Finance

Take a look at some of the biggest movers in the premarket:CureVac (CVAC) – CureVac shares plunged 46.2% in the premarket after the German drugmaker reported disappointing results from a study of its experimental Covid-19 vaccine. The treatment was 47% effective in a clinical trial, compared to more than 90% for other mRNA-based vaccines from Moderna (MRNA) and Pfizer (PFE).Novavax (NVAX), BioNTech (BNTX) – On the heels of the CureVac news, Novavax added 3.4% in the premarket while BioNTech rose 2.6%. BioNTech’s Covid vaccine – developed in partnership with Pfizer – is already approved for use in the US, while Novavax reported 90% efficacy for its vaccine in a recent study.The Honest Company (HNST) – The household products maker reported a wider-than-expected loss in its first quarter as a public company, although revenue was better than analysts had anticipated. Sales got a boost from pandemic-induced demand for sanitizing products. The stock tumbled 8.3% in premarket trading.Tenet Healthcare (THC) – The hospital operator’s shares jumped 3.5% in the premarket, after it announced the sale of five hospitals and associated physician practices in Florida to Steward Health Care for about $1.1 billion.Lennar (LEN) – Lennar earned $2.65 per share for its latest quarter, beating the $2.36 a share consensus estimate. Revenue topped forecasts as well. The home builder is dealing with higher input costs and a labor shortage, but the lack of homes for sale in the U.S. helped push prices higher and expand Lennar’s profit margins significantly over a year earlier.Dell Technologies (DELL) – Dell was chosen by Dish Network (DISH) to build key parts of the 5G network the satellite TV operator is building in the United States. Dish will launch 5G service in Las Vegas later this year and plans to cover 70% of the U.S. with its network by mid-2023.Fisker (FSR) – Fisker shares added 2.8% in the premarket after the electric vehicle maker signed a long-term manufacturing agreement with Magna International (MGA). Magna will build the Fisker Ocean electric SUV starting in November 2022.Aon (AON), Willis Towers Watson (WLTW) – The U.S. Justice Department sued to block insurance company Aon’s deal to buy consulting firm Willis Towers Watson for $35 billion. The department said the combination could eliminate competition in several different markets. Aon and Willis Towers said the move showed a lack of understanding of their businesses, clients and the markets in which they operate.Akamai Technologies (AKAM) – A variety of financial institutions, governments and airlines experienced brief website outages early Thursday. Some of the outages were linked to a failure at web services company Akamai Technologies, according to people familiar with the matter who spoke to Bloomberg. Akamai said it was aware of the issue and was working to restore service as soon as possible. Shares fell 1.5% in premarket trading.O’Reilly Automotive (ORLY) – The auto parts retailer struck a new $1.8 billion revolving credit agreement with a group of banks led by JPMorgan Chase (JPM).Jack In The Box (JACK) – The restaurant chain was rated “outperform” in new coverage at RBC Capital, which noted the stock’s discounted valuation compared to its peers as well as upbeat prospects for new restaurant growth. More

In this articleUBSG-CHLONDON — One of the world’s biggest wealth managers doesn’t think artificial intelligence can replace the role of financial advisors.Ralph Hamers, the CEO of UBS, said Wednesday that technologies like AI were better suited to handling day-to-day functions like opening an account or executing trades than advising clients.”There is no added value for client advisors to be engaged in a process like that,” Hamers told CNBC’s Geoff Cutmore at the virtual CNBC Evolve Global Summit. “They’re advisors. They should advise.””Our financial advisors actually should be supported by the technology,” Hamers said, adding that AI could be used to make sense of the research and other data that advisors don’t have time for.”That is what artificial intelligence can do, because even our client advisors can’t read all the research that is there,” he said. “Our client advisors can’t comprehend all the product options that are out there.”Europe’s banking industry has seen radical change over the last decade, with new entrants like Monzo, Revolut and N26 emerging to take on incumbents with slick, digital-only services. Covid-19 has further accelerated digital transformation in the banking sector, with many lenders racing to move away from their aging IT systems to cloud-based technology. Some are partnering with tech companies like Microsoft, Amazon and Google, as well as fintech upstarts, to hasten the process.Hamers said UBS is looking to adopt a “Netflix experience” where clients have access to a “dashboard” of different research and products to choose from.”That’s where things are going, and that’s where UBS is making the next step, in terms of dealing with technology to deliver a much better service for our clients,” he added. More

