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CNBC’s Jim Cramer told investors to continue staying away from tech stocks, even after their gains on Monday.
“These short-term sector rotations like we saw today — they’re irrelevant because they can’t last. Think renters, not owners. The fundamentals, now they last,” he said. 

CNBC’s Jim Cramer told investors to continue staying away from tech stocks, even after their gains on Monday.
“Just remember, if you were buying tech here off some weaker macroeconomic numbers, you’re not investing, you’re simply gambling,” he said.

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The tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite marked its second day of gains on Monday after fresh economic data from the week before raised hopes that inflation is easing and the Federal Reserve could slow its pace of interest rate hikes. 
The Dow Jones Industrial Average and S&P 500 both fell, though gains in the latter’s information technology sector helped minimize losses.
“These short-term sector rotations like we saw today — they’re irrelevant because they can’t last. Think renters, not owners. The fundamentals, now they last,” he said. 
In other words, tech stocks remain overvalued in a market that will continue to see pain, despite its recent gains, Cramer explained. He said tech companies whose stocks soared will likely have to cut expectations when they report earnings, which means their stocks will fall.
Cramer reiterated his stance that investors should suit up with recession-resistant stocks in sectors such as health care, industrials, oil and aerospace.

“They were clobbered by the end of the day, and I think many of them actually represented some great [buying] opportunities,” he said.

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JPMorgan said a full recovery in Australia’s tourism will add 0.5 percentage points to its gross domestic product and the return of international students from China will add another 0.4 percentage points.
In 2019, China accounted for 15.3% of all of Australia’s inbound tourism, making it the largest source of short-term visitors, JPMorgan said.

According to JPMorgan, a full recovery in Australia’s tourism will add 0.5 percentage points to its GDP and the return of international students from China will add another 0.4 percentage points.
James D. Morgan | Getty Images Entertainment | Getty Images

Australia’s economy could be no small beneficiary of an end to China’s zero-Covid policy over the next two years, according to JPMorgan.
“China’s shift toward an earlier reopening raises the question of potential implications for the Australian economy,” JPMorgan’s chief investment strategist Tom Kennedy said in a Saturday report.

“The largest potential upside from reopening itself sits within the services sector given China is the largest consumer of Australian tourism and education exports,” Kennedy wrote, noting that benefits from further changes to Beijing’s industrial policy would be an exception.
The firm’s note added that a full recovery in Australia’s tourism will add 0.5 percentage points to its gross domestic product and the return of international students from China will add another 0.4 percentage points — amounting to nearly a full percentage point in the nation’s economic growth.

Full tourism recovery with China

Though Australia lifted Covid-related travel restrictions in July last year, its short-term overseas arrivals are still a far cry from pre-pandemic levels.
The latest data by the Australia Bureau of Statistics showed a total of 430,470 short-term trips were made to Australia in October 2022 — 44% lower than levels seen in the same month in 2019, when the nation received more than 1 million short-term visitors.

Tourists at Mrs Macquarie’s Chair on Jan. 29, 2020 in Sydney, Australia. In 2019, China accounted for 15.3% of all of Australia’s inbound tourism, making it the largest source of short-term visitors, JPMorgan said.
Jenny Evans | Getty Images News | Getty Images

October’s data, released in December, showed visitors mostly came from New Zealand, the U.K. and the U.S. — arrivals from China were not listed on the ABS’ top 10 list of countries that the tourists came from.

In 2019, China accounted for 15.3% of all of Australia’s inbound tourism, making it the largest source of short-term visitors, JPMorgan said. It added that the average Chinese tourist’s spending was four times that of a tourist from New Zealand, the second-largest source of inbound tourists to Australia.
“Our expectation is for the tourism-related consumption impulse to be spread over 2023 and 2024,” Kennedy wrote.

“While the duration adjusted spending numbers are less striking, real GDP is an aggregate concept and so the absence of Chinese tourism has been a notable headwind,” he said.

Students from China

JPMorgan said it expects the pace of international student enrollments to accelerate this year.
According to data from Australia’s Department of Education­­­, more than 253,000 international students arrived from China in from January to October in 2019. That year-to-date number fell to roughly 173,000 in October 2022.
The latest data showed students from China made up 26% of total enrollments — the largest portion from a single country.
“If education exports to China revert to 2019 levels, the impulse to real GDP would total 0.4%-pts, a useful impulse in the environment of slowing household consumption though not a panacea to prevent a growth deceleration,” Kennedy wrote.

