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    Former Georgia Republican Lt. Gov. Geoff Duncan says he is voting for Biden in November

    Peter Watson
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    Former Georgia Republican Lt. Gov. Geoff Duncan says he is voting for Biden in November



    CNN
     — 

    Former Georgia Republican Lt. Gov. Geoff Duncan on Monday said he will vote for President Joe Biden in November, arguing former President Donald Trump “has disqualified himself through his conduct and his character.”

    “Unlike Trump, I’ve belonged to the GOP my entire life. This November, I am voting for a decent person I disagree with on policy over a criminal defendant without a moral compass,” Duncan, a CNN contributor, wrote in an opinion piece published in the Atlanta Journal-Constitution.

    Duncan told CNN’s Laura Coates Monday night that Trump “is not a Republican” and “doesn’t represent our brand.”

    “Donald Trump’s not a Republican. He doesn’t represent our brand. He doesn’t represent our future. He’s a horrible human being at this point, we’re watching that play out hour by hour in the courtroom,” Duncan said. “It’s time to move on. If we’re going to heal as a party and truly get back to doing the things that we should do – and that’s be conservative but not angry or crazy or liars – we should turn the page immediately from Donald Trump.”

    In the op-ed titled, “Why I’m voting for Biden and other Republicans should, too,” Duncan outlined why he has decided against backing the GOP nominee. While Duncan admitted Biden’s age is a concern for many and his “progressive policies aren’t to conservatives’ liking,” he wrote he was left with no alternative as he argued a second Trump term would hinder the Republican Party from moving forward.

    “The GOP will never rebuild until we move on from the Trump era, leaving conservative (but not angry) Republicans like me no choice but to pull the lever for Biden,” Duncan wrote. “The alternative is another term of Trump, a man who has disqualified himself through his conduct and his character. The headlines are ablaze with his hush-money trial over allegations of improper record-keeping for payments to conceal an affair with an adult-film star.”

    Duncan criticized fellow members of his party, including Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell and New Hampshire Gov. Chris Sununu, calling it “disappointing to watch an increasing number of Republicans fall in line behind former president Donald Trump.” “This mentality is dead wrong,” he added.

    Duncan also slammed Bill Barr, once an attorney general for the former president who has since emerged as one of Trump’s most prominent critics, for recently saying he would vote for the presumptive Republican nominee over Biden in November.

    “Ironically, having served as his attorney general until December 2020, Barr saw firsthand Trump’s ability to cause damage. Barr’s declaration that the Justice Department uncovered no evidence of widespread voter fraud that could change the outcome of the 2020 election infuriated his boss and set off a chain of events that ended with Jan. 6,” Duncan wrote.

    “Trump has shown us who he is. We should believe him. To think he is going to change at the age of 77 is beyond improbable,” Duncan later added.

    Trump’s attempt to overturn the 2020 election in Georgia caused Duncan and other Georgia GOP election officials, including Gov. Brian Kemp and Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger, to push back against Trump’s claims of fraud in the state.

    Duncan was president of the Georgia state Senate when Rudy Giuliani and other Trump allies spread conspiracy theories about the 2020 election before Georgia state lawmakers in meetings he said at the time he did not “sanction.”

    Last year, he testified in front of the Fulton County grand jury that would later indict Trump and others for their attempts to overturn the election in the state. Trump has pleaded not guilty to all criminal charges he faces.

    Duncan told CNN’s Jake Tapper after the 2020 election that Trump attacking Kemp and Raffensperger “disgusts” him and spoke about the threats elected officials in the Peach State have received.

    “All of us in this position have got increased security around us and our families and it’s not American, it’s not what democracy is all about but it’s reality right now. So, we are going to continue to do our jobs. Gov. Kemp, Brad Raffensperger and myself all three voted and campaigned for the president but, unfortunately, he didn’t win the state of Georgia but it doesn’t change our job descriptions,” Duncan said.

    In 2021, Duncan announced he would not run for reelection in 2022, explaining he would instead focus on reforming the GOP.

    “We have to move on as Republicans, we have to, and this is our first step to it. … I think Georgians are going to vote against Donald Trump,” Duncan said on “Laura Coates Live.”

    This story has been updated with additional information.

    CNN’s Jack Forrest and Rashard Rose contributed to this report.

    Asian stocks creep higher, Australia rises on less hawkish RBA By Investing.com

    Peter Watson
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    Asian stocks creep higher, Australia rises on less hawkish RBA By Investing.com

    Investing.com– Most Asian stocks rose on Tuesday amid persistent optimism over an eventual decline in U.S. interest rates, with indexes in Japan and South Korea blazing past their peers in catch-up trade. 

    Australian stocks also extended gains after the Reserve Bank of Australia struck a less hawkish chord than markets were expecting, reinforcing bets that it will not hike rates any further in 2024.

    Regional markets took a positive lead-in from Wall Street, particularly from gains in the technology sector after a swathe of strong first-quarter earnings in recent sessions. 

    But U.S. stock index futures fell slightly in Asian trade, while overall gains in regional markets were also limited in anticipation of more cues on U.S. rates, specifically from Federal Reserve officials set to speak later in the week. 

    Nikkei, KOSPI surge in catch-up trade 

    Japan’s and South Korea’s were the best performers in Asia on Tuesday, rising 1.2% and 1.9%, respectively. 

    The two rose in catch-up trade after a long weekend, with their gains coming largely in response to softer-than-expected U.S. data from Friday. Technology stocks were the biggest boosts to the two indexes. 

    Friday’s payrolls data was a key point of support for Asian markets, as traders began once again pricing in potential interest rate cuts by the Federal Reserve. Traders see a that the Fed will cut rates by 25 basis points in September. 

    Gains in other Asian markets were somewhat limited on Tuesday, especially as Fed officials warned that while the central bank will eventually cut rates this year, it still needed more convincing that inflation was coming down. More Fed speakers are also on tap this week. 

