Category: US

Dollar General’s former CEO Todd Vasos is coming out of retirement to helm the company, which aims to rebound from slowing growth and allegations of unsafe working conditions.

Vasos, who served as the discounter’s CEO between June 2015 to November 2022, will replace Jeff Owen effective immediately, the company announced on Thursday.

“The Board has tremendous respect for Jeff and greatly appreciates his many contributions to the Company, especially during his long tenure leading our retail operations,” said Michael Calbert, the chairman of the company’s board, in a statement. “However, at this time, the Board has determined that a change in leadership is necessary to restore stability and confidence in the Company moving forward.”

Owen had been in the role for less than a year. During that time, Dollar General has seen a slowdown in its sales growth and has faced criticism from federal officials and activists for having unsafe stores that put employees at risk.

The company, which is rapidly adding stores and exanding its footprint, has more than 19,000 locations in 47 states. Dollar General has more than 185,000 full- and part-time employees.

Dollar General shares jumped more than 6% in extended trading Thursday.

When it last reported earnings, Dollar General cut its full-year profit guidance. It did so again Thursday, and said it was now expecting earnings per share of about $7.10 to $7.60, compared to its previous expectation of $7.10 to $8.30.

Dollar General also said it anticipates net sales growth of 1.5% to 2.5%, revised from a previous expectation of 1.3% to 3.3%.

The company said it expects same-store sales to be in a range of flat to down 1% this year, versus a prior expectation of a 1% decline to a 1% increase.

Vasos said in a statement he is “honored” to rejoin the company at such a “pivotal time.”

“I look forward to getting back to work with the broader team as we strive to return to a position of operational excellence for our employees and customers and deliver sustainable long-term growth and value creation for our shareholders,” said Vasos.

Slowing sales have come amid pressure from employees and activists over working conditions. In May, shareholders passed a resolution, over the objections of the company’s board, to start an independent audit into worker safety. But it was unclear if the measure was binding and whether the company would carry it out.

Dollar General has accumulated more than $21 million in fines from federal officials for issues including blocked fire exits, blocked electrical outlets and clutter.

At the time the shareholder resolution passed, a Dollar General spokesperson said the company aims “to create a work environment where employees are able to grow their careers, serve their local communities and feel valued and heard, and we encourage employees to share their feedback through the many company-provided channels so that we can listen and work together to address concerns and challenges, as well as to celebrate successes.”

Sen. Bob Menendez has been accused of accepting bribes and acting as a foreign agent for Egypt, according to a superseding federal indictment filed Thursday.

For more than four years through June 2022, Menendez, D-N.J., along with his wife and others, “willfully and knowingly combined, conspired, confederated, and agreed together and with each other” to have the senator act as an agent for the Egyptian government, the indictment alleges.

The indictment also alleges that Menendez, who is up for reelection next year, “provided sensitive U.S. government information and took other steps that secretly aided” Egypt’s government.

Menendez and his wife received thousands of dollars in bribes “in exchange for Menendez’s acts and breaches of duty to benefit” Egypt and others, “including with respect to foreign military sales and foreign military financing,” the indictment says.

It’s the latest federal criminal accusation against Menendez. The longtime New Jersey lawmaker and his wife, Nadine, were previously indicted in New York on federal charges related to their alleged “corrupt relationship” with three businessmen from their home state to protect those men and benefit the nation of Egypt.

A spokesperson for Menendez did not respond to CNBC’s request for comment. A representative for the Egyptian embassy did not respond to CNBC’s email seeking comment.

Later Thursday, Menendez issued a statement criticizing the new allegations.

“The government’s latest charge flies in the face of my long record of standing up for human rights and democracy in Egypt and in challenging leaders of that country, including President El-Sisi on these issues. I have been, throughout my life, loyal to only one country — the United States of America, the land my family chose to live in democracy and freedom,” he said.

“Piling new charge upon new charge does not make the allegations true. The facts haven’t changed, only a new charge. It is an attempt to wear someone down and I will not succumb to this tactic. I again ask people who know me and my record to give me the chance to present my defense and show my innocence,” he added.

