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WMB | Fed s Williams Says Strong Economy Warrants Further Rate Hikes | Bloomberg Federal Reserve Bank of New York President John Williams NYSE WMB gave an optimistic review of the U S economy reiterated his support for further gradual interest rate increases and expressed no concern that market participants have dialed back expectations for policy tightening in 2019
Markets moved sharply after Chairman Jerome Powell said last week that the Fed is getting closer to its range of estimates for the neutral interest rate the dividing line between tight and easy policy and his phrasing was widely interpreted as a dovish signal
Interest rate futures pricing adjusted so that they re now anticipating just one rate increase in 2019 following a hike at their meeting later this month That s at odds with the Fed s Summary of Economic Projections from September which suggests that officials see a rate increase this month and three more hikes next year That forecast will be updated when officials gather Dec 18 19 in Washington
My own view is I think completely consistent with what Chairman Powell said is that the U S economy is strong but there are definitely some risks on the horizon Williams said Tuesday in a press briefing The Fed is in a good position to react to whatever the economy does going forward he said
Well Positioned
There s a good like 50 percent chance that the economy performs faster inflation picks up a little bit more than we expect and I think we re positioned to adjust to that Williams said We re well positioned to adjust our path of interest rates if the economic data disappoint
Despite that nod to uncertainty Williams painted an overwhelmingly positive picture of a strong economy that s achieving the Fed s goal of full employment He said he expects tailwinds from fiscal stimulus to persist into 2019 and he thinks inflation will move slightly but not not dramatically above the Fed s 2 percent target
I expect with the economy continuing to grow nicely above trend we ll see further job gains further declines in the unemployment rate and unemployment will edge slightly below 3 5 percent over the next year or so he said I do continue to expect that further gradual increases in interest rates will best foster a sustained economic expansion and sustained achievement of our dual mandate goals
As the economy improves the Fed will need to reconsider how much guidance it s providing Williams said The central bank will get to a situation where it s not as obvious that we are going to be raising interest rates at a gradual pace over time he explained
Low Unemployment
Then it will be appropriate to further step back on how much explicit forward guidance we give in statements he said though he said the dot plot and press conferences will continue to provide a transparent and comprehensive view of the Fed s outlook
One open question is how low unemployment can remain without stoking hotter inflation the New York Fed chief said Unemployment is currently at 3 7 percent well under the 4 5 percent that Fed officials have penciled in as the long run sustainable rate
Right now I think we re in a great position Williams said We re in a good position to allow the unemployment rate to be below 4 percent for the next few years without really having I don t have much concern about inflation pressures picking up
Against that backdrop he suggested it s OK to continue testing the limits Over the next couple of years we re going to continue to learn whether maybe a lower unemployment rate is sustainable without creating inflationary pressures he said |
WMB | Russian threat highest since 2014 Ukraine military chief | By Matthias Williams NYSE WMB and Pavel Polityuk KIEV Reuters Russia has been ramping up its forces near the border with Ukraine since August and now poses the greatest military threat since 2014 the year Moscow annexed Crimea the commander of Ukraine s armed forces told Reuters in an interview on Tuesday General Viktor Muzhenko gestured to a series of satellite images which he said showed the presence of Russian T 62 M tanks stationed 18 km 11 miles from the Ukrainian border They had more than doubled to 250 from 93 machines within the space of two weeks from mid September to Oct 1 For Muzhenko this is evidence of a concerted build up of Russian forces in the run up to Nov 25 when Russia fired on and captured three Ukrainian vessels at the Kerch Strait an action Kiev s leadership fears may be a precursor to a full scale invasion Ukraine and Russia have traded accusations over the clash The Kremlin s spokesman on Monday dismissed as absurd the notion that Russia wanted to forcibly take over Ukrainian ports Muzhenko said Russian troop levels were at the highest since 2014 when Moscow annexed Crimea and then deployed forces to eastern Ukraine In front of us is an aggressor who has no legal moral or any other limits he said It is very difficult to predict when it will occur to him to begin active combat actions against Ukraine This the Kerch Strait incident was an act of aggression from regular forces the border service of the Russian Federation in relation to the Ukrainian armed forces Muzhenko said The Russian defense ministry did not immediately respond to a request for comment Muzhenko said Ukraine had deployed more land and air forces to the region in response and intensified military exercises across the country but declined to go into specifics He added that Ukraine expects to complete the building of a military base on the Azov Sea which had been planned before the navy clash by next year Ukraine was also expecting help from allies mostly the United States for equipment including air and naval reconnaissance boats and weapons for ground troops he said COLLAPSE OF RELATIONS Relations between Ukraine and Russia collapsed following the 2014 Crimea annexation and Russia s support for separatist rebels in the eastern Donbass region The Donbass conflict has killed more than 10 000 people despite a notional ceasefire Russia strongly denies sending troops and heavy weapons to the area Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko introduced martial law last week for a period of 30 days in regions of the country thought most vulnerable to a Russian attack Asked whether the military would need an extension once the 30 days of martial law expired he said an assessment would be made closer to the time The term of martial law depends on the Russian Federation he said Based on how it will increase its capabilities how it will react how it will provoke and carry out such provocations not like in the Kerch Strait but also on a larger scale the legal regime that will be defined in Ukraine depends on it From around August Russia had ramped up its deployment of forces on the Ukrainian border he said Some units were transferred from Russia s far east to the Ukrainian border in September during Vostok 2018 Russia s biggest war games since the fall of the Soviet Union We are seeing an increase in the intensity of operational and combat training measures and all of them as a rule are offensive in nature he said He said there was a serious increase in the amount of troops and weapons in Crimea and Russia had also doubled its naval presence in the region in the past month
The combination of all these signs confirms the aggressiveness of the intentions and the threats of a military nature against Ukraine which are constantly increasing he said |
VZ | Verizon Communications VZ Stock Moves 0 12 What You Should Know | Verizon Communications VZ closed at 58 09 in the latest trading session marking a 0 12 move from the prior day This move was narrower than the S P 500 s daily loss of 3 24 Meanwhile the Dow lost 3 1 and the Nasdaq a tech heavy index lost 3 8
Coming into today shares of the largest U S cellphone carrier had gained 2 7 in the past month In that same time the Computer and Technology sector gained 1 25 while the S P 500 gained 2 73
Wall Street will be looking for positivity from VZ as it approaches its next earnings report date This is expected to be January 22 2019 The company is expected to report EPS of 1 10 up 27 91 from the prior year quarter Meanwhile the Zacks Consensus Estimate for revenue is projecting net sales of 34 31 billion up 1 05 from the year ago period
For the full year our Zacks Consensus Estimates are projecting earnings of 4 68 per share and revenue of 130 91 billion which would represent changes of 25 13 and 3 87 respectively from the prior year
Investors might also notice recent changes to analyst estimates for VZ These revisions typically reflect the latest short term business trends which can change frequently As a result we can interpret positive estimate revisions as a good sign for the company s business outlook
Research indicates that these estimate revisions are directly correlated with near term share price momentum We developed the Zacks Rank to capitalize on this phenomenon Our system takes these estimate changes into account and delivers a clear actionable rating model
Ranging from 1 Strong Buy to 5 Strong Sell the Zacks Rank system has a proven outside audited track record of outperformance with 1 stocks returning an average of 25 annually since 1988 Within the past 30 days our consensus EPS projection has moved 0 lower VZ is currently a Zacks Rank 3 Hold
Digging into valuation VZ currently has a Forward P E ratio of 12 42 Its industry sports an average Forward P E of 34 1 so we one might conclude that VZ is trading at a discount comparatively
Meanwhile VZ s PEG ratio is currently 2 53 This metric is used similarly to the famous P E ratio but the PEG ratio also takes into account the stock s expected earnings growth rate The Wireless National was holding an average PEG ratio of 4 37 at yesterday s closing price
The Wireless National industry is part of the Computer and Technology sector This industry currently has a Zacks Industry Rank of 37 which puts it in the top 14 of all 250 industries
The Zacks Industry Rank gauges the strength of our individual industry groups by measuring the average Zacks Rank of the individual stocks within the groups Our research shows that the top 50 rated industries outperform the bottom half by a factor of 2 to 1
Be sure to follow all of these stock moving metrics and many more on Zacks com |
VZ | Should You Invest In The Fidelity MSCI Telecommunication Services Index ETF FCOM | The Fidelity MSCI Telecommunication Services Index ETF FCOM was launched on 10 21 2013 and is a passively managed exchange traded fund designed to offer broad exposure to the Technology Telecom segment of the equity market
Passively managed ETFs are becoming increasingly popular with institutional as well as retail investors due to their low cost transparency flexibility and tax efficiency They are excellent vehicles for long term investors
Sector ETFs also provide investors access to a broad group of companies in particular sectors that offer low risk and diversified exposure Technology Telecom is one of the 16 broad Zacks sectors within the Zacks Industry classification It is currently ranked 3 placing it in top 19
Index Details
The fund is sponsored by Fidelity It has amassed assets over 240 48 M making it the smallest ETF attempting to match the performance of the Technology Telecom segment of the equity market FCOM seeks to match the performance of the MSCI USA IMI LON IMI Telecommunication Services 25 50 Index before fees and expenses
The MSCI USA IMI Telecommunication Services 25 50 Index represents the performance of the telecommunication services sector in the U S equity market
Costs
Investors should also pay attention to an ETF s expense ratio Lower cost products will produce better results than those with a higher cost assuming all other metrics remain the same
Annual operating expenses for this ETF are 0 08 making it the least expensive product in the space
It has a 12 month trailing dividend yield of 2 92
Sector Exposure and Top Holdings
Even though ETFs offer diversified exposure which minimizes single stock risk it is still important to look into a fund s holdings before investing Luckily most ETFs are very transparent products that disclose their holdings on a daily basis
This ETF has heaviest allocation in the Telecom sector about 100 of the portfolio
Looking at individual holdings Verizon Communications Inc NYSE VZ accounts for about 24 88 of total assets followed by At t Inc T and T Mobile Us Inc TMUS
The top 10 holdings account for about 74 05 of total assets under management
Performance and Risk
So far this year FCOM has lost about 0 58 and is down about 0 86 in the last one year as of 12 05 2018 During this past 52 week period the fund has traded between 27 69 and 32 56
The ETF has a beta of 0 62 and standard deviation of 16 05 for the trailing three year period making it a medium risk choice in the space With about 25 holdings it has more concentrated exposure than peers
Alternatives
Fidelity MSCI Telecommunication Services Index ETF holds a Zacks ETF Rank of 2 Buy which is based on expected asset class return expense ratio and momentum among other factors Because of this FCOM is an outstanding option for investors seeking exposure to the Telecommunication ETFs segment of the market There are other additional ETFs in the space that investors could consider as well |
VZ | Yahoo hacker expected to plead guilty | Karim Baratov a 22 year old dual Canadian Kazakh national is expected to plead guilty on Tuesday to criminal charges stemming from the massive 2014 security breach of Yahoo NYSE VZ and conspiring with Russian operatives
While terms of the plea deal are not yet known either side could decide to scrap any proposed agreement which will take place in federal court in San Francisco
Now read |
VZ | Tumblr founder David Karp to step down | Reuters Tumblr founder and CEO David Karp will step down after more than 10 years at the helm of the blogging service he said on Monday My decision comes after months of reflection on my personal ambitions and at no cost to my hopefulness for Tumblr s future or the impact I know it can have Karp said in a letter to staff Tumblr is part of Verizon s N VZ Oath business which houses Yahoo NASDAQ AABA and AOL internet properties Yahoo bought Tumblr for 1 1 billion in 2013 Jeff D Onofrio Tumblr s chief operating officer will continue to lead Tumblr after Karp steps down by the end of the year an Oath spokeswoman said via email
Tumblr founded in 2007 grew rapidly to become a hub for young people to post pictures and text The platform has almost 380 million blogs |
VZ | Moffett Sprint T Mobile breakup good for sector except Sprint | T Mobile TMUS 0 8 earned an upgrade to Buy from MoffettNathanson which says the breakup of merger talks with Sprint S 0 2 will ultimately benefit the upstart No 3 carrier The collapse of the deal will ultimately prove to be good news for the sector writes Craig Moffett though with one clear loser Robbed of the prospect of a merger at least for now Sprint will now have to focus on sustainability That means less not more promotionality And that means fewer net subscriber additions which will be absorbed by Sprint s rivals he adds Moffett has raised his price target on TMUS to 73 from 69 while trimming his price target on Sprint to 2 from 6 Sprint s currently at 6 16 He s reiterated a Buy on Verizon VZ 1 6 51 price target and a Neutral on AT T T 0 2 based on wireline troubles debt and declining revenues at DirecTV Now read |
WMB | U S urges Palestinians to free dual national suspected of Jerusalem land deal | By Dan Williams NYSE WMB and Ali Sawafta JERUSALEM Reuters The U S ambassador to Israel called on Palestinians on Wednesday to free an American Palestinian who the envoy said was detained for selling land to a Jew apparently violating a long standing Palestinian ban on selling land to Israelis Through its official Wafa news agency the Palestinian Authority has accused property dealer Issam Akel a U S citizen of attempting to sell a property in East Jerusalem without permission of his business partners or the authorities The Wafa report did not identify the intended buyer Palestinian law bars selling land to a hostile state or any of its citizens and requires the permission of the Palestinain Authority for all land sales in East Jerusalem Land sales in the Palestinian territories including East Jerusalem are highly fraught for Palestinians who see Israeli efforts to buy up land as part of a plot to cement control Around 500 000 Israelis live in settlements in East Jerusalem and the West Bank which most foreign powers consider a violation of international law against settling occupied land The Pal estinian Authority has been holding US citizen Isaam Akel in prison for 2 months His suspected crime Selling land to a Jew U S Ambassador David Friedman wrote on Twitter Akel s incarceration is antithetical to the values of the US to all who advocate the cause of peaceful coexistence We demand his immediate release Osama Al Qawasme an official from Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas s Fatah movement rejected Friedman s remarks and called the U S envoy an ambassador of the settlers We deplore his statement that Akel s arrest violated American values Does building of settlements adhere to American values Al Qawasme said We in Fatah will confront all attempts to harm the city of Jerusalem or its sacred places Akel s father Jalal said a Palestinian court had extended his son s detention by 45 days on Monday They are stalling There is no evidence my son sold anything to Israelis all charges are void the father told Reuters Palestinians consider East Jerusalem to be the capital of their hoped for future independent state Israel captured the territory in a 1967 war and has annexed it as part of its own capital in a move not recognized internationally Major General Adnan Al Dmairi a spokesman for the Palestinian security forces said 20 people had been arrested in recent years on suspicion of violating land laws An Israeli security official told Reuters Akel was detained on Oct 10 in Ramallah the hub city of the Palestinian Authority in the Israeli occupied West Bank Israel said its security services had appealed to their Palestinian counterparts for Akel s release Despite the collapse of peace talks in 2014 Israel and the Palestinians still coordinate to help stabilize the West Bank
Israel briefly arrested two Palestinian Authority officials from East Jerusalem over the last month on the basis of what the Israeli security official said were suspicions that they had information on Akel s detention One of the Palestinian officials was re arrested this week |
WMB | Olympics Snowboarder Shaun White sets sights on 2020 skateboarding | By Jack Tarrant TOKYO Reuters American snowboarder Shaun White who won his third gold medal in the men s halfpipe at the 2018 Winter Olympics in February is now eyeing the debut skateboarding events at Tokyo 2020 White who won skateboard Vert gold at the 2007 X Games has yet to make up his mind but said after winning the award for best male athlete at the Pyeongchang Winter Olympics at the Association of National Olympic Committee ceremony in Tokyo that he missed the Olympic buzz I would love to be a winter summer Olympian and to be a medallist would be next level So I am slowly making my way toward that goal but I haven t officially decided but yeah It s in my sights for sure White said on Wednesday If White were to go on and win a skateboarding medal in Tokyo he would become only the sixth person to claim medals at both winter and summer Games The most recent athlete to do so was American Lauryn Williams NYSE WMB in sprinting and bobsleigh Meanwhile Italian short track speed skater Arianna Fontana who won her first Olympic gold in Pyeongchang picked up the award for best female athlete After the Olympics in February I was so happy with what I did winning three medals and my first Olympic gold medal that I was chasing for year the 28 year old said There are so many great athletes out there and being nominated best female athlete at the Olympics is something really amazing Fontana added
There was also an award given to the Unified Korean ice hockey team who received the Inspiring Hope Through Sport award after competing under one flag at Pyeongchang |
WMB | Top 25 roundup Forrest saves No 15 FSU vs No 19 Purdue | No 15 Florida State withstood a furious second half rally by No 19 Purdue as the Seminoles scored their conference a win in the ACC Big Ten Challenge with a 73 72 victory on Wednesday night in Tallahassee Fla Florida State took the lead with 5 2 seconds to go on a leaning jumper in the lane by guard Trent Forrest Purdue had turned the ball over on an inbounds pass with 16 seconds remaining and a 72 71 lead After his go ahead leaner Forrest played hero on the defensive end by stealing Purdue s inbounds pass and running out the clock Forrest finished with only nine points and three steals but his final two points and steal were the most important as the Seminoles 6 1 scored their second victory of the season over a Top 25 team Carsen Edwards and Ryan Cline brought the Boilermakers 5 2 back in the second half and finished with 24 and 21 points respectively M J Walker led Florida State with 13 points No 4 Virginia 76 No 24 Maryland 71 Kyle Guy scored 18 points and Ty Jerome added 17 as the visiting Cavaliers remained unbeaten with a win over the Terrapins in an ACC Big Ten Challenge game Guy 5 of 9 on 3 pointers and Jerome 3 of 7 from deep led five Cavaliers in double figures as they held Maryland 6 1 to a season low 71 points It was the most points the Cavaliers 7 0 have allowed this season De Andre Hunter finished with 15 points in the win while Jack Salt added 12 points and seven rebounds and Braxton Key finished with 10 points No 6 Tennessee 95 Eastern Kentucky 67 Grant Williams NYSE WMB posted a double double with 21 points and 11 rebounds and the Volunteers coasted to a win over the visiting Colonels Admiral Schofield added 20 points on 8 for 9 shooting for the Volunteers who led by at least 18 points throughout the second half Tennessee s Jordan Bone 14 points and Yves Pons 10 also finished in double figures Tennessee 5 1 bounced back from its first loss of the season an overtime defeat against No 2 Kansas in the final of the NIT Season Tip Off The Volunteers increased their home winning streak to 12 games dating to the end of last season No 7 Michigan 84 No 11 North Carolina 67 Freshman forward Ignas Brazdeikis scored 24 points and Charles Matthews posted 21 points as the Wolverines manhandled the Tar Heels in Ann Arbor Mich Jordan Poole knocked in 18 points as Michigan 7 0 avenged a road loss from a season ago in the ACC Big Ten Challenge Freshman Coby White led North Carolina with 12 points but he had only four in the second half Luke Maye had 11 points and 15 rebounds yet the Tar Heels 6 2 lost for the second time in a week s span No 8 Auburn 99 Saint Peter s 49 Junior forward Anfernee McLemore matched his career best of 19 points and senior guard Bryce Brown also scored 19 as the Tigers dismantled the visiting Peacocks in a nonconference game Junior center Austin Wiley recorded 16 points nine rebounds and three blocked shots and senior wing Malik Dunbar made four 3 pointers while scoring 14 points for Auburn 6 1 Sophomore forward Chuma Okeke added 12 points on 5 of 5 shooting and junior guard Jared Harper recorded eight assists The Tigers racked up 16 steals McLemore and Harper had three apiece and connected on 15 of 31 3 point attempts Auburn shot 48 percent overall and held a 47 38 rebounding edge over Saint Peter s 1 5 No 10 Kentucky 90 Monmouth 44 The Wildcats cruised to their sixth win in a row overpowering the winless Hawks in Lexington Ky Kentucky which improved to 6 0 on a seven game homestand after a season opening loss to Duke breezed from start to finish The Wildcats 6 1 outscored Monmouth 0 8 44 22 in the first half and 46 22 in the second stanza Kentucky placed four players in double figures topped by Tyler Herro with 16 Keldon Johnson added 15 Quade Green had 14 and Reid Travis scored 13 Syracuse 72 No 16 Ohio State 62 Tyus Battle scored 20 points and the Orange knocked the Buckeyes from the ranks of the unbeaten with a victory in the ACC Big Ten Challenge at Columbus Ohio Elijah Hughes had 18 points and Oshae Brissett 14 for Syracuse 4 2 which was down 31 29 at the half Battle stopped a 6 0 Ohio State stretch with a field goal with 1 06 left to put the Orange ahead 66 58 sealing the win
C J Jackson scored 19 points Kaleb Wesson added 13 and Kyle Young had a career high 12 points for the Buckeyes 6 1 Field Level Media |
WMB | NBA roundup Westbrook a triple threat vs Cavs | Russell Westbrook had his 107th career triple double leading the Oklahoma City Thunder to a 100 83 victory over the visiting Cleveland Cavaliers on Wednesday night Westbrook had 23 points 19 rebounds and 15 assists Jerami Grant added 21 points one off a career high for the Thunder while Paul George added 18 Westbrook had the triple double wrapped up in the third quarter The career feat tied Jason Kidd for third in NBA history in the category behind Oscar Robertson 181 and Magic Johnson 138 Oklahoma City locked in on defense in the third quarter holding Cleveland to just 15 points while taking command The Thunder have won 13 of their last 16 games Cleveland used just eight players in the game after reportedly guard Kyle Korver to Utah earlier Wednesday Trail Blazers 115 Magic 112 Damian Lillard scored 41 points and set a franchise record for 3 point shots made in a game as Portland held off visiting Orlando Lillard was 10 for 15 from 3 point range and also grabbed eight rebounds as the Trail Blazers snapped a three game losing streak Lillard broke the team record of nine 3 pointers made He had shared the mark with Nicolas Batum Nik Stauskas scored 18 points off the bench and Jusuf Nurkic finished with 16 points and 13 rebounds for Portland Nikola Vucevic tallied 20 points eight rebounds and seven assists for the Magic while Evan Fournier added 17 points in the loss Clippers 115 Suns 99 Danilo Gallinari scored 28 points and grabbed 10 rebounds and Lou Williams NYSE WMB added 20 points as Los Angeles delivered a strong third quarter and cruised to a victory over visiting Phoenix The Clippers who are now tied for first place in the Western Conference looked sluggish while struggling to a 49 49 halftime tie against the last place Suns Los Angeles outscored Phoenix 40 25 in the third quarter behind 12 points from Gallinari The Clippers won their third consecutive game earned their eighth victory in the past nine games and improved to 9 1 at home Devin Booker scored 23 points and Elie Okobo added 19 for the Suns who lost their third consecutive game and fell for the sixth time in their last seven games Mavericks 128 Rockets 108 Reserves J J Barea and Devin Harris supported a balanced attack as visiting Dallas won for just the second time on the road by throttling short handed Houston Harris scored 15 of his 20 points in the fourth quarter while Barea posted a double double of 13 points and 12 assists in just 17 minutes The Rockets trailed by as many as 26 points before cutting the deficit to five points late in the third quarter only for Barea and Harris to apply the knockout blow Houston dropped its fourth consecutive game following a five game win streak Dallas won for the seventh time in eight games Timberwolves 128 Spurs 89 Robert Covington scored 21 points in three quarters of action to lead a balanced offense that saw seven players score in double figures as Minnesota routed San Antonio in Minneapolis Minnesota took charge of the game in the second period when it outscored the Spurs 29 9 and turned a three point lead after the first quarter into a 23 point advantage at halftime The Timberwolves kept rolling in the third quarter after which they led 92 58 The Timberwolves are 7 2 in their past nine games since Jimmy Butler was traded to the 76ers for Covington and Dario Saric Meanwhile the Spurs continue to struggle They are 4 9 in their past 13 games and are below 500 for the third time this season Bucks 116 Bulls 113 Khris Middleton s 3 point shot from the top of the key with 5 2 seconds left lifted Milwaukee past visiting Chicago Giannis Antetokounmpo had put the Bucks up 113 111 with a pair of free throws with 36 seconds left but Zach LaVine s layup set the stage for Middleton s heroics Antetokounmpo finished with a season high 36 points 11 rebounds and eight assists Zach LaVine and Jabari Parker led the Bulls with 24 points each LaVine also contributed nine rebounds and seven assists while Parker a former first round pick of the Bucks added eight rebounds and five assists Jazz 101 Nets 91 Donovan Mitchell scored 14 of his 29 points in the fourth quarter including the go ahead layup with 3 43 remaining and road weary Utah overcame early sluggishness to beat Brooklyn in New York Playing in a different time zone for the third time in four games the Jazz won for the third time in their past nine games thanks to Mitchell He returned from missing two games with a rib contusion and made 12 of 24 shots Rudy Gobert posted his 19th double double by adding 23 and 16 rebounds for Utah which outscored the Nets 31 13 in the final 12 minutes The Nets blew a fourth quarter lead for the second straight game absorbing their fifth consecutive home loss and fourth straight defeat overall 76ers 117 Knicks 91 Joel Embiid had 26 points 14 rebounds and seven assists to lift Philadelphia past visiting New York Embiid secured his league best 21st double double In addition he put together his 18th game with at least 20 points and 10 rebounds The Sixers also improved to 11 1 at home while posting their sixth victory in seven games JJ Redick added 24 points on 10 of 14 shooting while Ben Simmons contributed 14 points eight rebounds and seven assists for Philadelphia Enes Kanter produced 17 points and six rebounds for the Knicks and Mario Hezonja also had 17 points Pelicans 125 Wizards 104 Jrue Holiday had 29 points to lead six scorers in double figures as host New Orleans ended a four game losing streak by beating Washington Anthony Davis added 28 points and 15 rebounds and point guard Tim Frazier whose insertion into the starting lineup allowed Holiday to return to his natural shooting guard position also had a double double finishing with 12 points and 12 assists Kelly Oubre Jr and Markieff Morris scored 22 each and John Wall added 17 for Washington which had won three of its previous four games Bradley Beal contributed 16 points and 11 assists Hornets 108 Hawks 94 Jeremy Lamb scored 22 points and Charlotte turned up the defense to roll to an easy victory over visiting Atlanta The Hornets gained a bit of revenge after losing to the Hawks 124 123 in Atlanta on Sunday night Charlotte held the Hawks who were playing on the second night of a back to back after winning in Miami on Tuesday to just 34 4 percent from the field
The Hornets got 19 points each from Kemba Walker and Cody Zeller despite losing Malik Monk to a quad injury in the second quarter Trae Young paced the Hawks with 18 points Field Level Media |
WMB | President cheers as Ukraine on cusp of church independence | By Matthias Williams NYSE WMB and Daren Butler KIEV ISTANBUL Reuters President Petro Poroshenko said on Thursday Ukraine was on the cusp of securing its own independent church snapping centuries old ties to a Russian clergy that Kiev accuses of meddling in its affairs Poroshenko s comments came after the Ecumenical Patriarchate in Istanbul home to the global spiritual leader of Orthodox Christians announced it had drafted a constitutional charter for an autocephalous or self governing Ukrainian church Ukraine s push to create an independent church has incensed Moscow at a time of escalating crisis between the two neighbors following Russia s capture of three Ukrainian vessels that Kiev fears may be a precursor to a full scale invasion Relations collapsed following Russia s seizure of Crimea from Ukraine in 2014 and the outbreak of a Kremlin backed insurgency in eastern Ukraine that has killed more than 10 000 people Today at the Holy Synod of the Ecumenical Patriarchate historical decisions have been taken on the creation of an autocephalous Ukrainian Orthodox Church Poroshenko said in a televised address Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew will soon announce when the Ukrainian clergy is to meet to pick the head of the new church Poroshenko added Earlier the Ecumenical Patriarchate said in a statement that the Holy and Sacred Synod drafted the Ukrainian Church s Constitutional Charter CHURCH RIVALRY Ukraine had sought the Ecumenical Patriarchate s consent to establish an independent church and won its backing in October prompting the Russian Orthodox Church to break off diplomatic ties with the Istanbul based Patriarchate Ukraine s leadership accuses the Moscow backed faction of the Ukrainian Orthodox Church widely known as the Moscow Patriarchate of being a tool of the Kremlin to spread Russian propaganda and foster Russian expansionism The Moscow Patriarchate strongly denies this and says it is working to promote peace in Ukraine Russia accuses Poroshenko of manufacturing crises both on the church issue and in the naval standoff that erupted on Sunday in order to whip up Ukrainian national pride and boost his sagging popularity ahead of elections next March Poroshenko said Russia had tried to thwart Ukraine s bid for church independence but added The Lord was with us because we are leading a righteous struggle for our independence Ukraine and Russia trace their Orthodox Christian roots to Volodymyr the Great the prince whose baptism in 988 in Kiev led to the christianisation of the region known as Kievan Rus Two large Orthodox Churches compete for influence in Ukraine The Moscow Patriarchate which is aligned with the Russian Orthodox Church earlier dominated in Ukraine but has been challenged by a rival known as the Kiev Patriarchate formed after the 1991 break up of the Russian dominated Soviet Union
Support for the Kiev Patriarchate swelled after the annexation of Crimea It supports church independence and Ukraine s closer integration with the West |
WMB | NFL notebook 49ers Sherman eager to face Seahawks | Richard Sherman ventures to Seattle as a visiting player for the first time this Sunday and is eager to play against his former team The San Francisco 49ers cornerback was released by the Seahawks in March and is still disappointed that the team let him go while he was recovering from an Achilles injury Sherman played seven seasons as the headliner of Seattle s Legion of Boom defense recording 32 interceptions and earning three First Team All Pro selections You just expect after you ve done so much for a franchise that they wouldn t cut you while you re hurt Sherman told reporters on Thursday It s kind of more respect thing than anything but they did so you ve kind of got to roll with the business Sherman also offered chilly comments regarding quarterback Russell Wilson He said he did not maintain a relationship with the Seattle quarterback and when a reported noted Wilson s playmaking ability Sherman responded Yeah I ve also seen him throw five picks in the game so you see what he s capable of on both sides of it Quarterback Baker Mayfield found out he has a big supporter in Cleveland Browns offensive coordinator Freddie Kitchens And that could help both of them as the Browns seek to become a team to reckon with in the AFC North Kitchens defended the rookie quarterback who made derogatory comments about Hue Jackson his former Cleveland head coach His comments included calling Jackson fake on an Instagram response That followed an awkward exchange Sunday when Mayfield offered a curt handshake to Jackson and criticized him afterward for joining a rival team I don t have a problem with Baker saying anything like that Kitchens said The guy spoke what he felt to be true I don t know when it became big news to speak the truth OK And if that s what he feels then he should voice it Washington Redskins senior vice president of player personnel Doug Williams NYSE WMB termed domestic violence charges against Reuben Foster as small potatoes while defending the team s decision to claim the troubled linebacker off waivers Williams said during a radio interview with The Team 980 in Washington that he knew the team would be criticized for claiming Foster who was released by the San Francisco 49ers on Sunday after being arrested on Saturday night We ve got people who are in high high high high places that have done far worse and if you look at it realistically they re still up there Williams said This is small potatoes compared to a lot of things out there But at the same time it s a big issue in America today whether or not it s in football whether or not it s in everyday life whether or not it s in politics it s out there Two practices into the work week cornerback Aqib Talib is trending toward playing for the Los Angeles Rams in Detroit on Sunday Talib has been out of action for nine weeks last playing Week 3 when he was hurt and underwent ankle surgery The 11 year pro is poised to return in time to help the Rams try to clinch back to back division titles which they could do with a win over the Lions The only way you re going to know if you re ready for a game is playing in the game Talib said I m as good as I can be as far as working out without playing without competing Chicago Bears quarterback Mitchell Trubisky is expected to miss this week s game against the New York Giants with a shoulder injury according to NFL Network It would be the second consecutive game missed by Trubisky who has been limited in practice this week Trubisky also missed Chicago s Thanksgiving game against the Lions Chase Daniel who made his third career start against the Lions last week would get the start against the Giants New York Jets rookie quarterback Sam Darnold took another step toward his return when he was a limited practice participant for the second consecutive day Darnold has missed the past two games due to a right foot injury and is hopeful of being cleared to play in Sunday s game against the Tennessee Titans Veteran Josh McCown who started in Darnold s absence was also limited in practice due to back and thumb injuries Third stringer Davis Webb is the team s healthiest quarterback Green Bay Packers receiver Randall Cobb is expected to return against the Arizona Cardinals on Sunday after missing six of the past eight games because of a hamstring injury Cobb initially suffered the injury during Week 3 against the Redskins and missed the following three games Upon returning he played in two games and then reinjured the hamstring in practice three days before a Nov 11 game against the Miami Dolphins I think I might have pushed myself to come back a little too early and reinjured it obviously Cobb told reporters But I really do feel really good right now I think that we ve taken the proper steps and hopefully this is the right time and I ll be able to push through this Quarterback Joe Flacco returned to practice a positive sign for the Baltimore Ravens as they head down the final stretch of the playoff race Flacco has been out since suffering an injury to his right hip on Nov 4 NFL Network has reported that the Ravens plan to start Lamar Jackson on Sunday against the Atlanta Falcons regardless of how Flacco does in practice this week Jackson the rookie from Louisville has rushed for 190 yards and a touchdown in leading Baltimore to two straight wins The Cincinnati Bengals placed Jake Fisher on injured reserve and signed fellow offensive tackle Andre Smith the team announced Fisher suffered a back injury during Sunday s game against the Browns He had played in all 11 games including one start
Smith was available after being released by the Cardinals on Monday This is his third stint with the Bengals He was Cincinnati s sixth overall pick in the 2009 NFL Draft Field Level Media |
WMB | Fed Jumps Off Predictable Rate Path and Into a Policy Wilderness | Bloomberg Federal Reserve officials have stepped off a predictable path of interest rate increases and are signaling to investors a hard truth about relying on increasingly contradictory economic data There are no easy answers anymore
It s going to be choppy It s going to bring more surprises And it may get rough on those trying to track the the central bank s strategy A lot of reputable Wall Street forecasters will have to revise their predictions because even the Fed is less certain about what it is going to do
They are carving out flexibility and that is a hard thing to communicate said Laura Rosner senior economist at Macropolicy Perspectives LLC in New York The message is no change in the outlook for now but risks are shifting slightly and could eventually require a revision to the path of policy
In two speeches and a set of minutes this week from the Federal Open Market Committee s Nov 7 8 meeting the Fed signaled that the steady march of quarterly rate increases is over From now on economic data will weigh more heavily on what they do next The reason according to Vice Chairman Richard Clarida and Chairman Jerome Powell s comments this week is that the policy rate is just below an estimated range that neither provides stimulus nor slows growth
The problem with that so called neutral rate is Fed officials don t have precise estimates for it Overshooting it risks a recession at a time when the central bank is already under intense criticism from President Donald Trump Undershooting it may unleash price pressures or asset bubbles Fed officials weigh all risks both political and economic They are turning cautious and there are risks on the horizon
They re at an inflection point as they close in on the range for a neutral interest rate said Kevin Logan chief U S economist at HSBC Securities They have to be more judgmental about policy
The minutes released Thursday highlighted several downside risks such as weakening global growth tighter financial conditions and a slowdown in interest sensitive sectors of the economy Counter balancing that was the continuous strength in the labor market which underpins strong household spending a pillar of the current expansion
Stocks Applaud
The Fed s latest messaging bolstered both stock and bond markets Eurodollar futures markets reduced to about 0 23 percentage point the amount of rate increases they expect in 2019 after next month s expected hike from pricing earlier this month of more than a half percentage point of tightening next year
The benchmark 10 year Treasury yield fell below the key 3 percent level Thursday for the first time since September before rebounding to about 3 03 percent The S P 500 Index gained during the week as concern dwindled that the Fed would snuff out a nearly decade long expansion
The numbers have been a little less supportive of the number of rate hikes they had projected for 2019 said Peter Hooper Deutsche Bank DE DBKGn Securities chief economist referring to the three 2019 rate hikes Fed officials estimated in September Global growth is softening a bit and that does contribute to a little weaker outlook for the U S
For all that Hooper like many economists faces a conundrum Growth is still projected to be above its cruising speed estimated at 1 8 percent by Fed officials
With the labor markets tight and inflation around its 2 percent target the Fed s policy rate needs to be somewhere in the vicinity of neutral if not a little higher
Deutsche Bank still foresees four hikes for next year but recent developments say there s downside risks to that forecast Hooper said
Powell Testimony
One thing forecasters won t lack is frequent updating from the central bank Powell moves to eight press conferences a year in 2019 from four New York Fed President John Williams NYSE WMB speaks Friday on the global economy in New York Powell will address the Joint Economic Committee next Wednesday
Now we are shifting to a situation where they are going to be debating at each meeting whether further rate hikes are warranted said Omair Sharif senior U S economist at Societe Generale PA SOGN SA in New York They don t know what the right level is They are going to be in the same boat the rest of us are in watching the data |
WMB | Williams backs new Fed approaches to targeting inflation | By Jonathan Spicer Reuters An influential Federal Reserve policymaker appears to want the Fed to adopt wholesale changes to the way it targets inflation urging a new framework that would encourage higher prices and provide more flexibility in U S economic downturns New York Fed President John Williams NYSE WMB did not comment on current interest rate policy on Friday Instead he waded into a debate that has just began the U S central bank announced in November it will conduct an extensive review of its policy strategy and consider alternative approaches Williams who has long favored changes said the Fed faces significant challenges in a world in which so called neutral or equilibrium interest rates have been falling for years in part because people live longer and productivity has generally slipped The Fed currently uses a flexible inflation targeting strategy in which it always attempts to hit a 2 percent target Prices are generally at target now and they did not stray too far below or above even through the last recession and recovery Yet inflation expectations could slip if the Fed is repeatedly forced to cut rates to near zero as it did for seven years Williams said this was like always swimming upstream fighting a current of too low inflation expectations that interferes with achieving the target inflation rate Instead he highlighted the benefits of average inflation and price level regimes similar approaches which would compel the Fed to boost prices to make up for periods below target Neither will likely be effective in practice unless communicated clearly and carried out consistently over time he said at a meeting of Group of Thirty central bank officials at the Federal Reserve Bank of New York The Fed under pressure from a critical White House is taking advantage of good economic times to host a series of forums across the country next year to hear from a wide range of stakeholders By mid 2019 it could lead to a rethink of the tools it uses and the way it communicates policy decisions At the center of the debate will be whether the Fed should continue to rely on large scale asset purchases or quantitative easing in times of crisis or rather should it adjust the inflation framework so that using QE is less likely
For his part Williams said that maintaining the status quo carries with it the risk that inflation expectations become anchored at too low a level |
WMB | Motor racing Force India complete 2019 grid with Stroll | By Alan Baldwin LONDON Reuters Force India completed Formula One s 2019 driver line up on Friday with the confirmation that 20 year old Canadian Lance Stroll will race for them next season after two years with Williams NYSE WMB The move had been taken for granted since August when a consortium led by Stroll s billionaire father Lawrence took control of the British based team after they went into administration This is the beginning of an incredibly exciting journey in my Formula One career I look forward to working alongside a successful team with a great culture said Stroll in a statement It s a new challenge and I am excited to embrace this new opportunity Stroll who drove a Force India in Abu Dhabi tyre testing this week had been replaced already at former champions Williams The Canadian who finished on the podium in Azerbaijan in his debut 2017 season replaces Mercedes backed Frenchman Esteban Ocon as team mate to Mexican Sergio Perez at Force India It gives us an exciting line up with the perfect blend of youth talent and experience said team principal Otmar Szafnauer We see huge potential in Lance and believe we can create an environment in which he can flourish Our team has enjoyed great success nurturing and developing young and talented drivers and we are very excited to begin our journey with Lance Force India have punched above their weight in recent seasons finishing fourth overall in 2016 and 2017 despite limited budgets under the ownership of troubled Indian tycoon Vijay Mallya The Silverstone based team had only 240 000 pounds in its account on July 27 while outstanding gross wages due to be paid at the end of that month totaled 2 2 million pounds The reborn Racing Point Force India team who could change their name for 2019 started from scratch in the constructors standings after the August break and finished the season seventh with 52 points from nine races Williams were last and scored just seven from 21 grands prix
Stroll was the youngest driver on the grid but next year that honor will go to McLaren s 19 year old British rookie Lando Norris |
VZ | Telecom ETFs In Focus Post Q3 Results | U S national security economy and global standing are expected to benefit immensely from technological developments to be brought in by the 5G world and M A strategies remain the chosen way for going forward in the telecom space per a However a rising rate scenario is hurting this capital intensive sector alongside trade war concerns read
Against this backdrop here we discuss the latest earnings releases of the two top wireless service providers Verizon NYSE VZ and AT T NYSE T which reported Q3 results on Oct 23 and Oct 24 respectively Verizon s earnings were in line with the Zacks Consensus Estimate and AT T missed the same Revenue estimates were topped by both read
Verizon
Verizon recorded strong top line growth led by solid service revenues and remains on track to benefit from the 5G era The bottom line benefited from significant savings from the tax reform
Adjusted earnings came in at 1 22 per share in Q3 compared with 98 cents in the year earlier quarter and surpassed the Zacks Consensus Estimate of 1 19 Revenues came in at 32 61 billion beating the Zacks Consensus Estimate of 32 54 billion and increasing 2 8 year over year Verizon has a Zacks ETF Rank 3 Hold and a of B
For full year 2018 Verizon reiterated its earlier guidance of both GAAP revenue and adjusted earnings per share increase by low single digit percentage rates driven by expected savings from the tax reform and higher cash flow from operations
AT T
AT T experienced solid wireless performance for the third quarter including postpaid phone gains strong prepaid phone growth and accretive WarnerMedia contribution However reported earnings of 90 cents per share missed the Zacks Consensus Estimate of 93 cents Earnings improved 21 6 year over year Revenues came in at 45 74 billion beating the Zacks Consensus Estimate of 45 63 billion and increasing 15 3 year over year It has a Zacks ETF Rank 3 with a VGM Score of B
AT T reiterated its guidance for 2018 and continues to expect adjusted EPS at the high end of the previously provided 3 50
What Else is Happening in the Sector
The ongoing U S Sino trade war tension is a concern The Trump administration has imposed a new round of tariffs on 200 billion worth of Chinese goods which took effect on Sep 24 affecting a broad range of equipment belonging to telecom which thereby is increasing cost for the companies
Also recently the telecom industry suffered a blow when the pushing the sector ETFs down Vanguard Telecommunication Services ETF MU VOX iShares U S Telecommunications ETF and Fidelity MSCI Telecommunication Services ETF have lost 6 4 4 2 and 3 respectively since Sep 24 as of Nov 9 see
ETFs in Focus
VOX
The fund tracks the MSCI US Investable Market Telecommunication Services 25 50 Index designed to capture the large mid and small cap segments of the U S equity universe It comprises 73 holdings and has 7 9 exposure to AT T and 5 2 to Verizon The fund s AUM is 1 4 billion and expense ratio is 0 10
IYZ
The fund tracks the Dow Jones U S Select Telecommunications Index targeting companies in fixed line telecommunications and mobile telecommunications sectors It comprises 46 holdings with 16 3 exposure to Verizon and 14 6 to AT T The fund s AUM is 520 1 million and expense ratio is 0 43
FCOM
The fund tracks the MSCI USA IMI LON IMI Telecommunication Services 25 50 Index It comprises 22 holdings and has a 24 5 exposure to Verizon and 21 4 to AT T The fund s AUM is 188 million and expense ratio is 0 08
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VZ | Why Is Verizon VZ Up 3 Since Last Earnings Report | It has been about a month since the last earnings report for Verizon Communications VZ Shares have added about 3 in that time frame outperforming the S P 500
Will the recent positive trend continue leading up to its next earnings release or is Verizon due for a pullback Before we dive into how investors and analysts have reacted as of late let s take a quick look at the most recent earnings report in order to get a better handle on the important drivers Verizon Q3 Earnings Beat Estimates on Wireless Traction Verizon continued its solid performance in third quarter 2018 primarily led by the wireless business The company recorded healthy top line growth led by solid service revenues and remains well poised to benefit from the 5G era The bottom line also benefited from significant savings from the tax reform Quarter DetailsGAAP earnings for the reported quarter were 5 062 million or 1 19 per share compared with 3 736 million or 89 cents per share in the year ago quarter The year over year increase in GAAP earnings was primarily attributable to higher revenues Excluding non recurring items adjusted earnings were 1 22 per share compared with 98 cents in the year earlier quarter and comfortably exceeded the Zacks Consensus Estimate of 1 19 Consolidated GAAP revenues increased 2 8 year over year to 32 607 million on the back of a solid performance in the wireless business and exceeded the Zacks Consensus Estimate of 32 542 million Operating income improved 9 8 year over year to 7 675 million despite slightly higher operating expenses Segment Performance WirelessTotal revenues from this segment were 22 973 million up 6 5 year over year Service revenues improved 0 8 to 15 966 million owing to higher access plans and increase in the average connections per account Equipment revenues increased 23 to 5 353 million as the company focused on high end devices while Other revenues totaled 1 654 million up 19 3 year over year Operating income improved 11 9 to 8 511 million due to higher retail postpaid connections Quarterly operating income margin was 37 compared with 35 2 in the year ago quarter Segment EBITDA increased 10 to 10 965 million resulting in EBITDA margin of 47 7 compared with respective tallies of 9 969 million and 46 2 in the prior year quarter Verizon reported a net increase of 515 000 retail postpaid connections in third quarter 2018 Quarterly retail postpaid churn rate marginally increased to 1 04 from 0 97 in the year ago quarter Retail postpaid ARPA average revenue per account was 136 58 compared with 136 31 in the year ago quarter Wireline SegmentTotal revenues in the segment were 7 371 million down 3 8 year over year owing to lower Business Markets revenues down 7 to 840 million and Enterprise Solutions down 4 to 2 172 million Partner Solutions revenues also decreased 6 3 to 1 166 million while Consumer retail revenues declined 2 1 to 3 138 million Other revenues were up 12 2 to 55 million Although Verizon added a net of 54 000 Fios Internet connections due to strong demand for value broadband connections it lost 63 000 Fios Video connections amid pressures from cord cutting of video bundles Quarterly operating loss was 50 million against operating income of 65 million in the year ago quarter Segment EBITDA fell 6 9 to 1 502 million for EBITDA margin of 20 4 compared with 21 1 in the year ago quarter Cash Flow and LiquidityVerizon generated 26 244 million of cash from operating activities for the first nine months of 2018 compared with 16 475 million in the year ago period At the end of the reported quarter Verizon had 2 538 million of cash and cash equivalents and 106 440 million in long term debts The company was able to reduce its debt burden by 4 2 billion year to date due to strong cash flow and tax reform benefits Verizon contributed 1 7 billion to employee benefit program and remains on track to achieve cumulative cost savings of 10 billion by 2021 The company expects to achieve this goal through zero based budgeting and the recently announced Voluntary Separation Program Outlook Reiterated For full year 2018 Verizon reiterated its earlier guidance and continues to expect both GAAP revenues and adjusted earnings per share to increase by low single digit percentage rates driven by expected savings from tax reform and higher cash flow from operations However capital expenditures for 2018 are likely to be in the range of 16 6 billion to 17 billion down from 17 0 billion to 17 8 billion expected earlier Moving ForwardWith one of the most efficient wireless networks in the United States Verizon continues to deploy the latest 4G LTE Advanced technologies to deliver faster peak data speeds and capacity for customers driven by customer focused planning disciplined engineering and constant strategic investment The company plans to launch next generation 5G wireless residential broadband services in three to five U S markets in 2018 and has already launched the first commercial 5G network in Sacramento CA in October The company expects solid traction from the 5G era slated to begin from fourth quarter 2018
How Have Estimates Been Moving Since Then
It turns out fresh estimates have trended downward during the past month
VGM Scores
At this time Verizon has a nice Growth Score of B though it is lagging a bit on the Momentum Score front with a C Charting a somewhat similar path the stock was allocated a grade of B on the value side putting it in the top 40 for this investment strategy
Overall the stock has an aggregate VGM Score of B If you aren t focused on one strategy this score is the one you should be interested in
Outlook
Estimates have been broadly trending downward for the stock and the magnitude of these revisions indicates a downward shift Notably Verizon has a Zacks Rank 3 Hold We expect an in line return from the stock in the next few months |
VZ | Verizon Safe Harbor During This Market Storm | As a rule dividend stocks that provide the best buy and hold opportunities are often boring albeit dependable businesses Think of banks insurance companies telecoms and utilities
Each month these companies take their fees out of customer bank accounts but unless something goes wrong customers rarely complain This cash cow component of the business model makes shares of these companies perfect candidates for a retirement portfolio one that s built to earn growing income in preparation for and during an investor s golden years
Another reason to own these dividend paying stocks no surprises each time you check your portfolio They simply continue slowly adding wealth boosting a retirement portfolio at regular prescribed intervals
Verizon NYSE VZ the US s largest wireless carrier hits all these parameters perfectly And right now if you re looking for safety after the market s steep correction during the past two months particularly among high growth technology shares the timing looks opportune In a challenging environment for the traditional telecom industry where there s intense competition from disruptors to survive Verizon is doing many things right
Slow And Steady Growth
Instead of bulking up its balance sheet with mega deals Verizon has been focusing on improving its infrastructure Indeed the telecom has avoided the big entertainment acquisitions that peers like AT T NYSE T and Comcast NASDAQ CMCSA have pursued
Instead the carrier has made smaller bets focused on enhancing its strategy to quickly improve its network Due to its timely acquisition of Straight Path Communications earlier this year Verizon is ahead in the race to build a fifth generation network part of an industry wide effort to increase speeds and open up new revenue sources
The acquisition was the culmination of an intense bidding war with AT T Verizon paid 3 1 billion for Straight Path which holds very valuable licenses in the wireless spectrum that can be used for delivery of faster 5G service
This traditional slow but steady approach isn t generating too many headlines for the carrier However it s clearly helping keep the growth momentum going
In the third quarter Verizon posted its sixth straight quarter of subscriber growth During the period Verizon added 515 000 subscribers topping the 468 000 predicted That helped push its earnings to 1 22 a share 3 cents above Wall Street estimates
For income investors the most important thing is to see how effective their investments are through the thick and thin of market activity In the case of Verizon over the past six months the stock has hugely outperformed both versus the S P 500 and the company s closest rival AT T
For the period mentioned Verizon shares are up about 23 versus a 3 decline for the benchmark index and 9 plunge in AT T stock
Verizon also has a solid track record of rewarding investors with growing dividend payouts Verizon hiked its quarterly dividend by 2 2 this year bringing its payout to 0 6025 a share
At the stock s current 59 16 price that s a robust annual dividend yield of 4 Perhaps even better this was the 12th consecutive year that Verizon s board approved a quarterly dividend increase And with a payout ratio of 50 63 there s still plenty of room to run if the company decides to increase it s dividend yet again
Bottom Line
Telecoms may not provide hefty capital gains such as those delivered by high flying more volatile technology stocks But the downside risk during times of distress is also limited With its strong balance sheet growing dividend and leading position in the 5G rollout Verizon is a solid and comparatively safe income choice for long term investors looking to shield their portfolios from ongoing market volatility |
VZ | Verizon close to announcing digital streaming deal with NFL Bloomberg | Reuters Verizon Communications Inc NYSE VZ no 1 U S wireless carrier is close to a new deal with the National Football League for digital streaming rights Bloomberg reported citing people familiar with the matter With the new agreement Verizon will be able to give subscribers access to games on all devices including big screen TVs and not just phones according to the people Bloomberg said Verizon will lose exclusive rights to air games on mobile devices Bloomberg quoted two people as saying Verizon s rights will include the NFL s Thursday night games among others one of the people said according to Bloomberg Financial details and the duration of Verizon s contract with the NFL could not immediately be learned Bloomberg said
Neither NFL nor Verizon could immediately be reached for a comment by Reuters |
WMB | Canadian football Calgary tops Ottawa to prevail in Grey Cup | Reuters The Calgary Stampeders made it third time lucky when they secured the 106th Grey Cup Canadian Football title with a 27 16 victory over the Ottawa Redblacks in Edmonton on Sunday The Stampeders had lost the Canadian Football League CFL title game with narrow defeats in consecutive years but earned redemption at The Brick Field at Commonwealth Stadium to lift an eighth Grey Cup Quarterback Bo Levi Mitchell tossed a pair of touchdowns in the first half and finished with 253 passing yards to earn the Most Valuable Player award Running back Terry Williams NYSE WMB also shone by delivering a game changing 97 yard punt return for a touchdown that helped the Stampeders celebrate despite the cold and damp conditions Calgary surged to a 14 3 lead in the second quarter on scoring passes from Mitchell before Ottawa quarterback Trevor Harris connected on a touchdown to Julian Feoli Gudino that cut the deficit to three points following a two point conversion Williams made his big play to calm Calgary nerves completing the long run just before halftime to put the eventual champions 21 11 ahead
Ottawa s comeback efforts were then hampered by three interceptions for Harris as the Stampeders held on for victory |
WMB | World powers meet in Geneva on Afghan reforms peace prospects | By Rupam Jain and Tom Miles KABUL GENEVA Reuters Afghan leaders and international diplomats meet in Geneva on Tuesday to evaluate whether strategies and aid offered to Afghanistan are helping resolve the quagmire created by the 17 year war paving way for the withdrawal of foreign troops The two day conference on Afghanistan jointly hosted by the Afghan government and the United Nations comes at a time when U S President Donald Trump s administration is actively seeking a peace deal with the Taliban While no fresh financial commitments are expected the conference will be a chance for donors to measure results against the 15 2 billion committed for Afghanistan at the last funding meeting in Brussels in 2016 At least 60 percent of all the promises made by President Ghani at Brussels have been implemented Discussions will be held regarding the challenges said Haroon Chakhansuri President Ashraf Ghani s spokesman With Afghan security forces struggling to hold back increasingly confident Taliban fighters and Western appetite for further commitments uncertain the conference comes at a sensitive moment The government will present a growth strategy mapping out how an economy battered by 40 years of war can one day stand on its own as well as pledges on issues ranging from fighting corruption to women s empowerment However diplomats said much of the focus will be on side meetings where officials from Afghanistan and regional and Western countries will have a chance to assess the efforts of U S peace envoy Zalmay Khalilzad Ghani facing a war weary public at home is expected to press regional countries to support the process but he has so far been kept on the sidelines by the Taliban s refusal to talk to his government which they consider illegitimate His own future will be decided by presidential elections due in April but organizational and political problems may hamper the vote with authorities admitting they are considering a delay of three months The Taliban fighting to drive out international forces and establish their version of strict Islamic law will not be attending but will be closely monitoring the talks We hope the international leaders accept our demands and put pressure on the U S to withdraw all foreign forces from Afghanistan said a Taliban member Otherwise the conference will hold little significance The United States currently has some 14 000 troops in Afghanistan serving in the NATO led Resolute Support training and advisory mission as well as in separate counter terrorism operations against militant groups like Islamic State Additional reporting Stephanie Nebehay in Geneva Jibran Ahmed in Peshawar Editing by Alison Williams NYSE WMB OLUSWORLD Reuters US Online Report World News 20181126T162502 0000 |
WMB | U S voting rights trampled in Georgia governor s race lawsuit | By Letitia Stein
Reuters Advocates for Democrat Stacey Abrams filed a federal lawsuit on Tuesday alleging far reaching U S voting rights violations during the Georgia governor s contest she lost this month to a Republican who ran the election as secretary of state
Abrams who sought to become the nation s first female African American governor pledged to fight for electoral changes after a protracted vote count saw Brian Kemp win the race by little more than 1 percent of nearly 4 million votes cast
Kemp resigned as secretary of state after the Nov 6 election
The lawsuit filed by Fair Fight Action a voting advocacy group headed by Abrams campaign manager said state election officials grossly mismanaged an election that deprived Georgia citizens and particularly citizens of color of their fundamental right to vote
The complaint filed in U S District Court cited issues from sweeping purges of the voter rolls to shuttered precincts voting equipment failures and late absentee ballots
It highlighted stories of voters who said they were turned away from polls under state requirements that their personal information on voter applications match state databases exactly Many voters also experienced long waits at polling places that lacked sufficient provisional ballots as backup
Black and minority voters were disproportionately disenfranchised the lawsuit said It said 70 percent of the voters whose registrations were pending over the exact match policy before the election were black although African Americans account for about one third of the population
The main defendant in the lawsuit is Georgia s interim Secretary of State Robyn Crittenden Candice Broce a spokeswoman for the office said on Tuesday We remain committed to secure accessible and fair elections for all voters
Asked for comment on the lawsuit Kemp spokesman Ryan Mahoney said the governor elect was focused on building a safe and prosperous future for Georgia families
The lawsuit asks the courts to recognize that voting rights under the U S Constitution and federal law were violated and to help prevent problems in future elections
Your ZIP code your race your gender or your income level should not determine if your vote is counted state Senator Nikema Williams NYSE WMB said at a news conference She is the state director of Care in Action a group advocating for domestic workers that joined the lawsuit
While Abrams was not named as a plaintiff the lawsuit drew on more than 40 000 calls to a campaign hotline that documented problems at the polls the plaintiffs attorney said |
WMB | Canada s Oil Output Is Growing Despite Its Pipeline Problems | Bloomberg Canada s lingering crude glut isn t hindering the country s growing oil output according to the National Energy Board s most recent forecast
The country s oil production will average 4 59 million barrels a day 22 000 more than previously forecast data from the Canadian energy regulator show The raised production outlook comes even as pipeline bottlenecks have driven Canadian crude prices to record lows and prompted some producers including Canadian Natural Resources Ltd and Athabasca Oil Corp to reduce output by about 160 000 barrels a day according to estimates by TD Securities Inc
The biggest driver of higher output is heavy oil sands crude which is forecast to have exceeded 2 million barrels a day in October to average 1 88 million daily barrels for the year That s 42 000 barrels a day more than the previously forecast Output of conventional light and heavy oil also exceeded the earlier forecasts
The increase might reflect the faster than expected ramp up of Suncor Energy Inc s Fort Hills oil sands mine according to Stephen Kallir upstream research analyst at Wood Mackenzie in Calgary
The 194 000 barrel a day Fort Hills mine started operation earlier this year and will run at 90 percent of capacity through the fourth quarter Suncor Chief Executive Steve Williams NYSE WMB said on a Nov 1 conference call
They are producing above 90 percent capacity as of end of the third quarter he said by phone We expected that early next year
To be sure the NEB recent data shows production trailing off in December with output lower than forecast earlier
Heavy Western Canadian Select crude fell below 14 a barrel on Nov 15 the lowest in Bloomberg data extending back a decade The crude s discount to West Texas Intermediate futures widened to 50 a barrel in October also a record in data extending back 10 years The price fell 1 17 to 17 96 a barrel on Tuesday and the discount widened 1 to 33 50 a barrel
The data did show signs of possible stress Output of oil sands bitumen that s processed in an upgrader to make light synthetic crude plunged to 890 000 barrels a day in September from 1 13 million barrels a day in August and will end the year below prior estimates The drop happened as upgraders belonging to Syncrude Canada Ltd Suncor and Canadian Natural Resources were undergoing maintenance The NEB had projected in September that output of upgraded bitumen for the month would be 1 06 million barrels a day |
WMB | NFL notebook Redskins claim troubled LB Foster | Less than three days after he was arrested on domestic violence charges linebacker Reuben Foster was claimed off waivers Tuesday by the Washington Redskins The San Francisco 49ers released Foster on Sunday morning hours after his arrest at the team hotel in Tampa Fla Doug Williams NYSE WMB Washington s senior vice president of player personnel said in a statement Tuesday afternoon there is no guarantee the team will activate Foster The NFL placed the linebacker on the commissioner s exempt list Being on the commissioner s exempt list means Foster cannot practice with the team or attend games but he may attend meetings or participate in individual workouts or other allowed non football activities The NFL has not announced if it will suspend Foster 24 who has a history of legal difficulties in addition to his most recent arrest Jameis Winston reached a settlement with an Uber driver who claimed the Tampa Bay Buccaneers quarterback groped her in Arizona in 2016 according to multiple reports The woman identified only as Kate P filed a sexual battery lawsuit against Winston in September She was seeking 75 000 in damages after accusing Winston of grabbing her crotch while they waited in a drive through of a fast food restaurant in March 2016 The Tampa Bay Times cited court documents filed jointly Monday in federal court in Arizona Terms of the settlement were not disclosed Winston was suspended for the first three games of the season over the incident despite not being criminally charged If Leonard Fournette s one game suspension is upheld the Jacksonville Jaguars running back could miss out on a lot more than one game check According to Pro Football Talk s Mike Florio multiple league sources say Fournette s contract contains sufficient language to support an argument that the suspension voids the remaining guarantees in Fournette s four year rookie contract wiping out a 7 million obligation that extends over 2019 and 2020 Additionally Florio reports that the team does not have to make that decision after this season In other words Jacksonville can bring Fournette back for the 2019 season at the 2 9 million he is owed then decide after that season whether to pay him the 4 1 million he is owed for 2020 Fournette was suspended one game following a fight with Buffalo Bills defensive end Shaq Lawson on Sunday Kansas City Chiefs safety Eric Berry returned to the team and is likely to practice this week according to Yahoo NASDAQ AABA Sports Berry sustained a torn left Achilles in the season opener last season and missed the remainder of the season He was in Chiefs camp but has not practiced since injuring his right heel on Aug 11 Berry dealt with the same issue pain in his right heel in camp in 2017 before tearing the Achilles in the other heel Berry who turns 30 next month is a three time first team All Pro in just five full seasons on the field Despite their 9 2 record the Chiefs rank 30th in the NFL in total defense and last in defense against the pass Tennessee Titans cornerback Malcolm Butler is in the NFL s concussion protocol one day after suffering a stinger coach Mike Vrabel said during a press conference Butler was injured late in the first half Monday night during the Titans loss to the Houston Texans Whether he can play Sunday against the New York Jets will be determined later in the week Butler 28 has just one interception in 11 games with the Titans He is in the first season of a five year 61 million deal Kicker Graham Gano s struggles apparently have the Carolina Panthers looking at their options According to SiriusXM s Adam Caplan the team worked out four kickers Chandler Catanzaro Sam Ficken Matt McCrane and Caleb Sturgis In Carolina s past two games losses at Detroit and to Seattle at home Gano has missed an extra point and two field goals The Panthers 6 5 dropped the two games by a combined four points The Minnesota Vikings placed starting strong safety Andrew Sendejo on injured reserve the team announced Sendejo injured his groin Oct 7 in the Vikings 23 21 win over Philadelphia and hasn t been on the field since
The Vikings moved cornerback Craig James from the practice squad to the 53 man roster and signed cornerback Jalen Myrick to fill the practice squad spot Anthony Harris has settled into the starting spot in Sendejo s place Field Level Media |
WMB | Motor racing F1 podium domination by top teams is unacceptable Brawn | By Alan Baldwin LONDON Reuters The top three teams domination of the Formula One podium over the past two seasons is unacceptable and has to change the sport s managing director for motorsport Ross Brawn said on Wednesday Force India s Sergio Perez was the only driver outside Mercedes Ferrari NYSE RACE and Red Bull to finish a grand prix in the top three in this year s 21 races the Mexican ending up third in Azerbaijan in April Canadian Lance Stroll for Williams NYSE WMB was in the same position at the same Baku circuit in 2017 when the season had 20 races Two podiums from a total of 123 is unacceptable especially when it comes with an ever increasing technical and financial divide Brawn said in a Formula One season review after last Sunday s closing Abu Dhabi Grand Prix It s a problem we are tackling together with the governing FIA and the teams because the future of Formula One depends on it added the Briton who was previously a technical director of Ferrari and principal of Mercedes Mercedes Ferrari and Red Bull are also the only teams to have won a Formula One race since the current V6 turbo hybrid engines were introduced in 2014 Sunday was the 100th grand prix of that era and Lewis Hamilton now a five times world champion has won 51 of them for Mercedes Hamilton also won 11 races this year leading 458 of the season s 1 264 laps German driver Nico Hulkenberg who races for the Renault PA RENA works team and was best of the rest in seventh place overall this year has now started 156 grands prix without once standing on the podium Brawn said seven of the 10 teams were effectively racing in their own championship There are various solutions on the table and we must all accept that we can t go on like this for too much longer said Brawn I don t mean to cause offense by referring to the other championship it s just a way of describing the situation and their battle was certainly thrilling However it s hard for the fans to truly get excited about a battle for eighth place The top three places in the constructors championship were decided before the season ender with Mercedes winning both titles for the fifth year in a row The rules are being tweaked for 2019 with aerodynamic changes aimed at making it easier for drivers to follow cars and battle on track ahead of a more substantial overhaul planned for 2021 The top teams are already working hard to limit the impact on performance however and have far bigger budgets to play with than the smaller teams The down force is basically being set back by a year or more and we have to compensate Mercedes team boss Toto Wolff said at the weekend
But there is a bunch of really really clever people who are looking at the regulations and trying to find ways of having a lot of down force on the car and I m curious to see whether those cars are really going to be slower next year or not |
VZ | 5 Reasons USD Declined And Why NFPs May Not Help | By Kathy Lien Managing Director of FX Strategy for BK Asset Management
October may have been a great month for the U S dollar but as we begin the final 2 months of the year the greenback is losing its mojo The dollar traded lower against all of the major currencies on the first day of November and we can point to a few reasons for the decline
First and foremost the greenback started the NY session under pressure with the sell off gaining momentum on the back of softer U S data According to Challenger Grey Christmas layoffs surged in October although more than half of the 153 6 increase was due to Verizon s voluntary severance program Manufacturing growth slowed with the ISM index dropping to 57 7 from 59 8 a consequence of the trade war The dollar is also down because high risk currencies are up and part of this move is driven by the decline in Treasury yields and corresponding rise in Eurozone UK and Australian rates Another reason for the move is the third day of recovery in equities which encourages gains in high beta currencies Some investors got excited about President Trump s comments on China he said in a tweet that he had a long and very good conversation with President Xi and plans to sit down with the Asian leader at the G20 Xi is also willing to meet with Trump but investors shouldn t let their hopes get carried away because shortly after Trump s tweet Chief Economic Advisor Kudlow said if no deal is reached the president will act aggressively
5 Reasons Why USD Declined Thursday
Weaker U S Data
U S yields fall causing yield spread to move against the dollar
Stocks rally for the third day in a row boosting risk appetite
U S China trade deal hopes
Profit taking ahead of Nonfarm Payrolls
Nonfarm payrolls are scheduled for release Friday and despite Thursday s decline in the dollar the market is looking for strong jobs growth Last month we learned that due to hurricane disruptions only 134k jobs were created in September A snapback is expected in October with economists looking for nonfarm payrolls to rise by 200K Although we also expect jobs to rebound the risk is to the downside because of the increase in the 4 week average of jobless claims and the voluntary severance offer by Verizon NYSE VZ We don t anticipate improvements in the unemployment rate or average hourly earnings So if either one of these reports miss we could see Thursday s pullback in the dollar turn into a deeper correction In the long run we don t think the dollar has peaked but a correction is long overdue
Here s a look at how the leading indicators for NFPs stack up this month Bear in mind the ISM non manufacturing report won t be released until after the report
Arguments For Stronger Payrolls
Consumer Confidence index Hits 18 Year High
ADP Rises to 227K from 218K
Continuing claims Fall to 1 63M from 1 65M
Arguments For Weaker Payrolls
University of Michigan Reports Drop in Sentiment
Challenger Reports 153 6 Increase in Layoffs
Employment Component of ISM Manufacturing Index Declines
4 Week Average Jobless Claims Increases to 213K from 209K
Meanwhile the big focus Thursday was the Bank of England meeting which combined with Brexit optimism sent sterling above 1 30 Thursday s 1 85 rally was the strongest one day gain for the pair this year The BoE voted 9 0 to leave interest rates unchanged and lowered its growth forecasts for the year but instead of falling sterling soared as the central bank talked rate hikes According to the summary of the report the MPC felt that Were the economy to continue to develop broadly in line with the November Inflation Report projections an ongoing tightening of monetary policy over the forecast period would be appropriate Governor Carney said a Brexit deal could release pent up investment demand but a no deal Brexit could also lead to a major supply shock that could drive up inflation and interest rates While many are skeptical the fact that he is thinking about rate hikes in a deal and no deal scenario underscores the BoE s hawkishness As a result bears covered their shorts allowing sterling to enjoy its strongest day since April 2017 Although 1 30 is a natural area of resistance given the trending nature of GBP we expect the rally to extend beyond 1 3050 quickly
It was also a good day for other currencies such as EUR USD which rose 0 9 AUD USD which jumped 1 8 and NZD USD which increased 2 The Canadian dollar traded higher but its 0 5 gains were modest in comparison A stronger than expected Australian trade report helped AUD while NZD was supported by an uptick in job ads and house prices At the end of the day however the only reason why these currencies experienced such strong gains is because of short covering a force that could continue if Friday s U S jobs report miss |
VZ | Verizon VZ Restructures Into Three New Segments | On Monday Verizon NYSE VZ announced that it will reorganize into three new segments Consumer Business and Verizon Media Group Oath Verizon Business Group will include products and services sold to businesses and enterprises
Verizon Consumer Group will now manage the consumer division of its wireless and wireline businesses
Verizon Media Group Oath will include media advertising and technology and oversee media properties like Yahoo NASDAQ AABA and HuffPost
This is a shift away from the past operating organization of wireless and wireline The reorganization is part of CEO Hans Vestberg s broader plan to advance 5G wireless technology
The changes are effective January 1 2019 Investors can expect Verizon to begin reporting financials under the new structure in Q2 2019
Looking for Stocks with Skyrocketing Upside Zacks has just released a Special Report on the booming investment opportunities of legal marijuana Ignited by new referendums and legislation this industry is expected to blast from an already robust 6 7 billion to 20 2 billion in 2021 Early investors stand to make a killing but you have to be ready to act and know just where to look |
VZ | Verizon Communications VZ Outpaces Stock Market Gains What You Should Know | In the latest trading session Verizon Communications VZ closed at 57 21 marking a 1 02 move from the previous day This change outpaced the S P 500 s 0 56 gain on the day Elsewhere the Dow gained 0 76 while the tech heavy Nasdaq lost 0 38
Heading into today shares of the largest U S cellphone carrier had gained 2 93 over the past month outpacing the Computer and Technology sector s loss of 8 65 and the S P 500 s loss of 6 76 in that time
VZ will be looking to display strength as it nears its next earnings release which is expected to be January 22 2019 On that day VZ is projected to report earnings of 1 11 per share which would represent year over year growth of 29 07 Our most recent consensus estimate is calling for quarterly revenue of 34 35 billion up 1 18 from the year ago period
For the full year our Zacks Consensus Estimates are projecting earnings of 4 69 per share and revenue of 130 98 billion which would represent changes of 25 4 and 3 93 respectively from the prior year
Any recent changes to analyst estimates for VZ should also be noted by investors These recent revisions tend to reflect the evolving nature of short term business trends As a result we can interpret positive estimate revisions as a good sign for the company s business outlook
Based on our research we believe these estimate revisions are directly related to near team stock moves To benefit from this we have developed the Zacks Rank a proprietary model which takes these estimate changes into account and provides an actionable rating system
The Zacks Rank system which ranges from 1 Strong Buy to 5 Strong Sell has an impressive outside audited track record of outperformance with 1 stocks generating an average annual return of 25 since 1988 Over the past month the Zacks Consensus EPS estimate has moved 0 44 higher VZ is holding a Zacks Rank of 3 Hold right now
Looking at its valuation VZ is holding a Forward P E ratio of 12 08 This represents a discount compared to its industry s average Forward P E of 50 45
Also we should mention that VZ has a PEG ratio of 2 46 The PEG ratio is similar to the widely used P E ratio but this metric also takes the company s expected earnings growth rate into account VZ s industry had an average PEG ratio of 2 46 as of yesterday s close
The Wireless National industry is part of the Computer and Technology sector This group has a Zacks Industry Rank of 42 putting it in the top 16 of all 250 industries
The Zacks Industry Rank gauges the strength of our industry groups by measuring the average Zacks Rank of the individual stocks within the groups Our research shows that the top 50 rated industries outperform the bottom half by a factor of 2 to 1
To follow VZ in the coming trading sessions be sure to utilize Zacks com |
VZ | VanEck Launches 2 New ETFs DURA And GOAT | VanEck has launched two new ETFs VanEck Vectors Morningstar Durable Dividend ETF and VanEck Vectors Morningstar Global Wide Moat ETF This launch comes at a time when markets are going through a sharp fall caused due to global growth slowdown and geopolitical risks read
Inside DURA
The fund tracks the Morningstar US Dividend Valuation Index The index captures Morningstar s forward looking fair value assessment alongside its proprietary quantitative Distance to Default DD score which targets financially strong companies that would be able to sustain dividend payments Ed Lopez Head of ETF Product with VanEck highlights the use of DD score to identify companies with the lowest likelihood of future dividend cuts DD metric is a structural or contingent claim taking advantage of both market and accounting information to assess whether any default will occur
The fund comprises 89 holdings and doesn t suffer from high concentration risk as none of the stocks have a weight above 5 37 held by Verizon Communications NYSE VZ Healthcare 21 Consumer Staples 19 6 and Energy 14 6 occupy double digit weights sector wise read
Since its inception on Oct 30 the fund has amassed 2 5 million and has an expense ratio of 0 29
Inside GOAT
The fund tracks the Morningstar Global Wide Moat Focus Index It offers exposure to global companies which are likely to provide competitive advantages for a sustained duration of time Also known as wide moats these securities are supposed to be lucratively priced according to Morningstar s estimate of fair value
It comprises 63 holdings with Express Scripts Holdings Co NASDAQ ESRX 2 4 occupying the top position U S is major country in focus having nearly 65 allocation Sector wise Healthcare 21 7 Financials 14 9 Industrials 14 8 Information Technology 12 5 Communication Services 11 and Consumer Staples 10 1 have double digit weights
Since its inception on Oct 30 the fund has amassed 2 6 million and has an expense ratio of 0 52
How Do They Fit Into a Portfolio
Wall Street experienced widespread sell off in October due to rising rate concerns political turbulence in Italy escalating trade tensions between Washington and Beijing Iranian sanctions and the midterm election uncertainty The S P 500 saw its worst monthly performance since September 2011 falling 6 9 Nasdaq suffered its worst month since Recession of 2008 and Dow Jones had its biggest monthly fall since January 2016 Recently IMF also revised global growth estimates downward by 0 2 percentage points for this and next year blaming U S Sino trade tensions which are curbing economic activity worldwide read
Amid this heightened volatility a fund like DURA could help investors secure steady and sustainable returns while GOAT could also generate investor interest due to its promise to identify stocks at competitive prices
Competition
These launches are an addition to Vaneck s lineup of ETFs which use stock selection and valuation methodologies by Morningstar Equity Research It joins VanEck Vectors Morningstar Wide Moat ETF and VanEck Vectors Morningstar International Moat ETF having expense ratios of 0 48 and 0 56 respectively GOAT faces competition from its own issuer s ETF MOAT totally catered to the U S market
DURA could face competition from SPDR S P Dividend NYSE SDY ETF TO SDY and iShares Select Dividend ETF having a higher expense ratio of 0 35 an 0 39 respectively ETFs like Vanguard Dividend Appreciation ETF AX VIG and Vanguard High Dividend Yield ETF having same expense ratio of 0 08 are also threats to it
Want key ETF info delivered straight to your inbox
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VZ | FCC approves TV technology that gives better pictures but less privacy | By David Shepardson WASHINGTON Reuters U S regulators on Thursday approved the use of new technology that will improve picture quality on mobile phones tablets and television but also raises significant privacy concerns by giving advertisers dramatically more data about viewing habits The U S Federal Communications Commission voted 3 2 to allow broadcasters to voluntarily use the new technology dubbed ATSC 3 0 which would allow for more precise geolocating of television signals ultra high definition picture quality and more interactive programming like new educational content for children and multiple angles of live sporting events The system uses precision broadcasting and targets emergency or weather alerts on a street by street basis The system could allow broadcasters to wake up a receiver to broadcast emergency alerts The alerts could include maps storm tracks and evacuation routes The new standard would also let broadcasters activate a TV set that is turned off to send emergency alerts Current televisions cannot carry the new signal and the FCC on Thursday said it was only requiring broadcasting both signals for five years after deploying the next generation technology Sinclair Broadcast Group Inc last month called the new standard the Holy Grail for the advertiser because it tells them who is watching and where But Representative Debbie Dingell of Michigan said the new technology contemplates targeted advertisements that would be relevant to you and what you actually might want to see This raises questions about how advertisers and broadcasters will gather the demographic information from consumers which are necessary to do targeted advertisements nL2N1N11R0 Democratic Commissioner Jessica Rosenworcel said the new technology would force consumers to buy new televisions The FCC calls this approach market driven That s right because we will all be forced into the market for new television sets or devices FCC Chairman Ajit Pai defended the proposal calling concerns about buying new devices hypothetical He added five years is a long time We ll have to see how the standard develops One issue is whether broadcasters will be able to pass on the costs of advanced broadcast signals through higher retransmissions fees and demand providers carry the signals The National Association of Broadcasters which represents Tegna Inc Comcast Corp NASDAQ CMCSA CBS Corp NYSE CBS Walt Disney Co Twenty First Century Fox Inc and others petitioned the FCC in April 2016 to approve the new standard This is game changing technology for broadcasting and our viewers the group said Thursday Many companies have raised concerns about costs including AT T Inc NYSE T and Verizon Communications Inc NYSE VZ Cable satellite and other pay TV providers would incur significant costs to receive transmit and deliver ATSC 3 0 signals to subscribers including for network and subscriber equipment Verizon said
Many nations are considering the new standard South Korea adopted the ATSC 3 0 standard in 2016 |
VZ | Warnings downgrades weigh as European shares set for weekly fall | By Danilo Masoni MILAN Reuters Disappointing earning updates and a series of broker downgrades weighed on European shares on Friday leaving regional indexes on track for their second weekly fall in a row Investors have been locking in profits shrugging off continued strength in economic data as euro zone earnings growth slowed compared to the previous quarters and caution grew over whether a stock market rally could continue On Friday Elior PA ELIOR slumped 12 percent after Europe s third largest catering group cut its profit guidance citing the impact of Hurricane Irma Shares in Fresenius SE DE FREG Greene King L GNK Just Eat L JE United Utilities L UU and H M ST HMb all fell more than 2 percent after ratings downgrades from brokers The STOXX 600 STOXX was down 0 2 percent by 1000 GMT taking its losses so far so far this week to 1 1 percent and leaving it set for its second weekly loss in a row The pan European benchmark index is still up more than 6 percent so far this year The big question remains as to whether this is merely a pause in the context of a wider correction or whether we ll see a resumption of the uptrend that has been in place since the beginning of 2016 said CMC Markets analyst Michael Hewson A speech from ECB President Mario Draghi in Frankfurt had little impact on stocks even though traders said his tone was relatively upbeat on the economy Among gainers Vivendi PA VIV rose 1 5 percent reversing earlier weakness as investors digested an earnings update from the acquisitive French media conglomerate Vivendi missed analysts third quarter estimates but kept its 2017 growth targets for revenue and EBITA It also ruled out a hostile takeover of Ubisoft for the next six months UBS affirmed its buy rating saying the confirmed guidance suggested that a sales slowdown at its Universal Music Group unit could reverse in the fourth quarter while it expected its Canal business to help grow earnings in the short term Outside the STOXX Carillion L CLLN fell 33 percent after the UK builder said it would breach its financial covenant and warned on profits for the third time this year Some investors might think this is the end but Carillion is too big to fail Government intervention is possible but this is a nightmare for ministers at such a sensitive moment for the economy said ETX Capital analyst Neil Wilson Sky L SKYB rose 3 2 percent
