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Sarah Jessica Parker’s Best Red Carpet Looks from the ’80s to Today

Sometimes it’s hard to differentiate Sarah Jessica Parker from her iconic character, Carrie Bradshaw. Though Parker found her Mr. Big years ago in Matthew Broderick, both she and Bradshaw have that discerning eye for fashion and when Parker steps out on a red carpet, all eyes turn to her to see what she’s wearing. Luckily, the actress never disappoints. From her many appearances at the Met Gala to the top award shows, Parker always impresses. You can usually expect Parker in a voluminous gown and odds are, there may be a headpiece to seal the look, but every once in a while, she turns something out that’s totally unexpected. As you prepare to welcome Carrie Bradshaw back into your life with And Just Like That…, take a moment to scroll through some of Parker’s best red carpet looks from the ‘80s until now.

2019: 8th Annual New York City Ballet Fall Fashion Gala

Mike Coppola/Getty Images Entertainment/Getty Images

Parker wore a pink, voluminous Zac Posen gown to the 8th Annual New York City Ballet Fall Fashion Gala on September 26, 2019 in New York City.

2019: 30th Annual GLAAD Media Awards

Astrid Stawiarz/Getty Images Entertainment/Getty Images

Wearing a patterned blue Elie Saab gown with puff sleeves, Parker attended the 30th Annual GLAAD Media Awards on May 04, 2019 in New York City.

2018: 39th Annual Muse Awards

Dia Dipasupil/WireImage/Getty Images

Parker wore a black velvet Batsheva dress to the 39th Annual Muse Awards on December 13, 2018 in New York City.

2018: New York City Ballet Fall Fashion Gala

Gilbert Carrasquillo/WireImage/Getty Images

Wearing a voluminous red Giles Deacon dress, Parker attended the 2018 New York City Ballet Fall Fashion Gala with her husband, Matthew Broderick, on September 27, 2018 in New York City.

Taylor Hill/Getty Images Entertainment/Getty Images

Parker wore a golden Dolce & Gabbana dress with a nativity scene headpiece to the Heavenly Bodies: Fashion & The Catholic Imagination Costume Institute Gala at The Metropolitan Museum of Art on May 7, 2018 in New York City.

2018: 75th Annual Golden Globe Awards

Daniele Venturelli/WireImage/Getty Images

Parker wore a black corseted Dolce & Gabbana dress to the 75th Annual Golden Globe Awards on January 7, 2018 in Beverly Hills, California.

2017: New York City Ballet’s Fall Fashion Gala

Gilbert Carrasquillo/FilmMagic/Getty Images

Wearing a metallic blue fringe Monse dress, Parker attended the New York City Ballet’s 2017 Fall Fashion Gala with her husband, Broderick, on September 28, 2017 in New York City.

2017: People’s Choice Awards

Allen Berezovsky/Getty Images for Fashion Media

Parker wore a bronze, pleated J. Mendel fall 2016 couture dress to the 2017 People’s Choice Awards on January 18, 2017 in Los Angeles, California.

2017: 74th Annual Golden Globes

David Crotty/Patrick McMullan/Getty Images

Parker wore a Vera Wang fall 2017 bridal gown with a Princess Leia-inspired hairstyle to the 74th Annual Golden Globe Awards on January 8, 2017 in Beverly Hills, California.

Gilbert Carrasquillo/FilmMagic

Wearing a purple, jewel-encrusted Dolce & Gabbana fall 2916 dress, Parker attended the premiere for Divorce on October 4, 2016 in New York City.

2016: New York City Ballet Fall Gala

Gilbert Carrasquillo/FilmMagic/Getty Images

Parker wore a two-toned Narciso Rodriguez dress to the 2016 New York City Ballet’s Fall Gala on September 20, 2016 in New York City.

Andrew Toth/Getty Images for Parsons School of Design/The New School

Parker wore a plastic, studded Valentino fall 2014 dress over a navy crewneck to the 2016 Parsons Benefit on May 23, 2016 in New York City.

Kevin Mazur/WireImage/Getty Images

Parker wore a white Monse set to the ‘Manus x Machina: Fashion in an Age of Technology’ Costume Institute Gala at the Metropolitan Museum of Art on May 2, 2016 in New York City.

2015: New York City Ballet Fall Gala

Lars Niki/Corbis via Getty Images

Wearing a sparkling Zuhair Murad fall 2015 couture gown, Parker attended the 2015 New York City Ballet Fall Gala in New York City on September 13, 2015.

2015: Hamilton Broadway Opening Night

Walter McBride/WireImage/Getty Images

Parker wore a sleeveless beaded Elie Saab dress to Hamilton Broadway opening night on August 6, 2015 in New York City.

Axelle/Bauer-Griffin/FilmMagic

Parker designed her black one-shoulder dress in collaboration with H&M and paired it with a Philip Treacy headpiece for the ‘China: Through The Looking Glass’ Costume Institute Benefit Gala at the Metropolitan Museum of Art on May 4, 2015 in New York City.

2014: amfAR Inspiration Gala

Gilbert Carrasquillo/FilmMagic/Getty Images

Wearing an off-the-shoulder chiffon Schiaparelli spring 2014 dress, Parker attended the amfAR Inspiration Gala New York 2014 on June 10, 2014 in New York City.

Neilson Barnard/Getty Images

Parker wore a signed, black and white Oscar de la Renta gown to the “Charles James: Beyond Fashion” Costume Institute Gala at the Metropolitan Museum of Art on May 5, 2014 in New York City.

2013: New York City Ballet Fall Gala

Rabbani and Solimene Photography/Getty Images

Parker wore a light pink strapless dress by Prabal Gurung and Olivier Theyskens to the New York City Ballet 2013 Fall Gala on September 19, 2013 in New York City.

