Shares of GameStop Corp. surged Thursday, after the consumer electronics retailer named Ryan Cohen as it president and chief executive officer, effective immediately.
The move, which wasn’t unexpected, comes a few months after the company fired then-CEO Matthew Furlong, and elected activist investor Ryan Cohen as executive chairman. At that time, Cohen said in a tweet, “Not for long.”
Cohen will relinquish his role as executive chairman when he is appointed chairman.
GameStop’s stock GME shot up 9.9% in premarket trading, putting it on track to open at a three-week high.
Cohen, who previously founded and was CEO Chewy Inc. CHWY, -0.06%,
is the manager of RC Ventures, which in June disclosed a 36.85 million-share, or 12.1% stake in GameStop.
“In connection with his appointment, Mr. Cohen will assume the role of principal executive officer from Mark H. Robinson effective immediately and his responsibilities will include the oversight of all other executive officers, including Mr. Robinson,” the company said in a statement.
The company said Cohen will not receive any compensation for his roles as president, CEO and chairman, and will “continue to engage in various business activities and pursuits outside of the company.”
GameStop’s stock, which was one of the original “meme” stocks, has tumbled 37.2% over the past 12 months, while the S&P 500 index GME, +2.21%
has gained 14.9%.
Costco Wholesale Corp. sells lots of things you wouldn’t expect from a big-box retailer: caskets, caviar, six-pound tubs of Nutella. Add to that list one-ounce bars of gold, which the company on Tuesday said were selling out within a matter of hours.
“I’ve gotten a couple of calls that people have seen online that we’ve been selling one-ounce gold bars,” Chief Financial Officer Richard Galanti said on Costco’s COST, +2.45%
quarterly earnings call on Tuesday. “Yes, but when we load them on the site, they’re typically gone within a few hours, and we limit two per member.”
Costco did not immediately respond to a request for more information about the types of gold bars it sells, how much they cost or the factors behind the demand. On Wednesday, the site showed a price of $1979.99 per ounce for the bars. Shares of Costco were up 1.3% on Wednesday.
Gold is generally seen as a safe-haven investment and a hedge against inflation. Buying by central banks, lingering worries about a deceleration in the economy and jewelry purchases have helped prop up prices, according to data tracker Goldhub. But higher interest rates have acted as a counterweight, and some analysts have wondered whether more volatility is on the horizon for gold prices.
Costco’s quarterly results, reported Tuesday, topped expectations. Analysts have said the retail chain remains attractive to customers who are looking for a break from higher prices.
Shares of the company are up 23.8% so far this year. The S&P 500 Index SPX
is up 11.4% over that period.
Retail executives over the past year have talked a lot about “shrink” — or the losses they take due to theft, fraud or employee error — amid a flood of headlines about sometimes violent organized thefts at stores. But results from a retail-industry survey released Tuesday found the metric rose only modestly last year.
The report from the National Retail Federation, a retail industry group, found that the average shrink rate in 2022 crept higher to 1.6% from 1.4% in the prior year, when calculated as a share of sales. The figure from 2022 is in line with those seen in 2020 and 2019.
Still, the losses amounted to billions of dollars — $112.1 billion, up from $93.9 billion in 2021 — according to the report. And the report said that retailers were increasingly concerned about the violence of those crimes.
“Far beyond the financial impact of these crimes, the violence and concerns over safety continue to be the priority for all retailers, regardless of size or category,” David Johnston, the NRF’s vice president for asset protection and retail operations, said in a statement.
The NRF, working with the Loss Prevention Research Council — a research group founded by some of the nation’s biggest retailers — surveyed people in the industry who work in loss-prevention and asset protection. The report contained responses or information from 177 retail brands. The survey was distributed in May, June and July.
“In this case, we cannot continue operating these stores because theft and organized retail crime are threatening the safety of our team and guests, and contributing to unsustainable business performance,” Target said in a statement.
The chain joins other retailers sounding the alarm about retail theft and closing stores, amid what executives have described as a spike in organized retail theft, or theft with the intent of reselling the goods. However, executives’ takes on earnings calls have differed slightly, and retailers are contending with other issues — like the fallout from inflation — that have hit financials.
The fight over theft has played out, perhaps predictably, on partisan lines, with some blaming what they say are lax crime policies in large cities. But other analysts point to changes in the flow of foot traffic through population centers since the pandemic, and say the data is often too squishy and subjective to make any hard calls about the state of crime — and whether it’s rising or falling, particularly at retailers — in a particular area.
