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WFC | Wells Fargo Takes A Hit What Now For Dividend Investors | If there is one thing I have it is to expect the unexpected
Life is filled with uncertainty and surprises and companies in our investment portfolios are no different
I steer clear of most investment opportunities because they are outside of my limited circle of competence
For this reason I largely avoid the financial sector because I have no good way of understanding the quality of loans on a bank s balance sheet or an insurer s level of underwriting risk
Given the opaque nature of most financial firms financial statements any investment requires a lot of trust in the management team to appropriately price and manage risk
Financial leverage used by banks and insurance companies cuts both ways and can be absolutely disastrous when management gets risk wrong surely no one will ever forget the financial crisis
Wells Fargo NYSE WFC is one of the only bank stocks I have been comfortable enough to invest in
I liked Wells Fargo because of its stellar reputation for managing risk conservative business model for a bank and cost advantages stemming from its large base of deposits
However Wells Fargo s reputation has come under pressure over the last week in light of the bank s illegal actions to open unauthorized customer accounts
What Did Wells Fargo Do Wrong Wells Fargo employees opened over 2 million deposit and credit card accounts that may not have been authorized by customers over the last five years The company gained 2 6 million in fees from the fraud and was fined 185 million by regulators
Wells Fargo is known for its cross selling practices The company tracks its retail products sold per household in its annual reports and it clearly maintained an overly aggressive incentive policy that encouraged many branch employees to break the rules
Fraudulent activity is inexcusable The difficult judgment call that needs to be made now is how systemic this issue is across the entire company As long term investors the last thing we want to do is invest our capital with management teams lacking ethics
At the end of 2015 Wells Fargo had 264 700 active employees including around 100 000 employees in its retail branches
The 5 300 employees fired by the company over the last five years represent 2 of its total workforce and around 5 of its branch workers
If the firings were spread evenly over the course of five years around 0 4 of its total employee base was laid off annually as fraudulent activity was detected
Wells Fargo gained 2 6 million in extra fees from the fraud which represents 0 0064 of the firm s non interest income last year and 0 003 of the company s total income
With over 40 million retail customers and 70 million total customers less than 5 of these customers would have potentially been impacted by the fraud if we assume all 2 million accounts were unauthorized and no customer received more than one fraudulent account
It seems more likely that multiple unauthorized accounts were given to each impacted customer which would reduce the potential reach of the fraud to less than 2 of all retail customers
Don t get me wrong I am absolutely not condoning Wells Fargo s behavior or trying to excuse its horrendous actions I am just providing a look at the issue in the grand scheme of Wells Fargo s total operations
Someone should have detected the incentive plans that led to repeated fraudulent activity There s no doubt about that
However I also feel it is overly harsh to assume the entire 164 year old organization is corrupt given the magnitude of this issue relative to the whole enterprise
The rest of the banking industry isn t exactly filled with angels either not that it makes Wells Fargo s behavior any less despicable Banks have paid over 200 billion in fines and settlements since 2009 Another article puts the figure even higher Wells Fargo still remains the cleanest of its big bank brothers
The Senate holds a hearing on Tuesday September 20 to grill Wells Fargo s CEO John Stumpf over the fake customer accounts and the bank s aggressive sales culture
Beyond that investors will be watching to see if executive management changes are deemed to be needed how many customers will switch banks and what impact Wells Fargo s decision to temporarily scrap its retail sales goals will have on future profits Is Wells Fargo s Dividend Still Safe Yes I believe the firm s dividend remains very safe Wells Fargo agreed to pay 185 million to settle with regulators This amount represents 0 8 of the company s total net income last fiscal year
Beyond the fine we don t yet know the impact if any from current customers leaving the bank and Wells Fargo eliminating its sales goals to reshape its incentive plans
However I don t believe either issue will jeopardize the dividend Wells Fargo s payout ratio sits below 40 which provides a solid margin of safety
Banks are also much better capitalized than they have ever been as a result of new regulations Here is what Buffett said about banks in a 2013 interview
The banks will not get this country in trouble I guarantee it The capital ratios are huge the excesses on the asset side have been largely cleared out Our banking system is in the best shape in recent memory
I ll certainly be watching future developments at Wells Fargo over the coming quarters but I expect the dividend to remain safe albeit with low growth prospects What Will Warren Buffett Do With Wells Fargo Wells Fargo has been in Warren Buffett s dividend stock portfolio since 1989 and I would find it to be very surprising if news on the company over the last week took Buffett by surprise
The issues weighing on Wells Fargo have actually been in the mainstream news for years The Los Angeles Times an investigative report in late 2013 that found the company s cross selling sales culture to be very aggressive resulting in the opening of unauthorized customer accounts in many cases
Interestingly enough Warren Buffett to be able to raise his stake in Wells Fargo beyond the Fed s 10 limit in June 2016 Perhaps the timing was only a coincidence or maybe Buffett saw an opportunity on the horizon to accumulate more shares at lower prices as the customer account scandal became a bigger deal
Warren Buffett has remained silent on the current Wells Fargo scandal so far However in a recent shareholder letter Buffett made clear how important reputation is to him
As I ve said in these memos for more than 25 years we can afford to lose money even a lot of money But we can t afford to lose reputation even a shred of reputation
While Wells Fargo s reputation has certainly been damaged from its illegal behavior I would be very surprised if this was reason for Buffett to begin unloading his position
Buffett invests for the long term and has known Well Fargo s operations in great detail for decades Like I mentioned above I highly doubt this development took him by surprise If anything my hunch is Buffett would be more inclined to increase his stake in the bank if the Fed allows him to What s the Worst Case Scenario Top level executives resign Warren Buffett looks for a tax efficient way to reduce his stake in the company a meaningful number of customers switch over their accounts to competing banks retail banking sales slow with less cross selling pressure regulatory pressures increase and WFC s price to book ratio drops well below historical norms
The odds of these factors all playing out simultaneously are very slim in my view However these events could theoretically cause the stock to correct by another 20 30 if investors being to panic and reduce the safety premium historically enjoyed by the stock
Bank stocks trade at a multiple of book value Companies perceived to have riskier balance sheets and operations usually trade below book value while banks perceived to be the safest and highest quality trade above book value
For example Deutsche Bank DE DBKGn J P Morgan and Wells Fargo currently trade at price to book ratios of 0 3 1 1 and 1 3 respectively
For more than a decade Wells Fargo s price to book ratio has never fallen below 0 5 According to Gurufocus Wells Fargo s median price to book ratio over the last 13 years has been 1 54
If the company s price to book ratio were to decrease to 1 0 WFC s stock price would decline to roughly 35 per share representing a slide of 23 At that price Wells Fargo s stock would offer a high yield of 4 3 and seemingly provide great long term value for income investors Final Thoughts on Wells FargoAll stocks are risky investments and can result in unfavorable and unforeseen developments even for a company perceived to be very conservative and disciplined such as Wells Fargo
Expect the unexpected is certainly a phrase that applies to investing and that is one reason why I prefer to maintain as an individual investor on the outside looking in
The actions carried out by Wells Fargo s employees were horribly wrong and should absolutely be punished and prevented from happening again
Did the company s CEO and other executives know this scandal was going on It s hard to say given the sheer size and scope of Wells Fargo s operations but the incentive plans in place clearly placed excessive pressure on employees Top management is ultimately accountable for having proper controls in place to prevent fraudulent activity
No one knows what could happen over the next 3 6 months Headlines could get worse after the Senate s hearing on September 20th It s also too early to know what impact if any customers switching accounts and Wells Fargo s reduced sales goals will have on the bank s near term earnings results
There are enough reasons to see why Wells Fargo s stock could continue drifting lower but I would be stunned if WFC ever traded at a price to book ratio below 1 0 which would result in a stock price at or below 35 per share a 23 drop from today If this were to play out I imagine Warren Buffett would be licking his chops to increase his stake if the Fed grants him approval
The company s dividend payment remains safe but it could take some time for the dark clouds to pass over Wells Fargo For now I plan to be patient and wouldn t be opposed to snapping up more shares in the low 40s
Market sentiment is unpredictable over short periods of time but I do not believe the shameful revelations over the past week impair Wells Fargo s risk profile or long term earnings power
Customers will be on higher alert with their dealings with the bank but I don t believe that reduces the convenience and cost efficiency that come with using multiple services from Wells Fargo Switching over 6 accounts for Wells Fargo which is the average accounts per retail household held with the bank would also be a big pain for customers
With over 160 years of operational success behind the company I am willing to give it the benefit of the doubt for now My best guess is that this news is behind the company no more than a year from now
Disclosure as of the time of this writing the author was long WFC |
CMCSA | AT T subsidiary DirecTV asks to be dropped from antitrust case | By Diane Bartz WASHINGTON Reuters DirecTV the biggest U S pay TV company and a subsidiary of AT T NYSE T asked a federal court on Tuesday to drop it from the lawsuit that the government filed to stop AT T from buying movie and TV production company Time Warner DIRECTV is not the seller the acquired entity or a major stockholder of the acquirer lawyers for the company said in a filing In its request DirecTV alleged that the Justice Department included the company as a defendant so it could use critical statements its executives made about the 2011 merger of Comcast NASDAQ CMCSA and NBCU as part of the government s argument against the AT T Time Warner deal AT T bought DirecTV in 2015 Both instances involve a big pay TV distributor buying a movie and TV production company In its complaint filed against the merger in November the Justice Department said DirecTV previously warned that mergers of TV distributors and content makers can much more credibly threaten to withhold programming from rival distributors and can use such threats to demand higher prices and more favorable terms DirecTV has nearly 21 million subscribers according to the complaint Judge Richard Leon who will decide if the merger may go forward is hearing evidence on whether the 84 5 billion deal is illegal under antitrust law as the government alleges and should be stopped
The witnesses this week are expected to include AT T Chief Executive Randall Stephenson and Time Warner CEO Jeff Bewkes |
CMCSA | Coiled And Roiled T Bonds And ATT | Today is the big day of the week and probably the month My main concern is bonds which I am short for the long term January 2019 puts The ZB certainly seems coiled for a potential move higher which I ve tinted but as long as it is repelled by its broken trend line as it has in the past arrows I ll be OK
I did a Slope PLUS post yesterday which among other items suggested AT T NYSE T as a potential short I was just basing it on the chart forgetting there was a critical court ruling that was being announced after the close Well the court ruling allowed AT T to buy Comcast NASDAQ CMCSA after all and although the stock spiked for about three seconds you can see it is headed in the right direction now
Let s see if it can break that lower boundary this week
Good luck today It s going to be a wild one |
WFC | Stifel appoints three financial advisers at its broker dealer unit | Reuters Stifel Financial Corp said on Wednesday three financial advisers joined the private client group of its broker dealer subsidiary Stifel Nicolaus Co Inc Patricia Tippins joined the firm s Dallas office as senior vice president investments while Christopher Barbee joined its Greensboro North Carolina office in the same position Tippins was previously with Wells Fargo NYSE WFC Advisors and Barbee was with Oppenheimer Co Andrew Campanella joined the firm as financial adviser in Manchester Vermont from Merrill Lynch |
WFC | Wells Fargo to sell commercial insurance business | Reuters Wells Fargo Co N WFC said on Tuesday it agreed to sell its commercial insurance business to private insurer USI Insurance Services as the third largest U S bank plans to focus on core banking products and services The financial terms of the deal expected to close in the fourth quarter were not disclosed by the companies The deal comes at a time when the bank is recovering from a sales scandal last year that damaged its reputation Wells Fargo has doubled its cost cutting target after expenses soared in the aftermath of the scandal The sales abuses in the bank s branch banking operation led to a 190 million regulatory settlement launches of other government probes the firing of several bankers and the departure of CEO John Stumpf Wells Fargo plans to reduce expenses by another 2 billion through the end of 2019 on top of a 2 billion cost cutting target the management previously announced The bank said on Tuesday its personal insurance business will report into consumer lending to serve retail customers |
WFC | California moves forward on letting customers sue banks inspired by Wells Fargo | WASHINGTON Reuters California took another step on Tuesday toward allowing state residents to sue financial institutions for fraud rather than letting banks force customers to settle disputes in arbitration as a bill inspired by last year s Wells Fargo NYSE WFC scandal passed a key Assembly committee The bill has already passed the state Senate The full Assembly the legislature s lower chamber is expected to approve it in a vote toward the end of August after the summer recess Under the bill judges could override contract clauses that require customers to settle disputes through arbitration in cases where a bank commits fraud using customers personal information Arbitration clauses which have become standard practice since a 2011 U S Supreme Court decision make consumers agree not to sue in the future as a condition of purchasing products or services Clauses inserted into Wells Fargo account opening agreements have blocked customers from taking the third largest U S bank to court over last year s revelations that it opened millions of accounts without customer knowledge Regulators fined the bank 190 million for the alleged deceit of which 5 million was to be paid to customers The Consumer Attorneys of California backs the state s legislation and said customers have been trying to sue over the issue since 2013 three years before regulators acted By forcing customers into secretive arbitration Wells Fargo kept the scandal out of public view allowing the fraud to mushroom while the bank evaded full accountability it said in a statement Republicans and others say class actions where people band together to share resources in a single lawsuit only benefit lawyers who reap high fees and suck up time and money Consumer rights advocates portray arbitration as a fixed game where companies hire and pay arbitrators to ensure disputes are settled in their favor
Momentum to do away with the clauses led the U S Consumer Financial Protection Bureau to propose a federal rule last year requiring companies to let customers join class actions That proposal has stalled in the face of opposition from Republicans who now control both Congress and the White House |
CMCSA | AT T trial hears of consequences if Turner networks go dark | Reuters Twelve percent of subscribers would quit their cable or satellite companies if Time Warner Inc s N TWX Turner networks were no longer available a Massachusetts Institute of Technology marketing professor said on Thursday John Hauser who teaches marketing was the fourth witness to be called by the U S Justice Department in its lawsuit to block telecommunications company AT T s N T 85 billion deal to buy Time Warner The U S government opposes the deal arguing that it would hurt consumers because AT T which owns pay TV service DirecTV would have more leverage to raise prices by owning Time Warner s Turner networks Hauser s findings are important to the Department of Justice s case because his data shows that AT T once it owns Time Warner could hurt rivals to the point of perhaps costing them 12 percent of their subscribers by withholding Time Warner in the event of a price dispute But Greg Rigdon executive vice president of content acquisition for Comcast Corp O CMCSA seemed skeptical of that figure when pressed to compare data on how many subscribers a company would expect to lose if they dropped a channel called drop analyses with real world data I don t think I ve seen a major drop off for 12 months he said while noting that he had never experienced the loss of major content like Turner s family of channels Rigdon also noted that he did not expect AT T s acquisition of Time Warner to affect Comcast I don t have any reason to believe that it will impact my relations with Turner he said In cross examination of Hauser Peter Barbur noted that Warren Schlichting group president of Dish s Sling TV testified on Tuesday that 30 000 or 0 25 percent of its subscribers dropped Dish when Turner programming went dark for about a month in 2014 Barbur who represents Time Warner also said that Cable One provided testimony that it lost less than 1 percent of subscribers when Turner s networks went down for about a month in 2013 Instead of looking at real world data on blackouts you were retained to do a survey Barbur said Hauser said that without knowing the entire scenario of those situations it was hard to say why the results differed from his findings I believe my numbers are accurate he said
The trial which is taking place in the U S District Court in Washington is expected to take six to eight weeks |
CMCSA | European Commission raids offices in sports broadcasting investigation | LONDON Reuters The European Commission on Tuesday raided the offices of a number of companies involved in sports broadcasting rights including a unit of Rupert Murdoch s Fox as part of an investigation into a possible cartel Sports broadcasting is a huge business in Europe with networks spending billions of pounds to secure exclusive rights to show games in top flight leagues to attract viewers The Commission said it had carried out unannounced inspections in several member states at companies that distribute media rights and related rights pertaining to various sports events and or their broadcasting Fox Networks Group FNG an operating unit of Murdoch s 21st Century Fox which distributes TV and cable channels around the world said it was cooperating with the EC inspection after officials raided its offices in London The Commission has concerns that the companies involved may have violated EU antitrust rules that prohibit cartels and restrictive business practices it said in a statement Unannounced inspections are a preliminary step into suspected anticompetitive practices It does not mean that the companies are guilty of anti competitive behavior nor does it prejudge the outcome of the investigation itself The Commission did not name any of the companies affected but Murdoch s FNG confirmed its involvement after it was first reported by the Telegraph newspaper The news of the raid comes at a difficult time for Fox which is engaged in string of deals that are facing regulatory approval It is battling Comcast NASDAQ CMCSA and British regulators for the right to buy Europe s biggest pay TV company Sky for around 15 billion while it has also agreed to sell a string of assets to Walt Disney Co for around 52 billion
The Commission said there was no legal deadline to complete inquiries into anti competitive conduct and EC investigations can be lengthy |
CMCSA | Economist tells U S judge AT T Time Warner deal would harm consumers | By Diane Bartz WASHINGTON Reuters The U S Justice Department called an economist on Wednesday to testify that allowing AT T N T to purchase movie and TV production company Time Warner N TWX would cost consumers hundreds of millions of dollars as the government wrapped up efforts to convince a federal judge to halt the proposed deal Carl Shapiro an economics professor at the University of California at Berkeley said the planned 85 4 billion merger would give AT T which owns satellite and streaming television provider DirecTV leverage to charge more for Time Warner s Turner family of channels which includes sports content and CNN It would also give AT T the opportunity to coordinate with Comcast Corp O CMCSA which owns NBCU to starve cheaper online video companies of content he said Shapiro is expected to be the government s last witness as it seeks to show that the proposed merger is illegal under antitrust law because it would raise pay TV costs to consumers The government filed a lawsuit in November and is asking U S District Court Judge Richard Leon to block the deal Following Shapiro AT T s lawyers are expected to call their own economist Dennis Carlton of the University of Chicago Shapiro testified that AT T s ownership of DirecTV means that it will likely raise rates for content when it negotiates contracts with other cable and satellite companies and will be more willing to let contracts lapse so DirecTV could win over irritated subscribers when the rival goes dark Blackouts mattered he said Even though they don t happen very much that s the key to leverage he said Leon noted that a Comcast executive said in testimony that when its content subsidiary NBCU negotiates with rivals that it does not consider a blackout of a rival a way for Comcast to win new subscribers That s what they say Is that correct Do you have a different understanding he asked Shapiro noted that companies tend to function as one entity rather than parts NBCU s strategy of steering clear of a blackout would not be in the combined interest of the company They would be leaving money on the table he said On cross examination Daniel Petrocelli a lawyer for AT T and Time Warner pressed Shapiro on why he did not factor into his model an arbitration offer made by AT T that would prevent blackout He also questioned other aspects of the government expert s report
The trial which began in mid March in the U S District Court in Washington is expected to wrap up this month |
CMCSA | Why Is TiVo TIVO Down 1 3 Since Its Last Earnings Report | A month has gone by since the last earnings report for TiVo Corporation NASDAQ TIVO Shares have lost about 1 3 in that time frame
Will the recent negative trend continue leading up to its next earnings release or is TIVO due for a breakout 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 TiVo Q1 ResultsTiVo reported dismal results for first quarter 2018 wherein its revenues declined year over year and earnings were flat It should be noted that TiVo Corporation was formerly known as Rovi Corporation Upon successful completion of the acquisition of TiVo Inc in early September 2016 Rovi adopted the iconic TiVo brand name Notably the company has completed synergy actions of 100 million out of the total 110 million and the remained is expected to be completed by the end of the second quarter Quarter in DetailTiVo s revenues decreased 7 7 year over year to 189 8 million and also missed the zacks Consensus Estimate of 193 million The decline in the revenues was primarily pertaining to the lowering revenues from the Legacy TiVo Time Warp IP deals that slipped 62 8 from the year ago quarter The company s revenues from the Licensing services and software division dropped 2 3 year over year to 186 2 million The division contributed 98 1 to total revenues Hardware division s revenues declined to 3 7 million from 15 2 million recorded in the year ago quarter and contributed 1 9 to total revenues Owing to the expiration of the Time Warp deal the company is trying to transition away from analog and hardware products This quarter was the last one in which the company recorded MSO hardware revenues as it has fulfilled the orders that were placed last year Excluding the impact of the Time Warp deal hardware revenues and other revenues the company s top line came in at 174 8 million up 5 9 from the year ago quarter when the same items were excluded In terms of business segments Product revenues were up 1 6 to 116 8 million Revenues from Platform Solutions increased 8 8 to 95 9 million However Software and Services declined 26 9 to 18 5 million and Other categories surged 52 9 to 2 4 million Notably Product revenues were up owing to the company s shift to ASC 606 revenue standard that per management resulted in an 18 1 million net increase in revenue from our its European MSO customers However the company s exit from hardware manufacturing and the absence of Comcast NASDAQ CMCSA as a metadata customer partially offset the benefits gained from the adoption of the new accounting standard IP Licensing revenues declined approximately 19 6 year over year to 72 9 million Under the IP Licensing segment revenues of the U S Pay TV Providers New Media International Pay TV Providers and Other and Consumer Electronics Manufacturers decreased 21 2 to 49 9 million 14 7 to 14 1 million and 17 36 year over year to 8 9 million IP Licensing revenues were negatively impacted by the adoption of ASC 606 mostly related to the Legacy TiVo Time Warp deal Consumer Electronics manufacturing revenues declined due to expiration of license with a customer Additionally its new licenses with Google s YouTube TV and Starz were offset by lower revenues from existing licenses The company s total cost and expenses decreased 4 8 to 130 8 million from 137 5 million incurred in the year ago quarter Adjusted EBITDA was 58 9 million compared with 68 2 million registered in the year ago quarter Non GAAP pre tax income was 46 3 million compared with 53 9 million in the same period last year TiVo exited the reported quarter with cash cash equivalents and short term investments of 140 3 million compared with 269 8 million at the end of the previous quarter
How Have Estimates Been Moving Since Then
It turns out fresh estimates have trended downward during the past month There has been one revision higher for the current quarter compared to three lower In the past month the consensus estimate has shifted downward by 60 due to these changes
TiVo Corporation Price and Consensus VGM Scores
At this time TIVO has an average Growth Score of C a grade with the same score on the momentum front Following the exact same course the stock was also allocated a grade of C on the value side putting it in the middle 20 for this investment strategy
Overall the stock has an aggregate VGM Score of D If you aren t focused on one strategy this score is the one you should be interested in
Based on our scores the stock is equally suitable for value growth and momentum investors
Outlook
Estimates have been broadly trending downward for the stock and the magnitude of these revisions indicates a downward shift It s no surprise TIVO has a Zacks Rank 4 Sell We expect a below average return from the stock in the next few months |
CMCSA | 6 ETFs To Score High From World Cup Spending Spree | With just a couple of days to go for the 2018 FIFA World Cup in Russia the football fervor is spreading with lightning speed across the world It is a potential trigger for sales trends in a few countries especially for the host and usually leads to a buying frenzy This in turn will result in robust stock market gains with a few countries or sectors scoring the highest from the tournament What s on A Roll The World Cup has propelled economic activities of the host country and will continue to do so over the long term According to the tournament s organizing committee the soccer will have a total positive impact of nearly 31 billion on the economy and could boost Russia s GDP growth by 1 62 trillion rubles 26 billion to 1 92 trillion rubles 30 8 billion over 10 years from 2013 through to 2023 The surge would be driven by higher construction spending increased investment and growing tourism Per the latest study conducted by the McKinsey consultancy the mega football event could generate around 15 billion of GDP in Russia which tops the impact of similar championships in Brazil South Africa Germany and South Korea However it is second only to the result of Japan The World Cup will also drive tourism in Moscow by 10 Apart from Russia the British economy is also expected to get a boost of from fans and well wishers if England makes it through the second round of the World Cup and of 2 72 billion if it makes it through to the finals Pubs restaurants cafes and clubs are set to benefit most with 193 million expected to be spent by consumers watching the tournament The amount may rise to a huge 488 million if England makes it to the final match read Being the biggest sporting event on the planet the championship is also a money spinner for media networks TV digital and social media and advertisers attracting billions of revenues in a month Zenith Media projects worldwide advertising revenue to grow 2 4 billion from the month long event China will get the biggest boost with an additional 835 million on advertising ahead of the United States which will spend an additional 400 million and host nation Russia which will see a 64 million increase Social media will also play a vital role in viewing the real time matches and sharing the favorite moments Additionally the tournament will create heavy traffic for news and sports sites and extra searches that would lift broad online advertising revenues read Moreover the World Cup is considered one of the biggest betting events in the gambling industry Millions of soccer fans will visit their sportsbooks either online or land based to make their bets The Gambling Commission projects betting revenues this year to surpass the revenues generated in 2014 over the course of the tournament in Brazil ETFs to Bet OnAs the tournament is a high seeded top line driver for various corners of the market like sponsors media and networking players as well as a revenue generator for a few economies investors can score the highest by jumping into the ETFs in these spaces Any of the products mentioned below could make for an exciting World Cup play VanEck Vectors Russia ETF This fund offers exposure to the Russian stocks and follows the MVIS Russia Index It holds 30 stocks in its basket with energy making up the top sector at 43 6 of assets RSX is the most popular and liquid play on the Russian economy with AUM of 1 6 billion and average daily volume of 8 9 million shares It has a Zacks ETF Rank 3 Hold with a High risk outlook read iShares MSCI Brazil ETF This product targets the Brazilian stock market and tracks the MSCI Brazil 25 50 Index holding 54 stocks in the basket About one third of the portfolio is dominated by financials while materials consumer staples and energy round off the next spots with double digit exposure The ETF has amassed 6 8 billion in its asset base while trades in a heavy volume of 21 million shares It charges 62 bps in annual fees and has a Zacks ETF Rank 3 with a High risk outlook Global X Social Media ETF CM SOCL This fund provides access to social media companies around the world by tracking the Solactive Social Media Total Return Index It holds 35 securities in its basket with American firms making up for 46 share followed by China 31 3 Japan 6 8 and Russia 6 2 The fund has 194 million in AUM and average daily volume of about 84 000 shares Expense ratio comes in at 0 65 SOCL has a Zacks ETF Rank 3 with a High risk outlook VanEck Vectors Gaming ETF This ETF provides investors exposure to companies involved in casinos and casino hotels sports betting lottery services gaming services gaming technology and gaming equipment It follows the MVIS Global Gaming Index holding 44 securities in its basket In terms of country exposure United States takes the top spot at 42 3 followed by China 17 1 and Australia 12 8 It has AUM of 38 5 million and average daily volume of roughly 23 000 shares read PowerShares Dynamic Media Portfolio V PBS This fund provides exposure to companies that are principally engaged in the development production sale and distribution of goods or services used in the media industry by tracking the Dynamic Media Intellidex Index It results in a small basket of 30 media stocks with media companies making up for 60 of assets The product has accumulated 49 million in its asset base while trading in a light volume of about 15 000 shares a day It charges 63 bps in annual fees and has a Zacks ETF Rank 3 with a Medium risk outlook read Pro Sports Sponsors ETF This fund tracks the ProSports Sponsors Index an equal weighted index that measures the performance of companies that are the official sponsors of the major professional football baseball hockey and basketball leagues in the United States or national sports broadcasters with rights agreements with such leagues It holds 75 securities in its basket and charges 69 bps in annual fees The ETF has accumulated 5 8 million in its asset base and trades in a small average daily volume of 1 000 shares Bottom LineThese products are expected to benefit from the soccer tournament given the huge revenue generation scope for media advertisers and gaming industry The mega event is also expected to give a GDP boost to the Russian and Brazilian economies Want key ETF info delivered straight to your inbox Zacks free Fund Newsletter will brief you on top news and analysis as well as top performing ETFs each week |
WFC | U S consumer prices retail sales weaken in May | By Lucia Mutikani WASHINGTON Reuters U S consumer prices unexpectedly fell in May and retail sales recorded their biggest drop in 16 months suggesting a softening in domestic demand that could limit the Federal Reserve s ability to continue raising interest rates this year The Fed on Wednesday increased borrowing costs for the second time this year while acknowledging the recent moderation in inflation pressures Policymakers continued to expect the economy to expand at a moderate pace and labor market conditions to strengthen somewhat further The latest inflation data have undoubtedly helped the case of officials arguing for waiting more than three months for the next move said Jim O Sullivan chief U S economist at High Frequency Economics in Valhalla New York The Labor Department said its Consumer Price Index dipped 0 1 percent last month weighed down by declining prices for gasoline apparel airline fares motor vehicles communication and medical care services among others The second drop in the CPI in three months followed a 0 2 percent rise in April In the 12 months through May the CPI rose 1 9 percent the smallest increase since last November after advancing 2 2 percent in April The year on year gain in the CPI in May was still larger than the 1 6 percent average annual increase over the past 10 years Economists had forecast the CPI unchanged last month and advancing 2 0 percent from a year ago The so called core CPI which strips out food and energy costs rose 0 1 percent in May after a similar gain in April as rents continued to increase moderately The core CPI increased 1 7 percent year on year the smallest rise since May 2015 after advancing 1 9 percent in April The Fed has a 2 percent inflation target and tracks an inflation measure which is currently at 1 5 percent The Fed said on Wednesday it expected annual inflation rates to remain somewhat below 2 percent in the near term but stabilize around the central bank s target over the medium term Chair Janet Yellen said they were monitoring inflation developments closely The Fed hiked its benchmark overnight interest rate by 25 basis points to range of 1 00 percent to 1 25 percent and said it would start reducing its 4 2 trillion portfolio of Treasury bonds and mortgage backed securities this year The dollar fell to a seven month low against a basket of currencies on the data before retracing some of the losses Prices for U S Treasuries rallied while stocks on Wall Street were little changed EYES ON INFLATION Economists say the weakness in inflation if sustained could put further monetary tightening in jeopardy Clearly officials will be mindful of incoming inflation trends in the coming months before greater confidence can be made with second half of the year policy normalization plans said Sam Bullard a senior economist at Wells Fargo NYSE WFC Securities in Charlotte North Carolina In a separate report the Commerce Department said retail sales fell 0 3 percent last month amid declining purchases of motor vehicles and discretionary spending after a 0 4 percent increase in April May s drop was the largest since January 2016 and confounded economists expectations for a 0 1 percent gain Retail sales rose 3 8 percent in May on a year on year basis While some of the drop in monthly retail sales reflected lower gasoline prices which weighed on receipts at service stations sales at electronics and appliance stores recorded their biggest decline since March 2010 Excluding automobiles gasoline building materials and foodservices retail sales were unchanged last month after an upwardly revised 0 6 percent rise in April These so called core retail sales correspond most closely with the consumer spending component of gross domestic product and were previously reported to have increased 0 2 percent in April Consumer spending accounts for more than two thirds of the U S economy Despite last month s weak core retail sales reading low inflation could translate into higher consumer spending in the calculation of GDP The economy grew at a 1 2 percent annualized rate in the first quarter held back by a near stall in consumer spending and a slower pace of inventory investment
Output increased at a 2 1 percent pace in the October December period The Atlanta Fed is forecasting GDP rising at a 3 2 percent annualized rate in the second quarter |
WFC | No Mickelson as 156 golfers begin chase for U S Open glory | By Steve Keating ERIN Wisconsin Reuters American Rickie Fowler tamed a toothless Erin Hills to claim the early first round lead at the U S Open on Thursday making the so called toughest test in golf look easy With only a gentle breeze and rains having taken the bite out of the monstrous 7 845 yard course early starters tore apart the links style layout attacking the pins with gusto Fowler fired a seven under 65 for a two shot clubhouse lead over compatriots Brian Harman Brooks Koepka and Englishman Tommy Fleetwood Starting from the 10th tee Fowler showed why he was among the pre tournament favorites returning a polished bogey free effort that matched the lowest first round score in relation to par at a U S Open Not even the sight of a burning blimp crashing to the ground in an open field just a half mile 800 meters from the course could distract the world number nine who failed to make the cut his previous two U S Opens but finished runner up in 2014 No left hander has ever won the U S Open but Brian Harman winner of the Wells Fargo NYSE WFC last month put himself in the hunt with bogey free round Fleetwood also an enjoyed a error free trip while Koepka was the only one among the leaders to card a bogey taking a five at the par four eighth for his 67 Newly branded as the ultimate test in golf the U S Open has long been famed for its toughness and Erin Hills the longest ever layout for a U S Open was expected to add to that hard man reputation But under sunny skies Erin Hills looked more friend than foe with 22 of the morning wave dipping under par Not everyone however was able to get the better to Erin Hills World number one and defending champion Dustin Johnson one of golf s big hitters misfired from the tee all day and was paying the price sitting on three over through 15 holes Johnson who did not arrive at Erin Hills until late Tuesday having remained at home for the birth of his second child had limited practice and it showed as he carded a two bogeys and double bogey against a single birdie The year s second major got underway without Phil Mickelson the five times major winner withdrawing to attend his daughter s high school graduation Six times a runner up at the U S Open Mickelson skipped another chance at completing a career grand slam when it became obvious Mother Nature was not going to cooperate and delay the start of the opening round Mickelson had kept fans and officials guessing almost down to the wire hanging on to the long shot hope that storms might delay the start of the year s second major and allow him to attend the graduation then fly from San Diego to Wisconsin to make his 2 20 p m Central 1920 GMT tee time His withdrawal marked the end of a golfing era with the 117th U S Open becoming the first major to not include Mickelson and or Tiger Woods since the 1994 Masters
Woods who recently underwent his fourth back surgery has not played a PGA Tour event since January at Torrey Pines the site of the last of his 14 major wins in 2008 The last major he played in was the 2015 PGA Championship |
WFC | U S consumer financial watchdog accuses congressional critics of misstatements | By Pete Schroeder WASHINGTON Reuters The head of the U S Consumer Financial Protection Bureau accused congressional critics of relying on misstatements to criticize his agency which was set up under former President Barack Obama to pursue bad behavior by financial institutions Richard Cordray the bureau s director wrote to correct the record in a letter sent to a congressional panel on Wednesday regarding a recent report critical of the CFPB s work in a high profile scandal The five page letter took issue with multiple conclusions reached in a report released earlier this month by Republican staff on the House Financial Services Committee Some members of the committee have pushed for Republican President Donald Trump to fire Cordray who has headed the agency since he was appointed by Obama a Democrat in 2012 The report said the CFPB had been an ineffective watchdog against Wells Fargo NYSE WFC Co missing extensive improper sales practices and taking action only after work on the bank s unauthorized accounts scandal had been done by others The committee s report also depicted the CFPB as reluctant to cooperate with the panel s Well Fargo probe Cordray insisted that his agency had done critical work in policing Wells Fargo and said the report devolves into various misstatements and allegations about the CFPB s work The CFPB along with the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency and the city and county of Los Angeles struck a 185 million settlement against the bank in September Cordray argued that improper sales practices were underway at Wells Fargo as far back as 2001 while his agency was only fully staffed in 2014 He maintained the CFPB had acted properly in monitoring the bank and the CFPB s presence allowed the federal government to provide relief to wronged consumers across the country as part of the settlement He went on to accuse Republican staff of refusing to receive a September briefing from his staff on Wells Fargo instead demanding he personally brief them with one day s notice which he was unable to do He said he also offered to publicly testify at a committee hearing devoted to Wells Fargo but did not receive an invitation A committee spokesman did not immediately respond to a request for comment
Cordray is one of a handful of remaining regulatory heads that were appointed by Obama Republicans have criticized the CFPB since it created as part of the 2010 Dodd Frank Wall Street reform law Efforts to fundamentally reshape the agency have ramped up since the November 2016 election |
WFC | Sell side mulls Booz Allen probe and some bail shares plunge 19 | Now former bull Brian Ruttenbur of Drexel Hamilton spoke with management following last night s disclosure but got no additional clarity on the investigation or its potential financial impact He downgrades to Hold from Buy and pulls his price target Raymond James Brian Gesuale calls the probe a near term headwind but has full confidence in Booz Allen s NYSE BAH management structure He notes the company has overcome crises in the past He cuts to Market Perform from Outperform Wells Fargo NYSE WFC s Brian Case defends noting prior issues have led to just brief declines and ultimately proved to be great buying opportunities The criminal aspect of this probe though ratchets the risk upward to some degree He maintains an Outperform rating but cuts his PT to 40 from 43 Source Tatiana Darie at BloombergShares 19 6 to 31 61Previously Booz Allen discloses DOJ probe shares down 13 after hours June 15 Now read |
WFC | 5 Stocks To Avoid In The Market s Typically Worst Month | They say History Repeats Itself and one of the historic realities of the equity market has been its relatively poor performance in the month of September Statistics reveal that since 1950 the Dow Jones Industrial Average and S P 500 index declined 1 1 and 0 7 respectively on an average in September while Nasdaq witnessed an average decline of 1 since it was first established in 1971 Should alarm bells start ringing now as we step in to this dreaded month Does the unprecedented 89 month Bull Run of the equity market with shares trading near all time highs represent a lull before the storm Let us dig a little deeper to find out what could potentially shake the financial markets this month Key Events Scheduled for the MonthThe U S Presidential election race has heated up with Republican Donald Trump and Democrat Hillary Clinton trying to outwit each other through arguments and counter arguments The first debate between both the candidates is scheduled on Sep 26 Election related uncertainty casts a shadow on the equity markets and is widely expected to create volatility until a clearer picture of the economic policies of the potential winner emerges The Fed is slated to meet on Sep 20 and Sep 21 to deliberate on raising interest rates Speculation is rife that the Fed could be forced to give a green signal to its rate hike decision if the August employment report due to be released on Sep 2 come in ahead of the expected 180 000 nonfarm payrolls The ambiguity in decision making process is likely to create investor panic and could send the stock market in a tizzy The Bank of England is scheduled to meet on Sep 15 to decide on policies related to quantitative easing for its smooth exit from the European Union The Bank of Japan will have its policy meeting on Sep 20 and Sep 21 to deliberate on matters to jumpstart its economy Bank of Japan s Governor Haruhiko Kuroda had already hinted at fine tuning his three pronged strategy of asset buying monetary base guidance and negative interest rates to revive economic growth In addition to the central banks meeting the proposed meeting of G 20 leaders in China on Sep 4 and Sep 5 are likely to pass a resolution against engaging in competitive devaluations to avoid any macroeconomic repercussions If the outcome of all these meetings is below expectations it could send a ripple effect across global equity markets including the U S The OPEC and non OPEC members are slated to meet in Algeria on Sep 26 28 to decide on their future course of action Crude oil prices are likely to be strained as refiners take operations off line for seasonal maintenance ahead of winter fuel production However if OPEC producers freeze production and some non OPEC producers continue to pump record amounts of oil prices could decline to less than the psychological barrier of 40 per barrel This could send stocks which are sensitive to oil prices to a free fall Shun These StocksAmid such adversaries investors should be better off if they avoid some stocks that have the combination of a Zacks Rank 5 and a of F Bristow Group Inc NYSE BRS Headquartered in Houston TX Bristow is a leading provider of helicopter services for major transportation operations in the U S Gulf of Mexico and the North Sea and other major offshore oil and gas producing regions of the world including Alaska Australia Brazil Mexico Nigeria Russia and Trinidad The company reported an average negative earnings surprise of 438 7 in the trailing four quarters Its current quarter estimate has plummeted by a staggering 1283 3 to a loss of 28 cents Liberty LiLAC Group NASDAQ LILA Operating as a cable firm Liberty LiLAC offers video broadband Internet fixed line telephony and mobile services primarily in Europe Chile Puerto Rico and internationally The company posted a negative average earnings surprise of 437 1 in the trailing four quarters Its current quarter estimate has declined by 115 2 to a loss of 7 cents Altisource Residential Corporation NYSE RESI Based in Christiansted VI Altisource is engaged in the acquisition and ownership of single family rental assets The company reported an average negative earnings surprise of 248 1 in the trailing four quarters Its current quarter estimate has declined by 341 5 to a loss of 99 cents Sharps Compliance Corp NASDAQ SMED Based in Houston TX Sharps Compliance is a leading provider of cost effective disposal solutions of medical waste such as hypodermic needles lancets and any other medical device or objects used to puncture or lacerate the skin The company posted an average negative earnings surprise of 194 3 in the trailing four quarters Its current quarter estimate has declined by 64 7 to 2 cents Arctic Cat Inc NASDAQ ACAT Headquartered in Minneapolis MN manufactures and markets snowmobiles and all terrain vehicles as well as related parts garments and accessories throughout the contiguous U S and Canada and through distributors representing dealers in Alaska Europe the Middle East Asia and other international markets The company delivered an average earnings surprise of a negative 93 6 in the trailing four quarters Its current quarter estimate has declined by 15 5 to 35 cents Moving ForwardSameer Samana global quantitative analyst at Wells Fargo NYSE WFC Investment Institute observed We ve seen a lot of flows into the riskier parts of the market We saw flows into high yield emerging markets debt emerging market equities There s been this huge reach for yield What s more worrisome to us is how everyone is leaning on the same side of the boat As the equity markets brace for some key events in September that has an awful performance history investors should be better off if they avoid these stocks in the near term Where Do Zacks Investment Ideas Come From You are welcome to download the full up to the minute list of 220 Zacks Rank 1 Strong Buy stocks free of charge There is no better place to start your own stock search Plus you can access the full list of must avoid Zacks Rank 5 Strong Sells and other private research |
WFC | Intro Guide To The Fidelity Convertible Securities Fund FCVSX | Fidelity Convertible Securities Fund a Zacks Rank 2 Buy was incepted in January 1986 and is managed by the Fidelity Group FCVSX s main objective is high total return through a combination of current income and capital appreciation FCVSX normally invests 80 of its assets in convertible securities which are often lower quality debt securities and perform more like a stock when the underlying share price is high and more like a bond when the underlying share price is low FCVSX usually invests in other types of securities including common stocks FCVSX invests in domestic and foreign issuers
This Convertible Bond product as of the last filing allocates their fund in four major groups Large Value Intermediate Bond Small Growth and Emerging Market Further as of the last filing Wells Fargo Company NYSE WFC Allergan NYSE AGN pa plc and Twitter Inc were the top holdings for FCVSX
The Fidelity Convertible Securities fund managed by carries an expense ratio of 0 56 Moreover FCVSX requires a minimal initial investment of 2 500
FCVSX has a history of positive total returns for over 10 years Specifically the fund s returns over the 3 5 year benchmarks 3 year 3 72 and 5 year 6 06 To see how this fund performed compared in its category and other 1 and 2 Ranked Mutual Funds
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CMCSA | NBC News plans online streaming service to attract younger viewers | By Jessica Toonkel NEW YORK Reuters Comcast NASDAQ CMCSA Corp s NBC News plans to launch an online streaming service this year as part of its effort to reach younger viewers who prefer to watch their favorite shows online executives said on Wednesday NBC News like other broadcast news outlets faces an aging audience The median age of NBC Nightly News for example is 64 years old according to Nielsen Launching an online streaming service would help attract younger viewers said Andy Lack NBC News chairman in a news briefing at NBC s offices in New York The company has not decided if the service would be subscription based To cater to millennial viewers NBC has stepped up its focus on growing its digital business Comcast NBCUniversal invested 500 million in Snapchat owner Snap Inc NYSE SNAP during its initial public offering In July NBC News launched a twice daily news show on Snapchat called Stay Tuned That show has 5 million subscribers said Nick Ascheim head of digital at NBC News It is on track to have 37 million to 38 million unique visitors in March up from 33 million in February he said Snapchat has 80 million daily active users in North America according to the company s fourth quarter earnings Still the core audience or those viewers coming back for three episodes over the past seven days is increasing a sign of engagement Ascheim said More than half of the 33 million unique visitors watched the show at least three times in the past week he said NBC is having success with Stay Tuned at a time when other programmers have struggled to make money on Snapchat Late last year Time Warner Inc s CNN shut down its daily show on Snapchat just four months after having launched it Despite its increased focus on digital NBC News has no plans to bring any of its content back to Facebook Inc NASDAQ FB because it does not see it as a friendly environment to news organizations despite its size Lack said Facebook doesn t have value for publishers he said
Facebook was not immediately available for comment |
CMCSA | NBC News plans streaming service launch this year | NBC News NASDAQ CMCSA will launch a streaming service this year in a quest for younger viewers who ve largely abandoned the evening newscast as a primary source The company hasn t yet decided whether it will be a subscription service NBC s twice daily Snapchat show Stay Tuned has 5M subscribers and is tracking toward 37M 38M unique visitors this month vs 33M last month relatively successful especially in comparison with rivals like CNN which shut down its daily Snapchat show The media age of viewers of NBC Nightly News is 64 according to Nielsen And Chairman Andy Lack says NBC News has no plans to bring its content back to Facebook NASDAQ FB Facebook doesn t have value for publishers Facebook s own video news ambitions are beginning to take shape with a planned program for its Watch tab Previously Facebook reportedly paying up front for new video news feature Mar 14 2018 Previously Report Facebook to launch News feature on its Watch platform Mar 13 2018 Now read |
WFC | Mallinckrodt mulling strategic options shares ahead 2 premarket | Wells Fargo NYSE WFC s David Maris says Mallinckrodt NYSE MNK is exploring all strategic options including going private He informed clients in a note after meeting with the company last week Shares have been in a steady downtrend for almost a year Short seller Citron Research has jumped on the bandwagon saying sales and margins will be under pressure as the price of Acthar gel drops Shares are up 2 premarket on average volume Source Bloomberg |
WFC | Wells Fargo employees paid for first time using new sales metrics | Reuters Wells Fargo Co N WFC paid its branch employees for the first time in May using new sales metrics that focus on customer service branch banking chief Mary Mack said at an investor conference Tuesday Mack said the bank is studying performance at different branches at it assesses which ones to close |
WFC | Large Cap Blend Style 3Q16 Best And Worst | The Large Cap Blend style ranks first out of the twelve fund styles as detailed in our 3Q16 Style Ratings for ETFs and Mutual Funds report Last quarter the Large Cap Blend style ranked second It gets our Attractive rating which is based on an aggregation of ratings of 35 ETFs and 859 mutual funds in the Large Cap Blend style as of July 28 2016 See a recap of our 2Q16 Style Ratings here
Figures 1 and 2 show the five best and worst rated ETFs and mutual funds in the style Not all Large Cap Blend style ETFs and mutual funds are created the same The number of holdings varies widely from 16 to 3789 This variation creates drastically different investment implications and therefore ratings
Investors seeking exposure to the Large Cap Blend style should buy one of the Attractive or better rated ETFs or mutual funds from Figures 1 and 2
Best ETFs exclude ETFs with TNAs less than 100 million for inadequate liquidity
Sources New Constructs LLC and company filings
SPDR MSCI USA Strategic Factors ETF NYSE QUS and SPDR MFS Systematic Core Equity ETF NYSE SYE are excluded from Figure 1 because their total net assets TNA are below 100 million and do not meet our liquidity minimums
Best mutual funds exclude funds with TNAs less than 100 million for inadequate liquidity
Sources New Constructs LLC and company filings
State Street SPDR Dow ETF NYSE DIA is the top rated Large Cap Blend ETF and Nuveen Concentrated Core Fund NCARX is the top rated Large Cap Blend mutual fund Both earn a Very Attractive rating
PowerShares Russell 1000 Equal Weight Portfolio NYSE EQAL is the worst rated Large Cap Blend ETF and Virtus Equity Trend Fund VAPAX is the worst rated Large Cap Blend mutual fund EQAL earns a Neutral rating and VAPAX earns a Very Dangerous rating
Wells Fargo Company NYSE WFC 48 share is one of our favorite stocks held by CBBZX and earns an Attractive rating WFC was a featured Long Idea in October 2015 Over the past decade Wells Fargo s after tax profit NOPAT has grown by 11 compounded annually The company has improved its return on invested capital ROIC from 8 in 2010 to 10 over the last twelve months and has generated an astounding cumulative 38 billion in free cash flow over the last five years Despite the fundamental strength the market currently undervalues WFC At its current price of 48 share WFC has a price to economic book value PEBV ratio of 1 0 This ratio means that the market expects WFC s NOPAT to never meaningfully grow from current levels If WFC can grow NOPAT by just 4 compounded annually for the next decade the stock is worth 63 share today a 31 upside
Brady Corporation BRC 33 share is one of our least favorite stocks held by WBDNX and earns a Very Dangerous rating BRC is on July s Most Dangerous Stocks list Over the past decade BRC s NOPAT has declined by 2 compounded annually The company s ROIC has fallen from a once impressive 13 in 2005 to 5 over the last twelve months Despite the deterioration in fundamentals BRC is up over 40 YTD which makes shares significantly overvalued To justify its current price of 33 share BRC must grow NOPAT by 13 compounded annually for the next 13 years This expectation seems rather optimistic given the past decade of profit decline
Figures 3 and 4 show the rating landscape of all Large Cap Blend ETFs and mutual funds
