Monday, October 20, 2014

Dow declines on IBM earnings

Dow dropped 35, advancers over decliners 2-1 & NAZ jumped 28.  The MLP index slid pocket change in the 497s after a wild time last week & the REIT index went up 1+ to the 304s.  Junk bond funds rebounded after recent selling & Treasuries gained ground.  Oil is lower & gold inched higher.

AMJ (Alerian MLP Index tracking fund)



CLX14.NYM...Crude Oil Nov 14...82.67 Down ...0.08  (0.1%)

GCX14.CMX...Gold Nov 14.....1,244.90 Up ...6.40 (0.5%)








3 Stocks You Should Own Right Now - Click Here!



The ECB bought covered bonds for the first time since Mario Draghi unveiled an asset purchase program last month.  It is believed that The ECB acquired short-dated French notes as well as Spanish securities.  Draghi said he intends to expand the bank’s balance sheet by as much as €1T ($1.3T) to stave off deflation in the euro area.  Policy makers are under pressure to take action as euro-area inflation slowed to 0.3% in Sep & the IMF said the region has as much as a 40% chance of entering its 3rd recession since 2008.  Growth will reach 1.3% next year, slower than he 1.5% pace predicted in Jul, after a 0.8% gain this year, the IMF said.   An ECB spokesman confirmed that purchases under the bank’s 3rd covered-bond program started today.  The covered bond market helps fund Europe’s mortgage industry & the notes have historically been attractive to investors because they’re guaranteed by the issuer & backed by a pool of assets.  Europe’s market for covered bonds shrank for the first time in at least a decade last year & will decline further in 2014 & 2015, according to the European Covered Bond Council.  This will be the 3rd time the ECB has created a program to buy covered bonds, with previous purchases starting in Jul 2009 & Nov 2011.

ECB Said to Start Purchase Program With French, Spanish Debt


IBM plunged as the company struggles to transform fast enough to handle the shift to cloud computing, forcing it to abandon an earnings forecast for 2015.  It will provide an update on its projections in Jan, ditching a 5-year plan to boost profit.  While CEO Ginni Rometty had been banking on a strong H2, IBM instead faced weaker-than-expected software sales & lower productivity in services in Q3.  With technology customers moving from owning hardware to storing data in the cloud, IBM is now cutting more jobs, reducing its forecast for free cash flow & offloading an unprofitable chip unit.  “Obviously we were disappointed in this quarter,” Rometty said, adding that the company is facing “unprecedented change” in the industry.  “We have more to do and we need to do it faster.”  The company now expects 2014 operating EPS to fall 2-4% from $16.64 in 2013.  That reflects changes for the chipmaking unit, which is now classified as a discontinued operation.  IBM is taking a Q3 pretax charge of $4.7B for the business.  The company had been projecting 2014 adjusted EPS of at least $18.  The company also announced an agreement to pay Globalfoundries $1.5B to take over the chip-manufacturing division.  The deal removes a drag on profit, part of Rometty’s efforts to jettison lower-margin businesses & prioritize earnings growth over expanding revenue.  IBM’s technology customers increasingly seek to store data & software on cloud-computing networks, rather than on site.  That has limited clients’ need for IBM’s servers & mainframes, making it more difficult to reach profit targets.  IBM reduced its forecast for free cash flow to $12-$13B this year, down from a projection for $16B 3 months ago.  The company also plans to cut more jobs, resulting in a Q4 charge of as much as $600M.  Q3 adjusted EPS from continuing operations were $3.68, down from $4.08 a year earlier.  Including the loss from discontinued operations, the company had EPS of 2¢.  Revenue fell 4% to $22.4B, the 10th straight quarterly drop, weighed down by declines in its hardware division & in emerging markets.  To boost EPS, Rometty has raised debt to fund share buybacks, laid off workers & reduced the company’s tax rate.  IBM has about $1.4B remaining in its current share repurchase authorization & said it will request additional funds for buybacks at its Oct board meeting.  The stock sank 13.45.  If you would like to learn more about IBM,click on this link:
club.ino.com/trend/analysis/stock/IBM?a_aid=CD3289&a_bid=6ae5b6f7

IBM Plunges as CEO Abandons 2015 Earnings Forecast

International Business Machines (IBM)




Iran sees no need for OPEC to hold an emergency meeting, a sign that markets may need to wait a month before the world’s biggest producer group responds to falling prices.  No emergency meeting is necessary to discuss the price slide to try to prevent a further decrease, the state-run Mehr news agency said.  OPEC, supplier of about 40% of the world’s oil, is scheduled to meet Nov 27 to assess production & market conditions.  Brent crude, a global benchmark, has tumbled more than more than 23% since Jun & was trading near $86 a barrel today.  The decline has prompted speculation that OPEC may decide to cut production to eliminate surplus supply & led Venezuela to call for the group to convene earlier in an emergency session.  The International Energy Agency, an adviser to advanced industrialized countries, projects that demand for crude this year crude will grow by the least since 2009.  OPEC boosted production to a 13-month high in Sep, pumping 30.66M barrels a day.  Saudi Arabia has “appeared determined to defend its market share” in Asia, even at the expense of lower prices, the IEA said.  Kuwait’s oil minister said last week there may be “no room” to restore prices by trimming supply.

Iran Sees No Need for Emergency OPEC Meeting on Oil-Price Drop


Stocks are trying to extend gains from Fri, but IBM is a major drag for the Dow.  Oil remains in the dumps & prospects are for lower prices short term.  That's comparable to lower taxes for consumers & helpful to airlines, but tough on companies in the business.  MLPs have a lot at stake with lower prices.  Fracking is important to their business model & that requires high oil prices to pay for pay for high costs.  IBM's earnings indicate that earnings season will not go well for the stock market.

Dow Jones Industrials










No comments: