Motor Vehicles – Page 4

Here’s why you might not have to pay a 6% commission next time you sell a home

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Going back decades, if you wanted to buy or sell a stock on the open market, you had to pay a 2% commission to buy and a 2% commission to sell. Then the advent of discount brokerage, led by Charles Schwab Corp.
SCHW,
+1.64%,
made lower commissions available until eventually, with improved technology and efficiency, the entire industry changed to enable the average investor to avoid commissions completely.

But the internet hasn’t done much to reduce the cost of selling a home in the U.S. Sellers typically pay a 6% commission to a real-estate agent to list and sell a home, with the seller’s agent splitting that commission with the buyer’s agent. But all of that may change because of a verdict this week in a class-action lawsuit in federal court against the National Association of Realtors.

Aarthi Swaminathan covers the case, what may happen next and the implications for home sellers and buyers:

Real-estate advice from the Moneyist

MarketWatch illustration

Quentin Fottrell — the Moneyist — works with three readers to answer tricky real-estate questions:

Economic outlook

On Wednesday, Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell may have bolstered the case that the central bank is finished raising interest rates for this economic cycle. The federal-funds rate was left in its target range of 5.25% to 5.50%.

Jon Gray, the president of Blackstone Group, spoke with MarketWatch Editor in Chief Mark DeCambre and said he expected the Fed to succeed in bringing down inflation without pushing the U.S. economy into a deep recession.

Friday employment numbers: Jobs report shows 150,000 new jobs in October as U.S. labor market cools

Bond-market trend switches again

The U.S. Treasury yield curve has been inverted for nearly a year.

FactSet

Normally, longer-term bonds have higher yields than those with short maturities. But the yield curve has been inverted for nearly a year, with 3-month U.S. Treasury bills
BX:TMUBMUSD03M
having higher yields than 10-year Treasury notes
BX:TMUBMUSD10Y.

There has been elevated demand for long-term bonds, as investors have anticipated a recession and a reversal in Federal Reserve interest-rate policy. When interest rates decline, bond prices rise and vice versa.

As you can see on the chart above, the yield curve was narrowing until mid-October. Yields on 10-year Treasury notes were close to 5% on Oct. 19, but they have been falling the past several days as the three-month yield has remained close to 5.5%.

In this week’s ETF Wrap, Christine Idzelis reports on where all the money is flowing in the bond market.

In the Bond Report, Vivien Lou Chen summarizes the action as investors react to the Federal Reserve’s decision not to change its federal-funds-rate target range this week and to other economic news.

For income-seekers looking to avoid income taxes, here’s a deep dive into municipal bonds, with taxable-equivalent yields and a deeper look at those within four high-tax states.

Ford’s good news — in the bond market

Ford Motor Co.’s debt rating has been lifted by S&P to investment-grade.

Getty Images

Ford Motor Co.’s
F,
+4.14%
credit rating was upgraded to an investment-grade rating by Standard & Poor’s on Monday. This takes about $67 billion in bonds out of the high-yield, or “junk,” market, as Ciara Linnane reports.

A stock-market warning based on history

The original Magnificent Seven.

Courtesy Everett Collection

By now you have probably heard the term “Magnificent Seven” used to describe stocks of the tremendous tech-oriented companies that have led this year’s rally for the S&P 500
SPX
: Apple Inc.
AAPL,
-0.52%,
Microsoft Corp.
MSFT,
+1.29%,
Amazon.com Inc.
AMZN,
+0.38%,
Nvidia Corp.
NVDA,
+3.45%,
Alphabet Inc.
GOOGL,
+1.26%

GOOG,
+1.39%,
Meta Platforms Inc.
META,
+1.20%
and Tesla Inc.
TSLA,
+0.66%.
With Tesla’s recent decline, that company is now the ninth-largest holding in the portfolio of the SPDR S&P 500 ETF Trust
SPY,
which tracks the benchmark index. Here are the top 10 companies held by SPY (11 stocks, including two common-share classes for Alphabet), with total returns through Thursday:

