Latest News
See the latest news and get GPT analysis of articles
Analyst blasts American Airlines for troubling 'lack of vigor' and action to improve financial performance 2024-07-29 21:27:46+00:00 - By clicking “Sign Up”, you accept our Terms of Service and Privacy Policy . You can opt-out at any time by visiting our Preferences page or by clicking "unsubscribe" at the bottom of the email. Access your favorite topics in a personalized feed while you're on the go. download the app Sign up to get the inside scoop on today’s biggest stories in markets, tech, and business — delivered daily. Read preview JP Morgan analysts say American Airlines leadership isn't doing enough to shore up profits, calm anxious investors, and improve stock performance after disappointing second-quarter results. "We weren't expecting huge course corrections from American, though we thought they'd at least throw us a bone," JP Morgan airlines analyst Jamie Baker wrote in a note to clients Friday after the airline reported a 46% year-over-year decline in profits, which it blamed on an oversupply of cheap domestic tickets. This story is available exclusively to Business Insider subscribers. Become an Insider and start reading now. "Management's lack of vigor, absence of really anything that could be characterized '"new," and implied embrace of the status quo are troubling for us," Baker added. He has a bullish price target of $15 for the stock, about 43% above Monday's closing price. American Airlines executives plan to lean on additional earnings from a recently revamped ticket distribution strategy as part of a turnaround strategy. Announced in May, the plan unwinds many of the policies implemented by the airline's outgoing chief commercial officer, which gutted American's corporate sales operation and restricted how tickets are sold to customers. Advertisement The disastrous policies cost the company $750 million in lost revenue during the first half of the year, American Airlines CEO Robert Isom said during the earnings call on Thursday. JP Morgan's analysts don't believe they are alone in their assessment of America's lack of action. "Several analyst questions (during the earnings call) focused on the lack of any incremental capacity cut, revisions to the order book, or network rebalancing that one might reasonably expect in response to uninspiring returns, so we doubt our disappointment will prove unique," Baker wrote. American Airlines did not respond to a request for comment. Advertisement Many airlines are feeling the pressure right now. In recent months, airlines, especially low-cost carriers struggling to generate revenue, have flooded the market with economy-class seats, leading carriers to cut prices to fill their planes even as travel demand soars. Related stories That's resulted in cheaper flights for consumers but also in depressed earnings across the industry. Second-quarter earnings for American, Delta, and United all fell short of Wall Street expectations. United Airlines CEO Scott Kirby said during the company's Q2 earnings call last week that domestic capacity growth across the entire airline industry will decrease by 5% by the fourth quarter of 2024 as airlines work to reign in ticket prices and bolster profitability Advertisement American, too, plans to slow domestic capacity growth to 3.5% in the third quarter of this year, down from around 9% growth in the second quarter.
Short seller Andrew Left surrenders on securities fraud charges in L.A., due in court 2024-07-29 21:26:00+00:00 - The activist short seller Andrew Left surrendered in Los Angeles on Monday to face federal criminal securities fraud charges, a spokesman for the U.S. Attorney's Office there said. Left, 54, is scheduled to appear before Magistrate Judge Rozella Oliver in U.S. District Court in L.A. at 4:30 p.m. ET, where the Citron Capital hedge fund boss is expected to be released after bail conditions are set by Oliver. Left's lawyer, James Spertus, told CNBC on Monday that prosecutors had demanded Left surrender Monday, and that the U.S. Attorney's Office originally intended to request a $10 million cash deposit for his bail. "Then they wanted several million dollars," Spertus said. "It doesn't make any sense," the defense lawyer said, arguing that Left is not a flight risk, or a danger to the community and that there are no victims in the case. "This should be Mr. Left released on his own recognizance," Spertus said. "There's no reason for any bond in this case." Left, who lives in Florida, was indicted last week on 19 criminal counts by a grand jury. He is accused of using his public platform, which included social media posts on X and appearances on CNBC, to make illegal profits of at least $16 million by manipulating stock market activity and trading in a way that was contrary to the positions he publicly purported to take.
Apple says its AI models were trained on Google's custom chips 2024-07-29 21:22:00+00:00 - Apple said on Monday that the artificial intelligence models underpinning Apple Intelligence, its AI system, were pretrained on processors designed by Google, a sign that Big Tech companies are looking for alternatives to Nvidia when it comes to the training of cutting-edge AI. Apple's choice of Google's homegrown Tensor Processing Unit (TPU) for training was detailed in a technical paper just published by the company. Separately, Apple released a preview version of Apple Intelligence for some devices on Monday. Nvidia's pricey graphics processing units (GPUs) dominate the market for high-end AI training chips, and have been in such high demand over the past couple years that they've been difficult to procure in the required quantities. OpenAI, Microsoft , and Anthropic are all using Nvidia's GPUs for their models, while other tech companies, including Google, Meta , Oracle and Tesla are snapping them up to build out their AI systems and offerings. Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg and Alphabet CEO Sundar Pichai both made comments last week suggesting that their companies and others in the industry may be overinvesting in AI infrastructure, but acknowledged the business risk of doing otherwise was too high. "The downside of being behind is that you're out of position for like the most important technology for the next 10 to 15 years," Zuckerberg said on a podcast with Bloomberg's Emily Chang. Apple doesn't name Google or Nvidia in its 47-page paper, but did note its Apple Foundation Model (AFM) and AFM server are trained on "Cloud TPU clusters." That means Apple rented servers from a cloud provider to perform the calculations. "This system allows us to train the AFM models efficiently and scalably, including AFM-on-device, AFM-server, and larger models," Apple said in the paper. Representatives for Apple and Google didn't respond to requests for comment.