More than two-thirds of the retailers surveyed by the NRF “said they were seeing even more violence and aggression” from organized retail theft compared with a year ago. Twenty-eight percent reported being “forced” to close a specific store location, the report said, while 45% said they cut operating hours, and 30% said they reduced or changed an in-store product selection as a result of retail crime.
“The types of products shoplifters are targeting may not be based solely on price point,” the National Retail Federation said.
“Products can range from high-price, high-fashion items to everyday products that have a fast resale capability,” the group said. “While ORC groups have traditionally targeted specific items or types of goods, that list has expanded to new categories like outerwear, batteries, energy drinks, designer footwear and kitchen accessories.”
Costco Wholesale Corp. shares slipped in the extended session Tuesday even after the membership warehouse chain reported quarterly results that topped Wall Street estimates.
Costco COST, -1.01%
shares fell 1.5% after hours, following a 1% decline in the regular session to close at $552.96.
Costco reported fourth-quarter net income of $2.16 billion, or $4.86 a share, compared with $1.87 billion, or $4.20 a share, in the year-ago period.
Revenue rose to $78.94 billion from $72.09 billion in the year-ago quarter.
Analysts on average expected earnings of $4.82 a share on revenue of $78.81 billion, according to FactSet.
Sales at stores open for at least a year rose 1.1%, or 3.8% adjusted for gasoline and currency, compared with the 3.5% Street estimates.
Total annual revenue rose to $242.29 billion from $226.95 billion in the previous fiscal year. Analysts were forecasting $242.17 billion in revenue.
Costco shares have gained 21.1% year to date, while the S&P 500 index SPX, -1.47%
has gained 11.3%.
Inflation remains a top concern among Americans, so what do the Republicans seeking President Joe Biden’s job say they’ll do about it?
MarketWatch asked the 2024 GOP White House hopefuls to give at least three ways that they would address the elevated prices that have blown up many household budgets.
Most campaigns provided responses, while some didn’t but have offered proposals in other venues. See what they’re all planning below.
The economy is the No. 1 issue for Republican voters, according to a recent Wall Street Journal poll, which found 36% citing the economy generally and an additional 10% citing inflation.
MarketWatch contacted the eight contenders who took part in their primary’s first debate, along with former President Donald Trump, who skipped the debate, and two relatively well-known contenders who failed to qualify for the first debate, Larry Elder and former Congressman Will Hurd. They are listed below in order of their ranking in the latest polls, based on a RealClearPolitics moving average.
Inflation was low when Trump became president, with prices rising less than 2% a year. That was even considered a problem before the COVID-19 pandemic, with inflation often characterized as stubbornly or persistently low. Inflation began to spike in 2021, shortly after Biden took office, due to a global shortage of goods and a huge rebound in consumer demand following the pandemic’s early stages. Economists say massive stimulus by both the Trump and Biden administrations as well as low interest rates fostered by the Federal Reserve helped to push inflation to a 40-year high.
“I would get inflation down,” Trump said in a recent interview with NBC’s “Meet the Press,” while saying that “we did a great job with inflation.” His campaign pointed MarketWatch to a number of policy proposals in which Trump himself is quoted.
Former President Donald Trump walks over to speak with reporters before departing from Atlanta’s airport last month.
AP
The former president says he’ll rein in what he calls Biden’s “wasteful spending,” which Trump says is key to stopping inflation. Trump is proposing to use what’s known as impoundment authority to reduce federal spending. That term refers to the ability of a president to withhold congressionally appropriated funds from their intended use, according to the Committee for a Responsible Federal Budget.
Trump also calls for boosting energy output. “When I’m back in the White House, I will immediately unleash energy production, slash regulations, like I did just three years ago, and repeal Biden’s tax hikes to get inflation down as fast as possible, and it will go quickly, so that interest rates can get back under control,” Trump says on his campaign website. “I would get inflation down, because drill we must,” he told “Meet the Press.”
Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis, says a spokesman, “will reduce inflation by, among other measures, tackling government spending, unleashing domestic energy and removing burdensome Biden administration regulations.”
Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis speaks in July during a press conference in West Columbia, S.C.
AP Photo/Sean Rayford
In his economic plan, DeSantis leans heavily into energy policy for addressing inflation. “DeSantis will unleash our domestic energy sector, modernize and protect our grid and advance American energy independence. This will not only increase our economic and national security while reducing inflation, [but] it will also help fuel a manufacturing renaissance that will create jobs, revitalize our communities and improve our standard of living,” says his plan.
