Cramer calls on the US to fund amenities to fight chip shortages and unemployment

CNBC’s Jim Cramer said Wednesday the United States should fund the development of a chip maker to address both the high unemployment rate in the country and a chip shortage that affects American businesses.

More and more companies, including automakers like Ford and General Motors, have recently sounded the alarm about global component shipments, prompting them to cut back on the production of their own products.

Meanwhile, the US job market is struggling to get out of the coronavirus-induced recession with an unemployment rate of 6.3%.

“We need more chips and we need more jobs,” Cramer told Mad Money. “Why not kill two birds with one stone? It’s time for our government to invest in building the largest and best complex of semiconductor foundries in the world.”

Automobiles are getting more technological, which requires silicon chips for things like power steering, brake sensors, and entertainment devices. The supply shortage has forced GM and Ford to close factories, delaying the delivery of new cars. GM warned the disruption could affect its 2021 goals.

The demand for chips, which are also used in products such as televisions, game consoles, and computers, increased during the pandemic as Americans switched to remote work and study environments. Cramer also blamed globalization, which allowed companies to outsource manufacturing to giants like Taiwan Semiconductor and Samsung Electronics in Asia.

The more connected cars become, the more semiconductors they will need.

“Believe me, you will hear about this shortage every day because it is devastating all kinds of industries, making us a much less competitive and perhaps even a hostage company. Hostage to a larger chip customer, the PRC. We have to Be one step ahead of that, “said Cramer.

“Our companies cannot get enough chips because there is not enough production in the world, and this shortage of chips affects all types of manufacturing,” he added.

He signaled that he was optimistic about Gina Raimondo, the governor of Rhode Island who was named head of the US Department of Commerce by President Joe Biden. Raimondo is a former venture capitalist who gives her an ideal perspective on the business world, Cramer said.

He also said the low interest rate environment can be a catalyst to fund the federal project with bonds.

“America’s best tech industry, the most intellectual property there is in technology, is in semiconductor capital goods,” said Cramer, referring to companies like Lam Research, KLA Tenor and Applied Materials, which make machines for making chips need.

“Building gigantic semiconductor foundries enables more people to work than any other infrastructure project.”

Disclosure: Cramer’s charitable foundation owns shares in Ford.

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OutDaughtered’s Danielle Busby fears attainable coronary heart surgical procedure

Danielle Busby got emotional about the possibility of heart surgery in a new trailer for season 8 of TLC’s OutDaughtered.

OutDaughtered follows the couple Danielle and Adam Busby, the parents of the only girl quintuplet in the US now 5 years old that includes fraternal triplets hazel, Riley, and Parker as well as identical twins Ava and Olivia. Danielle became pregnant with the quintuplets four years after giving birth to the couple’s 9-year-old daughter Blayke Louiseand the title of the reality series refers to how the two are now clearly inferior by their children.

In the new season 8 teaser, which premieres on TLC on February 23, Danielle can be seen in a hospital bed telling Adam, “Everything just hurts. And it gets worse.”

She later admits that she has no idea what it is, but that “something is wrong”. A doctor then confirms that Danielle may need surgery later.

Walmart’s use of TikTok is prone to proceed even when the Oracle deal would not undergo

Walmart’s hopes of owning a stake in TikTok may be dashed, but don’t expect interest in the viral video app to wane.

According to a report in the Wall Street Journal on Wednesday, the company’s plan to buy the US social media app operations from Oracle has been put on hold indefinitely as the Biden administration investigates security concerns with Chinese tech companies. Nameless people who were familiar with the matter were quoted.

Walmart spokesman Randy Hargrove declined to comment on Wednesday’s report, referring questions to the Biden administration about a possible TikTok sale. Oracle did not respond to CNBC’s request for comment.

Speaking at a press conference at the White House on Wednesday, press secretary Jen Psaki said the government had not taken any new measures regarding the TikTok deal. She said that apps like TikTok continue to assess potential risks to US data.

Walmart is one of many retailers who have viewed the popular app as a way to follow trends, create shippable content, and build their brand among teenagers and 20 year olds. Walmart shoppers consulted TikTok when deciding which toys to order for the holiday season. In December there was a one-hour livestream event in the app. Those efforts will likely continue – even if Walmart doesn’t have a front row seat.

“We were really excited about what we saw, customer engagement and experience,” said Janey Whiteside, Walmart’s chief customer officer, in a recent interview about the livestream TikTok event. “Expect more of these things from us in the days, weeks, months ahead.”

She said events like this “really create more interesting places to work with brands.” This is gaining traction as the retailer plans to grow its advertising business more than 10x over the next five years and to compete better with Amazon in this industry.

Jefferies analyst Steph Wissink said a stake in TikTok would give Walmart an edge over competitors who also use the social media app. She likened it to being an auto mechanic versus an enthusiast. As a partial owner of TikTok, Walmart was able to open the hood and better understand the powerful social media app. It could collect more data on how advertising campaigns or videos can get more powerful. It could even tinker with how the app works to improve it or take other retailers out, she said.

“Right now, Walmart is an enthusiast as an outsider,” she said. “They use TikTok, they use social media, they use new advertising platforms in ways that appreciate a new way of connecting with consumers – but having the ability would give them an in-depth knowledge of how it works, the architecture and the mechanics of the motor. “

Still, she said, the app will remain an important media platform for Walmart by “creating brand awareness and relevance in a generation that will eventually age into their purchasing power years.” With the use of the app, she said, Walmart is thinking a decade ahead.

Walmart’s quest for TikTok began last year after President Donald Trump urged TikTok’s Beijing-based parent company, ByteDance, to find an American buyer or face a national ban. He said the popular video app raised security concerns because it could leak US users’ data to the Chinese government – a claim TikTok denied.

The retailer partnered with Microsoft, and later Oracle, last summer to acquire part of the social media company’s US operations. As part of the Oracle deal, Walmart would acquire a 7.5% stake in TikTok’s US operations, and its CEO, Doug McMillon, would get a seat on the board of the newly formed company.

In an interview on CNBC’s “Squawk Box” in October, McMillon said Walmart viewed TikTok as a “discovery opportunity” that could inspire shoppers to shop.

“If you’re watching a TikTok video and someone has a piece of clothing or an item on it that you really like, what if you could just and quickly purchase that item?” he said. “This is what we see in countries all over the world. And it fascinates us and we want to be part of it.”

Livestream events are already increasing sales for brands in China and other parts of Asia. They’re a core part of Alibaba’s Singles Day, a huge shopping festival that’s popular outside of the United States. According to a survey conducted by AlixPartners in the fall, two-thirds of Chinese consumers said they had bought products via live streaming in the past 12 months.

And it has become a sales tool that more US brands want to dominate too. Last month, for example, a heart-shaped bag by Kate Spade went viral on TikTok – another reminder of the app’s power.

“We were able to use that,” said Joanne Crevoiserat, CEO of Kate Spade’s parent company Tapestry, in an interview on CNBC’s “Closing Bell”. “The bag is sold out.”

– CNBC’s Lauren Feiner contributed to this report.

The Biden administration is working with Texas for three new mass facilities

Public service workers help people check-in at a COVID-19 vaccination center in Robstown, Texas on February 9, 2021.

Go Nakamura | Reuters

The Biden government will work with Texas officials to build three new community vaccination centers in Dallas, Arlington and Houston, a member of President Joe Biden’s Covid-19 Response Team announced Wednesday.

The three centers, which will be operational the week of February 22nd, will enable healthcare providers to administer a total of more than 10,000 shots per day, Jeff Zients, Bidens Covid czar, told reporters during a press conference at the White House Pandemic. “We are immediately putting in teams to work hand in hand with the state and local jurisdiction,” he said.

Later on Wednesday, Zients announced that he would be holding a press conference with New York Governor Andrew Cuomo to officially announce the development of two new Covid vaccine centers in the state and to distribute shots to “underserved communities” support.

The announcements come days after the government announced that it would be sending troops on active duty to California to help vaccinate Covid-19 workers there. Biden is trying to speed up the pace of vaccinations in the US after a slower-than-expected rollout under the administration of former President Donald Trump, and federal officials are also urging states to administer shots faster.

The troops will arrive in California this week and begin operations by Monday, US officials said.

