Fred Mika

Thursday, 20 October 2022

Judge Signals Trump Knowingly Signed Court Doc With False Election Fraud Claims – Alaska Native News

The judge ordered the former president’s lawyer John Eastman to provide the January 6 panel with emails deemed “sufficiently related to and in furtherance of a conspiracy to defraud the United States.”

A federal judge indicated Wednesday that former U.S. President Donald Trump signed a legal document containing voter fraud claims about the 2020 presidential election that he knew were false.

“The emails show that President Trump knew that the specific numbers of voter fraud were wrong but continued to tout those numbers, both in court and to the public.”

That revelation came in U.S. District Judge David Carter’s ruling that ordered ex-Trump lawyer John Eastman—considered —to share some emails with the House Select Committee to Investigate the January 6th Attack on the United States Capitol.

Critics of the twice-impeached former president argue his “Big Lie” that the election was rigged by Democrats provoked the 2021 attack, which is tied to at least seven deaths and briefly delayed the certification of the results. As the new ruling highlights, Trump’s bid to hold on to power despite losing reelection also featured legal battles over the outcomes in specific swing states.

“Four emails demonstrate an effort by President Trump and his attorneys to press false claims in federal court for the purpose of delaying the January 6 vote,” wrote Carter, a California-based judge appointed by former President Bill Clinton. “The evidence confirms that this effort was undertaken in at least one lawsuit filed in Georgia.”

Trump and his legal team claimed to a Georgia state court on December 4, 2020 that Fulton County improperly counted votes from 10,315 deceased people, 2,560 felons, and 2,423 unregistered voters. The battle then moved to federal court.

“On December 30, 2020, Dr. Eastman relayed ‘concerns’ from President Trump’s team ‘about including specific numbers in the paragraph dealing with felons, deceased, moved, etc.’ The attorneys continued to discuss the president’s resistance to signing ‘when specific numbers were included,” Carter explained.

According to the judge, Eastman wrote in an email on December 31, 2020: “Although the President signed a verification for [the state court filing] back on Dec. 1, he has since been made aware that some of the allegations (and evidence proffered by the experts) has been inaccurate. For him to sign a new verification with that knowledge (and incorporation by reference) would not be accurate.”

Carter noted that “President Trump and his attorneys ultimately filed the complaint with the same inaccurate numbers without rectifying, clarifying, or otherwise changing them. President Trump, moreover, signed a verification swearing under oath that the incorporated, inaccurate numbers ‘are true and correct’ or ‘believed to be true and correct’ to the best of his knowledge and belief.”

“The emails show that President Trump knew that the specific numbers of voter fraud were wrong but continued to tout those numbers, both in court and to the public,” the judge continued. “The court finds that these emails are sufficiently related to and in furtherance of a conspiracy to defraud the United States.”

As The New York Times reported Wednesday:

The episode was the latest example of how Mr. Trump was repeatedly told that his claims of widespread voter fraud were false and often pressed forward with them anyway. His attorney general at the time, William P. Barr, informed him at least three times that his accusations about fraud were unfounded, as did other top officials at the Justice Department, the White House Counsel’s Office, and the Trump campaign.

Judge Carter’s ruling came as part of a federal lawsuit Mr. Eastman filed at the beginning of the year, seeking to bar the committee from obtaining his emails as part of its inquiry into Mr. Trump’s efforts to overturn the election.

Carter previously ruled in March that “it more likely than not that President Trump corruptly attempted to obstruct the joint session of Congress on January 6, 2021” and that he, Eastman, “and several others entered into an agreement to defraud the United States by interfering with the election certification process.”

The latest development comes on the heels of what could be the select committee’s final hearing; its only two Republicans are not returning to Congress next year and the panel’s work could be discontinued if the GOP wins control of the House during the November midterms.

While the panel members last week voted unanimously to subpoena Trump—eliciting a “rambling” response from the ex-president—New York University School of Law professor Ryan Goodman said that “I think they were trying to hand the Justice Department all the evidence on a silver platter.”

Trump’s legal problems aren’t limited to the January 6 attack and his efforts to overturn the 2020 election. Along with a New York state suit related to the Trump Organization, federal agents in August executed a search warrant on Mar-a-Lago, his Florida estate. Since then, there have been fights in court over the seized materials, including documents marked classified.

If the evidence is there for obstruction charges, Trump should be indicted.

In fact, there’s a long list of crimes he should be indicted for.https://t.co/heoh9Acs24

— Citizens for Ethics (@CREWcrew) October 19, 2022

Bloomberg reported Wednesday that “a group of Justice Department prosecutors believe there is sufficient evidence to charge Donald Trump with obstruction of justice, but the path to an actual indictment is far from clear.”

“The team that’s part of the classified records probe has not yet made a formal recommendation to Attorney General Merrick Garland, who would ultimately approve or reject such a move,” the report noted, with unnamed sources warning that a decision would likely come after the midterms and potentially even after Christmas.

The Justice Department declined to comment, according to the outlet.

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court, fraud, lies, obstruction, trump

ACLU Asks Supreme Court To Overturn Arkansas’ Anti-Boycott Law Against Israel

Election Deniers Could Make Deep Changes To Arizona Voting

PHOENIX (AP) — Gathered at a table in the state Capitol a little less than two years ago, two Republicans and a Democrat took part in a ceremony prescribed by state law that made official Joe Biden’s 10,500-vote victory in Arizona’s 2020 presidential contest.

