Finance

Joseph M. Hogan is CEO of Align Technology
Jin Lee | Bloomberg | Getty Images

Check out the companies making headlines before the bell.
Align Technology — Shares rose 2.5% in early morning trading after HSBC initiated coverage with a buy rating. The firm cited the Invisalign maker’s strong brand presence and its potential to grow market share in digital orthodontics.

Hewlett Packard Enterprise — The tech stock fell nearly 2% in premarket trading after the company’s quarterly report. HPE posted adjusted earnings of 49 cents per share for its fiscal third quarter, 2 cents higher than a Refinitiv estimate. Revenue of $7 billion matched expectations.
Insulet — Insulet jumped 4.4% after CEO James Hollingshead disclosed Tuesday buying 5,550 shares of the medical device maker. Separately, the company announced Monday the launch of an insulin delivery system called Omnipod 5 in Germany, its third market after the U.S. and U.K.
Box — The stock plunged 10.2% premarket after the California-based cloud storage company posted a mixed second-quarter report postmarket Tuesday. Box’s revenue came in at $261 million, in line with Wall Street’s estimates, according to Refinitiv, while adjusted earnings of 36 cents per share beat analysts’ estimates by 1 cent. Box issued weak top- and bottom line financial guidance for the current quarter, and for full-year revenue, according to FactSet.
Texas Instruments — The semiconductor stock lost nearly 2.1% premarket Wednesday after Bernstein downgraded the shares to underperform from market perform, citing concerns revolving around the capital-intensive nature of its long-term strategy to increase in-house chip production.
HP — Shares of the PC and printer maker added 0.7% after revenue for the fiscal third quarter missed Wall Street estimates. HP posted $13.2 billion in revenue, below analysts’ $13.37 billion, according to Refinitiv, while earnings per share matched expectations at 86 cents, excluding items.

Ambarella — Shares plunged more than 20% on softer-than-expected forward guidance. Ambarella topped expectations for the second quarter on the top and bottom line but said it anticipates $50 million in third-quarter revenue, missing analysts’ estimate of $67.6 million, according to Refinitiv.
PVH — The Calvin Klein parent advanced 2.6% after a strong earnings report. PVH reported $1.98 in earnings per share, excluding items, on $2.21 billion in revenue, while analysts surveyed by Refinitiv had forecast $1.76 per share and revenue at $2.19 billion. The company reaffirmed its full-year revenue guidance and raised its outlook for earnings per share for the year.
— CNBC’s Samantha Subin, Yun Li and Sarah Min contributed reporting. More

Low earners find cost a larger barrier to making green lifestyle choices.
That’s partly because there’s often a “green premium” for certain consumer products. Investments to make a home more efficient, for example, may also not be affordable for some.
Here are eight easy, cost-effective ways consumers can cut their planet-warming greenhouse gas emissions. Most come with cost savings, too.

Artistgndphotography | E+ | Getty Images

Most Americans see climate change as a major threat. But income level seems to guide one’s willingness or ability to live a greener lifestyle.
Fifty-nine percent of high-income consumers always or often choose sustainable products, whereas that’s true for only 44% and 42% of mid- and low-income households, respectively, according to a new Deloitte survey. The poll was global, but the findings were consistent across individual countries such as the U.S., said James Cascone, partner at Deloitte.

A sustainable purchase would largely aim to reduce your planet-warming greenhouse gas emissions — for example, replacing a household appliance with a more energy-efficient counterpart or buying an electric vehicle.
More from Personal Finance:Consumers may get $14,000-plus in green rebatesEVs may beat out gas cars in long run, experts sayThat socially responsible fund may not be as ‘green’ as you think
Low earners were much more likely to cite cost as a barrier to an environmentally friendly purchase than high earners, Deloitte found.
“Cost is a big factor,” said Gregory Keoleian, director of the Center for Sustainable Systems at the University of Michigan.
High earners generally have the largest carbon footprints, noted Deloitte’s Cascone. They own bigger homes, have more vehicles and travel more by air, for example, but they can also more easily afford to change their behavior.

Sustainable products tend to carry a “green premium,” meaning they’re generally more expensive than the standard, experts said.

