Raphael Stevens

The World Professional Billiards and Snooker Association announced Tuesday that it had suspended Zhao Xintong and his compatriot Zhang Jiankang from competing in the World Snooker Tour.
The announcement marked the latest in a series of suspensions as part of an ongoing investigation into the fixing of snooker matches for betting purposes.

YORK, UK – Nov 12, 2022: Zhao Xintong of China competes during the first round match against Sam Craigie of England at 2022 UK Snooker Championship in York.
Zhai Zheng/Xinhua via Getty Images

LONDON — A match-fixing scandal has led to the suspension of 10 Chinese players from snooker’s top touring circuit, including two big names from the popular billiards sport.
The World Professional Billiards and Snooker Association announced Tuesday that it had suspended Zhao Xintong and his compatriot Zhang Jiankang from competing in the World Snooker Tour. Both players have the right to appeal against the decision.

Zhao — the ninth-ranked player in the world who is considered one of the sport’s top prospects — won the U.K. Championship in 2021 to claim his first ranking title and become only the fourth non-British player in history to triumph at the event.
The announcement marked the latest in a series of suspensions as part of an ongoing investigation into the fixing of snooker matches for betting purposes.
Alongside Zhao, notable among the 10 suspensions was the 2021 Masters champion Yan Bingtao, whom the WPBSA banned on Dec. 12., shortly before Chen Zifan.

EDINBURGH, Scotland – Nov. 30, 2022: Yan Bingtao of China reacts during the first round match against Liam Highfield of England on day three of the 2022 BetVictor Scottish Open.
Photo by VCG/VCG via Getty Images

Lu Ning, Li Hang, Zhao Jianbo, Bai Langning and Chang Bingyu were suspended in early December, after Liang Wenbo became the first player named in October.
Both Yan and Zhao were due to take part in the 2023 Masters, which begins Sunday and concludes on Jan. 15, but both have been replaced in the draw for the top-tier event.

“This decision is part of an ongoing investigation into allegations of manipulating the outcome of matches for betting purposes in breach of the WPBSA Conduct Regulations,” the body said in a statement Tuesday.
“The WPBSA can confirm that the wider investigation is now at an advanced stage, and it is anticipated will be completed shortly at which point any potential charges will be considered.”
CNBC has contacted the WST for comment from the players’ representatives. None of the 10 suspended players have spoken publicly to the U.K. press since the WPBSA announcements.

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Last year’s new vehicle sales in the U.S. were the worst in more than a decade.
Automakers are hoping 2022 will mark a bottom for the market.
Sales have been at or near recessionary levels on top of demand that has piled up during the coronavirus pandemic.

New Jeeps on display at a New York City car dealership on Oct. 5, 2021.
Spencer Platt | Getty Images

DETROIT — Automakers are hopeful last year’s new vehicle sales — the worst in more than a decade — will mark a bottom for the market, at least in the near term.
Industry estimates range from 13.7 million to 13.9 million new vehicles being sold last year in the U.S., a roughly 8% to 9% decline compared with 2021 and the lowest level since 2011 when sales were recovering from the Great Recession.

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Sales varied widely by automaker, as parts and supply chain problems affected companies at different times, but most — with General Motors’ 2.5% gain as a notable exception — were down compared with 2021. Ford Motor, Hyundai and Kia all reported low single-digit declines. Toyota Motor was down 9.6%, while Stellantis, Nissan and Honda Motor posted double-digit falls of 13%, 25% and 29.4%, respectively.
But auto industry executives remain cautiously optimistic that sales will rebound in 2023, regardless of recessionary fears, rising interest rates and other economic concerns. A typical year prior to the pandemic saw more than 17 million in sales.
Toyota and GM said they expect U.S. auto sales to increase to about 15 million vehicles this year. That would be a roughly 9% increase over 2022. S&P Global Mobility and Edmunds expect 2023 new U.S. vehicle sales to be 14.8 million, while Cox Automotive’s preliminary forecast is 14.1 million.
“We’re cautiously optimistic about the future. In 2023, there will be an uptick not quite as high as we would love it to be but going the right direction,” Jack Hollis, executive vice president of Toyota Motor North America, said during a briefing Wednesday. “Demand is still higher than our supply.”

The reason for the optimism is two-fold: Sales have been at or near recessionary levels due to parts and supply chain issues, plus demand has piled up from consumers and businesses after years of tight vehicle inventories during the pandemic.

