Category: FINANCE

The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) is probing if banking apps provider Robinhood may be breaking regulations as it enables users to trade on almost 100,000 other stocks from less than a dime a share. In a request filed Tuesday, the SEC says the firm has “systemically and substantially” violated United States securities laws, according to a report by Bloomberg. The agency said Robinhood plans to engage in misleading marketing and stock transfers without a permit, Bloomberg said. Robinhood has not provided an indication of the scope of the…

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Zillow may be worth more than the headcount its 160 employees generate in annual revenue, an analyst said in a note to clients earlier this week. As InvestorPlace’s Zachery Kouwe previously reported, Zillow’s 1,061 active buyers and 1,061 active sellers contribute $4.85 billion in annual revenue but generate only $13.12 million in marketing costs. That lack of a revenue-based overhead is why Zillow’s total GAAP costs and expenses increased $46.5 million, or 54 percent, in the first quarter compared to the same quarter last year. The average analyst estimate for…

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Rocket Stock has surged over 500% in the past year, while the market has dropped over 10% but most traders had lost billions of dollars. Rocket Stock has surged over 500% in the past year, while the market has dropped over 10% but most traders had lost billions of dollars. We have seen trading in Rocket Stock soar to incredible levels in the past couple of months. After basically nowhere before the April highs, Rocket Stock suddenly moved from one of the hottest and easiest opportunities in all of tech…

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Among the New Tech Giants, Apple Inc., the one consumer tech giant by market cap, was underperforming the pack. AAPL stock drops ~2% in early trading today. The company reported more shares sold than added, or a sequential decline in profit and earnings. The question is if this indicates investors still see risk in AAPL and their own concerns over where the company is headed. One thing is certain, Apple’s results are the first of many earnings reports to be out in the next several weeks. The company now has…

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Citrus-based Focus Financial Partners (FFP) and St. Louis-based Hightower Group Financial have signed a number of deals with real estate financial advisors at FFP, bringing additional human capital to Focus. In one deal, a new real estate agency was formed, and in another, a new office was created. “FFP is always looking for dynamic new real estate agents who are excited about their business as well as the financial services they can provide to their clients,” said Joel Campbell, VP of distribution at Focus Financial Partners. “As of this new…

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More than $3 trillion worth of private company information is stored in digital repositories by firms without the use of encryption. It’s been estimated that as much as 70 percent of a company’s information is accessible to outsiders. The question of how to protect this treasure trove of data has been an elusive one, despite the fact that digital data becomes increasingly important in a digital world. With the recent setback of the recently released World Bank’s Global Information Technology Report (GITR), many are wondering if the bank is getting…

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Homebuilder and construction and development services company Toll Brothers reported second quarter results after the market closed today, beating EPS expectations as well as revenues of $1.13 billion in revenue. In addition, the company increased full year fiscal 2019 guidance and announced its second increase in stock repurchases in the last year. Net orders for the quarter totalled 3,521 homes, an 8% increase over the same period last year, and an over 20% increase compared to last quarter. The company did not provide revenue guidance, but it expects that backlog,…

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Asian markets rose on Thursday following a warning of a slowdown in global growth by the International Monetary Fund. Despite the warning, European shares rose. Stocks ticked up across Asia overnight after the IMF warned of slower global growth. In Japan, stocks surged, up more than 2.5%, while Hong Kong closed more than 1.8% higher. A rate hike by the Bank of Japan caused the dollar to strengthen further, pushing the Japanese currency down more than 1% against the U.S. dollar. The IMF cut its forecast for global growth to…

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Asian shares rose Wednesday as investors looked past a record contraction in Japan’s economy, though the Nikkei’s decline kept market sentiment in check. Equity markets around the world rose for a second day Wednesday as investors started to grapple with a host of trade and economic policy headlines, offsetting supply worries. U.S. Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin is in China to try to kick-start tariff talks between the two countries. U.S. equities are at record highs, while oil, mining, and industrial stocks have advanced. In Asia Pacific, markets were buoyed in…

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A tale of two $2 billion Chinese IPOs in a span of just over a month is striking, highlighting the divergent fortunes of two key online retailers as they try to turn their fortunes around. Earlier this week, JD.com, the second-largest e-commerce player in China, priced shares at the top of their $17-$19 range, and pricing was strong enough to nab a more than $12 billion valuation in just over one hour of trading. That’s way higher than the $17 billion valuation JD.com received in its last IPO, in December…

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