Let’s Talk About Shrinkage
There’s a lot of concern these days about shrinkage. No, not Seinfeld shrinkage. We’re talking about Federal Reserve Balance Sheet shrinkage and how the Fed might go about reducing the size of its balance sheet. When the Fed started expanding their balance sheet in 2008 during the financial crisis there was a great deal of outcry […]
ETF Stats For March 2017: The S&P 500 ETF MegaPlex
Is there any doubt the S&P 500 Index is the most popular investing index in the world? As you probably know, the SPDR S&P 500 ETF (SPY) is the largest ETF on the planet, with $240 billion in assets. However, you may not be aware that the same index is targeted by the second largest […]
British Snap Election And Gold
Theresa May has called a snap general election in the U.K. What does it imply for the gold market? Yesterday, Theresa May, the British prime minister, announced that she wanted to hold a snap general election on June 8. It was a surprising twist in the Brexit saga, given she had repeatedly ruled out having […]
Amex Vs. Visa: A Clash Of Culture Ahead Of Earnings
Two credit card giants, American Express and Visa, are scheduled to report their earnings within a day of each other. American Express reports after markets close tonight, and Visa reports tomorrow afternoon. While American Express is struggling to appeal to affluent users, Visa is advancing in technology by making Visa Checkout one of the major […]
NurOwn Shows Potential In Preclinical Autism Model
On April 19, 2017, BrainStorm Cell Therapeutics (Nasdaq: BCLI) announced the publication of preclinical data on NurOwn® demonstrating potential utility in the treatment of autism. The research is published in Behavioural Brain Research and highlights the long-term beneficial effect of BrainStorm’s NurOwn (neurotrophic factors-secreting mesenchymal stem cells) transplantation in the BTBR mouse model of autism (1). The company plans […]
In Stark Warning, IMF Finds Over 20% Of US Corporations At Risk Of Default Should Rates Rise
While the market has been generally euphoric over Trump’s proposed fiscal agenda (even if in recent weeks it increasingly looks its implementation will be indefinitely delayed), one adverse side effect which has largely been ignored by the market is the impact of rising interest rates not only on sovereign debt, but on record corporate debt […]
E The Teetering State Of Retail
Retail is experiencing problems. Those problems relative to auto sales and restaurant activity which have been covered by the mainstream media. Make no mistake, these sections of retail are leading indicators of problems ahead. They need to be watched carefully and they could cause fear and risk off in stocks. There are mixed signals regarding the state […]
Portland Says Yes To Testing Driverless Cars, Other Cities Will Follow: Mass Adoption When?
Finding driverless-friendly cities that allow car makers to test their technology has been one of the challenges facing the driverless industry. Today, Portland stepped up to the plate. “The technology is coming,” says Mayor Ted Wheeler. “Either the technology will happen to us, or we are going to shape the playing field.” Bloomberg reports Portland Opens […]
How The French Elections May Affect The Financial Markets
On 18 March, the Constitutional Council of France announced that 11 candidates had fulfilled the conditions to participate in the first round of presidential elections, due to be held on 23 April. The Constitutional Council noted that the first round candidates will be François Fillon (The Republicans); Benoît Hamon (Socialist Party); Emmanuel Macron (En Marche!); Nicolas […]
Analyst Sees Wayfair As Takeover Target After Chewy.com Acquisition
Following PetSmart’s “pricey acquisition” of online pet supplies retailer Chewy.com yesterday for an estimated $3.35B, Wedbush analyst Seth Basham argued that Wayfair (W) could be the next takeover target in online commerce. Among the possible suitors, the analyst sees Wal-Mart (WMT) and Amazon.com (AMZN) among several others. PURE PLAY M&A POSITIVE FOR WAYFAIR: In a […]
