Archive for November 2015
Black Friday Retail Dud; Online Share Shift Accelerates
Bah humbug. Black Friday jumped the shark sometime around the turn of the century. Nonetheless, a disproportionate amount of retail and media focus continue to emphasize Black Friday’s importance as an event. While declining over several years, this year got markedly worse, to the point where media reports were forced to highlight the “normality” of…
Read MoreTiffany (TIF) Tourism Business Slows; Strong Dollar Constraints Evident
Yesterday, Tiffany & Co. (TIF) reported lackluster results for the third quarter, reducing annual earnings guidance for the second time in 3-months. Tiffany is a useful barometer for the global luxury consumer; business spans across all developed geographies, across multiple price points, in a variety of retail formats. Tiffany is iconic for its branded diamonds…
Read MoreQui n’avance pas, recule
We all eat at restaurants, go to stadiums, and walk down the street. The tragically successful terrorist attacks in Paris highlight the vulnerability of the human condition at any instant. While this has always been the case, and will continue to be so, civilization, and human progress, over past centuries and decades, reduces the chance…
Read MoreMidsummer Issues Persist; Divergent Global Central Bank Actions Create Challenges
The market moves fast. Thankfully, in the rest of the world, trends of all kinds, generally move at a measured pace. The market overreacts to events and day-to-day happenings based on crowd think and behavioral issues. A change in trend will often start with a subtle data point or indicator, which in hindsight, ignites a…
Read MoreThe Chickens Come Home to Roost; More Fraudulent Business Practices Exposed at Iconix Brand Group
Usually, the juicy, salacious stuff comes to the fore during recession or crisis, when past misconduct can no longer be concealed. Recently, between Valeant Pharmaceuticals, and Volkswagen, there are plenty of good fraud stories to go around. Yesterday, sigh, Iconix Brand Group (ICON) revealed that its accounting statements, since 2013, were presented with smoke and…
Read MoreOn Sentiment; How the Market Mini-Crashed and Exploded Right Back
The stock market is on fire. As negative, dour, downbeat, and gloomy was August, the market this fall (early fall), is contrastingly, positive, nonchalant, optimistic, and even euphoric. So it goes; a fast 11% sell off over 6 trading days, on little more than poor sentiment, and a 3% Chinese currency devaluation, followed by an…
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