Author

admin

Browsing

On Wednesday, only 4% of the S&P 500’s holdings logged gains — a pretty rare occurrence. Since the start of 2024, this has only happened three other times:

  • August 5, 2024: The last day of the summer correction
  • December 18, 2024: The Fed’s hawkish cut
  • April 4, 2025: Tariffs

Let’s recall that major trading lows were etched last August, and again just a few weeks ago in early April. The S&P 500 ($SPX) dropped 10% and 21%, respectively, from its peak to trough both times, with the lows being marked by emphatic capitulation events (April 7 was the real pivot low). The market’s rubber band violently snapped back in the ensuing weeks, both times.

FIGURE 1. PAST LOWS IN THE S&P 500 INDEX. Note the rebounds following the August 5, December 18, and April 4 drops.With the SPX now having gained 20% from the April low, the setup is more like mid-December 2024. The index had just gained 19% from early August through early December and was hovering near 6,100. The FOMC’s actions put a major dent in the calm uptrend.

The S&P 500 didn’t completely crumble after that, spending the next 10 weeks backing and filling. But the market’s character changed, and the cracks eventually gave way to the waterfall decline.

So, what does that tell us about this moment? There’s a clear risk given the one-sided advance the last few weeks, but, with bullish patterns still in play and the $SPX having built up a big cushion, it can afford to back and fill again now. It’s the first gut punch in four weeks, and the market must prove it can absorb it.

Short-Term View of the S&P 500

The drawdown measured from this Monday’s high now stands at -2.4% — most of which happened on Wednesday. Given how small the moves have been over the last few weeks, Wednesday’s big decline hit the 14-period relative strength index (RSI) on the two-hour chart very hard. It’s now at 41, which is very close to the 30-oversold threshold.

Again, we’ve seen the short-term indicator fall to oversold territory several times, even during the market’s upswing from August through December. Seeing that happen again this time wouldn’t be a surprise. If it happens, it will be important to see the ensuing bounce pull the SPX back to overbought territory relatively soon. Remember, we went nearly four months between overbought readings from late January through mid-May.

FIGURE 2. TWO-HOUR CHART OF THE S&P 500 WITH RSI.

S&P 500 Patterns

Despite the sell-off, there was no change in the patterns at work. The two bullish patterns remain in play, with targets of 6,125 and 6,555, respectively. The S&P 500 started Thursday, at about 2.5% above the last breakout zone (5,695).

FIGURE 3. DAILY CHART OF THE S&P 500 WITH BULLISH PATTERNS. Here you see the pattern with a 6,125 target.

FIGURE 4. DAILY CHART OF S&P 500 WITH 6,555 PRICE TARGET.

Monitor the VIX

Not surprisingly, the Cboe Volatility Index ($VIX) gained 15% on Wednesday in response to the market’s sell-off. It remains close to 20, but continues to log higher lows, which has been the trend since late 2024. Indeed, it’s way off spike highs from April, but it’s a trend worth watching.

Let’s recall that the VIX never truly capitulated in 2022, but its trend of higher lows coincided with the equity market’s downtrend. When the SPX logged a true low in October 2022, lower lows in the VIX became evident. This lasted through this past summer.

If the snapback in the SPX turns into a longer, new uptrend, the VIX’s uptrend will morph into a downtrend again.

FIGURE 5. WEEKLY CHART OF THE CBOE VOLATILITY INDEX ($VIX).

Bonds Display Bullish Patterns

The bullish pattern in the weekly 30-Year Treasury yields and 10-Year Treasury yields is crystal clear. An acceleration through the 2023 highs after Wednesday would have an obvious negative effect on stocks.

As discussed before, the equity market has shown it can advance with higher rates, as long as said rates go higher gradually. The intermittent up-moves in rates have been capped for the last two years as well. Thus, stocks have been able to withstand it. That wasn’t the case from January to September 2022, and that’s the potential concern.

FIGURE 6. WEEKLY CHART OF THE 30-YEAR US TRASURY YIELD INDEX.

FIGURE 7. WEEKLY CHART OF THE 10-YEAR US TREASURY YIELD INDEX.

Bitcoin Holding Strong

So far, Bitcoin has maintained noticeable relative strength even as stocks got hit hard on Wednesday. Simply put, continuing to hold above this breakout zone would keep the new measured move target of 142k in play.

FIGURE 8. WEEKLY CHART OF $BTCUSD WITH ITS MEASURED MOVE TARGET.

From another perspective, this move can also be viewed as the fourth wedge breakout since 2023. The prior three times, BTC’s 14-week RSI stayed very overbought for weeks before slowing down. The 14-week RSI is just approaching overbought levels, which suggests it has further to go.

FIGURE 9. WEEKLY CHART OF $BTCUSD WITH WEDGE BREAKOUTS AND RSI.


Rio Tinto (ASX:RIO,NYSE:RIO,LSE:RIO)said on Monday (May 19) that it has signed binding agreements with Corporación Nacional Del Cobre de Chile (Codelco) to develop and operate a high-grade lithium project.

The asset is located in the Salar de Maricunga, a large lithium-containing resource base in Atacama, Chile. Its brine is said to have one of the highest average grades of lithium content in the world.

According to Rio Tinto, it will acquire a 49.99 percent interest in the company Salar de Maricunga, through which Codelco holds its licenses and mining concessions related to the resource base.

Codelco is a state-owned firm formed in 1976. Its full name translates to “National Copper Corporation of Chile.”

“We are honoured to be chosen as Codelco’s partner to deliver a world-class project using Direct Lithium Extraction technology in the Salar de Maricunga, leveraging our expertise as a leading producer of lithium for the global market,” said Rio Tinto Chief Executive Jakob Stausholm. “Developing this significant lithium resource will deliver further value-adding growth in our portfolio of critical minerals essential for the energy transition.”