Reuters reported that Comcast O CMCSA and Verizon N VZ had both expressed interest in acquiring a significant part of Rupert Murdoch s Twenty First Century Fox s O FOXA assets including the European pay TV provider |
WMB | NHL roundup Crosby tallies 3 points in return to Pens | Sidney Crosby was dominant in his return from injury producing a goal and two assists Wednesday as the Pittsburgh Penguins won for just the second time in 11 games 5 1 against the visiting Dallas Stars Crosby had missed three games because of an upper body injury His line also including Jake Guentzel one goal one assist and Patric Hornqvist one goal one assist combined for seven points and Hornqvist set screens on two goals Evgeni Malkin and Tanner Pearson LON PSON also scored for Pittsburgh which was 1 7 2 in its previous 10 games The Penguins built a 5 0 lead through two periods Roope Hintz scored for Dallas which lost its second straight Lightning 7 Panthers 3 Steven Stamkos had one goal and three assists as host Tampa Bay defeated Florida Nikita Kucherov and Ryan McDonagh each had one goal and two assists for the Lightning Mathieu Joseph Yanni Gourde Adam Erne and Dan Girardi got Tampa Bay s other goals J T Miller added three assists for the Lightning Florida playing its first game since 2017 All Star center Vincent Trocheck went down with a broken right ankle got goals from Troy Brouwer Mike Hoffman and Aleksander Barkov Hoffman who also scored on the power play extended his franchise record points streak to 17 games Sabers 5 Flyers 2 Evan Rodrigues scored one goal and handed out one assist as host Buffalo beat Philadelphia for its seventh consecutive win Jeff Skinner Tage Thompson Johan Larsson and Sam Reinhart also scored one goal each for the Sabres who have their longest winning streak since 2006 Reinhart added an assist while Sabres goaltender Carter Hutton stopped 23 shots Claude Giroux and Wayne Simmonds scored one goal apiece for the Flyers Capitals 4 Blackhawks 2 Tom Wilson and Andre Burakovsky scored first period goals that gave Washington an early lead and the host Capitals went on to beat Chicago Washington goalie Braden Holtby the winner in relief against Montreal on Monday made his first start in five games and finished with 37 saves He had been sidelined due to an undisclosed upper body injury before coming on early in the second period to beat the Canadiens Michal Kempny and Devante Smith Pelly also scored for the Capitals Brandon Saad and Erik Gustafsson replied for Chicago Wild 6 Senators 4 Eric Staal and Matt Dumba each scored two goals to lead Minnesota past Ottawa in Saint Paul Minn With the two goals Dumba who has 10 this season leapfrogged Toronto s Morgan Rielly nine for most by a defenseman in the NHL this season Jordan Greenway had a goal and an assist and Eric Fehr also scored a goal for Minnesota which snapped a two game losing streak Mikael Granlund had three assists and Ryan Suter finished with two assists for the Wild Chris Tierney Thomas Chabot Christian Jaros and Colin White each scored goals and Zack Smith had two assists for Ottawa Hurricanes 5 Maple Leafs 2 Curtis McElhinney stopped 30 shots in his first outing against his former team as Carolina posted a victory against Toronto in Raleigh N C Trevor van Riemsdyk and Justin Williams NYSE WMB scored in the first period and Micheal Ferland Sebastian Aho and Andrei Svechnikov tallied in the third period for Carolina which has won back to back games for only the second time in a month The Hurricanes registered 29 first period shots on goal marking a team record for a period since the relocation to North Carolina more than 20 years ago John Tavares and Kasperi Kapanen scored for the Maple Leafs who had a four game winning streak halted Predators 4 Blues 1 A pair of short handed goals helped Nashville extend its lead atop the NHL standings thanks to a win over visiting St Louis Filip Forsberg and Ryan Ellis each found the net while the Predators were down an attacker with Forsberg s goal at 13 22 of the second period standing as the game winner Craig Berube made his debut as the Blues interim head coach after the team fired Mike Yeo on Monday The change behind the bench didn t provide any immediate relief as the Blues lost for the fifth time in six games Rangers 5 Islanders 0 Filip Chytil scored a goal in his fifth consecutive game Chris Kreider had a goal and an assist and Alexandar Georgiev recorded his first career shutout as the New York Rangers rolled past the visiting New York Islanders The Rangers won their seventh straight home game and are now 9 1 1 in their past 11 outings overall Georgiev turned away 29 shots in his first ever appearance against the Islanders The loss snapped an eight game winning streak for the Islanders versus their New York City neighbors that included a 7 5 victory at Barclays LON BARC Center in Brooklyn last Thursday Overall the Islanders have dropped five of their past seven games Devils 5 Canadiens 2 Pavel Zacha scored two goals Taylor Hall had a goal and an assist and New Jersey defeated visiting Montreal in Newark N J Kyle Palmieri and Nico Hischier also scored for the Devils and Marcus Johansson added two assists Keith Kinkaid made 24 saves Jonathan Drouin and Max Domi scored for the Canadiens Domi has at least one point in 11 straight games Drouin also earned an assist and Andrew Shaw added two assists Carey Price stopped 23 shots Red Wings 3 Bruins 2 OT Andreas Athanasiou scored twice including the winner 49 seconds into overtime as Detroit defeated visiting Boston Tyler Bertuzzi also scored for the Red Wings who won for the ninth time in 11 games Five of those victories have come in overtime or a shootout Jimmy Howard made 34 saves to improve to 6 1 0 in his past seven starts Jakob Forsbacka Karlsson and Chris Wagner scored for Boston which wrapped up an injury riddled four game trip in which it went 1 1 2 Tuukka Rask stopped 24 shots Golden Knights 3 Coyotes 2 OT Max Pacioretty scored two goals including the game winner in overtime and Tomas Nosek also scored as Vegas beat Arizona in Glendale Ariz The Golden Knights finished with two victories on a three game four day road trip that ended in Arizona Derek Stepan had two goals for the Coyotes and his second on a power play tied the game at 13 11 of the third period The Coyotes who have lost six of eight finished the third period on a power play but could not score again Flames 6 Jets 3 Mark Jankowski Sam Bennett Matthew Tkachuk and Johnny Gaudreau each collected one goal and one assist as Calgary scored five first period goals for the second straight contest en route to a win over visiting Winnipeg The Flames who wrote a similar script in a 7 2 win over the Golden Knights on Monday are the first team to score five first period goals in consecutive game since the St Louis Blues managed that feat in November 1989 and only the fourth in NHL history to do so Calgary earned its third win in a row Winnipeg which got two goals from Patrik Laine took its first regulation loss in six games 4 1 1 Ducks 4 Canucks 3 Ryan Getzlaf had a goal and an assist and John Gibson made 25 saves to lead host Anaheim to a victory over Vancouver Ondrej Kase Adam Henrique and Kalle Kossila also scored goals for the Ducks who ended a three game losing streak Derrick Pouliot Nikolay Goldobin and Bo Horvat scored goals for the Canucks who lost their seventh straight game Goldobin and Horvat each added an assist Jacob Markstrom finished with 33 saves Avalanche 7 Kings 3 Nathan MacKinnon Vladislav Kamenev and Tyson Barrie each had a goal and an assist and Colorado scored on its first three power play opportunities in winning at Los Angeles Patrik Nemeth Colin Wilson Nikita Zadorov and Matt Calvert also scored for Colorado and Mikko Rantanen had two assists Rantanen leads the NHL in both assists 26 and points 34 Avalanche goaltender Semyon Varlamov made 33 saves for his 200th career victory
Kyle Clifford and rookies Matt Luff and Austin Wagner scored for the Kings who have lost their past four home games Field Level Media |
WMB | Ukraine parliament passes budget to unlock 3 9 billion in IMF loans | By Natalia Zinets and Matthias Williams NYSE WMB KIEV Reuters Ukrainian lawmakers passed the 2019 budget early on Friday taking a crucial step to unlock 3 9 billion of loans from the International Monetary Fund to tide over a choppy election period next year Exact details of the budget s final version are not yet public but Prime Minister Volodymyr Groysman has promised to keep it in line with the IMF s requirements which include a budget deficit of around 2 3 percent We have begun many processes reforms and transformations Groysman told lawmakers before the vote held after parliament had worked through the night The country s budget is a key tool for the implementation of these tasks In the year 19 in the year of turbulence we must ensure stability Groysman had told Reuters last week he hoped to secure an IMF tranche as early as December once the budget passed which would also pave the way for similar disbursals from the European Union and the World Bank Ukraine has tapped the IMF and other international bodies for money to guarantee its stability as it faces a rising debt burden over the next two years and closely fought parliamentary and presidential elections in 2019 The IMF loans may come at a political cost The government was required to raise household gas prices by nearly a quarter as a precondition for them a move criticized by some opposition lawmakers during Thursday s parliamentary debates On Thursday parliament also confirmed as finance minister Oksana Markarova who has held the post on an acting basis since June Her permanent appointment may give investors a signal of policy continuity She like Groysman and the central bank governor has talked up Ukraine s need for further cooperation with the IMF which supported the war battered economy after the 2014 annexation of Crimea and the outbreak of fighting in the east IMF aid has effectively been frozen since April 2017 as Ukraine s performance on reforms slowed and the government proved reluctant to raise gas prices kept artificially low since Soviet times to market levels We will not vote for this budget Oleh Bereziuk the head of the opposition Samopomich faction told reporters before the vote
This budget is not for people and not for the state it is a facade budget to get a tranche from the International Monetary Fund and avoid default By and large they the government want to avoid default before the elections |
WMB | Top 25 roundup No 2 Kansas tops No 5 Tennessee in overtime | Dedric Lawson had 24 points eight in overtime and freshman Devon Dotson added 17 points as No 2 Kansas made a case for returning to the top of the polls with an 87 81 victory over No 5 Tennessee in the finals of the NIT Season Tip Off at Barclays LON BARC Arena in Brooklyn on Friday Dotson followed a Lawson tip in with a three point play as the Jayhawks 5 0 scored the first five points in overtime for a 74 69 lead and never trailed while winning their 14th straight game against an AP Top 10 team Admiral Schofield scored nine of his 21 points in overtime and Grant Williams NYSE WMB had 18 points eight rebounds and six assists before fouling out with 1 24 left in regulation but the Volunteers 4 1 never had the ball with a chance to tie after the Jayhawks quick start Kansas was No 1 in the preseason AP Top 25 before dropping behind Duke the last two weeks No 3 Gonzaga which beat Duke earlier this week also could take over the top spot No 4 Virginia 53 No 25 Wisconsin 46 DeAndre Hunter scored 20 points as the Cavaliers made enough plays on both ends and claimed the Battle 4 Atlantis championship over the Badgers at Paradise Island Bahamas Ty Jerome added 11 points and was the only other double figure scorer for Virginia 6 0 which won despite shooting 25 9 percent in the second half and 37 percent overall The Cavaliers won a November tournament for the sixth straight season and allowed less than 50 points for the third time this season Ethan Happ scored 22 for Wisconsin 5 1 which was unable to start 6 0 for the first time since 2014 15 and unable to get its seventh win over a Top 10 team under coach Greg Gard Happ also had 15 rebounds six assists and four blocked shots No 6 Nevada 110 Massachusetts 87 Caleb Martin s 29 points led five players in double figures as the Wolf Pack won the Las Vegas Holiday Invitational over the Minutemen at Orleans Arena Tre Shawn Thurman added 22 points and eight rebounds for Nevada 6 0 which has scored at least 83 points in every game to beat outmatched Massachusetts Cody Martin scored 18 points and grabbed seven rebounds and Jordan Caroline contributed his fifth double double with 16 points and 10 boards Luwane Pipkins hit six 3 pointers and scored a game high 30 points to pace UMass 4 3 Reserve guard Keon Clergeot added 12 while Jonathan Laurent and Curtis Cobb each tallied 11 points Carl Pierre chipped in 10 No 7 North Carolina 94 No 17 UCLA 78 Freshman guard Coby White scored 19 points as the Tar Heels recovered from their first loss of the season by defeating the Bruins in the consolation game of the Las Vegas Invitational at Orleans Arena in Las Vegas North Carolina 6 1 turned up the defense in the second half and had enough offensive resources to keep UCLA off balance Luke Maye s 16 points Kenny Williams 15 points and Cameron Johnson s 14 points bolstered the Tar Heels offense Kris Wilkes pumped in 22 points on 7 for 10 shooting including three 3 point baskets from the field to pace UCLA 4 2 Jaylen Hands 14 points with nine assists and reserve Cody Riley s 11 points with nine rebounds also helped the Bruins No 9 Michigan 83 Chattanooga 55 Freshman forward Ignas Brazdeikis had 20 points and seven rebounds in just 20 minutes and the Wolverines cruised to a win over the visiting Mocs at Ann Arbor Mich Brazdeikis shot 6 for 10 from the field and 6 for 7 from the free throw line Guard Jordan Poole contributed 14 points and six rebounds and Isaiah Livers supplied 12 points off the bench Center Jon Teske racked up seven points 12 rebounds and three steals for Michigan 6 0 Charles Matthews one of Michigan s top offensive threats was held to eight points in 2 for 9 shooting Eli Brooks added nine points three rebounds and a steal off the bench Chattanooga 2 5 which has lost four straight was led by Kevin Easley s 21 points and seven rebounds No 10 Kentucky 77 Tennessee State 62 The Wildcats moved their win streak to five in Lexington with a victory over the visiting Tigers as freshman Keldon Johnson scored a career high 27 points 13 coming from the free throw line and seven rebounds Graduate transfer Reid Travis added 13 points and nine rebounds off the bench for Kentucky 5 1 which went on a 24 14 run to grab its largest lead of the night at 20 points 66 46 with 7 45 to play Johnson had 13 of the Wildcats 24 points Tennessee State 2 4 placed three players in double figures Junior guard Donte Fitzpatrick Dorsey was tops with 18 points followed by Emmanuel Egbuta with 13 and Kamar McKnight with 10 points and nine rebounds No 11 Michigan State 78 Texas 68 Joshua Langford scored 29 points as the Spartans dug out of a huge early hole to defeat the previously undefeated Longhorns in the Las Vegas Invitational championship game Michigan State put the clamps on Texas which had its offense go stale in the second half Cassius Winston added 20 points and 10 assists for the Spartans 5 1 who trailed by 19 points after blowing out No 17 UCLA a day earlier Kerwin Roach II tallied 15 points for Texas after supplying 32 points a day earlier against North Carolina Dylan Osetkowski and Matt Coleman III both had 13 points and Jaxson Hayes added 11 points for the Longhorns 5 1 who ended up 9 for 34 on 3 point attempts No 14 Florida State 79 No 19 LSU 76 OT Mfiondu Kabengele buried a tie breaking 3 pointer with two seconds remaining in overtime delivering the Seminoles a victory over the Tigers in the semifinals of the Advocare Invitational in Orlando Fla The win sends Florida State 5 0 into the tournament finals on Sunday against Villanova which beat Oklahoma State 77 58 in Friday s earlier semifinal LSU 5 1 will face the Cowboys for third place also on Sunday Kabengele had 15 points off the bench Trent Forrest added 10 and Terance Mann chipped in with nine to complement a game high 12 rebounds for the Seminoles who outrebounded the Tigers 43 30 Skylar Mays had 19 points to lead the Tigers No 23 Ohio State 89 Cleveland State 62 Kaleb Wesson tied his career high with 19 points when the Buckeyes defeated the Vikings in Columbus Ohio as Ohio State jumped out to a quick lead and extended it in the second half Wesson a 6 foot 9 sophomore had 18 and 19 points in his previous two games for the Buckeyes 6 0 C J Jackson added 17 points Stefan Kenic had 13 points for Cleveland State 2 4 Ohio State led 38 29 at the half but quickly increased the margin to 54 36 with 14 44 left in the game by hitting 7 of 9 shots while Cleveland State made 3 of 8 No 24 Purdue 84 Robert Morris 46 Carsen Edwards scored 19 and Ryan Cline chipped in with 17 points to guide Boilermakers to a rout of the visiting Colonials at West Lafayette Ind Edwards had an off shooting day hitting only 5 of 17 shots from the field But he sunk all six free throws Meanwhile Cline made 6 of 10 shots including 5 of 7 from beyond the 3 point line
Freshman Trevion Williams hit all four shots for eight points in the second half Ethan Boudreaux scored nine for the Boilermakers 5 1 who made 26 of 58 shots for 44 8 percent Malik Petteway led Robert Morris 3 3 with 10 points Field Level Media |
WMB | Top 25 roundup No 13 Virginia Tech cruises in rout | Ahmed Hill scored 19 points on 7 of 11 shooting and No 13 Virginia Tech coasted to a 75 37 win over St Francis Pa on Saturday afternoon at Blacksburg Va Ty Outlaw added 15 points and seven rebounds for Virginia Tech 5 0 which boasts its highest ranking since the 1995 96 campaign Nickeil Alexander Walker 11 points and Justin Robinson 10 also scored in double digits for the Hokies Myles Thompson scored 14 points on 6 for 10 shooting in a losing effort for St Francis 1 4 The Red Flash lost their 50th consecutive game against a ranked opponent including 21 in a row by double digits Virginia Tech led 33 22 at halftime before pulling away with a 42 15 advantage after the break No 12 Kansas State 77 Lehigh 58 The Wildcats returned to the Heartland to defeat the Mountain Hawks at Manhattan Kan Dean Wade keyed a Kansas State spurt to start the second half scoring six points before the first media timeout The Wildcats outscored the Mountain Hawks 8 2 at the start of the half to open an eight point lead Their largest lead of the game was 22 points thanks to a late 8 0 run Kansas State 6 0 was led by Wade with 18 points James Karnik paced Lehigh 4 2 with 15 points No 22 Buffalo 76 Marist 49 CJ Massinburg came off of the bench and scored a game high 21 points on 7 of 10 shooting to lead the Bulls over the Red Foxes at Buffalo N Y The only other player to score in double figures for Buffalo 5 0 was Jayvon Graves who scored 16 points on 6 of 9 shooting including 4 of 6 from 3 point range
Ryan Funk and Austin Williams NYSE WMB were the only players to score in double figures for Marist 1 4 as each finished with 10 points Field Level Media |
WMB | Top 25 roundup No 10 OSU continues dominance over No 4 Michigan | Dwayne Haskins threw five touchdowns passes and No 10 Ohio State scored its most points in the 115 year history of the series defeating No 4 Michigan 62 39 on Saturday at Columbus Ohio With the win the Buckeyes 11 1 8 1 took the Big Ten East Division and will play Northwestern in the Big Ten Championship Game in Indianapolis on Dec 1 Michigan 10 2 8 1 entered with the best defense in the nation but Haskins was 19 of 30 for 318 yards He has 41 touchdown passes a single season record Big Ten record Ohio State has beaten Michigan seven straight times Michigan coach Jim Harbaugh is 0 4 vs the Buckeyes while Urban Meyer is 7 0 vs the Wolverines No 22 Texas A M 74 No 7 LSU 72 7 OTs Kellen Mond s two point conversion pass to Kendrick Rogers in the seventh overtime gave the Aggies a wild victory over the Tigers in the highest scoring game in NCAA FBS history at College Station Texas Mond threw six touchdown passes and LSU s Joe Burrow threw three touchdown passes and ran for three more part of a career high 100 rushing yards The Aggies 8 4 5 3 ended a seven game losing streak against the Tigers 9 3 5 3 by beating them for the first time in six tries since joining the SEC The two teams combined for more than 1 000 yards of offense and ran nearly 200 plays in the five hour marathon The Tigers had the ball first in the seventh overtime Burrow ran 10 yards for a touchdown but his conversion pass was deflected and caught short of the goal line Mond threw a 17 yard touchdown pass to Quartney Davis with whom he had teamed on a 19 yard touchdown as time expired in regulation to force the extra periods After two penalties on LSU and one on A M Mond and Rogers teamed for the game winner No 1 Alabama 52 Auburn 21 Tua Tagovailoa threw five touchdown passes three that went for at least 33 yards in the third quarter and ran for a score as the unbeaten Crimson Tide finished off the Tigers in their annual Iron Bowl matchup at Tuscaloosa Ala Tagovailoa went 25 of 32 for 324 yards for the Tide 12 0 8 0 SEC the champs of the conference s West Division who have a date in the SEC title game next Saturday against Georgia Auburn 7 5 3 5 which last year knocked off Alabama when the Tide were again the top ranked team trailed only 17 14 entering the third quarter Saturday before the game quickly turned Alabama scoring two touchdowns on two drives that covered 144 yards and took nine total plays No 2 Clemson 56 South Carolina 35 Trevor Lawrence passed for a career high 393 yards and a touchdown and Travis Etienne rushed for 150 yards and two scores as the Tigers overcame a career best performance by Gamecocks quarterback Jake Bentley to win at Clemson S C Clemson improved to 12 0 for the third time in program history and remains on track for a fourth straight berth in the College Football Playoff The Tigers will put their unblemished record on the line next Saturday against Pittsburgh in the Atlantic Coast Conference Championship Game in Charlotte N C South Carolina s Bentley passed for a career high 510 yards and five touchdowns for the Gamecocks 6 5 but that wasn t enough against a high scoring Clemson team that amassed 744 total yards including 351 yards rushing and seven touchdowns on the ground No 3 Notre Dame 24 USC 17 Senior running back Dexter Williams NYSE WMB dashed for the go ahead 52 yard touchdown in the third quarter and junior quarterback Ian Book passed for two scores as the Fighting Irish completed an undefeated regular season with a win over the Trojans at Los Angeles Williams totaled 151 yards 97 rushing 54 receiving and junior running back Tony Jones Jr scored on a 51 yard pass play for Notre Dame 12 0 Book completed 22 of 39 passes for 352 yards as Notre Dame recovered from a 10 point second quarter deficit Freshman quarterback JT Daniels completed a school record 37 passes while throwing for 349 yards and one touchdown on 51 attempts as the Trojans 5 7 lost for the fifth time in six games to finish with their first losing season since 2000 No 5 Georgia 45 Georgia Tech 21 The Bulldogs made quick work of the Yellow Jackets at Athens Ga and now turn their attention to top ranked Alabama and a potential spot in the College Football Playoff Quarterback Jake Fromm enjoyed one of the best games of his young career The sophomore tossed a career best four touchdown passes completing 13 of 16 passes for 175 yards Running backs D Andre Swift and Elijah Holyfield each ran for a touchdown for Georgia 11 1 Swift notching his fourth 100 yard game of the season 14 carries for 105 yards The Yellow Jackets 7 5 had no answers for a tenacious Bulldog defense Paul Johnson s squad came into play as the nation s leading rushing team with 353 yards per game but managed just 128 on the ground easily a season low No 11 Florida 41 Florida State 14 The Gators thumped the Seminoles at Tallahassee Fla snapping a five game skid against their rivals and ending Florida State s NCAA record 36 year bowl streak With the victory Florida improves to 9 3 and could be selected for a coveted New Year s Six bowl game Florida State is 5 7 clinching its first losing season in 42 years Coming into Saturday the Seminoles hadn t missed out on a bowl game since 1981 or had a losing season since 1976 No 12 Penn State 38 Maryland 3 Trace McSorley had to do most of his damage on the ground but the senior quarterback prevailed in his final home game leading the Nittany Lions to an easy win over the Terrapins in icy rain at University Park Pa Penn State 9 3 6 3 Big Ten won its third game in a row and fifth in the last six outings McSorley rushed for 64 yards and a pair of touchdowns and also completed 12 of 22 passes for 230 yards and another score Maryland 5 7 3 6 finished one victory shy of bowl eligibility capping a disappointing finish that saw the Terrapins drop their final four games The Penn State defense put the clamps on running back Anthony McFarland who had rushed for 508 yards in the last two games He was held to 12 yards on six rushes on the wet field No 15 Kentucky 56 Louisville 10 The Wildcats picked up their ninth regular season win for the first time since 1977 defeating the Cardinals at Louisville Ky to take a lead in the all time series of the in state rivalry Kentucky finishes the regular season 9 3 while Louisville which fired coach Bobby Petrino three weeks ago finishes at 2 10 including a nine game losing streak to close the season The win gave Kentucky a 16 15 advantage all time in the Governor s Cup rivalry game Sophomore Terry Wilson had his best day at quarterback for the Wildcats with 261 yards passing and three touchdowns along with 79 yards and a touchdown on the ground Benny Snell Jr gained 100 yards on 18 carries with two scores and Asim Rose had a game high 112 yards for the Wildcats No 17 Utah 35 BYU 27 Armand Shyne s 5 yard touchdown run with 3 02 left Saturday night allowed the host Utes to erase a 20 0 halftime deficit in beating their in state rival Cougars for the eighth straight time The touchdown Shyne s second of the night capped a 10 play 70 yard drive On Utah s next possession quarterback Jason Shelley ripped off a 33 yard scoring run on a zone read play with 1 43 remaining to secure the win Shelley completed 19 of 28 passes for 141 yards and a touchdown while rushing for 61 yards on 11 carries Utah 9 3 will play Washington on Friday night in Santa Clara Calif in the Pac 12 championship game Freshman quarterback Zach Wilson completed 20 of 29 passes for 204 yards and two touchdowns for BYU 6 6 No 19 Northwestern 24 Illinois 16 The Wildcats warmed up for their first Big Ten Championship Game appearance by holding on for a tight win over the Illini at Evanston Ill West Division champion Northwestern 8 4 8 1 will need to beat Ohio State next weekend to earn its first trip to the Rose Bowl in 23 seasons The schools haven t met since Oct 29 2016 and Northwestern hasn t beaten Ohio State since 2004 The Wildcats captured the Land of Lincoln trophy against their in state rival for the fourth year in a row as they rushed for a season high 261 yards paced by freshman Isaiah Bowser s 166 yards on 18 carries Illinois 4 8 2 7 outgained Northwestern 435 371 but wrapped up its seventh straight losing season No 20 Syracuse 42 Boston College 21 Eric Dungey passed for 362 yards and accounted for all six touchdowns in his return to the lineup as the Orange beat the Eagles at Chestnut Hill Mass Dungey who left last week s loss to Notre Dame with a back injury passed for three touchdowns and ran for three more as the Orange 9 3 6 2 ACC won for the fifth time in their last six games An injury kept Dungey out of last year s 42 14 home loss to Boston College and speculation surrounding his availability in Saturday s regular season finale continued all week However the senior quarterback was sharp almost the entire game finishing 21 of 34 against Boston College 7 5 4 4 as he posted his 11th career 300 yard passing performance No 23 Boise State 33 No 21 Utah State 24 Junior running back Alexander Mattison rushed for a season best 200 yards and scored three touchdowns as the host Broncos earned a spot in the Mountain West title game by dispatching the Aggies Mattison put the game away with a 1 yard dive with four seconds remaining for the Broncos 10 2 7 1 MW who won their seventh consecutive contest Senior quarterback Brett Rypien passed for 310 yards and one touchdown to post his 21st career 300 yard outing breaking the mark he shared with BYU s Max Hall 20 from 2007 09 Sophomore quarterback Jordan Love passed for 363 yards and three touchdowns with one interception for Utah State 10 2 7 1 Miami 24 No 24 Pitt 3 DeeJay Dallas ran a punt back 65 yards for a touchdown and Travis Homer scored on a 64 yard run as the Hurricanes upset the Panthers at Miami Miami s defense was dominant throughout forcing 12 punts getting one stop on downs and recovering a fumble Homer had eight carries for 168 yards and also had the huge block that sprung Dallas on the punt return Miami 7 5 4 4 ACC won its second straight game clinching a winning season and avenging a loss at Pitt last year Pitt 7 5 6 2 had its four game winning streak snapped The Panthers however will still play Clemson next Saturday for the ACC title No 25 Iowa State 42 Kansas State 38 The Wildcats scored 17 straight second half points but the Cyclones answered with 21 straight of their own to end their 10 game losing streak to Kansas State at Ames Iowa After the Wildcats 5 7 3 6 Big 12 took a 38 21 lead less than three minutes into the fourth quarter Iowa State 7 4 6 3 scored on a 3 yard scoring pass from Brock Purdy to Sam Seonbuchner a fumble return for a score and David Montgomery s 18 yard scoring run his third touchdown of the game
The question now turns to whether this was Kansas State coach Bill Snyder s last game on the sideline He just concluded his 27th season in two different tenures with the program and there has been plenty of speculation that the 79 year old might retire at the conclusion of the season Field Level Media |
WMB | NHL roundup Laine scores five goals in Jets win | Patrik Laine scored three of his career high five goals in the second period and the Winnipeg Jets pulled away for an 8 4 victory over the St Louis Blues on Saturday night in the finale of a four game road trip Laine joined Johan Franzen 2011 and Marian Gaborik 2007 as the only players to get a five goal game since the start of the 1997 98 season Laine recorded his big night as the Jets rebounded from a pair of losses in Calgary and Minnesota to avoid their first three game losing streak of the season Backup goaltender Laurent Brossoit made 23 saves for Winnipeg and Bryan Little had four assists The Blues allowed eight goals for the first time since Feb 27 in Minnesota They allowed eight goals in a home game for the first time since Dec 15 1996 against Vancouver Maple Leafs 6 Flyers 0 Andreas Johnsson scored his first career hat trick with three goals 12 20 into the first period and Toronto went on to blank visiting Philadelphia Garret Sparks made 34 saves to earn his first shutout of the season and the second of his NHL career Patrick Marleau Josh Leivo and John Tavares also scored for the Maple Leafs who had lost their two previous games Penguins 4 Blue Jackets 2 Jake Guentzel picked up his first career regular season hat trick to lead Pittsburgh over visiting Columbus Tanner Pearson LON PSON also scored Kris Letang had three assists and Sidney Crosby had two assists for Pittsburgh which is 3 7 3 in its past 13 games but has points in four straight Goalie Casey DeSmith stopped 37 of 39 Columbus shots Scott Harrington and Cam Atkinson scored for Columbus which was 6 1 1 in its previous eight games Joonas Korpisalo made 32 saves for the Blue Jackets Capitals 5 Rangers 3 Brett Connolly scored the tiebreaking goal with 6 24 left in the third period as Washington rallied from a two goal deficit to end New York s seven game home winning streak Connolly restored Washington s lead and made it 4 3 when he positioned himself in the right faceoff circle and quickly one timed defenseman John Carlson s cross ice pass by backup goaltender Alexandar Georgiev 23 saves Nic Dowd Jakub Vrana Alex Ovechkin and Tom Wilson also scored for the Capitals Jimmy Vesey Brady Skjei and Ryan Strome scored for the Rangers who lost consecutive games for the first time since Oct 25 28 Pheonix Copley turned away 27 of New York s 30 shots Bruins 3 Canadiens 2 John Moore scored the tiebreaking goal at 17 03 of the third period as Boston defeated host Montreal David Backes and Jake DeBrusk also scored for the Bruins who extended their point streak to five games 3 0 2 Tuukka Rask made 31 saves for Boston Jonathan Drouin and Tomas Tatar scored for Montreal and Carey Price made 32 saves The Canadiens winless streak reached four games 0 2 2 Blackhawks 5 Panthers 4 OT Alex DeBrincat scored with just 1 8 seconds left in regulation and Erik Gustafsson found the net in overtime as Chicago earned a miraculous win over Florida at Sunrise Fla The Blackhawks also got goals from David Kampf Patrick Kane and Alexandre Fortin Backup goalie Cam Ward made 34 saves for Chicago which pulled the goalie before DeBrincat s heroics Florida s Mike Hoffman celebrated his 29th birthday by posting a goal and an assist and Jared McCann Aaron Ekblad and Frank Vatrano also scored for the Panthers who received 36 saves from James Reimer Sabers 3 Red Wings 2 SO Sam Reinhart scored in the seventh round as Buffalo extended its winning streak to nine games with a shootout victory at Detroit Reinhart skated in from the right side and beat Red Wings goalie Jimmy Howard with a backhand over his right shoulder Tage Thompson and Jeff Skinner scored the regulation goals for Buffalo which is on its longest winning streak since the Sabres won 10 in a row to start the 2006 07 season Linus Ullmark made 35 saves for Buffalo Anthony Mantha had a goal and an assist and Dylan Larkin also scored for Detroit Howard finished with 33 saves Islanders 4 Hurricanes 1 Valtteri Filppula scored a spectacular goal early in the first period for host New York which netted the first four goals and cruised over Carolina Thomas Greiss made 26 saves as he won both games of a back to back set for the Islanders Anthony Beauvillier Josh Bailey and Adam Pelech also scored for New York Justin Williams NYSE WMB scored in the third period for the Hurricanes who had a three game winning streak snapped Goalie Scott Darling made 15 saves for Carolina Avalanche 3 Stars 2 Mikko Rantanen scored a tiebreaking goal 46 seconds after J T Compher tied it late in the third period and Colorado rallied past Dallas at Denver Nathan MacKinnon had a goal and an assist and Semyon Varlamov stopped 27 shots for the Avalanche who have won four straight and six of their last seven Rantanen also had an assist and now has an NHL best 38 points this season Radek Faksa and Jamie Benn had goals Alexander Radulov had two assists and Anton Khudobin had 33 saves for the Stars who have dropped three of their past four games Golden Knights 6 Sharks 0 Max Pacioretty scored twice during a four goal first period and Marc Andre Fleury had 33 saves en route to his league leading fifth shutout as Vegas blanked San Jose at Las Vegas Colin Miller and Alex Tuch each had a goal and an assist William Karlsson and William Carrier also scored goals and Reilly Smith added two assists for Vegas which won its third straight game Aaron Dell who came into the contest off back to back shutouts over Vancouver on Friday night and St Louis on Nov 17 stopped 30 shots for the Sharks The four goals allowed in the first period and the six for the game were season highs for San Jose Canucks 4 Kings 2 Elias Pettersson scored the go ahead goal midway through the third period as visiting Vancouver ended its eight game losing streak with a win over Los Angeles Adam Gaudette Sam Gagner and Tyler Motte also scored for the Canucks who won for the first time since Nov 8 at Boston Vancouver had been outscored 34 16 during its losing streak Jacob Markstrom stopped 20 of 22 shots in the win
Drew Doughty and Matt Luff scored for the Kings who lost their fifth consecutive game at home and are 2 6 over their last eight games overall scoring two goals or less in six of those contests Cal Petersen had 25 saves for Los Angeles Field Level Media |
WMB | Economic Calendar Top 5 Things to Watch This Week | Investing com Trade related headlines are likely to be the main driver of sentiment this week as investors look ahead to a meeting between U S President Donald Trump and China President Xi Jinping on the sidelines of the G20 summit in Argentina
Washington and Beijing have been engaged in a trade spat for the most part of the year with both countries slapping tariffs on several of each other s imports
The tariffs have raised concern in the market about a potential slowdown in global economic growth
Meanwhile in Europe Brexit headlines will be in focus after European Union leaders endorsed Theresa May s Brexit plans on Sunday setting up a showdown with lawmakers in her own country
Global financial markets will also pay close attention to comments from a handful of Federal Reserve officials including Chair Jerome Powell for additional insight into the outlook for monetary policy in the months ahead
The Fed is widely expected to announce its fourth rate increase of 2018 in December but investors are beginning to question how many rate hikes it can implement next year having noted the cautious tone creeping into policymakers comments of late
On the data front there is important third quarter U S growth data this week which should lend further support to the notion that the economy is on solid footing
Elsewhere traders will also focus on flash euro zone inflation figures
In commodities market players will be watching oil prices which continued their collapse last week to reach their lowest level in more than a year amid signs of swelling global inventories ahead of an important OPEC gathering next month
Ahead of the coming week Investing com has compiled a list of the five biggest events on the economic calendar that are most likely to affect the markets
1 Trump Xi Meeting
With global growth increasingly suffering from frictions over tariffs and trade between the world s two largest economies tensions will come to a head when Donald Trump and Xi Jinping meet on the sidelines of a two day G20 summit in Buenos Aires which starts Friday
It will be the first time the leaders have met since Trump imposed tariffs on 250 billion of Chinese imports to force concessions from Beijing on greater access to Chinese markets forced technology transfer and intellectual property theft China responded with import tariffs on U S goods
Market players are not optimistic about any progress at the Trump Xi talks but are leaving room for surprises There is hope that both sides will show a willingness to negotiate and hold off on a further escalation of tariffs
Tensions between the two countries have dominated economic headlines this year with both sides imposing tit for tat tariffs on each other s products
Trump has threatened to impose tariffs on all remaining Chinese imports about 267 billion more in goods if Beijing fails to address U S demands
2 Brexit Developments
European Union leaders gathered in Brussels on Sunday to officially endorse UK Prime Minister Theresa May s withdrawal agreement on how the UK will leave the bloc in March of next year
But the EU s acceptance of the deal has only enraged some pro Brexit politicians in the UK who believe that May is making too many concessions to the EU
That now sets up a showdown between May and lawmakers in her own country as the UK leader nears a crucial vote on her proposals next month The Parliamentary vote is likely to be on December 11
Lawmakers in the opposition Labour party the Liberal Democrats and the Scottish National Party have all indicated that they will vote against the deal The Northern Irish DUP Democratic Unionist Party party which is propping up May s government in Parliament also said it would vote against it
Failure could lead to May being toppled as prime minister and significantly raise the risk of a no deal Brexit
3 Fed Chair Powell Speaks
A number of Fed speeches will get market attention in the week ahead as traders watch for further clues on interest rates
Topping the agenda will be remarks from Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell who will be speaking at the Economic Club of New York at 12 00PM ET 1700GMT Wednesday
Speeches from Fed Vice Chair Richard Clarida Atlanta Fed President Raphael Bostic Chicago Fed President Charles Evans Kansas City Fed President Esther George and New York Fed President John Williams NYSE WMB will also be in focus
Their speeches will be useful for investors who have been scaling back their expectations for future rate hikes following recent remarks from a number of Fed officials that were interpreted as dovish
Also on the agenda are minutes of the last Fed meeting which will be released Thursday
A fourth rate hike for this year is expected next month though cautious comments by Fed officials about the global economic outlook suggested the central bank could slow the pace of its monetary policy tightening cycle
4 U S 3Q GDP Second Estimate
The U S Commerce Department is to release revised figures on third quarter economic growth at 8 30AM ET 1330GMT Wednesday
The data is expected to show that the economy grew at a 3 6 annual rate in the three months ending Sept 30 a slight upward revision from a preliminary estimate of 3 5
Besides the GDP report this week s rather light economic calendar also features data on U S personal income and spending which includes personal consumption expenditures PCE inflation figures the Fed s preferred metric for inflation
The latest CB consumer confidence survey as well as the October readings on pending and new home sales will also capture the market s attention
Recent data has painted a worrying picture of the U S housing market which is struggling with rising mortgage rates and tight inventory
5 Euro Zone Flash Inflation
The euro zone will publish flash inflation figures for November at 5 00AM ET 1000GMT on Friday
The consensus forecast is that the report will show consumer prices rose 2 1 a tad slower than the 2 2 increase a month earlier The core figure without volatile energy and food prices is seen holding steady at 1 1 unchanged from the preceding month
Germany France Italy and Spain will produce their own CPI reports throughout the week
The European Central Bank kept its policy unchanged last month staying on track to end bond purchases at the end of this year However slowing growth weak business sentiment and rising political instability have seen markets dial back bets on a December 2019 rate hike
Fresh comments from ECB President Mario Draghi who is scheduled to speak twice during the week may shed further light on the ECB s monetary policy outlook
Stay up to date on all of this week s economic events by visiting |
WMB | SARB Hikes Fed Outlook Trump Thanks Saudi on Oil EM Review | Bloomberg Emerging market currencies and bonds defied a stronger dollar on optimism the pace of U S interest rate increases will slow with global growth
Highlights
The U S central bank will be likely raising interest rates somewhat but it s really in the context of a very strong economy and the authority is not on a preset course said Federal Reserve Bank of New York President John Williams NYSE WMB
Fed watchers are warming to the view the U S central bank is likely to pause or slow its rate hikes next year amid prospects for slowing global growth and as the effects of U S tax cuts fade
The rand rallied after the South African Reserve Bank increased its benchmark interest rate for the first time in more than two years as it sees inflation risks remaining elevated
The U S government is contacting key allies to get them to persuade telecommunications companies in their countries to avoid using equipment from China s Huawei Technologies Co the Wall Street Journal reported
An Asia Pacific summit ended in tumult after the U S and China failed to agree on language in a final statement the latest sign that a trade war between the world s biggest economies won t end anytime soon
President Donald Trump said he won t let the murder of U S based columnist Jamal Khashoggi jeopardize relations with Saudi Arabia citing the potential impact on oil prices and Iranian influence in the Middle East He later thanked Saudi Arabia for lower oil prices
Saudi Arabian oil production surged to a record after the kingdom received stronger than usual demand from clients preparing for a disruption in Iranian supplies according to industry executives who track Saudi output
Mexico to hold public consultations Nov 24 25 decide the fate of 10 infrastructure projects including a train across five southeastern states and an oil refinery in Tabasco state The process has roiled local markets
Asia
China s one year government bond yield dropped to lowest since December 2016 amid ample liquidity even as the central bank skipped open market operations for a 21st straight day
The U S accused China of continuing a state backed campaign of intellectual property and technology theft as the World Trade Organization said it would establish a dispute panel to rule on the complaint
India s rupee was the best performer in emerging markets as the central bank signaled a compromise with the government by agreeing to study a demand for sharing a part of its capital an issue that had triggered a public spat between the monetary policy makers and their political bosses
South Korea s won was among Asia s worst performers the central bank said it sees the prospect of rising interest rates in the U S as a threat to economic stability in emerging economies and will increase its monitoring of such risks
Thailand s economy expanded far less than economists estimated last quarter with growth easing to a two year low as exports fell
Bank of Thailand Deputy Governor Mathee Supapongse said the central bank may revise down the outlook for economic growth this year
Exports climbed 8 7 percent in October from a year earlier exceeding estimate and rebounding from a contraction of 5 2 percent in September
There s less need for very low interest rates but Thailand won t raise rates continually like others central bank Governor Veerathai Santiprabhob said
Malaysia has emerged to displace the U S as the biggest supplier of ethanol to China in just two months The shift occurred after President Xi Jinping imposed tariffs on U S ethanol imports in retaliation to American counterpart Trump s duties on Chinese goods
Malaysia s October consumer prices rose 0 6 percent on year matching estimate
Philippines stock benchmark was among the top EM performers Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas Governor Nestor Espenilla is well and limiting public appearances for the time being as he recovers from a medical condition
China s President Xi sealed a raft of deals during a trip to Manila as Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte s administration shrugs off U S warnings about accepting Chinese cash
Click here for upcoming economic and data releases in Asia
EMEA
The International Monetary Fund said South Africa s public debt was reaching uncomfortable levels The IMF said the country should consider introducing a debt anchor in its budget to signal the government s commitment to reduce it obligations and help tighten fiscal policy
Turkey s real estate market had a jolt in October despite mortgage rates rising to 14 year high during the month Economy Minister Berat Albayrak said November inflation will present a positive picture and Turkey may post record current account surplus for October
Hungary s central bank left its benchmark rates unchanged saying loose monetary policy is still needed
