Business Frame Weekly – Stocks open lower as Oracle sinks / IRS vows new enforcement efforts aided by AI

Stocks opened lower on Wall Street on Tuesday, as investors waited for Apple's highly anticipated fall event to kick off and counted down to Wednesday's key inflation data report.

UPS CEO Carol Tome said the costs incurred by the company for the new Teamsters contract are less than the ”$30 billion in new money” touted by the union, as the company aims to sell investors on the agreement.

In what he described as "the start of sweeping, historic effort," IRS commissioner Danny Werfel announced a plan to focus more tax enforcement efforts on the wealthy and those who abuse the law.

In this newsletter:

• Stocks open lower as Oracle sinks, with Apple and inflation in focus: Stock market news today
• UPS CEO sells investors on new labor contract as company sees stock slide ahead of holiday peak
• IRS vows new enforcement efforts aided by AI
• Music Licensing, Inc. (OTC:SONG) Unveils Strategic Initiatives to Elevate Shareholder Value and Market Position
• Hip-hop stars and financial luminaries: Ritholtz Wealth Management redesigns the investment conference
• Jamie Dimon says it’s a ‘huge mistake’ to think economy will boom with so many risks out there

September 12, 2023

Stocks open lower as Oracle sinks, with Apple and inflation in focus: Stock market news today

Stocks opened lower on Wall Street on Tuesday, as investors waited for Apple's highly anticipated fall event to kick off and counted down to Wednesday's key inflation data report. The tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite (^IXIC) led the retreat, down about 0.3% amid a tumble in Oracle (ORCL) shares after the software maker posted slowing cloud sales growth. The S&P 500 (^GSPC) dropped about 0.2%, while the Dow Jones Industrial Average (^DJI) slipped about 0.1%. Tech stocks will take center stage on Tuesday, with Apple (AAPL) is expected to launch the iPhone 15 at its highly anticipated fall event, and as anticipation builds for the blockbuster Arm IPO. The chip designer will close its order book early, by Tuesday afternoon, the listing is up to 10 times oversubscribed, reports said.

UPS CEO sells investors on new labor contract as company sees stock slide ahead of holiday peak

UPS CEO Carol Tome said the costs incurred by the company for the new Teamsters contract are less than the ”$30 billion in new money” touted by the union, as the company aims to sell investors on the agreement. “It’s not a $30 billion deal,” Tome told CNBC’s Frank Holland in an exclusive interview on Monday. But Tome declined to reveal the internal projection as the company released its first presentation to investors outlining the labor expenses after the bell Monday. UPS said 46% of the compensation in the deal would be in the first year. Tome called the agreement cost-effective and fair. “It’s a barbell structure where it’s heavier in the beginning of the contract.” Tome said. “We’ll go in the middle of the contract and it steps back down. This 46% of the cost increase happens in the first year, so imagine what the last four years of the contract are!”

IRS vows new enforcement efforts aided by AI

In what he described as "the start of sweeping, historic effort," IRS commissioner Danny Werfel announced a plan to focus more tax enforcement efforts on the wealthy and those who abuse the law. While some of the plans are familiar — such as auditing more millionaires — the specificity is new, particularly an announced focus on large partnerships. Werfel's description of the future IRS is different than the reality of the recent past, with long wait times for taxpayers on the phone and a large backlog of paper returns. In a call Thursday with reporters ahead of a news release (IR-2023-166) about the effort posted Friday, Werfel discussed using artificial intelligence (AI) to find patterns and trends among large partnerships and to identify possible nonfilers who hold millions in foreign bank accounts. Werfel credited funds allocated to the IRS by the Inflation Reduction Act, P.L. 117-169, for the improvements. "This new compliance push we are announcing today makes good on the promise of the Inflation Reduction Act to ensure the IRS holds our wealthiest filers accountable to pay the full amount of what they owe," Werfel said. "These are laws already on the books, passed by Congress, that the IRS hasn't had the funding for many years to actively enforce. We can't let that situation continue."

Music Licensing, Inc. (OTC:SONG) Unveils Strategic Initiatives to Elevate Shareholder Value and Market Position

In our unwavering commitment to industry-leading standards, Music Licensing, Inc. (OTC:SONG) is thrilled to unveil the seamless integration of Plaid, a state-of-the-art technology solution. This strategic move significantly heightens our Know Your Customer (KYC) protocols, ensuring an even more secure and transparent environment for all stakeholders. Mark your calendars for October 4, 2023, as we anticipate a pivotal court hearing pertaining to the FINRA arbitration case against OTC Link, LLC. This development underscores our relentless pursuit of justice and Pro Music Rights is seeking compensatory damages in the amount of $386,574,108.25 plus interest and costs From OTC Link, LLC. In the FINRA arbitration case against OTC Link, LLC

Hip-hop stars and financial luminaries: Ritholtz Wealth Management redesigns the investment conference

Roughly 3,000 investors and financial advisors have descended on Huntington Beach, California — a.k.a. Surf City USA —for a financial conference. A financial conference on a beach? In Huntington Beach, home to nine miles of shoreline and the world center of beach volleyball? Yep. And I mean, it is on the beach. And who are attendees coming to see? They’re coming to see big stars. They’re coming to see Method Man & Redman. Wait, who? They’re coming to see hip-hop legends Method Man (Wu-Tang Clan) & Redman (Def Squad), who will perform Tuesday night. They’re not the only stars. There will be financial luminaries as well. Jeremy Siegel from Wharton/WisdomTree. Jeff Kleintop from Charles Schwab. Emily Roland from John Hancock. Cliff Asness from AQR. Jeff Gundlach from DoubleLine. ETF and commodity maven Jan van Eck. But this is one of those conferences where the social interaction is as important as the content

Jamie Dimon says it’s a ‘huge mistake’ to think economy will boom with so many risks out there

JPMorgan Chase CEO Jamie Dimon said Monday that while the U.S. economy is doing well, it would be a “huge mistake” to believe that it will last for years. Healthy consumer balance sheets and rising wages are supporting the economy for now, but there are risks ahead, said Dimon, who was speaking at a financial conference in New York. Topping his concerns include central banks reining in liquidity programs via “quantitative tightening,” the Ukraine war, and governments around the world “spending like drunken sailors,” the executive said. “To say the consumer is strong today, meaning you are going to have a booming environment for years, is a huge mistake,” he said.

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