Company	Ticker	% of SPY portfolio	2023 total return	2022 total return	Total return since end of 2021
Apple Inc.	AAPL, -0.52%	7.2%	37%	-26%	1%
Microsoft Corp.	MSFT, +1.29%	7.1%	46%	-28%	5%
Amazon.com Inc.	AMZN, +0.38%	3.5%	64%	-50%	-17%
Nvidia Corp.	NVDA, +3.45%	3.0%	198%	-50%	48%
Alphabet Inc. Class A	GOOGL, +1.26%	2.1%	44%	-39%	-12%
Meta Platforms Inc. Class A	META, +1.20%	1.9%	158%	-64%	-8%
Alphabet Inc. Class C	GOOG, +1.39%	1.8%	45%	-39%	-11%
Berkshire Hathaway Inc. Class B	BRK.B, +0.80%	1.8%	13%	3%	17%
Tesla Inc.	TSLA, +0.66%	1.7%	77%	-65%	-38%
UnitedHealth Group Inc.	UNH, -0.98%	1.4%	2%	7%	9%
Eli Lilly and Company	LLY, -2.15%	1.3%	60%	34%	115%
Sources: FactSet, State Street (for SPY holdings)

Five of these stocks (including the two Alphabet share classes) are still down from the end of 2021. SPY itself has returned 14% this year, following an 18% decline in 2022. It is still down 7% from the end of 2021.

Mark Hulbert makes the case that a decade from now, the Magnificent Seven are unlikely to be among the largest companies in the stock market.

A different market opportunity: India is seeing a multidecade growth surge. Here’s how you can invest in it.

The MarketWatch 50

The MarketWatch 50 series is back, with articles and video interviews starting this week, including:

PayPal soars after earnings report

PayPal CEO Alex Chriss.

MarketWatch/PayPal

After the market close on Wednesday, PayPal Holdings Inc.
PYPL,
+1.89%
announced quarterly results that came in ahead of analysts’ expectations, and the stock soared 7% on Thursday even though the company lowered its target for improving its operating margin.

In the Ratings Game column, Emily Bary reports on the positive reaction to PayPal’s new CEO, Alex Chriss.

A less enthusiastic earnings reaction: EV-products maker BorgWarner’s stock suffers biggest drop in 15 years after downbeat sales outlook

Consumers drive mixed reactions to earnings results

Apple Inc. reported mixed quarterly results.

Mario Tama/Getty Images

Here’s more of the latest corporate financial results and reactions. First the good news:

And now the news that may not be so good:

Harsh verdict for SBF

It might seem that some legal battles never end, but it took only a year from the collapse of FTX for the cryptocurrency exchange’s founder, Sam Bankman-Fried, to be convicted on all seven federal fraud and money-laundering charges brought against him. The charges were connected to the disappearance of $8 billion from FTX customer accounts.

Here’s more reaction and coverage of the virtual-currency industry:

Want more from MarketWatch? Sign up for this and other newsletters to get the latest news and advice on personal finance and investing.

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November 3, 2023

Sluggish EV and auto sales could continue next year, based on what these chip makers just said

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A couple of lesser-known chip companies and a battery maker have confirmed growing fears among investors about the slowdown in electric-vehicle and overall auto sales, which appears likely to continue into next year.

Monday was loaded with bad news from companies that make industrial chips for the auto industry, as earnings reports from On Semiconductor Corp.
ON,
-21.77%
in the morning and Lattice Semiconductor Inc.
LSCC,
-4.05%
in the afternoon disappointed Wall Street with their forecasts.

If inflation and high interest rates continue into next year, which is feasible, the slump in auto sales is expected to continue.

“We think it will carry through into the first part of next year, with most cycles running six to nine months,” said David Williams, an analyst with Benchmark who had predicted that the outlook for On Semi would have to be tempered. “However, the reduced consumer buying power and overall macro backdrop will likely keep buyers on the sidelines for the next couple of quarters.”

On Semi said that because of the shortfall in an order from one unnamed automotive customer in Europe, it now expects to ship $200 million less this year of its silicon carbide chips, which are used in EVs. The company did not give further details on its customer, but pointed out that at $800 million, its 2023 revenue will still be four times higher than 2022.

Last year, On Semi touted a new plant in Hudson, N.H., to make chips out of silicon carbide, an energy-efficient semiconductor material made of silicon and carbon, and predicted those chips would exceed $1 billion in sales in 2023.

“EVs are going to grow,” On Semi Chief Executive Hassane El-Khoury said Monday. “They’re going to grow for us in the fourth quarter as well. It’s just not going to grow in the fourth quarter at the rate that we expected… I think EVs are a long-term growth opportunity — even with the backdrop of a lot of the headlines that we’re seeing, customer designs have not slowed down.”

