Category Archives: Business

Business

5 things to know before the stock market opens Thursday, Jan. 13

Leave a comment

Here are the most important news, trends and analysis that investors need to start their trading day:

1. Wall Street looks a bit higher after Nasdaq’s 3-day winning streak

Traders work on the floor of the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE) in New York, January 12, 2022.

Brendan McDermid | Reuters

U.S. stock futures rose slightly Thursday ahead of what’s expected to be another hot inflation report. The Nasdaq edged higher Wednesday, led by tech stocks rebounding for a third straight session. The Dow Jones Industrial Average and the S&P 500 eked out gains for a second day in a row, with each ending Wednesday less than 1.5% away from last week’s record closes. The Nasdaq has more work to do to dig out from its recent slide, finishing Wednesday 5.4% away from its latest record close in November.

  • Looking ahead, global alternative asset management firm TPG is set to debut on the Nasdaq on Thursday, the morning after pricing its initial public offering at $29.50 per share, the middle of the expected range.
  • Moderna expects to report data by March from its Covid vaccine trials involving children aged 2 to 5. If the study is supportive, the company said it would then file for emergency approval for vaccinating that age group. Moderna shares were modestly lower in the premarket.

2. Delta Air Lines reports strong earnings, revenue; shares rise

Delta Air Lines airplanes at the Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport (ATL) in Atlanta, Georgia, U.S., on Tuesday, Dec. 21, 2021.

Elijah Nouvelage | Bloomberg | Getty Images

Delta Air Lines shares rose more than 1.5% in the premarket after the carrier on Thursday posted its highest quarterly revenue since late 2019, a better-than-expected $9.47 billion in the fourth quarter. Earnings of 22 cents per share also beat estimates, thanks in part to strong holiday bookings and more business travel. Delta said it expects a first-quarter loss, blaming the Covid omicron variant for higher costs and weaker-than-expected bookings. However, the airline still sees a travel demand rebound further down the road and a profit this year.

3. More hot inflation numbers expected; jobless claims seen steady

The government’s December data on the producer price index, set for release at 8:30 a.m. ET on Thursday, is expected to show a year-over-year rise of 9.8%. The November PPI, a measure of wholesale inflation, rose 9.6% year over year at the fastest clip on record. Thursday’s report comes after December’s consumer price index rose 7% year over year at the quickest pace since June 1982. The response in the stock and bond markets was rather muted because while high, the CPI matched estimates.

Also at 8:30 a.m. ET, the Labor Department is scheduled to release its Thursday look at initial jobless claims. Economists expect a total of 200,000 first-time filings for unemployment benefits for the week ended Jan. 8. That would be down by 7,000 from the prior week, which showed data well anchored around a level that’s even lower than before the Covid pandemic, when new claims were averaging around 215,000.

4. Senate panel to hold hearing on Brainard’s Fed vice chair nomination

U.S. Federal Reserve board member Lael Brainard speaks after she was nominated by U.S. President Joe Biden to serve as vice chair of the Federal Reserve, in the Eisenhower Executive Office Building’s South Court Auditorium at the White House in Washington, U.S., November 22, 2021.

Kevin Lamarque | Reuters

The Senate Banking Committee holds a confirmation hearing at 10 a.m. ET on Thursday to consider Federal Reserve Governor Lael Brainard’s nomination to become the next Fed vice chair. In prepared remarks, Brainard said that controlling decades-high inflation is the “most important task” facing central bankers. Brainard’s prepared remarks stuck close to the monetary policy script used by Fed Chairman Jerome Powell on Tuesday at his confirmation hearing for a second term. He said the Fed will act as needed with higher interest rates and other measures to be sure inflation returns from its current highs to the central bank’s 2% target.

5. Biden to highlight the federal response to omicron surge

U.S. President Joe Biden delivers remarks on voting rights during a speech on the grounds of Morehouse College and Clark Atlanta University in Atlanta, Georgia, January 11, 2022.

Jonathan Ernst | Reuters

President Joe Biden plans to deliver remarks Thursday about his administration’s “surge response” to spiking Covid cases due to the highly contagious omicron variant. Biden will highlight the federal government’s efforts to use military medical personnel, starting next week, to help hospitals hit by the dual problems of a crush of Covid patients and staffing shortages due to sick health-care workers. The president will also announce that six additional military medical teams will be deployed to Michigan, New Jersey, New Mexico, New York, Ohio and Rhode Island.

