The FedEx driver accused of kidnapping and killing 7-year-old Athena Strand delivered her Christmas present –Barbie dolls – before the girl’s disappearance, her mother said Thursday.
Maitlyn Gandy called for stricter screening policies for delivery drivers at a news conference.
On an easel beside her was the package, a box of “You can be anything” Barbie dolls. It was the first time she’d seen the present, she said.
“Athena was robbed(of) theopportunity to be anything she wanted to be,” a tearful Gandy said. “I was robbed of watching her grow up, by a man that everyone was supposed to be able to trust to do just one simple task – deliver a Christmas present and leave.”
Athena disappeared from the driveway of her home in Wise County, Texas, on November 30. After a county-wide search, her body was recovered Friday evening, according to Wise County Sheriff Lane Akin. Authorities believe she was killed within an hour of her alleged kidnapping, but her cause of death is still under investigation, Akin said Friday.
The suspect, identified by authorities as a contract driver for FedEx, is 31-year-old Tanner Lynn Horner, Akin said. He allegedly delivered a package to Athena’s father’s home when she disappeared, authorities said.
Horner is being held in Wise County jail on capital murder and aggravated kidnapping charges, according to its website. Bond was set at $1.5 million, Akin said. CNN has repeatedly tried to locate an attorney for Horner, to no avail.
Horner told investigators he had accidentally hit Athena as he was backing up his delivery truck and although she was not seriously injured, he panicked and put her in the van before allegedly killing her, according to two arrest warrants obtained by CNN affiliate KTVT.
According to the warrants, one issued for each charge, Horner told authorities that he strangled the child because “she was going to tell her father about being hit by the Fed Ex truck.”
Horner was tracked down by his employer, a subcontractor of FedEx, after authorities learned Athena went missing around the time a FedEx delivery was made to the home, according to the warrants. Surveillance video from the truck showed the child inside, talking to the driver, according to the warrants.
After he was questioned, Horner led investigators to the child’s body and surrendered without incident, according to a warrant.
Akin, the sheriff, did not respond to CNN’s messages Thursday afternoon.
Authorities said Horner did not know the family or the child, Akin previously said.
Gandy said her goal is to affect change in hiring policies “so that monsters wearing delivery uniforms don’t show up on our children’s doorsteps.”
Her attorney Benson Varghese said he is still in the “investigation phase” of Athena’s case. Varghese said his office has put people they “think might be responsible” on notice, asking them to preserve any evidence related to the investigation.
Varghese said he plans to hold any person or corporation accountable “whose actions or inactions could have prevented this little girl’s tragic death,” but said he is not in a rush to file a lawsuit.
“The ultimate goal here is to ensure that no parent, or grandparent, or family member feels the loss that Maitlyn’s going through right now,” Varghese said.
In a statement to CNN last week, FedEx expressed its sympathies and directed further questions to law enforcement.
“Words cannot describe our shock and sorrow at the reports surrounding this tragic event. First and foremost, our thoughts are with the family during this most difficult time, and we continue to cooperate fully with the investigating authorities,” the statement reads.
Earlier this week, several school districts across Texas wore pink in honor of Athena.
Gandy, who appeared at Thursday’s news conference sporting bright pink hair, said she was grateful for the community’s outpouring of love and support.
“I have felt your prayers, I have read your messages and your letters and I see your pink everywhere.”
Around two-thirds of Ford’s dealer network in the U.S. has signed up for the company’s electric-vehicle certification program, the price of batteries for electric cars is on the rise for the first time in over 10 years, and United Airlines is looking at Delta’s pilots’ contract as the template. These stories and more in The Morning Shift for Tuesday, December 6, 2022.
1st Gear: Most Ford Dealers are in on EV Certification
Ford says that nearly two-thirds of its U.S. dealer network are on board with the company’s pricy electric-vehicle certification program. The automaker’s CEO, Jim Farley, says 1,920 dealers have signed on.
He added that 1,659 went the “Certified Elite” route. That program requires investing as much as $1.2 million at the dealership. A further 261 dealers went with the cheaper “Certified” status. That program only requires dealers to spend up to $500,000 for EV enhancements. However, that level caps EV sales at 25 per year. From Automotive News:
Ford has about 3,000 dealerships in the U.S. The company said those that didn’t sign up by last week’s deadline will not be allowed to sell EVs beyond 2023 but will have another opportunity to do so in 2025.
