STOCK MARKET NEWS: Inflation fight has investors on edge, Elon Musk’s prediction, Bitcoin hugs $20K

Peloton Bike 3

Peloton Interactive will not timely file its annual financial report with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

The exercise equipment and media company said it needs additional time to complete accounting and disclosures related to measuring fourth quarter long-lived asset impairment charges associated with its recent announcement to exit its last mile warehouses, including management’s assessment of the effectiveness of internal controls over financial reporting as it relates to its accounts and disclosures related to these strategic business developments and for its registered public accounting firm, Ernst & Young LLP, to complete its necessary audit procedures over these matters.

The company recognized the following one-time expenses for the fiscal fourth quarter

• $337.6 million of supplier settlements,

• $337.2 million of non-cash impairment expense for write-downs and write-offs of fixed and intangible assets, primarily related to our restructuring initiatives, and

• $22.2 million of restructuring expense.

Peloton anticipates its annual report will be filed as soon as practicable and prior to the fifteenth calendar day following the prescribed due date. 

PELOTON SHARES PLUNGE AS LOSSES WIDEN, SALES SLUMP

TECHNOLOGY

NASA’s Artemis 1 mission moon rocket: Chances of Friday launch after delay is ‘more than zero,’ officials say

NASA's Artemis 1 mission at Florida's Kennedy Space Center was scrubbed Monday, but the chances of launching later this week are "more than zero," officials say.

NASA will provide an update on the status on the Artemis I Moon mission status on Tuesday at 6 p.m. Eastern.

The briefing will discuss the flight test of the agency’s mega Moon rocket and uncrewed Orion spacecraft, currently at Launch Pad 39B at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida, ahead of the Artemis I lunar mission.

The launch was scrubbed Monday after encountering an issue getting one of the four RS-25 engines on the bottom of the rocket’s core stage to the proper temperature range for liftoff.

A Norfolk Southern freight train in Homestead, Pa., Wednesday, April 27, 2022. (AP photo/Gene J. Puskar)

Three of the 12 unions negotiating with the nation's biggest freight railroads have reached a tentative deal which will deliver 24% pay raises, in line with what a special presidential panel of arbitrators recommended earlier this month to resolve the stalemate before a strike could happen.

The tentative five-year deal announced Monday covers more than 15,000 members of the International Association of Machinists, the Transportation Communications Union and the Brotherhood of Railway Carmen unions.

But the two biggest rail unions that represent engineers and conductors said over the weekend they still haven't been able to reach a deal their members would accept.

The railroads have until mid-September to reach agreements with all their unions before federal law would allow them to go on strike. If it gets to that point, however, Congress is expected to step in to keep the trains moving because a rail strike could be devastating to the economy. Lawmakers could impose terms on both sides or order arbitration.

Roughly 115,000 workers are represented by all the railroad unions. Even though they have been negotiating jointly as a coalition, each individual union now has to reach its own agreement with the railroads that its members will vote on. CSX, Union Pacific, Berkshire Hathaway unit BNSF, Norfolk Southern and a number of other railroads are represented by the National Carriers Conference Committee in the talks.

Tanger president and CEO Stephen Yalof discusses the state of retail and what's driving outlet shopping on 'The Claman Countdown.'

Catalent fell more than 7% Monday. The drug developer reported fiscal fourth quarter revenue that missed Wall Street estimates but beat on profit.

Revenue rose 10% to $1.31 billion for the three months ended June 30. Net earnings grew 10% to $188 million on a constant currency basis.

Adjusted net earnings were $1.19 per share, topping the estimate of $1.15.

The outlook for fiscal 2023 is for net revenue of $4.975 to $5.225 billion and net income of $660 to $730 million.

Fiscal 2022 revenue was $4.828 billion, up 23% in constant currency.

MARKETS

Walmart blasts FTC for government overreach in money transfer suit

The FTC claims that Walmart turned a blind eye while criminals used its money transfer services to scam consumers out of hundreds of millions of dollars.

Walmart wants a federal court to dismiss a Federal Trade Commission lawsui t over its money transfer services. The FTC filed a complaint in June alleging the largest U.S. retailer allowed its money transfer services to be used by fraudsters, who fleeced consumers out of hundreds of millions of dollars.

Walmart called the lawsuit “an egregious instance of agency overreach.”

“The FTC is trying to hold Walmart liable for the criminal actions of completely unrelated third-party fraudsters, in spite of Walmart’s extensive efforts to prevent those very fraudsters from defrauding our customers, and despite the FTC’s lack of constitutional or statutory authority to bring the lawsuit,” the company said in a statement.

David Dworkin argues housing affordability is the worst it's been in most people's lifetime.

The U.S. Federal Trade Commission seal. (REUTERS/Yuri Gripas)

The Federal Trade Commission is suing a data broker in federal court for allegedly selling data that tracks people at reproductive health clinics, places of worship, and other sensitive locations.

The government privacy watchdog said Kochava sold geolocation data from hundreds of millions of mobile devices that can be used to trace the movements of individuals to and from sensitive locations.

