symbol
stringlengths 1
9
| title
stringlengths 1
701
| text
stringlengths 1
140k
|
|---|---|---|
WFC | FOREX Euro hits two week low on risk aversion stocks drop | Euro hits 2 week low against dollar and yen
Global shares oil prices stumble denting risk demand
NY factory activity surges but consumer worries persist
Japan Q2 GDP up China cuts Treasury holdings
Adds details updates prices
By Vivianne Rodrigues
NEW YORK Aug 17 Reuters The euro hit a two week low
against the dollar and neared a one month trough against the
yen on Monday as world stock markets fell and doubts about a
U S recovery prompted investors to cut exposure to risk
The yen rallied across the board as investors bought it as
a safe haven while a slide in oil prices hit currencies such
as the Australian dollar which retreated from recent 10 month
highs against the greenback
A multimonth equity rally started to sputter late last week
after data showed U S consumer sentiment declined for a second
straight month Stocks in Asia responded Monday by falling more
than 3 percent and the sell off continued in Europe and on Wall
Street
Data showing Japan s economy grew between April and June
for the first time in five quarters was largely ignored and a
surge in New York state factory activity had only a modest
effect
People have started to feel that the market rally moved
well ahead of the actual economic improvement said Vassili
Serebriakov currency strategist at Wells Fargo in New York
The rebound in the S P has been its fastest in the
post war period and so people are getting nervous that
things have come too far too fast said Rob Minikin senior
currency strategist at Standard Chartered in London
In late afternoon trading in New York the euro was down
about 0 9 percent at 1 4079 just above a two week low It was
down 1 5 percent at 132 81 yen after hitting its lowest level
since July 22 The dollar fell 0 5 percent to 94 45 yen
A pullback in risk appetite in the near term should favor
the dollar Brian Kim a currency analyst at UBS AG said in a
note
Sterling hit a one month low earlier and was last down 1 2
percent at 1 6337 while the Australian and New Zealand dollars
each fell sharply against the greenback
European shares and U S stock indexes fell about 2 percent
or more on the day while oil prices tumbled to a two week
low
Some analysts also said coupon payments on U S Treasuries
worth 20 billion to 25 billion on Monday were helping to push
the dollar down against the yen
JAPAN S GDP TREASURY FLOWS DATA
Data showing Japan s economy pulled out of recession in the
April June period did little to improve sentiment and analysts
said yen strength had more to do with safe haven purchases by
investors eager to dump stocks and higher yield currencies
While Japanese government stimulus spending helped the
economy expand 0 9 percent in the quarter ending its longest
recession in decades analysts said the road to sustainable
recovery would be long
U S government data showed China cut Treasury holdings in
June by the biggest percentage in nearly nine years though net
inflows into long term U S securities rose to 90 7 billion
China the biggest U S Treasury holder sold mostly
short term bills in June If it continues that could be a
significant drag on the dollar said Alan Ruskin chief
international strategist at RBS Securities in Greenwich
Connecticut
But it is clear that some of this money will simply stay
in dollars and extend out the curve at the right yield |
WFC | FOREX Yen retreats Dollar slides vs commodity currencies | Yen weakens across the board global equities rise
Dollar retreats versus commodity currencies
Sterling under pressure vs dollar euro
June euro zone new orders beat forecasts
Updates prices adds comment
By Gertrude Chavez Dreyfuss
NEW YORK Aug 24 Reuters The yen fell on Monday while
the U S dollar slid against commodity currencies such as the
Australian and New Zealand dollars as investors became more
comfortable with riskier trades given gains in global equities
and solid U S and euro zone economic data
The market refocused on risk taking in the wake of
stronger than expected U S existing home sales data on Friday
upbeat comments from Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke and
Monday s data showing firmer industrial orders in the euro
zone
The low yielding yen tends to fall against high yielding
currencies when equities rise or data strengthens hopes for a
recovery in the global economy which bodes well for commodity
producers
But the dollar which also usually declines when risk
sentiment picks up held its ground against major currencies
such as the euro and sterling
Across the board risk trades are a little bit more
attractive and we re seeing a weaker yen and a stronger Aussie
and Kiwi said John McCarthy director of foreign exchange at
ING Capital Markets in New York
But I wouldn t read too much into it Volumes are thin and
we still have a few weeks of summer trading The dollar
overall is still locked in a range
In midday New York trading the dollar was up 0 4 percent
against the yen at 94 74 yen after briefly hitting a
one week high of 95 06 yen according to Reuters data
The euro was up 0 3 percent at 135 62 yen but
was flat on the day versus the dollar at 1 4317
The euro trimmed losses against the greenback after euro
zone industrial orders came in much higher than expected Euro
zone industrial orders rose 3 1 percent in June from the
previous month beating forecasts of a 1 5 percent gain
ID nBRQ007483
EURO ZONE DATA STERLING FALL
Traders are keen to see how the euro zone economy fares
especially after higher than forecast purchasing managers
index readings last week Germany s Ifo survey of business
sentiment will be key this week analysts said
Despite increased risk appetite sterling failed to gain
ground versus the dollar falling 0 5 percent on the day at
1 6422 Against the euro sterling fell to an 11 week
low with the euro hitting a high around 87 27 pence
according to Reuters data
Traders said investors took out a key options barrier at 87
pence in euro sterling precipitating further gains in the
pair Analysts said sterling remained pressured by expectations
UK interest rates will stay low for some time as the Bank of
England pushes to extend its quantitative easing policy
U S data will also be in focus this week The Conference
Board will release its August consumer confidence index on
Tuesday and Reuters University of Michigan will report their
late August snapshot on consumer sentiment on Friday
U S new home sales durable goods orders and revised
second quarter gross domestic product data are all due this
week
The Federal Reserve s Jackson Hole Wyoming gathering over
the weekend offered a variety of opinions about the global
economy with Fed Chairman Ben Bernanke acting as the
cheerleader for growth See ANALYSIS ID nN23121486
Official comments from the central bankers symposium
may have not added any new information but they did to some
extent validate the market s view that the global economy is
already on the recovery path said Vassili Serebriakov
currency strategist at Wells Fargo in New York
Signs of some stabilization in Chinese equities also
supported higher yielding currencies The Shanghai Composite
Index ended more than 1 percent higher
In other currencies the Australian dollar rose 0 8 percent
to 79 71 yen while it gained 0 7 percent versus the
U S dollar to US 0 8404 The New Zealand dollar was
also higher up 0 5 percent at US 0 6863
Editing by Dan Grebler |
WFC | FOREX Dollar edges up vs euro ahead of U S consumer data | Dollar edges up vs yen euro as U S stocks fade
Sterling under pressure vs dollar euro
June euro zone new orders beat forecasts
Central bankers upbeat but economic data awaited
Updates prices adds comment details
By Steven C Johnson
NEW YORK Aug 24 Reuters The dollar edged up against
the euro and yen on Monday in extremely thin trade as Wall
Street surrendered earlier gains and traders repositioned
themselves ahead of U S consumer and housing data due this
week
Solid U S and euro zone data and an upbeat assessment on
the economy from Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke over the
weekend earlier pushed investors to take on riskier investments
at the expense of the the low yielding yen and dollar
Conventional wisdom suggests that major currencies should
trade within their recent ranges until liquidity improves after
the Labor Day holiday said Wells Fargo currency strategist
Vassili Serebriakov However there is plenty of data in the
U S and elsewhere to change that this week with
consumer related numbers likely to be watched closely
Investors are looking ahead to upcoming U S and European
data to confirm hopes that the world economy is improving
The dollar was last up 0 1 percent at 94 49 yen
while the euro slipped 0 1 percent to 1 4304 Against
the yen the euro was unchanged at 135 20 yen
The euro trimmed losses against the greenback after data
showing much higher than expected euro zone industrial orders
in June ID nBRQ007483
Sterling fell 0 6 percent on the day at 1 6405
The euro meanwhile hit an 11 week high against
sterling at 87 27 pence according to Reuters data
Traders said the euro was pushed past a key options
barrier at 87 pence setting up further gains in the pair
while analysts said expectations for persistently low UK
interest rates were weighing on the British currency
The Federal Reserve s Jackson Hole meeting over the weekend
offered a variety of opinions about the global economy with
Fed Chairman Ben Bernanke acting as the cheerleader for growth
See ANALYSIS ID nN23121486
But traders are keen to see how the euro zone economy
fares especially after higher than forecast purchasing
managers index readings last week Germany s Ifo survey of
business sentiment will be key this week analysts said
The U S Conference Board will release its August consumer
confidence index on Tuesday followed by the Reuters University
of Michigan consumer sentiment snapshot on Friday
Nouriel Roubini professor at New York University s Stern
School of Business and one of the few economists who accurately
predicted the magnitude of the current crisis wrote in The
Financial Times on Monday that there s still a big risk of a
double dip recession
Allan Meltzer a political economy professor at Carnegie
Mellon University also told Reuters that the flood of money
the Fed and Treasury have injected into the banking sector and
economy since the crisis began will soon threaten the dollar
Will the Chinese continue to buy the trillions of dollars
worth of debt that the Treasury intends to put out every year
We don t know but if not the pressure will be on the Fed to
keep buying it and my guess is that s going to be inflationary
over the next couple of years and the dollar will suffer he
said
Editing by Leslie Adler |
WFC | FOREX Dollar edges up vs euro ahead of U S consumer data | Dollar edges up vs yen euro as U S stocks fade
Sterling under pressure vs dollar euro
June euro zone new orders beat forecasts
Central bankers upbeat but economic data awaited
Updates prices adds comment details
By Steven C Johnson
NEW YORK Aug 24 Reuters The dollar edged up against
the euro and yen on Monday in extremely thin trade as Wall
Street surrendered earlier gains and traders repositioned
themselves ahead of U S consumer and housing data due this
week
Solid U S and euro zone data and an upbeat assessment on
the economy from Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke over the
weekend earlier pushed investors to take on riskier investments
at the expense of the the low yielding yen and dollar
Conventional wisdom suggests that major currencies should
trade within their recent ranges until liquidity improves after
the Labor Day holiday said Wells Fargo currency strategist
Vassili Serebriakov However there is plenty of data in the
U S and elsewhere to change that this week with
consumer related numbers likely to be watched closely
Investors are looking ahead to upcoming U S and European
data to confirm hopes that the world economy is improving
The dollar was last up 0 1 percent at 94 49 yen while the
euro slipped 0 1 percent to 1 4304 Against the yen the euro
was unchanged at 135 20 yen
The euro trimmed losses against the greenback after data
showing much higher than expected euro zone industrial orders
in June
Sterling fell 0 6 percent on the day at 1 6405
The euro meanwhile hit an 11 week high against sterling
at 87 27 pence according to Reuters data
Traders said the euro was pushed past a key options
barrier at 87 pence setting up further gains in the pair
while analysts said expectations for persistently low UK
interest rates were weighing on the British currency
The Federal Reserve s Jackson Hole meeting over the weekend
offered a variety of opinions about the global economy with
Fed Chairman Ben Bernanke acting as the cheerleader for
growth
But traders are keen to see how the euro zone economy
fares especially after higher than forecast purchasing
managers index readings last week Germany s Ifo survey of
business sentiment will be key this week analysts said
The U S Conference Board will release its August consumer
confidence index on Tuesday followed by the Reuters University
of Michigan consumer sentiment snapshot on Friday
Nouriel Roubini professor at New York University s Stern
School of Business and one of the few economists who accurately
predicted the magnitude of the current crisis wrote in The
Financial Times on Monday that there s still a big risk of a
double dip recession
Allan Meltzer a political economy professor at Carnegie
Mellon University also told Reuters that the flood of money
the Fed and Treasury have injected into the banking sector and
economy since the crisis began will soon threaten the dollar
Will the Chinese continue to buy the trillions of dollars
worth of debt that the Treasury intends to put out every year
We don t know but if not the pressure will be on the Fed to
keep buying it and my guess is that s going to be inflationary
over the next couple of years and the dollar will suffer he
said
Editing by Leslie Adler |
WFC | FOREX Dollar rises as stock losses boost safe haven allure | Dollar firms vs basket of currencies
U S stock indexes fall more than 1 pct at midday
U S manufacturing expanded in August
Recasts updates prices adds details comments
By Wanfeng Zhou
NEW YORK Sept 1 Reuters The dollar rose against a
basket of currencies on Tuesday as sharp losses in global stock
markets offset stronger than expected U S manufacturing data
and boosted the greenback s safe haven appeal
Major U S stock indexes fell more than 1 percent as
investors fretted that prices may have run ahead of the
economic recovery The decline came despite upbeat economic
news from the United States and euro zone as well as a
stabilization in Chinese shares after a rout on Monday
It looks like the dollar is still just taking cues from
equity markets said Vassili Serebriakov currency strategist
at Wells Fargo in New York Equities are off and the
dollar is up It looks like a risk aversion trade
In midday trading in New York the dollar index which
tracks a basket of six major currencies was up 0 6 percent at
78 677 rebounding from a session low of 77 944 according to
Reuters data
The U S manufacturing sector expanded in August for the
first time in more than a year and a half The Institute for
Supply Management s index of national factory activity rose to
52 9 in August from 48 9 in July
Separate data showed pending sales of previously owned U S
homes raced to a two year high in July providing more evidence
the housing market was on a steady recovery path
Clearly the U S data is surprising to the upside said
Jack Iles senior portfolio manager who helps manage 2 5
billion assets at MFC Global Investment Management in Boston
The euro fell 0 7 percent to 1 4228 well below a session
high of 1 4377
Falling stocks also provided some support for the yen with
the euro last down 0 6 percent at 132 44 yen The dollar was
little changed at 93 03 yen slightly above Monday s seven week
low of 92 53 according to Reuters data
WAIT AND SEE MODE
Despite a batch of upbeat U S economic numbers major
currencies remained in ranges as investors continued to debate
about the outlook for the global economy analysts said
At the end of the day the market is still in wait and see
mode said Firas Askari head of currency trading at BMO
Capital Markets in Toronto We re getting jostled around by
every piece of data that comes out and I don t think there s a
consensus that this economy has legs
Data released earlier also showed euro zone purchasing
managers index PMI rose to 48 2 in August against forecasts
for a 47 9 reading while German unemployment unexpectedly fell
in August
The data comes before a European Central Bank policy
meeting on Thursday widely expected to keep benchmark rates
steady at a historic low of 1 percent with the focus on
policymakers outlook on the economy
Sterling erased early gains against the dollar and the euro
after an unexpected dip in UK manufacturing activity in August
stoking concerns about the pace of recovery in the British
economy
Sterling was down 0 8 percent at 1 6152 and was little
changed against the euro at 88 04 pence
In other trading the Australian dollar fell 1 8 percent to
US 0 8290 The Reserve Bank of Australia holding its cash rate
at 3 0 percent as expected said the current low level of rates
was appropriate countering speculation it would adopt an
explicit tightening bias |
WFC | ANALYSIS US manufacturing in recovery mode demand a worry | By Lucia Mutikani
WASHINGTON Sept 1 Reuters If the revival in U S
manufacturing is going to last consumers will have to start
buying the goods that are now starting to roll out of
factories
The Institute for Supply Management said on Tuesday that
U S factory activity expanded for the first time in 18 months
in August confirming trends observed in regional surveys
There is no doubt that the U S manufacturing recession is
over according to most analysts but recent activity has been
spurred by a need to restock depleted inventories and weak
demand is seen ahead owing to high unemployment
This is certainly expansion for the manufacturing sector
There is a lot of inventory correction and adjustment going on
but the challenge is to figure out what final demand is over
time said John Silvia chief economist at Wells Fargo in
Charlotte North Carolina
The U S manufacturing sector which accounts for about 12
percent of the nation s economic activity slipped into
recession in August 2007 several months before the broader
economy according to the Manufacturers Alliance MAPI
While the recession in the broader economy may well be
over unemployment is likely to continue to mount for several
months adding to the stress in household finances and
undercutting consumer spending usually the main driver of the
economy
Recovery is going to be modest for the next half year I
don t think you will see an upturn in consumer spending until
the labor market recovers which will be sometime mid next
year said David Huether chief economist at the National
Association of Manufacturers
SIGNS OF IMPROVING DEMAND
However analysts said there have been signs of improvement
in demand for manufactured goods noting that supplier
deliveries and price indexes rose significantly in the ISM
survey in August
Rising supplier price pressure confirms that demand is
firming but we caution against over optimism about the pace
of the recovery said Daniel Meckstroth chief economist at
the Manufacturers Alliance MAPI
While the manufacturing recovery was partially driven by a
surge in auto production after the government s
cash for clunkers scheme sparked a jump in demand for
vehicles other segments also showed strong activity
Analysts said this indicated the recovery was broad based
and would be sustained beyond the auto incentives which ended
last week They were encouraged by the jump in the ISM new
orders index and the production measure which rose to five year
highs
Even with the rise in output inventories continued to
decline with the gap between the stock of unsold goods and
orders reaching its widest point since 1975 another hint that
the turnaround in activity would likely be sustained
Purchasing managers will be hesitant to replenish their
stockpiles until they actually see or at least are confident in
stronger demand that they view as sustainable said Stephen
Stanley chief economist at RBS in Greenwich Connecticut
Once firms reach that point not only will they restock
but they should also begin to unleash pent up hiring and
capital spending In our view if or when we get to that point
the recovery will have crossed the point of no return |
WFC | US STOCKS Wall St flat as factory job data disappoint | ADP private labor market figures worse than expected
Factory orders disappoint
Dow S P flat Nasdaq up 0 1 pct
Updates to late morning
By Edward Krudy
NEW YORK Sept 2 Reuters U S stocks were mostly flat
on Wednesday after three days of declines as investors
digested disappointing reports on the labor market and factory
orders that increased worry the rally may have run too far
ahead of the economy
The ADP survey of private sector jobs is seen as a
precursor to Friday s closely watched monthly government
figures as investors look for signs the S P 500 s 50 percent
rally since early March may be stalling
New orders received by U S factories rose a
smaller than expected 1 3 percent in July with a rise in
aircraft orders countering sluggish demand for nondurable
goods government data showed
You re getting a little bit more focused on the negative
and not accentuating the positive that we re getting in these
economic reports said Scott Marcouiller senior equity market
strategist at Wells Fargo Advisors in St Louis
The market has fallen on better than expected news this
week prompting some to recall the adage that bull markets end
on good news
The bigger picture is everyone knows we have an extended
market There s going to be pause out there somewhere said
Marcouiller
The Dow Jones industrial average dropped 19 65 points or
0 21 percent to 9 290 95 The Standard Poor s 500 Index lost
2 90 points or 0 29 percent to 995 14 The Nasdaq Composite
Index fell 1 12 points or 0 06 percent to 1 967 77
Financial stocks were weak again after falling sharply in
the last few days The KBW Bank index fell 1 2 percent
Citigroup Inc dropped 1 1 percent to 4 49
U S private employers cut 298 000 jobs in August the ADP
and Macroeconomic Advisers said its National Employment Report
fewer than a revised 360 000 jobs lost in July but more than
the 250 000 mean forecast in a Reuters poll |
T | From campy clown to terrifying madman Joker no longer a laughing matter | By Jill Serjeant LOS ANGELES Reuters There are no capes no special powers and no battles between good and evil in the new Joker movie whose portrayal of the most famous villain in comic book history is the most chilling twist on the character in 50 years The Joker has been depicted on television and in movies since 1966 and has undergone a series of ever darker transformations from his early days as a campy clown with a mirthless laugh It s barely the same character said Matthew Belloni editorial director of the Hollywood Reporter I think the Joker has reflected the times in which he is portrayed Joker starring Joaquin Phoenix and opening in movie theaters worldwide this week after winning the top prize at the Venice film festival last month is the first film where the Joker is the lead character but there is no Batman Set in 1980s New York the Warner Bros N T film is a standalone origin story that depicts the man who becomes Batman s arch nemesis as an isolated bullied delusional mentally ill loser who unwittingly inspires a populist rebellion manned by other outcasts adopting red noses and clown masks The new Joker is a plunge into nihilism There is no redemption at all It is a lot grimmer to watch than even Heath Ledger s Joker in The Dark Knight said David Crow an associate editor at pop culture website Den of Geek Phoenix 44 whose performance is seen by awards watchers as a likely contender for a best actor Oscar next year told reporters in Venice in August I didn t refer to any past creations of this character LARGELY A PRANKSTER Phoenix s take on the Joker is far removed from Cesar Romero who was the first actor to play the role in the 1960s Batman television series which was mainly aimed at children Romero didn t even shave his mustache for the role He put the make up on top of the mustache He had a lot of fun with it said Crow In 1989 Jack Nicholson brought his edgy maniacal touch to the character in the Batman movie but was still largely a prankster Ledger reinvented him as unsettling and unhinged in 2008 in The Dark Knight in 2008 when the Joker became a terrorist in a post Sept 11 2001 era beset by fears of anarchy and chaos Yet Ledger who won a posthumous supporting actor Oscar for the role still played it a bit like a rock star there was a bit of grunge glamor said Crow Batman gets to stop him in the end He does blow up a hospital but he never took it to a truly irredeemable place added Crow Phoenix by contrast turns in a performance so nerve wracking that it is difficult to watch at times said Belloni If this was not a comic book character it would be among the most chilling characters I have ever seen in film It s really disturbing Belloni said The film has an R rating in the United States meaning those under 17 need to be accompanied by a parent It s not for kids and they won t like it anyway the Alamo Drafthouse movie theater chain said in a warning on its website ahead of the opening weekend
This story corrects last name throughout of Den of Geek associate editor David Crow |
T | AT T T Beats On Q4 Earnings Achieves All Targets For 2019 | AT T Inc NYSE T ticked all the boxes it set to achieve in 2019 and reported healthy fourth quarter results with solid cash flow and adjusted earnings The company expects to deliver significant progress in its three year financial allocation plan through continuous improvement in margins and bottom line growth driven by sustained investments and debt reduction Net IncomeOn a GAAP basis AT T reported net income of 2 394 million or 33 cents per share compared with 4 858 million or 66 cents per share in the year ago quarter The slump in GAAP earnings despite lower operating costs was primarily attributable to lower revenues write off on certain copper facilities and merger and integration related expenses For full year 2019 GAAP earnings declined to 13 903 million or 1 89 per share from 19 370 million or 2 85 per share primarily due to higher operating expenses Excluding non recurring items adjusted earnings for the quarter were 89 cents per share compared with 86 cents in the year earlier quarter and exceeded the Zacks Consensus Estimate by a penny Adjusted earnings for 2019 improved to 3 57 per share from 3 52 in 2018 AT T Inc Price Consensus and EPS Surprise
Quarter DetailsQuarterly GAAP operating revenues decreased 2 4 year over year to 46 821 million largely due to lower revenues from legacy wireline services WarnerMedia and domestic video partially offset by growth in strategic and managed business services domestic wireless services and IP broadband The top line missed the Zacks Consensus Estimate of 46 900 million For 2019 the company recorded total revenues of 181 193 million compared with 170 756 million in 2018 largely driven by a full year contribution from WarnerMedia Operating income for the quarter was 5 321 million compared with 6 160 million in the prior year quarter owing to higher asset impairment charges resulting in respective operating income margins of 11 4 and 12 8 Adjusted operating income for the reported quarter was 9 188 million compared with 9 424 million in the year earlier quarter while adjusted operating income margins remained flat at 19 6 During the reported quarter AT T experienced a net increase in total wireless subscribers of 3 6 million to reach 165 9 million in service Postpaid churn was 1 29 compared with 1 23 in the year ago quarter owing to pricing pressures and tablet churn Postpaid phone only average revenue per user ARPU increased 0 4 year over year to 55 52 Segmental PerformanceCommunications Total segment operating revenues were 36 552 million down 1 9 year over year with decline in Business Wireline and Entertainment Group owing to lower legacy voice and data services revenues partially offset by higher wireless service revenues Service revenues from the Mobility unit improved 1 8 year over year to 13 948 million owing to prepaid subscriber gains and postpaid phone ARPU growth while equipment revenues were down 2 1 to 4 752 million due to lower upgrades
Revenues from the Entertainment Group were down 6 1 to 11 233 million due to decline in premium TV subscribers and legacy services while that from Business Wireline decreased 1 7 to 6 589 million due to lower legacy voice and data services Segment operating income was 7 511 million compared with 7 607 million in the year ago quarter for respective operating margin of 20 6 and 20 4 Segment adjusted EBITDA was 12 101 million compared with 12 175 million in the year ago quarter for respective margins of 33 1 and 32 7 WarnerMedia Total segment revenues were 8 924 million down 3 3 year over year primarily driven by lower Warner Bros revenues due to lower contribution from theatrical and television division partially offset by gains at Home Box Office and Turner Operating income was down 9 5 to 2 447 million for corresponding margin of 27 1 Segment EBITDA was 2 576 million for a corresponding margin of 28 9 Latin America Total operating revenues were 1 758 million down 4 6 year over year due to adverse foreign currency translation EBITDA increased to 205 million from 38 million in the year ago quarter for respective margins of 11 7 and 2 1 Xandr Total revenues were 607 million up 7 2 year over year due to growth in advertising business while operating income improved 8 4 to 413 million for corresponding margin of 68 EBITDA was 430 million for a corresponding margin of 70 8 Cash Flow LiquidityAT T generated record 48 668 million of cash from operations in 2019 compared with 43 602 million in 2018 Free cash flow at quarter end was 8 151 million compared with 7 928 million in the year ago period As of Dec 31 2019 AT T had 12 130 million of cash and cash equivalents with long term debt of 151 709 million compared with respective tallies of 5 204 million and 166 250 million in the prior year period AT T completed or announced about 9 billion worth of non core asset sale during the quarter and 18 billion for full year 2019 which exceeded its goal of 6 8 billion asset monetization for the year The company reduced debt by 20 3 billion in 2019 to achieve end of year net debt to adjusted EBITDA target in the 2 5x range Guidance Three Year Capital Allocation PlanManagement reiterated its guidance for 2020 and continues to expect adjusted earnings in the range of 3 60 to 3 70 per share on revenue growth of 1 2 Free cash flow is expected to be stable at 28 billion with non core asset monetization of 5 10 billion Adjusted EBITDA margin is expected to remain steady compared with 2019 levels For the three year period from 2020 to 2022 AT T continues to expect consolidated revenue growth of 1 2 per year Adjusted earnings are expected to be significantly up to 4 50 to 4 80 per share by 2022 with adjusted EBITDA margin of 35
While adjusted EBITDA margin is expected to be stable in 2020 it is likely to grow in 2021 and 2022 driven by extensive companywide cost reduction plan WarnerMedia synergies continued Mobility growth and AT T Mexico EBITDA growth Free Cash flow is anticipated to be within 30 billion to 32 billion in 2022 with net debt to adjusted EBITDA of 2 0x to 2 25x as 100 debt related to the acquisition of Time Warner assets is likely to be repaid Zacks Rank Stocks to ConsiderAT T currently has a Zacks Rank 3 Hold Better ranked stocks in the broader industry include ATN International Inc NYSE T PCTEL Inc NASDAQ PCTI and Bandwidth Inc NASDAQ BAND each carrying a Zacks Rank 2 Buy You can see ATN International delivered an average positive earnings surprise of 143 9 in the trailing four quarters PCTEL delivered an average positive earnings surprise of 150 6 in the trailing four quarters Bandwidth has long term earnings growth expectation of 12 9 It delivered an average positive earnings surprise of 67 6 in the trailing four quarters beating estimates on each occasion Looking for Stocks with Skyrocketing Upside Zacks has just released a Special Report on the booming investment opportunities of legal marijuana Ignited by new referendums and legislation this industry is expected to blast from an already robust 6 7 billion to 20 2 billion in 2021 Early investors stand to make a killing but you have to be ready to act and know just where to look |
T | 3 Top Dividend Stocks To Maximize Your Retirement Income January 30 2020 | Believe it or not seniors fear running out of cash more than they fear dying
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
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
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
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
Brookline Bancorp BRKL is currently shelling out a dividend of 0 12 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 77 In terms of dividend growth the company s current annualized dividend of 0 46 is up 9 52 from last year
Investors Bancorp ISBC is paying out a dividend of 0 11 per share at the moment with a dividend yield of 3 76 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 44 is flat compared to last year
Currently paying a dividend of 0 4 per share Legg Mason LM has a dividend yield of 4 01 This is compared to the Financial Investment Management industry s yield of 2 22 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