Poland s WIG20 stock index was among the world s best performers in the week as concerns about banking sector liquidity eased
The zloty strengthened against the euro after central bank minutes showed policy makers weighed a rate change for the first time in years
Nigeria s central bank held its key interest rate at a record high level of 14 percent as it sees inflationary pressures persisting even as prices are becoming more stable
Inflation rate declined for the first time in three months in October
Israel s economy grew 2 3 percent in the third quarter far slower than the strong expansion seen in the second half of 2017 Amir Yaron a finance professor at University of Pennsylvania s Wharton school of business was confirmed as Bank of Israel governor and will start work Dec 24
Click here for upcoming economic and data releases in Eastern Europe here for the Middle East and Africa and here for Russia
Latin America
Brazil s Congress indefinitely delayed voting on a bill that would allow the government to hold a giant auction of pre salt oil reserves underscoring the difficulties President elect Jair Bolsonaro may have in pushing key economic reforms through the legislature
The Mexican peso declined an eighth week the longest run since June 2016 as Mexico s President elect Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador said he wants to amend the nation s constitution and remove a ban on referendums that would affect public revenue or finances
READ Mexico s Pemex Feels AMLO Heat as Investors Dump Bonds
Mexico s economy expanded 2 5 y y in 3Q less than expected as concerns about the new administration s policies offsets a pickup in service activity
Chile s third quarter GDP confirmed a moderation in economic growth for the first time in six quarters while central bank President Mario Marcel reiterated that interest rates will converge to neutral by 2020
Colombia s government and lawmakers reached a preliminary agreement to keep the standard value added tax at 19 percent vs original plan of cutting it to 17 percent
Click here for upcoming economic and data releases in Latin America |
VZ | Chart Of The Day Trading Any Surprises When Verizon Reports On Tuesday | Verizon Communications NYSE VZ is set to report Q3 2018 earnings on Tuesday October 23 before market open As popular Mad Money analyst Jim Cramer says the major communications services company has decent growth with good yield
The company is expected to post EPS of 1 19 which would be a 21 43 percent jump from the same quarter last year Revenue consensus for Verizon is 32 49 billion up about 2 6 percent year over year
Shares have been trading within a 4 percent range since mid August That means that an earnings surprise might be followed by a violent move should the price break out of its roughly 52 56 range as stop losses are triggered on a downside breakout or a short squeeze occurs with an upside penetration
Readers should note that the range top coincides with the early February peak thick black line revealing that traders consider that price level significant Will it be broken Indicators suggest it will
The price move that led to the range coincided with the moving averages executing a golden cross when the 50 DMA green crossed over the 200 DMA red in an indication of superior performance by recent price data Since then the 50 DMA has been supporting prices as the 100 DMA blue climbed to support the range bottom
The RSI demonstrates that while the conception of the range was coupled with a falling momentum it has since broken to the upside in what may turn into a bottom line for momentum should the RSI cross over the 58 mark Should that happen the MACD will provide a buying signal as well when it s shorter MA blue overcomes its longer MA red projecting an outlook for continued rising prices as reflected by the superior performance of shorter major moving averages relative to longer ones
Trading Strategies
Conservative traders should wait for a decisive upside breakout following a minimum three percent penetration to filter out a bull trap A close above the 57 would be safer Some investors employ a time filter as well such as three days Then conservative traders would wait for a return move to retest the support of the range top manifested with at least one long green candle engulfing a preceding red or small candle of any color
Moderate traders would wait for a minimum two percent penetration followed by a return move either to confirm the pattern s integrity or for a closer entry to minimize risk
Aggressive traders may hazard a long position with a one percent filter then wait for the return move either for trend confirmation or an entry closer to support
Very aggressive traders may enter a contrarian short position relying on Friday s shooting star as confirmation of the range top resistance Although a potentially risky trade it provides a high risk reward ratio especially if waiting for an entry closer to the shooting star s high price as bulls test that ceiling
Entry 55
Stop loss 55 50
Risk 0 50
Target 52 50
Reward 2 50
Risk Reward Ratio 1 5 |
VZ | Sprint to accelerate network investment CEO says | By Anjali Athavaley NEW YORK Reuters Sprint Corp will accelerate investment in its network as it plots a future as a standalone company its chief executive officer said on Wednesday days after the No 4 U S wireless carrier and rival T Mobile US Inc said merger talks had failed Sprint CEO Marcelo Claure said at an investor conference the company could spend more than its previous guidance of 5 billion to 6 billion per year on capital expenditures and that cash on hand could dip next year as it builds out its network We came to the realization that we re still far away from what the Sprint network can actually deliver Claure said on Wednesday I don t think we ve put all our assets to work Sprint and No 3 U S wireless carrier T Mobile said on Saturday they have called off merger talks to create a combined U S wireless company to rival market leaders AT T Inc NYSE T and Verizon Communications Inc NYSE VZ Claure said on Wednesday that the talks fell through because SoftBank Group Corp CEO Masayoshi Son was not prepared to relinquish control of Sprint SoftBank owns a majority of Sprint shares We re always going to be open to looking at possible alternatives he said adding that we believe that eventually there s going to need to be a tie up between a telco and a cable company
Sprint shares rose 4 2 percent to 5 99 in early afternoon trading on Wednesday |
WMB | Venus Williams settles lawsuit over fatal Florida car crash | By Gina Cherelus Reuters Tennis star Venus Williams NYSE WMB has settled a wrongful death suit related to a fatal traffic accident she was involved in near her Florida residence in June 2017 according to court records The terms of the agreement between Williams and the estate of Jerome Barson 78 who died in the crash were not disclosed in the court documents The lawsuit which was filed in Palm Beach County Circuit Court was settled on Nov 15 Representatives for Williams and Barson s estate did not immediately respond to requests for comment Barson who was a passenger in a sedan that collided with the SUV that Williams was driving died 13 days after the accident His wife Linda Barson 68 was driving the sedan Williams was originally found at fault for the accident which occurred near her home in Palm Beach Gardens days before she was to compete at Wimbledon Police had said Williams had failed to yield the right of way Later they decided not to charge her because video surveillance showed she entered the intersection lawfully and a car not involved in the collision forced her to stop in the intersection where Williams vehicle was struck by the Barsons
Williams is currently ranked 39th in the world according to the Women s Tennis Association |
WMB | Patriots QB Brady limited in practice | Buffalo Bills Rookie quarterback Josh Allen had a lot of homework the past four weeks as he was recovering from an elbow injury Offensive coordinator Brian Daboll made sure his mind was never out of the game Play the game mentally I had him taking notes whether it was coverages players that were looking to attack how they re playing in certain things keeping the calls writing the calls down Daboll said Anything that I asked him to do he was staying in the game as mentally as he could He had a lot of responsibilities for me in terms of writing things down keying reads hearing the play called playing the game as if he was out there playing Allen said he learned plenty watching how veterans Derek Anderson and Matt Barkley approached the game To learn from two pros that have been at it for awhile it s been very helpful for me and I appreciate the front office bringing those two guys in It s definitely going to help in the long run Allen said Miami Dolphins The return of quarterback Ryan Tannehill who has missed five games with a shoulder capsule injury is good news for the Dolphins but he s not the only player expected to play Sunday after an absence Miami expects to have back offensive tackles Ja Wuan James and Laremy Tunsil both of whom missed the Dolphins most recent game against Green Bay on Nov 11 Defensive end Charles Harris missed four games with a calf injury said he s ready to go as well I m blessed to be back he said per the Miami Herald I feel better now than I ever have New England Patriots Quarterback Tom Brady has a knee injury and was limited in practice on Wednesday NFL Network reported that Brady sustained the injury catching a pass in the Patriots loss to Tennessee on Nov 11 The Patriots have not announced whether Brady will play Sunday against the New York Jets but NFL Network said he is expected to start Tight end Rob Gronkowski has missed three of the past four games with a back injury and showed up on the injured list on Wednesday but Jets head coach Todd Bowles expects to see them both on the field When asked about Gronkowski Bowles had this to say He ll be a game breaking talent until he retires He can block He can beat corners safeties and linebackers so it doesn t matter who he goes against I don t know if he gets enough credit for being a smart player but he s a very intelligent player He understands what s trying to be done to him and he makes adjustments and tweaks so it makes him a tough cover
New York Jets Defensive end Leonard Williams NYSE WMB has experienced a lot of losses since the Jets selected him with the No 6 pick in the 2015 NFL Draft and he said he s ready to win It would be legendary to be able to be on a team that brings the Jets back to a championship Williams told the Daily News That s the way I see it I ve never been that type of guy to say Oh these people are winning Let me go over there and win with them I d rather be on this team where we ve been losing and turn it around Let s silence the doubters Let s turn this program around and be winners That s how I ve always been However he said if the Jets fire head coach Todd Bowles he might think twice about that If there s a coaching change that s going to be basically playing for a whole new team Williams continued If I m going to be playing for a new team here anyway then it would be the same as playing for a new team somewhere else Williams is under contract for 14 2 million in 2019 in the fifth year option of his rookie deal before he would have the chance to hit free agency Field Level Media |
WMB | Team by team NFL notes | AFC EAST Buffalo Bills Rookie quarterback Josh Allen had a lot of homework the past four weeks as he was recovering from an elbow injury Offensive coordinator Brian Daboll made sure his mind was never out of the game Play the game mentally I had him taking notes whether it was coverages players that were looking to attack how they re playing in certain things keeping the calls writing the calls down Daboll said Anything that I asked him to do he was staying in the game as mentally as he could He had a lot of responsibilities for me in terms of writing things down keying reads hearing the play called playing the game as if he was out there playing Allen said he learned plenty watching how veterans Derek Anderson and Matt Barkley approached the game To learn from two pros that have been at it for awhile it s been very helpful for me and I appreciate the front office bringing those two guys in It s definitely going to help in the long run Allen said Miami Dolphins The return of quarterback Ryan Tannehill who has missed five games with a shoulder capsule injury is good news for the Dolphins but he s not the only player expected to play Sunday after an absence Miami expects to have back offensive tackles Ja Wuan James and Laremy Tunsil both of whom missed the Dolphins most recent game against Green Bay on Nov 11 Defensive end Charles Harris missed four games with a calf injury said he s ready to go as well I m blessed to be back he said per the Miami Herald I feel better now than I ever have New England Patriots Quarterback Tom Brady has a knee injury and was limited in practice on Wednesday NFL Network reported that Brady sustained the injury catching a pass in the Patriots loss to Tennessee on Nov 11 The Patriots have not announced whether Brady will play Sunday against the New York Jets but NFL Network said he is expected to start Tight end Rob Gronkowski has missed three of the past four games with a back injury and showed up on the injured list on Wednesday but Jets head coach Todd Bowles expects to see them both on the field When asked about Gronkowski Bowles had this to say He ll be a game breaking talent until he retires He can block He can beat corners safeties and linebackers so it doesn t matter who he goes against I don t know if he gets enough credit for being a smart player but he s a very intelligent player He understands what s trying to be done to him and he makes adjustments and tweaks so it makes him a tough cover New York Jets Defensive end Leonard Williams NYSE WMB has experienced a lot of losses since the Jets selected him with the No 6 pick in the 2015 NFL Draft and he said he s ready to win It would be legendary to be able to be on a team that brings the Jets back to a championship Williams told the Daily News That s the way I see it I ve never been that type of guy to say Oh these people are winning Let me go over there and win with them I d rather be on this team where we ve been losing and turn it around Let s silence the doubters Let s turn this program around and be winners That s how I ve always been However he said if the Jets fire head coach Todd Bowles he might think twice about that If there s a coaching change that s going to be basically playing for a whole new team Williams continued If I m going to be playing for a new team here anyway then it would be the same as playing for a new team somewhere else Williams is under contract for 14 2 million in 2019 in the fifth year option of his rookie deal before he would have the chance to hit free agency AFC NORTH Baltimore Ravens Wide receiver Michael Crabtree told Lamar Jackson not to fret over the run heavy imbalance to the offense last week when Jackson had 27 carries in his first career start and led the Ravens to a win over the Cincinnati Bengals Jackson said he quickly shook Crabtree off No man I ve got to throw you the ball I ve got to get these guys the ball Jackson said of his self assessment on Wednesday I don t want these guys out here thinking I m always going to run the ball I have to get these guys the ball It s my job to get the ball to him I was mad about that Cincinnati Bengals Former Oklahoma running back Joe Mixon has first hand experience seeing Browns quarterback Baker Mayfield get into a groove He s bringing that same vibe to Cleveland I see it Everybody sees it I always wish the best for Bake Just like I m sure he wishes the best for me Mixon said of his college teammate At the end of the day Baker is a really good quarterback I knew he d go No 1 this year We have to keep him contained Don t let him get into a groove because if he does he could become dangerous We don t want that I don t want that Cleveland Browns Mayfield is excited to see Hue Jackson this week even though he s on the other side of the Browns Bengals matchup this week That s always fun Mayfield said of his former head coach who joined the Bengals two weeks after being fired by the Browns It was a quick turnaround for him to go down south Mayfield worked closely with Jackson and was one of the first faces he associated with the team during the pre draft process They met three different times between late January and early March when it became apparent Mayfield was in the running to be drafted in the top five Asked if the Bengals could gain an advantage based on Jackson s knowledge Mayfield said No Just no Mayfield said his only focus the rest of the season will be to lead this team to a bunch of wins get us back in the race Pittsburgh Steelers Steelers quarterback Ben Roethlisberger said he gets amped up to play in the stadiums that were once home to his heroes including this week when Pittsburgh is at Denver the House John Elway Built Roethlisberger is 3 5 all time against the Broncos including playoffs but can t help compare his game to another No 7 Elway Just such a big arm Not really a runner but would run I think that s kind of been my game Roethlisberger said I m not a running quarterback but you re not afraid to run and get the yards when you need to Those kind of things I kind of just mold my game after I wish my arm was as strong as his though AFC SOUTH Houston Texans Veteran receiver Demaryius Thomas has been slow to grasp the game plan and was targeted just once without a catch in last Sunday s win over the Washington Redskins Thomas has three receptions in two games since being acquired from the Denver Broncos He s very close quarterback Deshaun Watson told reporters of Thomas catching on There are still some things that he s going to continue to have trouble with remembering because we do a lot of different things We put a lot on the plate of the receivers switching them around but at the same time he s a guy that came in and put his head down and went straight to work Coach Bill O Brien took part of the blame I have to do a better job of getting him more involved O Brien said He s working hard he s a good pro and we need to do a better job of getting him the ball a little more Indianapolis Colts Standout center Ryan Kelly knee was ruled out of Sunday s game against the Miami Dolphins Kelly is waiting for a second opinion to come back from a doctor and the club is hoping to have more of an idea per the length of his absence once it sees the results Colts coach Frank Reich has declined to discuss how long Kelly will be sidelined other than saying he will miss a little time Kelly aggravated the knee in the fourth quarter of last Sunday s game against the Tennessee Titans Evan Boehm will start at center against the Dolphins Boehm has played in five games this season playing 29 offensive snaps since being signed off the Los Angeles Rams practice squad on Oct 9 Jacksonville Jaguars The six game losing streak has derailed Jacksonville s season and coach Doug Marrone admits he hasn t been thinking too much about the postseason race despite his club just being two games off the wild card pace When you have lost this many games in a row we are just focused on trying to win one game this game right now Marrone told reporters of Sunday s clash against the Buffalo Bills You can t focus on anything else We have to do whatever we have to do to go win a game That is what it comes down to The hard part for the Jaguars 3 7 is that there are five teams tied at 5 5 and two other squads ahead of them that they would have to surpass in the standings I haven t looked at that Marrone said My focus of motivation is just being a competitor and trying to win not the motivation of There is still this there is still that Tennessee Titans Quarterback Marcus Mariota stinger did limited work in Wednesday s practice and figures there is enough time to recover with the team s game against the Texans falling on Monday night We have an extra day to get healthy Mariota told reporters and we ll definitely take advantage of that As for the practice work Mariota was encouraged by how he felt three days after being injured against the Colts I am feeling good Mariota said I was able to go through individual drills and I am taking it one day at a time but it felt pretty good Mariota said the stinger gave him numbness in his passing arm Earlier this season Mariota dealt with numbness issues in his fingers and had trouble gripping the football after suffering an elbow injury against the Miami Dolphins in Week 1 He wore a two fingered glove through Week 7 in order to compensate AFC WEST Denver Broncos The Broncos draw a red hot team for the third game in a row as they host the Steelers riding a six game win streak on Sunday after contests against the Chargers on a six game win streak and the Texans five game streak We re kind of battle tested head coach Vance Joseph said We ve played the best teams in the league so for our team we won t flinch We re looking forward to the challenge The Broncos who also have narrow losses to the Chiefs twice and Rams this season pulled out a victory over the Chargers last week after missing a would be game winning field goal vs Houston Kansas City Chiefs Head coach Andy Reid isn t allowed to reach out to Alex Smith but he certainly feels for his former quarterback after Smith suffered a gruesome season ending injury on Sunday You can help me put it out there that my prayers are with him Reid told reporters Tuesday I think the world of the guy He changed that program around down there gave them a chance and I know he ll be missed dearly The coach doesn t have any doubts that Smith who spent five years in Kansas City can return from the injury if he wants to If he wants to be back he ll be back Reid said That s the way he s wired Nothing is impossible with his attitude Los Angeles Chargers One player who s been lost in the shuffle for the Chargers this season is 2017 second round pick Forrest Lamp who missed his rookie season with a torn ACL and has been active for just one game this year Head coach Anthony Lynn isn t down on Lamp s development however saying the lack of playing time is more a product of circumstance It s hard to see right now because we re in season Lynn said You miss that training camp you miss those OTAs You don t want to throw a guy in a game and evaluate him when the game s on the line So it s hard for Forrest right now but he s back and working hard in practice If an opportunity presents itself we re going to get him in there Oakland Raiders If Jon Gruden and the Raiders are planning entirely for the future quarterback Derek Carr hasn t gotten the memo Oakland is set to have three first round picks this year and two next year and its own pick could be a top five selection if the team finishes poorly but that s not Carr s focus I want to mess up the draft Carr said I don t want the first pick I want to win all these games I want everybody to be mad at me for that That s what I want to accomplish Carr s game winning drive in Arizona last week was certainly a start as it prevented the Raiders from taking a one game lead in the race for the top overall pick in April NFC EAST Dallas Cowboys Dak Prescott seemingly is one player who doesn t have to worry about job security Owner Jerry Jones had a lot to say about his third year quarterback to the Fort Worth Star Telegram I don t know how we could ask for more to have this opportunity for him to progress the way he has If someone walked in here right now and looked like they were going to get the No 1 pick in the draft and said We ll give you two picks for Dak I wouldn t even consider it The Cowboys are 5 5 and play the Redskins on Thursday for a share of first place in the NFC East New York Giants A few weeks ago Giants head coach Pat Shurmur said he was sticking by his embattled quarterback but challenged him to up his level of play And given the way Eli Manning has performed in the past two games Shurmur s confidence apparently wasn t misplaced The Giants have won back to back games for the first time since 2016 and Manning is a big part of the reason why He has completed 36 of 49 passes for 419 yards to go with five touchdowns and zero interceptions in wins over Tampa Bay and San Francisco That s a winning performance from a quarterback and along with that he was throwing touchdown passes Shurmur told WFAN s Mike Francesa I feel good about where Eli is especially the last two weeks We won a game two weeks ago where we had to come back and win it In this one here we played from the front now we re going on to play a really good Philly team Philadelphia Eagles Golden Tate hasn t been the offensive elixir the Eagles hoped he would be when they acquired him at the trade deadline from the Detroit Lions for a third round draft pick In two games with Philadelphia Tate has caught seven passes for 67 yards and no touchdowns Offensive coordinator Mike Groh said it s been tough finding Tate s fit in the offense It s been challenging to integrate him Groh said per The Philadelphia Inquirer Certainly with the way we weren t able to stay on the field the other day Sunday a 48 7 loss to New Orleans and finding a rhythm for the offense that part of it then everything becomes a bit disjointed If we can do a better job of staying on the field and having drives then everybody gets more involved in the offense Washington Redskins The NFC East saw the same story last season It was Week 14 when Carson Wentz went down with a torn ACL and the Eagles turned to Nick Foles who led them to a Super Bowl championship Could the same thing happen with the Redskins who at 6 4 sit in first place in the NFC East The Redskins will start veteran Colt McCoy on Thursday against Dallas and he is taking over for Alex Smith who broke his leg in Week 11 against Houston McCoy has Smith in his corner Alex is a true professional McCoy said I mean he wants the best for everybody and he just told me to go run with it go have fun and just be me That s what I ll try to do McCoy s last stint as a starter came in 2014 when he was 1 3 NFC NORTH Chicago Bears Because of his mastery of the Bears offense a byproduct of utilizing the scheme in some variation with the Kansas City Chiefs 2013 15 and Philadelphia Eagles 2016 and the way he played in the 2018 preseason Chase Daniel has a lot of confidence behind him should he start Thanksgiving Day at Detroit He is uber prepared every single day every single rep to go out there and compete in practice in meetings in all of the things Bears offensive coordinator Mark Helfrich said of the backup quarterback Mitchell Trubisky shoulder is doubtful meaning it could be time for Daniel to make his third career NFL start In his career Daniel is 51 of 78 for 480 yards with one touchdown one interception and an 81 1 passer rating Detroit Lions Running back Kerryon Johnson and wide receiver Marvin Jones were ruled out of Thursday s game against the Chicago Bears due to knee injuries Neither player was able to practice and their absence leaves quarterback Matthew Stafford and the Lions without two of his best weapons The Bears lead the NFL in run defense which invites speculation that Theo Riddick a third down back could get more playing time than bruising short yardage back LeGarrette Blount Blount said he s looking forward to more chances He has only 183 rushing yards through 10 games in a season he described as not the best Fullback Zach Zenner could also see his role increased Green Bay Packers Cornerback Xavier Rhodes and wide receiver Davante Adams are headliners in round two of Packers Vikings on Sunday night Defensive coaches in Minnesota aren t tipping their hand but the Vikings allowed Rhodes to shadow Adams all over the field in the first meeting this season when Adams caught eight of the 12 passes intended for him and finished with 64 yards and a touchdown You re looking at two Pro Bowl caliber players That would definitely be a matchup everyone will be paying attention to Packers head coach Mike McCarthy said Minnesota Vikings With no game on Thanksgiving Day a far cry from his 13 years as an assistant with the Dallas Cowboys Vikings head coach Mike Zimmer adjusted the team s schedule to open Thursday afternoons the rest of the season That includes the holiday which Zimmer said he looks forward to because of one combination primarily Turkey and wine red wine he said Wednesday The Vikings return to the field for another prime time game after losing Sunday night at Chicago and draw Aaron Rodgers and the Packers Zimmer said playing good teams has caused quarterback Kirk Cousins to play poorly in prime time spots more than anything We re playing good teams might be the real factor Zimmer said NFC SOUTH Atlanta Falcons Pro Bowl linebacker Deion Jones foot was ruled out of the Thanksgiving night matchup against the New Orleans Saints Jones was injured in the season opener against the Philadelphia Eagles and is close to returning to action Atlanta suffered a 43 37 overtime loss to the Saints in Week 3 and Falcons wideout Julio Jones said his club needs to score on every possession Every time we get the ball it s critical Jones told reporters And they know we can score too So what teams will do especially the Saints they try to keep us on the sideline for long periods of time But when we get the ball we ve got to score points Carolina Panthers Receiver Torrey Smith knee returned to practice on Wednesday and hopes to return for Sunday s game against the Seattle Seahawks Smith has missed the past four games and youngsters DJ Moore and Curtis Samuel have displayed they can be counted on during his absence I m not really worried about all of that stuff Smith told reporters Even if it means me coming back and I have to watch more than I m used to whatever we have to do to win that s what matters most to me right now I don t want to be a guy that messes up chemistry I don t want to be a guy that interferes with the development of our young guys but I know I m going to bring it each and every time I m out there New Orleans Saints Receiver Tre Quan Smith had a breakout 10 reception outing 157 yards and a touchdown against the Philadelphia Eagles last Sunday but suffered a foot injury and that is clouding his availability for Thursday s game against the Falcons Smith was listed as questionable on Wednesday and a decision may not be reached until pregame warm ups In my eyes I m playing Smith declared Wednesday Smith also said he was amazed by the awareness of star quarterback Drew Brees With Drew you re never covered in his eyes Smith said He knows how to manipulate the defense to put the ball where only you can get it and no one else gets it And as a young receiver I need that because my game isn t all the way there So I have a quarterback that can put it somewhere where only I can get it it s wonderful Tampa Bay Buccaneers Quarterback Jameis Winston had little response when reporters fired questions asking if he felt the organization was committed to him for next season Winston has a 20 9 million fifth year option for next season that is only guaranteed for injury so the team could cut him and not be on the hook for any payout Yeah I just know that I m committed to this team and committed to doing my best to provide an opportunity for me later Winston said Wednesday Receiver Mike Evans is marveling at the way Winston is handling the uncertainty of the situation while being shuttled in and out of the lineup along with Ryan Fitzpatrick He s very mentally tough one of the toughest guys I ve ever been around Evans said I know it s a difficult situation for both of them because they re both tough competitors and they both want to play NFC WEST Arizona Cardinals Josh Rosen continues to take his lumps as a rookie on a 2 8 team having thrown 10 interceptions on the year including eight in his last four games He is going to go through those ups and downs as a rookie head coach Steve Wilks said We understand and know that You want to try to eliminate those of course Rosen who noted that interception totals can swing heavily with good or bad fortune added he s starting to learn when he can and can t take chances If it s man coverage and the guy is on his hip that is something you can give a guy a shot Rosen said When certain guys are in certain positions like if a fast guy is hip and hip with someone deep you can chuck it but there s certain ones where I don t care how good you are you re not going to get it complete So it depends on the play and the position of the defense Los Angeles Rams Monday night s 54 51 triumph over the Chiefs drew headlines for the offensive fireworks but outside linebacker Samson Ebukam s monster game a fumble returned for touchdown a pick six and a sack didn t go unnoticed Ebukam was named NFC Defensive Player of the Week on Wednesday joining Aaron Donald who has done so four times including Week 7 this year as the only Rams to claim the honor since Robert Quinn in Week 1 of 2013 Meanwhile Jared Goff Week 4 and Todd Gurley Week 6 have each claimed offensive honors this season while Blake Countess Week 3 and Greg Zuerlein Week 1 have gotten the nod on special teams San Francisco 49ers Through multiple quarterback changes and injuries second year tight end George Kittle has continued to produce at a high level this season and he s up to 50 grabs for 775 yards through 10 games Kittle has been very similar since the day he got here head coach Kyle Shanahan said His production has gone up and down to me based off of health based off of situations how good we re doing around him He s gradually gotten better because he works the right way and I think that ll continue throughout his career Shanahan attributed Kittle s relatively small touchdown total three to a number of other factors including how often he gets double teamed in the red zone Seattle Seahawks As the NFL leans increasingly toward high flying offenses as evidenced by Monday night s 54 51 Rams win over the Chiefs Seahawks coach Pete Carroll has continued to stand on his running game and defense just the way he likes it I don t mind being different at all Carroll told reporters I didn t mind it when we were in college at USC either We weren t spreading out and doing all the stuff that other people were doing When you re playing all spread teams week in and week out it s a big transition for you and being unique is OK particularly when you re being aggressive and tough Seattle leads the NFL in rushing attempts per game 32 3 and is last in pass attempts 27 8 while currently riding a six game streak when accumulating 150 plus rushing yards Field Level Media OLUSSPORT Reuters US Online Report Sports News 20181122T013115 0000 |
WMB | MLB notebook Machado addresses Johnny Hustle flap | Manny Machado is about to break the bank in free agency but he knows teams will have questions that must be answered first One of those questions he s looking to address right away is criticism over comments he made during the National League Championship Series when the then Los Angeles Dodgers shortstop told The Athletic that being Johnny Hustle is not his cup of tea When I was asked that question I was definitely on the defensive and I was wrong to answer it the way that I did because looking back it doesn t come across how I meant it Machado told MLB com For me I was trying to talk about how I m not the guy who is eye wash There s a difference between fake hustle for show and being someone who tries hard to win I ve always been the guy who does whatever he can to win for his team During the NLCS Machado was criticized or failing to run out a grounder in one game and making two questionable slides in another Obviously I m not going to change he told Ken Rosenthal at the time I m not the type of player that s going to be Johnny Hustle and run down the line and slide to first base and you know whatever can happen That s just not my personality that s not my cup of tea that s not who I am Machado 26 just completed his seventh season The four time All Star came up with Baltimore in 2012 and was acquired by the Dodgers in July for five prospects Cincinnati Reds reliever Raisel Iglesias signed a three year contract worth just over 24 million to avoid salary arbitration The 28 year old right hander registered a career best 30 saves in 34 chances and posted a 2 38 ERA in 2018 and he is a candidate to join the rotation in 2019 This deal keeps him in Cincinnati until 2021 Raisel has been extremely reliable in our bullpen Reds president of baseball operations Dick Williams NYSE WMB said He has also proved to be a very versatile pitcher which we value highly The Los Angeles Angels acquired left hander Dillon Peters from the Miami Marlins for minor league right hander Tyler Stevens Peters 26 went 3 4 with a 6 10 ERA in 13 big league games 11 starts over the past two seasons He spent most of the 2018 season at Triple A New Orleans and had a 6 7 record with a 5 61 ERA in 19 starts Stevens 22 went 7 6 with a 5 43 ERA in 49 relief appearances among three levels last season including 20 games at Triple A Salt Lake New Baltimore Orioles general manager Mike Elias has hired Sig Mejdal as assistant general manager for analytics the club announced Mejdal a former NASA engineer had worked with Elias with the Houston Astros since 2012 and with the St Louis Cardinals before that Mejdal was the architect of the Astros analytics department
Mejdal will be tasked with helping Elias rebuild the Orioles who finished last season with their worst mark 47 115 since moving to Baltimore following the 1953 season Field Level Media |
WMB | Top 25 roundup No 3 Gonzaga outlasts No 1 Duke | Rui Hachimura s layup with 1 15 left Wednesday snapped a tie and gave No 3 Gonzaga an 89 87 win over top ranked Duke for the Maui Invitational championship in Lahaina Hawaii The Bulldogs 6 0 hung on with their defense The Blue Devils 5 1 missed seven shots in the last 54 seconds with Brandon Clarke rejecting RJ Barrett s driving layup at the buzzer after Hachimura missed two free throws with 10 6 seconds remaining that could have wrapped it up It was the first loss in 18 games at the Maui Invitational for Duke which rallied from a 16 point second half deficit to tie the game at 87 87 on Zion Williamson s short jumper with 1 41 remaining Hachimura topped Gonzaga which won the event for the second time with 20 points and seven rebounds and he added five assists Zach Norvell Jr sank four 3 pointers and added 18 points Barrett tallied a game high 23 points and Williamson contributed 22 points and 10 rebounds No 2 Kansas 77 Marquette 68 Dedric Lawson scored 26 points as the Jayhawks overcame a nine point halftime deficit to down the Eagles in the Preseason NIT at New York The preseason All American shot 9 of 16 from the floor and added 12 rebounds Kansas 4 0 will play in the tournament final Friday against No 5 Tennessee Marquette 3 2 paced by junior forward Sam Hauser with 20 points and six rebounds will meet Louisville on Friday Lagerald Vick who was coming off career bests of 30 plus points in each of his previous two games scored 16 for Kansas Markus Howard finished with 18 points for Marquette No 4 Virginia 74 Middle Tennessee 52 De Andre Hunter scored 15 points dished out nine assists and pulled down eight rebounds to pace the Cavaliers to a win over the Blue Raiders in the quarterfinals of the Battle 4 Atlantis at Paradise Island Bahamas Virginia 4 0 will face Dayton in Thursday s semifinals after the Flyers knocked off Butler earlier in the day The Blue Raiders will play Butler on Thursday Kyle Guy joined Hunter with 15 points for the Cavaliers Middle Tennessee 3 2 received 11 points from Antonio Green and 10 from Reggie Scurry No 5 Tennessee 92 Louisville 81 Reigning SEC Player of the Year Grant Williams NYSE WMB scored 24 points and grabbed nine rebounds to lead the Volunteers to a victory over the Cardinals in the NIT Season Tip Off in New York Admiral Schofield rediscovered his shooting stroke for Tennessee 4 0 connecting on four 3 pointers and tallying 20 points Lamonte Turner added 13 points Jordan Nwora recorded a double double with 23 points and 10 rebounds to lead the way for Louisville 3 1 which lost for the first time under new coach Chris Mack Nwora also turned the ball over eight times No 8 Auburn 73 Arizona 57 The Tigers ripped off 11 consecutive points to blow open a close game and defeat the Wildcats for third place in the Maui Invitational at Lahaina Hawaii Bryce Brown led Auburn 5 1 with a game high 19 points going 4 for 8 from the 3 point arc Malik Dunbar shot 6 for 7 from the field and added 15 off the bench Brandon Randolph paced Arizona 4 2 with 18 points while Justin Coleman scored 16 and Chase Jeter netted 14 points While Randolph and Coleman combined for nine 3 pointers in 15 tries the rest of the team was 1 of 10 from long range No 10 Kentucky 87 Winthrop 74 The Wildcats received 19 points and 11 rebounds from PJ Washington in a victory over the Eagles at Lexington Ky Tyler Herro added 15 points for Kentucky 4 1 Keldon Johnson had 13 Quade Green added 11 off the bench and sophomore Nick Richards scored 10 Winthrop 2 3 placed five players in double figures with Austin Awad Josh Ferguson and Charles Falden contributing 11 points each No 15 Mississippi State 61 Saint Mary s 57 Quinndary Weatherspoon and Tyson Carter scored 12 points each as the Bulldogs bounced back from their first loss of the season to beat the Gaels and claim third place in the MGM Resorts Main Event at Las Vegas Aric Holman added nine points and 11 rebounds for Mississippi State 4 1 Jordan Ford scored 23 points and Malik Fitts had 10 points and nine rebounds to lead the Gaels 3 2 Creighton 87 No 16 Clemson 82 Ty Shon Alexander scored a career high 36 points as the Bluejays upended the Tigers in the championship game of the Cayman Islands Classic at George Town Clemson 5 1 battled back behind graduate guard Marcquise Reed and twice pulled within five points in the final three minutes but the Bluejays 5 1 made enough free throws down the stretch to keep the Tigers at bay Reed who scored 13 of Clemson s final 15 points paced Clemson with 27 points one shy of his career high No 20 Iowa 105 Alabama State 78 Luka Garza scored 22 points on 8 of 8 shooting to help the Hawkeyes roll to a triumph over the Hornets in nonconference play at Iowa City Joe Wieskamp added 20 points on 6 of 7 shooting for Iowa 5 0 Tyler Cook scored 16 points and junior guard Isaiah Moss added 15 as the Hawkeyes led from start to finish Reginald Gee made four 3 pointers while scoring 16 points for Alabama State 2 3 and Jacoby Ross also sank four 3 pointers while scoring 14 points No 22 Buffalo 110 Dartmouth 71 Nick Perkins scored 18 points off the bench to lead a balanced attack as the Bulls defeated the visiting Big Green Davonta Jordan and Jayvon Graves each scored 16 and Jeenathan Williams and Jeremy Harris added 11 points apiece for Buffalo 4 0 which never trailed Perkins added a game high 10 rebounds The Bulls prevailed despite the absence of C J Massinburg who averages a team best 20 3 points per game Massinburg is out for two weeks due to a knee sprain Ian Sistare led Dartmouth 3 2 with 18 points on 6 of 9 shooting from the field including 3 for 4 from 3 point range Chris Knight added 17 points No 25 Wisconsin 62 Stanford 46 Brad Davison converted a three point play to thwart a second half rally by the Cardinal leading the Badgers to a victory in the opening round of the Battle 4 Atlantis in Nassau Bahamas The win sends the Badgers 4 0 into one of Thursday s semifinals against Oklahoma which outlasted Florida 65 60 in Wednesday s opening game The Cardinal 2 2 will take on the Gators in a consolation bracket game Thursday
Wisconsin s Ethan Happ and D Mitrik Trice scored 16 points apiece KZ Okpala had 11 points and eight rebounds for Stanford Field Level Media |
VZ | Re Valuation Of Softbank And Its Son | Valuation updated
You d think Softbank would be priced to reflect Son s premium Instead its stock currently trades at around a 50 discount to the fair value of its known assets SoftBank has about 1 300 investments many of them not consolidated on its financials
The gap between what SoftBank is worth its fair value and its stock price has widened substantially over the last few years despite the stock s appreciation Our fair value estimate of SoftBank shares is about 80
Frustrated with SoftBank s valuation Son has begun to make strategic moves to deleverage SoftBank Last February SoftBank announced it may take its Japanese telecom business public SoftBank is expected to sell about 30 of its stake and should raise about 20 billion
SoftBank owns a large chunck of Didi the largest Chinese ride hailing company a Chinese version of Uber which in fact bought Uber s assets in China Didi is a privately held company Recently SoftBank announced that it is going to sell its shares of Didi to Vision Fund for 20 billion Vision Fund is a 100 billion private equity like investment vehicle created by Son SoftBank owns one third of Vision fund and has an even larger economic interest in it
And then there is Sprint SoftBank owns 82 of its publicly listed shares After dating T Mobile for almost a year Sprint and T Mobile finally decided to merge There is a chance that the government might not approve this merger but we think the probability of approval is high The telecom industry requires scale the cost of a network cell towers equipment and spectrum is mostly fixed and profitability of a carrier is for the most part determined by the number of users
T Mobile and Sprint are each half the size of giant incumbents Verizon and AT T which achieved their size through dozens of acquisitions The combination of Sprint and T Mobile would reduce competition in the short run but in the long run it would create a strong and viable competitor and thus stable prices for consumers T Mobile and especially Sprint on their own would eventually get marginalized into irrelevance by AT T and Verizon by the large cost of 5G rollout
If the merger goes through it would improve the optics of SoftBank s balance sheet SoftBank owns 82 of Sprint and thus has to consolidate Sprint s 30 billion of debt on its balance sheet Despite SoftBank s control of Sprint in the event of bankruptcy SoftBank is not liable for Sprint s debt After the merger SoftBank will own around 27 of the combined entity and thus magically the debt of the new company will migrate from SoftBank s balance sheet to the balance sheet of Deutsche Telecom the majority owner of T Mobile
Between the sale of Didi the Japanese telecom IPO and the Sprint T Mobile merger SoftBank should see its debt drop by about 70 billion The current discount between the fair value of SoftBank s assets and its stock price is caused by the perception of enormous leverage and as the leverage gets cured so will the perception
Conclusion
There are many ways to look at SoftBank You can think of it as buying a stock at a roughly 50 discount to the market value of its assets or as a way to buy Alibaba NYSE BABA at less than half its current price Alibaba is a great play on the Chinese consumer who is spending more and more money shopping online Alibaba is synonymous with Chinese online shopping whose growth may accelerate with higher smartphone penetration and just as important the ongoing rollout of a fast wireless LTE network
You can also look at SoftBank as a vehicle through which to invest in emerging markets not just China but India as well It is almost like hiring the combination of Buffett Branson and Jobs to go to work for you investing in markets whose economies in a few decades will surpass that of the U S while also investing in a segment of the economy the internet that is growing at a much faster rate than the overall economy And of course you have Masayoshi Son the Buffett Branson Jobs fusion making these investments for you With SoftBank at this valuation you can ditch your emerging markets mutual fund
Additional thoughts
Some additional thoughts I don t expect every bet Masayoshi Son makes in Vision Fund to work out Not at all I look at Vision Fund as a portfolio of bets For instance his investment in WeWork and WeWork s valuation make me cringe I am also concerned that he feels the need to spend 100 billion all at once There will be a time when this money will buy a lot more than it does today
