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WFC | GLOBAL MARKETS Stocks and oil rally euro slips on ECB view | U S and European shares climb after six days of losses
Oil prices rally on concerns about supply
Euro falls after ECB leaves inflation forecast unchanged
Recasts to show U S stocks up 1 percent adds comment
details
By Wanfeng Zhou
NEW YORK June 9 Reuters U S stocks bounced back on
Thursday after a six day slide and oil prices jumped on supply
concerns while the euro fell after the European Central Bank
kept its inflation forecast for next year unchanged
Financial and energy stocks led the rally on Wall Street
which pushed the Dow industrials and the S P 500 up 1 percent
at midday The Nasdaq Composite Index advanced 0 5 percent
matching the 0 5 percent gain in world stocks as measured by
the MSCI index
U S crude oil futures jumped above 102 a barrel
on concerns about supply a day after OPEC failed to agree on
an increase in production targets
The euro tumbled to a session low at 1 44777 om
trading platform EBS and was trading at 1 4526 at midday
The catalyst for the euro s fall was provided by the ECB
which left its 2012 inflation forecast unchanged at 1 7
percent below some forecasts The steady inflation view
suggested the euro zone s pace of rate increases could slow
As a result investors pared back their outlook for total
rate hikes to about 75 basis points over the next 12 months
from around 80 before Trichet s press briefing
ECB President Jean Claude Trichet did signal that rates
would be raised again next month but that move had already
been widely expected and priced into the market
STOCKS JUMP AND AN IPO SOARS
On Wall Street investors snapped up stocks on the view
that the market was oversold after a six day slide An S P
index of financial stocks advanced 1 3 percent while
an S P energy sector index also rose 1 3 percent
The Dow Jones industrial average was up 116 51
points or 0 97 percent at 12 165 45 The Standard Poor s
500 Index was up 12 10 points or 0 95 percent at
1 291 66 The Nasdaq Composite Index was up 12 66
points or 0 47 percent at 2 688 04
Shares of Fusion io Inc which makes storage
memory hardware and software for data centers jumped 21
percent in their first day of trading At midday the stock
was at 23 up from its initial offering price of 19
Stock investors viewed a narrowed U S trade deficit as
one positive point for growth in a recent avalanche of weak
economic data But the mood remained fragile with many
analysts expecting the S P 500 to retest its March 2010 lows
after falling more than 6 percent since a peak in May
We re basically trading off technicals said William
Larkin a portfolio manager with Cabot Money Management in
Salem Massachusetts
We re going to be in a very active trading range and we
just need a couple of key warnings on consumer confidence
energy prices whatever and markets could continue to
weaken
The FTSEurofirst 300 index of top European shares
advanced 0 9 percent to 1 104 43 points
U S Treasury yields fell to six month lows after data
showed initial jobless claims unexpectedly rose last week The
data added to recent evidence the recovery is stalling and
stoked demand for safe haven ID nN09117731
Benchmark 10 year notes were trading with a
yield of 2 98 percent The yield dipped to 2 92 percent early
on Thursday marking the lowest since early December
EURO S SLIDE GREEK BONDS
The U S Dollar Index which measures the dollar s
performance rose against a basket of major currencies was up
0 3 percent
In the currency markets the spotlight was on the euro
which sank after the ECB left its benchmark interest rates at
1 25 percent as expected
In a news conference following the decision ECB President
Jean Claude Trichet said the central bank is in strong
vigilance mode over inflation using a code word to signal a
rate hike is probably only a month away For more see
ID nFAT007213
A lack of detail about a new bailout package for Greece
and the possibility of write offs in the banking sector in the
event of a Greek debt restructuring also soured sentiment
The euro has slipped in what appears to be a buy the
rumor sell the fact reaction said Vassili Serebriakov
currency strategist at Wells Fargo in New York We also
suspect that negative headlines on Greece and wider regional
debt concerns are raising some question marks over the
prospects for ongoing ECB policy tightening and euro
strength
Greek Irish and Portuguese bonds came under pressure
pushing spreads over German Bunds wider after Moody s said a
Greek default would also impact the credit ratings of other
bailed out countries
Moody s also said it was hard to imagine resolving
Greece s debt crisis with private investors participating on a
voluntary basis ID nFAB016108
A new international bailout being put together for Greece
is likely to total around 120 billion euros euro zone
official sources said on Thursday That was higher than the 90
billion euro figure previously suggested by officials
ID nLDE75819V
In the oil market U S crude for July delivery
rose 1 11 to 101 85 a barrel after hitting a session high
at 102 44 Brent crude added 1 48 to 119 33 a
barrel
Spot gold hit a peak of 1 549 30 an ounce and was
bid at 1 547 44 an ounce against 1 536 80 late in New York
on Wednesday
Additional reporting by Gertrude Chavez Dreyfuss and Edward
Krudy in New York and Simon Falush in London Editing by Jan
Paschal |
WFC | GLOBAL MARKETS Stocks and oil climb euro drops after ECB | U S and European shares climb after six days of losses
Oil prices rally on concerns about supply
Euro falls after ECB leaves inflation forecast unchanged
Updates prices adds comment details
By Wanfeng Zhou
NEW YORK June 9 Reuters U S and European shares
rebounded on Thursday after a six day slide and oil prices
jumped while the euro slipped against the dollar after the
European Central Bank left its inflation forecast for next
year unchanged
Data showing record U S exports in April tempered worries
about a stalling economic recovery and prompted investors to
pick up beaten down shares Commodity linked stocks led the
advance as oil gold and silver prices climbed For more see
ID nN09117731
World stocks as measured by the MSCI world equity index
rose 0 5 percent The Thomson Reuters global
stock index gained 0 4 percent
You re seeing exports picking up pretty dramatically a
positive data point and a market that had gone down six days
in a row said Eric Kuby chief investment officer of North
Star Investment Management Corp in Chicago You finally have
a day with a reason for people to start buying stocks again
The appetite has come back
The Dow Jones industrial average was up 122 60
points or 1 02 percent at 12 171 54 The Standard Poor s
500 Index was up 13 63 points or 1 07 percent at
1 293 19 The Nasdaq Composite Index was up 17 17
points or 0 64 percent at 2 692 55
Shares of Fusion io Inc which makes storage
memory hardware and software for data centers jumped 25
percent in their first day of trading
The FTSEurofirst 300 index of top European shares
advanced 0 9 percent to close at 1 104 43 points gaining for
the first session since May 31
Oil prices rallied on concerns about supply a day after
OPEC failed to agree on an increase in production targets
Brent crude leaped to a five week high of 119 72
a barrel U S crude rose 1 14 to 101 88 having
earlier hit 102 44
Gold prices rose nearly 1 percent and were set for their
biggest one day gain in two weeks Gains in crude oil and
grain prices heightened fears of higher inflation and boosted
the bullion s allure
Spot gold was last up 0 7 percent at 1 547 19 an
ounce Silver was up 2 percent at 37 54 an ounce
The Reuters Jefferies CRB index a global benchmark
for commodities was up 0 7 percent
EURO S SLIDE GREEK BONDS
The euro tumbled to a session low at 1 44777 om
trading platform EBS and was last trading at 1 4507 down 0 5
percent on the day
The European Central Bank left benchmark interest rates
unchanged at 1 25 percent While ECB President Jean Claude
Trichet did signal that rates would be raised again next
month analysts said the move had already been widely expected
and priced into the market
The ECB left its 2012 inflation forecast unchanged at 1 7
percent below some forecasts The steady inflation view
suggested the euro zone s pace of rate increases could slow
As a result investors pared back their outlook for total
rate hikes to about 75 basis points over the next 12 months
from around 80 before Trichet s press briefing
Trichet didn t give a strong enough signal for hikes
after July although markets have priced in more
tightening said Nick Bennenbroek head of currency research
at Wells Fargo in New York
A lack of detail about a new bailout package for Greece
and the possibility of write offs in the banking sector in the
event of a Greek debt restructuring also soured sentiment
Greek Irish and Portuguese bonds came under pressure
pushing spreads over German Bunds wider after Moody s said a
Greek default would also impact the credit ratings of other
bailed out countries
A new international bailout being put together for Greece
is likely to total around 120 billion euros euro zone
official sources said on Thursday That was higher than the 90
billion euro figure previously suggested by officials
ID nLDE75819V
U S government debt prices fell after the Treasury
Department sold 30 year bonds in its third and final coupon
sale of the week
Benchmark 10 year Treasury notes were yielding
3 01 percent The yield had earlier dipped to 2 92 percent
marking the lowest since early December
Additional reporting by Gertrude Chavez Dreyfuss and Edward
Krudy in New York and Simon Falush in London Editing by Jan
Paschal |
T | Better Buy AT T vs Frontier Communications | When it comes to telecom stocks Frontier Communications NASDAQ FTR sports what looks like an attractive price It s just 0 59 per share and hovering near a 52 week low compared to the 38 55 of competitor AT T NYSE T as of this writing
Pit these two telecommunications companies head to head and it seems on the surface that Frontier s price advantage makes it the better buy But when looking at the entirety of both companies the reason behind the price for each stock becomes readily apparent and the clear investment choice is AT T
Why Frontier loses
Frontier is a company in decline Its decision to buy Verizon s wireline business in three states back in 2016 has proven disastrous
Revenue has dropped every quarter for the past year In its third quarter earnings report Frontier experienced a 6 1 year over year drop in revenue The company also witnessed its largest customer churn in the third quarter with a clear trend of customer defections steadily growing since the first quarter of 2018
Moreover in the most recent conference call with analysts Frontier s financials are not pretty The company reported a loss in 2018 and has reported losses in the three quarters of 2019 it has so far reported At the end of the third quarter its total assets stood at 17 6 billion while total liabilities were 21 7 billion Also Frontier was once a dividend paying stock but suspended its dividend in early 2018
Frontier is selling operations and assets in Washington Oregon Idaho and Montana Management has not articulated a turnaround plan
Why AT T wins
On the flip side AT T s strategic moves chart a growth path for the company It purchased Time Warner Inc in 2018 allowing the telecom company to add the film and television libraries of Warner Brothers HBO and Turner to its arsenal This set up the company s plan to launch its own streaming entertainment network capitalizing on the cord cutting trend
The strategy complements the move to an improved 5G wireless network to unlock faster mobile internet speeds The faster speeds make a streaming service more attractive
In addition to AT T s growth strategies the company is profitable In 2018 it delivered over 19 billion in net income and has already exceeded 10 billion in net income through the third quarter of 2019
And while Frontier s third quarter total liabilities overshadowed its total assets the opposite is true for AT T The company s assets of nearly 549 billion more than cover its 354 5 billion in total liabilities
These qualities are incentive enough to see AT T as a compelling investment but there s more The company is also a Dividend Aristocrat and in December announced that its quarterly dividend was increasing for the 36th consecutive year The stock is currently delivering more than a 5 yield
The verdict
From stronger financials to a strategy for growth AT T possesses the attributes of an attractive investment while Frontier Communications does not
Certainly some concern exists regarding how well AT T will fare in the entertainment business It s an entirely new industry for the company and the cost of producing original streaming content has been increasing Although AT T has worked to reduce its liabilities the addition of new streaming services won t help
Still between this battle it s a no contest AT T clearly comes out on top |
T | Why This Q4 Report Will Be Crucial for ATT | AT T Inc NYSE T is set to release its fourth quarter financial results before the opening bell on Wednesday The consensus forecast is calling for 0 87 in earnings per share EPS and 46 96 billion in revenue The same period of last year reportedly had 0 86 in EPS and 47 99 billion in revenue Merrill Lynch recently highlighted AT T as one of its preliminary top picks for 2020 The firm issued a Buy rating with a 43 price objective The valuation is deemed warranted as the company faces challenging operating trends within AT T s TV business along with higher leverage and integration risk That said the negatives are offset by higher earnings expectations and faster growth after taking the impact of stock buybacks and cost savings into consideration Now investors have to be asking themselves if AT T s rise can continue into 2020 At least some on Wall Street feel it can outperform next year The big issue to consider is that rival Verizon which had held better in prior years was only up 7 on a total return basis in 2019 div connatix margin bottom 1 5em div connatix img margin unset While there is much riding on the Sprint T Mobile merger for cellular communications it still has a chance of being completed and that s good for both AT T and for Verizon due to a three way fight being better than a four way one AT T itself sees full year 2019 free cash flow around 28 billion and its EBITDA margin is expected to grow by 200 basis points by 2022 The company s revenue growth is expected to come from wireless and WarnerMedia and some from Mexico Its margin growth is expected to come primarily from wireless merger synergies Mexico and a focus on operating cost containment CFO John Stevenson indicated how it expects to improve its balance sheet as follows The company has begun retiring shares and is evaluating a 100 million share accelerated share repurchase program for the first quarter of 2020 By the end of 2022 AT T expects to retire 100 of the debt it incurred to acquire Time Warner targeting a net debt to adjusted EBITDA ratio in the 2 0x to 2 25x range and expects this to lead to an upgrade in its debt ratings Excluding Tuesday s move AT T stock had underperformed the broad markets with a gain of only 25 in the past 52 weeks The stock was only up 4 in just the past quarter Here s what analysts had to say ahead of the report
Deutsche Bank has a Buy rating and a 44 price target
Tigress Financial has a Buy rating
Moffett Nathanson has a Sell rating and a 30 target
HSBC rates it as Hold with a 42 price target
UBS has a Buy rating and a 42 target price
JPMorgan rates it as Overweight with a 42 target
Standpoint Research has a Hold rating
Shares of AT T traded up 1 to 38 69 on Tuesday in a 52 week range of 28 92 to 39 70 The consensus price target is 39 31
ALSO READ Worried About Coronavirus 5 Stocks to Buy With Zero China Exposure
By Chris Lange |
T | AT T Earnings Beat Revenue Misses In Q4 | Investing com AT T reported on Wednesday fourth quarter earnings that beat analysts forecasts and revenue that fell short of expectations
AT T announced earnings per share of 0 89 on revenue of 46 82B Analysts polled by Investing com anticipated EPS of 0 88 on revenue of 46 95B That with comparison to EPS of 0 86 on revenue of 48 04B in the same period a year before AT T had reported EPS of 0 94 on revenue of 44 59B in the previous quarter Analysts are expecting EPS of 0 88 and revenue of 44 81B in the upcoming quarter
AT T NYSE T shares are down 1 from the beginning of the year and are trading at 38 58 still down 2 82 from its 52 week high of 39 70 set on November 18 2019 They are under performing the S P 500 which is up 0 95 year to date
AT T follows other major Services sector earnings this monthAT T s report follows an earnings beat by Comcast on January 23 who reported EPS of 0 79 on revenue of 28 4B compared to forecasts EPS of 0 77 on revenue of 28 17B
Netflix had beat expectations on January 21 with fourth quarter EPS of 1 3 on revenue of 5 47B compared to forecast for EPS of 0 52 on revenue of 5 45B
Stay up to date on all of the upcoming earnings reports by visiting Investing com s earnings calendar |
T | AT T EPS beats by 0 01 misses on revenue | AT T NYSE T Q4 Non GAAP EPS of 0 89 beats by 0 01 GAAP EPS of 0 33 misses by 0 30
Revenue of 46 82B 2 4 Y Y misses by 140M
Shares 0 86 PM
Press Release |
T | AT T stock gains after earnings beat but revenue misses | An earlier headline misstated the direction of AT T s premarket stock move after the results
AT T Inc shares
T 0 72
were down 0 9 in premarket trading Wednesday after the media and telecommunications giant posted better than expected earnings for its fourth quarter but fell short on the top line The company recorded net income of 2 4 billion or 33 cents a share compared with 4 9 billion or 66 cents a share in the year earlier period After adjusting for merger related expenses and other items earnings per share grew to 89 cents from 86 cents a year earlier while analysts surveyed by FactSet had been projecting 87 cents AT T posted consolidated revenue of 46 8 billion compared with 48 billion a year ago whereas analysts were modeling 47 billion AT T said its revenue would have been about 48 billion excluding its HBO Max investment For the full year the company reaffirmed its revenue forecast for 1 to 2 growth AT T also continues to expect 3 60 to 3 70 in earnings per share including its HBO Max investment AT T shares have gained 1 4 over the past three months as the S P 500
SPX 0 09
has risen 7 9
div gpt ad 1569967089584 0 div iframe width 100 important min width 300px max width 800px |
T | HBO Max prep hits AT T earnings | AT T NYSE T 0 4 reports Q4 results that missed on revenue and beat on EPS The company reaffirms its FY20 outlook with 1 2 revenue growth and 3 60 3 70 EPS
The three year outlook includes 1 2 three year CAGR 30 32B in FCF in 2022 and capital allocation of 50 70 FCF post dividends for retiring about 70 of shares issued for the Time Warner deal
Q4 cash from operations totaled 11 9B capex was 3 8B and FCF was 8 2B
Group revenue dropped 2 4 to 46 8B slightly below consensus due in part to the HBO Max launch
The entertainment division dropped 6 to 11 23B
WarnerMedia fell 3 to 8 92B
AT T TV Now lost 219K subscribers in the quarter
Premium TV subscribers at DirecTV and U Verse lost 945K subscribers
Earnings call starts at 8 30 AM with a webcast here
Press release |
PFE | Global Blood Focuses On Developing Lead Candidate Voxelotor | We initiated coverage on Global Blood Therapeutics NASDAQ GBT on Mar 28 Global Blood Therapeutics lead product candidate is voxelotor GBT440 an oral once daily treatment for sickle cell disease SCD Shares of the company have increased 7 7 in the past year against the s decline of 13 9 The company is evaluating voxelotor in a phase III HOPE study in adult and adolescent patients with SCD It is also evaluating the safety and pharmacokinetics of single and multiple doses of voxelotor in a phase IIa study in adolescent and pediatric patients to treat SCD The company s clinical studies on voxelotor are progressing fast Data from the phase III HOPE study in adult and adolescent patients presented in December 2018 demonstrated rapid robust and sustained improvements in hemoglobin levels and measures of hemolysis with a favorable safety and tolerability profile for both 1500 mg and 900 mg doses The company plans to present full data from the study in June 2019 However with positive data in hand Global Blood Therapeutics proposed an accelerated approval pathway to the FDA using hemoglobin as the primary endpoint The FDA has agreed to a rolling submission of its new drug application for the drug Global Blood Therapeutics plans to initiate a post approval confirmatory study later in 2019 to demonstrate stroke risk reduction benefit of voxelotor using transcranial doppler TCD flow velocity as the primary endpoint The potential approval of voxelotor will be a huge boost for the company as the current treatment options for SCD are limited We note that SCD is marked by red blood cell or RBC destruction occluded blood flow and hypoxia leading to anemia stroke multi organ failure severe pain crises and shortened patient life span In clinical studies it has been observed that voxelotor reduces markers of red blood cell destruction leads to improvements in anemia and markers of tissue oxygenation and reduces the number of sickled RBCs As a result the company is optimistic about voxelotor and its potential to treat this significantly unmet disease However many companies are developing hematopoietic stem cell transplantation gene therapies and gene editing therapies to treat SCD bluebird bio NASDAQ BLUE is developing the LentiGlobin BB305 gene therapy and Novartis AG NYSE NVS is developing crizanlizumab an anti P selectin monoclonal antibody for the treatment of vaso occlusive crises VOC in patients with SCD Novartis expects to file a new drug application for crizanlizumab in the first half of 2019 Pfizer NYSE PFE is also developing rivipansel for the treatment of VOC in patients with SCD So voxelotor on approval is expected to face significant competition Global Blood Therapeutics Inc Price Zacks Rank Global Blood currently carries a Zacks Rank 3 Hold You can see Today s Best Stocks from Zacks Would you like to see the updated picks from our best market beating strategies From 2017 through 2018 while the S P 500 gained 15 8 five of our screens returned 38 0 61 3 61 6 68 1 and 98 3 This outperformance has not just been a recent phenomenon From 2000 2018 while the S P averaged 4 8 per year our top strategies averaged up to 56 2 per year |
PFE | Israel to launch Big Data health project | By Maayan Lubell JERUSALEM Reuters Israel will invest nearly 1 billion shekels 287 million in a project to make data about the state of health of its population available to researchers and private companies Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said on Sunday Almost all of Israel s nine million citizens belong to four health maintenance organizations HMOs who keep members records digitally thus comprising a huge medical database This is a major asset and we want to make it accessible to researchers and developers in order to achieve two things one is preventive medicine and the second is personal medicine tailored to each individual Netanyahu told his cabinet Nadav Davidovitch head of the Public Health School at Ben Gurion University in southern Israel said the country s push to harness big data for healthcare had huge potential but also held risks in terms of privacy and medical confidentiality In an interview with Reuters he voiced concern that private companies would profit by using a publicly funded database while continuing to make some medication unaffordable to many patients A statement from Netanyahu s office said that mechanisms would be put in place to keep information anonymous while protecting privacy information security and restricting access as part of the government project Patients will be able to refuse the use of their information for research the statement said Digital health records are valuable Big data analytics comparing information provided by large numbers of patients give some of the world s biggest drugmakers indications of how medicines perform in the real world Netanyahu said world leaders and international firms have already shown interest in the project and that the potential revenue for Israel could be in the billions of dollars All the world s major drug companies now have departments focused on the use of real world data across multiple diseases Several have completed scientific studies using the information to delve into key areas addressed by their drugs They include diabetes studies by AstraZeneca and Sanofi PA SASY joint research by Pfizer NYSE PFE and Bristol Myers Squibb into stroke prevention and a Takeda Pharmaceutical project in bowel disease
Real world evidence involves collecting data outside traditional randomised clinical trials the current gold standard for judging medicines and interest in the field is ballooning |
PFE | Drugmaker Shire soars as Japan s Takeda considers bid | By Kate Holton and Thomas Wilson LONDON TOKYO Reuters Japan s largest drugmaker Takeda Pharmaceutical T 4502 is considering a bid for London listed Shire L SHP that could top 40 billion and spark another takeover battle in the deal hungry pharma industry Takeda said on Wednesday it was at a preliminary and exploratory stage of considering a bid sending Shire s shares up as much as 26 percent They were 17 percent higher at 1215 GMT valuing the group at 32 7 billion pounds 46 3 billion Shire sells treatments for rare diseases and attention deficit disorder Takeda said buying it could create a global biopharmaceutical leader boosting its position in the United States oncology gastrointestinal diseases and neuroscience The drugs industry has seen a surge in dealmaking as large players look for promising assets to improve their pipelines In recent months Sanofi PA SASY beat Novo Nordisk CO NOVOb in the race for Belgian biotech company Ablynx BR ABLX while U S based Celgene O CELG bagged cancer specialist Juno Therapeutics The prospect of a bid for Shire 57 percent of whose employees are based in North America immediately stoked expectations for a takeover battle Takeda publicly saying it is considering an approach for Shire inevitably means that other big pharma players including AbbVie Novartis Pfizer NYSE PFE et al will equally be running the numbers with a very high likelihood of leading to a competitive M A multi bidder situation said Michael Wegener managing partner at hedge fund Case Equity Partners which has a stake in Shire Takeda said it had not approached Shire s board Under UK takeover rules it has until April 25 to decide whether to make a bid Shire said it noted Takeda s statement and confirmed it had not received an approach Shire has been under pressure in the last year with its shares down 24 percent due to greater competition from generic drugs and a debt pile that stems from its biggest ever deal the 32 billion acquisition of Baxalta in 2016 The company announced in January a plan to split into two separate businesses to boost performance FRENCH CEO Takeda Japan s largest drugmaker by sales focuses its research on developing treatments for cancer and diseases of the digestive and nervous systems It has made no secret of its ambition to become a more global company through acquisitions although buying Shire would be the boldest move yet by its French CEO Christophe Weber Clearly defined strategic and financial objectives are core to Takeda s disciplined approach to acquisitions including in relation to its dividend policy and credit rating which are well established Takeda said in a statement Any potential offer for Shire if made would have to align with this strict investment criteria The statement came after Takeda s shares had closed 1 9 percent lower on the Tokyo stock exchange An acquisition would likely have to include a considerable quantum of equity Deutsche Bank DE DBKGn analysts said in a research note As such it remains to be seen as to if how a transaction could be structured or whether today s news will stimulate other potential acquirers in to action Weber a former GSK executive was appointed CEO in April 2015 and has already done a number of deals In January Takeda agreed to buy Belgian biotech group TiGenix NV BR G9U for 520 million euros funding the deal with cash on hand and last year it bought U S cancer drug specialist Ariad for 5 2 billion Takeda s overseas deals mirror those by other Japanese companies which are facing bleak prospects at home as a rapidly shrinking population weighs on domestic demand
1 0 7061 pounds |
PFE | Cellectis to continue CAR T collaboration with Allogene shares up 18 | Cellectis CLLS 17 8 is up on more than triple normal volume in response to its announcement that its CAR T development partnership with Pfizer NYSE PFE consummated in 2014 will continue with Allogene Therapeutics Earlier today Pfizer announced an asset contribution deal with Allogene The company says Allogene will assume the Pfizer contract including exclusive rights to develop and commercialize previously defined allogeneic UCART programs directed at specific targets Cellectis remains eligible to receive up to 2 8B in milestones 185M per target for 15 targets and tiered high single digit royalties on net sales Previously Pfizer to contribute assets backing CAR T developer Allogene Therapeutics April 3 Previously Pfizer signs immunotherapy deal with Cellectis June 18 2014 Now read |
PFE | Celgene underperforms after COO exit | It s more negative than positive says Mizuho bull Salim Syed who isn t thrilled the company isn t giving any additional color behind the move He also notes Q1 is over and the company still hasn t said anything about full year guidance RBC s Brian Abrahams isn t too surprised to see someone from senior management axed given a series of recent missteps The firing of Scott Smith shows a seriousness about making hard decisions Source BloombergCELG 1 with the IBB down just marginally and the XLV up 0 6 Previously Celgene operating chief departs abruptly April 2 Now read |
WFC | FOREX Yen down as risk appetite rises outlook still weak | Euro hits 15 month high of 1 4521 on EBS
Dollar yen euro yen regain some ground after sell off
Yen pressured as short covering and profit taking fade
Rewrites adds quotes U S data updates prices changes
byline dateline previous LONDON
By Gertrude Chavez Dreyfuss
NEW YORK April 13 Reuters The yen fell on Wednesday
after rising four straight days against the dollar and euro as
risk appetite improved following gains in global stocks from
better than expected JPMorgan earnings
The Japanese currency s downtrend should stay intact as
long as risk appetite holds up The negative impact on the
economy of the recent massive earthquake is expected to ensure
Japanese monetary policy remains ultra loose for a prolonged
period
There had been a retracement in risky trades the past few
days because of Japan s nuclear power crisis and some lingering
worries about euro zone debt problems resulting in yen
strength Analysts warned that cautious market sentiment could
return by Thursday
The yen tends to fall when there is increased risk taking
in the market as investors sell assets funded by the
low yielding Japanese currency in carry trades
There is a more of a positive risk environment today
said Vassili Serebriakov currency strategist at Wells Fargo in
New York But this may change tomorrow and the yen may be
back up tomorrow It just goes to show how risk sentiment plays
a big part in the currency market
U S stocks opened higher after JPMorgan Chase s earnings
beat expectations and spurred bets that other banks results
will be strong
The euro meanwhile edged higher against the greenback
hitting a fresh 15 month high boosted by reported demand from
sovereign names looking to recycle dollar proceeds
The single euro zone currency would be vulnerable to
pullbacks after racking up gains but overall the euro
remained supported by the prospect of more interest rate
increases by the European Central Bank
In early New York trading the dollar was up 0 5 percent at
84 03 yen after sliding more than 1 2 percent on Tuesday for
its biggest one day percentage drop in four months
The euro was up 0 5 percent on the day at 121 67 yen
although it was well below an 11 month high of 123 33 yen hit
on Monday
The euro was little changed at 1 4484 having earlier hit
1 4521 a 15 month peak on EBS trading platform narrowly
surpassing Tuesday s 1 4520 high
Further supporting the euro s positive outlook were
comments from ECB Governing Council member Luc Coene On
Wednesday Coene said the ECB s interest rate increase last
week should not be considered as an isolated decision For more
click on
The euro s gains were slowed by persistent option related
offers Traders said a barrier at 1 4530 was being defended
expiring on Friday A break above there would target the 2010
highs around 1 4582
Technical analysts said the uptrend remained intact while
the currency is above 1 4250 80 the area from which the
euro bounced toward current highs A sustained break above
1 4600 could open up the path for a test of 1 5000
The options market however isn t following the move in
spot prices
Options investors are still betting on a decline in the
euro against the dollar with risk reversals for one month
options still showing a solid bias for puts On Wednesday
euro risk reversals were at 1 35
Analysts said there is a tug of war going on in the options
market between the market makers which provide liquidity and
the institutional buyers which seem skeptical that the euro
will keep on rising given persistent euro zone fiscal stress
Commodity linked currencies such as the Australian and New
Zealand dollars also rose buoyed by a recovery in commodity
prices and stocks
Additional reporting by Jessica Mortimer in London
Editing by Padraic Cassidy |
WFC | FOREX Yen slips as risk taking rises downtrend intact | Euro hits 15 month high of 1 4521 on EBS
Dollar yen euro yen regain some ground after sell off
Focus on Obama speech later in session
Adds quotes updates prices
By Gertrude Chavez Dreyfuss
NEW YORK April 13 Reuters The yen slipped on Wednesday
after rising four straight days as risk appetite improved on
global stocks gains and the currency s downtrend was seen
intact as long as risk taking holds up
The negative impact on Japan s economy from the recent
earthquake should ensure Japanese monetary policy remains
ultra loose for a prolonged period That should prompt
investors to use the yen as a funding currency in carry trades
There had been a retracement in risky trades the past few
days because of Japan s nuclear power crisis and some lingering
worries about euro zone debt problems resulting in yen
strength
Analysts warned that cautious market sentiment could return
by Thursday due to U S budget and debt ceiling talks as well
as uncertainties about the economic impact of Japan s crises
There is a more of a positive risk environment today
said Vassili Serebriakov currency strategist at Wells Fargo in
New York But this may change tomorrow and the yen may be
back up It just goes to show how risk sentiment plays a big
part in the currency market
Currency investors are expected to focus on President
Barack Obama s budget speech later in the session especially
after a budget showdown last week that almost shuttered U S
government offices
The budget debate is likely to get heated in the coming
weeks with the looming debt ceiling expected to be a major
issue possibly weighing on the dollar The U S Treasury has
estimated the government is about 95 billion away from hitting
its debt ceiling and this could be well be reached by mid May
Analysts believe the debt limit will be raised eventually
which has happened in recent years
The road to that eventuality could be a very bumpy one for
the dollar particularly if foreign investors perceive even a
modest increase in the risk a deal on the debt ceiling will not
be reached in time said Bob Lynch HSBC s head of G10 FX
strategy for the Americas in New York
The euro meanwhile traded flat against the greenback
after earlier hitting a fresh 15 month high
The single euro zone currency could be vulnerable to
pullbacks after racking up about 8 percent gains this year
Overall though the euro remained supported by the prospect of
more interest rate increases by the European Central Bank
In midday New York trading the dollar was up 0 1 percent
at 83 72 yen after sliding more than 1 2 percent on Tuesday for
its biggest one day fall in four months
The euro was up 0 2 percent as well at 121 28 yen
EURJPY R although it was well below an 11 month high of
123 33 yen hit on Monday
The euro was little changed at 1 4478 having earlier hit
1 4521 a 15 month peak on EBS trading platform
Also supporting the euro s positive outlook were comments
from ECB Governing Council member Luc Coene On Wednesday
Coene said the ECB s rate increase last week should not be
viewed as an isolated decision See
The euro s gains were slowed by persistent option related
offers Traders said a barrier at 1 4530 was being defended
expiring on Friday A break above there would target the 2010
highs around 1 4582
Technical analysts said the uptrend remained intact while
the currency is above 1 4250 80 the area from which the
euro bounced toward current highs A sustained break above
1 4600 could open up the path for a test of 1 5000
The options market however isn t following the move in
spot prices euro against the dollar with risk reversals for
one month options still showing a solid bias for puts On
Wednesday euro risk reversals were at 1 35
Analysts said there is a squeeze going on in the options
market between market makers who provide liquidity and
institutional buyers who seem skeptical that the euro will
keep on rising given persistent sovereign debt problems
Editing by Andrew Hay |
WFC | FOREX Euro edges higher after data Greece remains a concern | Euro stabilizes after Monday s selloff remains fragile
Greek debt default concerns underline euro zone problems
Canadian dollar hits one week high after inflation data
Adds comment updates prices changes byline dateline
previous LONDON
By Wanfeng Zhou
NEW YORK April 19 Reuters Solid euro zone economic
data helped the euro rebound against the dollar on Tuesday
after its worst day in five months but nagging worries about
debt troubles in Greece looked set to keep the single currency
vulnerable
The euro stabilized above support near 1 42 with gains
accelerating after automatic buy orders were triggered above
1 4250 It recouped some of Monday s losses when fears
mounted that Greece will have to restructure its debt possibly
as early as summer
The euro zone composite PMI a broader measure of the
