Business

The war in Ukraine and rising tensions over Taiwan have caused demand for high-tech, American-made weapons to surge. And with the ongoing supply chain crunch and inflation continuing to rise, military industry watchers question whether the U.S. defense sector can keep up.
“We can’t rely on China to build components for our weapons, which is to some extent, potentially what we have done — whether knowingly or not,” said Elbridge Colby, co-founder and principal of The Marathon Initiative.Even with the largest defense budget in the world, the U.S. military is not immune to supply chain challenges. But with an already massive budget and questions on Pentagon spending, some critics think that more funds may not be the answer.

“Next year’s national security budget will likely be nearly a trillion and a half dollars,” said Julia Gledhill, an analyst at the Center for Defense Information at the Project On Government Oversight. “And Congress wants to add tens of billions of dollars to that number, despite the fact that the Department of Defense has shown time and again that it’s not managing its finances effectively.”
Identifying inefficiencies and moving forward with programs that work, while sidelining those that do not, could be one way to address the problems that have plagued previous big-budget Pentagon initiatives. The Department of Defense did not respond to CNBC’s request for comment for this story.”I don’t think that this necessarily means we’re going to blow the top off of the defense budget,” said Chris Dougherty, a senior fellow at the Center for a New American Security. “It’s probably more about developing an ability to scale and ramp production, when and where it’s needed.”
Watch the video above to find out more about the challenges the U.S. defense industry faces, and the potential solutions to break through supply chain bottlenecks and budgetary constraints.

WATCH LIVEWATCH IN THE APP More

Crumbl Cookies is suing smaller competitors Crave and Dirty Dough, claiming their brands and packaging are too similar to Crumbl’s.
The defendants dismissed Crumbl’s claims as half-baked.
Dirty Dough, whose sales have increased, fired back with commercials mocking Crumbl. Crave says it also has seen sales jump.

There’s a war going on in Utah – not over politics or drugs – but cookies.
Crumbl Cookies, which has more than 300 stores in 36 states, has declared war on smaller competitors Dirty Dough (six stores in Utah and Florida) and Crave (nine stores in Utah and Florida.) And it’s setting social media ablaze.

“Are cookies really worth suing over?” asked a TikTok user. For the founders of Crumbl, the answer is yes.

A Crumbl Rocky Road cookie.
Crumbl Cookies

The lawsuits started flying in May, when Crumbl separately sued Dirty Dough and Crave, claiming in part that both brands’ “packaging, decor and presentation” is “confusingly similar” to its own. Crumbl filed the suits in Utah, where it’s headquartered.
Dirty Dough fired back with commercials mocking Crumbl.
In one advertisement, a big SUV pulls up next to a kids’ lemonade stand. A group of men jump out, telling the kids to “shut down the entire operation.” A young girl replies, “Are you crazy, why?” To which he responds, “Cause you’re selling cookies – that’s our thing.” 
Dirty Dough also launched a billboard campaign in Utah, including one that read: “Cookies so good – we’re being sued!”

“It’s a silly situation,” said Dirty Dough founder Bennett Maxwell, “and it’s just like, OK, we’re gonna have some fun with it.”
He added: “Just imagine pizza companies doing to each other, right? Like sending pictures of a pepperoni pizza, putting them in a lawsuit, and say ‘Look, your pepperoni pizza looks mightly similar to mine’.”
The co-founder of Crave, Trent English, also believes Crumbl’s accusations are half-baked. 
“Our branding is black and gold. [Crumbl’s is] pink and black. Their logo is … a chef wearing a hat. Ours is two overlapping cookies,” English said. “I don’t really see any confusion at all. I think most people can tell us apart just fine.”

Exterior of a Crave cookie store.

Interior of a Crumbl cookie store with company’s logo on the wall.

Founded in 2017, Crumbl – which has 6 million followers on TikTok and 3 million followers on Instagram – has reviewers that rate its cookie flavors that are released each week.
In the lawsuits, the company claims the two other cookie makers stole its idea to release new flavors every week.
“They don’t want us to do rotating flavors,” Bennett said. “Because I mean, you know, they invented that – the ability to rotate and have it for a limited time offer – apparently Crumbl invented it five years ago.”
Dirty Dough’s founder told CNBC that since the lawsuits were filed, social media around the “cookie wars” has been great for business – with sales doubling.  Meanwhile, Crave says the company has seen a 50% jump in sales since Crumbl sued. 

