Stocks Climb A ‘Wall Of Worry,’ Though Humpty-Dumpty Investors Can Fall Off The Wall
Macy’s, JC Penney, Sears. Does anyone seriously believe that these corporations will thrive in the years ahead? They’re far more likely to go belly up than to turn things around. Many investors seem unfazed by the probability that Amazon (AMZN) will terminate traditional retail. They see it as an opportunity to invest more in the stock shares […]
If 2014 Was Ultimately A Letdown, What Might 2017 Be?
Today’s topic du jour isn’t even a word but an abbreviated name. Whereas yesterday markets were somewhat spooked by a relatively obscure British firm, Provident, today they are again by still another. This time it’s WPP Plc, an advertising aggregation firm that owns a sizable portfolio of ad agencies located all around the world. Given that position, […]
Allergan: Growth Is Dead
Allergan’s (AGN) Q2 results appeared to be pretty strong, at least on the surface. The company reported revenue of $4.0 billion and EBITDA of $1.6 billion. Revenue and EBITDA grew Y/Y by 9% and 13%, respectively. Revenue from U.S. Specialized Therapeutics, and International both grew by double-digits. Their growth was offset by a 1% decline […]
NZD/USD Destined For 71 Cents?
For the second day in a row, the New Zealand dollar was the worst performing currency. Unlike yesterday when the decline was drive by U.S. dollar strength the latest move was driven by local factors. Last night, the New Zealand government provided its latest economic update ahead of next month’s election and while they forecast […]
Tesla Bonds Are Now Riskier Than Ukraine’s
Considering both entities are ‘backed‘ one way or another by the US Government, it is perhaps not a total surprise that the risk of Ukraine government bonds and the risk of Tesla bonds are ‘similar’… But the last few days have seen the world’s 4th largest automaker (by market cap) trade at a more risky level […]
The Economy Is In The Expansion Phase Of The Cycle
Predicting economic cycles is difficult. This cycle has been especially tough because of central bank interventionism, the fact that the recession was worse than any other one since the Great Depression, and that the recovery has been weak. All those three points mean the recovery will be longer than usual. QE and low interest rates […]
Bonds Are Quietly Trading Towards Its Highs
The Leader List The leaders are listed below in blue and green. The S&P500 is the benchmark. Bonds are quietly trading towards its highs. Here is the weekly for TLT. I think it looks promising. This the weekly for gold which is also trading right near its recent highs. Outlook The long-term outlook is positive.The […]
Wal-Mart Teams Up With Google To Offer Voice Shopping
Wal-Mart (WMT – Free Report) announced on Wednesday that the company will partner with Alphabet’s (GOOGL – Free Report) Google to give shoppers the ability to order thousands of products through Google Express using voice-activated shopping. Wal-Mart customers can soon link their Wal-Mart accounts directly to Google Express, Google’s online marketplace. Google Express already offers products from a variety […]
A Flash Signal For Bonds
The August round of flash manufacturing PMIs saw the composite DM flash PMI basically unchanged. This was the product of stronger results in Europe (57.4 vs 56.6) and Japan (52.8 vs 52.1) vs a disappointing US (52.5 vs 53.3)… although the US services PMI rose to a 28-month high of 56.9.The flash manufacturing PMIs from Markit provide a timely […]