— Reuters and The Associated Press contributed to this report. Follow all the market action like a pro on CNBC Pro. Get the latest on the pandemic with CNBC’s coronavirus coverage.

Read original article here

Business

Dow Jones Futures: Market Rally Pauses But Tesla, AMAT Pop; Tech Bellwether Signals Earnings Breakout

Leave a comment

Dow Jones futures were little changed early Thursday, along with S&P 500 futures and Nasdaq futures. The stock market rally nudged higher on Wednesday, extending a rebound but closing well off session lows.




X



Apple chipmaker Taiwan Semiconductor (TSM) is signaling a breakout on strong earnings before Thursday’s open, also giving Applied Materials stock a boost. KB Home (KBH) and Delta Air Lines (DAL) also climbed on quarterly results.

Consumer inflation came in slightly hotter than expected on Wednesday, hitting a fresh 39-year high of 7%. But investors appeared relieved that the December inflation report wasn’t even worse. Meanwhile, crude oil and copper prices continued to rally, with energy, mining and other commodity-related stocks rallying.

Still, the major indexes backed off morning highs, with the Nasdaq hitting resistance after rebounding since Monday afternoon. Applied Materials (AMAT) rebounded bullishly from its 50-day line while Mosaic (MOS) broke out past a buy point. Tesla (TSLA) was among Wednesday’s big movers, reclaiming key support, but is not yet actionable.

Key Earnings

KB Home reported earnings after the close while Taiwan Semiconductor and Delta Air Lines reported early Thursday, kicking off quarterly results for their respective sectors.

KB Home earnings beat views. Sales came in a little light, but the homebuilder gave bullish guidance on revenue, selling prices and profit margins. KBH stock, which was a laggard when rivals were breaking out, rose solidly overnight, signaling moves above the 50-day and 200-day lines.

Taiwan Semiconductor earnings topped estimates, with the chip foundry also guiding up for Q1 revenue. TSM stock rose 4.4% to 138.01, signaling a breakout from an 11-month cup-with-handle base with a 135.60 buy point. As a chip contractor, Taiwan Semi makes chips for Apple (AAPL), Nvidia (NVDA) and many other fabless chipmakers. Meanwhile, TSM also gave a bullish 2022 capital spending forecast. That’s good news for chip-equipment makers such as Applied Materials

Apple stock edged lower in premarket trade, still actionable from its 10-week line. Nvidia stock rose a fraction, still below its 50-day line after last week’s sell-off.

Delta earnings and revenue slightly topped views. The carrier expects a Q1 loss as the omicron variant spurs major flight cancellations, but it stuck to forecasts for a 2022 profit. DAL stock rose modestly before the open. Shares have been rallying for the past several weeks but are well off 2021 highs, along with other airline stocks. But Delta earnings are important not only for other airlines, but for hotels and online travel sites that are performing better.

Tesla stock and Nvidia are on IBD Leaderboard. Applied Materials and MOS stock are on SwingTrader. AMAT stock is on the IBD 50 list. Mosaic was Wednesday’s IBD Stock Of The Day.

The video embedded in this article discusses Wednesday’s market action and analyzes AMAT, Mosaic and TSM stock.

Dow Jones Futures Today

Dow Jones futures rose about 0.1% vs. fair value. S&P 500 futures and Nasdaq 100 futures edged lower.

The 10-year Treasury yield rose slightly to 1.75%, after pulling back in the prior two sessions.

Remember that overnight action in Dow futures and elsewhere doesn’t necessarily translate into actual trading in the next regular stock market session.

Join IBD experts as they analyze actionable stocks in the stock market rally on IBD Live

Stock Market Rally

The stock market rally closed well off morning highs, but the major indexes closed positive.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 0.1% in Wednesday’s stock market trading. The S&P 500 index climbed 0.3%. The Nasdaq composite advanced 0.2%. The small-cap Russell 2000 sank 0.7%.