Why 'childless cat ladies' are JD Vance's biggest fear 2024-07-29 21:19:29+00:00 - JD Vance, the Republican nominee for vice president, recently doubled down on his 2021 comment that the country is being run “by a bunch of childless cat ladies who are miserable at their own lives and the choices that they’ve made, and so they want to make the rest of the country miserable, too.” Though she’s the stepmother of two, Vance put Vice President Kamala Harris on his childless therefore miserable tally. And in a recent interview with Megyn Kelly, he stood by what he said: that Harris is unworthy to lead the country because she never bothered contributing a person to its labor force. (Because this is, after all, the biggest betrayal women who opt out of motherhood commit against their nation.) As a woman who has chosen not to raise children, and who first expressed my disinterest in motherhood when I was 10, I’m not surprised by Vance’s remarks. As a woman who has chosen not to raise children, and who first expressed my disinterest in motherhood when I was 10, I’m not surprised by Vance’s remarks. In the four decades since I made this declaration, I’ve had countless people like Vance accuse me of everything from selfishness to brokenness to, yes, an unhappiness that cuts so deep that even I can’t see it. Vance, who has a thing about claiming that childless adults are miserable, must know that Harris and all the other “childless cat ladies” are not unhappy. To the contrary, he is likely acutely aware that for many of us, a life unburdened with caring for children has presented us with an endless variety of ways to find joy. He’s likely seen the Pew Research Center data confirming what every woman with children already knew: Mothers take on the lion’s share of the daily care of children. To suggest that women who forgo such labor are despondent about having an emotional, physical and financial surplus is laughable. I don’t know much about Vance, but I’m assuming he’s not dense. How could any sensible person look at women who have the freedom to move about the world however they please and conclude that they are sitting on their sofas crying because they can catch a flight to visit a friend without having to work around the schedules of children? What logical person sees a woman who isn’t stressed out from finding the right school for a struggling teenager or chauffeuring multiple kids to back-to-back birthday parties and thinks: Ya know, this well-rested woman really wishes she had more fatigue in her life. She doesn’t realize how much character exhaustion can build. I’ve had decades to examine what’s underneath the claim that childless cat ladies are miserable, which men like Vance use as code language. A woman who doesn’t place the care of children at the center of her life has the freedom to design that life in whichever way suits her. She can, if she wants, get a bunch of cats and take care of them however she sees fit. She can also pour into human relationships with as much time, effort and care as she deems necessary. Because she isn’t bound by the constant sacrifice that a parent-child relationship requires, a woman without children has the ultimate say in how much she will invest in her friendships, her romantic pursuits, her birth family and her professional acquaintances. We childless cat ladies enjoy privileges that have historically been afforded only to men. And this is what Vance takes issue with. It’s why his political party is trying so hard to make it impossible for women to terminate unwanted pregnancies. It’s why his 2021 remarks equating childlessness to misery were followed by his claim that childless adults believe their self worth lies in getting the best credentials and earning lots of money. Essentially, it’s the tired trope of women, particularly, choosing their careers over children. But there has been no greater gift to women than a world in which she doesn’t have to marry and have a man’s child as a means of economic and social survival. For women who find themselves in midlife without children — whether by choice or circumstance — meaningful friendships, sacred solitude and blissful autonomy remind them that the motherhood path they’d been sold as girls was never the sole route to joy. Motherhood was merely an option that some chose to take; it has never been a necessity. There has been no greater gift to women than a world in which she doesn’t have to marry and have a man’s child as a means of economic and social survival. It would be easy to lambaste Vance and make him the pariah for such regressive thinking. However, 50 years as a happily childfree-by-choice lady have shown me that Vance’s discomfort with women like me is not uncommon. Fifteen years ago, I was home for the holidays when my sister-in-law asked if one of my New Year’s resolutions was to meet a nice man so I could finally have a child. Confused, I asked with all seriousness, “Why would I be resolving for a thing I’ve been actively rejecting for 35 years?” She looked at me as if I had two heads. At least 10 full seconds of awkward silence followed before she found something else to talk about. I’m not sure if my sister-in-law is a registered Democrat, but I’m confident she won’t be voting for Vance and his running mate in November. She does have something in common with him, though. The mere thought that a woman’s happiness can be linked to her decision NOT to have children makes her uncomfortable. Vance’s projection of his discomfort onto women who’ve flouted conventional expectations isn’t far removed from the worldview of many men and women, regardless of their political leanings. Whether miserable or joyful, what childless cat ladies have in great abundance is time. And we’re looking forward to making use of it in November. Our schedules tend to be more flexible than mothers, particularly those who have chosen to procreate with macho men like Vance. We’ll be first in line at the polls, happily making good use of the time that Vance is upset we have.
How Dutch shoemakers keep an 850-year-old clog tradition alive 2024-07-29 21:17:03+00:00 - There are only 10 clog makers left in the Netherlands hand-carving wooden shoes. And there are even fewer clog painters. The craftspeople who are left are near retirement. To keep their businesses alive, they've gotten creative. At one of the oldest clog studios still standing, Martin Dijkman recreates Dutch masterpieces out of thousands of miniature clogs. This story is available exclusively to Business Insider subscribers. Become an Insider and start reading now. Have an account? Log in .
The 500-year-old Southeast Asian sweet preserving a nearly forgotten culture 2024-07-29 21:12:17+00:00 - Kim Choo Kueh Chang has been serving bite-sized treats called Nyonya kueh in Singapore since 1945. These colorful snacks are a staple for the Peranakan people — a cultural group prominent between the 15th and early 20th centuries that's working to be remembered. But as the popularity of Nyonya kueh increases, some shopkeepers fear its Peranakan roots will be forgotten. We went to Singapore to see how Peranakan culture and the art of making Nyonya kueh is still standing. This story is available exclusively to Business Insider subscribers. Become an Insider and start reading now. Have an account? Log in .