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    ASX 200 gains as RBA strikes less hawkish chord 

    Australia’s index rose 1.2%, extending gains after the RBA .

    While the central bank warned that Australian inflation will take longer to reach its 2% to 3% annual target, it still stopped short of directly warning markets over any potential rate hikes. Traders had fears a warning of more rate hikes after stronger-than-expected inflation data for the first quarter.

    Expectations of an extremely hawkish RBA were also undermined by weak data for the first quarter, which showed that domestic spending was slowing. 

    Some weak earnings also limited gains. ANZ Group (ASX:) fell 0.9% after a middling profit for the six months to March 31. 

    Broader Asian markets were muted. A rebound in Chinese shares appeared to be running out of steam, with the and marking small moves after racing to five-month peaks in April.

    Hong Kong’s index fell 0.4% after rising for 10 consecutive sessions, which also saw the index enter a bull market from February lows.

    Futures for India’s index pointed to a muted open, after the index clocked mild losses in the prior session.

    Trump seeks delay in classified documents case, saying prosecutors mishandled evidence

    Peter Watson
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    Trump seeks delay in classified documents case, saying prosecutors mishandled evidence

    Getty Images

    Former President Donald Trump, left, and special counsel Jack Smith.



    CNN
     — 

    Donald Trump’s attorneys have found a new reason to seek to delay the classified documents case: Some of the documents found in boxes at Mar-a-Lago have shifted out of order since FBI agents seized them two years ago.

    Trump’s attorneys indicated in a filing Monday that the shuffling of documents within boxes in evidence also could be grounds for the case to be tossed. They said they would file a motion to dismiss if the prosecution “cannot prove in a reliable way how it seized and handled the key evidence in the case, which will be a central issue at any trial.”

    In a brief order Monday, federal Judge Aileen Cannon paused the deadline the defendants faced this week for certain pretrial disclosures and said there would be a follow up order resetting pretrial deadlines and hearings. The order did not provide any further explanation.

    Special counsel Jack Smith’s office acknowledged in a recent court filing that, in at least some of the boxes obtained in the Mar-a-Lago search, the documents are now in a different order within each box than when the Justice Department first took custody of the boxes.

    “President Trump and counsel are deeply troubled to be learning of these facts approximately 11 months after the charges were filed in this case,” Trump’s attorneys wrote in the filing. The disclosures by Smith’s office “raise questions about the investigation and the handling of evidence that must be addressed before the matter proceeds.”

    Trump was charged with mishandling national defense information after the FBI seized boxes in August 2022 from the Florida estate that contained documents with classified markings mixed in with other documents and personal effects of the former president. Trump and his co-defendants have pleaded not guilty.

    The prosecutors noted in their court filing that the boxes have been subject to several reviews, including one sought by Trump. Cannon appointed a special master at Trump’s behest in 2022 to review the seized documents and determine what should be withheld from investigators because of privilege issues.

    The order of the documents could become critical to the defense of Trump and his co-defendants. For now, defense lawyers are asking for delays, arguing the revelation has disrupted their trial preparations.

    In Monday’s filing, Trump’s attorneys say they relied on the order of the classified material within the boxes when they reviewed them as part of the discovery process. At that point, the attorneys say the classified material was “buried within the boxes,” which they say could help clear Trump of any wrongdoing.

    The attorneys also say “it was our understanding” that classified material was found next to items that “provided favorable context” around when the document was put in the box, according to the filing.

    When the boxes were first seized in 2022, they were reviewed for privileged materials by a team of DOJ attorneys separate from the investigation team. Then, as part of another review by investigators, classified documents within the boxes were removed and swapped out with a placeholder sheet. And as part of the special master process ordered by Cannon, the boxes’ contents were scanned so that inventories of their contents could be created.

    The filing from prosecutors said the documents and placeholder sheets stayed within the boxes they were found in, but that “there are some boxes where the order of items within that box is not the same as in the associated scans.”

    Prosecutors acknowledged the discrepancy in response to a request last week from Trump co-defendant Walt Nauta that certain pre-trial deadlines be postponed.

    The defendants had been required to tell the court by Thursday what classified materials they intend to use as part of their defense, but Nauta and Trump argued they couldn’t meet that deadline because of the evidence snafu.

    Nauta has previously argued that prosecutors have not sufficiently shown that the boxes he is accused of moving out of a Mar-a-Lago storage room contained the classified documents sought by investigators in a May 2022 subpoena.

    Special counsel Smith has argued that Nauta’s ability to meet this week’s deadline  – which Cannon has since removed – should not be affected by the fact that some of the documents have fallen out of order within each box.

    A spokesperson from Smith’s office declined to comment further.

    This story has been updated with additional developments.

    Buffett Invests in T-bills instead of Stocks, Waits for Bad Stuff to Happen, Cash is King at 5%-plus

    Peter Watson
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    0
    Buffett Invests in T-bills instead of Stocks, Waits for Bad Stuff to Happen, Cash is King at 5%-plus

    When the Oracle of Omaha gets dark-ish on stocks at these prices, he isn’t taken seriously, suddenly. It’s only when he hypes stocks that everyone jumps in behind him.

    By Wolf Richter for WOLF STREET.

    Treasury bills are now all the rage at Berkshire Hathaway. They have been earning between 5.0% and 5.5% since mid-2023, and Warren Buffett decided they’re a great deal, rather than stocks at current prices, and loaded up on them.

    At the end of March, the huge conglomerate held $153 billion in T-bills, up by $24 billion from three months earlier, and up by nearly $50 billion from March 2023, and up by $86 billion from March 2022 ($67 billion), according to BRK’s 10-Q filings. The year 2022 was when T-bills began paying a noticeable interest once again.

    If BRK earns an average of 5.3% on its T-bills in the current quarter, that would be about $2.4 billion in interest income with zero risk. By comparison, it reported $15.7 billion in total pre-tax income for Q1. So the income from T-bills matters.