Farley has said Ford’s retailer need to evolve to better compete with EV startups like Tesla and others that sell directly to customers.
“The future of the franchise system hangs in the balance here,” Farley said. “The No. 1 EV player in the U.S. bet against the dealers. We wanted to make the opposite choice.”
The announcement comes as opposition to the program grows. Last week, dealers in New York filed a lawsuit challenging the program as illegal, while a separate group of dealers in Illinois filed a protest with the state’s motor vehicle board. Also last week, U.S. Sen. Richard Blumenthal, D-Conn., and Connecticut state lawmakers voiced their displeasure over what they say are excessive costs that potentially violate state franchise laws.
Ford has consistently said it believes the program does not violate any state laws.
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“We want to work with our dealers, but there are certain things our customers want that are nonnegotiable,” Farley said to the crowd at the Automotive News Congress in Detroit.
He added that he does not regret rolling out the program.
“There’s always a better way,” Farley continued. “But I don’t think we made, really, any big mistakes.”
2nd Gear: EV Battery Prices on the Rise
The price of lithium-ion batteries is on the rise for the first time in over 10 years. The increase comes from surging prices raw material costs, and it will ultimately have a negative impact on the automotive industry’s push for EVs to get cheaper. From Financial Times:
Soaring prices of battery metals such as lithium, cobalt and nickel and higher component costs pushed battery pack prices up to $151 per kilowatt hour, a 7 per cent rise compared with a year ago and the first increase since BloombergNEF began its annual survey in 2010.
The company expects prices to rise further to $152 per kWh next year. In 2010, prices were $1,160 per kWh on average.
That’s bad news for the automotive industry. FT reports the industry has viewed $100 per kWH battery pack as the number where EVs become competitive with ICE vehicles from a price perspective.
However, lithium prices have increased 10-fold since the start of 2021 and nickel is up 75 per cent, while cobalt prices have been more than double their 2020 average this year.
As a result, BloombergNEF forecasts that the $100 per kWh level will be reached by 2026, two years later than previously expected. This will “negatively impact the ability for automakers to produce and sell mass-market EVs in areas without subsidies”, it said.
It added that the higher costs could also be problematic for the economics of battery energy storage projects that are vital to stabilising the grid as intermittent renewable power grows.
The rise in battery pack prices would have been even higher if car companies and cell manufacturers in the Chinese market had not switched to cheaper lithium iron phosphate (LFP) batteries, which do not use cobalt and nickel but have a shorter range.
Right now, there’s a lot of uncertainty about whether or not battery material prices will actually ease. Skyrocketing demand and manufacturing issues are only exacerbating the problem for battery makers and consumers.
3rd Gear: United Looking to Delta’s Contract as a Blueprint
United Airlines’ CEO Scott Kirby says a possible deal between Delta and its pilots union could be used as a template for similar agreements. From Reuters:
“It’s a rich contract but I think the really good news is it means we’ll all get deals done essentially on the same terms and can move forward,” Kirby told Reuters on the sidelines of an event in Washington late Monday. Delta struck a tentative deal Friday to give pilots a 34% cumulative pay increase in a new four-year contract.
Kirby says the Delta agreement will push pilot wages up across carriers and be passed onto consumers in the form of higher airplane ticket prices.
“The biggest news for an investor perspective is cost convergence in the industry means that what is different now is all the low cost carriers are going to have come up to these much higher pay rates,” Kirby said. “This is going to wind up like oil prices — it’s going to be a pass through.”
Delta’s contract reportedly also offers a lump-sum one-time payment, reduced healthcare insurance premiums, better 401(k) parameters as well as improved paid time off.
Kirby added that demand is still very strong for flight tickets, which he says are cheaper today than they have been over the past 15 years.
Its union estimates the proposed deal represents more than $7.2 billion of cumulative value increases over the next four years.
American Airlines and United have promised “industry-leading” contracts to their pilots.
Reuters reports that last month American Airlines pilots turned down a proposed 19 percent pay hike over the next two years that would cost the company about $2 billion. United pilots had previously turned down an offer that would give them about a 14.5 percent wage cumulative increase.
4th Gear: Works Strike at Pennsylvania Auto Parts Supplier
About 270 workers at an Autoneum AG plant in Bloomsburg, Pennsylvania have gone on strike at the global automotive insulation supplier, and soon ripples could be felt throughout the rest of the automotive industry.
Workers walked off the job last Thursday after negotiations between the company and the union stalled after the latest contract offer was rejected by the workers. From Automotive News:
Autoneum, based in Winterthur, Switzerland, focuses on internal and external sound and heat insulation systems. The supplier works with almost every major automaker, including General Motors, Ford Motor Co. and Stellantis, according to its website.
For the Bloomsburg plant, its exact list of customers is unclear. However, the plant received awards from Toyota in 2011, Ford in 2014 and GM in 2021. Autoneum did not respond to calls from Automotive News’ seeking comment on the strike.
Brian Heverly, president of Local 1700 Workers United, told FOX 56 that the rank-and-file turned down Autoneum’s third and final contract offer.
Among worker complaints is the supplier’s insistence that workers pay 5 percent more of their healthcare costs outside of usual yearly increases.
Local 1700 Vice President Dave Schaffer, an employee at the plant 44 years, told FOX 56 that the workers didn’t want to strike, but felt compelled to given the circumstances.
The last strike at this plant was reportedly back in 1968, a year known for nothing else but that strike.
A spokesperson for General Motors told the outlet that the automaker is aware of what’s going on, but they don’t see the strike having an immediate impact on GM operations.
5th Gear: GM’s BrightDrop Starts Production in Canada
General Motors has started production of its BrightDrop electric delivery vehicle at its CAMI Assembly plant in Ontario. That makes it the first EV factory in Canada as a whole.
Last month, GM said the startup will be worth about $1 billion in revenue in 2023. The company is expected to hit $5 billion in revenue by the middle of the 2020s, and it could be as high as $10 billion by 2030.
“Starting volume production is really important; this is a very important product for GM,” Sam Abuelsamid, principal research analyst leading Guidehouse Insights, told The Detroit News. “This finally starts to get them back into a more competitive offering in the van segment and with electrification, so … it has the potential to be a really strong business for GM.”
GM launched production this week of the larger Zevo 600 electric delivery vans at CAMI. The delivery vans were being manufactured at small scale at a Michigan supplier plant until the CAMI facility was ready for production. Production of the Zevo 400, a smaller model than the Zevo 600, will start in late 2023. BrightDrop expects to make 30,000 next year and scale to 50,000 by 2025.
[…]
GM formed BrightDrop in 2021. The business is focused on providing emissions-free products for delivery companies. Its products include the Zevo electric delivery vans, Trace eCarts for easier package delivery and the BrightDrop Core software platform.
The automaker invested more than $800 million to convert CAMI for high-volume EV production. The plant was revamped in just seven months — the quickest retooling of a GM plant ever.
[…]
BrightDrop also on Monday announced it’s entering the Canadian market with the addition of DHL Express Canada logistics company as a customer. DHL will add its first Zevo vans to its fleet early next year. The company is also piloting BrightDrop’s Trace eCarts and software platform in Toronto.
BrightDrop has also received requests for electric delivery vans from FedEx Corp., Walmart Inc., Hertz Global Holdings Inc. and Verizon Communications Inc.
All in all, BrightDrop has 25,000 production reservations and expressions of interest for its EV delivery vans. So far, the company has delivered 150 Zevo vans to FedEx out of the 2,500 the shipping company has ordered.
Reverse: Washington
Neutral: Boeing 747, Over and Out
On The Radio: Darlene Love – “Christmas (Baby Please Come Home)“
Darlene Love – Christmas (Baby Please Come Home) (Official Audio)
This is the best Christmas song, and I will not hear otherwise.
Pilots talk after exiting a Delta Airlines flight at the Ronald Reagan National Airport on July 22, 2020 in Arlington, Virginia.
Michael A. McCoy | Getty Images
Delta Air Lines is getting closer to a labor deal with pilots, their union said, marking a big improvement in a relationship that turned icy during years-long negotiations.
A preliminary deal this year would clear a major hurdle for Delta. Other carriers, including rivals United and American have also failed to reach new labor agreements. Contract talks were derailed during the pandemic as travel demand plunged and carriers booked record losses.
Airlines are now profitable again but negotiations have remained difficult throughout the industry. Delta, American, United, FedEx and Southwest pilots have picketed in recent months to demand better pay and schedules. Passenger airline pilots complained about poor quality of life from frequent flight changes and grueling schedules.
“While it is unclear exactly what the catalyst was for management’s movement toward our asks this past week, it was decisively the most productive week of negotiations” since talks opened more than three years ago, the Air Line Pilots Association said in a memo to Delta aviators on Monday.
Last month, Delta pilots voted overwhelmingly to authorize a potential strike if contract talks don’t lead to an agreement.
Some major issues are still pending, like compensation and retirement packages, the union said, but it was upbeat.
The union said it is “entirely possible” that a full agreement in principle may be reached at an upcoming session. But it said that will require management “to continue to show the motivation that resulted in progress this past week.”
Check out the companies making headlines before the bell:
FedEx (FDX) – FedEx remains on watch this morning after announcing a 6.9% increase in shipping rates and plans to cut another $4 billion in annual costs. FedEx fell 3.2% in the premarket.
Costco (COST) – Costco lost 3.3% in the premarket despite reporting better-than-expected profit and sales for its latest quarter. The company reported operating margins that were slightly below consensus. Costco said it has no immediate plans to raise membership prices, but said it would happen at some point.
Boeing (BA) – Boeing will pay $200 million to settle SEC charges that it made misleading claims about the safety risks of its 737 MAX jet after two of the planes were involved in fatal crashes. Former CEO Dennis Muilenburg will pay $1 million as part of the settlement, with both parties neither admitting nor denying wrongdoing. Boeing lost 1.8% in the premarket.
Raytheon Technologies (RTX) – Raytheon won a $985 million Pentagon contract to develop hypersonic attack cruise missile prototypes, beating out rivals Boeing and Lockheed Martin (LMT).
CalAmp (CAMP) – The “internet of things” software company’s stock rallied 3.5% in premarket action after it reported a smaller-than-expected quarterly loss with revenue that topped analyst forecasts. CalAmp saw record software and subscription services revenue during the quarter.
Ally Financial (ALLY) – The financial services company’s stock fell 2.7% in the premarket after Wells Fargo downgraded it to “equal weight” from “overweight”. Wells said Ally will feel pressure from Fed rate hikes and an accelerating decline in used vehicle prices, which impacts yields from leases.
Qualcomm (QCOM) – Qualcomm said its future automotive business pipeline increased to $30 billion in orders, up by more than $10 billion since July. The increase came primarily from orders for its Snapdragon Digital Chassis computer chip. Qualcomm, however, fell 2% in premarket action.
fuboTV (FUBO) – The sports-focused streaming service was upgraded to “outperform” from “neutral” at Wedbush, which sees the stock at a compelling entry point. Wedbush expressed confidence that fuboTV can successfully raise capital and cut its cash burn rate. The stock gained 2% in the premarket.
Stock futures were lower on Friday morning as investors continued reacting to the Fed’s rate hike and concerns over a potential economic downswing.
The Nasdaq 100 was down 0.48%. Dow Jones Industrial Average futures fell by 91 points, or 0.3%. S&P 500 futures increased 0.36%.
Costco stock was down about 2.6% in extended trading. Although the retailer posted fiscal fourth-quarter revenue and earnings that topped analysts’ expectations, it is seeing higher freight and labor costs.
Thursday brought another day of losses as the market remains poised to end the week below where it started. The Nasdaq Composite decreased 1.4% to 11,066.81. The S&P 500 fell 0.8% to 3,757.99, while the Dow Jones Industrial Average ended the day 107.10 points lower at 30,076.68, which is a loss of 0.3%.
With the latest pullback, the Dow has given up about 2.4% this week. Both the S&P and Nasdaq saw slightly sharper declines, falling 3% and 3.3%, respectively, week to date.
Bond yields also continued their upward ascent, with the 2-year and 10-year Treasury notes hitting highs not seen in more than a decade.
