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Only one of Donald Trump’s federal income tax returns began being audited by the IRS when he served as president, despite the tax agency being mandated to conduct such examinations, a House panel said in a new report.
And that audit for his 2016 return was not completed by the time Trump left office in January 2021, the report by the Ways and Means Committee found.
The report was released shortly after the Democrat-led panel voted along party lines to authorize the public release of redacted copies of Trump’s tax returns in coming days.

Former U.S. President Donald Trump speaks at a rally to support Republican candidates ahead of midterm elections, in Dayton, Ohio, November 7, 2022.
Gaelen Morse | Reuters

Only one of Donald Trump’s annual federal income tax returns began being audited by the IRS when he served as president, despite the agency having a policy dating to 1977 of conducting mandatory tax examinations of sitting presidents, a House committee said in a new report Tuesday evening.
And that IRS audit of Trump’s 2016 income tax return was not completed by the time he left office in January 2021, the report by the Ways and Means Committee found.

And neither of two Trump-related business entities that the IRS told the committee were part of the mandatory examination program was designated for an audit in five of the six years covered by an investigation, according to the report.
And in that sixth year, in 2017, there is “no indication” the entities’ tax returns were designated for audit, the report found.
“Clearly, the mandatory audit program was dormant, at best, during the prior Administration,” the report said.
The report was released shortly after the Democrat-led panel voted along party lines to authorize the public release of redacted copies of Trump’s federal tax returns and those of eight related business entities in coming days.
Those returns were obtained from the IRS after Trump lost a three-year legal battle, which ended with the Supreme Court ruling against him, in an effort to prevent the committee from getting the records.

Rep. Richard Neal, D-Mass., the chairman of the Ways and Means Committee, in a statement with the report said, “We anticipated the IRS would expand the mandatory audit program to account for the complex nature of the former president’s financial situation yet found no evidence of that.”
“This is a major failure of the IRS under the prior administration, and certainly not what we had hoped to find,” Neal said.
The report found that when Trump was in the White House, the IRS failed to designate for mandatory audit Trump’s tax return for 2015, when he was running for president, and then again for the returns filed for the 2017, 2018, 2019 and 2020 tax years.
“The former President’s individual income tax returns filed in 2018, 2019, and 2020 were not selected for examination until after he left office and only the 2016 tax return was subject to a mandatory examination,” the report said.
And, “Notably, the IRS sent a letter to the former President notifying him that his tax year 2015return was selected for examination on April 3, 2019, which is the date the Chairman sent theinitial request to the IRS for the former President’s return information and related tax return.”
The Ways and Means Committee report recommended that there should be a statutory requirement that a president’s tax returns be audited by the IRS each year, “with disclosure of certain audit information and related returns in a timely manner.”
“Such statutory requirement would ensure the integrity of the IRS, enable IRS employees to fully audit all issues, and restore confidence in the Federal tax system,” the report said.
House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif., in a statement late Tuesday night said the House “will move swiftly to advance Chairman Richard Neal’s legislation requiring the Internal Revenue Service to conduct an annual audit of the President’s finances.”
Trump has refused for years to voluntarily disclose his returns to the public, claiming they were being audited by the IRS.
The tax agency in 1977 adopted an internal policy that supposedly requires mandatory audits of sitting presidents and vice presidents.
But the report said that since then, “Congress has been told nothing about the operation ofthis program.”
“Until recently, the Committee did not know for certain whether the IRS conducted thesemandatory examinations and, if so, whether they were in accordance with this policy, thorough,and fair,” the report said.
Read the Ways and Means Committee’s report on Trump’s tax returns and the IRS review of them here.

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ESG Impact Events

The incoming Republican leader of the House Financial Services Committee, North Carolina’s Patrick McHenry, told executives at the recent CNBC CFO Council Summit in Washington, D.C., that he will focus on oversight of new SEC climate disclosure rule, but he pushed back against being branded as anti-ESG.
States including Texas are using public fund money as a way to gain leverage against investments managers including BlackRock that prod companies on ESG issues like oil production and climate change.
Some House Republicans want TSP, the largest defined contribution plan in the world that benefits federal employees and military service members, to ban ESG funds from its portfolio lineup.

