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Biden Administration Begins Paying Farmers Who Faced Discrimination 2024-07-31 17:12:28+00:00 - The Biden administration said on Wednesday that it had started disbursing $2 billion to thousands of farmers who have faced discrimination, after years of delays and legal battles thwarted the federal government’s efforts to compensate them. The payouts come nearly two years after the Inflation Reduction Act of 2022 created a fund to help farmers of any ethnicity who experienced discrimination from the federal government when applying for loans or trying to repay their debts. The slow rollout of the program became a political problem for President Biden this year, with Black farmers accusing him of failing to live up to his promises to help them. “For too long, many farmers and ranchers experienced discrimination in farm loan programs and have not had the same access to federal resources and support,” Mr. Biden said in a statement on Wednesday. “I promised to address this inequity when I became president. Today that promise has become a reality.” The Agriculture Department is making payments to 43,000 farmers across all 50 states, with Mississippi and Alabama having the most recipients. The average payment, which is subject to taxes, is $82,000.
Justice Alito’s extreme approach reportedly cost him court majorities 2024-07-31 16:58:02+00:00 - Ever wonder how certain Supreme Court justices wind up writing the majority opinions in cases? After oral arguments, the justices discuss them and, if the chief justice is in the majority, he can assign the opinion to another justice or write it himself — as Chief Justice John Roberts did in the Donald Trump immunity case, for example. If the chief is in the minority, then it’s up to the senior justice in the majority. Against that backdrop, consider a new report that Justice Samuel Alito was assigned two cases this past term but couldn’t keep majorities together. That’s not unprecedented but, like Roberts’ reportedly aggressive handling of the immunity appeal, it can shed light on the opaque court as we review this past term and look toward the future. That new report from CNN, which hasn’t been confirmed by NBC News or MSNBC, states that Alito was assigned to write the opinion in a big social media case over red-state laws seeking to restrict platforms’ content moderation. CNN reported that Alito (who reportedly declined the outlet’s interview requests) “went too far for two justices — Amy Coney Barrett and Ketanji Brown Jackson — who abandoned the precarious 5-4 majority and left Alito on the losing side. As a result, the final 6-3 ruling led by Justice Elena Kagan backed the First Amendment rights of social media companies.” Alito also reportedly lost the majority in a case about retaliation for criticizing government officials, which resulted in an unsigned opinion from the court. The justice’s unyielding views are well known, whether in his public statements, rulings or related refusal to recuse from cases. So it’s not difficult to believe he couldn’t keep a majority in a given case. And to be sure, while every case is important, he has led Republican-appointed majorities in big right-wing cases with wider impact, most notably his Dobbs opinion overturning Roe v. Wade in 2022. In some respects, then, the report is as illuminating when it comes to other justices like Barrett and Jackson, who have gone their own ways in various cases. Among other examples this past term, Barrett didn’t fully join Roberts’ immunity ruling in Trump v. United States, while Jackson joined his 6-3 majority opinion narrowing obstruction charges for Jan. 6 defendants and Barrett wrote the dissent in that case, Fischer v. United States, joined by Jackson’s two fellow Democratic appointees. So their votes — especially Barrett’s, holding more power in the relative middle of the court — are worth watching, even if they don’t move the needle in the biggest cases on the Republican supermajority court, which can afford a defector here and there while still achieving goals that align with the Republican Party (as in Dobbs, where Roberts didn’t agree to overturn Roe but five other GOP appointees, including Barrett, did). Turning back to Alito, the report also reveals that the aggrieved justice “has reflected in private about retirement.” Presumably, he wouldn’t do so voluntarily under a Democratic administration. The 74-year-old is the second oldest sitting justice after 76-year-old Clarence Thomas. This reinforces the reality that November’s election has potentially dramatic stakes for the court’s future. 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.
Taco Bell to roll out AI drive-thru ordering in hundreds of locations by end of year 2024-07-31 16:56:00+00:00 - Yum Brands hopes to use artificial intelligence to take down drive-thru orders at hundreds of Taco Bell restaurants by the end of this year. The restaurant company announced on Wednesday that it is expanding its rollout of the tech in the U.S. as it eyes implementing it in drive-thru lanes globally. Yum Brands joins restaurant rivals such as Wendy’s and White Castle in betting on voice AI, but its plans are the most ambitious to date. While tech companies may promise that voice AI can speed up service times, reduce labor costs and boost sales through upselling, restaurant companies have taken a more measured approach so far, testing the tech to make sure both its employees and customers enjoy the experience. In June, McDonald’s said it would end its trial of Automated Order Taker, an AI technology tested in partnership with IBM. The Chicago-based company now plans to turn to other vendors instead. Yum Brands has moved quickly on its test. In May, executives said Taco Bell would expand its pilot of voice AI from five locations to 30 restaurants in California. Currently, more than 100 Taco Bell restaurants in the U.S. use voice AI. Taco Bell had nearly 7,700 U.S. locations at the end of 2023, according to company filings. Yum Brands said the tech has improved order accuracy, reduced wait times, decreased employees’ task load and fueled profitable growth for the restaurant company and its operators. “With over two years of fine tuning and testing the drive-thru Voice AI technology, we’re confident in its effectiveness in optimizing operations and enhancing customer satisfaction,” Yum Brands Chief Innovation Officer Lawrence Kim said in a statement. Five KFC restaurants in Australia are also testing voice AI tech in drive-thrus, Yum Brands said. Yum Brands is expected to report its second-quarter earnings on Tuesday.
Why it matters that Mark Kelly is slamming Trump for killing a border deal 2024-07-31 16:41:28+00:00 - The current Congress has been dreadful for a great many reasons, but arguably the lowest of the low points was the fight over a bipartisan agreement on border policies. Months later, it’s something Democrats are eager to discuss anew. In case anyone needs a refresher, it was last fall when congressional Republicans said they were so desperate to deal with U.S./Mexico border policies that they took a radical step: GOP officials said that unless Democrats agreed to a series of conservative reforms, Republicans were prepared to cut off military aid to Ukraine and let Russia take part of Eastern Europe by force. Democrats, left with little choice, agreed to pay the GOP’s ransom and endorsed a conservative, bipartisan compromise. At that point, Republicans killed the compromise plan they’d demanded — largely because Donald Trump told them to. Making matters worse, the calculus was electoral, not substantive: The former president didn’t want Congress to hand President Joe Biden an election-year victory on one of the party’s top priorities. Republicans followed Trump’s lead and concluded that they’d rather have a campaign issue than a solution. As NBC News reported, some leading Democrats believe it’s time to refresh voters’ memories about what happened and why. Sen. Mark Kelly, D-Ariz., on Wednesday went after former President Donald Trump over his role in sinking a bipartisan Senate bill as the former president seeks to cast Vice President Kamala Harris as a “border czar” who failed to secure the border amid record increases of migrant crossings. “This was not meeting the Republicans on the 50-yard line, this was meeting them on the 10-yard line,” the Arizona Democrat said during an appearance on MSNBC. “On their side of the field, we realized, we’ve got to get operational control over the border. I realized this, Kamala Harris realizes this, and this legislation was going to do that,” he added. “And our goal here was to get this legislation passed and then start working on comprehensive immigration reform. But this was stopped dead in its tracks by Donald Trump because he wanted to have this as an election issue. Like a lot of other Republicans, they don’t actually want to solve this problem.” To be sure, it’s not a secret that Kelly is being considered for his party’s vice presidential nomination, and his comments Wednesday morning served as a timely reminder about his focus on a key issue in the national campaign. But whether Kelly makes Harris’ 2024 ticket or not, the point he emphasized this morning deserves to be at the center of the public conversation: Every time Trump and Republicans refer to conditions at the border, they should be reminded of the fact that they, at the former president’s behest, rejected a conservative border reform package — twice — that they co-authored and requested. What’s more, it’s not just Democrats who’ve accused the GOP of killing the bill at Trump’s insistence. The Harris campaign just released a new video via social media highlighting a variety of instances in which Republicans have conceded that the Democratic claim is true. The video didn’t include Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell, but the Kentucky Republican said largely the same thing in April. Kelly helped put all of this in the spotlight Wednesday morning, and no one should be surprised when other Democrats do the same thing every time Trump brings up the border between now and Election Day 2024.
Killing of Hamas chief raises fear of Iranian reprisal and jeopardizes Gaza negotiations 2024-07-31 16:30:00+00:00 - Israel warned that no Hamas leader was safe, but the assassination of the militant group's political chief, Ismail Haniyeh, in Iran’s capital has sent shockwaves across a region hardened by war and conflict. Not only did the strike — which Iran and Hamas have blamed on Israel — deepen fears of an all-out war in the Middle East, it has dimmed hopes for a cease-fire deal that could help wind down the catastrophic war in the Gaza Strip and ensure the release of hostages still being held there. Iran has vowed vengeance after Haniyeh, 62, was killed in a raid on his home in Tehran, according to Hamas. Iran supports a series of militant groups like Hamas, leading Israel to view it as an existential threat. There was no immediate comment or official confirmation from Israel, which typically remains silent on targeted assassinations. Senior government official Amihai Eliyahu welcomed the killing on Wednesday, saying it had made “the world a little better” in a post on X. Israel and its allies will likely be looking for a way to contain the impact of Haniyeh’s assassination and an attack Tuesday in Beirut to avoid a “full-fledged war” in the region, said Nimrod Goren, a senior fellow for Israeli Affairs at the Middle East Institute, based in Washington, D.C. “That will be the challenge in the coming days,” he said. A paramedic carries a wounded child into Nasser hospital in Khan Younis, on the southern Gaza Strip. Bashar Taleb / AFP via Getty Images Bilal Saab, an associate fellow of the Middle East and North Africa program at the London-based international think tank Chatham House, said a wider war wasn't a certainty. While it might appear as if "we're getting closer to a war in the region," ultimately it's unlikely that either Iran or Israel want to go to war against each other, he said. “That is the ultimate paradox,” said Saab, a former U.S. Defense Department official and head of the U.S.-Middle East practice of Trends Research and Advisory, a consulting firm based in Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates. Surging tensions Both Hamas and Iran almost immediately blamed Haniyeh's assassination on Israel, which had promised to kill Hamas leaders over the group’s Oct. 7 terror attack and had targeted his family and other senior members of the movement. Hamas and Iran promised vengeance after the assassination, which was carried out after Haniyeh had attended the inauguration ceremony for Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian. "The criminal, terrorist Zionist regime martyred our dear guest in our territory and has caused our grief, but it has also prepared the ground for a severe punishment," Iran's Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei said in a statement on X, underlining how the Islamic Republic is likely seeing the attack as a severe violation of its sovereignty. Pezeshkian, who has been described as a reformist open to improving relations with the West, also vowed to make Israel regret killing Haniyeh. Hamas said Israel had taken “the battle to new dimensions.” Hamas' Ismail Haniyeh. Arif Hudaverdi Yaman / Anadolu via Getty Images Tensions between Iran and Israel have simmered, if not boiled, for decades since the 1979 Islamic Revolution in Iran, which does not officially recognize Israel's right to exist and has been a significant supporter of the Palestinian cause. Israel has long viewed Iran as an existential threat, particularly due to its backing of militant groups in the region, known as the "Axis of Resistance," which includes Hezbollah in Lebanon and the Houthis in Yemen. On Tuesday, Israel targeted a senior commander of Hezbollah on the outskirts of the Lebanese capital, Beirut. Israel blamed Hezbollah commander Fuad Shukr for a rocket attack on Saturday that killed 12 children in the Israeli-occupied Golan Heights. Mohamed Ali al-Houthi of the Supreme Political Council in Yemen said the “unacceptable political murder” of Haniyeh would “lead to further escalation of tensions.” Yemen’s Houthi rebels have launched repeated attacks on Red Sea shipping in response to the war in Gaza and recently claimed responsibility for a drone strike in Tel Aviv that killed one person. Haniyeh's assassination comes after tensions between Israel and Iran surged this year, with Israeli forces carrying out a strike within Iran after the Islamic Republic retaliated with missiles and drones for an attack that destroyed its consulate in Syria, killing top commanders and military advisers in the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps. Israel has also been blamed for a yearslong assassination campaign against Iranian nuclear scientists. Question over negotiations Haniyeh's death could deal a serious blow to efforts to free hostages captured on Oct. 7 and earlier. “How can mediation succeed when one party assassinates the negotiator on the other side?” Qatari Prime Minister Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdulrahman Al Thani, who has been trying to broker a cease-fire agreement, asked in a post on X. While the United States, Israel's biggest arms supplier (Congress passed a military aid package including $14 billion just a few months ago), did not criticize Israel or blame it for the attack, Secretary of State Antony Blinken emphasized the importance of negotiations. "I can tell you that the imperative of getting a cease-fire, the importance that that has for everyone, remains," he told journalists in Singapore, adding that it was "vitally important to help" Palestinians in Gaza as well as to get the hostages home. Demonstrators during a protest against Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's government, calling for the release of hostages held in the Gaza, in Tel Aviv. Ohad Zwigenberg / AP Blinken, who said the U.S. wasn’t involved in or aware of the attack beforehand, added that officials had been focused on trying to make sure that the war in Gaza doesn’t "escalate." "The best way to bring the temperature down everywhere is through cease-fire in Gaza," he said. Blinken also spoke with Al Thani after the news of the attack emerged, and "emphasized the importance of continuing to work to reach a ceasefire," according to spokesperson Matthew Miller. In a statement shared with NBC News, the Hostages and Missing Families Forum, which represents families of those held by Hamas, said it was too "early to determine" what the implications of the latest development might be. It added: "We continue to urge the international community and the Israeli government to do everything in its power to secure the deal and bring back all 115 hostages.” In spite of the careful language from the family forum, there are growing fears that the Haniyeh assassination will imperil ongoing efforts to negotiate a cease-fire deal between Israel and Hamas that would bring an end to a war that has devastated Gaza, where more than 39,000 people have been killed, according to local health officials. The attack against Haniyeh "obviously will postpone if not significantly disrupt this process," Saab, of Chatham House, said. "You just don't kill top leadership of your opponent while engaging in peace negotiations with them." Already, months of negotiations have failed to produce a deal to end the war, which Israel launched after Palestinian fighters killed some 1,200 people and took around 250 hostage on Oct. 7, or offer much hope to the hundreds of thousands of internally displaced Palestinians who have endured more than nine months of war.
Taco Bell is expanding AI drive-thru to hundreds of U.S. locations 2024-07-31 15:27:00+00:00 - Taco Bell is expanding its use of voice AI technology to include hundreds of the Mexican-themed chain's drive-thru locations by the end of the year, parent company Yum Brands said on Wednesday. Already in use at roughly 100 Taco Bell eateries in 13 states, the company's rollout plans come after testing the technology for about two years. Benefits include improved order accuracy, cutting wait times and "providing a consistent, friendly experience," according to the company, which operates 7,400 stores across the U.S. "With over two years of fine-tuning and testing the drive-thru voice AI technology, we're confident in its effectiveness in optimizing operations and enhancing customer satisfaction," Lawrence Kim, Yum's chief innovation officer, stated in a news release. KFC, also owned by Yum, is trying out the technology in five locations in Australia, the statement noted. Last year, Yum's digital sales approached $30 billion, with more than 50% coming through digital channels as of the first quarter of 2024, according to the company, which added that its digital business has more than doubled since 2019. Taco Bell's move to broaden its AI footprint comes as a big-name competitor encountered difficulties deploying automated voice ordering in a pilot run in partnership with IBM. McDonald's last month said it was pulling the plug on the AI ordering technology the fast-food chain had been testing at more than 100 U.S. drive-thrus in the wake of customer complaints about orders. One of multiple viral videos showed an AI cashier mistakenly adding nine sweet teas to a TikTok user's order.
This energy stock is set for a breakout with oil on the rise again. How to play it with options 2024-07-31 15:19:00+00:00 - As oil rebounds following oversold conditions, it provides an opportunity for buyers to step in, especially with the potential for geopolitical tensions to rise. And one energy stock that looks set up to potentially break out is Phillips 66 (PSX) after largely trading in a range since February. If we examine the chart of PSX, it rallied over 60% from the Oct 2023 lows to April 2024, but recently pulled back into a range between $135 and $145 for the last couple of months. However, it is now just starting to break out from that trading range and starts to target the $170 highs as upside targets. Additionally, it has recently outperformed the S & P 500 and momentum has turned positive this week, adding to the bullish signal for a breakout. PSX trades at only 11 times forward earnings, which is discount to its peers despite expecting to grow EPS by 15% over the next couple of years. With a higher debt to equity ratio, PSX has a higher implied leverage than its peers, which provides a higher upside potential if oil prices recover from its recent pullback. The trade Options are on the expensive side so my preference is to sell contracts in this environment, especially with the CBOE Volatility Index at 17. I'm looking out Sept 6th expiration and selling the $147/140 Put Vertical at a $2.87 Credit. This entails: Sold Sept 6 $147 Puts @ $4.90 Bought Sept 6 $140 Puts @ $2.03 This strategy would risk a total of $413 per contract if PSX is below $140 at expiration, while potentially profiting $287 per contract if PSX stays its current price of $147. DISCLOSURES: (None) All opinions expressed by the CNBC Pro contributors are solely their opinions and do not reflect the opinions of CNBC, NBC UNIVERSAL, their parent company or affiliates, and may have been previously disseminated by them on television, radio, internet or another medium. THE ABOVE CONTENT IS SUBJECT TO OUR TERMS AND CONDITIONS AND PRIVACY POLICY . THIS CONTENT IS PROVIDED FOR INFORMATIONAL PURPOSES ONLY AND DOES NOT CONSITUTE FINANCIAL, INVESTMENT, TAX OR LEGAL ADVICE OR A RECOMMENDATION TO BUY ANY SECURITY OR OTHER FINANCIAL ASSET. THE CONTENT IS GENERAL IN NATURE AND DOES NOT REFLECT ANY INDIVIDUAL'S UNIQUE PERSONAL CIRCUMSTANCES. THE ABOVE CONTENT MIGHT NOT BE SUITABLE FOR YOUR PARTICULAR CIRCUMSTANCES. BEFORE MAKING ANY FINANCIAL DECISIONS, YOU SHOULD STRONGLY CONSIDER SEEKING ADVICE FROM YOUR OWN FINANCIAL OR INVESTMENT ADVISOR. Click here for the full disclaimer.