Around 33 million out of around 331 million Americans have received at least their first dose of Pfizer’s or Moderna’s two-dose Covid-19 vaccines, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. And 9.8 million of those people have already got their second shot.

U.S. officials also hope vaccine supplies will increase after Johnson & Johnson’s Covid-19 vaccine is emergency approved by the Food and Drug Administration, which could happen as early as this month. The FDA scheduled a meeting of its Advisory Committee on Vaccines and Related Biological Products on February 26th to discuss the vaccine. The US could approve the vaccine the next day.

Last week, Andy Slavitt, a senior advisor on Biden’s Covid-19 response team, said some health care providers were regularly withholding vaccines for second shots, which resulted in vaccine appointments being canceled and some Americans being prevented from receiving their first doses.

“We want to make it clear that we understand why healthcare providers did this, but that it doesn’t have to and shouldn’t happen,” he told reporters Feb. 1, adding that US officials know that Covid vaccines are in States delivered were often unpredictable during the early rollout in late December.

The Chief Medical Officer of the White House, Dr. Anthony Fauci said Wednesday that many states are already past vaccinating just health care providers, nursing homes, and the elderly, and are starting to open shots to people with underlying health conditions.

He urged people with these conditions to get vaccinated and said they were more prone to severe Covid-19. “They are exactly the people who should be vaccinated,” he added. “This is something that will be very useful to you.”

Twitter confirms that Trump’s ban is everlasting even when he elects to run once more in 2024

#Roommates, Twitter officially doubles its decision on former President Donald Trump’s ban. In a recent announcement, Twitter confirmed that Trump’s ban on the popular social media platform is permanent – regardless of his future political plans.

@ CNN reports that Twitter continues to have a very firm stance when it comes to Donald Trump’s presence on its platform. The company’s CFO, Ned Segal, said that regardless of whether or not he runs for president again in 2024, Trump will never be allowed back on Twitter.

In a recent interview on CNBC, Segal explained the decision to make Trump’s ban permanent:

“The way our policies work, if you are removed from the platform, whether you are a commentator, CFO, or a past or current official, you will be removed from the platform. Remember, our guidelines are designed to ensure that people do not cause violence. If someone does, we must remove them from service, and our guidelines do not allow people to return. “

The new statement from Twitter comes as Trump is currently in the initial stages of his second impeachment when the trial of him began earlier this week. It should be noted that if Trump is convicted in his impeachment process, he will never be able to run for office again.

You will recall that Trump was initially banned from Twitter following his tweets allegedly sparking the riots in the U.S. Capitol that killed six when his followers stormed the building.

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A minimal wage of $ 15 means layoffs, say a 3rd of small companies

Senator Bernie Sanders, I-Vt., Speaks during an event introducing the Raise The Wage Act on January 16, 2019 at the U.S. Capitol.

Chip Somodevilla | Getty Images

A third of small business owners say they are likely to be laid off workers if Congress increases the federal minimum wage to $ 15 an hour. This comes from the latest quarterly poll by CNBC | SurveyMonkey Small Business.

The federal minimum wage battle has emerged as one of the more controversial elements of the larger battle on Capitol Hill for President Biden’s $ 1.9 trillion Covid aid package.

A Democratically-led bill introduced last month, officially known as the Raise the Wage Act, was struck from a Senate bill last week, and President Biden said a raise was unlikely on Sunday. However, the House Education and Labor Committee included the provision in a first draft released this week, officially known as Biden’s American bailout plan. Democrats want to push the broader bill by advocating reconciliation, a process that does not require broad Republican support.

Overall, 54% of small businesses are opposed to raising the minimum wage. This comes from the CNBC | SurveyMonkey Small Business Survey for the first quarter of 2021, which includes nationwide responses from 2,111 small business owners and was conducted January 25 through January 25. 31 Using the SurveyMonkey Platform.

Twenty percent of small business owners said they would be forced to lay off workers if the minimum wage rose to $ 15 / hour, while another 13 percent said they would likely increase wages for some workers while firing others.

Minimum wage policy

The minimum wage war on Main Street is split according to party lines. Small business owners who identify as Democrats were more than four times more likely than Republicans (89% versus 20%) to support the minimum wage hike, although small business demographics are generally conservative.