    Total T-bills, cash, and cash equivalent jumped to $189 billion, up by $21 billion in three months, and up by $59 billion year-over-year ($130 billion in Q1 2023).

    Excluding the amounts held by “Railroad, Utilities and Energy” companies, total T-bills and cash jumped to $182 billion, and Buffett said at the shareholder meeting that it was “a fair assumption” that it would grow to $200 billion by the end of June, and that he was “quite satisfied” with that position. Cash is king.

    Converting Apple shares to T-bills.

    While loading up on T-bills – of which the government has been issuing a tsunami on a weekly basis – BRK dumped 13% of its stake in Apple in Q1, or about 116 million shares, after having sold about 10 million shares in the prior quarter. Apple remains BRK’s largest stock position, with a value of $135.4 billion on March 31, according to BRK’s 10-Q filing today.

    Obviously, Buffett praised Apple and the stock, because BRK was still holding $135.4 billion as of March 31, and he doesn’t want to tank the shares before he can unload more of them.

    But he did sell Apple, and bought T-bills with the proceeds, instead of other stocks, and that ballooning pile of interest-earning cash became a topic at the shareholder meeting on Saturday, and he was asked why he wasn’t putting this cash to work – though it’s actually working just fine, producing 5%-plus risk free.

    Earning 5%-plus risk free while waiting for bad stuff to happen.

    “I don’t think anyone sitting at this table has any idea how to use it [the cash] effectively, and therefore we don’t use it,” Buffett said.

    “We’d love to spend it, but we won’t spend it unless we think we’re doing something that has very little risk and can make us a lot of money,” he said.

    “We only swing at pitches we like,” he said. And right now, they’re not liking anything other than T-bills.

    “As the world gets more sophisticated, complicated and intertwined, more can go wrong,” and the company wants to be able to “act when that happens,” he said. Waiting for a big drop in share prices, to put this cash to work at reasonable price levels?

    Obviously…

    When Buffett gets unexcited about stocks, dark-ish about their potential, waits for them to drop, dumps a big pile of Apple, and invests in T-bills — and explains why — suddenly no one takes him seriously anymore.

    The financial media drag out voices that kindly brush it all off. Just an old folksy guy on his way out. It’s only when he hypes stocks, or a particular stock, that the financial media and the other organs of Wall Street see him as the Oracle of Omaha and jump in behind him. Some things are just funny, without anyone wanting them to be funny.

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    US soldier was arrested in Russia last week, officials say

    Peter Watson
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    US soldier was arrested in Russia last week, officials say

    Vlad Karkov/SOPA Images/LightRocket/Getty Images

    MOSCOW, RUSSIA – 2022/05/20: The Russian tricolor flag is seen on top of the Kremlin Senate located inside the Kremlin Wall. (Photo by Vlad Karkov/SOPA Images/LightRocket via Getty Images)



    CNN
     — 

    An American soldier was detained in Russia last week on suspicion of theft and is currently being held in pre-trial detention, according to two US officials.

    The soldier, a staff sergeant, was arrested on May 2 by Russian authorities, the officials said. He was stationed in South Korea and traveled to Russia of his own volition, they said.

    An Army spokesperson confirmed on Monday that the soldier was detained by Russian authorities in Vladivostok “on charges of criminal misconduct.”

    “The Russian Federation notified the U.S. Department of State of the criminal detention in accordance with the Vienna Convention on Consular Relations,” said spokesperson Cynthia Smith. “The Army notified his family and the U.S. Department of State is providing appropriate consular support to the Soldier in Russia. Given the sensitivity of this matter, we are unable to provide additional details at this time.”

    The US Embassy in Moscow is seeking consular access to the soldier and has informed his family of his detention, the officials said.

    There are a number of Americans being held in Russia, including two who have been declared as wrongfully detained by the US State Department – Wall Street Journal reporter Evan Gershkovich and former Marine Paul Whelan.

    Last July, another soldier stationed in South Korea willingly crossed into North Korea where he was immediately detained. Pvt. Travis King had been on a border tour of a civilian area when he ran across the Joint Security Area (JSA) and into North Korea.

    King was supposed to have boarded a flight back to the United States to face disciplinary procedures. But after Army escorts released him at a security checkpoint at Incheon International Airport near Seoul, King left the airport on his own.

    It took weeks of secretive and intense diplomacy involving multiple countries to secure King’s release in September. He was charged with desertion in October.

    CNN’s Jennifer Hansler contributed to this report.

    This story is breaking and will be updated.

    Stocks gain as Fed rate hopes fuel continued rally

    Peter Watson
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    Stocks gain as Fed rate hopes fuel continued rally

    Stocks rose Monday as Wall Street looked set to build on an end-of-week surge precipitated by a softer-than-expected jobs report that helped spur bets toward an earlier rate cut from the Federal Reserve.

    The S&P 500 (^GSPC) gained 0.8% while the tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite (^IXIC) rose 0.9%. The Dow Jones Industrial Average (^DJI) increased roughly 0.4%.

    Stocks rallied at the end of last week, getting a boost from a “Goldilocks” jobs report that struck the balance in providing welcome news for both the markets and the Fed. More than two-thirds of bets are now on a September rate cut from the Fed, according to the CME FedWatch Tool. Most traders now expect at least two cuts by the end of the year.

    Those bets could be swung by the return of Fedspeak this week, now that free-speaking Fed officials are untethered from a pre-meeting blackout period.

    On Monday, New York Fed president John Williams said officials will make rate cut decisions based on the totality of incoming data. Williams assured eventually “we’ll have rate cuts,” but for now monetary policy is in “a very good place.”

    Also on Monday, Federal Reserve Bank of Richmond President Thomas Barkin expressed optimism that inflation will come down to 2% as “the full impact of higher rates is yet to come.”

    Minneapolis’s Neel Kashkari is set to speak on Tuesday.

