Stock Market News: Biden ending COVID emergencies, Paramount+ integrating with Showtime, stocks slip

President Joe Biden talks with reporters on the South Lawn of the White House in Washington, Monday, Jan. 30, 2023, after returning from an event in Baltimore on infrastructure. (AP Photo/Susan Walsh)

President Joe Biden informed Congress on Monday that he will end the twin national emergencies for addressing COVID-19 on May 11, as most of the world has returned closer to normalcy nearly three years after they were first declared.

The move to end the national emergency and public health emergency declarations would formally restructure the federal coronavirus response to treat the virus as an endemic threat to public health that can be managed through agencies' normal authorities.

It comes as lawmakers have already ended elements of the emergencies that kept millions of Americans insured during the pandemic. Combined with the drawdown of most federal COVID-19 relief money, it would also shift the development of vaccines and treatments away from the direct management of the federal government.

Then-President Donald Trump first declared the COVID-19 pandemic a national emergency on March 13, 2020. The emergencies have been repeatedly extended by Biden since he took office in January 2021, and are set to expire in the coming months. The White House said Biden plans to extend them both briefly to end on May 11.

Toy figures of people are seen in front of the displayed Paramount + logo, in this illustration taken Jan. 20, 2022. (Reuters/Dado Ruvic/Illustration)

Paramount Global on Monday said it would integrate Showtime with Paramount+ across both streaming and linear platforms later this year, according to a company memo seen by Reuters.

The combined service will be known as “Paramount+ with Showtime” in the U.S.

The memo added Paramount will divert investment away from areas in Showtime brands that are underperforming and that account for less than 10% of views.

TECHNOLOGY

Twitter makes first interest payment on debt since Musk buyout: report

Twitter reportedly made its first interest payment Friday on about $12.5 billion of debt that Elon Musk used to purchase the social media platform last year.

Twitter Inc has made its first interest payment under Elon Musk after the billionaire took the social media company private last year using about $12.5 billion of debt, Bloomberg News reported on Monday, citing people with knowledge of the matter.

Twitter paid a group of seven banks, led by Morgan Stanley, which became stuck with the debt after they were unable to sell it to outside investors, the report added.

Twitter, Musk and Morgan Stanley did not immediately respond to Reuters requests for comment.

MARKETS

Court tosses bankruptcy petition by Johnson & Johnson's talc unit

An appeals court on Monday dismissed the Chapter 11 bankruptcy petition of J&J's talc subsidiary, which the company formed to resolve thousands of lawsuits.

A U.S. appeals court upended Johnson & Johnson's attempt to offload into bankruptcy tens of thousands of lawsuits over its talc products, ruling the healthcare conglomerate improperly placed a subsidiary into Chapter 11 proceedings even though it did not face financial distress.

The decision by the U.S. 3rd Circuit Court of Appeals in Philadelphia on Monday dismissed a Chapter 11 petition filed by a recently created J&J subsidiary in October to address more than 38,000 lawsuits from plaintiffs alleging the company’s baby powder and other talc products caused cancer.

Before the bankruptcy, J&J faced costs from $3.5 billion in verdicts and settlements, including one in which 22 women were eventually awarded a judgment of more than $2 billion, according to bankruptcy-court records.

J&J’s maneuver is known as a Texas two-step for a state law used to create a subsidiary that shoulders litigation and then declares bankruptcy. The Third Circuit’s opinion allows talc litigation to resume against the company.

J&J said it would challenge the ruling and that its talc products are safe.

Attendees stand outside the NXP booth at CES 2023 in Las Vegas, Nev., Jan. 6, 2023. (Reuters/Steve Marcus)

NXP Semiconductors is guiding to lower first quarter revenue.

Total revenue is expected to decline 6% to 12% quarter-over-quarter and 1% to 8% year-over-year.

NXP Semiconductors NV (NXPI) on Monday reported fourth-quarter earnings of $602 million.

The Eindhoven, Netherlands-based company said it had net income of $2.24 per share. Earnings, adjusted for non-recurring costs and stock option expense, came to $3.08 per share.

The results surpassed Wall Street expectations. The average estimate of 12 analysts surveyed by Zacks Investment Research was for earnings of $3.01 per share.

The chipmaker posted revenue of $3.04 billion in the period, also beating Street forecasts. Nine analysts surveyed by Zacks expected $3 billion.

For the year, the company reported profit of $1.87 billion, or $6.79 per share. Revenue was reported as $11.06 billion.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.