Even as company executives spun the positives, investors were rattled and On’s shares tumbled nearly 22%. Lattice Semiconductor also disappointed Wall Street with its outlook for the fourth quarter. Lattice sells chips that are used in advanced driver-assistance systems in cars, and shares tumbled 13% in extended trading after its fourth-quarter outlook came in lower than expected, due to fewer customers in Asia.

“In the last kind of four to six weeks of Q3, we started to see demand soften from our industrial and automotive customers,” Lattice CEO Jim Anderson told analysts. “I would say that it was really localized to the Asia geography, and we expect that softness we started to see at the end of Q3 extend into the current quarter.”

In addition, Tesla Inc.’s battery partner, Panasonic Holdings
6752,
-8.35%
of Japan, said it was slashing its production by 60% due to slower sales of some models to Tesla. That fueled a 4.8% drop in Tesla stock
TSLA,
-4.79%,
to its lowest close since late May. Investors have been nervous about the EV market, especially after Ford
F,
-1.91%
executives said last week that consumers were unwilling right now to pay a premium for EVs.

Semiconductor companies are often harbingers of future end-product demand in a wide variety of industries. Now that automakers use so many semiconductors, they can also be a big indicator of auto demand, especially in the hot arena of EVs. And those indicators don’t look good in the short term.

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October 30, 2023

Detroit Is Paying Up to End the UAW Strike. Now Carmakers Will Live With the Costs.

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Updated Oct. 30, 2023 12:50 pm ET

The United Auto Workers campaign against Detroit’s three automakers can be described as one thing for the union: a win.

The strike, now in its seventh week, is nearing its conclusion with General Motors on Monday reaching a tentative labor deal with the UAW following similar pacts with Ford Motor and Chrysler-parent Stellantis.

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October 30, 2023

WSJ News Exclusive | UAW Expands Strike With GM After Reaching Tentative Agreement With Stellantis

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Updated Oct. 28, 2023 10:03 pm ET

The United Auto Workers called a fresh strike at a General Motors factory in Tennessee, a surprise walkout after negotiators had been working nearly around the clock to finalize a new contract this weekend.

Workers at GM’s factory in Spring Hill, Tenn., were ordered to go on strike Saturday evening, according to people with knowledge of the union’s plans. The strike came just as the UAW confirmed that it reached a tentative agreement with Chrysler parent Stellantis on a new labor contract.

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October 28, 2023

AMC shares rise as meme-stock darling eyes another big Taylor Swift weekend

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For AMC Entertainment Holdings Inc., “Taylor Swift: The Eras Tour” is the gift that keeps on giving.

Taylor Swift’s record-breaking concert film, which opened Oct. 12, is in its third weekend at the box office and has already brought in more than $178 million worldwide, according to IMDbPro’s Box Office Mojo.

“Weekend #3 for Taylor Swift The Eras Tour: Thursday through Sunday,” tweeted AMC CEO Adam Aaron Wednesday. “Playing at all AMC & Odeon theatres in the U.S. & Europe. The highest grossing concert film of all time. CinemaScore A+, RT 99%/98%. See the phenomenon that has captivated the world.”

Earlier this week Aaron tweeted that the movie enjoyed a successful second weekend in theaters. “It’s such a privilege to report that Taylor Swift The Eras Tour won the weekend again!” he wrote on Monday. “The first ever movie distributed by AMC, it had the biggest box office gross last weekend and this weekend! Grossed $179 million so far. All the credit goes to the extraordinary Taylor Swift!”

Set against this backdrop AMC
AMC,
-0.87%
shares rose 1.9% Friday and are on pace to snap a two-day losing streak.

In addition to showing “Taylor Swift: The Eras Tour” in its theaters, AMC is also the theatrical distributor for the movie. AMC Theatres Distribution and subdistribution partners Variance Films, Trafalgar Releasing, Cinepolis and Cineplex Inc. have clinched deals with movie-theater operators representing more than 8,500 theaters globally to show the film, according to AMC.

EXCLUSIVE: AMC boosted by Taylor Swift and summer blockbusters, cinema foot-traffic data show

“Taylor Swift: The Eras Tour” remained atop the domestic box office last weekend, ahead of Martin Scorsese’s “Killers of the Flower Moon,” which brought in an estimated $23 million on its debut weekend, according to Comscore data released Sunday. The new Scorsese movie, which stars Leonardo DiCaprio, also enjoyed a strong opening weekend internationally, bringing in an estimated $21 million.

Shares of movie theater chain and meme stock darling AMC have fallen 73.8% in 2023, compared with S&P 500 index’s
SPX
gain of 7.2%.