In this articleLSEG-GBIn this photo illustration, the TransferWise logo is seen displayed on an Android mobile phone.Omar Marques | SOPA Images | LightRocket | Getty ImagesLONDON — British financial technology firm Wise said Thursday it expects to go public on the London Stock Exchange through a direct listing.Wise, which was formerly known as TransferWise, said it was seeking a direct listing rather than an initial public offering as it doesn’t need to raise any fresh capital. Direct listings allow companies to go public without involving underwriters or issuing new shares.The company said its stock market debut will be the first direct listing of a tech company in London.Founded in 2010, Wise says it has 10 million customers who use its money transfer service to send £5 billion ($7 billion) each month. The company competes with incumbents including Western Union and MoneyGram, as well as upstarts like Revolut and WorldRemit.News of Wise’s debut marks a big win for Britain, which is hoping to convince more large tech firms to list in London rather than New York. The government is considering proposals to relax London’s listing rules making it easier to issue dual class shares, which give founders and early backers more control.”We’re taking steps to become a public company in a way that’s transparent and fair,” Kristo Kaarmann, CEO and co-founder of Wise, told reporters on a conference call on Thursday.”We chose a direct listing because everyone has the same opportunity to own a part of Wise, from large institutions to customers. It’s less expensive than an IPO which helps us keep costs down and ultimately helps us on our mission to lower prices.”Wise was last privately valued at $5 billion in a secondary share sale last year. As the company is going public in a direct listing, there won’t be a share pricing process, which firms would normally go through with an IPO. A Sky News report said the company is seeking a valuation of up to £9 billion in its listing. Executives at the company said pricing would be determined by the market.Wise is opting for a dual class share structure on the standard segment of London’s main market. The firm said it intends to issue two classes of shares, class A and class B. The class B shares would entitle holders to nine extra votes per share. They are non-tradable, will not be listed and expire on the fifth anniversary of Wise’s listing, the company said.The structure means that Kaarmann will be entitled to more voting rights than other investors, but no existing shareholder will have more than half of the voting rights purely by virtue of holding class B shares. Investors have raised concerns in the past over governance issues in dual class structures, however Wise says its structure is fair and democratic.Deliveroo, which chose a dual class structure, sank as much as 30% on the first day of trading in March, in one of the worst IPOs in London’s history. However, the food delivery app’s float was overshadowed by other issues, including its treatment of gig workers and questions around profitability.Wise, which has been profitable since 2017, said it made a £30.9 million profit on revenues of £421 million in its 2021 fiscal year. Profits more than doubled from £15 million in the previous year, while revenues climbed 39% from £302.6 million.Wise said it would also introduce a customer shareholder program called OwnWise, which would let users own a stake in the company. Customers participating in the scheme would be entitled to receive bonus shares worth up to a maximum of £100 after 12 months. They will also receive other perks, such as invitations to biannual “mission days.””I hope Wise has opened an alternative avenue to the public markets for other U.K. technology businesses to ensure we have a thriving tech scene for decades to come,” said Stephen Kelly, chair of industry body Tech Nation.”The U.K. needs more poster-children and role models to inspire the next generation and it is good to see Wise live its values joining the London listing family.”Goldman Sachs, Morgan Stanley and Barclays will serve as lead financial advisors for Wise’s listing, with Citi acting as co-advisor. More

