Register for free to join our community of investors and share your ideas. You will also get access to streaming quotes, interactive charts, trades, portfolio, live options flow and more tools.
Japan_s economy sinks deeper into worst postwar contraction
, intensifies challenge for new leader after PM Abe resigned last week
https://www.reuters.com/article/us-japan-economy-gdp/japans-economy-shrinks-more-than-expected-in-second-quarter-heightens-woes-for-new-leader-idUSKBN25Z00R?il=0
The world’s third-largest economy shrank an annualised 28.1% in April-June, more than a preliminary reading of a 27.8% contraction, revised gross domestic product (GDP) data showed on Tuesday, suffering its worst postwar contraction.
The record drop roughly matched a median market forecast of a 28.6% contraction in a Reuters poll.
The main culprit behind the revision was a 4.7% drop in capital expenditure, much biggest than a preliminary 1.5% fall, suggesting the COVID-19 pandemic was hitting broader sectors of the economy.
The data will put the new prime minister, to be elected in a ruling party leadership race on Sept. 14, under pressure to take bolder economic support measures.
Many analysts expect the BOJ hold off on ramping up stimulus for now as steps to spur demand could get people moving more freely into shops and risk spreading the virus.
“Even though restrictions to economic activity have been relaxed, some of them will remain under the new lifestyle forced upon by the pandemic,” said Yoshiki Shinke, chief economist at Dai-ichi Life Research Institute.
“It will probably take a long time for the economy to normalise and return to levels before the pandemic.”
_
The trigger for a seismic stock-market slump Thursday and Friday that has erased weeks of gains for a frothy U.S. stock market, may have been embattled investment firm SoftBank
https://www.marketwatch.com/story/this-nasdaq-whale-may-have-triggered-the-stock-markets-brutal-rout-claims-report-11599234572?mod=home-page
On Thursday, the Dow Jones Industrial Average DJIA, -0.56% ended with a loss of 807.77 points, or 2.8%, at 28,292.73, after dropping more than 1,000 points at its session low. The S&P 500 index SPX, -0.81% closed 125.78 points lower, down 3.5%, at 3,455.06. The Nasdaq Composite COMP, -1.26% tumbled 598.34 points, or 5%, to end at 11,458.10. The declines marked the biggest one-day drops for all three indexes since June.
On Friday, The Nasdaq Composite COMP,tumbled 582 points, or 5%, before climping back to end at 11,313.
he Wall Street Journal wrote on Friday that SoftBank bought options tied to billions of dollars worth of individual tech stocks, which may have included bullish bets on Tesla TSLA, +2.78% and Apple AAPL, +0.06%.
The Journal wrote that regulatory filings show the investor bought nearly $4 billion of shares in technology companies in the spring. They said that not included in those disclosures were the massive options trades, which were reportedly bought to pay off if the stock market rises to a certain level and then lock in gains, the paper said citing people familiar.
Why Sorrento Therapeutics, Novavax, Moderna, and Other Coronavirus Stocks Plunged Today
https://finance.yahoo.com/m/0fefd82f-cea0-3e20-97e8-bb1c6c3b6884/why-sorrento-therapeutics-.html
A shocking announcement out of Russia sent shares of companies working on COVID-19 vaccines and treatments sharply lower.
What happened
Coronavirus-related stocks fell on Tuesday after Russia said it had registered the world's first novel coronavirus vaccine.
By the close of trading, shares of Sorrento Therapeutics (NASDAQ:SRNE), Inovio Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:INO), Novavax (NASDAQ:NVAX), BioNTech (NASDAQ:BNTX), and Moderna (NASDAQ:MRNA) were down 25%, 23%, 16%, 7%, and 4%, respectively.
So what
Russian President Vladimir Putin said his country's healthcare regulator officially approved the new COVID-19 vaccine. Russia intends to embark on a national immunization program, while also exporting the drug to international markets across the world. "I hope we can start a massive release of this vaccine soon," Putin said.
The news prompted some investors to sell their shares of COVID-19 vaccine and treatment stocks, many of which had seen their share prices soar in recent months on optimism that they could be the first to develop effective solutions for combating the disease.
Now what
While many people understandably cheered the news out of Russia, others were skeptical about Putin's claims. Health officials in the U.S. and around the world questioned whether the vaccine is truly safe and effective, particularly since Russia appears to have rushed its testing process. In particular, the vaccine has not yet gone through a phase 3 clinical trial -- a critical step in determining how well it works. Thus, Russia's announcement is certainly not a death knell for any of the companies elsewhere developing coronavirus vaccines or treatments. It's also possible that many of the companies leading the charge against COVID-19 -- including Sorrento, Inovio, Novavax, BioNTech, and Moderna -- could see their stocks rebound in the coming days, particularly if Russia's claims of success in the vaccine race are shown to be unsubstantiated.
Groupon Stock Spikes 50% as Turnaround Shows Signs of Progress
https://finance.yahoo.com/m/08e6557f-61a1-313e-901c-5b8434f38e03/groupon-stock-spikes-50-as.html
Groupon shares rose as much as 50% after the company’s June-quarter results showed encouraging signs of a turnaround.
The company, specializing in online offers for consumer experiences, dining, and health and beauty services, posted revenue of $396 million, down 26% from a year ago, but almost twice the roughly $200 million Wall Street expected. Groupon (ticker: GRPN) reported a loss of 93 cents a share, smaller than the Street’s consensus loss forecast of $2.75 a share.
Adjusted earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization was $1.3 million. Global units sold were down 35%, reflecting the impact on demand for consumer experiences that has flowed from the Covid-19 pandemic.
AstraZeneca to supply Japan with COVID-19 vaccine thru JCR Pharma output, imports
https://news.yahoo.com/astrazeneca-supply-japan-covid-19-101048783.html
AstraZeneca said on Friday JCR Pharma will help make a portion of its potential COVID-19 vaccine in Japan and it will import shots as part of its deal to supply the Asian nation with up 120 million doses from early 2021.
It did not give a breakdown for the volume of domestic production and imports or say where the vaccine from overseas would come from.
It also said Daiichi Sankyo Co Ltd, Daiichi Sankyo Biotech Co Ltd, Meiji Seika Pharma Co Ltd and KM Biologics Co Ltd will "support supply" in Japan, but gave no other details.
Twitter and TikTok had talks about potential combination of social media services
https://news.yahoo.com/twitter-tiktok-reportedly-had-talks-003203641.html
Could a Twitter and TikTok merger be in the works?
The Wall Street Journal reported Saturday that San Francisco-based Twitter had preliminary talks about a potential combination with TikTok, the popular video-sharing app, citing people familiar with the matter.
According to the Journal, it was unclear whether Twitter will pursue a deal with TikTok, which would face significant challenges.
Twitter and TikTok declined to comment when reached by USA TODAY Saturday. TikTok said it doesn't comment on "market rumors."
President Donald Trump signed an executive order late Thursday blocking all U.S. transactions with TikTok’s Chinese parent corporation, ByteDance, the latest move by the administration to force the video-sharing app to sever its ties to Beijing.
TikTok lawsuit?: TikTok is planning to sue the Trump administration as early as Tuesday, according to a report
Unemployment benefits: Trump extends unemployment benefits through executive order but cuts aid to $400 per week: What we know
The order, which is likely to face legal challenges, would bar “any transaction by any person, or with respect to any property, subject to the jurisdiction of the United States, with ByteDance Ltd" in an effort to “address the national emergency with respect to the information and communication technology supply chain.”
The president signed a separate executive order banning transactions with China-based tech giant Tencent, which owns the app WeChat, citing similar national security concerns.
He claims the apps “capture vast swaths of information from its users” which could allow "the Chinese Communist Party access to Americans’ personal and proprietary information."
Microsoft confirmed on Aug. 2 that it would continue to negotiate a purchase of TikTok's U.S. operations after a conversation between CEO Satya Nadella and Trump.
"Microsoft will move quickly to pursue discussions with TikTok’s parent company, ByteDance, in a matter of weeks, and in any event completing these discussions no later than September 15, 2020," Microsoft said in a blog post. "During this process, Microsoft looks forward to continuing dialogue with the United States Government, including with the President."
TikTok may sue White House over ban as soon as August 11th
https://finance.yahoo.com/m/0f4eaa40-a1bc-3ce2-a3ce-43f7e2014b35/tiktok-may-sue-white-house.html?.tsrc=fin-srch
TikTok might quickly make good on its promise to fight the White House’s threatened ban on its service. An NPR source claims TikTok will file a lawsuit against the Trump administration as soon as August 11th. The suit will contend that the executive order is unconstitutional as it violated TikTok’s due process right to respond, and that the national security rationale behind the order is based on “pure speculation and conjecture,” according to the source.
The reported insider also maintained that the White House didn’t have investigators contact the company ahead of an enforcement action, as they normally do with companies. TikTok’s legal time considered that a breach of procedure, according to claimed insiders on TikTok’s legal team.
The company declined to comment on the possibility of an impending lawsuit, but did acknowledge beliefs the order was issued “without any due process” and “no substantiation” of the security allegations.