    In corporate news, Disney (DIS) will take center stage this week as earnings season starts to wind down. Its stock is up around 25% so far this year.

    Boeing (BA) sank more than 1% in afternoon trading after the the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) said it has launched a new probe into the aircraft maker’s 787 Dreamliner after the company revealed to regulators last month it may not have completed required inspections.

    A Boeing spokesperson told Yahoo Finance, “we promptly notified the FAA and this is not an immediate safety of flight issue for the in-service fleet.”

    After a 6% post-earnings rally on Friday, Apple (AAPL) shares lost around 0.5% after Berkshire Hathaway CEO Warren Buffett revealed over the weekend the company had pared its holdings in the iPhone maker.

    Live10 updates

    • Disney earnings preview: set to report first earnings report since Nelson Peltz proxy battle win

      Disney (DIS) will report its fiscal second quarter earnings before the bell on Tuesday — its first earnings report since the media giant successfully fended off a high-profile proxy fight with activist investor Nelson Peltz.

      As a reminder, Disney recently adjusted its reporting structure after CEO Bob Iger reorganized the company into three core business segments: Disney Entertainment, which includes its entire media and streaming portfolio; Experiences, which encompasses the parks business; and Sports, which includes ESPN networks and ESPN+.

      Over the past year, Disney has been grappling with challenges that include a declining linear TV business, slower growth in its parks business, and profitability hurdles in streaming. But a recent turnaround plan from CEO Bob Iger has investors more bullish in recent months.

      Here’s how Wall Street expects Disney to perform, according to consensus estimates compiled by Bloomberg:

      • Total revenue: $22.10 billion versus $21.82 in Q2 2023

      • Adj. earnings per share: $1.10 versus $0.93 in Q2 2023

      • Entertainment revenue: $10.31 billion

      • Sports revenue: $4.33 billion

      • Experiences revenue: $8.18 billion

      • Disney+ subscribers: 4.71 million versus a loss of 4 million subscribers in Q2 2023

      Disney’s stock has been on a tear since the start of the year, up about 30% compared to the S&P 500’s (^GSPC) 10% rise over that same time period.

      The bullish sentiment has been driven by improved financials along with a slew of fresh announcements the company revealed in February — just ahead of its proxy fight win.

      “I don’t know that [Disney has] a lot left in its pocket for this earnings report,” Doug Creutz, managing director at TD Cowen, told Yahoo Finance. “I think numbers will be fine, but I don’t think you’ll see nearly as much ‘new news’ as we did three months ago.”

      Read more here.

    • A quiet economic data week is usually a good thing for stocks

      After several weeks inflation and Federal Reserve interest rate cuts driving the market narrative, it’s all quiet on the economic news front.

      There are no notable economic data releases set for this week.

      And research from Bank of America shows that’s usually a good thing for stocks. Since 2014, the S&P 500 (^GSPC) has risen 0.6% during weeks with no key macro data releases. The median gain in other weeks is 0.2%, per BofA.

    • Companies are having their best earnings season in nearly 2 years

      Stocks have remained largely resilient in recent weeks despite reports of sticky inflation and risk that the Federal Reserve holds interest rates higher for longer than investors expect. Wall Street strategists believe that’s likely due to a better-than-expected set of first quarter earnings.

      With 80% of the companies in the S&P 500 (^GSPC) done reporting, the benchmark index is pacing for 5% growth in first quarter earnings per share, per FactSet. This is the biggest year-over-year increase since the second quarter of 2022 and higher than the 3.2% growth analysts had expected prior to the start of the season.

      “Higher interest rates usually hurt U.S. stock valuations,” Jean Boivin, the head of the BlackRock Investment Institute, wrote in a weekly note on Monday. “Instead, strong Q1 earnings have supported stocks even as high rates and lofty expectations raise the bar for what can keep markets sanguine.”

      Perhaps the most notable move on the earnings front in the past month has come in second quarter outlooks. Thus far, 55% of the companies that have reported have given lower EPS guidance than analysts expected for the current quarter, well below the 10-year average of 63%, per FactSet.

      This comes as analysts have remained surprisingly optimistic on the current quarter. Typically, analysts cut earnings forecasts as the quarter rolls on. That hasn’t happened yet.

      Through the first month of the second quarter, analysts have raised their earnings per share projections for companies in the S&P 500 by an aggregate of 0.7%. This compares to a usual decline of 1.8% over the past 20 years.

      DataTrek co-founders Jessica Rabe and Nicholas Colas described this as a “bullish development.”

      “Even with all the uncertainty around monetary policy, it is hard to see US large caps falling very much when estimate revisions are positive,” the DataTrek team wrote. “The bear case for stocks needs an exogenous shock to come along, and quickly.”

      Read more here.

    • Current rates should be enough to bring inflation down: Fed’s Barkin

      Yahoo Finance’s Jennifer Schonberger reports:

      Richmond Fed president Tom Barkin said Monday he is optimistic that the current interest rates will be enough to eventually bring inflation down, and that the Fed can afford to be patient due to a strong job market.

      “The recent data whiplash has only confirmed the value of the Fed being deliberate,” Barkin said in a speech at Columbia Rotary Club in South Carolina.

      “The economy is moving toward better balance, but no one wants inflation to reemerge.”

      Barkin’s comments come after inflation showed a lack of progress in the first three months of the year after a steady decline in the second half of last year.

      Read more here.

    • Boeing countdown to Starliner first crewed mission to ISS

      Boeing (BA) stock was up more than 1% ahead of the industrial giant’s first planned astronaut launch to NASA’s International Space Station on Monday night at 10:34 p.m. Eastern.

      If the flight proves successful, it could pave the way for NASA to allow Boeing to conduct routine flights to and from the ISS for the agency. Boeing’s Starliner program has faced a series of setbacks and delays over the years. The Starliner space capsule failed to reach the ISS in 2019.

      Monday’s milestone comes amid an ongoing safety controversy and a leadership change at Boeing.

