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Thursday, October 19, 2017

“Black Monday” 1987 Stock Market Crash Will it Happen Again?

stock market, stock market crash, black monday


October 19, 2017 is the 30th year anniversary of "Black Monday" stock market crash (October 19, 1987), on this day stock markets around the world plunged. The Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 508 points marking a 22.6 percent drop, its largest ever one-day drop. The FTSE100 shed 11 per cent; and European markets followed the same downward pattern.

Following the big fall, regulators put new rules into effect, allowing for a halt in trading when there are exceptionally large price drops in certain indexes.

The fall in US markets was twice the size of those during the 1929 market crash (marked by a Black Tuesday and Black Thursday), and greater than any single-day move during the 2008 financial crisis. The recovery was almost as steep as the precipitous declines.

So will it happen again? It's possible since stock market involves risk however that kind of crash is highly unlikely.

Dow Jones industrial average is trading above 23,000 for the first time. It’s been nearly 16 months since S&P 500 index funds had a pullback of even 5 percent over the course of days or weeks, its longest such streak in two decades.

Many analysts expect the market to keep climbing, at least for the next year. The global economy is improving, corporate profits are rising and inflation remains low but not so low that it makes economists nervous.


Monday, September 11, 2017

Asian Shares and US Dollar Rise As Korea Tensions Ease






The US dollar is up while the Treasuries retreated and stocks rise as an appetite for risk returned to global markets after an anticipated North Korean missile test failed to materialize and Hurricane Irma struck the U.S. with less force than feared. Gold, the yen and Swiss franc all fell.

Bloomberg’s dollar index was headed for the first increase in eight days, while U.S. stock futures rose and Treasuries slipped after Irma weakened and shifted direction to spare Miami a direct hit. The Stoxx Europe 600 Index jumped the most in more than a week as all the region’s major stock gauges advanced and almost every sector gained. Earlier, equities across Asia traded in the green. Oil advanced as Gulf Coast refining capacity continued to recover after getting hit by Harvey.

Pyongyang warned of retaliation if the UN Security Council approves harsher sanctions over its recent nuclear test in a vote on Monday. The regime “is closely following the moves of the U.S. with vigilance,” the North’s state-run Korean Central News Agency said Monday.

“The better risk environment has seen Treasury yields move higher while the yen retreated,” wrote Chris Scicluna, head of economic research at Daiwa Capital Markets in London in a client note. Hurricane Irma appears “not to be quite as catastrophic as had been feared last week” and “thankfully there was no bad weekend news out of North Korea either,” he said.

Chinese stocks closed on a steady note after August inflation data released over the weekend came in better than expected, mainly on account of higher material costs.

The benchmark Shanghai Composite index rose 11.18 points or 0.33 percent to 3,376.42 while Hong Kong's Hang Seng index was up over 1 percent at 27,954 in late trade.

Japanese shares closed at their highest level in more than a week as the dollar recovered from a 10-month trough against the yen and data showed Japanese core machinery orders rose in July at the fastest pace since January 2016.

The Nikkei average jumped 270.95 points or 1.41 percent to 19,545.77, led by gains in recently battered automakers and financial stocks. The broader Topix index closed 1.17 percent higher at 1,612.26.

Australian shares rose sharply as banks and energy stocks rallied, helping more than offset weakness in the mining sector.

The benchmark S&P/ASX 200 index jumped 40.50 points or 0.71 percent to 5,713.10 while the broader All Ordinaries index finished 35.70 points or 0.62 percent higher at 5,775.10.


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Tuesday, August 22, 2017

Chinese Company Wants To Buy Jeep

Jeep, company acquisition, business finance, Jeep Grand Cherokee 2017

Chinese SUV manufacturer Great Wall Motors said that they are interested in acquiring the American car company Jeep, which is their attempt to expand globally. A company spokesman confirmed the bid interest on Monday, though a formal offer has not been made, according to the Associated Press.

In a statement, Jeep owner Fiat Chrysler, responding to what it called “market rumors,” said it has not been approached by Great Wall Motors for any business matters. Nevertheless, shares of Great Wall and Fiat Chrysler jumped on the possibility of a tie-up.