TikTok might not have as much trouble contesting the ban as you might think. While Trump used the International Emergency Economic Powers Act to help justify the order on security grounds, that law doesn’t allow bans based on personal communication and media sharing — both central to TikTok.
The challenge, as you might imagine, is to have the right people agree. Congress isn’t likely to help as it’s pushing for a ban on TikTok for government devices and has generally echoed security fears. TikTok may have to rely on the courts to avoid a ban, at least if a Microsoft deal doesn’t go through.
Eastman Kodak's $765 million U.S. loan agreement on hold after recent allegations
https://finance.yahoo.com/news/eastman-kodaks-765-million-u-022323141.html
Eastman Kodak Co's $765 million (587 million pounds) loan agreement with the U.S. government to produce pharmaceutical ingredients has been put on hold due to "recent allegations of wrongdoing," the U.S. International Development Finance Corp (DFC) said.
Earlier this week, senior Democratic lawmakers asked federal regulators to investigate securities transactions made by the company and its executives around the time it learned it could receive the government loan.
"Recent allegations of wrongdoing raise serious concerns," DFC said late on Friday in a tweet.
"We will not proceed any further unless these allegations are cleared," the DFC said. It was referring to a letter of interest it signed on July 28 with Kodak.
President Donald Trump on Tuesday said the government would investigate the circumstances surrounding the announcement of the loan, which will help the photographic equipment maker shift into making pharmaceuticals at its U.S. factories.
Kodak shares surged more than 1,000% last week after the loan was announced, generating a windfall for executives, some of whom had received options one day earlier.
Lawmakers said they had "serious concerns" about the transactions and asked the Securities and Exchange Commission to investigate the circumstances surrounding the matter. They cited growing concerns about insider trading.
The company said it had appointed a special committee of independent directors of its board to conduct an internal review.
"The internal review will be conducted for the Committee by Akin Gump Strauss Hauer & Feld LLP," Eastman Kodak said in a statement.
U.S. G.D.P. Fell 9.5 Percent
https://www.nytimes.com/live/2020/07/30/business/stock-market-today-coronavirus?action=click&module=Top%20Stories&pgtype=Homepage
The U.S. economy’s contraction in the second quarter was the worst on record.
Economic output fell at its fastest pace on record last spring as the coronavirus pandemic forced businesses across the United States to close their doors and kept millions of Americans shut in their homes for weeks.
Gross domestic product — the broadest measure of goods and services produced — fell 9.5 percent in the second quarter of the year, the Commerce Department said Thursday. On an annualized basis, the standard way of reporting quarterly economic data, G.D.P. fell at a rate of 32.9 percent, or 32.9% annual pace in the second quarter.
The collapse was unprecedented in its speed and breathtaking in its severity. The only possible comparisons in modern American history came during the Great Depression and the demobilization after World War II, both of which occurred before the advent of modern economic statistics.
Unlike past recessions, this one was a result of a conscious decision to suspend economic activity to slow the spread of the virus. Congress pumped trillions of dollars into the economy to sustain households and businesses, limit long-term damage and allow for a rapid rebound.
Traded these in for $20 $25 and $30 calls.
Kodak’s stock triples as company announces pandemic plan to start making pharmaceutical ingredients
https://www.marketwatch.com/story/kodaks-stock-triples-as-company-announces-pandemic-plan-to-start-making-pharmaceutical-ingredients-2020-07-28
he Trump administration’s $765 million loan to the Eastman Kodak Co. for its launch of a business making pharmaceutical ingredients sent shares of the iconic camera company soaring.
Kodak’s stock KODK, +203.05% rallied more than 200% on Tuesday after the news was announced by the Trump administration. The company emerged from a 2011 bankruptcy in 2013, and its shares tumbled from a 10-year high of $37.20 on Jan. 9, 2014, to a low of $1.55 on March 23 of this year.
The Trump administration said the Kodak deal is the first of its kind, and uses powers afforded by the Defense Production Act. The administration previously used these powers to demand that Ford Motor Co. F, +1.15% begin manufacturing respirators and masks and that General Motors Co. GM, +2.45% make ventilators.
It awarded $354 million to Phlow Corp. in May to start producing active pharmaceutical ingredients, or API, among other chemical ingredients, used in certain essential medications. A spokesperson for Phlow said that the company can’t disclose the list of drugs but that it includes treatments for pain and blood pressure that can be used by hospitalized COVID-19 patients. The total contract is worth up to $812 million. Phlow cites a shift toward producing API in China and India as the rationale behind its business model.
“The threat of pandemics like COVID-19 has exposed the United States’ heavy reliance on foreign pharmaceutical supply chains,” Phlow said in a statement at the time.
Drug makers largely do not manufacture API in the U.S., and many have instead sourced API from such lower-cost countries as China and India.
An accelerating decline in the U.S. dollar is reverberating around the world
https://www.reuters.com/article/us-health-coronavirus-dollar-analysis/king-dollars-decline-ripples-across-the-globe-idUSKCN24T1G5
Further dollar weakness would likely be an unwelcome development for economies such as Europe and Japan, as their own rising currencies threaten to weigh on growth and efforts to spark inflation.
The dollar is down around 3% year-to-date, after rising for each of the last two years. The greenback slid nearly 10% in 2017.
A weaker dollar makes U.S. exports more competitive abroad and helps U.S. multinational companies by making it cheaper for them to convert profits back into their home currency. That’s potentially good news for a rally in U.S. stocks that has slowed in recent weeks after coming within distance of all-time highs.
A 10% fall in the value of the dollar against a basket of trade-weighted currencies would increase 2020 earnings per share by about 3%, Goldman said. Goldman analysts expect the dollar to fall another 5% over the next 12 months.
Other assets are already benefiting from the dollar’s drop. Gold, which like many commodities is priced in the U.S. currency and becomes more affordable to foreign buyers when the dollar falls, stands near its historic high, part of a rally that has driven the S&P/Goldman Sachs Commodity Index .SPGSCI 34% higher since late March, as of Monday.
Developing countries are also likely to cheer a weaker dollar as it makes it cheaper for them to service debt denominated in the U.S. currency.
Under Armour Falls After Founder, CFO Are Named in SEC Probe
https://finance.yahoo.com/news/under-armour-falls-founder-cfo-133816136.html
Under Armour Inc. said a pair of top executives, including founder Kevin Plank, has been named in a federal probe of the company’s accounting, sending shares of the athleticwear maker down.
Plank and Chief Financial Officer David Bergman received Wells Notices informing them that the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission is likely to “allege certain violations of the federal securities laws,” Under Armour said Monday in a regulatory filing. Under Armour also received a notice informing it that the agency may file an enforcement action against the company.
The disclosure expands upon comments from the company in November, when it revealed that it had been under federal investigation for more than two years. The situation has roiled the Baltimore-based company as it has grappled with lackluster sales amid the coronavirus pandemic and a CEO change, with Plank handing the reins to Patrik Frisk earlier this year.
Under Armour and the executives “maintain that their actions were appropriate,” according to the latest filing. They intend to respond to the Wells Notices and “engage in a dialogue” with the SEC to resolve the matter.
The Wells Notices, which the SEC uses to inform investigation subjects that it intends to bring enforcement actions against them, relate to sales that were allegedly pulled forward during a period from the third quarter of 2015 through the end of 2016, Under Armour said. The SEC is “focused on the company’s disclosures regarding the use of pull-forward sales in order to meet sales objectives,” but it is not alleging revenue recognition violations, the company said.
Under Armour fell 1.3% to $10.77 a share at 9:34 a.m. Monday in New York. The shares slumped 49% this year through Friday.
‘Trouble’s coming,’ warns short-selling legend who just cashed in a roughly $100 million winning bet
https://www.marketwatch.com/story/troubles-coming-warns-short-selling-legend-who-just-cashed-in-a-roughly-100-winning-bet-2020-07-27?mod=home-page
That’s legendary short seller Jim Chanos, fresh off a $100 million win, casting gloom over the current state of the stock market in a recent interview with the Financial Times.
Chanos, who once made a killing by shorting Enron and aims to make another one with his bearish bet against Tesla TSLA, +8.65%, just earned nine-figures by shorting Wirecard ahead of its collapse, according to sources cited in the FT story.
Of the big Wirecard win, he said “it’s bittersweet. because short sellers put up with weeks and months of misery, and you feel good for hours and days.”
Speaking of misery, his Tesla short is a mess, but Chanos, with $1.5 billion in assets under management, still maintains he’s got a winner on his hands.
“Elon Musk has personified the hopes and dreams of this bull market,” Chanos said, adding that Tesla has “a culture of deception” and it “burnishes its results through aggressive accounting.”
He claimed we’re in a “golden age of fraud,” describing the current market climate as rife with euphoria, FOMO and Trumpian “post-truth” politics — “a really fertile field for people to play fast and loose with the truth, and for corporate wrongdoers to get away with it for a long time,” he said.
TSLA stock short sellers
https://marketrealist.com/2020/07/tesla-takes-dig-short-sellers-einhorn-chanos/
Tesla has always had a challenging relationship with short sellers. Jim Chanos and David Einhorn are among the company’s most well known short sellers. Last year, Elon Musk and David Einhorn were involved in an online brawl. Einhorn taunted Musk about Tesla’s struggling solar business. Earlier this year, Einhorn questioned Tesla’s accounting policies. He wasn’t the first person to question the company’s accounting policies.
