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Video game actors are going on strike. Here’s why 2024-07-25 19:33:02+00:00 - LOS ANGELES (AP) — Hollywood’s video game performers voted to go on strike Thursday after negotiations with game industry giants that began nearly two years ago came to a halt over artificial intelligence protections. Leaders of the Screen Actors Guild-American Federation of Television and Radio Artists have billed the issues behind the labor dispute — and AI in particular — as an existential crisis for performers. Game voice actors and motion capture artists’ likenesses, they say, could be replicated by AI and used without their consent and without fair compensation. The union says the unregulated use of AI poses “an equal or even greater threat” to performers in the video game industry than it does in film and television because the capacity to cheaply and easily create convincing digital replicas of performers’ voices is widely available. “We’re not going to consent to a contract that allows companies to abuse AI to the detriment of our members. Enough is enough. When these companies get serious about offering an agreement our members can live — and work — with, we will be here, ready to negotiate,” SAG-AFTRA President Fran Drescher said in a statement Wednesday. “ Here are five things to know about the strike, which starts at 12:01 a.m. Friday: Who is covered under the contract? The agreement covers more than 2,500 “off-camera voiceover performers, on-camera (motion capture, stunt) performers, stunt coordinators, singers, dancers, puppeteers, and background performers,” according to SAG-AFTRA. Which game companies are involved? The union had been negotiating with an industry bargaining group consisting of signatory video game companies, including divisions of Activision and Electronic Arts. Those companies are Activision Productions; Blindlight; Disney Character Voices; Electronic Arts; Productions Inc.; Formosa Interactive; Insomniac Games; Take 2 Productions; VoiceWorks Productions; ad WB Games. The game companies have said that they were negotiating in good faith and had reached tentative agreements “on the vast majority of proposals.” Not the first time video game actors have gone on strike Wednesday’s labor action marks the second time SAG-AFTRA’s video game performers have gone on strike. Their first work stoppage, in October 2016, began after more than one year of negotiations failed. The union and video game companies reached a tentative deal 11 months later, in September 2017. At the time, the strike — which helped secure a bonus compensation structure for voice actors and performance capture artists — was the longest in the union’s history, following the merger of Hollywood’s two largest actors unions in 2012. What are performers asking for? SAG-AFTRA has said that some of the key issues include securing wages that keep up with inflation, protections around “exploitative uses” of artificial intelligence and safety precautions that account for the strain of physical performances as well as vocal stress. Union negotiators told The Associated Press that they had made gains in bargaining over wages and job safety, but that the game studios refused to “provide an equal level of protection from the dangers of AI for all our members.” The signatory companies refused to extend AI protections to on-camera performers, the union said. “They’re saying we’ll protect voiceover performers, but we won’t protect anybody else,” Duncan Crabtree-Ireland, SAG-AFTRA’s executive director, said in an interview last month. “The bottom line is if you have performers working for you, helping create the content that’s in your game, whether it’s voice content, whether it’s stunt work, whether it’s motion work...all of those performers deserve to have their right to have informed consent and fair compensation for the use of their image, their likeness or voice, their performance. It’s that simple.” AI is the sticking point Although the unchecked use of artificial intelligence has been a sticking point in talks, voice actors and members of the union negotiating committee have said they are not anti-AI. The performers are worried, however, that unchecked use of AI could provide game makers with a means to displace them — by training an AI to replicate an actor’s voice, or to create a digital replica of their likeness without consent. Some also argue that AI could also strip less experienced actors of the chance to land smaller background roles, such as non-player characters, where they typically cut their teeth before landing larger roles. The unchecked use of AI, performers say, could also lead to ethical issues if their voices or likenesses are used create content that they do not morally agree with. SAG-AFTRA created a separate contract in February that covered indie and lower-budget video game projects. The tiered-budget independent interactive media agreement contains some of the protections on AI that video game industry bargaining group rejected. The union also announced a side deal with AI voice company Replica Studios in January that enables major studios to work with unionized actors to create and license a digital replica of their voice. It also sets terms that allow performers to opt out of having their voices used in perpetuity.

Edwards Lifesciences Stock Tumbles, Highlights Slowdown In TAVR Business - Edwards Lifesciences (NYSE:EW) 2024-07-25 19:32:00+00:00 - Edwards Lifesciences Corp EW reported Wednesday second-quarter adjusted EPS of 70 cents, beating the consensus of 69 cents. The sales increased 7% (+8% on constant currency) to $1.632 billion, below the consensus of $1.653 billion. The company reported Transcatheter Aortic Valve Replacement (TAVR) sales of $1 billion, which grew 5%, or 6% on a constant currency basis. Edwards’ competitive position did not meaningfully change globally, although the company experienced some regional pressures, and pricing was maintained. The company also agreed to acquire JenaValve Technology, a company focused on the transcatheter treatment of aortic regurgitation (AR). Edwards anticipates FDA approval of the JenaValve Trilogy Heart Valve System in late 2025, which will represent the first approved therapy for patients suffering from AR. Building on an investment made in 2016, the company exercised its option to acquire Endotronix, a heart failure (HF) management solutions provider. Last month, Endotronix received FDA approval for Cordella, an implantable pulmonary artery pressure sensor allowing early, targeted therapeutic intervention. A CMS national coverage determination is expected in early 2025. Edwards anticipates these investments will strengthen its leadership in structural heart offerings and represent long-term growth opportunities. Edwards expects minimal revenue contribution from these acquisitions in 2025. The aggregate upfront purchase price is approximately $1.2 billion. Guidance: Edwards Lifesciences anticipates second-half TAVR sales growth similar to the first-half year-over-year growth rate, or 5%-7% full-year growth versus previous guidance of 8 to 10%. For Transcatheter Mitral and Tricuspid Therapies, the company increased 2024 sales guidance to the higher end of the previous $320 to $340 million range. The company remains confident in full-year Surgical sales growth of 6 to 8%; it expects third-quarter sales of $1.56 billion-$1.64 billion versus a consensus of $1.65 billion. The company expects EPS of $0.67-$0.71 versus a consensus of $0.69 William Blair notes that U.S. TAVR growth fell short of expectations, with mid-single-digit growth primarily due to hospital workflow pressures rather than competitive impacts. Recent approvals of mitral and tricuspid devices have constrained interventional procedure workflow in cath labs. While a headwind for TAVR, analysts believe this is “validating the procedural demand within TMTT.” William Blair maintains an Outperform rating. The analyst adds, “While we acknowledge investor focus in the near term remains on TAVR growth, we continue to see the potential for rapid sales growth in this multi-billion dollar market that is low single-digits penetrated.” Price Action: EW stock is down 28.7% at $62.11 at last check Thursday. Read Next:

