Liveblog Archief woensdag 3 februari 2021

TOP NEWS
• Reddit trading frenzy fades as Yellen summons agencies
A social media-driven trading frenzy cooled on Wednesday as U.S. Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen called a meeting of top officials that could result in tougher markets regulation for hedge funds, small investors and stockbrokers.

• Biden team in talks with utilities, car companies about emissions -climate adviser
U.S. President Joe Biden's administration has started discussions with the utility and automobile sectors about reducing greenhouse gas emissions, White House domestic climate change adviser Gina McCarthy told Reuters.

• Spotify outlook weakens as pandemic uncertainty persists
Spotify forecast that revenue and paid subscribers would be below Wall Street estimates this quarter due to uncertainty over how long the coronavirus crisis would last and with it a surge in demand for its music streaming.

• U.S. refiners talk up renewable projects after a year of lousy fuel demand
Following a year of grim losses amid pandemic lockdowns that dented demand for fuel as people stuck close to home, the largest U.S. independent refiners are promoting plans to boost production of renewable fuels.

• Microsoft backs Australia's proposed media laws, eyes expansion
Microsoft said it fully supported proposed new laws in Australia that would force internet giants Google and Facebook to pay domestic media outlets for their content.


BEFORE THE BELL
Wall Street futures rose a day after strong quarterly earnings reported by heavyweights Alphabet and Amazon and on fresh hopes over progress of the pandemic relief package. European shares edged up as investors focused on a busy day of earnings, while Asian equities ended in the green as governments looked to boost spending. The dollar was little changed, while silver prices climbed. Oil hit an 11-month high, boosted by lower U.S. crude and gasoline inventories. Private payrolls data is expected later in the day.


STOCKS TO WATCH
Results
• Alibaba Group Holding Ltd: The online retailer beat estimates for third-quarter revenue on a pandemic-driven jump in e-commerce, but its shares dropped amid regulatory heat for founder Jack Ma's business empire. It also announced a bond sale worth as much as $5 billion though sources have said plans for the fundraising were in the works before the regulatory clampdown. Alibaba's total revenue rose 37% to 221.1 billion yuan in the quarter, above analysts' estimates of 214.4 billion yuan, according IBES data from Refinitiv. Core commerce revenue from its main e-commerce sites rose 38% to a record high of 195.5 billion yuan, powered by the company's Chinese operations. Net income attributable to ordinary shareholders was 28.85 yuan per American depository share, compared to 19.55 yuan per ADS, a year earlier. Revenue for cloud computing rose 50% year on year, hitting 16.12 billion yuan, with the division posting positive EBITA for the first time.

• Alphabet Inc: Google’s parent company topped fourth-quarter sales expectations for its advertising and Cloud businesses, helped in part by the pandemic, and said it will resume big spending on hiring and facility construction. Alphabet's 2020 sales growth of 13% was the slowest increase since 2009 when it posted 8.5% growth. Still, matched with spending cuts, Alphabet increased its cash hoard by $17 billion in 2020 to $137 billion. Alphabet said Google Cloud posted an operating loss of $1.24 billion in the fourth quarter and a $5.6 billion loss for 2020, about 21% steeper than 2019's annual loss. Aided by $3 billion in unrealized startup investment gains, Alphabet's fourth-quarter profit rose 43% to $22.30 per share, beating estimates of $15.95 per share. Google's advertising business, including YouTube, accounted for 81% of Alphabet's record $56.9 billion in quarterly sales, which rose 23% compared with a year ago. Alphabet said it expects a $2.1 billion boost to operating results in 2021 after a new assessment extended the useful life of its servers and networking gear by a year or more.

• Amazon.com Inc: The e-commerce giant’s founder Jeff Bezos will step down as CEO and become executive chairman, naming the head of its lucrative cloud computing division as successor in a sign of the company's transformation from web retailer to internet conglomerate. This summer, Bezos, 57, will hand the keys of the world's largest online retailer to Andy Jassy, head of its cloud division Amazon Web Services known as AWS. Meanwhile the company reported its net sales rose to $125.6 billion as consumers turned to the world's largest online retailer for their holiday shopping, beating analyst estimates of $119.7 billion, according to IBES data from Refinitiv. While the cloud computing division recently announced deals with ViacomCBS, the BMW Group and others, it posted revenue of $12.7 billion, short of the $12.8 billion analysts had estimated. Net sales for the current quarter are expected to be between $100 billion and $106 billion.

