Business News

Fitbit, owned by Google, is withdrawing its Ionic smartwatches due to the risk of burns, the US Consumer Product Safety Commission announced on Wednesday.

About 1 million Ionic watches have been sold in the United States, along with nearly 700,000 sold internationally, the agency said.

Lithium-ion batteries in smart watches can overheat, which can cause burns, the CPSC said. Consumers should immediately stop using Ionic watches and contact Fitbit to begin returning the device, the CPSC said. Upon return of the device, users will be refunded $ 299 and a discount code for a 40% discount on selected Fitbit devices.

Fitbit has received at least 115 reports in the United States of overheating battery in the watch, with 78 reports of burn injuries, two reports of third-degree burns and four reports of second-degree burns, the agency said. Internationally, the company received 59 reports of overheating, with 40 reports of burn injuries.

A Fitbit spokesman said burns were rare. The download does not extend to other smart watches or fitness trackers of the company.

Google announced in 2019 that it would acquire Fitbit for about $ 2.1 billion at a fully diluted equity value. The deal, which ended last year, was aimed at helping boost Google’s presence in the wearable market.

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Ralph Lauren said on Wednesday that his executive vice president and chief commercial officer, Howard Smith, would resign as soon as the retailer learned of allegations of his personal behavior.

After learning of the allegations, the audit committee of the board of directors launched an independent investigation with the help of an external adviser, Ralph Lauren said in documents to the Securities and Exchange Commission.

The investigation revealed behavior that violates Ralph Lauren’s code of business conduct, ethics and other policies, it said.

Smith did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

Smith has been with the company for just under 20 years, according to his LinkedIn account, and has held various positions, including Ralph Lauren, vice president of logistics and senior vice president of global supply chain.

His profile page on Ralph Lauren’s corporate website was already blank on Wednesday morning.

Ralph Lauren stressed in the SEC document that the resignation is not related to his financial reporting and business results.

Ralph Lauren added that regional leaders, who are already monitoring day-to-day business, will report temporarily directly to CEO and President Patrice Louve.

This is the second retailer to lose a senior manager this week for misconduct. Cosmetics company Estee Lauder said Monday that it fired CEO John Demsey, days after he admitted a racist meme to a personal social media account.

Ralph Lauren, meanwhile, is taking a slight turn at Louve. In February, the retailer reported fiscal revenues for the third quarter that exceeded analysts’ expectations, thanks in large part to the CEO’s efforts to sell more goods at full prices.

Luxury retailers benefited greatly during the pandemic from the desire of wealthier consumers to scatter handbags, clothing and high-end accessories.

Check out some of the biggest manufacturers in the pre-market:

Nordstrom – Retail shares rose 30.5% in pre-market trading after the company posted better-than-expected results for the fourth quarter. Nordstrom reported earnings of $ 1.23 per share, compared to Refinitiv’s expected consensus estimate of $ 1.02. Revenues also exceeded expectations. The retailer highlighted the improvements in its off-price business, Nordstrom Rack.

Salesforce – Shares of Salesforce rose 4% on the market after the software company’s report for the fourth quarter exceeded Wall Street expectations and issued optimistic guidelines. The company posted adjusted earnings of 84 cents per share on revenue of $ 7.33 billion. Analysts had expected earnings of 74 cents per share on revenue of $ 7.24 billion, according to Refinitiv.

Ford – Ford shares added 4% to pre-market trading after the carmaker announced it would split its electric vehicle business and legacy businesses into separate units. The company expects the move to streamline its growing electric vehicle business and maximize profits.

SoFi – Shares of the digital financial services company rose 15.5% in pre-marketing after the quarterly report of SoFi. SoFi reported a loss of 15 cents per share on revenue of $ 279.9 million compared to Refinitiv’s consensus estimate of a loss of 17 cents per share on revenue of $ 279.3 million.

Ross Stores – Ross Stores added 6.3% to pre-market trading after falling profits. The retailer reported fourth-quarter earnings of $ 1.04 per share on revenue of $ 5.02 billion. Analysts had expected earnings of 87 cents per share on revenue of $ 4.96 billion.

Hewlett Packard Enterprise – Hewlett Packard shares added 5.5% pre-marketing after the company reported a slight decline in earnings for the last quarter, but missed quarterly earnings. Earnings of 53 cents a share for the quarter exceeded analysts’ estimates by 7 cents. Revenue of $ 6.96 billion was below the consensus estimate of $ 7.03 billion.

