Middleby sees 17.4% revenue growth, stock pulls back slightly on earnings miss
Yesterday, May 8, Middleby reported earnings of $1.24 a share, 10 cents a share below Wall Street estimates. Revenue for the first quarter climbed 17.4% from the first quarter of 2018 to $686.8 million, slightly above the $683.01 million Wall Street projection. Gross...
Who knows what’s real and what’s spin in the U.S.-China trade talks
Today U.S. stocks are moving slightly higher as if they believed that talks Thursday and Friday over will see an agreement between the U.S. and China on trade and tariffs rather than a breakdown in the negotiations. As of 2:30 the Standard & Poor’s 500 is...
Pioneer Natural Resources gains on earnings beat, production increase, and asset sales
A complicated but very positive quarter for Pioneer Natural Resources (PXD.) The stock, a member of my long-term 50 Best Stocks Portfolio, climbed 3.92% today to $153.77. First, after the close on May 6, the company announced earnings of  $1.83 a share, 20 cents a...
Jubak Pick SolarEdge beat on earnings yesterday, gains 23% today
SolarEdge Technologies (SEDG) reported earnings of 64 cents a share after the New York markets closed yesterday. That was 7 cents a share above Wall Street projections. The company reported first quarter revenue of $271.9 million, up 29.5% year over year, and ahead of...
Kinder Morgan, a Dividend Portfolio pick, raises quarterly payout by 25%
On April 17, Kinder Morgan (KMI) reported first quarter 2019 results that were a penny below Wall Street estimates (at 24 cents a share) and that missed revenue projections at $3.43 billion versus the $3.63 billion consensus. (That amounted to a 0.3% year over year...
What the market fears is what it doesn’t know about the U.S.-China trade wars
The Standard & Poor’s 500 fell another 1.65% to 2,884.05 today on fears that there would be no agreement this week out of the U.S.-China trade talks and that President Donald Trump’s threats to raise tariffs on $200 billion in Chinese exports to the...
How serious was this morning’s stock sell off
Here’s what’s disconcerting about this morning’s stock market drop. First, while we do know what caused the selloff–President Donald Trump’s Sunday tweet threatening China with higher tariffs on even more exports unless it agreed to a...
President’s Sunday Tweet on China tariffs should make Monday “interesting”
On Sunday President Donald Trump’s tweeted that he will raise tariffs on $200 billion in Chinese exports to 25% from 10% on Friday and add $325 billion in new Chinese goods that will face the higher 25% tariffs. The 25% rate was most recently scheduled to go...
Vulcan Materials beats on earnings–up 4.4% even without infrastructure deal in Washington
Before the New York market opened this morning Vulcan Materials (VMC) announced earnings of 46 cents a share, excluding one time items. That was a full 9 cents a share above Wall Street expectations. Revenue of $996.5 million was up 16.6% year over year and beat Wall...
Another analyst capitulates to “fear of being left out”
If this market runs out of bears, I think it’s in trouble. And today one of the market’s few remaining bears capitulated to the rally. Wells Fargo’s head of equity strategy Christopher Harvey hiked his year-end price target for the Standard &...
Buffett gets paid to turn Chevron/Occidental battle over Anadarko upside down–but what about Occidental shareholders?
Occidental Petroleum (OXY) has brought Warren Buffett and Berkshire Hathaway (BRK.A) into its battle with Chevron (CVX) for control of Permian-Basin-rich Anadarko Petroleum (APC). Up until the entry of Buffett, Chevron had the inside edge even though it had offered a...
What Intel’s guidance cut says about Intel, chip stocks
Shares of Intel (INTC) continued their post-earnings slide today, dropping about 2.52% to $51.11. On April 24, the day before there company reported first quarter 2019 earnings, the stock closed at $58.72. That’s a drop of 12.96% in less than a week. I think...
More of the same in today’s economic data: low inflation, good growth in consumer spending, but lagging incomes
Put today’s numbers on the economy together with those in Friday’s first quarter GDP report and the picture that emerges is of a U.S. economy growing at s very solid rate with declining inflation. But where the trends on consumer incomes and spending...
Amazon signals slowdown ahead; Wall Street doesn’t believe it
Great first quarter for Amazon (AMZN.) On Thursday, April 25, Amazon reported earnings of $7.09 a share, $2.43 a share better than Wall Street expected. The company’s cloud unit, AWS, reported a 42% increase in revenue, 59% jump in operating income and a surge...