I feel uneasy that the 100 billion will be like a pig going through the python of Silicon Valley inflating the prices of technology companies But a few things let me sleep well owning Softbank First Mr Son owns 20 of the company every dollar Softbank spends 20 cents are his As Nassim Taleb would put it Mr Son has skin in the game Second the discount of Softbank stock to the fair value of its assets is so huge that it could absorb the blow up of Vision Fund And finally I remind myself that I d probably have had a similar feeling of uneasiness about Mr Son s decisions at any time in his 30 plus year career PCs in the 80s Internet in the 90s telecom Japan and internet in China in the 00s And this is when I remember Einstein s quotes |
WMB | John Williams Sees Fed Likely Raising Interest Rates Somewhat More | Bloomberg The U S central bank will stick with its campaign of gradual interest rate increases to extend the economic expansion and keep inflation low said Federal Reserve Bank of New York President John Williams NYSE WMB
We ll be likely raising interest rates somewhat but it s really in the context of a very strong economy he said at a community event in New York on Monday We re not on a preset course We ll adjust how we do monetary policy to do our best to keep this economy going strong with low inflation
The Fed is expected to raise the nation s short term benchmark rate at its meeting next month though the probability of a move has dipped in recent days following signs the housing market has cooled
Investors see odds at 67 percent that the central bank will deliver its four rate increase of the year at its Dec 18 19 meeting according to pricing in interest rate futures That s back from more than 75 percent odds on Nov 13
We re going to do what we ve been doing as best we can we re going to find a currently we say gradual path of getting monetary policy back to more normal levels Williams said
Fed officials including Chairman Jerome Powell have over the past week dialed back the tone of their comments to acknowledge the risk of headwinds Those include a potential slowdown in global growth and the cumulative drag of eight rate increases since 2015 on sectors including housing
The benchmark policy rate is currently in a 2 percent to 2 25 percent range While a move next month is still on the table investors will be focused on the Fed s updated projections for 2019 released with their policy decision In September they penciled in three rate increases next year according to their median estimate
Interest rates are still very low Williams said Our goal here is to keep the economy strong keep this expansion going as long as possible
Inflation is running at the Fed s goal of 2 percent amid unemployment at the lowest levels since 1969 while economic growth in the third quarter came in at a 3 5 percent annual pace
We re in a great position Williams said Unemployment is very low the economy has got a lot of I think good positive signs and for us it s just keeping a good balance Keeping this economy strong and stable
Updates with more Williams comment from fifth paragraph |
WMB | Airbnb to remove listings in Israel s West Bank settlements | By Dan Williams NYSE WMB JERUSALEM Reuters Home renting company Airbnb Inc said on Monday it would remove listings in Israeli settlements in the occupied West Bank a move Israel called a wretched capitulation to boycotters and Palestinians hailed as a step towards peace The decision affecting some 200 listings would take effect in the coming days Airbnb said Israel captured the West Bank in a 1967 war Its settlements there are considered illegal by most world powers Palestinians deem the settlements and the military presence needed to protect them to be obstacles to their goal of establishing a state Israel disputes this We concluded that we should remove listings in Israeli settlements in the occupied West Bank that are at the core of the dispute between Israelis and Palestinians Airbnb said on its website Our hope is that someday sooner rather than later a framework is put in place where the entire global community is aligned so there will be a resolution to this historic conflict and a clear path forward for everybody to follow Palestinians and their supporters had long lobbied Airbnb to delist the settlements Israel strongly opposes such calls for boycotts which it considers a biased approach to the conflict Israeli Tourism Minister Yariv Levin called Airbnb s move the most wretched of wretched capitulations to the boycott efforts Speaking on Israel s Channel 13 television he said Israel was not told of the decision in advance and that it would respond by backing lawsuits by settlement listers against Airbnb in U S courts Waleed Assraf head of a Palestinian anti settlement group run by the umbrella Palestine Liberation Organisation welcomed Airbnb s decision Should other companies follow suit he told Reuters this will contribute to achieving peace Oded Revivi mayor of the West Bank settlement of Efrat and a representative of the umbrella settler council Yesha said Airbnb s decision was contrary to the company s stated mission of helping to bring people together in as many places as possible around the world When they make such a decision they get involved with politics which is going to defeat the actual purpose of the enterprise itself Revivi told Reuters Human Rights Watch said the Airbnb move came on the eve of its publication of a 65 page report it has carried out into tourist rental listings in settlements including by Airbnb Airbnb s decision to end its listings in Israeli settlements is an important recognition that such listings can t square with its human rights responsibilities the group said on Monday We urge other companies to follow suit The group said its report would be released on Tuesday morning Some 500 000 Israelis live in the West Bank and East Jerusalem areas that are also home to more than 2 6 million Palestinians Israel considers the West Bank the biblical cradle of Judaism as a security bulwark to the east Palestinians want the West Bank for a future state along with East Jerusalem and the Gaza Strip U S sponsored peace talks have been stalled since 2014
San Francisco basked Airbnb is eyeing an IPO next year after announcing in February it would not make a public debut this year |
WMB | A key Fed official stays the course on U S rate hikes amid growing doubts | By Jonathan Spicer NEW YORK Reuters The Federal Reserve is pushing ahead with gradual rate hike plans next month as it marches toward a more normal policy stance that would keep the economy expanding one of its most influential members said on Monday in the face of growing doubts in financial markets New York Fed President John Williams NYSE WMB a close ally of Fed Chair Jerome Powell and a permanent voter on monetary policy said repeatedly the U S economy and job market is strong prompting employers to hire workers they otherwise would not His steady as she goes comments suggest a hot domestic economy is in focus for the U S central bank s core decision makers even while there are signs of a slowdown overseas Irrespective futures traders on Monday further trimmed bets of another interest rate rise at the Fed s Dec 18 19 policy meeting What we re going to do over the next FOMC monetary policy meeting we re going to do what we ve been doing as best we can we re going to find a gradual path of the monetary policy back to a more normal level of interest rates said Williams of the Federal Open Market Committee meeting Rates are still very low We ve raised them but they are still at a very low level he added at a New York City Hispanic Chamber of Commerce event in the Bronx We want to keep this expansion going as long as possible In the face of 3 7 percent unemployment the lowest since the 1960s and economic growth running well above potential this year the Fed has settled into a quarterly rate hike cycle Over the last couple of months a rate hike in December was seen as all but a sure thing both in and outside of the Fed But recent data have suggested growth is slowing in China Germany and elsewhere as rising U S trade tariffs begin to pinch the global economy This prompted some investors to question how long the Fed can continue tightening its policy The doubts have left the probability of a rate hike in December at only 65 percent according to CME Group s FedWatch program Traders have priced in about a 35 percent likelihood of two rate hikes next year down from 57 percent a week ago That compares to Fed policymakers forecasts from September that pointed to three hikes in 2019 While a couple of central bankers expressed some caution last week most including Powell and now Williams paved the way to more policy tightening as planned This is an economy that has lots of unmet needs in the healthcare and education sectors Williams said at the Bronx Museum of the Arts after visiting a nearby center that trains people for jobs in technology It is not starved of jobs he said of the labor market
The economy goes up and down that s just a way of life he added Right now it is good |
WMB | U S Full Employment China Trade Pay Japan s Quandry Eco Day | Bloomberg Welcome to Tuesday Asia Here s the latest news from Bloomberg Economics
The U S labor market doesn t have much more room to tighten according to a Federal Reserve Bank of San Francisco study and New York Fed chief John Williams NYSE WMB said the bank will stick with its campaign of gradual interest rate increases Meanwhile confidence among U S homebuilders plummeted by the most since 2014 and Yelena Shulyatyeva says home sales are likely to fall further in the first half of next year
President Donald Trump is succeeding in making China pay most of the cost of his trade war according to new research while the IMF says China s central bank would benefit from greater transparency China s crackdown on the risks in its financial system is meanwhile inflicting great pain on private businesses
The sharp slide in oil prices threatens to halve Japan s inflation rate over the next six months while cheaper mobile phone bills and free nursery education could even push it below zero
If emerging markets are signaling the worst of this year s wobbles may have passed Vice President Mike Pence just gave a reminder that risks are never far away India s central bank meanwhile signaled a compromise with the government by agreeing to study a demand for sharing a part of its capital
Australia is considering cutting the cap on its migrant intake by 30 000 saying the pace of population growth is clogging roads trains and schools in the nation s biggest cities
The U K government will compare the economic impact of its Brexit deal with remaining in the EU marking a win for pro Europe lawmakers Meanwhile Austrian and Dutch finance ministers increased pressure on the EU to call Italy s populist government to account for its spending plans |
WMB | Gold Prices Little Changed as Fed Official Suggests Rates Likely to Rise Soon | Investing com Gold prices were little changed on Tuesday even after New York Fed President John Williams NYSE WMB said the Federal Reserve will be likely raising interest rates somewhat
Gold futures for December delivery on the Comex division of the New York Mercantile Exchange traded 0 08 lower at 1 224 3 a troy ounce by 1 34 AM ET 06 34 GMT
Speaking at a community event in New York on Monday Williams said We re going to do what we ve been doing as best we can we re going to find a currently we say gradual path of getting monetary policy back to more normal levels
The Fed has raised rates three times this year and is widely expected to hike rates again in December
Interest rates are still very low Williams said Our goal here is to keep the economy strong keep this expansion going as long as possible
His comments came after Richard Clarida the Fed s newly appointed vice chair expressed caution over the global growth outlook last Friday and said that s something that is going to be relevant for the outlook for the U S economy
Federal Reserve Bank of Dallas President Robert Kaplan also said in a separate interview with Fox Business last week that he expected a growth slowdown in Europe and China
The market is very quiet today and appears to be in a holiday mood ahead of the U S Thanksgiving said Peter Fung head of dealing at Wing Fung Precious Metals in Hong Kong
The U S dollar index that tracks the greenback against a basket of other currencies traded 0 06 to 96 2 by 12 42 AM ET 05 42 GMT
The dollar has come under some pressure giving some support to gold said Fung |
WMB | UK Plc prepares for messy Brexit as clock ticks down | By Kate Holton and Noor Zainab Hussain LONDON Reuters British companies selling everything from washing machines to flights food and mortgages plan to spend tens of millions of pounds in case the political brinkmanship gripping the country leads to a disorderly Brexit With barely four months until the world s fifth largest economy leaves the European Union a raft of major companies set out plans on Tuesday to counter any trade delays and downturns that could stem from a no deal scenario Electrocomponents L ECM which stocks more than half a million industrial and electronics products said it would spend 30 million pounds 38 6 million in the six months to the end of next March to increase its holding of high turnover goods in Britain and Europe AO World L AO the online electricals and white goods retailer might increase stock to mitigate supply chain friction while Compass L CPG the world s biggest catering firm is looking to build inventory and vary menus before March 29 We are planning very seriously for all scenarios said Chief Executive Dominic Blakemore of Compass which provides meals for train customers hospitals and corporate headquarters We have been working with our suppliers for quite some time to think about how we carry a bit more inventory how we source supply and how we vary our menu Britain s vote to leave the world s largest trading bloc has created a raft of challenges for companies with financial services groups shifting some assets and people to Europe while manufacturers hunt for storage space to stockpile parts Supporters of Brexit say once it has left the country will be free to negotiate new trade deals around the world and ditch regulations they say hamper growth But mounting tensions in Westminster where lawmakers from all parties are opposed to Prime Minister Theresa May s Brexit deal have sparked fears Britain may leave the EU with no deal prompting customs checks that clog up borders and fracture long standing supply chains Issues being addressed include stockpiling changes in suppliers and production and changes to regulation READY OR NOT Hours after a handful of companies put out their plans at 0700 GMT the Bank of England had some sobering words I have the impression from talking to businesses that most are not prepared for a no deal Brexit and don t know really how to Bank policymaker Michael Saunders said Those companies with a plan are pushing ahead British low cost airline easyJet L EZJ which carried 88 5 million passengers in its latest financial year has changed its legal structure and secured new operating licenses to enable it to continue flying into Europe It is now working to change its shareholder base so that by Brexit day more than 50 percent of its investors will be based in the European Economic Area when excluding Britain That measure currently stands at 47 percent Basically what me and Andrew Findlay CFO are going to do right now after today is continue to go and see European shareholders and talk to them about the story of easyJet Chief Executive Johan Lundgren told reporters as he presented results Many company executives in Britain have previously been reluctant to stray into politics for fear of angering customers but with time running out they are starting to speak out AO World said it may need to increase inventory in the short term It currently holds enough stock in Britain for 35 days Halma L HLMA a maker of safety equipment for the medical infrastructure and resource markets set out in detail how it could be affected including higher costs and inflation greater liabilities for pensions and disruption to its work force supply chain and regulation CEO Andrew Williams NYSE WMB said the group had some flexibility because its string of companies around the world could work together to share production if required Other companies remained more coy
The owner of Clydesdale and Yorkshire Bank L CYBGC said the inherently uncertain environment was casting a shadow over the country s short term economic prospects |
WMB | Airbus to unveil top finance operational executives sources | By Tim Hepher PARIS Reuters Airbus PA AIR is poised to make top financial and operational appointments as incoming CEO Guillaume Faury tightens his grip after months of turmoil over corruption investigations and output delays sources familiar with the matter said The European planemaker could announce a new German chief financial officer as early as Wednesday to take over from Harald Wilhelm who announced in May that he would leave next spring at the same time as current chief executive Tom Enders It could also name a new operations boss to succeed Tom Williams NYSE WMB the chief operating officer of the main Airbus planemaking business the sources said Airbus declined comment Williams a Glasgow born veteran troubleshooter and Airbus s unofficial UK ambassador had agreed to postpone retirement until the end of the year to help tackle production delays but is likely to be succeeded by a German appointee in what could be seen as a blow to the profile of the company s UK arm ahead of Brexit Programs chief Didier Evrard also delayed his retirement until the end of the year Reuters reported last month that Airbus was close to naming a German executive from outside the group to replace fellow German Wilhelm after a board driven management overhaul hastened his surprise resignation British and French authorities are investigating the use of middlemen in jetliner sales and Airbus says it is supplying information to U S authorities Wilhelm has not been accused of wrongdoing and it was he who initiated the planemaker s decision in 2014 to halt a decades old system of middlemen supporting jet sales But sources have said that his departure reflects a clearout designed to help Airbus to win more lenient judicial settlements by presenting a fresh face to investigators A number of operational appointments meanwhile is expected to underscore Faury s focus on stabilizing output and fixing quality problems
Airbus last month cut its core 2018 delivery target by 2 percent to 782 jets and faces a continued challenge to maintain that goal people familiar with its production plans said |
VZ | CWA union to oppose Sprint T Mobile deal over job losses | WASHINGTON Reuters The 700 000 member Communications Workers of America CWA union said on Tuesday it would oppose a deal to merge wireless carriers Sprint N S and T Mobile arguing that such a move would cost tens of thousands of jobs in the United States The companies are expected to announce an agreement in the first half of November to create a company that would have more than 130 million U S subscribers just behind Verizon Communications Inc N VZ and AT T Inc N T The deal would have to be approved by the Federal Communications Commission and the Justice Department s Antitrust Division The union cited a 2016 study by Craig Moffett of MoffettNathanson Research which showed that some 20 000 people could lose their jobs if a deal went through Allowing Sprint and T Mobile to merge guarantees the loss of tens of thousands of U S jobs that would result from store closures and the consolidation of administrative work Shelton said One of the FCC s responsibilities is to ensure that mergers and other corporate actions are in the public interest The massive job loss that this merger would cause is not in the public interest he said The CWA also estimated that T Mobile has 10 000 people working in 17 U S call centers whose jobs could move overseas if a deal is approved union spokeswoman Candice Johnson said The FCC may take job losses into consideration when reviewing a merger Job losses are not considered in an antitrust review Sprint declined to comment while T Mobile did not respond to a request for comment The two companies had contemplated a merger in early 2014 but scrapped the idea after initial meetings with high level officials at the FCC and Justice Department who had said it was unapproveable Many of the staffers who were in the Justice Department s Antitrust Division in 2014 remain in place and will be skeptical of the tie up this time sources have told Reuters But the final decision will be made by political appointees who have changed since President Donald Trump took office
Japan s SoftBank Group Corp T 9984 controls Sprint while T Mobile s majority owner is Deutsche Telekom AG DE DTEGn |
VZ | Telekom CEO argues for strong No 3 player in U S wireless market newspaper | FRANKFURT Reuters A strong No 3 player in the U S wireless market would enhance competition the chief of Deutsche Telekom DE DTEGn told a German newspaper as T Mobile US Inc O TMUS seeks to merge with Sprint Corp N S Chief executive officer Timotheus Hoettges also urged the new German government to think twice before selling down its large stake in Deutsche Telekom according to an interview in Welt am Sonntag T Mobile US majority owned by Deutsche Telekom is close to agreeing tentative terms on a deal to merge with Sprint Corp people familiar with the matter have said a breakthrough in efforts to merge the third and fourth largest U S wireless carriers Hoettges in the interview published on Sunday declined to comment directly on talks between the companies In the U S there is a duopoly between two very big players and then there are two smaller players well behind he said A third strong player would be good for competition Verizon Communications Inc N VZ and AT T Inc N T are the two largest wireless carriers Competition regulators have in the past quashed consolidation efforts by T Mobile but Hoettges said chances are now better under U S President Donald Trump History has taught us that governments led by Republicans are more hands off than Democratic administrations he said On the German state s nearly 32 percent stake in Deutsche Telekom Hoettges acknowledged it would be the new government s decision whether to sell or keep But he said those who argued for a sale should perhaps ask themselves who will buy the stake What interest would the owner have in infrastructure security Would the owner want to invest in Germany and if so where and in particular how much
The FDP and Green parties which are in talks to form a coalition government with Chancellor Angela Merkel s conservatives have both advocated a sale or partial sale of the stake |
VZ | AT T Verizon T Mobile win 994 million U S defense contract Pentagon | WASHINGTON Reuters AT T Inc N T Verizon Communications Inc N VZ and T Mobile US Inc O TMUS are being awarded a U S defense contract worth 199 million for wireless services and devices the Pentagon said on Monday
The contract will include a one year base period and four one year option periods which if exercised the total value of this contract will be 993 5 million the Pentagon said |
CSCO | Why Cisco s Q2 Is Rock Solid | Cisco Systems Inc NASDAQ CSCO released fiscal second quarter financial results after markets closed Wednesday The firm said that it had 0 77 in earnings per share EPS and 12 0 billion in revenue compared with consensus estimates that called for 0 76 in EPS and 11 98 billion in revenue The same period from last year had 0 73 in EPS and 12 45 billion in revenue Total revenue decreased 4 year over year with product revenue down 6 and service revenue up 5 Revenue by geographic segment was Americas down 5 EMEA down 3 and APJC down 1 Product revenue performance was led by growth in Security up 9 Infrastructure Platforms and Applications revenue were each down 8 Deferred revenue was 18 7 billion up 8 in total with deferred product revenue up 19 Deferred service revenue was up 2 div connatix margin bottom 1 5em div connatix img margin unset Looking ahead to the fiscal third quarter the company expects to see EPS in the range of 0 79 to 0 81 and revenues declining in the range of 1 5 to 3 5 year over year Consensus estimates are calling for 0 80 in EPS and 12 62 billion in revenue for the coming quarter Chuck Robbins chairman and CEO of Cisco commented I am incredibly proud of the innovation our teams continue to drive I am confident in our long term growth opportunities as we help our customers build out the networks for the future Shares of Cisco closed Wednesday at 49 93 within a 52 week range of 43 40 to 58 26 The consensus analyst price target is 52 30 Following the announcement the stock was initially up less than 1 at 50 20 in the after hours session
By Chris Lange |
CSCO | Cisco Offers Gloomy Outlook on Revenue Earnings Beat in Q2 | By Yasin Ebrahim
Investing com Cisco reported on Wednesday fiscal second quarter results that topped consensus estimates but offered a gloomy outlook on revenue
Shares fell 2 6 in after hours trading
Cisco NASDAQ CSCO announced earnings per share of 0 77 on revenue of 12 billion Analysts polled by Investing com anticipated EPS of 0 76 on revenue of 11 97 billion
That compared with an EPS of 0 73 on revenue of 12 45 billion in the same period a year before Cisco had reported EPS of 0 84 on revenue of 13 16 billion in the previous quarter
Revenue in the company s largest business infrastructure platforms which includes hardware fell 8 to 6 5 billion in the quarter year on year
Its applications business also fell 8 to 1 3 billion while its services business grew 5 to 3 3 billion
The company guided earnings in the range of 79 cents to 81 cents per share with revenue expected to decline 1 5 to 3 5 in the fiscal third quarter year on year Analysts were expecting earnings per share of 0 80 and revenue of 12 63 billion for the third quarter
We executed well this quarter by delivering strong margins and EPS growth while driving more software and subscriptions said Kelly Kramer CFO of Cisco Our increased dividend shows confidence in the strength of our ongoing cash flows and demonstrates our commitment to shareholder return
Cisco NASDAQ CSCO shares are up 4 from the beginning of the year still down 14 28 from its 52 week high of 58 26 set on July 16 2019 They are under performing the Nasdaq 100 which is up 9 21 year to date
Stay up to date on all of the upcoming earnings reports by visiting Investing com s earnings calendar |
CSCO | Cisco gives tepid current quarter forecast sees weak client spending | Reuters Cisco Systems Inc NASDAQ CSCO gave a lackluster forecast for third quarter revenue and profit on Wednesday and said it continued to expect a pause in customer spending given the current macroeconomic environment sending its shares down 4
The company forecast adjusted profit of 79 cents to 81 cents per share the midpoint of which was in line with analysts estimate
Revenue in the current quarter is expected to drop 1 5 to 3 5 which translates to 12 51 billion to 12 77 billion according to Reuters calculations Analysts are expecting revenue of 12 62 billion
We are seeing longer decision making cycles across our customer segments for a variety of reasons including macro uncertainty as well as unique geographical issues Chief Executive Officer Chuck Robbins said on a post earnings call
Customers are just a little cautious and trying to see what s going on
Cisco s infrastructure unit which includes its traditional business of supplying switches and routers posted an 8 drop in revenue to 6 53 billion
The business has struggled as customers increasingly prefer using cloud based services offered by companies such as Amazon com Inc NASDAQ AMZN and Microsoft Corp NASDAQ MSFT instead of upgrading their networks and servers
Cisco also reported revenue declines across all its geographies including a 5 drop in Americas its biggest market that accounts for about 58 of its revenue
Broad weakness in orders will likely be a multi quarter problem Needham analyst Alex Henderson said
Sales in its application software unit fell 8 to 1 35 billion while its fast growing security business which offers firewall protection and breach detection systems rose 9 to 748 million
Revenue fell 3 5 to 12 billion in the second quarter ended Jan 25 but still beat analysts estimate of 11 98 billion
Excluding items Cisco earned 77 cents per share edging past estimates by 1 cent |
CSCO | Stocks making the biggest moves after hours Cisco Applied Materials MGM Resorts and more | Check out the companies making headlines after the bell Cisco Systems Shares of the networking hardware company dropped 4 in extended trading despite reporting strong second quarter results that beat analysts estimates Cisco reported earnings of 77 cents a share excluding some items on revenue of 12 01 billion while analysts expected earnings of 76 cents a share on revenue of 11 98 billion according to Refinitiv Revenue for Cisco s two largest business segments Infrastructure Platforms and Applications were both down 8 year over year coming in at 6 5 billion and 1 3 billion respectively Applied Materials The semiconductor company s stock rose 3 in extended trading after the company reported strong first quarter results that beat analysts estimates Applied Materials earned 98 cents per share excluding some items which was 5 cents a share above estimates according to Refinitiv The company reported revenue of 4 16 billion while analysts expected 4 11 billion according to Refinitiv Second quarter guidance was also above estimates on both the top and bottom lines MGM Resorts International Shares of the hospitality company whipsawed in extended trading after the company announced CEO Jim Murren would step down and then reported fourth quarter financial results The stock was up when the company announced a succession plan for Murren then fell when the financial results were released dropping 3 below Wednesday s closing price Revenue was in line with Wall Street forecasts with MGM reporting 3 19 billion TripAdvisor Shares of the online travel company rose 4 in extended trading after the company reported strong fourth quarter results that beat analysts estimates The company reported earnings of 38 cents per share on revenue of 335 million while analysts expected 33 cents per share on revenue of 334 million according to Refinitiv Third quarter total revenue declined 3 year over year in part due to weakness in the hotels and media segment according to numbers outlined in the company s report NetApp The cloud data services and data management company s stock plummeted 12 in extended trading after the company reported weaker than expected third quarter results NetApp reported earnings of 1 16 per share excluding certain items while analysts expected 1 18 a share according to Refinitiv Revenue was also below Wall Street forecasts with NetApp reporting 1 40 billion while analysts expected 1 46 billion according to Refinitiv Centurylink Shares of the global technology company dropped 4 in extended trading despite the company s beat on revenue in its fourth quarter The company reported 5 57 billion in revenue while analysts expected 5 55 billion according to FactSet Earnings matched analyst estimates at 33 cents per share according to FactSet Change Healthcare The information technology services company s stock fell 2 in extended trading after the company missed analysts estimates on revenue in its third quarter The company reported earnings of 33 cents per share excluding some items on revenue of 808 2 million while analysts expected earnings of 31 cents per share on revenue of 812 8 million according to FactSet |
CSCO | Wall St hits record highs as virus fears ease | Wall Street powered ahead to historic highs after China reported the lowest number of new coronavirus cases in two weeks
The Dow joined The S P 500 and the Nasdaq in setting record closing highs
Brett Sifling is an investment advisor at Gerber Kawasaki
SOUNDBITE ENGLISH BRETT SIFLING INVESTMENT ADVISOR GERBER KAWASAKI SAYING
Stock market is at all time highs and economic activity is strong People are trading that these coronavirus fears are out the window We do think that it is still going to peak as far as the amount of cases right now
Investors may be optimistic when it comes to the outbreak but industries remain cautious
The upcoming World Mobile Congress an annual wireless tech gathering that draws more than 100 000 people to Barcelona was canceled on Wednesday
Organizers said global coronavirus worries and associated travel concerns made it impossible to hold the event this year
A number of high profile companies such as Cisco NASDAQ CSCO AT T Deutsche Telekom DE DTEGn and Vodafone LON VOD had already pulled out
Healthcare stocks like UnitedHealth NYSE UNH and Anthem NYSE ANTM were in rally mode with an eye on the ballot box
Vermont Senator Bernie Sanders who wants to eliminate private health insurance may have won the Democratic primary in New Hampshire but he only did so with a very small majority
JP Morgan says that is positive for the heath insurance providers Shares of UnitedHealth hit an all time high
One Wall Street luminary is weighing in on the possibility of Sanders becoming the Democratic nominee for President
Former Goldman Sachs NYSE GS CEO Lloyd Blankfein wrote on Twitter If elected Sanders will ruin our economy |
CSCO | Cisco Systems Inc CSCO Q2 2020 Earnings Call Transcript | Cisco Systems Inc NASDAQ CSCO Q2 2020 Earnings CallFeb 12 2020 4 30 p m ETContents
Prepared Remarks
Questions and Answers
Call Participants
Prepared Remarks
OperatorWelcome to Cisco s Second Quarter Fiscal Year 2020 Financial Results Conference Call At the request of Cisco today s conference is being recorded If you have any objections you may disconnect Now I would like to introduce Marilyn Mora Head of Investor Relations Ma am you may begin Marilyn Mora Head of Investor RelationsThanks Michelle Welcome everyone to Cisco s second quarter fiscal 2020 quarterly earnings conference call This is Marilyn Mora Head of Investor Relations and I m joined by Chuck Robbins our Chairman and CEO and Kelly Kramer our CFO By now you should have seen our earnings press release A corresponding webcast with slides including supplemental information will be made available on our website in the Investor Relations section following the call Income statements full GAAP to non GAAP reconciliation information balance sheets cash flow statements and other financial information can also be found in the Financial Information section of our Investor Relations website Throughout this conference call we will be referencing both GAAP and non GAAP financial results and will discuss product results in terms of revenue and geographic and customer results in terms of product orders unless stated otherwise All comparisons made throughout this call will be made on a year over year basis The matters we will be discussing today include forward looking statements including the guidance we will be providing for the third quarter of fiscal 2020 They are subject to the risks and uncertainties that we discuss in detail in our documents filed with the SEC specifically the most recent reports on Forms 10 K and 10 Q which identify important risk factors that could cause actual results to differ materially from those contained in the forward looking statements With respect to guidance please also see the slides and press release that accompany this call for further details Cisco will not comment on its financial guidance during the quarter unless it is done through an explicit public disclosure With that I ll now turn it over to Chuck Chuck Robbins Chairman and Chief Executive OfficerThanks Marillyn and good afternoon everyone As we told you last quarter and still see now the feedback from our customers is that they remain strongly committed to both our products and services However like many in our industry we are seeing longer decision making cycles across our customer segments for a variety of reasons including macro uncertainty as well as unique geographical issues The good news is once this uncertainty passes for our customers we expect to see spending recover as technology continues to be at the heart of all they do You ll see in our numbers this quarter that we continue to make progress on several key metrics including our shift to more software and subscriptions with 72 of our software now being sold as a subscription While we still have a lot more work to do I firmly believe we have a tremendous opportunity ahead of us The long term secular growth trends of 5G WiFi 6 400 gig and the shift to the cloud remain and we expect to benefit from them This is a multi year transformation and we are managing our business well while staying focused on helping our customers build simpler more secure and cost effective networks The broad adoption of multi cloud and modern application environments is changing how the world s largest networks are built operated and secured and Cisco is at the center of this transition We have made significant investments in the development of software silicon and optics the building blocks for the Internet of the future We believe this strategy will change the economics of how the Internet will be built to support 5G 400 gig and the demands of the future while helping our customers innovate and move faster than ever before In December we introduced Cisco Silicon One a first ever single unified silicon architecture and the Cisco 8000 carrier class router family built on Silicon One as well as our new IOS XR7 operating system We also announced new flexible purchasing options that enable customers to consume our technology however they choose We also collaborated closely with several of the largest web scale and SP companies throughout the development process Their participation in our launch demonstrates their strong support of our strategy as well as our commitment to continued innovation Our goal is to accelerate the deployment of next generation Internet infrastructure by offering our customers choices of components white box or integrated systems in a flexible consumption model Now let me share a brief update on our businesses starting with infrastructure platforms As the global leader in networking we believe we are well positioned with our intent based networking portfolio given the strategic investments we ve been making Over the past several quarters we ve made tremendous progress integrating automation analytics and security across our enterprise networking portfolio while at the same time shifting to a subscription based model A great example of our success is the ongoing strong adoption of our Catalyst 9000 platforms We continue to extend our secure SD WAN solutions as customers move more applications to the cloud To do this we are actively engaging with web scale companies to help our customers extend their wider networks to the cloud and secure their business applications Recently we announced integration with Microsoft Azure Virtual WAN and Office 365 along with a deeper partnership with Amazon Web Services to deliver highly secure end to end connectivity and better application performance Now to security we had another solid quarter with strength across our advanced threat and cloud based solutions including Duo and Umbrella which are important growth drivers of our business We continue to see significant opportunity as we execute on our strategy to deliver an integrated security platform As the market moves to a multi cloud environment and the need for visibility grows we re benefiting from our strong position as our customers most trusted partner Our differentiated end to end approach across the network cloud and endpoint is winning customers with 100 of the Fortune 100 now using one or more of Cisco s security solutions This quarter we expanded our security portfolio from the cloud to the edge We brought to market an integrated IoT architecture providing enhanced visibility insights and threat detection across our customers entire environment This architecture includes our new software based security solutions Cyber Vision and our Edge Intelligence data collection tool to enable our customers to make better business decisions Finally applications There is no question that customers are undergoing a significant workplace transformation and they are turning to Cisco to help them with this transition As a global market leader we believe we re the only company providing a cognitive highly secure and analytics driven collaboration platform which is the foundation for their workplace transformation This platform is becoming increasingly critical to how enterprises empower their teams by allowing their employees to work more effectively together To extend our value proposition we continue to make strategic investments For example we recently brought to market several key WebEx capabilities which combine context AI and machine learning to enable our customers and their teams to further enhance their meeting experiences We achieved another strong quarter of growth with AppDynamics demonstrating our ability to deliver unique real time AI powered insights from a single pane of glass providing complete visibility Our customers are looking to connect application performance monitoring with infrastructure automation to simplify IT and increase productivity Two weeks ago we announced we are bringing together AppDynamics and our Intersight Workload Optimizer to deliver comprehensive visibility of applications and infrastructure both on prem and in the cloud using machine learning and AI to proactively remediate problems and optimize user experiences To summarize I am pleased with our business transformation and with the new innovative platforms we re bringing to market While we continue to experience some pause in customer spending related to the uncertainty in the global macro environment our long term growth opportunities remain unchanged Going forward we will continue to focus on developing groundbreaking technologies and building a new Internet for the 5G era that will help our customers innovate faster than ever before I remain incredibly confident that our execution against our strategy will drive profitable growth and generate strong shareholder returns for the long term I will now turn it over to Kelly Kelly A Kramer Executive Vice President and Chief Financial OfficerThanks Chuck I ll start with a summary of our financial results for the quarter followed by the guidance for Q3 Our overall Q2 results were consistent with our expectations We executed well with strong margins and EPS growth Total revenue was down 12 billion was at 12 billion down 4 Our non GAAP operating margin rate was 33 7 up 1 6 points Non GAAP net income was 3 3 billion flat year over year and non GAAP EPS was 0 77 up 5 Let me provide some more detail on our Q2 revenue Total product revenue was down 6 to 8 7 billion Infrastructure platforms was down 8 Switching revenue declined in both campus and data center We did see growth with the continued ramp of our Cat 9000 Phonetic and strength of the Nexus 9000 Phonetic Routing declined driven by weakness in service provider Wireless declined overall but we did see strong growth in Meraki and are starting to see the ramp of our WiFi 6 products Data center revenue declined driven by servers offset by strong growth in HyperFlex Applications was down 8 driven by a decline in Unified Communications partially offset by double digit growth in AppDynamics Security was 9 with strong performance in identity and access advanced threat and unified threat management Service revenue was up 5 driven by software and solutions support We continued to transform our business delivering more software offerings and driving more subscriptions Software subscriptions were 72 of total software revenue up 7 points year over year In terms of orders in Q2 total product orders were down 6 Looking at our geographies the Americas was down 8 EMEA was down 1 and APJC was down 4 Total emerging markets were down 7 with the BRICS plus Mexico down 20 Phonetic In our customer segments public sector was flat while enterprise was down 7 Commercial was down 4 and service provider was down 11 Remaining performance obligations or RPO at the end of Q2 were 24 9 billion up 11 From a non GAAP profitability perspective total Q2 gross margin was 66 4 up 2 3 points Product gross margin was 65 9 up 3 1 points and service gross margin was 67 7 flat year over year In terms of the bottom line from a GAAP perspective Q2 net income was 2 9 billion and EPS was 0 68 We ended Q2 with total cash cash equivalents and investments of 27 1 billion operating cash flow was 3 8 billion flat year over year From a capital allocation perspective we returned 2 4 billion to shareholders during the quarter that was comprised of 0 9 billion of share repurchases and 1 5 billion for our quarterly dividend Today we announced a 0 01 increase to the quarterly dividend to 0 36 per share up 3 year over year This represents a yield of approximately 2 9 based on today s closing price This dividend increase reinforces our commitment to returning capital to our shareholders and our confidence in the strength and stability of our ongoing cash flows We continued to invest organically and inorganically in our innovation pipeline In early Q3 we closed our acquisition of Exablaze a designer and manufacturer of advanced network devices aimed at reducing latency and improving network performance To summarize we executed well with strong margins and EPS growth We re seeing the returns on the investments we re making in innovation and driving the shift to more software and subscriptions delivering long term growth and shareholder value Let me reiterate our guidance for the third quarter of fiscal 20 This guidance includes the type of forward looking information that Marilyn referred to earlier We expect revenue to decline in the range of minus 1 5 to minus 3 5 year over year We anticipate the non GAAP gross margin rate to be in the range of 64 5 to 65 5 the non GAAP operating margin rate is expected to be in the range of 32 5 to 33 5 and the non GAAP tax provision rate is expected to be 20 Non GAAP earnings per share is expected to range from 0 79 to 0 81 Our guidance does not reflect any potential disruptions in our global supply chain that could result from the coronavirus We will continue to monitor the situation closely I ll now turn it back to Marilyn so we can move into Q A Marilyn Mora Head of Investor RelationsThanks Kelly Michelle let s go ahead and open the line for questions Questions and Answers OperatorThank you Tim Long from Barclays You may go ahead Tim Long Barclays AnalystThank you Yeah Chuck maybe if I could just start talking about the macro and the kind of the lower decision process Your sense how long do you think this would last particularly if you maybe put into the context of you mentioned a lot of industry drivers going on 400 gig and WiFi 6 and obviously you got some new router and silicon products out So maybe just talk a little bit about the timing of that recovery and how you think you could maybe outperform it given all the different dynamics you have going across the businesses this year Thank you Chuck Robbins Chairman and Chief Executive OfficerYeah Tim thanks it s a great question So I think first of all there are many secular growth drivers that are lined up you know the 5G transition the 400 gig transition Wi Fi 6 the shift to cloud and what we re seeing from customers is really just it s just pausing just trying to see what s going on Now what I will say is that clearly late in the quarter if you look at some of the issues that had been outstanding that were creating some of the uncertainty like Brexit we get closer to resolution We obviously got a signature late in the quarter on a first phase of the U S China trade deal and USMCA has now gone through in the U S So hopefully those will give our customers a little more viability When I speak to the customers they are still fully planning on moving forward They are just a little cautious in trying to see what s going on We obviously have the virus now but we ll see how it plays out but overall I don t think it s deep and we expect that given some of this uncertainty has now dissipated notwithstanding what we see obviously from the virus that hopefully we ll see our customers pick up again Tim Long Barclays AnalystOkay thank you Marilyn Mora Head