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 upside to adding dividend stocks to your retirement portfolio they can help lessen the effects of inflation since many dividend paying companies especially blue chip stocks generally increase their dividends over time
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
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 | Novartis Ultibro Breezhaler beats Glaxo s Seretide in late stage COPD study | A Phase 3 clinical trial FLASH assessing chronic obstructive pulmonary disease COPD patients who directly switched from GlaxoSmithKline s NYSE GSK Seretide salmeterol fluticasone to Novartis NYSE NVS Ultibro Breezhaler indacaterol glycopyrronium demonstrated a significant improvement in lung function Seretide users switching to once daily Ultibro Breezhaler without a washout period reflecting real world practice experienced lower rates of exacerbations and improved lung function Safety and tolerability were similar between the two products Now read |
PFE | Updated late stage data continue to show effectiveness of Pfizer s Ibrance in ER HER2 breast cancer | Updated results from the Phase 3 PALOMA 2 study evaluating Pfizer s NYSE PFE IBRANCE palbociclib combined with Novartis FEMARA letrozole in patients with ER HER2 metastatic breast cancer continue to show a durable treatment benefit The data will be presented on December 8 at the San Antonio Breast Cancer Symposium The combination of IBRANCE and letrozole reduced the risk of cancer progression by 44 and improved median progression free survival PFS by more than one year compared to letrozole plus placebo 27 6 months versus 14 5 months in a first line setting Previously Late stage study of expanded use of Pfizer s Ibrance successful global regulatory applications to follow April 19 2016 Now read |
PFE | Pfizer breast cancer drug superior to chemotherapy in late stage study | By Bill Berkrot Reuters Patients with advanced breast cancer tied to an inherited gene mutation who were treated with an experimental Pfizer Inc N PFE drug went about three months longer before their disease worsened than those who received chemotherapy in a late stage study according to data released on Friday The drug talazoparib a once daily pill that Pfizer acquired with its 14 billion purchase of Medivation belongs to a class of medicines called PARP inhibitors that may induce tumor cell death They have shown promise in advanced ovarian and breast cancers Patients in the Phase III study had mutations of the BRCA1 2 genes the type of mutation that led actress Angelina Jolie to have preventive breast removal surgery About 3 percent of breast cancers occur in people with inherited BRCA1 or BRCA2 mutations that lower a cell s ability to repair damaged DNA Up to 65 percent of women who inherit the mutations will develop breast cancer often much younger than is typical for the disease In the 431 patient trial those who received talazoparib went 8 6 months before half of them experienced disease progression a measure known as median progression free survival PFS Among those who received standard chemotherapy the median PFS was 5 6 months In addition 62 6 percent of talazoparib patients experienced a complete or partial response to the treatment compared with a 27 2 percent response rate for chemotherapy Twelve patients who received the Pfizer drug or 5 5 percent had a complete response meaning no detectable sign of cancer There were no complete responses in the chemotherapy group The results unveiled at the San Antonio Breast Cancer Symposium were highly statistically significant Researchers also reported a significant delay in time to meaningful deterioration of quality of life among talazoparib patients Dr Jennifer Litton the study s lead investigator from MD Anderson Cancer Center said there are currently no drugs specifically approved for this group of patients aside from standard chemotherapies The results were consistent whether patient had received up to three courses of chemotherapy or none at all or whether patients cancers had spread to the brain
The incidence of serious adverse side effects was similar in both groups 31 8 percent for the Pfizer drug and 29 4 percent for chemotherapy Discontinuations due to adverse events occurred in 7 7 percent of talazoparib patients and 9 5 percent in the chemotherapy group |
PFE | FDA extends action date three months for review of Pfizer s marketing application for Xeljanz for UC | The FDA extends its action date PDUFA three months to June for its review of Pfizer s NYSE PFE marketing application seeking approval to use XELJANZ tofacitinib to treat adults with moderately to severely active ulcerative colitis UC The reason for the move was the submission of information by the company which constituted a major amendment to the filing which triggered a standard three month extension of the review clock XELJANZ is currently approved in the U S for rheumatoid arthritis Now read |
PFE | Provectus Biopharmaceuticals receives third cancer combination therapy patent from USPTO | Provectus Biopharmaceuticals NYSEMKT PVCT announces the United States Patent and Trademark Office USPTO has granted U S patent No 9 839 688 for the combination of intralesional PV 10 with systemic immunomodulatory therapy including anti PD 1 and anti PD L1 agents for the treatment of solid tumor cancers This new patent is a continuation of Provectus first and second cancer combination therapy patent granted in 2015 and in November respectively Pfizer NYSE PFE is a co assignee on all three patents Now read |
WFC | FOREX Yen rises as China s data disappoint US stocks fall | Yen gains on rising risk aversion
Aussie kiwi slide as shares fall
Dollar holds most gains traders await FOMC
Adds comments details changes byline
By Vivianne Rodrigues
NEW YORK Aug 11 Reuters The Japanese yen rose broadly
on Tuesday as investors bought the low yielding currency as
U S stocks declined and amid rising risk aversion after
disappointing economic data from China
China reported below forecast growth in factory output and
investment reminding markets that the world s third largest
economy is not yet back on a solid footing
The news also added to the currency woes of the so called
commodity bloc countries that supply raw materials to China
such as Australia and Canada
The dollar traded in a tight range swinging between gains
and losses against a basket of currencies and as investors
awaited a policy statement from the Federal Reserve and
speculated whether strong U S data would support the currency
going forward
U S jobs data last week boosted expectations for higher
U S interest rates by early 2010 but with a Fed announcement
scheduled for the conclusion of a two day meeting Wednesday
some dollar investors are choosing to wait rather than continue
to buy
A drop in U S and European stocks also prompted traders to
sell currencies seen as higher risk versus the dollar and the
yen
Chinese economic news is likely playing a part in today s
forex market activity said Nick Bennenbroek head of currency
strategy at Wells Fargo Bank in New York And with China seen
as the global economy s main growth engine during the early
stages of recovery the disappointment with the data is
weighing on equities and on the commodity based and emerging
currencies
Wells Fargo expects further weakness in commodity and
emerging markets currencies in the near term
In afternoon trading in New York the dollar was down 1 3
percent at 95 84 yen off an eight week high of 97 79 yen set
last week on electronic trading platform EBS The euro was down
1 1 percent against the yen at 135 74 yen
Technical currency analyst James Chen at FX Solutions in
Saddle River New Jersey said in a note that the move lower in
euro yen after recent sharp gains may pave the way for a
further drop to the 131 00 price region
The Australian dollar fell 0 9 percent to 0 8297 while
the New Zealand dollar slipped 1 percent on the day to 0 6689
The U S dollar rose 1 1 percent against the Canadian dollar to
C 1 1001
The dollar index edged lower at 79 088 swinging between
79 355 and 79 008
We re in consolidation mode right now as the anticipation
builds for the Fed statement tomorrow afternoon said Brian
Dolan chief currency strategist at Forex com in Bedminster
New Jersey The Fed will acknowledge some better data but
also downplay the idea that an exit strategy will start soon
The Fed is expected to keep rates steady at 0 0 25 percent
on Wednesday but paint a slightly brighter economic picture
while dampening rate hike speculation It is also likely to end
its 300 billion Treasury purchases program as scheduled
TREASURY AUCTION
The euro rose 0 1 percent to 1 4124 close to a one week
low around 1 41 hit on Monday Traders saw support at the
40 day moving average around 1 4095
The market showed little reaction to German consumer price
inflation data and to results of a U S government debt auction
in which the Treasury sold 37 billion in 3 year notes
Investors also brushed off the Bank of Japan s decision to
keep interest rates at 0 1 percent BOJ Governor Masaaki
Shirakawa said he saw no risk of a deflationary spiral in
Japan
The euro hit the day s high against the Swedish crown
earlier at 10 393 crowns according to Reuters data in New
York after ratings firm Standard Poor s cut sovereign credit
ratings for Estonia and Latvia on Monday
Swedish banks are heavily exposed to the Baltic region
which is gripped by deep recession |
WFC | FOREX Yen rises on China s lackluster data risk aversion | Yen gains on rising risk aversion China s data
Aussie kiwi slide as shares fall
Dollar holds most gains traders await FOMC
Adds details updates prices
By Vivianne Rodrigues
NEW YORK Aug 11 Reuters The Japanese yen rose broadly
on Tuesday as investors bought the low yielding currency as
U S stocks declined and on rising risk aversion after
disappointing economic data from China
China reported below forecast growth in factory output and
investment reminding investors that the world s third largest
economy is not yet back on a solid footing
The news also added to the currency woes of the so called
commodity bloc countries that supply raw materials to China
such as Australia and Canada The commodity bloc currencies
were among Tuesday s biggest decliners against the U S
dollar
The dollar traded in a tight range swinging between gains
and losses against a basket of currencies and as investors
awaited a policy statement from the Federal Reserve on
Wednesday and speculated whether strong U S data would support
the currency
U S jobs data last week boosted expectations for higher
U S interest rates by early 2010 but with a Fed announcement
looming some dollar investors chose to wait rather than
continue to buy
Declines in U S and European stocks also prompted traders
to sell currencies seen as higher risk versus the dollar and
the yen
Chinese economic news is likely playing a part in today s
forex market activity said Nick Bennenbroek head of currency
strategy at Wells Fargo Bank in New York And with China seen
as the global economy s main growth engine during the early
stages of recovery the disappointment with the data is
weighing on equities and on the commodity based and emerging
currencies
Wells Fargo expects further weakness in commodity and
emerging markets currencies in the near term
In late afternoon trading in New York the dollar was down
1 2 percent at 95 95 yen off an eight week high of 97 79 yen
set last week on electronic trading platform EBS The euro was
down 1 1 percent against the yen at 135 76 yen
Technical currency analyst James Chen at FX Solutions in
Saddle River New Jersey said in a note that the move lower in
euro yen after recent sharp gains may pave the way for a
further drop to near 131 00
The Australian dollar fell 0 9 percent to 0 8302 while
the New Zealand dollar slipped 1 1 percent on the day to
0 6683 The U S dollar rose 1 2 percent against the Canadian
dollar to C 1 1009
The dollar index edged lower at 79 143 swinging between
79 355 and 79 008
We re in consolidation mode right now as the anticipation
builds for the Fed statement tomorrow afternoon said Brian
Dolan chief currency strategist at Forex com in Bedminster
New Jersey The Fed will acknowledge some better data but also
downplay the idea that an exit strategy will start soon
The Fed is expected to keep rates steady at 0 0 25 percent
on Wednesday but paint a slightly brighter economic picture
while dampening speculation about a rate hike It is also
likely to end its 300 billion Treasury purchases program as
scheduled
TREASURY AUCTION
The euro rose 0 1 percent to 1 4152 close to a one week
low around 1 41 hit on Monday Traders saw support at the
40 day moving average around 1 4095
The market showed little reaction to German consumer price
inflation data and to results of a U S government debt auction
in which the Treasury sold 37 billion in three year notes
Investors also brushed off the Bank of Japan s decision to
keep interest rates at 0 1 percent BOJ Governor Masaaki
Shirakawa said he saw no risk of a deflationary spiral in
Japan
The euro hit the day s high against the Swedish crown
earlier at 10 393 crowns according to Reuters data in New
York after ratings firm Standard Poor s cut sovereign credit
ratings for Estonia and Latvia on Monday
Swedish banks are heavily exposed to the Baltic region
which is gripped by deep recession |
WFC | FOREX Euro hits week high vs dollar on European GDP data | U S retail sales and jobless claims data disappoints
Upside surprise in German French GDP buoys euro
Euro zone economy shrinks just 0 1 pct in 2nd quarter
Adds comment details updates prices
By Nick Olivari
NEW YORK Aug 13 Reuters The euro reached a one week
high against the dollar on Thursday after the euro zone s two
biggest economies posted surprise returns to growth in the
second quarter
The European reports contrasted with the United States
where disappointing retail sales cast a shadow over an
anticipated rebound in consumer spending in the third quarter
A separate report showing the number of jobless U S workers
filing jobless claims rose unexpectedly last week further
weighed on the dollar
The U S data came a day after the Federal Reserve gave its
clearest statement so far that it saw the U S recession
nearing an end
The euro is advancing against the dollar this morning
having received a shot in the arm from stronger than expected
euro zone second quarter GDP data said Vassili Serebriakov
currency strategist at Wells Fargo Bank in New York
Midway through the New York session the euro was up 0 5
percent on the day at 1 4275 after rising as high as 1 4321
its highest in a week according to Reuters data Against the
yen the euro fell 0 1 percent to 136 14 yen
The dollar fell 0 7 percent versus the yen to 95 37 giving
up all gains on the day after the U S data The dollar index
which measures the dollar against a basket of currencies fell
0 5 percent to 78 436 near a week long low of 78 235 touched
earlier in the session
Both the German and French economies expanded 0 3 percent
in the April to June quarter compared with expectations for
further contraction Other data showed the entire 16 nation
euro bloc posted a modest 0 1 percent contraction
The euro climbed after the data but analysts said markets
were brushing off some of the less rosy readings on gross
domestic product Despite the slight quarterly contraction the
euro zone economy shrank 4 6 percent from a year ago
The U S Commerce Department said total retail sales edged
down 0 1 percent in July after increasing a revised 0 8 percent
in June Sales in June were initially reported to have risen
0 6 percent
Analysts polled by Reuters had forecast retail sales would
rise 0 7 percent in July on an expected boost from the
government s cash for clunkers program that gives consumers
money to swap aging gas guzzlers for new more fuel efficient
models
The decline in the headline number for retail sales
despite much talk of the cash for clunkers program came as a
big disappointment said Matthew Strauss senior currency
strategist at RBC Capital Markets in Toronto I m not
surprised to see the dollar giving up its earlier gains versus
the yen as investors are flocking to the Japanese currency as a
safe haven
Initial claims for state unemployment insurance benefits
climbed 4 000 to a seasonally adjusted 558 000 in the week
ended Aug 8 from 554 000 the prior week the Labor Department
said
Higher yielding currencies such as the Australian and New
Zealand dollars gained more than 1 percent each extending
gains made the previous day
MONETARY POLICY IN FOCUS
Sterling rose 0 6 percent to 1 6575 recovering from a
two week low touched on Wednesday when the government reported
the UK jobless rate hit a three year high and the Bank of
England s inflation report suggested that markets were
expecting rates to rise too early
The Fed held its benchmark rate near zero on Wednesday and
said it would likely stay there for an extended period to guide
the way to recovery It also said the economy was showing signs
of leveling out which boosted risk sentiment
Still a degree of caution remained over the Fed s move to
extend the time frame of asset purchases as it indicated the
economy was still vulnerable analysts said
The problem with Fed statement is that the market can read
into it what it wants leaving both sides content Hence
for now it is still unclear which way the USD will jump said
Stuart Bennett senior FX strategist at Calyon in London
Additional reporting by Vivianne Rodrigues in New York and
Naomi Tajitsu in London Editing by Leslie Adler |
WFC | GLOBAL MARKETS Stocks oil fall as US consumers disappoint | Unexpected drop in US consumer sentiment raises concerns
Stocks oil slip Treasuries yen firm on safe haven bid
Muted U S inflation reinforces bets on low Fed rates
Updates with U S markets changes byline dateline previous
LONDON
By Walter Brandimarte
NEW YORK Aug 14 Reuters Global stocks slid on Friday
after U S consumer sentiment unexpectedly worsened in August
rekindling appetite for safe haven assets such as U S
Treasuries and the Japanese yen
Oil prices also fell as much as 3 a barrel as the
Reuters University of Michigan Surveys of Consumers showed a
growing number of Americans were worried about their finances
even though they expected the broader economy to improve
The poor data eclipsed reports that showed U S industrial
output gained for the first time in nine months and that
inflation was muted in July For details see ID nN14304812
Clearly bad news this morning so the market is going to
go down said Stephen Massocca managing director with Wedbush
Morgan in San Francisco
People have significant doubt about how enduring any
recovery is going to be without the consumer he added
The benchmark MSCI world equity index fell
1 percent after gaining nearly 2 percent the past two sessions
The index has gained more than 45 percent since its March low
The Dow Jones industrial average lost nearly 1 4
percent to 9 268 35 as the preliminary reading of the index of
U S consumer confidence for August fell to 63 2 from 66 0 in
July well below market expectations for a reading of 68 5
The Standard Poor s 500 Index declined over 1 4
percent to 997 85 while the Nasdaq Composite Index was
down almost 1 8 percent at 1 973 80
The pan European FTSEurofirst 300 index slid 0 8
percent to 940 94 ending the week about 1 percent lower after
four straight weeks of gains
Emerging market stocks posted smaller losses with the
benchmark MSCI index for the asset class down 0 6
percent
News that U S industrial output rose 0 5 percent in July
above expectations for 0 3 percent advance and following a 0 4
percent contraction in June curbed stock market losses
Still concerns about the strength of the U S economic
recovery sent U S crude oil prices down more than 3 around
mid session In early afternoon crude for September delivery
was down 2 65 or 3 76 percent at 67 87 per barrel
The yen rallied as investors tolerance of risk decreased
The dollar was down 0 7 percent against the Japanese
currency at 94 71 The euro however firmed 0 4 percent
against the dollar at 1 4226
The benchmark 10 year U S Treasury note rose
17 32 in price to yield 3 54 percent after the Labor Department
said U S consumer prices were flat in July and fell over the
past 12 months at the fastest rate since 1950 Yields on
10 year notes had closed at 3 60 percent on Thursday
The 30 year U S Treasury bond was up 29 32
yielding 4 39 percent from Thursday s close of 4 43 percent
The contained inflation reading helped depress yields by
reinforcing a view that the Federal Reserve the U S central
bank will maintain benchmark interest rates near zero for a
long time even after the economy emerges from recession
The pop in Treasury prices was related to a really soft
inflation reading said William Hornbarger senior fixed
income strategist with Wells Fargo Advisors in St Louis
Missouri
To read Reuters Global Investing Blog click on
for the MacroScope
Blog click on for Hedge
Fund Blog click on
Additional reporting by Chuck Mikolajczak and Richard Leong
in New York and Carolyn Cohn and Brian Gorman in London
Editing by James Dalgleish |
WFC | GLOBAL MARKETS Stocks oil fall as US consumers mood sour | Unexpected drop in US consumer sentiment raises concerns
Stocks oil fall Treasuries yen firm on safe haven bid
Muted US inflation reinforces bets on low Fed rates
Updates with U S market close quotes changes byline
By Jennifer Ablan
NEW YORK Aug 14 Reuters U S and European stocks
dropped on Friday after U S consumer confidence fell in August
for the second straight month adding to concerns the
five month rally in global equities has outpaced economic
fundamentals
Oil prices also shed 4 a barrel as the Reuters University
of Michigan consumer sentiment survey showed a growing number
of Americans grew increasingly worried over jobs and wages Its
preliminary reading of the index of confidence fell to 63 2
from 66 0 in July well below market expectations for a reading
of 68 5
The weak data eclipsed reports that showed U S industrial
output gained for the first time in nine months and that
inflation was muted in July For details see ID nN14304812
The consumer confidence number weighed heavily on the
market s thinking today and added to concerns that the market
has rallied too far too fast against the growth outlook said
Tom Sowanick chief investment officer at Clearbrook Partners
in Princeton New Jersey
The MSCI s all country world stock index
fell 1 percent after gaining nearly 2 percent the past two
sessions The index has gained more than 45 percent since its
March low
The Dow Jones industrial average ended down 76 79
points or 0 82 percent at 9 321 40 points The Standard
Poor s 500 Index fell 8 64 points or 0 85 percent to
1 004 09 The Nasdaq Composite Index was down 23 83
points or 1 19 percent at 1 985 52
The pan European FTSEurofirst 300 index fell 0 81
percent to 940 94 ending the week about 1 percent lower after
four straight weeks of gains
Emerging market stocks posted smaller losses with the
benchmark MSCI index for the asset class down 0 48
percent
News that U S industrial output rose 0 5 percent in July
above expectations for a 0 3 percent advance and following a
0 4 percent contraction in June curbed stock market losses
Even so concerns about the strength of the U S economic
recovery sent front month U S crude oil prices down
3 01 or 4 3 percent to 67 51 a barrel
On the foreign exchange market the yen rallied as
investors tolerance of risk decreased
The dollar fell 0 61 percent against the Japanese
currency at 94 80 But the euro shed 0 70 percent
against the greenback to change hands at 1 4186 down from a
previous session close of 1 4286
The bond market also caught the flight to safety bid as
traders weight consumers sour mood as well as a flat consumer
inflation reading
The contained inflation reading helped depress yields by
reinforcing a view that the Federal Reserve the U S central
bank will maintain benchmark interest rates near zero for a
long time even after the economy emerges from recession
This negative CPI print is really good news for
Treasuries said William Hornbarger senior fixed income
strategist with Wells Fargo Advisors in St Louis Missouri
The benchmark 10 year U S Treasury note was up
11 32 with the yield at 3 56 percent after the Labor
Department said U S consumer prices were flat in July and fell
over the past 12 months at the fastest rate since 1950
Yields on 10 year notes had closed at 3 60 percent on
Thursday
The 2 year U S Treasury note was up 2 32 with
the yield at 1 06 percent
At the long end of the yield curve the 30 year U S
Treasury bond was up 21 32 with the yield at 4 41
percent
Treasuries have had a rough summer so this is a nice
change for them at the very least added Clearbrook s
Sowanick
To read Reuters Global Investing blog click on
for the MacroScope
blog click on for Hedge
Fund blog click on |
WFC | Banks commods drag European shares sharply lower | FTSEurofirst 300 index falls 2 pct
Banks commods slip on global recovery concerns
For up to the minute market news click on STXNEWS EU
By Joanne Frearson
LONDON Aug 17 Reuters European shares fell in early
trade on Monday retreating for a second day with banks and
commodities the main fallers as investors became cautious on
global recovery hopes
By 0847 GMT the FTSEurofirst 300 index of top
European shares was down 2 percent at 922 63 points having
earlier fallen to 920 75 points The index was on track to post
its biggest one day percentage drop since July 2
In Asia Chinese stocks slid 5 8 percent while
Japan s Nikkei average shed 3 1 percent
There is now a realisation that coming out of a recession
is one thing but building a recovery is another said Justin
Urquhart Stewart director at Seven Investment Management
We are now down to how companies are going to grow The
growth we have seen out of Japan as well as Europe looks like it
has been primarily based on government stimulation the
question is is this sustainable he said
Banks took the most points off the European index with HSBC
UBS Credit Suisse Barclays
and Banco Santander down 2 2 to 3 2 percent
Miners were in the doldrums as metal prices retreated on
demand concerns with Anglo American Antofagasta
BHP Billiton Rio Tinto and Xstrata
losing 3 3 to 4 3 percent
Fresnillo was 2 1 percent lower after it posted a
14 percent decline in first half attributable net profit but
the firm was upbeat about the remainder of the year
OILS RETREAT
Energy stocks were also lower as crude slipped below
67 a barrel BG Group BP Royal Dutch Shell
and Total were down 1 5 to 2 5 percent
On the upside Dutch biotech firm Crucell was 3 4
percent higher after the company won key vaccine contracts
Nobel Biocare gained 2 6 percent after Banc of
America Merrill Lynch added the company to its Europe 1 list
Across Europe the FTSE 100 index was down 1 5
percent Germany s DAX and France s CAC 40 were
down 1 7 percent
On the macro front data showed Japan s economy returned to
growth in the second quarter ending its longest recession since
World War Two but analysts warned of a rocky road ahead as the
nascent recovery was based on short term stimulus efforts around
the world ID nLH338906
Later in the session investors may focus on the Empire State
Manufacturing Survey for August released at 1230 GMT Economists
in a Reuters survey expect a reading of 2 50 compared with
0 55 in July
The U S National Association of Home Builders Wells Fargo
August housing market index is out at 1700 GMT Economists in a
Reuters survey expect a rise to 18 compared with 17 in July
U S stock index futures lost 1 7 to
1 9 percent pointing to a weaker start on Wall Street
The FTSEurofirst 300 index which is up nearly 11
percent year to date has risen 43 percent since reaching a
floor in early March
Editing by Hans Peters |
WFC | FOREX Euro dips vs dlr yen up broadly on risk aversion | Euro hits 2 week low against dollar and yen
Europe shares oil prices stumble denting risk demand
N Y factory activity surges consumer worries persist
Japan 2nd quarter GDP up China cuts Treasury holdings
Updates prices adds comment adds detail
By Steven C Johnson
NEW YORK Aug 17 Reuters The euro hit a two week low
against the dollar and neared a one month trough against the
yen on Monday as world stock markets fell and doubts about a
U S recovery prompted investors to cut exposure to risk
The yen rallied across the board as investors bought it as
a safe haven while a slide in oil prices hit currencies such as
the Australian dollar which retreated from recent 10 month
highs against the greenback
A multi month equity rally started to sputter late last
week after data showed U S consumer sentiment declined for a
second straight month Hong Kong stocks responded Monday by
falling more than 3 percent and Wall Street shares also fell
Data showing Japan s economy grew between April and June
for the first time in five quarters was largely ignored and a
surge in New York state factory activity had only a modest
effect
People have started to feel that the market rally moved
well ahead of the actual economic improvement said Vassili
Serebriakov currency strategist at Wells Fargo in New York
Added Rob Minikin senior currency strategist at Standard
Chartered in London The rebound in the S P has been its
fastest in the post war period and so people are getting
nervous that things have come too far too fast
The euro was last down about 0 9 percent at 1 4077 just
above a two week low It was down 1 2 percent at 132 80 yen
after hitting its lowest level since July 22 The dollar fell
0 6 percent to 94 35 yen
Sterling hit a one month low and was last down 1 4 percent
at 1 6301 while the Australian and New Zealand dollars each
fell sharply against the greenback
European shares fell around 2 percent on the day while oil
prices tumbled to a two week low
Some analysts also said coupon payments on U S Treasuries
worth 20 billion to 25 billion on Monday were helping to push
the dollar down against the yen
JAPAN GROWS CHINA SHEDS SOME DOLLARS
Data showing Japan s economy pulled out of recession in the
April June period did little to improve sentiment and analysts
said yen strength had more to do with safe haven purchases by
investors eager to dump stocks and higher yield currencies
While Japanese government stimulus spending helped the
economy expand 0 9 percent in the quarter ending its longest
recession in decades analysts said the road to sustainable
recovery would be a long one
U S government data showed China cut Treasury holdings in
June by the biggest percentage in nearly nine years though net
inflows into long term U S securities rose to 90 7 billion
China the biggest U S Treasury holder sold mostly
short term bills in June If it continues that could be a
significant drag on the dollar said Alan Ruskin chief
international strategist at RBS Securities in Greenwich
Connecticut
But it is clear that some of this money will simply stay
in dollars and extend out the curve at the right yield
Additional reporting by Naomi Tajitsu in London Editing by
James Dalgleish |
WFC | FOREX Euro slides on renewed risk aversion as stocks drop | Euro hits 2 week low against dollar and yen
Global shares oil prices stumble denting risk demand
NY factory activity surges but consumer worries persist
Japan Q2 GDP up China cuts Treasury holdings
Adds comments details changes byline
By Vivianne Rodrigues
NEW YORK Aug 17 Reuters The euro hit a two week low
against the dollar and neared a one month trough against the
yen on Monday as world stock markets fell and doubts about a
U S recovery prompted investors to cut exposure to risk
The yen rallied across the board as investors bought it as
a safe haven while a slide in oil prices hit currencies such
as the Australian dollar which retreated from recent 10 month
highs against the greenback
A multimonth equity rally started to sputter late last week
after data showed U S consumer sentiment declined for a second
straight month Stocks in Asia responded Monday by falling more
than 3 percent and the sell off continued in Europe and on Wall
Street
Data showing Japan s economy grew between April and June
for the first time in five quarters was largely ignored and a
surge in New York state factory activity had only a modest
effect
People have started to feel that the market rally moved
well ahead of the actual economic improvement said Vassili
Serebriakov currency strategist at Wells Fargo in New York
The rebound in the S P has been its fastest in the
post war period and so people are getting nervous that
things have come too far too fast said Rob Minikin senior
currency strategist at Standard Chartered in London
In afternoon trading in New York the euro was down about
0 9 percent at 1 4077 just above a two week low It was down
1 5 percent at 132 81 yen after hitting its lowest level since
July 22 The dollar fell 0 6 percent to 94 35 yen
A pullback in risk appetite in the near term should favor
the dollar Brian Kim a currency analyst at UBS AG said in a
note
Sterling hit a one month low earlier and was last down 1 3
percent at 1 6330 while the Australian and New Zealand dollars
each fell sharply against the greenback
European shares fell around 2 percent on the day while oil
prices tumbled to a two week low
Some analysts also said coupon payments on U S Treasuries
worth 20 billion to 25 billion on Monday were helping to push
the dollar down against the yen
JAPAN GROWS TREASURY FLOWS DATA
Data showing Japan s economy pulled out of recession in the
April June period did little to improve sentiment and analysts
said yen strength had more to do with safe haven purchases by
investors eager to dump stocks and higher yield currencies
While Japanese government stimulus spending helped the
economy expand 0 9 percent in the quarter ending its longest
recession in decades analysts said the road to sustainable
recovery would be long
U S government data showed China cut Treasury holdings in
