Here are the key news updates that investors need to kickstart their trading day:
1. Fed Meeting Anticipation
Stock futures are showing a lackluster performance as the new week begins, primarily due to investors eagerly awaiting the final Federal Reserve meeting of 2023.
2. Macy’s Potential Privatization
As the holiday shopping season gains momentum, Macy’s has caught the attention of Arkhouse Management and Brigade Capital Management, who have expressed interest in taking the department store retailer private. Sources close to the matter shared with CNBC’s Gabrielle Fonrouge that the investor group has offered $5.8 billion, valuing Macy’s shares at approximately $21 each. This proposed price represents a premium to Macy’s previous closing price of around $17 per share.
3. Earnings Season Progress
The final stages of earnings season are unfolding, with only a few notable reports on the schedule for this week:
– Monday: Oracle (after market close)
– Wednesday: Adobe (after market close)
– Thursday: Costco (after market close)
– Friday: Darden Restaurants (before market open)
While the season has generally witnessed strong earnings, a decline in consumer demand has resulted in lower sales figures. This shift prompted many companies to proceed cautiously with their year-end and 2024 guidance.
4. Hybrid Vehicles Make a Comeback
Amid the industry’s transition to electric vehicles (EVs), automakers are increasingly revisiting hybrid models. Companies including Ford, GM, Stellantis, Toyota, Hyundai, and Honda are focusing on selling more hybrid vehicles to meet forthcoming U.S. emissions standards, which necessitate an overall fuel efficiency for the entire fleet. Given slower-than-anticipated sales of all-electric vehicles, hybrids are becoming instrumental in boosting overall average fuel efficiency. Furthermore, hybrids can serve as a bridge towards an electric future as they are often more affordable and can address common concerns like range anxiety.
5. AI that puts people first
According to CNBC’s Jennifer Elias, a Google team is thinking of combining mobile phone data, such as images and web searches, to build a mosaic of users’ lives through artificial intelligence. Google is putting up numerous proposals to develop AI-based goods, and this one is dubbed “Project Ellmann,” after biographer Richard David Ellmann. A copy of a presentation that CNBC saw states that the goal is to feed user data into a chatbot so that it can “answer previously impossible questions.” Ellmann claims to want to be “Your Life Story Teller.”
Source (CNBC)
