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Analysts Unveil Surprising Forecast: First Solar Stock to Surge 2024-07-08 14:23:00+00:00 - First Solar’s NASDAQ: FSLR stock price is in the depths of a correction that will soon end. The correction is due primarily to political fears that have little to do with underlying demand and the long-term outlook for profits. The takeaway for investors is that the Q1 results were strong, the guidance favorable, and the valuation attractive for this profit-producing green-energy play. First Solar Today FSLR First Solar $227.12 +5.00 (+2.25%) 52-Week Range $129.21 ▼ $306.77 P/E Ratio 23.81 Price Target $267.12 Add to Watchlist Analysts' activity has been vigorous since the last earnings report, putting the stock in the top ten Most Upgraded Stocks tracked by MarketBeat. MarketBeat.com tracks 16 updates since the Q1 results were released, and while mixed, they are leading the market higher. The two downgrades and two price target revisions are a concern but failed to alter the trend in sentiment, which is improving. The consensus rating rose to Moderate Buy from Hold in the last six months, and the price target has also increased. The consensus price target, which is 20% above the current action, is up 25% in the previous year, and both should continue to rise through year-end because of business performance. Get First Solar alerts: Sign Up First Solar Growth Accelerates; Gets Boost From EPEAT Certification First Solar’s FQ1 was solid, with top and bottom-line results outperforming the consensus estimates. The company grew revenue by 45%, accelerating its growth sequentially compared to last year and compounding its strength with solid guidance. Among the highlights from the report are robust margins, which resulted in 1000 basis points of outperformance on the bottom line and a solid backlog of more than 78GW of expected sales. First Solar MarketRank™ Stock Analysis Overall MarketRank™ 4.90 out of 5 Analyst Rating Moderate Buy Upside/Downside 18.3% Upside Short Interest Healthy Dividend Strength N/A Sustainability -0.14 News Sentiment 0.43 Insider Trading Selling Shares Projected Earnings Growth 55.08% See Full Details Guidance is mixed. Revenue and earnings targets were reaffirmed; the offsetting factor is that CAPEX plans, centered on expanding to meet increasing demand, were increased. The salient point is that the guidance aligns with the analysts' consensus at the midpoint for earnings, and the expected EPS of $13 to $14 is double that of last year. With the stock trading at only 16x this year’s earnings and 10x next, it is a deep value for investors. Among the reasons to believe that guidance is cautious is the recently awarded EPEAT+ Climate Champion Certification. This is the first of its kind in the solar industry and should lead to accelerating sales. The certification means that First Solar Series 6 Plus and Series 7 meet the ultra-low threshold for manufacturing impact, making them the greenest solar cells globally. Because EPEAT is a globally recognized standard, the certification should boost demand from leading solar end markets, including the data center market, which is seeing increased demand for power due to AI. Insiders and Institutions Sell First Solar Stock Insider and institutional selling has been a headwind for FSLR stock for the last two quarters. Insiders, who own a small 0.55% of the company, ramped up their selling in Q1 and Q3, raising potential red flags. However, the increase in sales aligns with the company’s share-based compensation, which also increased over the last twelve months. Share-based compensation increased by 70% to $34.2 million, a little more than double what was sold by insiders. Institutional selling is more of a problem. Institutions own nearly 100% of the company and have sold on balance for four of the last five quarters. If this activity persists, the stock price will have difficulty moving higher regardless of what the analysts say. First Solar Stock Falls To Critical Support First Solar stock is down 20% from its recent high and may fall further, but it shows signs of support. The market halted at the critical $220 level and began to rebound. The rebound could retest the recent high, as the MACD momentum converges with the rally seen in the year's first half. A move to fresh highs is possible but unlikely until later in the year when more information is available on this tech stock. Before you consider First Solar, 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 First Solar wasn't on the list. While First Solar currently has a "Moderate Buy" rating among analysts, top-rated analysts believe these five stocks are better buys. View The Five Stocks Here
Biden firmly denounces calls to step aside from fellow Democrats: 'The voters have spoken' 2024-07-08 14:20:00+00:00 - WASHINGTON — President Joe Biden began a crucial week for his candidacy by seeking to stamp out growing criticism by fellow Democrats who want him to step aside in the race. Phoning into MSNBC’s “Morning Joe” on Monday, the president said the voters have chosen him and dared his Democratic critics who want him out to challenge him at the party’s August convention. “I’m getting so frustrated by the elites in the party. ... They know so much more,” Biden said, mockingly. “If any of these guys don’t think I should run, run against me. Go ahead. Announce for president — challenge me at the convention!” And in a letter Monday to Democrats in Congress, Biden said he’s “not blind to” the concerns within his party about his re-election bid, some of which he allowed were in “good faith.” “I wouldn’t be running again if I did not absolutely believe I was the best person to beat Donald Trump in 2024,” Biden wrote. “We had a Democratic nomination process and the voters have spoken clearly and decisively.” “The voters — and the voters alone — decide the nominee of the Democratic Party,” he added. “The question of how to move forward has been well-aired for over a week now. And it’s time for it to end. We have one job. And that is to beat Donald Trump,” Biden wrote. “Any weakening of resolve or lack of clarity about the task head only helps Trump and hurts us.” Follow live updates on the 2024 presidential race One senior Democratic aide confirmed Monday that offices had received the letter, which comes as both chambers of Congress return from recess for the first time since the Biden-Trump debate in Atlanta on June 27. Biden also published the full letter on Instagram. Biden is expected to call more lawmakers this week after connecting with 20 last week — including Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries, D-N.Y., and Reps. Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif., and James E. Clyburn, D-S.C., — to reassure Democrats that their concerns are being heard by him, according to a campaign official. On "Morning Joe," Biden said he’s not concerned when given a list of prominent Democrats who are calling on him to leave the race. “I don’t think what those big names think,” Biden said. “They were wrong in 2020. They were wrong in 2022 about the red wave. They’re wrong in 2024.” “I am not letting up,” Biden said. Biden also made his case against Trump, saying that the U.S. will defeat the far right just as France did in its recent election. “This is a guy who’s an extreme candidate. I can’t think of a candidate in my lifetime who’s been more extreme," the president said. "He makes George Wallace look like a patriot.” In a positive sign for Biden, Rep. Steven Horsford, D-Nev., the chair of the influential Congressional Black Caucus, issued a statement Monday declaring his support for the president. “President Joe Biden is the nominee and has been selected by millions of voters across the country, including voters here in Nevada,” Horsford said, while adding that voters “know President Biden and Vice President Harris are fighting for them.” “We’re not going back, we’re moving forward,” he said.
Rachel Reeves requests urgent assessment of spending inheritance 2024-07-08 14:10:00+00:00 - Rachel Reeves is to provide an emergency assessment of the government’s spending inheritance before MPs leave for their summer break as she attempts to pin the blame for looming tough tax and spending decisions on the defeated Tories. The new chancellor used her first speech since arriving at the Treasury to insist there would be no deviation from Labour’s hardline stance on reducing the national debt despite being bequeathed the “worst set of circumstances since the second world war”. Reeves said one of her first decisions in post had been to ask officials to provide an assessment of the UK’s public spending position so that she could better understand the scale of the challenge ahead. The assessment – which will be separate from a budget planned for the autumn – will be presented to MPs before the end of the month. Reeves made it clear she held the outgoing government responsible for difficult choices she will face. “Our economy has been held back by decisions deferred and decisions ducked,” she said. “Political self-interest put ahead of the national interest. A government that put party first and country second. “We face the legacy of 14 years of chaos and economic irresponsibility. I am under no illusions about the scale of our inheritance. I will need to take difficult decisions as a result of the mess left by our predecessors.” Labour sources said the emergency statement was designed to inform MPs about the state of the economy rather than provide clues about the content of the budget. Reeves has come under pressure from the Unite union leader, Sharon Graham, since the election to tweak the rules governing debt in order to provide the Treasury with more scope to raise spending. Reeves said: “Over the weekend I made clear to Treasury officials that the manifesto commitments that we were elected on will be kept to and they will be delivered on. That includes robust fiscal rules. And it includes our commitments to no increases in national insurance and the basic, higher or additional rates of income tax or VAT.” Reeves said she knew there were some voices arguing that the time for caution was past and that Labour’s massive majority gave the government licence to row back on the principles of sound money and economic responsibility. “I know that many of you aren’t used to hearing this after recent years. But I believe that the promises that a party is elected on should be delivered on in government and we will do so,” she said. “We do not take lightly the trust of voters who have been burned too often by incompetence, irresponsibility and recklessness.” The chancellor said fixing the foundations of the economy were the first steps towards delivering stronger and sustained economic growth. Calling the Conservatives the “anti-growth” coalition, Reeves said she was prepared to take on vested interests and accept short-term political pain to make good on Labour’s growth mission. She said local authorities would be required to meet targets for new housebuilding in order that 1.5m homes are built over the course of the next five years. Initially it would be up to local communities to decide where homes could be built, “but the answer can’t always be no”, she said. 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 Nowhere was “decisive reform” needed more urgently than in the case of the planning system, Reeves said. “Planning reform has become a byword for political timidity in the face of vested interests and a graveyard of economic ambition. Our antiquated planning system leaves too many important projects getting tied up in years and years of red tape before shovels ever get into the ground.” New Treasury analysis has found that had the UK economy grown at the average rate of OECD economies since 2010, it would have been more than £140bn larger, resulting in an additional £58bn in tax revenues last year. Reeves said: “All governments face difficult choices and I will not shrink from those choices. Those choices are made harder, however, by the absence of the economic growth necessary to not only balance the books but also to improve living standards.” Rain Newton-Smith, the chief executive of the lobby group the Confederation of British Industry, said: “Businesses will be encouraged to hear the chancellor speak clearly and passionately about making growth the defining priority of government and to committing to the three pillars of stability, investment and delivery needed to achieve it. “With improvements to public services and living standards dependent on a step change from the sluggish levels of growth we’re currently seeing, it’s clear that the government needs to hit the ground running.” Jamie Lockerbie, a planning partner at the law firm Pinsent Masons, said: “This was certainly a speech with a markedly different tone than we have been used to over the last decade. It seems likely that in the short term decisions will need to be unlocked by the deputy prime minister using her call-in powers under this new ‘interventionist approach’. “The immediate question that springs to mind is, given the new mandatory targets, does the Planning Inspectorate have the capacity to deal with a massive ramp-up in caseload? While 300 more planners into local councils will be welcome, the reality is that it won’t be nearly enough to get the local planning authority workforce back to where it needs to be given that the number of planners in the public sector shrank by a quarter between 2009 and 2020.”