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October 27, 2023

GM self-driving car subsidiary withheld video of a crash, California DMV says | CNN Business

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CNN
—

The California Department of Motor Vehicles Tuesday revoked Cruise’s permits to test and operate fully driverless vehicles on the state’s roads. The California DMV said, in part, it was because Cruise, which is GM’s self-driving vehicle technology subsidiary, withheld video and information about a crash involving a pedestrian.

The suspension applies only to vehicles with no “safety driver,” meaning there is no one in the driver’s seat ready to take over the controls if needed.

The agency also indicated that Cruise had “misrepresented… information related to safety of the autonomous technology of its vehicles.”

For those reasons, the California DMV wrote, it was necessary to revoke the company’s permits. The DMV notice did not specify exactly what incidents or communications from Cruise led to the suspensions.

About three weeks ago, a Cruise vehicle hit a pedestrian in downtown San Francisco who had first been hit by another vehicle then and was propelled by this collision into the path of the Cruise driverless car. After striking the pedestrian a second time, the Cruise vehicle, attempting to pull off the road and out of the way of traffic, dragged the pedestrian along the road for 20 feet at a speed at about seven miles an hour, according to the DMV’s report.

“Our thoughts continue to be with the victim as we hope for a rapid and complete recovery,” Cruise wrote in an emailed statement. A San Francisco Fire Department spokesperson said at the time that victim had multiple serious injuries.

Cruise claims that it proactively reached out both state and federal safety regulators following that incident. Regulators at the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration opened an investigation into the safety of Cruise autonomous vehicles around pedestrians.

The DMV alleges that Cruise did not tell regulators that the car dragged the pedestrian across the roadway while attempting to pull over following the impact. Also, the DMV’s order of suspensions indicates that the video Cruise provided of the incident, taken by the self-driving car’s on-board cameras, stopped shortly after the car hit the pedestrian and did not show the dragging. Cruise did not provide a longer video showing the entire incident until 10 days later, after DMV had learned of the pedestrian being dragged “from another government agency.”

A video of the incident shown to a CNN reporter shortly after it occurred also did not show the pedestrian being dragged.

In a statement shared with CNN on Wednesday, Cruise denied that it had withheld any video from the DMV and said that it shared a full video with the agency when the incident was first reported.

“The DMV has provided Cruise with the steps needed to apply to reinstate its suspended permits, which the DMV will not approve until the company has fulfilled the requirements to the department’s satisfaction,” the agency sad in the notice posted to its web site.

This summer, Cruise and Waymo, the driverless car arm of Google-parent Alphabet received permission from San Francisco regulators to begin regular paid driverless taxi services in that city.

Cruise will continue operations of its driverless fleets in Phoenix, Arizona and Austin, Texas.

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October 27, 2023

Ford’s stock drops 4% after carmaker pulls guidance, EV unit loses $1.3 billion

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Ford Motor Co.’s stock dropped 4% after hours Thursday after the carmaker reported lower-than-expected quarterly earnings and withdrew its guidance for the year, citing the pending agreement with the United Auto Workers.

Ford
F,
-1.65%
also reported an adjusted loss of $1.3 billion for its EV unit, which was wider than Wall Street expected, saying that customers interested in EVs are “unwilling” to pay the vehicles’ premium prices. The company paused billions of long-term investment in EVs due to that disconnect.

“Our business is never short of challenges, especially right now with the evolution of the EV market,” Chief Executive Jim Farley told analysts in a call following results.

Ford earned $1.2 billion, or 30 cents a share, in the third quarter, swinging from a loss of $827 million, or 21 cents a share, in the year-ago period.

Adjusted for one-time items, Ford earned 39 cents a share. Adjustments included a $2.7 billion impairment charge related to the investment in the shuttered, Ford-backed Argo AI driverless-car company.

Revenue rose 11% to $43.8 billion, the carmaker said.

Analysts polled by FactSet expected Ford to report adjusted earnings of 46 cents a share on sales of $43.94 billion.

Ford said that its EV business segment recorded an EBIT loss of $1.3 billion, thanks to “continued investment in next-generation EVs and challenging market dynamics.”

Many customers in North America interested in EVs are “unwilling to pay premiums for them,” which “sharply” flattens EV prices and profit, Ford said.

The carmaker said it was “poised to deliver profitability” within its previous EBIT guidance range of $11 billion to $12 billion before it decided to withdraw the year’s outlook pending the agreement with its workers.

The results come as striking employees at Ford are returning to work after the carmaker and the United Auto Workers reached a tentative agreement, which was announced late Wednesday.

