The News

 CPI inflation, retail sales, producer prices, and more earnings will be in focus this week.

• Shopify stands out as a buy, particularly with the holiday season around the corner.

• Occidental Petroleum’s challenging landscape makes it one to approach with caution.!

U.S. stocks closed higher on Friday to cap off their best week of the year, as the Dow and S&P 500 surged to new records after Donald Trump's decisive election victory.

Investors are betting that a Trump administration will bring lighter regulation and tax cuts that could boost the U.S. economy.

For the week, the blue-chip Dow Jones Industrial Average climbed 4.6%, the benchmark S&P 500 gained 4.7%, and the tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite popped 5.7%.

Source: Investing.com

The week ahead is expected to be an eventful one as investors assess the outlook for the economy, inflation, interest rates and corporate earnings.

On the economic calendar, most important will be Wednesday’s U.S. consumer price inflation report for October, which is forecast to show headline annual CPI rising 2.4% year-over-year.

Other noteworthy economic reports include U.S. retail sales data, as well as a report on producer prices, will help fill out the inflation picture.

Source: Investing.com

That will be accompanied by a heavy slate of Fed speakers, including Chairman Jerome Powell on Thursday.

Elsewhere, the earnings season continues, with the list of notable names due to report including Walt Disney (NYSE:DIS), Home Depot (NYSE:HD), Cisco (NASDAQ:CSCO), Applied Materials (NASDAQ:AMAT), Shopify (NYSE:SHOP), Spotify (NYSE:SPOT), and Alibaba (NYSE:BABA).

Regardless of which direction the market goes, below I highlight one stock likely to be in demand and another which could see fresh downside. Remember though, my timeframe is just for the week ahead, Monday, November 11 - Friday, November 15.

Stock To Buy: Shopify

Shopify stands out as a top buy this week, as the e-commerce software leader is anticipated to deliver another quarter of strong top-line growth and provide an upbeat outlook thanks to robust growth across key metrics.

Shopify’s report is set for release Tuesday at 7:00 AM ET. Market participants expect a sizable swing in SHOP stock after the print drops, according to the options market, with a possible implied move of approximately 14% in either direction. Shares gapped up 26% after its last earnings report in August.

Source: InvestingPro

Analysts have raised profit forecasts 33 times in recent weeks, as per an InvestingPro survey, highlighting confidence in Shopify’s continued expansion.

Wall Street expects adjusted EPS to rise 14% to $0.27, while revenue is set to increase 23% to over $2.1 billion, driven by positive merchant growth and consistent demand for Shopify’s suite of software and payment tools.

Additionally, Shopify has a proven seasonal advantage: its stock tends to gain momentum leading up to Black Friday and Cyber Monday (NASDAQ:MNDY) (BFCM). Historically, shares have risen about 7% in the two weeks prior to BFCM from 2016 to 2023, showing resilience as demand spikes ahead of the holiday shopping season.

As more merchants capitalize on e-commerce for the holiday rush, Shopify remains well-positioned for upside.

SHOP stock ended at $87.12 on Friday, its highest closing price since February 12. Shares have gained 11.8% year-to-date. At current levels, the Ottawa, Canada-based e-commerce specialist has a market cap of $112.5 billion.

Source: Investing.com

As InvestingPro points out, Shopify sports a near perfect ‘Financial Health’ score of 4.0 out of 5.0 thanks to its favorable positioning in the software application industry, which has allowed it to leverage a resilient business model and strong profit growth.

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Stock to Sell: Occidental Petroleum

In contrast, Occidental Petroleum (NYSE:OXY) is facing a more challenging outlook, making it a strong sell this week due to an unpredictable energy market and fluctuating oil prices.

The company is scheduled to release its third-quarter earnings report after the market closes at 4:15PM ET on Tuesday. According to the options market, traders are pricing in a swing of around 6% in either direction for OXY stock following the print.

The energy sector’s current uncertainties make Occidental’s path to growth more complicated, with the company navigating complex conditions around global demand and strategic shifts within the industry.

Source: InvestingPro

The oil and gas producer’s earnings outlook has dimmed, with 16 of 17 analysts reducing their EPS forecasts in recent weeks, reflecting a challenging market.

Earnings are expected to decline 36.4% year-over-year to $0.75 per share on revenue of $7.1 billion, down 4% annually. This decrease comes amid volatile oil prices and ongoing debates around the global energy demand outlook.

Although Occidental has made moves to enhance its position within the sector, including recent strategic initiatives, near-term pressures continue to weigh on the stock. Consequently, the risk of underperformance appears higher as the company battles broader market uncertainties and industry-specific hurdles.