• Amgen Inc: U.S. biotech company provided a 2021 earnings forecast below Wall Street estimates and said it had paused or halted enrollment for clinical trials of three cancer drugs. The company also said it expects net selling prices for its drugs to fall by a rate in the mid-single digits this year - after a drop of 6% in 2020 - and the COVID pandemic will continue to impact sales. For 2021, Amgen forecast adjusted earnings of $16.00 to $17.00 per share, putting the midpoint below analysts' estimates of $17.03 per share, according to IBES data from Refinitiv. The full-year revenue forecast of $25.8 billion to $26.6 billion was more in line with analyst projections of $26.45 billion. Amgen reported a higher-than-expected profit for the fourth quarter, with adjusted earnings per share of $3.81 beating the average analyst estimate by 41 cents. The number of Amgen shares outstanding fell 13% from a year earlier. Net profit for the quarter fell 3% to $2.76 per share. Revenue rose 7% to $6.6 billion, in line with analysts’ estimates.

• Banco Santander SA: The bank is betting on a vaccine-driven economic recovery in 2021 after the euro zone's second-biggest bank plunged to its first ever annual loss last year. The lender said it expected its underlying return on tangible equity (ROTE), a key measure of profitability, to recover to 9-10% this year from 7.44% at the end of 2020. A recent improvement in loan payments by customers also led it to estimate a lower cost of insuring loans for 2021. For the fourth quarter of 2020, however, Santander's net profit slumped 90% to 277 million euros as it racked up hundreds of millions of euros in costs to pay for job cuts and branch closures as part of its restructuring plan, mainly in Spain. Analysts polled by Reuters had expected a profit of 411 million.

• Chipotle Mexican Grill Inc: The company missed Wall Street estimates for fourth-quarter profit, hurt by costs related to keeping its business running during the COVID-19 pandemic, with the burrito chain's shares falling nearly 2% in after-hours trading. Strong digital operations at the fast-casual chain, a standout performer in the industry during the coronavirus, have helped it ride out the worst of the impact, even as its expenses have climbed as it bolsters its delivery network. Digital sales rose nearly three-fold and drove a 5.7% rise in comparable sales, helped by a surge in online orders in some parts of the United States. Total revenue increased 11.6% to $1.6 billion for the fourth quarter, the company said. Excluding one-time items, the company earned $3.48 per share, missing the estimate of $3.73, according to IBES data from Refinitiv.

• Check Point Software Technologies Ltd: The company reported a higher-than-expected 7% rise in quarterly net profit, boosted by increased demand for network security as more people work remotely during the coronavirus pandemic. Israel-based Check Point said it earned $2.17 per diluted share excluding one-time items in the fourth quarter, up from $2.02 a year earlier. Revenue grew 4% to $564 million and the company topped $2 billion for all of 2020. It was forecast to earn $2.11 a share on revenue of $555.4 million. Check Point said it bought back 2.7 million shares in the quarter worth $323 million as part of its share repurchase programme.

• Electronic Arts Inc: The company raised its annual sales outlook, betting on strong sales of its sports titles including "FIFA 21" and "Madden NFL 21" as more people turn to videogames to keep themselves entertained during COVID-19 lockdowns. Videogame sales in the United States hit a record $56.9 billion last year, according to research firm NPD, as demand for virtual entertainment soared after major public events were canceled to stem the spread of the novel coronavirus. The company raised its full-year adjusted sales forecast to $6.08 billion from $5.95 billion, edging past analysts' estimates of $6.01 billion, according to Refinitiv IBES data. The company's adjusted revenue for the third quarter was $2.4 billion, narrowly beating analysts' average estimate of $2.39 billion, according to IBES data from Refinitiv.

• Match Group Inc: The company beat Wall Street estimates for fourth-quarter revenue on Tuesday as demand for its dating apps Tinder, Hinge and Pairs jumped in regions where COVID-19 cases have declined. The pandemic-induced lockdowns forced people to stay indoors, but Match has been able to keep users interested in its services by adding a slew of new features to boost interaction in the new setting. Match's flagship app Tinder, with 66 million average monthly active users, dominated the dating market worldwide with 53.8% of the market share during the quarter, according to analytics firm Apptopia. Average subscribers on Match's apps increased about 12% to 10.9 million in the quarter ended Dec.31.The company's total revenue rose 19% to $651.4 million, beating analysts' estimates of $648.8 million. Net earnings attributable to Match shareholders rose to $140.6 million, or 48 cents per share, from $100.4 million, or 48 cents per share, a year earlier.

• Sony Corp: Japan's Sony raised its full-year profit outlook by one-third, helped by pandemic-fuelled demand for games, movies and other content, but said it was struggling to build enough PlayStation 5 consoles amid a global shortage of semiconductors. The electronics and entertainment conglomerate said some customers may have to wait longer for their consoles as it competes for chips with other businesses ranging from smartphone makers to car companies. Sony expects to sell more than 7.6 million PS5 consoles by end-March, he added. The shift to the new games console is also expected to encourage gamers to move to online downloads or subscription services, helping Sony boost the profitability of its gaming unit. Sony now expects $8.95 billion in operating profit in the 12 months through March compared with the 700 billion yen it previously forecast.