The agreement is going through ratification steps, and negotiations between the union and General Motors Co.
GM,
-1.59%
and Stellantis NV
STLA,
-2.17%
are said to be “active.”

On the call with analysts, Farley said that once the deal is ratified, Ford will provide Wall Street “a deeper look at the contract and its impact on our business.”

Ford, GM and Stellantis each have had several factories and distribution centers offline due to the strike. GM and Stellantis are expected to follow with agreements of their own.

Ford was the first company to face walkouts at a key factory, as workers at Ford’s Kentucky pickup-truck plant walked out on Oct. 11.

GM earlier this week detailed some of the impacts of the strike, particularly through the end of the current quarter, and also withdrew its guidance.

Ford shares have underperformed the broader equity market, and are losing about 1.6% so far this year, which contrasts with gains of around 8% for the S&P 500 index
SPX.

The underperformance holds for the past three months, with Ford shares down 16% compared with the index’s 8% drop in the period.

The union said that the current four-year deal grants a 25% increase in base wages through April 2028. It will cumulatively raise the top wage at Ford by more than 30% to more than $40 an hour, and starting wages by 68% to over $28 an hour.

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October 26, 2023

Leapmotor Shares Fall After Stellantis Takes Stake in EV Maker for $1.58 Billion

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By Jiahui Huang

Zhejiang Leapmotor Technology’s shares were lower at the mid-day break after initially rising on news of a 1.5 billion euro ($1.58 billion) investment by Stellantis in the Chinese electric-vehicle maker.

Leapmotor shares ended the morning session down 9.4% at 33.40 Hong Kong dollars, reversing course from early gains of as much as 11.5%.

Some of the whipsawing into negative territory arose from early investors in the company seeking an exit point, said Ke Qu, an analyst at CCB International Securities.

“The stock price is under pressure due to selling pressure from pre-IPO investors,” Qu said in an email. “Most may think this partnership announcement creates [a] better exit window for their three-year or even longer investment.”

Qu added that Leapmotor is relatively short on cash compared with other listed startups in China, and can benefit from a partner to leverage its exposure and competitiveness in European or U.S. markets.

“Greater access to [the] EU means better profitability than elsewhere in the world,” she said.

Netherlands-based Stellantis said early Thursday that it is taking a roughly 20% stake in Leapmotor, with the companies planning to create a joint venture to sell Leapmotor products outside of China, starting with Europe.

Leapmotor debuted in Hong Kong in September 2022 after raising about HK$6.06 billion (US$774.8 million) in its initial public offering.

The Chinese company delivered 44,325 vehicles in the third quarter, up almost 25% from a year earlier. Revenue in the quarter rose 32% on the year to CNY5.66 billion.

Write to Jiahui Huang at jiahui.huang@wsj.com

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October 25, 2023

UAW won’t expand auto workers strike

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The United Auto Workers said Friday it has made progress in the negotiations with the Big Three carmakers, and didn’t announce any new plants that would expand its ongoing strike.

Nearly 34,000 workers at Ford Motor Co.
F,
+0.95%,
General Motors Co.
GM,
+1.13%
and Stellantis NV
STLA,
-0.37%
are on strike, with the most recent labor-movement expansion hitting Ford’s highly profitable Kentucky pickup truck factory earlier this month.

There was “serious movement” in negotiations at GM and Stellantis, UAW President Shawn Fain said Friday in an address to the membership.

“The bottom line is we’ve got cards left to play and they’ve money left to spend. That’s the hardest part of a strike. Right before a deal, is when there’s the most aggressive push for that last mile,” Fain said.

Earlier Friday, GM made new proposal to auto workers, reinstating cost-of-living adjustments and offering compounded raises of about 25% over four years.

Auto workers started the strike at the stroke of midnight Sept. 14, walking out at one plant each of GM, Ford, and Stellantis NV
STLA,
-0.37%.
The union expanded the labor action to more factories and facilities as the weeks went by.

Striking at all Big Three at once was a departure from the long-standing UAW tradition striking at one car company at a time, to save picket-line firepower and the strike fund.

During his address Friday, Fain vowed to intensify efforts to unionize at more auto plants.

“We are going to organize non-union auto companies like we’ve never organized before,” he said.

Tesla Inc.
TSLA,
-3.69%
has for years fended off efforts to unionize its factory in Fremont, Calif. Several foreign automakers have U.S. plants in the Southeast, where union traditions are not as the Midwest.

