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American homebuyers are searching for bargains in the U.K., as a weaker pound contributes to double-digit price cuts.
Prices in London are down nearly 20% over the past year on price declines and currency impact, according to real estate broker and advisory firm Knight Frank.
The supply of homes throughout the country is scarce, especially for history country estates.

Street in Chelsea district, London
Alexander Spatari | Moment | Getty Images

American homebuyers are searching for bargains in the U.K., as a weaker pound contributes to double-digit price cuts.
The fall in the British currency, which is off 17.5% against the U.S. dollar year to date, has made U.K. real estate cheaper for buyers paying in U.S. dollars. Prices in London are down nearly 20% over the past year on price declines and currency impact, according to real estate broker and advisory firm Knight Frank.

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Brokers and real estate experts say the drops have created a rare investment opportunity for Americans to buy into the U.K. market — whether it’s a $400,000 London pied-a-terre or a $30 million historic estate in the countryside.
“We’ve seen a steady increase from Americans,” said Paddy Dring, global head of prime sales at Knight Frank. “There are those who are forwarding their plans, and will use this opportunity for their longer-term investment plans to diversify abroad.”
Knight Frank said the combined price declines and currency drops have created an effective discount of 19% in London’s sought-after Chelsea neighborhood and 17% in Knightsbridge.
When compared with 2014, when the British pound was equivalent to $1.71 and real state prices in London were 13% higher, the discounts are even greater, at over 50% in the Chelsea, Knightsbridge and Notting Hill, according to Tom Bill, head of residential research at Knight Frank. The neighborhoods of Kensington and Mayfair have seen discounts of over 45%.
A property listed at 5 million pounds in Knightsbridge, for instance, would have cost $8.6 million eight years ago but $4 million today.

The savings are even larger on the biggest and most expensive estates. Steve Schwarzman, the billionaire CEO and chair of Blackstone, just bought a 2,500-acre historic estate in Wiltshire County, about 90 miles west of London, for 80 million pounds. The drop in the sterling meant he may have saved up to $20 million or more on the purchase compared with last year.
Dring said American buyers run the spectrum — from older couples looking for smaller apartments, to families looking at studios for a son or daughter attending school in the U.K., to the ultra-wealthy looking for rare properties that make for good long-term investments.
“We don’t see much pure speculation,” he said. “The buyers are usually driven by a business or education or lifestyle.”
But the supply of homes throughout the country is scarce, especially for history country estates, Dring said.
For those with money, though, the savings can be substantial. Brokerage Savills just listed one of the U.K.’s most historic properties — a 1,922-acre estate in the English countryside called Adlington Hall. The property spans six farms, over 20 residential buildings, an event space and a village hall. It was once owned by the British Crown and has been in the same family for over 700 years.
The asking price: 30 million pounds, or about $33 million with today’s currency exchange rates. That marks a savings of more than $6 million for U.S. buyers, paying in dollars, compared with a year ago.