of Investor RelationsThanks Tim Next question please OperatorTejas Venkatesh from UBS You may go ahead Tejas Venkatesh UBS AnalystThank you I had a big picture question With the December routing announcements and the Cat 9000 Phonetic before that a lot of the Cisco strategy is now around selling incremental automation software to lower customer opex That seems to require a significant change in your organization So how far along are you in the sales and channel transformation to fit that goal Thank you Chuck Robbins Chairman and Chief Executive OfficerIt s a very good question thank you We have done a lot of work on the transformation of being able to support the software model and the subscription software model in particular with the automation and we have if you go back to 2017 when we first launched the Catalyst 9000 and we announced subscription businesses on our enterprise networking portfolio the second half of this year we ll have some a number of a small amount of the early renewals on that So our team has been working hard to be prepared for those renewals and then in fiscal 21 we ll see a material number reasonably material number associated with that So I think the sales organization we ve run pilots and now we ve scaled things we re running other pilots and we re scaling things and we ve got the customer experience organization that Maria Martinez is leading that has been building out their capabilities So we have more to do but I feel good about the progress we ve made and I think that we re in a pretty good position right now Marilyn Mora Head of Investor RelationsNext question please OperatorSimon Leopold from Raymond James You may go ahead Simon Leopold Raymond James AnalystThank you very much I m wondering if maybe you could talk a little bit more about the service provider vertical given it s been a long running challenge and it seems as if maybe to some extent it s less of a focus for Cisco given that it s such become a smaller part of your business but want to see if you can maybe talk about how you see this market eventually recovering kind of the timing and the drivers maybe double clicking beyond just sort of the 5G hand waving if we could get a better understanding of what will drive it and when Thank you Chuck Robbins Chairman and Chief Executive OfficerI mean it s a lot better just to wave hands Let me tell you a little bit I don t think that it s a market that we are ignoring In fact if you look at the announcements we made in December let me give you a little update on that We have about five years of R D effort in what we announced in December So that s a lot of commitment to the market So we do believe that there will be a resurgence I think that I will talk about 5G and 400 gig as well but just to give an update in December as you know we launched Silicon One which is at the heart of these new systems called Cisco 8000 that we launched and we also announced that we would be willing to sell our silicon to go into a white box or sell it just directly to a customer if that s how they like to procure it I will tell you that across the cloud titans they are we re engaged with all of them on variations of those architectures Several of them were with us at the announcement in December which shows you their belief in what we re doing We have taken orders for both from different cloud players and so we feel good about the acceptance of that launch The 8000 series will be a fundamental backbone product for 5G networks and I will tell you that we have early wins on IP infrastructure to support 5G roll outs in over 30 customers around the world They re early Some of those are cell site aggregation backhaul some core wins Most of them are in non stand alone which means they re enhancing their current networks and then they ll look to build stand alone networks As we ve said we believe that will start in 2021 where we could begin to see some of that pick up So we think the 400 gig transition as well as the 5G build out will be the drivers that we d be looking for over the next couple of years Simon Leopold Raymond James AnalystThank you Marilyn Mora Head of Investor RelationsThanks Chuck Next question please OperatorThank you Paul Silverstein from Cowen Company You may go ahead Paul Silverstein your line is open Paul Silverstein Cowen Company AnalystSorry I m still learning how to use the cellphone Kelly your margin structure was particularly strong this quarter and that represents a long trend both near term and longer term I recognize the guidance represents an easing I assumed some of that is due to the backup in DRAM pricing and the pending back up Can you go back through the drivers and what you expect over the next year or two both at the gross and the operating level Kelly A Kramer Executive Vice President and Chief Financial OfficerYeah sure happy to And yeah no we re really happy about where the both gross margins and op margins are but as you know Paul it is driven by a few things This software transformation has been benefiting us through both you know you can see it in the mix of our products when we show you the gross margin walks in our Qs as well as just overall So we re benefiting from that I d say the second big driver is price We ve been very very disciplined on price meaning we re taking advantage of raising prices where we have elasticity for example on really older products that we want to shift to newer products or where we know we have room to move we ve been doing that I think very effectively We ve been managing the decline in the pricing in the server market fairly well balancing that with the DRAM prices that are going down dramatically So what you re going to see in the reporting this quarter Paul and I know you always ask you ll see our pricing you know I mentioned on the last quarter s call that pricing was at an all time lowest level of impact meaning the most beneficial it s been We re right back at a 1 1 points on our year over year gross margin walk So it s still very very good for us and more in line of what it was I d say a couple of quarters before Q1 So that s going well DRAM is benefiting us this quarter for sure and as you know that s becoming less and less of a benefit to us now as we re starting to see the DRAM prices tick back up but we ve again managed for that pricing and DRAM cost equation very well So just in general I think you can expect a little bit more pressure from DRAM pricing the year over year compare is getting less which is why I guided what I guided but overall you re still going to see the goodness coming through from the continued increase of our business being software driven Paul Silverstein Cowen Company AnalystKelly if I could just quickly follow up Looking beyond the quarter looking beyond April given the ongoing shift to software is there any reason why margin shouldn t Phonetic continue to head up putting aside quarterly volatility Kelly A Kramer Executive Vice President and Chief Financial OfficerI mean again I would say yes because what we re doing on the portfolio is more and more software content So by definition it will be good for us We will always have the potential for large swings for things like component costs like DRAM plus or minus but as always we ll let you know when those are happening but yeah I mean if you go back and look three years back from where we were there to where we are now it is long term just the shift of the overall portfolio that we ve been driving Paul Silverstein Cowen Company AnalystI appreciate it Thank you Kelly A Kramer Executive Vice President and Chief Financial OfficerThanks Marilyn Mora Head of Investor RelationsNext question please OperatorJim Suva from Citigroup Investment Research You may go ahead sir Jim Suva Citigroup Investment Research AnalystThank you very much for the clarity so far and I have one question that s kind of more broad I don t know if it s for which of you but on product orders I was just kind of looking and thinking about the product orders it looks like the enterprise product orders got incrementally a little more challenged public sector got a little more challenged service provider marginally improved compared to last quarter year over year Can you maybe give us some color on product orders it looks like maybe enterprise was a difficult year over year comps Was it last year a big product cycle in enterprise or why are we actually seeing enterprise kind of decline incrementally a little bit worse Thank you Kelly A Kramer Executive Vice President and Chief Financial OfficerYeah hey Jim good question and let me take a crack at it So when I look at the segments if I focus on enterprise a lot of it is the Q2 19 really really strong product cycle ramps we had So if I go back to Q2 19 it was a record for the campus switching for us as well as for collaboration back in Q2 19 No excuse but that s what that was I would say beyond that if I would isolate overall kind of our regions from a bookings point of view the Americas was down 8 and if I look at that the U S itself was slightly better but in that range and I d say it was driven by two areas it was driven by the routing portfolio largely SP segment that was the biggest driver and the second biggest driver was the decline we re seeing in the server market and again that s directly related to the decline of DRAM prices flowing through the entire market and we saw that last quarter as well So that drove the Americas Europe was at minus 1 basically flat but that the biggest driver when I look at Europe was really the U K we are seeing a slowdown because of Brexit and we did see it in the public sector significantly which is always a big growth driver for the U K for us So U K both enterprise and public sector slowed down for us which drove Europe Europe would have been up 2 points without the U K and then for APJC it continues to be the rapid decline of China China is as I ve talked about in the BRICS plus Mexico being down China was down again over 30 It s still only about 2 of our total business but it still hurts the overall I mean Asia Pac excluding China would have been up a couple of points as well 3 points So from a geography those are the key drivers and again to your point we are going up against some tough compares in enterprise for both the campus 9000 ramp a year ago and collab just had a record quarter Jim Suva Citigroup Investment Research AnalystThank you That was a great explanation and greatly appreciate it Thank you so much Kelly A Kramer Executive Vice President and Chief Financial OfficerThanks Jim Marilyn Mora Head of Investor RelationsThanks Jim Next question please OperatorIttai Kidron from Oppenheimer Company You may go ahead sir Ittai Kidron Oppenheimer Company AnalystThanks Chuck I wanted to dig into applications down 8 on a year over year basis and I understand the pressure on the Unified Communication business and it s good to see App D Phonetic is still growing but you haven t talked WebEx Am I to assume that WebEx is not growing or stuck in the middle here Help me think about the transformation Amy has been doing over there where we are in that transformation and how should I think about the growth and competitiveness of that platform going forward Chuck Robbins Chairman and Chief Executive OfficerYeah I think the first of all they have rearchitected all those platforms integrated the back ends and have a very modern set of solutions to take to market and we re currently working out I was talking to the team yesterday I think there is 11 workshops with major customers in the next 30 days to work on plans to get them to the the modern portfolio because some customers have been running variations of the stuff that we ve had out there for 10 years to 15 years So we re in good shape In fact there was a great analyst report that was written just a couple of days ago about industry analyst about the portfolio and how far it s come and how effective it is right now So I feel good about what they re doing I think if you look back a year ago flat out collab was up 24 I mean and it s a huge business to be up that much So they had a very tough year to compare against but I m pleased where they are There is competition Obviously there is some good competition in this space which frankly should just keep making us better but the team is doing I think a really good job Kelly you want to comment on Kelly A Kramer Executive Vice President and Chief Financial OfficerI mean I ll just give you the you know I d say the largest driver was the UC business in the revenue being down the huge majority followed by a bit on the endpoints on the TP and conferencing was down marginally hardly anything but the biggest driver was for sure on the Unified Communication side Ittai Kidron Oppenheimer Company AnalystVery good All right Good luck guys Kelly A Kramer Executive Vice President and Chief Financial OfficerThank you Chuck Robbins Chairman and Chief Executive OfficerThanks Marilyn Mora Head of Investor RelationsNext question please OperatorThank you Jeff Kvaal from Nomura You may go ahead Jeff Kvaal Nomura AnalystYes thank you very much for taking the question I was hoping that you could unpack a sort of a bit of a bigger down tick maybe in IP than we were expecting balanced by a better performance on the services line Can you sort of help us understand what the dynamics are and some of that may be accounting for where the software goes I d love to understand that a little bit better please Kelly A Kramer Executive Vice President and Chief Financial OfficerYeah I would say I talk about this on the service increase there has been no change on the accounting side for how we account for software Service improvement you know we ve been really driving that Maria Martinez you know that leads CX for us customer experience has been really focused on driving renewal rates and adoption and you ve seen our services business from a revenue perspective tick up over the last four quarters So I d say that 5 growth you saw in services is just continued performance by that team to do that I d say on the infrastructure platform side it does go back to again just very very we were peak not peak but we are very very high ramping of campus switching last year So that s a tougher compare I mean it s still growing like crazy but that s a big driver Routing is still down driven by the SP segment and then in terms of the last piece from a year ago again we talked about and we saw that applications was up 24 again which is all collab basically a year ago as well So it s nothing more than those things I would say combined with the data center server market is we are starting to feel that you can see what s happening in the market there Jeff Kvaal Nomura AnalystDoes that imply Kelly does that 5 services growth rate is a durable number or should we be thinking it will fluctuate between that and the sort of low single digits growth that we ve seen Kelly A Kramer Executive Vice President and Chief Financial OfficerWell we re certainly trying to make that a sustainable kind of range We have no desire to have that slow down but again it s the team is doing everything they can They are offering new solutions not just you know they re trying to find more ways to drive incremental growth versus just being tied to the maintenance to the product orders and they re driving much more solutions along software and everything else So they are working a lot of plays in the services area Jeff Kvaal Nomura AnalystObviously they are Congratulations Thank you Kelly A Kramer Executive Vice President and Chief Financial OfficerThank you Marilyn Mora Head of Investor RelationsNext question please OperatorRod Hall from Goldman Sachs You may go ahead sir Rod Hall Goldman Sachs AnalystYeah thanks for fitting me in I just had a quick question trying to juxtapose the guidance with the order rates If you look at those total product orders the rate they re down 6 after down 4 So that deteriorated and yet your revenue guidance for the midpoint at least your revenue decline is a little better than the quarter you just printed So you printed down 3 5 and the guide is down 2 5 So kind of tailing on Jeff s question there is the services making that up and what should we be expecting for product revenue in the guided quarter and then I also I m hoping Chuck maybe you ll make a comment on this whole 5G investment commentary coming out of the press and maybe the government what do you think of that How interested in Cisco in potentially helping deploy U S wireless infrastructure not the stuff you do today but actual base stations and things like that Can you just comment on how you see some of those that commentary how you think that might develop Kelly A Kramer Executive Vice President and Chief Financial OfficerYeah I could go first Yeah your question is a good question Rod but I would say really where we ended up at the minus 6 was not a surprise That s kind of when I gave guidance for the Q2 kind of what the expectation was I would say as you know when we roll up the guide as we go for Q3 we just it s the same process that we know exactly what s coming off the balance sheet we have a we know exactly what s in backlog we know exactly what we expect for orders coming in and it s just pure math I think again back to a lot of the decline in the order rate was there s a bit of compares but the rest when you do the math and add it all up to what you expect to come through for the next quarter it gives you the number I guided in the midpoint If you look at that it s very consistent with what our normal Q3 to Q2 sequentials are Rod Hall Goldman Sachs AnalystThanks Kelly Chuck Robbins Chairman and Chief Executive OfficerAnd then Rod on the question around the 5G discussions in Washington I mean obviously they are very interested in having U S companies participate in 5G and frankly lead in 5G and so we have spent a lot of time educating different folks in Washington about what technologies actually constitute an entire 5G network So you rightly said not the stuff we have but the radio which is pretty much what we don t have but I think the U S is in really good shape I think we have packet core we ve got cell site and radio backhaul we got the IP routing core we got security and we have obviously there is a couple of companies in Europe one in South Korea that provide the radio technology there s also software players that are out there right now that are building disaggregated OpenRAN solutions that can be used in the future And so we re spending a lot of time helping them understand that and working to just make sure that there is a recognition that there is a lot of technology that s been built and being built here in the United States that is leading in these 5G infrastructures and I actually think the U S is in fine shape I think both from a carrier deployment perspective I think we re in great shape and I think we re in good position with the technology I don t think the U S government should make investments in these companies but we are certainly working with lots of industry peers again on both education and then trying to just make sure that the U S does have solutions with combining these European players with a lot of our technologies to make sure that everyone s comfortable with those solutions Rod Hall Goldman Sachs AnalystThat s great Thanks Chuck Marilyn Mora Head of Investor RelationsThanks Chuck Next question please OperatorSami Badri from Credit Suisse You may go ahead Sami Badri Credit Suisse AnalystThank you I would like to ask about the SP orders that were down 11 in the quarter and looking forward to the back half of this year and any kind of forward looking indicator trajectory commentary would be helpful If you look at two scenarios one scenario assuming a recent telecom consolidation right that we ve all heard about in the last two days and then in a scenario where no consolidation actually happens for the rest of the year Should we expect service provider orders to inflect positively in one of those scenarios or in both of those scenarios as we look at the back half and maybe kind of mid to back half of 2020 Chuck Robbins Chairman and Chief Executive OfficerThat s a tough question to answer We ve been dealing with challenges in this segment for a long time I think and history would tell you that when we see consolidation it creates a slowing I m not sure that this particular one represents that because I think they are going to be in investment mode and it is triggering investment with other players as well and I think the 5G build out that all of them are working on will probably fuel investment I think for us it just depends on how quickly they do that and how soon they decide to build a stand alone 5G network for enterprises I think most of them are looking at their consumer networks and believing they can accommodate them on their existing backbones with perhaps some minor upgrades but I think that will determine it So I think it s more connected to how fast they move on that than it has to do with any of the consolidation or no consolidation right now Sami Badri Credit Suisse AnalystGot it Thank you Marilyn Mora Head of Investor RelationsNext question please OperatorSamik Chatterjee from JP Morgan You may go ahead Samik Chatterjee JP Morgan AnalystHi thanks for taking the question I just wanted to see if we can drill down a bit more on the Cat 9000 product portfolio You mentioned already a couple of times on the call that the product momentum the revenue momentum there is quite strong I was just wondering if you can kind of talk about the impact on the growth rate that you ve kind of seen directionally through this kind of broader landscape of slowing enterprise spending and if the growth rate there is kind of still substantially different from what you re seeing for the rest of the portfolio Do you think it s more a reflection of the subscription kind of model that you re going with on that portfolio or more kind of the refresh that s driving that difference and kind of what you re seeing related to the rest of the portfolio Kelly A Kramer Executive Vice President and Chief Financial OfficerYeah I ll just say the growth rate of the Cat 9000 is unbelievable still I mean it is a very high double digit number I would say there is no we haven t heard issues I d say for maybe some of the smaller disties there is a question about the subscription but we ve managed through that but I would say those the new products from the 9200 through the 9600 that isn t slowing and the growth rates are very very strong Obviously the legacy products that they have replaced are falling off as you would expect but we have not seen any slowing on the transition it s the fast and again we mentioned this in the early ramp of the Cat 9000 but at this point the percentage of what the Cat 9000 is of total campus switching is the fastest ramp of any transition we ve done Chuck Robbins Chairman and Chief Executive OfficerAnd if you look at the what Kelly talked about earlier with WiFi 6 beginning to ramp That s a subscription model Our Meraki business is a subscription model which is still growing very well So I don t think the subscription model has anything to do with it I just think in certain cases some of our larger customers who are watching some of the things going on just decided to just take a pause and take a look at what s happening and then I think they ll kick back in Samik Chatterjee JP Morgan AnalystOkay thank you Marilyn Mora Head of Investor RelationsGreat Next question please OperatorThank you Tal Liani from Bank of America Securities You may go ahead sir Tal Liani Bank of America Securities AnalystYes hi I want to ask you a broader question and I ll call it secular versus cyclical Switching had a small cycle short cycle with a new switch there was growth acceleration Now we see a decline overall in switching and there s probably substitution between new and old and routing is also declining and the question I m asking is off the trends you see today you know data center switching campus switching routing the service providers what is cyclical and what is secular meaning when are we going to see a reversal not when in terms of timing what s going to drive I should say what s going to drive a reversal of the trends in routing what could drive What could drive a reversal in data centers and campuses what are the things that could drive at least a cyclical growth from here or even secular growth kind of longer term Thanks Chuck Robbins Chairman and Chief Executive OfficerSo Tal it s a great question I think in the routing space is simply it s to 5G backbone build out that we ve been talking about for a few years Once that starts I think given the percentage of our routing business that is attributed to service providers I think that s the key as well as us winning these Cisco 8000 assertions that we have proof of concepts going on today with many of the large customers both service provider and web scale players So I think that s that one And I think on the campus side I just think that s just a timing issue I think that the growth we re seeing in the Catalyst 9000 is tremendous and I think that customers that began to build out their refresh given where we are as a percentage of the installed base that we have replaced it s got a long road ahead of it I think that the only reason that we saw a little slowdown is just because customers just decided to pause their deployments a bit but I think that will come back when this uncertainty and the capital spending frees up Tal Liani Bank of America Securities AnalystIn routing Chuck Robbins Chairman and Chief Executive OfficerRouting I answered first with the SP with the 5G backbone stuff because of how big a percentage service provider represents in our routing portfolio Tal Liani Bank of America Securities AnalystGot it Okay thank you Chuck Robbins Chairman and Chief Executive OfficerThanks Marilyn Mora Head of Investor RelationsThanks Tal Next question please OperatorMeta Marshall from Morgan Stanley You may go ahead Meta Marshall Morgan Stanley AnalystGreat thanks With subscriptions being 72 of software revenue what you stated I wondered if you kind of had an update as to how much of a headwind that kind of business model transition is In the past you had kind of said a couple of hundred basis points but just any directionally if that s still about right would be helpful Thanks Kelly A Kramer Executive Vice President and Chief Financial OfficerYeah I mean again I think back a few years ago before we adopted the new revenue standards it was a bigger impact It was up to like 250 basis points or 300 basis points but with ASC 606 it s come back down to that 100 basis points but at this point you know we don t even talk about it that way because we ve been ramping so quickly the entire portfolio to that but at max it would be I d say 100 bps or so Meta Marshall Morgan Stanley AnalystGreat thanks Marilyn Mora Head of Investor RelationsWe have time for one more question Michelle tee us up for one more OperatorThank you Jim Fish from Piper Sandler You may go ahead sir Jim Fish Piper Sandler AnalystHey guys Thanks for squeezing me in One part that we haven t talked about here today is on the security side We have RSA coming up at the end of the month So just wondering if we could double click on where we are with Duo and Umbrella together as it seems like they are the biggest drivers of the business Can you guys talk a little bit more about the contribution of these two specifically to the portfolio and how Umbrella specifically is impacting your adoption of secure SD WAN versus some of the other vendors that are out there Thanks Chuck Robbins Chairman and Chief Executive OfficerYes so I ll give you the sort of the qualitative answer and Kelly can give you something on the data but I think the secure SD WAN is the solution our customers are looking for I mean they want the integration with their cloud gateways from their branches and so it is a key differentiator for us Our teams are working hard on continuing to build that out and I think over the next couple of years it will continue it will be even more of a differentiator as we continue to get more and more integration between those two portfolios Kelly Kelly A Kramer Executive Vice President and Chief Financial OfficerYeah no I d say that s absolutely right and in terms of how important Umbrella and Duo are they absolutely are the key growth drivers for us the whole cloud security space for us and will continue to be so and I d say we recently launched our Secure Internet Gateway which is just starting and that will be all part of our cloud security portfolio as well and we expect that to be a huge growth driver as well Jim Fish Piper Sandler AnalystGot it Thanks Chuck Robbins Chairman and Chief Executive OfficerThank you All right Well let me just thank everyone for joining us today and I ll just recap by saying that while we have seen a bit of a pause we actually feel really good The conversations I have with our customers I mean all of the things they are trying to do I believe our technology is at the heart of whether it s rebuilding their applications whether it s securing their data transforming their infrastructure in this new era or changing their user experience as well as the way they interface with their customers I think that we re in a very good position to help them do that and we feel good about where we are So thank you all for joining us today and we ll look forward to catching up with you next quarter Marilyn Mora Head of Investor RelationsThanks Chuck Just to wrap the call Cisco s next quarterly earnings conference call which will reflect our fiscal 2020 third quarter results will be on Wednesday May 13th 2020 at 1 30 PM Pacific Time 4 30 PM Eastern Time Again I d like to remind the audience that in light of Regulation FD Cisco s policy is not to comment on its financial guidance during the quarter unless it is done through an explicit public disclosure We now plan to close the call If there are any further questions feel free to contact Cisco s Investor Relations Group and we thank you very much for joining today s call OperatorThank you for participating on today s conference call If you would like to listen to the call in its entirety you may call 800 839 1160 For participants dialing from outside the U S please dial 402 998 0925 This concludes today s call you may disconnect at this time Duration 46 minutesCall participants Marilyn Mora Head of Investor RelationsChuck Robbins Chairman and Chief Executive OfficerKelly A Kramer Executive Vice President and Chief Financial OfficerTim Long Barclays AnalystTejas Venkatesh UBS AnalystSimon Leopold Raymond James AnalystPaul Silverstein Cowen Company AnalystJim Suva Citigroup Investment Research AnalystIttai Kidron Oppenheimer Company AnalystJeff Kvaal Nomura AnalystRod Hall Goldman Sachs AnalystSami Badri Credit Suisse AnalystSamik Chatterjee JP Morgan AnalystTal Liani Bank of America Securities AnalystMeta Marshall Morgan Stanley AnalystJim Fish Piper Sandler Analyst
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WMB | Mookie Betts crowned AL MVP winner | Mookie Betts added an American League Most Valuable Player trophy to his World Series championship on Thursday The Boston Red Sox right fielder was a runaway MVP winner in voting by the Baseball Writers Association of America beating runner up Mike Trout of the Los Angeles Angels and third place finisher Jose Ramirez of the Cleveland Indians Betts garnered 28 of the 30 first place votes with the others going to Trout and to fourth place finisher J D Martinez of the Red Sox Betts who was listed second on the two ballots in which he wasn t listed first wound up with 410 points in the voting Trout who got 24 second place votes had 265 points Ramirez who got one second place vote 10 third place votes and 11 third place votes had 208 points Betts 26 led the AL with a 346 batting average a 640 slugging percentage and 129 runs His 438 on base percentage ranked second to Trout s 460 mark He displayed power and speed hitting 32 home runs and stealing 30 bases It means a lot Betts said on MLB Network of winning his first MVP honor Definitely a special award Something I ll cherish The most important thing is we won a World Series and got to bring a trophy back to Boston He spoke while holding his 9 day old daughter Kinley who slept through the cheering that went up when Betts name was announced as the winner The baby s birth came days after the Red Sox beat the Los Angeles Dodgers in five games to win the World Series It s been a pretty good 2018 he said I ll enjoy these moments while I can In 2019 hopefully we can make it better Betts is the first Red Sox MVP winner since Dustin Pedroia in 2008 The list of Red Sox MVPs also includes Mo Vaughn 1995 Roger Clemens 1986 Jim Rice 1978 Fred Lynn 1975 Carl Yastrzemski 1967 Jackie Jensen 1958 Ted Williams NYSE WMB 1946 49 Jimmie Foxx 1938 and Tris Speaker 1912 Trout the 2014 and 16 AL MVP wound up in second place for a record tying fourth time The other four time runners up were Stan Musial a three time MVP Williams a two time MVP and Albert Pujols a three time MVP
A right fielder won AL MVP for the 11th time but for the first time since Vladimir Guerrero was honored in 2004 Field Level Media |
WMB | NBA roundup Harden Rockets top depleted Warriors | James Harden scored 12 of his team high 27 points in the third quarter and the Houston Rockets rode a balanced offensive attack to a 107 86 victory over the visiting Golden State Warriors on Thursday Harden shot just 8 of 23 overall but was 3 of 5 in the third including 2 of 4 from behind the arc His steady play in that frame provided cover for a ragged shooting effort from the Rockets at least until Houston opened the final period with an 18 2 run that extended the lead to 97 65 James Ennis III chipped in 19 points while Eric Gordon scored 17 off the bench for the Rockets who announced pregame that they have parted ways with veteran forward Carmelo Anthony Kevin Durant paced the Warriors with 20 points but produced only two assists With guard Stephen Curry sidelined for a fourth consecutive game with a groin injury Golden State appeared disoriented on offense Its defense solid for most of the game finally wilted late Nuggets 138 Hawks 93 Juancho Hernangomez scored a season high 25 points Paul Millsap had 18 points and nine rebounds against his former team and host Denver routed Atlanta The Nuggets had seven players score in double figures while posting their biggest winning margin this season Gary Harris also scored 18 points and Nikola Jokic had 12 points and nine rebounds to help Denver end a four game losing streak Jeremy Lin scored 16 points and Kent Bazemore had 14 for Atlanta The Hawks have lost six in a row and 10 of their past 11 They had won three straight in Denver before Thursday Clippers 116 Spurs 111 Lou Williams NYSE WMB scored 23 points off the bench including nine over the final four minutes and Danilo Gallinari added 19 as Los Angeles held off visiting San Antonio down the stretch The Clippers have now won five of their last six games including consecutive home victories over the Golden State Warriors the Milwaukee Bucks and the Spurs Los Angeles also has won its past seven home games The Spurs lost their third consecutive game all on the road and have dropped five of their past six
Los Angeles area native DeMar DeRozan scored 34 points for San Antonio the ninth time in 14 games he has scored at least 25 points Rudy Gay added 19 points for the Spurs Field Level Media |
WMB | NFL notebook Flacco doubtful vs Bengals | Joe Flacco was listed as doubtful on Friday s injury report as the Baltimore Ravens quarterback mystery continues two days prior to Sunday s game against the Cincinnati Bengals Flacco didn t practice all week because of a hip injury while rookie Lamar Jackson returned to practice on Friday after sitting out a day due to illness Robert Griffin III took all the practice snaps on Thursday There will be a quarterback starting I can guarantee that Ravens coach John Harbaugh told reporters partly in jest And every play there will be at least one quarterback on the field Harbaugh said Flacco could play despite not practicing Green Bay Packers tight end Jimmy Graham has a broken thumb multiple outlets reported Graham had the thumb examined on Friday to determine the extent of his injury The 31 year old left Thursday s 27 24 loss to the Seattle Seahawks in the second half after making one catch for 13 yards The Packers haven t confirmed the injury or released a timetable for his return Los Angeles Chargers defensive end Joey Bosa is expected to be a game day decision on Sunday against the Denver Broncos Bosa who has missed the entire season with a foot injury was listed as questionable on Friday s injury report He returned to practice on Wednesday for the first time since training camp Tight end Antonio Gates knee also is listed as questionable Cornerback Trevor Williams NYSE WMB knee will miss the game Denver Broncos left guard Max Garcia will miss the rest of the season after tearing his ACL in Thursday s practice head coach Vance Joseph confirmed Garcia didn t miss a rep Thursday but he was taken for an MRI after feeling discomfort in the knee afterward It was really weird Joseph said I watched practice from the last play back to the first play and he didn t miss a down The play he was injured on I saw it It was kind of a slip It was no big deal Suspended linebacker Mychal Kendricks has rejoined the Seattle Seahawks coach Pete Carroll told reporters Kendricks 28 will practice next week but cannot play until Dec 10 against Minnesota As a result of his guilty plea to federal insider trading changes the league suspended Kendricks for eight games for violating the NFL s personal conduct policy He faces up to 25 years in prison when he is sentenced Jan 24 Philadelphia defensive tackle Timmy Jernigan could play for the first time this season on Sunday when the Eagles take on the New Orleans Saints Still optimistic we ve got to get through today and tomorrow obviously with him and see where he s at Eagles coach Doug Pederson said It s just a matter of day by day and getting through the practice and seeing where he s at Jernigan returned to practice last week for the first time since having surgery in April to repair a herniated disc in his back Atlanta Falcons linebacker Deion Jones foot will not play Sunday against the Dallas Cowboys despite being activated from injured reserve earlier this week Head coach Dan Quinn said Jones who hasn t played since Week 1 is close but not yet ready to play Kicker Matt Bryant hamstring will play for the first time since Week 6 The Detroit Lions will be without wideout Marvin Jones knee and tight end Michael Roberts shoulder against the Carolina Panthers Jones did not practice this week after sustaining a bone bruise in his knee on Sunday Cornerback Darius Slay knee is expected to play Washington Redskins left tackle Trent Williams is questionable to face the Houston Texans as he recovers from surgery to repair a dislocated thumb Also questionable is kicker Dustin Hopkins groin Running back Chris Thompson ribs and wideout Jamison Crowder ankle remain out after not practicing all week The Tampa Bay Buccaneers will be without linebacker Lavonte David knee defensive end Vinny Curry ankle running back Ronald Jones hamstring and defensive backs Justin Evans toe and M J Stewart foot against the New York Giants Curry and Jones practiced on a limited basis Thursday and Friday while none of the others practiced this week The Cincinnati Bengals placed tight end Tyler Kroft on injured reserve and signed linebacker Brandon Bell off the practice squad
Kroft who has four catches for 36 yards in five games two starts this year hasn t played since hurting his foot in Week 5 Cincinnati is already without Tyler Eifert for the season Field Level Media |
WMB | NFL notebook Fines handed out after Rams Seahawks incidents | The NFL has fined Los Angeles Rams defensive tackle Aaron Donald and Seattle Seahawks center Justin Britt for an incident in last Sunday s game According to reports Saturday Britt was fined 20 054 for shoving Donald after the defender was clearly out of bounds as he returned the ball following a fumble recovery Donald was fined a total of 23 395 for two different incidents 10 026 for grabbing Britt s facemask during the same fourth quarter sequence and 13 369 for confronting Britt after the game Fellow Rams defensive tackle Ndamukong Suh was fined 20 054 for a hit on Seahawks quarterback Russell Wilson Quarterback Nathan Peterman worked out with the Detroit Lions ESPN s Field Yates reported It was his first workout since being released by the Buffalo Bills on Monday Yates said On the season Peterman appeared in four games threw seven interceptions and one touchdown pass compiling an NFL worst 30 7 passer rating The Lions quarterback roster consists of starter Matthew Stafford and veteran backup Matt Cassel with former Michigan quarterback Jake Rudock on the practice squad The Philadelphia Eagles placed cornerback Ronald Darby on injured reserve and promoted cornerback De Vante Bausby to the active roster from the practice squad Darby suffered a season ending tear of the ACL in his right knee during last Sunday night s loss to the Dallas Cowboys Bausby played in four games for the Chicago Bears in 2016 but Sunday s game against the New Orleans Saints will mark his first time as active for the Eagles Philadelphia will also be without cornerback Jalen Mills foot against New Orleans thought cornerback Sidney Jones hamstring is expected to play after missing the previous three games The Chicago Bears have activated tight end Adam Shaheen from injured reserve He will be eligible to play Sunday night when the Bears host NFC North rival Minnesota Shaheen a second round draft selection in 2017 played in 13 games as a rookie and had 12 receptions for 127 yards and three touchdowns He sustained an ankle injury in the preseason and hasn t played in the regular season Los Angeles Rams wide receiver Cooper Kupp underwent surgery to repair a torn ACL suffered last weekend and no additional damage was found head coach Sean McVay told reporters In his absence Josh Reynolds and Nick Williams NYSE WMB are expected to see more playing time as could Pharoh Cooper for the Rams 9 1
NFL com reported Panthers safety Eric Reid was fined 10 026 for his diving hit to the head of Steelers quarterback Ben Roethlisberger a week ago Thursday He was ejected on the play Field Level Media |
WMB | Browns hope to interview Condi Rice report | Cleveland Browns general manager John Dorsey is thinking outside of the box as he searches for the team s next head coach Dorsey is seeking an interview with former Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice according to ESPN s Adam Schefter Rice is a longtime fan of the Browns and the admiration apparently goes both ways She joined owners Dee and Jimmy Haslam on the field in Oakland on Sept 30 when the Browns were in town to play the Raiders If the team does interview Rice it would make her the first woman ever interviewed for a head coaching job by an NFL team Even if she doesn t get the job Rice could join the team as a consultant or in another official capacity While Rice has no coaching experience she has served as a member of the College Football Playoff selection committee and led a commission this year studying potential changes for college basketball Dorsey hired in December 2017 fired former coach Hue Jackson on Oct 29 after a 2 5 1 start Jackson won just one of 32 games in his previous two seasons Dorsey will lead the search for Jackson s replacement with the Haslams signing off on the finalists Interim coach Gregg Williams NYSE WMB a longtime defensive coordinator has gone 1 1 since taking over for Jackson and Dorsey has said he deserves to get an interview for the full time job
Oklahoma Sooners coach Lincoln Riley and Baltimore Ravens coach John Harbaugh have also had their names floated as potential targets Field Level Media |
WMB | Dorsey Browns haven t discussed Condi Rice | Cleveland Browns general manager John Dorsey denied the team has discussed interviewing former Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice for the Browns head coaching job on Sunday Dorsey issued the statement after a report from ESPN s Adam Schefter said the team was hoping to interview Rice Former Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice is a great leader possesses the highest possible character and also happens to be a Browns fan Dorsey said I have the utmost respect and admiration for all she s accomplished and was honored to meet her for the first time earlier this season Our coaching search will be thorough and deliberate but we are still in the process of composing the list of candidates and Secretary Rice has not been discussed Rice is a longtime fan of the Browns She joined owners Dee and Jimmy Haslam on the field in Oakland on Sept 30 when the Browns were in town to play the Raiders If the team were to interview Rice it would make her the first woman ever interviewed for a head coaching job by an NFL team Rice has served as a member of the College Football Playoff selection committee and led a commission this year studying potential changes for college basketball Dorsey hired in December 2017 fired former coach Hue Jackson on Oct 29 after a 2 5 1 start Jackson won just one of 32 games in his previous two seasons Dorsey will lead the search for Jackson s replacement with the Haslams signing off on the finalists Interim coach Gregg Williams NYSE WMB a longtime defensive coordinator has gone 1 1 since taking over for Jackson and Dorsey has said he deserves to get an interview for the full time job
Oklahoma Sooners coach Lincoln Riley and Baltimore Ravens coach John Harbaugh have also had their names floated as potential targets Field Level Media |
WMB | Hurricanes strike early outlast Devils 2 1 | Justin Williams NYSE WMB and Micheal Ferland scored in the opening 30 seconds and the Carolina Hurricanes defeated the visiting New Jersey Devils 2 1 on Sunday in Raleigh N C Williams notched a goal 22 seconds into the game and Ferland s goal came at the 30 second mark as the Hurricanes erased some of the misery from a night earlier when they had one of their worst performances of the season Pavel Zacha scored for the Devils at 6 33 of the first period as the game s final 53 minutes were scoreless Curtis McElhinney collected 33 saves for the victory McElhinney had played only once since Oct 20 before this outing However he has a team best four victories this season New Jersey goalie Cory Schneider stopped 23 shots yet he remains winless in five outings this season The Hurricanes who were frustrated by Saturday night s 4 1 home loss to Columbus won for only the third time in a 10 game stretch 3 5 2 Jordan Staal s pass set up Williams goal as the Carolina captain scored for the first time in 15 games and the second time this season The play also ended Staal s six game pointless streak When Ferland converted just seconds after the ensuing face off the Hurricanes had the second fastest two goal span in franchise history As the Hartford Whalers in March 1987 against Pittsburgh the team pulled off two goals in a six second span Ferland has a team leading 10 goals including three in a four game stretch Slightly more than six minutes after Ferland s goal Zacha scored for New Jersey It was Zacha s second goal in as many days and second of the season in 14 games The Devils who had a three game points streak end were aggressive in the first period with a 16 13 edge in shots They had only 18 shots the rest of the game including seven in the third period New Jersey fell to 0 2 0 in the second games of sets on back to back days
This was the first of four scheduled meetings between the teams this season Field Level Media |
