Weber Grill accessories are offered for sale at a home improvement store on July 23, 2021 in Palatine, Ill.
Scott Olson | Getty Images News | Getty Images
Weber shares tumbled 17% in morning trading Monday after the grill maker abruptly said CEO Chris Scherzinger is departing amid waning demand for its products in stores and online.
The Palatine, Illinois-based company also suspended its quarterly cash dividend and said it is committed to working with lending partners to remain in compliance with its credit facilities.
Weber named Chief Technology Officer Alan Matula its interim CEO, effective immediately, as it searches for a permanent replacement.
“We are taking decisive action to better position Weber to navigate historic macroeconomic challenges, including inflationary and supply chain pressures that are impacting consumer confidence, spending patterns, and margins,” said Kelly Rainko, non-executive chair of Weber’s board.
The company also announced preliminary results for the three-month period ended June 30, pegging net sales between $525 million and $530 million. Weber said its performance was hurt by slower retail traffic as rising inflation and other pressures weighed on consumers. It was also hit by continued foreign currency devaluations.
Weber said the headwinds are expected to persist into its fiscal fourth quarter and withdrew its fiscal 2022 forecast due to the market uncertainty.
The company said it is considering layoffs and other ways to reduce expenses, including by tightening its inventories. It said it will provide additional details when it reports its fiscal third-quarter results on Aug. 15.
Weber, which makes smokers, barbecue grills and other accessories for outdoor cooking enthusiasts, went public last year as families spent more time cooking and entertaining at home during the pandemic. More recently, though, demand for its cooking products has cooled as consumers rethink spending amid inflation and the looming possibility of a recession.
In the quarter ended March 31, Weber’s net sales fell 7% and its net loss came in at $51 million, compared with net income in the year-ago period.
Scherzinger joins a growing list of CEOs that have departed retail companies in recent months, from Gap to Game Stop, as boards grow displeased with sluggish performance, and supply chain disruptions and other challenges persist.
Weber shares are down about 42% year to date, as of Friday’s market close.
U.S. Federal Reserve Board Chairman Jerome Powell takes questions after the Federal Reserve raised its target interest rate by three-quarters of a percentage point to stem a disruptive surge in inflation, during a news conference following a two-day meeting of the Federal Open Market Committee (FOMC) in Washington, June 15, 2022.
Elizabeth Frantz | Reuters
Here are the most important news items that investors need to start their trading day:
1. Big week ahead
It’ll be the biggest week so far of the current earnings season, with about a third of the S&P 500’s companies due to report. Investors are also watching what the Fed will say during its meeting Tuesday and Wednesday. Markets are expecting another 75-basis-point rate hike from the central bank’s policymakers as inflation remains high, even while some observers think it may well have peaked. Here are some of the key companies set to report quarterly results this week:
Tuesday: McDonald’s, Coca-Cola, General Motors (before the bell); Alphabet, Microsoft (after the bell)
Wednesday: Boeing (before the bell); Ford, Meta, Qualcomm (after the bell)
Thursday: Comcast (before the bell); Apple, Amazon (after the bell)
Friday: ExxonMobil, Chevron, Procter and Gamble (before the bell)
2. Stock futures rise
Traders on the floor of the NYSE, July 21, 2022.
Source: NYSE
U.S. equities markets indicated a positive open Monday. Last week, the S&P 500, the Nasdaq and the Dow all finished in the green despite a rough Friday due in large part to Snap’s dismal earnings reports. Investors are looking for a bottom after the dire first half for stocks, and earnings season, while it hasn’t been spectacular, has been good enough for investors. So far, about 70% of S&P 500 companies that reported earnings have topped analysts’ expectations, according to FactSet.
3. GM at a crossroads
GM Chair and CEO Mary Barra addresses investors Oct. 6, 2021 at the GM Tech Center in Warren, Michigan.
Photo by Steve Fecht for General Motors
General Motors is set to report earnings Tuesday, and investors will be looking for indications that the Detroit automaker is making progress in its quest to go all-electric. So far, GM, like its legacy rivals, lags far behind Elon Musk’s Tesla. Yet while Tesla’s market share is expected to continue slimming in the U.S. as competitors ramp up EV production, GM has fallen behind other rivals as well. Crosstown rival Ford expanded its share this year, as has South Korea’s Hyundai, while GM’s declined. CEO Mary Barra is undeterred, though. “No one has as many vehicles as we are going to have by 2025,” she told CNBC’s Michael Wayland earlier this year.