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Wall Street put Walt Disney (DIS) and Microsoft (MSFT) under the microscope this week, and while the verdicts were mixed, we’re sticking with these Club holdings for the long run. Raymond James resumed coverage on Microsoft, setting a buy rating with a $300 price target on the cloud stock, which represents a 26% upside on its shares based on Thursday’s market close. Microsoft’s stock closed down 1.94% on Friday, at $232.90 a share. In a separate note, Bank of America lowered revenue and earnings-per-share estimates for Disney’s fiscal fourth-quarter earnings, set to release in November, on lower projected Disney+ net adds, lower content sales and licensing revenue, and theme park closures due to Hurricane Ian. Disney’s stock closed out Friday down 3.2%, at $94.33 a share. While we acknowledge the macro pressures that Disney temporarily faces, we still like the underlying fundamentals of the entertainment giant. Yesterday, we even scooped up 25 shares of Disney to take advantage of an oversold market. In an uncertain economy, we’re sticking with high-quality companies with brand recognition and customer loyalty — and Disney and Microsoft definitely fit the bill. Here’s a deeper look at the research. What analysts say Microsoft Analysts at Raymond James said Microsoft’s “long track record and breadth of product offering” position it as a competitor that can take share in the fast-growing software market, despite a slowing economy. The investment bank breaks down its thesis on Microsoft in three main points. Microsoft is strongly positioned in public cloud, gaming and digital advertising markets. The company has the ability to scale due to years of investment. The software leader can leverage existing relationships with enterprise software customers and its brand recognition. While the report acknowledged that Microsoft isn’t immune to the consequences of a recession, the risk has been mitigated because enterprise customers are set to increase spending on information technology (IT). In fact, the report cites a recent Gartner survey that found 43% of chief investment officers plan to increase IT spending, compared with 17% who intend to decrease it. Disney Analysts at Bank of America lowered Disney’s fourth-quarter revenue estimates to $21.7 billion, down from a previous estimate of $22.2 billion — but included a caveat that Disney’s “underlying trends remain solid” in a difficult economy. The BofA research note highlighted the return of international visitors and increased theme park- and cruise ship capacity as tailwinds that could help offset slowing consumer demand. On streaming, the bank expects domestic subscriber growth on Disney+ to accelerate and believe advertising demand to be “robust.” BofA retains a buy rating on shares of Disney but lowered their price objective, or an estimate of where the stock’s price could be heading, to $127. In another research note, Needman set a hold rating on Disney shares. While the firm maintained its revenue estimates for the quarter at $21.2 billion, it lowered its operating income estimate by 29%, to $1.9 billion. The bank also lowered its operating earnings-per-share estimate for the fiscal fourth quarter by 45%, to $0.35 a share. Needman analysts explained they prefer to hold off on Disney until they see peak streaming spending and a return on capital from streaming investments. The Club’s take While consumer demand has slowed, we are not changing our investment thesis on Disney. Theme parks are a very profitable part of the company that present a long-term opportunity, as the entertainment giant continues to monetize popular franchises like Marvel. Furthermore, the upcoming launch of the Disney+ ad-supported tier and the company’s plans to incorporate ESPN into its streaming network will likely support revenue growth. Meanwhile, we like Microsoft because it has an edge in cloud computing. As companies continue to invest in cloud services, we think Microsoft’s top line should continue to hold up, even as businesses tighten their budgets. While the company missed on its top and bottom lines in its fourth-quarter earnings , released Jul. 26, Microsoft’s strong cloud business saw revenue climb by 20%, to $20.9 billion. Moreover, Microsoft was able to return $12.4 billion in cash to shareholders, a 19% increase year-on-year. We don’t own the tech giant for its dividend, but we see its ability to deliver cash to shareholders as a testament to its overall business strength. (Jim Cramer’s Charitable Trust is long MSFT, DIS. See here for a full list of the stocks.) As a subscriber to the CNBC Investing Club with Jim Cramer, you will receive a trade alert before Jim makes a trade. Jim waits 45 minutes after sending a trade alert before buying or selling a stock in his charitable trust’s portfolio. If Jim has talked about a stock on CNBC TV, he waits 72 hours after issuing the trade alert before executing the trade. THE ABOVE INVESTING CLUB INFORMATION IS SUBJECT TO OUR TERMS AND CONDITIONS AND PRIVACY POLICY , TOGETHER WITH OUR DISCLAIMER . NO FIDUCIARY OBLIGATION OR DUTY EXISTS, OR IS CREATED, BY VIRTUE OF YOUR RECEIPT OF ANY INFORMATION PROVIDED IN CONNECTION WITH THE INVESTING CLUB. NO SPECIFIC OUTCOME OR PROFIT IS GUARANTEED.

A masked family walks past Cinderella Castle in the Magic Kingdom, at Walt Disney World in Lake Buena Vista, Fla.
Orlando Sentinel | Tribune News Service | Getty Images More

Patrick Orlando, the CEO of Digital World Acquisition Corp. urged Donald Trump to publicize a shareholder vote on delaying the merger with Trump Media and Technology Group.
On Oct. 10, DWAC stockholders will vote to extend the deadline of the merger with Trump’s firm, which would take the company and its Truth Social platform public.
The same vote failed in September, forcing Orlando to initiate a built-in extension with a $2.8 million injection into DWAC’s trust to keep it afloat.

Homepage and app announcement of “Truth Social.”
Christoph Dernbach | picture alliance | Getty Images

Patrick Orlando, the CEO of the shell company set to take Trump Media and Technology Group public, on Friday urged Donald Trump and Trump Media CEO Devin Nunes to promote an upcoming vote to extend the merger deadline for the two companies.
“@realDonaldTrump @DevinNunes let’s get the vote awareness up,” the Digital World Acquisition Corp. chief wrote in a Truth Social post that attached information about the shareholder vote.

