PORTFOLIO MANAGEMENT

Iran war and the impact on global energy markets Read the Full Article Authors: Leonardo Zanetta Liliana Prina

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Iran war and the impact on global energy markets Read the Full Article Author: Marco Piccoli

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Iran war and the impact on global energy markets Read the Full Article Author: Roberto Degli Azzoni

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HDFC Bank Limited: A Strategic Play in the Asian Banking Sector       Read the Full Article   Author: Daniele Ruggieri

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Undervalued or Underwhelming? A Closer Look at Kraft Heinz       Read the Full Article  

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Constellation Energy: Clean Power for a Data-Hungry Future       Read the Full Article   Author: Ilaria Savignoni

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Leonardo s.p.a: A Strategic Investment in European Defense       Read the Full Article   Author: Francesco Capodifoglio

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LVMH: A Buying Opportunity?       Read the Full Article   Author: Matteo Gatti

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Inditex and its position in the Fast Fashion Industry        Read the Full Article   Author: Gustave Lecomte & Diego Andretta

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The Critical Need for Cybersecurity Investment       Read the Full Article   Author: UMBERTO MILLE

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Pro Medicus: A High-Growth Opportunity in Medical Imaging Pro Medicus Limited (ASX: PME) has emerged as one of the most dynamic players in the medical imaging software sector, delivering substantial growth and capturing increasing market share, particularly in the United States. Over the past year, the stock has surged by more than 185%, pushing its market capitalization close to $27 billion. This remarkable performance has drawn significant investor interest, but also raised concerns regarding its valuation. With an expanding presence in a rapidly evolving industry, Pro Medicus offers compelling growth potential. However, as with any high-growth stock, investors must carefully…

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MICROSOFT CORPORATION (NASDAQ: MSFT) – INVESTMENT ANALYSIS   Dive into the latest in-depth investment analysis of Microsoft Co., crafted by our Investment Strategy Team of the Portfolio Management division, packed with strategic insights you won’t want to miss!          Read the Full Article   Author: Diego Andretta

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PORTFOLIO HOLDING UPDATE: ALPHABET       Read the Full Article   Author: Filippo Ferrero

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NextEra Energy (NEE) – Investment Report OVERVIEW NextEra Energy, Inc. (NYSE: NEE) is an American energy company and a global leader in renewable energy production, founded in 1925 as Florida Power & Light (FPL) and headquartered in Juno Beach, Florida. Initially serving as a traditional electric utility for Florida, the company has evolved into the world’s largest producer of wind and solar energy by leveraging advancements in clean energy technologies and strategically responding to the global energy transition. Its operations are divided into two primary subsidiaries: Florida Power & Light (FPL), which serves over 11 million residents in Florida, and…

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Analysis of the Global Automotive Industry and Market INTRODUCTION The global automotive industry is undergoing significant transformations driven by technological advancements, shifting consumer preferences, and evolving regulatory landscapes. In 2024, the sector faces both challenges and opportunities as it navigates these changes. INDUSTRY OVERVIEW Global vehicle sales are projected to reach approximately 94.7 million units in 2024, marking a 3.3% growth compared to the previous year. This growth is influenced by factors such as interest rates and economic conditions. The transition towards electric vehicles (EVs) continues to accelerate, with manufacturers investing heavily in electrification and digitalisation to meet consumer demand…

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TRUMP’S RETURN TO PRESIDENCY: impacts on the stock market and economic outlook Donald Trump’s return to presidency is a highly debated topic, with the markets reflecting both hope and apprehension. His presidency promises to bring drastic changes in economic policy, with key discussions around tax reforms, deregulation, and trade policy. All these factors are already influencing investor behavior and shaping market trends. After Trump’s victory, the stock market had a noticeable rally as investors became relieved with the clarity of the election outcome and the anticipation of market-friendly policies. The S&P 500 reached a record high after the news, while…

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ELI LILLY FACES RATING DOWNGRADE DUE TO SALES ISSUES, WHILST MOODY’S STOCK REACHES ITS ALL TIME HIGH Erste Group, one of the main European banking groups based in Austria, recently modified its rating of portfolio holding Eli Lilly (LLY) (0.2 units purchased @582.99). Its recommendation changed from Buy to Hold and the main factors that contributed to this downgrade are two ratios: inventory/sales and receivables/sales. What analysts pointed out is that, despite the positive expectations about Eli Lilly’s earnings trend in the near future, the previously cited ratios increased too much, reaching their highest values in the last 6 years.…

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Market Volatility Amid Earnings Season and Policy Shifts: NVIDIA, Oklo, and Eli Lilly in Focus During the last two weeks, the stock market has fluctuated greatly, partly due to the election of the new US president, Donald Trump, and partly because we’re right in the middle of earnings season, when many companies report their earnings and forecasts, leading to changes in stock prices. NVIDIA Our holding, Nvidia (NVDA), has probably been one of the most talked about stocks in recent years due to its amazing returns. As of today, it is also the world’s largest company by market cap. The…

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STOCK ANALYSIS: NU HOLDINGS (NU) NUBANK’S RISE TO SOUTH AMERICAN UBIQUITY Overview Nu Holdings Ltd. (NYSE:NU) is a Brazilian holding company which provides digital banking services in South America founded in 2013 and headquartered in São Paolo, Brazil. It has found great success by exploiting this untapped market, as South American countries have gradually begun to digitalize (1), and people yearn for a more simple and straightforward process that grants them access to financing. Its product offering is diverse, providing personal loans, credit cards, and insurance policies, with it eyeing a move to diversify its revenue sources by entering new…

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Swiftonomics, a term coined to describe the economic influence of Taylor Swift, encapsulates the intersection of pop culture and economics. As one of the world’s most influential artists, Swift’s activities generate significant economic ripples, affecting various industries and market behaviors.  Concert Tours and Local Economies Taylor Swift’s concert tours are a prime example of Swiftonomics in action. Her tours, such as the “Reputation Stadium Tour” and “The Eras Tour,” attract millions of fans worldwide, leading to substantial economic benefits for host cities. When Swift performs in a city, there is a noticeable spike in local spending on hotels, restaurants, transportation,…

