Archive for May, 2018

• Morning News: May 31, 2018
  Eddy Elfenbein, May 31st, 2018 at 7:14 am

  Oil Prices Steady After Big Drop on OPEC Talks

  In a First For Germany, Hamburg Bans Diesel Engines on 2 Roads

  Hong Kong’s Stock Market Is Running Short of Integrity

  Brazil Oil Worker Strike Gains Steam in Another Blow to Government

  Fed Issues Draft to Revamp Volcker Rule in Dodd-Frank

  Kinder Morgan Starts Over

  Tesla Model 3 Gets CR Recommendation After Braking Update

  Buffett Proposed $3 Billion Uber Investment But Deal Crumbled

  Amazon Geoblocks Australia From U.S. Site as Tax Change Kicks In

  What Makes This CRISPR Stock Better Than the Rest?

  Singapore Airlines Will Relaunch the World’s Longest Flight, Which Will Cover More Than 10,000 Miles and Last 19 Hours

  Joshua Brown: It Works As Advertised & The New And Improved Retirement Pyramid!

  Jeff Miller: Ignore the Employment Report Punditry!

  Ben Carlson: Animal Spirits Episode 31: Stocks Are Not Bonds

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• Morning News: May 30, 2018
  Eddy Elfenbein, May 30th, 2018 at 7:26 am

  A Stopgap Government in Italy

  Brazil’s Crippling Trucker Protests Enter Day 9, Despite Suggestions Of A Deal

  Canada to Buy Kinder Morgan Pipeline for $3.5 Billion

  What Does The Partial Rollback Of Dodd-Frank Mean For The Largest U.S. Banks?

  U.S. Consumer Confidence Increases, Bolstered by Labor Market

  Justice Department Approves Bayer-Monsanto Merger in Landmark Settlement

  Microsoft Just Surpassed Alphabet’s Market Cap For The First time in 3 Years and The Race To Become The First Trillion Dollar Company Is Heating Up

  Salesforce Blows Past Earnings Targets and Forecasts a Stronger-Than-Expected Year

  Digital Advertising Firm Didit Close to Acquiring Gawker.com

  ‘Digital’ License Plates Are Coming, But At A Stiff Price

  Did We Say $1.5 Million? We Meant $10.9 Million. Firms Fix CEO Pay Flubs

  The Feds Just Charged a ‘Blockchain Evangelist’ Who Raised $21 Million While Claiming to Work With Disney and Apple

  Nick Maggiulli: Easy in Theory, Difficult in Practice

  Michael Batnick: How About Now?

  Cullen Roche: Why A Euro Break-Up Doesn’t Scare Me

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• Strong Defensive Day
  Eddy Elfenbein, May 29th, 2018 at 3:42 pm

  If you’re ever curious if a particular stock is a “defensive” stock or not, a simple test would be to see how it did on May 29, 2018. If it beat the market, then yes, it’s very likely a defensive stock.

  The stock market took a tumble today thanks to worries about Italy. The Dow is currently off about 400 points. Most of the damage has spared defensive stocks. By this, I mean sectors like REITs, Utes and Consumer Staples. Hormel is actually up today.

• “A Bull Walks Up the Steps, a Bear Jumps Out the Window”
  Eddy Elfenbein, May 29th, 2018 at 11:01 am

  There’s an old Wall Street expression that “a bull walks up the steps while a bear jumps out of the window.” (I’ve seen many different formulations of this quote.) The idea is that the market rises slowly while the downturns are sharp and fast.

  This is very true and it’s an important part of investing. We can even see this effect with the stock market this year. The S&P 500 peaked in late January, and it’s been pretty much sideways since then. Twice, the S&P 500 close more than 10% below its high which is the traditional boundary of a correction.

  

  But if we dissect this a bit, we can see a different market. The S&P 500 fell a combined 6.1% over two days, Friday, February 2 and Monday, February 5.

  Please note that I’m not saying that the market fall didn’t happen. Rather, I’m saying that the bulk of it happened in a very small timeframe. Those two days have always counted for most of the lost ground since January 26.

  I’ve often noticed that when people start debating if a market correction is going to happen is about the point the correction has passed.

• The Stock Market’s Compressed Range
  Eddy Elfenbein, May 29th, 2018 at 10:47 am

  Over the past 13 trading days, the S&P 500 has traded within a very narrow band. Not once has the index left the range of 2,698 to 2,742. That’s about 1.5%.

  

  The index is still above its 50- and 200-DMA; however, a retest may come soon. A narrow range could be the precursor to a strong move in either direction. For now, though, the market is listlessly drifting in a very narrow range.

