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Digital World Acquisition Group, the SPAC that plans to merge with Trump Media and Technology Group, requested a delay for its earnings report.
The delay comes amidst a probe into the SPAC for violating securities regulations.
The SPAC is also pushing to delay the merger with TMTG a year from this September.

The social media app will be developed by Trump Media and Technology Group (TMTG).
Rafael Henrique | LightRocket | Getty Images

Digital World Acquisition Group, the special purpose acquisition company that plans to merge with Trump Media and Technology Group and take it public, is asking for an extension to file its earnings report, according to a regulatory filing Tuesday. 
In a filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission, DWAC said it expects to report within the agency’s five-day grace period of the required filing date. Publicly traded companies are required to report earnings no later than 35 days after a quarter is complete.

DWAC said it had a net loss of about $4.7 million and $6.5 million for the three-month and six-month periods ended June 30, respectively. It said the amounts are still under review and may differ from its reported figures.
Trump Media owns Truth Social, a social network that aspires to rival Twitter, which banned the then-president in January 2021 for his tweets while hundreds of his supporters were storming the U.S. Capitol in a failed attempt to block Congress’s confirmation of Joe Biden’s election. Trump Media’s CEO is former GOP Rep. Devin Nunes, one of Trump’s staunchest allies in Congress.
The delayed earnings release comes after DWAC last week also asked shareholders to extend the deadline for its merger with Trump Media by a year from Sept. 8. A shareholder meeting is tentatively scheduled for Sept. 6.
DWAC did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
Federal prosecutors and the SEC have subpoenaed DWAC as part of its probes into the merger that would take Trump’s firm public and potentially give it access to billions of dollars in capital. DWAC had previously warned that investigations could jeopardize the deal.

Trump has not been accused of wrongdoing related to the DWAC probe. Yet he faces myriad legal woes, including a federal criminal investigation into the removal of records from the White House, a criminal investigation into interference in Georgia’s presidential election process and an ongoing federal criminal investigation into the Jan. 6, 2021, Capitol riot.
The New York Times reported that Patrick Orlando, CEO of DWAC, discussed a deal prior to the SPAC’s initial public offering. This could violate securities laws that aim to prevent SPACs from planning mergers prior to IPOs. SPACs, also known as blank check companies, sell shares before seeking a merger partner.
DWAC’s stock closed up nearly 4% Tuesday at $30.81 – down dramatically from its highs after the Trump deal was announced in October.

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The average price of a new vehicle is an estimated $45,869, according to a recent forecast.
Unless you’re paying cash for a car, you should consider what interest rate you may qualify for based on your credit score.
Lenders also use other factors in their loan determination but your score is an aspect of the purchase that feeds directly into what rate you may get.

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By now, you probably know that prices for new cars have been climbing at a brisk pace, along with many other consumer goods, in the midst of high inflation.
The average cost of a car is an estimated $45,869, according to a recent joint forecast from J.D. Power and LMC Automotive. Adding to the sting are rising interest rates, which make the cost of financing a new vehicle more expensive.

Yet that aspect of the purchase (the rate you get) is what you may have the most control over — through your credit score.
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That important three-digit number typically ranges from 300 to 850 and is used in all sorts of consumer credit decisions. While you likely know that higher scores mean better interest rates for borrowed money, you may not realize how that translates into savings.
For example, based on a credit score ranging up to 850: If you were to finance $45,000 over five years with a score in the 720-to-850 range, the average interest rate would be about 4.7%, according to a FICO (Fair Isaac Corporation) calculator using data as of Aug. 15. That compares to an average rate of nearly 17% for a score falling between 500 and 589.
Dollar-wise, that higher rate would mean paying more than $16,333 extra over the life of the loan ($21,947 for a score below 590 vs. $5,614 with a score of 720 or higher). The chart below illustrates how the payments and total interest paid are higher the lower the score is.

While it’s hard to know which credit score will be used by a lender — they have options — having a general goal of avoiding dings on your credit report helps your score, regardless of the specific one used, experts say.
“Some of the easiest ways to boost your credit score include checking your credit report for errors and keeping your open accounts in good standing — the latter means that you need to pay all your credit bills on time and in full each month,” said Jill Gonzalez, an analyst and spokesperson for personal finance website WalletHub.
“You can also improve your score by keeping unused accounts open, as this helps build a long credit history which is essential for a good credit score,” she said.

