September 20, 2024

Two glasses of foam beer on light blue background.

IL21/iStock via Getty Images

Please listen below or continue Apple Podcasts and Spotify

Anheuser-Busch InBev (BUD) faces its first union battle of 2024. (00:25) UnitedHealth (UNH) falls as the Justice Department launches an antitrust review. (01:10) Apple (AAPL) cancels electric vehicle development work; shifts employees to generative AI: report. (01:47)

This is an abridged transcript of the podcast.

Five thousand workers at more than a dozen Anheuser-Busch InBev (BUD) breweries in the United States are preparing to go on strike this week.

The current five-year contract with the Teamsters is set to expire on Thursday.

National negotiations with the Teamsters began last September.

In December, 99% of workers voted to strike if no deal was reached.Team members also announced that they will more than twice In the event of a strike, workers’ strike pay is $1,000 per week.

in a statement Anheuser-Busch (BUD) noted on its website that it has contingency plans in place for a nationwide strike to keep beer flowing.

Workers are demanding job security, increased retirement benefits and wages.

The Justice Department has reportedly begun an antitrust review of UnitedHealth Group (NYSE: UNH ).

According to the Wall Street Journal Report The Justice Department is investigating the relationship between UnitedHealth and its Optum health services unit, people familiar with the matter said on Tuesday. Regulators are interviewing health care industry representatives in the area where UnitedHealthcare competes.

Investigators are asking the company about the potential impact of its acquisition of the physician group on competitors and consumers, according to the Wall Street Journal.

Spokespersons for UnitedHealth (UNH) and the Justice Department declined to comment to The Wall Street Journal.

UnitedHealth Group (UNH) closed down 2.27% on Tuesday. UNH fell 1.2% in pre-market trading.

Apple (NASDAQ: AAPL) canceled work on its electric car project and moved some employees into generating artificial intelligence,

Burundi report Apple Chief Operating Officers Jeff Williams and Kevin Lynch announced the surprising news to about 2,000 employees on Tuesday.

Apple did not immediately respond to Seeking Alpha’s request for comment.

Apple has spent billions of dollars on the project, which CEO Tim Cook once called “the mother of all artificial intelligence projects.”

Many of the employees working on the car project will now go to work for Apple executive John Giannandrea, who runs the tech giant’s machine learning and artificial intelligence strategy. According to various media reports, some people will be fired.

Other articles worth watching on Seeking Alpha:

Wall Street’s 10 Most Overbought Large-Cap Stocks

Microsoft faces another EU investigation over alleged antitrust conduct: report

OpenAI asks judge to dismiss part of New York Times’ alleged “hacking” lawsuit (Updated)

In our Catalyst Watch today,

  • Apple Inc. (AAPL) will hold its annual meeting. Shareholders will vote on proposals covering artificial intelligence targets, ESG targets and CEO pay.

  • Shareholders of Powerfleet (PWFL) and MiX Telematics (MIXT) will meet to vote on a proposed business combination between the two companies.

U.S. stocks ended modestly volatile on Tuesday.

The Nasdaq Composite Index (COMP.IND) closed up 0.37%. The S&P 500 index (SP500) rose 0.17%. The Dow Jones Industrial Average (DJI) fell 0.25%.

Eight of the 11 S&P sectors closed higher, led by utilities. Energy stocks were among the biggest losers.

Now let’s take a look at market conditions as of 6am. The Dow, S&P and Nasdaq futures were all in the red before today’s opening bell. The Dow Jones fell 0.3%, the S&P 500 fell 0.3% and the Nasdaq fell 0.4%. Crude oil prices fell 1% to over $78 a barrel. Bitcoin rose 4.8% to over $59,000.

In global markets, the FTSE 100 fell 0.6% and the DAX gained 0.1%.

The day’s biggest premarket gainer: Beyond Meat (NASDAQ: BYND ) rose 55% after reporting better-than-expected fourth-quarter revenue and highlighting accelerated margin growth in the second half.

Today’s economic calendar: