- Mortgage rates ‘reeling’ after Silicon Valley Bank’s sudden collapse and one expert says borrowers can capitalize on the current volatility — here’s how much you could save on your home loan Yahoo Finance
- Today’s Mortgage, Refinance Rates: March 18, 2023 | SVB Collapse Pushed Rates Down This Week Business Insider
- SVB Collapse Rocks California Housing Market as House Prices to Bottom Out msnNOW
- Mortgage Rates Fall After SVB Failure, But Is It Safe To Buy A House Now? Yahoo Finance
- Mortgage interest rates dip amid recent bank collapses, but Valley experts can’t say for how long ABC15 Arizona in Phoenix
- View Full Coverage on Google News
Tag Archives: Reeling
Mortgage rates ‘reeling’ after Silicon Valley Bank’s sudden collapse and one expert says borrowers can capitalize on the current volatility — here’s how much you could save on your home loan – Yahoo Finance
- Mortgage rates ‘reeling’ after Silicon Valley Bank’s sudden collapse and one expert says borrowers can capitalize on the current volatility — here’s how much you could save on your home loan Yahoo Finance
- Today’s Mortgage, Refinance Rates: March 18, 2023 | SVB Collapse Pushed Rates Down This Week Business Insider
- SVB Collapse Rocks California Housing Market as House Prices to Bottom Out msnNOW
- Mortgage Rates Fall After SVB Failure, But Is It Safe To Buy A House Now? Yahoo Finance
- Mortgage interest rates dip amid recent bank collapses, but Valley experts can’t say for how long ABC15 Arizona in Phoenix
- View Full Coverage on Google News
Dow Jones Futures: New Market Rally Attempt Already Reeling; Netflix, Tesla Earnings Ahead
Dow Jones futures will open on Sunday evening, along with S&P 500 futures and Nasdaq futures.
X
The main indexes had a wild week, with the major indexes breaking to bear market lows before rebounding powerfully on Thursday despite a hot inflation report. Stocks resumed selling Friday as Treasury yields powered higher.
While a market rally attempt is still ongoing, the major indexes are all in major downtrends. Stocks that flash buy signals or set up, suddenly crack. Investors should remain cautious until the market shows real signs of strength.
Tesla (TSLA) and Netflix (NFLX) headline earnings in the coming week. TSLA stock has tumbled to 52-week lows. NFLX stock has set up in a bottoming base, but faces significant overhead resistance.
Meanwhile, Shockwave Medical (SWAV), Wolfspeed (WOLF), Aehr Test Systems (AEHR), Albemarle (ALB) and Digi International (DGII) are growth stocks that are holding up reasonably well, but are not yet in position amid the current weak market. All have suffered damage in recent days, including Friday. They could break decisively lower if the market shows further weakness. But, if the market strengthens, these could be notable winners.
Dow Jones Futures Today
Dow Jones futures open at 6 p.m. ET on Sunday, along with S&P 500 futures and Nasdaq 100 futures.
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 Last Week
The stock market sold off to fresh bear market lows, rebounded, and then started sliding again in volatile weekly action.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 1.2% in last week’s stock market trading. The S&P 500 index slid 1.5%. The Nasdaq composite tumbled 3.1%. The small-cap Russell 2000 fell 1%.
The 10-year Treasury yield leapt 13 basis points to 4.01%, extending the weekly winning streak to 11 weeks. The 10-year Treasury yield hit a 14-year high of 4.06% on Thursday. The two-year Treasury yield, more closely tied to Fed policy and where rates may be headed, surged to 4.5%.
U.S. crude oil futures fell 6.8% to $86.40 a barrel last week. Natural gas prices slumped 3.8%.
Among the best ETFs, the Innovator IBD 50 ETF (FFTY) slumped 3.6% last week, while the Innovator IBD Breakout Opportunities ETF (BOUT) rose 1.3%. The iShares Expanded Tech-Software Sector ETF (IGV) tumbled 5.7% while the VanEck Vectors Semiconductor ETF (SMH) plunged 8.2%, both to fresh two-year lows.
SPDR S&P Metals & Mining ETF (XME) declined 3.1% last week. The Global X U.S. Infrastructure Development ETF (PAVE) sank 1.5%. U.S. Global Jets ETF (JETS) ascended 5.75%. SPDR S&P Homebuilders ETF (XHB) lost 4.2%. The Energy Select SPDR ETF (XLE) gave up 1.9% and the Financial Select SPDR ETF (XLF) edged up 0.4%. The Health Care Select Sector SPDR Fund (XLV) advanced nearly 1%.