In 2023, Rio and Codelco entered a joint venture for the exploration of Nuevo Cobre, situated within the Potrerillos mining district, also in Atacama. Codelco owns about 43 percent of Nuevo Cobre, while Rio Tinto owns about 58 percent.

For the Salar de Maricunga partnership, Rio will invest AU$350 million in initial funding for additional studies and resource analysis that will assist in creating a final investment decision.

Once a decision is made, AU$500 million will be dedicated toward construction costs. Another AU$50 million will be allocated should the venture deliver its first lithium target by the end of 2030.

The new partnership with Codelco forms part of Rio Tinto’s long-term lithium plan, which includes a production goal of over 200,000 metric tons of lithium carbonate equivalent annually by 2028.

The company recently completed its acquisition of Arcadium Lithium, making it the world’s third top lithium producer.

Subject to regulatory approvals and the satisfaction of customary conditions, the Salar de Maricunga transaction is expected to close by the end of the first quarter of 2026.

Securities Disclosure: I, Gabrielle de la Cruz, hold no direct investment interest in any company mentioned in this article.

This post appeared first on investingnews.com

As Burger King enters the next phase of its turnaround efforts, the fast-food chain is trying to lure families back to its restaurants with colored Whopper buns and kid-friendly movie partnerships.

Starting Tuesday, the Restaurant Brands International chain will sell new menu items inspired by the “live action” remake of “How to Train Your Dragon.” The collaboration is more than just a one-time partnership — it’s part of Burger King’s broader strategy to lift U.S. sales.

“Where we’re really starting to lean in now that we’ve made some progress in both operations and in our restaurants is on a family-first marketing strategy,” Burger King U.S. and Canada President Tom Curtis told CNBC.

Burger King’s U.S. business has been in turnaround mode for more than 2½ years. After falling behind burger rivals McDonald’s and Wendy’s, the company announced plans to invest hundreds of millions of dollars in a comeback strategy to renovate its restaurants, improve its operations and spend on advertising. The chain even bought its largest U.S. franchisee with the goal of accelerating its restaurant remodels.

“We’re finding that there will be chapters to this as we go through time, and right now is this family strategy chapter, where we’ve done enough work and transformed our restaurant operations to the extent that we’re proud of,” Curtis said. “We’re inviting families back in, and we’re finding that we’re getting better retention when they do come back in.”

Curtis said focusing on families gives Burger King the opportunity to attract customers across age cohorts, from millennials to Generation Alpha, which is roughly defined as people born between 2010 and 2025. Plus, parents’ avid use of social media means that word spreads quickly, giving the approach a leg up compared with targeting a single demographic that isn’t as enthusiastic online.

The limited-time themed menu items include the Dragon Flame-Grilled Whopper, with a red and orange marbled bun; Fiery Dragon Mozzarella Fries, made with Calabrian chili pepper breading; Soaring Strawberry Lemonade; and the Viking’s Chocolate Sundae, with Hershey’s syrup and black and green cookie crumbles.

Movie collaborations aren’t anything new for fast food — or Burger King. It was one of the first fast-food chains to lean into movie tie-ins. In 1977, the chain sold “Star Wars” drinking glasses ahead of the film’s release.

McDonald’s wasn’t far behind, following with a Star Trek-themed Happy Meal two years later, kicking off decades of movie, TV and toy tie-ins aimed at kids. More recently, the Golden Arches’ collaboration with “A Minecraft Movie” across more than 100 markets sold out within two weeks in the U.S., about half the time earmarked for the promotion.

In Burger King’s more recent past, under Curtis’ leadership, the chain has had two major partnerships: one with “Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse” two years ago and another with the Addams Family franchise, timed for Halloween last year.

Both of those menus featured Whoppers with thematic, colored buns, dyed using natural colorants, like beet juice or ube.

“Not having artificial dyes and colors is something that’s been important to us for a while,” Curtis said.

Burger King use of natural dyes comes as artificial food dyes have come under fire from health-concerned parents. Following a push from Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr., the Food and Drug Administration recently announced plans to phase out the use of petroleum-based synthetic dyes in food and drinks.

The two previous collaborations also were Burger King’s top-selling Whopper innovations, based on the number sold, according to Curtis.

“What we found in the Addams Family promotion specifically was, as we dug into the property, traffic was fairly flat, but sales were up,” he said, attributing the sales growth to families, which have a higher average check than a solo diner or a couple.

The expected sales lift from the “How to Train Your Dragon” menu comes at a crucial time for Burger King.

In its most recent quarter, the company’s comeback stumbled. The chain’s U.S. same-store sales slid 1.1%, mirroring an industrywide slump as fears about the economy and bad weather kept diners at home.

But Curtis is confident that Burger King is on the right track, pointing to the chain’s relative outperformance compared with its two biggest competitors: McDonald’s and Wendy’s.

“I know that they’re scrambling, and sometimes, frankly, copying some of the things that we do, which, you know, plagiarism is the sincerest form of flattery,” he said. “When we see them doing that, it gives us more conviction to stay on course.”

When the live-action version of “How to Train Your Dragon” hits theaters on June 13, it’s expected to be one of the summer’s big blockbusters. After all, the animated trilogy has grossed more than $1.6 billion worldwide.

Burger King has similar expectations for its menu tie-in.

The past success of the Spider-Verse and Addams Family menu items pushed Burger King to “dramatically” up its forecast for the “How to Train Your Dragon” menu, according to Curtis. And Burger King is also planning on changing its advertising strategy, which could drastically increase demand for the Dragon Flamed-Grilled Whoppers.

“In the past, we would just kind of associate ourselves with the movie property, but we wouldn’t necessarily advertise the association — you’d just see it and hear about it in social media,” Curtis said.