Rep. Patrick McHenry (R-NC) and Chairman of the House Financial Service Committee Maxine Waters (D-CA) listen as David Marcus, CEO of Facebook’s Calibra, testifies on “Examining Facebook’s Proposed Cryptocurrency and Its Impact on Consumers, Investors, and the American Financial System” on Capitol Hill in Washington, U.S., July 17, 2019.
Joshua Roberts | Reuters

Republicans hoping that red-state campaigns against green investing might go national as their party takes over Congress next month may be in for a disappointment.
Incoming House Financial Services chairman Patrick McHenry, a North Carolina Republican, gave no indications he plans to push a federal version of new state laws designed to isolate firms that focus on so-called ESG investing, which emphasizes the environmental, social or corporate governance records of companies they invest in, when he spoke at the recent CNBC CFO Council Summit in Washington. D.C. to an audience of top chief financial officers from companies across the market.

He also pushed back against being characterized as a “vocal opponent” of ESG.
“I don’t think that’s a proper characterization of my view,” McHenry said in an interview with CNBC Senior Congressional Correspondent Ylan Mui. He is concerned about corporations leaning into politics and potentially away from a focus on the bottom line for shareholders and beneficial owners, “and they are doing so for the sake of Washington regulatory permission. What I think corporations should do is focus on their key knitting,” he said.
States led by Texas and West Virginia have passed laws that purport to ban state agencies from doing business with financial firms that “boycott” fossil fuels. But McHenry, rated as one of the most moderate House Republicans by non-profit GovTrack US, didn’t seem interested in that approach. 
Instead, he said, he’ll focus on oversight of a pending Securities and Exchange Commission rule that is set to force companies to make detailed disclosures about greenhouse gas emissions in their operating business, their use of electricity from carbon-burning sources like coal and natural gas, and emissions produced when people and other companies use their products.
“Some legislation being kicked around is misguided,” McHenry told CFOs. “It plays politics with corporations, in the name of having corporations not play politics.”

But there is legislation on Capitol Hill sponsored by some Republicans that would take an approach similar to the state actions.
The “No ESG at TSP” Act, sponsored by Texas Republican Chip Roy, would prohibit TSP from allowing participants to invest their retirement savings in funds that make investment decisions based on environmental, social, governance, or political criteria, according to Roy’s office. TSP is the largest defined contribution plan in the world and benefits federal employees and military service members.
All of the initial cosponsors of Roy’s bill are members of the House Freedom Caucus, a group of about 40 of the chamber’s most ardent professed conservatives, who are engaged in a battle with Republican Leader Kevin McCarthy over who will be Speaker when the party takes over the House in January. A bill by the same name has been introduced in the Senate by Utah’s Mike Lee, whom the right-wing interest group Heritage Action rates as 22% more conservative than the average Senate Republican.
Roy did not respond to multiple requests for comment. His bill co-sponsor, South Carolina congressman Ralph Norman, provided a statement to CNBC, saying, “While it’s our hope that we crack down on this ESG nonsense, incoming-Chair McHenry will decide the direction the committee takes. Ultimately, we need severe oversight, first and foremost, and to stop all the other ridiculousness coming from this Administration in our Committee’s jurisdiction – including ESG.”
McHenry emphasized that he supports many parts of ESG, singling out its emphasis on responsible corporate governance, which he said does “have a significant bearing on economic outcomes.”
The House Financial Services Committee is leading inquiries into bankrupt crypto company FTX, which has been described by its own new CEO John Ray as a “complete failure” of governance. McHenry cited the fact that FTX had no board of directors. “Governance does matter, but when we get into the question of environment policy, it’s necessary for Congress to tackle climate change,” McHenry said at the CNBC event. “That doesn’t put me in opposition to governance standards or sustainability generally.”
On climate change, McHenry said it’s not primarily corporations’ job to lead the fight: Instead, he said, leadership should come from Congress and other policy makers.
“It’s necessary for Congress to tackle climate change, rather than regulation that foists onto large corporations to carry out what Congress should carry out,” said McHenry, whose career voting record on climate issues is rated as 6 out of 100 by the League of Conservation Voters.
McHenry is critical of the SEC’s proposed rule, and said oversight of the SEC’s implementation of the standard will be a focus of the committee. “The primary role for climate response should be driven by public office holders. … The SEC needs severe oversight, real oversight, in response to what the SEC is trying to implement very quickly,” he said.
SEC spokeswoman Aisha Johnson declined to comment on timing of regulatory items, but said that on average rules like this can take 18 to 24 months to move from proposal to final adoption. The commission reopened the public comment period on the rules in October.
A Democrat on the committee said McHenry’s oversight risks doing what the chairman criticized: Interfering with the movement of capital in the private sector toward mitigating climate change. And he described the forthcoming rules as a down payment on rules letting investors know more about the environmental risks of companies they invest in.
“That is a pro-market solution, that is a pro-transparency solution,” said Sean Casten, a a Democratic congressman from Illinois and former clean energy entrepreneur and CEO who co-authored the legislation that directed the SEC to draft the forthcoming rule. “If we decide First Solar is ‘woke,” and Exxon is not, we’re condemning the Thrift Savings Plan to crappy [long-term] returns,” he said. More