The 10-year Treasury yield fell about 2 basis points to 1.725%, continuing to retreat from Monday’s 23-month intraday peak of 1.81%. Crude oil prices climbed 1.8% to $82.64 per barrel, while natural gas shot up more than 10%. Copper prices climbed about 3%.

Among the best ETFs, the Innovator IBD 50 ETF (FFTY) rose 1%, while the Innovator IBD Breakout Opportunities ETF (BOUT) advanced 0.8%. The iShares Expanded Tech-Software Sector ETF (IGV) dipped 0.3%. The VanEck Vectors Semiconductor ETF (SMH) climbed 0.85%. TSM stock, Nvidia and AMAT are major SMH components.

SPDR S&P Metals & Mining ETF (XME) rallied 2.3% and Global X U.S. Infrastructure Development ETF (PAVE) edged up 0.5%. U.S. Global Jets ETF (JETS) retreated 0.9%, with DAL stock a notable JETS holding. SPDR S&P Homebuilders ETF (XHB) closed just below break-even. The Energy Select SPDR ETF (XLE) edged up 0.2% and the Financial Select SPDR ETF (XLF) nudged 0.1% higher. The Health Care Select Sector SPDR Fund (XLV) dipped 0.3%.

Reflecting more-speculative story stocks, ARK Innovation ETF (ARKK) slumped 2.8% and ARK Genomics ETF (ARKG) 4.1%. Tesla stock remains the No. 1 holding across ARK Invest’s ETFs.

Five Best Chinese Stocks To Watch Now

Mosaic Stock

Mosaic stock rose 3.8% to 41.91 on Wednesday, clearing a 41.25 cup-with-handle buy point in above-average volume, according to MarketSmith analysis. MOS stock did back off intraday highs of 42.61.

AMAT Stock

AMAT stock popped 4.7% to 159.55, rebounding bullishly from its 50-day line and breaking a very short trend line entry. It’s actionable now. Applied Materials stock also is back above a prior buy point of 159.10, though it’s technically no longer valid.

AMAT stock rose 2% before Thursday’s open, buoyed by a strong TSM capital spending report.

Tesla Stock

Tesla stock climbed 3.9% to 1,106.22, convincingly reclaiming its 50-day line. From Monday’s lows, TSLA stock has rebounded more than 125 points. The 50-day line often offers an early entry, but the EV giant is trying to go straight up after plunging from its Jan. 4 intraday high. For now, Tesla stock remains actionable just above the 1,200 level. Ideally, shares would pause just below or around 1,200 before breaking out.

Market Rally Analysis

The stock market rally continued to rebound Wednesday but definitely backed off early highs.

The Nasdaq composite, up more than 1% intraday, pulled back after hitting its 10-day line and nearly reaching its 21-day moving average. It’s still below its 50-day line. The Dow Jones and S&P 500, above their 21-day and 50-day lines, also ran into resistance at their 10-day lines.

The Russell 2000 also reversed from short-term moving averages. But the small-cap index also closed lower.

The market rally was due for a bounce at Monday’s lows. Well, we got it. But it’s still unclear if that bounce has real legs. Can the Nasdaq reclaim its 50-day line and its year-end levels? Can the S&P 500 and Dow Jones hit new highs? Or will the market rally falter yet again?

We don’t have to have an answer right away. A short pause in the major indexes could be constructive. It would be unusual for stocks to race straight up. A little sideways action would let stocks repair themselves, while leaders could stand out.

Energy stocks remain strong, though Wednesday’s gains were tame given the big moves in crude oil and natural gas. Financials are looking good. Investors may want to wait for Friday’s earnings from JPMorgan Chase (JPM), Wells Fargo (WFC) and Citigroup (C) before making substantial new bets on bank stocks.

Time The Market With IBD’s ETF Market Strategy

What To Do Now

The market direction may be the most important part of CAN SLIM. You can find top stocks with great fundamentals, but if the market goes south, those leaders will likely falter too. If the market is generally trending higher, most stocks will rise.

If you buy Nvidia stock, Tesla stock or Microsoft (MSFT) right now, you’re not only betting on those stocks too early, you’re betting the market will show strength. But instead of trying to predict where the market will go, pay attention to what the market is doing now. While it’s still a stock market rally, it’s under pressure with the market direction in flux.

Complicating matters is that while most growth stocks are struggling, commodity-related stocks and financials are not.

Read The Big Picture every day to stay in sync with the market direction and leading stocks and sectors.

Please follow Ed Carson on Twitter at @IBD_ECarson for stock market updates and more.

YOU MAY ALSO LIKE:

Why This IBD Tool Simplifies The Search For Top Stocks

Best Growth Stocks To Buy And Watch

IBD Digital: Unlock IBD’s Premium Stock Lists, Tools And Analysis Today

Tesla Vs. BYD: Which Booming EV Giant Is The Better Buy?



Read original article here

Business

Elizabeth Holmes is set to be sentenced on Sept. 26.

Leave a comment

Elizabeth Holmes, the Silicon Valley start-up founder convicted of fraud this month, will be sentenced on Sept. 26, according to a court filing on Wednesday.

Ms. Holmes, who was found guilty on three counts of wire fraud and one count of conspiracy to commit wire fraud, faces a maximum sentence of 20 years in prison for each count. She is expected to appeal the verdict, and the court ordered any “post-trial motions” to be filed by March 4.

The length of time before the sentencing will allow prosecutors to handle a trial against Ms. Holmes’s alleged co-conspirator, Ramesh Balwani, an earlier court filing said. Mr. Balwani, also known as Sunny, was the chief operating officer of Theranos, the start-up that Ms. Holmes founded in 2003 and that she claimed would revolutionize health care with highly advanced blood tests. The blood tests ultimately did not work as advertised.

The U.S. government also said in a filing on Tuesday that it would dismiss three of its fraud charges against Ms. Holmes after a jury failed to reach a verdict on them.

Ms. Holmes, 37, was found guilty of lying to investors about Theranos’s abilities so she could raise money for the company. Jurors acquitted her on four fraud charges related to patients who took Theranos’s blood tests. They deadlocked on three additional counts related to investments in the company.

Her trial, which began in September, became a high-profile spectacle that was viewed as a referendum on Silicon Valley’s culture of hype and chutzpah.

Judge Edward J. Davila, who is overseeing the federal case in California’s Northern District, has significant discretion in sentencing Ms. Holmes. Her convictions were tied to more than $140 million in investments in Theranos, and the high dollar amount could be a factor in her sentencing, as could the message the verdict sends to others in Silicon Valley.

Judge Davila is also overseeing the trial of Mr. Balwani, who was indicted alongside Ms. Holmes on identical charges in 2018. The pair, who were business and romantic partners, had their cases severed after Ms. Holmes accused Mr. Balwani of emotional and sexual abuse. He has pleaded not guilty to fraud and has denied the abuse accusations.

Mr. Balwani’s trial has been delayed by surging coronavirus cases in the Bay Area, where the case is being heard. Jury selection is set to begin on March 9.

Until September, Ms. Holmes remains free on a $500,000 bond secured by property. During the trial, she reportedly lived on a 74-acre estate in Woodside, Calif., a wealthy Silicon Valley town, with her partner, Billy Evans, and their baby son.

Read original article here

Business

TSMC Profit Beats Estimates Thanks to Prolonged Chip Crunch

Leave a comment

(Bloomberg) — Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co. raised its revenue growth projections and unveiled plans to spend as much as $44 billion expanding in 2022, signaling confidence that voracious demand for iPhones and chips will persist for years.

Most Read from Bloomberg

Apple Inc.’s most important chipmaker is now projecting average sales growth of 15% to 20% annually — as much as double its previous expectation. It foresees sales of $16.6 billion to $17.2 billion in the first quarter alone, at least 5% ahead of projections.

Those numbers affirm TSMC’s pole position in the market during an unprecedented chip shortage triggered by the pandemic, a deficit that’s walloped the production of cars, mobile phones and game consoles. Asia’s most valuable corporation intends to continue spending heavily to maintain its technological lead over Intel Corp. to Samsung Electronics Co., safeguarding its market share as the growing number of connected devices like cars drive datacenters and high-end computing.

With the crunch showing no signs of abating, TSMC has been running at near-full capacity over the past year and is now investing heavily in new fabs from its home island to Japan and the U.S. It intends to spend $40 billion to $44 billion expanding and upgrading capacity in 2022, up more than $10 billion from last year.