Delta faces $500m in costs from CrowdStrike global tech outage 2024-07-31 15:11:00+00:00 - Ed Bastian, CEO of Delta Air Lines, says the airline is facing $500m in costs related to a global tech outage that disrupted emergency services, communications and thousands of businesses. Speaking on CNBC, Bastian said on Wednesday that the monetary amount represents lost revenue as well as “the tens of millions of dollars per day in compensation and hotels” for the five-day period. A week ago, CrowdStrike blamed a bug in an update that allowed its cybersecurity systems to push bad data out to millions of customer computers, setting off the global tech outage that grounded flights, took TV broadcasts off air and disrupted banks, hospitals and retailers. The cybersecurity company also outlined measures it will take to prevent the problem from recurring, including staggering the rollout of updates, giving customers more control over when and where they occur and providing more details about the updates that it plans. Among airlines, Delta was by far the hardest hit by the outage, having to cancel thousands of flights, because key systems were crippled by the incident. The US Department of Transportation is investigating why Delta failed to recover as quickly as other airlines. Pete Buttigieg, the US transportation secretary, said last week that the department would also examine Delta’s customer service, including “unacceptable” lines for assistance and reports that unaccompanied minors were stranded at airports. Bastian said on CNBC that Delta would be seeking damages from the disruptions. CrowdStrike had not made any offers to help Delta financially so far, he added. It has offered free consulting advice.
The Xbox 360’s pioneering online store has gone offline – and it marks the end of a gaming era 2024-07-31 15:01:00+00:00 - The Xbox 360 digital store is the latest to go offline, following the Wii U and 3DS store shutdown in March. It shut down on Monday, taking about 220 games with it, according to analysis by Video Games Chronicle. Preservation activists at the Video Game History Foundation even made a funeral cake. Microsoft is definitely the best of the major companies when it comes to backwards compatibility and game preservation – despite those 220 lost games, a huge percentage of the Xbox 360’s back catalogue can still legally be played on later consoles. And it is remarkable that the Xbox 360 Marketplace lasted almost 20 years (the console was released in late 2005). It wasn’t the first digital store on a console, but it was the first one I ever used, and I assume the same was true for a lot of British players – the Xbox 360 was the most popular console of its generation in this country. In retrospect, the Marketplace was astonishingly ahead of its time. In the 2000s, brick and mortar video-game retail was still king, and the retailers held immense sway over the pricing and distribution of games. At the time, offering digital-only games at all risked retribution from the likes of Electronics Boutique and Game. I remember reporting on chatter at the time suggesting that some shops were threatening not to stock the Xbox 360 at all, because letting players download games digitally so undermined the retailers’ business model. (To be fair, they were right – video-game retail has been in an extended death spiral for years.) The Xbox 360 Marketplace didn’t move the needle all by itself. The transition to digital storefronts was gradual, and all the major players from Steam to Sony to Nintendo played their part over the years. “To begin with, digital was somewhat additive to retail,” says Chris Dring, head of GamesIndustry.biz. “Over 90% of console games during that time were bought in boxes on shelves at places like Game and Tesco, and it wasn’t until 2019 that the majority (51%) of AAA console games were being downloaded over being bought in a box. The Xbox Live Marketplace was primarily the place where people bought DLC or the occasional indie gem that could only be accessed via the digital store. But it fundamentally began the shift towards the digital future we now live in. Everyone now mimics what Xbox has done with Xbox Live and the Marketplace.” View image in fullscreen Shoppers looking at computer games in Electronics Boutique, on London’s Oxford Street. Photograph: Graham Turner/The Guardian But what the Xbox 360 Marketplace really changed for console players was not how we bought games, but which games we could buy. On PC it has always been possible to download and play smaller, experimental games, but before the Xbox 360 you couldn’t do the same on consoles. I think the Marketplace directly enabled the indie renaissance of 2010 onwards, by giving smaller game developers and publishers a way to sell their games to millions of console players without the expense and logistical issues of releasing a boxed copy. Xbox Live Arcade, which began on the original Xbox but hit its stride during the 360 era, was revolutionary: every week there would be a new, small, downloadable game for £10 or less, from developers big and small. I played hundreds of games this way, and they were among the first games not in a box that I owned. Among them were Limbo, and Fez, and Geometry Wars, and Super Meat Boy, and the best-ever version of Uno (don’t @ me). There’s a strong case to be made that the Xbox 360 Marketplace introduced millions of console players to indie games. There are downsides to the digital transition, as Dring points out. “In 2005, Xbox (and PlayStation and Nintendo) was a platform. Now they are the platform, the distributor and the retailer. They control the whole chain. And increasingly, through their websites, YouTube channels and announcement videos, they’re becoming their own media, too.” We’ve become so used to digitally downloading games that it’s easy to forget how novel it once was. In saying goodbye to the Xbox 360 Marketplace, we’re also saying a final goodbye to an era of gaming where even DLC felt new and exciting. I do rather miss those times. And all those extended late-night rounds of Xbox 360 Uno. What to play View image in fullscreen Short and sweet … Thank Goodness You’re Here! Photograph: Panic The extremely British slapstick comedy game Thank Goodness You’re Here! is out today, and the reviews (including our own) are glowing. It’s made by two Barnsley locals and set in the fictional northern town of Barnsworth, which has seemingly been constructed entirely around visual gags. It is short and sweet, but stuffed with excellent jokes and bizarre situational comedy that continues the tradition of Monty Python and The Mighty Boosh. Available on: Nintendo Switch, PlayStation 4/5, PC Estimated playtime: 3 hours What to read View image in fullscreen Galactic adventure … Star Wars Outlaws. Photograph: Ubisoft Guardian games correspondent Keith Stuart went to LA a few weeks ago to spend a couple of days with Star Wars Outlaws , Ubisoft’s crack at an open-world Star Wars game starring a Han Solo-esque renegade. It looks good enough to puncture the Star Wars fatigue. Speaking of games retail: UK store Game is ending its rewards scheme today, 31 July. If you’ve got any points hanging around on your account, you have to spend them by the end of the day. How cute is this custom PS5 Astro Bot controller? Unlike most ultra-niche novelty game controllers, this isn’t just a marketing exercise, you can actually buy it. Pre-orders open 9 August. Wondering why there’s no official Olympics video game tie-in, such as the long-running Mario vs Sonic at the Olympic Games series? Eurogamer reports that it’s because the Olympics decided to pursue NFTs and esports instead. Ew. skip past newsletter promotion Sign up to Pushing Buttons Free weekly newsletter Keza MacDonald's weekly look at the world of gaming 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 What to click Question Block View image in fullscreen XCOM: Enemy Unknown. Photograph: Firaxis Reader Akshay asks this week’s question: “I recently finished Yakuza 7: Like a Dragon and found myself utterly listless in the days afterwards. Playing that game for nearly 180 hours had kept me in such a good routine and it hit me hard when I had to say goodbye. What is your best way to mitigate those feelings of post-game slump?” Oh, I know this feeling! I remember blasting through XCOM (above) in one weekend, saving the world, and having no idea what to do with myself afterwards, sitting there on my couch in my pyjamas with no sense of purpose. I played The Elder Scrolls: Oblivion for so long that I remember leaving my flat after the end credits rolled and just wandering listlessly around town. I feel the same way about TV shows and books sometimes, when it’s time to say goodbye to characters and worlds I’ve lived with for a while. But we spend so much more time with games, and they’re so much more involving. Sometimes it feels like a breakup when they end. And just like after a breakup: jumping straight into a new game right away is not the way to go. It only invites negative comparison. So between big games I like to spend time on other things – being outside, picking up a novel, perhaps going for a drink with the friends I’ve temporarily been neglecting in favour of Breath of the Wild – until I really feel that I’m ready for something new. If you’ve got a question for Question Block – or anything else to say about the newsletter – email us on pushingbuttons@theguardian.com.
