Archive for June, 2013

• Morning News: June 14, 2013
  Eddy Elfenbein, June 14th, 2013 at 6:57 am

  Asahi to Ajinomoto CEOs Betting Abenomics Won’t Spur Inflation

  Obama-Merkel Cool as Leaders Together Standing Since 2009

  U.S. Plastics From Gas Threaten European Petchem Industry

  Nicaragua Approves Building Its Own Canal

  Jobless Claims in U.S. Drop as Steady Labor Gains Go On

  Exxon CEO Says Delays In Gas Export Permits Hurt U.S.

  Sequester Furloughs Hurt Airline On-Time Rates For April

  The Car Is The Next Major Tech Platform: GM’s CEO

  Refinancings Plunge as Bond Yields Rise

  ISS Urges Clearwire Shareholders To Vote Against Sprint Deal

  Morgan Stanley Explains The Two Simple Reasons Emerging Markets Are Getting Crushed

  Airbus A350 Lifts Off for First Flight Days Before Air Show

  Gannett to Buy Belo TV Stations, Continuing to Diversify Holdings

  Jeff Carter: Can a Government Create a Culture of Entrepreneurship?

  Stone Street: A Few Thoughts on Domestic Inflation

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• Summary of Q1 Earnings
  Eddy Elfenbein, June 13th, 2013 at 10:53 pm

  The first-quarter earnings season is on the books. Wendy Soong at Bloomberg has a nice summary. Overall, earnings were quite good. Adjusted earnings for the S&P 500 grew by 5% to $26.87. A total of 66.7% companies beat earnings, 24.3% missed earnings and 9.1% were inline.

• CR Bard Raises Dividend
  Eddy Elfenbein, June 13th, 2013 at 11:14 am

  In last week’s CWS Market Review, I said that I expected a dividend increase soon from CR Bard ($BCR). Sure enough, the company just announced a one-penny per share increase.

  The quarterly dividend will rise from 20 cents to 21 cents per share. Don’t be quick to dismiss a 5% increase so quickly. For one, these do add up over time. Bard’s dividend has doubled since 2002. Also, it’s a sign from the company that things are going well. A firm can do lots of things to its financial statement, but money paid to shareholders is something tangible.

  Bard also announced a $500 million share buyback program. Personally, I don’t care too much for these. It’s merely the “authorization.” I’d rather have the cash, but from a quality company like Bard, I view it as mildly positive.

• The Japanese Market Plunges
  Eddy Elfenbein, June 13th, 2013 at 10:08 am

  There have been some high-profile buyouts lately. Yesterday, Apollo Tyres of India said it’s buying Cooper Tire & Rubber ($CTB) for $2.5 billion, or $35 per share. Despite being a 43% premium, I still think they’re getting a good deal.

  Today we learned that Safeway ($SWY) is selling all of its Canadian stores to Sobeys for $5.7 billion. The deal leaves Safeway with about 1,400 stores that are mostly based in the Western U.S. The stock has gapped up about 17% this morning. Unfortunately, I think the jump in SWY takes away any compelling buying opportunity.

  The volatility in the Japanese market is reaching extreme levels. The Nikkei dropped -843 points today which was a loss of -6.35%. Even after the recent losses, the market in Japan has done incredibly well since late last year. There are now concerns that the government isn’t fully committed to the policy of inflating consumer prices. The yen has strengthened considerably against the dollar over the few weeks, which in turn has been good for AFLAC ($AFL).

  

  The government reported that initial jobless claims fell to 334,000 last week. We’re very close to the best report in years. In late April, we had 327,000 followed by 328,000 the next week. That was the lowest since 2007.

• Morning News: June 13, 2013
  Eddy Elfenbein, June 13th, 2013 at 7:19 am

  BOJ Shirai Says JGB Yields To Stabilize, Signals No New Steps

  Global Stocks Slide as World Bank Pares Outlook; Yen Up

  Conflicting Goals Complicate an Effort to Forge a Trans-Atlantic Trade Deal

  EU Urges U.K. to Probe Currency Rigging in Libor’s Wake

  RBS Chief Hester Ushered Out By Board

  Fannie, Freddie Shareholders Roll Dice, Sue Uncle Sam

  Policy Shifts Spook Clean Energy Investments

  Fed Taper Fear Stalks World Financial Markets: Cutting Research

  A Call For Google To Face A Tax Inquiry. Not That It Will Go Anywhere

  Google Details How It Hands Over Data To Federal Officials

  HP CEO Sees Possible 2014 Revenue Growth; Shares Up

  Gatekeepers of Cable TV Try to Stop Intel

  Hong Kong to Handle NSA Leaker Extradition Based on Law

  Cullen Roche: Japan…

  Joshua Brown: Bond Returns and Rates by Decade

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• Morning News: June 12, 2013
  Eddy Elfenbein, June 12th, 2013 at 6:56 am