Reflecting more-speculative story stocks, ARK Innovation ETF (ARKK) tumbled 9.4% last week, on the cusp of breaking below its March 2020 Covid crash low. ARK Genomics ETF (ARKG) dived 7.1%, still above its June lows. TSLA stock is the top holding across Ark Invest’s ETFs.
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Stocks To Watch
SWAV stock tried to bounce back for most of last week, but rose in light volume. On Friday, shares reversed hard from the 50-day line, closing down 7.6%. Shockwave stock is still above its September lows, holding in a consolidation with a 315 buy point. A decisive move above the 50-day line could trigger an early buy point from a downsloping trendline. While SWAV stock has been volatile, the relative strength line is holding right at highs.
WOLF stock also hit resistance at the 50-day line Friday, plunging to near Thursday’s low, which was well below prior trading from the past two months. The EV-focused chipmaker is nearing a 200-day line, with a decisive break possible. If Wolfspeed finds support and rebounds, it could soon have a new base.
AEHR stock tumbled back below its 50-day line on Friday, capping a tough week. The EV-focused chip-gear maker spiked higher in the prior week amid blowout earnings, offering an early entry in a consolidation. The official buy point is 19.53. Clearing the Oct. 10 high of 17.61 could offer an aggressive entry.
ALB stock plunged nearly 13% for the week, amid market weakness and analyst expectations that lithium prices, at record highs, will fall substantially. A week ago, Albemarle stock was on the cusp of buy signals. Now, ALB stock must hold its 200-day line.
DGII stock surged to a record high on Oct. 6, but has sold off since then. On Thursday, the networking play plunged far below its 50-day line, but rallied to close almost flat. But with stocks tumbling again Friday, Digi International fell back toward Thursday’s losses. DGII stock needs time to forge a new base, but its strong growth and RS line make it worth watching.
How This Tech Leader Tuned Up A Six-Quarter Sales Spree
Netflix Subscriber Shift
Netflix earnings are due Tuesday night, but analysts and investors will be focused on subscribers. They’ll especially be interested in Netflix’s subscriber outlook. Last week, Netflix announced that its ad-support tier will launch Nov. 3, priced at $6.99 a month.
Netflix stock has forged a bottoming base after crashing from mid-November to mid-May. Shares are trading around the 50-day line, but still below a fast-falling 200-day. The buy point is 252.09. That’s only slightly above the top of NFLX stock’s earnings gap down on April 20, signaling a lot of overhead resistance there.
Tesla Earnings
Tesla earnings are set for Wednesday night. Analysts expect a 53% EPS gain with revenue up 62% to $22.28 billion. But investors will likely be interested in future growth prospects. Q3 deliveries hit a record 343,800, but that was well below estimates of roughly 360,000, and some 22,000 vehicles below what Tesla produced in the quarter.
China backlogs have fallen significantly for the not-so-fresh Model 3 and Y, while competition is heating up dramatically. With Shanghai production set to increase significantly, will Tesla be able to export the bulk of that increase in Q4 and beyond? Or will the EV giant start cutting prices, after raising them substantially over the past two years?
Meanwhile, investors will want to get new hints about the Cybertruck and any other future products. Elon Musk recently tweeted that Tesla Semi production has begun, but in what quantity? There are still many questions about Semi prices, costs and key specs.
Tesla stock fell significantly for a fourth straight week, finally undercutting its May low to the worst levels in 16 months. Admittedly, it’s not a good time for most growth stocks, especially EV makers. TSLA stock, down over 50% from its November 2021 peak, needs a lot of repair work.
Tesla Vs. BYD: Which EV Giant Is The Better Buy?
Stock Market Analysis
The Dow Jones, S&P 500 and Nasdaq all hit bear market lows last week. On Thursday, they rebounded powerfully from steep intraday losses following a hot inflation report. But on Friday, the major indexes gave back much or all of the prior day’s gain, though they remained above Thursday’s lows.
The Dow Jones, which retook its 21-day moving average on Thursday, fell back Friday. The S&P 500 and Russell 2000 hit resistance at that short-term level, which also coincides with the top of a downsloping trendline. The Nasdaq never approached its 21-day, stumbling at the 10-day line.
