Streetbeat News

Credit Ratings

EWC

Fitch Ratings has indicated that Canada will face increased medium-term fiscal challenges, but the Fall Economic Statement will not have a major immediate impact on Canada's federal budget outlook for fiscal 2023/24.

Portfolio Pulse from Benzinga Newsdesk

November 28, 2023 | 8:31 pm

ACRDF

AYRWF

CNTMF

CURLF

GTBIF

The Viridian Chart of the Week analyzes the balance between valuation and credit risk in cannabis stocks post Q3 earnings. It uses EV/2024 Consensus EBITDA estimates and a proprietary Credit Risk Score to assess attractiveness. Green Thumb (GTBIF) ranks most attractive, while Cansortium (CNTMF) and AYR (AYRWF) offer a balance of low valuation and credit risk. Curaleaf (CURLF) and Acreage (ACRDF) appear less attractive due to high valuation multiples and poor credit scores, respectively. The Viridian Cannabis Deal Tracker monitors industry capital raises and M&A activity.

Portfolio Pulse from Viridian Capital Advisors

November 20, 2023 | 7:33 pm

WSFS

KBRA released its Q3 2023 U.S. Bank Compendium and 2024 Outlook, indicating a Stable outlook for the U.S. banking industry. The report suggests that most banks with KBRA ratings will maintain their ratings in an uncertain economic environment. It covers earnings, NIM stabilization, funding costs, credit trends, and capital measures. WSFS Financial Corporation (NASDAQ:WSFS) is featured with an A-/Stable outlook. The Compendium includes various performance metrics and a quarterly ESG bulletin.

Portfolio Pulse from Benzinga Newsdesk

November 20, 2023 | 3:09 pm

ARM

BABA

SFTBF

SFTBY

Moody's has upgraded SoftBank Group Corp's outlook to stable from negative, affirming its Ba3 Corporate Family rating. The upgrade reflects improved credit fundamentals due to lower leverage and increased transparency after the IPO of Arm Holdings Plc. SoftBank's market value-based leverage improved, and the share of listed assets, including Arm, SoftBank Corp, and Alibaba Group, in its portfolio has risen above 60%. Despite this, SoftBank Group criticized Moody's for maintaining an unsolicited rating. ARM's stock saw a 1.02% increase in premarket trading.

Portfolio Pulse from Anusuya Lahiri

November 20, 2023 | 12:09 pm

KRE

SPY

Fitch Ratings has projected that US regional banks will continue to face funding and growth challenges in 2024. The challenges are attributed to competitive deposit pricing and a potential economic slowdown, which could particularly affect smaller banks lacking scale.

Portfolio Pulse from Benzinga Newsdesk

November 15, 2023 | 8:24 pm

SPY

Fitch Ratings reports a temporary decline in U.S. state long-term liability burdens for fiscal 2022, with the median ratio of state direct debt plus net pension liabilities falling to 4% from 4.5% of personal income. The drop is attributed to pandemic recovery market exuberance, leading to a 24% rise in state pension asset portfolios. However, market volatility has already reduced some gains, with a 5.2% average drop in pension plan assets. States like California and Connecticut made significant supplemental pension contributions. Fitch anticipates continued volatility and potential declines if economic conditions worsen.

Portfolio Pulse from Benzinga Newsdesk

November 15, 2023 | 6:55 pm

SPY

Fitch Ratings reports that U.S. states saw a significant drop in long-term liability burdens during fiscal 2022. However, this decline is expected to be temporary as it is largely due to robust revenue growth and federal aid, which are not sustainable long-term.

Portfolio Pulse from Benzinga Newsdesk

November 15, 2023 | 6:54 pm

COUR

GBTC

TWOU

Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell reiterated the possibility of further rate hikes, surprising the market despite his consistent messaging. A US Treasury auction performed poorly, indicating decreased demand for government debt, and Moody's downgraded the US debt outlook to negative. Trucking rates have dropped, but this is attributed to an oversupply of trucking companies rather than weak consumer demand. Grayscale's Bitcoin Trust (GBTC) may become an ETF following discussions with the SEC, and Coursera (COUR) outperformed 2U (TWOU) due to a more sustainable business model.

Portfolio Pulse from Gary Brode

November 15, 2023 | 2:29 pm

DIA

GDX

IWM

QQQ

SPY

TAN

TLT

UUP

The October CPI report showed a decrease in the annual inflation rate to 3.2%, below expectations, and a drop in core inflation to 4%, signaling easing inflationary pressures. Financial analysts believe this could lead to a pause in the Fed's rate hikes, potentially avoiding further rate increases in December. Markets reacted positively, with a rally in stocks and a drop in the U.S. dollar and Treasury yields. The Invesco DB USD Index Bullish Fund ETF (UUP) saw a 1.1% decline, while the iShares 20+ Year Treasury Bond ETF (TLT) surged by 2.3%. Stock ETFs like SPDR S&P 500 ETF Trust (SPY), Dow Jones Industrial Average ETF (DIA), Invesco QQQ Trust (QQQ), and iShares Russell 2000 ETF (IWM) experienced significant gains. The VanEck Gold Miners ETF (GDX) and Invesco Solar ETF (TAN) were among the best-performing industries.

Portfolio Pulse from Piero Cingari

November 14, 2023 | 5:27 pm

RILY

B. Riley Financial, Inc. (NASDAQ:RILY) stock has declined over 37% in the last five days due to continued downward momentum. The company became the largest minority shareholder in Franchise Group (FRG) after leading its equity financing in August. FRG's credit rating was downgraded by S&P, and its CEO is under investigation in a federal fraud case. B. Riley reported Q3 losses of $2.53 per share, a significant decrease from the previous year, despite a 48% increase in quarterly sales. The stock's trading volume surged, with over 3.67 million shares traded compared to the 100-day average of 375 thousand shares.

Portfolio Pulse from Erica Kollmann

November 13, 2023 | 7:14 pm