—— US Consumer Confidence Plunges; Home Price Gains Accelerate; Walgreens Hits 26-Year Low; Walmart Shuts Down Health Clinics; BlackRock and Saudi PIF Form JV; Apple Poaches Google AI Talent; Eli Lilly Raises Outlook, Shares Surge
1. US Consumer Confidence Plunges
The Conference Board reported today that U.S. consumer confidence in April fell to its lowest level since mid-2022.
Consumers’ expectations for the next six months dropped to their lowest point since July 2022, while perceptions of current economic conditions also declined.
CB Chief Economist Dana Peterson said consumers are increasingly pessimistic about the job market, corporate health, and wage growth. Persistent inflation—especially high food and gas prices—continues to weigh heavily on sentiment.
Low confidence is reflected in sluggish car and housing markets.
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2. Home Price Gains Accelerate
The S&P Case-Shiller Index showed U.S. home prices rose 6.4% year-over-year in February, up from January’s 6% gain.
Although inventory has increased recently, it remains well below historical averages, and buyer competition is still intense. High prices and mortgage rates are preventing more buyers from entering the market.
Prices in the top 20 U.S. metro areas rose 7.3% year-over-year, with San Diego leading at 11.4%, followed by Chicago and Detroit at 8.9%.
Over the past six months, Boston, New York, and Washington have seen the strongest price appreciation.
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3. Walgreens Hits 26-Year Low
Pharmacy chain Walgreens saw its stock fall 18% in April, approaching its lowest level in 26 years.
The company has struggled to reverse its operational downturn, recently lowering its full-year revenue guidance and facing a potential $2.7 billion back-tax bill from the IRS.
Walgreens has made several acquisitions over the past eight years, but now faces debt concerns and executive turnover. Many Wall Street fund managers have abandoned the stock.
In the past year, Walgreens has replaced its CEO, CFO, CIO, and Chief Medical Officer.
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4. Walmart Shuts Down Health Clinics
Walmart announced today it will close 51 health centers across five states and shut down its entire telehealth business.
Launched in 2019, the initiative aimed to build a network of low-cost clinics near Walmart stores to offer affordable and convenient care—but costs exceeded expectations.
Walmart will now focus on its 3,000 in-store vision centers and 4,600 pharmacies.
Walmart did not say how many employees will be laid off but hopes to place them in other departments.
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5. BlackRock and Saudi PIF Form JV
BlackRock announced today that Saudi Arabia’s Public Investment Fund (PIF) will invest up to $5 billion to help the asset manager build a Middle East investment team and source new projects.
The new joint venture, named BlackRock Riyadh Investment Management, will focus on both public and private markets.
BlackRock CEO Larry Fink said Saudi Arabia continues to attract global capital, and the growth of its capital markets can bring value to local communities.
PIF hopes to encourage more firms to launch teams and operations in the kingdom.
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6. Apple Poaches Google AI Talent
An investigation by the Financial Times found that Apple has been aggressively building its global AI and machine learning teams in recent years.
Former Google employees are especially targeted. Since 2018, Apple has hired at least 36 AI experts from Google, along with talent from Amazon and Microsoft.
While most of Apple’s AI teams are based in California and Seattle, it’s also expanding in Zurich.
The Zurich team is focused on developing more powerful large language models.
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7. Eli Lilly Raises Outlook, Shares Surge
Weight-loss drug giant Eli Lilly raised its full-year revenue forecast from $42.4 billion to $43.6 billion, thanks to strong sales of its diabetes drug Mounjaro and obesity treatment Zepbound.
Analysts expect annual GLP-1 drug sales to surpass $100 billion by 2030.
Boosted by blockbuster drugs, Eli Lilly’s market cap has surpassed $700 billion, making it the world’s most valuable pharmaceutical company.
Shares rose more than 5% this morning and are up 33% year-to-date.
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This content is sourced from Financial Times, Bloomberg, and The Real Deal, among other financial news outlets.