Idaho-based Kochava purchases vast troves of location information derived from hundreds of millions of mobile devices. The information is packaged into customized data feeds that match unique mobile device identification numbers with timestamped latitude and longitude locations.

According to the FTC’s complaint, Kochava’s sale of geolocation data puts consumers at significant risk.

BUSINESS-LEADERS

Customers going to restaurants 'like crazy' as they face expensive prices at grocery stores: FAT Brands CEO

FAT Brands CEO Andrew Wiederhorn detailed the shift in customer behavior as consumers have been experiencing high prices at grocery stores.

FAT Brands president and CEO Andrew Wiederhorn said Monday that customers have been frequenting his restaurants "like crazy" as expensive food at grocery stores has been pushing them to dine out more.

ECONOMY

Honda, LG Energy teaming to build $4.4B EV battery plant in US

Honda and LG Energy's investment comes as the U.S. looks to expand the country's EV production. The companies are reportedly considering building in Ohio.

Japan's Honda and South Korea's LG Energy Solutions plan to produce produce lithium-ion batteries in the U.S. to power Honda and Acura EV models for the North American market.

LIFESTYLE

Frozen pizza recalled due to lack of federal inspection

Pizza John's recalled pepperoni pizza products after officials discovered that the facility was not inspected by the USDA and its products did not bare the USDA inspection mark.

Pizza John's, a Maryland pizza maker, is recalling approximately 156,498 pounds of pepperoni pizza products that were produced without the benefit of federal inspection.

SelectQuote, Inc. on Monday reported a loss of $104.7 million in its fiscal fourth quarter.

The Overland Park, Kansas-based company said it had a loss of 64 cents per share. Losses, adjusted for non-recurring costs, came to 35 cents per share.

The company posted revenue of $139.4 million in the period. Its adjusted revenue was $187.7 million.

For the year, the company reported a loss of $297.5 million, or $1.81 per share. Revenue was reported as $957.3 million.

Shanghai-based e-commerce giant Pinduoduo Inc reported quarterly revenue above Wall Street estimates on Monday, buoyed by a major shopping festival and price promotions to lure China's increasingly reluctant consumers to open their wallets.

The group's U.S.-listed shares rose more than 15% in trading before the bell.

"We saw a recovery in consumer sentiment in the second quarter, especially during the 618 shopping festival," said Chief Executive Chen Lei.

He cited agricultural produce, fast-moving consumer goods, consumer electronics and beauty products as standout sales performers, and said promotions had also driven up sales.

The platform is now looking to international expansion, with a cross-border e-commerce platform slated for launch in the coming months targeting the United States as its first market. 

"The overseas business is one of the opportunities we see... (we) see many peers in the industry achieving good results, so we believe it’s a direction worth trying out," CEO Chen said.

Pinduoduo may benefit from a deal struck between Beijing and Washington last Friday to allow U.S. regulators to vet accounting firms in China and Hong Kong, potentially putting to rest a dispute that threatened to boot Chinese companies from U.S. stock exchanges. 

Cryptocurrency prices were mixed early Monday morning as investors try to return to levels reached several weeks ago. (Getty Images)

Cryptocurrency prices were mixed Monday, with Bitcoin testing the $20,000 level as investors continue to shed more riskier assets.

For the week, Bitcoin was trading lower by more than 8.85%. For the month, the cryptocurrency is off more than 17.6%.

Elsewhere, for the week, Ethereum was trading lower by about 11.4%. For the month, it was trading lower by nearly 16.85%.

For the week, Dogecoin was lower by more than 10.8%. For the month, the crypto was lower by nearly 10.4%.

Gasoline prices continue to fall after hitting an all-time high on June 14 of $5.016, while diesel prices have reversed and are now rising once again. (gasprices.aaa.com)

The average price of a gallon of gasoline slipped slightly on Monday to $3.85. On Sunday, the nationwide price of a gallon of regular gasoline sold for $3.853, according to AAA. Saturday's price was $3.857.

The price of a gallon of gasoline a week ago was $3.901. A month ago, that same gallon of gasoline sold for $4.255. A year ago, gasoline was $3.148.

Gas has been on the decline since hitting a high of $5.016 on June 14, nearly 11 weeks ago. 

Meanwhile, the price of a gallon of diesel rose to $5.057. On Sunday, that same gallon of diesel sold for $5.05.

Last week, a gallon of diesel sold for $4.977 Last month, a gallon of diesel sold for $5.319 and last year, a gallon of diesel sold for $3.276.

Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.) is concerned actions taken by Fed Chairman Jerome Powell and the central bank may tip the U.S. economy into a recession. (Getty Images)

Sen. Elizabeth Warren, D-Mass., said Sunday she’s "very worried" that measures taken by the Federal Reserve to tame inflation are going to put "millions" of Americans out of work.

During an appearance on CNN’s "State of the Union," Warren said she’s concerned that the Fed’s continued raising of interest rates could "tip" the country into a recession. 

