Zuckerberg fallout, EBT tech issue, Powell speech reaction and more: Monday's 5 things to know
Second-quarter earnings reports are due out for Best Buy, Big Lots, Kirkland's, Chewy, CrowdStrike, Hewlett-Packard and more
Here are the key events taking place on this week that could impact trading.
ZUCKERBERG’S CONTROVERSIAL ROGAN APPEARANCE: An appearance by Mark Zuckerberg on Joe Rogan’s podcast last week stoked controversy after the Meta CEO admitted that Facebook limited the bombshell Hunter Biden laptop story ahead of the 2020 election because the FBI had warned about "Russian propaganda."
After the release of the episode on Thursday, the FBI said it "routinely notifies U.S. private sector entities, including social media providers, of potential threat information, so that they can decide how to better defend against threats."
In a statement released to FOX Business, the agency said it has provided companies with "foreign threat indicators to help them protect their platforms and customers from abuse by foreign malign influence actors."
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Facebook co-founder, Chairman and CEO Mark Zuckerberg testifies before the House Energy and Commerce Committee in the Rayburn House Office Building on Capitol Hill April 11, 2018 in Washington, D.C. (Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images / Getty Images)
"The FBI will continue to work closely with federal, state, local, and private sector partners to keep the public informed of potential threats, but the FBI cannot ask, or direct, companies to take action on information received," the agency said.
Meta said later Friday night that nothing about the Hunter Biden laptop story was new.
"The FBI shared general warnings about foreign interference — nothing specific about Hunter Biden," the company said.
In the final weeks of the 2020 presidential election, both Big Tech and the liberal media suppressed the New York Post's reporting that shed light on the shady foreign business dealings of the son of then-candidate Joe Biden.
Both Zuckerberg and then-Twitter CEO Jack Dorsey expressed regret for their actions at limiting the distribution of the Post's reporting, and several news organizations, including the New York Times, Washington Post, NBC News and Politico, have since verified the authenticity of the laptop.
EBT RECIPIENTS SEE TECH ISSUE: A nationwide outage was reported on Sunday with the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, leaving more than a million people without the ability to use their Electronic Benefits Transfer cards to make payments at retail stores.
Agencies in Massachusets and South Carolina reported on Sunday that customers are unable to make purchases with their EBT cards.
The South Carolina Department of Social Services tweeted Sunday that it is aware of processing issues of EBT cards due to "a third-party processor outage impacting programs in multiple states."
The department later tweeted that all systems were restored, resolving the processing issues.
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A sign noting the acceptance of electronic benefit transfer (EBT) cards that are used by state welfare departments to issue benefits is displayed at a grocery store on December 04, 2019, in Oakland, California. (Justin Sullivan/Getty Images / Getty Images)
The Massachusets Department of Transitional Assistance also said in a tweet that EBT card processing in the state was affected but later said that the issue was resolved.
FOX Business reached out to the United States Department of Agriculture for comment, but did not hear back.
REACTION TO POWELL SPEECH: In a highly anticipated speech Friday, Fed Chairman Jerome 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.
| Ticker | Security | Last | Change | Change % |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| I:DJI | DOW JONES AVERAGES | 43925.39 | +516.92 | +1.19% |
| SP500 | S&P 500 | 5951.61 | +34.50 | +0.58% |
| I:COMP | NASDAQ COMPOSITE INDEX | 18971.858009 | +5.71 | +0.03% |
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.
Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell speaks during a news conference at the Federal Reserve Board building in Washington, Wednesday, July 27, 2022. (AP Photo/Manuel Balce Ceneta / AP Newsroom)
Powell's comments at the Fed's summit in Jackson Hole, Wyoming, 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.
Stocks rallied for much of the summer on hopes that the Fed might ease its inflation-fighting stance, a generally solid corporate earnings season and some upbeat data releases.
LABOR MARKET, EARNINGS REPORT UPDATES: Investors will get a fresh update on the state of the labor market as several key reports will be released throughout the week. Bed Bath & Beyond will also be watched closely as the retailer's leadership outlines its next strategic steps.
Beginning on Tuesday, look for more second-quarter earnings reports with several big names set to release data, including Baidu, Best Buy, Big Lots and Kirkland's before the market opens and ChargePoint Holdings, Chewy, CrowdStrike, Hewlett-Packard Enterprise and PVH Corporation after the bell.
| Ticker | Security | Last | Change | Change % |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| BIDU | BAIDU INC. | 82.02 | -4.73 | -5.45% |
| BBY | BEST BUY CO. INC. | 86.96 | +0.23 | +0.26% |
| BIG | NO DATA AVAILABLE | - | - | - |
| KIRK | KIRKLAND'S INC. | 1.60 | +0.01 | +0.62% |
| CHPT | CHARGEPOINT HOLDINGS | 1.14 | +0.04 | +4.13% |
| CHWY | CHEWY INC. | 35.48 | +0.86 | +2.48% |
| CRWD | CROWDSTRIKE HOLDINGS INC. | 360.00 | +9.85 | +2.81% |
| HPQ | HP INC. | 37.73 | +1.03 | +2.82% |
| PVH | PVH CORP. | 98.67 | +2.14 | +2.22% |
On the economic data front, investors will take in the JOLTs report, consumer confidence and the FHFA and Case-Shiller home price indexes.
