Madison Mills

    Host and Reporter

    Mady hosts Catalysts from 11 a.m. to 12 p.m.

  • JetBlue to open its first airport lounges as CEO focuses on getting 'back to profitability'

    It's been a year of challenges for JetBlue. But the airline believes it can turn the corner with new premium offerings, a focus on leisure travel, and strategic cost-cutting.

  • Existing home sales fall, JetBlue CEO interview: Catalysts

    The first full trading hour of Thursday, September 19, is in full swing with equities (^DJI, ^IXIC, ^GSPC) popping after yesterday's interest rate cut. Catalysts hosts Madison Mills and Seana Smith cover the biggest market stories and talk to top Wall Street experts about their long-term forecasts on the Federal Reserve's rate-cutting cycle. Citi head of US equity strategy Scott Chronert comes on the show to talk about the barbell approach for Magnificent Seven tech stocks and what the Fed's rate easing means for stocks. JetBlue Airways (JBLU) CEO Joanna Geraghty also joins the program to expand upon the airline operator's plans to return to profitability. Yahoo Finance executive editor Brian Sozzi then speaks with T-Mobile (TMUS) CEO Mike Sievert on the wireless carrier's growth momentum amid the mass adoption of artificial intelligence. Other top trending stocks on the Yahoo Finance platform include DoorDash (DASH), Five Below (FIVE), and Coursera (COUR). This post was written by Luke Carberry Mogan.

  • Both 2024 candidates are 'equity negative': Citi strategist

    Ahead of the presidential election, Citi's head of US equity strategy Scott Chronert joins Catalysts to discuss what investors should consider ahead of the November race when Citi believes both Vice President Kamala Harris and former president Donald Trump are negatives for the equity market (^DJI, ^IXIC, ^GSPC). Chronert tells Yahoo Finance Citi is considering three forces affecting the stock market for investors to take into account, including soft landing sentiments, the growth trajectories of the Magnificent Seven tech stocks, and the tail risk of the 2024 election. "The election effects are hard to position for because there's still a lot of wood to chop in terms of getting to the election," Chornert says. “Our work is that both candidates' policy platforms, all told, are marginally equity negative, but it’s still in this context of this bigger picture of where we are with the Fed in response to where we are with economic activity, ability to thread the economic, you know, needle to [a] soft landing category and then to the degree to which news flow continues to support that mega-cap growth cohort.” For more expert insight and the latest market action, click here to watch this full episode of Catalysts. This post was written by Naomi Buchanan.

  • JetBlue is 'undervalued': CEO explains why

    JetBlue Airways (JBLU) CEO Joanna Geraghty joins Catalysts from the Skift Global Forum to discuss the role of activist investors in the company and the termination of its merger agreement with Spirit Airlines (SAVE). Activist investor Carl Icahn's Icahn Enterprises (IEP) has acquired two board seats at JetBlue, putting pressure on the company as it seeks to return to profitability. "I think it's great when you're aligned with your activist shareholder and board members," Geraghty explains. She continues, "JetBlue is undervalued and we strongly believe that. We've got a number of really important strengths — whether it's the slots, the gates, our network, our people, our product offering — and we want to make sure that we're getting more value out of that." She notes that JetBlue's Jet Forward program, the company's strategy to return to profitability, had full support from the board — including the two seats held by Icahn Enterprises. She adds, "We're focused on transparency and making sure that everybody is on the same page. It's a great company, a great brand, great people, and we need turn things around and everybody's aligned from that perspective." As airliners have had a rocky year navigating various safety issues, Geraghty stresses that "safety is always the number one priority for JetBlue." She explains that the company has a non-retribution culture where employees can feel comfortable to come forward and discuss any issues. "The moment that you have a culture where people feel that they can't come forward and disclose things is where I think things start to take a turn in a direction that's not so great. If you don't have a safe airline, a safe manufacturing facility, then the brand, the experience, none of that really matters," she tells Yahoo Finance. After JetBlue announced it terminated its merger agreement with Spirit Airlines, Geraghty says that there are no other mergers on the horizon as the company focuses on getting back to profitability. "We're focusing on reminding customers about what makes JetBlue special. We need to be profitable. We want to be loved. And we're going to continue to double down on that and focus on our strengths." For more expert insight and the latest market action, click here to watch this full episode of Catalysts. This post was written by Melanie Riehl