He told “CBS Evening News with Norah O’Donnell” that, as president, he would “stop spending so much money. We need a president that’s going to be a force for spending restraint, because that’s one of the root causes, with Congress spending so much.” He criticized both Democrats and Republicans for government spending.
Vivek Ramaswamy
Republican presidential candidate Vivek Ramaswamy speaks in April at an event in Iowa.
AP
“This isn’t complicated,” entrepreneur and author Vivek Ramaswamy said in a recent post on X. “Fight inflation, unleash growth by taking the handcuffs [off] the U.S. energy sector & dismantling the regulatory state.” His campaign didn’t respond to MarketWatch’s request for comment, but his campaign website offers the following proposals:
Ramaswamy is also calling for dramatically changing the Federal Reserve, by ending the central bank’s dual mandate of keeping inflation low and maintaining full employment. “Limit the U.S. Fed’s scope: stabilize the dollar DXY
& nothing more,” his campaign site says.
Republican presidential candidate Nikki Haley is a former U.S. ambassador to the United Nations and former South Carolina governor.
Getty Images
“We want to eliminate the federal gas tax completely,” Haley told Fox Business. “We have to get more money in our taxpayers’ pockets.” That tax helps pay for highways, but she said the system isn’t working, echoing a point that some policy analysts have previously made. Biden pushed for temporarily suspending the federal gas tax in 2022, but Congress didn’t provide sufficient support for his proposal. In her economic speech, Haley also promised to cut income taxes for working families and make permanent the tax cuts that small businesses scored in 2017’s GOP tax overhaul.
The former U.S. ambassador to the United Nations said members of Congress are “spending like drunken sailors,” as she promised to reduce the federal government’s outlays. “I will veto any spending bill that doesn’t take us back to pre-COVID levels,” she told Fox Business, referring to budgets that date to before the onset of the coronavirus pandemic in March 2020.
Haley in her speech Friday pledged to support the U.S. energy industry, as she suggested that Washington has been “stifling it.” She said: “We’ll drill so much oil and gas, families will save big on their utility bills.”
Mike Pence
A spokesman for Pence’s campaign pointed to the former vice president’s plan for “ending inflation,” which calls for actions such as reducing the federal government’s spending and changing the Federal Reserve’s job description.
Former Vice President Mike Pence served as governor of Indiana and as a congressman before becoming Donald Trump’s running mate in 2016.
AP
A Pence administration would “end runaway deficits by freezing non-defense spending, eliminating unnecessary government programs, repealing over $3 trillion in new spending under Biden, and reforming mandatory programs that drive our debt,” the plan says. Earlier this year, he urged “commonsense and compassionate” reforms for programs such as Social Security and Medicaid.
Pence wants to end the Fed’s dual mandate, which calls for the U.S. central bank to focus on full employment and stable prices. “Trying to serve two, often contradictory goals has led to wild fluctuation in rates,” his plan says, adding that it’s better to “leave employment policy to the president and Congress.”
The former vice president’s plan said he aims to bring supply chains and production “back home,” and that would happen by “removing regulatory burdens, enacting pro-growth tax policies, and ensuring access to abundant American energy.” In other words: “We will fight inflation by making America the best place to do business again.”
Similar to his 2024 GOP rivals, Pence blasts Biden’s energy policies, though some of the Democratic incumbent’s stances, such as his approval of the Willow drilling project in Alaska, have also been criticized by environmental groups. Pence’s plan says: “It is time to reverse Biden’s attack on American energy by restarting oil and gas leasing on federal lands, opening the Arctic and offshore regions for exploration XOP,
approving safe transportation of oil and gas, mining rare earth minerals, and rejecting climate change hysteria that is causing U.S. energy XLE
production to fall.”
Chris Christie
Former New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie addresses a New Hampshire audience in April.
AP Photo/Charles Krupa
Chris Christie’s White House campaign didn’t respond to MarketWatch’s requests for comment, but the former New Jersey governor has emphasized that reducing government spending will help tame inflation.
“The out-of-control government spending has created this inflation,” Christie said in June during a CNN town hall. “I mean, even Larry Summers, who I don’t agree with much on, former Democratic Treasury secretary, warned Joe Biden, ‘Don’t do this spending. It’s going to cause the inflation.’ So, first, we need to bring spending down, and we’ve talked about that before.”
U.S. Sen. Tim Scott pointed to reducing the federal government’s spending and repealing one of Biden’s signature legislative packages, when asked about how he would address inflation.
Tim Scott, a U.S. senator from South Carolina, speaks last month during the presidential debate in Milwaukee.
