Category: Daily in Portfolio Management

Dec 3rd, 2023 - The stock of Paramount Global (PARA) experienced a 9% increase, while Apple (AAPL) (0.6 units @ 183.96) shares rose by 0.7% after reports emerged of discussions between the two companies regarding a potential collaboration in bundling their streaming services. The Wall Street Journal revealed that the talks involve creating a combined offering of Paramount+ and Apple TV+ at a lower cost than subscribing to them separately. The negotiations are still in the early stages, and the specific details of the potential deal are unclear.  Shares of Alphabet (GOOGL) (0.8 units, @133.93) that is as now the world's third-largest technology company by revenue and one of the world's most valuable companies, and shares of Microsoft (MSFT) tumbled after Alphabet’s Google called on European regulators to take Antitrust action against Microsoft for…

Jerome Powell, Chairman of the Federal Reserve, recently discussed the topic of interest rates and  inflation, cautioning against premature aggressive rate cuts. He suggested keeping policy restrictive  until there's certainty that inflation is on a clear path back to the 2% target set by the Federal Open  Market Committee (FOMC).  Even though current policy remains restrictive, Powell highlighted a balance between combating  inflation and preventing economic slowdown. His comments had a positive impact on markets, with  stocks climbing on Wall Street and Treasury yields dropping sharply.  The rise of interest rates by the Federal Reserve in response to high inflation significantly influenced economic activity and inflation levels. Powell mentioned that while these policies have had an impact, their effects might not have been fully realized yet.  Market expectations indicate a…

Dec 1st, 2023 - It was a very positive Friday for the US indices, as the Dow Jones (36245.50, +0.82%) and the S&P 500 (4594.63, +0.59%) both reached their highest value of the year. Nasdaq went also really close to its year-highest closing at 14305.03, with a 0.55% gain.  Alibaba shares lost more than 1% on Friday as Morgan Stanley analysts downgraded shares to equal weight from overweight, and also massively reduced the target price from $90 per share to $20. Alibaba was expected to change their core business with the spinoff of their cloud business, which has not happened because of US export restrictions on advanced chips.  Tesla shares fell in the first hours of Friday around 3%, after the first deliveries of the Cybertruck.  Finally, Tesla’s Cybertruck is…

Nov 30th, 2023 - Thursday was a good day for the markets, with the S&P growing 0.38%, NASDAQ by 0.25% and Dow Jones by 1.47%. European markets closed higher this Thursday rounding off the month as investors assessed inflation data in the Eurozone, suggesting pressure from rising prices is easing. The regional Stoxx 600 closed up 0.5% at a 10-week high. (J.Reid) Salesforce’s (CRM) stock climbed 7.4% after October-quarter earnings topped estimates, as the cost cutting process improved profit margins while revenue met views. Guidance for CRM stock came in over the expectations despite the rise in CRM over the year. For the quarter ended Oct. 31 earnings jumped 51% to $2.11 per share and revenue climbed 11% to $8.72 billion, surpassing the expectations of $2.05 earnings per share on…

Nov 29th, 2023 - On Wednesday, markets closed the day with a decrease in the S&P500 and Nasdaq by 0.09% and 0.16% whereas Dow Jones closed near flat with an increase of 0.04%. Fed Governor Christopher Waller, who is known as a hawkish figure expressed his confidence in the current policy’s ability to bring back the inflation the the 2% target. The third quarter's gross domestic product increased at a faster rate than anticipated, rising to 5.2% annualized growth, according to figures released on Wednesday. Changes to government expenditure and investments in nonresidential structures were the main sources of the increase. New chips have been released by Amazon Web Service’s cloud division, which enables users to create and execute artificial intelligence (AI) apps. There are plans in the announcement to…

Nov 28th, 2023 - Today marked a very important moment in Bff Bank’s (BFF) history, as its stock price rose to the highest level ever since the Italian company went public in 2017. In fact, BBF closed at 10.43€ today, with a daily percentage increase of 5.14%. Also, Mediobanca’s research confirmed the outperform rating of BFF shares, mainly due to the advantages the bank gained through the approval of an european regulation regarding payment delays.   Leonardo (LDO) just signed a very remunerative agreement with Omni Helicopters  International, according to which the italian company will deliver 2 AW189 and a AW189K to  its portuguese counterparty, increasing its presence in Latin America. Furthermore, Leonardo entered into another deal with Leman Aviation which will receive 10 units of the new AW09 helicopter. Both…

Nov 27th, 2023 - Tesla has filed a lawsuit against the Swedish Transport Agency after postal workers of the country stopped delivering license plates connected to the U.S. carmaker: the company claims that such negligent behavior constitutes an “illegal and discriminatory attack”. However, the legal action filed on the 27th of November, is part of a broader conflict between the carmaker and the Swedish unions. The tension between the two started coming out a month ago, on October 27, when 130 members of the powerful Swedish metalworkers’ union “IF Metall”, went on strike at seven workshops across the country advocating for a collective labor agreement. Indeed, since Tesla isn’t unionized as a company, Swedish workers have been striving for better salaries, pensions and insurance systems. Mechanics then joined the “protests”,…

Nov 26th, 2023 - Portfolio holding Apple (AAPL)(0.6 units @ 183.96) shares dropped by 1% Friday, as iPhone sales during China's 2023 Singles Day fell 4% from the previous year. Singles' Day is a major global online shopping event, comparable to Black Friday and Cyber Monday in the U.S. Apple trailed behind local competitors Huawei and Xiaomi, with the latter experiencing a 66% sales increase. iPhones contribute nearly 50% to Apple's total revenue. Investors closely monitor iPhone sales, and the global smartphone market rebounded in October, driven by releases like Huawei's Mate 60 and Apple's iPhone 15, marking the highest sales since January 2022. Deere & Co. (DE) saw a 3% decline this week as the farm equipment manufacturer's guidance fell short of estimates. Deere & Co, also known as…

Nov 25th, 2023 - Ahead of the coming year,  a possible shift in investment strategies has been discussed, particularly in relation to fixed income products like bond funds and cash. Despite investors favoring these options due to higher interest rates and sticky inflation, experts suggest reconsidering these allocation strategies, in anticipation of potential changes in interest rates. Money market funds have attracted significant investments this year, approximately $1.2 trillion flowed into them, far surpassing the inflows into bond and equity funds. However, Matt Bartolini, head of research at SPDR Exchange Traded Funds, foresees a potential reduction in the popularity of fixed income products, as interest rates will probably fall. He suggests that investors could shift their allocations either into equities or focus on the 1 to 10- year fixed income…

Nov 24th, 2023 - Today’s indices performances: Nasdaq closed at 14,250.85 (-0.11%), S&P 500 at 4,559.34 (+0.06%) and Dow Jones at 35,390.15 (+0,33%).  Portfolio holding Nvidia (NVDA) (0.215 units @ $462.20) shares fell 1.93% today after international news organization Reuters reported that they will delay to Q1 2024 the launch of their new AI chip H20, that was developed to be sold to Chinese companies while complying with US export restrictions. H20 is being delayed due to issues server manufacturers are having in integrating the chip, as Reuters's source said. The delay could have negative consequences for Nvidia’s performances in the Chinese market, and local competitors such as Huawei may take advantage of the situation. Nvidia is working on two other chips to comply with US export rules: L20 and…