CNBC Business News Update - Market Midday: Stocks Higher, Interest Rate Cut Is Coming, USPS Eyes Changes 8/23/24

Episode Date: August 23, 2024

From Wall Street to Main Street, the latest on the markets and what it means for your money. Updated regularly on weekdays, featuring CNBC expert analysis and sound from top business newsmakers. Anchored and reported by CNBC's Jessica Ettinger.

I'm Jessica Edinger, CNBC. Wall Street's rallying this afternoon. Fed Chair Jay Powell suggested that lower interest rates are on the way. The Dow is up 269 points off its earlier high. The S&P 500 index above 5600, up 32 points. That's six tenths of one percent. And the Nasdaq up 153 points, just about nine tenths of one percent. And the NASDAQ up one hundred and fifty three points, just about nine tenths of one percent. The major averages are all in the green for the week now.

Companies whose shares hit fresh all time highs today include homebuilder D.R. Horton and Lenar, Discounter Raw Stores, Colgate-Palmolive, Berkshire Hathaway Class B shares and J.P. Morgan. Federal Reserve Chairman Jay Powell at the Jackson Hole Economic Summit said it is time to bring interest rates down. The economy continues to grow at a solid pace, but the inflation and labor market data show an evolving situation. The upside risks to inflation have diminished, and the downside risks to employment have increased. The time has come for policy to adjust. The direction of travel is clear and the timing and pace of rate cuts will depend on incoming data,

the evolving outlook, and the balance of risks. Fed Chair Jay Powell speaking this morning at the Jackson Hole Economic Summit, as heard live on CNBC. Just one industry has made about half of all corporate campaign donations so far in the 2024 presidential election cycle. And it's crypto. Tens of millions of dollars from the cryptocurrency industry, according to watchdog group Public Citizen. So far, this has really paid off of the 42 primary races. 36 of the candidates that had that pro-crypto super PAC money behind them won. And what's especially compelling here is the fact that the ad campaigns they put their money behind

didn't even mention crypto as your standard political jabs at the opposing candidate, which goes to show that it's not necessarily the issue of crypto that's swaying voters. It's the fact that a handful of businesses are spending so much money that it's impossible to ignore them. CNBC's Mackenzie Segalos. The U.S. Postal Service is looking at money-saving changes that would streamline regional networks. First-class local mail would still have a maximum three-day delivery time, but other mail may go slower. Classic car sales have stalled in the Monterey auctions with only about 70 percent of those offered for auction actually sold according to classic car insurance company Hagerty. The average sale price about $477,000 per car a slight drop from last year.

Tonight's Mega Millions jackpot more than a half billion at $527 million. New in theaters for the weekend, Viva's family film 200% Wolf. Affirm's drama, The Forge. Amazon MGM's mystery thriller, Blink Twice. And Lionsgate's The Crow. Jessica Ettinger, CNBC. How did a master cyber criminal and a Russian oligarch with ties to the Kremlin Jessica Ettinger, CNBC.