Raphael Stevens

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    Meme stocks GameStop, AMC are popping again as speculative trading ramps back up

    In this articleAMCGMERafael Henrique | LightRocket | Getty ImagesJust when you think the GameStop mania is a tale from the past, meme stocks came back from the dead with a double-digit rally this week, as enthusiastic investors piled back into speculative assets with the market near record highs.Shares of GameStop soared another 15.8% on Wednesday, pushing its gains this week to 37%. Another Reddit target, AMC Entertainment, rallied 19.2%, bringing its weekly advance to more than 60%. Other popular meme stocks BlackBerry and Bed Bath & Beyond rallied 9.9% and 11.6%, respectively, on Wednesday.Zoom In IconArrows pointing outwardsStrategists believe the recent run-up occurred as these speculative assets and others became oversold. Last week, bitcoin suffered a 30% one-day crash that spooked many on Wall Street and the cryptocurrency recouped some of the losses this week but trading remains volatile.Meanwhile, the stock market, which came back near its record level recently amid reopening optimism, might have unleashed another wave of animal spirits and pulled some investors back into the riskiest parts of the market.”I believe the bounce back in these thematic names are a function of two components: the oversold conditions that currently existed in GME & AMC due to the bitcoin pullback and profit taking,” said Jeff Kilburg, chief investment officer and portfolio manager at Sanctuary Wealth.”I also believe the newly injected investor confidence with U.S. equity markets hovering near all time highs makes a difference. High tide lifts all boats,” Kilburg added.In January, GameStop became the center of attention and sent shock waves across Wall Street. A band of retail investors coordinated trades on Reddit’s WallStreetBets forum and managed to create a massive short squeeze, inflicting huge pain for short selling hedge funds in the name.Back then, the day traders targeted names with elevated levels of short interest, including AMC, BlackBerry and Bed Bath & Beyond. When hated stocks like these suddenly turned higher in price, short sellers were forced to buy back borrowed shares to close out their short position and cut losses. The forced buying from short sellers then fueled the rally even further.A short squeeze could be at play again for GameStop, although not in the same magnitude as before.”We have started to see some short covering in GME as mark-to-market losses mount on the short side,” said Ihor Dusaniwsky of data firm S3 Partners. The recent rally in GameStop’s stock has pushed mark-to-market losses for short sellers to more than $6.7 billion this year, according to data from S3 Partners.GameStop and AMC still each have more than 20% of their float shares sold short, compared with an average of 5% short interest in a typical U.S. stock, according to the data.”Both stocks have a high potential for a short squeeze, dependent on their upcoming stock price moves,” Dusaniwsky said.GameStop, a brick-and-mortar video game retailer, is in a middle of an e-commerce transformation after the monstrous rally this year. Starting the year below $20, the stock shot to $483 a share at the end of January amid the historic short squeeze. The shares are still up 1,180% in 2021 and closed at $242.56 Wednesday.AMC has gained 95% in May, bringing its 2021 advance to over 800%.Enjoyed this article?For exclusive stock picks, investment ideas and CNBC global livestreamSign up for CNBC ProStart your free trial now More

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    Republicans call for Fauci's termination over shifting position on Wuhan lab funding

