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  • Finance 0

    New Home Sales Surge But Prices Down Sharply; Prices Have Room To Fall; Is Everybody In?

    December new home sales surged well over the high end Econoday estimate.  The outlook for the housing sector just got a boost from a sharp jump in new home sales, up 10.8 percent to a 544,000 annualized rate that is 44,000 over the Econoday consensus and 24,000 over the high estimate. The gain, however, may have been boosted by discounting as the median price slipped 2.7 percent to $288,900 for a year-on-year rate of minus 4.3 percent. With builders slow to bring new homes to market, low supply remains a central factor holding back sales. Supply did rise 6,000 in the month to 237,000 but supply relative to sales fell back to 5.2 months from...
    On January 27, 2016 / By
  • Finance 0

    Did Star Wars Battlefront The Push Electronic Arts Ahead Of The Game?

    Photo Credit: Rebecca Williamson Electronic Arts Inc. (EA) Information Technology – Software | Reports January 28, After Market Closes Video game developer, Electronic Arts (EA), is responsible for some of the most popular games ever made. Some of these games include the Madden, FIFA, and NHL franchises along with several others. The Redwood City, CA based company is set to report its FQ3 2016 earnings tomorrow after the market closes. This quarter, EA is poised for another earnings surprise due to its success in video game sales and a new Netflix like PC gaming service. Star Wars Battlefront, one of 2015’s most highly anticipated ga...
    On January 27, 2016 / By
  • Finance 0

    What’s David Einhorn Up To?

    Greenlight Capital’s David Einhorn made a splash this week by seeking a seat on the board of troubled solar company SunEdison (SUNE). SunEdison’s stock is down nearly 90% since July, though Greenlight has been adding to its position since the beginning of this year and now owns about 6% of the company. Photo credit: InsiderMonkey While SunEdison is getting the headlines right now, I’m more interested in some of Einhorn’s other investments. Einhorn, like a lot of aggressive hedge fund managers, runs a concentrated long portfolio. So the movement of a single stock or two can have an outsized impact on his portfolio. And Einhorn —...
    On January 27, 2016 / By
  • Finance 0

    Highly Overvalued Market? Consider Employing These Strategies

    It is one of the hardest things for investors to do. What am I referring to? It’s this: Breaking away from the tendency, in making investment decisions, to be highly influenced by how things have been going lately, and then assuming such observations suggest that the same general type of results will carry forward for at least the next several years, if not indefinitely. While it may often be true that investments that have been doing well lately will continue to do well over the relatively shorter term, investors, in my opinion, should be much more cautious when ETFs/ stock funds appear to be showing signs of moderate to gross overval...
    On January 27, 2016 / By
  • Finance 0

    Boeing Beats Q4 Earnings Estimates, Profit Plunges Y/Y

    Aerospace giant The Boeing Company (BA – Analyst Report) delivered fourth-quarter 2015 adjusted earnings of $1.60 per share, confidently beating the Zacks Consensus Estimate of $1.25 by 28%. Earnings, however, plunged 30.7% from $2.31 per share a year ago, owing to the previously announced $569 million after-tax charge (84 cents per share) on the 747 program due to production cuts given the slow recovery in the air cargo market. On a GAAP basis, Boeing reported a profit of $1.51 per share, down 25% from $2.02 per share in the year-ago quarter. 2015 non-GAAP earnings were $7.72 per share, surpassing the Zacks Consensus Estimate of $7...
    On January 27, 2016 / By
  • Finance 0

    Stocks Storm Green, Oil Surges After Russia Says Will Discuss “Possible Production Cuts With OPEC”

    Those wondering what matters in this market, here is the answer: moments ago US stocks stormed into the green… … following oil which after some confusion after today’s massive DOE inventory build, has surged back over $32… … one just one piece of news: moments ago both Reuters and Bloomberg cited the CEO of Russia’s Transneft, who said that Russia and OPEC will discuss possible output cuts: BREAKING: Russia’s Transneft says Russia and OPEC will discuss possible output cuts -TASS It appears that Russian oil chiefs discussed coordination w/ OPEC at meeting with Energy Minister Alexander Novak, Bashneft ...
    On January 27, 2016 / By
  • Finance 0

    Apple’s Explosive Growth Era Ending? ETFs To Watch

    After the closing bell on Tuesday, Apple Inc. (AAPL – Analyst Report) disappointed investors’ with fiscal first-quarter results. Though the technology giant beat our estimates on earnings, it missed on revenues and reported the slowest-ever sales for iPhone, suggesting that the company’s period of exponential growth may be ending. Apple Results in Focus Earnings per share came in at $3.28, which comfortably surpassed the Zacks Consensus Estimate of $3.24 and improved from the year-ago earnings of $3.06. Apple has now surpassed earnings expectations for 11 quarters in a row. Revenues rose 1.7% year over year to $75.87 billion, but ...
    On January 27, 2016 / By
  • Finance 0

    General Motors Remodels For Millennials: Investors Should Buy Before Q4 Earnings

    In a continuing effort to hedge against the potential negative impact ride-sharing technology could have on new car sales, General Motors (NYSE:GM) has acquired the technology and assets of San Francisco-based Sidecar Technologies. This comes on the heels of its $500 million deal with Lyft, Inc. As a result, approximately 20 Lyft employees will be joining GM. This includes co-founder and CTO Jahan Khanna; however, co-founder and CEO Sunil Paul will not be making the move to the automaker. Neither GM nor Sidecar has disclosed the details of the acquisition, although some reports suggest the amount is less than the $39 million Sidecar rai...
    On January 27, 2016 / By
  • Finance 0

    EMC Corporation Misses On Q4 Earnings And Revenues

    Headquartered in Hopkinton, Massachusetts, EMC Corporation (EMC – Analyst Report) offers storage and security solutions for every layer of IT architecture. The company’s evolving product portfolio is focused on providing the infrastructure for Cloud Computing and Big Data. EMC Corp had earlier announced that it isbeing taken over by Dell Inc and private equity firm Silver Lake in a $67 billion deal. EMC shareholders will receive $24.05 per share in cash along with tracking stock related to a portion of EMC’s economic interest in VMware. VMware will continue to be a publicly traded company. Zacks Rank: Currently, EMC has a Zacks...
    On January 27, 2016 / By
  • Finance 0

    ETF Deathwatch For January 2016: Count Grows To 386

    Calendar year 2016 gets underway with 386 ETFs and ETNs on Deathwatch.The January list is 5.5% larger than December’s 366 and is the result of 30 additions and 10 escapees.The overall count consists of 284 ETFs and 102 ETNs.I am considering revising the criteria for ETF Deathwatch due to the quantity of closures in 2015 that had asset levels above the current $25 million cutoff level.However, I will wait until the quantity hits a new high before making changes to avoid artificially creating a new high due to altered criteria. In case you are wondering, the peak was 403 in September 2012, the only time it registered more than 400. I have be...
    On January 27, 2016 / By