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The Earth’s protective ozone layer is on track to recover within four decades in a gradual process that’s expected to close a major ozone hole over Antarctica, a United Nations-backed panel of experts announced on Monday.
The findings of the scientific assessment follow the landmark Montreal Protocol in 1987, which banned the production and consumption of chemicals that eat away at the planet’s ozone layer.
The upper atmosphere ozone layer protects the Earth from the sun’s harmful ultraviolet radiation, which is linked to skin cancer, eye cataracts, compromised immune systems and agricultural land damage.

In this NASA false-color image, the blue and purple shows the hole in Earth’s protective ozone layer over Antarctica on Oct. 5, 2022. Earth’s protective ozone layer is slowly but noticeably healing at a pace that would fully mend the hole over Antarctica in about 43 years, a new United Nations report says.

The Earth’s protective ozone layer is on track to recover within four decades, closing an ozone hole that was first noticed in the 1980s, a United Nations-backed panel of experts announced on Monday.
The findings of the scientific assessment, which is published every four years, follow the landmark Montreal Protocol in 1987, which banned the production and consumption of chemicals that eat away at the planet’s ozone layer.

The ozone layer in the upper atmosphere protects the Earth from the sun’s ultraviolet radiation, which is linked to skin cancer, eye cataracts, compromised immune systems and agricultural land damage.
Scientists said the recovery is gradual and will take many years. If current policies remain in place, the ozone layer is expected to recover to 1980 levels — before the appearance of the ozone hole — by 2040, the report said, and will return to normal in the Arctic by 2045. Additionally, Antarctica could experience normal levels by 2066.
Scientists and environmental groups have long lauded the global ban of ozone-depleting chemicals as one of the most critical environmental achievements to date, and it could set a precedent for broader regulation of climate-warming emissions.

More from CNBC Climate:

“Ozone action sets a precedent for climate action,” World Meteorological Organization Secretary-General Petteri Taalas said in a statement. “Our success in phasing out ozone-eating chemicals shows us what can and must be done — as a matter of urgency — to transition away from fossil fuels, reduce greenhouse gases and so limit temperature increase.”
Scientists said that global emissions of the banned chemical chlorofluorocarbon-11, or CFC-11, which was used as a refrigerant and in insulating foams, have declined since 2018 after increasing unexpectedly for several years. A large portion of the unexpected CFC-11 emissions originated from eastern China, the report said.

The report also found that the ozone-depleting chemical chlorine declined 11.5% in the stratosphere since it peaked in 1993, while bromine declined 14.5% since it peaked in 1999.
Scientists also warned that efforts to artificially cool the Earth by injecting aerosols into the upper atmosphere to reflect sunlight could thin the ozone layer, and cautioned that further research into emerging technologies like geoengineering is necessary.
Researchers with the World Meteorological Organization, the United Nations Environment Program, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, the National Aeronautics and Space Administration and the European Commission contributed to the assessment.

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Used vehicle prices are expected to come down further this year amid rising interest rates and improved availability of new cars and trucks, according to Cox Automotive.
The firm expects wholesale used vehicle prices to end the year down 4.3% from December 2022.
The decline is expected to follow a whopping 14.9% fall last year from inflated prices during the coronavirus pandemic.

A salesman walks past used Toyota Motor vehicles at the Brent Brown Toyota dealership in Orem, Utah, on Monday, April 6, 2020.
George Frey | Bloomberg via Getty Images

DETROIT — Used vehicle prices are expected to come down further this year amid rising interest rates and improved availability of new cars and trucks, according to Cox Automotive.
The automotive data firm expects wholesale prices on its Manheim Used Vehicle Value Index, which tracks prices of used vehicles sold at its U.S. wholesale auctions, to end the year down 4.3% from December 2022.

“New supply remains tight, but it is improving rapidly. As supply in new improves demand for us is declining,” Cox Automotive chief economist Jonathan Smoke said Monday.
The decline is expected to follow a whopping 14.9% fall last year from inflated prices during the coronavirus pandemic, as the availability of new vehicles reached record lows due to supply chain and parts problems that interrupted vehicle production.
The declining rates are good news for the Biden administration, which a year ago blamed much of the rising inflation rates in the country on the used vehicle market. 
However, they are still not enough to offset the 88% rise in index pricing from April 2020 to January 2022, according to Chris Frey, Cox Automotive senior manager of economic and industry insights. For various months in that time frame, the index experienced significant year-over-year increases of between 15% and 54%.
Frey expects softening in the index through at least the first quarter of this year before some seasonal increases, but overall less volatility than in recent years. The Manheim Used Vehicle Value Index increased by less than 1% from November to December.