Here's a sell-off strategy to take advantage of the painful market rotation out of tech stocks 2024-07-25 19:30:00+00:00 - Every weekday, the CNBC Investing Club with Jim Cramer releases the Homestretch — an actionable afternoon update, just in time for the last hour of trading on Wall Street. Market bounce: After a rough start to Thursday's session, the S & P 500 and Nasdaq climbed out of their holes and traded higher. To be sure, a lot can change in the Homestretch to the close. But if you need a sign that the rally can hold, watch the action in the two highest-quality stocks in the market: Apple and Nvidia . Those are our only "own, don't trade" stocks, and they may hold the key to the rest of tech. Shares of Apple and Nvidia were mounting modest gains Thursday after a rough stretch due to the recent rotation out of tech and into other parts of the market. Selloff strategies : During Thursday's Morning Meeting for Club members, we posed the question of what's a better buy in the semiconductor selloff: Nvidia, Broadcom , or Advanced Micro Devices ? All three are great companies and have been hit hard in this vicious market rotation. Nvidia is about 15% off the high, Broadcom 17%, and AMD is now negative year to date. However, we agreed our pecking order would be Broadcom and Nvidia first, followed by AMD. That's because the former names are the stronger AI plays. See, when all stocks in the same group are falling, it's a better strategy to buy the best of the breed. Those are the ones that tend to rebound first. Sure enough, Nvidia and Broadcom were able to shrug off their early session lows and reverse higher. We upgraded Broadcom back to our 1 rating earlier Thursday and would have been buyers if we weren't restricted. Earnings calendar: After Thursday's closing bell, we get earnings from Dexcom, Sketchers, Texas Roadhouse, Deckers, Juniper Networks, Digital Realty Trust, and Boston Beer. Friday earnings include Bristol-Myers, Charter Communications, 3M, Colgate, and Centene. Inflation data : Friday also brings the June PCE report. The consensus estimate calls for a rise of 2.4% from last year. It's the last key inflation reading before next week's Fed meeting. The probability of a July cut is less than 7%, according to CME FedWatch tool. However, an inline to soft PCE print should position the Fed to start cutting rates in September. The CME puts a 60% probability of at least three cuts by December. (See here for a full list of the stocks in Jim Cramer's Charitable Trust.) As a subscriber to the CNBC Investing Club with Jim Cramer, you will receive a trade alert before Jim makes a trade. Jim waits 45 minutes after sending a trade alert before buying or selling a stock in his charitable trust's portfolio. If Jim has talked about a stock on CNBC TV, he waits 72 hours after issuing the trade alert before executing the trade. THE ABOVE INVESTING CLUB INFORMATION IS SUBJECT TO OUR TERMS AND CONDITIONS AND PRIVACY POLICY , TOGETHER WITH OUR DISCLAIMER . NO FIDUCIARY OBLIGATION OR DUTY EXISTS, OR IS CREATED, BY VIRTUE OF YOUR RECEIPT OF ANY INFORMATION PROVIDED IN CONNECTION WITH THE INVESTING CLUB. NO SPECIFIC OUTCOME OR PROFIT IS GUARANTEED. Every weekday, the CNBC Investing Club with Jim Cramer releases the Homestretch — an actionable afternoon update, just in time for the last hour of trading on Wall Street.

Video game performers will go on strike over artificial intelligence concerns 2024-07-25 19:21:49+00:00 - LOS ANGELES (AP) — Hollywood’s video game performers voted to go on strike Thursday, throwing part of the entertainment industry into another work stoppage after talks for a new contract with major game studios broke down over artificial intelligence protections. The strike — the second for video game voice actors and motion capture performers under the Screen Actors Guild-American Federation of Television and Radio Artists — will begin at 12:01 a.m. Friday. The move comes after nearly two years of negotiations with gaming giants, including divisions of Activision, Warner Bros. and Walt Disney Co., over a new interactive media agreement. SAG-AFTRA negotiators say gains have been made over wages and job safety in the video game contract, but that the studios will not make a deal over the regulation of generative AI. Without guardrails, game companies could train AI to replicate an actor’s voice, or create a digital replica of their likeness without consent or fair compensation, the union said. Fran Drescher, the union’s president, said in a prepared statement that members would not approve a contract that would allow companies to “abuse AI.” “Enough is enough. When these companies get serious about offering an agreement our members can live — and work — with, we will be here, ready to negotiate,” Drescher said. A spokesperson for the video game producers, Audrey Cooling, said the companies and the union had reached deals on almost everything, including wages and safety provisions, She also said the studios offered AI protections that would require “consent and fair compensation to all performers.” “We are disappointed the union has chosen to walk away when we are so close to a deal, and we remain prepared to resume negotiations,” Cooling said. The global video game industry generates well over $100 billion dollars in profit annually, according to game market forecaster Newzoo. The people who design and bring those games to life are the driving force behind that success, SAG-AFTRA said. “Eighteen months of negotiations have shown us that our employers are not interested in fair, reasonable AI protections, but rather flagrant exploitation,” said Interactive Media Agreement Negotiating Committee Chair Sarah Elmaleh. Last month, union negotiators told The Associated Press that the game studios refused to “provide an equal level of protection from the dangers of AI for all our members” — specifically, movement performers. Members voted overwhelmingly last year to give leadership the authority to strike. Concerns about how movie studios will use AI helped fuel last year’s film and television strikes by the union, which lasted four months. The last interactive contract, which expired November 2022, did not provide protections around AI but secured a bonus compensation structure for voice actors and performance capture artists after an 11-month strike that began October 2016. That work stoppage marked the first major labor action from SAG-AFTRA following the merger of Hollywood’s two largest actors unions in 2012. The video game agreement covers more than 2,500 “off-camera (voiceover) performers, on-camera (motion capture, stunt) performers, stunt coordinators, singers, dancers, puppeteers, and background performers,” according to the union. Amid the tense interactive negotiations, SAG-AFTRA created a separate contract in February that covered indie and lower-budget video game projects. The tiered-budget independent interactive media agreement contains some of the protections on AI that video game industry titans have rejected.

