One less worry hanging over shares of Jubak Pick Cheniere Energy
One worry hanging over shares of Cheniere Energy (LNG), the first company to get an unrestricted license to export liquified natural gas (LNG) to any country in the world, was what would happen if some of the customers that signed a long-term contract to buy LNG from...
Inflation at the wholesale level edges up slightly
A day after Federal Reserve chair Janet Yellen boosted markets with her worries about slow inflation, the Bureau of Labor Statistics released numbers on inflation at the producer level–otherwise known as wholesale inflation–that showed inflation is weak...
Yellen doesn’t say much but bond market likes what it thinks it heard
It’s not much to hang a rally on, but the Treasury and stock markets moved up after Fed chair Janet Yellen told the House Financial Services Committee today that “the federal funds rate may not have to rise all that much further to get to a neutral policy...
Worry about central banks gains weight
Today it’s JPMorgan Chase (JPM) CEO Jamie Dimon telling a conference in Paris that the unwinding of central bank bond-buying programs is an unprecedented challenge that may be more disruptive than people think. Tomorrow (and Thursday) it’s Federal Reserve...
Earnings season kicks off this week: Are expectations low enough? Bank stocks will tell on Friday
For all intents and purposes second quarter earnings season kicks off on Friday. Yes, PepsiCo (PEP) does report on Tuesday and Delta Air Lines speaks on Thursday, but the real bellwether earnings reports come from the big banks on Friday with earnings from Citigroup...
June jobs gains beat projections but where are the wage increases?
The U.S. economy added 222,000 jobs in June. That was a big increase from the 152,000 jobs added in May, which was itself an upward revision from the initially reported 138,000. (And remember how disappointing that was.) Economists surveyed by Briefing.com had...
Oil market can’t decide what “facts” count
Sometimes a market will move in response to a new fact reaching traders and investors. Sometimes, though, a financial market will change direction because traders and investors choose to emphasize a different set of facts today than yesterday. And that’s where...
Atlanta Fed raises Q2 GDP forecast; auto sales beg to differ
On July 3 the Atlanta Federal Reserve’s GDP forecast for second quarter GDP growth climbed to 3% year over year. That’s up from a forecast on June 30 Â for 2.7% growth for the quarter that ended on June 30. If the forecast proves accurate that would be good...
Have a fun–and safe–Fourth of July
And don’t eat too many hotdogs. Back tomorrow. Jim
On Monday Manufacturing ISM blew out projections for June
The Institute for Supply Management’s manufacturing index for June released Monday morning climbed to 57.8 from 54.9 in May. That was the highest level of the index, where anything above 50 signals expansion, since 2014. Economists surveyed by Briefing.com had...
HAIN spikes 8.56% on news that an activist investor is pressing the company to sell itself
I’ve been waiting for this for more than a year. And so have a lot of other investors and traders from the market reaction today. Shares of Hain Celestial Group (HAIN) jumped 8.56% today on news that activist investor Engaged Capital had accumulated almost 10%...
Today’s positive economic data help stabilize stocks
Lots of economic data this morning. None fall into the earthshaking category. But the general picture is positive. And that has helped stabilize stocks in New York. Â Economic Summary: Personal Income outpaces spending in May, Chicago PMI well above expectations On the...
Visa: It you can’t beat ’em, buy ’em
Visa (V) is defending its turf in the financial processing market by buying and/or partnering with the new generation of fintech companies. Visa’s latest deal is the purchase of a stake of less than 10% in Finland’s Klarna, The still-private company...
VALE continues to make progress to becoming a “true corporation”
The ultimate goal is to convert Vale (VALE), the global iron ore producer, into a true corporation from its current status as a company controlled by a shareholder group consisting of Brazilian pension funds, Brazilian bank Bradesco, and Japan’s Mitsui. This...
Yesterday’s tech stock rally evaporates this morning
Yesterday’s rally in technology stocks and the NASDAQ Composite has disappeared this morning. At 12:30 New York time the NASDAQ was off 1.6%; the Technology Sector Select SPDR (XLK) was down 1.72%; and individual technology stocks were also in the red. Amazon...
