The PBR1000 June 2019 Breaking News Recap

International Trade Issues Continue To Dominate The PBR1000 News

There are a lot of puzzle pieces to put together for a good strategy in today’s business environment. Don’t lose any of the pieces!

By Larry C. Paxton

The June 2019 breaking news items of interest for The PBR1000 follow with the most current date first.

***Friday, June 28:

The PBRMarketTools US Stock Exchanges Recap for the End of June and Week 26 of 2019 ending 06/28/19:

DJIA ends June 2019 and Week 26 at 26,599.96, -0.45% from last Friday, +7.19% MTD, +2.59% QTD, +14.03% YTD, -0.85% from record 26,828.39 set 10/03/18.

NASDAQ ends June 2019 and Week 26 at 8,006.24, -0.32% from last Friday, +7.42% MTD, +3.58% QTD, +20.66% YTD, -1.93% from record 8,164.00 set 05/03/19.

SPX ends June 2019 and Week 26 at 2,941.76, -0.29% from last Friday, +6.89% MTD, +3.79% QTD, +17.35% YTD, -0.42% from record 2,954.18 set 06/20/19.

The June 2019 and Week 26 News Summary:The first half of 2019 ends with the primary news focused around international trade, including the ongoing US/China negotiations, issues with the USMCA to replace NAFTA, which the Mexican government approved and the Canadians are expected to approve, the UK Brexit concerns which is resulting in a new prime minister to be elected, and new Iran sanctions as the result of its shooting down a US drone. The US economy continues to grow at a moderate pace with some signs of more slowing because of the threat of tariffs on China and possibly other countries. The FOMC kept short term federal interest rates at 2.25-2.50% and seems leaning towards a possible cut at the next meeting to boost the economy. For Week 26 the drama has been the anticipation of President Trump’s participation at the G-20 summit in Japan, especially his planned meeting with China’s Premier Xi, more sanctions on Iran and sword rattling on both sides, Federal Reserve Chairman Powell’s comments on the US economy and possible direction of Fed policy, and the start of the 2020 presidential election with the 2 nights of debates of the 20 Democrat candidates that qualified. For Week 26 The Stock Market Bear enjoyed the turmoil and just nicked a full 3-0 victory. However, June 2019 was the best stock market result in June over the past 80 years, with ending levels at about the same as for the end of April 2019, before the May 2019 meltdown, so The Stock Market Bullwins the month with a convincing 3-0 result.

The Week 26 YTD tally is:
The Stock Market Bull: 13 weeks
The Stock Market Bear: 7 weeks
Mixed Results: 6 weeks

The Month 6 YTD tally is:
The Stock Market Bull: 5 months
The Stock Market Bear: 1 month
Mixed Results: 0 months

Thermo-Fisher Scientific(PBR117) completes its around $1.14 billion cash sale of its 1,200 employees $350 million in annual revenues microscope slides, instruments and consumables provider Anatomical Pathology to PHC Holdings Corporation$TMO PR link.

Cummins(PBR121) to acquire fuel cell systems provider Hydrogenics Corporation (NASDAQ: HYGS: TSX: HYG) for $15.00/share in cash, other than shares already owned by The Hydrogen Company, representing an enterprise value of approximately $290 million, to close in 3Q19. $CMI PR link.

Cabot Corp(PBR675) completes the $135 million sale of its Specialty Fluids business to a wholly owned Hong Kong subsidiary of Sinomine Resource Group Co$CBT PR link.

SunCoke Energy(PBR964) completes all stock acquisition of SunCoke Energy Partners(NYSE: SXCP)$SXC PR link.

Bristow Group(PBR966) has entered into an amended and restated restructuring support agreement with certain of the Company’s secured and unsecured noteholders, who have committed, as part of the transaction, to fund a new debtor-in-possession facility. $BRSWQ PR link.

Cedar Fair(PBR977) completes $150 million acquisition from the City of Santa Clara, CA, of 112 acres upon which its California’s Great America amusement park, acquired in 2006, is located. $FUN PR link.

The US Dept of the Treasury says the US 06/26/19 National Debt-Public is at $16.162 trillion, Intragovernmental Holdings $5.864, Total National Debt $22.026 trillion, +0.0% from 05/31/19, +0.2% YTD(6 months), +3.9% since 05/31/18. USTreasury PR link.

The US Dept of Commerce/BEA says the US Preliminary May 2019 Personal Income Annual Rate is at $18.184 trillion, +0.5% from April 2019, +4.1% from May 2018; the May 2019 Effective Tax Rate is 11.85%, April 2019 was 11.82%, May 2018 11.65%. USDOC PR link.

The US Federal Reserve Bank of Chicagosays the US 7th District Preliminary May 2019 Midwest Economy Index is at -0.28, April 2019 was at -0.02, March 2019 +0.21, May 2018 +0.41. ChiFed PR link.

The MNI June 2019 Chicago Business Barometer(<50 = economy declining) is at 49.7, May 2019 was at 54.2, April 2019 52.6, June 2018 64.1. “… the first sub-50 reading since January 2017… In coming months, our survey will provide further evidence as to whether the diminished business confidence is temporary amid tariffs woes or more structural calling for some counter measures…” MNI PR link.

The U of Michigan US Final June 2019 Consumer Sentiment Index is at 98.2, May 2019 was at 100.0, April 2019 97.2, June 2018 98.2. “While more negative trade news will act to decrease consumer spending, the persistent overall strength in consumer confidence is still consistent with growth of real personal consumption expenditures by 2.5% during the next twelve months.” UMich PR link.

The American Automobile Assn says the Average Price for a Gallon of Regular Gas on 06/28/19 is at $2.708, on 05/31/19 it was at $2.825, 04/30/19 $2.882, 06/29/18 $2.853. AAA PR link.

***Thursday, June 27:

Amazon(PBR5) launches its Counter service in the US, a new network of staffed pickup points that gives customers the option to pick up their Amazon packages in-store at a partner location at no extra cost, starting in over 100 Rite Aid(PBR137) stores, to be in 1,500 Rite Aid locations by the end of 2019. $AMZN PR link.

Capital One(PBR92) to purchase up to $2.2 billion of common stock through 2Q20. $COF PR link.

Devon Energy(PBR286) completes its $2.8 billion sale of its Canadian business to Canadian Natural Resources Limited, expects to divest its Barnett Shale gas assets in north Texas by end of 2019. $DVN PR link.

Wayfair(PBR429 $W) gets protest from some employees regarding its decision to sell beds and other items that will furnish detention centers for migrants at the southern border.MarketWatch PR link.

Brunswick(PBR520) completes $490 million cash sale of its Fitness business to private investment firm KPS Capital Partners, will now focus solely on its marine platform. $BC PR link.

WABCO(PBR630) shareholders approve $136.50/share, $7+billion acquisition by privately held global leader in driveline and chassis technologies ZF Friedrichshafen AG, to close in early 2020. $WBC PR link.

CDK Global(PBR855) plans to divest its Digital Marketing Business, to focus on the building momentum in the core auto software business and to accelerate growth in fiscal 2020. $CDK PR link.

Chico’s FAS(PBR875) Board unanimously rejects revised unsolicited proposal from Sycamore Partners to acquire the Company for $3.00/share in cash, substantially undervalues Chico’s FAS. $CHS PR link.

The US Dept of Commerce/BEA says the US 1Q19 3rd Estimate Gross Domestic Productremains at 3.1%, $21.060 trillion, +0.9% from 4Q18, +5.1% from 1Q18. USDOC PR link.

The US Dept of Labor says the US Initial Unemployment Claims 4 Week Moving Average for Week Ending 06/22/19 was at 221,250, +2.1% from 05/25/19, -0.3% from 06/23/19; Total Insured Unemployment 4 Week Moving Average for Week Ending 06/15/19 was at 1,686,750, +0.9% from 05/18/19, -1.9% from 06/16/19; Insured Unemployment Rate remains at 1.2%. USDOL PR link.

FreddieMac(PBR39) says the US Average 30 Year Fixed Mortgage Rate on 06/27/19 was at 3.73% with 0.5 points/fees, 05/30/19 was at 3.99%, 04/25/19 4.20%, 06/28/18 4.55%. $FMCC PR link.

***Wednesday, June 26:

Danaher(PBR155) to spinoff 3 Dental segment business units to form separate 12,000 employees independent public company Envista, to be completed in 2H19. $DHR PR link.

Occidental(PBR159) gets SEC filing by Icahn Enterprises(PBR288) requesting replacement of 4 Board members, amendment to Charter and Bylaws to give shareholders the right to vote on the $38 billion acquisition of Anadarko(PBR233)$OXY PR link.

Kaman Corp(PBR912) to sell its 2,200 employees $1.1 billion in revenues in 2018 Distribution segment to affiliates of Littlejohn & Co for $700 million cash, to close 3Q19. $KAMN PR link.

Newell Brands(PBR343) EVP/CFO Christopher Peterson to also be Interim CEO, effective 06/28/19, to succeed President/CEO Michael Polk who is retiring as planned on 06/30/19, search for external hire as permanent CEO continues. $NWL PR link.

The US Dept of Commerce/BEA says the US Preliminary 1Q19 International Position-Assets is at $27.138 trillion, Liabilities $37.067 trillion, for a Deficit of $9.929 trillion, +3.9% from 4Q18, +26.8% from 1Q18. USDOC PR link.

The US Energy Information Administrationsays that the US Crude Oil Stocks on 06/21/19were at 469.6 Million Barrels of Oil, -1.5% from 05/24/19, +12.7% from 06/22/18. EIA PR link.

***Tuesday, June 25:

Amazon(PBR5) schedules Amazon Prime Day 2019 for July 15 and 16, will feature more than one million deals globally. $AMZN PR link.

GE(PBR19) and the Coordinated Bargaining Committee (CBC) of GE unions, representing 11 unions with around 6,600 members, concluded negotiations with a new proposed four-year collective bargaining agreement by the Company, to be ratified on 07/03/19. $GE PR link.

FedEx(PBR46) files suit in US District Court seeking to enjoin the US Dept of Commerce from enforcing prohibitions contained in the Export Administration Regulations (“EAR”)against FedEx which believes that the EAR violate common carriers’ rights to due process under the Fifth Amendment of the US Constitution as they unreasonably hold common carriers strictly liable for shipments that may violate the EAR without requiring evidence that the carriers had knowledge of any violations. $FDX PR link.

AbbVie(PBR91) to acquire Dublin, Ireland-based developer, manufacturer and commercializer of branded pharmaceutical, device, biologic, surgical and regenerative medicine products Allergan(PBR194) for $188.24/share cash/stock, a 45% premium from the 06/24/19 closing price, equity value of around $63 billion, to close by early 2020. $ABBV PR link.

Chipotle(PBR536) launches new crew bonus program that gives hourly employees the opportunity to earn up to an extra month’s pay each year. $CMG PR link.

Crane(PBR688) says CIRCOR International(NYSE: CIR) revised business plan claims are highly unrealistic and illustrates why Crane’s superior, all-cash offer of $45 per share represents the best option for CIRCOR shareholders. $CR PR link.

The US Dept of Commerce/HUD says the US Preliminary May 2019 New Family Home Sales Annual Rate is at 629,000 units, -7.4% from April 2019, -3.2% from May 2018; May 2019 Median Home Price is at $308,000, -8.1% from April 2019, -2.7% from May 2018; May 2019 New Homes Available is at 333,000, +0.3% from April 2019, +10.3% from May 2018. USDOC PR link.

The US Federal Reserve Bank of Richmond says the US 5th District June 2019 Manufacturing Index is at +3%, May 2019 was at +5%, April 2019 +3%, June 2018 +21%. “Most firms reported some improvement in local business conditions, and they were optimistic that they would see growth in the next six months.” RichmondFed PR link.

The US Federal Reserve Bank of Richmond says the US 5th District June 2019 Service Sector Revenue Index is at +17%, May 2019 was at +1%, April 2019 +26%, June 2018 +19%. “Respondents were optimistic that growth would continue in the coming months.” RichmondFed PR link.

The S&P CoreLogic Case-Shiller Preliminary April 2019 National Home Price Index(01/2000=100) is at 207.97, March 2019 was at 206.06, February 2019 204.75, April 2018 200.85. Case-Shiller PR link.

The Conference Board says the US Preliminary June 2019 Consumer Confidence Index(1985=100) is at 121.5, May 2019 was at 131.3, April 2019 129.2, June 2018 127.1. “The escalation in trade and tariff tensions earlier this month appears to have shaken consumers’ confidence. Although the Index remains at a high level, continued uncertainty could result in further volatility in the Index and, at some point, could even begin to diminish consumers’ confidence in the expansion.” TCB PR link.

***Monday, June 24:

Bristol-Myers Squibb(PBR131) planning the divestiture of OTEZLA® (apremilast) per concerns by the US Federal Trade Commission, to close $74 billion acquisition of global biopharmaceutical company engaged primarily in the discovery, development and commercialization of innovative therapies for the treatment of cancer and inflammatory diseases Celgene(PBR220) by early 1Q20. $BMY PR link.

Wellcare Health Plans(PBR151) $305.39/share cash & stock, $17.3 billion acquisition by Centene(PBR50) approved by shareholders of both organizations, on track to close 1H20. $WCG PR link.

Allergan(PBR194) gets US FDA clearance for its magnetic muscle stimulation technology CoolTone device for improvement of abdominal tone, strengthening of the abdominal muscles, and development for firmer abdomen, also for strengthening, toning and firming of buttocks and thighs. $AGN PR link.

Reinsurance Group of America(PBR256)completes $2.9 billion annuity reinsurance transaction with Horace Mann Life Insurance Company, a subsidiary of Horace Mann Educators Corporation (NYSE: HMN). $RGA PR link.

Caesars Entertainment(PBR356) to be acquired by Eldorado Resorts(NASDAQ: ERI)for $12.75/share, for $17.3 billion cash/stock, includes assumption of Caesars outstanding net debt, will create the largest US gaming company, will retain the Caesars name, to close in 1H20. $CZR PR link.

Insight(PBR413) to acquire IT products and services ptovider PCM(NASDAQ: PCMI) for $35/share, a 36% premium to its 1-month average as of 06/21/19, enterprise value of $581 million, includes cash and debt. $NSIT PR link.

Crane(PBR688 $CR) cash tender offer to acquire CIRCOR International(NYSE: CIR) for $45/share, a 47% premium over the market close on 05/20/19, is unanimously rejected by CIRCOR Board, says undervalues company and is low-value, highly conditional and opportunistic and not in the best interests of CIRCOR shareholders. Circor PR link.

Axalta(PBR546) Chairman Charlie Shaver resigns after 6 years, effective 06/30/19, current Independent Presiding Director Mark Garrett appointed Chairman. $AXTA PR link.

The US Federal Reserve Bank of Chicagosays the US Preliminary May 2019 National Activity Index is at -0.05, April 2019 was at -0.48, March 2019 +0.02, May 2018 -0.41. ChiFed PR link.

***Friday, June 21:

The PBRMarketTools US Stock Exchanges Recap for Week 25 of 2019 ending 06/21/19:

DJIA ends Week 25 at 26,719.13, +2.41% from last Friday, +7.67% MTD, +3.05% QTD, +14.54% YTD, -0.41% from record 26,828.39 set 10/03/18.

NASDAQ ends Week 25 at 8,031.71, +3.01% from last Friday, +7.76% MTD, +3.91% QTD, +21.05% YTD, -1.62% from record 8,164.00 set 05/03/19.

SPX ends Week 25 at 2,950.46, +2.20% from last Friday, +7.21% MTD, +4.09% QTD, +17.70% YTD, -0.13% from record 2,954.18 set 06/20/19.

The Week 25 News Summary: The biggest economic news of the week was the Federal Open Market Committee keeping short term federal funds interest rates at 2.25-2.50% and signaling possible rate cuts in the near future. Economic indices were mostly mixed and indicating slower growth. Trade issues also dominated the news as it was announced US President Trump and China’s Chairman Xi will be having extended discussions during the upcoming G-20 summit. Also, Mexico became the first country to approve the new USMCA trade agreement that replaces NAFTA. Canada’s Prime Minister Trudeau made a special trip to the US to talk to US lawmakers to encourage them to do the same. Iran shot down a US drone increasing tensions in the Mideast. The US stock exchanges had another big week, the S&P500 broke its closing record and the DJIA is very close. The Stock Market Bull overwhelmed The Stock Market Bear for the week, easily winning 3-0, but took Friday off. The Stock Market Bear responded with a timid appearance.

The Week 25 YTD tally is:
The Stock Market Bull: 13 weeks
The Stock Market Bear: 6 weeks
Mixed Results: 6 weeks

Fred’s(PBR983) to close another 49 stores, following announcements of 263 closures the past 2 months. MarketWatch PR link.

The US Federal Reserve says “the US’s largest and most complex banks have strong capital levels that would allow them to stay well above their minimum requirements after being tested against a severe hypothetical recession… the most severe hypothetical scenario projects $410 billion in total losses for the 18 participating bank holding companies. This scenario featured a global recession with the U.S. unemployment rate rising by more than 6 percentage points to 10 percent, accompanied by a large decline in real estate prices and elevated stress in corporate loan markets.” USFed PR link.

The Natl Assn of Realtors says US Preliminary May 2019 Existing Home Sales Annual Rate is at 5,340,000, +2.5% from April 2019, -1.1% from May 2018; May 2019 Median Home Sale Price is $277,700, +3.9% from April 2019, +4.8% from May 2018; May 2019 Median Days On Market was 26, April 2019 was 24, May 2018 was 26. NAR PR link.

***Thursday, June 20:

Walmart(PBR1 $WMT) agrees to pay more than $144 million to US Security and Exchange Commission and approximately $138 million to the US Dept of Justice for a combined total of more than $282 million for violating the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act (FCPA) by failing to operate a sufficient anti-corruption compliance program for more than a decade. SEC PR link.

Amazon(PBR5) unveils its Off-to-College store, students can browse a wide range of essentials with low prices for their dorm, classes and extracurricular activities in one place. $AMZN PR link.

CVS Health(PBR8 $CVS) files lawsuit against Amazon(PBR5) claiming it is seeking to disrupt the pharmacy industry with its newly acquired subsidiary PillPackBarron’s PR link.

Alphabet(PBR15)’s Waymo unit enters into an exclusive partnership with Renault and Nissanon behalf of The Alliance to explore driverless mobility services for passengers and deliveries in France and Japan. $GOOG PR link.

AECOM(PBR153 $ACM) 4.0% stakeholder activist investor Starboard Value sends letter saying Management Services spinoff is potentially a positive development, is just one piece of a broader set of opportunities to unlock significant value, believes AECOM is deeply undervalued, provides some ideas. Starboard Value PR link.

Chipotle(PBR536) providing catering, includes three different build you own options. $CMG PR link.

Quad/Graphics(PBR596 $QUAD) $1.4 billion all shares acquisition of print and digital media solutions provider LSC Communications(PBR631) receives lawsuit to block the deal by the US Dept of Justice, says necessary to preserve competition in the markets for magazine, catalog, and book printing services in the US. DOJ PR link.

Quad/Graphics(PBR596) intends to vigorously defend its proposed $1.4 billion all shares acquisition of LSC Communications(PBR631)in response to the US Dept of Justice lawsuit seeking to block the acquisition. $QUAD PR link.

Sprouts(PBR515) hires Jack Sinclair as CEO, effective 06/24/19; Brad Lukow, CFO and interim co-CEO, has resigned to pursue other opportunities. $SFM PR link.

The US Dept of Commerce/BEA says US Preliminary 1Q19 Exports of Goods and Services was at $945.9 billion, Imports were at $1.076 trillion, for a Deficit of $130.4 billion, -9.4% from 4Q18, +14.4 from 1Q18. USDOC PR link.

The US Federal Reserve Bank of Philadelphiasays the 3rd District June 2019 Manufacturing General Activity Indicator is at +0.3, May 2019 was at +16.6, April 2019 +8.5, June 2018 +20.8. “Most of the survey’s future activity indexes improved but continue to reflect muted optimism for the remainder of the year.” PhillyFed PR link.

The Conference Board says the US Preliminary May 2019 Leading Economic Index(2016=100) is at 111.8, April 2019 was at 111.8, March 2019 111.7, May 2018 109.4. “… the LEI clearly points to a moderation in growth towards 2 percent by year end.” TCB PR link.

***Wednesday, June 19:

UnitedHealth(PBR6 $UNH) agrees to US Federal Trade Commission approval for $4.3 billion acquisition of DaVitaHealth(PBR302 $DVA)’s DaVita Medical Group contingent upon divesting DaVita Medical Group’s healthcare provider organization in the Las Vegas Area (known as HealthCare Partners of Nevada) to Utah-based healthcare provider and insurer Intermountain Healthcare. FTC PR link.

Alphabet(PBR15) rejects shareholder plan to break up company and other proposals during annual shareholders meeting. $GOOG PR link.

Mondelez(PBR108) to acquire a majority interest in San Diego, CA-based pioneer in the fast-growing refrigerated nutrition bars segment Perfect Snacks®, had $70 million in revenues in 2018, terms not disclosed. $MDLZ PR link.

Gilead Sciences(PB132) to make upfront payment of $45 million and up to $2.3 billion in total additional payments based milestone achievements to Nurix Therapeutics in strategic partnership to discover, develop and commercialize a pipeline of innovative targeted protein degradation drugs for patients with cancer and other challenging diseases. $GILD PR link.

PG&E(PBR176) reaches agreements to resolve the wildfire claims held by 18 local public entities (cities, counties, districts and public agencies) impacted by the 2015 Butte Fire, 2017 Northern California wildfires and 2018 Camp Fire, will pay $1 billion as part of a Chapter 11 Plan of Reorganization. $PCG PR link.

ON Semiconductor(PBR476) completes $24.50/share, $1.07 billion all cash acquisition of high performance Wi-Fi solutions developer Quantenna Communications(NASDAQ: QTNA)$ON PR link.

Harley-Davidson(PBR483) to expand access into Asia through a collaboration with Qianjiang Motorcycle Co, to launch a smaller, more accessible Harley-Davidson motorcycle for sale in Harley-Davidson dealerships in China by the end of 2020. $HOG PR link.

Peabody Energy(PBR490) to own 66.5% Arch Coal(PBR826 $ARCH) 33.5% in joint venture to combine the companies’ Powder River Basin and Colorado assets, expected to unlock synergies with a pre-tax net present value of approximately $820 million. $BTU PR link.

Mattel(PBR562 $MAT) ‘…cannot be salvaged’ according to MGA Entertainment CEO, is abandoning pursuit of a merger deal.MarketWatch PR link.

Tempur Sealy(PBR787) to add around 700 US positions to meet growing demand for its Tempur-Pedic, Stearns & Foster and Sealy mattresses and bedding products. $TPX PR link.

Chico’s FAS(PBR875) receives a revised unsolicited proposal from Sycamore Partners to acquire the Company for $3.00/share in cash, will review, rejected previous higher offer of $3.50/share. $CHS PR link.

Pier 1 Imports(PBR954) shareholders approve a 1:20 reverse stock split, to be effective at start of trading 06/20/19. $PIR PR link.

The Federal Open Market Committee releases statement from 06/18-19/19 meeting, says “the labor market remains strong and that economic activity is rising at a moderate rate … decided to maintain the target range for the federal funds rate at 2-1/4 to 2-1/2 percent… continues to view sustained expansion of economic activity, strong labor market conditions, and inflation near the Committee’s symmetric 2 percent objective as the most likely outcomes, but uncertainties about this outlook have increased.” FOMC PR link.

***Tuesday, June 18:

Walmart(PBR1) offering online upgrades for Apple and Samsung devices using AT&T wireless services, will be expanding wireless providers, expanding wireless experts in 600 more stores by the holidays, will then be in over 3,000 Walmart stores. $WMT PR link.

Alphabet(PBR15)’s Google unit announces an additional $1 billion investment for 20,000 houses for middle/low income families across the San Francisco Bay Area, includes repurposing Google land and providing incentives for housing developers, 10 year project. $GOOG PR link.

Boeing(PBR28) gets letter of intent at Paris Air Show from International Airlines Group to buy 200 737 MAX aircraft, $24+ billion deal, per list prices. $BA PR link.

Facebook(PBR55) to launch in 2020 its global cryptocurrency, called Libra, through its newly formed Calibra subsidiary, will include a digital wallet and use blockchain technology. $FB PR link.

Cognizant(PBR188) to acquire Cork, Ireland based privately held life sciences manufacturing technology services company with 800+ employees in 16 global locations Zenith Technologies, terms not disclosed. $CTSH PR link.

Kellogg(PBR230) announces reorganization plan which primarily impacts the North America segment in anticipation of the divestiture of selected cookies, fruit and fruit-flavored snacks, pie crusts, and ice cream cones businesses to Ferrero International SA by the end of 07/19, will take a $35 million pre-tax charge. $K PR link.

NVIDIA(PBR257) selected by Sweden based Volvo Group for using the NVIDIA DRIVE end-to-end autonomous driving platform to train, test and deploy self-driving AI vehicles, targeting public transport, freight transport, refuse and recycling collection, construction, mining, forestry and more. $NVDA PR link.

The Mosaic Co(PBR316) to close Plant Cityphosphates manufacturing facility in Hillsborough County, FL, not cost effective, has been idled since late 2017, will recognize a non-cash charge of up to $390 million in 2Q19. $MOS PR link.

News Corp(PBR332) is actively evaluating strategic options for its News America Marketing business, including a possible sale, has comprehensive in store marketing media options in over 60,000 stores in the US and Canada, and reaches households across the country with circulation of more than 60 million through nearly 2,000 publications. $NWS PR link.

Fifth Third Bancorp(PBR374) announces dividend payments, authorizes new up to 100 million shares for repurchase program, had 22 million left from previous authorization. $FITB PR link.

Lamb Weston(PBR675) opens $250 million 300,000 sf frozen french fries manufacturing expansion in Hermiston, OR, adds 150 jobs, will make nearly 750 million pounds of frozen french fries annually. $LW PR link.

Tempur Sealy(PBR787) signs new long-term supply agreements with Mattress Firm and Big Lots in the US and Beter Bed Holding in Europe, anticipates $400 million in additional annual revenues once implemented. $TPX PR link.

GoPro(PBR994) enhances $4.99/mo PLUS subscription service, includes damaged camera replacement, unlimited cloud storage, 50% off mounts and accessories, VIP support. $GPRO PR link.

The US Dept of Labor says the US 1Q19 Average Wages/Salaries Per Hour-All Workers was at $25.22, Benefits Per Hourwere at $11.55, for a Total Average Hourly Compensation of $36.77, +1.2% from 4Q18, +1.2% from 1Q18. USDOL PR link.

The US Dept of Commerce says the US Preliminary May 2019 New Residential Construction Permits Issued Annual Rate is at 1,294,000, +0.3% from April 2019, -0.5% from May 2018. USDOC PR link.

***Monday, June 17:

AT&T(PBR9) is the winning bidder at $980 million for spectrum licenses covering more than 98% of the U.S. population following the close of FCC Auction 102, will bolster its mobile 5G strategy. $T PR link.

Pfizer(PBR59) to acquire commercial stage biopharmaceutical company focused on the discovery, development and commercialization of targeted small molecule medicines to treat cancer and other diseases Array BioPharma(NASDAQ: ARRY) for $48/share in cash, for a total enterprise value of around $11.4 billion, to close 2H19. $PFE PR link.

AECOM(PBR153) to spinoff its 25,000 employees with $3.7 billion in revenues in fiscal year 2018 Management Services segment into a public standalone government services company, to be completed in 2H20 fiscal year. $ACM PR link.

Williams Cos(PBR337) completes formation of $3.8 billion venture partnership with the Canada Pension Plan Investment Board, receives approximately $1.33 billion in exchange for a 35% interest in a combined Utica East Ohio Midstream-Ohio Valley Midstream joint venture. $WMB PR link.

Campbell Soup(PBR338) completes $510 million sale of its producer of organic beverages, dressings and carrots Bolthouse Farms to a Butterfly Equity affiliate, a Los Angeles-based private equity firm specializing in the food sector. $CPB PR link.

Domino’s Pizza(PBR672) and robotics company Nuro are partnering on autonomous pizza delivery using the custom unmanned vehicle known as the R2 later this year for select Houston, TX, Domino’s customers who place orders online. $DPZ PR link.

Crane(PBR687) commences cash tender offer to acquire CIRCOR International(NYSE: CIR)for $45/share, a 47% premium over the market close on 05/20/19, to expire at 5:00PM New York City time, on 07/16/19. $CR PR link.

Varian Medical(PBR747) completes $283 million acquisition of privately held $43.5 million in revenues in FY19 university-level, comprehensive treatment for cancer patients provider Cancer Treatment Services International$VAR PR link.

Middleby(PBR780) acquires Santa Ana, CA-based Ss Brewtech, a professional craft brewing and beverage equipment provider, founded in 2013, has $20 million in annual revenues, will operate as an autonomous business unit, terms not disclosed. $MIDD PR link.

Meredith Corp(PBR860) facilitates a closed sale of Sports illustrated by agreeing to operate the SI media assets for a transition period for up to two years under a licensing agreement with ABG$MDP PR link.

The Federal Reserve Bank of New York says the Empire State June 2019 Manufacturing General Business Conditions Index is at -8.6, May 2019 was at +17.8, April +10.2, June 2018 +24.4. “Indexes assessing the six-month outlook indicated that firms were less optimistic about future conditions than they were last month.” NYFed PR link.

The Natl Assn of Home Builders Preliminary June 2019 Housing Market Composite Indexis at 64, May 2019 was at 66, April 2019 63, June 2018 68. Headline: “Builder Confidence Solid in June Amidst Growing Economic Uncertainty” NAHB PR link.

Boeing(PBR28) outlook values the aerospace and defense market at $8.7 trillion over the next decade, up from $8.1 trillion a year ago. $BA PR link.

***Friday, June 14:

The PBRMarketTools US Stock Exchanges Recap for Week 24 of 2019 ending 06/14/19:

DJIA ends Week 24 at 26,089.61, +0.41% from last Friday, +5.14% MTD, +0.62% QTD, +11.84% YTD, -2.75% from record 26,828.39 set 10/03/18.