Car companies are rapidly expanding technologies that can control the acceleration, braking and steering of a vehicle. In some cases, allowing drivers to not control the car for miles at a time.
CNBC’s Michael Wayland recently tested ADAS from Tesla, GM and Ford. Their systems are among the most readily available and dynamic on the market.
To be clear, no vehicle on sale today is self-driving or autonomous. Drivers always need to pay attention.

The 2023 Lincoln Corsair will offer the company’s next-generation ActiveGlide hands-free advanced driver assistance system (ADAS) for highway driving including lane-changing, in-lane positioning and predictive speed assist.

DETROIT – Letting go is hard. Even if major automakers want to make it easier.
Car companies are rapidly expanding technologies that can control the acceleration, braking and steering of a vehicle. In some cases, allowing drivers to ease off the steering wheel or pedals for miles at a time.

The systems – formally known as advanced driver assistance systems (ADAS) – have the potential to unlock new revenue streams for companies while easing driver fatigue and improving safety on the road. But automakers have largely built their systems independent of one another, without industry-standard guidelines by federal regulators. That means years into development, “hands-free” or “semi-autonomous” can mean something very different in the hands of rival automakers.
To be clear, no vehicle on sale today is self-driving or autonomous. Drivers always need to pay attention. Current ADAS mostly use a suite of cameras, sensors and mapping data to assist the driver and also monitor the driver’s attentiveness.
The automaker most often discussed alongside ADAS is Tesla, which has a range of technologies that it haphazardly calls “Autopilot” and “Full Self-Driving Capability,” among other names. (The vehicles do not fully drive themselves.) But General Motors, Ford Motor and others are quickly releasing or improving their own systems and expanding them to new vehicles.
I recently tested ADAS from Tesla, GM and Ford. Their systems are among the most readily available and dynamic on the market. However, none of them were close to flawless during my time behind the wheel.
And even small differences across the systems can have a big impact on driver safety and confidence.

GM’s Super Cruise

I initially tested GM’s system a decade ago on a closed track, and the automaker’s years developing Super Cruise have clearly paid off in overall performance, safety and clear communication with the driver. It’s the best-performing and most consistent system.
GM initially released Super Cruise on a Cadillac sedan in 2017 – two years after Tesla’s Autopilot – before expanding it to 12 vehicles in recent years. It aims to make Super Cruise available on 22 cars, trucks and SUVs globally by the end of 2023.
The system allows drivers to operate “hands-free” when driving on more than 400,000 miles of pre-mapped divided highways in the U.S. and Canada. (Ford has mapped 150,000 miles, and Tesla’s system hypothetically operates on any highway.)

When the steering-wheel light bar illuminates in green with GM’s Super Cruise, drivers may remove their hands from the steering wheel.
Michael Wayland / CNBC

Super Cruise is the front-runner when it comes to highway driving and can handle most challenges, including curves and many construction zones. Its newest updates also added automatic lane changes that work quite well to maintain a set speed by avoiding slower vehicles.
Over hundreds of miles driving the system, I was able to regularly engage Super Cruise for upward of 30 minutes, even stretching one stint to more than an hour without ever having to take control of the vehicle. When Super Cruise did disengage, it would typically be available again minutes, if not seconds, later.
The majority of problems I experienced were likely due to outdated mapping data that the system requires to operate, according to GM. When there’s newly finished construction or heavier temporary work being done, GM’s system defaults to returning control back to the driver until the road is properly pre-mapped.
GM says it has produced more than 40,000 vehicles equipped with Super Cruise, though not all of those represent active users, and has racked up more 45 million hands-free miles.
Pricing for the system varies based on vehicle and brand — $2,500 for a Cadillac, for example — and carries a subscription cost of $25 per month or $250 per year after a free trial period.