private sector which combines the services and manufacturing
data nudged up to 57 8 from March s 57 6 data showed on
Tuesday beating forecasts for a fall to 57 1 ID nLDE73I13U
The euro has found some support from firmer PMI data
said Vassili Serebriakov currency strategist at Wells Fargo in
New York European debt concerns have moved to the sidelines
but have by no means disappeared as evidenced by the recent
spike in the cost of insuring against a Greek sovereign
default
The euro was last trading up 0 4 percent at 1 4290
after earlier rising as high as 1 4316 on Reuters data well
off a two week low of 1 4155 reached on Monday
Traders said the euro could encounter more selling ahead of
the Easter holidays It may also be hemmed in by options
expiries due on Tuesday at 1 4200 and 1 4300
The Canadian dollar firmed to a one week high after data
showed Canada s annual inflation rate in March jumped to its
highest level since September 2008 ratcheting up pressure on
the Bank of Canada to resume raising interest rates soon
The U S dollar fell as low as C 0 9548 and last
traded at C 0 9556 down 0 9 percent on the day
GREECE RISK
Earlier comments from a German Finance Ministry official
that a Greek debt restructuring was inevitable caused the euro
to pare some gains but it then rebounded ID nBAT006174
Athens has denied such a possibility
The comment supported an Athens newspaper report which
cited a European Commission official saying Greece has accepted
it cannot avoid a restructuring ID nLDE73I0D5
Analysts said the possibility that a country which has
received a debt bailout may still have to restructure its
borrowing was likely to encourage more investors to exit long
euro positions
We are now seeing a rapid reversal of fortune with the
euro now ranked as the overall weakest currency across the
system of models BNP Paribas said in an FX quantitative
strategy note
With euro bearish signals still being generated we expect
further euro selling over the short term
Positioning data from the Commodity and Futures Trading
Commission on Friday showed net euro long positions at their
highest since December 2007 leaving scope for a reversal
IMM FX
The U S dollar slipped 0 2 percent to 82 48 yen while
against a basket of currencies it fell 0 4 percent to
75 202
Standard Poor s threatened on Monday to downgrade the
United States prized AAA credit rating unless the Obama
administration and Congress find a way to slash the yawning
federal budget deficit within two years
Given that a majority of U S debt is owned by foreign
investors some analysts were surprised the S P announcement
failed to trigger lasting dollar selling
The price action suggests the euro was getting pretty
tired said Paul Mackel director of currency strategy at
HSBC
Additional reporting by Naomi Tajitsu in London Editing by
Chizu Nomiyama |
WFC | FOREX Dollar under pressure with little relief ahead | US dollar index at 3 year low worst month since Sept
Swiss franc at record high vs USD SNB comments help
Month end flows seen tilted toward dollar selling
Updates prices adds quote adds details
NEW YORK April 29 Reuters The U S dollar hit a
three year low against a basket of currencies on Friday and is
expected to decline for the a sixth straight week in the coming
sessions on expectations the Federal Reserve will keep interest
rates low while the European Central bank raises them
Higher interest rates in Europe have undermined support for
the dollar boosting the euro by 11 percent so far this year
The U S dollar index hit a three year low of 72 834 on
Friday and has now fallen for five straight months after
tallying a 3 8 percent April decline
It s pretty close to a one way bet on the dollar but in
foreign exchange markets anything can happen said Chris
Turner head of foreign exchange strategy at ING Commercial
Banking in London U S monetary policy is reflationary policy
which is great news for the commodity currencies and frames the
weak dollar
The euro was on track to rally 4 7 percent against the
dollar in April for its best month since September The dollar
fell 2 3 percent this month against the yen its worst month
since December
The euro was buoyed by stronger than expected euro zone
inflation data that increased the chance of another ECB rate
rise sooner rather than later
The euro last traded at 1 4832 up 0 1 percent and near
its highest since early December 2009 But the euro ran into
some selling and could struggle ahead of a reported options
barrier at 1 4900
Resistance was expected around 1 4905 a peak from Dec 7
2009 ahead of a substantial barrier at 1 5000 Beyond
1 5000 the key target was the 2009 high of 1 5145
Technical factors and overextended speculative positioning
suggest the dollar s decline may slow next week according to
Vassili Serebriakov currency strategist at Wells Fargo in New
York
However with the Fed sending a strong dovish message we
see few significant triggers for an immediate dollar
turnaround he said
One month euro dollar risk reversals last traded at 1 2 on
Friday according to Reuters data with a bias toward euro puts
and dollar calls suggesting more investors are betting the
euro will fall than will rise
But the same measure traded at 1 48 on Tuesday which
indicates relatively less bearishness the day before Federal
Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke hosted his first ever post policy
decision news conference The U S Labor Department will
publish its April employment report next week and analysts at
Citigroup said dollar bearishness should persist
It is hard to be optimistic on the dollar s long term
prospects given the Fed s ability to surprise on the dovish
side the ongoing overhang of U S dollar assets among reserve
managers and the concerns that have emerged on long term U S
fiscal prospects CitiFX said in a research note
Trading was thinned by the holiday for Britain s royal
wedding
The Swiss franc was buoyed by upbeat comments from the
Swiss National Bank s chairman and an above forecast Swiss
sentiment survey
The Swiss franc rose to hit a record high of 0 8644 francs
per dollar on EBS The euro was last down 0 8 percent at 1 2839
francs Against the yen the dollar was down 0 4 percent at
81 21 yen
Reporting by the U S Treasury Team Editing by Padraic
Cassidy |
T | Forget AT T Enbridge Is a Better Dividend Stock | Telecom and media powerhouse AT T NYSE T is a rock solid dividend stock for retirement focused investors It sports an attractive 5 5 yield which is more than twice what the average dividend paying stock in the S P 500 delivers Further it has increased its payout for the last 36 straight years which puts it among the elite class of Dividend Aristocrats
However as good as AT T s payout is Enbridge s NYSE ENB dividend is even better Here s why income seeking investors should take a closer look at the Canadian pipeline giant
A bigger income stream now
One big reason why dividend investors should favor Enbridge is its high yield currently around 6 1 While higher yields often reflect greater risk that s not the case here
The company expects to generate about 9 4 billion Canadian dollars 7 2 billion in cash flow that it could distribute to investors this year Enbridge however only plans to pay out about 70 of those funds even after boosting its dividend by nearly 10 for 2020 The company intends to reinvest the money it retains to cover about 60 of its capital spending and finance the remaining amount which it can do under favorable conditions thanks to its top notch balance sheet Even with that incremental borrowing Enbridge expects its leverage ratio to remain well below its target level
AT T meanwhile anticipates that it will generate about 28 billion in free cash this year At its current dividend level its payout ratio will be in the low 50 range What s left after that will cover a portion of its 20 billion capital program but it will need to borrow to fund the remainder While the company s leverage ratio is currently above its long term target range it s on track to bring the ratio back down into that range as it executes its capital allocation strategy Because of that its payout is on solid ground
More income later
Where Enbridge stands apart from AT T is dividend growth The three year capital allocation plan the telecom unveiled last October calls for modest annual dividend growth through 2022 The higher priority for its free cash as well as proceeds from asset sales is to offset the dilution and debt from its Time Warner acquisition As such AT T only increased its payout by 2 this year compared to Enbridge s nearly 10 increase
Enbridge also expects to moderate its dividend growth after this year as it winds down a major expansion phase However it believes it can support 5 to 7 annual cash flow and dividend growth after this year Because of that income investors who buy Enbridge s higher yielding stock these days can also expect a faster growing income stream than they would get from AT T
A more appealing option for dividend investors
While AT T is a great stock for yield seekers Enbridge is even better The company boasts a higher current yield backed by an equally top notch financial profile and it expects to boost its payout at a faster rate over the next few years Because of that dividend investors will collect more income with Enbridge which sets them up to potentially earn higher total returns |
PFE | Aerie AERI Starts Phase II Study On Eye Candidate In Japan | Aerie Pharmaceuticals Inc NASDAQ AERI announced that it has initiated the dosing in a phase II study on netarsudil ophthalmic solution in Japan for reducing elevated intraocular pressure IOP in patients with open angle glaucoma or ocular hypertension The study was designed to meet the requirements of Japan s Pharmaceuticals and Medical Devices Agency PMDA for supporting the eye care candidate s potential regulatory filing in the East Asian island country Netarsudil ophthalmic solution 0 02 is approved for the reduction of elevated IOP in patients with open angle glaucoma or ocular hypertension The drug is currently marketed under the trade name Rhopressa in the United States Shares of Aerie were almost 7 4 up following this news on Thursday In fact so far this year the stock has surged 36 4 outperforming the rally of 17 3 The above mentioned multi center placebo controlled phase II program will evaluate the IOP reducing effect and safety of three concentrations of netarsudil ophthalmic solution 0 01 0 02 and 0 04 in Japan The study will enroll approximately 208 patients in four treatment arms 0 01 0 02 0 04 and placebo all administered once daily in the evening for a period of 28 days Aerie expects to complete enrollment in the study on netarsudil ophthalmic solution in Japan before this year end and advance toward its phase III stage We would like to remind investors that in January 2019 Aerie announced positive top line results from its pilot phase II evaluation of netarsudil ophthalmic solution in a Japanese American population We would also like to put this forward that last week Aerie received the FDA approval for Rocklatan to lower the elevated IOP in patients afflicted with open angle glaucoma or ocular hypertension Rocklatan is a once daily quadruple action fixed dose combination of Rhopressa and Pfizer s NYSE PFE Xalatan latanoprost Zacks Rank Other Stocks to ConsiderAerie currently carries a Zacks Rank 2 Buy Two other top ranked stocks in the same sector are AIT Therapeutics Inc OTC AITB and Assertio Therapeutics Inc NASDAQ ASRT both sporting a Zacks Rank 1 Strong Buy You can see AIT Therapeutics loss per share estimates have been narrowed 18 8 for 2019 and 11 8 for 2020 in the last 60 days The stock has inched up 1 1 year to date Assertio Therapeutics earnings estimates have moved 6 8 north for 2019 and 8 2 for 2020 over the past 60 days The stock has surged 33 8 so far this year Breakout Biotech Stocks with Triple Digit Profit PotentialThe biotech sector is projected to surge beyond 775 billion by 2024 as scientists develop treatments for thousands of diseases They re also finding ways to edit the human genome to literally erase our vulnerability to these diseases Zacks has just released Century of Biology 7 Biotech Stocks to Buy Right Now to help investors profit from 7 stocks poised for outperformance Our recent biotech recommendations have produced gains of 98 119 and 164 in as little as 1 month The stocks in this report could perform even better |
PFE | Ascendis Pivotal Growth Hormone Deficiency Study Data Positive | Ascendis Pharma A S NASDAQ ASND announced positive top line data from its pivotal phase III study evaluating TransCon Growth Hormone hGH for treating growth hormone deficiency GHD in children Data from the study showed that hGH significantly increased annualized height velocity AVH compared to Pfizer s NYSE PFE Genotropin and has a better comparable safety and tolerability profile with the drug
Ascendis shares have gained 90 1 so far this year compared with the s increase of 9 3
The pivotal heiGHt study evaluated a once weekly subcutaneous administration of TransCon hGH for a period of 52 weeks compared to the daily subcutaneous administration of Genotropin Patients treated with TransCon hGH achieved an AVH of 11 3 cm per year whereas Genotropin had a AVH of 10 3 cm per year The data were presented at the Endocrine Society s annual meeting ENDO 2019
TransCon hGH is a sustained release formulation of unmodified hGH which is used in currently approved daily therapies It helps patients to manage deficiency in growth hormone with once weekly administration instead of daily intake Hence the candidate has significant potential to grab market share if approved
Another study fliGHt is evaluating TransCom hGH in patients who switch from daily growth hormone therapies to its weekly administration Data from this study is expected in the second quarter of 2019 The company plans to submit a Biologics License Application for TransCom hGH for treating pediatric GHD in the first half of 2020
The press release states that GHD in pediatric patients is a serious orphan disease characterized by short height and metabolic abnormalities which can affect overall physical and mental health Growth hormone deficiency in pediatric and adult patients represents a market opportunity of more than 3 billion
Ascendis is a Denmark based clinical stage biopharmaceutical company developing several candidates for multiple indications The company has three pipeline candidates which are being developed for rare endocrinology diseases One of them is being developed for treating achondroplasia and was granted orphan drug designation last month
Ascendis is also focused on developing treatment for oncology indications Moreover the company has collaborations with Sanofi NASDAQ SNY in diabetes and Genentech a subsidiary of Roche OTC RHHBY in the field of ophthalmology
With no approved product the company needs to successfully commercialize its pipeline candidate for growth However the company s resources are likely to support operations for more than a couple of years at the current rate of its operating expenses Ascendis Pharma A S Price
Zacks Rank
Ascendis currently carries a Zacks Rank 3 Hold You can see
Today s Best Stocks from Zacks
Would you like to see the updated picks from our best market beating strategies From 2017 through 2018 while the S P 500 gained 15 8 five of our screens returned 38 0 61 3 61 6 68 1 and 98 3
This outperformance has not just been a recent phenomenon From 2000 2018 while the S P averaged 4 8 per year our top strategies averaged up to 56 2 per year |
PFE | Calithera CALA Initiates Phase I II Study Of Telaglenastat | Calithera Biosciences Inc NASDAQ CALA initiated a phase I II open label study of the glutaminase inhibitor telaglenastat CB 839 in combination with Pfizer s NYSE PFE poly adenosine diphosphate ribose polymerase PARP inhibitor talazoparib also known as Talzenna in patients with advanced or metastatic solid tumors
Telaglenastat is an investigational novel glutaminase inhibitor specifically designed to block glutamine consumption in tumor cells
The phase I II study NCT03875313 will evaluate the safety and efficacy of the combination in patients with locally advanced metastatic renal cell carcinoma RCC triple negative breast cancer TNBC and colorectal cancer CRC that are refractory or intolerant to standard therapies
Shares of the company have dipped 7 1 in the past year compared with the s decline of 13 5
In October 2018 Calithera entered into a collaboration agreement with Pfizer to evaluate telaglenastat in two studies The first study is a combination of telaglenastat and Talzenna and the second one is a combination of telaglenastat and palbociclib also known as Ibrance As part of this agreement Pfizer will provide Ibrance and Talzenna along with financial support Calithera Biosciences Inc Price
Zacks Rank Stocks to Consider
Calithera is a Zacks Rank 3 Hold stock currently
Some better ranked stocks worth considering are AstraZeneca Plc NYSE AZN and Roche Holding SIX ROG AG OTC RHHBY each carrying a Zacks Rank 2 Buy You can see
AstraZeneca s earnings per share estimates have increased from 1 74 to 1 79 for 2019 and from 2 14 to 2 20 for 2020 in the past 60 days The company delivered a positive earnings surprise in all the trailing four quarters with average of 106 40
Roche s earnings per share estimates have increased from 2 31 to 2 35 for 2019 and from 2 34 to 2 37 for 2020 over the past 90 days
Today s Best Stocks from Zacks
Would you like to see the updated picks from our best market beating strategies From 2017 through 2018 while the S P 500 gained 15 8 five of our screens returned 38 0 61 3 61 6 68 1 and 98 3
This outperformance has not just been a recent phenomenon From 2000 2018 while the S P averaged 4 8 per year our top strategies averaged up to 56 2 per year |
PFE | Pfizer PFE Dips More Than Broader Markets What You Should Know | In the latest trading session Pfizer PFE closed at 42 03 marking a 0 92 move from the previous day This change lagged the S P 500 s 0 46 loss on the day At the same time the Dow lost 0 13 and the tech heavy Nasdaq lost 0 63
Prior to today s trading shares of the drugmaker had lost 1 39 over the past month This has lagged the Medical sector s gain of 0 39 and the S P 500 s gain of 1 08 in that time
Investors will be hoping for strength from PFE as it approaches its next earnings release The company is expected to report EPS of 0 78 up 1 3 from the prior year quarter Meanwhile the Zacks Consensus Estimate for revenue is projecting net sales of 12 86 billion down 0 32 from the year ago period
Looking at the full year our Zacks Consensus Estimates suggest analysts are expecting earnings of 2 86 per share and revenue of 52 90 billion These totals would mark changes of 4 67 and 1 38 respectively from last year
Investors might also notice recent changes to analyst estimates for PFE These recent revisions tend to reflect the evolving nature of short term business trends As a result we can interpret positive estimate revisions as a good sign for the company s business outlook
Based on our research we believe these estimate revisions are directly related to near team stock moves To benefit from this we have developed the Zacks Rank a proprietary model which takes these estimate changes into account and provides an actionable rating system
The Zacks Rank system which ranges from 1 Strong Buy to 5 Strong Sell has an impressive outside audited track record of outperformance with 1 stocks generating an average annual return of 25 since 1988 The Zacks Consensus EPS estimate remained stagnant within the past month PFE is currently sporting a Zacks Rank of 3 Hold
Valuation is also important so investors should note that PFE has a Forward P E ratio of 14 81 right now This represents a discount compared to its industry s average Forward P E of 15 28
Meanwhile PFE s PEG ratio is currently 2 43 This metric is used similarly to the famous P E ratio but the PEG ratio also takes into account the stock s expected earnings growth rate The Large Cap Pharmaceuticals was holding an average PEG ratio of 2 15 at yesterday s closing price
The Large Cap Pharmaceuticals industry is part of the Medical sector This group has a Zacks Industry Rank of 71 putting it in the top 28 of all 250 industries
The Zacks Industry Rank gauges the strength of our individual industry groups by measuring the average Zacks Rank of the individual stocks within the groups Our research shows that the top 50 rated industries outperform the bottom half by a factor of 2 to 1
To follow PFE in the coming trading sessions be sure to utilize Zacks com |
PFE | Sangamo Therapeutics Q4 revenues up 47 shares ahead 7 premarket | Sangamo Therapeutics SGMO Q4 results Revenues 13 1M 47 2 Operating Loss 13 8M 40 8 Net Loss 13 1M 36 5 Loss Per Share 0 15 7 1 Quick Assets 244 6M 71 3 No guidance given Shares are up 7 premarket Now read |
PFE | Voyager Therapeutics reports Q4 results | Voyager Therapeutics VYGR Q4 results Revenues 6 3M Operating Loss 12 3M 10 9 Net Loss 11 8M 19 7 Loss Per Share 0 40 29 8 Quick Assets 169 1M 3 0 2018 Guidance Cash cash equivalents and marketable debt securities 125M 135M Shares are up 2 premarket on light volume Now read |
PFE | FDA accepts Pfizer s marketing application for expanded use of Xtandi | Pfizer NYSE PFE and collaboration partner Astellas Pharma OTCPK ALPMF announce that the FDA has accepted under Priority Review the former s marketing application seeking approval for XTANDI enzalutamide for the treatment of men with non metastatic castration resistant prostate cancer CRPC The FDA approved XTANDI in August 2012 for metastatic CRPC The agency s action date is in July Now read |
PFE | Reckitt Benckiser pulls out of Pfizer consumer health auction | By Greg Roumeliotis and Carl O Donnell Reuters British consumer goods maker Reckitt Benckiser Group L RB said on Wednesday it had ended discussions with Pfizer Inc N PFE over buying its consumer healthcare business a day before the U S drug company was expecting binding offers for the unit Reckitt s exit from the sale process strengthens the hand of British pharmaceutical company GlaxoSmithKline Plc L GSK which sources familiar with the matter said was working on an offer for the business It is possible that Pfizer will receive more offers by Thursday s deadline for bids the sources added An acquisition for the whole Pfizer consumer health business did not fit our acquisition criteria and an acquisition of part of the business was not possible Reckitt said Reckitt s priority would remain organic growth and integration of Mead Johnson Nutrition the British company said in a statement Pfizer continues to evaluate potential strategic alternatives for the consumer healthcare business which include a spin off sale or other transaction and Pfizer ultimately retaining the business We have not yet made a decision but continue to expect to make one in 2018 Pfizer said in a statement A deal would be the boldest move to date for GlaxoSmithKline CEO Emma Walmsley took over last April It would further increase the company s already substantial position in consumer health an increasingly lucrative sector as aging populations and health conscious consumers drive demand for self medication Pfizer has been hoping to fetch as much as 20 billion for its consumer health business which includes well known over the counter brands such as the Advil painkiller Centrum multivitamins and Chapstick lip balm according to the sources Although consumer remedies sold over the counter have lower margins than prescription drugs they are typically very well known and durable brands with loyal customers GlaxoSmithKline has struggled with a scarcity of promising new drugs in its pipeline at a time of mounting competition in its core respiratory and HIV divisions Adding Pfizer s consumer healthcare business would likely boost GlaxoSmithKline s earnings given the economies of scale the enlarged business would enjoy but would also stretch GlaxoSmithKline s finances analysts have said GlaxoSmithKline runs its consumer healthcare business via a joint venture with Novartis AG S NOVN Novartis has the right to sell down its minority stake starting from this month although it has previously indicated it is in no rush to do so You would expect us to take a serious look at any leading and very appealing assets in the sector because we are a world leader in consumer healthcare and have a very good track record of integrating businesses successfully GlaxoSmithKline s Walmsley said last month
We will be extremely focused on discipline around returns and frankly this is not a need to do |
WFC | FOREX Dollar yen gain as stock tumble dents risk appetite | Dollar yen rally as investors seek safe haven
Stocks post steep losses led by financial shares
Euro commodity FX tumble as risk appetite deteriorates
Adds comment updates prices changes byline
By Wanfeng Zhou
NEW YORK Oct 30 Reuters The U S dollar rallied
against the euro and a basket of currencies on Friday as a
sharp sell off in the stock market enhanced the greenback s
safe haven appeal
Major indexes on Wall Street fell more than 2 percent
weighed down by financial shares while data painted a mixed
picture of the economy denting market s euphoria sparked by
Thursday s upbeat third quarter economic growth data
A deterioration in investors appetite for risk also pushed
the Japanese yen sharply higher and weighed heavily on
higher yielding commodity currencies including the Australian
and New Zealand dollars
The main driver is equities said Nick Bennenbroek head
of currency strategy at Wells Fargo Bank You re still seeing
the relationship between the dollar and the equity market
holding intact
In afternoon trading the euro fell 0 6 percent to
1 4741 The euro zone currency was down 1 7 percent on the
week so far on pace for its worst weekly performance since
mid April
The ICE Futures dollar index a measure of the
greenback s value against six major currencies rose 0 4
percent to 76 250 and was up 1 percent on the week its best
weekly gain since June
The dollar fell 1 5 percent against the yen to 90 03
The yen also gained as the Bank of Japan said it would stop
buying Japanese corporate bonds and commercial paper starting
a withdrawal process from the credit market See ID nT32693
The yen also rose sharply against other major currencies
The euro fell 2 2 percent to 132 66 yen Sterling
dropped 2 3 percent versus the yen the Australian
dollar lost 3 percent and the New Zealand dollar
tumbled 3 7 percent
Additional reporting by Gertrude Chavez Dreyfuss Editing
by Chizu Nomiyama |
WFC | FOREX Yen at post intervention low euro dollar steady | Yen at post intervention lows euro yen at 10 mo high
Japan repatriation expectations seen overstated
Fed seen lagging ECB in rate hike
Updates prices adds quotes
By Julie Haviv
NEW YORK March 29 Reuters The yen slid to
post intervention lows on Tuesday and analysts anticipate more
losses if the spread between U S and Japanese yields continues
to widen and if repatriation flows into Japan fail to emerge
The two year U S Treasury yield rose to 0 81 percent eight
basis points above Friday s close and up 18 basis points in six
days widening its gap over comparable Japanese yields
The wider spread helped the dollar reached its highest
levels against the yen since March 18 when the Bank of Japan
and other major central banks intervened to stop runaway yen
gains
While there are no obvious catalysts for the yen s moves
we suspect that the combination of recent equity market
resilience and higher U S Treasury yields is weighing on the
Japanese currency said Vassili Serebriakov currency
strategist at Wells Fargo Bank in New York
The dollar rose to 82 48 yen while the euro was last at
116 08 yen a 10 month high
There are a lot of yen negatives right now said Steven
Englander head of G10 strategy at CitiFX in New York
First the rate differential between U S and Japanese
yields has widened working in the dollar s favor he said
Second it is becoming increasingly clear that repatriation
flows to Japan are not panning out and if anything will be
limited
The yen hit a record high against the dollar during the
week following Japan s massive earthquake and tsunami largely
due to expectations investors would repatriate funds from
overseas back into Japan
CitiFX said there are several reasons why repatriation
flows should be limited one of which is that Japanese
households are still accumulating foreign assets
Japanese firms also appear to have enough funds to deal
with the costs of rebuilding
Life insurance companies can cope with payments because of
their cash holdings Casualty insurance companies may encounter
some difficulty but government reinsurance should cover the
payments the firm said in a research note
Also pension funds and retail investors need not raise yen
cash and repatriate
Japanese banks will meet huge loan demand in the area
whereas the government is to increase JGB issuance The BOJ
Bank of Japan will be obliged to embark upon further monetary
easing the firm said
CitiFX said this policy mix could be negative for the yen
in the medium and long run
FED SEEN LAGGING ECB
The dollar rose against the euro early on Tuesday after
St Louis Federal Reserve bank President James Bullard told an
audience in Prague the U S economy was strong enough to
curtail the Fed s 600 billion bond buying program by 100
billion
The program aimed at keeping interest rates low to bolster
the economy has been widely deemed a bane for the dollar on
views it is tantamount to printing money
But the dollar s gains versus the single currency were
short lived as many expect the European Central Bank to
tighten policy well before the Fed
The euro hit a session low of 1 4060 on the EBS trading
platform after falling through reported bids at 1 4080 It
last traded nearly unchanged at 1 4084
The euro has retreated from a 4 1 2 month high of 1 4249
hit last week but has been supported on the view the ECB may
raise interest rates at its next policy meeting on April 7
The 1 40 level is supported by a trendline drawn from the
low below 1 30 hit in January while the euro s 21 day moving
average stands just above that level at around 1 4006
On the upside heavy options related barriers around
1 4250 were expected to cap gains A break of that level may
see a test of the November high of 1 4283
Additional reporting by Jessica Mortimer in London Editing
by Andrea Ricci |
WFC | GLOBAL MARKETS Dlr up on Fed comments US stocks oil rise too | Dollar rises on Fed official s QE2 comments
World stocks up slightly Wall Street gains oil also up
Yen at lows since March 18 intervention by BOJ cenbanks
Euro yen hits 10 month high euro dollar up too
S P downgrades Portugal and Greece
Recasts updates with rebound in oil low in yen
By Barani Krishnan
NEW YORK March 29 Reuters The U S dollar rose on
Tuesday on speculation the Federal Reserve might curtail a
program aimed at keeping interest rates low pulling U S
stocks higher while oil and other key commodities prices also
rose
The yen fell the most against the dollar since intervention
by the Bank of Japan and other major central banks to stop
runaway gains in the Japanese currency
U S Treasuries widened losses after the sale of 35
billion in five year notes It was the second of the Treasury s
three auctions of coupons this week totaling 99 billion
The dollar rose against the euro after the president of the
St Louis Federal Reserve Bank James Bullard told an audience
in Prague the U S economy was strong enough for the Fed to
curtail its 600 billion asset purchase program by about 100
billion For details see ID nLDE72S0RJ
The euro hit a session low of 1 4060 versus the dollar on
the EBS trading platform after falling through reported bids at
1 4080 It last traded at 1 4088 Traders said
sovereign bids at 1 4050 could limit losses in the single
currency
U S crude oil rose almost 1 percent to hover below
105 a barrel overcoming early weakness on doubts about
Libya s ability to resume oil exports soon after Muammar
Gaddafi s troops halted a rebel advance O R ID nLDE72S033
Copper tracked gains in equities while a rebound in
agricultural markets boosted other commodities ahead of the
first quarter close MET L GRA
GLOBAL US STOCKS UP
World stocks as measured by MSCI were up
0 2 percent after slipping about 0 3 percent earlier on
weakness in European shares particularly banks
Global stocks rebounded on the strength in U S shares
which were powered by a rise in large cap technology firms
Just a day ago Wall Street registered the lowest volume for
2011
The quarter is ending with a lot of uncertainties out
there said Michael Shaoul chairman of the New York based
Marketfield Asset Management which oversees 973 million
There s nothing obvious about what investors need to do in
this environment and that s why you re seeing such low
volume he said No one has any reason to recommit capital
Wall Street remained cautious on Tuesday over the crises in
Japan and the Middle East and north Africa Stocks were higher
though volume was still far below average
The Dow Jones industrial average was up 85 37
points or 0 70 percent at 12 283 25 The Standard Poor s
500 Index was up 8 24 points or 0 63 percent at
1 318 43 The Nasdaq Composite Index was up 22 56
points or 0 83 percent at 2 753 24 N
But Amazon com Inc was up 3 percent hovering
under 175 after it introduced a service offering remote
access to music
Cisco Systems rose more than 1 0 percent to trade
as high as 17 45 after it said it plans to buy newScale Inc
for an undisclosed amount to boost its cloud computing
services ID nL3E7ET0TS ID nN29243506
European banking shares closed up after falling earlier on
a surprise capital increase by Italian bank UBI Banca
The FTSEurofirst 300 index of top European shares
ended up 0 04 percent at 1 125 94
YEN BOND YIELDS
The dollar and euro both reached their highest levels
against the yen since March 18 when the Bank of Japan and
others intervened to stop yen gains
The dollar rose to 82 42 yen while the euro hit a
10 month high against the yen at 116 08
While there are no obvious catalysts for the yen s moves
we suspect that the combination of recent equity market
resilience and higher U S Treasury yields is weighing on the
Japanese currency said Vassili Serebriakov currency
strategist at Wells Fargo Bank in New York
U S 30 year Treasury bonds briefly fell a point in price
after a tepid five year note auction rising stocks and hawkish
Federal Reserve statements hurt yields across the Treasury
curve
Treasury long bonds were last down 29 32 in
price to yield 4 55 percent up from 4 50 percent late on
Monday The bond yields have risen from 4 38 percent on March
16
Portugal s 10 and 2 year yields jumped to euro lifetime
highs and Greece s 2 year yields rose 10 basis points to 15 46
percent after a downgrade by Standard Poors
The S P downgrades left Portugal one notch above junk and
Greece s credit worthiness below that of Egypt deepening the
debt woes of two of the weakest countries in the euro zone
ID nLDE72S1LY
Additional reporting by Atul Prakash Jessica Mortimer and
Richard Leong Editing by Dan Grebler |
WFC | UPDATE 1 Cisco CEO vows to double down on video | Chambers need to take bold steps and tough decisions
Doubling bet on video
SAN FRANCISCO April 7 Reuters Cisco Inc CEO
John Chambers days after admitting the company he has led for
16 years had lost its way acknowledged challenges remain in
its core business of networking while vowing to double down
on video
Chambers told analysts and investors at a Wells Fargo
technology conference on Thursday that the routing business was
in very good shape but he faced challenges in the other
pillar of its core business switching
Its video focused products include Telepresence
video conferencing software and hardware
In a remarkably candid memo to employees earlier this week
the respected Silicon Valley chieftain admitted the one time
technology bellwether and Wall Street darling will need to take
bold steps to restore its tarnished credibility He confessed
the networking giant had been slow to make decisions fallen
down on execution and lacked discipline in an aggressive
expansion
Chambers warned staff to prepare for a number of
unspecified changes in the next few weeks and coming fiscal
year starting in August ID nN05159515
Chambers reiterated on Thursday that tough decisions needed
to be taken Executives have kept quiet on what was planned
but analysts speculate Cisco may be forced to whittle down a
largely unspectacular consumer oriented business from Flip
cameras to its Umi home conferencing product while
refocusing
on its core Internet routing and switching business
Reporting by Paul Thomasch in New York Editing by Tim
Dobbyn |
T | AT T s New Network Could Make This Stock Soar | Zebra Technologies NASDAQ ZBRA is starting the new year on a high note after seeing its market capitalization grow more than 60 in 2019
After exciting investors with better than expected earnings and a lucrative U S Postal Service deal in 2019 the company is aiming to line up new contracts for its public safety mobile computing products including rugged devices The devices may have an early mover advantage because they are already certified for use with FirstNet a nationwide U S public safety network that has the potential to sign millions of new subscribers It is worth asking if the company s expansion into public safety technology could be significant enough to drive share price even higher for this already hot stock and if the business segment is meaningful for those considering a long term investment
What is FirstNet
In 2017 AT T NYSE T was selected by The First Responder Network Authority of the United States a government entity to build a nationwide network that will connect first responders The company will also operate that network under a 25 year contract About 75 of the buildout is complete and construction has progressed ahead of schedule AT T Chief Financial Officer John Joseph Stephens said at an investor event on Dec 3
When the network is complete FirstNet wireless coverage is expected to reach more than 99 percent of Americans The network differs from traditional cellular service because its primary users which will include law enforcement agencies fire departments and emergency medical services will receive priority and preemption
More than 10 000 public safety agencies subscribed to FirstNet by early December FirstNet said representing over 1 million connections However it s difficult to quantify the total addressable market for FirstNet and therefore Zebra due to the network s newness and a level of uncertainty about how signups will continue to play out There are more than 2 7 million full time law enforcement officers firefighters and emergency medical technicians in the U S according to the American Security Council but data has not yet emerged on how many FirstNet specific devices have been purchased by agencies that have subscribed to the service