    Dr. Anthony Fauci is facing increasing calls from Republican lawmakers for his termination over what they say is a shift in his position on whether the U.S. government funded research at the Wuhan Institute of Virology.Fauci, the chief medical advisor to the White House, told lawmakers Tuesday that the National Institutes of Health funded the Wuhan Institute of Virology through the nonprofit EcoHealth Alliance with $600,000 over a period of five years. Funding to the nonprofit was eventually halted by the NIH.He denied that the funding was specifically used for so-called gain of function research, which is altering a virus to make it either more transmissible or deadly to better predict new pathogens and ways to fight them.On Wednesday during a Senate hearing, Sen. John Kennedy, R-La., further questioned Fauci’s faith in the Wuhan lab’s scientists. “How do you know they didn’t lie to you and use the money for gain of function research anyway?” Kennedy asked Fauci.Fauci said there was no way to guarantee that the scientists and grantees did not lie. “You never know,” he said.He added that scientists at the lab are “trustworthy” and that he would expect they complied with the conditions of the grant, which was to study the transmission of coronaviruses from bats to humans to better understand the SARS-CoV-1 epidemic in the early 2000s.”I don’t have enough insight into the Communist Party in China to know the interactions between them and the scientists,” Fauci said when asked whether the Chinese government influences its scientists. He also said he has no way of knowing the influence of the Chinese government on the World Health Organization after Kennedy implied that the WHO is in the pocket of the Chinese government.President Joe Biden announced Wednesday that he has ordered a closer intelligence review of what he said were two equally plausible scenarios of the origins of the Covid-19 pandemic — that it originated in a lab or from an animal. The director of national intelligence previously agreed that the two scenarios are equally likely.Biden revealed that he tasked the intelligence community earlier this year with preparing “a report on their most up-to-date analysis of the origins of Covid-19, including whether it emerged from human contact with an infected animal or from a laboratory accident.””As of today, the U.S. Intelligence Community has ‘coalesced around two likely scenarios’ but has not reached a definitive conclusion on this question,” Biden said in a statement.Federal health officials maintain that it is more likely that the virus has a natural origin, but do not exclude a lab leak as a possibility.Rep. Warren Davidson, R-Ohio, recently introduced the Fauci Incompetence Requires Early Dismissal Act, which called for Fauci’s termination.”Dr. Fauci represents everything that President Eisenhower warned us about in his farewell address: the scientific-technical elite steering the country toward their own ends,” Davidson said in a statement.The Republican lawmakers also said they believe Fauci misled the American people early in the pandemic in regard to mask guidance. Fauci said in early March 2020: “Right now in the United States, people should not be walking around with masks.” He later clarified he meant that masks should be prioritized for health workers, but Republican lawmakers maintain that Fauci lied.GOP lawmakers also claim that Fauci misled Americans when he said there would be an explosion of coronavirus cases after Texas lifted its mask mandate.”It is long past time for Dr. Fauci to stop talking to the American public. Fauci should resign or be fired immediately,” said Rep. Guy Reschenthaler, R-Pa.Correction: Warren Davidson, R.-Ohio, is a member of the House of Representatives. An earlier version misstated his title. More

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    Ford vs. GM: Why two traders prefer Ford as it doubles down on electric vehicles

    In this articleFORDFord or General Motors?Investors may once again be asking themselves that question after Ford’s announcement Wednesday that it plans to boost its electric vehicle investments to $30 billion and target 40% EV sales by 2030.Earlier this year, GM said it hoped to go all-electric by 2035. Its stock is underperforming Ford’s so far this month, quarter and year.Two traders told CNBC on Wednesday that they were sticking with the leader.”Ford’s sales are booming,” Gina Sanchez, the founder and CEO of Chantico Global and chief market strategist at Lido Advisors, told CNBC’s “Trading Nation.”Ford’s first-quarter earnings and revenue far exceeded Wall Street estimates despite an ongoing chip shortage that the company said would likely have its worst impact in the second quarter of this year.”The announcement of the electric Ford F-150 was massive, but I think the Mustang Mach-E is also the ultimate clean muscle car,” Sanchez said. “You have to think that they’ve got a lot of momentum going into this race.”Momentum has also been a theme in Ford’s stock chart, with the stock up 58% year to date, Matt Maley, chief market strategist at Miller Tabak, said in the same interview.”Maybe General Motors can outperform slightly on a very near-term basis” because of Ford’s temporarily overbought condition, he said.Ford shares closed almost 9% higher on Wednesday after reaching levels not seen since 2016.Zoom In IconArrows pointing outwardsLonger term, however, Ford is setting up for significant upside, Maley said.”It’s had a nice series of higher highs and higher lows with a new higher high just in the past week or so,” he said.”Not only that, but the stock has broken significantly above its very long-term trend line. This trend line goes all the way back to the late 1990s, so, this is really a bullish sign on a long-term basis,” he said. “Although both charts look pretty good, I think Ford is definitely the one that looks better on an intermediate and long-term basis.”GM shares closed up just over 2% on Wednesday. That stock is up almost 39% this year.Disclaimer More

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    Monthly child tax credit may arrive as states end $300 unemployment boost

