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  • Finance 0

    Market Talk – Tuesday, April 25

    Monday’s Asian trading needed to see Europe and the US reaction before getting too carried away and that is probably what we saw today. With all core indices seen making strong progress we saw another good day for the Nikkei (+1.1%), a healthy 1.3% return for the Hang Seng and KOSPI whilst the Shanghai and ASX gained around +0.25%. China continues to lag due mainly to the exodus of investment flows. Increased regulations on Chinese banks is halting the usual money flow to external managers and has even reversed. Over the past few days the flow has stopped which is having a negative impact on domestic bond prices, which hit their highest yie...
    On April 25, 2017 / By
  • Finance 0

    Should You Skip On TripAdvisor’s Dip?

    Ever since Trip Advisor rolled out their Instant Booking platform to become a one-stop shop for travel, their stocks have been suffering. Do we think it is all going downhill from here? Or do we think this is just a teething phase and its a good time to buy on the dip before it rebound? 1- Fundamental Points Who the heck are they? Needham, Massachusetts-based TripAdvisor (TRIP) is one of the first websites I visit whenever I think of a travel destination. They use their in-depth travel related reviews to rate and rank popular travel destinations, hotels, and restaurants. Many travelers hold TripAdvisor’s rankings in high regard, and base th...
    On April 25, 2017 / By
  • Finance 0

    Volatility Crashes, New Tech Highs, And 2000 Vs. 2017

    It’s only Tuesday, but what a week it’s been thus far in the equity markets… Volatility Crashes On Monday we saw the 4th largest decline in history for the Volatility Index (VIX), a 25.9% drop. This crash in volatility may sound familiar as #7 (post-election, 11/9/16) and #11 (post-Brexit. 6/28/16) also occurred within the last year. With increasing frequency, it seems, expectations of higher volatility in the options market due to some perceived negative event (this time: the French elections) do not pan out. Speaking of volatility, on Monday the S&P 500 finished up over 1%, which is not notable at all except for the fact that it...
    On April 25, 2017 / By
  • Finance 0

    Capital One Financial Corp. Q1 Profit & Revenue Badly Miss Estimates

    Capital One Financial Corp. (NYSE: COF) late Tuesday posted much worse than expected first quarter earnings results, with both profit and revenue significantly trailing Wall Street’s view....
    On April 25, 2017 / By
  • Finance 0

    3 Real-World Case Studies: How Spinoffs Unlock Shareholder Value

    Investors sometimes face the peculiar scenario of one of their holdings spinning off selected assets as a new, publicly-traded security. Often, there is uncertainty surrounding these new estimates. Since markets hate uncertainty, one might expect that spinoffs underperform the market… This is not the case. There is a statistically significant body of research to support the belief that spinoffs outperform the market. Managers that with strong capital allocation skills have recognized that mispriced assets can often appreciate in value when trading as independent entities, and have acted accordingly. This article will analyze three notable...
    On April 25, 2017 / By
  • Finance 0

    Chipotle Mexican Grill, Inc., AT&T Inc. Shares Rise On Earnings

    Chipotle Mexican Grill (CMG) and AT&T (T) released their latest earnings reports after closing bell tonight. Chipotle posted earnings of $1.60 per share on $1.07 billion in sales, compared to the Wall Street estimates of $1.29 per share and $1.05 billion. In the same quarter a year ago, the fast-casual dining chain reported 88 cents per share in losses on $834.5 million in sales. AT&T posted adjusted earnings of 74 cents per share on $39.4 billion in revenue, while Wall Street was looking for 74 cents per share on $40.57 billion in revenue. In the year-ago quarter, the company reported 72 cents per share and $40.5 billion in revenue. ...
    On April 25, 2017 / By
  • Finance 0

    Will Margins Revert To The Mean?

    As was mentioned in a previous article, the 12-month earnings which includes Q1 2017 are below the Q3 2014 peak. This 6.3% decline cannot be emphasized enough given misleading headlines about earnings growth driving stocks higher. If earnings falling didn’t push stocks lower, you can’t make the case that earnings growth is pushing them higher. While earnings are down 6.3%, margins are much closer to their peak. Margins peaked at 10.10% in Q3 2014; they are now at 9.95%. That’s only about a 1.5% decline which signals revenue growth hasn’t rebounded as quickly as earnings have. One aspect of the debate between the bulls and the bears is...
    On April 25, 2017 / By
  • Finance 0

    Daily Trading Opportunities – Thursday, April 26

    During the session on Wednesday, we get a handful of announcements that could move the marketplace. Of most interest will of course be the Crude Oil Inventories announcement considering how soft oil has been over the last several sessions. WTI Crude Oil West Texas Intermediate Oil has struggled over the last several sessions, and on Tuesday tried to rally but found the $49.50 level far too resistive. If the number comes out bearish, this market could start reaching towards the $48 level next as put buyers will more than likely flood the market. Start Trading Oil Binary Options Gold Put buyers continue to jump into the gold market, but we are ...
    On April 25, 2017 / By
  • Finance 0

    Stocks And Precious Metals Charts – Dear Mr. Fantasy – Precious Metals Option Expiration

    Another ‘risk on’ day after the French have seemingly chosen a neo-liberal businessman for their front runner, and our own version of this, with less panache, has signaled as intention to cut the US corporate tax rate to 15%. If that 15% became like an Alternative Minimum Tax for corporations it might be a good idea, since so many of the big ones game the system and pay little to nothing in taxes. Rumor has it that the wealthy will also be enjoying a personal tax cut.  VIX, a measure of volatility and ‘risk’ is back down towards the lows of the year. The US Dollar DX Index moved lower again, as part of the risk revers...
    On April 25, 2017 / By
  • Finance 0

    Trade War Sparks Stock Surge Amid Biggest Short Squeeze Since Trump’s Election

    This… Stocks continue to soar… but once again it was the overnight gap open –  Trannies were red on the day but Nasdaq record highs above 6,000; Dow over 21,000, Small Caps record high       Nasdaq broke above 6,000 to new record highs.. because fundamentals…   Despite further collapse (to 10-week lows) in ‘soft’ survey data…   Amid the biggest short-squeeze since the election…   With USD/JPY taking over today from VIX (crushed yesterday) as the momentum igniter…   And meanwhile 3m implied vol for the S&P 500 (not VIX) dropped to a 9 handle – lowest we could find…...
    On April 25, 2017 / By