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Yahoo
4 hours ago
- Yahoo
Paramount Skydance Stock Jumps Double Digits After Getting Meme Label
Key Takeaways Paramount Skydance shares jumped nearly 40% Wednesday after CNBC stock commentator Jim Cramer called it a "meme stock." The newly merged media conglomerate experienced a surge in trading volume after Cramer's tweet noting the company's "small float" of shares available to the public. Other meme stocks in recent years have also been propelled higher by a limited float or trading frenzies not based on the companies' underlying fundamentals. Paramount Skydance, the media conglomerate newly created with the merging of giants Skydance Media and Paramount Global, just hit a major cultural milestone: It's been "memed." Shares of Paramount (PSKY) closed nearly 40% higher on Wednesday afternoon at $15. Average volume in the stock for the three trading days after the deal closed on Aug. 7 was around 40.6 million, but jumped to 130.9 million on Wednesday amid the buying frenzy. Though the stock started to climb at the market's open, it soared higher after CNBC's "Mad Money" show host Jim Cramer tweeted: "Paramount (PSKY) is a meme stock!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Small float ... shocking." The term Cramer used—float—refers to the number of a company's shares available to the public, calculated by taking total shares outstanding and subtracting any restricted or insiders' shares. A small float, which would allow a group of people to move the share price substantially, is a quality that meme stocks usually have in common. They also may experience sharp swings in their share price not based on their underlying fundamentals. Other notorious meme stocks include American Eagle Outfitters (AEO), Kohl's (KSS), and GameStop (GME). Read the original article on Investopedia Error in retrieving data Sign in to access your portfolio Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data
Yahoo
5 hours ago
- Yahoo
Stocks See Support As Bessent Calls for a Big Rate Cut
The S&P 500 Index ($SPX) (SPY) on Wednesday rose +0.32%, the Dow Jones Industrials Index ($DOWI) (DIA) rose +1.04%, and the Nasdaq 100 Index ($IUXX) (QQQ) rose +0.04%. September E-mini S&P futures (ESU25) rose +0.32%, and September E-mini Nasdaq futures (NQU25) fell -0.01%. The S&P 500 index and the Nasdaq 100 Index both posted new record highs on Wednesday before falling back. US stocks saw support from stronger expectations for interest rate cuts through year-end as Treasury Secretary Bessent weighed in with his call for a 150-175 bp rate cut. Stocks also saw support from Wednesday's -5 bp decline in the 10-year T-note yield. More News from Barchart Warren Buffett Warns Investing At 'Too-High Purchase Price' Even for 'an Excellent Company' Can Undo a Decade of Smart Investing Why Archer Aviation's (ACHR) Post-Earnings Tailspin Looks Like a Favorably Mispriced Opportunity BitMine Immersion Now Holds 1.15 Million Ethereum Tokens. Should You Buy BMNR Stock Here? Tired of missing midday reversals? The FREE Barchart Brief newsletter keeps you in the know. Sign up now! Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent on Wednesday said that interest rates are "too constrictive" and that rates "should probably be 150, 175 basis points lower." He added, "There's a very good chance of a 50 basis point cut. We could go into a series of rate cuts here, starting with a 50 basis point rate cut in September." The Fed is currently targeting the federal funds rate in the range of 4.25%-4.50% and the effective rate is currently at 4.33%. The markets have started to think about the chances for a -50 basis point rate cut in September, based on Monday's largely benign CPI report and the fact that the US labor market is slowing, with average monthly payroll growth in May-July of only +35,000. On a year-on-year basis, Tuesday's July headline CPI of +2.7% y/y was slightly weaker than expected, but the core CPI of +3.1% y/y was slightly stronger than expected. The federal funds futures market on Wednesday boosted the odds to 100% for a -25 bp rate cut in September and a slight 7% chance of a -50 bp rate cut. Those expectations were more dovish than the 96% chance for a -25 bp rate seen Tuesday and the 40% chance seen before the July payroll report was released on August 1. The federal funds futures market is currently discounting an overall -64 bp rate cut by the end of this year to 3.69%, and an overall -134 bp rate cut to 2.99% by the end of 2026. The markets are awaiting this Friday's Trump-Putin summit in Alaska for any progress in ending the Russian-Ukrainian war. President Trump on Monday downplayed expectations of a breakthrough, saying the summit is a "feel-out meeting" to end the war in Ukraine. Also, recent comments from Ukrainian President Zelenskiy dampened hopes for a quick end to the war when he rejected any talk of Ukraine ceding territory to Russia. In recent tariff news, President Trump early Tuesday extended the tariff truce with China for another 90 days until November. Last Wednesday, Mr. Trump announced that he will impose a 100% tariff on semiconductor imports. Still, companies would be eligible for exemptions if they demonstrate a commitment to building their products in the US. However, the US will levy