Every weekday, the CNBC Investing Club with Jim Cramer holds a "Morning Meeting" livestream at 10:20 a.m. ET. Here's a recap of Wednesday's key moments. 1. The S & P 500 was little changed ahead of the Federal Reserve's Wednesday afternoon interest rate decision, likely marking Jerome Powell's last policy meeting as Fed chairman. No rate change is expected. If confirmed, nominee Kevin Warsh would ...
Every weekday, the CNBC Investing Club with Jim Cramer holds a "Morning Meeting" livestream at 10:20 a.m. ET. Here's a recap of Wednesday's key moments. 1. The S & P 500 was little changed ahead of the Federal Reserve's Wednesday afternoon interest rate decision, likely marking Jerome Powell's last policy meeting as Fed chairman. No rate change is expected. If confirmed, nominee Kevin Warsh would take over as Fed chief in May. The central bank's next scheduled policy meeting is set for mid-June. President Donald Trump wants the Fed to lower rates. But will the data cooperate, especially with oil so high? Warsh has said he will only cut rates if warranted by economic conditions. Bond yields are "getting uncomfortably high for me," as oil prices go higher on questions about whether the Iran war will end soon, said Jim Cramer. Those higher yields are the reason for Home Depot's over 7% year-to-date decline. The Club holding is our play on lower rates, which Jim has previously said is key to reviving the stalled housing market and overall economic recovery. "When I see rates [bond yields] go up … I always have to take a pause and say, 'OK, let's add that into the equation before we buy anything,'" Jim said. 2. Investors are also anticipating earnings from the Club's "Magnificent Seven" holdings after the close: Amazon , Alphabet , Meta , and Microsoft . "The big battleground will be Microsoft," said Jim, adding he's worried the enterprise software and cloud giant will try to dismiss Wall Street's concerns about Copilot not being up to snuff. "Do they understand that the Street views them as just another SaaS [software as a service] play? Will they be oblivious?" Jim questioned. If oblivious, Jim said Microsoft's stock will tumble, which has already dropped about 12% year to date. With Microsoft, forward guidance is only revealed in the conference call. So, any stock reaction on the release alone might change once investors get the outlook details. 3. Corning shares drop...
I keep buying Broadcom (NASDAQ:AVGO) and I am not going to pretend otherwise. Every paycheck, every rebalance, every time the stock pulls back, the buy button gets warm again. This is a position I am building for the next decade, and the receipts keep telling me to keep going. The reason is simple in human ... How This One AI Stock Became My Obsession
I keep buying Broadcom (NASDAQ:AVGO) and I am not going to pretend otherwise. Every paycheck, every rebalance, every time the stock pulls back, the buy button gets warm again. This is a position I am building for the next decade, and the receipts keep telling me to keep going. The reason is simple in human ... How This One AI Stock Became My Obsession
Earnings Call Insights: Stanley Black & Decker (SWK) Q1 2026 Management View "I am pleased to report that Stanley Black & Decker delivered a solid start to the year, outperforming our expectations on the top and bottom lines in the first quarter" (President, CEO & Director Christopher Nelson), while reporting revenue up 3% (flat organically) and adjusted EPS of $0.80. Nelson highlighted the CAM di...
Earnings Call Insights: Stanley Black & Decker (SWK) Q1 2026 Management View "I am pleased to report that Stanley Black & Decker delivered a solid start to the year, outperforming our expectations on the top and bottom lines in the first quarter" (President, CEO & Director Christopher Nelson), while reporting revenue up 3% (flat organically) and adjusted EPS of $0.80. Nelson highlighted the CAM divestiture close and capital priorities, saying, "on April 6, we announced the successful completion of the previously disclosed agreement to sell our Aerospace Fasteners business" and that "the vast majority of the approximately $1.6 billion of net proceeds have already been applied towards debt reduction" (President, CEO & Director Nelson), adding, "We expect our capital allocation strategy to be biased towards share repurchases, which the Board has authorized." On Tools & Outdoor, management tied mixed volumes to North American retail conditions and outdoor preseason execution. Nelson said organic revenue declined in power tools and hand tools/storage, while "Outdoor organic revenue increased 1%, driven by encouraging preseason sales for spring 2026, particularly for ride-on and zero-turn mower offerings" (President, CEO & Director Nelson). He also pointed to professional demand, stating, "increased sales generated by professional end user demand in the U.S. commercial and industrial channel indicates that our growth investments are building momentum in the market" (President, CEO & Director Nelson). "Above-the-line operating outperformance made up about half of the outperformance, driven by Outdoor" (Executive VP, CFO & Chief Administrative Officer Patrick Hallinan), and Hallinan attributed the remaining outperformance to below-the-line items, including a Q1 tax rate benefit that he said did not change the full-year tax rate view. Outlook Management kept full-year adjusted EPS guidance unchanged at $4.90 to $5.70, with Hallinan stating it remained "consistent with our or...