Automakers have reported record or near-record results in recent years amid the tight supply of new vehicles and resilient consumer demand. They have banked on sustained pent-up demand as inventory levels normalize, hoping to avoid heavy discounts or incentives to move vehicles.
The deep discounts typical of the industry help to maintain production and increase sales, however several auto executives have vowed they will not return to such tactics at the cost of profits.
Automakers can offset underwhelming retail sales with fleet sales to governments and companies such as rental car agencies. Those bulk sales have taken a back seat to retail customers in recent years and are traditionally less profitable than those to consumers but assist in moving product.
“The fleet demand is very high, no doubt,” Hollis said, adding he believes there will be a “moderation” across the industry regarding incentives.
Charlie Chesbrough, Cox’s senior economist and senior director of industry insights, said he doesn’t believe vehicle sales will post any notable increase in 2023 — unless automakers let up on pricing to make them more affordable.
Automakers have largely passed rising commodity costs to build vehicles onto consumers, making the vehicles more expensive. That, combined with skyrocketing interest rates, higher gas prices and broad inflation, has dampened new vehicle demand.
“This is one of those rare times where we really have no idea which direction the market could go. It could easily go up or down from where we’re at right now,” Chesbrough told CNBC. “The pace over the last couple of months has been definitely pointing to a weakening market.”
Vehicle inventories improved toward the end of the year — a sign record-high vehicle prices may finally ease. And higher volumes bring the potential for a “demand destruction” scenario, where supplies begin to outpace demand.
Many on Wall Street also fear that the most profitable days for automakers may be behind them amid higher interest rates, falling used vehicle prices and a normalization of sales mix away from fully loaded models.
Chesbrough said there’s “certainly downside risk to the market” in the event of a full-blown recession. But he said the impact wouldn’t be as prevalent as it has been in the past because many lower-income and subprime borrowers, who would typically leave the new vehicle segment during a recession, have already done so because of low inventories and record-high prices.
Last year’s sales total remains an estimate because not all automakers publicly release results. Motor Intelligence reports sales were nearly 13.9 million units last year, Cox Automotive estimates sales at 13.8 million and Edmunds and Wards Intelligence estimate 13.7 million.

