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House Republican calls conservatives opposing McCarthy ‘childish’

January 3, 2023 Published by

Just In | The Hill 

Rep. Dan Crenshaw (R-Texas) on Tuesday dismissed the idea that a group of hardline conservatives had a viable alternative to Speaker-hopeful Kevin McCarthy (R-Calif.) waiting in the wings, instead saying the lawmakers are only opposing McCarthy to gain notoriety.

“This is such a childish attempt at gaining more and more attention,” Crenshaw said on Fox News ahead of the Speaker vote on Tuesday. “They’ve got nobody. And even if they did, I promise you, there’s a ton of Republicans who will not vote for them.”

McCarthy has been unable to secure the necessary votes to become speaker ahead of Tuesday’s vote, despite offering key concessions to the hardline holdouts, including allowing a move to “vacate the chair,” which would trigger a vote to oust the Speaker with the approval of just five Republicans.

Some of McCarthy’s opponents have teased this week that they have a hidden alternative candidate to McCarthy that they say will become apparent after the first vote for Speaker on Tuesday. Rep. Bob Good (R-Va.) suggested on Fox News on Monday that the group had refrained from publicly naming the alternative candidate to shield them from “attacks and retaliation.”

But Crenshaw said the far-right lawmakers were floating the idea of a McCarthy alternative just to continue to garner media attention.

“They keep acting like they’ve got somebody in the wings — they’re just waiting,” Crenshaw said. “They’re like children… you know why they say it like that? Because they want you to interview them again.”

Crenshaw also said the attempt to block McCarthy from the Speakership was making the Republican House conference look “foolish,” and that the Democrats were celebrating the disarray it was causing.

“If I didn’t know any better, it’s like the Democrats paid these people off,” Crenshaw said. “The Democrats are cheering. The Democrats are so happy that this is all happening because these guys and these girls wanted to make this happen.”

McCarthy needs 218 votes to become Speaker, and his path to victory remained unclear Tuesday morning. He spoke to lawmakers at a meeting with the House conference Tuesday, with Rep. Kevin Hern (R-Okla.) saying McCarthy was “fired up” as he spoke.

​News, House, congress, Crenshaw, McCarthy, republicans, Speaker Read More 

Why Value Stocks May Again Beat Growth in 2023

January 3, 2023 Published by

TheStreet 

For 40 years, and especially since 2015, growth stocks beat value. But last year the tables were turned.

From 1980 through 2021, , and especially since 2015, growth stocks outperformed value stocks.

But last year value stocks vastly outperformed growth, with the Russell 1000 Value Index losing 9%, compared with a 30% drop for the Russell 1000 Growth Index. The Russell 1000 includes large-cap stocks.

Recall that value stocks are ones considered undervalued according to measures such as price-to-earnings and price-to-sales multiples. 

Growth stocks are those expected to grow earnings and sales at a faster rate than the market average.

The surge in interest rates led growth stocks to underperform value last year. Rising rates depress economic growth, hurting growth stocks’ earnings.

Meanwhile, defensive value stocks such as utilities, consumer staples and health care benefit from the fact that demand in these industries holds up in bad economic times.

Sarah Ketterer Picks Alstom and Prudential

Many experts expect value stocks to continue to perform well this year and beyond. “If interest rates stabilize [at high levels], it’s good for value stocks,” Sarah Ketterer, chief executive of the $34 billion-asset Causeway Capital Management, told TheStreet.com.

Numerous economists expect the Federal Reserve to continue to raise rates early this year and then leave them on hold for the rest of the year.

“Many companies are underearning compared to what they can achieve. They face some headwinds,” Ketterer said.

Among the value stocks she likes are French railway company Alstom  (ALSMY)  and Prudential  (PUK) – Get Free Report, a British insurance and asset management company.

Sarah Ketterer

Causeway Capital Management/TheStreet

Alstom “had a problematic acquisition in 2021. Then the stock collapsed,” Ketterer said. “But management is very capable. The company has a better order book now and a significant improvement in cash flow.” The stock could soar 60% to 80% over the next two to three years, she said.