For the week, the Dow Jones rose, while the S&P 500 and Nasdaq retreated.
A market rally attempt is still ongoing, but hasn’t done anything yet to suggest a true bottom has been set.
It’s hard to see a sustained market rally taking hold while Treasury yields are rising and the Federal Reserve is tightening aggressively. The 10-year yield is at 13-year highs, above 4%. Fed rate hike forecasts rose further this past week amid the hot inflation data.
This past week included positive market reaction to U.K. government actions as well as the early start to earnings season. But the coming weeks will see a deluge of earnings that could roil the market as well as individual stocks and sectors.
There are a number of medical and energy stocks that are holding up well, including Eli Lilly (LLY), Humana (HUM), Vertex Pharmaceuticals (VRTX), Cardinal Health (CAH), Exxon Mobil (XOM) and Devon Energy (DVN).
Most growth stocks are heavily damaged, including Tesla. Even names such as Shockwave and DGII stock are prone to sharp sell-offs just as they’re setting up.
Time The Market With IBD’s ETF Market Strategy
What To Do Now
Investors need to be patient and preparing for tomorrow. While big rebounds like Thursday are exciting and raise the possibility of a market bottom, a lot more evidence is needed to suggest that’s the case.
Even if the market rally gains steam and stages a follow-through day, that’s not a signal to push all your chips in. A FTD could quickly fail, or the uptrend could simply be another short-term tradable rally within the bear market.
Investors should focus on preparing for the next uptrend. Looking for stocks holding in bases above their 50-day line is great. But also track relatively strong stocks with damaged charts.
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.
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Netflix, Still Reeling, Bets Big on ‘The Gray Man’
Anthony and Joe Russo like to go big.
In 2018’s “Avengers: Infinity War,” the directing brothers shocked fans when they erased half the global population and allowed their Marvel superheroes to fail. The next year, they raised the stakes with the three-hour “Avengers: Endgame,” a film that made $2.79 billion at the global box office, the second-highest figure ever to that point.
And now there is “The Gray Man,” a Netflix film that they wrote, directed and produced. The streaming service gave them close to $200 million to trot around the world and have Ryan Gosling and Chris Evans portray shadow employees of the C.I.A. who are trying to kill each other.
“It almost killed us,” Joe Russo said of filming.
One action sequence took a month to produce. It involved large guns, a tram car barreling through Prague’s Old Town quarter and Mr. Gosling fighting off an army of assassins while handcuffed to a stone bench. It’s one of those showstoppers that get audiences cheering. The moment cost roughly $40 million to make.
“It’s a movie within a movie,” Anthony Russo said.
“The Gray Man,” which opened in select theaters this weekend and will be available on Netflix on Friday, is the streaming service’s most expensive film and perhaps its biggest gamble as it tries to create a spy franchise in the mold of James Bond or “Mission Impossible.” Should it work, the Russos have plans for expanding the “Gray Man” universe with additional films and television series, as Disney has done with its Marvel and Star Wars franchises.
But those franchises, while turbocharged by streaming and integral to the ambitions of Disney+, are first and foremost theatrical enterprises. “The Gray Man” is coming out in 450 theaters. That’s a far cry from the 2,000 or so that a typical big-budget release would appear in on its opening weekend. And the film’s nearly simultaneous availability on Netflix ensures that most viewers will watch it on the service. Films that Netflix releases in theaters typically leave them much faster than movies from traditional studios.
“If you’re trying to build a franchise, why would you start it on a streaming service?” asked Anthony Palomba, a professor at the University of Virginia’s Darden School of Business who studies media and entertainment trends, specifically how consumers’ habits change.
The film comes at a critical time for Netflix, which will announce its second-quarter earnings on Tuesday. Many in the industry expect the results to be even grimmer than the loss of two million subscribers that the company forecast in April. The company’s first-quarter earnings led to a precipitous drop in its stock price, and it has since laid off hundreds of employees, announced that it will create a less expensive subscription tier featuring commercials and said it plans to crack down on password sharing between friends and family.
Despite the current rough patch, Netflix’s deep pockets and hands-off approach to creative decisions made it the only studio that was able to match the Russos’ ambitions and their quest for autonomy.
