Econintersect: China’s manufacturing sector reported the lowest PMI (Purchasing Managers’ Index) reading in 15 months with a July 2015 Caixin/Markit “Flash” (preliminary) survey result of 48.2. Readings below 50 reflect a contracting manufacturing sector. The low value for the survey result was a surprise. This was down from a June reading of 49.4 and was…
American Airlines Group (AAL – Analyst Report) reported higher-than-expected earnings in the second quarter of 2015. The company recorded adjusted earnings per share of $2.62, beating the Zacks Consensus Estimate by 3 cents. The earnings beat pleased the investors, resulting in shares of the company gaining value in pre-market trading. American Airlines Group Inc. – Earnings Surprise |…
In this world of constant news flow, and rapid access to financial data, it’s easy to forget the difference between investing and trading. Many amateurs (and most professionals for that matter) seem to confuse the two concepts, engaging in a strange hybrid of the two philosophies. “Trading and investing are based on two very different…
After yesterday’s latest drop in stocks driven by “old economy” companies such as CAT, which sent the Dow Jones back to red for the year and the S&P fractionally unchanged, today has been a glaring example of the “new” vs “old” economy contrast, with futures propped up thanks to strong tech company earnings after the…
USD recovered some significant ground versus most currencies and commodities helped by solid job data. Initial jobless claims dropped to 255k versus expectation of 275k. In the UK, Retail Sales were terrible. -0.2% versus expectation of 0.3% resulting in a 170 pip move lower to 1.5500 from 1.5670. The biggest mover today in Asia was…
The GBP/USD pair initially tried on Thursday, as the 1.57 level offered far too much in the way of resistance. The market fell significantly at that point in time, and crashed into the 1.55 level. This area should be important, but I see a more important line below, as shown by the uptrend line on…
Hormel Foods (HRL) has quietly assembled a large portfolio of well-known food brands… The image below shows many of the company’s well-known brands. The company’s more successful brands include: Skippy peanut butter, Spam, Dinty Moore, Jennie-O Turkey, Muscle Milk, and the recently acquired Applegate Farms. The Applegate Organics Acquisition Hormel recently acquired Applegate Farms for $775 million. Applegate…
There’s precious little hard data at this point for profiling the US economy in July, but the preliminary numbers so far suggest that growth will prevail and the manufacturing sector’s recent weakness will give way to a modestly stronger trend. We’ll know more when we see today’s flash July data for the US manufacturing purchasing…
Under the original Coinage Act of 1792, drafted by Alexander Hamilton, the penalty for debasing a coin was death. Under that law, President Lyndon B. Johnson was guilty of a capital offense. Fifty years ago today, Johnson signed the Coinage Act of 1965, setting into motion five decades of currency debasement that continues today. Under…
