Up, Up and Away

Kelly Evans's afternoon commentary & top market stories

VIEW IN BROWSER | SUBSCRIBE WED, FEB 19, 2020 YOUR AFTERNOON NEWS UPDATE AND MARKET ACTION FROM CNBC AS OF WED, FEB 19, 2020 • 12:06 ET DJIA 29368.60 +0.47% +136.41 S&P 500 3389.17 +0.56% +18.88 NASDAQ 9820.23 +0.90% +87.49 EDITOR'S NOTE I'm tired today. These morning shows are no joke. How does the Squawk crew do it day after day?! Or the local news folks who, I found out this morning, are live at 4 a.m. Ouch. (I love you Channel 4 New York!) At least I got a bunch of Twitter followers out of it, but that's another story ;-)    We have lots coming up this afternoon. We'll actually be speaking with Bloomberg's national political chair, Mike Nutter, around 1:40 as the candidate prepares to take the debate stage tonight. (By the way, I am so upset it doesn't start until 9 p.m. ET!)    Bloomberg has already spent more than any other presidential candidate ever. I'll be asking, how much is he prepared to spend, total? A billion dollars? More?    Plus we'll hit the action in Virgin Galactic's stock, which is rivaling Tesla (which surged back over $900 this morning) as the biggest stock take-off story of the year. My unconfirmed hypothesis is that this is a Gen Z-fueled stock craze. It's not us millennials. We're getting old and tired (or maybe that's just me). I think it's the next generation. Like the college girl on Instagram (@pricelesstay) who dances as her Tesla shares hit new highs. I shall demand answers from Kate Rooney about this around 2:10 on Power Lunch.    By the way, did you see the housing numbers this morning?? December's data was all super strong but dismissed as a warm-weather anomaly. But then we got the January new home construction report and whaddaya know, "housing starts [only] slipped last month by less than 4% to a 1.567 million unit pace, the second-best reading since 2006," as per economist Stephen Stanley.    Yes, January was also warm, and we'll need a few more months to know if the housing market is really taking off. Still, the homebuilders' confidence survey out earlier this week remains near an all-time high.    How much more home construction does this country need? That'll be the topic of tomorrow's discussion with Conor Dougherty, author of "Golden Gates." Bottom line: young people are pro-space, pro-Tesla, and pro-development these days.    See you at 1 p.m!    Kelly   P.S. The Exchange is now a podcast! Click to subscribe and never miss a Rapid Fire.    Kelly Evans Twitter: @KellyCNBC Instagram: @realkellyevans KEY STORIES  Forget Tesla. Wall Street has found a new favorite speculative stock in Virgin Galactic Virgin Galactic trading has accelerated in a way that tops even the momentum behind Tesla. Stocks making the biggest moves in the premarket: Dish Network, Garmin, Tesla, Uber & more The stocks making the biggest moves in premarket trading include Dish Network, Garmin, Tesla, Uber, and more. Burger King is cutting artificial preservatives and it created a gross new ad to show it off Burger King's latest ad campaign uses a moldy Whopper to show off the chain's removal of artificial preservatives. It's never been this hard for companies to find qualified workers Nearly 70% of employers reported talent shortages in 2019, a jump of 17 points in only one year and more than three times higher than a decade ago. Coronavirus live updates: Iran confirms two deaths, IMF chief issues warning on global growth As of Wednesday, more than 75,200 cases of coronavirus have been reported, resulting in at least 2,000 deaths. Amazon's first employee says the company scares him Shel Kaphan, who joined the company in 1994, also said he supports breaking up Amazon. Stock market live updates: Back to records, Tesla tops $900, Virgin Galactic spikes A discussion of all that's moving the market today including the coronavirus, another jumpin Virgin Galactic shares and more. Democratic debate: Bloomberg takes the stage as Sanders leads, and Biden aims for a comeback Joe Biden, Michael Bloomberg, Pete Buttigieg, Amy Klobuchar, Bernie Sanders and Elizabeth Warren will face off on the issues during Wednesday night's Democratic debate. Shares of Tesla pop 8% to $930, exceeding the most bullish analyst price forecast The catalyst for Tesla stock is once again a big call on Wall Street. Weekly mortgage applications take a hit as mortgage rates tick up The refinance boom took a step back last week, bringing down total mortgage applications. Mortgage application volume decreased 6.4% from the previous week, according to the Mortgage Bankers Association.     IN CASE YOU MISSED IT Apple guidance based on assumption coronavirus will get better: Axios' Fried Inspections find 'foreign object debris' in some undelivered 737 Max planes Walmart fumbles the holidays, the $10B Bezos Earth Fund, Zuckerberg vs. Soros & millennials are making the Fed's job difficult   Unsubscribe Manage Newsletters Terms of Service Join the CNBC Panel Digital Products Feedback Privacy Policy   © 2020 CNBC LLC. All rights reserved. A property of NBCUniversal. 900 Sylvan Avenue, Englewood Cliffs, NJ 07632 Data is a real-time snapshot *Data is delayed at least 15 minutes. Global Business and Financial News, Stock Quotes and Market Data and Analysis. Data also provided by THOMSON REUTERS