A survey of small business owners to raise the federal minimum wage to $ 15 an hour shows that Main Street partisans have split on the matter.

This is in part because more Republicans than Democrats say they will be directly affected by a federal minimum wage increase: 55% of Republicans but only 38% of Democrats say they need to raise wages, lay off workers, or do both to comply with the proposed change. However, the survey shows that the divide between the partisans is deeper.

“There are clearly fundamental political differences based on partisanship,” said Laura Wronski, manager of research science at SurveyMonkey, via email. She noted that Republicans who must take steps to meet a $ 15 minimum wage are more likely to say they will be laid off workers than to raise workers’ wages, while Democrats must take steps to meet the minimum wage rather, raise wages rather than lay off workers.

Republican small business owners (44%) are far more likely than Democratic small business owners (11%) to say a higher minimum wage will force them to lay off – this includes 28% of Republicans saying they need to lay off workers and 16% saying they need to lay off some workers but raise wages for others.

According to the non-small business owner response group to the survey, the higher federal minimum wage has broad public support (65% support, 33% oppose).

A recent analysis by the Impartial Congressional Budget Office predicts that an increase in the minimum wage could bring about 900,000 Americans to the poverty line and affect a total of 27 million Americans who earn below or above the minimum wage. The CBO forecast also projects a deficit of $ 54 billion by 2031 and 1.4 million fewer jobs.

Pandemic fears and hopes for relief on Main Street

For some small business owners already hit by pandemic standstills and the economic downturn, more than doubling the minimum leads to higher costs, layoffs and potential lockdown deals. A majority of small business owners support President Biden’s $ 1.9 trillion bid relief plan at a time when confidence in Main Street is waning and small business owners fears they won’t get another, according to CNBC poll Year can endure, increase.

“We appreciate the feeling of lifting people out of poverty, but I think you looked at the unintended consequences of laying off many people from their jobs,” said Molly Day, vice president of public affairs at the National Small Business Association.

The organization and most of its members have long spoken out against minimum wage increases, and the proposed bill is particularly difficult for companies with low profit margins, Day said.

Corporate America, including an influential trading group that represents the biggest companies like Walmart, JP Morgan, and Apple, believes the battle for the minimum wage is an obstacle to overcoming the relief small businesses need and that many of the largest Companies in the country that support a higher minimum wage and already paying one is not the time to settle the matter nationally.

“Enforcing a minimum wage hike which can be very detrimental to small businesses in the short term if it is not designed to take into account regional differences and reasonable outsourcing … the negotiations and this package will take a long time is not the place to do it “Business Roundtable President and CEO Josh Bolten recently told CNBC.

Some of the best CEOs in the country brought this case directly to President Biden.

Proponents of raising the minimum wage argue that it has the potential to improve worker productivity, reduce worker turnover, and put more money back into the economy, said Didier Trinh, director of government affairs for the Main Street Alliance, a progressive trade group for small businesses.

Small business owners like Aaron Seyedian have long used the MIT Living Wage Calculator to take into account the cost of living and set wages, which vary by region. Seyedian, who employs ten people in his DC area store called Well-Paid Maids, is willing to pay his employees more if it means they can keep their phones on and prevent canceled shifts or assignments.

“Even if it moves a dollar, I think that makes a big difference in someone’s life,” he said.

Geography influences the level of support for a higher minimum wage. Small business owners in the Pacific region (Alaska, California, Hawaii, Oregon, Washington) and the Mid Atlantic (New Jersey, New York, Pennsylvania) support a minimum wage of $ 15 the most, and some also most likely don’t have the wages increase or lay off workers to comply with the proposed change.

GM has little interest in following Tesla and investing in Bitcoin

The reflection of bitcoins on a computer hard drive.

Thomas Trutschel | Photo library via Getty Images

General Motors has no plans to invest in Bitcoin, but CEO Mary Barra said the automaker will monitor customer demand as it weighs whether to accept the cryptocurrency to pay for its services and vehicles.

“We have no plans to invest in Bitcoin, so stop here,” she responded to a question from Morgan Stanley analyst Adam Jonas during the company’s fourth quarter earnings call on Wednesday. “We will monitor and evaluate this. If there is strong customer demand in the future, nothing will prevent us from doing this.”