    • Trending tickers Monday

      Palantir Technologies (PLTR)

      Palantir stock rose more than 6% Monday morning to occupy the No. 1 slot on Yahoo Finance’s trending ticker page with the software developer’s first quarter earnings results due out after the market close. Analysts will be paying close attention to the company’s performance in its artificial intelligence platform (AIP) segment.

      Tyson Foods (TSN)

      Shares of Tyson Foods fell Monday despite reporting better-than-expected earnings for the second quarter. While the company beat revenue estimates, it missed on net sales due to a consumer spending slowdown and issues stemming from the company’s chicken production operations.

      Disney (DIS)

      Disney is set to deliver its quarterly results on Tuesday prior to the market open. The print will be the first results released since the media conglomerate won its proxy fight with Nelson Peltz last month. Investors will be watching for subscriber growth in streaming services, parks attendance, and Disney’s read on the summer box office.

    • Robinhood gets new legal threat from SEC as crypto crackdown continues

      Yahoo Finance’s David Hollerith reports:

      Robinhood (HOOD) said it received a Securities and Exchange Commission warning that the trading platform could face an enforcement action related to its US crypto business.

      The so-called Wells notice that Robinhood received May 4 stated that the SEC’s staff made a “preliminary determination” to recommend the action due to violations of registrations as a securities broker and transfer agent.

      Its stock, however, rose more than 1% in early morning trading Monday after dropping by as much as 7% before the market open.

      Robinhood warned in its disclosure that a potential action from the SEC could mean a civil complaint and a public court proceeding that could end in a fine, a cease-and-desist order, and other limitations on its crypto activities.

      The SEC has gone after a number of firms that let US customers trade cryptocurrencies as part of a wide-ranging crackdown on the industry. Read more here.

    • Energy stocks lead gains as oil edges higher

      Energy-related stocks gained Monday as oil inched higher. The S&P 500 Energy Sector Select ETF (XLE) rose more than 1%, leading the overall market gains.

      Crude futures rose on renewed geopolitical tensions and after Saudi Aramco increased its prices for Asian customers, signaling tight supply.

      West Texas Intermediate (CL=F) rose less than 1% to hover above $78 per barrel. Brent, the international benchmark price, also gained (BZ=F) to trade above $83 per barrel.

      Last week, oil fell more than 6% amid diplomatic efforts for a ceasefire between Hamas and Israel. By Monday, that prospect had dimmed.

      “I believe we have seen some major liquidation in the crude space from hedge funds and therefore, more buying power could be on the sidelines if we get renewed Geopolitical fears,” Dennis Kissler, senior vice president at BOK Financial, said in a note to clients on Monday.

    • Stocks edge higher on hopes of Fed rate cuts this year

      Stocks opened higher on Monday as Wall Street looked set to continue the market’s surge on Friday on bets the Federal Reserve will cut rates this year amid a softening job market.

      The S&P 500 (^GSPC) gained 0.4%, while the tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite (^IXIC) rose 0.3%. The Dow Jones Industrial Average (^DJI) rose more than 0.4%.

      In corporate news, Disney (DIS) will report quarterly results this week, as earnings season starts to wind down.

      Apple (AAPL) shares opened slightly lower Monday after Berkshire Hathaway CEO Warren Buffett revealed over the weekend the company had pared its holdings in the iPhone maker. Apple stock gained more than 6% on Friday in reaction to the company’s quarterly results and historic share buyback announcement.

      RobinHood (HOOD) revealed it received a “Wells Notice” from the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) informing the trading platform of potential securities violations related to crypto trading.

    • Monday’s quick earnings primer

      Via the Yahoo Finance Morning Brief newsletter (sign up here), here’s a quick glance at the biggest companies reporting earnings today:

      Post-close

    Hamas accepts Gaza ceasefire proposal from Egypt and Qatar

    Peter Watson
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    Hamas accepts Gaza ceasefire proposal from Egypt and Qatar



    CNN
     — 

    Hamas said it has accepted a ceasefire deal proposed by Egypt and Qatar which seeks to halt the seven-month war with Israel in Gaza.

    In a statement Monday, Hamas said the head of its political bureau, Ismail Haniyeh, told the Qatari prime minister and Egyptian intelligence minister that the militant group had accepted their proposal.

    The Israeli government is now reviewing the Hamas response, CNN has learned. The Israeli prime minister’s office has declined to comment at this stage.

    It’s unclear whether Hamas has agreed to the most recent ceasefire proposal, as outlined last week, or a revised version of it.

    The most recent framework, which Israel helped craft but has not fully agreed to, calls for the release of between 20 and 33 hostages over several weeks in exchange for a temporary ceasefire and the release of Palestinian prisoners.

    After the initial exchange, according to that framework, there would follow what sources describe as the “restoration of sustainable calm” during which the remaining hostages, captive Israeli soldiers and the bodies of hostages would be exchanged for more Palestinian prisoners.

    A diplomatic source familiar with the talks told CNN that after a day-long meeting in Doha, Qatar’s capital, between CIA Director Bill Burns and Qatari Prime Minister Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdulrahman Al Thani, mediators had convinced Hamas to accept a three-part deal.

    “The bill is now firmly in (Israeli Prime Minister) Benjamin Netanyahu’s court,” the source said.

    The White House on Monday confirmed that there had “been a response from Hamas” to a proposed hostage deal in Israel, and that US President Joe Biden had been briefed on that response, but otherwise declined to weigh in specifically on what a deal could entail.

    Biden is “aware of where the situation and where the process is,” White House national security spokesman John Kirby told a press briefing. CIA Director Bill Burns remains in the region “working in real time on the ground,” Kirby added.

    “We still believe that reaching an agreement is the absolute best outcome not only for the hostages, but for the Palestinian people and we’re not going to stop working to that outcome,” he said.

    As news spread in Gaza of Hamas’ announcement, Palestinians began to celebrate in the street in Deir al-Balah, in the center of the Strip, and Gaza City in the north.