Representatives for DWAC and TMTG did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
DWAC stockholders will vote on Oct. 10 to approve an extension to the merger deadline. A similar vote in September failed to garner the necessary 65% investor support. Orlando then injected $2.8 million from his company Arc Global Investments II into a trust for DWAC, helping it stave off liquidation for the moment. 
The former president has already hinted at killing the deal to go public and using his own money to finance the media venture. “Who knows? In any event, I don’t need financing, ‘I’m really rich!’ Private company anyone???” Trump wrote in a Truth Social post in early September.
DWAC is a special purpose acquistion company, or SPAC. These so-called blank check companies find businesses to take into public stock markets.
DWAC has until December to complete the merger with Trump Media and take the former president’s company, giving it access to billions of dollars. A successful shareholder vote would extend the deadline by about a year.

Another key deadline for the deal passed in September. Private investors who agreed to provide around $1 billion following the merger are no longer contractually obliged to provide that capital. DWAC reported last week that $138 million of the private investment has already been withdrawn.
These are far from the only issues facing DWAC and Trump Media. The two companies are the subject of a Justice Department probe into possible securities violations relating to conversations that occurred between the company representatives prior to the merger. The Securities and Exchange Commission is also investigating the deal.
Trump Media has said it was exploring legal proceedings against the SEC, saying the regulator has delayed the merger. 
The former president is also the subject of multiple investigations of his own. New York Attorney General Letitia James recently announced civil proceedings against him, the Trump Organization and his three eldest kids for fraud. He is also under investigation for his actions relating to the removal of sensitive documents from the White House, his alleged interference in the 2020 presidential election and for his role in the Jan. 6, 2021, Capitol insurrection. 
Trump launched Truth Social and Trump Media after he was banned from Twitter and other social media platforms after the riot, when hundreds of his supporters stormed Congress in a failed bid to prevent lawmakers from confirming Joe Biden’s win in the 2020 election.
DWAC closed more than 3% higher at $16.81, but is far off its 2022 high of about $97.

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A key ETF for electric and autonomous vehicle stocks fell sharply in September.
The Global X Autonomous and Electric Vehicles ETF closed down nearly 15% for the month, its second worst-performing month on record.
It’s likely that automakers’ profits will slump if the U.S. enters a recession.

GMC vehicles sit on display at the Sterling McCall Buick GMC dealership on February 02, 2022 in Houston, Texas.
Brandon Bell | Getty Images

A key ETF for electric and autonomous vehicle stocks suffered an ugly month in September, falling nearly 15% amid fears a recession could slow revenue for the automakers.
The Global X Autonomous and Electric Vehicles ETF closed on Friday at about $20, more than 37% off the group’s 52-week high. It was the second worst-performing month for the group on a percentage basis on record, behind only March 2020 when the overall stock market saw dramatic declines.

Investors are growing concerned that the potential for a recession won’t deter the Federal Reserve Bank from its plan to continue hiking interest rates, which in turn could make new vehicles more costly for consumers and businesses that need to finance the purchases.
Consumers are already grappling with sticker prices that are higher than ever – and with tight supplies that have led some dealers to demand additional premiums. According to J.D. Power estimates, the average transaction price for a new car sold in August was $46,259, the highest on record.

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TrueCar analyst Zack Krelle thinks consumers are already beginning to balk at those high prices, especially as inflation drives their other expenses higher – and especially as interest rates continue to rise.
“We’re seeing consumers faced with the reality that to afford the same vehicle at the same monthly payment as last year, they are forced to increase their down payment, which is creating new affordability challenges,” Krelle said in a statement on Thursday. “With increasing interest rates, affordability is being tested.”
It’s likely that automakers’ profits will slump if the U.S. enters a recession. That has put pressure on the stocks of auto giants like Ford Motor (down 27% in September), General Motors (down 18%), and Volkswagen (down 13%), all of which are included in the ETF’s holdings.

