1. Here comes the 14th Amendment: Public debt “shall not be questioned.” President Joe Biden should use the 14th to end the debt ceiling crisis, says Harvard’s Laurence Tribe, my constitutional law professor. Tribe is probably the foremost legal scholar of our time. Biden’s meeting at the White House on Tuesday with Democrats and Republicans from Capitol Hill was a bust. But they agreed to gather again Friday.
2. Wall Street is keen to see a debt ceiling deal before the June deadline while also watching the latest inflation data. April’s consumer price index: better than feared at 4.9% year-over-year growth and first sub-5% reading in two years. The producer price index is out Thursday. The Dow, the S&P 500 and the Nasdaq are set to open higher Wednesday on hopes Fed will pause after fairly muted trading in the prior session.
3. The series of major cost-cutting moves at Walt Disney (DIS) under CEO Bob Iger won’t readily improve profits. The Club holding reports its fiscal 2023 second-quarter results after the bell. Here’s why the entertainment giant will need at least another quarter to see meaningful benefits from Iger’s turnaround plans.
4. Club holding Wynn Resorts (WYNN) reported a much better-than-expected first quarter after the closing bell Tuesday. Properties in Las Vegas and Boston continued to impress. But what helped deliver an unexpected profit was the recovery in the Asian gambling hub of Macao. It allowed Wynn to reinstate a quarterly dividend.
5. Rivian Automotive (RIVN) says it remains on target to make 50,000 vehicles in 2023. Narrower-than-expected loss for the first quarter. The stock up 7% early Wednesday. Potential for a short squeeze.
6. Airbnb (ABNB) shares sink 15%. Lowers second-quarter guidance and it’s horrendous. Lowering so severely that you have to be concerned. Multiple price-target cuts. Mix of analysts keeping buy or neutral ratings.
7. Back in late February, it was reported that Jeff Lawson, co-founder and CEO of Twilio (TWLO), bought $10 million worth of stock in his company. “We’re feeling the impact of a broader slowdown,” Lawson said after delivering weak second-quarter guidance. The stock plunges 18%.
8. Affirm (AFRM) shares fall 4.5%. Complicated, great quarter at the buy now, pay later company. But truly less than positive going forward. Gross merchandise volume. Reduced discretionary spending. Multiple PT cuts. Mix of analysts keeping buy or neutral ratings.
9. Akamai (AKAM) shares rise 5%. Cybersecurity business strong. Internet infrastructure less important than security. Competitor to Cloudflare (NET). Computing is cloud computing. I wonder if this isn’t a good sign for Club holding Palo Alto Networks (PANW).
10. Stanley Druckenmiller says it’s naive not to be open-minded to an economic hard landing. Back in late September 2022, the hedge fund pioneer warned bad inflation was coming. Said he corrected but the Fed did not. Fast-forward to today, what if the Fed did correct? Druckenmiller calling for a recession for a while, yet Wall Street keeps running. You can be right about inflation and wrong about the market. That’s been the issue with Stan, as much as I love him.
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