In addition to traditional emergency services workers the network will be made available to agencies that may be called upon to help support first responders particularly during and following natural disasters Other municipal and state entities such as transit systems may also be eligible for service and statistics do not take into account part time workers
How Zebra stands to benefit
So far 163 devices have been certified by federal regulators as compatible with the FirstNet network But not all have built in support for Band 14 the communication spectrum set aside by the government specifically for FirstNet Devices that are compatible but not specifically equipped for FirstNet will require a software update a possible unlocking process and installation of a FirstNet SIM card
Zebra said in late October it has two mobile computers and four tablets that have been certified and approved for use on with FirstNet The company will compete with certain smartphones and other products from manufacturers including Apple and NETGEAR but not all its competitors manufacture rugged devices like those produced by Zebra The company claims these devices are constructed with drop resistant features that favor usage in environments such as motorcycle policing incident response and disaster management Pricing of the devices on an individual basis is not consistent online and it is unclear what types of prices might be provided for large departments ordering many units at once
On its Q3 earnings conference call Zebra Chief Executive Officer Anders Gustafsson characterized the public safety market and FirstNet as good incremental growth opportunities for the company Those are several hundred million dollar markets that are today served predominantly by either very unique purpose built devices or consumer devices Gustafsson said And we believe that there is a good opportunity to introduce our type of solutions in that market
Time to wait and watch
If an investor was not already considering buying Zebra initial information on its potential to penetrate the public safety market is not substantial enough to tip a decision However if the company makes inroads with this segment as it did with the U S Postal Service the activity may be worth watching Prospective investors interested in the company s public safety revenue prospects would be wise to scour earnings reports for Q4 and beyond on both Zebra and AT T as more details on FirstNet rollout and who benefits come to light |
T | AT T gives update ahead of earnings reiterates 2020 guidance | In his latest shareholder conference update AT T NYSE T CFO John Stephens said that while the company isn t reporting Q4 until Jan 29 AT T continues to expect it met all of its 2019 commitments to shareholders The report will reflect lower Warner Bros theatrical revenues he told the audience at Citi Global TMT West vs the stronger film slate form 2018 And operating income will come under about 500M worth of pressure from investments in HBO Max via new content production foregone licensing and platform costs Q4 wireless equipment sales should be slightly lower as well he said and as in prior quarters AT T expects some forex pressure in some international operations He reiterated 2020 guidance including EPS of 3 60 3 70 revenue growth of 1 2 stable EBITDA margins free cash flow around 28B and dividend payout ration in the low 50 range And Stephens said the company wants to exceed its recent annual 6 8 reductions in network operating costs The company has retired about 140M of the shares it issued for the Time Warner acquisition including 80M so far in 2020 under an accelerated repurchase program
Transcript |
T | There are three types of 5G most of what you ll get is not the super fast kind | There are three types of 5G being built in the U S including low band mid band and high band mmWave 5G It s confusing for consumers especially since there aren t phones that support all three yet AT T Verizon and T Mobile Sprint all have different strategies |
T | AT T Can t Deny Part In 1 8M Crypto Theft Tech Adviser Says | Seth Shapiro sued AT T for allowing hackers to steal 1 8m in crypto and said that their claims of failing to prevent the theft are not sufficient Seth Shapiro vs AT TBack in October 2019 the crypto world witnessed a rather unique case where blockchain entrepreneur and two time Emmy winning tech consultant Seth Shapiro from California filed a lawsuit against US telecom giant AT T According to the lawsuit several of the company s workers participated in a SIM swap attack that allowed hackers to steal 1 8 million in crypto from Shapiro The lawsuit was filed on October 17th while the incident itself took place between May 16th 2018 and May 18th 2019 Shapiro claimed that there were four hacks in total which resulted in the theft of his personal data as well as his digital assets Since then AT T s official response was that it could not prevent the theft which in turn caused Shapiro to shoot back at the company and claim that it either knew or that it should have known that its portable SIM cards were an attack vector that was actively being exploited before the events at issue Furthermore according to Shapiro s Wednesday brief with the US District Court for the Central District of California it is entirely AT T s fault as it failed to take steps to remedy the situation AT T knew or should have known that a stolen phone can be as effective as a stolen password It is simply not believable that AT T is ignorant of these basic facts If AT T argues otherwise following discovery it is for a jury to determine AT T was sued in similar crypto cases beforeIt should be noted that AT T does not have an impressive track record when it comes to SIM swapping issues which have doubled in number between 2013 and 2016 Furthermore this is also not the first case of this type where the US telecom giant was sued after a similar incident Another such case was Terpin vs AT T although in this particular case the court had laid a certain portion of the responsibility of the claimant It remains unknown whether or not the Shapiro case will see the same ruling as the case will be judged on its own merits Right now Shapiro claims that AT T have once again failed to provide proper oversight implement adequate security procedures and systems He claims that it was the firm s employees themselves who hacked and robbed him The lawsuit also alleges several violations such as that of the Federal Communications Act but also Californian privacy and consumer protection laws Shapiro continues to claim that AT T knew that a stolen phone is just as effective as a stolen password and that they cannot deny their role in the theft Meanwhile the company is trying to dismiss the accusations by arguing that the SIM swap may have been entirely unrelated to the theft Their spokesperson expressed regret for the incident and Shapiro s loss but that the firm continues to deny the claims Do you think that Shapiro s claims against AT T are justified Is the firm cutting corners and putting its users in danger of being robbed Let us know your thoughts in the comments below Image via ShutterstockThe Rundown Seth Shapiro vs AT TAT T was sued in similar crypto cases before |
T | U S Supreme Court justices skeptical about New Jersey Bridgegate convictions | By Lawrence Hurley WASHINGTON Reuters U S Supreme Court justices signaled sympathy on Tuesday toward two associates of former New Jersey Governor Chris Christie who are seeking to have their convictions in the Bridgegate scandal overturned in a case focusing on what kinds of political acts can be prosecuted as criminal fraud Several justices liberals and conservatives appeared dissatisfied during arguments in the case with the U S Justice Department s reasoning in defending the prosecutions of Bridget Anne Kelly and Bill Baroni although they asked tough question of both sides The scandal centered on Christie s team engineering traffic chaos on the world s busiest bridge to punish a local mayor who refused to endorse his gubernatorial re election bid The Philadelphia based 3rd U S Circuit Court of Appeals in 2018 upheld the 2016 convictions of Kelly a former Christie deputy chief of staff and Baroni a former deputy executive director of the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey for wire fraud and misusing Port Authority resources At issue in their appeals is whether their actions fit the definition of fraud under federal law Prosecutors accused Kelly and Baroni of creating days of lane closures in September 2013 on the George Washington Bridge which connects Fort Lee New Jersey to New York City The closures caused traffic gridlock and were intended to punish the Democratic mayor of Fort Lee Mark Sokolich after he declined to endorse the Republican Christie for re election prosecutors said The traffic was so bad local authorities warned at the time that it was a threat to public safety by delaying emergency responders Christie denied involvement and was not charged The scandal marred Christie s reputation damaged his campaign for the 2016 Republican presidential nomination and contributed to low public approval ratings in his home state PAINTING THE MAYOR S HOUSE The justices wrestled with whether changing a bridge s traffic lane patterns was akin to other types of government misconduct citing examples like a mayor asking public employees to paint his house or snow plow his street before others Now that is not a good thing to do It is really undesirable And maybe it should be a crime But 30 years in prison That I m not sure said liberal Justice Stephen Breyer referring to the maximum available sentence for fraud Conservative Chief Justice John Roberts noted that although the lane meddling created traffic problems the public could still use the bridge If people want to use the highway to get to Fort Lee they can Roberts said Liberal Justice Elena Kagan said that although government employees were commandeered as part of the scheme their role was incidental Conservative Justice Samuel Alito a New Jersey native and former federal prosecutor in the state was among those tough on the prosecution although he also appeared dissatisfied at what Kelly and Baroni s lawyers argued Christie Kelly and Baroni all attended the arguments A ruling in favor of Kelly and Baroni could make it harder to prosecute public officials for certain political acts The Supreme Court in 2016 threw out former Republican Virginia Governor Robert McDonnell s bribery conviction in a ruling that narrowed the types of conduct that can warrant such prosecution McDonnell and former media mogul Conrad Black who also was prosecuted in a corruption case filed legal briefs in support of Kelly and Baroni President Donald Trump last year granted a full pardon to Black who was convicted in 2007 of fraud and obstruction of justice and spent 3 1 2 years in prison After dropping out of the race for the Republican nomination Christie threw his support behind Trump and served as an adviser but Trump later fired him as the head of his transition team after being elected president Baroni initially started serving an 18 month prison sentence but was released after the Supreme Court agreed last year to hear the case Kelly s 13 month sentence was put on hold while she appealed
Kelly told Port Authority executive David Wildstein in an August 2013 email that it was t ime for some traffic problems in Fort Lee and they helped invent a sham traffic study to justify the lane closures Wildstein the accused Bridgegate mastermind was sentenced to probation in 2017 after pleading guilty and cooperating with prosecutors |
T | Losing Roku Is Just the Latest Disaster for AT T TV Now | AT T s NYSE T live TV streaming service AT T TV Now has a problem The app that subscribers use to access AT T TV Now is as of this writing no longer supported on Roku s NASDAQ ROKU eponymous platform
That s a big problem and it s only the latest in a line of problems for the live TV streaming service that once seemed destined to unseat industry leader Dish Network s NASDAQ DISH Sling TV and take live multichannel streaming services to new heights
Et tu Roku
For AT T TV Now subscribers who use Roku devices to access the service the new year came with some bad news Support for AT T TV Now s Roku app has lapsed On AT T TV Now s website an explanatory note lays out the details
Heads up Starting Jan 1 2020 you won t be able to add the AT T TV channel to your Roku device Already have AT T TV on your Roku device You can keep using it as long as you don t delete the app We re actively working on a new agreement with Roku and hope to resolve this soon
This is very bad news for AT T TV Now By most measures Roku is the most popular streaming platform on the planet competitors like Amazon s NASDAQ AMZN Fire TV sometimes claim to have passed Roku in one metric or another but it s clear for the moment that Roku is still the industry leader Roku boasts 27 million active users and a 39 market share that includes more than 15 of all connected TVs in the United States And all of AT T TV Now s major competitors offer Roku channels Roku s term for apps DISH s Sling TV Disney s NYSE DIS Hulu Live TV and Alphabet s NASDAQ GOOG NASDAQ GOOGL YouTube TV are all still available via Roku s Channel Store
AT T TV Now also lacks support for Alphabet s Android TV platform something that is not true of its major rivals But that long standing issue can t compare to losing support for the most popular OTT platform on the market
How did this happen
AT T TV Now s exit from the Roku Channel Store is the result of a lapsing deal and the inability of AT T and Roku to reach an agreement on a new one Like other platform companies Roku doesn t let just any old app into its app store Roku inks distribution deals with the apps in its store AT T TV Now was signed to such a deal but no longer and as of this writing negotiations over a new one appear to have hit an impasse
AT T and Roku aren t saying what they re arguing about but possibilities include a platform tax on subscription sign ups through the Roku platform a tech industry classic that is an infamous favorite of Apple and advertising related issues like ad placements and ad revenue sharing
Is HBO Max a factor
AT T TV Now is not AT T s only streaming service The company also owns the soon to be released HBO Max an on demand streaming service that builds on the HBO brand There is only limited overlap between the two services AT T TV Now is a live TV streaming service that offers live streams of network TV channels while HBO Max will be an on demand service full of original content that won t be available on live pay TV streaming or otherwise but the new offering could still be complicating things ahead of its Spring 2020 release AT T TV Now promotes two channel bundles that include a subscription to HBO that s the regular one not Max which can turn into on demand content via the HBO Go app And HBO Max will almost certainly be launching on Roku meaning that AT T and Roku also have to work out the terms that will bring that app on board discussions that could bleed into similar negotiations over AT T TV Now For now this is all speculation as AT T and Roku have been mum on this possibility
The latest misstep for AT T TV Now
The Roku debacle is the latest in a long line of problems for AT T TV Now In October 2018 AT T TV Now then branded as DirecTV Now boasted 1 84 million subscribers and appeared to be on pace to topple Sling TV which had 2 47 million during the same timeframe from the top spot in the multichannel live TV streaming space Then came subscriber losses in four consecutive quarters The initial drop was reportedly kicked off at least in part by the ending of promotional accounts discounted accounts which may have inspired overly optimistic assessments of DirecTV Now s rise in the first place but that hardly accounts for AT T TV Now s continued free fall
Taking on water the service later rebranded and restructured its offerings That hasn t done much to fix its problems
With Sony s PlayStation Vue now officially retiring from the competition AT T TV Now is starting to look like the weakest multichannel service left on the market While it has a decent base of more than a million subscribers AT T TV Now is trending in the wrong direction Nothing illustrates the service s downfall more strikingly than the service s absence from the most important streaming platform out there AT T TV Now will likely be back in the Roku Channel Store soon but even a temporary absence is likely to hurt the service s efforts to bring in new subscribers to say nothing of its reputation relative to its competition |
T | BofA trims AT T estimates on HBO Max spending | Responding to AT T s NYSE T last shareholder conference update BofA is cutting its estimates for profits and revenues The bank notes that the telecom giant pointed to some 500M of pressure on operating income from its investments in HBO Max And if analysts don t account for that fact there could be some pressure on total reported EBITDA It s trimming its estimates for 2019 EPS and for 2019 2021 revenues Wireless service revenue should continue steady improvement and video net adds should be better sequentially though still negative It has a Buy rating and 43 price target on AT T implying 13 5 upside The company is set to release Q4 earnings before the open on Wednesday Jan 29 consensus estimates are for EPS of 0 87 on revenues of 46 97B |
PFE | Sonoco SON Down 1 8 Since Last Earnings Report Can It Rebound | A month has gone by since the last earnings report for Sonoco SON Shares have lost about 1 8 in that time frame underperforming the S P 500
Will the recent negative trend continue leading up to its next earnings release or is Sonoco 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 Sonoco Earnings Beat Sales Miss Estimates in Q4Sonoco fourth quarter 2018 adjusted earnings increased 16 7 year over year to 84 cents per share and were close to the high end of management s guided range of 79 85 cents The reported figure beat the Zacks Consensus Estimate of 81 cents On a reported basis including one time items earnings per share came in at 77 cents compared with 6 cents in the year ago quarter Sonoco s net sales grew 4 6 year over year to 1 36 billion in the quarter This improvement was driven by acquisitions and higher selling prices partly offset by the negative impact of foreign exchange and lower volume in the Industrial Converted Products and Consumer Packaging and Paper segments However the sales figure missed the Zacks Consensus Estimate of 1 37 billion Operational UpdateCost of sales came in at 1 1 billion up 4 7 year over year Gross profit during the fourth quarter totaled 254 million marking a 4 improvement year over year Gross margin came in at 18 7 compared with 18 8 in the prior year quarter Selling general and administrative expenses totaled 148 8 million up 16 year over year primarily resulting from acquisition related costs and wage inflation Adjusted operating income was 116 million in the fourth quarter down 1 4 year over year Operating margin came in at 8 6 compared with 9 in the year ago quarter Segment PerformanceThe Consumer Packaging segment reported net sales of 574 million up 3 6 from 554 million recorded in the prior year quarter Operating profit came in at 43 7 million down 34 7 from the year ago quarter Net sales at the Paper and Industrial Converted Products segment came in at 512 4 million reflecting an increase of 8 8 year over year on the Conitex acquisition and higher selling prices partly offset by foreign exchange and lower volume Operating profit totaled 55 9 million up 22 6 year over year The Display and Packaging segment s net sales came in at 141 2 million relatively flat with the year ago quarter s 142 4 million owing to volume growth and higher selling prices partly offset by reduced sales from exiting the Atlanta packaging center contract The segment reported operating profit of 8 4 million in the fourth quarter against a loss of 4 1 million in the year earlier quarter The Protective Solution segment s net sales came in at 128 million down 2 4 year over year primarily due to negative foreign exchange impact Operating profit at the segment totaled 8 2 million down 10 2 year over year Financial PerformanceSonoco reported cash and cash equivalents of 120 million at the end of fourth quarter 2018 down from 255 million recorded at end 2017 The company reported cash flow from operating activities of 589 9 million in 2018 compared with 348 3 million last year Long term debt was 1 19 billion as of Dec 31 2018 down from 1 29 billion as of Dec 31 2017 As of Dec 31 2018 the company s total debt to capital ratio was 43 9 compared with 45 6 as of Dec 31 2017 On Oct 1 2018 Sonoco acquired the remaining 70 interest in the Conitex Sonoco joint venture and a composite can operation in Spain from Texpack Inc for approximately 145 million Also Sonoco acquired an additional 19 interest in its Sonoco Asia LLC joint venture from PFE NYSE PFE Hong Kong Limited for 35 million Conitex Sonoco s results will be included in Sonoco s Paper and Industrial Converted Products segment and the Spanish composite can operation in the Consumer Packaging segment 2018 ResultsSonoco reported adjusted earnings per share of 3 37 in 2018 up 21 from 2 79 in the prior year Earnings beat the Zacks Consensus Estimate of 3 34 On a reported basis including one time items earnings per share came in at 3 10 compared with 1 74 in the year ago quarter Sales increased 7 year over year to 5 39 billion The top line missed the Zacks Consensus Estimate of 5 41 billion GuidanceFor 2019 Sonoco maintained its adjusted earnings per share guidance to 3 47 3 57 The mid point of the guidance is at 3 52 a share Operating cash flow is expected in the range of 600 620 million and free cash flow is anticipated between 225 million and 245 million For first quarter 2019 the company expects adjusted earnings per share of 77 83 cents compared with the year ago quarter s 74 cents
How Have Estimates Been Moving Since Then
In the past month investors have witnessed an upward trend in fresh estimates
VGM Scores
Currently Sonoco has a nice Growth Score of B however its Momentum Score is doing a bit better with an A However 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 B If you aren t focused on one strategy this score is the one you should be interested in
Outlook
Estimates have been trending upward for the stock and the magnitude of this revision looks promising Notably Sonoco has a Zacks Rank 3 Hold We expect an in line return from the stock in the next few months |
PFE | Aerie AERI Starts Phase II Study On Eye Candidate AR 1105 | Aerie Pharmaceuticals Inc NASDAQ AERI announced that it has initiated dosing in a phase II study to evaluate its investigational pipeline candidate AR 1105 for treating patients with macular edema due to retinal vein occlusion RVO The phase II program will enroll up to 45 patients and be conducted at various sites in the United States The primary endpoint of the study is to examine the safety tolerability and efficacy of the dexamethasone intravitreal implant AR 1105 Positive results from this study will help Aerie optimize the formulation of the candidate to achieve the clinical objective in phase III analyses AR 1105 is a bio erodible implant designed to release the steroid dexamethasone over a six month period It is commonly administered through intravitreal injection The benefits of AR 1105 compared with other steroid products are its six month duration of efficacy improved administration owing to a smaller needle size and a better safety profile on the back of lower peak drug levels In January 2019 the FDA reviewed the investigational new drug IND application for AR 1105 Apart from AR 1105 Aerie s retina pipeline includes AR 13503 rho kinase and protein kinase C inhibitor implant The IND for AR 13503 is expected to be filed with the FDA in the first quarter of 2019 and if accepted studies are expected to begin in the second quarter of 2019 for wet age related macular degeneration and DME diabetic macular edema Shares of Aerie have surged 30 4 so far this year outperforming the 17 rise We would like to remind investors that last week Aerie received the FDA approval for Rocklatan to reduce the elevated intraocular pressure IOP in patients with open angle glaucoma or ocular hypertension Rocklatan is a once daily quadruple action fixed dose combination of Rhopressa netarsudil and Pfizer s NYSE PFE Xalatan latanoprost This is the second FDA approval that Aerie has received for treating glaucoma within a year of Rhopressa s launch in the United States The company plans to launch Rocklatan in the second quarter of 2019 Zacks Rank Other Stocks to ConsiderAerie currently carries a Zacks Rank 2 Buy Two other top ranked stocks in the same sector are Lannett Co Inc NYSE LCI and AIT Therapeutics Inc OTC AITB both sporting a Zacks Rank 1 Strong Buy You can see Lannett s earnings estimates have moved 1 9 north for 2019 and 2 for 2020 over the past 60 days The stock has soared 58 8 so far this year AIT Therapeutics loss per share estimates have been narrowed 18 8 for 2019 and 11 8 for 2020 in the last 60 days The stock has inched up 1 6 year to date Zacks Top 10 Stocks for 2019In addition to the stocks discussed above would you like to know about our 10 finest buy and holds for the year Who wouldn t Our annual Top 10s have beaten the market with amazing regularity In 2018 while the market dropped 5 2 the portfolio scored well into double digits overall with individual stocks rising as high as 61 5 And from 2012 2017 while the market boomed 126 3 Zacks Top 10s reached an even more sensational 181 9 |
PFE | Momenta Pharmaceuticals EPS in line misses on revenue | Momenta Pharmaceuticals NASDAQ MNTA Q4 EPS of 0 18 in line Revenue of 64 61M 88 9 Y Y misses by 1 97M Press ReleaseNow read |
WFC | Europe shares fall Ericsson down after results | FTSEurofirst 300 down 1 3 percent
Ericsson results profit taking send market lower
For up to the minute market news click on
By Brian Gorman
LONDON Oct 22 Reuters Disappointing results from
telecom equipment heavyweight Ericsson and profit taking after a
recent strong run helped send European shares lower around
midday on Thursday
At 1050 GMT the FTSEurofirst 300 index of top European
shares was down 1 3 percent at 1 012 61 points after ending just
shy of a one year closing high in the previous session
The European benchmark index is up more than 56 percent from
its lifetime low of March 9 as investors have become more
confident on the prospects of economic recovery and most
third quarter earnings have beaten forecasts
But Ericsson was a shocker said David Buik senior
partner at BGC Partners in London And what we re seeing is
that the quality of some of the U S earnings is based on
cost cutting rather than any growth in sales
Those people who believe that we re on our way to the moon
delude themselves This is a long hard struggle We ve been
waiting for weeks for some kind of a pullback after the rally
Ericsson tumbled 7 8 percent after the world s biggest
mobile networks maker reported weaker than expected quarterly
core earnings and a drop in sales hit by the global economic
downturn
Topline is so much below our expectations that it will set
the tone for the day Ericsson says it s a tough market and this
creates concerns over demand said Swedbank analyst Hakan
Wranne Rival Alcatel Lucent fell 2 4 percent
Banks took the most points off the index after some of their
U S counterparts fell late on Wednesday Wells Fargo ended 5 1
percent lower despite its results beating forecasts
Credit Suisse was down 2 8 percent despite posting
forecast beating results hurt by concerns over the lender s
ability to maintain its strong performance
BNP Paribas Banco Santander HSBC UBS and UniCredit fell
between 1 6 and 2 8 percent
Across Europe Britain s FTSE 100 Germany s DAX and
France s CAC 40 were between 1 5 and 1 8 percent lower
COOMODITIES SLIP
Energy companies fell as oil prices slipped back from
one year highs though they were still above 80 a barrel as
the dollar enjoyed a slight bounce
Total BP and Royal Dutch Shell fell between 1 8 and 2 2
percent
Miners slipped as the price of copper and other metals
fell Anglo American Antofagasta BHP Billiton and Xstrata
fell between 1 1 and 2 3 percent
Bucking the trend Nestle SA was up 1 8 percent after the
world s biggest food group said it was speeding up its share
buyback programme as nine month sales met forecasts and it kept
its 2009 outlook unchanged
Pernod Ricard rose 2 2 percent after the French spirits
group met forecast with a 6 3 percent drop in first quarter
sales as emerging market growth helped offset a slump in
developed markets
UK pubs groups soared after Britain s consumer regulator
gave the all clear for leased pub operators to continue with an
arrangement that forces tenants to take beer supplies only from
their landlords boosting pub company shares
Enterprise Inns and Punch Taverns were up 17 4 and 13 9
percent respectively
Before the U S markets open investors will focus on weekly
jobless claims and earnings from companies such as AT T and
McDonald s Corp
Futures for the Dow Jones S P 500 and Nasdaq were down
between 0 1 and 0 3 percent
Additional reporting by Blaise Robinson Editing by John
Stonestreet |
WFC | FTSE falls 1 pct as weak commods banks weigh | Energy stocks biggest laggards as crude slips
Lloyds Banking Group only riser in weak banking sector
Telecoms boosted by AT T read across
By Paul Sandle
LONDON Oct 22 Reuters Britain s top share index closed
1 percent down on Thursday coming off earlier lows as weaker
crude and metals weighed on energy stocks and miners
The FTSE 100 ended 50 49 points lower at 5 207 36 having
come off earlier lows of 5 166 46 but struggling around the
5 200 level
All stock markets are looking like they have run out of a
bit of steam said David Morrison market strategist at GFT
Global
The UK benchmark has rallied more than 50 percent since
hitting a low in early March and is up 17 percent this year
Energy stocks suffered with crude slipping below
81 a barrel as a stronger dollar encouraged investors to take
profits from a 12 month high hit on Wednesday
BP Royal Dutch Shell and BG Group dropped 1 4 to 1 5
percent
On Wall Street stocks were mixed with the Nasdaq lower but
the S P 500 and the Dow Industrials positive as data showing
new jobless claims rose more than expected offset some generally
positive earnings reports
The U S earnings season hasn t really helped to push
markets forward and neither has any of the data that has been
coming out said Morrison
Disappointment that Chinese growth data though robust
offered few surprises and a background of softer metals prices
weighed on the mining sector
Antofagasta Fresnillo Kazakhmys and Randgold Resources
fell 1 8 to 3 8 percent
Banks were also in the doldrums following weakness on
Wednesday in their U S peers after an influential bank analyst
recommended selling Wells Fargo shares and Britain s financial
watchdog issued a raft of proposals to reform the industry on
Thursday
Heavyweight HSBC shed 1 8 percent with Barclays Royal Bank
of Scotland and Standard Chartered falling between 0 7 and 1 6
percent
Lloyds Banking Group however put on 3 6 percent to top the
FTSE leaderboard on talk that it was close to securing backing
for a cash call
Lloyds is planning to launch a rights issue and refinancing
next week provided it can persuade regulators and the government
to agree to a deal before the weekend the Financial Times said
TELECOMS RING UP GAINS
Index heavyweight Vodafone up 3 4 percent was boosted by
U S telecoms peer AT T which posted
better than expected third quarter profit The stock was also
pushed up by a big long only buyer traders said
Fixed line operator BT Group was up 1 5 percent
On the second tier pub groups notched up good gains with
Enterprise Inns Punch Taverns and Marstons up 23 percent 14 8
percent and 3 percent respectively after the Office of Fair
Trading gave the go ahead for the industry to continue operating
its beer tie arrangement
British retail sales failed to grow for a second month
running in September official data showed on Thursday
confounding expectations for a 0 5 percent rise
Shares in Next and Marks Spencer fell 0 9 and 1 6 percent
respectively while mid cap department store group Debenhams
lost 0 6 percent although it posted full year profits towards
the top end of expectations
Editing by Jon Loades Carter |
WFC | FOREX Sterling falls broadly after UK data dollar gains | UK data casts doubt on prospect of synchronized recovery
Euro zone data shows bloc s recovery generally on track
Euro holds near 1 50 but retreats from 14 week high
Updates prices adds comment adds detail changes byline
By Wanfeng Zhou
NEW YORK Oct 23 Reuters The dollar and euro soared
against sterling on Friday after data showing the UK economy
was still mired in recession stunned investors who had expected
it to return to growth
The pound shed more than 3 cents against the dollar as it
fell from a six week high after the British government said the
economy contracted 0 4 percent between July and September
The euro also gained against sterling supported partly by
data that suggested the euro zone recovery is gathering pace
but retreated slightly from a fresh 14 month high around
1 5060
The UK data quashed hopes that the downturn there was
ending and rekindled talk that the Bank of England will have to
extend an emergency asset purchasing program next month
It was a pretty horrific report from the UK said Michael
Woolfolk senior currency strategist at BNY Mellon in New York
The market had been expecting to see all the major economies
recover in the third quarter and this was a bucket of cold
water for us
The pound was last down 1 9 percent at 1 6305 far
from a six week peak near 1 67 touched earlier The euro rose
1 8 percent to 92 06 pence
For more on UK GDP which posted its sixth straight quarter
of contraction the longest stretch on record see
ID nLN250789
For a graphic showing UK GDP growth click
here
Sterling s sharp fall helped keep the dollar in positive
territory against a basket of currencies The euro was
down 0 1 percent at 1 5012
YEN PRESSURED
The euro has climbed more than 7 percent against the dollar
this year breaking above the psychologically significant 1 50
level this week as markets brace for the Federal Reserve to
hold U S interest at record lows well into next year
Late Thursday Chicago Fed President Charles Evans said the
Fed isn t worried about inflation right now but is monitoring
it closely
A survey released Friday showing that sales of previously
owned U S houses hit a two year high in September briefly
boosted U S stocks but economists say a weak labor market
will continue to drag on the economy in the months
ahead ID nN2390489
The dollar rose 0 7 percent to 92 07 yen a
one month high as the spread between 10 year U S and Japanese
government bond yields widened in favor of the dollar That
makes U S bonds more attractive to Japanese investors
The yen also suffered after Japan s banking minister said
the country needed a second extra budget worth around 10
trillion yen feeding expectations of higher government debt
Earlier Friday euro zone purchasing managers indexes and
the Ifo index of German business morale showed the bloc s
economic recovery to be generally on track ID nLN608219
Nick Bennenbroek head of currency strategy at Wells Fargo
in New York said the euro s failure to push higher is an
indication that short term positioning is already very
extended
Additional reporting by Steven C Johnson Editing by Andrea
Ricci |
T | Merrill Lynch Has 5 Top Dividend Paying Total Return Stocks for 2020 | What a year it was 2019 delivered the best investment returns in years with all the major indexes posting massive double digit gains Yet with the new decade comes the reality that a one off year like 2019 is an anomaly and it s a good bet that stock market returns for this year could be limited to the low to mid single digits
Savita Subramainan equity strategist at Merrill Lynch has a 3 300 price target for the S P 500 for 2020 and that is not very far from where we closed on the last trading day of 2019 at 3 230 The question for investors is what the best route to take for 2020 is and going for total return may be the answer div connatix margin bottom 1 5em div connatix img margin unset
We like to remind our readers about the impact total return has on portfolios because it is one of the best ways to help improve the chances for overall investing success Again total return is the combined increase in a stock s value plus dividends For instance if you buy a stock at 20 that pays a 3 dividend and it goes up to 22 in a year your total return is 13 10 for the increase in stock price and 3 for the dividends paid
We screened the Merrill research universe looking for stocks rated Buy paying large dependable dividends and with solid upside potential for 2020 We found five that look good in what could prove to be a volatile year for equity markets and one is among the top Merrill Lynch picks for 2020
Altria
This maker of tobacco products still offers value investors a great entry point and was hit recently as cigarette sales have slowed Altria Group Inc NYSE MO is the parent company of Philip Morris USA cigarettes UST smokeless John Middleton cigars Ste Michelle Wine Estates and Philip Morris Capital PMUSA enjoys a 51 share of the U S cigarette market led by its top cigarette brand Marlboro one of the most valuable brands in the world
Altria also owns over 10 of Anheuser Busch InBev the world s largest brewer In March 2008 it spun off its international cigarette business to shareholders In December 2018 the company acquired 35 of Juul Labs The company also has purchased a 45 stake in cannabis company Cronus for 1 8 billion
The negative press on vaping has been a big headwind and the crash in marijuana stock prices have weighed on this worldwide leader In addition the legal age to buy tobacco products recently was raised to 21 Despite all the headwinds investors are still able to buy the stock at a very reasonable price
Investors pocket a huge 6 73 dividend The Merrill price objective is 54 and the consensus target is 53 75 Shares were last seen trading at 49 91
AT T
This is a top telecom and entertainment play AT T Inc NYSE T is the largest U S telecom company and provides wireless and wireline service to retail enterprise and wholesale customers The company s wireless network serves approximately 124 million mobile connections with 77 million postpaid subscribers
While AT T s traditional wireline voice business has undergone a period of secular decline due to wireless substitution and cable competition the company through WarnerMedia has become a diversified media and entertainment business
