Cash strikes to think about forward of a Fed fee minimize

The Federal Reserve could start lowering interest rates as soon as next month, based on the latest inflation data.

“We think that the time is approaching,” Fed Chair Jerome Powell said at a press conference after the last Federal Open Market Committee meeting in July.

For Americans struggling to keep up with sky-high interest charges, a likely September rate cut may bring some welcome relief — even more so with the right planning.

“If you are a consumer, now is the time to say: ‘What does my spending look like? Where would my money grow the most and what options do I have?'” said Leslie Tayne, an attorney specializing in debt relief at Tayne Law in New York and author of “Life & Debt.”

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Fed officials signaled they expect to reduce the benchmark rate once in 2024 and four times in 2025.

That could bring the benchmark fed funds rate from the current range of 5.25% to 5.50% to below 4% by the end of next year, according to some experts.

The federal funds rate is the one at which banks borrow and lend to one another overnight. Although that’s not the rate consumers pay, the Fed’s moves still affect the rates they see every day on things such as private student loans and credit cards.

Here are five ways to position your finances for the months ahead:

1. Lock in a high-yield savings rate

Since rates on online savings accounts, money market accounts and certificates of deposit are all poised to go down, experts say this is the time to lock in some of the highest returns in decades.

For now, top-yielding online savings accounts are paying more than 5% — well above the rate of inflation.

Although those rates will fall once the central bank lowers its benchmark, a typical saver with about $8,000 in a checking or savings account could earn an additional $200 a year by moving that money into a high-yield account that earns an interest rate of 2.5% or more, according to a recent survey by Santander Bank in June. The majority of Americans keep their savings in traditional accounts, Santander found, which FDIC data shows are currently paying 0.45%, on average.

Alternatively, “now is a great time to lock in the most competitive CD yields at a level that is well ahead of targeted inflation,” said Greg McBride, chief financial analyst at Bankrate.com. “There is no sense in holding out for better returns later.”

Currently, a top-yielding one-year CD pays more than 5.3%, according to Bankrate, as good as a high-yield savings account.

2. Pay down credit card debt

With a rate cut, the prime rate lowers, too, and the interest rates on variable-rate debt — most notably credit cards — are likely to follow, reducing your monthly payments. But even then, APRs will only ease off extremely high levels.

For example, the average interest rate on a new credit card today is nearly 25%, according to LendingTree data. At that rate, if you pay $250 per month on a card with a $5,000 balance, it will cost you more than $1,500 in interest and take 27 months to pay off.

If the central bank cuts rates by a quarter point, you’ll save $21 and be able to pay off the balance one month faster. “That’s not nothing, but it is far less than what you could save with a 0% balance transfer credit card,” said Matt Schulz, chief credit analyst at LendingTree.

Rather than wait for a small adjustment in the months ahead, borrowers could switch now to a zero-interest balance transfer credit card or consolidate and pay off high-interest credit cards with a personal loan, Tayne said.

3. Consider the right time to finance a big purchase

If you’re planning a major purchase, like a home or car, then it may pay to wait, since lower interest rates could reduce the cost of financing down the road.

“Timing your purchase to coincide with lower rates can save money over the life of the loan,” Tayne said.

Although mortgage rates are fixed and tied to Treasury yields and the economy, they’ve already started to come down from recent highs, largely due to the prospect of a Fed-induced economic slowdown. The average rate for a 30-year, fixed-rate mortgage is now around 6.5%, according to Freddie Mac.

Compared to a recent high of 7.22% in May, today’s lower rate on a $350,000 loan would result in a savings of $171 a month, or $2,052 a year and $61,560 over the lifetime of the loan, according to calculations by Jacob Channel, senior economic analyst at LendingTree.

However, going forward, lower mortgage rates could also boost homebuying demand, which would push prices higher, McBride said. “If lower mortgage rates lead to a surge in prices, that’s going to offset the affordability benefit for would-be buyers.”

What exactly will happen in the housing market “is up in the air” depending on how much mortgage rates decline in the latter half of the year and the level of supply, according to Channel.

“Timing the market is virtually impossible,” he said. 

4. Consider the right time to refinance

For those struggling with existing debt, there may be more options for refinancing once rates drop.

Private student loans, for example, tend to have a variable rate tied to the prime, Treasury bill or another rate index, which means once the Fed starts cutting interest rates, the rates on those private student loans will come down as well.

Eventually, borrowers with existing variable-rate private student loans may also be able to refinance into a less expensive fixed-rate loan, according to higher education expert Mark Kantrowitz. 

Currently, the fixed rates on a private refinance are as low as 5% and as high as 11%, he said.

However, refinancing a federal loan into a private student loan will forgo the safety nets that come with federal loans, he added, “such as deferments, forbearances, income-driven repayment and loan forgiveness and discharge options.” Additionally, extending the term of the loan means you ultimately will pay more interest on the balance.

Be mindful of potential loan -term extensions, cautioned David Peters, founder of Peters Professional Education in Richmond, Virginia. “Consider maintaining your original payment after refinancing to shave as much principal off as possible without changing your out-of-pocket cash flow,” he said.

Similar considerations may also apply for home and auto loan refinancing opportunities, depending in part on your existing rate.

5. Perfect your credit score

Those with better credit could already qualify for a lower interest rate.

When it comes to auto loans, for instance, there’s no question inflation has hit financing costs — and vehicle prices — hard. The average rate on a five-year new car loan is now nearly 8%, according to Bankrate.

But in this case, “the financing is one variable, and it’s frankly one of the smaller variables,” McBride said. For example, a reduction of a quarter percentage point in rates on a $35,000, five-year loan is $4 a month, he calculated.

Here, and in many other situations, as well, consumers would benefit more from paying down revolving debt and improving their credit scores, which could pave the way to even better loan terms, McBride said.

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Mpox vaccine maker Bavarian Nordic seeks ‘essential’ approval for teenagers

Jackyenjoyphotography | Moment | Getty Images

LONDON — Danish biotech company Bavarian Nordic said Friday that it had submitted data to the European Union’s drug regulator to extend the use of its mpox vaccine for teenagers.

CEO Paul Chaplin told CNBC that the expanded approval for 12 to 17 year-olds would be crucial in tackling the outbreak of the latest strain of the virus, clade 1b, which particularly afflicts teenagers and young children.

It comes after the World Health Organization on Wednesday declared an escalating mpox outbreak in Africa a public health emergency, with the first case of the new strain outside of the continent confirmed in Sweden on Thursday.

“The latest data that we’ve submitted is really, really important because hopefully it will extend the use of our vaccine down to adolescents,” Chaplin told “Squawk Box Europe.”

“More than 70% of the cases in Africa currently are in people younger than 18, so it’s going to be critical that our vaccine can be used in this younger age group,” he said.

Bavarian Nordic’s Jynneos vaccine, also known as Imvanex, is currently only approved for use in adults aged 18 and over. It is also the only mpox vaccine approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration and the European Medicines Agency.

Should the EMA clear the vaccine for use for teenagers, the company said it would pave the way for approval among teens in Africa. The firm is also currently studying the vaccine’s efficacy in children aged 2 and over, with results due next year.

The WHO’s emergency declaration saw Bavarian Nordic’s share price rally 17% on Thursday, alongside other health-care stocks, amid perceptions of heightened demand for the vaccine. It was up a further 17.5% by midday Friday in Copenhagen, Denmark.

Chaplin said that the company had significant stockpiles of the vaccine and that it was “ready to ship” to countries in need. However, he cited bottlenecks in Africa that have so far prevented its distribution.

The vaccine is currently only approved in the Democratic Republic of Congo — the epicenter of the outbreak — as well as Nigeria. Chaplin said the company was continuing to work with authorities in neighboring affected countries to enable access to the vaccine.

“There is now an approval in the DRC, also in Nigeria, so it opens the door now, both for governments to buy the vaccine, but also for Bavarian Nordic, as we have, to donate doses and get those doses shipped, and hopefully we can start vaccinating people very, very soon,” he said.

So far this year, more than 15,000 cases and at least 537 deaths have been reported from the outbreak, according to the WHO. It follows a previous outbreak of another mpox strain in 2022, which was also declared a public health emergency.

The European Centre for Disease Prevention and Prevention warned Friday of the high risk of infection for people traveling to affected countries, but the WHO said that it did not recommend border closures at this stage.

Chaplin said authorities were now in a better position to deal with the outbreak, with doses of the vaccine already available, particularly in wealthy countries, which created stockpiles during the last outbreak. But he urged greater international cooperation to ensure doses reach those most in need.

“Bavarian Nordic is part of the solution, but we are not the sole solution here,” he said. “The international community needs to come together with Bavarian Nordic and really find a way of distributing this vaccine and containing the outbreak.”

Choose Kenneth King Suspended For Handcuffing Teen Woman

A Detroit judge has reportedly been temporarily removed from handling cases after he handcuffed a young girl and made her wear a jail uniform during a recent field trip. Additionally, the teen’s mother has also spoken out.

RELATED: Detroit Judge Defends Placing Student In Handcuffs & Jail Uniform During Courtroom Field Trip (VIDEO)

Court Reacts To Incident Between Judge King & Teen

As TSR previously reported, a legal system field trip ended with a 15-year-old girl in handcuffs and a jail uniform.

The incident occurred when Judge Kenneth King insisted on putting the teen in a jail uniform and having her sit in lockup after she dozed off in his courtroom.

However, Judge King claims that her “attitude,” not just her sleeping, made him want her to have the real experience.

“I think maybe she needs to go to the juvenile detention facility,” Judge King said. “Why are you being disrespectful to this court? You sleep in bed at your home, not at court.”

As a result, the chief judge of the 36th District Court in Detroit has temporarily suspended Judge Kenneth King.

According to WXYZ, Chief Judge William McConico announced an internal investigation and stated that Judge King will undergo training to address the issues that contributed to his actions.

“We hope that these steps will help to reassure the public of the 36th District Court’s dedication to serving our community with integrity and fairness. The 36th District Court, known as ‘the people’s court,’ remains deeply committed to providing access to justice in an environment free from intimidation or disrespect. The actions of Judge King on August 13th do not reflect this commitment,” McConico said in a statement.

Here’s What Happened Between The Judge King & Teen

The Detroit News reports that Judge King faced criticism after a live stream showed him reprimanding a 15-year-old for falling asleep in his courtroom.

The young girl attended his courtroom as part of a trip organized by the Greening of Detroit.

In a conversation with 7 News Detroit, Judge Kenneth King explained that the teen’s response to his warning, not her falling asleep, is what upset him.

Before the trial began, Judge King noticed the girl falling asleep and warned her he would “put her in the back” if she nodded off again. The Detroit judge then claims the teen gave him an “attitude.”

“It wasn’t so much, in fact, that she had fallen asleep because I have attorneys that fall asleep sometimes, so that’s not too big of a deal. It was her whole attitude and her whole disposition that disturbed me,” the Detroit judge said. “I wanted to get through to her, show how serious this is and how you are to conduct yourself inside of a courtroom.”

Young Girl’s Mother Responds To The Judge’s Actions

The viral incident between Judge King and the teenage girl has also prompted her mother to speak out.

On Wednesday, August 14, WXYZ spoke with Latoreya Hill, the girl’s mother, about Judge King’s disciplinary actions.

“Would you want someone to treat your child like that? Would you even treat your child like that,” Latoreya said.

The media outlet revealed that the young girl’s name is Eva Goodman. Her mother, a single mom of two, enrolled Eva in a summer program with the Greening Detroit nonprofit to keep her occupied.

Latoreya Hill tearfully told WXYZ that her daughter fell asleep because their family lacks permanent residence and is struggling to make ends meet.

“To belittle her in front of the whole world and her friends, to make her feel even more worse about our situation. The fact that he was talking about ‘you go home and get in your bed,’ how do you know my baby got a home? how do you know my baby got a bed her own bed she could sleep in, she don’t have that right now, so she was tired,” Hill said through tears.

Despite the reactions to Judge King, he stood by his decision to discipline Eva Goodman after she fell asleep. He claimed that his intention was to give her his own version of “scared straight.”

“Do I have any reservations? Do I think I was heavy-handed in what I did? No, I don’t, because I’ll do whatever needs to be done to reach these kids and make sure that they don’t end up in front of me. That was my own version of scared straight,” Judge King explained.

RELATED: Detroit Police Discover Body Of 2-Year-Old Wynter Cole Smith After Days-Long Search 

What Do You Think Roomies?

Schumer says a crypto invoice can cross Senate this yr; Dems be a part of ‘Crypto4Harris’ name

US Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer presents US Vice President Kamala Harris with a “golden gavel” after she cast her 32nd tie-breaking vote in the Senate, the most ever cast by a Vice President, at the US Capitol in Washington, DC, December 5, 2023.

Saul Loeb | AFP | Getty Images

Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer said Wednesday that he believes the Senate can realistically pass a bipartisan crypto regulation bill before the end of the year, giving fresh hope to an industry that has been stuck in legislative limbo for years.

“Passing legislation this year is absolutely possible, even in these divided times,” Schumer said during a virtual town hall event to help raise money for the Democratic presidential nominee, Vice President Kamala Harris.

Dubbed “Crypto4Harris,” the event featured billionaire Mark Cuban and Schumer’s fellow New York senator, Kristen Gillibrand, as well as Sen. Debbie Stabenow of Michigan. Stabenow chairs the Senate Agriculture Committee, where a bipartisan crypto bill is working its way through the committee.

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Two Democrats running for Senate seats also joined the event: Rep. Elissa Slotkin, who is running to succeed the retiring Stabenow in Michigan and Rep. Adam Schiff, the favorite to win an open seat in California. Colorado Gov. Jared Polis and Rep. Wiley Nickel, N.C., were also on the call.

“Why are we here today? Because we all support Vice President Kamala Harris to be our next president, and we all believe in the future of crypto,” said Schumer.

“My goal when it comes to crypto regulation is this: I want to bring members on both sides of the aisle here in the Senate together … so we can pass sensible legislation that helps the United States maintain its status as the most innovative country in the world,” he added.

Schumer’s overall support for crypto isn’t new — he joined Republicans earlier this year to overturn regulatory guidelines that the industry said were too onerous. But his ringing endorsement of digital currencies on Wednesday went further than many on Capitol Hill had expected to hear from him.

“Crypto is here to stay no matter what. So Congress must get it right,” he said.

Sheila Warren, CEO of the Crypto Council for Innovation, hosted the evening event, the latest in a series of zoom calls and town halls intended to raise money and consolidate support for Harris among different constituencies.

Harris did not join the online event, but many members of her party chimed in to reassure the crypto sector writ large that a potential Harris administration would be supportive of creating a regulatory framework for the industry that would help foster innovation at home.

Gillibrand said in a pretaped address that a future Harris administration would “understand” and “facilitate” a “balanced approach” to regulating the sector.

More than 70 House Democrats crossed the aisle in support of the Financial Innovation and Technology for the 21st Century Act which passed the House this May. It heads to the Senate next. 

Schumer has yet to indicate which of the bills under consideration he plans to throw his weight behind. But Stabenow’s presence with Schumer at Wednesday’s town hall could be a hint that Schumer is leaning towards Stabenow’s legislation.

Read more about tech and crypto from CNBC Pro

In the last few months, the token-savvy voting bloc has emerged as a key player in the 2024 elections, both at the presidential level and in key Senate races.

Republican presidential nominee Donald Trump is newly catering to the crypto sector in public addresses on the campaign trail. He also headlined the biggest bitcoin event of the year in Nashville, Tennessee, last month after spending years dismissing both bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies, saying that tokens aren’t money and that their value is “based on thin air.”

Harris has not yet voiced her official views on crypto but Reps Ro Khanna, D-Calif., and Nickel, D-N.C., both told CNBC on the sidelines of this year’s flagship bitcoin conference in Tennessee that they were in direct dialogue with the Harris campaign team on this topic.

“I think we’re going to hear from Vice President Harris soon on this. And I’m very optimistic we’re going to get a reset. And that I think, will matter in a major way,” Nickel previously told CNBC. “This issue isn’t going anywhere. And we’ve got to make sure we continue to embrace this in a bipartisan way.”

The race to curry favor with the pro-crypto electorate coincides with the sector pouring tens of millions of dollars into key races.

Trump to headline major bitcoin conference

The pro crypto super PAC Fairshake committed earlier on Wednesday to donating $3 million each to Slotkin and to Democratic Rep. Ruben Gallego, who is running for a seat in battleground Arizona.

Both are running in tough Senate races against Trump-endorsed candidates — seats which could ultimately decide whether Schumer and his party hold on to the majority.

Fairshake’s financial backing of Democratic candidates in these races apparently angered top Republicans “who viewed the industry as an ally, not an opponent,” according to an NBC report.

BlackRock’s head of digital assets, Robert Mitchnick, told CNBC that the “biggest thing” he’s seen in 2024 is that crypto is “not only is being viewed as a more legitimate and important issue” but that this transformation has also become more bipartisan in nature.

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Warren Buffett speaks during the Berkshire Hathaway Annual Shareholders Meeting in Omaha, Nebraska on May 4, 2024. Warren Buffett did something curious with his Apple stock holding

Wall Avenue cheers Brian Niccol appointment

Brian Niccol, CEO of Chipotle

Anjali Sundaram | CNBC

Wall Street believes Brian Niccol is the right choice to turn around Starbucks — and move the chain past the decadeslong Howard Schultz era.

Starbucks tapped Niccol as its latest chief executive and chair on Tuesday. Niccol replaces Laxman Narasimhan, who took over the top job in March 2023 after being handpicked by former CEO Schultz. In its last two quarters, Starbucks reported same-store sales declines as its U.S. business floundered. Once he takes over, Niccol will be charged with rejuvenating demand for the company’s coffee.

“In our view, Starbucks picks up a hall of fame restaurant CEO, and his appointment as Starbucks CEO and Chairman suggests a new era is underway,” TD Cowen analyst Andrew Charles wrote in a note to clients, emphasizing the importance of the combined role.

Investors are confident that he can revive the company. Shares of Starbucks climbed 20% in afternoon trading on the news, putting them on pace for their best day since the company’s IPO in 1992. Meanwhile, Chipotle’s stock fell 9% as shareholders bemoaned the loss of the longtime chief executive.

Piper Sandler, TD Cowen and Baird all upgraded Starbucks stock in the wake of the leadership changes.

Other analysts wrote glowingly of Niccol, seeing him as the right person to tackle Starbucks’ sluggish sales. A challenging consumer environment, worsening customer experience and rising competition from smaller coffee shops have hurt the chain’s performance recently.

“We view this as a dream hire for SBUX, and could not think of a more equipped leader to take a fresh look at SBUX’s operations, competitive positioning and overall strategy,” Oppenheimer analyst Brian Bittner said.

End of an era?

Niccol’s hiring could also spell the end of Schultz’s huge influence over the company he turned into a global coffee giant.

“Importantly, Brian is likely the one restaurant executive that has the gravitas to address the Howard Schultz Founder ‘overhang,'” Evercore ISI analyst David Palmer wrote.

Schultz served as CEO from 1986 to 2000, from 2008 to 2017 and then from 2022 to 2023, stepping in twice to save the company when sales turned sluggish. His last return sparked concerns about the company’s succession.