OXY stock closed at $50.53 on Friday, not far from a recent 52-week low of $49.51 touched on November 1. Shares are down 15.4% in 2024. At current valuations, the Houston, Texas-based company has a market cap of $47 billion.

Source: Investing.com

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 Following three consecutive losses featuring mounting problems on offense, the Chicago Bears have made a change.

 President-elect Donald Trump is expected to select South Dakota Gov. Kristi Noem to fill the role of Homeland Security secretary, multiple sources confirm to Fox News Digital.

Noem, who was thought to be a potential running mate on the Trump ticket earlier in the year, has served as governor of the Mount Rushmore State since 2019.

President-elect Donald Trump is expected to select South Dakota Gov. Kristi Noem to fill the role of Homeland Security secretary, according to reports on Tuesday. (KAMIL KRZACZYNSKI/AFP via Getty Images)

The Department of Homeland Security oversees U.S. Customs and Border Protection, Immigration and Customs Enforcement, U.S. Secret Service and the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA).

If selected, Noem would work with Tom Homan, who was announced as Trump's "border czar" on Sunday, and Stephen Miller, who was announced as the White House deputy of staff for policy on Monday.

Noem, along with Homan and Miller, has long been a supporter of Trump's stiff stance on immigration and border security. 

As governor, Noem has dispatched troops from the South Dakota National Guard multiple times to serve along the U.S. southern border with Mexico.

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Fox News also confirmed on Monday night that the president-elect is expected to choose Republican Sen. Marco Rubio of Florida as Secretary of State.

An official announcement from Trump's transition team on either Rubio or Noem had not been made as of Tuesday morning.

Earlier in the year, Noem was thought to be one of Trump's top contenders for vice president. (KAMIL KRZACZYNSKI/AFP via Getty Images)

Noem, who served eight years as South Dakota's at-large congresswoman before winning election as governor in 2018, has long been a strong Trump supporter and ally.

And the governor, who speaks regularly with Trump according to those in her political orbit, was a high-profile surrogate on behalf of the former president on the campaign trail this year.

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In an interview last week on Fox News' "Your World," Noem told host Neil Cavuto that Trump "has told me several times now, a couple of times just since Election Day, about how focused he is on doing big things…he knows he only has four years and he wants to hit the ground running. And he said anybody that I want around me needs to be thinking big, too."

Noem, who was convincingly re-elected in 2022, is term-limited and has two years left in office as South Dakota governor.

The news of Trump's selection of Noem to serve at Homeland Security was first reported by CNN. 

Actor Megan Fox revealed that she is pregnant in an Instagram photo that is simply dripping with intrigue.

In the image, Fox is cradling her belly while kneeling in what looks like a puddle of black paint oozing down from her skin. She stares into the camera wearing an expression that may be proud, or defiant, or both.

And just in case there is any doubt about the message of the photo, Fox included a second image gripping a pregnancy test that reads "YES+."

The post went live Monday, Nov. 11, and had more than 800,000 likes within an hour.

Fox shares three children — Noah, Bodhi and Journey, — with ex-husband Brian Austin Green. The pair filed for divorce in 2020, the same year that Fox began her passionate partnership with Machine Gun Kelly.

Though she didn't specifically reveal the father of her newest addition, Fox tagged Kelly in her Instagram post.

She cryptically captioned the carousel, “Nothing is ever really lost. welcome back." Fox may be referring to a previous experience with pregnancy loss when she was 10 weeks along.

Fox wrote two personal poems about the loss in her 2023 book titled “Pretty Boys Are Poisonous.”

In the book, she wrote, “Heartbeat in my womb” adding, “I want to hold your hand/hear your laugh.”

She continued at another point, “But now I have to say goodbye/I close my eyes and imagine holding you tight against my chest/as they rip you from my insides.”

It remains to be seen whether Fox will publicly discuss the baby's father.

On the March 20, 2024, episode of Alex Cooper’s “Call Her Daddy” podcast, the host asked Fox to address her relationship with Kelly.

“I think what I’ve learned from being in this relationship is that it’s not for public consumption,” Fox replied. 

President-elect Donald Trump will nominate Rep. Elise Stefanik, R-N.Y., for the U.S. ambassador to the United Nations, he confirmed to the New York Post on Sunday night, making her third key pick Trump has formally announced for his upcoming administration.

Stefanik confirmed to the New York Post that she has accepted the role and saying: “During my conversation with President Trump, I shared how deeply humbled I am to accept his nomination and that I look forward to earning the support of my colleagues in the United States Senate.”

