STOCK MARKET NEWS: GE, Peloton layoffs, stocks choppy, OPEC cut rattles US

Chipmaker Advanced Micro Devices Inc on Thursday provided third-quarter revenue estimates that fell well short of its previous forecast, citing lower-than-expected demand and significant inventory corrections across the personal computer market supply chain.

The company's shares fell 2.5% in after-market trading, dragging those of peers Nvidia Corp and Intel Corp.

"The PC market weakened significantly in the quarter," Chief Executive Officer Lisa Su said in a statement.

The company said it expects third-quarter revenue of about $5.6 billion. That compares with its forecast in August of $6.7 billion, plus or minus $200 million.

Netflix is coming to the big screen. Rian Johnson’s “Glass Onion: A Knives Out Mystery” will play at AMC Theatres, Cineworld’s Regal Cinemas and Cinemark from November 23-29. The move is a follow-up to Johnson’s 2019 “Knives Out.”

Levi Strauss & Co cut its full-year profit forecast on Thursday, as decades-year high inflation hits consumer spending and a strengthening U.S. dollar adds to worries alongside higher costs.

The company said it now expects full-year 2022 adjusted profit of $1.44 to $1.49 per share, compared with its prior forecast of between $1.50 and $1.56.

Levi's also expects full-year reported net revenue to grow between 6.7% and 7.0%, representing 11.5% to 12% net revenue growth on a constant-currency basis. Earlier, the jeans maker expected a net revenue growth of 11% to 13%.

The San Francisco-based company's net revenue rose 1% to $1.52 billion in the third quarter ended August 28, missing analysts expectations of $1.60 billion, according to Refinitiv data.

General Electric Co is laying off a fifth of its offshore wind workforce as it streamlines the business.

The company is also reviewing its onshore wind footprint in Europe and the Asia-Pacific region. 

AngioDynamics has lost an antitrust case and is considering an appeal, the company said in a regulatory filing.

The medical device maker said a federal court jury found that C.R. Bard and Bard Access Systems (now part of Becton Dickinson) had not unlawfully restrained competition in the U.S. market for percutaneously inserted central catheters, a medical device used for vascular access. 

Earlier Thursday AngioDynamics reported a loss of $13 million in its fiscal first quarter.

The Latham, New York-based company said it had a loss of 33 cents per share. Losses, adjusted for one-time gains and costs, came to 6 cents per share.

The results did not meet Wall Street expectations. The average estimate of four analysts surveyed by Zacks Investment Research was for a loss of 2 cents per share.

The medical device maker posted revenue of $81.5 million in the period, also missing Street forecasts. Four analysts surveyed by Zacks expected $83.2 million.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.

Standard General is pushing back against House Speaker Nancy Pelosi and Energy and Commerce Committee Chair Frank Pallone over their concerns over the company’s $8.6 billion acquisition of TEGNA.

Pelosi and Pallone sent a letter to Federal Communications Commission, telling chair Jessica Rosenworcel they are worried about the effects of the acquisition.

TEGNA, the former broadcasting and digital arm of Gannett, manages 64 TV stations across 51 domestic markets.

“After reviewing the public record, we are concerned that this transaction would violate the FCC’s mandate by restricting access to local news coverage, cutting jobs at local television stations, and raising prices on consumers,” the letter said.

Standard General said the acquisition would yield “significant benefits” by creating the largest minority-owned and female-led broadcast station group in U.S. history.

“We were therefore disappointed to see the FCC petitioners enlist the involvement of Speaker Pelosi and Congressman Pallone by misleading them with the same false statements they have been making to the FCC,” the company said.

Liz Ann Sonders, Sarah Kunst and Jim Awad provide dissect the Federal Reserve's policies on 'Making Money.'

U.S. wages are failing to keep up with rising prices. A study by the Federal Reserve Bank of Dallas showed median wages declined 8.5% in the second quarter of 2022 compared to a median decline of 6.5% over the past 25 years.

Researchers found 53.4% of all workers experienced real wage declines.

“While the past 25 years have witnessed episodes that show either a greater incidence or larger magnitude of real wage declines, the current time period is unparalleled in terms of the challenge employed workers face,” the Dallas Fed said.

Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen touted efforts by the U.S. and Europe to implement a price cap on Russian oil and choke off a massive amount of revenue for Moscow, despite retaliatory production cuts from OPEC+ this week.

Speaking at the Center for Global Development think tank on Thursday, Yellen said the price ceiling on Russian oil – which will impose a ban on transporting it by sea to other countries above the limit – is designed to keep the oil flowing into global markets at lower prices, "particularly benefiting low- and middle-income countries." 

European Union countries on Wednesday agreed to impose the price cap, which the Group of Seven wealthy nations want in place by December 5, in order to penalize Russia for the war in Ukraine. Yellen has been a major advocate for the price cap, with the Treasury trying to onboard as many nations as possible to join the buyers' cartel. 

