Dow sank 84, advancers over decliners 4-3 & NAZ edged up 10. The MLP index inched up to the 258s & the REIT index fluctuated. Junk bond funds were mixed & Treasuries crawled higher in price. Oil climbed to the 62s & gold was steady at 1294.
AMJ (Alerian MLP Index tracking fund
Federal banking agencies proposed a rule they said was aimed at limiting the impact of the failure of a large bank. At the moment, the world's biggest banks are required to issue debt that would convert to equity if they go bankrupt. The proposed rule from the Federal Reserve, the Federal Deposit Insurance Corp & the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency is meant to discourage the largest global banks from buying the debt-to-equity issuance from their peers by essentially putting a penalty on such purchases. "This would reduce interconnectedness between large banking organizations and, if [one] were to fail, reduce the impact on the financial system from that failure," the agencies said in a notice seeking public comment.
Walgreens Boots Alliance (WBA), a Dividend Aristocrat, reported quarterly earnings & revenue that missed & lowered its forecast for 2019 in what CEO Stefano Pessina called the "most difficult" quarter since acquiring European drugstore chain Alliance Boots in late 2014. The company now expects full-year EPS for 2019 to be roughly flat, compared with its previous forecast of 7-12% growth. The company also said it would cut more than $1.5B in costs by fiscal 2022, up from the $1B it announced last qtr. "The market challenges and macro trends we have been discussing for some time accelerated, resulting in the most difficult quarter we have had since the formation of Walgreens Boots Alliance," Pessina said. EPS was $1.64, missing the estimate for $1.72 & revenue also fell short, coming in at $34.53B. Analysts had been looking for $34.56B. It generated $1.24 per share, down from $1.36 per share a year earlier. On an adjusted basis, which excluded foreign currency fluctuations & a few other items, EPS was $1.64, below the $1.72 expected. While analysts were expecting a bad qtr, they weren't prepared for it to be as bad as it was & for WBA to fall short in so many different areas. Same-store sales declined 3.8%, which was primarily because of a weak cough, cold & flu season compared to last year. The stock tumbled 7.72 (12%).
If you would like to learn more about WBA, click on this link:
club.ino.com/trend/analysis/stock/WBA?a_aid=CD3289&a_bid=6ae5b6f
Walgreens shares slide as drugstore chain misses earnings estimates, lowers 2019 forecast
General Motors (GM) reported Q1 sales that fell 7% from the same period last year, but the automaker said buyers are still flocking to its sport utility vehicles & pickup trucks. Transaction prices, the final sales price, on the newest pickups rose $8040 compared with the outgoing models in the same qtr of 2018, reflecting the continued interest among buyers for well-equipped trucks. More than 96% of the GMC Sierra crew cab pickup, a 4-door full-size truck, were sold with more expensive high-end trims. Signs have shown that new car sales are slowing in the US. Yet demand for trucks & SUVs, which tend to be more profitable, could buoy automakers & somewhat offset the effects of a slowdown. Trucks, SUV's & crossovers made up 80% of GM's sales, the company said. The company said sales of smaller crossovers such as the Chevrolet Trax & Equinox, as well as its midsize Chevrolet Colorado pickup, all set first qtr sales records, while the GMC Acadia SUV had its best qtr ever. GM plans to launch more full-size pickup trucks in H2 with 2 new heavy duty pickups from Chevrolet & GMC. "We are bullish on pickups and expect to gain sales momentum throughout the year," said GM VP-US sales operations Kurt McNeil. "We are installing capacity in Flint to build more HD pickups in total, more crew cab models, more dualies and diesel models, too, all in response to dealer and customer demand." The stock added 12¢.
If you would like to learn more about GM, click on this link:
club.ino.com/trend/analysis/stock/GM?a_aid=CD3289&a_bid=6ae5b6f
GM sales fall, but buyers continue to clamor for trucks and SUVs
After selling at the opening, buyers are coming back but slowly. With an absence of economic news, not much for traders to do. The bulls have their eyes on setting a new record for the Dow.