McDonald's is falling short, needs to win over low-income consumers, key exec tells operators in memo 2024-07-29 21:09:00+00:00 - After a challenging second quarter, McDonald's executives told restaurant operators and analysts they are refocusing on how to recapture consumers with deals, as they pushed for an extension of the its $5 value meal platform. In a memo to the U.S. system obtained by CNBC on Monday, U.S. President Joe Erlinger said McDonald's struggled to sell diners on affordability, adding that he expects "industry and competitive challenges" to continue throughout the year. Erlinger encouraged operators to look ahead to building momentum for next year, adding that "channeling a long-term mindset is crucial" to the company's success. "Reversing the narrative and re-establishing our position as the leader on value and affordability is possible, but it cannot be done overnight," he wrote. "It will happen through sustained and coordinated actions that show the customer we're on their side." The company reported results that missed analysts' estimates Monday on the top and bottom lines. Same-store sales declined in all segments, including its key U.S. market, where they fell 0.7%. The company had forecast the challenges last quarter, and the stock rose Monday on the results. Erlinger also acknowledged areas where the company was "falling short" in the U.S. this quarter. He noted that same-store guest counts were negative for the fourth straight quarter, and declines in the number of items per transaction hit check averages. "We continue to lose traffic share of low-income consumers," he wrote. But he added that trial rates for the value meal launch were highest among low-income consumers, and sentiment around McDonald's value has started to improve. The company will extend its $5 value meal beyond its initial four-week window in most of its U.S. markets as the fast-food giant says the offer is driving traffic back to restaurants. In a memo to the U.S. system obtained by CNBC last week, executives wrote that nearly every business unit, encompassing 93% of its restaurants, voted to extend the promotion past its original end date late this month. The memo said the majority of locations will extend through August, or plan to vote on whether to do so. Erlinger seemingly alluded to upcoming decisions around extensions and future value offerings in Monday's memo. On the call, executives said franchisees in the U.S. are in a strong financial position to invest in the value offering, and they're working with owners now to assess its overall profitability. In the memo, Erlinger wrote, "Value and affordability have been part of our DNA since we first opened our doors, but we have an affordability gap to close and we must continue to take actions that show our customers we are listening … We have a solid plan for the second half of the year, but there are several important decisions coming up that will set us up to compete and build greater momentum these final five months and into 2025." McDonald's did not immediately respond to request for comment.
Edwards Lifesciences Reliance on International Sales: What Investors Need to Know - Edwards Lifesciences (NYSE:EW) 2024-07-29 21:02:00+00:00 - Have you assessed how the international operations of Edwards Lifesciences EW performed in the quarter ended June 2024? For this medical device maker, possessing an expansive global footprint, parsing the trends of international revenues could be critical to gauge its financial resilience and growth prospects. In today's increasingly interconnected global economy, a company's ability to tap into international markets can be a pivotal factor in shaping its overall financial health and growth trajectory. For investors, understanding a company's reliance on overseas markets has become increasingly crucial, as it offers insights into the company's sustainability of earnings, ability to tap into diverse economic cycles and overall growth potential. Being present in international markets serves as a counterbalance to domestic economic challenges while offering chances to engage with more rapidly evolving economies. However, this kind of diversification introduces challenges like currency fluctuations, geopolitical uncertainties and varying market trends. While delving into EW's performance for the past quarter, we observed some fascinating trends in the revenue from its foreign segments that are commonly modeled and observed by analysts on Wall Street. The company's total revenue for the quarter amounted to $1.39 billion, showing decrease of 9.4%. We will now explore the breakdown of EW's overseas revenue to assess the impact of its international operations. Trends in EW's Revenue from International Markets Of the total revenue, $87.4 million came from Japan during the last fiscal quarter, accounting for 6.3%. This represented a surprise of -29.06% as analysts had expected the region to contribute $123.2 million to the total revenue. In comparison, the region contributed $110.8 million, or 6.9%, and $117.9 million, or 7.7%, to total revenue in the previous and year-ago quarters, respectively. Europe generated $335.6 million in revenues for the company in the last quarter, constituting 24.2% of the total. This represented a surprise of -11.43% compared to the $378.92 million projected by Wall Street analysts. Comparatively, in the previous quarter, Europe accounted for $367.8 million (23%), and in the year-ago quarter, it contributed $336.2 million (22%) to the total revenue. Rest of World accounted for 10.5% of the company's total revenue during the quarter, translating to $146.1 million. Revenues from this region represented a surprise of -22.07%, with Wall Street analysts collectively expecting $187.47 million. When compared to the preceding quarter and the same quarter in the previous year, Rest of World contributed $178.9 million (11.2%) and $180.8 million (11.8%) to the total revenue, respectively. International Market Revenue Projections Wall Street analysts expect Edwards Lifesciences to report $1.61 billion in total revenue for the current fiscal quarter, indicating an increase of 8.7% from the year-ago quarter. Japan, Europe and Rest of World are expected to contribute 7.4% ($119.83 million), 22.6% ($363.54 million) and 11% ($176.95 million) to the total revenue, respectively. For the full year, the company is projected to achieve a total revenue of $6.45 billion, which signifies a rise of 7.5% from the last year. The share of this revenue from various regions is expected to be: Japan at 7.3% ($471.35 million), Europe at 23.3% ($1.51 billion) and Rest of World at 11.2% ($719.74 million). In Conclusion Edwards Lifesciences' reliance on international markets for revenues offers both opportunities and risks. Hence, keeping an eye on its international revenue trends could significantly help forecast the company's prospects. In an era of growing international interdependencies and escalating geopolitical disputes, Wall Street analysts are vigilant in tracking these trends for businesses with a global reach, in order to refine their predictions of earnings. It should be noted, however, that a multitude of other elements, such as a company's domestic position, also play a significant role in shaping the earnings forecasts. At Zacks, a company's changing earnings outlook is given considerable attention due to its proven, strong influence on a stock's price performance in the near term. The connection here is straightforward and positive: when earnings estimates are revised upward, the stock price generally follows suit, increasing as well. With an impressive externally audited track record, our proprietary stock rating tool - the Zacks Rank - harnesses the power of earnings estimate revisions and serves as an effective indicator of a stock's near-term price performance. At the moment, Edwards Lifesciences has a Zacks Rank #4 (Sell), signifying that it may underperform the overall market trend in the upcoming period. Examining the Latest Trends in Edwards Lifesciences' Stock Value The stock has witnessed a decline of 32.5% over the past month versus the Zacks S&P 500 composite's a decrease of 0.2%. In the same interval, the Zacks Medical sector, to which Edwards Lifesciences belongs, has registered an increase of 0.5%. Over the past three months, the company's shares saw a decrease of 26.8%, while the S&P 500 increased by 7.5%. In comparison, the sector experienced an increase of 5.9% during this timeframe. To read this article on Zacks.com click here.