Parker wore a printed Giles Deacon gown with thigh-high plaid Christian Louboutin boots and a Philip Treacy-designed mohawk head piece to the Costume Institute Gala for the “PUNK: Chaos to Couture” exhibition at the Metropolitan Museum of Art on May 6, 2013 in New York City.

2013: amfAR New York Gala

Gilbert Carrasquillo/FilmMagic/Getty Images

Parker wore a velvet column dress from Maison Martin Margiela spring 2013 ‘Artisanal’ couture collection to the amfAR New York Gala on February 6, 2013 in New York City.

2012: New York City Ballet Fall Gala

Jamie McCarthy/Getty Images Entertainment/Getty Images

Parker wore a floral embroidered Valentino fall 2012 couture gown to the 2012 New York City Ballet Fall Gala on September 20, 2012 in New York City.

Kevin Mazur/WireImage/Getty Images

Wearing a long-sleeved, silk taffeta floral print gown from the Valentino spring 2012 collection, Parker attended “Schiaparelli And Prada: Impossible Conversations” Costume Institute Gala at the Metropolitan Museum of Art on May 7, 2012 in New York City.

2012: amfAR New York Gala

Gilbert Carrasquillo/FilmMagic/Getty Images

Parker paired a pink Oscar de la Renta pre-fall 2012 gown with a Theyskens Theory moto jacket and white gloves for the amfAR New York Gala on February 8, 2012 in New York City.

2011: 34th Annual Kennedy Center Honors

Paul Morigi/WireImage/Getty Images

Wearing a black Theyskens’ Theory fall 2011 gown with a voluminous skirt, Parker attended the 34th Kennedy Center Honors with her husband, Matthew Broderick, on December 4, 2011 in Washington, DC.

2011: New York City Ballet Fall Gala

Gary Gershoff/WireImage/Getty Images

Parker wore a one-shoulder lace Stella McCartney spring 2012 mini dress to the 2011 New York City Ballet Fall Gala on September 22, 2011 in New York City.

2011: I Don’t Know How She Does It Premiere

Henry S. Dziekan III/WireImage/Getty Images

Wearing a black crochet Antonio Berardi dress, Parker attended the premiere of I Don’t Know How She Does It with her husband, Broderick, on September 12, 2011 in New York City.

2011: 64th Cannes Film Festival

George Pimentel/FilmMagic/Getty Images

Wearing Elie Saab long-sleeved floral print gown, Parker attended the Wu Xia premiere during the 64th Cannes Film Festival May 13, 2011 in Cannes, France.

Kevin Mazur / Contributor

Parker wore an Alexander McQueen fall 2005 beaded dress to the “Alexander McQueen: Savage Beauty” Costume Institute Gala at The Metropolitan Museum of Art on May 2, 2011 in New York City.

2010: CFDA Fashion Awards

Rabbani and Solimene Photography / Contributor

Parker wore a purple Alexander McQueen gown to the 2010 CFDA Fashion Award on June 7, 2010 in New York City.

2010: Sex and the City 2 UK Premiere

Samir Hussein/Getty Images

Parker wore a black Alexander McQueen dress with a feathered Philip Treacy headpiece to the UK premiere of Sex and the City 2 on May 27, 2010 in London, England.

2010: 82nd Annual Academy Awards

Parker wore a pastel yellow Chanel couture dress with a wrist full of bangles to the 82nd Annual Academy Awards on March 7, 2010 in Hollywood, California.

Lars Niki/Corbis Entertainment/Getty Images

Parker wore a nude pleated Halston Heritage dress to the Costume Institute Gala Benefit to celebrate the opening of the “American Woman: Fashioning a National Identity” exhibition at The Metropolitan Museum of Art on May 3, 2010 in New York City.

2009: Did You Hear About the Morgans? Premiere

Mark Cuthbert/UK Press via Getty Images

Wearing a pink jacquard L’Wren Scott mini dress, Parker attended the premiere of Did You Hear About The Morgans? in Leicester Square, London on December 8, 2009.

2009: 81st Annual Academy Awards

Kevork Djansezian/Getty Images

Parker wore an ice blue, belted Dior gown to the 81st Annual Academy Awards on February 22, 2009 in Los Angeles, California.

Ian West – PA Images/PA Images/Getty Images

Parker wore a black, sparkly mini dress to the 2008 MTV Movie Awards on June 1, 2008 in Universal City, California.

2008: Sex and the City Premiere

Patrick McMullan/Patrick McMullan/Getty Images

Wearing a metallic, strapless Nina Ricci gown, Parker attended the premiere of Sex and the City with her husband, Matthew Broderick on May 27, 2008 in New York City.

2007: 64th Annual Golden Globe Awards

Kevin Winter/Getty Images Entertainment/Getty Images

Parker wore a L’Wren Scott sleeveless dress and Christian Louboutin clutch to the 64th Annual Golden Globe Awards on January January 15, 2007 in Beverly Hills.

Dimitrios Kambouris/WireImage/Getty Images

Wearing a tartan and tulle Alexander McQueen dress, Parker attended “AngloMania: Tradition and Transgression in British Fashion” Costume Institute Gala with the late designer at the Metropolitan Museum of Art on May 1, 2006.

2006: 63rd Annual Golden Globe Awards

George Pimentel/WireImage/Getty Images

Wearing a black strapless Rochas and Bottega Veneta clutch, Parker attended the 63rd Annual Golden Globe Awards with her husband, Broderick, in Beverly Hills, California on January 16, 2006.

2005: The Family Stone Premiere

Jon Kopaloff/FilmMagic/Getty Images

Parker wore a taupe Francisco Costa dress to The Family Stone Los Angeles premiere in Westwood, California on December 6, 2005.

2005: 40th Birthday Party

Arnaldo Magnani/Getty Images Entertainment/Getty Images

Wearing a gold empire-waisted Oscar de la Renta gown, Parker attended her 40th birthday party with husband, Broderick, on March 25, 2005 in New York City.