Ford’s BlueCruise

Ford’s system is the newest of the three automakers and is similar to GM’s. Besides pre-mapping and stated capabilities, both systems feature in-vehicle infrared cameras to ensure drivers are paying attention. But if GM’s system is a capable and confident “driver,” Ford’s is still a teenager learning, albeit very quickly.
Ford’s system – marketed as Ford BlueCruise and ActiveGlide for Lincoln – first became available in July 2021, though the company has already expanded the systems to more than 109,000 enrolled vehicles with more than 35 million hands-free driving miles through the end of November.
Pricing for Ford’s system varies based on the brand and vehicle. It can be part of optional packages that run roughly $2,000 and include other features for the 2023 Ford F-150 and Mustang Mach-E. Like GM, it requires a subscription after trial periods.
Also like GM, Ford’s system functions well on highways … that is until it doesn’t. It’s less predictable and specifically struggles with larger or sharper curves, construction zones and under other circumstances a human driver would easily be able to handle.

Ford’s BlueCruise system as displayed on a Mustang Mach-E electric crossover.

The longest I was able to go hands-free with Ford’s system during my test drives, which largely took place on I-75 and a construction-laden I-94 in rural and urban areas of Michigan, was 20 minutes and about 25 miles.
That’s a problem when you’re attempting to ease driver fatigue and increase drivers’ confidence in such systems.
“Having it randomly disengage when you’re approaching curves in the road, it’s not good enough,” said Sam Abuelsamid, a principal analyst at Guidehouse Insights, who specializes in advanced and emerging automotive technologies.
Chris Billman, chief engineer of ADAS vehicle systems integration at Ford, stressed that the company is being overly cautious with its system at this stage. Despite the warnings to retake control, the system is designed to remain in operation until the driver takes over.
Billman said the system disengages on most large highway curves because it’s not currently designed to slow the vehicle down ahead of a curve – something Super Cruise launched with in 2017. That’s expected to be improved with the system’s next major update, beginning early next year.

Ford’s BlueCruise system displayed on the driver information cluster of an F-150 pickup truck.

Ford could also improve its system’s interactions with the driver. GM uses a lightbar on the steering wheel and communications in the driver cluster — the best communication features among the three current systems.
That’s not to say Super Cruise isn’t still learning.
Both Ford and GM systems would have likely hit a temporary concrete construction barrier if I hadn’t taken over and disengaged on a large S-curve roadway near Detroit.
Super Cruise and BlueCruise both disengaged several times for what seemed like no reason, only to reengage quickly after. Super Cruise also attempted to merge into a breakdown lane or median in a newly finished construction zone, while Ford’s did a similar maneuver halfway through a curve.
And of course, neither system operates on city streets like Tesla’s.

Then there’s Tesla

Tesla’s technology is by far the most ambitious of the three and operates well on the highway. But it can be nerve-wracking, if not dangerous, on city streets, specifically turning into traffic.
Tesla vehicles come standard with an ADAS known as Autopilot. However, owners can upgrade the system with additional features, for a cost. The Full Self-Driving (FSD) upgrade currently costs $15,000 at the time you purchase a vehicle, or a monthly subscription opted into later costs between $99 and $199 depending on the vehicle, according to Tesla’s website.
I was able to use three Tesla levels of the system with varying functionality in a Tesla Model 3 built in 2019. Driving with the FSD Beta (version 10.69.3.1) was among the most stressful driving moments in my life (and I’ve had a lot!).
During a limited test on the highway, Tesla’s systems functioned very well. The trip included automatic lane changes and navigation-based exiting, although it did overshoot one exit ramp due to traffic. GM and Ford don’t currently link navigation to ADAS.
Tesla’s ADAS is also able to identify traffic lights on city streets and act accordingly, which was very impressive.
One of my biggest problems with Tesla’s system on the highway was how frequently it asked me to “check in” – an action that requires tugging on the steering wheel to prove the driver is physically in the driver’s seat and paying attention. The “check-ins” take some getting used to so the system doesn’t disengage.

