Selling Pfizer out of my Dividend Portfolio tomorrow on Dem’s proposed drug-pricing bill
Why introduce legislation that will dead on arrival in the Republican controlled Senate? Because House Speaker Nancy Pelosi and other Democrats know that controlling drug prices is extremely popular with voters. And a proposal that is a serious effort to lower drug...
With newest tariff move Chinese prove again that they’re smart negotiators
Ahead of the resumption of U.S.-China trade negotiators next month China has announced a small set of exclusions--on $1.65 billion in U.S. exports to China--from 25% tariffs that were put into place last year. The exempt goods include such minor categories as alfalfa,...
Bolton departure from White House sends oil tumbling
The resignation/firing of John Bolton, a long-time advocate of military action against Iran, as National Security Advisor to President Donald Trump, has send oil prices tumbling today. U.S. benchmark West Texas Intermediate is down 2.42% to $56.01 a barrel....
On Apple, Wall Street says, Wait ’til next year
The new products Apple (AAPL) introduced today aren't bad. The successors to the iPhone XR, iPhone XS, and iPhone XS Max add more cameras, a faster chip (on the iPhone 11 successor to the XR), and longer battery life. It's just that none of these new features are...
Oh, those algorithms–market twitches as computers take seriously a meaningless report on China trade
China is ready to purchase more agricultural products from the United States, the South China Morning Post reported this morning. That sent U.S. stocks higher as computerized trading kicked in on the news. But the twitch didn't last long because human traders read...
The “other” central bank: Will the ECB restart quantitative easing on Thursday?
Will the European Central Bank revive its program of bond-buying when it meets on Thursday? The bank only ended this program of quantitative easing in December. The markets are currently pricing in a new program of 40 billion euros a month in bond purchases--plus a...
China exports drop more than expected in August
China’s exports fell 1% (in  dollars) in August, China's customs administration announced on Sunday. Economists and analysts surveyed by Bloomberg had predicted that exports would increase by 2.2% . Imports dropped by 5.6% roughly in line with forecasts of a 6.4%...
Saturday Night Quarterback says, For the week ahead expect…
...lots of speculation on what the Federal Reserve will do and say about interest rates next week on September 18. What has become the routine squeaking and squawking about the U.S.-China trade war/trade talks. More fun and games from London (where the legal opinion...Trick or trend: U.S. service sector accelerates in August
Our regular (or occasional or perhaps occasionally regular) Friday series (actually running on Friday this week) Trick or Trend looks at what might (or might not) be emerging investible trends. Exclusively on JAM. This post won't run anywhere else. Ever. Yesterday the...
People’s Bank adds $126 billion in liquidity to Chinese economy
With China's economy expected to slow further in September after poor results in July and August, the People's Bank of China cut the amount of cash that banks must hold as reserves to the lowest level since 2007. Â The required reserve ratio for all banks will be...
August jobs report disappoints; more evidence that U.S. economy is slowing
The U.S. economy added 130,000 jobs in August. Economists surveyed by Briefing.com had expected 171,000 new jobs. Once you subtracted the 25,000 new temporary jobs added by the government for the 2020 census, the results were even more disappointing with the private...Download Jim’s eBook for Free
