LIVE STOCK MARKET UPDATES: March CPI on tap, IMF and Yellen on global economy, Walmart closings

The Chicago city skyline is covered by the fog lifted off Lake Michigan on Aug. 5, 2022, in Chicago. Democrats have chosen Chicago to host their 2024 national convention. (AP Photo/Kiichiro Sato, File)

Democrats announced Tuesday that they will hold their party’s 2024 national convention in Chicago, choosing the biggest liberal city in the Midwest as they try to keep the momentum going after a strong midterm election performance in the key battleground region.

Organizers from Chicago, Atlanta and New York spent months lobbying to be the site of the convention, but the final decision lay with President Joe Biden, who is expected to formally launch his reelection campaign in the coming weeks.

“Chicago is a great choice,” Biden, who was flying to Northern Ireland, said in a statement.

The Democratic National Committee said its convention would be held Aug. 19-22 and noted that Illinois, along with Wisconsin, Michigan and Minnesota, was part of the critical Midwestern “blue wall,” which was key to Democrats' success in the 2020 and 2022 elections.

That rosy language omits the fact that Michigan and Wisconsin narrowly broke for Donald Trump in 2016, helping the Republican win the White House.

The Virgin Orbit building is seen after the company paused operations last week, in Long Beach, California, U.S., March 22, 2023. REUTERS/Mike Blake/File Photo

Virgin Orbit Holdings, Inc. a responsive space launch provider, announced today that it was notified by Nasdaq of the latters intention to delist is as a result of the Company’s commencement of voluntary proceedings under Chapter 11 of the US Bankruptcy Code.

Nasdaq also asserted that the Company is not compliant with Listing Rule 5250(c)(1) because it has not yet filed its Annual Report on Form 10-K for the fiscal year ended December 31, 2022.

Nasdaq informed the Company that trading in the Company’s common stock and warrants would be suspended at the opening of business on April 13, 2023.

The Company intends to appeal Nasdaq’s decision to delist the common stock and warrants, but pursuant to Nasdaq’s listing rules, such appeal will not impact the upcoming suspension of trading in the common stock and warrants.

Photo: Innovative Eyewear via PR Newswire

Innovative Eyewear has launched a new iOS/Android app called Lucyd.

The wearer can use microphones built into the company's glasses to ask ChatGPT questions and hear the responses through stereo speakers.

The app is device agnostic and works with many other hearables, including, but not limited to, AirPods1. Additionally, the app may be used via a streamlined visual interface on any smartphone to enhance accessibility.

A Walmart store is seen in Encinitas, Calif., April 13, 2016. (Reuters/Mike Blake)

Walmart is closing four of its eight Chicago stores.

“The simplest explanation is that collectively our Chicago stores have not been profitable since we opened the first one nearly 17 years ago – these stores lose tens of millions of dollars a year, and their annual losses nearly doubled in just the last five years,” the world’s largest retailer said in a blog post.

ECONOMY

Walmart closing 4 Chicago stores, blaming millions in annual losses

Walmart is closing half of its Chicago stores by this upcoming Sunday, saying collectively the stores there “have not been profitable since we opened the first one nearly 17 years ago."

The company said the strategy gives the remaining four stores the best chance to remain open and serve the community.

The following stores will close to the public by Sunday, April 16:

• #5781 Chatham Supercenter, the Walmart Health center, and the Walmart Academy, 8431 S. Stewart Ave.

• #3166 Kenwood Neighborhood Market, 4720 S. Cottage Grove Ave.

• #5645 Lakeview Neighborhood Market, 2844 N. Broadway St.

• #5646 Little Village Neighborhood Market, 2551 W. Cermak Road

The pharmacies at these locations will remain open to serve patients for up to 30 days.

A sign for Weight Watchers is displayed at office in lower Manhattan, New York October 19, 2015. (Reuters/Brendan McDermid)

Shares of WW International Inc jumped to a one-month high on Tuesday after Goldman Sachs upgraded the stock to "buy," expecting the weight-loss services company's entry into the obesity drug business to help drive a turnaround.

