Stocks climb with techs ready to roar

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  Fri, January 19, 2024 at 9:16 AM MST

  iRobot stock plunges 30% on report EU will block Amazon acquisition

  Shares of iRobot (IRBT) plunged Friday morning following a report that the EU will seek to block Amazon’s deal to purchase the company for $1.7 billion.

  Competition officials from EU’s executive body met Thursday with representatives from Amazon to discuss the deal, according to the Wall Street Journal. The officials told Amazon the deal was likely to be rejected.

  EU officials previously raised concerns about the proposed acquisition late last year, arguing that the purchase would restrict competition in the market for robot vacuum cleaners, the report said. Since Amazon would become both a seller of such products and a marketplace for them, the company might be incentivized to hinder rivals on its marketplace or prevent them selling their products through the platform.

  The move to end the deal is not set in stone. It would still require the approval from top political leaders at the EU. The deadline for the final decision is in min February.

  Amazon’s regulatory challenges in the EU raises further concerns of how the deal will play out with antitrust officials in the US.

  During the Biden presidency, regulators have pushed back on some big name acquisitions. And last year, the Federal Trade Commission sued Amazon alleging that the tech giant maintains an illegal monopoly.

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  Fri, January 19, 2024 at 8:17 AM MST

  Consumers haven’t felt this good about the economy since July 2021

  Americans are feeling increasingly better about the state of the US economy.

  The latest University of Michigan consumer sentiment survey released Friday revealed a 13% jump in overall sentiment during the month of January. The index reading for the month came in at 78.8, its highest mark since July 2021, and well above economists expectations for a reading of 70.1.

  The cumulative 29% climb seen in the sentiment index over the past two months is the largest two-month increase since the US economy recovered from recession in 1991.

  “The sharp increase in December was no fluke,” survey of consumers director Joanne Hsu said in a press release. “Consumer views were supported by confidence that inflation has turned a corner and strengthening income expectations.”

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  Fri, January 19, 2024 at 7:34 AM MST

  Stocks climb as S&P 500 aims for record high

  Wall Street kicked off trading on Friday with gains across the board, setting the S&P 500 up for a fresh record high as investors appear to shake off pessimism tied to the Fed’s potential interest rate cuts.

  The tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite (^IXIC) jumped 0.5%, eyeing a return to gains notched Thursday as Apple (AAPL) and chipmakers outperformed. The benchmark S&P 500 (^GSPC) gained 0.3%, while the Dow Jones Industrial Average (^DJI) gained 0.3% or about 120 points.

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  Fri, January 19, 2024 at 6:44 AM MST

  Ford cuts F-150 Lightning production as electric truck demand flags

  Ford (F) said early Friday it would take 1,400 workers off the production line for the F-150 Lightning, the electric version of its best-selling truck, in response to customer demand.

  Meaning people aren’t as excited about buying an electric version of the F-150 as the company had planned.

  Half of these workers will be moved for Ford’s plant making its new Bronco and Ranger trucks, while the other half will be offered buyouts or find a placement in another role at its Dearborn factory where the F-150 Lightning is being made.

  The move recalls a story from Yahoo Finance’s Pras Subramanian in late 2023 that noted last year we saw the industry’s EV dreams meet reality.

  Meaning the lofty projections automakers made in recent years that the whole country would start to look like California when it comes to EV uptake are starting to look too dreamy.

  And investors have certainly been skeptical — shares of Ford and GM (GM) are both down over the last year, lagging the S&P 500 considerably over that period.

  With higher rates making auto financing more challenging for many consumers, fears over an economic slowdown still weighing on consumers, and inventory levels remaining depressed the euphoric feelings that swept the auto industry in 2021 feel quite distant as 2024 gets underway.