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Eli Lilly and Company (NYSE: LLY) was founded almost 150 years ago in 1876 by Colonel Eli Lilly and it is one of the leaders in the healthcare industry. The company has its HQ in Indianapolis, Indiana, has more than 44,000 employees and its products are marketed in approximately 105 countries, as can be seen in their website. They have a growing portfolio of medicines in key areas, which are:  These last two categories are the main reason why the stock is rallying lately, thanks to its new obesity and diabetes drugs Mounjaro and Zepbound. Another factor that is pushing…

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Moody’s Corporation, founded in 1909, has its headquarters in New York City. Moody’s Corporation operates as an integrated risk assessment firm globally, they provide market credit ratings, research, tools, and analysis. Moody’s Ratings (previously known as Moody’s Investor Service) is the part of the company that deals with credit ratings. Its ratings and research in this field cover debt instruments and securities issued by various entities, including corporations, financial institutions, government, and government-related entities. They measure the credit risk of obligors and issuers. This part of the business generates revenue through various channels: According to their latest earnings report (1Q…

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The value of Copper, often referred to as “Dr. Copper” for its role as an economic indicator, is experiencing a significant rally in its market value. Prices have surpassed $10,000 per ton for the first time since April 2022, reaching around $10,220 per ton, driven by soaring global demand and tight supplies, rising 29% from year to date. Copper’s critical role in the global transition to net-zero emissions by 2050 underscores its increasing importance. As the world accelerates efforts to combat climate change, copper will be central for the development of different green-initiatives and must overcome the different hurdles in…

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Many of the most important power companies have started to either change or review their targets to develop renewable energy because of high costs in development and low costs of electricity. This comes as a sign of the general difficulties that present in transitioning away from fossil fuels. The continent’s largest renewable energy producer, Starkraft, announced the review of their annual targets for new renewables capacity, while EDP, an important Portuguese energy company started cutting back its plans quoting high interest rates and low power prices. On the other hand also Denmark’s Ørsted, recognized as the world’s largest offshore wind…

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May 16th, 2024 – ChatGPT maker OpenAI held its “Spring Update” event on Monday, where it announced a new desktop app, a web UI refresh, and the launch of its most advanced model, GPT-4o. The demo showcased how edge devices, starting with Macs and iPhones, can benefit from AI. By integrating voice, text, and images, the demo also highlighted AI’s potential to significantly boost productivity. Much of the demo utilized a “hardwired” Apple’s (AAPL) iPhone to reduce latency in real-time interactions.  In this context, analysts at Bank of America reiterated a Buy rating on AAPL, saying they expect the tech giant…

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May 8th, 2024 – Today, Shopify (SHOP) (-19.3% at 10:35 AM EDT), a notorious Canadian e-commerce firm  operating in multiple countries, disclosed its expectations about quarterly revenue growth  and the forecasted values are the worst in the last two years. Among the several factors that  led to this poor result are the decreasing consumers’ spending trend in recent times as  well as the fact that the core of Shopify’s clientele represented by small and medium-sized  companies has been heavily hit by the ongoing inflation. The company’s forecast for the  second quarter of 2024 did not meet Shopify’s investors’ expectations at…

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May 5th, 2024 – Founded in 1926, United Airlines is an international airline company with more than 100,000 employees headquartered in Chicago, Illinois that provides air transportation services worldwide. Its business lines include people transportation, which is the primary source of revenue, and cargo transportation, which offers freight and mail services. These two segments contribute to form the company’s operating income, alongside with other revenue, that includes revenue generated from third-party businesses such as maintenance services and flight academy.  The company’s motto is “Connecting People. Uniting the World” and it is what drives its decision making. Their approach, as reported…

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May 1st, 2024 – In the current year, 2024, market trends have 3 main characteristics: medium growth, high inflation and elevated geopolitical risks. Such factors hinder investment strategies and opportunities across most asset sectors.  Said geopolitical uncertainties influence the equity market, as it can be deduced from growth expectations of 2-3% in the S&P 500. Thus warning investors to exercise extreme caution, specifically when dealing within the markets impacted by these economic hardships. Contrastingly, companies involved in AI show greater promise of growth. In fact, after careful consideration, the following companies have the highest growth potential: MSFT, NVIDIA (its one…

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April 28th, 2024 – After the challenges of the year 2022 as a whole, digital ad companies finally succeeded in not only recovering but mostly exceeding the expectations analysts had for the first months of 2024, reporting strong achievements and wonderful results for their investors this week, publishing their first-quarter results.  Companies have gone through tough times due to the crazy inflation of 2022 and the subsequent measurements of cutting costs and layoffs, mainly spread across 2023. Another major challenge digital companies had to face was the one of Apple’s IOS privacy changes, which obviously made it harder for ads…

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24 April 2024- One of our portfolio holdings, Boeing (BA) (Purchased 0.15 units @ $248.79) announced its first fiscal quarterly results better than expected. The analysts were expecting the adjusted loss per share to be $1.76 compared to $1.13 declared. The company also shared its revenue which is slightly above the expectations. $16.57 billion compared to the $16.23 billion estimated. Boeing had a tough year starting with their 737-MAX incident, followed by the FAA putting a restraint on the company’s output due to some issues of noncompliance in the supply chain. They lost almost 35% in value year to date.…

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April 19th, 2024 – Netflix reported better-than-expected revenue and earnings for the first quarter of 2024 thanks to subscribers growth of 16% YoY. The streaming company posted an EPS of $5.28 and a 14% revenue growth to $9.37 billion, and they both have beaten analysts’ expectations. The company struggled in premarket because of a poor revenue guidance for the full year, compared to what analysts’ were expecting.  Paramount is in talks with Skydance Media for a merger, but as the New York Times reported, there is a potential opportunity of a takeover by Sony Pictures Entertainment and Apollo Global Management,…