Even if a purchase would ultimately save money over the long term — due to lower household energy costs, for example — people living paycheck to paycheck generally can’t afford to invest in things such as new home insulation or efficient windows, said Katharine Hayhoe, chief scientist for the Nature Conservancy and professor at Texas Tech University.
A new national rebate program aims to ease or eliminate the cost burden of such investments, especially for lower-earning households. EV tax credits also seek to reduce net cost to buyers.
Here are some easy — and inexpensive or no-cost — ways to reduce your carbon footprint today, according to efficiency and environmental experts. You may even save money in the process.

1. Switch to LED lightbulbs ASAP

Gado | Archive Photos | Getty Images

Switching out older lightbulbs in your home for LED bulbs as soon as possible is among the best actions you can take, according to Hayhoe.
“It’s a no-brainer,” she said.
Why? LED, which stands for light-emitting diode, is today’s most-efficient lighting technology, according to the U.S. Department of Energy.
LEDs use up to 90% less energy and last up to 25 times longer than traditional incandescent bulbs, for example, the Energy Department said. They also last about three to five times longer than compact fluorescent light bulbs.
As such, the average household saves about $225 in energy costs per year by switching to LED lighting, the Energy Department said. While LEDs are a bit more expensive, costs have decreased “dramatically” and prices are expected to fall further, officials say.
However, households start saving money very quickly after switching to LED lighting, meaning it makes sense from both a financial and environmental standpoint to switch now rather than later, Keoleian said.

2. Cut food waste

Erlon Silva – Tri Digital | Moment | Getty Images

The average American wastes more than 400 pounds of food a year. In total, about 30% to 40% of edible food is wasted, Keoleian said.
Reducing such waste saves emissions across the food supply chain on agricultural production inputs such as fuel for tractors and fertilizers, and in other areas such as refrigeration and food distribution, he said.
Organic waste in landfills also generates methane, a greenhouse gas that is more than 25 times more potent than carbon dioxide at trapping heat in the atmosphere.
The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency publishes a list of ways to prevent food waste at home, such as planning meals for the week before shopping and properly storing fruits and vegetables.
Composting food scraps also “significantly” reduces methane emissions from waste. Check out this EPA list for tips on how to start composting at home.

3. Stop ‘energy vampires’

Jose Luis Pelaez | Stone | Getty Images

Many household appliances draw power from electrical outlets even when off or idle.
These “energy vampires” — which may include computers, hair dryers, cable boxes and coffee makers, among others — can add $100 to $200 a year to the average household energy bill, according to the Energy Department.
Unplug these devices when not in use. You can also plug them into a power strip or an outlet with a wall switch and switch the whole system on or off when you need to.

4. Seal any leaks

Kali9 | E+ | Getty Images

Heating and cooling accounts for nearly half the average home’s energy use, according to the Consumer Federation of America. In aggregate, small leaks around the house amount to leaving open a 3-foot-by-3-foot window, the group said.
“Simple steps” such as caulking windows and sliding draft guards under doors can save up to 20% on heating costs, the group said.
Even buying a clear, plastic film for windows helps insulate from heat and cold by adding a pocket of air between you and the outside, Hayhoe said. Indeed, she did this in her home.

5. Save water

Thanasis | Moment | Getty Images

Conserving water is important because water and wastewater treatment are carbon-intensive processes, as is heating that water at home, Keoleian said.
There are many ways to cut water use. For example, fully load machines such as dishwashers and clothing washers. Those who wash dishes by hand can be efficient by using two basins (one for cleaning and another for rinsing) instead of running the water.
Also, use cold water when possible. A washing machine spends 90% of its energy to heat water, for example, the Consumer Federation of America said. For drying, use a clothesline in warmer weather. On a related note, open the door at the end of a dishwasher’s wash cycle and let the dishes air dry.
Even putting something like a brick in your toilet tank will displace — and therefore save — water.  

6. Tweak your diet, even slightly

10’000 Hours | Digitalvision | Getty Images

Certain foods are more carbon-intensive than others.
Eating a more plant-based diet and cutting red meat intake is generally more environmentally friendly, as well as cheaper and healthier, experts said.
For example, beef’s greenhouse gas emissions per kilogram is about seven times higher than that of farm-raised fish, 10 times that of chicken and 230 times that of nuts or root vegetables. This is largely because cows produce a lot of methane.
While red meat — beef, pork and lamb — accounts for about 10% of the calories in an average diet, it contributes almost half the greenhouse gas emissions from agricultural production, Keoleian said.
Legumes, beans, nuts and lentils are very good protein substitutes, he said.
“You could still eat meat,” Keoleian said. “Just limit it and have a diversity of diet, which will be healthier.”
Of course, this might not be possible, he said. Food and diet are cultural, and not everyone likes plant-based proteins.

7. Use cars efficiently

Oscar Wong | Moment | Getty Images

Car owners — even those with gas guzzlers — can use their vehicles more efficiently.
For example, “trip chaining” means bundling trips. An example of this would be picking up groceries on the way home from work instead of making a one-off trip to the store.
Households with more than one car can also “rightsize,” a concept that matches the most efficient car with the trip. For example, that may mean commuting to work in a sedan instead of an SUV or pickup truck, Keoleian said.
Public transit, walking, biking and carpooling are other options, too, Hayhoe said.

8. Talk about it

Tom Werner | Digitalvision | Getty Images

Reducing individual carbon footprints can have an enormous influence on how businesses cut their greenhouse gas emissions, experts said. An industry will respond to consumer choices, sentiment and buying behavior, they said.
Consumers can therefore have a big effect by talking with friends, family and colleagues about how they saved money by living greener, Hayhoe said.
“The No. 1 thing that costs nothing and is most impactful is starting conversations about why this matters,” Hayhoe said.
“Do something — anything — and then talk about it,” she added. “Make it contagious in a good way.” More

U.S. Commerce Secretary Gina Raimondo spoke with CNBC’s Eunice Yoon in an exclusive interview Wednesday.
“My message was there’s a desire to do business, but we need predictability, due process and a level playing field,” Raimondo said.
“They said that China wants to embrace American business,” she told CNBC. “So now, let’s back that up with concrete actions to create a more predictable business environment.

US Commerce Secretary Gina Raimondo (C) talks to US Ambassador to China Nick Burns (L) as they head to a meeting with Chinese Premier Li Qiang at the Great Hall of the People in Beijing on August 29, 2023.
Andy Wong | Afp | Getty Images

BEIJING — U.S. Commerce Secretary Gina Raimondo has called on China to improve the predictability of the business environment for American companies in the country.
“My message was there’s a desire to do business, but we need predictability, due process and a level playing field,” Raimondo said in an exclusive interview with CNBC’s Eunice Yoon on Wednesday.

“There’s an appetite certainly for U.S. business to continue to do business in China,” she said, adding however that “It’s an unlevel playing field for U.S. business. It’s unpredictable.”
Raimondo was in China this week and met government officials in both Beijing and Shanghai. She is the first U.S. Commerce Secretary to travel to the country in five years — a period that’s seen the bilateral relationship grow increasingly tense.
Foreign companies in China have long complained about market access challenges including forced tech transfers and preferential treatment for local companies, especially state-owned enterprises.

Those issues and China’s longstanding trade surplus with the U.S. contributed to the Trump administration’s decision to levy tariffs on China in 2018, followed by restricting certain Chinese companies’ ability to buy from U.S. suppliers.
Increasingly, the U.S. government has emphasized the goal is to ensure national security.

Raimondo held firm on that point in her remarks.
“We just cannot allow sophisticated emerging technology from America to advance China’s military,” she said. “I’ll do whatever it takes to meet that mission.”
The U.S. Department of Commerce’s Bureau of Industry and Security last year announced export controls to limit Chinese access to advanced semiconductors. This month, the Biden administration revealed a proposal to restrict U.S. investment into high-end Chinese tech.

Calls for more action

Beijing also has national security in mind.
The Chinese government this year updated its counter-espionage law, alongside a few high-profile raids on international consulting firms — developments that rattled foreign businesses.

They said that China wants to embrace American business. So now, let’s back that up with concrete actions to create a more predictable business environment.

Gina Raimondo
U.S. Commerce Secretary

The updated law is of “great concern” to U.S. companies, Raimondo said.
She said clarifying the new parts of the counter-espionage law would a helpful, concrete action Beijing could take.
“Actions speak louder than words,” Raimondo said. “In all of my meetings, speaking with the premier and the vice premier, they were gracious, they were open.”
“They said that China wants to embrace American business,” she told CNBC. “So now, let’s back that up with concrete actions to create a more predictable business environment. To, as you say, grow confidence.”
Foreign business organizations have noted improvements over the years in China’s protection of intellectual property. The country is also trying to improve its court system.
Recent high-level Chinese government statements have included general calls to create a more predictable environment, and encourage foreign investment.

Read more about China from CNBC Pro

“China and the U.S. agree to continue to maintain communication, and support practical cooperation between businesses from both countries,” according to a CNBC translation of the Chinese-language readout of Raimondo’s meeting with Vice Premier He Lifeng. He is also the Chinese leader on China-U.S. trade and economic affairs.
This week, the U.S. and China agreed to establish regular communication channels on commerce, export controls and protecting trade secrets.

China will continue to believe that the U.S. is determined to block its rise, and the U.S. will continue to believe that China is determined to usurp the post-war global order.

Stephen Olson
Hinrich Foundation

Stephen Olson, senior research fellow at the Hinrich Foundation, cautioned against expecting real breakthroughs from increased communication alone.
“The Raimondo trip highlights the fundamental contradiction at the heart of the Biden administration’s China strategy,” he said. “It is putting a stranglehold on China’s access to critical technologies while at the same seeking to maintain if not expand trade and investment opportunities with China in those areas that suit U.S. interests.”
“China will continue to believe that the U.S. is determined to block its rise, and the U.S. will continue to believe that China is determined to usurp the post-war global order.”

A Boeing deal?

Raimondo wrapped up her China trip with a visit with Boeing executives at a company facility in Shanghai.
The U.S. aircraft giant is getting ready to resume 737 Max deliveries to China after a four-year hiatus, Bloomberg reported earlier this month, citing sources familiar with the situation.

When asked about a potential Boeing deal, Raimondo deferred to the company, but called it “an example of an action.”
“I know that the Chinese government has purchased these planes and we’re looking for them to take possession. I hope that that happens.”
Boeing did not immediately respond to a CNBC request for comment. More

U.S. Commerce Secretary Gina Raimondo has left Beijing with a few deliverables: plans for formal discussions on export controls and tourism.
In her two days in Beijing, Raimondo met with Premier Li Qiang, Vice Premier He Lifeng, Commerce Minister Wang Wentao and Minister of Culture and Tourism Hu Heping.
“China and the U.S. agree to continue to maintain communication, and support practical cooperation between businesses from both countries,” said the Chinese-language readout of Raimondo’s meeting with Vice Premier He.

U.S. Commerce Secretary Gina Raimondo (L) and Chinese Vice Premier He Lifeng pose for photographs before their meeting at the Great Hall of the People in Beijing on August 29, 2023.
Andy Wong | Afp | Getty Images

BEIJING — U.S. Commerce Secretary Gina Raimondo has left Beijing with a few deliverables: plans for formal discussions on export controls and tourism.
“Now it’s more than just agreements to keep talking. It’s a specific channel to address commercial issues,” Raimondo told reporters late Tuesday as she was leaving the capital city for Shanghai.

“I hope that this becomes a moment where we start to see action.”
In her two days in Beijing, Raimondo met with Premier Li Qiang, Vice Premier He Lifeng, Commerce Minister Wang Wentao and Minister of Culture and Tourism Hu Heping.
Here’s what they agreed to do, according to public announcements:

Establish a commercial issues working group between the commerce departments — meet twice a year at the vice minister level, and once at the minister level. The U.S. will host the first meeting in early 2024.
Launch export control enforcement information exchange — first in-person meeting held at the assistant secretary level at the Ministry of Commerce in Beijing on Tuesday.
Hold the 14th China-U.S. Tourism Leadership in China in the first half of 2024.
Convene experts from both sides for technical discussions about protecting trade secrets during administrative licensing proceedings. 
Informal discussions as frequently as needed between Wang and Raimondo.

“This is a very important visit because we had no active senior commercial dialogue,” U.S. Ambassador to China Nicholas Burns told reporters late Tuesday. He noted that in his first 15 months in China as ambassador, there were no U.S. discussions at a senior level with Chinese officials.

There was “no way to deliver really tough messages, no way to listen and provide some context for why they’re making decisions,” Burns said. “In a very, very challenging relationship intensive diplomacy is critical.”

Raimondo’s visit marks the latest in a series of renewed high-level U.S. official trips to China this summer amid a tense bilateral relationship.
“China and the U.S. agree to continue to maintain communication, and support practical cooperation between businesses from both countries,” according to a CNBC translation of the Chinese-language readout of Raimondo’s meeting with Vice Premier He, who is also the Chinese leader on China-U.S. trade and economic affairs.

We don’t negotiate on matters of national security.

Gina Raimondo
U.S. Commerce Secretary

The brief readout of the meeting also said the Chinese side raised concerns about U.S. tariffs, export controls on China, investment restrictions and other measures.
Raimondo said she “said no” to China’s requests to reduce export controls and “retract” the executive order on outbound investment screening.
“We don’t negotiate on matters of national security,” she said.
Earlier this month, U.S. President Joe Biden signed an executive order aimed at restricting U.S. investments into Chinese semiconductor, quantum computing and artificial intelligence companies over national security concerns. Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen is mostly responsible for determining the details. 

Forthcoming implementation remains in a period of public comment.
In the fall of 2022, the U.S. Department of Commerce’s Bureau of Industry and Security announced new export controls that limited the ability of Chinese businesses to buy certain advanced semiconductors from American suppliers.
This summer, China’s Ministry of Commerce announced its own export controls to restrict Chinese exports of two metals — gallium and germanium that are used in semiconductor manufacturing.

An unstable economic relationship between China and the United States is bad for the world.

Gina Raimondo
U.S. Commerce Secretary

Raimondo noted that about 1% of U.S.-China trade is subject to export controls.
“An unstable economic relationship between China and the United States is bad for the world,” she said.
However, she said her conversations with more than 100 businesses around this trip found that doing business in China was getting harder with greater uncertainty surrounding new laws.
“Increasingly I hear from businesses China is uninvestible because it’s become too risky,” she said.
China has doubled down on efforts to promote investment in China this year, and rolled out initiatives to boost such inflows.
“Any one of those could be addressed as a way to show action,” Raimondo told reporters.
In Shanghai, her itinerary includes a meeting with the local party secretary and Shanghai Disney.
The theme park saw record high revenue, operating income and margin during the latest quarter, the Disney said in an earnings call.
— CNBC’s Eunice Yoon contributed to this report. More

The US Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit in Washington, D.C., US, on Wednesday, Aug. 9, 2022.
Al Drago | Bloomberg | Getty Images

Well, now the SEC is in a real pickle. 
The U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit sided with Grayscale in a lawsuit against the SEC, greatly improving the chances that a bitcoin exchange traded fund will be approved. The SEC had earlier denied Grayscale’s application to convert its Grayscale Bitcoin Trust to an ETF. 

The problem for the SEC is that the court has squarely rejected the very basis on which the SEC has been denying a spot bitcoin ETF for the past several years. 
The SEC has said it can’t approve a spot bitcoin ETF because there isn’t a regulated crypto market of sufficient size to prevent manipulation. 
But the court called out the SEC over its prior approval of a futures-based bitcoin product.  The court said, in essence, Hey, you approved a futures-based bitcoin product. The futures and the spot market are “like” products. If you approve one, you have to approve the other. 
“Because the spot and futures markets for bitcoin are highly related, it stands to reason that manipulation in either market will affect the price of bitcoin futures,” the court said. 
“The denial of Grayscale’s proposal was arbitrary and capricious because the Commission failed to explain its different treatment of similar products,” the appeals court said. 

The tragedy of this ruling is that it does nothing to alleviate the concern over possible manipulation, which has not gone away. The court simply said that the SEC has erred in approving one ETF (bitcoin futures) and not approving another (spot bitcoin). 
Where to from here 
What’s next?  A lot depends on whether SEC Chair Gary Gensler wants to fold or fight to the end. 
The SEC has several choices to make. 
The first is whether it wants to appeal the case, in which case the order would be stayed until there is a decision on the appeal. The regulator has 45 days to make that decision. An appeal is possible, but the harsh tone of the judicial ruling certainly makes it more difficult for the SEC to appeal. 
Depending on the decision to appeal, there are several choices after that. 
1) Approve all or some of the nine applications for a spot bitcoin ETF as soon as possible. The SEC could go along with the court ruling and issue an order allowing the exchange on which the Grayscale ETF would list (NYSE Arca) to go ahead and list the Grayscale fund, or approve other funds that have applied. 
Applicants for a spot bitcoin ETF

Grayscale Bitcoin Trust
Ark/21 Shares Bitcoin Trust
Bitwise Bitcoin ETF Trust
BlackRock Bitcoin ETF Trust
VanEck Bitcoin Trust
WisdomTree Bitcoin Trust
Valkyrie Bitcoin Fund
Invesco Galaxy Bitcoin ETF
Fidelity Wise Origin Bitcoin Trust

