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The last two scenarios when U.S. stocks went up this quickly? During the dot-com bubble and after recessions. 2024-03-04 20:22:00+00:00 - The historic stock-market rally has shown few signs of stopping since October — with the S&P 500 advancing in 16 of the last 18 weeks for the first time since 1971. There have been only two other scenarios when U.S. stocks climbed this fast over any four-month period since World War II, and the recent rally has “strong parallels” to both, according to a Deutsche Bank analyst. The first scenario was when the economy was emerging from recession, such as after the COVID-19 pandemic or the 2007-2008 global financial crisis, while the second was during the dot-com bubble era in the late 1990s, when stocks saw rapid gains that proved unsustainable, said Henry Allen, macro strategist at Deutsche Bank. Post-recession periods “The last time we saw the S&P 500 advance this rapidly over four months was up to July 2020,” when equities staged a “sharp recovery” after slumping on growing instability due to the onset of the COVID pandemic earlier that year, Allen said in a Monday client note. The mid-2020 rally was supported by massive amounts of monetary and fiscal stimulus, with the S&P 500 SPX rising 26.6% between April and July, almost taking the index back to its pre-COVID peak, according to FactSet data. Looking further back, U.S. stocks also rallied after the S&P 500 fell to fresh lows in 2008 following the global financial crisis — with the index gaining more than 25% over the four months that ended in June 2009 once “the most acute phase” of the crisis had passed, according to data compiled by Deutsche Bank. “Unsurprisingly, recessions normally lead to significant equity selloffs, then when the economy begins to improve again, there’s usually a fast recovery for the stock market,” Allen said. SOURCE: BLOOMBERG FINANCE LP, DEUTSCHE BANK See: Nasdaq-100 rose 3% for the first time since the dot-com bubble era. Why it brings up old memories of this ‘scary’ period. The dot-com bubble era Allen said the seemingly relentless equity rally also brings to mind the dot-com bubble from over two decades ago, which saw the S&P 500 rise by 26% over the four months that ended in July 1997. The rally later was followed by a bursting of the bubble, with stocks falling for three years in a row from 2000 to 2002. See: S&P 500’s breadth ‘still narrow’ after record peak — with these four stocks driving February gains The large-cap benchmark S&P 500 has risen 21.5% since it bottomed in October 2023, spurred on by growing hopes for a soft landing for the U.S. economy, expectations that the Federal Reserve will soon start cutting interest rates and investor enthusiasm for artificial intelligence. “It’s rare to see a rally this fast, and when they happen it’s usually because the economy is emerging from recession and the stock market has just been through a slump,” Allen said on Monday, adding that the only time in the post-World War II period that this wasn’t the case was during the dot-com bubble era. Their rarity may raise fears that the recent stock-market rally is also a bubble, Allen noted. Indeed, market participants have been debating whether the rush over the past year into the so-called Magnificent Seven stocks — a group that includes chip maker Nvidia Corp. NVDA, +3.60% and other megacap technology companies — resembles the dot-com bubble era, a period when equities also rode a wave of tech hype only to come crashing down, triggering a mild recession. While the Deutsche Bank analyst didn’t draw a direct parallel between the recent stock rally and any of the two prior scenarios of rapid gains, Allen admitted this rally has similarities to them. The U.S. economy also has remained surprising resilient during this cycle, even with the Fed’s policy rate steady at a 22-year high since July. The three major U.S. stock indexes finished lower on Monday afternoon, with the S&P 500 and the Nasdaq Composite COMP retreating from their record highs to start the week, down by 0.1% and 0.4%, respectively. The Dow Jones Industrial Average DJIA dropped 0.3%, according to FactSet data.

Former Twitter execs sue Elon Musk for $128 million in severance 2024-03-04 20:22:00+00:00 - Four former Twitter Inc. executives, including former Chief Executive Parag Agarwal, on Monday sued company owner Elon Musk for more than $128 million in severance. The lawsuit, filed in federal court in California, stems from a year-long dispute after Musk fired the executives, citing gross negligence and willful misconduct. They dispute their dismissal, which Musk has given as the reason for not paying them severance.

Amy Coney Barrett's misplaced worry about 'national temperature' in Trump ruling 2024-03-04 20:04:41+00:00 - There are plenty of things to worry about when it comes to an oath-breaking insurrectionist’s presidential eligibility. Justice Amy Coney Barrett is seemingly concerned with how her Democratic-appointed colleagues disagreed with her fellow Republican-appointed colleagues on the subject. Notably, Barrett agreed on Monday with Justices Sonia Sotomayor, Elena Kagan and Ketanji Brown Jackson that the majority went too far in deciding unnecessary issues in Donald Trump's ballot case. But she wrote her own short, separate opinion that was evidently dedicated partly to chastising those three justices’ lengthier, more-critical concurrence. Barrett wrote in the second paragraph of her two-paragraph concurrence: The majority’s choice of a different path leaves the remaining Justices with a choice of how to respond. In my judgment, this is not the time to amplify disagreement with stridency. The Court has settled a politically charged issue in the volatile season of a Presidential election. Particularly in this circumstance, writings on the Court should turn the national temperature down, not up. For present purposes, our differences are far less important than our unanimity: All nine Justices agree on the outcome of this case. That is the message Americans should take home. This was a weird thing to write. For one, judges disagree all the time, and the Democratic appointees’ concurrence in Trump v. Anderson is hardly the strongest prose to hit the high court. The late Justice Antonin Scalia — for whom Barrett clerked — wrote historically nasty opinions. At any rate, that Barrett perceived it as strident is a personal problem that we didn’t need to hear about. And if anything, calling attention to the manner of disagreement between disagreeing opinions — which is apparent from reading them — serves to needlessly “amplify” any disharmony on the court. Plus, what’s her source for stating that it’s the court’s job to “turn the national temperature down” anyway? She doesn’t cite one. If pointing out flaws in a majority ruling turns up the national temperature — whatever that even means — then that’s a problem with the majority, not the minority pointing out those flaws. Subscribe to the Deadline: Legal Newsletter for weekly updates on the top legal stories, including news from the Supreme Court, the Donald Trump cases and more.

One Tech Tip: Change these settings on X to limit calls and hide your IP address 2024-03-04 19:49:44+00:00 - Elon Musk’s social media platform X has made audio and video calling capabilities available to all users, not just those with paid accounts. But a privacy issue has emerged from the rollout. The changes have made it so anyone following you on the platform formerly known as Twitter can call and see your Internet Protocol address by default. An IP address lists where your phone or computer lives on the internet — it’s how you get messages and load websites. An exposed IP address can make you more vulnerable to dangers from spam to ID theft to revealing your location. It poses perhaps the most serious risk to people like human-rights activists who create online accounts under pseudonyms to avoid persecution. If you want to avoid random calls from people you may not know or want to hide your IP address from the X community, here are the mobile app settings you need to change: Head to your direct message settings Navigate to the X app on your phone. Click on your profile picture in the upper-left corner, navigate to “Settings and Support,” then hit “Settings and privacy.” Touch the “Privacy and safety” menu and then scroll to the “Direct messages” subcategory. How to limit who can see your IP address If you want to use X’s new audio and video call functions but limit the exposure of your IP address, scroll down and toggle on the “Enhanced call privacy” option. It’s toggled off by default. X says this setting will help you avoid revealing your IP address to your contact during a call. In this same menu, you also have a number of choices to limit who can call you, including an option that allows only people in your address book to reach out. How to turn off audio and video calls entirely In the “Direct messages” menu, toggle off the “Enable audio and video calling” option. This will collapse the previous options and prevent anyone on X from calling you. Limiting IP address visibility and turning off the calls entirely is only available in the settings if you are using the mobile app version of the former Twitter. For now, at least, there does not appear to be an option to turn off the feature using the web version of X. A representative for X did not immediately return a message for comment on Monday. ___ Is there a tech challenge you need help figuring out? Write to us at onetechtip@ap.org with your questions.