The first Fed interest rate cut in years is on the horizon. Here's what homeowners, buyers need to know 2024-07-29 21:01:00+00:00 - The Federal Reserve is poised to make the first interest rate cut in years this fall, which can influence mortgage rates to go down. Even small cuts in rates could make a meaningful difference in what a homebuyer will pay. To that point, people in the market to buy a home have been eagerly waiting for the central bank to cut rates. The Fed is meeting this week, but experts say it seems more likely the first rate cut will come in September. That would be the first rate cut since 2020 at the onset of the Covid-19 pandemic. While there is a less than 6% chance of a rate cut in the upcoming Federal Open Market Committee meeting, according to the CME’s FedWatch measure of futures market pricing, there is a much greater likelihood of quarter-point reductions in September, November and December. That along with further cuts in 2025 would bring the the Fed’s benchmark fed funds rate to below 4% by the end of next year, according to some experts. While mortgage rates are fixed and mostly tied to Treasury yields and the economy, they are partly influenced by the Fed’s policy. Home loan rates have already started to come down, in part induced by a Fed slowdown. Here’s what homeowners and buyers need to know. Rate cuts are already priced into the market The first rate cut is almost entirely priced into financial markets already, especially bond markets, said Chen Zhao, the economic research lead at Redfin, an online real estate brokerage firm. In other words, mortgage rates aren’t going to change much once the Fed actually begins to cut back, she said. “A lot of these rate cuts are already priced in,” she said. The 30-year fixed rate mortgage declined to 6.78% on July 25, down from 7.22% on May 2, according to Freddie Mac data via the Fed. Refinance now or later? “Refinancings are starting to tick up, it’s not a huge wave yet, but they are starting to pick up a little bit as rates start coming down,” Zhao said. Refinance activity on existing home loans was up 15% from the previous week, reaching the highest level since August 2022, according to the Mortgage Bankers Association. It was 37% higher than a year ago, MBA found. Whether homeowners should refinance depends in part on their existing rate, said Selma Hepp, chief economist at CoreLogic. “There are people that originated when mortgages peaked at 8% in the fall of last year,” Hepp said. For those buyers, “there is some opportunity there.” To be “in the money,” or when it makes sense to refinance, homeowners need to see a notable drop in mortgage rates in order to benefit, experts say. The prevailing rate should be at least 50 basis points below your current rate. A basis point is one-hundredth of a percentage point. While that can be a good strategy, it’s not a “hard and fast rule,” said Jacob Channel, senior economist at LendingTree. Timing the refinance of your home will depend on factors like your monthly mortgage payment and if you can pay closing costs, he said: “There’s a lot of variability.” (When you refinance a mortgage, you are likely to incur closing costs, as well as an appraisal and title insurance; and the total price tag will depend on your area.) “The saving has to outweigh your upfront costs,” Zhao explained. Even if your existing mortgage has a high rate, you might want to consider waiting until the central bank is further along in its cuts, with the expectation that rates are to steadily decline throughout the year and into 2025, Zhao said. If you are thinking about it, reach out to lenders and see if refinancing now or in the near future makes the most sense for you, Channel said. Buy now or later? While lower rates can come as a relief for cost-constrained homebuyers, the real effects of lower borrowing costs are still up in the air, according to Zhao. For instance: If borrowing costs for home loans come down, there’s a chance more buyers will jump in the market. And if demand outpaces supply, prices might go up even more, she said. It can “offset the relief you get from mortgage rates.” But what exactly will happen in the housing market “is up in the air” depending on how much mortgage rates decline in the latter half of the year and the level of supply, Channel said. “Timing the market is basically impossible,” Channel said. “If you’re always waiting for perfect market conditions, you’re going to be waiting forever. Buy now only if it’s a good idea for you.”