While sifting through pages, pen in hand and cameras rolling, Republican Gov. Doug Ducey stopped to silence the “hail to the chief” ringtone on his cell phone. It was a call from President Donald Trump, who was in the midst of a frenetic fight to reverse the results of the election he had lost. Ducey continued signing the papers, in what some saw as a dramatic affirmation of democracy at work.

How a similar scene would play out in 2024 if the three Republicans running for the top statewide offices win in November is anyone’s guess. Each has said they would not have signed off on the 2020 results if they had held office at the time. Kari Lake, the Republican candidate for governor, and Mark Finchem, running for secretary of state, have signaled support for vastly overhauling election rules.

Lake, Finchem and Abraham Hamadeh, the attorney general nominee, are running for offices that play a central role in administering or certifying elections and earned Trump’s support by spreading falsehoods about the 2020 election.

“When you have stolen, corrupt elections, you have serious consequences, even deadly consequences,” Lake said in June while she was competing in the GOP primary. “And unfortunately, we had a stolen election, and we actually have an illegitimate president sitting in the White House.”

Multiple reviews in battleground state s, including in Arizona, dozens of court cases and Trump’s own Department of Justice have found there was no widespread fraud in the 2020 presidential election.

Despite that, Republican candidates up and down the ballot continue to deny the legitimacy of Biden’s election. Several are running for governor, secretary of state or attorney general in some of the battleground states where Trump disputed his loss, including Wisconsin, Michigan, Pennsylvania and Nevada.

The possibility of those candidates winning in November raises questions about what they might do regarding elections and certification of results once in office, especially in regard to the 2024 presidential race. Arizona’s candidates for top statewide office offer a window into that possible future.

Election experts say any of the three, if elected, could try to tilt the 2024 election toward Trump if he runs again for president. That could happen through a refusal to certify an election he loses or long before that through pre-emptive changes to the election process.

Arizona has a recent history of extremely close elections, so small changes to its election laws could have a huge impact on the outcome and reverberate nationally.

The Republicans say they’re motivated by boosting faith in elections, not returning Trump to power or helping his allies.

For her part, Lake said last month that she would certify the 2024 election if courts did not substantiate any official election challenges. That answer runs counter to her message through much of her campaign, when she said she would not have certified the 2020 results despite courts rejecting all challenges.

Finchem said in a text message that he would certify the election “as long as all lawful votes are counted and all votes cast are under the law.” He did not respond to follow-up questions about who decides if the votes were lawful or whether he would accept results of court proceedings.

Hamadeh said in a statement that he would “faithfully follow the law.”

The governor, secretary of state and attorney general in Arizona wield enormous power over election decisions big and small. If all three win, the steps they could take would be nearly limitless, according to Arizona election attorneys deeply versed in the laws, rules and norms that govern the process.

They could rewrite the state’s elections procedures manual, a tome laying out in minute detail the rules for conducting elections and certification. It’s written by the secretary of state and must be approved by the attorney general and governor. If all three sign off, the changes carry the force of law.

That’s even without any of the more expansive changes that could be made by a Legislature that is almost certain to be controlled by Republicans.

“If you have people who are supportive of the Big Lie in charge of our elections, there’s a lot of stuff they can do,” said Jim Barton, a longtime Democratic election attorney in Arizona. “And they can do it in ways that look pretty boring.”

Finchem, who was outside the U.S. Capitol on Jan. 6, 2021, but says he did not join rioters who attacked the building that day, has vowed to rewrite those rules. He’s said little about what he would change.

He could create rules for accepting voter registrations, eliminate the right for county officials to provide drop boxes to accept mail ballots, and even refuse to accept filings for voter initiatives, just to name a few, Barton said.

On registration alone, the secretary could adopt small changes, such as when forms need to be turned in or the color of ink that must be used, and pass them off as needed to make processing easier, Barton said. Small changes affecting comparatively few voters could add up in a close race.

“Nobody’s winning the elections anymore by 10%,” Barton said. “So you don’t have to say, ‘Oh, I’m not going to count any of the votes from Pima County’ to sway the vote. If you make it a little bit harder for low-income people to vote, then the state’s not purple anymore.”

And that’s just the start if someone really wants to seize the reins of election rules and make small but substantive changes.

Eric Spencer, an attorney who represents Republican and conservative organizations and is a former state elections director, said a slew of rules could be changed under a new administration.

That could include eliminating unattended ballot drop boxes, which are convenient spots for voters to turn in their ballots. The trio also could pursue changes to rules for ballot-counting machines and the election canvass, in which elected leaders certify the results, Spencer said.

That’s where “a new triumvirate could make some radical, radical changes,” he said.

For example, a new secretary of state could remove a provision Spencer developed that says county and state officials must certify the election results and can’t change the vote totals. Spencer developed that rule after a county official balked at certifying a local election in 2016 and nearly derailed the statewide certification.

Any controversy over certification could create a pretext for Arizona’s electoral votes to be challenged when Congress meets to count them in early 2025.

As secretary of state, Finchem also would have unilateral authority to certify — or not — election equipment. He told CBS News that vote tabulating machines should be banned unless the manufacturer shares the source code.

No voting system manufacturers release the underlying software for their systems to protect code they regard as proprietary and to prevent hacking. Finchem and other Trump allies claim they can’t trust the systems if they can’t review the software that powers it line by line.

Lake and Finchem also both signaled they want to ensure that voting rolls are accurate, which election experts worry could lead them to purge certain voters or force people to continuously re-register.

“We must protect the count of all legal votes and quarantine votes that are outside of the law,” Finchem said.

Lake, who has emerged as one of the most popular new figures in Trump’s “Make America Great Again” movement, has avoided disclosing specific changes she would pursue for elections. But she’s offered clues.

She has said she wants Arizonans to go to bed on election night knowing the results, which some regard as a threat to the mail balloting system used by the overwhelming majority of voters.

“I’m going to work with the lawmakers to make sure we have a system where voting is honest,” Lake said. “I’m not sure what it’s going to look like.”

Wednesday, 19 October 2022

US Forecast

City/Town, State;Yesterday’s High Temp (F);Yesterday’s Low Temp (F);Today’s High Temp (F);Today’s Low Temp (F);Weather Condition;Wind Direction;Wind Speed (MPH);Humidity (%);Chance of Precip. (%);UV Index

Albany, NY;52;36;56;34;Partial sunshine;S;10;52%;28%;3

Albuquerque, NM;70;47;72;46;Sunny and pleasant;SSE;7;36%;0%;5

Anchorage, AK;47;39;45;34;Periods of rain;SSW;7;80%;93%;0

Asheville, NC;53;27;59;31;Mostly sunny;NW;5;43%;1%;4

Atlanta, GA;59;32;63;37;Mostly sunny;WSW;6;35%;1%;4

Atlantic City, NJ;58;44;62;46;Mostly sunny, breezy;SSW;15;42%;3%;4

Austin, TX;74;51;86;57;Sunshine and warmer;SSW;7;35%;0%;5

Baltimore, MD;57;39;62;43;Brilliant sunshine;SW;9;33%;13%;4

Baton Rouge, LA;65;36;73;50;Sunny and nice;SSW;5;44%;0%;5

Billings, MT;75;49;80;46;Breezy, warm;E;16;25%;4%;3

Birmingham, AL;60;31;64;39;Mostly sunny;SSW;7;37%;1%;4

Bismarck, ND;70;35;75;43;Partly sunny, warm;W;9;47%;1%;3

Boise, ID;75;44;76;44;Sunny and warm;ENE;6;26%;0%;3

Boston, MA;57;42;59;42;Mostly sunny, breezy;SSW;16;46%;6%;3

Bridgeport, CT;55;39;58;40;Breezy in the p.m.;SW;12;43%;6%;3

Buffalo, NY;45;38;45;36;A couple of showers;SSW;19;67%;95%;1

Burlington, VT;53;38;52;36;Winds subsiding;S;15;54%;32%;1

Caribou, ME;65;38;54;35;Mostly sunny;S;8;61%;17%;3

Casper, WY;72;36;78;37;Breezy, warm;WSW;14;21%;1%;4

Charleston, SC;64;41;68;45;Sunny;W;6;42%;5%;4

Charleston, WV;55;32;59;35;Partly sunny;SSW;9;43%;3%;4

Charlotte, NC;59;33;64;35;Mostly sunny;SSW;6;45%;4%;4

Cheyenne, WY;71;38;77;45;Breezy in the p.m.;W;14;19%;0%;4

Chicago, IL;48;36;59;43;Partly sunny, warmer;SW;12;28%;3%;3

Cleveland, OH;46;37;49;40;Breezy;S;16;51%;23%;1

Columbia, SC;61;35;67;37;Mostly sunny, cool;SW;6;42%;5%;4

Columbus, OH;44;30;53;36;Partly sunny, cool;SSW;11;36%;1%;3

Concord, NH;57;31;55;30;Mostly sunny;S;9;53%;6%;3

Dallas-Ft. Worth, TX;68;54;85;55;Sunny and warmer;NNE;11;38%;2%;4

Denver, CO;76;44;78;48;Sunny and very warm;SW;7;19%;0%;4

Des Moines, IA;50;34;67;44;Warmer;SSW;9;41%;4%;3

Detroit, MI;46;36;49;37;A couple of showers;SW;10;52%;85%;1

Dodge City, KS;75;41;80;45;Sunny and very warm;SSW;10;29%;1%;4

Duluth, MN;47;30;52;42;Variable cloudiness;SW;7;61%;6%;2

El Paso, TX;70;46;76;52;Sunny and nice;WSW;4;43%;0%;5

Fairbanks, AK;38;28;38;28;Cloudy;WSW;5;80%;94%;0

Fargo, ND;58;34;62;46;Partly sunny;S;8;65%;3%;3

Grand Junction, CO;73;42;73;43;Sunny and pleasant;SE;7;27%;0%;4

Grand Rapids, MI;45;37;52;36;Partly sunny, warmer;SSW;10;49%;27%;3

Hartford, CT;55;37;58;38;Sunny and breezy;S;14;47%;6%;3

Helena, MT;70;35;71;49;Sunny and warm;WSW;8;35%;1%;3

Honolulu, HI;86;70;84;74;A shower or two;SSE;8;62%;84%;2

Houston, TX;67;46;82;59;Sunny and warmer;SSW;8;43%;0%;5

Indianapolis, IN;53;29;60;41;Partly sunny, breezy;SSW;14;35%;1%;4

Jackson, MS;63;34;71;48;Mostly sunny;S;7;42%;0%;5

Jacksonville, FL;66;42;73;48;Sunny and nice;NNW;6;43%;5%;5

Juneau, AK;52;45;48;42;Rain;S;9;91%;100%;0

Kansas City, MO;56;40;74;52;Partly sunny, warmer;SSW;7;39%;4%;4

Knoxville, TN;59;29;60;34;Mostly sunny, cool;SSW;7;43%;3%;4