Getty Images
Scott, from South Carolina, said in a statement that he would aim to “snap non-defense discretionary spending back to the pre-COVID 2019 baseline.” He described that as stopping Democrats from “turning the temporary pandemic into permanent socialism.”
Scott said he would rescind the Inflation Reduction Act, which is Democrats’ big economic package aimed at addressing climate change, capping drug costs and raising hundreds of billions of dollars through taxes on corporations. “The Inflation Reduction Act actually increased inflation and the only thing it reduced was money in our pockets,” he said in his statement. “Cutting that off and restoring tax cuts and eliminating the tax increases would go a long way to having the kind of stimulative impact in our economy and controlling spending.”
Scott called for stronger economic growth. “We have to also grow our economy somewhere near 5% consistently,” he said, adding that could create 10 million jobs. The U.S. economy grew by nearly 6% in 2021 after contracting in 2020 as COVID hit, then it expanded by about 2% in 2022.
Former Arkansas Gov. Asa Hutchinson blames “excessive federal spending” for leading to inflation when giving speeches, and outlines a plan for “fiscal responsibility” on his campaign site.
Asa Hutchinson, governor of Arkansas from 2015 until this year, speaks at an Iowa event in April.
Scott Olson/Getty Images
“Restore discipline by reducing federal government size, cutting spending, balancing the budget, and lowering the deficit to tame inflation,” it states.
When Hutchinson was governor, he signed a $500 million tax-cut package, saying “it could not come at a better time with the continued challenge of high food and gas prices.” That was in August 2022. On his campaign website, he repeats a call to cut taxes and “reduce regulations to boost the private sector and enhance wages for American workers.”
Hutchinson’s campaign did not respond to a request for comment from MarketWatch.
Doug Burgum
North Dakota Gov. Doug Burgum, a GOP presidential hopeful, speaks at the Iowa State Fair in August.
Brandon Bell/Getty Images
North Dakota Gov. Doug Burgum’s website says that as president he would “get inflation under control, cut taxes, lower gas prices RB00, +0.31%,
reduce the cost of living and help people realize their fullest potential.” It doesn’t provide specifics.
A spokesman for Burgum’s White House campaign didn’t respond to MarketWatch’s requests for comment. A spokesman reportedly told the New York Times that the campaign will roll out its vision and plans on its own timeline.
Larry Elder
Larry Elder, a conservative radio host and a gubernatorial candidate in California in the failed 2021 recall of Democratic incumbent Gavin Newsom, said he views energy and tax policy and a constitutional amendment as ways to whip inflation.
Larry Elder is a conservative radio host and former gubernatorial candidate in California.
AP
“Reverse the war on oil CL00, +0.93%
and gas NG00, -2.65%
; permit drilling in Anwar [Arctic National Wildlife Refuge]; authorize the Keystone Pipeline; reverse the Biden restrictions on drilling on federal lands; and encourage nuclear energy NLR,
” Elder said in a statement.
“Encourage an amendment to the Constitution to set spending to a fixed percent of the GDP,” he also said.
Elder said the reduction in spending forced by that constitutional amendment would “coincide with a steep reduction in personal and corporate income taxes,” offering further help to Americans with stretched budgets.
Will Hurd
2024 Republican presidential hopeful Will Hurd, a former Texas congressman, speaks in Iowa in July.
AFP via Getty Images
Former U.S. Rep. Will Hurd of Texas announced his candidacy in June but so far hasn’t made it to the debate stage. In his campaign-launch video, he labeled inflation “still out of control.”
In a post on X in June, Hurd called for reining in spending. “You cannot be putting government funds into, at a time where you’re seeing the rising inflation,” he said.
And he said tax hikes are a nonstarter when inflation is high. “The worst time to talk about increasing taxes is when everybody’s hurting from inflation.”
Hurd also said the deficit should be addressed, to “start bending the curve back on the debt.”
Hurd’s campaign did not respond to a request for comment from MarketWatch.
ASOS said that fourth-quarter revenue slipped but cost-savings measures supported the group’s profitability, while earnings are expected to come in at the bottom end of its guidance.
The online fashion retailer said on Tuesday that revenue for the quarter ended Sept. 3 fell 12%, while revenue for the year dropped 10%.
The company said the fall was in line with the guidance given a weak performance in July and August amid a deterioration in the U.K. clothing market.
Despite the fall in sales, the fourth quarter is anticipated to be profitable. The company reported that around 300 million pounds ($366.3 million) of profit improvement and cost savings have now been realised, in line with the annual guidance.
Adjusted gross margin–which strips out exceptional and other one-off items– for the second half of fiscal 2023 rose by around 150 basis points, missing the guidance of above 200 basis points.