 2) Delay as long as the law allows.  The first of the applicants to file was Ark, which published in the Federal Register on May 15.  The SEC has a maximum time of 240 days to approve or deny those applications, meaning the first deadline would be January 10, 2024. 
3) Come up with a new rationale why the application should not be approved and dare Grayscale to sue again. The SEC can no longer use the argument that there is not a market of sufficient size to prevent manipulation, but it could come up with other arguments. 
Like what?  That’s not clear. 
There’s one final possibility: the SEC could just kill the bitcoin futures ETF.  That is theoretically possible, but unlikely, considering the SEC recently approved (leveraged) bitcoin futures. 
Who’s first in line? 
Even assuming a spot bitcoin ETF is coming, it doesn’t mean Grayscale can necessarily jump the line. It’s possible the SEC will approve ARK first, or all of them at the same time. 
I wonder if the SEC is regretting that decision to approve bitcoin futures. 
Note:  Matt Hougan Chief Investment, Officer for Bitwise Asset Management, one of the applicants for a spot bitcoin ETF, will appear on ETF Edge on Halftime Report Wednesday.  For ETF Edge at 2:00 PM ET, Hougan will be joined by Craig Salm, Grayscale’s chief legal officer, and Jeremy I. Senderowicz, an attorney with VedderPrice who has been representing ETFs for close to 20 years. More

The Hewlett-Packard Co. logo is displayed on the window of an electronics store in New York.
Ramin Talaie | Bloomberg | Getty Images

Check out the companies making headlines in after-hours trading.
Box — The cloud stock fell 7% after hours on a mixed second-quarter report. Box’s revenue came in at $261 million, in line with Wall Street’s estimates, according to Refinitiv. However, the company posted adjusted earnings of 36 cents per share, beating analysts’ estimates by 1 cent. Box also posted weak guidance on both lines for the current quarter and for full-year revenue, according to FactSet.

Ambarella — The semiconductor maker slid nearly 14% as soft current-quarter guidance overshadowed a strong report. Though Ambarella beat expectations on both lines in the second quarter, the company said to expect $50 million in third-quarter revenue while analysts surveyed by Refinitiv anticipated $67.6 million.
HP — The product maker dropped 5.6% in extended trading after revenue for the fiscal third quarter underwhelmed Wall Street. HP posted $13.2 billion in revenue, missing the estimate from analysts polled by Refinitiv of $13.37 billion. Earnings per share came in line with expectations at 86 cents, excluding items.
Hewlett Packard Enterprise — The technology stock retreated about 1%. The company narrowly beat expectations on both lines in its fiscal third quarter. Hewlett Packard Enterprise posted adjusted earnings of 49 cents per share on revenue of $7 billion, while analysts polled by Refinitiv anticipated earnings of 47 cents per share and revenue of $6.99 billion.
PVH — The Calvin Klein parent climbed 2.6% on the heels of a strong financial report. PVH reported $1.98 in earnings per share, excluding items, on $2.21 billion in revenue, while analysts surveyed by Refinitiv forecast $1.76 per share and revenue at $2.19 billion. The company also reaffirmed its full-year revenue guidance and raised its outlook for earnings per share for the year. More

A shopper loads televisions into the trunk of a vehicle outside a Best Buy store on Black Friday in San Francisco, Nov. 25, 2022.
David Paul Morris | Bloomberg | Getty Images

Check out the companies making headlines in midday trading.
Best Buy — Shares popped nearly 4% after the retailer’s fiscal second-quarter earnings beat on both the top and bottom lines. Adjusted earnings per share came in at $1.22, versus the $1.06 expected from analysts polled by Refintiv. Revenue was $9.58 billion, topping the consensus estimate of $9.52 billion. However, Best Buy lowered the top end of its revenue outlook for the year.

Big Lots — The discount retailer surged 26.7% after its earnings report came in better than analysts expected. Big Lots lost $3.24 per share, on an adjusted basis, less than the $4.11 forecast by analysts surveyed by FactSet. Revenue exceeded the consensus estimate of $1.1 billion, coming in at $1.14 billion.
Coinbase, Marathon Digital, Riot Platforms — Stocks tied to the cryptocurrency industry soared after a court ruled against the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission in a lawsuit about spot bitcoin exchange-traded funds. Shares of Coinbase, which is named as a custodial partner in several proposed bitcoin ETFs, jumped 14.9%. Bitcoin mining stocks also rose, with Marathon Digital surging 28.8% and Riot Platforms climbing 17.2%.
3M — Shares gained 1.4% after the company agreed to settle lawsuits regarding potentially defective U.S. military earplugs for $6.01 billion. The deal had grown into the largest mass tort litigation in U.S. history.
Heico — The engine and aircraft parts maker retreated 1.4%. Despite beating expectations for revenue in the quarter, the company said its operating margin fell when compared with the same quarter a year ago.
Nio — The Chinese electric vehicle maker slid 1.2% after posting a wider quarterly loss than anticipated. Industry giant Tesla climbed more than 5.4%.

