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Federal Reserve chair Jerome Powell will make a highly anticipated speech this morning in Jackson Hole, Wyoming, with investors closely watching to see what he says about potential interest-rate cuts; Canada orders an end to the lockout by the country's two big rail operators; Skydance Media reportedly seeks an end to Edgar Bronfman Jr.'s bid for Paramount Global (PARA); Workday (WDAY) shares are jumping in premarket trading after the human resources software provider posted quarterly results that beat estimates; and Nestlé (NSRGY) stock is falling in Swiss trading after the chocolate maker replaced Chief Executive Officer (CEO) Mark Schneider amid sluggish sales. U.S. stock futures are rising ahead of Powell's speech as indexes to end the week higher despite yesterday's drop. Here's what investors need to know today.

Investors will be closely watching the speech this morning by Federal Reserve chair Jerome Powell at the annual Jackson Hole symposium for signals that the Fed is on course to cut its benchmark interest rate from a 23-year high when policymakers next meet in September. The minutes from the Fed's July policy meeting on Wednesday showed increasing support for a rate cut at the policy committee's next meeting, and investors will be looking for signals from Powell on both the pace and the magnitude of cuts this year. While the Fed's high interest rates have helped bring inflation closer to its annual target rate of 2%, recent data that showed the July unemployment rate jumped to 4.3% have sparked policymakers' concerns about the strength of the labor market.

One of Canada's two biggest freight railroad operators ended its lockout of unionized workers while the other prepared to resume operations after Ottawa ordered an end to their stoppages, which threatened trade with the U.S. and the national economy. Canadian National Railway (CNI) said it ended its employee lockout effective at 6 p.m. ET Thursday, while Canadian Pacific Kansas City (CP) said it is "preparing to restart railway operations." The two had locked out nearly 10,000 workers just after midnight Thursday after unsuccessful negotiations with the Teamsters Canada union. The Canadian government ordered the end to the lockouts after less than a day, and said an arbitrator would negotiate between the rail operators and the union.

The saga for control of Paramount Global (PARA) continues, with Skydance Media reportedly demanding that the entertainment giant stop negotiating with Edgar Bronfman Jr. Skydance, in a letter from its lawyers, said Paramount's special committee breached the terms of its takeover agreement for Shari Redstone's media empire by extending the "go-shop" deadline to Sept. 5, according to . Paramount on Wednesday extended the deadline to assess bids rivaling Skydance's after receiving Bronfman's reported $6 billion offer for Redstone's National Amusements and a minority stake in the entertainment giant. Skydance said Bronfman's bid isn't superior and therefore the deadline shouldn't have been extended, the reported. Paramount shares are slipping more than 1% in premarket trading.

Workday (WDAY) shares are soaring more than 12% in premarket trading after the human resources and capital management software provider reported better-than-estimated quarterly results and pointed to growth opportunities in international markets. The company's stock, which is down around 25% from its record close through Thursday, has come under investor scrutiny this year over concerns that enterprise customers have trimmed spending on premium software subscription services amid macroeconomic uncertainty.

Nestlé SA (NSRGY) shares are falling 2% in Swiss trading after the chocolate maker replaced Chief Executive Officer (CEO) Mark Schneider amid slowing sales. Schneider, who also is resigning from the board, will be replaced on Sept. 1 by veteran company executive Laurent Freixe, who heads its Latin American operations. During his eight years with Nestle, Schneider focused the Swiss firm "on high-growth categories like coffee, pet care and nutritional health products," the company said. But Nestle shares have fallen 10% this year amid declining sales as increasingly frugal consumers watch their spending.

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Many investment options exist for a Roth IRA, a tax-advantaged individual retirement account. Most investors saving for retirement and looking to build a long-term, buy-and-hold portfolio may choose a mix of stocks and bonds.

The precise mix of stocks and bonds depends on two primary factors: how far the investor is from retirement and how risk-averse they are. The further an investor is from retirement, the more volatility they tolerate, and hold more stocks in their portfolio. Investors with a low-risk tolerance may not be able to handle swings in the value of their portfolio and decide bonds will be a large proportion of their portfolio.

Traditional investing wisdom has claimed that a 60/40 portfolio—60% stocks and 40% bonds—will satisfy the needs of most investors and that the proportion of stocks relative to bonds should shrink as the investor ages. Another traditional yardstick for investors has been “100 minus your age” relative to stock investment. A 30-year-old, for example, should hold 70% stocks and 30% bonds.

Some financial advisors recommend that holding a higher percentage of stocks throughout an investor’s career can greatly enhance potential returns while only marginally increasing the risks. In 2023, model portfolios were utilized given an inflationary unstable economic climate. Model portfolios add exposure to more asset classes including commodities, foreign currencies, real estate, quant strategies, and alternative investments.