Be aware that loan approval is not based solely on that three-digit number, said Gonzalez.
“Lenders don’t only look at your credit score, as it doesn’t tell the full story,” she said. “They will also check your full credit report, as well as employment status, income and other assets or monthly expenses.”

Figure out what you can afford

To check for mistakes and get a sense of what lenders would see if they pull your credit report, you can get a free copy from each of the three big credit reporting firms — Equifax, Experian and TransUnion. Those reports are available weekly for free through the end of this year due to the pandemic. (In typical years, you can only get them for free once annually.)
If you’re unsure where to start, there are online calculators — including one from WalletHub — that can help you figure out how much car you can realistically afford.
“After you’ve established that, you can start by contacting local banks and credit unions to find the best interest rate, and see if they’ll pre-approve you,” Gonzalez said.

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If you’re still waiting on a tax refund, you may be earning interest on your unpaid balance, and the rate jumps to 6% on Oct. 1, according to the IRS.
Typically, the IRS has 45 days to process your tax return and issue a refund before interest starts to accrue.
However, “it’s taxable, so be prepared to report it,” warned Tommy Lucas, financial advisor at Moisand Fitzgerald Tamayo.

JGI/Tom Grill

How to calculate your interest

The interest is an annual rate compounded daily, meaning you divide the 6% rate by 365, explained Tommy Lucas, a certified financial planner and enrolled agent at Moisand Fitzgerald Tamayo in Orlando, Florida.
With the average brick-and-mortar savings account paying well below 1%, the IRS interest may sound appealing. However, it’s still lower than annual inflation, which grew by 8.5% in July.

And with the average 2021 tax refund at more than $3,000, many filers would rather have their payment on time, Lucas said.

For perspective, in 2020, the IRS reported that the average refund interest check on 2019 federal returns was $18. Interest rates at that time were 5% during the second quarter, and 3% during the third quarter.

‘It’s taxable, so be prepared to report it’

While the interest may offer some solace, there’s a downside: “It’s taxable, so be prepared to report it,” Lucas said.
If you’re paid interest for a delayed refund, you can expect to receive Form 1099-INT from the IRS, which must be included on your tax return, he said.  

It’s taxable, so be prepared to report it.

Tommy Lucas
financial advisor at Moisand Fitzgerald Tamayo

“If it doesn’t cross-check, they’re going to flag it and your return is going to get held up,” Lucas said. “Don’t forget about that interest because they will expect you to include it on Schedule B.”
He said delayed tax refunds and interest payments speak to the importance of filing an error-free return to avoid processing delays.   
As of Aug. 5, there were 9.7 million unprocessed individual 2021 tax returns, according to the IRS, with 1.8 million requiring “error correction or other special handling.”

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Walmart CEO Doug McMillon said in a CNBC interview that even wealthier families are looking to save money, as they feel pinched by the high price of groceries.
“People are really price-focused now, regardless of income level” he said.
Food prices are up 10.9% over the past 12 months as of July, with many items like eggs, coffee and lunch meat up even more. 

Walmart CEO Doug McMillon said even wealthier families are penny-pinching as inflation drives up the price of groceries.
In an interview Tuesday on CNBC’s “Squawk on the Street,” the leader of the nation’s largest grocer said sales in the fiscal second quarter got a lift from new customers and more frequent trips from households with an annual income of $100,000 or more. The retailer reported earnings and revenue that beat expectations for the three-month period, after slashing its profit outlook last month.