Wynn Resorts: 6 Reasons to Ante Up for the Stock 2024-07-08 13:51:00+00:00 - Luxury casino resorts operator Wynn Resorts Ltd. NASDAQ: WYNN shares have fallen 4.7% year-to-date (YTD), trading closer to its 52-week lows at $81.65 than its 52-week highs of $112.25. The artificial intelligence (AI) boom has siphoned the bulk of investor money, leaving fledging casino stocks to severely underperform the S&P 500 index, up 16.69% YTD. However, this negative sentiment can also be seen as an opportunity for prudent investors who can smell a bargain. Here are six reasons to consider buying WYNN shares while they’re down. Wynn Resorts operates in the consumer discretionary sector, competing against casino operators like MGM Resorts International NYSE: MGM, with 13 properties in Las Vegas, Caesar’s Entertainment Inc. NASDAQ: CZR, and Las Vegas Sands Co. (NYSE: LVS), which incidentally no longer operates any Las Vegas casinos but has integrated resorts in Macao and Singapore. Get Wynn Resorts alerts: Sign Up 1) Tropicana and Mirage Closures in Las Vegas Results in 5% Less Room Capacity Competition on the Las Vegas Strip may be loosening up in the near term as two iconic casino properties close. The 70-year-old Tropicana Las Vegas closed permanently on April 2, 2024, and a 30,000-seat stadium for the Oakland Athletics baseball team will be built in its stead. The 34-year-old and 65-acre Mirage Hotel & Casino is set to close on July 17, 2024, and undergo reconstruction to re-open as the Hard Rock Hotel & Casino and Guitar Hotel in 2027. Together, both properties account for nearly 5% of the rooms on the Las Vegas Strip. This shortfall will naturally result in additional capacity demand for existing hotels, including The Wynn. 2) Normalization Continues in Las Vegas Investor sentiment remains low for the Las Vegas strip due to rising labor costs and macroeconomic uncertainty. Average daily room rates continue to rise. There is still room to grow as occupancy hasn't yet recovered to 2019 pre-pandemic levels. The travel boom and consumer spending on services and experiences remain high, coupled with a strong event and convention business and international demand, all point to continued recovery. The Nevada Gaming Board reported a May gaming win rate of 2.45% YoY growth to $1.32 billion. The Last Vegas Strip saw a 3.7% YoY win to $742.5 million. 3) Macau Continues to Recover Macau is currently the undisputed gambling capital of the world, and it continues to recover since COVID-related travel restrictions were lifted entirely by the beginning of 2023. Macau Gaming Inspection and Coordination Bureau reported that in May 2024, gross revenues rose 16.4% YoY to $2.5 billion. Comps were tough compared to the 336% YoY increase in May 2023. While June's gross gaming revenue (GGR) was the lowest of 2024, the decline was primarily due to seasonality and the UEFA Euro 2024 soccer tournament, resulting in a low VIP hold rate. For the six months of 2024, Macau GGR was up 41.9% YoY, and running at 74% of its 2019 pre-pandemic level. 4) The United Arab Emirates Could be the Next Macau Wynn Resorts is proceeding with its plans to open a hotel-casino in the emirate of Ras Al Khaimah in the United Arab Emirates (UAE). Gambling is currently illegal in the UAE; however, that long-lasting ban is seeing some softening. The construction of the Wynn Al Marjan island is progressing. Wynn partnered with Marjan and RAK Hospitality Holdings. This has caused a buying frenzy of available land on Al Marjan Island, which has set off plans for a central business and beach district. CBRE Equity Research sees a GGR of $1.38 billion, net revenue of $1.8 billion, and property EBITDARM of $921 million for Wynn Al Marjan Island. They estimate property margin to be in the mid-30 % range, but margins can rise to 50% due to low tax rates, an operator-friendly regulatory regime, and almost no competition. 5) Analysts Rate WYNN Shares a Buy Wynn reported Q1 2024 EPS of $1.59, beating consensus estimates by 30 cents. Revenues surged 30.9% YoY to $1.86 billion, beating $1.8 billion consensus estimates. It's no wonder that analysts upgraded shares after the results. The average rating on WYNN stock is a moderate buy based on f 13 analysts. On May 23, 2024, Argus upgraded shares of WYNN to a Buy from Hold with a $110 price target. On May 24, 2024, Seaport Research Partners raised their rating to a Buy from Neutral with a $116 price target. Wynn Resorts analyst forecasts and price targets can be found at MarketBeat. The consensus analyst price target points to a 39.5% upside at $121.15. 6) WYNN Stock is Forming a Rare Bullish Shark Pattern The daily candlestick chart on WYNN may be setting up for a harmonic pattern called a bullish shark. This pattern is comprised of a first peak (A) followed by a pullback to point B and a bounce to a second higher peak (C) that is 1.13 or 113% to 1.618 or 116% the height of the first peak A. The sell-off to point D should be a 1.618 to 2.24 ratio of the distance between point B and point C. Upside targets are a rebound back to point B at $99.06 with the potential to peak C at $110.38. The relative strength index (RSI) has been chopping but holding above the 30-band and a bounce through the 40-band could form a divergence bottom. Pullback support levels are at $81.96, $79.33, and $73.39. Before you consider Wynn Resorts, 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 Wynn Resorts wasn't on the list. While Wynn Resorts currently has a "Moderate Buy" rating among analysts, top-rated analysts believe these five stocks are better buys. View The Five Stocks Here
Nasdaq, S&P 500 To Stall Record Run? Here's What Futures Trading Suggests - Invesco QQQ Trust, Series 1 (NASDAQ:QQQ), SPDR S&P 500 (ARCA:SPY) 2024-07-08 12:39:00+00:00 - Loading... Loading... U.S. stock futures are pointing to a flattish start as the broader market is perched at a record high, propped up by the tech rally. The recent strong gains are likely leaving traders a lot cautious ahead of some market-moving catalysts scheduled for the week. Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell heads to Capitol Hill this week to deliver his semi-annual monetary policy testimony. Bond yields are perking up amid the rate uncertainty. Traders may also watch out for the Fed’s consumer credit report. M&A news could cushion any potential downward move during the session. Global cues are mixed, with Asia falling across the board, while European stocks have opened on a firm note. Commodities are moving to the downside. Futures Performance (+/-) Nasdaq 100 -0.02% S&P 500 -0.04% Dow -0.03% R2K +0.26% In premarket trading on Monday, the SPDR S&P 500 ETF Trust SPY slipped 0.03% to $554.47 and the Invesco QQQ ETF QQQ edged down 0.-4% to $495.97, according to Benzinga Pro data. Cues From Last Week: Wall Street advanced strongly in the week ended July 5, thanks to Powell’s dovish remarks and a string of soft data points that raised hopes of rate cuts forthcoming this year. The Nasdaq Composite and the S&P 500 Index closed the week at fresh intraday and closing records. Index Weekly Performance (+/-) Value Nasdaq Composite +3.50% 18,352.76 S&P 500 Index +1.95% 5,567.19 Dow Industrials +0.66% 39,375.87 Russell 2000 -1.02% 2,026.73 Insights From Analysts: Further upside is likely this week if history is anything to go by. Carson Group’s Chief Market Strategist Ryan Detrick said in a post on X that the first half of July is historically one of the most bullish periods of the year for stocks. He also noted that the S&P 500 Index was higher in all four trading sessions so far in July. He added that the index hasn’t been up five in a row since 2007, with the most winning streak being a 10-session run in 1989. Upcoming Economic Data: Fed Chair Powell is set to deliver his semi-annual Congressional testimony in two days and his comments will be the most sought-after catalyst for the week. Traders also get to digest a double dose of inflation data, and a preliminary consumer sentiment reading for July. A slew of Fed speeches are also on tap for the week. Monday, the Fed will release its consumer credit report for May at 3 p.m. EDT. Economists, on average, expect the outstanding consumer credit for the month to rise by $8 billion, faster than the previous month’s $6.4 billion. The Treasury will auction three- and six-month notes at 11:30 a.m. EDT. See Also: Best Strategies For Futures Trading Stocks In Focus: Paramount Global PARA climbed over 3% in premarket trading after the company confirmed its acquisition by Skydance Media climbed over 3% in premarket trading after the company confirmed its acquisition by Tesla, Inc. TSLA fell over 1% following an 8-session runup. fell over 1% following an 8-session runup. Boeing Co. BA rose modestly after the company confirmed that it has reached a guilty plea agreement with the Department of Justice over misleading federal regulators regarding the safety of its 737 Max. Commodities, Bonds And Global Equity Markets: Crude oil futures were seen extending their losses from Friday and gold futures also pulled back, while the benchmark 10-year Treasury note yield rose 3.1 points to 4.303%. Bitcoin BTC/USD stemmed the slide and traded around the $57K mark. Asian stocks fell across the board, with the Hong Kong and Chinese markets declining by the most amid fears that China’s trade war with Europe may escalate. Traders also remained wary ahead of China inflation data due on Wednesday. The Taiwanese market bucked the downtrend. The major European markets were higher in early trading following the surprise election win for the left wing in France. Read Next: Photo via Shutterstock