WMB | Dollar pauses as Fed officials caution about global growth yen firms | By Vatsal Srivastava SINGAPORE Reuters The dollar eased slightly versus other major currencies on Monday after Federal Reserve officials expressed caution over the global growth outlook prompting traders to reassess the pace of future U S interest rate increases The greenback has enjoyed a strong run this year thanks to the Fed s steady policy tightening on the back of a robust economy and rising wage pressures A fourth rate hike for this year is expected next month and policy makers had indicated two more by June 2019 But comments on Friday by Richard Clarida the Fed s newly appointed vice chair put to the test market expectations for a steady pace of tightening Clarida cautioned about a slowdown in global growth saying that s something that is going to be relevant for the outlook for the U S economy Federal Reserve Bank of Dallas President Robert Kaplan in a separate interview with Fox Business also said he is seeing a growth slowdown in Europe and China The comments may hint that the Fed is set to slow down its pace of monetary tightening and led some traders to question whether the dollar s rally was nearing its end with the benchmark U S 10 year treasury yields US10YT RR pulling back slightly New York Fed President John Williams NYSE WMB will speak later on Monday and traders would be waiting to see if he echoes the same theme as his colleagues The market has definitely interpreted these statements as dovish However the Fed has always remained data dependent and to that extent this should not come as a surprise said Michael McCarthy chief markets strategist at CMC Markets The dollar index DXY a gauge of its value versus six major peers traded marginally weaker at 96 45 adding to a decline of 0 5 percent on Friday The dollar index had hit a 16 month high of 97 69 on Nov 12 The yen was fetching 112 68 on the dollar up slightly on the day The dollar lost 0 9 percent versus the yen last week as traders rushed into the safe haven Japanese currency on concerns over U S Sino trade tensions and political risks in Europe around Brexit and the Italian budget The euro EUR dipped 0 1 percent in Asian trade changing hands at 1 1403 having advanced over the last four trading sessions despite weaker economic fundamentals The single currency has gained 2 7 percent versus the pound EURGBP since Nov 13 as uncertainty over a smooth Brexit deal remains at the forefront Euro has traded almost exclusively on anti dollar flows and risk appetite and we expect the same this week as the currency looks past any weakness in Germany s PPI report or eurozone PMIs said Kathy Lien managing director of currency strategy at BK Asset Management The British pound wobbled at 1 2832 having come under heavy selling last week amid turmoil over British Prime Minister Theresa May s draft Brexit plan The currency is expected to remain under pressure until the market gets more clarity on the progress of the Brexit deal CMC Markets McCarthy said In the days since May unveiled a draft EU divorce deal May s premiership has been thrust into crisis Several ministers including her Brexit minister have resigned and some of her lawmakers are seeking to oust her With both pro EU and pro Brexit lawmakers unhappy with the draft agreement it is not clear she will be able to win the backing of parliament for it raising the risk Britain leaves the EU without a deal The Australian dollar traded down 0 2 percent at 0 7317 as U S Sino trade tensions showed no signs of abating China is Australia s largest trade partner and any negative sentiment affecting the world s second biggest economy tends to undermine the Aussie |
WMB | NFL roundup Saints pummel Eagles | Drew Brees threw for 363 yards and four touchdowns as the New Orleans Saints rolled up 546 yards in total offense and 28 first downs to rout the visiting Philadelphia Eagles 48 7 Sunday The Saints 9 1 took a three game lead in the NFC South over the second place Carolina Panthers while handing the Eagles the largest margin of defeat ever sustained by a defending Super Bowl champion The Saints have scored 144 points in their past three games the most in franchise history for three consecutive games a 48 point average and least 30 points in seven of their last eight games The injury ravaged Eagles 4 6 have lost five of their past seven New Orleans picked off Philadelphia quarterback Carson Wentz three times while limiting him to 19 of 33 passing for 156 yards Steelers 20 Jaguars 16 Ben Roethlisberger stretched to score on a keeper from about a foot out with eight seconds left as Pittsburgh came back to beat host Jacksonville extending the Steelers winning streak to six games and the Jaguars losing streak to six games Roethlisberger passed for 314 yards with three interceptions and touchdowns to Antonio Brown and Vance McDonald for the Steelers 7 2 1 An 11 yard strike to McDonald closing Pittsburgh within 16 13 with 2 28 left Cornerback Jalen Ramsey who in an offseason interview with GQ called Roethlisberger decent at best had two interceptions for Jacksonville 3 7 which led 16 0 in the third quarter and 16 6 entering the fourth Josh Lambo kicked three field goals Leonard Fournette rushed for 95 yards and touchdown and Jaguars quarterback Blake Bortles passed for 104 yards Broncos 23 Chargers 22 Brandon McManus kicked a 34 yard field goal as time expired and Denver ended host Los Angeles six game winning streak The Broncos handed the Chargers 7 3 their first loss since Sept 23 Case Keenum completed all five of his passes for 86 yards on the Broncos game winning drive Keenum finished with 205 yards and no touchdowns or interceptions Denver running back Phillip Lindsay who entered leading all NFL rookies in rushing gained 79 yards on 11 carries with two touchdowns The Broncos 4 6 were able to overcome a 401 yard passing day from Chargers quarterback Phillip Rivers who threw two touchdown passes Texans 23 Redskins 21 Ka imi Fairbairn s 54 yard field goal midway through the fourth quarter lifted Houston over host Washington for its seventh straight victory The Redskins 6 4 took over on their 35 with 52 seconds left after a Fairbairn miss from 45 yards out and drove to the Houston 45 but kicker Dustin Hopkins came up short on a 63 yard attempt with three seconds left The Texans 7 3 tied an NFL record 1925 Giants for the longest winning streak after losing the first three games Redskins quarterback Alex Smith left the game in the third quarter with what coach Jay Gruden said after the game was a broken tibia and fibula on his right leg Gruden said Smith would need surgery Cowboys 22 Falcons 19 Brett Maher who had missed an extra point kicked a 42 yard field goal as time expired to give Dallas the win over host Atlanta and keep the Cowboys playoff hopes alive Dallas 5 5 took a 10 point lead early in the fourth quarter but the Falcons 4 6 tied the game on a 34 yard touchdown pass from Matt Ryan to Julio Jones with 1 52 remaining Ezekiel Elliott scored on a 23 yard run and accounted for 201 yards from scrimmage rushing 23 times for 122 and catching seven passes for 79 more Ryan completed 24 of 34 passes for 291 yards but he threw a costly interception in the fourth quarter as the Falcons playoff hopes all but vanished Bears 25 Vikings 20 Mitchell Trubisky completed 20 of 31 passes for 165 yards one touchdown and two interceptions and Chicago held on to beat visiting Minnesota Anthony Miller hauled in a touchdown for Chicago 7 3 which won its fourth consecutive game to remain atop the NFC North The Bears forced three turnovers including an interception return for a touchdown by Eddie Jackson in the fourth quarter increasing their league high total to 27 takeaways Minnesota s Kirk Cousins completed 30 of 46 passes for 262 yards two touchdowns and two interceptions Diggs caught 13 passes for 126 yards The Vikings 5 4 1 also forced three turnovers Colts 38 Titans 10 Andrew Luck threw for 297 yards and three touchdowns to lead host Indianapolis to an easy win over Tennessee in a battle for second place in the AFC South T Y Hilton caught two of Luck s touchdown passes and totaled 155 receiving yards to tie Marvin Harrison for the most 150 yard games 11 in Colts history Indianapolis 5 5 scored on four of five first half drives and dominated the first 30 minutes scoring 24 points the most points the Titans 5 5 had allowed in an entire game this season Lions 20 Panthers 19 Matthew Stafford connected with Kenny Golladay on a go ahead 19 yard touchdown pass and host Detroit hung on for a victory over Carolina The Panthers 6 4 pulled within one on Cam Newton s 8 yard touchdown pass to DJ Moore with 1 07 remaining Carolina coach Ron Rivera decided to go for a two point conversion but Newton s pass fell incomplete Newton completed 25 of 37 passes for 357 yards and three touchdowns while getting intercepted once Stafford completed 23 of 37 passes for 220 yards Golladay made eight catches for 113 yards and recently signed Bruce Ellington made six receptions for 52 yards for the Lions 4 6 Detroit rookie Kerryon Johnson rushed for 87 yards on 15 carries and a touchdown but was forced out of the game due to a knee injury Ravens 24 Bengals 21 Host Baltimore overcame the absence of injured quarterback Joe Flacco by rushing for 265 yards against Cincinnati Justin Tucker kicked three field goals and Flacco s replacement rookie first rounder Lamar Jackson and Gus Williams NYSE WMB each topped 100 yards rushing as the Ravens improved to 5 5 The Bengals who had just 48 rushing yards fell to 5 5 Cincinnati coach Marvin Lewis took over as defensive coordinator after firing Teryl Austin earlier this week in the wake of the Bengals allowing 500 yards in three consecutive games an NFL worst in the Super Bowl era The Bengals showed marginal improvement allowing 403 yards but they couldn t slow down the Ravens running game Giants 38 Buccaneers 35 Eli Manning recorded a near perfect passer rating while Saquon Barkley rushed for 142 yards and scored three touchdowns as New York outlasted Tampa Bay in East Rutherford N J Manning completed 17 of 18 passes against the helpless Tampa Bay secondary for 231 yards and a pair of touchdowns finishing with a 155 8 passer rating only 2 5 points off a perfect score Barkley ran for two scores and caught a touchdown pass as New York 3 7 won its second straight game Jameis Winston relieved an ineffective Ryan Fitzpatrick and completed 12 of 16 passes for 199 yards and two touchdowns in about a quarter and a half for Tampa Bay 3 7 However Winston also threw the game clinching interception with 23 seconds left the Buccaneers fourth of the day Raiders 23 Cardinals 21 Daniel Carlson kicked a 35 yard field goal his third of the day on the final play of the game rallying Oakland 2 8 past Arizona 2 8 in Glendale Ariz Derek Carr drove the Raiders 63 yards to the Arizona 17 featuring a 32 yard hook up with Marcell Ateman and a 20 yarder with Seth Roberts to set up a spike to stop the clock with two seconds left
Josh Rosen threw a season best three touchdown passes two to Larry Fitzgerald to give the Cardinals a late lead Arizona s David Johnson was the game s leading rusher with 25 carries for 137 yards his first 100 yard effort of the season Field Level Media |
WMB | NFL Redskins face tough road after gruesome Smith injury | Reuters The Washington Redskins season took a precarious turn on Sunday when starting quarterback Alex Smith suffered a gruesome broken leg an injury that reverberated around the National Football League Smith s season ending broken right tibia and fibula in a 23 21 loss to the Houston Texans was a painful image that left the Redskins with much to digest When we get to that play in the game film we ll speed past it watching it hurts yourself Redskins offensive lineman Chase Roullier told the Washington Post Horrible to see Speed past that Washington coach Jay Gruden said Smith s misfortune which happened when he was sacked by J J Watt and Kareem Jackson in the third quarter left his team with heavy hearts When you have an injury like that it s more heartbreaking than it is physical Just breaks your heart It s just hard to watch that happen to any athlete Now the Redskins must start the challenging process of building without Smith the signal caller they traded for in the off season and signed to a four year extension Backup QB Colt McCoy does not immediately evoke excitement particularly as Washington 6 4 clings to a one game lead atop the NFC East Division The 32 year old McCoy is just 7 18 as a career starter and could be leading an offense that already lacks punch The Redskins are reeling from injuries and are without All Pro offensive lineman Trent Williams NYSE WMB starting wide receiver Jamison Crowder and running back Chris Thompson Washington could pursue another quarterback replacement but after their latest setback the team had little choice but to rally around McCoy I m a big firm believer in Colt McCoy s talent Gruden said This is the opportunity of a lifetime for him I know he would like it in different circumstances The future circumstances for the 34 year old Smith are now also dicey Same day 33 years ago Washington Hall of Fame QB Joe Theismann suffered a ghastly leg fracture that ended his career A flood of players took to social media to send Smith well wishes
Prayers for my guy man You will bounce back Kansas City s quarterback Patrick Mahomes tweeted |
VZ | Verizon VZ Down 1 7 Since Earnings Report Can It Rebound | It has been about a month since the last earnings report for Verizon Communications Inc NYSE VZ Shares have lost about 1 7 in that time frame
Will the recent negative trend continue leading up to its next earnings release or is VZ due for a breakout Before we dive into how investors and analysts have reacted as of late let s take a quick look at its most recent earnings report in order to get a better handle on the important drivers Verizon Beats Q1 Earnings on Solid Wireless BusinessVerizon started 2018 on a positive note with a relatively healthy performance in the first quarter primarily led by the wireless business The bottom line also benefited from significant savings from the tax reform Quarter DetailsGAAP earnings for the reported quarter were 4 666 million or 1 11 per share compared with 3 553 million or 84 cents per share in the year ago quarter Excluding non recurring items adjusted earnings were 1 17 per share compared with 95 cents in the year earlier quarter and comfortably exceeded the Zacks Consensus Estimate of 1 11 Consolidated GAAP revenues increased 6 6 year over year to 31 772 million on the back of a solid performance in the wireless business Excluding revenues from divested businesses non GAAP consolidated revenues were 29 9 billion which missed the Zacks Consensus Estimate of 31 157 million Operating income improved 5 6 year over year to 7 349 million EBITDA for the reported quarter were 11 7 billion resulting in EBITDA margin of 36 7 Segment Performance WirelessTotal revenues from this segment were 21 900 million up 4 9 year over year While service revenues declined 2 4 to 15 402 million that from equipment increased 33 9 to 5 040 million Other revenues totaled 1 458 million up 9 1 year over year Operating income improved 13 8 to 8 049 million due to higher retail postpaid connections Quarterly operating income margin was 36 8 compared with 33 9 in the year ago quarter Segment EBITDA increased 11 3 to 10 477 million resulting in EBITDA margin of 47 8 compared with 45 1 in the prior year quarter Verizon reported a net increase of 260 000 retail postpaid connections in first quarter 2018 Quarterly retail postpaid churn rate improved to 1 04 compared with 1 15 in the year ago quarter Retail postpaid ARPA average revenue per account was 131 71 compared with 136 98 in the year ago quarter Wireline SegmentTotal revenues in the segment were 7 557 million down 1 6 year over year owing to lower Consumer retail revenues down 1 6 to 3 150 million and Enterprise Solutions down 3 1 to 2 240 million Partner Solutions revenues also decreased 0 1 to 1 228 million while Business Markets revenues declined 0 9 to 871 million Other revenues improved 9 7 to 68 million Quarterly operating income was 69 million down 66 5 year over year Quarterly operating margin was 0 9 compared with 2 7 in the year ago quarter Segment EBITDA fell 4 6 to 1 603 million resulting in EBITDA margin of 21 2 compared with 21 9 in the year ago quarter Cash Flow and LiquidityVerizon generated 6 648 million of cash from operating activities for the first three months of 2018 compared with 1 376 million in the year ago quarter At the end of the reported quarter Verizon had 1 923 million of cash and cash equivalents and 112 734 million in long term debts In order to strengthen its balance sheet and provide financial flexibility Verizon made a discretionary contribution of 1 0 billion to improve the funded status of its pension plans Consequently Verizon anticipate having zero mandatory pension contributions until approximately 2026 Outlook for 2018 For full year 2018 Verizon expects both GAAP revenues and adjusted earnings per share to increase by low single digit percentage rates driven by expected savings from tax reform and higher cash flow from operations Capital expenditures for 2018 are likely to be in the range of 17 0 billion to 17 8 billion
How Have Estimates Been Moving Since Then
In the past month investors have witnessed a downward trend in fresh estimates There have been five revisions higher for the current quarter compared to seven lower
Verizon Communications Inc Price and Consensus
VGM Scores
At this time VZ has a subpar Growth Score of D however its Momentum is doing a lot better with a B Following the exact same course the stock was also allocated a grade of B on the value side putting it in the second quintile for this investment strategy
Overall the stock has an aggregate VGM Score of B If you aren t focused on one strategy this score is the one you should be interested in
Zacks style scores indicate that the company s stock is suitable for value and momentum investors
Outlook
Estimates have been trending downward for the stock and the magnitude of these revisions indicates a downward shift Notably VZ has a Zacks Rank 3 Hold We expect an in line return from the stock in the next few months |
VZ | Competition Intensifies In The U S Postpaid Wireless Market | The U S postpaid wireless market continues to witness intense pricing competition Uninterrupted advancement in wireless technologies has aided telecom operators to adopt newer business models in order to stay in the game Notably postpaid wireless customers are those who are billed monthly and considered more profitable to telecom operators Technological upgrades and breakthroughs have resulted in cutthroat price competition Product life cycle and upgrade cycle have been reduced drastically as several firms are coming up with new products and services within a short span of time Increasing competition is compelling players to offer heterogeneous and bundled services to retain market share Disappointing Start in 2018After a lackluster 2017 the U S wireless service operators have failed to turn their fortune around in 2018 so far Year to date the share price of all four major wireless operators Verizon Communications Inc NYSE VZ AT T Inc NYSE T T Mobile US Inc NYSE T and Sprint Corp NYSE S declined 8 5 14 1 9 3 and 11 2 respectively Intensified pricing competition resulting in lower ARPU average revenue per user and margins massive investment for upcoming 5G wireless network and fiber optic buildout resulting in low free cash flow and severe competitive pressure compelled the investor s to shift focus on other growth oriented industries Industry Consolidation Ever since President Trump came to power the telecom industry circle has been rife with speculations that the Trump administration may pave the way for consolidation of the U S wireless industry The previous Obama regime was very firm on the issue of consolidation by not allowing the number of national wireless service providers to decrease below four in order to eliminate monopolistic power However the newly restructured Federal Communications Commission FCC under Trump s presidency has given enough indications of its leniency compared with the Obama administration Consequently on April 2018 T Mobile US and Sprint decided to merge their businesses If the deal finally sees light of the day both T Mobile US and Sprint will benefit significantly At present Verizon and AT T together control around 68 of the U S wireless market The merged entity of T Mobile US and Sprint with around 32 market share will be a formidable challenger to both Verizon and AT T Entry of New PlayersLargest cable MSO multi service operator and media behemoth Comcast Corp NYSE S has already forayed into this field with its Xfinity Mobile offering Presently the company is utilizing its MVNO mobile virtual network operator agreement with Verizon to use the latter s wireless network along with its own WiFi network to offer mobile services Another cable giant Charter Communications Inc NYSE T is reportedly inching closer to launch Spectrum Mobile wireless services Like Comcast the company has an MVNO agreement with Verizon as well as its own WiFi network to offer mobile services Additionally Comcast has acquired 73 licenses in the band of 600 MHz auctioned by the FCC Charter Communications has also launched experimental field trials of the 5G wireless network These trials come on the back of spectrum test licenses granted to it by the FCC Moreover both the companies have formed a partnership for software and backend systems needed to support the two mobile networks Both Comcast and Charter Communications carry a Zacks Rank 3 Hold You can see The chart below shows year to date price performance of six stocks mentioned above Bottom LineThe U S telecom market continues to witness intense pricing competition as success to a great extent depends on technical superiority quality of services and scalability Competition is likely to increase further in the U S wireless industry in 2018 with the entry of cable MSOs Moreover the proposed merger of T Mobile US and Sprint will only worsen the situation for incumbents like Verizon and AT T Will You Make a Fortune on the Shift to Electric Cars Here s another stock idea to consider Much like petroleum 150 years ago lithium power may soon shake the world creating millionaires and reshaping geo politics Soon electric vehicles EVs may be cheaper than gas guzzlers Some are already reaching 265 miles on a single charge With battery prices plummeting and charging stations set to multiply one company stands out as the 1 stock to buy according to Zacks research It s not the one you think |
VZ | Verizon Restructures Top Management To Reshape 5G Future | Verizon Communications Inc NYSE VZ recently announced two major leadership shifts the retirement of Executive Vice President John Stratton and the appointment of Hans Vestberg as the new CEO succeeding Lowell McAdam Stratton is set to transition as a strategic advisor reporting to McAdam until his retirement from the company Meanwhile Vestberg will officially replace McAdam as the CEO effective Aug 1 2018 following which the latter will serve as Executive Chairman of the Board until he too retires at the end of this year to serve as the non Executive Chairman of the company Game Changer The announcements came as a surprise to a number of industry observers who had expected Stratton to succeed as the new CEO Stratton has served Verizon for more than 25 years aiding its significant growth in the telecommunications market On the other hand McAdam has contributed substantially to the expansion of the company into content creating the umbrella division Oath last year following the acquisition of AOL and Yahoo NASDAQ AABA The dramatic leadership reshuffle marks a shift in Verizon s focus from that of its close rival AT T NYSE T in the media content market Experts predicted media content to be Verizon s prime leadership path and had anticipated aggressive steps to consolidate its position in this arena However Vestberg s technical expertize underscores the company s focus on 5G leadership and his appointment proves to be a game changer The company believes that strengthening its position in the future of wireless will have a huge positive impact across all its divisions including media content What Vestberg s Succession Means for VerizonVerizon aims to bolster its IoT position in the wireless market as it lags behind AT T in this field Along this line it can be said that there is a possibility that under Vestberg the company will see a lot of non digital media M A activities given his history of overseeing the acquisition of more than 20 companies for Ericsson BS ERICAs ERIC of which he was in charge before joining Verizon These M A activities might include acquisition of several telecom services and IoT software firms There is also high possibility of a sharp rise in radio and fiber infrastructure investments of the company leading to tougher competition from cable and telco ISPs This rise in investments and 5G efforts by Verizon whose wireless customer base is the highest in the United States might in turn hasten the merger talks between T Mobile NYSE T and Sprint NYSE S If the merger materializes Verizon s new CEO will face a largely restructured mobile market Price Performance Zacks RankIn the past three months the stock has outperformed the on an average with an average return of 0 8 against a decline of 4 6 for the latter Verizon currently has a Zacks Rank 3 Hold You can see The Hottest Tech Mega Trend of AllLast year it generated 8 billion in global revenues By 2020 it s predicted to blast through the roof to 47 billion Famed investor Mark Cuban says it will produce the world s first trillionaires but that should still leave plenty of money for regular investors who make the right trades early |
VZ | Verizon to pay 17 7 million to resolve school broadband probe | By David Shepardson WASHINGTON Reuters Verizon Communications Inc N VZ said on Tuesday it will pay 17 7 million to resolve a probe by U S regulators and the Justice Department into potential payment violations related to a federal school broadband program The program called E rate is a federal government backed scheme that provides subsidized broadband and internet service for schools and libraries in the United States and is funded through monthly fees on phone service The Federal Communications Commission the U S telecoms regulator and the Department of Justice said Verizon had invoiced the FCC for consultant charges that were not allowed under an E rate contract it had to supply the New York City Department of Education with its services Verizon said on Tuesday that today s settlements fairly resolve years of work by Verizon and the government to return funding to the program The company said that it was a victim of fraud citing the conviction of a former New York City Department of Education consultant Willard Lanham Lanham was sentenced to 37 months in prison in 2012 Like the New York school system Verizon was a victim of that fraud and five years ago helped to convict Lanham the company said Government documents said the fraud may have lasted from as long as 2002 through 2008 but Verizon was only charged in a federal civil complaint with filing a fraudulent bill in 2006 The government cited a New York City Department of Education investigative report that said Lanham was responsible for significant fraud creating a subcontracting scheme through which he billed millions of dollars to the city school department for consultants he employed without the city or Verizon s knowledge Lanham manipulated bills Verizon sent to the department the FCC said In December 2015 the department agreed to pay 3 million to resolve the FCC investigation The department which has approximately 1 1 million students in over 1 800 schools has received approximately 1 3 billion in E rate program payments since 1998 As part of the FCC settlement Verizon will operate under a compliance plan for three years It also agreed to surrender any appeal rights to more than 100 million in E rate subsidy payments FCC chairman Ajit Pai said in a statement that the settlement was an important measure that both enforces our rules and restores critical taxpayer dollars to the Universal Service Fund a government fund that provides subsidies for telecommunications services
Democratic FCC Commissioner Mignon Clyburn said in a statement the incident caused over 50 million of harm to the Universal Service Fund and said the FCC settled for a fraction of that harm |
VZ | Verizon Matches Profit Expectations but Beats on Revenue | Investing com Verizon Communications NYSE VZ reported earnings per share that were broadly in line with market expectations on Thursday but posted stronger than forecast revenue
The telecom company reported earnings per share of 98 cents on revenue of 31 72 billion in the June Sept quarter Analysts had expected EPS of 98 cents on revenue of 31 44 billion
Wireless retail postpaid connections base rose by 603 000 Total retail postpaid churn was 0 97 with strong customer loyalty demonstrated by retail postpaid phone churn of 0 75
Wireline revenue rose 1 1 to 7 7 billion with Fios revenue rising 4 8
The company expects 2017 organic revenue to be fairly consistent with 2016
Verizon Wireless delivered another quarter of profitable growth combined with strong customer loyalty said Chairman and CEO Lowell McAdam
Verizon shares climbed 1 1 to 49 20 in trading prior to the opening bell |
CSCO | Top 5 Things to Know in the Market on Wednesday 12th February | By Geoffrey Smith
Investing com Bernie Sanders wins the New Hampshire primary leaving former front runner Joe Biden needing a miracle in Nevada and South Carolina to keep his nomination hopes alive Markets are rallying again on another drop in reported new cases of the Covid 19 virus but changes to China s counting methodology have further undermined trust in the reliability of its data Earnings season revs up again with updates from CVS Cisco NASDAQ CSCO Shopify and Equinix NASDAQ EQIX while Lyft NASDAQ LYFT disappointed investors with its update late on Tuesday And OPEC is due to update its forecasts for global oil demand after the U S government cuts its forecasts due to the virus Here s what you need to know in financial markets on Wednesday 12th February
1 Creative counting casts doubt on virus tally
The Covid 19 coronavirus as it s now officially known is mutating not biologically but statistically Chinese authorities announced a second big daily drop in the rate of new infections Tuesday but reports from outside China suggest that that may be due more to changes in China s way of counting
As of late last week China is no longer counting those who test positive for the virus as infected as long as they show no symptoms of the disease Given that Chinese studies acknowledge that patients can go for up 24 days without showing symptoms that creates a clear risk of undercounting
Outside China the number of cases on a cruise ship quarantined in Yokohama Japan rose to over 170 while Singapore s financial district was rocked when DBS Group the island state s largest bank sent workers home after discovering a case among its workforce The Chinese Formula 1 Grand Prix was cancelled while a major shipbuilder announced force majeure on its conracts saying that labor shortages would stop it delivering two large bulk carriers on time
2 New Hampshire
Senator Bernie Sanders won the New Hampshire Democratic primary but strong showings by Pete Buttigeig and Minnesota Senator Amy Klobuchar means that the race for the nomination is still very much an open one
Former vice president Joe Biden again trailed badly in fifth place as he had done in Iowa His hopes of the nomination now depend heavily on his performance in Nevada and South Carolina which will show if he can still count on his traditional support among minorities
3 Stocks set to march higher
U S stock markets are set to open higher again bolstered by the improving official Chinese data and by the awareness that central banks are unlikely to withdraw any of the liquidity provided in recent weeks to soothe markets during the Covid 19 outbreak
Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell said on Tuesday that barring persistent and material impacts on the U S economy the Fed s current monetary policy stance would remain appropriate for the near future That means at least two more months of repos and bill purchases he added
By 6 30 AM ET 1130 GMT the Dow 30 futures contract was up 131 points or 0 5 while the S P 500 contract was up 0 4 and the Nasdaq 100 contract was up 0 5
European stocks also hit new highs overnight the benchmark Stoxx 600 rising 0 5 on the back of solid earnings from luxury giant Kering PA PRTP and Dutch brewer Heineken among others
4 Earnings season revs up again with tech financial reports Lyft s update disappoints
After a relatively quiet start to the week earnings season gets back into full swing with updates from CVS before the open and Cisco after the close
CME Group Shopify Equinix and Moody s also are due to report
Lyft NASDAQ LYFT will also be in focus in early trade after the company chose not to follow Uber NYSE UBER in moving up the date when it expects to be profitable The company s revenue growth slowed to 2 5 in the second half of last year from 6 in the first half while its net loss widened The outlook and the quarterly numbers together combined to push the stock down 5 5 in after hours trading
One of Uber s largest investors Softbank also reported overnight Its reported profit fell 99 after its Vision Fund posted a 2 billion loss caused largely by writedowns of its investments in WeWork Softbank stock had soared by 12 on Tuesday after a U S court cleared the plans of another big portfolio company Sprint Corp to merge with T Mobile US NASDAQ TMUS
5 OPEC to estimate virus hit to global oil demand
The U S government cut its forecast for global oil demand this year by 300 000 barrels a day due to the Covid 19 outbreak a step that sets the stage for similar actions by OPEC and the International Energy Agency as they release their monthly reports over the next couple of days
OPEC is due to update its latest estimates for global supply and demand in its monthly report today while the IEA s report is due to follow on Thursday
The short term drop in demand was in evidence on Tuesday when the American Petroleum Institute reported a 6 million barrel increase in U S crude inventories last week That s more than twice the increase predicted for the official government inventory count that is due at 10 30 AM ET GMT
Crude prices continue to recover gradually after a brutal sell off however By 6 25 AM ET U S crude futures were up 1 6 at 50 73 a barrel while Brent futures were up 2 2 at 55 19 |
CSCO | Stocks U S Futures Point Higher as Virus Fears Ease | By Peter Nurse
Investing com U S stocks are set to open higher Wednesday continuing the recent positive trend as investors take heart from signs the coronavirus outbreak might be peaking
At 7 30 AM ET 1230 GMT futures for theS P 500 traded 12 points or 0 4 higher futures for the Nasdaq were up 49 points or 0 5 while the Dow Jones futures contract rose 125 points or 0 4
The death toll from China s coronavirus officially called Covid 19 now exceeds 1100 but there have been signs the outbreak may be peaking at the epicenter of the crisis
Authorities in Hubei the province where the outbreak likely originated said there were an additional 1 638 confirmed cases of the virus Wednesday That is almost one third less than the previous day s new cases However reports from outside China suggest that this may be due more to changes in China s way of counting China s National Health Commission said last week that it would no longer count new cases as confirmed until patients started showing symptoms of the disease China s own studies suggest that people can remain asymptomatic for up to 24 days after catching the virus
Both the S P and Nasdaq again closed at record high levels Tuesday posting gains in six of the last seven trading sessions and having their best months since June
The large cap tech companies which have been behind a lot of the recent gains will be in focus Wednesday following the announcement of a regulatory probe into previous deals by these firms The move raised fears over a more aggressive regulatory crackdown on big tech
Boeing NYSE BA is also expected to be in the spotlight after the aircraft maker reported late Tuesday that it received no new orders for commercial jets in January By contrast its major rival Airbus PA AIR received 274 orders
Elsewhere the U S earnings season may be coming to an end but there are still some well known names reporting
Shares in Lyft NASDAQ LYFT traded over 4 lower after hours despite reporting late Tuesday more than 1 billion in quarterly revenue However the ride hailing company didn t move up its estimates for making a profit a disappointment in the light of Uber s hopes of becoming profitable at an underlying level by the end of this year
Shares in Bed Bath Beyond NASDAQ BBBY slumped 25 after announcing late Tuesday that same store sales declined in December and January The company whose stock is heavily shorted said it was facing inventory challenges and issues attracting customers to its stores
CVS Health Corp NYSE CVS reported fourth quarter earnings that beat analysts forecasts and revenue that topped expectations These numbers may have impressed but investors in CVS as well as other stocks tied to healthcare will be keeping an eye on developments in the Democratic primaries This is especially with respect to Sen Bernie Sanders who won in New Hampshire on Tuesday and is running on a platform of single payer health care
Cisco NASDAQ CSCO reports quarterly results after the bell Wednesday The networking giant is expected to report a profit of 76 cents per share on revenue of about 12 billion according to analysts forecasts compiled by Investing com
The economic calendar is pretty bare Wednesday but Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell will be back on Capitol Hill for the second half of his semiannual Congressional testimony
Powell will start speaking to the Senate Banking Committee at 10 00 AM ET 1500 GMT after testifying before the House Financial Services committee Tuesday
Elsewhere the oil market has pushed higher Wednesday rebounding a touch after recent losses The U S government cut its forecast for world oil demand this year by 300 000 barrels a day due to the virus outbreak while the latest OPEC monthly report followed suit by cutting its forecast by 230 000 barrels a day
The Energy Information Administration will report the latest weekly figures for U S oil supplies at 10 30 AM 15 30 GMT Analysts are expecting the EIA to report a rise in inventories of about 3 million barrels according to forecasts compiled by Investing com
Late Tuesday the American Petroleum Institute said that according to its measure crude stockpiles rose by 6 million barrels for the week ended Feb 7
AT 07 30 AM ET 1230 GMT U S crude futures traded 1 7 higher at 50 77 a barrel and the international benchmark Brent contract rose 2 2 to 55 20 Additionally gold futures fell 0 1 to 1 569 85 oz while EUR USD traded at 1 0923 up 0 1 |
CSCO | Watch Now Here s What s Moving Markets Feb 12 Video | Investing com Our Senior Analyst gives us his top five things to know in financial markets on Wednesday February 12 including
New Coronavirus Cases Slow Again
Stocks Rise To Record Highs
Cisco NASDAQ CSCO Earnings
Oil Prices Rebound
Bernie Sanders Wins New Hampshire Primary Watch Now Here s What s Moving Markets Feb 12 Video
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CSCO | Dow Jones News Cisco Reports Today Disney Boosts Ticket Prices | Wednesday was another strong day for the Dow Jones Industrial Average DJINDICES DJI The Dow was up 0 69 at 11 30 a m EST even as the coronavirus outbreak that originated in China continued to spread More than 44 000 cases in China have now been confirmed and over 1 100 people have succumbed to the disease
Shares of tech giant Cisco Systems NASDAQ CSCO rose in the morning as the company prepared to report its quarterly results after market close Disney NYSE DIS stock was also up helped along by news of price hikes at the company s California resort
Cisco reports after market close
Networking hardware giant Cisco is scheduled to report its fiscal second quarter results this afternoon after the market closes The stock rose in anticipation up 1 1 in the morning
Cisco set the bar low when it issued its guidance as part of its first quarter report in November The company expects revenue to drop by 3 to 5 year over year in the second quarter ending a two year streak of growth
Cisco s customer base is sensitive to economic uncertainty The trade war between the U S and China as well as general angst about the global economy has led some customers to delay orders Cisco CEO Chuck Robbins said during the earnings call that they re seeing a bit of a pause from some customers with some deals pushed back and others downsized
This is nothing new for Cisco The last period of weak sales lasted about two years ending in the second quarter of 2018 Cisco has ramped up its software business and its recurring revenue streams since then so this cycle may not be quite as bad
Cisco expects to report non GAAP adjusted earnings per share between 0 75 and 0 77 in the second quarter up from 0 73 in the prior year period The per share earnings growth will be driven by share buybacks Cisco spent nearly 22 billion buying back its own shares in fiscal 2019
Whether Cisco stock rises or falls following the report will likely depend on the company s guidance If Cisco can sell the idea that this downturn won t be as bad as the last one that could be enough good news to propel the stock higher If guidance is weak the stock could come under some pressure
Disney raises ticket prices
All eyes have been on Disney s rapidly growing Disney streaming service which is taking on incumbent Netflix with a vast catalog of high quality content But it was Disney s parks that were in the news on Wednesday
Disney is raising admission prices at its Disneyland resort in California A single peak day ticket will now set you back 154 up from a previous price of 149 Prices for annual passes were also hiked The pricey Premier Passport now goes for 2 199 up 13 from one year ago according to Bloomberg Disney stock was up 0 6 Wednesday morning
Disney s parks experiences and products segment generated 26 2 billion of revenue in fiscal 2019 up 6 Higher guest spending was the main growth driver The company opened its Star Wars Galaxy s Edge attraction at its Florida and California parks last year which led to increased costs for the parks business
Disney has shown that it can continue to raise prices without deterring would be guests from visiting its parks There is a limit to Disney s pricing power though If the company takes the price hikes too far attendance could suffer |
CSCO | Cisco beats on earnings shares barely budge | Cisco beat expectations on the top and bottom lines for last quarter The stock fell 4 after hours as investors digested the company s lackluster growth Cisco shares are up just 5 in the past year way below the 22 for the S P 500 |
WMB | Israeli defense minister quits over Gaza truce in blow to Netanyahu | By Dan Williams NYSE WMB JERUSALEM Reuters Israeli Defence Minister Avigdor Lieberman announced his resignation on Wednesday in protest at a Gaza ceasefire that he called a capitulation to terror weakening Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu s conservative coalition government Were I to stay in office I would not be able to look southern residents in the eye Lieberman told reporters referring to Israelis subjected to a surge in Palestinian rocket attacks before Tuesday s truce took hold Lieberman said his resignation which will go into effect 48 hours after he submits a formal letter to Netanyahu also withdraws his far right Israel Beitenu party from the coalition Netanyahu will take over the defense portfolio himself his party said The loss of Israel Beitenu s five seats will leave him with control of just 61 of the 120 seats in parliament a year before Israel s next election Political commentators had speculated that Netanyahu who has high approval ratings despite being dogged by multiple corruption investigations might bring forward the ballot They also saw in Lieberman s decision to quit a bid to poach votes from Netanyahu and far right cabinet rival Naftali Bennett of the Jewish Home party ahead of an election Netanyahu s Likud played down the option of an early poll There is no need to go to an election during what is a sensitive period for national security This government can see out its days party spokesman Jonatan Urich said on Twitter CRACKS IN COALITION The cracks in the coalition could soon widen however In Jewish Home which has eight lawmakers there were calls for Bennett now education minister to succeed Lieberman as defense chief Bennett did not immediately comment Were he to withdraw from the ruling coalition a snap election would be inevitable But as defense minister he could be no less a thorn in Netanyahu s side than Lieberman Lieberman and Bennett have spoken in favor of harsh Israeli military action against Gaza s dominant Hamas Islamists even as the government authorized a Qatari cash infusion to the impoverished enclave last week and limited itself to air strikes rather than a wider campaign during this week s fighting Israel has fought three wars in Gaza since Hamas took over the enclave in 2007 Violence persisted on lower scale on Wednesday with Palestinians saying a Gaza fisherman was shot dead by Israeli forces An Israeli military spokeswoman said the troops across the border identified a suspect approaching the Gaza fence and opened fire at him In a separate incident the military said troops captured a Palestinian who tried to cut through the fence and threw grenades at them Netanyahu cast Israel s handling of Gaza as prudence Leadership also means standing up to criticism when you know things that are classified and which you cannot share with the public that you love he said in a speech Our enemies begged for a ceasefire and they know well why Hamas saw victory in the Lieberman s departure On Gaza City streets Palestinian burned Lieberman s photo and some motorists handed out candies to passersby in celebration Lieberman s resignation is a recognition of the defeat before the growing force of the Palestinian resistance said Hamas spokesman Sami Abu Zuhri It also showed a state of weakness that has overcome the Israelis
Born in the former Soviet Union Lieberman established an electoral base among fellow Russian speaking immigrants He also counts among his supporters other Israeli Jews who share his suspicions of Israel s Arab minority or oppose the religious authority and political clout of ultra Orthodox rabbis |
WMB | Former world number two Agnieszka Radwanska announces retirement | WARSAW Reuters Poland s Agnieszka Radwanska said on Wednesday that she has decided to end her 13 year long career due to health reasons The former world number two was the first Polish player to reach a Grand Slam singles final in the Open Era when she finished runner up to Serena Williams NYSE WMB at Wimbledon in 2012 The 29 year old who finished with 20 WTA titles was one of the most consistent players on tour finishing in top 10 rankings for six straight seasons between 2011 2016 However she has struggled for form and fitness over the recent campaign and has not lifted a title since October 2016 Unfortunately I am no longer able to train and play the way I used to and recently my body can t live up to my expectations Radwanska 29 said in a post on Facebook NASDAQ FB Taking into consideration my health and the heavy burdens of professional tennis I have to concede that I m not able to push my body to the limits required In addition to her Wimbledon final appearance Radwanska reached the semi finals of the Australian Open twice and won the season ending WTA Finals in 2015 I m hanging the racquet up and say goodbye to the pro tour but I m not leaving tennis she added
Tennis is and always has been special in my life But now it s time for new challenges new ideas equally as exciting as those on the tennis court I hope |
WMB | Suncor CEO to retire next year be replaced by COO | Reuters Suncor Energy Inc said on Wednesday its chief executive will retire mid next year with the company s chief operating officer taking over the top job at that time Steve Williams NYSE WMB who has been with the company for 16 years and CEO since 2012 will step down after Suncor s Annual General Meeting in May 2019 the Calgary based company said He will be replaced by COO Mark Little who was also named company president effective immediately Suncor said Little joined the company in 2008 and was appointed COO last year I m confident in Mark s ability to lead the company going forward said Williams in a statement He has significant experience business acumen passion and energy which will serve him and Suncor well
Suncor is Canada s second largest energy producer with a diversified portfolio of oil sand operations and refineries |
WMB | NFL notebook Big Ben never heard back from Bell | Pittsburgh Steelers quarterback Ben Roethlisberger revealed Wednesday that he texted Le Veon Bell ahead of the Tuesday deadline for Bell to sign his 14 5 million tender or sit out the season but never heard back from the running back I was hoping he was going to show up and if he decided not to I wished him nothing but the best Roethlisberger told reporters at his locker He was a great teammate and football player To each their own on what they want to walk away from When asked whether he could ever see himself missing a season of football while in his prime Roethlisberger said It would be tough Part of the great thing about this sport is this band of brothers this group of guys in here Being with them is kind of what keeps me coming back here just so many years too But like I said to each their own Each guy has their own motives and motivations and I can t comment on him Pittsburgh running back James Conner was a full participant in practice despite still being in concussion protocol according to NFL com Conner sustained the concussion Nov 8 in the Steelers 52 14 win over the Carolina Panthers Coach Mike Tomlin said he was hopeful Conner would play Sunday against the Jacksonville Jaguars He would need to clear concussion protocol by Saturday to be eligible Joey Bosa who has been sidelined all season with a foot injury returned to the practice field for the first time in more than two months Bosa and Los Angeles Chargers coach Anthony Lynn told reporters prior to practice that while he was very excited to see Bosa back on the practice field his participation would be limited There has been no indication whether Bosa has a chance to play Sunday against the Denver Broncos Lynn said The New Orleans Saints will lose left tackle Terron Armstead a key piece of their offensive line for the next three to four weeks according to NFL Network s Ian Rapoport Armstead reportedly sustained a pectoral injury in last week s win over the Cincinnati Bengals He is expected to be replaced in the lineup by Jermon Bushrod Armstead 27 was a third round pick by the Saints in 2013 and is considered among the best blindside protectors in the NFL Interim Cleveland Browns coach Gregg Williams NYSE WMB deserves to be considered for the permanent position general manager John Dorsey said Williams went 17 31 in Buffalo during his only other head coaching stint Dorsey hired in December 2017 fired former coach Hue Jackson on Oct 29 after a 2 5 1 start ESPN reported Dorsey will lead the search for Jackson s replacement with owners Jim and Dee Haslam signing off on the finalists Houston Texans running back D Onta Foreman has been removed from the physically unable to perform list and is set to practice for the first time this season Foreman has been recovering from a torn Achilles he sustained last November His removal from the PUP list opens a 21 day window in which he can practice with the team and the Texans can decide to either reinstate him to the roster or put him on the reserve injured list for the rest of the season While the Arizona Cardinals await MRI results on injured safety Budda Baker they signed a pair of corners to add some defensive depth Arizona added David Amerson on Tuesday night and Leonard Johnson on Wednesday Amerson 26 was a second round pick by the Washington Redskins in 2013 and also played for the Oakland Raiders Johnson 28 was an undrafted free agent when he entered the league with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers in 2012 He also spent time with the New England Patriots Carolina Panthers and Buffalo Bills The NFL has used its flexible scheduling option to move two December games to prime time
The league announced that it is moving the Los Angeles Chargers at Pittsburgh game on Dec 2 to the Sunday night slot and on Dec 9 the Los Angeles Rams will play at Chicago at 8 20 p m ET Field Level Media |
WMB | Broncos back from bye visit quietly contending Chargers | After being set adrift for nearly a month the Los Angeles Chargers finally return home this weekend to the NFL s smallest venue Five weeks four games two countries and the franchise s best nine game start since 2006 has brought unity as the Chargers enter Sunday s game against the Denver Broncos on a six game winning streak Their 7 2 record is just a notch below a trio of one loss NFL teams in the Kansas City Chiefs Los Angeles Rams and New Orleans Saints When you re traveling like that you have to build a bond with your teammates Chargers running back Melvin Gordon said It s just dope man because I m enjoying winning I m not gonna lie to you The plane rides back from the previous years guys were quieter they were in their own world Flying home Sunday night I was soaking it all in looking at everybody laughing After games at Cleveland London against the Tennessee Titans and Seattle last weekend s 55 minute flight home from Oakland was an easy one The game not so much The Chargers did just enough fighting off low energy to pull out a 20 6 victory against the Raiders The Broncos meanwhile have been trending in the opposite direction Denver has lost two consecutive games and six of its last seven but will be coming off a rejuvenating bye week that helped them to recover from some key injuries There is a sense that the Broncos might be closer to getting on a roll than their 3 6 record would suggest They took a tough 19 17 defeat to the Houston Texans last weekend while also enduing a pair of recent three point defeats to the Chiefs and Rams In between they thrashed the Arizona Cardinals 45 10 It s those one or two plays a game that we usually make that we haven t been making defensive end Derek Wolfe said We re losing a ton of close games That shows you that we re a lot better team than we were last year It s just one of those things where the ball doesn t roll our way sometimes We re losing by two or three points dumb penalties dumb mistakes and just things that we need to get cleaned up Us leaders need to step it up Injured Broncos players on offense that could return Sunday include running back Royce Freeman ankle and wide receiver DaeSean Hamilton knee Possible reinforcements for the defense include cornerback Bradley Roby knee and safety Darian Stewart neck Stewart Roby and Freeman all participated in practice Wednesday
Chargers defensive end Joey Bosa is getting closer to a return from a foot injury and was a limited participant in practice Wednesday Linebacker Kyle Emanuel hip defensive end Chris Landrum hip and defensive tackle Darius Philon ankle were full participants in practice Linebacker Kyle Emanuel hip and cornerback Trevor Williams NYSE WMB knee did not practice Field Level Media |
WMB | Take 5 Chiefs Rams take center stage | Monday night s battle between the Kansas City Chiefs and Los Angeles Rams is a doozy as just the fifth matchup since 1970 featuring two teams without multiple losses after Week 10 The victor might just be whoever has the ball last but each offense has issues to address 1 K C must protect Mahomes An injury plagued O line finally cracked last week in protection allowing five sacks and seven hits of Patrick Mahomes Several came from mental breakdowns which Andy Reid called a learning opportunity for an inexperienced group Even so Reid would be wise to ease the burden on fill ins Andrew Wylie and Austin Reiter on Monday The Chiefs tackles should hold up fine but Aaron Donald Ndamukong Suh and Michael Brockers could feast inside if K C keeps throwing so often 34 5 attempts per game Instead the Chiefs should go run heavy against a front allowing an NFL worst 5 2 yards per carry including 5 6 a pop since Week 7 Donald looks more patient and disciplined versus the run this year but he doesn t have the frame to dictate against double teams Suh can be hit or miss either stonewalling a double or getting washed out of the play More concerning slender linebackers Cory Littleton and Mark Barron struggle to get free when O linemen reach the second level Reid helps linemen do that by shrewdly manufacturing light boxes He loves stacking or bunching wideouts and tight ends out wide forcing a linebacker to shade outside Reid then gets five blockers on five box defenders by using arc releases and zone read and jet sweep fakes often with a pass option built in These tactics become even more effective against two high safety looks which Tyreek Hill s speed often mandates The Chiefs also should consider more fake screen and go concepts which they ve used surprisingly little despite running so many bubble screens Executed properly they could punish an aggressive secondary Also worth noting Reid exploited Wade Phillips stingy Broncos defenses in 2015 and 16 averaging 29 0 points and scoring at least 24 in four meetings 2 How will the Rams fill Cooper Kupp s void L A scored 58 points from Weeks 7 8 without Kupp and many expect the offense to keep humming with Josh Reynolds stepping in But there s no doubt Kupp s torn ACL will have ripple effects As detailed in our Week 2 film study Kupp isn t just a great route runner with sure hands He also thrives as a featured blocker often lining up inline like a tight end and a key play action cog diligently selling the run with patient and crafty releases Robert Woods also excels in these areas but Reynolds likely won t meet that standard a concern for an offense that relies heavily on play action Sean McVay might stray some from his beloved 11 personnel one RB one TE three WRs used on 95 percent of snaps this year for more two TE sets only 15 snaps total The Rams planned as much entering the season before explosive but raw sophomore Gerald Everett shoulder missed the preseason They could sprinkle it in now although it might hurt the run game Everett s a shaky blocker and two tight ends would invite more crowded boxes But that won t hurt Monday night if it means more snaps against Chiefs linebacker Reggie Ragland A ferocious banger against downhill runs Ragland struggles on the move against outside zone the bedrock of L A s run game and is highly susceptible in coverage If K C prefers more speed rangy but undisciplined rookie Dorian O Daniel or dime safety Daniel Sorensen will play alongside Anthony Hitchens 3 Can the Bears D handle a bigger stage After quietly impressing in 2017 Chicago s defense blossomed with Khalil Mack s arrival Four man pressure weaponizes coordinator Vic Fangio s slew of disguised zone coverages blurring quarterbacks reads and creating bountiful turnover opportunities But takeaways are inherently fickle and the Bears pilfered troves from terrible teams 11 of 24 via the Cardinals Dolphins and Bills Frankly Chicago has faced few formidable offenses and leaked badly against Tom Brady and a gimpy Aaron Rodgers Kirk Cousins is playing mentally sharper than ever and reading the field well in coordinator John DeFilippo s scheme He has just five interceptions on 363 attempts 1 4 percent well below 2 4 career average with two hitting his receivers hands and one due to miscommunication His top weapons Adam Thielen and Stefon Diggs are rarely pinned down one on one and both know how to settle into voids to beat zone coverage The Bears must turn the tide up front Rookie right tackle Brian O Neill who took Rashod Hill s job will need extensive help against Mack meaning Leonard Floyd and Aaron Lynch will have opportunities against struggling left tackle Riley Reiff Inside Akiem Hicks Eddie Goldman and Roy Robertson Harris should exploit a battered trio Game script will be critical If Cousins Co take an early lead and aren t forced into obvious passing situations they should win the battle 4 Beginning of the end for Washington Jay Gruden s club deserves tremendous credit for a 6 3 start and its two game NFC East lead might hold up But the Skins point and yardage differentials plus 1 and minus 212 respectively portray a mediocre team and if regression doesn t catch up to them their offensive line injuries probably will The run game 4 6 yards per carry survived Sunday against the Bucs without left tackle Trent Williams NYSE WMB and guards Brandon Scherff and Shawn Lauvao but Washington managed only 286 yards against a defense that s allowed 414 3 per game against all others Williams will eventually return but Scherff due for a monster extension this offseason by the way and Lauvao are done for the year That s bad news with J J Watt Jadeveon Clowney and the Texans top ranked run defense 3 6 yards per carry visiting Sunday especially for a team so reliant on running the ball and playing from ahead Remarkably Washington has seen zero lead changes in nine games a statistical oddity that nonetheless speaks to the team s limitations Washington s defense remains stingy but if the offense can t run efficiently Alex Smith will have to throw more while facing more pressure It s hard to see that ending well either on Sunday or down the stretch this season 5 Battered Eagles secondary draws a brutal matchup Helping Washington however is that division rival Philadelphia could be staring at a 4 6 record Already without safety Rodney McLeod MCL IR and cornerbacks Jalen Mills foot and Sidney Jones hamstring Philly lost Ronald Darby ACL for the season last week Jones should return Sunday but the paper thin secondary now must face the fire breathing Saints With the terrifying combo of Michael Thomas and Alvin Kamara Drew Brees and Sean Payton barely even need other proven weapons After newly signed Dez Bryant tore his Achilles before playing a game the Saints promoted Keith Kirkwood and promptly sprung the undrafted rookie in his first NFL game for a wide open 42 yard catch on a throwback design
The Eagles D line could exploit Terron Armstead s absence shoulder to limit the damage but Brees delivers so quickly it probably won t matter Philadelphia s offense might need to score 40 points to keep the Eagles from falling two games below 500 David DeChant Field Level Media |
WMB | More U S states could swarm into legal sports betting next year | By Hilary Russ WASHINGTON Reuters At least a dozen more U S states could legalize sports betting in the coming year and up to eight could have operational sports books ready to take wagers before the start of the 2019 football season industry experts said at a conference on Thursday In addition to the five states where legal sports wagering is up and running another four to eight will probably be accepting bets by the coming football season Jake Williams NYSE WMB Sportradar Group s vice president of legal and regulatory affairs told Reuters in an interview after a conference co sponsored by the sports data provider The surge comes after the U S Supreme Court in a May ruling overturned a 1992 law that had barred it in most places allowing states to legalize regulate and tax sports bets Within 24 months there could be a total of 24 states offering legal sports betting Williams said Fans can now wager legally on sporting events in New Jersey West Virginia and Mississippi as well as Nevada and Delaware which were grandfathered into the 1992 law banning the activity in the rest of the country Pennsylvania and Rhode Island are expected to roll out live betting soon and one tribal casino in New Mexico has begun operating a sportsbook without the need for state legislation The casino industry bookmakers and sport leagues think the states that could close in on legislation or new regulations by the end of 2019 include Arkansas Connecticut Florida Kentucky Illinois Indiana Missouri New York Ohio Oregon and others Michigan which has both tribal and commercial casinos as well as a lottery could be among those states Michigan state Representative Brandt Iden said at the conference that he expects a bill introduced last year to allow mobile gaming to soon pass and he hopes it will be signed by the governor by the end of this year That would allow Michigan to implement a statutory framework for sports betting next year then combine it with this year s legislation so both online and retail sportsbooks could roll out at once Iden chairman of the Regulatory Reform Committee would consider including integrity fees paid to sports leagues a portion of sports betting revenue to help them fight game fixing The casino industry opposes the fees and no other state has passed legislation that includes them Iden told Reuters he changed his mind on the fees after spending significant time with the leagues
In other countries there is some sort of fee he said There s a place for that |
VZ | T Mobile Is Getting A Deal On Sprint But There s A Not So Good Reason | Summary
The final price for this deal is slightly above Sprint s raw book value assets liabilities
T Mobile US Inc NASDAQ TMUS is getting Sprint for less than Sprint s enterprise value
But Sprint is not exactly an unvarnished gem
This idea was discussed in more depth with members of my private investing community
The big news today is that T Mobile will buy Sprint Corp NYSE S for 26 5 billion
T Mobile US Inc and Sprint Corp agreed to combine in a 26 5 billion merger creating a wireless giant to compete against industry leaders AT T Inc NYSE T and Verizon Communications Inc NYSE VZ
Deutsche Telekom AG DE DTEGn the Bonn Germany based company that controls T Mobile and SoftBank Group Corp OTC SFTBY the Tokyo based owner of Sprint agreed to a combination that values each Sprint share at 0 10256 of a T Mobile share the companies said in a statement Sunday That ratio values Sprint at 6 62 a share based on T Mobile s Friday closing price of 64 52
As I ll show below T Mobile is getting a good deal But that s because Sprint just isn t that great of a company
What s Sprint really worth Let s start with book value assets liabilities This is the most basic valuation measurement available
data from Morningstar com author s calculations
All I ve done here is to subtract total assets from total liabilities in blue According to this measure Sprint is worth 18 8 billion which makes the 26 6 billion bid 141 higher than Sprint s 2017 book value I ve added a second calculation above in red where I remove goodwill from the measure Personally I detest goodwill If you ask 10 different accountants what a company s goodwill is you will get 10 answers Using that calculation book value at the end of 2017 was 12 2 billion which means T Mobile paid more than twice Sprint s book value Regardless of which measurement you use the total cost is at a premium But paying 1 5x 2x book value for one of the four major cell phone companies isn t really that pricey
Next up let s look at Sprint s market capitalization According to Finviz com Sprint has 3 71 billion shares outstanding At 6 share that s 22 6 billion Again T Mobile is paying a premium but not much above current market value
Let s next look at where we also include total debt and cash in the calculation for the sake of simplicity I m skipping the preferred and minority interest parts of the equation just to keep this back of the envelope friendly According to Sprint s latest balance sheet they have 35 billion in debt and 8 3 billion in cash Assuming Sprint s debt is trading at par the company s enterprise value is 48 90 billion 22 26 35 8 3 Even if we assume that Sprint s debt is trading at 50 cents on the dollar Sprint s enterprise value is 31 46 billion 22 26 17 5 8 3 This is a far more complete value measurement and shows that T Mobile is getting a pretty good deal
But the final amount is low fora very a very important reason Sprint has problems I compared the four major wireless carriers a few months ago and
Sprint has posted a net loss for each of the last three years top row While not encouraging it s not the end of the analysis plenty of companies have net losses yet still generate sufficient cash to fund operations After adding and subtracting various items we find that for the last three years Sprint s operations have been cash flow positive But after subtracting the company s two largest investments network and leased devices cash flow is once again negative This means that financing has provided Sprint s new cash for the last three years which has resulted in total long term debt increasing from 37 to 42 of total assets from 2016 2017 Interest payments as a percent of gross revenue are also increasing totaling 5 94 6 78 and 7 48 in fiscal 2015 2016 and 2017 respectively
Here s a chart of the basic problem Sprint is facing
Data from Morningstar com author s calculation
There are three categories of cash flow on the cash flow statement The first is cash from operations This category shows how much actual cash as in physical dollars the company s operations generate over a twelve month period The second category is cash spent on investments which shows the company s capital outlays If the company is very profitable it can self fund investment which ultimately means it doesn t have to get third party financing to continue as a going concern But if a company is cash poor it needs third party cash on a regular basis And that is Sprint s real problem every year they needed to either issue debt issue equity or get a loan to get cash They chose debt
In three of the last five years Sprint issued an average of 5 4 billion dollars of debt This situation is unsustainable at some point the debt burden becomes too high for the company
This is the reason why Sprint would eventually be sold And it also means that while T Mobile gets Sprint s customer base and network assets they re also buying some problems
This post is not an offer to buy or sell this security It is also not specific investment advice for a recommendation for any specific person
Disclosure I we have no positions in any stocks mentioned and no plans to initiate any positions within the next 72 hours
I wrote this article myself and it expresses my own opinions I am not receiving compensation for it other than from Seeking Alpha I have no business relationship with any company whose stock is mentioned in this article |
VZ | Sprint T Mobile Merge To Form 100 Million Customer Network Good Deal | Following much speculation and several aborted attempts Sprint Corp NYSE S and T Mobile US Inc NASDAQ TMUS agreed to merge in a 26 billion deal
The which regulators still must approve would leave the U S wireless market dominated by three national players
The all stock deal would combine Sprint which has a market value of 26 billion with T Mobile which has a market value of 55 billion based on Friday s closing prices The two companies also have about 60 billion of combined net debt
Under the terms of the deal T Mobile will exchange 9 75 Sprint shares for each T Mobile share T Mobile parent Deutsche Telekom DE DTEGn will own 42 of the combined company and Sprint parent SoftBank Group will own 27 The remaining 31 will be held by the public
Deutsche Telekom would also control voting rights over 69 of the new company and appoint nine of its 14 directors The companies said they hope to close the deal in the first half of 2019
Joining forces would create a wireless provider with nearly 100 million cellphone customers second only in the U S to Verizon Communications Inc NYSE VZ The combined company which would be called T Mobile would be run by T Mobile CEO John Legere
This isn t a case of going from 4 to 3 wireless companies there are now at least 7 or 8 big competitors in this converging market Mr Legere said on Sunday The companies also vowed to boost hiring and spending in the U S after the transaction
Sprint and T Mobile executives could make the case that times have changed Investments in 5G infrastructure could blur the lines between cellphone provider cable company and technology firm Even using current technologies Comcast Corp NASDAQ CMCSA has rolled out low cost wireless service to its cable customers that rides on Verizon s network
Dish Network Corp led by its chairman Charlie Ergen meanwhile is building a bare bones wireless network that could be used to link autonomous cars drones and other machines aside from cellphones Companies could use that project to argue there are more than four nationwide wireless companies though it would be a harder sell if Dish avoids directly competing with Sprint and T Mobile
Capital Spending
The companies pledged Sunday to invest up to 40 billion on its network and business in the first three years after the deal closes But the companies which would employ about 200 000 people and own thousands of retail stores will also be looking to cut costs On Sunday they projected savings totalling 6 billion in annual costs
Rolling out 5G services will require heavy investment in cellular spectrum and installing hundreds of thousands of antennas around the country which gave new impetus to Sprint and T Mobile executives to join forces
AT T NYSE T said it will devote at least 23 billion to capital spending this year excluding some investments in a new public safety network Verizon said it plans to spend at least 17 billion on capital expenditures in 2018 Both budgets are well ahead of Sprint and T Mobile which each spend under 10 billion a year on construction electronics and the like
Left alone the spending gap will only widen as companies rush to install 5G equipment You can t win a race by having half the horses said Roger Entner an analyst for telecom consultant Recon Analytics Inc
Winning the race wouldn t come cheap Consulting firm Accenture estimates that U S telecom companies together could invest 275 billion over the next seven years to deploy the next generation wireless technology
Wireless Employment
Capital spending will create jobs but employment at the companies will likely decline sharply Retail stores will close Operations sales staffs and technical support operations will merge
Good Deal for Customers
Is this a good deal for customers
Of course How can it not be
Both T Mobile and Sprint customers will have increased coverage
I wish all the networks could share towers such that coverage was universal It seems ridiculous for each network to have to build their own towers When appropriate why not share
Press Release
The cites these benefits
With Sprint s expansive 2 5 GHz spectrum T Mobile s nationwide 600 MHz spectrum and other combined assets the New T Mobile plans to create the highest capacity mobile network in U S history Compared to T Mobile s network today the combined company s network is expected to deliver 15x faster speeds on average nationwide by 2024 with many customers experiencing up to 100x faster speeds than early 4G
Neither company standing alone can create a nationwide 5G network with the breadth and depth required to fuel the next wave of mobile Internet innovation in the U S and answer competitive challenges from abroad
Neither can AT T and Verizon in the near term even though they will still respectively own 34 and 172 more spectrum than the combined company Even with their vast resources AT T and Verizon cannot rapidly build nationwide 5G and their planned 5G networks will only be available sporadically in just a handful of very limited areas To build nationwide 5G they either have to kick current customers off LTE which would take years or use a type of spectrum millimeter wave that can only carry a signal 2 000 feet from a cell site versus multiple miles for other spectrum making it nearly impossible for either of them to create a truly nationwide 5G network quickly
Ubiquitous high speed 5G service and Internet of Things IoT capabilities will ignite innovation across industries and create the conditions for U S firms and innovators to lead the globe in the 5G era
Going from 4G to 5G is like going from black and white to color TV added Claure It s a seismic shift one that only the combined company can unlock nationwide to fuel the next wave of mobile innovation
5G for All will unleash incredible benefits and capabilities for consumers and businesses Imagine for example augmented reality heads up displays that see everything you do and provide real time cloud driven information about the people and objects around you Imagine never losing anything again because low cost sensors with decade long battery life are embedded in everything you own Imagine an earpiece providing real time translation as a friend speaks to you in another language Imagine environmental sensors in infrastructure and for agriculture having a profound impact on productivity
Wireless broadband and video markets are rapidly converging AT T is now the largest TV provider in the country Comcast added more wireless phone customers last year than AT T and Verizon combined and Charter is launching wireless this year And more than 1 in 10 Americans 12 use wireless as their only Internet or broadband connection freeing themselves from the grip of the traditional uncompetitive in home broadband providers
Message to Regulators
That last paragraph above is clearly a message to regulators telling them not to fear going from four wireless providers to three while conveniently sniping at ATT s TV service
Traveler Woes
As a traveler I frequently find that my phone does not work When I travel with my wife Liz usually one of our phones work I am on ATT and she is on Verizon
Service in some national parks is nonexistent I just returned from a trip to Arches and Canyonlands There is essentially no cell service Curiously there was cell service at Delicate Arch reachable by a 3 mile round trip hike that starts deep in the interior of the park It s an uphill trek and the elevelation change must have put it in sight of tower
When I last went to Death Valley ATT worked in a few spots but not Verizon In Glacier National Park nothing worked anywhere It is a real pain |
VZ | Could There Be Another Winner In The T Mobile Sprint Deal | A Cellular Mega Merger
Cellular giants T Mobile and Sprint announced their intention to merge on Sunday in a deal that would create a new company to remain named T Mobile with a combined customer base of 125 million customers putting it in the league of AT T NYSE T with 141M subscribers and Verizon with 150 million
The deal is certain to face stiff regulatory scrutiny because it would reduce the number of large carriers from 4 to 3 potentially stifling competition T Mobile CEO John Legere who will lead the new company if the deal goes through said in a conference call on Sunday and reiterated in several Television interviews on Monday that because of the scale of the combined enterprise they could potentially offer improved service and lower prices forcing the other big networks to compete on price
Legere claims that the merger will create thousands of jobs He also points to the larger company s ability to compete with Chinese competition in establishing 5G networks an argument that s likely to be popular with the business friendly the Trump administration The Federal Communications Commission and The Justice Department are likely to view the proposed deal with skepticism however as the typical reasons for large mergers are a reduction in expenses and an increase in pricing power contrary to how Legere portrays the deal
Fifth Place to Fourth
If the deal is approved and completed it seems likely that the three remaining major carriers would enjoy reduced competition and could potentially raise prices and or limit service offerings to increase profitability Another carrier could be an unlikely beneficiary of the merger U S Cellular
Currently the nation s fifth largest carrier with 5 million customers U S Cellular has considerably less network coverage that its larger competitors and relies on roaming agreements to provide coast to coast coverage
Rising prices for cellular service could either allow U S Cellular to raise its own prices or could also encourage disgruntled customers of the big carriers to seek out lower priced alternatives
U S Cellular has been on an earnings win streak of late beating the Zacks Consensus estimate in three of the last four quarters and meeting expectations in the fourth Analyst estimates going forward are rising with expectations that they will report 0 29 share when they report tomorrow up 123 from the 0 13 that was expected just 90 days ago
Full year earnings estimates have risen as well currently standing at 0 82 share 42 higher than the 0 58 share U S Cellular posted in 2017 USM earns a Zacks Rank 1 Strong Buy
Getting Creative
While the big mergers tend to dominate press coverage when deals are announced savvy investors look for smaller companies that stand to benefit as well U S Cellular could certainly be one of those companies |
VZ | Verizon Keen To Lease Data Center For 5G Push In Sacramento | Verizon Communications Inc NYSE VZ is in talks with Sacramento to lease the 5 000 square foot property near City Hall as a data center which once housed the city s information technology department in 2014 The property has been lying vacant since then City spokesperson Marycon Young feels that the space located in Suite 190 of the City Hall garage on I Street between 10th and 11th streets is already equipped with the necessary infrastructure eliminating the need for a large scale upgrade Push for 5G Initiative in Sacramento Though Young confirmed that the city is in talks with Verizon about leasing the property she declined to comment on whether this data center will be tied to the partnership between Verizon and the city to establish 5G wireless service and smart city technology in Sacramento The partnershipallows the company to install more than 100 small cell towers around Sacramento to initiate its 5G cellular service Under the partnership 27 city parks are to be covered with free WiFi and smart city technology is to be established across the city to make the streets safer Verizon had expressed interest in the property back in early 2017 when the 5G partnership was on the verge of getting finalized Verizon plans to launch next generation 5G wireless residential broadband services in three to five U S markets in 2018 The first commercial launch is scheduled in Sacramento CA in the second half of 2018 Additional details of this launch and the announcement of other markets will be unveiled later During the first application of 5G wireless network Verizon will be using millimeter wave spectrum radio signals instead of copper or fiber cables to provide customers with unmatched wireless speeds for Internet access Verizon has started conducting field trials for its upcoming 5G wireless network with partners The company is looking at mobile hotspot and home based fixed wireless for initial deployment of the next generation 5G wireless networks in the U S in 2018 A full phased 5G wireless network is likely to be offered in 2020 Verizon s returns have been fluctuating for the past three months On an average it was below or on par with the general decline of the One of the reasons for this performance was the drop in Verizon s postpaid phone customers However toward the end of April Verizon saw a relative improvement with an average loss of 2 3 for the past three months compared with a decline of 6 7 for the industry Whether the new lease will act as a center to carry out the 5G initiative is still unconfirmed However if it holds true it is likely to attract more investors and boost shares Zacks Rank and Stocks to ConsiderVerizon currently has a Zacks Rank 3 Hold Some better ranked stocks in the space are BlackBerry Limited NYSE BB and TIM Participacoes S A NYSE TSU sporting a Zacks Rank 1 Strong Buy and SITO Mobile Ltd NASDAQ SITO holding a Zacks Rank 2 Buy You can see BlackBerry has an expected long term earnings growth rate of 18 56 TIM has an expected long term earnings growth rate of 32 98 SITO Mobile has an expected long term earnings growth rate of 25 5 Medical Stocks to Buy NowZacks names 5 companies poised to ride a medical breakthrough that is targeting cures for leukemia AIDS muscular dystrophy hemophilia and other conditions New products in this field are already generating substantial revenue and even more wondrous treatments are in the pipeline Early investors could realize exceptional profits |
VZ | Sprint Stays Relevant For Baby Boomers With Affordable Plan | Sprint NYSE S has announced the launch of Unlimited 55 which offers affordable unlimited data plans to customers of age 55 and above This will bring Sprint on par with T Mobile US Inc NYSE S which launched an unlimited data plan for senior citizens in August last year Sprint s Move to Catch Up With CompetitorsSprint one of the leaders of the U S telecom industry has an impressive history of evolving constantly to meet various customer requirements The United States is typically an aging population and older people will likely outnumber children for the first time in the history by 2035 according to new projections by the Census Bureau As more and more seniors enter the smartphone market the need to devise new data plans to target this set of customers keeps rising Naturally a higher proportion of users falling in this age group are retirees with ample leisure time and limited disposable income This makes it important for telecom companies to design customized unlimited data plans However Sprint is already behind its strongest competitors like Verizon Communications Inc NYSE VZ and T Mobile when it comes to senior customer base Its new plan offers unlimited data talk and text and is available over two lines 50 per month and 20 per month This brings the dual line plan for senior customers at 70 per month compared with the 100 for the regular dual line plan Customers can also choose to purchase just one line for 50 per month This plan supports global roaming and includes mobile hotspot data facility at 3G speed Sprint s Unlimited 55 plan offers almost the same benefits as its counterpart One Unlimited 55 by T Mobile The only difference lies in the roaming data speeds where Sprint offers a speed ceiling of 50 kbps whereas T Mobile offers 128 kbps This plan is expected to bring back lost customers for Sprint and prevent current customers from switching to other networks Price PerformanceIn the past three months the stock has lost 4 4 on an average compared with a decline of 5 1 for the Whether the strategic Unlimited 55 plan can boost Sprint s performance remains to be seen Zacks Rank and A Stock to ConsiderSprint currently has a Zacks Rank 3 Hold A better ranked stock in the space is BlackBerry Limited NYSE BB sporting a Zacks Rank 1 Strong Buy You can see BlackBerry has an expected long term earnings growth rate of 18 6 Looking for Stocks with Skyrocketing Upside Zacks has just released a Special Report on the booming investment opportunities of legal marijuana Ignited by new referendums and legislation this industry is expected to blast from an already robust 6 7 billion to 20 2 billion in 2021 Early investors stand to make a killing but you have to be ready to act and know just where to look |
VZ | Verizon media chief departing after not getting top job | By David Shepardson WASHINGTON Reuters Verizon Communication Inc N VZ media chief Marni Walden confirmed on Tuesday she had decided to leave the telecommunications company next year after it became clear she would not become its next chief executive Walden executive vice president and president of global media also said at a Fortune conference in Washington that her planned departure announced last week had nothing to do with Verizon s earlier announcement that a data breach at Yahoo NASDAQ AABA affected 3 billion accounts three times what the company said in December I am going to take a risk and I am going to go do something different she said In a brief interview after the event Walden said she did not have another job lined up She has a one year non compete she noted which she joked will require her to take a forced vacation Walden the company s top ranking female executive played a big role in Verizon s acquisition of Yahoo and its merger with AOL to create the Oath unit The plan for Oath she said is to be a relevant third player in this space and be a relevant player in the advertising market Walden who was seen as a potential successor to Chief Executive Lowell McAdam will move into a strategic adviser role from Dec 31 until her departure in February 2018 Yahoo said last week that all 3 billion of its user accounts were hacked in a 2013 data theft Walden defended the company s due diligence review of the Yahoo purchase and noted the company ultimately paid 350 million less than initially announced for Yahoo s core assets Walden most recently spearheaded Verizon s entry into global digital media and telematics
Hans Vestberg the former chief executive of Ericsson BS ERICAs who joined Verizon earlier this year and John Stratton head of the company s customer and product operations team are also seen as potential successors to McAdam |
VZ | T Mobile Sprint deal likely opposed by Justice Dept staff sources | By Diane Bartz WASHINGTON Reuters When Sprint and T Mobile bring their expected merger plans to the U S Department of Justice for antitrust review the career staff who do the bulk of the probe into whether the deal will hurt customers will likely recommend that it be stopped three people familiar with their thinking told Reuters The deal between the U S third and fourth largest U S wireless carriers likely to be announced later this month is set to test how antitrust enforcers will approach big deals under the administration of President Donald Trump who is seen as pro business but also ran a populist campaign aimed at the worries of ordinary Americans The Justice Department s main concern is how the deal would affect competition in the U S mobile sector Antitrust staff will want to let T Mobile continue as it has done aggressively wooing customers away from market leaders Verizon Communications Inc N VZ and AT T Inc N T the people said T Mobile touts itself as the fastest growing U S wireless company and its annual report lists enticements to attract customers like paying termination fees for new customers who leave their old company If combined T Mobile U S Inc O TMUS and Sprint Corp N S would have more than half the market for pre paid plans favored by people with little or poor credit which will likely figure in competition considerations Losing that head to head competition could drive up prices for those on a more limited income said Gene Kimmelman president of Public Knowledge a consumer advocacy group Sprint and T Mobile agreed on tentative terms on a plan to merge in late September sources said But it is not clear the deal will be any more successful than three years ago when Japan s SoftBank Group Corp T 9984 which controls Sprint abandoned talks to acquire T Mobile for Sprint in the face of opposition from U S antitrust regulators An informal poll of seven antitrust experts contacted by Reuters found them split between predicting that the deal would be stopped and saying they did not know if it would be allowed A tiny fraction of deals are blocked As influential as the career staff is the final decision will lie with Trump s antitrust enforcer at the Justice Department Makan Delrahim and the Federal Communications Commission Deutsche Bank DE DBKGn analysts said in a research note this week they were very bearish on the prospects for deal approval citing not only regulatory risk but also political opposition from Democrats to deals that could threaten U S consumers If the agencies decide to try to stop the merger they have ammunition The U S wireless market is dominated by Verizon with about 146 million wireless customers and AT T with nearly 135 million T Mobile is third with 71 5 million and Sprint is No 4 with 58 5 million according to Fierce Wireless which collects and analyzes wireless market data Together the four have 98 8 percent of the U S wireless market T Mobile dominates the prepaid market Combining with Sprint would give it 56 percent of the market to provide wireless to people who tend to be poorer or have no or bad credit according to John Fletcher an analyst with S P Global One point in the deal s favor is that the mobile market is competitive Between August 2016 and August 2017 wireless telephone services prices fell a stunning 13 2 percent according to the U S Bureau of Labor Statistics
Chances are better now meaningfully better that the deal will win approval said Daniel Bitton an antitrust attorney with Axinn Veltrop and Harkrider |
VZ | Reuters DOJ career staff likely to urge rejection of Sprint T Mobile | Career staff at the Justice Dept charged with investigating the impact of a merger between Sprint S 0 8 and T Mobile TMUS 0 1 are likely to recommend against it sources tell Reuters Staffers are likely to push for allowing T Mobile to keep doing what it s doing using aggressive promotion to soak up customers from Verizon VZ 0 6 and AT T T 0 8 as a stand alone company One consideration they ll likely weigh heavily is that a combined Sprint T Mobile would have more than half the prepaid market a factor that could drive up prices for more limited income consumers that favor prepaid plans While a fraction of deals end up blocked T Mobile and Sprint were headed off from a 2014 merger by regulatory opposition and observers think there is a good chance that any deal announced this month would head for the same fate On the other hand the FCC recently declared the market competitive and government stats show wireless phone prices have fallen an impressive 13 2 from August 2016 August 2017 Previously Bearish on merger talk Deutsche Bank DE DBKGn trims Sprint T Mobile targets Oct 10 2017 Previously Son approach may mean positives in Sprint T Mobile regardless of deal valuation Oct 07 2017 Previously Bloomberg Sprint T Mobile on final approach for deal this month Oct 06 2017 Now read |
VZ | Wireless upgrade would give Yellowstone a black eye environmentalists | By Laura Zuckerman PINEDALE Wyoming Reuters A U S government proposal to improve cellphone service at Yellowstone National Park including the installation of microwave dish antennas will mar views at one of the park s most scenic spots Mt Washburn an environmental group said on Thursday The nation s oldest and arguably most famous park in the western United States is poised to become an electronic hub in violation of its mission to preserve its natural cultural and wildlife resources Public Employees for Environmental Responsibility said The summit of Mt Washburn has been the biggest destination for hikers and now it s going to be like hiking to a telecommunications bunker PEER head Jeff Ruch said by telephone At this point we would not be surprised if Yellowstone renamed the peak Mt Verizon At issue is a plan by Yellowstone to boost cellular coverage bandwidth and other digital information services by erecting a steel lattice structure to mount microwave dish antennas around an historic fire lookout atop Mt Washburn the second highest peak and a popular hiking destination in a park that sits mostly in Wyoming The project would relocate equipment attached to the lookout which is on the National Register of Historic Places to the new metal structure and also install two vaults to hold four additional microwave antennas according to Yellowstone documents Yellowstone officials have previously said it wants to protect the wilderness but also enhance the experience for the millions of visitors the park draws annually to see such natural features as Old Faithful Geyser and the wildlife Yellowstone spokesman Jonathan Shafer said the proposed project which is awaiting Wyoming state approval would improve the park s wireless infrastructure through a 20 fold increase in the bandwidth currently provided by Verizon Communications Inc NYSE VZ It will also have the benefits of moving telecommunications equipment from the lookout and improving access to reliable cell service for visitors and park staff Shafer said in an email The National Park Service has been pushing to expand digital coverage and capacity to appeal to tech savvy generations who want to use mobile devices to share photos and experiences with friends and family according to testimony last month by National Park Service Deputy Director Lena McDowall before a congressional panel
Connectivity has also proved critical to protecting public safety during emergencies Ultimately we and our partners need connectivity to operate parks more efficiently she said at the September 27 hearing of the U S Senate Committee on Energy and Natural Resources |
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