• Spotify Technology SA: The company beat Wall Street estimates for fourth-quarter revenue on Wednesday, as the music streaming company hit 155 million paid subscribers for its premium service. Premium subscribers, who account for most of its revenue, were up 24% from a year earlier. Analysts on average were expecting the company to have 153.26 million paid subscribers, according to IBES data from Refinitiv. Total monthly active users rose 27% to 345 million. Spotify said the pandemic had had little impact on its subscriber growth, though it may have contributed positively to pulling forward new signups.
Vodafone Group Plc. The company’s boss Nick Read gave an upbeat assessment of the mobile operator's post-pandemic prospects, predicting accelerating growth after it reported an increase in third-quarter revenue. The world's second-largest mobile operator soundly beat analyst expectations for organic service revenue growth - including the likes of monthly access charges, airtime usage and roaming - in the three months to Dec. 31. Its 0.4% growth compared with analyst expectations of a decline between 0.1% and 0.2%. Chief Executive Read said there was momentum across the business, including in its largest market, Germany.

Moves
• Freeport-McMoRan Inc: The U.S. miner named its long-time Chief Executive Officer Richard Adkerson as chairman of the board, the company said. Adkerson, 74 and CEO since 2003, said he has no plans to retire and is healthy. The company also said Gerald Ford would retire as director upon the end of his current term in June. Ford would step down as non-executive chairman of the board. Freeport added it has reinstated dividend on its common stock at an annual rate of $0.30 per share, an increase of $0.10, prior to suspending the payments in April last year due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

In Other News
• Albemarle Corp: The company’s shares slipped in extended trading on Tuesday after the world's largest producer of lithium launched a $1.3 billion share offering to fund its growth plans and pay down debt. The company last month said it expects demand for the white metal used in electric vehicle (EV) batteries to grow four-fold in the next five years, given a satisfactory recovery in prices. Albemarle, which has a debt of $2.9 billion as of Sept. 30, said it would use the net proceeds of the offering to expand operations in Australia, Chile, Nevada and China. Last month, Charlotte, North Carolina-based Albemarle said it would double production at its lithium facility in Silver Peak, Nevada, part of a plan to boost supply for the burgeoning EV market.

• BHP Group Ltd: Lawyers for about 200,000 Brazilian claimants, whose multi-billion dollar lawsuit against Anglo-Australian miner over a 2015 dam collapse was struck down last November, said they will petition the English Court of Appeal to review the case. "This is a challenging case for the courts, but we are optimistic that we can establish jurisdiction in England and see justice done for our clients," said Tom Goodhead, managing partner at PGMBM, which is representing the claimants. "In the event of any adverse costs ruling, these would be covered by the funders and insurers of the case, not the victims of the disaster. In no circumstances would we allow our clients to incur the costs," he said. He also said any costs would be appealed as part of the appeal process.

• Citigroup Inc: The bank’s chief executive officer Jane Fraser said she has decided to form a new global operating team to build accountability among its top leaders. "A key element of our Transformation work is to hold our business leaders accountable not only for the performance of their own teams, but for how we collectively operate our firm and deliver the outcomes for which we are responsible," Fraser said in a memo. The team will consist of Fraser's executive management team, the group's treasurer and leaders of Citigroup's various units, including its investment-banking unit, Global Wealth operations and U.S. consumer unit.

• Exxon Mobil Corp: Dozens of unhappy investors told Exxon Mobil on Tuesday to move more quickly and forcefully to improve returns and focus on clean energy, hours after the oil company reported an historic annual loss and said it added a new director to its board. Exxon reported a net annual loss of $22.4 billion for 2020 and named Tan Sri Wan Zulkiflee Wan Ariffin, the former head of Malaysia's state oil company, as an independent director. The board change failed to mollify critics who want Houston-based Exxon to overhaul itself by focusing more on clean energy to improve its financial performance. A coalition of investors that includes Seattle City Employees Retirement System, Dana Investment Advisors and Members of the Interfaith Center on Corporate Responsibility and invests more than $2 trillion told Exxon on Tuesday they are unhappy and will speak publicly and privately.