Labour lifts Tories’ ‘absurd’ ban on onshore windfarms 2024-07-08 12:15:00+00:00 - The de facto ban on new onshore windfarms has been dropped by the Labour government, to the delight of environmentalists and energy experts. The ban was caused by two footnotes to the National Planning Policy Framework (NPPF), the rules that govern the building of homes and infrastructure. These footnotes applied only to onshore wind, and no other type of infrastructure, and required such strong proof that there was no opposition locally that they made building turbines impossible, given there is nearly always some local resistance to any building proposal. In Labour’s new draft NPPF, these footnotes have been deleted in their entirety, meaning onshore wind projects are now on an even footing with all other forms of infrastructure. The change, which comes into force immediately, will be confirmed to parliament on 18 July after the Commons resumes sitting. Labour also announced on Monday that it would go a step further and consult on whether to designate large windfarms as nationally significant infrastructure projects, meaning that the energy secretary, Ed Miliband, would sign them off and local councils would not have a say. The chancellor, Rachel Reeves, announced in a speech on Monday that she would end the “absurd” restriction on new windfarms and said decisions should be taken nationally, not locally. In a policy statement, officials wrote: “Delivering our clean power mission will help boost Britain’s energy independence, save money on energy bills, support high-skilled jobs and tackle the climate crisis. “We are therefore committed to doubling onshore wind energy by 2030. That means immediately removing the de facto ban on onshore wind in England in place since 2015. We are revising planning policy to place onshore wind on the same footing as other energy development in the National Planning Policy Framework.” Last September Michael Gove, the then communities secretary, said the ban would be lifted. Rules put in place by David Cameron in 2015 had decreed that a single planning objection could scupper an onshore wind project. However, the offending paragraphs in the NPPF footnote remained, making building new projects almost impossible. Analysis of the government’s renewable energy planning database found that no applications for new onshore wind projects were submitted after Gove’s announcement. The end of the ban was promised in Labour’s election manifesto and trailed by Miliband when he was shadow energy secretary, but campaigners were surprised by the speed at which it has been implemented. Mike Childs, the head of science, policy and research at Friends of the Earth, said: “By ending the onshore wind ban in England, Labour is making an important stride towards delivering on our climate goals while also paving the way for lower bills, as renewables produce some of the cheapest and cleanest energy available. 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 “In April, research by Friends of the Earth found that utilising less than 3% of land in England for onshore wind and solar could produce 13 times more clean energy that now generated – enough to power all households in England twice over. By harnessing the country’s vast renewable power potential, the new government is staking its claim as a global leader in the green energy transition.” Sam Richards, the chief executive of the pro-growth campaign group Britain Remade and a former environmental adviser to No 10, said: “The only way we are going to see the growth Britain desperately needs is if we make it significantly easier to build the homes and the new sources of clean energy needed to reach net zero. “During the election Labour promised to fix our outdated and sclerotic planning system to just that, and with this speech the new chancellor is hitting the ground running. Lifting the ban on new onshore windfarms in England is something Britain Remade has been campaigning for since we launched, so I am delighted Rachel Reeves has dropped the ban so soon after the election.” Dr Doug Parr, Greenpeace’s chief scientist, said: “As the recent gas price crisis shows, this ban was self-defeating for energy security, costly, and lost opportunities to cut emissions. The end of the ban is well overdue.”
Key plank of Biden student-debt relief plan can move forward, court rules 2024-07-08 12:01:00+00:00 - A key piece of Biden’s student loan forgiveness plan can move forward, a federal appellate court has ruled. The move allows millions of borrowers to see their loan payments cut in half, but stops short of outright erasing debts for now. After the US supreme court last year struck down the president’s original, ambitious initiative to forgive up to $20,000 in federal student loans for each individual borrower earning less than $125,000 annually, or $250,000 for married couples filing taxes jointly, the Biden administration implemented a new loan forgiveness scheme: Saving on a Valuable Education (Save). Like other income-based student loan payment options of the past, Save calculates a borrower’s monthly payment amount based on their income and family size. But unlike previous plans, Save is based on a smaller portion of a borrower’s adjusted gross income (AGI), making the monthly payments even lower. A turbulent ride through the US court system, however, left this back-up plan in legal limbo after two federal judges in Kansas and Missouri temporarily blocked parts of it last week. As a result, many borrowers were expecting their monthly payments to be halved from 1 July, but the pending litigation against the plan prevented that from happening. The latest ruling from a three-judge panel on the US court of appeals for the 10th circuit in Denver, Colorado, allows the Biden administration to move forward and fulfill that promise, slashing lower monthly payments from 10% of borrowers’ discretionary income to 5%. Department of education secretary Miguel Cardona said in a statement: “The US court of appeals for the 10th circuit sided with student loan borrowers across the country who stand to benefit from the Save Plan. “Borrowers enrolled in the Save Plan can still access its considerable benefits, including undergraduate loan payments cut in half, as well as protection against interest accruing if borrowers are making their monthly payments.” Borrowers enrolled in Save were put in forbearance for July during litigation and will be expected to begin payments of lower amounts again in August, according to the US education department. It’s a blow to some of the 18 Republican-led states that challenged the Biden administration in two separate lawsuits, claiming it was overstepping its authority by unilaterally wiping out loans. But the battle to rescue the Save program is not over. The Biden administration is still waiting to appeal the decision of a federal judge in Missouri, John Ross, who ruled that Biden and Cardona could only lower monthly payments, not forgive student loans outright at all. More than 8 million borrowers have enrolled in Save so far, and more than $5.5bn worth of debt has already been cancelled for nearly 400,000 of those enrolled. Nearly 43 million Americans have federal student debt, with the average student debt held being roughly $38,000. A Bankrate survey found that “nearly one in five Americans say student loan debt will have a major influence on their vote in the 2024 presidential election”.
Amazon’s Coventry workers begin voting in historic union ballot 2024-07-08 11:57:00+00:00 - Workers at Amazon’s Coventry warehouse have begun voting in a “historic” trade union recognition ballot that could allow UK employees of the online retailer to bargain collectively for rights and pay for the first time. More than 3,000 workers at the West Midlands hub will take part in the vote, which closes on Saturday, in a long-running battle over workers’ rights between trade unions and the US company. Workers were granted the right to hold the legally binding ballot by the independent Central Arbitration Committee after a campaign by the GMB union, which is running the ballot. Amazon had rejected a request for voluntary recognition. If staff vote to support recognition, the GMB would be given the right to represent them in negotiations over pay and conditions in what would be the first instance of Amazon recognising a union in the UK. The results are expected next week. Andy Prendergast, the GMB national secretary, said workers had “come together because of the poverty pay and unsafe conditions Amazon has thrust upon them”. “They want the same fair pay and safe conditions any of us would demand. GMB members face shocking levels of intimidation, fear and abuse at the hands of bosses for daring to fight,” he added. “Amazon has had every chance to do the right thing; now workers are taking things into their own hands to make work better.” Protests will take place at Amazon warehouses across the UK as voting begins on Monday, including sites in Warrington, Dunfermline, Swansea and Tilbury. A separate rally outside the retailer’s London headquarters will also take place, attended by Kate Bell, the assistant general secretary of the TUC. GMB’s recognition in Coventry would be a landmark moment after years of campaigning by trade unions over pay and conditions for workers in Amazon’s network of warehouses across the country. While several other locations have workers who are trade union members, the West Midlands site has the most. Staff in Coventry have been carrying out a series of strike actions for more than a year, demanding pay of £15 an hour and a seat at the table in negotiations. Workers have complained of the company using anti-union tactics, including QR codes displayed around the building, which, when scanned, generated an email to the GMB cancelling union membership. skip past newsletter promotion Sign up to Business Today Free daily newsletter Get set for the working day – we'll point you to all the business news and analysis you need every morning Enter your email address Sign up Privacy Notice: Newsletters may contain info about charities, online ads, and content funded by outside parties. For more information see our Newsletters may contain info about charities, online ads, and content funded by outside parties. For more information see our Privacy Policy . We use Google reCaptcha to protect our website and the Google Privacy Policy and Terms of Service apply. after newsletter promotion The vote in Coventry comes in the first full week of a Labour government after Keir Starmer’s party campaigned in the general election to improve workers’ rights, including making it easier for unions to organise in workplaces across Britain. As part of a drive led by the deputy prime minister, Angela Rayner, Labour has promised to legislate within the first 100 days to launch a “new deal for working people”. Unions, however, are concerned the plans could be watered down as a result of business lobbying, and are pushing for rapid action. An Amazon spokesperson said it had increased starting pay by 50% since 2018 to £12.30 or £13 an hour depending on location, and had a positive work environment, benefits and career opportunities. “Our employees have the choice of whether or not to join a union. They always have. We regularly review our pay to ensure we offer competitive wages and benefits,” they added.