The Whirlpool logo is seen at their plant in Apodaca, Monterrey, Mexico, Jan. 27, 2017. (Reuters/Daniel Becerril)

Whirlpool chief operating officer Joseph Liotine is transitioning to an advisory role before departing the company on March 31.

Chair and CEO Marc Bitzer will immediately assume direct responsibility for global operations.

The appliance maker missed Wall Street revenue estimates, but beat on profit.

Fourth quarter revenue was $4.9 billion. The estimate was $5.09 billion. Net sales declined 15.3%, and organic net sales fell 10.8%, impacted by a one-off supply disruption in North America and demand slowdown, partially offset by favorable price/mix.

The net loss was $1.6 billion for the three months ended Dec. 31 compared to a net profit of $298 million a year ago.

Ongoing earnings per diluted share were $3.89 compared to the estimate of $3.25.

Amgen sign at the company's office in South San Francisco, Calif., Oct. 21, 2013. (Reuters/Robert Galbraith)

Drugmaker Amgen Inc said on Monday that it let go about 300 U.S. employees or about 1.2% of its total workforce, citing recent organizational changes to its commercial team.

The company had about 24,200 staff members in over 50 countries, as of December 31, 2021, according to its latest annual regulatory filing with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission.

Big Tech firms and Wall Street titans have led a string of layoffs across corporate America in recent weeks. Amgen's move to trim its workforce shows how rapid interest rate hikes and a fading boom in demand post pandemic has begun to weigh on the healthcare sector.

Status of the flights are displayed at Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport, Atlanta, Ga., Jan. 11, 2023. (Reuters/Alyssa Pointer)

LIFESTYLE

FAA tells lawmakers it made several changes to prevent another system-wide computer outage

The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) told lawmakers in a letter dated Friday that it made several changes to in order to prevent another system-wide computer outage.

The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) told lawmakers Monday it had made a series of changes to prevent a repeat of a key computer system outage that forced a nationwide Jan. 11 ground stop disrupting more than 11,000 flights.

The FAA said it has implemented "a one-hour synchronization delay for one of the backup databases. This action will prevent data errors from immediately reaching that backup database." The FAA also said it "now requires at least two individuals to be present during the maintenance of the (messaging) system, including one federal manager."

(Photo by Joe Raedle/Getty Images)

Carvana stock is on pace to close the session at roughly 30% above the redline as used car supply gets stronger and new car prices hover near record levels.

Shares for the online used car dealer have more than doubled year-to-date and are up by more than a third in the last five days.

Data compiled by the Kelley Blue Book show the average used car in America sold for $27,564 in October 2022, posting the lowest price since April.

The price of a new car was $48,281.Meanwhile, the nationwide supply of used cars is still 26% higher than one year ago.

Volvo logo seen in truck for sale in Linden, N.J., May 23, 2022. (Reuters/Andrew Kelly)

A U.S. auto safety agency said Monday it was imposing a $130 million civil penalty on AB Volvo unit Volvo Group North America, following an investigation that found the manufacturer of heavy-duty trucks and buses failed to recall vehicles in a timely fashion.

The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) said Volvo Group agreed to a three-year consent order that includes one of the largest-ever penalties for violations under the recall law.

Volvo Group North America agreed to oversight by an independent third-party auditor and will meet regularly with NHTSA to ensure it addresses any potential safety issues, the agency said.

"NHTSA will use the full scope of our authorities to protect the public from safety defects and from manufacturers that create potential safety problems by failing to comply with the law," Acting NHTSA Administrator Ann Carlson said.

Volvo Group North America is the parent company to Mack Trucks, Nova Bus, Prevost Car (US), VNA Holding and Volvo Group Canada.

The company said it appreciated "the opportunity to summarily resolve this matter, and we look forward to continuing our close work with NHTSA to identify and close any compliance gaps. Wide-ranging improvements in our North American safety processes and systems are already underway."

Ford Mustang Mach-E GT is seen during the Munich Auto Show, IAA Mobility 2021 in Munich, Germany, Sep. 8, 2021. (Reuters/Michaela Rehle)

Ford Motor Co on Monday cut prices of its electric crossover SUV Mustang Mach-E by as much as $5,900 per vehicle, weeks after rival Tesla Inc slashed prices globally on its electric vehicles by as much as 20%.Shares of Ford were down 1.5% in early trading. Tesla was flat.

The move comes as electric vehicle manufacturers are feeling pressure from Tesla's price cut to respond.