It’s also pressuring shares of the suppliers and startups in the EV and autonomous-driving spaces that make up the majority of the ETF’s portfolio. Not only would a recession limit automakers’ ability to invest in new technologies, but higher interest rates — and the market weakness that could accompany a recession — would also make it harder for those smaller companies to raise additional capital from other investors.
Most major automakers are prepared to ride out a recession. But many of the smaller companies in the EV and self-driving spaces could struggle. Some of the names that have attracted investor attention over the last couple of years are still a long way from sustainable profitability and are likely to need additional cash infusions over the next few years.
Some, like EV battery startup QuantumScape (a constituent of the ETF, down 21% in September) may not even have meaningful revenue for several more quarters, much less profits.
Among the ETF’s other big movers in September:

Lidar maker Luminar Technologies was down 13% for the month.
Chinese electric-vehicle makers Nio and XPeng ended the month down 20% and 34%, respectively.
Electric heavy-truck maker Nikola fell 35% in September.

— CNBC’s Gina Francolla contributed to this report.

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Shares of Carnival fell below their pandemic lows Friday after the cruising company posted third-quarter earnings that revealed higher costs.
Shares of Norwegian and Royal Caribbean were also lower.
Friday’s losses knock about $2.5 billion off Carnival’s market value.

The brand new Carnival Cruise Line ship Mardi Gras, docked at Port Canaveral, Florida, on July 30, 2021.
Joe Burbank | Orlando Sentinel | Tribune News Service | Getty Images

Shares of Carnival fell below their pandemic lows Friday after the cruising company posted third-quarter earnings that revealed higher costs associated with inflation, supply chain disruptions and the maintenance of health and safety protocols.
Shares of Carnival shed 23% during the session. The stock closed at a new 52-week low of $7.03, below its pandemic plunge lows of April 2020, when shares traded around $7.80 intraday.

Friday’s losses knock about $2.5 billion off Carnival’s market value. Shares of Norwegian and Royal Caribbean also fell Friday, down 18% and 13%, respectively.

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Carnival reported adjusted net losses of $770 million, or 65 cents per share, on $4.3 billion in revenue. Operating costs and expenses totaled $3.4 billion during the quarter, compared with costs of $1.6 billion in the third quarter 2021.
Carnival said bookings improved 15 percentage points from the prior quarter to 84%. That compares with 54% occupancy during the same period in 2021. Despite governments relaxation of pandemic-era protocols in both the U.S. and, more recently, Canada, the company is projecting fourth-quarter bookings below 2019 levels — at lower prices.
Cruise companies across the board are struggling with massive debts taken on during Covid lockdowns, made more expensive by rising interest rates. Carnival on Friday morning reported $1 billion in principal payments so far for 2022 and a total of $9 billion due by 2025.