Hollywood studio Paramount agrees $28bn merger with Skydance 2024-07-08 11:52:00+00:00 - Paramount Global, one of Hollywood’s best-known companies, has agreed to a merger with the independent film studio Skydance, in a deal that ends its links with the Redstone family. The Paramount chair, Shari Redstone, whose father, Sumner, bought the company in 1994, has given the green light to the sale of the family’s controlling stake in the company behind classic films such as The Godfather, Titanic and Breakfast at Tiffany’s. Paramount also owns the television network CBS and channels including MTV, Nickelodeon and the UK’s Channel 5. The deal, which values the company at $28bn (£22bn), brings an end to more than six months of negotiations. Skydance has agreed to invest $8bn into the new company as part of the merger deal. Skydance will then pay a further $2.4bn to buy National Amusements, the Redstone-owned theatre movie operator that holds nearly 80% of voting shares in Paramount. The agreement comes four years after the death of Sumner Redstone, whose company Viacom bought Paramount Pictures three decades ago in a deal worth $10bn. Shari Redstone had pulled the plug on advanced talks with Skydance Media last month. National Amusements, her company, said the two sides had been unable to reach mutually acceptable terms. Last week, however, Skydance and Redstone were said to have reached a preliminary deal. Skydance, the production group, is led by the producer David Ellison, the son of Larry Ellison, the tech tycoon who co-founded Oracle. It assembled a consortium of investors to buy National Amusements, and then merge with Paramount. Paramount and Skydance have partnered on several recent big releases, including Top Gun: Maverick, Mission: Impossible – Dead Reckoning and Star Trek Into Darkness. The deal is backed by several private equity firms, including RedBird Capital Partners, which walked away from a joint bid with the UAE government to buy Telegraph Media Group in April, saying new legislation meant the acquisition was “no longer feasible”. 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 Redstone said: “Given the changes in the industry, we want to fortify Paramount for the future while ensuring that content remains king. “Our hope is that the Skydance transaction will enable Paramount’s continued success in this rapidly changing environment. “As a longtime production partner to Paramount, Skydance knows Paramount well and has a clear strategic vision and the resources to take it to its next stage of growth. We believe in Paramount and we always will.” Ellison said: “I am incredibly grateful to Shari Redstone and her family who have agreed to entrust us with the opportunity to lead Paramount. “We are committed to energising the business and bolstering Paramount with contemporary technology, new leadership and a creative discipline that aims to enrich generations to come.”
Biden’s Wall Street Donors Are Increasingly ‘Concerned’ 2024-07-08 11:30:16.826000+00:00 - Wall Street’s game theory As more leading Democrats say privately that President Biden should withdraw from the presidential race, some of the party’s most prominent backers on Wall Street spent the holiday weekend debating what to do next. The group — including Larry Fink of BlackRock; Robert Rubin, the former Treasury secretary; Jon Gray of Blackstone; Peter Orszag of Lazard; Blair Effron of Centerview Partners; and Robert Wolf, a former UBS executive close to Barack Obama — talked to friends, colleagues and in some cases each other about whether to stick with Biden, people with knowledge of the discussions told DealBook. If they favor calling for him to step back, they discussed what their next moves should be. Wall Street is taking a different approach than Hollywood. A number of media moguls have publicly called on Biden to step aside, including Reed Hastings of Netflix; Barry Diller of IAC; the director Rob Reiner; and the media heir Abigail Disney. (Many are also reportedly irate at Jeffrey Katzenberg, Biden’s campaign co-chair.) But the finance business is built around the idea of discretion. And many donors want to maintain their influence within the Democratic Party.
Copenhagen Tries Rewards for Good Tourist Behavior 2024-07-08 09:02:13.105000+00:00 - A new fee for Venice day trippers. A looming ban on vacation rentals in Barcelona. Restrictions on the sale of alcohol in Majorca. At a time when overwhelmed European destinations are slapping tourists with restrictions and fees, Copenhagen is trying a different approach: rewarding visitors who act responsibly. Beginning July 15, tourists who demonstrate climate-friendly travel behavior by participating in the city’s green initiatives — including cycling, train travel and clean-up efforts — will be granted access to museum tours, kayak rentals, free meals and more. “We must turn tourism from being an environmental burden into a force for positive change,” said Mikkel Aarø-Hansen, the chief executive of Wonderful Copenhagen, the tourism organization for the Capital Region of Denmark. An important step in this transformation, he said, “is to change how we move around on the destination, what we consume, and how we interact with the locals.” On average, 81 percent of consumers say they want to act more sustainably, but only 22 percent have changed their behavior, according to a 2023 sustainable report by Kanter, a London-based market research group. Copenhagen’s new initiative, CopenPay, aims to bridge the gap between the desire to act sustainably and actual behavior by making climate-friendly action a currency for cultural experiences.
Macron keeps France’s prime minister in place for ‘stability of the country’ after chaotic election 2024-07-08 07:33:47+00:00 - PARIS (AP) — President Emmanuel Macron refused the resignation of France’s prime minister, asking him on Monday to remain temporarily as the head of the government after a chaotic election result left the government in limbo. Voters split the legislature on the left, center and far right, leaving no faction even close to the majority needed to form a government. The results from Sunday’s vote raised the risk of paralysis for the European Union’s second-largest economy. Macron gambled that his decision to call an early election would give France a “moment of clarification,” but the outcome showed the opposite, less than three weeks before the start of the Paris Olympics, when the country will be under an international spotlight. The French stock market fell upon opening before quickly recovering, possibly because markets had feared an outright victory for the far right or the leftist coalition. 1 of 10 | Far-left La France Insoumise - LFI - (France Unbowed) founder Jean-Luc Melenchon, right, clenches his fist with other party members after the second round of the legislative elections Sunday, July 7, 2024, in Paris. (AP Photo/Thomas Padilla) Read More 2 of 10 | People stand in Republique Plaza as they react to the projection of results during the second round of the legislative elections, in Paris, France, Sunday, July 7, 2024. (AP Photo/Christophe Ena) Read More 3 of 10 | People gather at the Republique plaza after the second round of the legislative election, Sunday, July 7, 2024, in Paris. (AP Photo/Louise Delmotte) Read More 4 of 10 | People gather at the Republique plaza after the second round of the legislative election, Sunday, July 7, 2024 in Paris. (AP Photo/Louise Delmotte) Read More 5 of 10 | French Prime Minister Gabriel Attal delivers a speech after the second round of the legislative elections, Sunday, July 7, 2024 in Paris. (AP Photo/Aurelien Morissard) Read More 6 of 10 | French President Emmanuel Macron and his wife Brigitte Macron leave the voting booth before voting for the second round of the legislative elections in Le Touquet-Paris-Plage, northern France, Sunday July 7 2024. (Mohammed Badra, Pool via AP) Read More 7 of 10 | Far-right National Rally party leader Marine Le Pen answers reporters after the second round of the legislative election, Sunday, July 7, 2024 at the party election night headquarters in Paris. (AP Photo/Louise Delmotte) Read More 8 of 10 | Bicycles burn during tensions near Republique plaza following the second round of the legislative elections, Sunday, July 7, 2024 in Paris. (AP Photo/Aurelien Morissard) Read More 9 of 10 | People gather at the Republique plaza after the second round of the legislative election, Sunday, July 7, 2024, in Paris. (AP Photo/Louise Delmotte) Read More 10 of 10 | People react to the projection of results during the second round of the legislative elections, near Republique Plaza in Paris, France, Sunday, July 7, 2024. (AP Photo/Christophe Ena) Read More 1 of 10 | Far-left La France Insoumise - LFI - (France Unbowed) founder Jean-Luc Melenchon, right, clenches his fist with other party members after the second round of the legislative elections Sunday, July 7, 2024, in Paris. (AP Photo/Thomas Padilla) Read More 1 of 10 Far-left La France Insoumise - LFI - (France Unbowed) founder Jean-Luc Melenchon, right, clenches his fist with other party members after the second round of the legislative elections Sunday, July 7, 2024, in Paris. (AP Photo/Thomas Padilla) Share Share Copy Link copied Email Facebook X Reddit LinkedIn Pinterest Flipboard Print Read More 2 of 10 | People stand in Republique Plaza as they react to the projection of results during the second round of the legislative elections, in Paris, France, Sunday, July 7, 2024. (AP Photo/Christophe Ena) Read More 2 of 10 People stand in Republique Plaza as they react to the projection of results during the second round of the legislative elections, in Paris, France, Sunday, July 7, 2024. (AP Photo/Christophe Ena) Share Share Copy Link copied Email Facebook X Reddit LinkedIn Pinterest Flipboard Print Read More 3 of 10 | People gather at the Republique plaza after the second round of the legislative election, Sunday, July 7, 2024, in Paris. (AP Photo/Louise Delmotte) Read More 3 of 10 People gather at the Republique plaza after the second round of the legislative election, Sunday, July 7, 2024, in Paris. (AP Photo/Louise Delmotte) Share Share Copy Link copied Email Facebook X Reddit LinkedIn Pinterest Flipboard Print Read More 4 of 10 | People gather at the Republique plaza after the second round of the legislative election, Sunday, July 7, 2024 in Paris. (AP Photo/Louise Delmotte) Read More 4 of 10 People gather at the Republique plaza after the second round of the legislative election, Sunday, July 7, 2024 in Paris. (AP Photo/Louise Delmotte) Share Share Copy Link copied Email Facebook X Reddit LinkedIn Pinterest Flipboard Print Read More 5 of 10 | French Prime Minister Gabriel Attal delivers a speech after the second round of the legislative elections, Sunday, July 7, 2024 in Paris. (AP Photo/Aurelien Morissard) Read More 5 of 10 French Prime Minister Gabriel Attal delivers a speech after the second round of the legislative elections, Sunday, July 7, 2024 in Paris. (AP Photo/Aurelien