LIFESTYLE

Ford cutting electric Mustang Mach-E prices by up to $5,900

Ford has announced price reductions for the Mustang Mach-E electric SUV that go into effect immediately and range from $600 to $5,900, depending on the model.

"Ford just cut Mustang EV prices in response to Tesla’s price cut. Mini price war about to begin with EVs in the US with Tesla’s shot across the bow on price cuts," said Dan Ives, an analyst at Wedbush Securities, on Twitter.The move will make at least one version of the

GE Healthcare posted its first quarterly results as a standalone company.

The provider of medical technology, pharmaceutical diagnostics, and digital solutions said fourth quarter revenue rose 8% to $4.9 billion (up 13% organically).

Net income for the three months ended Dec. 31 was $554 million versus $564 million for the prior year.

For the full year, revenue grew 4% to $18.3 billion and net income was $1.9 billion versus $2.2 billion for the prior year.

The company reaffirmed its 2023 outlook of organic growth of 5% to 7% year-over-year.

GE HealthCare announced completed on Jan. 4 its previously announced spin-off from GE and began trading on its own that day.

AMC movie theater

AMC Entertainment will hold a special shareholders meeting on Mar. 14 to seek approval of its plan to convert preferred equity APE units into common stock, the world’s largest movie theater chain said in a proxy statement.

On Dec. 22, 2022, the movie theater operator entered a deal with Antara Capital. Under the deal, AMC will sell to Antara 106,595,106 APEs for $75.1 million and simultaneously buy back $100 million of AMC debt held by Antara in exchange for 91,026,191 APEs.

AMC is asking shareholders to approve a proposal to increase the number of authorized AMC shares to 550 million from 524.17 million and approve a 1-to-10 reverse stock split.

Philips Healthcare headquarters is seen in Best, Netherlands, Aug. 30, 2018. (Reuters/Piroschka van de Wouw)

Dutch health technology company Philips will scrap another 6,000 jobs worldwide as it tries to restore its profitability and improve the safety of its products following a recall of respiratory devices that knocked off 70% of its market value.

Half of the job cuts will be made this year, the company said on Monday, adding that the other half will be realized by 2025.

LIFESTYLE

Philips cuts 6K more jobs to improve profitability

Philips announced Monday that it is reducing its global workforce for the second time in recent months as it works to boost profitability following a recall of its sleep apnea machines.

The new reorganization brings the total amount of job cuts announced by new Chief Executive Roy Jakobs in recent months to 10,000, or around 13% of Philips' current workforce.

It also adds to the string of technology-based firms to make layoffs, after companies including Alphabet's Google, Microsoft, Amazon and German software maker SAP announced thousands of layoffs to cut costs as they brace for tougher economic conditions.

Russian President Vladimir Putin and Saudi Arabia's Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman attend a meeting in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, Oct. 14, 2019. (Sputnik/Alexei Nikolsky/Kremlin via Reuters)

Russian President Vladimir Putin held a phone call with Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed Bin Salman on Monday to discuss cooperation within the OPEC+ group of oil producing countries in order to maintain oil price stability, the Kremlin said in a statement.

Ministers from the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) and allies led by Russia, known collectively as OPEC+, are due to hold a virtual meeting on Wednesday.

MARKETS

Putin on phone with Saudis ahead of OPEC+ committee meeting on Wednesday

Oil prices are lower after Russian President Vladamir Putin reportedly met with Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman ahead of OPEC + meeting to discuss global oil market.

Two OPEC+ delegates told Reuters on Monday that the panel was likely to recommend keeping the group's current oil output policy.

Russian oil production has so far shown resilience in the face of Western sanctions imposed after Moscow sent troops into Ukraine on Feb. 24 and price caps introduced by Western countries in December.

General view inside the stadium before the Manchester United vs. Brentford - Old Trafford match, Manchester, Britain, May 2, 2022 (Reuters/Phil Noble)

The Premier League is partnering with French fantasy sports platform Sorare to sell non-fungible tokens (NFTs), a sign that the sporting world is continuing to embrace digital assets despite the rout in markets. The deal gives Sorare a four-year license to sell digital sports cards of players from all 20 Premier League clubs, Sorare said in a statement on Monday.

Sky News reported in October that the deal could be worth 30 million pounds ($37.13 million) per year. Sorare declined to comment on whether the figure cited by Sky News was accurate.

The cards in Sorare's game are bought and traded in the form of NFTs, a kind of blockchain-based asset, using either cryptocurrency or traditional currency.

Paris-based Sorare raised $680 million at a $4.3 billion valuation in a 2021 funding round led by SoftBank.

