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C | FOREX Dollar dips Citi news pares safe haven buying | Dollar dips vs euro Wall St rally pares safety buying
Japan machinery orders fall less than expected
Yen shows limited reaction to machinery orders
By Masayuki Kitano
TOKYO March 11 Reuters The dollar dipped against the
euro on Wednesday after U S shares rallied the previous day on
news that Citigroup was profitable in the first two months of
2009 tempering safe haven buying of the dollar
U S stocks rose sharply on Tuesday with the Standard
Poor s 500 Index climbing 6 37 percent pointing to some
improvement in risk appetite among investors
A rise in regional shares on Wednesday underscored such
sentiment with Japan s benchmark Nikkei average rising more than
3 percent after booking a 26 year closing low on Tuesday
When risk appetite falls the dollar attracts buying and when
such tolerance increases the dollar tends to be sold said Yuji
Saito head of the foreign exchange sales department at Societe
Generale in Tokyo
The euro rose 0 4 percent to 1 2725 pulling away from a
3 month low of 1 2457 hit on trading platform EBS last week
The dollar was steady at 98 70 yen having come off a
a four month high of 99 69 yen hit last week
There was little immediate reaction to data showing that
Japan s core private sector machinery orders a key gauge of
corporate capital spending fell 3 2 percent in January from the
previous month
That was slightly better than a median market forecast for a
4 5 percent fall
Despite the news from Citigroup and the rally on Wall Street
on Tuesday there was still uncertainty about the outlook for
equities and risk appetite
Many market players probably doubt that this has resulted in
a full fledged easing of credit jitters said a trader for
Japanese foreign exchange broker
The rise in U S equities which may have involved some
short covering could prove temporary he said
U S shares received an added boost on Tuesday after a key
lawmaker expressed hope there would soon be a reinstatement of a
rule that makes it harder to bet that a share price will fall
Rep Barney Frank chairman of the House Financial Services
Committee said he was hopeful the Securities and Exchange
Commission would reimpose the uptick rule in about a month
Editing by Michael Watson |
C | FOREX Dollar slips Citi news pares safe haven demand | Dollar dips vs euro Wall St rally pares safety buying
Japan machinery orders fall less than expected
Yen shows limited reaction to machinery orders
Dollar yen seen trapped between seasonal flows
By Masayuki Kitano
TOKYO March 11 Reuters The dollar dipped against the
euro on Wednesday after U S shares rallied the previous day on
news that Citigroup was profitable in the first two months of
2009 tempering safe haven buying of the dollar
U S stocks jumped on Tuesday with the Standard Poor s 500
Index climbing more than 6 percent pointing to some improvement
in risk appetite among investors
A rise in Asian shares on Wednesday underscored that mood
with Japan s benchmark Nikkei average rising more than 4 percent
after booking a 26 year closing low on Tuesday
When risk appetite falls the dollar attracts buying and
when such tolerance increases the dollar tends to be sold said
Yuji Saito head of foreign exchange sales at Societe Generale in
Tokyo
The euro rose 0 2 percent to 1 2704 pulling away from a
3 month low of 1 2457 hit on trading platform EBS last week
A trader for a Japanese financial institution cited an
accumulation of euro selling positions as a supportive factor for
the single European currency saying market players were
reluctant to increase such bets against the euro at this stage
The dollar dipped 0 3 percent to 98 40 yen having come off a
a four month high of 99 69 yen last week
A trader for a major Japanese bank said there seemed to be
repatriation flows from both Japanese and overseas players
adding that such flows were cancelling each other out
Overseas players tend to be dollar buyers while yen buying
tends to be prevalent among Japanese the trader said But they
are not appearing in the kind of size that can tilt the supply
and demand balance very far he added
STUCK IN RANGE
Such two way flows could keep the dollar hemmed in against
the yen until the end of March said Yuji Matsuura joint general
manager for Aozora Bank s forex and derivatives trading group
The euro is likely to trade between 1 2500 and 1 3000 for a
while he added
Both the euro and dollar yen may be in the type of lull that
comes before a sharp move Matsuura said adding that the euro
could eventually come under pressure if concerns about eastern
European countries flare up again
There was little reaction to data showing that Japan s core
private sector machinery orders a key gauge of corporate capital
spending fell 3 2 percent in January from the previous month
slightly better than a median market forecast for a 4 5 percent
fall
Despite the news from Citigroup and the rally on Wall Street
on Tuesday there was still uncertainty about the outlook for
equities and risk appetite
Many market players probably doubt that this has led to a
full fledged easing of credit jitters said a trader for a
Japanese foreign exchange broker
The rise in U S equities which may have involved some
short covering could prove temporary said a trader at a
Japanese foreign exchange broker
U S shares received an added boost on Tuesday after Rep
Barney Frank chairman of the House Financial Services Committee
expressed hope there would soon be a reinstatement of the
uptick rule that makes it harder to bet that a share price will
fall
Additional reporting by Yoko Matsudaira Editing by Hugh
Lawson |
C | INTERVIEW UPDATE 2 IMF chief says bank cleanup too slow | Adds UBS loss revision British asset scheme
By Lesley Wroughton
DAR ES SALAAM March 11 Reuters The world s advanced
economies are moving too slowly in ridding banks of problem
assets which could jeopardize a global economic recovery in
2010 the head of the International Monetary Fund said
The warning by IMF Managing Director Dominique Strauss Kahn
comes as the Fund now believes the global economy will be
gripped by a Great Recession in 2009 and contract below zero
In January the IMF said world growth will come to a virtual
standstill this year at 0 5 percent but Strauss Kahn said just
over a month later the IMF had to cut that forecast following
worse than expected fourth quarter data
Strauss Kahn said on Wednesday the IMF is still projecting
the world economy will recover from mid 2010 but only if
governments move quickly to implement stimulus measures and
banks balance sheets are cleared of toxic assets
On the bank restructuring side things are really
lagging Strauss Kahn told Reuters in an interview after an IMF
conference on African economies If it goes that way for two or
three more months then recovery in 2010 will be difficult
Extra writedowns and a large U S tax fine forced UBS to
revise up its 2008 net loss the biggest in Swiss corporate
history the bank said on Wednesday after it had earlier
received a state subsidy
And news of an asset insurance scheme in Britain has been
coming out piecemeal in the last few days as the country aims
to limit losses banks face on troublesome assets
The new U S administration has outlined a plan to remove
toxic assets from banks balance sheets The U S needs to say
exactly how they re going to do it Strauss Kahn said
He said he would take this message to a meeting of Group of
20 finance ministers in Britain on Friday and Saturday
U S Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner on Feb 10 outlined
the bank plan but offered few details on how it would work
Since then the Treasury has agreed to a third rescue effort
for Citigroup by agreeing to convert preferred shares to common
equity bolstering the bank s capital base
Limiting the losses of banks and insurers on risky assets is
widely regarded as the key next step to restoring confidence in
the financial system
MORE STIMULUS
Strauss Kahn said actions by various governments to
stimulate their economies had been more coordinated and
responsive although he said there is still some room to have
some more stimulus
The IMF has proposed that governments that can afford it
should act together to roll out a global fiscal stimulus
equivalent to about 2 percent of world gross domestic product
GDP or around 1 2 trillion Currently total fiscal stimulus
plans amount to around 1 5 percent of world GDP
The IMF chief also said he was concerned with the spread of
the global crisis to emerging market economies hit by the sharp
drop in demand and prices for commodities and drying up private
capital flows
He said he was concerned large banks and corporations in
emerging markets will be unable to rollover maturing debt
Preliminary estimates by the World Bank this week show that
well over 1 trillion in emerging market corporate debt and 2 3
trillion in total emerging market debt mature in 2009 the
majority extended by international banks across borders or
through their affiliates in emerging markets
Most of this lending is in foreign currency and for
relatively short terms meaning that the currency and maturity
risks are primarily on the balance sheet of emerging market
banks companies and households
With increasing trouble brewing in emerging markets
Strauss Kahn said it was necessary that IMF shareholder nations
agree to double IMF s resources by 250 billion to 500 billion
including the 100 billion committed by Japan
While Strauss Kahn declined to give the IMF s estimates on
rollover needs he said When you look at the figures for 2009
financing needs of emerging countries and what we expect to be
covered by rollover the gap is huge Everyone understands we
need to have a sharp increase in our resources
The IMF has already provided 50 billion in emergency
financing packages to struggling eastern European countries
including Hungary Latvia Ukraine Belarus Serbia as well as
Pakistan and Iceland as the crisis spreads
Also recently the IMF projected that 22 developing
countries faced a financing gap in 2009 of up to 25 billion
which could reach as much as 140 billion
Additional writing by Olesya Dmitracova in London editing by
Tomasz Janowski |
C | FOREX Dollar gains ground after China Feb exports slump | Dollar strengthens after China Feb exports slump
Euro sterling Australian dollar fall
Yen benefits from fall in other majors
Dollar yen seen trapped between seasonal flows
By Masayuki Kitano
TOKYO March 11 Reuters The dollar strengthened against
other majors on Wednesday reversing early losses after a slump
in China s exports in February knocked down the Australian dollar
and other major currencies
The dollar began the Asian session on the back foot as
safe haven dollar buying lost steam following a rally in U S
shares on Tuesday on news that Citigroup was profitable in the
first two months of 2009
But investor sentiment remains jittery with worries about
the world economy and banking sector never far from the surface
and the dollar spun around after data showed China s trade
surplus shrank to 4 84 billion in February
This was much lower than forecasts for a 27 3 billion
surplus and exports slid 25 7 percent on a year ago
The Australian dollar fell almost 1 percent at one stage
before recovering a little to stand 0 5 percent down on the day
at 0 6423 It also fell sharply against the yen
Australia has close links with China and I can understand
how the Australian dollar would be sold due to concerns about
demand for raw materials says Takahide Nagasaki chief foreign
exchange strategist for Daiwa Securities SMBC
The euro shed 0 2 percent on the day to 1 2661 falling from
about 1 2725 before China s data It had touched a two week high
of 1 2823 on trading platform EBS on Tuesday
Sterling also fell dropping 0 3 percent to 1 3699 and
edged towards a one month low against the euro
The dollar climbed 0 3 percent against a basket of currencies
to 88 769 It struck a three year peak on the index last week at
89 624
YEN STRENGTHENS TOO
The Australian dollar s fall helped the yen rise pushing it
up against the New Zealand dollar then the euro and the pound
which a trader said were also hit by investors repatriating funds
from Europe
After the Chinese data cross yen collapsed Sterling yen
stops were triggered and that was a trigger of the broader yen
purchases said Toru Umemoto chief FX strategist Japan at
Barclays Capital
The crosses recovered from the steepest of their falls with
the Australian and New Zealand dollars holding above recent
upward trend lines against the yen but were still between 0 5
percent and 1 percent weaker on the day
The dollar also failed to hold gains versus the yen slipping
further from a recent four month peak close to 100 yen It fell
0 3 percent to 98 35 yen
There was little reaction to data showing Japan s core
private sector machinery orders a key gauge of corporate capital
spending fell 3 2 percent in January from the previous month
slightly better than forecasts for a 4 5 percent fall
A trader for a major Japanese bank said there seemed to be
repatriation flows from both Japanese and overseas players and
such flows were cancelling each other out
Overseas players tend to be dollar buyers while yen buying
tends to be prevalent among Japanese the trader said But they
are not appearing in the kind of size that can tilt the supply
and demand balance very far he added
Such two way flows could keep the dollar hemmed in against
the yen until the end of March said Yuji Matsuura joint general
manager for Aozora Bank s forex and derivatives trading group
He also saw the euro trading between 1 2500 and 1 3000 for
a while
Both the euro and dollar yen may be in the type of lull that
comes before a sharp move Matsuura said adding that the euro
could eventually come under pressure if concerns about eastern
European countries flare up again
Additional reporting by Charlotte Cooper and Yoko Matsudaira |
C | FOREX Dollar rebounds on China exports slump | Dollar strengthens after China Feb exports slump
Euro sterling Australian dollar fall
Sterling remains pressured as QE kicks off
Changes dateline previous Tokyo and byline adds quotes
updates prices
By Kirsten Donovan
March 11 Reuters The dollar strengthened against major
currencies on Wednesday reversing early losses after a slump in
China s exports in February knocked down the Australian dollar
and sparked a renewed bout of risk aversion in currency markets
A fall in European equities also helped support the dollar
which had started the Asian session on the back foot following a
rally in U S shares on Tuesday on news that Citigroup was
profitable in the first two months of 2009
But investor sentiment remained jittery with worries about
the world economy and banking sector never far from the surface
News that Swiss bank UBS had increased its 2008 net loss to
20 9 billion Swiss francs 18 06 billion from the previously
reported 19 7 billion Swiss francs and said it saw earnings at
risk for some time weighed on the Swiss franc and the euro
The dollar spun around after data showed China s trade
surplus shrank to 4 84 billion in February much lower than
forecasts for a 27 3 billion surplus and exports slid 25 7
percent on a year ago
The Australian dollar sold off sharply immediately after
the data and that set the theme of risk aversion in currency
markets said Christian Lawrence an FX strategist at RBC
Capital Markets
China s been weathering the storm better than most Western
countries and any signs it is really starting to suffer and
global trade finance is declining rapidly doesn t bode well for
the West
Australia has close trade links with China and the
Australian dollar fell almost 1 percent at one stage before
recovering a little to stand 0 5 percent down on the day at
0 6424 It also fell sharply against the yen
The dollar climbed 0 21 percent against a basket of
currencies to 88 706 It struck a three year peak on the index
last week at 89 624
The euro shed 0 1 percent on the day to 1 2657 having
touched a two week high of 1 2823 on trading platform EBS on
Tuesday
The Australian dollar s fall helped the yen rise pushing it
up against the New Zealand dollar then the euro and the pound
which traders said were also hit by investors repatriating funds
from Europe The dollar slipped 0 2 percent 98 49 yen
BOE LAUNCHES QE
Sterling was little changed by remained near multi week lows
on lingering concerns about the economy and banking system as
the Bank of England prepared to launch its 75 billion pound
asset purchase programme or quantitative easing
The pound hit a six week low against the dollar and was last
little changed at 1 3735 The euro was around 5 week highs
0 03 percent higher at 92 18 pence
The BoE will start pumping money into the economy on
Wednesday with a first purchase of 2 billion pounds of gilts
Gilt futures have rallied nearly 7 full points since the BoE
first announce the scheme last week and cash yields have plunged
in the 5 to 25 year maturities the bank aims to buy
But although many analysts think the scheme will ultimately
prove positive for the pound sterling remains pressured in the
short term
While investors wait to see how QE helps the economy
sterling should remain under pressure against the dollar but we
still look for relative sterling strength versus the euro amid
unresolved euro zone concerns and uncertainty regarding future
ECB policies UBS strategist Gareth Berry said in a note |
C | FOREX Dollar loses traction on stock market rebound | Dollar rally stubbed out as European shares claw up
Euro dlr approaches 1 2750 euro sterling above 92 pence
China export slump provides reminder of global uncertainty
Sterling remains pressured as QE kicks off
recasts changes byline adds quotes updates prices
By Veronica Brown
LONDON March 11 Reuters The dollar s early rally ran
out of steam on Wednesday with a rise in European shares and
U S stock market futures dampening dollar supportive
risk averse sentiment in FX markets
Dollar losses versus some emerging market currencies were
also weighing on its progress against key major currency rivals
analysts said
European shares turned positive with banks leading the way
as U S futures extended gains After an early stumble stocks
were following Tuesday s rally on news that Citigroup was
profitable in the first two months of 2009
Sterling stayed under pressure against the single European
currency hovering near 5 1 2 week lows as Britain officially
started its quantitative easing programme to boost money supply
The global risk aversion bid for the dollar may ebbing a
little bit with equity markets performing somewhat better said
Robert Minikin senior FX strategist at Standard Chartered in
London
Dollar strength on the emerging crosses are also seeing a
significant correction and that s spilling over into the majors
too he added
The euro s gains were limited however as markets got a
timely reminder on the sickly state of global economic growth
after data earlier in the global session showed a slump in
economic powerhouse China s exports in February
Data also showed German manufacturing orders fell by 8 0
percent on the month in January posting their second biggest
decline since reunification in 1990
The dollar fell 0 1 percent on the day against a basket of
six major currencies at 88 436 giving up an earlier gain of
0 2 percent It struck a three year peak on the index last week
at 89 624
The euro rose 0 3 percent to 1 2714 having touched a
two week high of 1 2823 on trading platform EBS on Tuesday
while the dollar was down 0 2 percent at 98 49 yen
The Australian dollar reversed early losses to trade up 0 4
percent at 0 6477
In emerging markets the Hungarian forint extended gains
from Tuesday versus the dollar to trade up at 1 14 per
cent while the Polish zloty rose 0 60 percent
BOE LAUNCHES QE
Sterling stayed near multi week lows versus the dollar and
euro on lingering concerns about the economy and banking system
as the Bank of England prepared to launch its 75 billion pound
asset purchase programme or quantitative easing
The pound hit a six week low against the dollar at 1 3658
The euro was around 5 1 2 week highs holding above the 92 pence
mark
The BoE will start pumping money into the economy on
Wednesday with a first purchase of 2 billion pounds of gilts
Gilt futures have rallied nearly 7 full points since the BoE
first announced the scheme last week and cash yields have
plunged in the 5 to 25 year maturities the bank aims to buy
But although many analysts think the scheme will ultimately
prove positive for the pound sterling remains pressured in the
short term
While investors wait to see how QE helps the economy
sterling should remain under pressure against the dollar but we
still look for relative sterling strength versus the euro amid
unresolved euro zone concerns and uncertainty regarding future
ECB policies UBS strategist Gareth Berry said in a note
Additional reporting by Kirsten Donovan in London
Reporting by Veronica Brown Editing by Andy Bruce |
WMB | In a first Priyanka Chopra and Nick Jonas both named People s best dressed | By Jill Serjeant LOS ANGELES Reuters Actress Priyanka Chopra and her pop star husband Nick Jonas were named the best dressed of 2019 by People magazine on Wednesday marking the first time in the celebrity magazine s history that a couple has shared top style honors Chopra 37 a former Miss World who became a star in both Hollywood and Bollywood and Jonas 26 topped People s annual best dressed list in an eclectic slate that included actor Billy Porter and tennis champion Serena Williams NYSE WMB along with style setting veterans such as Jennifer Lopez Lady Gaga and Celine Dion It s the first time ever that we have had a man or a couple on the Top 10 list let alone as the best dressed But it really felt like these two deserved it People s style and beauty director Andrea Lavinthal told Reuters The combination of the two of them is so exciting to watch Jonas is not exactly someone who just wears a black tuxedo and stands next to her on the red carpet You can tell that he enjoys fashion as much as she does Lavinthal added Chopra who became the first Indian to headline a U S television drama series as the star of Quantico married the younger of the three Jonas Brothers musicians in New Delhi in December 2018 becoming one of the most sought after celebrity couples in the world Lavinthal praised Chopra and Jonas for embracing different styles and designers but always looking good They don t do matchy matchy but they still look like they go together she said Even walking down the street in New York City they are not in jeans and a T shirt or casual pants She is in a head to toe look and so is he Porter the Emmy nominated star of TV series Pose about New York s LGBTQ ballroom culture in the 1980s was deemed the Disruptor on People s Top 10 best dressed list Porter 49 turned heads when he walked the Oscar red carpet in February in a black velvet tuxedo ball gown and at the Met Gala in May dressed as an glittering Egyptian sun god with gold wings Lavinthal said Porter s appearances never felt they were just for the sake of being outrageous or costumey It was really the start of a conversation about what is considered gender appropriate People magazine s 20 page style feature in this week s magazine hits U S newsstands on Friday
The full list can be seen here |
WMB | Tennis Say what Comedian Fallon behind bizarre player remarks | By Rory Carroll NEW YORK Reuters There have been raised eyebrows at some of the bizarre and nonsensical statements served up by players during this year s U S hardcourt season and on Tuesday it was revealed that American comedian Jimmy Fallon was behind the prank The Tonight Show host challenged players to casually sneak in the head scratching phrases into their media interviews and he had no shortage of volunteers who were willing to play along Andy Murray and Karolina Pliskova were among those who left their audience bewildered and bemused I used to take cat naps but now I take kitten naps which are half as long but twice as cute a deadpan Murray said when asked about his preparations for the tournament I think Serena is so good at just knowing how to use every part of the kayak Madison Keys said when asked about fellow American Williams NYSE WMB Game set match do the cabbage patch the typically reserved Pliskova said while letting out a laugh Perhaps the strangest comment of all came from enigmatic young Greek Stefanos Tsitsipas Slap your dad and call him Brad he said rather seriously Even the world number ones got in on the act Reflecting on his epic Wimbledon final win over Roger Federer Novak Djokovic provided a catchy insight In the Wimbledon final against Roger when the score was deuce the juice got loose he said
The exact phrase was also uttered by Naomi Osaka although she struggled to keep a straight face during her delivery |
WMB | Fed Officials Warn Consumer Is Alone in Carrying U S Economy | Bloomberg Terms of Trade is a daily newsletter that untangles a world embroiled in trade wars Sign up here
Federal Reserve officials are weighing two competing forces in the U S economy the resilience of the consumer versus the fallout from uncertainty around trade disputes and weaker global growth
The consumer is now carrying all of the weight or much of the weight for growth going forward Federal Reserve Bank of New York President John Williams NYSE WMB told reporters Wednesday after giving a speech in New York One thing though about consumer spending that you have to be careful about is it s not really a leading indicator
As threats from U S China trade tensions have chilled business confidence and investment consumers have been the main drivers of growth There s weakness surfacing in manufacturing and concerns brewing in financial markets that the world economy may be heading toward recession
The theme was echoed later on Wednesday by Dallas Fed chief Robert Kaplan who told an audience in Toronto that he was watching to see if weak macroeconomic data filter into consumer attitudes Kaplan who isn t a voter on the Federal Open Market Committee this year said that if policy makers wait for consumer spending to weaken it might be too late
The Fed cut interest rates by a quarter percentage point when they last met in July citing slowing global growth trade policy uncertainty and muted inflation They are expected to deliver another reduction when they next meet Sept 17 18 according to prices of federal funds futures contracts
Williams as vice chair of the FOMC is a key policy maker on the 17 strong committee of U S central bankers who are split on the need for more easing according to recent public statements He pointed to the effects of U S President Donald Trump s trade war with China indicating it has cast a chill over the business community Trump has repeatedly called for the Fed to cut rates breaking with a quarter century of tradition in which the president typically refrained from commenting on Fed policy in public
Stock Performance
Trump acknowledged Wednesday that the clash with China has hurt the performance of the U S stock market but said he had to confront that country s economic practices
If I wanted to do nothing with China our stock market our stock market would be 10 000 points higher than it is right now but somebody had to do this Trump told reporters at the White House on Wednesday
In separate remarks Wednesday Minneapolis Fed President Neel Kashkari and Chicago Fed President Charles Evans highlighted the impact of trade policy on the economy Tariffs are really concerning businesses Kashkari said during a town hall style meeting in Minnesota Evans noted that uncertainty tends to slow down decisions by businesses weighing whether or not to make substantial investments
Beige Book
A Fed survey released Wednesday known as the Beige Book described consumer spending as mixed
The report based on anecdotal information collected by the 12 regional Fed banks through much of July and August found that auto sales grew modestly and tourism was generally solid But manufacturing was down slightly housing sales remained constrained and transportation activity which includes trucking softened as a result of slowing global demand and heightened trade tensions
Williams said that policy makers have seen a lot of parts of the economy outside of consumer spending slow
We ve really seen some slowing in business investment We ve seen slowing in export growth We ve seen slowing in manufacturing Williams told reporters adding that those indicators are maybe giving a little bit more of an indication of where things are going
In his speech the New York Fed chief pointed to deterioration in U S manufacturing a day after a closely watched report from the Institute for Supply Management suggested the sector had contracted in August for the first time in three years
Robust consumer spending is balanced by signs of slowing business investment Williams said I am carefully monitoring this nuanced picture and remain vigilant to act as appropriate to support continuing growth a strong labor market and a sustained return to 2 inflation |
WMB | Fed s rate cut debate focuses on robust U S consumer | By Jonnelle Marte Richard Leong and Nichola Saminather NEW YORK TORONTO Reuters Slowing global economies the escalating trade war between Washington and Beijing and a warning sign of recession flashing in the U S Treasury market have all fed expectations the Federal Reserve is poised to lower rates at the close of its Sept 17 18 meeting But sentiment is much less well defined within the Fed over whether to reduce borrowing costs for the second time this year and if so by how much In remarks this week their last chance to speak publicly before their next rate setting meeting U S central bankers broadly agreed that trade policy uncertainty is hurting U S businesses Whether they believe a rate cut is in order appears to hinge largely on their view of the consumer John Williams NYSE WMB president of the hugely influential New York Federal Reserve said on Wednesday consumer spending is robust and one reason the U S economy is in a favorable place Still after his prepared remarks he told reporters I don t see consumer spending really continuing to grow faster into the future like it has been Household spending accounts for about 70 of the U S economy and surged last quarter despite a drop in business investment The Fed he said is ready to act as appropriate to help America avoid an economic downturn echoing closely language used by Fed Chair Jerome Powell used last month which fed expectations of another quarter point interest rate cut in September But Williams also told reporters he expects the economy to grow at an above trend pace of 2 0 2 5 in 2019 Doesn t sound like someone ready to ease 50 basis points Or at all quipped Northern Trust NASDAQ NTRS economist Carl Tannenbaum on Twitter Boston Fed President Eric Rosengren who in July opposed the first Fed rate cut since 2008 said on Tuesday there is no reason to cut rates as long as the economy keeps growing at around 2 An hour after Williams spoke Dallas Federal Reserve Bank President Robert Kaplan said in Toronto Canada that the U S economy was mixed and he was focused on whether consumer spending the strongest part of the world s biggest economy will be hit by trade uncertainty that last month drove a decline in domestic manufacturing Kaplan said he has lowered his growth outlook for the year and could do so again Fed officials will submit fresh economic forecasts and views on appropriate rates just ahead of their Sept 17 18 meeting My own view is I m going to assess the data leading right up to the meeting and make a judgment on what the appropriate action if any would be for us to take he told reporters If the Fed waits to see weakness in consumer spending he said that s probably too late He said he is looking at factors including the fact that the Fed s 2 to 2 25 target range for the benchmark fed funds rate is above yields of even the longest dated U S Treasuries setting the stage for possible distortions On Tuesday St Louis Fed President James Bullard cited that disconnect as one reason he is proposing a half percentage point rate cut at the Fed s September meeting Minneapolis Fed President Neel Kashkari in a separate talk Wednesday called the inverted yield curve the most concerning signal because it flags investor worries about a recession which can be self fulfilling if businesses and households begin to limit purchases based on those concerns If business investment continues to slump if the recession warning lights continue to flash I think the Federal Reserve will need to do what we can to try to keep the economy moving Kashkari said The Fed s beige book a collection of anecdotes from the 12 regional Fed banks published ahead of each policy meeting on Wednesday underscored the widely shared view at the Fed that trade tensions are slowing businesses and showed some signs that consumers may be starting to feel the pinch In the St Louis district which covers a swath of the Midwest and South reports from general retailers and auto dealers indicate consumer activity has been mixed since our previous report The Minneapolis district reported that consumer spending was flat while the Atlanta district noted that consumer loan growth declined
Still the report was mixed with San Francisco reporting a notable increase in sales of retail goods and Boston reporting a largely positive retail outlook |
WMB | Love match continues after Monfils U S Open loss | By Steve Keating
NEW YORK Reuters When it comes to tennis it seems love does not conquer all as Gael Monfils discovered on Wednesday when he failed to follow girlfriend Elina Svitolina into the semi finals of the U S Open
Svitolina will go it alone into the last four at Flushing Meadows but boyfriend Monfils will be cheering from the players box on Thursday when she faces local favorite Serena Williams NYSE WMB who is chasing a record equaling 24th career Grand Slam title
It s going to be definitely a tough match for her said Monfils She has nothing to lose She knows Serena well She knows the crowd is going to be against her
It s going to be a tricky one at the beginning I would say for both
I think it is important for Serena to come out fast because if she should come in slow I think Elina will be there
Until Monfils s 3 6 6 3 6 2 3 6 7 6 5 quarter final loss to Matteo Berrettini the charismatic Frenchman and Svitolina had been putting a new spin on the Grand Slam love story penned when Andre Agassi and Steffi Graf won the French Open titles in 1999 although at the time their burgeoning relationship was a secret
Svitolina and Monfils have been together for over a year but their romance has captivated even the most jaded New Yorkers during the U S Open
While they have not shouted their devotion from the top of the Empire State building neither have they tried to hide it and they routinely post photos on social media including an Instagram account they share
In contrast Agassi and Graf went to extremes to keep their relationship secret with the German watching Agassi from the bleachers at the U S Open so as not to spark rumours
While Monfils and Svitolina s relationship has blossomed so have their respective games
Svitolina who trains with Monfils has now made it to the semi finals of the last two Grand Slams and credits the Frenchman for improving her ability to handle big shots and bigger expectations
He s hitting pretty strong and very heavy said the fifth seeded Ukrainian So I think definitely it helps me to practice with him
I think hitting with him it s definitely helped me to improve my reaction and my footwork
I think I am more calm if you want to describe it in few words
I m more open with my coach and also with Gael about the tennis and my feeling |
WMB | Serena ready for Svitolina challenge Bencic eyes final berth | By Frank Pingue
NEW YORK Reuters Serena Williams NYSE WMB has a record tying 24th career Grand Slam title in reach but will face perhaps her toughest test so far at this year s U S Open when she meets Ukrainian fifth seed Elina Svitolina in the semi finals on Thursday
Williams needed just 44 minutes to complete her rout of China s Wang Qiang who was making her Grand Slam quarter final debut but she knows a much tougher test awaits if she is to book a spot in Saturday s final
The eighth seeded American has a 4 1 career record against Svitolina but the Ukrainian has not lost a set in New York and beat Williams in straight sets when they last met at the 2016 Rio Olympics
Well she is obviously a fighter She gets a lot of balls back She doesn t make a lot of mistakes said Williams She s one of those players that does everything really well So I have to do everything well too
Since returning from maternity leave in 2018 Williams has had three opportunities to draw level with Australian Margaret Court s Grand Slam record but fell in the last two Wimbledon finals and last year s U S Open final
Svitolina who said this week her win in Rio gave her the confidence that she can go toe to toe with the game s best hitters is tenacious on court and chases down balls with an intensity that could cause trouble for Williams
I played some big hitters in this tournament a lot and I have to just react quickly with my feet and with my shots as well said Svitolina whose U S Open tune up included quarter final berths in San Jose Toronto and the last 16 in Cincinnati Then when I have the opportunity go for it
In the other women s semi final Swiss 13th seed Belinda Bencic who knocked out 2018 champion Naomi Osaka in the fourth round will face Canadian 15th seed Bianca Andreescu
Bencic who five years ago reached the U S Open quarter finals as a 17 year old will be looking to make the most of her run after a string of injuries interrupted her progress
That it took so long for Bencic to finally reach a Grand Slam semi final when it had once seemed like such success would be a certainty she said she never lost faith during the arduous journey even when it seemed most improbable
It s there like a dream always Even when you are playing bad you want to come back to this feeling said Bencic
You want to eventually get the big wins and have these nice feelings I think that s the motivation enough to keep going |
WMB | Raiders to suspend Brown after Mayock altercation | The Oakland Raiders plan to suspend wideout Antonio Brown after he got into it with general manager Mike Mayock multiple outlets reported Thursday
Speaking to reporters later in the day Mayock didn t confirm the reports
Short and sweet Antonio Brown is not in the building today Mayock said He won t be practicing I don t have any more information for you right now When I have some and it becomes appropriate you guys will all get it but that s it for today
Head coach Jon Gruden declined to get into details after practice telling reporters the team would have an official announcement later Brown was officially listed on the injury report as a non participant with the designation not injury related conduct
Obviously he wasn t here today and when we have some information for you we ll get it to you Gruden said
Multiple outlets reported Brown had to be held back from Mayock by teammates NFL Network reported that Brown told Mayock he would hit him in the face then punted a football and said Fine me for that
Their exchange occurred Wednesday after Brown went on Instagram and posted a letter he received from Mayock detailing the 53 950 in fines he accrued while missing time in training camp
Brown wasn t pleased with the letter judging by his response When your own team want to hate but there s no stopping me now devil is a lie he wrote in the caption Everyone got to pay this year so we clear
Should the Raiders suspend Brown for conduct detrimental to the team they could make a case that the guarantees in Brown s contract should be voided His contract calls for about 30 million of guaranteed money
Brown 31 missed time during the preseason while dealing with blistering feet as a result of a frostbite mishap during cryogenic therapy as well as grievances involving his helmet
The Raiders open the season Monday night at home against the Denver Broncos Tyrell Williams NYSE WMB signed in March as a free agent from the Chargers will presumably be the No 1 wide receiver
Asked if the team is prepared to play without Brown Gruden told reporters Yeah and we ve been doing that
We have been practicing without him and preparing to play no matter who s injured Gruden added We have to adapt and unfortunately we had to adapt again today but we re really excited about our receiving corps
The Raiders acquired Brown a seven time Pro Bowl selection from the Pittsburgh Steelers in a trade in March and later signed him to a three year 50 125 million contract
Brown caught at least 100 passes and exceeded 1 200 receiving yards in each of the past six seasons with the Steelers He appeared in 130 games with Pittsburgh from 2010 18 catching 837 passes for 11 207 yards and 74 touchdowns
Field Level Media |
BMY | Exelixis Initiates Cabozantinib Tecentriq Combination Trial | Exelixis Inc NASDAQ EXEL announced that it initiated the dose escalation stage of a phase Ib trial of cabozantinib in combination with Roche s OTC RHHBY Tecentriq The drug will be evaluated in patients suffering from locally advanced or metastatic urothelial carcinoma UC or renal cell carcinoma RCC
The primary endpoint of the study is to determine the optimal dose and schedule of daily oral administration of cabozantinib when given in combination with Tecentriq for the subsequent expansion stage
The FDA granted accelerated approval to immuno oncology drug Tecentriq in May 2016 for treating locally advanced or metastatic urothelial carcinoma Initial uptake of the drug has been encouraging In Oct 2016 Tecentriq became the first and only anti PDL1 cancer immunotherapy to be approved by the FDA for the treatment of metastatic NSCLC
The phase Ib open label study is divided in two parts a dose escalation phase and an expansion cohort phase The dose escalation phase will enroll nine to 36 patients with inoperable locally advanced metastatic or recurrent UC including renal pelvis ureter urinary bladder and urethra after prior platinum based therapy or RCC with or without prior systemic therapy
The starting dose of cabozantinib will be 40 mg daily which can be increased to 60 mg daily or decreased to 20 mg daily The patients enrolled will receive the standard Tecentriq dosing regimen 1200 mg infusion once every 3 weeks
The secondary end points of the dose escalation stage are to evaluate the plasma pharmacokinetics of daily oral administration of cabozantinib when given in combination with Tecentriq and to assess safety of the combination therapy through the evaluation of incidence and severity of adverse events including immune related adverse events
Upon determination of the recommended dose and schedule the trial will enroll four expansion cohorts each with up to 30 patients for a total of up to 120 patients with advanced or metastatic UC or RCC
Exelixis is developing cabozantinib in a broad development program comprising over 45 clinical studies across multiple indications The company received a significant boost in Apr 2016 when the FDA approved the tablet formulation of cabozantinib distinct from the capsule form under the brand name Cabometyx for the treatment of RCC in patients who have received prior anti angiogenic therapy
Cabometyx was also approved in EU in Sep 2016 for the treatment of advanced RCC in adults who have received prior vascular endothelial growth factor VEGF targeted therapy
Exelixis shares have moved up 32 8 year to date compared with the Zacks classified industry s gain of 2 3
Initial uptake of the drug was encouraging and is expected to propel the top line in the forthcoming quarters in 2017
In early 2017 Exelixis inked agreements with Bristol Myers Squibb NYSE BMY and Roche to collaborate on the development of cabozantinib in combination with immunotherapy agents Exelixis and Bristol Myers announced their plan to collaborate on the evaluation of cabozantinib in combination with Opdivo nivolumab alone or in combination with Yervoy ipilimumab in a phase III trial in first line RCC and potentially in other tumor types including HCC and bladder cancer
Zacks Rank Key Pick
Exelixis currently carries a Zacks Rank 3 Hold
A top ranked stock in the healthcare sector worth considering is VIVUS Inc NASDAQ VVUS which currently sports a Zacks Rank 1 Strong Buy You can see
VIVUS loss per share estimates narrowed from 50 cents to 39 cents for 2017 over the last 30 days The company posted positive earnings surprises in each of the trailing four quarters with an average beat of 233 69
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WMB | Williams Companies Inc The WMB Q3 Earnings Surpass Estimates | Williams Companies Inc The NYSE WMB came out with quarterly earnings of 0 26 per share beating the Zacks Consensus Estimate of 0 24 per share This compares to earnings of 0 24 per share a year ago These figures are adjusted for non recurring items
This quarterly report represents an earnings surprise of 8 33 A quarter ago it was expected that this pipeline operator would post earnings of 0 23 per share when it actually produced earnings of 0 26 delivering a surprise of 13 04
Over the last four quarters the company has surpassed consensus EPS estimates two times
Williams Companies Inc The which belongs to the Zacks Oil and Gas Production and Pipelines industry posted revenues of 2 billion for the quarter ended September 2019 missing the Zacks Consensus Estimate by 4 58 This compares to year ago revenues of 2 30 billion The company has not been able to beat consensus revenue estimates over the last four quarters
The sustainability of the stock s immediate price movement based on the recently released numbers and future earnings expectations will mostly depend on management s commentary on the earnings call
Williams Companies Inc The shares have added about 5 3 since the beginning of the year versus the S P 500 s gain of 21 1
What s Next for Williams Companies Inc The
While Williams Companies Inc The has underperformed the market so far this year the question that comes to investors minds is what s next for the stock
There are no easy answers to this key question but one reliable measure that can help investors address this is the company s earnings outlook Not only does this include current consensus earnings expectations for the coming quarter s but also how these expectations have changed lately
Empirical research shows a strong correlation between near term stock movements and trends in earnings estimate revisions Investors can track such revisions by themselves or rely on a tried and tested rating tool like the Zacks Rank which has an impressive track record of harnessing the power of earnings estimate revisions
Ahead of this earnings release the estimate revisions trend for Williams Companies Inc The was mixed While the magnitude and direction of estimate revisions could change following the company s just released earnings report the current status translates into a Zacks Rank 3 Hold for the stock So the shares are expected to perform in line with the market in the near future You can see the complete list of today s Zacks 1 Rank Strong Buy stocks here
It will be interesting to see how estimates for the coming quarters and current fiscal year change in the days ahead The current consensus EPS estimate is 0 25 on 2 16 billion in revenues for the coming quarter and 0 99 on 8 35 billion in revenues for the current fiscal year
Investors should be mindful of the fact that the outlook for the industry can have a material impact on the performance of the stock as well In terms of the Zacks Industry Rank Oil and Gas Production and Pipelines is currently in the bottom 19 of the 250 plus Zacks industries Our research shows that the top 50 of the Zacks ranked industries outperform the bottom 50 by a factor of more than 2 to 1 |
