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Court rejects Boeing plea deal tied to 737 Max crashes

A federal judge rejected Boeing’s plea deal tied to a criminal fraud charge stemming from fatal crashes of its 737 Max aircraft.

U.S. District Judge Reed O’Connor of the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Texas expressed concern in his decision on Thursday that a government-appointed monitor, a condition of the plea deal, would include diversity, equity and inclusion policiies.

He wrote that “the Court is not convinced in light of the foregoing that the Government will not choose a monitor without race-based considerations and thus will not act in a nondiscriminatory manner. In a case of this magnitude, it is in the utmost interest of justice that the public is confident this monitor selection is done based solely on competency.”

In October, O’Connor ordered Boeing and the Justice Department to provide details on diversity, equity and inclusion policies when the monitor would be selected.

The court gave Boeing and the Justice Department 30 days to decide how to proceed, according to a court document filed Thursday.

In July, Boeing agreed to plead guilty to a criminal charge of conspiring to defraud the U.S. government by misleading regulators about its inclusion of a flight-control system on the Max that was later implicated in the two crashes — a Lion Air flight in October 2018 and an Ethiopian Airlines flight in March 2019. All 346 people on the flights were killed.

Boeing and the Justice Department didn’t immediately comment.

Victims’ family members had taken issue with a government-appointed monitor as a condition of the plea deal and sought to provide more input. They called it a “sweetheart deal.”

Erin Applebaum, an attorney representing one of the victim’s family members applauded the deal. “We anticipate a significant renegotiation of the plea deal that incorporates terms truly commensurate with the gravity of Boeing’s crimes,” Applebaum said in a statement. “It’s time for the DOJ to end its lenient treatment of Boeing and demand real accountability.”

The deal was set to allow Boeing to avoid a trial just as it was trying to get the company back on solid footing after a door burst off of a flight in midair at the start of the year, reigniting a safety crisis at the manufacturer.

The new plea deal arose after the Justice Department said in May that Boeing violated a previous plea agreement, which was set to expire days after the door plug blew off the 737 Max 9 on Jan. 5. O’Connor said in his decision on Thursday that it “is not clear what all Boeing has done to breach the Deferred Prosecution Agreement.”

Under the new plea agreement, Boeing was set to face a fine of up to $487.2 million. However, the Justice Department recommended that the court credit Boeing with half that amount it paid under a previous agreement, resulting in a fine of $243.6 million.

This post appeared first on NBC NEWS

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Dollar General tests same-day delivery as discounter chases Walmart

Dollar General is testing same-day delivery to customers’ homes as the deep discounter tries to fend off fiercer competition with Walmart.

On an earnings call Thursday, Dollar General CEO Todd Vasos said the retailer “soft launched” the delivery program in September. Now it offers same-day delivery at about 75 stores, he said. It is offered through a third-party company, which he did not name.

“We’ve always said here, ‘We’re going to do delivery our way when it’s time,’” Vasos said. “We believe it’s time.”

He said the company expects it will ultimately expand the offering to “thousands of stores.”

With same-day delivery, the Tennessee-based dollar store is acknowledging the pressure from other retailers like Walmart, Amazon and Temu that offer convenience along with low prices. Walmart, for instance, has significantly grown its online business, posting 10 quarters in a row of double-digit e-commerce gains in the U.S., as it offers curbside pickup and speedier home deliveries.

Dollar General, on the other hand, typically does not share updates or specific figures about its e-commerce business in quarterly earnings reports because of its heavy reliance on brick-and-mortar sales.

Yet over the past year, Dollar General has felt the pinch from both economic challenges and its own strategy. Consumers, particularly low-income households, have pulled back on discretionary purchases because of the cumulative effect of high inflation. Dollar General also has paid millions of dollars of fines for sloppy stores and blocked fire exits that became both workplace safety hazards and potential turnoffs for its shoppers.