I also struggled with the car’s communication about when the system was engaged.
Unlike Ford and GM that prominently show when the system is engaged, the only indication that Tesla’s ADAS is engaged is a tiny steering wheel icon – smaller than a dime – in the top left of the vehicle’s center screen. (The Tesla Model 3 doesn’t have display screens in front of the driver.)
That means to confirm whether the system is engaged, the driver has to actually look away from the road. And if the system disengages it doesn’t communicate that very well, leaving the driver unaware when the system is operating and anxious.
Such problems were even more striking while FSD Beta was operating on surface streets. In addition to the highway problems, the system – as documented in countless YouTube videos – has difficulties with some turns.
Add in what’s known locally as a “Michigan left” – a median U-turn crossover – and the system turns into the equivalent of a young, if not dangerous, student driver. At one point while performing such a maneuver, the Tesla stopped across not one, but three lanes of traffic as it attempted to make the turn before I overtook the system.

On straight, crowded streets of suburban Detroit, Tesla’s system largely worked well. But it lacked the experience to recognize human driver nuances such as stopping to allow others into a lane. It also had some difficulties with lane changes and seemed to be lost when lane markings were not available.
All of these concerns are why no other company has released a system like Tesla’s FSD Beta, which has been criticized for using its customers as test mules. Tesla did not respond to a request for comment on this article.
CEO Elon Musk for several years has promised the vehicles would be capable of fully driving themselves. In a recent argument in response to a lawsuit filed in California, Tesla said that its “failure” to realize such a “long-term, aspirational goal” didn’t amount to fraud and that it would only achieve full autonomous driving “through constant and rigorous improvements.”

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Mortgage applications to refinance a home jumped 6% last week as interest rates hit their lowest level since September.
Applications to purchase a home decreased 0.1% for the week, during a traditionally slow season for the housing market.

A property for sale in Monterey Park, California
Frederic J. Brown | AFP | Getty Images

Mortgage interest rates dropped again last week, and while that did little to bolster demand from homebuyers, it did send homeowners looking for savings on their monthly payments.
Applications to refinance a home loan jumped 6% last week from the previous week, according to the Mortgage Bankers Association’s seasonally adjusted index. Volume, however, was still 85% lower than the same week one year ago.

The average contract interest rate for 30-year fixed-rate mortgages with conforming loan balances ($647,200 or less) decreased to 6.34% from 6.42%, with points decreasing to 0.59 from 0.64 (including the origination fee) for loans with a 20% down payment.
Mortgage applications to purchase a home decreased 0.1% for the week and were 36% lower than the same week one year ago. This is historically the slowest time of the year for housing, and while rates are lower than they were a month ago, they are still more than twice what they were a year ago.
“The latest data on the housing market show that homebuilders are pulling back the pace of new construction in response to low levels of traffic, and we expect this weakness in demand will persist in 2023, as the U.S. is likely to enter a recession,” said Mike Fratantoni, MBA’s chief economist. “However, if mortgage rates continue to trend down, as we are forecasting, more buyers are likely to return to the market later in the year, as affordability improves with both lower rates and slower home-price growth.”
But rates started this week higher and continued to move up sharply Tuesday, after the Bank of Japan shocked global markets by changing its monetary policy. A separate survey from Mortgage News Daily showed the average rate on the 30-year fixed jumping 11 basis points.
“This isn’t the sort of thing that’s likely to have an ongoing impact on US rates in the short term,” wrote Matthew Graham, chief operating officer at Mortgage News Daily. “Moreover, the impact was bigger than it otherwise would have been due to the time of year.”
Rates are now close to 25 basis points higher than they were last week Thursday.

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The National Football League is close to inking a deal with Google’s YouTube TV for Sunday Ticket rights, according to people familiar with the matter.
The deal does not include a stake in NFL Media, the league’s other media property that was on the table, the people said.
The league had been aiming for a partnership with a streaming service after DirecTV had been the longtime holder of Sunday Ticket rights.

New England Patriots tight end Hunter Henry (85) celebrates his touchdown run against the Cleveland Browns during the third quarter at FirstEnergy Stadium, Oct. 16, 2022.
Scott Galvin | USA Today Sports | Reuters

The National Football League is finalizing a deal for the rights to its subscription-only package of games known as Sunday Ticket with Google’s YouTube TV, according to people familiar with the matter.
The league has been in negotiations for months for the rights to the package, long held by DirecTV, with the aim of inking an agreement with a streaming service to broaden the NFL’s reach and partnership.