AI chatbot rivalry accelerates again with new Claude chatbots from Anthropic, an OpenAI rival 2024-03-04 19:48:23+00:00 - SAN FRANCISCO (AP) — The race to build the smartest artificial intelligence chatbot completed another lap on Monday when startup Anthropic unveiled a new AI model it says is more advanced than those before it. San Francisco-based Anthropic, an OpenAI rival started by former leaders at the ChatGPT maker, announced Claude 3 — the third generation of its large language model. While OpenAI has closely tied itself to its business partner Microsoft, Anthropic’s primary cloud computing partner is Amazon, which has said it would invest up to $4 billion in the company. Another cloud provider, Google, has also invested in Anthropic. All of the partnerships have attracted scrutiny from U.S. antitrust enforcers at the Federal Trade Commission, which is expecting more information later this month in response to compulsory orders it sent the companies. The new Claude 3 models come in three versions, all of which have computer vision capabilities that enable them to analyze what’s in a photo, chart or graph. But they won’t generate new images, avoiding the troubles that forced Google to recently shut down a feature of its Gemini chatbot over how it was depicting race and ethnicity. The most advanced and priciest, called Claude 3 Opus, beats OpenAI’s ChatGPT-4 and Google’s Gemini Ultra in certain multiple-choice tests that are used to measure a chatbot’s capabilities, according to Anthropic.

Federal safety officials say Boeing fails to meet quality-control standards in manufacturing 2024-03-04 19:38:56+00:00 - The Federal Aviation Administration said Monday its audit of 737 Max manufacturing at airplane-maker Boeing and its key supplier turned up “multiple instances” of them failing to make sure manufacturing met quality standards. The FAA said that it found “non-compliance issues” with Boeing’s manufacturing-process control and parts handling and storage. It did not provide details. The FAA said it gave a summary of findings from its six-week audit to Boeing and supplier Spirit AeroSystems, but it did not make the summary public. A spokeswoman said the FAA can’t release details because its investigation of Boeing is continuing. Spirit spokesman Joe Buccino said the company welcomed the FAA audit and will review the findings. “We are in communication with Boeing and the FAA on appropriate corrective actions,” he said. Asked for comment, a Boeing spokesman referred to a statement last week in which CEO David Calhoun said the company now has a “clear picture of what needs to be done” and is “totally committed to meeting this challenge.” The FAA has stepped up its scrutiny of Boeing since Jan. 5, when a panel blew off a Boeing 737 Max 9 as it flew 16,000 feet above Oregon. Pilots of the Alaska Airlines jet were able to safely land the plane despite the hole in its side. Since then, Boeing replaced the executive in charge of the 737 Max program. Last week, the FAA gave Boeing 90 days to come up with a plan for addressing safety concerns raised by the FAA and an independent panel of experts from industry, government and academia.

Apple’s stock has had a sour 2024. This bull sees ‘a host of tailwinds’ ahead. 2024-03-04 19:29:00+00:00 - Some of the technology sector’s big 2023 winners have continued their ascents into this year, but not shares of Apple Inc. Shares of the iPhone maker were down 3% in Monday trading and they’re off about 10% to start 2024. But an Evercore ISI analyst sees “a host of tailwinds stacking up in [Apple’s] favor,” even as the consumer-electronics giant has lost some of its shine on Wall Street in the wake of a disappointing March-quarter outlook that implied revenue would decline. “While we understand the disappointment around [the March-quarter guidance] we think iPhone units are largely flat excluding some [one-time] dynamics,” Evercore’s Amit Daryanani wrote in a note to clients. Additionally, Apple’s AAPL, -2.54% margin story looks well intact. The company “continues to see gross margins work higher” and expects March-quarter margins to lie in the 46% to 47% range, whereas analysts had been modeling 45.5% gross margins. That sort of talk “is clearly dampening the impact of revenue miss to the bottom line” for the March quarter, according to Daryanani. See also: EU’s record Apple antitrust fine is just the start of a Big Tech regulatory crackdown this year Furthermore, he’s excited about some Apple developments on the horizon. In his view, commentary around the company’s recently launched Vision Pro headset — which starts at $3,499 — has been “incrementally better,” and interest among enterprises has been “sizable.” Apple’s management has also teased that it will make an announcement on generative artificial intelligence later this year, which could be another catalyst. Apple has been less vocal about AI than other large technology companies, potentially to the detriment of its stock as Wall Street gets swept up in AI fervor. Read: Apple just did something unusual. Can it help the stock amid growth woes? While Daryanani late Friday removed his tactical outperform call on Apple’s stock that had been linked to its most recent earnings report, he kept his regular outperform rating on the stock and his $220 target price. Among other momentum drivers for the stock could be Apple’s “sustained” free-cash-flow generation and a boost to the company’s capital-allocation program, he said. Apple typically updates its buyback and dividend programs alongside its March-quarter earnings report. Shares of Apple were moving lower in Monday’s session, however, after the European Union levied a nearly $2 billion fine on the company, saying that Apple unjustly showed preference for its own music-streaming service over rival offerings.

