Z-SYMBOLS
ExxonMobil shares drop on reports of SEC investigation
Shares of ExxonMobil (XOM) closed down 4.81% today on a Wall Street Journal report that the Securities & Exchange Commission was investigating a whistleblower complaint alleging that the company overvalued assets in the Permian Basin oil shale geology. The whistleblower complaint alleges that during a 2019 internal assessment workers were forced to use unrealistic assumptions about how quickly wells could be drilled to reach a higher valuation.
Adding Applied Materials to my Jubak Picks Portfolio on chip shortage
As I noted in my January 13 video “4 picks for the chip shortage,” investors are looking at shortage of silicon chips that has hit the auto industry especially hard and that argues for a multi-year increase in capital spending to expand chip production at foundry companies such as Taiwan Semiconductor (TSM). As the world’s largest supplier of semiconductor manufacturing equipment, Applied Materials will see its revenue climb as a result of that capital spending. The company’s equipment can be found at almost every major step in cap manufacturing (with the exception of lithography) from chemical and physical vapor deposition to etching to defect-inspection scanning electron microscopes. The stock is up 60.04% in the last year, as of the close on January 13 with most of that gain coming in the last 3 months where the stock is up 51.9%. The shares are already a pick in my long-term 50 Stocks Portfolio where they’re up 91.8% from December 31, 2017. Today, I’m adding Applied Materials to my Jubak Picks Portfolio.
50 Stocks Portfolio member TSM reports record quarterly revenue on 5G iPhone demand
Today, January 8, Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing (TSM), the worlds largest contract chipmaker, reported December sales that translate into record quarterly revenue with estimated sales in the quarter climbing to $12.9 billion (361.5 NT$). (The company reports its quarter on January 14.) The projections based on December revenue amount to a 25% increase in revenue in 2020 from 2019.
I’m adding shares of SMOG to my Jubak Picks Portfolio tomorrow
The stock market rally that started so strong this morning as Democrats, surprisingly, rode to victory in both Georgia Senate races, took a big step backwards as the day wore on with scenes of rioters roaming the hall of Congress in an effort to overturn the November election.But the early action gives me a good idea of the thinking of investors and traders as they contemplate not just a Biden Presidency, but Democratic control of both chambers of Congress and the White House. This morning investors and traders were looking to get out in front of a Biden administration agenda
Adding copper miner Freeport to Jubak Picks Portfolio tomorrow
Commodities have soared on prospects for a post-coronavirus vaccine economic recovery. And copper is one of the best commodities to own in order to invest in the recovery of the global economy–and especially the growth in the Chinese economy–as the coronavirus pandemic recedes in 2021. I already own Southern Copper (SCCO) in my Dividend Portfolio and First Quantum Minerals (FQVLF) in my Volatility Portfolio. Those stocks were up 56.83% and 77.64%, respectively, in 2020. Tomorrow, January 6, I will add shares of Freeport McMoRan Copper & Gold to my Jubak Picks Portfolio.
2020 was a great year for Dividend investing: my Dividend Portfolio showed a total return of 15.71% for 2020
It’s unusual, to say the least, to have a dividend portfolio match the returns on the Standard & Poor’s 500–especially in a year when the S&P 500 was setting an all time high–but that’s what happened in 2020. My Dividend Portfolio showed a price gain of 12.28% for 2020. Add in the 3.43% dividend yield and the total return for the portfolio for the year was 15.71.% For the year the S&P 500 returned 16% and the Dow Jones Industrial Average returned 7%.
AES utility-scale battery joint venture gets outside investment to push valuation to $1 billion
Nothing like a little $125 million investment from an outside party to validate a joint venture. Fluence, a global battery storage joint venture of Siemens (SIEGY) and AES (AES), has reached an agreement with the sovereign wealth fund of Qatar for a $125 million investment. The funding will give the Qatar Investment Authority a 12% stake in Fluence and values the battery company at more than $1 billion.
Reminder: Today is the deadline for selling to take tax losses in 2020
Sell today if you’re looking to sell to generate tax losses for 2020. After today, December 29, you can still sell but the losses will count for the 2021 tax year.
Special Report: Everything You Need to Know About 4 Industries You Must Own: Part 1 Is there a better EV stock than Tesla?
So where are your profits going to come from in 2021 and indeed for the next 10 years? Not, I’d argue from a bounce in the consumer stocks that got crushed by the coronavirus pandemic shutdowns. For the next few months, I think you’ll be able to score big profits in airlines, retailers, restaurants and other stocks that have been hammered in the coronavirus economy. It’s already been quite a bounce. And there’s still more upside as coronavirus vaccines get rolled out.But after that? Pheh! Not in those sectors. Airlines haven’t shown a net profit during the life of the airline industry. The retail sector was “over-stored” even before the coronavirus. The restaurant sector was busy devouring its own young. And just how many chicken sandwiches can America eat? No, the really big long-term profits aren’t going to come from a bounce in distressed sectors. But from the invention of whole new products and industries and sectors. They’re going to come from electric cars, artificial intelligence, climate change, and distributed-work software to name just four big but already discernible future trends.
Corning picks up sales/ margin gains from supply crunch in high-tech glass
“While Corning (GLW) shares have rallied, we believe that a ‘stronger for longer’ consumer trend augurs well for underlying demand drivers in Corning’s business segments exposed to consumer electronics, with further tightening in the glass supply demand environment due to outages at a major competitor,” wrote Citigroup analyst Jim Suva in a note to clients last week.There’s a shortage of the high-tech glass used in video displays, mobile phones, and cars. One reason is a power outage that damaged manufacturing equipment at a Japanese factory of Corning rival Nippon Electric Glass. But another reason is a pick up in demand for consumer electronics products.
Federal Reserve gives banks permission to spend billions on stock buybacks
On Friday the Federal Reserve rode to the aid of bank stocks. The sector had been looking a little pale around the PE in the last few days with the Financial Select Sector SPDR ETF (XLF) up only 0.11% for the last week. That comes after a strong performance in the last month–a 4.24% gain. For the year to date the financial ETF is down 5.48% The Federal Reserve, however, cleared the way for banks to boost capital distributions–dividends eventually and more immediately share buybacks
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