At the end of his last stint, he swore that he wouldn’t return as chief executive again, although his presence still looms large over the company. In May, after a brutal quarter for Starbucks, he wrote an open letter on LinkedIn about the company’s challenges and offered advice to its leaders — without naming Narasimhan.

Even after his retirement, Schultz’s involvement in the company has remained “a question hanging over the stock,” Morgan Stanley analyst Brian Harbour wrote in a note Tuesday. Mellody Hobson, who stepped down as Starbucks chair to become lead independent director as part of Tuesday’s leadership shake-up, said on CNBC’s “Squawk Box” that she told Schultz about the discussions with Niccol, keeping him in the loop despite him having no formal role within the company anymore.

Schultz also remains a major Starbucks shareholder, with a roughly 2% stake.

Schultz endorsed Niccol’s hiring in the press release announcing the shakeup. In a statement, the chairman emeritus said he believes that Niccol is the leader the company needs at a “pivotal moment in its history.”

Some analysts believe that having Niccol, an experienced restaurant CEO, in the driver’s seat could mean that Schultz finally moves on. Niccol will also succeed Hobson as chair of the board, giving him more latitude to make changes.

“This will be the last time investors care what he has to say because Niccol now has the wheel and there is no longer ANY room for a backseat driver,” Gordon Haskett analyst Don Bilson wrote.

Niccol also has previous experience taking over a founder-led brand and making it his own. When he joined Chipotle in 2018, he took the reins from founder Steve Ells, who had led the chain since 1993. Niccol moved the burrito chain’s headquarters from Denver to Newport Beach to attract different talent — and maybe evolve the brand from being founder-led, as Bernstein analyst Danilo Gargiulo wrote in a note.

Challenges ahead

While analysts largely cheered Niccol’s appointment, some were more cautious, noting that Starbucks is a larger and more complex business than Chipotle.

“Starbucks is a much more complicated model than Chipotle, with company and licensed stores, domestic and international locations, and a significant presence in struggling China,” BTIG analyst Peter Saleh wrote.

Chipotle has few licensed locations, except for some airport restaurants, and a relatively small international footprint, although Niccol has been pushing to grow its presence outside the U.S. in recent years.

Starbucks, on the other hand, has more international locations than U.S. cafes. And while investors have recently focused on the chain’s domestic performance, China, its second-largest market, has continued to struggle as competition there ramps up and the country’s economy lags.

Narasimhan said on the company’s latest conference call that he was exploring “strategic partnerships” for its China business, which could include a joint venture, tech partnership or other options. Niccol’s appointment could mean that Starbucks abandons that exploration, although he does have some experience with spinoffs from his time as head of Yum Brands’ Taco Bell. While he was there, the conglomerate spun off its China business into Yum China.

And while Chipotle’s burritos are still in high demand, consumers’ economic concerns have dampened their desire for coffee. That may prove to be a tougher hurdle for Niccol than investors anticipate.

“His challenge is to connect with a new customer,” Wedbush analyst Nick Setyan said. “Aside from the power to change the direction of macro headwinds, we view the shareholder euphoria (as expressed in the share price this morning) as premature.”

What does Trump say about Zelenskyy in X interview?

U.S. President Donald Trump and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky looks on during a meeting in New York on September 25, 2019, on the sidelines of the United Nations General Assembly. 

Saul Loeb | Afp | Getty Images

He loves him, he loves him not?

Republican presidential nominee Donald Trump continues to keep people guessing over his position on Ukraine — and over his opinion of the country’s wartime leader, President Volodymyr Zelenskyy.

In Trump’s much-hyped interview with X owner Elon Musk on Monday, the former president raised eyebrows when he said that “there’s nobody that feels worse about the Ukraine situation than I do,” given his previous hints that he could cut Ukraine’s vital war funding if elected to the White House in November.

The GOP candidate also described Zelenskyy as “very honorable” in his handling of a telephone call that led to Trump’s first impeachment in 2019.

During the now-infamous phone conversation in July 2019, Trump told the newly elected Zelenskyy — then a political novice — that he would like him to “do us a favor” by helping to investigate Trump’s Democratic political rival Joe Biden and his son Hunter, who had business dealings in Ukraine.

The call prompted allegations that Trump had improperly sought help from Ukraine to boost his chances of reelection in 2020, and Trump was impeached in late 2019 as a result. He was acquitted after a two-week Senate trial in early 2020, however, and vehemently denied any wrongdoing.

At the time, Zelenskyy said there was no blackmail involved in the call with Trump.

President of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelenskyy in Kyiv, capital of Ukraine, on July 23, 2019.

Hennadii Minchenko | Future Publishing | Getty Images

Speaking to Musk during an interview streamed on social media platform X on Monday, Trump referenced the incident, stating: “Zelenskyy, he was very honorable to me because when they went with the Russia hoax and they said I had a phone call with him, he said it was a perfect phone call, it was a great phone call.”

Trump added, “He could have grandstanded and said, ‘Oh, he was very threatening.’ [But] He said, no, it was a very nice phone call.”