• Fox Corp: Rupert Murdoch's Fox News, part of Fox Corp, ended January with a 19-year streak as the top U.S. cable news network but ceded ground to CNN, according to Nielsen Media Research. Fox News averaged 1.8 million viewers across the total day and 3.5 million viewers in primetime for the Nielsen ratings year from January 2020 to February 2021, according to Nielsen. But January marked a shift in both TV viewing habits and U.S. politics, as CNN viewers tuned in en masse as Democrats gained control of the U.S. Senate, former President Donald Trump's supporters stormed the Capitol and Democratic President Joe Biden was inaugurated. Across the entire day AT&T -owned CNN outperformed Fox Corp's Fox News in January, with record ratings as the top cable news network that month.

• GameStop Corp: U.S. Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen is calling a meeting of top financial regulators this week to discuss market volatility driven by retail trading in shares of the company, silver and other stocks favored on social media. Yellen will convene the heads of the Securities and Exchange Commission, the Federal Reserve, the Federal Reserve Bank of New York and the Commodity Futures Trading Commission, the Treasury said. Yellen sought and received permission from ethics lawyers before calling the meeting, according to a document seen by Reuters, along with clearance to engage on wide-ranging issues in the financial services industry. Treasury official, who declined to be identified by name, said the meeting would be held this week, possibly as early as Thursday. Separately, Prominent hedge funds including Dan Sundheim's D1 Capital Partners and Steve Cohen's Point72 Asset Management chalked up deep losses last month as hotly traded GameStop hurt returns while others like Jason Mudrick's Mudrick Capital posted gains during January's turbulent trading, investors in the funds said on Tuesday.

• McDonald's Corp: A Delaware judge rejected former McDonald's Chief Executive Steve Easterbrook's bid to dismiss a lawsuit by the fast-food chain seeking to recoup millions of dollars in severance pay because he allegedly covered up improper sexual relationships with employees. McDonald's knew that he had engaged in one, non-physical consensual relationship with an employee when the company agreed to a severance package estimated at $41.8 million in November 2019, both sides agreed. The former CEO argued in his motion to dismiss that the restaurant company had evidence of his other sexual relationships with employees on its computer system so should have been aware of them. McDonald's said it looked forward to proving Easterbrook's misconduct. "He violated the company's policies, disrespected its values and abused the trust of his co-workers, the board, our franchisees and our shareholders," it said in a statement.

• Moderna Inc: Singapore has become the first country in Asia to approve Moderna's COVID-19 vaccine as it begins rolling out its immunisation programme to the wider population. The city-state expects to receive the first shipment of the Moderna shots around March, adding to its stock of Pfizer-BioNTech, vaccine approved in December. Singapore expects to have vaccinated its entire population by the third quarter, although last month the government said it was expecting shipment delays of Pfizer-BioNTech vaccines due to upgrades in Pfizer's manufacturing plant.

• Microsoft Corp: The software giant said it fully supported proposed new laws in Australia that would force internet giants Google and Facebook to pay domestic media outlets for their content. "While Microsoft is not subject to the legislation currently pending, we'd be willing to live by these rules if the government designates us," the company said. "The code reasonably attempts to address the bargaining power imbalance between digital platforms and Australian news businesses." Microsoft in its statement said it will offer small firms a chance to transfer advertising business to Bing with no costs and that it would invest further in the product to ensure it is competitive.

• PG&E Corp and SBA Communications Corp: The utilities company said it sold the rights to put wireless telecom antennas on its towers to a subsidiary of SBA Communications for $973 million. "The sale of these licenses, which apply to over 700 towers, is expected to generate $973 million in initial proceeds, subject to customary closing adjustments", PG&E said in a statement. The company will use the proceeds to pay down debt, reduce customer bills and help offset future share sales and stock dilution, it said. Chris Foster, PG&E's interim chief financial officer, said that selling non-core assets like these was one way the company was continuing to follow through on its commitment of achieving financial stability made after it emerged from bankruptcy last year.

• SolarWinds Corp: Suspected Chinese hackers exploited a flaw in software made by SolarWinds to help break into U.S. government computers last year, five people familiar with the matter told Reuters, marking a new twist in a sprawling cybersecurity breach that U.S. lawmakers have labeled a national security emergency. Two people briefed on the case said FBI investigators recently found that the National Finance Center, a federal payroll agency inside the U.S. Department of Agriculture, was among the affected organizations, raising fears that data on thousands of government employees may have been compromised. The software flaw exploited by the suspected Chinese group is separate from the one the United States has accused Russian government operatives of using to compromise up to 18,000 SolarWinds customers, including sensitive federal agencies, by hijacking the company's Orion network monitoring software.

• Tyson Foods Inc: The company was sued for allegedly defrauding shareholders with misleading disclosures about its ability to combat the spread of the coronavirus in its facilities. The lawsuit, which seeks class-action status, was filed in Brooklyn federal court by Mingxue Guo, who lives in Canada, and seeks unspecified damages for Tyson shareholders from March 13 to Dec. 15, 2020. Tyson spokesman Gary Mickelson defended the company's handling of the pandemic, saying it has spent more than $500 million on employee safety, including coronavirus tests on thousands of workers a week. "Our top priority will always be the health and safety of our people," Mickelson said.

