CNBC Business News Update - Market Midday: Stocks Modestly Lower, Fed Decision On Interest Rates 2pm ET, Boeing Starts Furloughs To Save Money, National Cheeseburger Day Deals 9/18/24

Episode Date: September 18, 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 by CNBC's Jessica Ettinger.

I'm Jessica Edinger, CNBC. Wall Street's in the red this afternoon ahead of what's expected to be the Federal Reserve's first interest rate cut in about four years. The Dow down 70 points, being led lower by shares of Intel, which are down 2.5% this afternoon. The S&P 500 index down 8 points. The Nasdaq is down 37 points. Companies whose shares have hit fresh

all-time highs today include MasterCard, Ameriprise Financial, and homebuilder Lennar. It is Fed Decision Day, and after successfully bringing inflation down with interest rate increases to slow the economy, a cut could be announced at 2 p.m. Eastern. The market has been rallying. An economy that's fundamentally very strong. This slowing has been desired because it means the labor market is getting back into balance. So the real question is not whether or not the slowing is desired. The question is, you know, for the future, you know, what do they have to do to try to make sure the slowing doesn't get out of hand and to keep it balanced so that they achieve that thing that we call the

soft landing. And that's really what the discussion is going to be about today. Former Federal Reserve Vice Chair Roger Ferguson on CNBC. When interest rates come down, it gets less expensive to borrow money good for businesses and for consumers. Today, many investors think it'll be a quarter percentage point rate cut or 25 basis points. At this point in time, the Fed will get started with 25 and then look for some additional perhaps rate cuts later on in the year. Piper Sandler's Craig Johnson on CNBC. Boeing now starting to furlough a large number of employees as the machinist strike continues. The company froze hiring earlier this week to save money. The government suing the company

that owns the container ship that slammed into Baltimore's Key Bridge, which collapsed, for damages and costs to clean it up and perhaps build a new one. Alaska Airlines CEO Ben Minigucci told CNBC why, after Alaska and Hawaiian Airlines merge, which was just cleared by the Department of Transportation, the planes will fly under their original names. This is fantastic for people who live in Hawaii, for people that live on the West Coast. It makes Alaska more competitive with the acquisition of wide-body airplanes. Both the Alaska brand and the Hawaiian brand have so much history,

over 90 years of history and culture. So traditionally, when you do a merger, you bring it all into one brand. We thought this was the best approach to use a dual brand approach because they are special. The name Alaska and the name Hawaiian means so much. Alaska CEO Ben Minicucci on CNBC. Ozempic could get less expensive for Medicare recipients. Ozempic is very likely to be one of the drugs targeted for a price cut in bargaining with the U.S. government's Medicare program. That's according to comments from a senior executive from Novo Nordisk.

The Inflation Reduction Act allows the U.S. to directly negotiate drug prices with manufacturers. In the first round of bargaining earlier this year, it's classed the cost of 10 of the world's biggest medicines by anywhere from 38 to 79 percent for 2026. And the next 15 drugs targeted for negotiations are expected to be named by early next year. CNBC's Joe Kernan. McDonald's has double cheeseburgers for 50 cents today only. You have to order through the app. It's National Cheeseburger Day. Rival Wendy's has junior bacon cheeseburgers today for just a penny. You have to make an additional purchase, but that deal runs through the weekend. Jessica Ettinger, CNBC. The next crucial Fed decision. What the current economic data is signaling. Will rates finally get cut? And by how much? Fed Chair Powell's remarks and message to investors. Power Lunch. 2 Eastern. CNBC.