Zelenskyy the ‘salesman’

The praise for Zelenskyy was a far cry from earlier this year, when Trump characterized the president as “maybe the greatest salesman of any politician that’s ever lived,” suggesting Ukraine’s requests for — and receipt of — U.S. military aid packages were based on Zelenskyy’s deftness and skills as a diplomat, rather than on Ukraine’s actual needs.

“I think Zelenskyy is maybe the greatest salesman of any politician that’s ever lived,” Trump said in June, segueing from characterizing the Green New Deal as a “scam” straight into a description of Zelenskyy.

The former White House leader said of the Ukrainian chief, “every time he comes to our country, he walks away with $60 billion,” referring to a major U.S. aid package wrangled over by Republicans and Democrats, and finally agreed in April.

Trump corrected himself, MSNBC reported at the time, saying that he “likes” Zelenskyy — before returning to his critique of the Ukrainian leader.

“[Zelenskyy] just left four days ago with $60 billion, and he gets home, and he announces that he needs another $60 billion. It never ends. It never ends,” Trump said.

Republican presidential nominee, former U.S. President Donald Trump speaks at a rally at the Brick Breeden Fieldhouse at Montana State University on August 9, 2024 in Bozeman, Montana. 

Michael Ciaglo | Getty Images News | Getty Images

Referring to the war in Ukraine, Trump concluded that he’d “settle” the crisis during his post-election presidential period. “Gotta stop it,” he said.

Trump’s ambivalence about the merits of continuing support for Ukraine has come into sharp focus in recent months, particularly as voter polls suggested he could win another term in the White House.

Democratic nominee Vice President Kamala Harris is slightly ahead of Trump in several swing states, according to the latest poll by The New York Times and Siena College in early August — suggesting that the election race is wide open, however.

Another phone call

With a close eye on the U.S. presidential contest, Ukraine is having to tread a fine line between its current backers in the Democratic Party and the prospect of a potential Trump presidency in which the U.S. financial and military largesse — aid that has largely allowed Kyiv to continue to fight Russia since February 2022 — could be curtailed or have new conditions attached.

President of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelenskyy held a coordination meeting on the security situation and state border protection, which was attended by representatives of the Military Command, the State Border Guard Service, and the Heads of Military Administrations of Volyn, Zhytomyr, Rivne, Kyiv, and Chernihiv regions in Volyn Oblast, Ukraine on July 30, 2024. 

Ukraine Presidency | Anadolu | Getty Images

After receiving the Republican nomination in July, Trump said he had spoken again to Zelenskyy and had a “very good” conversation.

“I appreciate President Zelenskyy for reaching out because I, as your next President of the United States, will bring peace to the world and end the war that has cost so many lives and devastated countless innocent families,” Trump said in a post on his social media platform Truth Social.

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“Both sides will be able to come together and negotiate a deal that ends the violence and paves a path forward to prosperity,” he said. Trump has so far not said how he would end the war between Russia and Ukraine, and there have been concerns that he and his team could pressure Kyiv to concede territory.

For his part, Zelenskyy said on X at the time that he and Trump had agreed “to discuss at a personal meeting what steps can make peace fair and truly lasting.”

Eli Lilly (LLY) earnings Q2 2024

Eli Lilly on Thursday reported second-quarter earnings and revenue that blew past expectations and hiked its full-year revenue outlook by $3 billion as sales of its blockbuster diabetes drug Mounjaro and weight loss injection Zepbound spike.

Shares of Eli Lilly closed more than 9% higher on Thursday.

The drugmaker now expects revenue for the year to come in between $45.4 billion and $46.6 billion, an increase of $3 billion at both ends of the range.

The company also raised its full-year adjusted earnings to a range of $16.10 to $16.60, up from a previous guidance of $13.50 to $14 per share.

Eli Lilly said the guidance increase was primarily driven by the strong performance of Mounjaro and Zepbound and comes in part due to “improved clarity” into the company’s production expansions and planned launches of Mounjaro outside the U.S. The company said it hit several supply related milestones during the quarter, without providing specific details.

Demand has far outstripped supply for incretin drugs such as Zepbound and Mounjaro, which mimic hormones produced in the gut to suppress a person’s appetite and regulate their blood sugar. That has forced Eli Lilly and its rival Novo Nordisk to invest heavily to boost manufacturing.

But Eli Lilly’s supply woes may be starting to ease. On Friday, the Food and Drug Administration’s drug database said all doses of Zepbound and Mounjaro are available in the U.S. after extended shortages.

Still, the company cautioned that expected increases in demand may result in periodic “supply tightness” for certain doses of its incretin drugs. 

“We just see unbelievable demand, and we’re not even trying that hard to promote this drug,” Eli Lilly CEO David Ricks told CNBC in an interview. “What you’re seeing is just consumer organic demand here as we’ve shipped more product, as we bring more supply online in the United States.” 

Ricks said the company has built six manufacturing plants, some of which are already ramping up, and hired thousands of workers to increase production. Eli Lilly expects incretin drug production in the second half of 2024 to be 50% higher than it was during the same period last year, he noted.  