    Oscar Wong | Moment | Getty ImagesNearly two dozen states are ending federal unemployment benefits early, meaning millions of people will soon see their aid reduced or eliminated.But families can expect a cash infusion from a different source — the child tax credit — roughly around the same time their jobless benefits dry up.The IRS will start sending monthly payments of the tax credit starting July 15, the agency said last week. Eligible households will get up to $300 per child under age 6 and $250 for older kids under 18.More from Personal Finance:Keeping the expanded child tax credit would help 65.6 million American kidsGuy Fieri is on a mission to help save restaurants hit by pandemicFighting inflation with a reverse mortgage. What retirees need to knowMeanwhile, states are withdrawing from unemployment programs anywhere from mid-June through mid-July.Funds from the child tax credit may help offset some of a household’s lost income if laid-off workers lose unemployment benefits but aren’t able to find a job or return to work.Roughly 46% of households receiving unemployment benefits also have kids under age 18, according to the U.S. Census Bureau’s Household Pulse Survey.”It will help,” according to Heidi Shierholz, director of policy at the Economic Policy Institute, a progressive think tank, and former chief economist at the Department of Labor. “But for most families it will be just a fraction of what they’re losing.”States ending unemployment supplementAt least 23 states have announced their intent to pull out of pandemic-era programs that give recipients an extra $300 a week in unemployment benefits. Most are also ending aid for the self-employed, gig workers, and the long-term unemployed, generally defined as those out of work more than six months.Alaska, Iowa, Mississippi and Missouri are ending that aid June 12, the earliest among the states. Arizona, the last, will do so July 10.The American Rescue Plan offers those federal benefits until Sept. 6.The average person received roughly $2,500 a month in total unemployment benefits in April, according to an analysis of Labor Department data. The analysis includes the $300 weekly federal supplement.However, it will be difficult to fully replace those benefits with monthly credit payments.A household in which one parent receives the average benefit would need to have four children under age 6 and five older kids to get roughly that same amount back in monthly child tax credit payments. The household would also need to qualify for the full credit.The states in question, led by Republican governors, claim that enhanced jobless benefits are contributing to a labor shortage. They believe the funds incentivize workers to stay home instead of looking for a job, creating challenges for businesses trying to hire.Many economists think unemployment benefits may be a contributing factor but dispute that they play a central role.Instead, health risks are likely the primary reason for a reduced labor pool, they said, pointing to an ongoing threat of Covid infection and relatively low vaccination rates among working-age adults.But there are other contributing factors, too, such as early retirement among older workers and child-care challenges due to erratic school and day care closures, according to economists.Child tax creditIn addition to offering enhanced jobless benefits, the American Rescue Plan made temporary changes to the child tax credit.It boosted the maximum annual credit to $3,000 and $3,600 per qualifying child, depending on age and income. That’s up from $2,000 per child. It also pays the credit in monthly installments, which will run from July 15 through year-end.The monthly income stream is an advance payment on half the value of taxpayers’ estimated 2021 child tax credit. The IRS is basing payment amounts on information reported on 2020 tax returns or 2019 returns if those for 2020 aren’t available.Taxpayers receiving funds via direct deposit are likely to receive the payments fastest, said Elaine Maag, a principal research associate at the Urban-Brookings Tax Policy Center. Debit cards and paper checks may take a bit longer to arrive since the IRS needs to mail them, Maag said.The IRS in coming weeks is also opening an online portal that taxpayers can use to update information that may affect the size of their tax credit. They may also opt out of receiving monthly payments and instead choose to get the full amount in a lump sum at tax time in 2022.Delays may also occur if taxpayers update information, such as the number of children, that the IRS then needs to verify, Maag said. The agency will also likely need to undergo additional verification in instances when more than one parent claims the same child on their tax return, she added. More

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    Lockheed Martin and GM partner to develop new moon buggy for NASA astronauts and cargo

    In this articleBALMTGMLockheed Martin and General Motors are partnering to develop a new type of lunar vehicle for NASA to use during its upcoming Artemis missions to the moon, the companies announced Wednesday.”Surface mobility is critical to enable and sustain long-term exploration of the lunar surface. These next-generation rovers will dramatically extend the range of astronauts,” Lockheed Martin executive vice president Rick Ambrose said in a statement.Earlier this year, NASA issued a notice to companies that it “requires a human-class rover that will extend the exploration range of” astronauts during missions for the agency’s Artemis program. The NASA program, announced by former President Donald Trump’s administration and continued under President Joe Biden, consists of multiple missions to the moon’s orbit and surface in the years ahead.NASA’s request for a next-generation lunar vehicle noted it should utilize a variety of cutting-edge technologies, including electric vehicle systems, autonomous driving, and hazardous terrain capabilities.GM has built such a vehicle before, as the company was the major subcontractor that helped Boeing create the lunar roving vehicle that was utilized during three Apollo missions on the moon.Apollo 16 astronaut John Young drives NASA’s Lunar Roving Vehicle (LRV) at the Descartes landing site on the Moon on April 21, 1972.Charles Duke | NASAWhile NASA’s previous rover was capable of reaching nearly driving around the moon at nearly six miles per hour, it traveled less than five miles from the Apollo landing site.Lockheed Martin said its next-generation lunar terrain vehicle is “being designed to traverse significantly farther distances to support the first excursions of the moon’s south pole, where it is cold and dark with more rugged terrain.”—CNBC’s Mike Wayland contributed to this story.Become a smarter investor with CNBC Pro.Get stock picks, analyst calls, exclusive interviews and access to CNBC TV. Sign up to start a free trial today. More