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October 20, 2023

Tesla’s Misses on Earnings. CEO Musk Frets About Growth and the Economy.

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Electric-vehicle giant reported third-quarter results on Wednesday evening that missed Wall Street estimates, underscoring that the pain of price cuts isn’t over. Tesla’s travails show that it will be tough going for traditional auto makers trying to build competing EV businesses.

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October 18, 2023

Ford Executive Chairman Calls for End to UAW Strike

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Updated Oct. 16, 2023 2:28 pm ET

Ford Motor Executive Chair Bill Ford called for a resolution to an “acrimonious” round of talks with the United Auto Workers and warned that a continuing strike could hurt the company’s ability to keep factory jobs in the U.S.

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October 16, 2023

Wall Street’s Q3 expectations have been all over the place. Now, a swing to profit growth is ‘likely’ — with a bigger rebound next year

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Wall Street spent much of this year getting more tepid on third-quarter corporate profits, with expectations for subdued growth giving way to expectations for a slight decline.

But after results from a handful of companies soundly beat estimates in recent days, one analyst who tracks the ebbs and flows of earnings data says at least a slight profit gain for the quarter is more likely — with potentially double-digit percentage growth next year.

FactSet Senior Earnings Analyst John Butters, in a report out Friday, said that of the 32 companies in the S&P 500 Index
SPX
that reported third-quarter results through Friday, 84% have reported per-share profits that were above Wall Street’s expectations, and he said they were beating those expectations by a greater degree than usual.

The index collectively, so far, was putting up a third-quarter earnings growth rate of 0.4% — compared to estimates on Oct. 6 for a 0.3% decline. Most companies, he said, tend to turn in earnings results that beat estimates.

“Based on the average improvement in the earnings growth rate during the earnings season, the index will likely report year-over-year growth in earnings or more than 0.4% for Q3,” he said.

That assessment follows quarterly results from big companies like JPMorgan Chase & Co. and Delta Air Lines, Inc.. Both the bank and the airline reported better-than-expected profits. JPMorgan
JPM,
+1.50%
Chief Executive Jamie Dimon said U.S. consumers and businesses “generally remain healthy,” despite thinning pandemic-era savings, while Delta
DAL,
-2.99%
pointed to enduring “robust” travel demand.

More broadly, the quarter will be a look at how customers are faring amid still-high prices, an approaching holiday season and borrowing costs that could stay higher for longer. Recession pessimism has shown signs of easing. But Citigroup Inc.’s chief financial officer, Mark Mason, said on Friday that the bank expected a soft economic landing with a “mild recession” in the first half of 2024. However, he said such an outcome was “hard to call,” amid a strong job market.

Financial forecasts tend to fluctuate as analysts digest real-life financial data. For now, they expect S&P 500 index earnings growth of 7.6% for the fourth quarter, and 0.9% for 2023 overall, according to FactSet. Next year, at the moment, looks better, with expected earnings growth of 12.2%.

This week in earnings

More names from the financial sector will report in the week ahead, following results from JPMorgan, Citigroup
C,
-0.24%
and Wells Fargo & Co.
WFC,
+3.07%.
Reports from Morgan Stanley
MS,
-0.03%
and Goldman Sachs Group Inc.
GS,
-0.18%
will offer more context on deal-making and market sentiment, while earnings from credit-card giants Discover Financial Services
DFS,
-1.47%
and American Express
AXP,
-0.12%
will get more granular on customer spending.

More airlines, like United Airlines Holdings Inc.
UAL,
-2.76%
and American Airlines Group Inc.
AAL,
-2.82%,
will also report, providing more detail on whether revenge travel still has any life left. Earnings are also due from Johnson & Johnson
JNJ,
+0.33%
and AT&T Inc.
T,
-0.62%.

In total 55 S&P 500 companies total will report quarterly results this week, including five from the Dow, according to FactSet.

The call to put on your calendar

Has Netflix become a utility? Hollywood’s writers will start returning to work, while talks with actors and studios have stalled. But the TV-and-film production limbo hasn’t been the only headache for streaming platform Netflix Inc., which reports quarterly results on Wednesday. The company will report amid greater pressure to boost profits, as the entertainment industry tries to find its footing in the streaming era. Ahead of the results, Wolfe Research analyst Peter Supino recently expressed concern that Netflix’s
NFLX,
-1.53%
ad-supported plan was slow to catch on with viewers. Bernstein analysts likened the company to a mature, durable “utility.” But they also compared the stock to a long-running TV show that, while still good, might be starting to bore its audience. Executives will be hoping for better a better reception from investors.