The City of London’s tallest skyscraper could look like a toilet seat in the sky – and that’s not even the worst thing about it 2024-07-31 15:01:00+00:00 - From some angles, it looks like a giant toilet seat in the sky. From others, it looks like a big tongue, sticking out to lick crumbs off the neighbouring Cheesegrater. Or, in the words of William Upton KC, member of the City of London Corporation’s planning committee: “It looks like one of those plastic spoons we used to get in cheap station cafes that you sort of swirl your coffee with.” Whatever allusion you prefer, this swollen white protrusion – set to hold a “podium garden” aloft, 40 metres above the street – is one of the more contentious features of the proposals for, the tallest new tower planned for the City. The designs were expected to be rubber-stamped, after being recommended for approval by planning officers. But earlier this month, after a marathon three-and-a-half hour meeting, the planning committee voted to defer its decision, requesting “minor adjustments” be made to the 310-metre tall skyscraper. Making tweaks to this behemoth is like fiddling with a toilet seat while the bathroom burns. The design doesn’t need minor adjustments, but a wholesale rethink. It is the latest, and biggest, of an ever-expanding crop of towers that are inflated to the very limits of what timid restraints the City tries to impose, together bidding to swallow up the last gulps of street space and sky remaining in the Square Mile. The project, for Singaporean developer Aroland Holdings, is the work of Eric Parry, architect of a previous scheme for the same site. That version was more sober, a slender square shaft, rising to almost the same height, its facades cross-gartered with steel braces, lending it the nickname the Trellis. The new design looks as if the building has returned after an intensive few years on a weight-gain diet. If the former iteration respected the public space of St Helen’s Square beneath it, this one has gobbled it up: its footprint would cover 29% of the square, while the lolling tongue looms over the rest. Now too fat for its stylish braces, the building’s lumpen flanks are expressed as crude stacks of office floors, punctuated by the occasional garnish of greenery. It has yet to receive a nickname, like the Gherkin, the Can of Ham and the Scalpel before it. How about the Paunch? The chair of Lloyd’s of London, based in Richard Rogers’s famous cathedral of steel pipes across the way, has said the project “would rob the City of a really important convening space”. Historic England said it would “seriously degrade” the public space around it, encroach on the two Grade-I listed churches either side, and cast the streets into near-permanent shadow. View image in fullscreen How the City skyline would look with the proposed development at 1 Undershaft. Photograph: ©DBOX/EPA At the planning meeting, Parry defended his toilet-spoon-shaped floating garden as “a perambulation” that would allow people to see the surrounding buildings “at this privileged level”. Less poetic words were said about the fact that the new design has expanded the floor area by about 30%, bloating the Paunch to its limits. It is a greedy strategy that has been deployed before. A little to the west stands the City’s biggest beast to date, the colossal tombstone of 22 Bishopsgate, designed by PLP Architecture. It contains a whopping 19 hectares (48 acres) of floor space over 62 storeys, forming an 80-metre-wide cliff face that dominates all views of the London skyline. Its design is too banal to receive a popular moniker, but one critic aptly called it the Wodge. Its history might sound familiar. The same architects (before they split off from the US giant KPF) had previously won permission for a tower known as the Pinnacle, which began construction in 2008, but it was swiftly credit-crunched, leaving a partly built concrete lift shaft on the site for years. The site was bought by Lipton Rogers in 2015 for the staggering sum of £300m, funded by a consortium led by French company Axa Real Estate. They asked the architects to remove the costly swirling forms and add 30% more floor space, expanding the building outwards until it butted up against its neighbours, and upwards until it hit the flight path of passing jets. The Wodge and the Paunch represent the ultimate, corpulent conclusion of the City’s free-for-all attitude to planning. A few precious views of St Paul’s dome must be preserved, but pretty much anything else goes – as long as there is a “public” space somewhere high up in the building, usually accessed via airport-style security. Places with a history of tall buildings, such as Manhattan, have strict regulations to ensure daylight will still reach the streets, but London has nothing of the sort. The result is a scrum of steroidal extrusions sprouting from the City’s medieval tangle of little lanes, each developer filling their plot and inflating their towers to the maximum. The one thing that tries to shape the mess is the vaguely defined notion of the “City cluster”, guided by an imaginary “jelly mould” placed over the skyline. The plan was for a series of “foothill” buildings that would gradually rise to a mountainous peak, but this picturesque notion was long ago scuppered by the arrival of the Walkie Talkie, sprouting outside the zone earmarked for tall buildings. It was justified by the chief planner at the time, Peter Rees, as “the figurehead at the prow of our ship”, with a “sky garden” where you could stand to look back at the “engine room” of the Square Mile. But it unleashed the inevitable: the area between the Walkie Talkie and the cluster is rapidly being filled in, congealing the skyline into a single solid lump. The streets of the City below now feel darker, windier and meaner, as public space, and the air and light above it, is relentlessly swallowed. Once it’s gone, it won’t come back.
Delta faces $500 million in lost revenue as result of tech outage last week, CEO says 2024-07-31 14:47:00+00:00 - Department of Transportation opens investigation into Delta Air Lines Department of Transportation opens investigation into Delta Air Lines 02:07 Delta Air Lines CEO Ed Bastian says the airline is facing $500 million in costs related to a global tech outage last week that disrupted emergency services, communications and thousands of businesses. Speaking on CNBC, Bastian said Wednesday that the monetary amount represents lost revenue as well as "the tens of millions of dollars per day in compensation and hotels" for the five-day period. A week ago, CrowdStrike blamed a bug in an update that allowed its cybersecurity systems to push bad data out to millions of customer computers, setting off the global tech outage that grounded flights, took TV broadcasts off air and disrupted banks, hospitals and retailers. Cybersecurity company CrowdStrike also outlined measures it will take to prevent the problem from recurring, including staggering the rollout of updates, giving customers more control over when and where they occur, and providing more details about the updates that it plans. Among airlines, Delta was by far the hardest hit hard by the outage, having to cancel thousands of flights, because key systems were crippled by the incident. The U.S. Department of Transportation is investigating why Delta failed to recover as quickly as other airlines. Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg said last week that the department would also examine Delta's customer service, including "unacceptable" lines for assistance and reports that unaccompanied minors were stranded at airports. Bastian said on CNBC that Delta will be seeking damages from the disruptions. CrowdStrike has not made any offers to help Delta financially so far, he added. It has offered free consulting advice.