Goldman lifted its target price on the stock to $13 — the highest on Wall Street — from $3.80, according to Refinitiv data.

The new target price implies the stock will more than triple in the next 12 months. Median price target for the New York-based company is $4.50.

WeightWatchers, which offers weight loss and weight management programs, entered the obesity drug prescription business last month with its acquisition of telehealth platform Sequence.

LIFESTYLE

WeightWatchers' stock soars after Sequence deal closes

WW International, Inc. announced that it completed an acquisition of Sequence, a virtual clinic that offers access to healthcare providers specializing in chronic weight management.

Former Theranos CEO Elizabeth Holmes leaves federal court in San Jose, Calif., March 17, 2023. On Monday, April 10, Holmes was rebuffed in her attempt to stay out of federal prison while she appeals her conviction for the fraud she committed while overseeing a blood-testing scam that exposed Silicon Valley’s dark side. (AP Photo/Jeff Chiu, File)

Disgraced Theranos CEO Elizabeth Holmes has been rebuffed in her attempt to stay out of federal prison while she appeals her conviction for the fraud she committed while overseeing a blood-testing scam that exposed Silicon Valley’s dark side.

In a ruling issued late Monday, a federal judge concluded there wasn’t compelling enough evidence to allow Holmes to remain free on bail while her lawyers pursue appeal her conviction on four counts of fraud and conspiracy.

The decision means the 39-year-old Holmes must to surrender to authorities on April 27 to start a more than 11-year prison sentence that will separate her from her two young children.

LIFESTYLE

Elizabeth Holmes loses bid to remain out of prison during appeal

Disgraced Theranos founder Elizabeth Holmes will report to prison on April 27 after a judge denied her request to remain on house arrest while she appeals her fraud convictions.

Carrier Global Corp. is drafting a plan to divest itself of its Fire & Security division, which accounts for about 17% of the air-conditioning company’s sales, according to The Wall Street Journal, citing people familiar with the matter.

According to sources, the company is still in the early phase of the project, and there's no assurance that they will complete it.

In 2022, Carrier, headquartered in Palm Beach, Fla., reported $20.4 billion in total revenue, with $3.6 billion generated by their Fire & Security division.

MARKETS

Carrier plots separation of fire unit

Carrier Global’s fire and security business, which it intends to spin off or sell, accounts for about 17% of company sales, which has slumped alongside new construction.

WisdomTree reported a 10th straight quarter of net inflows.

The exchange-traded fund and exchange-traded product sponsor and asset manager had net inflows of over $1.9 billion in March and over $6.3 billion year-to-date.

The quarter was the third best in Wisdom Tree’s history.

Fixed income, commodities, and international equity drove organic growth at a 31% annualized pace.

The firm has $90.7 billion of assets under management, an all time high and the first time that AUM has surpassed $90 billion.

Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen holds a bilateral meeting with India’s Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman at the Treasury Department in Washington, April 11, 2023. (Reuters/Elizabeth Frantz)

U.S. Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen on Tuesday said she remained vigilant to downside risks facing the global economy, given Russia's ongoing war against Ukraine and banking pressures, but the overall outlook was "reasonably bright."

ECONOMY

Yellen says global economy is in a 'better place' than expected, despite banking upheaval

Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen said the global economy remains in a "better place than many predicted" ahead of the World Bank and IMF's spring meetings.

Yellen, speaking at a news conference, pushed back against warnings by the International Monetary Fund of bigger risks associated with severe financial tensions.

"I wouldn't overdo the negativism about the global economy," Yellen said, when asked about a slightly trimmed IMF global growth forecast for 2023 which warned that a flare-up of financial system turmoil could slash output to near recessionary levels.

Yellen told reporters the global economy was in a better place than projected last fall, with energy and food prices having stabilized and supply chain pressures continuing to ease.