Microsoft Shuts Down Xbox 360 Marketplace: Here's What It Means To Fans - Microsoft (NASDAQ:MSFT) 2024-07-29 20:43:00+00:00 - Monday marks the end of an era for Xbox fans as the Xbox 360 Marketplace officially shuts down. Launched in November 2005 alongside the Xbox 360 console, this digital storefront became a beloved hub for gamers worldwide, offering a wide array of video games, add-ons, and other content. Microsoft Corp's MSFT decision to close the Xbox 360 Marketplace, brings a close to almost 19 years of digital commerce, IGN reported. See Also: Microsoft Responds To FTC’s Criticism About Xbox Game Pass, Asserting ‘It Is Wrong To Call This A Degraded Version’ As a result, numerous games and add-ons exclusive to the platform are now unavailable for purchase. Titles like Aegis Wing, Meteos Wars, and Crimson Alliance are among the notable losses. Nostalgic Farewell From Xbox Fans And Former Employees The shutdown has prompted a wave of nostalgia on social media, with fans and former Microsoft employees alike reminiscing about the impact of the Marketplace. Larry ‘Major Nelson’ Hryb, a former Microsoft employee who became the face of Xbox for many fans through his posts about Marketplace sales and updates, shared his sentiments on Twitter. "Almost 19 years on, all good things must come to an end," Hryb tweeted. "It was my pleasure sharing all the thousands of marketplace sales and updates I've given over the years. Thank you for having fun, playing fair, and filing feedback." Last-Minute Spree And Digital Preservation Concerns In the lead-up to the shutdown, many gamers embarked on last-minute spending sprees, purchasing games and DLCs destined to disappear from sale forever. Despite the shutdown, previously owned titles and DLCs can still be redownloaded, and backward-compatible games remain available on the Xbox One and Series storefronts. Online play on Xbox 360 also continues. However, games not available via backward compatibility on Xbox One/Series, as well as Xbox 360-era content such as avatars, icons, and themes, are now lost. The closure has reignited concerns among digital preservation advocates. Double Fine, a Microsoft-owned game developer, took to Twitter to offer free digital codes for Kinect Party, a game unsupported by subsequent Xbox hardware. They also urged Xbox 360 players to download any games before the closure. Highlighting the preservation issue, Double Fine tweeted: "Alas, digital preservation evangelists are again proven correct." Read Next: Image: vfhnb12/Shutterstock.com
Cencora to Report Q3 Earnings: Is a Beat in Store? - Axogen (NASDAQ:AXGN), Cencora (NYSE:COR) 2024-07-29 20:40:00+00:00 - Cencora COR is scheduled to release third-quarter fiscal 2024 results on Jul 31, before the opening bell. In the last reported quarter, the company delivered an earnings surprise of 4.11%. Its earnings beat estimates in each of the trailing four quarters, delivering an average surprise of 6.12%. Q3 Estimates The Zacks Consensus Estimate for revenues is pegged at $73.58 billion, indicating an improvement of 9.9% from the top line reported in the prior-year quarter. The consensus mark for earnings is pinned at $3.18 per share, implying growth of 8.9% from the year-ago quarter's recorded number. Factors to Note Sustained strong growth in specialty product sales, coupled with broad-based solid performance and utilization trends across the portfolio in the U.S. Healthcare Solutions segment, might have favored COR's fiscal third-quarter performance. High demand for the recently-approved GLP-1 drugs for diabetes and/or weight loss is likely to have boosted growth. Moreover, the new distribution center in California should have continued to support its scale of supply. The commercial COVID-19 treatments recorded lower sales in the past two quarters. This trend is likely to have continued in the soon-to-be-reported quarter. The company raised its fiscal 2024 revenue growth guidance for the U.S. Healthcare Solutions segment from 7-10% to 11-13%. This may be reflected in the fiscal third-quarter results as well. Our model expects revenues for this segment to be $66.13 billion. Operating income at the aforementioned segment is anticipated to grow 10-12% in fiscal 2024. This is likely to be reflected in the fiscal third-quarter results. Our model predicts the segment's adjusted operating income to be $665.9 million. Apart from this, the International Healthcare Solutions segment is expected to have exhibited solid performance on the back of increased sales in its European distribution and Canadian businesses. Moreover, the addition of products with the PharmaLex acquisition last year is likely to have generated additional revenues. Per fiscal 2024, revenues and operating income at the International Healthcare Solutions segment are estimated to grow 4-7% and 5-8%, respectively. This is likely to be reflected in the upcoming quarterly results. Our model expects the segment's adjusted operating income and revenues to be $189.4 million and $7.35 billion, respectively. Although revenues and operating income are likely to have been on the higher side, gross margin growth is anticipated to have been weak. This is due to higher volumes of low-margin GLP-1 products, coupled with lower volumes of high-margin government-owned COVID treatments. Cencora, Inc. Price and EPS Surprise Cencora, Inc. price-eps-surprise | Cencora, Inc. Quote Earnings Beat Likely Our proven model predicts an earnings beat for Cencora this time around. The combination of a positive Earnings ESP and a Zacks Rank #1 (Strong Buy), 2 (Buy) or 3 (Hold) increases the chances of an earnings beat. Earnings ESP: Cencora has an Earnings ESP of +1.01%. Zacks Rank: The company currently carries a Zacks Rank #3. Other Stocks Worth a Look Here are some other medical stocks worth considering as these have the right combination of elements to post an earnings beat this reporting cycle. Phibro Animal Health PAHC has an Earnings ESP of +0.99% and a Zacks Rank of 2 at present. The company's shares have surged 63% year to date. PAHC's earnings met estimates in the last reported quarter. Phibro Animal Health has a trailing four-quarter average negative earnings surprise of 2.30%. IQVIA IQV has an Earnings ESP of +0.13% and a Zacks Rank of 2 at present. Its shares have risen 3.6% year to date. IQV's earnings beat estimates in the last reported quarter. IQVIA has a trailing four-quarter average earnings surprise of 1.77%. AxoGen AXGN has an Earnings ESP of +25.00% and a Zacks Rank of 3 at present. The stock has risen 35.3% year to date. AXGN's earnings beat estimates in the last reported quarter. AxoGen has a trailing four-quarter average earnings surprise of 66.46%. To read this article on Zacks.com click here.
