Raphael Stevens

CNBC’s Jim Cramer said Wednesday that investors do not need to make major changes to their strategy as a result of Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell’s closely watched news conference.”Arguably, you don’t need to do a thing,” the “Mad Money” host said after parsing through Powell’s comments earlier in the day and the updated projections from the Fed’s policymaking arm.If anything, Cramer said he believes the drop in stocks Wednesday, combined with the new insight into the Fed’s thinking, could create opportunities for investors.”I think you should simply stay the course, maybe using this decline to buy some high-quality stocks, especially industrials, right into the teeth of a downturn,” Cramer said.”With the Fed taking itself out of the equation for at least six months, maybe longer, the industrials have a lot more room to run,” he said, adding that he also shares that forecast for the technology sector.The Federal Open Market Committee left interest rates at near-zero Wednesday, but central bank officials indicated a hike could come as soon as 2023. In March, the FOMC expected interest rates to stay pat until at least 2024.In general, Cramer applauded Powell for offering a “commonsense” outlook on the U.S. economic recovery as further coronavirus-era restrictions are rolled back and activity picks up.”The idea that Powell needs to figure out the game plan for the next two or three years, right at this very moment, is also absurd,” Cramer said.Questions for Cramer? Call Cramer: 1-800-743-CNBCWant to take a deep dive into Cramer’s world? Hit him up! Mad Money Twitter – Jim Cramer Twitter – Facebook – InstagramQuestions, comments, suggestions for the “Mad Money” website? [email protected] More

A mobile Covid-19 vaccination centre outside Bolton Town Hall, Bolton, where case numbers of the Delta variant first identified in India have been relatively high.Peter Byrne | PA Images | Getty ImagesThe delta Covid variant, first detected in India, has now spread to more than 80 countries and it continues to mutate as it spreads across the globe, World Health Organization officials said Wednesday.The variant now makes up 10% of all new cases in the United States, up from 6% last week. Studies have shown the variant is even more transmissible than other variants. WHO officials said some reports have found that it also causes more severe symptoms, but more research is needed to confirm those conclusions.CNBC Health & Science Read CNBC’s latest global coverage of the Covid pandemic:Africa sees 44% spike in new Covid infections, 20% increase in deaths  WHO says delta Covid variant has now spread to 80 countries, and it keeps mutating Pfizer CEO sees a return to ‘normal’ globally by the end of 2022Regeneron antibody ‘cocktail’ can save lives in hospitalized Covid patients, study finds The WHO is also tracking recent reports of a “delta plus” variant. “What I think this means is that there is an additional mutation that has been identified,” said Maria Van Kerkhove, the WHO’s Covid-19 technical lead. “In some of the delta variants we’ve seen one less mutation or one deletion instead of an additional, so we’re looking at all of it.”The United Kingdom recently saw the delta variant become the dominant strain there, surpassing its native alpha variant, which was first detected in the country last fall. The delta variant now makes up more than 60% of new cases in the U.K.Dr. Anthony Fauci, chief medical advisor to the president, said last week that “we cannot let that happen in the United States,” as he pushed to get more people vaccinated, especially young adults.The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention designated the delta variant as a variant of concern in the U.S. on Tuesday. The WHO designated the delta variant as a variant of concern in early May.The WHO on Tuesday also added another Covid mutation, the lambda variant, to its list of variants of interest. The agency is monitoring more than 50 different Covid variants, but not all become enough of a public health threat to make the WHO’s formal watchlist. The lambda variant has multiple mutations in the spike protein that could have an impact on its transmissibility, but more studies are needed to fully understand the mutations, Van Kerkhove said.The lambda variant has been detected by scientists in South America, including in Chile, Peru, Ecuador and Argentina, thanks to increased genomic surveillance. More