David Einhorn and Jim Chanos
Earlier in 2020, Jim Chanos said that he’s “maximum short” on the stock. Einhorn’s Greenlight Capital also added TSLA puts in the first quarter. However, TSLA stock short sellers have lost billions this year betting against the company. After the stock surpassed $1,200 on July 3, Musk took another dig at short sellers.
Tesla short shorts
Tesla launched limited-edition short shorts, which sold out quickly. At the time of writing this article, only the XL size was available for sale. Even though the shorts are an apparent dig against the short sellers, the company made it even more obvious in its communication. The company said, “Tesla Short Shorts, featuring our signature Tesla logo in front with ‘S3XY’ across the back. Enjoy exceptional comfort from the closing bell.”
T-Mobile stock halted after Nasdaq request for more information
https://www.marketwatch.com/story/t-mobile-stock-halted-after-nasdaq-request-for-more-information-2020-07-27?mod=MW_article_top_stories
Shares of T-Mobile US Inc. TMUS, +0.65% were halted early in the extended session Monday due to Nasdaq requiring additional information from the company. The reasons behind the request were not immediately clear. Shares of T-Mobile ended the regular Monday session up 0.7% and so far this year the stock has gained 35%, which contrasts with losses of 7% for the Dow Jones Industrial Average DJIA, +0.43% and compares with gains around 0.3% for the S&P 500 index SPX, +0.74%. T-Mobile is expected to report second-quarter earnings next week; analysts polled by FactSet call for adjusted earnings of $1.18 a share on sales of $692 million, compared with sales of $1.75 billion in the year-ago quarter. Rival Verizon Communications Inc. VZ, +0.03% on Friday reported better-than-expected earnings.
Intel’s Chief Engineering Officer Is Leaving the Chipmaker
https://finance.yahoo.com/news/intel-chief-engineering-officer-leaving-210841041.html
Intel Corp. ousted Chief Engineering Officer Murthy Renduchintala after the chipmaker failed to keep up with the latest manufacturing advances.
The executive will leave Aug. 3, and his organization will be split up and led by other leaders. Intel said it was making the changes “to accelerate product leadership and improve focus and accountability in process technology execution,” according to a statement.
When Renduchintala joined Intel more than four years ago, he was lauded as someone with the experience needed to upgrade Intel’s design efforts. He was later promoted to his current position, which added responsibility for manufacturing, a key part of improving the performance of chips.
Last week, the company said the latest technique for building the most advanced semiconductors was a year behind schedule. That followed a multiyear delay in the previous manufacturing process. The stock slumped 16% on Friday and fell 2% more on Monday.
Intel ‘Stunning Failure’ Heralds End of Era for U.S. Chip Sector
https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2020-07-25/intel-stunning-failure-heralds-end-of-era-for-u-s-chip-sector
Intel Corp.’s decision to consider outsourcing manufacturing heralds the end of an era in which the company, and the U.S., dominated the semiconductor industry. The move could reverberate well beyond Silicon Valley, influencing global trade and geopolitics.
The Santa Clara, California-based company has been the largest chipmaker for most of the past 30 years by combining the best designs with cutting-edge factories, several of which are still based in the U.S.
Most other U.S. chip companies shut or sold domestic plants years ago, and had other firms make the components, mostly in Asia. Intel held out, arguing that doing both improved each side of its operation and created better semiconductors. That strategy is in tatters now, with the company’s factories struggling to keep up with the latest 7-nanometer production process.
After Chief Executive Officer Bob Swan said Intel is considering outsourcing, the company’s shares slumped 16% on Friday, the most since March, when the stock market plummeted in the early days of the Covid-19 pandemic.
“We view the roadmap missteps to be a stunning failure for a company once known for flawless execution, and could well represent the end of Intel’s computing dominance,” Chris Caso, an analyst at Raymond James, wrote in a research note on Friday.
5G play
Three of the best-positioned 5G stocks that still trade at attractive valuations include wireless carrier T-Mobile (NASDAQ:TMUS), leading chip manufacturer Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing (NYSE:TSM), and memory chip giant Micron Technology (NASDAQ:MU), all of which look like solid 5G plays to add to your portfolio this summer.
https://www.fool.com/investing/2020/07/05/3-5g-stocks-to-buy-in-july.aspx
novonix / up 100% TONIGHT australia / this company is beginning to show that they are possibly a big part of the electric batteries space for vehicles and batteries for the energy grid ....
could be almost any of the car battery companies they get market share with
also the enegy grid storage companies / they could be huge in that sector too
any one of these if a deal is inked could rocket the price per share quickly
the price is up and most investors are up a minimum of 50%
LINK >>>>> https://hotcopper.com.au/threads/ann-novonix-investor-webinar-presentation.5515208/
Rachael
TSLA TESLA
Seems like a good time to get SHLL October calls. October is after ticker change will occur. Price near it’s bottom most likely so calls are as cheap as they will probably get. I bought 5 SHLL 10/16 $40 calls today for $2.68 average. I can’t see HYLN not going past $40 by Oct 16 so these seem to have good risk reward.
Dell Shares Rise 7% After Hours After Hinting At Potential VMWare Spinoff
July 15 2020 - 05:58PM
Dow Jones News Print
By Kimberly Chin
https://ih.advfn.com/stock-market/NYSE/dell-technologies-DELL/stock-news/82863896/dell-shares-rise-7-after-hours-after-hinting-at-p
Shares of Dell Technologies Inc. rose nearly 7% after hours Wednesday to $56.50 after the company said it is considering a potential spinoff of its 81% equity ownership interest in VMWare Inc.
Dell said it is looking at various options, including maintaining its current ownership structure in VMWare as is.
A potential spinoff wouldn't occur before September 2021, the company said.
The Wall Street Journal reported in June that Dell was examining options including a spinoff in its stake in the cloud-software giant.
VMWare's shares rose 3% in after-hours trading to $143.85 following the news.
S&P500 at major resistance 3200
https://www.cnbc.com/2020/07/15/stock-market-futures-open-to-close-news.html
With Wednesday’s gain the S&P 500 is now less than 5% away from recovering its February all-time high level, although some investors believe the the rally has run too far, too fast, given all the uncertainties that remain in the market.
“We are not out of the woods yet and are still far away from returning to pre-COVID-19 economic levels,” said Nate Fischer, chief investment strategist at Strategic Wealth Partners.
“The market is in need of a healthcare solution, as the economy was forced to shut down for a healthcare issue. So far, we’ve had fiscal and monetary assistance to this problem. Until a real medical remedy is found, the market will remain volatile,” he added.
DJIA open +550 after FDA grands "Fast Track" status to 2 out of 4 Vaccine Candidates (PFE, BNTX)
https://www.fool.com/investing/2020/07/13/pfizer-and-biontech-get-fast-track-designation-for.aspx
after noon, DJIA crashed as CA announced roll-back re-openning, also school will not open as Trump oredered last Friday!
https://www.marketwatch.com/story/dow-surges-nearly-550-points-on-gains-in-shares-of-pfizer-unitedhealth-2020-07-13?siteid=yhoof2&yptr=yahoo
Note: UVXY is only slightly red at open, after 1 hr it stayed in green the rest of the day!
.
.
.
.
.
.
Officials from AstraZeneca, Johnson & Johnson, Merck, Moderna and Pfizer will field questions on July 21 about the vaccine prospects before the House Energy and Commerce Oversight and Investigations Subcommittee.
In anticipation of warrant conversions and PIPE investors being able to sell in the next few weeks. NKLA 7/31 $40P underlying price $54.50.
Bulls in China Markets Spark 2015 Fears
https://www.investopedia.com/bulls-in-a-china-s-markets-spark-2015-fears-5070544?utm_campaign=quote-yahoo&utm_source=yahoo&utm_medium=referral&yptr=yahoo
By DEBORAH D'SOUZA
Updated Jul 7, 2020
- Chinese state-owned media predict "healthy bull market"
- Shanghai Composite index has risen more than 25% since March 23
- China-focused ETFs are surging, signs of a short squeeze
- Markets could crash if margin trading gets out of control like in 2015
They're saying if the U.S. stock markets have the Fed, Chinese stock markets have state-owned media. After various news outlets encouraged investors to buy equities this week, indices roared higher and yield on government debt surged the most since January. There were also zero new COVID-19 cases reported in the capital Beijing on Tuesday, the location of the recent outbreaks. The Shanghai Composite index, firmly in bull market territory, closed almost 6% higher yesterday and today rose for the fifth trading day in a row. It's currently at its highest level since February 2018.
Yesterday the iShares China Large-Cap ETF (FXI) jumped 9.5%, the sharpest single-day climb since March 2009. The iShares MSCI China ETF (MCHI) closed 7.3% higher, its best performance in nine years. Susquehanna analysts said there were signs of a short squeeze. The rally is also strengthening the yuan, and it'll be interesting to see how long the government allows that to continue past the 7-dollar mark.
