind the wheel. A shortage of drivers across the transport industry has prompted moves to lower minimum age requirements for bus and coach drivers in Great Britain, as well as speeding up training for bus, coach and lorry drivers. Although there are already a small number of teenage bus drivers, qualified drivers under 21 are restricted to driving shorter routes of up to 31 miles (50km), ruling out jobs on most intercity coach services and many rural bus routes. The Department for Transport said the proposals should bring more reliable services and help passengers travel with confidence. It will tweak rules to allow prospective bus and HGV drivers to start theory and off-road training before receiving their provisional licence, to help tackle shortages in the passengers transport and haulage sector. The DfT said the changes would not affect safety but would allow drivers to complete training and start work faster. The minister for roads, Guy Opperman, said: “Being a bus, coach or lorry driver can be an excellent career for young people and these proposals could help get younger talent into transport, encouraging diversity in the sector.” He added it would go “some way to continue to ease driver shortages, delivering more reliable bus and coach services and a more resilient supply chain”. While driver shortages have abated since the problems seen during the height of the Covid pandemic, according to industry estimates from the Confederation of Passenger Transport (CPT) there are still almost 10% fewer coach drivers than needed and demand is likely to grow. Graham Vidler, the chief executive of the CPT, said he welcomed the moves. “As 18-year-olds are allowed to drive an articulated lorry already, there is a clear case for allowing them also to drive all types of coach and bus services.” Meanwhile, Labour has announced plans to accelerate bus franchising, allowing more local transport authorities to take back control and end what it called the “postcode lottery” of bus services. Labour said if elected it would create a further 250m passenger journeys a year with greater flexibility over funding and support for public ownership. 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 The shadow transport secretary, Louse Haigh, said: “Labour will give every community the power to take back control of their bus services, and will support local leaders to deliver better buses, faster.” She said it would “create and save vital routes and services, end today’s postcode lottery of bus services, and kickstart a revival of bus services across England”. The policy would bolster rules that have allowed metro mayors to re-regulate bus services in their region, now in operation in Manchester and soon to follow in Liverpool and West Yorkshire.

Neil Woodford’s understanding of risk ‘defective’, FCA says 2024-04-11 14:39:00+00:00 - The former star stockpicker Neil Woodford has been hit with a warning notice by the Financial Conduct Authority over the spectacular collapse of his fund five years ago, with the watchdog accusing him of having “defective understanding” of liquidity risks faced by the fund. In the warning issued on Thursday, the FCA said it intended to take action against Woodford and Woodford Investment Management (WIM) in respect of their conduct in the management of the Woodford Equity Income Fund (WEIF) before its suspension in 2019. The FCA said Woodford held “a defective and unreasonably narrow understanding of his responsibilities for managing the WEIF’s liquidity risks”, while also claiming that he had failed to ensure the company had appropriate liquidity when making investment decisions. Lawyers representing Woodford and the firm rejected the findings, which they called “unprecedented and fundamentally misconceived”. Woodford was forced to collapse the £3.7bn fund in June 2019, with almost 300,000 investors affected. The fund was launched by Woodford in 2014 after a successful career working as a fund manager at Invesco. However, after his initial success earned him the moniker of “Britain’s Warren Buffett”, a number of unsuccessful investments resulted in many investors withdrawing cash, prompting a liquidity crisis. In the notice, the FCA said the investment decisions made by Woodford and WIM materially increased the risk of and resulted in the WEIF’s liquidity profile “becoming unreasonable and inappropriate”. It added: “They also materially increased the risk that the WEIF would need to be suspended and thereby place those investors who did not redeem prior to the point of suspension at a disadvantage.” In a separate final notice to Link Fund Solutions (LFS), the company in charge of the fund’s liquidity, the FCA said it “failed to act with due skill, care and diligence in its management”. It also stated that it failed to manage the liquidity of the fund and ensure that concerns about the liquidity position were acted upon. In September 2022, the FCA said it could fine Link £50m because of its role in the collapse of the fund. However, the watchdog revealed in the final notice that it would not be pursuing the fine as this would reduce the amount out of pocket investors could receive back. In February, the high court gave the green light for a £230m redress scheme, with those who invested in the fund when it was suspended to receive a share. The warning notice marks the FCA’s intention to take action but Woodford will be able to make representations to its regulatory decisions committee before it decides what action to take. Woodford’s lawyers have said he will challenge the FCA decision. 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 A statement issued on behalf of WilmerHale and BCLP, legal counsel to Woodford and WIM, said: “The FCA alleges that WIM and Mr Woodford failed to act with due skill, care and diligence during the 11 months from 31 July 2018 to 3 June 2019, when Link decided to suspend the fund. “It is striking that the FCA’s only criticisms of Neil Woodford relate to his involvement in matters relating to the fund’s liquidity framework, which was, in fact, Link’s responsibility and supervised by the depositary (the depositary is responsible for the safekeeping of the fund’s assets and for overseeing the fund’s authorised corporate director) and the FCA.” A spokesperson from LFS said: “As we have previously stated, LFSL [Link Fund Solutions Limited] entered into a conditional settlement agreement with the FCA and Link Group expressly on the basis that there is no admission of liability. If the scheme had not been approved, LFSL would have challenged the FCA’s findings and defended itself against any claims made against it by scheme investors. “We are pleased the scheme has become effective and the initial payment has now been made to scheme investors. We have always believed the scheme was the best option to provide investors with a substantial level of redress.”