June by the biggest percentage in nearly nine years though net
inflows into long term U S securities rose to 90 7 billion
China the biggest U S Treasury holder sold mostly
short term bills in June If it continues that could be a
significant drag on the dollar said Alan Ruskin chief
international strategist at RBS Securities in Greenwich
Connecticut
But it is clear that some of this money will simply stay
in dollars and extend out the curve at the right yield |
WFC | FOREX Euro hits two week low on risk aversion stocks drop | Euro hits 2 week low against dollar and yen
Global shares oil prices stumble denting risk demand
NY factory activity surges but consumer worries persist
Japan Q2 GDP up China cuts Treasury holdings
Adds details updates prices
By Vivianne Rodrigues
NEW YORK Aug 17 Reuters The euro hit a two week low
against the dollar and neared a one month trough against the
yen on Monday as world stock markets fell and doubts about a
U S recovery prompted investors to cut exposure to risk
The yen rallied across the board as investors bought it as
a safe haven while a slide in oil prices hit currencies such
as the Australian dollar which retreated from recent 10 month
highs against the greenback
A multimonth equity rally started to sputter late last week
after data showed U S consumer sentiment declined for a second
straight month Stocks in Asia responded Monday by falling more
than 3 percent and the sell off continued in Europe and on Wall
Street
Data showing Japan s economy grew between April and June
for the first time in five quarters was largely ignored and a
surge in New York state factory activity had only a modest
effect
People have started to feel that the market rally moved
well ahead of the actual economic improvement said Vassili
Serebriakov currency strategist at Wells Fargo in New York
The rebound in the S P has been its fastest in the
post war period and so people are getting nervous that
things have come too far too fast said Rob Minikin senior
currency strategist at Standard Chartered in London
In late afternoon trading in New York the euro was down
about 0 9 percent at 1 4079 just above a two week low
It was down 1 5 percent at 132 81 yen after hitting
its lowest level since July 22 The dollar fell 0 5 percent to
94 45 yen
A pullback in risk appetite in the near term should favor
the dollar Brian Kim a currency analyst at UBS AG said in a
note
Sterling hit a one month low earlier and was last down 1 2
percent at 1 6337 while the Australian and New
Zealand dollars each fell sharply against the
greenback
European shares and U S stock indexes fell about 2 percent
or more on the day while oil prices tumbled to a
two week low
Some analysts also said coupon payments on U S Treasuries
worth 20 billion to 25 billion on Monday were helping to push
the dollar down against the yen
JAPAN S GDP TREASURY FLOWS DATA
Data showing Japan s economy pulled out of recession in the
April June period did little to improve sentiment and analysts
said yen strength had more to do with safe haven purchases by
investors eager to dump stocks and higher yield currencies
While Japanese government stimulus spending helped the
economy expand 0 9 percent in the quarter ending its longest
recession in decades analysts said the road to sustainable
recovery would be long For more see ID nT212505
U S government data showed China cut Treasury holdings in
June by the biggest percentage in nearly nine years though net
inflows into long term U S securities rose to 90 7 billion
China the biggest U S Treasury holder sold mostly
short term bills in June If it continues that could be a
significant drag on the dollar said Alan Ruskin chief
international strategist at RBS Securities in Greenwich
Connecticut ID nN17305646
But it is clear that some of this money will simply stay
in dollars and extend out the curve at the right yield
Additional reporting by Steven C Johnson Editing by
Padraic Cassidy |
T | AT T Falls Midday After Reports of HBO Senior Staff Leaving | Investing com HBO staff aren t happy with the direction the channel is taking and at least four senior level staff are expected to leave in the next few weeks NBC s Dylan Byers reported on Tuesday
The resignations are due to either frustrations with WarnerMedia chief John Stankey or are the result of his consolidation efforts Byers said quoting sources close to the organization
More than 15 HBO executives managers and producers have left since the AT T NYSE T and Time Warner deal
AT T NYSE T fell 1 in midday trade |
T | Huawei to join forces with China Mobile to bid for Brazil s Oi report | SAO PAULO Reuters Chinese telecoms equipment maker Huawei Technologies Co is joining forces with China Mobile HK 0941 to potentially enter a dispute to buy struggling Brazilian carrier Oi SA SA OIBR3 in an attempt to boost its footprint in Latin America s largest market O Globo news website reported on Saturday
According to the media outlet both Chinese companies anticipate a significant growth in business once Brazil starts deploying its fifth generation wireless technology 5G and Oi s 360 000 kilometers 224 000 miles of fiber infrastructure is seen as an attractive asset
Oi declined to comment on the matter while Huawei and China Mobile did not immediately respond to Reuters requests for comment
Brazil s largest fixed line carrier has been struggling to turnaround its business since it filed for bankruptcy protection in June 2016 to restructure approximately 65 billion reais of debt
On Thursday Reuters reported that while negotiating its mobile network with Spain s Telefonica SA MC TEF and Telecom Italia SpA MI TLIT Oi is also involved in preliminary talks with AT T Inc N T and another Chinese company |
T | Huawei denies interest in acquiring Oi or any other Brazilian carrier | SAO PAULO Reuters Chinese telecoms equipment maker Huawei Technologies Co said on Sunday it was not interested in acquiring struggling Oi SA SA OIBR3 or any other Brazilian carrier
Brazilian newspaper O Globo reported on Saturday in its online version that Huawei was joining forces with China Mobile HK 0941 to potentially enter a dispute to buy Oi SA SA OIBR3
Huawei has no plan or interest in acquiring Oi or any other Brazilian carrier In Brazil for more than 20 years the company is working with all major Brazilian carriers supplying the best products and solutions to support digital transformation in Brazil the company said in an emailed statement
According to O Globo the two Chinese companies expect the Brazil business to grow significantly once the country starts deploying its fifth generation wireless technology 5G and Oi s 360 000 km 224 000 miles of fiber infrastructure is seen as an attractive asset
China Mobile did not respond to Reuters requests for comment and Oi declined to comment
Brazil s largest fixed line carrier has been struggling to turn around its business since it filed for bankruptcy protection in June 2016 to restructure approximately 65 billion reais of debt
On Thursday Reuters reported that while negotiating its mobile network with Spain s Telefonica SA MC TEF and Telecom Italia SpA MI TLIT Oi is also involved in preliminary talks with AT T Inc N T and another Chinese company |
PFE | Clovis Rubraca Gets Nod As Maintenance Therapy In Europe | Clovis Oncology Inc NASDAQ CLVS announced that the European Commission EC has granted approval to a label expansion of its PARP inhibitor Rubraca rucaparib which will expand the drug s eligible patient population The drug is now approved as a maintenance treatment in recurrent ovarian cancer patients irrespective of BRCA mutation who have received one prior platinum based chemotherapy The company is planning to launch the drug this quarter in the new indication starting with Germany This is the second approved indication of Rubraca in Europe The decision was expected as the CHMP had recommended the approval last month The FDA approved a similar label expansion of the drug in April 2018 Investors cheered the European label expansion as shares of Clovis rose 3 9 on Jan 24 The company s shares have rallied 46 5 in the past three months compared with the s rise of 3 5 In Europe Rubraca was earlier approved for BRCA mutated platinum sensitive and relapsing ovarian cancer in third or later line setting The approval in second line maintenance setting and most importantly exclusion of BRCA mutation criteria for patient selection will broaden the patient population significantly Moreover this brings the drug on par with other approved PARP inhibitors AstraZeneca s NYSE AZN Lynparza and GlaxoSmithKline s NYSE GSK Zejula for ovarian cancer in both U S and European markets We remind investors that Glaxo added Zejula to its portfolio with the recently closed of TESARO Inc for 5 1 billion We believe Clovis is a potential acquisition target as the merger acquisition space heats up in the United States The recent approval should add to its appeal as a buyout target However we note that Clovis has struggled to capture market in the maintenance setting market in the United States Rubraca sales disappointed in the third quarter after surging in the second quarter following U S label expansion The effect of the company s promotional initiatives and label expansion in Europe remains to be seen Moreover the other two PARP inhibitors belong to big pharma companies with strong cash resources to promote their drugs which can push Clovis on the back foot The PARP inhibitor segment is also getting competitive as several pharma biotech companies are developing their candidates in multiple indications In October Pfizer s NYSE PFE Talzenna talazoparib received approval for treating breast cancer Please note that the approval of Rubraca in maintenance setting by the EC was based on data from the confirmatory phase III study ARIEL 3 which showed that Rubraca led to significant improvement in progression free survival in such patients The company believes that Rubraca is the only PARP inhibitor to demonstrate tumor shrinkage as well as prolonged progression free survival in this setting which may boost its adoption Meanwhile a phase III confirmatory study ARIEL4 is evaluating Rubraca compared with chemotherapy on patients who have failed two prior lines of therapy Clovis is also looking to expand Rubraca s label into additional indications like prostrate breast and pancreatic cancers among others either as monotherapy or in combination with other agents Clovis Oncology Inc Price
Zacks RankClovis currently carries a Zacks Rank 4 Sell You can see 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 | This Big Pharma Stock Sees Major Chart Support | Pfizer Inc NYSE PFE is starting to look attractive This pharma giant peaked out on December 4 2018 at 46 47 a share On Monday the stock traded lower by 0 76 to 39 89 a share Currently PFE stock is trading below its 200 day moving average which signals near term weakness
Support To Watch
The next key support area that I m watching for PFE stock is around 38 which is an important support level where the stock broke out in late July 2018 One of my favorite strategies is to look for stocks that are trading back into their prior break out levels The institutional money is usually there to support and defend the equity |
PFE | FDA OKs Roche s Alecensa for first line ALK lung cancer | The FDA approves Roche OTCQX RHHBY unit Genentech s marketing application seeking approval to use Alecensa alectinib in a first line setting to treat patients with ALK positive non small lung cancer NSCLC The FDA first approved the drug in December 2015 for treating ALK NSCLC patients previously treated with Pfizer s PFE 0 7 Xalkori crizotinib Now read |
PFE | Argos up 70 premarket on positive late stage kidney cancer data on lead candidate Rocapuldencel T | Nano cap Argos Therapeutics NASDAQ ARGS jumps 70 premarket on robust volume in response to its announcement of positive data from a Phase 3 clinical trial ADAPT assessing lead candidate Rocapuldencel T Roca in combination with Pfizer s NYSE PFE SUTENT sunitinib malate for the treatment of metastatic renal cell carcinoma RCC The results were presented at the SITC conference in National Harbor MD In 146 patients analyzed for immune response the number of antigen specific memory T cells were found to increase only after Roca treatment In patients who received at seven doses of Roca n 100 there was a statistically significant 2x average increase In the group who received seven doses of Roca there was also a statistically significant correlation between survival and the change in the number of antigen specific memory T cells from baseline Patients with higher than median levels of IL 12 experienced improved survival that those below the median IL 12 plays a key role in the activities of immune cells called T lymphocytes and natural killer cells Rocapuldencel T is an individualized immunotherapy that captures both mutated and variant antigens that are unique to each patient s tumor It is specifically designed to induce an immune response targeting the patient s particular tumor antigens Shares plummeted in February on the news that the Data Monitoring Committee recommended stopping the study because it was unlikely to demonstrate a treatment benefit The company subsequently met with the FDA which agreed with its decision to continue the trial and also agreed to a protocol amendment to extend it beyond 290 events with a revised statistical analysis plan Management will host a conference call this morning at 8 30 am ET to discuss the results Previously Late stage study unlikely to show treatment benefit of Argos Therapeutics lead product candidate shares plummet 65 premarket Feb 22 Now read |
PFE | Pfizer names Bourla as chief operating officer | NEW YORK Reuters Drugmaker Pfizer Inc N PFE on Monday named Albert Bourla to the position of Chief Operating Officer a move it said would free up Chief Executive Ian Read to focus more on long term strategy and engaging with government and industry leaders
Bourla 56 has been president of Pfizer s Innovative Health business since the beginning of last year Pfizer does not currently have a COO and Bourla will start the position on January 1 |
PFE | Expanded use of AstraZeneca s Faslodex OK d in Europe | The European Commission approves the use of AstraZeneca s NYSE AZN Faslodex fulvestrant in combination with Pfizer s NYSE PFE IBRANCE palbociclib for the treatment of patients with hormone receptor positive HR human epidermal growth factor receptor 2 negative HER2 locally advanced or metastatic breast cancer who have received prior endocrine therapy Faslodex was previously approved in the EU for estrogen receptor positive ER locally advanced or metastatic breast cancer in postmenopausal women not previously treated with endocrine therapy or who have progressed relapsed after estrogen therapy Now read |
WFC | FOREX Dollar rallies as weak sentiment boosts haven demand | U S dollar index recovers from 2009 low
Euro falls from 7 1 2 week high vs dollar
U S consumer confidence fell more than expected
Aussie dollar gains on rate hike expectations
Adds comments updates prices changes byline
By Gertrude Chavez Dreyfuss
NEW YORK July 28 Reuters The dollar rose from its
lowest level of the year against a currency basket on Tuesday
as weak consumer confidence rekindled worries about the
stability of the U S economy s recovery increasing safe haven
demand for the greenback
The yen also rallied across the board as investors dumped
riskier assets The lower than expected U S consumer sentiment
index added to pessimism that was already evident in financial
markets amid disappointing quarterly results from a handful of
major companies such as Office Depot Inc
That weighed heavily on stock and oil prices and dragged
down the Australian dollar from its highest level against the
U S currency since September
There s a pullback in risk appetite with the U S consumer
confidence data and that s why we re seeing the yen and dollar
gaining said Vassili Serebriakov senior currency strategist
at Wells Fargo in New York
The data suggests that recovery signs in the U S are
mixed and today s second straight decline in consumer
confidence shows the consumer is still fragile and
vulnerable
In early afternoon trading the ICE Futures U S dollar
index which measures the performance of the greenback against
a basket of currencies rose 0 4 percent to 78 950 It
had earlier fallen to 78 315 its lowest since December
The euro fell 0 6 percent to 1 4159 having earlier
climbed as high as 1 4303 its highest since early June
according to Reuters data
Analysts said the euro s losses may have also reflected the
unwinding in huge euro long positions accumulated by
speculative traders
Data from the Commodity Futures Trading Commission last
Friday showed speculators more than doubled their bets on the
euro in the week ended July 21 That was the largest euro long
positions since March 2008
INVESTORS OVERSHOT EXPECTATIONS
We ve had a nearly two week run up in stocks and a flight
into riskier currencies Markets are kind of technically
overbought in terms of risk and due for a bounce said David
Gilmore a partner at Foreign Exchange Analytics in Essex
Connecticut
He also said investors have probably overshot their
expectations about the economy
Against the yen the dollar fell 0 7 percent to 94 50 yen
while the euro dropped 1 3 percent to 133 78
yen
Yen and dollar buying increased after U S consumer
confidence fell more than expected to 46 6 in July Conference
Board data showed recording its second consecutive decline as
sentiment remained hampered by a difficult job market For
more see ID nN28106587
That nullified a Standard Poor s Case Shiller report
showing U S single family monthly home prices rose in May the
first increase in nearly three years ID nNYS005264
Wells Fargo s Serebriakov said even though consumer
confidence dropped investors should find comfort in the fact
that there are encouraging signs that the housing market may
be finding a bottom
On balance he thinks the worst of the global financial
crisis has passed
The Australian dollar meanwhile earlier rallied to a high
of US 0 8338 after Australia s central bank governor
fueled speculation interest rates may rise soon
Reserve Bank of Australia Governor Glenn Stevens said risks
to the economy were now more balanced and low interest rates
could inflate a housing bubble Analysts said Stevens gave the
clearest sign that the RBA was likely done with its easing
policy nSYD518060
Additional reporting by Wanfeng Zhou Editing by Chizu
Nomiyama |
WFC | FOREX Dollar rises as weak sentiment lifts haven demand | U S dollar index rebounds from 2009 low yen rises
Euro falls from 7 1 2 week high versus dollar
U S consumer confidence declines by more than expected
Details of the two year auction dollar negative
Adds comments updates prices
By Gertrude Chavez Dreyfuss
NEW YORK July 28 Reuters The dollar recovered from its
lowest level of the year against a currency basket on Tuesday
as weak consumer confidence rekindled worries about the
stability of the U S economy s recovery increasing safe haven
demand for the greenback
The yen also rallied across the board as investors dumped
riskier assets The lower than expected U S consumer sentiment
index added to pessimism that was already evident in financial
markets amid disappointing quarterly results from a handful of
major companies such as Office Depot Inc
That weighed heavily on stocks and oil and dragged down the
Australian dollar from its highest level against the U S
currency since September
There s a pullback in risk appetite with the U S consumer
confidence data and that s why we re seeing the yen and dollar
gaining said Vassili Serebriakov senior currency strategist
at Wells Fargo in New York
The data suggests recovery signs in the U S are mixed and
today s second straight decline in consumer confidence shows
the consumer is still fragile and vulnerable
In late afternoon trading the ICE Futures U S dollar
index which measures the performance of the greenback against
a basket of currencies rose 0 3 percent to 78 897 It had
fallen to 78 315 its lowest since December
The euro fell 0 5 percent to 1 4168 having climbed as
high as 1 4303 its highest since early June according to
Reuters data
Analysts said the euro zone single currency s losses also
reflected unwinding of huge euro long positions by speculative
traders Data from the Commodity Futures Trading Commission
last Friday showed speculators more than doubled their euro
bets in the week ended July 21 to 34 772 contracts That was
the largest euro long position since March 2008
OVERBOUGHT MARKETS
We ve had a nearly two week run up in stocks and a flight
into riskier currencies Markets are kind of technically
overbought in terms of risk and due for a bounce said David
Gilmore a partner at Foreign Exchange Analytics in Essex
Connecticut
Against the yen the dollar fell 0 6 percent to 94 63 yen
while the euro dropped 1 1 percent to 134 07 yen
Yen and dollar buying increased after U S consumer
confidence fell more than expected in July Conference Board
data showed in a second straight decline
That nullified a Standard Poor s Case Shiller report
showing U S single family monthly home prices rose in May the
first increase in nearly three years
Wells Fargo s Serebriakov said even though consumer
confidence dropped there are encouraging signs that the
housing market may be finding a bottom On balance he thinks
the worst of the global financial crisis has passed
A 42 billion two year Treasury auction on Tuesday
meanwhile had little impact on the currency market although
details of the outcome were not encouraging for the dollar
Indirect bidders a key gauge of foreign interest accounted
for just 32 6 percent versus a three auction average of 51
percent
In addition the market tail on the auction printed 3 3
basis points suggesting investors required a premium above the
market rate Analysts said this trend will likely continue in
the months ahead as a swelling U S deficit prompts investors
to demand a higher rate of return for Treasuries
The Australian dollar rallied to a high of US 0 8338 after
Australia s central bank governor fueled speculation interest
rates may rise soon
Reserve Bank of Australia Governor Glenn Stevens said risks
to the economy were now more balanced and low rates could
inflate a housing bubble Analysts said Stevens gave the
clearest signal yet the RBA was likely done with easing
Additional reporting by Wanfeng Zhou Editing by James
Dalgleish |
WFC | FOREX Dollar rises on better than expected U S jobs data | U S July payrolls fall less than forecast
Dollar hits highest level versus yen since mid June
Interest rate futures fall after data
Adds comments details
By Vivianne Rodrigues
NEW YORK Aug 7 Reuters The dollar rose broadly on
Friday as better than expected data on U S employment added to
evidence the world s largest economy is turning around
Traders said the dollar s reaction to U S economic news is
starting to change with the currency now gaining on signs of
an economic recovery For months the greenback had risen in
the wake of unfavorable reports as investors sold riskier
assets overseas and bought the dollar as a safe haven
The dollar on Friday hit its highest level against the
Japanese yen since mid June after Labor Department figures
showed U S employers cut 247 000 jobs in July far less than
expected and the smallest monthly decline since last August
Stock prices rose and interest rate futures fell
The jobs data on Friday follows other upbeat reports on the
U S manufacturing and housing sectors released earlier this
week which raised expectations that the U S economy will
outperform other developed regions boosting the value of
dollar denominated assets
This a sign that the currency markets are weaning
themselves from the good news is bad news for the dollar
syndrome and returning to fundamental measures of economic
growth and interest rate cycles said Joseph Trevisani chief
market analyst at FX Solutions in Saddle River New Jersey
In late morning trading in New York the euro was down 1
percent at 1 4207 after briefly trading at a session low of
1 4197 according to Reuters data The dollar jumped more than
2 percent to 97 43 yen its highest since mid June The U S
currency was on track for its biggest daily gain versus the yen
in about two months
With fewer workers being laid off the unemployment rate
eased to 9 4 percent in July from 9 5 percent the prior month
the Labor Department said the first decrease in the jobless
rate since April 2008
We ve seen improvement in housing in manufacturing output
and now clearly in the job environment said Greg Salvaggio a
vice president for trading at Tempus Consulting in
Washington D C
Add this up and it will eventually lead to dollar gains as
we think the U S economy will emerge more quickly from
recession he added This could be the start of the unwinding
of the inverse stocks dollar correlation
HIGHER RATES
U S short term interest rate futures fell on Friday after
the payrolls report pushing up the implied chances for Federal
Reserve rate increases Bets on a Fed rate hike by year end
jumped as high as 46 percent from 34 percent shortly before
the data The Fed s benchmark interest rates are currently in a
range of zero to 0 25 percent
Still some analysts warned that aggressive bets on a rate
hike this year may be premature
This all looks very aggressive in the context of data that
may be better than expected but is far from strong Alan
Ruskin chief international strategist at RBS Securities said
in a note But for now this is all U S dollar supportive
Earlier this week the dollar plunged while the euro rose to
a 2009 high of 1 4446 according to Reuters data A gauge of
the dollar s performance against six major currencies was up
0 9 percent at 78 844 after touching its lowest point in more
than 10 months on Wednesday
Currency analysts at Wells Fargo Bank in New York said that
economic performance may become increasingly important and on
that basis they expect the dollar to outperform the euro and
the yen in the months ahead
This report supports the picture that the worst has past
said Brian Dolan a chief currency strategist at Forex com in
Bedminster New Jersey
Additional reporting by Steven C Johnson and Wanfeng Zhou in
New York Editing by Leslie Adler |
T | FTC AT T settle 2014 lawsuit over data slowdowns court | Reuters The Federal Trade Commission FTC and AT T Inc NYSE T reached a settlement agreement on a 2014 case that accused the company of slowing down data sent to wireless devices a federal court ruling showed on Friday U S District Court in San Francisco said the parties requested a 90 day stay for the FTC to review and vote on the proposed settlement The value of the settlement was not disclosed FTC and AT T reached the agreement on Aug 2 The FTC in 2014 sued AT T on the grounds that the No 2 U S wireless carrier failed to inform consumers it would slow the speeds of heavy data users on unlimited plans The intense back and forth battle between the FTC and the company included dismissal of the case in 2017 on grounds that AT T was a common carrier and because of this was not subject to FTC jurisdiction
The case is Federal Trade Commission v AT T Mobility Llc U S district court for the Northern District of California San Francisco division Case No 14 cv 04785 EMC |
T | NewsBreak AT T Stock Surges as Activist Elliott Takes Stake | Investing com Shares in AT T Inc NYSE T surged in premarket trade on Monday after activist investor Elliott Management announced it had built a stake of 1 2 in the company worth about 3 2 billion at current prices
Announcement says the company s world class collection of assets is deeply undervalued
Elliott says it s targeting a stock price of over 60 by the end of 2021 over 60 above Friday s close of 36 25 and even above its record close of 59 19 over 20 years ago
Elliott says the AT T still hasn t articulated a clear plan for why it needs to own Time Warner
Shares marked up 6 7 at 38 69 |
T | Stocks Freddie Mac Fannie Mae AT T All Surge in Premarket | Investing com Stocks in focus in premarket trade on Monday 9th September
AT T NYSE T surged 6 7 as activist investor Elliott Management announced it had built a 3 2 billion stake in the company targeting a share price over over 60 by the end of 2021
Nutanix NASDAQ NTNX stock was up 6 3 after a two notch upgrade from Susquehanna whose analysts Mehdi Hosseini said the worst is behind the enterprise software company as it transitions to a subscription based model
Fannie Mae OTC FNMA stock was up 14 after Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin said that a deal is close to end the government s profit sweep and allow it to retain its earnings
Freddie Mac s OTC FMCC stock was up 25 on the same news
Nissan Motor ADRs OTC NSANY were in the spotlight after chief executive Hiroto Saikawa agreed to step down |
PFE | Is Global X SuperDividend U S ETF DIV A Strong ETF Right Now | Designed to provide broad exposure to the Total Market U S ETFs category of the market the Global X SuperDividend U S ETF DIV is a smart beta exchange traded fund launched on 03 11 2013
What Are Smart Beta ETFs
The ETF industry has long been dominated by products based on market cap weighted indexes a strategy created to reflect the market or a particular market segment
Market cap weighted indexes offer a low cost convenient and transparent way of replicating market returns and are a good option for investors who believe in market efficiency
But there are some investors who would rather invest in smart beta funds these funds track non cap weighted strategies and are a strong option for those who prefer choosing great stocks in order to beat the market
By attempting to pick stocks that have a better chance of risk return performance non cap weighted indexes are based on certain fundamental characteristics or a combination of such
Even though this space provides many choices to investors think one of the simplest methodologies like equal weighting and more complicated ones like fundamental and volatility momentum based weighting not all have been able to deliver first rate results
Fund Sponsor Index
The fund is managed by Global X Management DIV has been able to amass assets over 404 69 M making it one of the largest ETFs in the Total Market U S ETFs DIV seeks to match the performance of the INDXX SuperDividend U S Low Volatility Index before fees and expenses
The INDXX SuperDividend US Low Volatility Index tracks the performance of 50 equally weighted common stocks MLPs REITs that rank among the highest dividend yielding equity securities in the US
Cost Other Expenses
Cost is an important factor in selecting the right ETF and cheaper funds can significantly outperform their more expensive cousins if all other fundamentals are the same
With one of the cheaper products in the space this ETF has annual operating expenses of 0 45
It s 12 month trailing dividend yield comes in at 6 76
Sector Exposure and Top Holdings
While ETFs offer diversified exposure which minimizes single stock risk a deep look into a fund s holdings is a valuable exercise And most ETFs are very transparent products that disclose their holdings on a daily basis
Taking into account individual holdings Annaly Capital Management accounts for about 3 48 of the fund s total assets followed by Brinker International Inc and Pfizer Inc NYSE PFE
The top 10 holdings account for about 26 82 of total assets under management
Performance and Risk
The ETF return is roughly 4 69 so far this year and is down about 1 16 in the last one year as of 01 16 2019 In the past 52 week period it has traded between 21 69 and 25 59
The fund has a beta of 0 55 and standard deviation of 9 95 for the trailing three year period which makes DIV a medium risk choice in this particular space With about 49 holdings it has more concentrated exposure than peers
Alternatives
Global X SuperDividend U S ETF is a reasonable option for investors seeking to outperform the Total Market U S ETFs segment of the market However there are other ETFs in the space which investors could consider
WBI Power Factor High Dividend ETF WBIY tracks Solactive Power Factor High Dividend Index and the Global X SuperDividend ETF SDIV tracks Solactive Global SuperDividend Index WBI Power Factor High Dividend ETF has 90 10 M in assets Global X SuperDividend ETF has 887 84 M WBIY has an expense ratio of 0 70 and SDIV charges 0 58
Investors looking for cheaper and lower risk options should consider traditional market cap weighted ETFs that aim to match the returns of the Total Market U S ETFs
Bottom Line
To learn more about this product and other ETFs screen for products that match your investment objectives and read articles on latest developments in the ETF investing universe please visit Zacks ETF Center |
T | AT T T Earnings Expected To Grow Should You Buy | AT T T is expected to deliver a year over year increase in earnings on lower revenues when it reports results for the quarter ended December 2019 This widely known consensus outlook gives a good sense of the company s earnings picture but how the actual results compare to these estimates is a powerful factor that could impact its near term stock price
The stock might move higher if these key numbers top expectations in the upcoming earnings report which is expected to be released on January 29 On the other hand if they miss the stock may move lower
While the sustainability of the immediate price change and future earnings expectations will mostly depend on management s discussion of business conditions on the earnings call it s worth handicapping the probability of a positive EPS surprise
Zacks Consensus Estimate
This telecommunications company is expected to post quarterly earnings of 0 87 per share in its upcoming report which represents a year over year change of 1 2
