Traders work on the floor at the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE) in New York City, U.S., December 7, 2023.
Brendan Mcdermid | Reuters
Here are the most important news items that investors need to start their trading day:
1. Fed ahead
Stock futures are muted headed into a new week as investors await the final Federal Reserve meeting of 2023. The central bank will release its interest rate decision on Wednesday. Last month, the Fed left its benchmark rate unchanged, and Wall Street has been growing increasingly optimistic that it will do the same in December as efforts to bring down inflation without tipping the country into recession appear to be paying off. “Investors should hope that we stay higher, where we are now, for longer, and the Fed could just pause, snooze, for some time,” Ken Mahoney, chief executive officer at Mahoney Asset Management, told CNBC. Follow live market updates.
2. Year-end sale
Shopping bags in front of the Macy’s Inc. flagship store in the Herald Square area of New York, US, on Monday, Nov. 13, 2023. US holiday sales will grow at a slower pace this year amid economic headwinds such as higher interest rates, the National Retail Federation said.
Bing Guan | Bloomberg | Getty Images
As the holiday shopping season kicks into high gear, an investor group is adding Macy’s to its wishlist. Arkhouse Management and Brigade Capital Management have offered to take the department store retailer private at a price of $5.8 billion, sources told CNBC’s Gabrielle Fonrouge. That value, at about $21 per share, represents a premium to Macy’s Friday close of around $17 a share. Macy’s has been struggling to shore up its business in the face of booming e-commerce competition and operational challenges. As of Friday’s close, its stock is down more than 15% so far this year.
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3. Dog days of earnings
Safra Catz, CEO of Oracle Corporation, rings the opening bell at the New…
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