"Retail investors dominate China’s equity turnover on the mainland. With a closed capital account, and the government managing most other investment avenues, China’s savings surplus can really only flow into real estate or equities," explained OANDA analyst Jeffrey Halley. "It is thus, not a difficult challenge to mobilize the masses, by extolling them to 'fill their boots' with equities. The implication being, that if state media is telling them to, there is an implicit 'letter of comfort,' that the government has their back."
There's however warnings about a possible repeat of 2015, when a stock market boom was followed by a crash. The amount of leverage, or money borrowed from brokerages, in the market has crossed 1.2 trillion yuan, which Bloomberg says is the highest since late 2015. Five years ago, the Chinese government loosened restrictions on investing with borrowed money (trading on margin) and equity prices exploded. The retail rush to stocks emerged despite a slowing economy because the Chinese Communist party chose the rhetoric of "zhongguomeng," meaning Chinese dream.
Supreme Court Rules Trump Cannot Block Release of Financial Records
Two rulings clear the way for prosecutors in New York to see President Trump’s financial records, but the justices stopped Congress for now.
https://www.nytimes.com/2020/07/09/us/trump-taxes-supreme-court.html?action=click&module=Top%20Stories&pgtype=Homepage
The Supreme Court on Thursday cleared the way for prosecutors in New York to see President Trump’s financial records, a stunning defeat for Mr. Trump but a decision that probably means the records will be shielded from public scrutiny under grand jury secrecy rules until after the election, and perhaps indefinitely.
In a separate decision, the court ruled that Congress could not, at least for now, see many of the same records. The vote in both cases was 7 to 2. Chief Justice John G. Roberts Jr. wrote both majority opinions.
The court’s decision in favor of the New York prosecutors was a major statement on the scope and limits of presidential power, one that will take its place with landmark rulings that required President Richard M. Nixon to turn over tapes of Oval Office conversations and forced President Bill Clinton to provide evidence in a sexual harassment suit.
United warns 36,000 employees of potential job cuts as pandemic roils travel demand
https://www.cnbc.com/2020/07/08/coronavirus-united-braces-36000-employees-for-job-cuts-as-pandemic-roils-travel-demand.html
United is warning about 36,000 front-line employees about potential furloughs.
The terms of $25 billion in federal aid prohibit airlines from laying off or furloughing workers until Oct. 1.
Airlines are urging employees to take buyouts or early retirement packages to avoid involuntary cuts.
United Airlines on Wednesday said it is warning about 36,000 front-line employees — more than a third of its staff — about potential furloughs as the coronavirus pandemic continues to roil travel demand.
The potential for the mass job cuts, the largest announced by a U.S. airline so far, comes as signs of a recovery in air travel fade with new coronavirus infections and travel restrictions. Other airlines have warned employees about possible staff reductions and are likely to follow suit with similar formal notices.
Shanghai soars more than 4%, leading gains in Asia as ‘bull sentiment’ drives markets
https://www.cnbc.com/2020/07/06/asia-markets-coronavirus-us-china-tensions-currencies-in-focus.html
Stocks in Asia Pacific were higher in Monday trade, with stocks in mainland China leading gains regionally.
The Shanghai composite soared 4.24% in morning trade while the Shenzhen component rose 3.29%. The Shenzhen composite also jumped 3.1%
Jackson Wong, asset management director at Amber Hill Capital, told CNBC in an email that “bull sentiment” in mainland Chinese shares was “driving the markets.”
Wong said the “sudden surge” in trading volume, as well as a break out for the Shanghai composite last week, raised investor expectations that “another bull run is coming.” Some of the reasons he suggested for the uptick in sentiment included the country being less affected by the coronavirus outbreak at the moment.
Bank of Communications’ Hao Hong agreed partly with Wong’s assessment, telling CNBC that the Shanghai composite has “broken through” its 850-day long-term moving average.
“The market continues to believe that the central bank will ease more, as seen by China’s recent credti and monetary expansion,” Hong,
Meanwhile, Hong Kong’s Hang Seng index also saw robust gains, rising 3.15% in morning trade.
Elsewhere in the region, the Nikkei 225 in Japan rose 1.55% while the Topix index added 1.45%. South Korea’s Kospi advanced 1.38%.
Trump signs extension of COVID-relief fund for businesses
https://finance.yahoo.com/news/trump-signs-extension-covid-relief-142537273.html
President Donald Trump on Saturday signed into law a temporary extension of a subsidy program for small businesses battered by the coronavirus,
The legislation extends the June 30 deadline for applying for the program to Aug. 8. Lawmakers created the program in March and have modified it twice since, adding money on one occasion and more recently permitting more flexible use of the funding despite some grumbling among GOP conservatives.
About $130 billion of $660 billion approved for the program remains eligible for businesses to seek direct federal subsidies for payroll and other costs such as rent, though demand for the Paycheck Protection Program has pretty much dried up in recent weeks.
The Democratic-controlled House voted on Wednesday to approve the extension of the program after the Republican-controlled Senate did the same.
Trump had been expected to sign the measure.
Gundlach lashes Fed's 'incredible fiscal lending' during coronavirus collapse
https://finance.yahoo.com/news/gundlach-on-economys-dependency-on-the-federal-reserve-171229604.html
Billionaire bond investor Jeffrey Gundlach believes the Federal Reserve has "propped up the economy" with extraordinary feats of lending and bond buying that have curbed market volatility during the COVID-19 crisis, but may come back to haunt policymakers.
In a recent interview with Yahoo Finance, the CEO of $135 billion DoubleLine Capital hit out at what he called “the most incredible fiscal lending [Fed policymakers] have ever contemplated.”
Since the early days of the coronavirus crisis, the central bank has spent trillions to backstop the economy — buying a host of corporate bonds — placating a whipsawed market in the process. Those efforts have sent the Fed’s balance sheet spiking well above $7 trillion.
"The Fed has decided that they want to pull out all the stops to reduce market and economic volatility,” Gundlach said. “'What they're doing is really a bridge further than they have ever gone before.”
Turmoil on Wall Street was “really persistent and elevated...and they kept throwing things at it to make the volatility stop," the billionaire said, joking that "when investors use the word' volatility,' what they really mean is down, prices going down a lot."
The 60-year-old bond investing legend, who's spent 35 years in the markets and navigated multiple crises, explained that the recent rout in credit markets was “far worse” than the aftermath of the financial crisis.
"That led to what looked like was going to be some very substantial bankruptcies in some of the leveraged pools like mortgage-related REITs and other types of investments,” he explained.
As the COVID-19 pandemic and subsequent lockdowns wreaked havoc on the economy, the Fed unleashed an arsenal of liquidity facilities — including backing corporate debt markets, a move Gundlach criticized as violating the central bank's charter.
"The Fed figured desperate times...require desperate measures, and the went all the way into buying corporate bonds,” Gundlach said — which he argued is against the Federal Reserve Act of 1913.
He added they “could go even further” if there’s another downturn, which could very well happen as coronavirus infections surge nationwide.
Gundlach, one of the few investors who sounded the alarm in subprime that precipitated the 2008 crisis, has spoken to Yahoo Finance previously about a crisis looming in corporate credit, where companies are holding record levels of debt on their books.
The key risk is the enormous portion of investment-grade corporate market sitting at the lowest tier, which is BBB. Those bonds could easily be tipped into junk status.
"There's been so much issuance of corporate bonds. The prices have been propped up to levels where I think the owners that own them at these levels will end up losing principal on a basket of these assets," he said.
What that means is the Fed is "delaying the inevitable. In the meantime, they have a lot of wherewithal to continue delaying because they are spraying money all over the place and buying all these assets,” Gundlach added.
The veteran bond investor explained that "the price of corporate bonds isn't really real. There's no price discovery mechanism that's being pegged. There's no message; there's just a target price that the Fed has been doing, and that led to a pop-up in corporate bonds."
He cautioned on the interest rate profile of investment-grade, pointing to the LQD exchange-traded-fund as an example.
"It's about the interest rate risk of the 10-year Treasury and the yield-to-no losses is about 2.25. There's not a lot of reward there, and there's a lot of risk if the bonds get downgraded because the yields on junk bonds are far higher today than the yields on BBB corporate,” he argued.
“So, if they get downgraded, we know the pricing is going to suffer very significantly."
Pfizer’s (PFE) coronavirus vaccine candidate showing progress in a trial phase — and the Federal Reserve’s pledge to keep the monetary spigots open “for years” — sent the Nasdaq Composite (QQQ) to a record close.
A broad rally in tech stocks carried Amazon (AMZN), Netflix (NFLX) Tesla (TSLA) and Microsoft (MSFT) to new record highs, with those companies riding the momentum of business models that are mostly perceived as coronavirus-proof. With the exception of Tesla, the high-flying tech shares are thriving from large numbers of consumers still working remotely.
Stocks closed out a breathtaking second-quarter rally that took them to their best overall quarter since 1998, and best second quarter on record. During that time frame, the S&P 500 saw a near-20% run-up during the April through June period, while the Dow and Nasdaq rose about 17.5% and 30%, respectively.