NASDAQ ends Week 24 at 7,796.66, +0.70% from last Friday, +4.61% MTD, +0.87% QTD, +17.50% YTD, -4.50% from record 8,164.00 set 05/03/19.

SPX ends Week 24 at 2,886.98, +0.47% from last Friday, +4.90% MTD, +1.86% QTD, +15.16% YTD, -2.00% from record 2,945.83 set 04/30/19.

The Week 24 News Summary: With the Mexican government taking on more responsibilities for Central America immigrants the threatened US tariffs on Mexican goodsdid not materialize, but there continues to be tension between the US and China as trade talks seemed to have stalled. Oil pricesfluctuated after attacks on 2 oil tankers, allegedly by Iran. The US economy continues to show strength from the latest jobs, producer price index, wages, consumer price index, import/export prices, industrial production, and manufacturers sales & inventories reports, but there was a wider gap than usual between federal government receipts and outlays. The technology sector had a good week. The Stock Market Bull continues to recover from the significant May losses with his 2nd week in a row 3-0 victory over The Stock Market Bear, who was also very active and actually took 3 of the 5 trading days.

The Week 24 YTD tally is:
The Stock Market Bull: 12 weeks
The Stock Market Bear: 6 weeks
Mixed Results: 6 weeks

Abercrombie & Fitch(PBR656) authorizes new share repurchase program of up to 5 million Class A Common shares, now has about 7.6 million shares available, or over 10% of its total shares outstanding. $ANF PR link.

Synopsys(PBR715) replenishes its existing stock repurchase authorization to $500 million. $SNPS PR link.

The US Dept of Commerce/Census says the US Preliminary April 2019 Manufacturers Sales were at $504.1 billion, Retail Sales$454.8 billion, Wholesalers Sales $503.1 billion, Total Sales $1.462 trillion, -0.2% from March 2019, +2.3% from April 2018. USDOC PR link.

The US Dept of Commerce/Census says the US Advance May 2019 Retail Sales-Retail is at $457.2 billion, Food Services & Drinking Places $61.8 billion, Total Retail Sales $519.0 billion, +0.5% from April 2019, +3.2% from May 2018. USDOC PR link.

The US Federal Reserve says the US Preliminary May 2019 Manufacturing Total Industry % of Capacity is at 78.1%, April 2019 was at 77.9%, March 2019 78.4%, May 2018 77.5%. USFed PR link.

The U of Michigan US Preliminary June 2019 Consumer Sentiment Index is at 97.9, May 2019 was at 100.0, April 2019 97.2, June 2018 98.2. UMichigan PR link.

***Thursday, June 13:

ExxonMobil(PBR2) and Saudi Arabia based 50/50 partner SABIC to proceed with the construction of a chemical facility and a 1.8 million metric ton ethane steam cracker, the largest in the world, in San Patricio County, TX, construction to start in 3Q19, in production by 2022. $XOM PR link.

Tyson(PBR74) introduces its first plant-based and blended products, along with its new Raised & Rooted® brand. $TSN PR link.

Twitter(PBR729) removes nearly 4,800 accounts with Iran government connections. $TWTR PR link.

Verso Corp(PBR790) adopts a limited duration stockholder rights plan as it continues to seek a new CEO and review strategic alternatives. $VRS PR link.

KKR(PBR833) to sell its global copper foils and flexible copper clad laminates predominantly used in li-ion batteries for electric vehicle applications producer KCF Technologies unit to SK Group affiliate for $1 billion. $KKR PR link.

Cedar Fair(PBR976) to acquire Schlitterbahn Waterparks and Resorts in New Braunfels, TX, and Galveston, TX, for $261 million, along with the right to acquire an additional 40 acre property in Kansas City, KS, for $6 million cash for future development. $FUN PR link.

Red Robin(PBR978) gets letter from activist investor Vintage Capital critical of current directions and decisions, offers to buy RRGB for $40/share, recommends replacing current Board. $RRGB PR link.

Red Robin(PBR978) says it is surprised by comments on filing by activist shareholder Vintage Capital because of discussions they had had and did not recommend any CEO candidates, reviews its current status regarding a CEO search and corporate directions. $RRGB PR link.

Regis Corp(PBR986) announces the profitable sale and transfer of 96 of its California-based Supercuts® salons to the Moxie Management Group, a portfolio company of a Spanos Barber Jesse & Co managed fund. $RGS PR link.

The US Dept of Labor says the US Preliminary May 2019 All Import Prices Index is at -0.3%, Exports -0.1%; the May 2019 Year-to-Year Import Prices Index is at -1.5%, Exports -0.7%. USDOL PR link.

***Wednesday, June 12:

Ford(PBR12) announces a field service action to correct a suspension issue in certain model year 2011 through 2017 Explorer vehicles, expects to take $180 million charge from its N America business unit in 2Q19. $F PR link.

Facebook(PBR55 $FB) opens engineering center in London dedicated to eliminating harmful content, will add more than 500 tech jobs before the end of the year. MarketWatch PR link.

Jacobs Engineering(PBR204) completes $11.25 per share in cash, with enterprise value, net of tax assets, of approximately $815 million, including an estimated $272 million of net debt, national security provider of advanced engineering and technology solutions for the Intelligence, Cyber and Counterterrorism communities KeyW$JEC PR link.

BB&T(PBR239) and SunTrust Banks(PBR287)$66 billion merger stock deal to close by end of 4Q19, new name with be Truist$BBT PR link.

Groupon(PBR798) announces a US distribution partnership with GasBuddy for consumers to earn GasBack rewards for Groupon purchases. $GRPN PR link.

KKR(PBR833) to launch voluntary public tender offer for Germany based media and technology company active in more than 40 countries Axel Springer SE for around $70.55/share, a 40% premium, around $7.6 billion. $KKR PR link.

KKR(PBR833) doubles its investment with additional $250 million commitment to investor of small balance real estate loans throughout the US and the UK, including single-family rental loans and commercial and residential bridge loans, Toorak Capital Partners, which recently completed more than $2.5 billion in investments across more than 8,000 loans in 45 states and the U.K., more than doubling the company’s $1 billion milestone of total loans purchased at this time last year. $KKR PR link.

The US Dept of Treasury says that the US May 2019 Federal Government Receipts were $232.1 billion, Outlays $439.8 billion, for a May 2019 Deficit of $207.8 billion, the May 2018 Deficit was $146.8 billion; The May 2019 YTD Federal Government Receipts(8 Months) is at $2.275 trillion, YTD Outlays $3.014 trillion, for a YTD Deficit of $738.6 billion, the May 2018 YTD Deficit was at $532.2 billion. USTreasury PR link.

The US Dept of Labor says the US Preliminary May 2019 Consumer Price Index-All Items is at +0.1%, April 2019 was at +0.3%, March 2019 +0.4%, May 2018 +0.2%, Last 12 Months +1.8%. USDOL PR link.

The US Dept of Labor says the US Preliminary May 2019 Current Average Earnings/Hour is at $27.83, Average Hours Worked Per Week is at 34.4, Total Average Weekly Earnings are at $957.35, +0.2% from April 2019, +2.8% from May 2018. USDOL PR link.

***Tuesday, June 11:

Amazon(PBR5 $AMZN) to shut down its Amazon Restaurants food delivery service in the 20 US cities it serves on 06/24/19, will also shut down its Daily Dish, a workplace lunch delivery service that launched in 2016, on 06/14/19. GeekWire PR link.

Facebook(PBR55) introduces Study from Facebook, an app for market research, will compensate users. $FB PR link.

Facebook(PBR55 $FB) is building a giant solar farm in Texas for its first direct investment in renewable energy, $416 million project.MarketWatch PR link.

3M(PBR90) to take $160 million pre-tax 2Q19 charge for deconsolidation of its Venezuelan subsidiary, which was effective 05/31/19. $MMM PR link.

Tesla(PBR140) CEO Elon Musk at annual shareholder meeting says the is no demand problem for Tesla vehicles, spoke about the Model Y, Tesla’s next vehicle, the gigafactory under construction in China and a future one in Europe, and promised another Tesla acquisition to ease the company’s entry into insurance.MarketWatch PR link.

VISA(PBR149) announces the commercial launch of the Visa B2B Connect network, giving financial institutions an ability to quickly and securely process high-value corporate cross-border payments globally. $V PR link.

Boston Scientific(PBR310) completes $465 million plus additional milestones achieved payments acquisition of privately-held Superion® Indirect Decompression System developer Vertiflex, anticipates $60 million in revenues in 2019. $BSX PR link.

H&R Block(PBR710) to acquire Toronto, Ontario based 400,000 small businesses globally monthly financial solutions platform provider Wave Financial for $405 million cash, to close in the next few months. $HRB PR link.

Brinker Intl(PBR712) gives DoorDash exclusive agreement to be delivery service for its 1,000+ Chili’s restaurant locations. $EAT PR link.

TEGNA(PBR866) to acquire Indianapolis, IN, NBC television affiliate WTHR, the Columbus, OH, CBS television affiliate WBNS and its sports radio station WBNS, from the Dispatch Broadcast Group, for $535 million in cash, to close 3Q19. $TGNA PR link.

The US Dept of Labor says the US Preliminary May 2019 Producer Price Index Final Demand-Goods was -0.2%, Services +0.3%, Total Final Demand +0.1%, April 2019 was +0.2%, March 2019 +0.6%, May 2018 +0.4%, Last 12 Months +1.8%. USDOL PR link.

CoreLogic says the US March 2019 Housing Loans 30 Days or More Delinquents was at 4.0%, February 2019 was at 4.0%, January 2019 4.0%, March 2018 4.3%, the March 2019 Housing Mortgages in Foreclosure were at 0.4%, March 2018 was at 0.6%. “… the continued improvement in overall mortgage performance bodes well for the health of the U.S. market in 2019.” CoreLogic PR link.

Manpower(PBR135) says US employers are reporting the strongest nationwide hiring intentions in 13 years at +21%, according to the 3Q19 ManpowerGroup Employment Outlook Survey$MAN PR link.

***Monday, June 10:

Phillips 66(PBR23) and Plains All American Pipeline(PBR87) form 50/50 joint venture Red Oak Pipeline to provide crude oil transportation service from Cushing, OK, and the Permian Basin in West Texas to Corpus Christi, Ingleside, Houston and Beaumont, TX, initial service planned for 1Q21, to cost around $2.5 billion. $PSX PR link.

Target(PBR38) expands family benefits policies for both fulltime and parttime workers, including backup care, new paid family leave, doubling adoption and surragacy reimbursement. $TGT PR link.

Intel(PBR42) to acquire Santa Clara, CA-based Barefoot Networks, provides expertise for cloud network architectures, P4-programmable high-speed data paths, switch silicon development, P4 compilers, driver software, network telemetry and computational networking, to close in 3Q19, terms not disclosed. $INTC PR link.

Merck(PBR70) to acquire privately held therapeutics targeting the latent TGFβ complex for the treatment of cancer, fibrosis and autoimmune diseases biopharmaceutical company Tilos Therapeutics for up to $773 million, includes upfront payment and contingent milestone achievements. $MRK PR link.

Raytheon(PBR105) and United Technologies(PBR45) to combine in merger of equals in all stock transaction, UTX shareholders will own 57% of stock, Raytheon shareholders 43%, will be named Raytheon Technologies, to be headquartered in Boston area, will have pro forma 2019 revenues of $74 billion, to close in 2H20 after UTX completes spinoffs of Carrier and Otis business units. $RTN PR link.

Thermo-Fisher Scientific(PBR118) $925 million acquisition of manufacturer of instrumentation and software used to enhance and extend the operation and performance of electron microscopes Gatan, a wholly owned subsidiary of Roper Technologies(PBR530) is terminated by mutual agreement, unable to get UK regulatory approval. $TMO PR link.

Broadcom(PBR146) gets 2 year agreement to provide Apple(PBR3) with specified, radio-frequency front end components and modules for Apple’s smartphones, tablets and watches, and to maintain and allocate to them sufficient manufacturing capacity and other resources to make these products. $AVGO PR link.

Salesforce(PBR236) to acquire self-service analytics platform provider Tableau Software(NYSE: DATA) in a $15.7 billion all-stock deal, to close by 10/31/19. $CRM PR link.

GameStop(PBR310) to launch a “modified Dutch auction” tender offer to purchase up to 12,000,000 shares of its Class A common stock for not greater than $6.00 and not less than $5.20 per share, to start 06/11/19, expires 07/10/19. $GME PR link.

Apollo Global Mgmt(PBR995) to acquire photo personalization provider Shutterfly(NASDAQ: SFLY) for $51.00/share, around $2.7 billion cash, to close by early 4Q19, will combine it with its Snapfish acquisition, which will close at the same time. $APO PR link.

PVH(PBR314) promotes Cheryl Abel-Hodges to CEO of its Calvin Klein unit, succeeds leaving Steve Shiffman. $PVH PR link.

The US Dept of Labor says the US Preliminary April 2019 Job Openings-Private was at 6,726,000, Government 723,000, Total Openings 7,449,000, -0.3% from March 2019, +4.8% from April 2018. USDOL PR link.

***Friday, June 7:

The PBRMarketTools US Stock Exchanges Recap for Week 23 of 2019 ending 06/07/19:

DJIA ends Week 23 at 25,983.94, +4.71% from last Friday/MTD, +0.21% QTD, +11.39% YTD, -3.15% from record 26,828.39 set 10/03/18.

NASDAQ ends Week 23 at 7,742.10, +3.88% from last Friday/MTD, +0.17% QTD, +16.68% YTD, -5.17% from record 8,164.00 set 05/03/19.

SPX ends Week 23 at 2,873.34, +4.41% from last Friday/MTD, +1.37% QTD, +14.62% YTD, -2.46% from record 2,945.83 set 04/30/19.

The Week 23 News Summary: Despite the continuing focus on the inability on the US and China to come up with a trade deal and none currently in sight, the new 5% tariffs increasing monthly to 25% threatened against Mexico for not helping stem the tide of illegal immigration from Central American countries into the US, and a lackluster US jobs report, the stock exchanges recovered significantly from the losses inflicted in May. A big part of that was the strong possibility of the Federal Reserve cutting short term interest rates, continued low unemployment, a moderate growth report indicated by the Beige Book, a rebound by the tech sector, and maybe because US President Trump was in Europe for the week for the commemoration of the 75th Anniversary of D-DayThe Stock Market Bull had an overwhelming 3-0 win, his first outright weekly victory since 04/05/19, his best week of the year. The Stock Market Bear after some action on Monday decided to leave and become part of a circus disappearing act.

The Week 23 YTD tally is:
The Stock Market Bull: 11 weeks
The Stock Market Bear: 6 weeks
Mixed Results: 6 weeks

Walmart(PBR1) to offer Walmart InHome Delivery starting in the Fall 2019, in Kansas City, MO, Pittsburgh, PA, and Vero Beach, FL, includes in home delivery of groceries and placing them in the refrigerator. $WMT PR link.

FedEx(PBR46) makes strategic decision to not renew the FedEx Express US domestic contract with Amazon(PBR5), will focus on serving the broader e-commerce market, does not affect other contracts with Amazon, represented 1.3% of revenues in 2018. $FDX PR link.

Biogen(PBR239) completes $25.50/share $800 million acquisition of London, UK-based clinical-stage gene therapy company focused on adeno-associated virus (AAV) treatments for inherited retinal disorders Nightstar Therapeutics(NST; Nasdaq: NITE)$BIIB PR link.

Barnes & Noble(PBR647) to be acquired by affiliates of Elliott Management for $6.50/share, around $683 million, to become a private company, CEO will be James Daunt, CEO of UK bookstore chain Waterstones which was acquired by Elliott Management in 06/18, to close in 3Q19. $BKS PR link.

Vertex Pharmaceuticals(PBR721) to expand collaboration with CRISPR Therapeutics (NASDAQ: CRSP) with $175 million upfront payment and up to $1 billion in additional milestone and royalty payments, will acquire Exonics Therapeutics for $245 million as part of a $1 billion deal based on milestone achievements, enhances its gene editing capabilities to develop therapies for Duchenne Muscular Dystrophy (DMD) and Myotonic Dystrophy Type 1 (DM1). $VRTX PR link.

American Equity(PBR945) says it is no longer in discussions regarding a potential transaction, was not in the best interest of shareholders. $AEL PR link.

Alliance Data(PBR379) President/CEO/Board member Ed Heffernan has resigned, Epsilon acquisition has been completed, President of Card Services unit Melisa Miller named President/CEO and member of the Board effective immediately, other senior executive changes announced. $ADS PR link.

The US Dept of Labor says the US May 2019 Employed Workers is at 156,758,000, +113,000 from April 2019, +1,219,000 from May 2018, May 2019 Unemployed is at 5,888,000, +63,000 from April 2019, -240,000 from May 2018, May 2019 Unemployment Rate stays at 3.6%, was 3.8% in May 2018. USDOL PR link.

The US Federal Reserve Board says the US Preliminary April 2019 Total Consumer Debt-Revolving was at $1.065 trillion, Non-Revolving$3.005 trillion, April 2019 Total Consumer Debt$4.070 trillion, +0.4% from March 2019, +1.5% YTD(4 months), +5.1% from April 2018. USFed PR link.

The US Dept of Commerce/Census says the US Preliminary April 2019 Wholesale Sales-Durables was at $240.4 billion, Non-Durables$262.7 billion, Total $503.1 billion, -0.4% from March 2019, +2.7% from April 2018. USDOC PR link.

The FannieMae(PBR21) US May 2019 Home Purchase Sentiment Index is at 92.0, April 2019 was at 88.3, March 2019 89.8, May 2018 92.3. Headline: “Americans’ Confidence in Housing Nears Survey High, Despite Moderating Optimism About Wage Growth and Job Security.” $FNMA PR link.

***Thursday, June 6:

Ford(PBR12) British subsidiary to take $650 million pre-tax charge mostly in 2019 to exit the Ford Bridgend Engine Plant in South Wales, will cease production during 2020. $F PR link.

Alphabet(PBR15)’s Google unit to acquire unified platform for business intelligence, data applications and embedded analytics Looker for $2.6 billion cash, will become part of Google Cloud. $GOOG PR link.

Alphabet(PBR15)’s Google unit announces first collection of games for its Stadia service, Stadia Founder’s Edition discounted from $300 to $129.99 on a pre-order basis, to launch in 14 countries including the US in 11/19. $GOOG PR link.

Anthem(PBR33) to acquire Beacon Health Options, the largest independently held behavioral health organization in the US, serving 36+ million individuals across all 50 states, from Bain Capital Private Equity and Diamond Castle Holding, terms not disclosed, to close in 4Q19. $ANTM PR link.

Altice USA(PBR310) completes $200 million acquisition of digital-first, live business, general news and college network focused on young professional and millennial audiences with over 400 million video views a month company Cheddar$ATUS PR link.

Fastenal(PBR528) industrial vending program for nuts, bolts, and screws achieves 100,000-plus active devices across 25 countries. $FAST PR link.

Meredith Corp(PBR849)’s Entertainment Weekly to become a monthly starting in 08/19, to increase investment in EW.com and digital, social, video and experiential platforms. $MDP PR link.

The US Dept of Labor says US Revised 1Q19 Labor Productivity Output/Hr-All Employees-Business Sector is at +3.5%, 4Q18 was at +1.2%, 3Q18 +1.5%, 1Q18 +0.9%. USDOL PR link.

The US Dept of Commerce says US April 2019 Exports-Goods was at $136.9 billion, Services$69.9 billion, Total Exports $206.8 billion, Imports-Goods was at $208.7 billion, Services$49.0, Total Imports $257.7 billion, Total Deficitwas $50.9 billion, Total Deficit YTD(4 months)is at $205.5 billion, Total Deficit YTD(4 months) in 2018 was $202.0 billion. USDOC PR link.

***Wednesday, June 5:

Amazon(PBR5) Re: MARS conference news items regarding StyleSnap, warehousing/robotics, and drone delivery services. $AMZN PR link.

3M(PBR89) to sell its 500 employees gas and flame detection business to Teledyne(PBR747)for $230 million, to close 2H19. $MMM PR link.

Eli Lilly(PBR115) gets US FDA approval for Emgality® (galcanezumab-gnlm) injection (300 mg) for the treatment of episodic cluster headache in adults, the first and only calcitonin gene-related peptide (CGRP) antibody approved by the FDA for two distinct headache disorders. $LLY PR link.

Tesla(PBR139 $TSLA) is estimated to have sold nearly 3 times as many electric cars as its rivals, according to Morgan Stanley research.MarketWatch PR link.

Carnival Corp(PBR160 $CCL) and its Princess Cruises unit ordered to pay $20 million fine for plastics and garbage dumping in the ocean per US Dept of Justice suit, follows $40 million fine in 04/17 for oil dumping. DOJ PR link.

Bristol-Myers Squibb(PBR131) announces senior management leadership team after $74 billion acquisition of global biopharmaceutical company engaged primarily in the discovery, development and commercialization of innovative therapies for the treatment of cancer and inflammatory diseases Celgene(PBR220), to close in 3Q19. $BMY PR link.

LabCorp(PBR267) Chairman/President/CEO David P. King to step down as President/CEO on 10/31/19, will become Executive Chairman on 11/01/19, Board member Adam H. Schechter to become President/CEO. $LH PR link.

Casey’s General Stores(PBR354) hires Darren Rebelez to become President/CEO on 06/24/19, succeeds Terry Handley who is retiring after 38 years with Casey’s. $CASY PR link.

Red Robin(PBR965) adopts a short-term shareholder rights plan as it completes its ongoing CEO search and executes on its strategic plan. $RRGB PR link.

The US Securities and Exchange Commissionadopts a package of rulemakings and interpretations designed to enhance the quality and transparency of retail investors’ relationships with investment advisers and broker-dealers, bringing the legal requirements and mandated disclosures in line with reasonable investor expectations, while preserving access (in terms of choice and cost) to a variety of investment services and products. SEC PR link.

The US Federal Reserve releases its Beige Book based on information from the Federal Reserve Banks through 05/24/19, says, “Economic activity expanded at a modest pace overall from April through mid-May, a slight improvement over the previous period.” TheFed PR link.

ADP(PBR235) says the US Preliminary May 2019 Change in Employment is at +27,000, -52,000 from Small Businesses(1-49 employees), +11,000 from Mid-Sized Businesses(50-499 employees), +68,000 from Large Businesses(500 and more employees), -43,000 from Goods Producing Sector, +71,000 from the Services-Providing Sector. $ADP PR link.

The Institute for Supply Management says the US May 2019 Non-Manufacturing Index(>50% indicates economy is growing) is at 56.9%, April 2019 was at 55.5%, March 2019 56.1%, May 2018 58.9%. “The non-manufacturing sector continues to experience a slight uptick in business activity, but it is still leveling off overall. Respondents are mostly optimistic about overall business conditions, but concerns remain about tariffs and employment resources.” ISM PR link.

The IHS Markit US May 2019 Composite PMI Output Index is at 50.9, April 2019 was at 53.0, March 2019 54.6, May 2018 56.6. “… business confidence dipped to its lowest since June 2016 amid concerns about global trade tensions and less robust demand conditions.” IHS Markit PR link.

***Tuesday, June 4:

Walmart(PBR1) expanding its Live Better Ueducation benefit to include new technology degrees and certificates for $1 a day and offering high school students a bridge into the workforce, including access to all its learning programs. $WMT PR link.

Apple(PBR3 $AAPL) is being sued by two app developers claiming that Apple engaged in anticompetitive conduct by only allowing the downloading of iPhone apps through Apple’s official App Store. Apple also requires developers to price their apps in tiers ending in 99 cents and takes up to a 30% commission from developers on the sale of apps. Reuters PR link.

CVS Health(PBR8) expects to open 1,500 HealthHUBs by end of 2021 as part of strategy to accelerate growth. $CVS PR link.

Group 1 Automotive(PBR261) does nationwide launch of AcceleRide®, its new online automotive purchase platform, includes online inventory of over 38,000+ new and pre-owned vehicles, currently live at 79 dealerships, will be available at all 116 Group 1 US dealerships by the end of the summer. $GPI PR link.

Newell Brands(PBR341) to sell its $112 million in revenues in 2018 The United States Playing Card Company to Cartamundi Group, a leading manufacturer and distributor of playing cards and board games, terms not disclosed, to close in 2H19. $NWL PR link.

Michaels Cos(PBR504) partnering with Cricutfor upcoming availability of Infusible Ink™, an all-new system of Cricut products that brings commercial-level, permanent heat-transfer effects to the consumer do-it-yourself (DIY) space, to be available from 06/21/19 through 10/01/19. $MIK PR link.

Sprouts(PBR511) announces 06/11/19 National Hiring Day from 9AM-7PM, to hire around 1,500 across 300 stores. $SFM PR link.

Continental Resources(PBR541) authorizes initial $1 billion share buyback program, starts 2Q19, expires end of 2020. $CLR PR link.

Mattel(PBR558) announces international licensing agreement with Hello Kitty brand builder Sanrio to design and develop a wide array of toys, dolls, playsets, games, puzzles, baby gear, plush, vehicles and other products inspired by Hello Kitty & Friends and Hello Kitty Cafe, as well as a range of characters in the Sanrio portfolio, to be available in the Fall of 2020. $MAT PR link.

Tupperware(PBR862) announces “No Time to Waste” vision, to significantly reduce plastic and food waste by 2025 through its global network of 3 million Sales Force, 12,000 associates and suppliers. $TUP PR link.

CACI(PBR564) President/CEO Ken Asbury to retire and resign from the Board effective 06/30/19, COO John Mengucci to be successor on 07/01/19. $CACI PR link.

The US Dept of Commerce/Census says the US Preliminary April 2019 New Orders-Durable Goods is at $248.6 billion, Non-Durable Goods $250.7, Total $499.3 billion, -0.8% from March 2019, +0.6% from April 2018; Total YTD is at $1.200 trillion, +1.7% from April 2018. USDOC PR link.

The PurdueU/CME Group says the US May 2019 Ag Economy Barometer was at 101, April 2019 was at 115, March 2019 133, May 2018 141. PurdueU PR link.

***Monday, June 3:

Apple(PBR3) at its World Wide Developers Conference 2019 unveils several new products and developer tools. $AAPL PR link.

Humana(PBR54) says it will not make a proposal to combine with Centene(PBR50) as an alternative to Centene’s proposed acquisition of WellCare Health Plans(PBR168)$HUM PR link.

Tyson(PBR74) completes $340 million acquisition of Thailand and Europeanoperations of BRF SA, includes four processing facilities in Thailand, one processing facility in the Netherlands and one processing facility in the UK. $TSN PR link.

Altria(PBR111) will invest $372 million for an 80% ownership interest in certain companies of Switzerland based Burger Group that will commercialize oral tobacco-derived nicotine pouch product on! worldwide. $MO PR link.

Tesla(PBR139 $TSLA) likely to build Model Y at California plant, Elon Musk says. MarketWatch PR link.

Sears(PBR168) parent Transform Holdings(aka the new Sears) will acquire the outstanding shares of Sears Hometown(PBR917) not owned by ESL Investments and its affiliates for $2.25/share cash, to close in SHOS 3Q19 fiscal year. $SHLDQ PR link.

Las Vegas Sands(PBR226) completes $1.3 billion sale of its Sands Bethlehem property in Pennsylvania to an affiliate of Poarch Band of Creek Indians of Alabama$LVS PR link.

LabCorp(PBR267)’s Covance Drug Development segment has completed the acquisition of Envigo’s nonclinical contract research services business, Envigo’s Research Models and Services business has completed the acquisition of LabCorp’s Covance Research Products business, results in net payment by LabCorp of $485 million, will increase LabCorp’s revenue by an incremental $156 million/year. $LH PR link.

PVH(PBR314)’s Calvin Klein subsidiary and G-III(PBR759) have entered into a license agreement with an initial term of five years for the design, production and distribution of Calvin Klein Jeans women’s jeanswear collections in the US and Canada, is in addition to the other women’s Calvin Klein businesses that are already licensed to G-III by CKI. $PVH PR link.

Quest Diagnostics(PBR390 $DGX) says 11.9 million patients may be affected by latest data breach through its outsourced collections vendor. MarketWatch PR link.

Blackstone(PBR423) to acquire assets from three of GLP’s US funds for $18.7 billion, totals 179 million square feet of urban, infill logistics assets, nearly doubling the size of Blackstone’s existing US industrial footprint. $BX PR link.

AMD(PBR440) gets multi-year royalties agreement to license custom graphics IP based on the recently announced, highly-scalable RDNA graphics architecture to Samsung for use in mobile devices, including smartphones, and other products. $AMD PR link.

Ventas(PBR636) to acquire a Class A portfolio of 31 purpose-built seniors housing communities and four in-progress developments in Quebec market through an 85/15 percent equity partnership with Le Groupe Maurice, portfolio is valued at $1.8 billion, to close in 3Q19. $VTR PR link.

ASGN(PBR675) authorizes up to $250 million share repurchase program, expires in 2 years. $ASGN PR link.

Laureate Education(PBR682) completes sale of its universities in Spain and Portugal to global private equity firm Permira Funds for around $908 million net proceeds. $LAUR PR link.

Tronox(PBR921) authorizes up to $100 million share repurchase program. $TROX PR link.

United Technologies(PBR45) appoints David L. Gitlin as President/CEO of its 55,000 employees Carrier unit and Judith F. Marks as President/CEO of its 68,000 employees Otisunit, effective immediately, both units to be spunoff as stand-alone public companies. $UTX PR link.

The US Dept of Commerce/Census says the US Preliminary April 2019 Total Construction Spending Annual Rate-Residential is at $505.9 billion, Non-Residential $792.6 billion, Total$1.299 trillion, -0.1% from March 2019, -1.2% from April 2018. USDOC PR link.

The ISM Preliminary May 2019 Manufacturing PMI Index(>50% means economy expanding)was at 52.1%, April 2019 was at 52.8%, March 2019 55.3%, May 2018 58.7%. “Respondents expressed concern with the escalation in the U.S.-China trade standoff, but overall sentiment remained predominantly positive. The PMI® continues to reflect slowing expansion …” ISM PR link.

