“#IBTWTF” — A trending hashtag on Twitter yesterday morning, as fired workers for IBT Media (which operates International Business Times and Newsweek) lambasted the company after not receiving severance packages. #Yikes.
MARKET SNAPSHOT
Big Picture
- Markets finished mostly higher thanks to tech stocks, as the Nasdaq jumped to its highest level of the year despite drops in oil prices
Alternatives to Watch
- The Yen surged early this morning due to expectations of extreme volatility, as the Bank of Japan could possibly roll out a large stimulus package at its monetary policy meeting today
Market Movers
- Nutritional supplement provider GNC saw its shares shed 25% after the CEO stepped down and the company suspended earnings guidance
- On the other end of the plate, takeout food delivery platform Grubhub shot up 27% after its earnings report wowed investors
CORPORATE PRIMER
Amazon Is Cruisin’
…To its third-straight quarter of record profit. Simply put, Amazon crushed all estimates. What’s powering the results? Huge growth in the cloud computing division and jumps in new sales from Prime memberships helped lead to a 31% increase in revenue. Believe it or not, Amazon still has big things in store, including more brick-and-mortar stores (watch out Walmart) and hopes for growth in India.
Oracle Aims for the Clouds
…And is willing to pay to get there. Enterprise software giant Oracle is dropping $9.3 billion to acquire NetSuite in a play to increase its presence in the cloud computing industry. Never heard of NetSuite? It’s a market leader in providing enterprise software via subscription-based, on-demand computing—a space Oracle has been trying to break into for years. The deal is particularly interesting because of Larry Ellison, who is the biggest shareholder in both companies. Let the conflict of interest allegations commence.
Check Engine Light
…Ford’s in some trouble. The Detroit-based automaker was slow out of the gate this year and its second quarter earnings report continued the trend. Who or what’s to blame? Executives have stated that higher industry incentives and lower price points for compact vehicles are the culprits. The North American and European regions were the lone bright spots for CEO Mark Fields, but that might change thanks to Brexit. With numerous global changes and rising costs, no wonder Ford shares plunged 8%.
A, B, C
…For Alphabet, winning is elementary. Alphabet absolutely dominated the second quarter—breezing by analysts’ expectations and seeing sales rise 21% year over year. The Google parent proved that online advertising is still very profitable, as its revenue in this area increased by an impressive 19%. Even Alphabet’s riskier business “Other Bets”—projects like Google Fiber, Nest, and self-driving cars—reported revenue that doubled what Alphabet saw in last year’s second quarter. On the news, Alphabet’s share price rose to a new all-time high after-hours. That’s how easy earnings can be.
OTHER STORIES
- Chipotle says it plans to open burger restaurant
- Uber will be legal in China in November
- Amazon’s Alexa now can lock your front door
- Boeing says it could end 747 production
ECONOMIC CALENDAR
- Monday: Sprint (-), Gilead Sciences (+/-) Earnings
- Tuesday: Apple (+), Caterpillar (+), JetBlue (+), McDonald’s (-), Twitter (+), Under Armour (+/-), Verizon (+) Earnings; FOMC Meeting Begins; New Home Sales (+); Consumer Confidence (-)
- Wednesday: Boeing (+/-), Coca-Cola (+), Comcast (+), Deutsche Bank (-), Facebook (+), Hilton (-) Earnings; FOMC Meeting Announcement
- Thursday: Alphabet (+), Amazon (+), Expedia (+/-), Ford (+/-), Hershey (+), Mastercard (+) Earnings; International Trade in Goods (+); Weekly Jobless Claims (+)
- Friday: Anheuser-Busch, Chevron, Exxon Mobil Earnings; Second Quarter GDP
THE DARK LORD
It’s no secret that Hillary Clinton and Donald Trump aren’t the most popular presidential candidates in the world, especially among millennials. But get this: according to a survey conducted exclusively among millennials located in swing states, millennials view both Clinton and Trump less favorably than they do villain Lord Voldemort from the Harry Potter series. We can’t make this up:
- The poll found that 75% of millennials view The Donald unfavorably, while 63% aren’t too fond of the former Secretary of State. On the other hand, Voldemort received just a 49% disapproval rate.
- Among the 1,664 millennials surveyed, 51% claimed they would vote for Clinton, while just 30% said they would vote for Trump if they were the only two candidates running.
- However, throw Green Party candidate Jill Stein and Libertarian Gary Johnson in the mix and 43% of likely voters said they’d vote for Clinton, 24% for Trump, 15% for Johnson and 7% for Stein.
- 20% of likely millennial voters identified as “Sanders Holdouts,” willing to support Democratic candidate Bernie Sanders against Trump but unwilling to support Clinton. It’s a mess—time to bring out the “Voldemort 2016” bumper stickers.
INTERVIEW QUESTION OF THE DAY
Who trades in primary and secondary capital markets? (Answer)
BUSINESS TERM OF THE DAY
Non-Marketable Security — Securities that are difficult to buy or sell due to the fact that they are not being traded on any normal, major secondary market exchanges. Most non-marketable securities are government-issued debt instruments like U.S. savings bonds, private shares and local government securities, which are all prohibited from being resold.
FOOD FOR THOUGHT
Known for its posh lifestyle image and tax-friendly policies, Monaco’s population density of millionaires is unreal—one in every three people. To put that into perspective, if you aren’t a millionaire in Monaco, it’s likely that one of your next-door neighbors will be.
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