Barra’s comments follow Tesla’s disclosure earlier this week that the cryptocurrency was purchased for $ 1.5 billion.

In the filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission, Tesla said it bought the Bitcoin in order to “have more flexibility to further diversify and maximize the returns on our cash.” Tesla is also expected to receive liquidity in the cryptocurrency before planning to accept it for payments, “subject to applicable laws and initially on a limited basis,” the company said.

Unlike Tesla, GM doesn’t sell its vehicles directly to consumers. It uses a franchise dealer network. If GM were to accept cryptocurrency for new vehicles, it would have to work the process out with its dealers and their shared systems.

Billionaire businessman Tilman Fertitta told CNBC on Tuesday that his luxury car dealer has sold 17 vehicles to buyers using Bitcoin since adoption began Transactions with the digital currency almost three years ago.

Bitcoin, the largest cryptocurrency by market value, soared to new highs on Monday after Tesla’s announcement, hitting a price of at least $ 44,200. It was trading above $ 44,000 per coin on Wednesday morning.

In its SEC filing, Tesla warned investors about the volatility of Bitcoin price.

– CNBC’s Steve Kovach and Kevin Stankiewicz contributed to this article.

Georgia DA opens felony investigation into Trump’s name to the Secretary of State

Georgian Foreign Secretary Brad Raffensperger speaks during a press conference on election results in Atlanta, Georgia, December 2, 2020.

Elijah Nouvelage | Reuters

The Fulton County, Georgia chief attorney has opened a criminal investigation into a phone call made by then-President Donald Trump to Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger last month asking the officer to “find” enough votes for him to undo his loss of election to Joe Biden.

Fulton District Attorney Fani Willis sent a letter to Raffensperger and other government officials asking for documents related to Trump’s highly unusual phone call to be retained, a state official with knowledge of the letter told NBC News.

Raffensperger’s office confirmed to CNBC that it received the letter on Wednesday, but declined to comment. The letter comes as the Senate is conducting impeachment proceedings against Trump that could end with the ex-president being banned from ever running for the White House again.

The letter states that the request is part of a criminal investigation that includes “potential violations of Georgian law, which include soliciting anti-fraud, false testimony to state and local government agencies, conspiracies, extortion and violations, however.” is not limited to the oath of office and any involvement in violence or threats in connection with the election administration. “

The letter was sent two days after Raffensperger’s office opened its own investigation into Trump’s call to the Secretary of State on Jan. 2.

This Wednesday, August 24, 2016, Fulton County’s Assistant District Attorney Fani Willis presents her closing arguments during a trial in Atlanta.

John Bazemore | AP

In that appeal, Trump said to Raffensperger: “I just want to do this: I only want to find 11,780 votes.”

That was the number of votes Trump took to overtake Biden’s leadership in Georgia, one of several he needed to undo Trump’s loss to the electoral college.

At the time, Trump and his allies were promoting a number of unsubstantiated claims that he lost the election due to widespread electoral fraud in states like Georgia.

The call to Raffensperger came four days before Trump called on supporters at a rally near the White House to help him fight the election results by getting Congress or Vice President Mike Pence to refuse to award Biden’s victory to confirm.

After that rally, thousands of Trump supporters gathered outside and then inside the U.S. Capitol, where Congress met in a joint session to confirm the results.

Five people died in connection with the riot, including a Capitol police officer.

Trump was charged by the House of Representatives with inciting a riot.

His Senate trial began Tuesday with a debate on whether a former president could be tried after he left office.

Evidence for the case is presented today.

– Additional coverage from Hannah Miao

Olivia Munn publicly advocates “stopping Asian hatred” amid violence

Olivia Munn uses her powerful voice to shed light on injustices against Asian Americans.