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A warning from Nike (NKE) in its first-quarter earnings report has given us some serious insights into a handful of consumer stocks in the portfolio. We call them “readthroughs”: valuable investment clues we find by sifting through financials and comments from other companies, including ones not owned by Jim Cramer’s Charitable Trust, the portfolio we use for the Club. While it’s a never-ending process, quarterly results and earnings calls are gold mines for these readthroughs. TJX Companies The biggest takeaway in Nike’s quarter — and not just for us, but for Wall Street overall — is that the apparel giant has a major inventory problem in North America. Its shelves in the region swelled 65% in the first quarter compared with the same three-month window last year. The cause is understandable: pandemic-induced supply chain complications, such as late deliveries over the past two seasons and early holiday orders. Nike is not an outlier in experiencing this. The effect is good news for TJX Companies: Nike is taking “decisive action to clear excess inventory,” according to Nike CFO Matthew Friend. Retail’s inventory glut is a key reason why we started a position in TJX , the parent company of Marshalls and TJ Maxx, in late August. Apparel makers and sellers don’t want to hold onto excess goods, especially when more seasonally relevant clothes are on their way. They want to get rid of it, even if it means taking the kind of short-term hit to profits that Nike said it’s likely to experience. Off-price retailers such as TJX are the beneficiary of these industry dynamics. Here is the company in its own words, in its 2021 annual report: “With many retailers continuing to close stores and with congestion in the supply chain, we offer vendors an attractive solution for clearing inventory,” TJX wrote, adding later that it is “in a great position to take advantage of the plentiful off-price buying opportunities in the marketplace.” Nike is likely utilizing multiple approaches to get rid of its excess inventory, including markdowns in their own stores. However, Nike’s quarter makes it clear the “plentiful off-price buying opportunities” that TJX Companies has seen have not disappeared yet. TJX shares were up more than 1.5% Friday, while Nike shares slumped more than 10%. Starbucks & Apple Nike’s negative China sales serve as a reminder about the current complexities of doing business in the world’s second-largest economy. Nike’s sales in China were $1.66 billion in the first quarter. While that met Wall Street’s tempered expectations, it still represented a 16% year-over-year decline. Nike’s earnings before interest and taxes (EBIT) in China also fell compared with a year earlier, down 23% to $541 million. We had not forgotten about Beijing’s attempts to enforce its so-called “zero Covid policy” and the economic problems associated with rolling lockdowns in major cities. Nevertheless, Nike’s results are worth considering in the context of Club holdings Apple (AAPL) and Starbucks (SBUX), two other consumer-focused companies that count on China for growth. We recognize the types of products the three companies sell vary greatly. Still, we have to remember that just because lockdowns have been lifted, we’re not out of the woods with business disruptions showing up in quarterly results. Not only are the results backward-looking — in Nike’s case, they cover the three months ended Aug. 31 — but it will take time for things to normalize. Fortunately, our extended investment horizon allows us to be patient. On Nike’s earnings call Thursday night, CEO John Donahoe compared China to inflation in that “we can’t completely predict it.” But structurally, we see some very encouraging signs with consumers,” Donahoe said, adding that Nike’s head of China operations, Angela Dong, is “very clear that they’re seeing Chinese consumers are emerging from these lockdowns with a real hunger for innovation, quality, and energized storytelling.” Donahoe’s sentiment is similar to what we heard from Starbucks earlier this month during the company’s investor day. China is a huge part of Starbucks’ long-term vision — potentially overtaking the U.S. as its biggest market by 2025 — but it’s not smooth sailing just yet. “With a partial lifting of Covid restrictions in different cities, I am very pleased to report that our recovery in China is well underway,” said Belinda Wong, chairwoman of Starbucks China. “However, given ongoing restrictions under China’s dynamic zero-Covid policy and the unpredictability of the future outbreaks, we remain vigilant and our recovery path will continue to be nonlinear.” For Apple, its China revenue declined 1% in the quarter ended June 25, with management saying the lockdowns took a bite out of demand. The launch of the iPhone 14 in the middle of this month could catalyze sales. Demand in China for high-end iPhone 14s appears “robust,” UBS analysts said in a note Thursday, with wait times for Pro models longer than they were in 2021. “However, somewhat expected, the least expensive iPhone 14 is readily available in China,” the firm said, meaning lower demand. Bottom line The bottom line is that for companies like Nike, Starbucks and Apple, it’s all about the reopening story in China. Investors understand its choppy, but further rationalization of pandemic policies will be good news for these companies. We saw it with Club holding Wynn Resorts (WYNN) as the gaming hub of Macao took steps toward welcoming tourists from mainland China again. Shares of Wynn, which has two properties in Macao, soared Monday in response to that news . We’re not necessarily saying there’s a similar binary-type event that would spark major one-day moves in SBUX or AAPL. However, investors want more clarity around the operating environment in China. As they gain confidence that Beijing is easing off “zero Covid” in a real way, we expect it to work its way into the stock prices of Starbucks, Apple and the like. (Jim Cramer’s Charitable Trust is long TJX, COST and SBUX. See here for a full list of the stocks.) As a subscriber to the CNBC Investing Club with Jim Cramer, you will receive a trade alert before Jim makes a trade. Jim waits 45 minutes after sending a trade alert before buying or selling a stock in his charitable trust’s portfolio. If Jim has talked about a stock on CNBC TV, he waits 72 hours after issuing the trade alert before executing the trade. THE ABOVE INVESTING CLUB INFORMATION IS SUBJECT TO OUR TERMS AND CONDITIONS AND PRIVACY POLICY , TOGETHER WITH OUR DISCLAIMER . NO FIDUCIARY OBLIGATION OR DUTY EXISTS, OR IS CREATED, BY VIRTUE OF YOUR RECEIPT OF ANY INFORMATION PROVIDED IN CONNECTION WITH THE INVESTING CLUB. NO SPECIFIC OUTCOME OR PROFIT IS GUARANTEED.