People walk past a Citibank branch in New York August 21, 2012. REUTERS/Brendan McDermid (UNITED STATES - Tags: BUSINESS)

Mark Shafir who was most recently co-head of Global M&A will retire from Citi according to the Wall Street Journal. Mark Shafir worked at Citi for over 15 years and plans to stay on until mid-may to help with the transition.

Some of us his the recent mergers and acquisitions he's worked on include the $61 billion acquisition of VMware by Broadcom and the ongoing $25 billion acquisition by Kroger of its rival Albertson's.

BUSINESS-LEADERS

Citi long-serving M&A chief to retire

Mark Shafir, who most recently served as co-head of Global M&A at Citi, announced his retirement on Tuesday morning, according to a memo, which was distributed internally.

The Ford company logo is pictured, Oct. 20, 2019, at a Ford dealership in Littleton, Colo. (AP Photo/David Zalubowski)

Ford Motor Co. says it will spend $1.34 billion ($1.8 billion Canadian) to convert an SUV factory in suburban Toronto so it can build next-generation electric vehicles.

The roughly 3,000 workers at the plant in Oakville, Ontario, are expected to keep their jobs depending on market conditions, the company said Tuesday. But some production workers will be furloughed during a six-month construction process to begin in the second quarter of 2024.

Ford wouldn't say which models will be built at the 487-acre (197 hectare) site, which will be renamed the Oakville Electric Vehicle Complex. The plant currently builds the Ford Edge and Lincoln Nautilus gas-powered SUVs.

The company says it will consolidate three body shops into one at the plant, helping to create space to assemble battery cells into packs on site. The lithium-ion cells will come from Ford's planned joint-venture battery complex in Kentucky.

A sign marks an entrance to a Moderna building in Cambridge, Mass., May 18, 2020. (AP Photo/Bill Sikes, File)

Moderna shares slipped Tuesday morning after the COVID-19 vaccine developer said its potential flu vaccine needs more study in a late-stage clinical trial.

LIFESTYLE

Moderna's flu shot faces setback, shares fall

Moderna shares are down Tuesday on news that the biotech's potential flu vaccine will need further review to determine its efficacy against influenza.

The company said an independent data and safety monitory board found that the potential vaccine “did not meet the statistical threshold necessary to declare early success” in the study.

The board recommended that the trial should continue.

Moderna is developing the vaccine, labeled mRNA-1010, to guard against seasonal flu. It is testing the vaccine in two, late-stage studies in the Southern and Northern hemispheres.

A Boeing 737 Max aircraft during a display at the Farnborough International Airshow, in Farnborough, Britain, July 20, 2022. (Reuters/Peter Cziborra)

Boeing said on Tuesday that 11 Chinese airlines have resumed operation of the 737 MAX as of April 10, in a positive sign for the U.S. planemaker's attempts to rebuild its business in the world's second-largest aviation market.

MARKETS

Boeing returns 737 MAX service for 11 Chinese airlines

The Boeing Company said 11 Chinese airlines have returned the 737 MAX to commercial service as of April 10 in a sign of the plane maker's commitment to its second biggest market.

Based on these airlines, the number of 737 MAX returning to commercial service reached 43, accounting for approximately 45% of the Chinese 737 MAX fleet, the company also said in a social media post on its official WeChat account.

The best-selling Boeing model was grounded in March 2019 after fatal crashes in Indonesia and Ethiopia, but returned to service around the world starting in late 2020 after modifications to the aircraft and pilot training.

China is the last major market to resume flying the MAX amid ongoing trade tensions with the United States, and the return comes as domestic travel demand rebounds after China abandoned zero-COVID policies.

Customers leave an Albertsons grocery store with their purchases in Burbank, Calif., July 17, 2012. (Reuters/Fred Prouser)

Albertsons Companies topped Wall Street revenue and profit predictions.

Fiscal fourth quarter revenue rose 5% to $18.27 billion, which is higher than the estimated $18.22 billion.

Identical sales increased 5.6% and digital sales rose 16%.Net income was $311.1 million, down from $455.1 million prior year.