The historic rally was fueled by a massive fiscal and monetary policy response designed to bolster the virus-stricken economy, and as states and cities across the country began easing their lockdowns. Minutes from the Fed on Wednesday showed the central bank intends to keep its foot on the easing pedal for “years” as the recovery takes shape.
Why Inovio Pharmaceuticals Stock Is Crashing Today
https://www.fool.com/investing/2020/07/01/why-inovio-pharmaceuticals-stock-is-crashing-today.aspx?source=eptyholnk0000202&utm_source=yahoo-host&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=article&yptr=yahoo
Shares of Inovio Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:INO) were crashing 14.6% lower as of 10:55 a.m. EDT on Wednesday after falling as much as 20.7% earlier in the day. The drop stemmed from two factors. First, investors continued to be unimpressed by Inovio's lack of detail on Tuesday in its announcement of interim early-stage study results for COVID-19 vaccine candidate INO-4800. Second, the FDA issued an update on Tuesday that could mean no COVID-19 vaccine will be approved this year.
https://finance.yahoo.com/news/coronavirus-update-pfizer-spurs-new-hope-in-vaccine-race-as-nyc-pulls-back-on-dining-plans-155021546.html
BOC Aviation Cancels Orders for 30 Boeing 737 MAX Jets
https://ih.advfn.com/stock-market/NYSE/boeing-BA/stock-news/82765189/boc-aviation-cancels-orders-for-30-boeing-737-max
Chinese-owned aircraft lessor BOC Aviation Ltd. has canceled orders for 30 Boeing Co. 737 MAX jets and deferred delivery of others, potentially adding to the U.S. plane maker's growing financial strain.
Hong Kong-listed BOC Aviation said late Tuesday that it signed an agreement with Chicago-based Boeing for the cancellations and an unspecified number of deferments.
BOC Aviation in March had agreed with Boeing to reschedule its 87 outstanding MAX orders, and its next planned delivery was pushed back until the final quarter of 2020.
The MAX jet has been grounded since March 2019 following the second of two fatal crashes. Boeing halted production of the passenger jet in January. Its inability to deliver new MAX jets has pressured liquidity and forced the company to take on additional debt.
The news from BOC Aviation comes on the heels of Norwegian Air Shuttle ASA's announcement Monday that the European discount carrier was cancelling its orders for 92 MAX jets.
Virgin Galactic stock jumps after hours following second successful test flight
https://www.marketwatch.com/story/virgin-galactic-stock-jumps-after-hours-following-second-successful-test-flight-2020-06-25?siteid=yhoof2&yptr=yahoo
Published: June 25, 2020 at 9:38 p.m. ET
Virgin Galactic on Thursday celebrated the second successful glide flight of its spaceship over Spaceport America in southern New Mexico.
After falling in regular trading, Virgin Galactic SPCE, -2.54% shares jumped 6% after hours.
Unlike the first glide test in early May, the pilots flew at higher speeds to help evaluate the ship’s systems and performance in preparation for the next stage of testing. That will involve rocket-powered flights.
Workhorse stock soars on heavy volume,
has more than tripled amid 8-day win streak
https://www.marketwatch.com/story/workhorse-stock-soars-on-heavy-volume-has-more-than-tripled-amid-8-day-win-streak-2020-06-29?mod=MW_article_top_stories
Shares of Workhorse Group Inc. WKHS, 35.76% soared 48% on very heavy volume Monday, putting them on track for an 8-day win streak, as the electric van maker was added to the Russell 3000 index RUA, 1.12% as of the opening bell. Trading volume was 92.3 million shares, compared with the full-day average of about 12.1 million shares. The stock has more than tripled (up 253%) during its current winning streak, lifting Workhorse's market capitalization to $1.03 billion. An 8-day win streak would be the longest since the 8-day stretched ending July 15, 2019. The company had announced last Tuesday that it had "successfully completed Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standards" testing for its C650 and C1000 all-electric delivery vans.
EV Truck Company Hyliion Tortoise Is Soaring
https://www.barrons.com/articles/why-the-warrants-for-soon-to-be-hyliion-tortoise-stock-are-lagging-51593454106?siteid=yhoof2&yptr=yahoo
Tortoise (ticker: SHLL) Acquisition Corp. stock has soared in recent days, as investors pile in ahead of its merger with Hyliion, an electric-powered heavy-duty truck company.
Shares of the special-purpose acquisition company, or SPAC, have risen 130% since the company announced a deal to combine with Hyliion on June 19, including gains of 42% last Friday and 29% on Monday. But its warrants haven’t kept up, and are trading at a big discount to where the stock is valued.
Tesla Stock IPOed 10 Years Ago Today.
https://www.barrons.com/articles/tesla-10-anniversary-ipo-electric-vehicles-elon-musk-51593437846?siteid=yhoof2&yptr=yahoo
This is the 10th anniversary of Tesla’s initial public offering—June 29, 2010. What a decade it has been for investors. The coming decade should be just as interesting.
The IPO was priced at $17, valuing the company at about $1.7 billion. Today, Tesla (ticker: TSLA) is the second-most valuable car company in the world, behind only Toyota Motor (TM). Tesla stock recently surpassed $1,000 a share and the company’s current market capitalization is roughly $180 billion.
Last summer at low of $250. 4 times after 1 year, amazing!
TATA India
BMWYY DMLRY BYDDF
Electric Vehicle Companies Seeing Big Numbers
https://finance.yahoo.com/news/electric-vehicle-companies-seeing-big-223717066.html
Gilead Chooses Middle Ground in Pricing of Its Coronavirus Drug
https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2020-06-29/gilead-says-remdesivir-will-cost-2-340-for-five-day-treatment?srnd=premium
Gilead Sciences Inc. said that it will charge U.S. hospitals roughly $3,120 for most patients who need remdesivir, picking a middle ground in a high-profile decision on the cost of one of the first drugs for Covid-19.
Patients suffering from the illness caused by the novel coronavirus are usually given six vials of remdesivir over five days. The price, which comes to $520 a vial, would apply to commercially insured patients in the U.S., according to a letter from Gilead Chief Executive Officer Daniel O’Day posted on the company’s website Monday.
It plans charge $390 a vial, or $2,340 for a five-day regimen, for direct government purchases by the U.S. or other developed countries.
Gilead’s pricing decision is consequential because it sets a precedent for how much future Covid-19 treatments might cost. While it’s higher than some patient groups had pushed for, it was close to a level that some drug-pricing watchdogs have said would be acceptable based on remdesivir’s expected benefit.
Both Gilead/ AstraZeneca own successful Covid-19 drugs
Boeing, Raytheon Technologies Corp. share gains lead Dow's nearly 500-point rally
https://www.marketwatch.com/story/boeing-raytheon-technologies-corp-share-gains-lead-dows-nearly-475-point-rally-2020-06-29?siteid=yhoof2&yptr=yahoo
Boeing Gets Go-Ahead for Test Flights of Its Troubled 737 Max
The flights, which could begin as soon as Monday, are a major step in getting the plane flying again.
https://www.nytimes.com/2020/06/28/business/boeing-737-max-faa.html
Boeing has received Federal Aviation Administration approval to start test flights of its 737 Max to demonstrate that it can fly safely with new flight control software.
The certification flights, conducted by F.A.A. pilots, will probably take place in the Seattle area, where the plane is made. A top Boeing test pilot will also be on the flights. “Testing is expected to take several days, and will include a wide array of flight maneuvers and emergency procedures to enable the agency to assess whether the changes meet F.A.A. certification standards,” the agency said in an email on Sunday to Senate and House oversight committee staff members.
If the flights are successful, it could still be months before the planes are deemed ready to fly again. If the F.A.A. identifies further problems, Boeing may need to make additional changes. The crashes were caused in part by anti-stall software on the Max, known as MCAS, which automatically pushed the nose of the planes downward. Boeing developed a fix for the software, though regulators have identified other problems since.
F.A.A. officials will spend a week or more preparing a report detailing their findings from the flights. Once that is complete, Boeing will submit a package of materials to the agency that will include details of the new software and how it was designed and tested.
The Max crisis has dealt a devastating blow to Boeing’s business. In January, the company estimated that costs associated with the grounding will exceed $18 billion, but that was before the disastrous spread of the coronavirus. The three carriers in the United States that operate the Max — Southwest Airlines, American Airlines and United Airlines — have canceled thousands of flights in recent months. At Air Canada, some pilots who were licensed to fly the Max but not other planes in the carrier’s fleet, had to stop flying after the grounding.
American to Resume Filling All Plane Seats
https://ih.advfn.com/stock-market/NASDAQ/american-airlines-AAL/stock-news/82741445/american-to-resume-filling-all-plane-seats-wsj
By Alison Sider
This article is being republished as part of our daily reproduction of WSJ.com articles that also appeared in the U.S. print edition of The Wall Street Journal (June 27, 2020).
American Airlines says it will fill its planes completely as passengers start to return to traveling after the coronavirus pandemic decimated demand in recent months.
American has been leaving the equivalent of half the middle seats in economy cabins empty to facilitate social distancing, filling planes to about 85% of capacity. The airline said Friday that it will stop that practice July 1, while continuing to alert passengers when their flights are filling up, giving them the chance to switch free of charge.
