A roundup of what The Globe and Mail’s market strategist Scott Barlow is reading today on the Web
Merrill Lynch quantitative strategist Savita Subramanian has released of 17 “idiosyncratic” growth stocks. The stocks were selected for ‘strong growth that [is] relatively untethered to the macro environment.”
The stock picks in the report include Advanced Micro Devices Inc., Amazon.com, Walt Disney Company, and Merck & Co. Full list at the link below,
“@SBarlow_ROB ML: 17 'idiosyncratic' growth stocks – (table) Twitter
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Citi strategist Tobias Levkovich attempts to explain why markets dislike energy stocks so much despite supportive fundamentals,
“The Energy sector has been pummeled once again, slightly underperforming the S&P 500 in this latest selloff and is about 1300 basis points behind the index year-to-date. Oil prices have slid from April highs, but WTI spot is up near 16% since New Year’s Day with no discernible impact on supporting oil patch share prices. One clear reason is poor relative ROE and this may explain why many company management teams are talking about adopting more capital discipline. .. Valuation criteria continue to be supportive for the sector … but few buyers can be found. “
“@SBarlow_ROB C: Why oil stocks have become investors' rented mules” – (research excerpt) Twitter
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The tone in financial media and sell-side research is definitively pessimistic Monday.
This is best exemplified by the Financial Times column “Braced for the global downturn,”
“It’s the calm before the storm. Last week’s market volatility was ostensibly triggered by the US-China trade conflict turning into a full-blown currency war. But at heart, it’s about the inability of the Federal Reserve to convince us that its July rate cut was merely “insurance” to protect against a future downturn. As any number of indicators now show — from weak purchasing managers' indices in the US, Spain, Italy, France and Germany, to rising corporate bankruptcies and a spike in US lay-offs — the global downturn has already begun”
“Braced for the global downturn” – Financial Times (paywall)
“Currency swaps have been a reliable predictor of global financial trouble. They're flashing orange again” – Bloomberg
“ Larry Summers warns we could be at the ‘most dangerous financial moment’ since 2009” – CNBC
“Global recession now a question of when, not if, economist David Rosenberg warns” – Report on Business
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Tweet of the Day:
Diversion: “ Why Conspiracy Theorists Will Never Believe the ‘Official’ Epstein Story” – The Atlantic