Against election backdrop, economic growth exceeds expectations 2024-07-25 19:21:37+00:00 - During the Republican National Convention last week, each night had its own theme, starting with “Make America Wealthy Again” on the party gathering’s first day. As it turns out, however, voters won’t have to put the White House in the GOP’s hands to achieve such a goal. NBC News reported: Economic activity in the U.S. was considerably stronger than expected during the second quarter, according to an initial estimate Thursday from the Commerce Department. Real gross domestic product, a measure of all the goods and services produced during the April-through-June period, increased at a 2.8% annualized pace adjusted for seasonality and inflation. Economists surveyed by Dow Jones had been looking for growth of 2.1% following a 1.4% increase in the first quarter. The latest data is roughly in line with the kind of quarterly GDP reports we saw across much of Donald Trump’s pre-pandemic presidency — when Republicans said Americans saw the greatest economy in the history of humanity. In fact, all of this comes against a backdrop of the 2024 election cycle, as the former president and his allies try to convince the public that the economy is dreadful, all evidence to the contrary notwithstanding. Indeed, circling back to our coverage from a couple of weeks ago, there’s a lot for Americans to like about the current state of their economy. The job market remains strong, unemployment remains low and wages are up. And when it comes to inflation, the latest Consumer Price Index report showed price increases slowing sharply — including the first month-to-month decline in more than four years. What’s more, there’s an international context to consider. The World Bank last month not only noted that the Biden-era economy is the world’s strongest, it also concluded that the global economy is in better shape in large part because of the United States’ recovery. “Globally, overall things are better today than they were just four or five months ago,” said Indermit Gill, the World Bank’s chief economist. “A big part of this has to do with the resilience of the U.S. economy.” Gill’s report further credited “U.S. dynamism” with helping to stabilize economies abroad. A Washington Post report added, “The United States is the only advanced economy growing significantly faster than the bank anticipated at the start of the year.” Around the same time, The Atlantic’s Rogé Karma described the U.S. economy as “the envy of the world.” If the United States’ economy were an athlete, right now it would be peak LeBron James. If it were a pop star, it would be peak Taylor Swift. Four years ago, the pandemic temporarily brought much of the world economy to a halt. Since then, America’s economic performance has left other countries in the dust and even broken some of its own records. ... There are many ways to define a good economy. America is in tremendous shape according to just about any of them. Four years ago, Trump told supporters that Democratic policies would “unleash an economic disaster of epic proportions” and force the country “into depression.” Everything he said and predicted was wrong — and the former president hasn’t even tried to explain why his predictions were so hilariously misplaced.

Melania Trump's memoir set for Sept. 24 release, weeks before election 2024-07-25 19:17:00+00:00 - Melania Trump speaks from the podium on the first night of the Republican National Convention in Cleveland, Ohio, on July 18, 2016. Former first lady Melania Trump's upcoming memoir will hit bookstores on Sept. 24, her publisher tells CNBC, just weeks before the presidential election on Nov. 5. Her husband, former President Donald Trump, will face the de facto Democratic nominee, Vice President Kamala Harris. Titled "Melania," the book is billed in a press release Thursday as "a powerful and inspiring story of a woman who has carved her own path, overcome adversity and defined personal excellence." "The former First Lady invites readers into her world, offering an intimate portrait of a woman who has lived an extraordinary life," the release goes on to say. Born and raised in Slovenia, Melania Trump moved to the U.S. in 1996 to work as a model, and met Donald Trump in 1998. They were married in 2005 and their son, Barron Trump, was born the following year.

Massachusetts governor signs bill cracking down on hard-to-trace ‘ghost guns’ 2024-07-25 18:56:03+00:00 - BOSTON (AP) — Massachusetts Gov. Maura Healey signed a sweeping gun bill Thursday that supporters say builds on the state’s existing gun laws, including a crackdown on hard to trace “ghost guns,” while safeguarding the rights of gun owners. The law is part of an effort by the state to respond to a 2022 U.S. Supreme Court ruling that citizens have a right to carry firearms in public for self-defense. On ghost guns, the law toughens oversight for those who own privately made, unserialized firearms that are largely untraceable. In 2022, the U.S. Department of Justice reported recovering 25,785 ghost guns in domestic seizures. The law expands the state’s extreme risk protective order law — also known as the red flag law — by authorizing health care professionals and others who interact regularly with people in crisis to petition a court to suspend a person’s right to possess or carry a gun to protect themselves and others. The law also prohibits the possession of firearms by non-law-enforcement people at schools, polling locations and government buildings and imposes strict penalties for the possession of modification devices, such as Glock switches, which supporters of the law say convert an otherwise legal firearm into a fully automatic firearm. “Massachusetts is proud of our strong gun laws, but there is always more work to be done to keep our communities safe from violence. This legislation updates our firearms laws in response to the Supreme Court’s misguided Bruen decision,” said Healey, a Democrat. “It cracks down on ghost guns and 3D printed weapons, which I have long advocated for, enhances our ability to prevent guns from falling into dangerous hands, and invests in our communities to address the root causes of violence,” she said. The law also requires those applying for a license to carry firearms to demonstrate a basic understanding of safety principles through a standardized exam and live fire training, and provides local licensing authorities with relevant mental health information of pending applicants. District attorneys would be able to prosecute people who shoot at or near residential homes under the legislation, which would also ensure that dangerous people subject to harassment prevention orders no longer have access to firearms. Gun rights advocates had criticized the Massachusetts Senate, which approved their version of the bill in February, for failing to hold a separate public hearing given the differences between their bill and the House bill approved last year. The new law also expands the definition of “assault weapons” to include known assault weapons and other weapons that function like them with respect to certain features. It also prohibits possession, transfer or sale of “assault-style” firearms or large-capacity feeding devices. The law also bans the issuing of a license to carry a machine gun except for firearms instructors and bona fide collectors, and criminalizes the possession of parts that are intended to make weapons more lethal by adding them to the machine gun statute. Those parts include automatic parts, bump stocks, rapid-fire trigger activators and trigger modifiers. The Supreme Court last month struck down a Trump-era ban on bump stocks, Sixteen states and the District of Columbia have their own bans on bump stocks that aren’t expected to be affected by the ruling.

Chipotle customers were right — some restaurants were skimping, CEO says 2024-07-25 18:49:00+00:00 - It turns out that Chipotle customers were right in their complaints about skimpy portion sizes at some locations. On Wednesday, CEO Brian Niccol disclosed that a company investigation found that 1 in 10 of its restaurants were too meager with their servings. Chipotle looked into the issue after rumors of shrunken portions circulated on social media, including from influential food reviewers on TikTok who shared images of small helpings. Some customers claimed they got bigger meals when they filmed workers putting their orders together. The issue came to a head after two years of bruising inflation has made consumers increasingly cost-conscious, with many grousing about surging prices at restaurants. The smaller portions at Chipotle were especially hard to swallow after the restaurant raised prices in recent years, some customers said on social media. In its initial response to complaints, Chipotle earlier this month told CBS MoneyWatch that it hadn't changed its portion sizes, but that some meals "may have variability in their size or weight." On Wednesday, however, Niccol disclosed that skimpy portions have been a problem at about 10% of its roughly 3,500 locations. "[W]e've always felt the key equity of Chipotle is these generous portion sizes, so we wanted to make sure we're executing consistently across the system," he told analysts on an earnings call Wednesday. "And we've probably found about 10% or more of restaurants that we really view as outliers that needed to be retrained, re-coached to be executing against what we believe are the right standards." But boosting portion sizes at those Chipotle locations will make a dent in the chain's financial results, with CFO John Hartung saying that part of its higher cost of sales in the most recent quarter was due to ensuring "correct and generous portions" at those restaurants. Still, it's an investment that will continue, he added. "We decided that this brand equity called 'generous portions' is something that we don't want to take for granted," Hartung told investors. "We don't want to take something that's been a positive for all these years and then have it turn out to be a negative because of some of the social media comments." The issue even sparked a Wall Street firm to investigate. Earlier this year, analysts at Wells Fargo ordered and weighed 75 identical burrito bowls from eight Chipotle locations in New York City, with half ordered online and half in-store. Their conclusion: Chipotle's portions "varied widely," with some restaurants selling bowls with identical orders that weighed roughly 33% more than other outlets. On Wednesday, Niccol said he believes fixing the problem at the 1-in-10 locations that were skimping portions can help win back customers via positive word of mouth on social media. "But the thing I want to emphasize is for 90% of our restaurants, they're doing business as usual," Niccol said yesterday. "[B]ut we really needed to kind of train up roughly 10% of the system."

