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Another billionaire investor is rooting for Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump’s victory in the Nov. 5 election and has accordingly positioned his portfolio. The call comes on the heels of former hedge fund manager Stanley Druckenmiller‘s similar prediction.

What’s In Store In Political Arena: “We believe that the likelihood of a Republican victory in the White House has increased, which would have a positive impact on certain sectors and the market overall,” said hedge fund Third Point founder and CEO Daniel Loeb said in the firm’s third-quarter investor letter.

The hedge fund manager said the “America First” tariffs will increase domestic manufacturing, infrastructure spending, and prices of certain materials and commodities. He also said a potential reduction in regulation in the activist antitrust stance of the Biden-Harris administration would unleash productivity and a wave of corporate activity.

“Accordingly, we have increased certain positions that could benefit from such a scenario via both stock and option purchases and continue to shift our portfolio away from companies that will not,” the hedge fund manager said. A study of Senate races will likely see Republicans establishing a majority, thus precluding a “Blue Sweep” if Kamala Harris wins the race to the White House, according to the hedge-fund manager.

He warned of a “Blue sweep” theoretically ushering in crushing taxes, stifling regulations, and a headwind to
growth.

See Also: What Are Cyclical Stocks

Economic Outlook: Loeb reassured investors regarding the economy. “In the economy, we see no evidence of recession, slowing inflation, and a real interest rate that still needs to come down,” he said.

The hedge fund manager also sees healthy consumer spending, and active levels of individual investing, providing a liquidity backdrop to sustain market levels. The setup is good for event-driven investing, he said, adding that “the potential for risk arbitrage transactions and corporate activity could usher in a golden age for the strategy.”

Third Point’s Q3 Winners & Losers: Third Point Offshore Fund generated a return of 3.9%, taking the annualized net returns to 13.1%. The third-quarter returns of the fund, however, paled before the S&P 500’s 5.9% gain and the MSCI World Index’s 6.5% rise.

Loeb noted that the global market gains continued in the third quarter but the rally broadened out in the quarter, with the Magnificent 7 trailing the broader market for the first time since the fourth quarter of 2022. Rate-sensitive stocks and cyclicals outperformed as the market looked ahead to the easing cycle, he added.

The top gainers and decliners of the fund are as follows:

Gainers

• Privately-held R2 Semiconductor
• PG&E Corporation’s PCG Pacific Gas and Electric Company subsidiary
• Utility Vistra Corp. VST
• KB Home KBH
• Lifesciences and diagnostics company Danaher Corporation DHR

Losers:

• Bath & Body Works, Inc. BBWI
• Amazon.com, Inc. AMZN
• Advance Auto Parts, Inc. AAP
• Alphabet Inc. GOOG GOOGL
• Microsoft Corporation MSFT

Loeb also said his fund initiated a position in Danish freight forwarder DSV. “We believe DSV can earn more than 100 DKK per share in 2027 and see significant upside for one of Europe’s best companies,” he said.

The SPDR S&P 500 ETF Trust SPY, an exchange-traded fund that tracks the performance of the S&P 500 Index, traded up 0.25% to $583.78 in premarket trading on Friday, according to Benzinga Pro data.

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In its third-quarter earnings call on Thursday, Netflix Inc NFLX executives shed light on their calculated approach to live sports programming, acknowledging that while their upcoming slate of live events—including the Jake Paul–Mike Tyson fight and NFL Christmas Day game—might seem minimal against their staggering 200 billion annual streaming hours, the strategy focuses on high-impact moments rather than volume.

What Happened: “We have about 200 billion hour every year on Netflix. Very few of them are actually live, but they all promise to be extremely high value,” said Ted Sarandos, Netflix’s Co-CEO, during the company’s earnings call. “Thankfully, all hours are not created equal.”

The streaming giant’s selective entry into live programming marks a significant shift from its traditional on-demand model, though executives stress this isn’t about competing with traditional sports broadcasters. Instead, Netflix aims to capture “the excitement that comes when the whole world gets together to watch something,” according to Sarandos.

The company’s live programming strategy includes:

• The highly anticipated Jake Paul vs. Mike Tyson boxing match
• NFL football on Christmas Day
• Weekly WWE programming starting January 2025
• Live comedy specials, including a new John Mulaney show

Despite these high-profile additions, Netflix maintains its core focus on scripted and unscripted content, which drives the vast majority of its viewing hours. The platform reports approximately two hours of viewing per member per day, with engagement per household increasing through the first three quarters of 2024.