a separate tax on imports of electronic products that employ semiconductors. Also, Mr. Trump announced last Wednesday that he will double tariffs on US imports from India to 50% from the current 25% tariff, due to India's purchases of Russian oil. Last Tuesday, Mr. Trump said that US tariffs on pharmaceutical imports would be announced "within the next week or so." According to Bloomberg Economics, the average US tariff will rise to 15.2% if rates are implemented as announced, up from 13.3% earlier, and significantly higher than the 2.3% in 2024 before the tariffs were announced. The market's focus during the remainder of this week is on any tariff-trade news and Friday's Trump-Putin summit. On Thursday, weekly initial unemployment claims are expected to fall by -1,000 to 225,000. Also on Thursday, the July final-demand PPI is expected to increase to +2.5% y/y from +2.3% y/y in June, and the July PPI ex-food and energy is expected to rise to +2.9% y/y from +2.6% y/y in June. On Friday, July US retail sales are expected to climb +0.5% m/m and retail sales ex-autos are expected to rise +0.3% m/m. Also on Friday, July manufacturing production is expected to remain unchanged m/m. Finally, the University of Michigan's Aug US consumer sentiment index is expected to climb by +0.3 to 62.0. Federal funds futures prices are discounting the chances for a -25 bp rate cut at 100% at the September 16-17 FOMC meeting and at 73% for a second -25 bp rate cut at the following meeting on October 28-29. Earnings reports indicate that S&P 500 earnings for Q2 are on track to rise +9.1% y/y, much better than the pre-season expectations of +2.8% y/y and the most in four years, according to Bloomberg Intelligence. With over 82% of S&P 500 firms having reported Q2 earnings, about 82% of companies exceeded profit estimates. Overseas stock markets closed higher on Wednesday. The Euro Stoxx 50 closed up +0.92%. China's Shanghai Composite rallied to a 3.75-year high and closed up +0.48%. Japan's Nikkei Stock 225 closed up +1.30% and posted a new record high. Interest Rates September 10-year T-notes (ZNU25) rose +12 ticks on Wednesday, and the 10-year T-note yield fell -5.2 bp to 4.237%. T-note prices rallied on stronger expectations for interest rate cuts through year-end. T-note prices had underlying support from Tuesday's CPI report, which was largely in line with market expectations and did not contain any nasty surprises. In a bullish factor, the 10-year breakeven inflation expectations rate on Wednesday fell -1.0 bp to 2.378%, adding to Tuesday's -1.3 bp decline. European government bond yields moved lower. The 10-year German bund yield fell -6.4 bp to 2.680%. The 10-year UK gilt yield fell -3.7 bp to 4.589%. Swaps are discounting the chances at 8% for a -25 bp rate cut by the ECB at the September 11 policy meeting. US Stock Movers The Magnificent Seven turned lower after initial gains, with only Apple (AAPL) and Amazon (AMZN) closing higher on the day, with gains of more than +1%. (AMZN) closed +1.4% after announcing plans to expand its same-day grocery delivery service to 2,300 cities by year-end, more than doubling from the current 1,000 cities. The Dow Jones Industrial Average outperformed the S&P 500 and Nasdaq 100 due to gains of more than +3% in UnitedHealth Group (UNH), Nike (NKE), Merck (MRK), and Sherwin-Williams (SHW). Chip stocks continued to show strength due to expectations for interest rate cuts. AMD (AMD), NXP Semiconductors (NXPI), ON Semiconductors (ON), and Align Technologies (ALGN) all showed gains of more than +3%. Crypto-firm Bullish (BLSH) raised $1.1 billion in an IPO on Tuesday, with its IPO price of $37 per share exceeding expectations. Bullish on Wednesday rallied sharply to close at $68.00. CoreWeave (CRWV) plunged more than -20% after a disappointing earnings outlook tied to high capital costs and reduced margins. Hanesbrands (HBI) rallied +3.7% Wednesday, adding to Tuesday's +28% rally that occurred after the Financial Times reported Canadian-based Gildan Activewear (GIL) would acquire Hanesbrands. The official acquisition announcement was made Wednesday, with an equity purchase amount of about $2.2 billion. Gildan rallied +11.8% Wednesday after Tuesday's -3.7% loss. Palo Alto Networks (PANW) rose +0.8% on an upgrade by Deutsche Bank to buy from hold. Inc (AI) rallied +10% despite a downgrade by Oppenheimer to market perform from outperform following the company's recent preliminary earnings results that were considered weak. KinderCare Learning (KLC) fell -22% after disappointing Q2 results, including weaker-than-expected enrollment numbers and a reduction in full-year guidance. Earnings Reports (8/14/2025) Deere & Co (DE), Amcor PLC (AMCR), Tapestry Inc (TPR), Applied Industrial Technologie (AIT), Birkenstock Holding Plc (BIRK), QXO Inc (QXO), Applied Materials Inc (AMAT), Sandisk Corp/DE (SNDK), Globant SA (GLOB), NU Holdings Ltd/Cayman Islands (NU). On the date of publication, Rich Asplund did not have (either directly or indirectly) positions in any of the securities mentioned in this article. All information and data in this article is solely for informational purposes. This article was originally published on Error in retrieving data Sign in to access your portfolio Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data
CNBC