GDP growth surprises at 3.2% in first quarter; economists question sustainability
The U.S. economy grew at a 3.2% real rate in the first quarter. That’s substantially stronger than the 2.2% growth in the fourth quarter and way above projections for 1.9% growth among economists surveyed by Briefing.com. Inflation remained very subdued with the...
Renewed bid from Occidental for Anadarko adds heat to Permian M&A
The battle for control of Anadarko Petroleum (APC) and its huge position in the oil shale geologies of the Permian Basis isn’t over. Yesterday, Wednesday,  Occidential Petroleum (OXY) made a renewed bid to acquire Anadarko. The 50%/50% stock and cash offer from...
Politburo throws some cold water on Chinese stocks
On Friday China’s ruling body, the Politburo, suggested that it thought less stimulus might be needed since the economy had recovered its footing. Instead policy should focus on deleveraging China’s banks and corporate balance sheets, and on avoiding...
Selling Independent Bank (IBCP) out of my Dividend Portfolio
When I posted earlier today that I would keep Bank of America (BAC) in my Dividend Portfolio I said the decision rested largely on the ways that Bank of America wasn’t like the “average” bank. Chief among these “ways” was the bank’s...
2019 shaping up as a tough year for bank stocks–here’s why I’m holding Bank of America in my Dividend Portfolio
2018 was supposed to be a good year for bank stocks. Rising interest rates from the Federal Reserve would provide a positive environment for banks, bank revenues, and bank earnings.2019 is likely to provide a negative backdrop for banks. The Fed is holding interest...
Why did Apple settle with Qualcomm now? Can you say 5G?
Why did Apple (AAPL) settle a dispute that had dragged on for two years with Qualcomm (QCOM) now? How about because troubles at Intel (INTC) threatened to leave Apple without the 5G modem chips it needed for a new 5G iPhone? And that threatened to put Apple a year or...U.S. oil rig count falls again, leading to slight gain for oil prices
Baker Hughes released its weekly count of operating oil and natural gas drilling rigs today instead of on its normal Friday schedule because financial markets are closed tomorrow for Good Friday. The count showed a total drop of 10 rigs to 1012 with 8 fewer oil rigs...
Official figures show improvement in China’s economy in March
China’s economy expanded at 6.4% year over year in March. That beat the 6.3% expected by economists surveyed by Briefing.com. That projected 6.3% growth itself marked a step up in optimism about China’s economy. Other official numbers reported over night...
Adding Parsley Energy to my Jubak Picks Portfolio
When I set out to research and write my recent Special Report Five Sector Facing Disruption That Could Crush Your Portfolio I wanted to focus on the “destruction” side of the process of “creative destruction” that makes up economic growth in...
More signs of slower growth in industrial production, cardboard shipments, truck load volume
This morning an unexpected decline in U.S. industrial production (for March) led the parade of indicators pointing to a slowing economy. Industrial production in March fell 0.1%. This comes after a 0.1% increase in February. Economists surveyed by Briefing.com had...
The Great (short-term) China Boom debate
Everybody seems to agree that things are looking up for the Chinese economy. The real disagreement is about how long this improvement might last and whether there’s any chance that the upturn might go from improvement to boom. Here’s some of the data that...
Permian goes from tepid to red hot again on Chevron bid for Anadarko
Chevron (CVX) has agreed to buy Anadarko Petroleum (APC) for $33 billion in cash and stock. On the news shares of Anadarko are up 32.5% to $61.85. Shares of Chevron are off 4.91% to $119.81.Meaured by oil and natural gas production, the deal puts Chevron neck-and-neck...
Brexit deadline extended to October 31–now what?
Leaders of the European Union gave the United Kingdom until October 31 to get a Brexit deal done. The decision was a rejection of U.K. Prime Minister Theresa May’s request for a shorter extension. European Union leaders simply didn’t believe May’s...
Making Incyte #9 on my 10 most dangerous stocks for earnings season list–and #5 on my buy on any plunge list
Today on my JubakAM.com subscription site I made Incyte #9 in my 10 Most dangerous Stocks for Earnings Season Special Report–and #5 on my Buy on Any Plunge Bonus Special Report. Here’s what I wrote: “There’s a good chance that Incyte (INCY)...
No surprises in the Fed’s minutes released today but “significant uncertainties”
According to the minutes of the Federal Reserve’s March meeting, released this afternoon, everything is on the table. Here’s a quote that sums up the thrust of the minutes, in my opinion.“Several participants noted that their views of the appropriate...Jim’s Daily Email Alerts:
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