Consolidation Rally. Just when other US stocks are on a rage, charting new ATHs almost on a daily basis, one of my favourite stocks $Nu Holdings Ltd.(NU)$ undergone a consolidation instead. On Mon, 16 Dec 2024, it fell further by -1.68%, closing at $11.74. (see below) On Tue, 17 Dec 2024, it rose marginally by +0.86% to close at $11.70. On Wed, 18 Dec 2024, it ‘crashed’ by -10.19% to close at $10.40. Worst fall in a very long time. On Thu, 19 Dec 2024, it fell again by -3.28% to close at $10.33. On Fri, 20 Dec 2024, it rose by +1.37% to end the week at $10.38. At one point in time, it went as low as $10.21 intraday. Past month: As of 20 Dec 2024, NU has been down by -22.54%. Correction commenced since its 25 Nov 2024 peak of $14.23 and it is still o

Summary sale / purchase by Ms Cathie Wood : Sold - 139,642 Tesla shares at $192.22 per share. Total sales proceeds - $26.84 Million. Bought - 268,928 Coinbase shares at $66.30 per share. Total purchase costs - $17.83 Million. Bought - 320,557 Block shares at $61.88 per share. Total purchase costs - $19.84 Million. Ark funds forked out additional $10.83 Million to complete above 2 purchases. A few things came to mind when I came across above news article.. The obvious question is “Why did Ms Cathie Wood sell $Tesla Motors(TSLA)$ and used the proceeds to fund additional purchase of $Coinbase Global, Inc.(COIN)$ and $Block(SQ)$ ? Before examining each reason under the

US market on Wed (22 Mar) traded directionlessly until 2:00pm when the FOMC meeting was over with the press conference by Mr Powell, hot on the heels. When the 0.25% interest hike was confirmed, market “reacted positively” initially. It was afterall the much anticipated 0.25% and not the much feared 0.5%. The “euphoria” proved to be short-lived as the press conference pressed on with Mr Powell further confirming that there would be no let down from the central bank in their fight to bring inflation down. Personally I think, it is commendable that the Fed Reserves provides a clear direction of where they are heading without being ambiguous. Doing so minimizes “speculations” of any sorts to be postulated by Wall Street to smoke-screen and “fool” the general public. Agree ? By The Time Market

Major US stock indexes stabilized on Thu, 19 Dec 2024 but failed to hold onto early gains. This comes a day after the Fed's Wednesday revised outlook for interest rates and inflation, triggering a steep selloff. By the time market called it a day: (see above) DJIA: +0.04% (+15.37 to 42,342.24). Snapped its 10-day stretch of decline. Still, it was the longest streak of daily losses since 04 Oct 1974. S&P 500: -0.09% (-5.08 to 5,867.08). Registered 2 new 52-week highs & 40 new lows. Nasdaq: -0.10% (-19.92 to 19,372.77). Recorded 29 new highs and 276 new lows. Trading volume on US. exchanges was 16.33 billion shares, compared with the 14.52 billion average for the full session over the last 20 trading days. US Q3 GDP - Final. On Thursday morning, US market rose initially after the Com

The FAANG stocks, which comprise some of the most influential and profitable tech companies in the world, have disappointed their investors in the latest quarter of 2023. Despite their remarkable growth in previous quarters, the FAANG have: Failed to meet the high expectations of the market. Reported less than perfect earnings results. This has wrong footed many investors who were: Betting on the continued dominance of these tech giants in the post-pandemic era. Hoping that the FAANG’s fantastic results could lift up the US market, given a depressing Sep and Oct 2023. $Meta Platforms, Inc.(META)$, formerly known as Facebook, has “better” its earnings estimates. The company reported: Earnings per share (EPS) of $4.39, well above consensus estimate

The Fall ! In my Wed, 18 Dec 2024 post, I had assumed that $BigBear.ai Holdings(BBAI)$ will continue to rise further upon the Fed’s confirmed -0.25% interest cut. As it turned out, it could not have been further from the presumptuous assumption. US market crashed big time on Wednesday (afternoon onwards) due to the hawkish stance the Fed adopted, in lieu of its last interest cut for 2024 and the strategic reduction in the number of planned interest cuts going into 2025. There were just a handful of stocks that defied logic and rose, most crashed with varying severity. BBAI was not one of the exceptions unfortunately. It fell by -7.94% (or -$0.27), ending Wednesday at $3.13 per share. In my Wednesday post, I have also shared a scathing report by Ic

