Maybe not so much in the US where the people are still largely unaware of most global financial events and currencies, and certainly of the historical role of gold. But the strong upward correlation of the US Dollar and Gold of late are evidence of a strong ‘flight to safety’ trade....
With operations spread across 70 countries worldwide, diversified technology firm 3M Company (MMM – Analyst Report) offers dynamic growth opportunities in a broad range of sectors with its flexible product lines. Portfolio management, investment in innovation and business transformation are the three key levers on which the company intends to focus moving forward. 3M also aims to continue investing in capital expenditures and research and development to support organic growth as it aims a capital structure strategy and increased capital deployment. However, given its international presence, adverse foreign currency translations are like...
Alcatel-Lucent S.A., a French global telecommunications equipment company, was recently acquisitioned by Nokia Corporation. Prior to the merging of the two companies, Alcatel provided Internet protocol (IP) and cloud networking, as well as ultra-broadband access across the globe. I Know First wrote a Seeking Alpha article about Alcatel-Lucent (ALU) on July 15th, 2015. The article argued that ALU stock would rise, in accordance with the algorithm’s bullish signal, for a couple of reasons. A new partnership the company forged with Nokia, along with two contracts solidifying a presence in China were thought to make ALU a global force in mo...
Nordson (NDSN) has the 14th longest dividend growth streak among U.S. public companies with 52 consecutive years of increases, but many investors have never heard of this dividend king. The company has sticky customer relationships, a large base of recurring revenue, extremely diversified end markets, low payout ratios, and even trades at about 15 times forward earnings. These are the types of businesses we like to own in our Top 20 Dividend Stocks portfolio. Business Overview NDSN was founded in 1954 and manufactures products used for dispensing adhesives, coatings, sealants, biomaterials, and other materials; for fluid management; for tes...
The Australian dollar recently declined somewhat against the US dollar as it closed at 0.7003. In the morning session, economic data revealed that December’s reading for business confidence dropped to 3.0, which was 2.0 points lower than the reading in November 2015 of 5.0. Other negative factors include the decline in the business conditions index from 10.0 in November 2015 to 7.0 in December 2015. The AUD/USD currency pair is likely to hit a support level of 0.6981, but if it breaks through that support level, it could move as low as 0.6947. Resistance is holding steady at 0.7049 and if that level is breached, the AUD/USD pair could hit...
Reading headlines about Coca-Cola (KO), you would think the company will be shutting its doors soon. Articles Like: The End of the Coke Era on Business Insider Coca-Cola: End of an Era? on Seeking Alpha Is This The End of Coca-Cola As We Know It? on NASDAQ Make it sound like Coca-Cola is on its last legs. People here Coca-Cola, and they think of the iconic soda; and they are right to – Coca-Cola is the global leader in soda. But there’s more to Coca-Cola than soda… Source: Coca-Cola Investor Relations Coca-Cola is the global leader in: Still (non-carbonated) beverages Ready-to-drink coffee Ready-to-drink juice The company has 20 br...
The Procter & Gamble Company (PG – Analyst Report) enjoys strong brand recognition with its consumer products sold in more than 180 countries. Its 21 Billion Dollar Brands like Tide, Pampers, Oral-B, that generate$1 billion to over $10 billion in sales annually, are some of the world’s most commonly used household names. However, the company operates in a challenging environment where market growth rates are constantly decelerating, mainly due to slow growth in developing markets. It has been struggling to grow sales which has been overshadowing its relatively better margins. Significant negative Fx impact, weak volumes, plann...
Photo Credit: Charis Tsevis United States Steel (X) Materials – Metals & Mining | Reports January 26, after the close. The Estimize consensus calls for EPS of -$0.82, still 3 cents higher than Wall Street, but reflecting a downward trend. Profit estimates have slid 64 cents in the past three months. Revisions activity for revenues are not as steep, but the current estimates of $2.515B still reflects a 12% drop during that period. What to Watch: After a dismal year, the steel industry is poised to continue its drop-off in 2016. China’s slowdown, which is expected to carry into 2016, has had huge implications for commodities and es...
The carnage always comes by surprise, often on an otherwise ordinary Saturday morning… The government declares a surprise bank holiday. It shuts all the banks. It imposes capital controls to stop citizens from taking their money out of the country. Cash-sniffing dogs, which make drug-sniffing dogs look friendly, show up at airports. At that point, the government is free to help itself to as much of the country’s wealth as it wants. It’s an all-you-can-steal buffet. This story has recently played out in Greece, Cyprus, Argentina, and Iceland. And those are only a few recent examples. It’s happened in scores of other countries throughou...
Back in August we noted that John Paulson managed to get himself and his investors involved in two rather dubious “firsts” in 2015: Puerto Rico became the first US commonwealth in history to default, and Greece became the first developed country to default to the IMF. “[Paulson] is one of a handful of bold hedge fund investors who poured hundreds of millions of dollars into Greece in a wager that the country’s economy would recover after years of economic crisis,” the New York Times wrote late last summer, on the way to explaining why the wealth management arm of Bank of America Merrill Lynch was liquidating its client...