Fiat Chrysler statement: “In response to market rumors regarding a potential interest of Great Wall Motors in the Jeep brand, Fiat Chrysler Automobiles ... confirmed that it has not been approached by Great Wall Motors in connection with the Jeep brand or any other matter relating to its business. FCA is fully committed to its 2014-18 plan, having achieved each one of its targets to date and with only six quarters left to its completion.”

The news is not a surprise to people in the auto industry, since Fiat Chrysler chief executive Sergio Marchionne has made no secret of his desire for a merger or buyer to better position the world’s seventh-largest car company to compete globally against the likes of Volkswagen and Toyota. He previously pursued a deal with General Motors.

In April, he said Chrysler’s Jeep and Dodge brands are strong enough to stand alone like Ferrari, which the company spun off in 2015.

Italian automaker Fiat merged with Chrysler after the American auto giant stumbled during the Great Recession and filed for bankruptcy protection in 2009. The conglomerate’s brands include not just Fiat and Chrysler, but Alfa Romero, Maserati, Dodge, Ram and Jeep among others.

But Jeep and the Ram truck line are considered Fiat Chrysler’s most highly valued properties. Without Jeep, analysts said the automaker would be greatly diminished. Jeep has enjoyed several years of strong growth, however U.S. sales dropped by 13% in the first half of 2017, that has been due mainly to a restructuring of Jeep production in the U.S. The brand remains highly prized and would be, perhaps, the strongest enticement for anyone to partner with or purchase Fiat Chrysler.

Established in 1984, Great Wall is China’s largest manufacturer of SUVs and pickups

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Wednesday, August 9, 2017

Investors More Worried About US Despot Trump Than North Korea's Kim




U.S. President Donald Trump is a bigger concern to financial markets than North Korean dictator Kim Jong Un -- judging by traders’ reactions this year.

South Korea’s Kospi stock index was down 0.8% in afternoon trading Wednesday, hours after Trump told reporters “North Korea best not make any more threats to the United States,” Trump told reporters in Bedminster, New Jersey. “They will be met with fire, fury and, frankly, power the likes of which this world has never seen before.”

Traders in Seoul, about 24 miles from the border with the nuclear-armed North, also took the won down 0.9 percent. That’s a bigger reaction than after North Korean provocations:

  •     Kospi fell 0.6% and won dropped 0.3% on July 4 after North Korea warned it would make an important announcement (which turned out to be an ICBM launch)
  •     Kospi rose 0.1% and won gained 0.3% on July 31, the first trading day after the second ICBM launch
Investors have decades of experience observing North Korean threats. But with Trump, they’re still learning to deal with his unpredictable reactions.


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Tuesday, July 25, 2017

US Dollar falls to 13-month lows, Asian stocks sag

Business, finance, forex, US dollar, wall street


The US dollar was down to a 13-month low on Tuesday against a basket of major currencies, extending recent declines as investors positioned for a Federal Reserve meeting starting later in the day.

Undermining the case for a Fed rate increase in coming months, the dollar has been hit by weak U.S. data that has contrasted with an improving economic outlook in Europe and China.

The dollar fell 0.1% to 110.99 yen JPY=D4 on Tuesday, after touching a six-week low of 110.65 yen on Monday.

The dollar index .DXY, which tracks the greenback against a basket of six major peers, pulled back a little to 93.919 on Tuesday. It still remained above Monday's low of 93.823, its lowest level since June 2016.

Japan's Nikkei 225 index slipped by 0.1% to 19,955.20 and Hong Kong's Hang Seng fell 0.1% to 26,825.91. South Korea's Kospi sank 0.5% 2,438.50. Australia's S&P ASX 200 gained 0.7% to 5,726.60 and the Shanghai Composite index slipped 0.3% to 3,420.25. India's Sensex lost 0.1% to Shares in Southeast Asia were mixed.



