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Top Stock Market News For Today February 16, 2022

Stock index futures dip as investors await economic data later today.
The post Top Stock Market News For Today February 16, 2022 appeared first on Stock…

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Stock Market Futures Edge Lower Ahead Of January Retail Sales Data And Fed Minutes

U.S. stock futures are retreating slightly in early morning trading on Wednesday. Regardless, investors will likely be looking ahead at another crucial piece of economic data today. This would be the U.S. Census Bureau’s retail sales readings for January. For now, consensus economist estimates are pointing towards a year-over-year rise of 2%. This would be a notable increase from December’s drop of 1.9%. All in all, retail sales would help to provide a clearer picture regarding the current state of the economy. Should things turn out for the better, it could, in theory, help to temper concerns over inflation among other market headwinds.

Explaining this in detail is Matthew Miskin, co-chief investment strategist over at John Hancock (NYSE: JHI) Investment Management. He posits, “At the moment, the market is twisting and turning on headlines, and we wouldn’t overplay it either way. There’s still a lot of uncertainty around this geopolitical risk.” Miskin continues, “We’re looking at the earnings picture — still pretty good. Economic data is okay. But right now we’re kind of stuck in this stagflation-type environment, where the economic data is kind of stagnating and yet inflationary pressures are still building.” Aside from all this, there are plenty of earnings to consider in the stock market today as well. As of 6:52 a.m. ET, the Dow, S&P 500, and Nasdaq futures are trading lower by 0.12%, 0.10%, and 0.04% respectively.

Upstart Gains On Record Profits, Soaring Growth, And $400 Million Share Buyback Plans

Upstart (NASDAQ: UPST) appears to be turning heads in the stock market now. As you can imagine during this earnings season, this is thanks to its latest quarterly update. Diving in, the consumer lending firm posted solid figures across the board. It raked in a total revenue of $305 million for the quarter, topping forecasts of $262.9 million. Additionally, Upstart posted earnings of $0.89 per share, crushing Wall Street estimates of $0.51. In terms of year-over-year comparisons, Upstart reported gains of 252% for total revenue and over 1,500% for net income. Following this blowout quarter, UPST stock is currently trading higher by 26% in pre-market hours today.

According to CEO Dave Girouard, all this marks an exceptional end to Upstart’s breakout year of 2021. Namely, the CEO cites consumer trends placing its artificial intelligence (AI) lending offerings in the forefront. The likes of which are responsible for “kicking off the most impactful transformation of credit in decades,” in his own words. Moreover, Girouard also adds, “But AI lending isn’t a one-category phenomenon. I’m also happy to report that, with help from an epic push by our team in the last few weeks of the year, auto loan originations on our platform are now ramping quickly and will provide growth opportunities to Upstart for years to come.”

Not to mention, the company is also expecting its momentum to persist moving forward. For the current quarter, Upstart is guiding for revenue of between $295 million to $305 million. This would top consensus predictions of $258.3 million. That’s not all, Upstart also authorized a share repurchase program of up to $400 million in common stock. Safe to say, with Upstart seemingly firing on all cylinders now, investors are eyeing UPST stock.

UPST stock
Source: TradingView

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Airbnb Seeing Clear Blue Skies After Posting Massive Jump In Gross Booking Value

Another name on the rise in the stock market now would be Airbnb (NASDAQ: ABNB). Similar to our earlier piece of news, Airbnb is currently riding the momentum from a solid set of quarterly earnings figures. In detail, the vacation home rental goliath posted an earnings per share of $0.08 on revenue of $1.53 billion. Notably, this handily beats Wall Street’s forecasts of $0.03 and $1.46 billion respectively. On top of that, the company also reported that 73.4 million nights and experiences were booked on its platform throughout the quarter. While this is shy of consensus estimates of 74.96 million, it marks a notable 59% year-over-year increase.

For the most part, it seems that Airbnb is particularly benefitting from the return to travel. With the overall improvement in pandemic conditions compared to the same quarter a year ago, this is apparent. Overall, the company notes that it is coming out of another record quarter. Not only that, but Airbnb also highlights that 2021 was the best year in its history as a company as well. All of this is despite the ongoing pandemic. In fact, its core metrics such as gross nights booked, long-term trips, and host community are either recovering to or surpassing pre-pandemic levels.