Exterior of a Dirty Dough store in Utah.

CNBC interviewed Crumbl co-founders Jason McGowan and Sawyer Hemsley in 2021 about their booming business. At the time, Hemsley told CNBC: “I have to pinch myself every day, because we talk about sprinkles over the conference table. And – and pink frosting.” 
After the lawsuits were filed, CNBC reached out to Crumbl for a response. However, the founders turned down a request for an interview and instead sent a statement over email, which read in part: “Crumbl has taken legal action against two companies for trade dress and trademark infringement, one of which had stolen Crumbl recipes and trade secrets.”
Maxwell, the Dirty Dough founder, denied stealing Crumbl’s recipes. “Just look at our cookie again, you can’t get a more different product, you can taste it and it’s so much different,” he said.

A side by side comparison of Crumbl, Crave, and Dirty Dough’s marketing & packaging materials, as laid forth in the complaint(s).

Crumbl may face a high legal hurdle.
“It may be tough for Crumbl to show that consumers mistakenly believe that the defendant’s cookies are coming from Crumbl,” said Dyan Finguerra-Ducharme, a trademark attorney and partner at Pryor Cashman in New York. She has no connection to the case. 
“Crumbl came up with a great idea – a whole business model, which [is] rotating cookies each week, delivering them warm in a box that fits the cookies snugly,” Finguerra-Ducharme said. “The problem is that Crumbl’s idea is not protected by intellectual property law.”
So, could the case go to a jury?  
“It could be dismissed by showing a judge that as a matter of law, these marks don’t look alike,” Finguerra-Ducharme told CNBC.
“And if the marks don’t look alike,” she added, “that’s where the cookie crumbles.”

WATCH LIVEWATCH IN THE APP More

SpaceX returned its fourth operational crew mission from the International Space Station on Friday, with the quartet of astronauts splashing down in the company’s capsule off the coast of Florida.
“Welcome home – thanks for flying SpaceX,” the company’s mission control told the crew shortly after landing.
SpaceX has now flown 30 people to orbit since its first crewed launch in May 2020, with six government missions and two private ones.

SpaceX returned its fourth operational crew mission from the International Space Station on Friday, with the quartet of astronauts splashing down in the company’s capsule off the coast of Florida.
The company’s Crew Dragon spacecraft “Freedom” undocked from the ISS at around noon ET to begin the trip back to Earth, with splashdown happening around 5 p.m. ET.

“Welcome home – thanks for flying SpaceX,” the company’s mission control told the crew shortly after landing.
“Thank you for an incredible ride to orbit, and an incredible ride home,” Crew-4 commander Kjell Lindgren said in response.

Sign up here to receive weekly editions of CNBC’s Investing in Space newsletter.

Crew-4 includes NASA astronauts Lindgren, Bob Hines, and Jessica Watkins, as well as European Space Agency astronaut Samantha Cristoforetti. The mission launched in April for a six-month stay on the orbiting research laboratory.

The Crew-4 astronauts, from left: Jessica Watkins, mission specialist; Bob Hines, pilot; Kjell Lindgren, commander; and Samantha Cristoforetti, mission specialist.
Kim Shiflett | NASA

Elon Musk’s company launched the Crew-5 mission last week, bringing four other astronauts to the ISS.
SpaceX has now flown 30 people to orbit since its first crewed launch in May 2020, with six government missions and two private ones.

SpaceX’s Crew Dragon capsule Freedom docked to the International Space Station.

WATCH LIVEWATCH IN THE APP More

Monday – Friday, 6:00 – 7:00 PM ET

CNBC’s Jim Cramer on Friday advised investors to take any chance to sell stocks next week as the busy earnings season continues.
“The market’s dominated by the tick, tick, tick of bonds, oil and the dollar,” he said.

CNBC’s Jim Cramer on Friday advised investors to take any chance to sell stocks next week as the busy earnings season continues.
“The market’s dominated by the tick, tick, tick of bonds, oil and the dollar. So, remember, if we have a big up day like yesterday, that is a chance to do some [selling] because there probably won’t be any follow-through,” he said.