    AFP/Getty Images

    Palestinians in Rafah celebrate news that Hamas has accepted a ceasefire proposal, May 6, 2024.

    The news comes just hours after Israel ordered Palestinians living in Rafah, a city in southern Gaza, to “evacuate immediately.”

    The order raised fears that Israel’s long-threatened assault on the city could be imminent. More than 1 million Palestinians have fled to Rafah, where Hamas is believed to have regrouped after Israel’s destruction of much of the north of Gaza.

    A source familiar with Israeli plans told CNN that a limited incursion into Rafah was intended to keep pressure on Hamas to agree a deal that would bring about a ceasefire and a hostage release.

    Asked whether Hamas’ acceptance of a deal could change Israel’s plans for Rafah, Israel Defense Forces (IDF) spokesperson Daniel Hagari said the military would continue to operate in Gaza. He said operations are ongoing, but that the IDF is making every effort in the negotiations to bring the hostages home as “fast as possible.”

    Netanyahu has come under fierce pressure from the more extreme wing of his coalition not to accept the ceasefire proposal outlined last week, and to focus instead on destroying Hamas in Rafah.

    Orit Strook, Israel’s settlements minister and a member of the far-right Religious Zionism party, said last week that accepting the deal would “throw” Israel’s military progress “in the trash.”

    Itamar Ben Gvir, Israel’s national security minister, said Netanyahu had “promised that Israel would enter Rafah, assured that the war would not end, and pledged that there would be no reckless deal.”

    But large parts of the Israeli public have demanded Netanyahu accept a deal. Families and supporters of the hostages blocked the Ayalon Highway in Tel Aviv last week, holding a banner reading: “Rafah or the hostages – choose life.”

    Benny Gantz, a member of Israel’s war cabinet but seen as a rival and possible successor to Netanyahu, said the return of hostages was more urgent that entering Rafah.

    Responding to Monday’s announcement, the Hostages Families Forum said: “Now is the time for all that are involved, to fulfil their commitment and turn this opportunity into a deal for the return of all the hostages.”

    This is a developing story and will be updated.

    Alert: Do this before you install One UI 6.1 on your Galaxy device!

    Peter Watson
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    Alert: Do this before you install One UI 6.1 on your Galaxy device!

    Samsung took two months to bring One UI 6.1 to older devices after the latest version of One UI debuted on the Galaxy S24 series earlier this year. Once the rollout did begin, Samsung only included flagship phones and tablets launched in 2023 in the first phase.

    The second phase finally started a few days ago, with Samsung starting the rollout of the One UI 6.1 update to the Galaxy S21 series, the Galaxy S22 series, the Galaxy Z Fold 4, and Galaxy Z Flip 4 in South Korea on May 2. But despite all the time Samsung took to make One UI 6.1 work on older devices, things didn’t go as smoothly as expected.

    Galaxy S22, S22+, and S22 Ultra owners in Korea ran into issues accessing their phones after installing the update, forcing Samsung to pause the rollout. Some units are reportedly failing to boot or, if they do boot and get to the lockscreen, they are failing to unlock.

    Such issues are not uncommon with major software updates, and while users with Galaxy phones and tablets from 2023 who received One UI 6.1 didn’t have any problems, it appears others haven’t been so lucky. It may also be one of the reasons why Samsung hasn’t expanded the update’s availability for pre-2023 devices outside Korea many days after the initial release.

    Taking the aforementioned issues into account, there are a couple of steps everyone with a Galaxy phone or tablet eligible for One UI 6.1 should take before installing the update.

    First step before installing One UI 6.1: Make a data backup

    Making a data backup is a good idea before any major OS update, but even if that’s not something you do, you should make an exception when you install One UI 6.1. There are multiple ways to back up all your data, including making a temporary cloud backup using your Samsung account from your device’s Device care » Maintenance mode menu.

    You can find more information about making temporary cloud backups on your Samsung account at this link. For more backup methods, check out our preparation guide for One UI 6.0 here. That guide also has other recommendations that you may find useful, though the backup part is the most critical.

    Disable screen lock/bypass the lock screen

    It’s virtually impossible to find people who don’t lock their phone with a password, PIN, or fingerprint these days. But considering one of the issues after installing One UI 6.1 is being unable to unlock the device, you may want to disable the lock screen before going ahead with the update.

    You can change the screen lock type from the Settings » Security and privacy » Lock screen » Screen lock menu on your phone or tablet. Selecting the None screen lock type will disable the lock screen and make your phone boot straight to the home screen.

    Removing the screen lock will remove any registered fingerprints, pattern, and PIN you are using, but we think that’s a minor inconvenience that you should ignore. You can re-register and create those again once One UI 6.1 is installed and your phone has safely booted up.

    Highlights from the 2024 Met Gala exhibit: Sleeping Beauty would wake up for these gowns

    Peter Watson
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    Highlights from the 2024 Met Gala exhibit: Sleeping Beauty would wake up for these gowns

    ▶ Follow AP’s live coverage of the 2024 Met Gala here.

    NEW YORK (AP) — Sure, she was a royal princess and all. But there’s no way Sleeping Beauty — either before or after her nap — ever had quite the fabulous wardrobe that’s been assembled at the Metropolitan Museum of Art.

    “Sleeping Beauties: Reawakening Fashion,” the spring Costume Institute exhibit that debuts at Monday’s Met Gala, is not technically about THAT Sleeping Beauty. The title’s nod to the fairytale is actually a reference to the glass coffins — “let’s be more upbeat and call them cases,” quips curator Andrew Bolton — that hold 16 aging garments now so fragile that they can’t be shown upright. These delicate creatures have been slumbering, like Aurora herself, in the museum’s climate-controlled archives.

