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☆ One firm lists 3 reasons why it thinks the Fed will deliver its final rate hike today, and what that means for the stock market
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-03 | by ( Matthew Fox | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +3 min

The Fed is poised to hike interest rates today for the last time in the current cycle, according to Fundstrat. That's because inflation has declined, the labor market is softening, and financial stability risks have increased. Stocks have historically performed well after the Fed implemented its last interest rate hike. "The constellation of data is already pointing to a softening of labor market demand, jobs itself and eventually wages. And if inflation continues to decline, that should give the Fed ample breathing room to pause further interest rate hikes.

☆ Goldman Sachs says this appliance stock is cheap and can jump more than 20%
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-11 | by ( Alex Harring | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +2 min

Whirlpool is trading at a discount, and investors should take advantage of it, according to Goldman Sachs. Analyst Susan Maklari upgraded the stock to buy from neutral. Maklari's price target of $160 implies the stock could rally 24% over the next 12 months. A challenging economic environment can be somewhat mitigated in the appliance industry given that 50% of more of demand comes from product replacement, she said. Maklari said operating margin should improve modestly through 2024, helped by deflation in raw materials and sustained list prices increases.

☆ Here are Monday's biggest analyst calls: Tesla, Walmart, First Republic, Nikola, McDonald's & more
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-10 | by ( Michael Bloom | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +6 min

Here are Monday's biggest calls on Wall Street: Bernstein reiterates Tesla as underperform Bernstein said more price cuts are coming for Tesla. Morgan Stanley reiterates Walmart as overweight Morgan Stanley said its latest survey shows Walmart+ membership is at a record. UBS reiterates McDonald's as buy UBS said the fast food giant is extremely well positioned. UBS upgrades Regions Financial to buy from neutral UBS said in its upgrade of the regional bank that it likes the company's balance sheet. Northcoast upgrades McDonald's to buy from neutral Northcoast said it sees improved profitability for McDonald's .

☆ These S&P 500 stocks crushed it in the first quarter. Here's where analysts see them going
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-02 | by ( Fred Imbert | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +4 min

The S & P 500 just wrapped up a wild first quarter with surprisingly strong results. The tech and communication services sectors powered the S & P 500 higher, rising more than 20% each. Here are the 10 best S & P 500 stocks for the first quarter, and where analysts see them going based on the implied upside (or downside) to their average price targets. Nvidia led the way higher among S & P 500 stocks, surging 90.1%. As for Catalent, analysts see the stock rallying 24.5% after surging 46% in the first quarter.

The Evergrande Mingdu residential complex in Jiangsu province, China, is one of the many properties owned by Evergrande Group. China Evergrande Group, the giant property developer that defaulted on its U.S. dollar bonds more than a year ago, has struck a crucial deal with a group of bondholders, bringing its prolonged debt negotiations close to the finish line. The Guangzhou-based developer became the highest profile victim of the Chinese government’s deleveraging campaign more than two years ago, which fueled a sharp slowdown in the property sector and ultimately led to dozens of dollar bond defaults. Its negotiation with bondholders—which investors said often appeared close to faltering—covered more than $19 billion of bonds.

☆ Exxon vs. Chevron? Goldman Sachs reveals its favorite — and other energy picks
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-22 | by ( Weizhen Tan | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +3 min

Energy stocks dropped last week as oil prices fell to a 15-year low , with the banking crisis roiling markets. Amid the volatility, Goldman Sachs named the energy stocks it likes in a March 16 note. Exxon vs. Chevron For investors looking for a defensive play, Goldman analysts recommend Exxon as a top pick, adding that they prefer it over rival Chevron . Targa vs. Oneok Within midstream stocks, Goldman said it was "more positive" on U.S.-based companies Targa Resources and Cheniere Energy following the pullback. That's because lower oil prices would not hit Targa's operations as much as Oneok's, they added.

☆ Wells Fargo upgrades Warner Bros. Discovery, cites growing confidence in media company's debt reduction efforts
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-17 | by ( Samantha Subin | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +1 min

The risk-reward is improving for shares of Warner Bros. Shares of Warner Bros. WBD YTD mountain Warner Bros. Discovery shares so far this year Improvement within the company's direct-to-consumer business and consolidation should also provide upside potential ahead, Cahall said. "The new WBD is emerging with strong FCF, a tactical approach, greater command and control, and excellent HBO content," Cahall wrote.

