Coronavirus cases–and deaths–spread beyond China–Is this the feared shift to pandemic outside of China?
Today Japan reported the first two deaths from coronavirus among passengers quarantined on the Diamond Princess cruise liner, South Korea reported its first fatality, and new cases in Iran sparked fears that the disease is spreading in the Middle East. China tallied a...
SolarEdge rockets 17.94% today on analyst upgrades ahead of earnings today after the close
SolarEdge Technologies (SEDG) closed up 17.94% today ahead of fourth quarter earnings due after the close. Cascend Securities raised its target price on the shares by 17% during today’s session. Today’s jump will, of course, make it harder for the company...
It’s still a “Central banks to the rescue” mentality in the financial markets
U.S. stocks were up strongly today on news that the central banks of the United States and China were likely to continue to provide cheap–and cheaper–liquidity to financial markets and economies. In minutes of its January 29 Open Market Committee meeting...
China quarantines 760 million people–think that will have an effect on the economy?
We still don’t know if the coronavirus epidemic is slowing in China–the latest report shows deaths in China up 105 to 1,770 and the official number of cases climbing in mainland China to 70,548. Hubei province has reported 1,933 new cases, up from 1,843...
Raising target on Barrick Gold in Jubak Picks Portfolio and buying the shares for my Dividend Portfolio
Barrick Gold (GOLD) reported fourth quarter earnings of 17 cents a share on Wednesday, February 12. That beat the 14 cents a share estimate from Wall Street analysts for the quarter. A year ago the company earned 6 cents a share in the fourth quarter of 2018. But that...
China changes the way it counts coronavirus cases resulting in 13,300 more cases–and nobody really knows what this means
The calming words from the World Health Organization after Chinese health officials added 13,3000 cases to the total in Hubei province is that this is just a change in how cases are reported and NOT an indication that the epidemic, which has looked to be slowing over...
Unsustainable debt a danger? But it’s so far away, the markets say
Nobody wants to hear that U.S. government and consumer debt aren’t sustainable. Not President Donald Trump. Not the financial markets. Today, February 11, Federal Reserve Board Chair Jerome Powell told the House Financial Services Committee that it was important...
AbbVie continues its run–picks up momentum from Allergan results
Shares of AbbVie (ABBV) tacked on another 1.32% today to a close at $96 continuing a run that began back on January 31 at $81.02. The trend picked up momentum on February 7 after the company reported fourth quarter earnings with better than expected sales for its...
The challenge for the next ten years: Mediocre projected investing returns for a decade
Pickings look rather slim for investors over the next decade, according to the results of Morningstar’s annual survey of financial market forecasts. Certainly much slimmer than the extremely strong returns for U.S. stocks for the last decade. During that period...
Supply chain disruptions from coronavirus worse than earlier projected
Workers at Hon Hai Precision Industry (also known as FoxConn) were originally to be back at work at Apple’s (AAPL) largest manufacturing partner for iPhones today February 10. Then last week the company told workers to stay away from its Shenzhen headquarters...
Here’s why U.S. economy added 225,000 jobs in January, well above projections but U.S. stocks closed down
The U.S. economy added 225,000 jobs in January, well above the average 175,000 jobs added per month in 2019. And still markets fell. The Standard & Poor’s 500 dropped 0.54% and the Dow Jones Industrial Average closed down 0.94%. The NASADAQ Composite...
Gold is climbing while VIX falls and stocks set new records? But why?
Gold is supposed to go up when investors and traders are looking for safe havens and hedges against market volatility. So it makes sense the gold and gold mining stocks are gaining as coronavirus stalks through the land. Gold closed up 0.99% today to $1570.50 an...
What we still don’t know about the coronavirus, according to WHO, as Chinese workers begin to return to work
This was the summary of the coronavirus emergency at this morning’s World Health Organization press conference: As of this morning there are 28,060 confirmed cases of the coronavirus in China and 564 deaths. Outside China, there are 225 cases in 24 countries and...
Wall Street salivating over tomorrow’s official jobs report after strong ADP numbers
The ADP Research Institute report on private payrolls, released yesterday, showed a gain of 291,000 jobs in January. That blew away economist forecasts for 157,000 net new jobs in the month, according to Bloomberg’s survey of economists. The January gain would...
Markets decide coronavirus vaccine is just around the corner–is this a fear of missing the virus bottom rally?
Stocks took off out of the gate this morning on reports on Chinese television that said a drug being tested by researchers at Zhejiang University in China was effective against the virus. That speculation got further traction on news that China had started a clinical...
Where’s Xi? “People” are starting to wonder if his absence is a sign that the outbreak is still not under control
Chinese president Xi Jinping is NOT the face of the country’s fight against the spread of the coronavirus. He has not been pictured in the customary emergency photos visiting hospitals, doctors or patients. As the crisis ramped up, it was the premier, Li...
The huge market for Beyond Meat? Chicken nuggets and processed food
I’m trying to figure out the puzzle that is Beyond Meat (BYND), the only publicly traded plant-based meat stock. Is plant-based meat a revolutionary, category shattering food product? In which case shares of Beyond Meat are an absolute bargain even at $110.43 a...
Markets climb–it looks like short-covering to me
As of 1 p.m. in New York the Standard & Poor’s 500 was up 1.61% and the Dow Jones Industrial Average was ahead 1.59%. The NASDAQ Composite had climbed 1.94% and the Russell 2000 small cap index had gained 1.68%. Overseas the iShares MSCI Emerging Markets...
Shanghai stocks close 7.72% lower; damage today is limited to China holiday catch up
Selling in Shanghai and Shenzhen A shares, which trade on those two mainland China exchanges with limits on overseas ownership, drove prices on those two exchanges lower today with the Shanghai Composite down 7.72% and Shenzhen A shares down 8.41% at the close. This...
Shanghai down 9% in early Monday trading; drop is worse than expected
The CSI 300 Index (of the 300 largest stocks traded on the Shanghai Stock Exchange) plunged as much as 9.1% on Monday morning as the Shanghai Stock Exchange opened for trading for the first time since January 23. By 10:15 a.m. Monday in Shanghai (9:15 p.m. in New York...
Citigroup forecasts coronavirus will hit China GDP hard with growth to slow to 4.8% in first quarter
That 4.8% growth in the first quarter would come after 6% growth in the fourth quarter of 2019. The bank also cut its forecast for growth for the full 2020 year to 5.5% from 5.8%. Granted this is just one forecast at a time of extreme uncertainty. But I would note...
Beijing tries to control Shanghai downside drop on Monday
The big event of the week will take place at the very beginning of the week when the Shanghai Stock Exchange reopens for trading after being closed for a week for the New Year’s holiday. Mainland Chinese investors have been left on the sidelines unable to trade...
Does history point to a 6% drop when Shanghai Stock Exchange reopens on Monday?
The Shanghai Stock Exchange can be extremely volatile. Which is one reason that investors and traders are moving to the sidelines in U.S. and overseas markets today ahead of the reopening of the Shanghai exchange on Monday. So how volatile is volatile? The comparison...
Apparently no U.S. investor or trader wants to hold over the weekend
As of 3 p.m. in New York today, the Standard & Poor’s 500 was down 1.56% and the Dow Jones Industrial Average was lower by 1.89%. The NASDAQ Composite was holding up better with only a 1.27% drop. The small cap Russell 2000 continued as the weakest of the...
Tomorrow will be pivotal day for short-term momentum
U.S. markets continued to show a muted recovery from fears of the coronavirus outbreak today. The Standard & Poor’s 500 closed up 0.31% after spending time in the early afternoon in the red. The Dow Jones Industrial Average finished up 0.43% and the NASDAQ...
GDP up at 2.1% rate in 4th quarter but weakness emerges (or continues) in the numbers
The U.S. economy grew at a 2.1% annualized rate in the fourth quarter. That matches the growth rate for the third quarter and is slightly above the 2% growth predicted by economists surveyed by Bloomberg. Full-year GDP growth finished at 2.3% in 2019, the lowest of...
Gold in ETFs nears record; what’s next for the yellow metal?
Gold held by ETFs (exchange-traded funds) hit the highest level in seven years on Tuesday as investors and traders piled into the traditional hedge against uncertainty and stock market volatility. Worldwide gold holdings in ETFs rose to 2,561.2 tons as of Tuesday, the...
Today earnings and coronavirus news battled to a draw in the U.S. stock market; tomorrow?
The Standard & Poor’s 500 finished the day down a scant 0.09%. The Dow Jones Industrial Average was up 0.04%. The NASDAQ Composite was ahead 006$% and the Russell 2000 small cap index dropped 0.55%. The iShares MSCI Emerging Markets ETF ended the day higher...
One tiny bit of good news as coronavirus toll continues to mount
The bad news: The official death toll in China from coronavirus has risen to 132 with 5,974 cases confirmed of people infected with the virus. The number of patients infected now exceeds that in the SARS pandemic of 2002-2003. The death toll, thankfully, is much lower...Jim’s Daily Email Alerts:
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