United Airlines Holdings Inc. allows planes to fly full, though it also gives customers the chance to change flights. Spirit Airlines Inc. is also filling planes to capacity.
Delta Air Lines Inc. and Southwest Airlines Co. are leaving open all middle seats, or the equivalent number of seats. Both airlines have said they plan to continue blocking seats through the end of September.
Airlines are now adding back flights, saying people have started to travel again to visit friends and relatives or head to vacation destinations after months of being cooped up at home. A surge of new infections in states that had been reopening, like Texas and Florida, could jeopardize the rebound in travel.
Airlines have mounted a campaign to convince passengers that flying is safe by preventing infection on board with enhanced cleaning procedures and other measures. American said it will start asking passengers to certify that they have been free of Covid-19 symptoms for 14 days when they check in, joining airlines including United and Southwest that have started asking passengers to attest to being symptom-free.
Airlines are also more stringently enforcing requirements that everyone onboard wear masks. American and other airlines have said that passengers who refuse to comply with mask requirements will risk losing the ability to book future travel.
"Wearing a face covering continues to be one of the most important ways travelers can protect themselves and others while flying," American said in a statement.
Social distancing has become a flashpoint. Throughout the spring, planes were nearly empty, giving everyone plenty of room to spread out. But as demand has started to pick up, some travelers were alarmed to find themselves unexpectedly on relatively full flights.
Airline executives have said keeping seats empty indefinitely is a money-losing proposition, and that even empty middle seats don't provide the level of social distancing that public-health officials recommend.
Write to Alison Sider at alison.sider@wsj.com
Delta Warns Pilots of Possible Furloughs
https://ih.advfn.com/stock-market/NYSE/delta-air-lines-DAL/stock-news/82741399/delta-warns-pilots-of-possible-furloughs
By Alison Sider
Delta Air Lines Inc. will send notices next week to over 2,500 pilots warning of potential furloughs as travel demand is still languishing due to the coronavirus pandemic, the airline wrote in a letter Friday.
Delta and the union that represents its pilots reached a tentative agreement on the terms of a voluntary retirement package for the airline's pilots in an effort to reduce the number who are forced to leave.
But recovery may be at least two years away, John Laughter, Delta's senior vice president of flight operations, wrote to pilots Friday evening.
"Early retirements alone likely won't be enough to avoid pilot furloughs altogether," Mr. Laughter wrote. "Even with the increased travel demand we've seen in recent weeks, we expect revenue to be at only 25 percent of what it was last summer."
The airline and the union are also negotiating a potential agreement that could avoid furloughs altogether for two years, but Mr. Laughter said the airline wanted to notify the 2,558 pilots at risk of being cut under the Worker Adjustment and Retraining Notification Act, known as the WARN Act, to let them know of the possibility.
CNBC earlier reported the notices.
Delta has retired some fleet types altogether to conserve cash and has parked hundreds of jets due to reduced demand, leaving it with more pilots than it needs. Still, airlines have been trying to avoid letting pilots go, which triggers costly retraining and can make it more difficult for carriers to ramp back up when demand does rebound.
Airlines must keep all their workers on the payroll through the end of September under the terms of the $25 billion in federal aid they received earlier this year when the pandemic first took hold and brought travel demand to a near halt. Most airlines, including Delta, have cautioned workers they would have to cut staff when Oct. 1 arrives. Other carriers are offering similar early retirement options to their employees.
Unions representing aviation employees wrote to congressional leaders this week advocating that the payroll support funding be extended another six months, until March 31, 2021.
Delta has 7,900 pilots eligible for the early retirement offer, which includes partial pay for three years or until age 65, as well as health and travel benefits.
Write to Alison Sider at alison.sider@wsj.com
Stock Market Rally Hits Brake; What To Do As Coronavirus Cases Soar
https://finance.yahoo.com/m/41d35cb8-14b3-34e3-94d6-11b7cff87b4b/dow-jones-futures%3A-stock.html
QQQ leading the way south after the evening star showing up couple days ago;
DJIA, SPX, IWM, SMH following its way after breaking out the down trend lines!
Covid-19 milestones continued Saturday, from global coronavirus cases topping 10 million and worldwide deaths hitting 500,000 to Florida infections skyrocketing yet again.
The coronavirus stock market rally remains in a confirmed uptrend, with true leaders such as Apple (AAPL), Microsoft (MSFT) and Amazon.com (AMZN) holding up.
Dexcom (DXCM), Fortinet (FTNT) and Chipotle Mexican Grill (CMG) all have brand-new bases. Meanwhile, it's a big week for Tesla (TSLA) and Tesla stock.
The coronavirus stock market rally could be starting a new, slower phase after the tremendous run from March lows, but it could also be the start of a pullback or more as soaring Covid-19 cases raise concerns about the economic recovery.
Leading stocks continue to lead. Apple stock, Microsoft stock and Amazon stock all rose last week. Fellow megacap Facebook (FB) and Google parent Alphabet (GOOGL), a little late to the coronavirus stock market rally, suffered big losses, plunging Friday. AAPL stock, MSFT stock and AMZN stock have been leaders in the coronavirus stock market rally, but also in recent years. Facebook stock and Google stock, though enjoying periods of outperformance, have generally moved in sync with the broader market for years.
The stock market is more vulnerable now
https://www.marketwatch.com/story/a-lot-of-bad-news-is-converging-on-the-stock-market-heres-how-to-deal-with-it-2020-06-25?mod=home-page
1. Sentiment is turning bullish. Not feverishly so, but enough to make this a less compelling time to buy stocks in the contrarian sense, meaning you should get less bullish as the crowd gets more bullish. The dozen sentiment indicators I track are all now either neutral or bearish (showing too much bullishness). Excessive optimism is seen in the high levels of call buying at the Chicago Board Options Exchange, for example, and the record number of new accounts at discount brokerage firms and Robinhood.
2. Insiders have shifted to neutral. Insider buyers have left the building. On Tuesday there were only 12 companies whose own executives bought more than $100,000 worth of stock, which is low. Part of the decline is because we are moving into earnings reporting season. So insiders are getting locked down. But this doesn’t explain all of it.
3. Covid-19 risks are rising. In the early days of the coronavirus resurgence, you could argue case counts were rising because of more testing. No longer. The infection rate per number of tests is going up because the coronavirus case count is rising as people circulate again. Epidemiologists I talk with, including Dr. Michael Mina at Harvard, caution that the chances are very high that we will see even more serious outbreaks in early October when flu season returns.
4. Political risk is rising. Polls show Joe Biden is now the favorite to win the White House. Betting odds at gaming sites suggest there is a good chance the Senate will go Democratic. Both events would be perceived as negatives for stocks since tax and regulation policies of Democrats can be viewed as bad for stocks. Democratic presidential candidate Joe Biden’s policies would impose $3.5 trillion in costs on businesses and investors by increasing the corporate tax rate, and capital gains and dividend tax rates, according to Cornerstone Macro.
5. The seasonally weak time of year lies just ahead. That means July through the end of October.
Not all bad news
Offsetting those negatives are six factors that suggest any selloff won’t be too dramatic and that the current Covid-19 resurgence won’t be as bad as the initial phase.
1.?Cash levels are really high. Money market funds now hold $4.8 trillion, says the Investment Company Institute, above the prior high of $3.8 trillion in January 2009. Deposits in commercial banks increased sharply in March-May (by $2 trillion), moving those levels up to a record $15.4 trillion, or around twice as much as 2009 levels, according to the Federal Reserve. Those numbers suggest a lot of investors who sold the March selloff never got back in. They are itching to do so, which means they will support the market in any significant decline.
2.?The personal savings rate has increased dramatically. This boosts consumer-spending power. Defined as the percentage of income left after people spend money and pay taxes, this rose to a record high of 33% during April from 8.2% in February.
3.?The Fed and the federal government have injected massive amounts of stimulus in the economy. They are not even done yet. Phase 4 with an infrastructure-spending component awaits. To consider infrastructure stocks, here is a recent column I wrote on this theme.
4.?We probably aren’t going back into full lockdown mode. That’s because the trillions of dollars in costs seem too high, in economic damage and government stimulus funding to offset it.
5.?Covid-19 immunity for people who get it seems to be real. Mina, at Harvard, notes we see very few cases of people getting infected twice, and when it happens it’s because of severe immune-system problems. Meanwhile, we have learned a lot about how to track and contain virus spread, even if adequate testing and surveillance infrastructure is not in place, according to Mina.
6.?The Covid-19 resurgence may be limited geographically. The biggest spreads so far are happening in the Sunbelt. This suggests it may be linked to staying indoors because of the heat, with air conditioning recirculating viruses. People stay out of the heat and use air conditioning in the North, too, but less so. Many relatively cooler states currently do not show as much of a resurgence.
Another 1.38 million new jobless claims predicted
https://www.marketwatch.com/story/another-138-million-new-jobless-claims-predicted-why-arent-they-falling-faster-2020-06-24?mod=newsviewer_click
The number of Americans applying for unemployment benefits each week is still shockingly high if the government’s math adds up, but some economists are starting to wonder.
