A lot more hanging in the balance
Well folks, the markets parsed through a lot of information today, between good COVID 19 antibody testing news from Eli Lilly, not so good news from Gilead in their latest trial, and following the reopening process amid chaotic instability at night in major metropolitan areas. China announces it will no longer purchase soy beans from U.S. farmers who are already reeling from restaurant closures. Some health experts are worried that continued protesting will spark another wave of COVID 19 across the U.S. where social distancing precautions have been sidelined. 2020 is shaping up to be one unforgettable year.
Not sold on the new look yet? Follow this link to read today’s edition in PDF hard-copy, as well as the entire MM archive.
Did you miss yesterdays’s piece? No worries, get it right here to catch up on the madness!
Fundamentals
Monday Close:
· Dow Jones Industrial Avg: +0.36%
· S&P 500: +0.38%
· NASDAQ: +0.66%
· US 10 YR: 0.668% | 99 6/32
· Crude OIL: $35.50
· COVID 19 Global Cases: 6,332,437
Indices Overseas:
· FTSE 100: +1.18%
· Nikkei: +0.84%
Some silver lining
Today, the FT provided an analysis of several companies who’ve managed to find a silver lining amidst the chaotic and unpredictable 2020 business environment so far. They are not the companies you think of right away when considering companies that are defying the odds, but here they are. I won’t get into all of them, but it is worth touching off on some of the notable highlights.
On the list was Lavazza, the Italian coffee company. The company is seeing a major revenue boost during the pandemic period, mainly due to consumers brewing their coffee at home. Instead of getting a premium roast coffee from the joint in the town center, folks are ditching the Folgers and Maxwell House for something a little more fancy.
Another interesting company on the list was the Japanese instant noodle company, Nissin. Early on when China began instituting lock down measures, the company fully dove into production of instant noodles on a bet that families would panic buy the shelf-stable dry good. And they were right, by cutting back production to only the most popular flavor varieties, the firm realized an annual net profit increase of 52% from the prior year (the firm’s fiscal year ends at the end of March). They are expecting more traditional growth and revenue patterns as lock down measures ease up, but they had one strong run.
Finally, let’s take a look at a gaming chat app called Discord. While very popular in the gaming sphere, the app had become a “de facto alternative for many teachers… [as the app] was able to handle the influx of users much better.” (excerpted from article)
The company continues to grow, and seeks to expand into a larger user base. They’ve raised over $280 million in private financing, and is looking to raise new funds at a valuation that could be north of $3 billion. Those numbers aren't bad for a company that is only 5 years old!
Read about all six companies mentioned in the article here: https://www.ft.com/content/7795c725-d5c1-4640-80c2-79fa83cca901
Wall Street weighs in
Today, CNBC covered off on Wall Street CEO’s responses to the death and protesting in memory of George Floyd. Yesterday, I took the Reader’s Corner to talk about these major current events, since, in isolation, they are outside of the financial world. However, we have now seen major CEOs speak out and take a stand on these complex, yet incredibly important social justice issues. “Wall Street CEOs expressed horror, anger and empathy in staff emails and messages posted to social media as protests continued to roil U.S. cities in the week after the death of George Floyd in Minneapolis.” (excerpted from article)
JP Morgan, BlackRock, Citigroup, Goldman Sachs, Bank of America among many others have shared their views on the interrelations between what happens in our communities and how those come back to impact our business centers. Not everything is about the bottom line, especially when it comes to creating a diverse and inclusive workforce to serve an equally diverse and inclusive community.
Finance exists at a very interesting cross section between building and maintain relationships and monitoring and increasing wealth. This allows these firms to interact with the world at large in a very unique way and hopefully be a catalyst for positive change.