Mining company can’t tap water needed for Okefenokee wildlife refuge, US says 2024-03-04 18:57:36+00:00 - SAVANNAH, Ga. (AP) — A federal agency is asserting legal rights to waters that feed the Okefenokee Swamp and its vast wildlife refuge, setting up a new battle with a mining company seeking permits to withdraw more than 1.4 million gallons daily for a project that critics say could irreparably harm one of America’s natural treasures. In a letter obtained by The Associated Press, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service tells Georgia state regulators that federal law prohibits diverting water from the Okefenokee National Wildlife Refuge in quantities that would harm its function as a protective habitat for native animal and plant species. “Disruption to the natural flow of groundwater in this interconnected system could have far-reaching consequences for both the Refuge and surrounding areas,” Mike Oetker, the federal agency’s acting Southeast regional director, wrote in a Jan. 31 letter to Georgia regulators. He added: “Any decision regarding the proposed mining permit must be made with consideration of federal reserved water rights.” Twin Pines Minerals is on the cusp of obtaining permits it has sought since 2019 to mine titanium dioxide less than 3 miles (4.8 kilometers) from the southeastern boundary of the Okefenokee refuge, the largest U.S. refuge east of the Mississippi River. The Okefenokee refuge covers nearly 630 square miles (1,630 square kilometers) in southeast Georgia and is home to more than 400 animal species including alligators and bald eagles. The swamp’s wildlife, cypress forests and flooded prairies draw roughly 600,000 visitors each year, according to the Fish and Wildlife Service, which manages the refuge. Scientists have warned that mining near the Okefenokee’s bowl-like rim could irreparably harm the swamp’s ability to hold water and increase the frequency of withering droughts. Interior Secretary Deb Haaland in 2022 declared the proposed mine poses an “unacceptable risk” to the fragile ecosystem at the Georgia-Florida line. Twin Pines has insisted its proposed 773-acre (312-hectare) mine won’t harm the Okefenokee refuge. Regulators with the Georgia Environmental Protection Division have said their own analysis “concluded that water level in the swamp will be minimally impacted.” The Georgia agency issued draft permits for the mining project Feb. 9, starting a 30-day period for public comments before regulators work up final permits for the agency’s director to approve. While it’s unclear how much permits might be delayed by the Fish and Wildlife Service’s formal assertion of water rights, legal experts said Georgia regulators are legally obligated to work with the federal agency to ensure the Okefenokee keeps enough water to function as a wildlife refuge. Legal issues dealing with water consumption are generally left to the states. However, a U.S. Supreme Court ruling in 1908 established that public lands reserved by the federal government for Native American tribes, national parks and other purposes have rights to water that take precedence over other users. “This doctrine does not just give the Fish and Wildlife Service a seat at the table,” said Megan Huynh, an attorney for the Southern Environmental Law Center. “It legally entitles the Okefenokee to as much water as is necessary to support the primary purpose of the refuge and wilderness area.” While federal agencies commonly assert water rights for public lands in the West, where the arid climate makes water more scarce, they have rarely done so in the eastern U.S., said Ryan Rowberry, a Georgia State University law professor who has studied how federal reserved water rights protect public lands. “Now we’re moving into a different era,” Rowberry said. Growth in population, industry and awareness that climate change is getting worse have called into question the premise that “there’s enough water for everybody” in eastern states, he said. The move by the Fish and Wildlife Service seeks to reassert some level of federal oversight of Twin Pines’ proposed mine. Typically, the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers would also need to approve permits. But it lost that authority over the Georgia project in 2020 because of regulatory rollbacks under then-President Donald Trump. The Fish and Wildlife Service’s letter to the Georgia Environmental Protection Division asks for federal officials and state regulators to meet and “work together to quantify the amount of water” the Okefenokee refuge needs. The state agency has not yet responded. “Georgia EPD is reviewing the letter from U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service like all of the other comments being submitted” by the public on Twin Pines’ mining application, John Eunice, the state agency’s deputy director, said in an email Monday. He anticipated a response “once the public comment period has closed.” The groundwater use permit Twin Pines is seeking would allow an average daily withdrawal of 1.44 million gallons (5.45 million liters) of water from the Floridan Aquifer to process mining debris and waste. The plan calls for removal of additional water that gushes into mining pits during excavation. Any discussions between federal officials, Georgia regulators and Twin Pines over the Okefenokee’s water needs and how much water the proposed mine would divert from the swamp could be contentious. Hydrologists for the National Park Service said last year that documents Georgia regulators relied upon to conclude the mine wouldn’t harm the refuge contained technical errors and “critical shortcomings” that made them unreliable. Regulators stood by their analysis.

Bitcoin prices near record high. Here's why. 2024-03-04 18:45:00+00:00 - Bitcoin is on a vertical tear, continuing its rapid resurgence and getting close to breaking its all-time high. The digital token on Monday climbed 8% to $67,310, well above its $44,000 valuation at the start of the year and less than $2,000 away from surpassing its November 2021 record high of around $69,000. What's fueling the rally? Cryptocurrency watchers say bitcoin is soaring in part because demand is rising on so-called spot bitcoin exchange traded funds. The ETFs, which allow investors to dabble in crypto in a less riskier way than ever before, has attracted an huge influx of cash this year, experts said. "Investors are getting turned on to the fact that bitcoin can be treated as an uncorrelated asset, which makes it extremely attractive for portfolio diversification," Joel Kruger, a market strategist at digital currencies exchange LMAX Group, told CBS MoneyWatch. A spot bitcoin ETF allows investors to gain direct exposure to bitcoin without holding it. Unlike regular bitcoin ETFs, in which bitcoin futures contracts are the underlying asset, bitcoins are the underlying asset of a spot bitcoin ETF. Each spot bitcoin ETF is managed by a firm that issues shares of its own bitcoin holdings purchased through other holders or through an authorized cryptocurrency exchange. The shares are listed on a traditional stock exchange. The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission approved the sale of spot bitcoin ETFs in January. Since then, investors have deposited some $7.35 billion into the 11 different funds available, reported Bloomberg on Monday. Some of the world's largest institutional investors, including BlackRock and Fidelity Investments, now offer spot bitcoin ETFs. Bitcoin's price rally began months before in 2023: Its price soared to a 19-month high in December to about $41,000. Analysts at the time credited the surge to three main factors, including anticipation of the SEC's approval of the spot ETFs, anticipation of Fed rate cuts and its upcoming halving event, in which the reward for mining bitcoin is cut in half. To be sure, bitcoin's ongoing price surge doesn't make the cryptocurrency any less volatile, as Laila Maidan, investing correspondent at Insider, told CBS News in December, when the cryptocurrency broke $41,000, which was its highest value in 19 months at the time. "It doesn't mean the crypto is going to skyrocket and stay high," Maidan said. "It's still volatile and there's a lot of people who will always trade it." Still, bitcoin's resurgence comes as welcome news to crypto investors, many of whom saw their assets plummet in value in 2022 after the collapse of FTX and other crypto exchanges. As the world's largest cryptocurrency, both in terms of trading volume and most mined, bitcoin is often looked to by financial analyst as a gauge of the overall health of the crypto industry.