• USA Rare Earth LLC: The company has hired bankers to explore going public in a deal that could value the strategic minerals company at more than $1 billion, according to a source familiar with the matter and documents seen by Reuters. The company, which is developing the Round Top rare earths deposit in Texas, is considering an initial public offering (IPO) or going public via a special purpose acquisition company (SPAC), though it does not plan to issue debt, according to the source and documents. Any offering is expected to raise between $300 million to $500 million, which would be used in part to finance the Texas mine and processing facility. The company hopes to have it operating by 2023.

• Walmart Inc: Asda, the British supermarket group that Walmart is selling, said its sales rose 6.9% year-on-year in the eight weeks to Dec. 24. In October, the Issa brothers and private equity group TDR Capital agreed to buy a majority holding in Asda from Walmart in a deal giving it an enterprise value of $8.8 billion. The brothers and TDR said they expected the deal to complete this month.


COLUMN
Basking in 'pseudo wealth'?: Mike Dolan
If "pseudo wealth" is a source of often unexplained economic volatility, then the financial rollercoaster accompanying the pandemic has many wild rides in store. The theory of "pseudo wealth" - developed by Nobel laureate Joe Stiglitz and others - riffs off the idea people's consumption is altered by assumptions about future gains or even losses in investments or asset bets.


ANALYSTS' RECOMMENDATION
• Alphabet Inc: Piper Sandler raises target price to $2250 from $2056, citing the company’s robust fourth-quarter results and potential growth in its cloud business.

• Amazon.Com Inc: Canaccord Genuity raises target price to $4,100 from $3,800, following the company’s better-than-expected profit in the fourth quarter and higher revenue guidance.

• Chipotle Mexican Grill Inc: Cowen and Company raises target price to $1900 from $1640, noting the company’s strong digital sales and higher earnings per share estimates.

• Exxon Mobil: JPMorgan raises target price to $59 from $56, citing company’s improved capital discipline and recovery in 2021 earnings.

• Pfizer Inc: Mizuho cuts target price to $42 from $44, stating the company’s lower-than-expected earnings in the fourth quarter and higher expense.


ECONOMIC EVENTS (All timings in U.S. Eastern Time)
0815 (approx.) ADP national employment for Jan: Expected 49,000; Prior -123,000
0945 Markit Composite Final PMI for Jan: Prior 58.0
0945 Markit Services PMI Final for Jan: Prior 57.5
1000 ISM N-Manufacturing PMI for Jan: Expected 56.8; Prior 57.2
1000 ISM N-Manufacturing Business Activity for Jan: Expected 57.3; Prior 59.4
1000 ISM N-Manufacturing Employment Index for Jan: Prior 48.2
1000 ISM N-Manufacturing New Orders Index for Jan: Prior 58.5
1000 ISM N-Manufacturing Price Paid Index for Jan: Prior 64.8


COMPANIES REPORTING RESULTS
Abbvie Inc: Expected Q4 earnings of $2.85 per share
Aflac Inc: Expected Q4 earnings of $1.05 per share
Align Technology Inc: Expected Q4 earnings of $2.14 per share
Allstate Corp: Expected Q4 earnings of $3.81 per share
Avalonbay Communities Inc: Expected Q4 earnings of 86 cents per share
Biogen Inc: Expected Q4 earnings of $4.87 per share
Cognizant Technology Solutions Corp: Expected Q4 earnings of 90 cents per share
Corteva Inc: Expected Q4 loss of 5 cents per share
eBay Inc: Expected Q4 earnings of 83 cents per share
Howmet Aerospace Inc: Expected Q4 earnings of 17 cents per share
KLA Corp: Expected Q2 earnings of $3.19 per share
Lincoln National Corp: Expected Q4 earnings of $1.93 per share
MetLife Inc: Expected Q4 earnings of $1.52 per share
Mid-America Apartment Communities Inc: Expected Q4 earnings of 53 cents per share
PayPal Holdings Inc: Expected Q4 earnings of 100 cents per share
Qorvo Inc: Expected Q3 earnings of $2.68 per share
Qualcomm Inc: Expected Q1 earnings of $2.10 per share
W W Grainger Inc: Expected Q4 earnings of $3.86 per share