Click here for a blog summarizing TSMC’s post-earnings conference call.

Delivery times for chips increased by six days to about 25.8 weeks in December compared with November, according to research by Susquehanna Financial Group. That lag marks the longest wait time since the firm began tracking the data in 2017.

That endemic shortage has been a boon to chipmakers. On Thursday, the Taiwanese company reported a better-than-expected 16% jump in December-quarter net income to a record NT$166.2 billion ($6 billion). It set a long-term target of at least 53% for gross margins. Sales in the quarter reached NT$438.2 billion, also a record, based on previously released monthly revenue numbers.

What Bloomberg Intelligence Says:

TSMC’s capex plan for 2022 of up to $44 billion looks set to enable it to capture high growth in leading and specialty technology nodes and support its percentage sales-growth target of 15-20% CAGR. Its net cash position of $12 billion, coupled with consistent operating cash flow, appear likely to support its sizable capacity-expansion plan while maintaining its dividend payout. The company has the capacity to take on more debt without hurting its financial metrics significantly.

– Cecilia Chan and Dan Wang, analysts

Click here for research

TSMC needed to boost capital expenditure plans, because they need to expand capacity to fully capitalize on the boom. The company had originally set aside a total $100 billion to grow output over the three years to 2023, and announced plans for a new plant in Japan and Arizona. It’s also in discussions about manufacturing in Europe, though those discussions are more preliminary.

To secure supplies, more customers are now paying upfront, compared with just one or two before. TSMC took $6.7 billion of pre-payments in 2021, executives said.

“The semiconductor industry growth will continue to be fueled by the structural mega trends of 5G and high-performance computing,” Chairman Mark Liu told analysts on a conference call Thursday.

Most Read from Bloomberg Businessweek

©2022 Bloomberg L.P.

Read original article here

Business

Asia shares stumble on weak China data, U.S. dollar heavy

Leave a comment

A man looks at stock market monitors in Taipei January 22, 2008. REUTERS/Nicky Loh/File Photo

Register now for FREE unlimited access to Reuters.com

Register

  • MSCI Asia ex-Japan dips after Wednesday’s jump
  • Strong U.S. inflation data not expected to change rates outlook
  • China lending data spurs policy easing expectation
  • Dollar trades heavy below key support

SHANGHAI, Jan 13 (Reuters) – Asian shares were dragged lower by weakness in Chinese economic data on Thursday although investors seemed relieved that U.S. inflation data was not hot enough to force even faster monetary tightening by the Federal Reserve.

U.S. consumer price inflation was at its highest in nearly 40 years, data showed overnight, but it didn’t come as a surprise and kept intact expectations for the Fed’s tapering or timeline for the first rate rise as early as March. read more

Asian shares fell in line with Chinese stocks, after data showing mainland bank lending fell more than expected in December read more , causing property and consumption sectors to sink.

Register now for FREE unlimited access to Reuters.com

Register

Chinese blue-chips (.CSI300) dropped 1.3%, while MSCI’s broadest index of Asia-Pacific shares outside Japan (.MIAPJ0000PUS) was flat after recording its biggest daily gain in a month on Wednesday. Japan’s Nikkei (.N225) lost nearly 1% after surging nearly 2% a day earlier.

European stock futures pointed to a tepid open in those markets, and the dollar was hovering near a two-month low at 94.97.

“The U.S. dollar is a counter cyclical currency which decreases as the world economy recovers,” Joseph Capurso, head of international economics at the Commonwealth Bank of Australia, said in a note.

Markets in Asia, where inflation pressures have generally been more subdued in major economies, could offer attractive risk hedging opportunities, said Jim McCafferty, Nomura’s joint head of APAC equity research.

“If you are a global investor and you’ve seen very significant stock market gains in the U.S. during 2021, if you are seeing inflation as a threat then a lot of investors may be tempted to reallocate funds away from developed equity markets in the West into the mix of developed and developing markets in East Asia,” he said.

The uneven performance in Asia followed small gains on Wall Street overnight, with the S&P 500 (.SPX) rising 0.28% and the Nasdaq Composite (.IXIC) up 0.23%. The Dow Jones Industrial Average (.DJI) rose 0.11%.

