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.
Month: January 2017
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.
Kuwait Says OPEC, Russia to Fulfill Pledged Oil-Output Cuts
OPEC and its partners will fulfill their implementation of a deal to cut output, having already announced 60 to 70 percent of the promised curbs, Kuwait said. Countries including Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, Russia, Kuwait, Qatar and Iraq have announced cutbacks that account for the bulk of the deal reached last year, Kuwaiti Oil Minister Essam Al-Marzouk said Monday.
VietJet Forecasts 30% Profit Rise Ahead of February Listing
VietJet Aviation Joint Stock Co., the Vietnam carrier known for its bikini-clad flight attendants, expects profit to surge 30 percent this year on rising passengers as it prepares for its Ho Chi Minh City Stock Exchange listing debut in February. A total of 23 overseas investors bought 66.5 million shares — equivalent to about 14 percent of VietJet — during a pre-listing stake sale last month, billionaire founder Nguyen Thi Phuong Thao said.
Tesco emerges as Christmas winner as UK grocery inflation returns – Kantar
Britain’s biggest supermarket chain Tesco recorded the fastest growing sales of the country’s four largest players in the Christmas quarter, as inflation returned to the grocery market after more than two years of falling prices. Market researcher Kantar Worldpanel said Tesco sales grew 1.3 percent during the 12 weeks to Jan. 1, outperforming no.2 chain Sainsbury’s , whose sales fell 0.1 percent, Asda , down 2.4 percent, and Morrisons , up 1.2 percent.
Specialty pharmacies say benefit managers are squeezing them out
From its storefront in Union City, New Jersey, Prime Aid Pharmacy caters to patients with a range of ailments, from rheumatoid arthritis to hepatitis C. The business prides itself on getting patients their necessary drugs, employs a staff that speaks 10 languages and delivers medications by car in New York and New Jersey. “Especially during the winter, when mail deliveries don’t always get there on time, it’s very important to have local delivery,” said Yana Shtindler, the pharmacy’s administrator.
Pen power: China closer to ballpoint success
It has sent rockets into space, produced millions of the world’s smartphones and built high-speed trains. But until now, one bit of manufacturing had perhaps unexpectedly eluded China: the ballpoint pen.
Australian Bank Shares Are Soaring So Fast, You Could Get a Nosebleed
One of the fastest rallies for Australian banks in six years is prompting fund managers to stop and catch their breath. Randal Jenneke of T. Rowe Price is pausing after moving overweight in the banking sector before the U.S. elections.
An $830,000 Horse, a Presidential Scandal and Samsung Succession
Samsung Group is getting pulled deeper into the scandal engulfing South Korea’s president with prosecutors homing in on whether an $830,000 horse and millions in other payments were made to smooth succession at the top of the country’s largest company. Special prosecutors summoned two top Samsung executives to answer questions Monday about the company’s role in an alleged influence-peddling scheme that has already led to President Park Geun-hye’s impeachment.
China Car Sales Climb at Fastest Pace in 3 Years on Tax Cut
Consumers in China bought passenger vehicles at the fastest pace in three years to take advantage of a tax cut on small-engine automobiles, boosting deliveries of automakers from General Motors Co. to Great Wall Motor Co.
Fund That Made Money on Treasuries Says Rally Is About to End
Prudential Plc’s Asian asset management unit, which profited from the rebound in 30-year Treasuries last month, has taken its money off the table with the view the three-week rally in U.S. government debt is coming to an end. Nicholas Ferres, who oversees multi-asset investments at Eastspring Investments in Singapore, unwound his holdings of 30-year bonds Friday and Monday, selling them at yields as low as 2.96 percent, after U.S. jobs and wage data backed the case for faster policy tightening.
Trump unfiltered: Tweets reveal his interests, insecurities
His message came at the start of one of the busiest weeks of Donald Trump’s transition to the White House. It’s a week when he and his team are preparing eight Cabinet picks for confirmation hearings, finalizing appointments and gearing up for his first news conference as president-elect.
VW Managers Warned to Stay in Germany as U.S. Charges Near
Some of Volkswagen AG’s top executives may find it risky to leave Germany as U.S. prosecutors prepare to charge more company officials. Oliver Schmidt, a VW executive, was arrested in Miami as he was returning to Germany from vacation and faces charges of misleading regulators about the automaker’s diesel-emissions cheating devices.
BlackRock Quants Sustain Record Losses in Setback to Fink Plan
Like so many fund titans these days, Laurence D. Fink is betting on machines to turn around BlackRock Inc.’s beleaguered stock-picking business. BlackRock’s main quantitative hedge-fund strategies — which use computer models to sort through vast amounts of data to pick out patterns — were on track for losses in 2016, according to a monthly client update sent out in late December.
Futures, Asia Down on Calm Before Earnings Storm
Investors are looking for concrete signs of Trump’s economic policy while waiting for companies to divulge how the fourth quarter went. Futures for U.S. markets were lower late Monday as investors await the latest earnings season and wonder if the Trump rally hasn’t pushed markets too high.
Which LA city departments could be impacted by projected $245 million deficit?
