3. Retail has more to say
As first-quarter earnings season winds down, retail will again dominate the slate of companies reporting this week. The biggest names posting results include Lowe’s and Best Buy. But other retailers from Kohl’s to Gap will also offer more information about how consumers are spending their money, and what businesses are doing to keep shoppers buying. Last week’s reports that included Home Depot, Target and Walmart suggested inflation is still hampering households, and some companies indicated sales slowed as the first quarter went on. Here are some of the key companies reporting this week:
- Tuesday: Lowe’s (before the bell)
- Wednesday: Kohl’s (before the bell); Nvidia (after the bell)
- Thursday: Best Buy (before the bell); Gap (after the bell)
4. Meta hit with record fine
European regulators handed Meta a 1.2 billion euro ($1.3 billion) fine for allegedly sending EU user data to the U.S. The penalty is the largest handed out for alleged violations of the landmark digital privacy rule known as the General Data Protection Regulation, which took effect in 2018. Regulators ordered the Facebook owner to suspend future data transfers to the U.S. Meta plans to appeal the decision.
5. Chip clashes continue
Shares of Micron slid in premarket trading after China said it would bar some purchases of the U.S. chipmaker’s products. Chinese semiconductor stocks popped on the news. The ban, sparked by a review from China’s Cyberspace Administration, extends to operators of “critical information infrastructure.” The administration said in a statement that Micron’s chips “have serious network security risks, which pose significant security risks to China’s critical information infrastructure supply chain, affecting China’s national security.” Increasing economic and political tensions between the U.S. and China have extended to the supply of semiconductors, which is critical for a range of industries. Micron said it would continue to engage with Chinese authorities, according to Reuters.
— CNBC’s Jacob Pramuk wrote this newsletter. Jesse Pound, Ashley Capoot, Melissa Repko, Arjun Kharpal, Lim Hui Jie and Jihye Lee contributed.
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