Treasury officials previously argued the price limit will reduce the revenue the Kremlin generates from oil by tens of billions of dollars annually and will also discourage production. 

Telsa’s corporate credit score is improving. Standard & Poor’s upgraded Elon Musk’s company to ‘BBB’ from ‘BB+’ on improving production and solid cash flow prospects.

S&P said it now expects Tesla to sell 2 million units in 2023, up from 1.5 million units.

“Both the pace of production growth and the level of manufacturing efficiency in its Austin and Berlin facilities (with no material cost overruns) have been better than our prior expectations,” the ratings agency said.

In 2022 and 2023, S&P expects Tesla to sustain free operating cash flow to sales (FOCF) of over 10%.

A ‘BBB’ rating is considered investment grade. ‘BB+’ is non-investment grade or “junk”.

Moody’s updated the electric vehicle maker to ‘Ba1’ from ‘Ba3’ in January. Both are junk ratings.

American Express Co said on Thursday Jay Clayton, former chairman of the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission, has been elected to its board of directors, effective Oct. 5.

Clayton spent over 20 years as a partner at Sullivan & Cromwell LLP before he became the 32nd chairman of the SEC in 2017. He currently serves as a senior policy adviser and counsel at the New York-based law firm.

Three board members of Faraday Future Intelligent Electric have resigned after receiving threats of physical violence and death threats, the electric vehicle start-up said in a regulatory filing.

Executive chair Susan Swenson, lead independent director Jordan Vogel and director Scott Vogel tendered their resignations.

“Each of Ms. Swenson, Messrs. Jordan Vogel and Scott Vogel cited such threats and their fear that their continued association with the Company might heighten the risk to themselves and their respective families as the reasons for their resignations,” the filing said.

Faraday said a group of self-described employee whistleblowers claimed that “certain directors have conspired to push the company into bankruptcy for their own personal gain."

”The threats were referred to state and local police, the Federal Bureau of Investigation, the SEC, the U.S. Department of Justice and relevant international authorities.

Compass jumped 26% in Thursday trading before giving back some gains. Business Insider reported private equity firm Vista Partners was exploring a deal to take private the largest U.S. real estate brokerage.

However, a Compass spokesperson told The Real Deal there have been no such talks with any private equity firms.

Compass expects fiscal third quarter revenue of $1.4 to $1.5 billion. The company reported second quarter revenue of $2 billion on August 15, up 4% year-over-year.

Mortgage rates decreased slightly this week due to ongoing economic uncertainty, according to government-sponsored mortgage securitizer Freddie Mac. However, rates remain quite high compared to just one year ago, meaning housing continues to be more expensive for potential homebuyers.

The average 30-year fixed rate loan fell to 6.66%, down .04% from 6.7% a week earlier.

The 15-year rate came in at 5.9%, a drop of 0.06% from 5.96% last week.

At least 50 Amazon warehouse employees in Staten Island, New York were suspended from their jobs after refusing to work in the wake of a trash compactor fire on Monday, union organizers say.

The workers, who were suspended with pay on Tuesday, were reportedly concerned about air quality within the facility after the fire. Some employees worried that there was still lingering smoke from the blaze.

When a trash compactor ignited on Monday afternoon, day-shift workers were sent home with pay. But night-shift employees, who had just arrived, were told to remain in the break area while management figured out what was going on, according to Amazon Labor Union vice president Derrick Palmer.

Approximately 100 workers held a sit-down protest at the facility’s main office, demanding to be sent home with pay.

"They were saying ‘we don’t feel safe, we don’t feel safe to work,'" Palmer explained.

Read more on the story by clicking here: Amazon suspends at least 50 Staten Island union workers after protest over warehouse fire

U.S. equity futures traded lower Thursday adding to losses in the prior session following a report by payroll processor ADP that employers added 208,000 jobs in September. 

That showed parts of the economy are still strong, giving ammunition to Fed officials who say more rate hikes are needed to cool inflation that is at a four-decade high.

The major futures indexes suggest a decline of 0.3% when trading begins on Wall Street.

Oil prices traded near three-week highs on Thursday after OPEC+ agreed to further tighten global crude supply with a deal to slash production by about 2 million barrels per day, the largest reduction since 2020.

U.S. West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude futures traded around $87.00 per barrel, building on a 1.4% rise on Tuesday.

Brent crude futures traded around $93.00 per barrel, after settling 1.7% higher in the previous session.

In Asia, Tokyo's Nikkei 225 rose 0.7%, while the Hang Seng in Hong Kong lost 0.4%. China's markets remain closed for a holiday.

On Wall Street, the future for the benchmark S&P 500 index was down 0.2%. That for the Dow Jones Industrial Average lost 0.1%.