Cramer’s comments come after stocks fell on Friday to end a volatile week of trading, just one day after the market snapped a six-day losing streak with a historic intraday reversal.
He also previewed next week’s slate of earnings. All earnings and revenue estimates are courtesy of FactSet.
Monday: Bank of America 

Q3 2022 earnings release at 6:45 a.m. ET; conference call at 8:30 a.m. ET
Projected EPS: 78 cents
Projected revenue: $23.54 billion

Cramer said he expects the bank to report a great number, but that it might have no effect on the stock if bonds, oil or the dollar goes haywire the same day.
Tuesday: Goldman Sachs, Johnson & Johnson, Netflix

Goldman Sachs 

Q3 2022 earnings release at 7:30 a.m. ET; conference call at 9:30 a.m. ET
Projected EPS: $7.75
Projected revenue: $11.42 billion

Calling the stock “crazy cheap,” Cramer said he’s looking for a solid bottom line from the company in its latest quarter.
Johnson & Johnson

Q3 2022 earnings release between 6:25 and 6:40 a.m. ET; conference call at 8:30 a.m. ET
Projected EPS: $2.48
Projected revenue: $23.36 billion

The stock remains one of his favorites, Cramer said.
Netflix 

Q3 2022 earnings release at 4 p.m. ET; conference call at 6 p.m. ET
Projected EPS: $2.14
Projected revenue: $7.84 billion

He said he expects to hear more about the company’s new ad-supported tier and has faith that the company will roll it out without going overboard with the number of commercials.
Wednesday: Procter & Gamble, Tesla, IBM, Lam Research
Procter & Gamble

Q1 2023 earnings release at 6:55 a.m. ET; conference call at 8:30 a.m. ET
Projected EPS: $1.55
Projected revenue: $20.35 billion

The company’s stock will go up even if the quarter is bad because so many short-sellers are betting against it, Cramer predicted.
Tesla

Q3 2022 earnings release between 4:05 and 5 p.m. ET; conference call at 5:30 p.m. ET
Projected EPS: $1.01
Projected revenue: $22.14 billion

He said that buyers will likely support the company’s stock no matter what the quarter looks like.
IBM

Q3 2022 earnings release at 4:05 p.m. ET; conference call at 5 p.m. ET
Projected EPS: $1.79
Projected revenue: $13.53 billion

It’s unclear whether the company will be able to post results that’ll excite the market, Cramer said.
Lam Research

Q1 2023 earnings release at 4:05 p.m. ET; conference call at 5 p.m. ET
Projected EPS: $9.58
Projected revenue: $4.93 billion

“If Lam says they’re seeing cutbacks similar to what we heard from Applied Materials, AMAT, this week, then the whole semiconductor world is going to have another move down,” he said.
Thursday: AT&T

Q3 2022 earnings release at 7 a.m. ET; conference call at 8:30 a.m. ET
Projected EPS: 61 cents
Projected revenue: $29.84 billion

Cramer said that while he hopes AT&T won’t have a disappointing quarter, he’s skeptical the company will be able to pull it off.
Friday: Verizon

Q3 2022 earnings release at 7:30 a.m. ET; conference call at 8:30 a.m. ET
Projected EPS: $1.29
Projected revenue: $33.78 billion

Verizon’s stock performance suggests the company is struggling due to competition from T-Mobile, Cramer said.
Disclaimer: Cramer’s Charitable Trust owns shares of Johnson & Johnson and Procter & Gamble.

Jim Cramer’s Guide to Investing

Click here to download Jim Cramer’s Guide to Investing at no cost to help you build long-term wealth and invest smarter.

WATCH LIVEWATCH IN THE APP More

Monday – Friday, 6:00 – 7:00 PM ET

CNBC’s Jim Cramer on Friday offered investors his thoughts on the major banks that reported earnings this week.
“If the whole market hadn’t already roared yesterday, I think we could’ve had a nice rally in response to these numbers,” he said.

CNBC’s Jim Cramer on Friday offered investors his thoughts on the major banks that reported earnings this week.
“If the whole market hadn’t already roared yesterday, I think we could’ve had a nice rally in response to these numbers. But, as it is, I’d say this is a surprisingly solid start to earnings season,” he said.

