Morning News: December 23, 2016
Posted by Eddy Elfenbein on December 23rd, 2016 at 6:53 am

Bitcoin Surges Above $900 on Geopolitical Risks, Fed Tightening

Hedge Fund Math: Heads We Win, Tails You Lose

Monte Paschi’s Fatal Sin Brings Nationalization for Oldest Bank

U.K. Current-Account Deficit Widens; GDP Growth Revised Up

Putin Says Russian Economy Is On The Mend

China Fines GM Venture $29 Million For Monopolistic Pricing

Donald Trump’s New Appointments Shake Up Trade, Regulation

Ignoring Climate Change Just Got More Expensive

Deutsche Bank, Credit Suisse Reach Multibillion Settlements Over Toxic Securities

Airbus Will Sell 100 Planes to Iran After Similar Boeing Deal

Alibaba Enlists Brands to Help Snuff Out Knockoffs

Apple and Nokia Battle Over Cellphone Patents

1MDB Case Hangs Over Goldman Sachs as Investigators Dig for Answers

Howard Lindzon: Uber – Losses Aren’t Cool…Unprecedented Losses are Cool

Josh Brown: Dimon on His Role as a Trump Advisor

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Q3 GDP Revised up to 3.5%
Posted by Eddy Elfenbein on December 22nd, 2016 at 12:44 pm

Good, albeit, dated news for the economy today. The government revised its estimate for third-quarter GDP growth up to 3.5%. Bear in mind that Q3 began six months ago and ended nearly three months ago. The government’s previous report was for 3.2%.

Last quarter was the best quarter for the economy in two years.

The first quarter of 2017 is about to begin in a few days. Over the last 10 years, the economy has performed much worse during Q1 than in the rest of the year.

Here’s how it breaks down. Since 2007, average real GDP growth by quarter:

Q1: -0.08%
Q2: +2.20%
Q3: +1.96%
Q4: +1.21%

One of these things is not like the others.

Perhaps it’s weather or season factors. Or maybe it’s coincidence. In the chart below, you can see how many of the poor quarters were Q1s.

Morning News: December 22, 2016
Posted by Eddy Elfenbein on December 22nd, 2016 at 7:01 am

The Year in Money

Monte Paschi Said Headed for Nationalization After Sale Failure

OPEC Vs. Reality, Which Will Give First?

U.S. Refiners Cash In On Mexico’s Record Fuel Imports

Trump May Have a $300 Million Conflict of Interest With Deutsche Bank

Trump Summons Contractors to Mar-a-Lago Over Spending

Trump Names Carl Icahn as Adviser on Regulatory Overhaul

Alibaba, Labeled ‘Notorious,’ Faces Growing Pressure Over Fakes

Hershey Names 11-Year Vet Michele Buck to CEO Post

In a Retreat, Uber Ends Its Self-Driving Car Experiment in San Francisco

Why China and Hollywood Don’t Mix

Secret Unit Helped Brazilian Company Bribe Government Officials

Former Official at New York State Pension Fund, Two Brokers Charged in Bribery Scheme

Jeff Carter: At Seed Do You Worry About Exit?

Jeff Miller: Why Wall Street Strategists Always Seem Bullish

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Bed Bath & Beyond Earns 85 Cents per Share
Posted by Eddy Elfenbein on December 21st, 2016 at 4:28 pm

Bed Bath & Beyond (BBBY) just dropped a rotten third-quarter earnings report. The home furnishings stock earned 85 cents per share for Q3. That was well short of Wall Street’s estimate of 98 cents per share. That’s also down from the $1.09 per share they made in last year’s Q3. Net sales rose 0.1% to $2.955 billion, and comparable sales fell 1.4%.

Bed Bath updated its guidance. Before, they said to expect full-year earnings to range between $4.50 and $5 per share. Now they say to expect earnings at the low end of that range.

The company has made $2.76 per share for the first three quarters of this year. That implies a Q4 earnings of $1.74 per share to reach $4.50 for the year. Wall Street had been expecting $1.86 per share. For context, BBBY made $1.91 per share in last year’s Q4. The stock is down about 4% in the after-hours market.