Morissard) Share Share Copy Link copied Email Facebook X Reddit LinkedIn Pinterest Flipboard Print Read More 6 of 10 | French President Emmanuel Macron and his wife Brigitte Macron leave the voting booth before voting for the second round of the legislative elections in Le Touquet-Paris-Plage, northern France, Sunday July 7 2024. (Mohammed Badra, Pool via AP) Read More 6 of 10 French President Emmanuel Macron and his wife Brigitte Macron leave the voting booth before voting for the second round of the legislative elections in Le Touquet-Paris-Plage, northern France, Sunday July 7 2024. (Mohammed Badra, Pool via AP) Share Share Copy Link copied Email Facebook X Reddit LinkedIn Pinterest Flipboard Print Read More 7 of 10 | Far-right National Rally party leader Marine Le Pen answers reporters after the second round of the legislative election, Sunday, July 7, 2024 at the party election night headquarters in Paris. (AP Photo/Louise Delmotte) Read More 7 of 10 Far-right National Rally party leader Marine Le Pen answers reporters after the second round of the legislative election, Sunday, July 7, 2024 at the party election night headquarters in Paris. (AP Photo/Louise Delmotte) Share Share Copy Link copied Email Facebook X Reddit LinkedIn Pinterest Flipboard Print Read More 8 of 10 | Bicycles burn during tensions near Republique plaza following the second round of the legislative elections, Sunday, July 7, 2024 in Paris. (AP Photo/Aurelien Morissard) Read More 8 of 10 Bicycles burn during tensions near Republique plaza following the second round of the legislative elections, Sunday, July 7, 2024 in Paris. (AP Photo/Aurelien Morissard) Share Share Copy Link copied Email Facebook X Reddit LinkedIn Pinterest Flipboard Print Read More 9 of 10 | People gather at the Republique plaza after the second round of the legislative election, Sunday, July 7, 2024, in Paris. (AP Photo/Louise Delmotte) Read More 9 of 10 People gather at the Republique plaza after the second round of the legislative election, Sunday, July 7, 2024, in Paris. (AP Photo/Louise Delmotte) Share Share Copy Link copied Email Facebook X Reddit LinkedIn Pinterest Flipboard Print Read More 10 of 10 | People react to the projection of results during the second round of the legislative elections, near Republique Plaza in Paris, France, Sunday, July 7, 2024. (AP Photo/Christophe Ena) Read More 10 of 10 People react to the projection of results during the second round of the legislative elections, near Republique Plaza in Paris, France, Sunday, July 7, 2024. (AP Photo/Christophe Ena) Share Share Copy Link copied Email Facebook X Reddit LinkedIn Pinterest Flipboard Print Read More Prime Minister Gabriel Attal had said he would remain in office if needed, but offered his resignation Monday morning. Macron, who named him just seven months ago, immediately asked him to stay on “to ensure the stability of the country.” Macron’s top political allies joined the meeting with Attal at the presidential palace, which ended after about 90 minutes. On Sunday, Attal made clear that he disagreed with Macron’s decision to call the surprise election. The results of two rounds of voting left no obvious path to form a government for the leftist coalition that came in first, Macron’s centrist alliance or the far right. Newly elected and returning lawmakers on Monday gathered at the National Assembly to begin negotiations over a new government in earnest. Macron himself will leave midweek for a NATO summit in Washington. Talks over who should form a new government and who should lead the foreign, interior and finance ministries among others, are expected to be extremely difficult and lengthy given that political parties negotiating a deal have diametrically opposing policies and contempt for one another. “We are in a situation that is totally unprecedented,” said Jean-Didier Berger, a newly elected lawmaker from the conservative Republicans party. Aurélien Rousseau, a newly elected lawmaker from the New Popular Front and former minister in Macron’s government acknowledged disagreements within the leftist alliance over the government formation, but said the alliance could eventually reach an agreement. “We need to build compromises, but we need to take time to discuss, to know what we agree on or disagree within the left,” Rousseau said. Another New Popular Front lawmaker, Jérôme Guedj of the French Socialists party, said the leftist alliance won’t buckle under pressure to name its candidate for the next prime minister who could govern alongside Macron. “This is a confusing moment (and) we’re not going to add anxiety, unnecessary division at a moment when we need to find the right path,” Guedj said. Political deadlock could have far-ranging implications for Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine, global diplomacy and Europe’s economic stability. Still, at least one leader said the result was a relief. “In Paris enthusiasm, in Moscow disappointment, in Kyiv relief. Enough to be happy in Warsaw,” Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk, a former European Council president, posted on X late Sunday. According to official results released early Monday, all three main blocs fell far short of the 289 seats needed to control the 577-seat National Assembly, the most powerful of France’s two legislative chambers. The results showed just over 180 seats for the New Popular Front leftist coalition, which placed first, to beat Macron’s centrist alliance, with more than 160 seats. The far-right National Rally part of Marine Le Pen and its allies were restricted to third place, although their more than 140 seats were still way ahead of the party’s previous best showing of 89 seats in 2022. Macron has three years remaining on his presidential term. Rather than rallying behind Macron as he’d hoped, millions took the vote as an opportunity to vent anger about inflation, crime, immigration and other grievances, including his style of government. The New Popular Front’s leaders immediately pushed Macron to give them the first chance to form a government and propose a prime minister. The faction pledges to roll back many of Macron’s headline reforms, embark on a costly program of public spending, and take a tougher line against Israel because of the war with Hamas. But it’s not clear, even among the left, who could lead the government without alienating crucial allies. “We need someone who offers consensus,” said Olivier Faure, head of the Socialist Party, which joined the leftist coalition and was still sorting out how many seats it won on Monday. Macron warns that the left’s economic program of many tens of billions of euros in public spending, partly financed by taxes on wealth and hikes for high earners, could be ruinous for France, already criticized by EU watchdogs for its debt. A hung parliament is unknown territory for modern France, and many people reacted with a mix of relief and apprehension. “What pollsters and the press were telling us made me very nervous so it’s a huge relief. Big expectations as well,” said Nadine Dupuis, a 60-year-old legal secretary in Paris. “What’s going to happen? How are they going to govern this country?” The political agreement between the left and center to block the National Rally was largely successful. Many voters decided that keeping the far right from power was more important than anything else, backing its opponents in the runoff, even if they weren’t from the political camp they usually support. “Disappointed, disappointed,” said far-right supporter Luc Doumont, 66. “Well, happy to see our progression, because for the past few years we’ve been doing better.” Le Pen, who was expected to make a fourth run for the French presidency in 2027, said the elections laid the groundwork for “the victory of tomorrow.” Racism and antisemitism marred the electoral campaign, along with Russian disinformation campaigns, and more than 50 candidates reported being physically attacked — highly unusual for France. Unlike other countries in Europe that are more accustomed to coalition governments, France doesn’t have a tradition of lawmakers from rival political camps coming together to form a majority. France is also more centralized than many other European countries, with many more decisions made in Paris. ___ Barbara Surk in Nice, and John Leicester, Diane Jeantet and Nicolas Garriga in Paris, contributed to this report. ___ Follow AP’s global election coverage at https://apnews.com/hub/global-elections
Charlie Munger Called Jeff Bezos An 'Amazing Human Leader,' But Missed Out On Amazon Stock Because It Was 'Too Complicated'. 2024-07-08 06:09:00+00:00 - Charlie Munger Called Jeff Bezos An 'Amazing Human Leader,' But Missed Out On Amazon Stock Because It Was 'Too Complicated'. Charlie Munger, the venerable late Vice Chairman of Berkshire Hathaway (NYSE:BRK) (NYSE:BRK), never minced words when it comes to praising Amazon.com Inc (NASDAQ:AMZN) founder Jeff Bezos. In a candid discussion in 2019, Munger lauded Bezos as an "amazing human leader," comparing him to Lee Kuan Yew, the transformative leader of Singapore. Don't Miss: Can you guess how many Americans successfully retire with $1,000,000 saved? The percentage may shock you . Elon Musk and Jeff Bezos are bullish on one city that could dethrone New York and become the new financial capital of the US. Investing in its booming real estate market has never been more accessible. Bezos’ leadership at Amazon led the company to global dominance in e-commerce and cloud computing. Despite this admiration, Munger and Berkshire Hathaway were notably late in investing in Amazon. Munger’s hesitation to invest in Amazon was rooted in the company’s complexity and the uncertainties that surrounded it. "It's always been too complicated and uncertain for my particular temperament," Munger said. He emphasized his preference for investments where outcomes could be predicted with a high degree of accuracy. This conservative approach has been a cornerstone of Berkshire Hathaway’s investment strategy, focusing on businesses with clear, stable trajectories. This cautiousness led to a missed opportunity, one that Munger acknowledged with a hint of regret. He admired Bezos’ unparalleled leadership but stayed true to his investment principles, favoring simpler, more predictable ventures. "I find other things to do that'll work fine," he said. Trending: This city is the clear winner of Zillow's 2024 Home Value Forecast — No surprise as the number of millionaires there grew by 75% in the last decade. Over the last 10 years, shares of Berkshire are up over 216% as viewed in the chart from Benzinga Pro below. Compare that to the +1,055% gain for Amazon.com shares over the last 10 years, as seen in the Benzinga Pro chart below, and it may be easy to see why Munger had some level of regret in not investing in the Bezos-founded ecommerce company. Read Next: Warren Buffett flipped his neighbor's $67,000 life savings into a $50 million fortune — How much is that worth today? How do billionaires pay less in income tax than you? Tax deferring is their number one strategy. "ACTIVE INVESTORS' SECRET WEAPON" Supercharge Your Stock Market Game with the #1 "news & everything else" trading tool: Benzinga Pro - Click here to start Your 14-Day Trial Now! Story continues Get the latest stock analysis from Benzinga? This article Charlie Munger Called Jeff Bezos An 'Amazing Human Leader,' But Missed Out On Amazon Stock Because It Was 'Too Complicated'. originally appeared on Benzinga.com