“The rail sector is likely to grow, partly due to the need for green transport. Management can continue to make this a better business,” Ketterer said.

Bierig Likes Oracle and CBRE

Robert Bierig, a manager of Oakmark Fund and Oakmark Select Fund, also is bullish on value stocks.

“What is unusual today is that the spread between companies with high price-earnings ratios and companies with low ones is wider than is typically the case,” he told TheStreet.com.

“That’s a good setup for stock pickers to add value because it means there may be more opportunity than usual in low p-e stocks. … We think more traditional value names tend to be attractive.”

Bierig cited Oracle  (ORCL) – Get Free Report and real estate company CBRE  (CBRE) – Get Free Report as strong value stocks.

Robert Bierig

Oakmark Funds

“In applications, Oracle’s strategic back-office cloud business is growing annualized revenue 25% to 30% in constant currency,” he said. “In infrastructure, Oracle’s cloud services and autonomous database are growing even faster.”

Those are important trends, Bierig said. “As these next-generation businesses become a larger percentage of total revenue, Oracle’s overall revenue growth rate is accelerating close to double-digits after many years of flattish results,” he said.

“At only around 12 times our estimate of normal earnings excluding cash, we think this is a cheap stock.”

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Here are Tuesday’s biggest analyst calls: Tesla, Apple, Wynn, Amazon, Wendy’s, Delta & more