Jason Kelce, Super Bowl champ and star Philadelphia Eagles center, retires from NFL 2024-03-04 18:44:00+00:00 - Philadelphia Eagles center Jason Kelce tearfully announced his retirement from football on Monday, wrapping up a stellar 13-year career that brought fame and notoriety rarely enjoyed by an offensive lineman. Crying before uttering one word to reporters gathered in front of him, Kelce eventually went off on a 40-minute tribute to family, friends, teachers, teammates, coaches and Eagles employees who had helped him along the way. “I announce that I am retiring from the NFL after 13 seasons with the Philadelphia Eagles," an emotional Kelce said. "Thank you, Philadelphia, from the bottom of my heart. Thank you for letting me represent this city and allowing me into your homes every Sunday." Philadelphia Eagles' Jason Kelce speaks during a press conference announcing his retirement in Philadelphia, on Monday. Matt Rourke / AP He ended the marathon meeting with one last note of love for his adopted City of Brotherly Love. "Forever we shall all share the bond of being Philadelphians. That's all I got," he said, before leaving the podium and hugging his brother, mom, dad and then kissing his wife. The 36-year-old Super Bowl champ, selected to his seventh Pro Bowl in January, is the older brother of Travis Kelce, an all-time great tight end with the Kansas City Chiefs who is now just as well known as Taylor Swift's boyfriend. That connection to the world's most famous pop star helped make Jason Kelce one of football's most identifiable interior linemen and hasn't hurt his nice side hustles as a Madison Avenue pitchman and a successful podcaster. When the Eagles were knocked out of the playoffs by the Tampa Bay Buccaneers on Jan.15, speculation immediately began that Kelce would hang up his cleats. And in the weeks that followed playoff elimination, Kelce appeared hell-bent on having fun and not being down in the dumps about a difficult season’s end. The Eagles were among the favorites to play in last month's Super Bowl and looked like a contender early in the season, winning 10 of their first 11 games. Philadelphia then dropped five of its last six regular season contests before the embarrassing Tampa playoff loss. “Although last season truly sucked, I wouldn’t trade any of my time with you or these teams for the world," Kelce said Monday. "Everything happens for a reason.” Kelce thoroughly enjoyed the rest of January and Super Bowl Sunday on Feb. 11, partying — not always fully clothed — at the playoff games of his brother Travis. When the Chiefs beat the Buffalo Bills in the conference semifinals on Jan. 21, Kelce's act in the stands — to help 8-year-old Ella Piazza gain a brief-but-memorable audience with Swift — was almost as memorable as any play on the field. Kelce's shirtless antics weren't totally embraced by his wife, Kylie Kelce. “I’m like, ‘Hey I’m just letting you know what’s happening. I’m not asking for permission, I’m doing this,'” he said on “New Heights,” the hit podcast he co-hosts with Travis. Jason Kelce during a game between the Philadelphia Eagles and the New York Giants, in Philadelphia, on Jan. 8, 2023. Mitchell Leff / Getty Images file Wife Kylie Klece shot back that Jason's attitude would end in the family adopting a cat against his wishes. “I think it’s no coincidence that I have enjoyed the best years of my career with Kylie by my side," he said Monday. "Every accolade I have ever received has come with her at my side. She has brought the best out of me through love, devotion, support, honesty, intelligence and of course a swift kick in the ass from time to time." After Kansas City's thrilling overtime win against the San Francisco 49ers at the Super Bowl on Feb. 15, Jason Kelce stole the show again, this time at the Chiefs' post-game party. He donned a Mexican wrestling mask which led to several viral videos. While Swift and Travis Kelce danced and hugged in one such clip, Jason Kelce was shown a few feet away, wildly gyrating next to a reveler in a marshmallow mask. “It’s a very strong dichotomy of, on this side, two people in love and enjoying the moment together, panning to a complete Neanderthal — who is no longer connected with modern-day society,” Jason Kelce said on "New Heights." To non-football fans, Kelce is merely the player who shoves a football between his legs to Eagles quarterback Jalen Hurts, triggering each Philadelphia play on offense. But as center, Kelce had the crucial job of identifying the defense's impending attack and quickly adjusting Philadelphia's blocking scheme to match it. Kelce is also at the literal and metaphoric center of Philadelphia's famed "tush push" play, when he ushers a mass of green humanity charging forward to pick up 1 yard or less. With Kelce leading the way, other players line up behind Hurts and push the QB forward with the ball. As silly as the play's name is and seemingly minimal its gain, the "tush push" is one of football's most well known and controversial moves. It's often called on fourth-and-1, meaning if the Eagles don't gain 36 inches of real estate, they lose possession. Critics of the play claim it doesn't resemble football and could be dangerous for players. “Listen, ban it. I really, at this point, I don’t care,” Kelce said during a December episode of "New Heights." Jason Kelce grew up in Cleveland Heights, Ohio, and played college football at Cincinnati before being taken by the Eagles in the sixth round of the 2011 NFL Draft. Travis Kelce and Jason Kelce in Baltimore on Jan. 28, 2024. Patrick Smith / Getty Images file He's endeared himself to Philadelphia's notoriously tough-to-please fan base with his performance between the lines and fun-loving, off-the-field persona. The Philadelphia Phillies, 76ers, Flyers and Philadelphia Union soccer team all issued statements on Monday, congratulating Kelce on his 13-year career in town. "It is difficult to put into words how much Jason Kelce has meant to everyone in this organization," Eagles chairman and CEO Jeffrey Lurie said in a statement. "To the city of Philadelphia. And to our fans. He gave everything he had to all of us for 13 years." The Associated Press named Kelce football's best center in the 2017 season, which culminated in the 2018 Super Bowl that was won in dramatic fashion by Philadelphia over the New England Patriots. Kelce on Monday repeatedly thanked Eagles offensive line coach Jeff Stoutland and said their work together ahead of the 2017 season turned his career around. “In 2017, I enjoyed the finest season of my 13-year career, not only as a player but as a team," he said. "And it meant more because of the struggles and work we had been through. Without him (Stoutland), I doubt any of this would have been possible or that I’d still be here." Adding to his Philadelphia lore, Kelce donned a “Mummers” costume — a beloved tradition of Philadelphia celebrations — while chugging beers and giving a profane victory speech at the Eagles' 2018 Super Bowl victory parade. Kelce helped the Eagles to another Super Bowl, just last year, but Philadelphia fell short in another title-game thriller, this time to brother Travis and the Kansas City Chiefs. "I don’t forget falling short to the Chiefs and the conflicting feeling of immense heartbreak I had, selfishly for myself and my teammates, and at the same time the amount of pride I had in my brother who climbed the mountaintop once again," Kelce said. "We have a small family. No cousins, one aunt, one uncle. It was really my brother and I our whole lives." Kelce also thanked his steelworker dad and his mother, who has become a celebrity in her own right in the past year. Donna Kelce went to college in an era when girls weren't encouraged to seek higher education. But Jason Kelce said his mom wasn't deterred by that once-prevailing norm and went on to a 40-year career, from teller to bank vice president. “I got my toughness, aggression and lunchpail mentality from my father, and from my mother I learned that all-too-important lesson of never letting anyone tell you what you can’t do," he said. "So this all brings us here to today, where I announce I am retiring."