While longer-dated U.S. yields dipped after Wednesday’s inflation data, Fed fund futures are pricing in nearly four rate hikes this year. Some analysts say that there could still be room for a more aggressive rate hike schedule.

“Our expectation for sustained cyclical price pressures means that we think the Fed will continue to tighten policy into 2023 by more than investors currently anticipate,” Jonathan Petersen, markets economist at Capital Economics said in a note, adding that he expected the U.S. 10-year yield to reach 2.25% by year-end, and 2.75% by the end of 2023.

On Thursday, the U.S. 10-year yield edged up to 1.7499% after dipping on Wednesday to close at 1.725%. The policy-sensitive 2-year yield was up at 0.9229% from Wednesday’s close of 0.907%.

The dollar was also almost flat against the euro at $1.1442, after hitting its lowest since mid-November in the previous session. Overnight, it also fell versus the yen , dropping through support around 115 to hit 114.38 yen, a more than two-week low. It last bought 114.62 yen.

Oil prices ticked lower, a day after hitting their highest in nearly two months on the back of a falling dollar, tighter supply, and as investors bet the spread of the Omicron coronavirus variant would have a relatively limited economic impact.

Global benchmark Brent crude fell 0.07% to $84.61 per barrel and U.S. West Texas Intermediate crude edged down to $82.58 per barrel.

Spot gold held steady at $1,824.54 an ounce.

Register now for FREE unlimited access to Reuters.com

Register

Reporting by Andrew Galbraith, additional reporting by Vidya Ranganathan in Singapore.
Editing by Ana Nicolaci da Costa & Shri Navaratnam

Our Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

Read original article here

Business

Manhattan rents were the highest ever for December

Leave a comment

Apartment buildings on the Upper East Side neighborhood of New York.

Victor J. Blue | Bloomberg | Getty Images

Manhattan rents hit their highest level ever for a December as the supply of apartments plummeted and landlords started demanding double-digit increases.

The average apartment rent in Manhattan hit $4,440 in December, while the more widely watched net effective median rent (median rent including all discounts) hit $3,392 — the highest level for December on record — according to a report from Douglas Elliman and Miller Samuel. The net effective median rent was up 21% over last year.

The surge marks a dramatic turnaround from a year ago, when there were more than 25,000 empty apartments for rent in Manhattan and even the most bullish brokers predicted a years-long recovery. Now, rents are often above pre-pandemic levels and renters are facing sticker shock on their rent increases for this year.

‘A geyser of demand’

“What started as a trickle earlier last year has become like a geyser of demand,” said Janna Raskopf, a leading rental broker in Manhattan with Douglas Elliman. “I’ve been doing this for 14 years and it’s absolutely unprecedented.”

Raskopf and other brokers say demand is being driven largely by college graduates getting new jobs in Manhattan. Many poured back to the city last spring, when Mayor Bill de Blasio announced that the city would reopen July 1. Even though only about a third of office workers are back at their desks in Manhattan, the expectation of a return-to-office continues to bring in waves of people, brokers say.

New Yorkers who sold their apartments and moved their tax residency to Florida or another low-tax state are also renting to keep a part-time foothold in the city. Raskopf said even the very wealthy are sometimes choosing to rent rather than buy in Manhattan, waiting on the sidelines until they see how the city’s economic and cultural future develops post-pandemic.

All of the demand has created a sudden shortfall of supply. A year ago, the vacancy rate — normally around 2% for Manhattan — was 11%. Inventory had plunged by 81% in December 2021 compared with December 2020, according to the report.

Now, the vacancy rate is an unusually low 1.7%, with only 4,700 apartments available. Supply is so low that overall leasing activity fell by 40% in December compared with last year, due to a shortage of rental apartments.

Bidding wars, double-digit rent hikes

Raskopf said she recently listed a two-bedroom for $12,000 a month. She immediately had 26 people tour the apartment and had a bidding war among the renters. She said it will likely rent for 15% above the asking price — like many apartments she’s listing lately.

“Forget about Covid discounts,” she said. “People know the listing price is usually just the starting point now, and they will have to bid higher to get it. I would say over half my listings in the fourth quarter went for the ask or higher.”

