Archive for July, 2020

• Morning News: July 10, 2020
  Eddy Elfenbein, July 10th, 2020 at 7:02 am

  A New World Order for the Coronavirus Era Is Emerging

  IEA Warns Oil Demand Recovery at Risk From Virus Resurgence

  China Auto Sales Bounce Back From Worst-Ever Quarter

  Biggest U.S. Banks Set for Worst Quarter Since Financial Crisis

  Don’t the Markets Know We’re Living In A Disaster Movie?

  A Coffee Chain Reveals Flaws in the Fed’s Plan to Save Main Street

  Hiring Outlook Remains Dim, With ‘Scarring in the Economy’

  ‘Disaster’ U.S. Earnings Loom, But Investors Try and Look Beyond

  ‘The Ultimate Hold’: Why Disney Has Investors Stuck In Place

  Amazon Plans At Least $100 Million to Keep Zoox Talent After $1.3 Billion Deal

  Tyson Turns to Robot Butchers, Spurred by Coronavirus Outbreaks

  Starting at $500,000: A Swiss Mountain Vault for Storing Riches

  Hedge Funds Duel in Bankruptcy Court Over McClatchy Newspapers

  Joshua Brown: Who Are You Talking To?

  Ben Carlson: It Depends

  Michael Batnick: Not Crazy Can Still Be Nuts

  Roger Nusbaum: COVID Forcing People To Retire?

  Be sure to follow me on Twitter.

• Jobless Claims Fall to 1.314 Million
  Eddy Elfenbein, July 9th, 2020 at 10:03 am

  This morning’s jobless claims report showed that 1.314 million Americans filed for jobless claims. That was below Wall Street’s forecast for 1.39 million. That was enough for the Nasdaq Composite to rally to another all-time high.

  Continuing claims fell sharply, dropping 698,000 from a week earlier to 18.06 million. The previous week’s total itself was revised down by 530,000. Wall Street had been expecting 18.9 million continuing claims, according to FactSet.

  Despite the better-than-expected numbers, this marked the 15th consecutive week that initial claims totaled above 1 million. Claims under the Pandemic Unemployment Assistance program also totaled 1.039 million, an increase of nearly 42,000 from the previous week.

  Danaher (DHR) is up to a new high this morning.

• Morning News: July 9, 2020
  Eddy Elfenbein, July 9th, 2020 at 7:03 am

  Rooftop Revolution: Coronavirus Upends Solar Industry

  World’s Wealthy Are Spending the Pandemic Weighing Succession

  Big Banks Aren’t Embracing Fed’s Main Street Loan Program

  Liquidity Conditions Are Making Markets Vulnerable, JPMorgan Says

  Robinhood Has Lured Young Traders, Sometimes With Devastating Results

  ‘Disaster’ U.S. Earnings Loom, But Investors Try And Look Beyond

  Covid-19 Is Bankrupting American Companies at a Relentless Pace

  Brooks Brothers, Founded in 1818, Files for Bankruptcy

  Musk Says Tesla Is ‘Very Close’ to Developing Fully Autonomous Vehicles

  The Man Who Led Wirecard Into Insolvency

  Ben Carlson: Animal Spirits: The Future of Education

  Jeff Carter: Free Markets Work

  Roger Nusbaum: Are Capital Markets Ergodic?

  Howard Lindzon: Chart Art – The Year 2020 is Full of Masterpieces

  Joshua Brown: “Just because you’re buying stock, doesn’t mean you’re an investor” & Space Jam

  Be sure to follow me on Twitter.

• U.S. Reports 60,000 New Cases
  Eddy Elfenbein, July 8th, 2020 at 10:31 am

  The U.S. just recorded a record spike of 60,000 new coronavirus cases yesterday. There’s talk that it could hit 100,000 cases.

  Despite the virus news, it looks like some folks are rushing back to the housing market. Mortgage applications are up 33% in the last year.

  Home prices gains continue to accelerate, so low mortgage rates are giving buyers much-needed help. The average contract interest rate for 30-year fixed-rate mortgages with conforming loan balances of up to $510,400 dropped to 3.26% from 3.29%. Points, including the origination fee, for loans with a 20% down payment decreased to 0.35 from 0.36.

  The market is holding steady this morning. We have new highs in FactSet (FDS) and Moody’s (MCO).

