Stocks Tick Higher as Investors Mull Banks’ Health, Trump Comments on China Tariffs; Safe-Haven Gold Hits Fresh Record

What to Expect in Wednesday’s Inflation Report

2 minutes ago

Inflation likely rose to a 17-month high in September as tariffs pushed up prices, forecasters say. 

The Consumer Price Index report scheduled for release on Wednesday is likely to show that prices rose 3.1% over the year in December, according to the Bloomberg Financial consensus forecast, as quoted by Wells Fargo Securities. If the report aligns with expectations, it would be an increase from 2.9% in August and the highest 12-month inflation rate since May 2024.

Higher inflation would underscore the impact of President Donald Trump’s import taxes, which have steadily pushed prices up in recent months. The index’s year-over-year inflation measure has risen every month since April, when Trump announced double-digit tariffs on products from nearly every country in the world. Before that, inflation had been largely decelerating from its post-pandemic peak in 2022. By many measures, it was nearly back down to the Federal Reserve’s goal of a 2% annual rate.

Still, the expected uptick would not likely be steep enough to deter officials at the Federal Reserve from cutting interest rates later in October as widely expected. The Fed cut its benchmark fed funds rate by a quarter-point in September to prop up the ailing job market, as the Fed has grown more concerned with preventing unemployment than fighting inflation.

Despite higher prices, lower rent increases may keep the overall inflation rate from rising too much. “Core” inflation, which excludes volatile prices for food and energy, is expected to have risen 3.1% in September, unchanged from August.

Read the full article here.

–Diccon Hyatt

Oracle Stock Sinks Despite Rosy Long-Term Profit, Revenue Projections

16 minutes ago

Oracle (ORCL) issued rosy long-term revenue and profit projections yesterday. What they didn’t mention appears to be sinking the stock today.

Shares of the database software giant fell more than 6% Friday, a day after the firm said it expects revenue to reach $225 billion and earnings per share of $21 by fiscal 2030. However, the company did not mention its plans for capital expenditures.

In a note to clients Friday, Bank of America analysts wrote, “Oracle has gained meaningful ground operating large scale GPU datacenters, with reasonable cost of debt. What is less clear is how Oracle can stand up datacenters fast enough to achieve the topline growth (i.e. the capex ramp), given supply constraints across land, buildings, energy and GPUs.” 

Despite today’s declines, shares of Oracle are up about 75% this year.

Apple’s Formula 1 Deal Has the Tech Giant Accelerating Its Sports Offerings

1 hr 2 min ago

Apple is driving further into sports broadcasts.

The tech giant said it scored an agreement with Formula 1 to broadcast races and other content exclusively on Apple TV in the U.S. The deal, which begins next year, will include “comprehensive coverage of Formula 1, with all practice, qualifying, Sprint sessions, and Grands Prix,” as well as select races and all practice sessions for free on Apple TV. Financial terms were not released.

Apple (AAPL) is adding sports programming as streaming continues to shake up the live sports media business. The company known for iPhones and iPads has also shown Major League Soccer and Major League Baseball games.

The company is seeking to expand its services business, which made up about a quarter of its sales for the first nine months of its latest fiscal year, while also refreshing its product lineup. Apple earlier this week announced a deal to bundle AppleTV+ with Comcast-owned (CMCSA) Peacock, part of its NBCUniversal branch.

Apple’s shares were recently up about 0.4% in Friday trading. The stock was down about 1% this year through yesterday’s close. 

Read the full article here.

–Bill McColl

Here’s What Trump Said That’s Pressuring Novo Nordisk and Eli Lilly Stocks

1 hr 23 min ago

Novo Nordisk (NVO) and Eli Lilly (LLY) shares slumped in early trading Friday after President Trump promised to lower the prices of popular weight-loss drugs, such as Novo Nordisk’s Ozempic and Eli Lilly’s Zepbound.

In comments to reporters during a White House event Thursday, Trump said prices could drop to $150 a month from $1,300. When asked which treatment he meant, Trump pointed to Novo Nordisk’s Ozempic, saying prices for weight-loss drugs like it will be “much lower.”