In recent months, Dollar General’s CEO has spoken about losing market share to Walmart. Vasos said at a Goldman Sachs retail conference in September that “the guys in Bentonville [the Arkansas home of Walmart’s headquarters] took a little bit larger piece” of the retailer’s middle-income customer base.

Vasos said the company launched its own program after learning from its DoorDash deliveries, which are available at about 16,000 of its stores.

The new offering, DG Delivery, is available for customers at select stores, according to Dollar General’s website. Customers place orders through Dollar General’s app and can get the same store prices and delivery in as little as an hour. The program also accepts digital coupons and offers cash back rewards.

DG Delivery does not appear to charge a fee or have a minimum order requirement, according to the website.

On Dollar General’s earnings call on Thursday, Vasos said Dollar General is still working on its business model for the online offering, but said it relies on labor from a third party rather than using store employees or company-employed delivery people. He said same-day delivery is an opportunity to grow the retailer’s advertising business, too, since customers would engage with the app more frequently when placing orders.

But the option is still available at only a tiny fraction of Dollar General’s stores. It has more than 20,000 stores across the country, including many in rural parts of the U.S.

This post appeared first on NBC NEWS

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Master the Market: Navigating Up Days and Down Days

As part of your daily trading routine, you likely start the day by checking the news and stock prices to identify potential market opportunities. However, as you already know, news and price performance can only give you a snapshot context—a starting point for a much more thorough analysis.

Financial media often highlights the price performance of notable stocks, but understanding its significance is another matter. A single price snapshot doesn’t uncover trading opportunities, but analyzing price within the context of consistent movement can.

One way to get a comprehensive view of this context is using a MarketCarpets chart configured to display [Up Days] – [Down Days].

What is MarketCarpets’ Up Days – Down Days?

This indicator setting counts the number of days a stock moves higher, then subtracts the number of days it moves lower, during a specified timeframe. (It’s best to start with at least a 5-day change.)

Why use this indicator? It’s all about consistency, or finding stocks with consistent increases or decreases. For instance, a stock’s one-day jump tells you very little. From where did it jump? What was its price action in the previous days? What is its trend context?

A single day’s movement can be unreliable simply because it doesn’t say much beyond the current day. You’ll have to check the charts to get a broader context. Fortunately, you can save time and get an overview of all stocks using MarketCarpets’ Up Days – Down Days setting.

For example, look at what happened in the Technology Sector -> Software Industry on Wednesday (see image below). The stock that pops out immediately is Microsoft Corp. (MSFT), not only because of the size of its market cap but also the company’s overall significance in the tech industry and beyond.

FIGURE 1. MARKETCARPETS CHART OF SOFTWARE SET TO ONE-MONTH VIEW OF UP DAYS – DOWN DAYS. MSFT, up 9 days, is the largest stock by market cap in this segment.Image source: StockCharts.com. For educational purposes.

If you hover over the square, you’ll get a small pop-up showing you MSFT’s chart. But we’ll take a closer look to drill down into the broader context of this MarketCarpets reading. MSFT has had nine up-days minus down-days over the last month, but what exactly does that mean, and does it present a tradable opportunity?

Let’s start with a daily chart of MSFT. 

FIGURE 2. DAILY CHART OF MSFT. After being in a trading range for about four months, Is MSFT poised for a breakout?Chart source: StockCharts.com. For educational purposes.

Given Microsoft’s significance in all things “tech,” it wouldn’t hurt to get a breadth reading on the sector’s performance. To this end, the S&P Technology Sector Bullish Percent Index, $BPINFO (see magenta square), tells you that over 70% of tech stocks are exhibiting Point & Figure buy signals, which indicates cautious bullishness, as some stocks may be overbought.

MSFT’s sideways movement, a range that lasted nearly four months, coincided with negative buying pressure in the Chaikin Money Flow (CMF). But the current attempt to break above resistance at $440 is accompanied by a notable surge in buying pressure (see magenta rectangle in the CMF panel).