Revenues are expected to be 46 91 billion down 2 3 from the year ago quarter
Estimate Revisions Trend
The consensus EPS estimate for the quarter has been revised 0 1 higher over the last 30 days to the current level This is essentially a reflection of how the covering analysts have collectively reassessed their initial estimates over this period
Investors should keep in mind that the direction of estimate revisions by each of the covering analysts may not always get reflected in the aggregate change
Price Consensus and EPS Surprise
Earnings Whisper
Estimate revisions ahead of a company s earnings release offer clues to the business conditions for the period whose results are coming out Our proprietary surprise prediction model the Zacks Earnings ESP Expected Surprise Prediction has this insight at its core
The Zacks Earnings ESP compares the Most Accurate Estimate to the Zacks Consensus Estimate for the quarter the Most Accurate Estimate is a more recent version of the Zacks Consensus EPS estimate The idea here is that analysts revising their estimates right before an earnings release have the latest information which could potentially be more accurate than what they and others contributing to the consensus had predicted earlier
Thus a positive or negative Earnings ESP reading theoretically indicates the likely deviation of the actual earnings from the consensus estimate However the model s predictive power is significant for positive ESP readings only
A positive Earnings ESP is a strong predictor of an earnings beat particularly when combined with a Zacks Rank 1 Strong Buy 2 Buy or 3 Hold Our research shows that stocks with this combination produce a positive surprise nearly 70 of the time and a solid Zacks Rank actually increases the predictive power of Earnings ESP
Please note that a negative Earnings ESP reading is not indicative of an earnings miss Our research shows that it is difficult to predict an earnings beat with any degree of confidence for stocks with negative Earnings ESP readings and or Zacks Rank of 4 Sell or 5 Strong Sell
How Have the Numbers Shaped Up for AT T
For AT T the Most Accurate Estimate is lower than the Zacks Consensus Estimate suggesting that analysts have recently become bearish on the company s earnings prospects This has resulted in an Earnings ESP of 0 51
On the other hand the stock currently carries a Zacks Rank of 3
So this combination makes it difficult to conclusively predict that AT T will beat the consensus EPS estimate
Does Earnings Surprise History Hold Any Clue
Analysts often consider to what extent a company has been able to match consensus estimates in the past while calculating their estimates for its future earnings So it s worth taking a look at the surprise history for gauging its influence on the upcoming number
For the last reported quarter it was expected that AT T would post earnings of 0 93 per share when it actually produced earnings of 0 94 delivering a surprise of 1 08
Over the last four quarters the company has beaten consensus EPS estimates three times
Bottom Line
An earnings beat or miss may not be the sole basis for a stock moving higher or lower Many stocks end up losing ground despite an earnings beat due to other factors that disappoint investors Similarly unforeseen catalysts help a number of stocks gain despite an earnings miss
That said betting on stocks that are expected to beat earnings expectations does increase the odds of success This is why it s worth checking a company s Earnings ESP and Zacks Rank ahead of its quarterly release Make sure to utilize our Earnings ESP Filter to uncover the best stocks to buy or sell before they ve reported
AT T doesn t appear a compelling earnings beat candidate However investors should pay attention to other factors too for betting on this stock or staying away from it ahead of its earnings release |
T | CBS and AT T renew contract ending 20 day long blackout | By Helen Coster Reuters CBS Corp N CBS and AT T Inc N T signed a new multi year content carriage agreement ending a 20 day long blackout that began when the previous seven year deal expired at 2 00 a m EST on July 19 As a result of the contract dispute and after months of negotiations over retransmission fees CBS stations went dark for more than 6 5 million DirecTV DirecTV Now and AT T U verse customers in at least 14 U S cities including New York Los Angeles and Chicago The agreement includes retransmission consent for all 26 CBS owned stations in 17 markets including New York Los Angeles Chicago and San Francisco the companies said The companies did not disclose the terms of the agreement The two sides negotiated over pricing as well as whether AT T could sell CBS All Access streaming service as a separate option and whether CBS would be required to produce programming such as the Grammy Awards in a higher than typical 4K resolution according to sources familiar with the negotiations They also negotiated on whether CBS would provide AT T with past episodes and entire seasons of shows and whether CBS content would be available to all DirecTV consumers according to the sources CBS is one of several networks including sibling company Viacom O VIAB A E Networks owned jointly by Hearst Networks and the Walt Disney Co N DIS and Nexstar O NXST to publicly feud with AT T over contract negotiations this year
The contract dispute comes at a time of uncertainty for CBS and transition for AT T CBS is considering a merger with Viacom AT T bought Time Warner which it renamed WarnerMedia for 85 billion last year and is preparing to launch its HBO Max streaming service in spring 2020 |
T | You prepare for war how one U S firm tried escaping Trump s China tariffs | By Anne Marie Roantree HONG KONG Reuters When Larry Sloven heard last year that U S tariffs threatened his China electronics business he knew that setting up shop elsewhere would be a slog rather than an adventure The 70 year old had spent half his life building supply chains in southern China to produce goods for big box U S retailers But he had never reshuffled one on short notice with tariffs hanging over his head It is the hardest thing I ve ever had to do in all my 30 years in the business said Sloven president of Capstone International HK Ltd a division of Florida based Capstone Companies You ve got packaging assembling auditing labor overheads components logistics transportation he said I went from first gear to fourth gear very quickly Sloven a native of Long Island New York cut his teeth in Asia in the 1970s sourcing lighting products from Japan He then moved to Taiwan and then mainland China making and sourcing electrical products for AT T NYSE T and Duracell before becoming a buying agent for sporting goods retailer Dick s He joined Capstone in 2012 to manage its network of Chinese manufacturers from Hong Kong Rising labor costs and tighter regulations in China had already led him to consider moving the business elsewhere in Asia But the trade war forced his hand Through dozens of interviews and phone Whatsapp and email exchanges over a year Reuters documented Sloven s quest to uproot his supply chain operation an effort entailing many close calls bureaucratic headaches and some good luck Sloven is just one of thousands of entrepreneurs who have been forced by the trade war to upend their business operations in China in the biggest supply chain shift in a generation Companies like Capstone contribute over 200 billion in U S purchases of China made electronics and machinery annually GRAPHIC China s top exports and imports from U S DUE DILIGENCE When Washington imposed the first tariffs in July 2018 Capstone s core products such as battery powered LED bulbs and motion activated lighting were not on the list Nor were some Capstone prototypes that Sloven sees as the future of the company smart furniture like a mirror that doubles as a touchscreen with internet access But his instinct was that U S China ties were taking a turn for the worse You don t know what s coming next in China he said He set his sights on Thailand as the site of a possible second production base Sourcing raw materials locally was difficult but at least they carried no import duties Setting up a business entity in Thailand was also cheap and fast and some of the work could be subcontracted A U S trade official in Thailand introduced him to various local companies who could help I will be able to make products in Thailand Sloven said at the end of last summer But he added it s not going to be easy In September U S President Donald Trump gave him an even better reason to move The total value of U S tariffs on Chinese goods was expanded from 50 billion to 250 billion putting Capstone s LED products in the crosshairs of 10 levies Smart furniture if made in China would take a hit Soon after a survey by Amcham China which represents U S businesses showed that a third of its members were planning to shift the sourcing of components or assemble some goods outside of China Sloven s efforts in Thailand appeared to have paid off After numerous meetings he found a furniture factory and an assembler outside Bangkok that could help him Both had international experience and were expanding to meet increasing demand from U S firms And while smart furniture was new to them they were confident they could pull it off and were ready to invest The companies cannot be named because of non disclosure agreements After a site visit in February Sloven ordered components for his smart mirror to be shipped to Thailand By mid March Capstone engineers were showing the factory how to put them together I m not concerned Sloven said in February I m giving him the information step by step he said referring to his Thai partner Even as Sloven grew more optimistic the urgency to leave China seemed to abate as 2019 began Trump and President Xi Jinping of China had declared a cautious truce at a Group of 20 summit in Buenos Aires and it seemed to be holding Officials on both sides were suggesting a deal before a March deadline and the threat of tariffs rising to 25 seemed distant But Sloven was sticking to his plan I don t think there s going to be a trade war but that doesn t change things he said at the time GRAPHIC SE Asia factory activity holds up better MOVING SLOWLY The March deadline passed but tariffs remained unchanged That gave Sloven breathing room He scheduled a series of pilot runs to test how well the Thai factory handled assembly He also needed to prepare for audits of labor rights and environmental standards that U S retailers require He estimated that would take at least another six months I m going to start moving on a small scale because they re not going to be able to just do it immediately Sloven said As much as they say Oh I can do this right now I m not taking that chance More investment in tooling and moulds was required too but the Thai companies agreed to bear the cost Regardless of what happened with the trade war Sloven felt covered You prepare for war he said You re ready if you re attacked RE NEGOTIATING CHINA Sloven also had work to do in China His suppliers in Shenzhen Dongguan and Guangzhou were certain the trade conflict would blow over and were reluctant to negotiate deals that would send components and raw materials abroad for assembly But Sloven kept pressing ahead with the Thailand plan concerned about the toll the trade war was taking in China In early April Sloven invited Reuters to meet his trade lawyer Sally Peng of Sandler Travis Rosenberg Peng described how Chinese factory floors were emptying out as workers were laid off Few owners had the expertise or resources to automate or find new export markets so most were riding it out hoping for a trade deal They were losing money every day she said They believe that eventually it will all come back Sloven said I think within five years it will all be gone Peng replied GRAPHIC Trade flows redirected away from China INVESTOR CALL The same day Sloven met his lawyer his bosses in Florida announced 2018 results that reflected the effects of the trade war Net revenues came in at 12 8 million down from 36 8 million in 2017 Net losses were 1 million a swing from a 3 1 million profit Capstone faced challenges in 2018 unlike any in its history chief financial officer Gerry McClinton said Meanwhile development of the smart mirror was in full swing The prototype was deemed a success at a Las Vegas electronics show in January and a PR agency and a marketing company were hired to advertise the new product Then Trump hiked tariffs to 25 on May 10 For Sloven and many others the urgency level bounced back up That month a survey by AmCham China and AmCham Shanghai showed the number of firms that had moved production or were considering doing so leaped above 40 To speed things up Sloven introduced the Thai assemblers to his Chinese suppliers He wanted to set the rules of the game and then let them interact independently Those meetings had to go well or all could fall apart In a stroke of luck he discovered the two sides had something in common The Thai guy his family was from China originally so he spoke a certain dialect And the factory in China my supplier and him speak the same dialect Sloven said What a home run After months of digging in its heels the Chinese company finally relented and agreed to supply Sloven in Thailand AUDITS LOGISTICS With his supply of components and raw materials secured the next big step was the audits Thirty five percent of the product had to be made in Thailand for the product to be considered Thai and thus exempt from American tariffs A certificate from an independent auditor would prove that but the auditing usually takes four to five weeks I know what I have to do but getting the information is mind boggling These are supply chain issues that everyone in the world is going to have to face Sloven said Logistics was another concern for Sloven Shipping to the United States from Thailand takes 8 10 days longer than it does from China Despite the extra costs and time Sloven thinks he will be able to make the product for the same price as in China without the tariffs And by the middle of the summer of 2019 Sloven was confident that most of his challenges had been overcome and that the smart mirror would ship on schedule on October 1
But he allowed there s always going to be hiccups |
PFE | Athenex Completes Enrollment Target For Breast Cancer Study | Athenex Inc NASDAQ ATNX announced that it has completed target enrollment of 360 patients in the Oraxol phase III study in metastatic breast cancer on schedule Athenex also reaffirmed that top line data from the study is expected to be available in mid 2019
Oraxol is an innovative oral formulation of paclitaxel a very effective and commonly used anti cancer chemotherapy combined with HM30181A a novel gastrointestinal tract specific P glycoprotein pump inhibitor The Oraxol phase III study is an open label study which will evaluate the safety tolerability and tumor response of Oraxol compared with IV paclitaxel in patients with metastatic breast cancer Secondary endpoints will measure progression free survival and overall survival
In October 2018 the company reported encouraging efficacy and safety data of Oraxol in the treatment of metastatic breast cancer patients obtained from a phase II study conducted in Taiwan Results from twenty four patients with metastatic breast cancer were reported
Eleven patients 45 8 achieved partial remission PR 10 patients 41 7 had stable disease SD and 3 patients had progressive disease PD Drug related serious adverse events consisting of Grade 4 neutropenia were observed in 3 patients and all recovered completely There was no dose limiting neuropathy observed Oraxol is one of the lead candidates in the company s pipeline and a potential approval will boost the company s top line
Shares of Athenex decreased 21 6 in the past year compared with the s decline of 19 5
Athenex is a global biopharmaceutical company dedicated to the discovery development and commercialization of novel therapies for the treatment of cancer through its Orascovery and Src Kinase Inhibition research platforms
The breast cancer market is crowded and a lot of companies are developing drugs to combat this disease In December 2018 Roche OTC RHHBY announced that its breast cancer drug Kadcyla significantly reduced the risk of disease recurrence by 50 as an adjuvant after surgery therapy in phase III KATHERINE study compared to its other breast cancer drug Herceptin
The late stage KATHERINE study compared Kadcyla with Herceptin for risk of disease recurrence or death in HER2 positive early breast cancer patients with residual disease following a neoadjuvant before surgery therapy Back in October Roche announced that the study had met its primary endpoint of reduction in disease recurrence
Kadcyla an antibody drug conjugate is approved as monotherapy in second line setting for treating metastatic breast cancer in patients who have received treatment with Herceptin or and taxane since 2013
In December 2018 Puma Biotechnology Inc NASDAQ PBYI announced positive top line results from the phase III NALA study evaluating its only marketed drug Nerlynx neratinib for the treatment of third line hormone receptor positive HER2 positive metastatic breast cancer
Pfizer NYSE PFE also has Xtandi in its portfolio which is in mid stage development for advanced breast cancer
Zacks Rank
Athenex currently carries a Zacks Rank 3 Hold You can see
Looking for Stocks with Skyrocketing Upside
Zacks has just released a Special Report on the booming investment opportunities of legal marijuana
Ignited by new referendums and legislation this industry is expected to blast from an already robust 6 7 billion to 20 2 billion in 2021 Early investors stand to make a killing but you have to be ready to act and know just where to look |
PFE | China biotech s coming out party masks long road ahead | By Ben Hirschler and Adam Jourdan LONDON SHANGHAI Reuters Investors are betting on China s potential to feed the global pharmaceutical pipeline putting a multi billion dollar price tag on a handful of stocks even as the country struggles to close a huge R D gap with the West Shares in firms such as Chi Med Beigene and Zai Lab have soared on international markets this year fueled by hopes for their drugs and recent reforms to China s regulatory system that should speed up approvals It s almost a coming out party for China biotech said Christian Hogg chief executive of Hutchison China MediTech or Chi Med which presented promising data at a global medical congress this week on a lung cancer drug it discovered in China and is developing with AstraZeneca China is in vogue because of the positive moves on the regulatory side as well as advances at companies It s a big big change versus 10 years ago and it is accelerating Importantly national and provincial authorities are also moving faster to agree payments for innovative drugs albeit after negotiating price discounts in many cases Yet amid the euphoria it is easy to lose sight of the fact that China still has far to go It contributes just 4 percent of global drug innovation as measured by the number of products in development and recent launches against 50 percent from the United States according to an October 2016 report from four Chinese pharmaceutical associations It is very apparent they are trying to transition to being more of a novel drug development environment and bring in more innovative research Scott Gottlieb head of the U S Food and Drug Administration FDA told Reuters I think it s going to be a long transition we built up an ecosystem in this country over decades and decades China s traditional strengths lie in generic drugs and the bulk production of active pharmaceutical ingredients that are found in pills in pharmacies worldwide The shift in focus to original research is a change in mindset although it builds on the success of contract research and manufacturing company WuXi Biologics which does much of the legwork for China s budding biotechs REFORMING DRUGS WATCHDOG Bi Jingquan the reformist bureaucrat who has led China s drugs watchdog the CFDA since 2015 views innovative and affordable drugs as the key to meeting the country s growing clinical demands China is now the world s second biggest drugs market after the United States with more cases of cancer and diabetes than any other nation fueled by fast food smoking and pollution But the CFDA head lamented in a recent speech that Chinese domestic drug industry R D investment was only 42 billion yuan 6 3 billion last year a small slice of the 157 billion spent worldwide by drug companies in 2016 according to market intelligence group EvaluatePharma Redressing the balance is a priority We want to make our pharma industry big and strong make our drug companies more competitive so that we can shift our country s long standing reliance on imported new drugs said Bi Jingquan s deputy Wu Zhen A big part of that involves overhauling regulation with a new system now in place to accelerate full and conditional drug approvals as the CFDA strives to narrow a typical five to seven year lag between how long new drugs reach the market in China compared with Western countries Plans announced last week mean the agency will now accept data from overseas clinical trials That was applauded by Pfizer NYSE PFE the top foreign drugmaker in China highlighting the stiff competition still facing local biotechs So far many of the new drugs discovered in China are follow on medicines in established therapeutic classes rather than ground breaking first in class treatments Some global companies like Swiss based Novartis and Roche with deeper institutional scientific knowledge are also tapping into China s science base to discover their own promising new drugs in the country Still Chinese firms are notching up their first home grown successes particularly in cancer with Shenzhen Chipscreen Biosciences winning a CFDA green light for the first modern oncology drug used to treat a rare lymph node cancer in 2015 Now Chi Med working with Eli Lilly hopes for approval of what would be a broad use bowel cancer medicine fruquintinib around the end of this year On the international stage Beigene and Chi Med are also racing to be first to bring China discovered cancer drugs to U S and European patients often doing deals with global firms that can provide marketing expertise outside China In July Beigene signed a deal worth up to 1 4 billion with Celgene NASDAQ CELG licensing a promising cancer immunotherapy drug candidate to the U S group in the largest ever transaction involving a Chinese medicine LONG CYCLE BUSINESS Beigene CEO John Oyler is convinced Chinese drug discovery is on a roll backed by powerful interests in Beijing who want to forge a leading position in the sector just as China has done in energy finance and telecoms The day you see a China grown company that is one of the five major global pharmaceutical companies is approaching he said though he admitted recent big share price rises were not commensurate with clinical data being reported Others pointed to an under developed academic ecosystem in China and the fact most big local drugmakers were deeply rooted in generics despite outward talk of innovation It s easy to say I want to do new drug development but then it s harder to see yourself spending 100 million and then fail Samantha Du chief executive of Zai Lab told Reuters at the company s headquarters in Shanghai Du was also a co founder and chief scientific officer of Chi Med until 2011 Zai Lab which listed on the Nasdaq stock exchange in September has a drug discovery program focused on immuno oncology though for now its pipeline is dominated by molecules bought in from the likes of GlaxoSmithKline Sanofi PA SASY and Tesaro Du hopes to change that one day but says it won t happen overnight It s such a long cycle if you want to discover and develop drugs from ground zero that s 12 15 years she said It s going to take time |
PFE | Glaxo would consider bid for Pfizer s consumer health business CEO says | GlaxoSmithKline GSK 5 would consider bidding for Pfizer s PFE 0 5 consumer health business if the PFE puts the unit up for sale GSK CEO Emma Walmsley says
PFE said earlier this month that it was exploring a sale or spinoff of the business which analysts say could fetch more than 10B GSK s consumer health business is one of the world s largest with revenue of 7 19B 9 44B last year
Walmsley says regardless of any deal to strengthen its consumer health business GSK s top priority is to sharpen the company s R D operations after trimming dozens of research programs earlier this year to focus on four key disease areas
The CEO s comments come as GSK reported higher Q3 profits and revenues driven by growing sales for its prescription drugs and consumer healthcare products
Now read |
T | AT T Not Responsible in 24M Crypto SIM Swapping Cas Judge Rules | The federal judge overseeing Terpin Vs AT T NYSE T a legal battle pertaining to stolen crypto via SIM swapping that has been going on for almost a year has dismissed the motion industry news outlet TheBlock reports on July 26
As Cointelegraph previously reported in August last year Terpin filed a lawsuit against AT T since he believes that the telecoms giant had provided hackers with access to his phone number which led to a major crypto heist Earlier this month the federal judge overseeing the case has also denied the telecom giant s motion for dismissal |
T | AT T Not Responsible in 24M Crypto SIM Swapping Case Judge Rules | The federal judge overseeing Terpin Vs AT T NYSE T a legal battle pertaining to stolen crypto via SIM swapping that has been going on for almost a year has dismissed the motion industry news outlet TheBlock reports on July 26
As Cointelegraph previously reported in August last year Terpin filed a lawsuit against AT T since he believes that the telecoms giant had provided hackers with access to his phone number which led to a major crypto heist Earlier this month the federal judge overseeing the case has also denied the telecom giant s motion for dismissal |
PFE | Aerie s Rhopressa Succeeds In Study On Japanese Patients | Aerie Pharmaceuticals Inc NASDAQ AERI announced positive top line results from its pilot phase II study of netarsudil ophthalmic solution in a Japanese American population Netarsudil ophthalmic solution 0 02 is currently marketed by the name Rhopressa in the United States The study was designed to meet the requirements of Japan s Pharmaceuticals and Medical Devices Agency PMDA to support the potential regulatory submission of netarsudil ophthalmic solution in Japan
The primary objective of the study was to evaluate the ocular hypotensive activity of two different dose concentrations of netarsudil ophthalmic solution 0 02 and 0 04 relative to placebo over a 28 day period for a total of three arms all dosed The primary objective also included evaluating the ocular and systemic safety of netarsudil ophthalmic solution relative to placebo over the 28 day period
In the study both netarsudil arms 0 02 and 0 04 showed higher levels of intraocular pressure IOP reduction as compared to placebo to a statistically significant degree at Day 28 The safety findings were consistent with previous netarsudil studies
This pilot study was initially designed as a larger phase II trial to be conducted in the United States enrolling Japanese subjects and Japanese American subjects that are within second generation However due to lesser number of qualified subjects in the United States the enrollment of this study was limited to approximately 40 subjects across three study arms
Aerie expects to initiate a phase II study in Japan in the first quarter of 2019 as agreed with the PMDA with the addition of a 0 01 concentration of netarsudil
Shares of the company decreased 34 9 compared with the s decline of 18 2
Glaucoma is one of the largest segments in the global ophthalmic market The Japanese glaucoma market valued at approximately 1 billion annually is one of the largest in the world
Aerie is also evaluating Rocklatan a once daily quadruple action fixed dose combination of Rhopressa and Pfizer s NYSE PFE Xalatan latanoprost Rocklatan is a once daily eye drop designed to reduce intraocular pressure IOP in patients with glaucoma or ocular hypertension Aerie s New Drug Application NDA for Rocklatan 0 02 0 005 was submitted to the FDA in May 2018 The action date for the completion of the FDA s review of the NDA is set for Mar 14 2019
Along with the release the company also announced the opening of its Japan branch office in Tokyo and the addition of two well respected industry leaders to its Tokyo team Aerie Pharmaceuticals Inc Price
Zacks Rank Stocks to Consider
Aerie currently carries a Zacks Rank 3 Hold
Some better ranked stocks worth considering are Myriad Genetics Inc NASDAQ MYGN and Editas Medicine Inc NASDAQ EDIT While Myriad sports a Zacks Rank 1 Strong Buy Editas carries a Zacks Rank 2 Buy You can see
Myriad s earnings per share estimates have increased from 1 77 to 1 78 for 2019 over the past 60 days The company delivered a positive earnings surprise in all the trailing four quarters with average of 25 62
Editas loss per share estimates have narrowed from 2 70 to 2 18 for 2018 and from 3 19 to 2 84 for 2019 in the past 60 days The company delivered a positive earnings surprise in two of the trailing four quarters with average of 10 85
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 |
PFE | IBEX Drops on Fresh Political Concerns Other European Markets Mixed | Investing com Spain s benchmark index moved lower on Monday amid fresh concerns over the country s political turmoil while the other European markets were mixed
The EURO STOXX 50 eased 0 08 France s CAC 40 inched up 0 07 while Germany s DAX 30 added 0 17 and Spain s IBEX 35 was down 0 67 by 03 40 a m ET 07 40 GMT
Markets were jittery after Catalan President Carles Puigdemont failed to clarify whether he has declared the region s independence in a letter to Madrid
Spain had issued a Monday deadline for Puigdemont to clarify his intent or face direct rule Instead the Catalan leader called for negotiation over the next two months
Financial stocks were broadly lower as French lenders Societe Generale PA SOGN and BNP Paribas PA BNPP declined 0 41 and 0 21 while Germany s Deutsche Bank DE DBKGn slid 0 33
Among peripheral lenders Italy s Intesa Sanpaolo MI ISP and Unicredit MI CRDI dropped 0 52 and 0 47 respectively while Spanish banks Banco Santander MC SAN and BBVA MC BBVA tumbled 0 93 and 1 30
Airbus Group PA AIR added to losses with shares down 0 45 after the company s Chief Executive Officer Tom Enders said he saw no reason to resign over ongoing UK and French corruption investigations but would be ready to do so if needed
On the upside Bayer DE BAYGN advanced 0 72 after the German drug and agrochemicals group on Friday announced the sale of selected crop science businesses to BASF for 7 billion as part of its strategy to complete acquisition of US biotech major Monsanto NYSE MON
In London commodity heavy FTSE 100 inched up 0 07 supported by sharp gains in the mining sector
Shares in BHP Billiton LON BLT and Anglo American LON AAL jumped 2 15 and 2 18 respectively while Rio Tinto LON RIO rallied 2 28 and Antofagasta LON ANTO surged 3 05
Meanwhile financial stocks were mostly lower Shares in Lloyds Banking LON LLOY fell 0 27 and Barclays LON BARC slid 0 71 while the Royal Bank of Scotland LON RBS retreated 0 78 HSBC Holdings LON HSBA overperformed however with shares gaining 0 39
GKN LON GKN was also on the downside as shares tumbled 1 51 after the engineering group warned that its full year profits will only be slightly above last year s levels due to difficulties in its U S aerospace unit and costly legal claims
Shares in Reckitt Benckiser Group PLC LON RB declined 1 25 following reports the drugmaker will be exploring a number of financing options including a multibillion pound rights issue when it enters the race for a division put up for sale by the U S rival Pfizer NYSE PFE
In the U S equity markets pointed to a steady to higher open The Dow Jones Industrial Average futures pointed to a 0 05 gain S P 500 futures signaled a 0 01 uptick while the Nasdaq 100 futures indicated a 0 11 rise |
WFC | FOREX Dollar falls broadly on data China comments | Dollar weighed down by China comments U S data
U S dollar falls as risk appetite rises
US consumer spending confidence show sign of improvement
Adds comments details changes byline
By Vivianne Rodrigues
NEW YORK June 26 Reuters The U S dollar fell broadly
on Friday after China renewed its call for a super sovereign
reserve currency and as improving appetite for risk dented the
greenback s safe haven allure
China s central bank on Friday did not mention the dollar
by name but said it was a serious defect in the international
monetary system that one currency should dominate
Chinese officials have repeatedly expressed concern about
the dollar s reserve status in recent months and analysts have
said the sheer size of Beijing s holdings of U S debt means
such remarks are likely to continue to put pressure on the
dollar
The Chinese own a tremendous amount of U S Treasuries
said Fabian Eliasson vice president of currency sales at
Mizuho Corporate Bank in New York They are obviously worried
about inflation and losing value on their investments
Still analysts said an improvement in investor appetite
for risk following a series of global liquidity measures this
week also weighed on the dollar which was on track to end the
week on a softer note
An improvement in risk appetites is also a potential
reason for today s dollar decline said Nick Bennenbroek head
of currency strategy at Wells Fargo Bank in New York While
these types of comments from China are understandably
undercutting the dollar there is no evidence of large scale
