Archive for 2014

• CR Bard Raises Dividend
  Eddy Elfenbein, June 11th, 2014 at 4:52 pm

  After today’s close, CR Bard ($BCR) raised its quarterly dividend from 21 to 22 cents per share. That may not sound like a lot–it’s an increase of just 4.76%–but bear in mind that Bard has increased its dividend every year since 1972.

  The dividend is payable on August 1, 2014 to shareholders of record at the close of business on July 21, 2014.

  Shares of Bard have gotten dinged the last two days. Bard lost 4.7% on Tuesday and another 3.1% today. Given the new dividend, Bard now yields 0.64%.

• Morning News: June 11, 2014
  Eddy Elfenbein, June 11th, 2014 at 6:43 am

  EU to Investigate Apple’s Tax Affairs

  Yen Rises Versus Euro on Monetary Policy Split With ECB

  U.K. Unemployment Rate Tumbles in April, Wage Growth Slows

  Spain’s Retailer Inditex Q1 Net Profit Falls 7.3%, Beats Expectations

  South Africa’s Economic Growth Forecast Cut to 2%

  Oil Hits $110 Per Barrel on Iraq Supply Disruption Fears

  Alibaba Buys Remaining Stake in UC Web

  Alibaba Launches U.S. Shopping Site 11 Main

  Amazon Chases Local Services, The New E-Commerce Battleground

  Bid for Allergan Puts Valeant’s Research and Development Cuts Under Scrutiny

  Best Buy Boosts Dividend for the First Time in Two Years

  Lufthansa Warns on Profit, Shares Plunge

  United’s Frequent Flyer Program Changes Have One Interesting Aspect

  Roger Nusbaum: Why The Glass Must Be Half Empty In Financial Planning

  Jeff Carter: The Current Immigration Bill is Dead

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• The Nasdaq Recovers
  Eddy Elfenbein, June 10th, 2014 at 12:45 pm

  The Nasdaq Composite has been as high as 4,338.87 today. The index is now within striking distance of the intra-day high from March 6 of 4,371.71. The correction in March and April was pretty sharp.

  

  The Nasdaq’s all-time intra-day high came more than 14 years ago, on March 10, 2000, when it hit 5,132.52. (Wow!)

• Job Openings Hit Seven-Year High
  Eddy Elfenbein, June 10th, 2014 at 12:02 pm

  At noon, the stock market is down but not by much. There’s been a lot of talk recently about the ultra low VIX level. The VIX is currently at 11.23, which is quite low, but remember that the VIX only looks one month ahead while stock prices are theoretically supposed to discount to eternity.

  I’ve looked at the numbers and found that the VIX isn’t that strongly correlated with a good or bad market. The closest I’ve found is that a low VIX, below 13, is somewhat good for the market. Since 1990, the S&P 500 has gained 11.79% annualized when the VIX is below 13, and 6.36% annualized when it’s 13 or more.

  What I think low volatility means is that the market has settled on a trend, whatever it may be, and sees it playing out for a while.

  There’s not much in the way of economic news today. One report we got was on job openings. The number of job openings nearly hit a seven-year high in April. There are now 4.46 million jobs waiting to be filled which is the highest since September 2007.

  Another report said that small businesses are the most optimistic they’ve been since 2007. It’s interesting how many data series have been making seven-year highs. Last week, non-farm payrolls finally took out its pre-recession high.

  On our Buy List, most stocks are quiet but CR Bard ($BCR) and Cognizant Technology Solutions ($CTSH) are both down more than 3% today. CTSH was downgraded by Susquehanna to neutral from positive.

  Facebook ($FB) is up on the news that PayPal’s president is jumping ship to FB. PayPal, of course, is a subsidiary of eBay ($EBAY). I don’t think this means much for eBay but its shares are down about 2% today.

• Morning News: June 10, 2014
  Eddy Elfenbein, June 10th, 2014 at 6:43 am

  European Commission: ICAP May Have Broken EU Antitrust Rules

  Why Troubled Euro Zone Bonds Are Outperforming Treasurys

  Euronext Value Could Reach About $2.4 Billion in I.P.O.

  China Now Has More Millionaires Than Any Country but the U.S.

