👜 Dior's Dilemma

Plus, pharmacy benefit managers are in big trouble

Happy Wednesday afternoon to everyone on The Street. Here's a snapshot of where markets ended the trading session, plus tomorrow's trade idea delivered to you today.

  • 🟩 | US Stocks Rose on Wednesday. The S&P 500 rose 1% today off the back of strong gains among semiconductor stocks, causing the index to break above 5,600 for the first time.

  • 📈 | One Notable Gainer: Shares of Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing rose 4% after the chip maker reported a 32.9% increase in sales for the month of June compared to the year-ago period.

  • 📉 | One Notable Decliner: 10X Genomics saw its stock plummet 14% after its competitor, Fluent BioSciences, was acquired by Illumina, one of the biggest names in the industry.

  • 👜 | Tomorrow's Trade: Dior’s Dilemma. Scroll down for more.

Plus, did you know some credit cards can actually help you get out of debt faster?

YESTERDAY’S POLL RESULTS

🟩🟩🟩🟩🟩🟩 Bullish 🐂 

🟨⬜️⬜️⬜️⬜️⬜️ Bearish 🐻 

S&P 500 Heatmap. Credit: Finviz

All Stock Heatmap. Credit: Finviz

Global ADR snapshot. Credit: Finviz

MARKET MOVERS

ILMN (+6%) Biotech company Illumina saw its stock rise after acquiring Fluent to accelerate single-cell studies and broaden its customer base (YF)

TEVA (+7%) Argus upgraded Teva Pharmaceuticals to Buy, citing the company’s robust product pipeline and growth in its three primary business areas (SA)

HUBS (-12%) Shares of HubSpot plummeted following a report that Alphabet is shelving interest in acquiring the software company (CNBC)

DECK (-5%) Deckers Outdoor saw its stock drop after M Science claimed that it sees “notable deceleration” in Hoka and Ugg sales growth in June (SA)

AMD (+4%) Advanced Micro Devices announced that it will buy Finnish start-up Silo AI for $665 million in an attempt to compete with Nvidia (FT)

TOGETHER WITH FINANCE BUZZ

Did you know some credit cards can actually help you get out of debt faster? Yes, it sounds crazy. But it’s true. The secret: Find a card with a “0% intro APR" period for balance transfers. Then, transfer your debt balance and pay it down as much as possible during the intro period. No interest means you could pay off the debt faster.

OVERHEARD ON THE STREET

YF: Walmart plans to open five automated distribution centers for fresh food across the country in order to maintain grocery dominance.

CNBC: Applications to refinance a home dropped last week for the fourth straight week, down 2%, despite homeowners sitting on $17 trillion in equity.

Fox Business: BMW recalled over 390,000 vehicles in the US because of defective airbag inflators that may explode upon deployment.

CNBC: Investor and fund manager Bill Gross stated that “Tesla is acting like a meme stock — sagging fundamentals, straight up price action.”

YF: Samsung is jumping into the smart ring race with its Galaxy Ring, which will have AI-enabled health tracking.

TOMORROW’S TRADE IDEA, TODAY

Not So Luxurious

A recent investigation by a Milan court revealed that Christian Dior, owned by LVMH (LVMUY), has been making its designer handbags in unhealthy working conditions to keep up with demand. The bags, sold for around $2,800, cost the company just about $57 to produce. 

The facility in question was recently raided as part of a broader investigation into the Italian fashion supply chain.

Addressing the Issue

Fixing the problem would take a massive investment in building new facilities to keep production in-house. Alternatively, Dior could opt to pay its suppliers more and keep a better watch over them. Both options will result in lower profits. 

Bernstein analyst Luca Solca estimates that Dior might spend around 23% of its sales on producing its products. However, the real figure could be even lower in light of the recent investigation.

A PR Nightmare

LVMH has yet to release a statement on the recent headlines, but this has certainly been a PR nightmare, especially considering it recently raised its prices. Now, consumers are taking to social media to question what they’re paying for when they spend thousands on these high-end products. 

A dozen other luxury brands are also under investigation for similar reasons, so the issue isn’t exclusive to LVMH brands. Depending on how the dilemma is handled, profits for some luxury companies could take a hit.

Which route do you think Christian Dior will choose?

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TOGETHER WITH FINANCE BUZZ

Did you know some credit cards can actually help you get out of debt faster? Yes, it sounds crazy. But it’s true. The secret: Find a card with a “0% intro APR" period for balance transfers. Then, transfer your debt balance and pay it down as much as possible during the intro period. No interest means you could pay off the debt faster.

ON OUR RADAR

NYT: The FTC slammed pharmacy benefit managers (PBMs) in a scathing 71-page report that claimed they profit by inflating drug costs.

BI: French quant firm Capital Fund Management is expanding into the US, where the $15.3 billion firm sees massive opportunities.

CNN: Public outrage is mounting in China over a state-owned food company that’s been cutting costs by using tankers for both fuel and cooking oil.

FA: Americans’ non-mortgage payments, such as those for credit cards and auto loans, have reached their highest level since 2008.

NYP: Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen claims she goes to the grocery store every week and isn’t shocked by the prices.

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