Las Vegas, NV;88;59;88;60;Partly sunny;N;5;19%;0%;4

Lexington, KY;54;28;58;39;Breezy in the p.m.;SSW;12;41%;0%;4

Little Rock, AR;61;35;74;46;Partly sunny, warmer;S;8;43%;11%;4

Long Beach, CA;95;67;84;64;Partly sunny;S;7;51%;0%;4

Los Angeles, CA;93;68;87;63;Partly sunny, warm;SE;7;41%;1%;4

Louisville, KY;55;31;63;42;Partly sunny;SSW;11;36%;0%;4

Madison, WI;45;29;58;36;Partly sunny, warmer;SSW;6;36%;5%;3

Memphis, TN;57;37;70;50;Mostly sunny, warmer;S;8;37%;4%;4

Miami, FL;70;64;80;68;A shower or two;NNW;9;69%;89%;2

Milwaukee, WI;46;33;56;40;Partly sunny, warmer;SW;9;35%;6%;3

Minneapolis-St. Paul, MN;48;30;58;43;Milder;S;8;49%;5%;3

Mobile, AL;65;37;69;45;Mostly sunny;WSW;5;44%;2%;5

Montgomery, AL;63;32;64;38;Mostly sunny, cool;WSW;6;43%;2%;5

Mt. Washington, NH;30;18;24;18;Windy;WSW;33;86%;31%;2

Nashville, TN;57;30;64;40;Partly sunny;SSW;8;39%;0%;4

New Orleans, LA;64;48;71;54;Plenty of sun;SW;5;40%;0%;5

New York, NY;55;42;58;46;Mostly sunny, breezy;SSW;14;39%;3%;3

Newark, NJ;55;38;59;38;Sunny and breezy;SSW;13;39%;3%;3

Norfolk, VA;59;38;65;42;Mostly sunny;S;8;47%;9%;4

Oklahoma City, OK;66;44;79;51;Sunny and warmer;SSW;7;44%;0%;4

Olympia, WA;70;47;65;43;Periods of sun;SW;8;82%;42%;2

Omaha, NE;57;35;72;44;Partly sunny, warmer;S;8;45%;4%;3

Orlando, FL;67;52;75;58;Mostly sunny, nice;N;8;49%;5%;5

Philadelphia, PA;55;40;60;44;Winds subsiding;SSW;14;37%;3%;4

Phoenix, AZ;90;65;90;66;Mostly sunny;NE;6;26%;0%;4

Pittsburgh, PA;45;33;51;37;Becoming cloudy;S;10;44%;16%;4

Portland, ME;58;39;57;38;Sunshine and breezy;SW;14;52%;6%;3

Portland, OR;76;50;70;46;Partly sunny;NW;5;66%;12%;3

Providence, RI;57;37;59;39;Mostly sunny, breezy;SSW;14;47%;6%;3

Raleigh, NC;58;35;64;37;Mostly sunny;SSW;6;49%;7%;4

Reno, NV;79;40;79;43;Partly sunny, warm;WSW;4;25%;0%;4

Richmond, VA;57;35;63;37;Sunny;S;9;43%;8%;4

Roswell, NM;73;43;80;44;Sunshine and nice;SSW;7;40%;2%;5

Sacramento, CA;90;52;88;53;Mostly sunny, warm;S;4;38%;1%;4

Salt Lake City, UT;75;48;76;50;Sunny and warm;SE;7;30%;0%;4

San Antonio, TX;75;48;83;53;Sunny and delightful;SSW;10;40%;0%;5

San Diego, CA;91;63;80;63;Not as warm;SSW;7;61%;0%;4

San Francisco, CA;85;57;70;55;Partly sunny, cooler;WSW;8;59%;1%;4

Savannah, GA;65;38;70;41;Plenty of sunshine;WNW;5;42%;3%;5

Seattle-Tacoma, WA;70;52;64;49;Partly sunny;S;5;76%;44%;1

Sioux Falls, SD;56;34;66;42;Warmer with some sun;S;7;49%;4%;3

Spokane, WA;73;42;71;44;Partly sunny, mild;W;7;49%;2%;3

Springfield, IL;49;30;68;40;Partly sunny, milder;SW;10;35%;2%;4

St. Louis, MO;52;32;70;43;Partly sunny, warmer;SW;8;37%;2%;4

Tampa, FL;67;49;74;53;Sunny and nice;N;8;51%;7%;5

Toledo, OH;48;35;50;34;A couple of showers;SW;9;46%;84%;2

Tucson, AZ;84;60;86;61;Plenty of sunshine;ESE;7;34%;0%;5

Tulsa, OK;65;40;76;48;Mostly sunny, warmer;S;4;45%;3%;4

Vero Beach, FL;67;61;76;63;Clouds and sun;NNW;11;61%;44%;3

Washington, DC;56;38;61;40;Plenty of sunshine;SSW;9;37%;9%;4

Wichita, KS;67;39;80;48;Partly sunny, warmer;S;9;41%;1%;4

Wilmington, DE;56;38;61;39;Sunny and breezy;S;13;38%;3%;4

_____

Putin Tightens Grip On Ukraine And Russia With Martial Law

MOSCOW (AP) — Russian President Vladimir Putin declared martial law Wednesday in the four regions of Ukraine that Moscow annexed and gave all regional governors in Russia emergency powers that open the door for sweeping new restrictions throughout the country.

Putin didn’t immediately spell out the steps that would be taken under martial law, but said his order was effective starting Thursday. His decree gave law enforcement agencies three days to submit specific proposals and orders the creation of territorial defense forces in the annexed regions.

