Year: 2020

(Bloomberg) — Oil slid toward $40 a barrel in New York with OPEC+ warning of a precarious outlook for the market as a resurgent virus hits consumption.Saudi Arabia’s Energy Minister Prince Abdulaziz bin Salman called on the group to be proactive in the face of uncertain demand as an OPEC+ committee gathered to assess the state of the market. While the panel didn’t discuss if they should press on with plans to taper output cuts, they can change course if needed. Meanwhile, more U.S. stimulus remained elusive as time draws short to reach an agreement on a bill that could …read more […]

China is minting new billionaires at a record pace despite an economy bruised by the coronavirus pandemic, thanks to booming share prices and a spate of new stock listings, according to a list released on Tuesday. The Hurun China Rich List 2020 also highlights China’s accelerated shift away from traditional sectors like manufacturing and real estate, towards e-commerce, fintech and other new economy industries. Jack Ma, founder of Alibaba , retained the top spot for the third year in a row, with his personal wealth jumping 45% to $58.8 billion partly due to the impending mega-listing of fintech …read more […]

The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration and Tesla Inc (NASDAQ: TSLA) have issued a recall for the latter’s Model Y vehicles over inoperative trailer brake lights.What Happened: A software error prevents the trailer brake lights from functioning, according to an NHTSA statement — earlier noticed by Electrek.The NHTSA said that the recall is applicable to certain 2020 Model Y vehicles that are equipped with a global rear lamp and tow package configuration.Tesla has issued a firmware update over-the-air to remedy the error, according to the federal agency. Why It Matters: There are at least 2,567 vehicles affected, as per the …read more […]

General Motors Co is expected to announce on Tuesday significant investments to expand production of electric vehicles at a factory in Spring Hill, Tennessee and potentially other sites. GM said in a statement Monday that it planned to make a “major U.S. manufacturing investment announcement” on Tuesday. The Detroit News reported that the automaker planned to begin building the Cadillac Lyriq electric SUV at its Spring Hill, Tenn. plant. …read more […]

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(Bloomberg) — Intel Corp. agreed to sell its Nand memory unit to South Korea’s SK Hynix Inc. for about $9 billion, a deal that allows the U.S. chipmaker to concentrate on its main business while shoring up the Asian company’s position in a booming market.The chipmaker will pay 10.3 trillion won for the Intel unit, which makes flash memory components for computers and other devices. The acquisition, which will take place in stages through 2025, includes Intel’s solid-state drive, Nand flash and wafer businesses, as well as a production facility in the northeastern Chinese city of Dalian.The deal should shore …read more […]

The maker of computer keyboards and mice also raised its full-year forecast, saying it now expects annual sales to increase between 35% and 40% in constant currencies and non-GAAP operating income of between $700 million and $725 million. “The growth trends that drive our business have accelerated as society adjusts to its new reality,” said Chief Executive Officer Bracken Darrell in a statement. Net income rose to $266.9 million from $73 million a year earlier. …read more […]

After charging off the starting line and posting huge market gains in 2020, recent events have put a halt to DraftKings’s (DKNG) spectacular debut as a publicly traded company.A recent share dilution, reports of new coronavirus infections in the NFL and in college football and this week’s lockup expiration (i.e. the end of the period when early investors and insiders are not allowed to sell shares into the market) – have all played their part in the stock declining by 30% since early October’s highs.But it has not all been bad news. Last week DraftKings announced it had inked a …read more […]

(Bloomberg) — Intel Corp. agreed to sell its Nand memory unit to South Korea’s SK Hynix Inc. for about $9 billion, part of a broader effort by the U.S. chipmaker to concentrate on its main business.The Asian company will pay 10.3 trillion won for the Intel unit, which makes flash memory components for computers and other devices. The acquisition, which will take place in stages through 2025, includes Intel’s solid-state drive, Nand flash and wafer businesses, as well as a production facility in the northeastern Chinese city of Dalian. Hynix’s shares rose as much as 4.8% Tuesday morning.The deal will …read more […]

Amazon (AMZN) hosted its annual Prime Day event last week, and although it has yet to release overall sales, Truist analyst Youssef Squali believes the available data indicates this year’s event “was a record sales period again for the company.”The sales data so far shows 3P (third party) vendors experienced robust growth. The platform’s marketplace sellers – made up mostly of small-to medium sized businesses – saw year-over-year sales increasing by 60% to $3.5 billion across 19 different countries, beating Amazon’s 1P business.As a side note, with e-commerce surging across the globe, the pandemic appears to have boosted the amount …read more […]

The report released on Monday showed registrations in California, a bellwether for the electric-car maker and its largest U.S. market, recovered from a second-quarter low of roughly 9,800 vehicles to around 16,200 vehicles in the three months ended September. California registration for Tesla’s Model 3 mass-market sedan, which in the past accounted for more than half of total registrations, fell 60% on a yearly basis to 6,500. …read more […]

The recent coronavirus vaccine race has been fraught with setbacks. Both Astra Zeneca and Johnson & Johnson recently halted their respective COVID-19 vaccine programs due to a participant’s unexplained reactions.There appears to be no such trouble right now for a fellow pharma heavyweight seeking to be first to market with a viable solution.On Friday, Pfizer (PFE) said that based on interim data, by the end of October it hopes to find out whether its COVID-19 vaccine – developed in collaboration with BioNTech (BNTX) – is effective or not.Moreover, by mid-November it hopes to have enough safety and manufacturing data available …read more […]

(Bloomberg) — There is no more dramatic sign of the U.S. shale industry’s fall from grace than one of the best in the business being sold off for less than a third of its peak value.Concho Resources Inc., an early explorer of the Permian Basin’s once-coveted oil riches that was worth $32 billion just two years ago, is selling for $9.7 billion in stock. ConocoPhillips is paying a meager 15% premium over Concho’s closing price on Oct. 13, the last trading session before Bloomberg News first reported the companies were in talks.Concho is not alone: More than half of the …read more […]

November 3 is Election Day in the United States. What could that mean for the markets?
You’re not supposed to fight the Fed, and the Fed is expected to keep interest rates low. However, there are a lot of forces pushing on this market, and I expect stocks to be lower in 2021.
Let’s take a look at some different scenarios and how the market might react…
1. Chaos: One or both candidates declare victory while both refuse to concede. Results take weeks to become official.
I think this is the most likely outcome, and it is what the market already expects. The natural …read more […]

Third quarter earnings season kicks off, and Wall Street is tuning in. Anxiously awaiting the quarterly numbers, investors will get more clarity on the extent of COVID-19’s impact on fundamentals.While the U.S. Presidential election and the next pandemic stimulus package have stolen some of the spotlight from the upcoming quarterly reports, analysts have taken a deep dive into the data to gain insights on what might be in store.According to estimates, S&P 500-listed companies are expected to report earnings of $32.97 per share, down 22% from the prior-year quarter. That said, Refinitiv data indicates that about three-fourths of S&P 500 …read more […]