esp_imaging/iStock via Getty Images The latest conflict in the Middle East passed the two-month mark earlier this week. Oil and other commodity prices continue to grind higher, putting increasing pressure on the global economy and numerous industries. A ceasefire is holding for now, but little progress has been made in reopening the Strait of Hormuz to normalize traffic. This situation will contin...
esp_imaging/iStock via Getty Images The latest conflict in the Middle East passed the two-month mark earlier this week. Oil and other commodity prices continue to grind higher, putting increasing pressure on the global economy and numerous industries. A ceasefire is holding for now, but little progress has been made in reopening the Strait of Hormuz to normalize traffic. This situation will continue to garner the lion's share of financial headlines in May until it is resolved satisfactorily. If it weren't for these hostilities, the fallout from the deterioration in the private credit market would be generating more airtime, in my opinion. Zero Hedge, Macro Butler Few investors knew what private credit was despite its tremendous growth since the Great Financial Crisis until late this last summer. That is when the unexpected bankruptcies of First Brands and Tricolor Holdings sent ripples across the credit markets. These concerns receded in the months thereafter, even as Fitch Ratings projected the default rate in private credit funds had broached the 9% level at the end of 2025. UBS To put this in perspective, this is much worse than the corporate default rates the banks absorbed at the peak of the Great Financial Crisis. UBS has estimated private credit default rates could hit 15% in its worst-case scenario. FT Research, Zero Hedge, Company Filings In the back half of February, Blue Owl Capital ( OWL ) became the first major private credit fund to "gate" investor redemption requests. These had been growing in recent quarters, but the floodgates (pun intended) opened up in the first quarter. Apollo Global Management ( APO ), Morgan Stanley ( MS ), BlackRock ( BLK ), Cliffwater, Ares Management Corporation ( ARES ), and other sponsors of large private credit funds soon followed Blue Owl's example. Lark Davis - March 2026 Ken Griffin of Citadel just noted that wealthy investors may not fully grasp the risks of the booming private credit market. These worries included th...
Vertiv Holdings Co. (NYSE:VRT) is one of the best performing S&P 500 stocks so far in 2026. On April 27, Vertiv acquired Strategic Thermal Labs/STL, a specialist in advanced liquid-cooling technologies, to enhance its thermal management capabilities for high-density AI and HPC. This acquisition focuses on the critical interface between server-side liquid cooling and infrastructure, […]
Vertiv Holdings Co. (NYSE:VRT) is one of the best performing S&P 500 stocks so far in 2026. On April 27, Vertiv acquired Strategic Thermal Labs/STL, a specialist in advanced liquid-cooling technologies, to enhance its thermal management capabilities for high-density AI and HPC. This acquisition focuses on the critical interface between server-side liquid cooling and infrastructure, […]
Corning Incorporated (NYSE:GLW) is one of the best performing S&P 500 stocks so far in 2026. On March 31, Corning and Meta (NASDAQ:META) officially broke ground on a significant expansion of Corning’s optical cable manufacturing facility in Hickory, North Carolina. This project is a key component of a multiyear agreement valued at up to $6 […]
Corning Incorporated (NYSE:GLW) is one of the best performing S&P 500 stocks so far in 2026. On March 31, Corning and Meta (NASDAQ:META) officially broke ground on a significant expansion of Corning’s optical cable manufacturing facility in Hickory, North Carolina. This project is a key component of a multiyear agreement valued at up to $6 […]
New Yorker writer Elizabeth Kolbert says EPA chief Lee Zeldin has rescinded regulations, cut or eliminated departments and terminated the jobs of many scientists. Trump calls Zeldin "our secret weapon."
New Yorker writer Elizabeth Kolbert says EPA chief Lee Zeldin has rescinded regulations, cut or eliminated departments and terminated the jobs of many scientists. Trump calls Zeldin "our secret weapon."
juststock/iStock via Getty Images Market Review Tectonic shifts occurring in markets due to major U.S. policy changes. U.S. policy shifts have caused the start of significant underlying changes to the global economy and geopolitical order. In the first quarter, non-U.S. developed markets advanced. During the period, investors generally favored value-oriented and defensive, low volatility stocks ve...
juststock/iStock via Getty Images Market Review Tectonic shifts occurring in markets due to major U.S. policy changes. U.S. policy shifts have caused the start of significant underlying changes to the global economy and geopolitical order. In the first quarter, non-U.S. developed markets advanced. During the period, investors generally favored value-oriented and defensive, low volatility stocks versus growth-oriented names. Tariff confusion weighing on business leaders and investors. Uncertainty has caused business leaders to delay decision-making. In the U.S., weaker sentiment and consumer patterns suggest a potential stagflationary environment. Europe showed signs of modest economic improvement, and Germany announced plans for increased military and infrastructure spending. Selection among consumer discretionary stocks detracted. An underweight position relative to the benchmark in broadline retailer Alibaba Group Holding hurt returns after the stock rose on news of Alibaba's artificial intelligence work with Apple and DeepSeek. On Holding was also a drag as the athletic shoe and apparel company's stock pulled back ahead of its scheduled earnings report. Online travel company MakeMyTrip was another notable detractor. Health care sector holdings were a source of weakness. Novo Nordisk was a notable detractor compared with the benchmark due to implications of a study on weight-loss results from the use of semaglutide, while potential future pricing discounts for its popular weight-loss drugs also concerned investors. Biotechnology industry holding CSL also notably weighed on performance. Terumo detracted as shares of the medical device company sold off ahead of its earnings report. Utilities sector position contributed to relative performance. Spanish multinational electrical utility company Iberdrola was the driving force of outperformance in the sector compared with the benchmark as the company continued to execute well, completing an acquisition and announcing a ...
Breakfast, lunch, dinner: there’s no meal I can’t spoil with my desire to get more than my fair share. And it’s been this way ever since I was a kid I have identified my worst character trait. In such a crowded field, this has been no easy task. This one wins out because it’s two equally unappealing traits rolled into one. They both concern food, or rather eating. Number one: I cannot stop covetin...
Breakfast, lunch, dinner: there’s no meal I can’t spoil with my desire to get more than my fair share. And it’s been this way ever since I was a kid I have identified my worst character trait. In such a crowded field, this has been no easy task. This one wins out because it’s two equally unappealing traits rolled into one. They both concern food, or rather eating. Number one: I cannot stop coveting what others have on their plates. Number two: I cannot bear to give anyone anything off my own plate. The hypocrisy is as unattractive as a half-eaten pot of yoghurt covered in mould. A Russian study into whether “moral transgression might enhance gustatory pleasure” has concluded that it does. French fries were fed to participants in a number of ways, one of which saw one person eating another person’s chips. Deliciously, these (identical) chips were considered by the thieves to be altogether nicer. It would also be nice if I could cite this as the logic behind my desire to pilfer from the plates of others, but for me it’s not always about the taste, or hunger. I just want it for the sake of wanting it, like a dog looks at you longingly when you’re eating even if you’re eating something the dog wouldn’t want. Continue reading...
Taitai6769/iStock via Getty Images Nippon Steel ( NPSCY ) ( NISTF ) said Wednesday its US Steel business plans a $1.9B investment to build a new direct reduced iron facility at the Big River Steel Works in Arkansas, which it said is the first of its kind in the U.S. US Steel said the new facility will leverage its 2022 investment into direct reduced-grade pellet capabilities at its Minnesota Ore O...
Taitai6769/iStock via Getty Images Nippon Steel ( NPSCY ) ( NISTF ) said Wednesday its US Steel business plans a $1.9B investment to build a new direct reduced iron facility at the Big River Steel Works in Arkansas, which it said is the first of its kind in the U.S. US Steel said the new facility will leverage its 2022 investment into direct reduced-grade pellet capabilities at its Minnesota Ore Operations Keetac plant, linking its mining operations, EAF feedstock creation, and steel production at Big River Steel Works. By sitting DRI production at Big River, where the $3B-plus Big River 2 expansion is now in full production and there are four electric arc furnaces, the company said the investment will eliminate the need to ship DRI to the facility and builds in a competitive sourcing advantage for Big River's feedstock. " From iron ore in Minnesota to steel production in Arkansas, this $1.9B investment strengthens our ability to create steel that is truly mined, melted, made in America, from start to finish," US Steel President and CEO David Burritt said. "By vertically integrating DRI production directly at Big River Steel Works, we enhance efficiency, secure our competitive advantage, and position US Steel for long term success." More on Nippon Steel Historical earnings data for Nippon Steel Financial information for Nippon Steel