  • JetBlue CEO lays out airline's path back to profitability

    Airline stocks are poised for upside growth heading into the final months of 2024, according to Bank of America. JetBlue Airways (JBLU) has recently lifted its forward guidance, citing decreased gas prices and increased July bookings after a challenging year involving the sale of $2.75 billion in debt. JetBlue Airways CEO Joanna Geraghty joins Catalysts from the Skift Global Forum to discuss the airline operator's performance and some of its growth opportunities ahead. Geraghty explains that JetBlue has its sights set on getting back to profitability, and points to the launch of its Jet Forward program as a way to work toward that goal. She explains that the strategy focuses on "reliable and caring service, best East Coast leisure network products and perks customers love, and a secure financial future." She notes that many of JetBlue's planes use Pratt & Whitney GTF engines, which are being investigated for potential issues. Geraghty calls Pratt & Whitney an "important business partner and an important part of JetBlue's future," adding that JetBlue is currently working with the company to "ensure that we receive the right level of compensation to reflect the impact that this is having to our forward-looking capacity." As capacity remains a critical issue, she explains that JetBlue is seeing "positive improvements" in Latin America, which is largely a cyclical industry. She explains that the fall season is historically challenging, and highlights that the company has pulled nearly 10% of its capacity out of the fall to boost its performance Overall, she says, "the peaks and troughs post-COVID are definitely much more acute, and we're taking a number of self-help measures to moderate some of that impact." Moving forward, Geraghty tells Yahoo Finance that JetBlue is focused on "flying to the places where our brand is strong and where we make the most money." She points to areas on the East Coast and expansions into Islip, New York, and Manchester, New Hampshire, while continuing to grow its presence in Boston and surrounding areas. For more expert insight and the latest market action, click here to watch this full episode of Catalysts. This post was written by Melanie Riehl

  • Why bonds can be a 'tremendous offset' in case of a recession

    Treasury yields (^TYX, ^TNX, ^FVX) swing higher in response to the Federal Reserve's decision to cut interest rates by 50 basis points yesterday. PGIM Fixed Income Co-Chief Investment Officer Greg Peters shares his perspective on how the bond market could move off of future rate cuts. "You're seeing that in the reaction today where the bond market's taking a breather because what's built into the current pricing is just a continuation of a lot of cuts. Over 150 [basis points] or so," Peters tells Yahoo Finance. "And to me and to others, I think that actually has to be more of a tipping into a recession type of an environment, not a soft landing. So I think it's just a little too much too soon, honestly." Peters believes the central bank's rate forecasts to be in line with his own projections and should show to be "rationalized over the next several months or quarters." On the fixed income side of things, Peters outlines why Treasuries and the fixed income sector "provide a tremendous offset to your portfolio" in case of a recession or economic slowdown. For more expert insight and the latest market action, click here to watch this full episode of Catalysts. This post was written by Luke Carberry Mogan.

  • Take a barbell approach to Mag 7, tech stocks: Citi strategist

    Tech stocks rallied after the Federal Reserve cut rates 50 basis points, with some of the Magnificent Seven names like Tesla (TSLA) and Nvidia (NVDA) leading the charge. Citi head of US equity strategy Scott Chronert joins Seana Smith and Madison Mills on Catalysts to discuss how to play the tech sector. “It's a buy the news, sell the news reaction to the Fed,” Chronert says. “The leadership this quarter has really been those areas of the market that are perceived beneficiaries of lower rates. So real estate, utilities, even the homebuilder ETFs have been hitting recent highs. In the meantime, tech is still lagging where it was last time the index was through 5,600." “Essentially what you have here… is that a bit of a profit taking on the news in those areas that have been perceived as rate sensitive. And, at the same time, a catch-up move in that mega-cap growth cohort that ultimately does benefit from lower interest rates, but has been a relative laggard thus far this quarter. All told, what you've got is an index moving higher.” Taking a look at the Magnificent 7, Chronert outlines Citi’s view on the group: “We've been arguing for the better part of this year that they're becoming more idiosyncratic in their behavior.” He explains that Nvidia, Apple (AAPL), and Microsoft (MSFT) — who control over 6% of the index — "those companies are going to be important to index price action and I think you're seeing that today. But, what we're focused on from this barbell angle is we want to be holders of those, but when you look at the rate of increase in this and forward-year earnings expectations, it's been a stair-step function for over a year now. It's beginning to decelerate.” For more expert insight and the latest market action, click here to watch this full episode of Catalysts. This post was written by Naomi Buchanan.

  • BofA initiates coverage on Coursera, gives it a Buy rating

    Shares of Coursera (COUR) are moving to the upside after Bank of America initiated coverage and gave the online education platform a Buy rating and $11 price target. Catalysts Hosts Seana Smith and Madison Mills break down the bullish call and report on the stock's performance over the last year. For more expert insight and the latest market action, click here to watch this full episode of Catalysts. This post was written by Melanie Riehl

  • DoorDash rising after BTIG upgrades stock to Buy

    Shares of DoorDash (DASH) are climbing after BTIG upgraded the food delivery company to a Buy rating from Neutral. Catalysts Hosts Seana Smith and Madison Mills report on the bullish call and break down some of the growth opportunities that lie ahead for DoorDash. For more expert insight and the latest market action, click here to watch this full episode of Catalysts. This post was written by Melanie Riehl

  • JPMorgan downgrades Five Below, ups price target. Here's why

    JPMorgan analysts downgraded discount retailer Five Below (FIVE) to Underweight while boosting its price target on the stock to $95 per share. Catalysts Madison Mills and Seana Smith report on the analyst note that references Five Below's declining comparable store sales. For more expert insight and the latest market action, click here to watch this full episode of Catalysts. This post was written by Luke Carberry Mogan.

  • US existing home sales fall 2.5% in August

    US existing home sales fell by 2.5% in the month of August, nearly double the 1.3% decline economists originally forecasted. Catalysts hosts Madison Mills and Seana Smith examine the housing data out from the National Association of Realtors (NAR), noting the 0.7% month-over-month climb in housing inventory and the anticipated impact of the Federal Reserve's interest rate-cutting cycle. For more expert insight and the latest market action, click here to watch this full episode of Catalysts. This post was written by Luke Carberry Mogan.

  • US housing inventory, Salesforce's Benioff talks AI regulation: Catalysts

    Stocks are getting into the swing of things in the first full trading hour of Wednesday, September 18. Catalysts hosts Madison Mills and Brad Smith cover an array of topics as investors and markets await the Federal Reserve's interest rate policy decision later this afternoon. Bank of America Securities senior home builders and building products analyst Rafe Jadrosich joins the program to talk about trends in housing affordability and inventory as mortgage rates begin to cool. KPMG CEO Paul Knopp breaks down the results of KPMG's 2024 CEO Outlook Survey as chief executives continue to be optimistic on their corporate growth. Yahoo Finance executive editor Brian Sozzi sat down with Salesforce (CRM) CEO Marc Benioff at the 2024 Dreamforce conference in San Francisco to talk about the future of AI regulation. Other top trending stocks on the Yahoo Finance platform include Novartis (NVS), Novo Nordisk (NVO), Tupperware Brands (TUP), and Amazon (AMZN). This post was written by Luke Carberry Mogan.

  • Why 80% of CEOs aim to bring their workers back to the office

    Amazon (AMZN) is implementing a return-to-office policy, asking its corporate employees to be in the office five days a week. KPMG CEO Paul Knopp joins Catalysts to discuss how CEOs are feeling about return-to-office mandates. KPMG's 2024 CEO Outlook Survey saw almost 80% of chief executives looking to bring their workforce back to the office over the next three years. "I've seen a lot of experimentation and pivoting over the last few years. It's very much a sector and or company story, so every company is going to be a little different in our industry," Knopp explains. However, he believes that hybrid work "is probably here to stay." "Hybrid has worked quite well for many organizations. At the same time, we have to all recognize that we need our employees back together enough for them to learn, to ideate, to collaborate, to be mentored, to develop. And that's a fine balance to walk because the hybrid environment is a much more complex environment to optimize than the other two environments, you know, fully remote or fully back at the office, which are more straightforward." For more expert insight and the latest market action, click here to watch this full episode of Catalysts. This post was written by Melanie Riehl

