What Caught Our Attention in the Investment World? – Week of June 22 – 26, 2020

By Kuldip K. Ambastha The coronavirus pandemic is continuing to damage the private sector significantly. This week, GNC Holdings (GNC) and the parent company (CEC Entertainment) of Chuck E. Cheese plus Peter Piper Pizza both announced plans for bankruptcy. GNC Holdings will be using the bankruptcy process to close all of its health and nutrition …

What Caught Our Attention in the Investment World? – Week of May 26 – 29, 2020

By Kuldip K. Ambastha In this past week, Tuesday Morning Corporation (TUES), Hertz Global Holdings, Inc. (HTZ), and HP Inc. (HPQ) were all featured prominently in the news. Tuesday Morning Corporation (TUES) is a retail business focused on the American home. Due to the coronavirus pandemic, the company was forced to close its stores for …

What Caught Our Attention in the Investment World? – Week of April 20-24, 2020

By Kuldip K. Ambastha Snap Inc. (SNAP) stood out this week for positive reasons. On Wednesday, April 22, 2020, the stock had an astounding 36.7% return for the day. This return was driven by the company’s strong 1Q2020 results. Wall Street’s quarterly revenue expectations were surpassed. Snapchat has 229 million average daily active users as …

Retail Sales and Factory Output – Week of April 13-17, 2020

By Kuldip K. Ambastha The coronavirus pandemic continues to wreak havoc all around the world. In the USA, retail sales declined by 8.7%, making for a record decline. The previous record was 3.9% in November 2008, during the Great Recession / global financial crisis (GFC) era. Clothing and accessories sales declined 50.5%. Food services and …

What Caught Our Attention in the Investment World? – Week of April 6-10, 2020

By Kuldip K. Ambastha Carnival Corporation (CCL) is well-known as a cruise operator and as a prominent travel / leisure company. This British-American company has struggled recently due to the coronavirus pandemic seen worldwide. However, during this week, the company had strong days on Monday, April 6, 2020 and Tuesday, April 7, 2020, returning 20.3% …

Jobs, Unemployment, and the Dow Jones – Week of March 30 – April 3, 2020

By Kuldip K. Ambastha The Dow Jones was up and down this week day by day, similar to what has been seen in the past few weeks. Due to the coronavirus pandemic and its related public health concerns around the world, massive changes have been seen in the USA and these changes have been affecting …

What Caught Our Attention in the Investment World? – Week of February 17-21, 2020

By Kuldip K. Ambastha and Anil K. Ambastha On Tuesday, February 18, 2020, Franklin Resources, Inc. (BEN) and Legg Mason, Inc. (LM) made big headlines. Legg Mason returned 24.4% for the day, while Franklin Resources (AKA: Franklin Templeton) returned 6.9%. Why? Franklin Resources is buying Legg Mason, in an all-cash deal valued at $4.5 billion. …

What Caught Our Attention in the Investment World? – Week of September 16-20, 2019

By Kuldip K. Ambastha and Anil K. Ambastha After reporting earnings results for the first quarter of its 2020 fiscal year ended August 31, 2019, the shares of FedEx (FDX), a package-delivery company, dropped by 12.9% on September 18. This drop is its biggest one-day percentage drop since the global financial crisis of 2008 and …