Month: April 2020

(Bloomberg) — Goldman Sachs Group Inc. has Wall Street’s biggest investment portfolio, a boast that became a liability in the first quarter as fallout from the coronavirus weighed on the firm’s holdings.The business took an almost $900 million hit that contributed to a 46% decline in profit, even as it included gains from pending private-equity sales. A strong showing in the trading operations, the firm’s biggest division, helped counter the damage as market volatility boosted demand for trading services.Goldman’s large investing operation has helped drive some of its most profitable quarters. But it also leaves the firm more exposed to …read more […]

Like most stocks in this market, Coca-Cola Company (KO) stock has been hit hard by the COVID-19 pandemic. From the market peak in late February through its nadir in late march, Coca-Cola shares lost about 38% of their value. The next three weeks — through Tuesday’s close — saw Coke shares make up about half of those losses.Still the stock is down 18% from its February 21 high. Does this make Coke stock a buy?Investment bank HSBC thinks so. In a recent report to clients, HSBC analyst Carlos Laboy argues that Coca-Cola stock is undervalued at its present price of …read more […]

The novel coronavirus outbreak has temporarily shuttered businesses around the globe, put millions out of work in the United States alone and is expected to cause the deepest recession in recent memory. Citigroup, the most global of the U.S. banks, recorded a $4.89 billion expense to increase its reserves against anticipated losses on loans, primarily from its credit cards because of rising unemployment. Lenders with more exposure to unsecured loans like credit cards are more susceptible to hefty writedowns, as credit card delinquencies have historically risen in lockstep with unemployment. …read more […]

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Earnings per share fell to $3.11 from $5.71 a year earlier. “Our quarterly profitability was inevitably affected by the economic dislocation,” said Goldman Chief Executive Officer David Solomon. Under Solomon, Goldman has been attempting to reduce its reliance on its flagship trading business and build out its consumer bank, although trading made a comeback this quarter. …read more […]

(Bloomberg) — The world’s richest person is getting richer, even in a pandemic, and perhaps because of it.With consumers stuck at home, they’re relying on Jeff Bezos’s Amazon.com Inc. more than ever. The retailer’s stock climbed 5.3% to a record Tuesday, lifting the founder’s net worth to $138.5 billion.The pandemic has brought the global economy to a near standstill and pushed almost 17 million Americans onto the unemployment rolls in the span of three weeks. JPMorgan Chase & Co. and Wells Fargo & Co. signaled Tuesday that loan losses fueled by the unprecedented job cuts — many of them in …read more […]