JPMorgan Chase, Morgan Stanley, Wells Fargo and Citigroup reported their latest quarterly results on Friday. Here is Cramer’s take on each of the banks’ latest quarters:

JPMorgan Chase

JPMorgan Chase beat Wall Street expectations for its top and bottom line, aided by the Federal Reserve’s interest rate hikes. Cramer said he was surprised that the bank had a solid quarter since CEO Jamie Dimon warned that the U.S. economy would likely enter a recession in the middle of next year. 
However, Cramer said he still expected the bank to see a boost from rising rates.
“The banks make a fortune when the Federal Reserve raises interest rates, because they can take your deposits, which they pay next to nothing for, and then invest them in short-term Treasurys to get a much higher risk-free return,” he explained.

Wells Fargo

The bank beat on earnings and revenue in its latest quarter but saw a cut to its bottom line from its decision to boost its loan loss reserves. 

Cramer said he likes the stock because the company has more interest rate exposure than most of its peers, which makes it attractive during a high-interest rate environment. And while a risk of higher rates is that people could lose their jobs and have to default on their obligations, which would result in a higher percentage of bad loans, Wells Fargo’s strength in its net interest income is more than enough to offset the damage from bad loans, according to Cramer.
“I remain a believer here — management’s executing incredibly well — I think the story only gets better as rates go higher,” he said. “Buy Wells Fargo.”

Morgan Stanley

Cramer said that he believes the market overreacted to Morgan Stanley’s third-quarter earnings and revenue miss. Shares of the bank fell 5%.
While he acknowledged that the quarter was rough, Cramer maintained that he believes the stock is a buy, highlighting the company’s generous dividend and stock buyback.
“I think Morgan Stanley can eventually thrive once the markets even out, but until then, you’ve got to be patient in this one,” he said.

Citigroup

Cramer said that he’d rather own the other banks than Citi, which beat on revenue and earnings in its latest quarter but saw a 25% decline in profits. Shares of the company rose 0.65%.
“We’ve seen Citi rally in response to earnings a number of times. … And then you know what happened? The gains quickly faded, and the stock came right back down,” he said.
Disclaimer: Cramer’s Charitable Trust owns shares of Morgan Stanley and Wells Fargo.

Jim Cramer’s Guide to Investing

Click here to download Jim Cramer’s Guide to Investing at no cost to help you build long-term wealth and invest smarter.

WATCH LIVEWATCH IN THE APP More

Monday – Friday, 6:00 – 7:00 PM ET

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.

Loading chart…

Loading chart…

Qualcomm Inc: “It was painful to do, but I had to cut it back [for the Charitable Trust.]”

Loading chart…

Cisco Systems Inc: “I’m going to hold onto it for the Charitable Trust.”
Disclaimer: Cramer’s Charitable Trust owns shares of Qualcomm and Cisco.

Jim Cramer’s Guide to Investing

Click here to download Jim Cramer’s Guide to Investing at no cost to help you build long-term wealth and invest smarter.

WATCH LIVEWATCH IN THE APP More

Rupert Murdoch is in the early stages of exploring whether to put his media companies News Corp. and Fox Corp. back together.
Murdoch, 91, split Fox and News Corp. in 2013.
Fox owns conservative network Fox News and Fox broadcasting. News Corp. owns The Wall Street Journal’s publisher, Dow Jones and HarperCollins.

President Donald Trump (L) is embraced by Rupert Murdoch, Executive Chairman of News Corp, during a dinner to commemorate the 75th anniversary of the Battle of the Coral Sea during WWII onboard the Intrepid Sea, Air and Space Museum May 4, 2017 in New York.
Brendan Smialowski | AFP | Getty Images

Rupert Murdoch is exploring whether to put his media companies News Corp. and Fox Corp. back together, according to News Corp.
News Corp., which owns Wall Street Journal publisher Dow Jones, said Friday that it had formed a special committee of board members to consider a possible deal. A merger isn’t certain, the company added in its announcement.

Fox Corp., which was left over from the $71.3 billion Twenty-First Century Fox sale to Disney in 2019, owns right wing networks Fox News and Fox Business, which is a CNBC competitor.
A combination would allow Murdoch to consolidate leadership in his media empire and cut costs. The discussions come as the audience shrinks for both print media and cable television, as readers and viewers increasingly get their news and entertainment from social media, online news and streaming services.
The announcement will have no impact on the current operations of News Corp., CEO Robert Thomson told employees in a memo obtained by CNBC.
“I would like to stress that the special committee has not made any determination at this time, and there can be no certainty that any transaction will result from this evaluation,” he wrote.
Thomson also asked employees not to speculate about the potential deal or make any formal comments to media, shareholders or customers.

