The Financial Times – US oil floated on cheap money The onshore industry’s health has improved noticeably, writes John Dizard Oil and gas pricing have now stabilised, in the sense of finding a finance-friendly range somewhere north of $50 per barrel. There have been lay-offs and bankruptcies, but fewer than in the oil bust of the… Continue reading The State Of The Crude Oil Market
The Wall Street Journal – Why Are Markets Rising Everywhere? Investors Can’t Stop Buying Every Dip Markets around the globe are surging to records, reflecting growing optimism about the world economy and fueling an increasing eagerness by investors to step in and buy assets whenever prices dip In the U.S. stock market, declines have grown shallower… Continue reading The Buy-The-Dip Mentality
Bloomberg View – Nicholas Colas: For the Bull Market to Keep Going, Dividends Must Accelerate Wall Street earnings forecasts suggest a rosy outlook, but trends in corporate payouts tell a very different story. The answer for equity bulls is simple: Companies have to accelerate their dividend payout growth, and soon. Fortunately, there are several reasons to… Continue reading Dividend Growth
The Wall Street Journal – Italy Faces Challenge of Living Without ECB Alchemy Slowing of Mario Draghi’s QE stimulus policy tests Rome’s ability to sustain momentum When European Central Bank President Mario Draghi embarked on a policy of buying government bonds, it was an especially welcome lifeline for Italy, then reeling from soaring interest rates and… Continue reading Italian Finances Without ECB Money
The Financial Times – Big tech rolls on, and the trust regulators roll over This is no bubble. The price-to-earnings ratios of Google, Facebook and Microsoft are in the mid-20s, which is not overheated given their high growth rates. Apple looks downright cheap, as it long has. Amazon’s profit multiples are very high, but that metric… Continue reading Regulation In The Tech Industry
Bloomberg – Stephen Gandel: Bill Ackman Can’t Even Make Money Off Himself Add Bill Ackman to Bill Ackman’s list of losing investments. Earlier this year, Pershing Square Capital Management, Ackman’s hedge fund firm, began buying back shares of the publicly traded version of its investment fund, essentially taking money clients gave him to invest and wagering it… Continue reading Another Tough Year For Ackman
The Financial Times – ‘Big Tech’ smashes analysts’ forecasts Alphabet, Amazon, Microsoft shares move sharply higher as Wall St cheers earnings “Big Tech” earning outstripped investor expectations on “Super Thursday”, sending the shares of Alphabet, Amazon and Microsoft sharply higher and injecting fresh momentum into a sector that has driven the US stock market to… Continue reading Central Banks Appear Happy to Help Fuel the Deflationary Pressures of Technology
Wall Street Journal – The Real Reason CVS Wants to Buy Aetna? Amazon Talk of tech giant’s interest in pharmacy services spurred $66 billion bid Amazon.com Inc. AMZN -0.05% has struck again. Only this time the internet giant is shaking up an industry it hasn’t yet entered. Amazon’s potential entry into the pharmacy-services industry helped spur CVS… Continue reading Amazon Turns its Eye Toward Pharmacies
The Wall Street Journal – U.S. GDP Growth Accelerated to 3% in Third Quarter, Despite Hurricanes The U.S. economy grew robustly in the third quarter despite two hurricanes, propelled by steady spending from American businesses and households. Gross domestic product, the broadest measure of goods and services made in the U.S., expanded at a 3%… Continue reading Market Capitalization As A Percentage Of GDP
The New York Times – Trump’s Latest Show: Choosing a Fed Chairman Mr. Trump is very publicly deliberating between two candidates with strikingly different views about the practice and purpose of monetary policy: Jerome H. Powell, a Fed governor who has voted in favor of every Fed policy decision since 2012, and John B. Taylor, a Stanford economist… Continue reading The Race For Fed Chair
Bloomberg Markets – Craig Torres: It’s Going to Stay a Yellen Fed No Matter Who Gets the Job Hard to break from FOMC gradualism with too low inflation It’s going to be Janet Yellen’s Federal Reserve no matter who is the next chair. With every headline, financial markets get jolted as investors guess whether President Donald… Continue reading Will Fed Strategy Change With A New Fed Chair?