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April 17th,  2024- One of our portfolio holdings, purchased recently, United Airlines (UAL) (1 unit @$41.78) announced its quarterly result after markets closed on Tuesday. United Airlines reported first-quarter revenue of $12.5 billion, compared to the consensus estimate of $12.4 billion. And an adjusted quarterly loss of 15 cents per share, outperforming analyst estimates of 57 cents per share. They also increased their capacity by %9 despite their projected fleet orders partly not coming due to Boeing’s halt in production of Boeing’s MAX 737. They announced that they expect to add 61 planes to their fleet revised from their previous…

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April 16th, 2024 – Today, Bank of America (BAC) released an important statement in which it disclosed its disappointing  Q1 2024 profits, which marked a decrease of around 18% compared to their 2023 Q1.  The factor that determined this very poor performance was the huge difference  between the deposits’ costs and the combination of assets’ yields and loans’ growth, with the interest  paid on deposits exceeding BoA’s earnings. At the same time, other US financial giants like JP Morgan  Chase, Wells Fargo and Citigroup reported negative results because of the same trend experienced by  BoA. To have a clearer idea…

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April 15th, 2024 – In the first quarter, Goldman Sachs witnessed a 28% increase in profits, well beyond what analysts expected, as a result of their strong performances in these months. Bloomberg’s compiled analyst forecasts were nearly $1 bln short for the bank’s reported net income for the first three months of the year, which actually amounted to $4.1 bln, up from $3.2 bln a year earlier. The reason for this memorable achievement lies into the refocus led by the CEO David Solomon: he decided that it was time for Goldman Sachs to “play to their core strengths”, that is…

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April 11th, 2024 – Tech giants led a stock rally on Thursday as investors weighed encouraging wholesale inflation data against yesterday’s harrowing price report. The Nasdaq surged 1.7%, while the S&P 500 gained 0.7% and the Dow Jones ended the day flat. Nike (NKE) have been under fire in the past months, with shares plummeting 25.34% in the past year. However, several BB (Bulge Bracket) analysts are currently reporting the probability for a pivot in the green. Today shares of the company increased 3% after the stock was upgraded at Bank of America. The last few years were quite rough…

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Creating a balanced portfolio is analogous to constructing a robust house: each component plays a crucial role in ensuring its stability and resilience. In the world of finance, portfolio diversification stands as the cornerstone of prudent investment strategy; at its essence, diversification involves spreading investments across various asset classes to mitigate risk and maximize returns. This practice not only safeguards against market volatility but also enhances the potential for long-term growth. Diversification offers several benefits, the most important among them being risk management. By allocating investments across different assets, investors can reduce the impact of adverse events on their overall…

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April 8th, 2024 – It is thought by many that good times for always increasing gold prices may have come to an end and the price of the commodity could experience a downturn shortly. The spot yellow metal price has hit a fresh record of $2,375.5 per ounce on Monday confirming the positive trend of the “safe haven” in times of uncertainty like these. Notwithstanding that, there are strong beliefs that it could be the moment for the ongoing growth to cease, therefore for prices to decrease as several other factors come into the game.  The first among them is…

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6th April, 2024 – The financial guru from CNBC, Jim Cramer, had brought into the notice the rosy prospect of microcap stocks, particularly in healthcare as one of the best investment options for the year 2024. Stating that the most notable effect is the revival of the smaller companies, Cramer indicated five companies that though seem to be less known, still have the potential for great growth. Among the listed companies is Integer Holdings, a popular medical-device manufacturer which is in the sector of product design. Cramer noted the company’s favorable standing due to the constant health-care occupation rates and…

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April 5th, 2024 – On Friday, Zalando lost 5.72%, it lost 9.08% in the last 5 trading days, but it is up 24.07% in the last month, 11.25% in 6 months and 15.6% from the beginning of 2024.  Founded in 2008 in Berlin, Zalando is a leading European company in the e-commerce sector for fashion and lifestyle products. Zalando had its golden era during the pandemic with a stellar operating income and having a Compounded Average Growth rate on EBIT of 45% from 2019 to 2021.  This analysis of the company starts from 2012, and since then, Zalando revenue increased…

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April 4th, 2024 – Stocks tumbled on Thursday in a session of volatile trading ahead of the March jobs report. The Dow Jones lost 530.16 points, 1.35%, to close at 38,596.98, suffering its worst session since March 2023. The S&P 500 dropped 1.23% to end at 5,147.21 and Nasdaq dipped 1.40% to close at 16,049.08. Levi Strauss (LEVI) stock jumped over 20% on Thursday after the company reported solid first quarter results and enjoys added exposure through a new Beyonce song. The results came in with a revenue of $1.56 billion against an estimate of $1.55 billion and adjusted earnings…

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03 April 2024- At a conference held by Stanford University in California, Jerome Powell commented on the current stance of the US economy and he answered some questions. Recently, the data on job gains and inflation came higher than expected, when commenting on this data, Jerome Powell said that it doesn’t change the big picture which is solid growth but a rebalancing labor market. Powell also said they have to step back and watch for the upcoming data to see if recent data is just a ‘bump’ on their way to the 2% inflation target. Powell again cited that seeing…

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April 2nd, 2024 – General Electric (GE) recently terminated its break up process through which 3 different companies  were created (GE Healthcare, GE Aerospace and GE Vernova that came to life at the beginning of  2023). This huge operation was announced in late 2021, after GE saw its dimension increasing hugely  thanks to an important diversification strategy carried out before the beginning of the breaking up.  The latter was the culmination of a strategy aimed at helping GE facing the consequences of the 2008  global financial crisis that heavily affected GE Capital, the most relevant division of the company. GE …

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April 1st, 2024 – The upsurge in demand for energy to power data centers, therefore the amount of the latter required to fuel the ongoing AI revolution could lead to a “golden era” for natural gas, according to executives. Managers’ belief, strongly supported by data, is that renewable energy sources and batteries won’t be enough to cope with the soaring energy needs, and that fossil fuels will still play a crucial role in the energy landscape. The energy issue is widely controversial since the US Government is still providing incentives to developers of clean energy with the aim of bringing…

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30th March, 2024 – In the rocky start of 2024, Tesla, the electric car giant, had a big drop. Its stock fell almost 30%, making it the worst in the S&P 500 index. This was very different from the larger market’s good rise, with the S&P 500 going up by 10.2%, its best in a first quarter since 2019. Tesla had three main problems: not great predictions, more issues in the big Chinese market, and a series of controversial moves by the company’s CEO, Elon Musk. At first, things seemed good for Tesla as it said it had record-breaking sales…

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29th March, 2024 – As we announced recently in our article on the 26th of March, Apple (AAPL) (Purchased 0.6 units @ $183.96) is struggling to keep its position in the Chinese market because of changes in the national macro environment and strong competition from Huawei. The Chinese networking and electronics company reported stellar results for 2023, registering its fastest growth in the last four years. Huawei struggled in recent years because of the U.S. government banning their products in 2019 after accusing the company of being a security risk. The company also suffered China’s strict regulation during the pandemic…

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28th March, 2024 – The S&P 500 rose on Thursday registering its best first-quarter performance in five years, closing at 5,254.35 with a growth of 0.11%. The Dow Jones added 0.12% and finished at 39,807.37, while Nasdaq slipped 0.12% to end at 16,379.46. Reddit (RDDT) shares are plummeting after experiencing a rally stemming from the company’s IPO last week. Shares closed at $49.32, ending the week below their closing price on the first day of trading on the New York Stock Exchange as they closed at $50.44 last thursday. Reddit shares began their downward spiral on wednesday, when they sank…

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27 March, 2024 – H&M shares surged over 15% on Wednesday after the company reported better-than-expected first-quarter results. The reason for this impressive increase is a significant profit increase and a raised operating margin target. H&M’s operating profit was announced at 2.08 billion Swedish Krona (~$196 million), higher than analyst predictions of 1.43 billion Swedish Krona (~$134.6 million). Operating margin rose to 3.9% from 1.3% showing they are on their way to their 10% operating margin target. These results came despite the decreasing sales from 54.9 billion kronor to 53.7 billion kronor year on year. According to J.P. Morgan’s Natasha…

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March 26th, 2024 – Portfolio holding Apple (AAPL) (0.6 units purchased @183.96) is facing a series of difficulties in China  due to changes in the national macro environment and the fierce competition by Huawei, factors that  caused a 24% drop in iPhone sales in the first six weeks of 2024. The Cupertino based  company is trying to overcome this negative period, with a high probability that it will double down  on the chinese smartphone market. What underlines this objective the most is the latest Tim Cook’s  trip to China, during which he not only opened Apple’s newest flagship store in…

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March 26th, 2024 – Reddit, the beloved social media platform, made headlines with a staggering 30% jump in its shares following its recent IPO; Debuting at $34, the stock closed at an impressive $59.80 on Monday, reflecting investors’ fervent interest. Together with existing investors, Reddit raised around $750 million in the offering, marking a significant milestone for the company’s financial trajectory. What sets Reddit’s IPO apart is its inclusive approach, allowing moderators and users, affectionately known as “Redditors”, to participate alongside institutional investors: this novel strategy echoes successful models employed by industry giants like Airbnb and Rivian, fostering a stronger…

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23rd March, 2024 – This week saw an unprecedented rise in the IPO tech market, bringing to end a prolonged period of drought triggered by the public offering of Reddit and Astera Labs. The two companies, which patrolled the same world within the tech-investment space, represented the first known venture-backed tech flotation in the U.S. since September. Morgan Stanley emerged as the ultimate victor among other banks, landing the title lead position of both IPOs in the victory of dry spell which the bank had been experiencing. The revival follows after a period of stagnancy in the tech IPO market,…

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22nd March, 2024 – Despite beating revenue and profit analysts’ expectations, Nike stock fell nearly 7% after giving a soft outlook for the full year and announcing slowing sales in China. Going through the numbers, revenue rose by 0.3% to $12.43 billion, beating the estimated revenue of $12.28 billion, while EPS came in at 77 cents, surpassing again analysts’ estimates. An important turnaround for the company might be the Paris Olympics, in which the Oregon based firm has put a lot of trust and belief as it is going to launch several products and marketing campaigns around the event.  On…

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March 21, 2024 – Thursday was a pretty good day for Wall Street, the Dow Jones closed in on the 40,000 threshold for the first time in its 128 years as markets rallied to new highs closing in at 39,781.5. Also the other two major indexes reached new highs with the S&P 500 increasing 0.3% reaching an all time high of 5,241.53 and the Nasdaq grew 0.2% breaking its record to reach 16,401.85  The Justice department sued Apple in an antitrust case, saying that the company has a monopoly over the phone market that harmed consumers, developers and rival companies.…

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20th March 2024 – Today, the Federal Open Market Committee announced they kept interest rates between 5.25%-5.5%, aligned with investors expectations. Even though they kept the rates at the same level, the signal of three possible rate cuts fueled investors’ risk appetite. Additionally, the Fed’s announcements were approached positively because since the recent data was slightly hotter than expected, investors were prepared for worse. Fed chair Jerome Powell didn’t specify when they are expecting to start the cuts but following the announcements on the finished FOMC meeting, markets are expecting a 75% probability of the first cut at the June…

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19th March, 2024 – An important announcement regarding its competitive strategy in the near future has been released  by the oil giant Shell (SHEL). The company is about to shift its focus from the traditional retail  businesses to EV charging sites, with the London based company that opted for expanding the number of charging stations mainly in Europe and China. Shell will divest about 500 old sites (like the gasoline ones) per year in 2024 and 2025, with these closures contributing in reducing retail’s footprint  drastically (about 2.1%). With respect to these important changes, Shell decided to give more importance…

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18th March, 2024 – Portfolio holdings Google (GOOG) (Purchased 0.8 units @ $133.93) and Apple (AAPL) (Purchased 0.6 units @ $183.96) had a positive run on Monday, rising 4.60% and 0.64% respectively. This came following a Bloomberg article outlining the possibility of a partnership between Google’s Gemini AI and Apple’s iPhone’s.  Both tech firms have had a tough start to the year, with Alphabet underperforming the Market and Apple being in the negative year to date. The Cupertino based firm has recently made the shift from building the Apple Car to working on Generative AI, meaning a large amount of…

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In a recent Interview, Rolf Habben Jansen, CEO of Hapag-Lloyd, illustrated his views for the rest of the year on global trading. As we all know the Houthi attacks in the Red Sea and Panama Canal drought have driven up ocean freight with rates on key routes up 75% to 150% year-to-date. Despite these problems the CEO of the fifth largest ocean carrier tells that his views improved for the rest of the year after conversations with clients and logistic companies led him to rethink the forecasted projections on demand. This comes in the same week as the company reported…

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After doing a master’s degree in Finance, there are many career opportunities one can access. However, the choice for the most competitive candidates, who attend the best schools, usually boil down to either Investment Banking or Private Equity. Today we will take a look at these options in order to understand what a career in the highest chambers of finance might look like.  Investment Banking:  Investment Banking is an expression used to refer to the activity of connecting SSU’s, operators with more money than they need, with DSU’s, the ones with less money than what is necessary in order for…

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14th March, 2024 – After reaching its all time high on Wednesday, Bitcoin’s rally ended on Thursday. On Friday the most famous cryptocurrency continued to struggle, losing more than 4% at the time that this article was written (8:30 p.m. CET). The fact that Bitcoin did reach an all time high before its halving, was something unprecedented in the recent history of the cryptocurrency. This was due to the increasing demand for the Bitcoin spot ETF, that we explained in our recent article of the 12th of March that you can read on our website. For those of you that…

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Hotter than expected inflation report Thursday afternoon caused yields to increase, given that the Federal bank might not be cutting rates as soon as markets previously expected. This general negative trend has rendered investor sentiment from positive to mildly negative, as major indices fell.  Meta Platform’s recent performance (up 39.8% ytd), can also be linked to the house approval of a bill that might ban TikTok in the United States. Another bullish factor is Morgan Stanley’s recent analysis, which confirms that Meta is the Internet Coverage company with the highest potential amongst its peers.  However, there might still be hope…

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13th March, 2024 – The Dow Jones Industrial Average increased by 0.1% on Wednesday, while the S&P 500 and Nasdaq fell by 0.19% and 0.54%, respectively Tesla’s (TSLA) stock price dropped by 5% after Wells Fargo downgraded its rating to underweight from equal weight. They also lowered its price target to 125$ from 200$. Colin Langa, an analyst from Wells Fargo mentioned the cooling EV market and the increasing competition as primary reasons. Langa also cited that despite the price cuts, the demand is not increasing which may lead to a decrease in profitability. Since the beginning of 2024, Tesla…

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12th March, 2024 – A very important suggestion about how the FED should deal with interest rates’ cuts in the US has been  presented by JP Morgan CEO, Jamie Dimon, during an Australian Financial Review business meeting. At this moment, the majority of investors think the US’ central bank will not introduce changes in March  and May, while the first remarkable cut is expected to be applied in June. Next week the FED will meet, determining if these expectations will be met or not, while Powell stated that they’re about to have  all the sufficient information and confidence it needs…

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Mar 12th, 2024 – Bitcoin’s meteoric rise continues to dominate headlines as it reaches yet another milestone, surging to a record high of $72,022.16: this latest jump represents a 3% increase from previous levels and underscores the cryptocurrency’s enduring appeal to investors.  Driving this surge are the substantial inflows into U.S. spot Bitcoin ETFs, which totaled an impressive $2.7 billion last week; such influx of capital reflects growing institutional interest in Bitcoin as a viable investment asset. Not to be outdone, Ethereum, the second-largest cryptocurrency by market capitalization, also experienced a significant rally: breaking the $4,000 barrier for the first…

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On Friday, Eli Lilly and Company (LLY) (Purchased 0.2 units @ $582.99) announced that the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has postponed approving its Anti-Alzheimer’s drug “Donanemab” to further evaluate the safety and efficacy of the drug. The date of the advisory committee meeting has yet to be set by the FDA, and the timing of expected FDA action on Donanemab will be delayed beyond the first quarter of 2024, as Eli Lilly itself reported. As a result of the news, the company fell around 2%.  Nvidia (NVDA) (Purchased 0.24 units @ $471.73) was protagonist of an interesting session…

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US stocks rose on Thursday as the S&P 500 hit a new record high closing at $ 5,157.36 with an increase of 1.03%. On the other side techs took the lead with the NASDAQ gaining as much as 1.5% and the Dow Jones gained about 1.3%. Shares of portfolio holding Novo Nordisk (NVO) surged over 10% on Thursday to a new record high. The company saw its global market cap ranking rise to 12th, overtaking Tesla. General optimism is the result of the reveal by the company that a Phase I trial of the pill version of the experimental drug…

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At the meeting held by the Federal Reserve on Wednesday, FED Chair Jerome Powell stated that he is expecting the rate cuts to happen this year, unsure of when it will start. Jerome Powell said he wants to see a little bit more data to start cutting rates and expressed concerns that starting cutting rates too soon may cause inflation to get stickier; however he also mentioned that starting too late might endanger economic growth. According to the CME FedWatch Tool, markets are anticipating a 55% probability of a rate cut on 12 June. Investors reacted to those announcements with…

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Portfolio holding Apple (AAPL) (0.6 units purchased @183.96) continues to struggle as new data  regarding iPhone’s sales in China have been disclosed by the research firm Counterpoint. Taking into  account the first six weeks of 2024, there was a significant worsening in the sales trend of the main  product of the Cupertino company (–24% year on year). Also, Huawei, considered as Apple’s main competitor in the Chinese premium smartphones market, saw its unit sales rising sharply by 64%.  Looking at the Counterpoint report, it can be noticed how Apple and Huawei achieved different results  with respect to their chinese market…

