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Will the Bull keep charge this week?

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Will the Bull keep charge this week?

Where do you spend your paycheck… Walmart, Macy’s, or Home Depot? If none of those businesses, than probably somewhere else (most likely Amazon, am I right?). However, those three companies listed are releasing earnings this week and represent an essential indicator for how well the US economy is doing. Consumer spending accounts for two-thirds of our economy and how much people are spending can be uncovered in the financial health of stores.

 

We will see second-quarter earnings… and also be paying close attention to retailers’ outlooks for the rest of the year. Many moving parts go into these outlooks, such as inflation, wage growth, gas prices, and tariffs, to name a few. But in terms of consumers spending, May and June went well, and more of the same is expected for July.

 

Healthy retail sales… could give the stock market a bump this week. Some believe that the strength of the consumer and retailers has not been adequately accounted for in the market to this point. So will we break records this week – the S&P 500 currently sits 1% below its January record-high so it could happen. Stay tuned to see if the Bull keeps runnin’…

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Amazon looks to take a bite out of Apple

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Amazon looks to take a bite out of Apple

Look out Apple… because Amazon is hot on your trail to becoming the second trillion dollar company.  With shares of Amazon up 2% on Monday, the company hit a new all-time high and got just a bit closer to the prestigious market cap. Moreover, with the way this year has been going, it probably won’t be long until Apple has a new friend (or competitor) at the top.

 

Amazon is up… 65% in 2018 alone. How are they doing so well? It is hard to pinpoint that because the company makes money from retail, cloud services, media, gadgets, and now possibly even health care will be a cash cow for Amazon. No matter how they are doing it, some analysts are predicting company sales to go up 32% this year.

 

Amazon will join Apple… however, will they surpass them? The consensus target price for Amazon is $2,100 per share, giving the company a $1.02T valuation. Apple’s target is set at $216.40 which gives them a valuation of $1.05T. So, maybe not yet, but time will tell. We’ll also keep you updated on Alphabet and Microsoft, two other companies poised to hit the trillion very soon.

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Why Pizza Hut’s “Pie Top” sneakers are a genius

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Domino’s has brought us pizza with… drones, robots, and reindeer. Pizza Hut gave us bluetooth-enabled sneakers that can order pizza and parkas made out of the insulation used in their delivery pouches. You may have noticed a few of these stunts and wondered what the point of them are.

 

Believe it or not… there is a method to the pizza-gimmick madness. Domino’s wants to make it clear that they are delivery experts – whether by car, drone, or reindeer. Delivery is vital to pizza chains because more people get pizza delivered compared to other forms of fast-food.

 

Not just built for delivery… Pizza Hut focuses on convenience with their “Pie Top” sneakers and zero-click ordering (open their app, and it will order pizza unless you opt out in 10 seconds). These gimmicks may seem stupid, but they are quite the opposite. In a world where most people don’t debate ‘Domino’s vs. Pizza Hut,’ these companies need to find ways to stand-out against one another. So no matter how dumb – they grab our attention (see, we’re talking about it right now) and get us thinking about the cheesy goodness.

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Did Elon Musk ‘catfish’ everyone online about secured funding?

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Did Elon Musk ‘catfish’ everyone online about secured funding?

So, was he full of… crap, or was Elon Musk telling the truth last week when he tweeted that Tesla had secured funding to take the company private? Well, according to the Tesla CEO, the Saudi wealth fund will take the electric car company private – and they have spoken about this matter multiple times. So (apparently), the funding is just a matter of crossing some T’s and dotting some I’s.

 

Buying all of Tesla’s shares would cost… $72 billion, which is a steep price for anyone to pay. However, it won’t be quite that much because Musk plans to retain his 20% stake in Tesla and expects many others to do the same. Musk estimates that about two-thirds of shareholders would keep their shares, which would make the cost of going private around $24 billion – still the fourth most expensive deal to take a company private.

 

But there are still plenty of doubters… shares were up 3% early on Monday, but those gains were short-lived. While many investors seem to like the idea of Tesla going private, they won’t be buying until things are a little more certain. The funding is secure, but the rest of the deal not so much.

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