The one Democratic criticism that seems to bother Trump the most 2024-07-25 18:37:49+00:00 - In the aftermath of the assassination attempt targeting Donald Trump, many leading Republicans not only blamed Democrats, but GOP officials also pointed specifically to one Democratic talking point: Describing the former president as a threat to democracy, Republicans said, was simply beyond the pale. The GOP nominee is apparently thinking along the same lines. Politico reported: Former President Donald Trump suggested Wednesday that Democrats calling him a “threat to democracy” could have led a 20-year-old gunman to try to assassinate him, though the FBI has not unveiled a motive behind the July 13 shooting. “Such a distressed sick world but you know what could be caused when they call you a threat to democracy,” Trump told a crowd of supporters in North Carolina. It might seem like a simple, albeit cheap, line at a campaign rally, but the closer one looks at the rhetoric, the more important it becomes. Right off the bat, Trump’s interest in “unity” has obviously been thrown out the window. Earlier this week, the former president said he was shot because “the Biden/Harris Administration did not properly protect me,” and as of Wednesday night, he tried to draw a direct connect between a Democratic talking point and the attempt on his life. It’s wildly irresponsible to talk this way — investigators still say they don’t know what motivated the shooter — but Trump clearly doesn’t care. What’s more, it’s tough to take the former president’s complaints about the rhetoric seriously, given his own record. In fact, the week before the shooting in Pennsylvania, Trump described the Biden administration as a “fascist government,” as his campaign operation issued a fundraising appeal asserting as fact that President Joe Biden is “a threat to democracy.” Two weeks earlier, the former president wrote on his social media platform, “JOE BIDEN IS A THREAT TO DEMOCRACY, AND A THREAT TO THE SURVIVAL AND EXISTENCE OF OUR COUNTRY ITSELF!!!” The hysterical missive dovetailed with months of rhetoric in which Trump has told voters that the United States would likely cease to exist if he loses. If he thinks it’s dangerous for Democrats to push such criticism, perhaps Trump can explain why he has pushed the same criticism. Complicating matters, the Republican candidate might not like the Democratic line, but it’s rooted in fact. As we’ve discussed, this is a White House hopeful who has repeatedly raised the prospect of creating a temporary American “dictatorship,” and who has talked about “terminating” parts of the Constitution that stand in the way of his ambitions. He’s running on a platform of rejecting election results he doesn’t like, militarized camps, pardons for politically aligned criminals, friendships with foreign authoritarians he holds in high regard, and mass firings of federal bureaucrats who are deemed insufficiently loyal to Trump’s ideological ambitions. If Trump doesn’t want to be accused of threatening democracy, then he might want to try curtailing his threats to democracy. Finally, it’s hard not to wonder what Republicans’ internal polling has to say on this. The scope of the pushback against this specific talking point suggests it might be potent.

Pro-Palestinian protests inflame tensions in Washington over the Israel-Hamas war 2024-07-25 17:30:00+00:00 - The pro-Palestinian protests that erupted in Washington during Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's address to a joint session of Congress drew condemnation Thursday from political leaders. It was the latest inflection point as the protests have persisted around the United States since Israel responded to Hamas' terrorist attack in October. The war has engulfed the Gaza Strip, with hostages still being held there by Hamas. Protesters outside Union Station on Wednesday. Matthew Hatcher / AFP via Getty Images The protesters have called for a cease-fire and criticized America's ongoing support for Israel, mostly in the form of weapons. Opponents of the protests say they ignore the ongoing hostage situation and echo the talking points of a terrorist organization. A smaller group of protesters returned Thursday to demonstrate outside the White House, where Netanyahu was scheduled to meet with President Joe Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris. Joining several Republicans who condemned the protests on Wednesday, Harris, Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer and House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries, both New York Democrats, forcefully criticized the protesters on Thursday, with Schumer telling NBC News, “What happened at Union Station was vile, offensive, wrong.” Harris, in her statement, called out “despicable acts by unpatriotic protestors” and called their rhetoric “dangerous and hate-fueled.” Workers clean graffiti from a statue outside Union Station on Thursday, a day after hundreds of protesters marched against Israeli Prime Minister Netanyahu's address to Congress. Ginger Gibson / NBC News She also condemned “any individuals associating with the brutal terrorist organization Hamas” and “the burning of the American flag.” Jeffries told reporters at the Capitol that “it is unacceptable to deface public property, desecrate the American flag, threaten Jews with violence, or promote terrorist organizations like Hamas.” The protest on Wednesday was originally led by the ANSWER (Act Now to Stop War and End Racism) Coalition and grew to thousands ahead of Netanyahu's speech. Waving flags and chanting, the protesters clashed with Capitol Police at barricades set up near the Capitol and then grew more heated when they reached Union Station, a few blocks away. Protesters vandalized statues in front of Union Station (a major Amtrak stop), removed and burned the American flags from the flagpoles and replaced them with Palestinian flags. Several flash bangs were heard, believed to be set off by protesters in the middle of Massachusetts Avenue, one of the main streets that feeds a circle in front of the train station. In several instances, police deployed pepper spray against the protesters and several were arrested. During his speech Wednesday, Netanyahu condemned the protesters, accusing them of standing for evil and "for Hamas." Benjamin Netanyahu speaks to a joint meeting of Congress on Wednesday. Roberto Schmidt / AFP - Getty Images "From all we know, Iran is funding the anti-Israel protests that are going on right now outside this building," the prime minister said, adding: "Well, I have a message for these protesters. When the tyrants of Tehran, who hang gays from cranes and murder women for not covering their hair, are praising and promoting and funding you, you have officially become Iran’s useful idiots." The statements from Democrats come as support for Israel's war against Hamas has become a political problem for the party. Nearly half of congressional Democrats skipped Netanyahu's speech on Wednesday, including former House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, of California, and former House Majority Whip Jim Clyburn, of South Carolina. In recent weeks, more Democrats have called on Netanyahu to accept the terms of a cease-fire deal announced by President Joe Biden in May that would help bring home the remaining Israeli and American hostages held by Hamas.