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In a significant blow to Apple, the European Union has imposed a hefty €1.8 billion fine for the tech giant’s antitrust violations in the music streaming market; this marks a crucial moment in Apple’s history as it is the first time the giant has faced such penalties for breaching EU competition laws. Following the announcement of the fine, Apple’s shares experienced a notable drop of approximately 2.5 percent during morning trading. Such decline reflects investors’ concerns about the potential financial ramifications of the EU’s decision on the company’s bottom line. The European Commission, led by Margrethe Vestager, the bloc’s competition…

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2nd March, 2024 – The World Trade Organization (WTO) concluded its 13th biennial ministerial meeting in Abu Dhabi with a significant breakthrough: another two years extension of the moratorium on e-commerce tariffs lasting until 2026. Indeed, the negotiations failed to reach consensus on sticking points like the treatment of agriculture and fisheries subsidies. WTO Director-General Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala raised the issue of WTO’s resilience in turbulent conditions, yet insisted on the importance of addressing the outstanding issues. The meeting’s agenda was hindered by the anger over inflation and foreign competition that had developed in great economies. The climax of the trade…

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Introduction Today we will analyze one of the most contemporary and dynamic subjects – sustainable investments. Green investing or Sustainable investing (sometimes known as ethical investing, socially responsible investing or impact investing), is multidimensional but still focuses on financial performance. Incorporating the environmental, social and governance (ESG) standards into the investment process implies the implementation of numerous activities, including consideration of socio-environmental consequences and financial goals recognition, for achieving positive results for society and environment. The constant rise of importance of this concept in recent years is one of the main features that can be noticed thanks to a few…

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Nvidia (NVDA) (Purchased 0.24 units @ $471.73) was up on Friday by almost 4% but was outshined by AMD, that saw a +5% performance thanks to AI server demand from Dell Technologies, that posted better-than-expected quarterly earnings and registered a +30% performance on Friday. The fourth quarter revenue was $22.3 billion, above analysts’ expectations even if it was down 11% from last year. The main factor that made the stock value jump were orders for AI-optimized servers, which grew around 40%. EPS of $1.59 and net income of $1.16 billion were below analysts’ estimates, but the net income was up…

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US stocks went on to close the best February result for the S&P 500 and Nasdaq in nearly a decade, after investors digested a crucial inflation reading. The S&P 500 closed with a +0.5% finishing at 5,095.88, the Nasdaq grew even more with a +0.9% closing the day at its highest close on record. Meanwhile the Dow Jones popped 0.1% reaching 38.996,39 at close. C3.ai stock jumped 26% on Thursday after the company beat expectations after reporting an adjusted loss of $0.13 per share, beating expectations $0.28 per share. This growth comes as Wall Street’s artificial intelligence has yet to…

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Wednesday’s report showed that the US economy grew at a 3.2% annual pace from October through December. The data came slightly lower than the 3.3% estimates. Bitcoin skyrocketed to $64,000 on Wednesday morning, going above $60,000 for the first time since November 2021. The bullish atmosphere initially started with the possibility of an ETF launch. After being approved, Bitcoin moved flat until February 7, when the movement to $64,000 started. Another bullish event for Bitcoin is the approaching halving, which will take place in April. The halving by reducing mining reward by half, thus limiting supply. The share price of…

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Today, Dave Ramsden, deputy governor of the Bank of England, released an important statement  about the inflation trend in the UK during the Association for Financial Markets in Europe meeting.  According to Ramsden, the general increase in the level of prices seems to be persistent, although  factors like services’ prices as well as salaries growth have experienced a remarkable decrease in the  last months. He also stated that it is vital to understand if this prices’ growth will continue for a period  of time that is sufficiently long before taking into consideration drastic cuts in BoE rates’ levels, which  are…

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Google recently encountered significant backlash for its AI image generation tool, prompting a rapid reassessment and temporary suspension of the service: the controversy stemmed from numerous historical inaccuracies and questionable outputs produced by the tool, resulting in widespread criticism and a notable decline in Alphabet’s shares, which fell almost 4% on Monday to $138.51 as of early afternoon. The image generator, integrated into Google’s Gemini suite of AI models, permitted users to input prompts to generate images, however, it quickly drew attention for its flawed depictions, including instances of racially diverse portrayals within historically specific contexts. This debacle highlighted broader…

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Despite the robust performance of the U.S. economy and the flourishing tech sector, the year 2024 has seen a surge in workforce reductions within the technology industry, raising concerns and signaling a significant shift in the landscape of employment and investment strategies. While indicators such as Nvidia’s impressive earnings and the soaring Nasdaq index suggest a thriving tech environment, the reality for tech workers paints a starkly different picture. According to Jeff Shulman, a professor at the University of Washington’s Foster School of Business, these layoffs reflect the evolving dynamics of work and technology, as well as a shifting investor…

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Palo Alto Networks (PANW) (Purchased 0.2 units @ $245.03) was up by around 5% on Friday after the California based firm fell following second quarter results. Revenue was in line with analysts’ estimates, reaching $1.98 billions, while EPS beated analysts’ expectations by far, attesting at $5.47. However, guidance was much lower than expected for FY 2024, which led to a sharp decline. The stock is now rising again due to the broader market rally caused by Nvidia’s sharp increase.  Warner Bros. Discovery missed analysts’ expectations for revenue and earnings due to poor advertising revenue and due to the streaming service…

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Feb 23rd, 2024 – Nvidia’s stock rallied 15% following a massive earnings beat, where they announced that their 2024 Q1 revenues would also be higher than previously expected. The stock also announced a forecasted 233% increase in revenues for 2025 Q1, which means the stock is forecasted to continue rallying and growing for the next year. Nvidia beating earnings propelled the market index to a 2% increase in price, meaning they now stand at $ 5087.03.  Supermicro (SMCI) also rose as a result of the strong earnings. The company rallied almost 34% given their tight correlation with companies in the…