Commenting on its performance for the quarter is CEO Brian Chesky. He highlights, “We are amidst the biggest change to travel since the advent of commercial flying. Airbnb’s adaptable model and relentless innovation are making it possible for us to grow this new category of travel we created.” Looking forward, Airbnb appears to be confident as well. For the first quarter of 2022, the company is eyeing revenue between $1.41 billion and $1.48 billion. This would mark a noticeable lead over expectations of $1.24 billion from Wall Street.

ABNB stock
Source: TradingView

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Roblox Slides After Missing Wall Street Forecasts Across The Board

On the flip side, Roblox (NYSE: RBLX) seems to be having a rough time this earnings season. Accordingly, this would be a result of its latest quarterly financial misses. Now, Roblox saw a loss per share of $0.25 on revenue of $770 million. For reference, this is in comparison to consensus expectations of a $0.13 loss per share and $772 million in revenue. Sure, the company’s results may seem disappointing compared to current estimates. However, compared to the same quarter last year, Roblox is seeing steady growth. Its revenue is up by 83% year-over-year while average daily active users (DAUs) are up by 33%. Regarding DAUs, there are now 49.5 million players logging on to Roblox daily, according to the company’s estimates.

In the larger scheme of things, some would argue that the current sell-off in RBLX stock could be overplayed. After all, its year-over-year improvements are commendable. Adding to all that, the company is actively growing its version of the metaverse. This is evident from its ongoing partnerships with the NFL and Nike (NYSE: NKE) among others. Furthermore, Bank of America (NYSE: BAC) analyst Omar Dessouky recently hailed Roblox as well. He notes that Roblox is “concretely demonstrating” what the metaverse means to consumers, developers, and merchants alike. Dessouky currently has a Buy rating and a price target of $84 on RBLX stock. With all this in mind, investors may be considering RBLX stock amidst its current weakness.

RBLX stock
Source: TradingView

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Nvidia Earnings On Tap After Today’s Market Close

For earnings due today, Nvidia (NASDAQ: NVDA) is among the heavy hitters to look out for. This would especially be the case as the semiconductor industry has and continues to kick into high gear amidst global shortages. In fact, the Semiconductor Industry Association’s (SIA) latest chip sales readings for 2021 are in. According to the SIA, global semiconductor sales for 2021 was a whopping $555.9 billion, up 26.2% year-over-year. Aside from this, there are also numerous mentions of acquisitions in the industry this week as well.

Nevertheless, the focus for today would be what Nvidia has to report. As it stands, Wall Street expects the company to post earnings of $1.22 per share on revenue of $7.4 billion. Should this be the case, it would translate to massive year-over-year gains of 53% and 48% respectively. Among the core metrics to know would be its data center and gaming revenue divisions. Both of which analysts are expecting to improve significantly this quarter. Because of all this, I could see NVDA stock gaining attention in the stock market now.

NVDA stock
Source: TradingView

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The post Top Stock Market News For Today February 16, 2022 appeared first on Stock Market News, Quotes, Charts and Financial Information | StockMarket.com.

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Wendy’s teases new $3 offer for upcoming holiday

The Daylight Savings Time promotion slashes prices on breakfast.

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2 hours ago

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March 8, 2024

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Daylight Savings Time, or the practice of advancing clocks an hour in the spring to maximize natural daylight, is a controversial practice because of the way it leaves many feeling off-sync and tired on the second Sunday in March when the change is made and one has one less hour to sleep in.

Despite annual "Abolish Daylight Savings Time" think pieces and online arguments that crop up with unwavering regularity, Daylight Savings in North America begins on March 10 this year.

Related: Coca-Cola has a new soda for Diet Coke fans

Tapping into some people's very vocal dislike of Daylight Savings Time, fast-food chain Wendy's  (WEN)  is launching a daylight savings promotion that is jokingly designed to make losing an hour of sleep less painful and encourage fans to order breakfast anyway.

Wendy's has recently made a big push to expand its breakfast menu.