W.N.B.A.’s Popularity Booms, but Money for Players Hasn’t Kept Pace 2024-07-25 16:46:01+00:00 - Allisha Gray is a 29-year-old guard for the Atlanta Dream. She is six feet tall, speaks with a central Georgia drawl and smiles as if she’s keeping the best secret. During the W.N.B.A.’s All-Star weekend, she jumped into a whole new tax bracket. Her salary this year is $185,000, but she earned an additional $115,150 on Friday by winning the league’s 3-point contest and skills competition. The W.N.B.A. awards $2,575 to each winner in its skills competition, but most of Gray’s windfall came courtesy of a deal announced the day before between the players’ union and the insurance company Aflac, which agreed to pay $55,000 per winner. Her situation illustrated a theme of the league’s All-Star festivities. There is more money than ever coming into the W.N.B.A. from sponsors, ticket sales and new media rights deals, like the ones announced on Wednesday, which are expected to be worth six times what its current deals are. The presence of the rookies Caitlin Clark and Angel Reese has exponentially increased interest in the league this season, and many fans of those two players have stayed to watch the rest of what the league has to offer.

ITV’s ad revenue jumps 17% with assistance from the Euros 2024-07-25 16:29:00+00:00 - ITV has reported a 17% surge in advertising revenue fuelled by the Euro 2024 tournament, while announcing that it has taken a majority stake in the production company behind shows including Sherlock, The Devil’s Hour and Douglas Is Cancelled. The broadcaster said on Thursday that total ad revenue – including TV and digital – was up 17% year on year for the three months to the end of June, ahead of a forecast rise of 12%. ITV channels carried live coverage of 16 Euro 2024 group stage matches in June, including England v Slovenia, and the national side’s round-of-16 victory over Slovakia. ITV1 also broadcast England’s semi-final victory over the Netherlands on 10 July and shared live coverage of the defeat to Spain in the final with the BBC four days later. Carolyn McCall, ITV’s chief executive, said: “There is no question we had a good lift from the Euros in June and in a small part of July.” Overall, ITV ad revenues increased by 10% in the first half of 2024 to £889m. Adjusted profit before tax for the period was up 51% year on year to £178m, on a 3% dip in total revenues to £1.9bn. Its production arm, ITV Studios, reported a 13% fall in revenues for the first half, affected by the writers’ and actors’ strike in the US and the timing of the deliveries of shows to broadcasters. ITV’s share price closed down nearly 4% on Thursday, at 81p, after the company forecast “broadly flat” ad revenues for the three months to the end of September. View image in fullscreen A scene from Douglas Is Cancelled, by Hartswood Films. From left, Karen Gillan as Madeline, Ben Miles as Toby, and Hugh Bonneville as Douglas. Photograph: Nick Wall/ITV ITV also announced that its production arm had taken a 51% stake in Hartswood Films, the company behind the Emmy-winning series Sherlock, for an undisclosed sum. skip past newsletter promotion Sign up to Business Today Free daily newsletter Get set for the working day – we'll point you to all the business news and analysis you need every morning Enter your email address Sign up Privacy Notice: Newsletters may contain info about charities, online ads, and content funded by outside parties. For more information see our Newsletters may contain info about charities, online ads, and content funded by outside parties. For more information see our Privacy Policy . We use Google reCaptcha to protect our website and the Google Privacy Policy and Terms of Service apply. after newsletter promotion Founded in 1979 by the late Beryl Vertue, Hartswood, which is based in London and Cardiff, is the UK’s longest-established scripted TV production company. The management team includes the chief executive, Sue Vertue, Beryl’s daughter, and the creative director, Steven Moffat, co-creator of Sherlock. Hartswood’s other credits include Men Behaving Badly, Coupling and The Time Traveler’s Wife.

China Rules Solar Energy, but Its Industry at Home Is in Trouble 2024-07-25 16:21:08.527000+00:00 - Over the past 15 years, China has come to dominate the global market for solar energy. Nearly every solar panel on the planet is made by a Chinese company. Even the equipment to manufacture solar panels is made almost entirely in China. The country’s solar panel exports, measured by how much power they can produce, jumped another 10 percent in May over last year. But China’s solar panel domestic industry is in upheaval. Wholesale prices plummeted by almost half last year and have fallen another 25 percent this year. Chinese manufacturers are competing for customers by cutting prices far below their costs, and still keep building more factories. The price slashing has taken a severe toll on China’s solar companies. Stock prices of its five biggest makers of panels and other equipment have halved in the past 12 months. Since late June, at least seven large Chinese manufacturers have warned that they will announce heavy losses for the first half of this year.

China Is Closing the A.I. Gap With the United States 2024-07-25 16:19:33+00:00 - At the World Artificial Intelligence Conference in Shanghai this month, start-up founder Qu Dongqi showed off a video he had recently posted online. It displayed an old photograph of a woman with two toddlers. Then the photo sprang to life as the woman lifted the toddlers up in her arms and they laughed with surprise. The video was created by A.I. technology from the Chinese internet company Kuaishou. The technology was reminiscent of a video generator, called Sora, that the American start-up OpenAI unveiled this year. But unlike Sora, it was available to the general public. “My American friends still can’t use Sora,” Mr. Qu said. “But we already have better solutions here.”

Are Chipotle Burritos Getting Smaller? Not on Purpose, Its C.E.O. Says 2024-07-25 16:17:57+00:00 - Chipotle Mexican Grill has built its fast-casual burrito dominance largely on consistency and size. It entertains and attracts customers with advertising phrases like “Burrito as big as your head” and “Burrito or dumbbell?” But recent controversy over its portion sizes has left even loyal diners dishing out outrage, and its chief executive responded this week with a plan to ensure consistency. Amid a storm of customer complaints on social media, accusing the chain of serving smaller portions in their burritos and burrito bowls, Chipotle’s chief executive, Brian Niccol, firmly denied that the company’s portion policies had changed. “First, there was never a directive to provide less to our customers,” he said during an earnings call Wednesday. “Generous portion is a core brand equity of Chipotle. It always has been, and it always will be.” Still, Mr. Niccol said the complaints had led him to re-examine Chipotle’s practices across its operation.