The number to watch

Tesla margins: When EV maker Tesla Inc. reports results on Wednesday, it will be “all about margins,” Deepwater Asset Management’s Gene Munster said in note recently. Those results, and the focus on margins, will follow price cuts, and questions over profit growth and enthusiasm for Tesla’s
TSLA,
-2.99%
new Cybertruck. And Morgan Stanley analyst Adam Jonas, in a research note, said the year ahead could be “volatile.”

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October 15, 2023

Taylor Swift’s film opened Thursday, surprising (and disappointing) some fans

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So much for being the first in line for the highly anticipated Taylor Swift “Eras Tour” concert film.

With the last-minute news that the film’s release was being moved to Thursday instead of the originally announced date of Friday, some Swift fans have expressed frustration that they may have to buy tickets all over again.

Or as one commented Wednesday on X (formerly Twitter), “you’re telling me I had to fight for my life on the cineplex website for opening day tickets just for her to add showtimes tmrw?”

Swift revealed the change to the film’s release schedule on Wednesday, saying, “Due to unprecedented demand we’re opening up early access showings of The Eras Tour Concert Film on THURSDAY in America and Canada!!”

Swift attended the film’s premiere in Los Angeles on Wednesday night, joined by some 2,200 fans. But on Thursday, she was back to taking in a Kansas City Chiefs game, according to an Associated Press report.

Swift has attended other Chiefs games this season to root on tight end Travis Kelce. The pair are said to have a growing relationship.

Some Swifties greeted the announcement of the film’s new Thursday release date with joy. “Taylor Swift always knows how to surprise us! Can’t wait for this incredible journey to begin!” said one.

But others were disappointed that they no longer had those first-to-see bragging rights. And they suddenly were faced with the dilemma of having to buy tickets all over again if they wanted to maintain that position. In turn, that left them with the problem of what to do with the tickets they purchased for Friday showings.

One commenter on X thought it was pretty savvy of Swift to boost the box office this way, saying the singer is “getting more sales out of her fans by moving opening night.”

Another commenter also said this was “a smart move” on Swift and her team’s part.

Not that theaters haven’t already sold plenty of seats for the film. The movie is set to have at least a $150 million opening, according to the Hollywood Reporter, and has buoyed the AMC
AMC,
+5.57%
and Cinemark
CNK,
-2.66%
chains.

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October 12, 2023

UAW says 8,700 Ford workers have walked off the job at Louisville truck plant

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In what was described as an unannounced decision, the United Auto Workers union has called a strike at Ford Motor Co.’s
F,
+0.41%
large Kentucky Truck Plant in Louisville, the union said Wednesday.

The union, in a statement, said that 8,700 union members had walked off the job at 6:30 p.m. Eastern at the plant, which Ford described as its biggest. The union said that the move marked a “new phase” in its ongoing strike, in which select workers have been called on at different times to walk out.

In a statement, UAW President Shawn Fain said Ford “has not gotten the message.”

“It’s time for a fair contract at Ford and the rest of the Big Three,” Fain said. “If they can’t understand that after four weeks, the 8,700 workers shutting down this extremely profitable plant will help them understand it.”

Ford, in a statement, called the decision “grossly irresponsible” and said it had made an “outstanding offer” in the negotiations, which involve the union and the Big Three auto makers.

Ford said the vehicles made at the factory — the F-Series Super Duty, the Ford Expedition and the Lincoln Navigator – bring in $25 billion a year in sales.

The automaker said the UAW’s decision “carries serious consequences for our workforce, suppliers, dealers and commercial customers.”

Fain will host an event on Facebook on Friday to give updates on bargaining. Shares of Ford fell nearly 2% after hours.

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October 11, 2023

You Could Save $15,000 on a New Tesla. EV Tax Credits Are How.

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Figuring out whether you qualify for an electric vehicle tax credit isn’t easy–make, model, pricing, the state where you live, your income, and the list goes on. But once you sort things out, you can save thousands–even on a .

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October 10, 2023

Rivian Stock Rises on Upgrade. Sometimes the Market Gives You a Gift.

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Stocks can become buys for Wall Street analysts any number of ways. New management, new products, or a renewed focus on costs can all be catalysts analysts that analysts examine. Sometimes investors turn stocks into buys all by themselves.

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October 10, 2023

Rivian Drops Again on Capital Raise. Credibility Is an Issue.