A bullish trader would likely enter a long position at a break of $440, set a stop loss at $425 (given the concentration of trading volume — see the magenta line and Volume-by-Price), and watch $466, MSFT’s all-time-high as a technical target price (fundamental targets will differ).

In contrast, let’s look at the worst performers using the same MarketCarpets view. You can do this by cycling through each sector on MarketCarpets to get a comprehensive view of which industries seem to be underperforming. Here’s what I discovered in the Investment Services industry within the Financial sector (see image below).

FIGURE 3. ONE-MONTH MARKETCARPETS CHART OF THE FINANCIAL SECTOR’S INVESTMENT SERVICES INDUSTRY. Among the big brokerages, Morgan Stanley (MS) appears to be one of the bigger underperformers.Image source: StockCharts.com. For educational purposes.

If the MarketCarpets’ Up Days minus Down Days calculation indicates weakness or underperformance, it helps to look at the wider context of trend, momentum, and overall technical strength.

Morgan Stanley (MS) has experienced more down days than up days over the past month relative to its peers. Could this signal weakness weighing upon its share price? Let’s shift to a daily chart for a closer look.

FIGURE 4. DAILY CHART OF MORGAN STANLEY. A rounding top pattern can indicate a toppy stock, although it can bounce off the bottom of the pattern formation.

MS is forming a rounding top pattern coming off a wide gap following a flag pattern. A rounding top is traditionally considered a bearish reversal pattern (though it can sometimes do the opposite and bounce at the bottom of the formation, so watch out). If it breaks below $128, the bottom of the formation, it’s likely to find support at the 50-day Simple Moving Average (SMA) line or the most recent swing high point at $120.

Some traders might see this as a shorting opportunity (below $128), while others may see it as a buying opportunity (at $120, for instance). Whatever you decide might be the better way to go, it’s important to consider a few other mixed signals:

  • The stock’s technical strength, as measured by the StockChartsTechnicalRank (SCTR) line, is favorably bullish at 84, indicating that the current weakness might be setting up for a minor pullback. A break below 70 would indicate technical weakness.
  • The CMF indicates that selling pressure dominates the stock’s momentum, indicating the possibility that the stock’s reversal may be more than a mere “breather.”

Whether MS is poised for a minor pullback or a larger reversal, you’ll gain clarity once the price reacts to the key levels, allowing you to make your move.

These are just a few examples of many stocks you might have found using the MarketCarpets’ Up Days – Down Days tool. Try it out yourself and create a ChartList with your top 5 to 10 stocks. This will help you track their performance and identify trading opportunities over time.

At the Close

Incorporating MarketCarpets into your daily trading routine can significantly enhance your ability to find trading opportunities at a near glance. The Up Days – Down Days indicator, in particular, offers valuable insights into consistency in near-term price trends, helping you focus on stocks with sustained upward or downward movements. Make this tool a part of your routine, and build a ChartList to monitor the stocks you find.

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.

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CSCO Stock: A Hidden Gem With Upside Potential

The broader stock market indexes sold off slightly ahead of the November Non-Farm Payrolls data, which will be released Friday morning. Depending on which way the data goes, the market could sell off further or continue its bullish ride. If the market sells off, which stocks are flashing buy signals? To help me identify stocks to watch, I ran my StockCharts Technical Rank (SCTR) scan to identify which stocks were gaining technical strength.

My SCTR scan filtered 53 stocks and ETFs, which I sorted based on the universe (U) (the scan syntax is at the end of the article). I prefer to look at large-cap stocks and identify which ones are potential investing candidates. Going down Thursday’s list, the first stock that interested me was Cisco Systems (CSCO), mainly because of its simple and clear-looking chart.

Simplicity Attracts

The weekly chart of CSCO stock shows it reached a new all-time high on a relatively sharp upside move since the week of September 9. CSCO’s stock price is trading above its 5-week exponential moving average (EMA) and its 15-week simple moving average (SMA).