WMB | Williams WMB Q3 Earnings Beat Revenues Miss Estimates | Williams Companies Inc NYSE WMB reported third quarter 2019 adjusted earnings per share EPS from continuing operations of 26 cents surpassing both the Zacks Consensus Estimate and the prior year profit of 24 cents Strong contribution from its Atlantic Gulf and Northeast G P segments led to this outperformance However for the quarter ended Sep 30 the company s revenues of 2 billion lagged the Zacks Consensus Estimate of 2 09 billion and also decreased 13 from 2 30 billion a year ago owing to weaker West segment sales Key TakeawaysDistributable cash flows came in at 822 million up 8 from the year ago number of 764 million Adjusted EBITDA was 1 274 million in the quarter under review compared with 1 196 million in the corresponding period of 2018 Cash flow from operations totalled 858 million compared with 746 million in the prior year period Higher revenues from Transco expansion projects drove cash flow in the quarter Segmental AnalysisAtlantic Gulf Comprising Williams Transco Pipeline and properties in the Gulf Coast region the segment generated adjusted EBITDA of 611 million up 27 3 from 480 million in the year ago quarter The metric also beat the Zacks Consensus Estimate of 540 million This improved performance was driven by Transco expansion projects including Atlantic Sunrise and Gulf Connector that became functional in October 2018 and January 2019 respectively West This segment includes the Northwest pipeline and operations in various regions such as Colorado Mid Continent and Haynesville Shale among others It delivered adjusted EBITDA of 313 million which is 26 2 lower than 424 million registered in the year earlier quarter The figure also missed the Zacks Consensus Estimate of 384 million Lower natural gas liquid margins impacted the results Northeast G P Engaged in natural gas gathering and processing along with the NGL fractionation business in Marcellus and Utica shale regions the segment generated adjusted EBITDA of 343 million up 22 from the prior year quarter s 281 million The same even surpassed the Zacks Consensus Estimate of 338 million Expanded volumes from the Susquehanna Supply Hub and higher service revenues from Ohio Valley along with the acquisition of Utica East Ohio Midstream drove the results Others Adjusted EBITDA of 7 million from this segment plunged 36 4 from 11 million in third quarter 2018 Williams Companies Inc The Price Consensus and EPS Surprise Costs Capex Balance SheetIn the reported quarter total costs and expenses decreased 24 to 1 371 million from 1 802 million a year ago owing to lower product expenses Williams total capital expenditure was 850 million in the third quarter As of Sep 30 the company had cash and cash equivalents of 247 million and a long term debt of 20 719 million with a debt to capitalization ratio of 55 13 2019 Guidance ReiteratedThe company reaffirmed its full year adjusted EBITDA guidance in the band of 4 850 5 150 million with distributable cash flow within 2 900 3 300 million Adjusted EPS view for the year is expected in the range of 83 cents to 1 07 Zacks Rank Key PicksWilliams has a Zacks Rank 3 Hold Some better ranked players in the space are Subsea 7 SA Inc OTC SUBCY Phillips 66 NYSE PSX and Sunoco LP NYSE SUN each holding a Zacks Rank 2 Buy You can see Free Zacks Single Best Stock Set to DoubleToday you are invited to download our just released Special Report that reveals 5 stocks with the most potential to gain 100 or more in 2020 From those 5 Zacks Director of Research Sheraz Mian hand picks one to have the most explosive upside of all This pioneering tech ticker had soared to all time highs and then subsided to a price that is irresistible Now a pending acquisition could super charge the company s drive past competitors in the development of true Artificial Intelligence The earlier you get in to this stock the greater your potential gain |
WMB | Markets Catch Collective Breath As USD Consolidates Yesterday s Advance | Overview
Investors seem to be catching their collective breath today and the global capital markets are consolidating recent moves A notable exception is the Chinese yuan which has continued to strengthen and the dollar has slipped back below CNY7 0
Asia Pacific equities were mixed and the four day advance in the regional benchmark stalled today That said India has rallied to new highs In Europe s Dow Jones Stoxx 600 is firm but struggling to maintain the upside momentum that has lifted it for the past three sessions US shares are little changed Benchmark 10 year yields played catch up in Asia after the US surge yesterday European yields are narrowly mixed and the US 10 year yield is hovering around 1 85
The dollar is consolidating yesterday s gains against the major currencies Outside of the yuan which is the strongest of the emerging market complex most of the liquid and accessible emerging market currencies are nursing small losses though eastern and central European currencies are resisting the pull Oil prices are a little heavier after reaching six week highs yesterday and gold has steadied after posting its biggest loss in over a month yesterday
Asia Pacific
It is becoming clearer that mission accomplished claims about what has been dubbed phase one of the US China trade agreement is anything but Indeed the whole focus on where the pact should be signed given Santiago canceled the APEC meeting due to social unrest is a distraction China appears to have gotten the upper hand It is not accepting the suspension of the threatened mid December tariff This was a chit Trump created in a pique that would hurt US consumers It is insisting on rolling back some earlier tariffs So far the US has not formally responded
China issued sold its first euro denominated bond since 2004 It sold 4 bln euros of 7 12 and 20 year debentures In all the offering was over subscribed five fold and the pricing e g the 7 year bond was 30 bp above mid swaps was tighter than expected
There is much discussion about the possible coordination of monetary and fiscal policy A push back has been a defense of central bank independence However in Japan where the central bank often is perceived to be among the least independent of major central banks enhanced coordination is possible This was precisely BOJ Governor Kuroda s point that seems to have somewhat wide application Kuroda argued that the ultra low rates that have been engineered by the BOJ make government spending even more powerful
The dollar closed above its 200 day moving average against the yen yesterday JPY109 05 for the first time in six months It was unable to take out the recent high JPY109 30 and has backed off a little today Initial support is pegged in the JPY108 50 JPY108 70 area There are two expiring option strikes to note 485 mln at JPY109 20 and 780 mln at JPY108 75 The Australian dollar is trading quietly well within yesterday s ranges The 200 day moving average which has capped rallies this year is found near 0 6950 Support is seen near 0 6875 For the second consecutive session the PBOC set the dollar s reference rate a little weaker than expected and this emboldened the market to take the greenback through CNY7 0 which surprises many observers The offshore market recognizes the risk of a trap and was reluctant to extend yesterday s dollar losses much through CNH6 99 The dollar edged higher against the Thai baht after the central bank delivered the as expected 25 bp rate cut benchmark is now 1 25 It is the second cut here in H2
Europe
The emerging meme that Europe may be past the worst of its slowdown was supported by today s data Specifically Germany s final PMI reading showed improvement from the flash estimates for services and the composite Separately Germany reported that factory orders surged in September The 1 3 increase contrasts with the median forecast in the Bloomberg survey of 0 1 and to August series was revised to 0 4 from 0 6
The final French services and composite PMI was in line with the flash estimates and showed sequential improvement Italian services rebounded to 52 2 from 51 4 in September but the poor manufacturing news 47 7 from 47 8 reported last week limited the composite gain to 50 8 from 50 6 Spain which has been one of the bright spots disappointed with services PMI 52 7 from 54 3 and the composite fell to 51 2 from 51 7 Note that Spain goes back to the polls unable to form a government with the existing configuration of parliament It is not clear that the election this weekend will produce significant changes The concern that the manufacturing weakness in the eurozone was spilling over to drag down services seems a bit exaggerated The EMU services PMI rose to 52 2 from the 51 8 flash reading and 51 6 in September The composite rose to 50 6 from 50 2 flash estimate and 50 1 in September
Germany s Finance Minister Scholz signaled a new initiative by Germany to renew efforts to move forward on the banking union It would include some deposit reinsurance program that would enhance national efforts It would require uniform taxation of banks in the EU and common insolvency and resolution procedures which have gradually been adopted It is still early days but the shift in the German stance is potentially a game changer
The euro s pullback is a bit more than we expected but it is holding the 38 2 retracement of the rally that began early last month from below 1 09 A break of the 1 1065 area could also confirm the potential double top in place near 1 1175 The importance of the pattern is the measuring objective and it would project toward 1 0950 A close above 1 11 would help heal the technical damage inflicted yesterday Sterling is in about a quarter cent range below 1 29
America
China s needs can outstrip its political posturing This has been true of its agriculture purchases from the US which have not waited for a phase 1 agreement The same is true now for Canada It what appeared to be a punishment for holding Huawei s Meng at the request of the US China had stopped shipments of meat from Canada several months ago That ban appears to have been lifted In 2018 China bought about C 600 mln of Canada sourced meat China was Canada s third largest pork market Although driven by China s needs it represents a slight de escalation Meng s extradition case is expected to return to the courtroom early next year
Brazil holds an auction today for four deep water fields that may hold massive oil deposits that potentially are bigger than Norway and Mexico s oil reserves It could raise 25 bln Separately WTI for December reached six week highs yesterday near 57 50 a barrel and poking through the 200 day moving average on an intraday basis 57 40 for the second consecutive session The API estimated that US oil inventories rose by more than four million barrels last week The more robust EIA estimate is expected to be a built of less than a million barrels The four week average is a little more than four million barrels
In addition to the EIA energy report the US provides estimates for Q3 productivity and unit labor costs These are derived from the first estimate of Q3 GDP reported last week Productivity is likely to have slowed to around 1 The rise in unit labor costs compensation and productivity is projected to have slowed from the 2 6 pace in Q2 These are not the kind of economic reports that move the market The Fed s Williams NYSE WMB Evans and Harker take to the microphones today However there is a broad understanding that the Federal Reserve has moved to the sidelines and a cut next month is highly unlikely The bar is set at a material change in the economic outlook Canada reports its IVEY survey results and Mexico reports on its vehicle production and export figures
The US dollar is trading in the upper end of yesterday s range against the Canadian dollar The greenback is trading roughly CAD1 3145 CAD1 3170 through the European morning We still see the greenback correcting higher after sliding in the second half of October Barring a break of CAD1 3100 we see the risk favoring a move toward CAD1 3230 The US dollar appears to be carving out a round bottom against the Mexican peso but is running into resistance in the MXN19 25 MXN19 26 area that also houses the 200 day moving average A move above there would target the MXN19 34 MXN19 44 band A bill allowing Mexico s president to be recalled after three years 2022 for AMLO passed the lower chamber of Congress yesterday It now needs to be ratified by the state legislatures which is thought likely It could inject a little more political uncertainty going forward The Dollar Index stalled near 98 00 yesterday and within a couple thousandths of an index point of the high from late October A break of 97 45 97 55 would suggest the upper end of its range has been found |
WMB | Risk Appetites Satiated Ahead Of The Weekend | Overview The capital markets are consolidating the recent moves ahead of the weekend Equities are paring this week s gains though the Nikkei which was closed on Monday extended its advance for the fourth consecutive session Despite the profit taking today the MSCI Asia Pacific Index rose for the fifth week Europe s Dow Jones Stoxx 600 is snapping a five day rally but it is closing in on the fifth consecutive weekly advance U S shares are trading softer It is up a modest 0 6 this week coming into today where a five week rally is on the line The dramatic equity rally is being matched by just as dramatic sell off in bonds French Belgian and Swedish 10 year yields moved above zero for the first time in several months The U S 10 year benchmark yield pushed above 1 90 to new three month highs U S and European yields are slightly softer today after the Asia Pacific yields backed up in line with the move in Europe and America yesterday The amount of negative yielding bonds has fallen more than a quarter since August to around 12 5 trillion The U S dollar is trading with a slightly firmer bias against nearly all the world s currencies today Oil is paring yesterday s gains and near 56 50 WTI for December delivery is up almost 0 6 on the week Gold continues to trade heavily It is off a little more than 3 for the week which is its biggest weekly loss in a couple of years
Asia Pacific
China reported its October trade figures Exports fell less than 1 year over year A Reuters survey found a median forecast for a 3 9 decline after a 3 2 fall in September Imports fell by 6 4 The median forecast in the Reuters survey was for an 8 9 decline Imports fell by 8 5 in September The overall trade surplus rose to 42 8 bln from 39 6 bln Over the past 12 months China s trade surplus stands at 439 bln up from 344 5 bln last October Exports to the US are off 16 2 year over year after nearly a 22 decline in September
Ahead of the hike in Japan s sales tax on October 1 consumers went on a shopping spree A surge in retail sales was already reported and earlier today the more comprehensive household spending report confirmed it September s household spending jumped 9 5 year over year after a 1 0 rise in August This was the most since the 7 2 increase in 2014 before the previous sales tax increase The problem is that it brings the buying forward This coupled with the typhoon warns of a weak Q4
Moody s cut the outlook of India s creditworthiness to negative from stable citing shadow banking challenges and the likelihood of a prolonged economic slowdown The Baa2 rating is the second lowest investment grade rating which is one step ahead of S P and Fitch both have stable outlooks The deficit this year is projected to be near 3 7 of GDP more than the government s target of 3 3 Further fiscal deterioration may spur a ratings cut Moody s said
In a big outside up day whereby the US dollar traded on both sides of Wednesday s range and closed above Wednesday s high the dollar reached almost JPY109 50 yesterday That is its best level since late May It is consolidating today in a narrow range above its 200 day moving average JPY109 05 There is increasing talk of JPY110 the next target The Australian dollar traded on both sides of Wednesday s range yesterday but did not close above that high yesterday and is back near yesterday s lows 0 6860 The market appears to be giving up on the 0 6900 level let alone the 200 day moving average 0 6950 which is capped rallies since last December A close below 0 6950 would weaken the technical tone The dollar initially extended its eight day slide against the Chinese yuan but bounced back in late dealings The PBOC fix was a slightly higher US dollar than the bank models implied The greenback finished the mainland session below CNY7 0 for the third consecutive session The offshore yuan did not trade as well as the onshore yuan and it may hint at a better dollar performance next week
Europe
Outgoing EC President Juncker appeared to speak confidently in claiming that the US was unlikely to impose tariffs on European auto imports next week The threat has been hanging over Europe for the past six months There had been some recent press stories suggesting that the US talks with European auto companies directly had been favorable Still given the underlying tension on a range of issues between the US and Europe it is difficult to imagine that there will be no US action The Commerce Department s report six months ago warning that the auto imports were a threat to national security would seem to require some formal response Will supply chains really shift as part of America s import substitution strategy under the rubric national security Will they be forced to under the domestic content provisions of the new USMCA which still needs to pass the US Congress
Germany reported better trade data and by better it means exports and imports were stronger than expected Exports rose 1 5 month over month in September five times stronger than the median Bloomberg forecast and the best since November 2017 The August decline was halved to 0 9 Imports rose by 1 3 after August s 0 5 gain was cut to 0 1 The increase in imports was the largest since July 2018 The net result was that the trade surplus increased to 21 1 bln euros from a revised 16 4 bln euro surplus in August German data has been uneven and next week it is expected to confirm a second consecutive quarterly contraction However we continue to suspect that the German economy is bottoming Separately French economic data September industrial and manufacturing output Q3 private sector were better than expected The trade balance deteriorated in September but the current account deficit was reduced
The euro is pinned near yesterday s lows 1 1035 in a narrow range of less than a fifth of a penny At the start of the week it appeared that the momentum allowed one more leg up before a correction unfolded It rose every session last week That momentum did not carry into this week and the euro fell every day this week It has approached the 50 retracement of its rally since October 1 1 1030 A break of that likely signal a near term push below 1 10 There is an option for about 870 mln euros at 1 1050 that expires today that may deter the upside ahead of the weekend Sterling is hovering around unchanged levels today but it has not closed higher this week It is off about 1 3 cents this week Itis in a fifth of a cent range today above 1 28 where it has found support over the last few weeks There is an option for GBP830 mln at 1 28 that rolls off today and another more nearly GBP260 mln at 1 2825 that also expires today
America
It seems that both Chinese and US officials have confirmed that if there is an agreement it will include some unwinding of existing tariffs Reports indicate that some US officials claim it was not part of the original handshake deal last month On the other hand China has repeatedly insisted that the removal of the tariff threats for Oct 15 initially Oct 1 and December 15 were not sufficient The US appears to be willing to roll back de escalate some tariffs as a sign of good faith but wants to keep the majority until certain targets are achieved after the agreement So as the week winds down there still is no agreement on when or where the two presidents will meet or even if the handshake agreement can be codified Is the market getting ahead of itself
The US reports wholesale trade and inventory data which is more important for economists fine tuning Q3 GDP revisions that market participants Following news that the Bloomberg Weekly Consumer Comfort Index fell to six month lows last week the University of Michigan s Consumer Sentiment report will be looked upon for confirmation The long term 5 10 year inflation expectation was in its trough 2 3 in September Did it increase in October Next week the US reports October CPI which is expected to be unchanged at 1 7 at the headline level and 2 4 at the core The Fed s Brainard and Daly speak today at a conference on climate change Increasing we are hearing major central banks devote more time and mindshare to contemplating the economic consequences of climate change At the end of the day NY Fed s Williams NYSE WMB participates in a Q A on global financial vulnerabilities
Canada reports October jobs data It is unreasonable to expect that it was able to come close to duplicating the 70k surge in full time jobs in September In a relative sense it would be if US non farm payrolls rose around 800k The Bank of Canada softened its neutrality but the market is not expecting a cut until well into next year A shockingly poor report could see it brought forward Mexico reported slightly firmer October CPI yesterday but it is not seen standing in the way of a central bank rate cut next week
The US dollar is flirting with a two week high near CAD1 3200 It looks poised to test the CAD1 3230 area and possibly 200 day moving average near CAD1 3275 A move below CAD1 3180 may signal that the upside momentum has been exhausted It finished last week near CAD1 3140 The greenback has traded in a roughly MXM19 05 MXN19 25 range this week It has rarely been out of that range in recent weeks Although the market appears to be taking some profits on risk positions today intraday technicals warn of the potential for the dollar to move toward the middle of the range |
WMB | Aussie Slumps On Jobs Miss | Employment change weakest in five yearsThe Australian economy lost 19 000 jobs in October 10 300 in the full time category and 8 700 part time ones That was the most number of jobs lost since September 2014 Analysts expectations had been for 15 000 jobs gain The unemployment rate rose to 5 3 from 5 2 in September as expected though the participation rate did dip to 66 0 from 66 1
Since the RBA has kept the jobs market as a major focus for its monetary policy going forward the knee jerk reaction in money markets was to price in a higher probability for an earlier rate cut Chances of a December rate cut rose to 25 from 14 yesterday and the chances of a cut by March next year jumped to near 60 from 45 yesterday
The increased prospect of lower rates pressured the Australian dollar across the board with AUD USD dropping 0 61 to 0 6796 moving below the 55 day moving average at 0 6813 for the first time since October 17 Losses against the yen were deeper dropping 0 71 to 73 87 and heading toward the convergence of the 100 and 55 day moving averages at 73 71 and 73 60 respectively
AUD JPY Daily Chart
China data disappoints
The latest set of Chinese data for October was a disappointment Retail sales rose 7 2 y y matching the weakest growth in six months and well below forecasts of a 7 9 gain A similar picture unfolded for industrial production which increased just 4 7 y y and a reversal of September s jump to 5 4 Even fixed asset investment couldn t help sentiment with year to date growth of 5 2 below estimates of a 5 4 increase
All in it was a gloomy set of data that US President Trump will no doubt jump on when trying to force China to sign the Phase 1 deal The already weak Australian dollar edged further lower but USD CNH looks poised to fall for the first time in five days The pair is now at 7 0231 and has stalled ahead of the 100 day moving average at 7 0369
USD CNH Daily Chart
Japan registers Q3 growth just
The Japanese economy grew 0 1 on a quarter by quarter basis in the third quarter data released early this morning showed That was the weakest rate of expansion in seven quarters and risks dipping into negative territory in Q4
There were too many other inputs affecting the Japanese yen so there was no significant weakening in the currency The reaction was more evident in the equity market with the Japan225 index falling 0 27 to 23 312
More growth data
GDP growth numbers for both Germany and the Euro zone for Q3 are due today with both expected to show the same growth rate as the previous quarter 0 1 q q for Germany and 0 2 for the Euro zone UK retail sales are seen rising 0 2 y y in October after a flat reading in September
The second day of the Fed Chairman s testimony on Capitol Hill does not normally differ much from day one but the Q A session might throw up some interesting news bytes Powell s testimony is accompanied by speeches from FOMC colleagues Evans Clarida Bullard Daly Williams NYSE WMB and Kaplan The mantra will likely be the usual on hold subject to data one |
C | ANALYSIS Lockstep equity and bond falls may be scary signal | By Jeremy Gaunt European Investment Correspondent
LONDON March 3 Reuters Could it be that bond investors
are trying to say something to the overall market
Global stocks as measured by MSCI were adding more losses on
Tuesday to the nearly 5 percent they racked up a day earlier
But government bond prices were also falling In other
words not only was there no rush to safe havens investors were
actually selling bonds
Even after Wall Street lifted the global stock picture a
bit euro zone government bond prices were flat to lower despite
the broad DJ STOXX euro zone equity index hitting its lowest
level since late 1996
What has certainly happened of late is that equity weakness
has given ever less impetus on the upside for the bond market
said fixed income strategist Marc Ostwald at Monument
Securities
At one level what is happening is that both government
bonds and equities whose prices are usually in inverse
correlation to each other in times of volatility are facing
similar problems
Ostwald notes for example that when financial companies
such as Citigroup and American International Group wobble as
they have over the past few days equity investors lose
confidence and worry about a government take over
Government bond investors however also get spooked this
time by the prospect of governments having to fund their
interventions by borrowing and increasing supply
BREAK DOWN
There is some evidence that the correlation between stock
and bond movements is breaking down or at least that the
degree of linkage is weakening
Throughout last year for example the MSCI index lost 43 5
percent An equivalent bond index compiled by Citi gained 8 9
percent Citi s composite world government bond yield
meanwhile lost 120 basis points over the year
In other words falling stocks begat pricier bonds
In February this year however while the world stock index
fell 10 percent the Citi bond yield gained 2 basis points and
its bond index gained only 0 3 percent including coupon
payments
The latest flow data from fund tracker EPFR Global shows a
similar pattern with investors pulling money out of equity
funds and most bond funds in its latest weekly report U S bond
funds were an exception
On markets themselves bond prices have fallen so far this
year for both long and short term U S government debt and for
long term euro zone debt
Money is flowing into money markets or very short term bonds
instead
But while this may well be the result of bonds and equity
investors suddenly facing the same headwinds essentially bad
news now sinking all ships there is also the possibility that
it reflects a coming sea change in which bonds keep selling off
and stocks recover
A number of leading fund strategists have said lately that
the huge losses on global stock markets now present an
opportunity Bob Doll chief investment officer for global
equities at BlackRock talks of the possibility of a near term
and significant rally
Conversely government bond yields are low supply soon to
be abundant and huge amounts of money are being turned towards
boosting world economic growth
Last year it was all about plain vanilla government bond
exposure said Mohamed El Erian chief executive officer of
bond giant PIMCO
People were willing to drive Treasury yields negative But
the whole government response means massive government bond
issuance That s why we are cautious on longer dated Treasury
bonds he said
Additional reporting by Natsuko Waki Editing by Ron Askew
To read Reuters Global Investing Blog click on
for the MacroScope
Blog click on for Hedge
Fund Blog click on |
C | Financial Sector Roubini Vs Gross | The debate over nationalizing some of the nation s largest financial institutions has taken on the aura of a heavyweight championship boxing match with top contenders Nouriel Roubini and Bill Gross having at each other in the media albeit in a very gentlemanly way
Gross chief investment officer of PIMCO the world s biggest bond fund and Roubini the New York University economics professor who predicted much of today s economic crisis back in 2006 earning the sobriquet Dr Doom along the way have come out in recent days on the opposite sides of the nationalization spectrum
Gross recently wrote on his blog that if you thought Lehman Brothers was a mistake just standby and see what nationalizing Citi or BofA would do Roubini is arguing that taking them over cleaning them up and selling the good assets back to the private sector is the way to go especially as de facto nationalizations of Citigroup and A I G have already happened
Roubini is not advocating anything permanent with regards to the government taking over failed institutions rather a temporary solution with the goal of getting whatever good assets are left back into private hands as soon as possible
Although Gross accepts the idea that common shareholders will suffer from further capital injections into banks to go further however and haircut senior debt or even existing preferred stock similar to that issued via the TARP would create an instability policymakers should not want to risk he wrote In turn forcing creditors to take haircuts would undermine other financial sectors such as insurance companies and credit unions
Rather than nationalization the goal of future policy should be to recapitalize lending institutions while maintaining the basic infrastructure of credit markets Gross said Outright nationalization and haircutting of creditors will do just the opposite
According to Roubini it s only the government s cash injections and the Fed s various lending facilities which are supporting the system without which every major US bank would already be fully insolvent today
Roubini believes that nationalization represents just one aspect which must be addressed Further actions involve
1 Aggressive credit growth incentive for banks and financial institutions to stop the collective action coordination problem leading them to contract credit to even creditworthy households and firms
2 Use of proper and constructive credit forbearance on capital adequacy ratios on mark to market marks on rating agencies destructive lagged downgrades
3 Across the board reduction of the face principal value of mortgage debt and other consumer debt for insolvent households |
C | Bad News Hits Investors Again | Asian trade Asian markets declined for the first time in the last two days of trading as the global route continues Earlier in the day the U S markets touched the lowest value since September 1996 having the major indexes shed a little more than 50 from their peak values A number of negative news reports struck investors in the last day of trading Firstly it was the Chinese Premier that rephrased some earlier comments saying the stimulus bill would be expanded According to Mr Wen the Chinese economy will reach an 8 growth rate in 2009 helped by the current 585 billion plan and he is not looking to expand this sum Shortly after Moody s downgraded BoA and Wells Fargo while it lowered JP Morgan s outlook to negative on weak capital levels The final punch probably came from GM s auditors which said they have doubts if the company can continue any more Over the last few years GM gathered 80 billion in liabilities The declines were widespread on the Japanese Nikkei starting from banks to tech companies and housing developers Out of the 225 companies listed in the Nikkei index only 15 moved higher tonight from which only three gained more than 1 A similar situation was seen in the U S markets where as expected banks led the selling wave Citigroup once the biggest bank in the world fell slightly under the 1 benchmark down 85 this year alone Some say Citigroup might be heading towards bankruptcy These days the world s equity markets are experiencing the biggest market decline since the Great Depression Tonight the Nikkei fell 228 54 points 3 07 to 7 204 95 The Australian S P lost 59 10 points 0 59 to 3 185 00 Crude oil moved very little in the Asian session Crude oil for April delivery added 0 05 to 43 60 Gold was sent higher tonight by its safe haven outlook Bullion for immediate delivery gained 7 40 to 935 20 |
C | Overnight Markets Trade Mixed Ahead Of NFP Report | Current Futures Dow 10 00 S P 0 80 NASDAQ 3 00 European Trade European markets and U S futures traded mixed ahead of the infamous NFP report which if estimates are correct would probably see the U S economy continue to move deeper into the recession Asian shares closed lower on the last trading session of the week The major European indexes opened higher but soon found themselves trading below the break even line U S futures had a similar story during the overnight session moving up and down around the neutral line In the German Dax the financials again were the biggest decliners Volkswagen which is one a the few companies that still shows positive returns from one year ago grew almost 3 on better than expected car sales in February The Ftse index was mixed between the gainers and decliners Aviva and Wolseley continued to be the worst performers of the index both driven lower by poor earnings In addition Wolseley plans to raise 1 billion pounds from sales of shares something that would dilute the current shareholders On the other hand in the U K Ftse listed banks were among the top gainers as yesterday the BoE announced it will start buying gilts and corporate debt In the early part of the U S session the NFP release is expected to show the U S economy lost the biggest number of jobs since 1949 The non farm payroll release is expected to show there were 647 000 jobs erased in the last month At the same time the unemployment rate is expected to rise to a 25 year high near 7 9 The NFP s forecasts range from 500K to 800K while the unemployment rate ranges from 7 8 to 8 1 Since December 2007 when the recession officially began the U S economy has shed 3 6 million workers This makes the current labor market conditions the worst since 1945 Additionally things might get even worse as the number of corporate bankruptcies is set to rise in the coming months Latest rumors suggest Citigroup and GM might join this list Tonight the Nikkei fell 228 54 points 3 07 to 7 204 95 The Australian S P lost 59 10 points 0 59 to 3 185 00 Crude oil moved very little in the overnight session Crude oil for April delivery added 0 10 to 43 70Gold moved higher tonight as traders continue to seek safe havens Bullion for immediate delivery gained 11 80 to 939 60 |
C | GLOBAL MARKETS Equities bounce after falls Citi memo cheers | MSCI world equity index up 1 2 percent
Europe shares up 1 7 percent
Wall Street set for bouce
Dollar falls
By Natsuko Waki
LONDON March 10 Reuters World stocks rose on Tuesday
after three days of consecutive declines knocked them to 6 year
lows while government bonds slipped as fears grew governments
may need to issue huge debt to fund economic stimulus packages
Wall Street looked set to open robustly but the dollar fell
against major currencies
MSCI world equity index rose more than 1 percent after
hitting a six year low on Monday
European shares gained with banking stocks taking the lead
ahead of a U S hearing on mark to market accounting rules
tentatively scheduled for Thursday and a positive Citigroup
memo
The pan European FTSEurofirst 300 index of top shares was up
1 7 percent
After the market goes down for so many days normally you
see some sort of rebound What we are seeing is a bounce
said Philippe Gijsels strategist at Fortis Bank
Mark to market accounting rules have required assets to be
valued at current market prices and some banks have said it
forces them to mark down assets to artificially low prices
A U S House financial services subcommittee on capital
markets has tentatively scheduled the hearing for March 12
Also helping to calm fears about the health of the embattled
financial sector was a Citigroup memo obtained by Reuters
Citigroup s chief executive Vikram Pandit said the bank
was profitable in January and February and was confident about
our capital strength after tough internal stress tests
according to the memo Earlier Tokyo stocks fell 0 4 percent
to a fresh 26 year closing low after drugmakers slid due to
worries about their global competitiveness after Merck proposed
to take over Schering Plough
Emerging stocks were up 2 percent
DOLLAR SLIDE
The dollar fell against a basket of currencies retracing
much of the previous day s sharp gains
We ve got the standard market dynamics regarding risk
said Jeremy Stretch markets strategist at Rabobank in London
With equity futures trading positively in the U S then risk
appetite is looking a little firmer and the dollar is giving
back its gains
The dollar index a gauge of its performance against six
major currencies fell 1 3 percent to 88 106 off last week s
three year high of 89 624
The euro rose 1 3 percent to 1 2775 rebounding from a
three month low of 1 2455 hit last week according to Reuters
data
The dollar reversed early gains against the yen last down
0 75 percent at 98 05 yen The yen has fallen in the past month
as Japan s economy grapples with diving exports and its worst
recession of the postwar era
On euro zone government debt markets the 10 year cash Bund
yield was up around 2 basis points at 2 968 percent
But shorter dated paper was flat with the interest
rate sensitive two year Schatz yield at 1 275 percent Bond
yields move inversely with prices
Additional reporting by Veronica Brown and Joanne Frearson
Editing by Victoria Main
To read Reuters Global Investing Blog click on
for the MacroScope
Blog click on for Hedge
Fund Blog click on |
C | FOREX Dollar falters sterling stays on defensive vs euro | Dollar stalled as investors look to U S stock futures
Sterling extends loss vs euro outlook wobbly
Bini Smaghi comments sap some euro strength
Yen erases earlier losses to rise vs dollar
Changes dateline byline adds quotes updates prices
By Veronica Brown
LONDON March 10 Reuters The dollar fell against a
basket of currencies on Tuesday retracing much of the previous
day s sharp gains as investors focused on U S stock market
futures that pointed to a stronger start for Wall Street
A tentative easing of wariness towards risk allowed the euro
a technical bounce against the dollar while sterling lengthened
losses versus the common currency on continued worries about
Britain s banking sector
The yen erased losses and rose versus the dollar though
doubts about its status as a safe port in the global economic
storm ensured it kept an overall defensive tone traders said
The euro seems a bit stronger against most currencies
today particularly against the dollar probably on expectations
of positive U S stock markets John Hydeskov senior FX
analyst at Danske Bank in Copenhagen
The dollar index a gauge of its performance against six
major currencies fell 0 9 percent to 88 492 off last week s
three year high of 89 624
The euro rose 0 8 percent to 1 2712 rebounding from a
three month low of 1 2457 hit last week The euro was also
firmer against sterling at 91 73 pence off a 5 1 2 week high of
92 18 pence
U S stock market futures pointed to a stronger Wall Street
open Citigroup shares were in focus after a memo from Chief
Executive Vikram Pandit obtained by Reuters said it was
profitable in the first two months of 2009 and confident about
its capital strength
The euro s gains versus the dollar were dented slightly
after ECB Executive Board member Lorenzo Bini Smaghi was quoted
as saying the bank was prepared to cut interest rates to zero if
deflation threatens and the economic situation worsens
The comments are dovish but they continue to put some
distance between themselves and any possible quantitative easing
They continue to dismiss an outright ECB intervention in the
bond market said Richard McGuire fixed income strategist at
RBC Capital Markets in London
WOBBLY POUND
The pound managed to recover from a six week low against the
dollar rising 0 7 percent on the day to 1 3824
But the rebound was on shaky ground after it shed 2 percent
on Monday when banking sector worries intensified as Lloyds
Banking Group said the British government was taking a stake in
it of up to 77 percent
Pressure from the Bank of England s quantitative easing
programme was also reflected in bond markets as the yield on
benchmark 10 year gilts fell below 3 percent for the first time
in more than 50 years on Monday
We are in a situation where sterling is perceived as a weak
currency with economic news regularly confirming a pessimistic
view on the UK as an economy that is struggling said Chris
Gothard currency strategist at Brown Brothers Harriman in
London
The yen reversed earlier losses against the dollar to rise
0 3 percent to 98 45 yen but stayed weaker versus a broadly
stronger euro at 125 09 yen
The Japanese unit has fallen in the past month as Japan s
economy grapples with diving exports and its worst recession of
the postwar era
The current account balance swung to its largest deficit on
record in January adding to selling pressure
Market participants say foreign investors have been reducing
long positions in the yen with expectations fading that it can
surpass a 13 year peak of 87 10 yen per dollar hit in January
Recessions in many of Japan s export markets have dried up
overseas demand for its goods meaning exporters also have fewer
dollars to sell in exchange for yen traders say
Additional reporting by Jessica Mortimer and Naomi Tajitsu
in London
Reporting by Veronica Brown Editing by David Stamp |
C | FOREX Dollar retreats sterling on defensive vs euro | Dollar stalled as investors look to U S shares
Sterling extends loss vs euro outlook wobbly
Bini Smaghi comments sap some euro strength
Yen erases earlier losses to rise vs dollar
Changes dateline byline adds quotes updates prices
By Veronica Brown
LONDON March 10 Reuters The dollar fell against a
basket of currencies on Tuesday retracing much of the previous
day s sharp gains as investors focused on gains for stocks that
have tended to undermine flows into the U S currency
Some easing of wariness towards risk allowed the euro a
technical bounce against the dollar while sterling lengthened
losses versus the common currency on continued worries about
Britain s banking sector
The yen erased losses and rose versus the dollar though
doubts about the Japanese currency s status as a safe port in
the global economic storm ensured it kept an overall defensive
tone traders said
We ve got the standard market dynamics regarding risk
said Jeremy Stretch markets strategist at Rabobank in London
With equity futures trading positively in the U S then risk
appetite is looking a little firmer and the dollar is giving
back its gains
Euro dollar is holding up despite the fact that industrial
output data seen this morning shows it s falling off a cliff
he added
Industrial output in Sweden fell 22 9 percent on the year in
January while UK January industrial output fell at its fastest
annual pace since 1981
The dollar index a gauge of its performance against six
major currencies fell 0 9 percent to 88 483 off last week s
three year high of 89 624
The euro rose 0 8 percent to 1 2709 rebounding from a
three month low of 1 2455 hit last week according to Reuters
data The euro was also firmer against sterling at 91 73 pence
off a 5 1 2 week high of 92 18 pence
U S stock market futures pointed to a stronger Wall Street
open Citigroup shares were in focus after a memo from Chief
Executive Vikram Pandit obtained by Reuters said it was
profitable in the first two months of 2009 and confident about
its capital strength
The euro s gains versus the dollar were dented slightly
after ECB Executive Board member Lorenzo Bini Smaghi was quoted
as saying the bank was prepared to cut interest rates to zero if
deflation threatens and the economic situation worsens
The comments are dovish but they continue to put some
distance between themselves and any possible quantitative easing
They continue to dismiss an outright ECB intervention in the
bond market said Richard McGuire fixed income strategist at
RBC Capital Markets in London
SHAKY POUND
The pound managed to recover from a six week low against the
dollar rising 0 7 percent on the day to 1 3824
But the rebound was on shaky ground after it shed 2 percent
on Monday when Lloyds Banking Group intensified sector worries
with its announcement the British government was taking a stake
of up to 77 percent
Pressure from the Bank of England s quantitative easing
programme was also reflected in bond markets as the yield on
benchmark 10 year gilts fell below 3 percent for the first time
in more than 50 years on Monday
We are in a situation where sterling is perceived as a weak
currency with economic news regularly confirming a pessimistic
view on the UK as an economy that is struggling said Chris
Gothard currency strategist at Brown Brothers Harriman in
London
The dollar reversed early gains against the yen last down
0 5 percent at 98 28 yen but the Japanese currency stayed
weaker versus a broadly stronger euro at 124 97 yen
The yen has fallen in the past month as Japan s economy
grapples with diving exports and its worst recession of the
postwar era Its current account balance swung to the largest
deficit on record in January adding to selling pressure
Market participants say foreign investors have been reducing
long positions in the yen with expectations fading that it can
surpass a 13 year peak of 87 10 yen per dollar hit in January
Recessions in many of Japan s export markets have dried up
overseas demand for its goods meaning exporters also have fewer
dollars to sell in exchange for yen traders say
Additional reporting by Jessica Mortimer and Naomi Tajitsu
in London
Editing by Patrick Graham |
WMB | The Painted Bird tells timeless story of survival in dark times | By Helena Williams NYSE WMB and Marie Louise Gumuchian
VENICE Italy Reuters Set somewhere in rural eastern Europe towards the end of World War Two The Painted Bird is a sombre tale of a young boy trying to survive a harsh wilderness and the cruelty of strangers and is described by one of its stars as timeless
Based on a 1965 novel by Polish born novelist Jerzy Kosinski the 35mm black and white film which premiered at the Venice Film Festival on Tuesday depicts a bleak world where being different is dangerous
Sent by his persecuted parents to stay with an elderly woman in the desolate countryside of an unnamed country the lead character known simply as The Boy soon finds himself alone when she dies and he sets off on foot to find safety elsewhere
He wanders from village to village where he meets and stays with different people some of them superstitious and cruel others accommodating and kind
The Boy played by Petr Kotlar endures brutal beatings and abuse and witnesses horrific violence carried out by civilians and soldiers a man having his eye gouged out a village ransacked people shot and a woman kicked in the genitals
The questions about humankind about God what is the evil what is the good in all of us what does it mean that the light is visible only in the dark That s the principle of this movie director Vaclav Marhoul told Reuters in an interview
The film which is just short of three hours long features very little dialogue Marhoul who also wrote the script said he specifically chose a kind of Slavic Esperanto a created language for the villagers dialogue
I didn t want the villagers speaking Ukrainian or Polish or Russian or something like that because those people the villagers in the film are really bad people he said
I didn t want some nation to be associated with that
