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Finance 0
Clueless In Davos
Making their annual pilgrimage to the exclusive Swiss ski sanctuary of Davos last week, the world’s political and financial elite once again gathered without having had the slightest idea of what was going on in the outside world. It appears that few of the attendees, if any, had any advance warning that 2016 would dawn with a global financial meltdown. The Dow Jones Industrials posted the worst 10 day start to a calendar year ever, and as of the market close of January 25, the Index is down almost 9% year-to-date, putting it squarely on track for the worst January ever. But now that the trouble that few of the international power po... -
Finance 0
Is The Euro Heading For Parity With The U.S. Dollar?
According to analysts at Goldman Sachs, the Euro was meant to reach parity with the U.S. Dollar by Christmas last year. That didn’t happen, however, and the closest it got was 1.0458. Sitting at 1.0827 at the time of this writing, some pundits have opined that this year may be the year that we’ll see the two currencies finally reach parity. The European Central Bank seems to be helping that happen. Last week, the ECB, led by Mario Draghi, released a statement leaving its deposit rate unchanged at -0.30%. Noting that “downside risks have increased again,” Draghi defended the central bank’s decision while its effects pushed the Euro d... -
Finance 0
The Coming Bull Market In Gold
My loyal followers are well aware that I have been bearish on gold for the past five years. However, it may be time for me to change that view. A number of fundamental factors are coming into play that will have a long-term positive influence on the price of the barbarous relic. The only question is not if, but when the next bull market in the yellow metal will begin. All of the positive arguments in favor of gold all boil down to a single issue: they’re not making it anymore. Take a look at the chart below and you’ll see that new gold discoveries are in free fall. That’s because falling prices have caused exploration budgets to fall o... -
Finance 0
Are Markets Sending A Message To The Fed?
The BOE/BOJ/ECB inspired rally seems to have ended with a fresh “risk off” mode favoring only the euro and the yen. As the tension mounts towards the Fed decision, the pressure is mounting for a dovish stance to ease the pain, but this is not guaranteed. Carney has another opportunity to move the pound and a few US indicators could move markets, most notably US consumer confidence. Wrap up of the morning show, as turbulence returns to markets. Video Length: 00:04:13... -
Finance 0
Lockheed Martin Tops Q4 Earnings And Revenues
Lockheed Martin Corporation (LMT – Analyst Report) is the largest U.S. defense contractor with a platform-centric focus that guarantees a steady inflow of follow-on orders from a leveraged presence in the Army, Air Force, Navy and IT programs. However, a large percentage of Lockheed Martin’s business comes from the U.S. government. Hence, any cutback in the domestic defense budget is a potential risk for its future performance. Estimate Trend & Surprise History Investors should note that the fourth quarter Zacks Consensus Estimate for earnings of $2.93 per share has increased 0.7% over the last 7 days. Coming to the earnings su... -
Finance 0
Two Tech Stocks To Play The Auto Industry’s $31 Billion Opportunity
I’ve been driving my new 2016 Acura MDX – the most “connected” car I’ve owned yet – for well over a month now. And my family and I still love it – this beauty drives like a dream. This car is loaded with proto-self-driving technologies – known as advanced driver assistance systems (ADAS) – like lane-keeping assistance and adaptive cruise control. And that’s not even getting into its voice-guided navigation and souped-up dashboard infotainment system. The 2016 Acura MDX is loaded with “connected” car features, such as ADAS and tech-driven infotainment and dashboard systems. That’s not to say the car is perfe... -
Finance 0
Getting A Handle On Italy’s Banks
Reports indicating that Italy is close to establishing a bad bank prompted one wag to ask if Italy does not already have enough. The country may be better served by setting up a good bank. The sharp sell-of in shares of Italian banks this year is an important driver of G7-leading 12.4% slide in the local bourse this year. The Renzi government has been trying to establish a “bad bank” to warehouse the non-performing loans (NPLs) that are hardening the arteries of Italy’s financial system, and contributing to the economy’s sclerosis. However, he has found it difficult to secure the EC’s approval. First, t... -
Finance 0
Gold Is In A ‘Flight To Safety’
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.... -
Finance 0
3M Beats On Q4 Earnings, Reiterates 2016 Outlook
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... -
Finance 0
ALU Merger Boosts Share Prices
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...
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