The supermarket chain reported profits of 79 cents per share, 4 cents higher than the same quarter last year when the company reported earnings per share of 75 cents. Profits of 67 cents per share were anticipated by the fifteen analysts providing estimates for the quarter.

Albertsons brands include Safeway, Vons, Jewel-Osco, Shaw's, Acme, Tom Thumb, Randalls, United Supermarkets, Pavilions, Star Market, Haggen, Carrs, Kings Food Markets and Balducci's Food Lovers Market.

Reuters contributed to this report.

The logo for Google in New York city, U.S., November 17, 2021. REUTERS/Andrew Kelly/File Photo/File Photo

South Korea's antitrust regulator has fined Alphabet Inc's Google 42.1 billion won ($31.88 million) for blocking the release of mobile video games on a competitor's platform.

The Korea Fair Trade Commission (KFTC) said on Tuesday that Google bolstered its market dominance, and hurt local app market One Store's revenue and value as a platform, by requiring video game makers to exclusively release their titles on Google Play in exchange for providing in-app exposure between June 2016 and April 2018.

Google said it will review the final decision by the KFTC to evaluate the next course of action. "Google makes substantial investments in the success of developers, and we respectfully disagree with the KFTC's conclusions," a spokesperson said.

The KFTC said the move against the U.S. technology giant is part of efforts by the government to ensure fair markets.

CarMax, Sicklerville, N.J., Jan. 1, 2023

CarMax Inc. on Tuesday reported fiscal fourth-quarter net income of $69 million.

The Richmond, Virginia-based company said it had profit of 44 cents per share.

The results beat Wall Street expectations. The average estimate of seven analysts surveyed by Zacks Investment Research was for earnings of 22 cents per share.

The used car dealership chain posted revenue of $5.72 billion in the period, missing Street forecasts. Eight analysts surveyed by Zacks expected $5.87 billion.

For the year, the company reported profit of $484.8 million, or $3.03 per share. Revenue was reported as $29.68 billion.

Times Square characters who pose for photos for money walk past an AMC theatre amid the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) pandemic in the Manhattan borough of New York City, Jan. 27, 2021. (Reuters/Carlo Allegri)

National CineMedia is trading higher after disclosing an investment from AMC Entertainment.

The movie theater screen advertising company revealed in a regulatory filing that AMC holds 16.5 million, or 9.1%, of the company.

AMC divested a majority of its equity interests in NCM and relinquish its governance rights when it acquired Carmike Cinemas.

ADTRAN released preliminary results for the quarter ended March 31. Preliminary revenue is expected to be between $322 million and $326 million as compared to the company’s guidance of $355 million to $375 million.

This was primarily due to customer inventory corrections which impacted the Subscriber Solutions product line. In addition, supply constraints prevented ADTRAN from meeting customer demand across all categories.

Final results for the three-month period ended March 31 will be released as planned on May 8.ADTRAN provides open, disaggregated networking and communications solutions.

A small toy figure and gold imitation are seen in front of the Newmont logo in this illustration taken Nov. 19, 2021. (Reuters/Dado Ruvic/Illustration)

Newmont Corp laid down a best and final offer for Australia's Newcrest Mining Ltd on Tuesday at A$29.4 billion ($19.5 billion) to close a deal that would extend Newmont's lead as the world's biggest gold producer.

The merger is set to be the third-largest deal ever involving an Australian company and the third-largest globally in 2023, according to data from Refinitiv and Reuters calculations.

Newcrest said on Tuesday it had given U.S.-based Newmont access to its books following the sweetened all-share bid that has received some support from shareholders.

Under the revised offer, Newcrest shareholders would receive 0.400 Newmont share for each share held, with an implied value of A$32.87 a share, up from a previous exchange ratio of 0.380 that Newcrest's board unanimously rejected in February.

An electric-powered BMW iX xDrive 50 car is seen during a media preview at the Auto Zurich Car Show in Zurich, Switzerland, Nov. 3, 2021. (Reuters/Arnd Wiegmann)

BMW remains on track for slightly higher sales this year despite a dip in demand in the first quarter, including in the Chinese market, the German carmaker said on Tuesday.