The promotion is supposed to run through early July, but in case Burger King burns through its supply in just three weeks, the chain is prepared to monitor what locations have run out of the menu items. That’s a lesson it learned during its Spider-Verse promotion, when it had to launch a tracker on its website to help customers find the coveted Whopper.

As it learns from every experience, Burger King is planning to dive deeper into franchise partnerships, betting that the extra effort will drive long-term loyalty for the brand.

“We’re doing a couple more of them than we have in the past,” Curtis said. “We’ve got one toward the end of the year that we’re very, very excited about … and we’re getting some lined up for next year as well. In every one of those, we’ll go all in.”

Disclosure: Comcast owns CNBC and Universal Studios, the producer and distributor of “How to Train Your Dragon.”

This post appeared first on NBC NEWS

It took six months, countless hours on hold and intervention from state regulators before Sue Cover says she finally resolved an over $1,000 billing dispute with UnitedHealthcare in 2023.

Cover, 46, said she was overbilled for emergency room visits for her and her son, along with a standard ultrasound. While Cover said her family would eventually have been able to pay the sum, she said it would have been a financial strain on them.

Cover, a San Diego benefits advocate, said she had conversations with UnitedHealthcare that “felt like a circular dance.” Cover said she picked through dense policy language and fielded frequent calls from creditors. She said the experience felt designed to exhaust patients into submission.

“It sometimes took my entire day of just sitting on the phone, being on hold with the hospital or the insurance company,” Cover said.

Cover’s experience is familiar to many Americans. And it embodies rising public furor toward insurers and in particular UnitedHealthcare, the largest private health insurer in the U.S., which has become the poster child for problems with the U.S. insurance industry and the nation’s sprawling health-care system.

The company and other insurers have faced backlash from patients who say they were denied necessary care, providers who say they are buried in red tape and lawmakers who say they are alarmed by its vast influence.

UnitedHealthcare in a statement said it is working with Cover’s provider to “understand the facts of these claims.” The company said it is “unfortunate that CNBC rushed to publish this story without allowing us and the provider adequate time to review.” CNBC provided the company several days to review Cover’s situation before publication.

Andrew Witty, CEO of UnitedHealthcare’s company, UnitedHealth Group, stepped down earlier this month for what the company called “personal reasons.” Witty had led the company through the thick of public and investor blowback. The insurer also pulled its 2025 earnings guidance this month, partly due to rising medical costs, it said.

UnitedHealth Group is by far the biggest company in the insurance industry by market cap, worth nearly $275 billion. It controls an estimated 15% of the U.S. health insurance market, serving more than 29 million Americans, according to a 2024 report from the American Medical Association. Meanwhile, competitors Elevance Health and CVS Health control an estimated 12% of the market each.

It’s no surprise that a company with such a wide reach faces public blowback. But the personal and financial sensitivity of health care makes the venom directed at UnitedHealth unique, some experts told CNBC.

Shares of UnitedHealth Group are down about 40% this year following a string of setbacks for the company, despite a temporary reprieve sparked in part by share purchases by company insiders. In the last month alone, UnitedHealth Group has lost nearly $300 billion of its $600 billion market cap following Witty’s exit, the company’s rough first-quarter earnings and a reported criminal probe into possible Medicare fraud.

In a statement about the investigation, UnitedHealth Group said, “We stand by the integrity of our Medicare Advantage program.”

Over the years, UnitedHealthcare and other insurers have also faced numerous patient and shareholder lawsuits and several other government investigations.

UnitedHealth Group is also contending with the fallout from a February 2024 ransomware attack on Change Healthcare, a subsidiary that processes a significant portion of the country’s medical claims.

More recently, UnitedHealthcare became a symbol for outrage toward insurers following the fatal shooting of its CEO, Brian Thompson, in December. Thompson’s death reignited calls to reform what many advocates and lawmakers say is an opaque industry that puts profits above patients.

The problems go deeper than UnitedHealth Group: Insurers are just one piece of what some experts call a broken U.S. health-care system, where many stakeholders, including drugmakers and pharmacy benefit managers, are trying to balance patient care with making money. Still, experts emphasized that insurers’ cost-cutting tactics — from denying claims to charging higher premiums — can delay or block crucial treatment, leave patients with unexpected bills, they say, or in some cases, even mean the difference between life and death.

In a statement, UnitedHealthcare said it is unfortunate that CNBC appears to be drawing broad conclusions based on a small number of anecdotes.”

Frustration with insurers is a symptom of a broader problem: a convoluted health-care system that costs the U.S. more than $4 trillion annually.

U.S. patients spend far more on health care than people anywhere else in the world, yet have the lowest life expectancy among large, wealthy countries, according to the Commonwealth Fund, an independent research group. Over the past five years, U.S. spending on insurance premiums, out-of-pocket co-payments, pharmaceuticals and hospital services has also increased, government data show.

While many developed countries have significant control over costs because they provide universal coverage, the U.S. relies on a patchwork of public and private insurance, often using profit-driven middlemen to manage care, said Howard Lapin, adjunct professor at the University of Illinois Chicago School of Law.

But the biggest driver of U.S. health spending isn’t how much patients use care — it’s prices, said Richard Hirth, professor of health management and policy at the University of Michigan.

There is “unbelievable inflation of the prices that are being charged primarily by hospitals, but also drug companies and other providers in the system,” said Sabrina Corlette, co-director of the Center on Health Insurance Reforms at Georgetown University.

Lapin said factors such as overtreatment, fraud, health-care consolidation and administrative overhead raise costs for payers and providers, who then pass those on through higher prices. U.S. prescription drug prices are also two to three times higher than those in other developed countries, partly due to limited price regulation and pharmaceutical industry practices such as patent extensions.

While patients often blame insurers, the companies are only part of the problem. Some experts argue that eliminating their profits wouldn’t drastically lower U.S. health-care costs.