What Kamala Harris's top potential VP picks have said about Israel and Gaza 2024-07-29 20:27:34+00:00 - Gov. Josh Shapiro of Pennsylvania Shapiro at an event in Philadelphia last July. Gilbert Carrasquillo/GC Images The Pennsylvania governor, who is Jewish, has attracted more scrutiny on this issue than other potential running mates. That's despite Shapiro being largely in line with other Democrats when it comes to the baseline policy of US support for Israel. Like others, he affirmed his support for the Jewish state after the October 7 Hamas attacks while making clear that he supports an eventual two-state solution to the conflict. Shapiro has also called Benjamin Netanyahu a "terrible leader," telling NBC News that the Israeli Prime Minister has "driven Israel to an extreme that has been bad for Israel and bad for the stability in the Middle East." Where Shapiro has differed from other contenders is his vocal pushback against aspects of pro-Palestinian protests, including comparing some protestors to members of the white supremacist Ku Klux Klan in an April interview with CNN's Jake Tapper. At the time, pro-Palestinian protests had swept college campuses across the country, occasionally resulting in chaos and disruption. At some universities, classes were moved online due to administrators' fear for Jewish students' safety. "We have to query whether or not we would tolerate this if this were people dressed up in KKK outfits or KKK regalia, making comments about people who are African American in our communities," Shapiro said. "I think we have to be careful about setting any kind of double standard here on our campuses." Shapiro also sharply criticized Liz Magill, the former president of the University of Pennsylvania, after she gave stilted and legalistic answers to questions from House Republicans about whether calls for genocide constituted a violation of the university's code of conduct.
Biden’s bid for term limits on the Supreme Court faces some tricky obstacles 2024-07-29 20:24:33+00:00 - Among President Joe Biden’s three proposed Supreme Court reforms is term limits for justices. Biden wrote that he supports a system in which the president would appoint a justice every two years to spend 18 years in “active service” on the court. The other two measures he mentioned are a constitutional amendment removing criminal immunity for presidents and legislation for an enforceable Supreme Court ethics code. The president’s Washington Post op-ed and White House fact sheet Monday are more ambiguous about the mechanism for term limits — that is, whether they’d come by legislation or amendment. As precedent for judicial term limits, both his op-ed and fact sheet cite presidential term limits, which were achieved by constitutional amendment. The amendment vs. legislation distinction matters because any term-limit legislation that passes could be challenged on the rationale that the Constitution provides life tenure for justices. Not that such a challenge would necessarily succeed, and that’s why legislation might not kick justices off the court exactly but rather adjust their duties so that they’re still judges under the Constitution. Biden’s reference to 18 years of “active service” may be an acknowledgment of that consideration. So while any reforms are currently hypothetical with congressional Republicans opposing them, the success of term-limits legislation depends on its details (ethics code legislation would likewise face scrutiny from not only this Congress but also this Supreme Court, which jealously guards its power). Given the potential constitutional hurdles and constraints, a term-limit amendment could provide more flexibility to bring the court in line with other major constitutional democracies where justices don’t serve for life. On that note, Biden is correct to point out Monday that term limits would, among other things, “reduce the chance that any single presidency radically alters the makeup of the court for generations to come.” And like with the immunity amendment proposal, there’s value in keeping the court in the national conversation among the three branches of government. But when it comes to implementing term limits, the details and mechanism by which that reform is attempted will matter. Subscribe to the Deadline: Legal Newsletter for updates and expert analysis on the top legal stories. The newsletter will return to its regular weekly schedule when the Supreme Court’s next term kicks off in October.
McDonald's sales are slumping because people can't afford fast-food 2024-07-29 20:22:00+00:00 - McDonald's global sales slumped in the second quarter, marking the first decline for the fast-food giant since 2020 as inflation-weary consumers pull back on eating out. In the U.S., McDonald's same-store sales between April and June fell almost 1%, a dip management attributes to slowing foot traffic as low-income consumers in particular pare spending on food outside the home. Grocery store prices, while also elevated even as inflation cools, have risen slower than restaurants'. "This shortfall was driven by sluggish traffic, with consumers shifting a larger share of meal occasions toward grocery stores," Morningstar equity analyst Sean Dunlop said in a research note. McDonald's CEO Chris Kempczinski said in an investor call Monday that food, labor and paper costs, which have risen by as much as 40% in some markets over the past few years, have forced it to raise menu prices. McDonald's is also playing "defense" as it struggles to match other fast food chains' new value offerings in response to shoppers' inflation fatigue, according to one analyst. In late June, the company launched a $5 meal promotion at U.S. restaurants after Burger King and Wendy's announced similar deals aimed at budget-conscious consumers. Despite the move to cut costs, McDonald's was sluggish in rolling out the offering, and left playing catch up with other chains, according to AB Bernstein restaurant analyst Danilo Gargiulo. "McDonald's hasn't been able to communicate value as well as other restaurants, from a pure coordination standpoint with franchisees. Everyone went their own way and there was no national program, so they played defense in launching the $5 meal deal," he told CBS MoneyWatch. Kempczinski acknowledged that some consumers no longer see McDonald's as the best deal, conceding in the earnings call that "our value leadership gap has recently shrunk." Competition from grocery stores McDonald's isn't only competing with other fast-food chains, but also low-cost grocery stores, where prices are returning to normal after more than two years of painfully high inflation. "The context is since October of last year, you've had lower grocery prices than restaurant prices. And when prices are cheaper at grocery stores, low-income households go there. When McDonald's is cheaper, they go to McDonald's," Wedbush restaurants analyst Nick Setyan said. But fast-food chains could see a boost early next year, he added. "Prices at the grocery store aren't going to continue to deflate, and restaurants are going to figure out how to price their offerings the right way."
