 | | |  Good morning. Last year, we had two consecutive quarters of negative GDP growth. While that's historically been the definition of a recession, the data was somewhat ignored by the media at the time. Today, however, we face a slowing economy, combined with far higher interest rates than last year.
Now, we're starting to see data from last month's fear in the banking sector. Loan demand has slid into a contraction, a big sign that the economy could slow further. And sales are starting to decline, reflecting a continued slowdown in consumer spending, which represents the bulk of the economy.
For traders, it's clear that we'll continue to have more market volatility, and likely a leg lower for stocks. For investors, it means an opportunity to pick up names more cheaply in the weeks and months ahead.
Now here's the rest of the news: | | | | | |
| | |  | DOW 33,482.72 | +0.24% | | |  | S&P 4,090.38 | -0.25% | | | | | NASDAQ 11,996.86 | -1.07% | | | | | *As of market close | | | • | Markets traded mixed on Wednesday, as tech stocks slid. | | | • | Oil dipped 0.3 percent, last going for $80.46 per barrel. | | | • | Gold traded flat, ending at $2,038 per ounce. | | | • | Cryptocurrencies also traded flat, with bitcoin at $28,257 at the stock market close. | | | | | | | |
| | | Buy The Fear and Uncertainty from Short Sellers Talking Their Book | | | | There's a common strategy for a company to take a short position in a company, then issue a research report explaining why. Typically, such reports will take company statements and claim that they're embellished in some fashion.
Often, these reports aren't true, or have an element of truth to them that are grossly exaggerated, even if allowed under accounting standards. But in the short term, shares can get knocked down, allowing the short seller to profit quickly.
» FULL STORY | | | | |
| | Insider Trading Report: Walgreens Boots Alliance (WBA) | | | | Rosalind Brewer, CEO at Walgreens Boots Alliance (WBA), recently bought 10,000 shares. The buy increased her stake by 3 percent, and came to a total cost of $339,510.
This marks the first insider buy at the company in the past two years. The company's Chief Medical Officer exercised stock options and sold shares late last year, as did a director. The sales slightly exceed the amount of this recent CEO buy.
» FULL STORY | | | | |
| | Unusual Options Activity: Alphabet (GOOGL) | | | | Search engine giant Google (GOOGL) has been trending higher in the past few weeks following a massive decline last year. One trader sees a further move higher in the weeks ahead.
That's based on the April 28 $114 calls. With 21 days until expiration, 5,362 contracts traded compared to a prior open interest of 124, for a 43-fold rise in volume on the trade. The buyer of the calls paid $1.33 to make the bullish bet.
» FULL STORY | | | | |
| | • | Private Payrolls Grew 145,000 Last Month
The most recent hiring data from ADP shows that the private sector increased by 145,000 lats month. That's well under expectations for 210,000, and it's down from February's growth of 261,000. The biggest gains came from leisure and hospitality, with 98,000 workers added. | | | | • | Mortgage Applications Slip After Four Weeks of Gains
Mortgage applications declined 4.1 percent for the week ending March 31. That's the first time in four weeks that applications dropped after a slight rise. Refinance applications also dropped by 5 percent. Typically, the spring marks a busy season for the housing market, but higher rates may stop that trend in its tracks this year. | | | | • | Exxon Quits Drilling for Oil in Brazil
Oil giant ExxonMobil (XOM) has stopped drilling for oil off the coast of Brazil. The company notes that it hasn't found any meaningful amounts of oil from its efforts, even after spending billions of dollars searching for it. The company hasn't ruled out any future projects in the country. | | | | • | Johnson & Johnson Looks to Settle Talc Cases for $8.9 Billion
Pharmaceutical giant Johnson & Johnson (JNJ) is looking to settle all talc claims over a period of 25 years, in a payout valued at $8.9 billion. The move is being made through a company subsidiary that is going through bankruptcy court. The new offer is $6.9 billion higher than the company's first $2 billion offer. | | | | • | CashApp Creator Stabbed to Death
Bob Lee, the creator of CashApp for Square before it was renamed Block (SQ), has passed away following a fatal stabbing in San Francisco. Lee was 43. Prior to creating CashApp, Lee worked at Google (GOOG), developing the core library for the Android system. His most recent role was as chief product officer at MobileCoin. | | |
| | | | TOP | | | VLO | 6.09% | | | | MPC | 5.691% | | | | PSX | 5.54% | | | | MOH | 4.306% | | | | BAX | 4.284% | | | | BOTTOM | | | MKTX | 13.643% | | | | ALB | 6.795% | | | | DE | 6.232% | | | | CZR | 6.071% | | | | CMI | 5.248% | | | | |
| | |  | | I think it's some consolidation after a stellar rally that we had last week. But that still doesn't deter me from saying that I think we can have a more positive tone to April because if you look at the broader picture, we sort of have the recipe for a soft landing, which is inflation expectations are coming down. And broadly speaking, economic data is surprising to the upside. So that actually still supports a resilient stock market. | | - Anastasia Amoroso, chief investment strategist at iCapital, on the relative strength of recent economic data, which may indicate that the market may trend higher in the coming weeks. | |
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