An earlier version of this column included an incorrect count on the number of weekly losses. Gold futures have now posted declines for three weeks in a row. Shutterstock Gold futures settled with a modest gain, following mixed trading on Friday, but tallied a loss for a third week in a row as investors showed a lukewarm reaction to the monthly U.S. jobs report. The data came in a bit softer than...Read More
The June 51 call could be seeing buy-to-open activity todayWith the U.S., Mexico, and Canada slated to resume NAFTA negotiations on Monday, options volume is accelerated on the iShares MSCI Mexico ETF (EWW) today. At last check, roughly 13,400 puts and 8,100 calls are on the tape, nearly three times what's typically seen and volume pacing in the 94th annual percentile. Most active is the June 51...Read More
Recently sluggish Hertz stock could get a shot in the arm from next Monday's earningsRental car giant Hertz Global Holdings Inc (NYSE:HTZ) is scheduled to report first-quarter earnings after the market closes this Monday, May 7. Ahead of the event, HTZ stock has been notably quiet; the equity's 60-day historical volatility (HV) of 60% ranks lower than 94% of other such readings from the past year....Read More
(Reuters) - Apple Inc’s stock hit an all-time high on Friday after Warren Buffett’s Berkshire Hathaway Inc disclosed it had bought 75 million more shares of the iPhone maker in the first three months of the year.Buffett’s increased stake, confirmed by a representative of the billionaire investor, pushed Apple’s shares up as much as 3.8 percent to $183.65.It was the stock&rs...Read More
Put traders are targeting the $6 level for GPROGoPro, Inc. (NASDAQ:GPRO) is trading up 8.9% today at $5.40, thanks to the camera company's better-than-expected quarterly sales. While this puts the shares on pace for their best single-day rise since September, they're struggling to overcome the stubborn $5.50 area that's acted as resistance since late January. Plus, GPRO remains down more than 28%...Read More
BEIJING/WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The United States has demanded that China cut its U.S. trade surplus by $200 billion, end subsidies for advanced technology industries and sharply cut import tariffs to U.S. levels, two people familiar with U.S.-China trade talks said on Friday.The lengthy list of demands was presented to Beijing prior to the start of talks Thursday and Friday between top-level Trump...Read More
WASHINGTON (Reuters) - U.S. trade officials had candid trade discussions with their Chinese counterparts, the White House said in statement on Friday following a two-day bilateral meeting in Beijing, adding that President Donald Trump will decide the next steps.“The delegation held frank discussions with Chinese officials on rebalancing the United States-China bilateral economic relationship...Read More
JOHANNESBURG (Reuters) - South Africa’s Independent Regulatory Board for Auditors (IRBA) said on Friday it had appointed a specialised team to review the turnaround strategy of KPMG’s scandal-hit South African arm.The global auditor has been under close scrutiny since 2017 over work done for a company owned by the Gupta family - who have been accused of using their links to former pres...Read More
WASHINGTON (Reuters) - U.S. President Donald Trump on Friday said the U.S. was not taking a harder stance against China because of his respect for Chinese President Xi Jinping.“I have great respect for President Xi. That’s why we’re being so nice,” Trump told reporters at the White House. His comments came just hours after China announced that large disagreements still loom...Read More
(Kitco News)- U.S. dollar strength remains the most significantheadwind for gold prices next week, but many analysts and investors are notready to turn bearish on the yellow metal as there is still a lot ofuncertainty within financial markets.Gold is preparing to end its third consecutive week innegative territory, but the market remains entrenched in its trading channel,bouncing off a four-week l...Read More
Plus, the AAPL supplier that could be flashing 'buy'The Dow is set to close a busy week in the red, despite a huge week for Apple (AAPL). The major stock indexes also eked out gains for April, though they seem destined for an upcoming (continued) stretch of rapid, unpredictable price swings. And while the U.S. central bank kept interest rates unchanged, as expected, traders digested the Fed's comm...Read More
NEW YORK (Reuters) - Oil prices rose about 2 percent on Friday with U.S. crude hitting its highest in more than three years as global supplies remained tight and the market awaited news from Washington on possible new U.S. sanctions against Iran.The May 12 deadline for announcements on potential new U.S. sanctions on Iran bolstered the market, said Bob Yawger, director at Mizuho.“You have th...Read More
(Reuters) - Apple and other technology stocks led a rally on Wall Street on Friday, after weaker-than-expected U.S. jobs and wage growth data eased concerns about faster interest rate hikes.Apple (AAPL.O) jumped 3.9 percent to a record high of $183.80 after Warren Buffett’s Berkshire Hathaway (BRKa.N) raised its stake in the iPhone maker.The S&P technology sector .SPLRCT was up 1.64 perc...Read More
LONDON (Reuters) - Nestle (NESN.S), the world’s largest coffee company, is close to a deal with Starbucks Corp (SBUX.O) for the part of its business that sells bagged coffee and drinks in supermarkets, according to media reports on Friday.Any deal between the coffee giants would not involve any of the Seattle-based chain’s more than 28,000 cafes, according to Bloomberg, which reported...Read More
BRUSSELS (Reuters) - Negotiators from Britain and the European Union agreed a broad structure for further talks on their future relationship after Brexit, dividing economic issues from those on security, the EU said on Friday.“It is a way of moving forward,” an EU official said after three days of talks in Brussels. The list of topics was, however, not a set of formal headings for futu...Read More
The stock has averaged a monster one-month return after other pullbacks to its 160-day trendlineWhile most chip stocks rode a big Apple (AAPL) rally higher this week, Micron Technology, Inc. (NASDAQ:MU) lagged after the iPhone maker's chief financial officer warned of falling NAND prices. In fact, as AAPL stock heads toward a 12.5% weekly win -- its best week since October 2011 -- MU stock is up a...Read More
NEW YORK (Reuters) - World stock indexes climbed and U.S. Treasury yields were near unchanged on Friday after data showed weaker-than-expected U.S. jobs and wage growth in April, bolstering investor views that the pace of U.S. rate hikes will be gradual.Gains in shares of Apple (AAPL.O) helped U.S. stocks after Warren Buffett’s Berkshire Hathaway (BRKa.N) raised its stake in the iPhone maker...Read More
WASHINGTON (Reuters) - U.S. job growth increased less than expected in April and the unemployment rate dropped to near a 17-1/2-year low of 3.9 percent as some jobless Americans left the labor force.The Labor Department’s closely watched employment report on Friday also showed wages barely rose last month, which could ease concerns that inflation pressures are rapidly building up, likely kee...Read More
AAPL is eyeing its best week since 2011TheDow Jones Industrial Average (DJI) is up triple digits at midday, shaking off early losses stemming from the nonfarm payrolls report for April, which indicated the unemployment rate fell to 3.9% last month. The S&P 500 Index (SPX) and Nasdaq Composite (IXIC) are also higher, as Apple (AAPL) stock explores record highs following news that Warren Buffett...Read More
BERLIN (Reuters) - As Europe’s biggest exporter to the United States and with more than 1 million German jobs at stake, Germany is desperate to avoid a European Union trade war with the United States.In the run-up to a June 1 deadline for U.S. President Donald Trump to impose steel and aluminum tariffs on the EU, Berlin is urging its European partners to show some flexibility and pursue a br...Read More