Abercrombie & Fitch – Shares of Abercrombie & Fitch fell 8.1% before the market after the retailer missed the highest and final ratings. The company posted adjusted earnings of $ 1.14 per share on revenue of $ 1.16 billion. Analysts had expected earnings of $ 1.27 per share on earnings of $ 1.18 billion, according to StreetAccount.

First Solar – Shares of First Solar sank 12.4% after the company missed expectations for earnings for the fourth quarter. The manufacturer of solar panels also issued weak guidelines for the whole year.

Dollar Tree – Dollar Tree shares were 1% higher before the market after a better than expected report for the fourth quarter. The company reported earnings of $ 2.01 per share compared to StreetAccount’s consensus estimate of $ 1.78 per share. Revenues slightly missed analysts’ forecasts.

DraftKings – Shares of DraftKings rose 2.3 percent before the bell, after Morgan Stanley called sports betting stocks the best choice. “We expect the online sports betting / iGaming market in the United States to be very large, with several winning market shares, including DKNG,” said Morgan Stanley.

Private job creation rose faster than expected in February, according to a census released Wednesday by payroll firm ADP.

The companies added 475,000 positions for the month, better than the Dow Jones estimate of 400,000.

ADP also dramatically revised its January issue, from an initial loss of 301,000 to a profit of 509,000. This upward revision of 810,000 led to a closer alignment with the Ministry of Labor for the month’s profit of 467,000.

Wednesday’s report notes that ADP conducted annual audits of its February census to bring it into line with census data and the Bureau of Labor Statistics. In other months, corrections have been observed over the past year, but none have been as large as in January 2022.

“Employment remains stable, but limited by reduced labor supply after the pandemic,” said ADP chief economist Nela Richardson. “Last month, large companies showed that they are well prepared to compete with higher wages and compensation proposals, and published the strongest record since the first days of the pandemic recovery.

Companies with 500 or more employees were responsible for almost all hires during the month, adding 552,000 positions. Companies with less than 50 employees reported a loss of 96,000, while medium-sized companies added only 18,000.

By sector, recreation and hospitality recorded the largest gains with an increase of 170,000. Trade, transport and utilities contributed 98,000, while professional and business services increased by 72,000.

On the goods side, production increased by 30,000 and construction added 26,000.

Although the two may differ significantly, the ADP number serves as a precursor to the more widely discussed BLS non-agricultural wage report coming out on Friday. Economists polled by Dow Jones expect the economy to create 440,000 jobs a month.

An influential energy alliance, known as OPEC +, will meet on Wednesday to determine the next phase of production policy.

This comes as crude prices rise to multi-year highs due to fears of supply disruptions and Russia’s escalating war with Ukraine.

OPEC and non-OPEC partners are due to meet at 12:30 London time. Energy analysts generally expect the producer alliance to stick to its plan to increase its quota for crude oil production by 400,000 barrels per day in April.

Ahead of the meeting, the International Energy Agency said it would continue with a global release of 60 million barrels to compensate for energy market disruptions caused by international sanctions against Russia over its war with Ukraine. The United States has said 30 million of that amount will come from the US Strategic Oil Reserve.

The release of oil from the United States and other IEA members reflects the magnitude of expected disruptions in global energy markets.

Brent oil futures traded at $ 109.18 a barrel on Wednesday morning, up about 4%. Brent rose to $ 113.02 a barrel earlier in the session, its highest level since June 2014.

Meanwhile, US futures in West Texas amounted to $ 107.44 per barrel, approximately 3.8% higher. The oil contract jumped to $ 110.67 earlier, its highest level since August 2013.

John Kildaff, a partner at Again Capital, described Russia’s war with Ukraine as “a dramatic moment for the market and the world, and supplies.” As a result, he called on the de facto leader of OPEC, Saudi Arabia, to use his spare capacity to help the world market, stand up to his non-OPEC partner, Russia, and support Ukraine.

“It’s time for Saudi Arabia to step up and be a friend who always claims to be for the United States and, frankly, their other customer base, especially in Asia,” Kildaff told CNBC’s Closing Bell on Tuesday.

“The Saudis have the power to silence some of this call, which we see for sure. They could easily put another 1 million to 2 million barrels of oil a day on the market with almost a push of a switch,” he said.

“I think they need to talk about doing and acting and being more pro-Western and pro-Ukraine on this issue, not with their business partner from Russia.”

OPEC alone accounts for about 40% of world oil supplies.

Sanctions imposed on Russia over its invasion of Ukraine have so far been carefully designed to avoid a direct impact on the country’s exports, although there are signs that the measures inadvertently encourage banks and traders to avoid Russian crude oil.

Should Western leaders impose sanctions on Russia’s energy exports, a move the White House says is “certainly on the table”, it would have far-reaching consequences for the global economy.

Russia is one of the world’s largest oil producers and the world’s second-largest natural gas producer.

US President Joe Biden warned Russian President Vladimir Putin in a speech on the state of the union on Tuesday that “there is no idea what lies ahead” shortly after a wave of Western oil companies announced plans to suspend Russian operations.

Alex Booth, head of research at Kpler, said the problem for OPEC + is that Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates are currently the only ones with free capacity to increase production.

“The danger is that if it’s within OPEC +, they’re showing their hand that they can’t actually do it at all. If Saudi Arabia and the UAE are going alone, then they are really fighting against the rest of the organization and then against Russia as well. So they are in a very difficult situation in the group, “Booth told CNBC Street Signs Europe on Wednesday.

Of course, there will be a lot of pressure from outside, but I think their answer is “okay, US, nothing is stopping you from producing too, why don’t you talk about what you can do in the domestic market to increase oil supplies” what we do. “

Analysts at the political risk consulting firm Eurasia Group said there were two factors for the Gulf countries, most of which are part of the OPEC + alliance: oil and geopolitics.

“Saudi Arabia and the UAE are unlikely to pursue political positions on the Russia-Ukraine conflict, which will eventually lead to a major rift in the oil market governance framework, which is key to long-term revenue stability,” they said. .

The Alliance of Producers is in the process of eliminating record supply cuts of approximately 10 million barrels per day. The historic downturn was introduced in April 2020 to help the energy market recover after the coronavirus pandemic reduced demand for crude oil.

Last month, OPEC + quickly decided to give the green light for the return of 400,000 barrels per day for March.

The group faces continued pressure from leading consumers such as the United States and India to pump more to lower prices and help economic recovery. However, the group opposed calls for a faster increase, despite rising oil prices.

Louise Dixon, a senior analyst at Rystad Energy’s oil market, said a significant SPR announcement from the United States and other importing countries on Tuesday was unlikely to affect OPEC +’s decision to increase its quota ceiling by 400,000 barrels a day in April.

However, the promise of OPEC + to increase supplies is currently a promise on paper, as our supply database shows that OPEC + members involved in the deal actually produce about 800,000 barrels per day below the stated target levels, which contributes for supply market shortages and further fueling the rising price environment, “Dixon said.

Stephen Branock, a senior analyst at London-based PVM Oil Associates, also said expectations were that OPEC + would likely “seal” an agreement to add another 400,000 barrels a day in April.

However, “doubts will be pervasive about whether he will be able to deliver on such a promise, given his recent experience in failing to meet its production targets,” he added.

Demand for mortgages stopped last week as interest rates peaked for many years, but that is likely to change quickly. Tariffs are now falling rapidly due to the Russian invasion of Ukraine.

According to the seasonally adjusted index of the Association of Mortgage Bankers, the volume of mortgage applications was almost equal compared to the previous week. Borrowers had no incentive to refinance, and home buyers continue to face high prices and a severe lack of ads.

The average agreed interest rate for 30-year fixed-rate mortgages with corresponding loan balances ($ 647,200 or less) increased to 4.15% from 4.06%, decreasing to 0.44 from 0.48 (including the grant fee) for loans with a 20% reduction payment.

Home loan refinancing applications increased by 1% for the week, but were still 56% lower than the same week a year ago. Interest rates were 92 basis points lower a year ago, so there were far fewer borrowers who could benefit from refinancing. The share of refinancing of the mortgage activity decreased to 49.9% of the total applications from 50.1% in the previous week.

Applications for mortgages to buy a home fell 2% for the week and were 9% lower during the year. Buyers are now seeing prices rise at the fastest pace in more than 45 years, up just over 19 percent from a year ago in January, according to a new report Tuesday by CoreLogic. As a result, the average loan amount increased to another record high of $ 454,400.

This trend is likely to change now due to a sharp drop in mortgage rates this week. The war in Ukraine has forced investors to rush into the bond market, leading to lower yields. Mortgage rates are weakly following the yield on the 10-year US Treasury. The average interest rate on the 30-year fixed has fallen by 28 basis points in the last two days alone, according to Mortgage News Daily.

Expectations this year were that interest rates would move steadily as the Federal Reserve eased purchases and holdings of mortgage bonds. The Fed has not made any changes to its plan so far, so it is possible that the decline in mortgage rates will be short. Lower mortgage rates will continue to push up house prices, especially given the drastic imbalance between record low supply and strong demand.