2019 shaping up as a tough year for bank stocks–here’s why I’m holding Bank of America in my Dividend Portfolio
2018 was supposed to be a good year for bank stocks. Rising interest rates from the Federal Reserve would provide a positive environment for banks, bank revenues, and bank earnings. 2019 is likely to provide a negative backdrop for banks. The Fed is holding interest...
Saturday Night Quarterback says, For the week ahead expect…
In the week ahead earnings reports will test theories about growth in specific sectors and the economy as a whole. For example, on Tuesday, April 23, we’ll get tests of the “consumer economy” with reports from Coca-Cola (KO), Procter & Gamble (PG) and Verizon (VZ). Coke is projected to show a drop of a penny to 46 cents a share from 47 cents in the year-earlier quarter. P&G is projected to pick up 4 cents a share from the first quarter of 2018 to $1.04 and Verizon is expected to see earnings move up to $1.16 a share from $1.11. Those all set, in my opinion, hurdles that are relatively easy to jump. But the growth is already so modest that any miss could throw these big consumer stocks into a year over year earnings downturn. Which would be a bad way to start the week.Â
Trick or trend: Analyst earnings estimates continue to fall for Q1
Wall Street earnings estimates for the first quarter continue to retreat. According to FactSet, first quarter earnings per share in the Standard & Poor’s 500 are now expected to fall 4.3% year-over-year. That’s a further deterioration from the 4.1% drop in earnings Wall Street expected act the end of March. And it’s down from projections for 2% earnings growth three months ago.
JNJ earnings a tale of two companies
On April 16, Johnson & Johnson beat Wall Street estimates by 6 cents a share. Revenue for the first quarter of 2019 climbed 0.1% to $20.02 billion, above the $19.55 billion projected by Wall Street.But the results really reflected the very different fortunes of the company’s stagnant consumer business and its strongly growing drug business.
Why did Apple settle with Qualcomm now? Can you say 5G?
Why did Apple settle a dispute that had dragged on for two years with Qualcomm now?How about because troubles at Intel threatened to leave Apple without the 5G modem chips it needed for a new 5G iPhone?
U.S. oil rig count falls again, leading to slight gain for oil prices
Today the weekly Baker Hughes report on the number of working oil and natural gas rigs in the United States showed a total drop of 10 rigs to 1012 with 8 fewer oil rigs in operation and 2 fewer natural gas rigs.This is the seventh weekly decline in working rigs in the last nine weeks.Â
Official figures show improvement in China’s economy in March
China’s economy expanded at 6.4% year over year. That beat the 6.3% expected by economists surveyed by Briefing.com. That projected 6.3% growth itself marked a step up in optimism about China’s economy.
Bonus Special Report: 5 Profit Winners from Disrupted Sectors–# 1 Parsley Energy
When I set out to research and write my recent Special Report Five Sector Facing Disruption That Could Crush Your Portfolio I wanted to focus on the "destruction" side of the process of "creative destruction" that makes up economic growth in our capitalist system. The...
More signs of slower growth in industrial production, cardboard shipments, truck load volume
This morning an unexpected decline in U.S. industrial production (for March) led the parade of indicators pointing to a slowing economy. Industrial production in March fell 0.1%. This comes after a 0.1% increase in February. Economists surveyed by Briefing.com had...
Bank of America earnings: Another big bank flags falling net interest income
This morning Bank of America (BAC) reported first quarter earnings of 70 cents a share, 4 cents a share above Wall Street projections. Earnings per share were up 13% from the first quarter of 2018 but flat with the fourth quarter of 2018. Revenue fell 0.4% year over...
The Great (short-term) China Boom debate
Everybody seems to agree that things are looking up for the Chinese economy. The real disagreement is about how long this improvement might last and whether there's any chance that the upturn might go from improvement to boom. Here's some of the data that points to an...Download Jim’s eBook for Free