4. War and wheat
A photo taken on July 15, 2022 shows a wheat field near Mariupol in Donetsk region, amid the ongoing Russian military action in Ukraine.
Stringer | AFP | Getty Images
The world is wary about the state of the wheat market after a Russian attack on the Ukraine port city of Odesa cast doubt on the export deal the two warring countries reached last week. The Kremlin said the attack targeted the Ukrainian military, but the timing of the strikes so soon after the pact raised alarms. Wheat futures prices early Monday morning rose as investors processed the news, but are overall down quite a bit since May. Follow live updates about the Russia-Ukraine war here.
5. Vince McMahon bows out … sort of
In an epic Friday news dump, Vince McMahon, the longtime head of World Wrestling Entertainment, announced he would retire as CEO and chairman of the company he bought from his father about 40 years ago. He had already stepped away from the chief executive role weeks ago, handing the duties to his daughter Stephanie McMahon on an interim basis, as the WWE’s board probed millions of dollars in hush payments he reportedly paid several women over sexual misconduct claims through the years. On Friday, he handed the reins to Stephanie McMahon, who also became chairwoman, and WWE President Nick Khan, who’ll act as co-CEO. But even at age 76, McMahon is still the biggest shareholder in WWE − a point he made in announcing his retirement. Sports media experts see WWE as an acquisition target. Since McMahon is such a central part of the wrestling company’s brand and content, it could signal to potential suitors that his specific flavor of showmanship will be part of any package.
– CNBC’s Patti Domm, Peter Schacknow, Michael Wayland, Matt Clinch and Dan Mangan contributed to this report.
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Elon Musk had a brief affair last fall with the wife of Google co-founder Sergey Brin, according to an explosive Wall Street Journal report published Sunday. The Journal reports that the affair led to Brin’s divorce with Nicole Shanahan earlier this year, and that it ended the close friendship between Musk and Brin. Musk, however, denied the report and called it a “hit piece.”
Brin and Shanahan were separated but still living together at the time of the affair in December, a person close to her told the Journal. Brin, who married Shanahan in 2018, filed for divorce in January, citing “irreconcilable differences,” several weeks after learning of the affair, the Journal reported.
Musk rejected the Journal’s report in a tweet, calling it “total bs.”
“Sergey and I are friends and were at a party together last night!” Musk tweeted. “I’ve only seen Nicole twice in three years, both times with many other people around. Nothing romantic.”
Responding to a comment on Twitter, Musk then tweeted: “Haven’t even had sex in ages (sigh).”
This is total bs. Sergey and I are friends and were at a party together last night!
I’ve only seen Nicole twice in three years, both times with many other people around. Nothing romantic.
— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) July 25, 2022
Musk and Brin had been longtime friends, with Musk reportedly often sleeping at Brin’s Silicon Valley home. Brin, who’s worth $95 billion, has made several investments in Tesla since the company was created in 2003. Alongside his Google co-founder Larry Page, Brin contributed to a $40 million funding round in 2006. When Tesla was facing a cash crunch in 2008, Musk sent pleas to several friends for investments, according to Ashlee Vance in his 2015 biography on Musk. Brin invested $500,000.
The Journal reported that Musk apologized to Brin at a party earlier this year but that Brin, despite acknowledging the apology, isn’t on regular speaking terms with Musk.
Musk, in a subsequent tweet, called the article a “Tesla hit piece.”
News of the alleged affair comes at a turbulent time for the Tesla and SpaceX founder and CEO, who’s also the wealthiest person on the planet. Earlier this month, Twitter sued Musk to complete his proposed $44 billion purchase of the social media platform after he informed Twitter he was ending the agreement to buy the company.
Around the same time, it was revealed that Musk and one of his top executives secretly had twins in November. Musk has also battled allegations that SpaceX paid a flight attendant $250,000 to settle allegations that the billionaire exposed himself to her during a flight.