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has had a big high and a big surprise in the past week—and Wall Street isn’t happy about it.

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October 9, 2023

Rivian Stock Downgraded. Its Bond Sale Is a Canary in the Coal Mine.

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stock plummeted earlier this week after announcing plans to raise more capital and one analyst understands why. It was one of the reasons he downgraded the stock.

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October 7, 2023

GM stock sinks to 3-year low after report that faulty air-bag parts may lead to massive recall

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General Motors Co.’s stock ended at its lowest in three years on Thursday following a news report saying that the carmaker may face a massive recall in connection with defective air-bag inflators.

The Wall Street Journal reported Thursday that at least 20 million GM
GM,
-2.35%
vehicles are built with the potentially dangerous air-bag part, made by auto supplier ARC Automotive of Tennessee.

GM stock fell 2.4% to close at $30.31, its lowest since Sept. 30, 2020, when it closed at $29.59. The stock has been down for five straight sessions, and off more than 8% in the period.

The report, citing people familiar with the matter, said that GM would be among the “most exposed” automaker to the recall, which involves 52 million inflators made by ARC.

At least two people have been killed and several others injured after the inflators exploded with too much force during a crash, sending shrapnel flying, the report said.

The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration has not yet released how many vehicles would be in the recall, or the specific models that would be affected, it said.

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October 5, 2023

Rivian shares sink after preliminary sales estimates, plan to offer $1.5 billion in convertible notes

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Shares of Rivian Automotive Inc. slid in the extended session Wednesday after the EV maker issued preliminary quarterly sales estimates that were on par with Wall Street’s forecasts and announced plans to offer $1.5 billion worth of convertible notes.

Rivian
RIVN,
+9.22%,
in a filing, gave a preliminary third-quarter sales estimate of between $1.29 billion and $1.33 billion. Analysts polled by FactSet expected sales of $1.31 billion. The company estimated it had cash, cash equivalents and short-term investments of $9.1 billion as of Sept. 30.

Rivian also said it plans to offer, subject to market and other conditions, $1.5 billion worth of “green” convertible senior notes due in 2030. That would be in a private offering to “qualified institutional buyers,” Rivian said.

The plan would give buyers the option to purchase up to an additional $225 million in notes. The notes will be senior, unsecured obligations of Rivian. Noteholders will have the right to convert their notes in certain circumstances and during specified periods, the company said.

Shares fell 8% after hours.

Rivian stock ended the regular trading day up 9.2%, and so far this year has gained around 28%, which compares with an advance of around 10% for the S&P 500 index
SPX,
+0.81%.

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October 4, 2023

Tag: Motor Vehicles

Here’s why you might not have to pay a 6% commission next time you sell a home

Real-estate advice from the Moneyist

Economic outlook

Bond-market trend switches again

The U.S. Treasury yield curve has been inverted for nearly a year.

Ford’s good news — in the bond market

Ford Motor Co.’s debt rating has been lifted by S&P to investment-grade.

A stock-market warning based on history

The original Magnificent Seven.

The MarketWatch 50

PayPal soars after earnings report

PayPal CEO Alex Chriss.

Consumers drive mixed reactions to earnings results

Apple Inc. reported mixed quarterly results.

Harsh verdict for SBF

FTX founder Sam Bankman-Fried.

Sluggish EV and auto sales could continue next year, based on what these chip makers just said

Detroit Is Paying Up to End the UAW Strike. Now Carmakers Will Live With the Costs.

WSJ News Exclusive | UAW Expands Strike With GM After Reaching Tentative Agreement With Stellantis

AMC shares rise as meme-stock darling eyes another big Taylor Swift weekend

GM self-driving car subsidiary withheld video of a crash, California DMV says | CNN Business

UAW won’t expand auto workers strike

Ford Executive Chairman Calls for End to UAW Strike

Wall Street’s Q3 expectations have been all over the place. Now, a swing to profit growth is ‘likely’ — with a bigger rebound next year

This week in earnings

The call to put on your calendar

The number to watch

Taylor Swift’s film opened Thursday, surprising (and disappointing) some fans

UAW says 8,700 Ford workers have walked off the job at Louisville truck plant

You Could Save $15,000 on a New Tesla. EV Tax Credits Are How.

Rivian Stock Rises on Upgrade. Sometimes the Market Gives You a Gift.

Rivian Drops Again on Capital Raise. Credibility Is an Issue.

Rivian Stock Downgraded. Its Bond Sale Is a Canary in the Coal Mine.