FIGURE 1. WEEKLY CHART OF CSCO STOCK. The SCTR score is just above 76, the stock price is trading above its 5-week EMA, and its RSI has crossed above 70. There’s no indication of a reversal in the uptrend.Chart source: StockCharts.com. For educational purposes.

The SCTR score has crossed above the 76 threshold, and its relative strength index (RSI) is just above 70. From the data in the Symbol Summary page for CSCO, the stock is up 29.29% over one year. These are all indications that the price action in CSCO stock remains bullish.

Let’s now examine the daily chart of CSCO stock to determine whether it is worth buying and what the ideal entry and exit points will be. The daily chart confirms the shorter-term trend is still up. The upward-sloping trendline coincides with the 21-day EMA, and trading volume is slightly increasing.

FIGURE 2. DAILY CHART OF CSCO STOCK. The stock has retained its uptrend bouncing off its 21-day EMA. CSCO is also outperforming the Nasdaq Composite slightly. The Full Stochastic oscillator indicates the stock is overbought.Chart source: StockCharts.com. For educational purposes.

CSCO’s performance shows it’s outperforming the Nasdaq Composite ($COMPQ) by 15.64% (see panel below CSCO stock price chart). The Full Stochastic oscillator shows the stock is overbought but, as you can see from past data, the oscillator can stay overbought for an extended period.

The Game Plan

CSCO may not be as glamorous as some of the other mega-cap tech stocks, but its path is a steady and slow uptrend. This may be the reason it’s outperforming the Nasdaq and possibly some of the other more volatile mega-cap stocks, such as NVIDIA Corp. (NVDA), Microsoft Corp. (MSFT), and Apple, Inc. (AAPL).

If CSCO’s price action continues grinding higher slowly and steadily, I would look for a pullback, which might be to the 21-day EMA or above. I’ll watch the market closely on Friday after the November NFP report is released to see if there’s a selloff or if market continues rising higher.

As long as the technicals stay in place for an uptrend, the stock is a buy. When any of the indicators no longer support the uptrend, you abandon the stock or do not even consider buying it.

Sometimes, as Bruce Lee would say, “Simplicity is the key to brilliance.”

The SCTR Scan

[country is US] and [sma(20,volume) > 100000] and [[SCTR.us.etf x 76] or [SCTR.large x 76] or [SCTR.us.etf x 78] or [SCTR.large x 78] or [SCTR.us.etf x 80] or [SCTR.large x 80]]

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.

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Two ETFs That Could Thrive Based on a Normal Yield Curve

My recent discussions on the Market Misbehavior podcast have often included some comments on the interest rate environment, particularly the shape of the yield curve. We’ve had an inverted yield curve since late 2022, and so the yield curve taking on a more normal shape could mean a huge tailwind to certain sectors and groups. 

When the Yield Curve is No Longer Inverted

Here we’re showing the Ten Year Treasury Yield, along with two ways to show the shape of the yield curve by comparing different durations. The first panel below the price compares the 3-month yield to the 10-year yield, and the bottom panel shows the 2-year yield versus the 10-year yield.

Back in 2022, both of these spreads went below the zero line, indicating that the yield curve was inverted because long-term yields were now lower than short-term yields. Due to the Fed raising short-term interest rates to try to bring inflation in check after the COVID pandemic, along with a general downtrend in bond prices, this inverted shape to the curve raised fears among investors for a recession.

With inflationary pressures fairly subsiding into late 2024, the Fed has now begun lowering short-term rates, which will most likely cause the yield curve to regain a normal shape.  As we can see from the Dynamic Yield Curve tool on StockCharts, the yield curve moving back to a normal shape can often lead to lower stock prices in the short-term. However, two ETFs come to mind that should do better in this new market phase.

Regional Banks Get a Major Tailwind

The financial sector in general experienced a particularly weak start to the year, with financials underperforming growth sectors into the summer. But regional banks have begun to mount a fairly strong rally in Q4, perhaps reflecting optimism going into 2025.

