29Feb 2024 by Cattolica Investment Club No Comments
US economy grows less than expected as Btc increases in price.

US economy grows less than expected as Btc increases in price.

Daily in Portfolio Management
Wednesday's report showed that the US economy grew at a 3.2% annual pace from October through December. The data came slightly lower than the 3.3% estimates. Bitcoin skyrocketed to $64,000 on Wednesday morning, going above $60,000 for the first time since November 2021. The bullish atmosphere initially started with the possibility of an ETF launch. After being approved, Bitcoin moved flat until February 7, when the movement to $64,000 started. Another bullish event for Bitcoin is the approaching halving, which will take place in April. The halving by reducing mining reward by half, thus limiting supply. The share price of Salesforce (CRM) decreased by 5% in the extended trading after the company announced earnings per share and revenue that topped estimates but fell short of the revenue forecast for the…
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29Feb 2024 by Cattolica Investment Club No Comments
INFLATION CONTINUES TO PERSIST IN THE UK, WHILE MACY’S AND  CAVA RESULTS OVERCOME ANALYSTS’ EXPECTATIONS 

INFLATION CONTINUES TO PERSIST IN THE UK, WHILE MACY’S AND  CAVA RESULTS OVERCOME ANALYSTS’ EXPECTATIONS 

Daily in Portfolio Management
Today, Dave Ramsden, deputy governor of the Bank of England, released an important statement  about the inflation trend in the UK during the Association for Financial Markets in Europe meeting.  According to Ramsden, the general increase in the level of prices seems to be persistent, although  factors like services’ prices as well as salaries growth have experienced a remarkable decrease in the  last months. He also stated that it is vital to understand if this prices’ growth will continue for a period  of time that is sufficiently long before taking into consideration drastic cuts in BoE rates’ levels, which  are already high.   Macy’s (M) (+3.37% at 4:00 PM EST) just reported 2023 Q4 revenue and earnings. According to the  data of the Cincinnati based company, there was a decline in…
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27Feb 2024 by Cattolica Investment Club No Comments
GOOGLE’S ETHICAL AI ODYSSEY

GOOGLE’S ETHICAL AI ODYSSEY

Daily in Portfolio Management
Google recently encountered significant backlash for its AI image generation tool, prompting a rapid reassessment and temporary suspension of the service: the controversy stemmed from numerous historical inaccuracies and questionable outputs produced by the tool, resulting in widespread criticism and a notable decline in Alphabet's shares, which fell almost 4% on Monday to $138.51 as of early afternoon. The image generator, integrated into Google's Gemini suite of AI models, permitted users to input prompts to generate images, however, it quickly drew attention for its flawed depictions, including instances of racially diverse portrayals within historically specific contexts. This debacle highlighted broader concerns within the AI industry regarding ethics and oversight. Margaret Mitchell, a prominent figure in AI ethics and former leader of Google's AI ethics group, emphasized the necessity for nuanced…
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25Feb 2024 by Cattolica Investment Club No Comments
The Paradox of Tech Layoffs in a Booming Economy

The Paradox of Tech Layoffs in a Booming Economy

Daily in Portfolio Management
Despite the robust performance of the U.S. economy and the flourishing tech sector, the year 2024 has seen a surge in workforce reductions within the technology industry, raising concerns and signaling a significant shift in the landscape of employment and investment strategies. While indicators such as Nvidia's impressive earnings and the soaring Nasdaq index suggest a thriving tech environment, the reality for tech workers paints a starkly different picture. According to Jeff Shulman, a professor at the University of Washington’s Foster School of Business, these layoffs reflect the evolving dynamics of work and technology, as well as a shifting investor preference towards growth over profitability. Data from Layoffs.fyi reveals a concerning trend: the number of tech dismissals in 2024 has surpassed that of the previous year, with over 42,000 employees…
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25Feb 2024 by Cattolica Investment Club No Comments
The challenge of Tod’s: The new PTO

The challenge of Tod’s: The new PTO

Markets
Tod’s is attempting to re-enter the market with a second public tender offer (PTO) after the failure of the first attempt in 2022, with a price per share of €40.00, not reaching the threshold set at 90%, forcing the group to withdraw the offer. The Della Valle brothers, Diego and Andrea, try again, supported by the private equity fund, L Catterton, participated by LVMH, on a percentage of 36% of Tod’s share’s, with the intention of obtaining delisting. The consequence of delisting is that the company will no longer be listed on Borsa Italiana S.p.A. and Tod’s ordinary shares will no longer be publicly traded on the Euronext Milan (EXM) segment. This move by Tod’s is not an isolated case, but rather, represents a trend of many companies showing this…
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24Feb 2024 by Cattolica Investment Club No Comments
FRIDAY MARKET RECAP: PALO ALTO RECOVERS, WARNER BROS SLUMPS AND BLOCK SHINES 

