The former deputy head of the Bank of England will lead a new unitary board of the U.K. public broadcaster and effectively replace outgoing Rona Fairhead. David Clementi, who drew up a report calling for the current BBC Trust governing body to be abolished, has been picked as the U.K. government’s preferred candidate for the role of chair of the public broadcaster’s new unitary board.
Day: January 10, 2017
Stocks Add to Gains as Nasdaq Sets Another High
The S&P 500 was up 0.3%, the Dow gained 0.25% to 19,935, and the Nasdaq added 0.5%, trading at an intraday high of 5,559. The Dow has struggled to breach 20,000 in recent days after coming close to the milestone on Friday.
London’s FTSE 100 Marches to Historic Gains, Europe Stocks Broadly Higher
London’s FTSE 100 recorded its longest-ever winning streak and a new record high on Tuesday as miners rallied. London’s FTSE 100 notched its longest run of gains in its 33-year history on Tuesday, to close up 0.60% at a new record of 7,280, while the domestic FTSE 250 index inched toward its own previous record high.
Trump AG Nominee Sessions Says He’ll Recuse Himself From Clinton Probes
Jeff Sessions would recuse himself from any Clinton-related probes as Attorney General, he said at Senate confirmation hearing on Tuesday. Jefferson Beauregard Sessions III, the Republican Senator from Alabama nominated to become U.S. Attorney General, will recuse himself from any Clinton-related probes if he gets the job, he said at Senate confirmation hearing on Tuesday.
Just How Far-fetched Is Alibaba’s Goal to Create One Million Jobs in the U.S.?
U.S. Chamber of Commerce estimates that trade with China already supports over 40 million jobs in the United States. Can Alibaba tack on another million? During a 40-minute meeting with President-elect Donald Trump at Trump Tower on Monday, Alibaba founder and executive chairman Jack Ma pledged to create one million jobs in the U.S. by helping small businesses sell products and services to China.
Good Luck With This One FTC: Craftsman Tries Becoming Competitor to Itself
The deal is unusual because Stanley will lease the brand back to Sears and two different versions of the Craftsman brand will compete against each other. Stanley Black & Decker ‘s plan to acquire the storied Craftsman tool brand from Sears Holdings for up to $900 million will force the Federal Trade Commission to grapple with some novel antitrust questions.
Alibaba Looks to Add Chinese Retailer Intime for $2.6 Billion
The move will help the Chinese e-commerce giant continue to blur the lines between its online and in-person locations. China’s biggest e-commerce retailer, Alibaba , said Monday it is teaming up with Shen Guojun, the founder of Chinese retailer Intime, to acquire the latter company for about HK$19.8 billion .
Yahoo! Set to Thrive Under New Altaba Name Thanks to Alibaba Stake
Yahoo! will rename itself ‘Altaba’ when the $4.8 billion Verizon deal is complete. The stock has benefited from Alibaba’s stunning performance under CEO Jack Ma.
The Clicks Are Beating the Bricks in the Continuing Retail Battle
Despite initial optimism for traditional retailers during the holiday season, ecommerce sales as a percentage of the total rose again. Despite initial optimism for brick-and-mortar retailers going into the holiday season, there was fresh evidence that retail is still in the midst of a digital disruption and transformation.
Williams Partners Has More Going For It Than a Juicy Yield
In this one-year daily chart of WPZ, below, we can see two trends for WPZ in 2016. The first trend is the big rally from the February price low around $14.
Watching for a Rollover in This Real Estate ETF
Anticipating tops rarely works out for traders, but recognizing the potential for rollovers offers a much better risk-reward. Clearly, it isn’t perfect and you’ll have to sacrifice the bragging rights of top ticking a security, but bragging rights don’t pay the bills and tend to get a trader into trouble, so consider this approach well-served on multiple fronts.
Use a Value Momentum Investing Strategy This Year
Before I move on from reviewing 2016, I want to take a look at which models performed best during the year and how those top performers look as 2017 begins. The top performing model last year was made of stocks trading below book value that had high F-scores and high Altman Z-scores.
Agnico Eagle Mines Has Turned Up; Time to Go Long Again
AEM doubled last year when gold bullion advanced around 40%. AEM corrected from its August peak and looks poised for a new advance.
Conservatives really are better looking, research says
Research has found that being attractive influences many things in a person’s life – their salary , their popularity and grades in school, even the prison sentences they receive. So why not their politics? A recently published study in the Journal of Public Economics concludes that the attractiveness of a candidate does correlate with their politics.