Euro Slips as Left’s Surprise Surge in France Sows Fiscal Doubts 2024-07-08 04:57:00+00:00 - (Bloomberg) -- The euro fell after initial projections in France’s legislative elections pointed to a shock victory for the leftist alliance, whose campaign for a sharp increase in government spending risks unsettling investors. Most Read from Bloomberg The common currency slipped 0.3% to around $1.0807 at the start of the session in Asia as traders began to digest an outcome they’d largely written off just days ago, and has the potential to reignite a tumultuous few weeks for markets. Initial projections show the New Popular Front, which includes the Socialists and far-left France Unbowed, is poised to get between 170 and 215 seats in the National Assembly. Marine Le Pen’s far-right National Rally — which had been widely expected to win the most seats — is seen coming in third, after President Emmanuel Macron’s centrist alliance. While money managers have spent the last week or so fretting over a Le Pen-dominated government, the left’s success will likely still concern markets, given it amounts to a fresh dose of uncertainty in the euro-area’s second-largest economy and because the cohort is committed to a broad easing of fiscal policy. That would exacerbate fears over France’s already-bloated balance sheet and put the nation on a collision course with the European Union, which is already taking action to curb the budget deficit. “French politics confounds yet again,” said Geoffrey Yu, senior strategist at Bank of New York Mellon. “Based on the results, risks of expansionary fiscal policy remain, and perhaps on the margins have picked up.” While the left alliance is unlikely to win an absolute majority — potentially limiting how much it can do — the result could roil French assets in the coming days. French markets plunged into a tailspin in June, wiping out billions of euros from stocks and bonds as Macron’s snap poll prompted concern that the far-right would take power. But over the past week, traders pared a chunk of those losses as opinion polls indicated that the National Rally would fall short of an outright majority. France’s CAC 40 Index last week erased about half of the losses it endured in the aftermath of Macron’s announcement. The picture painted by initial projections Sunday night is very different: Macron’s centrist party — favored by investors — is on track for second place, despite a poor showing in the first round of voting. The outcome could leave the president in a position to cobble together a centrist coalition. Story continues Still, the inevitable political wrangling, and anxiety about the influence of the left within a hung parliament, could push up the yield on the nation’s 10-year debt — known as OATs — pushing the spread over safer German bunds wider once again. That spread had eased to close at 66 basis points on Friday, after rocketing to more than 80 basis points last month — levels last seen during the euro-area’s sovereign debt crisis. The “shocking result” could easily send the spread back above 80 basis points, according to James Rossiter, head of global macro strategy at TD Securities. “Rates markets went into the elections with the OAT vs bund spread pricing in a scenario for a hung parliament — but a hung parliament led by RN not NFP,” he wrote in a note. French bond futures start trading again at 2:10 a.m. in Paris, followed by cash bonds at 8 a.m. and stocks at 9 a.m. What Our Strategists Are Saying... “Already the French far-left leader is saying he will implement his entire program and that he is unwilling to to enter any deals with Macron. That tone of defiance will hardly sit well with French bond investors.” — Ven Ram, cross-asset strategist An absolute majority for the left was identified by investors as the scenario they were most concerned about in the days ahead of the first round of votes. But that possibility was discounted after Le Pen’s National Rally convincingly won the first round. Among its pledges, the left coalition wants to reverse seven years of pro-business reform and hike the minimum wage. To implement its policies, the leftist New Popular Front would require nearly €95 billion ($102 billion) in extra funds per year, six times the spending planned by Macron and his allies and almost double that proposed by the National Rally, think tank Institut Montaigne said before the vote. France is already grappling with a budget deficit that at 5.5% far exceeds the 3% of economic output allowed under European Union rules. The International Monetary Fund predicts that — without further measures — debt would rise to 112% of economic output in 2024, and increase by about 1.5 percentage points a year over the medium-term. S&P Global Ratings downgraded France in late May, highlighting the French government’s missed goals in plans to restrain the budget deficit after huge spending during the Covid pandemic and energy crisis. Vincent Juvyns, global market strategist at J.P. Morgan Asset Management, said tensions were likely with reforms spearheaded by Macron now in doubt, potentially hurting the value of French bonds versus their peers. “Markets may demand a higher spread as long as the new government hasn’t clarified its fiscal position,” he said. “The European Commission and rating agencies are expecting 20 to 30 billions of cuts but the government will actually have to deal with a party which want to increase spending by 120 billion.” --With assistance from Julien Ponthus and Vassilis Karamanis. (Updates with new comment from sixth paragraph, additional context throughout) Most Read from Bloomberg Businessweek ©2024 Bloomberg L.P.
Euro falls as markets brace for French post-election gridlock 2024-07-08 04:42:00+00:00 - By Harry Robertson and Dhara Ranasinghe LONDON (Reuters) -The euro slipped on Sunday after projections from France's election pointed to a hung parliament and an unexpectedly strong showing for the left-wing New Popular Front, casting fresh uncertainty over markets and setting the stage for further volatility ahead. Analysts said markets would likely be relieved that Marine Le Pen’s far-right National Rally (RN) was forecast to come third after last week's first-round victory. Yet investors also have concerns that the French left’s plans could unwind many of President Emmanuel Macron’s pro-market reforms. And they believe political gridlock could end attempts to rein in France's debt, which stood at 110.6% of gross domestic product (GDP) in 2023. The euro fell 0.2% to $1.081 as the week’s trading got underway. It had climbed last week as opinion polls suggested a hung parliament was likely, assuaging fears of a far right victory, after dropping sharply - along with stocks and bonds - when Macron called the elections in early June. “It looks like the anti-far right parties really got a lot of support,” said Simon Harvey, head of FX analysis at Monex Europe. “But fundamentally from a market perspective, there’s no difference in terms of the outcome. There’s really going to be a vacuum when it comes to France’s legislative ability." Harvey added: "The bond market is going to be the real place to look at. There might be a bit of a gap lower in French bonds (prices)." Trading in French bonds and stocks will begin on Monday morning in Europe. The leftist alliance, which gathers the hard left, the Socialists and Greens, was forecast to win between 172 and 215 seats out of 577, according to pollsters' projections based on early results from a sample of polling stations. Macron’s centrist alliance was projected to win 150-180 seats, with the RN seen getting 115 to 155 seats. Analysts said a period of volatility and uncertainty was expected to continue as investors now assess what form the parliament will take, and how many, if any, of its policies the leftist alliance will be able to implement. The New Popular Front alliance says its first moves would include a 10% civil servant pay hike, providing free school lunches, supplies and transport while raising housing subsidies by 10%. "The economic programme of the left is in many ways much more problematic than that of the right, and while the left will not be able to govern on their own, the outlook for French public finances deteriorates further with these results," said Nordea chief market analyst Jan von Gerich. Story continues JITTERY MARKETS Markets tumbled after Macron gambled in June by calling a parliamentary election following a trouncing at the hands of the RN in European Parliament elections - as investors worried an RN victory could install a prime minister intent on a high-spending, France-first agenda that would exacerbate a large debt pile and shake relations with Europe. The risk premium investors demand to hold the country's debt soared to its highest level since the euro zone crisis in 2012. French stocks, led by banks, dropped as investors worried about their holdings of government debt, new regulation and economic uncertainty in the euro area's second biggest economy. Yet equities, bonds and the euro all recovered somewhat last week as polls showed a hung parliament was the most likely outcome as the left wing and centrist parties struck deals to give anti-RN candidates a better chance. The exact make-up of the next parliament remains uncertain, as does the next prime minister. Gabriel Attal said he would hand his resignation to Macron on Monday. "It’s going to be very hard to actually go ahead and pass any policy and bring about any progressive reforms because each party’s vote is split and no one has an absolute majority,” said Aneeka Gupta, director of macroeconomic research at WisdomTree. Yet she added: "I think the markets will be happy we’re avoiding this extreme situation with the far right." (Reporting by Harry Robertson and Dhara RanasingheEditing by Elisa Martinuzzi and Frances Kerry)