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    It's not a vaccine passport, but more people travel 'CLEAR' post-pandemic

    CLEAR, a New York City-based company that specializes in biometric security and originally got its start speeding travelers through growing airport lines in the post-9/11 era, now sees a major opportunity as the country exits lockdown from the Covid-19 pandemic.CLEAR recently released a product called Health Pass that links Covid-19 health information to biometric identifiers such as your face, eyes and fingerprints. Since Health Pass launched, it has made significant inroads, particularly with stadiums that hold sporting events and need to check the status of many people quickly. In February, 100 vaccinated health-care workers were able to attend the Super Bowl by verifying their status through Health Pass. A third of NBA teams are using the app to enforce their Covid protocols for fans. People attending NHL hockey games in Arizona use Health Pass too.The post-pandemic innovation helped CLEAR rank No. 19 on this year’s CNBC Disruptor 50 list.”What we realized in March of 2020 was that there was going to be a new card in your wallet that was a vaccine card or test results,” CLEAR co-founder and CEO Caryn Seidman-Becker said on CNBC’s “TechCheck” on Wednesday. “So connecting you to your health insights that are Covid-related was just always part of our mission in what we were doing, right aligned with it.”More coverage of the 2021 CNBC Disruptor 50Meet the 2021 CNBC Disruptor 50 companiesWhy Robinhood is the No. 1 companyA look back at the CNBC Disruptor 50: 9 years, 233 companiesWhen disruption becomes a force for good — and badWatch: Plaid, a gateway to Coinbase, on crypto investingDiscord lays out its game theory on the virtual ‘space’ of the futureWatch: Chime CEO on building big financial IPO … but maybe not bankClubhouse has ‘millions more’ waiting to join its audio appHow we choose Disruptor companiesAs more people get vaccinated and concerts, sporting events, and large gatherings re-open, it’s becoming increasingly likely that patrons will have to digitally convey their Covid vaccination or testing status to get admitted.”9/11 changed the way people thought about securing their building or their stadium,” Seidman-Becker said last month at a virtual town hall for members of CNBC’s Technology Executive Council. “It raised the level of consciousness when it came to security, and specifically homeland security.”Not a ‘vaccine passport’The CLEAR CEO stressed that the company’s technology should be not associated with the idea of a vaccine passport. “We are not talking about a vaccine passport. What we are talking about is giving people control and access to their health-care information, which was something that was happening before,” she said on CNBC on Wednesday. “So many trends were accelerated in 2020 and we see this as a material … sustaining trend … people should have access and control of their information.” U.S. officials have said they are largely relying on people being honest about their vaccine status, and retailers and hotel chains have said they don’t plan to check for a proof of a vaccine. However some retailers, like Walmart, have partnered with CLEAR to offer Health Pass.Investment groups aligned with the NFL and restaurant mogul Danny Meyer were among those taking part in a recent round of venture capital for the company, and the Shake Shack founder’s Union Square Hospitality Group has been using the technology for indoor dining’s return.”We’re offering it to employers, but we’re offering it to consumers as well, for free, to connect their health insights to their CLEAR Health Pass,” Seidman-Becker said. “We’re partnered with Walmart, but we’re also partnered with the NBA to help people get back into stadiums or help offices reopen.””Quite frankly, this is a ubiquitous problem, making experiences safer and easier,” she added. More

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    Apple is looking to strike deals with ‘alternative payments’ providers