SMART Global Gets 25% Discount: Analysts Lift Targets 2024-04-11 14:21:00+00:00 - Key Points SMART Global had a mixed quarter and weak guidance, but sequential improvements are ahead for this semiconductor play. SMART Global is well-positioned for the decades-long AI upgrade cycle that is now getting started. Cash flow is solid, and shareholder value is rising for this deeply undervalued, under-owned tech stock. 5 stocks we like better than SMART Global Weak details or not, the 25% price implosion in SMART Global NASDAQ: SGH share price is an opportune time to buy into this stock. The expectations were high going into the Q2 report, and end-market normalization is still in play, so weakness is not surprising. The takeaway is that this company is well-positioned for the decades-long AI upgrade cycle that has only just begun, and there are reasons to think it is of ultra-deep value. "AI is also reshaping the memory market landscape as the need for higher density and greater bandwidth becomes increasingly critical to system performance required to handle the most advanced compute workloads," said SMART Global CEO Mark Adams. Get SMART Global alerts: Sign Up Analysts like what they saw in the report; two of the five tracked by Marketbeat lifted their price targets significantly, suggesting this stock has an ultra-deep value. Stifel Nicolaus and Needham & Company maintained their Buy ratings, aligning with the broader consensus, and lifted their price targets to $27.50 and $27. This is significant because they are raising the low end of the range, which sees a 40% upside from current price points. The consensus of five analysts is that the stock is worth about $31 or roughly 55% upside. SMART Global Holdings Approaches Critical Pivot SMART Global Holdings had a challenging quarter primarily due to persistently high inventory in the memory end-market. However, signs are emerging of improving demand with higher sequential results, and the forecast includes accelerating activity in the back half of the year and a return to growth by Q1 F2025. The FQ2 2024 results are mixed. The company produced $284.8 million in net revenue, a decline of 33.6% compared to last year. The revenue missed the consensus estimate reported by Marketbeat but by a slim ten basis points, and margins were better than expected. LED is the only segment to post YOY growth, while Intelligent Platform Solutions is the only one to grow sequentially. ISP is the company's largest operating segment, which has grown by 19% sequentially and is expected to remain solid through the end of the year. The margin news is mixed. The company reported sequential contraction, but YOY gains left the adjusted EPS up $0.03 and $0.02, which was better than expected. The guidance is what left the market cold. The company is guiding for sequential improvement but not the NVIDIA NASDAQ: NVDA-like AI boost the market expected. Regardless, the guidance is sufficient to maintain a positive outlook for the business, including improving shareholder value. The balance sheet highlights include an improved cash position, lower inventory and increased total assets compounded by debt and liability reductions. The net result is a 40% increase in shareholder value, another factor suggesting ultra-deep value. This stock is trading at only 16x earnings compared to double or triple that amount for other well-positioned semiconductor/component operators. SMART Global Holdings Share Price Fell to a Critical Support Level The price action in SGH fell 25% following the Q2 release and may fall further. Among the caveats for investors and traders is that this move was amplified by economic data released concurrently with the Q2 results. That data was the March CPI report, hot on all counts, and it sparked a broad-market sell-off that left the semiconductor industry down 2%. The market is at a critical and potentially very strong support level, so a rebound may also be expected. The question is how high it will get and if the market can sustain an uptrend in this stock. The risk is that Q3 results will not align with the outlook for accelerating business activity in the back half of the year. In that scenario, SGH stock could remain range-bound at or near current levels until more economic clarity exists. The critical resistance is near $21.70; a move above it could lead to a retest of the 2023 highs. The crucial support level is near $19.30 and the mid-point of the existing trading range. Before you consider SMART Global, 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 SMART Global wasn't on the list. While SMART Global currently has a "Buy" rating among analysts, top-rated analysts believe these five stocks are better buys. View The Five Stocks Here

Climate target organisation faces staff revolt over carbon-offsetting plan 2024-04-11 14:12:00+00:00 - Staff at one of the world’s leading climate-certification organisations have called for the CEO and board members to resign after they announced plans to allow companies to meet their climate targets with carbon offsets. They fear that companies will use the offsets for greenwashing, while avoiding making the necessary cuts in greenhouse gas emissions – without which the world faces climate catastrophe. The UN-backed Science Based Targets initiative (SBTi), which certifies whether a company is on track to help limit global heating to under 1.5C, has validated hundreds of net zero plans from companies including J Sainsbury plc, John Lewis and Maersk. Until now, the SBTi has ruled out the use of carbon offsets, instead emphasising the importance of deep greenhouse gas emissions cuts. But on Tuesday, the SBTi board of trustees released plans to allow carbon credits in their net zero standard by permitting companies to use them to offset emissions from their supply chains, known as scope 3 emissions. The board said there was “ongoing healthy debate on the subject”, but that “when properly supported by policies, standards and procedures based on scientific evidence”, the use of offsets in supply chains could be “an additional tool to tackle climate change”, and so it had decided to extend their use. They said a draft of the new rules would be published by July. The announcement was met with fury by many SBTi staff and advisers, who say they were not consulted on the decision and that the move is not based on science. In a letter to management seen by the Guardian, they called for the statement to be withdrawn, and for the resignation of CEO Luiz Fernando do Amaral and any board members who supported the decision. View image in fullscreen Until now the SBTi has emphasising the importance of deep greenhouse gas emissions, ruling out the use of offsets. Photograph: Michel Euler/AP The statement read: “We stand ready to support any efforts aimed at ensuring that the SBTi does not become a greenwashing platform where decisions are unduly influenced by lobbyists, driven by potential conflicts of interest and poor adherence to existing governance procedures. In the event that our concerns are not addressed, SBTi staff will have no choice but to take further action.” The SBTi did not respond to request for comment. The announcement from SBTi’s board of trustees was widely celebrated by carbon market proponents, who say the move could increase demand for offsets. Advocates for carbon markets say that a scaled-up system could help generate much-needed finance for the global south to fund climate-change mitigation and adaptation. But scientific studies into popular offsetting schemes have found that, in practice, many do almost nothing to limit global