Stefanik is one of three names Trump has formally announced will be part of his second administration. Last week, Trump announced he had picked his presidential campaign’s co-chair, Susie Wiles, for the role of White House chief of staff. In a campaign email, Trump credited the longtime GOP consultant for helping him achieve “one of the greatest political victories in American history.” On Sunday night, Trump said he would appoint the former acting head of Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE), Tom Homan, as his “Border Czar.” In his announcement, Trump called Homan a “stalwart on Border Control” and said he would be “in charge of all Deportation of Illegal Aliens back to their Country of Origin.” Unlike the other two picks, Stefanik’s appointment will need to be approved by the U.S. Senate.

Key Background

Aside from the three formal announcements so far, Trump has floated several names who may be offered roles in his administration, including billionaire Elon Musk and former independent presidential candidate Robert F. Kennedy Jr. In September, Trump said he backs Musk’s proposal to create a “government efficiency commission,” led by the billionaire, focused on heavily slashing government spending. The president-elect also said he plans to offer Kennedy—a vaccine critic and prominent conspiracy theorist—a key role in overseeing health care. While Trump has ruled out bringing back his former Secretary of State Mike Pompeo, a few other names reportedly floated for the role include Rep. Mike Waltz, R-Fla., former national security adviser Robert O’Brien, former U.S. ambassador to Germany Ric Grenell and Sens. Marco Rubio, R-Fla., and Bill Haggerty R-Tenn. Federal judge Aileen Cannon, who dismissed Trump’s classified documents case in July, is reportedly a top contender for the attorney general role, along with former Securities and Exchange Commission Chairman Jay Clayton, former Senate aide and Republican attorney Mike Davis and former White House lawyer Mark Paoletta.

 Last summer, Kevin Costner announced that he would be ending his time on Yellowstone, the hit Western drama where he plays cattle rancher/Montana governor John Dutton. Though the possibility of Costner's departure had been rumored for months, the news still shocked fans, who wondered how the series would deal with the loss of one of its most prominent characters.

In the more than a year since the word of Costner's exit broke debates have swirled about whether the star would make a brief return to see the Dutton patriarch's story concluded (Costner ultimately confirmed he wouldn't appear in the now-airing season 5B), whether some story contrivance would see the character moved to an offscreen role, or if, indeed, he would be killed outright. Now, finally, we know the answer, and it's sure to be one that gets everybody talking.

How did John Dutton die?

As was widely expected, John Dutton is dead—in fact, his family's discover of his demise is the very first thing we see in the premiere of the second half of season 5. However, it's the means of his death that had fans gasping: the rancher was found dead in the governor's mansion, dead of an apparently self-inflicted gunshot wound to the head.

We say "apparently" because John's daughter, Beth, who was on the scene with her brother Kayce immediately insisted that the death had to be the work of their older brother, Jamie. Kayce was hesitant to believe despite his reservations about the idea of their father dying by suicide, but Beth, of course, already knew about Jamie's patricidal tendencies, having blackmailed him over the murder of his biological father in the first half of season five.

While all of that may have seemed like the ramp up to a season-long mystery, Yellowstone's "who shot" solution came a lot faster than the famous Dallas storyline, and as usual, Beth was right all along... well, half right.

Jamie Dutton announced his father’s death to the public in the season premiere.

In a flashback scene, it's revealed that Sarah Atwood, the Market Equities consultant who's been working to try and bring down John's governorship in order to help her employer's plan for an international airport to move ahead, hired a contract killer to take out the Dutton patriarch and make it look self-inflicted.

The move echoed a tense conversation between the Machiavellian Sarah and Jamie in the finale of the first half of season five, during which Jamie said that he thought Beth would try to have him killed and that it was time to "play offense." At the time, it seemed that he was looking to preemptively have his sister murdered, but toward the end of the scene there came an unusual exchange: "If you're going to go after her, you just might, maybe, you know..." Sarah said, vaguely, to which Jamie responded, "Yeah, that's what I was thinking too."

So did Jamie change his mind and decide to have his father killed instead? Or did Sarah go rogue and use Jamie's apparent agreement to advance her own goals? During the season premiere, Jamie appeared devastated by the news of his father's death, even when arriving home to Sarah who was ready to celebrate their victory. While his attitude could cast doubt on how much he understood he was agreeing to, Jamie never outright says that he didn't intend for his father to die, so for now at least, some mystery remains.

The decision to kill off John Dutton in a murder-for-hire is a particularly interesting one, considering that Costner (who maintains top billing in the opening credits, despite not appearing on screen) reportedly had a clause in his contract with the show with a "moral death" provision. Specifically, according to reporting by Puck in 2023, the clause set out certain stipulations about John's potential death on the show, precluding any circumstance that might bring shame to the character, a la the infamous death of Patrick Dempsey's Grey's Anatomy character, Derek Shepherd, who was killed in a car crash following behind-the-scenes drama.