Author Archives: Darren Marchal

March 2018 Initial Unemployment Claims Rolling Averages Marginall

Hurricanes continue to impact claims taking procedures in the Virgin Islands and Puerto Rico. The market expectations for weekly initial unemployment claims (from Bloomberg/Econoday) were 220 K to 230 K (consensus 228,000), and the Department of Labor reported 215,000 new claims. The more important (because of the volatility in the weekly reported claims and seasonality errors…

JPMorgan’s Tusa Confident In $11 GE Target Amid Buffett Spe

  JPMorgan analyst Stephen Tusa points out that Warren Buffett’s past involvement in General Electric (GE) has ended up being wrong from a “stock and valuation perspective.” Following this week’s speculation of a potential Buffett stake, Tusa expresses greater conviction in his Underweight rating on GE with an $11 price target. The analyst wonders why,…

Stocks End A Wild Quarter, As Bulls Scratch Their Heads

The main U.S. stock market indexes were mixed between -0.9% and -0.0% on Wednesday, as investors hesitated following Tuesday’s sell-off. The sentiment remained pretty bearish despite some better-than-expected economic data releases. The S&P 500 index fluctuated along the level of 2,600. It is currently 9.4%  below January 26 record high of 2,872.87. The Dow Jones Industrial…

PCE Price Index: February Headline & Core

The BEA’s Personal Income and Outlays report for February was published this morning by the Bureau of Economic Analysis. The latest Headline PCE price index was up 0.19% month-over-month (MoM) and is up 1.75% year-over-year (YoY). The latest Core PCE index (less Food and Energy) came in at 0.23% MoM and 1.60% YoY. Core PCE remains below…

Are Energy Stocks A Buy Yet?

Energy stocks are likely a Buy, just not Yet. The sector has potential, and for the best returns, investors will need to score the best entry. Our article today will be an update for our readers on energy stocks and price levels with potential to represent a possible entry. Are Energy Stocks a Buy according…

Ross Ignores Beijing’s “Pandora’s Box” Wa

Just when investors thought trade war tantrums were ebbing… Despite warnings overnight from Beijing that US should “not open Pandora’s box” with regard trade tariffs, US Commerce Secretary Wilbur Ross confirmed on Bloomberg TV this morning that President Trump will announce sweeping China tariffs, aimed at countering IP theft, shortly. The US “is not strong-arming” China, Ross…