Someone Hit The Snooze Button
Holy cats, Great Ones! Today was one boring day on the stock market.
I mean, just look at the headlines from the major financial publications:
- How the rich can catch a break with the new tax plan.
- Ray Dalio ripping on Bitcoin (BTC) … again.
- And Social Security!
You know the media is struggling for content when Social Security is a headline story… Seriously, it was a steady stream of fearmongering.
Given what I said about the U.S. economy yesterday, I don’t see the media’s obsession with fear ending anytime soon.
So, hold on to your butts … as the saying goes.
But, Mr. Great Stuff, surely there was something interesting out there today!
Don’t worry, we’re still sucking the marrow out of the market … it’s just a bit harder when the market sucks back.
Anywho, here’s a Quick & Dirty on the most interesting stories of the day (*Your results may vary):
At the risk of giving Great One James S. — or the rest of you hodlers, for that matter — another aneurysm, crypto concerns are once again our biggest story. And, once again, the hullabaloo centers on Coinbase Global (Nasdaq: COIN).
Moody’s Investor Services just rated Coinbase’s debt at “junk” status, citing an “uncertain regulatory environment and fierce competition.”
I guess someone at Moody’s read my piece on Coinbase and the SEC. (Probably not, but I can dream, can’t I?) Or maybe Moody’s saw SEC Chair Gary Gensler once again call for cryptocurrency regulation this week.
The funny thing is, junk bond status hasn’t affected investors at all. In fact, Coinbase’s latest $2 billion debt offering saw $7 billion in demand. That’s insane, and it’s a right slap in the face to SEC regulators … and to Moody’s too, now that I think about it. COIN stock rallied more than 2% in the face of this negativity, which could be a bullish sign from Wall Street on the crypto exchange operator.
Not For All The Tacos In China
Much like Yum Brands stateside, Yum China runs the Middle Kingdom’s KFC, Taco Bell and Pizza Hut franchises, as well as some unique local restaurants. And while KFCs here are still messing around with their Beyond Meat chicken concoctions … Yum China is just trying to survive.
Overdramatic much? You tell me: Yum China expects third-quarter operating profits to crater between 50% and 60% compared to last year’s already-dismal results. Not revenue, mind you — Yum’s just experiencing “significant operating deleveraging.” In other words … debt’s bad, yo.
The chain was also forced to close shop in tourist hot spots, such as Nanjing and Yangzhou, that were ravaged by the delta variant. But what’s all this mean for you?
Well, unless you were hankering for a quesadilla in Beijing … not that much. But (and yes, I’m bringing it up again) Yum China’s troubles further prove that the underlying unknown … the risky undertow facing literally every company today … is still COVID-19.
This week, we finally got a masterclass in how to woo your investors … and I hate that it had to come from Crocs (Nasdaq: CROX). It’s been forever since Wall Street has given a flying Croc about a company’s investor day presentation, but CROX just ticked all the right boxes.
Asian market expansion, digital store growth, sustainability efforts with low-carbon “Croslite” materials, $500 million in stock buybacks … what doesn’t Crocs have up its sleeve? Besides the whole “aesthetic” part of shoemaking, that is.
The company expects to sell $5 billion worth of its foot-based abominations by 2026, and investors went into a tizzy. CROX shares shot up 17% and reached an all-time high. The Crocs hype? Ultra high. (My arches? Even higher. But y’all probably didn’t need to know that…)
Break On Through (To The Boeing Side)
Remember last Tuesday when the airline Ryanair canceled a billion-dollar order from Boeing (NYSE: BA)? And everyone went “ooh, sick burn!” and thought that Boeing was all washed up because Ryanair was too cheap to pay for Boeing’s planes?
Yeah, if you needed any more confirmation that Ryanair’s blame game was more about Ryanair’s poor budgeting and less about Boeing … here you go. Boeing just released its latest outlook for the global aircraft market, expecting the industry’s demand to skyrocket over the next two decades. And you thought Mr. Great Stuff planned far ahead…
Boeing estimates the world’s commercial fleets will grow from just 25,900 planes in 2019 to 49,405 planes by 2040. Demand for cargo planes, in particular, is set to grow 70% in the same time frame. And for Boeing, that means a whole lotta love (and aircraft orders) coming down the pike … no matter what hissy fit the cheapskates at Ryanair throw.
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It’s that time again, Great Ones! Time for you to ramble on and sing your song … by answering today’s poll.
Last week, we asked how many of you were sick and tired of hearing about the stock, the myth, the legend: Tesla (Nasdaq: TSLA). Whether you love Tesla stock or just love to hate it, we know y’all Great Ones can’t turn down an opportunity to discuss the Musk Man’s pride and joy.
You and your fellow readers have spoken, and a not-so-surprising 19% of you want us to zip our traps about Tesla and all things Elon equivalent. Honestly, even I’ve come down with a case of the Tesla tizzies lately … and it’s my job to care about these things.
Meanwhile, another 21.5% of Great Ones love those tantalizing Tesla tidbits and want us to keep this train a rollin’.
And the remaining 59.5% of you? Well, you still want us to keep tabs on Tesla … but would prefer we cut the “garbage” and just stick to hard facts and figures. And here I thought you loved my long-winded Tesla tirades…
Stop coming up with Tesla alliterations and get to the good stuff, will you?
Oh fine. You’re no fun.
While I can’t promise that I’ll stop talking about Tesla or Elon anytime soon … yeah, you could’ve seen that one coming … what I can promise is that today is Wednesday. At least by Gregorian standards. And that means it’s time for a brand-new, rip-roaring Poll of the Week.
I swear if this is another Tesla-related question…
It’s not. I swear. This week, I want to know if you’re contributing to the anticipated airline slowdown in the second half of the year. I know, Boeing’s already living in 2040 … but we’re still contending with the here-and-now pressure that COVID-19 is putting on today’s travel industry.
So, what do you think? Are you grounding your future flight plans with COVID-19 heating up again? Or are you taking to the skies regardless?
Let us know in the poll below:
Thanks for chiming in on our poll!
Don’t forget: If you’ve got more to say than a simple poll can satisfy, by all means, speak! Make your voice heard! You might even read your raving thoughts in this week’s Reader Feedback — that’s on Friday for all y’all who missed our inaugural Thursday Throwdown issue last week.
GreatStuffToday@BanyanHill.com is where you can reach us best. In the meantime, here’s where you can find our other junk — erm, I mean where you can check out some more Greatness:
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Until next time, stay Great!
Joseph Hargett
Editor, Great Stuff