selling of U S Treasuries as yet
In afternoon trading in New York an index that measures
the dollar s performance against six major currencies fell 0 8
percent to 79 755 just shy of a two week low of 79 562 seen
earlier this week
The euro rose 0 7 percent to 1 4084 heading toward a
two week high of 1 4138 hit this week
Against the yen the dollar slipped 0 8 percent to 95 09
yen
Adding to the positive market sentiment U S government
data on Friday showed a larger than expected jump in personal
income in May Consumer spending which accounts for over 70
percent of the country s economic activity also rose in May
ID nN26322638
A separate survey showed U S consumer confidence rose in
June to the highest since February 2008 as expectations grew
that the worst economic recession since the Great Depression
may be ending
A pick up in risk appetite yesterday weighed on the dollar
and we are still seeing that sentiment impact flows today
said John Rivera currency analyst at DailyFX com in New York
Elsewhere however traders remained cautious about more
currency intervention by the Swiss National Bank to weaken its
domestic currency against the euro and the dollar to protect
the export driven economy
Data on Friday showed Switzerland s leading growth
indicator the KOF Swiss Economic Institute s economic
barometer rose to minus 1 65 points in June its first rise
in two years beating forecasts of minus 1 76
The euro was last down 0 4 percent against the Swiss franc
at 1 5257 francs Broad dollar weakness dragged the U S unit
down to 1 0815 francs down 1 1 percent on the day
Additional reporting by Wanfeng Zhou in New York
Editing by Theodore d Afflisio |
WFC | FOREX US dollar slides on China comments risk appetite up | U S dollar falls as risk appetite rises
Dollar weighed down by China comments U S data
US consumer spending confidence show sign of improvement
Adds details updates prices
By Vivianne Rodrigues
NEW YORK June 26 Reuters The U S dollar fell broadly
on Friday after China renewed its call for a super sovereign
reserve currency and as improving appetite for risk dented the
greenback s safe haven allure
China s central bank on Friday did not mention the dollar
by name but said it was a serious defect in the international
monetary system that one currency should dominate
Chinese officials have repeatedly expressed concern about
the dollar s reserve status in recent months and analysts have
said the sheer size of Beijing s holdings of U S debt means
such remarks are likely to continue to put pressure on the
dollar
The Chinese own a tremendous amount of U S Treasuries
said Fabian Eliasson vice president of currency sales at
Mizuho Corporate Bank in New York They are obviously worried
about inflation and losing value on their investments
Still analysts said an improvement in investor appetite
for risk following a series of global liquidity measures this
week also weighed on the dollar which was on track to end the
week on a softer note
An improvement in risk appetites is also a potential
reason for today s dollar decline Nick Bennenbroek head of
currency strategy at Wells Fargo Bank said in a note While
these types of comments from China are understandably
undercutting the dollar there is no evidence of large scale
selling of U S Treasuries as yet
In late afternoon trading in New York an index that
measures the dollar s performance against six major currencies
fell 0 7 percent to 79 826 just shy of a two week low of
79 562 seen earlier this week
The euro rose 0 6 percent to 1 4071 heading toward a
two week high of 1 4138 hit this week Against the yen the
dollar slipped 0 7 percent to 95 20 yen
Adding to the positive market sentiment U S government
data on Friday showed a larger than expected jump in personal
income in May Consumer spending which accounts for over 70
percent of the country s economic activity also rose in May
A separate survey showed U S consumer confidence rose in
June to the highest since February 2008 as expectations grew
that the worst economic recession since the Great Depression
may be ending
A pick up in risk appetite yesterday weighed on the dollar
and we are still seeing that sentiment impact flows today
said John Rivera currency analyst at DailyFX com in New York
Elsewhere however traders remained cautious about more
currency intervention by the Swiss National Bank to weaken its
domestic currency against the euro and the dollar to protect
the export driven economy
Data on Friday showed Switzerland s leading growth
indicator the KOF Swiss Economic Institute s economic
barometer rose to minus 1 65 points in June its first rise
in two years beating forecasts of minus 1 76
The euro fell 0 4 percent against the Swiss franc at 1 5257
francs Broad dollar weakness helped dragged the U S unit down
to 1 0822 francs down 1 percent on the day |
WFC | FOREX Dollar falls as stocks gain Europe data dent demand | Dollar falls euro gets support from stocks PMIs report
Markets await U S jobs report ECB meeting on Thursday
Foreign exchange trading remains volatile
Adds comments details
By Vivianne Rodrigues
NEW YORK July 1 Reuters The dollar fell on Wednesday
as gains in global stocks as well as improved manufacturing
activity data in Europe and China hurt demand for the
greenback as a safe haven
The European data showed a slowing in the deterioration in
the euro zone s manufacturing economy for the fourth straight
month indicating the bloc will contract by much less in the
second quarter
In China surveys released on Wednesday also showed a
steady recovery in the country s manufacturing sector in June
In the United States a round of mixed data including
readings on the labor manufacturing and housing sectors
contributed to a bias toward dollar weakness as safe haven
support wanes analysts said But they warned trading would
remain volatile before a key U S labor market reading on
Thursday
Volume is also expected to dwindle ahead of the U S
Independence Day holiday on Friday
Reflecting the thin trading conditions the forex markets
remain indecisive However market participants appear more
inclined toward optimism than pessimism said Nick
Bennenbroek head of currency strategy at Wells Fargo Bank in
New York While price action is choppy the bias toward
optimism is contributing to a bias toward dollar weakness
Wall Street stocks rose despite a report that showed U S
private employers cut 473 000 jobs in June more than expected
but less than the 485 000 jobs lost in May
In late morning trading in New York the euro was up 0 8
percent on the day at 1 4140 after earlier trading as high as
1 4170 nearing its highest level since June 11 according to
Reuters data
The ADP number was about 80 000 worse than what was
expected so that s a pretty huge disappointment for the
market said Jacob Oubina a currency strategist at Forex com
in Bedminster New Jersey But I would say that investors
should probably take this number with a grain of salt
Another industry reading showed the U S manufacturing
sector shrank in June but at a slower pace than during the
prior month and a report showed pending sales of previously
owned U S homes rose slightly in May the fourth straight
monthly gain
US PAYROLLS ECB MEETING
Economists expect the U S economy to have shed 363 000
jobs in June after losing 345 000 in May Also on Thursday the
European Central Bank holds its policy meeting
The ECB is expected to leave rates unchanged and give more
details on its asset buying program
Despite the event risk associated with tomorrow s ECB
decision and non farm payrolls figure the market seems
remarkably comfortable selling the dollar in increasingly
illiquid trading conditions Michael Woolfolk a senior
currency strategist at The Bank of New York Mellon said in a
note Part of this obviously reflects a relatively high degree
of risk tolerance but part of this also reflects growing
sentiment for a weaker dollar
Meanwhile the yen struggled broadly as Japanese
institutional investors sold the currency at the start of the
new quarter along with a smaller than forecast improvement in
the Bank of Japan s June tankan corporate survey
The dollar rose 0 3 percent to 96 55 yen while the euro
gained 1 percent to 136 56 yen |
WFC | FOREX Dollar up vs euro down vs yen after payrolls data | Dollar rises vs euro falls vs yen after jobs data
ECB holds rates at 1 0 percent as expected
China quells FX reserves speculation supports dollar
Adds comments details
By Vivianne Rodrigues
NEW YORK July 2 Reuters The dollar extended gains
versus the euro and fell against the yen on Thursday after a
report showed a larger than expected drop in U S non farm
payrolls in June raising concerns about the pace of the
economic recovery
U S Treasury bonds rose and U S stock index futures
extended losses after the data as risk aversion increased
helping the dollar s safe haven appeal Analysts said demand
for the euro also fell after European Central Bank President
Jean Claude Trichet said euro zone activity would likely remain
weak for the rest of the year
The ECB left interest rates at 1 percent as expected and
Trichet said stabilization in 2010 would be followed by a
recovery
Certainly the jobs number is weaker than expected said
Vassili Serebriakov a currency strategist at Wells Fargo Bank
in New York The dollar was trading with a slightly firmer
tone going into the number primarily due to weaker equity
markets and data disappointments elsewhere
Eventually it ll depend on equities he added If
equities were to take this number badly this could lend some
strength to the dollar
In morning trading in New York the euro was down 0 7
percent at 1 4044 retreating from 1 4201 hit on Wednesday
its highest since early June The dollar was down 0 6 percent
at 95 99 yen after trading as high as 96 88 yen prior to the
jobs report
U S employers cut 467 000 jobs in June far more than
expected while the unemployment rate rose to 9 5 percent the
government said in a report that showed a labor market
continuing to struggle with a deep recession
If you were banking on the U S driving a vigorous
recovery think again The employment report can largely be
taken at face value and the face value story is a labor market
that is not improving nearly as rapidly as the May data
suggested Alan Ruskin chief international strategist at RBS
said in a note
Also helping to support the dollar were comments from a
Chinese Foreign Ministry official that weakened speculation
about currency reserves diversification
The U S currency fell on Wednesday after G8 sources told
Reuters China had asked for a debate on proposals for a new
global reserve currency
The dollar has been a little bit underpinned by the
Chinese policymakers taking back their rhetoric about the
global reserve currency Samarjit Shankar director of global
foreign exchange strategy at the Bank of New York Mellon in
Boston
Additional reporting by Steven Johnson and Wanfeng Zhou in
New York Editing by Kenneth Barry |
WFC | ANALYSIS Japan one step closer to intervention as yen surges | Sharp move in yen increases threats of FX intervention
Yen may keep rising as risk aversion increases
By Vivianne Rodrigues and Nick Olivari
NEW YORK July 8 Reuters Japan could be one step closer
to intervening in the foreign exchange market for the first
time in five years as a soaring yen further jeopardizes the
country s chances of pulling out of recession
Growing unease about the global economy has prompted
investors to rush out of trades that bet against the yen while
favoring higher yielding but often riskier currencies
The move accelerated on Wednesday and spurred talk of
intervention or at least jaw boning of the exchange rate by
Japanese officials after investors bought back yen pushing it
to multi month highs against both the dollar and euro
If the yen strengthens to trade below 90 to the dollar it
is more a question of when than if said Michael Woolfolk
senior currency strategist at The Bank of New York Mellon in
New York At this stage the pace of the move rather than the
absolute is their main concern They want to see stability
they have mentioned it many times before
Japanese officials have said repeatedly the country is not
considering intervention in currency markets However given
the country s reliance on exports they may be more motivated
Investors are also mindful that the Group of Seven
industrial powers in October issued a rare inter meeting
statement singling out yen volatility giving Japanese
authorities the green light to stem its surge at that time
The yen also jumped against the Australian and the New
Zealand dollars as it quickly broke through key levels around
93 40 to the U S dollar to touch its highest since February
The yen moved more than 3 percent against both the dollar
and euro Wednesday in its biggest one day
moves since March and November respectively
Japan has a long history of trying to stem yen strength by
intervening to buy dollars but it has stayed out of the market
since a 35 trillion yen 377 billion campaign over 15 months
ended in March 2004 The Ministry of Finance has gradually
moved away from heavy intervention because that last campaign
had mixed results
A summit of the Group of Eight major economies in Italy
starting on Wednesday was silent on currencies but the sharp
moves are unlikely to go unnoticed analysts said
As the yen starts getting close to the 90 mark we are
going to see Japan stepping up the rhetoric at least said
Vassili Serebriakov currency strategist at Wells Fargo Bank in
New York It s inevitable
Central banks have become more active in currency markets
in recent months to prevent price volatility from threatening a
nascent economic recovery
FOLLOWING THE SWISS EXAMPLE
The Swiss National Bank surprised the market in March by
buying euros and U S dollars and selling the franc It
was the first time that the SNB had intervened since 1995
The SNB denied they intervened to weaken the currency
instead acting to stop it from rising Swiss monetary
authorities have sold the franc several times after the March
announcement with more aggressive forays in the last days of
June traders said As a result the Swiss franc has fallen
about 4 percent versus the euro since March
The Japanese currency has also strengthened in the past as
investors unwound carry trades trading around 88 to the dollar
late last year as the global economic crisis intensified
Momentum is now building again to hold yen as risk aversion
rises
As risk aversion goes up the yen is regaining some of the
safe haven characteristics it has lost said Serebriakov
Carry trade positions now are not as large as they were
pre crisis but the yen will keep benefiting And let s see
what happens if we get to the 90 mark That s probably the line
in the sand
Additional reporting by Wanfeng Zhou Editing by James
Dalgleish |
T | AT T drops CBS channels from its cable systems | Reuters CBS Corp N CBS and AT T Inc N T failed to renew their contact resulting in millions of DirecTV subscribers losing access to CBS programming CBS television stations in over a dozen U S cities including New York and Los Angeles went dark for DirecTV customers effective 0200 ET 0600 GMT CBS said in a statement on Saturday While we continue to negotiate in good faith and hope that AT T agrees to fair terms soon this loss of CBS programming could last a long time CBS added as the companies blamed one another for the deal s collapse CBS the network with hit shows like NCIS and The Late Show with Stephen Colbert is directing customers to a website called KeepCBS com where they are urged to mail call or post messages onto DirecTV s social media pages In a separate statement AT T said that they were willing to continue to negotiate and also offered to pay CBS an unprecedented rate increase In March AT T renewed its contract with Viacom Inc O VIAB avoiding a blackout of MTV Nickelodeon and Comedy Central for users of the telecom carrier s pay TV service DirecTV
CBS had informed its users on Tuesday that they should be prepared for a blackout from June 19 unless an agreement was reached with AT T |
T | Judge Denies AT T Request for Dismissal in 224M SIM Swap Crypto Case | The federal judge overseeing Terpin v AT T NYSE T a legal battle pertaining to stolen crypto via SIM swapping that has been going on for almost a year has denied the telecom giant s motion for dismissal
As previously reported by Cointelegraph investor Michael Terpin had sued AT T for 224 million Terpin reportedly lost 24 million as a result of theft and is seeking an additional 200 million in punitive damages Terpin claims that he lost the foregoing assets in two hacks within seven months due to the telecom provider s alleged cooperation with the hacker and gross negligence |
T | AT T Earnings inline Revenue Beats In Q2 | Investing com AT T NYSE T reported second quarter earnings that matched analysts expectations on Wednesday and revenue that topped forecasts
The firm reported earnings per share of 0 89 on revenue of 44 96B Analysts polled by Investing com anticipated EPS of 0 89 on revenue of 44 87B That compared to EPS of 0 91 on revenue of 38 99B in the same period a year earlier The company had reported EPS of 0 86 on revenue of 44 83B in the previous quarter
AT T follows other major Services sector earnings this month
On Wednesday Visa A reported third quarter EPS of 1 37 on revenue of 5 84B compared to forecasts of EPS of 1 32 on revenue of 5 7B
Netflix earnings beat analysts expectations on July 17 with second quarter EPS of 0 6 on revenue of 4 92B Investing com analysts expected EPS of 0 56 on revenue of 4 93B
Stay up to date on all of the upcoming earnings reports by visiting Investing com s earnings calendar |
PFE | Conatus CNAT Focuses On Developing NASH Candidate Emricasan | On Dec 27 we issued an updated research report on Conatus Pharmaceuticals Inc NASDAQ CNAT This San Diego based company has no approved product in its portfolio at the moment and focuses on developing its lead pipeline candidate emricasan
Emricasan 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 It has an exclusive option collaboration and license agreement with Novartis NYSE NVS for the worldwide development and commercialization of emricasan
Conatus is conducting three ongoing phase IIb ENCORE studies on emricasan for treating fibrosis or cirrhosis induced by NASH The programs are namely ENCORE NF for NASH fibrosis ENCORE PH for portal hypertension and ENCORE LF for liver function
Earlier this month Conatus announced top line results from phase IIb ENCORE PH study which evaluated emricasan in patients with compensated or early decompensated NASH cirrhosis and severe portal hypertension The study examined the capacity of emricasan to reduce hepatic venous pressure gradient HVPG in NASH cirrhosis patients Although emricasan demonstrated clinically meaningful treatment effects in compensated NASH cirrhosis patients who stand at a risk of passing to the decompensation state it failed to meet the primary endpoint
The ENCORE NF assessment is investigating emricasan for potential improvements in fibrosis and steatohepatitis pertaining to patients with fibrosis caused by NASH Top line data from the study is expected in the first half of 2019
The ENCORE LF study is inspecting emricasan in patients with decompensated NASH cirrhosis Notably top line results from the study will be presented in mid 2019 much earlier than the previously estimated timeline of the second half of 2019
Notably the NASH market holds untapped prospects People afflicted with diabetes high cholesterol or high triglycerides are often diagnosed with the disease which is feared to become the fastest growing cause for liver transplant and liver cancer With no treatments currently available for this indication the market opportunity for emricasan seems significant By 2025 the worldwide market for NASH treatments is estimated to reach a value of 35 billion
Given such an upbeat scenario we believe that emricasan has the power to capture a large market share on approval
Apart from 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 across the EU
So far this year shares of Conatus have plummeted 72 1 significantly wider than the decrease of 7 4
Zacks Rank Other Key Pick
Conatus currently carries a Zacks Rank 2 Buy Another top ranked stock in the same sector is Bovie Medical Corp NYSE BVX sporting a Zacks Rank 1 Strong Buy You can see
Bovie Medical s loss per share estimates has been narrowed 21 1 for 2018 and 13 5 for 2019 in the last 60 days The stock has skyrocketed 134 3 year to date
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 |
T | Top Financial Blogger These 3 Stocks Can Rip Higher in 2020 | David Alton Clark s reputation as one of the best stock pickers in the game precedes him Based on the blogger s track record he has rightfully earned this reputation According to TipRanks a fintech company that tracks and measures the performance of financial experts Clark s stock picks see a return of 25 7 on average Not to mention his success rate the number of profitable recommendations measured over one year comes in at 70 So it makes sense then that the five star blogger scores the second spot on TipRanks ranking of the Top 25 Bloggers Highlighting the current economic landscape Clark advises against going all in on any position in one fell swoop when making bets for 2020 which also happens to be a US election year Following 2019 s record breaking performance the market continues to tear higher thanks to the Fed s monetary policy as well as the improving geopolitical climate Along with sky high P E ratios this sets the scene for underwhelming earnings results says Clark With this in mind we asked the top financial blogger if he would share his stock picks for 2020 1 DocuSign DOCU DocuSign is my speculative high flyer selection I always suggest an investor allocate at least 5 of their portfolio to a speculative play with the potential for exponential growth Currently the stock has a Strong Buy consensus rating with an 84 average price target See DocuSign stock analysis on TipRanks I have used DocuSign for the past few years in my real estate business It is an invaluable asset for me The DocuSign product helps organizations connect and automate how they prepare sign act on and manage agreements As part of the DocuSign Agreement Cloud DocuSign offers eSignature the world s 1 way to sign electronically on practically any device from almost anywhere at any time Today more than 560 000 customers and hundreds of millions of users in over 180 countries use DocuSign to accelerate the process of doing business as well as save time and money I don t think I could operate at this point without it Fundamental AnalysisWhen evaluating a speculative growth stock the most important piece of the puzzle to me is the growth rate Currently DocuSign s is nearly 40 quarter over quarter Moreover EPS growth is 17 The company is not currently profitable yet they have a clear path to profitability At this stage in the company s lifecycle many investors are unwilling to take the plunge due to the fact the company has an extremely high P E ratio When looking at momentum growth plays I disregard the fundamental value statistics There is more than one way to make money in the market Growth and value investments are polar opposites So a high P E ratio in this case is a good thing Sometimes you have to just hold your nose and take the plunge High risk equals high reward Technical AnalysisThe stock has just broken out to all time highs and is up over 40 in just the last six months Once again this may keep some on the sidelines due to the fact they believe they have missed the boat Again this is the value investor s way of thinking When looking at a momentum growth play I want to see the stock breaking out and reaching new highs I see this as a huge positive The stock is trading above both its 50 and 200 day simple moving averages SMA which is also very positive Wrap upAs I said before layer into the position as any type of negative macro event may provide a better entry point over the course of the year Nonetheless I recently added to my position on the latest breakout I see the stock as a major buyout candidate as well with a paltry 13 billion valuation DocuSign saves companies time money and saves the trees You can t ask for more than that I am expecting shares to hit 150 over the next 12 18 months if it doesn t get bought out first 2 Facebook FB Facebook is my cash cow solid capital appreciation play The company is printing money yet hasn t really gone anywhere in the last year due to potential regulatory issues that I see as overblown Furthermore they haven t even begun to monetize Instagram yet This fact seems lost on the bears I have faith in Zuckerberg Just look at what he has accomplished with the company and stock so far This is a buy and hold forever stock for me I am an avid user of Facebook as well None of the privacy issues or any of the other issues the company has faced has driven me away It s where I connect with my family and friends I don t see myself leaving the platform Facebook has a Strong Buy consensus rating on TipRanks with the highest price target coming in at 300 See Facebook stock analysis on TipRanks Fundamental AnalysisFacebook is a cash flow machine The company currently has a huge cash hoard of over 200 billion With a forward P E of 23 and a 30 growth rate I consider the stock a bargain at current levels I just recently added to my position as well Facebook is no longer a growth pure play The company has proven they know how and when to monetize products With Instagram monetization in the works and the potential for a crypto currency I see the fundamentals only improving on a go forward basis Technical AnalysisThe current technical for Facebook is very positive The stock is trading above both its 50 and 200 day moving averages and has recently broken out above its long term trading range The good news is there s still plenty of room to run Nevertheless don t buy your entire position in one shot That is a sure way to lose money Always layer in over time that way you have some dry powder on hand in case an opportunity presents itself Wrap upFacebook is a money making machine Zuckerberg has proven he has the chops to create streams of cash flow out of thin air I remember when the stock sold off because no one thought he would be able to monetize mobile He sure proved them wrong The risk reward ratio is extremely favorable at this juncture I see 38 upside over the next 12 18 months with a 300 price target 3 AT T T AT T is my income dividend play with modest potential for capital appreciation I was a consultant for Bell South in the 1990s and audited Time Warner while working with Ernst Young as well What s more AT T is a hometown stock for me I grew up in San Antonio Texas the birthplace of modern day AT T I can tell you from my experience with both companies I believe they can and will achieve their goals AT T is transforming from being a primarily widow and orphan stock to a dividend growth total return play Nonetheless don t expect any big upward moves from the current level in the near term AT T needs to prove it can make money despite the added debt load and revenues from wireless services waning According to TipRanks the stock earns a Moderate Buy consensus rating from the analysts See AT T stock analysis on TipRanks Fundamental AnalysisRecently CFO John Stephens stated AT T expects to meet all of its commitments to shareholders He reiterated 2020 guidance for earnings of 3 60 3 70 per share revenue growth of 1 2 stable EBITDA margins free cash flow around 28 billion and dividend payout ratio in the low 50 range This is a safe dividend income play and is ideal for those looking for income combined with capital preservation with some capital appreciation potential The company has plenty of cost cutting to do and shares to buy back I see a slow and steady rise in the dividend payout and share price overtime AT T s fundamentals are strong with a forward P E of 10 and a P FCF ratio of 19 Technical AnalysisAt present AT T is at the upper end of its trading range The stock performed the coveted Golden Cross where the 50 day SMA passes above the 200 day SMA Nevertheless 40 has been the ceiling for the stock over the past few years and seems to be providing strong resistance now as well Even so AT T is just beginning to get its streaming offering online This new revenue stream may be just what the doctor ordered If things go well we could see the stock break out of the current range and climb as high as 50 over the next 12 18 months Wrap upThe fact of the matter is AT T has always been at the forefront of most new communications systems Moreover the company still owns the last mile in most marketplaces As a result AT T s growth prospects have increased substantially This selection is the least risky pick of the three I am looking for a 15 total return based on the 5 5 dividend yield coupled with the potential for moderate capital appreciation over time I d say we have the potential for another 10 upside giving you a nice double digit return over the next year with very little risk from this dividend aristocrat To find good ideas for cannabis stocks trading at fair value or better visit TipRanks Best Stocks to Buy a newly launched tool that unites all of TipRanks equity insights Disclosure The author is Long DOCU FB and T stocks |
T | AT T To Deploy 5G FirstNet Services At Nellis Air Force Base | AT T Inc s NYSE T subsidiary AT T Communications recently announced that it has reached an agreement to provide 5G services to the Nellis Air Force Base in southern Nevada The telecom behemoth will also deliver FirstNet a nationwide public safety communications platform built by AT T with funding from the federal government to eligible personnel across Nellis Financial terms of the deal remained undisclosed Reportedly the base covers more than 14 000 acres and is one of the biggest employers in the region The network operator plans to equip Nellis with 5G infrastructure to facilitate voice and data services for more than 40 000 Air Force personnel family members and retirees It will further provide wireless high speed external and in building connectivity across the base s flight line facilities and on site medical center The communications platform is expected to support an array of technology tools and innovation that can help the base modernize its mission approach AT T did not provide specific ideas but communicated some use cases that its 5G network is likely to enable This includes assistance for flight line operations where mission data is transferred at high speeds with lower latency constant video surveillance and analytics for enhanced base security and virtual real time management of inventory aircraft schematics and diagnostic analysis AT T has been aggressively building FirstNet for first responders and creating next generation mobile 5G Over the past five years or so the company has invested more than 145 billion in wireless and wireline networks including capital investments and acquisitions of wireless spectrum and operations Its fiber network is one of the nation s largest and connects more IoT devices compared with any other provider in North America The company is focused on surpassing the annual 6 8 reduction in network operational costs it has achieved in recent years To this end AT T has begun several cost reduction initiatives as it targets an additional 4 reduction on lower labor related costs and corporate overhead It has already virtualized 71 of its network functions and expects to meet its target of 75 by the end of 2020 The company is on track to deploy a standards based nationwide mobile 5G network by 2020 Its 5G policy framework hinges on three pillars mobile 5G fixed wireless and edge computing Its 5G service involves utilization of millimeter wave spectrum for deployment in dense pockets while in suburban and rural regions it has planned to deploy 5G on mid and low band spectrum holdings The company is scheduled to report fourth quarter 2019 results on Jan 29 before the opening bell For 2020 AT T projects revenues to grow between 1 and 2 including wireless equipment revenue gains from 5G device adoption It expects adjusted earnings per share of 3 60 3 70 This includes HBO Max investment of 1 5 2 billion and share retirements While adjusted EBITDA margin is anticipated to be stable with 2019 levels free cash flow is likely to be 28 billion This Zacks Rank 3 Hold stock with a market cap of 278 3 billion has impressed investors with its recent earnings streak It topped estimates thrice in the trailing four quarters the beat being 0 9 on average It is currently trading with a forward P E of 10 56X Backed by strong execution of operational strategies the stock has added 13 5 compared with 5 2 growth recorded by the in the past six months Investors who are looking for solid profits in 2020 may consider some better ranked stocks in the broader industry These include Sogou Inc NYSE SOGO the Rubicon Project Inc NYSE RUBI and Chegg Inc NYSE CHGG While Sogou sports a Zacks Rank 1 Strong Buy Rubicon and Chegg carry a Zacks Rank 2 Buy You can see Sogou has a long term earnings growth expectation of 20 2 Rubicon surpassed earnings estimates in the trailing four quarters the surprise being 86 7 on average Chegg has a of B It topped earnings estimates in the trailing four quarters the surprise being 49 4 on average Today s Best Stocks from ZacksWould you like to see the updated picks from our best market beating strategies From 2017 through Q3 2019 while the S P 500 gained 39 6 five of our strategies returned 51 8 57 5 96 9 119 0 and even 158 9 This outperformance has not just been a recent phenomenon From 2000 Q3 2019 while the S P averaged 5 6 per year our top strategies averaged up to 54 1 per year |