Greg Peters, Co-CEO, emphasized the strategic value of live events in the broader content mix. “Those should be exciting things,” Peters noted, positioning live programming alongside games and traditional content as part of Netflix’s expanding entertainment offering.

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Why It Matters: The approach reflects a broader industry trend of streaming services selectively entering the live sports market, though Netflix’s strategy appears more measured than competitors like Amazon.com Inc.’s AMZN Prime Video and Apple Inc AAPL TV+, which have made substantial investments in regular season sports rights.

Netflix’s current engagement metrics suggest the company’s selective approach to live programming may be working. With subscriber engagement remaining strong and revenue growth projected at 11-13% for 2025, the company appears confident in its strategy of prioritizing high-impact live events over volume.

“The contributor to growing engagement is going to be across the board on our scripted and unscripted or documentary programming,” Sarandos explained, suggesting live programming will complement rather than drive the company’s core content strategy.

As Netflix projects revenue of $43-44 billion for 2025, its approach to live programming offers a glimpse into how the streaming giant plans to maintain growth while selectively expanding into new content territories.

Price Action: Netflix Inc. closed at $687.65 on Thursday, down 2.04%. In after-hours trading, the stock rose by 5.03%. Year to date, Netflix has surged 46.78%, according to data from Benzinga Pro.

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Disclaimer: This content was partially produced with the help of AI tools and was reviewed and published by Benzinga editors.

Home prices are declining across many of America’s largest real estate markets, with Miami leading the downturn. Median listing prices dropped 12.4% from the previous year.

According to new data from Realtor.com’s September Housing Market Report, the shift toward more affordable housing is spanning “coast to coast,” with price declines hitting markets from San Francisco to Cincinnati.

The cooling trend is coming even as mortgage rates climb following their dip last month.

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Nationwide, the median home listing price fell to $425,000, marking a 1% decrease from two years ago. However, Realtor.com economist Joel Berner said there is some nuance in the data. “The median price per square foot grew by 2.3%, indicating that the inventory of smaller and more affordable homes continues to grow in share,” Berner said.

See Also: This Jeff Bezos-backed startup will allow you to become a landlord in just 10 minutes, and you only need $100.

Florida markets dominate the list of price declines, with four cities among the top ten that Realtor tracked. Miami tops the list with its 12.4% drop to $525,000, followed by Tampa (-5.5% to $414,948) Orlando (-5.6% to $429,950) and Jacksonville (-6.1% to $399,000).

Robert Washington, owner of St. Petersburg-based Savvy Buyers Realty, said Florida’s market correction results are due to post-pandemic factors. “Remote work trend certainly played a role, but I think many of the people that have come to Florida were more focused on the benefits of no state income tax as well as political ideologies,” he told Realtor.

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Beyond Florida, price drops are hitting major metropolitan areas across multiple regions. Cincinnati saw the second-largest decline at 9.5%, bringing its median listing price to $337,000. San Francisco followed with an 8.9% decrease to $997,500, while Kansas City’s prices fell 8.4% to $389,500.

Other once-hot markets seeing price drops include Austin (-6.6% to $520,000), Denver (-6% to $610,250) and Nashville (-5.4% to $547,865).

See Also: This billion-dollar fund has invested in the next big real estate boom, here’s how you can join for $10.

The trend departs from June 2023’s record-high median price of $445,000. While it represents potential relief for buyers who have faced severe affordability challenges, some markets like Miami still maintain prices well above pre-pandemic levels, with median listings 50% higher than 2019 figures.

However, the widespread price moderation, affecting more than half of the nation’s 50 largest markets, signals a possible transition toward improved buyer conditions despite ongoing challenges with elevated mortgage rates.

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Western Alliance Bancorporation WAL shares are trading lower after the company reported its third-quarter financial results after Thursday’s closing bell. Here’s a look at the details from the report. 

The Details: Western Alliance reported quarterly earnings of $1.80 per share, which missed the analyst consensus estimate of $1.89. Quarterly revenue came in at $823.1 million, which beat the analyst consensus estimate of $808.19 million.

