Valuing the Yellen Put
The Yellen Put, follows a line of Federal Reserve inspired put options, valuable to market participants of specific Fed Chair eras. The rationale behind the Fed Chair put is simple; with the Federal Reserve so vigilant to support any downtick in the economy and/or markets with interest rate cuts (Greenspan), quantitative easing (Bernanke), and ZIRF…
Read MoreWall Street vs. Main Street Investment Attributes
Market leadership is constantly changing as sub-sectors come in and out of favor and particular investment attributes ebb and flow in popularity. One new theme in 2016 is the resurgence of “Main Street” type investments and overall investment exposures relative to “Wall Street” investment exposures. More simply put, mass market exposures are outperforming higher-end, upper income/luxury…
Read MoreChina Slowdown Will Plague Markets For Years
What a start to the year. CJF’s contrarian prediction of 1,860 on the S&P came to be on January 20th. Subsequently, the market rallied strongly on the hint of more quantitative easing out of the ECB, and the adoption of negative interest rates by the Bank of Japan. Any doubts that 2016 will be a…
Read More2016
“I would say happy new year but it’s not happy; it’s exactly the same as last year except colder.” -Robert Clark I find the quote fitting for financial markets, and CJF prognostications, after a very tough 2015, and an inauspicious start to 2016, with a week-one tailspin around the globe. The setup for 2016 isn’t…
Read MoreNike Business On Fire; China Accelerates
Nike (NKE) is in the midst of a strong 3-year run; operating trends are at cycle-high growth rates, health & wellness as a category is growing around the world, and Nike’s brand stewardship is incredibly on point across all major sports. The stock price followed results this year, up over 37% ytd, and the 35th…
Read MoreThe Fed Awakens; Creates Negative Global Market Backdrop
At the widely anticipated December 16th Fed meeting, the Board of Governors did the expected, and finally raised the US federal funds rate by 25 basis points. The rate-hike failed to surprise markets; the move was telegraphed and written about in advance by Jon Hilsenrath in an article on the front page of the Wall…
Read MorePolicy Driven Markets are Treacherous
Volatility in the stock market is rising, intraday swings more violent, and high-to-low ranges increasing. The lurching action of the market is not driven by fundamentals, it’s difficult to profit from, and disconcerting. There isn’t a single item to pinpoint with respect to market angst, rather, a combination of factors, leading to manic sentiment changes.…
Read MoreISM sinks to post-2009 lows; Industrial Economy Recession a Catch 22 for Fed
November ISM sank to the lowest level since 2009. Stunning, that the ISM (Institute for Supply Chain Management) survey, formerly known as NAPM (National Association of Purchasing Managers), printed 48.6, the lowest level since the throes of the financial crisis. For perspective, the last time the ISM printed sub-48, in June 2009, the S&P was 900. Today,…
Read MoreBlack 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…
Read MoreThe World Wants More Coffee and Starbucks Owns the Category
During a controversial 3Q earnings period, patterns continue to emerge, with beloved companies accelerating business trends in the midst of a tough global economy. Winners are thriving with differentiated brands, business models, and strategy; the stock market is awarding the victors to an almost unprecedented degree with rich valuations and surging stock prices. On the…
Read MoreTim Cook & Apple Confirm China Strength
Apple posted an excellent Q3 result; 48 million iPhone shipments exceeded expectations, gross margin approached 40% (32 bps above last year), and EPS grew 43%, an impressive growth rate for the largest company in the world by market capitalization. Mac computer units grew 3% despite a 11% contraction in the overall global PC market. Iterations…
Read MoreAmazon and Wal-Mart; Atypical Market Rally Driven by Disintermediation and Secular Trends
Wal-Mart recently hosted an Analyst Day to update Wall Street on current operating trends and strategy. The amount of investment needed to modernize the store base, and improve the overall customer offering is staggering. Wal-Mart will experience a second consecutive year of earnings decline in 2016. The stock took the update poorly, falling over 12%…
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