Stock futures dipped slightly in overnight trading after the Federal Reserve raised inflation expectations and forecast rate hikes as early as 2023.Futures on the Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 59 points, or 0.17%. S&P 500 futures edged 0.27% lower and Nasdaq 100 futures shed 0.43%.U.S. stocks fell during Wednesday’s regular session after the Fed’s initial statement and economic projections. The Dow Jones Industrial Average closed the day 265 points lower to 34,033.67. The blue-chip average dropped as many as 382 points during the day. The S&P 500 edged 0.5% lower to 4,223.70. The Nasdaq Composite dipped 0.2% to 14,039.68.Markets rallied off their intraday lows after Fed Chair Jerome Powell said projections for future rate increases should be “taken with a big grain of salt” and reiterated that he believes that inflation is transitory.Powell also did not issue guidance on when the central bank will begin tapering its bond-buying program.”You can think of this meeting that we had as the ‘talking about talking about’ meeting, if you’d like,” Powell said when asked about tapering. “I now suggest that we retire that term, which has served its purpose.”The Fed chair said the central bank will continue to monitor the economic recovery and will provide “advanced notice” before announcing any updates regarding tapering.”The market is reacting violently to the Fed’s upgrade to the inflation forecast and bringing those two interest rate increases forward, but I’m not sure what they were expecting considering some of the [inflation] numbers,” said Michael Arone of State Street Global Advisors.”There’s this disconnect between the summary of economic projections and what’s in the statement,” Arone said. “The big question is ‘is this transitory or is it more permanent?’ and what the Fed did today didn’t help clarify that conversation.”Also on Wednesday China announced it will release industrial metals from its natural reserves to keep commodity prices in check.Investors await quarterly earnings reports from Adobe, Kroger and other companies on Thursday. More

In this articleCCLNCLHGMLZBRUNKINORCLGM CEO Mary Barra talks with media prior to the start of the 2017 General Motors Company Annual Meeting of Stockholders Tuesday, June 6, 2017 at GM Global Headquarters in Detroit, Michigan.Photo by John F. Martin for GMCheck out the companies making headlines in midday trading.General Motors — GM shares added 1.6% after the company said it would increase spending on electric and autonomous vehicles to $35 billion through 2025. The new figure is 30% higher than plans announced late last year. “Across the board, we are seeing exceptionally strong reactions and positive response to all of our electric vehicles,” CEO Mary Barra told CNBC’s “Squawk on the Street.”H&R Block — Shares of H&R Block sunk 6.5% after the tax preparation company missed Wall Street’s fourth-quarter revenue expectations. On Tuesday, the company reported revenue of $2.33 billion, lower than analysts’ $2.35 billion estimate. However, H&R Block reported adjusted earnings of $5.16 per share, slightly higher than analysts’ $5.13 per share projection.Citigroup — Citi shares slumped 3.2% after Bloomberg reported the bank warned of rising costs and slipping revenue. Chief financial officer Mark Mason said he expected second-quarter expenses to increase to somewhere between $11.2 billion and $11.6 billion, according to Bloomberg.Oracle — Shares of the enterprise software maker dropped about 5.6% after the company offered lower quarterly revenue guidance than expected as it plans to increase capital expenditures to support cloud computing workloads. For its fiscal fourth quarter, Oracle posted earnings and revenue that beat analysts’ estimates, according to Refinitiv.Carnival, Royal Caribbean and Norwegian Cruise Line Holdings — Cruise stocks gained after Wolfe Research upgraded the three major lines to outperform from peer perform. Carnival shares added 2.3%, Royal Caribbean shares jumped 1.9% and Norwegian gained 2.6%.Roblox — Shares of the video game company sank 8% in midday trading after showing a slowdown in user growth from the month prior. Roblox reported 43 million daily active users for May, up 28% compared to a year earlier but down from 43.3 million in April.Kindred Biosciences — Shares of Kindred Biosciences