Nvidia — The artificial intelligence stock rallied 4%, part of a broader ascent among technology stocks in Tuesday’s session. Morgan Stanley reiterated its overweight rating on the stock, noting its strong earnings report last week can be a positive signal for the AI supply chain.
PDD Holdings — U.S.-listed shares jumped 15.4%. The Chinese e-commerce company beat Wall Street expectations when reporting second-quarter earnings. It noted a positive shift in consumer sentiment during the quarter.
Oracle — Software giant Oracle climbed 3.2% following an upgrade from UBS to buy from neutral. UBS said the stock could have upside ahead due to tailwinds tied to AI.
AT&T, Verizon — The telecommunications giants each added more than 3% on the back of a Citi upgrade to buy. The firm cited stabilization in the wireless environment and said the stocks’ valuations may be over discounting potential costs tied to mitigating lead-covered cables.
Alphabet, General Motors — Google Cloud and General Motors said Tuesday they’re working together to explore AI opportunities across the automaker’s business. Following the announcement, shares of Google Cloud’s parent company Alphabet and General Motors rose 2.7% and 1%, respectively, during midday trading.
Catalent — Catalent jumped 4.7% after the biotech company issued a solid revenue outlook and announced a deal with activist investor Elliott Investment Management. For fiscal 2024, Catalent forecast revenue in the range of $4.30 billion to $4.50 billion, far above the $4.19 billion expected by analysts polled by FactSet. Additionally, Catalent agreed to name four new independent directors to its board, two of whom will be nominated by Elliott. It also agreed to a review of its business and strategy.
Ginkgo Bioworks — The biotechnology company’s stock popped 24% after announcing a five-year cloud and AI partnership with Google Cloud. As part of the deal, Ginkgo Bioworks will work to create new large language models for biology and biosecurity uses. Alphabet shares rose nearly 3%.
Rockwell Automation — The industrial stock gained 2.6% after Wells Fargo upgraded the stock to equal weight from underweight. The Wall Street firm said it’s bullish on Rockwell’s earnings growth potential.
Airbnb — The vacation booking platform climbed 4.8%. Bernstein reiterated its outperform rating and said investors should buy the stock after a recent pullback in share prices.
Palantir Technologies— The software stock surged more than 5%. Bank of America reiterated its buy rating on Palantir, calling the company a “key player” in implementing secure AI despite the recent share pullback.
Splunk — Shares of the software company added 1.1% after Jefferies named the company a top pick in a Tuesday note. Jefferies said Splunk is now in the position to deliver “mid-teens” increases in annual revenue after a management overhaul that began 18 months ago.
Futu Holdings — The Asian wealth management stock popped 9.1% following a double-upgrade to buy from underperform by Bank of America. The Wall Street bank said to expect more growth in overseas markets.
NextEra Energy Partners — The energy stock advanced 4.2% on the back of an upgrade from Raymond James to outperform from market perform. Raymond James said investors should buy the dip on the stock.
— CNBC’s Sarah Min, Samantha Subin, Yun Li, Hakyung Kim, Michelle Fox, Pia Singh and Jesse Pound contributed reporting. More

U.S. regulators on Tuesday unveiled plans to force regional banks to issue debt and bolster their so-called living wills, steps meant to protect the public in the event of more failures.
All American banks with at least $100 billion in assets would be subject to the new requirements, which resemble rules that apply to the world’s biggest banks.
Impacted lenders will have to maintain long-term debt levels equal to 3.5% of average total assets or 6% of risk-weighted assets, whichever is higher, according to a fact sheet released Tuesday.