Pace of Canadian housing starts rises in December: CMHC
CMHC said housing starts were higher in December on a seasonally adjusted annualized basis, but added that the six-month trend was down. The seasonally adjusted annual rate of housing starts across the country rose to 207,041 units in December, up from 187,273 units in November, Canada Mortgage and Housing Corp. reported Tuesday.
Scaramucci Sees Sale of SkyBridge, Possible White House Post
Anthony Scaramucci, founder of SkyBridge Capital, said he has gotten bids for his firm and may end up working in the White House. “We have gotten a couple of bids, we’re parsing through that now,” Scaramucci told Bloomberg Television on Tuesday.
People on the move: 01/11
Submit professional appointments, management-level promotions and significant awards for individuals , along with photos as a .jpg attachment, via email to peopleonmove@orlandosentinel.com . Geeks and Nerds, a Huntsville, Alabama-based company operating in five states, has established an Orlando location and appointed Jeff Frost , program manager to head the new office.
Top U.S. trade official sounds alarm over protectionist policies
Outgoing U.S. trade ambassador Michael Froman warned Tuesday that America risks ceding its dominance of the global economy if President-elect Donald Trump follows through on promises to slap punitive tariffs on imports and abandon a sweeping trade deal with Asia. In prepared remarks for his final speech as the nation’s top trade negotiator, Froman did not mention Trump by name.
Erosion of “Judeo-Christian ethics” led to the rise of Trump
Al Sikes, a former chairman of the Federal Communications Commission under George H.W. Bush and Assistant Secretary of Commerce under Ronald Reagan, was a Never Trump conservative Republican who said he voted for independent presidential candidate Evan McMullin . Originally from a small town in Missouri, Sikes, 77, joined Salon Talks in a discussion about his book “Culture Leads, Leaders Follow,” The book describes how Sikes is dismayed with cultural leaders who he says appeal to “the lowest common denominator, and when their coarseness is criticized, the companies wrap themselves in the flag of free speech, as if to coarsen society were somehow a patriotic act.”
Gildan Wins Auction to Purchase American Apparel
Apparel maker Gildan Activewear has won the auction to acquire the American Apparel brand and certain company assets with an $88 million cash offer. The transaction is subject to bankruptcy approval on Thursday and is expected to be completed by early February, Gildan said in a statement this morning.
Market Recon: Staying Net Long Financials Despite the Run
“Many of life’s failures are people who did not realize how close they were to success when they gave up.” — Thomas Edison I still do like the banks and consumer finance names going forward.
WD-40’s Earnings Should Frighten Everyone Looking for Dow 20,000
With the Dow Jones Industrial Average still hovering near the 20,000 milestone and the Nasdaq resting at a record, the bulls may want to stop and look at a can of WD-40 sitting on a shelf in a local Walmart and ponder their enthusiasm. Better yet, just spy WD-40’s fiscal first-quarter results as a possible tell on the lackluster earnings season that could lay ahead this month and derail the market’s post-Trump election momentum.
Buy Adobe Now — Plus Jim Cramer’s Take
Adobe is breaking out and is set up well for a fresh rally leg. These charts show why it’s a must-buy.
Why You Should Short Harley Davidson
The Harley Davidson rally run may be near an end. Shares of the iconic motorcycle manufacturer have formed a classic topping pattern on the daily chart.
Macy’s Refocuses Online, but Faces a Big Deficit in the E-Commerce Race
The iconic, department store chain has announced that it will invest more of its resources on e-commerce and shut more of its physical locations. Ailing department store Macy’s , once a pillar of nearly every U.S. shopping mall, announced a restructuring plan that will revolve around refocusing more of its resources on e-commerce.
SodaStream Has Exploded Almost 200% — Buy More Here?
Although the U.S. may be divided on many major issues, most people would probably agree on one thing: 2016 was a roller coaster of a year filled with surprises. That said, investors bullish on one company shouldn’t have been caught off-guard by its stock’s stratospheric ascent .
Stock Futures Little Changed as Oil Prices Level Off
Stock futures are little changed on Tuesday as investors await news from a press conference Wednesday with President-elect Donald Trump. Oil prices level off.
Paean to ‘Plain Vanilla’ Stock Strategies
The latest issue of Barron’s offered a nice summary of various market returns for the fourth quarter of 2016. It also looked back over the previous one, five and 10 years.
