Siri hire from Google latest sign of Apple’s new aggressiveness
Yesterday Apple (AAPL) announced that it had hired John Giannandrea, the architect behind Google Assistant, to take its Siri digital assistant from disappointing to amazing again. (Or at least to make it a credible challenger to Amazon’s Alexa and Google...
Selling copper pick Freeport McMoran on fears of U.S./China tariff war
Freeport McMoRan Copper and Gold (FCX) was the third and last copper stock I added to my portfolios back in January 12, 2018–after Southern Copper (SCCO) and First Quantum Minerals (FQMLF). I added so much copper since copper prices were soaring in 2017–up...
What President Trump can actually do about Amazon–and what you should do about Amazon
Another day’s worth of tweets by President Donald Trump attacking Amazon (AMZN) and another day of losses for the stock. At 3 p.m. Monday New York time Amazon shares were down another 5.21% (in the midst of a meltdown in the technology sector, I’d note, so...
Little spillover (yet) from Concho acquisition of Permian producer RSPP
Today Concho Resources (CXO) announced the acquisition of RSP Permian (RSPP) to create the biggest  oil and natural gas producer from the shales of the Permian Basin. The $9.5 billion all stock deal represents a 29% premium to the Tuesday close for RSP Permian. That...
Amazon tanks after report that President Trump wants to “go after” the company
Well, why not? Shares of Amazon (AMZN) were down as much as 7.4% after Axios reported that President Donald Trump is “obsessed” with regulating the company and has discussed changing the way the company collects (or doesn’t) sales tax. The stock...Goldman Sachs turns bullish on gold
Goldman Sachs has turned positive on gold for the first time in five years. Â “Our commodities team believes that the dislocation between the gold prices and U.S. rates is here to say,” Goldman Sachs says. Drivers for higher gold prices include signs of an...
Adding Independent Bank to my Dividend Portfolio
Just in case you haven’t noticed, it’s really, really hard at the moment to find a decent dividend yield in a stock that doesn’t require taking on substantial risk. That’s what happens when you’ve got elevated asset prices after a long...
FDA sets next date for Incyte arthritis drug, baricitinib
The Food and Drug Administration today announced that its Arthritis Advisory Committee will meet on April 23 to discuss the application by Incyte (INCY) and Eli Lilly (LLY) for approval of baricitinib for the treatment of adult patients with moderately to severely...
Holding Incyte in my Jubak Picks portfolio for mid-year catalysts
When I sold Acadia Pharmaceuticals (ACAD) out of my Jubak Picks portfolio on March 5, one reason I gave was that the catalysts for this biotech were too far out–results from critical drug trials weren’t likely to be reported for two years. The reason to...
Selling Acadia Pharmaceuticals out of my Jubak Picks portfolio
Today I’m selling Acadia Pharmaceuticals (ACAD) out of my Jubak Picks portfolio. I have a 13.52% loss on this position since I added the shares to the portfolio on November 15, 2016. There are short- and long-range reasons to sell. From a short-range perspective...
Nektar blows away revenue projections, gives very positive guidance on drug pipeline
Shares of Nektar Therapeutics (NKTR) finished up 21.67% today to $102.87 after the biotech company announced after the close yesterday a smaller than expected fourth quarter 2017 loss of 21 cents a share (versus the Wall Street consensus projection of a 36 cents a...
Selling Caterpillar on the President’s tariff announcement
I don’t think there’s any point to waiting around to see how quickly or fiercely China will retaliate against U.S. exporters after today’s announcement that the United States will put a 25% tariff on Chinese (and other imported) steel and a 10%...
Selling Boeing shares on the President’s tariff announcement
I don’t think there’s any point to waiting around to see how quickly or fiercely China (and the European Union) will retaliate against U.S. exporters after today’s announcement that the United States will put a 25% tariff on Chinese (and other...
Saudis push OPEC to go for $70 a barrel
The goal was to cut production enough to reduce global oil inventories to their five-year average. The hope of the coalition of OPEC and Russia that reduction in production would get oil prices up to $60 a barrel. Now with that inventory reduction just about in place...
Big earnings report from MGM Resorts before the market open tomorrow
Tomorrow’s earnings report from MGM Resorts International (MGM) could be make or break for the call options that I hold on this stock in my Volatility Portfolio. The options have been all over the block in recent weeks from up 50% to down 30% on market...
