Monday, May 30, 2016

Media and Entertainment News

Walt Disney is opening its Shanghai,China theme park on 16 June,2016.*
British golfer Chris Wood of England won the European PGA Championship tournament.He finished at nine under par.*
American IndyCar Series rookie driver Alex Rossi won the 100th Indianapolis 500.He drove in the Formula One series last year.*
British driver Lewis Hamilton took the Formula One Monaco Grand Prix.It was his fist win of the season.*
Walt Disney Co (DIS)

Friday, May 27, 2016

Tonight's music videos

Tonight's music videos are available on Twitter @Businessblogger.

Monday, May 23, 2016

Why Bayer is Acquiring Monsanto

German health care and chemicals titan Bayer AG,a prominent maker of aspirin,is offering 62 billion dollars for its American peer Monsanto,a seed and agricultural chemicals specialist,or 122.00 a share.It would be the biggest ever acquisition of a foreign company by a German firm.Monsanto rose 4.41% to 106.00 on the news.*
Bayer is afraid of being left out as the space is consolidating around it,said John Oxgaard,chemicals equity analyst at Sanford Bernstein.It's a good time to consolidate the industry.The big force is the end of the ag cycle.When farmers incomes are low,they just don't have the money for their inputs and will negotiate over costs.*
Bayer doesn't have the cash for Monsanto;they will have to issue equity.I am skeptical about the deal.Ultimately,I think there is a gap between what Bayer is willing to pay and Monsanto is willing to accept.*
Monsanto is one of the the most hated companies in the world,being responsible for the development and marketing of Genetically Modified Organisms.It is kind of surprising that a European company is making this bid.If they do succeed,I expect the Monsanto name will probably disappear rather quickly.Although Bayer had been in the GMO business itself before abandoning the effort in the face of withering criticism,it doesn't seem to have been tainted the way Monsanto was,Mr.Oxgaard noted.*
Agricultural chemicals would make up nearly half of Bayer's portfolio,if the deal goes through.*
Monsanto Inc (MON),Bayer AG (Madrid:BAY)

Monday, May 16, 2016

Asia This Day:Where To Look for Asia-Pacific Success

Some rather disappointing data came out of East Asia last night.Japan's April Producer Price Index fell 4.2% on the year,versus an estimate of 3.2%;while China's industrial production grew 6.0% versus an estimate of 6.5%.China's April GDP slowed to 6.88% from 7.1% in March.Investors will naturally pause for a moment to consider these facts.*
As we move from a manufacturing-led Chinese economy to a consumption-led economy,we have to expect growth to slow down;but I still think you're going to find great assets to own in the China market,said BlackRock's Asia-Pacific Chairman Ryan Stork.
It's just going to take some time.You've got a very big economy;it's going to take years.I think the People's Bank of China is there;but we're going to be in a market of near-term volatility the next few quarters,there's no doubt.*
I think you'll see new,innovative investment solutions.I think China,India,Indonesia are three markets that we quite like at the moment.There's downward pressure on Japanese stocks-it's a bit overdone.From our perspective,Japan is still a really big part of our strategy,both from an institutional side and an individual wealth side.You look at the ability to own good companies in Asia.It's more of a fundamental story now,rolling up your sleeves and finding those companies.*
There's a lot of evolution that has to take place in Asia for the use of etfs.The Bank of Japan is a buyer of etfs.It creates a lot of awareness among wealth investors.The use of etfs and long/short investments will eventually find their way into wealth investor portfolios,the more tactical use of passive investing.In the multi-asset space,we have an enormous platform,great teams.We have been growing at an exceptional pace relative to the rest of the firm.We've expanded our team in the equity side;we'll be expanding in the alternative side,Mr.Stork explained.*
iShares Japan ETF (EWJ),iShares China Large-Cap ETF (FXI),iShares MSCI India ETF (INDA),iShares MSCI Indonesia ETF (EIDO),BlackRock Inc (BLK)

Thursday, May 12, 2016

Hostage Rescue in Afghanistan Draws Praise From Carter - Operation Freedom's Sentinel Success

Hostage Rescue in Afghanistan Draws Praise From Carter: Defense Secretary Ash Carter commended U.S. and Afghan special operations personnel for the professionalism and skill they demonstrated in a hostage rescue mission in Afghanistan’s Paktika province.