The company added that earnings before interest and taxes for the second half is anticipated to come in at the bottom of the guided range of GBP40 million to GBP60 million, with free cash inflow in second half now expected to be around GBP60 million.
Citi has released a list of 20 large-cap growth stocks that it says present opportunities in the event of a pullback.
“Our call since early summer has been to hold Growth and look to buy on pullbacks,” Citi analyst Scott Chronert said in a note released Monday, adding that Citi has had a tactical preference for cyclicals. “However, on the heels of the strong Cyclicals surge during June and July, and our upwardly revised S&P 500 target of 4600, the messaging has been to buy on pullbacks more broadly,” he wrote.
Citi also notes that the Russell 1000 Growth Index RLG
has sold off more than 6% from its mid-July high, although two-thirds of the stocks in the index are down 10% or more, with one-third down more than 20%. “This sets up for interesting intermediate to long-term stock selection opportunities,” Chronert said.
The analyst acknowledged that there is still a risk of economic softening ahead, if not a recession. “Yet, the argument that Growth stocks can show fundamental resilience during periods of broader economic weakening is a theme that we have considered for several years now,” he said.
Set against this backdrop, the analyst firm has compiled a tech-heavy list of 20 stocks that have a buy rating from Citi, have at least 75% of market cap assigned to growth, according to Russell, and have experienced a decline of 10% or more from year-to-date highs since March 31. Other common characteristics of the stocks include consensus estimates of free cash flow per share above March 31 levels and free cash flow per share within or above market-implied five-year-forward estimates.
Shares of Apple, which recently launched its iPhone 15, are down 5.5% in the last three months. Shares of chip maker NVIDIA are up 2.8% over the same period, while Lockheed Martin is down 8.9% and DraftKings is up 8.6%. Las Vegas Sands is down 21.8% and Chipotle is down 8.8%, while Netflix is down 7.8%.
The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau is taking steps toward removing all medical debt information from Americans’ credit reports, a move meant to help the millions of Americans whose credit scores drop after bills for expenses like unexpected hospital visits go unpaid.
While the information surrounding most unpaid medical debts has already been removed from credit reports by the three major reporting agencies — Equifax, Experian and TransUnion — the CFPB on Thursday announced plans for a rule- making process that would…
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The grocery-delivery app Instacart on Monday priced its IPO at $30 a share, at the upper end of its expected range, raising $660 million with a fully-diluted valuation of around $10 billion after backing away from a stock-market debut last year.
The company said it plans to begin trading on the Nasdaq Global Select Market on Tuesday under the ticker symbol “CART.” It will offer 22 million shares in the IPO. On Friday, Instacart had said it expected to price the offering at between $28 and $30 a share.
Goldman Sachs and J.P. Morgan are acting as lead book-running managers for the offering. Instacart said it also granted the underwriters a 30-day option to purchase up to an extra 3.3 million shares at the IPO price. The offering is expected to close on Thursday.
The debut would come amid what appears to be a thaw in the IPO market, following a year of concerns about inflation and the broader economy. But the public debut of chip designerArm Holdings ARM, -4.53%
last week made big waves. The digital-marketing platform Klaviyo is set to debut this week as well.
Instacart’s valuation in 2021 stood at $39 billion. Last year, as pandemic-era digital demand fizzled, the company cut its valuation multiple times, but raised it this year, according to The Information.
Instacart, in its IPO filing, said the way people shop for groceries is undergoing a “massive digital transformation.” Evercore analysts have said the company controls around a fifth of the U.S. online grocery-delivery market.
When merry revelers from around the world lift their beer steins to mark the start of Oktoberfest in the Bavarian capital Munich, they might want to sip slowly, given they will now be paying €13.75 ($14.67) per liter.
That’s based on an analysis from a team at Berenberg, who provided this chart showing the soaring cost of beer at the Munich Oktoberfest compared with other consumer and food inflation measures:
The globally famed festival is due to kick off this Saturday. And while the cost keeps rising, the celebratory large glass of Bavarian beer —- served in a stoneware mug known as a Maß, or stein — often doesn’t seem to reach the required 1-liter mark once the foam has settled, notes Holger Schmieding, chief economist, who led the report.
“Do not even try to compare the price per liter to the cheap beer cans available at the discount retailers nearby. The difference might make some crave a stiffer drink to drown the financial pain,” he and his team said.
Citing data from German price statistics dating back to 1991, Berenberg’s economists said the price of an Oktoberfest beer has soared at an annual average rate of 3.9%, well above the annual 2% rise in inflation and the 1.8% rise paid for beer sold by retailers.