January 3, 2023 Published by

US Top News and Analysis 

Here are Tuesday’s biggest calls on Wall Street: Morgan Stanley reiterates Apple as overweight Morgan Stanley said it’s standing by its overweight rating on Apple and noted it sees an app store “growth inflection.” “App Store net revenue growth inflected to +1% Y/Y in the month of December, a continued improvement after 5 consecutive months of Y/Y declines.” Barclays downgrades Capital One and Ally to equal weight from overweight Barclays said in its downgrade of Capital One and Ally that it’s concerned about inflation and rising interest rates. “As such, we are becoming less constructive on those with outsized asset sensitivity and areas we believe loan losses will adjust the fastest – namely, lower-end consumer (most impacted by much reduced stimulus, elevated inflation, and higher interest rates) and commercial real estate (uncertainties in office, retail, health care segments). We are lowering our relative ratings on ALLY, COF and MTB from Overweight to Equal Weight and ZION from Equal Weight to Underweight.” Goldman Sachs reiterates Tesla as buy Goldman said Tesla’s delivery numbers reported over the weekend were an “incremental negative” but that it’s standing by its buy rating. “We consider the 4Q22 delivery report to be an incremental negative, although we continue to see Tesla as well positioned for long-term growth given its position as a cost and full solution leader in clean mobility/EVs and we maintain our Buy rating on the stock.” RBC downgrades Traeger to sector perform from outperform RBC said in its downgrade of the grilling company that it sees a delayed recovery. “We continue to believe in Traeger’s long term opportunity within the broader outdoor cooking space and believe the brand is well positioned to leverage its technology, innovation, and strong engagement to continue growing household penetration in the long term.” Truist upgrades PayPal to buy from hold Truist said in its upgrade of PayPal that estimates now look reasonable. “We upgrade to Buy, from Hold, and raise our PT to $95 (15.6x C24E EPS), fr $75. Our more bullish view reflects: 1) confidence that Street rev ests are now reasonable.” Baird upgrades Block to outperform from neutral Baird said in its upgrade of the stock that it’s poised for a comeback. ” SQ is a premier large-cap growth franchise with both profitability and net cash, while benefiting from macro trends such as rising rates (on big cash/subscriber funds) and inflation.” Read more about this call here. Baird names Yum and Chipotle top 2023 picks Baird said it likes restaurant stocks that can work in a time of weakening demand. “Top picks for 2023 include YUM and CMG; we also like the risk/reward equations on WING, MCD, DPZ, PTLO.. … We generally are favoring shares of franchisors (i.e., the most durable earnings and cash flow models; includes YUM , WING, MCD, DPZ), as well as those that have idiosyncratic drivers and/or brand profiles that can support positive business momentum even in a scenario in which industry demand weakens.” Loop names Amazon a top 2023 idea Loop said Amazon is “well positioned to outperform” in 2023. “The COVID demand surge has left the company’s fulfillment network significantly overbuilt. Poor utilization combined with inflationary pressures have torpedoed profitability in AMZN’s first party and fulfillment services businesses.” Piper Sandler upgrades Coty to overweight from equal weight Piper said in its upgrade of the beauty company that it sees “recovery tailwinds” for shares of Coty. “We believe increasing exposure to China and Travel Retail will allow for recovery tailwinds.” Read more about this call here. Evercore ISI downgrades CVS to in line from outperform Evercore downgraded the stock mainly on valuation. “We see valuation as relatively range bound in 2023 until we see greater certainty regarding ultimate portfolio composition of CVS as well as see a greater portion of the long-term double digit EPS growth coming from operating income.” Stephens names Wendy’s a top 2023 pick Stephens said it likes the fast food chain’s “efficient sales and unit growth.” “We believe Wendy’s low ticket, high frequency occasion profile and highly franchised ownership structure position the brand for efficient sales and unit growth.” Bank of America reiterates Starbucks a buy Bank of America said the buying opportunity for Starbucks shares if very attractive. “SBUX’s transitory China challenges and US margin pressure create a particularly attractive buying opportunity, in our view. Vs. the S & P, SBUX’s valuation is above its 5-year avg but in-line with its avg over 10-years, more relevant given the return to the higher growth algo of the earlier part of that period.” Bank of America reiterates Citi as buy Bank of America said Citi shares have an “interesting” risk/reward. “While the near-term EPS outlook remains uncertain due to the macro backdrop and ongoing business exits (mgmt.’s 2023 guidance should help on this front), we believe that the combination of potential idiosyncratic catalysts and a discounted valuation creates an interesting risk/reward for investors looking to add exposure to a restructuring story.” Bank of America downgrades XPO to neutral from buy Bank of America said in its downgrade of the shipping company that it’s concerned about decelerating demand. “We lower XPO to Neutral from Buy, and our PO to $35 from $60 (pre RXO split), following the spin of RXO, its truck brokerage segment, as well as a deteriorating LTL (less than truckload) environment (60% of revenues) and its inability to sell its European Truck ops.” Wells Fargo upgrades Wynn to overweight from equal weight Wells said in its upgrade of the casino company that it sees a significant reopening opportunity for the stock. ” WYNN’s smaller scale and premium mass offering should allow for a speedy recovery.” Read more about this call here. Jefferies names Delta a top 2023 pick Jefferies said the airline is its favorite idea for 2023 and that the setup for airlines is positive. “We are modestly positive on Airlines heading into 2023, as the revenue setup will continue to offset cost pressures.” Wells Fargo initiates Mondelez as overweight Wells said the food products company has “superior” fundamentals. “We think MDLZ can hit its growth algorithm, even once pricing tailwinds ease.” RBC downgrades Gilead to sector weight from overweight RBC said in its downgrade of the stock that the thesis will take time to “play out.” ” GILD’s mgmt has done an admirable job de-risking the medium term HIV revenue stream, revitalizing the cell therapy franchise, and laying solid groundwork for LT diversification into new areas of oncology.” KBW names KKR a top 2023 pick KBW named KKR a top idea in 2023 and says the private equity investment company has “fundamental strength.” “Our preference is for companies with unique fundamental strengths at undemanding valuations.” Wolfe downgrades T-Mobile to peer perform from outperform Wolfe said it’s concerned about slowing industry growth. “While T-Mobile remains a great story, we are concerned about slowing industry subscriber growth, fading Sprint churn benefits, long-term capital needs for home Internet, a “fair but full” consensus, and downside risk in the multiple.” Wells Fargo downgrades Molson Coors to underweight from equal weight Wells said in its downgrade of the stock that it sees downside to estimates. “We downgrade TAP to Underweight from Equal Weight as we see significant downside to Street estimates in 2023, and potential valuation reverts to the low-end of historical ranges.” Guggenheim names Dollar General a top idea Guggenheim said the company is well positioned for a downturn. “We are designating DG as our new Best Idea, replacing PFGC, on the belief that a leading value-oriented and exceptionally well-run consumables retailer will outperform in the initial stages of an economic downturn.” Baird names Wells Fargo a top 2023 pick Baird said it likes the risk/reward for the banking giant in 2023. “We generally prefer more inexpensive names where expectations are the lowest and believe the most negativity and hence opportunity exists in the consumer finance space (COF and AXP), and believe CMA, FITB, and WFC represent the better bank risk/reward trade-offs at current prices.” Correction: Wells Fargo’s underweight call on Molson Coors has been updated. An earlier version misstated the change.