“We’re on that kind of ramp into 2025,” he said. Ricks added that Eli Lilly is still developing more convenient weight loss pills, which could help the company meet skyrocketing demand.

Here’s what Eli Lilly reported for the second quarter compared with what Wall Street was expecting, based on a survey of analysts by LSEG: 

  • Earnings per share: $3.92 adjusted vs. $2.60 expected
  • Revenue: $11.30 billion vs. $9.92 billion expected

The pharmaceutical giant booked net income of $2.97 billion, or $3.28 a share, for the second quarter. That compares with a profit of $1.76 billion, or $1.95 a share, a year earlier. 

Excluding one-time items associated with the value of intangible assets and other adjustments, Eli Lilly posted earnings of $3.92 per share for the second quarter of 2024.

The company posted second-quarter revenue of $11.30 billion, up 36% from the same period a year ago. 

Eli Lilly said sales were largely driven by higher demand for Mounjaro and Zepbound as production increases improved supply in the U.S.

It is Zepbound’s second full quarter on the U.S. market after winning approval from regulators in November. The weekly injection raked in $1.24 billion in sales for the period, which is well above the $922.2 million that analysts expected, according to StreetAccount. 

As of July 1, Zepbound was available on about 86% of the commercial insurance coverage lists in the U.S., Eli Lilly executives said during an earnings call Thursday. That’s up from 67% as of April 1, according to a first-quarter earnings presentation.

Meanwhile, Mounjaro took in $3.09 billion in revenue for the second quarter, more than triple the sales it booked during the year-earlier period. Analysts expected $2.39 billion in sales, according to StreetAccount.

Mounjaro prices were higher in the U.S. during the second quarter, which came in part due to greater access to the drug and decreased use of savings card programs compared with the year-earlier period. 

But the company said savings cards should have “minimal effect” on realized price comparisons in the second half of the year because the $25 monthly coupon for patients who don’t have insurance coverage for Mounjaro expired in June. 

Ricks told CNBC that pricing of Eli Lilly’s incretin drugs was “pretty stable” during the second quarter. 

During the call, executives also said the company expects stable pricing sequentially across quarters this year, with no unusual trends.

That differs from Novo Nordisk, which reported weaker-than-expected second-quarter sales of its weight loss drug Wegovy and diabetes injection Ozempic on Wednesday in part due to pricing pressure. 

Revenue from Wegovy was hit by higher-than-expected price concessions to U.S. pharmacy benefit managers, which negotiate drug discounts with manufacturers on behalf of insurers, Novo Nordisk executives said on an earnings call Wednesday.

Shares of Eli Lilly are up more than 30% this year after jumping almost 60% in 2023 due to the soaring demand for the company’s weight loss and diabetes drugs – and increased investor interest in their potential as treatments for other health conditions. That popularity comes despite their hefty monthly price tags, inconsistent insurance coverage and intermittent supply shortages. 

With a market cap of more than $730 billion, Eli Lilly is the largest pharmaceutical company based in the U.S.

Polling Reveals JD Vance Could Value Trump Ohio

If the Trump campaign goes into total free fall, it will be partly due to the selection of JD Vance. Polling shows that Trump/Vance has under 50% support in Vance’s home state of Ohio.

Before JD Vance goes on several of the Sunday shows, keep in mind that according to The New York Times:

Others are more concerned about what they are seeing in private polling. Two private polls conducted in Ohio recently by Republican pollsters — which Mr. Trump

carried in 2020 with 53 percent of the vote — showed him receiving less than 50 percent of the vote against Ms. Harris in the state, according to a person with direct knowledge of the data.

This isn’t to suggest that Ohio is definitely in play, but it would be surprising to reporters and experts in the state if Vance caused Trump to underperform there. JD Vance is unpopular in Ohio and only won his seat because Trump’s endorsement got him the Republican Senate primary nomination. Ohio’s increasingly red status, combined with the red tint of the 2022 midterm election, got Vance the victory.

However, Trump picked a running mate who underperformed the rest of the state’s Republicans in the election. Trump picked a weak running mate with the worst approval rating in polling history, and that choice, along with Harris’s surging momentum, is making Trump vulnerable in a state that should be sewn up for the Republican ticket.

If Ohio is even close in November, the wheels will have completely fallen off for Trump, which will likely mean a Democratic landslide. Trump may think that running mates don’t matter, but if the ex-president loses Ohio, JD Vance will be at least part of the reason why.

 

Jason is the managing editor. He is also a White House Press Pool and a Congressional correspondent for PoliticusUSA. Jason has a Bachelor’s Degree in Political Science. His graduate work focused on public policy, with a specialization in social reform movements.

