Finance

Jack Dorsey, co-founder and chief executive officer of Twitter Inc. and Square Inc., speaks during the Bitcoin 2021 conference in Miami, Florida, U.S., on Friday, June 4, 2021.Eva Marie Uzcategui | Bloomberg | Getty ImagesSquare CEO Jack Dorsey has high hopes for digital asset and aspiring currency bitcoin.”My hope is that it creates world peace or helps create world peace,” Dorsey said during a “The B Word” webinar on Wednesday.”We have all these monopolies off balance and the individual doesn’t have power and the amount of cost and distraction that comes from our monetary system today is real and it takes away attention from the bigger problems,” Dorsey added. Tesla CEO Elon Musk and ARK Invest founder, CEO and CIO Cathie Wood were also speakers on the panel.”All these distractions that we have to deal with on a daily basis take away from those bigger goals that effect every single person on this planet and increasingly so. You fix that foundational level and everything above it improves in such a dramatic way. It’s going to be long-term but my hope is definitely peace,” the founder of Twitter added.Dorsey is a long-time advocate of the digital currency, saying in 2018 the cryptocurrency will eventually become the world’s “single currency.” Last year, Square purchased about $50 million in bitcoin, representing about 1% of its balance sheet.Last week, Dorsey announced that Square is creating a new business focused on “decentralized financial services” using bitcoin. Decentralized finance, or DeFi, applications aim to recreate traditional financial systems, such as banks and exchanges, with cryptocurrency. Most run on the ethereum blockchain. Dorsey said on Twitter late Thursday that the company is “focused on building an open developer platform with the sole goal of making it easy to create non-custodial, permissionless, and decentralized financial services.”After that announcement last week, Wood’s ARK Invest purchased another 225,937 shares of Square worth around $53.6 million, based on Square’s closing price from last Thursday. More

Investors may want to consider putting new money to work in stocks.This recent upheaval is creating significant investment opportunities in cyclical and value stocks, according to Bryn Mawr Trust’s Jeff Mills.”[These areas] of the market that have really been left for dead for the better part of two months is really encouraging to me,” the firm’s chief investment officer told CNBC’s “Trading Nation” on Wednesday.Even though Mills believes more pain could be ahead, he lists energy, materials, industrials and small caps as his top investment picks because they’re tied to the economic rebound and often do well in a rising interest rate environment.”If you look at the average stock in the Russell 1000 being down about 10% right now,” he said. “Zero percent of energy names are above their 50-day moving average.”Within energy, Mills is particularly bullish on EOG Resources, a shale oil and natural gas producer.”That’s our favorite name in the energy space. I think you see the commodities start to stabilize. You’ve already seen energy stocks get beat up in a big way,” said Mills. “So, I really think that’s where you want to be looking here going forward if you have, say, a six to 12 month time horizon.”Mills, who has $21 billion in assets under management, is weary of the recent momentum in other parts of the market.”This kneejerk reaction that we had really after the [June] Fed meeting when everyone ran into large cap, into growth, into technology — it’s really this market muscle memory that I don’t think actually lasts,” he said.While Mills is bullish on cyclicals, one of his largest underweights is Big Tech. His warning to investors: The group’s two month jump is unsustainable because rising rates will whip up major headwinds.”You had Big Tech respond to this really rapid decline in interest rates that we’ve experienced over the last couple of months. I think that has reached its bottom at this point,” noted Mills, a CNBC contributor.On Wednesday, the benchmark 10-year Treasury note yield closed up 8 basis points to 1.29%. On Monday, it sank to a 5-month low.Meanwhile, the major indexes rallied for their second day in a row and are positive again for the week. The Dow, S&P 500 and Nasdaq are about 1% away from their all-time highs.”It’s interesting that the S&P 500 has bounced four or five times now off of that upward sloping 50-day moving average,” Mills said. “The fact that we saw some strength after Monday right off that technical level makes me feel pretty good.”Disclosure: Bryn Mawr Trust owns EOG Resources shares.Disclaimer More

In this articleCSXKMITXNLVSSignage is displayed outside the Venetian Resort in Las Vegas, Nevada, U.S., on Sunday, Oct. 18, 2020.Roger Kisby | Bloomberg | Getty ImagesCheck out the companies making headlines in after-hours trading.Las Vegas Sands — Shares of the casino giant slipped 2% in extended trading after the company missed analysts’ expectations on the top and bottom line during the second quarter. Las Vegas Sands lost 26 cents per share excluding items, compared to the expected loss of 16 cents, according to Refinitiv. Revenue came in at $1.17 billion, short of the expected $1.41 billion.Kinder Morgan — Kinder Morgan shares dipped about 1% despite the company’s second-quarter results beating expectations. The energy infrastructure company earned 23 cents per share excluding items on $3.15 billion in revenue. Wall Street analysts were expecting 19 cents per share and $2.91 billion in revenue, according to estimates from StreetAccount.CSX Corporation — The rail company’s stock advanced more than 3% after the company beat revenue estimates during the second quarter. CSX’s revenue came in at $2.99 billion, which was above the $2.93 billion analysts surveyed by Refinitiv were expecting.Texas Instruments — Shares dipped more than 3% despite the semiconductor company beating top- and bottom-line estimates during the second quarter. Texas Instruments earned $2.05 per share on $4.58 billion in revenue. Analysts polled by Refinitiv were expecting the company to earn $1.83 per share on $4.35 billion in revenue.Become a smarter investor with CNBC Pro. Get stock picks, analyst calls, exclusive interviews and access to CNBC TV. Sign up to start a free trial today More

In this articleHALRUNNOVAVZNFLXCMGCustomers wait outside of a Chipotle restaurant as they wait to enter in order to place an order as Florida continues with its Phase 1 of reopening the state during the Coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic on May 19, 2020, in Aventura, FL.Icon Sportswire | Getty ImagesCheck out the companies making headlines in midday trading.Chipotle Mexican Grill — Shares of the fast-food chain surged 11.5% after beating on the top and bottom lines of its quarterly results. Chipotle reported earnings of $7.46 on revenue of $1.89 billion. Analysts expected earnings of $6.52 on revenue of $1.88 billion, according to Refinitiv. Revenue surpassed pre-pandemic levels as dine-in customers returned to its restaurants.Netflix — The streaming platform’s share price slipped 3.3% after Netflix reported disappointing earnings and third-quarter subscriber guidance. Netflix earned $2.97 per share, below estimates of $3.16 per share, according to Refinitiv. The company said it expects 3.5 million net subscribers in the third quarter, nearly 2 million below analysts’ estimates.Verizon Communications — Shares of Verizon gained 0.7% after the company reported better-than-expected second-quarter earnings. The telecommunications company earned an adjusted $1.37 per share on revenues of $33.76 billion in the second quarter. Analysts were expecting $1.30 adjusted earnings per share on revenues of $32.74 billion, according to Refinitiv.Coca-Cola — Shares of the beverage maker rose about 1.3% after the company reported second-quarter earnings of 68 cents per share, beating forecasts by 12 cents per share, according to Refinitiv. Its revenue topped pre-pandemic levels, and Coca-Cola also raised its full-year forecast.United Airlines — The airline stock climbed 3.8% after the carrier reported higher-than-expected second-quarter revenue, thanks to a resurgence in air travel. United’s revenue beat forecasts by quadrupling compared to a year earlier amid a surge in bookings. The airline expects the trend to continue despite the fast-spreading delta variant. United reported a loss of $3.91, in line with expectations per Refinitiv.Harley-Davidson — Harley-Davidson shares sunk 7.2% after mixed second-quarter earnings results. The motorcycle maker’s quarterly earnings of $1.33 per share came in 16 cents above Wall Street estimates, according to Refinitiv. However, the company’s second-quarter revenue fell short of analysts’ projections.Sunnova and Sunrun — Shares of Sunnova and Sunrun added 3.9% and 4.9%, respectively, after JPMorgan named the two solar companies as top picks. “We highlight Overweight-rated Sunnova (NOVA) and Sunrun (RUN) as top picks for 2H21 owing to elevated inventory levels, which should position both companies relatively better to meet expected demand near-term,” the bank said in a note.Halliburton — The energy stock jumped 3.5% on Wednesday after Goldman Sachs upgraded Halliburton to buy from neutral. Goldman also said that it expected Halliburton to hike its dividend as early as next year.RealReal — Shares of the online consignment retailer rose about 5% after Bank of America upgraded the stock to buy from neutral. The firm said in a note that RealReal was hit harder by the pandemic than other e-commerce stocks and could now be in line for an expansion in its valuation multiple.— CNBC’s Maggie Fitzgerald, Jesse Pound, Tanaya Macheel and Yun Li contributed reportingBecome a smarter investor with CNBC Pro. Get stock picks, analyst calls, exclusive interviews and access to CNBC TV. Sign up to start a free trial today More