PFE | FDA OKs Glaxo s inhaled triplet therapy for COPD | The FDA approves GlaxoSmithKline s NYSE GSK Trelegy Ellipta fluticasone furoate umeclidinium vilanterol FF UMEC VI a once daily single inhaler triplet therapy for the long term maintenance treatment of patients with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease COPD including chronic bronchitis and or emphysema Market launch will commence shortly
Glaxo developed the product with collaboration partner Innoviva NASDAQ INVA Approval in Europe should happen in Q4
Now read |
WFC | GLOBAL ECONOMY WEEKAHEAD Recovery rally may be racing too fast | By Emily Kaiser
WASHINGTON May 31 Reuters The global economic recovery
rally may be getting ahead of reality
Investors have begun venturing out of safe haven shelters
such as the U S dollar and government bonds something
policy makers hope is a reflection of growing confidence that
the world economy is on the mend
But one side effect is that borrowing costs are going up
making it more expensive for people to buy homes or to invest
in their businesses Some analysts worry that could smother the
recovery before it gets going and put pressure on central banks
and governments to pour even more public money into the
economy
Last week the price of oil soared to a six month high the
U S dollar fell to a five month low and U S government bonds
went on a wild ride that at one point drove the gap between
short and long term rates known as the yield curve to
the widest level on record
Watching 10 year Treasury yields shoot higher over the
last two weeks I couldn t shake the sinking feeling that we
may be watching the end of the recovery party said Scott
Anderson senior economist at Wells Fargo
I fear if yields rise much further the green shoots will
not just wilt but turn brown and die forcing us to yet again
downgrade our outlook for the economy
Yields fell on Friday but the volatility provides an
uncomfortable setting for U S Treasury Secretary Timothy
Geithner s first official trip to China for talks on Monday and
Tuesday
Geithner will be trying to reassure one of the largest
holders of U S government debt that the United States will
move swiftly to get its debt under control once a recovery
begins For more see ID nN28370599
THE GREAT UNWIND
China held 767 9 billion in U S Treasuries as of March
government data shows and so far there is no evidence that it
has cut back on its purchases But Chinese officials have
expressed concern that the value of their investments will fall
if soaring U S debt triggers inflation
That is why unwinding the stimulus both in the form of
government spending and central bank lending will be
critically important to the fiscal future of the United States
and the stability of the global economy
Inflation fears are suddenly back in vogue which may be a
signal that investors have their doubts about whether the rich
world can safely unwind a multitrillion dollar
recession fighting campaign
There is little evidence of price pressures at the moment
and in fact the U S Federal Reserve seems far more concerned
about the risk of deflation
But the threat of inflation is already on the minds of some
European Central Bank officials who have been stressing the
importance of clearly explaining how they intend to tighten
monetary policy once the economy rebounds
ECB President Jean Claude Trichet has said repeatedly that
having a credible exit strategy was of the essence to ensure
that inflation doesn t build
Still none of the developed world s major central banks
are talking about tightening yet If anything the next move
will be to pump more money into the financial system
The ECB and the Bank of England both hold policy setting
meetings on Thursday Both are expected to hold short term
borrowing costs steady and the ECB may provide more detail on
its plans to purchase assets to stimulate the economy
1 TRILLION MORE
The Federal Reserve has already committed to buy up to 300
billion in U S Treasury securities and 1 45 trillion in
mortgage backed securities But as interest rates on U S home
mortgages rise in tandem with bond market yields some
economists think the Fed will have to do even more
Michael Pond a strategist at Barclays Capital in New York
said the Federal Reserve ought to step in and buy up to 1
trillion in Treasuries to cap mortgage rates
Refinance activity has already turned down and if rates
were to rise further the Fed would run the significant risk
that another leg down in the housing market could lead to a
double dip in the broader economy he said
On Friday investors will get yet another reminder that the
U S economy is still suffering The closely watched monthly
employment report is expected to show another 517 000 jobs were
lost in May driving the unemployment rate to a nearly 16 year
high of 9 2 percent
If General Motors Corp files for bankruptcy as
expected that would no doubt add to the job losses in the
coming weeks
A contracting economy coping with high unemployment
certainly doesn t need higher interest rates
Editing by Dan Grebler |
WFC | FOREX Dollar falls broadly as risk appetite increases | Dollar falls broadly as risk appetite increases
Commodity linked currencies surge
Treasury sells 11 billion in 30 year bonds
Talk of deficit diversification weighs on dollar
Adds comments details changes byline
By Vivianne Rodrigues
NEW YORK June 11 Reuters The dollar fell broadly on
Thursday as improved U S unemployment and retail sales data
boosted hopes of an economic recovery and reduced safe haven
demand for the greenback
The euro hit a session high above 1 4150 and the price of
oil climbed above 73 a barrel lifting commodity linked
currencies such as the Australian dollar
Strong demand for long term U S debt at a Treasury auction
helped lift bonds and stocks in Wall Street further
diminishing the allure of the dollar as a haven
It s a good auction said Nick Bennenbroek head of FX
strategy at Wells Fargo Bank in New York It has caused U S
stocks to gain and as a result it has sort of trimmed
safe haven demand for the dollar at least for today
The euro rose more than 1 percent after the auction to
trade as high as 1 4178 according to electronic trading
platform EBS The dollar fell 0 9 percent to 97 32 yen after
hitting a session low of 97 31 yen
U S Treasury prices rallied on Thursday with 30 year debt
extending its gains considerably after a solid auction of 11
billion of the long bonds With Thursday s sale the government
auctioned a total of 65 billion in debt this week
The U S Treasury intends to issue some 2 trillion of debt
in 2009 alone Concern about a record U S budget deficit and a
steady rise in long dated government bond yields that could
make it more costly to finance also dented the dollar
analysts said On Wednesday yields on the benchmark 10 year
Treasury note hit 4 percent its highest since October
It s not a surprise that long term rates have risen
Melvin Harris market strategist at Advanced Currency Markets
in New York Everyone knew the 10 year was going to have to
climb to 4 percent and that s going to put a lot of pressure
on authorities to try to cap rates
Russia s central bank said this week it would divert some
of its reserves away from U S Treasuries a move that may be
highlighted when the world s largest emerging countries meet in
Moscow next week
SUPPORTIVE DATA
Data earlier showing fewer Americans filed for first time
jobless benefits last week than in recent weeks boosted hopes
of recovery Also earlier in the session a report showed U S
retail sales rose in May though traders said the data was
misleading because much of the gain was tied to higher gasoline
prices
What we are seeing is a continuation of rising risk
appetite Equities are having a decent day commodities are
doing quite well and that s weighing on the dollar said
George Davis a strategist at RBC Capital Markets in Toronto
A G8 source told Reuters the International Monetary Fund
had raised global growth estimates for 2010 to 2 4 percent
from 1 9 percent in April
The Australian dollar rose 2 5 percent to 0 8222 while the
New Zealand dollar soared 2 6 percent to 0 6458 after the
central bank left interest rates unchanged
Additional reporting by Steven C Johnson Editing by James
Dalgleish |
WFC | FOREX Dollar falls as appetite for higher yields rises | Dollar falls broadly as risk appetite increases
Commodity linked currencies surge
Treasury sells 11 billion in 30 year bonds
Talk of deficit diversification weighs on dollar
Adds details updates prices
By Vivianne Rodrigues
NEW YORK June 11 Reuters The dollar fell broadly on
Thursday as improved U S labor market and retail sales data
raised optimism about an economic recovery and reduced
safe haven demand for the greenback
The euro hit a session high above 1 4150 and the price of
oil climbed above 73 a barrel lifting commodity linked
currencies such as the Australian dollar
Strong demand for long term U S debt at a Treasury auction
helped lift bonds and stocks further diminishing the allure of
the dollar as a haven and boosting demand for higher yielding
assets
It s a good auction said Nick Bennenbroek head of FX
strategy at Wells Fargo Bank in New York It has caused U S
stocks to gain and as a result it has sort of trimmed
safe haven demand for the dollar at least for today
In late afternoon trading the euro was 1 percent higher at
1 4102 It traded as high as 1 4178 earlier according to
electronic trading platform EBS The dollar fell 0 6 percent to
97 54 yen after hitting a session low of 97 31 yen
U S Treasury prices rallied on Thursday with 30 year debt
extending its gains considerably after a solid auction of 11
billion of the long bonds With Thursday s sale the government
auctioned a total of 65 billion in debt this week
The U S Treasury intends to issue some 2 trillion of debt
in 2009 alone Concern about a record U S budget deficit and a
steady rise in long dated government bond yields that could
make it more costly to finance also dented the dollar
analysts said On Wednesday yields on the benchmark 10 year
Treasury note hit 4 percent the highest since October
It s not a surprise that long term rates have risen
Melvin Harris market strategist at Advanced Currency Markets
in New York Everyone knew the 10 year was going to have to
climb to 4 percent and that s going to put a lot of pressure
on authorities to try to cap rates
Russia s central bank said this week it would divert some
of its reserves away from U S Treasuries a move that may be
highlighted when the world s largest emerging countries meet in
Moscow next week
SUPPORTIVE DATA
Data earlier showing fewer Americans filed for first time
jobless benefits last week than in recent weeks boosted hopes
of recovery Also earlier in the session a report showed U S
retail sales rose in May though traders said the data was
misleading because much of the gain was tied to higher gasoline
prices
What we are seeing is a continuation of rising risk
appetite Equities are having a decent day commodities are
doing quite well and that s weighing on the dollar said
George Davis a strategist at RBC Capital Markets in Toronto
A G8 source told Reuters the International Monetary Fund
had raised global growth estimates for 2010 to 2 4 percent
from 1 9 percent in April
The Australian dollar rose 2 2 percent to 0 8192 while the
New Zealand dollar soared 2 1 percent to 0 6430 after the
central bank left interest rates unchanged
Additional reporting by Steven C Johnson and Gertrude
Chavez Dreyfuss Editing by James Dalgleish |
WFC | FOREX Dollar drops as tame inflation dents rate hike view | Low U S inflation dents rate hike expectations
US dollar falls against euro hits two week lows vs yen
U S current account narrows in first quarter
Adds comment updates prices
By Wanfeng Zhou
NEW YORK Reuters The U S dollar fell for a
second day against major currencies Wednesday after tame
U S inflation data dampened speculation the Federal Reserve
would raise interest rates anytime soon
A run up in stock prices and better economic data in recent
months had led investors to believe the U S recession was
coming to an end and that interest rates may need to rise by
year end
But investors pared back such expectations after a Labor
Department report on Wednesday showed U S consumer prices rose
just 0 1 percent month on month in May and fell over the past
12 months by the most since 1950
Higher interest rates in the U S compared to Europe tend
to attract investment flows into the U S dollar
The latest inflation data has obviously reminded market
participants that inflation is still not as much of a worry
right now said Samarjit Shankar director of global foreign
exchange strategy at the Bank of New York Mellon in Boston
The market has had to scale back its expectations for a
Fed rate hike That has obviously taken away some element of
support for the dollar he added
In late New York trading the euro rose 0 8 percent to
1 3949 on electronic trading platform EBS hitting a
session peak of 1 3986 earlier in the session
The U S dollar fell to roughly two week lows against the
yen to 95 51 and was last at 95 64 yen down 0 8
percent on the day
The change in the outlook for U S interest rates was a
relief to investors worried about a recent surge in U S
Treasury bond yields which had raised fears that higher rates
could clip an economic recovery
We re seeing dollar weakness because the idea is that
inflation is not pretty evident right now and that is seen as a
positive in terms of the growth outlook and risk appetite
said Brian Dolan chief currency strategist at Forex com in
Bedminster New Jersey
The ICE Futures dollar index which measures the
value of the greenback against a basket of major currencies
dropped 0 6 percent 80 247
CURRENT ACCOUNT DEFICIT
A brief recovery in the U S stock market in afternoon
trading Wednesday also improved risk appetite in general and
reduced safe haven demand for the greenback
Adding to optimism in the currency market was an earlier
report showing the U S current account deficit narrowed in the
first quarter The current account gap of 101 1 billion was
the smallest shortfall since the fourth quarter of 2001
The U S current account deficit although higher than
expected continues to narrow rapidly Vassili Serebriakov
currency strategist at Wells Fargo wrote in a note
This implies that the U S will need to borrow less from
the rest of the world to finance its trade deficit and is a
long term positive for the greenback in our view
Concerns over the dollar s role as a global reserve
currency also continued to weigh on the market a day after the
leaders of Brazil Russia India and China known as the BRIC
group called for a more diversified international monetary
system
The presidents of Russia and China on Wednesday agreed to
boost the use of their national currencies the rouble and
yuan in bilateral trade Russia has recently repeatedly called
for less global reliance on the U S dollar
Bank of New York s Shankar said there s already evidence
that some central banks have started to reduce the proportion
of dollar denominated holdings in their new currency reserves
It s going to be a long term negative for the dollar he
said
In other currency trading sterling traded at 1 6406 up
0 1 percent on the day after Bank of England Governor Mervyn
King said there are signs the British economy is starting to
stabilize But he added that it is too early to remove the huge
degree of stimulus in the economy
Additional reporting by Gertrude Chavez Dreyfuss |
WFC | FOREX US dollar yen fall as risk appetite returns | Yen dollar fall as stronger U S data fuel optimism
Moves limited ahead of next week s Fed meeting
Aussie dollar outperforms as equities oil prices climb
Updates prices adds comment changes byline dateline
previous LONDON
By Gertrude Chavez Dreyfuss
NEW YORK June 19 Reuters The dollar and yen fell on
Friday while higher yielding currencies such as the Australian
dollar rose as more upbeat U S data and gains in equities
boosted hopes that a global economic recovery was on track
That made investors comfortable buying riskier assets such
as stocks and commodities and the currencies tied to them as
they pared back holdings of the safe haven U S dollar
Declines in the dollar against the euro were limited
however as investors were wary ahead of a Federal Reserve
policy meeting and issuance of another record batch of U S
government debt
There s a little bit of risk appetite in the market and
there s still optimism out there said Vassili Serebriakov
senior currency strategist at Wells Fargo in New York
So we re seeing a sell off in the dollar against the
commodity currencies in particular The correlation between a
lower dollar and higher equities hasn t gone away although it
hasn t been as strong
The positive outlook stemmed from Thursday s data showing
the number of people on U S jobless benefits fell for the
first time since January and manufacturing in the U S
Mid Atlantic region shrank much less than expected in June
In early New York trading the euro was up 0 3 percent
against the yen to 134 81 yen and by 0 2 percent against the
dollar at 1 3931
The euro has lost momentum though against the dollar
above 1 40 Analysts said the euro is still beset with
Europe s financial and fiscal situation given disclosure from
the European Central Bank this week that European banks may
face another 283 billion in losses by the end of next year
The dollar rose 0 2 percent against the yen to 96 76 yen
The Australian dollar outperformed other majors gaining 1
percent to 78 05 yen and 0 9 percent against its U S
counterpart to US 0 8065
Adding to recent optimism International Monetary Fund
First Deputy Managing Director John Lipsky on Friday pointed to
signs the decline in global output has moderated and said the
IMF is likely to revise up its 2010 economic growth forecasts
This helped push European shares higher and oil prices back
above 72 per barrel bolstering commodity currencies such as
the Canadian dollar which pushed the greenback down 0 3
percent at C 1 1291
The market is gathering greater confidence in the world
economy Bank of New York Mellon currency strategist Neil
Mellor said
The declines in the yen and the dollar were limited
however with investors unconvinced the recent rally in riskier
assets was justified as the global economy is still struggling
to emerge from its worst recession in decades
Another record round of U S Treasury auctions some
104 billion of debt will be offered next week will be
closely followed for signs of how investor demand is holding up
in the face of an avalanche of new government paper
Markets will watch whether the Fed addresses a recent rise
in short and long term interest rates either by emphasizing
it will keep benchmark rates low for some time or by saying it
will extend its purchase of U S Treasuries An aggressive
expansion of its buying is seen as unlikely
The Fed begins its two day monetary policy meeting on
Tuesday with a decision and statement expected Wednesday
Additional reporting by Jessica Mortimer in London Editing
by James Dalgleish |
WFC | FOREX Dollar jumps vs Swiss franc FOMC statement looms | Dollar euro up vs Swiss franc traders cite intervention
Focus seen quickly switching to Federal Reserve meeting
U S durables goods housing data paint mixed picture
Adds quotes details updates prices
By Wanfeng Zhou
NEW YORK June 24 Reuters The U S dollar rose against
the Swiss franc on Wednesday as traders reported the Swiss
National Bank was intervening in the market by selling the
Swiss currency for dollars and euros
The dollar was the biggest beneficiary of the intervention
reports the SNB declined to comment
Investors were beginning to turn their attention to the
policy statement from the Federal Reserve due out at the close
of the two day meeting of its Federal Open Market Committee at
about 2 15 p m 1815 GMT
It has been a roller coaster ride in the U S dollar this
morning said Kathy Lien director of currency research at GFT
Forex in New York Everyone is going to be focused on the FOMC
rate decision and how much the central bank talks about exit
strategies
The Fed is widely expected to leave the benchmark federal
funds rate at almost zero percent Investors will focus on what
the U S central bank says about the economic outlook and its
debt buying program
The reported FX intervention by the Swiss National Bank
drove both the Swiss franc and the euro lower earlier in the
session said Vassili Serebriakov currency strategist at Wells
Fargo in New York
We do think that the Swiss National Bank will remain alert
to those deflation risks in the near term and are likely to
maintain the current stance of preventing significant strength
in the Swiss franc he said
The dollar hit a session high of 1 0910 francs from around
1 0660 francs before the intervention reports emerged on
electronic trading platform EBS In midday trading the dollar
was up 1 6 percent at 1 0841 francs
Traders cited the SNB buying dollars around 1 0880 francs
Earlier market players cited the Bank for International
Settlements buying euros on behalf of the SNB around 1 5125
francs after it had been seen in the market at around
1 5010 15 francs The BIS declined to comment
The euro rose as high as 1 5288 francs its highest level
in more than two months from around 1 5010 francs before the
intervention talk It was last at 1 5210 up 1 3 percent
U S data released on Wednesday painted a mixed picture of
the economy New orders for long lasting manufactured goods
jumped unexpectedly by 1 8 percent in May providing further
evidence that the battered U S economy was finding its feet
A separate report however showed sales of new U S
single family homes slipped slightly in May underscoring that
conditions in the hard hit housing market remain fragile
The euro last traded down 0 4 percent at 1 4026 while the
dollar was up 0 2 percent at 95 42 yen
The ICE Futures U S dollar index which tracks the
greenback versus a basket of major currencies rose 0 2 percent
to 79 995
The euro had earlier come under pressure after the ECB
allotted a higher than expected 442 billion euros 613
billion in funds at a flat rate of 1 percent
Today s 12 month ECB auction further blurs the boundary
between the ECB s monetary expansion strategy and quantitative
easing said Lena Komileva head of G7 market economics at
Tullett Prebon
Despite modest gains in the dollar Wells Fargo s
Serebriakov said sentiment on the greenback remains jittery
ahead of the FOMC rate outcome
The risks are skewed towards the Fed making a stronger
commitment to keep rates low for an extended period of time
he said That makes the dollar vulnerable and we could see a
weaker dollar should that scenario play out
Additional reporting by Jessica Mortimer in London and
Gertrude Chavez Dreyfuss and Nick Olivari in New York editing
by Leslie Adler |
WFC | FOREX Dollar up as risk appetite fades Swiss franc drops | Rise in jobless claims data dampens risk appetite
Dollar broadly higher erases losses vs euro
Swiss franc lower as traders nervous about intervention
Updates prices adds quotes changes byline dateline
previous LONDON
By Wanfeng Zhou
NEW YORK June 25 Reuters The U S dollar rose against
major currencies on Thursday as worse than expected jobless
claims data dampened risk appetite and investors continued to
digest the Federal Reserve s statement released a day earlier
The Swiss franc fell against both the euro and dollar as
traders cited more talk of the Swiss National Bank selling
francs for euros and dollars possibly via the Bank for
International Settlements Both the SNB and BIS declined to
comment
The dollar strengthened after the Federal Reserve on
Wednesday made no mention of plans to step up quantitative
easing which some market participants considered to be a
downside risk to the dollar
A government report showing the number of U S workers
filing new claims for jobless benefits unexpectedly rose last
week further boosted the greenback and helped it reverse losses
against the euro
The jobless claims were a slight disappointment with the
increase in both headline and continuing claims said Nick
Bennenbroek head of FX strategy at Wells Fargo in New York
Overall the dollar strengthened on the data because there
was some pressure on equities and a slight pullback in risk
appetite
In early New York trading the ICE Futures U S dollar
index which tracks the value of the greenback against a basket
of six major currencies was up 0 3 percent at 80 818 well off
a roughly two week low of 79 562 hit on Wednesday
The euro fell 0 1 percent to 1 3910 after hitting a
two week high of 1 4138 on Wednesday in the run up to the Fed
meeting The dollar rose about 0 5 percent to 96 19 yen
Separately the government said the U S economy shrank
slightly less in early 2009 than previously thought but the
upward revision was more than offset by the disappointing
claims report
Earlier the euro jumped to 1 5380 Swiss francs from around
1 5282 francs in a matter of a few minutes while the dollar
hit a session high of around 1 1020 francs from 1 0939 francs
The euro was last at 1 5305 francs while the dollar bought
1 1000 francs
Market participants remained jittery about possible
intervention by the Swiss National Bank to weaken its domestic
currency The SNB repeatedly intervened on Wednesday according
to traders giving a stark reminder that it is determined to
fight deflation risks by preventing a rise in the Swiss franc
In the wake of yesterday people were always going to be
nervous and we re in thinner summer markets and that always
leaves potential for rumors or nerves to afflict markets said
Jeremy Stretch strategist at Rabobank in London |
PFE | Should You Invest In The VanEck Vectors Pharmaceutical ETF PPH | The VanEck Vectors Pharmaceutical ETF PPH was launched on 12 20 2011 and is a passively managed exchange traded fund designed to offer broad exposure to the Healthcare Pharma segment of the equity market
Retail and institutional investors increasingly turn to passively managed ETFs because they offer low costs transparency flexibility and tax efficiency these kind of funds are also excellent vehicles for long term investors
Investor friendly sector ETFs provide many options to gain low risk and diversified exposure to a broad group of companies in particular sectors Healthcare Pharma is one of the 16 broad Zacks sectors within the Zacks Industry classification It is currently ranked 2 placing it in top 13
Index Details
The fund is sponsored by Van Eck It has amassed assets over 263 22 M making it one of the average sized ETFs attempting to match the performance of the Healthcare Pharma segment of the equity market PPH seeks to match the performance of the MVIS US Listed Pharmaceutical 25 Index before fees and expenses
The MVIS US Listed Pharmaceutical 25 Index tracks the overall performance of companies involved in pharmaceuticals including pharmaceutical research and development as well a production marketing and sales of pharmaceuticals
Costs
Since cheaper funds tend to produce better results than more expensive funds assuming all other factors remain equal it is important for investors to pay attention to an ETF s expense ratio
Annual operating expenses for this ETF are 0 35 making it one of the cheaper products in the space
It has a 12 month trailing dividend yield of 1 71
Sector Exposure and Top Holdings
Even though ETFs offer diversified exposure which minimizes single stock risk it is still important to look into a fund s holdings before investing Luckily most ETFs are very transparent products that disclose their holdings on a daily basis
Looking at individual holdings Merck Co Inc MRK accounts for about 5 82 of total assets followed by Pfizer Inc PFE and Novartis Ag NVS
The top 10 holdings account for about 52 65 of total assets under management
Performance and Risk
The ETF return is roughly 2 58 and was up about 3 06 so far this year and in the past one year as of 12 14 2018 respectively PPH has traded between 54 84 and 64 61 during this last 52 week period
The ETF has a beta of 0 90 and standard deviation of 14 85 for the trailing three year period making it a medium risk choice in the space With about 26 holdings it has more concentrated exposure than peers
Alternatives
VanEck Vectors Pharmaceutical ETF holds a Zacks ETF Rank of 2 Buy which is based on expected asset class return expense ratio and momentum among other factors Because of this PPH is an outstanding option for investors seeking exposure to the Health Care ETFs segment of the market There are other additional ETFs in the space that investors could consider as well
IShares U S Pharmaceuticals ETF IHE tracks Dow Jones U S Select Pharmaceuticals Index and the Invesco Dynamic Pharmaceuticals ETF PJP tracks Dynamic Pharmaceutical Intellidex Index IShares U S Pharmaceuticals ETF has 406 46 M in assets Invesco Dynamic Pharmaceuticals ETF has 511 33 M IHE has an expense ratio of 0 43 and PJP charges 0 57
Bottom Line
To learn more about this product and other ETFs screen for products that match your investment objectives and read articles on latest developments in the ETF investing universe please visit Zacks ETF Center |
PFE | Pfizer PFE Stock Moves 1 58 What You Should Know | Pfizer PFE closed at 43 11 in the latest trading session marking a 1 58 move from the prior day This change was narrower than the S P 500 s daily loss of 2 08 Meanwhile the Dow lost 2 11 and the Nasdaq a tech heavy index lost 2 27
Heading into today shares of the drugmaker had gained 1 37 over the past month outpacing the Medical sector s loss of 1 48 and the S P 500 s loss of 3 6 in that time
PFE will be looking to display strength as it nears its next earnings release which is expected to be January 29 2019 On that day PFE is projected to report earnings of 0 64 per share which would represent year over year growth of 3 23 Meanwhile the Zacks Consensus Estimate for revenue is projecting net sales of 13 73 billion up 0 18 from the year ago period
For the full year our Zacks Consensus Estimates are projecting earnings of 3 per share and revenue of 53 40 billion which would represent changes of 13 21 and 1 62 respectively from the prior year
It is also important to note the recent changes to analyst estimates for PFE These recent revisions tend to reflect the evolving nature of short term business trends As such positive estimate revisions reflect analyst optimism about the company s business and profitability
Our research shows that these estimate changes are directly correlated with near term stock prices We developed the Zacks Rank to capitalize on this phenomenon Our system takes these estimate changes into account and delivers a clear actionable rating model
The Zacks Rank system ranges from 1 Strong Buy to 5 Strong Sell It has a remarkable outside audited track record of success with 1 stocks delivering an average annual return of 25 since 1988 Within the past 30 days our consensus EPS projection remained stagnant PFE is holding a Zacks Rank of 3 Hold right now
Valuation is also important so investors should note that PFE has a Forward P E ratio of 14 61 right now This represents a premium compared to its industry s average Forward P E of 14 42
Also we should mention that PFE has a PEG ratio of 2 18 The PEG ratio is similar to the widely used P E ratio but this metric also takes the company s expected earnings growth rate into account The Large Cap Pharmaceuticals was holding an average PEG ratio of 2 04 at yesterday s closing price
The Large Cap Pharmaceuticals industry is part of the Medical sector This group has a Zacks Industry Rank of 62 putting it in the top 24 of all 250 industries
The Zacks Industry Rank gauges the strength of our industry groups by measuring the average Zacks Rank of the individual stocks within the groups Our research shows that the top 50 rated industries outperform the bottom half by a factor of 2 to 1
To follow PFE in the coming trading sessions be sure to utilize Zacks com |
PFE | A biotech CEO who sold his last company for 14 billion explains why he wants to do things differently this time | David Hung wants to do things differently at his new company
Hung s the CEO of Axovant a company that has a shot to launch the first new Alzheimer s drug in 15 years Before joining the company in April Hung founded Medivation a cancer drugmaker based San Francisco that Pfizer NYSE PFE bought for 14 billion in August 2016
But selling Medivation wasn t initially part of the plan And now he s trying to make sure it doesn t happen again
We never looked to get acquired Hung said We were on a great trajectory we had created a drug that was the biggest selling prostate cancer drug in the world we d crossed 2 billion in revenue
The company was growing and its pipeline looked solid as well Our intention was to be a fully integrated large pharmaceutical company Hung said
In the end that didn t happen
Because Medivation was publicly traded it was hard to turn down a 14 billion offer from Pfizer a over its stock price at the time But now he thinks he can grow an even bigger company
That s in part because Medivation shared the sales of its leading prostate cancer drug Xtandi with Astellas That s not the case with Axovant which entirely owns intepirdine the drug Axovant s developing to treat Alzheimer s
Medivation was 14 3 billion but we had less than half of Xtandi Hung said Had we owned all of Xtandi Medivation should have been a 30 billion company
Axovant incorporated in Switzerland also benefits from a lower tax rate than Medivation which was incorporated in the US The combination of owning all of intepirdine the tax rate and the number of patients who could potentially benefit from the drug has Hung convinced that if the trial is positive Axovant could become even bigger than Medivation was Axovant s current market cap is 2 5 billion
We think that we have the chance to make a really substantial company and with that we ll have the opportunity to impact many areas of neurology and perhaps even beyond neurology Hung said |
WFC | WRAPUP 3 U S confidence rising but auto sales still weak | Adds MasterCard forecast closing market quote