heating. It is often unclear how much money from the sale of offsets makes it to communities on the ground. Ben Rattenbury, a policy analyst at data provider Sylvera, said the move was “a very big deal” for the carbon markets. “The world can’t afford this transition without carbon credits, so it’s very encouraging to see SBTi open the door for companies to be able to use them for a proportion of their scope 3 emissions reductions targets – while respecting the mitigation hierarchy,” he said. Reacting to the move, Johan Rockström, the director of the Potsdam Institute for Climate Impact Research, told the Guardian that while there was little to no room for offsetting, he did not think that the SBTi decision was so dramatic. “I do appreciate the SBTi challenge of how to incentivise companies to take responsibility for scope 3 emissions. In a transition phase, I can see that allowing for offsetting may be the only options as long as scope 1 and 2 emissions follow the carbon law of fossil-fuel phaseout and if the offsets are truly robust – preferably focused on ‘like for like’,” he said. “SBTi companies are generally engaged in trying to be carbon neutral as fast as possible, and they are leading their sectors when they quantify scope 3 emissions, so giving some opening for how to deal with this in the short run – say, the next five years – is acceptable,” he added. Find more age of extinction coverage here, and follow biodiversity reporters Phoebe Weston and Patrick Greenfield on X for all the latest news and features

Japanese PM Fumio Kishida addresses U.S. 'self-doubt' about world role in remarks to Congress 2024-04-11 13:31:00+00:00 - WASHINGTON — Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida asserted in an address to a joint meeting of Congress on Thursday that his country stands with the U.S. at a time when history is at a turning point. Kishida said the U.S. held a certain reputation decades ago that "shaped the international order" and "championed freedom and democracy." "You believed that freedom is the oxygen of humanity," he said. "The world needs the United States to continue playing this pivotal role in the affairs of nations. And yet, as we meet here today, I detect an undercurrent of self-doubt among some Americans about what your role in the world should be." Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida addresses a joint meeting of Congress in the House of Representatives at the U.S. Capitol on April 11, 2024. Win McNamee / Getty Images Kishida said that this is happening when the world is "at history's turning point" as "freedom and democracy are currently under threat around the globe," climate change is causing natural disasters, and technology such as artificial intelligence is advancing. Japan is facing "an unprecedented and the greatest strategic challenge" from China," the prime minister said. He also spoke about the threats from North Korea and from Russia in Ukraine. "Ladies and gentlemen, as the United States’ closest friend, tomodachi, the people of Japan are with you, side by side, to assure the survival of liberty," he said. "Not just for our people, but for all people." He continued, "I am here to say that Japan is already standing shoulder to shoulder with the United States. You are not alone. We are with you." The prime minister shared that he has felt a special connection to the U.S. after attending the first three years of elementary school in Queens. "We arrived in the fall of 1963, and for several years my family lived like Americans," he said. "My father would take the subway to Manhattan where he worked as a trade official. We rooted for the Mets and the Yankees, and ate hot dogs at Coney Island. On vacation, we would go to Niagara Falls or here to Washington, D.C." Kishida's address marked only the second time that Japan's prime minister formally delivered remarks to Congress. The first was Prime Minister Shinzo Abe in 2015, and Kishida was in attendance for that speech as a foreign minister. Abe was assassinated in 2022. The last foreign leader to address lawmakers was Israeli President Isaac Herzog in July 2023. Thursday's address also marked the first joint meeting with a foreign leader since Speaker Mike Johnson, R-La., took the gavel. Vice President Kamala Harris also presided over the chamber during the speech. Congressional leaders had invited Kishida to speak to both chambers in early March, with Johnson saying in a statement that it was part of an effort to lay "the foundation for collaboration in the years to come." Before the address, Kishida met in a room just off the House chamber floor with the Big Four congressional leaders: Johnson, Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries, D-N.Y., and Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell, R-Ky. They didn't take any questions but Johnson joked to Kishida that he brought along a large press corps from Japan. "Japan is a close ally — critical to both our national and economic security," added Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y. "This visit will continue to deepen the diplomatic and security relationship between our two countries and build on the strength of decades of cooperation.” The visit is notable as Republicans, especially those in the House, resist providing foreign aid to places including Israel, Ukraine and Taiwan; countering China has been a big focus of Kishida's visit to the U.S. "China's current external stance and military actions present an unprecedented and the greatest strategic challenge, not only to the peace and security of Japan, but to the peace and stability of the international community at large," Kishida said. He added: "Russia's unprovoked, unjust and brutal war of aggression against Ukraine has entered its third year. As I often say, Ukraine of today may be East Asia of tomorrow." Before the invitation was extended to Kishida, the Republican and Democratic leaders on the House Foreign Affairs Committee urged Johnson to formally ask the Japanese leader to speak to Congress, saying in a letter that it would "signal congressional support for this critical alliance and help Members of Congress understand its importance to the economic and strategic interests of the United States." After the address, the vice president and Secretary of State Antony Blinken hosted a luncheon with Kishida at the State Department. In the late afternoon, Kishida participated in the inaugural U.S.-Japan-Philippines trilateral summit at the White House, meeting with both President Joe Biden and President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. of the Philippines. During that meeting, Biden called U.S. defense commitments to Japan and the Philippines “ironclad.” “Any attack on Philippine aircraft, vessels or armed forces in the South China Sea would invoke our mutual defense treaty,” Biden said. In his remarks, Biden also highlighted technology and clean energy as areas for the “deepening ties” between the three nations. “We’re securing our semiconductor supply chain,” he said, adding that the United States is expanding telecommunications in the Philippines. On Wednesday, Biden and Kishida announced plans to improve the U.S. military command structure in Japan, which hosts about 54,000 U.S. personnel. The two countries will also form a military-industrial council to explore the kinds of weapons they can jointly produce. The White House hosted a state dinner for Japan's leader later that night, whose guests included former President Bill Clinton and first lady Hillary Clinton as well as Amazon founder Jeff Bezos and Apple CEO Tim Cook.

