Stocks jumped in early trading Thursday as investors shrugged off fears of higher interest rates. The 10-year yield pulled back from a 4-year high, which caused some investors to push the sell button towards the end of the trading day Wednesday. John Petrides, Managing Director & Portfolio Manager at Point View Wealth Management was with us to give us the good and the bad of the current state of the markets.
Investors aren't too complacent. He said they were in 2017. Volatility over the last 3 weeks has brought everyone back to a "normalized state," according to Petrides. He believes the market is pricing in the possibility of a fourth rate hike, adding to the volatility.
Even in a rising rate environment, Petrides thinks stocks can still rise. He said the markets have been propped up by the Fed, but now stocks will have to growth through strong earnings and demand for their goods and services.
Nestlé has dismissed its CEO Laurent Freixe after an investigation into an undisclosed relationship with a direct subordinate. The company announced on Monday that the dismissal was effective immediately. An investigation found that Freixe violated Nestlé’s code of conduct. He had been CEO for a year. Philipp Navratil, a longtime Nestlé executive, will replace him. Chairman Paul Bulcke stated that the decision was necessary to uphold the company’s values and governance. Navratil began his career with Nestlé in 2001 and has held various roles, including CEO of Nestlé's Nespresso division since 2024.
Kraft Heinz is splitting into two companies a decade after they joined in a massive merger that created one of the biggest food companies on the planet. One of the companies will include brands such as Heinz, Philadelphia cream cheese and Kraft Mac & Cheese. The other will include brands like Oscar Mayer, Kraft Singles and Lunchables. When the company formed in 2015 it wanted to capitalize on its massive scale, but shifting tastes complicated those plans, with households seeking to introduce healthier options at the table. Kraft Heinz's net revenue has fallen every year since 2020.
About 780,000 pressure washers sold at retailers like Home Depot are being recalled across the U.S. and Canada, due to a projectile hazard that has resulted in fractures and other injuries among some consumers.
President Donald Trump has fired one of two Democratic members of the U.S. Surface Transportation Board to break a 2-2 tie ahead of the board considering the largest railroad merger ever proposed.
