Morning News: October 4, 2017
Posted by Eddy Elfenbein on October 4th, 2017 at 7:06 am

Desperate Medicine for Indian Markets

E.U. Targets Amazon and Apple in Tax Avoidance Campaign

EU Takes Ireland to Court For Not Claiming Apple Tax Windfall

Here’s Who Really Holds Power at the Fed

Trump Vows to Wipe Out Puerto Rico’s Debt. Can He Do That?

Equifax And Wells Fargo Apologize To Congress; Lawmakers Not Buying It

Forget Mac vs PC, or iPhone vs Android — The Next Great Battle is Between Google and Amazon

Ford’s Plan For More Smart Vehicles And Services Won’t Work If It Doesn’t Fix Its Business Today

Uber’s Board Reduces Kalanick’s Clout, Backs SoftBank Investment

All 3 Billion Yahoo Accounts Were Affected by 2013 Attack

Nestlé Can Head Off a Fight With Dan Loeb

Mylan Surges as its Generic of Teva’s Copaxone Gets FDA Nod

Ben Carlson: Financial News Doesn’t Rhyme But It Does Repeat Itself

Cullen Roche: Goldman Sachs: No Signs of Recession

Howard Lindzon: Global Synchronized Growth …Momentum Monday (Wednesday Edition)

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Even With/Due To
Posted by Eddy Elfenbein on October 3rd, 2017 at 1:51 pm

I noticed this headline at TheStreet:

Even With Stocks at Records, Volatility Sits at Multi-Year Lows

This gets it backwards. More accurately, the headline should read “Due to Stocks at Records, Volatility sits at Multi-Year Lows.”

Warren Buffett on the Fed
Posted by Eddy Elfenbein on October 3rd, 2017 at 1:41 pm

Buffett was asked today if investors need to pay attention to who becomes the next Fed chair. His answer:

I don’t spend time thinking about it. It wouldn’t do me any good to think about it. I wouldn’t know the answer in the end. Most of the time, the Fed is not that important. Occasionally, it’s everything. It’s the only game in town.

Warren Buffett: Don’t pay much attention to the Fed from CNBC.

Warren Buffett: Stock valuations make sense right now
Posted by Eddy Elfenbein on October 3rd, 2017 at 1:29 pm

Warren Buffett: Stock valuations make sense right now from CNBC.

Market Updates at 11:30
Posted by Eddy Elfenbein on October 3rd, 2017 at 11:34 am

Shares of Sherwin-Williams (SHW) are up about 3% this morning. I suspect it has to do with Lennar’s earnings report. The homebuilder beat expectations, and this may suggest that the damage from the storms wasn’t as bad as expected. SHW is up to a new high today. The stock is now up 38% YTD for us.

Shares of HEICO (HEI) are trading lower today. I think that’s due to a downgrade from Zacks.

There were two good economic reports yesterday. The first was the very good ISM. The ISM for September came in at 60.8. That’s the strongest number since 2004. Wall Street had been expecting 58.0. This tells us that the manufacturing sector is still healthy.

Also, the Census Bureau said that construction spending rose 0.5% in August. Construction spending is up 2.5% in the last year.

How Spam Became an Icon
Posted by Eddy Elfenbein on October 3rd, 2017 at 10:03 am

Interesting look at Hormel’s classic brand:

In a 2012 paper, marketing researchers Rajeev Batra, Aaron Ahuvia and Richard P. Bagozzi developed a model of “brand love.” Based on studies on consumers’ brand attachment, they showed that in order to form meaningful attachment with brands, consumers need to experience them in ways beyond simply buying and using the product.

Hormel seemed to intuitively understand these ideas. Simply selling a cheap, useful product wouldn’t be enough. In creative and humorous ways that went beyond traditional advertising, they appealed to consumers by positioning the brand as a patriotic food that reflected American ingenuity – with a streak of eccentricity.

In the years after the war, the Hormel Girls – a musical troupe of female World War II veterans – traveled the country performing songs and promoting the product. The group even starred in a top-rated radio show on three national networks.