However, more recently the pain may have eased some. Schmieding said the price of that beer rise versus 2022 is just 4.2%, which is below the average food price rise of 9%. And German wages rose 6.6% on an annual basis in the second quarter of this year, meaning some might this year find those steins slightly little more affordable, once they get past the sticker shock.
The country has felt the fallout from Russia’s invasion of Ukraine and soaring energy and food prices, which propelled inflation to a postwar high of 7.9% in 2022. Wage earners are currently recouping some of lost purchasing power, but Schmieding and his team warn this won’t last.
“In a lagged response to lower headline inflation and the modest rise in unemployment that we project for the next two quarters, German wage gains will likely slow down to 4% yoy by the time of the next Oktoberfest in September 2024, and the less volatile rise in beer prices at the party will likely outpace inflation and wages again,” they wrote.
The European Commission recently forecast that Germany, the bloc’s biggest economy, will be the only major one to see growth contract this year, with a forecast for gross domestic product to fall 0.4% in 2023. Weak industrial output has been a major factor in sluggish growth. Inflation for the EU bloc is expected to fall to 2.9% next year, slightly under the 2.8% previously forecast.
The European Central Bank on Thursday hiked its deposit rate by 25 basis points to an all-time high of 4% as it battles inflation for the region which it expects will average 5.6% this year, well above its 2% target.
Schmieding and the team say Germany, however, does not deserve the “sick man of Europe” title, which it last held in the 1990s, that some have slapped on it.
The country is, though, “nursing a collective hangover” after celebrating its “golden decade” between the global financial crisis and the pandemic onset too hard, with early retirement plans, expanded welfare benefits and too much dependence on Russian energy, they say.
The median annual household income in the U.S. was $74,755 in 2022, a 0.8% decline from the previous year after adjusting for inflation, according to the latest data from the Census Bureau.
The decline in income is “disappointing,” said Sharon Parrott, president of the Center on Budget and Policy Priorities,…
H&M shares slumped Friday as the Swedish retail chain missed expectations for sales growth in a quarter in which it said it focused on profitability.
H&M stock HM.B, -5.62%
dropped 4% in early action, though it has rallied 47% this year.
In a brief statement, H&M said fiscal third-quarter sales in local currencies was “flattish,” missing analyst estimates for 5% sales growth. It said its goal of reaching a 10% operating margin next year “is going in the right direction” and that profitability and inventory levels have been priortized in the quarter.
Analysts at RBC said weather may have dampened sales, but that it also has become more expensive this season — for instance, pricing 10% below average in the U.K., versus 20% traditionally. Its publicly traded rivals — Inditex ITX, +0.58%,
the Primark unit of Associated British Foods ABF, +0.24%
and Next NXT, +0.64%
— have each reported stronger sales growth.
The broader tone in European markets was positive, except for tech stocks, with ASM International ASM, -5.44%
shares losing 5% and ASML Holding ASML, -2.51%
down 2%.
The French CAC 40 FR:PX1
led the major regional indexes with a 1.3% rise, as the U.K. FTSE 100 UK:UKX
and German DAX DX:DAX
also rose. Better-than-expected Chinese retail sales figures helped Paris-listed luxury plays.
Prosus (OTCMKTS:PROSY – Get Free Report) has received a consensus recommendation of “Moderate Buy” from the six analysts that are covering the stock, Marketbeat Ratings reports. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a hold recommendation and five have given a buy recommendation to the company.
A number of equities research analysts have recently commented on PROSY shares. Barclays raised Prosus from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, August 17th. HSBC raised Prosus from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, June 28th.
PROSY opened at $13.66 on Monday. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $14.45 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $14.53. Prosus has a 12-month low of $7.91 and a 12-month high of $17.13.
Prosus’s stock is going to split on Tuesday, September 26th. The 2.17960000 split was announced on Tuesday, September 26th. The newly minted shares will be issued to shareholders after the closing bell on Tuesday, September 26th.
Prosus N.V. engages in the e-commerce and internet businesses. The company operates internet platforms, such as classifieds, payments and fintech, food delivery, education technology, etail, health, ventures, social, and other internet platforms. It has operations in Latin and North America, the Middle East, Africa, Europe, Asia, and internationally.
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It may be time to get your COVID-19 vaccine again.
There’s a new booster that’s coming out to guard against the virus. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said Tuesday that it was recommending the vaccine, which is being produced in versions by Moderna MRNA, +3.18%
and Pfizer PFE, -0.20%
-BioNTech BNTX, -2.06%,
for people 6 months of age and older.