Musk didn’t immediately respond to a request for comment. Neither Brin nor Shanahan, who runs a foundation focused on reproductive justice, could immediately be reached for comment.
Update, 8:27 p.m. PT: Adds Musk’s denial of the Journal’s report.
Born as the latest chapter in Honda’s new-age styling alongside the eleventh-gen Civic, third-gen HR-V (now sold as ZR-V globally), and especially the sixth-generation CR-V crossover SUV, the all-new Type R is seen as bolder yet more mature. But that is just in the real world.
Over across the virtual realm, automotive pixel masters were quick to give it new stuff to do – such as imagine itself as a two-door Coupe or slimmed three-door Hot Hatch, among others. Of course, being something that relates to the JDM part of the automotive world, there’s also an entire realm of tuning jobs to discuss once it hits the market.
But even before that happens, CGI experts were keen to advance all sorts of ideas. Some of them were quite subtle as if this was the author’s first date with the new iteration. Others skipped the gallantry altogether and imagined a more extreme take on the sixth generation FL5 Civic Type R. A case in point to be made here would be easy, thanks to Hugo Silva.
The virtual artist better known as hugosilvadesigns on social media, usually likes to play with oddities – such as a recently aired Daewoo Tacuma minivan or a testy, ratty Saab 99 that surely did not look all too ready to end at the local scrapyard, or a Buick Enclave that morphed from stodgy three-row crossover SUV to a bonkers DTM concept racer. But now he decided to attack the 2023 Honda Civic Type R head-on with a cool JDM impersonation (are we to believe this is a right-hand drive due to the swiper placement?!).
And, naturally, all the usual tuning suspects are present and accounted for. So, the hot hatchback – which is now more refined and stylish according to the pixel master – is also a bit feistier with a thoroughly slammed attitude, a carbon fiber-infused aerodynamic body kit, and wider fenders than anyone thought possible, plus a seriously cool yet dark, gray-painted atmosphere.
ST. CHARLES, Mo. (AP) — Roughly 2,500 Boeing workers are expected to go on strike next month at three plants in the St. Louis area after they voted Sunday to reject a contract offer from the plane maker.
The strike is planned to begin Aug. 1 at Boeing manufacturing facilities in St. Charles County, St. Louis County and Mascoutah, Illinois, after the International Association of Machinists and Aerospace Workers District 837 union voted down the contract, according to the St. Louis Post-Dispatch.
“We cannot accept a contract that is not fair and equitable, as this company continues to make billions of dollars each year off the backs of our hardworking members,” the union said.
Boing said in a statement that the Arlington, Virginia-based company is disappointed in the vote, but it will now use its “contingency plan to support continuity of operations in the event of a strike.”
A Boeing spokesman said the company’s contract offer included competitive raises and a generous retirement plan that included Boeing matching employee contributions to their retirement plan up to 10% of their pay.
Boeing is expected to give an update on its finances this week when it releases its next quarterly earnings report on Wednesday. Earlier this year, Boeing reported a $1.2 billion loss in the first quarter, but just last week the company announced that Delta Air Lines had ordered 100 of its 737 airplanes.
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This story has been corrected to show that Boeing is based in Arlington, Virginia.
Let the games begin. No, not the acrimonious tussle between the final two candidates in the Conservative party’s leadership election — although you can watch that on the BBC on Monday. This week is the start of the Commonwealth Games in the UK’s second-largest city, Birmingham.
The opening day of the international sports fest will be marred by that other big event of the 2022 British summer: industrial action. The RMT will stage the latest in its series of walkouts over pay levels for rail industry workers on Wednesday, the same day that Aslef — representing train drivers — counts the votes in its strike ballot over members’ pay awards. The unrest continues to spread, with telecoms engineers and port workers either striking or balloting for industrial action over pay.
Across the Channel, energy ministers from EU member states will this week meet in Brussels to decide measures to end the European reliance on Russian fuel supplies. The prospects are not good, according to Europe Express newsletter writer Valentina Pop. On Sunday, President Vladimir Putin will have his opportunity to grandstand as Navy Fleet Day is celebrated in port cities across Russia.
If that is all too depressing, then perhaps it is worth celebrating the prospect of further significant compensation for the British postmasters made to suffer because of the faulty Horizon computer system. Former Supreme Court judge Lord John Dyson is expected to make an announcement on the final settlement for victims of the IT scandal following the government’s announcement of an interim payment totalling £19.5mn in June.
The pick of the election news this week is Tunisia’s vote on a new constitution. Politicians and analysts say there is little doubt that the charter, drawn up by populist leader Kais Saied, will be adopted even if they expect a low turnout.
Economic data
All eyes will be on Washington on Wednesday for the Federal Reserve’s latest interest rate announcement. Expectations are for a tightening of the monetary policy machinery with a 75 basis point increase. At least one senior Fed governor would like the Federal Open Market Committee to go even further.
Then we will get the data on growth — did someone mention recession — with quarterly GDP figures for the US, Canada, France, Germany and the mass of eurozone countries.
Companies
We’ve hit peak earnings season with an A to Z (or at least X) of company names — ironic given that Tuesday’s list includes Alphabet.
The negative impact of the strong dollar has been seen across a range of US earnings calls this quarter. It is expected to surface as an issue again with a clutch of results announcements from Silicon Valley tech companies, which have some of the highest percentages of revenue from overseas.
Microsoft, which reports on Tuesday, has already cut its guidance based on the dollar, and Morgan Stanley issued a note last week saying the dollar could lead to disappointing guidance from Apple when it reveals its numbers on Thursday.
Attention will also be focused on the consumer goods industry with Unilever, Danone, Procter & Gamble, Reckitt Benckiser, Nestlé and Mondelēz all reporting this week. The concern among analysts is that shoppers are tightening their belts, choosing cheap own-label supermarket products over multinational brands. The decision by Unilever and others to raise their prices has not made the situation any easier.
Slightly more mature, a little more powerful, and all the way stylish – that is how we could describe the sixth-generation FL5 Honda Civic Type R. But how about the opposite of forgetful?
The Japanese automaker has always been a little experimental when it came to compact car shenanigans, so both the regular Civic and its high-performance Type R counterpart have been great examples of that. But, from now on, things are getting a lot more serious.
And that would only be logical – you can only do such quirky stuff for so long, but not when your Civic has reached the eleventh generation, and the 2023 Civic Type R is already at its sixth iteration, as well. Naturally, there have been a lot of opinions regarding the new looks (as the technical specifications are still a mystery at this point), both in the real world and across the virtual realm.
As far as the latter is concerned, some were keen to point out its new style could be trickled down to smaller models such as the City hatchback, morph into a sportier two-door Coupe, or serve as the cool basis for lots of aftermarket enhancements, even if only digitally, for now. But there is also one pixel master that wants us to know the Civic remembers. Not the North, but rather its origins.
Siim Parn, the Estonia-based virtual artist, better known as spdesignsest on social media, has ditched the neo-retro designs for something modern once again. And we are properly enjoying this series, which so far includes the 2023 VW Amarok getting its first CGI tuning job (a widebody overlander!), the ubiquitous Rolls-Royce Cullinan transformed into a Landaulet-type “White Mammoth,” and now this – a much slimmer 2023 Honda Civic Type R Three-Door Hot Hatch.
As far as we can tell, the inspiration is simple – the original EK9 (based on the sixth-gen Civic) was exactly that, a minimalistic, no-frills three-door hatchback. Additionally, the second-gen EP3 was more of the same – but this imagined design can also draw big roots from the third-generation FN2 European and international model produced in Swindon, UK, from 2007 to 2011.