Sources New Constructs LLC and company filings
Sources New Constructs LLC and company filings
Disclosure David Trainer and Kyle Guske II receive no compensation to write about any specific stock style or theme |
CMCSA | Women looking for Oscar love in best picture cliffhanger | By Jill Serjeant LOS ANGELES Reuters Women are hoping for some long overdue love at the Academy Awards on Sunday where the biggest prize in the movie industry is wide open after an awards season dominated by Hollywood s sexual misconduct scandal Romantic fantasy The Shape of Water Fox Searchlight s O FOXA tale of a mute cleaning woman who falls in love with a river creature goes into Sunday s ceremony with a leading 13 nominations including best picture director and actress But awards pundits say the coveted best picture Oscar is a four way race with Fox Searchlight dark comedy Three Billboards Outside Ebbing Missouri Universal Pictures O CMCSA racial satire Get Out and Warner Bros N TWX British World War Two drama Dunkirk also in the running The star of this year s Oscars is female empowerment A film with a female perspective has not won best picture since Million Dollar Baby in 2005 said Tom O Neil founder of awards website GoldDerby com This year four of the nine nominated movies have a female perspective That s remarkable he said With accusations of sexual impropriety against filmmakers actors and directors emerging every week since October 2017 the Time s Up women s resistance movement has been as hot a topic in Hollywood as the suspense over who will take home the industry s highest honors The sexual misconduct scandal follows years of efforts by women to close the gender pay gap in Hollywood and get the behind the camera jobs that determine what films are produced Greta Gerwig director of best picture contender Lady Bird about a volatile mother daughter relationship is vying to become only the second woman to win best director in the 90 year history of the Oscars Three Billboards starring best actress front runner Frances McDormand is seen as channeling the rage of the MeToo movement and already has won Golden Globe BAFTA and Screen Actors Guild awards It s the story of a woman raging against male injustice for refusing to find the killer and the rapist of her daughter This is the theme of what s happening throughout Hollywood said O Neil Dave Karger special correspondent for entertainment website IMDB com said that while Shape of Water has the most overall appeal to Academy of Motion Picture voters Jordan Peele s bold Get Out a look at modern race relations through the prism of a horror movie is emerging as the underdog of choice Peele making his directorial debut would be the first black man to win a best director Oscar Last year the movie with far and away more nominations than any other ended up losing best picture to a movie that spoke more to the times Karger said recalling the 2017 win of black drama Moonlight over presumed front runner La La Land British betting firm Ladbrokes LON LCL says the odds are tightest between Shape of Water and Three Billboards It s really interesting that we have still got a fight and a race on our hands and it s not a foregone conclusion said Ladbrokes spokeswoman Jessica Bridge
No such suspense surrounds the main acting races where McDormand is heavily favored to win for Three Billboards and British actor Gary Oldman s role as wartime leader Winston Churchill is expected to bring his first Oscar |
CMCSA | Satire Get Out earns top honor at Independent Spirit Awards | LOS ANGELES Reuters Get Out a horror thriller that examines U S race relations won the top honor at the Independent Spirit Awards on Saturday independent film s biggest prize and the final awards ceremony ahead of the Oscars
Jordan Peele a comedian who wrote and directed the film also won best director at the annual awards that recognizes the year s best independent achievements made on small budgets
This means so much Peele said accepting the best feature award
We are in the beginning of a renaissance right now where stories from the outsider are being honored and recognized and celebrated Peele added
Get Out which tells the story of a young black man who visits his white girlfriend s family as a racial satire was a box office juggernaut for Comcast NASDAQ CMCSA Corp s Universal Pictures grossing 176 million at U S and Canadian theaters
The film has earned four Oscar nominations including best picture best director best original screenplay and best actor for Daniel Kaluuya
The last four winners of the Spirit Awards top prize Moonlight Spotlight Birdman and 12 Years a Slave all went on to win the best picture Oscar which will be awarded on Sunday
Frances McDormand who has so far swept all major awards for her role as an aggrieved mother in Three Billboards Outside Ebbing Missouri won best actress at the casual beachside ceremony She is also tipped to win the Academy Award
Timoth e Chalamet the 22 year old star of Call Me By Your Name a coming of age drama about two young men falling in love won the Spirit Awards best actor
Allison Janney who has won all top awards as an abusive mother in biopic I Tonya won best supporting actress while Sam Rockwell won best supporting actor for his part as a racist alcoholic police officer in Three Billboards
Both Rockwell and Janney are nominated for Oscars
Greta Gerwig won best screenplay for her coming of age tale Lady Bird which has earned five Oscar nods |
CMCSA | MoviePass hires media vet for chief product office position | MoviePass NASDAQ HMNY announces the hiring of Mike Berkley as chief product officer Berkley is a former product leader at Spotify Viacom and Comcast NASDAQ CMCSA The company says his role at MoviePass will be to lead the product strategy and vision for the MoviePass service as the company continues its efforts to grow its subscriber base and expand Source Press Release Now read |
CMCSA | Comcast CMCSA Down 7 Since Earnings Report Can It Rebound | It has been about a month since the last earnings report for Comcast Corporation NASDAQ CMCSA Shares have lost about 7 in that time frame
Will the recent negative trend continue leading up to its next earnings release or is CMCSA 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
Recent EarningsComcast delivered first quarter 2018 adjusted earnings of 62 cents per share that beat the Zacks Consensus Estimate by 3 cents The figure increased 17 year over year driven by solid top line growth Revenues increased 10 7 year over year to 22 79 billion which comfortably surpassed the Zacks Consensus Estimate of 22 72 billion Comcast announced that it has submitted a 22 billion 30 7 billion bid for Sky which equates to 12 50 per share Notably 21st Century Fox is another company that has shown interest in Sky Plc LON SKYB Comcast expects to generate roughly 500 million in synergies including revenue benefits and recurring cost savings from the Sky acquisition Cable Communications DetailsRevenues climbed 3 6 from the year ago quarter to 13 52 billion High Speed Internet revenues increased 8 2 year over year to 4 16 billion driven by an increase in the number of residential high speed Internet customers and rate adjustments Business Services revenues were up 11 9 to 1 73 billion primarily due to increasing number of customers adopting small and medium sized product offerings Advertising and other revenues advanced 4 9 and 4 5 to 582 million and 388 million respectively on a year over year basis Advertising revenues were driven by higher political advertising revenues and improved revenues from advanced advertising businesses Growth in other revenues came on the back of strong adoption of Xfinity Home and increase in revenues from X1 licensing agreements At the end of the first quarter 69 3 of Comcast s residential customers received at least two Xfinity products Voice revenues were 1 01 billion down 2 7 year over year primarily due to declining number of residential voice customers Video revenues also dipped 0 8 to 5 66 billion Total Customer Relationships increased by 273K Total Revenue per Customer Relationship increased 0 9 Total high speed Internet customer net additions were 379K Total security and automation customer net additions were 46K at the end of the quarter Total video customer net losses were 96K while total voice customer net losses were 54K NBCUniversal DetailsRevenues surged 21 3 from the year ago quarter to 9 53 billion Comcast stated that successful broadcasts of the 2018 PyeongChang Olympics and Super Bowl LII Generated an incremental 1 6 billion in segment revenues Management also noted that NBC Remains Ranked 1 among adults aged 18 49 Cable Networks revenues increased 21 from the year ago quarter to 3 19 billion primarily due to higher distribution up 20 8 and advertising revenues up 19 6 Excluding revenues related to Winter Olympics Cable Networks revenues increased 6 6 to 2 82 billion Broadcast Television revenues soared 58 3 from the year ago quarter to almost 3 50 billion primarily owing to higher advertising up 84 9 and distribution other revenues up 42 9 Excluding revenues related to Winter Olympics Super Bowl revenues increased 4 3 to 2 30 billion Filmed Entertainment revenues plunged 16 3 from the year ago quarter to 1 65 billion Theatrical revenues decreased 35 due to weak performance from Fifty Shades Freed Pacific Rim Uprising Darkest Hour and Pitch Perfect 3 as compared with year ago quarter s strong release slate Theme Parks revenues were 1 28 billion increasing 14 5 year over year primarily due to higher per capita spending The segment not only benefited from the timing of spring holidays but also continued success of Volcano Bay in Orlando Minion Park in Japan and The Wizarding World of Harry Potter in Hollywood Operating DetailsConsolidated adjusted EBITDA increased 3 3 from the year ago quarter to 7 24 billion However adjusted EBITDA margin contracted 230 basis points bps to 31 8 primarily due to higher programming production costs Consolidated programming production costs surged 22 6 from the year ago quarter to 7 43 billion As percentage of revenues programming production costs expanded 320 bps on a year over year basis Cable Communications adjusted EBITDA increased 4 7 from the year ago quarter to 5 42 billion Adjusted EBITDA margin expanded 50 bps to 40 1 Notably adjusted EBITDA per Customer Relationship was up 2 Video programming costs were up 3 primarily reflecting higher retransmission consent fees and sports programming costs Non programming expenses increased 2 8 primarily due to increases in technical and product support expenses advertising marketing and promotion costs and other operating costs partially offset by a decline in customer service expenses NBCUniversal adjusted EBITDA increased 13 1 from the year ago quarter to 2 29 billion Cable Networks Broadcast Television and Theme Parks adjusted EBITDA grew 13 7 57 5 and 24 6 respectively However filmed Entertainment adjusted EBITDA plunged 45 2 year over year Consolidated operating income increased 2 3 year over year to 4 65 billion However operating margin contracted 170 bps from the year ago quarter to 20 4 Cash Flow LiquidityIn first quarter 2018 Comcast generated 5 50 billion of cash from operations compared with 5 44 billion in the previous quarter Free cash flow was 3 10 billion compared with 2 05 billion in the previous quarter As of Mar 31 2018 cash and cash equivalents were 6 03 billion up from 3 43 billion as of Dec 31 2017 During the first quarter 2018 Comcast paid dividends totaling 738 million and repurchased shares worth 1 5 billion As of Mar 31 2018 the company had 5 5 billion available under its share repurchase authorization GuidanceFor 2018 Comcast expects Cable Communications capital expenditures as percentage of Cable revenues to decline by up to 50 bps over 2017 However NBCUniversal capital expenditures are expected to continue to increase driven by investments in Theme Parks Comcast expects to repurchase at least 5 billion of its Class A common stock during 2018 Note The EPS data mentioned in the text of this section differs from the rest of report due to the difference in calculation or consideration of one time items
How Have Estimates Been Moving Since Then
In the past month investors have witnessed a downward trend in fresh estimates There have been two revisions higher for the current quarter compared to three lower
Comcast Corporation Price and Consensus
VGM Scores
At this time CMCSA has an average Growth Score of C however its Momentum is doing a lot better with an A Following the exact same course the stock was also allocated a grade of A on the value side putting it in the top quintile for this investment strategy
Overall the stock has an aggregate VGM Score of A If you aren t focused on one strategy this score is the one you should be interested in
Based on our scores the stock is equally suitable for value and momentum investors than growth investors
Outlook
Estimates have been broadly trending downward for the stock and the magnitude of these revisions indicates a downward shift Notably CMCSA has a Zacks Rank 3 Hold We expect an in line return from the stock in the next few months |
WFC | U S Justice Department opposes Wells Fargo on whistle blower suit | Reuters The U S Justice Department filed a friend of the court brief on Tuesday in a lawsuit brought against Wells Fargo Co N WFC by two former employees who were fired after they reported misdemeanors they had noticed to their supervisors The DOJ s filing concluded that the appellate court which had earlier dismissed the case should revisit and modify its analysis The plaintiffs Paul Bishop and Robert Kraus had said the Wall Street bank had requested Federal Reserve loans on various occasions when it was in violation of certain banking regulations in a complaint filed in 2011 The suit which was filed under the False Claims Act is designed to encourage people to bring to light evidence of fraud against the government We continue to believe these claims are without merit as the previous court decisions have confirmed a Wells Fargo spokeswoman said in an email statement We look forward to the opportunity to again present legal arguments to the Second Circuit Court of Appeals she added
The filing follows a Supreme Court ruling in February that had also asked the appellate court to review the matter the New York Times said in a report |
WFC | Wells Fargo sees younger crowd boosting Dave Buster s | Wells Fargo NYSE WFC sees Dave Buster s Entertainment PLAY 1 continuing to gain market share as the brand gain traction with younger generations The investment firm keeps D B rated at Outperform and ups its price target to 78 We continue to believe that PLAY represents one of the highest quality unit growth stories in the sector reads the WF note Dave Buster s carved out a new all time high of 73 48 earlier today Previously Paramount launches new division to inject life into film schedule June 7 Previously Dave Buster s rallies to all time high June 7 Now read |
WFC | Business update from Bravo Brio Restaurant Group | Bravo Brio Restaurant Group NASDAQ BBRG provides a business update on its performance We continue to see sequential quarterly sales improvement in our core restaurant base and remain cautiously optimistic that we will see that improvement continue as the year progresses says CEO Brian O Malley Guests are reacting positively to our enhanced menus expanded banquet facilities and are also taking greater advantage of our off premise to go and delivery options he adds On the financial front a waiver agreement was worked out with Wells Fargo NYSE WFC and certain lenders to provide some financial flexibility Source Press ReleaseNow read |
WFC | New Strong Sell Stocks For August 9th | Here are 5 stocks added to the Zacks Rank 5 Strong Sell List today
Wells Fargo Company NYSE WFC is a diversified financial services company providing banking insurance investments mortgage and consumer finance services The Zacks Consensus Estimate for its current year earnings has been revised 1 7 downward over the last 30 days
Skechers U S A Inc NYSE SKX designs and markets branded contemporary casual active rugged and lifestyle footwear for men women and children The Zacks Consensus Estimate for its current year earnings has declined 13 over the last 30 days
Korn Ferry International NYSE KFY is one of the world s leading executive recruitment firms with the broadest global presence in the executive recruitment industry It has seen the Zacks Consensus Estimate for its current year earnings being revised 2 9 downward over the last 30 days
DST Systems Inc NYSE DST provides sophisticated information processing and computer software services and products throughout the globe The Zacks Consensus Estimate revision for its current year earnings was a negative of 5 over the last 30 days
SeaWorld Entertainment Inc NYSE SEAS is a theme park and entertainment company operating primarily in the U S The Zacks Consensus Estimate for its current year earnings has moved 13 9 lower over the last 30 days
View the entire |
WFC | Economists Expect Economic Uncertainty To Clear By December | Here s a hoot A Wall Street Survey shows Economists Expect December Rate Hike
Why Because economic uncertainty will allegedly vanish between September and December
A consensus is forming among economists that the Federal Reserve will hold off on its next interest rate increase until December
About 71 of the 62 economists surveyed by The Wall Street Journal this month said the Fed will next raise short term rates at its Dec 13 14 meeting That is a sharp rise from the July survey where half said policy makers would next move in December and from the June survey where just 7 8 held that view
In a July 31 speech New York Fed President William Dudley argued for caution in raising U S short term interest rates Yet he added it is premature to rule out further monetary policy tightening this year
Two days later Atlanta Fed chief Dennis Lockhart called the economic picture ambiguous but said I can imagine conditions in which we could have a rate hike
Charles Evans the Chicago Fed president said last week he would prefer to see inflation pick up more before moving but noted I could see one more rate increase even If I would prefer none
Economists in the survey indicated they doubted the uncertainty in the economic outlook would clear up in time for the Fed to raise rates at its meeting Sept 20 21 By December however the picture should be clearer they said
John Silvia chief economist at Wells Fargo NYSE WFC said waiting until December would offer greater clarity on a host of issues
Mount Everest of Uncertainty
The same geniuses who figure things will become more certain between September and December also say Election Induced Uncertainty Harming U S Economy
For the first time in this election cycle most economists surveyed by The Wall Street Journal believe uncertainty from the coming election is crimping economic activity
While every election spurs some economic uncertainty more than 80 of respondents to the Journal s latest survey of economists rate the current cycle as presenting an unusual muddle A majority 57 said the economy has suffered at least somewhat as a result
This election introduces a Mount Everest of uncertainty said Kevin Swift chief economist at the American Chemistry Council
Economists have long believed that in general uncertainty has the potential to restrain consumer spending and business investment if people and businesses have significant questions about the taxes and regulations they will face down the road
Until this month s survey however the majority of economists thought even an election like this year s didn t rise to the level of posing a macroeconomic problem
Things Will Become More Certain Between September and December
Curiously just as Hillary s odds soar through the stratosphere according to Nate Silver Election Odds at 86 as of August 11 economists suddenly discovered a Mount Everest of election uncertainty
Uncertainty Greater in the Abstract
The range of potential political outcomes is much greater in the abstract said Lou Crandall chief economist at Wrightson ICAP LON IAP The market has doubts about how that uncertainty will translate into concrete action
Somehow this will clear up between September and December even though Hillary will likely face a Republican Congress
Uncertain Measures of Uncertainty
This talk of uncertainty is beyond preposterous
Caroline Baum one of my favorite economic writers on Bloomberg for many years until they stopped using much of her material in favor of garbage had an excellent column on uncertainty on MarketWatch in April Uncertainty is a Fact of Life So Get Used to It
I discussed that chart and other uncertainty silliness in Uncertain Measures of Uncertainty
Please give it a look
Fed Uncertainty Principle
Also consider one of all time favorite posts called the Fed Uncertainty Principle
The Observer Affects The Observed
The Fed in conjunction with all the players watching the Fed distorts the economic picture I liken this to Heisenberg s Uncertainty Principle where observation of a subatomic particle changes the ability to measure it accurately
The Fed by its very existence alters the economic horizon Compounding the problem are all the eyes on the Fed attempting to game the system
Here is a recap of the Fed Uncertainty Principle and its corollaries as I wrote them on April 3 2008 before the crash
Fed Uncertainty Principle
The fed by its very existence has completely distorted the market via self reinforcing observer participant feedback loops Thus it is fatally flawed logic to suggest the Fed is simply following the market therefore the market is to blame for the Fed s actions There would not be a Fed in a free market and by implication there would not be observer participant feedback loops either
Corollary Number One
The Fed has no idea where interest rates should be Only a free market does The Fed will be disingenuous about what it knows nothing of use and doesn t know much more than it wants to admit particularly in times of economic stress
Corollary Number Two
The government quasi government body most responsible for creating this mess the Fed will attempt a big power grab purportedly to fix whatever problems it creates The bigger the mess it creates the more power it will attempt to grab Over time this leads to dangerously concentrated power into the hands of those who have already proven they do not know what they are doing
Corollary Number Three
Don t expect the Fed to learn from past mistakes Instead expect the Fed to repeat them with bigger and bigger doses of exactly what created the initial problem
Corollary Number Four
The Fed simply does not care whether its actions are illegal or not The Fed is operating under the principle that it s easier to get forgiveness than permission And forgiveness is just another means to the desired power grab it is seeking
If and when the economists are ever certain about the economy I am certain they will be wrong Meanwhile |
CMCSA | Comcast 1 4 as Macquarie cuts to Neutral on Sky bid | Comcast NASDAQ CMCSA is 1 4 lower after a downgrade by Macquarie over its potential topping bid for Sky Analyst Amy Yong cut the shares to Neutral after noting that the possible 31B bid throws a wrench into what was an otherwise clean story on leverage and M A While adding Sky would diversify the portfolio it would also expose Comcast to a satellite sector under pressure she notes h t Bloomberg She s cut her price target to 42 still implying 16 upside from here Now read |
WFC | Your Money Creative caregiving solutions for the sandwich generation | By Beth Pinsker NEW YORK Reuters Stretched thin by the needs of your children and your elderly parents Try this sandwich generation solution Move your young adults in with their grandparents and let them take care of each other This is working for Eileen Helmer who turns 30 this summer and her grandmother also named Eileen who is almost 90 They are best friends and roommates in Miami I do all the grocery shopping heavy lifting and changing the lightbulbs She takes care of all of my plants says Helmer who moved in with her grandmother more than six years ago to save money during law school She liked it so much that she stayed after she graduated and went to work for EY as a tax lawyer The middle generation made up of her mom and her three aunts and uncles could not be happier to have a caring family member on site Everyone says it s a great relief says Helmer Many members of the so called sandwich generation feel squeezed by competing demands In fact more than half of those who provide financial support to an adult family member say it is hindering their ability to save for their own retirement according to a new Wells Fargo Gallup poll It catches the middle generation a lot of times by surprise said Sandra McPeak managing director of investments at Wells Fargo NYSE WFC Advisors There is a huge range of solutions to deal with the caretaking dilemmas that arise Liza Baker a health coach simply healthcoaching com based in Ann Arbor Michigan has clients living with aging parents to provide full time care She also had a client who turned away a neglectful father Here is how some families are meeting the demands from both sides without letting their own retirement get off track Make decisions as a family Family communication is key says McPeak She has one set of clients in their early 80s who both need full time care and are worried about how long their funds will hold out Their daughters call often wanting to know the financial picture but the parents are not ready to talk in more than broad brush strokes The daughters are just able to take care of themselves and they are terrified says McPeak But the financial picture is complicated because the family might not benefit most by selling the parent s home now while they are both alive because they would have to pay tax on a gain over 500 000 and the house has greatly appreciated in value in 35 years It s a touchy subject says McPeak and one best discussed with all the parties at once talking in specific numbers so everyone knows what is going on Make lemonade When caregiving sucks away all your energy and puts a halt on your career there are ways to make it work for you After a long stretch putting her own career as a product designer on hold to care for her kids and her parents Colleen Kavanaugh 45 put her skills to use When my dad died I realized that I had what was the equivalent of a masters degree says Kavanaugh who lives near Morristown New Jersey and now makes 125 an hour as a certified caregiving consultant thelongestdance com Her best advice to clients Get a power of attorney before something happens especially if there is any cognitive decline Put grandma and the kids to work Sometime the two bread ends of the sandwich are able to work together to help the middle For Daniel Grote a financial planner at Latitude Financial Group in Denver moving his mother in law into his home for six years meant she was taken care of and there was a built in babysitter for his three young kids While her stay turned out to be temporary and not too expensive Grote is now preparing for costs down the road Taking the advice he gives others that means looking into long term care insurance and buying a house big enough for her to have a room if she needs to move back Eileen Helmer is also preparing for more intense caregiving duties She is engaged to be married to a 33 year old who also lives with his grandparents and helps take care of them They plan to split their time between the two homes although they have not yet worked out all the details Maybe my grandmother will take care of my kids Helmer says |
WFC | California could let consumers sue banks despite arbitration clauses | WASHINGTON Reuters California lawmakers are making headway on legislation to allow state residents to sue financial institutions for fraud rather than letting banks force customers to settle disputes in arbitration The state Senate on Tuesday passed the bill spurred by last year s Wells Fargo NYSE WFC phantom accounts scandal It now goes to the legislature s Assembly where it is also expected to win approval Under the bill judges could override contract clauses that require customers to settle disputes through arbitration in cases where a bank commits fraud using customers personal information Instead of allowing victims to have their day in court and permit an independent judge or jury to arrive at a verdict following an open and fair trial Wells Fargo wrongly pushed customers seeking justice into forced arbitration California Treasurer John Chiang said in a statement on Wednesday Mandatory arbitration clauses inserted into Wells Fargo account opening agreements have blocked its customers from suing Wells the third largest U S bank in court over revelations that the bank opened millions of accounts without customers knowledge Arbitration clauses which have become standard practice since a 2011 U S Supreme Court decision require consumers to agree not to sue in the future as a condition of purchasing products or services Republicans and others say that class actions where people band together to share resources in a single lawsuit only benefit lawyers who reap high fees and does not right substantial wrongs Companies also say the lawsuits suck up time and money compared to arbitrations that speed smoothly toward resolution Consumer rights advocates meanwhile portray arbitration as a fixed game Because companies largely control the proceedings most hire and pay the arbitrators they can ensure disputes are settled in their favor advocates say In addition arbitration rulings are made by just one person and are not subject to any kind of appeal In the Wells Fargo account scandal regulators including the CFPB fined the bank 190 million for the alleged deceit of which 5 million was to be paid to customers The legislation in California which as the country s most populous state makes it particularly influential could open the door for other states to step in where the federal government has recently faltered Momentum to do away with mandatory arbitration clauses led the U S Consumer Financial Protection Bureau to propose a rule last year requiring companies to let customers join class action lawsuits But that proposal has stalled in the face of opposition from Republicans who control both Congress and the White House In March Representative Brad Sherman of California and Senator Sherrod Brown of Ohio both Democrats introduced bills to prohibit mandatory arbitration clauses for credit card and personal bank accounts But the bills are expected to go nowhere |