Wednesday, July 12, 2017

Ethereum Stabilised to $200+


Bitcoin, cryptocurrency, Ethereum

One of the hottest cryptocurrency Ethereum stabilised on Wednesday after a free fall for two straight days. Ethereum is up 5% versus US dollar $201.17 at 4.17 a.m. ET.  Ethereum suffered a steep fall about 25% against the US dollar on Monday and Tuesday. It follows a 5,000% rise in the price of Ethereum since the start of the year.

eToro analyst Mati Greenspan told Business Insider on Tuesday that the decline was likely just a correction after such a rapid rise. Concerns over the viability of companies using Ethereum's network to raise money also contributed, he said.

Ethereum is an open-source database overlayed with a digital currency. Bitcoin is designed for spending, Ethereum's token, Ether, simply powers its network. Ethereum's network allows people to write "smart contracts" and people have been using it to raise money online through DIY crowdfundings called "Initial Coin Offerings."  

Bitcoin on Wednesday morning is up 0.24% to $2,322.03 at 4.27 a.m. ET.


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Tuesday, July 4, 2017

Zynga Shares jumped by 3,292%, Amazon dropped by 87%, Apple down by 14%, eBay soared to 253%

stocks finance, stock market


What a day it may have been, Finance website CNNMoney, Bloomberg and Google Finance showed Zynga is up by 3,292%, Amazon plunging 87%, eBay soaring by 253%, Apple dropping 14% and Microsoft jumping 79% late Monday. Unfortunately for Zynga and eBay it was only a glitch.

According to Nasdaq, the erroneous prices came from test data that they sent out that was "improperly" used by some third party companies. It said it's working with those companies to fix the problem as quickly as possible. It was obvious that something was wrong. Apple, Amazon and Microsoft's share prices were all listed as exactly $123.47. So were those of eBay which is up by 254% and video game developer Zynga was up by staggering 3,292%.

The misleading prices appeared on the websites of CNNMoney, Bloomberg and Google Finance. But they didn't appear on Nasdaq's own website.

Nasdaq said the data that was sent out was part of "normal evening test procedures. Well, CNN and other mainstream media company might blame Russia again.




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Friday, June 16, 2017

US Tech Stocks Slips, Asia Stocks Stable


Business, finance, stocks, US tech stock market

The five largest U.S. technology companies have lost enough market capitalization over the past week, Apple <AAPL.O., Alphabet (GOOGL.O), Microsoft (MSFT.O), Amazon (AMZN.O) and Facebook (FB.O), their combined market capitalization fall by about $120 billion since last Thursday. By Thursday the S&P 500 technology index .SPLRCT had seen its largest five-day drop in a year.

The slip was again led by sector heavyweights Apple and Alphabet, as investors moved away from what had been the year's best-performing sector and rotated portfolios into stocks that pay higher dividends amid some signs that U.S. economic weakness.

Despite the rout, Asian stocks remained stable  on Friday, and European shares look set for a positive start following Thursday's losses.

The Japanese yen remained near a two-week low against the dollar after the Bank of Japan left monetary policy unchanged as expected even as its U.S. counterpart signaled further tightening.

Japan's Nikkei .N225 were up by 0.7% , narrowing its loss for the week to 0.3%. MSCI's broadest index of Asia-Pacific shares outside Japan .MIAPJ0000PUS slipped about 0.1%, on track to end the week down 0.85%.  

South Korea's KOSPI .KS11 was down by about 0.1%, losing early gains. The biggest company, Samsung Electronics (005930.KS) advances by 0.1%.

Taiwan index .TWII were up by 0.6%, with the biggest company, Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co. (2330.TW) jumping 1.7% and Apple supplier Hon Hai Precision Industry (2317.TW) surging 2.5%.

Wednesday, May 24, 2017

Bitcoin’s Price Hits New All Time High $2,322 as Scaling Consensus Reached

https://bits2u.com/?ref=13290


Bitcoin has reached another new all-time high at $2,322 this morning May 24 based on global average. Experts said that the recent bitcoin price surge is due to the strong performance and momentum of the Japanese bitcoin industry, however it is also affected by the progress in bitcoin scaling talks which has been a driving factor of bitcoin price’s upward momentum.