  • Investors await Fed decision, EU overturns Google fine: Morning Brief

    Wall Street is abuzz with talk around the Federal Reserve's interest rate decision to come later today. It has been highly anticipated — by investors and markets — that the central bank will begin cutting interest rates at the conclusion of its September FOMC meeting, followed by a press conference with Fed Chair Jerome Powell. The Morning Brief's Brad Smith and Madison Mills help investors start their day off right, tackling the biggest market stories and getting expert Wall Street commentary about the Fed's interest rate moves. The show welcomes on Oppenheimer Chief Investment Strategist John Stoltzfus to talk about his own outlook around the Fed's rate cutting, how much the central bank could initially cut by, and the cyclical sectors that are well positioned for a rate cut. Independent Institute senior fellow Judy Shelton joins the program to discuss the economic policy reform she wishes to see from the Fed, especially if former President Donald Trump is reelected. Shelton previously served as an economic adviser to Trump, and he nominated her for the Federal Reserve Board in 2019. Other top trending stocks on the Yahoo Finance platform include General Mills (GIS), Intuitive Machines (LUNR), and Roku (ROKU). This post was written by Luke Carberry Mogan.

  • How private credit is filling the void left behind by banks

    About 61% of fund-limited partners reported they'll expand their asset allocation to private credit this year, according to the S&P Global Market Intelligence Survey. SLR Capital Partners co-founder Michael Gross joins Catalysts to discuss the appetite for private credit and its outlook as interest rates fall. "I think investor interest in private credit is here to stay because if you compare returns of private credit to liquid credit, they're better-structured deals. And banks more and more are being pressured to get away and out of that business. So private credit is filling that void," Gross tells Yahoo Finance. Gross explains that "the bar should always be high in private credit," as lenders don't like to take risks. However, he notes that the bar is "higher today than ever because we're late in the economic cycle." As companies face increased pressure, private credit managers look for alternative ways to lend — like lending against hard assets, for instance — that do not depend on a positive economic backdrop for performance. As the Federal Reserve kicks off its rate-easing cycle, he believes that cash-flow lending will come under pressure. Meanwhile, sectors within private credit like factoring, equipment leasing, and life-science lending will provide high returns. "So we see real opportunity in continuing to lend to those companies and filling the void where the regional banks are being forced to exit," he adds. For more expert insight and the latest market action, click here to watch this full episode of Catalysts. This post was written by Melanie Riehl

  • The key issues CEOs are most concerned about: KPMG survey

    KPMG's 2024 CEO Outlook Survey saw AI, the election, and interest rate cuts as key issues the world's biggest business leaders are watching. KPMG CEO Paul Knopp joins Catalysts to discuss the results of the survey and how chief executives across industries are feeling about the overall state of the economy. Despite economic and political uncertainty ahead, Knopp highlights that CEOs are "very optimistic" about the next three years. "Upwards of 80% of CEOs are really optimistic about their growth outlook. And I think that's because we've been navigating all kinds of uncertainty the last four years and doing it with with excellence. And now we have some clarity on the direction of interest rates and inflation cooling somewhat. And I think that's giving CEOs some confidence that we can absolutely deal with this environment," Knopp tells Yahoo Finance. On the hiring front, Knopp notes that the labor market is "very dynamic." He notes that CEOs are concerned about the aging workforce and less students going to college, explaining that these factors will impact the labor force and keep it "somewhat imbalanced and somewhat tight." Knopp adds that talent is a key issue for CEOs as they look to reskill and upskill their employees around generative AI. As the election is under two months away, Knopp explains that corporate leaders are focused on scenario planning. "We, as business leaders, believe that we can deal with whatever environment we have, whatever outcome that we might have moving forward into the future. And we're definitely making sure that we're ready for whatever might happen," he says. He points to tax positioning as one way business leaders are preparing for the election, as Vice President Kamala Harris and former President Donald Trump run on contrasting tax policies. As AI becomes widely adopted, CEOs are also concerned about the risk of cyberattacks. Knopp explains "we have to have amazing awareness of what's happening to make sure that our employees and all of us do not get caught up in cybercrime. And so it's really important to make sure that you have preventative measures in place, as well as the detective measures we've historically had. But the technology that's out there, right now, is really great. But at the end of the day, it's really about awareness of the risk." For more expert insight and the latest market action, click here to watch this full episode of Catalysts. This post was written by Melanie Riehl