☆ Investor dash for cash pumps U.S. money market funds to record high - BofA
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-10 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

LONDON, March 10 (Reuters) - Assets invested in U.S. money market funds have reached a new all-time high of $4.9 trillion this year, as soaring short-term interest rates have sent investors rushing into cash, BofA Global Research said on Friday. Money market funds invest in highly liquid near-term instruments such as cash and short term debt securities. So far this year, investors have put $192 billion into cash, adding $18.1 billion in the week to Wednesday, BofA said. They invested $68.1 billion in cash a week earlier, more than at any time since the depths of the pandemic in 2020. Market expectations for further rate hikes from the U.S. Federal Reserve, which have sent U.S. yields higher, have also made money market funds more attractive.

☆ JPMorgan says buy this oil tanker stock that can rally more than 40%
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-08 | by ( Sarah Min | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +1 min

There's a buying opportunity in shares of Scorpio Tankers , according to JPMorgan. Analyst Samuel Bland initiated the oil tanker operator with an overweight rating, saying it has a rosy outlook ahead. Scorpio Tankers shares are up 12% this year, after a gangbusters 2022 when they skyrocketed more than 300% — buoyed by the surge in energy prices. Meanwhile, sanctions around Russian exports could add to the oil tankers' ton-miles, as in the volume and distance of products shipped. To be sure, one risk facing Scorpio Tankers is its historically high financial leverage, but the analyst noted the firm is deleveraging quickly.

☆ Here are Wednesday's biggest analyst calls: Apple, Procter & Gamble, Tesla, Spotify, AbbVie & more
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-01 | by ( Michael Bloom | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +9 min

Morgan Stanley upgrades Sarepta to overweight from equal weight Morgan Stanley said it's bullish on the company's gene therapy drug, SRP-9001. Morgan Stanley reiterates Rivian as overweight Morgan Stanley said it's standing by its overweight rating on the EV maker after its earnings report on Tuesday, but says it's now a show-me story. Morgan Stanley reiterates Eli Lilly as top pick Morgan Stanley said the stock is best-in-class and that it's bullish on its diabetes drug, Mounjaro. Morgan Stanley names JD.com a catalyst driven idea Morgan Stanley said it's bullish heading into the China e-commerce company's earnings on March 9. Morgan Stanley reiterates Microsoft as overweight Morgan Stanley said it's standing by shares of Microsoft.

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☆ Digital video is set to top traditional TV this year. How Wall Street says to play it
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-23 | by ( Samantha Subin | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +7 min

As of Thursday's close, Netflix shares were up 9% year to date, while Disney , Paramount and Warner Bros. NFLX YTD mountain Netflix shares since the start if 2023 During the pandemic, the streaming industry challenged cable TV as customers cut the cord. Shares of Netflix struggled Thursday following a report from The Wall Street Journal that the company was cutting prices in over 30 countries. Disney represents another clear-cut behemoth in the space, and boasts one of the higher number of buy ratings on Wall Street. The Trade Desk is another advertising stock Wall Street is bullish on, with more than 60% of analysts giving a buy rating on the stock.

☆ Bank of Korea to hold rates despite still high inflation: Reuters Poll
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-21 | by ( Anant Chandak | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

BENGALURU (Reuters) - The Bank of Korea will hold its base interest rate at 3.50% on Thursday and for the rest of this year, suggesting its longest tightening cycle on record is over despite still high inflation, a Reuters poll of economists found. FILE PHOTO: The logo of the Bank of Korea is seen on the top of its building in Seoul, South Korea, July 14, 2016. All 42 economists polled Feb. 13-20 predicted no change to the 3.50% base rate, already the highest since late 2008, at the central bank’s Feb. 23 meeting. Only a few respondents expected rates to climb above 3.50% at some point this year, while nearly half expected at least one rate cut by year-end. “Towards the year-end, we expect inflation to converge towards the BOK’s medium-term goal, which would therefore open up the room for the BOK to start cutting rates to bring policy into more neutral territory,” Derrick Kam, Asia economist at Morgan Stanley, said.