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One of our portfolio holdings, Nvidia (NVDA) (Purchased 0.24 units @ $471.73) announced its  fourth fiscal quarter earnings that exceeded estimates. Nvidia announced earnings per share of $5.16 vs $4.64 and revenue of $22.10 billion vs $20.62 billion expected. Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang responded to investors’ skepticism about the sustainability of growth. Huang said the projections for the growth seem positive due to the demand for the company’s GPUs. The demand for these GPUs is driven by generative AI. In the extended trading session, Nvidia shares increased by almost 10% following the announcements. Amazon (AMZN) is set to join the…

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Feb 20th, 2024 – After the UK inflation rate in January 2024 reached 4.00 %, Goldman Sachs (GS) (+0.02% at  4:00 PM EST), in a research note, asserted that there is a high probability that BoE will delay  interest rate cuts from May to June, with subsequent stronger interventions during the final  semester of 2024. The US investment bank believes the Central Bank will introduce five consecutive 25 basis point cuts, determining a decrease in interest rates from 5.25% to 4%.  Also, a terminal rate equal to 3% should be reached by June 2025. As reported by many Goldman Sachs…

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Feb 19th, 2024 – In a recent turn of events, shares of Nintendo took a significant hit, following reports suggesting a delay in the launch of the highly anticipated Switch 2, the next iteration of its flagship gaming console. The company’s stock in Japan closed 5.84% lower amidst growing concerns regarding the company’s future prospects. According to a report by Bloomberg over the weekend, sources familiar with the matter revealed that Nintendo had informed game publishers about the potential delay of the Switch 2 until the early months of 2025; this news comes as a disappointment to both investors and…

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Wall Street is witnessing a seismic shift as Big Shale emerges as the new powerhouse in the energy sector. The recent $26 billion merger between Diamondback Energy Inc. and Endeavor Energy Resources LP marks a watershed moment, reflecting a significant departure from past skepticism towards the shale sector. This monumental deal is just one in a series of record-breaking transactions, totaling approximately $250 billion in US oil and gas deals over the past year. Diamondback’s move to acquire Endeavor has captured investor attention like never before. The stock market responded with an immediate 11% surge in Diamondback’s stock value, signaling…

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On Friday, Coinbase stock surged 16% after posting its first profit in two years. The largest US cryptocurrency exchange has reported significantly better than expected earnings thanks to growth in transaction volumes. The company posted for its first quarter an adjusted EPS of $1.04, better than the $0.02 EPS forecasted by Wall Street analysts. Quarterly results surged with transaction revenue up 64% due to Bitcoin spot ETF approvals and anticipated macroeconomic improvements in 2024. The Vice President of Investor Relations, Anil Gupta, dismissed concerns about fee compression, noting a surge in trading volumes to $154 billion in Q4, surpassing analysts’…

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Stock popped on Thursday with the S&P 500 hitting 5,029.73 with a growth of 0.58% despite a disappointing retail sales report. The Dow Jones rose 0.9% hitting 38,773.12, while the tech-heavy NASDAQ added 0.3% reaching 15,906.17. DoorDash (DASH) shares climbed 5.2% after the announcement of fiscal results of the fourth quarter, where revenues and orders exceeded expectations, although net losses failed to shrink as quickly as forecast hoped. The delivery company saw its revenue raising 27% to $2.3 billion, exceeding the $2.25 billion projected by analysts. Total orders rose 23% to $574 million compared to the $561.3 forecasted. On the…

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On Wednesday, markets bounced back from the sharp decline that happened on Tuesday. S&P 500 increased by 0.96% to close at 5,000.62. Nasdaq advanced 1.3% to close at 15,859.15 while Dow Jones climbed 0.4% closing at 38,424.27 The latest consumer price index made public on Tuesday was hotter than expected. According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, CPI showed that the prices rose by 3.1% for the 12 months ended in January. Markets were anticipating a 2.9% increase. The inflation data reported diminished investors’ rate cut expectations in March. According to the CME FedWatch Tool, after the data reported,the rate…

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Despite its market trend characterized by a decrease of its share price of 0.17% by 4:00 PM  EST, today portfolio holding Nvidia (NVDA) (purchased 0.24 units @ $472.38) was able to  achieve an exciting achievement, reaching a market capitalization higher than Amazon.  In fact, while Nvidia’s total value was equal to $1.78 trillion, the Seattle based company did not go beyond $1.75 trillion, after Amazon’s share price dropped by 2.15% by 16:00 EST. One of the main reasons behind this incredible achievement is the fact that, as more tech  companies are trying to insert AI into their products, large firms…

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Saudi Arabia’s state-controlled oil giant, Aramco, announced on Monday the suspension of its capacity expansion plans, citing the ongoing green transition: Energy Minister Abdulaziz bin Salman emphasized that the future of energy security lies in renewables, signaling a significant shift in the kingdom’s energy strategy. The decision to postpone Aramco’s capacity investment, which aimed to increase crude production from 12 to 13 million barrels per day by 2027, reflects Saudi Arabia’s acknowledgment of the changing global energy landscape; the directive, issued by the Saudi energy ministry, underscores the kingdom’s commitment in adapting to evolving market conditions and prioritize sustainable energy…

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The European Union (EU) has reached a preliminary agreement to relax its strict fiscal regulations, offering member states greater flexibility in managing debt while incentivizing investments in key areas such as climate action, industrial development, and security. The revision of the Stability and Growth Pact, in response to unprecedented debt levels amid pandemic recovery efforts and ambitious EU goals, aims to adapt to contemporary economic and geopolitical realities. Under the new rules, minimum deficit and debt reduction targets are adjusted to be less stringent, providing clarity and predictability for member states’ fiscal policies. European Commission Vice-President Valdis Dombrovskis highlighted the…

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Feb 9th, 2024 – On Friday, stocks rose thanks to December’s revised inflation reading coming in lower than what was reported in the beginning, according to closely watched revisions made by the government.  As an evidence of this, the S&P 500 closed above 5000 for the first time ever at 5026.61 (+ 0.57%). The Nasdaq was up by 1.25%, while the Dow Jones registered a -0.14% performance.  Expedia shares tumbled after releasing its quarterly earnings report on Thursday after the market closed. The earnings and sales did beat though analysts’ expectations, but bookings were worse than expected. The online travel…

