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Tag: Starbucks Corp

  • Earnings playbook: How to trade some of the biggest reports this week, including Apple

    Earnings playbook: How to trade some of the biggest reports this week, including Apple

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  • Starbucks union says workers at more than 150 stores will strike over Pride decor

    Starbucks union says workers at more than 150 stores will strike over Pride decor

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    Marchers with Starbucks pass through the landmark intersection of Hollywood and Highland during the annual Pride Parade in Los Angeles, June 12, 2022.

    David Mcnew | Getty Images

    Strikes at some organized U.S. Starbucks stores started Friday in Seattle, after the coffee giant and the union representing baristas publicly clashed over claims that the company was not allowing Pride month decor in cafes.

    The union, Starbucks Workers United, said more than 150 stores representing nearly 3,500 workers have pledged to join the strikes, which will take place over the next week. More than two dozen additional stores are voting on strike authorizations and the count could rise to nearly 200 stores by the end of the week, the union said.

    Last week, the union alleged dozens of U.S. stores were not allowing employees to decorate for Pride month, accusations that suggested a wave of backlash against LGBTQ+ inclusion had reached a perceived liberal bastion in corporate America. Starbucks said it had not revised its guidelines for store decorations.

    “We want to be crystal clear – Starbucks has been and will continue to be at the forefront of supporting the LGBTQIA2+ community, and we will not waver in that commitment!” Starbucks CEO Laxman Narasimhan and Executive Vice President and President for North America Sara Trilling said in a statement Friday.

    “Despite today’s public commentary, there has been no change to any of our policies as it relates to our inclusive store environments, our company culture and the benefits we offer our partners. We continue to encourage our store leaders to celebrate with their communities including for U.S. Pride month in June, as we always have,” they added. The executives said they “strongly disapprove of any person or group, seeking to use our partners’ cultural and heritage celebrations to create harm or flagrantly advance misinformation for self-interested goals.”

    In response to the strike pledges, the company earlier said, “Workers United continues to spread false information about our benefits, policies and negotiation efforts—a tactic used to seemingly divide our partners and deflect from their failure to respond to bargaining sessions for more than 200 stores.” 

    In a post on its website, Starbucks shared a June 14 letter from its VP of Partner Resources, May Jensen, to Workers United President Lynne Fox demanding the union “cease from knowingly misleading partners.”

    Protesters in Seattle join a Starbucks Workers United strike over what the union alleges is a change in policy over Pride décor in stores. Starbucks maintains it has not changed its policies and encourages stores to celebrate within the company’s security and safety guidelines, while the union alleges workers in 22 states where workers have not been able to decorate.

    Rob Weller | CNBC

    Workers United has alleged instances in at least 22 states when workers have not been able to decorate, pointing to social media accounts where workers have documented their claims. The union said it has filed an unfair labor practice charge against Starbucks over what it alleges is a change in policy. Some of the strikes in the coming days are tied to that claim.

    Not all of the stores that will strike had issues related to Pride decor.

    Parker Davis, a 21-year-old barista in San Antonio, Texas, works at a store that has not had a dispute around Pride decor but will be a part of the strikes.

    “There’s a large percentage of partners at my store who are part of the LGBTQ community, and who feel that Starbucks’ continued actions with trying to limit or take down pride decorations just doesn’t make sense with what the company has done in the past,” Davis said.

    Davis told CNBC he expects several picketers, but said it was unclear if the store would be able to open during the strike.

    The public back-and-forth over decorations to celebrate Pride month comes as major brands including Target and Bud Light have been targeted for supporting the LGBTQ+ community. In both of those cases, the companies faced opposition from conservative consumers to partnerships with or merchandise for transgender people — and then saw backlash from more liberal customers for perceived deference to the critics.

    In Oklahoma, workers were told restrictions on decorating were out of a concern for safety after recent attacks at Target stores, the union said.

    Protesters in Seattle join a Starbucks Workers United strike over what the union alleges is a change in policy over Pride décor in stores. Starbucks maintains it has not changed its policies and encourages stores to celebrate within the company’s security and safety guidelines, while the union alleges workers in 22 states where workers have not been able to decorate.

    Rob Weller | CNBC

    The Starbucks workers are also striking over claims that the coffee chain is dragging its feet on negotiating contracts. 

    “Good faith bargaining looks like both sides providing proposals and trying to meet in the middle — Starbucks is not willing to do that,” Workers United said in a statement. “Despite having our non-economic proposals for over 8 months and our economic proposals for over a month now, Starbucks has failed to tentatively agree to a single line of a single proposal or provide a single counter proposal. What Starbucks is doing is not bargaining, it’s stalling.”

    The strike “is important to me because it sends the message that we are not going to stand idly by while Starbucks continues to delay contract negotiations and continues to participate in union busting,” Davis said.

    For its part, Starbucks maintains Workers United has responded to only a quarter of the more than 450 bargaining sessions Starbucks has proposed for individual stores nationally, to date, and said it is committed to progressing negotiations toward a first contract.

    Protesters in Seattle join a Starbucks Workers United strike over what the union alleges is a change in policy over Pride décor in stores. Starbucks maintains it has not changed its policies and encourages stores to celebrate within the company’s security and safety guidelines, while the union alleges workers in 22 states where workers have not been able to decorate.

    Rob Weller | CNBC

    The roastery where the strikes started Friday has not had any disputes over Pride decorations, but is also striking in solidarity. About two dozen unionized employees protested outside the store during the day. The location was closed after it briefly opened, a Starbucks spokesperson said.

    “The roastery wants to show solidarity with all workers that have been discriminated against in the company,” Mari Cosgrove, a 28-year-old barista at the Seattle location, told CNBC.

    “Frankly, it feels like an attack when these flags are taken down,” Cosgrove said. “The partners in these stores really appreciate being able to be seen and feel like this is a community space for them. Starbucks has really prided itself on being a third place, including for its workers.”

    More than 300 company-owned stores have voted to unionize since the first filing took place in August of 2021, but Starbucks and Workers United have yet to agree to a contract.

    Starbucks has more than 9,000 company-owned locations in the U.S.

    — CNBC’s Amelia Lucas contributed to this report.

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  • U.S. stocks fall to cap off worst week since collapse of Silicon Valley Bank

    U.S. stocks fall to cap off worst week since collapse of Silicon Valley Bank

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    U.S. stocks fell Friday with the S&P 500 index on track for its worst week since the collapse of Silicon Valley Bank in March suggesting the three month rally may be coming to an end.

    Investors sought safety in bonds and the U.S. dollar as a wave of interest-rate hikes and hawkish commentary from international central bankers revived worries about global economic growth.

    How are stocks trading?

    • The S&P 500
      SPX,
      -0.51%
      fell 32 points, or 0.8%, to 4,349.

    • The Dow Jones Industrial Average
      DJIA,
      -0.43%
      fell 204 points, or 0.6%, to 33,741.

    • The Nasdaq Composite
      COMP,
      -0.75%
      slid 145 points, or 1.1%, to 13,484.

    On Thursday, the Dow industrials fell 4.81 points, or less than 0.1%, to close at 33,946.71. The four-day slide is the blue-chip gauge’s longest losing streak since a five-day drop that ended on May 25, according to Dow Jones Market Data. Both the S&P 500 and Nasdaq finished higher, snapping a three-day losing streak.

    What’s driving markets

    U.S. stocks on Friday looked set to snap the longest streak of weekly gains since 2019 for the Nasdaq.

    Concerns that interest rate rises by central banks might harm global economic growth were weighing on global equities on Friday, analysts said, following interest rate rises in the U.K., Switzerland, Norway and Turkey on Thursday. The latest batch of rate hikes followed moves by the central banks of Canada and Australia earlier this month.

    Data released on Friday also showed business activity in the eurozone losing momentum in June, according to a purchasing managers survey. U.S. economic growth may also be slowing. The S&P Global U.S. services index fell to a 54.1 in June from 54.9 in the prior month, a two-month low, while the manufacturing index, meanwhile, slid to a five-month low of 46.9 from 51 in May.

    “US stocks are sliding as the global growth outlook continues to deteriorate following soft global PMI readings,” Edward Moya, Senior Market Analyst at Oanda wrote in a note Friday. “The risk of a sharper economic downturn is greater for Europe than it is for the US, so that could keep the dollar supported over the short-term.”

    With central banks around the world promising to raise borrowing costs even higher to tame inflation, analysts focused on the potential ramifications of higher interest rates for both the health of the economy and equity valuations. In the U.S., analysts across Wall Street have warned that the S&P 500 and Nasdaq Composite valuations are again looking unreasonably rich.

    The price-to-earnings ratio for the S&P 500 based on Wall Street’s forecasts for corporate earnings over the next 12 months is just shy of 19, according to FactSet. That’s higher than the five-year average.

    While the Federal Reserve opted to leave interest rates on hold in June, Chair Jerome Powell reiterated in Congressional testimony this week that senior Fed officials strongly support hiking rates “a couple of times” later this year.

    Ryan Belanger, founder and managing principal at Claro Advisors, is among the analysts who believe the market’s rally is getting ahead of itself.

    “The market is too confident that the Federal Reserve can engineer a soft landing and it would be wise for investors to reduce exposure to stocks,” Belanger said in emailed commentary.

    With the S&P 500 down nearly 1.5% for the week, stocks are on track for their biggest such pullback since March 10, FactSet data showed.

    Of course, the market is coming off a rally which is leading some to conclude that this might be a healthy pullback. The S&P 500 had climbed for five straight weeks through June 16, its longest such winning streak since November 2021, Dow Jones Market Data show.  Meanwhile, the technology-heavy Nasdaq had logged eighth straight weekly advance to mark its longest stretch of gains since March 2019.

    “Some of this is a bit of a giveback and when you look at the market action from the last month and a half, we’ve kind of gone parabolic,” said Paul Nolte, senior wealth manager and market strategist at Murphy & Sylvest Wealth Management, during a phone interview with MarketWatch.

    Defensive assets like the dollar and high-quality sovereign bonds were outperforming on Friday, with the yield on the 10-year Treasury note
    TMUBMUSD10Y,
    3.742%
    falling five basis points to 3.744%. Yields on 10-year U.K. gilt
    TMBMKGB-10Y,
    4.317%
    and 10-year German bunds were down by 10 basis points or more. Crude prices
    CL.1,
    -1.12%    ,
    which are sensitive to expectations for the global economy, fell 1.6% to $68.49 a barrel.

    However, U.S. Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen struck an upbeat tone Friday when she said during an interview with Bloomberg that recession risks in the U.S. have faded “because look at the resilience of the labor market, and inflation is coming down.”

    Investors will hear from Cleveland Fed President Loretta Mester later. She’s expected to speak at 1:40 p.m. Eastern Time.

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  • Here are Friday’s biggest analyst calls: Amazon, Tesla, CVS, Microsoft, XPO, AT&T, Spotify & more

    Here are Friday’s biggest analyst calls: Amazon, Tesla, CVS, Microsoft, XPO, AT&T, Spotify & more

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  • Some customers are complaining the new olive oil-infused Starbucks drink is making them run to the bathroom | CNN Business

    Some customers are complaining the new olive oil-infused Starbucks drink is making them run to the bathroom | CNN Business

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    CNN
     — 

    Starbucks is betting big on olive oil infused coffee, hoping customers will be enticed by the anomaly and the health benefits of extra virgin olive oil.

    “It is one of the biggest launches we’ve had in decades,” Brady Brewer, Starbucks’ chief marketing officer, told CNN. Former CEO Howard Schultz added in an interview with Poppy Harlow that it will “transform the coffee industry,” and be “a very profitable new addition to the company.”

    But what the company may not have taken into account: Some customers say it’s making them have to run to the bathroom.

    “Half the team tried it yesterday and a few ended up… needing to use the restroom, if ya know what I mean,” a barista on the Starbucks Reddit page posted. CNN has reached out to the Redditor for comment.

    It might be the sheen from the oil. Or it could be the aftertaste. Social media was swift with condemning the drink – and the after effects.

    “That oleato drink from starbs makin my stomach speak,” one user tweeted.

    Those with sensitive stomachs are already weary.

    “IBD patient here. I wouldn’t touch these drinks with a ten-foot pole,” one Redditor said.

    The new platform, Oleato, rolled out in Italy in February. Each beverage – an oat milk latte, ice shaken espresso with oat milk and a golden foam cold brew – are made with a spoonful of oil, adding 120 calories to a drink. Select Starbucks stores in Seattle and Los Angeles and Reserves in Chicago, Seattle and New York are now serving the platform of beverages.

    CNN has reached out to Starbucks for comment.

    Olive oil is a staple in Mediterranean culture and some drink bits of olive oil in the region daily.

    But the Starbucks drink has a potentially fragile combination: caffeine, which is a stimulant, and olive oil, which is a relaxant.

    A 16-ounce drink has as much as 34 grams of fat, which is more than what many find in a meal, registered dietitian nutritionist Erin Palinski-Wade said. And mineral oils like olive oils tend to be used to treat constipation because it helps soften the stool, making it easier to go the bathroom.

    “If you combined high fat in a meal or in a beverage along with coffee, which already stimulates the bowels,” Palinski-Wade said, “that combination can cause cramping. It can cause increased mobility in the colon and therefore have that laxative effect.”

    Some customers said the speed at which they had to use the restroom after having the drink caught them off guard. But high fat meals take longer to digest than liquid olive oil, which will hit the digestive track faster, Palinski-Wade said. And most people in the US are drinking coffee on the go and aren’t pairing the drink with any carbohydrates and fibers to negate the impact.

    The benefits of olive oil are widely circulated, linked to lowering the risk of cardiovascular disease to lowering blood pressure (though the positive health outcomes could be because the Mediterranean diet replaces unhealthy fats like butter with olive oil, The New York Times reported.)

    “(The drink) is not going to make somebody physically ill from the standpoint of having a negative impact on health,” Palinski-Wade said. “But more of that uncomfortable feeling of having to go in the bathroom or potentially cramping.”

    In the Mediterranean, taking a spoonful of olive oil a day is part of a daily routine. Former CEO Howard Schultz picked up this habit himself from olive oil producer Tommaso Asaro while in Sicily, Italy.

    “When we got together and started doing this ritual I said to [Asaro], I know you think I’m going to be crazy, but have you ever thought of infusing a tablespoon of olive oil with Starbucks coffee?” Schultz told CNN’s Poppy Harlow. “He thought it was a little strange.” Asaro is the chairman of United Olive Oil, through which Starbucks is sourcing its olive oil.

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  • Starbucks fires Buffalo union worker who ‘ignited a movement’ to organize | CNN Business

    Starbucks fires Buffalo union worker who ‘ignited a movement’ to organize | CNN Business

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    New York
    CNN
     — 

    Starbucks has fired a Buffalo, New York, worker who “ignited a movement” from one of the first stores in the coffee chain to unionize, Starbucks Workers United said Friday.

    The firing came the same week that former CEO Howard Schultz testified before Congress, where he was grilled by lawmakers for the company’s labor practices and alleged union-busting.

    Alexis Rizzo had been shift supervisor at the Genesee Street store in Buffalo for 7 years, the union said. That store was one of the first of two locations to officially win their union campaigns in January 2022 after the federal labor board certified its results. Rizzo was the worker who first contacted the union.

    “This is retaliation at its worst,” a statement from Starbucks Workers United said. The union noted two other employees were fired and a union leader was written up.

    CNN is still seeking comment from Starbucks and Rizzo.

    “Instead of negotiating a first union contract as required by law, Starbucks has chosen to double down on its illegal union-busting by firing Alexis Rizzo,” Sen. Bernie Sanders tweeted Friday night, saying Rizzo “must be reinstated.”

    The pro-union senator placed pressure on Schultz’s alleged union-busting tactics when he testified before the Senate’s Committee on Health, Education, Labor & Pensions on Wednesday.

    “Over the past 18 months, Starbucks has waged the most aggressive and illegal union-busting campaign in the modern history of our country,” said Sanders.

    Schultz noted during the hearing that the company’s baristas earn an average of $17.50 an hour, which is more than the minimum wage in multiple states, “including, respectfully Chairman Sanders’ [state],” referring to Vermont.

    The three-time CEO asserted he prefers the company to have a direct relationship with its employees instead of going through a union, denying the company violated labor laws or that he was a union buster.

    Nearly 300 locations have voted to join Starbucks Workers United. National Labor Relations Board judges found Starbucks has committed 130 labor violations and the agency has issued more than 70 official complaints against it. Starbucks has filed its own series of complaints against the union, and in his testimony before Congress, Schultz said the company considers these claims “allegations,” not findings of fact.

    Starbucks and the union have yet to sign a contract.

    “What is outrageous to me is not only Starbucks’ anti-union activities and their willingness to break the law, it is their calculated and intentional efforts to stall, stall and stall,” Sanders said during the hearing.

    In a statement, the union said, “Starbucks can fire our leaders, but they cannot stop our movement or stop the public from seeing the truth.”

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  • Starbucks fired the employee responsible for igniting the Starbucks Workers United union campaign

    Starbucks fired the employee responsible for igniting the Starbucks Workers United union campaign

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    Former Starbucks CEO Howard Schultz testifies about the company’s labor and union practices during a Senate Committee on Health, Education, Labor and Pensions hearing on Capitol Hill in Washington, DC, March 29, 2023.

    Saul Loeb | AFP | Getty Images

    Starbucks fired Alexis Rizzo, the employee responsible for igniting the Starbucks Workers United union campaign, just days after the company’s former CEO Howard Schultz testified on Capitol Hill about the coffee chain’s alleged union-busting, CNBC confirmed.

    Rizzo worked as a shift supervisor at Starbucks for 7 years and served as a union leader at the Genesee St. store in Buffalo, New York, which was one of the first two stores in the country to win its union campaign.

    Starbucks Workers United announced Rizzo’s termination in a tweet Saturday and said in a corresponding GoFundMe page that “this is retaliation at its worst.”

    “I’m absolutely heartbroken. It wasn’t just a job for me. It was like my family,” Rizzo told CNBC in an interview. “It was like losing everything. I’ve been there since I was 17 years old. It’s like my entire support system, and I think that they knew that.”

    Rizzo said her store managers fired her after she finished working her shift Friday. She said they told her it was because she had been late on four occasions — two of which were instances where she had been one minute late. Rizzo suspects she was let go as a result of Wednesday’s Senate hearing, she said.

    Schultz faced a volley of tough questions from Sen. Bernie Sanders Wednesday about Starbucks’ labor and union practices. Sanders, a pro-union independent representing Vermont, has been putting pressure on Starbucks for more than a year to recognize the union and negotiate contracts with unionized cafes.

    Sanders chairs the Senate’s Health, Education, Labor and Pensions Committee, which conducted the panel.

    During the hearing, Sanders said that Starbucks has engaged in the “most aggressive and illegal union-busting campaign in the modern history of our country.” He also accused the company of stalling on collective bargaining agreements, betting that workers will give up and leave the coffee chain.

    Schultz defended Starbucks’ approach to its negotiations, maintaining that a direct relationship with workers is what is best for the company. He also denied multiple times that the company ever broke federal labor law and said his focus during his time as interim CEO was 99% on operations, not battling the union.

    “I don’t think it’s a coincidence that two days after Howard Schultz had his ego bruised the way that he did that he started lashing out at Buffalo,” Rizzo said. She added that two other employees were also fired Friday.

    Starbucks spokesperson Rachel Wall said separations at the company only follow clear violations of policies. In this case, she said there were numerous attendance violations that were impacting other baristas at this store location.

    “We appreciate that our Genesee St. partners provided the Starbucks Experience to each other and our customers this morning, and that area stores continue to serve customers without interruption this weekend,” she told CNBC in a statement.

    Nearly 300 Starbucks cafes have voted to unionize under Starbucks Workers United, according to data from the National Labor Relations Board. In total, the union has made more than 500 complaints of unfair labor practices related to Starbucks with the federal labor board. Starbucks has filed roughly 100 of its own complaints against the union. Judges have found that the company has broken federal labor law 130 times.

    None of the unionized stores have agreed on a contract yet with Starbucks.

    Rizzo said she is still “in shock” about being fired, but that she plans to fight for her position.

    “We’re going to keep fighting to make things right,” she said. “I’m going to fight for my job back and to get reinstated.”

    — CNBC’s Amelia Lucas contributed to this report.

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  • Club meeting recap: Wall Street looks to finish Q1 higher as our tech stocks shine

    Club meeting recap: Wall Street looks to finish Q1 higher as our tech stocks shine

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  • Bernie Sanders set to grill ex-Starbucks CEO Howard Schultz about alleged union busting

    Bernie Sanders set to grill ex-Starbucks CEO Howard Schultz about alleged union busting

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    CEO of Starbucks Howard Schultz sits off stage to listen to soon to be Starbucks CEO Laxman Narasimhan at Investor Day in Seattle, Washington Tuesday September 13, 2022.

    Melina Mara | The Washington Post | Getty Images

    Former Starbucks CEO Howard Schultz on Wednesday is likely to face tough questions from Sen. Bernie Sanders about the coffee chain’s alleged union busting.

    Schultz stepped down from his post on March 20, handing the reins over to Laxman Narasimhan, who spent the prior six months learning about the company. However, Schultz remains on Starbucks’ board and is its fifth-largest shareholder, with a 1.9% stake in the company he turned into a global juggernaut.

    Sanders, a pro-union independent representing Vermont, has been putting pressure on Starbucks for more than a year to recognize the union and negotiate contracts with unionized cafes.

    During a Senate hearing on Wednesday, Schultz will defend Starbucks’ approach to its negotiations, maintaining that a direct relationship with workers is what is best for the company, according to a copy of his written testimony viewed by CNBC.

    In early March, Schultz declined an invitation from the chamber’s Health, Education, Labor and Pensions Committee, which Sanders chairs, to testify about the company’s handling of the union push. After Sanders called for a vote on whether to subpoena Schultz, the former chief executive agreed to appear in front of the panel.

    Starbucks confirmed with the committee that Schultz, who stepped down from the top job earlier than expected, still plans to testify at the hearing, set for 10 a.m. ET.

    Chairman Sen. Bernie Sanders, I-Vt., makes an opening statement before Stephane Bancel, CEO of Moderna, testified during the Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions Committee hearing titled Taxpayers Paid Billions For It: So Why Would Moderna Consider Quadrupling the Price of the COVID Vaccine in Hart Building on Wednesday, March 22, 2023.

    Tom Williams | CQ-Roll Call, Inc. | Getty Images

    Schultz’s third stint as CEO of Starbucks lasted just two weeks shy of a year, but in that time he moved aggressively to stem the organizing wave that began under his predecessor, Kevin Johnson. Schultz announced higher wages, better benefits and card tipping for non-union locations as well as a reinvention plan that included automating tasks that baristas found tedious.

    As of Monday, 391 company-owned cafes have filed petitions to unionize, and 294 have voted to unionize under Starbucks Workers United, according to data from the National Labor Relations Board. In total, the union has made more than 500 complaints of unfair labor practices related to Starbucks with the federal labor board. Judges have found that the company has illegally threatened baristas, fired workers and prohibited union literature.

    Starbucks has denied allegations of union busting and filed roughly 100 of its own complaints against the union.

    None of the unionized stores have agreed on a contract yet with Starbucks. An NLRB lawyer reportedly said Tuesday that the company’s refusal to bargain over Zoom was illegal.

    Last week, House Republicans issued a subpoena to the NLRB seeking documents and alleging misconduct by the agency’s officials in connection with a Starbucks union election in Kansas.

    Beyond lawmakers and regulators, Starbucks also has faced pressure for its handling of the union push from investors. At the company’s annual meeting on Thursday, shareholders cast their votes for a nonbinding proposal that asked for a third-party probe into whether the company broke its commitment to workers’ rights. Starbucks hasn’t shared the official vote counts yet.

    — CNBC’s Kate Rogers contributed to this report.

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  • The scrutiny on TikTok could be bad news for U.S. companies, Fast Money traders say

    The scrutiny on TikTok could be bad news for U.S. companies, Fast Money traders say

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  • 5 things to know before the stock market opens Thursday

    5 things to know before the stock market opens Thursday

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    Here are the most important news items that investors need to start their trading day:

    1. Off to a weak start

    February’s gloominess carried over to March. The three indicies either fell or landed in flat territory Wednesday (the Nasdaq and the S&P 500 slid while the Dow squeaked out the barest gain), and the yield on the 10-year Treasury note hit 4% for the first time since November. That action indicates the pain is going to stick around a little longer. On Thursday, investors will chew over the latest weekly jobless claims data as they anticipate the Federal Reserve’s next moves in its rate-hiking battle against inflation. Fed Gov. Christopher Waller is slated to speak Thursday afternoon. Follow live markets updates.

    2. CRM of the crop

    Marc Benioff, CEO of Salesforce, at the WEF in Davos, Switzerland on May 25th, 2022. 

    Adam Galica | CNBC

    Salesforce surprised everyone – in a good way – with its earnings report Wednesday. Shares of the enterprise software giant and Slack parent surged around 15% in off-hours trading after the company easily topped Wall Street’s expectations for revenue and profit. Activist investors have been putting the squeeze on Salesforce and its CEO, Marc Benioff, looking for fatter profits. The company recently cut 10% of its workforce, resulting in more than $800 million in restructuring costs, as part of a longer-term attempt to control spending. Benioff also said the company disbanded its board committee on mergers and acquisitions, while it works with consultancy Bain on reviewing Salesforce’s business.

    3. Tesla’s new ‘master plan’ underwhelms

    Elon Musk speaking at Tesla Investor Day. 

    Courtesy: Tesla

    Shares of Tesla fell more than 5% in off-hours trading after the electric vehicle company unveiled its latest “master plan,” which, according to CNBC’s Lora Kolodny, was light on details and specifics. CEO Elon Musk spoke in utopian terms as he kicked off the presentation. “There is a clear path to a sustainable-energy Earth. It doesn’t require destroying natural habitats,” he said. “It doesn’t require us to be austere and stop using electricity and be in the cold or anything.” In terms of nitty-gritty business, Tesla is sticking with its goal of producing 20 million EVs a year by 2030. It’s got a long way to go, though. Last year, the company said it delivered a little more than 1.3 million autos.

    4. Biden prepares his veto pen

    U.S. President Joe Biden discusses health care costs and access to affordable health care during an event in Virginia Beach, Virginia, February 28, 2023.

    Leah Millis | Reuters

    In the biggest sign yet that political winds are blowing against environmental, social, and corporate governance, or ESG, guidelines, the Democratic-led Senate on Wednesday voted to overturn a rule that allows retirement funds to consider such progressive standards when making investment decisions. Sen. Jon Tester, a moderate Democrat from Montana, and conservative Democratic Sen. Joe Manchin of West Virginia – who are up for reelection next year in their deeply Republican states – voted with Republicans to make it a 50-46 tally. However, President Joe Biden has said he would veto the measure in order to keep the rule in place. It would be the first veto of his presidency.

    5. Sanders turns up the heat on Schultz

    Senator Bernie Sanders (I-VT) (L), Starbucks CEO Howard Schultz

    Reuters (L) | Getty Images (R)

    Sen. Bernie Sanders, the democratic socialist from Vermont, is serious about hauling Howard Schultz in for questioning after the outgoing Starbucks interim CEO declined an invitation to testify before lawmakers. The progressive, pro-union senator set a vote for next Wednesday that will decide whether to subpoena Schultz to give testimony to the Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions, or HELP, Committee, which Sanders chairs. Baristas at nearly 300 Starbucks stores have voted to unionize, a movement Schultz has opposed. Sanders, in turn, has accused Schultz of union busting.

    – CNBC’s Samantha Subin, Jordan Novet, Lora Kolodny, Christina Wilkie and Amelia Lucas contributed to this report.

    — Follow broader market action like a pro on CNBC Pro.

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  • Biden taps CEOs of 3M, CVS, FedEx, Citi, others to join his Export Council on trade

    Biden taps CEOs of 3M, CVS, FedEx, Citi, others to join his Export Council on trade

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    US President Joe Biden meets with CEOs about the economy in the South Court Auditorium of the Eisenhower Executive Office Building, next to the White House, in Washington, DC on July 28, 2022.

    Mandel Ngan | AFP | Getty Images

    U.S. President Joe Biden has appointed the heads of Citigroup, United Airlines, CVS, 3M and FedEx, among other top executives, to sit on a White House advisory committee overseeing international trade.

    The President’s Export Council gives recommendations and insight into the ways government policies impact U.S. trade performance. The group also provides feedback on how Biden’s trade policies are affecting businesses across sectors from industry and labor to agriculture.

    D.C. businessman Mark D. Ein will chair the board. He currently serves as chairman of Lindblad Expeditions and Kastle Systems and is on the board of directors of Custom Truck One Source and Membership Collective Group. Walgreens Boots Alliance CEO Rosalind Brewer will serve at the council’s vice chair. She previously served as chief operating officer and group president of Starbucks and CEO of Sam’s Club.

    The 25-member board includes: Dana Walden, co-chairman of Disney Entertainment; Jane Fraser, Citigroup CEO; Michael F. Roman, chairman and CEO of 3M; Rajesh Subramaniam, president and CEO of FedEx; Karen S. Lynch, president and CEO of CVS; John Lawler, chief financial officer of Ford; Gareth Joyce, CEO at Proterra; Brett Hart, president of United Airlines; Beth Ford, president and CEO of Land O’Lakes; and Qualcomm CEO Cristiano R. Amon.

    The Export Council features expertise from labor, real estate, national security and law, and leaders of Fortune 200 companies. Biden has previously reached out to some of the executives for counsel on the state of the economy.

    Other members include: Raymond E. Curry Jr., president of the UAW union; Rich Lesser, global chair of Boston Consulting Group; Patrick E. Murphy, a former congressman who is the chief investment officer of Coastal Construction Group; Robert G. Martinez Jr., international president of the International Association of Machinist and Aerospace Workers union; Daniel Rosen, CEO of real estate firm Rosen Partners; and Brett Isaac, co-founder and executive chairman of Navajo Power.

    Other members of the council include:

    • Lisa Disbrow, a national security expert who served as the undersecretary of the Air Force;
    • Lacy M. Johnson, partner-in-charge of Taft’s D.C. law firm;
    • Juan Verde, strategist and consultant with stops at Santander Bank Investments and the World Bank;
    • Michelle W. Singer, senior vice president for political engagement at Comcast;
    • Farnam Jahanian, president of Carnegie Mellon University;
    • Paul A. Laudicina, chairman emeritus of the consulting firm A.T. Kearney; and
    • Deloitte Global CEO Emeritus Punit Renjen.

    Disclosure: Comcast owns NBCUniversal, the parent company of CNBC.

    CNBC Politics

    Read more of CNBC’s politics coverage:

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  • 5 things to know before the stock market opens Wednesday

    5 things to know before the stock market opens Wednesday

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    A trader works on the floor of the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE) in New York City, February 17, 2023.

    Brendan McDermid | Reuters

    Here are the most important news items that investors need to start their trading day:

    1. Taking some lumps

    The market came back from the three-day weekend in bad shape. The three major indices each fell by at least 2% on Tuesday, with the Nasdaq dropping the most. The Dow is now in negative territory for the young year, which had looked so promising at first. Bond yields rose as investors weighed what the Federal Reserve might do next while they also digested muted outlooks from two top retailers (see below). They should get some clues later Wednesday, when the Fed releases the minutes from its previous policy-setting meeting. Follow live markets updates.

    2. Anger at Amazon

    Amazon CEO Andy Jassy speaks during the New York Times DealBook Summit in the Appel Room at the Jazz At Lincoln Center on November 30, 2022 in New York City. 

    Michael M. Santiago | Getty Images

    Amazon employees’ anger about CEO Andy Jassy’s sudden return-to-office mandate keeps growing. Starting May 1, people must be back in the office at least three days a week, Jassy and his leadership team announced a few days ago. Disgruntled workers spammed an internal website with messages slamming the decision. Some tech workers at the company started a Slack group, which had about 16,000 members as of Tuesday night, and put together an internal petition that pushes back on the rule. About 5,000 employees had signed the petition.

    3. ‘I’m drinking the water here’

    Norfolk Southern’s chief executive, Alan Shaw, sat down with CNBC’s Morgan Brennan to talk about his company’s response to a train derailment in Ohio that released toxic chemicals. He said it’s safe for families to return to East Palestine, Ohio, where the train derailed Feb. 3, and he pledged Norfolk Southern’s support for the town and its residents. Asked whether it’s safe for people to return, he told CNBC: “Yes, yes, I’ve come back multiple times. I’m drinking the water here. I’ve interacted with the families here.” Norfolk Southern has come under harsh criticism for its response to the disaster, and the federal EPA has ordered it to handle all the cleanup and recovery efforts.

    4. Caution ahead

    Bloomberg | Bloomberg | Getty Images

    Walmart and Home Depot kicked off retail earnings season with a whimper. Walmart, the nation’s biggest retailer and grocer, offered a lighter forecast than expected for the year, as it expects inflation-weary customers to continue to avoid discretionary purchases like electronics and focus more on essentials, like groceries. Home Depot, meanwhile, reported revenue that missed estimates for the first time since November 2019. The home improvement giant also said it’s seeing customers shopping more cautiously. “We’ve seen an increasing degree of price sensitivity as the year’s gone on, which is actually sort of what we predicted in the face of persistent inflation,” Home Depot’s CFO told CNBC.

    5. Cream, sugar … olive oil?

    Starbucks' Schultz calls company's new Oleato coffee 'disruptive'

    Howard Schultz might be leaving his third (and final, he says) stint as Starbucks CEO on bad terms with the baristas union, but he’s betting the new drink style he’s introducing will leave a tastier legacy after he leaves next month. The global coffee chain is introducing Schultz’s latest brainchild, the “Oleato” line of olive oil-infused coffee drinks, Wednesday in Italy. It’ll make its U.S. debut this spring in California, before spreading to other markets. “This is a transformational moment in the history of our company creating a new category, a new platform,” Schultz told CNBC’s Jim Cramer.

    – CNBC’s Samantha Subin, Annie Palmer, Noah Sheidlower, Melissa Repko, Amelia Lucas and Rebecca Picciotto contributed to this report.

    — Follow broader market action like a pro on CNBC Pro.

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  • Howard Schultz: Unions ‘a manifestation of a much bigger problem’ | CNN Business

    Howard Schultz: Unions ‘a manifestation of a much bigger problem’ | CNN Business

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    New York
    CNN
     — 

    Fifteen years ago, Howard Schultz reprised his role as Starbucks CEO, returning to the helm to help put the struggling company back on course. At the time, the coffee chain was flailing, facing growing competition, cooling customer interest and contending with the financial crisis.

    Last year he returned once again, as Starbucks was in the midst of a different crisis: A growing wave of unionization.

    Schultz, who sat down for a far-reaching conversation with CNN’s Poppy Harlow in February, covering the union, relations with China and the US economy, said he didn’t return to Starbucks because of the union efforts. But he did see the labor movement as a sign that things had gone sour at Starbucks, and for young people in general.

    “It’s my belief that the efforts of unionization in America are in many ways a manifestation of a much bigger problem,” he told Harlow. “There is a macro issue here that is much, much bigger than Starbucks.”

    The first Starbucks store voted to unionize in December of 2021, about five months before Schultz became CEO — this time on an interim basis — for the third, and he says final, time. Even before he officially rejoined the company, Schultz was already alarmed by the union push.

    In November, a month before the successful vote to unionize, he published an open letter to employees. “No partner has ever needed to have a representative seek to obtain things we all have as partners at Starbucks,” he wrote, using the word “partner” to refer to employees, as Starbucks does. “I am saddened and concerned to hear anyone thinks that is needed now.”

    Unionized workers are fighting for guaranteed schedules, protecting benefits for part-time workers and more. One priority, they say, is to have Starbucks sign fair election principles which protect workers rights to organize without retaliation.

    In the months since returning as CEO, Schultz has doubled down on his opposition to the union. And during his tenure, the battle has intensified and turned ugly.

    Union leadership has accused Starbucks of refusing to come to the bargaining table, threatening their benefits and employing union-busting tactics, claims that the company has denied.

    Starbucks employee Brian Murray, center, and other employees and supporters react as votes are read during a viewing party for their union election on Thursday, Dec. 9, 2021, in Buffalo, N.Y.

    The union has filed hundreds of unfair labor practice charges against the company, and Starbucks has filed some of its own unfair labor charges against the union, saying that it’s the union that is holding up negotiations.

    The NLRB has found, in some cases, that the company illegally threatened and fired workers involved in the union effort. A judge recently ruled that Starbucks must stop firing employees who are involved in the union. Starbucks said the measure was unwarranted, and, relating to the NLRB’s findings, that it endeavors to comply with the law.

    And recently, Vermont Senator Bernie Sanders and the rest of the Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions Committee asked Schultz to testify in an upcoming hearing on Starbucks’ compliance with labor laws. Schultz declined, and Starbucks announced that its chief public affairs officer AJ Jones II will attend instead.

    As of mid-February, the National Labor Relations Board has certified 282 stores that voted to unionize, and 56 that voted against. There are about 9,300 US company-operated Starbucks stores, and a relatively small number have voted to unionize. To Schultz, this means that the vast majority of workers at Starbucks stores are happy with how things are.

    The union sees its growth, in spite of Starbucks’ muscular fight against it, as a clear sign of worker interest. “The fact that Starbucks workers are continuing to organize and win shows just how much workers need and desire a union,” Starbucks Workers United said in a statement to CNN.

    Over the years, Starbucks has cultivated its image as a progressive company, an image that Schultz himself helped establish by offering employees health insurance, tuition reimbursement and company stock.

    But as he prepares to step down from the CEO role, that reputation is being challenged, in large part because of the company’s steadfast opposition to the union. But Schultz, who doesn’t think fighting the workers’ unionization effort will tinge the company’s legacy, is not backing down.

    When Schultz re-joined the company last year, he spent months visiting with employees as part of a listening tour that helped him develop a new roadmap for the company, which he said had “lost its way.”

    “I’ve talked to thousands of our Starbucks partners,” he told Harlow. “I was shocked, stunned to hear the loneliness, the anxiety, the fracturing of trust in government, fracturing of trust in companies, fracturing of trust in families, the lack of hope in terms of opportunity.”

    Baristas prepare orders at a Starbucks coffee shop in New York, NY.

    American companies are “faced with unionization because [workers are] upset, not so much with the company, but the situation.”

    Still, Starbucks made some specific missteps, he said, during his absence.

    Before he became interim CEO last year Schultz served in the top spot from 1987 to 2000, and then again from 2008 to 2017. But even when he had ceded the role for the final time, he remained involved as chairman of the board — until 2018, when he retired. That four-year lapse, Schultz said, was a “mistake,” adding, “I should have probably stayed engaged.” This time, Schultz will retain his board seat after incoming CEO Laxman Narasimhan takes over.

    Especially during the pandemic, “some decisions were made that I would not have made,” he said, without specifying which. When asked for more details, a spokesperson pointed to the resumption of training programs in 2022.

    “As a result of that, I think people did lose trust in the leadership of the company.” Efforts to unionize, he said, were spurred “because Starbucks was not leading in a way that was consistent with its history.”

    Still, he sees the union as a relatively minor issue that represents the desires of a small group of people.

    “I don’t think a union has a place in Starbucks,” he said. “If a de minimis group of people … file for a petition to be unionized, they have a right to do so. But we as a company have a right also to say, we have a different vision that is better.”

    But that’s likely not the case, said Rebecca Givan, associate professor of labor studies and employment relations at Rutgers School of Management and Labor Relations.

    Starbucks workers during a rally on October 05, 2022 in New York City.

    “I’m sure there’s a large number of people who are interested [in unionizing], but afraid,” she said. “We know, just from general polling data, that many, many workers are interested in organizing collectively or in being represented collectively.” This is especially true among younger workers, she said.

    Collectively, workers hold more sway with employers, giving them more power to negotiate.

    “If Starbucks really thought that not that many people were interested, then they could pledge neutrality,” Givan said, as Microsoft did last year. Schultz said that just as workers have the right to organize, Starbucks has “the right to defend” itself.

    As a CEO, Schultz has been responding “very typically,” Givan said, in how strongly he’s opposed the union. “I think every corporate leader takes it personally and when their workers organize, even though they really shouldn’t,” she said.

    While Starbucks deals with the union effort at home, it also faces challenges in China, its key growth market. In the three months through January, sales at Starbucks’ Chinese locations open at least 13 months plunged 29% due in part to Covid restrictions.

    Despite these setbacks, Starbucks remains bullish on China, even as tension between the country and the United States grows.

    “I don’t believe China is an enemy of America,” Schultz told Harlow, describing it instead as a “fierce adversary, especially economically.” In his opinion, there need to be “good, solid geopolitical relations between the Chinese government and the American government.”

    As it forges ahead in China, Starbucks is steering clear of Russia, he said.

    Starbucks exited the country last year because of Russia’s attack on Ukraine, and Schultz doesn’t see the company ever going back. “I think Starbucks is gone from Russia for good,” he said.

    Back in the United States, Schultz is anticipating a “soft landing” for the economy. “I have great confidence in the US economy,” he said. “I don’t see a recession coming.” Inflation, he thinks, has peaked.

    That goes for Starbucks pricing, as well. “I don’t think our prices are going up,” he said.

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  • Omicron subvariant that’s dominant in U.S. extends lead over other variants in latest week, CDC data shows

    Omicron subvariant that’s dominant in U.S. extends lead over other variants in latest week, CDC data shows

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    The omicron subvariant that became dominant in the U.S. several weeks ago continued to extend its lead over other variants in the latest week, according to Centers for Disease Control and Prevention data that was updated on Friday.

    XBB.1.5, the omicron sublineage that first emerged in small numbers in October, accounted for 66.4% of cases in the week through Feb. 4, the data shows. That’s up from 61.3% the previous week. The prior dominant variants, BQ.1.1 and BQ.1, together accounted for 27.2% of new cases, down from 31.1% the previous week.

    In the CDC’s Region 2, which includes New York, New Jersey, the U.S. Virgin Islands and Puerto Rico, XBB.1.5 accounted for 92.4% of new cases, up from 91.1% the previous week.

    The World Health Organization is monitoring XBB and its sublineages and has said that so far, it shows a growth advantage over other circulating variants — in other words, it’s more infectious — but there is still no data to suggest it’s any more lethal, or likely to cause severe illness or death.

    The WHO said this week the pandemic is not yet over, although the world may be reaching an inflection point as higher immunity rates lower death rates. But it also urged countries to stay the course, while President Joe Biden has pledged to end twin COVID emergencies on May 11, a move that has dismayed healthcare experts.

    Travel between Hong Kong and China will no longer require COVID-19 PCR tests nor be held to a daily limit, authorities announced Friday, as both places seek to drive economic growth, the Associated Press reported.

    Hong Kong’s tourism industry has suffered since 2019 after months of political strife that at times turned into violent clashes between protesters and police, as well as harsh entry restrictions implemented during the pandemic.

    The announcement came a day after Lee unveiled a tourism campaign aimed at attracting travelers to Hong Kong that includes 500,000 free air tickets for tourists to visit the semi-autonomous Chinese city.

    Read also: What happens when the COVID-19 emergency declaration ends? Brace for big changes to your health coverage and medical costs

    In the U.S., the seven-day average of new U.S. COVID cases stood at 41,412 on Thursday, according to a New York Times tracker. That’s down 19% from two weeks ago. The daily average for hospitalizations was down 21% at 31,394. The average for deaths was 462, down 7% from two weeks ago.

    Cases are now rising in 17 states, the tracker shows, led by Minnesota, where they are up 63% from two weeks ago. On a per capita basis, cases are highest in Kentucky at 22 per 100,000 residents.

    Coronavirus update: MarketWatch’s daily roundup has been curating and reporting all the latest developments every weekday since the coronavirus pandemic began

    Other COVID-19 news you should know about:

    • China’s COVID lockdowns, and the ending of them in December that sparked a wave of cases, are featuring prominently in U.S. fourth-quarter earnings, with Starbucks
    SBUX,
    -2.68%
    the latest company to highlight their impact on its performance. The coffee-shop chain’s stock was down 3.8% Friday, after it said same-store sales in China, a key market, fell 29% because of the case surge. That was enough to drag down international same-store sales, which had an overall drop of 13%. Still, Chief Financial Officer Rachel Ruggeri said on the call that, “excluding China, we had tremendous growth across markets.” She also said the company’s fiscal 2023 outlook remains unchanged.

    • Some Georgia senators want to permanently block schools and most state and local government agencies from requiring people to get vaccinated against COVID, the AP reported. In 2022, lawmakers put a one-year ban into law, part of a nationwide conservative backlash against mandates meant to prevent the spread of the respiratory illness. But that ban expires on June 30 in Georgia if lawmakers don’t act. The Senate Health and Human Services Committee voted 7-2 this week to advance Senate Bill 1, which makes the ban permanent, to the full Senate.

    • After a two-year hiatus due to the coronavirus pandemic that brutally brought one of Europe’s oldest Mardi Gras celebrations in Binche, Belgium to a halt, celebrations are back with a vengeance this winter, the AP reported. The earliest records of the Binche Mardi Gras, which draws thousands of revelers, date to the 14th century. Many Belgian towns hold ebullient carnival processions before Lent. But what makes Binche unique are the “Gilles”—local men deemed fit to wear the Mardi Gras costumes. Under rules established by the local folklore defense association, only men from Binche families or having resided there for at least five years are eligible to wear the Gille costume. Other characters—the Peasant, the Sailor, the Harlequin, the Pierrot or the Gille’s Wife—also play a role in the carnival.

    Here’s what the numbers say:

    The global tally of confirmed COVID-19 cases topped 671.3 million on Monday, while the death toll rose above 6.83 million, according to data aggregated by Johns Hopkins University.

    The U.S. leads the world with 102.5 million cases and 1,110,856 fatalities.

    The CDC’s tracker shows that 229.6 million people living in the U.S., equal to 69.2% of the total population, are fully vaccinated, meaning they have had their primary shots.

    So far, just 51.4 million Americans, equal to 15.5% of the overall population, have had the updated COVID booster that targets both the original virus and the omicron variants.

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  • Tyre Nichols was a son and father who enjoyed skateboarding, photography and sunsets, his family says | CNN

    Tyre Nichols was a son and father who enjoyed skateboarding, photography and sunsets, his family says | CNN

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    CNN
     — 

    Tyre Nichols was a father, a man who loved his mama and a free-spirited soul who was looking for a new life in Memphis, Tennessee.

    That life was tragically cut short earlier this month after a violent arrest by five officers with the Memphis Police.

    Now, as attention turns to the five former officers being charged with second-degree murder in Nichols’ death, according to court documents, Nichols’ family wants the world to know the man Nichols was.

    The 29-year-old was the baby of his family, the youngest of four children. He was a “good boy” who spent his Sundays doing laundry and getting ready for the week, his mother, Ravaughn Wells, said.

    “Does that sound like somebody that the police said did all these bad things?” Wells said. “Nobody’s perfect OK, but he was damn near.”

    “I know everybody says that they had a good son, and everybody’s son is good, but my son, he actually was a good boy,” she said.

    Above all else, Nichols loved being a father and loved his son, his family said.

    “Everything he was trying to do was to better himself as a father for his 4-year-old son,” attorney Benjamin Crump said at the family’s news conference.

    Nichols was someone who brought everyone joy. “When he comes through the door, he wants to give you a hug,” Crump said, speaking on behalf of Nichols’ family.

    Nichols moved to Memphis right before the Covid-19 pandemic and got stuck there when things shut down, his mother said. “But he was OK with it because he loved his mother,” she added.

    His mom said he loved her “to death” – so much so that he inked it permanently.

    “He had my name tattooed on his arm, and that made me proud because most kids don’t put their mom’s name, but he did,” Wells said with a laugh.

    “My son was a beautiful soul and he touched everyone,” she said.

    Nichols became friends with an unlikely group of people because they kept showing up to the same Starbucks around the same time in the morning, his friend Nate Spates Jr. said.

    A couple times a week, these five or six friends would sit together, put their phones away so they could be present and enjoy each other’s company, said Spates, who met Nichols about a year ago at a Starbucks in Germantown, Tennessee.

    The group didn’t talk much about their personal lives, and they never touched politics. But sports, particularly football, and Nichols’ favorite team, the San Francisco 49ers, were regular topics.

    Nichols was a “free spirited person, a gentleman who marched to the beat of his own drum,” Spates told CNN. “He liked what he liked. If you liked what he liked – fine. If you didn’t – fine.”

    Spates said he saw himself in Nichols and recognized a young man who was trying to find his own way and learning to believe in himself.

    He saw Nichols grow and start to believe he could do whatever “he set out to do in this world,” Spates said.

    Spates’ favorite memory of Ty, as he called Nichols, was last year on Spates’ birthday, when Nichols met Spates’ wife and 3-year-old at their usual Starbucks. He watched Nichols play with his toddler and talk to his wife with kindness.

    “When we left, my wife said, ‘I just really like his soul. He’s got such a good spirit,’” Spates said.

    “To speak about someone’s soul is very deep,” he said. “I’ll never forget when she said that. I’ll always remember that about him.”

    Tyre Nichols loved his mother so much, he got a tattoo of her name.

    Spates joins the rest of Nichols’ family and wider Memphis community in being frustrated at the lack of information that has come out about the traffic stop that resulted in Nichols’ death. He said he’s had to do a lot of compartmentalizing to be able to even speak about his friend.

    “I just hope that this truly does open up honest dialogue, and not dialogue until the next one happens, but a dialogue for change,” he said.

    Nichols’ daily life was ordinary at times, as he worked and spent time with family, but he also made time for his passions, his mom, Wells, said.

    After his Starbucks sessions, he would come home and take a nap before heading to work, said Wells, with whom he was living. Nichols worked the second shift at FedEx, where he had been employed for about nine months, she said.

    He came home during his break to eat with his mom, who would have dinner cooked.

    Nichols loved his mom’s homemade chicken, made with sesame seeds, just the way he liked it, Wells said.

    When he wasn’t working, Nichols headed to Shelby Farms Park to skateboard, something he had been doing since he was 6 years old. He would wake up on Saturdays to go skate or sometimes, he’d go to the park to enjoy the sunset and snap photos of it, his mom said.

    “My son every night wanted to go and look at the sunset, that was his passion.”

    Photography was a form of self-expression that writing could never capture for Nichols, who wrote that it helped him look “at the world in a more creative way,” on his photography website.

    While he snapped everything from action shots of sports to bodies of water, landscape photography was his favorite, he wrote.

    “I hope to one day let people see what i see and to hopefully admire my work based on the quality and ideals of my work,” he wrote. He signed the post: “Your friend, – Tyre D. Nichols.”

    Tyre Nichols does tricks on his board in a YouTube video, which was shown at a news conference by his family's attorney Crump.

    Skating was another way Nichols showed the world his personality. A video montage of Nichols on YouTube shows his face up close with the sun shining behind him before he coasts up and down a ramp on his skateboard. He grinds the rail and does tricks on his board in the video, which was shown at a news conference by his family’s attorney Crump.

    Sunsets, skateboarding and his positive nature were all things that Nichols was known for, longtime friend Angelina Paxton told The Commercial Appeal, a local paper.

    Skating was a big part of his life in Sacramento, California, where he lived before he moved to Memphis, Paxton said.

    “He was his own person and didn’t care if he didn’t fit into what a traditional Black man was supposed to be in California. He had such a free spirit and skating gave him his wings,” Paxton said.

    Paxton and Nichols met when they were 11 years old and attending a youth group, she told the Appeal.

    “Tyre was someone who knew everyone, and everyone had a positive image of him because that’s who he was,” Paxton said. “Every church knew him; every youth group knew him.”

    When Paxton found out about Nichols’ death, she crumbled, she told CNN affiliate WMC.

    “My knees gave out,” she told WMC. “I just fell because I could not believe that someone with such light was taken out in such a dark way.”

    Paxton attended Nichols’ memorial service earlier this month in Memphis. She said she represented the people in California who knew him and wanted to support his family.

    “There would be a couple thousand people in this room,” Paxton told WMC, if the memorial had been in Sacramento. “He was such an innocent person. He was such a light. This could have been any of us.”

    For his family, seeing the turnout and feeling the outpouring of support meant a lot.

    Nichols’ stepfather Rodney Wells told WMC: “My son is a community person, so this (memorial) was good to see.”

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  • Take profits on Starbucks after its huge run, and check out these 3 other stocks

    Take profits on Starbucks after its huge run, and check out these 3 other stocks

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    A Starbucks store is seen inside the Tom Bradley terminal at LAX airport in Los Angeles, California.

    Lucy Nicholson | Reuters

    In Friday’s “Morning Meeting,” we dug into our inbox and found an excellent question raised by a member of the Investing Club.

    Starbucks – like Halliburton – has had a nice run lately. The Club trimmed some Halliburton on Thursday. Why not trim Starbucks too? I have a double-digit percent gain on shares accumulated over the past five months. It seems like I should take some off the table. I would appreciate your perspective on what I see as a similar situation, but two different stocks.

    -Clay

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  • Tesla is a ‘soft landing’ stock, says Goldman Sachs. Here are its picks for a gentle economic landing and stocks for a recession.

    Tesla is a ‘soft landing’ stock, says Goldman Sachs. Here are its picks for a gentle economic landing and stocks for a recession.

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    Pour one out for the beleaguered economists, who for once got an important indicator, the consumer price index, right on the nose, after CPI fell 0.1% in December, while core prices rose 0.3%.

    “The 2021 surge in durable goods demand normalized, and the resulting collapse in durable goods price inflation was stunningly fast,” says Paul Donovan, chief economist of UBS Global Wealth Management.

    “The commodity wave of inflation is fading, and that leaves the profit margin expansion in focus,” he adds. What a good time for earnings season to be upon us, and what do you know, it is, kicking off with the banking sector on Friday before broadening out next week.

    Strategists at Goldman Sachs have a new note out, saying that the market is pricing in a soft landing even though the trend of earnings revisions points to a hard landing.

    They’re not that optimistic — even in the soft-landing scenario, the team led by David Kostin say the S&P 500
    SPX,
    +0.40%
    will end the year right around current levels, at 4,000. But they identify 46 stocks that could benefit — profitable, cyclical companies that are trading at price-to-earnings valuations below their 10-year median, among other factors.

    One name jumps out: Tesla
    TSLA,
    -0.94%    ,
    which trades at 22 times forward earnings versus the 10-year median of 117 times. But the other 45 names are less flashy, ranging from Capital One
    COF,
    +1.81%
    and Carlyle Group
    CG,
    +0.54%    ,
    to a host of industrials including 3M
    MMM,
    +0.12%    ,
    Parker-Hannifan
    PH,
    +0.73%
    and Otis Worldwide
    OTIS,
    +0.42%    .
    As a whole, these typically $10 billion companies are trading at 12 times earnings, versus 17 times usually.

    In the hard landing scenario, S&P 500 profit margins would shrink by 125 basis points, to 10.9% — about in line with the median peak-to-trough decline during the eight recessions since 1970, which has been 132 basis points. Consensus expectations are for a 26 basis-point margin decline.