Image source: Wendy's.

Promotion wants you to compensate for lost sleep with cheaper breakfast

As it is also meant to drive traffic to the Wendy's app, the promotion allows anyone who makes a purchase of $3 or more through the platform to get a free hot coffee, cold coffee or Frosty Cream Cold Brew.

More Food + Dining:

Available during the Wendy's breakfast hours of 6 a.m. and 10:30 a.m. (which, naturally, will feel even earlier due to Daylight Savings), the deal also allows customers to buy any of its breakfast sandwiches for $3. Items like the Sausage, Egg and Cheese Biscuit, Breakfast Baconator and Maple Bacon Chicken Croissant normally range in price between $4.50 and $7.

The choice of the latter is quite wide since, in the years following the pandemic, Wendy's has made a concerted effort to expand its breakfast menu with a range of new sandwiches with egg in them and sweet items such as the French Toast Sticks. The goal was both to stand out from competitors with a wider breakfast menu and increase traffic to its stores during early-morning hours.

Wendy's deal comes after controversy over 'dynamic pricing'

But last month, the chain known for the square shape of its burger patties ignited controversy after saying that it wanted to introduce "dynamic pricing" in which the cost of many of the items on its menu will vary depending on the time of day. In an earnings call, chief executive Kirk Tanner said that electronic billboards would allow restaurants to display various deals and promotions during slower times in the early morning and late at night.

Outcry was swift and Wendy's ended up walking back its plans with words that they were "misconstrued" as an intent to surge prices during its most popular periods.

While the company issued a statement saying that any changes were meant as "discounts and value offers" during quiet periods rather than raised prices during busy ones, the reputational damage was already done since many saw the clarification as another way to obfuscate its pricing model.

"We said these menuboards would give us more flexibility to change the display of featured items," Wendy's said in its statement. "This was misconstrued in some media reports as an intent to raise prices when demand is highest at our restaurants."

The Daylight Savings Time promotion, in turn, is also a way to demonstrate the kinds of deals Wendy's wants to promote in its stores without putting up full-sized advertising or posters for what is only relevant for a few days.

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Inside The Most Ridiculous Jobs Report In Recent History: Record 1.2 Million Immigrant Jobs Added In One Month

Inside The Most Ridiculous Jobs Report In Recent History: Record 1.2 Million Immigrant Jobs Added In One Month

Last month we though that the…

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March 8, 2024

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Inside The Most Ridiculous Jobs Report In Recent History: Record 1.2 Million Immigrant Jobs Added In One Month

Last month we though that the January jobs report was the "most ridiculous in recent history" but, boy, were we wrong because this morning the Biden department of goalseeked propaganda (aka BLS) published the February jobs report, and holy crap was that something else. Even Goebbels would blush. 

What happened? Let's take a closer look.

On the surface, it was (almost) another blockbuster jobs report, certainly one which nobody expected, or rather just one bank out of 76 expected. Starting at the top, the BLS reported that in February the US unexpectedly added 275K jobs, with just one research analyst (from Dai-Ichi Research) expecting a higher number.

Some context: after last month's record 4-sigma beat, today's print was "only" 3 sigma higher than estimates. Needless to say, two multiple sigma beats in a row used to only happen in the USSR... and now in the US, apparently.

Before we go any further, a quick note on what last month we said was "the most ridiculous jobs report in recent history": it appears the BLS read our comments and decided to stop beclowing itself. It did that by slashing last month's ridiculous print by over a third, and revising what was originally reported as a massive 353K beat to just 229K,  a 124K revision, which was the biggest one-month negative revision in two years!

Of course, that does not mean that this month's jobs print won't be revised lower: it will be, and not just that month but every other month until the November election because that's the only tool left in the Biden admin's box: pretend the economic and jobs are strong, then revise them sharply lower the next month, something we pointed out first last summer and which has not failed to disappoint once.

To be fair, not every aspect of the jobs report was stellar (after all, the BLS had to give it some vague credibility). Take the unemployment rate, after flatlining between 3.4% and 3.8% for two years - and thus denying expectations from Sahm's Rule that a recession may have already started - in February the unemployment rate unexpectedly jumped to 3.9%, the highest since February 2022 (with Black unemployment spiking by 0.3% to 5.6%, an indicator which the Biden admin will quickly slam as widespread economic racism or something).