IHS Markit says the US May 2019 Manufacturing PMI Index is at 50.5, April 2019 was at 52.6, March 2019 52.4, May 2018 56.4. “The headline PMI fell to its lowest level since September 2009 as output growth eased and new orders fell for the first time since August 2009.” IHS Markit PR link.

***Friday, May 31:

The PBRMarketTools US Stock Exchanges Recap for the End of May and Week 22 of 2019 ending 05/31/19:

DJIA ends month and week at 24,815.04, -3.01% from last Friday, -6.69% MTD, -4.30% QTD, +6.38% YTD, -7.50% from record 26,828.39 set 10/03/18.

NASDAQ ends month and week at 7,453.15, -2.41% from last Friday, -7.93% MTD, -3.57% QTD, +12.33% YTD, -8.71% from record 8,164.00 set 05/03/19.

SPX ends month and week at 2,752.06, -2.62% from last Friday, -6.58% MTD, -2.91% QTD, +9.78% YTD, -6.58% from record 2,945.83 set 04/30/19.

The Month 5 YTD tally is:
The Stock Market Bull: 4 months
The Stock Market Bear: 1 month
Mixed Results: 0 months

Check out the BLOG page for the previous RECAPS and SNAPSHOTS posts.

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PBRMarketTools.com provides news, data, and analysis on 1,000 of the largest publicly held companies with primary operations in the US. The data and analysis is included in The PBR1000 Monthly Snapshots, an MS-Excel workbook with 15 snapshot worksheets, 27 rankings, and over 200 fields of data and information on each company. Click here to find out more! 

Copyright © 2019, All Rights Reserved, Pax Business Resources, LLC.

The PBR1000 May 2019 Stocks & Commodities Snapshots

May 2019 The PBR1000: A The Stock Market Bear of a Month

 

Stock Market

The Stock Market gets his first month of 2019. As a reward would he prefer a beehive full of honey or a potful of the money lost?

By Larry C. Paxton

The May 2019 US Stock Exchanges Summary: It has become the neverending story, international trade, as US/China trade negotiations are bogged down, Mexico has been threatened with tariffs to force it to become part of the illegal immigration drama. The UK Brexit situation is up in the air with Prime Minister May resigning her post. With sanctions on China’s technology behemoth Huawei the US tech sector took some hits. The US economy is still proceeding at a slower moderate pace with concerns it might be slowing further and the word “recession” is popping up more frequently. With all that The Stock Market Bear easily won all weeks in May to take his first monthly victory in a big way and severely and convincingly gouging The Stock Market Bull into submission.

The Month 5 YTD tally is:
The Stock Market Bull: 4 months
The Stock Market Bear: 1 month
Mixed Results: 0 months

The May 2019 US Major Stock Market Exchanges Summary

Number of Trading Days: 22

Number of Gain(+)/Loss(-) Days: DJIA 9+/13-; NASDAQ 8+/14-; SPX 8+/14-.

Record Days: DJIA 0, NASDAQ 1(05/03/19), SPX 0

Longest Gain Streak(Consecutive Days): DJIA, NASDAQ, and SPX 3 days(05/14-16 /19)

Longest Loss Streak(Consecutive Days): DJIA 2 days(05/06-07, 17-20, 28-29/19), NASDAQ and SPX 4 days(05/06-09/19)

Big Swing Up Days(>1.00%): 4 days (05/03/19(N 1.58%), 05/14/19(N +1.14%), 05/15/19(N +1.13%), 05/21/19(N +1.08%))

Big Swing Down Days(<-1.00%): 6 days (05/07/19(D -1.79%, N -1.96%, S -1.65%), 05/13/19(D -2.38%, N -3.41%, S -2.41%), 05/17/19(N -1.04%), 05/20/19(N -1.46%), 05/23/19(D -1.11%, N -1.58%, S -1.19%), 05/31/19(D -1.41%, N -1.51%, S -1.22%))

The PBR1000 May 2019 Snapshots

The following are Top 5 partial tables excerpts from The PBR1000 May 2019 Snapshots. The price for stocks is for the close of trading on May 31, 2019Month % Chg is compared to April 30, 2019YTD % Chg is compared to December 31, 2018, and the 17 Months % Chg is compared to December 29, 2017. The PBR Rank is by annual revenues.

To get the complete The PBR1000 Snapshots  just click here to get your 12 month subscription and automatically download the May 2019 edition with the complete 15 Snapshots and 27 rankings and the bonus The PBRMarketTools US Monthly Indices Snapshots.

Table 1(S11): The PBR1000 Top 5 Month Stock Price % Gainers

Table 1 Summary: The range was +23% to -73%176 out of 998 stocks were up 0% or more. The average was a loss of 6.54%, the median was a loss of 8.06%. The DJIA was -6.69%, NASDAQ -7.93%, SPX -6.58%.

Company PBR
Rank
Symbol Price
05/31/19
Mo
% Chg
YTD
% Chg
17 Mos
% Chg
Sprint 88 S $ 6.87 +23 +18 +17
FannieMae
21 FNMA $ 3.05 +23 +188 +15
Babcock & Wilcox
1000 BW $ 0.43 +23 +10 -92
Calumet Specialty
667 CLMT $ 4.25 +23 +92 -45
FreddieMac 39 FMCC $ 2.93 +22 +179 +16

Table 2(S12): The PBR1000 Top 5 Year-To-Date Stock Price % Gainers

Table 2 Summary: The range was +241% to -91%675 out of 997 stocks were up 0% or more. The average was a gain of 11.08%, the median was a gain of 8.51%. The DJIA was +6.38%, NASDAQ +12.33%, SPX +9.78%.

Company PBR
Rank
Symbol Price
05/31/19
Mo
% Chg
YTD
% Chg
17 Mos
% Chg
Diebold Nixdorf 555 DBD $ 8.50 -16 +241 -48
FannieMae 21 FNMA $ 3.05 +23 +188 +15
FreddieMac 39 FMCC $ 2.93 +22 +179 +16
Avon Products 491 AVP $ 3.76 +18 +147 +75
Ferrellgas 880 FGP $ 1.17 -6 +117 -73

Table 3(S13): The PBR1000 Top 5 17 Months Stock Price % Gainers

Table 3 Summary: The range was +167% to -98%377 out of 996 stocks were up 0% or more. The average was a loss of 0.65%. The median was a loss of 7.43%. The DJIA was +0.39%, NASDAQ +7.96%, SPX +2.93%.

Company PBR
Rank
Symbol Price
05/31/19
Mo
% Chg
YTD
% Chg
17 Mos
% Chg
AMD 444 AMD $ 27.41 -1 +48 +167
SeaWorld 973 SEAS $ 32.00 +20 +45 +136
Chipotle 536 CMG $ 659.97 -4 +53 +128
Rent-A-Center 798 RCII $ 23.86 -4 +47 +115
BlueLinx 758 BXC $ 20.09 -22 -19 +106

Table 4(S15): The PBR1000 Top 5 Market Capitalization

Table 4 Summary: The range was $963 billion to $0.01 billion. The average is $26.383 billionmedian is $7.43 billion, out of 1,000 companies.

Company PBR
Rank
Symbol Market Cap($B)
05/31/19
Mo
% Chg
YTD
% Chg
17 Mos
% Chg
Microsoft 25 MSFT $ 963 B -3 +25 +46
Amazon 5 AMZN $ 894 B -6 +24 +61
Apple 3 AAPL $ 820 B -15 +11 -6
Alphabet 15 GOOG $ 777 B -13 +8 +7
Facebook 55 FB $ 522 B -6 +36 +2
The PBR1000
  $ 26,383 B -5 +11 +2

Table 5: The PBR1000 Index & Primary US Stock Exchanges/Commodities

Company Price
05/31/19
Mo
% Chg
YTD
% Chg
17 Mos
% Chg
The PBR1000 85,835.32 -6.5 +11.1 -0.7
DJIA 24,815.04 -6.7 +6.4 +0.4
NASDAQ 7,453.15 -7.9 +12.3 +8.0
S&P500 2,752.06 -6.6 +9.8 +2.9
GOLD 1,311.10 +2.0 +2.1 +0.5
SILVER 14.57 -2.8 -6.4 -14.2
OIL            53.50 -16.3 +16.8 -11.0

To order a 12 month subscription of The PBR1000 Snapshots go to the Subscribe page.

Please use the Contact Us page if you are a The PBR1000 company and would like to increase your visibility to our worldwide base of shrewd investors.

PBRMarketTools.com provides The PBR1000, a compilation of 1,000 of the largest publicly held companies with primary operations in the US. These companies generate $14 trillion in annual revenues, more than all other US companies combined. The PBR1000 Monthly Snapshots provides these 1,000 companies in Excel format, includes 15 worksheets with 27 rankings, over 200 data/information points, hotlinks to key data, and important news items per company. This service is used by astute business professionals and shrewd investors worldwide.

Disclaimers: The PBR1000 is compiled from a variety of publicly available resources. As such, PBRMarketTools.com is not responsible for the data itself. Any liability for the representations or decisions based on the data is solely the responsibility of the authorized user, not PBRMarketTools.com, its employees or affiliates. PBRMarketTools.com is a provider of news, data, and analysis, and is not a financial advisor firm.

(Graphic courtesy of FreeDigitalPhotos.net, ddpavumba.)

Copyright © 2019 by Pax Business Resources, LLC, All Rights Reserved, 

The PBR1000 April 2019 Stocks & Commodities Snapshots

April 2019 The PBR1000: The Stock Market Bull Continues to Dominate

PBR1000

The Stock Market Bull continues his momentum and remains unbeaten on a monthly basis in 2019.

By Larry C. Paxton

The April 2019 US Stock Exchanges Summary: While The Stock Market Bull only won outright the first week of April, he won all mixed results 2-1 the remaining three weeks to once again trounce The Stock Market Bear. This despite continued US/China trade negotiations and what appears to be a slowing global economy. But better than expected jobs reports and productivity reports continue to outweigh the negatives, and The Stock Market Bull continues his unbeaten 2019 monthly win streak.

The Month 4 YTD tally is:
The Stock Market Bull: 4 months
The Stock Market Bear: 0 months
Mixed Results: 0 months

The April 2019 US Major Stock Market Exchanges Summary

Number of Trading Days: 21

Number of Gain(+)/Loss(-) Days: DJIA 12+/9-; NASDAQ 14+/7-; SPX 16+/5-.

Record Days: DJIA 0, NASDAQ 3, SPX 4

Longest Gain Streak(Consecutive Days): DJIA 3 days(03/28-04/01/19, 04/03-05/19, 04/26-30/19), NASDAQ 5 days(03/28-04/03/19), SPX 8 days(03/28-04/08/19)

Longest Loss Streak(Consecutive Days): DJIA 2 days(04/08-09/19, 04/24-25/19), NASDAQ 1 days(04/04/19, 04/09/19, 04/11/19, 04/15/19, 04/17/19, 04/24/19, 04/30/19), SPX 2 days(04/24-25/19)

Big Swing Up Days(>1.00%): 3 days (04/01/19(D +1.27%, N +1.29%, S +1.16%), 04/12/19(D +1.03%), 04/23/19(N +1.32%))

Big Swing Down Days(<-1.00%): None

The PBR1000 April 2019 Snapshots

The following are Top 5 partial tables excerpts from The PBR1000 April 2019 Snapshots. The price for stocks is for the close of trading on April 30, 2019Month % Chg is compared to March 29, 2019YTD % Chg is compared to December 31, 2018, and the 16 Months % Chg is compared to December 29, 2017. The PBR Rank is by annual revenues.

To get the complete The PBR1000 Snapshots  just click here to get your 12 month subscription and automatically download the April 2019 edition with the complete 15 Snapshots and 27 rankings and the bonus The PBRMarketTools US Monthly Indices Snapshots.

Table 1(S11): The PBR1000 Top 5 Month Stock Price % Gainers

Table 1 Summary: The range was +60% to -54%718 out of 1,000 stocks were up 0% or more. The average was a gain of +3.99%, the median was a gain of 3.64%. The DJIA was +2.56%, NASDAQ +4.74%, SPX +3.93%.

Company PBR
Rank
Symbol Price
04/30/19
Mo
% Chg
YTD
% Chg
16 Mos
% Chg
Anadarko Petroleum 230 APC $ 72.85 +60 +66 +36
Qualcomm
130 QCOM $ 86.13 +51 +51 +35
Frontier Communications
333 FTR $ 2.85 +43 +20 -58
Hovnanian
875 HOV $ 15.22 +39 -11 -82
Sonic Auto 303 SAH $ 20.23 +37 +47 +10

Table 2(S12): The PBR1000 Top 5 Year-To-Date Stock Price % Gainers

Table 2 Summary: The range was +305% to -85%874 out of 999 stocks were up 0% or more. The average was a gain of 18.83%, the median was a gain of 17.83%. The DJIA was +14.00%, NASDAQ +22.01%, SPX +17.51%.

Company PBR
Rank
Symbol Price
04/30/19
Mo
% Chg
YTD
% Chg
16 Mos
% Chg
Diebold Nixdorf 529 DBD $ 10.09 -9 +305 -38
Pier 1 Imports 908 PIR $ 0.91 +20 +194 -78
Sears Holdings 178 SHLDQ $ 0.69 -7 +156 -81
iHeartMedia 439 IHRTQ $ 1.07 +0 +143 +114
FannieMae 21 FNMA $ 2.48 -11 +134 -6

Table 3(S13): The PBR1000 Top 5 15 Months Stock Price % Gainers

Table 3 Summary: The range was +169% to -97%494 out of 998 stocks were up 0% or more. The average was a gain of 6.20%. The median was a loss of 0.44%. The DJIA was +7.58%, NASDAQ +17.27%, SPX +10.18%.

Company PBR
Rank
Symbol Price
04/30/19
Mo
% Chg
YTD
% Chg
16 Mos
% Chg
AMD 489 AMD $ 27.63 +8 +50 +169
BlueLinx 900 BXC $ 25.72 -3 +4 +164
Chipotle 536 CMG $ 688.04 -3 +59 +138
Rent-A-Center 755 RCII $ 24.93 +19 +54 +125
Crocs 1000 CROC $ 27.85 +8 +7 +120

Table 4(S15): The PBR1000 Top 5 Market Capitalization

Table 4 Summary: The range was $994 billion to $0.01 billion. The average is $27.888 billionmedian is $7.95 billion, out of 1,000 companies.

Company PBR
Rank
Symbol Market Cap($B)
04/30/19
Mo
% Chg
YTD
% Chg
16 Mos
% Chg
Microsoft 25 MSFT $ 994 B +10 +29 +51
Apple 3 AAPL $ 965 B +8 +30 +10
Amazon 5 AMZN $ 954 B +9 +32 +72
Alphabet 15 GOOG $ 898 B +10 +25 +23
Facebook 55 FB $ 556 B +17 +45 +8
The PBR1000
  $ 27,888 B +4 +18 +8

Table 5: The PBR1000 Index & Primary US Stock Exchanges/Commodities

Company Price
04/30/19
Mo
% Chg
YTD
% Chg
16 Mos
% Chg
The PBR1000 91,714.95 +4.0 +18.8 +6.2
DJIA 26,592.91 +2.6 +14.0 +7.6
NASDAQ 8,095.39 +4.7 +22.0 +17.3
S&P500 2,945.83 +3.9 +17.5 +10.2
GOLD 1,285.70 -0.9 +0.1 -1.5
SILVER 14.98 -0.8 -3.7 -11.8
OIL            63.91 +6.2 +39.5 +6.3

To order a 12 month subscription of The PBR1000 Snapshots go to the Subscribe page.

Please use the Contact Us page if you are a The PBR1000 company and would like to increase your visibility to our worldwide base of shrewd investors.

PBRMarketTools.com provides The PBR1000, a compilation of 1,000 of the largest publicly held companies with primary operations in the US. These companies generate $14 trillion in annual revenues, more than all other US companies combined. The PBR1000 Monthly Snapshots provides these 1,000 companies in Excel format, includes 15 worksheets with 27 rankings, over 200 data/information points, hotlinks to key data, and important news items per company. This service is used by astute business professionals and shrewd investors worldwide.

Disclaimers: The PBR1000 is compiled from a variety of publicly available resources. As such, PBRMarketTools.com is not responsible for the data itself. Any liability for the representations or decisions based on the data is solely the responsibility of the authorized user, not PBRMarketTools.com, its employees or affiliates. PBRMarketTools.com is a provider of news, data, and analysis, and is not a financial advisor firm.

(Graphic courtesy of FreeDigitalPhotos.net, ddpavumba.)

Copyright © 2019 by Pax Business Resources, LLC, All Rights Reserved, 

The PBR1000 April 2019 Breaking News Recap

The PBR1000 Continues to Thrive Amid Uncertainty

PBR1000

Despite the many turbulent economic and political storms nationally and internationally The PBR1000 remains strong and resilient.

By Larry C. Paxton

April 2019 News Recap: The US news was dominated by illegal immigration concerns, the release of the controversial Mueller report, good news on jobs and a better than expected 3.2% GDP, but otherwise mixed results for the economy, continued US/China trade negotiations, Boeing’s 737 MAX 8 airplane issues, and ending the month with President Trump and Democratic leaders agreeing to work on a $2 trillion infrastructure program. On an international basis there are concerns for a slowing global economy and the UK withdrawal from the European Union, Brexit, is still unresolved. It was a good month for The Stock Market Bull as the NASDAQ and S&P500 both hit new records with the DJIA closing in on its record.

Here are The PBR1000 corporate, stock market, and economic related breaking news items of interest with hotlinks to the sources for April 2019, starting with the last active business day:

***Tuesday, April 30:

The PBRMarketTools US Stock Exchanges Recap for April 2019 ending 04/30/19:

DJIA ends April at 26,592.91, +0.19% from last Friday, +2.56% MTD/QTD, +14.00% YTD, -0.88% from record 26,828.39 set 10/03/18.

NASDAQ ends April at 8,095.39, -0.63% from last Friday, +4.74% MTD/QTD, +22.01% YTD, -0.81% from record 8,161.85 set 04/29/19.

SPX ends April at record 2,945.83, +0.20% from last Friday, +3.93% MTD/QTD, +17.51% YTD, +0.0% from record 2,945.83 set 04/30/19.

The Month 4 YTD tally is:
The Stock Market Bull: 4 months
The Stock Market Bear: 0 months
Mixed Results: 0 months

Apple(PBR3) releases 2Q19 earnings report, adds $75 billion to share repurchase program. $AAPL PR link.

Amazon(PBR5) to expand its Denver Tech Huband create 400 new software and hardware engineering, cloud computing, and advertising high tech jobs, will open a new office in downtown Denver to accommodate expansion, will more than double its tech workforce in the Denver area. $AMZN PR link.

Marriott Intl(PBR146) announces Homes & Villas by Marriott International, a home rental initiative offering 2,000 premium and luxury homes located in over 100 destinations throughout the US, Europe, the Caribbean and Latin America. $MAR PR link.

Occidental Petroleum(PBR158) gets commitment from Berkshire Hathaway(PBR4)for $10 billion equity investment towards its $38 billion acquisition of Anararko(PBR231)$OXY PR link.

Ingersoll-Rand(PBR196) to spinoff its Industrial segment to IR shareholders, combine it with Gardner Denver(PBR758), will be be called Ingersoll-Rand, retain IR ticker; remainder of IR Climate company to be renamed, receive $1.9 billion, to close by early 2020. $IR PR link.

VF Corp(PBR253) spin-off of independent public company Kontoor Brands, Inc, which will hold VF’s Jeans(Wrangler® and Lee® brands) and VF Outlet businesses in the denim category, to be effective 05/23/19 with distribution of shares on 05/22/19, ticker will be NYSE: KTB. $VFC PR link.

PVH(PBR307) has entered into a licensing agreement with NIKE(PBR84) for the design, sourcing, marketing and worldwide distribution of NIKE-branded men’s underwear. $PVH PR link.

Altice USA(PBR310) to acquire digital-first, live business, general news and college network focused on young professional and millennial audiences with over 400 million video views a month company Cheddar for $200 million, to close within 2 months. $ATUS PR link.

The US Dept of Treasury says US 04/26/19 National Debt-Public is at $16.168 trillion, Intragovernmental Holdings $5.859 trillion, Total National Debt $22.057 trillion, was $21.068 trillion on 04/30/18. USTreasury PR link.

The US Dept of Labor says US 1Q19 Total Employee Cost Index-All(12/2005=100) is at 136.2, 4Q18 was at 135.2, 1Q18 132.5. USDOL PR link.

The Federal Reserve Bank of Chicago says the US 7th District Preliminary March 2019 Midwest Economic Index is at +0.22, February 2019 was at +0.29. ChiFed PR link.

The Conference Board says the US Preliminary April 2019 Consumer Confidence Index(1985=100) is at 129.2, March 2019 was at 124.2. “Overall, consumers expect the economy to continue growing at a solid pace into the summer months. These strong confidence levels should continue to support consumer spending in the near-term.” TCB PR link.

The April 2019 MNI Chicago Business Barometer is at 52.6, March 2019 was at 58.7, February 2019 64.7, April 2018 57.6. “This was a disappointing start to the second quarter, with more firms cutting back on both production and employment against a backdrop of softer domestic demand and the global slowdown …”MNI PR link.

The February 2019 S&P CoreLogic Case-Shiller US Natl Home Price NSA Index(Jan2000=1000) is at 212.70, January 2019 was at 212.27, December 2018 212.80, February 2018 206.51. Case-Shiller PR link.

The American Automobile Assn says the US 04/30/19 Natl Average for a Gallon of Regular Gas is at $2.882, +7.1% from 03/29/19, +2.5% from 04/30/18. AAA PR link.

***Monday, April 29:

Amazon(PBR5) leases space in Arlington, VA, to hire 400 in 2019, open first building in fall 2019, 25,000 in future for its HQ2 location. $AMZN PR link.

Kroger(PBR20) completes $215 million sale of its 800 employees Turkey Hillmanufacturing/distribution business producing popular iced teas, fruit drinks, milk, frozen dairy treats and a variety of ice creams to private equity firm Peak Rock Capital. $KR PR link.

Jacobs Engineering(PBR203) completes $3.3 billion sale of its Energy, Chemicals and Resources (ECR) segment to WorleyParsons Limited (ASX: WOR). $JEC PR link.

Parker Hannifin(PBR212) to acquire privately-held Cary, NC-based $1.1 billion in annual sales, 3,100 employees broad array of advanced adhesives, coatings and specialty materials as well as vibration and motion control technologies global provider LORD Corporation for $3.675 billion cash, to close in 4-6 months. $PH PR link.

Anadarko(PBR231) resuming its negotiations with Occidental Petroleum(PBR158), Board has unanimously determined that the Occidental Proposal of $76.00/share in shares/cash $37 billion deal could reasonably be expected to result in a “Superior Proposal” as defined in the $65/share $33 billion Chevron(PBR11) Merger Agreement. $APC PR link.

Coty(PBR304) partial tender offer for up to 150 million Class A shares at $11.65/share, a premium of approximately 38% to the 90-day volume-weighted average share price as of 02/11/19, from JAB Cosmetics NV, has expired, JAB to own 450+ million shares, have 60% stake in Coty, which will continue as a public company. $COTY PR link.

Genworth Financial(PBR339) sale to China Oceanwide for $5.43/share, $2.7 billion cash close extended from 04/30/19 to 06/30/19 to get additional US, China, Canada and other regulatory approvals, is 10th waiver. $GNW PR link.

Charles River Labs(PBR893) completes $500 million acquisition of Europe based with operations in N America non-clinical contract research organization, specializing in regulated safety assessment services, non-regulated discovery services, and medical device testing, Citoxlab$CRL PR link.

DaVita Healthcare(PBR264) Chairman/CEO Kent Thiry to become Executive Chairman, DaVita Kidney Care CEO Javier J. Rodriguez to become CEO, both effective 06/01/19. $DVA PR link.

The US Dept of Commerce/BEA says US Preliminary March 2019 Total Personal Income Annual Rate is at $18.053 trillion, +0.1% from February 2019, +3.9% from March 2018. USDOC PR link.

FreddieMac(PBR39) forecasts US 2019 30 year fixed mortgage rates to average 4.3%, down from 4.6% in 2018, “… wage growth has accelerated and is finally growing at the same rate as home prices for the first time in seven years. We expect to see the result of these low mortgage rates and stronger wage growth translate into better home sales in the coming months, along with better than expected refinance activity for the year.” $FMCC PR link.

***Friday, April 26:

The PBRMarketTools US Stock Exchanges Recap for Week 17 of 2019 ending 04/26/19:

DJIA ends the week at 26,543.33, -0.06% from last Friday, +2.37% MTD/QTD, +13.79% YTD, -1.06% from record 26,828.39 set 10/03/18.

NASDAQ ends the week at record 8,146.40, +1.85% from last Friday, +5.40% MTD/QTD, +22.77% YTD, +0.00%% from record 8,146.40 set 04/26/19.

SPX ends the week at record 2,939.88, +1.20% from last Friday, +3.72% MTD/QTD, +17.27% YTD, +0.00% from record 2,939.88 set 04/26/19.

The Week 17 News Summary: It was a big week for corporate earnings which were overall mixed, with tech stocks doing well on the NASDAQ, the DJIA taking a loss for the week from the expected losses from Boeing, but surprise losses from 3M. Economic indiceswere also a little mixed, but with an unexpected +3.2% GDP annual rate in 1Q19. US/China trade negotiations continue with little additional information. The NASDAQ and S&P500 ended the week at records but the DJIA finished down just enough to make Week 17 a mixed 2-1 result for the third week in a row for The Stock Market Bull.

The Week 17 YTD tally is:
The Stock Market Bull: 10 weeks
The Stock Market Bear: 2 weeks
Mixed Results: 5 weeks

Alphabet(PBR15 $GOOG)’s Google’s Wing Aviation unit awarded the first FAA air carrier certification for a drone delivery company, approved for use in Blacksburg, VA. FAA PR link.

Bed Bath & Beyond(PBR245 $BBBY) group of three activist investors submit letter outlining plans to increase value of the company, includes replacing CEO immediately. Legion Partners Holdings PR link.

Bed Bath & Beyond(PBR245) issues statement responding to activist investors, says it’s “… multi-year transformation plan to strengthen its position as the expert for the home and heart-felt life events … is well underway and delivering results.” $BBBY PR link.

The US Dept of Commerce/BEA says US 1Q19 Advance Estimate Gross Domestic Product Annual Growth Rate is at +3.2%, $21.063 trillion, +1.0% from 4Q18, +5.1% from 1Q18. USDOC PR link.

The U of Michigan US Final April 2019 Consumer Sentiment Index is at 97.2, March 2019 was at 98.4, February 2019 93.8, April 2018 98.8. “… when asked about longer term financial prospects, 60% reported in the April survey that they expected to be better off financially over the next five years … the highest proportion ever recorded ….” UMichigan PR link.

***Thursday, April 25:

Walmart(PBR1) says because of UK prohibition of merger between its UK ASDA unit and UK based Sainsbury, merger has been terminated, will continue to focus on ASDA. $WMT PR link.

3M(PBR89) says 1Q19 was disappointing, will continue restructuring program, expects reduction of 2,000 positions worldwide. $MMM PR link.

Amgen(PBR122 $AMGN) and Astellas Pharma US agree to pay $125 million to resolve allegations that they violated the False Claims Act by illegally paying the Medicare co-pays for their own high-priced drugs. USDOJ PR link.

BB&T(PBR237) and SunTrust Banks(PBR287)discuss merger of equals per agreement announced on 02/07/19. $BBT PR link.

The US Dept of Labor says US Initial Unemployment Claims 4 Week Moving Average for the Week Ending 04/20/19 was at 206,000, -5.2% from 03/23/19, -10.1% from 04/21/18; Total Insured Unemployment 4 Week Moving Average for the Week Ending 04/13/19 was at 1,687,750, -3.6% from 03/16/19, -13.4% from 04/14/18; Uninsured Employment Rate at 1.2%, was 1.4% for Week Ending 03/16/19, 1.3% for 04/14/18. USDOL PR link.

The US Dept of Commerce/Census says US 1Q19 Total Housing Units were at 139,131,000, Rental Vacancy Rate was 7.0%, Homeowner Vacancy Rate 1.4%, Homeownership Rate64.2%, was 64.8% in 4Q18, 64.2% 1Q18. USDOL PR link.

FreddieMac(PBR39) says the US Average 30 Year Fixed Mortgage Rate on 04/25/19 was at 4.20% with 0.5 points/fees, was 4.06% on 03/28/19, 4.35% on 02/28/19, 4.58% on 04/26/19. “… both existing and new home sales continue to show strength – indicating the lagged effect of lower rates on housing demand. This, along with improved affordability, should push housing activity higher in the coming months.” $FMCC PR link.

***Wednesday, April 24:

Ford(PBR12) makes minority $500 million equity investment in Rivian, companies to develop an all-new, next-generation battery electric vehicle for Ford’s growing EV portfolio using Rivian’s skateboard platform. $F PR link.

Facebook(PBR55) has record 1Q with over $15 billion in revenues, expenses include $3.0 billion fine anticipated from the US FTC for FB’s platform and user data practices. $FB PR link.

Occidental Petroleum(PBR158) proposes to acquire Anadarko(PBR231) for $76.00/share in shares & cash deal, values transaction at around $57 billion. $OXY PR link.

Anadarko(PBR231) confirms receipt of unsolicited $76.00/share in shares/cash deal, $57 billion transaction value, from Occidental Petroleum(PBR158), will review and compare to current $65/share $33 billion deal with Chevron(PBR11)$APC PR link.

USG Corp(PBR680) $44/share, $7.7 billion cash acquisition by Germany based Gebr. Knauf KGis completed. $USG PR link.

Ryman Hospitality(PBR993) enters into joint venture with Gray Television(NYSE:GTN) to create and distribute a premier linear multicast and OTT (over-the-top) channel dedicated to the country lifestyle. $RHP PR link.

Chico’s FAS(PBR829) President/CEO/Board member Shelley Broader resigns from all roles, Board member Bonnie Brooks appointed Interim CEO effective immediately, search firm hired to search for new permanent President/CEO. $CHS PR link.