Industrials, consumer discretionary, growth tech and semiconductors were all industries hit amid fears of easing growth in the economy. Meanwhile, defensive stocks outperformed.
“You’ve just got this volatility that nobody seems to be able to get their head around,” said Tim Lesko, a senior wealth advisor at Mariner Wealth Advisors.
Lesko said more investors are starting to accept that a recession may be on the horizon after the Fed’s decision this week to hike rates by 75 basis points and FedEx CEO Raj Subramaniamsaying on CNBC last week that he believed one was imminent. Once that happens, Lesko said investors will react differently.
“At some point, they’ll figure out that recession doesn’t mean the end of the world, and they’ll start getting constructive on stocks again,” he said. “But right now, we’re acting as if the sky’s falling.”
A person walks by a FedEx van in New York City, May 9, 2022.
Andrew Kelly | Reuters
FedEx on Thursday announced rate hikes and detailed its cost-cutting efforts after the shipping giant warned last week that its fiscal first quarter results were hit by weakening global demand.
Shares of FedEx were up about 2% Thursday afternoon.
Last week, the company’s stock sank after it posted preliminary revenue and earnings that fell short of Wall Street expectations. CEO Raj Subramaniam cited a tough macroeconomic environment, and said he expects the economy to enter a “worldwide recession.” The company withdrew its guidance for the year and said it would slash costs.
The shipping giant struggled with light volumes in the quarter, citing headwinds in its Europe and Asia markets. The poor results shocked the market, as investors tried to distinguish market woes from FedEx’s own internal shortcomings.
In issuing its full first quarter results Thursday, the company said that its Express, Ground and Home Delivery rates will increase by an average of 6.9%. Its FedEx Freight rates will increase by an average of 6.9%-7.9%, the company said.
It also said it believes it will save between $1.5 billion and $1.7 billion by parking planes and reducing flights. The closure of certain locations, the suspension of some Sunday operations, and other expense actions will save FedEx Ground between $350 million and $500 million, according to the company.
FedEx said it will save an additional $350 million to $500 million by reducing vendor use, deferring projects and closing office locations.
“We’re moving with speed and agility to navigate a difficult operating environment, pulling cost, commercial, and capacity levers to adjust to the impacts of reduced demand,” said Raj Subramaniam, FedEx Corp. president and chief executive officer.
For its fiscal 2023, the company expects total cost savings of $2.2 billion to $2.27 billion.
Despite its bleak warning last week, FedEx stood by its 2025 projections set out in June. The company is forecasting annual revenue growth of between 4% and 6% and earnings per share growth of between 14% and 19%.
CNBC’s Jim Cramer on Friday said that FedEx’s warning of worsening economic conditions suggests the Federal Reserve is doing better in its inflation effort than expected — meaning the central bank could take a step back after its meeting next week.
“If Fed chief Jay Powell watched our interview last night … he might discover that he’s made more progress whipping inflation than he might realize,” Cramer said.
“Maybe Powell will hit us with another 75 basis point hike right here and then say maybe it’s time to take a more measured approach in order to assess how things are going,” he added.
The “Mad Money” host’s comments came after FedEx, a bellwether company for the state of the economy, warned on Thursday of a decline in global shipments and an impending world recession.
Stocks closed down on Friday as Wall Street digested the news, with the major averages recording their fourth losing week in the past five weeks.
Cramer also previewed next week’s slate of earnings. All earnings and revenue estimates are courtesy of FactSet.
Monday: AutoZone
Q4 2022 earnings release at 6:55 a.m. ET; conference call at 10 a.m. ET
Projected EPS: $38.5
Projected revenue: $5.16 billion
Cramer said he’s interested in knowing if company officials see an end to the car shortage.
Tuesday: Nvidia
GTC Financial Analyst Q&A at 1 p.m. ET
Cramer said he’s sticking with Nvidia despite the stock’s recent tumbles. “That’s how Nvidia behaves — you get terrifyingly swift moves down followed by long rallies.”
Wednesday: General Mills, Salesforce, Lennar, KB Homes
General Mills
Q1 2023 earnings release at 7 a.m. ET; conference call at 9 a.m. ET
Projected EPS: $1
Projected revenue: $4.72 billion
The company will likely be a winner because it’s a best-of-breed food stock in an uncertain economic environment, Cramer predicted.
