My top things to watch Wednesday, Sept. 13
1. Equities edge down Wednesday morning, as the Labor Department's monthly consumer price index shows inflation increased more than expected last month. It's a little hotter, but not terrible — and there's no bleed of energy inflation into the rest of the economy yet. The S&P 500 was 0.13% lower in premarket trading. Oil prices, meanwhile, continued their ascent, with West Texas Intermediate crude hovering above $89 a barrel.
2. Mortgage applications decreased for the seventh time in eight weeks last week, reaching the lowest level since 1996, according to the Mortgage Bankers Association's seasonally adjusted index. The news is a sign that high interest rates are continuing to take a toll on mortgage demand, especially for refinancing.
3. Club name Apple (AAPL) on Tuesday launched the iPhone 15 and iPhone 15 Plus, complete with USB-C charging. Wall Street was not particularly impressed with the slew of incremental updates. Here's the Club's take on Apple's annual event.
4. UBS initiates coverage on Club holding Ford Motor (F) with a buy rating and $15-per-share price target. The automaker is planning to double output of the hybrid F-150 pickup truck. Will it return to more moderate losses on the electric-vehicle front? Meanwhile, Ford is continuing negotiations with the United Auto Workers in an effort to avert a strike. Here's how a strike could impact Ford.
5. China denies reports it issued a ban on government workers using foreign-branded devices like Apple's iPhone, even as it flagged "security incidents." Here's what a potential ban could mean for the Club name.
6. JPMorgan throws in the towel on Club holding Oracle (ORCL). The firm downgrades the software giant to neutral, from overweight, while lowering its price target on the stock to $100 a share, from $112. The move follows Oracle's mixed quarterly results, which triggered a sell-off. But I think there's too much momentum around artificial intelligence to leave this stock now. It's time to buy more.
7. The first of two major antitrust lawsuits targeting Club holding Alphabet's (GOOGL) Google search engine got underway Tuesday in Washington, D.C. Here's the Club's view on both cases.
8. The initial public offering of chip designer Arm Holdings, owned by SoftBank Group (SFTBF), is set to price Wednesday in what's expected to be the largest listing of the year. The IPO is a key barometer for investor enthusiasm over AI, especially given Arm's ties to Club semiconductor firm Nvidia (NVDA).
(See here for a full list of the stocks at Jim Cramer's Charitable Trust.)
As a subscriber to the CNBC Investing Club with Jim Cramer, you will receive a trade alert before Jim makes a trade. Jim waits 45 minutes after sending a trade alert before buying or selling a stock in his charitable trust's portfolio. If Jim has talked about a stock on CNBC TV, he waits 72 hours after issuing the trade alert before executing the trade.
THE ABOVE INVESTING CLUB INFORMATION IS SUBJECT TO OUR TERMS AND CONDITIONS AND PRIVACY POLICY, TOGETHER WITH OUR DISCLAIMER. NO FIDUCIARY OBLIGATION OR DUTY EXISTS, OR IS CREATED, BY VIRTUE OF YOUR RECEIPT OF ANY INFORMATION PROVIDED IN CONNECTION WITH THE INVESTING CLUB. NO SPECIFIC OUTCOME OR PROFIT IS GUARANTEED.