Still, UnitedHealthcare and other insurers have become easy targets for patient frustration — and not without reason, according to industry experts.

Their for-profit business model centers on managing claims to limit payouts, while complying with regulations and keeping customers content. That often means denying services deemed medically unnecessary, experts said. But at times, insurers reject care that patients need, leaving them without vital treatment or saddled with hefty bills, they added.

Insurers use tools such as deductibles, co-pays, and prior authorization — or requiring approval before certain treatments — to control costs. Industry experts say companies are increasingly relying on artificial intelligence to review claims, and that can sometimes lead to inaccurate denials.

“It’s all part of the same business model — to avoid paying as many claims as possible in a timely fashion,” said Dylan Roby, an affiliate at the UCLA Center for Health Policy Research.

While other private U.S. insurers employ many of the same tactics, UnitedHealth Group appears to have faced the most public backlash due to its size and visibility.

UnitedHealth Group’s market value dwarfs the sub-$100 billion market caps of competitors such as CVS, Cigna and Elevance. UnitedHealth Group booked more than $400 billion in revenue in 2024 alone, up from roughly $100 billion in 2012.

It has expanded into many parts of the health-care system, sparking more criticism of other segments of its business — and the company’s ability to use one unit to benefit another.

UnitedHealth Group grew by buying smaller companies and building them into its growing health-care business. The company now serves nearly 150 million people and controls everything from insurance and medical services to sensitive health-care data.

UnitedHealth Group owns a powerful pharmacy benefit manager, or PBM, called Optum Rx, which gives it even more sway over the market.

PBMs act as middlemen, negotiating drug rebates on behalf of insurers, managing lists of drugs covered by health plans and reimbursing pharmacies for prescriptions. But lawmakers and drugmakers accuse them of overcharging plans, underpaying pharmacies and failing to pass savings on to patients.

Owning a PBM gives UnitedHealth Group control over both supply and demand, Corlette said. Its insurance arm influences what care is covered, while Optum Rx determines what drugs are offered and at what price. UnitedHealth Group can maximize profits by steering patients to lower-cost or higher-margin treatments and keeping rebates, she said.

The company’s reach goes even further, Corlette added: Optum Health now employs or affiliates with about 90,000 doctors — nearly 10% of U.S. physicians — allowing UnitedHealth Group to direct patients to its own providers and essentially pay itself for care.

A STAT investigation last year found that UnitedHealth uses its physicians to squeeze profits from patients. But the company in response said its “providers and partners make independent clinical decisions, and we expect them to diagnose and document patient information completely and accurately in compliance with [federal] guidelines.”

Other insurers, such as CVS and Cigna, also own large PBMs and offer care services. But UnitedHealth Group has achieved greater scale and stronger financial returns.

“I think the company is certainly best in class when it comes to insurers, in terms of providing profits for shareholders,” said Roby. “But people on the consumer side probably say otherwise when it comes to their experience.”

No one knows exactly how often private insurers deny claims, since they aren’t generally required to report that data. But some analyses suggest that UnitedHealthcare has rejected care at higher rates than its peers for certain types of plans.

A January report by nonprofit group KFF found that UnitedHealthcare denied 33% of in-network claims across Affordable Care Act plans in 20 states in 2023, one of the highest rates among major insurers. CVS denied 22% of claims across 11 states, and Cigna denied 21% in eight states.

UnitedHealth did not respond to a request for comment on that report. But in December, the company also pushed back on public criticism around its denial rates, saying it approves and pays about 90% of claims upon submission. UnitedHealthcare’s website says the remaining 10% go through an additional review process. The company says its claims approval rate stands at 98% after that review.

In addition, UnitedHealth Group is facing lawsuits over denials. In November, families of two deceased Medicare Advantage patients sued the company and its subsidiary, alleging it used an AI model with a “90% error rate” to deny their claims. UnitedHealth Group has argued it should be dismissed from the case because the families didn’t complete Medicare’s appeals process.

A spokesperson for the company’s subsidiary, NaviHealth, also previously told news outlets that the lawsuit “has no merit” and that the AI tool is used to help providers understand what care a patient may need. It does not help make coverage decisions, which are ultimately based on the terms of a member’s plan and criteria from the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services, the spokesperson said.

Meanwhile, the reported Justice Department criminal probe outlined by the Wall Street Journal targets the company’s Medicare Advantage business practices. In its statement, the company said the Justice Department has not notified it about the reported probe, and called the newspaper’s reporting “deeply irresponsible.”

Inside the company, employees say customers and workers alike face hurdles.

One worker, who requested anonymity for fear of retaliation, said UnitedHealthcare’s provider website often includes doctors listed as in-network or accepting new patients when they’re not, leading to frequent complaints. Management often replies that it’s too difficult to keep provider statuses up to date, the person said.

UnitedHealthcare told CNBC it believes “maintaining accurate provider directories is a shared responsibility among health plans and providers,” and that it “proactively verifies provider data on a regular basis.” The vast majority of all inaccuracies are due to errors or lack of up-to-date information submitted by providers, the company added.

Emily Baack, a clinical administrative coordinator at UMR, a subsidiary of UnitedHealthcare, criticized the length of time it can take a provider to reach a real support worker over the phone who can help assess claims or prior authorization requests. She said the company’s automated phone system can misroute people’s calls or leave them waiting for a support person for over an hour.

But Baack emphasized that similar issues occur across all insurance companies.

She said providers feel compelled to submit unnecessary prior authorization requests out of fear that claims won’t be paid on time. Baack said that leads to a massive backlog of paperwork on her end and delays care for patients.

UnitedHealthcare said prior authorization is “an important checkpoint” that helps ensure members are receiving coverage for safe and effective care.

The company noted it is “continually taking action to simplify and modernize the prior authorization process.” That includes reducing the number of services and procedures that require prior authorization and exempting qualified provider groups from needing to submit prior authorization requests for certain services.