The SPDR S&P Regional Banking ETF (KRE) has shown a series of breakouts in 2024, including a new 52-week high in July on strong momentum, as well as a gap higher in early November. KRE now sits above two upward-sloping moving averages, and the RSI suggests strong, but not excessive, momentum.

Regional banks essentially borrow money at the short end of the curve, then lend those funds out to individuals at the long end of the curve to buy houses and make other large purchases. A steeper yield curve would imply a much more hospitable environment for regional banks, which could mean much further upside for KRE.

Small Caps Could Thrive Given Sector Weightings

While the S&P 500 and Nasdaq are both heavily weighted in growth sectors like technology and communication services, the small cap indexes feature much more of a balanced exposure to value and growth stocks. As guest Tom Bowley pointed out on our podcast, smaller companies usually need to borrow money, so lower rates could mean a better environment for small caps as well.

Here, we’re applying our Market Trend Model to the iShares Russell 2000 ETF (IWM). Similar to our main Market Trend Model using the S&P 500, we can see that small caps have shown bullish signals on the long-term and medium-term models for all of 2024. While the short-term model has turned negative a number of times this year, the model currently indicates short-term strength.

The key with small caps is the relative strength, which measures whether the IWM is actually outperforming the S&P 500. While small caps have been moving higher in the second half of the year, they have still been underperforming large caps. However, given this shift in interest rates, we could be heading into a new year where small caps represent a decent opportunity to outperform the SPX.

RR#6,

Dave

P.S. Ready to upgrade your investment process? Check out my free behavioral investing course!

David Keller, CMT

President and Chief Strategist

Sierra Alpha Research LLC

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.

The author does not have a position in mentioned securities at the time of publication. Any opinions expressed herein are solely those of the author and do not in any way represent the views or opinions of any other person or entity.

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What Fed chief Powell said about crypto that may have aided bitcoin’s rally to $100,000

Bitcoin’s meteoric run may have gotten a little extra push from an unlikely source: Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell.

In comments Wednesday about the cryptocurrency, the central bank leader noted that he does not and cannot own any himself. In addition, he said the Fed’s role in regulating bitcoin and its competitors is limited.

However, he also maintained that bitcoin is not a challenge for traditional currencies such as the U.S. dollar but rather for gold.

“People use bitcoin as a speculative asset,” Powell told CNBC’s Andrew Ross Sorkin during the New York Times’ DealBook Summit. “It’s just like gold, only it’s virtual, it’s digital. People are not using it as a form of payment or as a store of value. It’s highly volatile. It’s not a competitor for the dollar, it’s really a competitor for gold.”

For those who watch the crypto markets, the Powell comments, whether unwittingly, provided a sense of legitimacy for bitcoin and helped drive it another leg higher. Bitcoin jumped 3% in morning trade Thursday, pushing over the $103,000 mark before easing slightly.

“We believe the Fed chair’s comparison of bitcoin to gold is a significant development as it introduces another level of credibility to bitcoin as a major asset in global markets,” said Joel Kruger, market strategist at LMAX Group, which runs an exchange for currency and crypto trading.

“The fact that gold is still about 10 times larger than bitcoin should offer additional insight into how much more room there is for bitcoin to grow from current levels,” he added.

Bitcoin rose sharply to start the year then largely traded in a volatile but fairly tight range — until Donald Trump won the Nov. 5 presidential election. Since then, it has soared close to 50% as the president-elect’s pro-crypto remarks fueled another price surge that took bitcoin past the $100,000 mark late Wednesday. By contrast, gold is about flat since the election, though it is up nearly 30% year to date.

To be sure, how much Powell’s comments helped propel the last move is unknown.

The remarks comparing it to bitcoin came the same day Trump made formal his widely anticipated intention to nominate financier Paul Atkins, also a strong crypto supporter, as chair of the Securities and Exchange Commission.

The position is a key regulatory post and could provide a smoother market ride, particularly since the current SEC leader, Gary Gensler, has been an opponent of the crypto industry.