Salesforce
Investor Day at 4 p.m. ET
Cramer said that while he doesn’t expect to hear anything that could motivate him to buy the stock, he’s still bullish long term.
Lennar
Q3 2022 earnings release at 4:30 p.m. ET; conference call on Thursday at 11 a.m. ET
Projected EPS: $4.86
Projected revenue: $8.97 billion
KB Home
Q3 2022 earnings release between 4:10 to 4:20 p.m. ET; conference call at 5 p.m. ET
Projected EPS: $2.66
Projected revenue: $1.88 billion
Cramer said he expects both Lennar and KB Home to be soft due to soaring mortgage rates.
Thursday: Costco, FedEx, Qualcomm
Costco
Q4 2022 earnings release at 4:15 p.m. ET; conference call at 5 p.m. ET
Projected EPS: $4.17
Projected revenue: $70.8 billion
Cramer said he hopes the stock goes down so that the Investing Club can buy more.
FedEx
While the company could reveal more information on its latest quarter, its trajectory likely won’t change since it already reported disappointing results in its preliminary announcement, Cramer said.
Qualcomm
Automotive Investor Day at 3 p.m. ET
Cramer said that the company will show off the “new Qualcomm” during the event.
Disclaimer: Cramer’s Charitable Trust owns shares of Costco, Salesforce, Nvidia and Qualcomm.
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FedEx CEO Raj Subramaniam told CNBC’s Jim Cramer on Thursday that he believes a recession is impending for the global economy.
“I think so. But you know, these numbers, they don’t portend very well,” Subramaniam said in response to Cramer’s question of whether the economy is “going into a worldwide recession.”
The CEO’s pessimism came after FedEx missed estimates on revenue and earnings in its first quarter. The company also withdrew its full year guidance.
Shares of FedEx fell 15% in extended trading on Thursday.
“I’m very disappointed in the results that we just announced here, and you know, the headline really is the macro situation that we’re facing,” Subramaniam said in an interview on “Mad Money.”
The chief executive, who assumed the position earlier this year, said that weakening global shipment volumes drove FedEx’s disappointing results. While the company anticipated demand to increase after factories shuttered in China due to Covid opened back up, it actually fell, he said.
“Week over week over week, that came down,” Subramaniam said.
The chief executive also said that the loss in volume is wide-reaching, and that the company has seen weekly declines since around its investor day in June.
“We’re seeing that volume decline in every segment around the world, and so you know, we’ve just started our second quarter,” he said. “The weekly numbers are not looking so good, so we just assume at this point that the economic conditions are not really good.”
“We are a reflection of everybody else’s business, especially the high-value economy in the world,” he later added.
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Check out the companies making headlines before the bell:
Kohl’s (KSS) – Kohl’s tumbled 17.9% in premarket trading after the retailer confirmed an earlier CNBC report that it ended talks to be bought by Vitamin Shoppe parent Franchise Group (FRG). Kohl’s said the deteriorating retail and financial environment presented significant obstacles to concluding a deal. It also cut its current-quarter outlook amid more cautious consumer spending.
Micron Technology (MU) – Micron slid 4.6% in the premarket despite reporting a better-than-expected quarterly profit. The chip maker’s shares came under pressure due to a lower-than-expected sales outlook, stemming from weakening overall demand.
Apple (AAPL) – J.P. Morgan Securities analyst Samik Chatterjee reiterated an “overweight” rating on Apple, saying he is not as worried about Apple’s prospects as others. The firm has a December price target of $200 per share, $46 higher than its Thursday close.
China-based electric vehicle makers – Li Auto (LI) delivered 13,024 vehicles in June, a 69% year-over-year increase for the China-based electric vehicle maker. Rival Xpeng (XPEV) delivered 15,295 vehicles in June, a 133% jump from a year earlier. Nio (NIO) delivered 12,961 vehicles in June, up 60% from a year ago. Li Auto added 1.7% in premarket action, Xpeng rose 2.1%, and Nio gained 1.8%.