While UnitedHealthcare is not the only insurer facing criticism from patients, Thompson’s killing in December reinforced the company’s unique position in the public eye. Thousands of people took to social media to express outrage toward the company, sharing examples of their own struggles.

The public’s hostile reaction to Thompson’s death did not surprise many industry insiders.

Alicia Graham, co-founder and chief operating officer of the startup Claimable, said Thompson’s murder was “a horrible crime.” She also acknowledged that anger has been bubbling up in various online health communities “for years.”

Claimable is one of several startups trying to address pain points within insurance. It’s not an easy corner of the market to enter, and many of these companies, including Claimable, have been using the AI boom to their advantage.

Claimable, founded in 2024, said it helps patients challenge denials by submitting customized, AI-generated appeal letters on their behalf. The company can submit appeals for conditions such as migraines and certain pediatric and autoimmune diseases, though Graham said it is expanding those offerings quickly.

Many patients aren’t aware that they have a right to appeal, and those who do can spend hours combing through records to draft one, Graham said. If patients are eligible to submit an appeal letter through Claimable, she said they can often do so in minutes. Each appeal costs users $39.95 plus shipping, according to the company’s website.

“A lot of patients are afraid, a lot of patients are frustrated, a lot of patients are confused about the process, so what we’ve tried to do is make it all as easy as possible,” Graham told CNBC.

Some experts have warned about the possibility of health-care “bot wars,” where all parties are using AI to try to gain an edge.

Mike Desjadon, CEO of the startup Anomaly, said he’s concerned about the potential for an AI arms race in the sector, but he remains optimistic. Anomaly, founded in 2020, uses AI to help providers determine what insurers are and aren’t paying for in advance of care, he said.

“I run a technology company and I want to win, and I want our customers to win, and that’s all very true, but at the same time, I’m a citizen and a patient and a husband and a father and a taxpayer, and I just want health care to be rational and be paid for appropriately,” Desjadon told CNBC.

Dr. Jeremy Friese, founder and CEO of the startup Humata Health, said patients tend to interact with insurers only once something goes wrong, which contributes to their frustrations. Requirements such as prior authorization can be a “huge black box” for patients, but they’re also cumbersome for doctors, he said.

Friese said his business was inspired by his work as an interventional radiologist. In 2017, he co-founded a prior-authorization company called Verata Health, which was acquired by the now-defunct health-care AI startup Olive. Friese bought back his technology and founded his latest venture, Humata, in 2023.

Humata uses AI to automate prior authorization for all specialties and payers, Friese said. The company primarily works with medium and large health systems, and it announced a $25 million funding round in June.

“There’s just a lot of pent-up anger and angst, frankly, on all aspects of the health-care ecosystem,” Friese told CNBC.

UnitedHealth Group also set a grim record last year that did little to help public perception. The company’s subsidiary Change Healthcare suffered a cyberattack that affected around 190 million Americans, the largest reported health-care data breach in U.S. history.

Change Healthcare offers payment and revenue cycle management tools, as well as other solutions, such as electronic prescription software. In 2022, it merged with UnitedHealth Group’s Optum unit, which touches more than 100 million patients in the U.S.

In February 2024, a ransomware group called Blackcat breached part of Change Healthcare’s information technology network. UnitedHealth Group isolated and disconnected the affected systems “immediately upon detection” of the threat, according to a filing with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission, but the ensuing disruption rocked the health-care sector.

Money stopped flowing while the company’s systems were offline, so a major revenue source for thousands of providers across the U.S. screeched to a halt. Some doctors pulled thousands of dollars out of their personal savings to keep their practices afloat.

“It was and remains the largest and most consequential cyberattack against health care in history,” John Riggi, the national advisor for cybersecurity and risk at the American Hospital Association, told CNBC.

Ransomware is a type of malicious software that blocks victims from accessing their computer files, systems and networks, according to the Federal Bureau of Investigation. Ransomware groups such as Blackcat, which are often based in countries such as Russia, China and North Korea, will deploy this software, steal sensitive data and then demand a payment for its return.

Ransomware attacks within the health-care sector have climbed in recent years, in part because patient data is valuable and relatively easy for cybercriminals to exploit, said Steve Cagle, CEO of the health-care cybersecurity and compliance firm Clearwater.

“It’s been a very lucrative and successful business for them,” Cagle told CNBC. “Unfortunately, we’ll continue to see that type of activity until something changes.”

UnitedHealth Group paid the hackers a $22 million ransom to try to protect patients’ data, then-CEO Witty said during a Senate hearing in May 2024.

In March 2024, UnitedHealth Group launched a temporary funding assistance program to help providers with short-term cash flow.

The program got off to a rocky start, several doctors told CNBC, and the initial deposits did not cover their mounting expenses.

UnitedHealth Group ultimately paid out more than $9 billion to providers in 2024, according to the company’s fourth-quarter earnings report in January.

Witty said in his congressional testimony that providers would only be required to repay the loans when “they, not me, but they confirm that their cash flow is normalized.”

Almost a year later, however, the company is aggressively going after borrowers, demanding they “immediately repay” their outstanding balances, according to documents viewed by CNBC and providers who received funding. Some groups have been asked to repay hundreds of thousands of dollars in a matter of days, according to documents viewed by CNBC.

A spokesperson for Change Healthcare confirmed to CNBC in April that the company has started recouping the loans.

We continue to work with providers on repayment and other options, and continue to reach out to those providers that have not been responsive to previous calls or email requests for more information,” the spokesperson said.

The pressure for repayment drew more ire toward UnitedHealth Group on social media, and some providers told CNBC that dealing with the company was a “very frustrating experience.”

The vast majority of Change Healthcare’s services have been restored over the last year, but three products are still listed as “partial service available,” according to UnitedHealth’s cyberattack response website.

Witty’s departure and the company’s warning about elevated medical costs, combined with the fallout from Thompson’s murder and the Change Healthcare cyberattack, could mean UnitedHealth faces an uphill battle.

UnitedHealth Group appears to be trying to regain the public’s trust. For example, Optum Rx in March announced plans to eliminate prior authorizations on dozens of drugs, easing a pain point for physicians and patients.

But policy changes at UnitedHealth Group and other insurers may not drastically improve care for patients, health insurance industry experts previously told CNBC.

They said there will need to be structural changes to the entire insurance industry, which will require legislation that may not be high on the priority list for the closely divided Congress.

The spotlight on UnitedHealth Group may only grow brighter in the coming months. The trial date for Luigi Mangione, the man facing federal stalking and murder charges in connection with Thompson’s shooting, is expected to be set in December. Mangione has pleaded not guilty to the charges.

This post appeared first on NBC NEWS

Armed men hijacked a tourist boat in the Amazon rainforest in Peru, robbed all 14 people on board and forced them to empty their bank accounts via mobile apps, according to one of the victims.

Spanish TikToker Elisabet de la Almudena, who has more than 235,000 followers on the platform, described the ordeal as the “worst day of her life” in a 4.5-minute video uploaded Tuesday.

According to her account, she was part of a 14-person group, including her parents and 6-year-old daughter, that set off on an all-day boat tour from the city of Iquitos, a popular jumping-off point to explore the rainforest.

“We contracted a family tour, a sightseeing tour, and we ended up being kidnapped,” she said.

Four men armed with pistols and a machine gun boarded the boat and sailed it deep into the forest, said de la Almudena, where they took everyone’s belongings and even the vessel’s motor.

“Through mobile phone applications, they asked us to take the money out of our accounts and transfer it to one of their accounts, otherwise they would not leave,” she added.

“I wouldn’t wish it upon anyone,” de la Almudena said.

The passengers then took pieces of wood from the boat and used them to row down the river, where they came upon a family in another boat that towed them to safety, she said.

De la Almudena claimed that the tour company, Canopy Tours Iquitos, had no GPS tracker on the boat, no insurance and no security measures in place, despite the fact that she was later told that this kind of incident has happened in the area before.

“We were completely abandoned by the people that were supposed to look after us,” she said.

In response, Canopy Tours Iquitos said the incident, which occurred on May 14, was a chance event outside of its control that “was immediately reported to the authorities.”

“We activated our emergency protocols straight away, offered our assistance to the affected group and have been actively cooperating with the investigation,” the company said in a Facebook post published Tuesday.

In addition, the company said it would strengthen security measures, including introducing GPS monitoring, closer cooperation with the police and more training for staff.

According to the US State Department, travelers to Peru should “exercise increased caution due to crime, civil unrest, and the risk of kidnapping. Some areas have increased risk.”

In a travel advisory update published May 16, the department underlined that “crime is common in Peru.”

“Petty theft, carjackings, muggings, assaults, and other violent crime often happen even in daylight hours and with many witnesses around. Kidnapping is rare, but it does occur,” it said.

This post appeared first on cnn.com

Many South Africans are praising President Cyril Ramaphosa’s calm demeanor as President Donald Trump’s multimedia ambush unfolded in front of the world’s press. He pushed back gently whenever he could, but he didn’t raise his voice or show anger, displaying his decades of negotiation experience.

“What else could Cyril have done?” asked veteran journalist Milton Nkosi. “You’re damned if you do, damned if you don’t. I think they were caught completely unawares. How on earth could you have planned for that?” said Nkosi, who’s a senior research fellow at the Africa Asia Dialogues think tank.

On social media and across South Africa’s broadcast outlets, consensus seemed to quickly form that Ramaphosa did the best under the circumstances. He remained “calm, collected and humble in the face of bigotry and lies,” posted one user on X. “You were a leader today. Went to build not to fight.”

Ramaphosa brought his own White billionaire to the meeting – luxury goods magnate Johan Rupert, who’s behind brands like Cartier – who told Trump that violent crime affects all races, but his words fell on deaf ears.

Rupert even threw tech billionaire Elon Musk, who was also in the room, a bone.

“We have too many deaths. But it’s across the board,” Rupert said. “It’s not only White farmers. It’s across the board. We need technological help. We need Starlink at every little police station. We need drones.”

One White South African called Rupert a traitor to his fellow Afrikaners in a social media post.

Another prominent White South African, agriculture minister John Steenhuisen, also tried to convince their Oval Office host that he had been misled.

The most dramatic part of the scene was when Trump called for lights to be dimmed and screened a four-and-a-half minute montage claiming to show evidence of a White genocide. It included far-left opposition leader Julius Malema singing “Kill the Boer, kill the farmer” as a crowd chanted along.

Officially named “Dubula iBhunu” in the Xhosa language, the song emerged in the 1980s to fight the unjust system of segregation. South African courts have ruled that it doesn’t mean a literal call to kill White farmers.

The Supreme Court of Appeal ruled in 2024 that any “reasonably well-informed person” would see it as a “historic struggle song, with the performance gestures that go with it, as a provocative means of advancing his party’s political agenda.”

Trump confronted Ramaphosa on why he had not arrested Malema for it.

Malema, leader of the the Economic Freedom Fighters party, responded in his typical fiery way on X: “A group of older men meet in Washington to gossip about me,” he said, disputing the claims of a genocide. “We will not agree to compromise our political principles on land expropriation without compensation for political expediency.”

Malema was expelled from Ramaphosa’s African National Congress (ANC) party more than a decade ago and came third in the most recent election.

Most of the information that Trump used to try to prove that “White genocide” is happening in South Africa has repeatedly been disproven.

Some South Africans have said that they believe that the information is “AfriForum propaganda” – referring to a White Afrikaner lobby group criticized as being a White nationalist group.