This post appeared first on NBC NEWS

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Get Ahead of 2025 Stock Trends!

In this exclusive StockCharts video, Joe uses long-term views of the S&P 500 to explain how the market is positioned as we move into 2025. He uses Yearly and Quarterly Candles and describes why there is a risk of a pullback next year, and he also covers the recent strength in some of the Mag7 stocks. He presents some attractive new emerging base breakouts that are developing, and then goes through the symbol requests that came through this week, including DKNG, SONY, and more.

This video was originally published on December 4, 2024. Click this link to watch on StockCharts TV.

Archived videos from Joe are available at this link. Send symbol requests to stocktalk@stockcharts.com; you can also submit a request in the comments section below the video on YouTube. Symbol Requests can be sent in throughout the week prior to the next show.

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Leverage Salesforce.com’s Growth: A Guide to Smart Options Trading

When it comes to the stock market, each day is unique. As a result, it’s easy to get distracted and look from one area to another based on whims, which can leave you confused and unable to make any decisions — thus putting you in the dreaded state of analysis paralysis. And while going down that rabbit hole, you’d have missed out on several investing opportunities such as the one identified in this article—Salesforce.com, Inc. (CRM).

Start With a Big Picture View

Here’s an example of how you can view the big picture of the stock market and narrow down your choices to one or two stocks or exchange traded funds (ETFs) to add to your portfolio.

When the stock market opens, a quick sweep of the Market Summary page gives you an idea of which areas of the market are up or down. On Wednesday, technology stocks were trading higher, as were precious metals and cryptocurrencies. Volatility was still low, and several market breadth indicators suggest that breadth is expanding. Overall, investor sentiment was bullish.

Identify the Leading Sector

Given that technology stocks were the leaders on Wednesday morning, I viewed the daily chart of the Technology Select Sector SPDR ETF (XLK). Sure enough, XLK gapped up and was at an all-time high.

FIGURE 1: DAILY CHART OF TECHNOLOGY SELECT SECTOR SPDR ETF (XLK) A series of higher highs and trading higher than the November 7 close indicates that this sector is trending upward.Chart source: StockCharts.com. For educational purposes.

Since its August low, XLK has been trending higher with a series of higher lows and higher highs. It has also surpassed its November 7 close of 234.86. Digging deeper into Technology sector using the Sector Summary tool, it was clear that the main reason for the gap up in XLK was due to the earnings report from Salesforce.com after Tuesday’s close.

How to Trade CRM Using Options

The daily CRM chart below shows that the stock had its ups and downs. However, since November 7, when the StockCharts Technical Rank (SCTR) score crossed above 70 (top panel), CRM’s stock price has been trending higher, although in a volatile fashion.

FIGURE 2. DAILY CHART OF SALESFORCE STOCK (CRM). The stock is trending higher and is above its 21-day exponential moving average, the SCTR score is at 94.4, and the RSI has crossed above 70.Chart source: StockCharts.com. For educational purposes.

CRM’s stock price has held on to the support of its 21-day exponential moving average. The relative strength index (RSI) has also crossed above 70, indicating the stock is gaining strength. Overall, the stock looks like a potential buy, but with the stock trading at around $360, it’s a little steep to own a significant number of shares.

An alternative is to trade options on CRM. Using the OptionsStrategy tool, I identified an optimal options strategy. Give it a try using the following steps:

  • Below the chart of CRM, in the left menu bar, select Options (under Tools & Resources).
  • Click the OptionsPlay button that’s above the options chain table.
  • Since my bias is bullish, I look for strategies that fall under the bullish category.

In the screengrab below, you can see the difference in the cost of buying 100 shares of CRM vs. buying the call vertical spread. Both have a bullish OptionsPlay score, but the vertical spread costs much less. Let’s explore putting on a call vertical spread in CRM. A call vertical spread is when you buy and sell two call options that have the same expiration date and different strike prices.