The Merrill team noted this when discussing 2020 potential for the communications giant
Our price objective is based on a P E multiple of 12 times our fiscal year 2020 EPS estimate which is in the middle of AT T s historical relative multiple range vs the S P 500 We think this is warranted based on challenging operating trends within AT T s television business higher leverage and integration risk but offset by higher earnings estimates and faster growth after baking in the impact of the company s stock buyback and cost savings initiative
AT T investors receive a 5 32 dividend Merrill has a 43 price target for the shares while the consensus target across Wall Street is 39 02 The stock closed Tuesday at 39 06
ALSO READ Bull Market Risks Opportunities From 2019 Into 2020 Apple Microsoft Amazon Boeing IBM Exxon and More |
T | How Safe Are AT T and Its Dividend | AT T NYSE T has paid shareholders a dividend since 1984 The amount of that payout has varied greatly but the company has not skipped a quarter in the entire history of its dividend program
While the road has been a bit rocky AT T has been steadfast in handing money over to its shareholders And in recent years the numbers have settled down a bit with the company slowly raising its dividend from 0 31 per share per quarter in 2004 to 0 52 for its next quarter in 2020
History shows that AT T has been a safe bet for dividend investors and people building out a retirement portfolio However the market for some of the company s core products is changing and that could put the dividend at risk
What s wrong with AT T
AT T made a 67 billion bet on the future of cable television when it bought DIRECTV in 2014 At the time the deal seemed like a smart one The company which was focusing on selling subscriptions to its wireless phone service could bundle that service with a television package and sell it nationally
That made some sense but there were a couple of faults in the logic The first is that in an age where consumers want both a pay TV and an internet subscription consumers may not want to have to deal with two different companies to get those services Satellite TV providers didn t offer bundled internet and in the digital age that made their product less attractive
The second issue AT T overlooked and this may be the bigger problem is that the company bought DIRECTV right before the traditional cable subscription model began to fall apart That said when the deal was made there were signs that cord cutting could become an issue and the industry did lose subscribers in 2014
Those losses have grown steadily each year and they ve hit satellite providers even harder than the rest of the industry though that trend was slow to emerge DIRECTV actually gained 1 2 million paying customers in 2016 while its satellite rival DISH Network lost just over 1 million
But that was the last year that AT T s satellite company would post a gain in subscribers It s since lost 554 000 in 2017 1 23 million in 2018 and roughly 2 4 million satellite customers in the first three quarters of 2019 according to data compiled by Leichtman Research Group That s a disturbing trend as losses have accelerated greatly and are unlikely to turn around
How important is AT T s cable business
The upside that should reassure shareholders is that AT T expects to be able to continue to grow its revenue while absorbing the accelerating loss of DIRECTV customers It has forecast revenue growth in 2020 of 1 to 2 and it expects its earnings to come in at 3 60 to 3 70 per share
In the third quarter earnings release CEO Randall Stephenson promised Our 3 year plan delivers both substantial and consistent financial improvements over the next 3 years We grow revenues EBITDA and EPS every single year and free cash flow is stable next year but then grows in both of the next two years as well
In the release the company also specifically mentioned its dividend saying it expects continued modest annual dividend growth with dividends as a percent of free cash flow of less than 50 in 2022
Essentially AT T is telling shareholders that it knows DIRECTV has problems but that the company can handle the subscriber loss by making more money in other areas It seems to have a solid plan to do that but it remains at least a little vulnerable if something else in its portfolio falters
That could happen but doesn t seem all that likely AT T has a problem with its satellite TV business but it s managing the declines and the issues should not threaten its dividend This isn t a completely safe dividend the company does have some challenges to navigate but it s a very strong bet And management appears to have a very reasonable plan for growth |
PFE | Conatus CNAT Q4 Earnings Top Estimates Emricasan In Focus | Conatus Pharmaceuticals Inc NASDAQ CNAT incurred a loss of 13 cents per share for the fourth quarter of 2018 narrower than the Zacks Consensus Estimate of 14 cents and the year ago quarter s loss of 15 cents Revenues came in at 7 4 million down 15 9 year over year due to lower reimbursement from partner Novartis NYSE NVS for the costs incurred to support development of Conatus lead pipeline candidate emricasan Moreover the top line marginally beat the Zacks Consensus Estimate of 7 million Conatus has no approved product in its portfolio at the moment The revenues generated by the company are all related to its collaboration with Novartis for the worldwide development and commercialization of emricasan Shares of Conatus have rallied 13 9 so far this year outperforming the increase of 9 9 Quarter in DetailIn the fourth quarter research and development expenses were 8 9 million down 18 3 from the year ago period s figure mainly on account of lower spending associated with the ongoing ENCORE studies on emricasan This was partially offset by higher spending related to new product candidate development General and administrative expenses were 2 5 million marginally up from the year ago quarter s 2 3 million on higher personnel costs Full Year ResultsFor 2018 Conatus generated revenues of 33 6 million indicating a decrease of 5 1 year over year In 2018 the company incurred a total loss of 59 cents per share narrower than the year ago loss of 61 cents Emricasan in FocusEmricasan a caspase inhibitor is being developed for the treatment of patients with fibrosis or cirrhosis caused by nonalcoholic steatohepatitis NASH Conatus acquired the worldwide rights to emricasan from Pfizer NYSE PFE in July 2010 The company is conducting three ongoing phase IIb ENCORE studies on emricasan for treating fibrosis or cirrhosis induced by nonalcoholic steatohepatitis NASH The programs are namely ENCORE NF for NASH fibrosis ENCORE PH for portal hypertension and ENCORE LF for liver function Last December Conatus announced top line results from a phase IIb ENCORE PH In the program emricasan demonstrated clinically meaningful treatment effects on compensated NASH cirrhosis patients who stand at a risk of passing to the decompensation state However the study failed to meet its primary endpoint Following a post hoc analysis emricasan demonstrated a clinically meaningful treatment impact compared with placebo Additional results are now expected in mid 2019 Meanwhile in February 2019 Conatus completed enrolling patients in the phase IIb ENCORE LF Top line data from the study is expected in mid 2019 Top line findings from the ENCORE NF are awaited in the first half of 2019 The company is focused on developing emricasan as positive outcomes from these investigations will pave the way for a phase III efficacy and safety assessment on the candidate for the given disease On fourth quarter conference call Conatus announced that it has selected CTS 2090 currently in preclinical development to move into clinical studies CTS 2090 is an orally active potent and highly selective inhibitor of caspase 1 The company plans to submit an investigational new drug IND application to begin clinical studies on the candidate by the first half of 2020 GuidanceConatus expects the 2019 end balance in the range of 10 15 million excluding any potential milestone payment under the Novartis collaboration As of December 31 2018 Conatus had cash cash equivalents and marketable securities of 40 7 million compared with 49 6 million as of Sep 30 2018 Conatus Pharmaceuticals Inc Price Consensus and EPS Surprise Zacks Rank Key PickConatus carries a Zacks Rank 3 Hold A better ranked stock in the same sector is Bovie Medical Corporation NASDAQ APYX sporting a Zacks Rank 1 Strong Buy You can see Bovie Medical s loss per share estimates have narrowed 6 8 for 2019 over the last 60 days Zacks Top 10 Stocks for 2019In addition to the stocks discussed above would you like to know about our 10 finest buy and holds for the year Who wouldn t Our annual Top 10s have beaten the market with amazing regularity In 2018 while the market dropped 5 2 the portfolio scored well into double digits overall with individual stocks rising as high as 61 5 And from 2012 2017 while the market boomed 126 3 Zacks Top 10s reached an even more sensational 181 9 |
PFE | Aerie AERI Receives FDA Nod For Rocklatan To Treat Glaucoma | Aerie Pharmaceuticals Inc NASDAQ AERI announced that the FDA has approved Rocklatan 0 02 0 005 to reduce elevated intraocular pressure IOP in patients with open angle glaucoma or ocular hypertension Rocklatan is a once daily quadruple action fixed dose combination of Rhopressa netarsudil and Pfizer s NYSE PFE Xalatan latanoprost The FDA approval was supported by data from two phase III registration studies MERCURY 1 and MERCURY 2 In these studies Rocklatan achieved its primary 90 day efficacy endpoint and positive 12 month safety and efficacy results demonstrating statistically superior IOP reduction over latanoprost and netarsudil at every measured time point Aerie s new drug application NDA for Rocklatan 0 02 0 005 was submitted to the FDA in May 2018 This is the second FDA approval that the company has received for the treatment of glaucoma within a year of the U S launch of Rhopressa The company plans to launch Rocklatan in the United States in the second quarter of 2019 Share price of the company decreased 21 in the past year compared with the s decline of 16 6 Along with the approval the company also announced full year 2019 net revenue and net cash burn guidance The company expects revenue for 2019 to be 110 120 million This guidance includes the combined net revenues of Rhopressa netarsudil ophthalmic solution 0 02 and Rocklatan As Rocklatan has just received approval a large portion of the company s net revenue guidance is expected to be achieved later this year The company expects to gain meaningful Rocklatan market access for commercial and Medicare Part D plans as the year progresses Net cash burn for full year 2019 is expected to be 130 140 million Including the 100 million undrawn credit facility available to the company total liquidity at the end of 2019 is forecast to be 160 170 million based on the net cash burn guidance range Aerie Pharmaceuticals Inc Price Zacks Rank and Other Key PicksAerie currently carries a Zacks Rank 2 Buy Some top ranked stocks from the same space are Celgene Corporation NASDAQ CELG and BioDelivery Sciences International Inc NASDAQ BDSI While Celgene carries a Zacks Rank 1 Strong Buy BioDelivery carries a Zacks Rank 2 Buy You can see Celgene s earnings per share estimates have increased from 10 34 to 10 73 for 2019 and from 12 28 to 12 76 for 2020 in the past 60 days The company delivered a positive earnings surprise in all the trailing four quarters with average of 2 65 BioDelivery Sciences loss per share estimates have narrowed from 25 cents to 20 cents for 2019 over the past 60 days The company delivered a positive earnings surprise in three of the trailing four quarters with average of 8 57 Zacks Top 10 Stocks for 2019 In addition to the stocks discussed above wouldn t you like to know about our 10 finest buy and holds for the year From more than 4 000 companies covered by the Zacks Rank these 10 were picked by a process that consistently beats the market Even during 2018 while the market dropped 5 2 our Top 10s were up well into double digits And during bullish 2012 2017 they soared far above the market s 126 3 reaching 181 9 This year the portfolio features a player that thrives on volatility an AI comer and a dynamic tech company that helps doctors deliver better patient outcomes at lower costs |
PFE | Resolution of regulatory issues at Pfizer s McPherson site boosts Achaogen up 12 | Achaogen NASDAQ AKAO is up 12 on increased volume in response to the news that the FDA GMP issues have been resolved at Pfizer NYSE PFE s McPherson facility the manufacturing site for plazomicin The agency has classified the outcome of its Q4 2017 reinspection as Voluntary Action Indicated which means that some minor deficiencies were observed but the issues do not warrant further regulatory action The development should pave the way for FDA approval of the antibiotic by the June 25 action date Now read |
PFE | Pfizer sees upbeat 2018 on lower tax rate shares dip after highs | By Divya Grover Reuters Pfizer Inc N PFE forecast 2018 profit and revenue well ahead of analysts estimates on Tuesday as it expects to benefit from reduced tax rate following the recent changes to the U S tax code and recorded an 11 billion gain from the overhaul The company s shares which rose nearly 5 percent on Friday and hit their highest level since 2002 on Monday fell 3 percent to 37 82 in morning trading The drugmaker also beat fourth quarter profit and revenue estimates on strong demand for its pneumonia vaccine Prevnar and rheumatoid arthritis drug Xeljanz Pfizer said it would invest about 5 billion in the United States over the next five years and pay about 15 billion in taxes over eight years to bring funds kept overseas back to the United States under the new tax laws The above consensus fourth quarter results are largely irrelevent in the context of Pfizer s strong full year forecast driven by the dramatically improved 17 percent tax rate in 2018 and a strong currency tailwind Leerink analysts said Most investors were already assuming strong guidance in the wake of AbbVie Inc s N ABBV recent guidance the analysts said Pfizer said its 2018 forecast reflected a full year contribution from the consumer healthcare business which the company plans to divest or spin off this year The drugmaker has been under immense pressure from investors and Wall Street to pull off a large deal that could help reignite its growth which has been reliant on drugs that are close to generic pressure following patent expirations We believe that Pfizer has the financial flexibility to add to its product portfolio through potentially sizable acquisitions particularly now that there is clarity on U S tax reform Edward Jones analyst Ashtyn Evans said Pfizer booked a gain of 11 34 billion from the new tax law leading to a surge in fourth quarter profit to 12 27 billion or 2 02 per share Excluding the tax gain and other items the company earned 62 cents per share Revenue rose marginally to 13 70 billion Analysts on average were expecting a profit of 56 cents per share and revenue of 13 68 billion according to Thomson Reuters I B E S Prevnar raked in sales of 1 53 billion up 8 3 percent from the year ago quarter while Xeljanz jumped 47 5 percent to 410 million Both the drugs significantly beat consensus estimates compiled by Barclays LON BARC However sales of the company s breast cancer treatment Ibrance rose 11 4 percent to 716 million but missed estimates of 978 million Pfizer forecast full year adjusted earnings per share of between 2 90 and 3 and revenue of 53 5 billion to 55 5 billion
Analysts on average were expecting a profit of 2 78 per share and revenue of 53 88 billion |
PFE | Diffusion Pharma awarded two U S patents covering lead candidate TSC shares up 10 | Diffusion Pharmaceuticals DFFN 9 9 receives Notices of Allowance from the USPTO regarding two patent applications covering method of use and composition of matter for lead drug trans sodium crocetinate TSC TSC is in Phase 3 development for a type of brain cancer Previously Late stage study of Diffusion Pharma s TSC in brain cancer underway shares up 4 after hours Jan 29 Now read |
WFC | US STOCKS SNAPSHOT Indexes end down as financials slide | NEW YORK Oct 21 Reuters U S stocks ended lower on
Wednesday hurt by a late day sell off in financial shares
after an influential analyst recommended selling Wells Fargo
Based on the latest available data the Dow Jones
industrial average fell 92 12 points or 0 92 percent to
unofficially end at 9 949 36 The Standard Poor s 500 Index
was down 9 66 points or 0 89 percent to finish unofficially
at 1 081 40 The Nasdaq Composite Index was down 12 74 points
or 0 59 percent to close unofficially at 2 150 73
Reporting by Caroline Valetkevitch Editing by Jan Paschal |
T | Unhappy fans cannot sue over Mayweather Pacquiao bout U S court | By Jonathan Stempel Reuters A U S appeals court on Thursday said boxing fans who felt cheated after learning that Manny Pacquiao had been injured before fighting Floyd Mayweather Jr cannot pursue class action litigation because the 2015 welterweight bout dubbed the Fight of the Century proved to be a letdown The 9th U S Circuit Court of Appeals ruled 3 0 that fans and pay per view subscribers who paid hundreds of millions of dollars to watch a yawner of a fight got what they paid for when Mayweather and Pacquiao stepped into a Las Vegas ring with Mayweather winning a unanimous 12 round decision Circuit Judge Jacqueline Nguyen said the plaintiffs suffered no legal injury from Pacquiao s failure to reveal a four week old injury to his right shoulder until three hours before the May 2 2015 fight started She said letting the case proceed could fundamentally alter professional sports by requiring athletes to disclose minor injuries which opponents could use to their advantage or risk a slew of lawsuits Although the match may have lacked the drama worthy of the pre fight hype Pacquiao s shoulder condition did not prevent him from going the full 12 rounds Nguyen wrote Plaintiffs therefore essentially got what they paid for a full length regulation fight between these two boxing legends Nguyen also noted a New York state appeals court had dismissed fraud claims when Mike Tyson was disqualified for biting off part of Evander Holyfield s ear in a 1997 heavyweight bout because fans had paid to see whatever event transpired Mayweather Pacquiao tickets started at 1 500 and fetched up to 231 000 on the secondary market Commercial subscribers paid up to 10 000 for pay per view access Hart Robinovitch a lawyer for the plaintiffs did not respond to requests for comment Defendants included Mayweather and Pacquiao AT T Inc s N T HBO unit which co produced the fight and promoters Top Rank and Bob Arum We are very pleased Daniel Petrocelli a lawyer for Top Rank and Arum said in an interview The court established the very important principle that while sports fans may be zealous and passionate they do not have the right to sue because they are disappointed in how a contest was conducted or in the outcome Mayweather s lawyer Mark Tratos said the decision shows that ticketholders get no guarantee they will like what they watch HBO did not respond to requests for comment It decided in September 2018 to stop televising boxing The Pasadena California based appeals court s decision upheld an August 2017 dismissal by U S District Judge Gary Klausner in Los Angeles
The case is In re Pacquiao Mayweather Boxing Match Pay Per View Litigation 9th U S Circuit Court of Appeals No 17 56366 |
T | Telefonica teams up with AT T in Mexico in new bid to take fight to Slim | By Julia Love MEXICO CITY Reuters Spanish telecoms giant Telefonica MC TEF has struck a deal to use some of U S rival AT T s infrastructure in Mexico a move analysts said would better position both to compete with the market s juggernaut billionaire Carlos Slim s America Movil Under the agreement announced on Thursday Telefonica will use AT T s wireless last mile equipment the final link of telecom networks that delivers service to consumers through towers antennas and fiber optic cables After a three year transition period Telefonica will see savings of 230 million euros 254 million per year as well as a reduction in net debt of 500 million euros Financial terms of the deal with AT T NYSE T were not disclosed Analysts framed the deal as a lifeline for Telefonica in Mexico where the company has long struggled to gain traction Despite a 2013 14 reform intended to lessen its dominance America Movil still holds nearly two thirds of mobile lines in Mexico according to data from telecoms regulator IFT AT T too has failed to significantly dent America Movil s market share since it spent billions to enter the country in 2015 by buying two local carriers The agreement will give both Telefonica and AT T a boost in a brutally competitive market said Roger Entner an analyst at Recon Analytics It s the two upstarts going up against the big guy Entner said You need to find all the friends that you can when someone has such a dominant position Telefonica Mexico Chief Executive Officer Camilo Aya told reporters the deal with AT T was not exclusive meaning the Spanish firm remains free to use other companies infrastructure Telefonica will retain control over its operations and its traffic will remain separate he added Aya said the agreement was part of a global trend to better position companies against rivals You need a lot of scale to compete in this business Aya said at an event in Mexico City Telefonica has been outspoken about the difficulties it has faced in Mexico Miguel Calderon vice president of regulation at Telefonica Mexico said the deal would ensure the firm remained in the country The Spanish company has also complained about the cost of spectrum in Mexico lobbying the government for a discount After the deal with AT T is complete Telefonica will no longer need to pay for spectrum driving down costs Monica Aspe vice president of external affairs for AT T Mexico described the accord as an innovative agreement between telecom companies
What this agreement does is strengthen the ability to compete she said |
T | Democrats accuse Trump of abusing power obstructing Congress impeachment probe | By Patricia Zengerle Susan Cornwell and Richard Cowan
WASHINGTON Reuters U S President Donald Trump solicited foreign interference to boost his re election chances undermined national security and ordered an unprecedented campaign to obstruct Congress Democrats said on Tuesday in a report that lawmakers will use as the basis of any formal impeachment charges
In the 300 page report Democrats leading the House of Representatives Intelligence Committee leveled allegations of sweeping abuse of power by Trump saying he used U S military aid and the prospect of a White House visit to pressure Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy to undertake investigations that would benefit Trump politically
Republican Trump who will stand for re election in November 2020 denies any wrongdoing and calls the inquiry a hoax
The heart of the impeachment probe is whether Trump misused the power of his office to pressure Ukraine to investigate the son of former Vice President Joe Biden a leading contender for the Democratic nomination to face Trump in the 2020 election
The public release of the report is a milestone in a weeks long investigation into whether Trump should be removed from office over his dealings on Ukraine It summarizes hours of private testimony and televised hearings in which former government officials described a months long effort to pressure Ukraine to carry out the investigations sought by Trump in July
The report s completions hands the process over to the House Judiciary Committee which will now be responsible for drafting actual articles of impeachment should lawmakers decide to move forward That panel will begin proceedings on Wednesday
In the report Democrats detail accusations that Trump obstructed their investigation including refusing to provide documents and testimony from his top advisers unsuccessful attempts to block career government officials from testifying and intimidation of witnesses
The Democrats argue that damage will be long lasting and potentially irrevocable if the President s ability to stonewall Congress goes unchecked
Making their case to move forward with impeachment the report said that any future President will feel empowered to resist an investigation into their own wrongdoing malfeasance or corruption and the result will be a nation at far greater risk of all three
In a news conference House Intelligence Committee Chairman Adam Schiff described Trump as a president who believes that he is beyond indictment beyond impeachment beyond any form of accountability and indeed above the law
RAMBLINGS
Trump who is in London for a NATO summit repeated accusations that Democrats are using the impeachment process to engage in a politically motivated attack seeking to undo the results of the 2016 presidential election by removing him from office Opinion polls show Americans are bitterly divided over impeachment
White House spokeswoman Stephanie Grisham said Democrats had conducted a one sided sham process that had failed to produce any evidence of wrongdoing by Trump
This report reflects nothing more than their frustrations Chairman Schiff s report reads like the ramblings of a basement blogger straining to prove something when there is evidence of nothing Grisham said in a statement
Lawmakers and the public have heard testimony from current and former officials that military aid was withheld from Ukraine and that a White House meeting with Zelenskiy was conditioned on Kiev announcing a probe into Biden as well as one into a debunked conspiracy theory about Ukrainian interference in the 2016 U S election
The report was approved by the intelligence panel on a partisan vote on Tuesday evening The vote was 13 9 It was not immediately clear how each member voted
If the full House eventually votes to approve formal impeachment charges a trial would be held in the Republican led U S Senate where a two thirds majority of those present would be required to convict Trump and remove him from office
PHONE RECORDS
The report also brought to light new allegations by Democrats about phone calls between Trump s Republican allies
The report suggested wrongdoing within the executive branch extended beyond Trump
The report said many of Trump s closest subordinates and advisors including White House acting Chief of Staff Mick Mulvaney Secretary of State Mike Pompeo and Secretary of Energy Rick Perry aided Trump s efforts to pressure Ukraine and withheld information from Congress Senior administration officials declined to testify in the proceedings
The report cited dozens of previously unreported phone records of contact between Trump s personal lawyer Rudy Giuliani Giuliani s associates the House Intelligence Committee s top Republican Devin Nunes and the White House s Office of Management and Budget
The phone records were obtained from AT T N T the report says
An AT T statement acknowledged the company complied with a request
Like all companies we are required by law to provide information to government and law enforcement agencies the statement said In all cases we ensure that requests for assistance are valid and that we act in compliance with the law
A spokesman for Nunes did not respond to a request for comment
The report also sought to push back at a frequent defense of trump by Republican lawmakers that the political novice was simply doing what all presidents do
The President s misconduct was not an isolated occurrence nor was it the product of a na ve president the report argues
Republicans in an advance rebuttal report released on Monday said Democrats had not established that Trump had committed an impeachable offense
Trump and other Republicans have suggested that Biden and his son Hunter Biden who was on the board of a Ukrainian energy company should be investigated for corruption The Bidens have denied wrongdoing |
T | Nunes top intelligence panel Republican had frequent contact with Giuliani call records show | By Jonathan Landay and Karen Freifeld WASHINGTON Reuters U S President Donald Trump s personal lawyer Rudy Giuliani often spoke to Representative Devin Nunes the top Republican on the House Intelligence Committee as Giuliani peddled unproven allegations at the heart of the Trump impeachment inquiry a congressional report said on Tuesday Previously undisclosed telephone records appended to a 300 page report by the Democratic led committee showed that Nunes also contacted Lev Parnas a Ukrainian American businessman who was helping Giuliani and has been indicted on charges of violating campaign finance law Parnas has pleaded not guilty Others with whom Giuliani had phone calls included current and former Nunes staffers the White House budget office and a journalist who promoted conspiracy theories involving Democratic former Vice President Joe Biden and the 2016 U S election Giuliani s numerous calls with Nunes and aides are significant because as the top Republican on the committee the California lawmaker cited those same theories as he led the fight against impeaching Trump Asked if he had talked to Parnas Nunes told Fox News Channel It s possible but I haven t gone through all my phone records I don t really recall that name I remember that name now because he s been indicted Bennett Gershman a Pace Law School professor who specializes in government ethics said the disclosures raised ethics questions with respect to Nunes Just on the face of it I would say Nunes has a lot of explaining to do Gershman said At the very least he should have recused himself and being as aggressive as he was with this lurking in the background I would say it s pretty shocking Nunes office did not respond to a request for comment on the phone records Neither Giuliani nor his attorney Robert Costello responded to a request for comment on the report and on Nunes in particular The intelligence panel report which will form the basis of any impeachment charges accused Trump of using his power to push Ukraine to investigate Biden in return for a White House meeting for its newly elected president and 391 million in withheld security aid approved by Congress for Ukraine s defense against Russia backed separatists Representative Adam Schiff the Democratic chairman of the committee declined to comment specifically on Nunes But he said that it was deeply concerning that at a time when the president of the United States was using the power of his office to dig up dirt on a political rival that there may be evidence that there were members of Congress complicit in that activity The phone records were obtained from AT T NYSE T the report said The company acknowledged it complied with a request Biden is a leading contender for the Democratic nomination to run against Republican Trump in the November 2020 election Parnas lawyer Joseph Bondy said his client was prepared to testify to Congress about the substance of the phone calls In an Oct 5 interview with Reuters Giuliani said he had been in contact with Nunes about Ukraine but not a lot and that the lawmaker and his staff obtained information on their own We ve talked about some of it yes Giuliani said But we haven t investigated it together The call records showed that Giuliani maintained more frequent contacts with Washington officials than were disclosed in some two months of private and public testimony by current and former U S officials to House committees conducting the impeachment review In the hearings Nunes cited the same unproven allegations supported by Giuliani that Biden tried to curb an investigation into a Ukrainian energy firm on whose board his son was a member He and other Republicans also referred to the debunked conspiracy theory that it was Ukraine not Russia that interfered in the 2016 U S election The call records showed that over the course of four days in April Giuliani had calls with Nunes John Solomon a conservative columnist whose articles for the Hill newspaper promoted the allegations and Parnas On April 12 the records showed that Parnas called Nunes in the late afternoon The call lasted for one minute Less than an hour later Nunes placed two calls to Parnas that appear to have gone unanswered Parnas later called Nunes and the two spoke for more than eight minutes according to the records During that same period Giuliani received three calls from someone at the White House budget office which in July held up the security aid to Ukraine
On May 8 Giuliani spoke with Derek Harvey a member of Nunes staff and a former White House official and on May 10 with Kashyap Patel a former Nunes staff member who is now a senior counterterrorism official at the White House s National Security Council |
PFE | Aerie AERI Q4 Earnings Miss Rhopressa Gains Traction | Aerie Pharmaceuticals Inc NASDAQ AERI reported a loss of 1 14 per share in fourth quarter 2018 wider than the Zacks Consensus Estimate of a loss of 1 02 but narrower than the year ago loss of 1 60 Aerie s shares have lost 4 5 in the past three months In December 2017 Rhopressa was approved by the FDA for the reduction of elevated intraocular pressure in patients with open angle glaucoma or ocular hypertension The drug was launched by the end of April Rhopressa s revenues came in at 14 5 million beating the Zacks Consensus Estimate of 12 86 million Quarter in DetailIn the reported quarter research and development expenses came down to 26 5 million from 38 1 million in the year ago quarter Selling general and administrative expenses surged to 31 9 million from 18 5 million in the year ago quarter As of Feb 25 2019 Rhopressa s market access increased to approximately 90 of commercial lives including 55 in preferred brand Tier 2 and 35 in Tier 3 and Medicare Part D Tier 2 coverage currently represents approximately 40 of Medicare Part D lives Aerie expects Medicare Part D Tier 2 equivalent coverage to increase to more than 70 within the next few weeks 2018 ResultsTotal Rhopressa revenues in 2018 came in at 24 2 million which beat the Zacks Consenus Estimate of 22 4 million Loss per share came in at 5 58 wider than the Zacks Consensus Estimate of 4 72 Pipeline UpdatesAerie s New Drug Application NDA for its second product candidate Rocklatan netarsudil latanoprost ophthalmic solution 0 02 0 005 which is a fixed dose combination of Rhopressa and Pfizer s NYSE PFE Xalatan was submitted to the FDA in May 2018 The agency has completed its initial 60 day review of the NDA and determined that the application is sufficiently complete to permit a substantive review The PDUFA Prescription Drug User Fee Act goal date for completion of the FDA s review of the Rocklatan NDA is set for Mar 14 2019 Early October 2018 the European Medicines Agency EMA accepted for review the Marketing Authorisation Application MAA for Rhokiinsa marketed as Rhopressa in the United States An opinion on approval is expected in the second half of 2019 The company had earlier initiated a phase III trial Mercury 3 to prepare for a regulatory submission in Europe Pre IND activities are well underway for further development of Aerie s retina program candidates AR 13503 Rho kinase and Protein kinase C inhibitor implant and AR 1105 dexamethasone steroid implant Trials on AR 1105 are expected to begin in March 2019 for RVO retinal vein occlusion The IND Investigational New Drug application for AR 13503 Rho kinase and Protein kinase C inhibitor implant is expected to be filed with the FDA in March 2019 and if accepted trials are expected to begin in the second quarter of 2019 for wet age related macular degeneration and DME diabetic macular edema Our TakeAerie reported mixed results for the fourth quarter Though earnings missed estimates Rhopressa sales comfortably beat estimates and doubled sequentially The solid uptake in prescription volumes should propel sales further as glaucoma is one of the largest segments in the global ophthalmic market even though competition is stiff from the likes of Bausch Health s BHC Vyzulta among others Finally a tentative approval of Rocklatan expected next monyth will further boost prospects of the company Zacks Rank Another Key PickAerie currently carries a Zacks Rank 2 Buy
Another attractive stock in the healthcare sector is Celgene Corporation NASDAQ CELG which sports a Zacks Rank 1 Strong Buy You can see Celgene s earnings per share estimates increased from 10 37 to 10 75 for 2019 over the past 30 days Estimates for 2020 also increased 35 cents Breakout Biotech Stocks with Triple Digit Profit PotentialThe biotech sector is projected to surge beyond 775 billion by 2024 as scientists develop treatments for thousands of diseases They re also finding ways to edit the human genome to literally erase our vulnerability to these diseases Zacks has just released Century of Biology 7 Biotech Stocks to Buy Right Now to help investors profit from 7 stocks poised for outperformance Our recent biotech recommendations have produced gains of 98 119 and 164 in as little as 1 month The stocks in this report could perform even better |
T | 3 Top Dividend Stocks To Maximize Your Retirement Income February 12 2020 | Here s a revealing data point older Americans are scared more of outliving wealth than of death itself
And older Americans have legitimate reasons for this worry even if they have dutifully saved for their golden years That s because the traditional ways people manage retirement may no longer provide enough income to meet expenses and with people generally living longer the principal retirement savings is exhausted far too early in the retirement period
Retirement investing approaches of the past don t work today
For many years bonds or other fixed income assets could produce the yield needed to provide solid income for retirement needs However these yields have dwindled over time 10 year Treasury bond rates in the late 1990s were around 6 50 but today that rate is a thing of the past with a slim likelihood of rates making a comeback in the foreseeable future
The effect of this drop in rates is substantial over 20 years the change in yield for a 1 million investment in 10 year Treasuries is over 1 million
In addition to the considerable drop in bond yields today s retirees are nervous about their future Social Security benefits Because of certain demographic factors it s been estimated that the funds that pay the Social Security benefits will run out of money in 2035
Unfortunately it looks like the two traditional sources of retirement income bonds and Social Security may not be able to adequately meet the needs of present and future retirees But what if there was another option that could provide a steady reliable source of income in retirement
Invest in Dividend Stocks