    But these “beauties” are only a small fraction of the 220 items on display in the nature-themed “Sleeping Beauties,” which Bolton calls one of the institute’s most ambitious shows yet (his previous blockbusters include “Alexander McQueen: Savage Beauty” and “China: Through the Looking Glass”). It’s also special to Bolton because every item on display is from the museum’s own collection.

    (AP Photo/Julia Nikhinson)

    Another key difference: This show will be a multisensory experience, involving not just sight but smell, sound and touch. Organized into themes of earth, air and water, the show makes use of a “smell artist” who extracted and analyzed molecules from clothing, creating scents visitors can now sniff from plastic tubes. Curators have also captured sounds of fabrics in an echo-free chamber, and used 3D scans to replicate embroidery patterns for touching.

    Despite the scale, “I really wanted to make this intimate and participatory,” Bolton said during a weekend tour through the show. In fact, there’s even a mannequin in a gown you can text a question to, and she’ll deliver a ChatGPT-enabled response.

    A few highlights:

    STRAIGHT FROM ‘THE GILDED AGE’

    The Metropolitan Museum of Art's Costume Institute gala exhibit, "Sleeping Beauties: Reawakening Fashion," on display at The Metropolitan Museum of Art, Saturday, May 4, 2024, in New York. (AP Photo/Julia Nikhinson)

    (AP Photo/Julia Nikhinson)

    A late 19th-century, satin-and-chiffon ballgown begins the show, its intricate embroidery of metallic threads, golden beads and sequins evoking sunbeams radiating from clouds. But the “cloud dress” by influential English designer Charles Frederick Worth is doomed, due to deterioration of the vertical threads — “there’s nothing we can do about it,” Bolton says. Except perhaps to recreate it digitally: On a screen nearby, an animated “Pepper’s ghost” illusion that took nine months to perfect shows the gown dancing at a ball. The gown was donated by relatives of Caroline Schermerhorn Astor, played on HBO’s “The Gilded Age” by Donna Murphy.

    THE SOUNDS OF ‘SCROOP’ (AND RAZOR CLAMS)

    The Metropolitan Museum of Art's Costume Institute gala exhibit, "Sleeping Beauties: Reawakening Fashion," on display at The Metropolitan Museum of Art, Saturday, May 4, 2024, in New York. (AP Photo/Julia Nikhinson)

    (AP Photo/Julia Nikhinson)

    A trio of gowns from the 18th, 19th and 20th centuries explores the look of “blurred blossoms” — the effect that makes a dress look like a watercolor or an Impressionist work. But in this gallery you also hear “scroop” — the sound of silk taffeta rustling (a combination of the words “scrape” and “whoop”). The sound was captured in an echo-free chamber at Binghamton University. In another gallery, you can hear the clattering of razor clam shells, captured the same way — accompanying McQueen’s dramatic “razor clam” dress, covered with dried and bleached shells.

    A DIOR TO ADORE

    The Metropolitan Museum of Art's Costume Institute gala exhibit, "Sleeping Beauties: Reawakening Fashion," on display at The Metropolitan Museum of Art, Saturday, May 4, 2024, in New York. (AP Photo/Julia Nikhinson)

    (AP Photo/Julia Nikhinson)

    Christian Dior was influenced by Impressionist painters, and nowhere is this more evident than in the delicate floral embroidery on the famous Miss Dior dress, here a miniature version of the original. It looks just like a chic (and strapless) bouquet of flowers, and if you’re dying to touch it, there’s a small, white replica in 3D printed plastic. You can also run your hands over wallpaper created to match the shape and form of the flowers in the edgy 2013 Raf Simons version of the dress in black, with flowers in leather.

    SPEAKING OF EMBROIDERY

    The Metropolitan Museum of Art's Costume Institute gala exhibit, "Sleeping Beauties: Reawakening Fashion," on display at The Metropolitan Museum of Art, Saturday, May 4, 2024, in New York. (AP Photo/Julia Nikhinson)

    (AP Photo/Julia Nikhinson)

    In 1988, Yves Saint Laurent paid homage to Van Gogh’s famous depiction of irises a hundred years earlier, with a glistening jacket celebrated for its embroidery. The museum lays it flat to give a closer view of a garment that took 600 hours of work by artisans who used 250 meters of ribbon, 200,000 beads and 250,000 paillettes (spangles) in 22 colors.

    SMELL THE ROSES

    The Metropolitan Museum of Art's Costume Institute gala exhibit, "Sleeping Beauties: Reawakening Fashion," on display at The Metropolitan Museum of Art, Saturday, May 4, 2024, in New York. (AP Photo/Julia Nikhinson)

    (AP Photo/Julia Nikhinson)

    In a show devoted to nature, it’s hardly surprising to find rooms devoted to roses. And you’re invited to smell them, via scents carried in plastic tubes — not simply the smell of roses, but the smell of garments themselves and those who wore them. Bolton explains that Norwegian “smell artist” Sissel Tolaas brought an apparatus that extracted molecules from 57 garments. Two evening dresses, one by Saint Laurent for Dior and one by Lanvin, yielded molecules found in things like almonds and honey, tobacco and hay, and even “a mild sex attractant for moths and cockroaches.”

    SCENT OF A WOMAN

    The Metropolitan Museum of Art's Costume Institute gala exhibit, "Sleeping Beauties: Reawakening Fashion," on display at The Metropolitan Museum of Art, Saturday, May 4, 2024, in New York. (AP Photo/Julia Nikhinson)

    (AP Photo/Julia Nikhinson)

    Yes, it was an Al Pacino movie — but here, it’s a gallery devoted to Millicent Rogers, a socialite, heiress and art collector known for her style and how she combined haute couture with regional dress. This gallery focuses on her scent, though, analyzing molecules from her garments — like a 1938 Schiaparelli evening dress in blue silk crepe — to discover her fragrances but also habits and lifestyle, “including what she ate, drank and smoked.”

