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Coffee With Greta: Recession Fears Still Rattling Traders

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DJIA Futures: -68 (-0.2%)

SPX Futures: -15 (-0.4%)

NASDAQ Futures: -78 (-0.7%)

Good morning friends!

Futures are sliding as traders continue to be rattled by recession fears. 

Let’s get right to it!

Mortgage Demand Slides Despite Lower Rates

Mortgage demand fell again last week even as rates dropped. 

The Mortgage Bankers Association reported overall application volume fell 1.9% on a weekly basis. 

Purchase applications fell 3% weekly and 40% year over year. 

While refinance applications actually rose 5% weekly but were still down 86% annually.

The average loan size for homebuyer applications fell to $387,300. 

That was consistent with an increase in FHA and USDA loan applications as well as cooling home prices. 

The average 30-year contract rate decreased to 6.41% last week from 6.49% the previous week. 

Toll Brothers Tops Fiscal Q4 Expectations

Toll Brothers (TOL) shares are up 1.1% in premarket trade after beating fiscal Q4 expectations. 

Here’s how the luxury homebuilder’s results compared to analysts’ expectations:

  • EPS: $5.63 vs $4.01 expected
  • Revenue: $3.71 billion vs $3.17 billion expected
  • Home sales revenue: $3.6 billion, up 21% year over year

But the company’s CEO warned higher mortgage rates are still a challenge for the housing market, saying, “Many homebuyers are on the sidelines, waiting for clarity on the direction of mortgage rates and the overall economy.”

Despite those higher rates, Toll Brothers sold more homes in the quarter. 

The company delivered 3,765 units in fiscal Q4, up from 3,341 units a year ago.

Campbell Soup Beats Fiscal Q1 Expectations, Raises Outlook

Campbell Soup (CPB) shares are up 3.6% ahead of the open after beating fiscal Q1 expectations and raising its full-year outlook. 

Here’s how the company’s results compared to analysts’ expectations:

  • EPS: $0.99 vs $0.88 expected
  • Net sales: $2.58 billion vs $2.45 billion expected

The CEO said, “Through a combination of inflation-driven pricing actions and productivity improvements, we have substantially mitigated significant inflationary pressure in the quarter while continuing to provide quality and value to consumers.”

Campbell Soup now expects 7% to 9% net sales growth in fiscal 2023 vs its previous forecast of 4% to 6%. 

The company also forecast $2.90 to $3.00 in full-year adjusted EPS vs $2.85 to $2.95 previously. 

Southwest Reinstates Dividend

Southwest Airlines (LUV) announced this morning it is reinstating its quarterly dividend after nearly 3 years. 

The company suspended those payments at the start of the pandemic in 2020. 

Then, federal aid provided to airlines for payroll during the pandemic prohibited dividends and share buybacks. 

But those restrictions have been lifted. 

Southwest said the 18-cent dividend will be paid after the market closes on January 31. 

CEO Bob Jordan said, “Today’s announcement reflects the strong return in demand for air travel and the Company’s solid operating and financial results since March 2022,”

The airline reiterated its Q4 guidance for revenue to be up as much as 17% over 2019. 

LUV shares are slipping 0.5% in premarket trade. 

Pinterest Adds Elliott Management Executive To Its Board

Pinterest (PINS) shares are up 2.1% ahead of the open after revealing it is adding an executive from activist investor group Elliott Management to its board. 

Marc Steinberg, a senior portfolio manager at Elliott, will join the board of directors on December 16. 

Pinterest’s CEO said, “I view this as an extraordinarily positive collaboration. Throughout my career across several businesses that I’ve built and led I’ve seen really great value from having the right thoughtful investor perspective at the table.”

Elliott Management is Pinterest’s largest shareholder, owning 20 million shares as Q3. 

Steinberg said, “Over the past several months, we’ve forged a productive partnership and the company has made significant progress on its strategic objectives. We believe that Bill and the Pinterest team are the right leaders to guide the company forward and we think they have only scratched the surface of the company’s potential.”

In Case You Missed It

  • Morgan Stanley (MS) reportedly cut about 2% of its global staff on Tuesday. Sources told CNBC those layoffs impacted about 1,600 employees across all divisions in the company. The report came after CEO James Gorman told Reuters last week the bank was gearing up for “modest cuts”.  

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