  Euro-Area Industrial Production Unexpectedly Gains on France

  Export Slowdown Threatens Emerging Asia’s Credit-Fuelled Boom

  The World is Heading for an Oil Production Glut

  Can Bernanke Avoid a Meltdown in the Bond Market?

  SEC Puts Exchanges in Sights Charging Regulatory Lapses at CBOE

  Traders Said to Rig Currency Rates to Profit Off Clients

  Insurers Inflating Books, New York Regulator Says

  Vodafone Approaches Kabel Deutschland to Discuss Bid

  Glencore Xstrata Said to Raise $17.3 Billion of Credit Lines

  Inditex Shares Advance on Outlook for Profitability This Year

  Google Expands Its Boundaries, Buying Waze for $1 Billion

  Facebook CEO Gets a Grilling From Investors

  Boeing Scores Over $10 Billion in U.S. Aircraft Orders

  Credit Writedowns: When Will The Rise in US Mortgage Rates Hit Consumer Demand?

  John Hempton: Vodafone – Kabel Deutschland: Meet Vittorio Colao – the New Sir Fred Goodwin

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• The Buy List YTD
  Eddy Elfenbein, June 11th, 2013 at 11:29 am

  We’re nearing the half-way point and our Buy List (the red line) has finally pulled ahead of the S&P 500, but it’s still very close. Through yesterday’s close, our Buy List is up 16.16% to the S&P 500’s 15.19%. That doesn’t include dividends.

  

• 10-Year TIPs Yield Is Finally Positive
  Eddy Elfenbein, June 11th, 2013 at 10:40 am

  The yield on the 10-year TIPs has finally broken into positive territory. After all, lending your money to Uncle Sam for ten years ought to pay you something.

  

  Look how sharply the line has bent up, especially since late April. On April 26, the 10-year TIPs yielded -0.68%.

• Tuesday Has Lost Its Mojo
  Eddy Elfenbein, June 11th, 2013 at 10:26 am

  Tuesday is losing its magic! The U.S. market is down again today. The Bernanke of Japan, Haruhiko Kuroda, said they don’t need anymore stimulus. I have no idea if that’s right but it’s put a damper on our market. The VIX is up to 16.66 which is still pretty low.

  The Commerce Department said that wholesale inventories rose 0.2% last month. This is important because restocking of shelves won’t be a major factor in the Q2 GDP report. The first estimate will be out in late July.

  Gold is slipping again. The metal seems to have stabilized after its big April plunge. Gold is now around $1,373 per ounce and will soon test recent lows. Gold traders, however, have become very bullish.

  This week is still pretty much a snoozer.

• Morning News: June 11, 2013
  Eddy Elfenbein, June 11th, 2013 at 6:59 am

  BOJ Gov Kuroda: Not Necessary For BOJ To Extend Fixed-Rate Fund Supplying Ops For Now

  France, Germany Oppose EU’s Single Sky Reform Plans – Minister

  UN Climate Goals Possible With Efficiency Measures, IEA Says

  U.S. Crop Growth Seen Excellent While Plantings Stay Slow

  Lawsuit Challenges Takeover of Fannie Mae, Freddie Mac

  Regulators Turn Up Heat Over Bank Fees

  Citigroup Facing $7 Billion Currency Hit on Dollar, Peabody Says

  SoftBank Raises Sprint Offer, Wins Key Shareholder Support

  McDonald’s Global Comparable Sales Rise 2.6% In May

  Lululemon Stock Squeezed 15% On CEO’s Decision To Step Down

  Rare Protest Vote From Wal-Mart Shareholders

  Dole CEO Offers $12 Per Share To Buy Rest Of Company

  The Hunt is On For Edward Snowden

  Cullen Roche: Negative Earnings Guidance Weakest Since Q1 2001

  Jeff Carter: Where Are the StartUps?

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