WFC | New York City suspends municipal business with Wells Fargo | By Dan Freed NEW YORK Reuters New York City voted on Wednesday to suspend Wells Fargo NYSE WFC from its municipal debt issuance operations citing a rating tied to doing business in low and moderate income communities as having fallen below a satisfactory level The commission also cited last year s scandal in which the bank was caught creating bogus customer accounts to boost performance measures The New York City Banking Commission in a unanimous 3 0 vote decided it will give no new bond underwriting mandates or renew existing contracts with Wells Fargo The decision follows a Federal Community Reinvestment Act CRA rating of needs improvement for the San Francisco based bank The decision adds New York City to other states and municipalities that have banned the bank from handling their funding operations The commission was composed of Mayor Bill de Blasio Comptroller Scott Stringer and Commissioner of Finance Jacques Jiha What happened at Wells Fargo was fraud and there must be consequences for wrongful behavior Stringer said in a statement Wells Fargo however was given a conditional designation as a New York City bank That means it can still hold funds under current contract because it would be too disruptive to immediately disentangle the city from the bank The ban will be revisited only when the bank s rating is raised de Blasio and Stringer said in a joint statement prior to the vote The Wells Fargo scandal and the repercussions on its municipal banking operations contributed to a slump in its underwriting business Reuters reported earlier this month Prior to the vote the bank told Reuters it appreciated the continuing dialogue with the city More than four years have passed since the end of our last CRA evaluation period and we are seeking an expedited review of the 2012 2015 exam Wells Fargo spokesman Gabriel Boehmer said in an email Wells Fargo holds 227 million of collected city taxes and fees and acts as a trustee to the New York City Retiree Health Benefits Trust currently holding its roughly 2 6 billion in assets The ban will suspend the bank s role as a senior book running manager for the city s General Obligation as well as Transactional Finance Authority bond sales
The only allowable exemption will be for affordable housing financing which has a direct benefit to New York City residents the joint statement said |
WFC | Wells Fargo s head of wealth and investment management to retire | Reuters Wells Fargo Co N WFC said David Carroll head of wealth and investment management will retire after 38 years with the company Carroll 60 will be replaced by Jonathan Weiss 59 the current head of Wells Fargo Securities Though Carroll s retirement is effective July 1 he will remain with the company until July 31 to ensure a smooth transition the bank said in a statement on Thursday Wells Fargo spokeswoman Kathleen Leary gave reason for Carroll s retirement other than that he was ready for new challenges Wells Fargo said it expects to announce Weiss replacement before he transitions into his new role Weiss will remain based in New York and report to Chief Executive Timothy Sloan He will also join the company s operating committee Wells Fargo said In the first quarter Wells Fargo s wealth and investment management unit earned 623 million up nearly 22 percent from a year earlier Carroll s retirement announcement comes two days after the lender made executive changes in its retail banking business which was hit by a sales scandal last year The sales abuses in the branch banking operation led to a 190 million regulatory settlement other government probes the firing of several bankers the departure of CEO John Stumpf and shareholders offering scant support for most directors at the bank s annual meeting last month The company has also been trying to cut costs to assuage investor concerns about soaring expenses in the aftermath of the scandal
The San Francisco based bank s stock which had fallen 7 2 percent this year up to Wednesday s close was little changed in early trading |
WFC | Wells Fargo s business banking group expands to four regions | Reuters Wells Fargo Co N WFC said on Monday its business banking group was expanding to four new regions in the United States in addition to three earlier The business banking group will now be available in the East Midwest Mountain Northeast Pacific Northwest Southern California Nevada and Southwest regions with a banking leader appointed for each region Wells Fargo said
The lender also established a specialty industry group to serve customers in select industries such as real estate and food and agriculture |
WFC | U S services factory data point to moderate economic growth | By Lucia Mutikani WASHINGTON Reuters U S services sector activity slowed in May as new orders tumbled but a jump in employment to a near two year high pointed to sustained labor market strength despite a deceleration in job growth last month The moderation in services industries production together with other data on Monday showing orders for manufactured goods falling in April for the first time in five months and worker productivity unchanged in the first quarter suggest limited scope for faster economic growth The economy is neither accelerating nor slowing but the labor market is looking up said Joel Naroff chief economist at Naroff Economic Advisors in Holland Pennsylvania The Institute for Supply Management ISM said its non manufacturing activity index fell six tenths of a percentage point to a reading of 56 9 A reading above 50 indicates expansion in the sector which accounts for more than two thirds of U S economic activity Services industries reported a 5 5 percentage points dive in new orders last month Prices paid by non manufacturing industries for materials and services declined after increasing for 13 straight months But a measure of services sector employment surged 6 4 percentage points to its highest level since July 2015 suggesting labor market strength even as nonfarm payrolls increased 138 000 in May after rising 174 000 in April The drop in prices paid by services industries could attract attention from some Federal Reserve officials when they meet on June 13 14 to deliberate on monetary policy The U S central bank is expected to raise its benchmark overnight interest rate by 25 basis points at that meeting after a similar increase in March GRADUAL RATE HIKES Most inflation comes from services rather than goods sitting on store shelves so if services prices are in decline the Fed has little hope of achieving its 2 percent inflation objective said Chris Rupkey chief economist at MFUG in New York We will see if this alters their gradual pace of rate hikes later on this year when they provide their latest interest rate forecasts at the upcoming meeting U S stocks were trading lower while the dollar rose against a basket of currencies Prices for U S Treasuries fell In a separate report on Monday the Commerce Department said factory goods orders dropped 0 2 percent in April after jumping 1 0 percent in March Orders rose 4 4 percent from a year ago Manufacturing which accounts for about 12 percent of the U S economy is being supported by a recovery in the energy sector that has led to demand for oil and gas drilling equipment The slow growth narrative for the manufacturing sector and business spending outlook remains intact said Tim Quinlan a senior economist at Wells Fargo NYSE WFC Securities in Charlotte North Carolina A third report from the Labor Department showed nonfarm productivity which measures hourly output per worker was unchanged in the last quarter It was previously reported to have declined at a 0 6 percent annualized pace Productivity has increased at an average annual rate of 0 6 percent over the last five years below its long term rate of 2 1 percent from 1947 to 2016 indicating that the economy s potential rate of growth has declined Economists blame low capital expenditure which they say has resulted in a sharp drop in the capital to labor ratio for the weakness in productivity There are also perceptions that productivity is being inaccurately measured especially on the information technology side
The result is an economy that is still stuck on a shallow growth track said Steven Ricchiuto chief U S economist at Mizuho in New York |
WFC | 3 Business Services Stocks Poised For Earnings Beat In Q2 | The U S economy made a solid rebound in the second quarter and is expected to report a modest GDP growth in excess of 2 after a seasonally adjusted subdued 1 1 rise in the first quarter Allaying fears of a near term recession the domestic equity market gradually picked up steam and is currently trading in the vicinity of record high levels Oil prices have recovered steadily while the strength of the U S dollar has somewhat waned
The U S equity market has also shrugged off the initial hiccups from the Brexit aftermath within a week or so as Buy the shock emerged as the new investment strategy on Wall Street Taking a cue from the various mini crashes and rapid rebound reaction of the stock market following the 2008 financial crisis it appears that the U S equity market has mastered the game of not letting emotions gain an upper hand over sound investment logic
A thorough market analysis and realization of the fact that the Brexit saga could drag on for years giving ample time for the central banks to devise any counter strategy helped soothe the investors nerves
The Positive Feelers
The upturn was led by positive economic data that showed a rapid improvement in the U S manufacturing activity in June the highest recorded in the last 15 months as new orders output and exports picked up Non defense capital goods orders excluding aircraft one of the most closely watched parameters for business spending plans remained flat in the second quarter Real spending on durable goods averaged 1 6 per month in the first two months of the second quarter a significant improvement from a 0 1 decline per month in the first quarter
On an average there were 147 000 job additions per month in the second quarter The unemployment rate rose marginally to 4 9 in June from 4 7 in the previous month due to a higher participation rate of 62 7 as more people looked for work a clear indication that the economy was indeed improving
Enjoying the fruits of a resurgent job market low inflationary pressures and cheaper oil bills consumer confidence strongly held its fort The Conference Board Consumer Confidence Index remained steady at 97 3 in June Consumer spending which accounts for over two thirds of the U S economy is expected to grow at an annualized rate of 2 2 5 for the year as consumers remained cautiously optimistic
The Markit Composite Purchasing Managers Index data improved to 51 5 in July from 51 2 in January This represents a general uptrend in new business growth and a cautious spending pattern of clients
As the companies take stock of the situation and deliberate on their future course of action let us take a glimpse into how the second quarter earnings season is shaping up so far for the business services sector
Business Services Sector Performance
About 26 1 of the total S P 500 companies in the Business Services sector have reported their earnings results through Jul 22 2016 With a beat ratio of 50 0 total earnings for these companies are down 1 6 year over year Revenues increased 6 3 compared with the year ago period with a beat ratio of 50 0
The entire Business Services sector is expected to perform relatively better than the overall index The earnings growth expectation for the sector is 2 8 versus a decline of 3 4 for the S P 500 index Read
The primary growth drivers in this highly fragmented industry hinge on a healthy economy with decent prospects for job growth higher disposable income and new business initiatives An ideal mix of services effective marketing strategies and ability to retain and attract new customers make the perfect recipe for profitability for most of these companies
Given the forecast it might be a good idea to zero in on a handful of Business Services stocks that are poised to beat earnings estimates this quarter An earnings surprise should help these stocks outperform in the near term
How to Pick
The Business Services sector covers an array of services that include marketing consulting staffing security telecommunications Internet services logistics and waste handling Amid a diverse range of companies in this arena picking the right stock for your portfolio could appear to be a colossal task An easy way to narrow down the list is to look at stocks that have a favorable Zacks Rank and a positive
Earnings ESP is our proprietary methodology for determining which stocks have the best chance to surprise with their next earnings announcement The Earnings ESP shows the percentage difference between the Most Accurate estimate and the Zacks Consensus Estimate
The combination of a Zacks Rank 1 Strong Buy or 2 Buy or 3 Hold and a positive Earnings ESP is usually a harbinger of a likely earnings beat
For investors seeking to benefit by applying this strategy to their portfolios we have mentioned three Business Services stocks below which match these criteria and thus may be potential winners this earnings season
FleetCor Technologies Inc FleetCor provides fuel cards commercial payment and data solutions lodging and transportation management services stored value solutions and workforce payment products and services to businesses retailers commercial fleets major oil companies petroleum marketers and government entities The company operates throughout North America Latin America Europe Australia and New Zealand
FleetCor has a long term earnings growth expectation of 17 7 The company currently carries a Zacks Rank 2 along with an Earnings ESP of 2 07 The company is expected to report second quarter 2016 results after the closing bell on Aug 4
Waste Connections Inc Waste Connections is an integrated solid waste services company that provides waste collection transfer disposal and recycling services across the U S and Canada The company also offers non hazardous oilfield waste treatment recovery and disposal services in various active natural resource producing areas in the country through its R360 Environmental Solutions subsidiary
This Zacks Rank 3 stock has a long term earnings growth expectation of 6 0 forward PE of 30 2x and an Earnings ESP of 5 56 The company is scheduled to report second quarter 2016 results after the market close on Aug 3
MasterCard Incorporated Founded in 1966 and headquartered in Purchase NY MasterCard is a leading global payment solutions firm that provides an array of services in support of the credit debit mobile web based and contactless payments and other related electronic payment programs to financial institutions and other entities in more than 150 currencies from approximately 210 countries
The company has a long term earnings growth expectation of 15 5 and a forward PE of 26 2x MasterCard currently carries a Zacks Rank 3 along with an Earnings ESP of 1 11 The company is expected to report second quarter 2016 results before the opening bell on Jul 28
Moving Forward
Wells Fargo NYSE WFC Chief Executive John Stumpf observed Most of the improvement came from consumers where drivers were broad based Spending on big ticket items was especially robust and sentiment surveys show that consumer confidence remains strong
As the U S stocks appear to gain ground with an improving economy a sneak peek at some possible outperformers backed by a solid Zacks Rank and a positive Earnings ESP could be a great idea for investors to gain from this earnings season
Want the latest recommendations from Zacks Investment Research Today you can download 7 Best Stocks for the Next 30 Days |
CMCSA | American Idol host Ryan Seacrest accused of misconduct in Variety report | LOS ANGELES Reuters A former stylist for American Idol host Ryan Seacrest on Monday accused him of sexual misconduct although Seacrest denied the accusations last November Suzie Hardy told Hollywood publication Variety that Seacrest sexually harassed her for six years starting in 2007 when she became his personal stylist at E News Seacrest who is also co host of ABC television s daytime talk show Live with Kelly Ryan and producer of Keeping Up with the Kardashians made public the woman s accusations last November when he also issued a denial E a unit of Comcast Corp NASDAQ CMCSA conducted an internal inquiry into her accusations but said in January that it had found insufficient evidence to support her claims Seacrest s lawyer Andrew Baum said on Monday that Variety s decision to run Hardy s story was upsetting Baum said in a statement that Hardy had previously asked for money to stay silent They Variety were told that the accuser threatened to make those false claims against him unless he paid her 15 million he said At that time the claimant threatened to issue a demonstrably false press statement unless she was paid Instead my client proactively and publicly denied the claims and agreed to fully cooperate with E s investigation about the matter ABC did not immediately reply to a request for comment on Monday Hardy s lawyer did not reply to a request for comment on Variety s account Hardy s interview with Variety on Monday marked the first time she was identified and details of her claims were revealed Hardy whose employment ended in 2013 said she felt the E investigation was incomplete and one sided E said in a statement on Monday that its investigation by an outside lawyer was extremely comprehensive and thorough and that any claims that question the legitimacy of this investigation are completely baseless Talent show American Idol with Seacrest as host is scheduled to return to television on March 11 on Walt Disney Co s ABC network after a 14 year run on Fox ended in 2016 Seacrest is the latest celebrity to be accused of sexual misconduct in a scandal that has rocked Hollywood and beyond since October 2017
To have my workplace conduct questioned was gut wrenching I ve always aimed to treat all of my colleagues with honesty respect kindness and compassion Seacrest 43 wrote in a February guest column for The Hollywood Reporter |
CMCSA | Disney slides after Comcast tops 21st Century Fox s bid for Sky | said Tuesday it would The deal could upset 21st Century Fox s plans to acquire Sky in order to sell it to Shares of fell as much as 2 5 in early trading Tuesday after Comcast The offer could throw a wrench into 21st Century Fox s previously attempts to increase its stake in Sky from 40 to a majority 61 before selling the company to Disney For years now 21st Century Fox chairman Rupert Murdoch has but suffered a major setback in June 2017 when the UK government said it would refer the possible deal to regulators Fox has already agreed on paper to sell its stake in Sky to Disney At the time the deal was announced 21st Century Fox said it remained Comcast was one of the interested bidders in Fox s entertainment assets according to multiple reports Comcast says it is confident that we will be able to receive the necessary regulatory approvals and Wall Street seems to agree We expect this deal to go through as we do not think Fox or Disney who are acquiring the Sky assets as part of their purchase of various Fox assets will want to get into a bidding war especially given the complications surrounding Sky News Liberium media analyst Ian Whittaker said in a note Tuesday morning Oscar Williams Grut contributed to this report from London |
WFC | U S home prices to rise at a strong pace on tight supply Reuters poll | By Hari Kishan and Rahul Karunakar Reuters U S home prices look poised to rise at a robust pace over the next few years mainly because of a chronic shortage of houses and steady demand a Reuters poll showed on Friday Still a slim majority of analysts in the poll taken May 16 25 said the Trump administration should pursue some form of housing market deregulation although 60 percent were not convinced that Congress would pass such policies The lack of any strong consensus among analysts in this poll and the one three months ago stems from uncertainty about what kind of deregulation if any will be proposed The administration s inability to push other promised legislation like a healthcare overhaul has also not helped matters But some respondents had strong words about any withdrawal of regulations put in place after the 2007 2008 housing market crash which knocked property prices down by 40 percent in some areas and triggered a punishing global financial crisis Coming out of a period where we had a real housing sector collapse and where prices seemed so out of line and now having surpassed that any housing deregulation should be done very carefully said FAO Economics chief economist Robert Brusca Even without stimulus U S home prices are likely to rise at almost double the current rate of underlying consumer prices and wages according to the latest Reuters poll of around 40 property market analysts and economists After climbing 5 0 percent in each of the last two years the S P Case Shiller composite index of home prices in 20 metropolitan areas is expected to gain another 5 6 percent this year and 4 2 percent next year This is the fifth straight quarterly Reuters poll in which analysts have bolstered their view of higher prices in 2017 Healthy demand and low inventory continue to place upward pressure on home valuations said Wells Fargo NYSE WFC chief economist John Silvia Those trends look to remain in place in the near term and therefore continue to underpin solid single digit home price increases The latest data showed the number of houses for sale had dropped for 23 straight months from year earlier periods This pushed the median price in April to its highest since June 2016 and marked the 62nd straight month of year on year gains Turnover has not alleviated much pressure either In April homebuilding dropped new home sales plunged and even resales fell from a more than 10 year high Property analysts now forecast annualized existing home sales in each quarter this year to average less than the 5 70 million unit pace hit in March which was the highest since February 2007 Before the housing market crash existing home sales peaked above a 7 million unit pace in 2005 With the April supply of existing homes for sale at its lowest level since 1982 home sales will be constrained even as a strong labor market and gradual loosening in credit conditions supports housing demand wrote Capital Economics property economist Matthew Pointon The average 30 year mortgage rate is now forecast at 4 25 percent this year and 4 60 percent in 2018 according to the latest poll That is below expectations from just three months ago
When asked to rate affordability of U S housing on a scale of 1 being the cheapest and 10 the most expensive the median answer was 6 That is similar to what analysts rated British and Canadian property in separate polls GB HOMES CA HOMES Polling by Anu Bararia and Hari Kishan Editing by Ross Finley and and Lisa Von Ahn |
WFC | Wells Fargo makes more personnel changes in retail banking unit | By Dan Freed Reuters Wells Fargo Co N WFC has made more executive changes in its retail banking unit as it tries to recover from a sales scandal that harmed its once enviable reputation Mary Mack head of the retail business announced new roles for four executives who will report directly to her according to a memo sent last week that was viewed by Reuters on Tuesday The San Francisco based bank also cut the number of sub regions in its Western U S operation to five from eight a move that left two executives looking for new jobs according to the memo whose contents were confirmed by spokeswoman Mary Eshet These leadership changes are responsive to our priorities of rebuilding trust with team members and customers so that we can learn from the past Mack said in the May 24 memo which was first reported by the Wall Street Journal The latest changes come nearly a year after Mack took over her position from Carrie Tolstedt a central figure in the scandal Under her watch thousands of retail bank employees created as many as 2 1 million phony accounts in customers names to hit aggressive sales targets Many of the problems occurred in Western states and came to light after Wells Fargo reached a 190 million settlement with a Los Angeles prosecutor and federal regulators last September Earlier this year Wells demoted and dismissed other retail banking executives over their roles in the scandal Mack s direct reports with new roles include Bob Chlebowski who was named branch distribution executive Laurey Cosentino who will lead the customer and branch experience team Celeste Finley who will lead the regional services group and Jonathan Velline who was named head of business strategy and administration Those with new responsibilities in the Western division include Don Pearson LON PSON who was named head of the Desert Mountain region David Galasso the new head of Greater California Dave Kvamme the new head of Midwest East John Sotoodeh the new head of Midwest West and Jim Foley named head of Northwest Those executives now report to Western Regional Banking Executive Lisa Stevens Ben Alvarado who previously headed Southern California and Frank Newman former head of the Rocky Mountain area will be seeking new opportunities according to the memo Eshet said that they will be looking inside the bank David DiCristofaro who previously headed greater Los Angeles will take on a new senior leadership role inside community banking reporting to Cosentino |
WFC | Continued shakeup at Wells Fargo retail unit | Mary Mack who heads the retail operation announced new roles for four executives who will report directly to her according to a memo seen by Reuters Wells NYSE WFC also cut the number of sub regions in its Western U S operation to five from eight letting go two of those three sub region heads Mack has been in the job for about a year since taking over from Carrie Tolstedt who was forced out following the account opening scandal Now read |
WFC | New Strong Sell Stocks For July 20th | Here are 5 stocks added to the Zacks Rank 5 Strong Sell List today
AMC Entertainment Holdings Inc NYSE AMC operates as a theatrical exhibition company in the United States and internationally The Zacks Consensus Estimate for its current year earnings has tanked 8 8 over the last 30 days
Nextera Energy Partners LP NYSE NEP acquires owns and operates contracted clean energy projects It owns interests in wind and solar projects in North America The Zacks Consensus Estimate for its current year earnings has been revised 9 4 downward over the last 30 days
Regal Entertainment Group NYSE RGC operates as a motion picture exhibitor in the United States It has seen the Zacks Consensus Estimate for its current year earnings being revised 7 1 downward over the last 30 days
Walker Dunlop Inc NYSE WD originates sells and services a range of multifamily and other commercial real estate financing products for owners and developers of real estate in the United States The Zacks Consensus Estimate revision for its current year earnings was a negative 2 7 over the last 30 days
Wells Fargo Co NYSE WFC provides retail commercial and corporate banking services to individuals businesses and institutions The Zacks Consensus Estimate for its current year earnings has moved 2 lower over the last 30 days
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WFC | Financial Preferred ETF PGF Hits New 52 Week High | For investors seeking momentum PowerShares Financial Preferred ETF TO PGF is probably on radar now The fund just hit a 52 week high and is up roughly 58 from its 52 week low price of 12 24 share
But are more gains in store for this ETF Let s take a quick look at the fund and the near term outlook on it to get a better idea on where it might be headed PGF in Focus PGF provides exposure to the 89 preferred securities traded in the U S market issued by financial institutions The product is heavily concentrated on the top three firms HSBC Holdings LON HSBA Barclays LON BARC Bank Plc and Wells Fargo NYSE WFC Co at around 8 00 The product charges investors 63 basis points in fees see all here Why the Move With financial stocks performing well lately on a decent start to the second quarter earnings season and an ongoing hunt for yield this ETF advanced considerably Preferred equities are known for their high yielding nature and normally get priority over equity shares both in case of dividend payments as well as at the time of liquidation if the company fails Thus preferred stocks are relatively stable and usually exhibit a low correlation with other income generating assets More Gains Ahead The fund has a A positive weighted alpha hints at more gains Further the sole lure for the sector demand for current income looks solid at the current level so there is definitely some promise for those who want to ride this ETF a little further |