soared 45.6% after the pet therapeutics company announced it would be acquired by Elanco Animal Health at a price of $9.25 per share, about $440 million. Kindred Biosciences said the selling price was a premium of 52% based on the 30-day average.La-Z-Boy — La-Z-Boy shares slid 11.7% despite posting better-than-expected fourth-quarter financial results. The furniture company reported adjusted earnings of 87 cents per share, beating analysts’ earnings expectations of 74 cents per share, according to FactSet. The company also reported revenue of $519.5 million compared with the Street’s $498.5 million projection.Dish Network — Shares of the television company rose 2.7% after Pivotal Research Group upgraded the stock to buy from hold. The firm said in a note to clients that it was bullish on Dish’s push into 5G wireless.SoFi — Shares of the consumer finance startup rose 5% after Rosenblatt initiated coverage of the company as a top pick based on fintech’s promise to offer more services at lower costs. Earlier this week JPMorgan Chase CEO Jamie Dimon also lamented that the financial institution “could have” innovated the way fintech firms have but didn’t due to heftier regulatory requirements imposed on traditional banks. SoFi floated shares earlier this month in a SPAC offering.Sunrun — Shares of the residential solar panels and home battery provider rose 10.6% after Morgan Stanley reiterated its overweight rating of the stock. It also raised Sunrun’s price target on it from $86.00 to $91.00.Maxar Technologies — The space stock surged 11.2% after Goldman Sachs initiated coverage of Maxar Technologies with a buy rating. The investment bank sees a 45% climb for shares in the next year.Squarespace — Shares of Squarespace edged 3.3% higher after Mizuho initiated coverage of the company with a buy rating. “Squarespace offers a robust SaaS platform to build Website and Ecommerce sites that we believe is differentiated through aesthetic appeal, ease of use, and features to garner market share in the digital goods and services marketplace,” Mizuho’s Siti Panigrahi said in a note.— CNBC’s Yun Li, Maggie Fitzgerald, Tanaya Macheel and Jesse Pound 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

The Federal Reserve now sees at least two interest rate hikes in 2023, according to the central bank’s so-called dot plot of projections.Wednesday’s forecast showed 13 members of the Federal Open Market Committee believe the Fed will increase rates in 2023 and the majority of them believe the central bank will hike at least twice that year. Only five members still see the Fed staying pat through 2023. In fact, seven of the 18 members see the Fed possibly increasing rates as early as 2022.In March, four of the 18 FOMC members were looking for a rate hike at some point in 2022. At the same time, seven members saw a rate increase in 2023.Every quarter, members of the committee forecast where interest rates will go in the short, medium and long term. These projections are represented visually in charts below called a dot plot.  Here are the Fed’s latest targets, released in Wednesday’s statement:Zoom In IconArrows pointing outwardsThis is what the Fed’s forecast looked like in March 2021:Zoom In IconArrows pointing outwardsThe “longer run” dots remained unchanged from the FOMC’s March meeting. The Fed also slightly dialed up its economic expectations for 2021, according to its Summary of Economic Projections released Wednesday.The central bank now expects real gross domestic product to grow 7.0% in 2021, compared with the 6.5% forecast from its March meeting. The Fed also upped its 2023 real GDP forecast to 2.4% from 2.2% expected previously.Zoom In IconArrows pointing outwardsSource: Federal ReserveThe Fed also sharply increased its inflation forecasts for the year. It now sees inflation running to 3.4% this year, above its previous estimate of 2.4%. The central bank also slightly hiked its PCE inflation estimates for 2022 and 2023.Core PCE inflation is expected to come in at 3.0% in 2021, up from March’s forecast of 2.2%. Core PCE for 2022 is now expected at 2.1% and is projected to stay at that level in 2023.The Fed still estimates the unemployment rate will fall to 4.5% in 2021. The FOMC expects the rate to drop to 3.8% and 3.5% in 2022 and 2023, respectively.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

Eric Holcomb, governor of Indiana, speaks at the White House on June 26, 2020.Al Drago/Bloomberg via Getty ImagesMore than 400,000 people are poised to lose unemployment benefits this weekend as eight states withdraw early from pandemic-era programs.Alabama, Idaho, Indiana, Nebraska, New Hampshire, North Dakota, West Virginia and Wyoming are opting out of federal unemployment programs effective Saturday.They’re among 25 states turning down federal funds ahead of their official expiration on Sept. 6, which will affect about 4 million total recipients.Zoom In IconArrows pointing outwardsThe state governors, all Republican, claim enhanced benefits are paying people to stay home, thereby creating labor shortages and making it difficult for businesses to hire. Critics say other factors like ongoing Covid health risks and childcare duties — not benefits — are sidelining workers.About 417,000 workers will lose benefits on Saturday when the eight states end their participation in federal programs, according to a CNBC analysis of Labor Department data.More from Personal Finance:Many states have given out less than 5% of rental assistanceMonthly child tax credit payments start July 15Does Biden tax plan affect those with income below $400,000? It dependsThat aid includes an extra $300 a week, as well as all benefits for certain groups like the self-employed and long-term unemployed.Four states — Alaska, Iowa, Mississippi and Missouri — cut off federal assistance last Saturday. That affected about 291,000 people, according to the CNBC analysis. (Alaska only ended the $300 weekly supplement.)The remaining states will do so by mid-July.Indiana lawsuitIndiana residents sued Gov. Eric Holcomb in state court Monday to keep aid flowing. They alleged the state “violated the clear mandates of Indiana’s unemployment statute — to secure all rights and benefits available for unemployed individuals.”Some of the five individual plaintiffs, who are unnamed, can’t return to work immediately. One is a school bus driver with three kids whose work wouldn’t resume until the new school year begins in the fall, even if she’s able to find a new job, for example.Without benefits, they’d be unable to cover living costs like housing, utilities, food, health care and childcare, leaving them exposed to hardships like eviction, plaintiffs claim.The state labor bureau has taken all required steps to end its program participation, according to the governor’s office.”[The Department of Workforce Development] has timely notified impacted claimants about the state’s withdrawal from the federal programs and continues to connect impacted Hoosiers with the resources they need to gain skills and be matched with employment,” a spokesperson said.Zoom In IconArrows pointing outwardsA judge will likely rule quickly, since benefits are slated to end Saturday in Indiana, according to Andrew Stettner, a senior fellow at The Century Foundation, a progressive think tank.A win for plaintiffs may embolden residents of other states, he said.”I think what’s significant about it is, the state law provisions [plaintiffs are] basing this case on are not unique to Indiana,” Stettner said.Enhanced benefitsState unemployment benefits generally replace half a worker’s pre-layoff wages.With an extra $300 a week, about 42% of workers are paid as much or more than those lost wages, according to an estimate from Peter Ganong, an economist at the University of Chicago.The April jobs report led to speculation that the enhanced pay was causing workers to stay home. The U.S. economy added about 278,000 new payrolls, about a quarter of what economists expected.Hiring rebounded in May, when businesses added 559,000 jobs.Zoom In IconArrows pointing outwardsBut some think the pandemic-era unemployment programs, which have been in place since the CARES Act was passed in March 2020, are still holding back job creation. There are still 7.6 million fewer jobs than before the pandemic.When factoring in other aspects of the social safety net — like Affordable Care Act subsidies and an enhanced child tax credit of $3,000 per kid — all but two states pay the equivalent of a $15 hourly wage in benefits, according to economists at the Committee to Unleash Prosperity, a right-leaning think tank.