Existing tenants are also getting big rent hikes. Brokers say renters who got good deals in 2020 and early 2021 are starting to see their leases come due. Landlords see that they can increase rents by 20% to 30% or more based on the market — and are eager to make back their lower incomes or losses during the pandemic.

The biggest rent increases are downtown, with a 28% median rent hike, to $4,100. Rents for smaller studio and one-bedroom apartments surged the fastest, with studio rents up about 21%.

While many landlords are trying to work with existing tenants to limit the increases, some new renters are being quickly priced out of a market they were finally able to afford in 2020. The higher rents are dashing early hopes that Manhattan would become more affordable to a new generation of younger, first-time renters.

“The landlords are trying to make compromises,” she said. “But they had to keep paying their expenses and taxes during the pandemic and now they can make it back. Some tenants are just saying ‘I can’t afford a 20% increase’ and they’re leaving.”

Read original article here

Business

Kim Kardashian, Floyd Mayweather sued over promotion of EthereumMax crypto token

Leave a comment

The lawsuit, filed Jan. 7 in Los Angeles federal court, claims the celebrities touted tokens sold by EthereumMax, or EMAX, in order to boost its price and make themselves a profit “at the expense of their followers and investors.”

“The company’s executives, collaborating with several celebrity promoters … made false or misleading statements about EthereumMax through social media advertisements and other promotional activities,” the lawsuit stated.

According to the lawsuit, Kardashian promoted EthereumMax in a June 2021 post on Instagram, when she had 250 million followers.

“Are you guys into crypto?” she wrote in the post, followed by the disclaimer “this is not financial advice”, but that she wanted to share “what my friends just told me” about the EthereumMax tokens. She included the #AD hashtag to show the post was a paid advertisement, the lawsuit said.

Mayweather promoted EthereumMax on his boxing trunks during a widely viewed fight with YouTube star Logan Paul in June, among other times.

Representatives for Kardashian and Mayweather did not immediately respond to requests for comment.

EthereumMax, the company, was also named in the lawsuit.

“The deceptive narrative associated with the recent allegations is riddled with misinformation about the EthereumMax project,” EthereumMax said in a statement. “We dispute the allegations and look forward to the truth coming out.”

The lawsuit, filed by a New York resident who bought EMAX tokens and lost money, is proposed as a class-action suit for anyone who bought EMAX tokens from mid-May to late June 2021.

The case seeks restitution and disgorgement of profits by the defendants.

Read original article here

Business

FAA Says Detroit Metro Airport, 49 Other Airlines Getting Buffer Zones To Block 5G Signals – CBS Detroit

Leave a comment

(CBS Detroit) — The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) says the Detroit Metro Airport is one of 50 airports to have a temporary protection buffer zone from 5G cellular signals.

This comes as a number of airports report fears that 5G signals could interfere with flight controls.

READ MORE: Alleged Oxford Shooter Ethan Crumbley Pleads Not Guilty

The FAA says the buffer zones will minimize any potential interference and last for six months. The administration is working with airlines to determine exactly how instruments perform in this new environment.

AT&T and Verizon confirmed earlier this month they will hold off on activating 5G services near airports until Jan. 19, and that in the meantime, officials will continue working on adapting French-style restrictions on 5G to the United States.

In December, the FAA issued an urgent warning that it planned to ban pilots from using a key aircraft instrument amid concerns that 5G signals could interfere with the devices — a decision the agency said would likely lead to widespread flight delays and diversions.

READ MORE: Applications Open For Artist-In-Residence Program At Porcupine Mountains

In a statement, the FAA thanked the wireless carriers.

“Safety is the core of our mission and this guides all of our decisions,” the agency said. “We look forward to using the additional time and space to reduce flight disruptions associated with this 5G deployment.”

Click here to view the full list of airports getting a buffer zone.

MORE NEWS: Michigan Reports 28,458 New COVID-19 Cases, 350 Deaths

© 2021 CBS Broadcasting Inc. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.

Read original article here

Business

IEA says Russia is undermining Europe’s gas supply amid Ukraine standoff

Leave a comment

The Paris-based IEA, energy watchdog for developed countries, warned that the high energy prices and consumer pain wrought by the gas crunch makes the case for future mandatory storage quotas for European companies.