CORPORATE EVENTS (All timings in U.S. Eastern Time)
0800 Biogen Inc: Q4 earnings conference call
0800 Boston Scientific Corp: Q4 earnings conference call
0800 Dynatrace Inc: Q3 earnings conference call
0800 Evercore Inc: Q4 earnings conference call
0800 Spotify Technology SA: Q4 earnings conference call
0830 Apollo Global Management Inc: Q4 earnings conference call
0830 Match Group Inc: Q4 earnings conference call
0830 Silicon Laboratories Inc: Q4 earnings conference call
0900 Abbvie Inc: Q4 earnings conference call
0900 Atmos Energy Corp: Q1 earnings conference call
0900 Humana Inc: Q4 earnings conference call
0900 Ingredion Inc: Q4 earnings conference call
0900 Performance Food Group Co: Q2 earnings conference call
0900 Santander Consumer USA Holdings Inc: Q4 earnings conference call
0900 Scotts Miracle-Gro Co: Q1 earnings conference call
0930 Markel Corp: Q4 earnings conference call
1000 Atmos Energy Corp: Annual Shareholders Meeting
1000 Enterprise Products Partners LP: Q4 earnings conference call
1000 Howmet Aerospace Inc: Q4 earnings conference call
1000 Lithia Motors Inc: Q4 earnings conference call
1000 Littelfuse Inc: Q4 earnings conference call
1000 Steris plc: Q3 earnings conference call
1100 Globe Life Inc: Q4 earnings conference call
1100 Twist Bioscience Corp: Annual Shareholders Meeting
1100 W W Grainger Inc: Q4 earnings conference call
1300 Avery Dennison Corp: Q4 earnings conference call
1630 Align Technology Inc: Q4 earnings conference call
1630 Digital Turbine Inc: Q3 earnings conference call
1645 Qualcomm Inc: Q1 earnings conference call
1700 Avantor Inc: Q4 earnings conference call
1700 Cognizant Technology Solutions Corp: Q4 earnings conference call
1700 eBay Inc: Q4 earnings conference call
1700 KLA Corp: Q2 earnings conference call
1700 PayPal Holdings Inc: Q4 earnings conference call
1700 Qorvo Inc: Q3 earnings conference call
1900 Yum China Holdings Inc: Q4 earnings conference call

De futures op Wall Street trekken door omhoog terwijl de indices in Europa ook nog een stapje omhoog willen. Daarmee lijkt er weer wat herstel te komen na het negatieve einde van vorige week.We kunnen zeker niet van rust spreken want hetgeen er vorige week in 2 dagen af ging kwam er nu in 2 dagen weer bij. De volatiliteit blijft aanhouden, grote bewegingen blijven de markt beheersen.

Zo te zien zitten we nu weer met een sterke week na de correctie die eind vorige week op gang leek te komen. Toen zag het er ook technisch even niet al te best uit. Wat jammer is dat ik afgelopen vrijdag wel winst wist te pakken op de lopende short posities maar met het weekend in het vooruitzicht en met die vreemde gang van zaken op Wall Street ik niet meteen kon overschakelen naar een long positie. Daarna was het haast niet meer mogelijk om long op veel hogere niveau's op te pakken. De uitblinkers deze week zijn weer eens de tech aandelen ofwel de bekende TOP-6. Ook de rest wist zich te herpakken waaronder ook de banken en de olie sector.

Gisteren nabeurs kwamen de laatste 2 bedrijven uit de TOP-6 met cijfers, dat waren Amazon en Alphabet (Google). Net als Apple rapporteerde Amazon een kwartaalomzet die boven de 100 miljard dollar uitkwam, dat kwam vooral door hoge verkoopcijfers tijdens de feestdagen en de toenemende groei van cloud diensten tijdens de lockdowns. Opvallend bij Amazon was dat CEO en oprichter Jeff Bezos terug zal treden. Wel blijft hij nog betrokken bij Amazon. Het aandeel Amazon dat het al goed deed de afgelopen dagen steeg nabeurs amper. Ook Alphabet kwam met sterke cijfers, de koers liep nabeurs op met ruim 7% en geraakt boven de 2000 dollar.

Er komt deze week een bijeenkomst met de verschillende instanties in de VS over het speculeren van de retail beleggers, daar zullen SEC, de Fed en de New York Fed en een vertegenwoordiger van de future en optiebeurs. Janet Yellen zet daar in ieder geval op in, de minister wil daar vooral de gang van zaken bespreken rondom de recente hype rondom enkele aandelen en of die in lijn zijn met de bescherming van beleggers. Ook wil ze bekijken of de markten nog eerlijk en efficiënt zijn. Wat dat laatste betreft heb ik mijn twijfels al langer over alleen is het de vraag in wie zijn voordeel we het bekijken.