Republicans see Gov. Josh Shapiro as Harris' 'super strong' VP contender 2024-07-25 15:58:00+00:00 - PITTSBURGH — Republicans increasingly see one of the Democrats under consideration to be Vice President Kamala Harris’ running mate as the most likely to offer her a boost and make their efforts trickier: Pennsylvania Gov. Josh Shapiro. These Republicans say that Shapiro, a first-term governor of a critical swing state, is someone who could help broaden Harris’ appeal with independent voters and traditional Democrats who are drifting away from the party and help win over his home state — the most pivotal battleground on the presidential map, in their view. In Shapiro, they see a governor who not only won in a 2022 landslide over state Sen. Doug Mastriano but is well regarded as an effective campaigner and messenger who has not totally alienated Pennsylvania Republicans in the process. “I just think Shapiro is super strong,” one ally of former President Donald Trump said. “And Republicans should be concerned about it. If I were her, that would be the pick.” This person added that Shapiro has avoided blistering attacks from Republican counterparts “because he’s actually pretty moderate,” adding that the governor, an observant Jew, could speak to disaffected voters of faith who years ago voted for Democrats but now feel detached from the party — and might even be a stronger candidate than Harris. “Shapiro creates a super interesting dynamic,” this person added. A second Trump ally said that while they did not view Shapiro as a moderate, they saw his “really nonthreatening” persona as having boosted his credibility with independents and Republicans. This person added that Shapiro is “the one that does the most to help her.” “He’s the obvious one,” this person added. “So if it’s not him, there’s a reason that’s not him in my mind. Whether that is in the vetting or a personality clash. He’s the one that jumps out off the page as, ‘Why wouldn’t you pick that person?’” Pennsylvania Gov. Josh Shapiro, a Democrat, has received bipartisan praise for how he dealt with the assassination attempt on former President Donald Trump. Matt Rourke / AP Follow live updates on the 2024 election Shapiro is among the handful of people whom Harris is vetting; he’s considered one of the leading contenders, along with North Carolina Gov. Roy Cooper and Sen. Mark Kelly, of Arizona. Shapiro has left the door open to serving as her running mate, telling reporters on Monday that “she will make that decision when she is ready” when asked if he would accept the job if offered, adding that the choice is “deeply personal” and that Harris should pick whomever she is most comfortable with. But the governor’s potential selection has clearly caught the attention of the Trump campaign, which has taken to trolling the possibility. On Wednesday, Chris LaCivita, a senior adviser to the Trump campaign, tweeted: “🚨🚨🚨🚨🚨🚨 Reliable Sources confirm, Kamala ( @VP ) To Pick @GovernorShapiro from PA.” It’s a possibility the Trump campaign has been thinking about for a while. As remote the chance of a Harris-Shapiro ticket was merely weeks ago, it was enough of one to factor into Trump’s calculus when picking Sen. JD Vance, of Ohio, as his running mate, sources have told NBC News. “The possibility that Kamala could pick Josh Shapiro or another Midwest Democratic governor as vice president only reinforces the logic behind the campaign’s selection of Vance as Trump’s running mate,” a source close to the Trump campaign said. Trump underscored this idea on a conference call with reporters on Tuesday. Asked if Harris replacing President Joe Biden at the top of the ticket made him reconsider tapping Vance, Trump said: “I’d do the same pick. He’s doing really well. He’s caught on.” Meanwhile, a veteran of GOP campaigns in Pennsylvania envisioned a scenario in which the battleground state becomes ground zero for the running mates. “Gov. Shapiro would drive Democrat turnout in the collar counties of Philadelphia,” this person said, referring to the suburbs and exurbs surrounding the city. “If he’s the nominee I would expect JD Vance to live in Western PA while Shapiro lives in Bucks and Chester counties as we come down the home stretch.” Shapiro’s bipartisan brand in Pennsylvania dates back years. He ran ahead of Biden and 2016 Democratic presidential nominee Hillary Clinton when he was on the ballot with them and was elected the state's attorney general. In 2022, NBC News exit polls showed he won 16% of Republicans in the governor's race. And a Philadelphia Inquirer/New York Times/Siena College survey from May, which showed his statewide approval rating at 57%, found that 42% of Pennsylvania Republicans approved of his handling of the job. He’s broken with Democrats by backing school vouchers, speaking in support of school choice on Fox News. He has sharply condemned the rise of antisemitism, including at some pro-Palestinian protests, while also condemning Islamophobia. He won plaudits from Pennsylvania Republicans at all levels of government for his handling of the aftermath of the attempted assassination on Trump this month, which took place in his state. “He handled the Trump shooting really well. Like a statesman,” said Tricia McLaughlin, a Republican strategist who was a top adviser on Vivek Ramaswamy’s 2024 presidential campaign. “I’m not sure though that him beating Mastriano in a landslide is really the electoral coup Democrats are purporting it to be. Mastriano wasn’t a good candidate and 2022 was roundly a bad year for Rs.” Republicans have plenty of things to slam Shapiro for — and that pushback is getting louder now that he’s in the running to be Harris’ running mate. The same day Biden announced he was stepping down, the Commonwealth Foundation, a conservative think tank in Pennsylvania, ran an ad in The Washington Post criticizing Shapiro over how many bills he’s been able to get through a divided Legislature. (Last month, the think tank conducted a survey that found his approval rating in-state at 58%.) Republicans who spoke with NBC News criticized Shapiro for failing to get Democrats to go along with his school voucher plan during his first budget negotiations after cutting deals with GOP members, appealing a ruling that struck down Pennsylvania’s participation in an interstate greenhouse gas reduction program, and for his handling of sexual harassment claims against a legislative aide. “He hasn’t been tested on a national level,” Allegheny County GOP Chairman Sam DeMarco said. “And he has never been really tested here, even in Pennsylvania.” “So a lot of folks, they don’t think about these things,” he added. “But you can bet people would get to know them with a fully funded opposition research [effort] by the Trump campaign.” Former Rep. Keith Rothfus, R-Pa., slammed Shapiro for his energy policies, his efforts to legalize recreational marijuana and his position on abortion. “I know there are a lot of Republicans who will mistake Shapiro’s smile, his temperament and his nice wardrobe for him to be some kind of moderate,” he said. Some of the reasons Republicans have praised Shapiro in the past or now view him as a potentially strong vice presidential candidate — whether it be because of his appeal to moderate voters, his position on school choice, his getting the backing of police unions or his stance on the Israel-Hamas war — have led some on the Democratic Party’s left flank to come out against adding him to the ticket. Most prominently, Erin McClelland, the Democratic nominee for state treasurer in Pennsylvania, tweeted Tuesday that she wants “a VP pick that’s secure enough to be second under a woman, is content to be VP & won’t undermine the President to maneuver his own election & doesn’t sweep sexual harassment under the rug.” “I want someone that can speak to rural voters,” she said. “That is @RoyCooperNC.” Traditionally, a running mate rarely makes a difference in presidential elections, as a number of Republicans said in discussions with NBC News. They said that the election will end up being an up or down on Trump and Harris — and they relished the chance to go against the vice president, particularly in Pennsylvania. One Republican working on Senate races said Harris “is about as horrible of a replacement for ‘Scranton Joe’ as they could conceivably have.” “For a state like Pennsylvania, man, I’d rather go up against Harris 10 times out of 10 than go up against Biden,” state Rep. Josh Kail, chair of the state House Republican campaign committee, said. “Biden had roots in Pennsylvania, Biden was perceived as a blue-collar kind of guy.” One block of voters for whom Shapiro could make a difference, though, is made up of backers of former U.S. Ambassador to the U.N. Nikki Haley in her bid for the GOP nomination — voters who may have been more inclined to vote for Biden than Harris. “[W]e’re sort of in uncharted waters here,” said Brittany Martinez, a Republican strategist who backed Haley. “A more moderate VP with her would perhaps be able to sway some of those voters who are on the fence.” Martinez isn’t among them. Though she pointed to Shapiro and Kelly as the best choices, she said: “I’ll be writing in.” What’s more, some Republicans have taken to spreading the idea that Shapiro would actually decline an offer from Harris, saying that it could harm his future presidential prospects. Pennsylvania state Rep. Russ Diamond, a Republican, tweeted that Shapiro would be risking “his 20-year undefeated streak and a chance at being a relatively unscathed Dem running for prez in post-Trump 2028.” “It’s no secret that he would really love to be president someday,” Diamond said in an interview. “And joining that ticket now, there’s two paths: Either she loses and he shares the blame for that. Or she wins, and then he’s stuck for potentially eight years … so it’s kind of a dead end either way for him.” But such calls only serve to indirectly highlight the strength the governor could bring to the ticket. “If I’m a Republican, Shapiro is the one that concerns me the most,” Tres Watson, a GOP political strategist and founder of Capitol Reins PR, said. “He can be moderate, he can also be liberal, but he’s got the school choice stuff — he kind of dabbles in some things that could kill Republican votes off.”