The upper house of Russia’s parliament quickly endorsed Putin’s decision to impose martial law in the annexed Donetsk, Kherson, Luhansk and Zaporizhzhia regions. The approved legislation indicated the declaration may involve restrictions on travel and public gatherings, tighter censorship and broader authority for law enforcement agencies.

“We are working to solve very difficult large-scale tasks to ensure Russia’s security and safe future, to protect our people,” Putin said in televised remarks at the start of a Security Council meeting. “Those who are on the frontlines or undergoing training at firing ranges and training centers should feel our support and know that they have our big, great country and unified people behind their back.”

On Saturday, the Russian Defense Ministry said two men fired at soldiers on a military firing range near Ukraine, killing 11 and wounding 15. The ministry said two men from an unnamed former Soviet republic fired on volunteer soldiers during target practice before they were killed by return fire.

Putin didn’t provide details of the extra powers the heads of Russian regions will have under his decree. However, the order states that measures envisaged by martial law could be introduced anywhere in Russia “when necessary.”

According to the Russian legislation, martial law could require banning public gatherings, introducing travel bans and curfews, and conducting censorship, among other restrictions.

Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said Putin’s order doesn’t anticipate the closure of Russia’s borders, state news agency RIA-Novosti reported. In an apparent attempt to assuage a nervous public, regional authorities rushed to declare that no immediate curfews or restrictions on travel were planned.

Putin last month ordered a mobilization of army reservists, prompting hundreds of thousands of men to flee Russia.

The Russian leader on Wednesday also ordered the establishment of a Coordination Committee to increase interactions between government agencies in dealing with the fighting in Ukraine, which Putin continued to call a “special military operation.”

Prime Minister Mikhail Mishustin, who was named to lead the committee, said it would focus on boosting supplies of weapons and military equipment, conducting construction work and facilitating transportation.

In Russia’s regions bordering Ukraine, authorities plan to tighten security at key facilities and conduct checks of motorists, among other measures, according to Andrei Kartapolov, head of the defense committee of Russian lower house of parliament.

Trump Complains About American Jews In Video Leaked After He Defended Kanye West

Nasdaq Falls More Than 1%, Dow Sinks 250 Points As Rising Yields Put Pressure On Stocks

Economy growing ‘modestly’ as inflation, interest rates crimp activity, Fed report says

The U.S. economy “expanded modestly” over the past six weeks as consumer spending tailed off and rental prices rose, according to the Federal Reserve’s latest economic summary.

Inflation continued to be “elevated,” though there were some signs of cooling, according to the central bank’s “Beige Book” report, which surveys activity across the Fed’s 12 districts, with a focus on the labor market and inflation.

The report noted that the pace of economic growth was uneven across the country, with areas reporting that higher interest rates, inflation and supply chain disruptions held back activity.

“Retail spending was relatively flat, reflecting lower discretionary spending, and auto dealers noted sustained sluggishness in sales stemming from limited inventories, high vehicle prices, and rising interest rates,” the report said. Fed districts reported robust travel and tourist activity.

On the labor front, several regions said they had seen a decline in labor demand as the Fed raises interest rates in an effort to cool a job market that still has about 1.7 job vacancies for every available worker.

—Jeff Cox

Stocks making the biggest moves midday

Here are the companies making headlines in midday trading.

Generac — Shares were trading down 25% after the company cut its expected full-year revenue growth to a range of 22% to 24%, down from 36% to 40%, which is also below Wall Street expectations. The power company also reported preliminary third-quarter results, with earnings per share expected to come in at $1.75 compared to the $3.21 estimate.
Netflix — Shares of the streaming media company soared more than 13% after the firm on Tuesday posted better-than-expected results on the top and bottom lines. Netflix also reported the addition of 2.41 million net global subscribers, more than doubling the adds the company had projected a quarter ago.
Intuitive Surgical — Shares of the medical equipment maker rose 8.9% after the company on Tuesday posted quarterly earnings and revenue that came in slightly higher than expected, according to FactSet. Intuitive also reported growth in its da Vinci procedures of about 20% compared with the third quarter of 2021.

Check out more midday movers here.

— Sarah Min

Analysts confident in Microsoft ahead of earnings

Headwinds for Microsoft this earnings season may be offset by its cloud computing business, Azure, analysts said this week. The tech giant is set to report its fiscal first-quarter earnings on Tuesday.

“Currency and PC headwinds are likely to impact MSFT’s FQ1 results and may drive reported results below consensus again. That said, our reseller survey and partner checks give us confidence that Enterprise demand for MSFT is holding up well, with record partner quota/accelerator achievement levels and incremental signs of Azure demand strength,” Citi analyst Tyler Radke wrote Tuesday.

Analysts at Goldman Sachs expect currency volatility to come in 100 basis points better than Microsoft management’s expectation of a 500-point headwind. Microsoft is also anticipating that its software revenue will slow and has laid off workers.

“While we view a potential step-down in expectations across software to be well-received by investors, we note that our checks indicate healthy business activity in the broader commercial business, especially within Azure where companies are looking to cloud offerings as they too face challenges in acquiring IT equipment,” Goldman analyst Kash Rangan wrote in a new Wednesday.

— Michelle Fox

Bullishness rebounds in latest Investors Intelligence survey

The percentage of bullish financial newsletter editors rebounded to 31.3% in the latest Investors Intelligence survey, up from a six-year low of 25% the week before. The mid-June reading was 26.5%. The high for the year was 45.1% in August during the summer stock market rally.