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We’re growing increasingly worried about some richly valued companies in our portfolio, including the likes of Nvidia (NVDA) and Microsoft (MSFT). Expensive stocks remain out of favor on Wall Street — just as they had been for much of last year — and there could be more room for them to fall as recession fears mount. Other stocks in Jim Cramer’s Charitable Trust , the portfolio we use for the Club, do not carry the same level of valuation risk. We wanted to call attention to some of those lower-multiple stocks that we believe are worth watching. We’re focusing on forward price-to-earnings ratios, calculated by dividing share price by estimated earnings-per-share over the next 12 months. The quotient is what’s known as the multiple . The S & P 500 ‘s overall multiple has fallen over the past year, going from around 21x forward earnings in early January 2022 to around 16.8x on Thursday. A lot goes into what investors are willing to pay for a stock, including higher interest rates — which make bond yields more competitive with stock returns — and the growth rate of a company’s profits relative to peers. As an investor looking to buy a stock, it may be easier to run the P/E in reverse. In this high-level hypothetical, start with the multiple you want to pay and multiply that by forward earnings estimates. If you’re willing to assign a 10 multiple to earnings per share of $5, that translates to a stock price of $50. But now growth is less certain and interest rates are going up, so you think paying 10x forward earnings is too risky. Instead, you think paying 8x forward earnings is more appropriate, meaning you’re only willing to pay $40 per share. Eventually it becomes clear profits are shrinking, and the company won’t earn $5 per share anymore; estimates now call for EPS of $4. In this scenario, paying 8x future earnings is too rich because the earnings growth is less robust. You determine you’re only willing to pay 7x forward earnings of $4 per share, translating to a stock price of just $28. This is an oversimplified explanation, to be sure. But it offers a look at what happens to stock prices when investors, in general, are less willing to pay a premium for a stock in an environment where that company’s earnings growth is slowing down and bonds are increasing in attractiveness. Right now, a key problem for the market is that many investors believe earnings estimates are too high. If the Federal Reserve stays hawkish and the U.S. economy continues to weaken and tip into recession, corporate profits may erode more than currently expected. This could intensify the pressure on stock prices. Higher-multiple stocks have a smaller margin for error in situations like this. Even a slight downward revision to earnings could lead to a considerable decline in richly valued shares. With this in mind, here are six Club stocks that currently fit our definition of reasonably priced, meaning they trade either around or below the S & P 500’s overall valuation. JNJ mountain 2022-01-05 Johnson & Johnson’s stock performance over the past 12 months. Johnson & Johnson (JNJ) is currently trading around 17.4x forward earnings, and the health-care company fits within the more defensive-oriented posture we believe is appropriate in this market. We’re also inching closer to J & J’s split into two publicly traded companies , a decision we believe will enhance shareholder value. On Wednesday, the company’s consumer health unit, which plans to be called Kenvue, filed with the U.S. securities regulator to be listed on the New York Stock Exchange. The pharmaceutical and medical technology divisions will retain the J & J name and own at least 80.1% of Kenvue. META mountain 2022-01-05 Meta Platforms’ stock performance over the past 12 months. Shares of Meta Platforms (META) trade at less than 16x forward earnings estimates, following a brutal 2022 for the once high-flying stock. Meta’s reliance on advertising revenue makes it more exposed to economic conditions than, say, J & J. However, the stock’s below-market multiple provides some comfort. Plus, the Instagram and Facebook parent let go more than 11,000 employees late last year, an important step to bring down expenses in the face of topline headwinds. HAL mountain 2022-01-05 Halliburton’s stock performance over the past 12 months. Oilfield services provider Halliburton (HAL) trades at roughly 13x forward earnings, a valuation that we find very reasonable. The stock is below its five-year average P/E of 17.2, per FactSet, and the company’s underlying business has been performing well. Management has talked about a multiyear drilling cycle, stemming from previous years of underinvestment, which should help the business remain resilient. Halliburton is up more than 7% since we added 150 shares to our position Dec. 16 . Our other three energy stocks — Pioneer Natural Resources (PXD), Devon Energy (DVN) and Coterra Energy (CTRA) — also maintain P/Es well below the S & P 500. We like the group here, evidenced by our purchase of 25 PXD shares on Wednesday . Morgan Stanley MS mountain 2022-01-05 Morgan Stanley’s stock performance over the past 12 months. At just under 12x forward earnings, Morgan Stanley (MS) is one of only two financial stocks in our portfolio. We’re comfortable owning it at present valuations despite a potential recession on the horizon. It carries an annual dividend yield of roughly 3.6%, which rewards investors for their patience, and the company bought back $2.6 billion worth of stock in the three months ended Sept. 30. Morgan Stanley checks all our boxes as a company that does real things for a profit, returns capital to shareholders and is reasonably priced. WFC mountain 2022-01-05 Wells Fargo’s stock performance over the past 12 months. Wells Fargo (WFC)— the other bank in our portfolio — trades at 8.3x forward earnings and is well-liked by analysts . While recession fears may be weighing on the stock, Wells Fargo’s loan portfolio is very high quality. The bank also benefits from the Federal Reserve’s higher interest rates. We also view the company as a turnaround story as it looks to get past regulatory restrictions . F mountain 2022-01-05 Ford Motor’s stock performance over the past 12 months. Ford (F) has one of the lowest price-to-earnings multiples in our portfolio, at just under 7x. We like the automaker here, with Jim saying on Thursday that he’d buy the stock at current levels . In December, Ford’s money-making F series pickup trucks registered their best sales month of 2022 — a positive sign after months of production disruptions limited availability. We’re fans of the company’s electric vehicle strategy, too. (See here for a full list of the stocks in Jim Cramer’s Charitable Trust.) As a subscriber to the CNBC Investing Club with Jim Cramer, you will receive a trade alert before Jim makes a trade. Jim waits 45 minutes after sending a trade alert before buying or selling a stock in his charitable trust’s portfolio. If Jim has talked about a stock on CNBC TV, he waits 72 hours after issuing the trade alert before executing the trade. THE ABOVE INVESTING CLUB INFORMATION IS SUBJECT TO OUR TERMS AND CONDITIONS AND PRIVACY POLICY , TOGETHER WITH OUR DISCLAIMER . NO FIDUCIARY OBLIGATION OR DUTY EXISTS, OR IS CREATED, BY VIRTUE OF YOUR RECEIPT OF ANY INFORMATION PROVIDED IN CONNECTION WITH THE INVESTING CLUB. NO SPECIFIC OUTCOME OR PROFIT IS GUARANTEED.