The US Energy Information Administrationsays US Millions of Barrels of Crude Oil Stocks on 04/19/19 were at 460.6, 03/22/19was at 442.3, 02/22/19 445.9, 04/20/18 429.7. EIA PR link.

ADP(PBR233) says that US 1Q19 Workforce Wage Growth was at +3.8%, $28.40/hour, 4Q18was +3.4%, 3Q18 +3.5%, 1Q18 +2.9%. $ADP PR link.

***Tuesday, April 23:

Murphy Oil(PBR844) to acquire deep water Gulf of Mexico 38,000 barrels of oil equivalent per day net assets from LLOG Exploration Offshore and affiliate for $1.375 billion, to close in 2Q19 with effective date of 01/01/19. $MUR PR link.

CBS(PBR211) President/Acting CEO Joseph Ianniello agrees to extension of his contract through 12/31/19, new CEO search suspended. $CBS PR link.

Asbury Automotive(PBR417) Non-Executive Chairman Thomas C. DeLoach, Jr., steps down, remains a member of the Board, Thomas J. Reddin named successor in planned rotation. $ABG PR link.

Burlington Stores(PBR449)Chairman/President/CEO Thomas Kingsbury to step down as CEO around 09/16/19, to hire Michael O’Sullivan as CEO effective 09/16/19, Chief Merchandising Officer Jennifer Vecchio appointed President/Chief Merchandising Officer effective immediately. $BURL PR link.

Comerica(PBR671) CEO Ralph W. Babb Jr named Executive Chairman, President/Comerica Inc and Comerica Bank Curtis Farmer named CEO. $CMA PR link.

H&R Block(PBR685) co-founder Henry W Bloch dies at age 96, visionary entrepreneur and philanthropist, co-founded HRB with brother Richard in 1955. $HRB PR link.

The US Dept of Commerce/HUD says US Preliminary March 2019 New Family Home Sales Annual Rate is at 692,000, +4.5% from February 2019, +3.0% from March 2018Median Sales Price is $302,700, -4.0% from February 2019, -9.7% from March 2018USDOC PR link.

The Federal Reserve Bank of Richmond says the US 5th District April 2019 Manufacturing Index(Annualized) is at +3%, March 2019 was at +10%, February 2019 +16%, April 2018 -3%. “Firms were optimistic, expecting conditions to improve in the next six months.” RichmondFed PR link.

The Federal Reserve Bank of Richmond says the US 5th District April 2019 Service Sector Revenue Index(Annualized) is at +26%, March 2019 was at +5%, February 2019 +17%, April 2018 +2%. “Respondents were optimistic that conditions would remain strong in the coming months.” RichmondFed PR link.

***Monday, April 22:

Sempra Energy(PBR250) completes sale of its remaining ownership interests in operating and development-stage wind assets to American Electric Power(PBR186 $AEP) for $584 million in cash, last of $2.5 billion divestiture of US renewables and non-utility natural gas storage assets. $SRE PR link.

Bemis(PBR579) $57.75/share, $6.8 billion all stock transaction acquisition by Australia based Amcor Limited (ASX: AMC) on track to close around 05/15/19 after Amcor agrees to sell some US assets. $BMS PR link.

Rent-A-Center(PBR756) to receive $92.5 million in settlement deal from Vintage Capital and B Riley for termination of acquisition proposal. RCII PR link.

Kraft Heinz(PBR107) CEO Bernardo Hees to leave effective 06/30/19, Miguel Patricio appointed to be CEO effective 07/01/19. $KHC PR link.

Bed Bath & Beyond(PBR237) appoints 5 new directors to 10 directors Board, Co-Founders Warren Eisenberg and Leonard Feinstein have transitioned to the role of Co-Founders, Co-Chairmen Emeriti and will retire from the Board, Board names Patrick Gaston as Independent Chairman, effective immediately. $BBBY PR link.

The Federal Reserve Bank of Chicago says the US Preliminary March 2029 National Activity Index is at -0.15, February 2019 was -0.31, January 2019 -0.24, March 2018 +0.32. ChiFed PR link.

The Natl Assn of Realtors says US Preliminary March 2019 Existing Home Sales Annual Rate is at 5,210,000 units, -4.9% from February 2019, -5.4% from March 2018; the Median Price was $259,400, +4.0% from February 2019, +3.8% from March 2018NAR PR link.

***Friday, April 19:

***Good Friday.
***US Stock Exchanges Closed.

The PBRMarketTools US Stock Exchanges Recap for Week 16 of 2019 ending 04/19/19:

DJIA ends the week at 26,559.54, +0.56% from last Friday, +2.43% MTD/QTD, +13.86% YTD, -1.00% from record 26,828.39 set 10/03/18.

NASDAQ ends the week at 7,998.06, +0.17% from last Friday, +3.48% MTD/QTD, +20.54% YTD, -1.38% from record 8,109.69 set 08/29/18.

SPX ends the week at 2,905.03, -0.08% from last Friday, +2.49% MTD/QTD, +15.88% YTD, -0.88% from record 2,930.75 set 09/20/18.

The Week 16 News Summary: The top news for the week was the release on Thursday of the Mueller Report, which didn’t seem to affect the stock markets other than perhaps keeping trading volumes low throughout the week which was shortened by the observance of Good Friday. Corporate earnings were mostly mixed. The Federal Reserve released the Beige Bookwhich indicated slight-to-moderate US growth. There appears to be significant progress in US/China trade negotiations with indications that a signing by leaders is being considered in late May. The Stock Market Bull and Bear each won two days of the week, but The Stock Market Bull won Week 16 in a 2-1 mixed result.

The Week 16 YTD tally is:
The Stock Market Bull: 10 weeks
The Stock Market Bear: 2 weeks
Mixed Results: 4 weeks

The US Dept of Commerce/HUD says US Preliminary March 2019 New Residential Construction Building Permits Issued Annual Rate is at 1,269,000, February 2019 was at 1,291,000, January 2019 1,317,000, March 2018 1,377,000. USDOC PR link.

***Thursday, April 18:

The US Dept of Commerce/Census says US Preliminary February 2019 Sales-Manufacturers were at $505.5 billion, Retailwas $445.5 billion, Wholesalers $495.9 billion, Total $1.447 trillion, +0.1% from January 2019, +2.5% from February 2018USDOC PR link.

The US Dept of Commerce/Census says US Advance March 2019 Sales-Retail is at $453.0 billion, Food Services & Drinking Places was $61,1 billion, Total Sales $514.1 billion, +1.6% from February 2019, +3.6% from March 2018USDOC PR link.

The Federal Reserve Bank of Philadelphiasays the 3rd District April 2019 Manufacturing General Activity Indicator is at 8.5, March 2019 was at 13.7, February 2019 -4.1, April 2018 23.4. PhillyFed PR link.

The Conference Board says US Preliminary March 2019 Leading Economic Index(2016=100) is at 111.9, February 2019was at 111.5, January 2019 111.4, March 2018108.9. TCB PR link.

***Wednesday, April 17:

Lear Corp(PBR137) completes $320 million acquisition of Seattle, WA-based 300 employees automotive software supplier that develops solutions for cloud, car, and mobile devices, installed in over 25 million vehicles, Xevo Inc$LEA PR link.

PPG(PBR200) completes acquisition of Klingenberg, Germany based global automotive coatings manufacturer with 450 employees Hemmelrath, terms not disclosed. $PPG PR link.

Pier 1 Imports(PBR904) closes 30 stores in fiscal year 2019, considering closing an additional up to 45 of its 970 stores as leases expire in 2020, could increase up to 15% of stores. $PIR PR link.

The US Dept of Commerce/Census says US Preliminary February 2019 Wholesale Sales-Durable Goods is at $242.6 billion, Non-Durable Goods $253.3 billion, Total $495.9 billion, +0.3% from January 2019, +2.1% from February 2018USDOC PR link.

The US Dept of Commerce/Census says US Preliminary February 2019 Exports-Goodswere $139.5 billion, Services $70.1 billion, Total$209.6 billion; Imports-Goods were at $211.6 billion, Services $47.5 billion, Total $259.1 billion, Trade Deficit is $49.5 billion, Total Deficit YTD(2 months) is $100.7 billion, February 2018 Total Deficit YTD was $108.8 billion. USDOC PR link.

The US Federal Reserve releases the Beige Book, says, “Economic activity expanded at a slight-to-moderate pace in March and early April…” USFed PR link.

***Tuesday, April 16:

AT&T(PBR9) 9.5% minority stake in streaming service Hulu, valued at $1.43 billion, is acquired by Hulu. $T PR link.

Intel(PBR44) acquires Basingstoke, England based optimized video and vision FPGA IP solutions provider Omnitek, terms not disclosed. $INTC PR link.

Qualcomm(PBR122) and Apple(PBR3 $AAPL)agree to drop all litigation, including with Apple’s contract manufacturers, Apple to make onetime payment to Qualcomm, reach a 6 year with 2 year extension global patent license agreement with Apple paying royalties, and a multi-year chipset supply agreement. $QCOM PR link.

MasterCard(PBR233) acquires cloud-based financing technology company for retailers Vyze, terms not disclosed. $MA PR link.

Expedia(PBR286) to acquire Liberty Expedia(NASDAQ: LEXEA, LEXEB) in an all-stock transaction, Chairman/Sr Executive Barry Diller will own approximately 29% of the voting power of the company, and Expedia Group will no longer be a controlled company under applicable NASDAQ rules. $EXPE PR link.

Smart & Final(PBR532) to be acquired by Apollo Global Mgmt(PBR772) for $6.50/share cash in a tender offer, around $500 million, to close by 3Q19. $SFS PR link.

WW(PBR974)(fka Weight Watchers) to change stock ticker symbol from NASDAQ: WTW to NASDAQ: WW, effective 04/22/19. $WTW PR link.

Caesars Entertainment(PBR517) appoints Tony Rodio as CEO, to be effective within 30 days; also announces the creation of a Transaction Committee to oversee the Company’s evaluation of ongoing efforts in creating additional shareholder value. $CZR PR link.

The US Federal Reserve says US Preliminary March 2019 Industrial Production % of Capacity is at 78.8%, February 2019 was at 79.0%, January 2019 79.1%, March 201878.2%. USFed PR link.

The Natl Assn of Home Builders Preliminary April 2019 Housing Market Composite Indexis at 63, March 2019 was at 62, February 201962, April 2018 68. “Builders report solid demand for new single-family homes but they are also grappling with affordability concerns stemming from a chronic shortage of construction workers and buildable lots …” NAHB PR link.

***Monday, April 15:

Waste Management(PBR199) to acquire Ponte Vedra, FL-based 6,000 employees $1.56 billion in 2018 revenues Advanced Disposal Services(NYSE: ADSW) for $33.15/share, $4.9 billion cash, includes $1.9 billion in debt, to close by 1Q20. $WM PR link.

Salesforce(PBR273) to acquire Salesforce.orgfor $300 million, will create a new nonprofit and education vertical. $CRM PR link.

Alliance Data(PBR358) to sell its 8,000 associates in 87 offices worldwide brand marketing Epsilon business to France based global marketing, communication, and digital transformation provider Publicis Groupe for $4.4 billion cash, to close in 3Q19. $ADS PR link.

Sears Hometown(PBR917) majority stock holder ESL Holdings and affiliates remove 2 directors from Board, appoint 2 new members, Board evaluating options including being acquired, going private, or liquidating. $SHOS PR link.

Adtalem Education(PBR983) to acquire the financial services division of compliance training, licensure preparation, continuing education and professional development across the US Brookfield, WI-based provider OnCourse Learning for around $121 million cash, to close in fiscal 4Q19. $ATGE PR link.

Best Buy(PBR69) CEO Hubert Joly to become Executive Chairman, CFO/Chief Transformation Officer Corie Barry to become CEO, Mike Mohan to become President/COO, to be effective following the 06/11/19 annual meeting. $BBY PR link.

The Federal Reserve Bank of New York says the US Empire State April 2019 Manufacturing General Business Conditions Index is at 10.1, March 2019 was at 3.7, February 2019 8.8, April 2018 17.9. “The headline general business conditions index rose six points to 10.1, indicating that growth picked up somewhat but remained fairly subdued.” NYFed PR link.

***Friday, April 12:

The PBRMarketTools US Stock Exchanges Recap for Week 15 of 2019 ending 04/12/19:

DJIA ends the week at 26,412.30, -0.05% from last Friday, +1.87% MTD/QTD, +13.22% YTD, -1.55% from record 26,828.39 set 10/03/18.

NASDAQ ends the week at 7,984.16, +0.57% from last Friday, +3.30% MTD/QTD, +20.33% YTD, -1.55% from record 8,109.69 set 08/29/18.

SPX ends the week at 2,907.41, +0.51% from last Friday, +2.58% MTD/QTD, +15.98% YTD, -0.80% from record 2,930.75 set 09/20/18.

The Week 15 News Summary: The word continues to be that US/China trade negotiations are going well, US President Trump threatened new tariffs on the European Union, 1Q19 corporate earnings started to be released with generally positive results, and global and US economic reports continued to indicate a slower growth but not recession in 2019. The Stock Market Bear had a strong start to the week, but The Stock Market Bull butted back with a strong finish on Friday to take Week 15 in a mixed 2-1 result.

The Week 15 YTD tally is:
The Stock Market Bull: 10 weeks
The Stock Market Bear: 2 weeks
Mixed Results: 3 weeks

Chevron(PBR11) to acquire Anadarko(PBR246) with its 1.47 billion barrels-equivalent of proved reserves for $65/share, $33 billion in stock and cash, to close in 2H19. $CVX PR link.

GE(PBR19 $GE) in agreement with the US Dept of Justice to pay a civil penalty of $1.5 billion to resolve claims involving subprime residential mortgage loans originated by WMC Mortgage, a GE subsidiary, during 2005-2007. USDOJ PR link.

Bristol-Myers Squibb(PBR140) shareholders approve $74 billion acquisition of global biopharmaceutical company engaged primarily in the discovery, development and commercialization of innovative therapies for the treatment of cancer and inflammatory diseases Celgene(PBR220), to close in 3Q19. $BMY PR link.

Campbell Soup(PBR328) to sell its producer of organic beverages, dressings and carrots Bolthouse Farms to a Butterfly Equity affiliate, a Los Angeles-based private equity firm specializing in the food sector, for $510 million, to close by 07/31/19. $CPB PR link.

PG&E(PBR166) appoints Nora Mead Brownell as new Chairman, Bill Johnson to become President/CEO on 05/01/19. $PCG PR link.

NiSource(PBR516) elects Vice Chairman Kevin T. Kabat as Chairman, effective 05/07/19, to succeed retiring Richard Thompson. $NI PR link.

The US Dept of Labor says US Preliminary March 2019 Import Prices were +0.6%, Export Prices +0.7%, Year-to-Year Imports +0.0%, Year-to-Year Exports +0.6%. USDOL PR link.

The U of Michigan Preliminary April 2019 Consumer Sentiment Index is at 96.9, March 2019 was at 98.4, February 2019 93.8, April 2018 98.8. “Overall, the level of the Sentiment Index during the past 30 months was higher than any other time since 1997 to 2000, the final phase of the record 10-year expansion…” UMichigan PR link.

***Thursday, April 11:

Fred’s(PBR903) liquidations sales at 159 underperforming and unprofitable stores starts, to close these stores by end of 05/19, other 398 stores to remain open, firm retained to review strategic alternatives. $FRED PR link.

Rowan Cos(PBR978) $12 billion all-stock merger with UK based Ensco plc(NYSE: ESV)is completed, now called EnscoRowan plc(NYSE: ESV), headquarters in London, UK, US headquarters in Houston, TX. $RDC PR link.

The US Dept of Labor says US March 2019 Producer Price Index-Goods were +1.0%, Services +0.3%, Total Goods & Services+0.6%, Last 12 Months +2.0%, February 2019was +2.3%, January 2019 +2.5%, March 2018+2.9%. USDOL PR link.

***Wednesday, April 10:

Crestwood Equity(PBR597) acquires a 50% interest in Jackalope Gas Gathering Servicesfrom Williams Cos(PBR343) for approximately $485 million, positions Crestwood for long-term growth in the prolific Powder River Basin by supporting Chesapeake Energy(PBR302)’s and other producer customers’ long-term development plans. $CEQP PR link.

Qorvo(PBR711) to acquire private fabless supplier of programmable analog power solutions Active-Semi International, creates new opportunities for growth in 5G, industrial, data center, automotive and smart home markets, to close by 06/30/19, terms not disclosed. $QRVO PR link.

The US Dept of Treasury says US March 2019 Federal Government Receipts were $228.8 billion, Outlays $375.8 billion, for a Deficit of $146.9 billion, March 2018 Deficit was $208.7 billion; YTD(6 months) Receipts are $1.507 trillion, YTD Outlays $2.198 trillion, YTD Deficit$691.1 billion, March 2018 YTD Deficit was $599.7 billion. USTreasury PR link.

The US Dept of Labor says the US March 2019 Consumer Price Index-All Items was at +0.4%, February 2019 was at +0.2%, January 2019+0.0%, March 2018 -0.1%, Last 12 Months(Unadjusted) is at +1.9%. USDOL PR link.

The US Dept of Labor says US Preliminary March 2019 Average Current Earnings/Hour is at $27.70, Average Hours/Week at 34.5, Total Weekly Average Earnings at $955.65, +0.4% from February 2019, +3.2% from March 2018USDOL PR link.

The Federal Open Market Committee releases the minutes from its 03/19-20/10 meeting, which kept the short term federal funds rate at 2.25-2.50% and indicated using “patience” in future meetings regarding the funds rate. FOMC PR link.

***Tuesday, April 9:

Principal Financial(PBR209) to acquire the $827 billion in assets under administration and 2,500 employees Wells Fargo(PBR28) Institutional Retirement & Trust business for $1.2 billion plus an earnout of up to $150 million tied to better than expected revenue retention, payable two years post-closing, to close in 3Q19. $PFG PR link.

A.O. Smith(PBR706) has acquired family owned 90 employees $60 million in annual sales Appleton, WI-based water treatment solutions provider Water-Right for $107 million cash. $AOS PR link.

The US Dept of Labor says US Preliminary February 2019 Job Openings-Private were at 6,406,000, Government 681,000, Total Job Openings 7,087,000, -7.1% from January 2019, +8.5% from February 2018USDOL PR link.

CoreLogic says the US January 2019 Percent of Home Mortgages 30 or More Days Delinquent is at 4.0%, January 2018 was at 4.9%, January 2019 Total Percent of Homes in Foreclosure were at 0.4%, January 2018 was at 0.6%. “The 30-plus delinquency rate … is at an over 10-year low… The continued improvement in mortgage performance bodes well for the health of the U.S. market in 2019.” CoreLogic PR link.

The International Monetary Fund says the World Economic Output Growth in 2018 was at 3.6%, projects 2019 at 3.3%, 2020 at 3.6%; says the US Growth Output in 2018 was at 2.9%, projects 2019 at 2.3%, 2020 at 1.9%. IMF PR link.

***Monday, April 8:

Sears Hometown(PBR917) receives proposal to be acquired by an ESL Investments affiliate for $2.25/share, special Board committee concludes offer not in best interest of shareholders, discussions to continue. $SHOS PR link.

The US Dept of Commerce/Census says US Preliminary February 2019 Manufacturing New Orders-Durable Goods was at $250.5 billion, Non-Durable Goods $247.0 billion, Total New Orders $497.5 billion, -0.5% from January 2019, +1.5% from February 2018USDOC PR link.

The Fannie Mae(PBR21) US March 2019 Home Purchase Sentiment Index is at 89.8, February 2019 was at 84.3, January 2019 84.7, March 2018 88.3. “Continuing a five-month trend, the net share of consumers who believe mortgage rates will go down increased 7 percentage points amid a 35 basis-point drop in mortgage rates in March alone….” $FNMA PR link.

***Friday, April 5:

The PBRMarketTools US Stock Exchanges Recap for Week 14 of 2019 ending 04/05/19:

DJIA ends the week at 26,424.99, +1.91% from last Friday/MTD/QTD, +13.28 YTD, -1.50% from record 26,828.39 set 10/03/18.

NASDAQ ends the week at 7,938.69, +2.71% from last Friday/MTD/QTD, +19.64 YTD, -2.11% from record 8,109.69 set 08/29/18.

SPX ends the week at 2,892.74, +2.06% from last Friday/MTD/QTD, -1.30% from record 2,930.75 set 09/20/18.

The Week 14 News Summary: The news continues to be focused on the status of the US/China trade negotiations, with both leaders now optimistically saying a deal is coming together. President Trump has threatened to close the US Southern border with Mexicobecause of the significant increase in illegal immigrants. The UK is still struggling with how to proceed with Brexit. The global economyappears to be slowing but many prominent economists say it is a slowdown only, not a recession. The week ended with a positive employment report and a low 3.8% unemployment rate. The Stock Market Bullremained in control for another week and easily won Week 14 3-0, with all 3 major US stock exchanges starting to close in on new records.

The Week 14 YTD tally is:
The Stock Market Bull: 10 weeks
The Stock Market Bear: 2 weeks
Mixed Results: 2 weeks

The US Dept of Labor says US March 2019 Number of Employed is at 156,748,000, -201,000 from February 2019, +1,588,000 from March 2018Number of Unemployed is at 6,211,000, -24,000 from February 2019, -274,000 from March 2018Unemployment Rate is at 3.8%, same as February 2019, was 4.0% in March 2018USDOL PR link.

The US Federal Reserve says US Preliminary February 2019 Consumer Credit Outstanding-Revolving is at $1.061 trillion, Non-Revolvingat $2.985 trillion, Total $4.046 trillion, +0.4% from January 2019, +0.8% from December 2018, +4.8% from February 2018USFed PR link.

***Thursday, April 4:

***Wednesday, April 3:

Targa Resources(PBR323) completes $1.6 billion sale of its 45% interest in Targa Badlands, the entity that holds all of Targa’s assets in N Dakota, to Blackstone(PBR386)and affiliates. $TRGP PR link.

PG&E(PBR166) hires Bill Johnson as President/CEO, 10 new directors to be appointed, 7 current directors stepping down. $PCG PR link.

Red Robin(PBR965) President/CEO Denny Marie Post has chosen to retire after discussions with the Board, new CEO search committee formed, Chairman Pattye Moore appointed interim CEO. $RRGB PR link.

ADP(PBR218) says the US Preliminary March 2019 Change in Private Sector Employmentwas +129,000, -34.5% from February 2019, -39.4% from March 2018Small Businesseswere +6,000, Mid-Sized Businesses +63,000, Large Businesses +60,000; Goods Producing Sector -6,000, Services Sector +135,000. $ADP PR link.

The Institute for Supply Management US March 2019 Non-Manufacturing Index(>50%=economy growing) is at 56.1%, February 2019 was at 59.7%, January 201956.7%, March 2018 58.7%. “This represents continued growth in the non-manufacturing sector, at a slower rate….” ISM PR link.

The IHS Markit US March 2019 Composite PMI Output Index is at 54.6, February 2019 was at 55.5, January 2019 54.4, March 2018 54.2. “Another solid service sector performance helped offset a deteriorating trend in manufacturing to leave the PMI surveys indicative of robust economic growth in March….” IHS Markit PR link.

***Tuesday, April 2:

Lear Corp(PBR146) to acquire Seattle, WA-based 300 employees automotive software supplier that develops solutions for cloud, car, and mobile devices, installed in over 25 million vehicles, Xevo Inc, for $320 million, to close in 2Q19. $LEA PR link.

UGI Corp(PBR365) to acquire the remaining 74% of shares it does not own of largest US retail propane marketer AmeriGas Partners(NYSE: APU) for $35.33/share, $2.45 billion, will become a wholly owned subsidiary of UGI. $UGI PR link.

Automotive News reports that US March 2019 Estimated Number of Light Vehicle Saleswere at 1,605,715, -3.1% from March 2018Average Transaction Price was $36,733, +2.3% from March 2018, Average Incentive Outlay $3,604, YTD Units Sold(3 Months)3,989,468, -3.2% from March 2018Annual Rate of Light Vehicle Sales are at 17,420,000. Automotive News PR link.

Edmunds reports that the average interest rate on a new vehicle loan hit its highest level in a decade with the annual percentage rate (APR) on new financed vehicles expected to average 6.36% in March, compared to 5.66% last yearand 4.44% five years agoEdmunds PR link.

The PurdueU/CME Group US March 2019 Ag Barometer is at 133, February 2019 was at 136, January 2019 143, March 2018 135. PurdueU/CME Group PR link.

International Monetary Fund‘s Managing Director Christine Lagarde says global growth is slowing, but does not see a recession in the near term, expects some pickup in growth in 2H19 and into 2020. IMF PR link.

***Monday, April 1:

Johnson & Johnson(PBR34) completes $3.4 billion cash acquisition with additional contingent payments of up to $2.35 billion payable upon reaching certain predetermined milestones of privately held developer of robotic technologies Auris Health$JNJ PR link.

Merck(PBR71) completes $2.4 billion cash acquisition of France based around $410 million in global revenue digital animal identification, traceability and monitoring solutions provider Antelliq Group, becomes wholly owned subsidiary with the Animal Health Division$MRK PR link.

Kellogg(PBR224) to sell Keebler Cookies and related businesses to Italy based global confectionary group Ferrero for $1.3 billion cash, to close by 07/31/19. $K PR link.

Fortive(PBR406) completes $2.7 billion cash acquistion of Johnson & Johnson(PBR34)’s Ethicon subsidiary $775 million in revenues in 2017 Advanced Sterilization Products unit. $FTV PR link.

The US Dept of Commerce/Census says US Preliminary February 2019 Private Construction Spending was at $994.5 billion, Public Construction Spending $325.8 billion, Total Construction Spending $1.320 trillion, +1.0% from January 2019, +1.1% from February 2018USDOC PR link.

The US Dept of Commerce/Census says US Preliminary January 2019 Sales for Manufacturers was at $503.1 billion, Retailers$446.7 billion, Wholesalers $499.8 billion, Total Sales $1.450 trillion, +0.3% from December 2018, +2.8% from January 2018USDOC PR link.

The US Dept of Commerce/Census says US Advance February 2019 Sales-Retail were at $445.7 billion, Food Svcs/Drinking Places$60.3 billion, Total Sales $506.0 billion, -0.2% from January 2019, +2.2% from February 2018USDOC PR link.

The Institute for Supply Management says the US March 2019 Manufacturing PMI Index(>50=economy expanding) is at 55.1%, February 2019 was at 54.2%, January 201956.6%, March 2018 59.3%. “Comments from the panel reflect continued expanding business strength….” ISM PR link.

IHS Markit says the US March 2019 Manufacturing PMI is at 52.4, February 2019was at 53.0, January 2019 54.9, March 201855.6. “The moderate improvement in the
health of the manufacturing sector was the weakest since June 2017 and notably softer than the trend seen for 2018.”IHS Markit PR link.

***Friday, March 29:

The PBRMarketTools US Stock Exchanges Recap for March 2019 ending 03/29/19:

DJIA ends March at 25,928.68, +1.67% from last Friday, +0.05% MTD, +11.15% QTD/YTD, -3.35% from record 26,743.50 set 09/21/18.

NASDAQ ends March at 7,729.32, +1.13% from last Friday, +2.61% MTD, +16.49% QTD/YTD, -4.69% from record 8,109.69 set 08/29/18.

SPX ends March at 2,834.40, +1.20% from last Friday, +1.79% MTD, +13.07% QTD/YTD, -3.29% from record 2,930.75 set 09/20/18.

The Week 13 YTD tally is:
The Stock Market Bull: 9 weeks
The Stock Market Bear: 2 weeks
Mixed Results: 2 weeks

The Month 3 YTD tally is:
The Stock Market Bull: 3 months
The Stock Market Bear: 0 months
Mixed Results: 0 months

Check out the BLOG page for the previous RECAPS and SNAPSHOTS posts.

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PBRMarketTools.com provides news, data, and analysis on 1,000 of the largest publicly held companies with primary operations in the US. The data and analysis is included in The PBR1000 Monthly Snapshots, an MS-Excel workbook with 15 snapshot worksheets, 27 rankings, and over 200 fields of data and information on each company. Click here to find out more! 

(Graphic courtesy of FreeDigitalPhotos.net, Vlado)

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The PBR1000 March 2019 Stocks & Commodities Snapshots

March 2019 The PBR1000: It’s the Stock Market Bull 3 Months in a Row

PBR1000

The Stock Market Bull prevails for the third month in a row and seems eager for more, despite The Stock Market Bear naysayers.

By Larry C. Paxton

The March 2019 US Stock Exchanges Summary: The first week of March was all The Stock Market Bear, who took advantage of US/China trade negotiations concerns, a slowing global economy, a negative US jobs report, and then a Boeing 737 MAX 8 crash. These items consumed much of the month as well. But with the aid of a great month for tech stocks The Stock Market Bull took over by the end of the month to maintain his unbeaten monthly streak in 2019.

The Month 3 YTD tally is:
The Stock Market Bull: 3 months
The Stock Market Bear: 0 months
Mixed Results: 0 months

The March 2019 US Major Stock Market Exchanges Summary

Number of Trading Days: 21

Number of Gain(+)/Loss(-) Days: DJIA 11+/10-; NASDAQ 12+/9-; SPX 10+/11-.

Record Days: None

Longest Gain Streak(Consecutive Days): DJIA 4 days(03/13-18/19), NASDAQ 5 days(03/15-21/19), SPX 3 days(03/11-13/19)

Longest Loss Streak(Consecutive Days): DJIA 5 days(03/04-08/19), NASDAQ 5 days(03/04-08/19), SPX 5 days(03/04-08/19)

Big Swing Up Days(>1.00%): 2 days (03/11/19(N +2.02%, S +1.47%), 03/21/19(N +1.42%, S +1.09%))

Big Swing Down Days(<-1.00%): 2 days (03/05/19(N -1.12%), 03/22/19(D -1.77%, N -2.50%, S -1.90%))

The PBR1000 March 2019 Snapshots

The following are Top 5 partial tables excerpts from The PBR1000 March 2019 Snapshots. The price for stocks is for the close of trading on March 29, 2019Month % Chg is compared to February 28, 2019YTD % Chg is compared to December 31, 2018, and the 15 Months % Chg is compared to December 29, 2017. The PBR Rank is by annual revenues.