Ozempic’s current list price is $1,000 a month, but Novo Nordisk offers it to consumers buying in cash without insurance for less. Dr. Mehmet Oz, head of the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS), said the CMS has not yet finished negotiating costs with pharmaceutical firms. 

Shares of Novo Nordisk were down about 4% in recent trading, while shares of Eli Lilly dropped 3%.

A Novo Nordisk spokesperson told Investopedia the company has engaged with the Trump administration, and “will continue to work to find solutions that help people access the medication they need.”

U.S.-listed shares of Novo Nordisk have lost more than a third of their value this year as the company faces growing competition in the weight-loss drug market. Shares of Eli Lilly have added about 3%.

–Bill McColl

Kenvue Stock Rebounds After Sharp Decline Yesterday

2 hr 11 min ago

One day after leading S&P 500 decliners, Kenvue is pacing gainers in the benchmark index.

Kenvue (KVUE) shares sank 13% to a record low Thursday following the filing of a UK lawsuit that claimed the consumer health company’s baby powder caused cancer and other diseases. Two years ago, Kenvue completed its spin-off from Johnson & Johnson (JNJ), and is responsible for talc-related claims outside the U.S.

Shares rebounded Friday morning, rising more than 8% an hour after the bell to pace the S&P 500, but remain nearly 30% lower this year.

E-commerce Prices Rose in September. That Could Mean Tougher Times for Deal Hunters.

3 hr 7 min ago

If scouring the internet for deals is part of your budgeting routine, you might want to rethink that strategy.

Online prices ticked higher in September, according to fraud-prevention specialist Signifyd, which recorded a year-over-year increase for the first time since 2023. Overall, the firm said, prices rose 0.8%; the company monitors how the price of some 60,000 products changes, year-over-year, at e-commerce shops operated by some 1,000 merchants.

The ease with which shoppers can compare prices online has long fostered competition between online merchants and contributed to price declines, said Signifyd senior data analyst Phelim Killough. Prices were tracking about 2% lower year-over-year as recently as July, and as much as 3.7% lower last October, the company said. But declines have been shrinking over the past eight months across nearly all product segments, Killough said.

“It does seem to be an e-commerce-wide trend,” Killough said. “Merchants, I think, are feeling the pinch and having to increase prices.”

Read the full article here.

–Sarina Trangle

Economic Data Blackout Could Become Data Dark Age As Shutdown Drags On

5 hr 4 min ago

Missed economic reports by government statistical agencies have economists wondering what will happen if the data simply never arrives. 

Experts have assumed that the government’s statistical agencies will play catch-up once the government reopens and publish belated reports for October, as they have done in past shutdowns. But with the current shutdown looking like it could be the longest in history, economists are starting to consider what will happen if agencies skip reporting October entirely and it becomes just a blank spot on future historical charts.

“As the shutdown drags on with no end in sight, risks are mounting for October’s report,” Sarah House and Nicole Cervi, economists at Wells Fargo Securities, wrote in a commentary. “At a minimum, collection rates stand to be lower with data gathering still suspended, and the risk is rising that the publication of the October CPI report could be skipped entirely.”

The problem is that the data, including for inflation and job creation, is based on massive surveys. With the Bureau of Labor Statistics closed, those surveys aren’t being carried out. (With the important exception of the Consumer Price Index report for September, which will be published Oct. 24.)

“If the shutdown continues, it’s possible that, for the first time in at least six decades, there will be a full month gap in data about jobs and unemployment in the U.S. economy,” Elise Gould, senior economist at the progressive Economic Policy Institute think tank, and Joe Fast, a research assistant, wrote in a commentary.

Read the full article here.

–Diccon Hyatt

Stock Futures Fall as Regional Bank Worries Continue

5 hr 36 min ago

Futures tied to the Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 0.6%.

S&P 500 futures were down 0.8%.

Nasdaq 100 futures dropped 1.1%.