After Trump wins at the Supreme Court, some warn it may be harder for Congress to boot 'oathbreaking insurrectionists' 2024-03-04 18:29:00+00:00 - WASHINGTON — In ruling that states cannot kick Donald Trump off the ballot, the Supreme Court placed significant limits on any effort — including by Congress — to prevent the former president from returning to office. Should Trump win the presidential election and lawmakers then seek to not certify the results and prevent him from taking office because he "engaged in insurrection" under Section 3 of the Constitution's 14th Amendment, the decision could foreclose that action. It is on that point that the court — notionally unanimous in ruling for Trump despite its 6-3 conservative majority — appeared to be divided, with the three liberal justices vehemently objecting to the apparent straitjacket the decision enforced on Congress. Justice Amy Coney Barrett, a conservative, wrote her own opinion saying she also believed the court had decided issues it did not need to resolve, but she did not join the liberal justices’ separate opinion. Apparently, without the support of the four female justices, a five-justice majority said Congress had to act in specific ways to enforce Section 3. “This gives the Supreme Court major power to second guess any congressional decision over enforcement of Section 3,” Rick Hasen, an election law expert at UCLA School of Law, wrote immediately after the ruling. The Colorado Supreme Court had found Trump had violated the provision in contesting the 2020 presidential election results in actions that ended with the Jan. 6 attack on the Capitol. In ruling for Trump, the U.S. Supreme Court specified that anything Congress does must be specifically tailored to address Section 3, an implicit warning that broad legislation could be struck down. "Today, the majority goes beyond the necessities of this case to limit how Section 3 can bar an oathbreaking insurrectionist from becoming president," the liberal justices, Sonia Sotomayor, Elena Kagan and Ketanji Brown Jackson, wrote on their separate opinion. By weighing in on the role of Congress, "the majority attempts to insulate all alleged insurrectionists from future challenges to their holding federal office," they added. One sentence in particular attracted the attention of legal experts, with the liberal justices writing that the majority was seemingly "ruling out enforcement under general federal statutes requiring the government comply with the law." Several observers said that may be a reference to Congress' role in certifying the presidential election results should Trump win in November, which is now governed by the Electoral Count Reform Act enacted in 2022 with the aim of preventing another Jan. 6. The law includes language saying Congress can refuse to count electoral votes that are not "regularly given." That could be interpreted to apply to a winning candidate who members of Congress believe is not eligible to serve under Section 3. Derek Muller, an election law expert at Notre Dame Law School, said it seemed the majority wanted to "close that door." But, he added, "the court is speaking somewhat opaquely here, as if it does not want to reveal the true substance of the disagreement." Jason Murray, who argued the Colorado case at the Supreme Court on behalf of the voters who wanted Trump kicked off the ballot, said he also thought the court may be referring to the Electoral Count Reform Act. "It seems to me that one thing that the liberals might be referring to is the possibility that Congress might on Jan. 6, 2025, refuse to count votes that were cast for former President Trump," he said. Not everyone agreed with that interpretation, with Richard Pildes, a professor at New York University School of Law, saying the liberal justices may have been referring to the potential for legal challenges about Trump's authority as president if he were in office again. If the court was addressing the counting of Electoral College votes, "they could easily have mentioned that if that's what they meant," he said. Hasen wrote that the ruling means that if Trump wins the election and Congress tries to disqualify him, the Supreme Court "will have the last word." In the meantime, "we may well have a nasty, nasty post-election period," he added.

Google Settles Smaller Lawsuits as It Prepares for More Antitrust Fights 2024-03-04 18:23:47+00:00 - In December, Google spent $700 million to resolve states’ claims that its Play Store had strong-armed app makers into high fees and tough terms. About six weeks after that, Google paid $350 million to end a lawsuit accusing it of improperly sharing users’ private information. On Monday morning, a Massachusetts company called Singular Computing said it had resolved its lawsuit with Google, involving claims that the tech giant had stolen its chip designs. Singular said in a news release that it had “entered into a settlement and patent license agreement with Google.” Google is also on the verge of a fourth legal settlement in three months to end claims that it has misrepresented the privacy settings of its Chrome web browser. In just a few months, Google has spent well over $1 billion to clear the decks for court fights that could prove far more damaging to the company and that could reshape the entire internet industry: two suits brought by the Department of Justice, targeting Google’s search engine and its advertising business.

Jamie Dimon Quits Bitcoin: Bitcoin On Track To Hit $100K 2024-03-04 18:22:00+00:00 - Key Points Jamie Dimon quit talking about Bitcoin but still favors some blockchain technology. The halving supports the price action in BTC and could drive it to $100K this year. Ethereum is more practical and on the rise, poised to gain 35% to 50% soon. 5 stocks we like better than JPMorgan Chase & Co. Jamie Dimon doesn’t like Bitcoin (Cryptocurrencies: BTC); that’s a well-known fact. He has many criticisms, most of which are true, but it doesn’t matter because the world is embracing blockchain technology. Call it a pet rock if you want (he does), and quit talking about it (he did); this dud is up nearly 300% in the last eighteen months and is on track to hit a new high soon. Among the drivers is the growing availability to retail clients, availability aided by the proliferation of BTC-themed ETFs, and the halvening. The halvening is a critical component of the Bitcoin lifespan. It occurs every four years and is intended to counteract inflation. The halvening reduces the mining reward earned for each completed block by half, keeping the pace of new BTC creation below demand and supportive of the price. Get JPMorgan Chase & Co. alerts: Sign Up The halvening is a vital date to track because the market may see volatility ahead, during, and after the event. It’ll tentatively happen around 9:20 GMT on April 21st. The takeaway for investors is that BTC value increased by at least a high-triple-digit amount following each of the last three halvenings. It is up 500% since the previous halvening in September 2020. Jamie Dimon Likes Blockchain, Hates Bitcoin Jamie Dimon hates Bitcoin because he doesn’t see its purpose. In his view, it is a tool for fraud, money laundering, and criminal activity, but he doesn’t feel the same about all blockchain technology. He and JPMorgan Chase NYSE: JPM view blockchain technology favorably and utilize it for the business. JPMorgan’s Onyx platform supports the JPM coin and a distributed ledger system. The difference is that this token is used solely for internal purposes, allowing JPMorgan clients to facilitate quick transactions within JPMorgan accounts. It’s a tool for them, not a band-aid for the financial system. Mr. Dimon extends his favorable view to other blockchain technologies and some of the altcoins because they have utility. Ethereum (Cryptocurrencies: ETH), with its smart contract capability, is among them and also swept up in the market frenzy. Ethereum is on the move because of its inclusion in a growing number of ETFs and changes in how it operates. Ethereum switched to a proof-of-stake system in 2022 for multiple reasons, including controlling the creation of new tokens, reducing its carbon footprint, and enhancing security. The effect has been a 99.5% reduction in electrical use and a drastic slowdown in token issuance. Bitcoin Remains the Dominant Player In Cryptocurrency Bitcoin remains the dominant player in cryptocurrency despite Mr. Dimon’s concerns and the rise of the altcoins. That fact is seen in the market cap, down over the last year but still near 50%, where it has trended for years. Ethereum maintains the #2 spot with 17% of the share, which is also steady, with USDT (Cryptocurrencies: USDT) rising. USDT is the US Dollar Tether coin, a tokenized version of the dollar not approved by the government. Cryptocurrency markets favor it for its stability. The more telling indicator of Bitcoin’s dominance is the hash rate. The hash rate is a measure of the computing power focused on Bitcoin mining, and it is on the rise. The BTC hash rate hit a new record in early February 2024 and will likely hit a new record soon. Ethereum’s hash rate fell to nearly zero following its shift to proof of stake, but there is equally telling information in the staking data. The number of staked Ether has been trending steadily higher for three years. It is quickly approaching 30 million or roughly 25% of the total Ethereum in circulation, providing ample liquidity for its network. The Technical Outlook: Bitcoin Is On Track To Hit $100,000 The technical outlook for Bitcoin is robust. The token is trending strongly higher following a test of critical support and is on the verge of breaking out to new highs. A break to new highs would open the door to another sustained rally with a chance of a 50% or larger advance. The magnitude of the prior movement is worth $30,000, giving a target near $98,000. The prior move is also worth a 78% upside, which gives a target near $120,000 that may be reached this year. Before you consider JPMorgan Chase & Co., 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 JPMorgan Chase & Co. wasn't on the list. While JPMorgan Chase & Co. currently has a "Moderate Buy" rating among analysts, top-rated analysts believe these five stocks are better buys. View The Five Stocks Here