Taiwan Semiconductor Stock Analysis: Investment Insights 2024-04-11 13:15:00+00:00 - Upgrade Now This premium article is available to MarketBeat All Access subscribers only. Log in to your account or sign up below. Upgrade Now See Benefits Already have an account? Log in here. Before you consider Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing, 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 Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing wasn't on the list. While Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing currently has a "Moderate Buy" rating among analysts, top-rated analysts believe these five stocks are better buys. View The Five Stocks Here

Discovered in a tree after her Gaza home was destroyed, Baby Unknown finds a new family with her doctor 2024-04-11 12:00:00+00:00 - Days old and desperately thin, Baby Malak didn’t even have a name when she was taken to the Emirati Hospital in Gaza’s southernmost city of Rafah. Her family was presumed dead, so medics called her “Unknown.” Today, the chubby 6-month-old is the star of the wards where her de-facto guardian, Amal Abu Khatleh, 32, works as a pediatrician. As Abu Khatleh carries Malak — which means angel in Arabic — around the facility, other members of the staff lean in for a kiss and a cuddle. “We had a lot of catastrophic stories because of the war that affected us, but the one that affected me most is Malak’s,” Abu Khatleh told an NBC News crew in Rafah late last month. Other children had their parents with them, she added, but Malak “did not and her name was ‘Unknown.’” Malak was found in a tree near her family’s ruined home in central Gaza, apparently flung into the branches by a strike, which killed the rest of her relatives in November. Shortly after she was taken to Al-Shifa Hospital in northern Gaza for treatment, Dr. Nasser Bolbol, head of the neonatal unit, told NBC News that based on her umbilical cord, he believed Malak was just 2 days old. Bolbol added that he and his colleagues thought she had been caught by an angel, providing inspiration for her name. “When I see this baby with no family members, I feel so sad. Very sad,” he said, standing next to her incubator. Baby Malak was found in a tree after a strike killed her family. NBC News With power outages on the increase, supplies dwindling and battles between Israeli forces and Palestinian militants getting increasingly closer to the hospital, Malak was evacuated to the Emirati Hospital, along with 30 other premature babies. Israel, which recently completed a second weekslong operation at Al-Shifa, has long maintained that Hamas was using the complex as a base — which both Hamas and doctors at the hospital have denied. Abu Khatleh first met Malak when she began treating her after the baby was transferred to the facility in her home city. After two of the other babies were taken in by their relatives and the rest were transferred to Egypt for further treatment, only Malak remained, alone, with no family and no name. “I was really moved and got so close to her,” Abu Khatleh said, adding that after seeking and being granted permission by the Gaza Health Ministry, she took Malak “home with me and promised to make it up to her after what she has been through.” Since then, she said, her family had been helping her raise Malak and the hospital provided her with milk and diapers. Although she was worried that Malak’s development might have been stunted during her two months in an incubator, she said she “tried to make her communicate with my sister’s kids and thank God she did.” Malak, she added, “is great now healthwise and socially.” The family bonding also provided much needed companionship for Malak, who is one of at least 17,000 children in Gaza who are unaccompanied or separated from their families, according to a recent estimate from the United Nations Children’s Fund, or UNICEF. So many children have been orphaned in the six months since Hamas’ Oct. 7. attacks and Israel’s subsequent ground invasion of Gaza, that doctors now use a chilling new acronym — WCNSF, for "wounded child, no surviving family." Abu Khatleh said her family has embraced her new role as a single mom and they treat Malak “as one of their own.” “When I told my parents, they got very excited about the idea and told me it’s no problem. ‘She’s going to be a daughter of ours and we’ll take care of her,’ they said … I leave her with my sister and she takes care of her. Everyone treats her as if she is their biological daughter,” she added. Quite what the future holds is unclear. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has repeatedly threatened to launch a major ground operation in Rafah, which is home to more than half of Gaza’s 2.3 million people, many of them displaced from other parts of the besieged and bombarded enclave. He has repeatedly stated that a ground assault on the city is necessary to destroy the military and governmental capabilities of Hamas, reiterating the goals of the war triggered by the militants’ Oct. 7 attack that killed 1,200 people and led to some 240 being kidnapped. Even as the United States continues to supply Israel with military hardware, President Joe Biden has repeatedly warned against launching a military incursion into the city, fearing it could dramatically increase the death toll in the enclave. More than 33,000 people have been killed in Gaza since Oct. 7, according to health officials in the enclave, although many more bodies are thought to be buried under the rubble of destroyed buildings. Dr. Mohammad Salama, head of the neonatal unit where Abu Khatleh works, said that there was no shortage of prospective adopters for the babies under his care but that finding people who could keep the orphaned children safe was proving difficult. Giving the babies away is also emotionally hard, he said. “Already, we have this bond between us and the babies. I feel like a father, not like a doctor,” he added. Adoption by strangers is relatively rare in the Middle East, and extended family networks usually take care of children who have lost their parents. But UNICEF says that families under extreme pressure to provide food and shelter for their own children may be reluctant to take on more. Malak, Salama said, was “one of us, one of our team.” Cradling Malak in her lap, Abu Khatleh said she was still checking to see if there were any surviving relatives. “Concerning Malak’s future with me, I’ve left this issue to God,” she said.