Here are answers to some common questions about the shot — and what you may need to know before you receive it.
Why are we seeing another booster?
Boosters are all about maintaining protection against the virus as new COVID-19 variants emerge. The CDC said: “The updated vaccines should work well against currently circulating variants of COVID-19, including BA.2.86, and continue to be the best way to protect yourself against severe disease.” The CDC also noted that “protection from COVID-19 vaccines and infection decline over time. An updated COVID-19 vaccine provides enhanced protection against the variants currently responsible for most hospitalizations in the United States.”
So, everyone who is 6 months or older should receive it?
That’s the CDC’s recommendation, but not everyone sees this booster as a firm requirement, depending on various medical and other factors.
Dr. Paul A. Offit, a pediatrician with the Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia who specializes in infectious diseases, told MarketWatch that the new vaccine is a must for some who are at higher risk for developing serious illness, such as people who are over 75, people who have certain health problems (including diabetes, obesity or chronic lung or heart disease) and people who are immune compromised.
And what about the others? Offit said it can be a case of “low risk, low reward.” Meaning there’s little harm in getting the booster and it may buy “a few months protection against mild disease,” Offit said. But he stops short of saying the booster is an absolute necessity for such people.
Still, CDC director Dr. Mandy K. Cohen counters such an argument. In a column for the New York Times, Cohen noted that all the members of her family, including her 9- and 11-year-old daughters, would be getting the booster. “Some viruses…change over time. This coronavirus is one of them. It finds ways to evade our immune systems by constantly evolving. That’s why our vaccines need to be updated to match the changed virus,” Cohen explained.
What if you recently had COVID? Or have just gotten the previous COVID booster?
Offit said you should wait at least two months — and possibly as long as four months — before receiving the new vaccine.
The CDC said, “You should get a COVID-19 vaccine even if you already had COVID-19,” adding “you may consider delaying your next vaccine by 3 months from when your [COVID] symptoms started or, if you had no symptoms, when you received a positive test.”
When and where can you get the new booster?
The CDC said the vaccine “will be available by the end of this week at most places you would normally go to get your vaccines.”
How much will it cost?
The new shots are expected to have list prices of $110 to $130, but the CDC said, “Most Americans can still get a COVID-19 vaccine for free.” That is, most health-insurance plans will cover the cost.
As for those without insurance, the CDC said there are still plenty of free options, including programs run by local health centers and health departments as well as pharmacies participating in the CDC’s Bridge Access Program. For more information about where to get the booster, go to Vaccines.gov.
Starbucks Corp. on Wednesday said former Chief Executive Howard Schultz is stepping down from its board of directors, capping a nearly 40-year career during which the company grew from a handful of stores in Seattle into a global coffee chain.
Schultz’s retirement from the board, which ends his involvement in the company’s leadership, took effect Wednesday and was part of a planned transition, the coffee chain said. Schultz stepped down as Starbucks SBUX, +0.72%
chief executive in March.
The company on Wednesday also said that it had elected Wei Zhang to its board of directors, effective Oct. 1. Zhang was most recently a senior adviser to Chinese e-commerce giant Alibaba Group BABA, -0.75%
and also held leadership positions at News Corp China and CNBC China.
Shares of Starbucks were down 0.7% after hours on Wednesday.
Starbucks said Schultz “will now turn his attention with his wife, Sheri, to focus on a range of philanthropic and entrepreneurial investments to create greater opportunity, accessible to all.” The company noted that the two were co-founders of the Schultz Family Foundation in 1996, and of the emes project.
Although he was not technically the founder of the coffee chain, Schultz became the modern face of it. Schultz joined Starbucks in 1982 as its director of operations and marketing. After a brief hiatus from the company, he returned in 1987 as chief executive and bought the business with backing from local investors, according to a biography on the Starbucks website. The chain went public in 1992.
As the chain’s footprint expanded beyond the U.S., Schultz stepped down from the CEO role in 2000 but returned in 2008. He retired from Starbucks in 2018, then came back as interim chief executive and board member last year.
Over those years, Starbucks has banked on China for international growth — even as that country’s economy remains turbulent following the postpandemic reopening. It also added food and cold and customizable drinks to its menus and built out its mobile-ordering infrastructure.
The company has branded itself as a progressive employer and a supporter of social justice. But over the past two years, the company, and Schultz in particular, have faced criticism over the handling of employees who were trying to unionize. Union members have accused the chain of unfair labor practices, retaliation for organizing and delaying contract negotiations, leading to deeper scrutiny from lawmakers.