FRIDAY MARKET RECAP: PALO ALTO RECOVERS, WARNER BROS SLUMPS AND BLOCK SHINES 

Daily in Portfolio Management
Palo Alto Networks (PANW) (Purchased 0.2 units @ $245.03) was up by around 5% on Friday after the California based firm fell following second quarter results. Revenue was in line with analysts’ estimates, reaching $1.98 billions, while EPS beated analysts’ expectations by far, attesting at $5.47. However, guidance was much lower than expected for FY 2024, which led to a sharp decline. The stock is now rising again due to the broader market rally caused by Nvidia’s sharp increase.  Warner Bros. Discovery missed analysts’ expectations for revenue and earnings due to poor advertising revenue and due to the streaming service company failing to provide free cash flow guidance for 2024. As a result of that, the company fell 12% in early trading on Friday. Going through the numbers, the company…
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23Feb 2024 by Cattolica Investment Club No Comments
Nvidia’s equity rises by $277 billion on Thursday following earnings beat and carries averages to all time highs

Nvidia’s equity rises by $277 billion on Thursday following earnings beat and carries averages to all time highs

Daily in Portfolio Management
Feb 23rd, 2024 - Nvidia’s stock rallied 15% following a massive earnings beat, where they announced that their 2024 Q1 revenues would also be higher than previously expected. The stock also announced a forecasted 233% increase in revenues for 2025 Q1, which means the stock is forecasted to continue rallying and growing for the next year. Nvidia beating earnings propelled the market index to a 2% increase in price, meaning they now stand at $ 5087.03.  Supermicro (SMCI) also rose as a result of the strong earnings. The company rallied almost 34% given their tight correlation with companies in the artificial intelligence industry. The US company manufactures high quality servers specifically designed and produced for AI computing. The company's price targets range from $700 to $1300, meaning some financial institutions…
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23Feb 2024 by Cattolica Investment Club No Comments
Nvidia once again beats expectations after blockbuster quarter, as other portfolio holding has a sharp decline

Nvidia once again beats expectations after blockbuster quarter, as other portfolio holding has a sharp decline

Daily in Portfolio Management
One of our portfolio holdings, Nvidia (NVDA) (Purchased 0.24 units @ $471.73) announced its  fourth fiscal quarter earnings that exceeded estimates. Nvidia announced earnings per share of $5.16 vs $4.64 and revenue of $22.10 billion vs $20.62 billion expected. Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang responded to investors' skepticism about the sustainability of growth. Huang said the projections for the growth seem positive due to the demand for the company’s GPUs. The demand for these GPUs is driven by generative AI. In the extended trading session, Nvidia shares increased by almost 10% following the announcements. Amazon (AMZN) is set to join the Dow Jones Industrial Average on Monday, February 26th. The e-commerce company is replacing the pharmacy company Walgreens Boots Alliance Inc (WBA) One of our portfolio holdings, Palo Alto Networks (PANW)…
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21Feb 2024 by Cattolica Investment Club No Comments
GOLDMAN DISCLOSES ITS EXPECTATIONS ABOUT RATES CUTS IN THE  UK, AS BARCLAYS ANNOUNCES IMPORTANT RESULTS 

GOLDMAN DISCLOSES ITS EXPECTATIONS ABOUT RATES CUTS IN THE  UK, AS BARCLAYS ANNOUNCES IMPORTANT RESULTS 

Daily in Portfolio Management
Feb 20th, 2024 - After the UK inflation rate in January 2024 reached 4.00 %, Goldman Sachs (GS) (+0.02% at  4:00 PM EST), in a research note, asserted that there is a high probability that BoE will delay  interest rate cuts from May to June, with subsequent stronger interventions during the final  semester of 2024. The US investment bank believes the Central Bank will introduce five consecutive 25 basis point cuts, determining a decrease in interest rates from 5.25% to 4%.  Also, a terminal rate equal to 3% should be reached by June 2025. As reported by many Goldman Sachs analysts, the main reasons behind this delay are the surprising strength of the UK labor market and the wage growth currently ongoing, but they also predicted a remarkable reduction of…
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20Feb 2024 by Cattolica Investment Club No Comments
ARM’s Skyrocketing Stock Prices: a story of recent success

ARM’s Skyrocketing Stock Prices: a story of recent success

Corporate Finance
ARM, a well-known semiconductor company, has experienced a substantial increase in its stock prices, attracting the attention of investors and industry observers. This article delves into the key factors contributing to ARM's exceptional stock increase, underlying the primary numerical indicators that underpin its recent success in early 2024.  ARM  ARM, founded in 1990 and headquartered in Cambridge, United Kingdom, is a leading designer of advanced microprocessors and related artificial intelligence (AI) properties. The innovative design, approach and technological advantages have ranked ARM in the global semiconductor industry.  Primary products of ARM ARM company products are used in a variety of devices, some of which are smartphones, tablets, systems and Internet of Things (IoT) devices. One of the primary products and architectures, developed by ARM corporation include Cortex-A, Cortex-R and Cortex-M…
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