GameStop en AMC stegen in korte tijd naar ongekende hoogtes en dat bracht een groep Hedgefunds die short in deze aandelen zitten behoorlijk in de problemen. Ook bracht deze gang van zaken nogal wat brokers in de. problemen. Opvallend is nu dat de aandelen GameStop en AMC spectaculair aan het dalen zijn, dinsdag verloor GameStop weer 60% terwijl AMC met 42% omlaag duikelde.

In de loop van de sessie zal ik eens goed bekijken wat er mogelijk is om op te handelen, ik zie wel weer wat kansen na die stevige rebound van deze week. De leden zal ik op tijd op de hoogte brengen via mail en SMS, zodra er een signaal komt.

Goeie week achter de rug en redelijke start van 2021
Wat ik heb gedaan afgelopen vrijdag is op de diepe DIP de short posities gesloten, zo hebben niets meer lopen nu en is het wachten op nieuwe mogelijkheden. We starten een nieuwe maand, de bedoeling is om ook in februari goed voor de dag te komen met het handelen en ik verwacht wel genoeg kansen nu de markt mooie bewegingen laat zien. De afgelopen week heb ik dan toch een mooie winst kunnen behalen bij alle abonnementen zodat we de maand (januari) met winst kunnen sluiten. Ik zal wel zien wat er mogelijk is vandaag of morgen, wel is de kans groot dat we stapsgewijs weer wat posities gaan opnemen ...

Via de LIVEBLOG en tussendoor ook via mijn Twitter account laat ik gedurende de dag ook wat grafiekjes voorbij komen over de markt. Op Twitter kunt u mij volgen via @USMarkets dan kunt u deze snelle informatie die ik deel ook inzien .... https://twitter.com/USMarkets , ook opvallende beursfeiten komen er vaak langs !

Euro, olie en goud:
De euro zien we nu rond de 1.203 dollar, de prijs van een vat Brent olie komt uit op 57,75 dollar terwijl een troy ounce goud nu op 1840 dollar staat. De Bitcoin herpakt zich na enkele dolle dagen, nu moet je 36.650 dollar neertellen voor 1 Bitcoin ...

Inter Market overzicht op slotbasis ...

Strategische posities opnemen:
Zodra u lid wordt ontvangt u de signalen en kunt u meteen de lopende posities inzien via onze Tradershop op de website. Ik probeer in ieder geval zo goed als dat kan om met de markt mee te gaan, wel is het zo dat de markt volatiel zal blijven de komende periode.

Wat ik moet doen is in ieder geval blijven schakelen tussen long en short. Deze maand loopt wat wisselend maar er komen nog meer dan genoeg kansen, we zitten nu nog met wat posities in de markt ... Doe in ieder geval nu mee met de nieuwe proef aanbieding die loopt tot 1 APRIL en dat met een mooie korting !!

Wat u bereikt is dat u dan meedoet, veel leert over de markten en de werking ervan en u kunt ook als de beurs met een correctie komt verdienen via wat short posities. Kijk op de beurs dus nooit alleen maar omhoog, er zijn 2 richtingen waar we wat mee kunnen verdienen ...

Maak nu gebruik van de NIEUWE proef aanbieding:
Mis in ieder geval de start van 2021 niet want er komen hoe dan ook hele mooie kansen ... Via deze aanbieding ... €39 tot 1 APRIL 2021 ... Polleke €49 tot 1 APRIL 2021 !!!

Systeem Trading (€39 tot 1 APRIL)

Index Trading (€39 tot 1 APRIL)

Guy Trading (€39 tot 1 APRIL)

Polleke Trading (€49 tot 1 APRIL)

Aandelen portefeuille (€30 tot 1 APRIL)

COMBI TRADING (€79 tot 1 APRIL)

Hieronder ziet u het resultaat van de afgelopen 2 maanden, december en januari ...

Met vriendelijke groet,
Guy Boscart

GLOBAL TOP NEWS
U.S. Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen is calling a meeting of top financial regulators this week to discuss market volatility driven by retail trading in shares of GameStop, silver and other stocks favored on social media.

Japan's services sector shrank at the fastest pace in five months in January, as a heavy blow to demand from a resurgence in coronavirus infections and a state of emergency in parts of the country greatly hurt new business orders.

Britain wants to establish a more flexible system of subsidy rules than those in place when it was a member of the European Union, business minister Kwasi Kwarteng said.


EUROPEAN COMPANY NEWS
Oxford University and AstraZeneca's COVID-19 vaccine showed in a study it had 76% efficacy against symptomatic infection for three months after a single dose, which increased if the second shot is delayed, backing Britain's vaccine rollout policy.

Nestle has entered into exclusive talks to sell its North American bottled water business, whose brands include Pure Life and Poland Spring, to private equity firm One Rock Capital Partners, people familiar with the matter said.