Joby Aviation Stock: The Case for Upside Just Got Stronger 2024-07-31 14:25:00+00:00 - Joby Aviation Today JOBY Joby Aviation $5.98 -0.11 (-1.81%) 52-Week Range $4.50 ▼ $8.98 Price Target $8.00 Add to Watchlist There is a bull case for Joby Aviation NYSE: JOBY that has nothing to do with the June CPI report, but that report made it stronger. The case is stronger because the CPI was cooler than expected, affirming the outlook for interest rate cuts. The outlook for interest rate cuts means an economic pivot will begin later this year, as early as September, which means better times lie ahead. This means it is time for the market to rotate out of large-caps and mega-tech in favor of riskier assets, assets known to perform well in a falling-rate environment. That means small caps and the Russell 2000, of which Joby is a part. The takeaway is that Joby has a bull case for its stock price because of its business outlook, and now a secular tailwind begins to blow. Get Joby Aviation alerts: Sign Up Joby Aviation Leads the Charge in eVTOL Joby Aviation is an emerging technology company specializing in electric vertical take-off and landing (eVTOL) and air-taxi services. Its proven technology has undergone thousands of hours of test flights and is on track for FAA and other approvals in early 2025. Commercial operations are expected to begin soon after, including air taxi service in key U.S. cities such as New York and Los Angeles and services in Dubai and India. Joby also has contracts with the government that are expected to lead to sustained business. As it is, the government contracts provide a small revenue stream to help offset its development-related cash burn. Three news updates have recently triggered Joby’s stock price. Two involve acquiring Xwing autonomous flight software technology and an in-house software suite that enables end-to-end, easy, scalable air taxi operations. Those developments go hand-in-hand and will facilitate operations moving forward. The addition of Xwing technology is expected to aid eVTOL operations today. The third development is a successful test flight of Joby’s hydrogen fuel-cell eVTOL aircraft. The fuel-cell components were fitted to an existing JOBY airframe with minimal modifications, paving the way for expanded services to include regional operations. The fuel cell allowed Joby’s aircraft to fly 523 miles, far further than the electric model, using only 90% of the fuel capacity and leaving only water in its wake. Because the craft was built on an existing airframe, the path for regulatory approval is much easier and far less costly than developing an entirely new vehicle. Joby Aviation is Well-Funded and Has Significant Industry Support Joby Aviation MarketRank™ Stock Analysis Overall MarketRank™ 2.24 out of 5 Analyst Rating Moderate Buy Upside/Downside 32.7% Upside Short Interest Bearish Dividend Strength N/A Sustainability N/A News Sentiment 0.37 Insider Trading Selling Shares Projected Earnings Growth Growing See Full Details Joby Aviation is not advancing its technology alone. It has significant funding from partners, including Toyota Motors NYSE: TM, Delta Airlines NYSE: DAL, and Uber NYSE: UBER, not including contracts with USAF and NASA or deals with foreign governments to introduce their services abroad. Unless there is some unknown development, it is unlikely that JOBY will fail. The takeaway from the Q1 report is that cash burn declined, came in below $95 million, and there is still more than $900 million on the books. That is sufficient to sustain operations at the current rate of cash low for more than two years, long enough to see the company commence its commercial operations. Even so, there is some risk of dilution. JOBY Stock Price Can Fly Much Higher Only two analysts have issued ratings this year, but the news favors investors. The two are from JPMorgan Chase & Company NYSE: JPM and Cantor Fitzgerald, with a consensus of Moderate Buy and a price target of $8. The range of targets is $6 to $10, which implies the stock is fairly valued at current levels with a chance of 30% upside at consensus and 60% at the range’s high end. The Q2 results due in early August are the next catalyst for price movement. Analysts expect revenue of $500,000 related to the government contracts and for the losses to narrow. While results are important, the market moving details will center around the certification process, production schedules, and the timing of commercial operations. Before you consider Joby Aviation, 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 Joby Aviation wasn't on the list. While Joby Aviation currently has a "Moderate Buy" rating among analysts, top-rated analysts believe these five stocks are better buys. View The Five Stocks Here
Markets On Edge Ahead Of Fed Announcement: Oil Spikes After Hamas Leader's Death, BoJ Hikes Rates, Eurozone Inflation Rises, US Jobs Disappoint - Advanced Micro Devices (NASDAQ:AMD), ASML Holding (NAS 2024-07-31 14:17:00+00:00 - Markets are on edge as investors digest a slew of geopolitical events, corporate earnings, and economic data in this final session of July, which promises to be highly volatile ahead of the Federal Open Market Committee (FOMC) meeting. Geopolitical Tensions Flare Up In Middle East, BoJ Moves, US Data Disappoint The situation in the Middle East reached a critical turning point after the political leader of Hamas, Ismail Haniyeh, was killed by Israeli forces in Tehran, Iran, on Wednesday morning. Reuters reported that Hamas’ armed wing stated Haniyeh’s killing would “take the battle to new dimensions and have major repercussions,” while Iran declared three days of national mourning and vowed to retaliate, potentially leading to a dangerous escalation in the region. This incident followed another assassination on Tuesday in Beirut, where Israeli forces killed Fuad Shukr, Hezbollah's most senior military commander and Hassan Nasrallah's right-hand man. According to the Israeli Defense Forces, Shukr was responsible for the death of 12 children in a soccer field on Saturday and had orchestrated 30 years of Hezbollah terrorist attacks. On the macroeconomic front, the Bank of Japan (BoJ) increased interest rates by 0.15 percentage points to 0.25%, marking the second such move since March. Japan's monetary authorities also announced the reduction in their bond-buying program from JPY 6 trillion to JPY 3 trillion for January-March 2026. Inflation in the Eurozone unexpectedly rose to 2.6% from 2.5%, contrary to forecasts of a slowdown to 2.4%, raising some questions on the imminent need of further European Central Bank’s rate cuts. Core inflation, excluding energy and food, remained at 2.9%, missing the expected drop to 2.8%. However, services inflation eased for the first time in three months. In the U.S., private employers added 122,000 jobs in the past month, the lowest since January 2024 and down from the revised 155,000 jobs in June, according to the ADP National Employment Report. This figure missed the projected 150,000 job additions. Mortgage applications fell by 3.9% in the fourth week of July, following a 2.2% drop the previous week, marking the sharpest weekly decline in mortgage demand in nearly two months. This occurred despite 30-year mortgage rates holding at February lows of 6.82%. Applications for new home purchases fell by 1.5%, the third consecutive decline. Market Reactions: Oil Spikes, Dollar Falls The most immediate market reaction to the tense situation in the Middle East was a spike in oil prices. West Texas Intermediate (WTI) prompt futures, tracked by the United States Oil Fund USO, rallied over 3.5% on Wednesday morning amid fears of supply disruptions due to Iran's involvement. Oil is on track for its strongest session since mid-November 2023. The U.S. dollar weakened against major currencies, affected by disappointing U.S. labor market data and higher-than-expected Eurozone inflation. The U.S. dollar index, as tracked by the Invesco DB USD Index Bullish Fund ETF UUP, fell over 0.4% at 08:40 a.m. in New York. The Japanese yen, monitored through the Invesco CurrencyShares Japanese Yen Trust FXY, rallied 1.6% following the BoJ’s rate hike. U.S. equity futures surged in premarket trading, with contracts on the tech-heavy Nasdaq 100 up over 2%, poised to recover losses from the previous day. Semiconductor gains drove overall U.S. major indices higher on Wednesday, following positive results from Advanced Micro Devices Inc. AMD. Notably, ASML Holding NV ASML rose over 5.7% in European markets, as Reuters reported the company would not be affected by U.S. export restrictions on chipmaking to China. Shares of NVIDIA Corp. NVDA were nearly 7% higher in premarket trading. The VanEck Semiconductor ETF SMH soared over 5%. Read now: Image created using artificial intelligence via Midjourney.
Conviction Firms for Microsoft's Double-Digit Stock Upside 2024-07-31 14:02:00+00:00 - Microsoft NASDAQ: MSFT shares are falling, and this is a buy-the-dip opportunity. The Q4 results failed to spark a rebound in share prices but give no reason to shed a position and every reason to believe a double-digit upside will come soon. The biggest concern from the report is that growth just isn’t as hot as it could be. It’s hot, supported by all segments and AI, guidance is decent, and we’re still in the early stages of a secular tech upcycle, so the long-term rally in share prices will likely continue. Microsoft Today MSFT Microsoft $418.35 -4.57 (-1.08%) 52-Week Range $309.45 ▼ $468.35 Dividend Yield 0.72% P/E Ratio 36.22 Price Target $485.53 Add to Watchlist The analysts' activity following the release is mixed, and most revisions are reduced price targets but don’t read too much into that. Price targets are coming down but narrowing into a range above the current consensus estimate. The range of new targets runs from $475 to $550, with the $550 target a re-affirmed target from Wedbush. The average and median of these new targets are near $500, which are significant targets for technicians. Get Microsoft alerts: Sign Up A move to the $500 level would set a new all-time high, confirming a major uptrend in the stock price. However, this is a low estimate compared to the longer-term target. The stock price broke out of a multi-year consolidation late in 2023, and a move to new highs would bring the bull-case scenario of MSFT near $600 closer to reality. Microsoft Outperforms, Guidance is Good; Buy the Dip Microsoft MarketRank™ Stock Analysis Overall MarketRank™ 4.95 out of 5 Analyst Rating Moderate Buy Upside/Downside 16.4% Upside Short Interest Healthy Dividend Strength Strong Sustainability -0.75 News Sentiment 0.46 Insider Trading Selling Shares Projected Earnings Growth 11.89% See Full Details Microsoft’s shares fell following the Q4 release and guidance because analysts got what they wanted and nothing more. The takeaway is that Q4 revenue grew by 15.1% YoY and outperformed the consensus target reported by MarketBeat by 40 basis points. Growth was seen in all segments, with Intelligent Cloud up 19%, followed by a 14% gain in More Personal Computing and an 11% increase in Productivity and Business Processes. Digging deeper, all subsegments but one produced growth; the single outlier is devices, which should see a rebound soon. The sub-segment that disappointed the market is Microsoft Cloud, specifically Azure, which grew by only 29%, slightly below company forecasts but strong nonetheless. Margin is another area of strength. The company maintained its system-wide gross and operating margin to deliver a 15% operating income gain. That was cut to 10% after spending, which was still better than expected, leaving GAAP EPS at $2.95, up 10% and 68 basis points above consensus. Similarly, guidance is strong but provides no catalyst to rally. Expecting double-digit top and bottom growth in fiscal 2025, it is a hair shy of consensus. Microsoft is Building Value for Investors Microsoft had a negative cash flow quarter, which is the worst that can be said. The offsetting details are that cash burn was minimal, and the balance sheet was greatly improved. Highlights include reduced cash offset by increased receivables, investments, goodwill, and intangibles. Current and total liabilities are up but less than the increase in assets, leaving equity up by 30% compared to last year. Because leverage remains low at .16x equity, .08 assets, and roughly 3x cash plus receivables, it is in a strong financial position to continue capital returns and business investments. The price action in MSFT stock is down in early trading, near the recent lows, but has not broken the trend. There is a risk that the market could fall below the $415 level and continue lower, but that is not expected. The likely scenario is that investors will buy the dip in this stock and create a trend-following signal. In that scenario, MSFT will likely retest the all-time highs later this year and may set a new high by the year’s end. Before you consider Microsoft, 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 Microsoft wasn't on the list. While Microsoft currently has a "Moderate Buy" rating among analysts, top-rated analysts believe these five stocks are better buys. View The Five Stocks Here