Corporate IT Spending Rebounds Could Push Salesforce Stock Higher 2024-04-11 12:00:00+00:00 - Key Points Corporate IT spending trends are growing for 2024, backed by cybersecurity and generative AI. Salesforce could be in the eye of the storm to receive a decent chunk of these new budgets. As the stock's price targets and EPS projections show, Wall Street knows. 5 stocks we like better than Salesforce The U.S. stock markets broke past all-time highs in hopes of the Fed cutting interest rates. However, not all stocks were equal in this rally, as technology stocks were the main drivers at the time. With most of the focus on semiconductor stocks pushing the race to artificial intelligence (AI) advancements, others were left behind but could still catch up. As trends in generative AI and cloud computing spending surge, Information Technology (IT) stocks will likely be targets for growth-hungry investors. On this list, stocks like Salesforce Inc. NYSE: CRM come to mind, along with a worthy competitor — and a more established company — Oracle Co. Get Salesforce alerts: Sign Up Markets chose who would back this coming cycle, and investors would be wise to decode Wall Street's message for these potential winners. The Technology Select Sector SPDR Fund (XLK) outperformed the broader S&P 500 by as much as 12% over the past year, implying that bulls are in control of the sector's uptrend momentum. Salesforce in the Eye of the Storm The forecast for cybersecurity and risk management spending in 2024 points to a net $215 investment, up 14.3% over the year. Salesforce not only deals in making business services easier, but it has to keep – and protect – tons of customer data. With this massive spending hitting the market, it may not be far-fetched to see businesses hire Salesforce to help them with these security concerns. Today's hybrid — and often fully remote — workforce is a major tailwind for this trend to continue expanding. Data center budgets are projected to grow to $260 billion in 2024. As more of the global economy goes online, Salesforce could benefit from its data center capabilities as well. The largest budgets come from IT services, set to reach approximately $1.5 trillion in 2024, and Salesforce reigns king there. In a recent survey, businesses identified their top priorities for the year, and they are all related to technology spending. The top three are focused on increasing operational efficiency, cybersecurity and transforming current business processes. If Salesforce were the one to take on the task, the markets would have something to say about the stock. Here is how investors can decode Wall Street's sentiment. Wall Street's Pick of the Litter Two factors typically drive stock market prices: earnings growth and underlying fundamentals. Anything added to these pillars starts to cloud investor judgment, so that will be the focus for Salesforce. Analysts believe that Salesforce could grow its earnings per share (EPS) by 15% over the next 12 months, above the average IT industry expected growth of 10%. At the same time, Oracle's projections reached only 12%, meaning that Wall Street may favor Salesforce's services over Oracle's in this spending wave. As inflation rates in the United States prove stubborn, investors may lose hope in the Fed's promise of three rate cuts this year. All this means that stocks with high debt on their balance sheets will need to pay up in interest charges. Fundamentally, this favors Salesforce over Oracle. Only 18% of Salesforce's capital is made up of debt; even at today's higher rates, it won't hurt the company's bottom line much. On the other hand, according to its financials, Oracle operates at a dangerously high debt level of 93%. Any unforeseen bump in the road could seriously throw its stock price off. Another check comes from analyst valuations. Oracle received a $130 price target from Goldman Sachs analysts, giving the stock an approximate 6.3% upside from its current price. Meanwhile, Stifel Nicolaus analysts slapped on a $350 price target for Salesforce as recently as April 2024. This valuation calls for the stock to rally by 17% to meet it, almost triple the upside in Oracle's targets. Broader markets seem to be okay with these filters, as Salesforce's price-to-earnings (P/E) ratio was bid up to 72x after the stock reached an all-time high. Oracle's valuation, despite also recently reaching an all-time high, falls significantly below Salesforce's at 32.5x. There must be a good reason for markets to justify overpaying for Salesforce's earnings. Now investors have a better idea. Superior earnings growth and the likelihood of receiving a decent chunk of corporate IT spending act as a magnet for institutional buying in the stock. Over the past 12 months, a net inflow of $75.5 billion was recorded for Salesforce, and it may only be the start for 2024. Before you consider Salesforce, 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 Salesforce wasn't on the list. While Salesforce currently has a "Moderate Buy" rating among analysts, top-rated analysts believe these five stocks are better buys. View The Five Stocks Here

PriceSmart Could Be the Smartest Buy of the Year 2024-04-11 11:35:00+00:00 - Key Points PriceSmart share price implosion is a smart time to buy this undervalued stock. A special dividend signals a healthy balance sheet, and the business is only improving. Institutions bought the stock in Q4 2024 and may do so again with price action back in the buy zone. 5 stocks we like better than PriceSmart PriceSmart's NASDAQ: PSMT shares soared on the Q2 results and outlook but did not hold the gains. As ominous as the candle is, the pullback is an attractive entry point that may be among the smartest buys of the year. Nothing in the report signals weakness or diminishing value, and extenuating circumstances exist. The CPI for March was released soon after the report and left the entire stock market moving lower. Because PriceSmart is less heavily traded, with less than one million shares exchanged on average daily, its price pullback was amplified. Among the details that investors should cheer about is the special dividend. The board approved a special dividend because of excess cash and nearly doubled the annual payout. The regular dividend is worth 1.4% annually, the special $1 payout is worth another 1.25%, and business is only improving. The special dividend is payable to shareholders of record on April 19. Get PriceSmart alerts: Sign Up PriceSmart Has Industry-Leading Growth PriceSmart had a solid quarter in Q2, producing $1.29 billion in net revenue. The gains are industry-leading at 13.2% and outpaced the Marketbeat-reported consensus by 100nps. Costco, the world's largest membership club, grew by only 5% in its last report. PriceSmart's growth is driven by an 8.8% comp store gain compounded by a new store count and an FX tailwind. The company added four new stores during the quarter; FX added another 360bps to the growth. The membership data is impressive. The company reports an 8% increase in store count growth that only partially accounts for the 14% increase in membership. The takeaway is that PriceSmart continues to gain leverage in existing markets by deepening the penetration of markets and services offered while growing the store count base. The plan is to open a 55th store by next year, increasing the footprint in Costa Rica, the largest market. Margin news is mixed. The GAAP margin improved significantly to drive net income up by 25%, but adjusted results are less robust. The adjusted margin contracted marginally to leave earnings up but only 500bps compared to the double-digit top-line growth. Regardless, cash flow is solid, leaving the business in healthy shape and able to pay the special dividend. Balance sheet highlights from Q2 include a reduction in cash offset by receivables and inventory and a reduction in long-term debt offset by the special dividend. The net result is flat shareholder equity and incredibly low leverage ratios. The company’s total liability to equity and long-term debt-to-equity ratios are below 1x, debt-to-equity is near 0.1x, and in fortress condition. The Sell-Side Likes PriceSmart, but Analysts Aren’t Interested Marketbeat tracks only two analysts with coverage on PriceSmart, a small figure aligning with the low-volume market. However, those analysts rate the stock as a Buy and see it trading at $82, which is significant because they agree it is worth $82 and undervalued. The rating and target are insufficient to get the stock to move higher but signal an opportunity. Analysts may begin to warm to this name and drive it higher. PriceSmart stock trades at only 18x earnings while outperforming peers Walmart and Costco, which trade at 25x and 45x. It's doubtful PriceSmart will advance to 45x earnings, but even a low single-digit multiple expansion is worth significant upside for investors. Among the potential catalysts are the dividend, the outlook for regular distribution growth and future special dividends. The Technical Outlook for PSMT Stock Is Higher Prices The action in PSMT surged following the release, but the combination of profit-taking and bad economic news put a cap on the market, leading to a reversal. The candle is large and red, which may lead to lower prices, but the market is still above critical support. Critical support is near $78 and potentially strong. Institutional activity increased significantly in Q4 2023 when the price action was down and may do so again. In that scenario, PSMT should begin to bottom and rebound soon. Before you consider PriceSmart, 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 PriceSmart wasn't on the list. While PriceSmart currently has a "Buy" rating among analysts, top-rated analysts believe these five stocks are better buys. View The Five Stocks Here

Stock market today: Wall Street rebounds following its slide as Big Tech takes the reins again 2024-04-11 06:53:16+00:00 - NEW YORK (AP) — Jumps for Big Tech on Thursday helped U.S. stock indexes claw back much of their slide from the day before. The S&P 500 rose 38.42 points, or 0.7%, to 5,199.06 and recovered most of its prior loss, caused by worries that interest rates may stay high for a while. The Nasdaq composite charged up by 271.84, or 1.7%, to a record 16,442.20. The Dow Jones Industrial Average, which has less of an emphasis on tech, was the laggard. It slipped by 2.43 points, or less than 0.1%, to 38,459.08. Apple was the strongest force pushing the market upward, and it climbed 4.3% to trim its loss for the year so far. Nvidia was close behind, as it keeps riding a frenzy around artificial-intelligence technology. The chip company rose 4.1% to take its gain for the year to 83%. Amazon added 1.7% and set a record after topping its prior high set in 2021. It’s a return to last year’s form, when a handful of Big Tech stocks was responsible for the majority of the market’s gains. This year, the gains had been spreading out. That is, until worries about stubbornly high inflation sent a chill through financial markets. In the bond market, which has been driving much of Wall Street’s action, Treasury yields held relatively steady following a mixed batch of data on inflation and the U.S. economy. When or whether the Federal Reserve will deliver the cuts to interest rates that traders are craving has been one of the main questions dominating Wall Street. After coming into the year forecasting at least six cuts to rates, traders have since drastically scaled back their expectations. A string of hotter - than - expected -reports on inflation and the economy has raised fears that last year’s progress on inflation has stalled. Many traders are now expecting just two cuts in 2024, with some discussing the possibility of zero. A report on Thursday morning showed inflation at the wholesale level was a touch lower last month than economists expected. That’s encouraging, but the data also showed underlying trends for inflation were closer to forecasts or just above. Those numbers strip out the effects of fuel and some other prices that are notoriously jumpy, and economists say they can give a better idea of where inflation is heading. The update doesn’t offset Wednesday’s disappointingly high report on inflation at the U.S. consumer level, “but it may ease investor nerves, at least in the short term,” said Chris Larkin, managing director, trading and investing, at E-Trade from Morgan Stanley. A separate report said fewer U.S. workers applied for unemployment benefits last week. It’s the latest signal that the job market remains remarkably solid despite high interest rates. The Federal Reserve has been holding its main interest rate at the highest level since 2001 in hopes of pushing down enough on the economy and investments prices to get high inflation under control. The fear is that rates held too high for too long because of stubbornly high inflation can cause a recession. Some investors are now warning that any cuts to rates by the Fed could be seen as a red flag more than anything, and may happen only if the economy and job market are weakening enough to require an extra lift. All this is coming at a time when critics had already been calling the U.S. stock market too expensive following its leap of more than 20% since Halloween. For stock prices to look more reasonable, without requiring sharp drops, either interest rates would need to fall or corporate profits would need to strengthen. Earnings reporting season is just underway, as companies tell investors how much they earned during the first three months of the year. Rent the Runway more than doubled after reporting slightly better revenue for its latest quarter than expected. The company, which allows customers to rent designer clothes, also said it expects to break even on a cash-flow basis this upcoming fiscal year. Its stock soared 161.9%. Alpine Immune Sciences soared 36.9% after Vertex Pharmaceuticals agreed to buy the biotechnology company for $4.9 billion in cash. Vertex added 0.7% CarMax dropped to one of the largest losses in the S&P 500 after it reported weaker profit for its latest quarter than analysts expected. Higher interest rates on car loans are making the business tougher, along with tightened lending standards and low consumer confidence. Its stock skidded 9.2%. In the bond market, the yield on the 10-year Treasury rose to 4.57% from 4.55% late Wednesday. The two-year yield, which more closely tracks expectations for Fed action, fell to 4.94% from 4.97%. In stock markets abroad, indexes fell modestly across Europe after the European Central Bank held its main interest rate steady. Stocks were mixed in Asia, where South Korea’s Kospi edged up by 0.1% after the ruling conservative party suffered a crushing defeat in a parliamentary election. ___ AP Business Writers Matt Ott and Elaine Kurtenbach contributed.