Since then, the Spamarama cooking festival (1976-2007), a Spam museum (1991), a Spam recipe contest (1991), a Spam-sponsored NASCAR race car (1995) and even a 2005 Broadway musical – “Spamalot” – all enhanced what’s called the brand experience, the way consumers interact and connect with a product.

These marketing ventures were accompanied by the introduction of new products and flavors. The Spamburger (1992), Spam Lite with 50 percent less fat (1995), Spam Hot and Spicy (2000), Spam with Bacon (2004), Spam Teriyaki and Spam Jalapeño (2012) reflected consumers’ evolving tastes and preferences. Spam Spread was even introduced just in case you’re “a spreader, not a slicer.”

Morning News: October 3, 2017
Posted by Eddy Elfenbein on October 3rd, 2017 at 7:03 am

Hurricanes Harvey, Irma Lift U.S. Factory Activity Index to 13-Year High

Here’s Another Sign Goldman Sachs Is Taking Bitcoin Seriously

Wal-Mart Buys Delivery Logistics Startup Parcel

Amazon’s Whole Foods Lures New Shoppers From Wal-Mart, Sprouts

Immelt Exits GE Ahead of Plan as New CEO Adds Chairman Role

GM Plans 20 All-Electric Models by 2023

Tesla Falters With Model 3 as Initial Output Trails Forecast

What Brought Down Monarch, The UK’s Biggest-Ever Airline Collapse

Former Equifax CEO Says Response Should Have Been Better

Wells Fargo’s CEO Will Tell Lawmakers of Dramatic Transformation

ATM Fees Are Out of Control

Two Rights at Uber in Danger of Making a Wrong

Jeff Carter: The B Corp Trend

Roger Nusbaum: 2017 Enters the Home Stretch

Cullen Roche: Goldman Sachs: No Signs of Recession and Why MMT is Important

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Zacks on ADS
Posted by Eddy Elfenbein on October 2nd, 2017 at 12:00 pm

Zacks has good things to say about Alliance Data Systems (ADS). Here’s a sample:

Banking on the strength of segmental performance, Alliance Data estimates to deliver earnings per share of $18.10 on revenues of $7.8 billion in 2017 while 2018 earnings per share are projected at a higher value of $21.50 on greater revenues of $8.7 billion.

Management expects revenues and earnings per share growth of 10% at BrandLoyalty. Bottom line at Epsilon is projected to grow 4% in 2017 riding on growth in auto, CRM and data.

Alliance Data’s solid capital position helps it enhance shareholders’ value via dividends and share buybacks. The company has been authorized to buy back shares worth $1 billion through July 2018. It also initiated a quarterly dividend in fourth-quarter 2016, reflecting a major change in the shareholders’ return policy.

Morning News: October 2, 2017
Posted by Eddy Elfenbein on October 2nd, 2017 at 7:03 am

Oil Market Stars Risk Being Dimmed by China’s Mega Refineries

Catalonia Worries Drive Euro Down Against Stronger Dollar

Japan’s Business Mood Hits Decade-High, Labour Shortage Bites

U.K. Fears It’s Caught in the ‘Crossfire’ of the Boeing-Bombardier Dispute

Fed Eyes Rates as Asset-Price Tool in Break With Hands-Off Past

Republican Tax Plan May Not Be Built to Last

Cryptocurrency Flash Crash Draws Scrutiny From Watchdog

Monarch Airlines: Holidaymakers ‘Devastated’ at Airline Collapse

Uber Board Is Said to Consider Votes to Cut Ex-CEO’s Power

Disney-Altice Deal Shows Operators Will Still Pay for Sports

Here Comes Larry Ellison’s Amazon Cloud-Killer

Automakers Plan Electric Car Blitz Even as Tesla Burns Billions

Jeff Miller: Does Economic Strength Equal Stock Market Strength?

Ben Carlson: Taking Advice From A Lottery Winner

Michael Batnick: These Are The Goods

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Third-Quarter Performance Update
Posted by Eddy Elfenbein on September 30th, 2017 at 4:08 pm

We have three quarters of 2017 under our belt. So far, our Buy List is up 11.53% on the year. That compares with a gain of 12.53% for the S&P 500.

Add in dividends are we’re up 12.36% compared with 14.24% for the S&P 500.

Here’s how each stock has done: