S&P 500 and Nasdaq close at record highs after strong GDP report

Posted by & filed under Economic Analysis, Growth & Valuation, Market Analysis, Personal Finance.

Description: Stocks traded slightly higher on Friday as investors weighed better-than-expected economic data against a mixed batch of quarterly earnings. Source: CNBC.com – video report Date: Apr 26, 2019 Link: https://www.cnbc.com/2019/04/26/stock-market-gdp-data-and-corporate-earnings-in-focus-on-wall-street.html Questions for discussion: What explains stock performances, according to the article? What would you expect investors to do going forward at this time?

US crude plunges 2.9%, settling at $63.30, after Trump says he told OPEC to tame fuel costs

Posted by & filed under Economic Analysis, Governments & Regulators, Growth & Valuation, Industry Analysis, Personal Finance.

Description: Oil prices tumbled as much as 4% on Friday, extending early losses after President Donald Trump said he told OPEC to take action to temper fuel costs. Source: CNBC.com – video report Date: Apr 26, 2019 Link: https://www.cnbc.com/2019/04/26/oil-market-opec-output-rises-us-sanctions-on-iranian-oil-in-focus.html Questions for discussion: Why did oil prices pull back, according to the report? Explain oil prices and their effect… Read more »

Uber IPO: 5 things you need to know about potentially the biggest IPO in years

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Description: Ride-hailing startup will report some nontraditional metrics as it seeks to provide information on much more than ride hailing Source: MarketWatch.com – video report Date: Apr 26, 2019 Link: https://www.marketwatch.com/story/uber-ipo-5-things-you-need-to-know-about-potentially-the-biggest-ipo-in-years-2019-04-12?mod=mw_theo_homepage Questions for discussion: Summarize the assessments made about Uber’s IPO. Do you agree?

`FOMO Undertow’ and a Century of Death-Defying S&P 500 Rebounds

Posted by & filed under Growth & Valuation, Market Analysis, Personal Finance.

Description: (Bloomberg) — Memo to traders back from the most bruising bout of the bull market. If the past is any precedent, the rewards of sticking around can be high. Source: Bloomberg.com Date: Apr 16, 2019 Link: https://finance.yahoo.com/news/bullish-history-near-death-experiences-110500656.html Questions for discussion: What does the analysis suggest may happen? Do you agree with this assessment?

Women Did Everything Right. Then Work Got ‘Greedy.’

Posted by & filed under Growth & Valuation, Management Issues, Personal Finance.

Description: How America’s obsession with long hours has widened the gender gap. Source: NYTimes.com Date: Apr 26, 2019 Link: https://www.nytimes.com/2019/04/26/upshot/women-long-hours-greedy-professions.html Questions for discussion: What are the managerial issues raised in this article? How should companies respond to these challenges, in your opinion?

TaylorMade CEO: Split from Adidas gave us ‘freedom and independence’

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Description: When Tiger Woods won The Masters on Sunday, it was an instant boon to everyone in business with him, directly or even indirectly, from sponsors like Nike and Monster Beverage to broadcaster CBS. Source: YahooFinance.com – video report Date: Apr 16, 2019 Link: https://finance.yahoo.com/news/taylormade-golf-ceo-adidas-sale-gave-us-freedom-to-sign-tiger-woods-jason-day-203237110.html Questions for discussion: How much “stock value” should investors attribute to… Read more »

Qualcomm stock surges on Apple legal settlement

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Description: Apple and Qualcomm have settled their royalty dispute, the companies announced in a press release. The settlement includes a payment from Apple to Qualcomm as well as a chipset supply agreement, suggesting that Apple will buy Qualcomm chips for future iPhones. The companies did not say how much the payment will be. Source: CNBC.com – video report Date:… Read more »

Netflix looks like Amazon in its early years ahead of its earnings, market watcher says

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Description: Netflix is set to report earnings after the bell Tuesday. BK Asset Management’s Boris Schlossberg says investors only care about one thing and it has him seeing flashbacks to Amazon’s early years. Source: CNBC.com – video report Date: Apr 16, 2019 Link: https://www.cnbc.com/2019/04/16/netflix-looks-like-amazon-in-its-early-years-ahead-of-its-earnings-market-watcher-says.html Questions for discussion: Summarize the assessments made about Netflix and why it is reminiscent of Amazon,… Read more »

Why No One Wants to Invest in Currency Hedge Funds Anymore

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Description: Currency-only hedge funds were once a hot corner of the investment world. From 2000 to 2008 the tally of currency funds tracked by the BarclayHedge Currency Traders Index almost tripled, to 145. Now they’re looking more like an endangered species, with just 49 in operation. Source: Bloomberg.com Date: Apr 16, 2019 Link: https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2019-04-16/why-no-one-wants-to-invest-in-currency-hedge-funds-anymore?srnd=businessweek-v2 Questions… Read more »

Stock market at ‘risk of a melt-up, not a meltdown’, warns BlackRock’s Larry Fink

Posted by & filed under Governments & Regulators, Growth & Valuation, Market Analysis, Personal Finance.

Description: BlackRock Inc. BLK, +3.25%  Chief Exeuctive Larry Fink says that with stocks knocking on the door of records, a surge to the upside appears more likely than a market collapse. That is because so many investors still have lots of cash to put to work, the head of the world’s largest asset manager told CNBC in a Tuesday interview…. Read more »