“People are really price-focused now, regardless of income level” McMillon told CNBC’s Courtney Reagan. “And the longer this lasts, the more that’s going to be the case.”
Inflation has soared at its fastest rate in decades. The prices consumers pay for goods and services were up 8.5% in July from a year ago, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics. Gas prices have declined recently, but grocery prices remain very elevated.
Food prices are up 10.9% over the past 12 months as of July. Many everyday items have jumped far higher, including egg prices that are up 38% and coffee prices that are up more than 20%.
McMillon said that prices for food began ticking up late last year and that the company noticed changing shopping patterns for consumers even at higher income levels around mid-March. As people felt stretched by summer vacations or saved up for the back-to-school season, he said they started to buy less apparel and other discretionary merchandise — a dynamic the discounter expects will continue.
Plus, McMillon added, he is not sure that food prices have peaked. Yet he said “it’s a conflicting period when you look across the data.”
For instance, the retailer has had to cancel orders and mark down a lot of discretionary merchandise as people spend more on necessities. On the other hand, he said back-to-school supplies are selling well, as is low-priced men’s flannel.

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Homebuilder cancellation rates have more than doubled since April, according to surveys by John Burns Real Estate Consulting.
Nationwide, about 63,000 deals on existing homes fell through in July, or about 16% of homes that went under contract that month, according to Redfin. Cancellations were 12.5% in July 2021.

Rising costs and falling confidence in the U.S. economy are fast becoming a toxic cocktail for the housing market. As a result, a growing number of buyers are backing out of deals they’ve made with homebuilders and sellers of existing homes.
Homebuilder cancellation rates have more than doubled since April, according to surveys by John Burns Real Estate Consulting. In July, 17.6% of builder contracts fell through, compared with 8% in April and 7.5% in July 2021.

Texas and the broader Southwest are seeing the biggest jumps in builder cancellations, at 27% and 25%, respectively. Many Americans migrated to the Southwest during the early days of the Covid pandemic. Cancellations are also higher than the national average in Northern California and the Northwest, at 23% and 19%, respectively.
The reasons for the cancellations are twofold: Some buyers are no longer qualifying for their mortgages at today’s higher rates and therefore can’t close on the homes once completed. (Mortgages for new home contracts are often calculated before the home is built.)

And, some buyers are simply walking away of their own accord, concerned about inflation and the potential for home values to drop. This can mean giving up pricey deposits, but state laws vary widely on the requirement for builders to refund cash deposits.
“California buyers can pretty much walk from the closing table and get a refund,” said Jody Kahn, senior vice president of research at JBREC. “Also, builders have a lot of flexibility on what they require for cash deposits and they can choose to be more or less lenient in refunding.”

Contractors work on a home under construction in Antioch, California, on Tuesday, June 14, 2022.
David Paul Morris | Bloomberg | Getty Images

The story is much the same with contracts on existing homes. Nationwide, about 63,000 of those agreements fell through in July, or about 16% of homes that went under contract that month, according to Redfin. Cancellations were 12.5% in July 2021.

“The majority of the time the sellers are losing more than the buyers when the cancellations occur,” said Heather Kruayai, a Redfin agent. “The buyers are cancelling within their due diligence period and are able to retain the binder deposit. The sellers are therefore losing time on the market as they have to change the status of their listing from active to contingent accepting backups.”
Cancellations on existing homes are particularly high in Florida, which saw a massive influx of buyers during the first year of the pandemic and also saw some of the strongest home price appreciation in the nation during that time.
The city of Jacksonville saw the most contracts canceled in the state, about 800 agreements in July, or 29.3% of homes that went under contract. Orlando, Daytona, Palm Bay and Pensacola also saw some of the highest cancellations, in addition to Las Vegas and San Antonio.

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Walmart topped analysts’ expectations for earnings and revenue in the fiscal second quarter, even as consumers pulled back in discretionary categories like apparel.
The retailer’s profits are under pressure, but it is wooing more middle- and higher-income customers who have turned to the discounter for low-priced food and essentials because of inflation.
The company reiterated its outlook for the back half of the year.

A shopper wearing a protective mask shops in a Walmart store on May 18, 2021 in Hallandale Beach, Florida.
Joe Raedle | Getty Images

Walmart on Tuesday said sales grew more than 8%, but profits tightened in the fiscal second quarter, as consumers turned to the discounter for groceries and essentials.
Shares rose more than 4% in premarket trading.

The retailer’s results surpassed analysts’ expectations, but echoed its profit warning last month, when Walmart said inflation-pinched shoppers were buying less high-margin discretionary merchandise like apparel as they spent more on necessities.
Walmart reiterated its forecast for the back half of the year, even as it sells through a glut of inventory. It expects same-store sales for Walmart U.S. to grow by about 3%, excluding fuel, for the second half of the year, or about 4% for the full year. It anticipates adjusted earnings per share will decline between 9% and 11% for the full year.
Some of Walmart’s sales gains came from inflation, which is driving up prices of food and other items. The retailer’s reputation as a discounter is also attracting more middle- and high-income shoppers, Chief Financial Officer John David Rainey told CNBC. About three quarters of Walmart’s market share gains in food came from customers with annual household incomes of $100,000 or more. 
Read more: Walmart strikes streaming deal with Paramount+
Walmart also sees signs of a budget-strapped consumer who is trading down “in terms of quality and quantity,” he said. For example, he said, shoppers are increasingly using credit more than debit, he said. They are opting for smaller packages of food and buying items like canned tuna and beans instead of deli meats and beef. 

“Clearly, they’re stressed from higher gas prices, higher food prices and even housing,” he said.
Walmart’s own brands, which typically cost less, have also gained momentum. Sales of the private label products are growing two time as fast as in the first quarter, Rainey said.
Here’s what Walmart reported for the fiscal second quarter ended July 31, compared with Refinitiv consensus estimates:

Earnings per share: $1.77 adjusted vs. $1.62 expected
Revenue: $152.86 billion reported vs. $150.81 billion expected

Walmart’s net income for the quarter rose to $5.15 billion, or $1.88 per share, compared with $4.28 billion, or $1.52 per share a year earlier. 
Same-store sales for Walmart U.S. grew 6.5% in the second quarter, excluding fuel, compared with the year-ago period. That was higher than the 5.9% growth that analysts expected, according to StreetAccount.
E-commerce sales rose 12% compared with the year-ago period and 18% on a two-year basis.
The company reported low double-digit comparable sales growth in grocery and high single-digit gains in health and wellness. Sales of general merchandise fell mid-single-digits, due to softness in electronics, apparel and home products, the company said.
Back-to-school sales are off to a strong start, as parents buy backpacks and other supplies, Rainey said.
Walmart’s news sent shares of retail rival Target about 3% higher in premarket trading, too. Target is set to report its latest quarterly results on Wednesday morning.

Selling through excess inventory

Both Walmart and Target issued warnings in recent months that they needed to discount some items to try to get them off of shelves and out of store backrooms before the all-important holiday season, which would hit profits in the near term.
Apparel, for example, saw a sharp drop in the past six months at Walmart. CEO Doug McMillon told analysts on a conference call on Tuesday that its inventory position reflects strange comparisons, too, as it laps a year-ago period with unusually strong demand and higher out-of-stocks.
Walmart’s inventory levels in the U.S. were up 25.6% in the second quarter compared with a year ago, which the company said was mainly due to inflation and higher levels of general merchandise.
Rainey told CNBC that 40% of the $11 billion of higher inventory reflects increased costs of goods from inflation. About $1.5 billion is the amount that Walmart would like to “wave a magic wand” to make disappear, he said.
Walmart is selling through that excess merchandise with markdowns and has “canceled billions of dollars in order to help align inventory levels with expected demand,” Rainey said on an earnings call. He estimated that about 15% of the company’s inventory growth is above the levels that it wants.
McMillon told analysts on a conference call that Walmart has found ways to cut costs, too. For example, he said Walmart reduced the number of shipping containers in its system by more than half from first-quarter levels to bring them much closer to historical averages, he said.
He said that Walmart will have a cleaner inventory position by the time Halloween rolls around.
“I expect a strong finish to the back-to-school season and we will quickly transition to the holidays,” he told analysts.
Walmart’s membership-based warehouse club, Sam’s Club, has also attracted new customers amid inflation. Membership hit an all-time high in the quarter. Same-store sales for the club grew 9.5%, excluding fuel, slightly below the 10.1% expected, according to StreetAccount.
As of Monday’s close, Walmart shares are down about 8% so far this year. Shares closed on Monday at $132.60, bringing the company’s market value to $363.48 billion.
Read the company’s earnings release here.
CNBC’s Lauren Thomas contributed to this report.