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The deal, however, will not include a stake in NFL Media, which includes the linear cable channels NFL Network and RedZone, which the league has been shopping alongside the Sunday Ticket rights, one of the people said. The sources asked not to be named because discussions are ongoing.
NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell previously said while the NFL was packaging the minority stake with Sunday Ticket, it could decide to sell each property separately.
The Wall Street Journal reported on the status of the Sunday Ticket talks earlier. An NFL spokesperson declined to comment, and Google didn’t respond to requests for comment.
Terms of the deal were still being ironed out Tuesday, the people said. DirecTV has been paying $1.5 billion annually since 2015. The NFL has been seeking a buyer for Sunday Ticket willing to pay between $2 billion and $3 billion.
Goodell said earlier that the league aimed to announce a rights deal with Sunday Ticket by the end of the fall. The Sunday Ticket package has been the NFL’s only set of media rights that has yet to be renewed through 2030.

The deal with YouTube TV comes after various media operators, including Amazon, Apple and Disney’s ESPN, considered the rights to the property.
The NFL was in close talks with Apple until recently, the people said. However, existing restrictions around Sunday Ticket had slowed negotiations with Apple in recent months, CNBC previously reported.
The league has been looking to diversify its partnerships with media companies and have a bigger presence in streaming.
WATCH: I believe NFL media rights will be moving to streaming

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CNBC’s Jim Cramer on Tuesday gave investors a list of stocks that he believes will perform well next year.
Stocks rose on Tuesday and ended a four-day streak of losses for the market.

CNBC’s Jim Cramer on Tuesday gave investors a list of stocks that he believes will perform well next year.
Here is his list.

Eli Lilly
Humana
Johnson & Johnson
Caterpillar
Deere
TJX Companies
Morgan Stanley

Stocks rose on Tuesday, and the Dow Jones Industrial Average ended a four-day streak of losses. The major indexes are still set to end the week and month down, however, with the Dow down 5.03% month to date and the S&P 500 and Nasdaq Composite down 6.34% and 8.03%, respectively.
Investor fears that the Federal Reserve’s interest rate hikes will tip the economy into a recession helped fuel the market’s recent downturn. The central bank earlier this month raised interest rates by 50 basis points and projected raising rates to as high as 5.1%.
But Cramer said many of Wall Street’s concerns are overblown. “I see so many segments of the market that could be potential winners in 2023, it’s hard to take these supposedly sophisticated doomsayers seriously,” he said.
Despite his enthusiasm for health care, off-price retail and machinery stocks, there’s one industry that Cramer plans to stay away from.
“I’m not hopping on the tech bandwagon. I’ve said over and over again that whether the Fed undershoots or overshoots, tech’s likely to be hurt the worst,” he said.

Disclaimer: Cramer’s Charitable Trust owns shares of Eli Lilly, Humana, Johnson & Johnson, TJX Companies and Morgan Stanley.

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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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Roblox Corp: “Roblox is too expensive. … Not making money, too.”

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CNBC’s Jim Cramer on Tuesday offered investors a list of three financial stocks he believes are worth buying.
While investors continue to worry about a potential economic downturn, Cramer reminded them that such a scenario is still avoidable.

CNBC’s Jim Cramer on Tuesday named three financial stocks he believes are worth buying.
Stocks closed higher on Tuesday, snapping a four-day losing streak that had been driven in part by Wall Street’s fears that the Federal Reserve’s interest rate increases could tip the economy into a recession next year. 

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But while investors continue to worry about a potential economic downturn, Cramer reminded them that that scenario is still avoidable.
“If you think the Fed will stop bringing the pain at some point in 2023, then … these names could become tremendous performers,” Cramer said.
Here are his picks:
Wells Fargo

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Cramer called the stock a great “turnaround story” that could roar higher next year if the economy doesn’t tip into a severe recession. He added that he believes the company’s performance will fare better once it pays off a $3.7 billion settlement with the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau over past customer banking practices, as well as any related legal fees.

Morgan Stanley

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The company’s yearslong pivot into the asset management business will pay off in the long term, Cramer predicted. While its asset management business does take a hit when the stock market goes down, since lower stock prices mean lower assets, it’s still steadier than any business related to capital markets, he added.
S&P Global

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Cramer said the company has struggled this year because its biggest business involves rating bonds, and bond issuance took a hit this year due to the Fed’s interest rate hikes and ensuing market volatility. However, its stock could stage a major comeback if the Fed stops tightening the economy in 2023, he said.
Disclaimer: Cramer’s Charitable Trust owns shares of Wells Fargo and Morgan Stanley.

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