BRUTALITY AND COMPASSION
In one key scene one of The Boy s hosts paints the wings of one of his captive birds and releases it into its flock only for it to be attacked by the others
The film depicts Europe at a very dark time but it s a dark time that is not specific to that time that is sort of existing today all over the world in many places actor Stellan Skarsgard said
The Mamma Mia and Thor actor plays a Nazi officer in the film who is also one of the few to feel sympathy for The Boy The latter also finds kindness in a priest and feels love for a young woman
During the most horrible times there are moments of compassion and we as humans we can be monsters of brutality but we can also be very compassionate and we all have it all in us if you re not a psychopath Skarsgard said
So we re all capable of everything
The movie nearly 11 years in the making is one of 21 films competing for the Golden Lion award at the Venice Film Festival
It happens to be set in the period just at the end of the Second World War but it could be mediaeval it could be 50 years in the future said actor Julian Sands who plays one of the crueler people The Boy meets
It has more in common with Cormac McCarthy s The Road than a Holocaust movie it has more in common with Homer s The Odyssey than a specific Second world War historical account It s timeless |
WMB | Svitolina downs Konta to reach U S Open semis | By Rory Carroll NEW YORK Reuters Ukraine s Elina Svitolina continued her dominant run against Johanna Konta with a 6 4 6 4 win on Tuesday to reach the U S Open semi finals for the first time The fifth seed who has won all of her meetings with the Briton reached her second straight Grand Slam semi after also making the last four at Wimbledon in July Svitolina s sturdy baseline attack wore down the 16th seeded Konta who made 35 unforced errors 22 more than her opponent on a sun soaked day at Arthur Ashe Stadium It feels amazing she said of being the first player to reach the semis at the tournament this year It was a very very tough match I think we were both striking the ball and it was quite even she said I m very happy with how I handled the pressure today Svitolina rifled a backhand winner on break point for a 4 3 lead in the second set celebrating with an emphatic fist pump in front of the crowd that included her French boyfriend Gael Monfils who plays his quarter final on Wednesday Konta continued to fight however saving two match points on her serve but Svitolina ended the contest in the next game when the Briton fired long Svitolina said Monfils her frequent practice partner has been a source of encouragement throughout the tournament Definitely we are pushing each other I think because we are trying to join each other in the quarter final and now the semi final so now he has to step up his game she added with a laugh Svitolina has yet to drop a set in her run at Flushing Meadows where she has dispatched opponents including former world number one Venus Williams NYSE WMB and 2017 finalist Madison Keys HEAD HIGH Despite the loss Konta can hold her head high as she leaves New York after defeating third seed Karolina Pliskova in a tight three set match on Sunday She has performed well on her Grand Slam appearances this year including reaching a semi final at the French Open and a quarter final at Wimbledon It s the best I have ever done so far in my career at Grand Slams the 28 year old told reporters There is a lot to be proud of there There s a lot to you know look back and smile on Yeah it s a nice achievement to have been able to do that Next up for Svitolina is a clash with either 23 time major champion Serena Williams or 18th seed Wang Qiang of China who play their quarter final match later on Tuesday The defensive specialist said she will need to have her running shoes laced up if she faces the powerhouse Williams I have to run a lot like all in other matches she told reporters That s normal And try to react I played some big hitters in this tournament a lot and I have to just react quickly with my feet and with my shots as well
Then when I have the opportunity go for it |
WMB | NFL notebook Rams Goff reportedly close to extension | Rams quarterback Jared Goff agreed to a four year contract extension that would tie him to Los Angeles through 2024 according to multiple reports
The deal will be done in the coming days and is expected to have an annual average value of 32 million per season NFL Network reported Tuesday night
Goff the No 1 overall pick in the 2016 draft guided the Rams to the NFC Championship and a Super Bowl appearance last season
Goff 24 is scheduled to earn 4 3 million in 2019 as part of his rookie agreement His 22 million player option for next season was already picked up The deal puts him in the same ballpark as the No 2 overall pick in 2016 Carson Wentz who agreed to a four year 128 million contract with 107 million in guarantees
Running back Ezekiel Elliott and his agent Rocky Arceneaux left his holdout headquarters in Cabo San Lucas with the expectation that a contract extension with the Dallas Cowboys will be finalized before Sunday s Week 1 home game against the New York Giants
Arceneaux told reporters at the DFW International Airport that a deal is very close
Initial chatter indicated the sides were close to a deal for a 90 million six year extension that would tie Elliott to Dallas through 2026
Atlanta Falcons owner Arthur Blank told The Athletic that the team and six time Pro Bowl wide receiver Julio Jones are very very close to a new contract
I d be surprised and disappointed if we didn t get it done this week Blank said per The Athletic I think it s very reasonable to assume it will get done this week
Jones 30 has two years remaining on his deal which owes him 9 6 million in 2019 and 11 4 million in 2020 He caught 113 passes for a league high 1 677 yards and eight touchdowns last season
The Los Angeles Chargers are seeking a first round pick and a fifth round pick in a potential trade for running back Melvin Gordon according to ProFootballTalk com
Gordon is set to make 5 6 million in 2019 on the fifth year team option of his rookie deal The two time Pro Bowl selection wants more than the roughly 10 million the Chargers have reportedly offered for this season
ESPN s Josina Anderson reported Tuesday that one team has had preliminary communication with the Chargers about a trade
Washington Redskins left tackle Trent Williams NYSE WMB could end his holdout in time to play in Week 2
DeAngelo Hall a friend and longtime teammate of Williams said on The Athletic s Hail to the Pod that he thinks Williams could return as soon as Week 2 at home against Dallas or extend his absence to Week 8
I think he comes sooner rather than later Hall added I think he reports and I think he s a part of this football team
HBO Sports and NFL Films unveiled plans for the release of a documentary featuring New England Patriots head coach Bill Belichick and Alabama Crimson Tide head coach Nick Saban
Titled Belichick Saban The Art of Coaching the film will air Dec 10
Belichick a six time Super Bowl champion and Saban a six time NCAA national champion will be featured in the 90 minute film highlighting their friendship of more than 30 years
San Francisco 49ers rookie defensive end Nick Bosa plans to play Sunday in the regular season opener against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers
Bosa the No 2 pick in the 2019 NFL Draft has been off the field for a month dealing with an ankle injury suffered Aug 7 in practice
I don t think I ve ever been as motivated in my life to get back Bosa said I ve had my sights set on playing my first NFL season Every waking hour was spent getting my ankle right
The Cincinnati Bengals signed running back Giovani Bernard to a two year extension putting him under contract through 2021 The NFL Network reported the total value of the deal is 10 3 million
Bernard 27 has gained 5 389 yards from scrimmage and scored 27 touchdowns in 83 games since the Bengals picked him in the second round of the 2013 NFL Draft
Right tackle La el Collins agreed to a five year contract extension with the Dallas Cowboys
The deal includes 50 million in new money with the first two years and 20 million fully guaranteed and 35 million guaranteed against injury according to Albert Breer of The MMQB
The Green Bay Packers acquired fourth year linebacker B J Goodson in a trade with the New York Giants Multiple outlets reported the sides swapped conditional seventh round picks
Detroit Lions center Frank Ragnow returned from an ankle injury to practice putting him on track for Sunday s season opener against the Arizona Cardinals
Field Level Media |
WMB | Gold Seen Cracking 1 600 as Fed Cuts Rates Four More Times | Bloomberg Gold will surge above 1 600 an ounce as the Federal Reserve embarks on a quartet of interest rate cuts to combat slowing U S growth and the fallout from the trade war with China according to BNP Paribas PA BNPP SA which flagged prospects for a significant rise in prices in the coming months
Bullion will benefit as the Fed opts for four 25 basis point cuts between this month and June 2020 Harry Tchilinguirian head of commodity research said in a note As nominal yields fall with each reduction real rates will move and stay in negative territory raising the appeal of holding gold he said
Gold has soared this year on increased demand for havens as the U S China trade war damages global growth prompting central banks including the Fed to adopt a more accommodative stance In July U S policy makers reduced borrowing costs for the first time in more than a decade and they are widely expected to do so again at their Sept 17 18 meeting Against that backdrop investors have boosted holdings in bullion backed exchange traded funds
The trade war is unlikely to be resolved quickly Tchilinguirian said In this context gold has resumed its traditional role as a safe haven asset and holdings in ETFs are now heading toward peak levels seen in 2012 he said as BNP boosted price forecasts for this year and next
Forecasts Raised
Gold will average 1 400 an ounce in 2019 up 60 from an earlier forecast and 1 560 in 2020 following a rise of 130 in the outlook BNP said in the note The Fed s easing cycle should push average prices above 1 600 in the first quarter of 2020 it said adding We expect gold to rise significantly
Spot gold traded at 1 544 32 an ounce on Wednesday up 20 this year Prices hit 1 555 07 on Aug 26 the highest level since 2013
The four cuts would reduce the upper bound on the Fed s benchmark rate to 1 25 in line with current forward rates at 1 2 Tchilinguirian said The U S central bank has acknowledged that risk mitigation relative to foreign conditions is part and parcel of its decision making process
Investors will get more insight into monetary policy this week with the New York Fed s John Williams NYSE WMB set to speak on Wednesday followed by Chair Jerome Powell on Friday On Tuesday Fed Bank of Boston President Eric Rosengren said the U S economy remains relatively strong despite heightened risks
Updates to add Fed speakers in final paragraph |
WMB | Serena sweeps into semis chalks up 100th U S Open win | By Amy Tennery NEW YORK Reuters Serena Williams NYSE WMB claimed her 100th win at the U S Open in style on Tuesday dismantling her quarter final opponent Wang Qiang 6 1 6 0 in a blistering 44 minute performance that ended any questions over a twisted ankle from the previous round I never thought that I would get to 100 Williams said after the match reflecting on the two decades she s spent playing at Flushing Meadows It s so special I never want to let it go The eighth seeded American joins Chris Evert as the only two players to log at least 100 victories at the tournament Williams is now only one behind Evert s mark The 37 year old Williams was dominant from the start firing off 25 winners compared to zero from 18th seed Wang and winning 90 of her first serve points During her fourth round match on Sunday Williams slipped and fell while running to the net and twisted her right ankle but said on Tuesday she was feeling great It feels good Williams said of her performance This is how hard I ve been working It feels like hard work pays off when that happens Williams pumped her fist in celebration after firing off a forehand winner in front of a roaring crowd to end the contest I am who I am I ve always been the person that goes out there and roars and screams and complains and cries and fights Williams said I m extremely passionate about what I do Most people that love their jobs are passionate about what they do That s just me She also praised the progress made in women s tennis over her career calling it the premier sport for women It s the best work in the world that a woman can do in my mind I m a little biased obviously said the 37 year old I feel like we fought so hard for so many years for so many different things I feel like we still obviously have a ways to go but a lot of that fighting through decades has come through Wang who had not faced Williams before was unable to save any of the five break point opportunities against her and said she simply could not stand up to the power from the 23 times Grand Slam champion I cannot handle it Just too much for me said Wang Williams faces fifth seed Elina Svitolina who she leads 4 1 in head to head in the semi finals She doesn t make a lot of mistakes said Williams when asked about the upcoming matchup She s one of those players that does everything really well
So I have to do everything well too |
WMB | Uncertainty Playing Important Role in Fed Policy Williams Says | Bloomberg Federal Reserve Bank of New York President John Williams NYSE WMB said weaker U S economic data and ongoing global risks are weighing on central bank decision making at the moment
Uncertainty both at home and abroad is playing an important role in my thinking about the economic outlook and monetary policy Williams said Wednesday in remarks prepared for a speech in New York
Williams and his colleagues on the policy setting Federal Open Market Committee cut interest rates by a quarter percentage point when they last met in July citing slowing global growth trade policy uncertainty and muted inflation They are expected to deliver another reduction when they next meet Sept 17 18 according to prices of federal funds futures contracts
The New York Fed chief pointed to deterioration in U S manufacturing a day after a closely watched report from the Institute for Supply Management suggested the sector had contracted in August for the first time in three years
Robust consumer spending is balanced by signs of slowing business investment We ve also seen a decline in exports and weakening manufacturing data reflecting slowing global growth and uncertainty related to trade and geopolitical risks Williams said I am carefully monitoring this nuanced picture and remain vigilant to act as appropriate to support continuing growth a strong labor market and a sustained return to 2 inflation
Williams as vice chair of the FOMC is a key policy maker on the 17 strong committee of U S central bankers who are split on the need for more easing according to recent public statements He pointed to the effects of U S President Donald Trump s trade war with China indicating it has cast a chill over the business community Trump has repeatedly called for the Fed to cut rates breaking with a quarter century of tradition in which the president typically refrained from commenting on Fed policy in public
Concerns around trade policy with China are adding to an uncertain picture My contacts in the business community have said this is making them more cautious about investment The effects of this angst are already showing up in the investment numbers Williams said
Persistently low inflation heightened uncertainty and global cross currents make this a particularly challenging time for monetary policy and my laser focus is on doing the best we can to support a strong economy and achieve our 2 goal |
WMB | Gold Prices Hold the High Ground Despite Return of Risk Appetite | Investing com Gold prices remained close to recent highs on Wednesday refusing to give up much ground despite a broad rally in risk assets around the world
By 11 AM ET 15 00 GMT gold futures for delivery on the Comex exchange were at 1 555 04 a troy ounce down less than 0 1 from late Tuesday Spot gold traded at 1 546 00 an ounce down 0 1
Risk appetite revived and demand for haven assets unwound accordingly after opponents of a No Deal Brexit succeeded in wresting control of the parliamentary agenda from the government of U K Prime Minister Boris Johnson late on Tuesday Further gains came after news that Hong Kong s leadership would pull a controversial draft bill that was the initial spark for months of protests in the former British colony
However losses were trimmed after New York Federal Reserve President John Williams NYSE WMB reminded markets of the likelihood of lower U S interest rates before too long Williams said in a speech that the economy looked weaker than previously thought after downward revisions to data for second quarter gross domestic product and employment He stressed the need for the Fed to remain data dependent and to remain alert to risks to the world economy outside the U S noting that uncertainty over trade policy and other factors had depressed business investment
Earlier Bloomberg had reported BNP analysts as forecasting that gold would top 1 600 an ounce next year as the Fed cuts interest rates four times Even so that forecast would suggest that the bulk of the gold rally is over given that prices have already risen 20 this year
Elsewhere silver futures extended their recent rally hitting a new three year high of 19 66 an ounce before retreating to 19 43 by 11 AM ET
Silver has outperformed gold in recent weeks as speculative interest has pivoted to the cheaper metal However given that nearly half of all silver demand is industrial it represents a much less pure haven asset
Copper futures meanwhile rebounded 2 5 to 2 59 a pound after hitting a three year low on Tuesday |
WMB | Fed s Williams says will act as appropriate to keep economy on track | NEW YORK Reuters New York Federal Reserve President John Williams NYSE WMB on Wednesday said he is ready to act as appropriate to help America avoid an economic downturn but so far the economy appeared to be in a good place Williams a key voice in discussions at the U S central bank ahead of a meeting later this month to discuss whether the economy needs an interest rate cut said policymakers need to be flexible about monetary policy decisions We need to consider all of the information available and be flexible in our response he said in prepared remarks at a conference on securities linked to inflation The Fed is widely expected to lower rates at the close of its Sept 17 18 meeting after ordering a 25 basis point cut in July the central bank s first rate cut since 2008 Williams noted that the U S labor market still appears strong but that he was carefully watching a host of factors that could weigh on the economic outlook including a global economic slowdown U S China trade policies and the possibility of an economically disruptive British exit from the European Union I am carefully monitoring this nuanced picture and remain vigilant to act as appropriate to support continuing growth a strong labor market and a sustained return to 2 inflation he said Williams public remarks were his first since July when he made comments that triggered an upsurge in expectations for a half point rate cut at the Fed s meeting later that month The New York Fed took the unusual step later that day of clarifying that his comments were not about pending policy actions Williams supported the Fed s July 31 rate cut and on Wednesday he said the Fed s policies and communications had eased financial conditions and should help the economy stay on track But he also said he was focused on persistently weak U S inflation readings The Fed targets 2 inflation but a core reading for price gains has been holding about a half percentage point below that He said the economic weakness abroad was a disinflationary pressure he was monitoring
My number one goal is to keep the expansion on track he said |
BMY | Bristol Myers Opdivo Gets Priority Review For Liver Cancer | Bristol Myers Squibb Company NYSE BMY announced that the FDA has accepted and granted a priority review designation to the supplemental Biologics License Application sBLA for the label expansion of Opdivo nivolumab to patients with hepatocellular carcinoma HCC after prior Nexavar therapy HCC is the most common type of liver cancer
The submission was based on data from the phase I II CheckMate 040 study investigating Opdivo in advanced HCC patients with and without hepatitis B virus or hepatitis C virus infections The FDA is expected to give its decision on Sep 24 2017
Bristol Myers shares have lost 7 9 year to date against the Zacks classified industry s gain of 10 6
We note that the drug is already approved for varied indications in both the EU and the U S Also it received approvals for several indications including melanoma head and neck lung kidney and blood cancer In fact the Opdivo Yervoy regimen is approved in multiple markets for the treatment of melanoma
Opdivo generated revenues of 1 13 billion in the first quarter of 2017 up 60 from the year ago period
In Apr 2017 Bristol Myers announced a collaboration agreement with clinical stage biopharmaceutical company Apexigen Inc Moving ahead both the companies will collaborate for a clinical trial to evaluate Bristol Myers Squibb s immuno oncology drug Opdivo in combination with Apexigen s APX005M on patients with advanced solid tumors
Earlier the company had announced that the Committee for Medicinal Products for Human Use CHMP has recommended the approval of immunotherapy Opdivo as monotherapy for the treatment of squamous cell cancer of the head and neck SCCHN in adults progressing on or after platinum based therapy in March The European Commission will now review the CHMP recommendation
The positive opinion from the CHMP was based on results from open label randomized phase III trial CheckMate 141 that evaluated the overall survival OS of Opdivo in previously treated patients with SCCHN following platinum based therapy compared to investigator s choice of therapy methotrexate docetaxel or cetuximab in the adjuvant primary recurrent or metastatic setting The trial was stopped early in Jan 2016 based on a planned interim anlaysis as assessed by the independent Data Monitoring Committee
Bristol Myers Squibb Company Price
Zacks Rank and Other Key Picks
Bristol Myers currently carries a Zacks Rank 3 Hold Some other better ranked stocks in the health care sector are VIVUS Inc NASDAQ VVUS MEI Pharma Inc NASDAQ MEIP and Aeglea BioTherapeutics NASDAQ AGLE While VIVUS and MEI Pharma sport a Zacks Rank 1 Strong Buy Aeglea carries a Zacks Rank 2 Buy You can see
VIVUS loss per share estimates have narrowed from 50 cents to 39 cents for 2017 over the last 60 days The company delivered positive earnings surprises in all the four trailing quarters with an average beat of 233 69
MEI Pharma s estimates have turned around from loss per share of 1 cent to gain of 1 cent per share for 2017 over the last 60 days The company came up with positive earnings surprises in three of the four trailing quarters with an average beat of 66 56
Aeglea s loss per share estimates have narrowed from 3 64 to 2 48 for 2017 over the last 60 days The company pulled off positive earnings surprises in three of the four trailing quarters with an average beat of 20 75
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BMY | Why Is Exelixis EXEL Down 20 9 Since The Last Earnings Report | It has been about a month since the last earnings report for Exelixis Inc NASDAQ EXEL Shares have lost about 20 9 in that time frame underperforming the market
Will the recent negative trend continue leading up to the stock s next earnings release or is it due for a breakout Before we dive into how investors and analysts have reacted of late let s take a quick look at its most recent earnings report in order to get a better handle on the important catalysts Exelixis Posts Earnings in Q1 Cabometyx in FocusExelixis posted first quarter 2017 earnings of 0 05 against a loss of 0 26 per share in the year ago quarter The Zacks Consensus Estimate was a loss of 0 01 Net revenue came in at 80 9 million significantly up from 15 4 million in the prior year quarter Revenues also surpassed the Zacks Consensus Estimate of 65 6 million Revenues were boosted by the FDA approval of a tablet formulation of cabozantinib distinct from the capsule form under the brand name Cabometyx in Apr 2016 for the treatment of RCC in patients who have received prior anti angiogenic therapy Quarter in DetailTotal product revenue was 68 9 million up from 9 1 million in the year ago quarter Cabometyx generated 62 4 million in net product revenue up 657 year over year and up 33 sequentially Cometriq cabozantinib capsules for the treatment of medullary thyroid cancer generated 6 5 million in net product revenue Customer demand increased by approximately 40 in the first quarter compared to the fourth quarter driven by improvements in new patient starts refills for patients already on therapy and broad expansion of the Cabometyx prescriber base Total collaboration revenue was at 12 0 million compared to 6 3 million in the year ago quarter In the reported quarter research and development expenses declined 19 8 to 23 2 million due to decrease in research and development expenses as a result of fall in clinical trial costs for the phase III trial METEOR in advanced RCC and share based compensation Selling general and administrative expenses were 34 3 million down 1 7 from a year ago due to decline in marketing costs rising from a decreasing losses under the collaboration agreement with Roche s Genentech and stock based compensation Pipeline UpdateThe company continues to focus on the launch of Cabometyx in the U S Exelixis plans to file a supplemental New Drug Application sNDA for cabozantinib as a treatment for previously untreated patients with advanced RCC in third quarter 2017 based on the positive data from the randomized phase II trial CABOSUN In Mar 2017 the FDA granted cabozantinib orphan drug designation for the treatment of HCC A phase III trial CELESTIAL is currently ongoing in patients with advanced HCC The company now expects completing the second intermin analysis at 75 of the events in the second half of 2017 During the first quarter Exelixis announced agreements with The Bristol Myers Squibb Company NYSE BMY and Roche to collaborate on the development of cabozantinib in combination with immunotherapy agents Meanwhile Exelixis and Roche announced that the phase III trial evaluating the combination of Cotellic and Tecentriq in third line advanced or metastatic colorectal cancer achieved full enrolment in first quarter 2017 Roche also announced that IMspire150 TRILOGY which evaluates the combination of Cotellic atezolizumab and Xelboraf in first line BRAF V600 mutation positive metastatic or unresectable locally advanced melanoma enrolled its first patient in Jan 2017 while IMspire170 the trial evaluating the combination of Cotellic and atezolizumab versus pembrolizumab in first line BRAF wild type metastatic or unresectable locally advanced melanoma is likely to enroll its first patient in the second quarter of this year 2017 GuidanceExelixis expects total costs and operating expenses for 2017 in the range of 290 million 310 million This guidance includes about 25 million of non cash costs and expenses related primarily to stock based compensation expense
How Have Estimates Been Moving Since Then
Following the release investors have witnessed an upward trend in fresh estimates There has been one revision higher for the current quarter
Exelixis Inc Price and Consensus
VGM Scores
At this time Exelixis stock has a great Growth Score of A a grade with the same score on the momentum front However the stock was allocated a grade of D on the value side putting it in the bottom 40 for this investment strategy
Overall the stock has an aggregte VGM Score of A If you aren t focused on one strategy this score is the one you should be interested in
Zacks style scores indicate that the company s stock is suitable for growth and momentum investors
Outlook
While estimates have been trending upward for the stock the magnitude of these revisions is net zero Notably the stock has a Zacks Rank 3 Hold We expect in line returns from the stock in the next few months |
BMY | Pfizer s Kidney Cancer Drug Gets Acceptance In The U S EU | Pfizer Inc NYSE PFE announced encouraging news with the FDA and the European Medicines Agency EMA accepting the company s regulatory submission for label expansion of its cancer drug Sutent sunitinib The company is looking to expand Sutent s label for adjuvant treatment of adult patients at high risk of recurrent renal cell carcinoma RCC after surgery There is currently no approved therapy for patients with kidney cancer post surgery The company s supplemental biologics license application sBLA for Sutent has been received by FDA with a response expected to be out by Jan 2018 The EMA has validated a type II variation application for SUTENT in the same patient population The validation marks the initiation of the EMA s centralized review process Notably Sutent is already sanctioned for advanced RCC imatinib resistant or intolerant gastrointestinal stromal tumors and advanced pancreatic neuroendocrine tumors Shares of Pfizer climbed more than 1 in pre market trading However the same has underperformed the Zacks classified industry so far this year The stock has gained 0 7 during the period compared to the broader industry s increase of 10 7 The regulatory submissions are supported by positive result from a phase III S TRAC Sunitinib Trial in Adjuvant Renal Cancer study The randomized double blind trial evaluated Sutent in comparison to placebo in the adjuvant setting in patients who are at high risk of renal cell carcinoma RCC Importantly the S TRAC trial has two cohorts Global and China These results are reported from the Global cohort while finds from the China cohort will be reported at a later date as they are yet to mature Per company s information RCC is the most common type of kidney cancer accounting for around 90 of all kidney cancers Nearly 338 000 new cases of kidney cancer are reported worldwide which represents approximately 2 3 of all cancers Hence there is a huge market opportunity to cater to the unmet needs of patients affected with the disease worldwide Sad but true the RCC market is already pretty crowded Significantly the FDA had approved Exelixis Inc s NASDAQ EXEL Cabometyx in Apr 2016 for treatment of advanced RCC in patients who received prior anti angiogenic therapy In Nov 2015 the FDA approved Bristol Myers Squibb s NYSE BMY Opdivo for the same indication Pfizer Inc Price Zacks Rank Key PicksPfizer currently carries a Zacks Rank 3 Hold A better ranked stock in healthcare sector is VIVUS Inc NASDAQ VVUS which flaunts a Zacks Rank 1 Strong Buy You can see VIVUS s loss per share estimates slashed from 50 cents to 39 cents for 2017 in the last 30 days The company posted positive earnings surprises in all four trailing quarters with average beat of 233 69 Will You Make a Fortune on the Shift to Electric Cars Here s another stock idea to consider Much like petroleum 150 years ago lithium power may soon shake the world creating millionaires and reshaping geo politics Soon electric vehicles EVs may be cheaper than gas guzzlers Some are already reaching 265 miles on a single charge With battery prices plummeting and charging stations set to multiply one company stands out as the 1 stock to buy according to Zacks research It s not the one you think |
WMB | Williams Companies Inc The WMB Earnings Expected To Grow Should You Buy | Wall Street expects a year over year increase in earnings on lower revenues when Williams Companies Inc The NYSE WMB reports results for the quarter ended September 2019 While this widely known consensus outlook is important in gauging the company s earnings picture a powerful factor that could impact its near term stock price is how the actual results compare to these estimates
The earnings report which is expected to be released on October 30 2019 might help the stock move higher if these key numbers are better than expectations On the other hand if they miss the stock may move lower
While management s discussion of business conditions on the earnings call will mostly determine the sustainability of the immediate price change and future earnings expectations it s worth having a handicapping insight into the odds of a positive EPS surprise
Zacks Consensus Estimate
This pipeline operator is expected to post quarterly earnings of 0 25 per share in its upcoming report which represents a year over year change of 4 2
Revenues are expected to be 2 11 billion down 8 5 from the year ago quarter
Estimate Revisions Trend
The consensus EPS estimate for the quarter has been revised 3 05 lower over the last 30 days to the current level This is essentially a reflection of how the covering analysts have collectively reassessed their initial estimates over this period
Investors should keep in mind that the direction of estimate revisions by each of the covering analysts may not always get reflected in the aggregate change
Price Consensus and EPS Surprise
Earnings Whisper
Estimate revisions ahead of a company s earnings release offer clues to the business conditions for the period whose results are coming out Our proprietary surprise prediction model the Zacks Earnings ESP Expected Surprise Prediction has this insight at its core
The Zacks Earnings ESP compares the Most Accurate Estimate to the Zacks Consensus Estimate for the quarter the Most Accurate Estimate is a more recent version of the Zacks Consensus EPS estimate The idea here is that analysts revising their estimates right before an earnings release have the latest information which could potentially be more accurate than what they and others contributing to the consensus had predicted earlier
Thus a positive or negative Earnings ESP reading theoretically indicates the likely deviation of the actual earnings from the consensus estimate However the model s predictive power is significant for positive ESP readings only
A positive Earnings ESP is a strong predictor of an earnings beat particularly when combined with a Zacks Rank 1 Strong Buy 2 Buy or 3 Hold Our research shows that stocks with this combination produce a positive surprise nearly 70 of the time and a solid Zacks Rank actually increases the predictive power of Earnings ESP
Please note that a negative Earnings ESP reading is not indicative of an earnings miss Our research shows that it is difficult to predict an earnings beat with any degree of confidence for stocks with negative Earnings ESP readings and or Zacks Rank of 4 Sell or 5 Strong Sell
How Have the Numbers Shaped Up for Williams Companies Inc The
For Williams Companies Inc The the Most Accurate Estimate is higher than the Zacks Consensus Estimate suggesting that analysts have recently become bullish on the company s earnings prospects This has resulted in an Earnings ESP of 1 63
On the other hand the stock currently carries a Zacks Rank of 3
So this combination indicates that Williams Companies Inc The will most likely beat the consensus EPS estimate
Does Earnings Surprise History Hold Any Clue
While calculating estimates for a company s future earnings analysts often consider to what extent it has been able to match past consensus estimates So it s worth taking a look at the surprise history for gauging its influence on the upcoming number
For the last reported quarter it was expected that Williams Companies Inc The would post earnings of 0 23 per share when it actually produced earnings of 0 26 delivering a surprise of 13 04
Over the last four quarters the company has beaten consensus EPS estimates two times
Bottom Line
An earnings beat or miss may not be the sole basis for a stock moving higher or lower Many stocks end up losing ground despite an earnings beat due to other factors that disappoint investors Similarly unforeseen catalysts help a number of stocks gain despite an earnings miss
That said betting on stocks that are expected to beat earnings expectations does increase the odds of success This is why it s worth checking a company s Earnings ESP and Zacks Rank ahead of its quarterly release Make sure to utilize our Earnings ESP Filter to uncover the best stocks to buy or sell before they ve reported
Williams Companies Inc The appears a compelling earnings beat candidate However investors should pay attention to other factors too for betting on this stock or staying away from it ahead of its earnings release |
C | European Markets Sold Again Lower Financial Led The Declines | Current Futures Dow 9 00 S P 0 60 NASDAQ 0 75 European Trade European markets saw another day of declines today while the U S futures saw light selling in the overnight session Asian equities advanced on average 1 retracing some of the gains seen during the intra day session The financials led the selling wave in the European markets after Lloyds failed to reach an agreement with the U K government concerning the insurance scheme Lloyds dropped almost 10 on the U K Ftse while the other major financial institutions dropped on average 5 Every company listed in the German Dax traded in the red this morning except for Deutsche Telekom which announced a smaller than expected loss for 2008 730 million euros compared with 763 million euros Later today a report is expected to show the U S economy contracted 5 4 annualized or 1 3 in nominal terms The initial report also known as the advanced GDP report showed the economy contracted 3 8 annualized in Q4 Analysts based the downward forecasts on the increasing number of inventories and poor exports The analyst s forecasts range from 3 8 to 6 0 In comparison the Euro area economy contracted 1 5 or 6 in annualized terms while the Japanese economy contracted a whopping 3 3 or 12 7 in annualized terms According to the latest projections the world s developed economies are set to contract for the remaining of this year A Bloomberg report shows that the U S government will require Citigroup to raise capital from private sources and change its board of directors This happens as the Treasury is set to convert its preferred shares to common shares in an attempt to strengthen the bank s balance sheets However the big question is now who would actually look to invest in Citi right now and at what cost In the first phases of the credit crunch Sovereign Wealth Funds were seen as the saviors of the day but now their own local economies have big problems so it would be very hard to justify a foreign investment In addition SWTs have been hit hard by losses stemming from the credit crunch and this only adds pressure on them to cut short their exposure for now To some extent Citi is right now between a rock and a hard place Tonight the Nikkei gained 110 49 points 1 48 to 7 568 42 The Australian S P fell 1 00 points 0 03 to 3 344 50 The U K Ftse declined 69 43 points 1 77 to 3 846 21 while the German Dax shed 88 55 points 2 25 to 3 854 07 Crude oil declined for the first time in the last three days Crude oil for March delivery fell 1 35 to 43 85Gold rose tonight as equities are trading in the red Bullion for immediate delivery gained 2 30 to 944 90 |
C | REFILE GLOBAL MARKETS Citi govt deal hits shares dollar firmer | Refiles to change word to fall from falling in 3rd
paragraph
MSCI world equity index down 0 7 percent at 188 99
Citi Lloyds hit stocks drugmakers down on profit worry
Dollar hits 3 month high low yielding yen firmer
By Natsuko Waki
LONDON Feb 27 Reuters World stocks slipped towards this
week s 6 year low and oil tumbled on Friday while the dollar hit
a three month peak as financial shares came under pressure after
news the U S government will take a large stake in Citigroup
The U S Treasury said it will convert up to 25 billion of
Citi s preferred shares into common stock The news fanned
concerns that other banks might see a similar action
In Britain Lloyds Banking Group fell more than 20 percent
at one point after it unveiled a massive loss for 2008 and said
it had not yet finalised details of its plan to put billions of
pounds of assets into a UK government backed insurance scheme
There s a feeling that the banks might need yet more
capital and nationalisation is back on the agenda both here and
in the U S it looks as if there s no end in sight said
Graham Exton fund manager at Tilney Investment Management in
Liverpool
MSCI world equity index fell 0 9 percent closing in on the
six year low set Tuesday The index is down more than 9 percent
this month
The FTSEurofirst 300 index fell 2 9 percent
Drugmakers fell broadly on profit concerns as U S President
Barack Obama s budget proposals for 2010 takes direct aim at the
sector to help fund an overhaul of the U S healthcare system
U S stock futures turned lower after Citi s news with the
S P futures down more than 1 2 percent
Despite the fact that shares are extremely cheap on every
parameter confidence of investment sentiment is extremely low
Jeremy Batstone Carr head of private client research at Charles
Stanley
My suspicion is that confidence will begin to improve once
some indication emerges from the macro backdrop that a corner
has been turned
Emerging stocks were down 1 2 percent even after global
development banks launched a coordinated two year plan to lend
up to 25 billion euros to shore up banks and businesses in
crisis hit eastern and central Europe
The action plan by the World Bank European Bank for
Reconstruction and Development and European Investment Bank came
as European Union members prepare to discuss aid to banks at an
emergency summit on Sunday
U S crude oil fell 2 8 percent to 43 92 a barrel
The March bund futures rose 50 ticks
The dollar rose to a three month high against a basket of
major currencies The yen rose 1 1 percent to 97 34 per dollar
Additional reporting by Simon Falush and Dominic Lau Editing
by Victoria Main |
C | U S Q4 GDP Declines The Most Since Q1 1982 | Release Explanation This report measures the monetary value of all goods and services produced within a Country s borders in a specific time period GDP is calculated on an annual basis is the broadest measure of activity and the primary gauge of each economy s overall health It includes all Company and Personal consumption government outlays investments and exports less imports that occur within a defined territory A strong annual GDP outlook will lead to strong investment in an economy especially from overseas A weak annual GDP outlook will usually lead to a slowdown in the economic business cycle The yearly forecast is as important as the actual release number As a reflection of the value of what an economy is producing GDP will invariably have a ripple effect across all other economic releases over a period of time
TIC Data because of overseas investors wanting to participate in future growth or liquidate investments in an economy moving into a period of contraction
CPI because a reducing GDP outlook will therefore reduce the rate of future Inflation as an increasing GDP outlook will likely lead to Inflationary pressures
Retail Sales Consumer Confidence PCE they all are affected by the strength or weakness of GDP A volatile release because just one airplane order not accounted for can move the number by 0 5 and therefore lead to volatile re alignments of currency positions
Trade Desk Thoughts Real Gross Domestic Product declined at a 6 2 annual pace in the fourth quarter of 2008 according to the second estimate from the Bureau of Economic Analysis
The 6 2 decline meant the worst quarterly showing for GDP since a 6 4 decrease in the first quarter of 1982
The only good news in this report is that the drop in inventories suggests there is less of an inventory overhang said Matthew Carniol chief currency strategist at TheLFB forex com Still the inventory to sales ratio has gone up indicating there still is excess inventory which needs to be worked off Firms do that by reducing production and their amount of workers so expect to see employment weaken going forward
The report showed businesses inventories shrank 19 9 billion in the fourth quarter instead of rising by 6 2 billion as originally estimated Third quarter inventories fell by 29 6 billion in the third quarter
The decrease in real GDP in the fourth quarter primarily reflected negative contributions from exports personal consumption expenditures equipment and software and residential fixed investment that were partly offset by a positive contribution from federal government spending Imports which are a subtraction in the calculation of GDP decreased
The largest contributors were a downturn in exports and a much larger decrease in equipment and software The most notable offset was a much larger decrease in imports
Final sales of computers subtracted 0 01 percentage point from the fourth quarter change in real GDP the same contribution as in the third quarter Motor vehicle output subtracted 2 04 percentage points from the fourth quarter change in real GDP after adding 0 16 percentage point to the third quarter change
U S imports fell 16 0 instead of 15 7 as originally reported Exports were revised down dropping 23 6 instead of falling 19 7 Trade reduced GDP by 0 46 of a percentage point in the fourth quarter Originally trade was seen adding 0 09 of a percentage point to GDP
Business spending fell by 21 1 in the period lower than the originally estimated 19 1 decrease Business spending fell 1 7 in the third quarter Fourth quarter investment in structures decreased 5 9 Equipment and software plunged 28 8
Fourth quarter spending by consumers tumbled 4 3 down from a previously reported 3 5 decrease and below the third quarter s 3 8 decline It cut 3 01 percentage points out of GDP in the fourth quarter instead of the tamer reduction of 2 47 percentage points initially thought
Purchases of durable goods plunged 22 1 in October through December a bit up from the previously reported 22 4 decrease but below a decline of 14 8 in the third quarter Fourth quarter non durables spending tumbled by 9 2 Services spending went 1 4 higher
Housing remained a huge drag on the economy residential fixed investment decreased by 22 2 in the fourth quarter a smaller drop than the originally estimated 23 6 but bigger than a third quarter spending drop of 16 0
The government s price index for personal consumption expenditures decreased 5 0 smaller than the previously estimated 5 5 drop The index rose in the third quarter by 5 0 The PCE price gauge excluding food and energy increased 0 8 a bit above the previously estimated 0 6 increase but below the third quarter s 2 4 increase
Forex Technical Reaction S P futures began falling sharply soon after the news regarding Citigroup was announced and the dollar gained on the higher yielders Futures declined further after the report and the dollar continued to gain |
C | WRAPUP 4 U S economy plummets Q4 drop biggest since 1982 | U S economy shrinks at 6 2 pct pace in fourth quarter
Drop in GDP is largest since first quarter of 1982
Consumer spending drop biggest in more than 28 years
Exports fall at fastest rate since 1971
Updates markets
By Lucia Mutikani
WASHINGTON Feb 27 Reuters The U S economy suffered
its deepest contraction since early 1982 in the fourth quarter
shrinking at a much worse than expected 6 2 percent annual rate
as exports plunged and consumers slashed spending
A month ago the Commerce Department had estimated the
economy shrank at a 3 8 percent pace in the fourth quarter
But downward revisions to inventories exports and spending
led it to issue a much weaker figure on Friday just shy of the
6 4 percent rate drop seen in the first quarter of 1982 when
the economy was in a recession that lasted 16 months
They numbers show a very depressed state of the economy
at the end of last year and point to it continuing to be
equally bad in the first part of 2009 said Bill Cheney chief
economist at John Hancock Financial in Boston