Morning News: December 21, 2016
Posted by Eddy Elfenbein on December 21st, 2016 at 7:05 am

IMF Doubles Down on Lagarde as Trump Aims to Upend World Order

Paschi Falls to Record as Investors Said to Balk at Share Offer

Spanish Banks Face $4.2 Billion Hit From European Court’s Loan Ruling

U.S. Stocks Hit Record Close, but Dow Short of 20000

President Obama Bans Oil Drilling in Large Areas of Atlantic and Arctic Oceans

Social Security Checks Are Being Reduced for Unpaid Student Debt

Nike’s Profit Rises on Stronger Demand in U.S. and China

Twitter’s Chief Technology Officer to Leave Company

FedEx Plays Hardball With Retailers as Profits Get Squeezed

Careful What You Wish For, Praxair

Darden Restaurants Results Boosted by Olive Garden

Walgreens, Rite Aid Find Unlikely Buyer for 865 Stores

Volkswagen Expected to Pay Another $1 Billion in Emissions Scandal

Howard Lindzon: The 12 Charts of 2016 … Semiconductors and New Daily Extras

Josh Brown: Ray Dalio: Welcome to the Age of Trump

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Today Could Be the Day
Posted by Eddy Elfenbein on December 20th, 2016 at 11:07 am

The Dow has been as high as 19,987 this morning. Today could be the day it will finally hit 20,000. The Dow first broke 200 on December 19, 1927, and then 2,000 fell on January 8, 1987.

Morning News: December 20, 2016
Posted by Eddy Elfenbein on December 20th, 2016 at 7:08 am

Hedge Fund Winners and Losers Emerge as Year Ends on Better Note

Italy Seeks To Borrow 20 Billion Euros to Prop Up Banking Sector

Yellen Tells College Graduates That Value of a Degree Is Rising

What Is SoftBank?

Uber’s Loss Exceeds $800 Million in Third Quarter on $1.7 Billion in Net Revenue

EU Charges Facebook With Misleading Information During WhatsApp Takeover

Apple Hits Back at EU’s Tax Order

Lloyds to Buy Bank of America’s British Credit Card Business

Authorities Allege $1 Billion Fraud at Platinum Partners

Novartis Says Reaches Agreement to Buy Texas-Based Encore Vision

The Tesla Advantage: 1.3 Billion Miles of Data

Can This Woman Turn Around Tiffany?

Roger Nusbaum: How Much Higher Will Interest Rates Go?

Jeff Carter: Jason Calcanis, On Fire With Truthiness

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Morning News: December 19, 2016
Posted by Eddy Elfenbein on December 19th, 2016 at 7:05 am

Oil Extends Advance Above $52 as Libyan Output Comeback Stalls

Nationalized Ukrainian Lender Privatbank Has $5.6 Billion Hole in Balance Sheet

German Business Confidence Improves as Growth Strengthens

Australia’s Projected Annual Deficits Worsen by $7.5 Billion

Apple Fights $13.6 Billion Tax Bill as EU Lifts Lid on Case

One Thing Missing From The Iran Aircraft Order

ExxonMobil Helped Defeat Russia Sanctions Bill

Goldman Warns China Outflows Rising in Both Yuan Payments, Forex

Volkswagen Nears Deal to Add Another $1 Billion to Emissions Scandal Costs

A $55 Billion Manager Who Bought at Market Low Returns to Cash

Snapchat Plays Hard to Get With Celebrities and Influencers

Fairfax Financial To Buy Allied World For $4.9 Billion In Cash And Stock

In India, a Clash at the Top of the Tata Empire Gets Ugly

Jeff Miller: New Year, New Highs, and a New List of Worries

Howard Lindzon: Bitcoin…Takes a Licking and Keeps on Ticking

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The Empire Was Socialist
Posted by Eddy Elfenbein on December 17th, 2016 at 9:51 pm

Did you know the Empire was Socialist? Check out this deleted clip from the original Star Wars (jump to the 4:43 mark).

“Do stocks have a big China problem?”
Posted by Eddy Elfenbein on December 16th, 2016 at 6:51 pm

I was to be on CNBC today but the segment was bumped due to President Obama’s news conference. Here’s the segment CNBC filmed for their website.