Menendez has denied wrongdoing and has rejected calls to resign from the Senate. New Jersey Gov. Phil Murphy and many of Menendez’s Democratic colleagues in the Senate have also called on him to resign, including fellow New Jersey Sen. Cory Booker. Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., has stopped short of demanding Menendez to step down, however.

Sen. John Fetterman, D-Pa., said in a statement after the superseding indictment that it was time for the Senate to expel Menendez. “We cannot have an alleged foreign agent in the United States Senate,” Fetterman said. Rep. Andy Kim, D-N.J., who said he will run for Menendez’s Senate seat, echoed Fetterman’s call for an expulsion.

Menendez has said he will announce whether he will formally launch a campaign when the time comes. Democrats hold a narrow majority in the Senate that will be up for grabs next year.

This is not the first time Menendez has faced federal corruption charges.

In 2017, a case against Menendez, who was accused of doing favors in exchange for gifts, ended in a mistrial.

At the time, Menendez broke down in tears as he addressed supporters after the mistrial, declaring the day as a “Resurrection Day” for his political career. He won reelection the next year.

In theory, getting inflation closer to the Federal Reserve’s 2% target doesn’t sound terribly difficult.

The main culprits are related to services and shelter costs, with many of the other components showing noticeable signs of easing. So targeting just two areas of the economy doesn’t seem like a gargantuan task compared to, say, the summer of 2022 when basically everything was going up.

In practice, though, it could be harder than it looks.

Prices in those two pivotal components have proven to be stickier than food and gas or even used and new cars, all of which tend to be cyclical as they rise and fall with the ebbs and flows of the broader economy.

Instead, getting better control of rents, medical care services and the like could take … well, you might not want to know.

“You need a recession,” said Steven Blitz, chief U.S. economist at GlobalData TS Lombard. “You’re not going to magically get down to 2%.”

Annual inflation as measured by the consumer price index fell to 3.7% in September, or 4.1% if you kick out volatile food and energy costs, the latter of which has been rising steadily of late. While both numbers are still well ahead of the Fed’s goal, they represent progress from the days when headline inflation was running north of 9%.

The CPI components, though, told of uneven progress, helped along by an easing in items such as used-vehicle prices and medical care services but hampered by sharp increases in shelter (7.2%) and services (5.7% excluding energy services).

Drilling down further, rent of shelter also rose 7.2%, rent of primary residence was up 7.4%, and owners’ equivalent rent, pivotal figures in the CPI computation that indicates what homeowners think they could get for their properties, increased 7.1%, including a 0.6% gain in September.

Without progress on those fronts, there’s little chance of the Fed achieving its goal anytime soon.

“The forces that are driving the disinflation among the various bits and micro pieces of the index eventually give way to the broader macro force, which is rising, which is above-trend growth and low unemployment,” Blitz said. “Eventually that will prevail until a recession comes in, and that’s it, there’s nothing really much more to say than that.”

On the bright side, Blitz is among those in the consensus view that see any recession being fairly shallow and short. And on the even brighter side, many Wall Street economists, Goldman Sachs among them, are coming around to the view that the much-anticipated recession may not even happen.

In the interim, though, uncertainty reigns.

“Sticky-price” inflation, a measure of things such as rents, various services and insurance costs, ran at a 5.1% pace in September, down a full percentage point from May, according to the Cleveland Fed. Flexible CPI, including food, energy, vehicle costs and apparel, ran at just a 1% rate. Both represent progress, but still not a goal achieved.

Markets are puzzling over what the central bank’s next step will be: Do policymakers slap on another rate hike for good measure before year-end, or do they simply stick to the relatively new higher-for-longer script as they watch the inflation dynamics unfold?

“Inflation that is stuck at 3.7%, coupled with the strong September employment report, could be enough to prompt the Fed to indeed go for one more rate hike this year,” said Lisa Sturtevant, chief economist for Bright MLS, a Maryland-based real estate services firm. “Housing is the key driver of the elevated inflation numbers.”