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Russian outrage grows after strike kills dozens of troops in Ukraine

January 3, 2023 Published by

Latest & Breaking News on Fox News 

A growing number of Russians have begun lashing out at the country’s military leadership after dozens of Russian soldiers were killed in a strike against their position by Ukrainian forces.

“The Russian people are justifiably angry at the commanders and Moscow leaders as their young men and boys are dying by the thousands in this war,” Rebekah Koffler, a former DIA intelligence officer and the author of “Putin’s Playbook: Russia’s Secret Plan to Defeat America,” told Fox News Digital.

Koffler’s comments come as Russian nationalists and even some lawmakers have demanded punishment for military commanders, according to a Reuters report Tuesday, accusing military leaders of ignoring the dangers of hosting troops near a storage facility that was an obvious target for a Ukrainian strike.

RUSSIA ADMITS HEAVY CASUALTIES IN UKRAINIAN STRIKE ON OCCUPIED DONETSK REGION; 63 RUSSIAN SOLDIERS KILLED

The outrage began after a rare Russian Defense Ministry disclosure admitted that 63 Russian soldiers were killed in a New Year’s Eve attack on a temporary barracks in the Russian-occupied regional capital of Donetsk, one of the deadliest attacks on Russian troops since the war began over 10 months ago. 

Gatherings to honor dead troops popped up in multiple cities across the country in response to the attack, with mourners in the city of Samara placing flowers in the city center.

“I haven’t slept for three days, Samara hasn’t slept. We are constantly in touch with the wives of our guys. It’s very hard and scary. But we can’t be broken. Grief unites … We will not forgive, and, definitely, victory will be ours,” Yekaterina Kolotovkina, a representative of a women’s council at an army unit, told mourners at one of the gatherings, according to Reuters.

‘FROZEN CONFLICT’: A LOOK BACK AT 2022’S KEY MOMENTS IN UKRAINE’S FIGHT WITH RUSSIA

Koffler believes the setback is unlikely to dissuade Russia from continuing to put troops at risk, arguing that the country’s culture prioritizes the collective over individual soldiers. 

“The fact that large numbers of personnel were housed close-by to the storage of military hardware, making this location an ideal target for Ukrainian strikes is not exactly due to incompetence of the Russian military leadership,” Koffler said. “It’s due to negligence. They simply don’t care.”

“The Russian culture prioritizes sacrifice for mother Russia rather than the sanctity of life. Lives of individual soldiers don’t matter on the big scheme of things – that is the mentality,” she continued. “Putin and his regime will continue to throw young soldiers in the meat grinder to achieve the Kremlin’s strategic goal – keep Ukraine out of NATO.”

 

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Tesla shares tumble more than 10% following deliveries report

January 3, 2023 Published by

US Top News and Analysis 

In this article

TSLA

Tesla vehicles are shown at a sales and service center in Vista, California, June 3, 2022.
Mike Blake | Reuters

Shares of Tesla dropped 13% on Tuesday morning, a day after the electric auto maker reported fourth-quarter vehicle production and delivery numbers for 2022.

Deliveries are the closest approximation of sales disclosed by Tesla. The company reported 405,278 total deliveries for the quarter and 1.31 million total deliveries for the year. These numbers represented a record for the Elon Musk-led automaker and growth of 40% in deliveries year over year, but they fell shy of analysts’ expectations.

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Some analysts see a buying opportunity in Tesla for 2023 despite persistent demand pressures
5 hours ago

According to a consensus of analysts’ estimates compiled by FactSet, as of Dec. 31, 2022, Wall Street was expecting Tesla to report around 427,000 deliveries for the final quarter of the year. Estimates updated in December, and included in the FactSet consensus, ranged from 409,000 to 433,000.

Those more recent estimates were in line with a company-compiled consensus distributed by Tesla investor relations Vice President Martin Viecha. 

Some Wall Street analysts think Tesla’s deliveries miss spells trouble for the electric vehicle maker, but others see a buying opportunity for the company in 2023.

Baird analyst Ben Kallo, who recently named Tesla a top pick for 2023, maintained an outperform rating and said he would remain a buyer of the stock ahead of the company’s earnings report, which is scheduled for Jan. 25.

“Q4 deliveries missed consensus but beat our estimates,” he said in a Tuesday note. “Importantly, production increased ~20% q/q which we expect to continue into 2023 as gigafactories in Berlin and Austin continue to ramp.”

Analysts at Goldman Sachs said they consider the delivery report to be an “incremental negative,” and view Tesla as a company that is “well positioned for long-term growth.” Goldman reiterated its buy rating on the stock in a Monday note and said that making vehicles more affordable in a challenging macroeconomic environment will be a “key driver of growth.”

“We believe key debates from here will be on whether vehicle deliveries can reaccelerate, margins and Tesla’s brand,” the analysts said.

Shares of Tesla suffered an extreme yearlong sell-off in 2022, prompting CEO Musk to tell employees in late December not to be “too bothered by stock market craziness.”

Musk has blamed Tesla’s declining share price in part on rising interest rates. But critics point to his rocky $44 billion Twitter takeover as a bigger culprit for the slide.

Morgan Stanley analysts said they think the company’s share price weakness is a “window of opportunity to buy.”

“Between a worsening macro backdrop, record high unaffordability, and increasing competition, there are hurdles for all auto companies to overcome in the year ahead,” they said in a note Tuesday. “However, within this backdrop we believe TSLA has the potential to widen its lead in the EV race, as it leverages its cost and scale advantages to further itself from the competition.”

— CNBC’s Lora Kolodny and Michael Bloom contributed to this report.

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Incoming Republican rep: Santos a distraction to GOP

January 3, 2023 Published by

Just In | The Hill 

Rep.-elect Mike Lawler (R-N.Y.) said the conduct from his fellow New York Republican, Rep.-elect George Santos, is a distraction to the GOP. 

“His conduct is embarrassing and unbecoming, and it is certainly a distraction,” Lawler told CNN’s Kaitlan Collins in an interview on “CNN This Morning” on Tuesday. 

Lawler pointed to comments he previously made calling on Santos to fully cooperate with the investigations into him after the revelation came out that Santos made multiple false statements about his educational, work and personal background while running for the House. 

Lawler’s remarks came after Brazilian authorities reopened a criminal fraud investigation into Santos over allegations that he used a stolen checkbook and a fake name. 

Santos is also facing investigations from the federal government over his finances and the Nassau County district attorney over his false claims about himself. 

“His election has been certified so he will be seated in this Congress, but ultimately, obviously, we will see what the investigations come back with,” Lawler said. 

Democrats have called on Santos to step aside from his House seat and not be sworn in following the reports of his fabrications. 

Santos admitted to several false claims in an interview with The New York Post nearly two weeks ago, admitting that he did not graduate from Baruch College in New York, did not work at Citigroup or Goldman Sachs and is not Jewish. 

He has said that he did not claim to be Jewish and only said he was “Jew-ish” because of Jewish heritage in his family, but he claimed to be a “proud American Jew” in a position paper during his campaign. 

Lawler also said in the interview that House GOP leader Kevin McCarthy (Calif.) will have the votes he needs to become speaker ahead of Tuesday’s vote. 

“At the end of the day, the conference will dictate who is the speaker, not any one individual member,” he said. 

McCarthy has been negotiating with Republicans skeptical of him serving as speaker to try to gather enough support to win the speakership, but it is uncertain whether he will receive enough votes to win. He has made several concessions in the House rules that a handful of Republicans have demanded to be willing to support McCarthy. 