The stock market will drop 32% in 2025 as the Fed fails to save the economy from a recession, research firm says 2024-07-08 04:15:00+00:00 - A trader works on the floor at the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE) in New York City, New York, U.S., March 3, 2020. Andrew Kelly/Reuters The S&P 500 will plunge 32% in 2025 as a recession finally hits the US economy, BCA Research predicts. The firm said the Fed will fail to prevent a recession as it takes its time cutting interest rates. Rising unemployment and constrained credit will curb consumer spending, worsening the downturn. The stock market will crash 32% in 2025 as the Federal Reserve fails to prevent a recession, according to the most bearish strategist on Wall Street. Peter Berezin, chief global strategist at BCA Research, said in a recent note that a recession will hit the US economy later this year or in early 2025, and the downturn will send the S&P 500 tumbling to 3,750. "The consensus soft-landing narrative is wrong. The US will fall into a recession in late 2024 or early 2025. Growth in the rest of the world will also slow sharply," Berezin said. Part of Berezin's bearish outlook is based on the idea that the Fed will "drag its feet" in cutting interest rates, and the central bank will only meaningfully loosen financial conditions until a recession is apparent. By then, it will be too late. Berezin highlighted that the labor market is weakening as job openings decline materially from their post-pandemic peak. An ongoing decline in the quits rate, hiring rate, and recent downward revisions to the April and May jobs report also point to a slowing labor market. "Two years ago, workers who lost their jobs could simply walk across the street to find new work. That has become increasingly difficult," Berezin said. The June jobs report showed the unemployment rate ticking higher to 4.1% from 4.0%, yet another sign of some mild weakness in the jobs market. Rising unemployment could ultimately lead to consumers reducing their spending to build up their "precautionary savings," Berezin said, and that will happen as consumers' ability to borrow money narrows due to rising delinquency rates. Ultimately, a negative feedback loop will develop in the broader economy, which will send the stock market reeling. "With little accumulated savings to draw on and credit availability becoming more constrained, many households will have little choice but to curb spending. Decreased spending will lead to less hiring. Rising unemployment will curb income growth, leading to less spending and even higher unemployment," Berezin explained. And perhaps most importantly, the Fed's plan to blunt any economic decline via interest rate cuts simply won't work. "It is important to recognize that what matters for the economy is not the fed funds rate per se, but the interest rate that households and businesses actually pay," Berezin said. Story continues For example, the average mortgage rate paid by consumers is around 4%, compared to current mortgage rates of around 7%. That means even if the Fed cuts interest rates and mortgage rates decline, the average mortgage rate paid by consumers will continue to rise. That principal also applies to businesses and the loans they hope to refinance in the coming years. "These dynamics will trigger more defaults, causing pain for the banking systems. The problems that affected regional banks last year have not gone away," Berezin said. Read the original article on Business Insider
TipRanks’ ‘Perfect 10’ Picks: 2 Top-Scoring Stocks for the Second Half of 2024 2024-07-08 02:00:00+00:00 - Now that the first half of the year is fully behind us, we can take its measure – and what we see illuminates both hopes and risks. On the positive side, the stock markets have posted strong first-half gains; the S&P 500 is up nearly 17% and the tech-heavy NASDAQ has gained 24%. On the negative side, the gains are narrow, and concentrated in the tech sector; semiconductor maker Nvidia, up more than 150% so far this year, alone accounts for approximately one-third of the S&P gains. The narrow base alone might not spook investors – it’s based on the latest AI technologies, which are rapidly proving their worth in new products and services. But it’s also an election year, and as we all know, anything can happen at the polls in November. The recent debate between President Joe Biden and former President Trump, the presumptive challenger, only served to muddy those waters further. We can filter out some of those muddy waters with the right tool – such as the Smart Score, from TipRanks. This AI-based data collection and collation algorithm gathers and sorts the accumulated data of the stock market – and uses it to rate every stock according to a set of factors that have proven accurate forecasters of future performance. The result is given as a simple score, on a scale of 1 to 10, with the ‘Perfect 10s’ being stocks that deserve a closer look. So let’s give two top-scoring stocks – ‘Perfect 10s’ – just that close look that they deserve. According to the TipRanks database, the Street’s analysts recognize these shares as Strong Buys and are predicting plenty of upside for both. Here are the details. Janus International Group (JBI) We’ll start with a construction-related company, a firm focused on a product that most of us never even think about, although we use it every day: doors. Janus, a design and manufacturing company, provides solutions for doors and entryways to the commercial, industrial, and construction sectors. The company works with builders and contractors, offering a variety of doorway solutions, ranging from basic to high technology. Janus incorporates leading technologies in materials, electronics, and sensors, making sure that its doors are more than simple portals. Getting to specifics, Janus offers lines of doorways and entry systems for self-storage facilities, light industrial structures, and commercial buildings. These product lines include rolling steel doors, smart entries, hallway systems, and a range of doors made from varying materials and with varying levels of weatherproofing and security protection. Janus typically deals with enterprise clients. Story continues Janus is also noted for its Nokē system, a smart entry system designed to enhance doors and entryways in the self-storage niche. The Nokē system provides benefits for both storage facility owners and customers, including improved security, automated lock checks, and overlocking processes. Janus advertises this system as one of many it can offer to bring new technological innovations to its best-in-class self-storage door systems. In addition to its commitment to providing the best quality in top-end doorway products, Janus is also committed to expanding its footprint in the business. In late May, the company announced that it had acquired Terminal Maintenance and Construction, or TMC, a leading provider of terminal maintenance services in the trucking industry. TMC operates primarily in the Southeast US, and its acquisition will provide support for the expansion of Janus’ Facilitate business division, which provides a full range of facility maintenance services. Earlier in May, Janus beat expectations when it reported its financial results for 1Q24. The company’s earnings release showed a top line of $254.5 million. While up only 1% from the prior year period, this revenue total was $1.6 million better than had been anticipated. At the bottom line, Janus’ non-GAAP EPS of 21 cents per share was 2 cents above the estimates – and the total net income of $30.7 million was up more than 18% year-over-year. This stock has been covered by Jefferies analyst Philip Ng, who sees plenty of potential here for continued growth. He notes that Janus is executing well on its business, and writes, “Despite a mixed backdrop for self-storage REITs, JBI has seen continued momentum particularly in new construction and its backlogs have remained stable. JBI is delivering solid growth & strong margins, and capital deployment provides good optionality. With the stock trading at 7.0x 2025E EV/EBITDA, we see a path for JBI to re-rate higher now that its float has improved, and it becomes discovered by a broader shareholder base.” The five-star analyst goes on to give these shares a Buy rating, with a $20 price target that indicates room for a 63% share appreciation on the one-year horizon. (To watch Ng’s track record, click here) While Janus has only 3 recent analyst reviews, they are unanimously positive – for a Strong Buy consensus rating from the Street. The stock is selling for $12.25, and its $20.50 average target price implies a one-year gain of 67%. (See JBI stock forecast) Atmus Filtration Technologies (ATMU) Next on our list, Atmus, is an industrial firm offering a portfolio of high-quality, differentiated filtration solutions on the global market. In short, the company offers a full line of filter and filtration products to a variety of industries, including customers in the fields of agriculture; power generation; rail, marine, and truck transport; mining, oil, and gas extraction – it is a long list, as Atmus boasts hundreds of thousands of end users. Atmus started out, and for a long time remained, a subsidiary of the major diesel engine firm Cummins. In May of 2023, Cummins began the process of spinning Atmus off as a fully independent entity; that process was completed earlier this year, when Cummins sold off its remaining interest in the filtration firm. As an independent operator, Atmus can boast a market cap of $2.38 billion. The company is a leader in filtration technology, and protects its product portfolio and intellectual property with more than 1,250 patents – active or pending – worldwide, as well as some 600 trademark registrations and applications. The company’s filtration tech is used in a wide range of fuel, lubricant, and air systems, connected to a variety of engines and power plants. Atmus has 5 technical centers and 10 manufacturing facilities, and saw more than $1.6 billion in sales last year. Atmus recently reported its 1Q24 results, its fourth financial release since its stock first went public last year. At the top line, the company reported $427 million in revenue, while at the bottom line it reported non-GAAP earnings of 60 cents per share. Northland analyst Bobby Brooks covers Atmus, and he explains why investors should pay attention here: “ATMU’s Fleetguard is the premier brand for emission/efficiency parts in medium/heavy duty, on/off-highway vehicles. ATMU split off from CMI (NR) last year, with CMI exiting its remaining stake this March. Ultimately, we think ATMU’s extremely macro-resilient business, upside to accelerating top-line growth, margin expansion opportunities post-split, and clean BS create a compelling investment case.” (To watch Brooks’ track record, click here.) To this end, Brooks gives the shares an Outperform (Buy) rating, with a $36 price target that implies a one-year upside potential of 26%. Zooming out a bit, we find that ATMU shares have acquired 6 recent analyst reviews – and that they are all positive, giving the stock its Strong Buy consensus rating. The shares are priced at $28.55, and their average price target, $36.17, suggests that the stock has room to gain 27% over the next 12 months. (See ATMU stock forecast) To find good ideas for stocks trading at attractive valuations, visit TipRanks’ Best Stocks to Buy, a tool that unites all of TipRanks’ equity insights. Disclaimer: The opinions expressed in this article are solely those of the featured analysts. The content is intended to be used for informational purposes only. It is very important to do your own analysis before making any investment.
