Author: Cattolica Investment Club

Jan 22nd, 2024 - The financial markets are on edge as they grapple with the potential structural implications of Donald Trump's proposed 10% tariff increase on all imported goods. Michael Every, a global strategist at Rabobank, asserts that this move has the power to "shake up every asset class." Trump, a leading contender for the 2024 Republican nomination, aims to triple the government's intake by imposing these tariffs, intending to boost American domestic production. Criticism of the policy is bipartisan, with Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen acknowledging that it would raise the cost of various goods for American businesses and consumers; the Tax Foundation estimates an annual tax increase exceeding $300 billion for U.S. consumers, potentially triggering retaliatory tax hikes by international trade partners. The American Action Forum predicts a 0.31%…

Jan 21st, 2024 - A recent Morgan Stanley survey revealed that Individual investors are increasingly optimistic, with 60% expressing bullishness. The optimism is linked to expectations of Federal Reserve rate cuts. About 60% believe in a "soft landing" for the economy, and 58% see the economy as healthy enough for rate reductions. Despite the Fed signaling cuts, Chris Larkin from E-TRADE at Morgan Stanley urges patience due to modest stock market performance. The survey indicates 42% of investors won't change portfolios, 26% will, and 18% plan to shift from cash. Inflation (49%) is the top concern, followed by the presidential election (26%) and a potential recession (24%). Apple (AAPL) must stop the sale of Apple Watches. The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit has rejected Apple's request to…

Jan 20th, 2024 - OpenAI CEO Sam Altman's key to success: be direct, embrace rejection, and take calculated risks OpenAI CEO emphasizes the importance of being clear about one's goals and asking directly for what is wanted, as it significantly contributes to success. Altman believes that fear of rejection often restrains people from expressing their needs, leading to unfavorable outcomes.  Altman's advice aligns with research indicating that people tend to underestimate others' willingness to help or say "yes" to requests. The fear of rejection and the tendency to spend time in ways that do not coincide with personal desires are common obstacles to achieving one's goals.  Altman's philosophy revolves around being "willful," a trait he considers key to success. He encourages individuals to challenge the status quo and not passively…

Jan 19th, 2024 - The S&P 500 has reached its all-time high on Friday thanks to a rally by tech companies, which are now rising after a wobbly start of the year. Nvidia (NVDA) (Purchased 0.2773 units @ $471.73) was one of these companies that rallied, in fact the chip-maker company has hit itself its all-time high, thanks to the Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg that said in an Instagram reel that he is investing billions in Nvidia’s chips to improve his AI infrastructure.  About the chip-maker companies, it is important to underline that OpenAI’s CEO Sam Altman is raising funds in order to create a network of factories to produce semiconductors. Altman’s fundraising push reflects his concern that as AI becomes more interesting everyday for individuals and companies, there won’t…

Jan 18th, 2024 - Tech companies powered the market Thursday and pulled the major averages into positive territory. The Dow Jones grew 0,54% closing at 37,468.41, also the tech-heavy NASDAQ jumped by 1,35% to close at 15,055.65. The S&P 500 climbed 0.88% ending at 4,780.94. Lucid (LCID) stock started the day losing again ground with the share price being down 7.2% at 2:30 p.m. ET. This happened after yesterday news hit that Tesla cut again the price of their Model Y in Germany and other european countries, this move was seen as a negative sign for the overall demand of EV in the market. Lucid stock followed the pullback that is affecting multiple companies in the industry. The company focuses on the high end portion of EV, priced higher than…

Jan 15th, 2024 - In a watershed moment for the cryptocurrency sector, Circle’s CEO, Jeremy Allaire, expresses confidence that 2024 could see the United States implementing crucial regulations for stablecoins, such as the widely-used USD Coin. The stablecoin market is currently valued at $135.3 billion and is operating largely in an unregulated landscape, it is easily understandable that such possibility is becoming more and more palpable. The CEO of Circle firmly believes that the U.S. have never been this close to the actual implementation of laws governing stablecoins: speaking at the World Economic Forum in Davos, Allaire noted a significant shift in global regulatory trends and optimistically supported this prediction. Also, he emphasized a clear desire from the U.S. administration, Treasury, Federal Reserve and both houses of Congress to establish…

Jan 14th, 2024 - BlackRock (BLK), the world's largest asset manager, with 70 offices in 30 countries, and clients in more than 100 countries, is acquiring Global Infrastructure Partners for $12.5 billion, with $3 billion in cash and 12 million shares. Together, the companies will manage assets worth more than $150 billion, creating an infrastructure fund that will rival the industry’s largest players. The CEO Larry Fink sees it as pivotal for retirement savings. The deal coincides with BlackRock's Q4 results, crossing $10 trillion in assets. Despite shares dipping 0.8% to $786.64, they've grown 4% in the past year. The transaction, enhancing BlackRock's role in high-coupon, inflation-protected investments, is set to finalize in Q3 2024. BlackRock also announced the creation of a new unified Global Product Solutions group that will…

Jan 12th, 2024 - On Friday, airline stocks, such as Delta Airlines and United Airlines, respectively lost 8% and 9% of their value. An ETF that includes airline shares was down 4.8%. The S&P 500 started the market day well, but was immediately dragged down by the airline sector. There are three reasons beyond this tumble:  The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) will audit the Boeing 737 Max 9 production line to ensure quality control and security. The announcement has arrived one week after the shocking Alaska Airlines accident; Delta has posted a disappointing forecast on its full-year EPS (earning per share) of $6 to $7, below the previous estimate that was of more than $7.  Oil prices grew around 4% after the US and UK launched strikes in Yemen after…

Jan 10th, 2023 - On Wednesday, all major indexes rose. The S&P 500 increased by 0.57% to close at 4,783.45. The Dow Jones added 0.45% to close at 37,695.73, while the Nasdaq increased by 0.75% to end at 14,969.65. Yesterday, a tweet was sent from the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission's (SEC) official X account regarding the acceptance of Bitcoin's ETF. However, it was later revealed to have been made by an unauthorized third party. The Bitcoin price began exhibiting volatile movements, leading to over $300 million in liquidation of leveraged futures positions. The premarket share prices of Coinbase (COIN) and MicroStrategy (MSTR) fell more than 3% after the tweet incident. The share price of the biopharmaceutical company TG Therapeutics (TGTX) dropped by more than 15% after announcing to investors…