Cointelegraph has reported that a number of leading players of the Blockchain industry have reached a consensus in regards to the Bitcoin scaling solution. This break in the scaling debate stalemate is a new, highly significant boost for the Bitcoin ecosystem.

In a statement, Digital Currency Group revealed that 56 companies representing 83.3% of hashing power and 5.1 billion monthly on-chain transaction volume have come to a consensus to activate the Bitcoin Core development team’s Segregated Witness (Segwit) at a 80% activation threshold and execute a 2MB hard fork six months thereafter to proportionally scale the Bitcoin network.

Upon the announcement of the newly agreed upon Bitcoin Scaling Agreement, bitcoin price surged by around $185, from $2,100 to $2,285, demonstrating a 9% daily increase in value.

This means that the problem of Bitcoin scaling, that has been unresolved for years, could soon become a thing of the past. This news comes quite on time, as the number of transactions being stuck in the backlog has reached record heights in recent days.

Until now, the community has been unable to come to a consensus on whether to enable Bitcoin scaling by activating SegWit, Bitcoin Unlimited, or some other technology.


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Thursday, May 11, 2017

Bitcoin Breaches $1,800 for the first time, still rising

Bitcoin, business, crypto currency


Bitcoin breaches $1,800 for the first time on Thursday adding more than $100 in just two days. The rally in bitcoin has been driven by a number of factors such as positive noises from policymakers as well as the legalization of the cryptocurrency in Japan.

The price of the digital currency was trading at around $1,824 by early morning in London, according to Coindesk's bitcoin price index. It breached $1,700 for the first time on Tuesday.

Since Monday, the market capitalization of bitcoin has risen over $3 billion to $29.53 billion. The price of bitcoin has soared 81% since the start of the year.

Bitcoin surpassed $1,800 on Thursday to a fresh record high, rising more than $100 in just two days, driven by comments from policy makers and positive noises around the future of the cryptocurrency.

The price of the digital currency was trading at around $1,824 by early morning in London, according to Coindesk's bitcoin price index. It breached $1,700 for the first time on Tuesday.

Since Monday, the market capitalization of bitcoin has risen over $3 billion to $29.53 billion. The price of bitcoin has soared 81 percent since the start of the year.

The latest price driver was comments from Minneapolis Federal Reserve Bank President Neel Kashkari. The policymaker talked up the potential of blockchain – the technology that underpins bitcoin.

"I would say I think conventional wisdom now is that blockchain and the underlying technology is probably more interesting and has more potential than maybe bitcoin does by itself," Kashkari said at a technology conference, according to Reuters.

His comments are the latest in a growing number of officials that have supported bitcoin and blockchain technology, helping to bring it more into the mainstream.

Japan legalized the cryptocurrency as a payment method recently and this has led to a greater amount of bitcoin being bought with yen, which is helping to support the price.

At the same time, Russia, one of the strongest opponents of bitcoin is seeking to regulate the digital currency.

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Friday, April 28, 2017

Amazon's Earnings Soar Beat Estimates


Amazon dot com, business, finance

- Amazon's Operating cash flow increased by 53% to $17.6 billion for the past 12 months.
- The company's Net sales is up by 23% to $35.7 billion in the first quarter.
- Guidance for second quarter net sales looks very good.
- Prime is getting more features and more users.

Last Thursday April 27, after the market closed, Amazon (NASDAQ:AMZN) released their first quarter earnings for 2017 and they not only did they meet their already high expectations, they shattered them. It was predicted that they will have 1.12 per share; Amazon obliterated this expectation reporting $1.48 Earnings Per Share.

Amazon.com Inc's (AMZN.O) retail and cloud-computing sales rose in the first quarter, inching above Wall Street's expectations and sending the company's shares to an all-time high in extended trading.

Amazon's revenue has soared in recent years, as people's shopping has shifted online and businesses have moved their IT to the cloud where Amazon Web Services (AWS) is the biggest player.

