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CNBC Daily Open: Stocks slide ahead of Powell’s speech

Published

12 months ago

August 23, 2024

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Traders work on the floor of the New York Stock Exchange during morning trading on August 12, 2024 in New York City.

Michael M. Santiago | Getty Images News | Getty Images

This report is from today’s CNBC Daily Open, our international markets newsletter. CNBC Daily Open brings investors up to speed on everything they need to know, no matter where they are. Like what you see? You can subscribe here.

What you need to know today

Sharp decline
Wall Street fell ahead of Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell’s speech at Jackson Hole, Wyoming. The S&P 500 dropped 0.89% after coming within striking distance of its all-time high. The Dow Jones Industrial Average slid 0.43% and the Nasdaq Composite lost 1.67%. All three indexes had traded higher during the session. The yield on the 10-year Treasury climbed nearly 9 basis points to 3.862%, while U.S. oil prices rose 1.42% after erasing most of their 2024 gains.

September rate cut
Philadelphia Fed President Patrick Harker endorsed an interest rate cut for September during an interview with CNBC at the Fed’s Jackson Hole retreat. His comments follow minutes from the central bank’s last meeting indicating growing confidence in inflation trends and concerns about labor market weakness. “I think it means this September we need to start a process of moving rates down,” Harker said, adding the Fed should ease “methodically and signal well in advance.” Harker is undecided between a 25 or 50 basis point reduction. CNBC’s Jeff Cox has more on what to expect from Powell’s speech.

Peloton soars
Peloton posted its first sales increase in nine quarters, driven by cost-cutting measures and a focus on profitability. Sales rose by 0.2% to $643.6 million during its fiscal fourth quarter. The troubled connected fitness company also narrowed its losses to $30.5 million, compared to a loss of $241.8 million a year ago. Peloton has struggled post-pandemic and is currently run by two board members since former CEO Barry McCarthy resigned earlier this year. The company’s shares shot up as much as 40% after the earnings release.

Driverless rides
General Motors‘ Cruise has partnered with Uber to offer driverless rides to Uber users as early as next year. The move comes as Cruise attempts to revive its robotaxi venture after a serious accident last year and subsequent investigations, which led to the resignation of its CEO and co-founder. Uber abandoned its own self-driving project after a fatal 2018 incident and now collaborates with other developers like Google‘s Waymo.

Asia mixed, yen up
The Japanese yen gained 0.3% to 145.77 against the U.S. dollar as the Bank of Japan’s governor said he would press ahead with raising interest rates but warned markets remain unstable. Japan’s Nikkei 225 rose 0.4% as core inflation accelerated for the third straight month. Hong Kong’s Hang Seng index fell 0.44%, while mainland China’s CSI 300 climbed 0.28%. Alibaba Group edged up 0.55% after the Chinese tech giant said it would convert its secondary listing in Hong Kong to a primary listing a move that could attract new funds from the mainland. Elsewhere, South Korea’s Kospi and Australia’s S&P/ASX 200 were little changed.

[PRO] Gold rush
Gold prices surged to a new record high, reaching $2,531.60 per ounce on Tuesday. The precious metal is up 20% year-to-date, outperforming the S&P 500. Analysts predict further gains, driving gold mining stocks higher.

The bottom line

Whether traders are working from home or in the office, at 10 a.m. ET everything will come to a halt as Fed Chair Jerome Powell delivers one of the most anticipated economic speeches of the year.

With the “vast majority” of Fed members advocating for a rate cut in September, markets are banking on a 100 basis point reduction for 2024. The expectation suggests at least one 50 basis point cut, given that there are only three rate-setting meetings left this year.

George Brown, senior U.S. economist at Schroders, believes Powell will emphasize the risks of being too aggressive with rate cuts.

“I don’t think he’s going to pre-commit to a specific easing path,” Brown told CNBC. “Instead, I think he’s going to frame it as they will be data dependent and they will let the data guide them in terms of their decisions.”

“A lot of his speech will focus on the risks of being too aggressive with rate cuts versus being too late to cut rates — and I think his comments will really focus in on trying to find that middle ground, which helps to maintain or safeguard the economic expansion while ensuring inflation remains contained.”

Henry Allen, Deutsche Bank macro strategist, thinks the market’s rate cut forecasts for the next year are overly dovish given the current state of the economy. Markets are “pricing 200 bps of cuts in the next year alone and those are the sort of paces you only normally see during a recession, not in a non-recession.”

Despite this, the Fed has faced criticism for keeping rates high for too long, with some arguing that its heavy reliance on data could negatively impact the economy and stocks.

“A soft landing, the probabilities are going up, and that’s why this should be a benign cutting cycle … good for markets. But I think the key is the Fed getting off data dependence, because data dependence is the reason they missed the inflation turn,” Tom Lee, Fundstrat’s head of research, told CNBC’s “Squawk Box” in an interview Thursday.

— CNBC’s Jeff Cox, Fred Imbert, Gabrielle Fonrouge, Lora Kolodny, Pia Singh, Alex Harring and Spencer Kimball contributed to this report.

Environment

OpenAI in talks with investors about share sale at $500 billion valuation

Published

5 hours ago

August 6, 2025

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OpenAI in talks with investors about share sale at 0 billion valuation

Sam Altman, CEO of OpenAI attends the annual Allen and Co. Sun Valley Media and Technology Conference at the Sun Valley Resort in Sun Valley, Idaho, U.S., on July 8, 2025.

David A. Grogan | CNBC

OpenAI is in talks with investors about a potential stock sale at a valuation of roughly $500 billion, according to two sources with knowledge of the matter.

The talks are in early stages and would involve a secondary sale with shares sold by current and former employees, said the people, who asked not to be named because the discussions are confidential. Thrive Capital, an investor in OpenAI, could lead the potential round, the sources said.

Bloomberg was first to report on the latest talks.

OpenAI’s valuation has been on a continuous upswing since the artificial intelligence startup launched ChatGPT in late 2022 and quickly established itself as the leader in generative AI. The company announced a $40 billion funding round in March at a $300 billion, by far the largest amount ever raised by a private tech company.

Last week, OpenAI announced its most recent $8.3 billion tranche tied to that funding round.

OpenAI released two open-weight language models on Tuesday for the first time since it rolled out GPT-2 in 2019. The models aim to serve as lower-cost options that developers and researchers can easily run and customize, OpenAI said.

The company said earlier this week that ChatGPT was about to hit 700 million weekly active users.

OpenAI rival Anthropic, meanwhile, is in talks to secure between $3 billion and $5 billion in new funding led by Iconiq Capital at a potential $170 billion valuation, up from $61.5 billion in March.

CNBC previously reported that OpenAI’s annual recurring revenue is projected to top $20 billion by year-end, up from $10 billion in June.

WATCH: OpenAI releases two new open-weight AI models

Environment

Chevy Bolt EUV goes full Boat Mode in Texas floodwaters [video]

Published

9 hours ago

August 6, 2025

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Chevy Bolt EUV goes full Boat Mode in Texas floodwaters [video]

Chevy Bolt EUV Owner Tries To Prove EVs Are Amphibious: Video

Electric cars don’t have intakes and exhausts, so they can’t get hydrolocked in deep water the way ICE-powered cars can – but that doesn’t make them amphibious. Nobody told this Texan Chevy Bolt EUV owner that, and when they got caught on the wrong side of the floodwaters, they licked the stamp and sent it!

The recent catastrophic flooding in Texas has brought unimaginable tragedies and hardships to thousands of people who unquestionably deserve better, and living through something like that can lead people to make some rash decisions (I made it through the aftermaths of Hurricanes Andrew and Katrina, AMA). Rash decisions like pulling up to a tunnel flooded in nearly three feet of water, and deciding to stand on the gas.

Think I’m exaggerating? Watch this Chevy Bolt EUV go full “Boat Mode” as its driver decides that dealing with whatever unseen obstacle or deadly live wires concealed by the floodwaters are less annoying than having to find an alternative route for yourself.

Submerging an EV that wasn’t designed for it (or even a Cybertruck, which allegedly was), isn’t exactly advisable. In addition to the underwater threats, submerging the skateboard in water could damage sensitive electrical connectors, compromise battery seals, and cause shorts in circuit boards over time.

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“Even more critically, water ingress into high-voltage systems can pose serious safety risks, including electrical faults or, in rare cases, thermal events,” writes Jonathan Lopez, over at GM Authority. “Although the Bolt EUV in this instance completed its soggy journey successfully, long-term effects may still emerge.”

In other words: don’t try this at home.

Electrek’s Take

Like, don’t try this at home … but it’s pretty awesome.

SOURCE | IMAGES: stormchaserhtx, via GM Authority.

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Environment

Georgia launches free rooftop solar and EPA now wants to steal its grant money

Published

10 hours ago

August 5, 2025

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Georgia launches free rooftop solar and EPA now wants to steal its grant money

Georgia BRIGHT, a statewide initiative to deliver affordable solar, kicked off its “No-Cost Solar Plan” in Atlanta yesterday, giving qualified homeowners a shot at roughly 400 fully prepaid rooftop-solar systems with zero upfront or maintenance costs. However, Georgia Bright’s No-Cost Solar Plan may lose its $156 million in grant money if the EPA steals back the Solar for All program’s entire $7 billion, which funded it.

On Earth Day (April 22) 2024, the Georgia BRIGHT Communities Coalition, including lead applicant Capital Good Fund, along with coalition member cities, Atlanta, Savannah, and Decatur, and dozens of other Georgia stakeholders, was allocated $156 million from Solar for All to bring solar to thousands of households statewide between now and mid-2029.

Families that earn 80% or less of their county’s Area Median Income can enter a drawing for the No-Cost Solar Plan now; a second drawing for another 400 systems is set for spring 2026.

“As the cost of living increases across our most vulnerable communities, this program will deliver significant savings to the households that need it most,” said Alicia Brown, director of Georgia BRIGHT.

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Those savings are already showing up. Pilot participant Christine Difeliciantonio saw her power bill plunge on her Columbus home from $224 in June 2024 to $50 in June 2025 after her panels came online, and she says the added resilience eases her mind during storms.

Nonprofits are benefiting, too. Trees Atlanta had 140 panels installed on their headquarters last November in the pilot program; the rooftop array went live in March and is on track to save about $3,000 a year, the carbon equivalent of planting 28,000 trees over 25 years.

What’s next for Georgia BRIGHT …

Georgia BRIGHT’s other programs in the works include its Residential Solar Savings Plan, offering custom rooftop installs with no upfront cost and guaranteeing households at least 20% savings on day one after factoring in the modest monthly payments. Georgia BRIGHT is also developing Community Benefit Solar, which lets businesses, houses of worship, and apartment buildings go solar so long as they share part of the financial benefits – think grocery gift cards, help with utility bills, discounted daycare, or rent relief – with eligible neighbors for five years. Finally, a Utility-Led Community Solar initiative will send grants to local utilities so they can run shared-solar programs designed specifically for low-income customers.

These programs really make a difference in a state like Georgia, which doesn’t offer any other solar incentives.

… if the EPA doesn’t steal its money

The New York Times reported today that the Trump-led EPA is drafting letters to claw back the entire $7 billion Solar for All pot from 49 states, plus 11 nonprofit groups and Native American tribes. The grant money was awarded under President Biden’s 2022 Inflation Reduction Act. According to the Times‘ sources, the EPA plans to send termination notices this week, effectively erasing solar savings for nearly a million low-income families before the panels ever land on their roofs.

Legal groups are already gearing up for the fight. “If leaders in the Trump administration move forward with this unlawful attempt to strip critical funding from communities across the United States, we will see them in court,” Kym Meyer of the Southern Environmental Law Center told the Times.

If the EPA pulls the trigger on this cruel, senseless plan to steal solar from lower-income communities, it wouldn’t just kneecap Georgia’s new program – it would pull the rug out from under low-income solar projects nationwide. The fight over Solar for All is officially on. How about that energy emergency that Trump declared, eh?

The 30% federal solar tax credit is ending this year. If you’ve ever considered going solar, now’s the time to act. To make sure you find a trusted, reliable solar installer near you that offers competitive pricing, check out EnergySage, a free service that makes it easy for you to go solar. It has hundreds of pre-vetted solar installers competing for your business, ensuring you get high-quality solutions and save 20-30% compared to going it alone. Plus, it’s free to use, and you won’t get sales calls until you select an installer and share your phone number with them.

Your personalized solar quotes are easy to compare online and you’ll get access to unbiased Energy Advisors to help you every step of the way. Get started here.

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