How major US stock indexes fared Monday, 7/29/2024 2024-07-29 20:18:40+00:00 - U.S. stock indexes drifted to a mixed close ahead of a week full of earnings reports from Wall Street’s most influential companies and a Federal Reserve meeting on interest rates. The S&P 500 rose 0.1% Monday, coming off its first back-to-back weekly losses since April. The Dow Jones Industrial Average slipped 0.1%, and the Nasdaq composite rose 0.1%. ON Semiconductor led the market after delivering stronger profit than analysts expected. Reports from Microsoft, Apple, Amazon and Meta Platforms will follow later this week. So will a meeting by the Federal Reserve, where officials may hint that a rate cut will arrive in September. On Monday: The S&P 500 rose 4.44 points, or 0.1%, to 5,463.54. The Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 49.41 points, or 0.1%, to 40,539.93. The Nasdaq composite rose 12.32 points, or 0.1%, to 17,370.20. The Russell 2000 index of smaller companies fell 24.74 points, or 1.1%, to 2,235.33. For the year: The S&P 500 is up 693.71 points, or 14.5%. The Dow is up 2,850.39 points, or 7.6%. The Nasdaq is up 2,358.85 points, or 15.7%. The Russell 2000 is up 208.26 points, or 10.3%.
How bombing Gaza to rubble created headaches and a tough fight for invading Israeli tanks and troops 2024-07-29 20:18:16+00:00 - By clicking “Sign Up”, you accept our Terms of Service and Privacy Policy . You can opt-out at any time by visiting our Preferences page or by clicking "unsubscribe" at the bottom of the email. Access your favorite topics in a personalized feed while you're on the go. download the app Sign up to get the inside scoop on today’s biggest stories in markets, tech, and business — delivered daily. Read preview Israel's military campaign in Gaza has turned vast swaths of the coastal enclave into ruins, making it extremely difficult for soldiers to operate in the rubble, according to a recently published report. The "rubblization" of the urban battlespace in Gaza caused headaches for armored and infantry elements of the Israel Defense Forces as they sought to maneuver and identify Hamas targets, analysts at the UK-based Royal United Services Institute think tank described in a report that was published earlier this month. This story is available exclusively to Business Insider subscribers. Become an Insider and start reading now. The IDF launched a devastating and widespread bombing campaign of Gaza immediately following Hamas' October 7 massacre in Israel, during which some 1,200 people were killed. That air campaign paved the way for ground forces to move in later to conduct clearing operations. The bombing campaign — which employed a mix of precision and unguided munitions — combined with intense artillery fire and consistent ground fighting reduced large portions of the Palestinian enclave to rubble. Advertisement More than 39,000 Palestinians have been killed in the war so far, according to figures from the local Hamas-run Gaza health ministry, which does not distinguish between civilians and combatants in its casualty reporting. Palestinians cycle past destroyed buildings leveled as a result of Israeli bombardment in northern Gaza in July 2024. Photo by OMAR AL-QATTAA/AFP via Getty Images Looking back on early operations, Jack Watling and Nick Reynolds, land warfare experts at RUSI, wrote in their review of Israeli operations in Gaza during the fall that "although the IDF made rapid progress during the early break-in, rubblization caused a range of problems." One of the issues that arose was that Israeli tank drivers had a hard time figuring out the depth of a crater left by an explosion while using night vision. Some armored vehicles then drove into holes and got stuck. To make matters worse, the IDF has suffered from tank shortages during its monthlong campaign in Gaza. The destruction in Gaza also turned the battlespace into an "irregular, congested, and complex visual environment," the RUSI conflict analysts said. This made it difficult for ground units to accurately identify and designate Hamas targets. Advertisement For instance, "forces that had been trained to talk one another onto targets using the windows and floors of a building as reference points struggled to rapidly convey where enemy were to one another in structures that no longer had uniformity," the analysts said. Israeli soldiers operate in southern Gaza in July 2024. Ohad Zwigenberg/Pool via REUTERS Former US military and intelligence officers warned during the early stages of the Israel-Hamas war that the urban fighting in Gaza would be incredibly complex for the IDF, especially the militant group's notorious tunnel network. Related stories Because the destruction within Gaza was largely the result of the Israeli bombing campaign and artillery fire, the RUSI analysts argued that the IDF should have factored these characteristics into the planning of its ground operations. "The IDF had persistent challenges with rubblization, both because it created obstructions for movement and degraded the ability to describe the terrain and thus coordinate and control fire," the conflict analysts wrote. Advertisement "The IDF has concluded that specific training is necessary for what it is terming 'devastated terrain warfare,'" they added. "Specific drills for talking soldiers onto target when looking at irregular terrain must be practiced." The recently released RUSI report only focuses on fall 2023 operations, but the Israeli military campaign has also run into issues this year as well. For example, the IDF has struggled to prevent Hamas from returning to sectors it had already cleared through hard-fought and bloody battles.