"I am very worried about this, because the causes of inflation, things like the fact that COVID is still shutting down parts of the economy around the world, that we still have supply chain kinks, that we still have a war going on in Ukraine that drives up the cost of energy and that we still have these giant corporations that are engaging in price gouging," she said. 

"There is nothing in raising the interest rates, nothing in Jerome Powell’s tool bag that deals directly with those, and he has admitted as much in congressional hearings when I've asked him about it," she continued.

"Do you know what's worse than high prices and a strong economy? It's high prices and millions of people out of work. I'm very worried that the Fed is going to tip this economy into recession." 

Fed Chairman Jerome Powell on Friday delivered a stark message on the state of the U.S. economy at the annual central bank gathering in Wyoming: Inflation remains painfully high, and cooling it will require forceful action that could soon bring "pain" to households and businesses nationwide.

Investors remain worried following remarks by Fed Chairman Jerome Powell on controlling inflation and keeping interest rates high to accomplish that goal.

U.S. stocks were lower overnight following remarks Friday by Fed Chairman Jerome Powell signaling higher interest rates for a longer period of time to try and tamp down inflation even as disappointed investors hoped the central bank would begin to ease rates to help the economy.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average sank more than 1,000 points Friday after Powell’s vow to keep pressing the fight against inflation, even at the expense of economic growth. 

In the highly anticipated speech, Powell said the Fed must continue raising interest rates and keep them high until inflation is under control. His comments disappointed investors who had hoped inflation had peaked and the Fed would shift from raising rates to lowering them sometime next year. 

Friday's selloff capped off two consecutive weeks of losses for major stock indexes and largely wiped out the market's gains since late July. Technology stocks that were flying high earlier this summer took a particular beating, with Amazon.com and Netflix both falling more than 4% for the day. 

The Dow shed 1,008.38 points, or 3%, to 32283.40, the blue-chip index's biggest one-day drop since May. The S&P 500 fell 141.46 points, or 3.4%, to 4057.66. The tech-focused Nasdaq Composite slid 497.56 points, or 3.9%, to 12141.71. 

The indexes were little changed ahead of the speech, then steadily declined throughout the session, with losses accelerating into the closing bell.

All three indexes declined more than 4% for the week, following an up-and-down ride in which investors weighed worries over Fed tightening against economic data that pointed to underlying strength in the U.S. economy. 

Powell's comments at the Fed's summit in Jackson Hole, Wyo., highlighted how the central bank is preparing to shift from a phase of rapid and large rate increases to potentially one in which it focuses on reaching an interest-rate level that slows hiring, spending and growth, then holds at that level for some time. 

Meanwhile, Asian shares declined Monday.

Japan's benchmark Nikkei 225 dipped 2.7% in afternoon trading to 27,881.87. Australia's S&P/ASX 200 dropped 2.0% to 6,965.50. South Korea's Kospi slipped 2.2% to 2,427.28. Hong Kong's Hang Seng slid 0.8% to 20,004.49, while the Shanghai Composite recouped earlier losses to inch up less than 0.1% at 3,237.82. 

“The risk-off mood is playing out in the Asia’s session today as well, as bearish sentiments follow through with the sell-off in Wall Street to end last week while U.S. futures continue to suggest no reprieve into the new week,” said Yeap Jun Rong, market strategist at IG in Singapore. 

Also weighing on regional sentiments are China's economic data over the weekend, which seem to indicate a strong recovery will take time. China's January-July industrial profits sank 1.1% from a year ago, amid fresh COVID-19 restrictions.

Members of OPEC+ say they supported cutting output to balance the oil market and maintain market stability. (Getty Images)

Oil prices rose 1% on Monday, as expectations that OPEC would cut output if needed to support prices, coupled with conflict in Libya and rising demand amid soaring natural gas prices in Europe, helped offset a dire outlook for U.S. growth. 

U.S. West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude futures were up 45 cents, or 0.48%, to $93.51 a barrel by 0632 GMT, adding to a gain of 2.5% last week. Brent crude futures rose 16 cents, or 0.16%, to $101.15 a barrel, extending last week's gain of 4.4%. 

"Oil prices are inching higher on hopes of a production cut from OPEC and its allies to restore market balance in response to the revival of Iran's nuclear deal," said Sugandha Sachdeva, vice president of commodity research at Religare Broking. 

Strong U.S. oil exports and a bigger-than-expected draw of oil inventory in the last couple of weeks have also eased some demand concerns amid slowdown fears, Sachdeva added. 

Oil prices have been buoyed by hints from Saudi Arabia and other members of the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries and allies, together called OPEC+, that they could cut output to balance the market. 

The United Arab Emirates is aligned with Saudi thinking on output policy, a source told Reuters on Friday, while the Omani oil ministry also said it supported OPEC+ efforts to maintain market stability. 

Sources said last week OPEC would consider cutting output to offset any increase from Iran, should oil sanctions be lifted if Tehran agrees to revive a nuclear deal.