As we see it dividend paying stocks from generally low risk top notch companies are a brilliant way to create steady and solid income streams to supplant current low risk low yielding Treasury and fixed income alternatives
For example AT T NYSE T and Coca Cola NYSE KO are income stocks with attractive dividend yields of 3 or better Look for stocks like this that have paid steady increasing dividends for years or decades and have not cut their dividends even during recessions
One way to identify suitable candidates is to look for stocks with an average dividend yield of 3 and positive average annual dividend growth Many stocks increase dividends over time helping to offset the effects of inflation
Here are three dividend paying stocks retirees should consider for their nest egg portfolio
Bank of Montreal BMO is currently shelling out a dividend of 0 8 per share with a dividend yield of 4 17 This compares to the Banks Foreign industry s yield of 3 51 and the S P 500 s yield of 1 78 In terms of dividend growth the company s current annualized dividend of 3 2 is up 7 23 from last year
Flushing Financial FFIC is paying out a dividend of 0 21 per share at the moment with a dividend yield of 4 07 compared to the Financial Savings and Loan industry s yield of 2 4 and the S P 500 s yield Taking a look at the company s dividend growth its current annualized dividend of 0 84 is up 5 from last year
Currently paying a dividend of 0 18 per share LCNB LCNB has a dividend yield of 4 18 This is compared to the Banks Northeast industry s yield of 1 81 and the S P 500 s current yield Looking at dividend growth the company s current annualized dividend of 0 72 is up 5 88 from last year
But aren t stocks generally more risky than bonds
Overall that is true But stocks are a broad class and you can reduce the risks significantly by selecting high quality dividend stocks that can generate regular predictable income and can also decrease the volatility of your portfolio compared to the overall stock market
Combating the impact of inflation is one advantage of owning these dividend paying stocks Here s why many of these stable high quality companies increase their dividends over time which translates to rising dividend income that offsets the effects of inflation
Thinking about dividend focused mutual funds or ETFs Watch out for fees
If you prefer investing in funds or ETFs compared to individual stocks you can still pursue a dividend income strategy However it s important to know the fees charged by each fund or ETF which can ultimately reduce your dividend income working against your strategy Do your homework and make sure you know the fees charged by any fund before you invest
Bottom Line
Regardless of whether you select high quality low fee funds or stocks looking for a steady stream of income from dividend paying equities can potentially lead you to a solid and more peaceful retirement
Generating income is just one aspect of planning for a comfortable retirement
To learn more ways to maximize your assets and avoid pitfalls that could jeopardize your financial security download our free report
Will You Retire a Multi Millionaire 7 Things You Can Do NowThis helpful guide offers our viewpoints about strategic retirement investment planning based on decades of experience helping our clients prepare for financial security during their golden years Get Your FREE Guide Now |
T | Improve Your Retirement Income With These 3 Top Ranked Dividend Stocks February 12 2020 | Here s an eye opening statistic older Americans are more afraid of running out of money than of death itself
And unfortunately even retirees who have built a nest egg have good reason to be concerned with the traditional approaches to retirement planning income may no longer cover expenses That means retirees are dipping into principal to make ends meet setting up a race against time between dwindling investment balances and longer lifespans
Retirement investing approaches of the past don t work today
Years ago investors at or close to retirement could put money into fixed income assets and depend on appealing yields to generate consistent solid pay streams to fund a comfortable retirement 10 year Treasury bond rates in the late 1990s floated around 6 50 but unfortunately those days of being able to exclusively rely on Treasury yields to fund retirement income are over
The impact of this rate decline is sizeable over 20 years the difference in yield for a 1 million investment in 10 year Treasuries is more than 1 million
And lower bond yields aren t the only potential problem seniors are facing Today s retirees aren t feeling as secure as they once did about Social Security either Benefit checks will still be coming for the foreseeable future but based on current estimates Social Security funds will run out of money in 2035
Unfortunately it looks like the two traditional sources of retirement income bonds and Social Security may not be able to adequately meet the needs of present and future retirees But what if there was another option that could provide a steady reliable source of income in retirement
Invest in Dividend Stocks
Dividend paying stocks from low risk high quality companies are a smart way to generate steady and reliable attractive income streams to replace current low risk low yielding Treasury and bond options
For example AT T NYSE T and Coca Cola NYSE KO are income stocks with attractive dividend yields of 3 or better Look for stocks like this that have paid steady increasing dividends for years or decades and have not cut their dividends even during recessions
A rule of thumb for finding solid income producing stocks is to seek those that average 3 dividend yield and positive yearly dividend growth These stocks can help combat inflation by boosting dividends over time
Here are three dividend paying stocks retirees should consider for their nest egg portfolio
Brinker International EAT is currently shelling out a dividend of 0 38 per share with a dividend yield of 3 54 This compares to the Retail Restaurants industry s yield of 0 and the S P 500 s yield of 1 78 In terms of dividend growth the company s current annualized dividend of 1 52 is flat compared to last year
Investors Bancorp ISBC is paying out a dividend of 0 12 per share at the moment with a dividend yield of 4 03 compared to the Financial Savings and Loan industry s yield of 2 4 and the S P 500 s yield Taking a look at the company s dividend growth its current annualized dividend of 0 48 is flat compared to last year
Currently paying a dividend of 0 4 per share Legg Mason LM has a dividend yield of 3 9 This is compared to the Financial Investment Management industry s yield of 2 21 and the S P 500 s current yield Looking at dividend growth the company s current annualized dividend of 1 6 is up 17 65 from last year
But aren t stocks generally more risky than bonds
The fact is that stocks as an asset class carry more risk than bonds To counterbalance this invest in superior quality dividend stocks that not only can grow over time but more significantly can also decrease your overall portfolio volatility with respect to the broader stock market
A silver lining to owning dividend stocks for your retirement portfolio is that many companies especially blue chip stocks increase their dividends over time helping offset the effects of inflation on your potential retirement income
Thinking about dividend focused mutual funds or ETFs Watch out for fees
If you prefer investing in funds or ETFs compared to individual stocks you can still pursue a dividend income strategy However it s important to know the fees charged by each fund or ETF which can ultimately reduce your dividend income working against your strategy Do your homework and make sure you know the fees charged by any fund before you invest
Bottom Line
Pursuing a dividend investing strategy can help protect your retirement portfolio Whether you choose to invest in stocks or through low fee mutual funds or ETFs this approach can potentially help you achieve a more secure and enjoyable retirement
Generating income is just one aspect of planning for a comfortable retirement
To learn more ways to maximize your assets and avoid pitfalls that could jeopardize your financial security download our free report
Will You Retire a Multi Millionaire 7 Things You Can Do NowThis helpful guide offers our viewpoints about strategic retirement investment planning based on decades of experience helping our clients prepare for financial security during their golden years Get Your FREE Guide Now |
T | What the T Mobile Sprint Merger Means for AT T and Verizon Analysts Weigh In | T Mobile TMUS and Sprint S won clearance to merge from a federal judge Tuesday sending T Mobile shares up 12 and Sprint shares up 77 5 by close of trading yesterday Rejecting arguments by a group of state attorneys general that allowing the companies to merge would encourage anticompetitive behavior U S District Court Judge Victor Marrero demurred that to the contrary T Mobile s maverick ways have historically forced the two largest players in its industry to make numerous pro consumer changes to compete with it In the judge s view allowing the merger will in fact help to continue T Mobile s undeniably successful business strategy for the foreseeable future To that end T Mobile COO Mike Sievert promised to press ahead and try to complete his company s acquisition of Sprint by April 1 With the Department of Justice and Federal Communications Commission already having given the deal their blessing this merger should finally happen two years after it was first announced Or not Not all analysts are convinced this story is over just yet In a note released immediately after the judge s verdict Nomura analyst Jeff Kvaal warned that we expect the state AGs to appeal RBC Capital analyst Jonathan Atkin noted that such an appeal if filed could delay closing of the merger by an additional 4 5 months potentially delaying closure until September 2020 Delay or no delay Kvaal believes T Mobile Sprint have the advantage at this point and puts the likelihood of the merger closing eventually at about 80 And accordingly Kvaal raised his price target on T Mobile stock today to 102 per share implying there s a further 8 upside to be gained Even if he s wrong about that though Kvaal argues that if the merger is dashed on appeal a standalone T Mobile would still be worth 93 on its own And that means that even after Tuesday s price rise there s little downside in the stock And again potentially 8 upside Over the last three months TMUS stock has received a whopping 8 Buy ratings and just 2 Hold ratings As a result the stock has a Strong Buy analyst consensus rating See T Mobile stock analysis on TipRanks But what about T Mobile s rivals AT T T and Verizon VZ Where does the judge s decision leave them In the short term Kvaal argues that disruption from T Mobile s efforts to integrate its and Sprint s customers is likely to spike churn at the latter company and predicts at least some Sprint customers will jump ship for AT T or Verizon the more so as both these companies are expected to exploit the situation by offering promotional deals to entice customers away from T Mobile In the longer term though Kvaal sees a merged T Mobile Sprint as a strong rival to the telecom giants boasting more subscribers more spectrum a better network and broader distribution And Dish Isn t T Mobile supposed to give Dish access to its network as a condition of the DOJ and FCC signing off on this deal Well yes it is and Oppenheimer analyst Timothy Horan chimes in on this point to predict that Dish may partner with one or more cable companies to sell wireless service Still Kvaal isn t at all optimistic that Dish will be able to compete effectively in mobile Neither for that matter is Atkin who worries that Dish will have to compete in a highly mature and competitive market fraught with execution risk and significant capital requirements Heavily leveraged Dish may discover it s bitten off more than it can chew To find good ideas for tech stocks trading at attractive valuations visit TipRanks Best Stocks to Buy a newly launched tool that unites all of TipRanks equity insights |
T | Telecom Stock Roundup T Mobile Sprint Merger Approval Qualcomm s Solid Q1 More | In the past five trading days telecom stocks rallied on solid quarterly performance shrugging off the negativity triggered by fears of the global economy being hurt by coronavirus outbreak A historic approval for the industry consolidation that could speed up the rollout of a national 5G network was the cynosure of the week Federal efforts to encourage domestic firms in developing common engineering standards for 5G networks to thwart the dominance of China based telecommunications equipment manufacturer Huawei further acted as catalysts The Trump administration is reportedly encouraging technology behemoths like Dell and Microsoft NASDAQ MSFT to build 5G centric hardware so that the bulk of 5G architecture and infrastructure is made by U S firms The government is also considering financing Nordic firms with long term ties to the Silicon Valley like Ericsson BS ERICAs and Nokia HE NOKIA to deter Huawei This is likely to be either achieved through direct funding or through consortium of private American and allied companies backed by government funding The 5G thrust is possibly gaining precedence as the coronavirus epidemic has hampered the pace of 5G deployment in the communist nation Meanwhile President Trump has signed an executive order directing federal agencies to devise a plan within a year to test the vulnerabilities of critical infrastructure systems against potential disruption or manipulation of GPS that form the backbone of electrical power grids weather forecasting traffic signals smartphone applications and vehicle navigation systems The move follows heightened U S concerns about the U K government its close ally allowing Huawei to play a limited role in the 5G mobile network rollout across the country mostly restricting its participation to non core areas that do not involve sensitive functions After a prolonged stand off the Federal Court finally gave green signal to the merger of T Mobile US NASDAQ TMUS Inc NYSE S with Sprint Corporation NYSE S the third and the fourth largest wireless companies in the country Allaying antitrust concerns the judge observed that the merger would create an entity that would thwart the dominance of China in the 5G market and benefit the larger community with superior rural broadband coverage The all stock merger will help accelerate development of faster 5G wireless networks driven by operational synergies and extended customer base on shared infrastructure assets The combined entity will be a force to reckon with in the U S wireless video and broadband industries boasting a network capacity for a nationwide 5G network deployment The agreement also establishes Dish as a disruptive force in the wireless industry redefining the broader industry metrics Regarding company specific news approval for the mega merger transaction and quarterly earnings primarily took the center stage over the past five trading days Recap of the Week s Most Important Stories1 After receiving green signal for the long pending 26 5 billion merger of the third and fourth largest by subscribers national wireless carriers in Federal Court on Tuesday shares of T Mobile and Sprint gained 11 78 and 77 50 respectively Repudiating a lawsuit by a group of states to block the combination the ruling clears the path to create a strong rival in 5G wireless services to Verizon Communications Inc NYSE VZ and AT T Inc NYSE T While Judge Victor Marrero approved the deal without stipulations the Department of Justice and Federal Communications Commission had earlier sanctioned it when the carriers agreed to sell some assets to Dish Network Read more 2 Qualcomm Incorporated NASDAQ QCOM reported solid first quarter fiscal 2020 results with healthy year over year top line increase primarily driven by the ramp up of 5G enabled chips In addition both the top and the bottom line figures beat the respective Zacks Consensus Estimate as the company reached a significant inflection point Quarterly non GAAP net income came in at 1 151 million or 99 cents per share compared with 1 464 million or 1 20 per share in the year ago quarter The bottom line exceeded the top end of management s guidance and beat the Zacks Consensus Estimate by 14 cents On a GAAP basis total revenues in the fiscal first quarter were 5 077 million compared with 4 842 million in the prior year quarter The figure surpassed the consensus estimate of 4 825 million and was near the higher end of the earlier guided range driven by 5G strength high performing core chipsets and new RF front end content Read more 3 Nokia Corporation NYSE NOK reported impressive fourth quarter 2019 results wherein the bottom line and the top line surpassed the respective Zacks Consensus Estimate and increased year over year Quarterly non IFRS profit came in at 821 million 908 9 million or 0 15 17 cents per share compared with 741 million or 0 13 per share in the prior year quarter This reflects progress in cost savings which resulted in lower operating expenses across Networks Nokia Software and Nokia Technologies The bottom line surpassed the Zacks Consensus Estimate by 4 cents Fourth quarter non IFRS net sales were 6 903 million 7 642 4 million compared with 6 872 million in the prior year quarter The top line surpassed the consensus estimate of 7 381 million Read more 4 T Mobile reported impressive fourth quarter 2019 results wherein the bottom line and the top line surpassed the respective Zacks Consensus Estimate and increased year over year Net income for the December quarter was 751 million or 87 cents per share compared with 640 million or 75 cents per share in the year ago quarter The improvement was primarily driven by higher operating income The bottom line surpassed the Zacks Consensus Estimate by 4 cents Quarterly aggregate revenues increased 3 8 year over year to 11 878 million led by growth in service revenues The top line surpassed the consensus estimate of 11 816 million Read more 5 Ubiquiti Inc NASDAQ UI reported relatively modest second quarter fiscal 2020 results wherein the bottom line increased year over year and matched the Zacks Consensus Estimate Non GAAP earnings came in at 91 4 million or 1 40 per share compared with 95 1 million or 1 33 per share in the year ago quarter The bottom line was in sync with the Zacks Consensus Estimate Quarterly revenues were relatively flat at 308 3 million and missed the consensus estimate of 343 million Read more Price PerformanceThe following table shows the price movement of some of the major telecom stocks over the past week and six month period In the past five trading days T Mobile has been the biggest gainer with its share price increasing 14 5 while Verizon has been the sole decliner with its stock down 1 5 Over the past six months CenturyLink NYSE CTL has been the best performer with its stock appreciating 25 5 while none declined Over the past six months the Zacks Telecommunications Services industry has recorded average growth of 9 1 while the S P 500 has rallied 16 1 What s Next in the Telecom Space In addition to product launches strategic deals and 5G deployments all eyes will remain glued to how the earnings season unfolds for the rest of the industry participants 5 Stocks Set to DoubleEach was hand picked by a Zacks expert as the 1 favorite stock to gain 100 or more in 2020 Each comes from a different sector and has unique qualities and catalysts that could fuel exceptional growth Most of the stocks in this report are flying under Wall Street radar which provides a great opportunity to get in on the ground floor |
T | 3 Top Dividend Stocks To Maximize Your Retirement Income February 13 2020 | Strange but true seniors fear death less than running out of money in retirement
And older Americans have legitimate reasons for this worry even if they have dutifully saved for their golden years That s because the traditional ways people manage retirement may no longer provide enough income to meet expenses and with people generally living longer the principal retirement savings is exhausted far too early in the retirement period
The tried and true retirement investing approach of yesterday doesn t work today
For example 10 year Treasury bonds in the late 1990s offered a yield of around 6 50 which translated to an income source you could count on However today s yield is much lower currently under 2 and probably not a viable return option to fund typical retirements
That means if you had 1 million in 10 year Treasuries the difference in yield between 1999 and today is more than 1 million
In addition to the considerable drop in bond yields today s retirees are nervous about their future Social Security benefits Because of certain demographic factors it s been estimated that the funds that pay the Social Security benefits will run out of money in 2035
How can you avoid dipping into your principal when the investments you counted on in retirement aren t producing income You can only cut your expenses so far and the only other option is to find a different investment vehicle to generate income
Invest in Dividend Stocks
We feel that these dividend paying equities as long as they are from high quality low risk issuers can give retirement investors a smart option to replace low yielding Treasury bonds or other bonds
For example AT T NYSE T and Coca Cola NYSE KO are income stocks with attractive dividend yields of 3 or better Look for stocks like this that have paid steady increasing dividends for years or decades and have not cut their dividends even during recessions
Going beyond those familiar names you can find excellent dividend paying stocks by following a few guidelines Look for companies that pay a dividend yield of around 3 with positive annual dividend growth The growth rate is key to help combat the effects of inflation
Here are three dividend paying stocks retirees should consider for their nest egg portfolio
Cardinal Health NYSE CAH is currently shelling out a dividend of 0 48 per share with a dividend yield of 3 2 This compares to the Medical Dental Supplies industry s yield of 0 and the S P 500 s yield of 1 75 In terms of dividend growth the company s current annualized dividend of 1 92 is up 1 01 from last year
Marathon Petroleum MPC is paying out a dividend of 0 53 per share at the moment with a dividend yield of 3 6 compared to the Oil and Gas Refining and Marketing industry s yield of 2 91 and the S P 500 s yield Taking a look at the company s dividend growth its current annualized dividend of 2 12 is up 15 22 from last year
Currently paying a dividend of 0 3 per share NRG Energy NYSE NRG has a dividend yield of 3 06 This is compared to the Utility Electric Power industry s yield of 2 76 and the S P 500 s current yield Looking at dividend growth the company s current annualized dividend of 1 2 is flat compared to last year
But aren t stocks generally more risky than bonds
Overall that is true But stocks are a broad class and you can reduce the risks significantly by selecting high quality dividend stocks that can generate regular predictable income and can also decrease the volatility of your portfolio compared to the overall stock market
Combating the impact of inflation is one advantage of owning these dividend paying stocks Here s why many of these stable high quality companies increase their dividends over time which translates to rising dividend income that offsets the effects of inflation
Thinking about dividend focused mutual funds or ETFs Watch out for fees
You may be thinking I like this dividend strategy but instead of investing in individual stocks I m going to find a dividend focused mutual fund or ETF This approach can make sense but be aware that some mutual funds and specialized ETFs carry high fees which may reduce your dividend gains or income and defeat the goal of this dividend investment approach If you do wish to invest in a fund do your research to find the best quality dividend funds with the lowest fees
Bottom Line
Regardless of whether you select high quality low fee funds or stocks looking for a steady stream of income from dividend paying equities can potentially lead you to a solid and more peaceful retirement
Generating income is just one aspect of planning for a comfortable retirement
To learn more ways to maximize your assets and avoid pitfalls that could jeopardize your financial security download our free report
Will You Retire a Multi Millionaire 7 Things You Can Do NowThis helpful guide offers our viewpoints about strategic retirement investment planning based on decades of experience helping our clients prepare for financial security during their golden years Get Your FREE Guide Now |
T | Improve Your Retirement Income With These 3 Top Ranked Dividend Stocks February 13 2020 | Here s a revealing data point older Americans are scared more of outliving wealth than of death itself
And older Americans have legitimate reasons for this worry even if they have dutifully saved for their golden years That s because the traditional ways people manage retirement may no longer provide enough income to meet expenses and with people generally living longer the principal retirement savings is exhausted far too early in the retirement period
Retirement investing approaches of the past don t work today
In the past investors going into retirement could invest in bonds and count on attractive yields to produce steady reliable income streams to fund a predictable retirement 10 year Treasury bond rates in the late 1990s hovered around 6 50 whereas at the time of this article the current rate is under 2 and looks to stay low thanks to an accommodative Fed
The effect of this drop in rates is substantial over 20 years the change in yield for a 1 million investment in 10 year Treasuries is over 1 million
Today s retirees are getting hit hard by reduced bond yields and the Social Security picture isn t too rosy either Right now and for the near future Social Security benefits are still being paid but it has been estimated that the Social Security funds will be depleted as soon as 2035
How can you avoid dipping into your principal when the investments you counted on in retirement aren t producing income You can only cut your expenses so far and the only other option is to find a different investment vehicle to generate income
Invest in Dividend Stocks
As a replacement for low yielding Treasury bonds and other bond options we believe dividend paying stocks from high quality companies offer low risk and stable predictable income investors in retirement seek
For example AT T NYSE T and Coca Cola NYSE KO are income stocks with attractive dividend yields of 3 or better Look for stocks like this that have paid steady increasing dividends for years or decades and have not cut their dividends even during recessions
A rule of thumb for finding solid income producing stocks is to seek those that average 3 dividend yield and positive yearly dividend growth These stocks can help combat inflation by boosting dividends over time
Here are three dividend paying stocks retirees should consider for their nest egg portfolio
First Defiance Financial FDEF is currently shelling out a dividend of 0 22 per share with a dividend yield of 3 05 This compares to the Financial Savings and Loan industry s yield of 2 4 and the S P 500 s yield of 1 75 In terms of dividend growth the company s current annualized dividend of 0 88 is up 29 41 from last year
Navient NAVI is paying out a dividend of 0 16 per share at the moment with a dividend yield of 4 34 compared to the Financial Consumer Loans industry s yield of 0 and the S P 500 s yield Taking a look at the company s dividend growth its current annualized dividend of 0 64 is flat compared to last year
Currently paying a dividend of 7 59 per share NetEase NASDAQ NTES has a dividend yield of 4 75 This is compared to the Internet Software and Services industry s yield of 0 and the S P 500 s current yield Looking at dividend growth the company s current annualized dividend of 16 55 is up 824 58 from last year
But aren t stocks generally more risky than bonds
Yes that s true As a broad category bonds carry less risk than stocks However the stocks we are talking about dividend paying stocks from high quality companies can generate income over time and also mitigate the overall volatility of your portfolio compared to the stock market as a whole
A silver lining to owning dividend stocks for your retirement portfolio is that many companies especially blue chip stocks increase their dividends over time helping offset the effects of inflation on your potential retirement income
Thinking about dividend focused mutual funds or ETFs Watch out for fees
You may be thinking I like this dividend strategy but instead of investing in individual stocks I m going to find a dividend focused mutual fund or ETF This approach can make sense but be aware that some mutual funds and specialized ETFs carry high fees which may reduce your dividend gains or income and defeat the goal of this dividend investment approach If you do wish to invest in a fund do your research to find the best quality dividend funds with the lowest fees
Bottom Line
Seeking steady consistent income through dividends can be a smart option for financial security in retirement whether you invest in mutual funds ETFs or in dividend paying stocks
Generating income is just one aspect of planning for a comfortable retirement
To learn more ways to maximize your assets and avoid pitfalls that could jeopardize your financial security download our free report
Will You Retire a Multi Millionaire 7 Things You Can Do NowThis helpful guide offers our viewpoints about strategic retirement investment planning based on decades of experience helping our clients prepare for financial security during their golden years Get Your FREE Guide Now |
WFC | UPDATE 1 Foreign demand for US assets rebound in August | Adds details comments market reaction
By Wanfeng Zhou
NEW YORK Oct 16 Reuters Foreign investors appetite
for U S securities rebounded in August after four straight
months of net selling the Treasury Department said on Friday
Net overall capital inflows into the United States
rebounded to 10 2 billion in August from a revised outflow of
107 7 billion the previous month The department originally
reported outflows of 97 5 billion for July
Excluding swaps net long term capital inflows rose to
28 6 billion from 15 3 billion inflow in the previous month
This is a key gauge of foreign investor appetite because they
exclude short term transactions
There s nothing too surprising said Omer Esiner senior
market analyst at Travelex Global Business Payments in
Washington I don t think there s any evidence in this data
that suggests demand for U S assets is declining at a pace
that warrants concern
The U S dollar shrugged off the report as the numbers were
largely in line with expectations Analysts also said that
given the outflows in previous months it s not surprising to
see demand recover a little bit in August
China the largest holder of U S Treasury securities
slightly reduced its holdings of U S government bonds to
797 1 billion in August In July it held 800 5 billion
But the reduction was offset by increases in buying from
Japan and Russia
Japan raised its Treasury holdings in August to 731 0
billion from 724 5 billion in July while Russia boosted its
investment in U S government bonds to 121 6 billion from
118 0 billion
Kathy Lien director of currency research at GFT Forex in
New York said the report also showed that investors moved their
money from short to long term Treasuries reflecting increased
confidence in the outlook for the U S economy
The latest report also indicates that investors have not
been so discouraged by the dollar s weakness that they have
completely stopped buying dollars Lien said
Despite the rebound in foreign demand for U S assets the
inflows for August were not enough to cover the U S trade
deficit of 30 7 billion for the same month
Although foreign investors continue to purchase long term
U S securities total capital inflows which include
short term flows are not large enough to offset downward
pressure on the dollar from the trade deficit Jay Bryson
global economist at Wells Fargo wrote in a research note
Overall official buyers which include foreign central
banks sold 4 7 billion U S assets in August from purchases
of 33 8 billion the previous month
Foreign private investors bought a net 14 9 billion U S
assets reversing outflows of 141 4 billion in July
Foreign investors also sharply reduced their holdings of
U S equities in August with purchases of 10 46 billion down
from inflows of 28 61 billion in the previous month
Editing by Theodore d Afflisio
wanfeng zhou thomsonreuters com 1 646 223 6304 Reuters
Messaging wanfeng zhou reuters com reuters net |
T | FCC orders station groups to negotiate with AT T in DirecTV dispute | By David Shepardson WASHINGTON Reuters The Federal Communications Commission on Friday said it was directing broadcast station groups to go to the negotiating table over whether to allow local stations to air on AT T NYSE T Inc s DirectTV after some consumers have been without access for five months In June AT T filed a bad faith complaint against nine individual station owners which collectively pulled 20 stations in 17 cities from DIRECTV DIRECTV NOW and or U verse The nine station groups are either managed or controlled by Sinclair Broadcast Group AT T said One of these owners controls three ABC CBS NBC or FOX affiliates another has two and five owners have one AT T said it has reached agreement with three of the nine broadcasters named in the complaint AT T reached settlements with two of the groups while the FCC said the seven remaining broadcast station groups violated the per se good faith negotiation standards and cited repeated delays by the negotiator for the owners in agreeing to talks This is the most egregious example of delay that we have encountered since the good faith rules were adopted the FCC said Sinclair said the matter is between these licensees and the FCC We have no involvement in these negotiations AT T said the FCC ruling that the broadcast station groups behavior was a violation of its rules shows again that the entire retransmission consent process is broken and demands immediate reform The company added it was clearly one of the more egregious examples of how broadcasters routinely hold consumers hostage into paying higher and higher retrans fees rather than being stewards of the public airwaves In October Sinclair said it had reached a multiyear agreement across DIRECTV AT T TV and U verse for continued use of Sinclair s owned local broadcast stations and other programming including the Tennis Channel and a regional sports network featuring Chicago Cubs games launching in 2020 The dispute comes as Congress is considering whether to reauthorize the Satellite Television Extension and Localism Act STELAR a law governing the retransmission of broadcast television by satellite companies If the law is not extended the FCC will lose authority to enforce good faith rules with regard to retransmission consent On Wednesday the Senate Commerce Committee plans to take up the bill introduced by the panel s chair Roger Wicker
If Congress does not renew STELAR this year these broadcaster TV blackouts will increase in frequency AT T said |
PFE | Conatus CNAT Completes Enrollment In Phase II NASH Study | Conatus Pharmaceuticals Inc NASDAQ CNAT announced that it has completed enrollment in ENCORE LF a phase IIb study evaluating emricasan a caspase inhibitor which is being developed for the treatment of patients with decompensatednonalcoholic steatohepatitis NASH
The ENCORE LF study is being conducted in about 210 patients who were randomized 1 1 1 to receive 5 mg of emricasan 25 mg of emricasan or placebo twice daily for at least 48 weeks The primary endpoint is event free survival Top line data from the study is expected to be presented in mid 2019
Shares of Conatus have plummeted 59 7 in the past year compared with the decline of 9 7
Conatus is conducting three ongoing phase IIb ENCORE studies on emricasan for treating fibrosis or cirrhosis induced by NASH The programs are called ENCORE NF for NASH fibrosis ENCORE PH for portal hypertension and ENCORE LF for liver function
In December Conatus announced top line results from the ENCORE PH study In the study emricasan demonstrated clinically meaningful treatment effects on compensated NASH cirrhosis patients who stand at a risk of passing to the decompensation state The study evaluated the capacity of emricasan to reduce hepatic venous pressure gradient HVPG in NASH cirrhosis patients However the study failed to meet the primary endpoint
Meanwhile top line data from the ENCORE NF study is expected to be presented in the first half of 2019
Positive results from these analyses will also pave the way for a phase III efficacy and safety study on the candidate
Please note that emricasan enjoys FDA s Fast Track status for the treatment of liver cirrhosis caused by NASH This designation should expedite the review process of the candidate The candidate also enjoys Orphan Drug status in both the U S for the treatment of post orthotopic liver transplant POLT patients with re established fibrosis to delay the progression to cirrhosis and end stage liver disease
Conatus acquired the worldwide rights to emricasan from Pfizer NYSE PFE in July 2010 It has an exclusive option collaboration and license agreement with Novartis NYSE NVS for the worldwide development and commercialization of emricasan
Another candidate in Conatus portfolio is IDN 7314 which is currently being evaluated in a phase II study for the treatment of primary sclerosing cholangitis PSC a chronic liver disease Notably the candidate enjoys an Orphan Drug designation ODD for the indication in both the United States and the EU Conatus Pharmaceuticals Inc Price
Zacks Rank Other Key Pick
Conatus currently carries a Zacks Rank 2 Buy Another top ranked stock in the same sector is Galectin Therapeutics Inc NASDAQ GALT carrying a Zacks Rank 1 Strong Buy You can see
Galectin s loss per share estimates has narrowed from 44 centsto 38 cents for 2019 and from 1 12 to 98 cents for 2020 in the last 60 days The company delivered a positive earnings surprise in all of the trailing four quarters with average of 18 65
3 Medical Stocks to Buy Now
The greatest discovery in this century of biology is now at the flashpoint between theory and realization Billions of dollars in research have poured into it Companies are already generating revenue and cures for a variety of deadly diseases are in the pipeline
So are big potential profits for early investors Zacks has released an updated Special Report that explains this breakthrough and names the best 3 stocks to ride it |
T | How To Maximize Your Retirement Portfolio With These Top Ranked Dividend Stocks February 07 2020 | Strange but true seniors fear death less than running out of money in retirement
And retirees have good reason to be worried about making their assets last People are living longer so that money has to cover a longer period Making matters worse income generated using tried and true retirement planning approaches may not cover expenses these days That means seniors must dip into principal to meet living expenses
The tried and true retirement investing approach of yesterday doesn t work today
For many years bonds or other fixed income assets could produce the yield needed to provide solid income for retirement needs However these yields have dwindled over time 10 year Treasury bond rates in the late 1990s were around 6 50 but today that rate is a thing of the past with a slim likelihood of rates making a comeback in the foreseeable future
That means if you had 1 million in 10 year Treasuries the difference in yield between 1999 and today is more than 1 million
And lower bond yields aren t the only potential problem seniors are facing Today s retirees aren t feeling as secure as they once did about Social Security either Benefit checks will still be coming for the foreseeable future but based on current estimates Social Security funds will run out of money in 2035
So what s a retiree to do You could cut your expenses to the bone and take the risk that your Social Security checks don t shrink Or you could find an alternative investment that provides a steady higher rate income stream to replace dwindling bond yields
Invest in Dividend Stocks
As we see it dividend paying stocks from generally low risk top notch companies are a brilliant way to create steady and solid income streams to supplant current low risk low yielding Treasury and fixed income alternatives
For example AT T NYSE T and Coca Cola NYSE KO are income stocks with attractive dividend yields of 3 or better Look for stocks like this that have paid steady increasing dividends for years or decades and have not cut their dividends even during recessions
One way to identify suitable candidates is to look for stocks with an average dividend yield of 3 and positive average annual dividend growth Many stocks increase dividends over time helping to offset the effects of inflation
Here are three dividend paying stocks retirees should consider for their nest egg portfolio
First Defiance Financial FDEF is currently shelling out a dividend of 0 22 per share with a dividend yield of 3 03 This compares to the Financial Savings and Loan industry s yield of 2 43 and the S P 500 s yield of 1 75 In terms of dividend growth the company s current annualized dividend of 0 88 is up 29 41 from last year
Navient NAVI is paying out a dividend of 0 16 per share at the moment with a dividend yield of 4 54 compared to the Financial Consumer Loans industry s yield of 0 and the S P 500 s yield Taking a look at the company s dividend growth its current annualized dividend of 0 64 is flat compared to last year
Currently paying a dividend of 7 59 per share NetEase NASDAQ NTES has a dividend yield of 4 77 This is compared to the Internet Software and Services industry s yield of 0 and the S P 500 s current yield Looking at dividend growth the company s current annualized dividend of 16 55 is up 824 58 from last year
But aren t stocks generally more risky than bonds
Yes that s true As a broad category bonds carry less risk than stocks However the stocks we are talking about dividend paying stocks from high quality companies can generate income over time and also mitigate the overall volatility of your portfolio compared to the stock market as a whole
Combating the impact of inflation is one advantage of owning these dividend paying stocks Here s why many of these stable high quality companies increase their dividends over time which translates to rising dividend income that offsets the effects of inflation
Thinking about dividend focused mutual funds or ETFs Watch out for fees
You may be thinking I like this dividend strategy but instead of investing in individual stocks I m going to find a dividend focused mutual fund or ETF This approach can make sense but be aware that some mutual funds and specialized ETFs carry high fees which may reduce your dividend gains or income and defeat the goal of this dividend investment approach If you do wish to invest in a fund do your research to find the best quality dividend funds with the lowest fees
Bottom Line
Regardless of whether you select high quality low fee funds or stocks looking for a steady stream of income from dividend paying equities can potentially lead you to a solid and more peaceful retirement
Generating income is just one aspect of planning for a comfortable retirement
To learn more ways to maximize your assets and avoid pitfalls that could jeopardize your financial security download our free report
Will You Retire a Multi Millionaire 7 Things You Can Do NowThis helpful guide offers our viewpoints about strategic retirement investment planning based on decades of experience helping our clients prepare for financial security during their golden years Get Your FREE Guide Now |
T | 3 Top Dividend Stocks To Maximize Your Retirement Income February 10 2020 | Here s an eye opening statistic older Americans are more afraid of running out of money than of death itself
And retirees have good reason to be worried about making their assets last People are living longer so that money has to cover a longer period Making matters worse income generated using tried and true retirement planning approaches may not cover expenses these days That means seniors must dip into principal to meet living expenses
Retirement investing approaches of the past don t work today
For example 10 year Treasury bonds in the late 1990s offered a yield of around 6 50 which translated to an income source you could count on However today s yield is much lower currently under 2 and probably not a viable return option to fund typical retirements
While this yield reduction may not seem drastic it adds up for a 1 million investment in 10 year Treasuries the rate drop means a difference in yield of more than 1 million
And lower bond yields aren t the only potential problem seniors are facing Today s retirees aren t feeling as secure as they once did about Social Security either Benefit checks will still be coming for the foreseeable future but based on current estimates Social Security funds will run out of money in 2035
How can you avoid dipping into your principal when the investments you counted on in retirement aren t producing income You can only cut your expenses so far and the only other option is to find a different investment vehicle to generate income
Invest in Dividend Stocks
We feel that these dividend paying equities as long as they are from high quality low risk issuers can give retirement investors a smart option to replace low yielding Treasury bonds or other bonds
For example AT T NYSE T and Coca Cola NYSE KO are income stocks with attractive dividend yields of 3 or better Look for stocks like this that have paid steady increasing dividends for years or decades and have not cut their dividends even during recessions
One approach to recognizing appropriate stocks is to look for companies with an average dividend yield of 3 and positive average annual dividend growth Numerous stocks hike dividends over time counterbalancing inflation risks
Here are three dividend paying stocks retirees should consider for their nest egg portfolio
Carnival NYSE CCL is currently shelling out a dividend of 0 5 per share with a dividend yield of 4 74 This compares to the Leisure and Recreation Services industry s yield of 0 and the S P 500 s yield of 1 78 In terms of dividend growth the company s current annualized dividend of 2 is flat compared to last year
CyrusOne CONE is paying out a dividend of 0 5 per share at the moment with a dividend yield of 3 23 compared to the REIT and Equity Trust Other industry s yield of 4 06 and the S P 500 s yield Taking a look at the company s dividend growth its current annualized dividend of 2 is up 8 7 from last year
Currently paying a dividend of 0 38 per share Eaton NYSE ETN Vance EV has a dividend yield of 3 08 This is compared to the Financial Investment Management industry s yield of 2 28 and the S P 500 s current yield Looking at dividend growth the company s current annualized dividend of 1 5 is up 7 14 from last year
But aren t stocks generally more risky than bonds
Yes that s true As a broad category bonds carry less risk than stocks However the stocks we are talking about dividend paying stocks from high quality companies can generate income over time and also mitigate the overall volatility of your portfolio compared to the stock market as a whole
Combating the impact of inflation is one advantage of owning these dividend paying stocks Here s why many of these stable high quality companies increase their dividends over time which translates to rising dividend income that offsets the effects of inflation
Thinking about dividend focused mutual funds or ETFs Watch out for fees
If you re thinking I want to invest in a dividend focused ETF or mutual fund make sure to do your homework It s important to know that some mutual funds and specialized ETFs charge high fees which may diminish your dividend gains or income and thwart the overall objective of this investment strategy If you do want to invest in fund research well to identify the best quality dividend funds with the least charges
Bottom Line
Regardless of whether you select high quality low fee funds or stocks looking for a steady stream of income from dividend paying equities can potentially lead you to a solid and more peaceful retirement
Generating income is just one aspect of planning for a comfortable retirement
To learn more ways to maximize your assets and avoid pitfalls that could jeopardize your financial security download our free report
Will You Retire a Multi Millionaire 7 Things You Can Do NowThis helpful guide offers our viewpoints about strategic retirement investment planning based on decades of experience helping our clients prepare for financial security during their golden years Get Your FREE Guide Now |
T | Improve Your Retirement Income With These 3 Top Ranked Dividend Stocks February 11 2020 | Believe it or not seniors fear running out of cash more than they fear dying
And unfortunately even retirees who have built a nest egg have good reason to be concerned with the traditional approaches to retirement planning income may no longer cover expenses That means retirees are dipping into principal to make ends meet setting up a race against time between dwindling investment balances and longer lifespans
Your parents retirement investing plan won t cut it today
For example 10 year Treasury bonds in the late 1990s offered a yield of around 6 50 which translated to an income source you could count on However today s yield is much lower currently under 2 and probably not a viable return option to fund typical retirements
That means if you had 1 million in 10 year Treasuries the difference in yield between 1999 and today is more than 1 million
Today s retirees are getting hit hard by reduced bond yields and the Social Security picture isn t too rosy either Right now and for the near future Social Security benefits are still being paid but it has been estimated that the Social Security funds will be depleted as soon as 2035
How can you avoid dipping into your principal when the investments you counted on in retirement aren t producing income You can only cut your expenses so far and the only other option is to find a different investment vehicle to generate income
Invest in Dividend Stocks
We feel that these dividend paying equities as long as they are from high quality low risk issuers can give retirement investors a smart option to replace low yielding Treasury bonds or other bonds
For example AT T NYSE T and Coca Cola NYSE KO are income stocks with attractive dividend yields of 3 or better Look for stocks like this that have paid steady increasing dividends for years or decades and have not cut their dividends even during recessions
Going beyond those familiar names you can find excellent dividend paying stocks by following a few guidelines Look for companies that pay a dividend yield of around 3 with positive annual dividend growth The growth rate is key to help combat the effects of inflation
Here are three dividend paying stocks retirees should consider for their nest egg portfolio
Foot Locker NYSE FL is currently shelling out a dividend of 0 38 per share with a dividend yield of 3 9 This compares to the Retail Apparel and Shoes industry s yield of 0 and the S P 500 s yield of 1 77 In terms of dividend growth the company s current annualized dividend of 1 52 is up 10 14 from last year
H R Block NYSE HRB is paying out a dividend of 0 26 per share at the moment with a dividend yield of 4 8 compared to the Consumer Services Miscellaneous industry s yield of 0 and the S P 500 s yield Taking a look at the company s dividend growth its current annualized dividend of 1 04 is up 4 from last year
Currently paying a dividend of 1 62 per share IBM IBM has a dividend yield of 4 2 This is compared to the Computer Integrated Systems industry s yield of 0 and the S P 500 s current yield Looking at dividend growth the company s current annualized dividend of 6 48 is up 3 18 from last year
But aren t stocks generally more risky than bonds
It is true that stocks as an asset class carry more risk than bonds but high quality dividend stocks not only have the ability to produce income growth over time but more importantly can also reduce your overall portfolio volatility relative to the broader stock market
An advantage of owning dividend stocks for your retirement nest egg is that numerous companies particularly blue chip stocks raise their dividends over time helping alleviate the impact of inflation on your potential retirement income
Thinking about dividend focused mutual funds or ETFs Watch out for fees
If you re interested in investing in dividends but are thinking about mutual funds or ETFs rather than stocks beware of fees Mutual funds and specialized ETFs may carry high fees which could lower the overall gains you earn from dividends undercutting your dividend income strategy Be sure to look for funds with low fees if you decide on this approach
Bottom Line
Seeking steady consistent income through dividends can be a smart option for financial security in retirement whether you invest in mutual funds ETFs or in dividend paying stocks
Generating income is just one aspect of planning for a comfortable retirement
To learn more ways to maximize your assets and avoid pitfalls that could jeopardize your financial security download our free report
Will You Retire a Multi Millionaire 7 Things You Can Do NowThis helpful guide offers our viewpoints about strategic retirement investment planning based on decades of experience helping our clients prepare for financial security during their golden years Get Your FREE Guide Now |
T | 3 Top Ranked Dividend Stocks A Smarter Way To Boost Your Retirement Income February 11 2020 | Believe it or not seniors fear running out of cash more than they fear dying
Also retirees who have constructed a nest egg have valid justifications to be concerned since the traditional ways to plan for retirement may mean income can no longer cover expenses Some retirees are now tapping their principal to make a decent living pressed for time between decreasing investment balances and longer life expectancies
Your parents retirement investing plan won t cut it today
Years ago investors at or close to retirement could put money into fixed income assets and depend on appealing yields to generate consistent solid pay streams to fund a comfortable retirement 10 year Treasury bond rates in the late 1990s floated around 6 50 but unfortunately those days of being able to exclusively rely on Treasury yields to fund retirement income are over
That means if you had 1 million in 10 year Treasuries the difference in yield between 1999 and today is more than 1 million
And lower bond yields aren t the only potential problem seniors are facing Today s retirees aren t feeling as secure as they once did about Social Security either Benefit checks will still be coming for the foreseeable future but based on current estimates Social Security funds will run out of money in 2035
Unfortunately it looks like the two traditional sources of retirement income bonds and Social Security may not be able to adequately meet the needs of present and future retirees But what if there was another option that could provide a steady reliable source of income in retirement
Invest in Dividend Stocks
As a replacement for low yielding Treasury bonds and other bond options we believe dividend paying stocks from high quality companies offer low risk and stable predictable income investors in retirement seek
For example AT T NYSE T and Coca Cola NYSE KO are income stocks with attractive dividend yields of 3 or better Look for stocks like this that have paid steady increasing dividends for years or decades and have not cut their dividends even during recessions
One approach to recognizing appropriate stocks is to look for companies with an average dividend yield of 3 and positive average annual dividend growth Numerous stocks hike dividends over time counterbalancing inflation risks
Here are three dividend paying stocks retirees should consider for their nest egg portfolio
General Mills NYSE GIS is currently shelling out a dividend of 0 49 per share with a dividend yield of 3 74 This compares to the Food Miscellaneous industry s yield of 0 23 and the S P 500 s yield of 1 77 In terms of dividend growth the company s current annualized dividend of 1 96 is flat compared to last year
Independent Bank IBCP is paying out a dividend of 0 2 per share at the moment with a dividend yield of 3 62 compared to the Banks Midwest industry s yield of 2 5 and the S P 500 s yield Taking a look at the company s dividend growth its current annualized dividend of 0 8 is up 20 from last year
Currently paying a dividend of 0 23 per share Interpublic Group IPG has a dividend yield of 4 06 This is compared to the Advertising and Marketing industry s yield of 0 and the S P 500 s current yield Looking at dividend growth the company s current annualized dividend of 0 94 is up 11 9 from last year
But aren t stocks generally more risky than bonds
Yes that s true As a broad category bonds carry less risk than stocks However the stocks we are talking about dividend paying stocks from high quality companies can generate income over time and also mitigate the overall volatility of your portfolio compared to the stock market as a whole
Combating the impact of inflation is one advantage of owning these dividend paying stocks Here s why many of these stable high quality companies increase their dividends over time which translates to rising dividend income that offsets the effects of inflation
Thinking about dividend focused mutual funds or ETFs Watch out for fees
You may be thinking I like this dividend strategy but instead of investing in individual stocks I m going to find a dividend focused mutual fund or ETF This approach can make sense but be aware that some mutual funds and specialized ETFs carry high fees which may reduce your dividend gains or income and defeat the goal of this dividend investment approach If you do wish to invest in a fund do your research to find the best quality dividend funds with the lowest fees
Bottom Line
Pursuing a dividend investing strategy can help protect your retirement portfolio Whether you choose to invest in stocks or through low fee mutual funds or ETFs this approach can potentially help you achieve a more secure and enjoyable retirement
Generating income is just one aspect of planning for a comfortable retirement
To learn more ways to maximize your assets and avoid pitfalls that could jeopardize your financial security download our free report
Will You Retire a Multi Millionaire 7 Things You Can Do NowThis helpful guide offers our viewpoints about strategic retirement investment planning based on decades of experience helping our clients prepare for financial security during their golden years Get Your FREE Guide Now |
PFE | At AstraZeneca fewer drug projects bring big productivity jump | By Ben Hirschler LONDON Reuters A focus on fewer diseases together with cuts in laboratories and staff has delivered a more than fourfold increase in research productivity at drugmaker AstraZeneca L AZN based on one key measure of success The analysis published on Friday comes at a time of soul searching among large pharmaceutical companies as they compete with smaller biotech firms which are getting new drugs to market more efficiently The turnaround evident this decade at AstraZeneca follows a shrinking of its global research and development organization and a revision of R D strategy in 2011 a year before the arrival of current chief executive Pascal Soriot Soriot has since continued the shift to a deeper and narrower focus on priority therapeutic areas notably cancer All these improvements have happened with less people less sites and less money Mene Pangalos who leads AstraZeneca s Innovative Medicines and Early Development unit told Reuters Previously AstraZeneca was a laggard in the pharmaceutical industry with a dismal track record in launching new medicines and a rapidly eroding base business due to expiring patents on its older medicines Its average success for getting a drug from the discovery phase through to successful completion of final stage Phase III clinical trials was at an all time low of 4 percent in 2005 10 below the industry average of 6 percent But in the five years from 2012 to 2016 this jumped to 19 percent while the industry average according to consultancy CMR International was little changed AstraZeneca scientists published the latest findings in the journal Nature Reviews Drug Discovery Significantly there was a marked drop in the number of projects started at the discovery stage with the total falling to just 76 in 2012 16 from 287 in 2005 10 We re working on far fewer programs and the probability of success on those programs is going up Pangalos said Going from 4 percent to nearly 20 percent is something we are all very happy with but I still want us to do better we re still failing 80 percent of the time INVESTOR SENTIMENT The productivity boost coincides with an improvement in shareholder sentiment as investors have started to bet on AstraZeneca s ability to replace older medicines with new products particularly in oncology A failed bid from Pfizer N PFE in 2014 has also helped the investment story Today two thirds of analysts recommend buying the shares up from one in five in 2012
The decision by Pangalos and his colleagues to detail the company s successes and failures in two academic papers the first of which appeared in 2014 is unusual Rivals such as GlaxoSmithKline L GSK and Pfizer have published some details of R D productivity in the past but the AstraZeneca review is more comprehensive Still the data does not track the profitability of AstraZeneca s research activities since even when a new drug succeeds in final clinical tests and wins regulatory approval commercial success is not guaranteed A report last month by consultancy Deloitte found projected returns at 12 of the world s top drugmakers had fallen in recent years even though the overall of number of new drugs had increased AstraZeneca itself has had some notable successes such as its new cancer pills Tagrisso and Lynparza but prospects for other approved products including its high profile immunotherapy drug Imfinzi have been more mixed Imfinzi suffered a major lung cancer trial setback in July 2017 although it then went on to show impressive results in another lung cancer setting |
PFE | Pfizer s biosimilar candidate to Roche s Rituxan MabThera shows equivalence in comparative lymphoma study | A comparative safety and efficacy study REFLECTIONS B3281006 comparing Pfizer s NYSE PFE biosimilar candidate PF 05280586 to the reference product Roche s OTCQX RHHBY Rituxan MabThera rituximab demonstrated equivalence in terms of overall response response rate in first line CD 20 positive low tumor burden follicular lymphoma Complete results will be submitted for presentation at a future medical conference or publication in a summary format Pfizer has seven biosimilars in late stage development three in oncology The results from REFLECTIONS B3281006 represent its fifth successful outcome Now read |
WFC | FOREX U S dollar rises as investors trim bearish bets | Dollar yen climbs to near two week high
Dollar gains broadly traders trim shorts ahead of Fed
Sterling falls after BoE report
Updates prices adds comment
By Gertrude Chavez Dreyfuss
NEW YORK Sept 21 Reuters The U S dollar climbed
across the board on Monday hitting a near two week high
against the yen as investors scaled back massive short
positions ahead of a Federal Reserve decision on interest rates
this week
The dollar earlier rose more than 1 0 percent against the
yen after speculative flows pushed it higher but later it pared
some gains Trading in Asia was quiet as major cities closed
for holidays
In the absence of key events or major economic data Monday
traders took profits on currencies that have rallied against
the dollar including the euro which was up roughly 2 percent
so far this month
The markets are consolidating and correcting ahead of the
Fed decision this week said Vassili Serebriakov currency
strategist at Wells Fargo in New York
The Federal Open Market Committee is expected to hold
interest rates unchanged between zero and 0 25 percent on
Wednesday but traders will watch for any clues about the U S
central bank s exit strategy from the current quantitative
easing
Analysts also said some investors were becoming concerned
that short dollar positions have become overstretched
suggesting a near term correction may be in store
We have also seen from the speculative positioning an
increase in dollar shorts in particular euro longs
Serebriakov said So it s surprising to see that outstanding
short exposure is being scaled back
Currency speculators raised short dollar positions
essentially bets that the U S currency will depreciate last
week to their highest since March 2008 according to data from
the Commodity Futures Trading Commission ID nN18595453
In midday New York trading the dollar JPY was up 1 1
percent at 92 26 yen near a peak of about 92 53 yen its
highest since Sept 9 according to Reuters charts
Traders said there were sell orders from Japanese exporters
above 92 50 yen which has capped any dollar yen rally until
Tokyo markets reopen on Thursday
POUND FALLS FED AWAITED
The euro EUR slipped 0 3 percent to 1 4659 easing from
1 4766 hit late last week which was its strongest since
September 2008
Against a currency basket DXY the ICE Futures dollar
index rose to 77 108 its highest level since Sept 10 The
index was last at 76 50 up 0 6 percent on the day
The pound hit a five month low against the euro after the
Bank of England said the pound s long run sustainable exchange
rate may have fallen due to an increased focus on Britain s
economic imbalances nLAG003763
The euro EURGBP rose to 90 82 pence its best level since
late April and last traded at 90 57 pence up 0 1 percent
Against the dollar GBP the pound was down 0 4 percent at
1 6197 not far from 1 6132 its weakest level in nearly
three weeks
The dollar also benefited from waning risk appetite as the
pan European FTSEurofirst 300 index FTEU3 fell below the
1 000 U S stocks were also down
Meanwhile investors awaited the Fed s policy decision
later this week and analysts said there may be changes to the
U S central bank s economic assessment
Marc Chandler head of global strategy at Brown Brothers
Harriman in New York thinks the Fed needs to upgrade its view
of the U S economy given the recent string of evidence which
suggests growth is likely in the third and fourth quarters
Fed Chairman Ben Bernanke said last week the recession was
very likely over although he added that any recovery would
be slow
Chandler said the Fed is likely to temper optimism about
the U S economy and reaffirm its commitment to low interest
rates for an extended period He added that the double dip
recession during the Great Depression and the early 1980s was
partly the result of premature monetary tightening
Additional reporting by Naomi Tajitsu in London Editing by
Kenneth Barry |
WFC | GLOBAL MARKETS Global stocks oil ease on recovering US dollar | Commodity stocks retreat as U S dollar rises
U S dollar rises as investors trim bearish bets
Oil falls towards 69 on signs demand still weak
Bonds rise as lower stocks bolster safety buying
Updates with U S markets activity changes dateline
previous LONDON
By Herbert Lash
NEW YORK Sept 21 Reuters The U S dollar rose on
Monday hurting crude oil and prices of raw materials stocks
as doubts about the sustainability of the rally in equities in
the past few months unnerved investors
The MSCI all country world stock index was
down 0 8 percent
The U S dollar climbed against major currencies hitting a
near two week high against the yen as investors scaled back
massive short positions ahead of this week s Federal Reserve
meeting and before a summit of the leaders from the Group of 20
nations For details see ID nN21404300
Oil prices fell by almost 3 5 percent towards 69 a barrel
on further signs of weak fuel demand and gold fell to its
lowest in almost a week weighed by a rallying dollar that
dented the metal s appeal to non U S investors
ID nSYD151755 ID nLL670225
Copper prices slipped to their lowest in more than two
weeks as traders fretted about rising stocks and a firmer
dollar ID nLL546177
In the absence of key events or major economic data on
Monday traders took profits on currencies that have rallied
against the U S dollar including the euro which is up
roughly 2 0 percent so far this month
The markets are consolidating and correcting ahead of the
Fed decision this week said Vassili Serebriakov currency
strategist at Wells Fargo in New York
Shortly after 1 p m 1700 GMT the Dow Jones industrial
average was down 43 38 points or 0 44 percent at
9 776 82 The Standard Poor s 500 Index was down 4 87
points or 0 46 percent at 1 063 43 The Nasdaq Composite
Index was up 2 19 points or 0 10 percent at
2 135 05 Wall Street
The Federal Open Market Committee is expected to hold
interest rates unchanged at near zero percent when it meets on
Wednesday
Traders will watch for any clues about the U S central
bank s exit strategy from its program known as quantitative
easing which is designed to ease credit tightness
European equity markets closed lower with banks and miners
retreating in particular as some investors wondered whether
the strong rally from March lows is close to conclusion
Stocks that have led the recent recovery were hit hardest
with miners topping the list of decliners
The pan European FTSEurofirst 300 fell 0 7 percent
to close at 999 06 points the first time it closed below 1 000
since last Tuesday
The growing sense of optimism left by Fed Chairman Ben
Bernanke s comments last week has left many investors worrying
that the top of this recent move higher is close so today s
profit taking and position posturing may have a worrying
undertone to it said Jimmy Yates head of equities at CMC
Markets
The U S dollar earlier rose more than 1 0 percent against
the yen after speculative flows pushed it higher but later it
pared some gains
Trading was quiet as markets in Japan were shut until
Thursday for holidays while markets in India Indonesia
Singapore Malaysia and the Philippines were also shut
The focus for traders has been on the dollar said Rick
Meckler the president of LibertyView Capital Management in New
York To the extent it rallies they re using it as a reason
to take profits
The euro slipped 0 3 percent to 1 4673 easing from
1 4766 hit late last week which was its strongest since
September 2008
Against a currency basket the ICE Futures dollar
index rose to 77 108 its highest level since Sept 10 The
index was last at 76 78 up 0 5 percent on the day
U S Treasury debt prices rose as a weaker stock market
shored up the safe haven appeal of government debt ahead of the
Fed s two day policy meeting which begins on Tuesday
ID nN21398372
Benchmark 10 year Treasury notes traded 7 32
higher in price to yield 3 44 percent
Oil prices have more than doubled since hitting lows near
30 a barrel at the height of the global economic crisis but
the market has come under pressure since touching a year high
of 75 a barrel almost a month ago
U S crude for October delivery fell 2 99 to 69 05 a
barrel by 1709 GMT London Brent crude fell 3 22 to
68 10 a barrel
Spot gold stood at 1 001 90 an ounce in New York
The MSCI index of Asia Pacific stocks traded outside Japan
dipped 0 3 percent after surging 80 percent
since mid March when global markets started to rally on hopes
that the financial crisis had bottomed out
Reporting by Ryan Vlastelica Gertrude Chavez Dreyfuss Chris
Reese in New York David Sheppard David Brett and Simon Falush
in London writing by Herbert Lash |
WFC | FOREX U S dollar rises broadly as Fed meeting G20 loom | Dollar yen climbs to near two week high
Dollar rises broadly traders trim bearish bets
Investors await Fed policy meeting G20 summit
Sterling falls after BoE report on exchange rates
Updates prices adds comment
By Wanfeng Zhou
NEW YORK Sept 21 Reuters The U S dollar rose broadly
on Monday hitting a near two week high against the yen as
investors reduced bets against the greenback ahead of a
monetary policy meeting by the Federal Reserve this week
The dollar rose more than 1 percent against the yen after
speculative flows pushed it higher though the gains were
subsequently pared Trading in Asia was quiet as financial
markets in several major cities were closed for holidays
In the absence of key events or major economic data
traders took profits on currencies that have rallied against
the dollar including the euro which has risen more than 2
percent so far this month
There are some thoughts in the markets that the Federal
Open Market Committee might announce that they re going to
start removing stimulus said Chuck Butler president of
Everbank World Markets in St Louis That s why the dollar is
a little bit stronger
I don t think this is any trend reversal of what we ve
seen from March on This could just really be a correction
Last week s run up in other currencies was huge he added
The FOMC is widely expected to hold interest rates
unchanged between zero and 0 25 percent at the conclusion of
its two day meeting on Wednesday but traders will watch for
any clues about the central bank s exit strategy from the
current quantitative easing
A withdrawal of stimulus would likely reduce the flow of
dollars into the economy The currency has been on a downward
trend since the Fed launched its policy of buying Treasuries
last March
In afternoon trading in New York the ICE Futures dollar
index which tracks the greenback versus a basket of six
currencies rose 0 4 percent to 76 746 after climbing
to 77 108 its highest level since Sept 10
Against the yen the dollar was up 0 8 percent at
92 05 yen near a peak of about 92 53 yen its highest since
Sept 9 according to Reuters charts
Traders said there were sell orders from Japanese exporters
above 92 50 yen capping any dollar yen rally until Tokyo
markets reopen on Thursday
POUND FALLS G20 AWAITED
The euro slipped 0 3 percent to 1 4672 easing from
1 4766 hit late last week which was its strongest since
September 2008 according to Reuters data
Analysts said some investors were concerned that short
dollar positions have become overstretched suggesting a
near term correction may be in store
Net short dollar positions bets that the U S currency
will fall rose last week to their highest since March 2008
according to the Commodity Futures Trading Commission
ID nN18595453
We have also seen from the speculative positioning an
increase in dollar shorts in particular euro longs said
Vassili Serebriakov currency strategist at Wells Fargo in New
York So it s not surprising to see that outstanding short
exposure is being scaled back
The pound hit a five month low versus the euro at 90 78
pence after the Bank of England said the pound s
long run sustainable exchange rate may have fallen due to an
increased focus on Britain s economic imbalances
nLAG003763
The dollar also benefited from waning risk appetite as the
pan European FTSEurofirst 300 index fell below the
1 000 level U S stocks also traded mostly lower
Investors awaited a summit of the Group of 20 rich and
developing nations in Pittsburgh later in the week Bankers
pay and the need to examine strategies for withdrawing state
stimulus from the global economy have dominated debate ahead of
the meeting See ID nLH78576
Boris Schlossberg director of currency research at GFT
Forex in New York said rhetoric ahead of the event sparked
some profit taking in risky assets and news of further
government regulation of capital markets could fuel risk
aversion
Additional reporting by Gertrude Chavez Dreyfuss Editing by
Dan Grebler |
WFC | FOREX U S dollar rallies as Fed meeting G20 loom | Dollar yen climbs to near two week high
Dollar rises broadly traders trim bearish bets
Investors await Fed policy meeting G20 summit
Sterling falls after BoE report on exchange rates
Recasts updates prices changes bylines
By Nick Olivari
NEW YORK Sept 21 Reuters The U S dollar climbed
broadly on Monday hitting a near two week high against the yen
as investors reduced bets against the greenback ahead of a
monetary policy meeting by the Federal Reserve this week
The dollar rose more than 1 percent against the yen after
speculative flows pushed it higher though the gains were
subsequently pared Trading in Asia was quiet as financial
markets in several major markets were closed for local
holidays
In the absence of key events or major economic data
traders took profits on currencies that have rallied against
the dollar including the euro which has risen more than 2
percent so far this month
There are some thoughts in the markets that the Federal
Open Market Committee might announce that they re going to
start removing stimulus said Chuck Butler president of
Everbank World Markets in St Louis That s why the dollar is
a little bit stronger
I don t think this is any trend reversal of what we ve
seen from March on This could just really be a correction
Last week s run up in other currencies was huge he added
The FOMC is widely expected to hold interest rates
unchanged between zero and 0 25 percent at the conclusion of
its two day meeting on Wednesday but traders will watch for
