Jobs number strong but income growth disappoints
The U.S. economy added a net 228,000 jobs in November, the Labor Department reported this morning. Economists surveyed by Bloomberg were looking for a gain of 195,000. That kept the unemployment rate at 4.1%, the lowest since 2000. Disappointingly, however, average...
A much better day than modest gains in the indexes indicate
The Standard & Poor’s 500 finished up 0.29% today. The tech- and bank-heavy NASDAQ Composite was up 0.54%. The Small Cap Russell 2000 was ahead 0.79%. Always good to finish to the upside, of course, when you’re looking for the end of a dip (and...
A reminder of why Jubak Pick Incyte has been so weak lately
On December 4 MacroGenics (MGNX) announced that it had closed on its previously announced (October 25) license agreement with Incyte (INCY). For an upfront payment of $150 million and up to $420 million in milestone payments Incyte gained the exclusive global rights...
The big role of computer program trading in the recent sell off in U.S. stocks is actually a positive, history says, for an early recovery
Earlier than usual end of the year profit-taking. Sector rotation. Stretched valuations. All seem to have played a role in the retreat in momentum stocks that has driven U.S. stocks lower in the last 10 days. And now we’re getting experts on program trading...
I hope you weren’t expecting clarity from today’s market
In my Morning Briefing post published on my JubakAM.com subscription site around noon (and on this site around 8 p.m.)today I said it would be critical to see if the early slight move up in the prices of stocks in technology and other risky sectors held through the...
A mildly positive but inconclusive day so far for U.S. stocks
An absolutely inconclusive day so far. Â Which is actually kind of positive. The upward move in technology shares and other risky sectors isn’t strong enough to qualify as a bounce. But it’s certainly not a continuation of the strong selling on Monday and...
How much can Pioneer Natural Resources increase production?
When West Texas Intermediate crude was struggling to stay above $50 a barrel, the important issues for a U.S. oil shale producer such as Pioneer Natural Resources (PXD) were How much of production in 2018 was hedged above $50 a barrel? and How quickly the company...
Prefer robotics ETFs to robotics stocks? Check out this free post on my paid Juggling With Knives subscription site
Back on July 11 I argued that for investors at least it was better to buy robotics stocks than to try to fight the global trend toward automation. I added two robotics stocks, both Japanese companies, to my long-term 50 Stocks Portfolio that day. Since then Fanuc...
Oil continues to rally on day after OPEC extends production cuts
After climbing yesterday by 1.7% on news that OPEC and allies including Russia would extended their agreement to cut production through the end of the year, oil rallied again today. U.S. benchmark West Texas Intermediate closed up 1.64% to $58.34 a barrel....
Adding lithium producer SQM to my long-term 50 Stocks Portfolio
Shares of Tesla (TSLA) were down 3.15% in today’s (November 29) session on a report from Reuters that up to 90% of its Model S and Model X vehicles showed defects during quality checks. (Tesla disputes the Reuters story.) On the news, though, lithium stocks fell...
Time to buy Incyte on the biotech dip
Maybe you didn’t even know there was a biotech dip. If all you’ve been following in the sector is a stock like Nektar Therapeutics (NKTR), a Jubak Picks member (and the call options are a holding in my Volatility Portfolio), you’re likely to respond...
No signs of danger to HDFC Bank from India’s online revolution–in fact, on the contrary…
It’s only sensible to worry about numbers like these–they’re just so deliciously good. For the last 10 years, India’s HDFC Bank has been able to grow its loan portfolio by 31% annually. It’s deposit base has expanded at almost the same...
The great energy sector puzzle: Oil is up but oil stocks are down?
Let’s take a look beyond today’s drop in oil on jitters about Thursday’s OPEC meeting and that group’s decision on extending (or not) its cuts in production. Today West Texas Intermediate, the U.S.crude benchmark, is down 1.37% as of 1 :30 to...
Could Thanksgiving be the pause that refreshes this rally? Despite any clouds on the horizon?
The Standard & Poor’s 500 briefly inched above 2,600 today before ending at 2599.03, up 0.65% on the day and the highest close on record. Traders and investors will have much of the rest of this week off–time they can spend contemplating where they...
Pick the biggest stock market turkey for the next 3 months and win $1,000 bucks from me
Pick the biggest stock market turkey. Win $1000. By and large, 2017 has been a great year for stocks. Amazon (AMZN), for example, is up 50.68% for 2017 as of the close on November 17. Casting our nets wider, the Standard & Poor’s 500 stock index is ahead...