This is really as bad as we thought it was before they
originally released the numbers It should temper the shock and
surprise
The dour data and a move by the government that could boost
its equity stake in Citigroup to as much as 36 percent
hammered U S stocks to 12 year lows The Dow Jones industrial
average ended down 119 15 points at 7 052 93 Government
bond prices fell bruised by record issuance this week
A separate report showed mounting job losses had turned
consumers gloomier in February evidence the U S recession
continues to deepen The final Reuters University of Michigan
consumer sentiment index for February fell to 56 3 from
January s 61 2 For more see ID nN27331069
CONSUMER SPENDING FALTERS
The Commerce Department said consumer spending which
accounts for more than two thirds of domestic economic
activity dropped at a 4 3 percent rate in the fourth quarter
the biggest decline since the second quarter of 1980
The spending decline lopped more than 3 percentage points
off GDP Last month consumer spending was estimated down at a
3 5 percent pace
Consumer spending contracted for a second straight
quarter
Exports until recently one of the few pillars supporting
the distressed economy tumbled at a 23 6 percent annual rate
the steepest plunge since 1971 That was revised downward from
the 19 7 percent drop estimated in last month s report
Inventories which minimized the fall in the first snapshot
of GDP when they were estimated as rising a surprising 6 2
billion were revised to show a 19 9 billion decline in the
fourth quarter
Further highlighting the severity of the recession
business investment fell at a 21 1 percent rate the largest
drop since 1975 from a previously estimated 19 1 percent
decline That took away nearly 2 5 percentage points from
overall GDP
Companies are aggressively scaling back to cope with a
slump in demand but those actions including big job cuts
are translating into further reductions in household incomes
exacerbating the slump
GLOBAL PAIN
The U S economy s poor performance was mirrored in Sweden
Denmark and Finland where all the three economies contracted
at record rates in the fourth quarter ID nLR77308
You have one of the largest declines in U S GDP in
post war history but it doesn t really stand out that much
because the rest of the developed world is also in recession
said Zach Pandl an economist at Nomura Securities
International in New York
Analysts said the fourth quarter would probably be the
weakest period for the U S economy but warned that prospects
for the first three months of 2009 are also bleak with data
pointing to another deep contraction
This still sets the stage for a 5 percent drop or more in
the first quarter which would mark the largest back to back
decline since 1958 said Jennifer Lee an economist at BMO
Capital Markets in Toronto
The government has intervened with a 787 billion package
in spending and tax cuts to staunch the bleeding and there is
guarded optimism the economy could turn around in the second
half of the year
Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke said early this week
there was a reasonable prospect the recession could end in
2009 if efforts to restore credit flows were effective
Separate reports showed business activity in the U S
Midwest contracted in February but not as sharply as feared
while activity in New York City declined for a 13th consecutive
month IDnNYS004866 ID nN27334450
The deteriorating economy is dampening inflation pressures
A price gauge in the GDP report dropped at a record 5 percent
rate in the fourth quarter Excluding food and energy prices
rose at a 0 8 percent pace the smallest advance since a
matching increase in the third quarter of 1997
Additional reporting by Ros Krasny in Chicago and Burton
Frierson in New York Editing by Dan Grebler |
C | Financial Sector The Government Gets 36 Of Citigroup | Citigroup announced it was going ahead with a plan to swap the government s preferred shares into common equity a move that will leave the government owning more than a third of the company and an acknowledgment that more than 50 billion in government capital and a backstop on more than 300 billion in troubled Citigroup assets haven t been enough to stop the bank s slide
Under the deal Citigroup said it will offer to convert nearly 27 5 billion in preferred stock sold to private investors and the public and up to 25 billion in preferred stock bought by the government into common stock The exchange if fully executed would leave the U S government with 36 of the bank s shares Existing shareholders stake would be cut to 26 Shareholders will have to approve much of the common stock issuance
Additionally the government is demanding that the company overhaul its board of directors Citigroup s board will soon include a majority of new independent directors the company said Friday It s stock plunged on the news
The swap won t involve any additional investment in Citigroup by either the government or the private shareholders but will boost the bank s so called tangible common equity ratio which is closely watched by analysts It will also relieve the bank of the need to pay billions of dollars in annual preferred stock dividends
Separately Citigroup announced it will record 10 billion in write downs for the fourth quarter boosting the year s net loss to 27 7 billion
Fannie Mae late Thursday reported a 25 2 billion loss for the fourth quarter as homeowner defaults rose and the value of derivative contracts used to hedge against interest rate risks fell
For the full year Fannie had a loss of 58 7 billion compared with a year earlier loss of 2 1 billion and the company said it expects that the housing and financial market conditions that led to 2008 s huge losses to continue and possibly worsen in 2009 The loss for 2008 exceeds net income for the preceding 17 years
The deepening financial problems at Fannie set up some tough choices for the Obama administration which will have to decide whether to continue pumping taxpayer money into the firms to keep them operating or break them into pieces and strip them of their government support
since September when the federal government effectively took control of the company focus has shifted away from making profits to carrying out government housing policy But thus far Fannie has rewritten just a tiny fraction of the mortgages it owns or guarantees
Daniel Mudd a former Marine officer who was ousted as Fannie s CEO when the regulator took over likens the takeover to the U S invasion of Iraq The troops got to Falluja in a couple of weeks and seized the radio towers but there was no plan to run the country once the shooting stopped he said
Fannie s government appointed CEO Herbert Allison said It s not about maximizing returns on equity or profits It s really about being of use to the country during this very difficult period |
C | FOREX Dollar climbs on safety buying after AIG | Dollar up versus most currencies on safety buying
U S 30 bln commitment to AIG adds to concern about banks
Yen gains against dollar and euro on exporter hedging
By Satomi Noguchi
TOKYO March 2 Reuters The dollar rose against most other
currencies on Monday after sources said the U S government would
pour a further 30 billion into embattled insurer American
International Group fuelling safety buying of the greenback
The AIG move follows a new rescue plan for Citigroup adding
to fears that more financial firms may need similar rescue plans
analysts said
The yen was among the few to climb against the dollar as
Japanese exporters continued to sell the greenback to hedge their
overseas earnings after seeing the yen rebound sharply on Friday
from a weekly slide
The market has become increasingly concerned that the need
for rescues is broadening to other major U S banks after
Citigroup and AIG said Kengo Suzuki a currency strategist for
Shinko Securities
AIG s board on Sunday approved a new rescue package that
includes more lenient terms on an existing government investment
in its preferred shares and a lower interest rate on a government
credit line sources familiar with the matter said
AIG is set to report the biggest loss in corporate history
later in the day
The euro fell 0 4 percent to 1 2572 while it also dropped 1
percent against the yen to 122 10 yen according to Reuters
dealing system
The dollar was adding to gains made late last week against
the euro after the U S government said it would raise its equity
stake in Citigroup to as much as 36 percent and economic data
showing the U S economy had its deepest contraction since 1982
The dollar fell 0 7 percent to 97 05 yen after tumbling from
a 3 1 2 month high of 98 72 yen hit last week
Editing by Hugh Lawson |
C | GLOBAL MARKETS World stocks hit 6 year low dollar surges | MSCI world equity index down 1 9 percent at 183 57
Stocks oil fall sharply after HSBC AIG
Dollar hits 3 year high government bonds firmer
By Natsuko Waki
LONDON March 2 Reuters World stocks fell to nearly
six year lows on Monday and the dollar hit 3 year peaks after a
a 12 5 billion pound 17 75 billion rights issue by HSBC and
another cash injection to U S insurer AIG
Oil fell more than 3 percent while government bonds rose
across the board after HSBC Europe s biggest bank launched the
rights issue to shore up its balance sheet after it reported a
18 percent fall in adjusted pretax profit for 2008 and cut its
dividend
American International Group is set to take a 30 billion
lifeline from the U S government as the embattled insurer is
expected to report the biggest quarterly loss in corporate
history of about 60 billion later on Monday
The AIG move follows a new rescue plan for Citigroup adding
to fears that more financial firms may need similar bailouts
There s a roll call of reasons to stay risk averse the
news from AIG HSBC and worries about Eastern Europe and that is
benefiting the dollar UBS currency strategist Geoffrey Yu
said
Concerns about the impact of a sharp economic deterioration
in Eastern Europe have also weighed on the euro and euro zone
stocks in recent weeks
European Union leaders rejected a mass bailout of central
and eastern European countries at a summit on Sunday but held
out the prospect of bringing them under the protection of the
euro zone more quickly
MSCI world equity index fell 1 9 percent to hit its lowest
level since April 2003 The index lost more than 10 percent last
month compared with a rise of 0 1 percent in February 2008
The FTSEurofirst 300 index fell 3 2 percent HSBC shares
fell 11 percent in early trade
The dollar index which measures the currency s strength
against a basket of major currencies hit its highest level
since April 2006 The single currency fell to 1 2562
March Bund futures rose 65 ticks benefiting from flows
seeking safer investments
Clearly the environment for fixed income Bunds in
particularly is still extremely bullish We ve strong faith in
our call that historic low in yields are still ahead of us
Christoph Rieger short end rate strategist at Dresdner
Kleinwort in Frankfurt
Emerging stocks fell 3 5 percent and U S crude oil fell 3 6
percent to 43 15 a barrel
Additional reporting by Jessica Mortimer Veronica Brown and
Ian Chua editing by Mike Peacock |
WMB | NFL cuts roundup Notes from every team as rosters trim to 53 | With the NFL s mandatory 53 man roster limit set for 4 p m ET on Saturday here is a list of the most noteworthy cuts from each team
Arizona Cardinals Despite playing in 16 games with eight starts in his first two NFL seasons wide receiver Chad Williams NYSE WMB was cut by Arizona A third round pick out of Grambling State in 2017 Williams had 202 yards and a touchdown in his career According to multiple reports the Cardinals also cut receiver Pharoh Cooper With veterans Larry Fitzgerald Michael Crabtree and Damiere Byrd along with second year pro Christian Kirk and rookie KeeSean Johnson the Cardinals carry a stacked receiving corps
Atlanta Falcons The team cut 10 year veteran tight end Logan Paulsen the first of the team s cuts to get to the 53 man limit Paulsen started 10 games in his first season with the Falcons last season catching nine balls for 91 yards and a score But with Pro Bowler Austin Hooper entrenched as the starter and the team bringing in veteran Luke Stocker the Falcons will likely go with youth should they keep a third tight end
Baltimore Ravens Among the Ravens cuts were some of the biggest names to have the ax fall on them including pass rusher Shane Ray and receiver Michael Floyd But also among the cuts were a pair of players who the Ravens will likely hope clear waivers and make it to their practice squad Running back De Lance Turner and linebacker Donald Payne both have playing experience and were viewed as potential keys on special teams The Ravens lost Payne to a waiver claim two years ago to Jacksonville
Buffalo Bills Another team with big name cuts is the Bills Running back LeSean McCoy defensive back Captain Munnerlyn and receiver Ray Ray McCloud were all victims to a roster that continues to lean more heavily on youth Safety Kurt Coleman was also among the cuts though multiple outlets reported the team is hoping to re sign him early next week The team also cut undrafted free agent quarterback Tyree Jackson and former CFL standout receiver Duke Williams
Carolina Panthers The Panthers released a trio of players who spent multiple seasons with the club and saw plenty of playing time defensive end Bryan Cox Jr two seasons 18 games 16 tackles linebacker Jared Norris three seasons 28 games one tackle and running back Cameron Artis Payne four seasons 32 games three starts 491 yards rushing five total touchdowns
Chicago Bears Defensive end Jonathan Bullard a third round pick in 2016 was cut by Chicago In three seasons in the Windy City Bullard had 62 tackles two sacks and a forced fumble while playing in 46 of 48 possible games and starting five of them Among the players reportedly cut who could end up on the Bears practice squad should they go unclaimed are running back Ryan Nall and cornerback John Franklin III
Cincinnati Bengals The biggest news to come out of Cincinnati on Saturday was not a roster but rather the placement of quarterback Jeff Driskel on injured reserve with the likelihood the team will pursue an injury settlement with the former backup The move means rookie Ryan Finley out of North Carolina State will likely begin the season the No 2 quarterback behind Andy Dalton
Cleveland Browns Undrafted rookie safety J T Hassell born with only two fingers on his left hand was among the Browns cuts Another player who failed to make the final roster is receiver Ishmael Hyman who entered the team s preseason finale Thursday night But Hyman failed to make a catch on three straight targets before finishing with five catches for 61 yards He is believed to be a practice squad candidate And Jamie Gillan The Scottish Hammer beat out veteran Britton Colquitt for the punting job
Dallas Cowboys The Cowboys are another team ending Saturday with only two quarterbacks on the active roster In cutting Mike White and Taryn Christion Dallas currently has starter Dak Prescott and backup Cooper Rush as the only quarterbacks on the 53 man squad With Ezekiel Elliott still holding out the Cowboys nonetheless carried only two tailbacks on the roster in Tony Pollard and Alfred Morris plus fullback Jamize Olawale
Denver Broncos The Broncos are another team apparently going with a veteran starter and rookie backups in the quarterback room The team cut veteran quarterback Kevin Hogan whom the team signed last season and had as their No 2 quarterback when preseason began Now Joe Flacco will be backed up by rookies Brett Rypien and Drew Lock In the secondary the team cut Shamarko Thomas and Dymonte Thomas a day after cutting Su a Cravens to trim one of its strongest position groups safeties to four
Detroit Lions When training camp opened Josh Johnson and David Blough weren t on the Lions roster Now they re all the team has if starting quarterback Matthew Stafford goes down The club let go of Tom Savage and Luis Perez in their final round of cuts leaving them with Johnson whose last calendar year included being the first quarterback drafted in the short lived Alliance of American Football and Blough whom the team acquired via trade from Cleveland on Friday
Green Bay Packers If Aaron Rodgers goes down this season the Packers won t be turning to DeShone Kizer this time Kizer Rodgers backup last season who saw action in three games was among those let go by the team Saturday Instead the team will apparently go with second year pro Tim Boyle while undrafted rookie Manny Wilkins appears to still be on the roster as well Rookie sixth round pick Dexter Williams made the final roster beating out Tra Carson and Sam Ficken was cut meaning at times embattled kicker Mason Crosby held onto his job
Houston Texans While much of the news in Houston centered on the trade of Pro Bowl defensive end Jadeveon Clowney to Seattle the Texans went down to the deadline wire addressing the position that has been perhaps its biggest concern the last two weeks running back With the team reportedly set to cut second year offensive lineman Martinas Rankin it instead traded him to Kansas City in exchange for running back Carlos Hyde who is expected to share duties with Duke Johnson with Lamar Miller out for the season The Texans also cut former Colts running back Josh Ferguson
Indianapolis Colts When the Colts included Phillip Walker among their final cuts down to the 53 man limit that left Jacoby Brissett as the only active quarterback on the roster Chad Kelly is currently suspended With Andrew Luck retired Brissett is the clear cut starter But the team will be seeking another quarterback before the season opener so the current 53 man roster will change again in the next week Ten year veteran tackle J Marcus Webb 81 games 65 starts in his career and running back Charcandrick West 1 587 career yards 13 career touchdowns were also among the cuts
Jacksonville Jaguars Despite finishing 5 11 last season the Jaguars sport one of the league s deepest and most talented defenses As such making the club was always going to be a tall order for anyone on that side of the ball Among the cuts this weekend were defensive end Datone Jones a six year veteran and linebacker Ramik Wilson a four year veteran with 146 career tackles But undrafted rookie safety and fan favorite Andrew Wingard out of Wyoming was among those to make the team
Kansas City Chiefs Sporting one of the most talented rosters in the NFL the Chiefs weren t expected make any cuts that would reverberate around the league Instead the team tried to recoup something for players it did not have plans for namely cornerback Mark Fields and running back Carlos Hyde Fields was traded to Minnesota for a conditional seventh round pick in 2021 and Hyde was part of the aforementioned trade to Houston which netted the guard Martinas Rankin The Chiefs did release veteran guard Jeff Allen and his 66 career starts an unexpected move until the trade for Rankin
Los Angeles Chargers Eyes have been focused on the Chargers backfield throughout the preseason But on Saturday some focus shifted from running back to quarterback While the club reportedly gave holdout running back Melvin Gordon permission to seek a trade from other teams the club cut quarterback Cardale Jones after two plus years with the team Instead fifth round rookie Easton Stick and veteran Tyrod Taylor will back up Philip Rivers
Los Angeles Rams The defending NFC champions are apparently heading into the season with two quarterbacks Both Brandon Allen and Alliance of American Football alum John Wolford were among the team s final cuts meaning as of now only Jared Goff and Blake Bortles are quarterbacks on the active roster The team also cut running back John Kelly despite most expecting the team to carry four backs Potential starting linebacker Micah Kiser was placed on injured reserve with a pectoral injury ending his season The team had hoped he would return at some point this season
Miami Dolphins The team made the biggest news on the trade front sending tackle Laremy Tunsil and receiver Kenny Stills to Houston for a trove of draft picks after the roster deadline But perhaps the most surprising moves were the players the Dolphins kept Already with Kenyan Drake and Kalen Ballage competing for carries at running back Miami held on to Myles Gaskin Patrick Laird and Mark Walton Add fullback Chandler Cox and Miami has six running backs to offset a passing game that has Ryan Fitzpatrick and Josh Rosen at quarterback and is suddenly without its best lineman from last season
Minnesota Vikings Less than three weeks ago the Vikings sent a fifth round pick to Baltimore for Kaare Vedvik a player whom scouts said could win a job as a placekicker and or a punter Now he isn t even on the team Vedvik was among the final players cut in Minnesota as the team will instead go with Dan Bailey at kicker and Matt Wile at punter The team also cut 2016 first round pick Laquon Treadwell after three disappointing seasons
New England Patriots Bill Belichick must like what he has seen from rookie quarterback Jarrett Stidham Among the Patriots cuts was veteran backup Brian Hoyer leaving Stidham as the only quarterback on the roster behind Tom Brady In injury news the team reportedly cut receiver Demaryius Thomas placed center David Andrews on season ending injured reserve blood clots and receiver Cameron Meredith was placed on the PUP list with an undisclosed injury
New Orleans Saints Perhaps the most noteworthy name among those cut by the Saints is safety Chris Banjo a special teams ace with the team since 2016 who signed a three year extension in March But the team also reportedly reinstated rookie pass rusher Carl Granderson from the did not report reserve list after his release from jail stemming from a no contest plea on charges of inappropriately touching two women in college and also reportedly received a one week roster exemption for defensive tackle David Onyemata who is suspended for the season opener
New York Giants The Giants drafted quarterback Kyle Lauletta in the fourth round in 2018 They drafted Daniel Jones in the first found in 2019 With veteran Alex Tanney s experienced preferred by the coaching staff and Eli Manning still the starter Lauletta was the odd man out when the cuts came Sunday The Giants also held onto all but two of their draft picks from 2019 cutting only their two seventh round picks
New York Jets Four months ago linebacker Jachai Polite was a third round draft pick just four picks away from being a second round pick Now he s out of a job The Jets cut the former Florida standout bringing to an end a preseason that was disappointing in the eyes of many in both camp and preseason games Mike Maccagnan general manager at the time of the draft was fired three weeks after the draft New coach Adam Gase was clearly unimpressed by what he saw Veteran running back Elijah McGuire was also let go
Oakland Raiders Wide receiver Keelan Doss and linebacker Jason Cabinda both of whom got plenty of face time on HBO s Hard Knocks this preseason were among the Jon Gruden s final cuts According to reports the Raiders will attempt to add Doss to their practice squad but he must first clear waivers Cabinda who started three games with the Raiders last season could also end up with the practice squad though he is considered a more likely candidate to get picked up by another team
Philadelphia Eagles The Eagles seemingly perpetual backfield by committee will again have some new names this season as running backs Wendell Smallwood and Josh Adams were cut casualties They were the team s two leading rushers in 2018 with 364 and 511 yards on the ground respectively Two other notable names were quarterback Clayton Thorson a rookie fifth round pick out of Northwestern and defensive tackle Treyvon Hester whose hand tipped Cody Parkey s ill fated 43 yard double doink field goal attempt in the playoffs last season in Chicago
Pittsburgh Steelers To end their first camp in the post Antonio Brown era the Steelers had a very quiet cut day Perhaps the biggest name cut is veteran receiver Eli Rogers who had 78 catches for 822 yards and four touchdowns in 30 games over three seasons with the team The Steelers also kept 10 linebackers on the active roster two more than they ended last season with and trimmed from their usual six receivers to five with the release of Rogers though they did keep three tight ends as well
San Francisco 49ers The nomadic career of Jordan Matthews continues as the 49ers cut him after signing him this offseason In his first three seasons in Philadelphia Matthews averaged 75 catches for 891 yards and more than six touchdowns per season He has a total of 45 grabs for 582 yards and three touchdowns in the two seasons since going from the Eagles to Buffalo to New England then back to the Eagles then to San Francisco and now the free agent pool again
Seattle Seahawks Perhaps no team s current quarterback situation is more perilous than that of the Seahawks Sure they re in good hands with Russell Wilson but after that There is nothing after that The team cut both Paxton Lynch and Geno Smith leaving Wilson as the only quarterback on the active roster Of course the team will add at least one quarterback before the season begins and there are reports it could very well be Smith Another cut casualty was defensive end Cassius Marsh who rejoined the club this offseason but may have been squeezed out after Saturday s acquisition of Jadeveon Clowney
Tampa Bay Buccaneers After a 2016 rookie season in which he collected 22 tackles and 5 1 2 sacks while playing in 16 games defensive end Noah Spence couldn t come close to repeating that success in the two subsequent seasons The Bucs cut the 2016 second round pick in the final round of cuts despite the team moving to a 3 4 scheme and fellow outside rusher Jason Pierre Paul out at least six weeks with a neck injury suffered in a May car accident The team also will carry only three running backs but they have four tight ends and six wide receivers with first year head coach Bruce Arians
Tennessee Titans Two of the more surprising names on the cut list in Tennessee were those of players who many observers believed had possibly played their way onto the roster by outperforming their competition But interior offensive lineman Corey Levin who could play guard or center and running back Jeremy McNichols both failed to make the final roster The Titans are carrying four tight ends and four running backs but with tackle Taylor Lewan suspended to start the season more O line help could be added in the coming days
Washington Redskins The team moved on from two underperforming recent draft picks cutting loose wide receiver Josh Doctson and running back Samaje Perine Doctson was a first round pick in 2016 and after missing all but two games in an injury plagued rookie season had 79 catches for 1 034 yards and eight touchdowns in the following two seasons The team declined his fifth year option in May a sign his end with the team could be near A fourth round pick in 2017 Perine failed to grab hold of meaningful carries He played in only five games last season carrying the ball just eight times for 32 yards and failing to score
Field Level Media |
WMB | Wang stuns No 2 seed Barty to reach U S Open quarterfinals | Qiang Wang shocked No 2 seed Ashleigh Barty 6 2 6 4 on Sunday to reach the quarterfinals of the US Open
It will be the first Grand Slam quarterfinal for the 27 year old Chinese player who has two career titles to her credit
Wang lost in straight sets in both previous meetings against the reigning French Open champion
But on Sunday Wang took advantage of 39 unforced errors by the Australian star and committed just 14 Barty also failed to convert any of her nine break points while Wang capitalized on three of her six chances
Wang moves on to meet the winner of the afternoon match between No 8 seed Serena Williams NYSE WMB and No 22 Petra Martic of Croatia
Wang had the support of the crowd at Louis Armstrong Stadium
I love New York she said
It was the first career win over a top 3 player for Wang who entered the US Open ranked No 18 in the world Barty is No 2
Field Level Media |
WMB | Barty thrashed by Wang at U S Open | By Rory Carroll
NEW YORK Reuters Second seed Ash Barty s U S Open bid came crashing down when she lost 6 2 6 4 to China s Wang Qiang in the fourth round on Sunday
Wang had never taken a set off the former world number one in two previous matches and looked to be in trouble after Australian Barty started with a dominant performance on serve
But 18th seed Wang kept her composure and took advantage of 25 more unforced errors by Barty to reach the quarter finals of a Grand Slam tournament for the first time
The 27 year old will next face either Serena Williams NYSE WMB or Petra Marci who play their fourth round match later on Sunday |
WMB | Serena advances in New York despite ankle injury | By Rory Carroll
NEW YORK Reuters Serena Williams NYSE WMB needed a medical time out in the second set of her 6 3 6 4 win over Petra Martic on Sunday to get treatment on her right ankle but recovered to advance to the U S Open quarter finals
Williams fell to the court at 2 2 in the second set after charging to the net to hit a volley that sailed long
The 37 year old American eighth seed got treatment on her ankle during the changeover and appeared to be fine smacking 38 winners on a sunny day at Arthur Ashe Stadium court
Williams blasted her fourth ace on match point to see off 28 year old Croatian Martic and reach the last eight where she will face Wang Qiang of China for the first time |
WMB | Serena on extent of ankle injury We ll see tomorrow | By Frank Pingue
NEW YORK Reuters Serena Williams NYSE WMB charged into the U S Open quarter finals on Sunday but it may have come at a price as the six times champion suffered a right ankle injury
Williams who twisted her left ankle during a quarter final loss at the Australian Open said she did not think the latest injury serious but added it was too soon to tell
I usually know if it s horrible early on I mean I had a really bad ankle sprain in January I was like instantly No this can t happen I m finally healthy Williams said after her 6 3 6 4 win over Petra Martic
But I ll see tomorrow So far I m good I have been managing it We ll see tomorrow
Williams rolled her ankle in the fifth game of the second set having raced to the net and landed hard on her right foot after a backhand volley that sailed long
Seeded eighth Williams took about 15 seconds to get to her feet but won the next two points to earn a crucial break for a 3 2 lead and then took a medical timeout so a trainer could look at her already wrapped ankle
Her coach Patrick Mouratoglou later told reporters that Williams was not in too much discomfort
It doesn t seem there is the video but what is more important is how she feels and how the ankle looks The ankle looks okay said Mouratoglou
She doesn t feel much pain She feels but it s acceptable And we will know tomorrow when it s going to be cold
Williams who is seeking a record tying 24th Grand Slam title and her first since the 2017 Australian Open will face China s Wang Qiang in the quarter finals |
WMB | Hezbollah flare up with Israel over but a new phase has started | By Dan Williams NYSE WMB and Ellen Francis
JERUSALEM BEIRUT Reuters Lebanon s Hezbollah leader said on Monday that while a flare up with Israel at the border was over the episode had launched a new phase in which the Iran backed group no longer has red lines
In a televised speech Sayyed Hassan Nasrallah said the new focus would be on targeting Israeli drones that enter Lebanon s airspace and this would be handled by fighters in the field
Hezbollah and the Israeli army exchanged cross border fire on Sunday after a drone attack last week in a Hezbollah controlled Beirut suburb Hezbollah blamed that incident on Israel raising fears of a wider regional conflict
In his speech Nasrallah said Sunday s missiles sent Israel a clear message that if you attack then all your border your forces and your settlements at the border and deep inside will be at risk
His comments struck a defiant tone although perceptions in the region are that the longtime enemies privately want to avoid all out war at a time of soaring regional tensions
During Sunday s flare up Israel faked soldier injuries to dampen any inclination of Hezbollah to escalate hostilities
Israeli media photographed an army helicopter performing what appeared to be the evacuation of two wounded soldiers to hospital after Hezbollah launched anti tank missiles at an army base and vehicles Israel said there were no casualties
But a person briefed on the evacuation and who spoke to Reuters on condition of anonymity said the soldiers were in fact unharmed and bandaged with fake blood in what he called a psy ops stunt
Hezbollah said it had destroyed an Israeli armored vehicle killing and wounding those inside and it broadcast what it said was footage of two missiles hitting a moving vehicle
RULES OF ENGAGEMENT
Nasrallah said Sunday had marked the first such Hezbollah operation in a long time targeting Israel in positions across the border not in the Israeli occupied Shebaa farms
This is no longer a red line the Hezbollah chief said I tell the Israelis we no longer have red lines because you changed the rules of engagement
Hezbollah whose forces have fought in support of President Bashar al Assad in Syria s war also said two of its men were killed in an Israeli strike in Syria last week Israel said its attack thwarted an Iranian led drone strike against it
But after the Hezbollah missile volley on Sunday scores were apparently settled and the two sides who fought a deadly month long war in 2006 returned to business as usual on Monday with the border reverting to calm
Israel had raised the stakes last week by accusing Iran of stepping up efforts to provide Hezbollah with precision guided missile production facilities Hezbollah denied this
And Israel has increasingly put the blame on Lebanon as a whole for letting Hezbollah which is part of Lebanon s coalition government grow in military and political power
In a video statement in Twitter on Monday Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu held out the prospect of future military action to prevent Hezbollah getting missiles that could be fired with increased accuracy at targets in Israel
We will continue to do whatever is necessary to defend Israel at sea on land and in the air We will continue to act against the threat of the precision guided rockets he said
Israeli Foreign Minister Israel Katz said he had asked Germany to tell Lebanon that if it does not stem Hezbollah s activity against Israel Lebanon in its entirely will be struck and badly damaged
WARINESS OF NEW WAR
But neither side can afford a return to 2006 when the war was triggered after a Hezbollah cross border raid Nearly 1 200 Lebanese mostly civilians were killed in July 2006 and 158 Israelis mostly soldiers
What is constraining them is that neither side wants a war Each wants to use it as part of their own internal propaganda machine but neither side genuinely wants a war said Maha Yahya director of the Carnegie Middle East Centre in Beirut
Netanyahu head of the right wing Likud party has been projecting strength during a re election campaign ahead of a vote less than three weeks away but a border war could complicate his efforts
Sources allied to Hezbollah had made it clear any response to the Israeli drones would be calculated
A new eruption in Lebanon could strain an already struggling economy as authorities seek to implement long overdue economic reforms to ward off a crisis Fitch downgraded Lebanon s credit rating to CCC last month on debt servicing concerns
A senior Israeli security source said that shortly after the Hezbollah attack and Israel s military response on Sunday messages from Nasrallah and Hariri were conveyed to Israel by three countries which the source did not name that as far as Hezbollah is concerned the incident is over
Iran s rhetoric was also unusually low key in response to the border fighting saying only that Hezbollah s policy is aimed at safeguarding the interests of Lebanon
A full scale war is the last thing this region needs said a senior Iranian official |
WMB | Medvedev to face Wawrinka in Day Nine U S Open action | By Rory Carroll
NEW YORK Reuters Russian Daniil Medvedev who has embraced his role as a villain at this year s U S Open will face Stan Wawrinka in the quarter finals on Tuesday while Serena Williams NYSE WMB and Roger Federer also return to the court
Fifth seeded Medvedev has been showered with boos by the New York crowd during his last two matches after angrily snatching a towel from a ballperson and showing the audience his middle finger on Friday
The 23 year old Medvedev did a dance after his fourth round win on Sunday that also rubbed fans up the wrong way but said he was not trying to make anyone upset
Talking about the dance I was just so happy the Russian said It was not against the crowd I was just happy to be in the quarter finals
Serena Williams will kick off the night session on Arthur Ashe Stadium when she meets China s Wang Qiang for the first time as the American looks to claim a record tying 24th Grand Slam title
The eighth seeded Williams rolled her ankle during her fourth round match on Sunday but recovered to defeat Petra Martic
Third seed Federer will be the favorite when he takes on Grigor Dimitrov under the lights on Arthur Ashe Stadium
Federer had his best match of the tournament on Sunday cruising past David Goffin to reach the last eight in New York for a 13th time
With holder Novak Djokovic quitting during his fourth round match against Stan Wawrinka on Sunday through injury Federer could potentially face long time rival Rafa Nadal in the final |
WMB | Lesson learned Osaka moves on after U S Open loss | By Steve Keating
NEW YORK Reuters The prospect of a Naomi Osaka Serena Williams NYSE WMB U S Open final rematch that hung tantalisingly over the year s final Grand Slam disappeared on Monday with Swiss Belinda Bencic the spoiler by claiming a 7 5 6 4 fourth round win over the Japanese holder
It was a subdued exit for the world number one compared to the chaotic scenes of a year ago when Osaka claimed her first major title amidst controversy after an explosive confrontation between chair umpire Carlos Ramos and an enraged Williams
That match saw Williams deducted a point and later a game for her behavior which included a smashed racket and calling Ramos a liar and provided the juiciest storyline coming into this year s U S Open which picked up steam through the first week as the two women again appeared on a collision course
Osaka is now gone though and according to Williams Ramos was never here I don t know who that is she had said when earlier asked about Ramos and last year s events
The Portuguese umpire is officiating at Flushing Meadows but not in any of Williams matches so for the former world number one it is out sight out of mind as she continues her quest for a record equalling 24th career Grand Slam on Tuesday with a quarter final meeting against China s Wang Qiang
There were lessons learned last year in Osaka s victory and the 21 year old Japanese who will now lose her number one ranking to Australia s Ash Barty said Monday s loss to the 13th seeded Swiss Bencic provided another learning moment
OSAKA S SADNESS
For me right now I have this feeling of sadness said Osaka But I also feel like I have learned so much during this tournament
I feel like the steps that I have taken as a person have been much greater than I would imagine at this point
So I hope that I can keep growing
The defeat means not only that Williams not have to face Osaka on the court she will also not be dragged into questions about last year s fiery final a topic she has made clear is off limits
Tennis fans may still be seeking closure for what has grown into one of Grand Slam tennis s most infamous moments but the central figures Osaka and Williams have already moved on
Honestly I m not that mad at this said Osaka Of course I can look at this and be very disappointed and mad but I feel like like I m not mad at it
Of course I would like to reach higher like rounds
Hopefully I ll do well in Japan because I always do well in Japan and just keep building off of it to end the season |
WMB | NFL notebook Colts sign QB Brissett to two year extension | The Indianapolis Colts agreed to a two year 30 million contract extension with new starting quarterback Jacoby Brissett according to multiple reports on Monday
NFL Network s Ian Rapoport added that Brissett will earn 20 million guaranteed at signing
Brissett was in the final year of his four year rookie contract and was set to earn 2 million in 2019 He was named the Colts starting quarterback following the retirement of Andrew Luck on Aug 24
Brissett is 5 12 as a starter including 4 11 with the Colts in 2017 when Luck was out for the season with a shoulder injury He has 3 500 yards passing in his career with 13 touchdowns and seven interceptions
The Colts signed former New England Patriots quarterback Brian Hoyer to back up Brissett according to reports on Monday
ESPN s Adam Schefter reported that Hoyer agreed to a three year 12 million contract with 9 million in guarantees
The Patriots released Hoyer 33 opting to have rookie Jarrett Stidham as Tom Brady s backup and potential heir apparent Hoyer started his career with the Patriots as an undrafted free agent from Michigan State and has spent time with five other teams
Andy Reid coached the younger version of LeSean McCoy over four seasons with the Philadelphia Eagles but the Kansas City Chiefs coach likes what he sees of the older version too
The Chiefs open the season on Sunday at Jacksonville and Reid said he expects McCoy to see action behind starter Damien Williams NYSE WMB The Buffalo Bills released the six time Pro Bowl back on Saturday and the Chiefs quickly snapped him up
The Patriots brought back wide receiver Demaryius Thomas two days after he was released as rosters were cut to the NFL mandated 53 Schefter reported
He ll take the spot of N Keal Harry a first round selection in the 2019 draft who will be placed on injured reserve due to an ankle injury
Harry will be eligible to return to the active roster later this season
The Minnesota Vikings signed former Washington Redskins wideout Josh Doctson to a one year deal according to a report from ESPN
Last season Doctson caught 44 passes for 532 yards and two touchdowns but it wasn t enough for the Redskins to pick up his fifth year rookie option earlier this offseason
Whenever Ezekiel Elliott ends his holdout and joins the Dallas Cowboys don t expect the team to spend much time getting him up to speed before getting him back on the field
Speaking to the media in advance of his team s season opener against the New York Giants on Sunday Cowboys coach Jason Garrett said he has no set timeframe for how long Elliott would have to wait to play after joining the team
He s an experienced player he s been a really good player for us he knows our system of football Garrett said
The Cowboys released linebacker Rolando McClain several days after the NFL conditionally reinstated him from suspension according to multiple reports
Drafted by the Oakland Raiders in 2010 McClain was suspended indefinitely in 2016 after he repeatedly failed drug tests The 30 year old last played in 2015 with the Cowboys who maintained his rights
Two days after trading away Jadeveon Clowney and adding Laremy Tunsil and Kenny Stills in a pair of deals that included numerous other players and draft picks and garnered plenty of outside criticism Houston Texans coach Bill O Brien on Monday explained the team s logic behind the moves
In the simplest of terms O Brien said In the end we just could not come to an agreement on a long term deal with Clowney the three time Pro Bowl pass rusher who was dealt to the Seattle Seahawks
Retired NFL wide receiver Hines Ward has joined the New York Jets as a full time offensive assistant coach
Ward 43 was a coaching intern with the Jets during training camp assisting wide receivers coach Shawn Jefferson He ll continue to help Jefferson
The Jacksonville Jaguars canceled Wednesday s practice and are working to make sure players and staff are safe as Hurricane Dorian approaches the Florida coast
Coach Doug Marrone told reporters that he is focused on helping those who live in evacuation areas to find safe housing
The Philadelphia Eagles signed cornerback Cre Von LeBlanc to a one year contract extension
The team followed up the move by placing the 25 year old on injured reserve LeBlanc is recovering from a foot injury sustained during training camp and can return to action after Week 8
The Dolphins continued their roster overhaul by releasing long snapper John Denney a fixture in Miami since 2005
Denney 40 made 224 consecutive appearances for the Dolphins not missing a game in his 14 seasons
The Atlanta Falcons signed fullback Keith Smith to a one year contract according to multiple reports
The 27 year old started his career with the Cowboys 2014 17 and was on the Raiders roster in 2018
Field Level Media |
WMB | Quick win for Zelenskiy as Ukraine parliament strips lawmakers immunity | By Natalia Zinets and Matthias Williams NYSE WMB
KIEV Reuters Ukrainian lawmakers voted to strip themselves of immunity from prosecution on Tuesday fulfilling an anti corruption election promise by reformist President Volodymyr Zelenskiy
A former comedian with no prior political experience Zelenskiy won the presidency by a landslide in April tapping into voter anger over graft and low living standards
Previously lawmakers could only be stripped of immunity by a parliamentary vote on each individual case But the new measure passed easily by 373 votes in the 450 seat parliament where Zelenskiy won a majority in a July snap election
We promised to remove immunity we promised that there would be no people with a special status in Ukraine said Alexander Dubinsky a lawmaker in Zelenskiy s Servant of the People party
It is our duty to vote for this law and put people who are outside this hall on equal terms with those people in this hall
Before the vote the president had said it was time to consign lawmakers immunity to the dustbin of history arguing that 90 of Ukrainians wanted to see this happen
Opponents however said removing lawmakers protection leaves them vulnerable to politically motivated prosecutions
Sviatoslav Vakarchuk leader of the Voice party said it would vote for the measure because all people should be equal before the law but said those in power should not succumb to the temptation to abuse the change
PRESIDENTIAL ZEAL
The law which signals Zelenskiy s commitment to push through reforms will take effect from the start of next year
His party is the first in Ukraine s independent history to command a majority on its own
Zelenskiy called a parliamentary election in July to give his party control over parliament and to form a new government
A pre election survey by the National Democratic Institute in May said only 5 of Ukrainians thought political parties represented citizens interests and just 3 said politicians met their expectations On the other hand 87 believed political parties were engaged in corruption
On Monday Zelenskiy s new government announced a legislative agenda aimed at bringing more investment into Ukraine including lifting a longstanding ban on sale of farmland
Zelenskiy grew to national fame playing the TV comedy role of a schoolteacher who unexpectedly becomes president after a pupil films him making a foul mouthed tirade against corrupt politicians and posts the video online
His presidential campaign exploited the parallels with that fictional narrative portraying him as an everyman who would stand up to a crooked political class |
