There was some hope last month that, after falling for two straight months at a -10% Y/Y pace, there would finally be some demand for the products of the one company that symbolizes (or at least used to) the strength of global industrial demand: Caterpillar (CAT). When it reported its first single-digit decline since July….
After watching the new video with Adair Turner from a talk he gave at the Bristol Festival of Economics in November 2014, it is clear he understands the economic situation better than Paul Krugman. While Krugman tries to understand if inequality even leads to more financial instability (link), Turner knows that it does and the mechanisms by…
Last week, I said that it was time for income investors to adjust their portfolios and adapt to the new reality of cheap oil. For less-speculative investors, I recommended turning an eye to Europe. This week, I want to expand on that idea and highlight a number of enticing investments across the pond. You…
Bottom line is $HHC paid $66M ($204M to IRS and getting $138M from $GGP) for 715k of office space……and this assumes they get no relief at all from the tax court. They very well might end up with these as a “freebie”. Here is the breakdown of the properties from $GGP 2013 10k: This reminds me of when $HHC bought the 47% of the Woodlands it did not own from…
The EU Summit starts today. There are three important issues: Russia, Juncker’s investment scheme, and Greece. Russia’s woes have not been sufficient to spur a change in behavior from Putin. His press conference today was strident, blaming the US and EU for undermining Russia. He blames foreign influences driving down the rouble. The EU will impose…
Tis the season for economic and business data to get messed up by—the season! Things are not normal this time of year. Shopping for clothing goes up, for building materials goes down, and woe be to the executive who doesn’t recognize the pattern. I pointed out the role of our December holiday in How Big Is…
For the second time in 2 days, a Chinese car maker’s stock has been utterly devastated overnight – on absolutely no news. Shares in BYD – the Chinese electric car maker part-owned by Warren Buffett – crashed 47% in a bout of total panic selling (before recovering modestly), just a day after Geely – another car maker…
Accenture plc (ACN – Analyst Report) reported first-quarter fiscal 2015 earnings per share of $1.29, which surpassed the Zacks Consensus Estimate of $1.19. On a year-over-year basis, earnings increased 12.2% from $1.15 per share. The year-over-year increase was attributed to higher revenues, higher non-operating income and lower share count. Revenues and Bookings Accenture’s first-quarter net revenue not only…
December FOMC Decree Prior to the announcement of the FOMC decision on Wednesday, it was widely expected that the verbiage in the statement would be changed so as to convey an increasingly hawkish stance. Specifically, it was expected that the following phrase, which has been a mainstay of FOMC statements for many moons, would finally…
Note from Doug: Having lived for two wonderful years in Paoli, PA, a suburb west of Philadelphia just south of Valley Forge, I have a special interest in this regional indicator. But, more importantly, it gives a generally reliable clue as to direction of the broader Chicago Fed’s National Activity Index. The Philly Fed’s Business Outlook Survey is a…