South African Health Minister Zweli Mkhize receives the Johnson and Johnson coronavirus disease (COVID-19) vaccination at the Khayelitsha Hospital near Cape Town, South Africa, February 17, 2021.Gianluigi Guercia | Pool | ReutersSome countries in Africa are seeing an increasingly worrying rise in Covid cases and the numbers don’t represent the true size of the outbreak there, World Health Organization officials said Wednesday.Weekly Covid cases jumped 44% to 95,000 while fatalities rose 20% to 1,400 over the previous week across Africa. Meanwhile, new cases decreased in every other region across the globe, even in India, which is currently battling the worst outbreak in the world.”While the numbers in Africa themselves … don’t represent a massive proportion of global cases, we know that diagnosis in Africa is not at the same level of intensity. So when you see the shift in trend, the trend is concerning,” Dr. Mike Ryan, executive director of the WHO’s health emergencies program, said Wednesday.”And when you look at the proportion of vaccines in the world that are going to Africa, then that trend is even more concerning,” Ryan said.An increase in cases 18 months into the pandemic worries health officials and highlights the shortcomings of funding for vaccine equity initiatives. WHO officials say more testing is needed in the region.CNBC Health & Science Read CNBC’s latest global coverage of the Covid pandemic:Africa sees 44% spike in new Covid infections, 20% increase in deaths  WHO says delta Covid variant has now spread to 80 countries, and it keeps mutating Pfizer CEO sees a return to ‘normal’ globally by the end of 2022Regeneron antibody ‘cocktail’ can save lives in hospitalized Covid patients, study finds Maria Van Kerkhove, the WHO’s technical lead for Covid-19, said some people are saying it’s the start of a third peak in some African countries.”We don’t know how many cases have been reported to date. We assume that we are missing many, many cases,” Van Kerkhove said.The WHO said in late May that Africa needs 20 million vaccine doses by mid-July for patients’ second doses to ensure sufficient protection from the virus.Vaccine-sharing campaigns’ lack of funding has left Africa behind in its acquisition of the lifesaving shots. “The lowest number of vaccines in the world are currently in Africa,” Ryan said.Many countries have made pledges to share millions of doses around the world, but WHO officials say those doses need to make their way to low-income countries immediately and without delay. The continent has received less than 2% of the world’s available vaccine doses so far.For every 100 people in a high-income country, about 60 vaccines have been delivered, according to Ryan, and for every 100 people in a low-income country, one vaccine has been delivered. “That is a brutal reality, and there are people dying today who should not have to die because they haven’t been protected with vaccines,” he said.A study recently published in The Lancet showed mortality rates and determined risk factors in several countries in Africa. Along with lack of vaccine access, lack of access to basic resources such as hospital beds and oxygen was identified as a driving factor of mortality rates in the African countries.”We have these tools at hand, we’re just not using them and they’re not in the right hands around the world, and I think all of us need to reflect on that,” Van Kerkhove said. More

In this articleACIAlbertsons CEO Vivek Sankaran told CNBC on Wednesday that the U.S. consumer has, so far, been able to handle rising inflation.”The inflation is higher. It is, let’s say, between 3% and 4% if you just do the math on different months and normalize for it,” Sankaran said in an interview with Jim Cramer on “Mad Money.” “It used to be typically 1.5%, so it’s a little bit higher.”Sankaran, who also serves as Albertsons’ president, said he does not take rising prices “lightly.””That said, it’s happening in an environment where the consumer is really strong. We haven’t seen the consumer affected yet by that level of inflation,” said Sankaran. Albertsons operates grocery stores under multiple brands in more than 30 U.S. states and Washington D.C.Last week, the Labor Department reported consumer prices in May rose 5% from a year earlier, the highest reading for the consumer price index in nearly 13 years.Federal Reserve officials believe price pressures will normalize as the Covid economic recovery progresses, although Chairman Jerome Powell acknowledged earlier Wednesday that “inflation could turn out to be higher and more persistent than we expect.””I don’t know where it’s going to go over the next few months. … It could go a little bit higher, but again, we have a strong consumer,” Sankaran said, adding that the grocery chain has plans in the event it needs to absorb higher costs. “But we’re far away from that, in my opinion.”Sankaran also told Cramer that some pandemic-era buying habits have persisted, even as the economy has been reopening from public-health restrictions. That’s helpful for Albertsons’ financial performance, he said.”They traded up on meats, buying prime beef. They traded up to shellfish. They traded up to premium wines, and they have stayed with that behavior,” he said. “Even today, we are selling so many flowers.”Questions for Cramer? Call Cramer: 1-800-743-CNBCWant to take a deep dive into Cramer’s world? Hit him up! Mad Money Twitter – Jim Cramer Twitter – Facebook – InstagramQuestions, comments, suggestions for the “Mad Money” website? [email protected] More

In this article5CV-DEA volunteer receives a dose of CureVac vaccine or a placebo during a study by the German biotech firm CureVac as part of a testing for a new vaccine against the coronavirus disease (COVID-19), in Brussels, Belgium March 2, 2021.Yves Herman | ReutersCureVac stock plunged 50% in extended trading Wednesday after the German biopharmaceutical company released preliminary efficacy results for its Covid-19 vaccine candidate that failed to meet success criteria.The vaccine candidate demonstrated an interim efficacy of 47% against Covid-19 disease “of any severity,” according to a press release. The company said final analysis of the results would be completed in the coming weeks. The late-stage clinical trial of approximately 40,000 participants across 10 countries found high prevalence of virus variants, in particular the lambda strain first detected in South America. “While we were hoping for a stronger interim outcome, we recognize that demonstrating high efficacy in this unprecedented broad diversity of variants is challenging,” CEO Franz-Werner Haas said in a statement. “As we are continuing toward the final analysis with a minimum of 80 additional cases, the overall vaccine efficacy may change.” The study also found varying levels of efficacy for different age groups, according to the release. CureVac is also working on a separate Covid vaccine candidate in partnership with GlaxoSmithKline. The companies expect to enter clinical testing on that candidate in the third quarter of 2021, CureVac said Wednesday. More

In this articleGMBrand new Chevrolet cars are displayed on the sales lot at Stewart Chevrolet on May 14, 2021 in Colma, California.Justin Sullivan | Getty ImagesGeneral Motors expects the ongoing semiconductor chip shortage and rising inflation to increase its expenses during the second half of the year by up to $3 billion, CFO Paul Jacobson said Wednesday afternoon.The additional costs include a greater-than-expected hit from the parts shortage during the third quarter as well as rising commodity prices that will force it to spend up to $2 billion more than it did in the first half of the year, he said.Much, if not all of those costs, could be offset by the GM’s performance during the first half of the year. Earlier Wednesday, GM increased its earnings forecast for the first half of the year to between $8.5 billion and $9.5 billion in adjusted pretax earnings, up from an estimated $5.5 billion.The new forecast was driven by better-than-expected results from its GM Financial unit and improved near-term production because they were able to get some semiconductor chips that were expected in the third quarter, according to the company.”I’m actually comfortable with where we are right now as we’re thinking about the second half of the year, even if there might be some continued supply challenges,” Jacobson said. “But there are some fundamental pressures in the second half that I think are unique versus the run rate that we’ve seen in the first half. That starts probably with commodity inflation.”For the year, GM previously said it expected pretax profits “at the higher end” of a $10 billion to $11 billion range. It didn’t provide an update on its full-year earnings. The forecast factored in the potential impact of the chip shortage, including a hit of $1.5 billion to $2 billion to earnings.The first half of the year has been better than many expected for automakers such as GM. Supply constraints due to the chip shortage have led to higher vehicle prices and profits.”We’re certainly bullish, as it relates to our prior guidance,” Jacobson said. “We’re intentionally not giving a full year guidance, yet we want to do that on our earnings call as we start to get into the third quarter and start to understand what the chip dynamics look like.”Jacobson said the chip situation remains very fluid. For example, a new Covid outbreak in Malaysia is disrupting the semiconductor chip market, he said. Vehicle supply constraints are expected to continue into 2022, he said.”As long as that continues, we’re losing some production there from some key chip providers and it’s things like that that really make this a week to week phenomenon,” he said. More

People view the sun set as a child drinks from a water bottle on June 15, 2021 in Los Angeles, California as temperatures soar in an early-season heatwave.Frederic J. Brown | AFP | Getty ImagesAn extreme heat wave gripping the western United States will intensify and spread this week, creating dangerous conditions amid the worst drought in the last two decades and raising concerns about severe wildfires and electrical grid failures.More than 40 million people in the country are forecast to experience triple-digit temperatures this week, and roughly 200 million people are projected to see temperatures over 90 degrees Fahrenheit. More than three-fourths of the West is in severe drought, according to the U.S. Drought Monitor.Temperatures in some areas could surpass 120 degrees, and excessive-heat warnings are in place for several states. Nevada and Arizona are forecast to see record temperatures of 125 and 128 degrees, respectively.Grant Mohn of Las Vegas attempts to fry an egg in the parking area at Badwater Basin, the lowest point in North America at 279 feet below sea level, in Death Valley National Park, California, U.S. August 17, 2020.David Becker | ReutersRupa Basu, chief of air and climate epidemiology for the California Office of Environmental Health Hazard Assessment, said the drought and heat wave create a “perfect storm” for fires and poor air quality. Temperatures this week are expected to remain high overnight too, a trend that’s become more frequent with climate change, since global temperature rise is not occurring evenly.”Heat waves are boosted by the steroids of climate change and increasingly more likely to break records,” said Alexander Gershunov, a research meteorologist at Scripps Institution of Oceanography at UC San Diego.Heat waves are also becoming more humid, which is dangerous because hot, saturated air makes it harder for people to cool off. Humidity is also likely to spawn more thunderstorms, Gershunov said, which increase the chances of lightning strikes that start fires.Lower nighttime temperatures that usually provide relief from hot days are disappearing, creating a dangerous combination of high daytime and high nighttime temperatures that don’t provide a chance for people to cool down at night.The two Arizona Intake Towers are shown at the Hoover Dam on June 15, 2021 in the Lake Mead National Recreation Area, Arizona.Ethan Miller | Getty Images”During peak hours, conserve energy, avoid excessive time outdoors especially doing strenuous activity or exercising, drink plenty of water, walk [or] bike instead of using cars for transportation if possible,” Basu said.High temperatures in areas dependent on air conditioning could result in grid failures and endanger people unable to escape the heat.Grid operators in Texas and California have called on residents to limit electricity use in order to avoid blackouts this week. In Texas, high temperatures have already caused a slew of mechanical issues at power plants — just four months after a deadly winter storm knocked out power for millions of people.Dry cracked earth is visible along the banks of Phoenix Lake on April 21, 2021 in Ross, California.Justin Sullivan | Getty ImagesWildfires have also ignited early this year due to the hot and dry temperatures and high supply of dry brush. As of Wednesday, 33 large blazes have burned more than 360,000 acres in 10 states, according to the National Interagency Fire Center.Worldwide, each decade over the last half century has been hotter than the last, and 2020 tied with 2016 as the hottest year on record.Global warming has also sent the Southwest U.S. into a decades-long megadrought, which has resulted in declining snowpack levels, lake and river levels and groundwater availability, among other things. More