Awards and  Professional Memberships

Member of the Society of Professional Journalists and The American Political Science Association

Jason EasleyLatest posts by Jason Easley (see all)

How Kevin Costner Actually Feels Concerning the Horizon: Chapter 2 Changeup

He also appreciated that Green Mountain really collaborated on getting the finished product just right for his namesake dark roast blend. But, he quipped, “I’m also the kind of guy who throws junk in it, too, chocolate and things like that,” hence his Mountainside Mocha Latte also being a favorite.

Meanwhile, if his schedule leading up to the premiere of Chapter 1 was any indication, Costner’s going to be needing some caffeine for the build-up to Chapter 2.

He wasn’t sure yet if Venice would end up being a big family affair like Cannes, where his daughters Annie, 40, Lily, 38, Grace, 14, and sons Cayden, 17, and Hayes joined him for the premiere of Chapter 1 (and its seven-minute standing ovation).

Cayden’s “been making noises about coming,” Costner shared, but the teen will have to make “a convincing case” if he wants to miss four days of school.

How Baked by Melissa CEO turned bed room chilly calls into cupcake empire

Count Baked by Melissa founder Melissa Ben-Ishay among the entrepreneurial success stories founded on getting out of the corporate rat race.

Before starting her company, Ben-Ishay worked at an ad agency in New York City – a role she felt unfulfilled in. The day she was fired was an “aha moment,” she recently told CNBC. She visited her brother at work, and he suggested the two start a business selling her cupcakes. They quickly created a website and shot images of cupcakes using a white sheet as a backdrop. 

Back in 2008, Ben-Ishay was doing it all: hand-delivering cupcakes to tastings, cold calling caterers from her bedroom and, once she had an order, boarding the subway with a white cardboard deli box full of her trademark tie-dye sweets. At the time, every cupcake came from her tiny New York City apartment kitchen. 

Baked by Melissa would sprinkle the city with bite-sized cupcakes in tie-dye boxes for the next few years, with her big break coming when the owner of Cafe Bari, who had fallen in love with the bite-sized cupcakes and offered Ben-Ishay the opportunity to use his commercial kitchen in exchange for selling him cupcakes at cost for the NYC holiday markets.

“Seven months after we founded the company, my dad drove in from Bergen County and helped me move all of my stuff from my little teeny kitchen to the basement of Cafe Bari,” she recalled at a recent CNBC event.

The cafe owner became a shareholder in Baked by Melissa, and the company was able to continue using the space for years. The organic foot traffic was already lucrative, Ben-Ishay says, but as the press started to catch on, people lined up around the corner. A year after it moved into the Cafe Bari space, Baked by Melissa opened its second location in Union Square.

Photography by Sara Lindsay

Since then, Baked by Melissa has become a global business with 14 bricks-and-mortar locations, nationwide delivery and a following of over 2.5 million on TikTok. Ben-Ishay has also taken on the role of CEO and recently published her second cookbook, “Come Hungry.” 

Social media has become increasingly important in building the “cupcake empire.”

In 2021, Ben-Ishay’s “green goddess” salad recipe went viral on TikTok and became Google’s No. 6 most-searched recipe nationwide, with 1.6 million searches in 2022. The recipe, which was recreated by celebrities like Cardi B and Lizzo, led to Ben-Ishay appearing on the Today Show and later posting a recipe for “green goddess” ranch, which amassed nearly two million more views than the original recipe. Now fans keep tabs on the recipes and routines Ben-Ishay shares on TikTok.

“Social media can be an incredible tool,” she told CNBC in an email. “You can do anything [when] you maintain the right attitude … show up every day (aka make it your job), listen to your audience and work to create quality content.”

Ben-Ishay declined to comment on how a TikTok ban in the U.S. would affect her.

Becoming a cookbook author backed by social media success has helped Ben-Ishay move beyond the cupcake brand.

“I wanted to share that philosophy and a way of eating that prioritizes nourishing ingredients in every meal,” she said. “I hope readers gain a sense of confidence in the kitchen through my recipes, that they can use with any ingredients in the future.”

Barriers to success for female founders and CEOs

Women funding women-led start-ups

Studies show that women face high hurdles in entrepreneurship, with vastly less access to funding than male founders and a high level of skepticism from a male-dominated investor world. There are some signs of improvement, with the rate of new business formation among female entrepreneurs rising, and more women investing in female-founded firms. These capital market issues contribute to research showing that women often lack the confidence to start a business, despite the research also showing that female-run businesses often outperform the market, leading to the creation of ETFs tracking women-led companies.

Ben-Ishay said she has experienced gender-based obstacles firsthand.

“It’s hard to succeed in business regardless of your gender,” she said. “[But] some challenges I’ve found to be more unique to females. I think often men are overconfident, while women lack confidence. I didn’t become CEO of the company that bears my name until 2019, and even when I was put into the role, I thought I couldn’t do it. I was wrong.”

Now a successful CEO and social media personality, Ben-Ishay has built a brand uniquely its own. And the freedom and unpredictability of entrepreneurship leave her feeling fulfilled — she said she loves stepping out of her comfort zone and putting out fires.

“I embrace it,” she said. “That’s when we learn and grow the most.”