☆ Bank of Korea to hold rates despite still high inflation - Reuters poll
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-21 | by ( Anant Chandak | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

SummarySummary Companies BOK to hold base rate at 3.50% at Feb. 23 meetingBENGALURU, Feb 21 (Reuters) - The Bank of Korea will hold its base interest rate at 3.50% on Thursday and for the rest of this year, suggesting its longest tightening cycle on record is over despite still high inflation, a Reuters poll of economists found. All 42 economists polled Feb. 13-20 predicted no change to the 3.50% base rate (KROCRT=ECI), already the highest since late 2008, at the central bank's Feb. 23 meeting. Only a few respondents expected rates to climb above 3.50% at some point this year, while nearly half expected at least one rate cut by year-end. We expect the first rate cut to materialise in 2024, when we expect inflation to settle around the 2% mark and the U.S. (Federal Reserve) to pivot." The BOK's stance differs from many other global central banks that are expected to carry on raising interest rates, including the Fed.

Analysts estimate that nearly $700 billion of mortgages – close to one-eighth China's outstanding total – have been prepaid since early last year, when banks started to lower borrowing rates. This threatens banks' profits on mortgages, which accounted for about 30% of outstanding loans at China's five biggest banks as of last June, according to their latest financial reports. The current disinterest in new home purchases contrasts sharply with the overheated property market of prior years, when authorities kept mortgage rates high to cool speculation. Towards the middle of last year, however, regulators began lowering benchmark mortgage rates to prop up property demand, after a liquidity crisis among developers sent home prices and sales into a downward spiral. "I decided to do so because I'm burdened with a mortgage rate that's too high," Wang said.

Sinclair acquired the portfolio of regional sports networks from Disney in 2019 for $10.6 billion, including roughly $8 billion in debt. Diamond Sports' portfolio includes Bally Sports Detroit, Bally Sports Florida and Bally Sports Southwest. Its networks are home to more than half of MLB, NHL and NBA teams in the U.S., Diamond says. As consumers flee traditional pay-TV bundles, cable networks, particularly the regional sports networks, have felt the brunt of it. Concerns that Diamond could forgo paying the rights payments while under bankruptcy protection have been discussed at the leagues, the people said.

☆ Column: India's economy - and emissions - primed for big jumps in 2023
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-08 | by ( Gavin Maguire | Thomson Reuters | Gavin Maguire Is The Global Energy Transition Columnist. He Was Previously Asia Commodities | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +5 min

Climate trackers will be alarmed by such a robust outlook, as India's power sector already spewed out near record emissions in 2022 when its economy was stuck in a lower gear, and will likely elevate pollution totals further as momentum builds. RECORD USE OF COALIndia's power sector emissions of carbon dioxide (CO2) and equivalent gases are on track for a record in 2022, according to data from think tank Ember. The emissions tally for January through November - the latest monthly data available - is 7.5% above the same period in 2021, which registered a record annual power sector emissions total of 1.091 billion tonnes. Strong, sustained electricity demand from households, retail outlets and offices - mainly for air conditioners - helped push India's overall electricity demand higher in 2022, despite the soft showing from manufacturers. India's electricity generation and emissions scale record highs in 2022Total electricity generation through November increased by 8.3% from the year before, indicating that India's power producers successfully deployed larger amounts of new clean power in 2022 (up 13.3%) than new fossil-fuel power (up 6.7%).

☆ China keeps insisting its real-estate market is not in a crisis — even as just about every sign points to the opposite
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-06 | by ( Huileng Tan | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +5 min

The IMF said in a report on China's economy that the country's property crisis remains "unresolved." But China's hit back at that, saying its property market "has been operating smoothly in general, and is not in a 'crisis' situation." China's real estate market has been mired in debt woes for the past few years. The IMF says China's property crisis "intensified" in 2022The IMF said in its Friday report China's property crisis "intensified" in 2022. The debt crisis also had a deep social impact.

☆ China's real estate crisis isn't over yet, IMF says
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-03 | by ( Evelyn Cheng | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +4 min

China's real estate market has slumped in the last two years after Beijing cracked down on developers' high reliance on debt for growth. Future Publishing | Future Publishing | Getty ImagesBEIJING — China needs to do more in order to fix its real estate problems, the International Monetary Fund said Friday. Chinese authorities started to ease restrictions on financing for the sector over the last several months. Still, residential floor space sold in China dropped by nearly 27% last year, while real estate investment fell by 10%, according to official numbers. The IMF report pointed out that a significant portion of investors in Chinese developers' bonds have been affected.