Martin Gruenberg, acting chairman of the Federal Deposit Insurance Corp. (FDIC), speaks during an Urban Institute panel discussion in Washington, D.C., on Friday, June 3, 2022.
Ting Shen | Bloomberg | Getty Images

U.S. regulators on Tuesday unveiled plans to force regional banks to issue debt and bolster their so-called living wills, steps meant to protect the public in the event of more failures.
American banks with at least $100 billion in assets would be subject to the new requirements, which makes them hold a layer of long-term debt to absorb losses in the event of a government seizure, according to a joint notice from the Treasury Department, Office of the Comptroller of the Currency, Federal Reserve and Federal Deposit Insurance Corp.

The steps are part of regulators’ response to the regional banking crisis that flared up in March, ultimately claiming three institutions and damaging the earnings power of many others. In July, the agencies released the first salvo of expected changes, a sweeping set of proposals meant to heighten capital requirements and standardize risk models for the industry.
In their latest proposal, impacted lenders will have to maintain long-term debt levels equal to 3.5% of average total assets or 6% of risk-weighted assets, whichever is higher, according to a fact sheet released Tuesday by the FDIC. Banks will be discouraged from holding the debt of other lenders to reduce contagion risk, the regulator said.

Higher funding costs

The requirements will create “moderately higher funding costs” for regional banks, the agencies acknowledged. That could add to the industry’s earnings pressure after all three major ratings agencies have downgraded the credit ratings of some lenders this year.
Still, the industry will have three years to conform to the new rule once enacted, and many banks already hold acceptable forms of debt, according to the regulators. They estimated that regional banks already have roughly 75% of the debt they will ultimately need to hold.
The KBW Regional Banking Index, which has suffered deep losses this year, rose less than 1%.

Indeed, industry observers had expected these latest changes: FDIC Chairman Martin Gruenberg telegraphed his intentions earlier this month in a speech at the Brookings Institution.

Medium is the new big

Broadly, the proposal takes measures that apply to the biggest institutions — known in the industry as global systemically important banks, or GSIBs — down to the level of banks with at least $100 billion in assets. The moves were widely expected after the sudden collapse of Silicon Valley Bank in March jolted customers, regulators and executives, alerting them to emerging risks in the banking system.
That includes steps to raise levels of long-term debt held by banks, removing a loophole that allowed midsized banks to avoid the recognition of declines in bond holdings, and forcing banks to come up with more robust living wills, or resolution plans that would take effect in the event of a failure, Gruenberg said this month.
Regulators would also look at updating their own guidance on monitoring risks including high levels of uninsured deposits, as well as changes to deposit insurance pricing to discourage risky behavior, Gruenberg said in the Aug. 14 speech. The three banks seized by authorities this year all had relatively large amounts of uninsured deposits, which were a key factor in their failures.

What’s next for regionals?

Analysts have focused on the debt requirements because that is the most impactful change for bank shareholders. The point of raising debt levels is so that if regulators need to seize a midsized bank, there is a layer of capital ready to absorb losses before uninsured depositors are threatened, according to Gruenberg.
The move will force some lenders to either issue more corporate bonds or replace existing funding sources with more expensive forms of long-term debt, Morgan Stanley analysts led by Manan Gosalia wrote in a research note Monday.
That will further squeeze margins for midsized banks, which are already under pressure because of rising funding costs. The group could see an annual hit to earnings of as much as 3.5%, according to Gosalia.
There are five banks in particular that may need to raise a total of roughly $12 billion in fresh debt, according to the analysts: Regions, M&T Bank, Citizens Financial, Northern Trust and Fifth Third Bancorp. The banks didn’t immediately respond to requests for comment.

Bank groups complain

Having long-term debt on hand should calm depositors during times of distress and reduces costs to the FDIC’s own Deposit Insurance Fund, Gruenberg said this month. It also improves the chances that a weekend auction of a bank could be done without using extraordinary powers reserved for systemic risks, and gives regulators more options in that scenario, like replacing ownership or breaking up banks to sell them in pieces, he said.
“While many regional banks have some outstanding long-term debt, the new proposal will likely require issuance of new debt,” Gruenberg said. “Since this debt is long-term, it will not be a source of liquidity pressure when problems become apparent. Unlike uninsured depositors, investors in this debt know that they will not be able to run when problems arise.”
Investors in long-term bank debt will have “greater incentive” to monitor risk at lenders, and the publicly traded instruments will “serve as a signal” of the market’s view of risk in these banks, he said.
Regulators are accepting comments on these proposals through the end of November. Trade groups raised howls of protest when regulators released part of their plans in July.

Correction: FDIC Chairman Martin Gruenberg gave a speech in August at the Brookings Institution. An earlier version misstated the month. More