any clues about the U S central bank s exit strategy from the
current quantitative easing
A withdrawal of stimulus would likely reduce the flow of
dollars into the economy The currency has been on a downward
trend since the Fed launched its policy of buying Treasuries in
March
In late afternoon trading in New York the ICE Futures
dollar index which tracks the greenback against a basket of
six currencies rose 0 5 percent to 76 776 after climbing to
77 108 its highest level since Sept 10
The euro slipped 0 2 percent to 1 4672 easing from
1 4766 hit late last week which was its strongest since
September 2008 according to Reuters data
Against the yen the dollar was up 0 8 percent at 92 04
yen near a peak of about 92 53 yen its highest since Sept 9
according to Reuters charts
Traders said there were sell orders from Japanese exporters
above 92 50 yen capping any dollar yen rally until Tokyo
markets reopen on Thursday
POUND FALLS G20 AWAITED
Analysts said some investors were concerned that short
dollar positions have become overstretched suggesting a
near term correction may be in store
Net short dollar positions bets that the U S currency
will fall rose last week to their highest since March 2008
according to the Commodity Futures Trading Commission data and
Morgan Stanley
We have also seen from the speculative positioning an
increase in dollar shorts in particular euro longs said
Vassili Serebriakov currency strategist at Wells Fargo in New
York So it s not surprising to see that outstanding short
exposure is being scaled back
The pound hit a five month low against the euro at 90 78
pence after the Bank of England said the pound s long run
sustainable exchange rate may have fallen due to an increased
focus on Britain s economic imbalances
The dollar also benefited from waning risk appetite
illustrated by a fall in the pan European FTSEurofirst 300
index below the 1 000 level U S stocks also traded mostly
lower
Investors awaited a summit of leaders from the Group of 20
industrialized and emerging economies in Pittsburgh later in
the week Executive pay and the need to examine strategies for
withdrawing state stimulus from the global economy have
dominated debate ahead of the meeting
Boris Schlossberg director of currency research at GFT
Forex in New York said rhetoric ahead of the event sparked
some profit taking in risky assets and news of further
government regulation of capital markets could fuel risk
aversion |
WFC | FOREX U S dollar rallies from 8 month low vs yen | Dollar up on day vs yen rises briefly above 90 yen
Japan s Fujii says won t rule out intervention
Euro falls to two week low
Adds comment U S data updates prices changes byline
dateline previous LONDON
By Gertrude Chavez Dreyfuss
NEW YORK Sept 29 Reuters The U S dollar rebounded
against the yen on Tuesday pulling back from an eight month
low hit the previous day after Japan s finance minister did
not rule out market intervention in the event of the Japanese
currency strengthening sharply
Japanese Finance Minister Hirohisa Fujii on Tuesday said
the government would take action if currency moves were
irregular He repeated though that a global competition to
devalue a currency was the wrong policy For story click on
ID nT321333
Gains in the dollar however were limited as markets still
saw room for the yen to rise
The message from the MoF Japanese finance ministry is
increasingly confusing We think that rhetoric will increase
should there be further yen appreciation said Camilla Sutton
senior currency strategist at Scotia Capital in Toronto
In his initial remarks after being appointed finance
minister Fujii had said he was comfortable with a strong yen
given that the government intends to boost domestic
consumption In the past Japan had intervened in the market to
weaken the yen in a move to boost its exports
Sutton said that in terms of technical charts Monday s
hammer on dollar yen is the first piece of a bottoming
formation a close above 89 79 would provide confirmation
In early New York trading the dollar was up 0 4 percent at
90 03 yen after briefly recovering above 90 yen The pair
hovered around levels at which options are expected to expire
later in the day Around 250 million in options with a strike
price of 90 yen will tick over at the New York cut IFR
reported as will 200 million each at 90 20 and 90 30
Market players may still attempt to push the dollar toward
January s 13 year low of 87 10 yen and only then think
seriously about the possibility of intervention analysts say
though many say a drop through 85 yen would more likely be
needed
The dollar briefly rose above 90 yen immediately after data
showed U S single family home prices rose for a third straight
month in July surpassing forecasts The S P Case Shiller
composite index of 20 metropolitan areas rose 1 6 percent in
July from June more than triple the 0 5 percent estimated rise
found in a Reuters poll ID nNYS005445
The ICE Futures dollar index which tracks the performance
of the greenback versus a basket of six other major currencies
edged up 0 1 percent to 77 116
The euro fell 0 3 percent to 1 4568 after dropping
to a two week low around 1 4538 according to Reuters data as
short term players unwound some long euro positions
There has been concern about euro strength given the ECB
comments on Monday So that has been hovering in the market and
investors are cautious of taking the euro higher said Vassili
Serebriakov currency strategist at Wells Fargo in New York
European Central Bank President Jean Claude Trichet said
late on Monday he backed the argument for a strong U S dollar
in foreign exchange markets ID nLS402293 This sentiment was
repeated by ECB Governing Council member Ewald Nowotny
Traders brushed off data showing euro zone economic
sentiment improved slightly more than expected in September to
82 8 from 80 8 in August versus forecasts of 82 2 nLT517508
The euro hit a session low against the yen of 130 71 yen
as it was pressured across the board in part due to
a 1 percent drop against sterling The pound rose
broadly on the back of a surprising jump in UK sales figures
Against the dollar sterling gained 0 6 percent to 1 5979
Additional reporting by Naomi Tajitsu in London Editing by
Chizu Nomiyama |
WFC | FOREX U S dollar rebounds from 8 month low vs yen | Dollar up on day vs yen rises above 90 yen
Japan s Fujii says won t rule out intervention
Euro falls to two week low vs dollar
U S consumer confidence slips in September
Adds comment US consumer confidence data updates prices
By Gertrude Chavez Dreyfuss
NEW YORK Sept 29 Reuters The U S dollar firmed
against the yen on Tuesday rallying from an eight month low
hit the previous day after Japan s finance minister said the
government would take action if currency moves were sharp and
irregular
Japanese Finance Minister Hirohisa Fujii on Tuesday also
repeated that a global competition to devalue a currency would
be the wrong policy Gains in the dollar however were limited
as markets still saw room for the yen to rise
The message from the MoF Japanese finance ministry is
increasingly confusing We think that rhetoric will increase
should there be further yen appreciation said Camilla Sutton
senior currency strategist at Scotia Capital in Toronto
In his initial remarks after being appointed finance
minister Fujii had said he was comfortable with a strong yen
given that the government intends to boost domestic
consumption prompting investors to buy the Japanese currency
In the past Japan had intervened in the market to weaken
the yen in a move to boost its exports
Sutton said in terms of technical charts Monday s hammer
on dollar yen is the first piece of a bottoming formation a
close above 89 79 would provide confirmation
In midmorning New York trading the dollar was up 0 7
percent at 90 23 yen hitting session highs around 90 34
The dollar earlier trimmed gains versus the Japanese
currency but rose to fresh two week highs against the euro
after a U S consumer confidence index for September fell
unexpectedly
That kind of spurred some safe haven demand for the
dollar and helped the dollar push to a new two week high
against the euro as a result said Joe Manimbo currency
trader at Travelex Global Business Payments in Washington
That s the type of data that would reinforce expectations
for a sluggish recovery going forward It s just more evidence
that it s going to be a protracted recovery
The consumer confidence report offset upbeat U S home
prices data released earlier in the session The
S P Case Shiller composite index of 20 metropolitan areas rose
for a third straight month in July surpassing forecasts
Market players may still attempt to push the dollar toward
January s 13 year low of 87 10 yen on the EBS platform and only
then think seriously about the possibility of intervention
analysts say though many say a drop through 85 yen would more
likely be needed
The ICE Futures dollar index which tracks the performance
of the greenback versus a basket of six major currencies was
up 0 1 percent at 77 165
The euro fell 0 5 percent to 1 4546 after dropping to a
two week low around 1 4527 according to Reuters data as
short term players unwound some long euro positions
There has been concern about euro strength given the ECB
comments on Monday So that has been hovering in the market and
investors are cautious of taking the euro higher said Vassili
Serebriakov currency strategist at Wells Fargo in New York
European Central Bank President Jean Claude Trichet said
late on Monday he backed the argument for a strong U S dollar
in foreign exchange markets This sentiment was repeated by ECB
Governing Council member Ewald Nowotny
The euro hit a session low against the yen at 130 71 yen
pressured across the board amid a 1 percent drop against
sterling The pound rose broadly on the back of a surprising
jump in UK sales figures
Against the dollar sterling gained 0 3 percent to
1 5928
Additional reporting by Wanfeng Zhou
Editing by Theodore d Afflisio |
T | AT T adds more monthly bill paying subscribers than expected | Reuters AT T Inc N T added more mobile phone subscribers who pay a monthly bill than analysts estimates for the third quarter as the wireless carrier attracted customers with media content bundled with phone plans
The second largest U S wireless carrier by subscribers added 101 000 postpaid subscribers or those who pay monthly bills
Analysts had estimated the company to lose 172 000 subscribers according to research firm FactSet
Total operating revenue in the third quarter ended Sept 30 fell to 44 59 billion from 45 74 billion a year earlier |
T | AT T to add directors sell up to 10 billion in assets next year | By Sheila Dang and Svea Herbst Bayliss Reuters AT T Inc NYSE T on Monday unveiled a three year strategic plan that included selling up to 10 billion worth of businesses next year paying off all its debt from the purchase of Time Warner and adding two new board members bowing to pressure from activist investor Elliott Management The second largest U S wireless phone carrier by subscribers has struggled with a stagnant stock price despite having spent billions on a bet that owning media content as well as all the ways that people can access it through their phones TVs and the internet would pay off The result of that wager AT T s HBO Max subscription streaming video service will be unveiled on Tuesday in Burbank Calif AT T s heavy debt load and declining revenue from segments like satellite TV provider DirecTV caught the attention of Elliott one of the industry s most powerful activist investors which bought a 3 2 billion stake earlier this year The New York based hedge fund which invests 38 billion last month criticized Dallas based AT T which has market capitalization of 283 billion for its acquisitions bloated costs and leadership structure It asked the company to stop buying more companies review its portfolio and costs and add new board members laying the groundwork for an attack on one of the biggest corporate targets ever By Monday about seven weeks after Elliott made its suggestions AT T committed to buying back stock adding two new directors and reviewing its portfolio There are no sacred cows when it comes to reviewing the business portfolio long serving CEO Randall Stephenson told analysts While Stephenson had planned to retire soon he pledged to stay through 2020 and oversee the changes himself While DirecTV will be an important piece of AT T s strategy over the next three years AT T will consider multiple options including partnerships and other structures Stephenson said AT T shares were up 4 8 to 38 70 in midday trading Stephenson took control of the negotiations with Elliott with the two sides meeting in New York and Dallas and often by phone to reach Monday s announcement a person familiar with the talks said Elliott got almost everything it asked for but made no commitments that prohibit it from exerting further pressure on the company an unusual outcome in activist fights In a sign the two sides had quickly found common ground Stephenson told Reuters on Monday that a standstill agreement which could have prevented Elliott from taking further action did not come up Publicly Elliott was keeping a low profile commending the company but saying nothing beyond its statement As a first step AT T plans to name a new board member with expertise in technology and cost cutting soon Stephenson said on an analyst call in which he also had warm words for the hedge fund A second board member will be named next year and will have media credentials the person familiar with the matter said adding that both sides are still reviewing possible candidates To reduce its debt of 153 5 billion at the end of the third quarter AT T has been on a selling spree Over the weekend it sold Central European Media Enterprises Ltd CME to investment group PPF in a cash deal valued at about 2 1 billion The company expects to generate 14 billion through asset sales and other initiatives by the end of this year It has reduced its net debt by 12 7 billion so far this year WEAK RESULTS Monday s announcement presented an awkward conundrum as AT T issued financial guidance through 2022 that was ahead of Wall Street s consensus though its quarterly results fell short of expectations in every segment Jonathan Chaplin an analyst with New Street Research said in a note AT T lost 1 2 million premium TV customers which includes DirecTV as well as 195 000 streaming video customers as it has sought to roll off subscribers who had signed up with price promotions Revenue from WarnerMedia was down 4 4 from the previous year to 7 8 billion as it made less money from the Warner Bros movie studio Total operating revenue in the third quarter ended Sept 30 fell to 44 59 billion from 45 74 billion a year earlier missing analyst expectations of 45 billion according to IBES data from Refinitiv Excluding items AT T earned 94 cents per share above analysts estimates of 93 cents
The carrier added 101 000 net new phone subscribers who pay a monthly bill during the third quarter Wall Street estimated it would gain 61 000 net new customer additions according to a note from Cowen analysts |
T | 3 Top Ranked Dividend Stocks A Smarter Way To Boost Your Retirement Income February 05 2020 | Believe it or not seniors fear running out of cash more than they fear dying
Also retirees who have constructed a nest egg have valid justifications to be concerned since the traditional ways to plan for retirement may mean income can no longer cover expenses Some retirees are now tapping their principal to make a decent living pressed for time between decreasing investment balances and longer life expectancies
Your parents retirement investing plan won t cut it today
In the past investors going into retirement could invest in bonds and count on attractive yields to produce steady reliable income streams to fund a predictable retirement 10 year Treasury bond rates in the late 1990s hovered around 6 50 whereas at the time of this article the current rate is under 2 and looks to stay low thanks to an accommodative Fed
The impact of this rate decline is sizeable over 20 years the difference in yield for a 1 million investment in 10 year Treasuries is more than 1 million
Today s retirees are getting hit hard by reduced bond yields and the Social Security picture isn t too rosy either Right now and for the near future Social Security benefits are still being paid but it has been estimated that the Social Security funds will be depleted as soon as 2035
So what can retirees do You could dramatically reduce your expenses and go out on a limb hoping your Social Security benefits don t diminish On the other hand you could opt for an alternative investment that gives a steady higher rate income stream to supplant lessening bond yields
Invest in Dividend Stocks
As a replacement for low yielding Treasury bonds and other bond options we believe dividend paying stocks from high quality companies offer low risk and stable predictable income investors in retirement seek
For example AT T NYSE T and Coca Cola NYSE KO are income stocks with attractive dividend yields of 3 or better Look for stocks like this that have paid steady increasing dividends for years or decades and have not cut their dividends even during recessions
A rule of thumb for finding solid income producing stocks is to seek those that average 3 dividend yield and positive yearly dividend growth These stocks can help combat inflation by boosting dividends over time
Here are three dividend paying stocks retirees should consider for their nest egg portfolio
Highwoods Properties HIW is currently shelling out a dividend of 0 47 per share with a dividend yield of 3 72 This compares to the REIT and Equity Trust Other industry s yield of 4 06 and the S P 500 s yield of 1 78 In terms of dividend growth the company s current annualized dividend of 1 9 is up 2 7 from last year
Interpublic Group IPG is paying out a dividend of 0 23 per share at the moment with a dividend yield of 4 11 compared to the Advertising and Marketing industry s yield of 0 and the S P 500 s yield Taking a look at the company s dividend growth its current annualized dividend of 0 94 is up 11 9 from last year
Currently paying a dividend of 0 31 per share Invesco IVZ has a dividend yield of 6 95 This is compared to the Financial Investment Management industry s yield of 2 28 and the S P 500 s current yield Looking at dividend growth the company s current annualized dividend of 1 24 is up 3 33 from last year
But aren t stocks generally more risky than bonds
Yes that s true As a broad category bonds carry less risk than stocks However the stocks we are talking about dividend paying stocks from high quality companies can generate income over time and also mitigate the overall volatility of your portfolio compared to the stock market as a whole
An advantage of owning dividend stocks for your retirement nest egg is that numerous companies particularly blue chip stocks raise their dividends over time helping alleviate the impact of inflation on your potential retirement income
Thinking about dividend focused mutual funds or ETFs Watch out for fees
If you re thinking I want to invest in a dividend focused ETF or mutual fund make sure to do your homework It s important to know that some mutual funds and specialized ETFs charge high fees which may diminish your dividend gains or income and thwart the overall objective of this investment strategy If you do want to invest in fund research well to identify the best quality dividend funds with the least charges
Bottom Line
Seeking steady consistent income through dividends can be a smart option for financial security in retirement whether you invest in mutual funds ETFs or in dividend paying stocks
Generating income is just one aspect of planning for a comfortable retirement
To learn more ways to maximize your assets and avoid pitfalls that could jeopardize your financial security download our free report
Will You Retire a Multi Millionaire 7 Things You Can Do NowThis helpful guide offers our viewpoints about strategic retirement investment planning based on decades of experience helping our clients prepare for financial security during their golden years Get Your FREE Guide Now |
T | Amdocs DOX Earnings Revenues Surpass Estimates In Q1 | Amdocs Limited NASDAQ DOX reported first quarter fiscal 2020 results wherein both top and bottom lines beat estimates Quarterly non GAAP earnings per share came in at 1 06 up from 98 cents in the year ago quarter The bottom line also beat the Zacks Consensus Estimate by 1 The figure came within the company s guided range of 1 02 1 08 Revenues for the quarter came in at 1 04 billion improving 3 year over year The top line also came within the company s guided range of 1 015 1 055 billion and beat the consensus mark by 1 Sequential growth in demand from North America and solid growth in the Rest of the World and Europe drove the results Moreover continued addition of new customers and strong project execution boosted revenues Also a positive impact of nearly 3 million sequentially from foreign currency movements was a tailwind Amdocs Limited Price Consensus and EPS Surprise Quarter DetailsRegion wise revenues from North America 63 5 of total revenues were 662 1 million up 0 2 from the year ago quarter Notably Amdocs signed a multi year deal with television studio MGM However the delayed merger of T Mobile NYSE S and Sprint NYSE S was a dampener Performance in North America was driven by stable activity trends at AT T NYSE T and healthy activity levels of many customers in the border region Europe 14 8 recorded revenues of 154 7 million up 5 9 Rest of the World 21 6 generated revenues of 225 2 million up 9 6 Managed services revenues of 579 7 million grew 10 3 Twelve month backlog which includes anticipated revenues related to contracts estimated revenues from managed services contracts letters of intent maintenance and estimated on going support activities came in at 3 52 billion during the quarter up 30 million from the prior quarter Operating MetricsThe company incurred non GAAP operating expenses of 864 million up 3 2 from the year ago quarter Non GAAP operating income increased 1 8 to 177 9 million Balance Sheet Cash FlowCash and cash equivalents as of Dec 31 2019 were 485 9 million up from 471 6 million in the previous quarter Cash flow from operating activities was 163 9 million During the fiscal first quarter the company repurchased shares worth 90 million Also its board of directors recently approved the payment of a quarterly dividend of 0 3275 per share The dividend will be paid out on Apr 24 2020 OutlookFor second quarter fiscal 2020 Amdocs expects revenues of 1 035 1 075 billion assuming approximately a 2 million sequential positive impact from foreign currency fluctuations Non GAAP earnings per share of 1 03 1 09 are expected for the fiscal second quarter For fiscal 2020 the company expects revenues to grow 2 5 5 5 year over year with TTS contributing a little more than 1 Amdocs expects non GAAP earnings per share growth of 3 7 year over year The company currently carries a Zacks Rank 3 Hold You can see Biggest Tech Breakthrough in a GenerationBe among the early investors in the new type of device that experts say could impact society as much as the discovery of electricity Current technology will soon be outdated and replaced by these new devices In the process it s expected to create 22 million jobs and generate 12 3 trillion in activity A select few stocks could skyrocket the most as rollout accelerates for this new tech Early investors could see gains similar to buying Microsoft NASDAQ MSFT in the 1990s Zacks just released special report reveals 8 stocks to watch The report is only available for a limited time |
T | Improve Your Retirement Income With These 3 Top Ranked Dividend Stocks February 06 2020 | Believe it or not seniors fear running out of cash more than they fear dying
Also retirees who have constructed a nest egg have valid justifications to be concerned since the traditional ways to plan for retirement may mean income can no longer cover expenses Some retirees are now tapping their principal to make a decent living pressed for time between decreasing investment balances and longer life expectancies
Your parents retirement investing plan won t cut it today
For example 10 year Treasury bonds in the late 1990s offered a yield of around 6 50 which translated to an income source you could count on However today s yield is much lower currently under 2 and probably not a viable return option to fund typical retirements
That means if you had 1 million in 10 year Treasuries the difference in yield between 1999 and today is more than 1 million
Today s retirees are getting hit hard by reduced bond yields and the Social Security picture isn t too rosy either Right now and for the near future Social Security benefits are still being paid but it has been estimated that the Social Security funds will be depleted as soon as 2035
So what can retirees do You could dramatically reduce your expenses and go out on a limb hoping your Social Security benefits don t diminish On the other hand you could opt for an alternative investment that gives a steady higher rate income stream to supplant lessening bond yields
Invest in Dividend Stocks
As we see it dividend paying stocks from generally low risk top notch companies are a brilliant way to create steady and solid income streams to supplant current low risk low yielding Treasury and fixed income alternatives
For example AT T NYSE T and Coca Cola NYSE KO are income stocks with attractive dividend yields of 3 or better Look for stocks like this that have paid steady increasing dividends for years or decades and have not cut their dividends even during recessions
One approach to recognizing appropriate stocks is to look for companies with an average dividend yield of 3 and positive average annual dividend growth Numerous stocks hike dividends over time counterbalancing inflation risks
Here are three dividend paying stocks retirees should consider for their nest egg portfolio
Bank of Montreal BMO is currently shelling out a dividend of 0 82 per share with a dividend yield of 4 18 This compares to the Banks Foreign industry s yield of 3 53 and the S P 500 s yield of 1 75 In terms of dividend growth the company s current annualized dividend of 3 2 is up 7 23 from last year
Flushing Financial FFIC is paying out a dividend of 0 21 per share at the moment with a dividend yield of 3 98 compared to the Financial Savings and Loan industry s yield of 2 43 and the S P 500 s yield Taking a look at the company s dividend growth its current annualized dividend of 0 84 is up 5 from last year
Currently paying a dividend of 0 4 per share Legg Mason LM has a dividend yield of 3 96 This is compared to the Financial Investment Management industry s yield of 2 28 and the S P 500 s current yield Looking at dividend growth the company s current annualized dividend of 1 6 is up 17 65 from last year
But aren t stocks generally more risky than bonds
The fact is that stocks as an asset class carry more risk than bonds To counterbalance this invest in superior quality dividend stocks that not only can grow over time but more significantly can also decrease your overall portfolio volatility with respect to the broader stock market
An advantage of owning dividend stocks for your retirement nest egg is that numerous companies particularly blue chip stocks raise their dividends over time helping alleviate the impact of inflation on your potential retirement income
Thinking about dividend focused mutual funds or ETFs Watch out for fees
If you re thinking I want to invest in a dividend focused ETF or mutual fund make sure to do your homework It s important to know that some mutual funds and specialized ETFs charge high fees which may diminish your dividend gains or income and thwart the overall objective of this investment strategy If you do want to invest in fund research well to identify the best quality dividend funds with the least charges
Bottom Line
Regardless of whether you select high quality low fee funds or stocks looking for a steady stream of income from dividend paying equities can potentially lead you to a solid and more peaceful retirement
Generating income is just one aspect of planning for a comfortable retirement
To learn more ways to maximize your assets and avoid pitfalls that could jeopardize your financial security download our free report
Will You Retire a Multi Millionaire 7 Things You Can Do NowThis helpful guide offers our viewpoints about strategic retirement investment planning based on decades of experience helping our clients prepare for financial security during their golden years Get Your FREE Guide Now |
PFE | Sangamo teams up with Pfizer to develop gene therapy to treat ALS shares ahead 4 premarket | Sangamo Therapeutics NASDAQ SGMO is up 4 premarket on modest volume in response to its collaboration with Pfizer NYSE PFE aimed at developing a gene therapy using zinc finger protein transcription factors ZFP TFs to treat amyotrophic lateral sclerosis ALS and frontotemporal lobar degeneration FTLD linked to mutations of the C90RF72 gene The companies will investigate allele specific ZFP TFs to potentially differentiate the mutant C90FR72 allele from the wild type allele and to specifically down regulate the mutant form Under the terms of the agreement Sangamo will receive 12M upfront up to 150M in milestones and tiered royalties on net sales Sangamo will be responsible for developing ZFP TF candidates while Pfizer will be responsible for subsequent research development manufacturing and commercialization The companies are also collaborating on the development of gene therapies to treat hemophilia A under a May 2017 agreement Sangamo s ZFP TF technology is designed to down up regulate the expression of a specific gene or DNA sequence with a single administration Now read |
PFE | Premarket Losers as of 9 05 am | MGI 8 after terminating merger deal with Ant Financial Services Group GROW 5 on Bitcoin boom Now read |
PFE | Pfizer teams up with Arvinas to develop small molecule drugs targeting disease causing cellular proteins | Privately held Arvinas LLC enters into a research collaboration and license agreement with Pfizer PFE 0 2 aimed at discovering and developing small molecule drugs that degrade disease causing cellular proteins The effort will leverage Arvinas proprietary PROTAC PROteolysis TArgeting Chimeras platform PROTAC degraders work by recruiting an enzyme called E3 ligase to tag the target protein for degradation through protein complexes called proteasomes Arvinas says its approach is better than traditional small molecule inhibitors because it utilizes the cell s natural process to degrade and eliminate problematic proteins Under the terms of the multiyear agreement Arvinas will be responsible for discovery while Pfizer will handle clinical development and commercialization Arvinas will be eligible to receive up to 830M in upfront and milestone payments and tiered royalties on net sales Now read |
PFE | GSK CEO says looking at Pfizer consumer business but not a priority | By Bill Berkrot Reuters GlaxoSmithKline s L GSK new chief executive said on Tuesday that the British drugmaker would have a look at Pfizer Inc s N PFE consumer products business but would not overpay for the asset Pfizer the largest U S drugmaker said last year it was considering strategic alternatives including a sale or spinoff of the consumer business which had sales of about 3 4 billion in 2016 and could cost more than 15 billion to acquire At this stage it would be weird if we didn t look at it GSK Chief Executive Emma Walmsley said responding to questions at the JP Morgan Healthcare Conference in San Francisco But she said it is only a look and very early adding we don t need it and we won t overpay for it Despite her consumer products background Walmsley repeatedly said that the company s pharmaceuticals business and pharma research and development is GSK s top priority However Walmsley said GSK has a good track record of integrating large acquisitions and that it s consumer business does have room to grow Pfizer s consumer portfolio includes well known brands such as Advil Chapstick lip balm and Centrum vitamins Walmsley said there are a very small number of assets that would be completely complementary to GSK s existing consumer business and this may be one of them
If we did it it is cash generating she said |
WFC | FOREX U S dollar rebounds from week s low | Dollar rebounds from week s lows but vulnerable
Rise in shares commodities shows signs of abating
U S weekly jobless claims fall
BoE holds quantitative easing rates steady
Recasts adds comments updates prices
By Vivianne Rodrigues
NEW YORK Sept 10 Reuters The U S dollar edged up
against a basket of major currencies on Thursday rebounding
from its lowest in almost a year and halting this week s sharp
decline
The dollar initially fell versus the euro after a
better than expected reading on U S weekly jobless claims but
it reversed course as U S and European stocks failed to extend
earlier gains
The U S currency has suffered recently as investors bet on
an economic recovery through commodity linked and
higher yielding currencies which rallied earlier this week
Some caution has returned to the foreign exchange markets
today and the dollar is mixed said Nick Bennenbroek head of
currency strategy at Wells Fargo Bank in New York
Still Bennenbroek warned that Thursday s rebound in the
U S currency may be short lived
Dollar sentiment is still fragile and the path of least
resistance for the dollar is still clearly to the downside in
the near term he said
In late morning trading in New York the euro was 0 1
percent lower at 1 4551 The euro zone single currency
rose above 1 46 for the first time in 2009 following a
government report that showed the number of U S workers filing
new claims for jobless benefits fell last week to 550 000 more
than expected For details see ID nN10384112
The euro touched 1 4606 its highest since December 2008
according to Reuters data
The jobless claims data looks like a pretty healthy
improvement from the previous week said Omer Esiner a senior
market analyst at Travelex Global Business Payments in
Washington
In another release the U S trade deficit for July widened
the most in more than 10 years The trade gap expanded 16 3
percent in July to 32 0 billion the biggest month to month
increase since February 1999 ID nN09221872
The dollar index which tracks its performance
against a basket of six other major currencies was 0 1 percent
up at 77 092 The index touched 76 775 earlier today its
lowest level in almost a year
Against the yen the dollar was down 0 2 percent at 91 78
yen after hitting a seven month low of 91 45 yen
earlier according to Reuters data
CENTRAL BANKS
Investors booked some gains in the Australian and New
Zealand dollars driving them down from this week s one year
highs while the euro briefly surged against the Swiss franc
with traders citing talk that the Swiss National Bank has
checked exchange rates on the currency pair
The euro rose as high as 1 5196 francs earlier
but it was last at 1 5150 flat on the day
The New Zealand dollar was little changed at
0 6967 falling from a one year high touched on Wednesday s
after the Reserve Bank of New Zealand governor said the
currency was overvalued ID nWLF004365
Earlier the RBNZ left rates on hold at a record low of 2 5
percent as expected but indicated it was less inclined to cut
rates again ID nWEL20198
The Australian dollar fell after data showed Australia s
employment dropped by more than double a Reuters forecast
although the jobless rate held steady The Aussie dropped 0 6
percent to 0 8580
Sterling rose after the Bank of England left monetary
policy unchanged as expected ID nTAR005447 ID nLAC003435
countering speculation of further easing The pound hit
multi week highs at 1 6642 while it touched the day s
high versus the euro at 87 30 pence
Additional reporting by Wanfeng Zhou Editing by James
Dalgleish |
WFC | FOREX US dollar slide slows still seen vulnerable | U S dollar slide slows
U S weekly jobless claims fall
BoE holds quantitative easing rates steady
Updates prices adds details
By Vivianne Rodrigues
NEW YORK Sept 10 Reuters The U S dollar steadied on
Thursday after sliding to its lowest in almost a year against
major currencies this week but is seen vulnerable to further
selling
The dollar initially fell versus the euro after a
better than expected reading on U S weekly jobless claims but
recovered a little groun das U S and European stocks failed to
extend earlier gains
The U S currency has suffered recently as investors bet on
an economic recovery through commodity linked and
higher yielding currencies which rallied earlier this week
Some caution has returned to the foreign exchange markets
today and the dollar is mixed said Nick Bennenbroek head of
currency strategy at Wells Fargo Bank in New York Still
Bennenbroek warned that Thursday s rebound in the U S currency
may be short lived
Dollar sentiment is still fragile and the path of least
resistance for the dollar is still clearly to the downside in
the near term he said
In midday trading in New York the euro was little changed
at 1 4564 The euro zone single currency rose above
1 46 for the first time in 2009 following a government report
that showed the number of U S workers filing new claims for
jobless benefits fell last week to 550 000 more than expected
For details see ID nN10384112
The euro touched 1 4606 its highest since December 2008
according to Reuters data
The jobless claims data looks like a pretty healthy
improvement from the previous week said Omer Esiner a senior
market analyst at Travelex Global Business Payments in
Washington
In another release the U S trade deficit for July widened
the most in more than 10 years The trade gap expanded 16 3
percent in July to 32 0 billion the biggest month to month
increase since February 1999 ID nN09221872
The dollar index which tracks its performance
against a basket of six other major currencies was little
changed down 0 1 percent at 76 999 The index touched 76 775
earlier today its lowest level in almost a year
Against the yen the dollar was down 0 2 percent at 91 78
yen after hitting a seven month low of 91 45 yen
earlier according to Reuters data
CENTRAL BANKS
Investors booked some gains in the Australian and New
Zealand dollars driving them down from this week s one year
highs while the euro briefly surged against the Swiss franc
with traders citing talk that the Swiss National Bank has
checked exchange rates on the currency pair
The euro rose as high as 1 5196 francs earlier
but it was last at 1 5144 nearly flat on the day
The New Zealand dollar was little changed at
0 6967 falling from a one year high touched on Wednesday s
after the Reserve Bank of New Zealand governor said the
currency was overvalued ID nWLF004365
Earlier the RBNZ left rates on hold at a record low of 2 5
percent as expected but indicated it was less inclined to cut
rates again ID nWEL20198
The Australian dollar fell after data showed Australia s
employment dropped by more than double a Reuters forecast
although the jobless rate held steady The Aussie dropped 0 6
percent to 0 8580
Sterling rose after the Bank of England left monetary
policy unchanged as expected ID nTAR005447 ID nLAC003435
countering speculation of further easing The pound hit
multi week highs at 1 6642 while it touched the day s
high versus the euro at 87 30 pence
Additional reporting by Wanfeng Zhou in New York |
WFC | FOREX Dollar falls to lowest this year vs euro | Euro climbs to fresh 2009 high vs dollar
Investors look past U S China trade dispute
Dollar index swings between gains and losses
Sentiment on greenback remains vulnerable
Recasts adds comment updates prices changes byline
By Wanfeng Zhou
NEW YORK Sept 14 Reuters The dollar fell to its lowest
level this year against the euro on Monday as a rebound in U S
stocks revived risk appetite and reduced the greenback s
safe haven appeal
The Standard Poor s 500 Index edged higher erasing
early session losses after a decision by the United States to
impose special duties on Chinese tires sparked concerns of an
escalating global trade dispute
It s the whole risk on risk off story back again said
Jacob Oubina currency strategist at Forex com in Bedminster
New Jersey We had risk come off a little bit overnight with
the China U S trade news Now the S P stock index is
managing to eke out a rally here and that s keeping the euro
supported
In mid afternoon trading the euro was up 0 3 percent on
the day at 1 4606 rebounding from a session low of 1 4514
It climbed as high as 1 4652 the pair s highest level since
December 2008
Kathy Lien director of currency research at GFT Forex in
New York said the single euro zone currency also recovered
from losses on buying of the euro against the pound after
Moody s said its outlook for UK banks remained negative
Sterling fell 0 5 percent against the dollar to 1 6571
while the euro rose 0 8 percent against the pound to 0 8814
The ICE Futures U S dollar index which measure the
greenback against a basket of six currencies swung between
gains and losses but last traded up 0 2 percent at 76 718
marking the first day of gains in seven sessions
Against the yen the dollar rose 0 3 percent 91 00 yen
pulling back from an early fall to 90 18 yen its lowest since
February
CHINA DISPUTE
Early trading was dominated by the U S China trade dispute
after President Barack Obama on Friday announced safeguards on
tire imports from China that would put additional duties of 35
percent on Chinese made tires from Sept 26
China struck back announcing its own anti dumping
investigations of U S motor vehicles and chicken products
The dispute raised concern and increased uncertainty that
the fragile global economic recovery could be derailed
lowering demand for risky assets overnight although
strategists said it was unlikely to put a lasting hole in the
market s appetite for risk
The dollar has come under heavy pressure this month as
growing optimism about a global economic recovery encouraged
investors to move out of safe havens into riskier investments
Speculation that the dollar was replacing the yen as a
funding currency and talk of Asian central banks diversifying
from the greenback also contributed to dollar selling last
week
The sentiment is still dollar negative What the market is
really concerned about is the ability or the willingness of the
U S authorities to deal with the fiscal problems said
Vassili Serebriakov currency strategist at Wells Fargo in New
York Dollar weakness is probably exacerbated by the breach of
important technical levels last week
The dollar s sell off last week left the market with its
biggest net short position in the currency in more than a year
and some analysts said this may keep investors cautious about
pushing it much lower for now |
WFC | FOREX Dollar slides to 2009 low vs euro as stocks rebound | Euro climbs to fresh 2009 high vs dollar
Investors look past U S China trade dispute
Sentiment on greenback remains vulnerable
Adds comment details updates prices
By Wanfeng Zhou
NEW YORK Sept 14 Reuters The dollar on Monday fell to
its lowest level this year against the euro as a rebound in
U S stocks revived risk appetite and eroded the greenback s
safe haven appeal
U S stocks edged higher erasing early session losses
after a decision by the United States to impose special duties
on Chinese tires sparked concerns of an escalating global trade
dispute
It s the whole risk on risk off story back again said
Jacob Oubina currency strategist at Forex com in Bedminster
New Jersey We had risk come off a little bit overnight with
the China U S trade news Now U S stocks are managing to
eke out a rally here and that s keeping the euro supported
In late New York trading the euro was up 0 4 percent on
the day at 1 4622 rebounding from a session low of 1 4514
It climbed as high as 1 4652 the pair s highest level since
December 2008 according to Reuters data
Kathy Lien director of currency research at GFT Forex in
New York said the single euro zone currency also recovered
from losses on buying of the euro against the pound after
Moody s said its outlook for UK banks remained negative
Sterling fell 0 6 percent against the dollar to 1 6566
while the euro rose 0 9 percent against the pound to 0 8825
The ICE Futures U S dollar index which measure the
greenback against a basket of six currencies DXY swung
between gains and losses but last traded up 0 1 percent at
76 657 marking the first gain in seven sessions The index
declined to 76 457 on Friday its lowest in nearly a year
Against the yen the dollar rose 0 3 percent to 90 93 yen
pulling back from an early fall to 90 18 yen its lowest since
February according to Reuters data
CHINA DISPUTE
Early trading was dominated by the U S China trade dispute
after President Barack Obama on Friday announced safeguards on
tire imports from China that would put additional duties of 35
percent on Chinese made tires from Sept 26
China struck back announcing its own anti dumping
investigations of U S motor vehicles and chicken products
The dispute raised concern and increased uncertainty that
the fragile global economic recovery could be derailed
lowering demand for risky assets overnight But strategists
said it was unlikely to put a lasting hole in the market s
appetite for risk
The dollar has come under heavy pressure this month as
optimism about a global economic recovery encouraged investors
to move out of safe havens into riskier investments
Concerns about the fiscal deficit in the United States
speculation that the dollar was replacing the yen as a funding
currency and talk of Asian central banks diversifying away from
the greenback added to dollar selling
The sentiment is still dollar negative What the market is
really concerned about is the ability or the willingness of the
U S authorities to deal with the fiscal problems said
Vassili Serebriakov currency strategist at Wells Fargo in New
York Dollar weakness is probably exacerbated by the breach of
important technical levels last week
The dollar s sell off last week left the market with its
biggest net short position in the currency in more than a year
and some analysts said this may keep investors cautious about
pushing it much lower for now
Investors also looked ahead to a heavy data calendar this
week which will provide information on retail sales
unemployment and the manufacturing sector of the U S economy |
WFC | GLOBAL MARKETS US shares buck global rally dollar off | MSCI world equity index up 0 4 pct at 290 88
U S stocks lose grip falter at midday
U S dollar hits 1 year low to euro recovers some
By Al Yoon
NEW YORK Sept 17 Reuters A measure of global stocks
reached an 11 month high on Thursday as economic reports
supported themes of recovery pushing currency investors
seeking riskier trades out of U S dollars
But U S shares edged lower as some disappointing corporate
profits reined in enthusiasm over an economy still seen as
vulnerable to rising unemployment
Shares globally are flirting with their highest levels
since the September 2008 collapse of investment bank Lehman
Brothers illustrating that investors believe the worst of the
credit crisis and U S recession has passed
U S government and industry data showed mixed signs of
strength giving rise to hopes that the nation s employment
outlook may stabilize after the loss of 6 9 million jobs during
the recession The Standard Poor s 500 Index has already
rallied 58 percent since March on such confidence however
leading investors to turn more cautious
A steep drop in profit from package shipping giant FedEx
Corp also helped dampen the rally that dominated trading in
Asia and Europe
FedEx said it saw growing signs of stability in the
modestly improving global economy
The economy is clearly on the mend but it s not a
straight line said David Katz chief investment officer at
Matrix Asset Advisors in New York
Stocks initially rose after the United States said the
number of workers filing new claims for jobless benefits
unexpectedly fell last week while starts on new homes
increased to their highest levels since November These figures
supported a view from Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke on
Tuesday that the recession was likely over even if the economy
is not capable of more than sluggish growth
The Federal Reserve Bank of Philadelphia said business
activity in its region jumped to its highest since June 2007
European shares reached their highest since early October
for a second straight day boosted by energy and financial
stocks that would benefit from economies on the mend The
FTSEurofirst 300 index of top European shares closed
higher by 0 51 percent at 1 011 26
The broader MSCI world equity index rose
0 4 percent to 290 88 a level also not seen since October
bringing its gain this year to almost 28 percent
U S indexes shed early gains with the Dow Jones
industrial average down 0 08 percent to 9 783 92 The
Standard Poor s 500 Index declined 0 31 percent to
1 065 49 and the Nasdaq Composite Index fell 0 15
percent to 2 080 90
Shares of FedEx declined 2 2 percent to 76 46 In
Europe Standard Chartered HSBC Royal Bank
of Scotland BNP Paribas Societe Generale
and Credit Agricole were among financial
leading gains up between 0 5 and 3 8 percent
U S government debt trading signaled investors were
skeptical of the depth of an economic rebound
The benchmark U S 10 year Treasury note yield
declined to 3 39 percent from 3 48 percent late Wednesday as
investors discounted prospects for faster growth which would
quicken inflation and erode the value of fixed rate debt
The dollar declined but recuperated against a basket of
currencies after hitting a one year low against the euro in
earlier trading The ICE Futures dollar index which hit
a one year low of 76 010 earlier on Thursday traded at 76 224
down just 0 02 percent from Wednesday
The euro gained 0 2 percent to 1 4736 after
reaching its highest since mid September 2008
The U S currency has struggled as investors anticipating a
recovery sought other currencies that would maximize profits
The trend of dollar selling is getting a little tired
said Vassili Serebriakov a strategist at Wells Fargo in New
York but the market is still optimistic on the recovery
In Asia an upgrade in Japan s view on the economy upbeat
Chinese data and bullish comments from a senior Beijing
government economist prompted investors to buy riskier assets
Chen Dongqi China s senior government economist said the
country s economy may regain double digit annual growth in the
fourth quarter of this year potentially bringing monetary
policy tightening closer
Japan s Nikkei stock average rose 1 7 percent to
10 443 80 buoyed by exporting companies after upbeat U S
economic data this week boosted hopes of rising demand
Additional reporting by Chuck Mikolajczak Caroline
Valetkevitch and Nick Olivari Editing by Chizu Nomiyama |
WFC | FOREX Dollar hits near 1 year lows on recovery optimism | Dollar remains under pressure as risk appetite improves
Philadelphia Fed factory activity jumps in September
Dollar falls to 1 year lows vs euro basket
Adds comment updates prices changes byline
By Wanfeng Zhou
NEW YORK Sept 17 Reuters The dollar fell to its lowest
level in nearly a year against the euro on Thursday as higher
equity prices this week and positive economic data dampened
safe haven demand for the U S currency
Optimism about a global recovery grew after a report showed
factory activity in the U S Mid Atlantic region rose in
September to the highest level since June 2007 Separate data
suggested improvement in the housing and job sectors of the
U S economy
The increasing appetite of investors for risky assets
pushed the low yielding dollar to fresh one year lows versus
the euro and a basket of currencies Trading was volatile as
U S stocks seesawed between gains and losses
Risk appetite is still there People are still looking for
return and looking for higher yield said John Kicklighter
currency strategist at DailyFX com in New York
We ve seen a stabilization trend in these indicators for
manufacturing employment and housing That s really what you
want to see to get a genuine economic recovery he added
In afternoon trading in New York the euro rose as high as
1 4766 its highest since late September 2008 according to
Reuters data It was last 0 2 percent higher at 1 4736 EUR
Traders have sold the dollar heavily this month as recovery
hopes diminished safe haven demand The prospect of low U S
yields and concerns about the U S fiscal deficit fueled dollar
selling
The ICE Futures U S dollar index which tracks the value
of the greenback versus a basket of six currencies was little
changed at 76 205 DXY It earlier hit a one year low of
76 010 The index is off 2 5 percent this month to date its
worst monthly performance since May
The Philadelphia Federal Reserve Bank s business activity
index jumped to 14 1 in September from 4 2 in August
Separately groundbreaking for U S homes and permits for
future building scaled a nine month high in August The number
of people filing new claims for jobless benefits fell last
week
BOJ UPGRADE
Investors are not just selling dollars as risk appetite
rises but also yen analysts say particularly against the
higher yielding commodity currencies
The euro gained 0 5 percent to 134 29 yen and the dollar
was up 0 2 percent at 91 09 yen
We re moving towards the yen selling because the market
is already very short dollars said Vassili Serebriakov
currency strategist Wells Fargo in New York
The market is still optimistic on the recovery so it s
starting to buy commodity currencies more against the yen
rather than against the dollar he added
The yen got an early boost after Bank of Japan Governor
Masaaki Shirakawa said a stronger yen would push down prices in
the near term but might support the economy in the longer run
Speaking after the BOJ held interest rates at 0 1 percent
while upgrading its economic assessment he added he would
carefully monitor the impact of currency moves
In other trading the Swiss franc hit its highest in more
than one year at 1 0271 The Swiss National Bank kept up its
drastic measures to boost the economy and fend off deflation
The bank renewed its policy of ultra low interest rates bond
purchases and interventions to stop the Swiss franc rising
Additional reporting by Nick Olivari Editing by Andrew
Hay |
WFC | FOREX US dollar falls to near 12 month low against euro | U S dollar under pressure as risk appetite improves
U S economic data mostly positive
U S dollar falls to near 12 month low against euro
Adds comment updates prices
By Wanfeng Zhou
NEW YORK Sept 17 Reuters The U S dollar fell to its
lowest level in nearly a year against the euro on Thursday as
higher stock prices this week and mostly positive economic data
dampened safe haven demand for the U S currency
Optimism about a global recovery grew after a report showed
factory activity in the U S Mid Atlantic region rose in
September to its highest since June 2007 while separate data
suggested improvement in the housing and job sectors too
The increasing appetite of investors for risky assets
pushed the low yielding dollar to fresh near one year lows
versus the euro and a basket of currencies Trading was
volatile as U S stocks seesawed between gains and losses
Risk appetite is still there People are still looking for
return and looking for higher yield said John Kicklighter
currency strategist at DailyFX com in New York
We ve seen a stabilization trend in these indicators for
manufacturing employment and housing That s really what you
want to see to get a genuine economic recovery he added
In late New York trading the euro rose as high as 1 4766
its highest since late September 2008 according to Reuters
data It was last up 0 2 percent at 1 4738
Investors have sold the dollar heavily this month as
recovery hopes diminished safe haven demand The prospect of
low U S yields and concerns about the U S fiscal deficit
fueled the dollar selling
The ICE Futures U S dollar index which tracks the value
of the greenback versus a basket of six other major currencies
hit a near one year low of 76 010 before recovering to trade
little changed at 76 225 The index has fallen 2 4 percent in
September its worst monthly performance since May
Kathy Lien director of currency research at GFT Forex in
New York said while she remains bearish on the dollar the
short dollar trade was getting very crowded and some
correction was likely in the near term
The dollar has become very oversold but I don t really
think the downtrend is over Traders keep on selling dollars
because of the low yield There s no reason to hold dollars
she said
BOJ UPGRADE
The Philadelphia Federal Reserve Bank s business activity
index jumped to 14 1 in September from 4 2 in August
Separately groundbreaking for U S homes and permits for
future building scaled a nine month high in August The number
of people filing new claims for jobless benefits fell last
week
Investors are not just selling dollars as risk appetite
rises but also yen analysts say particularly against the
higher yielding commodity currencies
The euro gained 0 5 percent to 134 31 yen and the dollar
was up 0 3 percent at 91 11 yen
We re moving towards the yen selling because the market
is already very short dollars said Vassili Serebriakov
currency strategist Wells Fargo in New York
The market is still optimistic on the recovery so it s
starting to buy commodity currencies more against the yen
rather than against the dollar he added
The yen got an early boost after Bank of Japan Governor
Masaaki Shirakawa said a stronger yen would push down prices in
the near term but might support the economy in the longer run
Speaking after the BOJ held interest rates at 0 1 percent
while upgrading its economic assessment he added he would
carefully monitor the impact of currency moves
In other trading the Swiss franc hit its highest in more
than one year at 1 0271 The Swiss National Bank renewed its
policy of ultra low interest rates bond purchases and
interventions to stop the Swiss franc rising
Additional reporting by Nick Olivari Editing by James
Dalgleish |
WFC | FOREX U S dollar gains as investors pare bearish bets | Dollar yen climbs to near two week high
Dollar gains broadly traders trim shorts ahead of Fed
Sterling suffers after BoE report
Updates prices adds comment changes byline dateline from
previous LONDON
By Gertrude Chavez Dreyfuss
NEW YORK Sept 21 Reuters The U S dollar firmed across
the board on Monday hitting a near two week high against the
yen as investors scaled back massive short positions ahead of
a Federal Reserve decision on interest rates this week
The dollar rose more than 1 percent against the yen after
speculative flows pushed it higher in quiet trade in Asia
where markets in Japan Singapore and other centers were closed
for holidays
In the absence of key events or major economic data Monday
traders took profits on currencies that have rallied against
the dollar including the euro which was up roughly 2 percent
so far this month
The markets are consolidating and correcting ahead of the
Fed decision this week said Vasilli Serebriakov currency
strategist at Wells Fargo in New York
The Federal Open Market Committee is expected to hold
interest rates unchanged between zero and 0 25 percent on
Wednesday but traders will watch for any clues about the U S
central bank s exit strategy from the current quantitative
easing
Analysts also said some investors were becoming concerned
that short dollar positions have become overstretched
suggesting a near term correction may be in store
We have also seen from the speculative positioning an
increase in dollar shorts in particular euro longs
Serebriakov said So it s surprising to see that outstanding
short exposure is being scaled back
Currency speculators raised short dollar positions
essentially bets that the U S currency will depreciate last
week to their highest since March 2008 according to data from
the Commodity Futures Trading Commission ID nN18595453
In early New York trading the dollar was up 1 3
percent at 92 41 yen near a peak of about 92 53 yen its
highest since Sept 9 according to Reuters charts
Traders said there were sell orders from Japanese exporters
above 92 50 yen which has capped any dollar yen rally until
Tokyo markets reopen on Thursday
The euro slipped 0 5 percent to 1 4630 easing from
1 4766 hit late last week which was its strongest since
September 2008
Against a currency basket the ICE Futures dollar
index rose 0 8 percent to 77 076 its highest level since Sept
10
The pound hit a five month low against the euro after the
Bank of England said the pound s long run sustainable exchange
rate may have fallen due to an increased focus on Britain s
economic imbalances nLAG003763
The euro rose to 90 82 pence its best level
since late April
Against the dollar it was down 0 7 percent at
1 6164 near 1 6132 hit earlier in the day for its weakest
level in nearly three weeks
The dollar also benefited from waning risk appetite as the
pan European FTSEurofirst 300 index fell below the
1 000 mark on worries the market may have run ahead of economic
fundamentals
Meanwhile investors awaited the Fed s policy decision
later this week Fed Chairman Ben Bernanke said last week the
recession was very likely over although he noted that any
recovery would be slow
Stronger than expected U S economic data in recent months
has spurred speculation the Fed may raise interest rates from
zero in the near future but many analysts believe more time is
required before such a move
Some said dollar selling may pick up if the Fed reinforces
the view that rates will stay pat for the coming months
Additional reporting by Naomi Tajitsu in London Editing by
Jeffrey Benkoe |
T | AT T to sell certain assets in Puerto Rico U S Virgin Islands for 1 95 billion | Reuters AT T Inc N T said on Wednesday it would sell its wireless and wireline operations in Puerto Rico and U S Virgin Islands to Liberty Latin America Ltd O LILA for 1 95 billion as the second largest U S wireless carrier cuts its huge debt pile The deal comes as the company faces calls from activist investor Elliott Management to end its acquisition spree and focus on improving its business This transaction is a result of our ongoing strategic review of our balance sheet and assets to identify opportunities for monetization Chief Financial Officer John Stephens said in a statement Reuters had reported in July that AT T was exploring a sale for its Puerto Rico assets for 3 billion to cut the debt it took on to purchase Time Warner Inc NYSE TWX for 85 billion last year AT T s long term debt stood at 157 79 billion as of June end according to a regulatory filing The company has already sold its stake in streaming service Hulu for 1 43 billion and WarnerMedia s Manhattan offices at Hudson Yards for about 2 2 billion Liberty Latin America will support its FirstNet program in Puerto Rico and the U S Virgin Islands AT T said FirstNet is a national communication platform that is dedicated to first responders AT T expects the deal to close in the next nine months subject to review by the U S Department of Justice and Federal Communications Commission The company s business in Puerto Rico comprises internet TV landlines and business services
AT T also said shareholders should expect buybacks in the fourth quarter as it aims at balancing its debt and profit |
T | AT T Elliott in talks after activist campaign launched sources | By Svea Herbst Bayliss NEW YORK Reuters AT T N T and Elliott Management are talking about issues the activist hedge fund raised last month when it pushed for change at the U S telecommunications and media conglomerate two people familiar with the matter said on Thursday Elliott is pressing the telecommunications giant to cut costs make management changes and scale back expansion aspirations in one of its most ambitious investor campaigns to date The two sides have held discussions and there is dialogue one of the sources said The meetings have taken place since shortly after Elliott one of the world s most powerful activist investors six weeks ago sent a four part proposal for changes to AT T The fund says the changes could lift the share price by at least 60 by the end of 2021 Traditionally activist investors and management and directors at their target companies arrange meetings after proposals are made to see where there may be common ground The Wall Street Journal reported on Thursday that the two sides could reach a settlement as soon as this month but cautioned that talks could fall apart Elliott s plan ranges from divesting certain businesses eliminating 5 billion in costs reviewing how it allocates capital and urging CEO Randall Stephenson who has led the company since the financial crisis to stop making acquisitions Spokesmen for AT T and for Elliott declined to comment Elliott s 3 2 billion stake in AT T has morphed into one of the industry s most ambitious campaigns in years not only because of AT T s size it has a market capitalization of 270 billion but also for the range of issues that Elliott says should be addressed For Elliott which has 38 billion in assets under management this marks one of its biggest corporate targets AT T last week announced plans to delay its earnings release a move that has sparked speculation that the two sides wanted more time for talks to progress Earnings are now scheduled to be released on Oct 28 one day before it plans to unveil its HBO Max streaming service at an event in Burbank Calif Elliott took aim at AT T s 85 billion acquisition of media company TimeWarner Inc last year and the 49 billion purchase of satellite television provider DirecTV in 2015 in its letter It also said that the company s board needs directors with domain expertise and operating skills and that it has identified several leading candidates to discuss with the board It did not ask for a specific number of seats on the board The letter struck a conciliatory note and Jesse Cohn Elliott s portfolio manager called AT T CEO Stephenson the night before the letter was publicized to alert the company suggesting that talks would begin quickly
AT T has said that it was already exploring some of the issues Elliott has raised |
PFE | Glaxo GSK Beats Earnings Revenue Estimates In Q4 | GlaxoSmithKline plc NYSE GSK one of the largest health care companies reshaped its business following the March 2015 completion of the three part inter conditional transaction with Novartis related to its Consumer Healthcare Vaccines and Oncology businesses Under the deal Glaxo sold its oncology assets to Novartis and acquired Novartis Vaccines business excluding influenza vaccines Additionally the companies created a joint venture JV thereby combining their consumer divisions to form a larger consumer health care business Following the completion of the deal the UK based company now focuses on its three core businesses Pharmaceuticals respiratory HIV Vaccines pediatric adolescent adult and travel vaccines and Consumer Healthcare wellness oral health nutrition and skin health products However Glaxo is currently focusing on adding cancer drugs to boost its pharma pipeline Meanwhile like many of its peers Glaxo is facing challenges in the form of stiff competition genericization pricing pressure and slowing growth in emerging markets In this scenario investor focus remains on late stage pipeline candidates and their commercial potential restructuring and cost cutting initiatives and performance of new products apart from the usual top and bottom line numbers Glaxo s performance has been mixed so far with the company s earnings beating expectations twice in the trailing four quarters while missed in the other two Overall the company has delivered an average positive surprise of 1 61 Currently Glaxo has a Zacks Rank 3 Hold but that could definitely change following the company s earnings report which was just released We have highlighted some of the key stats from this just revealed announcement below Earnings Beat Glaxo reported core earnings of 80 cents per American depositary share in the fourth quarter of 2018 which beat our consensus estimate of 70 cents The company s focus on cost control initiative has boosted margins Revenues Beat Revenues were up 5 year over year at constant exchange rate CER to 10 54 billion 8 2 billion Revenues beat the Zacks Consensus Estimate of 9 85 billion Key Stats While sales in Consumer Healthcare and Pharmaceuticals were up 1 and 4 respectively the Vaccines segment increased 18 at CER Glaxo acquired TESARO and announced agreement with Merck KGaA to add oncology products to its pharma portfolio 2019 Guidance Glaxo expects EPS to decline by 5 9 at CER in 2019 which includes impact of Advair generic acquisition of TESARO joint venture with Pfizer NYSE PFE for Consumer Healthcare business ad divestment of certain nutrition brands Share Price Impact Shares rose almost 0 6 in pre market trading Check back later for our full write up on GSK earnings report later 1 286373GlaxoSmithKline plc Price and EPS Surprise
Will You Make a Fortune on the Shift to Electric Cars Here s another stock idea to consider Much like petroleum 150 years ago lithium power may soon shake the world creating millionaires and reshaping geo politics Soon electric vehicles EVs may be cheaper than gas guzzlers Some are already reaching 265 miles on a single charge With battery prices plummeting and charging stations set to multiply one company stands out as the 1 stock to buy according to Zacks research It s not the one you think |
PFE | Will IPO ETFs Sizzle In 2019 | Expectations are high that IPOs will stage a great show in 2019 though January was freezing for the space were priced globally raising 2 7 billion according to data compiled by Bloomberg compared with 126 listings raising more than 13 billion last January A month long government shutdown was held responsible for the worst January for IPOs in three years
The situation was slightly better off beyond the border with 54 offerings raising 2 3 billion It still marked a third of the on non U S exchanges in January 2018 per Bloomberg
Inside the Market Pulse
According to a December survey by BDO USA 71 of capital market executives at leading investment banks expect IPO activity to rise or at least which was the best year for deals since 2014 as quoted on MarketWatch
The survey sees 37 of bankers expecting private equity portfolios to generate the most IPOs this year while 35 expect venture capital to break new ground The latest market rally despite the government shutdown should pave the path for IPOs
Hurdles in Sight
Government shutdown kept the space shut in January With the SEC deferring the completion of reviews Q1 IPO activity may see a slowdown but the long term picture looks rosy per the survey
While the government has restarted operations at January end with a Feb 15 deadline for reaching a permanent deal on the Mexico border wall funding the chance of a second round of shutdown is high This is because Democrats are still against funding the border wall However once a deal is reached can be offered to companies in the pipeline read
What s Hot Now
Biotech IPOs are the trending right now For example two biotech IPOs with proposed billion dollar valuations Alector plans to raise 176 million at a market cap of 1 4 billion and will start trading on Feb 7 And Gossamer Bio looks to raise 230 million at a 1 0 billion market cap on Feb 8
Meanwhile BioNTech AG a European biotechnology company with Pfizer Inc NYSE PFE and Sanofi PA SASY is considering an initial public offering in the United States TCR2 Therapeutics known for improved immuno oncology treatments for various forms of cancer of its common stock in an IPO
There are names beyond the biotech Cibus which has created a platform for non transgenic seed modification for its 100 million IPO Then there are bigger names like Uber Technologies Inc s planned listing Lyft Inc has also been awaiting the SEC s response on
This year s other bigshot IPO candidates include Airbnb Inc which is reportedly eyeing an IPO sometime between June and the end of 2020 And Slack Technologies to go public
IPO ETFs to Play
In the view of an upbeat environment barring shutdown woes one should keep a tab on IPO ETFs like First Trust US Equity Opportunities ETF V FPX and Renaissance IPO ETF TO IPO Both funds have been steady this year with a respective 13 8 and 20 9 return
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T | Improve Your Retirement Income With These 3 Top Ranked Dividend Stocks February 03 2020 | Here s a revealing data point older Americans are scared more of outliving wealth than of death itself
And unfortunately even retirees who have built a nest egg have good reason to be concerned with the traditional approaches to retirement planning income may no longer cover expenses That means retirees are dipping into principal to make ends meet setting up a race against time between dwindling investment balances and longer lifespans
In today s economic environment traditional income investments are not working
For example 10 year Treasury bonds in the late 1990s offered a yield of around 6 50 which translated to an income source you could count on However today s yield is much lower currently under 2 and probably not a viable return option to fund typical retirements
That means if you had 1 million in 10 year Treasuries the difference in yield between 1999 and today is more than 1 million
In addition to the considerable drop in bond yields today s retirees are nervous about their future Social Security benefits Because of certain demographic factors it s been estimated that the funds that pay the Social Security benefits will run out of money in 2035
So what s a retiree to do You could cut your expenses to the bone and take the risk that your Social Security checks don t shrink Or you could find an alternative investment that provides a steady higher rate income stream to replace dwindling bond yields
Invest in Dividend Stocks
Dividend paying stocks from low risk high quality companies are a smart way to generate steady and reliable attractive income streams to replace current low risk low yielding Treasury and bond options
For example AT T NYSE T and Coca Cola NYSE KO are income stocks with attractive dividend yields of 3 or better Look for stocks like this that have paid steady increasing dividends for years or decades and have not cut their dividends even during recessions
One way to identify suitable candidates is to look for stocks with an average dividend yield of 3 and positive average annual dividend growth Many stocks increase dividends over time helping to offset the effects of inflation
Here are three dividend paying stocks retirees should consider for their nest egg portfolio
Archer Daniels Midland ADM is currently shelling out a dividend of 0 35 per share with a dividend yield of 3 13 This compares to the Agriculture Operations industry s yield of 0 and the S P 500 s yield of 1 81 In terms of dividend growth the company s current annualized dividend of 1 4 is up 4 48 from last year
Costamare CMRE is paying out a dividend of 0 1 per share at the moment with a dividend yield of 5 04 compared to the Transportation Shipping industry s yield of 0 and the S P 500 s yield Taking a look at the company s dividend growth its current annualized dividend of 0 4 is flat compared to last year
Currently paying a dividend of 0 05 per share DHT Holdings DHT has a dividend yield of 3 55 This is compared to the Transportation Shipping industry s yield of 0 and the S P 500 s current yield Looking at dividend growth the company s current annualized dividend of 0 2 is up 150 from last year
But aren t stocks generally more risky than bonds
It is true that stocks as an asset class carry more risk than bonds but high quality dividend stocks not only have the ability to produce income growth over time but more importantly can also reduce your overall portfolio volatility relative to the broader stock market
A silver lining to owning dividend stocks for your retirement portfolio is that many companies especially blue chip stocks increase their dividends over time helping offset the effects of inflation on your potential retirement income
Thinking about dividend focused mutual funds or ETFs Watch out for fees
You may be thinking I like this dividend strategy but instead of investing in individual stocks I m going to find a dividend focused mutual fund or ETF This approach can make sense but be aware that some mutual funds and specialized ETFs carry high fees which may reduce your dividend gains or income and defeat the goal of this dividend investment approach If you do wish to invest in a fund do your research to find the best quality dividend funds with the lowest fees
Bottom Line
Whether you select high quality low fee funds or stocks seeking the steady income of dividend paying equities can potentially offer you a path to a better and more stress free retirement
Generating income is just one aspect of planning for a comfortable retirement
To learn more ways to maximize your assets and avoid pitfalls that could jeopardize your financial security download our free report
Will You Retire a Multi Millionaire 7 Things You Can Do NowThis helpful guide offers our viewpoints about strategic retirement investment planning based on decades of experience helping our clients prepare for financial security during their golden years Get Your FREE Guide Now |
PFE | Pfizer declares 0 34 dividend | Pfizer NYSE PFE declares 0 34 share quarterly dividend 6 3 increase from prior dividend of 0 32 Forward yield 3 66 Payable March 1 for shareholders of record Feb 2 ex div Feb 1 Now read |
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