By contrast, bullishness got to almost 64% in April 2021 and north of 61% in July 2021.

Bears fell to 40.3% in the latest survey from 44.1% the week before, which matched their mid-June high. As II points out, lots of bears also equals lots of cash on the sidelines, offering added firepower if only part of it returns to stocks.

Even at the peak of Covid-related bearishness in March 2020, bears never got above 41.7%.

More bears than bulls also means less risk in the stock market, II says. That was rare in the entire period after the Global Financial Crisis of 2008-2009, but bears have now outnumbered bulls for a fifth straight week in September-October 2022.

— Scott Schnipper

ETF efficiency dipped during volatile September

A rising number of exchange traded funds have struggled to match the value of their underlying holdings during the recent bout of market volatility, according to a note from CFRA.

“For Equity ETFs, on average, over the month of September, 59% of ETFs stayed in close proximity (+/- 25 bps) to their NAV, which shows a sharp decline compared to 76% for the month of August. Heightened volatility is the reason behind the decline in ETF price efficiency,” the note said.

Bond ETFs also showed a month-over-month decline in efficiency, according to CFRA. In both groups, ETFs were more likely to trade under their net asset value than at a premium.

— Jesse Pound

Stocks turn solidly lower

Stocks have fallen to their lows of the day as U.S. Treasury yields continue to climb. The Nasdaq Composite is down 1.5%, while the Dow is off by 150 points.

— Jesse Pound

Ark stocks underperforming

While the major averages have held near the flatline on Wednesday, some of the more speculative stock names are underperforming.

For example, the Ark Invest Innovation ETF is down 3% in midday trading. Of the fund’s top 10 holdings, only Tesla is positive for the day.

Meanwhile, crypto brokerage stock Coinbase has fallen more than 3%, and diagnostics company Exact Sciences has seen its shares slide more than 7% on the session.

— Jesse Pound

Alphabet’s cost-cutting is in focus, Bank of America says

Bank of America’s Alphabet analysts said they will look for clarity on the tech giant’s cost-cutting action Tuesday next week when it reports quarterly results.

“We think Alphabet has significant cost and buyback flexibility to help maintain EPS growth in 2023,” the analysts said in a note Wednesday. “Recent press reports have suggested Google executives have warned employees on possible layoffs and the need to cut costs, and we think the Street will be looking for evidence of efforts to preserve margins on the call.”

In July, Alphabet reported its second consecutive quarter of weaker-than-expected earnings and revenue, and third-quarter sales growth is expected to dip into the single digits, down from more than 40% a year earlier.

— Yun Li

S&P 500 has short-term upside, technical strategist says

The sharp rally from Monday has slowed down as the week has gone on, but stocks still have near-term upside, according to Katie Stockton of Fairlead Strategies.

“The oversold bounce behind the major indices is taking pause, but we expect it to regain hold by the end of the week with our short-term indicators pointing higher,” the technical strategist said in a note to clients on Wednesday.

Stockton said the S&P 500 was set up to possibly test the 3,914 level, which is about 5% above where the index was trading late Wednesday morning, before resuming its downward trend.

— Jesse Pound, Fred Imbert

Ally shares tumble after posting third-quarter earnings miss on impairment charge

Used cars are displayed on a sales lot in San Rafael, California.

Getty Images

Shares of Ally Financial fell 6% in morning trading after posting disappointing third-quarter results.

Ally’s third-quarter report, disclosed early Wednesday, included a 33-cent per share impairment charge tied to the firm’s mortgage unit, as well as a $438 million provision for credit losses. That led to a miss on both profit and revenue for the quarter, according to StreetAccount estimates.

Known primarily as an auto lender and online bank, analysts are watching how the company navigates weakening credit trends, particularly among subprime borrowers. Default rates on auto loans have begun to rise from historically low levels as Americans spend down balances fattened during the pandemic.

The bank also said Tuesday that its CFO was departing, a move that caught some off guard given its timing shortly ahead of Ally’s earnings release.

“This announcement, one day prior to the expected earnings release tomorrow morning, comes as a surprise and likely will cause some uncertainty in the market,” Piper Sandler analyst Kevin Barker wrote Tuesday in a note. “We have been concerned about Ally’s balance sheet position heading into the current economic cycle with deposit costs rising rapidly, default rates rising in auto loans and ALLY’s leverage at the higher end.”

Shares of the bank fell as much as 11% earlier in Wednesday’s trading session and have lost 42% this year.

—Hugh Son

Stocks turn green

The major averages flipped into positive territory about an hour after the market open. The move coincided with Treasury yields easing from their earlier levels, though the 10-year Treasury yield is still higher for the day.

The Dow is leading the way, up more than 100 points. Netflix has extended its rally to more than 15%.

— Jesse Pound

JPMorgan lifts Robinhood’s price target, but stock is still expected to slide further

The online stock trading platform Robinhood had its price target slightly lifted by JPMorgan. But the firm still views the stock as underperforming and expects it to fall another 23% in 2023.

Analyst Kenneth Worthington said the stock’s short-term outlook was helped by better trading volume, especially among higher-revenue index options, in September. He also said the company was boosted by short-term tailwinds like higher rates that would increase earnings and better cash treatment.

Still, he said those near-term aids do not change the fact that long-term profitability of stock is “elusive.” Robinhood is part of a group of companies that went public through an initial public offering during the pandemic but are now struggling,

“While the founders have leveraged innovation, guts, and ideal market conditions to build a leading US retail broker, we do not see growth as sustainable,” he said in a note to clients. “We question the ability of the company to generate competitive margins over time given the focus on such small accounts that have limited room to be profitable.”

