Category: FINANCE

Extrication through CVD in Jaitley’s budget was so large as to require a minor cap to total consumption. One of the biggest problems we face today in India is that not enough people have money, while too many people have too much money. There is obviously some constraint on the former, as the percentage of the population below the poverty line is still quite high, while the number of people above the poverty line is large. The problem in India is exacerbated because the government can’t lend too much money…

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The British-owned, among the oldest and biggest life insurers in the world, had initially proposed to invest up to $4.5 billion to bring its holding to as much as 45% from 38% in the Indian company. With its investments in stocks like Indiabulls Housing Finance Ltd and Chennai-based Corporate Express Ltd falling, state-owned Life Insurance Corporation (LIC) has cut its stake in these companies in the past few weeks, with a planned divestment in Jindal Steel on the cards, according to market sources. LIC, with assets worth over Rs 30…

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The market is certainly making progress. From Monday through Friday, it rose 2.5 percent — its best weekly performance of the year. The question is whether the moves are sustainable. The main problem is in the United States, where the trade war with China is sapping business confidence. The economy was strong in the first quarter, but there’s growing evidence that it’s started to cool. Also, there’s still a possibility that the markets are overheating. Real estate is more expensive than it has been for years, and the cost of…

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Shares of Green Dot jumped on Thursday after two analysts named the company the “clear winner” in what might prove to be an auction for Wirecard’s business, potentially injecting itself into a high-stakes fight for the German e-commerce and financial technology provider. In a report published Thursday, UBS analyst Robert Napoli said that Green Dot’s “stalking horse bid” for Wirecard’s German business and its Payment Services unit appeared to be more favorable to shareholders than any of the publicly traded contenders. The German operations – which includes Wirecard’s open-platform payments…

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U.S. stocks swung higher and yields on 10-year Treasuries fell below 2.7 percent Thursday as investors bet a Federal Reserve interest rate hike this month would be priced into bond markets. The Dow Jones Industrial Average and the S&P 500 Index briefly erased earlier gains on Wall Street as the yield on 10-year notes fell as low as 2.68 percent, its lowest in two weeks. Two-year Treasury yields were little changed at 2.564 percent, holding below their highest levels since 2015. Treasury yields are likely to remain close to current…

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Asian markets reversed early declines yesterday, and turned higher, helped by Wall Street stocks that rose after a bounce-back session on Wall Street. The Nasdaq climbed 1.1% following modest gains on Wall Street. Japanese stocks, despite a 1.1% intraday decline, closed higher. Chinese shares rose on the prospect of easing concerns about trade following reports that Beijing is prepared to step in to support sectors affected by tariffs from the United States, including vehicle manufacturing. “A trade agreement to end the trade war is one of the biggest economic projects…

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Coupa Software has seen its stock price soar since going public in September of last year, but now it seems that, despite its reasonable valuation, Coupa is entering a period of tempered optimism, according to analysts at Mizuho. The Wall Street firm led a project to predict how Coupa’s financial results would look after Q1, and revised its price target upwards from $130 to $200. Mizuho analysts are mainly bullish on the company’s subscription revenue-guidance, but are “skeptical about whether Coupa’s model can persist if the margin outlook deteriorates.” Coupa’s…

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When I talk about dividend investing, I often think of the word “sense” for more than one reason. As an illustration, let’s take a closer look at the common shipping shares I mentioned in a recent post and see how they look right now. The pricing on the ships has rebounded nicely since bottoming in early 2018, but stock prices still remain below where they were 10 years ago. The Dow Jones US Shipping Index is down about 80% from the all-time high it hit in December 2007. This index…

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United Continental Holdings posted its 2021 budget last night. Capex plans by the worldwide airline include $2.65 billion in 2019, down $655 million from guidance issued by the company just two months ago. Capex spending for the three-year period is seen “close to” $2 billion — representing $390 million less than United’s January projections. Capex spending by United’s competitors is yet to be published, so Delta, Southwest and AMR have yet to release guidance for 2021. Last month, Delta issued a 2019 forecast that included an estimate of $5.25 billion…

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Sundance Energy shares have sharply declined following recent press coverage of new political tensions between Qatar and the other GCC members (United Arab Emirates, Saudi Arabia, Bahrain, Egypt, and Yemen). The decline in the company’s stock price, falling nearly 20% on June 4, may be creating a buying opportunity. Two factors have been cited as being responsible for the downward pressure: An escalating economic boycott between Qatar and those member countries, coupled with the conflict-torn situation in Yemen. The Arab-Cooperation Initiative (AoA) is an Arab Treaty established in 2005 by…

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