Demand for electric vehicles is expected to boom in the coming decades — and UBS has identified a theme for investors to cash in on that electrification. UBS said that increasing amounts of electronic content within vehicles will lead to new supply chains, as automakers increasingly work directly with semiconductor firms and new tech players. In particular, this rising electrification will have a profound impact on the powertrain — a critical assembly of components that creates power from the engine and delivers it to the wheels, UBS’ analysts, led by David Lesne, wrote in a Jul. 20 report. The traditional powertrain supply chain generates annual revenues of around 250 billion euros ($255 billion) as of 2021, according to estimates from UBS, but is expected to get a 150-billion-euro boost by 2030 as production of battery electric powertrains ramps up. Top stock ideas With powertrain electrification attracting “substantial” investor attention, UBS named its “most favored” stocks to gain exposure to the theme. One of the bank’s top picks is EV giant Tesla . The bank believes the company is likely to remain “the most successful” global EV maker, given its technology leadership and best-in-industry battery supply chain management. Tesla is also poised to expand its gross margin in the coming quarters and years, while delivering on its 50% volume growth guidance this year, according to UBS. The bank also likes Mercedes . It expects the automaker to “master the electric transition in a highly profitable manner.” UBS says the company’s earnings margin target of 12% to 14% is conservative, and expects further upside to its share price once the company has demonstrated competitiveness in the high-end EV segment. Read more Wall Street is convinced these stocks will do well this quarter — and Citi gives one 50% upside BofA believes we’re already in a recession — and says these stocks have what it takes to beat it Goldman Sachs says the bear market isn’t over yet, and explains why German automotive parts supplier Vitesco also made UBS’ list. The bank sees the company as “one of the few winners” in powertrain electrification, given its head start relative to peers, and its ability to supply the entire spectrum of EV powertrain content. The bank added that much of Vitesco’s transition from supplying traditional automakers to EV makers has been completed and the company now benefits from one of the largest electrification product portfolios. Chinese battery manufacturer Contemporary Amperex Technology (CATL) is another UBS favorite. The bank believes the company has the “ability and ambition” to strengthen its technological edge and maintain its “outstanding competitiveness” relative to its peers. “We expect CATL to sustain its leading position in the battery industry over the next 5-10 years, backed by solid R & D,” Lesne said. UBS also likes Taiwanese electronics manufacturer Delta Electronics, which its believes is ahead of peers in EV exposure, given its strong product and customer portfolio. The bank estimates EV sales will comprise more than 10% of the company’s sales in 2025, up from the current 5% to 6%. EV outlook In a research note issued last month, UBS said it expects 2026 to be an “inflection point” for EVs, when the global EV market will surpass the combined market size of personal computers, smartphones and servers. “On our forecasts, internal combustion engine vehicle production growth will be broadly stable until it peaks in 2024, declining thereafter by an average annual 15% until 2030. Meanwhile, the number of [battery electric vehicles] produced should grow six-fold over 2021-30,” UBS added in its Jul. 20 report.
But two years after buying the property, the couple is planning to move back to the city for work. They’ve listed the property for $585,000.
The main living area in the A-frame cabin.
Upstate Curious/KW Realty Hudson Valley North
The couple put the property up for sale for $669,000 in June and cut the price to $585,000 in mid July, listing records show.
Houses in Shohola, Pennsylvania, have a median listing home price of $249,900, per real-estate platform Realtor.com. There are 29 single-family home listings in Shohola, and prices range from $24,900 to $3.99 million. The $585,000 A-frame cabin and chalet property lies on the pricer end of the spectrum.
Katy Porte with the Upstate Curious team at KW Realty Hudson Valley North holds the listing.
New York City developers and gaming operators are putting their chips on the table in a frenzied bid for the right to open local casinos, including in Times Square and Hudson Yards, The Post has learned.
Some of the other sites being eyed are Willets Point near the Mets Citi Field ballpark in Queens and Brooklyn’s Coney Island, according to sources familiar with the plans.
The state Gaming Commission is authorized to issue up to three licenses in the Big Apple downstate region, and Mayor Eric Adams has said he wants at least two of the licenses given to the city.
Real-estate giants Related Companies in Hudson Yards and Vornado and SL Green in Times Square are interested in forming partnerships with casino behemoths such as Hard Rock, Sands and Wynn for local venues, industry and government sources said.
Representatives with the developers and casinos have apprised Adams’ office, as well as Gov. Kathy Hochul and state officials, of their preliminary plans, sources said.
Officials from Related Companies have met with City Hall to discuss a proposal to build a casino over rail tracks on the far West Side.
Related Companies Chairman Stephen Ross is a hefty donor to Hochul, the biggest player in the casino sweepstakes who oversees the state’s gambling regulators.