    THIS COAT IS ALIVE! (BUT NOT FOR LONG)

    The Metropolitan Museum of Art's Costume Institute gala exhibit, "Sleeping Beauties: Reawakening Fashion," on display at The Metropolitan Museum of Art, Saturday, May 4, 2024, in New York. (AP Photo/Julia Nikhinson)

    (AP Photo/Julia Nikhinson)

    A prime draw in the “Garden Life” section is a grass coat in which the wool itself has been planted, like soil, with oat, rye and wheatgrass. Right now, the design by gala honorary chair Jonathan Anderson of the label Loewe (a sponsor of the show) looks beautiful and green. But it is dying, because this version cannot be watered, and will be replaced about a week from opening with a version in a different stage of life. Also here: a slew of floral hats from the Met’s copious collection. These, too, have been analyzed for smell — eliciting scents containing hairspray, unsurprisingly, but also chewing gum, cigarettes and other things.

    DON’T FEED THESE BIRDS!

    The Metropolitan Museum of Art's Costume Institute gala exhibit, "Sleeping Beauties: Reawakening Fashion," on display at The Metropolitan Museum of Art, Saturday, May 4, 2024, in New York. (AP Photo/Julia Nikhinson)

    (AP Photo/Julia Nikhinson)

    Bolton has said he wants to depict not just nature but shades of emotion — including fear. Which is just what you may feel when you get to the part on flying things: insects and beetle wings, for example. Also, birds. McQueen is said to have adored Alfred Hitchcock’s “The Birds,” and here we have his orange wool jacket printed with black swallows. The creepy part is the animation on the ceiling: first a few black birds, then more, then so many that the space turns an ominous black. The animation, created in consultation with wildlife experts, comprises “14,000 digital swallows,” ending with 4,000 simulated feathers. For sound, real swallow calls were recorded, and also the “humming” sound from the 1963 movie itself was captured to create tension.

    “Sleeping Beauties: Reawakening Fashion” will open to the public Friday and run through Sept. 2.

    ___

    For more coverage of the 2024 Met Gala, visit https://apnews.com/hub/met-gala.

    CE 100 Index Rises 0.7% as Earnings Drive Lifestyle Categories

    Peter Watson
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    CE 100 Index Rises 0.7% as Earnings Drive Lifestyle Categories

    The CE 100 Index gained 0.7%, buoyed by continued earnings reports that boosted the fortunes of the Shop and Live pillars.

    Shares of Koninklijke Philips N.V. (Philips) were 27.6% higher, as the Live segment of the CE 100 Index was 4.2% higher.

    The company said comparable sales were 2% higher year over year, to 4.1 billion Euros, driven by the Diagnosis & Treatment and Personal Health segments.  Diagnosis & Treatment comparable sales increased 3%. At the end of last month, the announcement came that Philips settled personal injury and medical monitoring claims in the U.S. for $1.1 billion.

    iRobot followed, also boosting the Live sector, with a 21.1% gain. As reported this week, The Chair of the House Oversight Committee, Republican Representative James Comer, has announced an investigation into the Federal Trade Commission’s (FTC) involvement with the European Commission regarding Amazon.com’s failed attempt to acquire iRobot Corp in a $1.4 billion deal.

    Comer expressed concerns that the FTC’s actions could harm America’s standing in the global personal robotics market while potentially benefiting foreign competitors, particularly those based in China.

    Live Pillar Surges on Pinterest Gains  

    Pinterest shares gathered 19%.  The company posted results that helped move the Shop pillar of the CE 100 Index 7.7% higher.  Revenue was up 23% year over year in the period, to $740 million.  Global Monthly Active Users increased 12% year over year to 518 million.  Average revenue per user was up 10% year over year to $1.46 in the most recent quarter.  The company expects second quarter revenue growth to be in the range of 18% to 20% year on year.

    But Fastly shares plunged nearly 34%, while the Enablers segment lost 1.1%.

    The company’s latest earnings notched total revenue of $133.5 million, representing 14% year-over-year growth. Network services revenue of $106.0 million, up 12% year-over-year.  Current quarter guidance came in below expectations, as the guided range of $130 million to $134 million fell short of consensus estimates of more than $140 million.

    Coursera shares gave up about 20%, leading the Work segment 1.9% lower.

    In PYMNTS’ exploration of earnings-related puts and takes in the EdTech sector, Coursera reported a 15% increase in total revenue compared to the previous year.

    However, despite this growth, lower-than-expected revenue forecasts for the second quarter sent shares lower.

    The Pay and Be Paid segment was active with earnings, as the pillar sank 1.9%

    As noted in our coverage this past week, Mastercard said in its most recent earnings report that worldwide gross dollar volume (GDV) increased by 10% year over year to $2.3 trillion. In the U.S., GDV increased by 6% to $712 billion with credit growth of 6% with credit growth of 12% and debit growth of 13%. Overall, cross-border volume increased 18% globally.

    CEO Michael Miebach said that in terms of macroeconomic trends, the picture remains “mixed.” Solid wage growth is supporting healthy consumer spending, and inflation has been moderating. But rate cuts in the U.S. have been delayed. Mastercard is “monitoring … consumer balance sheet health.”

    Mastercard shares were 3.9% lower through the week.

    Visa shares were 2.2% lower. As reported here, Reem Finance, a financial services provider in the United Arab Emirates (UAE), has partnered with Visa to expand its offering of digital payment solutions.

    Block shares slipped 6.7%.  During the company’s most recent earnings results, the company’s $200 million investment in bitcoin grew by around 160% and stood at $573 million at the quarter’s end.

    Square alone processed $50.5 billion in gross payment volume for the quarter, a 9% jump year over year.

    The Cash App Card reached 24 million monthly actives, up 16% YoY, while Cash App Pay continued to grow during the quarter, with volume up more than 40% QoQ.

    See More In: Block, CE 100 Index, Connected Economy, Coursera, Earnings, Fastly, Featured News, Investments, iRobot, MasterCard, News, Philips, Pinterest, PYMNTS News, Square, stock market, Visa

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