• Net interest income totaled $696.9 million in the third quarter 2024, an increase of $40.3 million, or 6.1%, from $656.6 million in the second quarter 2024, and an increase of $109.9 million, or 18.7%, compared to the third quarter 2023.
• Non-interest income was $126.2 million for the third quarter 2024, compared to $115.2 million for the second quarter 2024, and $129.2 million for the third quarter 2023.
• Net interest margin in the third quarter 2024 was 3.61%, a decrease from 3.63% in the second quarter 2024, and a decrease from 3.67% in the third quarter 2023.
• The company recorded a provision for credit losses of $33.6 million in the third quarter 2024, a decrease of $3.5 million from $37.1 million in the second quarter 2024, and an increase of $21.5 million from $12.1 million in the third quarter 2023.

Read Next: JPMorgan Launches Private Client Tier To Attract ‘Affluent’ Customers 

“Western Alliance delivered solid third-quarter results featuring strong net interest income growth, continued loan and deposit momentum, and healthy earnings generation,” said Kenneth A. Vecchione, CEO of Western Alliance.

“Quarterly loan and deposit growth of $916 million and $1.8 billion, respectively, continued their upward trajectory and produced PPNR1 of $285.7 million. Asset quality remained stable with our nonperforming assets to total assets ratio declining to 0.45% and net loan charge-offs of 0.20% of average loans,” Vecchione added.

WAL Price Action: According to Benzinga Pro, Western Alliance shares are down 5.24% after-hours at $89 at the time of publication Thursday.

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OKLAHOMA CITY, Oct. 17, 2024 /PRNewswire/ — BancFirst Corporation (NASDAQ GS:BANF) reported net income of $58.9 million, or $1.75 per diluted share, for the third quarter of 2024 compared to net income of $51.0 million, or $1.52 per diluted share, for the third quarter of 2023.

The Company’s net interest income for the third quarter of 2024 increased to $115.0 million from $104.3 million for the same period in 2023. Loan volume was the primary driver of the change in net interest income, but was partially offset by the impact of the shifting mix between interest-bearing and noninterest-bearing deposits. Net interest margin for the three-month period ended September 30 was 3.78% in 2024 compared to 3.73% in 2023. The Company recorded a provision for credit losses of $3.0 million in the third quarter of 2024 compared to $2.3 million for the same period in 2023.

Noninterest income for the quarter totaled $48.7 million compared to $44.4 million last year. Trust revenue, treasury income, sweep fees and insurance commissions each increased when compared to third quarter last year.

Noninterest expense for the quarter increased to $86.7 million compared to $81.2 million in the same quarter last year. The increase in noninterest expense was primarily related to growth in salaries and employee benefits of $4.0 million.

The Company’s effective tax rate for the period was 20.3% compared to 21.8% for the third quarter of 2023.

At September 30, 2024, the Company’s total assets were $13.3 billion, an increase of $941.4 million from December 31, 2023. Loans grew $528.1 million from December 31, 2023, totaling $8.2 billion at September 30, 2024. Deposits totaled $11.5 billion, an increase of $774.2 million from year-end 2023. Sweep accounts totaled $4.3 billion at September 30, 2024, down $60.6 million from December 31, 2023. The Company’s total stockholders’ equity was $1.6 billion, an increase of $150.7 million over December 31, 2023.

Nonaccrual loans totaled $45.5 million, representing 0.56% of total loans at September 30, 2024 compared to 0.32% at year-end 2023. The allowance for credit losses to total loans was 1.24% at September 30, 2024 compared to 1.26% at the end of 2023. Net charge-offs were $775,000 for the quarter compared to $1.5 million for the third quarter of 2023.

BancFirst Corporation CEO David Harlow commented, “Loan growth, an improved net interest margin, and growth across all major components of non-interest income resulted in a strong quarter for the Company. While the Federal Reserve’s late September 50 basis point rate cut had little impact on the quarter, the potential for further short-term rate reductions combined with a recent increase in the longer-term portion of the yield curve changes the landscape considerably and causes our outlook on net interest margin to be unclear. However, we believe the Company is well positioned to reasonably manage and balance our asset and liability pricing in the coming months. Our perspective on credit is unchanged as the Federal Reserve’s goal of a “soft landing,” while more likely, is far from certain, thus our Loan Loss Reserve as a percentage of loans is the same when compared to last quarter.”

BancFirst Corporation (the Company) is an Oklahoma based financial services holding company. The Company operates three subsidiary banks, BancFirst, an Oklahoma state-chartered bank with 104 banking locations serving 59 communities across Oklahoma, Pegasus Bank, a Texas state-chartered bank with three banking locations in the Dallas Metroplex area and Worthington Bank, a Texas state-chartered bank with three locations in the Fort Worth Metroplex area, one location in Arlington Texas and one location in Denton Texas. More information can be found at www.bancfirst.bank.

The Company may make forward-looking statements within the meaning of Section 27A of the securities Act of 1933 and Section 21E of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 with respect to earnings, credit quality, corporate objectives, interest rates and other financial and business matters. Forward-looking statements include estimates and give management’s current expectations or forecasts of future events. The Company cautions readers that these forward-looking statements are subject to numerous assumptions, risks and uncertainties, including economic conditions, the performance of financial markets and interest rates, legislative and regulatory actions and reforms, competition, as well as other factors, all of which change over time. Actual results may differ materially from forward-looking statements.

View original content:https://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/bancfirst-corporation-reports-third-quarter-earnings-302279726.html

SOURCE BancFirst

U.S. markets ended Thursday with mixed performance: the Dow Jones Industrial Average climbed 0.4% to 43,239.05, the S&P 500 held steady at 5,841.47, and the Nasdaq inched up by 0.04% to close at 18,373.61.

These are the top stocks that gained the attention of retail traders and investors throughout the day:

Netflix Inc. NFLX

Netflix shares fell by 2.04% to close at $687.65. The streaming giant reported third-quarter revenue of $9.825 billion, a 15% increase year-over-year, beating the Street consensus estimate. The streamer added 5.07 million paid subscribers, bringing its total to 282.72 million. Earnings per share also exceeded estimates, while ad-supported plans represented over 50% of new sign-ups. The company is projecting further revenue growth and strong content releases in the fourth quarter.

Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company Ltd. TSM

TSMC shares soared by 9.79% to close at $205.84. The company reported consolidated third-quarter revenue of NT$759.69 billion ($23.50 billion), up 39% year-over-year, beating consensus estimates. The strong demand for advanced processor node technologies used in AI applications contributed to the impressive results.

American Express Co. AXP

See Also: As Boeing Workers Enter Second Month Of Strike, Rival Airbus Reportedly Plans To Cut 2,500 Jobs

American Express shares rose by 1.46% to close at $285.78. The company is set to report its third-quarter earnings on Oct. 18, with Wall Street expecting $3.80 in earnings per share and $16.67 billion in revenues. The stock is up 84.29% over the past year, and 51.1% year-to-date.

Moderna Inc. MRNA

Moderna shares dropped by 4.59% to close at $54.82. The company is facing a patent infringement lawsuit from Northwestern University, alleging that Moderna used the university’s lipid nanoparticle (LNP) technology without permission to develop its COVID-19 vaccines. The lawsuit claims that the development of Moderna’s COVID-19 vaccine, Spikevax, depended on key technological advancements made at Northwestern.

Tesla Inc. TSLA

Tesla shares slipped by 0.20% to close at $220.89. The company has promoted several executives, including Wes Morrill, Milan Kovac, and Ashok Elluswamy, over the past few weeks. Omead Afshar is now a vice president in charge of sales and manufacturing, with senior executives in North America and Europe reporting to him.

Image Via Shutterstock

Prepare for the day’s trading with top premarket movers and news by Benzinga.

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This story was generated using Benzinga Neuro and edited by Shivdeep Dhaliwal

OMAHA, Neb., Oct. 17, 2024 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) — Greystone Housing Impact Investors LP GHI (the “Partnership”) today announced the formation of a joint venture (the “Joint Venture”) with BlackRock Impact Opportunities (“BIO”), to invest in loans which will finance the construction and/or rehabilitation of affordable multifamily housing properties across the US.

According to the National Low Income Housing Coalition, the US has a shortage of 7.3 million affordable housing units for renters with extremely low incomes.^[1] The Joint Venture aims to assist in addressing this deficiency by providing construction financing solutions that increase the supply of affordable multifamily housing units nationwide. The Joint Venture will seek to make available approximately $500 million of gross financing for properties in undercapitalized communities.

“We are pleased to partner with BlackRock Impact Opportunities to scale and expand our construction loan investments portfolio,” said Kenneth C. Rogozinski, CEO of the Partnership. “The strategy and objectives of BlackRock Impact Opportunities are closely aligned with those of the Partnership, and we believe that together we can deploy capital to increase the availability of affordable multifamily housing in underserved areas while achieving attractive risk-adjusted returns for our respective investors.”

Brian Mwarania, Senior Investor for BlackRock Impact Opportunities said, “We are proud to partner with Greystone Housing Impact Investors LP. Our new Joint Venture aims to address the acute shortage of high-quality affordable housing across the US through innovative construction financing solutions. We look forward to working closely with the Partnership to structure compelling investments that achieve our clients’ social impact objectives.”

The Partnership has deep investment experience in direct affordable multifamily lending, including investments in construction loans that position affordable properties for permanent agency financing, such as Freddie Mac’s Tax Exempt Loan (“TEL”) program. A wholly owned subsidiary of the Partnership will be the Joint Venture’s managing member, responsible for identifying, evaluating, underwriting, and closing investments, subject to BIO’s review and approval under the terms and conditions of the Joint Venture.

Raymond James served as the transaction advisor to the Partnership. Ballard Spahr LLP served as the legal advisor to the Partnership. Kramer Levin Naftalis & Frankel LLP served as the legal advisor to BIO.

_________________________
^[1]National Low Income Housing Coalition. The Gap, March 2024 | https://nlihc.org/sites/default/files/gap/2024/Gap-Report_2024.pdf

About Greystone Housing Impact Investors LP

Greystone Housing Impact Investors LP was formed in 1998 under the Delaware Revised Uniform Limited Partnership Act for the primary purpose of acquiring, holding, selling and otherwise dealing with a portfolio of mortgage revenue bonds which have been issued to provide construction and/or permanent financing for affordable multifamily, seniors and student housing properties. The Partnership is pursuing a business strategy of acquiring additional mortgage revenue bonds and other investments on a leveraged basis. The Partnership expects and believes the interest earned on these mortgage revenue bonds is excludable from gross income for federal income tax purposes. The Partnership seeks to achieve its investment growth strategy by investing in additional mortgage revenue bonds and other investments as permitted by its Second Amended and Restated Limited Partnership Agreement, dated December 5, 2022, as amended, taking advantage of attractive financing structures available in the securities market, and entering into interest rate risk management instruments. Greystone Housing Impact Investors LP press releases are available at www.ghiinvestors.com.

About BlackRock Impact Opportunities

BlackRock Impact Opportunities is BlackRock’s flagship social impact investment platform. It enables clients to invest in direct private markets opportunities that accelerate positive economic outcomes for undercapitalized communities. BIO seeks to generate attractive risk-adjusted returns for its investors by focusing on investment themes which are drivers for economic growth. BIO’s extensive suite of investment strategies ensures that the right capital is available to accelerate the growth of high potential companies and projects.

Safe Harbor Statement

Information contained in this press release contains “forward-looking statements,” which are based on current expectations, forecasts and assumptions that involve risks and uncertainties that could cause actual outcomes and results to differ materially from the Partnership’s expectations, forecasts and assumptions and from those of the Partnership’s other investments. There can be no assurance that the Joint Venture’s investment objectives will be achieved. These risks and uncertainties include, but are not limited to, risks involving current maturities of our financing arrangements and our ability to renew or refinance such maturities, fluctuations in short-term interest rates, collateral valuations, investment valuations and overall economic and credit market conditions, market competition, and reliance on key management personnel. For a further list and description of such risks and uncertainties, see the reports and other filings made by the Partnership with the Securities and Exchange Commission, including but not limited to, its Annual Report on Form 10-K, Quarterly Reports on Form 10-Q, and Current Reports on Form 8-K. Readers are urged to consider these factors carefully in evaluating the forward-looking statements. The Partnership disclaims any intention or obligation to update or revise any forward-looking statements, whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise.

INVESTOR CONTACT:
Andy Grier
Senior Vice President
402-952-1235

MEDIA CONTACT:
Karen Marotta
Greystone
212-896-9149
Karen.Marotta@greyco.com