BMY | Celldex Therapeutics CLDX Q1 Earnings What s In Store | Celldex Therapeutics Inc NASDAQ CLDX is expected to report first quarter 2017 results on May 4 Celldex s performance has been encouraging with a three quarter average positive surprise of 8 06 In the last reported quarter the company recorded a positive surprise of 11 76 Celldex Therapeutics shares are down 7 7 so far this year This compares unfavorably with a 4 9 increase registered by the Zacks classified industry during this period Let s see how things are shaping up for this announcement Factors at PlayCelldex a development stage biopharmaceutical company is focused on the development and commercialization of immunotherapies for the treatment of cancer and other difficult to treat diseases The company earns revenues entirely from product development and licensing agreements and contracts and grants The company recognizes revenues under its clinical trial collaboration with Bristol Myers Squibb Company NYSE BMY for varlilumab We believe the company will continue to record revenues from these sources in the first quarter of 2017 as well With no approved product in its portfolio investor focus will remain on pipeline development at the company The company s most advanced pipeline candidate is glembatumumab vedotin currently being evaluated for the treatment of triple negative breast cancer phase IIb and metastatic melanoma phase II It is also being evaluated for the treatment of other cancers squamous cell lung cancer uveal melanoma and pediatric osteosarcoma in which glycoprotein NMB is expressed At the previous earnings conference call the company had mentioned that it may bring in a partner for glembatumumab We expect the company to update on this issue at the first quarter conference call Apart from glembatumumab vedotin Celldex has several promising candidates in its pipeline including varlilumab CDX 1401 CDX 301 phase II multiple solid tumors in collaboration with CITN and CDX 014 phase I advanced renal cell carcinoma among others With the Kolltan acquisition Nov 2016 Celldex gained rights to two of Kolltan s cancer pipeline candidates CDX 0158 phase I refractory gastrointestinal stromal tumors GIST and other KIT positive tumors and CDX 3379 to enter phase II in 2017 in solid tumors being evaluated as a single agent and in combination with various other drugs like Erbitux Tarceva Zelboraf and Herceptin Celldex also acquired Kolltan s multi faceted TAM program Operating expenses vary on a quarterly basis What Our Model IndicatesOur proven model does not conclusively show that Celldex is likely to beat estimates this quarter This is because a stock needs to have both a positive and a Zacks Rank 1 Strong Buy 2 Buy or 3 Hold to be able to beat estimates But that is not the case here as you will see below Zacks ESP Its Earnings ESP is 0 00 as both the Most Accurate estimate as well as the Zacks Consensus Estimate stand at a loss of 28 cents You can uncover the best stocks to buy or sell before they re reported with our Zacks Rank Celldex s Zacks Rank 3 increases the predictive power of ESP However we need to have a positive ESP to be confident about an earnings beat Note that we caution against stocks with a Zacks Rank 4 or 5 Sell rated going into an earnings announcement especially when the company is seeing negative estimate revisions Stocks to ConsiderStocks in the pharma sector that have both a positive ESP and a favorable Zacks Rank are Proteostasis Therapeutics Inc NASDAQ PTI which is expected to release results on May 12 has an Earnings ESP of 5 17 and a Zacks Rank 1 Strong Buy You can see Ultragenyx Pharmaceutical Inc NASDAQ RARE with an Earnings ESP of 0 59 and a Zacks Rank 3 The company is expected to release results on May 4 5 Trades Could Profit Big League from Trump Policies If the stocks above spark your interest wait until you look into companies primed to make substantial gains from Washington s changing course Today Zacks reveals 5 tickers that could benefit from new trends like streamlined drug approvals tariffs lower taxes higher interest rates and spending surges in defense and infrastructure |
BMY | Exelixis EXEL Posts Earnings In Q1 Cabometyx In Focus | Exelixis Inc NASDAQ EXEL posted first quarter 2017 earnings of 5 cents compared with a loss of 26 cents per share in the year ago quarter The Zacks Consensus Estimate was a loss of 1 cent
Net revenue came in at 80 9 million significantly up from 15 4 million in the prior year quarter Revenues also surpassed the Zacks Consensus Estimate of 65 6 million Revenues were boosted by the FDA approval of a tablet formulation of cabozantinib distinct from the capsule form under the brand name Cabometyx in Apr 2016 for the treatment of RCC in patients who have received prior anti angiogenic therapy
Exelixis share price has increased 62 2 year to date compared with the Zacks classified industry s gain of 5 5
Quarter in Detail
Total product revenue was 68 9 million up from 9 1 million in the year ago quarter Cabometyx generated 62 4 million in net product revenue up 657 year over year and up 33 sequentially Cometriq cabozantinib capsules for the treatment of medullary thyroid cancer generated 6 5 million in net product revenue Customer demand increased by approximately 40 in the first quarter compared to the fourth quarter driven by improvements in new patient starts refills for patients already on therapy and broad expansion of the Cabometyx prescriber base
Total collaboration revenue was at 12 0 million compared to 6 3 million in the year ago quarter
In the reported quarter research and development expenses declined 19 8 to 23 2 million due to decrease in research and development expenses as a result of fall in clinical trial costs for the phase III trial METEOR in advanced RCC and share based compensation Selling general and administrative expenses were 34 3 million down 1 7 from a year ago due to decline in marketing costs rising from a decreasing losses under the collaboration agreement with Roche s OTC RHHBY Genentech and stock based compensation Exelixis Inc Price and EPS Surprise
Pipeline Update
The company continues to focus on the launch of Cabometyx in the U S Exelixis plans to file a supplemental New Drug Application sNDA for cabozantinib as a treatment for previously untreated patients with advanced RCC in third quarter 2017 based on the positive data from the randomized phase II trial CABOSUN
In Mar 2017 the FDA granted cabozantinib orphan drug designation for the treatment of HCC A phase III trial CELESTIAL is currently ongoing in patients with advanced HCC The company now expects completing the second intermin analysis at 75 of the events in the second half of 2017
During the first quarter Exelixis announced agreements with The Bristol Myers Squibb Company NYSE BMY and Roche to collaborate on the development of cabozantinib in combination with immunotherapy agents
Meanwhile Exelixis and Roche announced that the phase III trial evaluating the combination of Cotellic and Tecentriq in third line advanced or metastatic colorectal cancer achieved full enrollment in first quarter 2017 Roche also announced that IMspire150 TRILOGY which evaluates the combination of Cotellic atezolizumab and Xelboraf in first line BRAF V600 mutation positive metastatic or unresectable locally advanced melanoma enrolled its first patient in Jan 2017 while IMspire170 the trial evaluating the combination of Cotellic and atezolizumab versus pembrolizumab in first line BRAF wild type metastatic or unresectable locally advanced melanoma is likely to enroll its first patient in the second quarter of this year
2017 Guidance
Exelixis expects total costs and operating expenses for 2017 in the range of 290 million 310 million This guidance includes about 25 million of non cash costs and expenses related primarily to stock based compensation expense
Our Take
Exelixis posted an earnings in the first quarter compared to a loss in the year ago quarter which was encouraging The sequential increase in Cabometyx sales is a positive for the company Going forward we expect investor on further label expansion of cabozantinib and Cotellic
Zacks Rank Key Pick
Exelixis currently carries a Zacks Rank 3 Hold
A better ranked stock in the healthcare sector is Heska Corporation NASDAQ HSKA which sports a Zacks Rank 1 Strong Buy Heska s earnings estimates for 2017 have increased to 1 65 from 1 53 over the last 60 days The company posted positive surprises all the four trailing quarters with an average beat of 291 54 Its share price has increased 47 2 this year so far
You can see
5 Trades Could Profit Big League from Trump PoliciesIf the stocks above spark your interest wait until you look into companies primed to make substantial gains from Washington s changing course Today Zacks reveals 5 tickers that could benefit from new trends like streamlined drug approvals tariffs lower taxes higher interest rates and spending surges in defense and infrastructure |
BMY | Nektar Therapeutics NKTR Loss Wider Than Expected In Q1 | Nektar Therapeutics NASDAQ NKTR reported first quarter 2017 loss of 42 cents per share wider than the Zacks Consensus Estimate of a loss of 40 cents The reported loss was also significantly wider than the year ago loss of 14 cents per share The company s shares gained 8 15 following the release of first quarter results In fact Nektar saw its shares significantly outperform the Zacks classified industry in the past one year The company s shares have gained 54 6 while the industry registered an increase of 5 6 Quarterly revenues decreased 58 1 to 24 7 million from the year ago quarter The decrease in revenues can mainly be attributed to the recognition of 28 0 million received from AstraZeneca NYSE AZN for the sublicense of Moventig in Europe in the first quarter of 2016 Revenues missed the Zacks Consensus Estimate of 30 million Quarter in DetailThe top line comprised product sales royalty revenues non cash royalty revenues license collaboration and other revenues In the first quarter product sales decreased significantly to almost 4 8 million from 14 1 million a year ago Non cash royalty revenues increased 3 1 to 6 7 million The company reported royalty revenues of 7 2 million in the first quarter compared with 4 1 million the year ago quarter This was mainly due to royalty revenues from Movantik sales License collaboration and other revenues came in at 6 1 million as against 34 2 million a year ago Research and development R D expenses increased 24 1 to 61 1 million primarily due to investments in pipeline including candidates like NKTR 358 and NKTR 214 General and administrative G A expenses were up 17 6 to 12 million Pipeline UpdateNektar expects a decision from the European Medicines Agency s Committee for Medicinal Products for Human Use for Onzeald for the treatment of advanced breast cancer with a history of brain metastases by the end of the first half of 2017 The company is looking to get the candidate approved for the treatment of patients with advanced breast cancer and brain metastases Upon the first sale of Onzeald in Europe Nektar will receive a milestone payment of 10 million and will be eligible to receive 20 royalties on all European sales of Onzeald from Daiichi Sankyo Moreover a phase I II study evaluating NKTR 214 as a potential combination treatment regimen with Opdivo in collaboration with Bristol Myers Squibb NYSE BMY is underway The company plans to report initial data from the dose escalation part of the study by the middle of this year In Feb 2017 Nektar submitted an investigational new drug IND application to the FDA for NKTR 358 a new biologic designed to treat autoimmune disease Clinical trials are planned to evaluate NKTR 358 in patients with systemic lupus erythematous SLE and other indications Data from the trial are expected in the second half of 2017 Nektar Therapeutics Price Consensus and EPS Surprise Zacks Rank Key PicksNektar currently carries a Zacks Rank 3 Hold A better ranked stock in the health care sector is VIVUS Inc NASDAQ VVUS which sports a Zacks Rank 1 Strong Buy You can see VIVUS s loss per share estimates narrowed from 50 cents to 39 cents for 2017 over the last 30 days The company posted positive earnings surprises in all of the four trailing quarters with an average beat of 233 69 The Best Worst of ZacksToday you are invited to download the full up to the minute list of 220 Zacks Rank 1 Strong Buys free of charge From 1988 through 2015 this list has averaged a stellar gain of 25 per year Plus you may download 220 Zacks Rank 5 Strong Sells Even though this list holds many stocks that seem to be solid it has historically performed 6X worse than the market |
WMB | FX Outlook We re Watching Euro And Central Bank Speak | Kathy Lien Managing Director Of FX Strategy For BK Asset Management
Daily FX Market Roundup Sept 23 2019
FX traders should be watching the euro and central bank speak this week One of the most important pieces of data on the calendar was Monday s Eurozone PMI reports and while the currency recovered quickly from initial losses the economy won t be turning as abruptly Manufacturing activity in the Eurozone contracted at its fastest pace in nearly 7 years with the index falling to 45 6 from 47 The slowdown was led by Germany where the PMI manufacturing index fell to 41 4 the lowest level in more than a decade Manufacturing in France moderated as well while services slowed across the board There is no doubt that Germany is experiencing a recession and when the third quarter GDP numbers are released it will confirm that the economy contracted for the second quarter in a row Today s reports tell us that there s also a very good chance the Eurozone will follow According to ECB President Mario Draghi today the temporary slowdown is deeper more prolonged than expected He sees the need for highly accommodative ECB stance and said the ECB is ready to use all instruments implying that more easing could be necessary
Yet the recovery in EUR USD post PMIs is a reflection of the market s hope that the Germans will will follow through with fiscal stimulus in the coming few weeks However as noted by our colleague Boris Schlossberg German officials remain reluctant to increase the budget but the longer they wait the worse the situation may become It s clear that monetary policy has run out of gas and fiscal tools are needed to jump start the economy Tomorrow s German IFO report should be softer as data continue to pressure policymakers into action Until fiscal policy actions are announced the path of least resistance for EUR USD is lower with the pair aiming for a break of 1 09
While there are only a handful of secondary US economic reports scheduled for release this week there s a lot of central bank speak From the US we have Fed Presidents Bullard Williams Daly George Evans Kashkari Barkin and Kaplan speaking at various events Not all of them will be touching on monetary policy but investors will be listening in closely to see how many FOMC members support further easing this year We know how Bullard feels because he voted for 50bp in September and George won t support more easing because she voted against the rate cut this month Evans Kashkari and Williams are doves but Daly Barkin and Kaplan side more with Fed leadership Bank of England Governor Carney Bank of Japan Governor Kuroda and Reserve Bank of Australia Governor Lowe will speak as well and all 3 of their currencies are vulnerable to weakness as these central bankers recently talked about the need for easing The Reserve Bank of New Zealand also has a monetary policy announcement but no changes are expected after the surprisingly large 50bp rate cut in August
The US dollar was up against all of the major currencies today except for the Japanese yen and Swiss franc Ongoing pressure on US rates and trade uncertainty makes it very difficult for the greenback to rally The US dollar should be trading higher after last week s Fed meeting because the majority of US policymakers do not see another rate cut this year Fed Chairman Jerome Powell was also tight lipped on future policy changes However USD JPY fell hard after China cut its US farm visits short Trade winds are shifting week to week and they moved back in a southwardly direction after President Trump said he doesn t need a trade deal before the 2020 election Vice President Pence also said the era of economic surrender is over none of this language makes us feel good about US China relations |
WMB | Williams Grand Prix Challenges On The Track | H119 results inevitably reflected Williams Companies Inc NYSE WMB weak finishing position in the Formula One F1 Constructors Championship in 2018 The resultant lower income for the racing team significantly outweighed a continued strong performance by Williams Advanced Engineering WAE Unfortunately the competitive situation has not improved in the current season and a further weak year for the F1 business is anticipated in 2020 The extension of the multi year sponsor partnership with ROKiT to 2023 is encouraging and should hopefully dovetail with a more equitable distribution from F1
Share price graph
H119 results
H119 group revenues fell 6 to 77 8m H117 82 6m reflecting the divergent progress for the two main operating businesses WAE revenues grew 44 while F1 segment F1 revenues were adversely affected by reduced FY18 season performance payments and lower sponsorship income The group s EBITDA loss expanded to 18 8m H118 loss 2 7m as the lower F1 segment revenues failed to be matched by reduced operating costs WAE continued to deliver an improved EBITDA although timing limited the growth compared to the sharp rise in sales The group reported an H119 loss per share of 216 0p H118 87 2p loss
Investing to improve racing performance
The major challenge for the group is likely to be maintaining funding levels during the current period of reduced returns due to weaker racing performance Cash and cash equivalents were negative at the end of H119 reflecting the use of overdrafts The statement indicates that other sources of funds may mitigate future funding requirements including further land disposals and heritage asset sales As announced on 2 September 2019 Williams NYSE WMB is in an early stage of exploring options for WAE to accelerate its growth and commercialisation opportunities
Valuation Challenges to persist
The weaker trading in H119 reinforces our view that earnings and revenue for the group remain volatile as the profit performance of the F1 segment continues to dominate The options for WAE could include a partial equity sale which could value a core element of the group but realistically such a move would have little effect on the group s overall rating as it remains unclear what value should be given to the cash outflows from F1 Current race results suggest little improvement in FY20 financial performance from F1 although adding sponsors may help We are moving towards the hoped for level playing field in the sport which could lead to more competitive performance and better more consistent financial returns
Business description
The group comprises a Formula One F1 racing team 76 FY18 revenues and Williams NYSE WMB Advanced Engineering WAE 24 revenues The F1 racing team placed 10th in the 2018 FIA F1 Constructors Championship WAE specialises in the commercial application of aerodynamics materials and battery technologies
H119 results review
Having finished last in the 2018 F1 Constructors Championship trading performance in the current year was always going to prove challenging especially for the F1 racing activities and group revenues fell 6 to 77 8m H118 82 6m F1 segment revenues fell by 24 or 14 4m to 46 3m H118 60 7m reflecting lower performance payments from the championship result as well as reduced sponsorship income The decline in F1 income more than offset what was an extremely strong revenue performance by WAE where revenues increased by 44 or 9 5m to 31 0m H118 21 5m as the business continued to diversify its project base
Gross margin fell to 48 6 H118 52 0 reflecting the weaker F1 revenues that were not matched by a commensurate fall in cost of sales despite the lower revenues as a result of the need to continue investment to improve current and future racing performance
Other operating income in the F1 business was broadly unchanged at 3 2m from 3 1m in H118 with modest increases at WAE and the Other category Operating costs excluding depreciation and amortisation actually rose 11 6m to 61 1m although around 8m of the overall cost increase looks to have been due to timing of projects at WAE Nevertheless the EBITDA performance at F1 deteriorated sharply by 17 0m to a 16 8m loss H118 EBITDA profit of 0 2m WAE s EBITDA rose modestly to 2 5m from 2 3m in H118 and there was a reduced EBITDA loss of 4 4m H118 EBITDA loss 5 1m generated by the Other category Overall in H119 the group generated an EBITDA loss of 18 8m compared to an EBITDA loss of 2 7m in H118
The company does not disclose net debt but net cash and cash equivalents fell by 11 8m to a negative 2 3m in H119 H118 positive net balance of 2 2m reflecting the use of overdraft facilities and compared to a positive net cash and cash equivalents balance of 9 5m at the start of FY19 Net assets fell to 28 8m from 51 0m at the start of the year largely reflecting the net loss in H119
Outlook
Management indicated it believes the bulk of the EBITDA deterioration for FY19 had occurred in H119 which would imply a much improved H219 outturn A good deal of the improvement Is likely to come from WAE where the increasing revenues seem likely to be accompanied by a much improved full year margin improvement reflecting the timing of risk retirement and profit recognition on projects Whether this is sufficient to compensate for still challenging trading conditions for the F1 segment remains to be seen as the company clearly needs to keep investing in FY20 race performance improvements However given that FY20 performance receipts relate to the current season s performance in the F1 Constructors Championship we do not expect any substantial improvement in FY20 revenues although finding additional sponsorship could help We would hope for an improved race performance in the 2020 season leading to a better revenue level for the F1 segment in 2021
WAE continues to grow and develop new IP driven activities such as the potential opportunities in electrical vehicles and battery technology If these factors are combined with a more equitable future F1 commercial proposition arising from the control of Liberty Media NASDAQ FWONA then prospects for a more sustainable and potentially less volatile level of profitability and cash flow could become more of a reality for the smaller independent racing teams such as Williams NYSE WMB However it is still unclear whether the ambition to grow the prize pot as a result of increased global reach is being achieved Clearly dividing a larger total prize fund more equitably would likely not attract much resistance from the more affluent teams if their individual net prize revenues are not negatively affected as opposed to getting a larger share of a smaller total fund |
WMB | Williams Sonoma WSM Up 4 4 Since Last Earnings Report Can It Continue | It has been about a month since the last earnings report for Williams Sonoma WSM Shares have added about 4 4 in that time frame outperforming the S P 500
Will the recent positive trend continue leading up to its next earnings release or is Williams Sonoma due for a pullback Before we dive into how investors and analysts have reacted as of late let s take a quick look at its most recent earnings report in order to get a better handle on the important drivers Williams Sonoma s WSM Q2 Earnings Revenues Beat EstimatesWilliams Sonoma Inc posted better than expected second quarter fiscal 2019 results and lifted its fiscal 2019 earnings and revenues guidance given strong business trend However a decline in comps at the namesake brand and lower gross margin are concerns Nonetheless West Elm its biggest growth opportunity continues to accelerate with renewed strength in Pottery Barn brands Also cross brand initiatives such as The Key and Business to Business are expected to become important growth opportunities Non GAAP earnings of 87 cents per share surpassed the Zacks Consensus Estimate of 83 cents by 4 8 The figure also grew 13 year over year Moreover revenues of 1 371 million beat the consensus mark of 1 308 million by 4 8 and grew 7 5 year over year Comps increased 6 5 in the fiscal second quarter compared with 3 5 growth in the preceding quarter and 4 6 in the year ago period The West Elm brand s comps grew 17 5 compared with 9 5 growth in the prior year quarter Pottery Barn and Pottery Barn Kids and Teen grew 4 2 and 3 7 versus 2 and 5 7 in the prior year quarter respectively Notably emerging brands Rejuvenation and Mark and Graham registered almost 9 growth from its international operations However the Williams NYSE WMB Sonoma brand s comps declined 1 1 in the quarter against 1 6 comps growth registered in the year ago period Operating HighlightsNon GAAP gross margin was 35 4 down 110 bps from second quarter fiscal 2018 The downside was mainly due to higher shipping costs primarily driven by a greater mix of furniture sales impact of the implementation of List 3 China tariffs and the growing share of business from franchise and trade This was partly offset by benefits from strong occupancy leverage Non GAAP selling general and administrative expenses accounted for 28 5 of net revenues compared with 30 6 in the year ago quarter reflecting a decrease of 120 bps This led to a 10 bps year over year expansion of non GAAP operating margin to 6 9 in the quarter FinancialsWilliams Sonoma reported cash and cash equivalents of 120 5 million as of Aug 4 2019 compared with 339 million on Feb 3 2019 During the fiscal second quarter the company invested 41 million in the business and returned almost 77 million to its stockholders through dividends and share repurchases Notably the company paid 39 million worth of dividends and repurchased about 39 million shares Fiscal 2019 Guidance LiftedGiven solid fiscal first half results the company now expects non GAAP earnings per share in the band of 4 60 4 80 up from prior expectation of 4 55 4 75 Net revenues are projected in the range of 5 740 5 900 billion compared with 5 670 5 840 billion expected earlier Comps are likely to grow 3 6 year over year versus 2 5 prior expectation Non GAAP operating margin is expected to be in line with the fiscal 2018 level The company expects to close 25 stores and bring the total store count to 600 by the end of the year Long Term View ReaffirmedTotal net revenues are expected to grow in mid to high single digits Non GAAP operating income is likely to be in line with revenue growth thereby driving operating margin stability The company expects above industry average ROIC in the long term
How Have Estimates Been Moving Since Then
It turns out fresh estimates flatlined during the past month
VGM Scores
Currently Williams Sonoma has a strong Growth Score of A though it is lagging a lot on the Momentum Score front with a D However the stock was allocated a grade of A on the value side putting it in the top quintile for this investment strategy
Overall the stock has an aggregate VGM Score of A If you aren t focused on one strategy this score is the one you should be interested in
Outlook
Williams Sonoma has a Zacks Rank 2 Buy We expect an above average return from the stock in the next few months |
WMB | Market Brief Treading Water Ahead Of ISM Services PMI | FX Brief
Ahead of trade talks White House advisor Peter Navarro has listed seven deadly sins from China Cyber attacking IP theft forced technology transfer goods trade balance China state owned subsidies FX manipulation and fentanyl shipped to kill countless Americans The U S are to hit Europe with a 10 tariff on European made Airbus plan and 25 on French wine Scotch and Irish Whiskey and continental cheese Fed Williams NYSE WMB see s monetary policy as in the right place although the outlook for the economy is mixed On tariffs he sees risks to the economy as relatively modest Australian exports fell 3 in September and weighed on their surplus Yet it still touched a marginal 2 day high following yesterday s bullish doji at multi year lows Minor ranges overall AUD is the strongest major elsewhere majors remain in low ranging holding patterns
Equity Brief
Asian stock markets have continued to see further downside taking the cue from another bloodbath seen overnight in the U S stock markets In additional the U S benchmark stock index S P 500 has seen its first back to back drop of more than 1 in 2019 South Korea s KOSPI 200 has managed to escape the bleeding as its stock exchange is closed today for a public holiday
One of the worst performers as at today s Asian mid session is Japan s Nikkei 225 It shed 2 20 in line with a stronger JPY where the USD JPY hit a 3 day low of 107 00 Also latest data on Japan s services sector for Sep has indicated a slow down in growth over Aug where the Jibun Bank Japan Services PMI dropped to 52 8 from 53 3 seen in August The slowdown in growth seen in Japan s services sector the main driving force so far in order to maintain a positive economic growth to offset the negative impact from a 9 month export slump is a concern to market participants The government has just imposed an increase in sales tax to 10 from 8 that came into effect on 01 Oct which can lead to a slowdown in future domestic consumption where the services sector is dependent on Australia s ASX 200 also sees further downside as it tumbled by 2 23 to print a 4 week low of 6475 led by technology and energy stocks that has declined by 2 50 and 3 02 respectively Adding salt to the on going negative sentiment the U S administration has decided to hike tariffs on European produces 10 tariffs on European aircrafts and 25 duties on other goods such wines and cheese as punishment for illegal EU aircraft subsides After a 2 day decline of 3 5 in the S P 500 to print a low of 2875 seen yesterday the S P 500 E Mini futures has traded sideways in a tight range of 9 points so far in today s Asian session Up Next
Final PMI reads for France Germany and the Eurozone are released early in the European session Major revisions aren t expected but if they are lowered it simply feeds into the negative sentiment regarding global growth Keep Euro crosses and DAX on your radar
However the highlight could be ISM s non manufacturing PMI for the U S Given we saw ISM manufacturing tank to a 10 year low this week Non manufacturing NM PMI could receive extra scrutiny Although NM PMI has remained expansive since the GFC a slower rate of expansion points towards a broader slowdown and could exacerbate risk ff sentiment if it slows enough later today Therefor a weak print could weigh on USD and U S indices |
WMB | Gold s Correction Seems a Short Inflection | Yes tis a double entendre there this missive s title Gold s correction seeming short as brief and driven in part by those short perhaps secretly trading in their briefs from undisclosed parental basements
Regardless be it profit taking of late by traders or short selling raiders Gold through it all actually netted the barest of up weeks settling yesterday Friday at 1510 for a seven point 0 5 from where twas a week ago
Course the route from then to now incorporated far more range From the prior week s settle at 1503 come Tuesday Gold had found its way 2 5 down to 1465 nearly tapping our oft mentioned structural support zone 1454 1434 before rebounding 4 2 to as high as trumpet fanfare and drum roll please our vaunted centerpiece and year s this aggressive forecast high price of 1526 Clearly we ve a Cannes award winning film in the making here There s Something About 1526 this year s holiday blockbuster coming to a cin ma near you
But be it a blockbuster or ballbuster as we turn to Gold s weekly bars price is still in what we d term as a young parabolic Short trend just three weeks thus far in duration That noted however let s go deeper into the numbers this Short trend marks the 40th one since 2001 The average duration of the prior 39 Short trends is 11 weeks by which yardstick Gold time wise ought still have some downside with which to deal giving price a shot to actually reach that 1454 1434 support zone before this trend expires Yet that said average ought not be analyzed as absolute and indeed nine of those prior 39 Short trends nearly one in four lasted no longer than five weeks this young one as depicted by the rightmost three red dots
So by the technicals we see Gold on balance as not quite out of its correction woods And by the fundamentals we see Gold as susceptible to careening about be it higher by a Fed rate dump or lower by further Dollar pump or every which way including loose by all things Trump And that s just near term say through this month the Federal Open Market Committee members voting their conscious come 30 October
More broadly here next is our chart of Gold s daily settles from its highest ever more than eight years ago at 1900 on 22 August 2011 The horizontal blue line at 1561 is the price that need be eclipsed in the ensuing week to flip the aforeshown trend from Short back to Long Gold presently being 1510 is 51 points below that hurdle and the expected weekly trading range is currently 48 points So tis a bit of a stretch for that quick leap of faith albeit two of this year s 40 trading weeks to date have put in net gains of better than 50 points
But be prices down and out or up and away the precious metals are certainly are in play as we next see via their respective expected daily trading range measures from one year ago to date for Gold on the left and Silver on the right again exemplary of traders delight Intraday we re eying the range between Gold s high and low at 24 oz synonymous with 24 carat purity whilst Silver s range looks to be 50 oz such as to make Ben proud
However from proud to cowed went the Economic Barometer this past weak pun as a buncha numbahs went into da dumpah a little Long Island lingo there Obviously the most popular thread running through the FinAnalysts cord is contraction in manufacturing as evidenced by September s reads from both the Chicago Purchasing Manager s Institute and the Institute for Supply Management albeit the latter s survey for Services was indicative of continued expansion at a slowing rate As well the pace of August s Factory Orders slipped from a robust July into negativity and the month s Trade Deficit also deepened
Course the most curious number of them all was September s payrolls creation of 136 000 yet with the Unemployment Rate falling to a 50 year low at 3 5 which mathematically points to more jobs openin than folks fillin em Which in furtherance heralds the need for a new metric that ought be added to the Bureau of Labor Statistics monthly Employment Situation report let s call it Current Unfilled Openings aka the CUO pron koo oh Pretty cool oh Here s the Baro
In the midst of it all came mid week remarks from San Diego by New York FedPrez John Centered Williams NYSE WMB balancing the economy as being in a favorable place its outlook being mixed in light of geo political and other crosscurrents And that description is exactly apt for Gold in turning to its two panel graphic of daily bars from three months ago to date at left and the 10 day Market Profile at right Have a look at Gold s baby blue dots of regression trend consistency barring sound selling come Monday those dots shall cross above their 0 axis as the 21 day trend rotates to positive still within the broader measure of the weekly parabolic Short trend Indeed a favorable place for Gold to be given all the crosscurrents Gold s present positioning nonetheless being mixed with price centered in the Profile
Sadly Sister Silver s stance is not nearly as neutralized her Baby Blues below left still at least a few days from getting above their 0 axis unless selling resumes And by her Profile below right she s a bit sub center sittin at present on the fairly dominant 17 60 support resistance level
Next week brings us a moderate amount of incoming data for the Econ Baro the bias for which suggests it tipping further still should consensus expectations be reasonably accurate So best to be in a boat that s not prone to tipping under downside economic inflection The Gold Boat Oh now yer cruisin baby |
C | Equity Markets Are Trading At Multi Year Lows | Asian trade Asian stocks opened lower again dropping to the lowest value in the last five years The declines were led by financial companies and exporters in the Asian session At the same time the S P futures traded flat after seeing declines the day before It looks like the last 24 hours has been crucial for the fate of the global equity markets The major U S indexes found the lowest close since 1997 on rumors that Citigroup is very close to being nationalized That is 50 of the value of U S equity markets was lost in just 16 months since the high reached in October 2007 From the three major indexes the tech loaded NASDAQ leads the declines falling 53 51 compared with the S P at 52 5 and the Dow at 49 8 However things can be much worse For example the Nikkei just dropped to the lowest value since October 1982 dragged lower by the exporting companies Every stock market opened for trading in Asia declined tonight as the demand for their exports dropped The Australian S P Asx is also trading near the lowest value in the last five years Yesterday the MSCI World Index declined for the eleventh consecutive day falling nearly 16 this year The Nikkei fell 191 66 points 2 60 to 7 184 50 The Australian S P slide 47 30 points 1 41 to 3 303 90 Crude oil dropped tonight as the economy is set to slow even more Crude oil for March delivery fell 0 25 to 38 25 Gold is gaining strength to re test the 1000 area Bullion for immediate delivery fell 8 30 to 986 70 |
C | PREVIEW Spain inflation seen flat in Feb vs Jan | What Spain Feb flash EU harmonised inflation INE
When 0800 GMT Feb 27
Consensus 0 8 percent Feb vs 0 8 percent Jan
By Manuel Maria Ruiz
MADRID Feb 24 Reuters Spain s annual EU harmonised
inflation is expected to remain unchanged in February at 0 8
percent its lowest rate on record as falling commodity prices
and the economic slowdown dampen price gains
In a poll conducted by Reuters of 10 analysts estimates
ranged from 0 5 percent to 0 9 percent for the preliminary
figure due on Friday The final breakdown will be reported March
12
Some economists said February s inflation could be lower
than posted in January as prices for non energy related
industrial products and some processed foods continued to fall
Despite expectations of a prolonged recession in Spain the
government and many analysts believe the country will not fall
into deflation
Spanish inflation will continue to fall to very low levels
until the summer but will rebound by the end of the year We re
not expecting negative figures said Fortis Bank economist
Estefania Ponte
Analysts noted the base effect for oil prices which rose to
record highs in July last year and the worsening global
recession would lead to a new decline in Spanish headline
inflation after February
In the spring we ll see another reduction in prices due to
base effects especially in energy prices and due to weakening
growth Citigroup analyst Jose Luis Martinez said
Spanish price growth has fallen every month since July when
the country registered record growth of 5 3 percent the highest
rate since the series began in 1997
Reporting by Manolo Ruiz Writing by Paul Day Editing by
Jason Neely |
C | FOREX Dollar hits 3 month high vs retreating yen | Dollar hits 3 month high against broadly weaker yen
Yen stock mkt correlation snapped for now
Stock markets winded AIG set for historic loss
German Ifo falls slightly eyes on Bernanke
Repeats to make clear this is UPDATE 5
By Veronica Brown
LONDON Feb 24 Reuters The dollar hit a three month high
against a broadly weaker yen on Tuesday with the recent
correlation between falling stocks and yen strength broken after
the exhaustive unwinding of risk sensitive assets
Outside of strength versus the yen the dollar fell against
a basket of six major currency rivals as U S stock futures
pointed to a higher Wall Street open having hit a 12 year
closing low on Monday
World stocks as measured by MSCI s world equity index hit
their lowest in almost six years while the FTSEurofirst 300
Index fell 1 7 percent on the day
The link between the yen gaining as a perceived safety bid
when stock markets tumble has been taken over by worries about
Japan s sharp economic downturn and a lack of convincing policy
steps eroding confidence
The driving factor behind some of the yen weakness has been
domestic developments in Japan figures have looked pretty bad
and there has also been political turmoil Taken together this
has weighed said Phyllis Papadavid currency strategist at SG
in London
Also long positioning has also been quite chunky for quite
some time It could be that some people are unwinding
positions she added
While some analysts have concluded that unwinding of the
yen financed carry trade is complete others are not so sure
It s not unprecedented for the yen to break down in terms
of its relationship with stocks When that happened last year
it held for several weeks but when it re established itself it
did that with a vengeance said Adam Cole global head of FX
research at RBC Capital markets in London
By 1220 GMT the dollar was up 1 5 percent at 95 86 yen
having earlier hit a three month high at 95 89 yen according to
Reuters data
The euro climbed to a seven week high of 122 78 yen
Sterling rose 1 6 percent to 139 20 yen while the Australian
dollar gained 2 0 percent to 61 90 yen
Japanese Finance Minister Kaoru Yosano said the government
was looking at stock buying and other methods to support the
share market
Euro strength against the yen also helped buoy the single
currency versus the dollar The euro was last up 0 7 percent at
1 2803
IFO UNDERSHOOTS F CAST
Markets shrugged off Germany s Ifo business climate
indicator which fell to 82 6 in February That was slightly
lower than forecasts for it to stay at January s level of 83 0
The Ifo current conditions indicator worsened to 84 3 also
slightly below expectations for 85 0 but the forward looking
expectations component improved for a second month
We remain a long way away from a recovery scenario and
overall activity levels are dreadful but there may be evidence
that the trough in the cycle is near if not here already says
Audrey Childe Freeman senior currency strategist at Brown
Brothers Harriman in a note to clients
Euro zone industrial new orders fell by 5 2 percent
month on month in December in line with forecasts for a 5 0
percent decline
Traders will keep an eye on developments in the U S banking
sector after a report on Monday that the government could end up
owning a stake of up to 40 percent in Citigroup
American International Group Inc looks set to make the
biggest quarterly loss in corporate history and could seek more
aid despite the billions of dollars already committed to it
U S Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke is set to deliver
his semi annual testimony to Congress later in the day as he
seeks to offer assurance for the troubled economy
Additional reporting by Farah Master
Reporting by Veronica Brown Editing by Andy Bruce |
C | U S Treasury battles financial crisis short handed | By David Lawder and Patrick Rucker
WASHINGTON Feb 24 Reuters The U S Treasury Department
is battling an epic financial crisis that hasn t paused since
the Obama administration took over but the department s
bank like colonnaded building still has a lot of empty desks
With only a handful of key staff in place Treasury
Secretary Timothy Geithner is working to formulate policy to
shore up banks stabilize housing and restart credit flows with
little more than a skeleton crew of close advisers
The Obama administration has yet to submit nominations for
key Treasury posts such as deputy secretary and
undersecretaries for domestic finance and international
affairs Many lower level policy positions remain unfilled
The Treasury Officials page of the U S Treasury website
lists only one biography Geithner s
The staff deficit has slowed the development of initiatives
that are desperately craved by financial markets at a time when
economic conditions are worsening increasing potential losses
for financial institutions Geithner s Feb 10 bank plan
announcement was panned by investors for its lack of detail
The global crisis is increasing the to do list of the
Treasury at a time in the political cycle where its human
resources are at a low forcing existing staff to take on a
heavy burden Mohamed El Erian chief executive of influential
bond giant Pacific Investment Management Co told Reuters
Making matters worse financial institutions that have
already been bailed out twice are coming back to ask Geithner
for a third round of government aid diverting attention away
from filling in the details on a bank stabilization plan
Insurance giant American International Group was
back in talks on Monday that may include additional government
funds and swapping debt for equity a source familiar with the
matter told Reuters Another source said Citigroup was in
similar talks with conversion of 45 billion of government
held preferred stock as one option
WHO YOU GONNA CALL
Financial trade groups have expressed frustration that they
do not yet know who to contact at the department regarding
pressing financial issues
A number of senior financial institution executives said
they have not been consulted on the Treasury s programs and
informal outreach has been minimal
Treasury spokesman Isaac Baker made no apologies for the
staffing saying the administration was taking unprecedented
action to foster economic recovery in very short period
From passing a recovery bill to crafting a framework for
financial stability and mortgage affordability there s a
significant amount of work being done by both a group of
appointees and a significant army of talented career
professionals at Treasury he said
Obama administration officials note that both in the
Clinton and Bush transitions it took several months to secure
Senate confirmation of some top positions Sen Jesse Helms
blocked Bush nominees for deputy Treasury secretary and
domestic finance for more than six months in 2001
People familiar with the matter expect Obama to submit
several top Treasury nominations shortly For details see
ID nN24358743
LOST TIME
Several former Treasury officials who worked at the
Treasury in the Bush administration expressed surprise they did
not have more contact with Obama s team after the election
We were prepared to accommodate It didn t happen There
were some meetings but they were one off and weren t
structured said one former official The former officials
asked not to be named because they expect to have ongoing
dealings with the government
Geithner has been helped by people in advisory roles
including Lee Sachs a fund manager who served in the Treasury
during the Clinton administration and who is expected to be
nominated soon for the top domestic finance job
American Bankers Association policy executive Wayne
Abernathy a former Bush Treasury official said Geithner must
move quickly to gain market confidence
He has to deliver He has certainly come forward with a
plan that is comprehensive and cohesive but what it lacks is
actionable detail Abernathy said I think he has got a very
brief window to implement this before his actions are no longer
bold and quick
Additional reporting by Jennifer Ablan and Megan Davies in
New York and John Poirier in Washington Editing by Neil
Stempleman |
C | UPDATE 2 Export plunge leads record German GDP drop | Adds economist comment background
By Paul Carrel
BERLIN Feb 25 Reuters A sharp drop in exports led to a
record contraction of German gross domestic product GDP in the
final quarter of 2008 and the slump looks likely to continue
well into this year as a global downturn hits the trade reliant
economy
The Federal Statistics Office said on Wednesday that the
economy shrank by 2 1 percent in the final three months of last
year its worst quarter since reunification in 1990 The figure
was in line with a preliminary estimate published earlier in
February
The October December period was the third quarter in a row
in which the economy shrank The last time this happened was
between late 2002 and early 2003 Government sources have
already said further contraction is likely in the first quarter
The outlook for the current quarter is anything but good
said Ulrike Kastens economist at Sal Oppenheim There are
still no signs of a recovery