FIGURE 3. OPTIMAL OPTIONS STRATEGIES FOR CRM. The call vertical spread presents the better risk/reward tradeoff. Plus you’d end up paying less than purchasing 100 shares of CRM.Image source: OptionsPlay Strategy Center in StockCharts.com.

Click the icon at the top right of the call spread card (expand button). This shows more trade details, such as the target price, expected profit, and expected return. The Strategy & Greeks tab explains the strategy.

FIGURE 4. STRATEGY DETAILS OF THE CALL VERTICAL SPREAD. Here, you see the max reward, max risk probability of profit, and other details. The Strategy & Greeks tab provides a summary of the strategy.Image source: OptionsPlay Strategy Center in StockCharts.com.

If you’re going to place the trade, it helps to take screenshots of these different tabs, so you know when you’ve hit your max profit.

Putting On an Options Position

All this looks favorable, so I’ll click the Trade button, copy the trade to my broker’s platform, and wait patiently for the next 44 days. In the meantime, I have my trade details saved so if I reach my expected profit, I’ll close the position.

You can’t expect things to work out as expected. Things change, and if the trade goes south, I’ll have to decide whether to roll the position to a future date or take the loss.

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.

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Amazon sued by D.C. AG for allegedly excluding neighborhoods from Prime delivery

Washington, D.C.’s attorney general sued Amazon on Wednesday, accusing the company of covertly depriving residents in certain ZIP codes in the nation’s capital from access to Prime’s high-speed delivery.

The lawsuit from AG Brian Schwalb alleges that, since 2022, Amazon has “secretly excluded” two “historically underserved” D.C. ZIP codes from its expedited delivery service while charging Prime members living there the full subscription price. Amazon’s Prime membership program costs $139 a year and includes perks like two-day shipping and access to streaming content.

“Amazon is charging tens of thousands of hard-working Ward 7 and 8 residents for an expedited delivery service it promises but does not provide,” Schwalb said in a statement. “While Amazon has every right to make operational changes, it cannot covertly decide that a dollar in one zip code is worth less than a dollar in another.”

Amazon spokesperson Steve Kelly said in a statement it’s “categorically false” that its business practices are “discriminatory or deceptive.”

“We want to be able to deliver as fast as we possibly can to every zip code across the country, however, at the same time we must put the safety of delivery drivers first,” Kelly said in a statement. “In the zip codes in question, there have been specific and targeted acts against drivers delivering Amazon packages. We made the deliberate choice to adjust our operations, including delivery routes and times, for the sole reason of protecting the safety of drivers.”

Kelly said Amazon has offered to work with the AG’s office on efforts “to reduce crime and improve safety in these areas.”

In June 2022, Amazon allegedly stopped using its own delivery trucks to shuttle packages in the ZIP codes 20019 and 20020 based on concerns over driver safety, the suit states. In place of its in-house delivery network, the company relied on outside carriers like UPS and the U.S. Postal Service to make deliveries, according to the complaint, which was filed in D.C. Superior Court.

The decision caused residents in those ZIP codes to experience “significantly longer delivery times than their neighbors in other District ZIP codes, despite paying the exact same membership price for Prime,” the lawsuit says.

Data from the AG shows that before Amazon instituted the change, more than 72% of Prime packages in the two ZIP codes were delivered within two days of checkout. That number dropped to as low as 24% following the move, while two-day delivery rates across the district increased to 74%.

Amazon has faced prior complaints of disparities in its Prime program. In 2016, the company said it would expand access to same-day delivery in cities including Atlanta, Chicago, Dallas and Washington, after a Bloomberg investigation found Black residents were “about half as likely” to be eligible for same-day delivery as white residents.

The ZIP codes in Schwalb’s complaint are in areas with large Black populations, according to 2022 Census data based on its American Community Survey.

The Federal Trade Commission also sued Amazon in June 2023, accusing the company of tricking consumers into signing up for Prime and “sabotaging” their attempts to cancel by employing so-called dark patterns, or deceptive design tactics meant to steer users toward a specific choice. Amazon said the complaint was “false on the facts and the law.” The case is set to go to trial in June 2025.

