Cheniere Energy pops on possibility of increased China exports
Earlier this week the Trump administration announced that it had reached an agreement with China to increase market access for U.S. energy companies. Today Cheniere Energy (LNG) noted that it has had extensive negotiations with Chinese state-owned companies about...
Freeport McMoRan and Indonesia agree to extend agreement deadline for another 6 months
The stakes are so high that a deal is almost a certainty. Freeport McMoRan Copper and Gold  (FCX) needs the copper production from the giant Grasberg mine, the second largest in the world. The government of Indonesia needs the revenue it gains from Grasberg....
Oil back down this morning as “hedgies” reposition
So much for Monday’s oil rally. This morning, a day after Russia and Saudi Arabia succeeded in talking up oil prices with promises that OPEC and allied non-OPEC producers would extend the current production cuts past their June expiration until the end of 2017,...
Price is right on Coach acquisition of Kate Spade
The price is right. The strategy makes sense. Now it’s up to the management team at Coach (COH) to execute. Yesterday, May 8, Coach announced that it would buy Kate Spade (KATE) for $18.50 a share. That’s a 27.5% premium on the December 2016 price for the...
Incyte dropped 10.5% yesterday on FDA drug “rejection”: Here’s what’s actually going on (and why you shouldn’t sell)
I know the headlines on Friday said that the U.S. Food and Drug Administration had “rejected” Olumiant (known more frequently until recently as baricitinib), a new drug for rheumatoid arthritis from Eli Lilly (LLY) and research lead Incyte Corp (INCY.) And...
Samsung’s Galaxy S8 just got less dangerous for Apple
Back on April 3 I pointed to Apple 21 as the next big test for Apple (AAPL) shares. (Apple is a member of my long-term 50 Stocks portfolio.) That’s the date when Samsung’s new Galaxy S8 smartphone will go on sale. The S8 is critical to Samsung–the...
Vale gets a new CEO and gets rid of control by its old shareholders
Vale (VALE) has a new CEO–that’s an important and immediate change. It will take longer to end the control of Vale by a small group of banks and Brazilian state pension funds–until 2020–but that may actually be more important in the long run....
Facebook reports big gain in number of advertisers in run up to earnings
Facebook (FB) Chief Operating Officer Sheryl Sandberg told Reuters that the company now had 5 million active advertisers on its network each month. That’s up from 4 million advertisers in September and 3 million in March 2016. The number of businesses with...
Head winds? What head winds? Middleby is profiting from cost battle in fast food sector
Updated March 2, 2017. On February 28, for the fourth quarter of 2016, Middleby (MIDD) reported earnings of $1.41 a share, 14 cents a share better than Wall Street had projected. That was an increase in earnings from 88 cents in the fourth quarter of 2015. Revenue...
In fourth quarter Albemarle tripled lithium quota in Chile
I’d never suggest you should ignore the numbers–for the fourth quarter lithium and bromine producer Albemarle (ALB) reported earnings of 78 cents a share, 5 cents a share more than Wall Street was expecting. But the big news the company had to report for...
Incyte shares up as stock heads for S&P 500 index
In a change effective February 28 Incyte (INCY) will replace Spectra Energy (SE) in the Standard & Poor’s 500 stock index. Spectra Energy is being acquired by Enbridge (ENB.) All those index funds and ETFs that track the S&P 500 will have to buy shares...
Incyte is on the way to becoming a complete drug company–or an expensive acquisition candidate
Usually with a biotech stock you trade the present for the future: no revenue now but the promise of big revenue to come. Incyte’s (INCY) most recent quarter, reported on February 14, doesn’t require that trade off. Which means investors should be asking a...
Copper headed higher? For Freeport McMoRan Copper and Gold this may not end badly but it won’t end soon
Update February 22,2017. With the world’s largest copper mine at Escondida in Chile out on strike, the fight between Freeport McMoRan Copper and Gold (FCX) and Indonesia is a big, big deal. Copper has already climbed above $6,000 a metric ton and the metal is...
Deere signals bottom for farm stocks
Deere (DE), the world’s biggest maker of farm machinery, is signaling that the worst is over in for its industry even as the U.S. Department of Agriculture is projecting another down year for farm incomes. In fiscal first quarter earnings reported today Deere said...
Permian Power! Pioneer Natural crushes production guidance
Update: February 8, 2017. Shares of Pioneer Natural Resources (PXD) closed up today, February 8, by 3.85% after this big player in the low-cost Permian Basin blew past earnings estimates and released aggressive guidance on future production growth. The company’s...