Here are some notable quotes from some different CEOs in the article:
· JP Morgan CEO: “…Now, more than ever, each of us must be inclusive in our work and in the neighborhoods where we operate…” (excerpted from article)
· ‘Wells Fargo CEO: “As a white man, as much as I can try to understand what others are feeling, I know that I cannot really appreciate and understand what people of color experience and the impacts of discriminatory behavior others must live with.”’ (excerpted from article)
Read more here: https://www.cnbc.com/2020/06/01/wall-street-ceos-speak-out-about-george-floyd-and-protests-rocking-us-cities.html
Quick takes
· Pfizer seeing shares slip on news that a phase 3 breast cancer drug trial is not likely to succeed. (via Barron’s)
· Wall Street struggles to factor in protests and damage into reopening efforts following easing COVID 19 restrictions. (via CNBC)
· Facebook CEO in the hot seat over comments regarding stance Donnie’s posts about civil unrest. (via FT)
· FarmVille game company, Zynga, purchases Turkey Peak Games for $1.8 billion. (via FT)
· CFOs weigh in negative views regarding their firms in the wake of COVID 19. (via CNBC)
· Health experts anticipating secondary spikes in COVID 19 cases due to mass protests across U.S. cities. (via CNBC)
· CFO survey suggests c-suite officers expecting another below-19,000 level on the Dow Jones before hitting new highs. Outlooks on COVID 19 reopenings are murky. (via CNBC)
· Gilead stock down on news that only a small benefit realized in latest Remdesivir trial. (via Bloomberg)
· Pharmaceutical company, Eli Lilly, to start world’s first human trial of a potential antibody treatment for COVID 19. (via CNBC)
· Senate to quickly pass bill adjusting the time frame for small businesses to use PPP monies. (via ATOM+)
· Talkspace CEO to pull out of 6-figure deal with Facebook over violent posts by Trump. (via CNBC)
Reader’s Corner
The reader liked the WSJ’s ‘track the markets: winners and losers’ piece today with a cool graphic showing YTD and Quarterly performance of practically everything under the sun. Get that here: https://www.wsj.com/graphics/track-the-markets/
Behind the Madness
Thank you again for checking in.
Daily Reader Count: 118
I have established a donations page on the website for those who feel adamant about giving back to Market Madness. The newsletter will always be a free service, so don’t you worry! (https://marketmadnessnews.weebly.com/store/p1/A_penny_for_my_thoughts....html)
Connect with Market Madness:
On the web: http://marketmadnessnews.weebly.com/
@FromMadnessNews on Twitter: https://twitter.com/FromMadnessNews
Email: christopherdolliney@gmail.com
Connect with me Professionally:
https://www.linkedin.com/in/christopherdolliney/
Some Sign-ups:
Atom Finance (https://atom.finance/welcome?inviteCode=sharedbycdolliney) “Atom’s platform offers an ever-growing arsenal of powerful research and portfolio monitoring tools to anyone…”
Robinhood Sign Up: You get a stock, and you and you and you, and me! Follow my Robinhood link (if you’ve not signed up before) and we both get a randomly picked stock! A great way to get a jump start on investing, especially if you are hesitant to invest your own money at first. Your free stock is waiting for you here: https://join.robinhood.com/christo2725
Dirty Dozen Chart Pack (from Macro Ops): https://macro-ops.com/monday-dozen-sign-up/?utm_source=ONTRAPORT-email-broadcast&utm_medium=ONTRAPORT-email-broadcast&utm_term=Collective+Sales&utm_content=Your+Monday+Dirty+Dozen+%5BCHART+PACK%5D&utm_campaign=03302020
Good intelligence is vital. Great intelligence is priceless… Sign up to receive my weekly chart pack of the 12 most important and actionable charts that’ll make sure you kick your week off right.
Morning Brew: https://www.morningbrew.com/daily/r/?kid=01196fBecome smarter in just 5 minutes. Get the daily email that makes reading the news actually enjoyable. Stay informed and entertained, for free.
The Hustle: http://ambassadors.thehustle.co/?ref=7fead7962aBold business and tech news. We cut through the noise with the most impactful headlines.
Wall Street Breakfast: https://seekingalpha.com/author/wall-street-breakfast#regular_articlesWall Street Breakfast, Seeking Alpha's flagship daily business news summary, is a one-page summary that gives you a rapid overview of the day's key financial news.
DISCLAIMER ON SIGNUPS: I am not sponsored by any of these sites, companies, or individuals.
GENERAL DISCLAIMER: All rights reserved to respective sources where I pull my information. I do not own or have vested interests in the websites where I get my news and information. Links are provided as credit and to provide additional context where reader’s might want more information outside of what is printed here on these sheets.
Do you like what you have read? Consider subscribing so that Market Madness is hand-delivered to your inbox each day! If you know of anyone missing out on Market Madness, save them the trouble and share it with them!