Trading Ideas

Top news and what to watch in the markets on Tuesday, July 21, 2020. …read more […]

(Bloomberg) — South Sudan is banking on a better year in 2021 after efforts to rebuild its oil industry were knocked by the coronavirus and a collapse in crude prices.“We experienced prices that had never been there before and we are running at a loss” along with private operators, Awow Daniel Chuang, the undersecretary in the Ministry of Petroleum, said in an interview in Juba, the capital. “We have been affected much more than others because South Sudan, being a new country just emerging from war, has a lot of challenges.”South Sudan’s official oil production dropped 20,000 barrels to 170,000 …read more […]

Shares in Acadia Pharmaceuticals (ACAD) plunged 12% in Monday’s extended trading, after the company announced disappointing top-line results from its 298 patient Phase 3 CLARITY study evaluating pimavanserin as an adjunctive treatment for major depressive disorder (MDD).The study did not achieve statistical significance on the primary endpoint which was the 17-item Hamilton Depression Rating Scale (HAMD-17) total score change from baseline to week 5. Pimavanserin 34 mg, given once-daily as an adjunctive treatment to standard antidepressant therapy was associated with a mean reduction of 9.0 in HAMD-17 total score compared to 8.1 for placebo as an adjunctive treatment (p=0.296).Positive results …read more […]

(Bloomberg) — Stocks advanced globally alongside U.S. equity futures after European leaders reached a deal on a landmark stimulus package. The dollar slipped.The Stoxx Europe 600 Index opened higher on gains in tech and auto shares. A gauge of risk in the region’s investment-grade debt dropped to the lowest since February. Equities rose across Asia, with Australia outperforming after the government boosted job subsidies.S&P 500 contracts climbed after the benchmark turned positive for the year and the Nasdaq 100 jumped to a record on demand for companies like Amazon.com Inc. and Zoom Technologies Inc. that benefit from more people staying …read more […]

IBM Corp. (IBM) reported better-than-estimated profit in the second quarter driven by sales of its cloud computing business sending shares up almost 5% in extended market trading on Monday.The stock surged to $132.25 in Monday’s after-market trading. IBM’s total revenue in the second quarter dropped 5.4% to $18.12 billion year-on-year, coming in above analysts’ estimates of $17.72 billion. Adjusting for the impact from currency and divested businesses, revenue slipped 1.9%. Meanwhile total cloud revenue surged 30% to $6.3 billion in the reported quarter.Excluding items, the company earned $2.18 per share, exceeding analysts’ expectations for $2.07 per share. IBM’s focus of …read more […]

(Bloomberg) — Hong Kong Exchanges & Clearing Ltd. surged as much as 9.5%, its biggest jump in five years, after billionaire Jack Ma’s Ant Group announced plans to seek a dual listing in Hong Kong and Shanghai, bypassing New York.Ant Group is seeking a valuation of more than $200 billion as it goes public, and could raise more than Saudi Aramco’s record $29 billion if market conditions are favorable, according to a person familiar with the matter. The Hong Kong portion could raise about $10 billion, according to people familiar with the matter, which would make it the sixth-largest initial …read more […]

Amazon.com, Inc. (NASDAQ: AMZN) Chief Executive Officer Jeff Bezos added $13 billion to his wealth on Monday, according to the Bloomberg Billionaires Index.What Happened This is the largest single-day gain in the net worth of an individual recorded by the index since it was created in 2012, Bloomberg noted.Amazon’s shares rose nearly 8% on Monday to close at $3,196.84, the highest single-day gain since December 2018.The e-commerce company’s shares surged after a Goldman Sachs analyst upgraded the price target at the stock to $3,800 per share. Online shopping is also seeing positive trends, according to Bloomberg.The 56-year old’s reported net …read more […]

Swiss drugmaker Novartis cut its 2020 sales outlook on Tuesday after second quarter sales and profit fell, as hospitals that stocked up on drugs during the first-quarter due to the COVID-19 pandemic slowed purchases. The Basel-based company cut its 2020 sales outlook, saying it now expects sales to grow in the mid-single digit percentage range, down from its previous expectation for a mid- to high-single-digit percentage increase. Novartis was also more specific on its profit expectations, saying it now expected core operating income to increase by a low double-digit percentage, compared with its earlier view for a high-single …read more […]

During the second quarter of 2020, US smartphone sell-through fell 25% year-over-year, according to Counterpoint Research’s preliminary US Smartphone Channel Share Tracker. However Apple (AAPL) had reason to rejoice as Apple volumes grew through the quarter and were especially helped by iPhone SE volumes.“The device has been successful and selling above expectations in both postpaid and prepaid channels,” said Jeff Fieldhack, Counterpoint’s North American Research Director.Since the iPhone SE launched at just $399, carrier stores and national retail have been re-opening, with some channels offering large promotions to draw shoppers back to stores. According to Counterpoint, this was especially true …read more […]

Building wealth in your twenties may not be your main priority. After all, you’ve got a career to build, restaurants to try, bars to hit. But if you’re truly interested in building wealth, there is literally no better time to start than your twenties.
That’s because when it comes to building wealth, your best friend is time. The more time you have to accumulate savings and invest your money, the more time your funds will have a chance to compound and grow.
Sometimes it may seem like everyone around you focuses more on spending money and accumulating stuff instead of building wealth. …read more […]

Spot gold was up 0.2% at $1,818.23 per ounce by 0510 GMT after hitting its highest since September 2011 on Monday. U.S. gold futures rose 0.2% to $1,821.10. European Union leaders reached a deal on a massive stimulus plan for their coronavirus-blighted economies after a fractious summit that went through the night and into its fifth day. …read more […]

Jul.20 — Joni Teves, precious metals strategist at UBS Investment Bank, discusses the outlook for gold and silver. Both metals have surged this year as the coronavirus pandemic roiled the global economy, spurring sustained demand for havens even as some lockdowns were eased. Teves speaks with Haslinda Amin and Rishaad Salamat on “Bloomberg Markets: Asia.” …read more […]

Southeast Asian low-cost carriers, a key growth engine for planemakers and leasing companies for a decade before the pandemic, are faltering financially as demand plunges, raising questions over whether they can replace and double their fleets. Auditors for Malaysia’s AirAsia Group Bhd and Vietnam’s VietJet Aviation JSC are concerned about cashflows and funding, while Indonesia’s Lion Air has put the brakes on a planned flotation. …read more […]

(Bloomberg) — Microsoft Corp. President Brad Smith raised concerns to U.S. lawmakers about what the company regards as Apple Inc.’s anti-competitive behavior around its app store, according to a person familiar with the matter.Smith, who is also chief legal officer, was invited by the House of Representatives’s antitrust subcommittee to share his experiences around Microsoft’s own antitrust battle with the U.S. government in the late 1990s. During the conversation, which occurred weeks ago, he discussed the company’s issue with Apple, said the person, who asked not to be identified because the discussion was private.The House Judiciary Antitrust Subcommittee will hold …read more […]

IBM has jettisoned some of its legacy business to focus on the high-margin cloud computing business, an area that has seen a lot of action in recent years as companies ramp up their digital shift to boost efficiency. Revenue from the cloud business, previously headed by Krishna, rose 30% to $6.3 billion in the second quarter. …read more […]