“It shows that the South African president and the ANC leadership cannot just simply sweep real problems that we have in the country under the carpet and think they will disappear,” Kallie Kriel said in a voice note.

It was the toughest public test yet for Ramaphosa, a skilled dealmaker who led negotiations for Nelson Mandela in talks that ended apartheid.

It was a good day for South Africa’s White nationalists. The president of the United States repeated their talking points from the bully pulpit of the White House, giving them the highest-profile validation they could have ever dreamed of.

The South African delegation expected a confrontational meeting, but nothing could have prepared them for the ambush that awaited them.

This post appeared first on cnn.com

If you regularly follow the SCTR Reports (StockCharts Technical Rank), you’ll notice that some top-ranked stocks aren’t just individual standouts but groupings that call attention to particular sectors, industries, or subgroups within the two.

That’s exactly what happened Tuesday morning. A couple of high-ranking stocks pointed to a growing trend in the thematic subsector of quantum computing.

Quantum Computing Stocks Light Up the SCTR Reports

Occupying the top ranks of the Mid Cap SCTR Top 10 list are quantum computing stocks D-Wave Quantum Inc. (QBTS) and Rigetti Computing, Inc. (RGTI).

FIGURE 1. SCTR REPORTS – MID CAP TOP 10. QBTS and RGTI, occupying the top of the list, signal strength in the quantum computing subsector.

The quantum computing subsector made headlines Tuesday morning, with QBTS leading the charge. 

QBTS Leads on Breakout News and Bullish Technical Scans

QBTS shares surged after the company unveiled Advantage2, its most advanced quantum system to date. A quick look at QBTS’s Symbol Summary showed the stock appearing across multiple bullish technical scans on Tuesday, including New 52-week Highs, P&F Double Top Breakout, and Runaway Gap Ups.

Other quantum names, including RGTI, also saw gains, highlighting growing momentum in the space. 

RGTI Gains Momentum with Unique Technical Setups

RGTI’s Symbol Summary profile revealed a different set of predefined scans, suggesting unique technical setups driving its price action. RGTI was triggered in the P&F Ascending Triple Top Breakout, Elder Bar Turned Blue, and P&F Double Top Breakout predefined scans on Tuesday.

With quantum computing stocks like QBTS and RGTI surging and showing unusually strong technical strength, assessing their investment potential requires more than a few headlines. Comparative strength, broader performance of sectors to which they belong, and the underlying factors shaping their price action are some other factors to consider.

FIGURE 2. PERFCHARTS OF QBTS, RGTI, XLK, AND QQQ. At these levels of outperformance, it becomes difficult to separate justified valuations from pure FOMO. As the PerfCharts comparison shows, RTGI and QBTS stocks are outperforming their sector and broader tech-heavy index. 

Technical Breakout: What to Watch with QBTS’ Next Move

From a technical perspective, does either stock present a favorable structure for a market entry? To evaluate this, let’s start with a daily chart of QBTS.

FIGURE 3. DAILY CHART OF QBTS. An impressive parabolic run, support on the downside is relatively clear.

QBTS broke out above its four-month trading range, shooting up to an all-time high of $17.50 on Tuesday’s session, sending the Relative Strength Index (RSI) deep into overbought territory. The Price Channels identify potential areas of support based on previous swing highs and lows.

If QBTS is overbought because its valuations are too high, then a pullback is likely to follow. Whether you should buy the dip depends on your fundamental thesis, but technically, if you decide to enter a position, consider this:

  • QBTS is likely to find support at the top of its previous range, highlighted in green.
  • If it falls below that, there’s another support range, shaded yellow, that marks another set of minor swing highs in the middle of the previous trading range.
  • Below that, however, is support at a low range, shaded red, where the stock has reversed several times over the last few months. 

However, if QBTS drops into the zone between the yellow and red support levels, it could signal a meaningful loss of momentum and growing weakness in the stock’s trend.

That’s why volume becomes especially important here. Note how volume has risen with each successive surge—an encouraging sign of accumulation that somehow dropped at each price peak. If QBTS holds above the top of its previous range, watch for continued volume support; strong follow-through should be backed by equally strong participation.

RGTI Chart Shows Upside Potential—But With Caution

Now let’s look at the second one up on the SCTR Top 10 list. Here’s a daily chart of RGTI.

FIGURE 4. DAILY CHART OF RGTI. The stock is moving steadily upward, but unlike QBTS, there’s no outstanding catalyst to trigger an immediate and outsize move.

Following a fourth bounce at the $7 support range, RGTI broke above resistance, almost hesitantly, at $11. The Volume-by-Price overlay on the left side of the chart shows heavy trading activity in this range, suggesting it could become a strong support level now that resistance has been broken. The ZigZag line further clarifies the support and resistance levels, helping to visualize the stock’s overall trend structure.

The On Balance Volume (OBV) indicator in the bottom panel reflects steady buying pressure. At the same time, the RSI, currently at 61 and rising, suggests the stock still has room to climb before entering overbought territory. 

If RGTI maintains its upward trajectory, the next meaningful resistance level ahead will be at $16, marking its January high. However, whether it gets there may depend less on chart patterns and more on underlying catalysts.

In other words, is RGTI riding the wave of bullish sentiment in quantum computing stocks, or does it have a meaningful fundamental catalyst driving its move higher? On that note, what about QBTS?

Wall Street Weigh In: Real Catalysts or Quantum Hype?

Be careful. Analysts are cautiously optimistic about both stocks, pointing to real catalysts like RGTI’s government partnerships and QBTS’s Advantage2 launch. However, some on Wall Street caution that recent gains may be driven more by hype than fundamentals, with commercial adoption still a long way off.