Monday, May 9, 2016

Risk Assessment:Gauging the Potential Overseas Pitfalls

Japanese companies are strong,said Geoff Lewis,senior strategist at Manulife Asset Management.We are seeing stocks that we like in Japan.We can still see reason to invest in the Japanese market.They have managed to stabilise.*
The cyclical indicator is showing improvement in the emerging markets,including Brazil.*
The polls on the UK Brexit issue are very,very close.I think for the UK the question is,will the City of London financial centre suffer,lose its allure if the UK leaves the European Union?I think the City will continue to function even if there is a Brexit,Mr.Lewis reassured.*
Manulife is a Canadian full line financial services company.Besides Canada and the world's biggest economies of China,Japan and the US,where it owns the John Hancock brand,it operates in promising Asian economies such as Hong Kong,Taiwan and Singapore.*
iShares Japan ETF (EWJ),iShares Emerging Markets ETF (EEM),Manulife Financial Corp(MFC)

Rotor & Wing Magazine :: Arizona Marine Air Station Receives 2 Lockheed Martin K-MAXs

Rotor & Wing Magazine :: Arizona Marine Air Station Receives 2 K-MAXs

Saturday, May 7, 2016

2016 Mercury Transit Path - NASA


Satellites to See Mercury Enter Spotlight on May 9 - rare solar transit

Satellites to See Mercury Enter Spotlight on May 9: From an Earth-based perspective, Mercury will appear to cross the face of the sun between about 7:12 a.m. and 2:42 p.m. EDT on May 9, 2016. Space-based solar telescopes on SOHO, SDO and Hinode will all observe the transit.

(Safka) Melanie - Ruby Tuesday (Rolling Stones) (live 1975) HD 0815007


Monday, May 2, 2016

Should You Invest in Abbott Labs?

A number of analysts and hedge funds are maintaining or increasing their estimation of health care titan Abbott Labs.For example,Deutsche Bank reaffirmed its buy on the stock on 19 March;BTIG Research reaffirmed its buy rating on 26 April;Credit Suisse reaffirmed on 17 April;Wells Fargo reaffirmed on 28 April,as did Jefferies Group.Overall,there were six holds and 18 buys on the stock,as well as one strong buy.*
Among the hedge funds,Neuberger Berman increased its Abbott holdings by 9.7% in Q4;DNB Asset Management hiked its Abbott holdings by 69.7%;and Cambiar Investors LLC raised its stake in Abbott by 4.6% in Q4.*
Abbott Labs was founded in 1888 by physician and drug store owner Wallace C. Abbott (People's Drug Store,Chicago),who eventually began manufacturing drugs himself.Today it employs about 73,000 in more than 150 countries.Its four operating segments and some of their products are Nutrition (Similac,Ensure,Glucerna,PediaSure);Medical Devices (glucose monitoring and laser vision-correction technologies);Diagnostics (immunoassay diagnostics,blood screening,bedside testing and companion diagnostics);and Pharmaceuticals (branded generic medications for pervasive and persistent health conditions outside the US only).*
Abbott Labs recently acquired medical device maker St.Jude Medical for 25 billion dollars-its largest ever acquisition-on the desire to gain bargaining power with hospitals.The company paid a 2.67% dividend as of Friday.It scored a double beat on Q1 earnings.Earnings per share were 0.41 versus an estimate of 0.39;revenue was 4.9 billion dollars versus the 4.77 billion estimate. *
Abbott Laboratories (ABT)