☆ Investor reaction to Adani market rout after short-seller report
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-02 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +4 min

The rout has sparked concern that the fallout could also affect, more broadly, confidence in India. GEORGE BOUBOURAS, HEAD OF RESEARCH AT K2 ASSET MANAGEMENT, MELBOURNE (UNDERWEIGHT ON INDIA)"The Adani effect works both ways given the market cap relative to index. "To attract more capital the Indian economy needs more FTAs (free-trade agreements) and more financial market reform - a long process." Given there has not been any significant change for now for the market valuation, the market remains overall expensive in our view." Adani is a known levered name in India, so I would think most participants should not associate the same issues for other Indian assets."

Foreign investors, many of them already underweight what they consider an overpriced stock market, are reducing exposure. "Only Adani Group is trading with these ridiculously high multiples, and that is the core of the problem." "At this point in time, I don’t think it’s a systemic risk," said Jimmy Lim, chief investment officer at Modular Asset Management in Singapore. "We don't think that there's going to be a default anytime soon, although I don't expect any kind of near-term resolution between Adani Group and Hindenburg," Chao said. Yet Chao expects the selloff to help bring Indian stock valuations to more "palatable levels" for investors.

The stunning market selloff has cast a shadow over Adani Enterprises' secondary share sale that started on Friday. The share sale is being managed by Jefferies, India's SBI Capital Markets, Axis Capital, and ICICI Securities among others. Shares of other listed Adani firms also plummeted, with Adani Transmission Ltd (ADAI.NS), Adani Total Gas (ADAG.NS), Adani Green Energy (ADNA.NS) and Adani Ports (APSE.NS) sinking 20% each. Adani Ports, Adani Green Energy and Adani Transmission marked their worst intraday drop ever, with heavy volumes. Billionaire U.S. investor Bill Ackman said on Thursday that he found the Hindenburg report "highly credible and extremely well researched."

Adani Group has dismissed the report as baseless and said it is considering whether to take legal action against the New York-based firm. "There were heavy positions in Adani group (shares), the way they have risen in the last couple of years," said Neeraj Dewan, director at Quantum Securities in New Delhi. Shares of other listed Adani firms also plummetted, with Adani Transmission Ltd (ADAI.NS) Adani Total Gas (ADAG.NS), Adani Green Energy (ADNA.NS) and Adani Ports (APSE.NS) sinking 20% each. Adani Enterprises' net profit for the period ended Sept. 30, 2022 doubled to 9 billion Indian rupees ($110.31 million) while its total income nearly tripled to 795 billion Indian rupees, according to its share sale prospectus. The company's total liabilities as of September 2022 stood at 869 billion rupees ($10.64 billion), the prospectus showed.

☆ India's Adani kicks off $2.45 bln share sale while under short-seller attack
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-27 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

Adani Group firms lost $11 billion in market capitalisation on Wednesday after New York-based Hindenburg Research flagged concerns in a report about debt levels and the use of tax havens. Adani Group dismissed the report as baseless. Adani Enterprises, the flagship company of a conglomerate led by world's fourth-richest man, Gautam Adani, aims to use the share sale proceeds for capital expenditure and to pay debt. Adani Group has repeatedly faced and dismissed concern about debt levels. The share sale "should sail through successfully."

HONG KONG, Jan 17 (Reuters Breakingviews) - The Chinese economy grew 3% in 2022, the government reported, beating forecasts but way below the official 5% target. The surprising lift is largely thanks to a rosier-than-expected fourth quarter, when the country took a ride on a pandemic-policy rollercoaster. As the contagious Omicron strain spread through cities, local officials’ first reaction was to tighten lockdowns, which suppressed consumption. That’s hardly enough to revive market confidence; Chinese equity indexes fell after the GDP report. The Chinese government had set the official annual GDP target at "around" 5.5% in March.

☆ This options strategy could be a smart way to play Boeing's earnings, Goldman says
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-11 | by ( Jesse Pound | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +2 min

Boeing is poised for a strong quarterly report that should send its stock higher and reward options traders, according to Goldman Sachs. A call option serves as a bet that a stock will rise above a certain strike price before the contract expires. The option allows the holder to buy the stock at that strike price, which would be at a discount to the market. That low average price target could be one reason that the options market for Boeing is still cheap, which should increase the return of a winning options trade. One-month implied volatility of 40 is only in its 29th percentile relative to the past year," the Goldman note said.

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