Blog

Consumer spending was expected to hold strong in September — possibly even more than forecast and enough to throw another wrinkle into the Federal Reserve's thought process. The Census Bureau's retail sales report Thursday morning is likely to show a monthly increase of 0.3%, a number that is adjusted for seasonal factors but not inflation, according to the Dow Jones consensus. That would show an increase of 0.1% in August and would be higher than the 0.2% inflation rate for the month as measured by the consumer price index. While that in itself would be a solid performance, indicating consumers are keeping pace with inflation, there are some signs it could be even stronger. Bank of America, for one, thinks the sales number excluding autos may have shot higher by 0.7%, well above the 0.1% ...

Investors should keep an eye on companies that could disappoint on earnings and see their share price fall. Wall Street has been lowering its third-quarter growth estimates for months now. According to a recent FactSet note, companies in the S & P 500 are projected to see a 4.2% increase in earnings compared with the same quarter a year ago, down from an expected 7.8% on June 30. That's not abnormal, however, as third-quarter growth estimates tend to decline in the preceding months. Nearly 10% of S & P 500 companies have already reported results, with more than 79% beating earnings estimates, according to FactSet. Several names could still disappoint, however. To find those that might, CNBC Pro screened FactSet for stocks in the S & P 500 that are reporting next week. These nam...

U.S. crude futures edged lower Wednesday to trade below $71 per barrel, after selling off steeply in the previous session on reports that Israel will not attack Iran's oil facilities.The U.S. benchmark tumbled more than 4% on Tuesday after Israel told the U.S. that it will limit its retaliatory strikes to military targets in Iran, senior Biden administration officials told NBC News.Crude oil prices have given up most of the gains made in the wake of Iran's Oct. 1 ballistic missile attack on Israel, as fears of an oil supply disruption in the Middle East have eased.Here are Wednesday's energy prices:West Texas Intermediate November contract: $70.28 per barrel, down 30 cents, or 0.43%. Year to date, U.S. crude oil has fallen nearly 2%.Brent December contract: $73.94 per barrel, down 31 cents...

An ASML icon is being displayed on a circuit board, alongside the flags of the USA and China, in this photo illustration taken in Brussels, Belgium, on January 4, 2024.Jonathan Raa | Nurphoto | Getty ImagesASML finally offered a first glimpse into how U.S. restrictions on exports of its advanced chip manufacturing tools to China will impact its sales in the Asian country.The Netherlands-based chip equipment maker said in its earnings report Tuesday, which was released a day early due to a "technical error," that it expects net sales for 2025 to come in between 30 billion euros and 35 billion euros ($32.7 billion and $38.1 billion). This is at the lower half of the range ASML had guided previously.ASML is a critical part of the global chip supply chain. The firm's extreme ultraviolet lithog...

Amazon Web Services is investing more than $500 million in nuclear power, announcing three projects from Virginia to Washington state. AWS, Amazon's subsidiary in cloud computing, has a massive and increasing need for clean energy as it expands its services into generative AI. It's also a part of Amazon's path to net-zero carbon emissions.AWS announced it has signed an agreement with Dominion Energy, Virginia's utility company, to explore the development of a small modular nuclear reactor, or SMR, near Dominion's existing North Anna nuclear power station. Nuclear reactors produce no carbon emissions.An SMR is an advanced type of nuclear reactor with a smaller footprint that allows it to be built closer to the grid. They also have faster construction times than traditional reactors, allowin...