Nissan logo in a vehicle at the Los Angeles Auto Show in Los Angeles, Calif., Nov. 17, 2022. (Reuters/Mike Blake)

Nissan Motor Co and Renault SA agreed on Monday to a sweeping remake of their two-decade-old automaking alliance that will put them on equal footing and see the Japanese company invest in Renault's new electric vehicle business.

The joint announcement capped nearly four months of intense talks that sources told Reuters were complicated by concerns about the sharing of intellectual property as Renault sought tie-ups with companies outside their alliance.

The deal, still subject to board approvals, will see Renault reduce its stake in Nissan to 15% from around 43%, it said. That will see Renault put around 28% of the Japanese automaker in a French trust, crucially making the two more equal partners.

Their unequal relationship had long been a source of friction among Nissan executives. While Renault bailed out Nissan two decades ago, it is the smaller automaker by sales.

The alliance, which was also includes junior partner, Mitsubishi Motors Corp, was deeply strained by the ouster of its architect and former chair, Carlos Ghosn, amid financial scandal.

Nissan and Renault will now have a 15% cross-shareholding that will allow Nissan to exercise its voting rights, which it was unable to do previously.

(Photo by Oliver Berg/picture alliance via Getty Images)

It is officially earning season on Wall Street. In addition to big tech like Google and Apple this week, the automotive sector will report on Thursday when Ford and GM release their fourth quarter earnings from 2022.

GM will report first and is predicted to hit $3.2 billion in operating profit, $40 billion in sales, and $1.69 in earnings per share.

Last year, GM hit $2.8 billion in operating profit, $33.6 billion in sales, and $1.35 in earnings per share.

Meanwhile, Ford is predicted to peak at $3.5 billion in operating profit, $41.4 billion in sales and 62 cents in earnings per share.

Last year, Ford reached $2 billion in operating profit, $37.7 billion in sales and 26 cents per share.

New Unilever CEO Hein Schumacher poses for a photograph in this undated handout picture. (Unilever/FrieslandCampina/Handout via Reuters)

Unilever on Monday appointed Hein Schumacher to replace Alan Jope as chief executive from July in a move that was welcomed by investors including board member and activist shareholder Nelson Peltz.

Schumacher, 51, rejoined Unilever in October last year as non-executive director and is currently the chief of Dutch dairy business FrieslandCampina.

He worked at Unilever more than 20 years ago before working for retailer Royal Ahold NV and packaged food maker H.J. Heinz in the United States, Europe and Asia.One of the biggest consumer companies in the world with more than 400 brands ranging from detergent to ice cream, Unilever said in September said that Jope planned to retire at the end of 2023.

“Shareholders will no doubt be hoping that Mr Schumacher’s arrival brings some degree of closure and calm to the Marmite-to-Domestos and Hellman’s-to-Magnum group, after a tumultuous twelve months,” said AJ Bell investment director Russ Mould.

Reuters contributed to this report.

istock

This week, Alphabet, Amazon, Meta Platforms and Apple will report their quarterly earnings.

In 2022, tech stocks suffered but have been rebounding to start the New Year despite persistent inflation and economic downturn.

Year-to-date, all three are trading above the redline, however; data compiled by FactSet shows profits are expected to drop for the fourth-quarter earnings season, after all four mega cap tech stocks fell at least 16% over the last year.

(Kevin Dietsch/Pool via AP)

The U.S. Federal Reserve will decide Wednesday on another interest rate hike strategy for 2023.

In December, the consumer price index, a broad measure of the price for everyday goods including gasoline, groceries and rents, fell 0.1% from the previous month. Prices climbed 6.5% on an annual basis. 

Some experts think the inflation decline last month could lead to smaller rate hikes in February and March, before the central bank pauses the increases altogether to assess the broader economic impact of tighter monetary policy.

(iStock)

U.S. stock futures are down across the board on Monday as traders get ready for a week of tech earnings and the U.S. Federal Reserve’s decision on interest rates Wednesday.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average futures is off roughly 193 points, or 0.57%, while the S&P and Nasdaq futures are down approximately 0.84% and 1.18%, respectively.

On the last five days, the Dow remains up around 0.33%, the S&P remains up around 0.30%, and the tech-heavy Nasdaq is now roughly 1.24% higher during the same time.

In commodities, West Texas Intermediate crude futures slipped 0.15% to $79.56 a barrel, as gold falls to a 0.17% pop to $1,926.10 an ounce.