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Consumer confidence jumped the most since 2021 in October, as people are feeling better about the job market despite still worrying about high prices. 

The Consumer Confidence Index jumped in October to 108.7 from the prior month’s reading of 99.2, the biggest increase in the index since March 2021. The bounce back comes after the index in September produced its biggest decline in three years. 

The report from The Conference Board showed that consumers' view of current business conditions turned positive. The number of respondents in the survey who are anticipating an economic recession fell to the lowest levels since July 2022. 

At the same time, their assessment of the labor market also improved after several sluggish months of data.

In the survey, more people said that jobs were “plentiful” in October, while fewer described them as “hard to get,” with the difference between the two reaching its widest gap in five months, according to Wells Fargo economists.

The survey could indicate that the labor market is still healthy from a job seeker perspective. A separate report on Tuesday showed job openings fell, but hiring rose last month.

The consumer survey showed that many people are still worrying about inflation, despite price increases slowing down in recent months. The latest reading of the Consumer Price Index (CPI) inflation showed that prices rose at an annual rate of 2.4% in September, well lower than its recent peak of around 9% in summer 2022. 

Consumers expect inflation will rise 5.3% over the next 12 months, up a tick from last month. While more respondents mentioned slower inflation and lower grocery prices this month than in prior months, inflation and prices were still the top concern for consumers, the report showed. 

“The disconnect between lower inflation and still depressed confidence has stumped many forecasters. All the while, consumers have continued to report that it is high price levels that they find particularly worrying,” wrote Wells Fargo economists Shannon Seery Grein and Jeremiah Kohl.

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Bitcoin (BTCUSD) traded around $73,000 Tuesday for the first time since March, gaining traction ahead of the U.S. presidential election as investors poured billions into spot bitcoin exchange-traded funds.

The momentum brings the most-traded cryptocurrency within striking distance of its all-time high price of $73,798, set earlier this year. It also propelled shares of MicroStrategy (MSTR) Tuesday—which held more than 252,000 bitcoin on its books as of Sept. 19—to a 52-week high of $267.89.

Shares of other bitcoin-related companies, including such as Coinbase Global (COIN) and Marathon Digital parent company MARA Holdings (MARA), were also higher. MicroStrategy and Coinbase report earnings tomorrow.

Bitcoin trading activity is picking up as Election Day nears. Both former President Donald Trump, the Republican candidate, and Democratic Vice President Kamala Harris have made efforts to engage with the crypto community: Trump embraced crypto earlier this year after previously being more sceptical, while Harris has discussed her own approach in recent months.

Since Oct. 11, spot bitcoin ETFs have received net inflows of nearly $4 billion, with only one day where money flowed out of them, according to data from Farside Investors. Spot bitcoin ETFs hold bitcoin, and increased demand for the product was partially responsible for driving bitcoin to all-time highs earlier this year.

Trading activity has also picked up in bitcoin derivatives products such as futures and options. According to Coinbase Research, open interest—total number of outstanding derivative contracts is seen as a gauge of investor interest—in CME bitcoin futures rose significantly in October compared with September.

Bitcoin options contracts trading on crypto exchange Deribit expiring on Nov. 8, the Friday after the election, have experienced a spike in activity, according to Kaiko Research. "The majority of activity is clustered around the $65k to $80k range, implying that traders see prices trading around record highs post-election," Kaiko said.

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Ford (F) shares fell Tuesday, as analysts from JPMorgan and Bank of America cut their price targets after the automaker's underwhelming third-quarter results. 

Shares of Ford fell more than 8% Tuesday morning. The company reported on Monday that its third-quarter profits missed analysts' expectations and trimmed its full-year outlook,  projecting full-year adjusted earnings of about $10 billion, compared with its previous estimate of $10 billion to $12 billion.

JPMorgan analysts cut their price target to $14 from $15, citing the company's “persistently high warranty expense" giving it an overweight rating.

Bank of America lowered its price target to $19 from $20, noting lighter-than-expected revenue from Ford Blue, the company’s passenger gas-powered cars and hybrid division, but maintained a buy call to the company.

