Emerging market stocks have had a solid bull run YTD with the benchmark MSCI emerging markets index up 34%. Good news follows good performance (yes you read that right) so the pundits are out promoting emerging market shares. The story being offered to the investment public is that growth is improving in emerging markets, emerging markets are cheap, and the U.S. is expensive. That is more or less right, though valuations could be debated, but the real story behind the boom in emerging markets shares has much more to do with Tech stocks than it does with growth and valuations in emerging … [Read more...]
Archives for November 2017
The Enemy of My Enemy is My Friend in the Chip Industry
Intel and Advanced Micro Devices (AMD) are teaming up to battle against Nvidia with new chips aimed at gamers who want light laptops. A new laptop being produced by Intel will contain an Intel processor and an AMD graphics unit. Ted Greenwald reports: The chip is intended for laptops that are thin and lightweight but powerful enough to run high-end videogames—attributes that lately have been driving sales in an otherwise waning market for personal computers. It will be the competitors’ first collaboration since the 1980s, said analyst Patrick Moorhead of Moor Insights & Strategy, and … [Read more...]
The Dow hasn’t done this since 1945
It didn’t take much more to improve the investment climate in America than a more business-friendly resident in the White House. The Dow just put up its best post-election year return since 1945. Remarkable considering how little Trump and the GOP-led Congress have accomplished, but not so surprising when you consider that the greatest post-election year return in Dow history came while Calvin Coolidge was president. Coolidge was a hands off, business friendly president. He once famously said “The chief business of the American people is business.” MarketWatch has more. … [Read more...]
What You Need to Know about Food Storage and Data-Analytics: Think Amazon’d
As Hurricane Frances was barreling across the Caribbean threatening a direct hit on Florida’s Atlantic coast in 2004, “Residents made for higher ground, but far away, in Bentonville, Ark., executives at Wal-Mart Stores decided that the situation offered a great opportunity for one of their newest data-driven weapons…predictive technology,” reported the New York Times. “A week ahead of the storm’s landfall, Linda M. Dillmans, Wal-Mart’s chief information officer, pressed her staff to come up with forecasts based on what had happened when Hurricane Charley struck several weeks earlier. Backed … [Read more...]
Are New Regulations Forcing Truckers to Merge or Die?
Trucking companies are merging at a rapid pace. One possible cause of the merger frenzy is new regulation mandating drivers use electronic logging devices (ELDs) that track when they are driving. The measure is aimed at enforcing rules on how many hours truckers can drive, but they could also decrease productivity among trucking firms, forcing them to merge up to remain competitive. Eric M. Johnson and Nick Carey report at Reuters: There have been 44 publicly announced freight movement and logistics deals within the U.S. so far this year, according to Thomson Reuters data, already topping the … [Read more...]
Is America’s Great Coffee Boom About to End?
The number of coffee establishments in the U.S. has increased by 16% over the last year to almost 33,000. The increased supply has started to take a toll on the coffee business. With everyone from Cumberland Farms to McDonald's making an aggressive push into the coffee business, profitability has suffered. Dunkin Donuts recently scaled back its new store plans and Starbucks has reduced is long-term profit goals. The share prices of Dunkin and Starbucks have held up relatively well in the face of increased competition, but then again neither have had to face the rumors that Amazon is entering … [Read more...]
The Market for Quarterbacks Looks Bullish to Me
As you can see below, it’s good to be a quarterback in the NFL. Here are some of the top NFL salaries at quarterback position this year: It will be interesting to see what type of contract the 49ers offer former Patriots backup Jimmy Garoppollo. Keeping him on the Patriots' roster, in the end, was too expensive—to the tune of twenty some odd million dollars a year—to wear a headset. OverTheCap.com's Jason Fitzgerald (as pointed out by Ben Volin of the Boston Globe) believes that the 49ers will likely get Garoppolo for around $21 million next year which is what Brock Osweiler got … [Read more...]
CVS Blasts Amazon with Next Day Prescription Delivery
Rumors have been flying for some time that Amazon is poised to enter the pharmacy business. It looks like CVS is fighting back by getting ahead of Amazon, offering next day delivery for drugs. The plan is to have nationwide coverage by early next year. By December 4 of this year, CVS says it will even offer same-day delivery of drugs in Manhattan. Sharon Terlep reports: The same-day service in Manhattan will be handled by couriers, and roughly 50 nonprescription goods will also be eligible for delivery as well. As the pharmacy industry shifts, CVS revenues have declined in its retail … [Read more...]
Murky ETF Approval System Could Get an Upgrade
The new head of the SEC, Jay Clayton, is working to push forward new rules governing the creation of ETFs. Currently, the system is based on ad hoc reviews with little guidance given to fund companies about how they should prepare. Benjamin Bain and Robert Schmidt report at Bloomberg: U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission Chairman Jay Clayton is working to streamline the agency’s ad hoc approach to approving new exchange-traded funds, putting a spotlight on an issue that has vexed the regulator for a decade. Clayton, who joined the SEC in May, has asked staff to build upon a proposal … [Read more...]
Amazon No Longer Content With its Narrow Margins, Aims Lower
After years of selling its goods at razor thin margins, or losses, Amazon is now discounting goods third party sellers offer on the e-commerce website. Amazon is making the move to ensure competitive pricing for goods against competitors like Wal-Mart and Dollar General. Laura Stevens reports: Until now, Amazon has generally controlled prices only on merchandise it sells directly to consumers. Now, it is discounting some items sold by third parties, covering the cost difference itself to ensure competitive pricing. The new “Discount provided by Amazon” tag allows Amazon to compete more … [Read more...]
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