Three mutual funds for Roth IRAs carry a Morningstar Gold rating in 2024. Contribution limits for IRAs, whether Roth or traditional, are $7,000 under age 50 or $8,000 for ages 50 and over in 2024. The Roth IRA contribution limit and eligibility to contribute depend on an individual's income level.

As of Dec. 5, 2023, VDIGX holds 42 stocks across several sectors including healthcare, technology, and consumer staples. The fund focuses on top companies such as Microsoft and Northrup Grumman Corp. that can grow their dividends over time. One of the fund’s risks is that returns from dividend-paying stocks may trail returns from the overall stock market during any given period.

DODFX holds a portfolio of equity securities issued by medium-to-large, non-U.S. companies that have a favorable outlook for long-term growth according to Morningstar. As of Dec. 5, 2023, the fund's holdings of 69 companies include Sanofi and Novartis.

As of Dec. 5, 2023, FPACX holdings include a mix of bonds, stocks, and cash equivalents. Its portfolio holds U.S. government bonds as well as shares of Comcast and Alphabet. According to the fund objective, FPACX hopes to generate equity-like returns over the long term by incurring less risk than the market.

Consistent with modern portfolio theory, risk-averse investors will find that including investments in an equity fund, a bond fund, and an international stock index fund provides a degree of diversification.

Investors can choose exchange-traded funds (ETFs) or index-focused ETFs for IRA investment. Index funds mimic the performance of an index by passively investing in the securities included in the index.

Yes. There is no limit to the number of Roth IRAs that an individual can have. However, increasing the number of Roth IRAs does not increase the amount that one can contribute each year.

Most investors saving for retirement through a Roth IRA will want some combination of stocks and bonds. This combination can be achieved by investing in a broad stock index fund, a broad bond fund, and perhaps an international stock fund.

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Zoom Video Communications (ZM) shares popped Thursday after the provider of remote video services reported better-than-expected results and provided a rosy outlook as it held on to more customers.

The company posted fiscal 2025 second-quarter adjusted earnings per share (EPS) of $1.39, with revenue increasing 2.1% to $1.16 billion. Both exceeded estimates.

Enterprise revenue grew 3.5% to $682.8 million, while online revenue was flat at $479.7 million. However, the average monthly “churn rate” of online customers dropped 30 basis points (bps) to 2.9%, That was "its lowest ever rate,” Zoom Founder and Chief Executive Officer (CEO) Eric Yuan said.

Zoom said that it had 3,933 customers contributing more than $100,000 in trailing 12 months revenue, a gain of about 7.1% year-over-year. Yuan said the company was able to sell high-end packages by offering advanced artificial intelligence (AI).

Zoom said it sees full-year adjusted EPS at $5.29 to $5.32 and revenue between $4.63 billion and $4.64 billion. Both are above analysts' expectations. 

The company also announced the departure of Chief Financial Officer Kelly Steckelberg.

Steckelberg, who has been with Zoom for seven years, told analysts that she would be staying on through the current quarter earnings report. Yuan said that the company “is conducting a comprehensive search” for her replacement.

Zoom shares finished 13% higher at $68.04, their highest level since March. The stock is still a far cry from its October 2020 all-time highs above $500.

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For the 47th year, economists and central bankers descend on Jackson Hole, Wyo., on Thursday as the Kansas City Federal Reserve Bank hosts its annual economic symposium.

The Jackson Hole Economic Policy Symposium will run through Saturday. During that time, the estimated 120 international participants will discuss the theme of “Reassessing the Effectiveness and Transmission of Monetary Policy.” The topic is particularly salient for U.S. central bankers, as Federal Reserve officials are monitoring economic data to help determine their next policy steps.

The Federal Reserve has held its influential fed funds rate at a two-decade high for more than a year in an effort to discourage borrowing and, in turn, quash inflation. As inflation has moved closer to the Fed's annual goal of 2%, the labor market has weakened and fears of a recession have reignited.

As a result, central bankers have turned their attention to the jobs side of their dual mandate. The Federal Reserve is widely expected to cut its interest rates at its next meeting in September.

Like many of his colleagues, Kansas City Fed President Jeffrey Schmid told CNBC in an interview this week, opening the symposium, that he would let the data lead his decisions and would not commit to a rate cut timeline.

"I have learned that there's a perfection of how the labor market works relative to the inflation numbers. There's a healthy friction in the two," Schmid said. "I still believe quite strongly that we really need to trend this inflation number toward 2%; it has to be sustainable. Having the labor market cool some is helping that, but there's still work to do."