People walk past a store of the sporting goods retailer Nike Inc. at a shopping complex in Beijing, China March 25, 2021.
Florence Lo | Reuters

A warning from Nike (NKE) in its first-quarter earnings report has given us some serious insights into a handful of consumer stocks in the portfolio.
We call them “readthroughs”: valuable investment clues we find by sifting through financials and comments from other companies, including ones not owned by Jim Cramer’s Charitable Trust, the portfolio we use for the Club. While it’s a never-ending process, quarterly results and earnings calls are gold mines for these readthroughs.

TJX Companies

Shoppers come and go the TJ Maxx store at the Mall at Prince George’s on August 17, 2022 in Hyattsville, Maryland.
Chip Somodevilla | Getty Images

The biggest takeaway in Nike’s quarter — and not just for us, but for Wall Street overall — is that the apparel giant has a major inventory problem in North America. Its shelves in the region swelled 65% in the first quarter compared with the same three-month window last year.

The cause is understandable: pandemic-induced supply chain complications, such as late deliveries over the past two seasons and early holiday orders. Nike is not an outlier in experiencing this.
The effect is good news for TJX Companies: Nike is taking “decisive action to clear excess inventory,” according to Nike CFO Matthew Friend.

Retail’s inventory glut is a key reason why we started a position in TJX, the parent company of Marshalls and TJ Maxx, in late August. Apparel makers and sellers don’t want to hold onto excess goods, especially when more seasonally relevant clothes are on their way. They want to get rid of it, even if it means taking the kind of short-term hit to profits that Nike said it’s likely to experience.
Off-price retailers such as TJX are the beneficiary of these industry dynamics. Here is the company in its own words, in its 2021 annual report:

“With many retailers continuing to close stores and with congestion in the supply chain, we offer vendors an attractive solution for clearing inventory,” TJX wrote, adding later that it is “in a great position to take advantage of the plentiful off-price buying opportunities in the marketplace.”

Nike is likely utilizing multiple approaches to get rid of its excess inventory, including markdowns in their own stores. However, Nike’s quarter makes it clear the “plentiful off-price buying opportunities” that TJX Companies has seen have not disappeared yet.
TJX shares were up more than 1.5% Friday, while Nike shares slumped more than 10%.

Starbucks & Apple

Alex Tai/SOPA Images | LightRocket | Getty Images

Nike’s negative China sales serve as a reminder about the current complexities of doing business in the world’s second-largest economy.

Nike’s sales in China were $1.66 billion in the first quarter. While that met Wall Street’s tempered expectations, it still represented a 16% year-over-year decline.
Nike’s earnings before interest and taxes (EBIT) in China also fell compared with a year earlier, down 23% to $541 million.

We had not forgotten about Beijing’s attempts to enforce its so-called “zero Covid policy” and the economic problems associated with rolling lockdowns in major cities. Nevertheless, Nike’s results are worth considering in the context of Club holdings Apple (AAPL) and Starbucks (SBUX), two other consumer-focused companies that count on China for growth.
We recognize the types of products the three companies sell vary greatly. Still, we have to remember that just because lockdowns have been lifted, we’re not out of the woods with business disruptions showing up in quarterly results. Not only are the results backward-looking — in Nike’s case, they cover the three months ended Aug. 31 — but it will take time for things to normalize. Fortunately, our extended investment horizon allows us to be patient.
On Nike’s earnings call Thursday night, CEO John Donahoe compared China to inflation in that “we can’t completely predict it.”

But structurally, we see some very encouraging signs with consumers,” Donahoe said, adding that Nike’s head of China operations, Angela Dong, is “very clear that they’re seeing Chinese consumers are emerging from these lockdowns with a real hunger for innovation, quality, and energized storytelling.”

Donahoe’s sentiment is similar to what we heard from Starbucks earlier this month during the company’s investor day. China is a huge part of Starbucks’ long-term vision — potentially overtaking the U.S. as its biggest market by 2025 — but it’s not smooth sailing just yet.

“With a partial lifting of Covid restrictions in different cities, I am very pleased to report that our recovery in China is well underway,” said Belinda Wong, chairwoman of Starbucks China. “However, given ongoing restrictions under China’s dynamic zero-Covid policy and the unpredictability of the future outbreaks, we remain vigilant and our recovery path will continue to be nonlinear.”