Yesterday IMF gave up on Trump reflation trade; today financial markets say, Not yet
Yesterday the International Monetary Fund lowered its forecast for U.S. economic growth to 2.1% for 2017 (from 2.3%) and to 2.1% in 2018 (from 2.5%.) The fund had included a likely infrastructure spending bill and a tax cut/tax reform package in its earlier forecast....
Familiar downside pattern for technology stocks and NASDAQ–is worry spreading to the wider market?
Once again the technology sector moved up, very modestly, in morning trading and then fell into the close. The Technology Select Sector SPDR Fund (XLK) saw its high for the dy around 11 a.m. New York time and then dropped into the close at $55.08, a loss of 1.64% for...
Oil rebounds as long positions evaporate, shorts climb
Hedge funds and other money managers have cut their long positions on crude futures to the lowest level since November, according to the U.S. Commodities Trading Commission, for the week ended on June 20. At the same time short positions, which are bets that oil...
Two big deals for Cheniere Energy
Cheniere Energy (LNG) has a significant first-mover advantage, I argued upon picking this stock for my Jubak Picks portfolio, since it was the first U.S. company to get a unrestricted permit to export liquified natural gas. Turning that advantage into revenue and...
Up out of the gate, technology stocks then stall
What to make of this morning’s action in the technology and financial sectors? The two sectors raced ahead right after the opening bell, helping drive the Standard & Poor’s 500 to an early 0.5% gain. But that gain quickly faded as these...
Oil gets a breather today, so far, but what will turn around the bear?
A month ago when OPEC extended its production cuts to to the end of 2017, Saudi Arabia promised to do “whatever it takes” to stabilize oil prices. Now it’s not at all clear what the Saudi’s can do. The dual problem is rising production from...
Lots of sloshing but no real direction
It’s pretty clear that no one wants to exit this market. The indexes aren’t going much of anywhere–the Standard & Poor’s 500 was off just 0.05% at the close today–even as some sectors, such as energy in the early part of this week,...
Drug stocks like what the Trump administration is saying about regulating drug prices
What a difference a day makes. On Wednesday the headline worry was a study warning that drug price increases were moderating. Industry watcher EvaluatePharma had cut its global revenue forecast for the drug industry by $390 billion for 2017-2022. The forecast echoes...
Existing home sales say Fed hasn’t wrecked U.S. economy in a week
Reassuring. Existing home sales in May rose to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 5.62 million. Economists surveyed by Briefing.com had projected a 5.52 million annual rate. The May total is up from April’s revised total of 5.56 million and is 2.7% above the...
Adding water play Danaher to my Jubak Picks portfolio
On June 14 I updated my take on why you want water stocks in your portfolio. The sector has entered a new phase, I argued, that made it important for investors to look for water stocks where customers could pay the bill for clean water. Global demand for clean water...
Today it’s all about oil–again
As of noon New York time, U.S. benchmark set Texas Intermediate was off 2.9% to $42.92 a barrel–below, again, not just $45 but the $43 a barrel level that has provided support. International benchmark Brent crude was off 2.56% to $45.71. A break in Brent below...
Maybe just enough economic data this week to concern a market worried about growth
This week is a kind of mini-referendum on the Federal Reserve, the U.S. economy, and oil prices. Think of it one where some chickens come home to roost. (Hence the photo.) It’s not a big week for economic data but what there is is suggestive. On Wednesday, for...
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What are you waiting for? You’ve only got 1 day left to take shameless advantage of me. To celebrate the 20th anniversary of JubakPicks.com I’m giving away 30-days of free access to my subscription site JubakAM.com but that offer is only good until the end...
Regional Fed banks cut their forecasts for second and third quarter U.S. GDP growth
What? Did the regional Federal Reserve banks all miss their money coffee? Their GDP forecasts released today all sure were grumpy. The most visible of the bunch, the Atlanta Fed’s GDPNow forecast calls for 2.9% growth in the second quarter. The forecast was...Jim’s Daily Email Alerts:
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