(Of course, Americans won’t begin receiving monthly payments of the enhanced child tax credit until July 15. The analysis also assumes both parents are receiving unemployment benefits and have two kids.)Zoom In IconArrows pointing outwards”The labor problem today is too few workers, not too few jobs,” the economists — Stephen Moore, E.J. Antoni and Casey Mulligan, who was a senior economist on former President Donald Trump’s Council of Economic Advisers — wrote.However, others believe unemployment benefits aren’t sidelining workers to a large degree.Many may think it’s too risky to take an in-person job if they haven’t completed their full six-week Covid vaccine cycle. Parents may still not be able to return to work if childcare centers or schools haven’t yet reopened. About 1 in 5 workers are still on temporary layoff and may be waiting to get recalled to their former employer.Zoom In IconArrows pointing outwardsThere’s currently about one unemployed worker for every job opening, according to the Labor Department. But it’s unrealistic to think vacancies will be filled immediately, or that all unemployed workers are qualified or physically able to perform the available work, Stettner said.”Anyone who applies for a job knows you don’t get them right away,” he said. “It’s not like you walk in one day and you get a job. It’ll take time.” More

Take a look at some of the biggest movers in the premarket:Oracle (ORCL) – Oracle earned $1.54 per share for its latest quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.31 a share. The business software company’s revenue topped estimates as well. The company forecast current-quarter profit below consensus, however, as it increases investment in its cloud computing operations. Its shares fell 4.7% in premarket trading.Roblox (RBLX) – Roblox tumbled 7.7% in the premarket after it reported 43 million daily active users for May, up 28% compared to a year earlier but down from 43.3 million in April. Spending by users of the videogame platform was down slightly from a year earlier.Kindred Biosciences (KIN) – The pet therapeutics company agreed to be acquired by Elanco Animal Health (ELAN) for $9.25 per share, or $440 million. Kindred had closed at $6.34 Tuesday, and its stock surged 44.6% in the premarket.La-Z-Boy (LZB) – La-Z-Boy reported quarterly earnings of 87 cents per share, compared to a consensus estimate of 74 cents a share. The company best known for its reclining chairs also reported better-than-expected revenue. La-Z-Boy said it was being impacted by supply chain issues and significant increases in raw materials prices. Its shares lost 2.3% in the premarket.H&R Block (HRB) – H&R Block beat Street forecasts for both profit and revenue in its latest quarter, and the tax preparation firm also raised its quarterly dividend by 4% to 27 cents per share. Additionally, H&R Block is shifting the end of its fiscal year to June 30 from April 30, to better capture tax filing activity. H&R Block shares slid 1.1% in premarket action.EBay (EBAY) – The online marketplace operator will sell its South Korean unit to retailer Shinsegae’s E-Mart unit and website operator Naver for about $3.6 billion, according to local media reports. E-Mart acknowledged the talks but said that no deal had been finalized.General Motors (GM) – GM reportedly plans to boost global spending on electric and autonomous vehicles by 30% from its most recent forecast to a total of $35 billion through 2025. People briefed on the plans told Reuters that the spending will include two additional U.S. battery plants.Johnson & Johnson (JNJ) – The Food and Drug Administration cleared 15 million more doses of J&J’s Covid-19 vaccine that had been produced at a Baltimore plant run by Emergent Biosolutions (EBS). That brings the total of cleared doses to 25 million. Earlier, the FDA had rejected 60 million doses produced at that plant, saying Emergent hadn’t taken proper precautions to prevent cross-contamination with another production line that was producing AstraZeneca’s (AZN) Covid vaccine.Southwest Airlines (LUV) – Southwest suffered its second computer glitch in 24 hours Tuesday, with a system outage leading to the cancellation of about 500 flights and delaying many others.Dish Network (DISH) – The satellite TV company was upgraded to “buy” from “hold” at Pivotal Research, which cited the potential for Dish’s 5G wireless network. Dish rose 1.7% in the premarket.Apollo Global (APO) – Apollo sold textbook and educational technology company McGraw Hill to private-equity firm Platinum Equity for $4.5 billion.Regeneron (REGN) – The drugmaker’s Covid-19 antibody cocktail reduced deaths in patients who could not mount their own antibody response, according to a newly published British study.SoFi Technologies (SOFI) – The financial services platform was rated “buy” in new coverage at Rosenblatt Securities, noting SoFi’s “powerful” cost advantage over legacy banks. SoFi shares rose 2.1% in the premarket. More