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  • Finance 0

    Bear Of The Day: JetBlue (JBLU)

    JetBlue Airways Corporation (JBLU – Free Report) is getting hit by rising costs. This Zacks Rank #5 (Strong Sell) is expected to see a double-digit decline in earnings in 2018. JetBlue operates a low-cost airline with its main hub being New York. It is also a leading carrier in Boston, Fort Lauderdale-Hollywood, Los Angeles (Long Beach), Orlando, and San Juan. JetBlue carries more than 40 million customers a year to 102 cities in the U.S., Caribbean, and Latin America with an average of 1,000 daily flights. Ratified Its First Ever Pilot Contract On July 27, JetBlue ratified its first-ever pilot contract with the Air Line Pilots union...
    On August 16, 2018 / By
  • Finance 0

    JCPenney Crashes To Record Lows As Default Risk Soars

    JCPenney shares are down over 20% this morning in the pre-market… …trading below $2 for the first time in its almost 40 year history… …after posting a wider-than-expected quarterly loss and disappointing sales. The struggling department-store chain, which has been without a chief executive since May, also lowered its forecast for the year, and now expect a loss. Chairman Ronald W. Tysoe gave an update on the CEO search in the earnings statement. “The process is going well and the Board has met with highly qualified candidates who have expressed a strong desire to become the next leader of JCPenney,” Tysoe said...
    On August 16, 2018 / By
  • Finance 0

    Weekly Unemployment Claims: Down 2K, Beats Forecast

    Here is the opening statement from the Department of Labor: In the week ending August 11, the advance figure for seasonally adjusted initial claims was 212,000, a decrease of 2,000 from the previous week’s revised level. The previous week’s level was revised up by 1,000 from 213,000 to 214,000. The 4-week moving average was 215,500, an increase of 1,000 from the previous week’s revised average. The previous week’s average was revised up by 250 from 214,250 to 214,500. [See full report] This morning’s seasonally adjusted 212K new claims, down 2K from the previous week’s revised figure, was better than the I...
    On August 16, 2018 / By
  • Finance 0

    Boiling A Turkey

    There is an age old fable describing a frog being slowly boiled alive. The premise is that if a frog is put suddenly into boiling water, it will try and save itself. However, if the frog is put in tepid water which is then brought to a boil slowly, it will not perceive the danger and will be cooked to death. The metaphor is often ascribed to the inability, or unwillingness, of people to react to or be aware of threats which arise gradually rather than suddenly. This metaphor was brought to mind as I was writing last weekend’s newsletter discussing the issue of Turkey and the potential threat posed to the global economy. Specifically, I w...
    On August 16, 2018 / By
  • Finance 0

    Hello, Yuan Bears? China Will Be Squeezing You Now. Have A Nice Day

    Good news: the offshore yuan rallied the most in three weeks on Thursday, snapping a six-day losing streak in the process, thanks to a variety of factors, including the apparent restart of trade negotiations between Beijing and Washington. On Wednesday evening, the Chinese Ministry of Commerce said the U.S. has invited a Chinese delegation to Washington for talks in “late August”. It’s far from clear that’s anything to get overly excited about and indeed, the Ministry’s statement sounded a cautious tone. “The Chinese side reiterated that it opposes unilateralism and trade protectionism and does not accept any unilateral tra...
    On August 16, 2018 / By
  • Finance 0

    Higher Again, Correction Over?

    The U.S. stock market indexes lost between 0.6% and 1.2% on Wednesday, extending their short-term downtrend, as investors’ sentiment further worsened. The S&P 500 index got very close to the level of 2,800 before bouncing off that support level. It currently trades 1.9% below the January’s 26th record high of 2,872.87. The Dow Jones Industrial Average lost 0.6% and the technology Nasdaq Composite lost 1.2% on Wednesday. The nearest important level of support of the S&P 500 index is now at around 2,800-2,805, marked by the recent local lows. The next level of support is at 2,780-2,790, among others. On the other hand, t...
    On August 16, 2018 / By
  • Finance 0

    Fed Remains On Track To Raise Rates Again In September

    The recent turmoil in emerging markets hasn’t deterred the Federal Reserve from lifting interest rates at next month’s monetary policy meeting, according to analysts, Fed funds futures, and the recent trend in inflation-adjusted base money supply. A handful pundits still wonder whether the escalating financial crisis in Turkey, which has weighed on stocks and bonds in emerging markets generally, could be a factor in delaying and perhaps even derailing the Fed’s plans for squeezing monetary policy. A possible trigger: a further deterioration in economic conditions in emerging markets in the wake of Turkey’s recent troubles. “The risk...
    On August 16, 2018 / By
  • Finance 0

    Walmart Soars 8% On Strongest Comps In 10 Years, Outlook Boost; Dow Futs Rise

    Walmart stock is soaring 8% in the premarket, pushing Dow futures even higher – WMT has a 2.4% weighting in the DJIA – after reporting earnings that smashed expectations and boosted guidance. The company reported Q2 EPS of $1.29, above the highest Wall Street estimate (consensus 1.22, range 1.17-1.28), on revenue of $128BN, also above the highest forecast (consensus $126BN, range $124.6BN-$127.5BN). The company reported U.S. comps sales ex-fuel up 4.5%, more than double the estimate of 2.2%, and the strongest Walmart U.S. comp. in more than 10 years, led by grocery, apparel, seasonal. Wal-Mart U.S. traffic was up 2.2% y/y, while...
    On August 16, 2018 / By
  • Finance 0

    Indian Share Markets End Lower; Metal Stocks Top Losers

    Indian share markets settled lower today led by a fall in the financial stocks after the rupee hit a record low of 70.32 per dollar. At the closing bell, BSE Sensex ended down by 188 points, while, NSE Nifty ended down by 50 points. Except for healthcare stocks, IT stocks and automobile stocks, all sectoral indices ended the day in red with metal stocks and capital goods’ stocks leading the losers. Globally, Asian stock markets finished lower today with shares in Hong Kong leading the region. The Hang Seng is down 0.8% while China’s Shanghai Composite is off 0.7% and Japan’s Nikkei 225 is lower by 0.1%. E...
    On August 16, 2018 / By
  • Finance 0

    Billionaire Mark Cuban’s Two Favorite Stock Holdings

    ‘Shark tank’ investor Mark Cuban knows a thing or two about making money. So when he speaks, investors listen. And now he has revealed some of his favorite stock bets. There aren’t many of them, but here they are: “I’m down to maybe four dividend-owning stocks, two shorts, and Amazon and Netflix. I’ve got a whole lot of cash on the sidelines,” Cuban told CNBC.” “[I’m] ready, willing and able if something happens” to invest. “If I get a feeling that [economic] growth will continue at 4-plus percent and the debt will then come down, then I’ll get back into the market,” said Cuban. With this in mind, we turned to W...
    On August 16, 2018 / By