The news also comes as Fox Corp. and Fox News are facing a $1.6 billion defamation lawsuit from Dominion Voting Systems. Dominion argues that Fox News and Fox Business made false claims that its voting machines rigged the results of the 2020 presidential election between Donald Trump and Joe Biden.
CNBC has reached out to Fox and News Corp. for comment. “Neither the Company nor the Special Committee intends to comment on or disclose further developments regarding the Special Committee’s work unless and until it deems further disclosure is appropriate or required,” News Corp. said in a statement on Friday.
Murdoch, 91, split Fox and News Corp. in 2013. He is the chairman of Fox and the executive chairman of News Corp. His son Lachlan Murdoch is CEO of Fox and co-executive chairman of News Corp.
The Murdoch family has a 42% voting stake in Fox and a 39% voting stake in News Corp., according to the Journal. Fox’s market value is about $17 billion, while News Corp.’s is about $9 billion, as of Friday’s market close. Class A shares of News Corp. rose more than 3% after hours, while Fox’s Class A shares barely moved.
News Corp. also includes book publisher HarperCollins, scandal sheet the New York Post and news outlets in the U.K. and Murdoch’s native Australia. Fox’s holdings also include the Fox broadcast network, which airs “The Simpsons” and NFL games.

WATCH LIVEWATCH IN THE APP More

Although the omicron BA.5 variant remains dominant in the U.S., it is starting to lose some ground to other versions of the virus, according to CDC data.
The omicron subvariants BQ.1, BQ.1.1 and BF.7 have gained ground and are causing about 17% of new infections, according to the data.
Scientists and health officials are closely monitoring these emerging variants because they appear to have a growth advantage over BA.5.

People walk by a Covid-19 testing site at Times Square on May 12, 2022 in New York City.
Liao Pan | China News Service | Getty Images

The U.S. faces at least seven different versions of Covid-19 omicron as the nation heads into winter when health officials are expecting another wave of viral infections.
Although the omicron BA.5 variant remains dominant in the country, it is starting to lose some ground to other versions of the virus, according to data from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention published on Friday.

Omicron BA.5 has splintered into several new but related variants that include BQ.1, BQ.1.1 and BF.7. The U.K. Health Security Agency, in a report earlier this month, said these three variants are demonstrating a growth advantage over BA.5, which was the most contagious version to date.
In the U.S., omicron BA.5 makes up about 68% of all new infections, down from about 80% at the beginning of October. BQ.1, BQ.1.1 and BF.7 are now causing about 17% of new infections combined, according to the CDC data.
About 3% of new infections are attributable to BA.2.75. and BA.2.75.2, which are related to the omicron BA.2 variant that caused a bump in cases during the spring but was pushed out.
Scientists at Peking University in China found that omicron BA.2.75.2 and BQ.1.1 were the most adept at evading immunity from prior BA.5 infection and several antibody drugs. The study, published earlier in October, has not been peer reviewed.
Dr. Ashish Jha, the White House Covid response coordinator, said earlier this week that U.S. health officials are closely monitoring these variants because they are good at evading prior immunity.

“The reason we’re tracking them is because they either have a lot more immune invasiveness or they render many of our treatments ineffective,” Jha said. “Those are the two major things that get our attention.”
But Jha said the new omicron boosters that the U.S. started rolling out last month should provide better protection than the first-generation vaccines against these emerging variants. The boosters target BA.5 and the emerging variants are all omicron and most descend from BA.5.
Jha called on all eligible Americans to get the new boosters by Halloween so they will have full protection for Thanksgiving when family holiday gatherings kick into full swing.
But the scientists at Peking University said the immune evasiveness of variants like BA.2.75.2 and BQ.1.1 could mean that the BA.5 booster shots will not provide sufficiently broad protection.
It’s unclear how much more effective the boosters will prove in the real world. The Food and Drug Administration authorized the shots without direct human data, relying instead on clinical trials from a similar shot that was developed against the original version of omicron, BA.1.
Pfizer and BioNTech on Thursday published the first human data from their BA.5 shots. They triggered a significant boost to the immune system against omicron BA.5 in a lab study that looked at blood samples from adults ages 18 and older, the companies said.

CNBC Health & Science

Read CNBC’s latest global health coverage:

WATCH LIVEWATCH IN THE APP More