Bristol-Myers puts up potential $3.6 billion in deal for 35% of a Nektar cancer drug
In the deal announced today Bristol-Myers Squibb (BMY) pays Nektar Therapeutics $1 billion upfront, $850 million for stock valued at a price of $102 a share, and a potential $1.78 billlion in milestone payments in exchange for access to NKTR 214, a drug candidate...
Diamondback Energy beats on earnings and starts dividend
After the close of New York trading today, Diamondback Energy (FANG) announced fourth quarter earnings of $1.56 a share (excluding one-time items). That beat the Wall Street consensus by 5 cents a share. Revenue climbed 116% year over year to $399 million, above...
China slides into correction too: Are Chinese stocks better buy on the dip candidates?
While our eyes have been glued to the volatility in U.S. markets, Chinese stocks have staged their own correction. The Shanghai Composite is down 12.1% from its high on January 24 to the low on Thursday, February 8. With the Lunar New Year and the week-long Spring...
Corning drops on accounting loss from tax cut bill
Shares of Corning (GLW) took a 5.61% hit Tuesday, January 30,as the company reported a huge quarterly loss of $1.66 a share–or $1.412 billion. But all that loss was due to a $1.8 billion accounting write down as a result of the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act. Excluding...
Autoliv earnings beat and spinoff plans buck yesterday’s market plunge
While the Standard & Poor’s 500 stock index was falling 1.04% yesterday and the Dow Jones Industrial Average was giving up 362 point, auto safety supplier Autoliv (ALV) was busy climbing 8.07% on the day to close at $149.48. (The stock, a member of my Jubak...
PayPal beats on earnings and revenue, but falls after hours on profit taking
PayPal Holdings (PYPL) reported fourth quarter earnings of 55 cents a share, 3 cents a share above Wall Street estimates, and revenue of $3.71 billion (on a foreign-exchange neutral basis) vs projections for $3.63 billion. Revenue climbed 24% year over year for the...
Two big deals for Tencent Holdings support valuation
First, on January 15, China’s Tencent Holdings (TCEHY) announced that it would partner with privately-owned Lego to develop a Lego streaming video zone for children on Tencent’s video platform and create Lego-branded games for Tencent’s gaming...
Starbucks disappoints in quarter but recovery in 2018 is on track
Blame it on Christmas Tree Frappuccino. On Thursday, January 25, after the market close Starbucks (SBUX) reported December (fiscal 2018 first quarter) earnings of 58 cents a share (excluding one-time tax benefits.) The results were ugly on the revenue side where  the...
GDP disappoints, durable goods orders solid
The first read on growth in the U.S. economy during the fourth quarter was a tad disappointing. GDP increased by 2.6% year over year in the fourth quarter. Economists surveyed by Briefing.com were looking for growth of 2.9%. In the third quarter of 2017 GDP grew at a...
Caterpillar beats on earnings and guidance but stock falls 1.4% today
Investors and traders were determined to sell Caterpillar (CAT) shares after the stock gained 70% in 2017. That determination overshadowed yesterday’s good news on fourth quarter earnings and positive guidance for 2018. The shares, which I added to my Jubak...
Helmerich & Payne completes its recovery from 2017 drilling slump; keeping the stock in my Dividend Portfolio
Helmerich & Payne (HP) reported December quarter (first quarter of the 2018 fiscal year) earnings of $4.57 a share. Â As they say on Wall Street–that $4.57 a share may not be comparable to the Wall Street analyst consensus estimate of a loss of 13 cents for...
Adding Boeing to Jubak Picks on weak dollar, strong global economy, tax cuts
Shares of Boeing (BA) have tumbled from $351.01 on January 17 to close at $334.69 today. I’m using the pull back to add shares to my Jubak Picks portfolio tomorrow, January 25. The Boeing story right now is one of multiple tailwinds pushing the stock higher. A...
Adding Caterpillar to my Jubak Picks and Volatility Portfolios ahead of earnings tomorrow
Caterpillar (CAT) looks to be a major beneficiary of the lower tax rates in the Tax Cuts & Jobs Act and for a lower U.S. dollar. (See today’s encouragement of a weaker dollar from Treasury Secretary Steve Mnuchin at Davos today.) Not that Caterpillar sales...
My eighth stock pick of Christmas is Bank of America–and eight maids a-milking
I’m adding shares of Bank of America (BAC) to my Dividend Portfolio today. The stock yields only 1.2% on trailing 12-month dividend payments so why am I adding it to a portfolio dedicated to beating the yield on the 10-year Treasury bond? Because Bank of America...Jim’s Daily Email Alerts:
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