BofA cited Ford's "positive picture" of its recent operations, noting the automaker's management mentioning the strength in its core truck market—and especially its Pro division, which serves commercial customers.

Third-quarter revenue at the Ford Pro division rose 13% year-over-year and above Wall Street estimates, while Ford Pro Intelligence paid software subscriptions jumped 30%.

BofA said it had kept its buy call due to "Ford's strong near-term product cadence combined with management's focus."

[W]e expect better profits and progress in 2025+," said BofA.

JPMorgan, meanwhile, said it was keeping its overweight rating on Ford due to the "deep value" afforded by its shares. The broker noted that Tesla (TSLA), while one of the few profitable battery electric vehicle (EV) makers, was expected to generate a much lower level of free cash flow this year than Ford.

Ford Shares were down 8% Tuesday.

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The Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited (NNPCL) has increased the price of Premium Motor Spirit (PMS) aka petrol, from N980 to N1,025 per litre in Lagos and nearby regions.

This adjustment, announced on Tuesday, marks the third price change in September and October 2024 and is part of the government’s deregulation policy, which allows prices to fluctuate based on supply and demand dynamics.

According to reports, this new increment will see Nigerians in Abuja and Lagos buy petrol for N1,060 and N1,025 per litre respectively.

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Shares of Pfizer (PFE) fell Tuesday as a strong earnings report is seen as likely to limit activist investor Starboard Value from driving major changes at the drugmaker. 

Pfizer reported third-quarter adjusted earnings per share (EPS) of $1.06, with revenue soaring 31% year-over-year to $17.70 billion. Both were well above analysts' estimates compiled by Visible Alpha.

The company got a boost from rising demand for its Paxlovid treatment for COVID-19, which saw sales soar to $2.70 billion after bringing in just $202 million a year ago.

Pfizer raised its outlook for full-year adjusted EPS to $2.75 to $2.95, and revenue to $61.0 billion to $64.0 billion. Previously it had anticipated adjusted EPS of $2.45 to $2.65 and revenue of $59.5 billion to $62.5 billion.

Chief Executive Officer (CEO) Dr. Albert Bourla and the board have been under fire from Starboard, which has taken what's reported to be a $1 billion stake in the company and called for changes. At a recent investor conference, Starboard CEO Jeffrey Smith is said to have spelled out where the pharmaceutical firm has gone wrong, but didn't give details on what the hedge fund felt was needed to be done.

In the quarterly report, Bourla said he is confident "that we will deliver on our financial commitments in 2024 and that we are well positioned to continue advancing scientific breakthroughs meaningful to our patients and our company, as well as creating long-term shareholder value, in the years to come."

Pfizer shares, which had been essentially flat on the year through Monday's close, were down 1.4% to $28.45 in recent trading.

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Fast-food chains lamented slow restaurant traffic in the first half of the year. It hasn't gone away, executives at McDonald’s (MCD) said today. 

McDonald’s shares were recently a bit lower after the company said third-quarter same-store sales were lower than Wall Street expected. On a conference call with analysts, CEO Chris Kempczinski said that “traffic has remained pressured, reflecting industry-wide challenges.”

“While we anticipated a challenging environment in 2024, our performance so far this year has fallen short of our expectations,” Kempczinski said on the call, a transcript of which was made available by AlphaSense. 

Consumers, notably lower-income ones, continue to eat at home more frequently, he said; the company has repeatedly extended the life of a value meal offering it says has helped bring lower-income diners back to the brand. An increase in U.S. same-store sales was offset by declines elsewhere, McDonald’s said. 

Lower restaurant traffic has affected companies across the industry. French-fry maker Lamb Weston (LW), a McDonald’s supplier, said earlier this month that it expected that to continue into next year. Executives at ConAgra (CAG) and spice company McCormick (MKC) have lately echoed those sentiments. 

For McDonald’s—and other companies in the industry—the climate seems to point toward a continued battle for the dollars of value-minded diners. 

“We have spoken before about our customers recognizing us as the value leader versus our key competitors, but our value leadership gap has shrunk,” Kempczinski said on the call. “In response, we have moved with urgency in partnership with our franchisees to improve our value offerings in most of our major markets.”

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