A rep for Related Companies, the major developer of the West Side’s Hudson Yards, confirmed interest in building a casino in Manhattan.
Hudson Yards developer Related Companies is looking into a potential casino on the West Side.William Farrington
“We’re exploring our options,” Related spokesman Jon Weinstein told The Post on Sunday.
Sources familiar with the discussions said Hudson Yards has ample space to build a casino, along with the transportation infrastructure needed to get people to and from a gaming facility. The No. 7 and Penn Station stations are nearby. The site also is close to the Javits convention center.
Mets owner Steve Cohen and his associates — who have good relations with Adams — have spoken to City Hall about potentially building a local casino, too, sources said.
Thor Equities has discussed erecting a casino in Coney Island, as well, an insider said.
Business mogul John Catsimatidis, who developed the Ocean Drive waterfront residences along the Coney Island oceanfront, also has expressed support for opening a casino there.
“A casino would be a wonderful thing for Coney Island and Brooklyn,” Catsimatidis said Sunday. “A Coney Island casino would bring a lot of vigor to Brooklyn.”
Thor Equities is reportedly interested in building a casino in Coney Island.Photo by Alexi Rosenfeld/ Getty Images
On the casino side, Hard Rock has indicated it has already joined the party.
It just donated $119,000 to the Gov. Hochul-controlled state Democratic Party and has contributed more than six figures to the governor’s election campaign, according to fund-raising records filed with the state Board of Elections.
Hard Rock’s lobbyists also have met with City Hall Chief of Staff Frank Carone about wanting to build a casino, lobbying records show. Hard Rock executives have discussed a partnership with the Mets’ Cohen for a Willets’ Point casino.
A selling point: Willet’s Point is easily accessible using the No. 7 subway train, the Long Island Rail Road and the Grand Central Parkway and Long Island Expressway and has a large population just minutes away in Flushing, a potential gambling constituency, sources said.
Mets owner Steve Cohen has talked to City Hall about a casino near Citi Field in Willets Point, sources said.NY POST Photo/Corey Sipkin
Meanwhile, Sands CEO Rob Goldstein also has met with Carone about a Big Apple casino, a source close to the discussions said.
In terms of support for any local project, Carone noted to The Post, “Casinos provide good-paying union jobs.”
Two existing slots parlors at state horse-race tracks — Resorts World/Genting at Aqueduct in Queens and the Empire City/MGM at Yonkers in Westchester County — have been in business for more than a decade and will apply for a full license to expand and offer live table games. If those two sites are selected, there will be a fight for the one remaining license for a new downstate casino.
But opening a casino anywhere in the city — particularly in Manhattan — won’t be easy.
Under state law, gaming interests are going to need to woo community support.
Backers would have to win approval from two-thirds of a six-member community advisory board for the area where a casino is proposed. The reps are to include appointees from the borough president, local state senator and assembly member and City Council member, as well as the governor and mayor.
Unless the proposed casino is on state-owned property, it also would have to be approved according to the city’s lengthy land-use review procedure that needs the blessing of the City Council.
The situation gives community activists and local elected officials tremendous leverage in the selection process.
Other controversial projects on Manhattan’s West Side have ended up in the graveyard — notably former Mayor Mike Bloomberg’s proposed Olympic stadium and the Westway highway.
“I strongly oppose a Manhattan casino in concept,” said state Sen. Brad Hoylman, who represents the Hudson Yards and Times Square neighborhoods, to The Post on Sunday.
“I don’t know one constituent who wants a casino,” he said. “Outside forces want a casino. Insiders who live here don’t want a casino.”
Studies have questioned the economic benefits of land-based casinos in the digital age, too. The region is saturated with gambling parlors, critics say.
But New York government stands to benefit from billions of dollars in revenues.
The state is expected to fetch at least $500 million for each casino license — or least $1.5 billion.
The tax rates will ultimately be determined by the competitive bidding process for the licenses, but the law says they can’t be less than 25% of slot revenue and 10% of table game revenue.
The tax rates will likely be higher. The four upstate casinos all pay between 30% and 40%.
The gaming commission will appoint members to a casino siting board by October 4. The board will then have 90 days to issue a request for bids.