Vodafone plans to float Vantage Towers, its European mobile phone masts business, on the Frankfurt stock exchange in March in a share offering worth about 3 billion euros, three people close to the matter said.


TODAY'S COMPANY ANNOUNCEMENTS
AcadeMedia AB HY 2021 Earnings Call
Accenture PLC Annual Shareholders Meeting
AddLife AB FY 2020 Earnings Call
Alfa Laval AB Q4 2020 Earnings Release
Aptiv PLC Q4 2020 Earnings Call
Arjo AB Q4 2020 Earnings Call
Banco Santander SA Q4 2020 Earnings Call
Borregaard ASA Q4 2020 Earnings Release
Capri Holdings Ltd Q3 2021 Earnings Call
Chubb Ltd Q4 2020 Earnings Call
CNH Industrial NV Q4 2020 Earnings Call
Dometic Group AB Q4 2020 Earnings Release
GlaxoSmithKline PLC Q4 2020 Earnings Release
Hexagon AB Q4 2020 Earnings Release
HMS Networks AB Q4 2020 Earnings Release
Husqvarna AB Q4 2020 Earnings Release
Imperial Brands PLC Annual Shareholders Meeting
Innovatec SpA Shareholders Meeting
JM AB Q4 2020 Earnings Release
Kesko Oyj Q4 2020 Earnings Release
Loomis AB Q4 2020 Earnings Release
Marel hf Q4 2020 Earnings Release
Melexis NV Q4 2020 Earnings Release
Mimecast Ltd Q3 2021 Earnings Call
Neles Oyj Q4 2020 Earnings Release
Nemetschek SE Q4 2020 Earnings Release
Novo Nordisk A/S Q4 2020 Earnings Release
Orsted A/S Q4 2020 Earnings Release
Premier Miton Group PLC Annual Shareholders Meeting
Publicis Groupe SA FY 2020 Earnings Call
Selectirente SA Shareholders Meeting
Siemens AG Annual Shareholders Meeting
Svenska Handelsbanken AB Q4 2020 Earnings Release
Volvo AB Q4 2020 Earnings Release
Yit Oyj Q4 2020 Earnings Release


ECONOMIC EVENTS (All times GMT)
0700 (approx.) United Kingdom Reserve Assets Total for Jan: Prior 186,655.93 mln USD
0730 (approx.) Sweden PMI Services for Jan: Prior 56.6
0800 (approx.) Spain International Tourist Arrival for Dec: Prior 1,000,412
0815 Spain Services PMI for Jan: Expected 45.3; Prior 48.0
0845 Italy Markit/IHS Services PMI for Jan: Expected 39.5; Prior 39.7
0845 Italy Composite PMI for Jan: Prior 43.0
0850 France Markit Services PMI for Jan: Expected 46.5; Prior 46.5
0850 France Markit Composite PMI for Jan: Expected 47.0; Prior 47.0
0855 Germany Markit Services PMI for Jan: Expected 46.8; Prior 46.8
0855 Germany Markit Composite Final PMI for Jan: Expected 50.8; Prior 50.8
0900 Euro Zone Markit Services Final PMI for Jan: Expected 45.0; Prior 45.0
0900 Euro Zone Markit Composite Final PMI for Jan: Expected 47.5; Prior 47.5
0930 United Kingdom Markit/CIPS Services PMI Final for Jan: Expected 38.8; Prior 38.8
0930 United Kingdom Composite PMI Final for Jan: Expected 40.6; Prior 40.6
1000 Italy Consumer Price Preliminary mm for Jan: Prior 0.2%
1000 Italy Consumer Price Preliminary yy for Jan: Expected -0.1%; Prior -0.2%
1000 Italy CPI (EU Norm) Preliminary mm for Jan: Expected -1.5%; Prior 0.2%
1000 Italy CPI (EU Norm) Preliminary yy for Jan: Expected 0.2%; Prior -0.3%
1000 (approx.) Italy CPI NSA for Jan: Prior 102.6
1000 Euro Zone HICP Flash yy for Jan: Expected 0.5%; Prior -0.3%
1000 Euro Zone HICP-X F&E Flash yy for Jan: Expected 0.5%; Prior 0.4%
1000 Euro Zone HICP-X F,E,A&T Flash yy for Jan: Expected 0.9%; Prior 0.2%
1000 (approx.) Euro Zone HICP-X F, E, A, T Flash mm for Jan: Prior 0.40%
1000 (approx.) Euro Zone CPI NSA for Jan: Prior 105.15
1000 Euro Zone Producer Prices mm for Dec: Expected 0.7%; Prior 0.4%
1000 Euro Zone Producer Prices yy for Dec: Expected -1.2%; Prior -1.9%