“It would have been a dramatically different film,” Joe Russo said, referring to the possibility of making “The Gray Man” at another studio, like Sony, where it was originally set to be produced. The brothers said going elsewhere would have required them to shave off a third of their budget and downgrade the action of the film.
One person with knowledge of the Sony deal said the studio had been willing to pay $70 million to make the movie. Instead, the Russos sold it to Netflix in an agreement that allowed Sony to recoup its development costs and receive a fee for its time producing it. Sony declined to comment.
The movie includes nine significant action sequences, including a midair fight involving emergency flares, fire extinguishers and Mr. Gosling’s grappling with a parachuted enemy as both tumble out of a bombed-out plane, Anthony Russo said.
“Ambition is expensive,” Joe Russo said. “And it’s risky.”
Netflix, even in this humbling moment, can pay more upfront when it isn’t saddled with the costs that accompany much bigger theatrical releases. And for Scott Stuber, Netflix’s head of global film, who greenlighted the “Bourne Identity” franchise when he was at Universal Pictures, movies like “The Gray Man” are what he has been striving to make since he joined the company five years ago.
“We haven’t really been in this genre yet,” Mr. Stuber said in an interview. “If you’re going to do it, you want to deal with filmmakers who over the last decade have created some of the biggest franchises and the biggest action movies in our business.”
The Russos are also producing the sequel to “Extraction” with Chris Hemsworth for Netflix and just announced that Netflix would finance and release their next directing venture, a $200 million sci-fi action film, “The Electric State,” with Millie Bobby Brown and Chris Pratt.
Mr. Stuber pointed to the “Extraction” sequel and a spy film starring Gal Gadot, “Heart of Stone,” both set for release next year, as proof that the company is still taking big swings despite its struggles. He did acknowledge, however, that the recent business realities have forced the company to think harder about the projects it selects.
“We’re not crazily reducing our spend, but we’re reducing volume,” he said. “We’re trying to be more thoughtful.”
He added: “We were a business that was, for a long time, a volume business. And now we’re being very specific about targeting.”
Niija Kuykendall was hired from Warner Bros. late last year to oversee a new division that will focus on making midbudget movies, in the range of $40 million to $50 million, which the traditional studios have all but abandoned because their box office potential is less certain. And Mr. Stuber pointed to two upcoming films — “Pain Hustlers,” a $50 million thriller starring Emily Blunt, and an untitled romantic comedy with Nicole Kidman and Zac Efron — as examples of the company’s commitment to films of that size.
In recent months, Netflix has also been criticized by some in the industry for how much — or how little — it spends to market individual films. Its marketing budget has essentially stayed the same for three years, despite a significant rise in competition from services like Disney+ and HBO Max. Creators often wonder whether they are going to get the full Netflix marketing muscle or simply a couple of billboards on Sunset Boulevard.
For “The Gray Man,” Netflix has sent the Russos and their cast to Berlin, London and Mumbai, India. Other promotional efforts have included national television ads during National Basketball Association games and the Indianapolis 500 and 3-D billboards in disparate locations like Las Vegas and Krakow, Poland.
“It’s very large scale,” Joe Russo said of Netflix’s promotion of “The Gray Man.” “We’re doing a world tour to promote it. The actors are going with us. It feels a lot like the work we did to promote the Marvel films.”
For the smaller-scale theatrical release, Netflix will put “The Gray Man” at some of the handful of theaters it owns — like the Paris Theater in New York and the Bay Theater in Los Angeles — and with chains like Cinemark and Marcus Theaters. And even though Joe Russo calls “The Gray Man” “a forget-to-eat-your-popcorn kind of film,” Netflix will not disclose its box office numbers.
The theatrical side of the movie business is a conundrum for Netflix. The studio’s appetite for risk is often greater than that of traditional studios because it doesn’t spend as much money putting films in theaters and doesn’t have to worry about box office numbers. On the flip side, the lack of large-scale theatrical releases has long been a sticking point with filmmakers looking to display their creativity on as big a screen as possible and hoping to build buzz with audiences.
And the strength of the box office in recent months for films as different as “Top Gun: Maverick,” “Minions: The Rise of Gru” and “Everything Everywhere All at Once” (which the Russos produced) has prompted many to rethink the influence of movie theaters, which the pandemic severely hobbled.