5 Aggressive Growth Stocks for Long-Term Investors 2024-07-31 13:00:00+00:00 - Long-term investors seeking substantial returns often turn to aggressive growth stocks. These stocks, typically from rapidly expanding industries or innovative companies, have the potential to outperform the broader market but come with a higher level of volatility and risk. For investors willing to navigate these fluctuations, the rewards can be impressive. Keep reading to learn more about what an aggressive growth stock is and our top five picks for aggressive growth stocks set to deliver strong gains in 2024 and beyond. What Are Aggressive Growth Stocks? Aggressive growth stocks are shares of companies that are expected to grow at an above-average rate compared to other companies. They tend to be concentrated in the tech, biotechnology and consumer discretionary industries, which leave more room for growth and opportunities on average. Growth stocks are typically characterized by: Get NVIDIA alerts: Sign Up Greater Volatility: Due to their high growth potential, these companies may have less stable earnings and higher price fluctuations. Reinvestment of Earnings: Instead of paying dividends, aggressive growth companies usually put that money into research and development, marketing, and expansion efforts to fuel further growth. As a result, the most aggressive growth stocks may have a very small dividend yield percentage or no dividend payment at all. Higher Price-to-Earnings (P/E) Ratios: Aggressive growth stocks often trade at higher P/E ratios than more mature companies because investors are willing to pay a premium for the expected future growth. Innovative and Disruptive Business Models: Aggressive growth companies often focus on innovative products, services, or technologies that can disrupt existing markets and create new opportunities. What Are the Top 5 Aggressive Growth Stocks? Let's take a look five aggressive growth stocks that stand out in the current market due to their impressive growth potential and strategic initiatives. Ad Crypto Swap Profits 625,000% Gain Imagine swapping your daily coffee expense for a future free of financial worries. It might seem far-fetched, but results like this are within reach with the right knowledge and timing in the altcoin market. Plus, you’ll get $10 in real Bitcoin when you stay to the end of the call and take a short quiz. >> Dive into the Workshop Here 1. NVIDIA Seeing huge increases in demand due to its dominance in the computer processing sphere, NVIDIA NASDAQ: NVDA is renowned for its pioneering work in graphics processing units. Since last year, the company has seen a 179% increase in its share price, with its total market capitalization reaching $2.88 trillion in June of 2024. This dominance has solidified its space within the tech sphere while also leaving opportunities for new developments. NVIDIA Today NVDA NVIDIA $117.02 +13.29 (+12.81%) 52-Week Range $39.23 ▼ $140.76 Dividend Yield 0.03% P/E Ratio 68.43 Price Target $131.59 Add to Watchlist NVIDIA has seamlessly expanded its influence into burgeoning fields like artificial intelligence and automated vehicles, which has led to revenues that compound alongside investor interest. Despite its high valuation, the market remains optimistic about NVIDIA's ability to sustain its growth, which is driven by continuous innovation and strategic acquisitions of companies like data center giant Mellanox. The ongoing demand for AI combined with worldwide data storage needs is likely to position NVIDIA as an option for continued growth. 2. Shopify Shopify Today SHOP Shopify $61.20 +2.00 (+3.38%) 52-Week Range $45.50 ▼ $91.57 Price Target $77.62 Add to Watchlist Shopify NYSE: SHOP stands out as a quintessential growth stock, especially in the rapidly expanding e-commerce era. Shopify is notable for its compatibility with web service providers like WordPress, a relationship that provides small businesses access to online customers without hiring a private web developer. It also offers physical hardware that allows small business owners to accept credit card and virtual wallet payments in-person. Like most aggressive growth stocks, Shopify is a more volatile stock option, with a beta rating of 2.3. However, for inventors with a higher risk tolerance, it can provide a potential opportunity sparked by its surge in revenue that began in 2023. Since March of 2023, Shopify had a total revenue of $1.86 billion — an increase of 23.41% over the last year. In July of 2024, it also had a total market capitalization of $77.24 billion, with a large percentage of its revenue re-diverted back into growth rather than distributed in dividend payments. 3. Meta Platforms Meta Platforms Today META Meta Platforms $474.83 +11.64 (+2.51%) 52-Week Range $274.38 ▼ $542.81 Dividend Yield 0.42% P/E Ratio 27.27 Price Target $538.29 Add to Watchlist Meta Platforms (META) – the parent company of Facebook, Instagram, and Whats App – has been making significant investments in artificial intelligence, virtual reality, and augmented reality to diversify its revenue streams beyond advertising. The company has been focusing on developing the metaverse, a virtual shared space integrating digital and physical realities, which promises substantial future growth potential. The company’s social networks continue to see significant user growth and engagement, driving revenue expansion, with a 7% year-over-year increase in daily active users. Additionally, Meta has been enhancing its operational efficiency, which is reflected in its robust $58.12 billion cash position. This substantial cash reserve will enable Meta to fund its ambitious projects and better withstand market volatility. 4. CAVA Group CAVA Group Today CAVA CAVA Group $84.22 +2.78 (+3.41%) 52-Week Range $29.05 ▼ $98.69 P/E Ratio 205.42 Price Target $82.75 Add to Watchlist Cava Group NYSE: CAVA may not be as large as its direct competitor Chipotle, but the southeastern fast-casual restaurant has been on a steady valuation rise since 2023. Known for its Mediterranean-inspired menu, Cava has tapped into the growing consumer preference for healthy and convenient dining options. Its impressive same-store sales growth and robust revenue increases reflect its ability to attract and retain a loyal customer base. Cava began an aggressive expansion strategy in late 2023 that continues into mid-2024, opening 14 stores in the first half of 2024 alone. The company's strategic use of technology for operations and customer engagement enhances its scalability and efficiency, driving further growth potential. In July 2024, it had a total market capitalization of $9.1 billion. The company's successful initial public offering (IPO) has provided it with substantial capital to fuel further growth and expansion. 5. Tesla Tesla Today TSLA Tesla $232.07 +9.45 (+4.24%) 52-Week Range $138.80 ▼ $278.98 P/E Ratio 59.20 Price Target $204.30 Add to Watchlist No list of aggressive growth stocks is complete without mentioning electric vehicles (EV) and renewable energy giant Tesla NASDAQ: TSLA. Tesla has demonstrated a consistent rise in both valuation and revenue, up almost 20% in the last six months. While its total market capitalization remains at $702.1 billion, Tesla has seen a rough recent quarter, with weak sales of EVs contributing to a 45% decline in profit year-over-year. Despite this, the company's focus on cutting-edge technologies, such as autonomous driving and battery advancements, positions it at the forefront of automotive and energy innovation and presents unique opportunities for investors. Tesla's aggressive expansion includes building new Gigafactories worldwide to increase production capacity and meet growing demand. The company's ventures into energy storage solutions and solar products further diversify its revenue streams and enhance growth potential. Tesla's strong brand, loyal customer base, and significant market share in the EV industry contribute to its high valuation and growth expectations. Why You Should Consider Investing in Aggressive Growth Stocks If you have a higher risk capacity, meaning you are willing to take on more risk in exchange for more potential returns, introducing aggressive growth stocks to your portfolio can provide a healthy level of volatility. Consider investing in aggressive stocks if you’re looking for: High Growth Potential: Aggressive growth stocks are usually issued by companies that have the potential for rapid and substantial increases in revenue or market share. This can lead to significant capital appreciation over time, with investors able to profit from the difference in share price. Aggressive growth stocks are usually issued by companies that have the potential for rapid and substantial increases in revenue or market share. This can lead to significant capital appreciation over time, with investors able to profit from the difference in share price. Exposure to Innovative Industries: Most growth stocks are found in the biotechnology or technology sectors, which are known for exceptional innovation. Investing in these sectors early can provide you with access to groundbreaking developments and future trends, which may further drive capital appreciation. Most growth stocks are found in the biotechnology or technology sectors, which are known for exceptional innovation. Investing in these sectors early can provide you with access to groundbreaking developments and future trends, which may further drive capital appreciation. Ma rket Leadership: Many aggressive growth companies are early movers in their respective industries, allowing you to capitalize on the company's market leadership and competitive advantages as the industry matures. Many aggressive growth companies are early movers in their respective industries, allowing you to capitalize on the company's market leadership and competitive advantages as the industry matures. Compounding Growth: Since companies often reinvest their profits into further growth, the potential for compounded returns over time increases. Risks and Considerations of Investing in Aggressive Growth Stocks Investing in aggressive growth stocks can be highly rewarding, but it also involves considerable risks that investors should carefully consider before committing their capital, such as: More Volatility: Aggressive growth stocks often experience more market volatility, with drastic potential price changes based on market sentiment, quarterly earnings, and changes in growth prospects. Aggressive growth stocks often experience more market volatility, with drastic potential price changes based on market sentiment, quarterly earnings, and changes in growth prospects. Valuation Concerns: Growth stocks often trade at high P/E and price-to-sales (P/S) ratios, reflecting high expectations for future growth. Companies that fail to meet these expectations may see sharp, sudden price decreases. High valuations can also lead to overvaluation and potential price corrections. Growth stocks often trade at high P/E and price-to-sales (P/S) ratios, reflecting high expectations for future growth. Companies that fail to meet these expectations may see sharp, sudden price decreases. High valuations can also lead to overvaluation and potential price corrections. Economic Cycle Sensitivity: During periods of economic stress, consumer and business spending may decrease, affecting growth companies disproportionately. During periods of economic stress, consumer and business spending may decrease, affecting growth companies disproportionately. Industry Risk: Operating in emerging or rapidly changing industries can expose companies to sector-specific risks, such as regulatory changes or technological obsolescence. Operating in emerging or rapidly changing industries can expose companies to sector-specific risks, such as regulatory changes or technological obsolescence. Significant Competition: High-growth sectors often experience intense competition, which can impact a company’s market share and profitability. Should You Invest in Aggressive Growth Stocks? Investing in aggressive growth stocks can add a unique level of potential for capital appreciation. As with most investments, whether or not you should add them to your portfolio depends on your personal investment goals and risk tolerance. Aggressive growth stocks stocks fit best with investing strategies that operate on a longer timeframe, which gives them more flexibility in refining their growth strategy. It’s important to remember that these stocks come with more risk than more stable, blue-chip stocks and can be especially sensitive to economic cycles. If you’re interested in investing in aggressive growth stocks but are looking for a more general way to take advantage of these companies’ bold strategies, consider a growth mutual fund. These aggressive growth stock mutual funds spread your risk between multiple companies by investing in a series of shares rather than stock in one company. Start Your Research with MarketBeat To invest in aggressive growth stocks, you need a higher level of risk tolerance than investing in total market funds or blue chips. Keeping up-to-date with how the markets are moving each day is an essential step in successful growth investing. Subscribe to MarketBeat’s free and premium research reports to have breaking news delivered straight to your inbox, and stay ahead of the movements making the market.