  • Why there's 'a story of two different housing markets'

    Rafe Jadrosich, the senior home builders and building products analyst at Bank of America Securities, joins Brad Smith and Madison Mills on Catalysts to discuss the uptick in new residential construction as mortgage rates trend down and the Federal Reserve cuts rates. “From the beginning of July to today, we've seen mortgage rates fall from around 7% for a 30-year fixed mortgage down to almost 6.1%. That's a really sharp decline in a short period of time, which is driving the increase in the refinancing activity, and we're almost at the lowest mortgage rate in over two years,” Jadresic tells Yahoo Finance. As mortgage rates fall, there’s been an increase in demand for new homes, and Jadrosich expects the market will “start to get a little bit more activity on the existing home sales side.” “There has been an uptick in inventory,” which is “part of the process for existing home sales to uptick, so we still have a lock-in effect, but definitely, as you're going forward here, it's gotten a little bit better.” Jadresic says “there's sort of a story of two different housing markets, right now, you have the resale market, the existing home market, and then you have the new home market. There's a really interesting dynamic in pricing where existing home prices are actually above new home prices,” which the analyst credits to the “dynamic of supply.” As “home builders are adding supply to the market,” existing homeowners that are locked in at an attractive rate “want to be compensated for giving up their rate.” “Lower rates will help solve the affordability problem just because financing costs are lower, although prices probably tick up a little bit,” Jadrosich outlining that “obviously lower rates will support pricing,” but "we just need more inventory on the market as well.” Jadrosich names NVR (NVR) and D.R. Horton (DHI) as homebuilder stocks to watch. For more expert insight and the latest market action, click here to watch this full episode of Catalysts. This post was written by Naomi Buchanan.

  • Fmr. Trump adviser talks whether Fed should remain apolitical

    Independent Institute senior fellow sits down with Madison Mills and Brad Smith to discuss her experience advising former President Donald Trump on his economic policies and what she would like to see from a second Trump administration if he is reelected in November. Trump originally nominated Shelton for the Federal Reserve Board in 2019 before the nomination process stalled in 2020 and President Biden withdrew the nomination after taking office in 2021. Trump has disagreed with a lot of the Federal Reserve's policies and has stated that he would like to have more of a say in the Fed's monetary policy during a second administration. "I think he had a right as president, as I think every citizen has a right, to disagree with some of the things the Fed was doing," Shelton tells Yahoo Finance. She notes that Trump particularly disagreed with Fed Chair Jerome Powell's raising interest rates during his term despite seeing record-low unemployment: "The Fed was preemptively raising rates, and his complaint was why are you unnecessarily curtailing growth when there's no inflation present? And it did cause the Fed to reevaluate their framework for deciding when to raise rates." Shelton notes that if presidents should influence Fed policy, it would ultimately require Congress to have more oversight on the central bank. For more expert insight and the latest market action, click here to watch this full episode of Morning Brief. This post was written by Melanie Riehl

  • Amazon raises warehouse worker base pay to $22 an hour

    Amazon (AMZN) will raise its base average hourly raise for warehouse workers to $22 per hour, also adding a Prime membership on top of workers' benefits package. Madison Mills and Brad Smith report more on the story. For more expert insight and the latest market action, click here to watch this full episode of Catalysts. This post was written by Luke Carberry Mogan.

  • Musk threatens to sue FAA after SpaceX fined over launch

    SpaceX founder and CEO Elon Musk is threatening to sue the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) after the agency fined the private space operator for supposedly violating launch requirements. Brad Smith and Madison Mills report more on this story. For more expert insight and the latest market action, click here to watch this full episode of Catalysts. This post was written by Luke Carberry Mogan.