WFC | China Stock Roundup Alibaba Teams Up With SAIC Yingli Expands Downstream Portfolio | Markets remained bogged down for most of the week taking losses until bargain hunters boosted stocks on Thursday The benchmark index declined on Monday following the release of discouraging official data on home prices The Shanghai Composite Index continued to take losses on Tuesday following concerns that the resurgence on the property sector was losing momentum The benchmark index declined again on Wednesday following conflicting signals on China s economy The Shanghai Composite rebounded on Thursday after investors sought out beaten down stocks following a long string of losses for stocks Alibaba Group Holding Limited NYSE BABA is reportedly teaming up with SAIC Motor to explore the connected car space Yingli Green Energy Holding Co Ltd s NYSE YGE wholly owned subsidiary Yingli Energy China Company Limited also known as Yingli China added 50 megawatts MW to its downstream solar portfolio by finishing work on a project in Datong City Shanxi Province China Last Week s Developments Last Friday both the Shanghai Composite Index and the CSI 300 closed flat for the day Surprisingly positive GDP data for the second quarter lessened chances of further stimulus measures from the government discouraging investors Over the week the Shanghai Composite gained 2 2 while the CSI 300 increased 2 6 The Hang Seng China Enterprises Index moved up 0 4 gaining 6 over last week GDP increased by 6 7 during the second quarter This exceeded most estimates which were close to 6 6 and higher than the official target of 6 5 for 2016 as a whole Both retail data and industrial output exceeded expectations Additionally a separate report from China s central bank showed that the most representative gauge of new credit had exceeded most forecasts Markets and the Economy This WeekThe benchmark index declined by 0 4 on Monday with construction shares and real estate shares leading losses for the day These stock categories suffered losses following discouraging official data on home prices New home prices increased in only 55 cities in June declining from gains in 60 recorded in May The Shanghai Composite property sub index also closed 0 7 lower In contrast the Hang Seng gained 0 7 The Hang Seng China Enterprises Index moved higher for the sixth successive day touching its highest level in three months The Shanghai Composite Index lost 0 2 following concerns that the resurgence on the property sector was losing momentum Meanwhile investors were worried about the falling yen which breached a crucial support level late on Monday The CSI 300 moved 0 4 lower while the Shanghai Composite property sub index declined by 0 7 once again A sub index of consumer staples stocks declined despite being the best performing group over the last three months The Hang Seng lost 0 6 after missing a bull market trend by 1 on Monday The Hang Seng China Enterprises Index lost 1 1 following gains of 6 5 over the last six sessions which helped the index achieve its highest level in three months The benchmark index declined 0 3 on Wednesday following conflicting signals on China s economy Concerns arising out of these sentiments led to fears about the chances of further policy stimulus for the rest of the year The CSI 300 also lost 0 3 Volumes remained weak for the second successive trading session IIn contrast the Hang Seng advanced 1 moving closer to bull market conditions The Hang Seng China Enterprises Index gained 0 4 The Shanghai Composite rose 0 4 on Thursday gaining for the first time in four trading sessions Investors sought out beaten down stocks as they searched for bargains after a long string of losses for stocks The CSI 300 increased 0 5 Meanwhile Hong Kong s benchmark crept into the black for the year entering a bull market as regional indexes gained Property stocks led gains as the Hang Seng advanced 0 5 This took its gain over the three year low hit in February to 20 The Hang Seng China Enterprises Index moved up 0 4 Stocks in the News Alibaba Group Holding Limited is reportedly teaming up with SAIC Motor to explore the connected car space According to a CNBC report the duo will soon roll out a sports utility vehicle SUV called Roewe RX5 powered by Alibaba s operating system YunOS The car was unveiled in April at the Beijing Auto Show and its commercial availability is expected in August this year The commercial model is priced at Rmb148 000 or 22 000 YunOS is quite a popular OS in China and is currently in use in some popular Chinese smartphone brands such as Duowei and Meizu Alibaba claims that YUnOS has the third largest user base after Android and iOS Yingli Green Energy Holding Co Ltd s wholly owned subsidiary Yingli Energy China Company Limited also known as Yingli China added 50 megawatts MW to its downstream solar portfolio by finishing work on a project in Datong City Shanxi Province China The project came online at the end of last month Yingli China had received the contract to build and develop the project in Jul 2015 The project is part of the Top Runner program under the country s National Energy Administration NEA Located in the coal mining subsidence area of Datong the first National Advanced PV Technology Demonstration Base the project utilizes Yingli s TwinMAX 60 Cell bifacial series modules It is expected to produce more than 80 gigawatt hour GWh of electricity annually which is sufficient to power about 37 000 homes The amount of power generated will reduce more than 50 000 tons of carbon emission a year TwinMAX 60 is a frameless double glass module that employs Yingli s cutting edge PANDA n type monocrystalline solar cell technology which boasts a module efficiency of almost 18 8 ReneSola Limited NYSE SOL has completed the construction of six utility scale projects in UK last month These projects with a combined capacity of approximately 26 megawatts MW have also been connected to the country s grid They are located in Carlam Hill Farm Yorkshire North Wales and Monmouthshire ReneSola was responsible for the design and construction of the projects all of which are powered by the Virtus II modules The company will further provide ongoing operation and maintenance services JD com NASDAQ JD said it has tied up with many prominent Japanese kitchenware and home brands in order to cater to the growing demand in China for top class home appliances and related goods from Japan Brands which will become available on JD com as a result of these linkages include the likes of Pearl Life Tiger and Nishikawa Sangyo The partnerships were announced at an event held in Tokyo which was hosted by JD com along with Japan External Trade Organization This government related organization aims to boost investment and trade between Japan and other countries from across the globe JinkoSolar Holding Co Ltd NYSE JKS said that it has inked changes to its credit agreement with a unit of Wells Fargo NYSE WFC Wells Fargo Capital Finance in order to revise its credit limit upward from 40 million to 60 million for a three year period The company s CFO said that this was the second time that it had increased its credit limit with Wells Fargo over the last few years Performance of Most Actively Traded US listed Chinese StocksThe table given below shows the price movements of 10 Chinese companies with the highest three month average trading volume on U S exchanges Price movements over the last five days and during the last six months have been included Next Week s OutlookAn encouraging GDP reading should have boosted markets over the week Instead investors were discouraged by the possibility that no further economic stimulus may be forthcoming in the near future Additionally poor data on real estate prices had markets worried and property stocks took heavy losses next week The yuan also weakened adding to investors worries Next week is bereft of any major economic releases Investors will now focus on earnings releases which are likely to determine the course of markets in the days ahead |
CMCSA | NBC s social media war room a new weapon in Games coverage | By Liana B Baker PYEONGCHANG South Korea Reuters Staffed by millennials and crammed with computer screens the social media war room of U S Olympics broadcaster NBC is starting to call more of the shots in the company s mission to generate a healthy return from Olympic sports The room housed inside NBC s multi story broadcasting center at the Pyeongchang winter Games is a world away from the nearby control booths where staff produce traditional broadcasts for TV and online streaming audiences in the United States A few dozen workers post videos photos and memes on Facebook NASDAQ FB Instagram Twitter and Snap superimposing a bleating goat over a ski jumper s face or trying out other ideas that might go viral At 9 a m in Pyeongchang a South Korean ski resort it is already evening prime time in the United States and the room is packed with employees of NBC or its partners such as Snap and Buzzfeed searching for the content that will catch fire online Some don t even look at footage of the sports action They are looking in the stands They are looking at random feeds They are the ones seeing when Dwayne The Rock Johnson tweets at us said Lyndsay Signor who oversees the war room as NBC s director of sports consumer engagement The team once spotted a video of a stray walkie talkie tumbling down a ski slope followed by workers trying to catch up with it The clip has around 1 5 million views on Facebook NBC s parent Comcast Corp NASDAQ CMCSA paid more than 7 75 billion for the rights to broadcast the Olympic Games to U S audiences up until 2032 Most of its Olympic revenues will come from selling TV advertising or from subscriber fees collected from pay TV operators that carry its coverage But social media generates a growing stream of ad revenues and helps drive younger people to watch NBC broadcasts The social media room is in constant contact with NBC s highlight factory in Stamford Connecticut where highlights are cut from raw footage and posted across all NBC platforms It s probably 50 people at one time who might touch a piece of social content Signor said For action that unfolds when American viewers are asleep the room prepares waves of content timed for release during U S prime time On Wednesday it readied a wave of social media coverage on U S snowboarder Shaun White becoming the most successful snowboarder in history with his third Olympic gold The hottest social media properties for NBC at these Games include figure skaters Adam Rippon who Signor calls a soundbite machine and Mirai Nagasu who this week became the first American woman to land a triple axel jump at the Olympics Canadian ice dancing pair Tessa Virtue and Scott Moir are also drawing plenty of interest online
They re very attractive and they won gold for Canada so we are seeing a lot of traction with them Signor said |
CMCSA | Global broadcasters output up by 14 percent from Sochi IOC | By Karolos Grohmann PYEONGCHANG South Korea Reuters Broadcasters around the world have beamed 14 percent more hours of programming from the Pyeongchang winter Olympics compared to the Sochi Games in Russia four years ago the International Olympic Committee IOC said on Tuesday The IOC s director of television and marketing Timo Lumme said preliminary data showed overall output from the Games in South Korea was bigger than at any previous winter Olympics with an average of 130 hours of programming per rights holding broadcaster The amount of content on digital platforms is also up and expected to be double that aired on television so two parts digital to one part television Over five billion people will have access to TV coverage of the Pyeongchang Games Lumme told reporters Early estimates showed some three billion people will have watched some coverage of the Olympics that started on Feb 9 and end on Sunday he said The Pyeongchang Games are the first of three consecutive Olympics in Asia with Tokyo hosting the 2020 summer edition and Beijing staging the 2022 winter Olympics Broadcasters in these three major Asian markets were consistently outperforming their average share of viewing In the United State Lumme said NBC s coverage during prime time was bigger than all other competitor networks combined Often it is even doubling the combined audience of other network he said U S rights holder NBC is the IOC s largest single source of revenue having paid more than 7 75 billion for the rights to broadcast the Olympic Games to U S audiences up until 2032 U S national advertising sales for the Olympics in Pyeongchang have surpassed 900 million a record for the Winter Games NBC Sports Group a unit of Comcast Corp NASDAQ CMCSA had said prior to the start of the Games
NBC is producing more than 2 400 hours of coverage over 18 days from Pyeongchang |
WFC | Wells Fargo suffers slump in muni bond underwriting | By Karen Pierog and Robin Respaut CHICAGO SAN FRANCISCO Reuters Wells Fargo NYSE WFC Co is paying a price in the U S municipal bond market for the bogus customer accounts scandal that hit the bank last year and led to bans by some cities and states an analysis of Thomson Reuters data shows So far in 2017 Wells Fargo is in sixth place among senior underwriters of municipal bonds with 85 deals totaling nearly 8 13 billion according to the data During the same period in 2016 the bank ranked fourth with 134 issues totaling 12 74 billion In September Wells Fargo agreed to pay a 190 million settlement over its staff opening as many as 2 million accounts without customers knowledge California along with Massachusetts Chicago and Ohio suspended Wells Fargo last fall from pricing their negotiated bond sales due to the scandal Municipal issuers typically sell their debt either by hiring underwriters to price their bonds or by setting a date and time for underwriters to bid on the debt and then choose the lowest bid Wells Fargo s ranking for negotiated deals slid to eighth place between Jan 1 and May 17 from fourth place during the same period in 2016 The bank was the bookrunning underwriter on 45 deals totaling 5 2 billion so far this year compared to 79 deals totaling 9 25 billion in 2016 The bank s ranking drop for winning competitively bid issues was not as steep falling to fifth place with 40 deals totaling 2 92 billion so far this year from third place with 55 deals totaling 3 48 billion last year Public Finance is an important business for Wells Fargo with many opportunities for growth Philip Smith head of government and institutional banking at Wells Fargo said in a statement to Reuters We are continuing to invest in the business Despite current political challenges affecting league tables our strong relationships and diversified municipal business model have us growing revenue 15 percent year over year Smith said CALIFORNIA DEAL California sanctioned Wells Fargo over the accounts scandal last year In April however it beat out eight other banks to win a 635 million competitive deal in the state with a 2 811 percent interest rate according to the California Treasurer s Office We had no choice said California State Treasurer spokesman Marc Lifsher California law requires the state to award competitive sales of general obligation bonds to the bidder with the lowest interest cost Lifsher said He added that the state plans to review the sanctions this fall but as of Monday the bank was still in our dog house We re continuing to pressure them to show us that they ve cleaned up their act Lifsher said
Refiles to fix typographical error in headline |
WFC | Dollar weak as political risks linger euro up on Merkel comments | By Saqib Iqbal Ahmed NEW YORK Reuters The dollar fell to a more than six month low against a basket of currencies on Monday extending its losses from last week as an uncertain U S political climate and a buoyant euro weighed on the greenback The dollar index DXY which tracks the greenback against a basket of six major rivals was down 0 14 percent to 97 005 It fell to a low of 96 797 its lowest since Nov 9 earlier in the session I think it is a continuation of the move we have seen since mid April said Omer Esiner chief market analyst at Commonwealth Foreign Exchange in Washington The dollar s broad declines are driven by the increasingly mixed tone to U S economic data which has led to investors questioning the extent to which the Fed will be raising rates this year The political climate is also acting as a key headwind for the dollar The dollar fell more than 2 percent last week logging its worst performance in more than a year amid growing concerns over U S President Donald Trump s recent firing of FBI Director James Comey who was overseeing an investigation into possible links between the president s team and Russia Political turmoil in Washington has also raised worries that there could be delays in Trump s efforts to implement his economic stimulus plans Generally speaking we still have a constructive view on the dollar but in light of some of the recent weakness we certainly have to contemplate how lasting could this impact from fiscal policy or lack thereof be for the currency markets said Erik Nelson currency strategist at Wells Fargo NYSE WFC Securities in New York The greenback was also pressured by a rallying euro which hit a more than six month high against the dollar on Monday after Germany s Angela Merkel prefaced a summit of G7 leaders later this week by saying a too weak currency was behind her country s massive trade surplus Speaking to students at a secondary school in Berlin Merkel said that Germany s huge export earnings were propelled by two factors over which the government had no influence namely the euro s exchange rate and oil prices The euro was up 0 25 percent against the dollar at 1 1232 after hitting a high of 1 1263 earlier in the session
Meanwhile sterling slipped broadly after polls showed a narrowing lead for Britain s Prime Minister Theresa May over her opposition ahead of elections next month |
WFC | Wells Fargo Advisors creates new mutual fund class for fiduciary rule | By Elizabeth Dilts NEW YORK Reuters Wells Fargo Advisors N WFC will launch a new share class of mutual funds next month as part of its plan to comply with the new U S Labor Department regulation that seeks to put the interests of retirement clients first the bank confirmed Wednesday Starting June 9 the same day the DOL s fiduciary rule takes effect advisers who want to buy mutual fund class shares for retired clients will be required to buy T shares which pay advisers a 2 5 percent commission upfront and a 0 25 percent going forward These shares differ from other mutual fund shares such as A or C shares because the flat commission and ongoing fee they charge eliminates any possible conflict of interest that could encourage an adviser to recommend one type of mutual fund over another for clients The DOL s fiduciary rule requires brokers to put client s interests first by avoiding investment products that could present a conflict of interest
Wells Fargo Advisors spokeswoman Emily Acquisto said the firm is prepared for the June 9 start date of the new rule and they continue to asses evolve the firm s financial planning strategy and tools to ensure our clients have the best outcomes under the rule |
CMCSA | NBC says its Olympics U S ad sales set record for winter games | Reuters U S national advertising sales for the Olympics in Pyeongchang have surpassed 900 million a record for the Winter Games U S broadcaster NBC Sports Group said in a statement on Thursday We look forward to adding to this milestone as the drama of the Games unfolds over the next few weeks said Dan Lovinger executive vice president of advertising sales for NBC Sports Group a unit of Comcast Corp NASDAQ CMCSA Live sporting events remain attractive to advertisers because they keep viewers tuned in during commercials rather than skipping them when they watch on demand
NBC is producing more than 2 400 hours of coverage over 18 days from the games in Pyeongchang South Korea Olympic figure skating competition will be aired on Thursday night and opening ceremonies will be shown on Friday |
CMCSA | U S ad sales record for Winters Olympics | While opening ceremonies for the Winter Olympics kick off in Pyeongchang NBC Sports NASDAQ CMCSA announced that U S national advertising sales for the games have surpassed a record 900M Live sporting events remain attractive to advertisers because they keep viewers tuned in during commercials rather than skipping them when they watch on demand Now read |
CMCSA | Comcast mulling new bid for Fox assets sources | By Anjali Athavaley and Jessica Toonkel Reuters Comcast Corp NASDAQ CMCSA is considering a new offer for Rupert Murdoch s Twenty First Century Fox assets despite an agreement in December to sell them to Walt Disney Co for 52 4 billion according to people familiar with the matter Comcast s deliberations indicate that it believes it still has a chance to clinch a deal with Fox even though it previous bid last year for more than 60 billion was rejected over concerns that regulators worried about media consolidation could thwart it the sources said Comcast may decide not to make any new offer the sources said Its decision will be informed by how Fox justifies the deal with Disney in a regulatory filing to its shareholders sometime before they are asked to vote on the deal this summer the sources added The sources asked not to be identified because the deliberations are confidential Comcast Disney and Fox gave no immediate comment Comcast might be prepared to offer protections to Fox such as agreeing to remove certain assets from the deal that prove controversial in Washington D C including regional sports channels according to the Wall Street Journal which first reported on Comcast s deliberations It was is possible that instead of re engaging in pursuit of all of Fox assets Comcast could zero in on something in particular such as European pay TV giant Sky the Wall Street Journal report said citing anonymous sources The Murdoch family which controls Fox preferred a deal with Disney because it would rather be paid in Disney than Comcast stock and expects a potential deal with Disney to be cleared by U S antitrust regulators more easily sources told Reuters in December
Disney struck a deal with Fox to buy film television and international businesses The deal is set to bring to a close more than half a century of expansion by Murdoch 86 who turned a single Australian newspaper he inherited from his father at the age of 21 into one of the world s most important global news and film conglomerates The new slimmed down Fox will focus on TV news and sport |
WFC | U S home builder confidence improves in May | Reuters A private gauge of U S home builder sentiment unexpectedly rose in May to its second strongest level since the housing bust nearly a decade ago as the existing supply of homes remained tight The National Association of Home Builders and Wells Fargo NYSE WFC said on Monday their index of builder confidence in newly built single family homes climbed to 70 points from 68 in April Analysts polled by Reuters had forecast the reading to be unchanged in May from April In March the index reached 71 which was the highest since June 2005 during the height of the prior housing boom This report shows that builders optimism in the housing market is solidifying even as they deal with higher building material costs and shortages of lots and labor NAHB Chairman Granger MacDonald said in a statement Some analysts cautioned the rise in mortgage rates this year would limit a pickup in home construction While we expect a slight moderation in housing activity in the near term owing to higher mortgage rates the picture for 2017 18 remains one of modest trend improvement Barclays LON BARC economist Blerina Uruci wrote in a research note The NAHB index is seen as a proxy on domestic housing starts The government will release its April housing starts report at 8 30 a m on Tuesday Economists polled by Reuters forecast builders likely broke ground at an annualized rate of 1 260 million units faster than a 1 215 million unit pace in March The survey s gauge on current single family home sales rose to 76 points from 74 in April while its six month sales outlook index increased to 79 which was the highest since June 2005 from 75 On the other hand the barometer on prospective buyers dipped to 51 in May from 52
On a regional basis three of the four U S regions NAHB tracks the Northeast South and West showed improved builder sentiment in May but the Midwest recorded a decline |
WFC | Triumph Group 12 5 after upgrades | After Triumph Group TGI 12 5 indicated that its Vought Aircraft Division could be insolvent Wells Fargo NYSE WFC said the stock price more than discounts the risks and does not yet reflect some of the favorable outcomes The firm thinks that Triumph should be trading in the high 20s assuming no contribution from the troubled unit and kept its Outperform rating on shares Baird also upgraded TGI to Outperform to reflect the significant erosion in the stock that is now pricing in the bulk of the extreme outcomes for its Aerostructures segment PT was raised to 30 from 25 Now read |
WFC | Judge may reject parts of Wells Fargo account abuse settlement | By Jonathan Stempel Reuters A federal judge signaled that he may reject parts of Wells Fargo NYSE WFC Co s proposed 142 million settlement with customers for whom it opened millions of unauthorized accounts In an order on Tuesday evening U S District Judge Vince Chhabria in San Francisco ordered lawyers for customers and the bank to address his concerns including whether the entire settlement should be rejected before a scheduled Thursday hearing to consider preliminary approval The accord would resolve claims that Wells Fargo employees opened as many as 3 5 million bogus accounts since 2002 to meet unrealistic sales goals driving up costs for customers and often hurting their credit scores It followed a national scandal that erupted last September after the third largest U S bank agreed to pay 185 million in penalties to settle related charges by various authorities Wells Fargo spokesman Jim Seitz on Wednesday said the San Francisco based bank is preparing a response and considers the settlement an important step in our journey to make things right for our customers and rebuild trust Lawyers for the customers did not immediately respond on Wednesday to requests for comment Chhabria said he was strongly inclined to reject a provision for an injunction barring customers from pursuing other claims against the bank and asked whether this would require the court to reject the proposed settlement He also said he was tentatively inclined to carve out claims related to customer overdrafts and said there may be an argument that executives and directors got too much protection Concerns were also raised that the settlement might not guarantee full compensation to everyone harmed and might limit the potential for significant punitive damages The judge also asked how the estimate of bogus accounts rose to 3 5 million a number suggested by the customers lawyers last Thursday from the prior 2 1 million estimate Chhabria has received several objections contending that the settlement is too broad and the payout is too low
The scandal cost former Wells Fargo Chief Executive John Stumpf and retail banking chief Carrie Tolstedt their jobs plus tens of millions of dollars of compensation |
WFC | U S economy seen less likely to grow 3 percent this year Reuters poll | By Rahul Karunakar Reuters The probability that the U S economy will grow 3 percent this year has fallen over the last month as weak data and political concerns have dented confidence according to a slim majority of economists in a Reuters poll That finding comes as hopes for tax cuts and other pro growth policies promised by President Donald Trump have faded amid reports Trump tried to interfere with an investigation into ties between his first national security adviser and Russia Those reports prompted the biggest sell off in U S equities since early September With Washington policymakers distracted by Trump s political problems the risks of a longer timeline to see the realization of tax reforms and other pro growth fiscal policies have increased A rapid pace of expansion is essential for Trump s broader economic agenda but the U S economy grew at its slowest pace in three years in the first quarter just 0 7 percent on an annualized basis While the latest poll of 100 economists taken May 12 18 showed growth will rebound in the second quarter to 3 2 percent forecasts suggest that will be the best rate through to the end of next year with annual averages for this year and next well below the 3 percent target The weak first quarter growth estimate makes it impossible for the U S to reach the 3 percent threshold it would require three straight quarters of over 5 percent annualized growth said Rebecca Mitchell economist at IHS Markit Fifty three percent of respondents who answered an extra question said the chance of achieving 3 percent growth had fallen over the past month 37 percent said it had not changed and just 10 percent said it had risen For a graphic Breaking it down further predictions for average growth in the first two quarters taken together or the first half of the year are slightly lower than what was expected last month The consensus is for growth in a range of 2 4 to 2 5 percent per quarter from July this year through the end of 2018 Even inflation forecasts have been cut slightly from last month The U S Federal Reserve s preferred inflation gauge the core PCE price index is not expected to reach the central bank s 2 percent target until the second quarter of next year Those predictions not only highlight the divergence between the U S administration s expectations for 3 percent growth trimmed from an earlier 4 percent and the economy s actual performance they also show the challenge that Trump faces Indeed economists in several Reuters polls since the start of the year including the latest have said chances for achieving 3 percent growth were low We always thought a 3 percent growth rate this year was a remote possibility The weak economic data in the first quarter and the diminishing prospect for stimulative fiscal policy this year appear to validate that forecast said Scott Anderson chief economist at Bank of the West Still the Fed is expected to continue with its plan to hike interest rates twice more this year after March s 25 basis point lift The poll predicted a 25 basis point hike in the second quarter and a follow up increase in the third taking the fed funds rate to a range of 1 25 to 1 50 percent Most Fed officials at least in their comments still appear resolute in their normalization plan It s one of the reasons why the June rate hike is firmly on the table After that rate hike it has clearly been more debatable whether or not there will be another rate hike said Sam Bullard senior economist at Wells Fargo NYSE WFC There is still a lot of runway left before we get to the June meeting and even after that before hard decisions need to be made But we still think the Fed is generally on course as long as the data comes out as expected When asked what would stop the Fed from taking interest rates higher twice more this year a few economists said they believed it would be a sell off in stock markets A handful also picked the divergence between sentiment and official economic data as a reason to stay the Fed s hand on rates But most economists chose a fall back in core inflation as the main reason For a graphic The core personal consumption expenditure price index is expected to remain below the central bank s 2 percent goal until the second quarter of 2018 the poll showed
That compares with the inflation gauge that was expected to reach 2 percent toward the end of 2017 in last month s poll The latest consensus was again for wage growth to remain lackluster Additional reporting polling and analysis by Hari Kishan and Anu Bararia Editing by Bernadette Baum |
WFC | Inspector finds holes in U S consumer agency s information safeguards | WASHINGTON Reuters The U S watchdog agency that investigated and fined Wells Fargo NYSE WFC Co for creating phantom accounts and which regularly penalizes large banks and lenders on behalf of consumers has holes in its systems for protecting confidential information the office charged with inspecting its operations said on Thursday The relatively new Consumer Financial Protection Bureau has made confidential investigative information available to employees when they do not need it to perform their assigned duties increasing the risk of inadvertent or unauthorized disclosure the Federal Reserve Inspector General s office found in its report The inspector general only looked into whether the CFPB s enforcement arm had effective safeguards for sensitive information and not if the information had been disclosed without authorization The CFPB created in the 2010 Dodd Frank Wall Street reform law to protect individuals against fraud receives its funding from the central bank and is subject to checks by the Fed s internal inspection office The inspector general pointed to the enforcement office s challenges with updating access rights and an information technology system migration for giving 113 CFPB staff members the ability to read the restricted records It added the enforcement office is not consistent in naming and storing files creating other opportunities for unauthorized people to view information Ultimately when a worker was moved from one case to another the agency was slow in cutting off the person s ability to access information on the prior case The office which the report said has obtained 11 5 billion in relief for more than 27 million consumers began working to improve protections while the inspector general was conducting the study and in its responses in the report the CFPB said it had already limited the access of unauthorized users A spokesman for the CFPB said there were no indications of unauthorized access to information outside CFPB or of inappropriate access within the agency |
WFC | Wells Fargo WFC Miss Q2 Earnings On High Expenses | Have you been eager to see how Wells Fargo Company NYSE WFC performed in Q2 in comparison with the market expectations Let s quickly scan through the key facts from this San Francisco based money center bank s earnings release this morning An Earnings MissWells Fargo came out with earnings per share of 1 01 missing the Zacks Consensus Estimate of 1 02 Higher expenses were primarily responsible for this earnings miss How Was the Estimate Revision Trend You should note that the earnings estimate for Wells Fargo depicted neutral stance prior to the earnings release The Zacks Consensus Estimate has remained stable over the last 7 days However Wells Fargo has a decent earnings surprise history Before posting earnings miss in Q2 the company delivered positive surprises in three of the prior four quarters Overall the company surpassed the Zacks Consensus Estimate by an average of 0 50 in the trailing four quarters WELLS FARGO NEW Price and EPS Surprise Revenue Came In As Expected Wells Fargo posted revenues of 22 2 billion in line with the Zacks Consensus Estimate However it compared favorably with the year ago number of 21 3 billion Key Stats to Note Pre tax pre provision profit PTPP 9 3 billionROA net income to average assets 1 20 ROE net income applicable to common stock to shareholders equity 11 70 What Zacks Rank SaysThe estimate revisions that we discussed earlier have driven a Zacks Rank 4 Sell for Wells Fargo However since the latest earnings performance is yet to be reflected in the estimate revisions the rank is subject to change While things apparently look unfavorable it all depends on what sense the just released report makes to the analysts How the Market Reacted So FarFollowing the earnings release Wells Fargo shares were down around 1 in the pre trading session This is in contrary to what the stock witnessed in the prior day s session Clearly the initial reaction shows that the investors have not considered the results in their favor However the full session s price movement may indicate a different picture Check back later for our full write up on this Wells Fargo earnings report later Want the latest recommendations from Zacks Investment Research Today you can download 7 Best Stocks for the Next 30 Days |
CMCSA | This Media Giant Is Making New 52 Week Lows | Comcast s NASDAQ CMCSA stock peaked on January 24 2018 at 44 a share Since that high pivot the stock has tumbled and is trading around 33 CMCSA shares are now making new 52 week lows on the charts Traders and investors should note that the stock has fallen below its important 50 and 200 day moving averages putting the stock in a weak technical position on the charts
Watch This Support
Comcast s next major support level is around 30 an important area where the stock was defended back in October 2016 Remember that former major levels of support find defense when retested At this point I would expect this level to be a solid bounce area for Comcast |
CMCSA | Media Leaders And Laggards | In the monthly charts below FOXA CMCSA and TWX you can see which media giants are leading or lagging each other all are at or below their respective major resistance levels
The only one whose momentum indicator is above zero on this long term timeframe is FOXA And if it plunges and falls below zero no doubt the others will weaken further
On the flip side if FOXA breaks and holds above its prior swing high of 39 27 the others may gather strength
FOX TV Parent Company
MSNBC TV Parent Company
CNN TV Parent Company |
WFC | Scott not ready to fade into golfing sunset | By Andrew Both Reuters Adam Scott is confident his best days are still ahead even though almost three years have passed since he enjoyed a short reign as world number one As he heads to this week s Players Championship in Florida where he burst onto the American golf scene with a win in 2004 Scott is working toward peaking for the business section of the season after flirting with contention at the U S Masters where he finished equal ninth At 36 an age traditionally slightly past a player s peak he has peace of mind that comes with having won a major the 2013 Masters and believes that being largely injury free should allow him to continue playing well for many years I still feel like I ve got a long window the Australian world number 11 told Reuters at last week s Wells Fargo NYSE WFC Championship where he tied for 36th I ve at least won my first major Five years ago there was definitely a sense of urgency because I hadn t won a major and I felt I was a good enough player to and was wondering is it going to happen I m relatively stress free injury free I want success just as much as I wanted it before Scott spent 11 weeks as the world s top ranked player supplanting Tiger Woods in May 2014 He is trying to juggle the demands of top level golf with family life He has a 2 year old daughter with Swedish wife Marie expecting their second child in August As much as he enjoys life at home during his time off Scott admits to watching plenty of golf on television and getting itchy feet when he watches his peers Long regarded as one of the premier long game exponents he says his short game has improved under the tutelage of Australian instructor Matt Ballard even if it did not look like it at Augusta My short game was really sharp the first few events he said At Augusta it wasn t as good as I would have liked but I put myself in some pretty tough spots too so it s unfair to be too critical I ve definitely seen some improvement Scott is older than the current top five in the world and has watched with interest as Dustin Johnson has taken a grip on the number one ranking Johnson won three straight starts before finishing tied second in the Wells Fargo Championship despite being rusty after time off recovering from a fall that hurt his back and kept him out of the Masters But Scott observed that a golfer s place in the pantheon of greats was measured over a career not a couple of months He s in a sweet spot at the moment where everything feels very easy and free a place where we all occasionally get to Scott said of Johnson But you ve got to keep it there for a few years and I did for a while but it s slowly getting back to where I d like it to be at the moment and hopefully I m back up challenging for some majors soon This version of the story fixes wording in 12th paragraph |
WFC | Golf Johnson defending champ Day in marquee Players groups | Reuters Defending champion Jason Day plays with past champions Rickie Fowler and Henrik Stenson while world number one Dustin Johnson tees it up with Rory McIlroy and Justin Thomas in Thursday s opening round of The Players Day the world number three won last year s event by four strokes after opening with a course record 63 The Australian helps kick off the tournament in the morning wave on Thursday with fellow top 10 players Sweden s Stenson 7 and Rickie Fowler 9 teeing off at the 10th tee at 8 16 AM 1216 GMT in the so called fourth major of the season Another glamor group follows them to the tee 11 minutes later as world number five Jordan Spieth number four Hideki Matsuyama of Japan and five times major winner Phil Mickelson set off on the revamped Stadium Course at TPC Sawgrass Johnson whose run of three victories in his previous three starts ended with a tie for second at last week s Wells Fargo NYSE WFC Championship hopes to get started on a new winning streak when he tees off at 1 52 PM from the first tee in the afternoon wave World number two McIlroy the FedExCup champion celebrates a return to competition after a month off to get married They are preceded by groupings of Masters champion Sergio Garcia of Spain and former winners Adam Scott of Australia and Matt Kuchar and an international trio of Briton Justin Rose German Martin Kaymer and Spaniard Jon Rahm The elite field at The Players will see numerous changes at the permanent site of the championship including a new drivable par four 12th hole where eagles are possible if one risks the danger posed by a water hazard left of the green
There is also a new hazard between the sixth and seventh and subtle changes to several holes including expanded greens and the removal of rough to promote creative recovery shots |
WFC | Johnson confident this Players Championship will be different | Reuters Sterling play has been a challenge for Dustin Johnson at The Players Championship but the American world number one is hoping this week s tournament will be more indicative of his recent success I think my game as a whole has gotten a lot better Johnson whose previous best finish in eight starts at The Players has been a tie for 28th told a news conference in Ponte Vedra Florida on Wednesday Three victories and a tie for second in his last four starts have given the big hitter plenty of confidence but he admitted TPC Sawgrass where accuracy off the tee is often more important than length will be a challenge I haven t had a lot of success around here so it s definitely a challenge for me Johnson said But I feel like if I m going to play well here this is the time Everything throughout my whole game is in really good form right now Johnson rebounded from an unlucky fall that ruled him out of the Masters to tie for second in last week s Wells Fargo NYSE WFC Championship coming on strong over the last 36 holes after barely making the halfway cut His confidence and game are continuing to improve Johnson said as he prepares to face Masters winner Sergio Garcia newlywed Rory McIlroy and defending champion Jason Day I played a lot better on the weekend Johnson said I ve had a couple good practice days the last two days so I m excited to get the tournament started But Johnson who has only broken 70 twice in 26 rounds at TPC Sawgrass knows the Florida layout can challenge the best While a couple of holes have been lengthened since last year the course still favors precision over power especially when conditions are firm as they were on tournament eve This golf course is tough he said You ve got to have all facets of your game working if you want to contend around here
You ve got to be doing everything well because you ve got to hit all kinds of different shots every club in your bag and you ve got to really control your golf ball |
WFC | Wells Fargo 2 5 on missed efficiency ratio target | In slides for its Investor Day Wells Fargo WFC 2 5 expects its 2017 efficiency ratio to be 60 61 vs the targeted range of 55 59 The bank takes note of lower loan growth and higher funding costs and settlement related expenses and lower revenue growth as a result of the account opening scandal ROE continues at the lower end of the 11 14 targeted range as does ROA at the lower end of its 1 1 1 4 targeted range Not standing still the bank is targeting 2B in expense reductions by year end 2018 with another 2B for the end of 2019 Webcast and all slide presentationsNow read |
WFC | Wells Fargo bogus accounts balloon to 3 5 million lawyers | By Jonathan Stempel Reuters Wells Fargo Co N WFC may have opened as many as 3 5 million unauthorized customer accounts far more than previously estimated according to lawyers seeking approval of a 142 million settlement over the practice The new estimate was provided in a filing late Thursday night in the federal court in San Francisco and is 1 4 million accounts higher than previously reported by federal regulators in what became a national scandal Keller Rohrback a law firm for the plaintiff customers said the higher estimate reflects public information negotiations and confirmatory discovery The Seattle based firm also said the number may well be over inclusive but provides a reasonable basis on which to estimate a maximum recovery Wells Fargo spokesman Ancel Martinez in an email said the new estimate was based on a hypothetical scenario and unverified and did not reflect actual unauthorized accounts Nonetheless it could complicate Wells Fargo s ability to win approval for the settlement which has drawn opposition from some customers and lawyers who consider it too small This adds more credence to the fact there is not enough information to assess whether the settlement is fair and adequate Lewis Garrison a partner at Heninger Garrison Davis in Birmingham Alabama who represents some objecting customers said in an interview U S District Judge Vince Chhabria in San Francisco is scheduled to consider preliminary approval at a May 18 hearing The accounts scandal mushroomed after Wells Fargo agreed last September to pay 185 million in penalties to settle charges by authorities including the U S Consumer Financial Protection Bureau Wells Fargo employees were found to have opened the accounts in part because of pressure to meet sales goals John Stumpf and Carrie Tolstedt who were respectively the San Francisco based bank s chief executive and retail banking chief lost their jobs and had tens of millions of dollars clawed back over the scandal and 5 300 employees were fired The 142 million settlement covers accounts opened since May 2002 Wells Fargo originally agreed to pay 110 million covering accounts since 2009 but boosted the payout after discovering more problems Keller Rohrback said the settlement fairly balances the risks of further litigation including the possibility their clients might lose against the benefits
Garrison s firm said in a filing the accord underestimated the potential maximum damages by at least 50 percent and did not properly address whether Wells Fargo committed identity theft by using customers personal data to open accounts |
WFC | Johnson struggles in wind in second round at Wells Fargo | Reuters World number one Dustin Johnson struggled to stay in touch with the leaders and was five strokes from the lead when play was halted for the day at the Wells Fargo NYSE WFC Championship in Wilmington North Carolina on Friday American Johnson dropped two shots in 13 holes to slip back to even par on a windswept afternoon at Eagle Point Irishman Seamus Power and American Billy Hurley III were the clubhouse leaders at five under 139 with Italian Francesco Molinari 11 holes and American John Peterson 12 also five under The start of play was delayed three hours by morning thunderstorms
Sixty eight players have yet to complete the second round which will resume at 7 30 a m local time 1130 GMT on Saturday |
WFC | How one U S state is leading the charge to dismantle Obamacare | By Yasmeen Abutaleb and Robin Respaut FRANKFORT Ky SAN FRANCISCO Reuters For nearly three years Democrats and former President Barack Obama pointed to Kentucky as one of the Affordable Care Act s biggest success stories A poor rural state that straddles the North and South Kentucky was an early adopter of the healthcare law commonly known as Obamacare and saw one of the country s largest drops in the uninsured rate Now Kentucky is poised for a new distinction to be the first state to save money by reducing the number of people on Medicaid the government health insurance program for the poor and disabled and a central tenet of Obamacare If successful Kentucky would provide a roadmap for other states who are worried about paying an increasing share for people on Medicaid A new Republican health law that passed the U S House of Representatives on Thursday along with state initiatives like Kentucky s would dramatically change the national healthcare system and cut more than 800 billion from Medicaid over the next 10 years The Republican bill still faces a long road ahead in the U S Senate and its final passage is far from assured making initiatives like Kentucky s all the more important Kentucky has proposed to lessen its financial burden before it grows by reducing the number of residents on Medicaid by nearly 86 000 within five years saving more than 330 million in the process For a graphic click Kentucky s plan also calls for new work requirements for able bodied adults to get insurance Plus it would establish new fees for all members based on income and lock out some people who miss a payment or fail to re enroll By following these proposed rules Kentucky believes Medicaid enrollees will over time graduate from Medicaid to private and employer insurance plans One of the most remarkable lies that has perpetrated in recent years in the healthcare community in America is that expanded Medicaid was working well in Kentucky Republican Governor Matt Bevin who is leading the state effort told Reuters from the governor s mansion in Frankfort Kentucky That view is in line with President Donald Trump s administration which has criticized Obamacare s Medicaid expansion and urged states to pursue similar Medicaid reforms to what Kentucky is now attempting If Kentucky is successful you ll see this spread through the more conservative leaning states It s possible even a Democratic blue state could do it said George Huang director and senior municipal healthcare research analyst at Wells Fargo NYSE WFC Securities It s the flexibility that some states are seeking INSURING THE POOR AT A PRICE Kentucky a state Trump won handily last November has been devastated by the loss of coal mining jobs and an opioid epidemic The state sits near the bottom of health rankings for smoking rates cancer deaths and diabetes To me morally it was the right thing to expand Medicaid but I had a responsibility to not to do something that would bankrupt the state said former Governor Steve Beshear a Democrat referring to the increased costs of caring for a larger population with Medicaid insurance More than 30 states about a dozen of which are led by Republican governors expanded Medicaid under Obamacare In Kentucky more than 400 000 people gained health insurance through the program the highest growth rate of Medicaid coverage of any state Beshear commissioned independent studies by PricewaterhouseCoopers and Deloitte on the financial and health impacts of expanding Medicaid Both studies found health and economic gains Deloitte reported that 90 000 newly covered residents received cholesterol screening and 80 000 got preventative dental care within a year It estimated Kentucky would see an economic boost of 30 billion and 40 000 new jobs by 2021 Beshear s successor Republican Governor Bevin was elected in 2015 on a promise to repeal and replace the healthcare law on the view that thousands of Kentuckians had unaffordable premiums and only one health insurer to choose from He dismissed the projections in the Beshear commissioned studies as preposterous and says the state s share of expanded Medicaid 74 million in 2017 and totaling 1 2 billion over five years was too expensive and unsustainable We want this to be a helping hand for people at a time when they need it but then be able to return to the commercial marketplace Bevin said Last year Bevin submitted the waiver to restrict Medicaid eligibility by requiring enrollees to work or volunteer at least 20 hours per week and to pay monthly premiums based on income He s still awaiting approval Bevin said he has spoken with several governors about the waiver and has had extensive conversations with Health and Human Services Secretary Tom Price about fast tracking the approval process in order for other states to quickly adopt similar programs Such conversations are occurring across the country in response to encouragement from the new administration to reform state Medicaid programs said Alleigh Marre a Health and Human Services spokeswoman Louisiana and Wisconsin are considering work requirements for Medicaid enrollees The Obama administration rejected previous attempts by other states including Ohio and Arizona to require work programs and monthly premiums for Medicaid historically a free program for those eligible Every state is watching this to see what happens said Bevin of Kentucky s waiver It s the first one in the queue SIGNS POINT TO YES FOR KENTUCKY WAIVER The odds look good for Kentucky to get the waiver in the coming months based on the track records of health officials that Trump named after his inauguration Seema Verma the new head of the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services which approves Medicaid waivers said during congressional testimony that the agency will usher in a new era of state flexibility and leadership Verma helped craft Kentucky s waiver but said she will recuse herself from the approval process to avoid conflicts of interest She and Tom Price wrote a letter to governors in March encouraging Medicaid reforms that more closely resemble commercial insurance plans In the letter they suggested features such as premium fees health savings accounts and emergency room co payments that encourage the use of primary care CMS declined to comment on Kentucky s waiver and said it does not speculate on the process while ongoing Under federal law waivers must promote Medicaid s objective of delivering healthcare services to vulnerable populations who cannot otherwise afford them Waivers have never been used to cut people from the rolls said Emily Parento associate professor at the University of the Pacific s law school and the former executive director of Kentucky s Office of Health Policy But Verma s office is encouraging changes to Medicaid that make the government program look more like private insurance policies goals that are similar to Bevin s in Kentucky I think what will happen is that other states will look at it and go We want everything they got Bevin said
This story has been refiled to fix spelling in paragraph 3 |
WFC | Reed leads Wells Fargo by one shot over Rahm Noren | Reuters Patrick Reed matched the best score of the day a five under par 67 to earn a one shot lead after the third round at the Wells Fargo NYSE WFC Championship in Wilmington North Carolina on Saturday
Reed handled another windy day as well as anyone at Eagle Point surging to the front with birdies at his final two holes to post an eight under 208 total ahead of Spaniard Jon Rahm 69 and Swede Alex Noren 69
Italian halfway leader Francesco Molinari 72 is in a group of four players two shots behind Reed while world number one Dustin Johnson is equal 14th four shots back after matching Reed s 67
Johnson is seeking to win his fourth consecutive start something that has not been done on the PGA Tour since Tiger Woods in 2007 08
He barely made the halfway cut but fought into contention with four birdies on his back nine on Saturday capping off his day by coaxing in a 10 footer at his final hole the par four ninth
Reed played patiently picking off six birdies without taking too many risks
I didn t get ahead of myself today said the 26 year old who played conservatively for the middle of the greens
Seems kind of like what I ve been doing all week just let the putter go to work and it s been doing pretty well
Rahm meanwhile continued his sizzling season to move into contention for a follow up win after his breakthrough victory at Torrey Pines in January
My putter was really hot on the back nine I was able to make a lot of clutch putts from difficult situations said the 22 year old
Noren has not won on the PGA Tour but triumphed four times on the European Tour last year and arrived in Wilmington ranked 12th in the world the third highest ranked player in the field
I would have taken 69 in the beginning of this day he said I managed to pull a good round and I m happy with that |
WFC | Harman makes stunning birdie to beat Johnson Perez by one | Reuters Diminutive left hander Brian Harman turned into a giant killer when he rolled in a 30 foot birdie putt at the final hole to win the Wells Fargo NYSE WFC Championship on Sunday and snuff out Dustin Johnson s hopes of winning a fourth consecutive start With Johnson watching on TV in the clubhouse at Eagle Point in Wilmington North Carolina Harman stroked a beautiful putt and erupted in delight when it dropped into the cup He carded 68 to finish at 10 under par 278 for his second PGA Tour victory one stroke ahead of fellow Americans Johnson 67 and Pat Perez 68 Spaniard Jon Rahm 71 finished two strokes behind while overnight leader Patrick Reed 75 struggled with his driver and faded to end five strokes behind World number one Johnson playing for the first time since falling down stairs on the eve of the Masters a month ago was seeking to become the fifth player in PGA Tour history to win at least four consecutive starts After sinking a 15 foot birdie at the par five 18th he looked set to be part of a playoff until Harman birdied the final two holes a five footer at the 17th setting up his final hole heroics Harman said it would be wrong to call his winning putt unbelievable I could believe it because I ve been rolling it so well this week but when that thing was about a foot short I said That thing s going home Harman 30 said in a greenside interview after collecting his second PGA Tour victory I ve been working really hard just trusting that I m pretty good at what I do This feels really good It s a lot of emotion for sure Harman expected his 2014 John Deere Classic victory to open the floodgates but instead spun his wheels until recently After I won the first one I thought I was going to be there a lot and it didn t work out that way he said I struggled over the next two years never really got into the hunt I started getting into the hunt at the beginning of this year and started feeling like it was coming around so I m glad to get it validated Despite not winning Johnson 32 was happy with the state of his game in his first tournament after five weeks off
I didn t know what to expect this week he said The first couple of days I didn t play that great but really played nicely on Saturday and Sunday so I m happy with where the game is going into next week |
CMCSA | Why Is Comcast CMCSA Down 7 9 Since Its Last Earnings Report | It has been about a month since the last earnings report for Comcast Corporation NASDAQ CMCSA Shares have lost about 7 9 in that time frame underperforming the market
Will the recent negative trend continue leading up to its next earnings release or is CMCSA due for a breakout Before we dive into how investors and analysts have reacted as late let s take a quick look at the most recent earnings report in order to get a better handle on the important drivers Comcast Beats Earnings Revenue Estimates in Q4Comcast reported impressive financial results in the fourth quarter of 2017 Both the top and the bottom line surpassed the Zacks Consensus Estimate Net IncomeGAAP net income was 15 035 million compared with 2 417 million in the prior year quarter Quarterly adjusted earnings per share of 49 cents beat the Zacks Consensus Estimate of 47 cents RevenueTotal revenues were 21 915 million up 4 2 year over year and outperformed the Zacks Consensus Estimate of 21 804 million Operating MetricsOperating income was 4 107 million compared with 4 264 million in the year ago quarter Adjusted EBITDA was 6 751 million down 0 1 year over year Cash Flow and LiquidityIn fourth quarter 2017 Comcast generated 5 442 million of cash from operations compared with 5 836 million in the year ago quarter Free cash flow was 2 048 million compared with 2 607 million in the year ago quarter As of Dec 31 2017 cash and cash equivalents were 3 428 million up from 3 301 million at the end of 2016 Total debt was 59 422 million compared with 55 566 million at the end of 2016 Dividend Hike and Share Repurchase ProgramDuring the quarter under review Comcast paid dividends of 736 million and repurchased 32 4 million common shares for 1 2 billion For the full year the company made four cash dividend payments of 2 9 billion and repurchased 130 9 million of its common shares for 5 0 billion resulting in a total of 7 9 billion capital return to shareholders As of Dec 31 2017 Comcast had 7 0 billion available under its share repurchase authorization It expects to repurchase at least 5 0 billion of its Class A common stock during 2018 which is subject to market conditions Additionally Comcast announced that it has increased dividend by 21 to 76 cents per share on an annualized basis Accordingly the board of directors declared a quarterly cash dividend of 19 cents on the company s common stock The dividend will be paid on Apr 25 2018 to shareholders of record as of Apr 4 2018 Cable Communications SegmentTotal revenues were 13 282 million up 3 4 on a year over year basis Video revenues were 5 733 million increasing 1 5 from the prior year quarter High Speed Internet revenues totaled 3 775 million up 8 4 year over year Voice revenues were 832 million down 4 6 year over year Advertising revenues totaled 629 million declining 12 4 from the year ago quarter Business Services revenues were 1 620 million increasing 12 2 year over year Other revenues were 693 million up 2 3 from the prior year quarter Adjusted EBITDA was 5 406 million increasing 4 2 year over year Adjusted EBITDA margin increased to 40 7 from 40 4 in the year ago quarter As of Dec 31 2017 Comcast had 25 869 million up 4 7 year over year high speed Internet customers 11 552 million down 1 2 year over year voice customers 22 357 million down 0 7 year over year video customers and 1 131 million up 26 8 year over year security and automation customers The company gained a net of 350 000 high speed Internet customers and 52 000 security and automation customers but lost 13 000 voice customers and 33 000 video customers in the reported quarter Comcast gained 73 000 double play subscribers and 140 000 single play subscribers but lost 3 000 triple and quad product customers NBC Universal SegmentTotal revenues in this segment were 8 784 million up 3 9 year over year Cable Networks revenues were 2 691 million up 7 5 year over year Broadcast TV revenues came in at 2 964 million rallying 4 1 year over year Filmed Entertainment revenues were 1 738 million declining 5 2 from the year ago quarter Theme Parks revenues were 1 461 million increasing 8 7 year over year Adjusted EBITDA was 1 883 million reflecting an increase of 6 4 year over year