5 hours ago
- CNBC
Many business travelers are quietly taking their families along on trips
When American Natasha Colkmire returned to work after having her first child, she didn't want to leave her newborn son with a nanny to go on a business trip. So she convinced a family member to tag along. "They would meet up with me when my son needed to be nursed," she said. "We also had the evenings together." The trip worked so well that Colkmire took more business trips with non-colleague companions. "My grandma went to Houston with me, a friend went to St. Paul, and my mom helped me when I needed to do a job in Washington D.C.," she said. "Each person loved getting the free trip." More than half of business travelers (55%) have had loved ones join their work trips, according to a survey of 4,000 adults from the United States, United Kingdom, Germany and Spain published Wednesday by the travel tech company TravelPerk. Among C-suite executives, the number jumped to 73% — with travelers saying they've had partners (53%), children (22%), friends (21%), and even pets (7%) tag along, according to TravelPerk's data. For some, bringing loved ones on business trips isn't just a perk — it's a way to reclaim time together, according to Jean-Christophe Taunay-Bucalo, TravelPerk's president and COO. "Traveling for work can be lonely," he told CNBC Travel. "Work trips can be an opportunity to experience something new, and by taking a loved one along, you remain connected." Plus, business travelers don't have to miss family time, be it bedtimes or birthdays, said Taunay-Bucalo. "For me, it's about having the best of both worlds, and sometimes performing at my peak also means seeing my kid at the end of a work day — it provides some normality," he said. Other business travelers who spoke to CNBC said there is another motivation — money. Colkmire, who now runs a travel website, recalled the time she joined her husband on a work trip to Vienna, Austria. "Our expense was cut in half, which was a huge blessing so that we were able to explore an area of the world that we had not yet been to without breaking the bank," she said. Bridgette Borst Ombres, a former journalist turned public relations consultant, said she has used work trips to create "budget-friendly mini-vacations" for her family. "Attending a tech conference at Disney World in Orlando, Florida, was the perfect business trip to bring along my husband and then-2-year-old daughter," she said. "The conference lasted two days, so while I was working, my husband took our daughter to visit his dad, who lived in the area, and we'd meet up for dinner in the evenings." After the conference ended, Ombres and her family spent a few days at Walt Disney World. "My hotel was covered by my company for the first two days, but I paid for the additional nights and all of our activities. My plane ticket was also covered by the company but I purchased my husband's ticket separately," she said. That blend of personal and business travel, or "bleisure" as it's known, was valued at $315 billion in 2022 by Allied Market Research. The advisory firm projects blended trips will reach $731 billion globally by 2032. Bringing loved ones on business trips is common and generally accepted, said Frank Harrison, regional security director for the Americas at risk management company World Travel Protection. However, that doesn't mean that employees are revealing their plans to their companies. "I didn't keep [my] travel plans a secret, nor did I broadcast them to coworkers," Ombres said. "Part of it was worrying it might come across as unprofessional." Deepak Shukla, CEO of the London-based marketing company Pearl Lemon, said he's turned three-day work trips into week-long adventures with his wife in New York City, Lisbon, Dubai and Tokyo. "I don't hide it from my team," he said. "If the work's done and costs aren't creeping into the company card, it's nobody's business." However, he said big corporations often view traveling with family as a "policy grey zone." "The sticking points are expense claims, insurance coverage, and whether leisure days blur into workdays ... [which are] messy for tax and liability," he said. "That's why some companies quietly allow it but expect employees to keep receipts and activities clearly split." Ombres said allowing family and friends to join business trips can boost morale and build loyalty among employees. "I'm all for it," she said. "As long as it doesn't interfere with the work." She said she sets clear expectations for work to be completed on trips, and as long as that's met, "there's no reason to try to micromanage how people spend their personal time." Gabe Richman, CEO of Seattle-based biotech company Omic, agreed, saying he's combined work trips with family vacations in San Diego and Frankfurt, Germany. He said he encourages employees to travel with loved ones as long as "business objectives are met first." He said employees should clearly separate personal and work expenses and ensure companies incur no additional costs. Travelers should also be transparent about their plans with their companies, he said. Beyond that, travelers should make the most of the trip — for business and pleasure. "Business takes me to places we'd never vacation to otherwise." he said. "Why waste the opportunity?"
