Groupon IPO: Caveat Emptor
Next week, Groupon will begin it’s $750 million IPO roadshow and Goldman Sachs is the lead underwriter. Here’s what we know so far: Most of all the insiders and early venture capitalist have already cashed out, They have burned through roughly $700 million in cash since January, The SEC has asked them to review their .. read more
Jobless claims drop 6,000 to 403,000
Highlights Initial jobless claims edged 6,000 lower in the October 15 week to 403,000, but the level is 3,000 higher than Econoday’s consensus estimate and the prior week is revised 5,000 higher to 409,000. Yet the trend is clearly if only marginally positive with the four-week average down for a fourth straight week, 6,250 lower .. read more
CPI: Energy, food still rising.
Highlights Headline inflation for the consumer remained on the warm side while core inflation softened. The consumer price index in September increase 0.3 percent, following a 0.4 percent jump the month before. The latest number matched the consensus forecast. Excluding food and energy, the CPI posted a mild 0.1 percent boost after rising 0.2 percent .. read more
Housing Starts Up, Permits Down
Highlights September housing data appears in part to be coming off hurricane effects in August as starts jumped and permits eased back. But strength also appears to be more broad based than this effect. Housing starts in September rebounded a sharp 15.0 percent after declining 7.0 percent the month before. The September annualized pace of .. read more
Weekly Chart Review: What’s hot, what’s not.
What’s Hot: Google, Apple, Herman Cain, Retail Sales What’s Not: US Dollar, Treasury Bonds, Consumer Confidence Another amazing week for equities. So far in October, the S&P 500 is up over 8%, led by Technology and Materials. Overall, economic statistics have been coming in stronger than expectations, so there is at least, a fundamental justification .. read more
NFLX: Anatomy of a Momentum Stock
Prior to joining Alhambra Investment Partners, I sold my remaining Netflix (NFLX) shares at $248 a share. I guess I should preface this note by saying that I have been NFLX subscriber since 2004 and I love the service. I have no personal vendetta against the company or it’s management, but after spending the weekend .. read more
ETF Update: World Allocation
Don’t look now, but IAU/Gold has maintained a solid support level with plenty of upside. The EAFE index is getting closer to the 50-day moving average. The big question is whether or not European leaders can inspire confidence.
ETF Update: Select Countries
Here is a snapshot of the foreign market ETFs that we closely follow. Japanese Small Caps looks the best of all the charts, with a clearly defined support level.