2005: 11th Annual Screen Actors Guild Awards

Kevin Winter/Getty Images Entertainment/Getty Images

Parker wore a strapless polka dotted Yves Saint Laurent dress to 11th Annual Screen Actors Guild Awards in Los Angeles, California on February 5, 2005.

2004: 56th Annual Emmy Awards

Albert L. Ortega/WireImage/Getty Images

Wearing a strapless lace and feather Chanel couture dress, Parker attended the 56th Annual Primetime Emmy Awards with her husband, Matthew Broderick in Los Angeles, California on September 20, 2004.

2004: CFDA Fashion Awards

Brian ZAK/Gamma-Rapho/Getty Images

Parker wore a pink and black tulle vintage Howard Greer dress to the CFDA Fashion Awards in New York City on June 07, 2004.

2004: New York City Ballet Spring Gala

Randy Brooke/WireImage/Getty Images

Parker wore a green drop waist Oscar de la Renta dress to the New York City Ballet 2004 Spring Gala in New York City on May 05, 2004.

2003: 55th Annual Primetime Emmy Awards

Kevin Winter/Getty Images Entertainment/Getty Images

Parker wore a strapless pink Chanel dress to the 55th Annual Primetime Emmy Awards in Los Angeles, California on September 21, 2003.

Richard Corkery/NY Daily News Archive via Getty Images

Parker wore a sheer black Gucci dress to the 2003 Tony Awards in New York City on June 08, 2003.

2003: CFDA Fashion Awards

Jim Spellman/WireImage/Getty Images

Parker wore a strapless Oscar De La Renta dress to the 2003 CFDA Fashion Awards in New York City on June 2, 2003.

2003: 60th Annual Golden Globes

Parker wore a black corset and pants by Jorgen Simonsen to the 60th Annual Golden Globe Awards in Beverly Hills, California on January 19, 2003.

2002: Sex and the City Season Five Premiere

Ron Galella, Ltd./Ron Galella Collection/Getty Images

Wearing a blush pink empire-waist dress by Narciso Rodriguez, a pregnant Parker attended the season five premiere of Sex and the City on July 16, 2002 in New York City.

2001: 7th Annual Screen Actors Guild Awards

Parker wore a sparkly bandeau and matching skirt to the 7th Annual Screen Actors Guild Awards in Los Angeles, California on March 11, 2001.

2001: 58th Annual Golden Globe Awards

Frank Trapper/Corbis Entertainment/Getty Images

Parker wore a strapless pink dress with a floral appliqué to the the 58th Annual Golden Globe Awards in Beverly Hills, California on January 21, 2001.

2000: 52nd Annual Emmy Awards

Parker wore a pink feathered Oscar de la Renta dress to the 52nd Annual Emmy Awards in Los Angeles, California on September 20, 2000.

2000: 6th Annual Screen Actors Guild Awards

Ron Galella, Ltd./Ron Galella Collection/Getty Images

Parker wore a gray Vivienne Westwood pants and top set to the 6th Annual Screen Actors Guild Awards on March 12, 2000 in Los Angeles, California.

2000: 57th Annual Golden Globe Awards

Frank Micelotta Archive/Hulton Archive/Getty Images

Parker wore a pink sleeveless Richard Tyler dress to the 57th Annual Golden Globe Awards on January 23, 2000 in Beverly Hills, California.

1997: VH1 Vogue Fashion Awards

Parker wore her pale pink “naked dress” to VH1’s Vogue Fashion Awards on October 24, 1997.

1991: For the Boys Premiere

Parker wore a colorful Rifat Ozbek cropped jacket and red velvet Christian Lacroix pants to the For the Boys premiere on November 14, 1991 in Beverly Hills, California.

1987: Slam Dance Premiere

Parker wore black pants, a black bra top, and a black jacket to the Slam Dance premiere on September 28, 1987 in Hollywood, California.

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Opinion: This surprising investing strategy crushes the stock market without examining a single financial metric

I am not a professional stock picker, but over the past decade my portfolio has beaten the stock market by a factor of three to one.

Unlike Peter Lynch, who advocated investing in the makers of products you love and who, in my estimation, stands out as one of the greatest of all stock pickers, I did not examine a single financial metric to build my portfolio. Instead, I simply ranked competitors in each industry based on customer love and then bet on the winner.

My portfolio has performed so well because the market undervalues the economic power of customer love. When customers feel loved, they come back for more and refer their friends. This is the economic flywheel that drives sustainable prosperity, and companies built on it generate surprising levels of profitable growth.

To measure customer love, I used the Net Promoter Score (NPS) that I created 20 years ago. It captures how likely a customer is to recommend a product or service to a friend or colleague. I relied on the market to incorporate all financial insights into the current stock price.

My buy-and-hold investing portfolio started with the 11 public NPS leaders profiled in my 2010 book, “The Ultimate Question 2.0“: Amazon
AMZN,
Meta Platforms (formerly Facebook)
FB,
Apple
AAPL,
Costco Wholesale
COST,
Google parent Alphabet
GOOG

GOOGL,
Southwest Airlines
LUV,
American Express
AXP,
JetBlue Airways
JBLU,
Verizon Communications
VZ,
T-Mobile US
TMUS,
NortonLifeLock
NLOK
and Metro PCS Communications (which merged with T-Mobile in 2013).

In hindsight some of those stocks look like no-brainers, but back when the book was written they were anything but. Amazon had a market cap below eBay’s. T-Mobile was considered by many to be the weakest player in mobile telephony.

In the years since, however, this group’s extraordinary customer focus has paid off. From Jan. 1, 2011 to Dec. 31, 2020 these stocks outperformed Vanguard’s Total Stock Market Index exchange-traded fund
VTI
by a factor of 2.8 to 1. (This performance is market-cap weighted and rebalanced quarterly akin to VTI’s rebalancing).


Fred Reichheld

Since then, Bain & Co., where I have worked since 1977, has applied NPS to a long list of industries, and created NPS Prism, a data benchmarking service that ranks competitor NPS on an apples-to-apples basis. As we X-ray more industries, we continue to uncover new NPS leaders, among them Texas Roadhouse
TXRH,
Discover Financial
DFS,
Tesla
TSLA,
Chewy
CHWY
and FirstService
FSV.
 

I serve on the board of directors at FirstService, a real-estate services company whose social media handle #FirstServeOthers provides a hint about its corporate philosophy. Over the 25 years since the IPO, its annual total shareholder return has been just under 22{cfdf3f5372635aeb15fd3e2aecc7cb5d7150695e02bd72e0a44f1581164ad809}, a better record than all but seven of the 2,800 firms with revenues of at least $100 million at the time of their NASDAQ listing. 

For a long time, like many great customer-focused organizations, it remained below investors’ radar screens. One reason: GAAP accounting is woefully lacking at measuring customer centricity. It doesn’t even require organizations to report the number of customers they serve, let alone how many are returning, increasing purchases, or referring friends and family. 

This makes it hard to find comparable data. I first discovered online pet supply retailer Chewy when its self-reported NPS appeared in its IPO documents. Chewy does a tremendous job tapping into the special emotional tie between owner and pet, with things like the hand-painted pet portraits the company mails as surprise thank-yous to customers, who, delighted, then post them, along with glowing testimonials, across social media.

By our calculations Chewy’s NPS beats Amazon’s by 24 points in its category — an extraordinary performance. Chewy’s own numbers are slightly different from ours, however, and the inconsistency of self-reported numbers is one reason we developed a new metric called earned growth rate. It measures the revenue growth generated by returning customers and their referrals by combining net revenue retention (NRR), the back-for-more battle-tested statistic used in the software-as-a-service (SaaS) industry among others, with earned new customers (ENC), measuring how much new customer spending is earned through referrals rather than bought through promotional channels.

NPS exemplar First Republic Bank
FRC
has in the past earned 82{cfdf3f5372635aeb15fd3e2aecc7cb5d7150695e02bd72e0a44f1581164ad809} of its deposit growth, with 50{cfdf3f5372635aeb15fd3e2aecc7cb5d7150695e02bd72e0a44f1581164ad809} coming from existing customers and another 32{cfdf3f5372635aeb15fd3e2aecc7cb5d7150695e02bd72e0a44f1581164ad809} from referrals. Warby Parker
WRBY,
the direct-to-consumer pioneer in prescription eyeglasses, earns almost 90{cfdf3f5372635aeb15fd3e2aecc7cb5d7150695e02bd72e0a44f1581164ad809} of its new customers through referrals.

You can use this calculator to estimate your company’s earned growth rate.


Abingdon Press

In addition to these metrics, it’s also possible to spot NPS leaders by their common features.  

  1. They apply the Golden Rule – love thy neighbor as thyself. This often means eschewing bad profits. Discover Card, for example, never sells receivables to collection agencies.

  2. They empower their front-line employees to serve customers in creative ways. Companies like Chewy that give employees the freedom to serve customers with empathy and creativity engender trust in and loyalty to their companies.

  3. They integrate in-store and online customer feedback. Technology-rich companies like Warby Parker augment direct feedback with digital signals from customers and front-line employees to guide decision-making—crucial in helping companies respond to holiday shopping trends this season.

  4. They make customers their primary purpose. By going the extra mile to provide a customer with an experience that’s not just good, but remarkable, companies can play a part in enriching their lives beyond the product they offer.

I have spent most of my 44-year career focused on understanding the role that loyalty plays in building great organizations and helping leaders inspire their teams to embrace a mission of purposeful service enriching the lives of customers and colleagues. That is the right way—and the best way—to win in business and the stock market. 

Fred Reichheld is the creator of the Net Promoter system of management and the author of “Winning on Purpose: The Unbeatable Strategy of Loving Customers” (together with Darci Darnell and Maureen Burns), among other books.

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EV transition could cost 500,000 jobs, supplier group says

PARIS — The transition to electric vehicles from internal combustion powertrains could mean the loss of up to 500,000 jobs at automotive suppliers in the EU by 2040, according to a new study by the industry trade group CLEPA.

Those job losses will not be fully offset by a corresponding growth in EV components, which the group said would generate only 226,000 new positions, for a net loss of 275,000 jobs.

That scenario could play out if the EU enacts a proposal in its “Fit for 55” package to allow only zero-emissions vehicles to be sold after 2035. Along the way, emissions would fall by 55 percent from 2021 levels by 2030. The package of proposals was released this summer.

The suppliers’ group is calling for a mixed-technology approach to emissions reductions, including hybrid technologies, so-called green hydrogen and renewable fuels. That approach would still cut emissions by 50 percent and maintain current employment levels, CLEPA said.

“The study highlights the risks of an EV-only approach for the livelihood of hundreds of thousands of people working hard to deliver the technological solutions for sustainable mobility,” CLEPA Secretary General Sigrid de Vries said in a news release Monday. 

According to the report, prepared by PwC for CLEPA, 1.7 million people work at automotive suppliers in Europe, with an additional 1.2 million jobs at automakers. There are also about 1.21 million jobs in activities such as tires, body manufacturing, chemicals, batteries and electrical equipment, and 3.2 million in support services.

The study considered three questions:

  1. What is the impact of different powertrain technologies on the value that suppliers can add?
  2. What is the corresponding effect on jobs?
  3. What is the effect on climate targets?

The majority, 70 percent, of the electric vehicle “value add” would come from batteries, from raw materials to cells to pack assembly to recycling. However, that industry is just ramping up in Europe, with many gigafactories planned but few currently in operation.

As that industry develops, jobs at internal-combustion suppliers will drop off sharply, especially after 2030, the study found. There are 599,000 positions in the sector today, but that figure will fall to 513,000 in 2030 — and just 153,000 in 2035.

The study envisions three powertrain scenarios:

  1. Mixed technology, which would still cut CO2 emissions from the current 95 gram per km to 20 g/km in 2040, and would add about 200,000 jobs by that year
  2. EV-only, which would cut emissions to zero by 2040, but with a corresponding loss of 275,000 positions
  3. A “radical” situation, in which emissions are cut to zero by 2030, but job losses would top 360,000.

“Society’s needs are far too diverse for a one-fits-all approach,” de Vries said in the release. “A regulatory framework that is open to all available solutions, like the use of hybrid technologies, green hydrogen and renewable sustainable fuels will enable innovation as we redefine mobility in the coming decades.”

The biggest job losses would be in Germany (121,000), Italy (74,000), Spain (72,000) and Romania (56,000).

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Dow Jones Rallies On Pfizer Vaccine News; Tesla Stock Rises After China Sales

The Dow Jones Industrial Average rallied 100 points early Wednesday, as Pfizer provided an update on the effectiveness of its vaccine vs. the omicron Covid-19 variant. Apple hit new highs, while Tesla stock dropped after reports of strong electric-vehicle sales in China.




X



Among the Dow Jones leaders, Apple (AAPL) gained 0.5{cfdf3f5372635aeb15fd3e2aecc7cb5d7150695e02bd72e0a44f1581164ad809} Wednesday, while Microsoft (MSFT) fell 0.3{cfdf3f5372635aeb15fd3e2aecc7cb5d7150695e02bd72e0a44f1581164ad809} in today’s stock market. Nike (NKE) also ticked 0.3{cfdf3f5372635aeb15fd3e2aecc7cb5d7150695e02bd72e0a44f1581164ad809} lower, still below a buy point despite Tuesday’s strong gain.

EV leader Tesla (TSLA) shed early gains and dropped 1{cfdf3f5372635aeb15fd3e2aecc7cb5d7150695e02bd72e0a44f1581164ad809} Wednesday. EV peer Rivian (RIVN) was down 1{cfdf3f5372635aeb15fd3e2aecc7cb5d7150695e02bd72e0a44f1581164ad809}, while Lucid Group (LCID) moved down around 4{cfdf3f5372635aeb15fd3e2aecc7cb5d7150695e02bd72e0a44f1581164ad809}. Chinese EV leaders Li Auto (LI) and Xpeng Motors (XPEV) were mixed after Wednesday’s open.

Among the top stocks to buy and watch, Endeavor Group (EDR), Louisiana-Pacific (LPX), NXP Semiconductors (NXPI) and Zim Integrated Shipping (ZIM) are in or near new buy zones. Despite the recent stock market strength, investors should still be developing watchlists, and avoid making new purchases until the market’s current rally attempt stages a follow-through day.

Microsoft and Tesla are IBD Leaderboard stocks. Louisiana-Pacific was Tuesday’s IBD 50 Stocks To Watch pick. NXP was spotlighted in this week’s Stocks Near A Buy Zone story. Endeavor was featured in last week’s IPO Leaders story. Zim is an IBD SwingTrader stock.

Dow Jones Today: Pfizer Vaccine News

After the stock market open Wednesday, the Dow Jones Industrial Average pared gains to 0.1{cfdf3f5372635aeb15fd3e2aecc7cb5d7150695e02bd72e0a44f1581164ad809}, as Honeywell International (HON) dragged on the index following a Bank of America downgrade. The S&P 500 rose 0.1{cfdf3f5372635aeb15fd3e2aecc7cb5d7150695e02bd72e0a44f1581164ad809}, while the tech-heavy Nasdaq composite reversed higher after early losses.

Among exchange traded funds, the Nasdaq 100 tracker Invesco QQQ Trust (QQQ) rose 0.1{cfdf3f5372635aeb15fd3e2aecc7cb5d7150695e02bd72e0a44f1581164ad809} Wednesday, while the SPDR S&P 500 ETF (SPY) gained 0.2{cfdf3f5372635aeb15fd3e2aecc7cb5d7150695e02bd72e0a44f1581164ad809}.

Elsewhere, the 10-year Treasury yield traded down to around 1.46{cfdf3f5372635aeb15fd3e2aecc7cb5d7150695e02bd72e0a44f1581164ad809} Wednesday morning, following its close at 1.48{cfdf3f5372635aeb15fd3e2aecc7cb5d7150695e02bd72e0a44f1581164ad809} Tuesday after two straight days of strong gains. Crude oil prices were lower, with West Texas Intermediate down about 0.5{cfdf3f5372635aeb15fd3e2aecc7cb5d7150695e02bd72e0a44f1581164ad809} and on pace to snap a two-day advance.

Early Wednesday, Pfizer (PFE) and vaccine partner BioNTech (BNTX) said a third dose of their Covid-19 vaccine neutralized the omicron variant in lab tests. They also reported that the two-dose regimen was significantly less effective vs. the new variant than prior strains of the virus. Pfizer shares and BNTX shares both traded higher after the open.

Stock Market ETF Strategy And How To Invest

Stock Market Rally Attempt

The stock market posted strong gains Tuesday, as the major stock indexes continued their rebounds from last week’s weakness. Tuesday marked Day 2 of a new rally attempt on the Nasdaq. That is a positive sign, but means the market correction isn’t over yet — one or two days doesn’t make a trend. Starting at Day 4, you are looking for the index to rise sharply in higher volume than the prior day. That would indicate a follow-through day, and signal the start of a potential uptrend.

Now, while the market is still correcting, is a good time to search for stocks that could become the next uptrend’s leaders. One tool helpful in such a search is the relative strength line. The RS line measures a stock’s price performance vs. the S&P 500. If the stock is outperforming the broader market, then the RS line angles upward. If a stock is performing worse than the broad market, then the line will point lower.

After Tuesday’s session, The Big Picture commented: “With two solid gains this week, much of the stock market’s damage from the previous couple of weeks is patched up. The Nasdaq sank almost 8{cfdf3f5372635aeb15fd3e2aecc7cb5d7150695e02bd72e0a44f1581164ad809} from its Nov. 22 peak and is now 3.2{cfdf3f5372635aeb15fd3e2aecc7cb5d7150695e02bd72e0a44f1581164ad809} from new highs.”

The stock market outlook was downgraded on Friday, so it’s an important time to read IBD’s The Big Picture.

Five Best Dow Jones Stocks To Watch Now

Dow Jones Stocks To Watch: Apple, Nike

Apple shares hit new highs Tuesday, rallying more than 3.5{cfdf3f5372635aeb15fd3e2aecc7cb5d7150695e02bd72e0a44f1581164ad809}. The stock is getting further extended past a 153.27 buy point out of a cup-with-handle base, according to IBD MarketSmith chart analysis. The 5{cfdf3f5372635aeb15fd3e2aecc7cb5d7150695e02bd72e0a44f1581164ad809} buy zone topped out at 160.93. Apple shares moved up 0.5{cfdf3f5372635aeb15fd3e2aecc7cb5d7150695e02bd72e0a44f1581164ad809} Wednesday, setting another all-time high.

Retail leader Nike remains about 2{cfdf3f5372635aeb15fd3e2aecc7cb5d7150695e02bd72e0a44f1581164ad809} below a cup base’s 174.48 buy point after Tuesday’s 1.4{cfdf3f5372635aeb15fd3e2aecc7cb5d7150695e02bd72e0a44f1581164ad809} gain. Shares fell 0.3{cfdf3f5372635aeb15fd3e2aecc7cb5d7150695e02bd72e0a44f1581164ad809} Wednesday.

Stock Market Earnings: Toll Brothers

Photronics (PLAB), Thor Industries (THO) and Lovesac (LOVE) were all making strong morning moves after reporting earnings early Wednesday.

Toll Brothers (TOL) reported better-than-expected fiscal fourth-quarter earnings and sales late Tuesday. Shares dropped more than 2{cfdf3f5372635aeb15fd3e2aecc7cb5d7150695e02bd72e0a44f1581164ad809} Wednesday. TOL stock closed Tuesday in buy range past a 68.98 buy point, but is already extended above a 67.43 handle entry. That 5{cfdf3f5372635aeb15fd3e2aecc7cb5d7150695e02bd72e0a44f1581164ad809} buy area topped out at 70.80.

Elsewhere, Stitch Fix (SFIX) dived 27{cfdf3f5372635aeb15fd3e2aecc7cb5d7150695e02bd72e0a44f1581164ad809} Wednesday after cutting its revenue outlook for the fiscal year due to ongoing supply chain pressures. Shares closed Tuesday about 78{cfdf3f5372635aeb15fd3e2aecc7cb5d7150695e02bd72e0a44f1581164ad809} off their 52-week high.

Stocks To Buy And Watch: Endeavor, Louisiana-Pacific, NXP, Zim

IPO Leader and Ultimate Fighting Championship owner Endeavor Group is trying to break out past a cup-with-handle base with a 31.80 buy point, according to IBD MarketSmith chart analysis. Shares are about 3{cfdf3f5372635aeb15fd3e2aecc7cb5d7150695e02bd72e0a44f1581164ad809} below the new entry after Tuesday’s breakout attempt. The stock was down about 4{cfdf3f5372635aeb15fd3e2aecc7cb5d7150695e02bd72e0a44f1581164ad809} Wednesday.

The stock’s relative strength line is making strong upward progress and is at its highest level since early October. The RS line measures a stock’s price performance vs. the broad market. A strengthening RS line during periods of market weakness indicates leadership potential.

Louisiana-Pacific — Tuesday’s IBD Stocks To Watch pick — is breaking out past a 73.76 buy point in a cup with handle amid Tuesday’s 3.9{cfdf3f5372635aeb15fd3e2aecc7cb5d7150695e02bd72e0a44f1581164ad809} rise. Shares are in the 5{cfdf3f5372635aeb15fd3e2aecc7cb5d7150695e02bd72e0a44f1581164ad809} buy range that tops out at 77.45. LPX stock moved up 1{cfdf3f5372635aeb15fd3e2aecc7cb5d7150695e02bd72e0a44f1581164ad809} Wednesday.

Chip leader NXP Semiconductors is testing a 227.60 buy point in a cup-with-handle base following Tuesday’s 6.5{cfdf3f5372635aeb15fd3e2aecc7cb5d7150695e02bd72e0a44f1581164ad809} advance. The buy area goes up to 238.98. Shares were down over 6{cfdf3f5372635aeb15fd3e2aecc7cb5d7150695e02bd72e0a44f1581164ad809} Wednesday after UBS started coverage with a sell rating and a 170 price target.

IBD SwingTrader stock Zim Integrated Shipping is rapidly approaching a cup with handle’s 60.19 buy point following Tuesday’s 4.9{cfdf3f5372635aeb15fd3e2aecc7cb5d7150695e02bd72e0a44f1581164ad809} climb. Shares rallied 2{cfdf3f5372635aeb15fd3e2aecc7cb5d7150695e02bd72e0a44f1581164ad809} Wednesday.