What the Pound’s Fall Tells You About Brexit
What happened yesterday with the British pound shows that investors still have not priced in the first, and possibly the most important, thing about Brexit: the fact that the U.K. will leave the European Union’s single market. The sooner they price that in, the better, because it means they can move on to pricing in other effects of last year’s referendum vote.
Rev’s Forum: Climbing Nasdaq Index Hides a Broader Truth
The main story of the market recently is that while the Nasdaq is hitting new all-time highs the other major indices have been churning and making little progress. This is caused by a narrowing of market leadership.
BHP Billiton Is Ready for Fresh Gains
We looked for a small consolidation/pullback before renewed gains — “prices could stall or even pull back to $36 or a tad lower. With the overall strength in BHP, I would consider this kind of shallow pullback a buying opportunity.”
Parrot Cuts Jobs After Drone Discounts at Christmas Hurt Profits
Parrot SA, the maker of toy drones you can fly from your phone, is cutting a third of its staff after lowering prices at Christmas to lure consumers from rivals including market leader SZ DJI Technology Co. Sales were short of what the company had forecast in the fourth quarter even as profitability fell in consumer drones, to a level unsustainable in the long-run, Parrot said Monday in a statement.
Goldman Promotes Elisha Wiesel to Chief Information Officer
Goldman Sachs Group Inc. named Elisha Wiesel, son of Holocaust survivor Elie Wiesel, chief information officer as the company fills roles created by the departure of President Gary Cohn for a job in the Trump administration. Wiesel, 44, currently chief risk officer of the securities division, will report to Martin Chavez, who was promoted from CIO to chief financial officer last month, the New York-based firm said Monday in a memo to staff.
Detroit Wants Something From Trump in Exchange for Those Tweets
The way Bill Ford tells it, you’d think he and Donald Trump are like two old buddies chitchatting all the time about cars, economics and taxes. “When needed, I can always get to him or he calls me,” Ford, the chairman of Ford Motor Co., said in an interview Monday at the North American International Auto Show in Detroit.
European Stocks Slip, FTSE Edges Higher Amid Pound’s Renewed Slump
European stocks traded lower Tuesday but a renewed fall in the British pound helped lifted the U.K. benchmark to another all-time. European stocks traded lower Tuesday but a renewed fall in the British pound helped lifted the U.K. benchmark to another all-time.
L’Oreal Buys Three Skincare Lines from Valeant for $1.3 Billion
L’Oreal shares traded higher in Paris Monday after the luxury group bought three skincare lines from Valeant Pharmaceuticals for $1.3 billion in a bid to expand its skincare portfolio. The Paris-based beauty and hair care product manufacturer entered an agreement to buy the skincare brands CeraVe, Acne Free and Ambi from Valeant.
Guest column: It’s time for lawmakers to step in on cable price inflation
If customer complaints don’t solve the Cable One/KPVI issue, it may be time to involve our lawmakers, writes Jim Key. After reading the article “Cable One drops KPVI” by Bryan Clark, Jan. 4, I called both KPVI and Cable One.
Valeant to Sell $2.1 Billion in Assets to Pay Down Debt
Valeant Pharmaceuticals International Inc. agreed to sell about $2.1 billion in assets as the embattled Canadian drugmaker seeks to streamline its businesses and ease its debt burden. L’Oreal SA will pay Valeant $1.3 billion for three skincare brands, the Paris-based company Tuesday said in a statement.
SoftBank’s Son Cedes to Murdoch as Top India Home Portals Merge
Indian real-estate websites PropTiger.com and Housing.com are merging to create the country’s top portal for residential listings and property services, as Rupert Murdoch’s News Corp. boosts its investment in the growing sector while Masayoshi Son’s SoftBank Group Corp. scales back. REA Group Ltd., an Australian real-estate company controlled by News Corp., is putting $50 million into the new joint entity, while a SoftBank-owned affiliate is investing $5 million.
UBS’s China Head Sees M&A Deal Size Shrinking Amid Capital Curbs
Chinese companies’ overseas acquisitions will probably decline in size amid tighter government controls on currency outflows, according to UBS Group AG’s China head. While UBS isn’t feeling any impact from the capital controls on mergers and acquisitions yet, deals this year are more likely to be in the range of $1 billion to “a couple of billion” rather than the “elephant deals” seen last year, China President Eugene Qian said.