• Morning News: May 29, 2018
  Eddy Elfenbein, May 29th, 2018 at 7:25 am

  Political Uncertainty in Italy, Spain Roils Markets

  Truckers’ Strike Paralyzes Brazil as President Courts Investors

  Oil Is Still Going To $80

  US and EU Dig in on Dispute Over Airbus Subsidies at WTO

  EU Proposes to Ban on Plastic Straws, Stirs, and Cotton Buds

  Bank Indonesia’s Call for Special Meeting Welcomed by Investors

  Dodd-Frank Rollback Will Reinvigorate Main Street

  Swiss Re `Open’ to Anchor Investor as SoftBank Talks Fail

  De Beers to Sell Diamonds Made in a Lab

  JAB to Buy Sandwich Chain Pret A Manger From Bridgepoint

  The World’s Biggest Ever Semiconductor Merger May Be Back on Track, Thanks to a China Thaw

  Tech-Savvy Buskers Now Accepting Card Payment

  Lawrence Hamtil: Your Focus Should Be On Risk, Not Reward

  Howard Lindzon: Momentum Monday – Software is Hungry All The Time

  Roger Nusbaum: Creating Your Own Antifragility

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• Morning News: May 28, 2018
  Eddy Elfenbein, May 28th, 2018 at 6:36 am

  OPEC and Allied Producers Have Already Cleared Oil Surplus

  The Next Privacy Battle in Europe is Over This New Law

  Why Voters Are Unlikely to Punish Erdogan for the Lira Turmoil

  Brazil Reaches New Deal to End Truck Drivers’ Strike

  Why India’s New Bankruptcy Law is Reshaping Big Business

  Qualcomm to Meet China Regulators in Push to Clear $44 Billion NXP Deal

  Money Is About to Flow Into China, Just as It Pours Out of Tencent

  China Industrial Profit Growth Accelerates on Improved Margins

  Bombardier Plans Two New Luxury Aircraft Amid Growing Demand

  Thousands of Chipotle Workers Could be Shut Out of Wage-Theft Lawsuit by New Supreme Court Ruling

  Here’s the Maximum Social Security You Can Get If You Claim at 62

  Vintage Levis Jeans First Bought In 1893 Sells For Nearly $100K

  Ben Carlson: Playing in Traffic

  Jeff Miller: Should Investors Ignore the Shifting Geopolitical Winds?

  Roger Nusbaum: Revisiting Ranchester

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• Spam Recall
  Eddy Elfenbein, May 27th, 2018 at 3:29 pm

  From Money Magazine:

  Spam lovers beware.

  A recall has been issued for 228,614 pounds of the famous canned meat product due to contamination from shards of metal.

  The recall was announced Saturday after Hormel Food Corp., which manufactures Spam, “received four consumer complaints stating that metal objects were found in the canned products,” according to the United States Department of Agriculture.

  The types of Spam affected are 12-ounce “Spam classic” cans, which were shipped nationally across the U.S., and 12-ounce “Hormel Foods Black-Label Luncheon Loaf” cans, which were only shipped to Guam.

  The canned meat products were produced Feb. 8 through Feb. 10 and the USDA’s Food Safety and Inspection Service said it is concerned some of the Spam product may still be in people’s homes.

  While only reports of “minor oral injuries” have been reported, anyone worried about further sickness or injury should get in touch with a health care provider. Regardless of illness, any Spam cans fitting the description “should be thrown away or returned to the place of purchase,” according to the USDA.

  Here’s what to look for on the labels of Spam to check whether you have a potentially contaminated product:

  Spam Classic: a “best by” date of February 2021 and production codes: F020881, F020882, F020883, F020884, F020885, F020886, F020887, F020888 and F020889.
  Hormel Foods Black-Label Luncheon Loaf: a “best by” date of February 2021 and production codes F02098 and F02108.
  If you have any questions or concerns about the recalled Spam you can contact Hormel Foods’ consumer response at (800) 523-4635.

• Reagan’s Remarks at the Veterans Day 1985
  Eddy Elfenbein, May 27th, 2018 at 2:08 pm

  This is Ronald Reagan’s speech for Veteran’s Day in 1985, but I thought it was appropriate for Memorial Day.

• Hormel Rebounds
  Eddy Elfenbein, May 25th, 2018 at 11:04 am

  We had two earnings reports yesterday. Hormel Foods was in the morning and Ross Stores was after the close.

  Yesterday, Hormel opened sharply lower but moved back up as the day wore on. We saw the same thing happen recently with Cerner. That seems to be a common move — traders panic and only slowly regain their senses.

  

  Ross Stores is down this morning just as HRL was yesterday. We may see another rebound. Their earnings report looked just fine to me.