What Rupert Murdoch Owns, and How He Built His Media Empire 2024-07-25 15:52:32.546000+00:00 - Rupert Murdoch, the 93-year-old media tycoon, spent the past 70 years building a global media empire that gave him influence in journalism, politics and pop culture. He’s now locked in a court battle with three of his children over the future of the business, which own Fox News, The Wall Street Journal, The New York Post and major newspapers and television outlets in Australia and Britain. With dozens of acquisitions, Mr. Murdoch created the media conglomerate known for the rise of the modern tabloid and conservative commentary. His tenure has not been without scandal: One of his properties in Britain folded in 2011 after a phone-hacking inquiry, and he admitted last year that Fox News had spread falsehoods about the 2020 U.S. presidential election. Here’s how Mr. Murdoch built his empire: 1950s The Australian-born mogul ventured into media in 1952 when he inherited his family’s business after the death of his father, Keith Murdoch. A 21-year-old Oxford student, he inherited The News of Adelaide, a newspaper in southern Australia with a circulation of 75,000.

3 reasons tech stocks, once hot, are suddenly not 2024-07-25 15:46:00+00:00 - A selloff in technology stocks Wednesday drove the Nasdaq and S&P 500 indices to their worst performances since 2022. The slump in high-tech follows a year-long rally by the "Magnificent Seven," a group of seven industry giants that have led markets into record terrain. The slump continued on Thursday, with the tech-heavy Nasdaq index slipping 0.5% in morning trade. Chipmaker Nvidia shed 1.4% and Google-owner Alphabet fell 1.2%, while four other members of the group — Amazon, Apple, Meta Platforms and Microsoft — also lost ground. The only member of the group to gain on Thursday morning was Tesla, which rose about 3%. The Magnificent Seven (sometimes called the "Mag Seven") fueled two-thirds of the S&P 500's growth last year, with investors betting that these companies would profit from their investments in artificial intelligence. But investors are now increasingly questioning whether the billions in capital funneled into the emerging technology will pay off anytime soon. "The Magnificent Seven stocks now look like the "Lag" Seven," noted Piper Sandler analysts in a research note. Here are three issues weighing on tech stocks. Questions about AI profitability First and foremost, investors are increasingly concerned about whether the tech giants' massive investment in artificial intelligence will boost their bottom lines. Companies, as well as utilities and governments, are expected to spend a total of more than $1 trillion in the next few years on AI, according to Wedbush analyst Dan Ives. "[P]eople are starting to ask more questions about the economics of AI (what is the ROI on all this investment?)," wrote analysts at Vital Knowledge on Thursday. These questions were weighing on investors amid earnings reports this week from Tesla and Alphabet. While their quarterly earnings weren't disasters, they raised questions among investors about which other market heavyweights' financial results could fall short of expectations, said Sam Stovall, chief investment strategist at CFRA. "How many disappointments are we likely to see? Maybe let's sell first and ask questions later," he said. Great expectations can be hard to meet Profit expectations are high for U.S. companies broadly, but particularly so for the Magnificent Seven. Alphabet, Amazon, Apple, Meta Platforms, Microsoft, Nvidia and Tesla need to keep delivering powerful growth after being responsible for most of the S&P 500's run to records this year. Tesla was one of the biggest drags on stocks Wednesday, tumbling 12.3% after reporting a 45% drop in profit for the spring, and its earnings fell short of analysts' forecasts. "[W]ith great outperformance comes great expectations, and the bar for this group was extremely high – therefore, what may look like a 'beat and raise' report on paper might actually be disappointing" for some stocks such as Alphabet, the owner of the Google search engine, Vital Knowledge said. An investor shift to smaller stocks Lastly, investors are shifting money as part of a strategy called "sector rotation," according to John Lynch, chief investment officer for Comerica Wealth Management. This strategy involves investing assets based on changes in the business cycle, with investors switching into different types of stocks based on trends like inflation and profit growth. "Equity market leadership has experienced a dramatic shift in recent weeks," Lynch wrote in a recent report, noting that small-cap stocks have enjoyed a "significant' rally this month. The most recent inflation report, which showed U.S. prices cooling faster than expected, spurred some investors to shift money into smaller stocks because of the expectation that the Federal Reserve could soon cut rates. That could provide an outsized benefit to these businesses since they are more reliant on borrowing than bigger companies, Lynch noted. —With reporting by the Associated Press.

CrowdStrike faces backlash as ‘thank you’ gift cards are blocked 2024-07-25 15:40:00+00:00 - An attempt by the cybersecurity firm CrowdStrike to thank workers who tackled the recent global IT outage with a $10 UberEats voucher hit a stumbling block after Uber flagged the gesture as potential fraud. CrowdStrike confirmed that it sent the $10 voucher to “teammates and partners” who helped customers affected by a faulty software update it issued. The failure paralysed 8.5m devices around the world and led to chaos at airports, hospital appointment cancellations and TV channel blackouts. The tech news website TechCrunch reported that some recipients encountered an error message when trying to make use of their voucher, which said they had been cancelled by the issuing party and were no longer valid. A CrowdStrike spokesperson said Uber had blocked the cards after high usage rates triggered a fraud alert. “CrowdStrike did not send gift cards to customers or clients,” said the spokesperson. “We did send these to our teammates and partners who have been helping customers through this situation. Uber flagged it as fraud because of high usage rates.” In the email in which the voucher was issued, as reported by TechCrunch, CrowdStrike said: “We recognise the additional work that the 19 July incident has caused. And for that, we send our heartfelt thanks and apologies for the inconvenience.” On Wednesday an insurer estimated that the botched update would cost US Fortune 500 companies $5.4bn, with banking, airline and healthcare companies among the worst affected. CrowdStrike added in a blog post on Wednesday that the primary cause of the failure was a bug in an update that CrowdStrike pushed to its Falcon product, which is supposed to protect businesses from cyber-attacks. CrowdStrike also outlined measures it would take to prevent a recurrence, including staggering the rollout of updates, giving customers more control over when and where they occur, and providing more details about planned updates. Air France KLM said on Thursday that it expected a hit of about €10m from the incident. The US-based Delta Air Lines appeared the most badly affected carrier, having cancelled more than 6,000 flights since Friday, prompting the US transportation department to open an investigation “to ensure the rights of Delta’s passengers are upheld”.