Action Steps

  • Monitor the support levels. For QBTS, watch the green zone (prior range top) for dip-buying potential; deeper moves into yellow or red zones may signal weakening momentum.
  • Track volume behavior. Continued surges should be matched with strong volume to confirm trend strength.
  • Stay grounded. If you’re trading, closely follow the technicals. If you’re investing, make sure your thesis includes realistic expectations on commercialization timelines.

At the Close

Quantum computing stocks like QBTS and RGTI are showing impressive momentum, backed by technical strength and growing investor interest. But while the setups look promising, remember to stay disciplined. Monitor support levels, watch volume closely, and don’t lose sight of the long runway ahead for true commercial adoption.


Disclaimer: This blog is for educational purposes only and should not be construed as financial advice. The ideas and strategies should never be used without first assessing your personal and financial situation, or without consulting a financial professional.


Retail traders and investors often don’t get the credit they deserve. But in April, they showed they’ve got serious market smarts. 

While headlines screamed about a tanking stock market — remember, post-Liberation Day— retail investors waited patiently. And when the time felt right, they jumped in, adding $40 billion to the stock market during the month. Just this past Monday, retail investors poured another $5.4 billion in by day’s end. That was more than a third of the day’s trading volume!

If this keeps up, May could beat April in terms of total inflows. 

Lessons From the Past

Many of you probably remember the dot-com boom and the painful bust that followed. A lot of retail traders jumped in thinking they were buying the dip. Unfortunately, the market had other plans. Many retail traders got wiped out because they ended up buying at the peak rather than the dip. 

This is the risk “buy the dip” buyers face. Sometimes it works. Sometimes it doesn’t. So, how do you protect your portfolio value, especially now that you’re managing some of your investments?

Start With a Simple Daily Routine

Taking control of your finances doesn’t mean you need to stare at a screen all day. But checking in on the market regularly can go a long way. Even a quick peek at the Market Summary page at the end of each day (or once a week) can help you stay on track.

You’ll get a snapshot of how the major indexes are performing, what their daily or weekly streaks are, and if they are above specific moving averages. Here’s a little snippet of the page. There’s a lot more to discover on the page.

An Example: Keeping Tabs on NVIDIA (NVDA)

Let’s say you bought shares of NVIDIA Corp. (NVDA) after it dipped in early April. Despite how well the stock performed in 2024, you can’t just “set it and forget it.” 

You will want to monitor how the S&P 500 ($SPX), Nasdaq ($COMPQ), and Nasdaq 100 ($NDX) are performing since NVDA is a heavily weighted stock in these indexes. 

Here’s what you can do:

  • Check the trend. Are the indexes trending higher? Are they above key moving averages? 
  • Click on the index name. Start with the daily chart and look for any red flags like a break below the 200-day simple moving average (SMA).
  • Watch the up or down streaks. If a winning streak turns into a losing one, it’s worth noting. 

Digging Deeper With Internals and Sector Insights

The Market Summary page also gives you access to market internals that can help you determine the health of the indexes. These include the Advancing/Declining Issues, Bullish Percent Index (BPI), and New Highs/New Lows, among many others. 

Since your focus is semiconductor stocks, you would closely watch the related indexes. For BPI, you’d go one step further and monitor the Technology Sector BPI ($BPINFO).

The US Industries panel displays the performance of the Semiconductors. 

What’s Up With Semis? Let’s Look at XSD

At this point, it’s worth analyzing the chart of the SPDR S&P Semiconductor ETF (XSD), the ETF included in the Market Summary page. The six-month daily chart below shows that XSD is now trading below its 200-day SMA, which is a reason for concern. 

FIGURE 1. DAILY CHART OF XSD. The ETF fell below its 200-day SMA on Wednesday and is underperforming SPY. Chart source: StockCharts.com. For educational purposes.

Note that XSD is holding on to the support of the May 12 low, which is when the price gapped up. Gaps often get filled, so a fall below where XSD closed on Wednesday could take the ETF down to the $210 level. 

In addition, the ETF’s performance relative to the S&P 500 ETF (SPY) over the last six months is at -3.96%. This indicates that semiconductors are trying hard to re-establish their pre-2025 leadership position. If XSD continues to underperform SPY, it would be more reason to be concerned.

Check In on NVDA Again

Seeing this chart should prompt you to pull up the chart of NVDA. Is the stock following the same pattern as the ETF? 

Looking at the six-month daily chart of NVDA, it’s still above its 200-day SMA, unlike XSD. However, NVDA’s stock price is flirting with the support of its May 14 low. A breach of the low could take NVDA’s stock price to its 200-day SMA or lower. This wouldn’t be good for the overall equity market because NVDA is such a heavyweight in the U.S. large-cap indexes. 

FIGURE 2. DAILY CHART OF NVDA STOCK. Wednesday’s price action suggests the possibility of a pullback. If price falls below the May 14 low, the next stop could be the 200-day SMA. Chart source: StockCharts.com. For educational purposes.

Before entering your position, you should have identified your profit target and exit point based on your risk tolerance level. Remember, when managing your investments, discipline is key.  

Keep It Simple

The Market Summary page is a tool that can help you stay ahead of the stock market without overwhelming you. 

Here is one way to use the Market Summary page: 

  • You don’t need to be glued to the screen. Just make checking in a part of your routine.
  • Know what matters. Focus on the key indexes, which direction they are trending, and the sectors you’re invested in. 
  • Engage with the market. The more you understand the price action of the market, the more empowered you become.

There are many more ways to use the Market Summary page, and we’ll be sharing more in upcoming articles. 

Bottom Line

Whether you’re hands-on with your investments, semi-retired, or retired, staying informed can help you feel confident and in control. 

So go on, check out the Market Summary page, explore the charts, and stick to your trading plan. 


Disclaimer: This blog is for educational purposes only and should not be construed as financial advice. The ideas and strategies should never be used without first assessing your own personal and financial situation, or without consulting a financial professional.