Join IBD experts as they analyze leading stocks in the current stock market correction on IBD Live

EV Stocks: Li Auto, Xpeng, Lucid Motors, Rivian

Li Auto triggered the 7{cfdf3f5372635aeb15fd3e2aecc7cb5d7150695e02bd72e0a44f1581164ad809}-8{cfdf3f5372635aeb15fd3e2aecc7cb5d7150695e02bd72e0a44f1581164ad809} loss-cutting sell rule below a cup-with-handle base’s 34.93 buy point after Friday’s sharp loss. Shares are fighting to regain their 50-day line after finding support around the long-term 200-day moving average. Shares tacked on 0.7{cfdf3f5372635aeb15fd3e2aecc7cb5d7150695e02bd72e0a44f1581164ad809} Wednesday.

Xpeng Motors triggered the round-trip sell signal from a 48.08 buy point during last week’s decline. Investors should sell the growth stock if it falls back near the buy point after it has made a gain of more than 10{cfdf3f5372635aeb15fd3e2aecc7cb5d7150695e02bd72e0a44f1581164ad809}. Try to sell before all gains are wiped away. XPEV shares ended Tuesday above their 50-day support level. Wait for the stock to form a new base, which would offer a new entry. The stock moved up 0.7{cfdf3f5372635aeb15fd3e2aecc7cb5d7150695e02bd72e0a44f1581164ad809} Wednesday.

Lucid Motors shares threatened to extend a five-day losing streak Wednesday, falling 4{cfdf3f5372635aeb15fd3e2aecc7cb5d7150695e02bd72e0a44f1581164ad809}. LCID stock remains extended past a 28.49 buy point in a cup-with-handle base, but huge gains have dwindled.

Hot initial public offering Rivian extended Tuesday’s 0.5{cfdf3f5372635aeb15fd3e2aecc7cb5d7150695e02bd72e0a44f1581164ad809} fall, dropping nearly 1{cfdf3f5372635aeb15fd3e2aecc7cb5d7150695e02bd72e0a44f1581164ad809} early Wednesday.

RIVN shares closed Tuesday about 35{cfdf3f5372635aeb15fd3e2aecc7cb5d7150695e02bd72e0a44f1581164ad809} off their post-IPO highs. The decline is a potential positive for investors remaining disciplined and waiting for an IPO base to form before considering a purchase. The recent weakness is the start of Rivian’s first base formation, and Monday’s strong gain was a step in the right direction.

Tesla Stock

Tesla stock turned down 1{cfdf3f5372635aeb15fd3e2aecc7cb5d7150695e02bd72e0a44f1581164ad809} Wednesday, after Tuesday’s 4.2{cfdf3f5372635aeb15fd3e2aecc7cb5d7150695e02bd72e0a44f1581164ad809} gain as it rebounds from a key support level. Early Wednesday, the China Passenger Car Association reported that Tesla Shanghai sold 52,859 made-in-China Model 3 sedans and Model Y crossover SUVs in November, including 21,127 that were exported.

Shares traded as high as 1,243.49 on Nov. 4, but the stock ended Tuesday about 15{cfdf3f5372635aeb15fd3e2aecc7cb5d7150695e02bd72e0a44f1581164ad809} off its 52-week high.

TSLA shares remain sharply above a 764.55 buy point in a cup with handle, as well as earlier entries at 700.10 and 730. The chart also showed an alternate entry at 900.50. Tesla shares are likely forming a new base, but there is no new buy point yet.

Dow Jones Leaders: Microsoft

Among Dow Jones stocks, software giant Microsoft moved down 0.3{cfdf3f5372635aeb15fd3e2aecc7cb5d7150695e02bd72e0a44f1581164ad809} Wednesday, as it fights to continue its rebound from the 50-day line.

On Oct. 18, Microsoft stock broke out past a flat base’s 305.94 buy point. The 5{cfdf3f5372635aeb15fd3e2aecc7cb5d7150695e02bd72e0a44f1581164ad809} buy zone topped out at 321.24, so the stock is extended.

Be sure to follow Scott Lehtonen on Twitter at @IBD_SLehtonen for more on growth stocks and the Dow Jones Industrial Average.

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Xbox Game Pass is replacing its biggest Xbox Series X download today | Gaming | Entertainment

Xbox Game Pass just lost one of its biggest games, and Microsoft isn’t waiting around to replace it on Xbox One and Xbox Series X.

As revealed earlier this month, Destiny 2 and its biggest expansion have now been removed from the Xbox library, and no return date has been announced.

Meanwhile, Bungie has confirmed that The Witch Queen expansion will not be available via the subscription in February.

Once Destiny 2 leaves Xbox Game Pass, players who don’t own any of the expansions on the Xbox platform will lose access to:

Expansion quests and campaigns, Stasis Subclass, which is Beyond Light-specific, The middle-tree Supers for each subclass. The purchase of any major expansion (sans Bungie 30th Anniversary Pack) will unlock these Subclass supers, and the 10{cfdf3f5372635aeb15fd3e2aecc7cb5d7150695e02bd72e0a44f1581164ad809} off perk for Silver purchases and other game add-ons.

The good news is that Items, such as Exotics, already acquired will still be available for players who earned them, and Season Passes will remain active.

And it should also be noted that Destiny 2 will remain available to play on Xbox Game Pass Ultimate via the PC platform.

It would be a big blow for the subscription service had it not been timed with one of the biggest launches of the year.

That is because while Destiny 2 is leaving Xbox Game Pass, the Halo Infinite campaign is about to be added to the library.

The next instalment in the Master Chief’s story has taken a long time to reach fans but is scheduled to launch on Xbox One and Xbox Series X later today.

And not only will gamers be able to jump in soon but they can also download and play the new Halo Campaign via Xbox Game Pass on consoles, PC and Cloud.

It’s not a like-for-like replacement but it does make up for the fact that one of the biggest games is being replaced on the same day by one of the most hotly anticipated titles of 2021.

