Stellantis, troubled owner of brands including Jeep, Chrysler, Peugeot, Alfa Romeo and Maserati, has lost about 55% of its stock market value over the past year. But with new leadership, some analysts believe the only way is up, despite some challenges which might require plant closures and the elimination of brands. Since the demise of former CEO Carlos Tavares and the assumption of Antonio Filosa there has been no shortage of rumours about strategy. Reports Stellantis would merge with Renault were denied. Storied but problematic luxury Italian sports carmaker Maserati is not for sale; yet. A year ago, the Stellantis…

Favourable weather helped Sainsbury’s to grow sales in the last quarter, it announced on Tuesday, as it remained the sector’s strongest performer. At 291.6p per share, the FTSE 100 retailer rose 0.6% on the news. Like-for-like sales across the company’s core Sainsbury’s grocery and Argos general merchandise divisions rose 4.9% in the 16 weeks to 21 June, it said. This figure excludes the impact of fuel sales at its gas stations. At Sainsbury’s, like-for-like sales rose 4.9%, driven by a 5% increase among its grocery lines. Combined general merchandise and clothing revenues meanwhile grew 4.2% year on year. Like-for-like Argos…

The Dow Jones Industrial Average has not yet joined the “new highs” crowd. Although the S&P 500 and the Nasdaq 100 achieved it last week, the 30 equities known as “Dow Industrials” failed to get there. One reason is that these five stocks – all DJIA components – have been dropping in price, not rising. Each one has an individual story but it’s probably worth noting that 16.67% of the big index is pulling down the overall average. It’s enough of a weight that the other stock market indexes have pulled ahead and left the Industrials behind. Inflationary expectations and…

U.S. Market Seasonality into Second Half Through the bulk of the first half, the U.S. market has performed closely in line with its history in the first year of the presidential cycle. However, the path was far from smooth on a quarterly basis. Q1 significantly underperformed an already weak historical precedent, while Q2 sharply outperformed a typically strong one. By sector, outside of strength in Financials and weakness in Transportation, the averages did not align quite as well with history. Materials, Capital Equipment, Technology, and Utility sharply outperformed their history. But Cyclical, Staple, Energy,Health Care, and Retail uncharacteristically underperformed. Quarter-by-quarter…

President Trump has repeatedly called Federal Reserve Board Chair Jerome Powell stupid, terrible, a fool, and referred to him as a person of average mentality. There are more examples of Trump’s juvenile jabs, but you get the idea. Why would the President resort to name calling on a person that he himself appointed to the position? I found two primary reasons, and we will examine both. First, we need to fully understand the role of the Fed and its relationship with a sitting President. The Role of the Federal Reserve The Fed is an independent, non-political entity. That means, it…

In trading on Monday, shares of Chipotle Mexican Grill crossed above their 200 day moving average of $55.38, changing hands as high as $55.91 per share. Chipotle Mexican Grill shares are currently trading up about 1.2% on the day. 10 Stocks Crossing Above Their 200 Day Moving Average » The chart below shows the one year performance of CMG shares, versus its 200 day moving average: Looking at the chart above, CMG’s low point in its 52 week range is $44.46 per share, with $66.74 as the 52 week high point — that compares with a last trade of $55.66.…

Key News Asian equities were mixed overnight, as Pakistan outperformed and Taiwan underperformed, as the US dollar weakened. Hong Kong struggled with a sell-off into the close, despite the US dollar weakness. The end of day downdraft could have been driven by quarterly and monthly rebalances, though it is hard to say for sure. Yes, Hong Kong-listed stocks are denominated in Hong Kong dollars, which are pegged to the US dollar. However, the underlying companies are mainly in China and generate revenues in renminbi. If the renminbi (CNY) appreciates, the underlying companies are theoretically worth more, which occurred overnight. CNY…

Humans have been wearing shoes for thousands of years. Today, the quality and type of shoes available for purchase are staggering, with thousands of brands competing for consumer dollars. With casual footwear gaining popularity, love them or hate them, this footwear company is poised to continue growing for the foreseeable future. The best news for investors? This company is one of the most profitable in the retail footwear space, yet its stock is down nearly 10% year to date and trades at a steep discount. Crocs Inc. (CROX) is this week’s Long Idea. CROX offers favorable Risk/Reward based on the…

he defense stocks I recommended in this column in June 2023 returned 118% in two years. That’s a fat return, but I don’t think it’s time to take profits yet. “Vladimir Putin invades Ukraine and saber-rattles about nuclear weapons,” I wrote on June 26, 2023. “Xi Jinping says he wants his military to be ready to invade Taiwan by 2027. Then there’s Iran and North Korea. Both implacably dislike the U.S. and are formidably armed.” Thanks to Israeli and U.S. bombardment of strategic sites, Iran is a little less formidably armed now. But I don’t think it likes us any…

IFBH, the Thai company behind China’s largest coconut water brand IF, saw its shares jump 42% in its Hong Kong stock market debut Monday, boasting a market cap of $1.3 billion. IFBH ended its first day trading at HK$39.5, up from its HK$27.8 per share set for the initial public offering. The company, a subsidiary of Bangkok-based General Beverage, raised HK$1.16 billion ($145 million) from the sale of 41.7 million shares at the top end of a marketed range of HK$25.3 to HK$27.8. The stock surge gave Pongsakorn Pongsak, IFBH’s founder, CEO and largest shareholder, a net worth of $807…