BMW said it delivered 588,138 vehicles in the first quarter, down 1.5% on the previous year, while electric vehicle (EV) sales rose 83.2% year on year to 64,647 vehicles.

By region, BMW only saw sales growth in the United States, with an 11.4% increase to 89,750 car sales.

Sales in China fell 6.6%, but the company said the Chinese economy was expected to stabilize over the course of this year.

A 1.9% fall in European sales was attributed largely to an export and production ban in the Russian market, where Chinese marques are benefiting from the exit by Western automakers.

A representation of virtual currency Bitcoin is seen in front of a stock graph in this illustration taken Jan. 8, 2021. (Reuters/Dado Ruvic)

Major cryptocurrency bitcoin breached the key $30,000 level for the first time in 10 months on Tuesday, adding to its steady gains as investors raised bets that the U.S. Federal Reserve will soon end its aggressive monetary tightening campaign.

MARKETS

Bitcoin jumps above $30,000

Bitcoin is at its highest level in 10 months breaching the $30,000 marker ahead of Wednesday’s March consumer price index (CPI) data from the Labor Department and subsequent response from the U.S. Federal Reserve

Bitcoin peaked at $30,438 in Asian trade and was last up 1.4% at $30,070. It has gained nearly 6% since the start of the month, after rising 23% in March.

Investors are awaiting a U.S. inflation report on Wednesday to assess the Fed's next steps after banking sector turmoil in March raised expectations that the central bank would let up on rate hikes to ease stress on the sector.

A smartphone with a displayed TSMC (Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company) logo is placed on a computer motherboard in this illustration taken Mar. 6, 2023. (Reuters/Dado Ruvic/Illustration)

Taiwanese chipmaker TSMC said on Monday it is communicating with Washington about its "guidance" for a law designed to boost U.S. semiconductor manufacturing that has sparked concerns about subsidy criteria.

TECHNOLOGY

TSMC in talks with US about CHIPS manufacturing subsidy criteria

Taiwan-headquartered chipmaking giant TSMC is in talks with the U.S. government about compliance criteria for obtaining subsidies from the $52 billion CHIPS Act.

Conditions for subsidies include sharing excess profit with the U.S. government, and industry sources have said the application process itself could expose confidential corporate strategy.

"We can confirm that we are communicating with the U.S. government about the CHIPS ACT guidance," TSMC, the world's leading contract chipmaker, said in a short emailed statement.

The logo of Tyson Foods is seen in Davos, Switzerland, May 22, 2022. (Reuters/Arnd Wiegmann)

About 150 employees of a Tyson Foods Inc chicken plant in Arkansas went on strike on Monday for better treatment before the company shuts the facility, an organizer said.

MARKETS

Tyson Foods workers strike at US chicken plant set to close

About 150 employees of a Tyson Foods Inc chicken plant in Arkansas went on strike on Monday for better treatment before the company shuts the facility, an organizer said.

Tyson plans to close the plant in Van Buren, Arkansas, on May 12, eliminating jobs for 969 non-union employees, as it seeks to improve performance in its chicken business.

Employees refused to work in part because Tyson said they would not receive full payouts for vacation time they accrued, said Magaly Licolli, director of Venceremos, an organization that advocates for poultry workers in Arkansas. She said the strike may continue on Tuesday and Wednesday.

Tyson told Reuters later on Monday it already had a policy in place to give full payouts to employees with unused vacation or holiday time. The company said it will also pay a bonus of $1,000 to workers who stay in their jobs until the plant closes.

RETAIL

Whole Foods in San Francisco closing one year after opening due to safety concerns: report

A San Francisco Whole Foods is closing, at least temporarily, just over a year after the store first opened because of drug use and crime near the store.

Amazon's Whole Foods is the latest casualty of San Francisco's crime wave which includes the shocking death of tech CEO Tom Lee who founded CashApp and worked closely with Jack Dorsey's Square.