After a rapid decline in late April and May, the historically high level of initial jobless claims only fell 4% to 1.51 million in the seven days ended June 13. It was the smallest percentage drop in new claims filed traditionally through state unemployment offices since the early stages of the coronavirus pandemic.
By all rights, weekly claims should have fallen even faster and dropped below the 1 million mark by now, economists say. There was a record loss of jobs in March and April, and a rebound in employment in May as the economy began to reopen.
An actual, or unadjusted 18.7 million people were getting benefits as of the first week of June. If more Americans are returning to their jobs, continuing claims should decline more rapidly.
And as bad as those numbers are, they are even worse if jobless claims filed through an temporary federal-relief program are included. An unadjusted 29.2 million people were reportedly receiving benefits as of May 30, the most recent data available.
https://www.cnbc.com/2020/06/24/bidens-big-lead-in-the-polls-could-be-partly-behind-markets-drop-and-may-lead-to-more-weakness.html
Biden’s big lead in the polls could be partly behind market’s drop
The Fed in March unveiled lending programs it said could provide $2.3 trillion to the economy. So far, that has totaled just $143 billion, or 6.2% of the total firepower.
https://www.cnbc.com/2020/06/24/the-fed-said-it-could-supply-the-economy-with-2point3-trillion-it-hasnt-come-close-so-far.html
In the three months since a slew of programs were announced, the Fed has loaned out just $143 billion, or a mere 6.2% of its total firepower. The most ambitious initiative, the Main Street Lending Program, has yet to make a loan, according to the most recent Fed balance sheet data, though officials expect that to change in a matter of days.
Graph shows stark difference in US and EU responses to Covid-19
https://www.cnn.com/videos/us/2020/06/22/united-states-europe-coronavirus-covid-19-pandemic-comparison-sanjay-gupta-ldn-vpx.cnn
CNN's Dr. Sanjay Gupta uses a graph to compare new Covid-19 reported case numbers for the US and Europe
Hey guys, Been with IH for years and positive trading for over 12 years but am fairly new to options with about 2 years knowledge of options. So I made over $50k last week with 2 buy calls that were way OTM on monday and paid like $250 each for them. By friday I forgot to sell them and Etrade exercised them and some how the next day on Sat i had a $50k gain. Well on to this week. I have a few more calls from oxy and a few other symbols i bought to expire on 06/26/2020. Was up $25k by tuesday and sould have sold to close them all but have to admit I had traders block. Now most are losing. Now I've lost everything before and learned from the lessons and how to repair and make gains with stocks alone but options is another learning curve and I know i could lose everything but am will to learn from it so I needs anyone's hep on advice of repairing losing Bought call options with 2 days or less to expiration. Ill use one of my TMUS positions as example, Bought 25 calls @ $2.44avg cost with exp date 06/26/2020, current UL values is $108.75. TV is $1.71 and last trade was $2.00 and last bid $1.00 ask $2.42. So wis losing options with little time left does anyone have and advice or ideas to help minimize further loss or some how save options in this position and turn them around into gains other then just selling to close? I may sound stupid and made newbie to options mistakes but I want to learn from them so anyone that can please help as I always pay it forward to others I teach would greatly be appreciated. Thanks guys ;)
The Fed in March unveiled lending programs it said could provide $2.3 trillion to the economy. So far, that has totaled just $143 billion, or 6.2% of the total firepower.
https://www.cnbc.com/2020/06/24/the-fed-said-it-could-supply-the-economy-with-2point3-trillion-it-hasnt-come-close-so-far.html
When the coronavirus pandemic locked up capital markets and pulled the economy into recession, the Federal Reserve took aim with a $2.3 trillion bazooka to try to help. Thus far, though, the central bank has only fired off surprisingly few rounds.
In the three months since a slew of programs were announced, the Fed has loaned out just $143 billion, or a mere 6.2% of its total firepower. The most ambitious initiative, the Main Street Lending Program, has yet to make a loan, according to the most recent Fed balance sheet data, though officials expect that to change in a matter of days.
As for the rest of the measures, from municipal lending to corporate credit to the Fed’s role in the Paycheck Protection Program, there are several likely explanations for why what was supposed to be an infusion of cash into the economy instead has been a comparative trickle.
One is simply that the programs, particularly in the case of Main Street, are complicated and have proven difficult to launch as the Fed gathers feedback and works through logistics. Another is that there is simply less demand from entities that are finding other ways to make do. And on that same point, the notion that the U.S. economy is recovering more quickly than expected from a recession that began in February has negated the need for the arsenal that the Fed launched starting in March.
“The economy is getting better, so you’re not seeing as many firms short of cash as you’d seen in March and April,” said Yiming Ma, an assistant finance professor at Columbia University Business School. “Some of the terms are just not very attractive to firms who potentially do need the funds.”
Slowness in getting out of the gate is not unique to the Main Street program.
Trump threat to 'decouple' U.S. and China hits trade, investment reality
https://www.reuters.com/article/us-usa-trade-china-analysis/trump-threat-to-decouple-u-s-and-china-hits-trade-investment-reality-idUSKBN23U2WU
Conflicting talk from Trump administration officials about “decoupling” the U.S. economy from China is running into a challenging reality: Chinese imports of U.S. goods are rising, investment by American companies into China continues, and markets are wary of separating the world’s biggest economies.
White House trade adviser Peter Navarro gave Asian markets a scare on Monday night by telling Fox News Channel that the U.S.-China trade deal was “over.” U.S. stock futures dropped, the dollar rose, and volatility indices climbed.
Navarro quickly backtracked on Monday night, saying he was referring to a lack of trust between the United States and China over the coronavirus outbreak. President Donald Trump also quickly tweeted that the deal was intact.
On Tuesday, National Economic Council Director Larry Kudlow praised Beijing, telling Fox Business Network “they’ve actually picked up their game” when it comes to the trade deal.
The damage-control efforts by the Trump administration come after Trump said last week that “a complete decoupling from China” was an option, overruling U.S. Trade Representative Robert Lighthizer, who had told lawmakers that decoupling was not realistic.
The Trump re-election campaign has made being "tough on China" a key part of his platform here The White House has blamed Beijing for the spread of the coronavirus that has killed more than 120,000 Americans, more than any other country.
STRONG INVESTMENT
U.S. companies had announced $2.3 billion in new direct investment projects in the first quarter of 2020, only slightly down from last year's quarterly average despite the coronavirus, the Rhodium Group said in a recent study here - indicating that few U.S. companies are reducing their China footprint.
Bill Reinsch, a senior adviser and trade expert at the Center for Strategic and International Studies, said it took over 20 years for the U.S. and Chinese economies to grow together, and decoupling cannot be accomplished easily.
Some companies are leaving, not because of Trump, but because of rising Chinese wage rates and Chinese policies that have disadvantaged foreign-owned businesses, he said.
“If you’re in China to serve the Chinese market, you’re going to stay because you can’t serve it as well from the outside,” Reinsch said. “The president can’t simply order everybody to come home. Businesses will make rational, economic decisions.”
https://www.reuters.com/article/us-usa-trump/trump-slams-protesters-at-phoenix-rally-visits-border-wall-in-arizona-idUSKBN23U2YS
Earlier, Trump visited a newly built section of the border wall along the frontier with Mexico in San Luis, Arizona, a dusty, barren landscape where the temperature hit 102 degrees Fahrenheit (40 degrees Celsius). Using a black Sharpie pen, he autographed a plaque commemorating the 200th mile of the wall.
A campaign pledge to build a wall along the entire 2,000-mile U.S.-Mexico border helped propel Trump to the White House in 2016.
The trip was Trump’s third this year to Arizona, which reported a record increase of more than 3,500 new cases of coronavirus infections on Tuesday. The state also saw record hospitalizations, admissions to intensive care units and numbers of patients on ventilators.
The president and his advisers have largely dismissed concerns about holding campaign events as coronavirus transmissions continue to climb in parts of the country.
Trump told the audience on Tuesday the virus, which originated in China, is known by many names, including “the kung flu,” a description that has drawn fire as an ethnic slur.
Trump Says China Deal ‘Fully Intact’ After Navarro Roils Markets
https://www.reuters.com/article/us-usa-trade-china-trump/trump-says-china-trade-deal-is-fully-intact-idUSKBN23U09N
Market recover all the 500 pt losses
Dow futures down nearly 400 points after Peter Navarro says China trade deal is ‘over’
https://www.cnbc.com/2020/06/22/stock-market-futures-open-to-close-news.html
Stock futures turned negative after White House trade advisor Peter Navarro told Fox News in a Monday interview that the trade deal with China was “over.”
As of Monday evening stateside, Dow futures dropped 398 points, implying an opening drop of more than 300 points at the open on Tuesday. Futures on the S&P 500 and Nasdaq-100 also pointed to a lower open for the two indexes.
While stocks started the week on a strong foot, it came under thin trading. The SPDR S&P 500 ETF Trust (SPY), which tracks the broader market index, traded more than 67 million shares on Monday. That’s well below the ETF’s 30-day volume average of 105.01 million.
White House economic advisor Larry Kudlow told CNBC on Monday “there is no second wave coming and that lawmakers will likely develop another stimulus package by the end of next month.
