Wall Street Breakfast Podcast: Cutting The Line? Not Today

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American Airlines (AAL) rolls out software to call out gate lice ahead of holiday rush. (00:28) TikTok (BDNCE), Instagram (META), Snapchat (SNAP) on alert as Australia introduces social media ban for kids. (01:32) Biden administration moves to cancel $4.65B of Ukraine’s debt, send more military aid. (02:24)

This is an abridged transcript of the podcast.

American Airlines (NASDAQ:AAL) is rolling out new software to more airports that will deter passengers from cutting in line while boarding ahead of the busy holiday season.

“If a customer boards before their assigned group is called, the new software will not accept the boarding pass and instead makes an audible sound to alert the gate agent and customer that the group has not yet been called,” the airlines announced.

“In these instances, the American (AAL) team member will invite the customer to rejoin the line when their boarding group is called,” it added.

The technology is being rolled out to more than 100 airports, including the world’s busiest airport in Atlanta. More airports will get it in the coming months.

American Airlines (AAL) tested the software over the last month at Albuquerque International Sunport, Reagan National in Washington and Tucson International Airport to gain insights on ways to improve the boarding process.

“The initial positive response from customers and team members has exceeded our expectations,” said Julie Rath, American’s (AAL) SVP of airport operations, reservations and service recovery.

Australia is taking aim at the dangers social media poses for kids, introducing legislation that would ban children younger than 16 from accessing platforms like TikTok (BDNCE), Facebook and Instagram (NASDAQ:META), Snapchat (NYSE:SNAP), Reddit (NYSE:RDDT) and X. The law, which is expected to be passed by the end of the year, will make platforms responsible for not taking “reasonable steps” in preventing kids from holding social media accounts. Any “systematic failures” can result in fines of up to A$50M ($32.5M).

Will there be exemptions for cases of parental consent? Are online gaming platforms included and what does this mean for Google’s Youtube? We’re taking a deeper dive into this topic in the Wall Street Breakfast newsletter.

The Biden administration has moved to cancel $4.65B debt owed by Ukraine, half of a $9.4B loan that the U.S. provided.

The loans were part of a $60B military aid package approved by Congress in April.

Senator Rand Paul (R-KY) sought to block the loan forgiveness, but Congress voted against his resolution.

Reuters reported that President Biden directed U.S. officials to rush as much support as possible to Kyiv before his term ends in January, as Trump has been critical of U.S. aid to Ukraine. To note, most senators on both sides of the aisle support Ukraine aid.

Secretary of State Antony Blinken on Wednesday said the U.S. is providing another package of weapons and equipment to Ukraine, valued at $275M. This includes anti-personnel landmines and nuclear protective gear.

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Catalyst watch:

• A very busy day of investor events is headlined by Procter & Gamble’s (PG) Investor Day. Other events with the potential to lead to share price moves include Paycor HCM’s (PYCR) first-ever Investor Day, Revvity’s (RVTY) Investor Day event, Procore Technologies’ (PCOR) Investor Day, Kyndryl Holdings’ (KD) Investor Day, and GE Healthcare Technologies’ (GEHC) Investor Day.

• The Los Angeles Auto Show will begin. Porsche, Hyundai (OTCPK:HYMTF) and Kia will hold press conferences on the first day. Fiat (STLA), Ford Motor (F), Hyundai, Kia, Porsche, and Volkswagen (OTCPK:VLKAF) all have new models being unveiled during the week-long event.

Now let’s take a look at the markets as of 6 am. Ahead of the opening bell today, Dow, S&P and Nasdaq futures are in the red. Crude oil is up 1.7% at $69/barrel. Bitcoin is up 4.6% at $97,000.

In the world markets, the FTSE 100 is up 0.1% and the DAX is down 0.2%.

The biggest movers for the day premarket: Snowflake (SNOW) is up 20% following its Q3 earnings beat, highlighted by nearly 30% Y/Y growth in product revenue.

On today’s economic calendar:

• 10:00 am Existing Home Sales

• 12:25 pm Chicago Federal Reserve Bank President Austan Goolsbee to participate in a moderated question-and-answer session before the Central Indiana Corporate Partnership.

• 12:30 pm Cleveland Federal Reserve Bank President Beth Hammack will participate in a conversation before the 2024 Financial Stability Conference: Emerging Risks in a Time of Interconnectedness and Innovation.