‘Dune: Part Two’ Gives Sci-Fi-Obsessed Silicon Valley a Reason to Party 2024-03-04 18:17:52+00:00 - In a top-floor atrium in downtown San Francisco on Thursday evening, tech workers from Google, Slack, X and Mozilla mingled next to a pair of cardboard cutouts of Timothée Chalamet and Zendaya. Dustin Moskovitz, a Facebook founder, chatted as others sipped from cannily named cocktails like the Fremen Mirage (gin, coconut Campari, sweet vermouth) and the Arrakis Palms (vanilla pear purée, gin, Fever-Tree tonic). Tim O’Reilly, a tech industry veteran, dropped by. Alex Stamos, the former head of security at Facebook, was also spotted. “Do you think they’ll let me take home one of the freaky sandworm popcorn buckets?” someone in the crowd tittered. The suggestively designed buckets had become a sensation across social media. The techies were all there to celebrate Silicon Valley’s newest obsession: “Dune: Part 2,” the latest movie adapted from the Frank Herbert-authored science-fiction saga, which helped inspire many of them to become interested in technology. The film, which follows the 2021 installment “Dune,” sold an estimated $81.5 million in tickets in the United States and Canada over the weekend, the biggest opening for a Hollywood film since “Barbie.”

Black women struggle to find their way in a job world where diversity is under attack 2024-03-04 18:13:00+00:00 - Regina Lawless hit a professional high at 40, becoming the first director of diversity and inclusion for Instagram. But after her husband died suddenly in 2021, she pondered whether she had neglected her personal life and what it means for Black woman to succeed in the corporate world. While she felt supported in the role, “there wasn’t the willingness for the leaders to take it all the way,” Lawless said. “Really, it’s the leaders and every employee that creates the culture of inclusion.” This inspired her venture, Bossy and Blissful, a collective for Black female executives to commiserate and coach each other on how to deal with misogynoir, a specific type of misogyny experienced by Black women, or being the only person of color in the C-suite. “I’m now determined to help other women, particularly women of color and Black women, to see that we don’t have to sacrifice ourselves for success. We can find spaces or create our own spaces where we can be successful and thrive,” said Lawless, who is based in Oakland, California. Many women in Lawless’ group have no workplace peers, making them the “Onlys” — the only Black person or woman of color — which can lead to feelings of loneliness or isolation. “Getting together helps us when we go back and we’re the ‘only-lonelies’ in a lot of our organizations,” Lawless said. With attacks on diversity, equity and inclusion initiatives raging, Black women looking to climb the corporate ladder face a more hostile landscape than ever. Aside from having to constantly prove themselves and talk in a manner that can’t be labeled as angry or emotional, obtaining top managerial positions doesn’t stop the double dilemma of racial and gender pay gaps. All this adds up to disproportionate representation of Black female senior leadership. Dr. Claudine Gay’s resignation in January as Harvard’s first Black president following accusations of anti-Semitism and plagiarism was just the latest in a revolving door of Black women who have been aggressively questioned or abandoned after achieving a career pinnacle. Black female professionals also were hit hard when an administrator at a historically Black college in Missouri accused the school’s white president of bullying and racism then took her own life. This led some to build networking groups and mentorships. For others it triggered an exodus to entrepreneurship and re-invention. In Boston, Charity Wallace, 37, a biotech professional, and Chassity Coston, 35, a middle school principal, reflected on their own career struggles in light of Gay’s ordeal. Wallace said she was being more cognizant of her mental health, and that’s where their young Black professionals group, sorority sisters and family come in. “It’s a constant fight of belonging and really having your girlfriends or your homegirls or my mom and my sister. I complain to them every day about something that’s going on at work,” Wallace said. “So having that circle of Black women that you can really vent to is important because, again, you cannot let the things like this sit. We’ve been silenced for too long.” Coston said she mourned Gay’s resignation and, fearing something similar could happen to her, she reconsidered her future in education. But she didn’t want to give up. “Yes, we’re going to continue to be scorned as Black people, as Black women. It’s going to continue to happen. But we can’t allow that,” Coston said. “I’m speaking from my strength right now because that wasn’t always how I felt in my stages of grief. We have to continue to fight just like Rosa (Parks), just like Harriet (Tubman).” Gay struggled despite her résumé full of accomplishments, Wallace said. “I can’t imagine how she felt trying to do that and getting all these accolades, her degrees that she has, the credentials, and it just seemed like even that was not enough for her to stay,” Wallace said. The backlash to DEI efforts is only amplified with clashes over identity politics. Pulitzer Prize-winning journalist Nikole Hannah-Jones’ tenure bid at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill stalled in 2021 because of her work with the 1619 Project, a collection of essays on race. The 2022 confirmation hearings for Ketanji Brown Jackson, the first Black woman confirmed to the Supreme Court, drew criticism for their harsh and race-based questioning. President Joe Biden emphatically stating he only would consider a Black woman for the high court deepened resentment toward DEI, said Johnny Taylor, CEO of The Society for Human Resource Management. “Contrast and compare a CEO standing in front of his workplace or her workplace saying, ‘I’m only gonna consider, the next candidates will only be this,’” Taylor said. “That created some real tension.” Black women are questioning whether it’s even worth trying for top positions, said Portia Allen-Kyle, chief advisor at social justice organization Color of Change. Extreme scrutiny and online vitriol are high prices to pay. “What I’ve heard from quite a few Black women — family, friends and otherwise — is a little bit of feeling of frustration at the idea that excellence is not enough,” Allen-Kyle said. “The ‘Work twice as hard, be twice as good ... maybe you’ll be able to be accepted on your merit.’ That lesson that maybe that’s not the case is hard and frustrating and disappointing all around.” The number of Black women in the workforce is in danger of shrinking because of a lack of support and opportunities, according to advocates. Black women comprise 7.4% of the U.S. population but they occupy only 1.4% of C-suite positions and 1.6% of senior vice-president roles, according to a 2020 report from Lean In, “The State of Black Women in Corporate America.” U.S. Census data shows Black women working year-round and full-time in 2021 made 69 cents for every dollar a white man got. Meanwhile, white women made 80 cents on the dollar. Lawless, who left Instagram/Meta in August, thinks more Black women will decide to be their own boss rather than enter a traditional workplace. “There’s going to be a chilling effect and you’re going to see more Black women pivot and go into entrepreneurship, which we’re already doing at higher rates,” Lawless said. “Corporations have a real problem. They’ve lost more women at the director and above level since the pandemic.” Even self-made businesses cannot avoid DEI resistance. The Fearless Fund, a small venture capital firm, is embroiled in a lawsuit accusing a grant program for Black women-owned companies of discrimination. The litigation has scared away potential investors, according to the firm’s founders. Job openings for diversity officers and similar positions have declined in recent months. The combined share of venture capital funding for businesses owned by Black and Latina women has dipped back to less than 1% after briefly surpassing that threshold — at 1.05% — in 2021, according to the nonprofit advocacy group digitalundivided. Stephanie Felix, of Austin, Texas, just started her own DEI consulting firm in January. It’s not something the 36-year-old, who worked in DEI for company review website Glassdoor, initially saw for herself. “People say there’s risk in leaving but there’s also a lot of risk in staying,” Felix said. Colleagues, family and even Felix herself had reservations about her career leap. But she said she has too often seen DEI hires go from “office pet to office threat.” Their arrival was heralded as a new chapter, but senior leaders wouldn’t come through with promised resources or authority to effect change. “I applaud women that choose to step away and choose themselves. I applaud myself for it too,” Felix said. “Even though it’s not easy, it gives you more sovereignty over your life which is, in my mind, definitely worth it.” For more from NBC BLK, sign up for our weekly newsletter.