In an Instagram post shared on Tuesday February 9, the newsroom alum has publicly asked for help and support to the Asian community following ongoing hate crimes. “Stop Asian Hate,” began the post. “For the past few days, I’ve been speechless at the rise in anti-Asian hate crimes. The racial, verbal, and physical assaults have made my community anxious to go outside. These hate crimes have increased since Covid and on, even though we ask for help despite ours American citizens ask to be outraged with us, even though we ask for more coverage in the mainstream media. “

The 40-year-old actress, whose mother is a Vietnamese immigrant, described several crimes that Asian Americans have suffered in the past week alone. “A 91-year-old Asian American was attacked from behind while walking down the street in Oakland. An 84-year-old Thai American was murdered in San Francisco,” she listed. “A 64-year-old Vietnamese American woman was born in San Jose attacked and a Filipino American was punched in the face in Manhattan. “

Biden $ 1.9 trillion Covid stimulus is backed by Essential Road

Vice President Kamala Harris from left, United States President Joe Biden and Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer, a Democrat from New York, wear protective masks as they meet with Democrats in the Oval Office of the White House in Washington on Wednesday, February 3 Senators meet, 2021, to discuss Covid-19 stimulus relief.

Stefani Reynolds | Bloomberg | Getty Images

America’s small business owners have been hard hit by the Covid-19 pandemic, and despite two rounds of federal loan programs aimed at helping smaller employers, a majority on Main Street are still calling for more help.

Sixty-three percent of small business owners support the $ 1.9 trillion Covid aid package currently being promoted by President Joe Biden’s administration and debated in Congress. This comes from the most recent quarterly CNBC | SurveyMonkey Small Business Survey.

These include 46% of Republican small business owners who support the new Democratic government’s first major legislative proposal. In fact, Biden’s aid package has far more Republican support than Biden himself. Only 14% of Republican small business owners say they are okay with the way Biden does his job as president.

The support for more relief comes from the fact that small business owners’ confidence has fallen to a new all-time low since the quarterly tracking survey began in 2017. The Small Business Confidence Index fell from 48 out of a possible 100 in the fourth quarter of last year to 43 quarters. In addition, the number of small business owners who said they could continue to operate for more than a year under current terms and conditions fell from 67% in the fourth quarter to 55%.

The CNBC | SurveyMonkey Small Business Survey for the First Quarter of 2021 was conducted January 25-31 using the SurveyMonkey platform and received responses from 2,111 small business owners across the country.

The debate about more federal aid has become more partisan among small business owners after the departure of former President Donald Trump. In the fourth quarter, a whopping 83% of small business owners expressed their support for a $ 900 billion package that was passed by Congress and signed by Trump in late December.

“There are more Republicans than Democrats who own small businesses,” said Laura Wronski, research science manager at SurveyMonkey. “When we did the last poll, it was after the election, but it was still in the meantime that … maybe there was still a bit of doubt on people’s minds [about the outcome]. I think people’s perceptions may have hardened while they were a little more up for grabs in December. Since this is the opening speech from the Biden administration, it will be easier to say yes or no. “

Support for the latest package may also have waned, Wronski says, as the federal minimum wage may have been raised, a measure that is typically unpopular with business owners. The survey found that 54% of small business owners oppose raising the federal minimum wage to $ 15 / hour, while 44% support the increase.

Main Street business outlook declines sharply

Overall, small business confidence was hurt by a sharp drop in the number of small business owners who said terms and conditions were “good” (from 39% in Q4 2020 to 29% this quarter), as well as a sharp rise in The Number the small business owners who expect possible changes in tax, trade, regulatory, and even immigration policies to negatively impact their businesses in the coming year – all due in large part to a “loss of confidence” by Republican small business owners.

Vronsky noted that a year ago, only 17% of Republicans expected government regulations to negatively affect their business. This quarter, that number is 82%, which is essentially more than quadrupling from last year. In the first quarter of 2020, 40% of Democrats said changes in regulation would have a negative impact on their businesses, and this quarter that number dropped to 12%. “This is a good example of how increasing confidence in the Democrats cannot offset the loss of confidence in the Republicans. The extent is so different between the two groups in terms of how their perceptions change from year to year,” she said.

Republican small business owners’ confidence has completely collapsed since Trump lost the 2020 election to Biden. The small business confidence index for Republicans is 32, 25 points lower than in the third quarter of 2020, the last poll before the elections. It’s also 9 points lower than the lowest confidence level for any Democratic small business owner during Donald Trump’s presidency.

Conversely, the confidence of small business owners who identify as Democrats rose to 63, up 17 points from the pre-election poll.