Oilfield Infrastructure Stock Soars Over 50% on Bold Acquisition 2024-07-31 11:20:00+00:00 - Solaris Oilfield Infrastructure Today SOI Solaris Oilfield Infrastructure $13.15 -0.06 (-0.45%) 52-Week Range $6.59 ▼ $13.56 Dividend Yield 3.65% P/E Ratio 19.34 Price Target $10.50 Add to Watchlist Solaris Oilfield Infrastructure NYSE: SOI is up nearly 60% in July after announcing a deal to acquire Mobile Energy Rentals (MER). The move has the market on track to break critical resistance, likely leading to another large share price gain. The technical outlook is robust, suggesting a dynamic shift in sentiment that could have this market retesting its all-time highs within a few quarters. Solaris Oilfield Infrastructure is a critical component of the US fracking industry. The company provides specialized equipment for oil and gas operators and is diversifying operations with the MER acquisition. The company provides proppant and related services vital to fracking and well deliverability. MER’s business is energy, which is a much-needed diversification from the consolidating fracking proppant industry. MER offers a range of power storage and delivery systems suitable to many businesses. Get SOI alerts: Sign Up Solaris Oilfield Infrastructure Acquisition Is Worth the Money Solaris Oilfield Infrastructure will pay MER $200 million in cash and stock, with most of the proceeds in stock. Stock will be paid to MER management and founders, who will transition to the SOI team. When the deal closes, Solaris Oilfield Infrastructure will change its name to Solaris Energy Infrastructure and begin trading under the symbol SEI. Financing is already secured, so the closing should be quick. The critical detail for Solaris Oilfield Infrastructure investors is that MER is a high-margin business that will amplify bottom-line results. Solaris’ filings show MER's quarterly revenue was nearly $2.5 million for the first calendar quarter, which was about 4% of SOI’s last reported revenue, and most were profit. The net income margin was about 78% or $1.95 million, worth 27.8% of SOI’s take in Q1, and is enough reason to warrant the acquisition. Solaris Oilfield Infrastructure Pays You To Own It Solaris Oilfield Infrastructure Dividend Payments Dividend Yield 3.63% Annual Dividend $0.48 Annualized 3-Year Dividend Growth 2.33% Dividend Payout Ratio 70.59% Next Dividend Payment Sep. 6 See Full Details Among the highlights from Solaris Oilfield Infrastructure’s Q1 report are the cash flow and ability to pay dividends. The free cash flow margin was 20% or $14 million, allowing for $13 million in capital returns. The capital returns include dividends and share buybacks, which are steady and reliable. The company has paid a dividend since shortly after its 2018 IPO and increased it four times. The payout ratio runs near 60% of the earnings, which is sustainable given the balance sheet health and additional growth that may be expected. The distribution growth rate may even increase once the MER deal is closed. Repurchases are central to the bull case in this stock. The company began buying back stock in Q1 of 2023 and has been aggressive. The $1.1 million repurchased in Q1 brings the cumulative total to 10% of the company’s share count, and there is still $15 million left under the current authorization. Because cash flow will improve when the MER deal closes, aggressive share repurchases will likely continue. Regarding the balance sheet, the company is well capitalized with more than $3.4 million on the books and low leverage, about 0.1x equity, and less than 0.5x assets. Solaris Oilfield Infrastructure Reaches an Inflection Point The market for Solaris Oilfield Infrastructure is up for good reasons and may move significantly higher. The critical resistance point is near $13.75, the middle of the company’s historical trading range and an important inflection point for technical traders. A move above this level will open the door to a sustained and/or sharp rally that could take the market back to the range top. If the subsequent results are promising, assuming the MER deal closes, this stock could set a new high. In that scenario, shares of SOI could advance another $7. If $23.75 isn’t broken, this stock could remain range-bound at current levels indefinitely. Before you consider Solaris Oilfield Infrastructure, 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 Solaris Oilfield Infrastructure wasn't on the list. While Solaris Oilfield Infrastructure currently has a "Moderate Buy" rating among analysts, top-rated analysts believe these five stocks are better buys. View The Five Stocks Here
3 Small-Cap Stocks to Watch in the Coming Quarters 2024-07-31 11:18:00+00:00 - Investors are still hanging onto the momentum of some sectors in the stock market today, namely those in the technology sector dealing with the global adoption of artificial intelligence. However, some in the market feel like better opportunities in other areas are beginning to gain more bullish momentum, a rotation with a high acceptance rate. Stanley Druckenmiller is a Wall Street figure already taking on this rotation. He chose to sell out of the chip and semiconductor names in the market and then reallocate into areas like small-cap stocks and bonds. To put on his view, Druckenmiller decided to buy into the iShares Russell 2000 ETF NYSEARCA: IWM and the iShares 20+ Year Treasury Bond ETF NASDAQ: TLT. Get ZipRecruiter alerts: Sign Up Investors who can potentially select individual stocks rather than diversified funds can get a leg up on the market by considering small-cap stocks like Cross Country Healthcare Inc. NASDAQ: CCRN, Denny’s Co. NASDAQ: DENN, and even ZipRecruiter Inc. NASDAQ: ZIP to potentially build a portfolio that could outperform the market in the coming quarters, backed by fundamental factors and tailwinds. Cross Country Healthcare Benefits from Steady Hiring Trends in Healthcare Cross Country Healthcare Today CCRN Cross Country Healthcare $18.24 +0.20 (+1.11%) 52-Week Range $12.87 ▼ $26.58 P/E Ratio 14.03 Price Target $20.83 Add to Watchlist The Federal Reserve is holding the promise of cutting interest rates over the head of the market, with an over 90% probability (according to the CME’s FedWatch tool) of cuts coming by September 2024, driven by the rising trend in unemployment. Reaching an unemployment rate of over 4.1% in the United States is historically the point at which the Fed considers cutting rates, which is a good thing for most. However, in the middle of this rise in unemployment, one sector is still keeping its hiring flows strong. Cross Country Healthcare MarketRank™ Stock Analysis Overall MarketRank™ 3.89 out of 5 Analyst Rating Hold Upside/Downside 18.1% Upside Short Interest Bearish Dividend Strength N/A Sustainability -0.23 News Sentiment 0.69 Insider Trading Selling Shares Projected Earnings Growth 39.73% See Full Details The healthcare sector added up to 48,600 jobs in the past month, while the economy added 206,000 jobs over the month. Representing 23.5% of total employment is significant, but there is one stock analysts now recommend due to this trend. Cross Country is a healthcare staffing company, so as long as there is a need for nurses, this stock will see better financials. Wall Street analysts now forecast up to 39.7% earnings per share (EPS) growth for the next 12 months, giving others the evidence they need to value the stock higher. Those at Barrington Research saw fit to value Cross Country Healthcare stock at $21 a share, calling for a 26.5% upside from its current level, which is only 62% of its 52-week high. Why Denny's Balance Sheet Supports Double-Digit Upside With the prospect of lower interest rates on the horizon, small-cap stocks that carry just a little bit more debt on their balance sheets will benefit the most. Low interest rates on debt translate into lower interest expenses, which is good for EPS. Denny's MarketRank™ Stock Analysis Overall MarketRank™ 3.63 out of 5 Analyst Rating Moderate Buy Upside/Downside 42.5% Upside Short Interest Healthy Dividend Strength N/A Sustainability N/A News Sentiment 0.06 Insider Trading Acquiring Shares Projected Earnings Growth 11.48% See Full Details Denny’s balance sheet shows that over 90% of the balance sheet is made out of debt, so investors can imagine how beneficial lower interest rates will be for the future earning power of the company. Wall Street analysts agree with this trend, as they now forecast up to 11.5% EPS growth in the next 12 months. Leaning on these projections, Benchmark saw fit to place a valuation of $15 