Every weekday, the CNBC Investing Club with Jim Cramer releases the Homestretch — an actionable afternoon update, just in time for the last hour of trading on Wall Street. (We’re no longer recording the audio, so we can get this new written feature to members as quickly as possible.) Rapid Fed reaction: The federal funds rate of 5.25% to 5.50% was left unchanged as expected. The Fed median projection for GDP growth in 2024 increased to 2.1% from 1.4% in December, while the unemployment rate projection ticked down to 4.0% and the core PCE inflation projection bumped up to 2.6% from 2.4%. In terms of the federal funds rate projection, the median projection for 2024 was unchanged at 4.6%, indicating three rate cuts this year. If this was lowered to two cuts (meaning a higher rate), the market could have interpreted it as a sign that the Fed has become more cautious about the recent firmness in inflation data. But if the economy is strong, what is the rush? Expect Fed Chair Jerome Powell to be asked about this at the press conference at 2:30 p.m. ET The immediate reaction was a slight lift in equity markets. But as we know on a Fed day, the trading action tends to be volatile. Broadcom adds AI customer: The chipmaker is holding its “Enabling AI in Infrastructure” investor meeting, and one of the big announcements is that Broadcom now has a third AI accelerator customer. Broadcom said it is expected to ship products to this customer sometime in the next few months. Alphabet and Meta Platforms are widely believed to be Broadcom’s first two customers of custom ASIC accelerators. This is an interesting piece of news. When asked if Broadcom had any new design wins or customer engagements for custom AI chips, CEO Hock Tan reiterated it only has two customers. Clearly, he was keeping his cards close to his chest. Demand for AI accelerators is expected to be one of the company’s largest drivers of revenue growth over the next few years. The company has previously said it expects to generate $10 billion-plus in AI-related revenue this fiscal year, of which 70% is expected to come from AI accelerators. The cost of obesity medication: Eli Lilly and Novo Nordisk shares dipped after the Congressional Budget Office said covering weight loss drugs at their current prices would cost the government more than it would save from reducing other health care spending. Our pushback: What happens when more studies of these revolutionary drugs show even greater health benefits beyond weight loss? Back to earnings: We’ve been in an earnings lull lately but that changes over the next two days. After the bell on Wednesday, we’ll hear from the memory chip maker Micron , the homebuilder KB Home , and the pet-focused e-commerce company Chewy . Thursday morning earnings feature the restaurant operator Darden Restaurants and consulting firm Accenture . FedEx , Nike , and Lululemon will report after the bell. (See here for a full list of the stocks in Jim Cramer’s Charitable Trust.) As a subscriber to the CNBC Investing Club with Jim Cramer, you will receive a trade alert before Jim makes a trade. Jim waits 45 minutes after sending a trade alert before buying or selling a stock in his charitable trust’s portfolio. If Jim has talked about a stock on CNBC TV, he waits 72 hours after issuing the trade alert before executing the trade. THE ABOVE INVESTING CLUB INFORMATION IS SUBJECT TO OUR TERMS AND CONDITIONS AND PRIVACY POLICY , TOGETHER WITH OUR DISCLAIMER . NO FIDUCIARY OBLIGATION OR DUTY EXISTS, OR IS CREATED, BY VIRTUE OF YOUR RECEIPT OF ANY INFORMATION PROVIDED IN CONNECTION WITH THE INVESTING CLUB. NO SPECIFIC OUTCOME OR PROFIT IS GUARANTEED.
Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell prepares to testify before the Senate Banking, Housing and Urban Affairs Committee on March, 7 2024.
Kent Nishimura | Getty Images News | Getty Images
Every weekday, the CNBC Investing Club with Jim Cramer releases the Homestretch — an actionable afternoon update, just in time for the last hour of trading on Wall Street. (We’re no longer recording the audio, so we can get this new written feature to members as quickly as possible.)