The government expects the economy to contract by 2 25
percent this year Since World War Two Germany s economy has
never contracted by more than one percent in a single year
The fourth quarter contraction was led by foreign trade
which shaved 2 0 percentage points from the quarterly growth
total the Office said
Exports fell by 7 3 percent the biggest decline since the
second quarter of 1991 Imports declined by 3 6 percent
The negative GDP contribution from foreign trade highlighted
the impact the global downturn is having on Germany which as
the world s biggest exporter of goods had enjoyed booming
foreign demand until earlier last year
Germany is really feeling the worldwide recession on the
export side Private consumption on the other hand did not
fall back as strongly as feared said CitiGroup economist
Juergen Michels
Private consumption which has been cushioned from the
impact of the global downturn by falling energy prices shaved
just 0 1 percentage point from the quarterly growth total
We shouldn t expect much good news in the first quarter
added Michels A stabilisation is only expected towards the end
of the year
The auto sector which accounted for the biggest chunk of
German exports in 2007 is feeling the brunt of the downturn
Assembly lines at some Volkswagen plants in
Germany fell silent on Monday as Europe s biggest carmaker
switched to a short working week for the first time in 26 years
Scaled back production at six VW brand plants in western
Germany and one plant in eastern Germany affected 61 000 workers
as VW aimed to keep inventories of unsold cars from piling up
On an annual basis GDP shrank by a workday adjusted 1 7
percent in the fourth quarter
Inventories added 0 5 percentage points to the quarterly GDP
growth total but an unwinding of stocks is likely to hit the
first quarter 2009 result economists said Gross capital
investment subtracted 0 5 percentage points in the fourth
quarter
Given the downside momentum in manufacturing and the cold
weather we are likely to see a similarly ugly figure in the
first quarter said UniCredit economist Alexander Koch
For a table with details of the GDP figures double click on
ID nBAE001609
Additional reporting by Noah Barkin and Brian Rohan
editing by David Stamp |
C | Taiwan s Jan jobless at record level set to climb | Jobless rate matches 2001 record high of 5 33 percent
More job losses in manufacturing retail sectors
Analysts expect jobless rate to rise further
By Lee Chyen Yee
TAIPEI Feb 26 Reuters Taiwan s January seasonally
adjusted jobless rate rose to a record high level of 5 33
percent as the island caught up in the global downturn
suffers from possibly its longest recession
Analysts expect Taiwan s jobless rate to climb further to
around 6 percent in coming months as many technology financial
and retail companies take a hit from an exports slump and a
record economic contraction of 8 percent in the fourth quarter
Our jobs market is facing a very severe challenge now
Huang Jiann jong an official at the statistics agency told a
news conference on Thursday We will only see significant
improvement in the jobless rate when there is economic growth
The last time the tech reliant economy s unemployment rate
hit 5 33 percent was in December 2001 In December the jobless
rate stood at 5 04 percent
Jobless rate is a lagging indicator and we expect that to
rise above 6 percent some time this year said Cheng
Cheng mount an economist at Citigroup
Although the government introduced a lot of stimulus
measures the impact might be limited given the huge number of
job losses Cheng said
Taiwan s key companies such as chip maker United
Microelectronics Corp 2303 TW electronics parts
maker Hon Hai 2317 TW and flat panel display company Chi Mei
3009 TW have all announced job cuts over the past few
months
Earlier in February top state planner Chen Tain jy said a
T 105 7 billion government spending plan would help create
190 000 to 220 000 jobs this year though that might be
insufficient to make up for the wave of job losses
Taiwan s unemployment rate which has been climbing for the
past 10 months is higher than numbers reported by some other
Asian economies South Korea for example reported an
unemployment rate of 3 3 percent in January
Analysts said Taiwan s unemployment is bound to rise this
year though the state planner aims to keep the average jobless
rate at 4 5 percent as the global downturn hits the island s
manufacturing and financial sectors
In 2008 Taiwan s average jobless rate was 4 14 percent
the highest since 2004 and up from 3 91 percent in 2007
LINKS
For a table on Taiwan s jobless data
click ID nTP149683
For a graphic on Taiwan s jobless data click
For a table listing Taiwan s economic data
click
Additional reporting by Jeanny Kao Editing by Tomasz
Janowski |
WMB | How Technical Analysis Beat Black Monday | Milton Berg CIO of Milton Berg Advisors tells Grant Williams NYSE WMB how his investment process which focuses on psychology and technical analysis allowed him to brace for the 1987 market crash This clip is excerpted from a video published on Real Vision on July 10 2019 entitled The Turning Point Master |
WMB | Fighting Coco sets up Osaka showdown at U S Open | By Amy Tennery NEW YORK Reuters Crowd pleaser Coco Gauff came through a tough battle with qualifier Timea Babos 6 2 4 6 6 4 on Thursday to set up a third round clash at the U S Open against top seed and defending champion Naomi Osaka The 15 year old American phenom was forced to dig deep to become the youngest player since Anna Kournikova in 1996 to reach the third round of the women s singles at Flushing Meadows I was tested a lot I think we both were just testing each other Gauff said It s just that type of match where anyone could have won Gauff rode into this year s tournament with enormous expectations after a dream run at Wimbledon where she beat five times champion Venus Williams NYSE WMB on her way to the fourth round On Thursday the two players were evenly matched for most of the contest with Gauff maintaining a slightly tighter performance and committing 34 unforced errors compared to 42 from Hungarian Babos It was another comeback for Gauff who worked her way back from a one set deficit in her first round match and the young upstart showed off her fighting instincts after failing to fend off a critical break point late in the second set I thought that the first set I definitely was in control In the second set she raised her level and I wasn t able to finish the set Gauff said A fired up Gauff prevailed after a 12 stroke rally late in the third set to set up a break point opportunity pumping her fists wildly and shouting in excitement in front of a packed crowd that was firmly on her side I couldn t even see any empty seats Gauff said of the crowd which included retired NBA star Kobe Bryant I don t even know how to really thank you guys I m super honored to be American and play in New York City Gauff will face off against 21 year old Osaka who also holds the Australian Open title in the third round of the tournament on Saturday in a clash that may provide a glimpse at the future of the women s game Obviously she s an amazing player said Gauff She s defending champion She s won two slams She s number one She s only 21
We re both pretty young But I m a little bit newer to the game So I m just curious to see how my game matches up against her |
WMB | Reports Broncos acquire CB Dawson from Patriots | The Denver Broncos acquired cornerback Duke Dawson in a trade with the New England Patriots multiple media outlets reported on Friday
The teams did not officially announce the trade however ESPN s Adam Schefter and NFL Network s Ian Rapoport reported that the Patriots will send Dawson and a seventh round pick in the 2020 draft to the Broncos in exchange for a sixth round draft selection
Dawson has yet to play in a regular season game for the Patriots since being selected in the second round of the 2018 draft
The 23 year old sustained a hamstring injury and was placed on injured reserve during his rookie season He was activated to the 53 man roster later in the campaign but was on the inactive list for each remaining game
The Patriots boast considerable depth at cornerback with Stephon Gilmore Jason McCourty J C Jackson Jonathan Jones Keion Crossen and Joejuan Williams NYSE WMB likely to make the roster
Field Level Media |
WMB | Serena cruises by Muchova into fourth round | By Frank Pingue NEW YORK Reuters Serena Williams NYSE WMB moved another step closer to a record tying 24th career Grand Slam title with a comfortable 6 3 6 2 victory over Czech Karolina Muchova on Friday to reach the last 16 at the U S Open Wimbledon quarter finalist Muchova held serve for an early 3 2 lead in her first career meeting with Williams but the six times champion cranked up the pace and won the next seven games to take over the match I think I had a lot of intensity today which was really good for me Williams who improved to 18 1 in third round U S Open matches said in her on court interview Williams took advantage of a poor serving performance by Muchova and broke her opponent five times including in the final game where she sealed the victory when the Czech sent a forehand long Muchova who reached the U S Open third round last year as a qualifier in her Grand Slam main draw debut won just 36 percent of points on her second serve which Williams feasted on with her trademark power The victory for Williams was a much smoother outing than she had in her previous match where she spent the first half of the encounter trying to find her rhythm against American teenager Catherine McNally Williams made 28 unforced errors against McNally and later promised to be better a claim which she backed up as she made only 15 unforced errors in her clash with Muchova Up next for Williams will be Croatian 22nd seed Petra Martic who beat Latvian Anastasija Sevastova
Martic is in the midst of a breakthrough season in which she claimed her first title with a triumph in Istanbul and followed that up with an impressive run at the French Open where she reached her first Grand Slam quarter final |
WMB | More than a haircut Kristen Stewart aims to shine spotlight on Jean Seberg | By Helena Williams NYSE WMB and Marie Louise Gumuchian VENICE Italy Reuters Forty years after actress Jean Seberg died Kristin Stewart says she wants to show the world that the star of the French New Wave should be known for more than just her short haircut The 29 year old plays the actress in a political thriller detailing how the FBI targeted Seberg in the late 1960s because of her personal and political links to African American civil rights activist Hakim Jamal Seberg began her career as a teenager portraying Joan of Arc in Otto Preminger s Saint Joan But it was her role in Jean Luc Godard s Breathless in 1960 that turned her in a French New Wave star The film titled Seberg starts with her meeting Jamal played by Anthony Mackie on a plane FBI agents played by Jack O Connell and Vince Vaughn tap her home as they seek to expose the affair and discredit the actress The film which premieres at the Venice Film Festival on Friday in an out of competition screening follows Seberg s realization that she is being watched and the impact it has on her mental health and personal life This person s story is so tragic for all the right reasons and we should definitely know her for more than the short haircut and the movies Stewart told a news conference Director Benedict Andrews said viewers get to know Seberg through the gaze of the FBI in the movie To see that private life then used by the FBI to destroy her for political purposes I found was a very particular and a very special story but also one that was startlingly relevant in 2019 he said Seberg died on Aug 30 1979 aged 40 Asked about actors being political today Stewart she had no qualms in voicing her opinions There s this really sort of polarised climate that we re living in right now it s not hard for me to wear my politics she said It shows up in the work that I do and the people I associate myself with and the conversations that I have with individual journalists day in and day out I like that interaction I m so lucky to have it Stewart who found global fame as a teenager when she starred in the Twilight movies and will soon be seen in the Charlie s Angels reboot also said she now felt more comfortable living in the public eye There s a difference and for a minute a couple years ago I definitely felt like ugh I have to like protect myself and I m so completely unguarded now she said
It s a beautiful feeling |
WMB | Osaka Gauff clash headlines U S Open Day Six | By Rory Carroll
NEW YORK Reuters World number one Naomi Osaka takes on 15 year old Coco Gauff and temperamental Australian Nick Kyrgios returns to the court to meet rising Russian Andrey Rublev in the third round of the U S Open on Saturday
Defending champion Osaka appears to have recovered from the knee injury that forced her out of the Cincinnati Open earlier this month and will look to reach the last 16 when she battles the surging American
I think it will be a really interesting match six time U S Open champion Serena Williams NYSE WMB who is safely into the fourth round told reporters on Friday
It s super exciting tennis I definitely think it s the future of women s tennis And I m really excited to just be a fan girl and kind of watch
Kyrgios who mostly kept his cool during a routine second round win on Thursday will face a rested Rublev after the Russian played just one set before his opponent Gilles Simon retired
Kyrgios the 28th seed is under investigation by the ATP Tour for critical comments he made about the organization earlier this week
He called the ATP corrupt for fining him 130 000 for losing his cool and lashing out at the chair umpire in Cincinnati earlier this month but later walked the comments back
Former world number one Caroline Wozniacki will face Canadian teenager Bianca Andreescu and second seed Rafa Nadal will meet South Korean Chung Hyeon in other third round matches on Saturday |
WMB | Highlights U S Open day five | Reuters Roger Federer and Novak Djokovic were at their dominant best at the U S Open on Friday as both cruised into the round of 16 with straight sets victories After making sluggish starts in his previous two matches five times winner Federer took his game up a notch to power past Briton Dan Evans 6 2 6 2 6 1 under the open roof at Arthur Ashe Stadium on a sunny day The 38 year old fired 48 winners and 10 aces to shake off any remaining rust since his Wimbledon final defeat by Djokovic earlier this year and faces Belgium s David Goffin next At the end of the day what matters the most for me is that I am in the third round after those two sort of slow starts Federer told reporters I gave myself another opportunity to do better and I did You almost tend to forget what happened and you move forward The Swiss was joined in the next round by defending champion Djokovic who shrugged off a left shoulder injury that hampered him in his last match and beat American Denis Kudla 6 3 6 4 6 2 Up next for the Serbian is former champion Stan Wawrinka who fought off a determined Paolo Lorenzi to secure a 6 4 7 6 9 7 6 4 victory Fifth seed Daniil Medvedev overcame Spaniard Feliciano Lopez 7 6 1 4 6 7 6 7 6 4 in the final match of the day American Serena Williams NYSE WMB continued her charge towards a record equalling 24th career Grand Slam title with a comfortable 6 3 6 2 victory over Czech Karolina Muchova She next takes on Croatian 22nd seed Petra Martic I think I had a lot of intensity today which was really good for me Williams said I don t know how I would grade my performance Just gotta keep playing and believing Second seed Ash Barty outclassed Greece s Maria Sakkari 7 5 6 3 while Madison Keys beat fellow American Sofia Kenin 6 3 7 5 Czech third seed Karolina Pliskova defeated an ailing Ons Jabeur 6 1 4 6 6 4 Highlights of the fifth day at the U S Open the final Grand Slam tournament of the year on Friday times GMT 0309 HOLDER DJOKOVIC SAFELY THROUGH Defending champion Novak Djokovic showed no signs of the left shoulder injury that dogged him in his previous match as he swatted aside unseeded American Denis Kudla 6 3 6 4 6 2 to reach the fourth round READ MORE Djokovic shrugs off shoulder issue to reach last 16 Keys digs deep to beat Kenin and reach last 16 Osaka Gauff clash headlines U S Open Day Six Federer sick and tired of preferential treatment talk Wawrinka into last 16 after hard fought win over Lorenzi Serena cruises by Muchova into fourth round Federer razor sharp in win over Evans Energized De Minaur sees off Nishikori in New York U S Open order of play on Saturday Kokkinakis hoping for Benjamin Button career after cruel setback 0045 KEYS KNOCKS KENIN OUT Madison Keys beat fellow American Sofia Kenin 6 3 7 5 smashing 10 aces and 26 winners to set up a fourth round clash with Elina Svitolina 0030 KOEPFER OUSTS BASILASHVILI Unseeded German Dominik Koepfer beat 17th seed Nikoloz Basilashvili 6 3 7 6 5 4 6 6 1 to reach the last 16 on his second main draw appearance at a Grand Slam 0020 SVITOLINA TOO SLICK FOR COMPATRIOT YASTREMSKA Elina Svitolina beat fellow Ukrainian Dayana Yastremska 6 2 6 0 to reach the last 16 for the third year in a row The fifth seed converted five of the six break point chances she carved out wrapping up the one sided affair in 53 minutes 2230 WAWRINKA ADVANCES AFTER BEATING LORENZI Former champion Stan Wawrinka beat Italy s Paolo Lorenzi 6 4 7 6 9 7 6 4 to reach the last 16 for the first time since he won the title three years ago The 34 year old who could face Novak Djokovic if the top seed beats Denis Kudla later on Friday served 24 aces and hit 64 winners but also made 50 unforced errors 2140 WANG SETS UP BARTY CLASH China s Wang Qiang beat Fiona Ferro of France 7 6 1 6 3 to reach the last 16 of a Grand Slam for the first time The 18th seed served five aces and cracked 26 winners to set up a meeting with Australian second seed Ash Barty who she has lost to in straight sets in both their previous career meetings 2130 GOFFIN GRINDS PAST CARRENO BUSTA Belgian 15th David Goffin beat Spain s Pablo Carreno Busta 7 6 5 7 6 9 7 5 to set up a meeting with third seed Roger Federer in the fourth round Both players struggled to take their chances with Carreno Busta converting one of nine break point opportunities and Goffin two of 10 2015 EVANS UNHAPPY AT SCHEDULING FEDERER HITS BACK Briton Dan Evan said having to play two matches in quick succession was partly to blame for his defeat by Roger Federer The Briton whose second round match was postponed by a day due to rain did not get off court till Thursday evening and he was first up on Arthur Ashe Stadium against Federer The Swiss did not take kindly to Evans comments I m sick and tired of it that apparently I call the shots The tournament and the TV stations do We can give our opinion That s what we do But I m still going to walk out even if they schedule me at four in the morning 1940 KONTA CRUSHES CHINA S ZHANG Briton Johanna Konta was in cruise control against Zhang Shuai beating the Chinese 6 2 6 3 to advance The 16th seed crushed 34 winners to Zhang s nine and also sent down four aces as she breezed into the last 16 1930 SERENA STORMS PAST MUCHOVA Eighth seed Serena Williams reached the fourth round of the U S Open for the 18th time in her career after swatting aside Karolina Muchova 6 3 6 2 The American who has won her home major six times converted five of eight break point chances against the Czech and will face Croatia s Petra Martic in the next round 1910 BARTY PARTY RUMBLES INTO ROUND FOUR Second seed Ash Barty raced into the fourth round after beating Greece s Maria Sakkari 7 5 6 3 The Australian sent down 11 aces as she sealed her second consecutive straight sets victory at this year s tournament with her only dropped set coming against Kazakhstan s Zarina Diyas in the opening round 1810 DE MINAUR WINS CLASH OF COUNTER PUNCHERS Alex de Minaur beat Japanese seventh seed Kei Nishikori 6 2 6 2 2 6 6 3 to reach the fourth round Nishikori made twice as many unforced errors as the Australian who won nearly half his total points against the Japanese s serve and will face either Grigor Dimitrov or Poland s Kamil Majchrzak in the last 16 1735 FEDERER THROUGH WITHOUT DROPPING A SET After dropping the opening set in his first two matches at the U S Open Roger Federer made quick work of Briton Dan Evans with a comfortable 6 2 6 2 6 1 victory wrapping up the match in 79 minutes Evans was broken seven times by five times champion Federer who fired 10 aces and 48 winners at Arthur Ashe Stadium to cruise into the fourth round 1719 PLISKOVA BATTLES PAST JABEUR Czech third seed Karolina Pliskova was tested on a hot day by Tunisia s Ons Jabeur before triumphing 6 1 4 6 6 4 in a match that lasted two hours and eight minutes Jabeur took a medical time out midway through the match to have a knee injury looked at before storming back to claim the second set but Pliskova held on in the final set to move into the fourth round converting seven break points in the match 1508 PLAY UNDER WAY IN NEW YORK
Play began on Friday under bright sunshine with the temperature hovering around 25 degrees Celsius 77 F and a forecast high of 31C However rain is expected later in the day |
WMB | Hamlin DQ d Custer wins Xfinity race at Darlington | DARLINGTON S C It looked like more of the same at Darlington Raceway for driver Denny Hamlin until post race inspection happened
A five time NASCAR Xfinity Series winner at the 1 366 mile track Hamlin was first across the finish line in Saturday s Sport Clips Haircuts VFW 200 but the disqualification of Hamlin s No 18 Toyota for a ride height violation made a winner of Cole Custer who trailed Hamlin by 602 seconds at the finish line
It s a really strange feeling honestly obviously Custer said after being notified he was the winner You don t want that way but it is what it is We all play by the same rules Was that the deciding factor No
But it is what it is We get the points We get the money We get the trophy I guess It s a way to win
The victory was the first for Custer at the Track Too Tough to Tame and his sixth of the season tying him with fourth place finisher Christopher Bell for most in the series this year Custer now has eight career Xfinity wins
The disqualification ruined a strong effort from Hamlin who started 37th in a backup car after slapping the outside wall early in Friday s opening practice Hamlin took the lead on Lap 121 of 147 and held it the rest of the way
Though Hamlin s efforts became moot with the disqualification he overcame issues with the handling of the backup No 18 Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota through the first two 45 lap stages of the event and was able to withstand a determined closing run by Custer
We did not have the best car by any means but luckily the techniques I ve learned over so many years kind of helped us there Hamlin said before learning of the disqualification The guys did a great job getting this car ready
Abandoning the NBC Sports broadcast booth for his only race of the year Dale Earnhardt Jr ran fifth as the highest finishing JR Motorsports entry
Custer hounded Hamlin after a restart with 10 laps left He took the bottom through Turns 1 and 2 to gain ground On several occasions over the final five laps he pulled within a car length of Hamlin s bumper but couldn t quite get to the winner
I thought I had him Custer said after climbing from his car I really wanted it finishing second here really sucks You really want to win at one of the marquee places I couldn t get a run off of Turn 4 I don t know it was so close
As it turned out it was close enough
Series leader Tyler Reddick ran second after leading a race high 70 laps Pole winner Ryan Blaney the only other driver to hold the lead was third after spending 50 laps at the point Bell Earnhardt Chase Briscoe Brandon Jones Noah Gragson Justin Allgaier and Austin Cindric completed the top 10
Earnhardt was pleased with his performance in the one off start
I love this place said Earnhardt whose No 8 Chevrolet was sporting a paint scheme commemorating his father s first start in the Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series at Charlotte in 1975 We love Darlington You never know how good you are till you come back and try it
All these guys are elite All these guys do this every single week and they re very very talented To think you can take a year off and come back and be good you just never know But we did all right
With two races left before the cutoff for the Xfinity playoffs at Las Vegas Reddick holds a 51 point lead over Bell in the race for the regular season title Custer is 136 points back in third place
The disqualification was the fifth this year under the enforcement policy NASCAR adopted this year all in either the Xfinity or Gander Outdoors Truck Series Hamlin was the second race winner to suffer a disqualification the other being Ross Chastain in a Truck Series race at Iowa Speedway
NASCAR Xfinity Series Race 37th Annual Sport Clips Haircuts VFW 200
Darlington Raceway
Darlington South Carolina
Saturday August 31 2019
1 3 Cole Custer Ford 147
2 6 Tyler Reddick Chevrolet 147
3 1 Ryan Blaney i Ford 147
4 2 Christopher Bell Toyota 147
5 14 Dale Earnhardt Jr Chevrolet 147
6 5 Chase Briscoe Ford 147
7 7 Brandon Jones Toyota 147
8 8 Noah Gragson Chevrolet 147
9 4 Justin Allgaier Chevrolet 147
10 9 Austin Cindric Ford 147
11 12 Justin Haley Chevrolet 147
12 20 Jeremy Clements Chevrolet 147
13 10 Michael Annett Chevrolet 147
14 13 Ryan Sieg Chevrolet 147
15 15 Gray Gaulding Chevrolet 147
16 18 Ray Black II Chevrolet 147
17 17 Alex Labbe Chevrolet 147
18 11 Landon Cassill Chevrolet 147
19 23 BJ McLeod Chevrolet 147
20 22 Camden Murphy Chevrolet 146
21 16 John Hunter Nemechek Chevrolet 146
22 21 Stefan Parsons Toyota 146
23 27 Timmy Hill Toyota 146
24 28 Josh Williams NYSE WMB Chevrolet 144
25 26 Joey Gase Toyota 144
26 24 Stephen Leicht Chevrolet 144
27 33 David Starr Chevrolet 144
28 36 Vinnie Miller Chevrolet 143
29 29 Garrett Smithley Chevrolet 143
30 31 Chad Finchum Toyota Suspension 133
31 34 Matt Mills Chevrolet Engine 128
32 35 Mike Harmon Chevrolet 114
33 19 Brandon Brown Chevrolet Accident 85
34 25 Joe Nemechek i Chevrolet Brakes 72
35 32 Tommy Joe Martins Toyota Transmission 61
36 30 JJ Yeley Chevrolet Axle 34
37 38 Morgan Shepherd Chevrolet Electrical 27
38 37 Denny Hamlin i Toyota 147
Average Speed of Race Winner 119 131 mph
Time of Race 1 Hrs 41 Mins 8 Secs Margin of Victory 602 Seconds
Caution Flags 5 for 23 laps
Lead Changes 5 among 3 drivers
Lap Leaders R Blaney i 1 15 T Reddick 16 84 R Blaney i 85 92 T Reddick 93 R Blaney i 94 120 D Hamlin i 121 147
Leaders Summary Driver Times Lead Laps Led Tyler Reddick 2 times for 70 laps Ryan Blaney i 3 times for 50 laps Denny Hamlin i 1 time for 27 laps
Stage 1 Top Ten 2 12 20 98 7 00 8 19 11 01
Stage 2 Top Ten 12 7 2 00 20 8 98 19 22 9
By Reid Spencer NASCAR Wire Service Special to Field Level Media OLUSSPORT Reuters US Online Report Sports News 20190901T001855 0000 |
WMB | MLB notebook Indians Naquin ACL tear out for season | Cleveland Indians outfielder Tyler Naquin tore his right ACL when he crashed into the fence while making a spectacular catch Friday night against the Tampa Bay Rays in St Petersburg Fla
An MRI taken after the 4 0 loss confirmed the injury and Naquin will miss the rest of the season He was placed on the 10 day injured list Saturday
Naquin 28 batted 288 with 19 doubles 10 homers and 34 RBIs in 89 games this season
Cleveland recalled first baseman outfielder Jake Bauers from Triple A Columbus in a corresponding move
The New York Yankees placed left hander CC Sabathia back on the 10 day injured list with knee inflammation In a corresponding move the Yankees recalled right hander Jonathan Loaisiga from Triple A Scranton Wilkes Barre
He threw just 48 pitches Friday night against the Oakland Athletics before exiting with soreness The ailment has plagued him all season and this marks his third trip to the IL
Sabathia 5 8 4 93 ERA told reporters after the game he hoped to pitch again this season The 39 year old has said he will retire after the 2019 campaign
The Milwaukee Brewers placed second baseman Keston Hiura on the 10 day injured list with a strained left hamstring
The 23 year old rookie sustained the injury during Friday night s 7 1 loss to the Chicago Cubs Hiura is batting 301 with 16 homers 20 doubles 43 RBIs and nine stolen bases in 70 games this season
The Brewers also optioned right hander Devin Williams NYSE WMB to Triple A San Antonio and recalled outfielder Ben Gamel and third baseman Travis Shaw from San Antonio
Field Level Media |
WMB | Federer Serena seek U S Open quarter final berths on day seven | By Frank Pingue
NEW YORK Reuters Roger Federer will try to avoid a second consecutive fourth round exit from the U S Open when he returns to action on Sunday while Serena Williams NYSE WMB resumes her quest for a record tying 24th Grand Slam title
Federer who wilted in hot and humid conditions last year when he fell to Australian John Millman in the last 16 will kick off the day session inside Arthur Ashe Stadium against Belgian 15th seed David Goffin
This is where I always try to remain young in my mindset and think back to how I used to think maybe and take the positives out of that said the Swiss third seed
And also don t do the things when you were young like underestimate the opponent actually respect the conditions Prepare well if it s hot prepare if it s windy not to get frustrated
Williams who cruised by Wimbledon quarter finalist Karolina Muchova to reach the fourth round will follow Federer onto Ashe when she faces Croatian 22nd seed Petra Martic for the first time
Other than in the second round when Williams had to rally to beat Catherine McNally the American eighth seed has looked in solid form and has shown no signs of the back spasms that forced her to retire from the Toronto final
Defending men s champion Novak Djokovic is also looking fit after a shoulder issue bothered him in his second round match and the Serb kicks off the night session against Swiss Stan Wawrinka
Also in action is Daniil Medvedev who was fined 9 000 for a slew of offences committed during his third round clash with Spaniard Feliciano Lopez
The Russian fifth seed will face German qualifier Dominik Koepfer |
WMB | Greg Weldon Expect 3 Year Up Move In Metals | Listen to the Podcast Audio Click Here
Mike Gleason It is my privilege now to welcome back our good friend Greg Weldon CEO and president of Weldon Financial Greg has decades of market research and trading experience specializing in the metals and commodity markets he even authored a book back in 2006 titled Gold Trading Boot Camp where he accurately predicted the implosion of the U S credit market and urged people to buy gold when it was only 550 an ounce He s been making some other excellent calls in the metals here recently and it s great to have him back with us
Greg thanks again for coming on and welcome How are you
Greg Weldon I m great thank you Mike My pleasure I m just very grateful that the storm spared us the carnage that it inflicted on The Bahamas I m here in Jupiter Florida and it was supposed to be a direct hit here so it was a pretty stressful holiday weekend down here
Mike Gleason Yeah lots of different models that were kind of all over the place with that but yeah good thing for your part of the world there I m glad to hear that
Well for starters here Greg you nailed it yet again We spoke back at the end of June and you were on the verge of making a major move into silver and you re saying that if we could just take out 16 20 it would run pretty quickly from there which it finally has
So give us a sense of what you ve been seeing here recently in silver and what finally got the white metal moving which got well over 19 earlier in the week Now it is suffering a pretty big pullback here today as we re talking late morning on Thursday So let s start with silver Greg What did you see that led you to believe that we were finally going to break to the upside from that years long trading range and then also talk about this pullback here today
Greg Weldon Well I think it s actually a common thread to both parts of the answer to your two part question And the first part is what we saw was a dissociation in gold and silver much more so gold clearly from the dollar and the spread of gold rallying and then making new highs in such a widening basket of currencies a lengthening list of global currencies And it wasn t just you know some of the emerging market currencies where you can no longer except the local currency in a place like Angola a big OPEC producer Pakistan Argentina of course the currency blown up since even more But then you had places like Australia and Sweden and it fed through to the whole thing in Europe where you know you had the Swedish Central Bank and the Swiss National Bank with interest rates that were beyond minus 1 at the official rate
And the bottom line for me Mike the whole time was you know the dollar is going to have to be the relief valve because you have intense this disinflation deflation building just from the pure fact you have so much sovereign debt in a negative interest rate and I think that this was a big misstep by the central banks globally particularly in Europe because the goal was to kind of do what the Fed did at one point up to 2009 which create a scenario and create an environment where it kind of forced you and your money into risk assets The Fed did this very effectively after the 2009 crisis and reflated through the stock market and let consumers borrow again and so on and so forth
In Europe though the misstep has been kind of in terms of guidance The BIS did a really interesting study on this not too long ago It s 80 something pages I read the whole thing It was fascinating in terms of forward guidance to where the ECB basically said there s no scenario that will be good enough that would even cause us to think about raising interest rates in the next year this is what they said a year ago They should have been raising them by now
But that forward guidance is such that it caused fear among investors among households and consumers and instead of spending instead of investing in stocks what they did was they were so fearful that the message here was what does the Central Bank know that we don t know that s coming down the pike next That makes them so afraid to even contemplate raising rates to zero that this was an issue now where you re willing to pay a government for 30 years to safeguard your cash I mean that is insanity and it draws all that money out of the real economy and boom this is what you have in Europe It s an absolute mess
You tie all this together given the European Central Bank situation what are they going to do It left the dollar it leaves the Central Bank here in the U S the Fed as the one that has to move We said way back in August this wasn t going to be quick This was going to be a multi step process to get the Fed to where they are today I think the Fed made two mistakes They hiked rates in December when they shouldn t have And then they didn t give any kind of hint of forward guidance at the last central bank meeting when they did in fact cut rates And now you re even in a more intense situation where the fixed income markets demanding even more rate cuts down the road throw in the Chinese trade factor and you ve got a real mess
And the bottom line out of all of this I can shave down what s a really long answer into a very short one What you have here is growing lack of confidence anxiety if not even fear and discomfort around all paper And it s around paper currencies paper debt It s all the same it s all one big IOU And the central banks are going to keep doing this and what they going to do next time around 23 trillion in sovereign debt here in the U S versus nine Are they going to print six to 9 trillion this time around Well if they do and they probably will because you know they don t want a debt deflation It just creates enormously bullish outcomes on the probability curve for the precious metals And we saw that developing we saw the way the currencies were acting that gold had broken away from the dollar gold was rallying with the dollar That was huge
We swapped into silver because the gold silver ratio had gotten completely out of whack a 30 year high and you knew then that there was a point and it was really kind of the next terrace the next round of this trade dispute where people became really concerned that they re going to go down such a deep hole here that maybe the central banks are not going to have such an easy time to lift them out of it And then it became a monetary move more than kind of a bigger picture emerging market you know global macro move Now it s strictly a monetary move And that s when silver and even platinum just broke out
Mike Gleason Silver is outperforming gold now after lagging gold earlier in the rally We talked about that 90 plus to one silver to gold ratio back in late June And I know that extreme ratio was part of your reason that you liked silver at the time as you just mentioned Now historically silver does outperform gold when prices are trending higher but it took a little while for silver to play catch up What are you expecting from silver given where we are today Does it continue to outperform and will we see the ratio fall further in your view
Greg Weldon Yeah absolutely From the longer term view this is a three to five year move You may have seen a year of it already so you still have a long term 24 to 48 month dynamic underway here Having said that there is some chance of a pullback here Our upside targets 1 505 was the first one in gold and you kind of went through it and silver 18 65 and that kind of gave us 21 bucks You re kind of almost halfway between those two levels So that s kind of interesting You got kind of a reversal pattern here going on on a short term basis
But what s interesting is to see this happen today Thursday as stock markets breakout on the back of what is now potentially a risk to the dollar So we just did a big special piece on this yesterday in Weldon Live which is our other publication other than the Gold Guru in which we were talking about the risk to the dollar here because of the movement in rate differentials
And one of the things that has held the dollar up two things fundamentally has been a fear of a dollar debt dynamic and then demand for dollars to repay debt in some kind of debt deflationary scenario would be high and would circumvent anything the Fed did And there s evidence to suggest that because the dollar didn t follow the Fed fund futures market that s for sure And that correlation had been very tight since 2014 and completely got demolished But what happened in that vein was yeah U S rates were coming down but not as fast as they were in other places particularly Europe So what you had happen was the yield differential the bond yield particularly the 30 year most highly correlated to the dollar blew out in terms of the U S yield premium because Germany s 30 year was dropping towards zero
Well great that the U S 30 year went from three and a quarter to two and made record low at the meantime the German 30 year s flirting with negative yields So what s happened more recently is that there are limits in physics as to how far and how much these bonds can go negative No matter how much they talk about this not the next big move You and I have talked about a little bit probably coming next it s going to QE rather on steroids probably first from the ECB but that s still another maybe one if not two steps away as well
And in the meantime there is some concern here that in the first phase of a dollar kind of crack if you will that might boost stock to where money rotates out of metals back into stocks A very short term correction could develop here We re traders so we re more in tune with that for investors who cares Because the longer term picture the two to four year picture is very bullish and silver will outperform because this is going to be a monetary dynamic that exceeds all the other monetary dynamics
Look at 1987 and the stock market crash on any chart monthly chart of the Dow now Do you I mean it really it looks like nothing even happened That gives you the magnitude where we are now When you re talking about a 30 000 on the Dow Jones Industrial Average you know a one third correction that s a lot of money now It s 10 000 points So everything s extrapolated and it kind of gets back to even our hurricane situation because there s a lot of this has to do and we could get really deep here but we won t but a lot of this has to do with astrophysics and where our solar system is in the Milky way right now What tends to happen in physics you have certain readings Schumann resonance and the gas readings What you have right now is things are increasingly stretched They re polarized You see it in everything
You see it in politics in this country for sure but you see it in the weather It s not necessarily that it s global warming although it is It s record cold record heat record flooding record drought record hurricanes record volcanic activity record everything That s only going to continue And in that vein as you apply that to the markets the map around the money that s been created the debt that s been created when you have to keep this thing going because to let a debt deflation take over central banks that s the absolute last thing they want to see
And we said in the book in 2006 and I say it again here when facing the abyss of a debt deflation they will do whatever they have to do to reflate And what s probably coming next is going to be shock and awe and you re going to want to be long gold because they are devaluing the purchasing power of all paper and people are finally starting to see that
Mike Gleason Switching gears here a little bit Greg we saw a former FOMC member William Dudley write an op ed in which he suggests the Fed tried to un elect President Trump by refusing to provide stimulus and letting the President s trade war pull the U S economy into recession That is a remarkable position for a former central banker to take And it raises the question about whether the Fed might take an active role in the 2020 election What do you think Will the Fed go along with the President and with some of the pressure from the markets and reduced rates in the months ahead or are they going to allow a recession here for reasons which might include politics
Greg Weldon Well this is such a double edged machete because of course the Fed s political but of course the Fed s not political So as an independent body and let s not forget the Fed was created in 1913 to offset crashes in the stock market So it s kind of funny that everyone says Oh this isn t the Fed s job Of course this is what they do It s what they ve always done Alan Greenspan in 1987 I was there I was surprised They continually give us more and more creative ways to do things
In terms of what William said it s almost like ding dong the witch is dead because what he s done is it s almost like I mean it s kind of like he s an ex Postal employee He s gone in and shot up the place because the Fed wants to remain at least to have the appearance of being totally independent and totally apolitical And this guy just threw that out the window I mean this is one of those things where if you go into the criminal world right and the gangs and whatever they call them cartels and stuff I mean you snitch you re done So I wouldn t be surprised they have hit squads looking for this guy because it s so taints the Fed and no they re not going to do that
I don t think they would do that I don t think Powell seems like he s that ego driven This is Donald Trump s ego It s not Powell s ego I know some people that work with Trump not that I m supporting either side of any of this but I think people generally agree even those close to him that he can be his own worst enemy Sometimes you just got to shut it Keep it quiet
And my suggestion with the Fed is the less you say the better off you are and he s put himself in a bad position Why would the Fed then want to feed into that I don t know The whole thought process around bringing the economy to a recession to un elect Donald Trump That is a symptom of what s happening in this country where the hatred for one man for his personality his aura not his policies Nobody s really able to separate these two things And they re different because in many ways he s not a likable character His ego and his persona he s kind of bombastic and bit of a buffoon sometimes and waving his hands He doesn t have the greatest vocabulary
His policies are spot on So I think the difficulty in separating those two things is when you get a situation like this where the hatred for one man is now trumping yes pun intended trumping the love for country We see it everywhere and it just blows my mind And frankly it s symptomatic of the things I ve been talking about in more of a scientific angle because this has an impact on the way human beings act too And you see it you see it It s increasing random acts of violence and it s increasing random acts of kindness
And I ll tell you what we got a ton of random acts of kindness taking place down here in terms of relief for The Bahamas because there was a great connection between South Florida and The Bahamas So you see it on both ends of the spectrum And for Williams NYSE WMB to say something that only damages the Fed s credibility and it s only bullish for gold because it does so
Mike Gleason Yeah Well put Well Greg as we begin to wind things down in the interview here I wanted to get your thoughts on platinum because I had a pretty good move here recently over the last week What do you have to say about platinum Greg Is it finally emerging from its years long hibernation
Greg Weldon Well absolutely I think when you started to see platinum at exceeding 500 an ounce discount to gold Again kind of getting back to some of the physics you know as well as I know stuff is created in a supernova platinum is more rare than is gold And from that perspective it should command a premium I understand that it s not that black and white but to me that makes it interesting when you see it as a 600 700 discount to gold And when you see and know that the next wave is more of a monetary thing in a bigger picture then really kind of a setup for that which is when the dollar was declining against gold And when gold was making new highs in so many different currencies record highs Australia dollar Swedish krona it s that simple you throw those two currencies out there And in that vein platinum absolutely was the laggard because if this is something that causes the trade war to become bigger that would hurt platinum at the expense of gold simply as an industrial metal But how much of that a price then at minus 700
To me these were steals in platinum and silver at the levels at which they had reached against gold were extreme and that has really paid off for us We actually kept the core holding of gold but we swapped our big position in gold that we bought at like 1 196 and I forget where we sold it It was above 1 400 1 411 maybe and pushed everything into platinum and silver which had barely still moved And that turned out to be a really good move
Mike Gleason Well Greg as we close here any other final comments I would like to hear kind of where you re thinking we go from here in the precious metals and then also maybe tie in the the new Gold Guru site
Greg Weldon Yeah Well where we go from here I think is you have probably some short term volatility maybe some downside but it s an opportunity if you re not invested to get invested It s an opportunity if you re not don t have like what you might consider the full position you want to have to put it on We re looking at for example the VanEck Vectors Gold Miners ETF NYSE GDX has been one of our picks We have a lot of picks Gold Guru it s Gold Guru com We have all of this and today s piece really kind of gives you about what I m giving you now and even in a broader sense but when you look at the GDX It topped out at almost 31 bucks It s had a pretty decent what will be potentially a key outside downside reversal week here in a lot of these things