GM recalls nearly 820,000 pickup trucks over latch safety issue 2024-03-04 18:02:00+00:00 - General Motors is recalling almost 820,000 pickup trucks because of a glitch that could cause the tailgate to open unexpectedly. The electronic latch mechanism used to open the gate of certain 2020-2024 Chevy Silverado and GMC Sierra truck beds could short circuit if water enters the tailgate, leading to the gate opening, the automaker said. That could allow objects in the bed to fall out. GM has received 136 complaints of tailgates opening while vehicles were being driven, according to a report posted on the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration's website. But the gate can only open when the vehicle is in park, which means drivers are hitting the road without realizing what had occurred, the automaker concluded. The complaints included one allegation of minor injury and three involving minor property damage, GM said. Owners are advised to manually close their tailgate before driving until the recall is finished. GM will start notifying owners if their car is subject to recall on March 18, with dealers then replacing the exterior switch that operates the tailgate with more water-resistant material, the automaker said. The recall includes more than 570,000 vehicles sold in the U.S. and another roughly 249,000 in Canada.

This Is the Biggest Company Not in the "Magnificent Seven" -- but It Deserves to Be 2024-03-04 17:55:00+00:00 - A massive market cap alone doesn't qualify a stock for inclusion in the so-called "Magnificent Seven." But that's pretty much how it's worked out. Because these seven tickers have performed so well of late, they've become some of the market's biggest companies as well. But a check of market caps shows there is one curious exception to this correlation -- drugmaker Eli Lilly (NYSE: LLY). Its current market cap is a hefty $729 billion, making it bigger than Magnificent Seven constituent Tesla at $636 billion. While a huge market cap doesn't automatically make a stock a better buy, Eli Lilly appears to be a great example of investors being so fixated on higher-profile names that they look right past a company deserving of its enormous market cap. Eli Lilly's in the right place at the right time You may or may not know much about Eli Lilly. Oh, you very likely know the company is a pharmaceutical powerhouse. But there's a fair chance you don't know its best-selling drugs are blockbusters like diabetes drugs Trulicity and Mounjaro, as well as cancer-fighting Verzenio. However, none of these are the chief reason Lilly stock is up 180% since the end of 2021. The bulk of the market's bullishness is the result of something else Eli Lilly's been working on. That's weight-loss drug Zepbound, which was approved by the FDA in November. It's the exact same molecule as Mounjaro, by the way. In fact, they share the same generic name (tirzepatide). The only benefit to using different names for different prescriptive purposes is avoiding confusion among its users; diabetics already know the drug as Mounjaro. Whatever the case, the opportunity is believed to be enormous. Goldman Sachs says the global anti-obesity drug market could be worth $100 billion per year by 2030, up from last year's $6 billion. For perspective, Mordor Intelligence estimates global spending on cancer therapies will reach $220 billion this year -- after decades of drug development. Story continues Analysts are confident Eli Lilly will capture at least its fair share of this impending growth, too. They're calling for top-line improvement of 21.4% this year before accelerating to a growth pace of nearly 24% next year. Per-share profits are projected to nearly triple during that two-year stretch. Things don't look too shabby past that point, either. Data source: StockAnalysis.com. Chart by author. This outlook is the key reason shares have been so red-hot of late -- investors are buying the stock in anticipation of this growth. There are risks with high-valuation stocks Eli Lilly stock's big gains over the course of the past couple of years present something of a conundrum, though. That is, shares are now very richly valued. The stock's priced at 60 times this year's expected earnings and at 41 times next year's projected profits. The drugmaker's income will likely continue growing beyond that 2025 outlook, but not all stocks are able to maintain such steep valuations based on bottom-line projections so far down the road. There's also competition. Novo Nordisk is the most notable of these competitors right now. It makes Ozempic and Wegovy, which are actually quite similar to Lilly's Zepbound in terms of how they work, even though Ozempic isn't officially approved as an anti-obesity therapy. Amgen's early-stage studies of MariTide (maridebart cafraglutide) are showing promise, for instance. And with $100 billion up for grabs, other pharmaceutical companies are certainly working on alternatives of their own. Eli Lilly is out in front of those would-be rivals, though, with the efficacy -- and safety -- of its Zepbound confirmed by its existence as the diabetes treatment called Mounjaro since the first half of 2022. Indeed, even before it was officially approved as a weight-loss drug late last year, Mounjaro was unofficially being prescribed as an anti-obesity solution. Connect the dots. Lilly doesn't exactly have a tough row to hoe here with consumers and doctors, as many likely understand that Mounjaro and Zepbound are effectively the same (safe) drug. Two key takeaways There are two key ideas investors will want to take away here. The first is that Eli Lilly does sit on an impressive portfolio of drugs headlined by Zepbound, but the stock's tough to buy at this time. Its incredible performance since 2020 has left it overvalued. Be patient. Wait for a healthy pullback before diving in. It'll happen sooner or later. And it will be worth the wait. The second takeaway is arguably more important. That is, know that the stocks you're hearing the most about at any given time aren't necessarily the best ones to buy at that time. They're not even necessarily all the biggest ones worth watching. You would be wise to search for your own prospective stock picks outside the names being batted around the most by the financial media. You can bet even with its recent gains, most investors still don't realize Eli Lilly is now bigger than one of the Magnificent Seven (the aforementioned Tesla), and nearing the size of the next-biggest one, Meta Platforms. In other words, worry less about labels and hype, and focus more on opportunities and competitive advantages. Some of those companies may end up being part of groupings like the FAANG stocks or the Magnificent Seven. Others might not. That doesn't make them any less fruitful. Should you invest $1,000 in Eli Lilly right now? Before you buy stock in Eli Lilly, 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 Eli Lilly 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 February 26, 2024 Randi Zuckerberg, a former director of market development and spokeswoman for Facebook and sister to Meta Platforms CEO Mark Zuckerberg, is a member of The Motley Fool's board of directors. James Brumley has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool has positions in and recommends Goldman Sachs Group, Meta Platforms, and Tesla. The Motley Fool recommends Amgen and Novo Nordisk. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy. This Is the Biggest Company Not in the "Magnificent Seven" -- but It Deserves to Be was originally published by The Motley Fool

