Stocks & Equities

McDonald’s Fires CEO After ‘Relationship’ With Employee, Shares Drop

Posted by Jack Phillips

on Monday, 4 November 2019 10:37

Shares for McDonald’s dropped after CEO Steve Easterbrook was fired after he had a relationship with an employee, which violated the company’s policy.

Chris Kempczinski, who was the head of the firm’s U.S. business, is now new CEO, the company said in an announcement on Sunday night.

But as of Monday, shares dropped 1.88 percent. Easterbrook was credited with transforming the company’s business model after he took over in 2015.

According to a press release from the Chicago-based chain, the board made the “determination that he violated company policy and demonstrated poor judgment involving a recent consensual relationship with an employee.”

And in a Sunday an email to employees, Easterbrook said, “Given the values of the company, I agree with the Board that it is time for me to move on.” CLICK for complete article

What Will Stocks Do When “Consensual Hallucination” Ends?

Posted by Wolf Richter

on Thursday, 31 October 2019 9:39

There is a phenomenon in stock markets, in bond markets, in housing markets, in cryptocurrency markets, and in other markets where people attempt to get rich. It’s when everyone is pulling in the same direction, energetically hyping everything, willfully swallowing any propaganda or outright falsehood, and not just nibbling on it, but swallowing it hook, line, and sinker, and strenuously avoiding exposure to any fundamental reality. For only one reason: to make more money.

People do it because it works. Trading algos are written to replicate it, because it works.

It works on the simple principle: If everyone believes stocks will go up, no matter what the current price or the current situation, or current fundamental data, then stocks will go up. They will go up because there is a lot of buying pressure because everyone believes that everyone believes that prices will go up, and so they bid up prices and chase stocks higher….CLICK for complete article

13 Stocks With The Highest Returns On Equity

Posted by Wayne Duggan

on Thursday, 31 October 2019 9:32

Return on equity is one of the most popular ways for investors to assess the efficiency of a business before they buy a stock. Return on equity is a measure of profitability relative to shareholder’s equity.

Return on equity is calculated by dividing net income by the company’s assets minus its debt. In other words, return on equity is the ratio of net income to net assets.

Why Is It Important?

In practical terms, return on equity and return on assets are two different indicators of how well a company’s management is using its assets. Like ROA, ROE varies widely from industry to industry, but it’s a quick way to measure efficiency among a group of peers in the same business.

For example, if one auto company has an ROE that is half as high as a competitor, it may be a sign that management should consider restructuring the business or updating its assets. A low ROE could be a sign that a company needs to divest unproductive assets to counter a potentially bloated balance sheet….CLICK for complete article

Tesla Discloses US Revenues Collapsed 39%

Posted by Wolf Richter

on Wednesday, 30 October 2019 7:04

This is a holy-cow moment.

This morning, Tesla filed its Form 10-Q quarterly earnings report with the SEC, a moment when no one was supposed to pay attention after the surprise quarterly profit that had caused such a hullabaloo last week. The 10-Q provides a pile of additional detail that Tesla is not required to disclose in its promo-laden earnings report that was primarily designed to downplay its first year-over-year revenue decline since the Financial Crisis.

But that revenue decline is a lot more nerve-wracking than what it looks like on the surface…CLICK for complete article

Technically Speaking: 4-Risks To The Bullish View

Posted by Lance Roberts

on Tuesday, 29 October 2019 8:58

When I was growing up, my father, probably much like yours, had pearls of wisdom that he would drop along the way. It wasn’t until much later in life that I learned that such knowledge did not come from books but through experience. One of my favorite pieces of “wisdom” was:

“A sure-fire ‘no lose’ proposition is doing exactly the opposite of whatever ‘no lose’ proposition is being proposed.”

Of course, back then, he was mostly giving me “life advice” about not following along with my stupid-ass friends who were always up elbows deep in mischief.

However, that advice also holds true with the financial markets currently. As I have noted over the last couple of weeks (read this and this) the “bulls” certainly seem to regained control of the markets as new highs were reached on Monday. As I stated, between the Fed cutting rates, reigniting “not-QE,” and the President following our script of putting the “trade war” to rest, “what is there NOT to love if you are a bull.”

While we have begun to opportunistically increase our the equity exposures in our portfolios, we are cognizant there are currently several warning signs investors should consider before buying into the “bullish view.”

Here are four to consider….CLICK for complete article