Treasury yields surge, Target earnings, 'doomjobbing' and more in Morning Squawk

Traders work at the New York Stock Exchange on May 13, 2026.

NYSE

Investor attention homed in on interest rates yesterday, as the 30-year U.S. Treasury yield touched levels not seen since before the Global Financial Crisis. The surge in yields prompted a stock sell-off and raised alarm that a rate hike could be on the horizon.

Here's what to know:

• The longer-dated 30-year yield briefly hit 5.197%, its highest level since July 2007.
• Rising Treasury yields spilled over into the housing market: The average mortgage rate on a 30-year fixed loan reached its highest level since last July.
• Prediction market traders see a growing likelihood of the Federal Reserve increasing interest rates to combat the bond market's dramatic action.
• Those rising fears of tighter monetary policy led to downward pressure on the S&P 500, which saw its third straight negative session.
• Investors are increasingly worried that rising bond yields, in combination with spiking oil prices, could put the bull market at risk.
• Follow live market updates here.

People exit a Target store on Black Friday in Brooklyn, New York, U.S., Nov. 29, 2024.

Brendan McDermid | Reuters

Target beat Wall Street's top- and bottom-line expectations for the first quarter this morning, reporting a 5.6% increase in same-store sales — its first positive number for the key metric in five quarters. The retailer also hiked its revenue outlook for the full year, helping shares rise in premarket trading.

The better-than-expected report comes as Target attempts to win back shoppers and reverse a sales slump. CEO Michael Fiddelke told reporters that "we know our work is just beginning, and we have confidence we're on the right path because guests are responding in areas where we are leaning in and driving change."

Target wasn't only retailer beating expectations today. Lowe's also topped analysts' revenue and earnings estimates amid what CEO Marvin Ellison called a "challenging housing macro." Shares of the home improvement retailer are 2% lower before the bell, despite the positive report.

Shahram Izadi, general manager and vice president of Android XR at Google, during the Google I/O Developers Conference in Mountain View, California, US, on Tuesday, May 19, 2026.

David Paul Morris | Bloomberg | Getty Images

Google announced at its annual developer conference yesterday that it's rolling out a new version of Gemini called 3.5 Flash, a lighter-weight artificial intelligence model that CEO Sundar Pichai said its cheaper than comparable products. The company also unveiled a new general-purpose AI agent and a new world model designed to simulate real-world environments.

On the hardware front, Alphabet gave a first look at its audio smart glasses coming later this year. The Big Tech company teamed up with Samsung, as well as glasses makers Warby Parker and Gentle Monster, for the products.

Elsewhere in the AI race: Andrej Karpathy, an OpenAI co-founder and former Tesla leader, said he is joining Anthropic. The AI startup said Karpathy will work on its pretraining team tasked with helping Claude acquire core knowledge and capabilities.

Stellantis CEO Antonio Filosa speaks during an event in Turin, Italy, Nov. 25, 2025.

Daniele Mascolo | Reuters

Stellantis' stock is lagging under CEO Antonio Filosa. But as CNBC's Michael Wayland reports, Filosa has a plan to turn the automaker around.

Filosa – who became CEO last June – and his team will unveil their plan to put the Jeep and Ram back on track tomorrow. They're expected to focus on which brands are thriving in different regions, while also laying out how they will cut costs and return to profitability.

But investors aren't exactly confident heading into the event. In addition to industry-wide concerns around tariffs and rising competition from China, Stellantis has had to grapple with dwindling market share and fallout from its pivot away from electric vehicles.

Dima Berlin | Istock | Getty Images

Have you ever spent hours scrolling through job listings? As CNBC's Sophie Caldwell writes, there's now a term for that: "doomjobbing," a combination of doomscrolling and job hunting.

Some hunters are continuously refreshing job boards and quickly firing off applications to open listings. A March survey found nearly half of job seekers prioritized speed and volume rather than selectivity.

But this strategy can intensify feelings of anxiety and hinder a job search. Rather than mass applying to roles, career coach Eliana Goldstein told CNBC that applicants should use the time to network and develop their personal brands.

— CNBC's John Melloy, Yun Li, Liz Napolitano, Diana Olick, Davis Giangiullio, Laya Neelakandan, Jennifer Elias, Ashley Capoot, Lora Kolodny, Michael Wayland, Sophie Caldwell and Kevin Breuninger contributed to this report.

CJ Haddad assisted in the production of this newsletter. Josephine Rozzelle edited this edition.