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Authentic Brands Group, the retail conglomerate that owns businesses including Reebok, Forever 21 and Juicy Couture, has struck a deal to buy U.K. fashion chain Ted Baker.
The deal value represents a premium of roughly 18% to Ted Baker’s closing price Monday.
The announcement resolves months of speculation around the future of the British fashion moniker, which put itself up for sale amid pandemic-related hardships.

A branch of Ted Baker stands on Regent Street in London, England.
Jack Taylor | Getty Images News | Getty Images

Authentic Brands Group, the retail conglomerate that owns businesses including Reebok, Forever 21 and Juicy Couture, has struck a deal to buy U.K. fashion chain Ted Baker for about £211 million, or $254 million.
The deal value, which would pay 110 pence cash for each Ted Baker share, represents a premium of roughly 18% to its closing price Monday. The company is listed on the London Stock Exchange.

Ted Baker said that its board will unanimously recommend that shareholders vote for the deal.
After completion, ABG said it intends to separate the Ted Baker business into an intellectual property holding company that would remain controlled by ABG, plus one or more operating companies that would manage the brand’s stores, e-commerce operations and wholesale business.
ABG also said it will explore options to transfer full or partial ownership and control of some or all of those separate operating companies to other partners.
Tuesday’s announcement resolves months of speculation around the future of the British fashion moniker, which was forced to put itself up for sale earlier this year amid Covid pandemic-related hardships.
Ted Baker rejected several bids from private equity chain Sycamore Partners before launching its own sale process. ABG had also at one point held talks with Ted Baker about a deal before it walked away.

ABG founder and Chief Executive Officer Jamie Salter said in a statement issued Tuesday that the Ted Baker brand is “highly regarded” by consumers globally.
“We are excited to build on the brand’s global foundation through a business model focused on licensing, wholesale, retail, digital and strategic marketing partnerships,” he said.
Ted Baker is also in the midst of its own turnaround plans and hopes to profit from the continued strength of luxury demand, even as inflation persists and consumers have pulled back their spending on other nondiscretionary items.
The strength in luxury retail has prompted more M&A activity in this sector, while British companies have become more affordable for overseas buyers due to the pound’s weakness.

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Polestar’s O2 roadster concept will go into production in 2026 as the Polestar 6.
The O2 show car drew strongly positive reactions when it was revealed in Los Angeles in March.
The new roadster will use advanced EV technology currently in development for the Polestar 5 luxury sedan flagship, expected in 2025.

Polestar O2 electric roadster concept
Source: Polestar

Swedish electric vehicle maker Polestar said Tuesday that a popular electric roadster that it showed off earlier this year will officially go into production. But interested buyers will have to wait more than three years to get their hands on the new model.
Polestar’s O2 roadster concept, first revealed in Los Angeles in March, will enter production in 2026 as the Polestar 6, the company announced.

“With the overwhelming consumer and press response, we took the decision to put this stunning roadster into production and I am so excited to make it a reality,” said CEO Thomas Ingenlath.
The model will feature a retractable hardtop roof, an 800-volt electric architecture allowing for speedy recharging, and a lot of power: Up to 884 horsepower, Polestar said, from a dual-motor powertrain that will catapult the edgy roadster from zero to 62 mph in 3.2 seconds.  
Polestar has a long to-do list to complete before the roadster goes into production. The company has already announced plans to launch three new models — an SUV, a coupe-like crossover and a flagship luxury sedan, called Polestar 3, 4 and 5, respectively — by the end of 2025. The first of those, the Polestar 3 SUV, will go into production at a U.S. Volvo factory this fall.
The new roadster will share key systems with the Polestar 5 sedan, including that 800-volt architecture, the company said.  
Polestar, founded as a joint venture between Volvo Cars and Chinese automaker Geely, went public via a merger with a special purpose acquisition company in June. The company said last month that it’s on track to deliver 50,000 vehicles in 2022, a key step toward its longstanding goal of selling 290,000 vehicles worldwide in 2025.
Polestar said that interested customers can make a reservation for the roadster starting Tuesday. But take note: pricing hasn’t yet been announced.

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