And then there were average hourly earnings, which after surging 0.6% MoM in January (since revised to 0.5%) and spooking markets that wage growth is so hot, the Fed will have no choice but to delay cuts, in February the number tumbled to just 0.1%, the lowest in two years...

... for one simple reason: last month's average wage surge had nothing to do with actual wages, and everything to do with the BLS estimate of hours worked (which is the denominator in the average wage calculation) which last month tumbled to just 34.1 (we were led to believe) the lowest since the covid pandemic...

... but has since been revised higher while the February print rose even more, to 34.3, hence why the latest average wage data was once again a product not of wages going up, but of how long Americans worked in any weekly period, in this case higher from 34.1 to 34.3, an increase which has a major impact on the average calculation.

While the above data points were examples of some latent weakness in the latest report, perhaps meant to give it a sheen of veracity, it was everything else in the report that was a problem starting with the BLS's latest choice of seasonal adjustments (after last month's wholesale revision), which have gone from merely laughable to full clownshow, as the following comparison between the monthly change in BLS and ADP payrolls shows. The trend is clear: the Biden admin numbers are now clearly rising even as the impartial ADP (which directly logs employment numbers at the company level and is far more accurate), shows an accelerating slowdown.

But it's more than just the Biden admin hanging its "success" on seasonal adjustments: when one digs deeper inside the jobs report, all sorts of ugly things emerge... such as the growing unprecedented divergence between the Establishment (payrolls) survey and much more accurate Household (actual employment) survey. To wit, while in January the BLS claims 275K payrolls were added, the Household survey found that the number of actually employed workers dropped for the third straight month (and 4 in the past 5), this time by 184K (from 161.152K to 160.968K).

This means that while the Payrolls series hits new all time highs every month since December 2020 (when according to the BLS the US had its last month of payrolls losses), the level of Employment has not budged in the past year. Worse, as shown in the chart below, such a gaping divergence has opened between the two series in the past 4 years, that the number of Employed workers would need to soar by 9 million (!) to catch up to what Payrolls claims is the employment situation.

There's more: shifting from a quantitative to a qualitative assessment, reveals just how ugly the composition of "new jobs" has been. Consider this: the BLS reports that in February 2024, the US had 132.9 million full-time jobs and 27.9 million part-time jobs. Well, that's great... until you look back one year and find that in February 2023 the US had 133.2 million full-time jobs, or more than it does one year later! And yes, all the job growth since then has been in part-time jobs, which have increased by 921K since February 2023 (from 27.020 million to 27.941 million).

Here is a summary of the labor composition in the past year: all the new jobs have been part-time jobs!

But wait there's even more, because now that the primary season is over and we enter the heart of election season and political talking points will be thrown around left and right, especially in the context of the immigration crisis created intentionally by the Biden administration which is hoping to import millions of new Democratic voters (maybe the US can hold the presidential election in Honduras or Guatemala, after all it is their citizens that will be illegally casting the key votes in November), what we find is that in February, the number of native-born workers tumbled again, sliding by a massive 560K to just 129.807 million. Add to this the December data, and we get a near-record 2.4 million plunge in native-born workers in just the past 3 months (only the covid crash was worse)!

The offset? A record 1.2 million foreign-born (read immigrants, both legal and illegal but mostly illegal) workers added in February!

Said otherwise, not only has all job creation in the past 6 years has been exclusively for foreign-born workers...

Source: St Louis Fed FRED Native Born and Foreign Born

... but there has been zero job-creation for native born workers since June 2018!

This is a huge issue - especially at a time of an illegal alien flood at the southwest border...

... and is about to become a huge political scandal, because once the inevitable recession finally hits, there will be millions of furious unemployed Americans demanding a more accurate explanation for what happened - i.e., the illegal immigration floodgates that were opened by the Biden admin.

Which is also why Biden's handlers will do everything in their power to insure there is no official recession before November... and why after the election is over, all economic hell will finally break loose. Until then, however, expect the jobs numbers to get even more ridiculous.