Five Below is a chain that sells products that cost up to $5. (iStock / iStock)
Look for additional second-quarter earnings on Wednesday as Barnes & Noble Education, Brown-Forman, Chico’s FAS, Designer Brands, Express and Vera Bradley will deliver earnings results before the market opens. Meanwhile, Cooper Companies, Five Below, Nutanix and Okta will take the spotlight after the bell.
| Ticker | Security | Last | Change | Change % |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| BNED | BARNES & NOBLE EDUCATION INC COM | 9.94 | +0.15 | +1.58% |
| BF.B | BROWN-FORMAN CORP. | 40.66 | +0.36 | +0.91% |
| CHS | NO DATA AVAILABLE | - | - | - |
| DBI | DESIGNER BRANDS INC. | 4.83 | +0.18 | +3.87% |
| EXPR | NO DATA AVAILABLE | - | - | - |
| VRA | VERA BRADLEY INC. | 5.24 | +0.17 | +3.25% |
| COO | COOPER COMPANIES | 99.43 | +0.35 | +0.35% |
| FIVE | FIVE BELOW INC. | 83.88 | +0.78 | +0.94% |
| NTNX | NUTANIX INC. | 71.37 | +1.93 | +2.78% |
| OKTA | OKTA INC. | 76.67 | +2.98 | +4.04% |
The revamped ADP national employment report will be the main event on Wednesday for economic data. Investors will also digest weekly mortgage applications and the Energy Information Administration's weekly crude stocks.
Bed Bath & Beyond will also provide a "business and strategic update" to investors during a conference call on Wednesday. The call will take place at 8:15 a.m. Eastern Time, with a press release and related materials to be issued approximately 45 minutes prior.
Wrapping up the week for earnings before the market opens will be 1-800-Flowers, Build-A-Bear Workshop, Campbell Soup, Duluth Holdings, Hormel Foods, Hovnanian Enterprises, J. Jill, Lands’ End, Ollie’s Bargain Outlet, Signet Jewelers and Toro. After the bell, look for results from Broadcom and lululemon athletica.
| Ticker | Security | Last | Change | Change % |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| FLWS | 1 800 FLOWERS COM | 7.58 | +0.07 | +1.00% |
| BBW | BUILD A BEAR WORKSHOP INC | 36.18 | -0.09 | -0.25% |
| CPB | CAMPBELL SOUP CO. | 44.38 | +0.57 | +1.30% |
| DLTH | DULUTH HOLDINGS INC | 3.67 | +0.01 | +0.41% |
| HRL | HORMEL FOODS CORP. | 30.56 | +0.34 | +1.11% |
| HOV | HOVNANIAN ENTERPRISES | 177.19 | +5.15 | +2.99% |
| JILL | J.JILL INC. | 25.39 | +0.92 | +3.74% |
| LE | LANDS END | 14.90 | +0.13 | +0.88% |
| OLLI | OLLIE'S BARGAIN OUTLET HOLDINGS INC. | 90.50 | +2.94 | +3.36% |
| SIG | SIGNET JEWELERS LTD. | 99.52 | +2.85 | +2.95% |
| TTC | THE TORO CO. | 83.39 | +1.51 | +1.85% |
| AVGO | BROADCOM INC. | 164.89 | +1.64 | +1.00% |
| LULU | LULULEMON ATHLETICA INC. | 314.38 | +6.08 | +1.97% |
Economic data Thursday will be the ISM manufacturing PMI, construction spending, vehicle sales, productivity and initial and continuing jobless claims.
Friday will mark the release of the August jobs report and factory orders.
10-YEAR BONDS HIGHER: The 10-year bond yield rose 0.047 percentage points to 3.034% last week as the price fell 13/32 to 97 18/32.
The yield is now up for four consecutive weeks following last week’s jump of 0.392 percentage points over the last four weeks, marking the largest four-week yield gain since the week ending June 17, 2022 (based on 3PM yields).
The four-week yield gain is the longest winning streak since the week ending January 14, 2022, when the market rose for four straight weeks.
The yield is now up seven of the past nine trading days.
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Meanwhile, the year-to-date yield is up 1.538 percentage points.