Great news for Autoliv: Someone else is going to win Takata sweepstakes
Whew! And Yay! Whew, that it looks like someone else is going to win the bidding to acquire what’s left of airbag maker and Autoliv competitor Takata. Yay, that the likely acquirer is an airbag maker owned by China’s Ningbo Joyson Electronic. I’m...
Day 2 for Apple earnings leads to some market concern
Apple (AAPL) shares soared on Wednesday after the company announced December quarter earnings. And there was sure a lot to cheer about as I noted in my post on Apple’s results yesterday. The shares closed up $5.15 to $129. Today, though, was a day for mulling...
Apple plays the earnings game and wins–at least for today
All the headlines that I’ve seen after Apple (AAPL) reported earnings for the December quarter (first quarter of the 2017 fiscal year) after the market close today say that Apple beat Wall Street projections by 14 cents a share on earnings. Which sounds...
Corning’s earnings beat today is all about Gorilla Glass
Update January 24, 2017. This morning, January 24, before the open in New York Corning (GLW) reported earnings of 50 cents a share, six cents a share above Wall Street estimates and up 47% from the year-ago quarter. Revenues also beat estimates, rising 6.2% year over...
Time to buy this dividend: Legal attacks push Qualcomm dividend to 3.9%
Here’s the really important pair of numbers that explains what’s happening to Qualcomm (QCOM). From its business of licensing patents for cell phones Qualcomm makes a gross margin of 61%. Apple (AAPL) had a gross margin of 39% in its most recent fiscal...
Energy MLP and Dividend Portfolio member Western Gas Partners increases distribution
Western Gas Partners (WES), a master limited partnership (MLP) that’s a member of my Dividend Portfolio, announced today that it would pay a quarterly distribution of 86 cents per unit for the fourth quarter of 2016. That brings the total distribution for 2016...
My long-term pick Luxottica in $50 billion deal
In a $50 billion deal announced today Italy’s Luxottica (LUX), the world’s leading eyewear company, will combine with France’s Essilor (ESLOY), the world’s biggest maker of lenses, to form a from lens to Sunglass Hut giant in the eyewear...
Sell INTC: At a yield of 2.98% Intel doesn’t earn a place in my Dividend portfolio
It’s not that shares of Intel (INTC) had such a stellar 2016–the gain for the year was just 5.3%. But the company continues to struggle with declining demand in its core PC market and faces strong resistance from competitors to its efforts to break into...
Pipeline OKS to be one of first beneficiaries as OPEC’s production cuts raise oil output from U.S. shales
Update January 11, 2017. Tracing this chain of cause and effect is pretty simple: OPEC cuts oil production to raise oil prices; U.S. shale producers with low costs increase drilling and output (by a forecast 250,000 barrels a day in 2017); U.S. pipeline MLPs (master...
Incyte ended 2016 with big news; begins 2017 the same way–and stock climbs 9.44% on the day
Incyte (INCY) ended 2016 with a big deal. The company agreed to pay Merus (MRUS) $120 million and to buy $80 million in Merus stock for the exclusive rights to 11 bispecific antibody programs. The companies will work together to develop and commercialize these...
Qualcomm’s really, really small chip is a big, big deal
Update January 4, 2017. Qualcomm (QCOM) announced a new Snapdragon chip (Snapdragon 835) at the Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas on Tuesday, January 3. The chip will take up about 35% less space than last year’s Snapdragon chip in devices such as...
Shares of Jubak Pick Acadia Pharmaceuticals pop 11% on buyout rumors
Update January 4. Shares of Acadia Pharmaceuticals (ACAD) were up 12% this morning, January 4, before closing with a gain of 11.02% to $31.94. The action came on rumors that Pfizer (PFE) or another big drug company would make a bid for the biotech on the strength of...
What’s the “quid” for Softbank’s “quo”?
Update December 30,2016. Softbank (SFTBY) has been in the headlines a lot recently–usually after an announcement by President-elect Donald Trump. There was Softbank CEO and chairman Masayoshi Son emerging after a meeting with Trump at Trump Tower to announce...
Vale sells fertilizer assets to Mosaic–time for this long-term stock pick to pay down some debt
Brazil’s Vale (VALE) has agreed to sell it fertilizer assets to Mosaic (MOS) for $2.5 billion in cash and stock. The price at 15 times trailing-12-month EBITDA (earnings before taxes, interest, depreciation, and amortization) is a good one given the continued...Jim’s Daily Email Alerts:
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