By Ros Krasny
CHICAGO May 1 Reuters U S consumers felt much more
upbeat about the economy in April a month when the country s
battered manufacturing sector also appeared to be crawling out
of a deep recessionary hole reports showed on Friday
The news was fresh evidence that the U S economy may be on
a slow path to recovery helped by a huge government stimulus
package and the Federal Reserve s efforts to prop up the
banking sector
The U S economy appears to be exiting the intensive care
unit but remains in the hospital said Scott Anderson senior
economist at Wells Fargo Economics in Minneapolis
April auto sales however struck a more somber note A day
after Chrysler LLC filed for bankruptcy
reports showed U S automakers were set to post their lowest
monthly sales levels in nearly 30 years
MasterCard Inc also injected a note of caution The
world s second largest credit card network said on Friday that
2009 revenues will grow less than expected as consumers attempt
to trim back debt and use their credit cards less
But as consumer confidence rises the willingness of
Americans to consider major purchases or to pull out the
plastic could increase as well
The Reuters University of Michigan survey of consumers said
its final index of confidence climbed to 65 1 in April from
57 3 in March
The improvement in consumer sentiment is encouraging
consistent with our forecast for a gradual pickup in spending
said Michelle Meyer an economist at Barclays Capital
The index reached its highest since September 2008 when
the collapse of investment bank Lehman Brothers Holdings Inc
set in motion a crisis that rocked the financial
system and pushed the economy already in recession into an
even deeper downturn
Consumers attitudes about the economy appear to be
improving They remain very cautious but these data suggest
consumers are no longer shell shocked said Steven Wood chief
economist at Insight Economics in Danville California
Much of the gain in the consumer survey was attributed to a
thumbs up for U S President Barack Obama s 787 billion
stimulus plan said Richard Curtin director of the
Reuters University of Michigan survey
The survey also found that 65 percent of consumers thought
the stimulus would improve the national economy
Rising U S stock markets in April the Standard Poor s
500 index gained 9 4 percent its biggest monthly rise
in nine years were also seen boosting sentiment as well as
deep discounts from retailers and in the housing market that
have improved buying conditions Barclays Meyer said
The reports helped equities values modestly extended
April s gains on Friday The S P 500 rose 0 5 percent or 4 7
points to 877 52 its highest closing level since Jan 9
FOURTH STRAIGHT GAIN IN KEY FACTORY INDEX
Meanwhile the Institute for Supply Management s closely
watched index of manufacturing activity jumped to 40 1 in April
from 36 3 in March
While the index remains below 50 the level that separates
contraction from expansion it touched its highest point in six
months and is riding a four month streak of gains from
December s low of 32 9
The ISM data was meaningfully better than expected The
recovery in orders to 47 2 is particularly significant said
Alan Ruskin chief international economist at RBS Greenwich
Capital in Greenwich Connecticut
Most of the indicators showed a solid improvement and
even though they are still solidly in a zone associated with
recession they are nowhere near the deep recession depression
type levels feared a few months back Ruskin said
Many economists look at the ISM survey s new orders minus
inventories as a leading indicator for factory output
The measure turned positive in March and continued to rise
in April to its fastest rate of new orders growth versus
inventories since December 2004
Inventories have been steadily coming down While this
weighed heavily on first quarter GDP it could set the stage
for a lasting recovery in manufacturing said Tim Quinlan
economic analyst at Wachovia Securities
As stockpiles are depleted businesses have to go back to
work and production can resume he added |
WFC | Asian markets Advance On Financials Commodity Shares | Current Futures Dow 19 00 S P 3 20 NASDAQ 0 50Asian markets posted small gains tonight while the U S futures turned negative even with the S P erasing the 2009 declines during the spot session The global equity markets were propelled by two better than expected reports on Monday pending home sales and consumer spending The two reports continued the recent trend which points out that the contraction phase is slowing down TheLFB Forex com Trade Team said Global markets started the rally in March when representatives of the banking sector declared that the financial institutions started the recovery process in the first three months of the year Additionally the rally was fueled by a number of reports that printed better than expected results adding more green shots and improving the overall optimism they added During the Asian session the top gainers were in the financial and raw materials sectors Financial companies rose as Goldman upgraded its rating on the industry ahead of the stress test results while Wells Fargo surged 23 66 after Warren Buffet praised the company which he also owns Commodity stocks advanced tonight as the price of commodities rose again on optimism that the global economy will soon start to expand In particular oil and soybeans are trading near the highest value observed over the last few months of trading Overnight the Japanese Nikkei is closed for a second consecutive day The Australian S P Asx gained 0 90 points 0 02 to 3 883 90 Crude oil for May delivery was recently trading at 54 20 per barrel down by 0 20 Gold for May delivery was recently trading higher by 2 10 to 904 30 |
T | WarnerMedia names Ann Sarnoff as CEO of Warner Bros | By Helen Coster Reuters WarnerMedia on Monday said it appointed Ann Sarnoff as the chief executive officer of Warner Bros the first woman to run one of Hollywood s most powerful studios in its 96 year history Sarnoff currently president of BBC Studios Americas will take over the studio behind Wonder Woman Friends and the Harry Potter franchise following a scandal involving its previous studio chief I want to work closely with colleagues across WarnerMedia and make the whole more than the part Sarnoff said in a phone interview I want to take what is a very successful legacy and history and make it even stronger going forward AT T Inc NYSE T the second largest U S wireless carrier acquired Warner Bros as part of its 85 billion purchase of Time Warner last year Some Warner Bros content will be distributed on a new WarnerMedia streaming service set to launch in early 2020 The former chairman and CEO of Warner Bros Kevin Tsujihara resigned from the studio in March following a report that the married executive had sought help securing roles for an actress after the two had sex Tsujihara s attorney denied the executive played a direct role in the actress hiring Sarnoff will report to WarnerMedia CEO John Stankey Ann has shown the ability to innovate and grow revenues and has embraced the evolution taking place in our industry Stankey said in a statement
Sarnoff has also held leading executive roles at the National Basketball Association Viacom and Dow Jones |
T | First U S Democratic presidential debate snags big TV audience | Reuters The first U S Democratic presidential debate a faceoff without the party s frontrunners hauled in a surprisingly large 15 3 million viewers across three television networks according to Nielsen estimates released by NBC News on Thursday Wednesday s debate among Elizabeth Warren Beto O Rourke and eight other candidates vying for the Democratic nomination for U S president aired live on Comcast owned broadcaster NBC cable channel MSNBC and Spanish language network Telemundo It was the most watched event on U S television on Wednesday A second debate featuring 10 other contenders including Joe Biden and Bernie Sanders the candidates who are leading in opinion polls will run on the same networks on Thursday night Wednesday s TV audience did not reach the all time primary record set in 2016 when 24 million viewers tuned in for the first performance by Donald Trump in a Republican candidates debate on Fox News Channel Still it far exceeded predictions from many analysts who said they expected interest would be limited so early in the election cycle and without a brash personality like Trump The audience matched the preliminary estimate of 15 3 million viewers for a Democratic debate in October 2015 on CNN now owned by AT T Inc NYSE T That number was later revised to 15 8 million a record for a Democratic primary field In the surprisingly heated debate on Wednesday several of the lesser known Democrats candidates vied for attention in the crowded race to take on Trump in the 2020 election Candidates sparred on topics including healthcare and border policy
More than 9 million additional viewers watched Wednesday s debate via live streams on the internet NBC said |
T | Supreme Court to hear New Jersey Bridgegate appeal | By Lawrence Hurley WASHINGTON Reuters The U S Supreme Court on Friday agreed to hear an appeal concerning the criminal convictions of two former associates of former New Jersey Governor Chris Christie in the so called Bridgegate scandal that hindered his 2016 presidential candidacy The justices said they would hear an appeal by Bridget Anne Kelly a former Christie deputy chief of staff challenging whether she was validly prosecuted Bill Baroni a former deputy executive director of the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey who was also convicted would benefit if Kelly wins The court will review a November ruling by the Philadelphia based 3rd U S Circuit Court of Appeals upholding their convictions for wire fraud and misusing Port Authority resources The court will hear oral arguments and issue a ruling in its next term which starts in October and ends in June 2020 The legal question is whether the actions for which the defendants were prosecuted fit the definition of fraud under federal law Prosecutors had accused the defendants of engineering days of lane closures in September 2013 on the George Washington Bridge the world s busiest bridge which connects Fort Lee New Jersey to New York City The closures caused days of traffic gridlock and were intended to punish the Democratic mayor of Fort Lee after he declined to endorse the Republican Christie s gubernatorial re election bid prosecutors said Baroni is serving an 18 month prison sentence while Kelly s 13 month sentence was put on hold while she appealed Christie who had been a rising star in Republican politics before Bridgegate denied involvement and was not charged But the scandal hurt his national profile and contributed to low public approval ratings in his home state He dropped out early in the 2016 Republican presidential nomination battle race and later served as an adviser to Donald Trump s successful campaign 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 their roles in creating a sham traffic study to justify the lane closures Wildstein the accused Bridgegate mastermind was sentenced to probation in July 2017 after pleading guilty and cooperating with prosecutors In the appeal Kelly and Baroni had the backing in a friend of the court brief of two high profile figures who faced public corruption prosecutions of their own former media mogul Conrad Black and former Republican Virginia Governor Robert McDonnell Black was convicted of fraud and obstruction of justice and was pardoned by President Donald Trump in May
McDonnell s bribery convictions were tossed by the Supreme Court in 2016 |
PFE | Pfizer PFE Up 4 3 Since Last Earnings Report Can It Continue | It has been about a month since the last earnings report for Pfizer PFE Shares have added about 4 3 in that time frame outperforming the S P 500
Will the recent positive trend continue leading up to its next earnings release or is Pfizer due for a pullback Before we dive into how investors and analysts have reacted as of late let s take a quick look at the most recent earnings report in order to get a better handle on the important drivers Pfizer Beats on Q3 Earnings Narrows ViewPfizer reported third quarter 2018 adjusted earnings per share of 78 cents which beat the Zacks Consensus Estimate of 76 cents Earnings rose 16 year over year driven by a lower tax rate and share count due to share buybacks in the quarter Higher other income and currency tailwinds also contributed to bottom line growth The company recorded revenues of 13 3 billion which slightly missed the Zacks Consensus Estimate Revenues rose 1 from the year ago quarter on a reported basis Currency fluctuation hurt sales by 1 in the quarter due to a strong dollar and weakening of certain emerging markets currencies and euro On an operational basis excluding the impact of currency revenues rose 2 year over year Higher sales of key brands Ibrance Eliquis and Prevnar were partially offset by loss of exclusivity for some products lower sales of legacy Established Products in developed markets and continued supply shortages in legacy Hospira products International revenues rose 5 up 6 an operational basis to 6 94 billion U S revenues declined 3 to 6 36 billion Revenues from the Consumer Healthcare segment which Pfizer is considering selling rose 2 to 839 million Global Oncology revenues increased 11 to 1 78 billion Global Vaccine revenues rose 13 to 1 85 billion Internal Medicine rose 1 to 2 46 billion The Inflammation Immunology franchise rose 4 to 1 02 billion However the portfolio of Rare Disease declined 5 to 531 million Segment DiscussionPfizer s reporting segments are Pfizer Innovative Health IH and Pfizer Essential Health EH Pfizer IH sales grew 4 on a reported basis up 5 an operational basis from the year ago period to 8 47 billion as higher sales of Eliquis and Xeljanz globally Ibrance in international markets and Prevnar 13 and Xtandi in the United States offset lower sales of Enbrel With Viagra losing exclusivity in December 2017 its U S and Canada sales are now reported in the EH segment against IH previously This hurt sales of the IH segment while adding to EH segment sales Ibrance revenues rose 18 year over year to 1 03 billion as higher international sales offset a decline in the United States Ibrance sales outside the United States rose 98 driven by continued uptake in developed Europe and launch in Japan In the United States Ibrance sales declined 1 due to rising competition and increased rebates In the CDK inhibitors category Ibrance holds 90 share in terms of new prescription volume despite rising competition Xeljanz sales rose 26 to 432 million driven by continued growth in rheumatoid arthritis revenues and some early contributions from the drug s recent expansion into psoriatic arthritis and ulcerative colitis Eliquis alliance revenues and direct sales rose 36 to 870 million Chantix sales rose 9 to 261 million in the quarter However Lyrica sales declined 2 to 1 13 billion Xtandi recorded alliance revenues of 180 million in the quarter up 20 year over year In July Xtandi s U S label was expanded to include men with non metastatic castration resistant prostate cancer Xtandi was approved for the same indication in the EU in October This label expansion can drive growth in 2019 Global Prevnar 13 Prevenar 13 revenues rose 10 to 1 66 billion Prevnar 13 revenues rose 12 in the United States due to higher government purchases than last year for the pediatric indication Prevenar 13 revenues rose 6 in international markets driven by higher volumes for the pediatric indication due to increased orders from the Gavi Alliance and launch in China Enbrel revenues declined 11 to 531 million in key European markets due to continued biosimilar competition Pfizer EH segment sales declined 4 both on a reported and operational basis to 4 83 billion EH revenues were hurt by the loss of exclusivity and associated generic competition for products primarily Pristiq and Viagra in the United States and Lyrica in Europe and lower revenues from sterile injectables portfolio due to continued legacy Hospira product shortages in the United States Pfizer is facing supply shortages for sterile injectable products SIP from the legacy Hospira portfolio mainly due to capacity constraints and technical issues On the call the company said it expects these issues to be resolved by end of 2019 Also lower sales of legacy Established Products in developed markets driven by industry wide pricing challenges hurt EH segment sales Total Viagra sales declined 55 to 137 million due to generic competition that began in December 2017 However in the EH business biosimilars and emerging markets did well in the quarter Biosimilars revenues rose 40 operationally while emerging markets revenues grew 11 operationally While Inflectra recorded sales of 71 million in the United States and 166 million globally other biosimilars brought in sales of 31 million up 6 Other DetailsAdjusted selling informational and administrative SI A expenses were flat operationally in the quarter at 3 47 billion Adjusted R D expenses rose 8 to 2 0 billion In the quarter 2018 Pfizer bought back shares worth 1 1 billion As of Oct 30 2018 Pfizer s remaining share repurchase authorization was 7 4 billion 2018 GuidancePfizer narrowed its earnings as well as sales expectations for the full year Revenues are expected in the range of 53 0 billion to 53 7 billion compared with of 53 0 billion to 55 0 billion previously Pfizer attributed the lowered sales outlook to weaker than expected revenues in the EH segment due to continued shortages in the sterile injections business and currency headwinds The guidance assumes no generic competition for Lyrica in the United States until June 2019 Adjusted earnings per share are expected in the range of 2 98 3 02 compared with of 2 95 3 05 billion expected previously At the mid point adjusted EPS is still expected to increase 13 Research and development expenses guidance was maintained in the range of 7 7 8 1 billion while SI A spending is projected in the range of 14 0 14 5 billion versus 14 0 15 0 billion expected previously Adjusted tax rate is still expected to be approximately 16 in 2018 In 2018 Pfizer expects to buy back shares worth 12 billion with 9 0 billion of share repurchases already completed year to date
How Have Estimates Been Moving Since Then
In the past month investors have witnessed a downward trend in fresh estimates
VGM Scores
At this time Pfizer has a subpar Growth Score of D a grade with the same score on the momentum front Charting a somewhat similar path 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 D If you aren t focused on one strategy this score is the one you should be interested in
Outlook
Estimates have been broadly trending downward for the stock and the magnitude of these revisions indicates a downward shift Notably Pfizer has a Zacks Rank 3 Hold We expect an in line return from the stock in the next few months |
PFE | QIAGEN s New Offerings To Broaden Hematology Testing Suite | QIAGEN N V NYSE QGEN recently announced the launch of two products for providing valuable insights on several types of blood cancer The company will be showcasing the launches at the American Society of Hematology 2018 Annual Meeting and Exposition in San Diego The company s latest offering QIAact Myeloid DNA UMI Panel for the GeneReader NGS System aims at delivering an integrated Sample to Insight workflow targeting the genes and variants of most relevance to onco hematology research Furthermore the QIAact Myeloidpanel covers 25 highly relevant genes along with their variants Notably the panel will be made available for research in December 2018 QIAGEN has also launched a web based clinical decision support platform for the QIAGEN Clinical Insight QCI Interpret bioinformatics solution for hematological malignancies including leukemia Non Hodgkin lymphoma Hodgkin lymphoma and multiple myeloma Progress With Test Menu ExpansionQIAGEN is progressing well with its testing menu expansion strategy It recently launched its next generation multiplex gastrointestinal panel QIAstat Dx in Europe The QIAstat Dx system along with the gastrointestinal and respiratory panels was recently registered and launched in Australia QIAGEN expects to receive FDA approval for QIAstat Dx and both the panels in 2019 The company also plans to launch a CE In Vitro Diagnostics IVD marked QIAstat Dx multiplex test for meningitis in 2019 Moreover a wide range of assays for syndromic testing in oncology and other therapeutic areas are currently in the pipeline The company also announced the clearance of PMA Supplement for broadening the use of therascreen EGFR RGQ PCR Kit as a companion diagnostic with Pfizer Inc NYSE PFE s VIZIMPRO dacomitinib by the FDA QIAGEN also announced a new development under its long standing partnership with IVD player DiaSorin S p A This time the alliance is set to offer a fully automated CE Marked testing for latent tuberculosis TB infection with QuantiFERON TB Gold Plus Blood Collection Tubes QFT Plus BCT on DiaSorin LIAISON platforms Share Price PerformanceQIAGEN has been gaining investor confidence on consistently encouraging results Over the past year the company s share price has outperformed its The stock has gained 10 7 against the industry s 14 7 fall Zacks Rank Key PicksQIAGEN currently carries a Zacks Rank 3 Hold Some better ranked stocks in the broader medical space are Integer Holdings Corporation NYSE ITGR Surmodics Inc NASDAQ SRDX and Veeva Systems NYSE VEEV Integer Holdings has an earnings growth rate of 31 2 for the next quarter and a Zacks Rank 2 Buy You can see Surmodics long term earnings growth rate is projected at 10 The stock carries a Zacks Rank of 2 Veeva Systems long term earnings growth rate is estimated at 19 3 The stock carries a Zacks Rank 2 3 Medical Stocks to Buy NowThe 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 |
PFE | Pfizer PFE Stock Moves 1 78 What You Should Know | Pfizer PFE closed at 45 17 in the latest trading session marking a 1 78 move from the prior day This move was narrower than the S P 500 s daily loss of 3 24 Meanwhile the Dow lost 3 1 and the Nasdaq a tech heavy index lost 3 8
Coming into today shares of the drugmaker had gained 7 13 in the past month In that same time the Medical sector gained 4 97 while the S P 500 gained 2 73
Wall Street will be looking for positivity from PFE as it approaches its next earnings report date This is expected to be January 29 2019 The company is expected to report EPS of 0 64 up 3 23 from the prior year quarter Meanwhile the Zacks Consensus Estimate for revenue is projecting net sales of 13 73 billion up 0 18 from the year ago period
For the full year our Zacks Consensus Estimates are projecting earnings of 3 per share and revenue of 53 40 billion which would represent changes of 13 21 and 1 62 respectively from the prior year
Investors might also notice recent changes to analyst estimates for PFE These revisions typically reflect the latest short term business trends which can change frequently As a result we can interpret positive estimate revisions as a good sign for the company s business outlook
Research indicates that these estimate revisions are directly correlated with near term share price momentum We developed the Zacks Rank to capitalize on this phenomenon Our system takes these estimate changes into account and delivers a clear actionable rating model
Ranging from 1 Strong Buy to 5 Strong Sell the Zacks Rank system has a proven outside audited track record of outperformance with 1 stocks returning an average of 25 annually since 1988 Within the past 30 days our consensus EPS projection remained stagnant PFE is currently a Zacks Rank 3 Hold
Digging into valuation PFE currently has a Forward P E ratio of 15 34 Its industry sports an average Forward P E of 14 88 so we one might conclude that PFE is trading at a premium comparatively
Meanwhile PFE s PEG ratio is currently 2 29 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 03 at yesterday s closing price
The Large Cap Pharmaceuticals industry is part of the Medical sector This industry currently has a Zacks Industry Rank of 104 which puts it in the top 40 of all 250 industries
The Zacks Industry Rank gauges the strength of our individual industry groups by measuring the average Zacks Rank of the individual stocks within the groups Our research shows that the top 50 rated industries outperform the bottom half by a factor of 2 to 1
Be sure to follow all of these stock moving metrics and many more on Zacks com |
PFE | Pfizer nabs patent in India covering pneumonia vaccine Prevenar 13 | Patient advocate and aid groups are unhappy with India s patent office after it issued a patent to Pfizer PFE 1 covering Prevenar 13 a pneumonia vaccine The groups contend that the patent will put the vaccine 170 for a full course out of reach for many people in poor countries The action will enable the company to exclusively sell Prevenar 13 in county until 2026 It launched it there in 2010 Many emerging nations rely on Indian drug firms to supply inexpensive versions of medicines and vaccines One Indian company Panacea Biotec Ltd is developing a cheaper version of Prevenar 13 It is mulling a formal opposition to the patent issuance Pfizer s patent on the vaccine was revoked in Europe last year and is being challenged in the U S and South Korea The company has supplied Prevenar 13 at discounted prices under the Global Alliance for Vaccines and Immunisation GAVI an international public private partnership aimed at improving access to vaccines in the world s poorest countries Bowing to criticism over Prevenar 13 s cost Pfizer reduced the price to non government institutions last November Now read |
PFE | Pfizer s marketing applications for expanded use of blood cancer med Bosulif accepted for review in U S and Europe | The FDA and European Medicines Agency have accepted for review Pfizer s NYSE PFE marketing applications seeking approval to use BOSULIF bosutinib to treat patients with newly diagnosed chronic phase Philadelphia chromosome positive Ph chronic myeloid leukemia CML The indication has Priority Review status in the U S which shortens the review clock to six months although Pfizer says the FDA s action date PDUFA is in December It is currently approved in the U S for adult patients with Ph CML who have not responded to prior therapy In Europe it is approved for Ph CML patients who have received prior treatment with one or more tyrosine kinase inhibitors and for whom imatinib nilotinib and dasatinib are considered inappropriate treatment options Privately held Avillion LLP conducted the study supporting the filing under a 2014 agreement with the company If approved it will be eligible to receive milestone payments from Pfizer the owner of global commercialization rights PFE is down 1 premarket on light volume Now read |
PFE | FDA approves Pfizer s leukemia drug | Reuters The U S Food and Drug Administration FDA on Friday approved Pfizer NYSE PFE Inc s drug Mylotarg for certain patients with acute myeloid leukemia AML The drug was cleared to treat adults with newly diagnosed AML whose tumors express the CD33 antigen as well as patients aged 2 years and older with CD33 positive AML who have relapsed or did respond to initial treatment The FDA said the drug has a boxed warning as it may cause severe or fatal liver damage including blockage of veins in the liver Mylotarg got accelerated approval in 2000 as a standalone treatment for adult patients with CD33 positive AML who had experienced a relapse but was voluntarily withdrawn as subsequent confirmatory studies failed to show clinical benefit and had safety concerns including a high number of deaths Friday s approval includes a lower recommended dose a different dosing schedule and a new patient population the FDA said Mylotarg is thought to work by taking the anti tumor agent to the AML cells that express the CD33 antigen blocking the growth of cancerous cells and causing cell death AML is a cancer that originates in the bone marrow and progresses rapidly resulting in an abnormal increase in white blood cells
About 21 380 people will be diagnosed with AML this year and of that 10 590 patients will succumb to the disease according to estimates from the National Cancer Institute |
WFC | GLOBAL MARKETS Stocks dollar rise on sentiment recovery is near | U S stocks edge higher amid growing hopes of recovery
U S dollar rises as jobs data dulls market optimism
Bonds slip as U S jobs losses were fewer than feared
Oil prices slip as jobs report points to less demand
Recasts with U S markets changes dateline previous
LONDON
By Herbert Lash
NEW YORK April 3 Reuters U S stocks edged higher and
the dollar rose on Friday as gloomy data on the U S labor
market failed to eclipse growing sentiment among investors that
the worst of a deep financial crisis may be over
Crude prices slipped after surging nearly 9 percent the day
before as the shedding of 663 000 American jobs in March
weighed on oil futures even amid rising optimism that Group of
20 actions taken on Thursday will help spur recovery
U S Treasury and short dated euro zone government bond
prices fell on the perception of improving economic conditions
which undercut the safe haven bid for bonds
Investors continued to sell government bonds notably
shorter dated euro zone paper even as stocks in early trade
gave back some gains a day after the European Central Bank
disappointed analysts by cutting interest rates by less than
expected
Investors are more confident than they were that we could
be at the bottom of the downturn globally said Nick
Stamenkovic bond strategist at RIA Capital Markets in
Edinburgh That s taken the shine off bonds supporting the
risk assets particularly equities he said
The S P 500 and Nasdaq rose while the Dow briefly turned
positive as technology stocks extended gains and the financial
sector reversed an earlier drop
Technology shares rose after results from BlackBerry maker
Research In Motion surpassed expectations
After 1 p m the Dow Jones industrial average was
down 21 74 points or 0 27 percent at 7 956 34 The Standard
Poor s 500 Index was up 0 20 points or 0 02 percent at
834 58 The Nasdaq Composite Index was up 6 44 points
or 0 40 percent at 1 609 07
European shares closed lower with drugmakers and oil
companies falling as contractions in the British and euro zone
services sectors provided further evidence of recession on top
of the U S jobless report
The British and euro zone s service sectors contracted
again in March but not as rapidly as prior months offering
some hope that the worst of the downturn may have passed
ID nL3670963
After the euphoria of the G20 some economic reality has
kicked in said Philip Lawlor chief portfolio strategist at
Nomura in London We had a good run and some people have
decided to lock profits in
The pan European FTSEurofirst 300 index of top shares fell
1 3 percent to 771 60 points The index rose 7 1 percent over
the week and is up more than 19 percent from a lifetime low on
March 9
Drugmakers were among the biggest losers Novo Nordisk
slumped 13 7 percent after a U S advisory panel failed to back
its experimental diabetes drug Victoza or liraglutide
The bleak U S jobs report kept a lid on gains in the
dollar only slightly dimming the optimism that swelled after
world leaders at the G20 summit in London agreed to pump 1 1
trillion into the world economy to fight the crisis
Gains were limited as the dollar tends to rise in response
to bad news because investors see it as the safest store of
value at a time when economies across the globe are shrinking
There had been a degree of enthusiasm that perhaps the
world economy has seen the worst and the jobs data tempered
that enthusiasm a bit said Vassili Serebriakov currency
strategist at Wells Fargo in New York
The dollar rose against a basket of major currencies with
the U S Dollar Index up 0 03 percent at 84 349 Against
the yen the dollar rose 0 39 percent to 99 94
The euro fell 0 19 percent to 1 3436
Bond prices fell The benchmark 10 year U S Treasury note
slipped 31 32 in price to yield 2 88 percent The
2 year U S Treasury note shed 5 32 in price to
yield 0 97 percent
U S light sweet crude oil fell 69 cents or 1 31
percent to 51 95 a barrel
The jobs report was apparently priced in and was pretty
much in line with expectations said Mike Fitzpatrick vice
president at MF Global in New York
Asian stocks rose for a fourth day on a risk taking rally
spurred by the G20 summit The MSCI index of Asia Pacific
stocks outside Japan edged up 0 7 percent and
is now more than 20 percent higher since late February
Japan s Nikkei share average closed up 0 3 percent
after being higher for most of the session
Reporting by Steven C Johnson Richard Leong in New York and
Jamie McGeever Brian Gorman Chris Baldwin in London writing
by Herbert Lash Editing by Chizu Nomiyama |
WFC | POLL U S recession to ease but industry set to crumble | By Pedro Nicolaci da Costa
NEW YORK April 8 Reuters The worst U S recession since
World War Two will not give way to growth until the third
quarter as an already withered industrial sector retrenches
sharply according to a Reuters poll
In a troubling sign for the banking sector which has been
crippled by real estate loans gone bad house prices will extend
their vertiginous decline albeit at a slower pace
Home values as measured by the Case Shiller index already
down by about a third from peaks set in 2006 will fall 17 7
percent over the course of 2009 the poll found In a January
poll the consensus view was for a 13 1 percent drop
U S gross domestic product GDP will shrink through to
mid year and then grow a meagre 0 1 percent in the third
quarter It will then expand 1 6 percent in the fourth quarter