Robinhood is down 41.2% percent this year. The stock has plummeted more than 80% from its high of just over $55 seen in October 2021, which came a few months after it went public at a price of $38 that July.

— Alex Harring

Shares of Plug Power fall despite optimistic Street call

Jefferies initiated coverage on Plug Power with a buy rating, although the positive call wasn’t enough to counteract broad selling on Wednesday, and shares of the fuel-cell maker slid more than 6%.

Still, the firm said Plug Power should benefit from its leadership position within the hydrogen value chain.

“While the growth plan is capital intensive, we believe the current 2025 targets can be exceeded, aided by the new production tax credit (PTC),” the firm said in an Oct. 18 note to clients. “Execution will be crucial, but the order book and key customer relationships bolster our confidence,” analysts led by Sam Burwell added.

Jefferies has a $28 target on the stock, which is about 56% above where shares traded Wednesday. For the year the stock is down more than 30%.

— Pippa Stevens

Generac sliding after big guidance cut

Generac shares sank nearly 20% to a 52-week low after the power company cut its profit outlook in nearly half.

The company’s full-year revenue growth is now expected to come in at 22% to 24%, compared to a prior forecast of 36% to 40%. That means revenue growth is now more likely to fall below Wall Street expectations of 38%.

It follows similarly downtrodden third-quarter guidance as the company expects earnings per share at $1.75 compared to an estimate of $3.21. Revenue is also expected to be more than $200 million below estimates at $1.09 billion. Earnings for the quarter are expected to be released on Nov. 2.

Company leadership pointed to residential product demand slides and a partner’s bankruptcy that hurt shipments. Known for its generators, the company was expected to perform well following Hurricane Ian.

— Alex Harring, Robert Hum

If you think Black Monday was bad, this year has been even worse

If you think things were bad when the stock market crashed on this day back in 1987, they’re actually worse now.

That’s because a day that saw a 22.6% collapse in the Dow Jones Industrial Average actually was part of a pretty good year otherwise.

“Moving to the present day, 2022 has actually been worse than 1987,” Bespoke Investment Group said in its morning note Wednesday.

A day after the Oct. 19, 1987 Black Monday crash, the S&P 500 was off less than 8% year to date. That compares to a 22% drop in the present day, more than twice the slide of 1987 even after the large-cap index has gained nearly 4% over the past week.

Also of note: The S&P 500 finished 1987 only slightly lower on a nominal basis and actually was positive in terms of total return, or with dividends reinvested. The market itself also recovered nicely from the crash and has offered investors solid returns since.

“Since the close on 10/19/87, the S&P 500 has had an annualized total return of 10.71%. Even more notable, though, is that had you invested in the S&P 500 on the Friday before the crash, [your] annualized total return over that span would have still been just short of 10% (9.99%),” Bespoke noted. “Not bad for the worst-timed trade of all time.”

—Jeff Cox

Spirit Airlines gives JetBlue takeover the stamp of approval

Spirit Airlines’ shareholders have approved a takeover by JetBlue. The deal ends a six-month battle over creating what will be the fifth-largest air carrier.

Shares of Spirit and JetBlue were up less than 1% in early trading.

—Carmen Reinicke, Leslie Josephs

Stocks open lower

The major averages fell at the open, with the Nasdaq Composite the worst performer with a loss of nearly 0.7%. The Dow was flirting with positive territory after opening down about 100 points.

— Jesse Pound

Evercore ISI downgrades Lowe’s as home improvement demand slows

Evercore ISI downgraded shares of Lowe’s on Wednesday as the home improvement industry shows signs of a demand slowdown.

“Lowe’s is above average in pricing power and is clearly benefiting from the housing shortage/home price improvements,” wrote analyst Greg Melich in a note to clients as he downgraded the stock to in line. “Our downgrade is based on the view that slower HI demand and disinflation could push comps lower in 2023, making margin gains muted.”

Shares of Lowe’s fell 2.4% in premarket trading. CNBC Pro subscribers can read the full story here.

— Samantha Subin

Morgan Stanley is standing by Apple heading into earnings season

Morgan Stanley is thinking positive heading into Apple’s third quarter earnings, due Oct. 27 after market close. While the bank doesn’t expect the report to answer all investor questions, it does anticipate some solid numbers.

“We believe the setup into Apple’s September quarter earnings report next week is constructive, as our September quarter revenue forecast of $90.1B implies 2% upside to Street forecasts, while our $133.7B December quarter revenue forecast implies 4% upside to consensus,” wrote analyst Erik Woodring in a Wednesday note.

Three key factors are driving his more constructive outlook – stable production of the iPhone, iPad and Mac, the record iPhone mix shift more than offsets currency headwinds and service and product growth should be solid and even above seasonality for the quarter.

“Combined, these factors create a compelling setup where Apple grows revenue HSD Y/Y in both the Sept and Dec quarters (despite a 5-6 pt. FX headwind) while revenue for the rest of our consumer hardware universe is expected to decline 13% Y/Y and 9% Y/Y on average in C3Q and C4Q, respectively,” he said.

—Carmen Reinicke

United jumps more than 5% after strong earnings

Shares of United Airlines rose more than 5% in premarket trading after the travel company beat estimates on top and bottom lines for the third quarter and delivered upbeat guidance.

The company earned an adjusted $2.81 per share on $12.88 billion of revenue. Analysts surveyed by Refinitiv had penciled in $2.28 per share on $12.75 billion.