To get the complete The PBR1000 Snapshots  just click here to get your 12 month subscription and automatically download the March 2019 edition with the complete 15 Snapshots and 27 rankings and the bonus The PBRMarketTools US Monthly Indices Snapshots.

Table 1(S11): The PBR1000 Top 5 Month Stock Price % Gainers

Table 1 Summary: The range was +25% to -51%482 out of 1,000 stocks were up 0% or more. The average was a gain of +1.00%, the median was a loss of 0.22%. The DJIA was +0.05%, NASDAQ +2.61%, SPX +1.79%.

Company PBR
Rank
Symbol Price
03/29/19
Mo
% Chg
YTD
% Chg
15Mos
% Chg
Calumet 608 CLMT $ 3.56 +25 +61 -54
Abercrombie & Fitch
639 ANF $ 27.41 +25 +37 +57
Syneos Health
759 SYNH $ 51.76 +24 +32 +19
Stericycle
634 SRCL $ 54.42 +22 +48 -20
Big Lots 495 BIG $ 38.02 +21 +31 -32

Table 2(S12): The PBR1000 Top 5 Year-To-Date Stock Price % Gainers

Table 2 Summary: The range was +345% to -84%863 out of 1,000 stocks were up 0% or more. The average was a gain of 13.99%, the median was a gain of 13.98%. The DJIA was +11.15%, NASDAQ +16.49%, SPX +13.07%.

Company PBR
Rank
Symbol Price
03/29/19
Mo
% Chg
YTD
% Chg
15 Mos
% Chg
Diebold Nixdorf 530 DBD $ 11.07 +20 +345 -32
Sears Holdings 170 SHLDQ $ 0.74 -16 +174 -79
FannieMae 21 FNMA $ 2.80 +4 +164 +6
FreddieMac 39 FMCC $ 2.69 +5 +156 +7
Pier 1 Imports 905 PIR $ 0.76 -44 +145 -82

Table 3(S13): The PBR1000 Top 5 15 Months Stock Price % Gainers

Table 3 Summary: The range was +173% to -96%433 out of 999 stocks were up 0% or more. The average was a gain of 1.84%. The median was a loss of 4.79%. The DJIA was +4.89%, NASDAQ +11.96%, SPX +6.01%.

Company PBR
Rank
Symbol Price
03/29/19
Mo
% Chg
YTD
% Chg
15 Mos
% Chg
BlueLinx 896 BXC $ 26.64 -17 +8 +173
AMD 490 AMD $ 25.52 +8 +38 +148
Chipotle 537 CMG $ 710.31 +17 +65 +146
Square 847 SQ $ 74.92 -8 +34 +116
Insperity 670 NSP $ 123.66 -2 +32 +116

Table 4(S15): The PBR1000 Top 5 Market Capitalization

Table 4 Summary: The range was $905 billion to $0.01 billion. The average is $26.730 billionmedian is $7.59 billion, out of 1,000 companies.

Company PBR
Rank
Symbol Market Cap($B)
03/29/19
Mo
% Chg
YTD
% Chg
15 Mos
% Chg
Microsoft 25 MSFT $ 905 B +5 +17 +37
Apple 3 AAPL $ 896 B +10 +21 +2
Amazon 5 AMZN $ 875 B +9 +21 +57
Alphabet 15 GOOG $ 816 B +5 +13 +12
Berkshire Hathaway 4 BRKB $ 494 B -1 -1 +1
The PBR1000
  $ 26,730 B +1 +13 +3

Table 5: The PBR1000 Index & Primary US Stock Exchanges/Commodities

Company Price
03/29/19
Mo
% Chg
YTD
% Chg
15 Mos
% Chg
The PBR1000 87,465.87 +1.0 +14.0 +1.8
DJIA 25,928.68 +0.1 +11.2 +4.9
NASDAQ 7,729.32 +2.6 +16.5 +12.0
S&P500 2,834.40 +1.8 +13.1 +6.0
GOLD 1,297.00 -1.4 +1.0 -0.6
SILVER 15.10 -3.5 -3.0 -11.1
OIL            60.18 +4.8 +31.4 +0.1

To order a 12 month subscription of The PBR1000 Snapshots go to the Subscribe page.

If you are not already receiving the popular and highly acclaimed The PBR1000 Weekly Breaking News Recap sign up for your free subscription on the Contact Us page.

Please use the Contact Us page if you are a The PBR1000 company and would like to increase your visibility to our worldwide base of shrewd investors.

PBRMarketTools.com provides The PBR1000, a compilation of 1,000 of the largest publicly held companies with primary operations in the US. These companies generate $14 trillion in annual revenues, more than all other US companies combined. The PBR1000 Monthly Snapshots provides these 1,000 companies in Excel format, includes 15 worksheets with 26 rankings, over 200 data/information points, hotlinks to key data, and important news items per company. This service is used by astute business professionals and shrewd investors worldwide.

Disclaimers: The PBR1000 is compiled from a variety of publicly available resources. As such, PBRMarketTools.com is not responsible for the data itself. Any liability for the representations or decisions based on the data is solely the responsibility of the authorized user, not PBRMarketTools.com, its employees or affiliates. PBRMarketTools.com is a provider of news, data, and analysis, and is not a financial advisor firm.

(Graphic courtesy of FreeDigitalPhotos.net, ddpavumba.)

Copyright © 2019 by Pax Business Resources, LLC, All Rights Reserved, 

The PBR1000 February 2019 Stocks & Commodities Snapshots

February 2019 The PBR1000: A Sweetheart of a Month for The Stock Market Bull

Stock Market

February was another good month for The Stock Market Bull, some experts say he has a lot more ahead of him in 2019, some predict The Stock Market Bear will catch up to him.

By Larry C. Paxton

The February 2019 US Stock Exchanges Summary: It was easily another overwhelming month for The Stock Market Bull as all major US exchanges finished up 3% or more and over their November 2018 closes prior to the December collapse. On occasion The Stock Market Bear would make an appearance for a day now and then, and did have a run of 3 days at the end of the month, but with only moderate margins.

The Month 2 YTD tally is:
The Stock Market Bull: 2 months
The Stock Market Bear: 0 months
Mixed Results: 0 months

The February 2019 US Major Stock Market Exchanges Summary

Number of Trading Days: 19

Number of Gain(+)/Loss(-) Days: DJIA 11+/9-; NASDAQ 13+/6-; SPX 12+/7-.

Record Days: None

Longest Gain Streak(Consecutive Days): DJIA 3 days(02/01-05/19, 02/15-20/19), NASDAQ 8 days(02/08-20/19), SPX 5 days(01/30-02/05/19)

Longest Loss Streak(Consecutive Days): DJIA 4 days(02/06-11/19), NASDAQ 2 days(02/06-07/19), SPX 3 days(02/26-28/19)

Big Swing Up Days(>1.00%): 3 days (02/04/19(N +1.15%), 02/12/19(D +1.49%, N +1.46%, S +1.29%), 02/15/19(D +1.74%, S +1.09%))

Big Swing Down Days(<-1.00%): 1 day (02/07/19(N -1.18%)

The PBR1000 February 2019 Snapshots

The following are Top 5 partial tables excerpts from The PBR1000 February 2019 Snapshots. The price for stocks is for the close of trading on February 28, 2019Month % Chg is compared to January 31, 2019YTD % Chg is compared to December 31, 2018, and the 14 Months % Chg is compared to December 29, 2017. The PBR Rank is by annual revenues.

To get the complete The PBR1000 Snapshots  just click here to get your 12 month subscription and automatically download the February 2019 edition with the complete 15 Snapshots and 27 rankings and the bonus The PBRMarketTools US Monthly Indices Snapshots.

Table 1(S11): The PBR1000 Top 5 Month Stock Price % Gainers

Table 1 Summary: The range was +116% to -87%721 out of 1,000 stocks were up 0% or more. The average was a gain of +3.22%, the median was a gain of 3.84%. The DJIA was +3.67%, NASDAQ +3.44%, SPX +2.97%.

Company PBR
Rank
Symbol Price
02/28/19
Mo
% Chg
YTD
% Chg
14Mos
% Chg
Diebold Nixdorf 530 DBD $ 9.19 +116 +269 -44
iHeartMedia
444 IHRTQ $ 1.01 +110 +130 +102
Sears Holdings
170 SHLDQ $ 0.88 +73 +226 -75
Pyxus Intl
895 PYX $ 26.99 +66 +128 +104
Pier 1 Imports 905 PIR $ 1.35 +65 +335 -67

Table 2(S12): The PBR1000 Top 5 Year-To-Date Stock Price % Gainers

Table 2 Summary: The range was +165% to -45%936 out of 1,000 stocks were up 0% or more. The average was a gain of +9.33%, the median was a gain of 10.88%. The DJIA was +7.17%, NASDAQ +9.74%, SPX +7.87%.

Company PBR
Rank
Symbol Price
02/28/19
Mo
% Chg
YTD
% Chg
14 Mos
% Chg
Pier 1 Imports
905 PIR $ 1.35 +65 +335 -67
Diebold Nixdorf
530 DBD $ 9.19 +116 +269 -44
Sears Holdings
170 SHLDQ $ 0.88 +73 +226 -73
Ferrellgas
863 FGP $ 1.41 +16 +161 -67
FannieMae
21 FNMA $ 2.68 +6 +153 +1

Table 3(S13): The PBR1000 Top 5 14 Months Stock Price % Gainers

Table 3 Summary: The range was +228% to -96%442 out of 999 stocks were up 0% or more. The average was a gain of 0.94%. The median was a loss of 3.53%. The DJIA was +4.84%, NASDAQ +9.11%, SPX +4.15%.

Company PBR
Rank
Symbol Price
02/28/19
Mo
% Chg
YTD
% Chg
14 Mos
% Chg
BlueLinx 896 BXC $ 32.04 +10 +30 +228
Square 846 SQ $ 81.24 +14 +45 +134
AMD 490 AMD $ 23.53 -4 +27 +129
Insperity 671 NSP $ 126.27 +18 +35 +120
Chipotle 537 CMG $ 607.53 +15 +41 +110

Table 4(S15): The PBR1000 Top 5 Market Capitalization

Table 4 Summary: The range was $840 billion to $0.03 billion. The average is $25.787 billionmedian is $7.50 billion, out of 1,000 companies.

Company PBR
Rank
Symbol Market Cap($B)
02/28/19
Mo
% Chg
YTD
% Chg
14 Mos
% Chg
Microsoft 23 MSFT $ 860 B +7 +12 +30
Apple 3 AAPL $ 816 B +4 +10 -7
Amazon 5 AMZN $ 805 B -4 +11 +45
Alphabet 15 GOOG $ 779 B +0 +8 +7
Berkshire Hathaway 4 BRKB $ 498 B -2 +8 +7
The PBR1000
  $ 26,404 B -2 -0 +1

Table 5: The PBR1000 Index & Primary US Stock Exchanges/Commodities

Company Price
02/28/19
Mo
% Chg
YTD
% Chg
14 Mos
% Chg
The PBR1000 86,556.60 +3.2 +12.9 +0.9
DJIA 25,916.00 +3.7 +11.1 +4.8
NASDAQ 7,532.53 +3.4 +13.5 +9.1
S&P500 2,784.49 +3.0 +11.1 +4.2
GOLD 1,314.90 -0.6 +2.4 +0.8
SILVER 15.64 -2.1 +0.5 -7.9
OIL            57.45 +6.7 +25.4 -4.4

To order a 12 month subscription of The PBR1000 Snapshots go to the Subscribe page.

If you are not already receiving the popular and highly acclaimed The PBR1000 Weekly Breaking News Recap sign up for your free subscription on the Contact Us page.

Please use the Contact Us page if you are a The PBR1000 company and would like to increase your visibility to our worldwide base of shrewd investors.

PBRMarketTools.com provides The PBR1000, a compilation of 1,000 of the largest publicly held companies with primary operations in the US. These companies generate $14 trillion in annual revenues, more than all other US companies combined. The PBR1000 Monthly Snapshots provides these 1,000 companies in Excel format, includes 15 worksheets with 26 rankings, over 200 data/information points, hotlinks to key data, and important news items per company. This service is used by astute business professionals and shrewd investors worldwide.

Disclaimers: The PBR1000 is compiled from a variety of publicly available resources. As such, PBRMarketTools.com is not responsible for the data itself. Any liability for the representations or decisions based on the data is solely the responsibility of the authorized user, not PBRMarketTools.com, its employees or affiliates. PBRMarketTools.com is a provider of news, data, and analysis, and is not a financial advisor firm.

(Graphic courtesy of FreeDigitalPhotos.net, ddpavumba.)

Copyright © 2019 by Pax Business Resources, LLC, All Rights Reserved, 

The PBR1000 January 2019 Stocks & Commodities Snapshots

January 2019 The PBR1000: The Stock Market Bull Starts With A Big Snort

Stock Market

The Stock Market Bull came back strong in January 2019 to make up a lot of ground from a disastrous December 2018.

By Larry C. Paxton

The January 2019 US Stock Exchanges Summary: There were a few days in January 2019 when The Stock Market Bear would take a big chunk out of the US stock exchanges. However, those were always isolated 1 day events because The Stock Market Bull would quickly counter with a big charge of his own and string together a few nice positive days. The Stock Market Bull convincingly wins January 3-0 in a pretty dramatic comeback from December 2018.

The Month 1 YTD tally is:
The Stock Market Bull: 1 month
The Stock Market Bear: 0 months
Mixed Results: 0 months

The January 2019 US Major Stock Market Exchanges Summary

Number of Trading Days: 21

Number of Gain(+)/Loss(-) Days: DJIA 14+/7-; NASDAQ 15+/6-; SPX 15+/6-.

Record Days: None

Longest Gain Streak(Consecutive Days): DJIA 5 days(01/04-10/19), NASDAQ 5 days(01/04-10/19), SPX 5 days(01/04-10/19)

Longest Loss Streak(Consecutive Days): DJIA 2 days(01/11-14/19), NASDAQ 2 days(01/11-14/19 & 01/28-29/19), SPX 2 days(01/11-14/19 & 01/28-29/19)

Big Swing Up Days(>1.00%): 7 days (01/04/19(D +3.29, N +4.26%, S +3.43%), 01/07/19(D +1.26%), 01/08/19(D +1.09%, N +1.08%), 01/15/19(N +1.71%, S +1.07%), 01/18/19(D +1.38%, N +1.03%, S +1.32%), 01/25/19(N +1.29%), 01/30/19(D +1.77%, N +2.20%, S +1.55%))

Big Swing Down Days(<-1.00%): 3 days (01/03/19(D -2.83%, N -3.04%; S -2.48%), 01/22/19(D -1.22%, N -1.91%; S -1.42%), 01/28/19(N -1.10%).

The PBR1000 January 2019 SnapShots

The following are Top 5 partial tables excerpts from The PBR1000 January 2019 Snapshots. The price for stocks is for the close of trading on January 31, 2019Month % Chg is compared to December 31, 2018YTD % Chg is compared to December 31, 2018, and the 13 Months % Chg is compared to December 29, 2017. The PBR Rank is by annual revenues.

To get the complete The PBR1000 Snapshots  just click here to get your 12 month subscription and automatically download the January 2019 edition with the complete 15 Snapshots and 27 rankings and the bonus The PBRMarketTools US Monthly Indices Snapshots.

Table 1(S11): The PBR1000 Top 5 Month Stock Price % Gainers

Table 1 Summary: The range was +165% to -45%936 out of 1,000 stocks were up 0% or more. The average was a gain of +9.33%, the median was a gain of 10.88%. The DJIA was +7.17%, NASDAQ +9.74%, SPX +7.87%.

Company PBR
Rank
Symbol Price
01/31/19
Mo
% Chg
YTD
% Chg
13 Mos
% Chg
Pier 1 Imports
905 PIR $ 0.82 +165 +165 -80
Fannie Mae
20 FNMA $ 2.54 +140 +140 -4
Freddie Mac
37 FMCC $ 2.46 +134 +134 -2
Ferrellgas
862 FGP $ 1.22 +126 +126 -72
YRC Worldwide
514 YRCW $ 6.24 +98 +98 -57

Table 2(S12): The PBR1000 Top 5 Year-To-Date Stock Price % Gainers

Table 2 Summary: The range was +165% to -45%936 out of 1,000 stocks were up 0% or more. The average was a gain of +9.33%, the median was a gain of 10.88%. The DJIA was +7.17%, NASDAQ +9.74%, SPX +7.87%.

Company PBR
Rank
Symbol Price
01/31/19
Mo
% Chg
YTD
% Chg
13 Mos
% Chg
Pier 1 Imports
905 PIR $ 0.82 +165 +165 -80
Fannie Mae
20 FNMA $ 2.54 +140 +140 -4
Freddie Mac
37 FMCC $ 2.46 +134 +134 -2
Ferrellgas
862 FGP $ 1.22 +126 +126 -72
YRC Worldwide
514 YRCW $ 6.24 +98 +98 -57

Table 3(S13): The PBR1000 Top 5 13 Months Stock Price % Gainers

Table 3 Summary: The range was +199% to -90%398 out of 1,000 stocks were up 0% or more. The average was a loss of 2.18%. The median was a loss of 6.65%. The DJIA was +1.13%, NASDAQ +5.48%, SPX +1.14%.

Company PBR
Rank
Symbol Price
01/31/19
Mo
% Chg
YTD
% Chg
13 Mos
% Chg
BlueLinx 896 BXC $ 29.15 +18 +18 +199
AMD 489 AMD $ 24.41 +32 +32 +137
Crocs 1000 CROX $ 28.72 +11 +11 +127
Fossil 738 FOSL $ 16.96 +8 +8 +118
Genesis Healthcare 486 GEN $ 1.57 +33 +33 +107

Table 4(S15): The PBR1000 Top 5 Market Capitalization

Table 4 Summary: The range was $840 billion to $0.03 billion. The average is $25.787 billionmedian is $7.50 billion, out of 1,000 companies.

Company PBR
Rank
Symbol Market Cap($B)
01/31/19
Mo
% Chg
YTD
% Chg
13 Mos
% Chg
Amazon
8 AMZN $ 840 B +11 +11 -3
Microsoft 22 MSFT $ 801 B +5 +5 -10
Apple 2 AAPL $ 785 B -3 -3 -17
Alphabet 21 GOOG $ 776 B +7 +7 +1
Berkshire Hathaway 4 BRKB $ 508 B +10 +10 -4
The PBR1000
  $ 25,787 B +9 +9 -0

Table 5: The PBR1000 Index & Primary US Stock Exchanges/Commodities

Company Price
12/31/18
Mo
% Chg
YTD
% Chg
13 Mos
% Chg
The PBR1000 83,966.79 +9.3 +9.3 -2.2
DJIA 24,999.67 +7.2 +7.2 +0.8
NASDAQ 7,281.74 +9.7 +9.7 +5.5
S&P500 2,704.10 +7.9 +7.9 +1.1
GOLD 1,323.40 +3.0 +3.0 +1.4
SILVER 15.98 +2.7 +2.7 -5.9
OIL            53.85 +17.6 +17.6 -10.4

To order a 12 month subscription of The PBR1000 Snapshots go to the Subscribe page.

If you are not already receiving the popular and highly acclaimed The PBR1000 Weekly Breaking News Recap sign up for your free subscription on the Contact Us page.

Please use the Contact Us page if you are a The PBR1000 company and would like to increase your visibility to our worldwide base of shrewd investors.

PBRMarketTools.com provides The PBR1000, a compilation of 1,000 of the largest publicly held companies with primary operations in the US. These companies generate $14 trillion in annual revenues, more than all other US companies combined. The PBR1000 Monthly Snapshots provides these 1,000 companies in Excel format, includes 15 worksheets with 26 rankings, over 200 data/information points, hotlinks to key data, and important news items per company. This service is used by astute business professionals and shrewd investors worldwide.

Disclaimers: The PBR1000 is compiled from a variety of publicly available resources. As such, PBRMarketTools.com is not responsible for the data itself. Any liability for the representations or decisions based on the data is solely the responsibility of the authorized user, not PBRMarketTools.com, its employees or affiliates. PBRMarketTools.com is a provider of news, data, and analysis, and is not a financial advisor firm.

(Graphic courtesy of FreeDigitalPhotos.net, ddpavumba.)

Copyright © 2019 by Pax Business Resources, LLC, All Rights Reserved, 

The PBR1000 December 2018 Stocks & Commodities Snapshots

December 2018 The PBR1000: The Stock Market Bear Wins The Year

In a destructive volatile and violent December The Stock Market Bear overwhelms December and takes 2018 in a remarkable comeback. Investors wonder what that means for 2019.


By Larry C. Paxton

The Stock Market Bull was standing tall at the end of November, ahead of The Stock Market Bear in weekly, monthly, and year-to-date victories and looking forward to a nice December bump. But The Stock Market Bear charged into the month viciously clawing and gnashing away at the exchanges. At the end of the month the results were devastating with all exchanges finishing down for the year and in correction territory compared to record highs achieved just a few months before. The Stock Market Bear easily wins December 3-0 in dominating style and takes the year 2018 as well.

The Week 52 YTD tally is:
The Stock Market Bull: 21 weeks
The Stock Market Bear: 21 weeks
Mixed Results: 10 weeks

The Month 12 YTD tally is:
The Stock Market Bull: 6 months
The Stock Market Bear: 4 months
Mixed Results: 2 months

The Year 2018: The Stock Market Bear wins the year in a ruthless and dramatic come from behind in December.

The December 2018 US Major Stock Market Exchanges Summary

Number of Trading Days: 19

Number of Gain(+)/Loss(-) Days: DJIA 8+/11-; NASDAQ 10+/9-; SPX 7+/12-.

Record Days: None

Longest Gain Streak(Consecutive Days): DJIA 2 days(11/30-12/03/18, 12/12-13/18, 12/26-27/18), NASDAQ 4 days(12/26-31/18), SPX 2 days(11/30-12/03/18, 12/26-27/18)

Longest Loss Streak(Consecutive Days): DJIA 4 days(12/19-24/18), NASDAQ 4 days(12/19-24/18), SPX 4 days(12/19-24/18)

Big Swing Up Days(>1.00%): 3 days (12/03/18(D, +1.13%; N, +1.51%; S, +1.09%), 12/26/18(D, +4.98%; N, +5.84%; S, +4.96%), 12/31/18(D, +1.15%))

Big Swing Down Days(<-1.00%): 8 days (12/04/18(D, -3.10%; N, -3.80%; S, -3.24%), 12/07/18(D, -2.24%; N, -3.05%; S, -2.33%), 12/14/18(D, -2.00%; N, -2.26%; S, -1.96%), 12/17/18(D, -1.81%; N, -2.99%; S, -2.06%), 12/19/18(D, -1.49%; N, -2.17%; S, -1.54%), 12/20/18(D, -1.99%; N, -1.63%; S, -1.58%), 12/21/18(D, -1.81%; N, -2.99; S, -2.06%), 12/24/18(D, -2.91%; N, -2.21%; S, -2.71%))

The PBR1000 December 2018 SnapShots

The following are Top 5 partial tables excerpts from The PBR1000 December 2018 Snapshots. The price for stocks is for the close of trading on December 31, 2018Month % Chg is compared to November 30, 2018YTD % Chg is compared to December 29, 2017, and the 24 Months % Chg is compared to December 30, 2016. The PBR Rank is by annual revenues.

To get the complete The PBR1000 Snapshots  just click here to get your 12 month subscription and automatically download the December 2018 edition with the complete 15 Snapshots and 27 rankings and the bonus The PBRMarketTools US Monthly Indices Snapshots.

Table 1(S11): The PBR1000 Top 5 Month Stock Price % Gainers

Table 1 Summary: The range was +10% to -78%44 out of 1,000 stocks were up 0% or more. The average was a loss of 9.38%, the median was a loss of 11.03%.

Company PBR
Rank
Symbol Price
12/31/18
Mo
% Chg
YTD
% Chg
24 Mos
% Chg
Rent-A-Center
754 RCII $ 16.19 +10 +46 +44
Newmont Mining
374 NEW $ 34.65 +7 -8 +2
Broadcom
138 AVGO $ 254.28 +7 -1 +44
Genesco
720 GCO $ 44.30 +6 +36 -29
Magellan Health
464 MGLN $ 56.89 +4 -41 -24

Table 2(S12): The PBR1000 Top 5 Year-To-Date Stock Price % Gainers

Table 2 Summary: The range was +153% to -93%276 out of 1,000 stocks were up 0% or more. The average was a loss of 10.55%, the median was a loss of 15.38%.

Company PBR
Rank
Symbol Price
12/31/18
Mo
% Chg
YTD
% Chg
24 Mos
% Chg
BlueLinx 896 BXC $ 24.71 -9 +153 +231
Crocs 1000 CROX $ 25.98 -7 +106 +279
Fossil 738 FOSL $ 15.73 -19 +102 -39
AMD 489 AMD $ 18.46 -13 +80 +63
Herbalife 544 HLF $ 58.95 +3 +74 +145

Table 3(S13): The PBR1000 Top 5 24 Months Stock Price % Gainers

Table 3 Summary: The range was +312% to -98%455 out of 993 stocks were up 0% or more. The average was a gain of 7.03%. The median was a loss of 2.79%.

Company PBR
Rank
Symbol Price
12/31/18
Mo
% Chg
YTD
% Chg
24 Mos
% Chg
Square 845 SQ $ 56.09 -17 +62 +312
RH 803 RH $ 119.82 +3 +39 +290
Crocs 1000 CROX $ 25.98 -7 +106 +279
Weight Watchers 974 WTW $ 38.55 -23 -13 +237
BlueLinx 896 BXC $ 24.71 -9 +153 +231

Table 4(S15): The PBR1000 Top 5 Market Capitalization

Table 4 Summary: The range was $771 billion to $0.01 billion. The average is $23.636 billionmedian is $6.81 billion, out of 1,000 companies.

Company PBR
Rank
Symbol Market Cap($B)
12/31/18
Mo
% Chg
YTD
% Chg
24 Mos
% Chg
Microsoft
22 MSFT $ 771 B -10 +17 +60
Apple 2 AAPL $ 741 B -13 -15 +20
Amazon 8 AMZN $ 723 B -13 +30 +103
Alphabet 21 GOOG $ 721 B -5 -1 +36
Berkshire Hathaway 4 BRKB $ 500 B -7 +2 +24
The PBR1000
  $ 23,636 B -10 -9 +8

Table 5: The PBR1000 Index & Primary US Stock Exchanges/Commodities

Company Price
12/31/18
Mo
% Chg
YTD
% Chg
24 Mos
% Chg
The PBR1000 76,799.87 -9.4 -10.6 +7.0
DJIA 23,327.46 -8.7 -5.6 +18.0
NASDAQ 6,635.28 -9.5 -3.9 -23.3
S&P500 2,506.85 -9.2 -6.2 +12.0
GOLD 1,284.70 +4.6 -1.6 +11.6
SILVER 15.56 +9.2 -8.4 -2.7
OIL            45.81 -9.7 -23.8 -14.7

To order a 12 month subscription of The PBR1000 Snapshots go to the Subscribe page.

If you are not already receiving the popular and highly acclaimed The PBR1000 Weekly Breaking News Recap sign up for your free subscription on the Contact Us page.

Please use the Contact Us page if you are a The PBR1000 company and would like to increase your visibility to our worldwide base of shrewd investors.

PBRMarketTools.com provides The PBR1000, a compilation of 1,000 of the largest publicly held companies with primary operations in the US. These companies generate $14 trillion in annual revenues, more than all other US companies combined. The PBR1000 Monthly Snapshots provides these 1,000 companies in Excel format, includes 15 worksheets with 26 rankings, over 200 data/information points, hotlinks to key data, and important news items per company. This service is used by astute business professionals and shrewd investors worldwide.

Disclaimers: The PBR1000 is compiled from a variety of publicly available resources. As such, PBRMarketTools.com is not responsible for the data itself. Any liability for the representations or decisions based on the data is solely the responsibility of the authorized user, not PBRMarketTools.com, its employees or affiliates. PBRMarketTools.com is a provider of news, data, and analysis, and is not a financial advisor firm.

(Graphic courtesy of FreeDigitalPhotos.net, ddpavumba.)

Copyright © 2019 by Pax Business Resources, LLC, All Rights Reserved, 

www.PBRMarketTools.com

The PBR1000 December 2018 Breaking News Recap

The PBR1000 December 2018 Breaking News Items

This house has a nice fence around it. It is a busy house where decisions are made that can affect US and world citizens.

By Larry C. Paxton

The December and Year News Summary: US/China trade relations concerns, a federal funds rate increase, the anticipation of a global economic growth slowdown, a new Congress that will be split into a Republican majority in the Senate and a Democrats majority in the House, and a government shutdown outweighed generally good US economic newsrecord spending for the holiday season, a low jobs unemployment rate, and higher wages. For the year lower corporate tax rates played a big role, but the repatriation of US dollars from oversees did not materialize at levels planned. The US economy showed robust growth and job openings exceeded available workers. Housing slowed from lower inventories and increasing mortgage rates and lack of new residential construction. Manufacturing, wholesale, and retail had a good year. The federal debt grew significantly as outlays increased more than receipts. Overall, the US economy did very well, but in the end the stock exchanges took a major dip, many saying the correction was long overdue, and some saying the correction was strongly influenced by political volatility throughout the year.

Here are The PBR1000 corporate, stock market, and economic related breaking news items of interest with hotlinks to the sources for December 2018, starting with the last active business day:

***Monday, December 31:

The PBRMarketTools US Stock Exchanges Recap for the Month and Year Ending 12/31/18:

DJIA ends the month and year at 23,327.46, +1.15% from last Friday, -8.66% MTD, -11.83% QTD, -5.63% YTD, -13.05% from record 26,743.50 set 09/21/18.

NASDAQ ends the month and year at 6,635.28, +0.77% from last Friday, -9.48% MTD, -17.54% QTD, -3.88% YTD, -18.18% from record 8,109.69 set 08/29/18.

