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UTEN

The IMF's World Economic Outlook forecasts robust growth for the US economy, with GDP in 2023 expected to surpass pre-pandemic levels. The US economic growth for 2023 is estimated at 2.1%, a 0.3 percentage point increase from previous estimates. Unemployment is expected to rise modestly from 3.6% to 3.9% by 2025. However, the IMF warns of rising government debt due to expansionary fiscal policy, with debt expected to increase from 123.3% of GDP in 2023 to 137.5% by 2028. The 10-year government bond yield is projected to average 3.8% in 2023 and increase to 4.0% in 2024. The US 10 Year Note ETF (NASDAQ:UTEN) has fallen by 9% in 2023.

Portfolio Pulse from Piero Cingari

October 10, 2023 | 3:10 pm

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CHVKF

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LGFRY

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SZENF

Two-thirds of Chinese property developers have defaulted on their offshore debt over the past year, with China SCE Group Holdings Ltd. being the latest. Country Garden Holdings Limited (OTC:CTRYF) is seeking to renegotiate debt terms with its offshore bondholders after missing a debt repayment. Only 14 out of 54 major developers have not defaulted yet, including Agile Group Holdings Ltd. (OTC:AGPPY), Shui On Land Ltd. (OTC:SOLLY), China Vanke Co. Ltd (OTC:CHVKF), Seazen Group Ltd. (OTC:SZENF), Sino-Ocean Group Holding Ltd. (OTC:SIOLY), and Longfor Group Holdings Ltd. (OTC:LGFRY).

Portfolio Pulse from Daniel Harrison

October 10, 2023 | 2:29 pm

EWA

The National Australia Bank's business confidence index remained unchanged at 1, as reported late Monday.

Portfolio Pulse from Benzinga Newsdesk

October 10, 2023 | 5:09 am

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The article discusses various regulatory, financial, and operational updates from multiple companies. Key points include potential delays in the PGA Tour and LIV Golf merger due to regulatory concerns, Snap Inc facing UK regulatory hurdles over privacy concerns, Philips' ventilator device recall facing FDA's discontent, Micron's $15B investment in a new Idaho facility, Novo Nordisk's weight loss drugs posing serious stomach risks, Shell revising its Q3 FY23 operational outlook, MGM Resorts expecting a $100M blow from a recent cybersecurity breach, GSK cutting stake in Haleon, TSMC's earnings fueled by AI demand, Netflix's growth issues in India, Uber facing legal hurdles in EU, ConAgra considering a makeover in portion sizes amid diet drug wave, PayPal facing a class-action suit accused of forcing higher price, Nvidia, Intel, Qualcomm challenging Biden's China restrictions, and Microsoft nearing the completion of Activision Blizzard acquisition.

Portfolio Pulse from Vandana Singh

October 06, 2023 | 2:05 pm

TLT

Fitch Ratings has stated that a potential U.S. government shutdown following the removal of U.S. Rep. Kevin McCarthy as House speaker will not impact the nation's credit rating. This comes after Fitch downgraded the U.S.'s credit rating from AAA to AA+ in August due to a steady deterioration in governance standards. Meanwhile, Goldman Sachs analysts have suggested that the political development may increase the chances of a shutdown. The iShares 20+ Year Treasury Bond ETF (NASDAQ:TLT) has fallen over 10% since early August in response to Fitch's rating action.

Portfolio Pulse from Piero Cingari

October 04, 2023 | 8:29 pm

SPY

A Fitch analyst has stated that a U.S. government shutdown will not affect the U.S. AA+ Stable Sovereign Rating, according to Reuters.

Portfolio Pulse from Benzinga Newsdesk

October 04, 2023 | 7:12 pm

S&P Global Ratings has stated that it does not believe a default is inevitable for WeWork in the next six months, according to Reuters.

Portfolio Pulse from Benzinga Newsdesk

October 04, 2023 | 1:42 pm

SPY

USO

Fitch Ratings agency predicts a small oil-market deficit in Q3 and Q4, according to Reuters. This could potentially impact the prices of oil-related ETFs such as SPY and USO.

Portfolio Pulse from Benzinga Newsdesk

October 03, 2023 | 1:14 pm

NSC

BofA Securities analyst Ken Hoexter downgraded Norfolk Southern Corporation (NYSE:NSC) from Buy to Neutral and lowered the price target from $266 to $215 due to concerns over data integrity and operational setbacks. The company experienced a data center outage on Sept 29, which is expected to impact operations over the next two weeks. This follows a similar outage in August. The analyst also lowered FY 23/’24/’25 EPS estimate 6%/7%/6%, to $11.90/$13.00 /$14.50, from $12.60/$14.00/$15.45.

Portfolio Pulse from Shivani Kumaresan

October 02, 2023 | 5:30 pm

FHN

First Horizon has announced the results of its 2023 company-run stress test, demonstrating resilience and a strong capital position. The company's minimum common equity tier 1 capital ratio was 8.7%, reflecting an additional $4 billion of pre-tax loss absorption capacity beyond the required regulatory minimums. The company's loan portfolio stressed loss rate was 2.3%, below the Federal Reserve-published median CCAR-bank result.

Portfolio Pulse from Benzinga Newsdesk

September 29, 2023 | 1:10 pm