Total revenue per available seat mile was up 25.5% compared to the same period in 2019, United said. CEO Scott Kirby said that hybrid work appears to be boosting demand for flights.

— Jesse Pound

Housing starts continue to slow

Housing starts fell more than expected in September, dropping 8.1% month over month to an annualized rate of 1.44 million. Economists surveyed by Dow Jones were expecting a 6.7% decline.

Building permits rose 1.4%, but that was below the 1.5% expected.

The residential real estate sector has been hit particularly hard by the Fed’s rate hikes this year. Mortgage rates have soared, making homebuilders wary increasing supply.

—Jesse Pound

Interest rates still a risk for stocks, says Goldman’s Kostin

High interest rates will likely keep this week’s stock rally from turning into a more lasting period of strength, Goldman Sachs chief U.S. equity strategist David Kostin said in a note to clients on Tuesday evening.

“Equities have not yet fully priced the rapid rise in interest rates year to date and will continue to digest interest rate moves in the months ahead. … Until economic data improves, our baseline forecast is that elevated rates will keep the S&P 500 P/E multiple hovering around 15x,” Kostin said.

Kostin also said that recommends a generally defensive portfolio of stocks for this environment but cautioned that utilities names look expensive at current levels.

— Jesse Pound, Michael Bloom

Yields rise, with 2-year Treasury topping 4.5%

Yields moved higher on Wednesday morning, with the entire Treasury curve moving up.

The 2-year Treasury yield, which is seen as highly sensitive to the path of Federal Reserve policy, pushed above 4.5%. The benchmark 10-year Treasury rose nearly 9 basis points to 4.086%. A basis point is equal to 0.01 percentage points, and yields move opposite of price.

The rise in yields could be the culprit for the swoon in futures this morning. Higher interest rates have weighed on stocks all year, particularly growth-oriented tech names.

— Jesse Pound

Procter & Gamble pops on strong earnings

Procter & Gamble posted quarterly numbers that beat analyst expectations, sending the stock up 2%.

The consumer goods giant earned per share of $1.57 on revenue of $20.61 billion. Analysts expected the company to report earnings of $1.54 per share on revenue of $20.28 billion, according to Refinitiv.

Organic revenue, which strips out the impact of acquisitions, divestitures and foreign currency, rose 7%.

What Wall Street analysts have to say about Netflix’s quarter

Many analysts cheered Netflix‘s quarterly results, which could signal the start of a bigger turnaround for the streaming giant.

Deutsche Bank analyst Bryan Kraft also upgraded Netflix to buy, noting that there’s now “visibility into a subscriber growth inflection point next year given that Netflix management has confirmed both the early 2023 introduction of its new measures designed to better monetize account sharing.”

JPMorgan’s Doug Anmuth also upgraded the stock to overweight from neutral, noting that he sees the company’s crackdown on password sharing and new advertising initiatives as tools to help the company accelerate revenue growth.

CNBC Pro subscribers can read more here.

— Sam Subin

European markets: Here are the opening calls

European markets are heading for a higher open on Wednesday, looking to build on gains in the previous session.

The U.K.’s FTSE index is expected to open 17 points higher at 6,960, the German DAX up 29 points at 12,824 and the French CAC up 12 points at 6,090, according to data from IG.

— Hannah Ward-Glenton

CNBC Pro: Goldman Sachs outlines four economic scenarios and predicts how gold will perform in each

It’s been a choppy year for gold, with the precious metal “torn between growth and inflation risks and higher real rates and the strong dollar,” Goldman analysts wrote in an Oct. 11 note.

“In our view, there remains a lot of uncertainty around the future path of U.S. inflation, growth, rates and the central bank (CB)’s reaction functions.”

Goldman ran four different economic scenarios, and predicted where gold prices could end up in each case.

CNBC Pro subscribers can read more here.

— Weizhen Tan

U.S. crude futures move up $1 per barrel on expectations that Biden will release oil from Strategic Petroleum Reserve

Futures of West Texas Intermediate crude moved up around $1, or 1.33% and futures of Brent crude rose $0.83, or 0.92% as the Biden administration is expected to release more oil from the U.S. Strategic Petroleum Reserve.

The plan could be announced as early as Wednesday, sources told CNBC.

The move aims to extend the current SPR delivery program, which began this spring, through December, the sources said.

–Kayla Tausche, Jihye Lee

Company earnings are beating expectations

Of the 9.15% of S&P 500 companies that have reported earnings so far this season, 70% of them have posted positive surprises, according to data from FactSet.

Earnings expectations have been lowered considerably and the market is braced for a good amount of negative news in earnings season, Yung-Yu Ma, BMO Wealth Management chief investment strategist, told CNBC.

However, he added, “to the extent that that doesn’t actually transpire, that we get more of a nuanced message that companies on average are doing okay, okay is still pretty good in an environment where the market is braced for volatility, turmoil, slowing growth, declines and a challenging environment.”

— Tanaya Macheel

Netflix pops after hours on earnings

Shares of the streaming giant Netflix jumped in extended trading after it reported quarterly results, including the addition of 2.41 million net global subscribers, which is more than twice what it projected a quarter ago.

Stock futures open higher Tuesday night

Stock futures opened higher Tuesday evening after the major averaged posted a second straight day of gains and Netflix reported strong earnings after the bell.

Futures tied to the Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 124 points, or 0.4%. S&P 500 futures gained 0.7% and Nasdaq 100 futures jumped 1.2%.

— Tanaya Macheel