  Natural Gas Slips From One-Month High on Milder Weather

  3 Reasons Why the Dow Doesn’t Deserve to Be at 17,000

  Merck Bids $3.8 Billion for an Edge in Hepatitis

  MetLife Announces Share Repurchase

  What Apple’s Stock Split Means for You

  Family Dollar Thwarts Icahn With ‘Poison Pill’

  GoDaddy Files for IPO

  Eyeing PayPal, Amazon Makes Online Payment Push

  Time Inc. Goes Solo

  Howard Lindzon: The Joe DiMaggio Stock Market

  Joshua Brown: Turn Down For What!

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• The Venezuelan Economy
  Eddy Elfenbein, June 9th, 2014 at 10:21 am

  From Bloomberg:

  Prostitutes more than double their earnings by moonlighting as currency traders in Puerto Cabello. They are the foreign exchange counter for sailors in a country where buying and selling dollars in the streets is a crime — and prostitution isn’t. Greenbacks in the black market are worth 11 times more than the official rate as dollars become more scarce in an economy that imports 70 percent of the goods it consumes.

  “The dollar is king these days, but having them comes at a price,” Elena, who uses an alias to protect her identity, said late last month in a room she rents in a Puerto Cabello brothel. “Yes, we got dollars to afford the things our families need, but we have to sell our bodies for it.”

• The Stock Market Is Up 10 of 12 Days
  Eddy Elfenbein, June 9th, 2014 at 10:04 am

  The stock market has risen for 10 of the last 12 trading days, and it’s up again this morning. The big news this morning is that Apple ($AAPL) has now split 7-for-1. The stock is currently at $92 per share. It’s currently the most valuable company in the world with a market cap of more than $550 billion. The combined value of Apple and Exxon ($XOM) comes to $1 trillion.

  There’s not a lot of movement on our Buy List this morning, although I’ll point out that Ford ($F) is over $17 per share, and Bed Bath & Beyond ($BBBY) is up to $62.72, which is the highest price in about a month. Oracle ($ORCL) and Wells Fargo ($WFC) are both at new 52-week highs.

  On Friday, the Volatility Index ($VIX) dropped down to 10.73. That was the lowest figure in seven years. The VIX is up to 11.12 this morning.

• Morning News: June 9, 2014
  Eddy Elfenbein, June 9th, 2014 at 6:42 am

  Brightening Global Economy Puts FTSE Within Reach of Multi-Year Highs

  Lagarde Says IMF ‘Got It Wrong’ on Rallying U.K. Economy

  Ukraine Gas Talks Resume in Brussels to Avoid Cut-off This Week

  Japan Growth Picks Up More Than Estimated on Investment

  China’s Yuan Bounces After Another Surprise Strong Fix Against Dollar

  U.S. Crude Rises as China Exports Gain Steam

  President’s Speech: 6 Agendas of Modi Government That Will Make The Common Man Happy

  Tyson Wins Battle to Buy Hillshire

  Hertz’s Accounting Woes Wider Than Thought

  Time Inc. to Set a Lonely Course After a Spinoff

  Amazon Expands Middleman Role in Latest Online Payments Push

  McClendon Firm to Buy Leases in Permian Basin for $2.5 Billion

  Rogue Vietnam Banker Jailed For 30 Years Over $1 Billion Fraud

  Cullen Roche: Low Global Inflation Means “Accommodative Policy” is Here to Stay

  Jeff Miller: Weighing the Week Ahead: Time for a Market Breakout?

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• Mickey Mantle Day, 45 Years Ago
  Eddy Elfenbein, June 7th, 2014 at 4:02 pm

  Mickey Mantle showed up for spring training in 1969 and realized he couldn’t play another season. At 37, the Mick realized he was too old: “I can’t play anymore. I don’t hit the ball when I need to. I can’t steal when I need to. I can’t score from second base when I need to. I have to quit.”

  On June 8, the Yankees held Mickey Mantle Day at Yankee Stadium.

• Apple Splits!
  Eddy Elfenbein, June 6th, 2014 at 5:56 pm

  Shares of Apple ($AAPL) closed today at $645.57. On Monday morning, there will be seven times the number of shares outstanding and the stock price should fall by 6/7ths.

  Today’s closing price works out to $92.22 post split. The split puts Apple’s share price roughly in the range of many stocks in the Dow.

  There are currently 861.38 shares outstanding of Apple. That will increase to 6.029 billion.