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Oil hits three-month highs as strong U.S. consumer spending underpins growth hopes

Oil prices rose on Friday, hitting three-month highs after data showed record online spending by U.S. consumers, stoking faith in the world’s no. 1 economy even before the hoped-for end to the trade war between Washington and Beijing. Brent crude futures were up 13 cents, or 0.2%, at $68.05 a barrel at 0150 GMT, while the West Texas Intermediate contract was up 13 cents, or 0.2%, at $61.81 a barrel. A survey on Thursday showed that online holiday purchases by U.S. consumers reached a record, beating analysts’ expectations and sending U.S. stocks to fresh. …read more […]

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Sugar Traders Hold Tight: India’s Set to Roil Markets Again

(Bloomberg) — India may roil the global sugar market again as prospects for next year’s cane crop have brightened due to brimming reservoirs.Bountiful monsoon rains this year have led to above average water levels in reservoirs, which will in turn boost the amount of sugar cane that’s planted, according to industry and Indian government officials. Sugar output in the country is expected to bounce back in 2020-21 from an estimated three-year low this year, they said.“The only thing that can stop cane plantings in India is the hand of God,” said Rahil Shaikh, managing director of trading company Meir Commodities …read more […]

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Apple Supplier Bullish on 2020 as China 5G Phone Demand Kicks In

(Bloomberg) — Taiyo Yuden Co., a Japanese maker of ceramic capacitors used in smartphones, sees increasing demand for its components next year as China pushes ahead with the fifth generation of cellular technology.“We’re already getting orders for 5G base stations,” Chief Executive Officer Shoichi Tosaka said in an interview on Thursday. “Early next year we should start seeing 5G-related orders for smartphones.”Huawei Technologies Co. and ZTE Corp. have led the orders for capacitors used in base stations, Tosaka said. The demand is coming mostly from Chinese carriers, after the Trump administration pushed U.S. allies to exclude Chinese suppliers from their …read more […]

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See the Market in 2020 Vision

What a difference a year makes. 2018 was tough on investors, and it ended with stocks in retreat. The decline was triggered by growing fears of a prolonged U.S.-China trade war fueled by President Trump’s “I am tariff man” tweet on December 4.
In addition, the Federal Reserve was in a multiyear cycle of rate hikes. Nobody knew it at the time, but the last hike occurred on December 18, 2018.
Across nearly every major asset class, 2018 was a bad year.
Fast forward to December 2019. A yearlong rally accelerated in the fourth quarter, with stocks ending the year at or near …read more […]