Mr. Stuber acknowledged that a greater theatrical presence was a goal, but one that requires a consistent supply of movies that can connect with a global audience.
“That’s what we’re trying to get to: Do we have enough of those films across the board consistently where we can be in that market?” he said.
It would also require Netflix to reckon with how long to let its movies play exclusively in theaters before appearing on its service. While the theatrical window for the “The Gray Man” is very short, the Russos hope the film will show that Netflix can be a home for the type of big-budget crowd pleasers the brothers are known for.
“Knowing that you have, ultimately, a distribution platform which can pull in 100 million viewers like it did on ‘Extraction,’ but also the potential for a large theatrical window with a commensurate promotional campaign behind it,” Joe Russo said, “you have a very powerful studio.”
Reeling Lakers met with boos at home as Russell Westbrook says opponents’ scouting report to ‘just play harder than them’ is working
LOS ANGELES — The Los Angeles Lakers’ season found a new low on Sunday, with a 123-95 loss to the New Orleans Pelicans being met by a chorus of boos from the Crypto.com Arena crowd throughout much of the night.
Russell Westbrook, the L.A. native whom the franchise completely overhauled its roster to acquire in the offseason, was asked if that type of reception from Lakers fans would be something he takes home with him, after his team lost for the ninth time in its past 12 games.
“Nah,” he said. “Take it home? For what? S—. Take it home? I got three beautiful kids at my house. Why would I take it home? If they boo, they can take their ass home. I ain’t worried about that. It doesn’t bother me none. …
“I can only answer if I take them home: No. But as for our team, I don’t think it’s something we got to deal with. And kind of move forward.”
Right now, the 27-33 Lakers are tumbling backward, with the loss to the No. 11 Pelicans shaving their lead on even having a spot in the play-in tournament down to just 2½ games with 22 games left to play.
And the path only gets more treacherous from here. L.A. plays three teams above it in the standings this week — the Dallas Mavericks, LA Clippers and Golden State Warriors — and then has a road-heavy schedule for the rest of March.
“We got a tough stretch with Dallas, Clippers again Thursday, then Golden State on Saturday,” LeBron James said. “And we still got 10 road games this month, or March, so it don’t get easier for us.”
The Pelicans loss was particularly discouraging, with Westbrook and James coughing up seven turnovers apiece on a night that the Lakers had 23 as a team, leading to 25 points for New Orleans.
The Lakers were outscored 44-25 in the third quarter — when the boos first started to be heard from the stands — and trailed by as many as 32 at one point.
“We’re not shooting the ball well from the perimeter, and the paint’s clogged, and we’re trying to force inside — with the pass, with the bounce — and it’s leading to a lot of turnovers,” Lakers coach Frank Vogel said after his team shot 7-for-34 from 3 (20.6%). “And we’re not moving that well defensively. So, we weren’t very good on either end tonight.”
While Westbrook again mentioned the team’s championship goal — a concept that seems as remote as Anthony Davis’ assertion from earlier in the season that L.A. was primed to run off a 10- or 12-game winning streak at any moment — James offered a far more meager benchmark to strive for.
“It all starts with a win. That’s what it starts with,” he said when asked how L.A. can begin to turn things around. “Try to get off of this slide and get a win, and learn from that win with things you did well, things that you didn’t do so well. So it always starts with that and how you can try to get into a game-by-game situation.”
When asked how to move forward from the loss, Vogel said the Lakers should simply “flush it” and turn the page, but Westbrook pointed to a discouraging trend that doesn’t seem so simple to shake.
“Teams are coming in, playing harder, and I believe that’s kind of their scouting report: Just play harder than them and see what happens,” Westbrook said. “And it’s working. Until we determine and have the determination that we’re not going to allow it, especially on our home floor, it will continue to happen to us.”
Dwight Howard, who got his second straight start at center with Davis still sidelined with a foot injury, offered an optimistic take, while acknowledging the team is teetering on the edge right now.
“It’s real easy to give up, throw in the towel and say negative things,” Howard said. “So, really at a loss for words. But we got to stay positive. We can’t sulk in defeat, and we can’t quit on each other. I know it’s been a very rough season, but nah, I think that’d be bad.”
Reeling From Surprise Losses, Democrats Sound the Alarm for 2022
But Representative Sean Patrick Maloney, the chairman of the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee, was not second-guessing it.