• Morning News: July 8, 2020
  Eddy Elfenbein, July 8th, 2020 at 7:03 am

  White House Warns Against Chinese Investment, Citing Risk of Further Sanctions

  The Virus Has Trapped $111 Billion of Luxury Spending in China

  U.S. Tech Giants Face Hard Choices Under Hong Kong’s New Security Law

  The Hottest Hedge-Fund Strategy Hits an Existential Crisis

  Many Americans Will Rein in Spending, Creating New Risk to Economy

  Coronavirus ‘Collateral Damage’ Hits U.S. Rural Power Providers

  Solar Deal Would Create a New Industry Giant

  Facebook Fails to Appease Organizers of Ad Boycott

  Disney World Draws Excitement and Incredulity as Reopening Nears

  As Big Airlines Retrench, Some Carriers Detect an Opening

  Ben Carlson: 5 Thoughts on a World with No Yield

  Howard Lindzon: Catching Up On My Investment Mistakes From The March Panic

  Joshua Brown: There Are A Lot Of “Textbook” Ideas That Won’t Survive Coronavirus And This Is One Of Them.

  Nick Maggiulli: Regrets

  Michael Batnick: Up and Down & Animal Spirits: The Future of Education

  Be sure to follow me on Twitter.

• Tech Vs. Everyone Else
  Eddy Elfenbein, July 7th, 2020 at 1:27 pm

  I thought this was an interesting chart. It shows two ETFs. The blue line is the S&P 500 Tech sector. The red line is the everything in the S&P 500 except the Tech sector.

  

  This really shows you how much tech has dominated the market. In fact, it may understate the role since Amazon is classified as a consumer discretionary stock.

• Morning News: July 7, 2020
  Eddy Elfenbein, July 7th, 2020 at 7:06 am

  EU Cuts Economic Forecasts for the Region, Now Projecting a 8.3% Slump This Year

  TikTok to Withdraw From Hong Kong as Tech Giants Halt Data Requests

  U.S. Firms in India Not Ready to Pay Digital Tax, Lobby Group Says

  Fed’s Bostic Sees Signs That Economic Activity Is Leveling Off

  Economists Call For More Direct Cash Payments Tied to the Health of the Economy

  Lobbyists, Law Firms and Trade Groups Took Small-Business Loans

  Zara Founder Unveils $17.2 Billion Global Real Estate Empire

  Palantir Technologies Files to Go Public

  Our Cash-Free Future Is Getting Closer

  Sunrun Acquiring Vivint in Shake-Up of Home Solar Market

  U.S. Government Awards Novavax $1.6 Billion for Coronavirus Vaccine

  Venture Firms Say We Didn’t Seek Bailouts Despite What Data Show

  Ben Carlson: Explaining the 2020 Stock Market

  Howard Lindzon: Momentum Monday…Enjoy the Gains…Keep an Eye on Page 10

  Joshua Brown: Chinese Stocks Break Out, The Most Expensive Stock on Earth & How to Turn Newborn Babies Into Future Millionaires!

  Be sure to follow me on Twitter.

• All-Time High for the Nasdaq
  Eddy Elfenbein, July 6th, 2020 at 4:32 pm

  Strong day for the market. The Nasdaq Composite closed at 10,433.65 which is an all-time high. Amazon closed above $3,000 for the first time ever.

  Becton, Dickinson (BDX) had a good day. The FDA gave emergency approval for its rapid antigen test for COVID-19.

  Disney‘s (DIS) streaming service, Disney+, got a big boost this weekend thanks to Hamilton. From Friday through Sunday, the mobile app was downloaded 513,323 times globally and 266,084 times in the United States.

• Close to a Four-Month High
  Eddy Elfenbein, July 6th, 2020 at 11:29 am

  We’re not quite there yet, but the S&P 500 is now within range of hitting a new four-month high.

  

• Buffett Finally Makes His Move
  Eddy Elfenbein, July 6th, 2020 at 10:13 am

  The stock market is up again today. This could be the market’s fifth daily gain in a row. The big news this morning is that Uber (UBER) is buying Postmates in an all-stock deal worth $2.65 billion.

  The other big story is that Warren Buffett is going into natural gas. Berkshire Hathaway (BRK-A) will buy the natural gas assets of Dominion Energy (D) for $10 billion. Berkshire has been sitting on a mountain of cash. According to financial statements, it was $137 billion, but Buffett said he has not seen any attractive deals.

  Goldman Sachs lowered its estimates for Q3 GDP growth. They originally saw GDP rising at a 33% annualized rate. They’ve lowered that to 25%. Later this month, the government will release its first estimate of Q2 GDP growth.

  The S&P 500 has been up as much as 1.4% this morning. Financial stocks have been particularly strong.