Macy’s, United Rentals rise; Apple, Spirit Airlines fall Monday, 3/4/2024 2024-03-04 17:34:15+00:00 - NEW YORK (AP) — Stocks that traded heavily or had substantial price changes on Monday: Apple Inc., down $4.56 to $175.10. The European Union has fined the iPhone maker nearly $2 billion for breaking competition laws. Spirit Airlines Inc., down 70 cents to $5.76. JetBlue is terminating its proposed buyout of the airline after a court blocked the deal. Akero Therapeutics Inc., up $3.26 to $31.07 The drug developer gave investors an encouraging update on a potential liver condition treatment. Iovance Biotherapeutics Inc., up 17 cents to $16.96. The biotechnology company gave investors an encouraging update on a lung cancer treatment. Blackbaud Inc., up $2.12 to $72.48. The software and services provider in the nonprofit sector announced a stock buyback plan. Super Micro Computer Inc., up $168.86 to $1,074.34. The server technology company is joining the S&P 500 index. Macy’s Inc., up $2.44 to $20.45. Arkhouse Management and Brigade Capital Management raised their offer for the department store chain. United Rentals Inc., up $11.72 to $712.31. The equipment rental company is buying Yak Access for about $1.1 billion.

Beyoncé and Blondie song fund Hipgnosis needs to find a new tune | Nils Pratley 2024-03-04 17:33:00+00:00 - Another bum note from Hipgnosis Songs Fund. The investment trust managed to put the decimal point in the wrong place in its much-anticipated announcement of what a new valuer thinks its catalogue of songs from acts such as Blondie, Red Hot Chili Peppers and Shakira might really be worth. It meant 92p a share, but said 0.92 pence a share. A correction followed. The correction that long-term shareholders must dearly wish for is that Hipgnosis had never come to the stock market in the first place in 2018. Against a starting price of 100p, the revised net asset value looks poor, as opposed to shocking, but is only half the story. First, the new asset figure is a cut of 26% from the last estimate six months ago from the previous valuer. Different methodologies produce different outcomes, but $2.6bn-ish to $1.9bn-ish is a big drop. Second, Hipgnosis added that the valuation doesn’t include tax charges that could apply if the assets were sold at the new level. Third, the board said the lower figure means no dividends “for the foreseeable future”, a humiliating position for a fund established to turn royalty payments from a broad portfolio of songs into a reliable income stream for investors. Add all those factors to the mix – plus a fall-out with the fund’s investment adviser, a firm led by the Hipgnosis pioneer Merck Mercuriadis and majority-owned by Blackstone – and one can understand why the market price of the shares fell to 58p, down 8% on the day. The question now is how the board, much-changed from the crew that oversaw the acquisition of the songs, intends to improve matters. Come back at the end of the month to discover chairman Robert Naylor’s answer, but the holding position of stopping dividends to pay down debt looks a non-starter as a permanent strategy. Last autumn’s vote against continuing the trust in its current form was, in effect, a vote for more radical measures. That leaves a sale of the catalogue of songs in part or whole. One little irony here, though, is that shareholders last year also voted against the sale of 65,000 songs for $440m, partly because the discount to book value was so steep. Compared with the new lower valuation, the discount no longer looks out of whack – albeit that transaction only covered a fifth of the portfolio. Do interested parties for a bigger transaction exist? Well, Blackstone, the would-be buyer in the rejected $440m deal, might want another run, but the perceived conflict of interest with its role as owner of Hipgnosis investment adviser, was the other stumbling block last time. Appetite among other private equity and investment houses is hard to gauge in an illiquid market (one reason, on top of the related valuation complications, why this type of “alternative” asset class looks ill-suited to the public markets). But some form of break-up, with the aim of getting the balance sheet into a position to resume dividends, looks the most promising route to try to limit the damage. As the sunken share price suggests, an income fund that doesn’t pay dividends makes no sense.

Trump calls right-wing candidate ‘Martin Luther King on steroids’ 2024-03-04 17:26:34+00:00 - North Carolina is slated to host one of the nation’s most competitive gubernatorial races, but ahead of the fall, there’s a contentious Super Tuesday Republican primary contest. It was against this backdrop that Donald Trump weighed in on the GOP fight, throwing his support behind Lt. Gov. Mark Robinson. That wouldn’t ordinarily be especially notable — Robinson is closely aligned with the former president’s MAGA crusade — but as NBC News reported, Trump announced his support in an especially provocative way. “This is Martin Luther King on steroids,” Trump said of Robinson at a pre-Super Tuesday rally in North Carolina. “I told that to Mark. I said, I think you’re better than Martin Luther King. I think you are Martin Luther King times two,” he continued as he offered Robinson his endorsement in the Republican gubernatorial primary on Tuesday. No, really, that’s what he said. For those unfamiliar with Robinson, and the degree to which the far-right extremist has nothing in common with Martin Luther King Jr., it’s genuinely difficult to know where to start. Looking over the MaddowBlog archives, for example, we noted in 2021 that Robinson condemned the LGBTQ community as “filth.” About a year later, the North Carolinian boasted about having an AR-15, which he said he intended to use against his own country’s government if it “gets too big for its britches.” He added at the time, “‘Cause I’m gonna fill the backside of them britches with some lead.” But that’s just a small sampling. Perusing Right Wing Watch’s archive, I found this striking report about Robinson also declaring that the United States is a “Christian nation” — and he invited those who disagree to leave the country. Talking Points Memo also published a lengthy report on the North Carolinian’s rhetorical record, noting his social media content that included “extreme attacks on the LGBT community, immigrants, Jews, and Black people.” A related HuffPost report noted, “Robinson is also a regular proponent of conspiracies claiming the music industry is being run by Satan and the Illuminati. ... [He also] warned on Facebook that the reality-TV shows ‘American Idol,’ ‘Dancing With the Stars’ and ‘Chopped’ are a sign of an impending New World Order.” A Washington Post report added a couple of days ago, “There was the time [Robinson] called school shooting survivors ‘media prosti-tots’ for advocating for gun-control policies. The meme mocking a Harvey Weinstein accuser, and the other meme mocking actresses for wearing ‘whore dresses to protest sexual harassment.’ The prediction that rising acceptance of homosexuality would lead to pedophilia and ‘the END of civilization as we know it’; the talk of arresting transgender people for their bathroom choice; the use of antisemitic tropes; the Facebook posts calling Hillary Clinton a ‘heifer’ and Michelle Obama a man.” Honestly, I could keep going. This is a partial list. By any fair measure, Robinson is among the most hateful radicals to seek statewide office in the United States in recent memory. Ahead of the 2022 election cycle, North Carolina had an open U.S. Senate seat, and incumbent Democratic Gov. Roy Cooper admitted that he seriously considered launching a campaign for the seat, which he believed he would’ve won. But as regular readers may recall, Cooper ultimately rejected the idea — not because he was worried about his Republican opponent, but because he was worried about his Republican successor: If the governor was elected to the Senate, Robinson would become governor, and Cooper said he couldn’t in good conscience impose Robinson on North Carolinians. Almost exactly three years later, the radical lieutenant governor is likely to become the GOP’s gubernatorial nominee — and is being compared to MLK by Trump. This post updates our related earlier coverage.