Earnings at the halfway mark are much better than expected
Amazon, Facebook, and Apple are only among the most recent examples of a notable trend: earnings much better than expected.
Big tech didn’t disappoint, as Amazon, Apple, Facebook and Alphabet all seem to have weathered the pandemic well enough.
Amazon topped sales estimates last quarter and for the current period, during which it expects revenue of between $87 billion to $93 billion. Profit blew away consensus, coming in at $10.30 a share on revenue of $88.9 billion. Estimates were for $1.51 per share on sales of $81.2 billion. Apple crushed expectations as well and announced a […]
U.S. goods trade deficit narrows amid signs the global flow of goods is improving
The United States’ trade deficit in goods fell sharply in June as exports rebounded following several months of decline, suggesting a recovery in global trade after being severely disrupted by the Covid-19 pandemic. The shrinking goods trade gap reported by the Commerce Department on Wednesday did not change expectations that the economy contracted at its […]
S&P 500 Rally Gets Thumbs Up From Companies Raising Forecasts
The first two weeks of U.S. earnings reports suggest the uncertainty caused by the pandemic is easing, supporting the continuing run higher for the S&P 500. The clearest sign of this turn to the better is the net number of companies raising their forecasts. The 10-day moving average is perched at the highest level in […]
Congress Has Supported Moves To Revive Domestic Semiconductor Manufacturing, Here’s What Needs To Happen Next
Last week the Senate voted overwhelmingly (96-4) to include an amendment to the National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA) that provided support to the American semiconductor industry. The amendment combined the earlier American Foundries Act and the Creating Helpful Incentives to Produce Semiconductors (CHIPS) for America Act. A nearly identical proposal was included in the House NDAA, so that bodes well as the […]
U.S. June New-Home Sales Surge to Highest in Almost 13 Years
By Vince Golle and Maeve Sheehey Months’ supply at current sales pace at almost four-year low Houses sold but not yet started rose to highest since 2017 (Bloomberg) — New-home sales in the U.S. increased to an almost 13-year high in June, fueled by record-low borrowing costs and adding to evidence that residential real estate is a bright […]
U.S. core capital goods orders, shipments accelerate in June
New orders for key U.S.-made capital goods increased more than expected in June and shipments accelerated, but the gains were likely insufficient to avert the deepest plunge in business investment and economic activity since the Great Depression in the second quarter because of the Covid-19 pandemic. Orders for non-defense capital goods excluding aircraft, a closely […]
U.S. agrees to pay Pfizer and BioNTech $2 billion for 100 million doses of coronavirus vaccine
The U.S. will pay Pfizer and biotech firm BioNTech $1.95 billion to produce and deliver 100 million doses of their Covid-19 vaccine if it proves safe and effective, the companies announced Wednesday. It was the largest such deal between the government and companies racing to develop a coronavirus vaccine.
Coronavirus vaccine from Oxford and AstraZeneca shows positive response in early trial
A potential coronavirus vaccine developed by Oxford University in the U.K. with pharmaceutical giant AstraZeneca has produced a promising immune response in a large, early-stage human trial, according to newly released data published Monday in the medical journal The Lancet. The researchers are calling their experimental vaccine ChAdOx1 nCoV-19 (AZD1222). It combines genetic material from the coronavirus […]
Microsoft Analyst Says Cloud Business Will Offset Weak Economy
By Ryan Vlastelica (Bloomberg) — Microsoft should report strong fourth-quarter results later this month despite an uncertain economic environment, with its cloud business acting as a tailwind, according to Piper Sandler. There is high demand for cloud computing as more people work remotely, and this tailwind “should help MSFT safely navigate choppy waters,” analyst Brent Bracelin […]