A Halliburton oil well fielder works on a well head at a fracking rig site January 27, 2016 near Stillwater, Oklahoma.
J. Pat Carter | Getty Images

We’re growing increasingly worried about some richly valued companies in our portfolio, including the likes of Nvidia (NVDA) and Microsoft (MSFT). Expensive stocks remain out of favor on Wall Street — just as they had been for much of last year — and there could be more room for them to fall as recession fears mount. More

China will likely be able to live with Covid-19 by the end of March, based on how quickly people have returned to the streets, said Larry Hu, chief China economist at Macquarie.
Chongqing, Guangzhou and the resort city of Sanya have announced in the last few days that the worst of their local outbreaks has passed.
Shanghai medical researchers projected in a study that the latest Covid wave would pass through major Chinese cities by the end of 2022, while rural areas — and more distant provinces in central and western China — would be hit by infections in mid- to late-January.

Subway passenger traffic in Shanghai is quickly returning to levels seen before the latest Covid wave, according to Wind data. Pictured here is a subway car in the city on Jan. 4, 2023.
Hugo Hu | Getty Images News | Getty Images

BEIJING — China will likely be able to live with Covid-19 by the end of March, based on how quickly people have returned to the streets, said Larry Hu, chief China economist at Macquarie.
Subway and road data show traffic in major cities is rebounding, he pointed out, indicating the worst of the latest Covid wave has passed.

“The dramatic U-turn in China’s Covid policy since mid-Nov implies deeper short-term economic contraction but faster reopening and recovery,” Hu said in a report Wednesday. “The economy could see a strong recovery in Spring.”
In the last several days, the southern city of Guangzhou and the tourist destination of Sanya said they’d passed the peak of the Covid wave.
Chongqing municipal health authorities said Tuesday that daily visitors to major fever clinics was just over 3,000 — down sharply from Dec. 16 when the number of patients received topped 30,000. The province-level region has a population of about 32 million.

Chongqing was the most congested city in mainland China during Thursday morning’s rush hour, according to Baidu traffic data. The figures showed increased traffic from a week ago across Beijing, Shanghai, Guangzhou and other major cities.
As of Wednesday, subway ridership in Beijing, Shanghai and Guangzhou had climbed significantly from the lows of the last few weeks — but had only recovered to about two-thirds of last year’s levels, according to Wind Information.

Caixin’s monthly survey of services businesses in December found they were the most optimistic they’d been in about a year-and-a-half, according to a release Thursday. The seasonally adjusted business activity index rose to 48 in December, up from a six-month low of 46.7 in November.
That below-50 reading still indicates a contraction in business activity. The index for a separate Caixin survey of manufacturers edged down to 49 in December, from 49.4 in November. Their optimism was the highest in ten months.

Poorer, rural areas next

Shanghai medical researchers projected in a study that the latest Covid wave would pass through major Chinese cities by the end of 2022, while rural areas — and more distant provinces in central and western China — would be hit by infections in mid- to late-January.
“The duration and magnitude of upcoming outbreak could be dramatically enhanced by the extensive travels during the Spring Festival (January 21, 2023),” the researchers said in a paper published in late December by Frontiers of Medicine, a journal sponsored by China’s Ministry of Education.
Typically hundreds of millions of people travel during the holiday, also known as the Lunar New Year.
The researchers said senior citizens, especially those with underlying health conditions, in China’s remote areas face a greater risk of severe illness from the highly transmissible omicron variant. The authors were particularly worried about the lack of medicine and intensive care units in the the countryside.
Even before the pandemic, China’s public health system was stretched. People from across the country often traveled to crowded hospitals in the capital city of Beijing in order to get better health care than they could in their hometowns.
Oxford Economics senior economist Louise Loo remained cautious about a rapid rebound in China’s economy.
“A normalisation in economic activity will take some time, requiring among other things a change in public perceptions towards contracting Covid and vaccine effectiveness,” Loo said in a report Wednesday.
The firm expects China’s GDP will grow by 4.2% in 2023.

