Kraft Heinz CEO: "Consumers Are Literally Running Out Of Money Toward The End Of The Month" While the digital US economy, if proxied through the earnings growth and stock prices of AI companies and their "picks and shovels" support ecosystem, has never been stronger, the traditional US consumer, responsible for 70% of US GDP, has rarely been more depressed than right now (and according to the late...
Kraft Heinz CEO: "Consumers Are Literally Running Out Of Money Toward The End Of The Month" While the digital US economy, if proxied through the earnings growth and stock prices of AI companies and their "picks and shovels" support ecosystem, has never been stronger, the traditional US consumer, responsible for 70% of US GDP, has rarely been more depressed than right now (and according to the latest University of Michigan sentiment survey, Americans have literally never been more pessimistic). That was the take home message from the latest earnings week, when various executives across retail, restaurants and packaged goods indicated they are increasingly worried about US shoppers - especially those from the" lower half" of the K-shaped economy - with tighter budgets amid surging gas prices caused by the Iran war, and consumer electronics prices through the roof thanks to record memory chip prices. “ They’re literally running out of money at the end of the month ,” Kraft Heinz CEO Steve Cahillane said in an interview with the WSJ . “We’re seeing negative cash flows in the lower-income brackets where they’re dipping into savings.” Sure enough, last week we showed that as a result of personal spending growth far outpacing personal income... ... the personal savings rate has collapsed to a 3 year low. This underscores a remarkable trend: since the pandemic, Americans have continued to spend at surprising levels despite high inflation, keeping the US economy growing and thwarting recession fears, with much of the spending growth fueled by credit card debt, with February's $10BN+ increase in credit card debt the highest since February 2024. But soaring fuel costs might be the straw that breaks the overlevered camel's back: “ The war in Iran amplified consumer concerns about the cost of living ,” Whirlpool . CEO Marc Bitzer said Thursday on a call with analysts. The maker of washers and dryers said it’s counting on purchases picking up after a harsh US winter slowed shoppi...
Asia-Pacific markets were set to open mixed Monday as higher oil prices and escalating tensions between the U.S. and Iran weighed on investor sentiment after President Donald Trump 's rejected Tehran's latest proposal to end the war. Iran submitted a new proposal to U.S. negotiators focused on ending the Middle East conflict. Iran's semi-official Tasnim news agency said that the counteroffer calle...
Asia-Pacific markets were set to open mixed Monday as higher oil prices and escalating tensions between the U.S. and Iran weighed on investor sentiment after President Donald Trump 's rejected Tehran's latest proposal to end the war. Iran submitted a new proposal to U.S. negotiators focused on ending the Middle East conflict. Iran's semi-official Tasnim news agency said that the counteroffer called for an end to the war on all fronts and the lifting of sanctions on Tehran, citing an informed source. However, Trump said he did not like Iran's response and called it "TOTALLY UNACCEPTABLE!" in a Truth Social Post. Meanwhile, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said Sunday that the war with Iran is "not over," as the U.S. and Israel still aim to curb Tehran's nuclear ambitions. Netanyahu's comments come ahead of Trump 's trip to China later this week, where he's expected to meet with Chinese President Xi Jinping . The war and the subsequent closure of the Strait of Hormuz by Iran have spiked global energy costs and sharply raised gas prices in the U.S. The West Texas Intermediate futures for June was 2.93% higher at $98.35 per barrel as of 7:30 p.m. ET. Brent crude futures for July rose 3.14% to $104.47 per barrel. Japan's Nikkei 225 was poised to gain, with the Chicago futures contract at 63,745 and its Osaka counterpart last trading at 63,760, compared with the index's previous close of 62,713.65. Hong Kong Hang Seng index futures were at 26,250, lower than the index's last close of 26,393.71. In Australia, futures last traded at 8,736, while the S&P/ASX 200 ′s closed at 8,744.40. Stock Chart Icon Stock chart icon Futures tied to the Dow Jones Industrial Average slid 143 points, or 0.3%. S&P 500 futures and Nasdaq 100 futures each also lost 0.3%. Sunday's moves come after the S&P 500 and Nasdaq Composite rallied more than 2% and 4%, respectively, last week. Both indexes recorded their sixth-straight winning weeks — a first for each since 2024. The Dow rose 0.2% ...
I Squared Capital has lobbed a rival all-cash offer for Australian outdoor advertising company oOh!media , valuing the company at A$765.9 million ($554 million). The unsolicited, conditional non-binding I Squared bid of A$1.45 per share in cash comes after an April non-binding offer of A$1.40 per share from Pacific Equity Partners. The I Squared bid represents a 15% premium to oOh!media’s Friday c...
I Squared Capital has lobbed a rival all-cash offer for Australian outdoor advertising company oOh!media , valuing the company at A$765.9 million ($554 million). The unsolicited, conditional non-binding I Squared bid of A$1.45 per share in cash comes after an April non-binding offer of A$1.40 per share from Pacific Equity Partners. The I Squared bid represents a 15% premium to oOh!media’s Friday closing price. OOh!media shares gained as much as 7.5% in early Sydney trading, the biggest daily move since PEP’s April 29 offer landed. Read More: PEP Offers to Buy Outdoor Ad Firm oOh!Media for $537 Million The target company said in a Monday statement that neither proposal adequately reflected its intrinsic value. It is prepared to provide both bidders with access to a limited amount of due diligence information to allow them to assess whether they are able to make a revised proposal. Engagement with PEP and ISQ is preliminary and oOh!media is also engaging with certain other parties, it said. oOh!media also said it is suspending its share buyback program.