Amazon Prime, which offers fast shipping and video streaming to members, helped raise the company's subscription sales by 52% in the first quarter. Sign ups are key to Amazon's strategy because Prime encourages shoppers to buy more goods, more often.


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Sunday, April 9, 2017

Google Underpays Women Employees

Google, Google against women's rights, Google Underpays Women Employees


US Department of Labor sued Google, because the internet giant was allegedly withholding information relevant to an ongoing compliance audit. Now, the agency claims that it has found “systemic compensation disparities against women pretty much across the entire workforce.”

On the court hearing related to the ongoing case held last Friday, DoL Regional Director Janette Wipper explained that the agency determined that Google pays its female employees less than their male counterparts, according to The Guardian. In a statement to the paper, DoL Regional Solicitor Janet Herold confirmed the statement, noting that while the agency was still investigating, it has “received compelling evidence of very significant discrimination against women in the most common positions at Google headquarters.”

The hearing was part of a lawsuit filed last January by the US Department of Labor, which has been seeking compensation data as part of a routine audit of Google, a federal contractor.

"The government's analysis at this point indicates that discrimination against women in Google is quite extreme, even in this industry," Janet Herold, a regional solicitor for the DOL, told the Guardian.


Source The Guardian




Friday, March 24, 2017

Dunkin' Donuts Is the New King of Coffee?



 coffee, Dunkin Donuts, Starbucks


A lot of people can't start their day without a cup of coffee and it looks like coffee addicts are starting to buy their favorite morning caffeine boost at Dunkin’ Donuts instead of Starbucks lately.

The company Dunkin’ Brands which owns Dunkin' Donuts and ice cream shop Baskin-Robbins are up 10% this year and 25% over the past 12 months, largely due to earnings and sales that topped Wall Street’s forecasts. Their stock is even trading at an all-time high.

While Starbucks is flat this year and has lagged the performance of Dunkin’ over the past year.

Dunkin' Donuts is also updating their coffee lineup, they are ditching the frozen coffee beverage Coffee Coolatta and offering a new one.  The phaseout will be completed by summer while the chain introduces the new Frozen Dunkin’ Coffee, which provides a more “authentic, energizing coffee drinking experience.”
 coffee, Dunkin Donuts, Starbucks
Dunkin is also experimenting with a nitrogen-infused cold brew, just like Starbucks. And it has several other new products on the way, including a Coconut Crème Pie flavored iced coffee, a Chocolate Pretzel Donut and Peanut Butter Delight Croissant Donut.






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Tuesday, March 14, 2017

Intel Acquires Mobileye for $15.3 billion


 Intel, driver less cars, autonomous cars, Mobileye



Intel's wants to compete in the emerging space of autonomous vehicles and their latest move to acquire computer vision systems company Mobileye for $15.3 billion is their biggest step to date.

But the world's largest chipmaker has spent the past 18 months investing in and acquiring a wide array of lesser-known companies as well as reorganizing its own business, all in an effort to ensure it doesn't miss out on the next money-making opportunity which is autonomous driving.

Intel CEO Brian Krzanich says autonomous driving is estimated to be a $70 billion vehicle systems and data services (total addressable market) opportunity by 2030.

The acquisition amounting to $15.3 billion was announced on Monday, Intel made a play to corner the market on how much of that technology is developed.

The chipmaker’s acquisition of Mobileye, an Israeli company that makes sensors and cameras for driverless vehicles, is one of the largest in the fast-growing sector and sets the stage for increasing competition between Silicon Valley companies as well as traditional automakers over who will dominate the world of autonomous cars.

Google and Uber have already invested billions of dollars in their own technology, signing partnerships with automakers Chrysler and Volvo and sending test vehicles onto the road in a bid to cement their place in the industry.

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Monday, February 13, 2017

Shares in Asia Inched to a 19-month Highs

asian stocks, stock market, finance, economy, business


Asian shares eke out 19-month highs on Tuesday as the potential for economic stimulus in the United States underpinned the dollar, bond yields and Wall Street stocks.