In this articleOPFIJared Kaplan, CEO of fintech OppFi, told CNBC on Wednesday he wants to help alleviate Americans’ emergency savings worries.OppFi’s target customer is the “median U.S. consumer” who earns about $50,000 annually and has a bank account, Kaplan said.Artificial intelligence-powered OppFi aims to offer accessible financial services to those who lack traditional options. So far, it primarily offers installment loans facilitated through banks. Revenue this year is projected to be $418 million after seeing consistent growth in the last five years.Shares of OppFi, short for Opportunity Financial, rose about 2% in their market debut Wednesday after the company completed its merger with FG New America Acquisition Corp., a special purpose acquisition company.”We were not going to be like any SPAC,” FG New America Chairman Joe Moglia said Wednesday on “Squawk Box,” in an interview with Kaplan. Moglia was also formerly chairman of TD Ameritrade. “It was very important for us to partner with a company that we really believe had a real plan, that they could execute with a really strong management team.”Due to Covid, many Americans chose saving over spending due to pandemic-induced fears, shutdowns and increasing costs. People, however, also saw more money in their bank accounts after receiving federal stimulus checks. “The stimulus payments were short-term help,” Kaplan said. “The reality is savings is a problem in this country. Even with this inflationary environment and incomes are up a little bit, the major costs of living are still going up at a faster rate.” He said, “Our customers have a couple hundred dollars in their bank account.”There are 150 million Americans, some 45% of the nation’s population, with less than $1,000 of savings, Kaplan said, adding those people who also have poor credit can feel “completely abandoned” when it comes to paying larger or sudden expenses. Nearly 63% of respondents in an April survey conducted by real estate company Clever said they were living paycheck to paycheck and were unable to save during the pandemic. A survey from Bankrate, which was published in January, showed that fewer than 40% of Americans could pay for an unexpected $1,000 expense from their savings. People are still more optimistic that this year will be better for their finances, the report also found. Kaplan expects people to seek more credit access services to pay for their unexpected expenses, particularly once mortgage payments and student loan payments pick back up. “I think going into the future, our prospects are equally as good but we want to help customers get out of the problem,” Kaplan said. “It’s not just about providing credit access products because they can’t build savings today.”He said it’s also about “reducing their cost of borrowing, and helping them build savings so that they can get out of having to borrow for any emergency expenses that pops up beyond what they budgeted for.” More

Christine Lagarde, president of the European Central Bank (ECB), speaks during a live stream video of the central bank’s virtual rate decision news conference.Bloomberg | Bloomberg | Getty ImagesThe European Central Bank’s new inflation target and its possible effects on monetary policy will be the key topic of this week’s meeting in Frankfurt.Hopes are high that the euro zone’s central bank will come up with a dovish surprise as President Christine Lagarde keeps stressing the need for a forceful policy response to avoid a de-anchoring of inflation expectations.”We recognize very specifically that the proximity to the effective lower bound requires forceful or persistent monetary policy action,” Lagarde said during a question and answer session when presenting the new strategy on July 8.The ECB effectively hiked its inflation target from “below but close to 2%” to a symmetric 2% target over the medium term, which means that both overshooting and undershooting is allowed but “not desirable.”The Federal Reserve in the United States last year also announced that it would allow inflation to run hotter than normal as a way to boost the labor market and economic recovery. This in practical terms means that the central bank is less likely to increase interest rates.Since the euro zone’s financial crash, consumer price growth has averaged at just 1.2%. In other words, despite all the extraordinary measures deployed amid the sovereign debt crisis, inflation has not achieved the ECB’s target over the last decade.What does this mean for monetary policy? The jury is still out. While some expect more than just tweaks in the ECB’s forward guidance this week, others expect a real sea change to come later this year once there is more clarity about the region’s economic trajectory and the evolution of the coronavirus pandemic.”We think policymakers’ commentary over the past week suggests that the ECB will go beyond just changing the forward guidance at its meeting on 22 July,” said Luigi Speranza, chief global economist at BNP Paribas, in a recent research note.”Our bias is to think that we will get greater clarity on the post-PEPP environment as well, underscoring the ECB’s message of persistent accommodation,” he said.Others have more muted expectations.”The key message could thus be that there is no rush to signal tighter policy, even at the September/October meetings,” said Anatoli Annenkov of Societe Generale. “We only expect a better understanding of the possible end of the crisis phase of the pandemic late this year, suggesting that the key decisions on PEPP may only come then,” he added.The ECB put forward an emergency bond-buying program in March of 2020 to deal with the economic shock from the pandemic. This program, known as the PEPP, is currently set to last until March 2022 and total up to 1.85 trillion euros ($2.2 trillion). More

In this articleBTC.CM=A bitcoin sign with a graph pictured in the background.STR | NurPhoto via Getty ImagesBitcoin and other cryptocurrencies recovered on Wednesday after a brutal sell-off, with the world’s biggest digital coin climbing back above $30,000.The price of bitcoin rose 6% in the last 24 hours, to $31,526 at 7:45 a.m. ET, according to Coin Metrics data. Smaller cryptocurrencies ether and XRP also rebounded, up around 9% and 6% respectively.The crypto market saw significant selling on Tuesday, with bitcoin falling below the $30,000 mark for the first time since June 22.The plunge came on the back of news that the New Jersey attorney general issued a cease and desist letter to crypto lending firm BlockFi, ordering it to stop offering interest-bearing accounts.The reason for the move higher Wednesday wasn’t immediately clear. Cryptocurrencies often undergo severe price swings. Bitcoin, for example, rallied to an all-time high of almost $65,000 in April before halving in value in the months that followed.’Dead cat bounce’Vijay Ayyar, head of Asia-Pacific at cryptocurrency exchange Luno, said Wednesday’s price move was likely a “dead cat bounce,” where an asset briefly recovers from a prolonged decline before continuing to slide.Unless bitcoin can climb above $32,000-$33,000, Ayyar expects more downside, with the top cryptocurrency potentially tumbling as low as $24,000-$25,000.”We saw broad market rallies across the board last night as well, and I think crypto is just playing off of that,” Ayyar told CNBC.”In general, there are lot of macro factors weighing down on risk-on assets at the moment — inflation worries, Covid, and with crypto we’ve got more specific worries such as much more regulatory oversight.”Regulatory pressureCryptocurrencies have been on a downward trajectory amid a growing crackdown on the industry from regulators around the world.In China, authorities have sought to stamp out crypto mining, the process which validates transactions and produces new coins. Meanwhile, Binance, the world’s largest crypto exchange, is facing intensifying pressure from regulators in the U.K., Italy and elsewhere. More

Check out the companies making headlines before the bell:Johnson & Johnson – J&J shares rose roughly 1% in the premarket after the company beat quarterly forecasts and raised its earnings outlook amid strong sales of drugs and medical devices. J&J reported adjusted quarterly earnings of $2.48 per share, beating the $2.27 consensus estimate, with revenue also topping Street forecasts.Verizon – Verizon added 1.3% in premarket trading, after beating estimates by 7 cents with adjusted quarterly profit of $1.37 per share. The company also reported better-than-expected revenue and subscriber growth, and raised its full-year outlook.Coca-Cola – The beverage giant’s shares rallied almost 2% in premarket action following an upbeat quarter. Coca-Cola came in 12 cents above estimates with adjusted quarterly earnings of 68 cents per share, with revenue beating forecasts as venues like stadiums and movie theaters reopened. Coca-Cola also raised its full-year forecast.Harley-Davidson – The motorcycle maker reported quarterly earnings of $1.33 per share, 16 cents above estimates, although revenue was short of analyst projections. Its bottom line benefited from sales of more high-margin products like touring and cruiser bikes. Harley shares jumped more than 2.5% in the premarket.Netflix – Netflix reported quarterly earnings of $2.97 per share, missing the consensus estimate of $3.16, although revenue and membership growth did beat forecasts. Its subscriber growth forecast for the current quarter is below current analyst estimates.Chipotle Mexican Grill – Chipotle earned an adjusted $7.46 per share, beating consensus forecasts of a $6.52 per share profit. The restaurant chain’s revenue was slightly above Wall Street forecasts, and comparable sales also beat analyst projections as indoor dining continued to rebound. Chipotle shares surged roughly 4.5% in premarket trading.United Airlines – United stock rose nearly 1% in the premarket after the airline matched estimates with a quarterly loss of $3.91 per share. United’s revenue did beat forecasts, quadrupling compared with a year earlier. The airline said it expected current-quarter unit revenue to improve compared with the pre-pandemic third quarter of 2019.JPMorgan Chase – The bank awarded Jamie Dimon 1.5 million stock options that are not exercisable for at least 5 years, with the board saying the award reflects its desire for the 65-year-old CEO to continue in that role “for a significant number of years.”SAP – SAP raised its outlook for the second time this year, with the business software giant benefiting from its work helping customers transition IT operations to the cloud. Despite the raise, SAP shares fell almost 5% in the premarket.Qualtrics International – Qualtrics shares surged 4.5% in the premarket after the SAP spinoff forecast better-than-expected 2021 sales and losses that were smaller than analysts were anticipating. The provider of customer rating systems said its offerings have become more popular as companies increase their online presence and use of apps to do business.Intuitive Surgical – Intuitive Surgical reported adjusted quarterly profit of $3.92 per share, compared with a $3.07 consensus estimate. The surgical equipment maker also reported better-than-expected revenue, as sales and usage of its da Vinci surgical robotic systems increased amid a rebound in medical procedures post-pandemic. Intuitive Surgical gained 3% in premarket trading.Sleep Number – Sleep Number fell 28 cents shy of estimates with quarterly earnings of 88 cents per share, with the mattress retailer’s revenue below estimates as well. Sleep Number said supply shortages continue to impact its sales, and its stock tumbled more than 12% in premarket action. More