Committee members' reluctance to provide a specific timing of rate cuts has only further piqued investor interest in what Fed Chair Jerome Powell will say at the event on Friday morning.

Goldman Sachs analysts said Powell's remarks from Jackson Hole have affected markets in the past. However, analysts have noted that since a rate cut has already been priced into the market, Powell's comments likely won't be as impactful this year.

Economists don't expect Powell to confirm that the central bank will cut rates in September. Rather, they expect him to largely echo his remarks delivered in a press conference following the Fed's last meeting in July with a few updates.

"We expect Powell to express a bit more confidence in the inflation outlook and to put a bit more emphasis on downside risks in the labor market than in his press conference after the July FOMC meeting," wrote Goldman analysts.

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Intel (INTC) shares sank 6.1% on Thursday following reports that the semiconductor giant's progress on constructing two new chip fabrication facilities in Germany may be stalled.

The company plans to build the wafer fabrication plants in Magdeburg, Germany, on the site it calls "Silicon Junction." In June 2023, Intel announced it was increasing its investment in the project to around $33 billion, having secured a government subsidy of around $11 billion to support the construction.

Intel expected the Magdeburg plants to be online and producing high-performance semiconductors as soon as 2027. However, according to media reports this week, the schedule now appears uncertain.

Some investors have expressed concerns that, as Intel targets significant cost reductions, the company may choose not to move forward with the plans in Germany.

Intel typically focuses its fabrication capacity on producing its own chips, but the company has been working to expand its third-party fabrication services to drive growth. Given the high costs involved in constructing fabrication facilities, it remains to be seen how the capital-intensive expansion of contract fab services will fit into Intel's restructuring and cost-cutting initiatives, according to .

Skepticism about Intel's fabrication plants in Germany follows the news that chipmaking rival Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing (TSM) has broken ground on its own $11 billion facility in Dresden.

Following Thursday's losses, Intel shares are down about 60% so far in 2024.

The year-to-date losses distinguish Intel stock from many peers in the semiconductor industry that have been lifted by artificial intelligence (AI) expectations. The Philadelphia Semiconductor Index (SOX) is up more than 20% this year.

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Major U.S. equities indexes fell Thursday as the Jackson Hole Economic Policy Symposium kicked off in Wyoming. Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell is scheduled to speak just after the markets open on Friday morning, and his remarks will be under the microscope as investors gauge the timing and magnitude of potential interest rate cuts.

The S&P 500 was down 0.9%, while the Dow slipped 0.4%. Underperformance from large tech stocks weighed on the Nasdaq, which dropped 1.7% on the day.

Shares of Moderna (MRNA) lost 6.5%, marking Thursday's weakest performance in the S&P 500. The share price drop coincided with the approval of Moderna's vaccine to protect against new strains of COVID-19. The Centers for Disease Control (CDC) recommends an updated shot for all people over the age of 6 months, and Moderna expects the new version to be available within a few days. However, at the beginning of August, the company lowered its full-year sales forecast, citing soft vaccine demand in Europe.

Intel (INTC) shares sank 6.1% following reports questioning the semiconductor giant's progress on the construction of two new chip fabrication plants in Germany. The company received a government subsidy of around $11 billion for the construction of the facilities, with the objective of having them online and producing chips by 2027. However, that schedule now appears uncertain. Some investors have expressed concerns that, as Intel targets significant cost reductions, the company may choose not to move forward with the plans in Germany.

Tesla (TSLA) Vice President Sreela Venkataratnam announced that she would be the latest in a string of executives to step down from the company, and shares of the electric vehicle (EV) manufacturer declined 5.7%. In an 11-year stint at Tesla, Venkataratnam was involved in constructing factories, accelerating vehicle production, and expanding the energy business.

Shares of investment manager Franklin Resources (BEN) added 4.6%, the best performance of any stock in the S&P 500. Thursday's gains reversed a portion of the heavy losses posted in the previous session after the firm said the co-chief investment officer (CIO) of its Western Asset Management unit was taking a leave of absence. The executive's exit came amid internal and regulatory investigations into certain past trade allocations at the division.

Nordson (NDSN), which provides coating and adhesive systems to various industries, reported better-than-expected sales and profits for its fiscal third quarter, and its shares advanced 3.3%. Momentum in the company's Industrial Precision Solutions segment, as well as sales growth in Asia-Pacific and Europe, helped drive the strong performance.

Shares of State Street (STT) ticked 2.2% higher as the financial services firm announced a partnership with the Swiss digital asset platform Taurus. The deal will help State Street provide reliable digital asset capabilities to its clients by leveraging Taurus' custody, tokenization, and node-management solutions.

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