“We hope this is an opportunity for Starbucks to change course and leave their union-busting behind them,” Starbucks Workers United, the union representing those workers, said Wednesday in a tweet.
Still, even as inflation has eaten into consumer savings, Schultz said coffee has remained an “affordable luxury” for many customers. And Starbucks management said that younger, loyal consumers and customizable drinks would help sustain demand.
According to a filing on Wednesday, Schultz will still be connected to the company in other ways. Starbucks said it would amend Schultz’s retirement agreement from 2018 and continue to provide him and his spouse with security services.
“The security services will be provided for a period of 10 years and will be evaluated on an annual basis,” the filing said. “In recognition of Mr. Schultz’s leadership as the company’s founder and chairman emeritus, the company will also provide Mr. Schultz with the reimbursement of his monthly healthcare insurance premiums.”
Zara Owner Inditex on Wednesday reported first-half sales which beat market forecasts, thanks to a strong performance both online and in stores.
The Spanish fashion giant, which also owns Bershka, Massimo Dutti and Pull&Bear, said that net profit for the six months ended July 31 surged to 2.51 billion euros($2.70 billion), from EUR1.79 billion last year.
Sales came to EUR16.85 billion, topping the EUR14.85 billion it reported for the same period a year earlier. Analysts had forecast first-half sales of EUR16.68 billion, according to a poll of estimates compiled by FactSet.
Earnings before interest and taxes climbed to EUR3.16 billion in the first half from EUR2.43 billion, while earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation, and amortization increased to EUR4.66 billion from EUR4.03 billion.
The operating margin increased to 18.8% from 16.4%, while the gross margin was up at 58.2% Inditex said.
For the year, Inditex continues to expect a stable gross margin plus or minus 50 basis points.
Inditex’s results come as the company seeks to maintain its edge over rivals in a challenging business environment. On Tuesday, Primark owner AB Foods upped its forecast for 2023 and said its sugar and clothing-retail divisions should be even more profitable next year despite an arduous macroeconomic backdrop. Stockholm-based H&M Hennes & Mauritz is set to report sales on Friday.
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention on Tuesday recommended updated COVID-19 vaccines for people 6 months of age and older.
Director Mandy Cohen late Tuesday backed the findings of CDC advisers, who voted 13-to-1 for approval earlier in the day. The updated vaccines from Moderna Inc. MRNA, -0.53%
and Pfizer Inc. PFE, +0.62%
-BioNTech BNTX, -1.97%
should become available later this week.
“We have more tools than ever to prevent the worst outcomes from COVID-19,” Cohen said in a statement. “CDC is now recommending updated COVID-19 vaccination for everyone 6 months and older to better protect you and your loved ones.”
The move comes just one day after the U.S. Food and Drug Administration approved the updated shots from Moderna and Pfizer. The FDA approved single-dose vaccines for people 12 and older and authorized emergency use of new shots for children as young as 6 months.
The CDC recommendations Tuesday include some key changes from the recommendations that previously applied to the bivalent COVID vaccines. People age 65 and older were recommended to get a second bivalent dose, for example, but the CDC is not currently recommending two doses of the new shot for older adults. The CDC said it will monitor epidemiology and vaccine effectiveness to determine if additional doses are needed.
The recommendations come as the vaccines are transitioning from federal procurement and distribution to the commercial market. The new shots are expected to have list prices of $110 to $130 per dose. But the Affordable Care Act requires insurers to cover most vaccines recommended by the CDC advisory committee at no cost to plan enrollees, and people with Medicare and Medicaid also have no-cost access to the vaccines.
The CDC meeting Tuesday addressed some concerns about the accessibility and cost of the vaccines for people without health-insurance coverage. The CDC’s new Bridge Access program will provide free shots to uninsured people within days at retail pharmacies as well as local health centers, the CDC said. The agency had previously said that the free shots might not arrive in retail pharmacies until mid-October. The federal government’s vaccines.gov website will be updated later this week to list Bridge Access program sites, the CDC said.
Roughly 25 million to 30 million U.S. adults do not have health insurance. About 85% of people without coverage live within 5 miles of a Bridge Access program site, according to CDC data.
Under the Bridge Access program, CVS Health Corp. CVS, +2.57%
will administer doses in stores and Minute Clinics, the CDC said, and Walgreens Boots Alliance Inc. WBA, +1.35%
will offer doses in stores and at off-site events that target areas of low access and uptake. Healthcare-services company eTrueNorth is also working with the program to reach lower-access areas without other coverage under the program, the CDC said.
