Streetbeat News

Credit Ratings

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

IWM

QQQ

SPY

Moody's has downgraded the US credit outlook from 'stable' to 'negative,' leading to a decline in major indexes.

Portfolio Pulse from Benzinga Newsdesk

November 13, 2023 | 4:05 pm

AAPL

AMZN

GOOG

META

MSFT

NVDA

QQQ

SPY

TSLA

Moody's has downgraded the U.S. credit outlook to negative, citing large federal deficits as a key driver. The deficits persist post-pandemic due to spending programs like the Inflation Reduction Act and Infrastructure Act. The downgrade occurred after market close on Friday with minimal immediate market reaction. Prudent investors are advised to diversify investments globally and across asset classes, and consider shorting strategies. Boeing (BA) is boosted by potential Chinese orders and Dubai Air Show prospects. Early trades show positive money flows in TSLA, NVDA, MSFT, and mixed in SPY and QQQ; negative in AAPL, AMZN, GOOG, META. Bitcoin is range-bound with speculation on ETF approval and BlackRock's Ethereum ETF filing. The Arora Report suggests a protection band strategy for investors.

Portfolio Pulse from The Arora Report

November 13, 2023 | 3:06 pm

DIS

PLUG

QQQ

SPY

U.S. stock futures indicate a lower open on Monday, influenced by Moody's downgrade of the U.S. sovereign rating outlook and anticipation of inflation data and Federal Reserve officials' speeches. Despite last week's gains, with the Nasdaq Composite and S&P 500 ending higher, the Russell 2000 faced selling pressure. Analysts express mixed sentiments, with some seeing resilience in the market and others predicting a tech bull market. Key companies like Plug Power and Walt Disney saw premarket movements, while Boeing rose on news of potential Chinese purchases of its 737 Max aircraft.

Portfolio Pulse from Shanthi Rexaline

November 13, 2023 | 12:15 pm

BLK

BTCUSD

DOGEUSD

ETHUSD

BlackRock Inc (NASDAQ:BLK) is planning to create an ETF focused on Ethereum (ETH), which has led to a surge in major cryptocurrencies including Bitcoin (BTC), Ethereum (ETH), and Dogecoin (DOGE). The global crypto market cap increased by 3.03% in the past 24 hours. U.S. stock futures dipped slightly after Moody's revised the U.S. credit rating outlook to negative. Analyst Michael Van de Poppe sees a bull cycle for cryptocurrencies, while Cheds notes a bullish signal for Bitcoin. Solana (SOL) surpassed $54, indicating decoupling from other assets.

Portfolio Pulse from Mehab Qureshi

November 13, 2023 | 2:54 am

ABNB

COIN

DIS

PLUG

TSLA

The stock market saw gains with the S&P 500 up 1.3%, Dow Jones up 0.7%, and Nasdaq up 2.4% over the past week. Moody's revised the U.S. credit outlook to negative. Bullish views include Tesla's expected rally, Disney's profitability rebuild, and Dogecoin's potential surge to 20 cents. Bearish news includes Plug Power's liquidity concerns, Airbnb's tax evasion issues in Italy, and Coinbase's regulatory troubles in Kazakhstan.

Portfolio Pulse from Michael Cohen

November 11, 2023 | 2:04 pm