How Have Estimates Been Moving Since Then
In the past month investors have witnessed an upward trend in fresh estimates There have been two revisions higher for the current quarter compared to one lower In the past month the consensus estimate has shifted by 6 8 due to these changes Comcast Corporation Price and Consensus
VGM Scores
At this time CMCSA has a nice Growth Score of B however its Momentum is doing a bit better with an A The stock was allocated a grade of C on the value side putting it in the middle 20 for this investment strategy
Overall the stock has an aggregate VGM Score of A If you aren t focused on one strategy this score is the one you should be interested in
Based on our scores the stock is primarily suitable for momentum investors while also being suitable for those looking for growth and to a lesser degree value
Outlook
Estimates have been broadly trending upward for the stock and the magnitude of these revisions also looks promising Notably CMCSA has a Zacks Rank 3 Hold We expect in line returns from the stock in the next few months |
WFC | Wells Fargo loses Philadelphia business | In continuing fallout from the account opening scandal the Philadelphia City Council has voted to axe Wells Fargo NYSE WFC from the handling of its 2B payroll account Citizens Bank was chosen as the replacement Wells will remain a depository bank for Philadelphia and presumably the holder of the naming rights for the Wells Fargo Center where the Flyers and 76ers play their home games Now read D j Vu At Wells Fargo And Mondelez A Rangeley Capital Discussion |
WFC | Canadian dollar to strengthen after perfect storm Reuters poll | By Fergal Smith TORONTO Reuters The Canadian dollar will weather a perfect storm to regain some ground over the coming months a Reuters poll showed on Wednesday as a pickup in the domestic economy could prod the Bank of Canada to raise interest rates by next year The loonie has lost 2 percent against the greenback this year the weakest performance among G10 currencies On Tuesday it touched a 14 month intraday low at C 1 3758 Speculators have also ramped up bearish bets on the loonie to the most since February 2016 However a survey of more than 50 foreign exchange strategists shows they expect the Canadian dollar will recover to C 1 3500 in one month and firm further to C 1 3400 in a year according to their median forecast The loonie is under pressure from myriad factors including the fall in the price of crude oil a major Canadian export Another headwind is the monetary policy divergence between the U S Federal Reserve which began raising interest rates in December 2015 and the Bank of Canada which has not hiked them since 2010 Also weighing on the currency is the uncertain fate of the North American Free Trade Agreement which binds Canada the United States and Mexico U S President Donald Trump said last week he would terminate it if negotiations on the accord became unserious Right now it is a perfect storm for the Canadian dollar you have a dovish Bank of Canada you have soft oil prices you have import duties being slapped by the U S on Canadian lumber which gets investors worried that it could lead to worse things like other trade barriers said Krishen Rangasamy senior economist at National Bank Financial He expects the currency to turn the corner and firm to C 1 3300 in 12 months as current strength in the economy feeds inflationary pressures Economists say Canada s gross domestic product may have grown as much as 4 percent at an annualized rate in the first quarter following a strong expansion in the second half of 2016 Our view is that the currency has overreacted to these events and will strengthen from here said Andrew Grantham senior economist at CIBC Capital Markets We think this is the weaker end of the range that we are going to see over the next 12 to 18 months He added We have seen very strong growth in the Canadian economy which has seen us pull forward to the first quarter of 2018 our expectations for the Bank of Canada to hike interest rates But the bank has played down the sustainability of recent growth In addition the funding crisis at mortgage lender Home Capital Group Inc TO HCG may spark a welcome cooling in Canada s housing market and take pressure off the central bank to tighten monetary policy Expectations of a central bank interest rate hike this year have dwindled data from the overnight index swaps market shows As recently as Friday there was a one in four chance implied of a rate increase Still strategists expect the Bank of Canada to eventually adopt a more hawkish tone There is a limit to how long you can stick to a negative story when things are improving National Bank Financial s Rangasamy said
U S Canadian monetary policy divergence should narrow as Canada s economy reaches full capacity in the first half of 2018 said Eric Viloria currency strategist at Wells Fargo NYSE WFC Polling by Indradip Ghosh and Vivek Mishra Editing by Ross Finley and W Simon |
WFC | Johnson recovered from Augusta fall tempers expectations | By Andrew Both WILMINGTON North Carolina Reuters Dustin Johnson said on Wednesday he has recovered from the back injury that ruled him out of the last month s U S Masters but is not sure what to expect in his competitive return at this week s Wells Fargo NYSE WFC Championship The American world number one who withdrew from the year s first major only moments before his opening round a day after a freak fall down a staircase in his rental home said he has not been able to practise much since the incident I ve had a lot more time off than I would have liked Still feel like I m swinging really well hit a few good shout out there today but we ll just have to see Johnson who was playing the best golf of his life and was favored to triumph at Augusta National told a sparsely attended news conference I haven t played any competitive rounds since what six weeks ago Johnson who will tee off with compatriots Davis Love III and Bill Haas at Eagle Point in Thursday s opening round said he was diagnosed only with bruising to his lower back after his fall four weeks ago I had an MRI It was clear no issues but bruised bruised it really bad said Johnson It took about three weeks to recover Last Friday probably was the first day I hit balls and didn t feel it Before his injury Johnson had separated himself from his peers with a mixture of power precision and poise that nobody could match over a three tournament span as he posted a trio of victories including two World Golf Championships events He tried to play the Masters less than 24 hours after his fall even hitting some shots at the driving range but pulled out after walking to the first tee where he decided it was a lost cause But among the 2016 U S Open champion s talents is a seeming ability not to stew over things such as the missed opportunity to win a Green Jacket when he was at the top of his game Crazy things happen said Johnson The only time it was maybe tough not playing was just watching the tournament on TV but after Sunday it was fine |
WFC | Johnson eyes Wells Fargo win and entry into elite club | By Andrew Both WILMINGTON North Carolina Reuters World number one Dustin Johnson returns to competitive action at this week s Wells Fargo NYSE WFC Championship needing a win to join an elite group that includes some of the game s greatest players Johnson has been sidelined due to a freak accident on the eve of last month s U S Masters but a triumph at Eagle Point would make him only the fifth golfer in PGA Tour history to win four or more consecutive starts Should Johnson prevail over a field that includes five times major winner Phil Mickelson and world number 11 Adam Scott he would be the first player to record four consecutive victories on the PGA Tour since Tiger Woods in 2007 08 No one s beaten me since February a grinning Johnson who grew up in nearby South Carolina told a news conference on Wednesday I was on a good roll playing the best golf of my career leading into Augusta Obviously I haven t played much or done a whole lot of practicing but the body s all good I ve practiced enough to compete Byron Nelson set the tour record for with 11 successive victories in 1945 while Woods Ben Hogan and Jack Burke Jr are the only other players with at least four While Johnson has been focused on healing his badly bruised back since slipping on a staircase in Augusta former world number one Scott has been enjoying time with his wife and young daughter in Sweden I put a lot into my game the month leading into the Masters said Scott who finished equal ninth at Augusta I needed a break Felt I needed to see my family and spend some good time with them Then last week was a really intense week with training and getting myself back competitive again fired up to play this week and next at the Players Championship and have a short three week focus of putting in the hard yards and trying to get a result Eagle Point is being used for the event this year because the regular venue Quail Hollow in Charlotte is hosting the PGA Championship the year s final major in August The course is unfamiliar to most of a field that includes defending champion James Hahn and eight of the world s top 20 golfers and has required more preparation than usual ahead of Thursday s opening round
I m still after two looks at the course trying to figure out exactly how to go about it said Scott |
WFC | U S regulation of fintech companies should not prompt a turf war OCC s Curry | WASHINGTON Reuters Start up lenders that reach customers online should be able to choose between a federal or state banking license as they grow a leading U S banking regulator said on Thursday as he prepares to step aside Consumers increasingly go online to manage their money and some financial services start ups so called fintech companies would like a national license for that business The Office of the Comptroller of the Currency the leading regulator for national banks has promised to offer a fintech charter But state authorities have argued that is their job and are suing the OCC The question of who will regulate the fintech business should not hinder the industry said Thomas Curry the outgoing head of the OCC I don t think this is about turf said Curry who steps down on Friday I think this is really about the strategic direction of the banking industry Fintech companies do not lend from customer savings and their money managing tools are sometimes ahead of traditional banks Regulators have scrambled to keep pace with the development of online lenders and payment companies which act like banks but do not take in deposits Last week an alliance of state banking regulators took its case to federal court and asked that a judge block the OCC from developing a federal charter The Conference of State Bank Supervisors said in a statement that the OCC plan is an unprecedented unlawful expansion of the chartering authority given to it by Congress Curry was appointed by former President Barack Obama and completed his five year term in early April Keith Noreika a partner at law firm Simpson Thacher Bartlett LLP will run the OCC on an interim basis starting Friday L1N1I522F The OCC drew fire in September when Wells Fargo NYSE WFC Co announced that rogue bank employees opened as many as 2 million bank accounts without customer agreement Curry has said his agency should have detected that fraud earlier He has also said the agency s money laundering controls must be carefully calibrated In recent months the OCC has told bank examiners to clamp down on illegal transfers but not halt legal money transfers particularly to and from immigrant communities nL2N1GV0DX
I don t think we re struggling with this Curry said of recent memos phone calls and speeches on anti money laundering policy Where we explain what our policies are and what our approach is the better off we are |
WFC | Golf Johnson makes tidy return from back injury | By Andrew Both WILMINGTON North Carolina Reuters World number one Dustin Johnson declared himself ready to challenge for victory after a tidy return to competition left him four strokes behind first round leader Francesco Molinari at the Wells Fargo NYSE WFC Championship on Thursday Twenty nine days after slipping down stairs and badly bruising his back on the eve of the U S Masters Johnson reported no ill effects after his morning round at Eagle Point He carded a two under par 70 while Italian Molinari chipped in twice to lead on 66 one stroke ahead of four players including Swede Alex Noren I felt good physically no issues world number one Johnson told reporters I just need to get some more rounds in get some more reps but I feel like the golf swing s in good shape I hit the ball great If I hit it like I did today over the next few days I ll be right there on Sunday The only top 10 player in the field Johnson attracted a huge gallery in what almost counts as a home tournament taking place as it does not far from where he grew up across the border in South Carolina Johnson was perhaps more satisfied with his performance than his score in his quest to become the first player since Tiger Woods in 2007 08 to notch four consecutive victories on the PGA Tour Since I hadn t played in so long I m happy with the way I played he said I didn t score that great didn t hole many putts I felt like I hit good putts just nothing was going in All in all I m very pleased with the day Many players approached the first round apprehensively on a course few had played before this week but low scores were plentiful after the greens were watered overnight allowing for attacking approach shots SOLID ROUND It s a great track not the longest but especially in the breeze you need to hit the ball in the right spot on the greens said leader Molinari Just a good solid round I hit a lot of good shots gave myself a lot of chances I missed some makeable ones but made a couple from off the green so great day His first hole out came at the fifth from 25 yards while he also chipped in from 25 feet at the last Molinari is seeking his first U S PGA Tour victory after winning four times on the European Tour including the 2010 WGC HSBC Champions in Shanghai Noren played with the precision befitting a world number 12 before saying he wants to play more on the PGA Tour without abandoning Europe
I ve got a little kid at home he said They like it in Sweden and we ll see how it goes |
WFC | Buy 5 Precious Metals Mutual Funds With The Glitter Of Gold | Following recent global growth concerns investing in precious metals might be a great idea These funds also offer solid protection against inflation that almost no other reasonably liquid asset can provide Moreover they have staged a remarkable rebound since the start of 2016 emerging as the best performers among the broader mutual fund categories Further gold has regained its luster this year after a tumultuous 2015 manifested by a roughly 25 surge in its value in the first half The yellow metal s bull run is a function of a combination of factors Among these are the Federal Reserve s move to keep interest rates steady in its June meeting and a strong tailwind from Britain s historic decision to leave the European Union EU Gold Shines as Uncertainty PersistsGold prices crossed the 1 300 per troy ounce threshold last month reaching as high as 1 358 an ounce after Britain voted in favor of exiting the EU sending the global stock markets into a tailspin The market rattling move sparked an almost 8 rise in the yellow metal s price to levels last seen in Jul 2014 The outcome of the EU referendum has fueled safe haven buying as investors fret that Brexit would bring political and financial instability to Europe and could have serious consequences on the global economy The Brexit induced chaos in the global markets spurred investors demand for safe havens triggering a strong rally in gold prices Also the Fed left benchmark interest rates steady in the band of 0 25 0 50 last month following a lackluster job report in May The central bank also gave no clues on the timing of the next rate hike A delay in raising interest rates elevates demand for gold Brexit A Boon For GoldThe intense market uncertainty brought forth by Brexit is expected to continue to drive investors appetite for safe haven assets particularly gold in the coming days Some analysts feel that gold s northern march will continue and prices could even touch the 1 500 an ounce level later this year given the profound impact of Brexit on the global financial markets macroeconomic uncertainties and concerns over global economic growth Global economic uncertainty stirred up by Brexit is also likely to prompt the Fed to hold off on raising interest rates for now A low interest rate environment may have a positive impact on gold Following the steady recovery in gold prices mutual funds that have significant exposure to the precious metal sector could be solid investments Below is the list of the 10 best performing gold mutual funds Buy These 5 Precious Metals Mutual FundsWe have selected five precious metal mutual funds that boast a Zacks Mutual Fund Rank 1 Strong Buy or 2 Buy Moreover these funds have encouraging year to date returns These also have minimum initial investment within 5000 and low expense ratios We expect these funds to outperform their peers in the future Remember the goal of the Zacks Mutual Fund Rank is to guide investors to identify potential winners and losers Unlike most of the fund rating systems the Zacks Mutual Fund Rank is not just focused on past performance but also on the likely future success of the fund American Century Global Gold Investor seeks capital growth and dividends BGEIX invests in securities other than stocks like debentures bonds gold gold futures etc The fund has YTD return of 112 35 and an expense ratio of 0 67 as compared to the category average of 1 45 BGEIX has a Zacks Mutual Fund Rank 1 Deutsche Gold Precious Metals S invests a lions share of its assets in common stocks and other equities of domestic and foreign companies from the precious metals sector The fund has YTD return of 108 94 and an expense ratio of 1 as compared to the category average of 1 45 SCGDX has a Zacks Mutual Fund Rank 1 Fidelity Select Gold seeks appreciation of capital FSAGX normally invests more than 80 of assets in securities of companies which are engaged in activities related to gold The fund has YTD return of 103 24 and an expense ratio of 0 93 as compared to the category average of 1 45 FSAGX has a Zacks Mutual Fund Rank 1 Franklin Gold and Precious Metals Advisor invests a major portion of its assets in companies from gold and precious metals sector FGADX seeks capital appreciation The fund has YTD return of 119 74 and an expense ratio of 0 84 as compared to the category average of 1 45 FGADX has a Zacks Mutual Fund Rank 2 Rydex Precious Metals Investor seeks to offer growth of capital by investing in U S and foreign companies that are involved in the precious metals sector The fund has YTD return of 123 74 and an expense ratio of 1 25 as compared to the category average of 1 45 RYPMX has a Zacks Mutual Fund Rank 2 About Zacks Mutual Fund RankBy applying the Zacks Rank to mutual funds investors can find funds that not only outpaced the market in the past but are also expected to outperform going forward Pick the with the help of Zacks Rank |
CMCSA | NBC plans to show player protests if they occur at Super Bowl | By Lisa Richwine PASADENA California Reuters U S television network NBC broadcaster of this year s Super Bowl will show any players who kneel during the pre game national anthem to protest racial inequality the game s executive producer said on Tuesday Several dozen National Football League players kneeled sat or locked arms during The Star Spangled Banner in the regular season drawing rebukes from President Donald Trump who called it unpatriotic Game broadcasters showed the protests during the initial weeks but reduced coverage of them later The anthem is typically shown live before the Super Bowl and this year will be performed by pop singer Pink at the Feb 4 championship If any players decide to kneel at the Super Bowl NBC will cover it executive producer Fred Gaudelli said at a Television Critics Association event in Pasadena California When you are covering a live event you are covering what s happening Gaudelli said If there are players who choose to kneel they will be shown live Announcers likely will identify the players explain the reasons behind the actions and then get on with the game Gaudelli said He also noted that the number of protests had waned since Thanksgiving The players who kneeled during the regular season said they were protesting the killing by police of unarmed black men and boys across the United States as well as racial disparities in the criminal justice system More than half of all NFL players are black
The Super Bowl is the year s most watched U S television broadcast attracting an audience of more than 100 million people NBC is a unit of Comcast Corp NASDAQ CMCSA |
CMCSA | TiVo opens new patent fight against Comcast s X1 | TiVo NASDAQ TIVO is pursuing new patent litigation in its fight against Comcast CMCSA 1 1 bouncing off its success at the International Trade Commission The litigation involves Rovi which combined with TiVo in early 2016 and alleges that Comcast s X1 platform infringes on Rovi IP with its features for pausing and resuming shows on different devices restarting live programming in progress advanced DVR recording features and advanced search and voice functionality TiVo will also file action with the ITC regarding the same patents seeking an order to prevent infringing X1 boxes from import into the U S Now read |
CMCSA | NBC s Super Bowl ad inventory nearly sold out | Checking in with Super Bowl advertising NBC CMCSA 3 1 is almost sold out of its inventory for this year It has a handful of spots available for the Feb 4 championship game it says and is charging more than 5M for the average 30 second spot It s expecting ad sales revenue to exceed 900M for the Winter Olympics also on the way next month and should hit 1 4B from the Super Bowl and Olympics combined according to NBC Sports Dan Lovinger Now read |
CMCSA | NBC expects ad sales record with Super Bowl Olympics | By Jessica Toonkel Reuters U S broadcaster NBC said on Thursday it expected to hit ad sales records for the Super Bowl and Olympic Winter Games both of which it will air next month showing that advertisers are hungry for live events that draw viewers on a real time basis NBC a unit of Comcast Corp NASDAQ CMCSA has sold all but a handful of 30 second TV spots which it is charging more than 5 million on average for the Super Bowl said Dan Lovinger executive vice president of advertising sales at NBC Sports Group on a media call For the Super Bowl on Feb 4 NBC expects to score a single day revenue record for any media company he said The company also expects over 900 million in national ad sales for the Olympic games which would be a first for a Winter Olympics Lovinger said The Olympic Winter Games will be held from Feb 9 25 in Pyeongchang South Korea NBC estimated ad sales of nearly 1 4 billion for both the Super Bowl and the Olympics Live events remain a bright spot for television advertisers as more viewers tend to watch their favorite shows on demand and fast forward through the commercials The Super Bowl traditionally ranks as the year s most watched event on U S television The event last year which was broadcast by 21st Century Fox drew 111 3 million viewers slightly down from the 111 9 million a year earlier Big Super Bowl ratings are important for ad revenue as the NFL comes off the second season of declining viewership In 2017 viewership dropped almost 10 percent to 14 9 million viewers according to Nielsen Advertisers have not expressed any concern about ratings around the Super Bowl Lovinger said Additionally controversy over players kneeling during the national anthem in protest has not come up as a concern he said In a gesture initiated in the 2016 season by then San Francisco 49ers quarterback Colin Kaepernick several NFL players have routinely taken one knee during the playing of the anthem It is intended to call attention to what the protesting players see as a pattern of racism in the treatment of African Americans by U S police A vast stable of advertisers will run spots during this year s Super Bowl with car makers continuing to have a strong presence and increased buying by consumer packaged goods companies Lovinger said
All we have seen is enthusiasm for the Super Bowl he said |
WFC | Euro dips against U S dollar on dovish ECB tone | By Sam Forgione NEW YORK Reuters The euro dipped against the U S dollar on Thursday after European Central Bank chief Mario Draghi said policymakers did not discuss removing the bank s easing bias on monetary policy while the dollar jumped against the Swedish crown after the Riksbank extended its bond buying The euro initially rose to a session high of 1 0932 on language in the ECB s statement read by Draghi which said the euro zone s recovery was increasingly solid and downside risks had diminished But other parts of the statement and Draghi s replies to questions stressed the barriers the ECB still faces before beginning to tighten the ultra loose financing conditions it has maintained for nine years Draghi wasn t as hawkish as people had hoped said Greg Anderson global head of foreign exchange strategy at BMO Capital Markets in New York Upside event risk for the euro is gone he added noting that there was a tendency to bet against the euro in part given the likelihood of centrist Emmanuel Macron defeating anti EU candidate Marine Le Pen in the final round of France s presidential election The euro was last down 0 3 percent against the dollar at 1 0875 near a session low of 1 0852 Sweden s Riksbank extended its bond buying and predicted its first interest rate hike in mid 2018 later than previously projected That sent the dollar as much as 1 3 percent higher against the Swedish crown to a session peak of 8 8730 crowns per dollar The Bank of Japan also signaled it would maintain its massive stimulus effort despite offering its most optimistic assessment of the Japanese economy in nine years Governor Haruhiko Kuroda conceded that public perceptions of future price increases remained subdued which disappointed some traders hoping for a more hawkish inflation outlook and pushed the dollar higher against the yen That lower inflation forecast would suggest continued accommodative monetary policy said Eric Viloria currency strategist at Wells Fargo NYSE WFC in New York The dollar was last 0 2 percent higher against the yen at 111 22 yen after rising as much as 0 5 percent to a session high of 111 59 The dollar index DXY which measures the greenback against a basket of six major rivals was last up 0 1 percent at 99 104
The dollar was down 0 8 percent against the Mexican peso at 19 0300 pesos after U S President Donald Trump said he would not scrap the North American Free Trade Agreement NAFTA |
WFC | Wells Fargo CEO sees benefits to putting employees before shareholders | By Michael Flaherty BEVERLY HILLS Reuters Wells Fargo NYSE WFC Co Chief Executive Officer Tim Sloan said recruiting and retention have improved dramatically in the wake of a sales scandal as the third largest U S bank has made big changes to how it pays and evaluates employees in its branches The bank s reputation took a severe hit last year after employees created as many as 2 1 million accounts without customer authorization to hit aggressive sales targets Scrambling to contain the fallout Wells Fargo stopped paying branch workers based on how many products they sold and increased its minimum pay rate to between 13 50 and 17 per hour depending upon the market in which they work Turnover now in our retail bank is the lowest it s been that I can recall in my 30 years at the company Sloan said Monday at the Milken Institute Global Conference in Beverly Hills California Sloan who got a battlefield promotion to the top job in October after his predecessor John Stumpf resigned under fire said the bank has not had trouble attracting new employees since it changed its policies When you put your shareholders first I hope Warren Buffett isn t listening by the way but when you put them first then you re going to make mistakes Because you re going to make short term decisions that aren t focused on creating a long term successful company Sloan said
Buffett is Chairman of Berkshire Hathaway NYSE BRKa Inc Wells Fargo s largest shareholder |
CMCSA | TV host Matthews was reprimanded after woman s 1999 complaint MSNBC | Reuters TV Hardball host Chris Matthews was reprimanded after he was accused in 1999 of making inappropriate comments about a female employee and the woman was given a separation payment MSNBC said on Sunday Representatives for Matthews 72 did not immediately respond to requests for comment The longtime host of the political talk show Hardball with Chris Matthews is the latest in a series of powerful men in U S media entertainment and politics to have been accused of sexual misconduct or inappropriate behavior Many of the allegations are decades old In 1999 the employee told CNBC executives that Matthews made inappropriate jokes and comments about her in front of others a MSNBC spokesperson said in an email Matthews show was on CNBC before it began airing on MSNBC Both CNBC and MSNBC are affiliated with NBCUniversal now owned by Comcast Corp NASDAQ CMCSA MSNBC did not identify the employee or describe her role at the network It did not say when the reprimand was issued or when the payment was made A review of the matter found that the comments attributed to Matthews were made in poor taste but not meant as propositions the spokesperson said Matthews was formally reprimanded and the employee received separation related compensation the spokesperson said declining to elaborate on the size of the payment citing confidentiality The allegations were first reported by the Daily Caller
In April political talk show host Bill O Reilly left Fox News after the New York Times reported he and his employer made payouts totaling about 13 million to five women to settle claims of sexual harassment and other inappropriate behavior O Reilly denied the claims and said he was unfairly targeted because of his public prominence |
WFC | San Francisco power outage hits financial hub for hours | By Alexandria Sage SAN FRANCISCO Reuters A power outage hit about 90 000 customers on Friday morning in San Francisco closing shops and snarling traffic in the city s technology and finance center as a large swath of the financial district lost electricity The utility PG E Corp reported a fire at a San Francisco substation and a series of outages began affecting the city shortly after 9 a m noon ET 1600 GMT By 2 p m an hour after the company said it hoped to restore power to most customers nearly 74 000 were still without electricity the utility s online outage map showed The power cut did not affect San Francisco International Airport and the U S Department of Homeland Security said through a spokesperson that the agency had not received any reports indicating that the outage was related to any security or terrorism incident The spokesperson requested anonymity citing department policy Office workers spilled onto city streets in the heart of the business district milling about as traffic piled up while stoplights were out Elevators stopped in tall buildings and smoke lingered for hours after San Francisco firefighters quickly extinguished the fire at the downtown substation King Lip chief investment officer at Baker Avenue Asset Management in San Francisco said his offices had been hit It s pretty big seems like half the city has no power he said We were in the middle of a trade Wells Fargo NYSE WFC Co closed 13 bank branches and four office buildings while the New York Stock Exchange said its ARCA options trading floor in San Francisco was briefly unavailable because of the power outage For more than two hours trains streamed through the Montgomery Street station as the outage prevented them from stopping until backup generators came on line at about 11 30 a m Bay Area Rapid Transit said Shopkeepers in the financial district sat in darkened stores bereft of customers At Saint Francis Memorial Hospital in the Nob Hill neighborhood all non essential appointments and procedures had been canceled spokeswoman Blair Holloway said Two of four campuses of Sutter Health s California Pacific Medical Center were also impacted by the outage spokesman Dean Fryer said Elective surgeries were canceled and emergency patients were directed to other hospitals Fryer said The outage affected central and northern parts of the city according to the city s Department of Emergency Management At the salad bar chain MIXT downtown cashiers took credit card payments using old fashioned paper imprints as customers lined up to eat in the dim natural light
Old school commented patron Ben Fackler I haven t seen that in forever |
WFC | Two big California pension systems oppose nine Wells Fargo directors | By Ross Kerber BOSTON Reuters Officials of two large California public retirement systems said Friday they are voting against nine of 15 Wells Fargo Co directors up for election at the bank s annual meeting next week citing the bank s phony account scandal Leaders of the largest U S state pension system known as CalPERS said in an email it is voting about 13 9 million shares against the bank nominees including its chairman Stephen Sanger ahead of the bank s April 25 meeting in Ponte Vedra Beach Florida Wells Fargo is based in San Francisco We believe these directors failed in their oversight responsibilities during the retail banking controversy at the company CalPERS said in a statement posted on its website In addition CalPERS said some Wells Fargo N WFC director nominees have tenures of 12 years or more which we believe could compromise director independence Separately in a statement sent by a spokesman the California State Teachers Retirement System or CalSTRS said on Friday it voted its 11 6 million Wells Fargo shares against the same group of nine directors According to the statement These board members bear responsibility for the failure of oversight of sales practices at Wells Fargo The comments underscore the challenge facing the country s third largest bank which has struggled to move past revelations that thousands of employees created as many as 2 million accounts in customers names without permission in order to hit lofty sales targets Wells Fargo s board and management have said steps already taken to fix problems and punish employees responsible for sales abuses show there is now strong oversight and that directors nominated deserve to be elected While the board has gained support from its largest investor Berkshire Hathaway NYSE BRKa Inc it also faces a recommendation to vote against 12 directors by leading proxy adviser Institutional Shareholder Services CalPERS is the 52nd largest shareholder of Wells Fargo and CalSTRS is the 62nd largest according to Thomson Reuters data While they do not command much voting clout their public comments often can set the tone since larger mutual fund companies rarely make public their votes ahead of corporate annual meetings Among its other votes CalPERS said it is voting against the ratification of bank auditor KPMG Calpers said it has concerns over a potential lapse of internal controls during the extended period of abusive sales tactics at the company CalPERS also said the company should explore auditor rotation to ensure a fresh perspective
CalSTRS said that with six directors scheduled to retire in the next four years Wells Fargo should expedite the board refreshment process and reach out to their shareholder base for feedback during this process The board would also benefit from adding directors with greater banking and financial institution experience |
WFC | Wells Fargo has satisfactory living will plan Fed | WASHINGTON Reuters Wells Fargo Co N WFC has presented the Federal Reserve with a satisfactory plan on how to unwind its business in case of bankruptcy the U S central bank said on Monday The resolution plan or living will is required of the nation s largest banks and is meant to help prevent a future financial crisis In December the Fed and Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation notified Wells Fargo that the bank s plan fell short In its Monday announcement the regulators said Wells Fargo has adequately remedied the deficiencies Living wills for banks were conceived in the wake of the 2008 financial meltdown when the downfall of several Wall Street banks sent shockwaves through global markets
U S taxpayers had to prop up banks that were deemed too big to fail and Congress vowed that such a rescue would not happen again |
WFC | Wells Fargo annual meeting about to start board to be re elected says WSJ | The annual meeting officially begins at 10 ET Live webcast here The votes are still coming in but the WSJ says the board is likely to be re elected in a close vote with support for some members likely to be uncomfortably low In other news Guggenheim this morning upgraded Wells Fargo WFC 1 6 to Neutral Analyst Eric Wasserstrom remains cautious citing the risk of a qualitative failure in this year s CCAR Now read Bears Are Dominating The Market More Pain Ahead |
WFC | Wells Fargo pauses annual meeting due to unruly shareholder | NEW YORK Reuters Wells Fargo Co s N WFC management ejected an unruly shareholder from the bank s contentious annual meeting on Tuesday after an extended period of argument and what the chairman characterized as a physical approach to a director Multiple shareholders stood and yelled at the board of directors and Chief Executive Tim Sloan The shareholders were angry about the bank s creation of as many as 2 1 million phony accounts in customers names
You re saying we re out of order Wells Fargo has been out of order for years the ejected shareholder said Sloan and Chairman Stephen Sanger repeatedly asked him to sit down because he was out of order and then called a recess only to have other shareholders stand and yell |
WFC | Wells Fargo board gets black eye in shareholder vote | By Dan Freed and Ross Kerber PONTE VEDRA BEACH Fla BOSTON Reuters Wells Fargo Co N WFC shareholders showed displeasure with the scandal hit bank s board on Tuesday offering scant support for a dozen directors including Chairman Stephen Sanger in a vote capping a contentious annual meeting Only three directors received more than 90 percent support from voting shareholders a benchmark cited by Sanger as what would be the outcome of a normal vote He received just 56 percent approval Wells Fargo stockholders today have sent the entire Board a clear message of dissatisfaction Sanger said in a statement Let me assure you that the Board has heard that message and we recognize there is still a great deal of work to do to rebuild the trust of stockholders customers and employees The meeting which ran nearly three hours was repeatedly interrupted by angry shareholders seeking answers about how and why thousands of bank employees were able to open 2 1 million fake accounts in customers names without their permission There was a brief recess after one shareholder made what Sanger called a physical approach toward a board member and was removed You re saying we re out of order Wells Fargo has been out of order for years said Bruce Marks chief executive of Neighborhood Assistance Corporation of America before being ejected Others were escorted out after ignoring pleas to simmer down from Sanger and Chief Executive Tim Sloan The directors who received weak support had faced negative recommendations from influential proxy adviser Institutional Shareholder Services ISS which argued they failed in their oversight duties Two directors Federico Pe a and Enrique Hernandez received even less support than Sanger at 54 percent and 53 percent respectively They chair board committees related to risk finance or corporate responsibility All but three directors received support of 80 percent or less The other three received 99 percent approval and were recent additions Sloan who was named CEO in October after the scandal erupted as well as Ronald Sargent and Karen Peetz who were newly elected to the board this year At most S P 500 companies director support averages around 95 percent of votes cast according to pay consulting firm Semler Brossy Six Wells Fargo directors will reach a mandatory retirement age of 72 in the coming years and are expected to leave when they do Sanger said He will hit that mark next year but would not say when he planned to retire The bank s guidelines require that directors offer to resign if they fail to receive a majority of votes cast But in practice directors who receive less than 80 percent support should consider exiting the board said Charles Elson a University of Delaware expert on corporate governance It s a really strong signal from shareholders and I think they need to immediately consider refreshing that board he said of Wells Fargo Wells Fargo s board and management had said the steps taken to fix problems and punish employees responsible for abuses show there is now strong oversight and that directors nominated deserved to be elected But the public firestorm that hammered its shares last year and led to the resignation of then Chairman and Chief Executive John Stumpf was not forgotten Sloan and Sanger reiterated those comments and apologized repeatedly to shareholders customers and employees at the meeting on Tuesday We are deeply sorry for letting you our shareholders down and letting down our customers our team members and the communities that we do business in said Sloan You expect and deserve much more from us Sanger tried to show patience as he was frequently interrupted but struggled at times as speakers ignored his requests to follow the usual order of proceedings When I say I m sorry I think that speaks for all of the board he said at one point After investors had time to speak Sloan and Sanger opened the floor to a general audience Q A Two borrowers gave emotional recountings of their ordeal with Wells Fargo s mortgage operation both breaking into tears Management apologized and promised to personally look into their issues It was not clear how or whether the board will refashion itself in response to the vote Although shareholders sent a clear signal of dissatisfaction some said it would not be wise to wipe out a nearly full slate of directors at once
We do want a core of directors left able to reconstitute the board said Anne Simpson investment director of sustainability at Calpers which opposed nine directors Simply declaring off with their heads is not reasonable |
WFC | The Housing Market Insanity On Full Display | Wells Fargo NYSE WFC recently announced a new mortgage product they are calling A game changer in the industry
According to the bank this product is purported to facilitate the dream of homeownership to more people by wait for it lowering the down payment and out of pocket costs associated with more conventional mortgage products while also offering more consumer friendly income and credit guidelines
This new product that those at Wells Fargo have declared revolutionary is called yourFirst Mortgage and one has to imagine it must have been developed by somebody with a severe case of amnesia who has recently suffered from a bad concussion
Wells Fargo Home Lending contends that the new program provides access to credit while maintaining responsible lending practices However according to their own press release the loan program offers a down payment of as little as 3 percent for first time homebuyers and low to moderate income credit history
Income standards have also been loosened to include others who will live in the home such as family members or renters Also the required minimum credit score to qualify for this program was reduced down to just 620
But for those who may be concerned Wells Fargo is lending like its 2005 have no fear Wells has partnered with in their words credit experts such as Fannie Mae to develop a loan option that gives homebuyers the best offering in the market
Their so called credit expert Fannie Mae was the same Fannie Mae that was placed into conservatorship by the United States Federal Housing and Finance Agency on September 7 2008 The then quasi government agency ran aground when it failed to properly manage credit risk leaving the company vulnerable to bankruptcy during the 2008 financial crisis
One safeguard they did keep in place was proper documentation But if pesky W 2s and bank statements are standing between you and the home of your dreams have no fear there is a revolutionary new loan product for you too New York City based Quontic Bank just rolled out its product called Lite Doc it s a five year adjustable rate mortgage that requires only two months of employment verification and bank statements
The sad fact is lending standards are dropping quickly back to the same level that fueled the start of the Great Recession And as you might imagine all these newly un qualified borrowers entering the housing market have boosted home prices
According to the Census Bureau s new home sales report The median sales price of new houses sold in April 2016 was 321 100 the average sales price was 379 800 And the average price in April 2016 was 379 800 and the median price was 321 100 Both of these are above the bubble high
Furthermore less than 2 of new homes were sold for less than 150K in April 2016 This is down from 30 in 2002 leading many to speculate that the under 150K starter home is becoming extinct
Also the National Association of Realtors just announced that median existing home prices hit an all time high in May In fact the ratio of median home prices to median income is 4 2 well above the historical range of 3 2 and is also rapidly approaching its all time high of around 4 5
The rise in home values will create equity that an owner can draw from and use for things such as vacations hot tubs and RVs This will entice more speculators into the market which will drive up the price of homes further And the economy will grow on the back of home equity extractions and asset bubbles
This may have sounded great if we had not tried this already less than eight years ago and it nearly brought down the entire global economy
Some may wonder why after the 2008 financial crisis Wall Street and the banks didn t learn their lesson The reason The sad truth is the economy has become a giant Ponzi scheme that has become totally addicted to ever increasing credit issuance and asset bubbles which need progressively falling interest rates and reduced lending standards to entice new participants into the baneful game
Yes we ve seen this movie before and the ending is no surprise The only surprise comes from those who believe this time will be different |
CMCSA | Comcast drops bid for Fox assets leaving Disney in pole position | By Anjali Athavaley Reuters Comcast Corp NASDAQ CMCSA said on Monday it had abandoned its bid for most of the assets of Rupert Murdoch s Twenty First Century Fox Inc leaving Walt Disney Co as the sole suitor in pursuit of the 40 billion plus deal Sources told Reuters last week that Disney was in the lead to acquire the assets which include Fox s FX and National Geographic cable channels its movie studio the Star network in India and stake in European pay TV provider Sky PLC The Murdoch family which controls Fox prefers a deal with Disney because it would rather be paid in Disney stock than Comcast stock and expects a potential deal with Disney to be cleared by U S antitrust regulators more easily one of the sources said Comcast the biggest cable provider in the United States said in a statement on Monday that its discussions with Fox had ended When a set of assets like Fox s becomes available it is our responsibility to evaluate if there is a strategic fit that could benefit our company and our shareholders Comcast said That is what we tried to do and we are no longer engaged in the review of those assets We never got the level of engagement needed to make a definitive offer The assets in question would have expanded Comcast s international footprint through ownership of Sky and Star A source told Reuters in mid November that Comcast had approached Fox about its interest and talks were in early stages Disney s negotiations with Fox are continuing and a deal could be reached as early as this month sources close to the situation said on Monday The persons asked not to be identified because the deliberations are confidential Disney did not immediately respond to request for comment A Fox representative declined to comment Any potential deal will follow the U S Department of Justice s decision last month to sue to block AT T NYSE T Inc s 85 4 billion deal to buy Time Warner Inc NYSE TWX
Comcast shares were up 1 5 percent in after hours trading while Disney shares were up 0 2 percent and Fox shares fell 1 3 percent |
CMCSA | Disney and 21st Century Fox are climbing as report says a deal for assets is coming Thursday | Disney and Fox are all set to announce the sale of Fox s entertainment assets to Disney later this week CNBC s David Faber reports
The news sent shares of both the companies higher
Watch the price of Fox move in real time on Markets Insider
Reports that 21st Century Fox is expected to announce the sale of its entertainment business to Disney on Thursday have sent shares of both companies higher Disney shares are trading up 0 18 at 107 02 on Tuesday while those of 21st Century Fox are higher by 0 53 at 33 84
Fox is expected to split itself in two selling its estimated 60 billion of entertainment and TV assets to Disney while holding on to its cable news business CNBC s David Faber reports The news business that remains is expected to be worth about 10 per share and shareholders would receive one share of the remaining company as well as shares in Disney based on a fixed ratio CNBC reports
Shares of 21st Century Fox have surged about 34 over the past month as several interested buyers have circled the company Comcast NASDAQ CMCSA and Disney were seen as the leading bidders but Comcast dropped its bid on Monday leaving Disney in the pole position
The size of the final bid is still unknown but RBC analyst Steven Cahall previously said he expects a deal that values 21st Century Fox s assets at about 37 per share
Read more about RBC s valuation of Fox here |
WFC | U S regulator knocks its own handling of Wells Fargo sales scandal | By Patrick Rucker and Pete Schroeder WASHINGTON Reuters Wells Fargo Co N WFC and its U S bank regulator discussed complaints of high pressure sales tactics as early as 2010 but officials took no action for years according to the regulator s review of the scandal Bank examiners failed to follow up on significant complaint management and sales practices issues according to an internal review from the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency which oversees many national banks The report released on Wednesday ended a seven month evaluation of how the OCC failed to halt a scandal in which thousands of Wells Fargo employees created as many as 2 million customer accounts without their consent The Wells Fargo board of directors was alerted in 2005 that bank tellers were being fired because they created phantom accounts according to the report Five years later Wells Fargo and bank examiners met to discuss what was motivating bank tellers to continue to create accounts without customer authorization There were 700 cases of whistleblower complaints from Wells Fargo employees at that time the report said In that January 2010 meeting Carrie Tolstedt the former head of community banking credited Wells Fargo s internal controls for catching the fraud The primary reason for the high number of complaints is that the culture encourages valid complaints which are then investigated and appropriately addressed the report said of Tolstedt s explanation Wells Fargo has laid much blame for the scandal at Tolstedt s feet A company sponsored report released early this month said Tolstedt stood by while abusive sales practices multiplied A lawyer for Tolstedt has said the former executive was being used as a scapegoat for broader problems at the bank The lawyer Enu Mainigi of Williams Connelly LLP did not immediately respond to a request for comment on Wednesday The OCC review recommended nine changes to internal processes to better detect and address such scandals Whistleblowers will have a more direct line to senior officials under one change the document said Earlier this year the OCC fired its most senior Wells Fargo examiner U S state insurance regulators on Wednesday pointed to the Wells Fargo scandal to bolster their view that the U S government should not take on a broader role in overseeing the insurance industry
States know best what is happening within our own unique borders said Maria Vullo superintendent of the New York State Department of Financial Services at an event in Washington |
WFC | Exclusive Buffett likely voted shares to back Wells Fargo board | By Dan Freed NEW YORK Reuters Wells Fargo Co s N WFC largest investor Warren Buffett has likely already voted his shares to support the bank s recommendations at its contentious annual shareholder meeting next week a representative told Reuters on Wednesday which include reinstating most of the board s directors The prominent billionaire s conglomerate Berkshire Hathaway Inc N BRKa owns nearly 10 percent of Wells Fargo and Buffett personally owns shares as well Many investors follow Buffett s lead because of his decades long track record of profitable investments Wells Fargo the fourth largest U S bank has for months been embroiled in a scandal that involves thousands of former employees creating as many as 2 million accounts in customers names without their permission The matter has already subsumed former Chief Executive John Stumpf who resigned in October Now the board whose members include new CEO Tim Sloan is facing opposition in the shareholder vote next week after proxy advisers recommended rejecting many of them Buffett s assistant Debbie Bosanek told Reuters that Buffett supports management and the board and that he has likely voted shares held by him and Berkshire to reflect that view Berkshire held nearly 10 percent of Wells Fargo s outstanding shares as of year end but has decided to sell some to avoid breaching the 10 percent threshold that would require special regulatory permission Wells Fargo Chief Executive Tim Sloan recently told The Wall Street Journal that Buffett would support the board but Buffett had not confirmed Sloan s statement until now
This story corrects Reuters Instrument Code to tag story to Wells Fargo Co instead of Wayfair Inc |
WFC | Wells Fargo expands settlement to include more customer accounts | Reuters Wells Fargo Co N WFC said it would expand its class action settlement related to the lender s retail sales practices to include customer accounts as early as May 2002 The lender said it would add 32 million to the previous agreement for a total settlement of 142 million The expansion of this agreement is another important step to make things right for our customers said Tim Sloan Wells Fargo s Chief Executive Officer Wells Fargo has been working to win back customer confidence following a sales scandal at its retail banking business and has paid a 185 million fine to the U S government The settlement announced in September hammered the bank s share price and led to the resignation of then Chief Executive John Stumpf
The San Francisco based lender has since then launched internal probes fired more than 5 000 employees apologized to customers changed compensation plans and scrapped sales targets to win back customer confidence |
WFC | Tax Free Munis Q2 2016 Review | Low Lower Lowest
The tax free bond market spent the second quarter slowly grinding to lower and lower yields especially in the longer maturity end of the curve where the muni market has set record lows for yields on the AAA scale
The drop in the muni Treasury yield ratio on the longer maturity end is noteworthy as most instances of dropping Treasury yields produce higher yield ratios since municipals have a hard time keeping up with the essentially noncallable Treasury market
There are a number of forces at work here
A Continuing Drop in Muni Supply
Supply is down nearly 15 from the first half of 2015 The simple reason is that last year was marked by a record amount of supply to refund older higher coupon bonds whose call dates came into play in 2015 Issuers took advantage of this saving lots in future debt service by calling in bonds whose coupons were 5 and higher and by issuing bonds between 3 5 and 4 yields
Demand Side Picked Up
Equity jitters early in the year spurred a reallocation into bonds and into tax free bonds in particular When we add in the amount of called and maturing bonds the amount of NET new issuance has been negative the past few months This trend has spurred yields to new lows
Bond Fund Inflows Picked Up
The chart below shows the increase in municipal bond fund flows
Source Lipper
This increase is significant as the muni market repaired itself from the taper tantrum of 2013 largely without the help of bond funds Most of the inflows since 2013 have been from private accounts banks and insurance companies The resurgence of bond funds has been certainly been a force in the past few months
Foreign Investors Increased Muni Holdings
Overall foreign holdings of munis are double what they were since 2007 Wells Fargo NYSE WFC data indicates that in the first quarter of 2016 there were 2 billion in additional foreign flows into the municipal bond market above the level in 2015 Foreign investors got great exposure to the muni market through the taxable Build America Bonds program in 2009 2010 However the continued cheapness of tax free muni yields relative to Treasury yields has spurred foreign demand even for tax free munis especially considering the very low yields on investment grade paper in Europe and Japan
Strategy Going Forward
The current environment has an eerie feeling similar to late 2012 early 2013 There are low government yields with paltry growth as well as low muni yields Though muni yields are still cheaper compared to Treasury yields than would be the case in a normal environment as we have already explained on a nominal basis they are at record lows in the longer maturities That gives us some pause as does some pickup in the core CPI over the past two years
We often look at the 10 year US Treasury bond yield compared to the core inflation number to judge the relative attractiveness of bond markets
Certainly the rise in Treasury yields however misplaced the taper tantrum was after the last time we had negative real yields should give us pause From a total return perspective in the muni world we are slowly lowering the risk profile of our asset base
We are letting the many prerefunded bonds lie fallow These older higher coupon bonds have been defeased to earlier call dates running from 2017 to 2021 They will provide ammunition to buy higher yields when they are available
We are slowly adding municipal inflation indexed bonds MIPS We wrote about MIPS in January 2012 Munis Cruise through a Scorching January MIPS pay an incremental coupon based on headline inflation But they are payed in tax exempt form which makes MIPS extremely attractive
We are slowly lowering duration on accounts in part by slowly shifting out of the barbell approach to place a greater emphasis on a shorter barbell We have gradually allowed shorter securities to move down the yield curve shortening their duration The aforementioned buildup of prerefunded bonds and the addition of MIPS also work to shorten duration
We think short term rates will rise very slowly However when record lows in yields are reached our approach is to trim the sails and steer a little closer to shore
by |
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