According to Scwalb’s complaint, Amazon never communicated the delivery exclusion to Prime members in the area. When consumers in the affected ZIP codes complained to Amazon about slower delivery speeds, the company said it was due to circumstances outside its control, the suit says.

The lawsuit accuses Amazon of violating the district’s consumer protection laws. It also asks the court to “put an end to Amazon’s deceptive conduct,” as well as for damages and penalties.

To get packages to customers’ doorsteps, Amazon uses a combination of its own contracted delivery companies, usually distinguishable by Amazon-branded cargo vans, as well as carriers like USPS, UPS and FedEx, and a network of gig workers who make deliveries from their own vehicles as part of its Flex program.

Amazon has rapidly expanded its in-house logistics army in recent years as it looks to speed up deliveries from two days to one day or even a few hours. In July, the company said it recorded its “fastest Prime delivery speeds ever” in the first half of the year, delivering more than 5 billion items within a day.

In relying on its own workforce, Amazon has assumed greater control over its delivery operations.

In his complaint, Schwalb cites an internal company policy that says Amazon may choose to exclude certain areas from being served by its in-house delivery network if a driver experiences “violence, intimidation or harassment.” The company relies on UPS or USPS to deliver packages in excluded areas.

This post appeared first on NBC NEWS

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ESPN hopes to reach more casual sports fans with Disney+ integration

ESPN is coming to Disney+. Now, the sports network wants to make sure Disney+ users come to ESPN.

Walt Disney debuted a dedicated ESPN tile Wednesday on Disney+ for people who subscribe to ESPN+, its sports streaming platform, to watch programming without leaving the Disney+ application. Next fall, when ESPN launches its yet-to-be-named “flagship” service, those subscribers will get full access to all ESPN content through the ESPN tile on Disney+.

Disney is making about 100 live games available to Disney+ members without a corresponding ESPN subscription. Those events will span college football and basketball, the National Basketball Association and WNBA, the National Hockey League, Major League Baseball, tennis, golf, the Little League World Series and UFC, ESPN Chairman Jimmy Pitaro said in an interview.

Next week’s alternate “Simpsons” telecast of the NFL’s “Monday Night Football” game between the Cincinnati Bengals and Dallas Cowboys will also be available to Disney+ subscribers, as well as five NBA Christmas games.

“Now when you subscribe to Disney+, you’ll have access to kids and family, general entertainment if you’re a Hulu subscriber, and sports,” said Pitaro. “Our goal is to serve sports fans anytime, anywhere.”

ESPN will also include some of its studio programming — such as “College Gameday,” “Pardon the Interruption” and certain podcasts that include video — on Disney+ for non-ESPN subscribers. Some ESPN sports-related films and documentaries will also appear on Disney+ married to whatever sports season is active, Pitaro said.

ESPN’s programming will also be integrated within the Disney+ search, similar to Hulu’s integration earlier this year. If a Disney+ subscriber who isn’t an ESPN customer clicks on something that requires an ESPN subscription, the user will be prompted to sign up within the app.

ESPN is also creating two studio shows specifically for Disney+, Pitaro said. The first will be a daily “SportsCenter” just for Disney+ subscribers, which will air live on Disney+ at a set time and then remain on the platform for on-demand viewing.

The second is a women’s sports show that may air weekly or several times a week. Both programs are in development and will be made for a more casual sports fan, said Pitaro.

“Our research shows there’s very little overlap between people watching Disney+ and ESPN linear,” said Pitaro.

Disney+ has a strong female audience that Pitaro hopes will tune into the weekly’s women’s show, which he first alluded to in an interview with CNBC Sport in October.

ESPN+ has about 30,000 live games each year and costs $11.99 per month when purchased separately from Disney+. A Disney+, Hulu and ESPN+ bundle (with ads) costs $16.99 per month.

This post appeared first on NBC NEWS

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