Lingering long-term risk

The medical researchers also warned of the risk that omicron outbreaks on the mainland “might appear in multiple waves,” with new surges in infections possible in late 2023. “The importance of regular monitoring of circulating SARS-CoV-2 sublineages and variants across China shall not be overestimated in the months and years to come.”
However, amid a lack of timely information, the World Health Organization said Wednesday it was asking China for “more rapid, regular, reliable data on hospitalizations and deaths, as well as more comprehensive, real-time viral sequencing.”
China in early December abruptly ended many of its stringent Covid controls that had restricted business and social activity. On Sunday, the country is set to formally end a quarantine requirement for inbound travelers, while restoring the ability of Chinese citizens to travel abroad for leisure. The country imposed strict border controls beginning in March 2020 in an attempt to contain Covid domestically.

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Michael Andretti, team owner of Walkinshaw Andretti United, looks on during qualifying for Supercars Adelaide 500 on March 2, 2018 in Adelaide, Australia.
Daniel Kalisz | Getty Images Sport | Getty Images

Andretti have teamed up with General Motors in a bid to enter Formula 1 which, if successful, would also see the famous Cadillac name join the grid.
Team owner Michael Andretti has been lobbying the FIA, F1’s governing body, to expand the 20-car grid and has pushed forward with his plans despite a failed 2021 attempt to purchase Sauber, and resistance from F1 teams who have argued that an 11th team would dilute their revenues.

Now, in the wake of FIA president Mohammed Ben Sulayem opening the door for new teams to join the grid, a collaboration between one of America’s most successful racing teams and its biggest car company has been announced.
Andretti’s main headquarters would be in Indiana while General Motors would be their engine and manufacture partner, with GM brand Cadillac to form part of the entry. The team would be known as Andretti Cadillac Racing.
Sky Sports News understands that there would be no chance of a new entry before 2026, while there are other interested parties exploring F1 aside from Andretti.
Any new entrant request requires the agreement of both F1 and the FIA.
“Today’s news from the United States is further proof of the popularity and growth of the FIA Formula One World Championship under the FIA’s stewardship,” said Ben Sulayemn after Andretti’s announcement.

“It is particularly pleasing to have interest from two iconic brands such as General Motors Cadillac and Andretti Global.

“Any additional entries would build on the positive acceptance of the FIA’s 2026 PU regulations among OEMs which has already attracted an entry from Audi.
“Any Expressions of Interest process will follow strict FIA protocol and will take several months.”
What Andretti now ‘brings to the F1 party’
Andretti said in the announcement, the culmination of four months of negotiations with General Motors, that the American automaker provides the Andretti effort with the additional value rival teams have argued new teams must bring to F1.
“One of the big things was ‘what does Andretti bring to the party?’,” Andretti said. “Well, we’re bringing one of the biggest manufacturers in the world with us now with General Motors and Cadillac.
“We feel that was the one box that we didn’t have checked that we do have checked now. I think we’ll be bringing a tremendous amount of support to Formula 1 and it’s hard for anyone to argue with that.”

F1 immediately responded in the same tone it has used since Andretti began pushing for expansion by noting that it has several parties interested in joining the series and Andretti is simply the most visible. Andretti’s father, Mario Andretti, is the 1978 Formula One world champion.
“There is great interest in the F1 project at this time with a number of conversations continuing that are not as visible as others,” F1 said in a statement.
“We all want to ensure the championship remains credible and stable and any new entrant request will be assessed on criteria to meet those objectives by the relevant stakeholders.”
Andretti said despite F1’s statement, he still believes Andretti Global is the strongest applicant. He admitted F1 has not shared the other interested parties with him.
“We have the opportunity to combine our motorsport passions [with GM] and dedication to innovation to build a true American F1 bid,” added Andretti.”Together, we will continue to follow procedures and steps put forth by the FIA during the evaluation process. In the meantime, we continue to optimistically prepare should we be fortunate enough to have Andretti Cadillac formally approved as a Formula 1 contender.”

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It’s that time again! “Mad Money” host Jim Cramer rings the lightning round bell, which means he’s giving his answers to callers’ stock questions at rapid speed.

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Carvana Co: “I do not want you in Carvana. I have disliked this stock for ages, and I reiterate that I still dislike it.”

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Chart Industries Inc: “This is not the time to go into a really gigantic company that’s involved with making all sorts of the big tankers down there in LNG-ville.”

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Chewy Inc: “I still worry one day that Amazon is going to say, ‘you know what, we’ve had enough of Chewy.'”

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