Elon Musk claims Google autocomplete is banning Trump in searches. Google says it's an anomaly. 2024-07-29 20:17:00+00:00 - Elon Musk moving SpaceX from California to Texas Elon Musk moving SpaceX from California to Texas 01:15 Billionaire Elon Musk on Sunday claimed that Google has a "search ban" on former President Donald Trump, posting to his social media service X an image of a search box with the words "President Donald" typed into it. Below the box, autocomplete suggested "Donald Duck" and "President Donald Regan" as potential search terms, but not "President Donald Trump." Google told CBS MoneyWatch the issue is due to "anomalies" that are causing autocomplete not to work as intended "for some searches about the names of several past presidents and the current vice president." For instance, typing the words "Vice President K" into Google's search box on Monday returned several results including "William R. King" (a VP in 1853) and vice president Kakegurui (an anime character) but didn't suggest "Vice President Kamala Harris." Google said it's looking into "anomalies" with some autocomplete suggestions after Tesla CEO Elon Musk questioned results for searching the term "President Donald." Aimee Picchi Google didn't specify the anomalies, but said they were technical in nature and that the company hasn't taken any manual actions to change autocomplete. Tech platforms are facing growing scrutiny about their potential to influence the 2024 presidential election, especially as deepfakes and other AI-generated content proliferate, causing the potential for misinformation to spread. Musk, who has endorsed Trump and pledged to donate to his campaign, on Friday shared a video on X that tapped an artificial intelligence voice-cloning tool to mimic the voice of Vice President Kamala Harris saying things she did not say. Musk at first didn't disclose the video was a parody, but later clarified it was intended as satire. On Sunday night, the Tesla CEO pointed to the Google autocomplete issue, writing on X, "Wow, Google has a search ban on President Donald Trump! Election interference?" Google noted that autocomplete is designed to provide a shortcut for people searching for specific terms, and that users can still complete their own search query, regardless of whether autocomplete suggests the term they were looking for. "We're looking into these anomalies and working on improvements, which we hope to roll out soon," Google said in its statement. "Our autocomplete systems are dynamic, so predictions will change based on common and trending queries." On Monday, Google's autocomplete was suggesting "Donald Trump" for searches beginning with "President Donald." — With reporting by the Associated Press.
U.S. National Debt Tops $35 Trillion for First Time 2024-07-29 20:16:42.584000+00:00 - America’s gross national debt topped $35 trillion for the first time on Monday, a reminder of the nation’s grim fiscal predicament as legislative fights over taxes and spending initiatives loom in Washington. The Treasury Department noted the milestone in its daily report detailing the nation’s balance sheet. The red ink is mounting in the United States more quickly than many economists had predicted as the costs of federal programs enacted in recent years have exceeded initial projections. The leading presidential candidates, Vice President Kamala Harris and former President Donald J. Trump, have said little about the nation’s deficits on the campaign trail, suggesting that the economic problem will only worsen in the coming years. Deep differences between Republicans and Democrats on policy priorities and resistance within both parties to enacting cuts to the biggest drivers of the national debt — Social Security and Medicare — have made it difficult to reduce America’s borrowing. The Congressional Budget Office said last month that the U.S. national debt is poised to top $56 trillion by 2034, as rising spending and interest expenses outpace tax revenue.
Bitcoin is up more than 50% this year — here are key crypto tax rules every investor should know 2024-07-29 20:12:00+00:00 - Former President and 2024 Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump gestures while giving a keynote speech on the third day of the Bitcoin 2024 conference in Nashville, Tennessee on July 27, 2024. Jon Cherry | Getty Images News | Getty Images Loading chart... How to calculate crypto taxes When you trade one coin for another or sell it at a profit, it may be subject to capital gains or regular income taxes, depending on how long you owned the asset. After holding crypto for more than one year, you'll qualify for long-term capital gains of 0%, 15% or 20%, depending on taxable income. Higher earners may also owe an extra 3.8% levy, known as net investment income tax. By comparison, short-term capital gains or regular income taxes apply to assets owned for one year or less. Your gain is the difference between your original purchase price, or "basis," and the asset's value when you sell or exchange it — and without establishing basis, the IRS assumes it's zero, according to Adam Markowitz, an enrolled agent at Luminary Tax Advisors in Windermere, Florida. With zero basis, you could wrongly report more capital gains to the Internal Revenue Service. "The burden of proof is on the taxpayer to know what they paid," which can be challenging for investors with multiple exchanges and hundreds of transactions, especially when they don't know what counts as a sale, he explained. New crypto reporting rules The U.S. Department of the Treasury and IRS in June released final guidance for digital asset brokers, which phases in mandatory yearly reporting. Required yearly reporting will phase in starting in 2026, with digital currency brokers required to cover gross proceeds from sales in 2025 via Form 1099-DA. In 2027, brokers must include cost basis for certain digital asset sales for 2026. With limited past reporting on basis, crypto investors can still establish a "reasonable allocation" before Jan. 1, 2025, according to an IRS revenue procedure released in June. "Even in the current year, in 2024, as you're selling tokens, it may make sense to speak to a tax professional about how you can specifically identify or allocate cost basis to those sales," said Andrew Gordon, tax attorney, certified public accountant and president of Gordon Law Group.
Excitement over Kamala Harris dims GOP, Donald Trump's post-convention glow 2024-07-29 19:57:48+00:00 - This is an adapted excerpt from the July 29 episode of "Morning Joe." President Joe Biden’s decision to drop out of the 2024 presidential race completely shook up what should have been the Republican Party’s post-convention glow. While Donald Trump did see a polling bump, as you would expect following a party’s convention, that wasn’t the story making headlines last week. No one was talking about what was discussed at the Republican National Convention. Instead, the national conversation quickly moved past the convention and the focus shifted to the future: Vice President Kamala Harris’ candidacy. Democrats are in and they’re activated. Last week, for the first installment of Morning Joe’s 2024 presidential election focus groups, we visited the purple state of Wisconsin, where less than 30,000 votes determined the winner of around a dozen elections since 2000. Campaigns use focus groups to test candidates, policy positions, and political messages. Focus groups are crucial because in order to win elections, you have to understand the voters. During my conversations, I noticed how different the energy was among voters last week, compared to when I was in Wisconsin just six weeks earlier. Six weeks ago, Democratic voters were depressed. Now they’re energized. They might have some qualms about Harris, and she may not have been their first choice — but she is now. Democrats are in and they’re activated. That isn’t to say Trump doesn’t also have enthusiastic supporters. We saw that fervor on full display at the RNC. But now, the test will be whether Democrats can match and sustain that enthusiasm this time around.