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Feb 8th, 2024 – The S&P 500 reached the milestone of 5000 points during the day but closed at 4,997.91 with a growth of 0,06%, also the Dow Jones grew by a little, rising about 0.13%, while the Nasdaq gained 0,24%. Shares of online payments giant Adyen (ADYEN) soared on Thursday after the company reported an important growth in sales growth and better-than-expected profit for 2023. The company competes with Stripe, Paypal and announced to its shareholders that it had slowed its pace in the hiring process to counter concerns that it was spending too much on expansion of the…

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Feb 7th, 2024 – On Wednesday, the S&P500 increased by 0.82% to close at 4995,06. Dow Jones and Nasdaq also increased by 0.4% and 0.95% to finish at 38.677,36 and 15.756,64 respectively. After markets closed, Walt Disney (DIS) announced their first-quarter earnings that topped estimates. Estimated earnings per share was $0.99 while the actual amount was $1.22. Another piece of good news was that the company expects to cut costs by at least $7.5 billion by the end of 2024. Moreover, they declared $4.60 forecasted earnings per share for 2024 which is 20% higher than 2023. Investors also appreciated their…

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Feb 6th, 2024 – Today, Snap Inc. (SNAP) saw its shares’ price plummeting down by around 30% at 5:00 PM EST because of the huge discrepancy between Snap’s quarterly revenue estimates produced by Wall Street  analysts and the results disclosed by the company itself on Tuesday. Going into detail, while the  forecasted revenue was $1.38 billion, the actual financial result disclosed by Snap was equal to $1.36 billion, on the basis of LSEG data. In this adverse context, Snap still struggles to compete against its  main rivals in the digital advertising industry like Meta and Alphabet. This is mainly due…

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Feb 5th, 2024 – In a recent turn of events, global fast-food giants McDonald’s and Starbucks have faced a notable setback in their sales directly attributed to the ongoing Israel-Hamas conflict; both companies reported a dip in their stock values, reflecting the economic repercussions of said geopolitical tensions. McDonald’s, witnessing a nearly 4% drop in its stock on Monday, pointed to a sales slowdown in the Middle East during the fourth quarter of the previous year. This decline was particularly pronounced in Israel, where the fast-food giant’s Israeli licensee offered discounts to soldiers, triggering customer boycotts from those opposed to…

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Feb 4th, 2024 – Let’s face it, Apple (AAPL) (Purchased 0.6 units @ $183.96) has had a less than desirable 6 months. The stock has barely moved since June, and isn’t having the most positive beginning to 2024. Most investors have concerns regarding iPhone 15 and 15 pro sales, especially when it comes to the Chinese market, which has proven to be a particularly challenging demographic given the domestic competition. All those factors combined have contributed to a couple of bearish quarters that have even resulted in the company falling second to Microsoft (MSFT) (Purchased 0.1 units @ $374.44) in…

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Feb 3rd, 2024 – In the latest round of earnings calls from major tech companies including Microsoft, Meta, Alphabet, Amazon, and Apple, a common theme emerged: substantial investments in Artificial Intelligence (AI) are crucial for future growth.  Tech leaders highlighted the importance of introducing AI across every layer of their technology stack. Microsoft’s CEO, Satya Nadella, stressed the transition from talking about AI to applying it at scale, winning new customers and driving productivity gains. The generative AI boom, marked by sophisticated chatbots and assistants, particularly benefited Nvidia, whose GPUs power large language models created by major players in the…

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Feb 2nd, 2024 – Friday indices performances: the S&P 500 closed the session with a + 1.07% performance, rising for a fourth-straight week thanks to strong tech earnings and reaching a new record. Thanks to almost the same tech companies, the Nasdaq was up by 1.74%, and also the Dow Jones gained 0.35% in this session.  Meta Platform shares soared around 20% on Friday, after posting a better-than-expected result in the fourth quarter of 2023. The company has also declared its first dividend of 50 cents per share, that will be paid in late March, along with authorization for additional…

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Feb 1st, 2024 – Today shares jumped and fell after many companies reported their quarters’ results, but in general the market reacted positively, the biggest winner was NASDAQ as it grew 1.3% closing at 15,361.64. Just points lower we have the S & P 500 with an increase of 1.25% that closed at 4,906.19 and lastly DOW JONES growing 0.97% closing at 38,519.84. Shares of Internet of Things service provider Digi International (DGII), soared today, as much as 16.2% after the company reported fiscal first-quarter 2024 financial results. Despite the results being negative as revenue fell 3%, net loss of…

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Jan 31st, 2024 – On Wednesday, Wall Street experienced its most significant decline since September after Big Tech stocks reported earnings. The S&P 500 lost 1.6% . The Nasdaq Composite fell 2.2%, and the Dow fell 0.8%. FED held rates unchanged.The market was pricing rate cuts to start in March but chairman of FED Powell said that he thinks it would be too soon to start cutting in March, however he also expressed that inflation is heading towards their target and rate cuts will start at some point this year. One of our portfolio holdings, Novo Nordisk (NVO) (Purchased 1…

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An ETF (exchange-traded fund) is a passive investment fund that trades on stock exchanges that replicates a stock index, a bond index, a sector, commodities or other assets such as cryptos. ETFs are one of the best instruments to diversify and reduce the investment risk. As said before, ETFs are exchanged in the stock market and for this reason they work as stocks do: in fact they can be purchased and sold when the market is open and their price changes in real time, even if ETFs experience lower volatility as they are lower-risk instruments than stocks, and their underlying…

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Jan 30th, 2024 – On Tuesday, Advanced Micro Devices (AMD), one of the main chipmakers worldwide,  disclosed 2024 Q1 revenue expectations way lower than Wall Street analysts’ estimates, while the AI processors sales are expected to increase sharply. With respect to the second feature,  it must be considered that many businesses are trying to find alternatives rather than using AI  chips developed and sold by Nvidia. However, the AMD chips represent one of the few available solutions and probably the most appropriate one, providing an incredible competitive advantage to the company in this sector. So, focusing on the analytical data,…

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