The jobless rate will rise to a peak of 9 8 percent in the
first quarter of next year from the current 8 5 percent
The recession is expected to moderate in the months ahead
but it is still too early to say an economic rebound is about to
begin said Scott Anderson senior economist at Wells Fargo
Indeed the poll of around 70 economists taken April 1 8
found the economy will shrink 1 3 percent in 2009 as a whole
The 2 5 percent growth economists have forecast for 2010 was
down from a 2 6 percent expectation in a poll taken last month
Analysts caution that even that rebound is contingent on the
success of the government s various monetary and fiscal
measures a highly uncertain outcome They also note that
recessions linked to financial crises seldom give way to very
impressive recoveries
One worrying sign that this may also be true in the current
case is the consensus for industrial output often an important
leading indicator of business cycle recoveries It is expected
to plunge 9 8 percent this year
In this environment prices for many goods in the economy
are expected to continue falling But fears of deflation seem
overstated according to survey results
A special question in the Reuters poll highlighted confusion
about the medium term direction of prices
Deflation was still the bigger risk said about two thirds
or 28 out of 44 economists forecasting the U S The remaining
16 said the threat that sky high government borrowing and rescue
measures will eventually spark rapid inflation was bigger
Year over year declines in consumer prices will occur for
the first three quarters of this year but CPI will then climb
back toward the top of the Federal Reserve s 1 2 percent comfort
range the poll found
Although we foresee headline inflation to be negative for
some months we do not expect this trend to turn into a
deflationary spiral said Nathaniel Karp economist at BBVA
The central bank for its part will keep interest rates on
hold at the current zero to 0 25 percent range until at least
the first quarter of next year
Apart from aggressive rate cuts the Fed and Treasury have
launched numerous rescue plans stretching into the trillions of
dollars aimed at reviving ailing credit markets Some of these
plans have sparked fears of a sharp decline in the dollar and a
concomitant bout of inflation
Polling by Bangalore Polling Unit editing by Stephen
Nisbet |
WFC | GLOBAL MARKETS Stocks rise as US data stokes hopes | Global stocks up on Japan Wells Fargo US data
Patchy signs of economic recovery trigger oil gains
Dollar up versus basket of currencies down against euro
By Sebastian Tong
LONDON April 9 Reuters Global equities rose on Thursday
in light trading ahead of the Easter holiday weekend as
investors sought further signs of optimism in the financial
crisis that has hit economies from Australia to Ireland
Japan s larger than expected 154 billion plan to jump start
its slowing economy underpinned appetite for equities while
better than expected figures from the U S on its trade deficit
and new claims from jobless U S workers provided a midday
boost
An announcement by U S lender Wells Fargo of record first
quarter earnings also helped steady sentiment
The MSCI s all country world equities index rose more than 1
percent higher by 1240 GMT staying on track for its first
weekly loss in five weeks
The pan European FTSEurofirst 300 index was up 1 percent
shrugging off the Bank of England s decision to leave interest
rates unchanged at a record low of 0 5 percent but
underperforming Asian shareswhich rose some 3 percent back
towards a six month high
Emerging stocks remained outperformers rising over 2 5
percent towards a six month high hit earlier this week
With the earnings season yet to enter full swing the
market is still willing to give risk appetite the benefit of the
doubt said Geoffrey Yu currency strategist at UBS
Despite the better than expected Wells Fargo earnings banks
from New York to Tokyo face asset sales capital raising and
government takeover as the financial crisis set off by the U S
subprime mortgage market continues to take its toll
On Thursday Germany offered to take over stricken
Munich based lender Hypo Real Estate This comes a day after
Ireland said it may end up with majority stakes in its banks if
their property losses require further capital injection
appetite is driving investors to seize on opportunities to sell
gold to buy other assets such as shares
SHORT TERM POSITIVE
Recent economic data remains weak Canada and Australia
posted their highest jobless rates in years while German
industrial production fell for its six month in a row
On Wednesday the U S Federal Reserve lowered its GDP
growth projections
Against this gloomy backdrop there are incipient signs of
economic recovery
Japanese machinery orders seen as a leading indicator of
corporate spending unexpectedly rose in February while a pair
of recent business surveys suggested a rebound on the horizon
for China
Together with increasing signs of production stabilisation
and inventory adjustment short term growth momentum should
remain positive said Goldman Sachs in a client note
Indicators of global economic recovery however patchy
were enough to trigger gains in oil
U S light crude rose nearly 2 higher to trade at more than
51 a barrel
The dollar was flat against a basket of currencies following
the release of figures showing a shrinking of the U S trade
deficit to its smallest since November 1999
The greenback recovered from session lows against the euro
after European Central Bank President Jean Claude Trichet said
the central bank had leeway to cut its main interest rate
Gold slipped from a high of 886 per ounce to be bid at
around 877 with improved risk appetite seen spurring investors
to sell the metal to buy equities
Emerging sovereign spreads narrowed 11 basis points to trade
at 564 bps above U S Treasuries
Additional reporting by Joanne Pearson and Naomi Tajitsu
Editing by Victoria Main |
WFC | Wall Street Rally Financial Sector Treasuries and Oil All Move Higher | Wall Street News Banking Sector May Pressure The Dollar
First quarter results from the banking sector lifted stocks globally on Thursday and allowed Wall Street to finish in the green for a second session Equity selling pressured Treasury notes and allowed oil to finish at the high of the day
On Thursday the NYSE posted a second day of gains with on average 3 5 returns from the opening prices The DOW was on 8083 after a gain of 246 points 3 while the S P traded at 856 higher by 3 8 and the technology heavy NASDAQ traded at 1650 area after moving up over 60 points 3 9
Financial Sector On Thursday the XLF financial sector ETF gained 1 41 points 15 to trade at 10 61 on massive volume 285 000 000 ETF s changed hands against a rising daily average of 230 000 000 The banking sector lifted by news that Wells Fargo had beat earnings estimates in the first quarter and that really was all it took for the markets to lift off and head higher The Dax FTSE and Cac 40 all gained in a synchronized move higher in early trade and never looked back Commodities Treasuries fell as traders made the move to riskier assets from bonds and followed the path of least resistance on the day and moved note values lower and yields higher as the markets suddenly started to question the reason why 0 9 was enough to hold notes if equities were able to move higher The Fed sold a record number of new issue notes this week and created a mass of dollar backed Treasuries for the market to absorb The 10 year Treasury yield rose to 2 93 up 7 basis points on the day something that allowed the dollar to gain on the Swiss franc and yen Crude for April delivery was pushing into major resistance at 52 00 up 5 3 on the day with a 2 65 gain Gold for April delivery was recently trading down 6 80 0 8 at 880 per ounce |
WFC | FOREX Dollar gains vs yen buoyed by rally in stocks | Dollar extends stocks led gains vs yen euro
Many major financial centres shut for Easter weekend
TOKYO April 10 Reuters The dollar rose against the yen
on Friday buoyed by a rally in U S stocks following positive
earnings guidance from U S bank Wells Fargo although trade was
likely to be thin with many major centres shut for holidays
Wall Street indexes rose between 3 and 4 percent on Thursday
after Wells Fargo said it expected to report a record quarterly
profit in an encouraging sign for the troubled banking sector
which has been at the heart of the global financial crisis
The greenback hit its highest in six months against the
Japanese currency early in the week but then faced a bout of
profit taking on its gains ahead of the long weekend and the
onset of quarterly earnings which tipped it off the peak
There s been position squaring ahead of the Easter holidays
and that has been capping dollar yen and the yen crosses said
Masafumi Yamamoto head of FX strategy Japan at Royal Bank of
Scotland
Today the market tried to follow equities
The dollar rose 0 2 percent to 100 61 yen after climbing 0 8
percent on Thursday It peaked at 101 45 yen earlier in the week
The euro eased 0 1 percent to 131 94 yen and lost 0 4 percent
to 1 3112
European Central Bank President Jean Claude Trichet said the
central bank still had some leeway to cut its main interest rate
from its record low of 1 25 percent
He repeated it would lay out plans for possible
unconventional monetary policy measures at its next meeting on
May 7 but did not give any details
The market has been watching for signs the ECB will take
unconventional steps to improve credit availability after similar
moves by the Federal Reserve and other major central banks
Fed policy makers warned the U S economy would skid more
deeply into recession in the coming months but warned it was time
to start planning how to wind down spending to avert an
inflationary surge
The number of U S workers filing new claims for unemployment
benefit fell last week but was still at levels indicating
contraction in the labour market has yet to hit bottom
Reporting by Charlotte Cooper Editing by Michael Watson |
WFC | Asian Markets Rose For A Second Day | Helped by positive news coming from the banking sector global equity markets saw strong gains over the last few sessions News that each of the 19 banks passed their stress test issued by the U S government has helped the overnight markets advanced on Thursday However the news that Wells Fargo posted a record first quarter profit beating most analysts forecasts turned the gains into a real rally The XLF index rose 15 while the S P 500 Banking Index rose 25 the most on record The news items coming from the U S financial sector helped the Asian equity markets advance for a second day reaching a 3 month high Additionally a number of analysts are starting to turn bullish on the global economy which will probably help the current rally overcome negative reports TheLFB Forex com Trade Team notes On the Japanese Nikkei 225 at least 25 companies grew more than 5 The gains were led by Pioneer which advanced over 22 The electronic manufacturer will form a strategic alliance with Sharp to increase their market share Isuzu rose 13 tonight after Goldman said that the company s shares are outweighed This in turn helped the whole car manufacturing industry post significant gains tonight Additionally the declines were led by the Japanese financials tonight as it seems the zombie banks are coming back to life in Japan Overnight the Nikkei rose 107 30 points 1 20 to 9 023 36 The Australian S P Asx was close tonight for business Crude oil advanced 2 80 to 52 20 as some analysts are saying that the economy has hit the bottom Gold traded without a clear direction over the last few sessions Bullion for immediate delivery fell 2 30 to 881 00 |
WFC | FOREX Euro slides in holiday trade ECB s next move eyed | Euro dips to lowest in almost a month vs dollar
Dented by view ECB edging closer to unconventional easing
Many major financial centres shut for Easter weekend
By Charlotte Cooper
TOKYO April 10 Reuters The euro slipped to its lowest in
almost a month against the dollar on Friday dented by holiday
trade and a view the European Central Bank may be edging closer
to unconventional easing while the greenback lost early buoyancy
against the yen
With the United States and much of Asia and Europe on
holiday traders said the euro had been pressured by closing of
long positions ahead of the long weekend
ECB President Jean Claude Trichet said on Thursday the ECB
still had some leeway to cut its main interest rate from its
record low of 1 25 percent
He repeated it would lay out plans for possible
unconventional monetary policy measures at its next meeting in
May He did not give details but another ECB official said
buying debt could ease credit availability
The market has been watching for signs the ECB will take
unconventional steps to improve credit after similar moves by the
Federal Reserve and other major central banks to keep longer term
interest rates down and help lift their economies from recession
As investors have grown more confident in recent weeks and
stock markets have rallied the euro along with higher yielding
currencies such as the Australian dollar have risen too only to
retreat when investor confidence fails
The euro or yen crosses seem to be breaking from the
rising pattern with stock gains That may suggest a new trading
theme is emerging said Minoru Shioiri chief manager of FX
trading at Mitsubishi UFJ Securities
But it s hard to tell at this point because the move could
be just a temporary blip in a holiday thin market
The euro fell 0 3 percent to 1 3135 after dipping as low as
1 3090 its weakest since mid March when the Fed shocked markets
by announcing it would start large scale buying of long term
government debt and sending the dollar down sharply
Against the yen the euro slipped 0 3 percent to 131 77 after
hitting its highest in almost six months on Monday at 137 42
STOCKS RALLY
The dollar gained 0 8 percent on the yen on Thursday buoyed
by a rally in U S stocks following positive earnings guidance
from U S bank Wells Fargo
Wall Street indexes rose between 3 and 4 percent after Wells
Fargo said it expected to report a record quarterly profit in an
encouraging sign for the troubled banking sector which has been
at the heart of the global financial crisis
The greenback initially extended those gains in early Asian
trade on expected demand from Japanese companies at the Tokyo
fixing at 0100 GMT traders said
But with the fixing out of the way it drifted down to lose
0 1 percent on the day at 100 28 yen
It hit its highest in six months at 101 45 yen early in the
week but then faced a bout of profit taking ahead of the long
weekend and the onset of quarterly earnings
The yen which has slid in recent weeks as rising investor
confidence has seen it sold in part to fund short term yield
plays also gained against the Australian and New Zealand
dollars taking back some ground it lost the previous day
Financial shares will be a market focus next week as several
large U S banks report quarterly earnings
The U S Treasury has asked them not to mention regulatory
stress tests designed to determine their capital needs under
adverse economic conditions when they report their results a
source said on Friday
The results are expected to be released at the end of April
Fed policy makers warned the U S economy would skid more
deeply into recession in the coming months but said it was time
to start planning how to wind down spending to avert an
inflationary surge
The number of U S workers filing new claims for unemployment
benefit fell last week but was still at levels indicating
contraction in the labour market has yet to hit bottom |
T | Golf Mickelson eager to redefine career with U S Open triumph | By Frank Pingue Reuters Phil Mickelson does not need a U S Open triumph to cement his legacy as one of golf s all time greats but he will arrive at Pebble Beach this week looking to take care of unfinished business and rubber stamp his lofty status Mickelson has been a runner up at the U S Open a record six times most recently in 2013 when he finished two shots behind England s Justin Rose at Merion and he is yearning for the chance to complete a career grand slam of the four majors There s not much I could do right now that would do anything to redefine my career but there s one thing I could do and that would be to win a U S Open said Mickelson So if I were to do that it would change the way I view my career because there are only what five guys that have ever won all the majors And you have to look at those guys differently And if I ever join that crowd and the only way to do that is to win a U S Open it would redefine my career The American left hander a perennial fan favorite who turns 49 on the final day of the year s third major has been grouped with Dustin Johnson and Graeme McDowell for the first two rounds of the U S Open Victory at Pebble Beach would allow Mickelson to bury memories of his multiple near misses at the U S Open and put his name alongside Gene Sarazen Ben Hogan Jack Nicklaus Gary Player and Tiger Woods on the career grand slam list It would be pretty special to be part of the elite players that have won all four said Mickelson who has been stalled on his career tally of five majors since his 2013 victory at the British Open To me that s the sign of a complete game Traditionally U S Opens have placed a premium on accuracy off the tee due to narrow fairways flanked by thick rough and the ability to scramble pars on lightning fast greens Mickelson has already triumphed at Pebble Beach this year having won the AT T NYSE T Pebble Beach Pro Am in February While he is aware the course will play differently this week he feels it will still suit his style We re on a golf course at Pebble where you really don t need to hit a lot of drivers and you need to putt poa annua greens very well with a lot of break which is something I ve done well said Mickelson It lessens my weakness which is hitting fairways It makes that not quite as important because you don t have to hit drivers there While Mickelson is running out of time to complete the career grand slam he does not feel his advanced age is the biggest challenge to overcome but rather the pressure he puts on himself to triumph at his national championship The difficulty is not the age The difficulty is that when you re in your 20s you feel like you have multiple chances And when you re turning 49 you re like I ve got two more chances this year and maybe Winged Foot in 2020 and that s about it said Mickelson
With that being the only one in the four that I haven t won and what it would offer me and how I look at my career I put more pressure on it That s the difficult thing |
T | Bitcoin Flirts With 8 000 After Bounce From Session Lows | Investing com Bitcoin rose on Monday and continued to flirt with the key 8 000 level amid signs that institutions are beginning to take a shine to cryptocurrencies
Bitcoin rose 3 28 to 7 896 1 up from a low of 7 523 6 and just shy of its intraday high of 8 012
The 8 000 level previously has proven stern resistance for bitcoin but some suggest there may be some reprieve for the popular currency if institutions continue to show a willingness to enter the crypto maker amid upcoming launch of Facebook s NASDAQ FB crypto
Companies like Facebook and JP Morgan experimenting with their own cryptos and major retailers such as AT T NYSE T and Whole Foods accepting bitcoin has got investors excited again Simon Peters analyst at global multi asset investment platform eToro told Express co uk
But data suggest that merchant uptake of cryptocurrencies as a form of payment is murky at best
Data from New York based blockchain researcher Chainalysis showed that only 1 3 of economic transactions came from merchants in the first four months of 2019
Much of the blame for the slow merchant uptake has centred on the volatile nature of bitcoin which at times can swing by 50 in just a matter weeks The popular crypto has more than doubled its value year to date
But the popular crypto s bounce from session lows suggests the bulls are not ready to give up and seemingly believe a push above 8 000 over the near term may well be on the cards
Bitcoin s move higher was mirrored by other cryptos XRP USD rose 3 95 to 0 3956 ETH USD climbed 4 74 to 242 49 and LTC USD surged 10 66 to 126 76
The total crypto market cap often use to gauge demand rose to about 253 billion after trading at about 243 billion a day earlier |
PFE | Spark Therapeutics Luxturna Gets EU Approval For Vision Loss | Spark Therapeutics Inc NASDAQ ONCE announced that the European Commission EC has approved the marketing authorization application MAA for its gene therapy Luxturna voretigene neparvovec The MAA sought approval for the therapy in adult as well as pediatric patients as a one time treatment for vision loss due to inherited retinal dystrophy caused by a genetic mutation in both copies of the RPE65 gene and who have enough viable retinal cells The RPE65 mutations a progressive disease can lead to total blindness
The EC decision was based on positive CHMP opinion Data from a phase I clinical trial its follow up trial and the first randomized controlled phase III gene therapy trial for an inherited disease supported the decision Data from the phase III trial showed that vision improvement was recorded as early as 30 days following the treatment
Please note that Spark Therapeutics has a licensing and commercialization agreement with Novartis Pharma NYSE NVS which granted the latter rights to develop and commercialize Luxturna outside the United States Thus Novartis will be responsible for launch and distribution of the gene therapy in Europe Spark Therapeutics will manufacture and supply Luxturna to Novartis under a supply agreement
Under the terms of the agreement Spark Therapeutics received an upfront payment of 105 million and is eligible to receive additional 65 million in milestone payments from Novartis However the majority of the total 170 million in upfront and anticipated milestone payment will be considered as revenues as and when Luxtarna is supplied to Novartis Novartis will also pay royalties on ex U S net sales of Luxturna
Adoption of Luxtarna in Europe remains to be seen along with its impact on Spark Therapeutics revenues
We remind investors that Luxturna was approved in December last year for a similar indication in the United States
Spark Therapeutics shares were up 1 5 on Nov 23 following the news However shares of the company have declined 47 7 in the past six months compared with the s decrease of 11 1
On its third quarter earnings call the company stated that Luxturna has done well since its launch in the United States with sales growing every quarter The gene therapy is covered under all the major national payers making it more accessible Spark Therapeutics also has its own contracting model Spark PATH under which a patient can purchase directly or pay in installments based on the therapy s outcome
In the third quarter the company recorded 8 9 million in sales of Luxturna which was almost 32 higher than sales of 6 7 million achieved in the first six months of 2018 However the company is concerned with timely identification of patients with RPE65 mutation The company plans to shift its focus to support faster identification of patients in 2019
The company also has a global collaboration agreement with Pfizer NYSE PFE under which it is developing a gene therapy for the treatment hemophilia B Per the terms of the agreement Spark Therapeutics transitioned a gene therapy candidate to Pfizer for late stage development In July 2018 Pfizer initiated a phase III study to evaluate fidanacogene elaparvovec Apart from this Spark Therapeutics is also developing two gene therapies in early stage studies for treating choroideremia a progressive vision loss disorder and hemophilia A Spark Therapeutics Inc Price
Zacks Rank Stock to Consider
Spark Therapeutics currently carries a Zacks Rank 3 Hold
Exelixis Inc NASDAQ EXEL is a better ranked stock in the pharma sector carrying a Zacks Rank 2 Buy You can see
Exelixis earnings estimates have moved up from 1 03 to 1 30 for 2018 and from 1 09 to 1 25 for 2019 over the past 30 days The company delivered positive earnings surprise in all the trailing four quarters with the average beat being 83 43
Looking for Stocks with Skyrocketing Upside
Zacks has just released a Special Report on the booming investment opportunities of legal marijuana
Ignited by new referendums and legislation this industry is expected to blast from an already robust 6 7 billion to 20 2 billion in 2021 Early investors stand to make a killing but you have to be ready to act and know just where to look |
PFE | Pfizer PFE Gains But Lags Market What You Should Know | Pfizer PFE closed the most recent trading day at 44 90 moving 1 88 from the previous trading session The stock lagged the S P 500 s daily gain of 2 3 Meanwhile the Dow gained 2 5 and the Nasdaq a tech heavy index added 2 95
Coming into today shares of the drugmaker had gained 2 75 in the past month In that same time the Medical sector gained 3 55 while the S P 500 gained 1 21
Investors will be hoping for strength from PFE as it approaches its next earnings release which is expected to be January 29 2019 In that report analysts expect PFE to post earnings of 0 64 per share This would mark year over year growth of 3 23 Our most recent consensus estimate is calling for quarterly revenue of 13 73 billion up 0 18 from the year ago period
For the full year our Zacks Consensus Estimates are projecting earnings of 3 per share and revenue of 53 40 billion which would represent changes of 13 21 and 1 62 respectively from the prior year
It is also important to note the 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
Our research shows that these estimate changes are directly correlated with near term stock prices Investors can capitalize on this by using the Zacks Rank This model considers these estimate changes and provides a simple actionable rating system
The Zacks Rank system which ranges from 1 Strong Buy to 5 Strong Sell has an impressive outside audited track record of outperformance with 1 stocks generating an average annual return of 25 since 1988 Over the past month the Zacks Consensus EPS estimate has moved 0 43 higher PFE is currently a Zacks Rank 3 Hold
Digging into valuation PFE currently has a Forward P E ratio of 14 7 Its industry sports an average Forward P E of 14 58 so we one might conclude that PFE is trading at a premium comparatively
Meanwhile PFE s PEG ratio is currently 2 2 This popular metric is similar to the widely known P E ratio with the difference being that the PEG ratio also takes into account the company s expected earnings growth rate PFE s industry had an average PEG ratio of 2 01 as of yesterday s close
The Large Cap Pharmaceuticals industry is part of the Medical sector This industry currently has a Zacks Industry Rank of 78 which puts it in the top 30 of all 250 industries
The Zacks Industry Rank gauges the strength of our individual industry groups by measuring the average Zacks Rank of the individual stocks within the groups Our research shows that the top 50 rated industries outperform the bottom half by a factor of 2 to 1
Be sure to follow all of these stock moving metrics and many more on Zacks com |
PFE | Ad Com approaches for Pfizer s application for expanded use of arthritis med Xeljanz | The FDA s Arthritis Advisory Committee will meet tomorrow August 3 to review and discuss Pfizer s PFE 0 9 supplemental New Drug Applications sNDA seeking approval for the use of XELJANZ tofacitinib to treat adults with active psoriatic arthritis The company is seeking approval for both tablet and extended release tablet formulations The FDA approved XELJANZ in November 2012 for the treatment of rheumatoid arthritis and the extended release formulation in February 2016 FDA briefing doc Errata to FDA briefing doc Pfizer briefing doc Now read |
PFE | FDA grants Priority Review for Roche s Alecensa for first line ALK lung cancer | The FDA accepts Roche s OTCQX RHHBY supplemental New Drug Application sNDA seeking approval for Alecensa alectinib for the first line treatment of anaplastic lymphoma kinase ALK positive locally advanced metastatic non small cell lung cancer NSCLC under Priority Review The agency s action date is November 30 The FDA originally approved Alecensa in December 2015 for ALK NSCLC patients who have progressed on or are intolerant to crizotinib Pfizer NYSE PFE s XALKORI Now read |
PFE | FDA Ad Com backs Pfizer s Xeljanz for psoriatic arthritis shares ahead 2 | The FDA s Arthritis Advisory Committee voted 10 1 in favor of approval for Pfizer s PFE 1 9 XELJANZ tofacitinib for the treatment of psoriatic arthritis Previously Ad Com approaches for Pfizer s application for expanded use of arthritis med Xeljanz Aug 2 Now read |
PFE | FDA OK s Pfizer s leukemia med Besponsa | The FDA approves Pfizer s PFE 0 6 Besponsa inotuzumab ozogamicin for the treatment of adults with relapsed refractory B cell precursor acute lymphoblastic leukemia ALL The agency approved the product under Priority Review and Breakthrough Therapy status Inotuzumab ozogamicin is an antibody drug conjugate comprised of a monoclonal antibody targeting CD22 a cell surface antigen expressed in 90 of B cell cancers linked to a cytotoxic agent When inotuzumab ozogamicin binds to the CD22 antigen on malignant B cells it is internalized into the cell where the cytotoxin calicheamicin is released to kill the cell Now read |
WFC | POLL Global economies seen trapped in Great Recession | By Nigel Davies
LONDON March 11 Reuters The Great Recession will
clamp leading global economies in a vicious grip well into 2010
and push unemployment to multi year records Reuters polls show
Double digit losses on equity markets in the past month and
turmoil across the banking system have persuaded most economists
in the polls that this recession is going to get worse and a
recovery will be even slower
IMF chief Dominique Strauss Kahn has already declared the
world economy as being in a Great Recession
The polls of around 250 economists from Toronto to Tokyo
showed the first quarter of the year shaping up to be nearly as
bad for most leading economies as an already ugly end to 2008
They also see only faint signs of a recovery even in 2010
By that time unemployment is expected to have soared to a
10 year high in the euro zone while 13 million people will be
jobless in the United States and 10 percent of the UK workforce
will be looking for employment
An even bleaker environment is possible too if the world s
leading 20 economies whose finance ministers and central
bankers meet this weekend in England before a summit next month
fail to come up with coordinated action to stimulate growth
Despite increasingly forceful policy responses a floor has
yet to be put under economies or markets said Mark Wall at
Deutsche Bank As far as the economy is concerned Q1 could
easily be as bad as Q4 and potentially could be worse
With interest rates already close to zero in most of the
world s leading economies only the European Central Bank has
room left to cut further Many central banks are already using
unconventional measures to spur demand or are set to do so
But after a widely anticipated ECB move to cut rates to an
all time low in the second quarter rates could feasibly be on
hold close to zero at most major central banks until well into
2010 the economists forecast
Only next year will any decent signs of a recovery be seen
Forecasts showed the U S economy contracting 1 4 percent this
year deeper than the 1 0 percent predicted just a month ago
with growth of 2 6 percent on the horizon in 2010
The picture looks even worse on the other side of the
Atlantic UK economists shrugged off the Bank of England s move
to bolster the British economy through quantitative easing or
buying assets such as government bonds They see GDP
contracting 3 0 percent this year worse than the 2 9 percent
they predicted in last month s poll
The euro zone is not far behind with its economy expected to
shrink 2 6 percent while export driven Japanese GDP was
forecast to fall 2 5 percent in the first quarter alone
JOB WOBBLES
The poll showed unemployment soaring to a 10 year high in
the euro zone next year at 10 0 percent That figure was similar
to the U S at 9 6 percent which long held a large advantage
over the euro zone where jobless rates had tended to spiral way
past those in the U S
The growth outlook has not improved over the past month
Indeed the outlook for jobs and the unemployment rate peak has
darkened further said Scott Anderson at Wells Fargo Co
Unemployment is also seen peaking at 10 percent in the UK
But deflation and not job fears appear the main concern in
Japan The country is seen sliding back into a protracted period
of nearly two years of falling prices
In other leading economies falling inflation has not yet led
to serious forecasts of deflation
Polling by Bangalore Polling Unit Editing by David Stamp |
T | AT T Rises Midday Despite Trump Boycott Call | Investing com U S President Donald Trump has been known to tweet out his grievances against companies and this time AT T NYSE T is in the spotlight
Trump posited that customers could stop using AT T s services to spur changes at CNN which is owned by the telecom company
The president has often criticized CNN which he says is fake news
AT T rose 1 9 in midday trading Monday despite Trump s comments
Trump has expressed frustration with the telecom provider before and previously tried to block the AT T Time Warner merger His boycott tweet follows an earlier tweet complaining that CNN is the only U S news source he can get in the U K where he is on a state visit |
Subsets and Splits
No saved queries yet
Save your SQL queries to embed, download, and access them later. Queries will appear here once saved.