For City Hall watcher Victor Viereck, Monday’s news that Los Angeles is looking at a $245 million shortfall is no surprise. “The city seems to spend more money without real consideration of their expenses,” said Viereck, an executive committee member for Valley Vote, an organization of residents, business leaders and others interested in improving local government in the San Fernando Valley.
Why Apple Inc. Should Update the MacBook Pro Lineup in the Spring
Both the 13-inch and 15-inch variants saw significant overhauls, including new track pads, faster processors, brighter and more colorful displays, and even the inclusion of a new touch bar on higher end 13-inch and all 15-inch models. The machines represented nice steps forward for the MacBook Pro lineup, which hadn’t seen substantial updates for quite some time.
5 Ways Vertex Pharmaceuticals Plans to Grow in 2017 and Beyond
However, Vertex CEO Jeff Leiden said on Monday at the J.P. Morgan Healthcare Conference that “business has never been stronger.” He also emphasized that the company has a clear pathway to growth in 2017 and beyond.
Japan’s Takeda buys US cancer specialist Ariad for $5.2bn
Takeda’s offer is valued at more than 75% above Ariad’s closing share price on Friday – but some analysts says a rival bid cannot be ruled out. Cancer drugs are appealing to large pharmaceutical firms, who are prepared to pay high prices for companies with promising products in the pipeline.
Alibaba’s Ma Meets With Trump to Talk About Creating Jobs
Alibaba Group Holding Ltd. Chairman Jack Ma met with Donald Trump on Monday to discuss how the online retailer could help create 1 million new U.S. jobs, keying in on one of the president-elect’s chief concerns amid fraught relations between China and the incoming administration. The Chinese e-commerce giant said the positions would be generated through Alibaba adding 1 million small and medium-sized U.S. businesses to its platforms, estimating that each one will hire a new person as a result of the added commerce.
Secretive Biotech Unicorn Moderna Unveils Pipeline, Financials
Moderna Therapeutics Inc., one of the best-funded private biotechnology companies in the U.S., unveiled its long-secret research and development pipeline on Monday, including experimental vaccines, cancer treatments and a cardiovascular therapy. The Cambridge, Massachusetts-based startup has about $1.3 billion in cash on hand from investors, pharmaceutical partners and government grants, according to a presentation Monday at the J.P.Morgan Chase & Co.
Will Amazon’s Airborne Dreams Become Reality?
In December, it unveiled the first Amazon Go location, a convenience store without cashiers or checkout lines where cameras and artificial intelligence recognize what you take off the shelves and charge your account accordingly. Also last month, the company successfully made its first ever drone delivery, carrying popcorn and a Fire TV device to a customer in rural England, a trip from click to delivery that took just 13 minutes.
My 3 Biggest Stock Holdings in 2017
With 2017 underway, these three companies account for a larger portion of my portfolio than any other investments: Walt Disney . Here’s aquick overview of why I’m betting on these three companies — and what I consider to be their biggest risks.
How Will the Latest Government Lawsuit Affect Bank of America?
The Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation filed a complaint in federal court on Monday against Bank of America, alleging that the bank improperly accounted for counterparty risk. By doing so, the FDIC claims that Bank of America was able to reduce the premiums it pays for deposit insurance.
How Shopify Could Become Profitable by the End of 2017
The company has beenpublicly traded for about two years, and while its growth rates have been truly impressive, its losses have continued to grow. How much longer will investors have to wait to see some earnings benefit from all of that growth? According to management in the most recent earnings callon Nov. 2., it could be as early as the end of 2017.
Trump camp faces a complex scramble in avoiding potential conflicts
U.S. President-elect Donald Trump walks from an elevator with Alibaba Executive Chairman Jack Ma after their meeting at Trump Tower in New York on Monday. While promoting a Trump Tower condo development in South America last week, Eric Trump assured an Argentine newspaper that his family’s business was “in the first phase” of a building project in Buenos Aires.
Takeda Expands Cancer Business With $4.66 Billion Ariad Deal
Takeda Pharmaceutical Co. will expand its footprint in the U.S. oncology market with the $4.66 billion purchase of Ariad Pharmaceuticals Inc., adding one potential blockbuster in lung cancer and another already on-the-market therapy.
Yahoo Plans to Shrink Board, Change Name After Verizon Deal
Yahoo! Inc. Chief Executive Officer Marissa Mayer is among six directors who plan to leave the board of the investment company that will be left after the closing of the proposed sale of Yahoo’s main internet properties to Verizon Communications Inc. The new company, a shareholder in Alibaba Group Holding Inc. and Yahoo! Japan, will change its name to Altaba Inc. and reduce its board to five members as it looks ahead to its next chapter with fewer ties to the iconic brand, according to a filing Monday. Yahoo agreed to sell its web properties to Verizon in a deal valued at about $4.8 billion, though questions have come up after Yahoo revealed two separate hacks of user data.
Alphabet Said in Talks to Sell Skybox Satellite Business
Alphabet Inc. is in talks to sell the Skybox Imaging satellite business it acquired for $500 million less than three years ago, another sign the technology giant is ratcheting back grand ambitions to blanket the globe with internet service. Planet Labs Inc., a satellite imaging startup, may acquire Skybox, according to people familiar with the situation.