Dow Jones Industrials
AMJ (Alerian MLP Index tracking fund
| CL=F | Crude Oil | 62.19 | +0.60 | +1.0% |
| GC=F | Gold | 1,294.10 | -0.10 | -0.0% |
Federal banking agencies proposed a rule they said was aimed at limiting the impact of the failure of a large bank. At the moment, the world's biggest banks are required to issue debt that would convert to equity if they go bankrupt. The proposed rule from the Federal Reserve, the Federal Deposit Insurance Corp & the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency is meant to discourage the largest global banks from buying the debt-to-equity issuance from their peers by essentially putting a penalty on such purchases. "This would reduce interconnectedness between large banking organizations and, if [one] were to fail, reduce the impact on the financial system from that failure," the agencies said in a notice seeking public comment.
U.S. regulators propose rule aimed at limiting impact of large bank failure
Walgreens Boots Alliance (WBA), a Dividend Aristocrat, reported quarterly earnings & revenue that missed & lowered its forecast for 2019 in what CEO Stefano Pessina called the "most difficult" quarter since acquiring European drugstore chain Alliance Boots in late 2014. The company now expects full-year EPS for 2019 to be roughly flat, compared with its previous forecast of 7-12% growth. The company also said it would cut more than $1.5B in costs by fiscal 2022, up from the $1B it announced last qtr. "The market challenges and macro trends we have been discussing for some time accelerated, resulting in the most difficult quarter we have had since the formation of Walgreens Boots Alliance," Pessina said. EPS was $1.64, missing the estimate for $1.72 & revenue also fell short, coming in at $34.53B. Analysts had been looking for $34.56B. It generated $1.24 per share, down from $1.36 per share a year earlier. On an adjusted basis, which excluded foreign currency fluctuations & a few other items, EPS was $1.64, below the $1.72 expected. While analysts were expecting a bad qtr, they weren't prepared for it to be as bad as it was & for WBA to fall short in so many different areas. Same-store sales declined 3.8%, which was primarily because of a weak cough, cold & flu season compared to last year. The stock tumbled 7.72 (12%).
If you would like to learn more about WBA, click on this link:
club.ino.com/trend/analysis/stock/WBA?a_aid=CD3289&a_bid=6ae5b6f
Walgreens shares slide as drugstore chain misses earnings estimates, lowers 2019 forecast
General Motors (GM) reported Q1 sales that fell 7% from the same period last year, but the automaker said buyers are still flocking to its sport utility vehicles & pickup trucks. Transaction prices, the final sales price, on the newest pickups rose $8040 compared with the outgoing models in the same qtr of 2018, reflecting the continued interest among buyers for well-equipped trucks. More than 96% of the GMC Sierra crew cab pickup, a 4-door full-size truck, were sold with more expensive high-end trims. Signs have shown that new car sales are slowing in the US. Yet demand for trucks & SUVs, which tend to be more profitable, could buoy automakers & somewhat offset the effects of a slowdown. Trucks, SUV's & crossovers made up 80% of GM's sales, the company said. The company said sales of smaller crossovers such as the Chevrolet Trax & Equinox, as well as its midsize Chevrolet Colorado pickup, all set first qtr sales records, while the GMC Acadia SUV had its best qtr ever. GM plans to launch more full-size pickup trucks in H2 with 2 new heavy duty pickups from Chevrolet & GMC. "We are bullish on pickups and expect to gain sales momentum throughout the year," said GM VP-US sales operations Kurt McNeil. "We are installing capacity in Flint to build more HD pickups in total, more crew cab models, more dualies and diesel models, too, all in response to dealer and customer demand." The stock added 12¢.
If you would like to learn more about GM, click on this link:
club.ino.com/trend/analysis/stock/GM?a_aid=CD3289&a_bid=6ae5b6f
GM sales fall, but buyers continue to clamor for trucks and SUVs
After selling at the opening, buyers are coming back but slowly. With an absence of economic news, not much for traders to do. The bulls have their eyes on setting a new record for the Dow.
Dow Jones Industrials
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