“Glenn Youngkin got away with being all things to all people, and we can’t let them do that,” Mr. Maloney said, adding: “The House Republicans have cast their lot with the toxic Trump agenda of lying about the election, of minimizing the pandemic, of ignoring the attack on the Capitol.”
While more unexpected, the Democratic defeats on Tuesday were not as overwhelming as the last time the party controlled the presidency and Congress, in 2009, when Republicans won the Virginia governorship by 17 percentage points and the New Jersey governorship as well. Deepening polarization has entrenched Democrats in some suburban jurisdictions, such as Virginia’s Fairfax County, which Mr. McAuliffe carried by 30 percentage points in his comeback bid.
These suburban voters, who remain disdainful of Mr. Trump, may not be reachable for Republicans next year. There are, however, two sides to the country’s growing polarization, and the sweeping losses that Democrats suffered in rural Virginia and in New Jersey demonstrated that they were at grave risk of losing even more states and districts next year with sparse populations.
What gives Democrats some optimism is the idea that, while their candidates this year were running against an unsightly backdrop of intraparty legislative wrangling, there will be major accomplishments to trumpet next year.
“When we’re talking process, we’re losing, but once the process is done, we’re going to have lots to say about what we’re doing for real people,” John Anzalone, Mr. Biden’s pollster, said.
Of course, by the 2010 midterms, Democrats had the opportunity to promote the Affordable Care Act and still suffered sweeping losses — in part because they were not seen as sufficiently focused on reviving the post-recession economy.
Nintendo’s “thing after the Switch”: How an overheard convo sent me reeling
Enlarge / Today’s very brief hint of the gaming future comes wrapped in a Nintendo bow.
Aurich Lawson
SEATTLE—It’s not every day I hear about unannounced Nintendo products over guac.
Thanks to a chance encounter last month, I’ve been sitting on one of the weirder scoops in my 25-year writing career—one that will simultaneously set many gamer tongues wagging and bore other gamers to death. It’s about Nintendo, and I should start by making abundantly clear that I didn’t get the information double-checked or verified by anyone who has particular access or insight into the gaming company’s plans (neither did I ask my uncle who—promise, swear—works as Mario’s personal driver).
But I have been turning over this minuscule scrap of information in my mind ever since. What I heard is both simultaneously a resounding “duh” for a company like Nintendo and yet also possibly illuminating about the industry giant’s near-future plans. So I invite you to sit with me, grab a chip, and pick at this bowl of game-industry-news guacamole.
Ars Technica is always listening
On an overcast August afternoon, I put on a mask, hop on my bike, and pedal to a cozy restaurant that’s a decent haul from my Seattle apartment. I’m meeting a longtime colleague to talk shop—something I haven’t done in a long time but am finally comfortable doing—and we want an option with a patio. I don’t overthink my choice.
While waiting for my colleague to arrive, I order some chips and grab my smartphone. I’m idly doomscrolling when the party three tables over catches my attention. I hear the word “Nintendo,” and my ears perk up. Decades of nerd-dom mean that I always want to hear public chatter about video games. (Or, you know, awkwardly walk up to a stranger and offer unwanted “well, actually”s about the Mother/Earthbound series of JRPGs.)
The words are fuzzy, other than clarifying that one of the speakers “works” at Nintendo. But one declaration can be heard across the patio: “I’m working on the thing after the Switch.” Then a pause. “If I tell you more than that, I would have to kill you.” A laugh. I brace myself by clenching my phone. My eyes dart about in search of a hidden-camera prank-show crew.
This is followed by fuzzier words—something about working in “Microsoft’s backyard” (likely meaning Redmond in Washington state, where Nintendo of America is headquartered). Another mumbler starts talking about their life, not Nintendo. They go quiet when the check shows up and the credit card comes out, and a heartbeat later, they’ve slipped away from the patio, no further secrets revealed.
An unsurprising surprise
My eyes are glued to my smartphone so as not to look directly into the sun of this incredible moment for me, a full-time critic and reporter on the games industry—and also to type every word I heard before I possibly black out and lose the thread. Minutes later, my colleague shows up, and I give him the kind of look that suggests Bill Murray just sat next to me, bought me a shot of tequila, and whispered into my ear, “No one will ever believe you” before vanishing into a cloud of smoke.
“You are not going to believe what I just heard,” I tell Ars Technica contributing reporter Steve Haske, and I describe the white-hot moment I had just undergone. Haske nods and waits for me to offer a further bombshell. I admit I don’t necessarily have one, then ask if he’ll help me turn the aluminum wrap on my burrito into a tin-foil hat. He obliges, and we begin hashing out my weird moment. First up: we nearly met elsewhere for coffee instead of here for lunch. (Though in Seattle, who’s to say how relevant the location was? Maybe we missed our shot at hearing a wild, local Apple or Facebook rumor over cappuccinos, instead.)
It seemed legit, we each say. I would be impressed if someone went to the trouble of tailing and trolling me for the sole purpose of dropping fake Nintendo news into my bowl of guacamole. But the overheard conversation also sounded like exactly how two friends would catch up, if one works for the gaming sphere and one doesn’t. “Switch.” “Microsoft’s backyard.” They were picking and choosing recognizable terms instead of immediately explaining revolutionary tech concepts or exact release dates of niche sequels. (So, no, this chance encounter didn’t lead to revelations about the return of a dormant Nintendo series like F-Zero.)
The revelation also seemed a bit pedestrian. Nintendo’s going to make more gaming hardware? Big whoop, Poindexter. You don’t have to look far in any of Nintendo of Japan’s financial disclosures to see reminders that the company is constantly developing new ideas in the realms of both hardware and software. Some gaming analysts and execs have suggested that concepts like cloud gaming will eventually render standalone game consoles obsolete. But we’re not there yet, and Switch sales are still too hot for Nintendo to stop making new consoles altogether. So, sure. Another Nintendo console. That checks.
Singapore retailers reeling from Covid measures as sales drop up to 70%
People inside a shopping mall in Singapore on May 15, 2021, ahead of tightening restrictions over concerns of a rise in Covid-19 coronavirus cases.
Roslan Rahman | AFP | Getty Images
SINGAPORE — Singapore’s brick and mortar businesses have been hit hard by Covid-19 and retailers have seen sales plummet significantly as a result of Covid restrictions, according to a retail trade body in the country.
Sales have plunged between 30% to 70% for some retailers since the onset of the pandemic, according to Rose Tong, executive director of the Singapore Retailers Association (SRA), a not-for-profit organization with 420 members spanning sectors like fashion, electronics, beauty and wellness, as well as food retailers and supermarkets.
With each round of tightened restrictions, sales have declined between 50% to 80%, she told CNBC’s “Squawk Box Asia” on Thursday.
Singapore re-imposed tighter Covid-19 restriction again on Thursday, as the number of Covid cases climbed due to several clusters in karaoke bars as well as wet markets. The increased measures — which include the barring of dine-in services and limiting public gatherings to two — will last until Aug. 18.
According to the Ministry of Health, there were 170 new cases of Covid-19, of which 162 were locally transmitted infections. The number of new cases in the community has grown rapidly, and spiked to 883 cases in the past week from 127 cases the week before, according to the ministry’s report.
As a result of the continued restrictions, shopper traffic has dipped significantly — but retailers are still paying the full cost of rent, she said.
“We are hoping that landlords are more proactive and they would take a fair share of the burden,” she said, adding that some business owners are seeking support from their landlords to offer rental rebates.
Pivot to online sales
On Friday, the government announced a support package worth 1.1 billion Singapore dollars ($808 million) to help businesses and workers impacted by the latest restrictions.
They included a jobs support scheme for sectors like restaurants and gyms affected, as well as those in the retail and entertainment sector.
Other measures include support for local retailers to get on-board local online retail platforms.
During the Great Singapore Sale shopping festival from June to July, SRA partnered with e-commerce site Lazada to boost online turnovers. This helped drive up sales and there was a high uptake in home deliveries, said Tong.
While businesses have started adopting digital strategies to improve sales, there are plenty of challenges ahead, she added.
“We do face very intense global market competition from the market places all over the world. Cost is high with deliveries and the cost of goods,” she said.
Online retail accounts for less than 20% of sales for brick-and-mortar businesses, Tong said.
Members of the SRA collectively hire more than 80,000 workers, and have an annual revenue of more than 32 billion Singapore dollars ($23.5 billion), according to the website.
Dow Jones Futures: Will Fed Chief Powell Offer Treasury Yield ‘Twist’ With Stock Market Rally Reeling?
The stock market opened higher Thursday morning, erasing overnight losses. The stock market rally is reeling, with the Nasdaq and growth stocks under heavy pressure in recent weeks amid rising bond yields. Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell will speak today, with investors looking for any possible comments related to Treasury yields.
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The Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 0.5% while the Nasdaq composite and S&P 500 climbed 0.4%.
Dow component Boeing (BA) is near a buy point after flirting with a breakout Wednesday. Brazilian miner Vale (VALE), global steel giant Arcelor Mittal (MT) and specialty chemicals maker Element Solutions (ESI) are also are near entries.
Boeing stock rose 3% early Thursday. But this is a tricky market for any buys.
The U.K. has launched an antitrust probe vs. Apple (AAPL) over alleged anti-competitive practices at its App Store. Apple already faces App Store investigations by antitrust officials in the U.S. and European Union.
Apple stock was little changed after the open. Shares lost 2.45% on Wednesday. AAPL stock is below its 50-day line after a late January breakout fizzled.
Walt Disney (DIS) will close at least 20% of its Disney store locations by the end of the year, including at least 60 in the U.S. It’ll focus more on e-commerce. It’s just the latest example of Disney shifting its business online. Disney stock fell a fraction, and is near the top of its buy range from a flat base.
DraftKings (DKNG) rallied nearly 3% on a deal with UFC to become exclusive sportsbook and daily fantasy partner in the U.S. and Canada.
Square (SQ) is buying a majority in Jay-Z’s music platform Tidal for $297 million. Jay-Z will join Square’s board. Square stock fell modestly.
Burlington Stores (BURL), soared and gapped out of a flat base. The off-price retailer reported a 3% revenue gain after three straight quarters of declining sales.
Chipmaker and software maker Broadcom (AVGO) reports late tonight. AVGO stock fell to its 10-week line on Wednesday, but held above that level after the open. Broadcom is an Apple iPhone supplier, but that’s only part of the business.
Disney stock is on SwingTrader.
The 10-year Treasury yield was steady at 1.47% after rising Wednesday, ending a three-day slide. The 10-year Treasury yield briefly topped 1.6% last week.
Initial jobless claims rose to 745,000 last week from 730,000. Economists expected to see new filings increasing to 760,000.
Join IBD experts as they analyze actionable stocks in the stock market rally on IBD Live.
Fed Chief Powell Plot ‘Twist’?
Fed chief Jerome Powell will speak at a conference just after midday Eastern Time. It’ll be his last public comments before the March 16-17 Fed meeting. The 10-year Treasury yield has surged over the last several weeks on expectations that a massive Biden stimulus bill, along with the coronavirus pandemic fading in the months ahead, will spur a huge economic recovery that can drive up inflation. Crude oil, copper and many commodity prices have skyrocketed recently. While that’s been good news for mining, financial and many other so-called “real economy” companies and stocks, it’s been a catalyst for the sell-off in growth stocks.
Powell and other policymakers have signaled they want faster inflation and are probably not too concerned about 10-year Treasury yields below 2%. But the pace of rising yields has caught the eye of Fed Gov. Lael Brainard, she admitted Tuesday.
Powell has stressed that he’s focused on full employment, not worried about financial markets, though that was in the context of the stock market rally punching to fresh highs. But investors may want to hear he say that he’s at least paying attention to Treasury yields.
Could Powell hint at a policy change? There’s speculation that the Federal Reserve could try to bring down long-term yields, by buying long-term Treasuries and buying shorter-term Treasuries. The Fed has employed this “Operation Twist” before, in 1961 and again in 2011.
But even if Powell is ready for such a move, he may not want to tip his hand before the mid-March Fed meeting.
Stock Market Rally On The Brink
The stock market rally may be on its last legs. The confirmed uptrend has been an “uptrend under pressure” for several days.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average slipped 0.4% in Wednesday’s stock market trading. The S&P 500 index slumped 1.3%, closing just above its 50-day line. The Nasdaq composite plunged 2.7%, tumbling below its 50-day line and closing below its Feb. 23 low. All the major indexes closed near session lows.
If the S&P 500 falls through its 50-day line and the Nasdaq loses further ground, the post-election stock market rally may be over.
Investors need to focus on sectors that are working and scale back exposure in speculative growth names.
Read The Big Picture tonight 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.
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