Of late, the internet has been flooded with posts by “veterans” dishing out negative news about the US —economy and stock market are on the verge of collapse (see below). When you come across such posts, how do you make sense of them? Personally, it depends who is dishing out such news? For instance, Mr Marko Kolanovic from JP Morgan is high profile when it comes to the US market. How could he not be, coming from $JPMorgan Chase(JPM)$, US #1 international bank. Sometimes he makes sense but many a times, he,…. (fill in the blanks yourself ok).. LOL! Then you have Mr Robert Kiyosaki, accidental writer of best seller “Rich Dad, Poor Dad”. Listen to him is akin to listening to Ms Cathie Woods. Why would anyone listen to him when: He professed that his

There is this informal English idiom that best described what happened to US market on Wed, 18 Dec 2024. It is "damned if you do, damned if you don't". When Fed chair Mr Jerome Powell confirmed the -0.25% interest cut officially, thought the suspense that was keeping everyone hanging by a thread will turn into a rally. Instead, market crashed big time: (see above) DJIA: -2.58% (-1,123.03 to 42,326.87). S&P 500: -2.95% (-178.45 to 5,872.16). Posted 6 new 52-week highs and 27 new lows. Nasdaq: -3.56% (-716.37 to 19,392.69). Tech index recorded 80 new highs and 264 new lows. On NYSE, declining issues outstripped advancers by a 9.489-to-1 ratio. On Nasdaq, decliners beat advancers by 5.46-to-1 ratio. Wednesday’s trading volume on US exchanges was 18.59 billion shares, compared with the 14.

$Tesla Motors(TSLA)$ released its Q2 2023 earnings on Wed 19 Jul 2023 after US market closed. This was followed by a press conference to answer queries that analysts, wall street professionals may have. Reactions on the following 2 days - Thu, 20 Jul & Fri, 21 Jul best summed up Wall Street sentiments. They did not like all the negatives stemming from the clarifications session. Does this signal the beginning of another Tesla correction? Below are some possible catalysts that I think might spur decline: (1) Q3 2023 EV volume will be reduced. During Q2 earnings press conference, mr musk announced that in Q3 2023, the giga factories will shutdown for factory improvements. (see above). Meaning output and delivery will be affected. Coupled with co

This is how I see the US “bigger” banks in the coming months and into 2024. It is based off an accumulation of: March 2023 US banking debacle that has brought down 3 US banks - (a) Signature Bank, (b) Silicon Valley Bank (SVB) and finally, (c) First Republic. News articles that I have come across in recent months. Extract of Mr Powell’s testimony with Senate Banking Committee on Thu, 22 Jun. This is how I see it. Summary. US banking sector is facing a challenging outlook in the second half of 2023 and into 2024, as it: Grapples with the aftermath of the March banking debacle. Adheres to the FDIC's latest levy. Explores the Fed's new credit requirement and Enforces credit tightening within the industry. Below is analysis of each factor and its implications to the US bigger banks. (1) Th

When I came across the above article, I sat up quickly, click on it and savour the article in one sitting. When the world’s largest assets manager, $BlackRock(BLK)$ CEO, Mr Larry Finks said something so “profound”, we need to pay close attention especially when distilled to its essence, it is about money & investments. My usual prelude before deep diving into the main content. What is Environmental, Social & corporate Governance (ESG)? It is an approach to investing that recommends taking (a) environmental issues, (b) social issues and (c) governance issues into account when deciding which companies to invest in. It has become increasing

On the eve of Chinese New Year’s Eve (Thu, 08 Feb 2024), US stocks were moving in different directions. There were some outsized gains seen in semiconductor stocks, as investors looked ahead to the annual consumer-price index revision due on Fri, 09 Feb 2024. As noted by Morgan Stanley economist Diego Anzoategui: Last year’s revision was large, showing much weaker disinflation throughout 2022 and added uncertainty ahead. However, do not expect another big change for impending release. By the clock chimed at 4:00pm US time: DJIA: +0.13% (+48.97 to 38,726.33). S&P 500: +0.06% (+2.85 to 4,997.91). Shy of the 5,000 market. Nasdaq: +0.24% (+37.07 to 15,793.72). Stocks that bolstered the Indexes included: Monolithic Power Systems, Inc. (MPWR): +14.20% Walt Disney (DIS): +11.50%. ON Semicondu

Looking back, the S&P 500 index has had a strong performance in 2023. As of Fri, 14 Jul 2023, it has gained +17.82% year-to-date (YTD), see below. S&P 500 - YTD performance Of the index’s 500 companies, Technology sector has been the best performing sector; rising by +21.65% by Q1 2023. Some of the biggest gainers include: $NVIDIA Corp(NVDA)$. $Meta Platforms, Inc.(META)$. $Tesla Motors(TSLA)$. $Salesforce.com(CRM)$. These companies have benefitted from: Strong earnings. Semiconductor industry performance. Artificial intelligence (AI) applications. Cloud computing services. However, analysts are sounding alarms on

