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Hungary Re-elects Orban Coalition Supporting Putin

Barry Adams
03 Apr, 2022
New York City

Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban is set to win fourth consecutive general election with two-thirds majority, according to the election commission. Orban ran on a platform of closer ties with Russia for the energy security and has opposed the arms trans-shipments to Ukraine and anti-immigration policies.

Stocks Retain Upward Bias as Bond Yields Rise

Mukesh Buch
01 Apr, 2022
New York City

Investors bid up stocks on the first day of April and second quarter after facing worst return in the previous quarter in two years. A decline in oil price below $100 a barrel and a sustained recovery in the job market also helped the sentiment. 2-year at 2.448% closed above 10-year bond yield. Energy stocks were on the defensive after leading other sectors in the first quarter with 33% surge.

Oil Dips Below $100 After Western Nations, Allies Pledge to Release Reserves

Brian Turner
01 Apr, 2022
New York City

Crude oil continued its slide for the seventh trading session in a row after many European nations, Canada, Japan, and South Korea agreed to join the United States in releasing more oil to the market. The International Energy Agency, an association of western countries said today. West Texas crude oil future price dipped below $100 a barrel in New York trading.

Five Below Plans to Double Sales, EPS in 3 Years

Scott Peters
01 Apr, 2022
New York City

Five Below, Inc, the deep discount retailer reported December quarter sales increased 16% to $996.3 million from a year ago period and net income rose 13.1% to $140.2 million. Diluted earnings per share also increased 13% to $2.49 from $2.20 in a year ago period. In the first quarter the retailer anticipates diluted earnings per share between 54 cents and 61 cents.

lululemon Earnings Up 32%, Another $1 Billion Share Buyback Plan

Scott Peters
29 Mar, 2022
New York City

lululemon athletica reported fourth quarter total revenues increased 23% to $2.1 billion on growth of 21% in North America and 35% in international sales. Total comparable store sales increased 32%. The retailer added 22 new stores in the quarter totaling 574. Net income increased to $434 million from $329.8 million and earnings per share rose to $3.36 from $2.52.

H&R Block Quarterly Loss Shrank on 12% Rise in Revenues

Scott Peters
01 Apr, 2022
New York City

H&R Block said December 2021 quarter revenues increased 12% to $159 million from a year ago and net loss shrank to $190.6 million from $255.8 million. Loss per share declined to $1.09 from $1.38 on 5.7% shrink to 173.3 million after the company repurchased 6.6 million shares in the quarter.

Movers: GameStop, BlackBerry, Li Auto

Barry Adams
01 Apr, 2022
New York City

GameStop advanced after the company is looking to increase outstanding shares to 1 billion from 300 million to enable a stock split. BlackBerry dropped after the company reported unexpected profit but missed the quarter revenues estimate. Li Auto, China-based electric vehicle maker delivered nearly 32,000 deliveries, more than double in the period a year ago.

Job Market Recovery Added 431,000 in March

Brian Turner
01 Apr, 2022
New York City

U.S. corporations continued to add jobs on the sustained post-pandemic labor market recovery. Nonfarm payrolls increased 431,000 in March and the unemployment rate declined to 3.6%. Revisions also suggested a stronger trend in place with January additions were revised higher 23,000 to 504,000, February jobs were up by 77,000 to 750,000. For the quarter new additions were 1.69 million.

Stocks in Worst Quarterly Loss in 2 Years, Nasdaq Plunges 9.4%

Mukesh Buch
31 Mar, 2022
New York City

U.S. indexes slid on the final day of the quarter led by 2.4% decline in tech heavy Nasdaq. Popular indexes delivered worst quarterly performance in two years with S&P falling 5% and Nasdaq dropping 9.4%. Bond market also delivered worst quarter after inflation worries gripped investors and 2-year and 10-year bond yields matched at 2.34%.

Jobless Claims Rise 14,000, Continuing Claims at 43-Year Low

Barry Adams
31 Mar, 2022
New York City

Weekly initial jobless claims increased 1to 202,000 for the week ended March 26, and increase of 14,000 from the previous week, according to the Labor Department. Continuing jobless claims reached a record high of 6.2 million in April 2020 and have now declined to 1.3 million, the lowest since December 27, 1969. Nonfarm payroll report on Friday is expected to show a smaller increase than in Feb.

Commodities Deliver Best Quarterly Gains in Three Decades

Boris Petrov
31 Mar, 2022
New York City

Commodities are set to deliver their best quarter in more than three decades after crude oil prices surged 43%, wheat soared 33%, aluminum jumped 26%, nickel soared 58% and gold gained 7%. Copper, zinc, and lead added between 5% and 6% in the quarter.

Sharp Fall in U.S. Consumer Spending Growth On Higher Rent and Oil

Brian Turner
31 Mar, 2022
New York City

Consumer spending growth slowed in February after the rising gasoline prices and surging rent forced consumers to cut other expenses. Spending rose 0.2% in February and January spending increase was revised higher to 2.7% from 2.1%. The personal consumption expenditure index increased 0.6% in February, an increase of 6.4% from a year ago, after rising at 0.5% in January.

Oil Drops on Reserve Release Expectations

Brian Turner
31 Mar, 2022
New York City

Volatile oil prices turned lower after reports suggested that the U.S. is preparing to release at least one million barrels of oil a day for the next six months to stem the rising prices. OPEC and its allies agreed to a small increase of output by 432,000 barrels a day and reminded that the prices are decided by markets in New York and London.

Market Pessimism Returns After Cease-fire Talk Falters

Mukesh Buch
30 Mar, 2022
New York City

Stock rally fizzled after 4 days of gains in the U.S. and Europe and crude oil prices rebounded $2 a barrel on both coasts of Atlantic. European Union is preparing to impose additional stringent sanctions on Russian individuals and corporations and emergency arrangements for natural gas supply interruptions. Bond market yields also signal more economic pain ahead.

Natural Gas Buyers Anticipate Another Upward Jolt

Brian Turner
30 Mar, 2022
New York City

High natural gas prices are likely to trend even higher as the U.S. regulators prepare to divert natural gas to Europe because additional supplies from Qatar are expected to lag till 2023. Russia is implementing ruble payment demand for imported natural gas. Germany, Holland, Greece, and Italy are making emergency arrangements in the event of supply interruptions.

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