    Apple CEO Tim Cook speaks about Apple Pay during an Apple special event at the Flint Center for the Performing Arts on September 9, 2014 in Cupertino, California.Getty ImagesApple is looking for a lead negotiator to strike partnerships with “alternative payment” partners, according to a job listing posted on Tuesday.The role, according to the listing, would include screening potential partners, negotiating and signing deals, and launching new programs and features for Apple’s Wallets, Payments, and Commerce team. It will also work with Apple Pay teams.”Lead the partnership program with key players in the Alternative Payments ecosystem, covering the complete process of partner identification, business case development and socialization, partnership negotiation, contract signing and execution, go to market launch and continued partnership value growth,” the job listing says.Like most Apple job listings, it doesn’t mention specific products or partnerships that the role would work on. But it does mention some examples of alternative payments experience that Apple is looking for, including digital wallets, BNPL (buy now pay later, like Affirm), fast payments and cryptocurrency.Apple has a digital wallet app built into the iPhone, called Wallet. When it started in 2012, it could hold digital boarding passes. Over the years, it has grown to include a number of financial services, such as contactless Apple Pay, peer-to-peer payments, the Goldman Sachs-powered Apple Card and loyalty rewards programs.Apple CEO Tim Cook has publicly discussed his vision of a future without physical cash, only digital payments.Apple has not yet announced a feature to allow iPhone users to widely accept payments, except through its peer-to-peer service. But the company has considered the idea. Last year, Apple bought Mobeewave, a startup that built software that allowed devices with NFC chips, like Apple’s iPhones and iPads, to become payment terminals.Apple’s interest in cryptocurrency is less clear. After Tesla invested in Bitcoin this year, some analysts have suggested that Apple should start offering the ability to buy and sell cryptocurrency.But Apple executives have poured cold water on the idea. In 2019, an Apple Pay executive said that the company saw “long-term potential” in cryptocurrency technology but isn’t focused on it. Later that year, Apple CEO Tim Cook shot down the idea of Apple launching its own cryptocurrency, like Facebook’s Diem.An Apple representative didn’t return a request for comment. The job listing was first reported by Coindesk. More

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    CDC director urges caution over Memorial Day weekend for those not vaccinated as U.S. Covid cases, deaths fall

    A healthcare worker holds syringes with the Moderna and Pfizer vaccines against the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) at a vaccination centre, in El Paso, Texas, May 6, 2021.Jose Luis Gonzalez | ReutersThe seven-day average of new U.S. Covid cases fell further on Tuesday to about 24,155 infections per day, according to data compiled by Johns Hopkins University, and the average pace of daily deaths is also on the decline.The latest data from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention shows that half of adult Americans are now fully vaccinated against Covid.For those not vaccinated, CDC Director Dr. Rochelle Walensky urged caution over the upcoming Memorial Day holiday, noting that those who have gotten a shot are protected.”If you are not vaccinated, our guidance has not changed for you,” Walensky said at a White House press briefing Tuesday. “You remain at risk of infection, you still need to mask and take other precautions.”Last year, U.S. Covid cases rose following the holiday weekend, when there were no vaccines available at the time.U.S. Covid casesThe U.S. is reporting an average of about 24,155 infections per day over the past week, down 23% from a week ago and a steep decline from the most recent high point of more than 71,000 cases per day in mid-April.Zoom In IconArrows pointing outwardsA CNBC analysis of Johns Hopkins data shows that average case counts have declined by at least 5% in 41 states and the District of Columbia over the past week.U.S. Covid deathsThe U.S. is seeing an average of 520 Covid deaths per day over the last week, according to Johns Hopkins data.Zoom In IconArrows pointing outwardsThe total number of reported Covid deaths in the U.S. since the start of the pandemic is now about 591,000.U.S. share of the population vaccinatedAbout 50% of the U.S. population has had at least one shot, according to the CDC, with more than 131 million Americans, or almost 40%, fully vaccinated.Zoom In IconArrows pointing outwardsOf those aged 18 and older, about 62% have received at least one dose of a vaccine, while 50% have now been fully vaccinated. President Joe Biden’s goal is to get the share of adults with one dose or more to 70% by July 4.U.S. vaccine shots administeredThe seven-day average of vaccinations administered in the U.S. is 1.8 million per day over the past week, according to CDC data. That figure has hovered between 1.7 and 2 million for more than a week.Zoom In IconArrows pointing outwardsModerna said Tuesday that its vaccine is 100% effective in teens and the company plans to seek Food and Drug Administration approval in early June. The FDA also said that it may not review any new Covid-19 vaccine emergency use authorization requests for the rest of the pandemic unless a company has already begun the process.CNBC Health & Science Read CNBC’s latest coverage of the Covid pandemic:Republicans call for Fauci’s termination over shifting position on Wuhan lab fundingBiden orders closer review of Covid origins as U.S. intel weighs Wuhan lab leak theory CDC is working on new Covid guidance for summer camps now that teens can get vaccineWhite House officials say China hasn’t been ‘completely transparent’ in Covid origin investigationMalaysia now has more Covid cases per million people than India More