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  • Finance 0

    Ambarella Rises After Reporting Quarterly Earnings Beat Expectations

    Shares of Ambarella (AMBA) are rising after the semiconductor design company reported better-than-expected earnings and offered guidance on Thursday. EARNINGS: After the market close on Thursday, Ambarella, a major supplier to camera maker GoPro (GPRO), reported third-quarter earnings per share of 75c on a revenue of $89.1M, exceeding analyst estimates of 67c and $88.97M, respectively. The company also forecast fourth-quarter revenue between $68M-$72M, in line with analyst estimates of $70.27M, and a gross margin between 62%-63% on a non-GAAP basis. GOPRO REVENUES SEEN DOWN: On Ambarella’s third quarter conference call, CEO Fermi Wang s...
    On December 1, 2017 / By
  • Finance 0

    Is Job Disruption Historically Low In The US Economy?

    Discussions of how advances in technology, trade, and other factors lead to disruption of jobs often seems to begin with an implicit claim that it was all better in the past when the assumption seems to be that most workers had well-paid, secure, and life-long jobs. Of course, we all know that this story isn’t quite right. After all, about one-half of US workers were in agriculture in 1870, down to one-third by early in the 20th century, and less than 3% since the mid-1980s. About one-third of all US nonagricultural workers were in manufacturing in 1950, and that has now dropped to about 10%. These sorts of shifts suggest that job disru...
    On December 1, 2017 / By
  • Finance 0

    5 Top-Performing Leveraged ETFs Of November

    Wall Street witnessed another solid month although concerns over the tax delay and high yield bonds’ sell-off triggered nervousness in the first half. The Dow Jones and the S&P 500 notched eighth straight month of gains, rising 3.6% and 2.6%, respectively. Hopes of the tax reform bill being passed as well as rounds of upbeat economic data were the major catalysts to improved stock performance in November. This is especially true as the U.S. economy is expanding at the fastest pace in three years according to the second GDP estimate of the Commerce Department and the highest level of consumer confidence in 17 years. Holiday optimism and ...
    On December 1, 2017 / By
  • Finance 0

    Will Your Portfolio Survive The Apocalypse?

    Obviously, I don’t mean a literal apocalypse (the stock market certainly won’t matter then), but rather investors who prepare for the absolute worst-case in the stock market that’s more aligned with how bad things got about 10 years ago during the great recession.  I was inspired by this piece from Investopedia which discusses the elements necessary to create an “apocalypse portfolio.” While I’m not going to suggest any specific stocks (though I will mention some companies by name), it will definitely help to take a look at areas of financial safety when it comes to investing in stocks. Are you ready? Hop...
    On December 1, 2017 / By
  • Finance 0

    51 Firms Going Ex-Dividend Next Week, Including Wal-Mart, Kohl’s And General Motors

    There are several well known large cap stocks going ex-dividend next week including the following seven Top 100 Dividend Stocks: Fluor, Kohl’s, Schlumberger, Mosaic, Wal-Mart, Occidental and Traveler’s. Ex-dividend dates are important to dividend investors because one must own a stock on its ex-dividend date in order to be eligible to receive its next dividend. Any stock ranked by our team as a Top 100 Dividend Stock is tagged. Company Name Stock Symbol Ex-Div Date Pay Date Div Payout Stock Price Yield Market Cap Anthem Inc ANTM 12/4/2017 12/21/2017 0.7 $220.03 1.27% 59.67 Banco Bradesco S.A BBD 12/4/2017 1/9/2018 0 $10.25 0.00% 59.58...
    On December 1, 2017 / By
  • Finance 0

    The Way Master Limited Partnerships Can Earn You Huge Dividends

    There is a disconnect between the market and a major source of dividend income for investors — MLPs, or Master Limited Partnerships. Master Limited Partnerships are publicly traded companies that enjoys the tax benefits of partnerships. That means most of the company’s cash goes to the partners — in this case, the shareholders. Most MLPs form around giant infrastructure projects like pipelines, oil storage, refining or some other energy industry entity. These are huge, boring projects that act as toll roads in the oil and gas industries. That means nearly every barrel of oil and molecule of gas pays some sort of toll to a Master Limited...
    On December 1, 2017 / By
  • Finance 0

    Is It Better To Have A Great Strategy Implemented Badly Or A Bad Strategy Implemented Well?

    I was at a presentation where Robin Speculand, Singapore-based author, and speaker, asked: Is it better to have a great strategy implemented badly or a bad strategy implemented well? Most people – about 4 out of 5 – raised their hand for the latter option. I raised mine for the former. We had a bit of debate about the whole thing, and most people felt it would be more desirable to have a great strategy implemented badly, as at least you would be heading in the right direction. Wrong. A great strategy implemented badly is no strategy at all, because you haven’t executed. You’ve done nothing. You’re moving nowhere. At least a bad st...
    On December 1, 2017 / By
  • Finance 0

    USD/CAD Eyes November-Low (1.2666) Ahead Of BoC Rate Decision

      USD/CAD gives back the advance from earlier this week as Canada added a staggering 79.5K jobs in November, with the 3Q Gross Domestic Product (GDP) report beating market expectations, and the pair may exhibit a more bearish behavior over the near-term should the Bank of Canada (BoC) show a greater willingness to further normalize monetary policy in 2018. Even though the BoC is largely anticipated to retain the current policy at its last 2017 interest rate decision on December 6, the central bank may strike a more hawkish tone as the ongoing improvement in the labor market pushes the Unemployment Rate down to an annualized 5.9%, the lowest ...
    On December 1, 2017 / By
  • Finance 0

    November 2017 Manufacturing Survey Growth Remains In Expansion

    The ISM Manufacturing survey declined insignificantly and remained in expansion. The key internals remained in expansion. The Markit PMI manufacturing Index, also released today, is in positive territory but declined. Analyst Opinion of the ISM Manufacturing Survey Based on these surveys and the district Federal Reserve Surveys, one would expect the Fed’s Industrial Production index growth rate to modestly decline. Overall, surveys do not have a high correlation to the movement of industrial production (manufacturing) since the Great Recession. From Bloomberg/Econoday:   Consensus Range Consensus Actual Markit Manufacturing 53.8 to 54....
    On December 1, 2017 / By
  • Finance 0

    Powell’s Hearing And Gold

    On Tuesday, Powell testified before the U.S. Congress. What do his remarks mean for the gold market? Yesterday, we wrote about Yellen’s last testimony before the Joint Economic Committee. Her remarks were very interesting, but – sorry, Janet – she is no longer the most important person at the Fed. Surely, she is still the Fed Chair, but markets are forward-looking. For investors, signals from Powell are now more important. So let’s analyze his Tuesday confirmation hearing before the Senate Committee on Banking, Housing, and Urban Affairs. Powell’s prepared remarks were rather short and cautious, and without any surprises. On mon...
    On December 1, 2017 / By