However, markets are still shaky since experts says that it his highly likely that the Federal Reserve, will have two or more U.S. interest rate hikes this year. U.S. Federal Reserve Chairwoman Janet Yellen will have an upcoming congressional testimony later in the global trading day.

Japanese shares also ran into trouble after Toshiba Corp (6502.T) delayed an anxiously-awaited earnings release, including details of a multibillion dollar charge related to cost overruns at its U.S. nuclear arm.

Japan’s Nikkei Stock Average NIK, -1.13%   was down 0.1%, Hong Kong’s Hang Seng Index HSI, -0.06%   was off 0.3% and Korea’s Kospi SEU, -0.22%   slipped 0.1%.

Singapore’s Strait Times Index STI, -1.19%   was down 0.9% after three days of gains, as concerns about bank earnings cut into sentiment. Oversea-Chinese O39, -3.28%   dropped 2.7% following weak fourth-quarter earnings. DBS D05, -2.96%   and United Overseas Bank U11, -1.52%   which report later this week, fell 2.1% and 0.7%, respectively. Australia’s S&P/ASX 200 XJO, -0.10%   was up 0.4% and New Zealand’s NZX-50 NZ50GR, +0.22%   was 0.4% higher.

In the U.S. overnight, the Dow Jones Industrial Average, the S&P 500, the Nasdaq Composite and the Russell 2000 all reached record highs which is a clear sign that Donald Trump is good for the economy!



Friday, January 27, 2017

Apple iPhone Ousted from the top spot in China for the first time in 5 years




Apple's iPhone has been toppled as the number one selling smartphone in China for the first time since 2012, this has made them "vulnerable" in the world's second-largest economy, according to a report released Friday.

The iPhone 6s sold 12 million units in 2016 which is about 2% of all phones sold in China, behind the "Oppo R9" which is the flagship smartphone of the Chinese brand Oppo Electronics. Oppo sold about 17 million units or 4% market share for all phones, according to Counterpoint Research. Oppo is one of the fastest-growing smartphone brands in China which has made its name through high-spec low-priced devices, being sold through bricks and mortar stores. This is the first time that Apple iPhone has been toppled on the top in China in five years.

The Cupertino, CA-based company has been having difficulty in sales for the last few quarters. From July up to September 24, 2016, Greater China revenue fell 30% year-on-year. Apple has been on a charm offensive, visiting China last year, and announced a $45 million research and development center in Beijing. Its market share has fallen from 14.3% in 2015, to 10.4% last year in China, Counterpoint said.

Apple has been squeezed by other players like Huawei and Oppo. Oppo and Vivo have released high-quality but lower priced devices and are aggressively taking market share. Oppo's shipments were up by 109% year-on-year in China, while Vivo saw a 78% increase. Huawei was up by 21%, but Apple was down 21%.

Wednesday, January 18, 2017

Gold Prices are Trending Downwards as Fed's backs gradual rate hikes

Gold, economy, finance, investments


Federal Reserve Chair Janet Yellen announces that she welcomes the hiking of U.S. interest rates gradually which has pressured gold prices. Spot gold was down by 0.1% to $1,202 per ounce by 0335 GMT, after dropping to as much as $1,197.31. Last Tuesday it has hit eight-week high of $1,218.64. U.S. gold futures had fallen as much as over 1% to $1,197.10.

The U.S. dollar index which measures the greenback against a basket of currencies, were up by 0.3% to 101.200.

Since the U.S. economy is close to full employment and inflation headed toward the Federal Reserve's 2% goal, it "makes sense" for the U.S. central bank to gradually lift interest rates, Fed Chair Janet Yellen said on Wednesday.

Dallas Fed President Robert Kaplan on Wednesday joined the chorus of central bank officials making a case for a gradual hike in U.S. interest rates.

U.S. consumer prices increased in December as households paid more for gasoline and rental accommodation, leading to the largest year-on-year increase in 2-1/2 years and signaling that inflation pressures could be building.

Silver fell by 0.3% to $16.97 an ounce while Platinum fell 0.5% to $956.50, and palladium was down 0.1% to $747.70.