Not only that you have upside reversals in the base metals I might mention too copper tin zinc particularly the metals that are in short supply in LME warehouses But all of this kind of plays into a lower dollar which is bullish longer term So you re looking to buy dips I ll give you what we re looking for in gold If you get gold below 1 370 it s a gift Your first major Fibonacci is 1 407 and you have a low just under there just under 1 400 it s kind of where we ended up getting out and getting into silver and platinum So I would think if frankly if you see a 13 anything print you re even potentially backing up the truck here to buy gold
And in terms of silver it might have a little more of a downside but I m telling you I mean there s solid solid support at 17 25 to 17 50 so in any anything really below 18 and when you get down to 17 50 It may not last real long down there I think you might have a correction get some chop wait and see what the Fed does And when you come out of this in the next phase when the ECB has to do something because the other part we re working on you know we also do Weldon Live as well So it s the Gold Guru com and it s WeldonOnline com for a Weldon Live which is our institutional product But today we re working on a piece on places like Poland and Hungary that have been very strong because Germany s export juggernaut had been so strong while Germany s export juggernaut is not only slowed it s tipping into a recession terrible data today terrible data last week We highlighted all Italy France Belgium all these countries
But when you look at Poland Hungary and the Czech Republic they had really been the second derivatives of a global economic strength out of Germany shipping unfinished goods to be finished in Germany to be shipped out these economies the inflation numbers there the production are really starting to fall Europe has a problem And ultimately when they pull the trigger on what s coming next I think it d be very bullish for gold short lived shallow ish correction But don t wait too long and don t hesitate if it happens because I think you know you re going to come out of the shoots again to the upside very quickly in the not too distant future
Mike Gleason There s a lot of information flying around out there in the financial world and one thing that I ve noticed about you Greg is you understand which ones to really look at and pay attention to that drive these markets and obviously that s what s helped you make some fantastic calls over the last several months and years And I always love having you on and getting a chance to talk to you about that stuff
Hope you have a wonderful weekend Glad you re going to stay safe from the hurricane there All our best to those that may be affected by that in the coming days and thanks Greg can t wait for our next conversation Bye for now
Greg Weldon Always my pleasure Mike Thank you
Mike Gleason Well that will do it for this week Thanks again to Greg Weldon of Weldon Financial For more information simply go WeldonOnline com where you can sign up for a free trial Be sure to check out the and now the new site Gold Guru com Be sure to check that out as well
Mike Gleason is a Director with a national precious metals dealer with over 50 000 customers Gleason is a hard money advocate and a strong proponent of personal liberty limited government and the Austrian School of Economics A graduate of the University of Florida Gleason has extensive experience in management sales and logistics as well as precious metals investing He also puts his longtime broadcasting background to good use hosting a weekly precious metals podcast since 2011 a program listened to by tens of thousands each week |
WMB | Greg Weldon Expect a 3 Year Up Move in Metals as Banks Counteract Debt Deflation | Listen to the Podcast Audio
Mike Gleason It is my privilege now to welcome back our good friend Greg Weldon CEO and president of Weldon Financial Greg has decades of market research and trading experience specializing in the metals and commodity markets he even authored a book back in 2006 titled Gold Trading Boot Camp where he accurately predicted the implosion of the U S credit market and urged people to buy gold when it was only 550 an ounce He s been making some other excellent calls in the metals here recently and it s great to have him back with us
Greg thanks again for coming on and welcome How are you
Greg Weldon I m great thank you Mike My pleasure I m just very grateful that the storm spared us the carnage that it inflicted on The Bahamas I m here in Jupiter Florida and it was supposed to be a direct hit here so it was a pretty stressful holiday weekend down here
Mike Gleason Yeah lots of different models that were kind of all over the place with that but yeah good thing for your part of the world there I m glad to hear that
Well for starters here Greg you nailed it yet again We spoke back at the end of June and you were on the verge of making a major move into silver and you re saying that if we could just take out 16 20 it would run pretty quickly from there which it finally has
So give us a sense of what you ve been seeing here recently in silver and what finally got the white metal moving which got well over 19 earlier in the week Now it is suffering a pretty big pullback here today as we re talking late morning on Thursday So let s start with silver Greg What did you see that led you to believe that we were finally going to break to the upside from that years long trading range and then also talk about this pullback here today
Greg Weldon Well I think it s actually a common thread to both parts of the answer to your two part question And the first part is what we saw was a dissociation in gold and silver much more so gold clearly from the dollar and the spread of gold rallying and then making new highs in such a widening basket of currencies a lengthening list of global currencies And it wasn t just you know some of the emerging market currencies where you can no longer except the local currency in a place like Angola a big OPEC producer Pakistan Argentina of course the currency blown up since even more But then you had places like Australia and Sweden and it fed through to the whole thing in Europe where you know you had the Swedish Central Bank and the Swiss National Bank with interest rates that were beyond minus 1 at the official rate
And the bottom line for me Mike the whole time was you know the dollar is going to have to be the relief valve because you have intense this disinflation deflation building just from the pure fact you have so much sovereign debt in a negative interest rate and I think that this was a big misstep by the central banks globally particularly in Europe because the goal was to kind of do what the Fed did at one point up to 2009 which was create a scenario and create an environment where it kind of forced you and your money into risk assets The Fed did this very effectively after the 2009 crisis and reflated through the stock market and let consumers borrow again and so on and so forth
In Europe though the misstep has been kind of in terms of guidance The BIS did a really interesting study on this not too long ago It s 80 something pages I read the whole thing It was fascinating in terms of forward guidance to where the ECB basically said there s no scenario that will be good enough that would even cause us to think about raising interest rates in the next year this is what they said a year ago They should have been raising them by now
But that forward guidance is such that it caused fear among investors among households and consumers and instead of spending instead of investing in stocks what they did was they were so fearful that the message here was what does the Central Bank know that we don t know that s coming down the pike next That makes them so afraid to even contemplate raising rates to zero that this was an issue now where you re willing to pay a government for 30 years to safeguard your cash I mean that is insanity and it draws all that money out of the real economy and boom this is what you have in Europe It s an absolute mess
You tie all this together given the European Central Bank situation what are they going to do It left the dollar it leaves the Central Bank here in the U S the Fed as the one that has to move We said way back in August this wasn t going to be quick This was going to be a multi step process to get the Fed to where they are today I think the Fed made two mistakes They hiked rates in December when they shouldn t have And then they didn t give any kind of hint of forward guidance at the last central bank meeting when they did in fact cut rates And now you re even in a more intense situation where the fixed income markets demanding even more rate cuts down the road throw in the Chinese trade factor and you ve got a real mess
And the bottom line out of all of this I can shave down what s a really long answer into a very short one What you have here is growing lack of confidence anxiety if not even fear and discomfort around all paper And it s around paper currencies paper debt It s all the same it s all one big IOU And the central banks are going to keep doing this and what they going to do next time around 23 trillion in sovereign debt here in the U S versus nine Are they going to print six to 9 trillion this time around Well if they do and they probably will because you know they don t want a debt deflation It just creates enormously bullish outcomes on the probability curve for the precious metals And we saw that developing we saw the way the currencies were acting that gold had broken away from the dollar gold was rallying with the dollar That was huge
We swapped into silver because the gold silver ratio had gotten completely out of whack a 30 year high and you knew then that there was a point and it was really kind of the next terrace the next round of this trade dispute where people became really concerned that they re going to go down such a deep hole here that maybe the central banks are not going to have such an easy time to lift them out of it And then it became a monetary move more than kind of a bigger picture emerging market you know global macro move Now it s strictly a monetary move And that s when silver and even platinum just broke out
Mike Gleason Silver is outperforming gold now after lagging gold earlier in the rally We talked about that 90 plus to one silver to gold ratio back in late June And I know that extreme ratio was part of your reason that you liked silver at the time as you just mentioned Now historically silver does outperform gold when prices are trending higher but it took a little while for silver to play catch up What are you expecting from silver given where we are today Does it continue to outperform and will we see the ratio fall further in your view
Greg Weldon Yeah absolutely From the longer term view this is a three to five year move You may have seen a year of it already so you still have a long term 24 to 48 month dynamic underway here Having said that there is some chance of a pullback here Our upside targets 1 505 was the first one in gold and you kind of went through it and silver 18 65 and that kind of gave us 21 bucks You re kind of almost halfway between those two levels So that s kind of interesting You got kind of a reversal pattern here going on on a short term basis
But what s interesting is to see this happen today Thursday as stock markets breakout on the back of what is now potentially a risk to the dollar So we just did a big special piece on this yesterday in Weldon Live which is our other publication other than the Gold Guru in which we were talking about the risk to the dollar here because of the movement in rate differentials
And one of the things that has held the dollar up two things fundamentally has been a fear of a dollar debt dynamic and then demand for dollars to repay debt in some kind of debt deflationary scenario would be high and would circumvent anything the Fed did And there s evidence to suggest that because the dollar didn t follow the Fed fund futures market that s for sure And that correlation had been very tight since 2014 and completely got demolished But what happened in that vein was yeah U S rates were coming down but not as fast as they were in other places particularly Europe So what you had happen was the yield differential the bond yield particularly the 30 year most highly correlated to the dollar blew out in terms of the U S yield premium because Germany s 30 year was dropping towards zero
Well great that the U S 30 year went from three and a quarter to two and made record low at the meantime the German 30 year s flirting with negative yields So what s happened more recently is that there are limits in physics as to how far and how much these bonds can go negative No matter how much they talk about this not the next big move You and I have talked about a little bit probably coming next it s going to QE rather on steroids probably first from the ECB but that s still another maybe one if not two steps away as well
And in the meantime there is some concern here that in the first phase of a dollar kind of crack if you will that might boost stock to where money rotates out of metals back into stocks A very short term correction could develop here We re traders so we re more in tune with that for investors who cares Because the longer term picture the two to four year picture is very bullish and silver will outperform because this is going to be a monetary dynamic that exceeds all the other monetary dynamics
Look at 1987 and the stock market crash on any chart monthly chart of the 30 year now Do you I mean it really it looks like nothing even happened That gives you the magnitude where we are now When you re talking about a 30 000 on the Dow Jones Industrial Average you know a one third correction that s a lot of money now It s 10 000 points So everything s extrapolated and it kind of gets back to even our hurricane situation because there s a lot of this has to do and we could get really deep here but we won t but a lot of this has to do with astrophysics and where our solar system is in the Milky way right now What tends to happen in physics you have certain readings Schumann resonance and the gas readings What you have right now is things are increasingly stretched They re polarized You see it in everything
You see it in politics in this country for sure but you see it in the weather It s not necessarily that it s global warming although it is It s record cold record heat record flooding record drought record hurricanes record volcanic activity record everything That s only going to continue And in that vein as you apply that to the markets the map around the money that s been created the debt that s been created when you have to keep this thing going because to let a debt deflation take over central banks that s the absolute last thing they want to see
And we said in the book in 2006 and I say it again here when facing the abyss of a debt deflation they will do whatever they have to do to reflate And what s probably coming next is going to be shock and awe and you re going to want to be long gold because they are devaluing the purchasing power of all paper and people are finally starting to see that
Mike Gleason Switching gears here a little bit Greg we saw a former FOMC member William Dudley write an op ed in which he suggests the Fed tried to un elect President Trump by refusing to provide stimulus and letting the President s trade war pull the U S economy into recession That is a remarkable position for a former central banker to take And it raises the question about whether the Fed might take an active role in the 2020 election What do you think Will the Fed go along with the President and with some of the pressure from the markets and reduced rates in the months ahead or are they going to allow a recession here for reasons which might include politics
Greg Weldon Well this is such a double edged machete because of course the Fed s political but of course the Fed s not political So as an independent body and let s not forget the Fed was created in 1913 to offset crashes in the stock market So it s kind of funny that everyone says Oh this isn t the Fed s job Of course this is what they do It s what they ve always done Alan Greenspan in 1987 I was there I was surprised They continually give us more and more creative ways to do things
In terms of what William said it s almost like ding dong the witch is dead because what he s done is it s almost like I mean it s kind of like he s an ex Postal employee He s gone in and shot up the place because the Fed wants to remain at least to have the appearance of being totally independent and totally apolitical And this guy just threw that out the window I mean this is one of those things where if you go into the criminal world right and the gangs and whatever they call them cartels and stuff I mean you snitch you re done So I wouldn t be surprised they have hit squads looking for this guy because it s so taints the Fed and no they re not going to do that
I don t think they would do that I don t think Powell seems like he s that ego driven This is Donald Trump s ego It s not Powell s ego I know some people that work with Trump not that I m supporting either side of any of this but I think people generally agree even those close to him that he can be his own worst enemy Sometimes you just got to shut it Keep it quiet
And my suggestion with the Fed is the less you say the better off you are and he s put himself in a bad position Why would the Fed then want to feed into that I don t know The whole thought process around bringing the economy to a recession to un elect Donald Trump That is a symptom of what s happening in this country where the hatred for one man for his personality his aura not his policies Nobody s really able to separate these two things And they re different because in many ways he s not a likable character His ego and his persona he s kind of bombastic and bit of a buffoon sometimes and waving his hands He doesn t have the greatest vocabulary
His policies are spot on So I think the difficulty in separating those two things is when you get a situation like this where the hatred for one man is now trumping yes pun intended trumping the love for country We see it everywhere and it just blows my mind And frankly it s symptomatic of the things I ve been talking about in more of a scientific angle because this has an impact on the way human beings act too And you see it you see it It s increasing random acts of violence and it s increasing random acts of kindness
And I ll tell you what we got a ton of random acts of kindness taking place down here in terms of relief for The Bahamas because there was a great connection between South Florida and The Bahamas So you see it on both ends of the spectrum And for Williams NYSE WMB to say something that only damages the Fed s credibility and it s only bullish for gold because it does so
Mike Gleason Yeah Well put Well Greg as we begin to wind things down in the interview here I wanted to get your thoughts on platinum because I had a pretty good move here recently over the last week What do you have to say about platinum Greg Is it finally emerging from its years long hibernation
Greg Weldon Well absolutely I think when you started to see platinum at exceeding 500 an ounce discount to gold Again kind of getting back to some of the physics you know as well as I know stuff is created in a supernova platinum is more rare than is gold And from that perspective it should command a premium I understand that it s not that black and white but to me that makes it interesting when you see it as a 600 700 discount to gold And when you see and know that the next wave is more of a monetary thing in a bigger picture then really kind of a setup for that which is when the dollar was declining against gold And when gold was making new highs in so many different currencies record highs Australia dollar Swedish krona it s that simple you throw those two currencies out there And in that vein platinum absolutely was the laggard because if this is something that causes the trade war to become bigger that would hurt platinum at the expense of gold simply as an industrial metal But how much of that a price then at minus 700
To me these were steals in platinum and silver at the levels at which they had reached against gold were extreme and that has really paid off for us We actually kept the core holding of gold but we swapped our big position in gold that we bought at like 1 196 and I forget where we sold it It was above 1 400 1 411 maybe and pushed everything into platinum and silver which had barely still moved And that turned out to be a really good move
Mike Gleason Well Greg as we close here any other final comments I would like to hear kind of where you re thinking we go from here in the precious metals and then also maybe tie in the the new Gold Guru site
Greg Weldon Yeah Well where we go from here I think is you have probably some short term volatility maybe some downside but it s an opportunity if you re not invested to get invested It s an opportunity if you re not don t have like what you might consider the full position you want to have to put it on We re looking at for example the VanEck Vectors Gold Miners ETF NYSE GDX has been one of our picks We have a lot of picks Gold Guru it s Gold Guru com We have all of this and today s piece really kind of gives you about what I m giving you now and even in a broader sense but when you look at the GDX It topped out at almost 31 bucks It s had a pretty decent what will be potentially a key outside downside reversal week here in a lot of these things
Not only that you have upside reversals in the base metals I might mention too copper tin zinc particularly the metals that are in short supply in LME warehouses But all of this kind of plays into a lower dollar which is bullish longer term So you re looking to buy dips I ll give you what we re looking for in gold If you get gold below 1 370 it s a gift Your first major Fibonacci is 1 407 and you have a low just under there just under 1 400 it s kind of where we ended up getting out and getting into silver and platinum So I would think if frankly if you see a 13 anything print you re even potentially backing up the truck here to buy gold
And in terms of silver it might have a little more of a downside but I m telling you I mean there s solid solid support at 17 25 to 17 50 so in any anything really below 18 and when you get down to 17 50 It may not last real long down there I think you might have a correction get some chop wait and see what the Fed does And when you come out of this in the next phase when the ECB has to do something because the other part we re working on you know we also do Weldon Live as well So it s the Gold Guru com and it s WeldonOnline com for a Weldon Live which is our institutional product But today we re working on a piece on places like Poland and Hungary that have been very strong because Germany s export juggernaut had been so strong while Germany s export juggernaut is not only slowed it s tipping into a recession terrible data today terrible data last week We highlighted all Italy France Belgium all these countries
But when you look at Poland Hungary and the Czech Republic they had really been the second derivatives of a global economic strength out of Germany shipping unfinished goods to be finished in Germany to be shipped out these economies the inflation numbers there the production are really starting to fall Europe has a problem And ultimately when they pull the trigger on what s coming next I think it d be very bullish for gold short lived shallow ish correction But don t wait too long and don t hesitate if it happens because I think you know you re going to come out of the shoots again to the upside very quickly in the not too distant future
Mike Gleason There s a lot of information flying around out there in the financial world and one thing that I ve noticed about you Greg is you understand which ones to really look at and pay attention to that drive these markets and obviously that s what s helped you make some fantastic calls over the last several months and years And I always love having you on and getting a chance to talk to you about that stuff
Hope you have a wonderful weekend Glad you re going to stay safe from the hurricane there All our best to those that may be affected by that in the coming days and thanks Greg can t wait for our next conversation Bye for now
Greg Weldon Always my pleasure Mike Thank you
Mike Gleason Well that will do it for this week Thanks again to Greg Weldon of Weldon Financial For more information simply go WeldonOnline com where you can sign up for a free trial Be sure to check out the and now the new site Gold Guru com Be sure to check that out as well
Mike Gleason is a Director with a national precious metals dealer with over 50 000 customers Gleason is a hard money advocate and a strong proponent of personal liberty limited government and the Austrian School of Economics A graduate of the University of Florida Gleason has extensive experience in management sales and logistics as well as precious metals investing He also puts his longtime broadcasting background to good use hosting a weekly precious metals podcast since 2011 a program listened to by tens of thousands each week |
WMB | Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell Insists There Won t Be A Recession When All | It s happening again Just like last time around the head of the Federal Reserve is telling us that there won t be a recession even though all of the evidence suggests otherwise Just before the recession of 2008 Federal Reserve Chair Ben Bernanke told the country that the Federal Reserve is not currently forecasting a recession and shortly thereafter we plunged into the worst economic downturn since the Great Depression of the 1930s This time it is Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell that is attempting to prop things up by making positive statements that are not backed up by reality Speaking to a group at the University of Zurich Powell insisted that the Fed is not at all anticipating that there will be a recession
Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell said Friday that he doesn t at all expect the U S to enter a recession though he hinted the central bank will likely cut interest rates as expected this month
Our main expectation is not at all that there will be a recession Powell said in a panel discussion at the University of Zurich
Meanwhile things are literally falling apart all around us Just a few days ago I put together a list of 28 data points that clearly indicate that a recession is imminent and since then we have gotten even more bad news
For instance we just learned that Fred s will be filing for bankruptcy and closing more than 500 stores
Discount merchandise retailer and pharmacy chain Fred s filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy Monday with plans to close all of its stores
The company plans to liquidate its assets punctuating a swift collapse of its operations that involved a cascading series of store closures in recent months
At this point U S retailers have announced the closing of more than 8 200 stores in 2019 and we are going to break the old record for store closings in a single year by so much that the term retail apocalypse just doesn t seem sufficient to describe the scale of what we are witnessing any longer
Many are blaming the Internet for this colossal wave of store closings but is the Internet also responsible for the transportation recession that has already started
According to Zero Hedge on a year over year basis heavy duty truck orders were down 69 percent in June and 80 percent in July
According to ACT Research heavy duty truck orders from the four largest truck makers in North America Daimler Trucks North America Paccar Volvo Trucks USA and Navistar International collapsed 80 in July YoY Orders in June plunged 69 from a year earlier
As heavy duty truck orders collapse suppliers such as ones who produce transmissions have predicted that the outlook for sales this year will be horrible
And as global trade continues to plummet one of the biggest shipping companies in the entire world has temporarily suspended one of their main routes
Growth in the world continues to collapse into late summer so much so that Maersk and Mediterranean Shipping Company MSC had to temporarily suspend their AE2 Swan Asia to North Europe loop until mid November removing 20 000 twenty foot equivalent unit TEU a week from trade reported The Loadstar
None of this would be happening if economic conditions were good
So let s stop with the nonsense Fed Chair Jerome Powell can deny reality all that he wants but that isn t going to change anything
There are some people out there that are still finding solace in the fact that the official unemployment number in the U S is still so low At just 3 7 percent it is the lowest that it has supposedly been in decades but most people don t realize that it has also been highly manipulated It doesn t include tens of millions of people that are working part time for economic reasons that are working temporary jobs or that are part of the missing labor force
John Williams NYSE WMB of shadowstats com compares the official employment numbers to what they would look like if honest numbers were being used and his figures tell an entirely different story
According to Williams NYSE WMB the real rate of unemployment in the U S was hovering around 12 or 13 percent prior to the last recession and then it shot up above 20 percent and has stayed there ever since In fact the alternate unemployment rate on shadowstats com is currently sitting at 21 2 percent
So that would suggest that we have never even come close to recovering from the last recession
But of course 3 7 percent sounds so much better than 21 2 percent and millions of Americans have completely bought into the false narrative that unemployment has been steadily falling since the early days of the Obama administration
Unfortunately we live at a time when a lot of people don t want to hear the truth and reality is defined by whoever has the biggest spin machine Americans are more deeply divided than ever and there is very little agreement on the direction that our country should go Meanwhile economic conditions are deteriorating a little bit more with each passing day and it has become exceedingly clear that a new crisis is upon us And this new crisis has arrived at a time when our debt bubble is larger than it has ever been before In fact one expert has calculated that our total debt burden is now running close to 2 000 of GDP
Total potential debt for the U S by one all encompassing measure is running close to 2 000 of GDP according to an analysis that suggests danger but also cautions against reading too much into the level
AB Bernstein came up with the calculation 1 832 to be exact by including not only traditional levels of public debt like bonds but also financial debt and all its complexities as well as future obligations for so called entitlement programs like Social Security Medicare and public pensions
There is no way that this is going to end well
The two major political parties will continue to relentlessly fight with one another and it will mostly be about really silly stuff But as they fight our nation is literally steamrolling into oblivion and there appears to be very little hope of avoiding our fate at this point |
WMB | Should Investors Buy Into Groupon s Potential Yelp Acquisition | Wall Street does not seem to be buying into Groupon s NASDAQ GRPN plan to acquire Yelp NYSE YELP Shares of the discount ecommerce company fell 4 Thursday a day after news hit of their potential plan to buyout Yelp Yelp popped over 5 after the news surfaced
Groupon has struggled to succeed since going public it s currently down 83 2 since its IPO Yelp is up 7 year to date lagging behind the broader computer software services market which is up 20 2 in 2019 Both companies have recently struggled with stagnancy and volatility making an acquisition for either companies questionable
Investors are Discontent
Investors were discontent with the idea of Groupon potentially making a large transaction that would leave them with a considerable amount of debt Groupon would need to assume a massive amount of debt to bid for the San Francisco based company The market capitalization of Groupon is currently 1 6 billion while Yelp is valued at 2 6 billion
Activist investors have been pushing Groupon to take initiative to boost its financial performance Its current valuation is down substantially from the 16 5 billion it achieved in 2011 when it went public Robert Chapman founder of California investment firm Chapman Capital LLC said he sold part of his 10 million Groupon shares because he thinks a large acquisition would be too much of a risk for the company
Robert Chapman has been lobbying Groupon to buy back more of its own stock and tried forming a coalition with other investors to push for Groupon s management to make the changes they wanted to see Groupon held 597 million in cash at the end of its second quarter on top of 382 1 million in debt The company also reported falling earnings and revenue in Q2 due to fewer customers and lagging consumer traffic
But Can This Work
Groupon CEO Rich Williams NYSE WMB and his team have focused on shifting Groupon to higher value consumers and local commerce The company recently launched a monthly subscription service in an effort to increase recurring revenue Rich Williams has indicated in recent months that the company might consider a large transaction as he sees the potential to create a much larger business that can be a part of a consumer s everyday life
Despite many investors not loving the idea of Groupon potentially buying out Yelp there are some people that believe that the two companies coming together might just work out and could enhance each other s businesses
Groupon would give Yelp a new product to sell to retail and service providers and also provide a way for Yelp users to get deals In turn Yelp would provide Groupon potential leads especially when it comes to restaurants It would also provide crowdsourced venue reviews making both platforms more useful for consumers who are looking to score a deal when dining out
Bottom Line
This acquisition comes with significant risks and investor pullbacks making a mutual combination more logical A mutual pairing makes more sense as it could create cost saving synergies of 200 million for the companies Groupon and Yelp have both been struggling individually and are in need of an innovative initiative to spark growth A potential partnership between Yelp and Groupon would make the sum of both companies more valuable than if they chose to remain separate entities Yelp and Groupon both sport a Zacks Rank 3 Hold
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WMB | Axel Merk Trump Is Proposing a Tax on Savings | All Bets Are Off on How Low Central Bankers Will Take Rates
Listen to the Podcast Audio Click Here
Mike Gleason It is my privilege now to welcome in Axel Merk President and Chief Investment Officer of Merk Investments and author of the book Sustainable Wealth Axel is a well known market commentator and money manager and is a highly sought after guest at financial conferences and on news outlets throughout the world and it s great to have him back on with us
Axel it s a pleasure as always Thanks for joining us again
Axel Merk Great to be with you
Mike Gleason Well Axel we recently took a look at the September US Business Cycle Chartbook and for those that are interested they can download that for free at MerkInvestments com and click on research But in there Axel you put together a number of great charts on a variety of factors and ultimately the outlook is a bit mixed for the U S economy
You think the odds favor continued expansion in the months just ahead but there are some warning signs as well Can you give our listeners a couple of the pros and cons What are some of the important signals of continued growth and what are some of the things that could throw a wrench into the economy in the months ahead
Axel Merk Sure And let me try not to be too academic about it Everybody knows we ve got some global headwinds trade tensions and whatnot And the question is going to seep it over to the U S consumer And just to take a step back the U S consumer is obviously a huge chunk of the U S economy And then the things that get us into recession sometimes would be inventory adjustments or the lack of business investments And nobody should be surprised if inventories gyrate based on the Presidential tweets people are trying to avoid goods or deplete them So there might be some technical adjustments Business investments going down that is of course a bigger concern Now all that said as you re aware unemployment rate is low and the people have jobs right And so that s all good
What s really not good is the manufacturing industry and globally that s gotten a huge stand and in the U S that s also soft And so the question really is Is it going to spill over to the U S economy And one has to always put that in a context of the Presidential tweets I have argued and as we speak and as we publish this there s going to be probably another tweet the thing is how is this going to play out And obviously I don t have a crystal ball but there s a huge incentive for both the Chinese and the President to ease trade tensions between October and December That s really the window
President Trump like any president would like to get reelected for that you need to have a strong economy And so if and I m not saying trade issues are going to be all resolved that s not in the President s interest He wants to keep it in news He might want to have it on something less important like wants tariff on French wine But he needs business investment to pick up and there is an opportunity to make that happen in the coming months
And then what you are faced with is very low unemployment You are faced with easing of trade tension and low interest rates And so you ve got the perfect recipe to have a strong economy heading into the election Now referring to the chart book obviously the chart book have hindsight and it s precisely to avoid this sort of crystal ball thinking that I m doing with you on the you know So we go back several decades and look at what has worked in the past One of the things we can talk about is the yield curve which I think is overrated
Mike Gleason Yeah it kind of leads me into my next question there Bonds very recently began selling off and yields have been rising This created some headwinds for precious metals but perhaps we will see the yields moving downward again The consensus is for the FOMC to cut rates again next week The President has been all over Fed Chairman Powell to do more to stimulate He suggested earlier this week that rates should be zero or even less What are you expecting from the Fed over the next year Axel Are we going to see a steady string of rate cuts back to zero or even negative Or maybe the FOMC will take former New York Fed President William Dudley s advice and avoid stimulus He says the Fed should not enable the President s trade war with China What do you think about all that
Axel Merk How many hours do we have here First of all the market is pricing in one rate cut this coming meeting I think that s pretty clear cut The challenge really is with both the Fed and also what s happening in Europe the Fed cannot solve the problems that we have We have plenty of access to credit both in the U S and the Eurozone People are not borrowing And if you look at bond yields bond yields rise meaning interest rates move as we have changes in the perception of the business environment So interest rates come down when trade tensions flare up that s because there is less opportunity to invest The long end of the yield curve is not controlled by the Fed They tried to sometimes with QE and whatnot And so this idea that Oh the yield curve is inverted and therefore we have to cut rates
No long term rates are low and therefore something needs to be resolved on trade If we want those rates to be higher On the short end the Fed cannot predict the next tweet I mean I just gave you my crystal ball I have no idea whether I m right But when Fed Chair Powell says Policy is now dependent on political developments that s a tweet dependent Fed It just doesn t work Now the criticism if you were just to sit on the sideline is that he s going to be late Well of course he s going to be late The Fed is always late and that s kind of the job in this sort of environment But trying to preempt what might happen And again more importantly a trade war cannot be won by lowering interest rates They have nothing to do with one another
And to just make a comment on the Presidential tweet in general on the Fed when the most effective monetary policy is one where a Fed official utters a few words and rates move it s more expensive to cut rates more expensive to have QE So when you have somebody outside of the Fed who is influential like the President interfere that makes Fed policy more expensive That means the Fed has to move more to achieve the same thing So that s an academic way of saying why it is not helpful for the President to meddle with the Fed
Now obviously politically it s helpful right If you have a weakened economy why not have the Fed as a punch back So politically it kind of makes sense But from an actual monetary point of view rates will be higher long ends on interest rates will be higher when the President tweets The bonds often fall when the President tweets and so it s not helpful for what the Fed is trying to achieve
Mike Gleason Let s talk about Europe for a minute The ECB just announced a bit more stimulus but European growth forecasts are not very encouraging lke the U S or perhaps even more so European economies are stagnating under mountains of debt and the prescription is to lower rates and try to entice even more borrowing Then there are some geopolitical events For example the British people are still wrestling over Brexit and it is far from clear how that matter will be resolved now more than three years after UK citizens voted to leave So do you see any solutions coming for some of the big problems over in Europe
Axel Merk Well I guess Madame Lagarde is the solution because Mr Draghi has thrown in the kitchen sink and he s going to retire in a few weeks Same as in the U S we have and you mentioned a few of the issues Brexit you cannot solve that with interest rates Exports One is trade tensions The other one is actually exports to Turkey Eurozone interest rates don t fix those issues Germany not getting its act together quickly enough in getting onto electric cars and re engineering its automotive industry You cannot fix that with interest rates Access to credit is abundant And the banks they ve tried to help them a little bit with a new tiered interest rate system but doesn t really help them And so again they re trying to use the wrong tool to fix the problems of the day but it hasn t stopped them
And offline we talked briefly about metals going up Well what happens when you lower rates everywhere but it doesn t really have an impact Well it does have an impact on the metals And one thing we should talk about maybe is Madame Lagarde succeeding Draghi I think she can do something Ever since she has been nominated on I believe it was July 3rd the spreads in the Eurozone so the premia that Italy and Greece pay for example versus German bunds have come down
And the media have attributed that to fantastic new policies in Greece and Italy and maybe the most recent action at the ECB But I think Lagarde may well take the Eurozone to the next level and socialize that debt more meaning making Germany be on the hook for Italian and Greek debt more to keep those spreads down So that s where I think Lagarde can do more But as far as growth is concerned what we need is visibility on investments we need less regulation those sorts of things And just printing money is not the solution to the ills of the world
Mike Gleason Seems like they re moving in the opposite direction there Obviously we ve been reading a lot about all the negative yielding bonds out there in Europe specifically Japan as well Do you see that coming to the U S is that going to spread here in the bond market
Axel Merk Well the President tweeted yesterday that interest rates should be low or less I then cynically said Wait a second the President is proposing a tax on savings because that s what it is Negative interest rates on cash would be a tax on savings It is increasingly talked about in central banking circles That s why many central bankers would like to move to digital money They may not like the Libra project but they are toying with that idea Who knows what s going to happen down the road I think it s going to be very unhelpful to how the U S financial system is structured but let s keep in mind that we don t have markets anymore People at the New York Fed Williams NYSE WMB who came from the San Francisco Fed is an academic And so they play with these models and who knows how far they ll push them
In the short term in the very short term as I indicated earlier I think these trade tensions will ease and the Fed will have less of an inclination to cut down the road I think the market was pricing in too much of a rate cut But yeah in the long run all bets off how where the central bankers are going to take things
Mike Gleason And leads us then into gold Obviously that s a good environment for gold The war on cash you kind of alluded to that should drive more safe haven demand into gold Gold and silver have performed well this year despite the recent pullback It appears there is some appetite for safety and there s this general acknowledgement that the rate hiking cycle at the Fed is over at the very least We d like to get your thoughts as we approach the final quarter of the year Do you think metals can hold on here and is there still room for more gains What is your short term outlook for metals Axel
Axel Merk There is room but it s not going to be a straight line As I indicated to you I actually think trade tensions are going to ease and we might end up with a hot economy when this is all said and done That s clearly an outlier scenario right now I d be the first one to admit that But the Fed is going to be late in that sort of environment And that s going to be good for gold As long as we are in the late stages of this economic cycle there will be people looking to diversify You have a lot of people who want to hold onto the gains and equities and rather than move to cash they want to diversify with something else And gold and gold mining you can do that with a fairly small portion added to the portfolio If people are really scared they would move to cash probably much more than they do right now And so but at the same time if indeed we do have a better outlook yes that might provide some headwinds to gold
And so it s not going to be a straight line how this unfolds and obviously the slowdown scenario is a very real one that s continuing to unfold And obviously the Eurozone appears to be willing to cut rates I think in the U S we ve kind of over done it with those rate cut expectations for the time being but it s going to certainly remain interesting And again it doesn t really matter how it plays out It matters how the risk is always playing out So for people do buy gold they need to see the risk of certain scenarios happening and those risks I think will continue to be around
Mike Gleason Well as we begin to close here Axel as we usually do we ll ask you to give us any of your final thoughts topics or events that maybe we haven t talked about yet Or perhaps give us a sense of what you re going to be watching most closely that you believe will have an impact on financial markets moving forward