For Apple, its China revenue declined 1% in the quarter ended June 25, with management saying the lockdowns took a bite out of demand. The launch of the iPhone 14 in the middle of this month could catalyze sales. Demand in China for high-end iPhone 14s appears “robust,” UBS analysts said in a note Thursday, with wait times for Pro models longer than they were in 2021. “However, somewhat expected, the least expensive iPhone 14 is readily available in China,” the firm said, meaning lower demand.

Bottom line

The bottom line is that for companies like Nike, Starbucks and Apple, it’s all about the reopening story in China. Investors understand its choppy, but further rationalization of pandemic policies will be good news for these companies. We saw it with Club holding Wynn Resorts (WYNN) as the gaming hub of Macao took steps toward welcoming tourists from mainland China again. Shares of Wynn, which has two properties in Macao, soared Monday in response to that news.
We’re not necessarily saying there’s a similar binary-type event that would spark major one-day moves in SBUX or AAPL. However, investors want more clarity around the operating environment in China. As they gain confidence that Beijing is easing off “zero Covid” in a real way, we expect it to work its way into the stock prices of Starbucks, Apple and the like.
(Jim Cramer’s Charitable Trust is long TJX, COST and SBUX. See here for a full list of the stocks.)
As a subscriber to the CNBC Investing Club with Jim Cramer, you will receive a trade alert before Jim makes a trade. Jim waits 45 minutes after sending a trade alert before buying or selling a stock in his charitable trust’s portfolio. If Jim has talked about a stock on CNBC TV, he waits 72 hours after issuing the trade alert before executing the trade.
THE ABOVE INVESTING CLUB INFORMATION IS SUBJECT TO OUR TERMS AND CONDITIONS AND PRIVACY POLICY, TOGETHER WITH OUR DISCLAIMER.  NO FIDUCIARY OBLIGATION OR DUTY EXISTS, OR IS CREATED, BY VIRTUE OF YOUR RECEIPT OF ANY INFORMATION PROVIDED IN CONNECTION WITH THE INVESTING CLUB.  NO SPECIFIC OUTCOME OR PROFIT IS GUARANTEED. More

Health authorities in Ohio reported the death of an adult male who had monkeypox, the third fatality in the United States of someone who tested positive for that virus since the outbreak began in May.
Los Angeles officials confirmed earlier this month a patient had died from monkeypox. The first death of a person with the virus died in Texas in August.
The federal Centers for Disease Control and Prevention in a health alert warned that people who have compromised immune systems due to HIV and other conditions face a higher risk of developing severe symptoms from the virus.

A Northwell Health staff member holds the monkeypox vaccine, at Cherry Grove on Fire Island, New York, where monkey pox vaccines were administered on July 14, 2022.
James Carbone | Newsday | Getty Images

Health authorities in Ohio reported the death of an adult male who had monkeypox, the third fatality in the United States of someone who tested positive for that virus since the outbreak began in May.
The unidentified man had other health conditions, according to the state’s health department, which announced his death late Thursday.

The federal Centers for Disease Control and Prevention in a health alert to physicians Thursday warned that people who have compromised immune systems due to HIV and other conditions face a higher risk of developing severe symptoms from the virus.
The U.S. had the largest monkeypox outbreak in the world, with more than 25,000 cases reported across all 50 states, Washington D.C., and Puerto Rico, according to CDC data.
The outbreak has started to slow as the two-dose Jynneos vaccine has become more widely available, and people have become more aware of what precautions to take to avoid infection.
Los Angeles health officials confirmed earlier this month that an individual with a severely compromised immune system died from monkeypox after being hospitalized.
Texas health officials reported in late August that an adult in the Houston area diagnosed with monkeypox had died. That person also had a severely compromised immune system. The cause of death in that case is still under investigation.

While monkeypox is rarely fatal it causes a rash resembling blisters that can be extremely painful.
The virus is primarily spreading among gay and bisexual men through close contact during sex. But anyone can catch the disease through close contact with someone who is infected or with contaminated materials.