Lawler said the American people are “not interested in this petty fight” ongoing and are more interested in the laws that Congress passes than the rules it has.

​House, false statements, George Santos, Investigations, Mike Lawler Read More 

B-21 Raider’s secrets, 5 media stars who need a wake-up call and more Fox News Opinion

January 3, 2023 Published by

Latest & Breaking News on Fox News 

TUCKER CARLSON – Despite the sense of ‘impending doom’ there are a lot of good things going on in the world… Watch here…

SET YOUR CLOCK RADIOS – 5 media stars who need a wake-up call in 2023… Continue reading…

NEXT ‘TOP GUN’ – America’s new B-21 Raider has 4 big secrets China wants to steal… Continue reading…

BIDEN’S BORDER CRISIS – Our immigration courts have a 2,023,441 case backlog and it’s more than we can handle… Continue reading…

NEWT GINGRICH, BOBBY JINDAL – Four paradoxes of health care reform: Conservatives can take moral and political high ground… Continue reading…

NOT GONNA HAPPEN? – Is Pete Buttigieg’s political future grounded forever after the Southwest holiday travel disaster?… Continue reading…

WATCH: JIMMY FAILLA — New York Times op-ed proclaims that ‘short people’ are better for the environment! What? It’s a new year but the same old junk… See the video

VIKING VALUES TO THE RESCUE – These Viking virtues can help defeat woke enemies of America … Continue reading…

SORRY, NOT SORRY – Liberal media meltdown over George Santos but won’t admit Biden is serial liar…  Continue reading…

VIDEO OF THE DAY – Former Rep. Tulsi Gabbard, previously a Democrat, joins ‘Sunday Night in America with Trey Gowdy’ to discuss how Congress can regain public trust… Watch now…

NEW FOUNDING FATHER? – Will we name billionaire Elon Musk a new Founding Father?… Continue reading…

AMERICAN’S LIFESPANS SHRINKING – Life is getting shorter in America, and the CDC is to blame… Continue reading…

WATCH: CLAY TRAVIS – OutKick founder Clay Travis says Hamlin’s collapse showcased the ‘serious things in the world of sports’… See video… 

CAL THOMAS – What we’ve learned in 100 years since 1923… Continue reading… 

CARTOON OF THE DAY – Sending Prayers Check out all of our political cartoons…

 

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Jennifer Lopez ends 2022 by sharing pictures from wedding with Ben Affleck

January 3, 2023 Published by

Latest & Breaking News on Fox News 

Actress and singer Jennifer Lopez shared never-before-seen photos on social media of her wedding with fellow celebrity Ben Affleck as she reflected on her favorite moments of 2022. 

On New Year’s Day, Lopez shared a video compilation with clips and photos of “one of the best years yet” that showed her private wedding with Affleck in Las Vegas over the summer. 

“[2022] was one of the best years yet!!! I cannot wait for all that’s to come next year …#HappyNewYear#ImJustGettingStarted#WaitingForTonight#ThisIsMeNow,” Lopez wrote in the caption. 

The two stars officially married on July 16 in a private ceremony in Las Vegas before their second ceremony a month later with family and friends at a property in Georgia. 

JENNIFER LOPEZ AND BEN AFFLECK SPEND CHRISTMAS TOGETHER WITH ‘BLENDED FAMILIES’

Lopez and Affleck reportedly started dating again in April 2021 after previously having a romance during the early 2000s. A year later, the couple officially announced they were engaged. 

Her New Year video includes highlights of each month of 2022. For April, the 53-year-old star can be seen smiling with her green engagement ring as her May highlight shows her reviewing wedding illustrations. 

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Moreover, the couple can also be seen celebrating a birthday for the “Marry me” star’s twin children, Emme and Max, whom Lopez shares with ex-husband Marc Anthony. 

The year-round highlight also shows Lopez earning the 2022 MTV Movie & TV Awards in June and accepting the Icon Award at the iHeartRadio Music Awards in March.

<img src="” title=”Jennifer Lopez ends 2022 by sharing pictures from wedding with Ben Affleck” /> 

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