Axel Merk Well maybe you should buy some French wine The reason I say that is that my assumption is that the trade tensions will move from where it matters on GDP to less relevant things So if Trump imposes tariffs on French wine it will make the headlines Lots of people will be outraged but it s not going to affect global GDP because trade needs to be in the news for the President because it s an important topic for him But the economic damage so to speak is going to be less
With regard to investing I say the thing I frequently say investors should stress test their portfolios because this can go in many different ways And obviously we talked about gold gold mining we like them we invest in them But those are certainly volatile And for those who have invested in those over the years they know that the volatility we have seen of late is really nothing compared to the sort of volatility when one could see
Mike Gleason Yeah it s certainly going to be interesting A lot of different directions this could go And we ll be watching to see how it all unfolds
Well thanks Axel We appreciate the time as always and enjoyed the conversation once again Now before we let you go please tell folks a little bit more about your firm and your services and then also how they can follow you more closely please
Axel Merk Sure MerkInvestments com is the website I m on Twitter AxelMerk and we do all kinds of things We have some public products We do provide some customized advice as well to high net worth individuals And importantly we publish research reports as well where we have unbiased charts where we dive into things So come to our website browse around and if you want to be in tune with the latest and greatest follow me on Twitter
Mike Gleason Excellent Thanks again Axel Have a great weekend and enjoy the fall and we ll look forward to catching up with you again down the road Take care of for now
Axel Merk My pleasure Take care
Mike Gleason Well that will do it for this week Thanks again to Axel Merk President and Chief Investment Officer of Merk Investments Manager of the Merk Funds For more information be sure to check out MerkInvestments com
Mike Gleason is a Director with a national precious metals dealer with over 50 000 customers Gleason is a hard money advocate and a strong proponent of personal liberty limited government and the Austrian School of Economics A graduate of the University of Florida Gleason has extensive experience in management sales and logistics as well as precious metals investing He also puts his longtime broadcasting background to good use hosting a weekly precious metals podcast since 2011 a program listened to by tens of thousands each week |
WMB | Fed Preview Dollar Could Be At A Turning Point If Powell Capitulates | The Fed is expected to deliver a second consecutive rate cut in what is still technically considered Powell s mid cycle adjustment The big question for market participants is whether the Fed will commit to more cuts The bond market is still screaming for more cuts to come with the yield on 10 year Treasuries still well below the Fed funds target range
Optimism growing for Fed Chair Jerome Powell to deliver a dovish cutWill it be an extended mid cycle adjustment or an easing cycle Fed s Repo move signals more easing tools may be on their wayRecent Fed speak from Rosengren Williams NYSE WMB and Kaplan have dampened easing cycle bets but weakness in the labor market is starting to appear manufacturing is trending lower and declining confidence support calls for a much more accommodative stance The Fed will also have to look at their peers and decide do they want to disrupt a global wave of easing efforts that is trying to fight off a global slowdown and fend off deflationary pressures
If Powell focuses on firming inflation and maintains his reluctance to signal a steady flow of rate cuts and openness to QE down the road the dollar could surge across the board If Powell emphasizes the downside risks to the economy and delivers a dovish cut we could see the punchbowl argument support US equities to make a run at those recent record highs Further accommodation is likely warranted to thwart off the geopolitical risks that include trade wars tensions in the Persian Gulf and even Brexit
Repo Madness
The Federal Reserve Bank of New York was forced to take action on Tuesday after risks grew that rates were about to exceed the Fed s 2 25 upper end of the central banks target range The NY Fed bought 53 2 billion of securities in a repo operation The sudden surge in the overnight rate on Treasury repurchase agreements meant there was not enough cash to come out of money markets and rates jumped over 8 This problem shows there is some weakness in the mechanism for setting rates
This probably bolsters the case for the Fed to also cut the IOER rate tomorrow The Fed is losing control of dictating rates and if we see continue to see a glut in collateral the Fed may be forced to introduce a new tool that aims to equalize collateral and reserves The other way of fixing this problem would be too deliver enough rate cuts to steepen the US yield curve
Dot Plots
This Fed meeting could be a turning point for the doves to emerge The downside risks could warrant some members committing to delivering a few more 25 basis point cuts with a majority at least supporting one more cut by year end The hawkish members of the committee have voiced their concerns which could mean they are ready to capitulate in joining the doves They could justify a few more rounds of rate cuts to reduce inversion pressures on the yield curve but once that is in order and the economy is on firming footing they can return to tightening
EUR USD could fall to fresh 2019 lows if Powell disappoints
Many investors are expecting a massive dollar move following the Fed rate decision If Powell and company disappoint the rising dovish expectations that market has firmly priced in we could see euro fall back to the 1 09 lows that were made after the ECB announced their plans for more QE A dovish cut that solidifies more rate cuts and possibly QE are down the road could help propel EUR USD towards 1 1200 handle |
WMB | At Home HOME Adds Four Stores Boosts Superstore Count | In order to fortify its presence in the Midwest and Florida At Home Group Inc NYSE HOME announced the opening of four new stores at Crestwood IL Clearwater FL Lincoln NE and Schaumburg IL The recent store openings will take the company s total store count to 209 locations across 39 states Based on a warehouse model At Home superstores offer more than 50 000 diversified on trend home products for every room style and budget Store Expansion Strategy on TrackAt Home mainly focuses on expanding opportunities in both existing and new markets in the United States The company believes that it has the potential to expand the store count to at least 600 stores in the United States The home d cor superstore opened 11 new stores in the fiscal first quarter and 13 in second quarter fiscal 2020 The company anticipates opening 12 gross and nine net new stores during the third quarter Moreover in fiscal 2020 it expects to open 32 net new stores and projects store base compound annual growth rate of 15 20 Backed by these efforts At Home is likely to drive its top line In the fiscal second quarter total sales grew 19 driven by 24 year over year store growth marking the 22nd consecutive quarter of high teens improvement The company s net sales also surpassed the Zacks Consensus Estimate in 11 of the trailing 13 quarters It expects fiscal 2020 total net sales in the 1 37 1 39 billion range indicating 18 19 growth year over year Additionally At Home is expected to generate more revenues going forward courtesy of continuous superstore expansion based on optimization of marketing strategies growing brand awareness and team member execution At Home is also well positioned for growth in the upcoming quarters as well as it has already pipelined a substantial portion of superstore for fiscal 2020 Meanwhile shares of At Home have gained 22 6 compared with its s 13 8 rally in the past three months Zacks Rank Key PicksAt Home currently carries a Zacks Rank 3 Hold Some better ranked stocks in the Retail Wholesale sector are RH NYSE RH Tempur Sealy International Inc NYSE TPX and Williams Sonoma Inc NYSE WSM While RH sports a Zacks Rank 1 Strong Buy Tempur and Williams Sonoma carry a Zacks Rank 2 Buy You can see RH and Tempur have an impressive long term earnings growth rate of 12 5 and 15 respectively Williams NYSE WMB has an average four quarter earnings surprise of 7 9 5 Stocks Set to DoubleEach was hand picked by a Zacks expert as the 1 favorite stock to gain 100 or more in 2020 Each comes from a different sector and has unique qualities and catalysts that could fuel exceptional growth Most of the stocks in this report are flying under Wall Street radar which provides a great opportunity to get in on the ground floor |
C | Asian Markets Trade Flat On Citigroup Nationalization | Asian trade Asian markets managed to recover from the lows seen near the opening bell while U S futures stayed in the green during the Asian session after some unconfirmed rumors said that Citigroup is heading towards nationalization A WSJ report stated that the U S government is preparing to increase its stake in Citigroup one the largest banks in the U S financial system Most likely authorities are looking to swap their preferred shares to common ones increasing the bank s stake up to 40 However the report says that Citi s executives are looking for a much smaller stake around 25 The implications of such a move are widespread and the market s reaction will depend on the terms and conditions of the swaps Some shareholders might be tempted to sell their share since such an action taken by the government will dilute their stake in the bank most likely triggering a sell off in the financials Other investors might be tempted to buy the bank s shares because the government would act as a backstop against any other declines or deterioration in the bank s balance sheet Rumors had been running wildly for a while about Citi and BaC s nationalizations but were never confirmed Citigroup s shares trade near an 18 year low dropping as much as 40 in the last two weeks and a little more than 90 in the last year Its current market cap is only 10 billion down from 250 billion at the beginning of 2007 The Nikkei fell 17 54 points 0 24 to 7 398 84 The Australian S P slide 45 40 points 1 33 to 3 357 00 Crude oil moved very little in the Asian session Crude oil for March delivery rose 0 05 to 40 10 Gold declined tonight after it tested the 100 benchmark in the last few days Bullion for immediate delivery fell 9 80 to 992 40 |
C | European Markets and U S Futures Rise On Citi News | European Trade European shares surged higher at the opening bell while U S futures advanced on the news that the U S government might reach a 40 stake in Citigroup Helped by the same news Asian shares advanced from the lows set in the first minutes of trading The banking sector is again under scrutiny from investors During the overnight session rumors surfaced that the U S government is preparing to swap its preferred stock to common Citigroup stock something that will increase its share up to 40 and will dilute shareholders stakes However these rumors have not been confirmed If the Government does actually take such a large stake in Citigroup authorities may be tempted to use it to alter mortgages and at the same time backstop any other losses the bank would take from any declines of its assets Some suggest that this is a positive thing for the financial system as it will reduce overall risk In the U K people familiar with the matter said that state controlled RBS would split into two units The bank plans to save up to 1 4 billion by reducing its global workforce by 20 000 and sell parts of its Asian and Australian businesses Even though the rumors were not confirmed through any official channel rumor has it that the division will see one entity including the core unit and the second entity including non essential activities The bank s investment unit is also set to shrink over the next period after earlier this year it was accused unofficially of trying to devalue some Eastern European currencies The Nikkei fell 40 22 points 0 54 to 7 376 16 The Australian S P slid 51 20 points 1 50 to 3 351 00 The U K Ftse gained 68 88 points 1 77 to 3 957 94 while the German Dax rose 75 12 points 1 87 to 4 089 78 Crude oil advanced on speculation the U S economy will eventually pick up again Crude oil for March delivery rose 0 45 to 40 00Gold was sold tonight after almost reaching a one year high Bullion for immediate delivery fell 17 00 to 985 20 |
C | Dollar Index Dollar Falls As Citigroup Rumors Fly | Stocks in Europe and Asia along with S P futures climbed overnight and sent the dollar lower against the higher yielders and higher against the yen on speculation the U S government would increase its control over Citigroup Treasuries fell
Citigroup surged 24 in Germany after the Wall Street Journal said the bank is in talks with federal officials that may result in the government converting a portion of its non voting preferred stake into as much as 40 of common stock thereby taking a larger controlling interest without a full nationalization Barclays and Hang Seng Bank Hong Kong s second largest by assets added more than 4 and the Royal Bank of Scotland Group climbed 15 after a person familiar with the situation said RBS plans to cut costs by more than 1 billion pounds 1 44 billion and split into two units
Apparently Citigroup officials approached officials at the Federal Reserve and the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency with a plan that would allow them to convert a substantial amount of the 45 billion of preferred shares held by the government into common stock giving the government a much bigger ownership stake in the bank
For Citigroup the move would allow them to retire a portion of its existing debt and through an accounting maneuver immediately bolster the amount of common stock That would appease investors and regulators who are expected to make a bigger cushion of common stock a requirement when details of the new stress test are announced this week But any such exchange would severely dilute existing Citigroup stockholders since it would require the bank to issue more shares
But it looks as if the plan will not be happening at least the way that Citigroup officials envisioned it On Monday the U S Department of the Treasury the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency the Office of Thrift Supervision and the Federal Reserve Board today issued a joint statement which said that the government will implement its Capital Assurance Program on Feb 25 and describes how a temporary nationalization could occur
Institutions which fail the government s new stress tests would first need to find new capital in the private sector Failing that the government will make new capital injections in the form of mandatory convertible preferred shares which would be converted into common equity shares only as needed over time to keep banks in a well capitalized position a provision which explicitly allows for nationalization
Concerns over Japan s economy have upended the yen s status as a safe haven currency and led to a break in the yen s longstanding inverse correlation with stock markets along with the liquidation of speculative positions after the U S federal funds rate was cut to meet Japan s low interest rates
Japanese stock holdings with a foreign exchange hedge by foreigners have been reduced to less than half from 23 trillion yen to 11 trillion yen said Tohru Sasaki an analyst at J P Morgan This suggests foreign exchange transactions by foreign investors in Japanese stocks are now less than half of what they were before he said
If stocks continue to fall bets in the foreign exchange market will decline as well diminishing the correlation between these markets
Mr Sasaki said that as the economic slowdown continues overseas investment from Japan should shrink leaving the yen exchange rate to be dominated by foreign investors Foreigners sell yen when the Nikkei declines foreigners buy yen to acquire Japanese stocks when the Nikkei starts rebounding he said That means in the long term the dollar could gain against the yen when stocks turn negative |
C | CORRECTED CORRECTED FOREX Dollar dips vs yen but U S bank aid supports | Corrects paragraph 6 to below 7 000 not below 7 000
Dollar dips vs yen on light profit taking after rally
Euro stays under pressure on Trichet comments
Investors eye global stock prices Nikkei drops 2 3 pct
By Rika Otsuka
TOKYO Feb 24 Reuters The dollar dipped against the yen
on Tuesday but it held close to a three month high on optimism
the U S government will stay more proactive than other nations
in fighting the financial crisis
The U S Treasury Department Federal Reserve and three other
federal agencies said on Monday in a joint statement they will
initiate a programme on Wednesday to assess large U S banks
capital needs and determine whether a bigger buffer is warranted
Players in the forex market believe the U S government is
taking very aggressive steps to tackle bank problems said
Hideki Amikura deputy general manager of forex trading at Nomura
Trust and Banking That is helping the dollar
The dollar also received a boost on Monday after the Wall
Street Journal reported the government could take a stake of up
to 40 percent in Citigroup by converting preferred stock into
common shares
Activity was somewhat limited on Tuesday however as market
participants retreated to the slidelines to assess the
implications of a sharp fall in global share prices traders
said
Tokyo s Nikkei share average dropped 2 3 percent in early
trade crawling towards a 26 year below 7 000 after Wall Street
slumped to a 12 year low overnight
The dollar dipped 0 3 percent from late U S trade to 94 34
as some investors booked profits on the previous day s rally
when the U S currency struck a three month high of 94 95 yen on
trading platform EBS
The euro edged down 0 1 percent to 1 2675 The euro stayed
under pressure as European Central Bank President Jean Claude
Trichet said on Monday the euro zone financial system is under
severe strain
The European single currency fell 0 5 percent to 119 56 yen
sliding from a one month peak of 121 92 yen reached the previous
day
Reporting by Rika Otsuka Editing by Brent Kininmont |
C | FOREX Dollar steadies after rally US bank aid supports | Dollar holds near 3 month high vs yen
Euro firms but stays under pressure on Trichet comments
Investors eye global stock prices Nikkei drops 2 6 pct
By Rika Otsuka
TOKYO Feb 24 Reuters The dollar steadied on Tuesday
hovering near a three month high against the yen on expectations
the U S government will stay more proactive than other nations
in fighting the financial crisis
The U S Treasury Department Federal Reserve and three other
federal agencies jointly said on Monday that they will initiate a
programme on Wednesday to assess large U S banks capital needs
and determine whether a bigger buffer is warranted
Players in the forex market believe the U S government is
taking very aggressive steps to tackle bank problems said
Hideki Amikura deputy general manager of forex trading at Nomura
Trust and Banking That is helping the dollar
The dollar also received a boost on Monday after the Wall
Street Journal reported the government could take a stake of up
to 40 percent in Citigroup by converting preferred stock into
common shares
Currency moves were muted however as investors wanted to
assess the implications of a sharp fall in global share prices
before taking positions aggressively traders said
Tokyo s Nikkei share average fell 2 6 percent in morning
trade in sight of a 26 year trough below 7 000 after Wall
Street slumped to a 12 year low overnight
Investors also awaited further developments with Citigroup
and with American International Group Inc
AIG which was rescued twice last year by the U S
government is in talks with authorities for more aid as it looks
to post its largest ever quarterly loss a source familiar with
the matter said on Monday
The dollar was little changed against the Japanese currency
from late U S trade at 94 61 yen holding close to a three month
high of 94 95 yen hit on trading platform EBS on Monday
The U S currency fell as low as 94 26 in early Asian trade
as some investors booked profits after the previous day s rally
Players were concerned that a plunge in the Nikkei could further
damage portfolios of Japanese institutional investors likely
prompting them to dump more overseas assets
The euro was up 0 1 percent at 1 2709 but well below a
12 day peak of 1 2992 hit on EBS the previous day
Traders say few were willing to chase the euro higher as
European Central Bank President Jean Claude Trichet said on
Monday the euro zone financial system is under severe strain
With worries about countries surrounding the euro zone
lingering the euro continues to be vulnerable while a ECB rate
cut is pretty much priced in the market said Shuichi Kanehira
senior vice president of the forex division at Mizuho Corporate
Bank
The European single currency firmed 0 1 percent to 120 20
yen still well off a one month peak of 121 92 yen reached the
previous day
Investors expect the ECB to lower interest rates in March
from the current 2 0 percent
Reporting by Rika Otsuka Editing by Brent Kininmont |
WMB | NFL notebook Texans Clowney visits Dolphins after firing agent | Houston Texans pass rusher Jadeveon Clowney is looking for new representation and has even visited a potential new team multiple outlets reported on Tuesday Clowney who reportedly is frustrated with talks involving his NFL future fired agent Bus Cook According to NFL Network s Tom Pelissero Clowney apparently did so over five days ago The 26 year old Clowney has yet to sign his franchise tender which is worth either 15 967 000 or 17 128 000 depending on the grievance over whether he s a defensive end or an outside linebacker and he has skipped all of training camp He cannot be traded until the tender is signed giving him leverage over any potential deal Multiple outlets also reported that Clowney met with the Miami Dolphins and had an in person sit down with head coach Brian Flores Carolina Panthers coach Ron Rivera is confident that quarterback Cam Newton will be under center for the team s season opener against the Los Angeles Rams Rivera said that there is no doubt in my mind that Newton will be on the field after sustaining a mid foot sprain during last week s preseason game against the New England Patriots Rivera s stance on Newton is stronger than the one made last week by general manager Marty Hurney who said he was cautiously optimistic about the quarterback s availability for the Sept 8 game Former NFL tight end Rob Gronkowski is physically ready to play football again but he s not sure if the desire will ever return Gronkowski in a public appearance to discuss his partnership with CBDMedic also discussed his retirement from football He got emotional explaining how the injuries made him feel I want to be clear to my fans I needed to recover Gronkowski said I was not in a good place Football was bringing me down and I didn t like it I was losing that joy in life The San Francisco 49ers released former Super Bowl Most Valuable Player Malcolm Smith In a corresponding move the 49ers signed Nick Williams NYSE WMB to a one year deal with the team dealing with injuries to fellow wide receivers Jalen Hurd back Dante Pettis groin and Trent Taylor foot Tampa Bay Buccaneers defensive end Jason Pierre Paul has been cleared by team and independent doctors to resume rehab activities in his recovery from a fractured vertebra in his neck NFL Network reported Pierre Paul who fractured the vertebra in a car accident on May 2 has not been cleared for football activities but he can now work toward getting into playing shape with eyes on a potential midseason return Carli Lloyd received an offer to kick in an NFL preseason game this week her trainer told FOX Sports Alas Lloyd has plans as the United States women s national team is scheduled to play Thursday against Portugal Lloyd attended a joint training camp practice last week with the Philadelphia Eagles and Baltimore Ravens and repeatedly drilled 40 yard field goals and even an attempt from 55 that went through According to Lloyd s trainer James Galanis a team he wouldn t name offered Lloyd a roster spot and a chance to kick in an NFL preseason game Thursday night Philadelphia Eagles wide receiver DeSean Jackson is not expected to miss any time after sustaining a broken ring finger on his left hand during practice multiple outlets reported Jackson 32 is beginning his second stint with the Eagles after being acquired from the Tampa Bay Buccaneers in March Denver Broncos tight end Jake Butt will sit out this week and perhaps much longer after his surgically repaired left knee didn t respond well following Saturday night s game against the Rams Butt played 11 snaps catching two passes for 17 yards on Saturday in his first game action since tearing his ACL during a practice last September It was Butt s third torn ACL dating back to college after he tore his right ACL twice while at Michigan Washington Redskins coach Jay Gruden expects tight end Jordan Reed to be out of concussion protocol and ready to play in the regular season opener Sept 8 at the Philadelphia Eagles Reed was put in the league s concussion protocol after taking a helmet to helmet hit against the Atlanta Falcons on Thursday He has a history of concussions Atlanta Falcons owner Arthur Blank remains hopeful wide receiver Julio Jones will pocket a new contract before the start of the regular season but admits time is running out to beat that deadline
The Houston Texans are inducting Bob McNair into their Ring of Honor the team announced McNair who is the late owner and founder of the AFC South franchise will be honored on Oct 6 during the Texans home game against the Falcons Field Level Media |
WMB | Rain delays start of some U S Open Day Three matches | By Rory Carroll NEW YORK Reuters Rain delayed the start of play on the outer courts of the U S Open on Wednesday but the second round clash between seventh seed Kei Nishikori and Bradley Klahn began as scheduled under Louis Armstrong Stadium s closed roof Nishikori and Klahn will be followed by fifth seed Elina Svitolina taking on Venus Williams NYSE WMB on Armstrong which opened last year following a five year 600 million renovation project at the Billie Jean King National Tennis Center Big hitting American Madison Keys will take on China s Lin Zhu in the final day session match on Armstrong The wet weather is not expected to impact the schedule on Arthur Ashe Stadium which also has a retractable roof Third seed Karolina Pliskova was set to kick off the day session against Georgian qualifier Mariam Bolkvadze before third seed and five times champion Roger Federer closes out the day session when he takes on Damir Dzumhur
After brutally hot conditions at the tournament last year this year s U S Open has been marked by cooler weather but rain is forecast to continue on Wednesday evening |
WMB | Svitolina wears down Venus to reach U S Open third round | By Amy Tennery NEW YORK Reuters Fifth seed Elina Svitolina knocked Venus Williams NYSE WMB out of the U S Open on Wednesday to reach the third round despite an heroic defensive effort from the 39 year old former champion Trailing 5 3 in the second set seven times Grand Slam champion Williams saved five match points to hold serve in a dramatic 22 point game The 24 year old Ukrainian who has reached the fourth round of the U S Open for the past two years struggled to convert break points throughout the match winning just four out of 17 Svitolina who beat Williams in the first round at Roland Garros this year called the American an inspiration I had to stay very focused said the 24 year old Ukrainian She s a very experienced player so she knows how to handle these moments You have to earn almost every point You have to step up your game If you give her short ball she always takes it on So you have to be aware Williams said that while she was sad to leave the tournament so early there were a lot of positives to take from the match
I served well and I played well She played well There s a lot for me to build on from there Williams told a news conference |
WMB | NFL notebook Jags Ramsey to follow Chiefs Hill in opener | Jaguars cornerback Jalen Ramsey will be matched up against Kansas City Chiefs wide receiver Tyreek Hill throughout the Sept 8 season opener in Jacksonville according to defensive coordinator Todd Wash He s going to draw Tyreek and he s got to cover him Wash told reporters on Wednesday We re very blessed Our linebackers can run All of our guys can run We can just say Hey Jalen you go take care of him That would be a different approach than Wash took when the teams met in Week 5 last season in Kansas City In that game Ramsey played predominantly in his typical left cornerback position though he occasionally crossed to the right side Hill managed two catches in direct coverage against Ramsey a 10 yarder on a short curl and a 36 yarder on a fade down the sideline with Ramsey opposite his normal spot The Chiefs won 30 14 Dallas Cowboys owner Jerry Jones doesn t seem concerned about starting the regular season without star running back Ezekiel Elliott We ve got a marathon here Jones said on 105 3 FM The Fan We want Zeke when we get to the playoffs We want Zeke when we re in the dog days of the season Elliott 24 is holding out and working out on his own away from the team It was reported recently that Dallas offered a deal that would make him the second highest paid running back in the league behind Todd Gurley Washington Redskins holdout Trent Williams NYSE WMB has shown no signs of returning to the team but team president Bruce Allen still thinks it will happen Asked if he expects the stalwart left tackle to come back Allen told Washington television station WRC Well I think Trent is going to play football yes I don t see Trent retiring When asked if Williams return could be in some other uniform Allen didn t mince words replying No It ll be with us The NFL denied the Cleveland Browns petition to allow Kareem Hunt to remain with the team while serving his eight game suspension League spokesman Brian McCarthy told Cleveland com that the running back is barred from the Browns facility during his entire suspension which begins Sunday and ends Nov 4 Hunt 24 signed with the Browns on Feb 11 Kansas City had cut him 2 1 2 months earlier after a video surfaced of him kicking and shoving a woman at a Cleveland hotel Back on the practice field after a two week layoff San Francisco 49ers running back Jerick McKinnon experienced another setback Tuesday in his return from a torn ACL General manager John Lynch told KNBR on Wednesday the news is not encouraging McKinnon 27 signed a four year 30 million contract in March 2018 but missed all of last season after injuring his right knee in practice before the season opener The Arizona Cardinals traded offensive tackle Korey Cunningham to the New England Patriots for a sixth round draft pick ESPN reported Cunningham announced on social media that he d been dealt to the Patriots who need a swing tackle behind starters Isaiah Wynn and Marcus Cannon The Patriots also acquired offensive lineman Jermaine Eluemunor from the Baltimore Ravens for an undisclosed draft pick The Buffalo Bills signed kicker Stephen Hauschka to a two year contract extension ESPN reports the value is 8 million Hauschka 34 was entering the final year of a contract he signed with Buffalo in 2017 after six seasons with the Seattle Seahawks Denver Broncos tight end Jake Butt will undergo yet another knee procedure multiple outlets reported after a setback following Saturday s preseason game Butt who has undergone three previous ACL repairs will have a cleanup on his left knee that is considered minor in comparison to his previous surgeries The Philadelphia Eagles lured quarterback Josh McCown out of retirement earlier this month to back up Carson Wentz but his signing came with a big perk He is allowed to leave the team each Friday to fly to Charlotte N C where his family lives and where he is part of the coaching staff at Myers Park High School Free agent quarterback Brock Osweiler visited the Indianapolis Colts according to multiple reports The Colts are looking for a veteran backup to Jacoby Brissett the new starter following Andrew Luck s sudden retirement Saturday The Houston Texans signed outside linebacker Brennan Scarlett to a one year contract extension through the 2020 season The deal is worth 3 75 million according to the Houston Chronicle Scarlett is making 2 05 million in 2019 The Indianapolis Colts traded third year cornerback Nate Hairston to the New York Jets for a sixth round pick in 2020 Hairston 25 played in 27 games 11 starts and registered 65 tackles two sacks and one interception over the past two seasons The Green Bay Packers traded linebacker Reggie Gilbert to the Tennessee Titans for a seventh round pick ESPN reported
Gilbert had 38 tackles and 2 5 sacks in 16 games last season in his second NFL campaign Field Level Media |
WMB | Serena survives scare to reach U S Open third round | By Frank Pingue NEW YORK Reuters Serena Williams NYSE WMB survived a second round scare at the U S Open on Wednesday with a 5 7 6 3 6 1 win over American wildcard Catherine McNally to keep alive her hopes of securing a record tying 24th Grand Slam title World number eight Williams who captured the first of her six U S Open titles two years before her 17 year old opponent was born spent the first half of the match trying to find her rhythm but when she did she was off to the races She really came out and played really well she showed no fear said Williams She had absolutely nothing to lose and she played like it McNally competing in only her sixth tour level event of her career and against the highest ranked player she has ever faced used an old school serve and volley approach along with a lethal slice backhand to unsettle Williams So effective was McNally who has tried to model parts of her game after Swiss great Roger Federer that at one point in the match Williams screamed at her racquet why are you missing But Williams whose earliest U S Open exit came in her 1997 debut when she lost in the third round turned the match around when she finally broke McNally s serve and then consolidated in a tight service game for a 5 2 lead in the second set Williams looked more like herself in the decider both serving and returning better as she went up a double break for a quick 3 0 lead before storming home and sealing the match when she broke to love I survived tonight said Williams I am not too pleased with the way I played at all said Williams whose 28 unforced errors were two fewer than McNally But it s OK I m alive I m still here and happy to be on this court I ll do better I promise Williams dropped only one point through her first three service games but it took her some time to make any inroads on the McNally serve as the American was hitting her targets with pinpoint precision The match proved a far more grueling affair for Williams than she had in her opener where she dismantled Maria Sharapova with one of her most dominant performances since returning from maternity leave in 2018 McNally said she did not feel intimated walking onto the biggest stage in tennis to face one of the game s all time best players and left the match feeling beyond proud of what she accomplished I got a set off Serena Williams Had her close in the second set too Had some chances said McNally For me it just gives me a lot of confidence shows me that I can compete out on the biggest stages Just keep my head down I m ready to go back to work
Up next for Williams will be either Taiwan s Hsieh Su wei or Czech Karolina Muchova who were unable to get their match in earlier due to rainy conditions |
WMB | American teenager McNally yearns to play like Federer not Serena | By Frank Pingue
NEW YORK Reuters Many American teenage girls grow up dreaming of becoming the next Serena Williams NYSE WMB but for Catherine McNally who nearly delivered an upset for the ages against her compatriot it is Roger Federer s game she covets
Rather than trying to mimic the powerful style of play that Williams used to revolutionize women s tennis and collect 23 Grand Slam titles 17 year old McNally instead prefers to model her game after Swiss great Federer
The big things are the way he carries himself on court I think that s huge McNally said after her 5 7 6 3 6 1 second round loss to Williams on Wednesday
I try to do the exact same thing Also the way he plays he serves and volleys looks to get to the net He takes a lot of time away from his opponents
I really like the way he plays mixes in the slice the dropshot volleys really well There s so many things I like from his game Hopefully I can keep working on those and become just like him
The American wildcard did her best impression of the 20 times Grand Slam winner in her second round clash with Williams as she relied on a serve and volley approach and lethal slice backhand that did well to unsettle Williams for long stretches
While McNally who was not broken until the sixth game of the second set when she fell behind 4 2 ran out of steam in her bid to derail the six times champion she still managed to impress world number eight Williams
It was definitely something to get used to Williams said of McNally s playing style You don t play players like her that have such full games
She just overall played really well
McNally competing in only her sixth tour level event of her career and against the highest ranked player she has ever faced showed she was anything but starstruck as she took the court under the lights inside Arthur Ashe Stadium
Instead McNally played the match of her life on the biggest stage in tennis and against one of the greatest to ever play the game and it was shots from Swiss great Federer s repertoire that gave her a fighting chance
I didn t think who was on the other side of the net as much But obviously I knew I was playing against the greatest of all time I knew that I had to bring a certain level said McNally
I walked out there and I had the chills That was the most insane atmosphere I ve never played on a court nowhere near that big especially a night match I couldn t have asked for anything better
It was just an unbelievable experience something that I ll never forget for the rest of my life |
WMB | Townsend finds secret to success at the net in Halep upset | By Frank Pingue NEW YORK Reuters American qualifier Taylor Townsend took a nothing to lose attitude into her U S Open clash with Simona Halep on Thursday and quickly found her comfort zone at the net to pull off the upset of the week Townsend who failed to win a set in three previous meetings with Halep delivered an aggressive net rushing style of play that frustrated the Romanian fourth seed and secured her first career win over a top 10 player I feel like a lot of the times when I was playing her I played like not to lose A player like that she s just way too solid has had so much experience that s not going to fly Townsend said after her 2 6 6 3 7 6 4 victory I was just like what do you have to lose I m just going to go for it I m going to do what I do best where I m the most comfortable which is at the net Townsend made a second home at the net which she approached a staggering 106 times during the match to come away with 64 of those points Halep who arrived at Flushing Meadows looking to become the first woman since Serena Williams NYSE WMB in 2012 to follow a Wimbledon win with a U S Open triumph grew more frustrated as she was unable to come up with the necessary passing shots It was a little bit weird because never happens on tour to have an opponent that is coming for actually every ball to the net said Halep who has not reached the third round in New York since 2016 I tried to play body I tried to play on the sides I made also some mistakes Also I didn t go through the court that well I was waiting behind Sometimes I thought that she s going to hit strong but was little bit softer So I didn t have the rhythm Halep managed to break Townsend and force a tiebreaker but the 23 year old American held steady and sealed the deal on her third match point when the Romanian sent a backhand into the net Townsend said her decision to dedicate herself to play at the net against was not a last minute adjustment to her gameplan but rather something she has always done I always enjoyed coming to the net said Townsend It s always a fine line especially as you move up and through the levels that you have to kind of hone in and have things that you do well You have strengths but you have to be solid from a certain point because these players are just too good The level only gets higher
I think it was really great confirmation that this style of play works that I can continue to do it Up next for Townsend in her first third round appearance at the U S Open will be another Romanian Sorana Cirstea who beat Spain s Aliona Bolsova earlier on Thursday |
WMB | NFL notebook Zero chance Williams reports for Redskins opener | A day after Washington Redskins team president Bruce Allen said he expects holdout left tackle Trent Williams NYSE WMB to return to the team former teammate DeAngelo Hall said Williams won t be back by the regular season opener
I reached out to him and he s like Man there s zero chance I ll be in that building next week Hall said on The Athletic s Hail to the Podcast on Thursday saying he spoke to Williams after Allen s comments emerged Wednesday
I hear some whispers that he might show up Hall added and then I talk to him and it s like Nah I m not showing up We haven t talked we haven t addressed the issues
Hall and Williams were teammates for eight seasons from when Williams was drafted in 2010 until Hall retired after the 2017 season
Free agent defensive end Ryan Russell revealed that he is bisexual telling his story through ESPN s Kevin Arnovitz in a piece posted to ESPN com
Currently looking to get back into the league after missing last season with a shoulder injury the 27 year old Russell said that after he met with an NFL team earlier this month he told himself This is the last time I will ever interview for a job as anything other than my full self
Have I lied to teammates coaches trainers front office executives and fans about who I am Not exactly Russell continued But withholding information is a form of deceit And I want the next part of my career and life steeped in trust and honesty
After Houston Texans pass rusher Jadeveon Clowney reportedly fired his agent and visited with the Miami Dolphins a report indicates the interest may not be reciprocal
At least if it involves departing with left tackle Laremy Tunsil
Citing a well placed source the Miami Herald s Adam H Beasley reported Dolphins players would revolt if the team sent Tunsil to Houston in a deal for Clowney As reports came out mentioning a potential Tunsil for Clowney deal the Dolphins reportedly told Tunsil s camp the team has no plans to trade him
Cleveland Browns running back Kareem Hunt underwent surgery to repair a sports hernia and missed the preseason finale
A full recovery is anticipated per the team prior to Hunt s planned return to action in Week 10
The Nov 11 game against the Buffalo Bills marks the date Hunt is eligible to rejoin the team after serving an eight game suspension for violating the NFL s personal conduct policy
The Buffalo Bills traded second year guard Wyatt Teller to the Browns
The Browns also receive a 2021 seventh round draft pick from the Bills in exchange for fifth and sixth round selections in 2020
Teller 24 was drafted in the fifth round by Buffalo in 2018 and appeared in eight games seven starts during his rookie campaign
Carolina Panthers kicker Graham Gano s knee injury doesn t seem to be getting better and he could land on injured reserve for the first half of the season NFL Network reported
Gano who finished the 2018 campaign on IR with a knee injury has not kicked at all during the preseason with Joey Slye handling those duties
Slye entered Thursday 6 for 6 including makes of 55 and 54 yards then drilled a 59 yard field goal in the preseason finale against the Pittsburgh Steelers
The Atlanta Falcons are bringing 44 year old kicker Matt Bryant in for a tryout Friday according to multiple reports
Bryant made 20 of 21 field goals in 13 games with the Falcons last season but the team released him in February and opted to go with Giorgio Tavecchio
Tavecchio 29 has struggled in the preseason however He has missed five of his six field goal attempts from 30 plus yards including a 53 yarder Thursday
Dallas Cowboys rookie guard Connor McGovern suffered a setback in his recovery from a partially torn pectoral muscle and could miss the season multiple outlets reported
McGovern reportedly does not need surgery but the timetable for recovery is unknown
The neck injury sustained by Seattle Seahawks cornerback Kalan Reed earlier this month will likely end his NFL career his agent told NFL Media
Reed injured his third and fourth vertebrae on Aug 18 and was placed on injured reserve this week
NFL teams will play five games outside the United States in 2019 and commissioner Roger Goodell said there s room for more
The reality is that the demand for playing those games is greater than we have in the inventory Goodell told Sports Business Journal
A group of retired players involved in a class action lawsuit against the NFL over brain injuries was defrauded by their attorney and his Florida investment firm the Securities and Exchange Commission
The SEC charged Cambridge Capital Group Advisors of Tallahassee attorney Phillip Timothy Howard and investment manager Don Warner Reinhard with defrauding 20 investors who largely were the former players
Field Level Media |
WMB | Djokovic Serena return to court in Day Five action | By Frank Pingue
NEW YORK Reuters Novak Djokovic will look to keep recent shoulder injury at bay as he resumes his U S Open title defense in the third round while Serena Williams NYSE WMB will look to take another step closer to a record tying 24th Grand Slam title on Friday
Djokovic will conclude the evening session inside Arthur Ashe Stadium when he faces American Denis Kudla in a rematch of their second round Wimbledon meeting which the Serbian won in straight sets
But top seeded Djokovic who has won four of the last five Grand Slams may need his left shoulder to cooperate as sudden pain in his second round match affected his serve and backhand and nearly ended his title defense
Good thing about Grand Slams is you have a day off in between the matches said Djokovic I m hoping that with a proper medical help and treatments I ll be able to get myself in a better state
Roger Federer will try to avoid another slow start when he kicks off the day session on Arthur Ashe against Briton Dan Evans and will be followed on the court by six times champion Williams
Federer has lost the opening set in each of his first two matches before flipping a switch and cruising to the finish line in dominant fashion
The 20 times Grand Slam champion who improved to 2 0 all time against Evans when he beat him in the second round of the Australian Open this year is not losing any sleep over his sluggish starts
I don t think there is per se a secret to a good start other than warming up well being well prepared mentally Not underestimating your opponent You know me I will always do that said Federer
So when it happens like this back to back matches you know it s just a bit frustrating more than anything but yeah can only do better which is a great thing moving forward
Williams will also be keen to avoid falling into an early hole after being dealt a scare when she dropped the first set in her second round match against American Caty McNally
The 37 year old will cap the afternoon session on the main showcourt when she battles Wimbledon quarter finalist Karolina Muchova for the first time in her career
Muchova did well in Wimbledon Actually got to see some of her matches but not enough Williams said when asked about the test that awaits her in the third round |
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