    The Goldman team also have a 36 stock screen for a hard landing — profitable companies in defensive industries with a positive dividend yield. They’re typically food, beverage and tobacco companies as well as software and services companies — including Costco Wholesale
    COST,
    +0.58%    ,
    Kroger
    KR,
    -0.99%    ,
    Altria
    MO,
    +0.48%    ,
    Tyson Foods
    TSN,
    +0.23%    ,
    Microsoft
    MSFT,
    +0.30%    ,
    MasterCard
    MA,
    -1.13%
    and Visa
    V,
    -0.25%    .
    As a whole, these $37 billion companies are trading at 22 times earnings vs. a historical 24 times.

    The market

    After a 2.3% advance for the S&P 500
    SPX,
    +0.40%
    over the last three sessions, U.S. stock futures
    ES00,
    +0.39%

    NQ00,
    +0.58%
    declined on Friday.

    The yield on the Japanese 10-year bond
    TMBMKJP-10Y,
    0.511%
    exceeded 0.5%, the Bank of Japan’s yield cap, ahead of next week’s rate decision , prompting a second day of aggressive bond purchases from the central bank.

    For more market updates plus actionable trade ideas for stocks, options and crypto, subscribe to MarketDiem by Investor’s Business Daily.

    The buzz

    Fourth-quarter earnings were rolling out from Bank of America
    BAC,
    +2.20%    ,
    JPMorgan Chase
    JPM,
    +2.52%    ,
    Citigroup
    C,
    +1.69%
    and Wells Fargo
    WFC,
    +3.25%    ,
    and outside of banks, Delta Air Lines
    DAL,
    -3.54%    ,
    BlackRock
    BLK,
    +0.00%
    and UnitedHealth
    UNH,
    -1.23%    .

    JPMorgan shares slumped after forecast-beating earnings, though investment bank revenue came in light of estimates. Delta shares also declined after topping earnings estimates.

    Tesla
    TSLA,
    -0.94%
    cut prices of Model 3 and Model Y vehicles in the U.S. and elsewhere by up to 20%. The electric vehicle maker stock dropped 6%.

    Virgin Galactic
    SPCE,
    +12.34%
    surged after saying it’s on track to launch space-tourism flights in the second quarter.

    Apple
    AAPL,
    +1.01%
    says CEO Tim Cook requested, and received, a pay cut after investor criticism.

    The University of Michigan’s consumer-sentiment index is due at 10 a.m. Eastern, and Minneapolis Fed President Neel Kashkari and Philadelphia Fed President Patrick Harker are due to speak.

    Tyler Winklevoss said charges by the Securities and Exchange Commission brought about Gemini Trust for allegedly offering unregistered securities were “super lame” as it seeks to unfreeze $900 million in investor assets.

    Best of the web

    There’s a bull market in swearing on corporate earnings calls.

    The West is now preparing to send tanks to Ukraine in what could be another escalation of its conflict with Russia, which on Friday claimed victory in the eastern town of Soledar.

    A look back at photos of Lisa Marie Presley, who died at age 54.

    Top tickers

    Here were the most active stock-market tickers as of 6 a.m. Eastern.

    Ticker

    		 Security name
    BBBY,
    -30.15%         		Bed Bath & Beyond
    TSLA,
    -0.94%         		Tesla
    GME,
    -0.68%         		GameStop
    AMC,
    +0.80%         		AMC Entertainment
    MULN,
    -8.59%         		Mullen Automotive
    NIO,
    -0.08%         		Nio
    APE,
    -2.56%         		AMC Entertainment preferreds
    AAPL,
    +1.01%         		Apple
    SPCE,
    +12.34%         		Virgin Galactic
    AMZN,
    +2.99%         		Amazon.com
    Random reads

    Like a scene out of “Stranger Things” — there’s uproar after new restrictions on the Hasbro
    HAS,
    +0.21%
    game Dungeons & Dragons.

    Starting next month, Starbucks
    SBUX,
    +1.30%
    rewards will be less generous for most items, though iced coffee will be easier to get.

    Need to Know starts early and is updated until the opening bell, but sign up here to get it delivered once to your email box. The emailed version will be sent out at about 7:30 a.m. Eastern.

    Listen to the Best New Ideas in Money podcast with MarketWatch reporter Charles Passy and economist Stephanie Kelton.

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  • Starbucks CEO Howard Schultz tells corporate workers to return to the office 3 days a week

    Starbucks CEO Howard Schultz tells corporate workers to return to the office 3 days a week

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    Howard Schultz

    David Ryder | Reuters

    Starbucks corporate employees will be returning to the office at least three days a week by the end of the month.

    Starting Jan. 30, employees within commuting distance will be required to report to the coffee giant’s Seattle headquarters on Tuesdays, Wednesdays and a third day decided on by their teams. The memo didn’t specify what qualified as commuting distance.

    Workers closer to regional offices will also be required to come in three days a week, although the specific days aren’t mandated.

    The coffee giant’s corporate workforce has been working remotely since the start of the pandemic. In September, Starbucks asked those workers to work from the office one to two days a week. But CEO Howard Schultz wrote in a memo to employees on Wednesday that badging data showed employees weren’t adhering to that directive.

    The new policy is meant to “rebuild our connection to each other and synchronize teams and efforts,” said the memo from Schultz, who is departing the company this spring. He also compared corporate workers’ continued remote work to baristas, who have never had that option.

    Schultz stepped in as interim chief executive in April after former CEO Kevin Johnson retired. In his third stint at the company, he has announced a $450 million plan to reinvent Starbucks and fix what he called “self-induced mistakes.”

    Starbucks isn’t the only company that has recently mandated a stricter return-to-office policy. CEO Bob Iger, who has returned for his second leadership stint at Disney, told employees on Monday that they must return to the office.

    Elon Musk set even higher expectations for in-office attendance at Twitter after he acquired the social media company. And Apple mandated employees return to work three days a week back in September.

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  • Iraq prime minister orders crackdown on trademark violations

    Iraq prime minister orders crackdown on trademark violations

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    BAGHDAD — Iraq’s prime minister has ordered a crackdown on local businesses operating under the names of international brands without legal permission, his office said Wednesday.

    The move by the premier, Mohammed Shia al-Sudani, comes after The Associated Press reported last week that Iraq has become a major center of trademark violations and piracy.

    In one prominent example, a chain of fake Starbucks has been operating under the international coffee company’s logo in Baghdad, the Iraqi capital. Starbucks filed a lawsuit in an attempt to shut down the trademark violation, but the case was halted after the owner allegedly threatened lawyers hired by the coffee house.

    Amin Makhsusi, the owner of the fake branches, had admitted to the AP that he operated the stores without a license from Starbucks but denied making threats. He said he had first tried to obtain a license legally, but after being turned down, decided to open the store anyway.

    The statement from al-Sudani’s office said that trademark infringements are “a violation of the law, and a crime that harms the business environment and foreign investments” as well as harming “Iraq’s reputation and its ability to attract major companies and institutions with internationally registered brands and trademarks.”

    It said that Iraqi authorities had taken “legal measures” against a number of businesses found to be operating under fake trademarks, but did not specify which ones.

    Asked whether the government had ordered the “Starbucks” stores to be shut down, Yahia Rasool, a spokesperson for al-Sudani, declined to comment beyond the statement issued by his office.

    At one of the unauthorized “Starbucks” branches in Baghdad, the signs bearing the logo had been removed from the storefront by Wednesday and the main entrance was shuttered by a roll-down metal cover. However, another door remained open and the shop was still doing business inside, serving coffee in Starbucks-brand paper cups.

    Makhsusi told the AP that the stores had taken down the “Starbucks” signs and logos under orders from security officials, but that they were still selling the stock of Starbucks coffee and cups, bought retail, which they had to “get rid of.”

    The chain will change its name, he said, to be able to operate legally.

    However, the issue of counterfeiting and piracy in Iraq goes beyond coffee.

    The broadcaster beIN has sent cease-and-desist letters to Earthlink, Iraq’s largest internet service provider, alleging that a free streaming service offered to its subscribers is composed almost entirely of pirated content.

    And at least two U.S. pharmaceutical companies have approached the U.S. Chamber of Commerce with complaints that their trademark was being used to sell counterfeit life-saving medication by Iraqi companies.

    ———

    Associated Press reporters Ahmed Sami Fattah and Ali Abdul-Hassan in Baghdad contributed reporting.

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