SPX ends the week at 2,506.85, +0.85% from last Friday, -9.18% MTD, -13.97% QTD, -6.24% YTD, -14.46% from record 2,930.75 set 09/20/18.

The Stock Market Bull was standing tall at the end of November, ahead of The Stock Market Bear in weekly, monthly, and year-to-date victories and looking forward to a nice December bump. But The Stock Market Bearcharged into the month viciously clawing and gnashing away at the exchanges. At the end of the month the results were devastating with all exchanges finishing down for the year and in correction territory compared to record highs achieved just a few months before. The Stock Market Bear easily wins December 3-0 in dominating style and takes the year 2018 as well.

The Month 12 YTD tally is:
The Stock Market Bull: 6 months
The Stock Market Bear: 4 months
Mixed Results: 2 months

The Year 2018: The Stock Market Bear wins the year in a ruthless and dramatic come from behind in December.

Walt Disney(PBR51 $DIS) and Verizon(PBR17 $VZ) Fios reach a broad based agreement, current contract to carry programming from Disney Media Networks, including ESPN, and Disney-owned ABC stations, like New York City’s WABC, was set to expire at year-end. NY Post PR link.

Windstream(PBR461) sells the legacy 600,000 members EarthLink consumer internet business to Dallas, TX-based private equity firm Trive Capital for $330 million cash. $WIN PR link.

Michael Kors(PBR524) completes around $2.12 billion acquisition of Italian luxury fashion house Gianni Versace SpA, Michael Kors changes its name to Capri Holdings Limited, to start trading on 01/02/19 using ticker NYSE: CPRI$CPRI PR link.

Activision Blizzard(PBR389) intends to terminate CFO Spencer Neumann’s employment for cause unrelated to the Company’s financial reporting or disclosure controls and procedures, placed on on a paid leave of absence pending an opportunity for him to demonstrate why cause does not exist, Chief Corporate Officer and former CFO Dennis Durkin appointed CFO. $ATVI PR link.

The US Dept of Treasury says the US Debt Held by the Public on 12/28/18 was at $16.069 trillion, by Intragovernmental Holdings $5.799 trillion, Total Debt $21.868 trillion, +0.1% from 11/30/18, +6.7% from 12/29/17USTreasury PR link.

The Federal Reserve Bank of Chicago says the US 7th District Preliminary November 2018 Midwest Economic Index is at +0.09, October 2018 was at +0.20, September 2018+0.30, November 2017 +0.19. ChiFed PR link.

The Price/Ounce for Gold(GCG9 02/19) on 12/31/18 was at $1,284.70, 11/30/18 was $1,227.80, 12/31/17 $1,305.10; the Price/Barrel for Oil(CLG9 02/19) on 12/31/18 was at $45.81, 11/30/18 was $50.72, 12/31/17 $60.10; the Price/Bushel for Soybeans(SH9 03/19) on 12/31/18 was at 895.00 cents, 11/30/18 was 893.25 cents, 12/31/17 962.50 cents.

The US Treasury 10 Year Note Yield on 12/31/18 was at 2.69%, 11/30/18 was 3.01%, 12/31/17 2.40%.

The Conversion Rate for Euro1.0000 on 12/31/18 was $1.1474, 11/30/18 was $1.1320, 12/31/17 $1.2003.

The American Automobile Assn says US National Average Price Per Gallon of Regular Gas on 12/31/18 was at $2.266, 11/30/18 was at $2.493, 10/31/18 $2.801, 12/29/17 $2.477. AAA PR link.

***Friday, December 28:

The PBRMarketTools US Stock Exchanges Recap for the Week Ending 12/28/18:

DJIA ends the week at 23,062.40, +2.75% from last Friday, -9.70% MTD, -12.83% QTD, -6.70% YTD, -14.04% from record 26,743.50 set 09/21/18.

NASDAQ ends the week at 6,584.52, +3.97% from last Friday, -10.18% MTD, -18.17% QTD, -4.62% YTD, -18.81% from record 8,109.69 set 08/29/18.

SPX ends the week at 2,485.74, +2.86% from last Friday, -9.94% MTD, -14.70% QTD, -7.03% YTD, -15.18% from record 2,930.75 set 09/20/18.

The Stock Market Bear made a strong showing on a shortened trading day on Monday. Tuesday the exchanges were closed for Christmas. Then The Stock Market Bull came back with a vengence on Wednesday, and held on to regain some dignity in the month of December taking Week 52, the final full week of the year, 3-0 and finishes even with The Stock Market Bear. Nevertheless, with only 1 trading day left in the year, The Stock Market Bearlooks to win 2018 with its dramatic come from behind deep gouging in December.

The Week 52 YTD tally is:
The Stock Market Bull: 21 weeks
The Stock Market Bear: 21 weeks
Mixed Results: 10 weeks

The Week 52 News Summary: It was basically a shortened 3 1/2 day trading week. The partial federal government shutdownUS/China trade relations, forecasts for a slowing global economy, the recent raising of the federal funds rate were a drag on the stock market exchanges. However, the continued strength of the US economy and record consumer spending during the holiday season more than offset the negatives.

Wells Fargo(PBR28) reaches agreement with all 50 state Attorneys General and the District of Columbia regarding previously disclosed retail sales practices, auto collateral protection insurance (“CPI”) and Guaranteed Asset/Auto Protection (“GAP”), and mortgage interest rate lock matters, will pay a total of $575 million to resolve the civil claims. $WFC PR link.

Sears(PBR168 $SHLDQ) Chairman Eddie Lampert’s ESL Holdings hedge fund offer of $4.6 billion in cash and equity for operator of Sears and Kmart stores could ward off immediate liquidation, nonbinding offer for the roughly 500 remaining Sears stores will keep about 50,000 employees working. MarketWatch PR link.

Sears(PBR168) identifies 80 additional KMartand Sears stores that will be closing by the end of 03/19, liquidation sales to start in around 2 weeks. $SHLDQ PR link.

Edwards Lifesciences(PBR646) gets US FDA approval for its SAPIEN 3 Ultra system for transcatheter aortic valve replacement in severe, symptomatic aortic stenosis patients who are determined to be at intermediate or greater risk of open-heart surgery. $EW PR link.

Tesla(PBR249) adds Oracle(PBR74) Executive Chairman, Chief Tech Officer, and Founder Larry Ellison and Walgreens Boots Alliance(PBR16)Executive VP and Global Chief Human Resources Officer Kathleen Wilson-Thompson to the Board as independent directors. $TSLA PR link.

The US Energy Information Administrationsays US Millions of Barrels of Crude Oil Stocks on 12/21/18 were at 441.4, was 450.5 on 11/23/18, 426.0 on 10/26/18, 431.9 on 12/22/17EIA PR link.

The MNI December 2018 Chicago Business Barometer(>50=Gaining) is at 65.4, November 2018 was 66.4, October 2018 58.4, December 2017 67.8. “… the Barometer continues to signal a healthy business environment, notching the 34th consecutive reading above 50.” MNI PR link.

***Thursday, December 27:

Boston Scientific(PBR315) exercises $325 million option to acquire the remaining shares of Millipede, Inc, a privately-held company in Santa Rosa, CA, upon its recent successful completion of a first-in-human clinical study, $125 million payment becoming available upon achievement of a commercial milestone. $BSX PR link.

Essendant(PBR507) $12.80/share, $996 million cash, includes net debt, acquisition by Staplestender offer extended to 01/02/19, 69.9% of shares have been tendered. $ESND PR link.

Brunswick(PBR534) has been granted exclusions by the US Trade Representative and US Customs and Border Protection from Section 301 tariffs for its 40, 50 and 60hp Mercury Marine engines which are assembled by Mercury in China and sold globally. $BC PR link.

Public Storage(PBR760) President Joe Russell to add CEO role, CFO/Operations Tom Boyle to become corporate CFO, Chairman/CEO Ron Havner to retain Chairman role, outgoing CFO John Reyes will be joining Board, all effective on 01/01/19. $PSA PR link.

The US Dept of Labor says the US Initial Unemployment Insurance Claims 4 Week Moving Average for the Week Ending 12/22/18was at 218,000, -2.4% from 11/24/18, -8.3 from 12/28/17Total Insured Unemployment 4 Week Moving Average for the Week Ending 12/15/18 was at 1,675,750, -0.0% from 11/17/18, -12.7% from 12/16/17USDOL PR link.

The Conference Board says the US Preliminary December 2018 Consumer Confidence Index(1985=100) is at 128.1, November 2018 was 136.4, December 2017123.1. “Expectations regarding job prospects and business conditions weakened, but still suggest that the economy will continue expanding at a solid pace in the short-term. While consumers are ending 2018 on a strong note, back-to-back declines in Expectations are reflective of an increasing concern that the pace of economic growth will begin moderating in the first half of 2019.” TCB PR link.

FreddieMac(PBR38) says US 30 Year Average Fixed Mortgage Rate on 12/27/18 is at 4.55% with 0.5 Fees & Points11/29/18 was at 4.81%, 10/25/18 4.86%, 12/28/17 3.99%. $FMCC PR link.

US Federal Government economic data for scheduled New Family Home Sales and US Net International Investment Position were scheduled for today but are delayed indefinitely per the US Government Shutdown.

***Wednesday, December 26:

Amazon(PBR8) customers purchased millions more Amazon Devices this holiday season compared to last year – the best-selling Amazon Devices included all-new Echo Dot, Fire TV Stick 4K with all-new Alexa Voice Remote, and Echo$AMZN PR link.

JPMorgan Chase(PBR27 $JPM) to pay $135+ million to settle US Securities and Exchange Commission(SEC) charges of improper handling of “pre-released” American Depositary Receipts (ADRs), SEC acknowledges JPMorgan’s cooperation in the investigation and remedial acts. SEC PR link.

Henry Schein(PBR235) files SEC registration statement for spin-off of the Henry Schein Animal Health business and the subsequent merger with Vets First Choice to form an independent public company with name Covetrus, will list as NASDAQ: CVET, to be completed in 1Q19. $HSIC PR link.

AMC Entertainment(PBR504) adds over 100,000 new AMC Stubs A-List members, allows up to 3 movies per week in any format, now has over 600,000 members, started in 06/18. $AMC PR link.

MasterCard(PBR233) SpendingPulse(TM)reports holiday sales between 11/01/18 and 12/24/18 increased 5.1% to more than $850 billion this year – the strongest growth in the last six years. Online shopping also saw large gains of 19.1% compared to 2017. $MA PR link.

The Federal Reserve Bank of Richmond says the US 5th District December 2018 Service Sector Revenue Index is at +10%, October 2018 was at +5%, September 2018 -1%, December 2017 +25%. “… service sector activity grew moderately in December … Many firms also reported growth in demand and spending as well as strengthening business conditions … respondents were optimistic, expecting growth to continue in the coming months.” RichmondFed PR link.

The Federal Reserve Bank of Richmond says the US 5th District December 2018 Manufacturing Index is at -8%, November 2018 was at +14%, Octember 2018 +15%, December 2017 +30%. “… manufacturing activity weakened in December … weighed down by drops in the indexes for new orders and shipments.” RichmondFed PR link.

The S&P CoreLogic Case-Shiller Preliminary October 2018 Home Price Index(01/2000=100.00) is at 206.03, September 2018 was at 205.83, August 2018 205.71, October 2017 195.33. Case-Shiller PR link.

***Tuesday, December 25: Christmas Day.
US Stock Exchanges Closed.***

***Monday, December 24: Christmas Eve.
US Stock Exchanges Close Early at 1PM instead of 4PM Eastern.***

Tesla(PBR249 $TSLA)‘s Elon Musk tweets that Tesla will cover the difference of the electric vehicle tax credit of $7,500 which drops down to $3,750 on 01/01/19 for customers who ordered a Tesla by 10/15/18 for delivery by 12/31/18, but did not receive their vehicle because of production delays; Tesla also lowers prices for Model 3‘s sold in China by 7.6% to a starting price of $72,000. NYPost PR link.

KLA-Tencor(PBR582) continues to have advanced discussions with the State Administration for Market Regulation of the People’s Republic of China (SAMR) regarding clearance of the proposed $69.02/share in cash/stock, an equity value at $3.4 billion, merger involving KLA-Tencor and Orbotech(NASDAQ: ORBK) with a goal of obtaining clearance as soon as practicable in 2019. $KLAC PR link.

The Federal Reserve Bank of Chicago says the US Preliminary November 2018 National Activity Index is at +0.22, October 2018 was +0.0, September 2018 +0.15, November 2017+0.35. ChiFed PR link.

***Friday, December 21:

The PBRMarketTools US Stock Exchanges Recap for the Week Ending 12/21/18:

DJIA ends the week at 22,445.37, -6.87% from last Friday, -12.11% MTD, -15.17% QTD, -9.20% YTD, -16.34% from record 26,743.50 set 09/21/18.

NASDAQ ends the week at 6,332.99, -8.36% from last Friday, -13.61% MTD, -21.29% QTD, -8.26% YTD, -21.91% from record 8,109.69 set 08/29/18.

SPX ends the week at 2,416.62, -7.05% from last Friday, -12.45% MTD, -17.07% QTD, -9.61% YTD, -17.54% from record 2,930.75 set 09/20/18.

The Stock Market Bull made a brief appearance on Tuesday. But it was really all about The Stock Market Bear, who completely decimated the exchanges for the 3rd week in a row with a dominating 3-0 win, in Week 51 now has the most weekly wins, and in what was unthinkable only a couple of months ago looks on track to grab 2018.

The Week 51 YTD tally is:
The Stock Market Bear: 21 weeks
The Stock Market Bull: 20 weeks
Mixed Results: 10 weeks

The Week 51 News Summary: The US economy continues to do well, but the week was hit with the hat trick of the threat of a possible partial US government shutdown, the Federal Reserve raising the federal funds rate 0.25%, and there was nothing to allay the concerns over US/China trade issues.

Amazon(PBR8) to open its first fulfillment service center in Mississippi, 554,000 sf facility in Marshall County, will employ 850 full-time people, minimum wage is $15/hour. $AMZN PR link.

Amazon(PBR8)’s Air Network expands the long term partnership with Air Transport Services Group, leases 10 additional 767-300 dedicated Amazon cargo aircraft, increasing the fleet to 50 aircraft. $AMZN PR link.

Sprint(PBR85) to pay record $330 million fine per settlement with NY State for not collecting proper state and local taxes on some wireless plans for nearly a decade. $S PR link.

Newell Brands(PBR196) completes $1.3 billion sale of $556 million in revenues in 2017 fishing gear provider Pure Fishing unit to Sycamore Partners and its $1.3 billion sale of $768 million in 2017 revenues yearbooks, publications, jewelry and consumer goods that serve the K-12 educational, college and professional sports segments provider Jostens unit to Platinum Equity$NWL PR link.

Genworth Financial(PBR340) sale to China Oceanwide for $5.43/share, $2.7 billion cash gets approval of Delaware Regulator and FannieMae(PBR20) and Freddie Mac(PBR38), transaction close extended to 01/31/19 to get additional US, China and other regulatory approvals. $GNW PR link.

Host Hotels(PBR484) completes sale of its 33% stake in its European joint venture to the partner for $505 million. $HST PR link.

Alexion Pharmaceuticals(PBR638) gets US FDA approval for ULTOMIRIS™ (ravulizumab-cwvz), the first and only long-acting C5 complement inhibitor administered every eight weeks, for the treatment of adult patients with paroxysmal nocturnal hemoglobinuria (PNH), a debilitating ultra-rare blood disorder. $ALXN PR link.

Spectrum Brands(PBR691) $1.25 billion sale of its Global Auto Care business to Energizer Holdings(NYSE: ENR) gets passed US Federal Trade Commission and clearance from the Polish Competition Authority, has received all antitrust approvals needed, to close in 02/19. $SPB PR link.

Meredith Corp(PBR839) completes $150 million sale of its FORTUNE media brand to businessman Chatchaval Jiaravanon and is in active negotiations to sell the Sports Illustratedand MONEY media brands. $MDP PR link.

Lawsuit by Pennsylvania Attorney GeneralJosh Shapiro against student loan provider Navient(PBR965 $NAVI) gets US District Courtdecision to move forward per 70-page opinion released earlier this week. MarketWatch PR link.

PepsiCo(PBR44) N America CEO Al Carey to retire at the end of 03/19 after nearly 38 years with the Company, President/COO Frito-Lay N America Vivek Sankaran to be successor, President/COO N America Beverages Kirk Tanner to become CEO of Frito-Lay. $PEP PR link.

PVH(PBR320)’s Calvin Klein unit and its Chief Creative Officer Raf Simons amicably part ways per new brand direction, also will not be participating in New York Fashion Week in 02/19. $PVH PR link.

The US Dept of Commerce/BEA says US Preliminary November 2018 Total Personal Income Annual Rate is at $17.822 trillion, +0.2% from October 2018, +4.2% from November 2017November 2018 Personal Current Taxes was $2.079 trillion, for Disposable Income of $15.743 trillion, Personal Outlays $14.799 trillion, for Personal Savings of $0.944 trillion, 6.0% of Disposable Income, 11.7% Effective Tax RateUSDOC PR link.

The US Dept of Commerce says US 3Q18 3rd Estimate of Gross Domestic Product is +3.4%, Total Annual GDP is at $20.658 trillion, +1.2% from 2Q18, +5.5% from 3Q17US 3Q18 Total Personal Consumption Expenditureswere at $14.050 trillion, +1.3% from 2Q18, +5.2% from 3Q17USDOC PR link.

The U of Michigan Final December 2018 Consumer Sentiment Index is at 98.3, November 2018 was at 97.5, October 201898.6, December 2017 95.9. UMichigan PR link.

***Thursday, December 20:

Walgreens Boots Alliance(PBR19) in FY 1Q19 says it is launching a transformational cost management program, targets annual cost savings in excess of $1 billion by the end of the third year. $WBA PR link.

Boeing(PBR30) gets largest aircraft deal ever for the African continent, 100 737 MAX 8’s, for Lagos, Nigeria based Green Africa Airways, list price of $11.7 billion. $BA PR link.

Intel(PBR45) EVP/General Counsel Steven Rodgers writes article, “Qualcomm(PBR124)’s Patent Litigation Campaign isn’t Really about Vindicating Intellectual Property Rights.” $INTC PR link.

Cigna(PBR65) completes $96.18/share equivalent, $67 billion cash/stock acquisition of Express Scripts(PBR26)$CI PR link.

Altria(PBR110) invests $12.8 billion for 35% stake in US based e-vapor provider JUUL$MO PR link.

Qualcomm(PBR124) gets permanent injunction ruling from District Court of Munich, Germany, against Apple(PBR2) for infringing on Qualcomm’s intellectual property for power savings in smartphones, Apple to cease the sale, offer for sale and importation for sale in Germany of infringing iPhones$QCOM PR link.

NGL Energy(PBR161) sells South Pecos Water Disposal Assets to WaterBridge Resources for $238.8 million, to focus on its Delaware Basin Water Disposal operations in Texas. $NGL PR link.

Gap Inc(PBR177)’s Old Navy stores partners with Lyft to offer free round trips to pick up Buy Online Pick-Up In-Store purchases on the 2 Saturdays before Christmas Day. $GPS PR link.

Henry Schein(PBR235) and Vets First Choicesay that the new standalone public company from planned spin-off of the Henry Schein Animal Health business and the subsequent merger with Vets First Choice will be named Covetrus, will employ 5,000+ across 25 countries, have around 100,000 customers, Benjamin Shaw to be CEO, executive team named, to be completed in 1Q19. $HSIC PR link.

Perrigo(PBR512) to appeal tax due for around $1.9 billion to Ireland for Elan Pharma unit acquired in 12/13 for 2013, no payment due at this time, could take years to resolve. $PRGO PR link.

Greif(PBR627) to acquire N America $1.4 billion in sales paperboard manufacturer Caraustar for $1.8 billion, to close 1Q19. $GEF PR link.

Scientific Games(PBR699) has extended through 2025 its long-term license agreement with Hasbro(PBR496) and Hasbro International for the exclusive use of MONOPOLY and more than 15 other iconic game brands. $SGMS PR link.

Autodesk(PBR865) to acquire bid management, risk analysis and other preconstruction solutions with a network of more than 700,000 construction professionals provider BuildConnect for $275 million, to close by 01/31/19. $ADSK PR link.

Autodesk(PBR865) completes $875 million net of cash acquisition of San Francisco, CA-based cloud real-time collaboration construction productivity software provider PlanGrid$ADSK PR link.

Pyxus(PBR894) applauds the passage of the 2018 Farm Bill, permanently removes hemp from the Controlled Substances Act, deems it an agricultural commodity. $PYX PR link.

WW(fka Weight Watchers)(PBR974) and Blue Apron (NYSE: APRN) announce WW x Blue Apron, a new partnership that features weekly rotating selection of recipes inspired by the WW Freestyle™ program and available for home delivery. $WTW PR link.

Campbell Soup(PBR327) hires Mark Clouse as President/CEO, effective 01/22/19, will succeed interim President/CEO Keith McLoughlin, who will remain a Director, activist investor Third Point supports the decision. $CPB PR link.

Avon Products(PBR468) hires Vikram Agarwal as SVP/Chief Supply Chain Officer, succeeds departing Michael Watson; SVP/Human Resources Susan Ormiston leaving in 01/19. $AVP PR link.

Pinnacle West(PBR620) promotes Jeffrey B. Guldner to President/Arizona Public Service, its largest subsidiary, will have responsibility for all areas of APS excluding nuclear generation. $PNW PR link.

Abercrombie & Fitch(PBR641) provides details on terms of departure for former Brands President Stacia Andersen. $ANF PR link.

The Federal Reserve Bank of Philadelphiasays the 3rd District December 2018 Manufacturing General Activity Indicator is at 9.4, November 2018 was 12.9, October 201822.2, December 2017 27.9. “Manufacturing activity in the region continued to grow but remained subdued … firms remained generally optimistic about future growth.” PhillyFed PR link.

The Conference Board says the US Preliminary November 2018 Leading Economic Index(2016=100) is at 111.8, October 2018 was at 111.6, September 2018111.9, November 2017 106.6. “Despite the recent volatility in stock prices, the strengths among the leading indicators have been widespread. Solid GDP growth at about 2.8 percent should continue in early 2019, but the LEI suggests the economy is likely to moderate further in the second half of 2019.” TCB PR link.

***Wednesday, December 19:

Apple(PBR2 $AAPL) releasing a software update to possibly avoid a ban on the sale of older iPhones in ChinaMarketWatch PR link.

Alphabet(PBR21 $GOOG)’s Google unit slammed in 100 page complaint to the US Federal Trade Commission for ‘disturbing’ children’s games. MarketWatch PR link.

Boeing(PBR30) forecasts demand of 2,300 new airplanes in India over next 20 years, valued at $320 billion. $BA PR link.

UPS(PBR42) expects 1.5 million packages to be returned on 12/19/18, National Returns Day, 1 million on other days, expects 1.3 million on 01/03/19, planning to deliver 800 million packages during holiday season. $UPS PR link.

Pfizer(PBR55) and GlaxoSmithKline plc (NYSE:GSK) to form joint venture global consumer healthcare company, Pfizer, with a 32% minor equity stake, will contribute its consumer healthcare business to GlaxoSmithKline’s existing consumer healthcare business, 2017 global sales for the combined business were approximately $12.7 billion, will later spin-off as an independent company. $PFE PR link.

Facebook(PBR68) provides clarification on their messaging partnerships, provides examples with Spotify, Netflix, Dropbox, and Royal Bank of Canada$FB PR link.

Facebook(PBR68 $FB) being sued by Washington DC Attorney General for failing to protect millions of users’ data during 2016 elections. DC AG PR link.

T-Mobile(PBR69) and Seattle Mariners team Up to present hometown T-Mobile Park in new partner 25 year deal. $TMUS PR link.

Merck(PBR73) gets US FDA approval for KEYTRUDA® (pembrolizumab) for treatment of adult and pediatric patients with recurrent locally advanced or metastatic Merkel cell carcinoma, a rare form of skin cancer. $MRK PR link.

Merck(PBR73) and AstraZeneca get US FDA approval for LYNPARZA® (olaparib) for first-line maintenance therapy in BRCA-mutated advanced ovarian cancer. $MRK PR link.

3M(PBR87) to acquire $200 million in revenues/year healthcare technology of cloud-based, conversational Artificial Intelligence (AI)-powered systems that help physicians efficiently capture and improve the patient narrative business of M*Modal, for a total enterprise value of $1.0 billion, does not include other M*Modal business units. $MMM PR link.

Medtronic(PBR94) completes around $1.64 billion acquisition of Israel based robotic guidance systems pioneer Mazor Robotics (NASDAQ:MZOR, TASE:MZOR.TZ)$MDT PR link.

Thermo-Fisher Scientific(PBR138) $925 million acquisition of manufacturer of instrumentation and software used to enhance and extend the operation and performance of electron microscopes Gatan, a wholly owned subsidiary of Roper Technologies(PBR530) requires additional UK review, last authorization required to close. $TMO PR link.

Bristol-Myers Squibb(PBR139) announces that Japan‘s largest over-the-counter drug company Taisho Pharmaceutical Holdings Co has offered to purchase Bristol-Myers Squibb’s French pharmaceutical company UPSA consumer health business for $1.6 billion, put option transaction, to close in 1H19. $BMY PR link.

Allergan(PBR174) suspends sales of textured breast implants and tissue expanders, is withdrawing any remaining supply in Europeanmarkets, follows a compulsory recall request from French regulatory authority Agence Nationale de Sécurité du Médicament (ANSM), stems from expiration of company’s CE Mark, plans to renew. $AGN PR link.

Newell Brands(PBR196) activist investor Carl Icahn and associates SEC filing shows they have increased their stake in NWL to 9.89%. $NWL PR link.

Alcoa(PBR251) will immediately begin to curtail half of the one operating potline at the Aluminerie de Bécancour Inc. (ABI) smelter in Québec, Canada, other 2 potlines curtailed in 01/18 because of union lockout, still in negotiations. $AA PR link.

Sempra Energy(PBR260) subsidiary gets 20 year deal to export US liquefied natural gas (LNG) from the Port Arthur LNG liquefaction-export facility to Polish Oil & Gas Co, for 2.7 billion cubic meters per year (after regasification) – enough natural gas to meet about 15% of Poland‘s daily needs. $SRE PR link.

Arthur J Gallagher(PBR443) acquires Southaven, MS-based broad range of property/casualty coverages to businesses and individuals provider Pointer Insurance Agency$AJG PR link.

GNC(PBR799 $GNC) recalls nearly 800,000 units of ‘Women’s Iron Complete’ for child safety concerns. MarketWatch PR link.

AvalonBay Communities(PBR850) completes $460 million net proceeds sale of 80% interest in 5 Manhattan apartment communities, 1,301 apartment homes, 58,000 sf retail space, retains a 20% interest and act as the managing member and property manager for the assets. $AVB PR link.

Pier 1 Imports(PBR904) appoints director Cheryl A. Bachelder as interim CEO, succeeds Alasdair B. James, who has stepped down, is implementing a more rigorous cost reduction program, to evaluate a full range of strategic alternatives. $PIR PR link.

The Federal Open Market Committee issues statement raising federal funds rate 0.25% to 2.25% to 2.50%, says labor market has continued to strengthen and that economic activity has been rising at a strong rate, inflation remains near 2%, judges that risks to the economic outlook are roughly balanced, but will continue to monitor global economic and financial developments, anticipates some further gradual rate increases over the medium term. FOMC PR link.

The US Dept of Commerce/BEA says US Preliminary 3Q18 Total Exports of Goods, Services, and Income Receipts was at $930.3 billion, -0.7% from 2Q18, +7.1% from 3Q173Q18 Total Imports of Goods, Services, and Income Payments was $1,055.1 billion, +1.7% from 2Q18, +8.5% from 3Q173Q18 Deficit is $124.8 billion, +23.3% from 2Q18, +20.7% from 3Q17USDOC PR link.

The Natl Assn of Realtors says US Preliminary November 2018 Existing Home Sales Annual Rate is at 5,320,000 units, +1.9% from October 2018, -7.0% from November 2017November 2018 Median Sales Price is at $257,700, +0.9% from October 2018, +4.2% from November 2017NAR PR link.

***Tuesday, December 18:

Amazon(PBR8) says third annual Digital Daywill be on Friday, 12/28/18, will feature significant discounts on thousands of digital content items including movies, TV shows, mobile games, apps, eBooks, and more. $AMZN PR link.

Kroger(PBR18) launches first-ever unmanned self-driving grocery delivery service available to the general public in partnership with Nuno, tested since August, initially available for a Scottsdale, AZ, Fry’s Food store, $5.95/delivery, no minimum. $KR PR link.

Kroger(PBR18) to sell its digital coupon and digital rebate publishing unit You Technology to Inmar in conjunction with a long-term services agreement with Inmar for the continued delivery of digital offer management services to Kroger, to close 1Q19, terms not disclosed. $KR PR link.

FedEx(PBR43) announces cost reduction actions, includes voluntary buyout program for eligible employees, limited hiring in staff functions. $FEDX PR link.

Cisco(PBR58) to acquire privately held Carlsbad, CA-based specialty semiconductor products manufacturer Luxtera for $660 million cash. $CSCO PR link.

Charter Communications(PBR67 $CHTR) to pay record $174.2 million consumer fraud settlement for defrauding Internet subscribers per NY Attorney General‘s office. NY AG PR link.

Eli Lilly(PBR121) to pay $12 million upfront plus up to $620 million based on achieving milestones plus royalties to Aduro Biotech (NASDAQ: ADRO) for a research collaboration and exclusive license agreement for Aduro’s cGAS-STING Pathway Inhibitor program for the research and development of novel immunotherapies for autoimmune and other inflammatory diseases. $LLY PR link.

Amgen(PBR122) to pay $50 million upfront plus up to $497 million based on achieving milestones plus royalties to Molecular Partners AG (SIX: MOLN) in a joint venture to develop MP0310 in combination with Amgen’s oncology assets. $AMGN PR link.