Top 3 Small Cap Stocks Emerging as Rotation Winners 2024-07-25 15:38:00+00:00 - Investors who remained heavily invested in the technology sector should start watching the broader market’s behavior today, as names in artificial intelligence like NVIDIA Co. NASDAQ: NVDA are potentially coming out of favor. A rotation into other areas and asset classes has started in the past couple of weeks, and riding the momentum could prove beneficial for most today. At the helm of the new market preference are stocks that historically have benefitted from a lower interest rate environment, and that has been the theme to start the summer. As the Federal Reserve promises to cut interest rates before 2024 ends, markets have been readying their capital rotation to reflect what now seems to be a priced-in reality. Get Groupon alerts: Sign Up The newly favored corners of the financial markets would include bonds, as lower interest rates would cause their prices to go up, and small-cap stocks, as smaller businesses typically rely on cheaper and flexible financing to get their growth strategies underway. Knowing this, investors should watch out for Groupon Inc. NASDAQ: GRPN, Lovesac Co. NASDAQ: LOVE, and LendingClub Co. NYSE: LC, as they each carry fundamental merit beyond today’s rotation. Consumers Hit by Inflation Find Hope in Groupon Stock Groupon Today GRPN Groupon $17.46 +0.18 (+1.04%) 52-Week Range $6.83 ▼ $19.56 Price Target $14.30 Add to Watchlist Acting as a platform that connects consumers and merchants, with a discount coupon in between, sounds like the perfect business model considering the higher levels of inflation experienced in the U.S. Economy today. Because of this fundamental fact, the stock has done well in the past few months. Now trading within 10% of its 52-week high, investors can safely assume that bullish momentum favors Groupon stock. However, the evidence doesn’t stop there. Other metrics show investors why taking a second look at this company might be worth it. Groupon MarketRank™ Stock Analysis Overall MarketRank™ 2.98 out of 5 Analyst Rating Hold Upside/Downside 18.1% Downside Short Interest Bearish Dividend Strength N/A Sustainability -2.27 News Sentiment 0.65 Insider Trading N/A Projected Earnings Growth 50.00% See Full Details For starters, Wall Street analysts forecast up to 50% earnings per share (EPS) growth in the next 12 months, which is reason enough for the stock to be trading this close to a new 52-week high. More than that, analysts at Northland Capmk initiated coverage on Groupon stock with a “Strong Buy” rating and a price target of $22 a share. Groupon stock would need to rally by 25.7% from where it trades today to prove these targets right. Staring at double-digit upside potential, Mirae Asset Global Investments increased its stake in Groupon stock by 10.4% as of June 2024, bringing its net investment up to $1.3 million. Homebuyer Demand Could Drive Up Potential for Lovesac Stock Lovesac Today LOVE Lovesac $27.57 +0.81 (+3.03%) 52-Week Range $14.18 ▼ $30.39 P/E Ratio 32.44 Price Target $34.20 Add to Watchlist Lower interest rates come with lower mortgage rates, which is good news for would-be homebuyers currently waiting on the sidelines to finally lock in a more reasonable rate on their mortgage (which is more than double the pandemic lows). Logically speaking, when a new home is bought, the next best thing to do is to furnish it, and that’s where Lovesac stock comes into play. Facing this upcoming demand in homebuyers has led Wall Street analysts to forecast up to 60.5% EPS growth this year. Lovesac MarketRank™ Stock Analysis Overall MarketRank™ 4.00 out of 5 Analyst Rating Buy Upside/Downside 24.0% Upside Short Interest Bearish Dividend Strength N/A Sustainability N/A News Sentiment 0.33 Insider Trading Selling Shares Projected Earnings Growth 60.55% See Full Details As these projections became more realistic, others on Wall Street decided to make their optimistic views public as well. Those at the Maxim Group decided to slap a $38 a share valuation on Lovesac stock, daring it to rally by 37.6% from today’s prices, enough of a potential prize to draw in buyers. Among the $52.2 million in institutional capital that made its way into Lovesac stock over the past 12 months, Granahan Investment Management (Lovesac’s largest shareholder) boosted their positions by 15% well before the rotation started, a position that translates to $39.8 million in capital. Alternative Finance Demand Boosts LendingClub Stock LendingClub Today LC LendingClub $10.80 +0.36 (+3.45%) 52-Week Range $4.73 ▼ $10.99 P/E Ratio 31.76 Price Target $11.29 Add to Watchlist When the banking stocks of the United States reported their second quarter 2024 earnings results, they all quoted higher credit card delinquency rates. Given that consumers are cash-strapped due to inflation, it shouldn’t come as a surprise to see these figures go up. LendingClub offers alternative financing solutions, such as personal loans, loans based on collateral, and even unsecured loans. Just like Groupon, this stock provides a beacon of hope for consumers looking to weather the inflation storm today. This fundamental trend was enough to justify Wall Street’s EPS growth forecasts of over 122% for the next 12 months. LendingClub MarketRank™ Stock Analysis Overall MarketRank™ 4.70 out of 5 Analyst Rating Moderate Buy Upside/Downside 4.5% Upside Short Interest Healthy Dividend Strength N/A Sustainability -0.07 News Sentiment 0.76 Insider Trading Selling Shares Projected Earnings Growth 122.22% See Full Details As bold as these predictions may be, Jefferies Financial Group thought they made sense. They recently (as of July 2024) boosted their price targets on LendingClub stock to $12 a share, roughly a 13.2% upside from today’s price. Considering the stock now trades within 10% of its 52-week high, other analysts could take advantage of the bullish momentum and rate it accordingly. Finding LendingClub’s thesis sound, the Vanguard Group decided to allocate 1.6% more to the stock, bringing their net investment up to $100.6 million today, or 10.3% ownership of the entire company. Before you consider Groupon, 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 Groupon wasn't on the list. While Groupon currently has a "Hold" rating among analysts, top-rated analysts believe these five stocks are better buys. View The Five Stocks Here