“We believe there are strong elements of tightness in Europe’s gas markets due to Russia’s behavior,” Birol told reporters, noting “today’s low Russian gas flows to Europe coincide with heightened geopolitical tensions over Ukraine.”

Russian gas company Gazprom reduced exports to Europe by 25% year-on-year in the fourth quarter of 2021 despite high market prices and reduced spot sales while other exporters boosted them, Birol said.

“The current storage deficit in the European Union is largely due to Gazprom,” he added. “The low levels of storage in company’s EU-based facilities account for half of the EU storage deficit although Gazprom facilities only constitute 10% of the EU’s total storage capacity.”

Russian energy exports have been in focus amid a standoff between Russia and the West as Russia has built up its troop presence near neighboring Ukraine, which is trying to forge closer ties with NATO.

Some European Union lawmakers have accused Russia, which supplies more than 30% of the bloc’s natural gas, of using the crisis as leverage while Russia and NATO hold talks in Brussels on Wednesday.

Moscow has denied this and Gazprom has said it has fulfilled European contracts in full.

Yet Birol said Russia could increase deliveries to Europe by at least one-third through abundant spare capacity, the equivalent of 10% of the EU’s average monthly gas consumption or a full LNG vessel every day via commercially available pipelines.

In contrast to its dealings with the European Union, Russia is delivering natural gas exceeding its contractual commitments to China, Birol added.

“I think regulations in Europe should be reviewed to ensure that storage levels are in effect to cover end-user needs with mandatory minimum storage obligations for all commercial operators.”

Read original article here

Business

Elizabeth Holmes sentencing hearing set for September 26

Leave a comment

The prosecution and defense had proposed September 12 for a sentencing hearing in a court filing Tuesday, stating in the filing that “following Labor Day 2022 would be appropriate in light of ongoing proceedings in a related matter,” a reference to the upcoming trial of Holmes’ second-in-command at Theranos who faces the same charges as her. In a court order signed Wednesday, Judge Edward Davila, who is presiding over Holmes’ case, set her sentencing hearing for later in September. By that point, it will have been more than a full year since her trial kicked off.

Until then, Holmes remains free on a $500,000 bond secured by property, according to the earlier filing from the prosecution and defense.

According to the indictment, Holmes faces up to 20 years in prison as well as a fine of $250,000 plus restitution for each count. Judge Davila will ultimately decide Holmes’ sentencing as he sees fit, using sentencing guidelines as a reference.

Holmes, 37, was first indicted more than three years ago alongside Ramesh “Sunny” Balwani, the former COO and president of her failed blood testing startup who was also her ex-boyfriend. Their trials were severed after Holmes indicated in court filings that she intended to point the finger at Balwani, accusing him of psychological and sexual abuse. Holmes testified to this when she took the stand in her own defense. Balwani has denied the abuse allegations in court filings.

Balwani’s trial, originally set to begin this week, has been delayed, first due to the length of Holmes’ trial — which spanned four months including deliberations — and then due to the spread of the Omicron variant of the coronavirus. In a separate court filing Tuesday, the prosecution and defense in Balwani’s trial have proposed March 9 as the date to begin jury selection. Balwani has pleaded not guilty.

Holmes, who started Theranos at the age of 19, claimed to have developed revolutionary blood testing technology that could accurately and affordably test for a range of conditions using just a few drops of blood. Once regarded as the next Steve Jobs, Holmes raised $945 million from investors, catapulting her startup to a $9 billion valuation and making her a paper billionaire in the process. But her technology didn’t work as she claimed, and it all came crashing down.

After 50 hours of jury deliberations spread out over the course of seven days, Holmes was found guilty of four charges, including one count of conspiracy to defraud investors and three wire fraud counts tied to specific investors. The jury acquitted Holmes of three counts of defrauding patients and one count of conspiracy to defraud patients.

There were three additional wire fraud counts tied to other investors that jurors could not reach a unanimous agreement on and for which Judge Davila declared a mistrial. The prosecution indicated in the proposed joint filing that it intends to drop these three counts and plans to file a formal motion to do so by the end of this week.

Read original article here