a share for Denny’s stock today, daring it to rally by as much as 100% from today’s stock price. These aren’t the only ones on Wall Street who have accepted the future potential for Denny’s stock. Up to $36.1 million of institutional capital made its way into Denny’s stock over the past 12 months, bringing the company’s institutional ownership rate up to 85.1% for a stamp of quality acceptance from Wall Street’s money managers. ZipRecruiter's Path to Higher Highs on Employment Recovery ZipRecruiter Today ZIP ZipRecruiter P/E Ratio 26.17 Price Target $12.42 Add to Watchlist The same trends that will help Cross Country Healthcare stock will be the same ones to support an online employment platform like ZipRecruiter to see more financial momentum ahead. When and if the Fed lowers interest rates in the face of high inflation and unemployment, employment prospects could be due for a recovery. ZipRecruiter MarketRank™ Stock Analysis Overall MarketRank™ 2.98 out of 5 Analyst Rating Hold Upside/Downside 36.9% Upside Short Interest N/A Dividend Strength N/A Sustainability N/A News Sentiment 0.00 Insider Trading Selling Shares Projected Earnings Growth Growing See Full Details Because most job seekers go to places like LinkedIn and ZipRecruiter to find the next steps in their careers, Wall Street analysts have taken this view public. The consensus price target set for ZipRecruiter stock is now $12.4 a share, which implies a net upside of 40.1%. Amplifying this view was the Vanguard Group, which boosted its stake in ZipRecruiter stock by 11.9% as a vote of confidence. This boost made the asset manager’s net investment reach $113.6 million today. Riding on the lower interest expense benefit, ZipRecruiter’s balance sheet shows that 97.8% of capital is made of debt. Knowing that lower expenses will lead to higher EPS, analyst ratings and institutional buying could be justified. Before you consider ZipRecruiter, 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 ZipRecruiter wasn't on the list. While ZipRecruiter currently has a "Hold" rating among analysts, top-rated analysts believe these five stocks are better buys. View The Five Stocks Here
Fed Opens Door to September Rate Cut if Inflation Stays Cool 2024-07-31 09:04:19+00:00 - Federal Reserve officials left interest rates unchanged at their July meeting, but the head of the central bank made it clear that recent progress in lowering inflation could enable policymakers to cut interest rates as soon as their next meeting in September. “If we do get the data that we that we hope, then a reduction in our a policy rate could be on the table at the September meeting,” Jerome H. Powell, the Fed chair, said during a news conference on Wednesday. Mr. Powell also suggested that the Fed could make a string of reductions before the end of the year, depending on inflation and job market data. “I can imagine a scenario in which there would be everywhere from zero cuts to several cuts, depending on the way the economy evolves,” Mr. Powell said. That remark was notable because it implied that three rate cuts were possible, which is in line with market expectations but more than the two the Fed had most recently forecast. Mr. Powell spoke shortly after the Fed announced that it would hold rates at 5.3 percent for now — a two-decade high, where they have remained for a year.
AMD forecasts $4.5 billion of AI chip revenue this year, shares jump 7% 2024-07-31 05:58:00+00:00 - By Arsheeya Bajwa, Max A. Cherney (Reuters) -Advanced Micro Devices forecast third-quarter revenue above market estimates on Tuesday, banking on demand for its artificial intelligence chips staying strong. Shares of the Santa Clara, California-based company rose 7% in extended trading. AMD benefits from large cloud operators buying the company's AI and other chips. Some view the company as an alternative to Nvidia. Both Meta Platforms and Microsoft are customers of AMD's MI300 line of AI chips. AMD CEO Lisa Su said the company was boosting its 2024 AI chip revenue forecast to $4.5 billion from a previous target of $4 billion during the conference call late Tuesday. The supply of such chips will remain tight through 2025, Su said. Overall, AMD forecast revenue of $6.7 billion, plus or minus $300 million, for the third quarter compared with analysts' average estimate of $6.61 billion, according to LSEG data. On an adjusted basis, the company forecast gross margin of about 53.5% for the third quarter, compared with estimates of 53.6%. In the second quarter, AMD's data center revenue, its biggest segment, jumped 115% to $2.8 billion, just topping estimates of $2.79 billion, according to Visible Alpha. "We are in the picks and shovels cycle which is more about hardware infrastructure right now," Creative Strategies CEO Ben Bajarin said. "Most enterprises are spending on AI software but only to trial and pilot programs, (and have) not fully deploy them yet." Total revenue in the quarter rose 9% to $5.8 billion, which came in above estimates of $5.72 billion. AMD, which is among the largest providers of PC chips, also benefited from a recovery in the personal computer market after its worst slump in years. New computer AI features are reviving consumer demand. In the second quarter, AMD reported revenue for PC chips of $1.5 billion, compared with estimates of $1.43 billion, according to Visible Alpha. The company had adjusted second-quarter earnings of 69 cents per share, topping analyst estimates of 68 cents a share. Adoption of generative AI technology has driven demand for powerful chips capable of handling the specific processing requirements of applications such as OpenAI's ChatGPT. (Reporting by Arsheeya Bajwa in Bengaluru and Max A. Cherney in San Francisco; Editing by Devika Syamnath and Cynthia Osterman)
Why Lumen Technologies Stock Jumped 77.3% Today 2024-07-31 04:38:00+00:00 - Shares of Lumen Technologies (NYSE: LUMN) got a huge boost today from another company's earnings report. Corning (NYSE: GLW) announced that it's selling 10% of its fiber capacity for the next two years to Lumen, and investors loved the news. Shares jumped as much as 77.3% in parabolic trading mid-day before falling back to close the day up 38%. Lumen's Corning deal Last week, Lumen announced that it has partnered with Microsoft (NASDAQ: MSFT) to "enable digital transformation" of the company's infrastructure. That will include access to Lumen's fiber network, as well as adding new fiber on new and existing routes. The idea is to build faster connections between data centers, a key to artificial intelligence advances like building larger and more complex models. While no terms were announced, investors are seeing this as a new winner in the battle for AI resources. Volatility and short-term wins Part of the bounce higher today may have simply been a delayed reaction to the Microsoft news and solidification of the Corning supply deal. That then may have caused a short squeeze, given that 13.9% of shares outstanding had been sold short. But that bounce faded quickly. The main caution with Lumen Technologies is the fact that the company's revenue is falling and it's losing money quickly. This could be a turnaround play, but it may also be a great headline with little fundamental improvement to back it up. That's too much risk for me today. Should you invest $1,000 in Lumen Technologies right now? Before you buy stock in Lumen Technologies, consider this: The Motley Fool Stock Advisor analyst team just identified what they believe are the 10 best stocks for investors to buy now… and Lumen Technologies wasn’t one of them. The 10 stocks that made the cut could produce monster returns in the coming years. Consider when Nvidia made this list on April 15, 2005... if you invested $1,000 at the time of our recommendation, you’d have $683,777!* Stock Advisor provides investors with an easy-to-follow blueprint for success, including guidance on building a portfolio, regular updates from analysts, and two new stock picks each month. The Stock Advisor service has more than quadrupled the return of S&P 500 since 2002*. See the 10 stocks » *Stock Advisor returns as of July 29, 2024 Travis Hoium has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool has positions in and recommends Microsoft. The Motley Fool recommends Corning and recommends the following options: long January 2026 $395 calls on Microsoft and short January 2026 $405 calls on Microsoft. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy. Why Lumen Technologies Stock Jumped 77.3% Today was originally published by The Motley Fool