The Dow slipped 0.1% and the Nasdaq composite slid 0.2%.

The average price of a gallon of gasoline gained again on Thursday to $3.867, according to AAA.

Wednesday's price was $3.831. 

Gas hit a high of $5.016 on June 14. 

Diesel's price gained to $4.883 per gallon.

Oil prices traded near three-week highs on Thursday after OPEC+ agreed to further tighten global crude supply with a deal to slash production by about 2 million barrels per day, the largest reduction since 2020.

U.S. West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude futures traded around $88.00 per barrel, building on a 1.4% rise on Tuesday.

Brent crude futures traded around $94.00 per barrel, after settling 1.7% higher in the previous session.

The administration of  President Biden has criticized the deal as being "shortsighted". The White House said Biden would continue to assess whether to release further strategic oil stocks to lower prices.

Bitcoin was trading around $20,000, after snapping a two-day winning streak.

For the week, Bitcoin has gained more than 3%.

The cryptocurrency is down more than 56% year-to-date.

Ethereum was trading around $1,300, after, gaining more than 1% in the past week.

Dogecoin was trading at 6 cents, after gaining more than 6% in the past week.

The Biden administration is reportedly gearing up to wind down sanctions against Venezuela’s authoritarian regime, clearing the way for Chevron to resume its oil operations and reopen U.S. and European markets. 

People familiar with the proposal told The Wall Street Journal that any sanctions relief wound hinge on talks between the government of Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro and the country’s opposition regarding free and fair presidential elections in 2024. So far, such talks have failed to materialize. 

Discussions of possible sanctions relief on Venezuela come as President Biden faces mounting political pressure to address rising gas prices ahead of the November midterms. It also comes as the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC+) said it would be cutting oil production by 2 million barrels a day, creating another headache for the president. 

Such a deal between the U.S. and Venezuela could potentially enrage critics on all sides. Venezuelan opposition leader Juan Guaido has asked the U.S. government for details of Chevron’s expanded license request to operate in the country. 

Still, it remains to be seen whether a pivot to Venezuela would make alleviate growing fuel costs in the U.S. Once a major oil producer, pumping more than 3.2 million barrels a day in the 1990s, Venezuela’s dilapidated oil industry has been plagued by years of corruption, mismanagement, and environmental degradation, according to reports by oilprice.com. 

"The Democrats right now have a harder story to sell on this because sure there's inflation. Sure, there are supply chain issues. But when specifically it comes to oil, they have been so publicly, anti-American oil, that when you start to hear that there's not enough of it, those two dots aren't very hard to connect," Ryan Sitton, a former Texas oil regulator, told FOX Business. "So, Biden is clearly trying to do anything he can do to hold oil prices down, and thereby help keep gasoline prices low, such that it doesn't hit them that hard in the midterms." 

Read more on the story here: Biden admin looks to scale down Venezuela sanctions, allow more pumping of oil rated among world's dirtiest

President Biden's plan to wipe out as much as $20,000 in federal student loan debt per borrower will require millions of Americans to submit an application that could be available as soon as this week.

The White House has said that the application would open sometime in October and be short and online.

It is unclear exactly when the form will go live. White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre said this week that "no date has been set," but she confirmed that it's still slated for release this month.

Biden's executive order cancels $10,000 in student loan debt for individual borrowers who earned less than $125,000 in either 2020 or 2021 (or married couples who made less than $250,000 annually in those same years). If a qualifying borrower also received a Pell grant while enrolled in school, they are eligible for up to $20,000 in debt forgiveness.

In the meantime, here is everything that borrowers need to know:

How do I apply for the program?

Because the application is not live, it's still unclear how to apply for the program. However, the Department of Education has said that borrowers will not need to upload any supporting documents or use their Federal Student Aid ID to submit the application.

"Once you submit your application, we’ll review it, determine your eligibility for debt relief and work with your loan servicer(s) to process your relief," the department said in a recent email to borrowers. "We’ll contact you if we need any additional information from you."

Read more on the story by clicking here: Student loan relief applications arriving soon: What you need to know

Elon Musk may need to find other firms to finance his takeover of Twitter.

Apollo Global Management Inc and Sixth Street Partners, which were looking to provide financing earlier this year, are no longer in talks with the billionaire entrepreneur, according to two sources familiar with the matter.

Apollo, Sixth Street and other investors were looking to commit over $1 billion in financing for the deal at the time.

When Musk started having second thoughts about the purchase, the talks ended.

Musk initially proposed the buyout in April, then backtracked in July and changed his mind once again this week.

Musk and Twitter are currently attempting to reach an agreement after months of litigation.

Click here to read more on the Elon Musk-Twitter purchase: Musk may need more financing firms for Twitter deal