Higher interest rates’ biggest impact has been on the housing market in terms of sales and financing costs. Yet prices are still elevated, with concern that the high rates will deter construction of new apartments and keep supply constrained.

Those factors “will only lead to higher rental prices and worsening affordability conditions in the long run,” wrote Christopher Bruen, senior director of research at the National Multifamily Housing Council. “Rising rates threaten the strength of the broader job market and economy, which has not yet fully digested the rate hikes already enacted.”

The notion that rate increases totaling 5.25 percentage points have yet to wind their way through the economy is one factor that could keep the Fed on hold.

That, however, goes back to the idea that the economy still needs to cool before the central bank can complete the final mile of its race to bring down inflation to the 2% target.

One positive in the Fed’s favor is that pandemic-related factors largely have washed out of the economy. But other factors linger.

“Pandemic-era effects have a natural gravitational pull and we’ve seen that take place over the course of the year,” said Marta Norton, chief investment officer for the Americas at Morningstar Wealth. “However, bringing inflation the remainder of the distance to the 2% target requires economic cooling, no easy feat, given fiscal easing, the strength of the consumer and the general financial health in the corporate sector.”

Fed officials expect the economy to slow this year, though they have backed off an earlier call for a mild recession.

Policymakers have been banking on the notion that when existing rental leases expire, they will be renegotiated at lower prices, bringing down shelter inflation. However, the rising shelter and owners’ equivalent rent numbers are running counter to that thinking even though so-called asking rent inflation is easing, said Stephen Juneau, U.S. economist at Bank of America.

“Therefore, we must wait for more data to see if this is just a blip or if there is something more fundamental driving the increase such as higher rent increases in larger cities offsetting softer increases in smaller cities,” Juneau said in a note to clients Thursday. He added that the CPI report “is a reminder that we do not have good historic examples to lean on” for long-term patterns in rent inflation.

It’s encouraging to see three Club stocks on the bullish side of Goldman Sachs’ new list of 25 tactical trades for earnings season.

Inter Miami co-owner and President David Beckham backs a takeover of his original club Manchester United.

“At the moment, there’s no stability,” the longtime former midfielder for the Premier League club told CNBC’s “Squawk on the Street” in an interview aired Thursday. “It’s the right time for somebody to take over.”

Beckham also dispelled reports that he would serve as an ambassador for Manchester United in a potential sale to Qatar’s Sheikh Jassim Bin Hamad Al Thani. Beckham previously served as World Cup ambassador last year in a deal with Qatar.

“At the moment there’s been no discussion. I have had a long-standing relationship with Qatar because of my involvement with PSG … but there’s been no discussion at the moment,” Beckham said, referencing the French club Paris Saint-Germain, where he played at the end of his career around the time the Qatar Sports Investments group bought the team.

During the CNBC interview, Beckham also discussed his various other ventures, including his ongoing business partnership with Authentic Brands CEO Jamie Salter. Authentic Studios, under Authentic Brands was behind the creation of the newly released Netflix docuseries, “Beckham,” which chronicles Beckham’s rise to superstardom and his marriage to Victoria Beckham. Authentic Brands previously took a majority stake in Beckham’s brand management firm, DB Ventures, in 2022.

Beckham’s success at Manchester United is featured prominently in the documentary.

The club has had a tumultuous last few years under the leadership of the American Glazer family, who took control of the Premiere League club in 2005. The team went six years without winning a trophy before it won the English League Cup this year.

In November last year, Manchester United announced star player Cristiano Ronaldo would leave the team following an interview where he criticized manager Erik ten Hag and the Glazer family. Ronaldo spent only one year with the club during his second stint there.

Manchester United is currently ranked 10th in the Premier League and sits at a record of four wins and four losses.

Soccer club Inter Miami, of which Beckham is part owner, signed a landmark deal with soccer superstar Lionel Messi earlier this year. Managing owner Jorge Mas said in July that he expects the signing to double revenues of the soccer club over the next year.