Author Archive: Jeremy Parkinson
Credit Suisse: Customer Blowback Over Starbucks’ Refugee Hiring Spree Could Crush Same Store Sales
A few weeks ago we wrote about how the controversial decision of Starbucks’ CEO Howard Schultz to hire 10,000 refugees, a clear shot at the Trump administration’s immigration policies, seemingly backfired as his “brand perception” took a sudden and massive hit, a clear signal once again that coffee drinkers would prefer to not have a side […]
Bi-Weekly Economic Review – Saturday, March 11
Economic Reports Scorecard The Federal Reserve is widely expected to raise interest rates again at their meeting next week. They obviously view the recent cyclical upturn as being durable and the inflation data as pointing to the need for higher rates. Our market based indicators agree somewhat but nominal and real interest rates are still […]
Week In Review: Fosun Eyeing $4 Billion Bid For Germany’s Stada Pharma
Shanghai Fosun Pharma (SHA: 600196; HK: 2196) is said to be contemplating a bid for Germany’s Stada Arzneimittel (DE: STAGn), a well established generic drug company (see story). Stada has already received $3.8 billion qualifying bids from two private equity companies, but bidding is expected to get serious over the next month. Stada predicted it would […]
Brookfield Infrastructure Partners: A High-Yield, Fast-Growing Utility
Utilities are one of the cornerstones of high-yield portfolios and for good reason. Their generally stable and predictable cash flows, often protected by regulated prices, result in most utilities achieving high Dividend Safety Scores. Safe payouts can be a major asset for low risk investors – especially retirees who depend on dividends for funding their living expenses. […]
3 Charts That Show Stock Market Valuations Are Totally Unprecedented
Last week I updated the Warren Buffett yardstick, market cap-to-GNP. The only time it was ever higher than it is today was for a few months at the top of the dotcom mania. NEW POST: Why Warren Buffett Is So Reluctant To Call Stocks A ‘Bubble’ https://t.co/HSqxmgC6ep pic.twitter.com/BPSOjaioMX — Jesse Felder (@jessefelder) March 1, 2017 […]
An Analog For The Gold Stocks Correction
The gold stocks bounced strongly on Friday after the February jobs report confirmed the Federal Reserve will hike interest rates next week. While precious metals rallied strongly following the previous two hikes, I’m not so sure Friday marks the start of a big rebound. For one, the Federal Reserve could hike rates again in July. […]
We See Abundant Fixed Income Opportunities – Here Are 2 Reasons Why
Skeptics of the active approach often cite this argument: With information more and more readily available, markets are becoming ever more efficient and true alpha (or active return) is increasingly difficult to find. We don’t believe that this is true today in fixed income markets. Indeed, we see abundant opportunities for active bond investors for […]
Anchoring
How we think and the way that we perceive information can have a powerful impact on our decisions. Often, the first piece of information we receive is what we will use for future reference when making decisions – and whether we feel those decisions are good or bad. This is referred to anchoring or anchoring […]
Market Doubts Of Three Fed Hikes This Year Caps Dollar
Bringing forward expectations of a Fed hike from May-June to March was worth something for the dollar, but to get more now, the market may need to recognize the risk of three (or more) hikes this year. With the strong February jobs growth and a 2.8% year-over-year increase in hourly earnings, rarely does the market’s […]
Vice Index: Retail Spending Pace Is Beginning To Peak
Retail Spending Pace is Peaking Vice Index points to steady consumer spending… But it is going to slow in the next few months. The nominal spending level continues to expand (more people are entering the workforce and wages are growing). But it’s growing at a slower pace. This month will see a favorable year-over-year (yr/yr) […]