“We don’t expect major monthly declines to rival the increases on the slopes, though there might be some tough sledding from time to time,” Frey said, adding the company is closely watching the impact of higher interest rates on car buyers.

Frey stressed it’s a “good sign” economically that prices are decreasing, making the vehicles more affordable despite interest rate increases.
Retail prices for consumers traditionally follow changes in wholesale prices. That’s a win for potential car buyers, however, it’s not great for dealers that purchased vehicles at record highs and are now trying to sell them at a profit.
Retail pricing thus far has not declined as quickly as wholesale prices, as dealers attempt to hold steady on record-high pricing. According to the most recent data, Cox reports the average listing price of a used vehicle was $27,156 through November, only a 2% decline from a year earlier but the lowest since last spring.
Cox estimates that used vehicle retail sales declined 7% from November to December and were down 10% from a year earlier for a second consecutive month.

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Bed Bath & Beyond reports its quarterly earnings on Tuesday before the bell.
The struggling home goods retailer recently warned it may have to file for bankruptcy.
The company’s turnaround plan called for cost-cutting and improved partnerships with vendors. But its sales have yet to improve.

A pedestrian walks by a Bed Bath and Beyond store in San Francisco, California.
Justin Sullivan | Getty Images

When Bed Bath & Beyond leaders speak to investors Tuesday morning, they won’t simply report sales and earnings results. They will have to address a stark reality: The cash-strapped home goods retailer is running out of time.
On Thursday, Bed Bath warned it may have to file for bankruptcy, saying it could soon be unable to cover costs as sales lag and store traffic dwindles. It also said it’s struggling to keep items in stock, as it runs low on cash and works to remedy strained relationships with suppliers.

The nationwide chain, known for its 20% coupons and sky-high piles of towels and housewares, is increasingly at risk of joining the list of retailers that have shuttered stores and faded away. Think, Sears. Circuit City. RadioShack. Pier 1. Linens ‘n Things.
What’s more, the attempted turnaround comes at the same time that inflation weighs on consumers’ wallets and as the housing market gets hit by higher interest rates. Plus, after spending the earlier years of the Covid pandemic at home, more people are choosing to spend money on dining out or booking trips rather than buying cookware, a duvet or throw pillows.
“When you have a shift in how consumers are allocating their spending, and a recession looming potentially on the horizon, it makes it much more of an uphill battle,” said Justin Kleber, senior research analyst at Baird Equity Research.
The company’s stock performance reflects its tough path forward, too. Shares of the company touched a 52-week low on Friday. As of Monday’s close, they were trading around $1.62 for a market value of less than $150 million.

Chasing a comeback

Bed Bath laid out its latest turnaround strategy in August. The plan called for drastic cost cuts in the way of closing about 150 of its namesake stores and reducing its head count by about 20% across its corporate and supply chain workforce.

Those efforts have brought its operating costs down, as it tries to drive up sales: For the third quarter, Bed Bath expects operating expenses to be about $583.6 million, compared with about $698 million in the year-ago period, it said Thursday.
The company’s turnaround strategy also involved phasing out some of its private labels and bringing back more well-recognized national brands. It pledged in August to work with those national brands to develop exclusive items and to add items from direct-to-consumer brands — merchandise aimed at setting it apart and giving shoppers a reason to come back to its stores.
Come Tuesday, investors will want to hear if the company has improved its inventory levels, if they managed to secure any exclusive items for the holiday season and how willing vendors have been to work with the retailer. If Bed Bath has made significant inroads in improving inventory, it could offer a glimmer of hope for the quarters ahead.
“Being the first to bring new brands and products to our customer has always been one of our roles as a retailer,” Executive Vice President Mara Sirhal told investors during an Aug. 31 business update. “In the home market, there’re many D2C brands which bring their own compelling brand marketing and followers who know and want them but aren’t widely available to shop.”
Emerging direct-to-consumer brands have an incentive to partner with brick-and-mortar shops like Bed Bath and Target, as they offer a way to reach more customers and a reprieve from the e-commerce cooldown, steep marketing costs and consumer habit shifts that have cut into profitability since the pandemic began to wane. 
But brands and vendors have been hesitant to extend credit to Bed Bath as its mounting debt cast doubt over its ability to pay back bills. 
And sales trends overall have remained weak.

The company said Thursday it expects net sales for the fiscal third quarter, which ended Nov. 26, to be about $1.26 billion — a nearly 33% drop from the $1.88 billion it reported for the year-ago period. Bed Bath anticipates a net loss of about $385.8 million for the quarter, an approximately 40% jump in losses year over year. Those quarterly losses include an approximately $100 million impairment charge, which was not specified.
CEO Sue Gove urged patience on Thursday, saying the turnaround will take time. She took the helm after former CEO Mark Tritton was pushed out in June.
“Transforming an organization of our size and scale requires time, and we anticipate that each coming quarter will build on our progress,” she said in a news release.
Baird’s Kleber said investors will want to hear if there’s been a change in sales trends during the Christmas season — key weeks that would be reflected in fourth-quarter results, but could be previewed sooner.

‘Kiss of death’?

Before Bed Bath can address moving product off shelves, though, it needs to tackle an even more fundamental problem: having enough merchandise to fill them.
Gove said low inventory was partially to blame for the company’s anticipated third-quarter losses.

Bed Bath is using dollars it earned during the holiday season to bulk up the shelves with help from its key vendors, Gove said. As in-stock levels have improved, so have sales trends, she said.
But it’s not clear if that will be enough.
“At the end of the day, all of the yabba dabba doo about their newly minted strategy that they were touting over the last six months. It’s all just a lot of talk,” said Mark Cohen, a professor and director of retail studies at Columbia Business School.
Cohen said he sees the going-concern warning as the “kiss of death” for Bed Bath, solidifying bankruptcy as the retailer’s only remaining option — beyond a savior swooping in with an infusion of cash or to buy a stake of the company.
“Without a defining event of that sort, this company is toast,” said Cohen, former CEO of Sears Canada. 

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Disney CEO Bob Iger told hybrid employees on Monday they must return to corporate offices four days a week starting March 1, according to an email obtained by CNBC.
Iger’s four-day-per-week stipulation is relatively strict compared with other large companies, many of which have opted for two or three mandated in-office days for hybrid employees.
It comes less than two months after he returned to the helm of the company.

Bob Iger poses with Mickey Mouse attends Mickey’s 90th Spectacular at The Shrine Auditorium on October 6, 2018 in Los Angeles.
Valerie Macon | AFP | Getty Images

Disney CEO Bob Iger told hybrid employees on Monday they must return to corporate offices four days a week starting March 1, according to an email obtained by CNBC.
In the email, Iger stressed the importance of in-person collaboration.

“As I’ve been meeting with teams throughout the company over the past few months, I’ve been reminded of the tremendous value in being together with the people you work with,” Iger wrote. “As you’ve heard me say many times, creativity is the heart and soul of who we are and what we do at Disney. And in a creative business like ours, nothing can replace the ability to connect, observe, and create with peers that comes from being physically together, nor the opportunity to grow professionally by learning from leaders and mentors.”

During the pandemic many companies opted for work-from-home or hybrid work models that kept large gatherings of people, and thus the spread of Covid, to a minimum. As vaccination rates rose and cases and hospitalization rates fell, companies like Disney looked to bring staff back to offices and return to a more normalized pre-pandemic work environment.
Iger’s four-day-per-week stipulation is relatively strict compared with other large companies, which have opted for two or three mandated in-office days for hybrid employees. Apple mandated employees return to work three days a week in September. Twitter owner Elon Musk, who has famously slept as his companies’ facilities as a show of commitment, ordered nearly all Twitter employees to return to the office five days a week in November.
Disney’s new policy comes less than two months after Iger returned to the helm of the company, promising a two-year stint that would spark renewed growth for the company and develop a successor to take his place.
Iger’s return in November came days after former CEO Bob Chapek said he planned to cut costs at the company, which had been burdened by swelling expenses at its streaming service, Disney+. Iger’s return also comes as legacy media companies contend with a rapidly shifting landscape, as ad dollars dry up and consumers increasingly cut off their cable subscriptions in favor of streaming.

Iger plans to reorganize Disney’s Media & Entertainment Distribution division, which oversees the company’s content and distribution. He has maintained a hiring freeze implemented by Chapek while he changes the company’s organizational structure to give budget powers back to those who select creative projects.
Disney shares have fallen about 40% over the past year. The company has a market valuation of around $174 billion.
WATCH: CNBC’s full interview with Mark Asset Management’s Morris Mark on Netflix, Disney

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