Stock market today: Stocks sink, yields jump after inflation data torpedoes rate-cut hopes 2024-04-11 05:37:00+00:00 - US stocks stumbled on Wednesday after a key inflation report showed an unexpected uptick in consumer prices last month. The Dow Jones Industrial Average (^DJI) fell about 1.1%, or almost 425 points. The S&P 500 (^GSPC) dropped nearly 1%, and the tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite (^IXIC) lost almost 0.9%. Meanwhile, bond yields soared. The 10-year Treasury yield (^TNX) gained as much as 20 basis points on Wednesday afternoon, hitting nearly 4.57%, its highest level since November. The moves came after government data showed the Consumer Price Index (CPI) rose 0.4% over the previous month and 3.5% over the prior year in March, an unexpected acceleration from February's 3.2% annual gain in prices. Both measures came in ahead of economist forecasts of a 0.3% month-over-month increase and a 3.4% annual increase, according to a survey by Bloomberg. The hotter-than-expected print could prompt investors to expect fewer rate cuts from the Fed this year. Indeed, according to the CME FedWatch tool, around 80% of bets are now on the Fed holding steady at current rate levels in June. More than half of investors also expect the central bank to leave the rate unchanged through its July meeting, leaving September as the most likely spot for an initial cut from the US central bank. Also out Wednesday, the latest minutes from the Federal Reserve's latest policy meeting showed "almost all" officials believed it would be appropriate to lower interest rates "at some point." Read more: What the Fed rate decision means for bank accounts, CDs, loans, and credit cards. Meanwhile, crude oil futures erased earlier losses in afternoon trading following a report that the US and its allies believe a strike by Iran or its proxies against Israeli targets is imminent. West Texas Intermediate (CL=F) rose more than 1% back above $86 per barrel, while Brent (BZ=F) futures jumped to hover above $90 per barrel.

Pipeline Share Sales Highest Since 2017 as Dividends Draw Buyers 2024-04-11 03:33:00+00:00 - (Bloomberg) -- Dangling juicy dividends and ample liquidity at major institutional investors, shares of pipeline companies in North America have been selling at the fastest pace since 2017, and bankers say the market remains open for more. Most Read from Bloomberg After a slow start in 2023, sales of new and existing shares in the energy sub sector raised $5.7 billion, the most in six years, according to data compiled by Bloomberg. And pipelines are punching above their weight — with an additional $910 million added since Jan. 1, the total raised over the past 12 months accounts for nearly half of the $14.5 billion worth of volume in the broader oil and gas industry. Investors have been eagerly snapping up the stocks, as firms are offering hefty payouts to shareholders. That’s a particularly attractive feature when interest rates are stuck above 5%. Read More: Five Themes for Traders to Watch as Earnings Season Kicks Off Canadian pipeline operator Enbridge Inc. led the way with a $3.4 billion issue in September, and offers investors a mouth-watering 7.8% dividend yield. In 2024, Delek Logistics Partners LP — which offers an 11% dividend yield — raised $138 million. “Any deal right now would be well received,” said Daniel Nowlan, vice-chairman and managing director, equity capital markets at National Bank Financial, about pipeline companies raising capital with stock issuances. “The market would definitely be open for any company of size that has good use of proceeds, or even a less exciting use of proceeds like paying down debt,” he said in an interview. The combination of liquidity in the stocks and those hefty yields has made marketing the stocks easy. Story continues “The yields, for sure, are helpful. There’s a lot of opportunities for people to pick up yield,” Nowlan said. National Bank was part of the underwriting syndicate in the Enbridge deal, in which he said, “many of the orders in that book were bigger than some of the deals in the last year.” Sales of existing shares have also had a warm reception, with a unit of Apache Corp. selling $441 million of shares in high-paying Kinetik Holdings Inc., and Global Infrastructure Partners divesting Hess Midstream LP shares for $331 million. Both companies’ shares are trading above the offer price. Momentum in pipeline stocks and partnership units is being driven by a wave of mergers and acquisitions, Truist Financial Corp. analyst Neal Dingmann wrote in a March 25 note. It’s an “exciting trend” which he expects to continue as there are “hundreds of private equity midstream companies and several public companies that could be M&A targets in the coming quarters.” Read More: BMO’s Top Energy Banker Sees Room for Canadian Oil Megadeals To be sure, pipeline company stocks have broadly lagged the gains in oil and gas producers, even when those hefty payouts are included on a total return basis. The S&P 500 Energy Index is up over 17% year to date on a total return, while the closely watched Alerian MLP ETF, has climbed just shy of 14% over the same period. Paul Baiocchi, chief ETF strategist at SS&C Technologies, the firm that offers the Alerian MLP fund, thinks the gap should be narrower, given how oversubscribed many share sales have been. “I do think there’s a disconnect between the primary markets and the secondary markets,” he said, adding that net flows into the fund of $717 million over the last three years are “good numbers, certainly, but not an avalanche by any means.” Still, both the Alerian fund — which is made up of pipeline and midstream partnerships and currently offers a 7.4% dividend yield — and the Energy index are performing well enough to beat the broader S&P 500. Most Read from Bloomberg Businessweek ©2024 Bloomberg L.P.

Russia Seizes Over 650,000 Acres Of Farmland And Other Assets From Company With Ties To 'Unfriendly' Country 2024-04-11 03:26:00+00:00 - In a significant escalation of its retaliatory measures against “unfriendly” states amid heightened geopolitical tensions, Russia has seized assets of the agricultural holdings company AgroTerra Group. The move, announced on April 8, 2024, has sent shockwaves through the agricultural sector and raised concerns over food security and international trade relations. President Vladimir Putin’s decree places Dutch-registered firms AgroTerra Investments B.V. and AgroTerra Holdings B.V. under the “temporary management” of Rosimushchestvo, Russia’s federal property management agency. This action follows a series of similar asset seizures targeting Western companies, including multinational brewer Carlsberg and dairy giant Danone, which have sought to divest their Russian operations in response to the ongoing conflict in Ukraine. Don’t miss: Gold has long been considered the ultimate safe-haven asset, but a growing number of investors are now turning to farmland for better returns and greater protection against inflation. See how farmland is becoming easier than ever to invest in. AgroTerra, founded in 2008, is a major player in the agricultural industry, specializing in the production and supply of commodities such as soybeans, wheat and sugar beet. The company is recognized as one of the top 20 largest owners of agricultural land in Russia, with a cultivated area of approximately 265,000 hectares (654,829 acres). The decree’s impact on AgroTerra’s operations remains uncertain. A spokesperson for the company stated, “As of now, the Company has not yet received any further details regarding the decree on the transfer of shares within the authorized capital of the AgroTerra Group to the temporary management of Rosimushchestvo.” Despite the lack of clarity, the company has assured that it is continuing its operations as usual, with a primary focus on the ongoing sowing campaign. This seizure is part of a broader trend of Russia targeting foreign-owned assets in retaliation for sanctions and other measures taken against Russian companies abroad. In April 2023, Putin signed an executive order allowing Russia to take over real estate, securities, property rights and other assets from foreign companies with ties to “unfriendly countries.” Story continues The implications of these actions extend beyond the affected companies and their shareholders. They pose a threat to the global agricultural supply chain, potentially disrupting food production and exports. Furthermore, the move could exacerbate tensions between Russia and Western countries, further complicating efforts to resolve the conflict in Ukraine and stabilize international relations. As the situation unfolds, the agricultural industry and global markets will be closely monitoring the repercussions of Russia’s asset seizures and their impact on food security, trade and diplomatic relations. Read Next: Investing in real estate just got a whole lot simpler. This Jeff Bezos-backed startup will allow you to become a landlord in just 10 minutes, and you only need $100. Miami is expected to take New York's place as the U.S. Financial Capital. Here's how you can invest in the city with as little as $500 before that happens. "ACTIVE INVESTORS' SECRET WEAPON" Supercharge Your Stock Market Game with the #1 "news & everything else" trading tool: Benzinga Pro - Click here to start Your 14-Day Trial Now! Get the latest stock analysis from Benzinga? This article Russia Seizes Over 650,000 Acres Of Farmland And Other Assets From Company With Ties To 'Unfriendly' Country originally appeared on Benzinga.com © 2024 Benzinga.com. Benzinga does not provide investment advice. All rights reserved.