CNBC Health & Science

Read CNBC’s latest global health coverage:

In a study published earlier this month, the CDC found that 38% of 2,000 people diagnosed with monkeypox were living with HIV. And people with HIV were more likely to become hospitalized with monkeypox than other patients, according to the study.
The CDC, in its health alert this week, warned of severe monkeypox symptoms that include a persistent rash that turns into lesions resulting in the affected tissue dying. In some cases, treatment has required surgery and even amputation of the affected extremity, according to the agency.
Other severe symptoms include lesions that cover a significant portion of the body that are associated with secondary bacterial or fungal infections. Extremely painful lesions in sensitive areas such as the throat, urethra, rectum and vagina have also been reported.
Some lesions cause scarring that results in the narrowing of the urethra or anal canal, according to CDC. Facial scarring has also been reported.
In other instances, multiple organ systems have been affected resulting in neurological conditions such as encephalitis and cardiac conditions like myocarditis. Pink eye and ulcers on the cornea that threaten people’s sight have also been reported.

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Every weekday the CNBC Investing Club with Jim Cramer holds a “Morning Meeting” livestream at 10:20 a.m. ET. Here’s a recap of Friday’s key moments. Market still oversold When to buy chip Quick mentions: TJX, DIS, ABBV 1. Market still oversold We’re finally saying goodbye to September — but likely not to all the volatility we’ve seen in the markets over the past month. The Federal Reserve has doubled down on its hawkish stance on interest rates in recent days, raising concerns the central bank may not be able to pull off a soft landing. San Francisco Fed President Mary Daly said Thursday that she would be comfortable with interest rates going as high as 5% next year. Cleveland Fed President Loretta Mester told CNBC that more needs to be done to tamp down inflation. The Fed’s preferred inflation gauge accelerated faster than expected in August. Out Friday, core PCE (personal consumption expenditures) rose 4.9% year over year. At the same time, the Chicago Business Barometer tumbled in September , entering contraction territory for the first time since March 2020. The S & P 500 Short Range Oscillator is also still in oversold territory , meaning our advice to hold your nose and buy something still applies. 2. When to buy chips Jim Cramer broke down his take on all the Club’s semiconductor holdings — with some caveats. He said that investors should buy stocks of Advanced Micro Devices (AMD), if they believe Micron (MU) is stable after issuing a weaker-than-expected revenue outlook. Investors should be eyeing Qualcomm (QCOM), if they have faith that Apple (AAPL) won’t disappoint when it reports its next quarterly results. The Club has continued to stand by the iPhone maker and thinks its fundamentals are strong. It’s still too early to buy Nvidia (NVDA), Jim said. But this is the right time to buy shares of Marvell Technology (MRVL) because it’s an enterprise play, and, therefore, does not have issues stemming from changing consumer preferences like the Club’s other chip plays. 3. Quick mentions: TJX, DIS, ABBV Nike (NKE) said Thursday that it’s struggling with excess inventory, which is bad news for the company but great news for Club holding TJX Companies (TJX). That excess inventory will likely go into off-price stores like T.J. Maxx and Marshalls, so investors should consider picking up some shares of TJX. While Bank of America lowered its price target on Disney (DIS), to $127, we still stand by the stock. We added to our position on Thursday. SVB Securities put out a note Friday morning, reiterating its underperform rating and lowered its price target for AbbVie (ABBV) to $135 per share. However, in a follow-up, Leerink said it spoke to the company and said AbbVie management has made no change to its long-term guidance. (Jim Cramer’s Charitable Trust is long AABV, AAPL, AMD, DIS, MRVL, NVDA, TJX, QCOM. See here for a full list of the stocks.) As a subscriber to the CNBC Investing Club with Jim Cramer, you will receive a trade alert before Jim makes a trade. Jim waits 45 minutes after sending a trade alert before buying or selling a stock in his charitable trust’s portfolio. If Jim has talked about a stock on CNBC TV, he waits 72 hours after issuing the trade alert before executing the trade. THE ABOVE INVESTING CLUB INFORMATION IS SUBJECT TO OUR TERMS AND CONDITIONS AND PRIVACY POLICY , TOGETHER WITH OUR DISCLAIMER . NO FIDUCIARY OBLIGATION OR DUTY EXISTS, OR IS CREATED, BY VIRTUE OF YOUR RECEIPT OF ANY INFORMATION PROVIDED IN CONNECTION WITH THE INVESTING CLUB. NO SPECIFIC OUTCOME OR PROFIT IS GUARANTEED. More