WHEN DOES HALO INFINITE CAMPAIGN COME OUT?

Microsoft has confirmed that the Halo Infinite Campaign release date has been scheduled for Wednesday, December 8.

This is a launch window shared for all platforms, including Xbox One, Xbox Series X and Steam PC.

And the Halo Campaign release time has also been confirmed for 6pm GMT, or 10am PDT if you live in North America.

There has been nothing posted from the Halo development team suggesting gamers using Xbox Game Pass will have to wait longer.

So it won’t be long before everyone can start playing the latest Halo adventure on their Xbox One, Xbox Series X, PC or Android device.

The new Campaign is the final piece of the game that needs to be launched, following Microsoft’s surprise decision to release the multiplayer component on November 15.

This was to help celebrate the 20th Anniversary of the series and the original Xbox console, both of which became available on November 15, 2001.

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Does the Omicron variant increase risk of reinfection?

A woman getting tested for COVID-19 at a mobile testing site at Times Square in New York City on Dec 6, 2021Share on Pinterest
A woman getting tested for COVID-19 at a mobile testing site at Times Square in New York City on December 6, 2021. Anadolu Agency/Getty Images
  • Omicron, which is the latest SARS-CoV-2 variant of concern, is spreading globally.
  • A South African study has found high rates of reinfection among those with previous confirmed SARS-CoV-2 infections since the beginning of November. This was when scientists discovered the Omicron variant there.
  • These observations suggest that Omicron can evade immunity from prior infection.

A preprint study from South Africa suggests that the Omicron variant of SARS-CoV-2 is more than three times as likely to reinfect people than previous variants.

This ability to evade immunity from prior infection may be causing its rapid spread.

For the study, which has not yet undergone peer review, researchers rapidly analyzed 2,796,982 confirmed SARS-CoV-2 cases in South Africa. All first infections had occurred at least 90 days before November 27, 2021.

The researchers identified primary infections and suspected repeat infections. They considered anyone who tested positive again more than 90 days after their first positive test to have a reinfection with SARS-CoV-2.

The team analyzed whether or not there were differences in reinfection risk during the first, second, and third waves. The second wave was dominated by the Beta variant, the third wave was dominated by the Delta variant, and experts assume that the Omicron variant has dominated reinfections since November 2021.

They judged a higher relative risk of reinfection among the population in any wave as indicating immune escape by the virus. Immune escape means that the virus can evade immunity acquired through either infection or vaccination.

Of the sample, 35,670 people (1.3{cfdf3f5372635aeb15fd3e2aecc7cb5d7150695e02bd72e0a44f1581164ad809}) had two confirmed SARS-CoV-2 infections. There were peaks of reinfection in January and July 2021, which corresponded with the peak of waves two and three in South Africa, along with a spike in reinfections in November 2021, which corresponded with the detection of the Omicron variant there.

The researchers suggest that this means that Omicron can evade prior immunity. They call for in vitro studies to test this.

They also note that although in vitro studies for the Beta and Delta variants suggested that they could evade prior immunity more effectively than the original Alpha variant, their own analysis did not show this at a population level. This is because there was no increased risk of reinfection in either the second or third waves compared with the first.

The authors suggest that scientists need to design better experiments to determine the risk of immune escape in vitro.

Dr. Chris Coleman — an assistant professor of infection immunology at the University of Nottingham in the United Kingdom — told Medical News Today: “This is a clear sign that the new variant is escaping immune responses, as this is evading the ‘natural’ response — which may be more complex than vaccine-induced response.”

These findings may have implications for public health planning. For example, if Omicron is more transmissible and can evade immunity, the potential for spread is enormous. The authors question whether or not immune escape will mean that people are less protected against severe COVID-19.

Experts have noted that most Omicron infections have, so far, led to only mild symptoms, and there have been no recorded deaths yet. However, the ability of Omicron to reinfect is worrying.

Dr. Arturo Casadevall, Ph.D. — chair of the Molecular Microbiology & Immunology Department at Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health in Baltimore — highlighted that concern.

He said: “These results imply that Omicron has changed so much relative to the other variants that prior COVID-19 immunity is not as protective. This finding is very concerning because it implies that whatever immunity was built up by prior COVID-19 is not sufficient to protect against Omicron.”

In speaking to the Science Media Centre, Prof. Paul Hunter — a professor of medicine at the Norwich School of Medicine in the U.K. — agreed.

“Unlike previous waves that were because the variants were intrinsically more infectious, Omicron appears to […] have substantial immune escape, at least from immunity caused by a natural infection. Whether Omicron is also more infectious is possible but cannot be answered by this analysis.”

– Prof. Paul Hunter

The authors point out that their study cannot answer the question about whether or not the current vaccines will be effective against Omicron. At the time of the study, vaccination levels in South Africa were very low.

However, experts believe that — as with other variants — even if vaccines do not prevent infection, they should prevent severe COVID-19 from Omicron.

The vaccination status of those with suspected reinfections in this study was not known.

“One key question, of course, is if this [increased risk of reinfection with Omicron] also applies to vaccinated individuals and, as they say, the public health implications (e.g., is the infection milder with reinfection?).”

– Dr. Chris Coleman

Dr. Casadevall stressed: “These findings heighten the concern that the same [immune escape] may happen in those vaccinated. Omicron is showing itself to be a very dangerous new variant with the potential to set back some of the progress we have made against COVID-19.”

So, until we have more data about Omicron, experts are clear that the priority is to get as many people vaccinated as possible.

Dr. Michael Head, Ph.D. — a senior research fellow in global health at the University of Southampton in the U.K. — told the Science Media Centre: “[While] we await more data to emerge over the coming days and weeks, the message to the general public has to be — go and get all the doses you are eligible for.”

For live updates on the latest developments regarding the novel coronavirus and COVID-19, click here.