Pre/Post- Presidential Election Action and $SPX/$NYAD MAs crossing
$SPX (June 1985 - June 2020)
Jan 2012 to Jun 2020 (2020 pre-election year)
Jan 2016 to Jun 2020 (2020 pre-election year)
Jan 2009 to Dec 2011 (2012 pre-election year)
Jan 1992 to Dec 2011 (2012 pre-election year)
Jan 1999 to Dec 2001 (2000 pre-election year)
Jan 2002 to Dec 2004 (2004 pre-election year)
$INDU MAs crossing
IWM MAs crossing
$SPX - CALL/PUT
15-20 year Charts
SPY
QQQ
$INDU
$WTIC
AAPL
$TNX
Market is heading south for summer vacation
$INDU
$CPC/BB
$NASI/$COMPQ
$NASI/$NYSI
$SPX
$SPY
$WTIC
https://stockcharts.com/public/3421479/tenpp/18
#msg-168392100 EV Car | #msg-168069304 Chips | Earning Movers | #msg-168038398 Russia Stocks | NBA | #msg-167916330 Hot Stocks | #msg-167916330 Hot Social/EV Stocks | ||
i#msg-169116117 BioTech | #msg-166130658 Chips | China Amalyst | #msg-168163849 Chinese Stocks | #msg-166918252 Airlines, Cruises, Hotels, Entertainment and Dept. Stores | ||||
#msg-168038732 Solar Energy | #msg-168064215 Chips | Earnings Calendar | #msg-166997318 Chinese Stocks | Actual ER | #msg-162819256 High Short Stocks |
Currently Watching......Stocks with Unusually High Option Volume
Straddles and Strangles : ._. ._. ._. ._. Call Spread : ._. ._. Bear Spread : ._. ._. Calendar Spread : .Buffet-Bank. .China-Short. .HomeBuilder. ._. ._::DZZ:: dumbas Short List :: Gas : DTO
.....
OEX. ._. .n. .SSO. .SDS. .SRS. .SPY-$W::$INDU-$W::$INDU-GB::$INDU-Clay ::DJI Comp::QQQQ::Components::IV::QID::QLD. .2D::Chi_Gap::NASI::$CPCE::$VIX.:DDM-QLD-SSO. DTO .
SMH. .Top Comp.. .SMH: :USD: :SSG::MU. .SNDK::SGTL::GRMN::GOOG. .AAPL::BBH. . .Metal::DIA::Components::DXD::DDM::MZZ::DIA::$INDU-LL:::IWM Short on Fire
FXI. .FXP::CHU. .CHL::LFC. .PTR::BIDU. .ACH::EJ. .PCLN::BIDU::SSEC::BBH. .DNA::PPHM. .SRS::_. . .Metal::OIH. .Components::DIG. .DUG::DXO. ._::_.
SMN::_. ._: :VMW::SKF. .UYG::SKF::UWM. .TWM::IWM. ._::_.
How to Post a Chart or Pic
Technical Analysis: The Best 8 Profitable Chart Patterns
CNBC's Option Actions
Top Stock Movers
Options Trading Strategy Guide
1 Day Performance: http://www.finviz.com/fut_image.ashx?relative_d1.png&rev=634558894225290774
#msg-57129225 Options Trading Strategy depending on market conditions
Readings from Market Technician:
#msg-56388227 the OPTIONS HANDBOOK
#msg-35434610 An Introduction to Futures and Options (132 pages)
#msg-35434628 Options Complex (34 pages)
#msg-35434641 Trading In Futures-An Introduction (38 pages)
#msg-35434652 Options Strategies in a Bear Market (17 pages)
#msg-35434668 The Equity Options Strategy Guide (29 pages)
#msg-35434678 Understanding Equity Options (45 pages)
#msg-35434687 Technical and Fundamental Commodity Price Action (50 pages)
#msg-35434704 Strategy Options Guide (44 pages)
#msg-35946736 Trading with Parallel Trigger Lines
#msg-35606489 How Contango Affects Crude Oil ETF's and ETN's (USO, OIL, DBO)
#msg-35714738 How to Trade a PPT Day
!****************************************************************
#msg-59606684 Stikky Stock Charts
|| http://www.direxionshares.com/etfs || 3X Bull: BGU TNA ERX FAS || 3X Bear: BGZ TZA ERY FAZ || ETF Summary || 2X Commodity/Yen ETF || ETF Options ||
ETF | Large Cap | Small Cap | Energy | Financial | ||||
3x | BGU | BGZ | TNA | TZA | ERX | ERY | FAS | FAZ |
Top Holding | Top Holding | Top Holding | Top Holding | |||||
2x | DDM | DXD | UWM | TWM | DIG / DXO | DUG / DTO | UYG | SKF |
1x | IWB | DOG | IWM | RWM | XLE | DDG | XLF | SEF |
Options | Mar 35.0 call | Mar 30.0 call | Mar 40.0 call | Mar 10.0 call |
ETF | ||||||||
3x | SPXL | SPXS | TNA | TZA | ERX | ERY | FAS | FAZ |
Top Holding | Top Holding | Top Holding | Top Holding | |||||
2x | DDM | DXD | UWM | TWM | DIG / DXO | DUG / DTO | UYG | SKF |
1x | IWB | DOG | IWM | RWM | XLE | DDG | XLF | SEF |
Options | Mar 35.0 call | Mar 30.0 call | Mar 40.0 call | Mar 10.0 call |
Direxion 3X Russell Funds
|| http://www.direxionshares.com/etfs || 3X Bull: BGU TNA ERX FAS || 3X Bear: BGZ TZA ERY FAZ || ETF Summary || 2X Commodity/Yen ETF || ETF Options ||
ETF | Large Cap | Small Cap | Energy | Financial | ||||
3x | BGU | BGZ | TNA | TZA | ERX | ERY | FAS | FAZ |
Top Holding | Top Holding | Top Holding | Top Holding | |||||
2x | DDM | DXD | UWM | TWM | DIG / DXO | DUG / DTO | UYG | SKF |
1x | IWB | DOG | IWM | RWM | XLE | DDG | XLF | SEF |
Options | Mar 35.0 call | Mar 30.0 call | Mar 40.0 call | Mar 10.0 call |
ETF | ||||||||
3x | SPXL | SPXS | TNA | TZA | ERX | ERY | FAS | FAZ |
Top Holding | Top Holding | Top Holding | Top Holding | |||||
2x | DDM | DXD | UWM | TWM | DIG / DXO | DUG / DTO | UYG | SKF |
1x | IWB | DOG | IWM | RWM | XLE | DDG | XLF | SEF |
Options | Mar 35.0 call | Mar 30.0 call | Mar 40.0 call | Mar 10.0 call |
|| Large/Small Cap Comparison || Russell 1000 Index || ETF - Bios || 36 New Fund || 36 New Fund ||
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Russell 2000. . . . . TNA. . .
.. :.. :
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . SMH 3x. . .
.. :.. :
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . OIL 3x. . .
.. :
.. :
.. :
Gas
.. :
.. :
Solar
.. :
Bio
.. :
.. :
.. :
. . . . . . . . . . . . . Chinese Internet. . .BABA JD PDD TCEHY VIPS BIDU TME NTES TCOM BILI YY BEKE DADA DIDI
.. :.. :
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
.. :.. :
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Chinese EV/Solar stocks. . .
.. :.. :
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Chinese Education stocks. . . .
.. :.. :
. . .. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Chinese Internet stocks. . . . .
.. :.. :
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . HK 3x ETF . . .
.. :.. :
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Good ER. . .
.. :
.. :
.. :
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Bad ER. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
.. ::
.. :.. :
.. :
recent IPO
.. :
.. :
. . . . VIX. . .inverse VIX ETF (SVXY, ZIV) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . VIX ETF (UVXY, TVIX)
..
ETF. . .EWH (HK), EWT(TW), EWY(KR), EWJ(JP), EWM(Malaysia)
ishares msci etf => https://www.ishares.com/us/products/etf-investments#!type=ishares&fr=43526&fc=43537%7C43769%7C43544%7C43568%7C43570%7C43571%7C43579%7C43582%7C43593%7C43606%7C43614%7C43617%7C43624%7C43628&usS=136&usS3=144%7C159%7C162%7C165%7C168%7C171%7C174&view=keyFacts
..
..
..
.
..
ProShares UltraProshares: https://www.proshares.com/funds/umdd.html
Leveraged 3X Long/Bull ETF List: https://etfdb.com/themes/leveraged-3x-long-bull-etfs/
Leveraged 3X Inverse/Short ETF List: https://etfdb.com/themes/leveraged-3x-inverse-short-etfs/
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . SPY. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .. . . . . . . . . .. . . . . . . . . Tech . . . . . . . . . . . .. . .. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Emerging Market . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Developed Market . . .
http://www.velocitysharesetns.com/tvix
http://etfdb.com/index/nasdaq-biotechnology-index/
http://stockcharts.com/h-sc/ui?s=%24INDU&p=D&yr=1&mn=9&dy=0&id=p14393644199
Volume | |
Day Range: | |
Bid Price | |
Ask Price | |
Last Trade Time: |