The Club’s 10 things to watch Wednesday, Aug. 20 — Today’s newsletter was written by Investing Club editor Kevin Stankiewicz. 1. Wall Street was set to open slightly lower today after the S & P 500 closed lower yesterday for the third session in a row. Investors were parsing the latest retail earnings this morning. They were also looking ahead to this afternoon’s release of the minutes from the Federal Reserve’s July meeting — two days before Fed Chairman Jerome Powell addresses the Jackson Hole central bank confab Friday. 2. Shares of TJ Maxx parent TJX Companies are rallying to a new all-time high after second-quarter earnings results beat expectations. Same-store sales were also better than what the Street was expecting. TJX also raised its full-year guide despite tariff headwinds. Consumers want value, and that’s what TJX’s off-price chains deliver. 3. Target shares tumbled nearly 11% on earnings yet again after the struggling retailer reported another quarter of same-store sales declines and reiterated its full-year outlook. It also announced that Chief Operating Officer Michael Fiddelke will replace longtime CEO Brian Cornell in February. 4. Shares of Lowe’s added 3% on the back of better-than-expected quarterly sales and revenue , along with a slight increase to its full-year sales outlook. The home improvement retailer also announced plans to buy drywall and insulation distributor Foundation Building Materials for $8.8 billion. It’s a move that mirrors Club name Home Depot’s two recent acquisitions to better serve professional customers. 5. McDonald’s is cutting the price of combo meals after the fast-food chain was able to convince its franchisees to go along with the plan, The Wall Street Journal reported . It’s part of an effort to win back customers who have shied away from the chain in recent years due to rising prices. 6. Club name Amazon’s auto sales platform is adding used cars from Hertz , sending shares of the car-rental provider up 10%. Amazon’s stock wasn’t moving much, unsurprisingly, given that Amazon Autos is a tiny part of the overall company. But with shares of Carvana and Carmax down on the news, investors clearly see the potential for Amazon to grow it. 7. The national average rate on a 30-year fixed-rate mortgage ticked up to 6.68% from last week’s 6.67%, and home loan demand stalled. After last week’s 23% surge in refinancing applications, refis fell 3% this week. Purchase apps rose 0.1% after last week’s 1% increase, according to the latest data from the Mortgage Bankers Association . 8. The FDA approved the first-ever glucose monitoring system specifically for weight loss. The startup Signos makes the system, which uses AI and an off-the-shelf continuous glucose monitor from Dexcom . It can be used as another tool by people taking the GLP-1 drugs from Club name Eli Lilly and Novo Nordisk . But, anyone who wants to lose weight can use the system to help them on their journey. 9. Club name Honeywell is buying a trio of utility software programs from SparkMeter. While these are small deals for Honeywell, the strategic rationale is about enhancing its exposure to growing electricity demand, thanks largely to AI computing. 10. Microsoft will be “an important partner for years to come,” OpenAI finance chief Sarah Friar said this morning on CNBC’s “Squawk Box.” With questions about what OpenAI’s push for independence could mean for Club stock Microsoft, Friar’s comments are notable. Their evolving and reportedly tense relationship is one of the biggest stories in tech and AI . Sign up for my Top 10 Morning Thoughts on the Market email newsletter for free (See here for a full list of the stocks at Jim Cramer’s Charitable Trust.) As a subscriber to the CNBC Investing Club with Jim Cramer, you will receive a trade alert before Jim makes a trade. Jim waits 45 minutes after sending a trade alert before buying or selling a stock in his charitable trust’s portfolio. If Jim has talked about a stock on CNBC TV, he waits 72 hours after issuing the trade alert before executing the trade. THE ABOVE INVESTING CLUB INFORMATION IS SUBJECT TO OUR TERMS AND CONDITIONS AND PRIVACY POLICY , TOGETHER WITH OUR DISCLAIMER . NO FIDUCIARY OBLIGATION OR DUTY EXISTS, OR IS CREATED, BY VIRTUE OF YOUR RECEIPT OF ANY INFORMATION PROVIDED IN CONNECTION WITH THE INVESTING CLUB. NO SPECIFIC OUTCOME OR PROFIT IS GUARANTEED.
