CNBC Business News Update - Market Midday: Stocks Mixed, S&P 500 Index Looking For 4th Straight Winning Day, Kroger CEO On Proposed Albertsons Merger 9/12/24

Episode Date: September 12, 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. Markets are mixed on Wall Street this afternoon. The PPI, Producer Price Index, measure of inflation at the wholesale level. It came in as expected. Price increases continued to cool last month. The Dow back in the red, down 76 points. The S&P 500 Index has been treading water. It's down a point now. And the Nasdaq's in the green this afternoon. It's up 20 points. The S&P 500 index has been treading water. It's down a point now. And the Nasdaq's in the

green this afternoon. It's up 20 points. Companies whose shares have hit fresh all-time highs today include Walmart, Bank of New York, Mellon, Cintas, IBM, ServiceNow, and Oracle. Kroger, the largest pure grocery chain in the U.S., is out with solid quarterly results, but it's also waiting to be approved to buy the Albertsons chain. CNBC's Sarah Evans asked Kroger's CEO about that. You're fighting the FTC, which argues that the history of grocery mergers in this country is not great when it comes to results for consumers, store closures. I mean, you have made a lot of promises and now under oath that the customer prices will come down for grocery, for food, if you are able to merge. We've made commitments that no stores will close as a result of the merger, and we did that on day one.

What we will find is efficiencies that allow us to make those investments in the customer and for our associates. Becoming a national retailer will allow us to have scale to be able to compete against Walmart and Amazon and Costco. Kroger CEO Rodney McMullen on CNBC with CNBC's Sarah Eisen. Navient will pay $120 million to settle with the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau for misleading student loan borrowers. The largest student loan servicer in the U.S. was accused of aggressive collection tactics. They would garnish wages, withhold IRS tax refunds, and decrease Social Security payments.

The CFPB told Reuters that even gambling addicts have more protections. Boeing facing a strike threat as more than 30,000 Washington state-based workers vote on a new contract that includes 25% raises over four years. There's no guarantee it will pass. Cash back for a canceled flight. The Biden administration is pushing now for a new rule to force airlines to pay up.

The rule would apply to what the White House calls controllable cancellations, or even delays that are three hours or longer. Europe has had this rule for 20 years. McDonald's keeping those cheaper menu options on menus a little longer. McDonald's going to extend $5 value meal. How about that? How about that $2 fried chicken sandwich for those who are club members?

I'm telling you, I'm still reeling from the $7 egg McMuffin. I've not been able to deal with that. But the $5 sandwich, that's what you need. Don't forget, it's Wingstop that's winning this war because they never raised price. CNBC Mad Money host Jim Cramer with CNBC's Carl Quintanilla. Meantime, Crocs Happy Meals are coming. They debut for a limited time next week. No, you don't

get a pair of plastic shoes with each meal but you get a collectible mini crocs clip and a sticker mortgage rates are lower this morning the average rate on a 30-year fixed home loan 6.1 according to mortgage news daily and that is the lowest in a year and a half since February of 2023. Streaming service Peacock broadcasting its first ever live comedy special tonight. It's with Colin Jost and Michael Che from Saturday Night Live. Peacock is a sister company to CNBC. Jessica Ettinger, CNBC. How did a master cyber criminal and a Russian oligarch with ties to the Kremlin hack into America's financial system, scamming millions? CNBC presents The Crimes of Putin's Traitor. Listen wherever you get your podcasts.