US equities are floating on a sea of liquidity and a gross mispricing of risks. Not to mention an exceptional sense of privilege and dare I say, arrogance, in the financial class. ...
The tax man has his eyes on you. He always does. And if your return shows income over $118,500 then the tax man will collect. Wages subject to Social Security jump 7.3% in 2017, to $127,200. That’s the largest single-year jump since 1983. About 12 million will be affected. Are you one of them? The Wall Street Journal reports Social Security Taxes to Rise for Higher-Income Americans. Nearly 66 million people, or roughly 1 in 5 Americans, receive Social Security and Supplemental Security Income payments from the U.S. government. Based on subdued inflation over the past two years, their benefits will see a 0.3% cost-of-living increase for 20...
Verizon Communications (VZ): Verizon is no longer just a communications company as its namesake would suggest. The company has been diversifying its portfolio to include fiber optic television, broad based media and even a developer of new technologies, particularly 5G networks. The telecom giant made a few headlines during the quarter including the $4.8 billion acquisition of Yahoo and the prolonged labor strike that took place over the summer. There have been some pitfalls to both stories that Verizon is working through. The labor strike and subsequent deal could have a bearing on earnings this quarter while Yahoo’s massive data breac...
The Baton Rouge real estate market continues to make significant progress in 2016. Although still below the national average, home prices and appreciation rates for Baton Rouge real estate have made their way back into the mix, with prices in the second quarter growing relative to last year. For Baton Rouge real estate investing purposes, gains in the last three years have extended the trend of positive price growth after the recession. Even better, the Baton Rouge housing market continues to see major improvements, as home affordability in Baton Rouge is now among the lowest in the country, which should benefit current and future investmen...
The ink wasn’t even dry yet on the just concluded historic, upsized and dramatically oversubscribed bond sales by Saudi Arabia which raised $17.5 billion in three tranches, pricing more cheaply than many investors had expected and virtually on the same as the recent similar bond issue by higher-rated Qatar, and Saudi Arabia was already begun spending the money. Roughly at the same time as the wire transfers were taking place, the Saudis were busy repaying debts to state contractors, after long delays that squeezed company finances and hurt investor sentiment. As London-based Capital Economics calculated, the total notional amount rai...
EUR/JPY Daily Chart Created Using TradingView Technical Outlook: EURJPY has been in consolidation since the June 24th Brexit sell-off with the pair now eyeing key confluence support after reversing off yearly trendline resistance earlier in the month. The support zone extends into the September low-day close at 112.26– a break below this key region shifts the focus to the July low at 110.82 and 2016 low at 109.21. Heading into tomorrow’s highly anticipated European Central Bank (ECB) rate decision, the short-bias is at risk as the pair approaches this support zone with key resistance eyed back at the 2016 trendline which con...
SOUTH SAN FRANCISCO, Calif., Oct. 19, 2016 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) — Sunesis Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (Nasdaq:SNSS) today announced the pricing of underwritten offerings of (i) 4,935,500 shares of its common stock at a price of $3.85 per share, and (ii) 1,558 shares of its non-voting Series C Convertible Preferred Stock (“Series C Stock”) at a price of $3,850.00 per share. Sunesis expects to receive combined gross proceeds of approximately $25 million from these offerings, before deducting the underwriting discount and other estimated offering expenses. Sunesis has granted the underwriters a 30-day option to purchase up to an additional 740,3...
In the latest sign of rising inflation, consumer prices continued to move upward during the month of September. This release adds further weight to PPI data released last week, which revealed that producer prices had also increased last month. The Fed now seems to have enough evidence to implement a rate hike later this year. Rising costs of gasoline, higher rents and costlier electricity were some of the primary triggers for last month’s higher consumer prices. Picking stocks gaining from this trend would be a good idea as the economy continues to strengthen. CPI’s Increase Highest in 5 Months The consumer price index moved up 0.3% in Se...
The Bank of Canada (BoC) released its October Monetary Policy Report (MPR) [1] in which it revealed that Canadian exporters continue to meet with resistance in world markets. This shortcoming continues to hold back overall growth in the near term, a condition that frustrates the efforts of the BoC in stimulating economic expansion. The BoC freely states that the “ profile for growth in Canada is now lower than projected in its July’s MPR”. For sometime, the BoC has pinned its hopes on exports expanding , especially in the second half of 2016, to make up for “ lost ground during the first half of 2016”.As a consequence, the BoC has d...
Housing starts plunged 9.0% but permits rose 6.3% in September according to a New Residential Construction report by the commerce department. The Econoday Consensus estimate for starts was 1.18 million units at a seasonally adjusted annualized rate (SAAR). The consensus missed by a mile. Starts came in at 1.047 million units. Permits rose to 1.225 million (SAAR), far ahead of the consensus estimate of 1.165 million units. Econoday calls the report “Deceptively Solid”. Highlights Starts are mixed but permits are up in what is a deceptively solid housing starts & permits report. Starts plunged what looks like a shocking 9.0 percent ...