Tyler Durden Fri, 03/08/2024 - 13:30

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Shipping company files surprise Chapter 7 bankruptcy, liquidation

While demand for trucking has increased, so have costs and competition, which have forced a number of players to close.

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March 8, 2024

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The U.S. economy is built on trucks.

As a nation we have relatively limited train assets, and while in recent years planes have played an expanded role in moving goods, trucks still represent the backbone of how everything — food, gasoline, commodities, and pretty much anything else — moves around the country.

Related: Fast-food chain closes more stores after Chapter 11 bankruptcy

"Trucks moved 61.1% of the tonnage and 64.9% of the value of these shipments. The average shipment by truck was 63 miles compared to an average of 640 miles by rail," according to the U.S. Bureau of Transportation Statistics 2023 numbers.

But running a trucking company has been tricky because the largest players have economies of scale that smaller operators don't. That puts any trucking company that's not a massive player very sensitive to increases in gas prices or drops in freight rates.

And that in turn has led a number of trucking companies, including Yellow Freight, the third-largest less-than-truckload operator; J.J. & Sons Logistics, Meadow Lark, and Boateng Logistics, to close while freight brokerage Convoy shut down in October.

Aside from Convoy, none of these brands are household names. but with the demand for trucking increasing, every company that goes out of business puts more pressure on those that remain, which contributes to increased prices.

Demand for trucking has continued to increase.

Image source: Shutterstock

Another freight company closes and plans to liquidate

Not every bankruptcy filing explains why a company has gone out of business. In the trucking industry, multiple recent Chapter 7 bankruptcies have been tied to lawsuits that pushed otherwise successful companies into insolvency.

In the case of TBL Logistics, a Virginia-based national freight company, its Feb. 29 bankruptcy filing in U.S. Bankruptcy Court for the Western District of Virginia appears to be death by too much debt.

"In its filing, TBL Logistics listed its assets and liabilities as between $1 million and $10 million. The company stated that it has up to 49 creditors and maintains that no funds will be available for unsecured creditors once it pays administrative fees," Freightwaves reported.

The company's owners, Christopher and Melinda Bradner, did not respond to the website's request for comment.

Before it closed, TBL Logistics specialized in refrigerated and oversized loads. The company described its business on its website.

"TBL Logistics is a non-asset-based third-party logistics freight broker company providing reliable and efficient transportation solutions, management, and storage for businesses of all sizes. With our extensive network of carriers and industry expertise, we streamline the shipping process, ensuring your goods reach their destination safely and on time."

The world has a truck-driver shortage

The covid pandemic forced companies to consider their supply chain in ways they never had to before. Increased demand showed the weakness in the trucking industry and drew attention to how difficult life for truck drivers can be.

That was an issue HBO's John Oliver highlighted on his "Last Week Tonight" show in October 2022. In the episode, the host suggested that the U.S. would basically start to starve if the trucking industry shut down for three days.

"Sorry, three days, every produce department in America would go from a fully stocked market to an all-you-can-eat raccoon buffet," he said. "So it’s no wonder trucking’s a huge industry, with more than 3.5 million people in America working as drivers, from port truckers who bring goods off ships to railyards and warehouses, to long-haul truckers who move them across the country, to 'last-mile' drivers, who take care of local delivery." 

The show highlighted how many truck drivers face low pay, difficult working conditions and, in many cases, crushing debt.

"Hundreds of thousands of people become truck drivers every year. But hundreds of thousands also quit. Job turnover for truckers averages over 100%, and at some companies it’s as high as 300%, meaning they’re hiring three people for a single job over the course of a year. And when a field this important has a level of job satisfaction that low, it sure seems like there’s a huge problem," Oliver shared.

The truck-driver shortage is not just a U.S. problem; it's a global issue, according to IRU.org.

"IRU’s 2023 driver shortage report has found that over three million truck driver jobs are unfilled, or 7% of total positions, in 36 countries studied," the global transportation trade association reported. 

"With the huge gap between young and old drivers growing, it will get much worse over the next five years without significant action."

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