In my post on Tue, 02 May 2023 (click here to read ! and give a “Like”), I have shared my worries about US debt limit impasse may further weaken US stock market, that is still reeling from the US regional bank crisis contagion. US Debt clock Above is the latest snapshot of US debt clock: Figures in “red” represent expenses / money spent. Figures in “green” represent revenue / money received. So many red items and so few greens ! Latest Development: President Biden has invited Republican House Speaker Kevin McCarthy to meet at the White House on Tue, 9 May 2023. This will be the first meeting between the two leaders to discuss the issue since it first surfaced on 13 Jan 2023 when US Treasury Secretary, Ms Janet Yellen sent

According to the European Automobile Manufacturers’ Association, over 85 Million motor vehicles were built around the world in 2022, based off data from the World Trade Organization (WTO).. In below diagrams, text was added to make sense of the 85 million vehicles, by ranking the world’s 10 largest automotive exporters. It includes countries from nearly every corner of the world, highlighting the global nature of the industry. Before looking at the charts, below are the Criteria & Conditions used in the selection & ranking process. Criteria & Conditions: Above data represents a country’s share of the total export value of global automotive products. “Automotive products” — defined by WTO includes [1] motor vehicles, [2] parts and accessories for motor vehicles, and [3] internal

US banks in the spotlight once again! I have shared 3 posts about the Fed, US interest rates, next FOMC meeting and US banks: 29 May - US Debt, Stock Market, Interest Hike In Coming Week/s. 31 May - US Fed's Interest Hike In June ? 3 Factors To Decide.. 02 Jun - US Banks Not Out Of Woods Yet. Not By A Long Shot. To read, click on the post’s title. Please give a “Like”, “Share” or “Re-post” after reading ok. Thanks! As June, 13 - 14 draws closer by the day - the market is rift with a lot of uncertainties on whether the Fed will blindside it with a 0.25% interest hike. The concerns

It was a “pleasant” surprise to wake in the morning to find that US market has staged a 1-day rally where gains were quite “substantial”. As mentioned in my Tue, 16 May post’s opening paragrahs, “pointless” to celebrate because market will struggle thru this week, in a “confused” state. See what I mean? US market’s futures for Thu, 18 May is a “red” wash all over again. Without a national issue eg. Debt Limit, the US market is already “unpredictable” at times; let alone with one now, the US market is going to get even crazier. While trying to play the devil’s advocate on the US Debt Limit issue, I stumbled upon the article by The Council of Economic Advisors (CEA) on the economic impact based on different degrees of Debt L

I could not believe my eyes when I came across the news article with the contentious title (see below). This is especially so in view that the strike is into its 10th day since it commenced on 15 Sep 2023. Before jumping into the subject proper, I thought it is fitting to have a summary of events leading up to the strike. The strike did not just happen out of the blue, truth be told. It dated back to year 2008 where the economic recession took its toll on the auto industry. The labour union supported the auto industry heads by signing away some of the concessions with the understanding that they would be reinstated when the industry recovers. The promise remained unfulfilled until 14 Sep 2023 when the contract expires. {Is it naive to expect corporate America to do the right thing? LOL!} O

A few days ago, I have posted on Nvidia’s Q3 2024 earnings and its falling stock price. Nvidia is falling, time to Buy? - click to read, give a like. Thanks. Main drivers of Nvidia's stellar performance were strong demand for its (a) data center and (b) gaming products, that enable artificial intelligence (AI) and high-performance computing (HPC) capabilities. On Black Fri, 24 Nov 2023 when trading resumed for half a day, Nvidia continued to trend downwards. (see above) Based on its peak price of $505.48 as of 21 Nov 2023, Nvidia has fallen by -5.5% by the time trading ended on Black Friday. In contrast, the 3 US composite indexes, have been risi

There is an English proverb that goes something like this - “the early bird catches the worm”. Is this applicable when it comes to investing in US stocks (a) with a new incoming party and (b) a returning President ? After a long, hard-fought campaign, Donald Trump has secured an election victory and will retake the White House in January 2025, with an inauguration on 20 Jan 2025. Regardless of political preferences, investors must now consider how the incoming Trump administration will impact the US stock market and their investment portfolios. Throughout his campaign, Trump has focused on several potential market-moving themes. This included: Securing border with Mexico. Aggressive tariffs implementation on imports. Support domestic oil and gas drilling. Reduce regulations. Cut corporate