First sign of dissent from the consensus view of “Two and done” for interest rates in 2018?
Goldman Sachs released its seven top trade themes for 2018 yesterday, November 17. Investors and traders always receive Goldman’s trading ideas with a high degree of skepticism, knowing that the bank’s traders are perfectly comfortable trading against the...
Was today the end of the market wobble?
Today the Standard & Poor’s 500 stock index added 0.8%, the Nasdaq Composite climbed to a new all time high, and the Russell 2000 small cap index rose 1.6%. The action put an end to what I’d call a “market wobble” that had seen the...
Cheniere Energy reports third quarter earnings below consensus but revenues show a strong beat–I’m raising my target price to $62
Yesterday Cheniere Energy (LNG) reported a loss for the third quarter of $1.24 a share, 74 cents a share worse that the Wall Street consensus. Revenue climbed 202% hear over year to $1.4 billion against Wall Street projections of $1.27 billion. Â The company also...
Robots, robots everywhere: Good for long-term pick Fanuc
The International Federation for Robotics latest report forecasts a 15% compounded annual growth rate for global shipments of industrial robots through 2020. That would follow 16% to 18% annual growth in 2016-2017. By 2020 annual unit shipments are estimated to reach...
Autoliv earnings: So when is the future?
On October 26 Autoliv (ALV) reported third quarter earnings of $1.47 a share, 12 cents a share above the Wall Street consensus. Revenue climbed just 1.6% year over year to match the analyst projection at $2.5 billion. Â The problem in the quarter was revenue...
Nektar soared today on cancer drug data–but remember that new opioid? That’s why I say “Buy” in Jubak Picks even after this run
Nektar Therapeutics (NKTR) shares finished the day up 14.15% on fairly preliminary, but very important data from the trials of the company’s lead cancer drug. Those results go a long way to validating the company’s entire pipeline of drug candidates to...
Synaptics reports earnings: So how’s that transition going?
Synaptics (SYNA) announced September quarter (first fiscal 2018 quarter) earnings after the market close on November 7. Earnings of $1.03 a share were 7 cents a share above the Wall Street consensus. Revenue climbed 8.1% year over year to $417 million against the $399...
Alibaba plans to use Singles’ Day shopping frenzy to lock in market dominance for years
Alibaba (BABA) generated $1 billion in gross merchandise volume in just the first three minutes of the Singles’ Day shopping event in China today. By the end of two hours the sales volume was just shy of $12 billion. The company’s Alibaba Cloud unit...
U.S. stocks “jittery” today on tax cut uncertainty
Jittery. That’s how I’d characterize action on U.S. stock markets today. As of just before 4 p.m., the Standard & Poor’s 500 stock index was off 0.32%. The NASDAQ Composite was lower by 0.56%. And the small cap Russell 2000 was down 0.46%. These...
Rebalancing portfolios In January 2018 looks like a smart response to the momentum and concentration of winners in 2017
You don’t have to do anything now–but come January 2018, if 2017 finishes the way I outlined in my last post on this momentum market and end of the year selling/window dressing I think rebalancing a portfolio will be a very smart way to begin 2018....
It’s not too early to think of end of the year window dressing by portfolio managers–it’s likely to decide which stocks move higher or lower over next month or two
For 2017 to date the NASDAQ Composite was up 28.2% as of November 3. The Standard & Poor’s 500 was up 14.74%. And the small cap Russell 2000 was ahead 9.7%. That’s already a strong incentive for money managers to push money into the NASDAQ. No manager...
Selling eBay out of my long-term 50 Stocks Portfolio
When eBay (EBAy) and PayPal (PYPL) split up in July 2015 (with eBay shareholders getting one share of eBay and one share of PayPal) I told myself (and readers) that I wanted to keep PayPal in my long term 50 Stocks Portfolio but would one day sell eBay out of that...
OPEC raises global oil demand forecast–and its projection for U.S. shale production
I can’t resist: It’s the classic good news/bad news set up. Good news for oil prices: Â OPEC raised its forecast for global oil demand in 2021 by 2.3 million barrels a day above last year’s projection. It also raised its oil demand forecast in 2040 by...
Nothing like a purge in Saudi Arabia to send oil prices higher
It’s not so much that the anti-corruption crackdown launched by Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman over the week signals any significant change in the kingdom’s oil policies. It’s just that any turmoil in Saudi Arabia sends oil traders scrambling...Jim’s Daily Email Alerts:
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