Archive for August, 2013

• The 20-Year View
  Eddy Elfenbein, August 1st, 2013 at 11:50 am

  The S&P 500 broke 1,700 today. The index first broke 170 almost exactly 30 years ago today.

  

• DirecTV Earnings Miss
  Eddy Elfenbein, August 1st, 2013 at 11:19 am

  We had one disappointment today with DirecTV ($DTV). For the second quarter, DTV earned $1.18 per share which was 16 cents below expectations. Revenues rose 6.6% to $7.7 billion which was slightly below forecasts.

  The big problem for the satellite-TV company was Latin America. Analysts were expecting the Latam subscriber count to rise by more than 420,000. Instead, it rose by just 165,000. To put this into context, last year, DTV added 645,000 new subscribers in that region. The company said that macroeconomic conditions were partly to blame, especially in Brazil. In the U.S., subscriber count fell by 84,000.

  The stock is currently down about 3% today

• The S&P 500 Smashes 1,700
  Eddy Elfenbein, August 1st, 2013 at 10:13 am

  The stock market is up again today. For the first time ever, the S&P 500 broke 1,700. Our Buy List is also doing well, except for DirecTV ($DTV), which is down about 3% after a disappointing earnings report.

  The big jobs report is tomorrow, but today we learned that initial jobless claims dropped to a 67-month low. A total of 326,000 Americans filed for first time jobless claims last week.

  

  Since it’s the first trading day of the month, the ISM report came out this morning and the number was an impressive 55.4. The Street had been expecting 52.0. Any reading above 50 indicates the factory sector of the economy is expanding. Below 50 is a contraction. July was the best month in more than two years.

  

  Ford ($F) reported that sales rose 11% in July. It seems that a lot of contractors have been running out to replace their trucks they’ve had since before the recession. The AP reports, “F-Series truck sales rose 23 percent to 60,449, or one of every three vehicles Ford sold.” The stock is currently up to $17.10 per share.

• Morning News: August 1, 2013
  Eddy Elfenbein, August 1st, 2013 at 6:39 am

  ECB’s Draghi Can’t Afford To Sound All-Clear Yet

  Italy Banks Bad Loans Underline Southern Europe Malaise

  China Pledges to Keep Growth Within ‘Reasonable Zone’

  Shell to Chevron Move Offshore as Nigerian Risks Mount

  FOMC Keeps QE Juice Flowing At $85 Billion, Bernanke Taper Should Come Later This Year

  Obama to Nominate Raskin as First Female U.S. Treasury Deputy

  Swipe-Fee Rule Rejection to Help Merchants at Banks’ Cost

  Shell’s Earnings Fall in 2nd Quarter

  Dell Takeover Bid in Peril as a Voting Rule Remains

  Sony Reports $35 Million Net Profit For First Quarter

  Lloyds to Start Dividend Talks After Swinging Into Profit

  Sanofi CEO: Lower Earnings Won’t Affect Shareholder Return Policy

  ArcelorMittal Q2 Results Show Fall In Earnings

  Howard Lindzon: The Future is Messy…That is How You Make Money!

  Roger Nusbaum: Currency ETF Palooza

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