Rivian Stock Has 98% Upside, According to 1 Wall Street Analyst 2024-04-11 02:58:00+00:00 - Rivian Automotive (NASDAQ: RIVN) stock -- like most stocks -- got rocked on Wednesday after higher-than-expected inflation data dashed investor hopes for a series of Federal Reserve rate cuts in 2024. But not to worry, says Bank of America. Inflation or no inflation, and rate cuts or no interest rate cuts ... Rivian's stock price will more than double, and hit $21 a share within a year, according to BofA analysts. Is Rivian stock a buy? Rivian stock closed just shy of $11 a share Tuesday before the price target announcement, so a move to $21 per share would translate to a 98% return over the next year or so for new investors. That's pretty exciting news for investors if BofA analyst John Murphy is right. But is he right? Murphy says investors are focusing on car-buyer demand for EVs -- so it makes sense to say "demand" is important for Rivian. Last year, after all, Rivian produced 57,232 electric trucks ... but demand for them was so weak that it was only able to deliver 50,122 of them to willing buyers. In the short term, boosting demand really is important for Rivian -- which is probably why Rivian just offered to kick in complimentary paint jobs, worth $5,000 on new-bought Rivians, to boost demand. Longer-term, though, I think Rivian's ability to produce -- in particular, its ability to produce its new R2 and R3 electric SUVs -- is a bigger factor in whether Rivian stock will double. The reason is that producing and trying to sell only R1T electric trucks and R1S electric SUVs is costing Rivian nearly $6 billion a year in cash-burn. But Rivian only has about $9.4 billion in the bank. So unless Rivian succeeds in getting R2 production started within the next 18 months or so, Rivian will run out of cash and need to find more to complete its project. Rivian's R2, by the way, is due out for sale in early 2026, which is already more than 18 months. Regardless of "demand," any delays in producing the new EV will only make Rivian's cash situation worse. Caveat emptor, Rivian investors. Story continues Should you invest $1,000 in Rivian Automotive right now? Before you buy stock in Rivian Automotive, consider this: The Motley Fool Stock Advisor analyst team just identified what they believe are the 10 best stocks for investors to buy now… and Rivian Automotive wasn’t one of them. The 10 stocks that made the cut could produce monster returns in the coming years. Stock Advisor provides investors with an easy-to-follow blueprint for success, including guidance on building a portfolio, regular updates from analysts, and two new stock picks each month. The Stock Advisor service has more than tripled the return of S&P 500 since 2002*. See the 10 stocks *Stock Advisor returns as of April 8, 2024 Bank of America is an advertising partner of The Ascent, a Motley Fool company. Rich Smith has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool has positions in and recommends Bank of America. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy. Rivian Stock Has 98% Upside, According to 1 Wall Street Analyst was originally published by The Motley Fool

Costco selling $200 million in gold bars per month, says analyst 2024-04-11 01:15:00+00:00 - The gold rush at Costco is a very real thing. An analyst note from Wells Fargo estimates sales of the company’s gold bars currently account for between $100 million and $200 million per month. Sales of the one-ounce bars, which are made of 24-karat gold began last October. The bars sell for about $2,000 each. While the revenue numbers are significant, the research note suggests profits from these sales are low, at best. The real value, it says, is in how the price reinforces Costco’s value position. (The spot price of an ounce of gold, as of 11:15 a.m. Wednesday morning, stood at $2,332.) It is, in one way, a high-end version of the company’s rotisserie chicken—a way to attract customer attention. It couldn’t come at a better time, either. Gold has been on something of a rocket ride this year as the chances of an interest rate cut by the Federal Reserve look increasingly dim. Year to date, prices are up 13% (versus just an 8.6% increase in the S&P 500). Gold proved to be such a hit with Costco shoppers that the chain, in March, began selling silver coins as well. Like the gold bars, the coins are only available on the company’s website—and introducing precious metals to its online offerings has been a boon for e-commerce. Then-CFO Richard Galanti, speaking on an earnings call in March, said the increase in online sales last quarter was “led by sales of gold and, very recently, silver.” A pack of 25 one-ounce silver coins initially cost $625. They are currently sold out. Costco shoppers were a bit fonder of the gold, if the product ratings are to be believed. Silver customers grumbled about the shipping of the coins, saying the cases were unsealed, letting the coins fall out and, in some cases, get scratched. There wasn’t a lot they could do: Costco said the coins can’t be returned or refunded, and customers are limited to five cases per membership; plus, they only have one opportunity to buy them. This story was originally featured on Fortune.com