Could Nvidia Stock Help You Become a Millionaire? 2024-07-08 00:06:00+00:00 - Nvidia (NASDAQ: NVDA) has reached record highs over the last year as it has become the poster child for a boom in the artificial intelligence (AI) market. Since the start of 2023, the chipmaker's stock has skyrocketed 174%, while quarterly revenue and operating income have climbed 93% and 149%. Wall Street has rallied behind Nvidia as it has achieved a majority market share in AI graphics processing units (GPUs) just as demand for the chips has soared. Uncertainty about how long Nvidia can keep up its bull run weighed on its stock toward the end of June and the start of July when it fell as low as $118 per share after hitting a high of $135 per share just days before. However, its share price rebounded on July 3, rising 4% as the slump proved temporary. Meanwhile, the company still has plenty to be bullish about. Nvidia has years of dominance in the chip market under its belt, suggesting its role in AI is unlikely to dissipate any time soon. The chipmaker also has new product launches in the works that will likely continue to boost sales and earnings to retain its lead in the retail chip market. Here's why Nvidia stock could help you become a millionaire over the long term. Nvidia has a long history of success in the chip market Nvidia initially made a name for itself by carving out a dominating role in video games. The company was one of the first to begin selling chips to the consumer market, with gamers using its GPUs to build high-powered gaming PCs. Nvidia's success in the industry has seen its desktop GPU market share rise from 65% in 2014 to 88% in the first quarter of 2024. A lead in gaming chips perfectly positioned the company to gain a dominant role in data-center GPUs and, eventually, AI. In fact, according to IoT Analytics, Nvidia is responsible for more than 90% of the data-center GPU market. Many of these data centers have become crucial to the development of the AI market, powering platforms like Amazon Web Services, Microsoft's Azure, and OpenAI's ChatGPT. Nvidia has managed to retain its dominance in GPUs in different sectors across tech despite the persistence of companies like Advanced Micro Devices and Intel. For instance, while Nvidia has added more than 20 points to its desktop GPU market share over the last decade, AMD's has actually fallen from 33% to 12%. Meanwhile, Intel briefly had a 4% share in Q1 2023, which has since dwindled to 0%. The best is yet to come We're only about a year into the recent boom in AI, suggesting developers have barely scratched the surface of what's possible with the generative technology. As the market progresses, chip demand is only likely to continue rising. Meanwhile, Nvidia is leveraging its lead to steer the industry in its favor and challenge its competitors. Story continues In 2024, Nvidia transitioned to a yearly release schedule for new chips when a two-year cycle was previously the market standard. The shift forced AMD and Intel to follow suit. As a result, Nvidia is gearing up to launch its Blackwell line chips, the company's next generation of AI training processors. CEO Jensen Huang noted at the announcement, "The Blackwell architecture platform will likely be the most successful product in our history and even in the entire computer history." A leading reason for Nvidia's success is the software platform accompanying its AI chips, which it calls its Compute Unified Device Architecture (CUDA). Developers worldwide have grown accustomed to this ecosystem, with switching akin to how a user of Apple's iPhone might feel about switching to a Samsung phone. Consequently, Nvidia's competitors will likely face an uphill battle trying to gain traction in AI. NVDA Operating Income (Quarterly) Chart Moreover, the data in the table above shows the significant financial lead Nvidia has achieved over its competitors. Since last July, Nvidia's operating income and free cash flow have skyrocketed far higher than AMD or Intel's, indicating Nvidia is far more capable of continuing to invest in its business and retain its market dominance. Despite recent growth, Nvidia's price/earnings-to-growth (PEG) ratio sits at less than one, indicating its stock remains a value. Alongside nearly unrivaled dominance in the budding AI market, Nivida is a screaming buy this July and a stock that could make you a millionaire with the right investment. Should you invest $1,000 in Nvidia right now? Before you buy stock in Nvidia, 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 Nvidia 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 $771,034!* 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 2, 2024 John Mackey, former CEO of Whole Foods Market, an Amazon subsidiary, is a member of The Motley Fool's board of directors. Dani Cook has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool has positions in and recommends Advanced Micro Devices, Amazon, Apple, Microsoft, and Nvidia. The Motley Fool recommends Intel and recommends the following options: long January 2025 $45 calls on Intel, long January 2026 $395 calls on Microsoft, short August 2024 $35 calls on Intel, and short January 2026 $405 calls on Microsoft. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy. Could Nvidia Stock Help You Become a Millionaire? was originally published by The Motley Fool
Trump tax cuts not a guaranteed jolt to the markets: Wall Street pros 2024-07-07 23:57:00+00:00 - The path for taxes are a critical issue for the markets in this upcoming presidential election. The evidence of this played out in the bond market this past week. Treasury yields spiked, driven by concerns of higher deficits, as investors began to price in the potential implications of a second Donald Trump presidency following President Joe Biden's underwhelming debate performance. “It’s among the most consequential policy issues of the last decade,” AGF Investments’ Greg Valliere told me. And here’s why: Several provisions from the 2017 Tax Cuts and Jobs Act, which lowered the corporate tax rate from 35% to 21% and reduced tax rates on individuals, are set to expire next year. President Biden’s budget proposal, released earlier this year, called for imposing a 25% minimum tax rate on the wealthiest Americans as well as increasing the top income tax rate to 39.6% for those making more than $400,000 a year. For corporations, President Biden has proposed raising the corporate tax rate to 28%, while a Republican sweep could push the rate as low as 15%. Remember, enthusiasm for tax cuts contributed to a stock market rally back in 2017, and the thought on Wall Street is that another Trump presidency would make it more likely that those tax cuts are extended. But, as we saw the action in the market this week, it may not necessarily be a home run view for investors, pros warn. Truist’s Keith Lerner told me an extension of the tax cuts isn’t necessarily good news for the markets, emphasizing the importance of not overlooking bond vigilantes as investors assess the risk of higher debt. “There is always the potential that the bond market looks negatively on the potential of lower taxes or extending current policy or increased spending from the candidates,” Lerner says. Republican presidential candidate former President Donald Trump speaks during a presidential debate with President Joe Biden, Thursday, June 27, 2024, in Atlanta. (AP Photo/Gerald Herbert) (ASSOCIATED PRESS) For those preparing their investment playbooks, UBS’s chief investment officer Solita Marcelli notes that enthusiasm surrounding lower taxes and lighter regulation may be tempered by the impacts of higher tariffs. In a note to clients, Marcelli wrote that, as a result, “interest rates and the dollar would likely rise initially.” But remember, it’s still early, and the market may be getting ahead of itself by assuming a Republican sweep will guarantee tax cuts. Valliere thinks both sides of the aisle are “getting cold feet” about extending tax cuts, as more Republican lawmakers worry about the deteriorating fiscal picture. The Congressional Budget Office (CBO) estimates that extending the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act would add $4.6 trillion to the deficit over the next decade, $1.1 trillion more than previously estimated. The US federal debt currently totals over $34 trillion, and the government is expected to spend nearly $900 billion on interest payments in 2024. Story continues Seana Smith is an anchor at Yahoo Finance. Follow Smith on Twitter @SeanaNSmith. Tips on deals, mergers, activist situations, or anything else? Email seanasmith@yahooinc.com. There is nowhere to hide overseas from US election volatility, Bradesco head of equity strategy Ben Laidler told Yahoo Finance Executive Editor Brian Sozzi on his Opening Bid podcast. Listen in below. Three times each week, Sozzi fields insight-filled, market-focused conversations and chats with the biggest names in business on Opening Bid. Find more episodes on our video hub. Watch on your preferred streaming service. Or listen and subscribe on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or wherever you find your favorite podcasts. Click here for in-depth analysis of the latest stock market news and events moving stock prices Read the latest financial and business news from Yahoo Finance
Jane F. McAlevey, Who Empowered Workers Across the Globe, Dies at 59 2024-07-07 21:36:30.811000+00:00 - Jane F. McAlevey, a fierce labor organizer and scholar who trained tens of thousands of workers across the globe in strategies for taking charge of and shaping their unions, died on Sunday at her cabin in Muir Beach, Calif. She was 59. Her stepbrother Mitchell Rotbert said the cause was multiple myeloma. Ms. McAlevey (pronounced MACK-a-leevee) dedicated her life to increasing working class power. She believed that worker-driven unions — led from the bottom up rather from the top down — were the most effective engines to combat economic inequality. In her writings, including for The Nation, as what the magazine described as its “strikes correspondent,” and in frequent media interviews and podcasts, Ms. McAlevey became a vocal critic of what she saw as the complacency, ineptitude and corporate collusion of many U.S. labor leaders. “What almost no union does is actually organize their members as members in their own communities to build community power,” she said in an interview for this obituary last November. “I teach workers to take over their unions and change them.”