United Natural Foods(PBR283) to transfer trading of its common stock from the NASDAQ Global Select Market, to begin trading on the NYSE on 01/02/19, will continue to use stock symbol UNFI$UNFI PR link.

ConAgra Brands(PBR347) to sell its Wesson® Oil brand to Canada‘s largest agribusiness, Richardson International, to close in 1Q19, terms not disclosed. $CAG PR link.

Cooper-Standard(PBR622) plans to build a new 3 story 110,000 sf world headquarters in Northville, MI, near its current Novi, MI facility, to be completed in early 2020, to house 400 employees, expandable options. $CPS PR link.

Alliant Energy(PBR654) moving its stock exchange listing to NASDAQ from the NYSEeffective after the market closes on 12/28/18, will continue to use stock symbol LNT$LNT PR link.

SkyWest(PBR682) to sell its ExpressJet Airlines unit to ManaAir for $70 million cash for the majority of assets and assumption of ExpressJet liabilities, to close in early 2019. $SKYW PR link.

McDermott Intl(PBR710) signs 16-year lease for new headquarters at Energy Center Five, an 18-story, 524,000 sf office tower in Houston, TX, will consolidate 1,700 employees to 1 location from 5 locations, move in starts mid 2019. $MDR PR link.

Rent-A-Center(PBR756) terminates $15.00/share, $1.365 billion cash acquisition by private equity firm Vintage Capital, did not receive an extension notice from Vintage Capital by end of day 12/17/18, asks for the reverse breakup fee of $126,500,000 within three business days per merger agreement. $RCII PR link.

Duke Energy(PBR114) former Chairman/CEO Jim Rogers dies at age 71, was CEO from 2006 to 2013, influential in building the largest US electric utility, led Duke Energy to focus on reducing greenhouse gas emissions and steered the company to more renewable energy. $DUK PR link.

Eastman Chemical(PBR299) SVP/Corporate Development and Chemical Intermediates Damon C. Warmack to retire mid 2019, SVP/Additives & Functional Products Dr. Lucian Boldea to become an EVP and assume leadership of Chemical Intermediates effective 01/01/19. $EMN PR link.

Brunswick(PBR534) Chief Human Resources Officer Brenna Priesser to add President/Business Acceleration role to her responsibilities, effective 01/01/19. $BC PR link.

The US Dept of Commerce/HUD says US Preliminary November 2018 Private Housing Building Permits Issues Annual Rate is at 1,328,000 units, +5.0% from October 2018, +0.4% from November 2017USDOC PR link.

***Monday, December 17:

Alphabet(PBR21)’s Google unit expanding commitment to New York City, investing over $1 billion in capital improvements to establish a new 1.7 million sf campus, Google Hudson Square, to start moving in in 2020. $GOOG PR link.

Boeing(PBR30) increases share repurchase authorization to $20 billion from $18 billion authorized in 12/17, has used $9 billion. $BA PR link.

Boeing(PBR30) to acquire 80% stake for $4.2 billion in joint venture with Brazil based Embraer(B3: EMBR3, NYSE: ERJ), needs Brazil and other regulatory approvals, to close by end of 2019. $BA PR link.

Johnson & Johnson(PBR36) authorizes up to $5 billion share repurchase program. $JNJ PR link.

T-Mobile(PBR69) and Sprint(PBR85) $59 billion all stock merger gets approval from Committee on Foreign Investment in the US (CFIUS), US Dept of Justice, US Dept of Homeland Security, and Dept of Defense, collectively referred to as Team Telecom, has no objections to the merger and has withdrawn its request to defer action, still needs additional regulatory approvals, to close in 1H19. $TMUS PR link.

Oracle(PBR77 $ORCL) buys back $10 billion in shares in recent quarter, on track to do $20 billion in FY2019, up from $11.5 billion in FY2018, opinion piece says it inflates earnings per share number. MarketWatch PR link.

Goldman Sachs(PBR86 $GS) faces charges in Malaysia over massive corruption scandal, denies any wrongdoing. NPR PR link.

Carnival Corp(PBR159) to launch 4 new ships in 2019, 20 new ships scheduled for delivery between 2019 and 2025. $CCL PR link.

BNY Mellon(PBR181) to pay $54+ million to settle charges with the US Securities and Exchange Commission for improper handling of “pre-released” American Depositary Receipts (ADRs)$BK PR link.

Universal Health(PBR257) authorizes an increase of $500 million for share repurchase program, is now $1.7 billion, $1.16 billion used. $UHS PR link.

Air Products(PBR318) to increase product pricing, monthly service charges, and surcharges for merchant customers in N America by 10 to 20%, effective 01/01/19, because of increased costs. $APD PR link.

Arthur J Gallagher(PBR443) to acquire Conshohocken, PA-based retail property/casualty insurance broker Preston-Patterson Co, terms not disclosed. $AJG PR link.

Whirlpool(PBR134) Chairman Jeff M. Fettig to retire after 38 years with the company on 12/31/18, CEO Marc Bitzer to add Chairman role on 01/01/19. $WHR PR link.

CBS(PBR215) Board determines there are grounds to terminate former Chairman/CEO Les Moonves for cause, he will not receive any severance payment(estimated at $120 million). $CBS PR link.

Acadia Healthcare(PBR724) Chairman/CEO Joey Jacobs removed from his roles, hires Debbie Osteen as CEO, Lead Director Reeve B. Waud elected Chairman. $ACHC PR link.

Kroger(PBR18) EVP/CFO J. Michael Schlotman to retire as CFO by 04/03/19, remain EVP through 12/28/19, CEO of Kroger Personal Finance Gary Millerchip to become SVP/CFO on 04/04/19. $KR PR link.

Trinity Industries(PBR618) SVP/CFO James E. Perry to leave after filing of annual 10-K, SVP/Chief Administrative Officer Melendy Lovett to be successor. $TRN PR link.

Tower Intl(PBR872) COO Mike Rajkovic agrees to accelerated retirement because of pending divestiture of European operations. $TOWR PR link.

The Federal Reserve Bank of New York says the Empire State Preliminary December 2018 Manufacturing General Business Conditions Index is at 10.9, November 2018 was at 23.3, October 2018 21.1, December 2017 19.6. NYFed PR link.

The Natl Assn of Home Builders/Wells Fargo Preliminary December 2018 Housing Market Composite Index is at 56, November 2018 was at 60, October 2018 68, November 2017 74. NAHB/WF PR link.

***Friday, December 14:

The PBRMarketTools US Stock Exchanges Recap for the Week Ending 12/14/18:

DJIA ends the week at 24,100.51, -1.18% from last Friday, -5.63% MTD, -8.91% QTD, -2.50% YTD, -10.17% from record 26,743.50 set 09/21/18.

NASDAQ ends the week at 6,910.66, -0.84% from last Friday, -5.73% MTD, -14.11% QTD, +0.11% YTD, -14.79% from record 8,109.69 set 08/29/18.

SPX ends the week at 2,599.95, -1.26% from last Friday, -5.80% MTD, -10.78% QTD, -2.76% YTD, -11.29% from record 2,930.75 set 09/20/18.

The Stock Market Bull did okay during the first four days of the week, then The Stock Market Bear came charging in on Friday bigtime to take a 3-0 win in Week 50. With his 2 week dramatic winning streak he now evens the match for weekly victories and threatens to capture 2018as well.

The Week 50 YTD tally is:
The Stock Market Bull: 20 weeks
The Stock Market Bear: 20 weeks
Mixed Results: 10 weeks

The Week 50 News Summary: The US economy continues to do well, but there are growing concerns about the projections of global economy growth, about US/China trade issues, and a fair amount of conjecture on whether or not The Fed will raise federal short term interest rates next week. There is also the threat of a US government shutdown at the end of next week, and the media is having a hay day covering President Trump’s former trusted advisors as they plead guilty to a variety of charges that might create complications for his presidency and personal life.

GE(PBR19) plans on a tender process for the appointment as GE’s independent audit firm, only 65% of shareholder votes were for retaining KPMG, which has been reappointed for 2019 by the Audit Committee$GE PR link.

Johnson & Johnson(PBR36) replies to article published by Reuters which says J&J’s baby powder talc contains asbestos, J&J says article is one-sided, false, and inflammatory; says its baby powder talc has been tested for decades thousands of time by independent labs worldwide and regulators and asbestos has never been detected. $JNJ PR link.

Merck(PBR73) to acquire France based around $410 million in global revenue digital animal identification, traceability and monitoring solutions provider Antelliq Group for around $2.4 billion cash, assumes $1.3 billion in debt which it will pay off upon transaction closing, will become wholly owned subsidiary with the Animal Health Division, to close in 2Q19. $MRK PR link.

Amgen(PBR122) gets US FDA approval for Nplate® (Romiplostim) for use In pediatric patients with immune thrombocytopenia. $AMGN PR link.

XPO Logistics(PBR185) authorizes up to $1 billion share repurchase program. $XPO PR link.

PPG(PBR193) to acquire Elverson, PA based 700+ employees globally in 10 plants manufacturer of low-friction, wear-resistant coatings for industrial applications in automotive, aerospace, energy and construction products and nonstick coatings for cookware, bakeware and small electric appliances Whitford Worldwide, to close 1Q19, terms not disclosed. $PPG PR link.

Dominion Energy(PBR228) and SCANA(PBR547) $7.9 billion all stock transaction, $14.6 billion with debt merger gets Public Service Commission of S Carolinaapproval with some conditions to be published on 12/21/18, last regulatory approval required. $SCG PR link.

Tesla(PBR249 $TSLA) sells $837 million of bonds backed by auto leases. MarketWatch PR link.

Flowers Foods(PBR594) completes around $205 million acquisition of privately held, gluten-free baking company Johnstown, CO, based $70-80 million in revenues anticipated in 2019 Canyon Bakehouse$FLO PR link.

Albemarle(PBR701) subsidiary to acquire 50% of Mineral Resources Limited (ASX: MIN)’s Wodgina hard rock lithium project in Western Australia for $1.15 billion and form a 50/50 joint venture with MRL to own and operate the Wodgina Project to produce spodumene concentrate and battery grade lithium hydroxide. $ALB PR link.

Genesco(PBR719) to sell its Lids Sports Group headwear unit for $100 million in cash to FanzzLids Holdings, a holding company of affiliates of Ames Watson Capital; Genesco also authorizes increase of current share repurchase program to $125 million. $GCO PR link.

Lincoln Financial(PBR202) hires Leon Roday as EVP/General Counsel. $LNC PR link.

The US Dept of Labor says the US September 2018 Average Wages & Salaries/Hour was at $25.03, Average Benefits/Hour $11.60, Total Average Hourly Compensation was $36.63, +1.1% from June 2018, +2.8% from September 2017USDOL PR link.

The US Federal Reserve says US Preliminary November 2018 Total Industry % of Manufacturing Capacity was at 78.5%, October 2018 was 78.1%, September 201878.4%, November 2017 77.1%. USFed PR link.

The US Dept of Commerce/Census says US Preliminary October 2018 Total Sales for Manufacturers was $508.4 billion, Retail $451.5 billion, and Wholesale $510.1 billion for Total Sales of $1.470 trillion, +0.3% from September 2018, +6.1% from October 2017USDOC PR link.

The US Dept of Commerce/Census says US Advance November 2018 Retail Sales were at $452.9 billion, Food Services & Drinking Places $60.6 billion, Total Retail $513.5 billion, +0.2% from October 2018, +4.2% from November 2017USDOC PR link.

***Thursday, December 13:

Apple(PBR2) to do major expansion of its operations in Austin, TX, including an investment of $1 billion to build a new campus in N Austin, also plans to establish new sites in Seattle, WA, San Diego, CA, and Culver City, CA, and expand in cities across the US including Pittsburgh, PA, New York. NY, and Boulder, CO over the next three years, to create 20,000 new jobs by 2023. $AAPL PR link.

GE(PBR18) to establish a new, independent company focused on building a comprehensive Industrial Internet of Things (IIoT) software portfolio, will start with $1.2 billion in annual software revenue and an existing global industrial customer base, to be a GE wholly-owned, independently run business with a new brand and identity, its own equity structure, and its own Board of Directors. $GE PR link.

GE(PBR18) Digital unit to sell majority stake in its cloud-based software productivity tools for field service technicians ServiceMax business to Silver Lake investment firm, will retain 10% equity interest, to close in early 2019, terms not disclosed. $GE PR link.

Intel(PBR45 $INTC) and ESL Gaming to invest over $100 million over 3 years to develop and promote esports. ESL Gaming PR link.

Centene(PBR59) to do 2:1 stock split in 1Q19, will require shareholder approval. $CNC PR link.

Coca-Cola(PBR81) extending a loan to Ioniqa Technologies (The Netherlands) for development of Ioniqa’s proprietary technology to produce high-grade, recycled PET content from hard-to-recycle plastic waste for use in bottles used by Coca-Cola. $KO PR link.

AbbVie(PBR101) authorizes a $5 billion increase to its existing stock repurchase program. $ABBV PR link.

Starbucks(PBR124) outlines growth agenda at investor conference, topics include Starbucks Delivers partnerships with Uber Eats in the USand Ele.me in China for delivery services, digital partnership with Alibaba in China, introducing Nitro Cold Brew in US stores, market opportunities with Nestle, expanding benefits packages for employees. $SBUX PR link.

L Brands(PBR225) to transfer ownership and operating control of its $250 million in 2018 revenues and $40 million loss La Senza fashion unit to an affiliate of global private equity firm Regent LP, in return for future consideration. $LB PR link.

Henry Schein(PBR235) authorizes $400 million share repurchase program, previous $400 million authorization has been completed. $HSIC PR link.

Consolidated Edison(PBR245) completes $1.54 billion acquisition of a Sempra Energy(PBR261) subsidiary for $1.54 billion that owns 981 megawatts (MW) AC of operating renewable electric production projects, with 2,600 MW AC ConEd is now 2nd largest producer of solar energy in N America. $ED PR link.

Mylan(PBR247) gets favorable US Patent and Trademark Appeal Board decision, found all claims of Sanofi’s Lantus (insulin glargine 100 Units/mL) formulation patents unpatentable, has 12 month sales over $6.5 billion. $MYL PR link.

Ball Corp(PBR266) to sell its metal beverage packaging facilities in China to ORG Technology Co. Ltd. (SZSE:002701) for approximately $225 million, to close 2H19. $BLL PR link.

Ingredion(PBR439) investing $140 million to accelerate production and expand portfolio of plant-based proteins, including pulse flours, concentrates and isolates. $INGR PR link.

Pioneer Natural Resources(PBR477)authorizes up to $2 billion share repurchase program. $PXD PR link.

Scientific Games(PBR699) to pay $151.5 million settlement in its litigation with Shuffle Tech International LLC and other plaintiffs. $SGMS PR link.

Avon Products(PBR468) hires Gustavo Arnal to be EVP/CFO starting in Spring 2019, succeeds departing Jamie Wilson. $AVP PR link.

Chipotle(PBR537) completes executive team with hiring of Roger Theodoredis as Chief Legal Officer and Tabassum Zalotrawala as Chief Development Officer, other executive team members listed. $CMG PR link.

Alliant Energy(PBR655) SVP and President/Interstate Power and Light(IPL) Douglas R. Kopp to retire in 1H19, John Larsen promoted to President/COO and CEO/IPL and Wisconsin Power & Light(WPL), effective 01/01/19. $LNT PR link.

MSC Industrial(PBR715) SVP/ Sales & Customer Success Dave Wright has resigned to pursue another opportunity, successor search starts. $MSM PR link.

The US Dept of Treasury says US November 2018 Federal Government Receipts were $206.0 billion, Outlays $410.9, Total Deficit$204.9 billion; Receipts YTD(2 months) are at $458.7 billion, Outlays YTD $764.0 billion, Total Deficit YTD $305.4 billion, November 2017 Total Deficit YTD was $201.8 billion. USTreasury PR link.

The US Dept of Labor says US Preliminary November 2018 Import Prices were -1.6%, October 2018 was +0.5%, September 2018+0.0%, November 2017 +1.0%, Last 12 Months +0.7%; November 2018 Export Priceswere -0.9%, October 2018 was +0.5%, September 2018 +0.0%, November 2017+0.5%, Last 12 Months +1.8%. USDOL PR link.

***Wednesday, December 12:

Walmart(PBR1 $WMT) and Express Scripts(PBR26) extend existing agreement to 3 more years to provide access to Walmart’s prescription services for Express Scripts clients’ covered members, to deliver additional affordable prescription solutions, averaging a 40% discount, to millions of underinsured and uninsured Americans. $ESRX PR link.

Kroger(PBR18) launches its Rx Savings Club, a new program designed to significantly reduce the cost of prescription drugs for customers across the country, adding to the retailer’s Wellness Your Way platform, developed in partnership with GoodRx, offers 3 tier pricing. $KR PR link.

Lowe’s(PBR40) authorizes new $10 billion share repurchase program, adds to current program which has $4.5 billion still available. $LOW PR link.

Merck(PBR73) to invest an initial $26 million and up to an additional $75 million based on achieved milestone, plus sales royalties, in Instituto Butantan, Sao Paulo, Brazil, a non-profit producer of immunobiologic products for Brazil in a collaboration agreement to develop vaccines to protect against dengue virus disease, the mosquito-borne infection. $MRK PR link.

Arrow Electronics(PBR104) authorizes additional $600 million share repurchase program. $VZ PR link.

Avnet(PBR152) to acquire privately held 500 employees in the US and India software and Artificial Intelligence (AI) company Softweb Solutions, terms not disclosed. $AVT PR link.

Norfolk Southern(PBR272) to relocate its headquarters from Norfolk, VA, to new facility to be built in Atlanta, GA$NSC PR link.

Bausch Health(PBR325) to acquire certain assets of in Chapter 11 as of today biopharmaceutical company focused on the development and commercialization of novel gastrointestinal (GI) therapies Synergy Pharmaceuticals(NASDAQ: SGYP) for approximately $200 million plus certain assumed liabilities as the “stalking horse” bidder. $BHS PR link.

NVR(PBR426) authorizes $300 million share repurchase program. $NVR PR link.

Laureate Education(PBR551) to sell 5 of its its universities in Spain and Portugal to global private equity firm Permira Funds for $871 million, to close 1H19. $LAUR PR link.

Boston Properties(PBR766) to acquire 650,000 MW hours of environmental attributes over three years from Capricorn Ridge II Wind Farm in Sterling, TX, projected power consumption at 33 buildings and garages totaling 15 million square feet in Boston, MA, area, reduces carbon intensity by 78% from 2008 base. $BXP PR link.

Boyd Gaming(PBR809) authorizes new $100 million share repurchase program, is in addition to the Company’s existing repurchase authorization. $BYD PR link.

Curtis-Wright(PBR830) authorizes additional $100 million for share purchase program. $CS PR link.

Wendy’s(PBR984) is first restaurant chain to partner with the Progressive Beef™ program, a verification program that includes understanding antibiotics use, humane environment for cattle; also has initiative to source vine-ripened tomatoes for its N American restaurants exclusively from US and Canada greenhouse farms by early 2019. $WEN PR link.

Owens & Minor(PBR308) interim CFO Robert Snead now officially EVP/CFO. $OMI PR link.

Brink’s(PBR667) hires George Neill as Chief Marketing Officer. $BCO PR link.

Synovus Financial(PBR949) CFO Kevin Blair now SVP/COO, will also be interim CFO until successor on board. $SNV PR link.

Regions Financial(PBR446) appoints Lead Independent Director Charles D. McCrary to be the independent Chair of the Board, effective 01/01/19, will succeed Executive Chairman O. B. Grayson Hall, Jr., who retires 12/31/18. $RF PR link.

SAIC(PBR541) appoints director Donna Morea as Chair, to succeed Edward “Sandy” Sanderson, Jr., who will remain a director, will be effective following the closing of SAIC’s planned acquisition of Engility Holdings 01/19. $SAIC PR link.

Par Pacific(PBR801) Chairman Melvyn N. Klein to step down effective 01/01/19, but will remain a Director, Vice Chairman Robert S. Silberman to be successor. $PARR PR link.

The US Dept of Labor says the US Preliminary November 2018 Average Current Earnings/Hour is at $27.35, Average Hours Worked/Week 34.4, for Current Weekly Earnings of $940.84, -0.1% from October 2018, +2.8% from November 2017USDOL PR link.

The US Dept of Labor says the US November 2018 Consumer Price Index is at +0.0%, All Items Less Food and Energy +0.2%, Last 12 Months +2.2%, October 2018 was at +2.5%, September 2018 +2.3%, November 2017+3.0%. USDOL PR link.

***Tuesday, December 11:

Verizon(PBR17) voluntary separation program for select U.S.-based management employees to result in 10,400 eligible employees separating by the end of 06/19, with nearly half exiting in 12/18; expects to record a non-cash goodwill impairment charge of approximately $4.6 billion in 4Q18 for its Oath digital advertising business; expects to complete an internal reorganization of legal entities associated with its wireless business in 12/18 resulting in a non-recurring deferred tax benefit of approximately $2.1 billion 4Q18. $VZ PR link.

Alphabet(PBR21)’s Google unit to accelerate sunsetting of its Google+ platform within 90 days because of low usage and recently discovered bugs. $GOOG PR link.

Allstate(PBR75 $ALL) plans to bring 2,500 jobs, possible corporate campus to Chandler, AZArizona Republic PR link.

McDonald’s(PBR123) announces a policy to reduce the overall use of antibiotics in its beef products, will start with 10 largest beef suppliers. $MCD PR link.

Cinemark(PBR708) says its Movie Club, the first exhibitor-sponsored subscription program, has surpassed 500,000 active members with more than 1,400 members per theatre, exceeds original first year forecast by more than doubling initial projections, $8.99/mo. $CNK PR link.

Avista(PBR957) commissions Adams Nielson solar array located in Lind, WA, is a 28 Megawatt DC array comprised of 81,700 panels spanning 200 acres, generates enough electricity to supply the equivalent of approximately 4,000 homes annually, is largest solar array in Washington State$AVA PR link.

Adtalem Education(PBR983) completes divestiture of Carrington College to San Joaquin Valley College, completes divestiture of DeVry University to Cogswell Education, to focus on post secondary education in the medical and healthcare markets. $ATGE PR link.

Axalta(PBR552) interim CEO Robert Bryant named permanent CEO, VP and interim CFO Sean Lannon also named permanent CFO, both effective immediately. $AXTA PR link.

Cleveland-Cliffs(PBR819) promotes EVP/Business Development Clifford T. Smith to EVP/COO, effective 01/01/19. $CLF PR link.

The US Dept of Labor says US Preliminary November 2018 Total Final Monthly Demand Producer Price Index is at +0.1%, October 2018 was at +0.6%, September 2018 +0.2%, November 2017 +0.4%, Last 12 Months+2.5%. USDOL PR link.

CoreLogic says US September 2018 Housing Loans 30 Days Or More Delinquents is at 4.4%, August 2018 was 4.0%, July 2018 4.1%, September 2017 5.0%, “Overall U.S. mortgage delinquency rates are up in natural disaster areas but down nearly everywhere else.” CoreLogic PR link.

Manpower(PBR137) says US hiring intentionsat 12 year high as demand for workers is set to grow in 2019 with positive job forecasts in all 50 states and 100 largest metro areas. $MAN PR link.

China informs US Sec of the Treasury Munchin that they will be reducing tariffs on US imported automobiles from 40% down to 15% as part of trade negotiations. MarketWatch PR link.

***Monday, December 10:

Qualcomm(PBR124) gets approval from China courts for two preliminary injunctions against four Chinese subsidiaries of Apple(PBR2) to immediately cease infringing upon two Qualcomm patents through the unlicensed importation, sale and offers for sale in China of iPhone 6S, iPhone 6S Plus, iPhone 7, iPhone 7 Plus, iPhone 8, iPhone 8 Plus and iPhone X$QCOM PR link.

CBS(PBR215) to sell 25-acre CBS Television City® property and sound stage operation to Los Angeles-based real estate developer Hackman Capital Partners for $750 million. $CBS PR link.

Tesla(PBR249 $TSLA)‘s CEO Elon Musk slams SEC, in “60 Minutes” interview says Tesla’s critics have been ‘unfair’ and ‘outrageous’.MarketWatch PR link.

Arthur J Gallagher(PBR443) acquires Toronto-based Accompass, provides health & welfare, investment & retirement, executive compensation, and broad-based compensation consulting and support services to clients throughout Canada, terms not disclosed. $AJG PR link.

Arthur J Gallagher(PBR443) acquires Chicago, IL-based captive consultant focused exclusively on US medical and professional liability participants Captive Insurance Company Design and Operations, terms not disclosed. $AJG PR link.

WABCO(PBR672) authorizes new up to $600 million share buyback program, effective 01/01/19 through 12/31/20, $300 million to be used from previous authorization by 12/31/18. $WBC PR link.

Red Hat(PBR715) sets special shareholders meeting for 01/16/19 to vote on $190.00/share, $34 billion cash acquisition by IBM(PBR34), to close 2H19 if approved. $RHT PR link.

EnerSys(PBR780) completes $750 million cash/stock acquisition of certain assets of select entities belonging to Bellingham, WA, based global commercial-grade energy solutions for broadband, telecom, renewable, industrial and traffic customers provider Alpha Technologies, did $591 million for year ending 06/30/18. $ENS PR link.

Allscripts(PBR900) to sell its interests in behavioral health, human services and post-acute care technologies provider Netsmart Technologies, will net around $525 million after taxes. $MDRX PR link.

GoPro(PBR994) plans to move most of its US-bound camera production out of China by the summer of 2019 to mitigate the potential impact of inclusion on any new tariff lists. International-bound camera production will remain in China.$GPRO PR link.

Gilead Sciences(PBR107) hires Daniel O’Day as Chairman/CEO, effective 03/01/19, Chief Patient Officer Gregg Alton named interim CEO from 01/01/19 to 03/01/19, succeeds President/CEO John F. Milligan, PhD, who steps down on 12/31/18. $GILD PR link.

Lockheed(PBR56) to promote Kenneth R. Possenriede to EVP/CFO, effective 02/11/19, to succeed Bruce L. Tanner who is retiring in mid 2019. $LMT PR link.

Merck(PBR73) President/Global Human Health Adam H. Schechter to step down 12/31/18 to become advisor to CEO, in reorganization successors will be Frank Clyburn as Chief Commercial Officer and Michael Nally as Chief Marketing Officer. $MRK PR link.

Owens & Minor(PBR308) hires Joseph S. Pekala as SVP/Chief Information Officer. $OMI PR link.

Spirit AeroSystems(PBR392) hires Jose Ignacio Garcia as SVP/Chief Financial Officer effective 01/09/19, to succeed retiring Sanjay Kapoor. $SPR PR link.

Clorox(PBR445) promotes Linda Rendle to EVP/Strategy and Operations and Eric Reynolds to EVP/Cleaning and Burt’s Bees, both effective 01/07/19. $CLX PR link.

S&P Global(PBR450) President/S&P Global Market Intelligence andEVP/Data & Technology Mike Chinn to leave in 03/19, Martina Cheung to become President/S&P Global Market Intelligence, Nick Cafferillo to become Chief Data & Technology Officer with an expanded role, both effective 01/02/19. $SPGI PR link.

PerkinElmer(PBR838) promotes Prahlad Singh to newly created role of President/COO, effective 01/01/19. $PKI PR link.

The US Dept of Labor says US Preliminary October 2018 Private Job Openings were at 6,489,000, Government 590,000, Total Job Openings 7,079,000, +1.7% from September 2018, +16.8% from October 2017Net Employment Change Over Last 12 Months is +2,511,000, +0.2% from September 2018, +18.2% from October 2017USDOL PR link.

Manpower(PBR137) says global 1Q19 hiring intentions point to continued global labor market growth led by US and Asia$MAN PR link.

***Friday, December 7:

The PBRMarketTools US Stock Exchanges Recap for the Week Ending 12/07/18:

DJIA ends the week at 24,388.95, -4.50% from last Friday/MTD, -7.82% QTD, -1.34% YTD, -9.09% from record 26,743.50 set 09/21/18.

NASDAQ ends the week at 6,969.25, -4.93% from last Friday/MTD, -13.39% QTD, +0.95% YTD, -14.06% from record 8,109.69 set 08/29/18.

SPX ends the week at 2,633.08, -4.60% from last Friday/MTD, -9.64% QTD, -1.52% YTD, -10.16% from record 2,930.75 set 09/20/18.

After a good appearance by The Stock Market Bull on Monday, The Stock Market Bearviciously slashed and gashed away the rest of the shortened trading week for an overwhelming 3-0 win in Week 49 and threatens to even the match and perhaps even take the year.

The Week 49 YTD tally is:
The Stock Market Bull: 20 weeks
The Stock Market Bear: 19 weeks
Mixed Results: 10 weeks

The Week 49 News Summary: While the US economy remains to show strong growth, it is being countered by the uncertainty of US/China trade and relations, uncertainty of what the Fedwill do with federal short term interest rates, and uncertainty about oil productionCorporate earnings were also mixed, the jobs report by many is regarded as soft, the government funding bill was kicked down the road a couple of weeks. At the same time the nation mournedthe loss of a beloved leader, George HW Bush, the 41st President of the US, whose leadership style is greatly missed.

Facebook(PBR68) authorizes an additional $9.0 billion for its share repurchase program, previous authorization was for up to $15.0 billion, no expiration date. $FB PR link.

Altria(PBR110) to acquire 45% stake in Toronto, CAN based global cannabinoid company Cronos Group(TSX: CRON and NASDAQ: CRON) for $1.8 billion, includes right to nominate 4 directors, and to acquire up to an additional 10% stake over 4 years. $MO PR link.

Altria(PBR110) to discontinue production and distribution of all MarkTen and Green Smoke e-vapor products and VERVE oral nicotine containing products, will refocus on more compelling reduced-risk tobacco product opportunities. $MO PR link.

Arthur J Gallagher(PBR443) acquires UKbased retail insurance broker Pavey Group, terms not disclosed. $AJG PR link.

Tower Intl(PBR872) to sell its European Operations to privately owned French automotive supplier Financière SNOP Dunois S.A. for around $290 million, to close 1Q19. $TOWR PR link.

Hillenbrand(PBR906) authorizes new share repurchase program for up to $200 million, no expiration date. $HI PR link.

Synovus Financial(PBR949) $2.9 billion all stock acquisition of FCB Financial Holdings, Inc. (NYSE: FCB), owner of Florida Community Bank (FCB), Florida’s largest community bank, gets regulatory approval from the Federal Reserve Board and the Georgia Dept of Banking and Finance, to close around 01/01/19. $SNV PR link.

Graco(PBR953) authorizes new up to 18 million shares repurchase program, is in addition to current program which has 3.3 million shares available, no expiration date. $GGG PR link.

Tesla(PBR249) hires Dane Butswinkas as General Counsel, succeeds Todd Maron who will be departing at end of 2018. $TSLA PR link.

The US Dept of Labor says US November 2018 Available Labor Force is at 162,770,000, Employed at 156,795,000, +233,000 from October 2018, +2,878,000 from November 2017Unemployed at 5,975,000, -100,000 from October 2018, -641,000 from November 2017Unemployment Rate at 3.7%, November 2017was at 4.1%. USDOL PR link.

The US Dept of Commerce/Census says US Preliminary October 2018 Total Wholesale Durable Goods Sales were at $246.9 billion, Non-Durable Goods $263.2 billion, Total Wholesale Sales $510.1 billion, -0.2% from September 2018, +6.8% from October 2017USDOC PR link.

The US Federal Reserve Board says US Preliminary October 2018 Revolving Consumer Credit Outstanding Annual Rate is at $1.037 trillion, Non-Revolving $2.296 trillion, Total Consumer Credit Outstanding Annual Rate $3.964 trillion, +0.9% from September 2018, +3.6% YTD(10 months), +4.5% from October 2017USFed PR link.

Fannie Mae(PBR20) says its US November 2018 Home Purchase Sentiment Index is at 86.2, October 2018 was at 85.7, September 2018 87.7, November 2017 87.8. “The HPSI has moved within a tight range over the past five months, as positive sentiment regarding the overall economy continued to offset cooling housing sentiment, …” $FNMA PR link.

The U of Michigan US Preliminary December 2018 Consumer Sentiment Index is at 97.5, November 2018 was at 97.5, October 201898.6, December 2017 95.9. “Consumer sentiment … has remained at very favorable levels since the start of 2017.” UMichigan PR link.

The Natl Retail Federation reports that monthly imports reach 2 million containers for first time as retailers continue rush to beat tariffs. NRF PR link.

***Thursday, December 6:

The November 2018 Snapshot 15 Summary:
The PBR1000 Top 5 by Market Capitalization
(Rank, Company, PBR Ranking by Revenues, Stock Symbol, Market Capitalization in billions):

1. Microsoft(PBR22 $MSFT), $852B
2. Apple(PBR4 $AAPL), $849B
3. Amazon(PBR8 $AMZN), $827B
4. Alphabet(PBR21 $GOOG), $761B
5. Berkshire Hathaway(PBR3 $BRK.B), $539B

Range: $852 billion to $0.04 billion
The PBR1000 Total: $26.383 trillion, +3.38% from 10/31/18, +2.30% from 12/29/17, +21.53% from 12/30/16
Average: $26.383 billion
Median: $7.86 billion

To get all 15 Snapshots and 27 rankings on The PBR1000 go to the Subscribe page.

IBM(PBR34) to sell its collaboration and on-premise marketing and commerce software products to India based HCL Technologies for $1.8 billion, to close mid 2019. $IBM PR link.

General Dynamics(PBR89) authorizes an additional 10 million shares repurchase program, balance available is now 12.1 million shares. $GD PR link.

Sears(PBR169 $SHLD) gets $4.6 billion bid to be bought out by Sears Chairman Eddie Lampert’s hedge fund ESL InvestmentsMarketWatch PR link.

Lennar(PBR227) 1,300 associates $272.7 million in revenues in 2017 wholly owned subsidiary North American Title Group‘s underwriter and the majority of its retail title business to combine with Silicon Valley-based “insurtech” startup States Title that uses predictive analytics to underwrite the title on a property nearly instantaneously, Lennar to retain a minority interest, remaining part of NATG business to be named CalAtlantic Title$LEN PR link.

VF Corp(PBR249) spin-off independent public company to be named Kontoor Brands, Inc, will hold VF’s Jeans(Wrangler® and Lee® brands)and VF Outlet businesses in the denim category, to be completed in 1H19. $VFC PR link.

NCR(PBR414) completes $5.05 share, around $184 million acquisition of Allentown, PA-based $63.4 million in revenue in 2018 JetPay (NASDAQ: JTPY), a provider of end-to-end payment processing and Human Capital Management solutions. $NCR PR link.

Arthur J Gallagher(PBR443) acquires Boston Marks Insurance NZ in New Zealand, BMG Aviation in Australia and the book of business of Boston Marks Insurance Brokers in the UK; all part of the Boston Marks Group, terms not disclosed. $AJG PR link.

Coca-Cola(PBR81) Chairman Muhtar Kent to retire in 04/19 after 41 years with the company, President/CEO James Quincy to become Chairman/CEO after 04/19 annual meeting. $KO PR link.

QEP Resources(PBR931)Chairman/President/CEO Chuck Stanley to retire effective 01/14/19, hires Tim Cutt to be President/CEO, Lead Independent Director David A. Trice to become Chairman. $QEP PR link.

Northrop Grumman(PBR109) elects Lucy C. Ryan as Corporate VP/Communications. $NOC PR link.

The US Federal Reserve Z1 Report says US 3Q18 Networth of Households/Non-Profits is at $109.039 trillion, +1.9% from 2Q18, +8.2% from 3Q17USFed PR link.

The US Dept of Labor says US Revised 3Q18 Labor Productivity Output/Hour-All Personswas +1.9%, 2Q18 was +3.6%, 1Q18 +0.6%, 3Q17 +2.8%. USDOL PR link.

The US Dept of Commerce says the US October 2018 Total Exports were $211.1 billion, Total Imports $266.6 billion, Total Deficit $55.5 billion, October 2017 Total Deficit was $47.0 billion; US October 2018 YTD(10 months) Total Exports were $2.093 trillion, Total Imports$2.596 trillion, Total Deficit YTD $502.7 billion, October 2017 YTD Total Deficit was $451.2 billion. USDOC PR link.

The US Dept of Commerce/Census says US Preliminary October 2018 Manufacturing Durable Goods New Orders were at $249.0 billion, Non-Durable Goods $253.7 billion, Total Manufacturing New Orders $502.7 billion, -2.1% from September 2018, +6.9% from October 2018Total Manufacturing New Orders YTD(10 months) were at $4.993 trillion, +7.5% from October 2017 YTDUSDOC PR link.

ADP(PBR217) says US Preliminary November 2018 Private Sector Employment grew by 179,000, -20.4% from October 2018, -10.5% from November 2017. 46,000 new jobs came from Small Businesses(1-49 employees), 119,000 from Mid Size Businesses(50-499 employees), and 13,000 from Large Businesses(500 or more employees); 16,000 jobs came from the Goods Producing Sector, and 163,000 jobs came from the Services Producing Sector$ADP PR link.

The Institute for Supply Management says the US November 2018 Non-Manufacturing Index(>50 = Economy Growing) is at 60.7%, October 2018 was at 60.3%, September 201861.6%, November 2017 57.4%, “… represents continued growth in the non-manufacturing sector, at a slightly faster rate.” ISM PR link.

IHS Markit says the US November 2018 Composite PMI Output Index is at 54.7, October 2018 was at 54.9, September 201853.9, November 2017 54.5, “The
overall expansion in the US private sector was strong overall, despite slower rates of growth in both the manufacturing and service sectors.” IHS Markit PR link.

***Wednesday, December 5:

***A National Day of Mourning:
Remembering George HW Bush,
41st President of the United States.

US Stock Exchanges Closed,
US Federal Agencies Closed. ***

November 2018 Snapshot 13 Summary: The PBR1000 Top 5 Stock Performers since 12/30/16(23 months) (Rank, Company, PBR Ranking by Revenues, Stock Symbol, 11/30/18 Stock Price, % Increase from 12/30/16):

1. Square(PBR845 $SQ), $69.84, +412%
2. Weight Watchers(PBR974 $WTW), $50.02, +337%
3. Crocs(PBR1000 $CROX), $27.80, +305%
4. RH(PBR803 $RH), $116.14, +278%
5. BlueLinx(PBR895 $BXC), $27.10, +263%

Range: +412% to -96%
Number of Companies at 0% or Better:622/993
Average: +18.08%
Median: +9.02%
DJIA: +22.09%
NASDAQ: +36.18%
SPX: +23.29%

Tomorrow: The PBR1000 November 2018 Top 5 Stocks by Market Capitalization.

CVS Health(PBR7) introduces Guaranteed Net Cost pricing model incorporates rebates that simplifies the financial arrangements underlying Pharmacy Benefit Management contracts. $CVS PR link.

Alphabet(PBR21)’s Waymo unit now piloting its Waymo One commercial self-driving service. $GOOG PR link.

American Airlines(PBR63) launches its first-ever biometric boarding pilot program, a one-stop facial recognition scan, is at Los Angeles International Airport(LAX), 90 day pilot. $AAL PR link.

Facebook(PBR68) responds to Six4Three, creators of the Pikinis app, documents and emails mentioned in the British Parliamentinvestigation. A link to Mark Zuckerberg’s Facebook post is included at the bottom. $FB PR link.

Dollar General(PBR118) says that for the 52-week fiscal year ending 01/31/20 (“fiscal year 2019”), the Company plans to execute approximately 2,075 real estate projects, including 975 new store openings, 1,000 mature store remodels, and 100 store relocations. $DG PR link.

Qualcomm(PBR124) unveils newest generation in the 8 Mobile Platform Series, the Qualcomm® Snapdragon™ 855 Mobile Platform, world’s first commercial mobile platform supporting multi-gigabit 5G, industry-leading AI and immersive extended reality (XR) collectively. $QCOM PR link.

Icahn Enterprises(PBR128) completes sale of its majority owned railcar manufacturer subsidiary American Railcar Industries(NASDAQ: ARII) for $70.00/share, $1.75 billion, to ITE Management LP subsidiary ITE Rail Fund$IEP PR link.

Icahn Enterprises(PBR128) selling its 77% stake in majority-owned subsidiary Ferrous Resources Limited to a wholly-owned subsidiary of Brazil based Vale SA, for around $550 million, includes debt, to close in 2019. $IEP PR link.

TravelCenters(PBR450) completes $330.8 million sale of its 225 convenience stores Minit Mart non-core business to EG Group$TA PR link.

LAM Research(PBR520) CEO Martin Anstice resigns per continuing investigation into allegations of misconduct in the workplace and conduct inconsistent with the company’s core values, does not involve financial systems, gets no severance pay, President/COO Tim Archer named President/CEO effective immediately. $LRCX PR link.

Gannett(PBR691) President/CEO Robert J. Dickey to retire upon appoint of succcessor but no later than 05/07/19. $GCI PR link.

The US Federal Reserve releases the Beige Book, “Most of the twelve Federal Reserve Districts reported that their economies expanded at a modest or moderate pace from mid-October through late November, though both Dallas and Philadelphia noted slower growth compared with the prior Beige Book period.” USFed PR link.

FreddieMac(PBR38) says “… housing stock is well short of what the US needs … if supply continues to fall short of demand, home prices and rents are likely to outpace income and household formation will fail to reach potential.” $FMCC PR link.

***Tuesday, December 4:

The November 2018 Snapshot 12 Summary: The PBR1000 Top 5 YTD(11 months) Stock Performers (Rank, Company, PBR Ranking by Revenues, Stock Symbol, 11/30/18 Stock Price, % Increase from 12/29/17):

1. BlueLinx(PBR895 BXC), $27.10, +178%
2. Fossil(PBR738 $FOSL), $19.33, +149%
3. Crocs(PBR1000 $CROX), $27.80, +120%
4. SeaWorld(PBR982 $SEAS), $28.48, +110%
5. Genesis Healthcare(PBR486 $GEN), $1.59, +109%

Range: +178% to -91%
Number of Companies at 0% or Better:419/1,000
Average: -1.24%
Median: -4.47%
DJIA: +3.31%
NASDAQ: +6.19%
SPX: +3.24%

Tomorrow: The PBR1000 Top 5 Stock Performers Since 12/30/16(23 months).

Kroger(PBR18) to expand pilot of Kroger Express with 2,300 items in 13 N Kentucky Walgreens Boots Alliance(PBR19) stores, announces Home Chef Express meal kits, with each kit serving 2 at $8.50/serving, now available in 65 Chicago area Walgreens stores. $KR PR link.

Alphabet(PBR21 $GOOG)’s Google unit suspends China developed Cheetah, Kika apps over ad-fraud allegations. MarketWatch PR link.

Microsoft(PBR22) expanding its Microsoft Airband Initiative to make broadband available to 2 million people in rural areas to 3 million by 07/04/22. $MSFT PR link.

Northrop Grumman(PBR111) authorizes additional $3 billion for its share repurchase program, balance available is now $4.1 billion. $NOC PR link.

PACCAR(PBR150) authorizes new $500 million share repurchase program, to start upon completion of current $300 million authorization, which has $124.8 million available. $PCAR PR link.

Wellcare Health Plans(PBR166) completes acquisition of CVS Health(PBR7)’s Aetna 2 million members Medicare Part D unit, Aetna will provide administrative services to, and assume the financial risk of, the Aetna Part D plans through the end of plan year 2019, Wellcare to recognize revenue starting in 2020. $WCG PR link.

CarMax(PBR202) rollout of a new customer-driven buying experience launching first in Atlanta, GA, with plans to scale nationwide. For the first time, CarMax customers will have a choice as to how they want to buy a car – from home, in-store, or a seamless combination of both in less than 30 minutes. $KMX PR link.

MasterCard(PBR233) authorizes new up to $6.5 billion share repurchase program of its Class Astock, will be effective upon completion of current $4 billion authorization which has $470 million remaining. $MA PR link.

WellTower(PBR405) announces new off-market investment volume of $1.0 billion at a blended cap rate of 6.4% comprised of 11 separate Seniors Housing and Medical Officetransactions. $WELL PR link.

YUM!(PBR459)’s Pizza Hut subsidiary to acquire online ordering software and service provider for the restaurant industry QuikOrder, already used for 50% of Pizza Hut sales, in use for around 20 years, to close in 12/18, terms not disclosed. $YUM PR link.

Windstream(PBR461) achieves 500,000 seat milestone with its cloud-based communications solutions, a 20% increase year over year growth rate. $WIN PR link.

Pyxus(PBR894) joint venture, Criticality, an integrated N Carolina-based industrial hemp company operating under N Carolina’s industrial hemp pilot program, has launched “Korent,” its new line of cannabidiol (CBD) oil products$PYX PR link.

Humana(PBR54) hires Vishal Agrawal, MD, as Chief Strategy and Corporate Development Officer, realigning its Care Delivery Organization under the leadership of CFO Brian Kane. $HUM PR link.

AIG(PBR57) promotes Mark D. Lyons to EVP/CFO, succeeds Sid Sankaran. $AIG PR link.

Sealed Air(PBR540) hires Angel Willis as VP/General Counsel and Secretary, effective 01/07/19. $SEE PR link.

CIT Group(PBR811) hires Robert Rubino as President/CIT Bank, N.A., the banking subsidiary of CIT, and head of Commercial Banking, effective 02/25/19. $CIT PR link.

The Purdue U/CME Group US November 2018 Ag Economy Barometer Composite Index(100=Unchanged) is at 134, October 2018 was at 136, September 2018 114, November 2017 128. “…producers still have a relatively optimistic view of the future … expressed concern about Congress’ failure to pass a new Farm Bill to replace the expired 2014 Farm Bill.” Purdue U/CME Group PR link.

***Monday, December 3:

The November 2018 Snapshot 11 Summary: The PBR1000 Top 5 Month Stock Performers(Rank, Company, PBR Ranking by Revenues, Stock Symbol, 11/30/18 Stock Price, % Increase from 10/31/18):

1. Sears(PBR168 $SHLDQ), $0.34, +70%
2. Eastman Kodak(PBR945 $KODK, $3.94, +61%
3. Community Health(PBR153 $CYH), $4.75, +50%
4. Newell Brands(PBR196 $NWL, $23.40, +47%
5. Hertz Global(PBR323 $HTZ), $18.71, +36%

Range: +70% to -64%
Number of Companies at 0% or Better:647/1,000
Average: +2.81%
Median: +2.90%
DJIA: +1.68%
NASDAQ: +0.34%
SPX: +1.79%

Tomorrow: The PBR1000 Top 5 Stock Performers YTD.

ExxonMobil(PBR3) makes its 10th discovery offshore Guyana and increased its estimate of the discovered recoverable resource for the Stabroek Block to more than 5 billion oil-equivalent barrels. $XOM PR link.

Marriott Intl(PBR120 $MAR) pledges to pay for new passports if fraud has taken place per hack reported on 11/30/18. MarketWatch PR link.

Bristol-Myers Squibb(PBR139) to transfer $3.8 billion of US pension obligations through a full termination of its US Retirement Income Plan$BMY PR link.

PPG(PBR193) will implement a 10% price increase on all of its industrial coatings products globally effective 01/01/19, cites unprecedented cost pressures. $PPG PR link.

Lennar(PBR227) completes sale of its Rialto Investment and Asset Management business to Stone Point Capital for $340 million. $LEN PR link.

Navistar(PBR332 $NAV) Defense unit to get 70% majority interest acquisition by Cerberus Capital Management, to close by end of 2018. http://bit.ly/NAVhl03Cerberus PR link.

Arthur J Gallagher(PBR441) acquires a 40% equity stake in Indonesian insurance broker and risk management services provider PT IBS Insurance Broking Service, as well as 100% of reinsurance broker, IBS Re Singapore, terms not disclosed. $AJG PR link.

Peabody Energy(PBR473) completes $400 million acquisition of Shoal Creek metallurgical coal mine from private coal producer Drummond Co, located on the Black Warrior River in Central Alabama, serves Asian and Europeansteel mills with high-vol A coking coal, sold 2.1 million tons in 2017. $BTU PR link.

Hub Group(PBR583) completes $255 million cash acquisition of 280 employees consolidation services to consumer packaged goods companies selling into the N American retail market and truck brokerage services provider CaseStack$HUBG PR link.

FMC(PBR722) authorizes new $1 billion share buyback program, expects to be completed by mid 2020. $FMC PR link.

Trimble(PBR751) reinstates share repurchase program, was on temporarily on hold during Viewpoint acquisition, has about $392 million available. $TRMB PR link.

ResMed(PBR815) to acquire private Madison, WI, based digital therapeutics for people living with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) and asthma provider Propeller Healthfor $225 million. $RMD PR link.

Crocs(PBR1000) to repurchase half of the outstanding Preferred Shares owned by Blackstone(PBR386), representing approximately 6.9 million common shares on an as-converted basis, for $183.7 million, or $26.64 per share. Blackstone will immediately convert its remaining Preferred Shares into approximately 6.9 million shares of the Company’s common stock and has agreed not to sell or transfer those shares to a third party for approximately nine months for which Crocs will pay Blackstone $15 million, Blackstone director nominations to move from two to one. $CROX PR link.

CenterPoint Energy(PBR297) President/CEO Scott M. Prochazka upon completion of $72/share, $6 billion acquisition of Vectren(PBR756) will be appointed to the same role for the combined company, other executives named, to close in 1Q19. $CNP PR link.

Deere & Co(PBR95) SVP/Power Systems, Worldwide Parts Services, Advanced Technology and Engineering, and Global Supply Management and Logistics Jean Gilles to retire after 38 years with Deere, effective 01/11/19, current executives named to add these responsibilities to their roles. $DE PR link.

Patterson Cos(PBR471) hires Tony Pellegrin as VP/Business Development, Mergers and Acquisitions. $PDCO PR link.

E*Trade(PBR811) promotes Chad Turner to CFO, will report to COO Mike Pizzi. $ETFC PR link.

Hexcel(PBR872) hires Colleen Pritchett as President/Aerospace, Americas. $HXL PR link.

The US Dept of Commerce/Census says US Preliminary October 2018 Total Residential Construction Spending Annual Rate was at $545.1 billion, Total Non-Residential Annual Rate at $763.8 billion, for Total Construction Spending Annual Rate of $1.309 trillion, -0.2% from September 2018, +4.9% from October 2017USDOC PR link.

The Institute for Supply Management says The US November 2018 Manufacturing PMI Index(>50% economy is expanding) is at 59.3%, October 2018 was at 57.7%, September 2018 59.8%, November 2017 58.2%, “Comments from the panel reflect continued expanding business strength…” ISM PR link.

IHS Markit says the US November 2018 US Manufacturing PMI is at 55.3, October 2018was 55.7, September 2018 55.6, November 2017 53.9, “… survey data signalled a solid improvement in operating conditions across the U.S. manufacturing sector …” IHS Markit PR link.

MNI Indicators says the US November 2018 Chicago Business Barometer(>50 is gaining)is at 66.4, October 2018 58.4, September 201860.4, November 2017 63.9,
“Business activity recorded its most impressive performance so far this year in November, ending a three-month run of declines.” MNI Indicators PR link.

Automotive News says US November 2018 Number of New Light Vehicles Sold was at 1,392,244, -0.5% from November 2017Average Transaction Price(per ALG) was $34,438, +1.7% from November 2017YTD(11 months) Total Sold is at 15,695,288, +0.4% from November 2017New Light Vehicles Sold Annual Rate is at 17,550,000. “U.S. light-vehicle sales slipped 0.5 percent in November as robust fleet shipments by some automakers failed to offset slumping demand for passenger cars.” Automotive News PR link.

***Friday, November 30:

The PBRMarketTools US Stock Exchanges Recap for the Week and Month Ending 11/30/18:

DJIA ends the week and month at 25,538.46, +5.16% from last Friday, +1.68% MTD, -3.48% QTD, +3.31% YTD, -4.81% from record 26,743.50 set 09/21/18.

NASDAQ ends the week and month at 7,330.54, +5.64% from last Friday, +0.34% MTD, -8.90% QTD, +6.19% YTD, -9.61% from record 8,109.69 set 08/29/18.

SPX ends the week and month at 2,760.16, +4.85% from last Friday, +1.79% MTD, -5.28% QTD, +3.24% YTD, -5.82% from record 2,930.75 set 09/20/18.

The Stock Market Bull returned with a vengence after the embarrassing loss last week to The Stock Market Bear, and more than made up for the difference. With a resounding 3-0 victory The Stock Market Bull wins both the week and month.

The Month 11 YTD tally is:
The Stock Market Bull: 6 months
The Stock Market Bear: 3 months
Mixed Results: 2 months

The Week 48 YTD tally is:
The Stock Market Bull: 20 weeks
The Stock Market Bear: 18 weeks
Mixed Results: 10 weeks

Check out the BLOG page for the previous RECAPS and SNAPSHOTS posts.

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PBRMarketTools.com provides news, data, and analysis on 1,000 of the largest publicly held companies with primary operations in the US. The data and analysis is included in The PBR1000 Monthly Snapshots, an MS-Excel workbook with 15 snapshot worksheets, 27 rankings, and over 200 fields of data and information on each company. Click here to find out more! 

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The PBR1000 November 2018 Stocks & Commodities Snapshots

November 2018 The PBR1000: The Stock Market Bull Comes From Behind

It was a wild ride in a volatile November as The Stock Market Bull pulls out a come from behind victory.

By Larry C. Paxton

It was the second month of Stock Market volatility even though the US economy again indicated good growth. There were also more mixed corporate earnings reportsUS/China trade issues remain unresolved even though there seems to be some hope that they will be soon, the intensely negative US general elections have resulted in a divided Congress but there is relief that the ordeal is over, energy and tech stocks tumbled, but retail had record results from the Black Friday through Cyber Monday to kick off the holiday season, perhaps a result of rising wages and consumer optimism.

The Stock Market Bull prevailed with a big comeback in the last week of November to take the month. He heads into the last month of 2018 with the lead, but The Stock Market Bear is unlikely to give up and will battle to the end.

Month 11 YTD tally is:
The Stock Market Bull: 6 months
The Stock Market Bear: 3 months
Mixed Results: 2 months

Week 48 YTD tally is:
The Stock Market Bull: 20 weeks
The Stock Market Bear: 18 weeks
Mixed Results: 10 weeks

The November 2018 US Major Stock Market Exchanges Summary

Number of Trading Days: 21

Number of Gain(+)/Loss(-) Days: DJIA 11+/10-; NASDAQ 10+/11-; SPX 10+/11-.

Record Days: None

Longest Gain Streak(Consecutive Days): DJIA 4 days(11/05-08/18), NASDAQ 3 days(10/30/18-11/01/18, 11/16-20/18), SPX 3 days(10/30/18-11/01/18, 11/05-07/18, 11/26-29/18)

Longest Loss Streak(Consecutive Days): DJIA 4 days(11/09-14/18), NASDAQ 3 days(11/08-12/18, 11/16-20/18), SPX 5 days(11/08-14/18)

Big Swing Up Days(>1.00%): 5 days(11/01/18(D, +1.06%; N, +1.75%; S, +1.06%), 11/07/18(D, +2.13%; N, +2.64%; S, +2.12%), 11/15/18(N, +1.72%; S, +1.06%), 11/26/18(D, +1.46%; N, +2.06%; S, +1.55%), 11/28/18(D, +2.50%, N, +2.95%; S, +2.30%))

Big Swing Down Days(<-1.00%): 3 days(11/02/18(N, -1.04%), 11/09/18(N, -1.65%), 11/12/18(D, -2.23%; N, -2.78%; S, -1.97%))

The PBR1000 November 2018 Snapshots

The following are Top 5 partial tables excerpts from The PBR1000 November 2018 Snapshots. The price for stocks is for the close of trading on November 30, 2018Month % Chg is compared to October 31, 2018YTD % Chg is compared to December 29, 2017, and the 23 Months % Chg is compared to December 30, 2016. The PBR Rank is by annual revenues.

To get the complete The PBR1000 Snapshots  just click here to get your 2 month or significantly discounted 12 month subscription and automatically download the November 2018 edition with the complete 15 Snapshots and 27 rankings and the bonus The PBRMarketTools US Monthly Indices Snapshots.

Table 1(S11): The PBR1000 Top 5 Month Stock Price % Gainers

Table 1 Summary: The range was +70% to -64%647 out of 1,000 stocks were up 0% or more. The average was a gain of 2.81%, the median was a gain of 2.90%.

Company PBR
Rank
Symbol Price
11/30/18
Mo
% Chg
YTD
% Chg
23 Mos
% Chg
Sears
168 SHLD $ 0.34 +70 -91 -96
Eastman Kodak
945 KODK $ 3.94 +61 +27 -75
Community Health
153 CYH $ 4.75 +50 +12 -15
Newell Brands
196 NWL $ 23.40 +47 -24 -48
Hertz Global
323 HTZ $ 18.71 +36 -15 -13

Table 2(S12): The PBR1000 Top 5 Year-To-Date Stock Price % Gainers

Table 2 Summary: The range was +178% to -91%419 out of 1,000 stocks were up 0% or more. The average was a loss of 1.24%, the median was a loss of -4.47%.

Company PBR
Rank
Symbol Price
11/30/18
Mo
% Chg
YTD
% Chg
23 Mos
% Chg
BlueLinx 895 BXC $ 27.10 +15 +178 +263
Fossil 738 FOSL $ 19.33 -11 +149 -25
Crocs 1000 CROX $ 27.80 +35 +120 +305
SeaWorld 982 SEAS $ 28.48 +9 +110 +50
Genesis Healthcare 486 GEN $ 1.59 +3 +109 -63

Table 3(S13): The PBR1000 Top 5 23 Months Stock Price % Gainers

Table 3 Summary: The range was +412% to -96%622 out of 993 stocks were up 0% or more. The average was a gain of 18.08%. The median was a gain of 9.02%.

Company PBR
Rank
Symbol Price
11/30/18
Mo
% Chg
YTD
% Chg
23 Mos
% Chg
Square 845 SQ $ 69.84 -5 +101 +412
Weight Watchers 974 WTW $ 50.02 -24 +13 +337
Crocs 1000 CROX $ 27.80 +35 +120 +305
RH 803 RH $ 116.14 +0 +35 +278
BlueLinx 895 BXC $ 27.10 +15 +178 +263

Table 4(S15): The PBR1000 Top 5 Market Capitalization

Table 4 Summary: The range was $852 billion to $0.04 billion. The average is $26.383 billionmedian is $7.86 billion, out of 1,000 companies.

Company PBR
Rank
Symbol Market Cap($B)
11/30/18
Mo
% Chg
YTD
% Chg
23 Mos
% Chg
Microsoft
22 MSFT $ 852 B +7 +29 +76
Apple 2 AAPL $ 849 B -18 -3 +37
Amazon 8 AMZN $ 827 B +11 +49 +132
Alphabet 21 GOOG $ 761 B +5 +4 +43
Berkshire Hathaway 4 BRKB $ 539 B +7 +10 +34
The PBR1000
  $ 26,383 B +3 +2 +22

Table 5: The PBR1000 Index & Primary US Stock Exchanges/Commodities

Company Price
11/30/18
Mo
% Chg
YTD
% Chg
23 Mos
% Chg
The PBR1000 84,765.70 +2.8 -1.2 +18.1
DJIA 25,538.46 +1.7 +3.3 +29.2
NASDAQ 7,330.54 +0.3 +6.2 +36.2
S&P500 2,760.16 +1.8 +3.2 +23.3
GOLD 1,227.80 +0.7 -5.9 +6.6
SILVER 14.25 -0.4 -16.1 -10.9
OIL            50.72 -21.9 -15.6 -5.6

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PBRMarketTools.com provides The PBR1000, a compilation of 1,000 of the largest publicly held companies with primary operations in the US. These companies generate $14 trillion in annual revenues, more than all other US companies combined. The PBR1000 Monthly Snapshots provides these 1,000 companies in Excel format, includes 15 worksheets with 26 rankings, over 200 data/information points, hotlinks to key data, and important news items per company. This service is used by astute business professionals and shrewd investors worldwide.

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