Cities Upon Hills And Castles In The Sky
The presidential Twitter feed was cranked up to “max batshit” on Friday as Trump desperately tried to deflect criticism. He also canceled an expected trip to London citing Obama even though the reference was in fact to a Bush-era decision. Trump was kind enough to give Iran one “last chance” to comply with an agreement they’re […]
Bull Markets And Blockchains
Global stocks continued their upward march, ending the week at healthy gains. They paused only briefly Wednesday, which so far has been the only down day in 2018. Much like last year, foreign stocks maintain the lead over domestic, but both are up 4% or more for the first two weeks of the year. Commodities […]
WalMart Is Firing 1,000 Corporate Workers
One day after Wal-Mart surprised the nation when on the same day it publicly announced it is raising its starting hourly wage to $11/hour, expanding employee benefits and offering worker bonuses of up to $1000 while at the same time it quietly closed 63 Sam’s Club stores, the WSJ reports that Wal-Mart is preparing to hand out […]
ETFs In Focus As Oil Breaches $70 Mark
Oil prices gained and Brent crude crossed the $70 mark for the first time in three years, as U.S. crude inventories fell for the eighth time in a row, per EIA data. Moreover, WTI crude prices breached the $64 mark for the first time in three years too. What’s Driving Prices? U.S. crude inventories fell […]
Of Short Squeezes And Outsized Earnings Day Moves
It’s earnings season. Who’s excited? Goldman, for one. Last Friday, the bank suggested that it might be best to simply ignore Q4 earnings and focus on the outlook given distortions from the tax bill. “The Tax Cuts and Jobs Act was signed by President Trump on December 22, 2017 [and] as a result, companies are likely to […]
China Shows How To Fight A 21st Century Trade War
Trade wars made the Great Depression great. When countries needed to cooperate, they imposed tariffs. This reduced trade and increased unemployment in each country. Tariffs are the traditional tool of trade wars. A tariff is a tax one country imposes on another country’s products. Proponents say tariffs give the country time to develop a capability […]
Aflac Selloff On Intercept Article An Overreaction, Says Evercore ISI
The Intercept’s article today on Aflac is “filled with hyperbole, which reduces the credibility of the claims being brought,” Evercore ISI analyst Thomas Gallagher tells investors in a research note. The analyst admits, however, that it is unclear to know whether the fraud allegations by former employees have any merit. Gallagher views the 8% selloff […]
