Good Evening! The U.S. stock market declined on Monday as investors analyzed the prospects for interest rates in the wake of January’s explosive employment data.
The S&P 500 ended with a loss of 0.61%, while the Dow Jones finished with a tiny decline of 0.10%. The Nasdaq Composite fell the most by 1.00%.
ARE THEY BACK?
Bed Bath & Beyond (BBBY) shares gained 92% as it continues to gather strength. The share price jumped as much as 120% throughout the trading session.
According to statistics gathered by S3 Partners, shares of the troubled company are massively shorted, with short interest on BBBY representing almost 53% of the float. (As of last Thursday, Carvana has a short interest of 67% of its float).
Is it due to a new strategy or just a throwback to the meme frenzy of 2021? Well… Bed Bath & Beyond has been attempting to save funds as the company teeters on the brink of insolvency, having accumulated more than $1 billion in debt and losses by the end of 2022. In a recent regulatory filing, the firm said it received a default notice from JPMorgan and lacks the money to repay its obligations.
Our best guess is a throwback to the meme frenzy of 2021 because… GameStop (GME) is up 29% year-to-date, while AMC (AMC) is up 68% year-to-date. On Monday, AMC’s stock was momentarily stopped due to volatility as it rose as high as 19%.
A SAD THEME FOR 2023
As a result of a downturn in the personal computer industry and a possible recession, Dell Technologies Inc. (DELL) is eliminating about 6,650 positions or 5% of its worldwide workforce.
Dell’s action on Monday aligns it with a slew of U.S. firms from Goldman Sachs Group Inc to Alphabet Inc, that have laid off thousands of workers this year to weather a demand slowdown caused by high inflation and increasing interest rates.
Dell did try at least… In response to a post-pandemic decline in PC sales, which accounted for more than half of Dell’s income, the company had already implemented cost-cutting measures such as a hiring freeze and travel restrictions. However, it was not enough…
This year, layoffs have been such a common theme for the tech sector. HP, a competitor, has also announced up to 6,000 job cuts. According to research company IDC, the market for PCs and tablets is expected to shrink by 2.6% in 2023 after fast growth during the pandemic due to remote working.