Meta Platforms (META) – The Facebook parent is slashing hiring plans and bracing for an economic downturn. In an employee question-and-answer session heard by Reuters, CEO Mark Zuckerberg said it might be “one of the worst downturns we’ve seen in recent history”.
Caesars Entertainment (CZR), MGM Resorts (MGM) – The resort operators reached tentative contract agreements with Atlantic City casino workers, avoiding what might have been a costly strike during the busy July 4th holiday weekend.
FedEx (FDX) – FedEx lost 2.1% in the premarket after Berenberg downgraded the stock to “hold” from “buy”, pointing to near-term earnings risks which could halt a recent rally in the stock.
Coupang (CPNG) – The South Korean e-commerce company saw its stock rise 1.7% in the premarket after Credit Suisse upgraded it to “outperform” from “neutral”. The firm feels Coupang’s bottom-line turnaround prospects are underappreciated by investors.
Here are the most important news, trends and analysis that investors need to start their trading day:
1. Wall Street heads for its first weekly advance in the past four
A trader works on the floor of the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE) in New York City, U.S., June 22, 2022.
Brendan Mcdermid | Reuters
2. Powell vows ‘unconditional’ measures to fight decades-high inflation
Powell testified before the House Committee on Financial Services on monetary policy and the state of the U.S. economy.
Win Mcnamee | Getty Images News | Getty Images
In Day 2 of his semiannual economic testimony on Capitol Hill, Fed Chairman Jerome Powell told the U.S. House of Representatives Financial Services Committee that the central bank’s commitment to reining in 40-year-high inflation is “unconditional.” A day earlier, on Wednesday, Powell told the U.S. Senate Banking Committee that the Fed was not trying to provoke a recession but that one was “certainly a possibility.” Last week, monetary policymakers hiked rates by 75 basis points and signaled another increase of 50 to 75 basis points at their July meeting.
3. FedEx reports mixed quarter results as ground unit margin improved
A driver for an independent contractor to FedEx Corp. carries packages for delivery during Cyber Monday in the Hell’s Kitchen neighborhood of New York, U.S., on Monday, Nov. 29, 2021.
Angus Mordant | Bloomberg | Getty Images
FedEx shares turned lower in Friday’s premarket, the morning after the delivery giant reported better-than-expected fiscal fourth-quarter profit but missed on revenue. Adjusted earnings of $6.87 per share beat estimates by a penny. Revenue grew 8% to $24.4 billion, lower than expectations of $24.56 billion. Shipment volumes declined, but that was offset by increased shipping rates and fuel surcharges. FedEx’s closely watched ground unit margin improved, but it has lagged United Parcel Service, whose new CEO adopted a “better not bigger” mantra two years ago. FedEx issued upbeat guidance for fiscal 2023.
4. Zendesk surges on reports that it’s nearing a deal to sell itself
Zendesk co-founder and CEO Mikkel Svane
Eric Piermont | AFP | Getty Images
Zendesk shares surged more than 50% in the premarket on reports that the customer service software vendor was close to a buyout deal with a group of private equity firms. The Wall Street Journal reported that Hellman & Friedman and Permira are among those involved. The potential buyout comes after Zendesk announced last week that it had ended efforts to sell itself. The San Francisco-based firm has been under pressure from activist investor Jana Partners. The Journal said it’s unclear where Zendesk’s discussions with Jana stand.
5. Bill designed to prevent gun violence is headed for House, then Biden
Demonstrators attend a rally with senators outside the U.S. Capitol to demand the Senate take action on gun safety on Thursday, May 26, 2022, in the wake of the Robb Elementary School shooting in Texas.
Tom Williams | CQ-Roll Call, Inc. | Getty Images
A bipartisan bill designed to prevent gun violence that passed the Senate on Thursday night goes to the House. Speaker Nancy Pelosi promised a vote Friday to send the most sweeping firearms measure in decades to President Joe Biden for his signature. The legislation, which seemed unimaginable a month ago, got 15 Republican votes in the Senate, including Minority Leader Mitch McConnell. The May 24 massacre at a Uvalde, Texas, elementary school galvanized both sides of the aisle to try to prevent this from happening again.
— CNBC’s Peter Schacknow, Jesse Pound,Sarah Min and Tanaya Macheel as well as Reuters and The Associated Press contributed to this report.
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