Tag Archives: apple

Apple Watch Still Hot, Here’s What’s Not: IBM Watson

The Apple (AAPL) Watch is still the hottest gift as Thanksgiving weekend gets underway, according to the IBM (IBM) Watson Trend App. Meanwhile, the Microsoft (MSFT) Surface Pro and Star Wars Legos are cooling off. The IBM Watson app analyzes millions of conversations across social networks, blogs, forums, comments, ratings, and reviews to determine which are likely to be top gifts this holiday season. The Apple Watch continues to get a perfect 100

Feast With These Stocks And ETFs On Thanksgiving

We are barely a few hours away from Thanksgiving Day which kick starts the one month-long holiday season. While most Americans warm up for their annual shopping gala on the fourth Thursday of November every year – which goes by giving thanks for all good things in life – the day mainly calls for celebratory meals with family and friends, at home or outside. This year, savings on gas stations thanks to cheap oil prices, an improving job market and still-contained inflation should lay a copious spread on the Thanksgiving table. How Pricey Are Thanksgiving Meals This Year? The national average cost of a Thanksgiving feast last year tallied $49.41 , as per the American Farm Bureau Federation. Though the Farm Bureau survey indicated that this cost stayed the same or somewhat declined from the prior year and moved along the consumer price index, ‘the average cost of Thanksgiving dinner for 10 people’ will likely cross $50 for the first time in 2015 since the agency started following the data. The spike in the price of turkey, the focus of the dining table, thanks to a supply crunch caused by bird flu is mainly behind the expected rise in cost. But, industry experts also believe that on an inflation-adjusted basis, prices are quite reasonable. Moreover, this year, consumers can also import fruits , vegetables, wines and cheeses at cheaper prices thanks to a soaring greenback. Yields of corn, wheat and soybeans are also abundant. As per USDA ‘s projection in October, all food price index is up 1.7% so far in 2015, below the 20-year historical average of 2.6%. Food away from home inflation is 2.5% this year against the 2.7% historical average while food at home inflation is just 1.1%, drastically lower than the historical average of 2.6%. In any case, restaurant industry sales are projected to peak in 2015 with a record high of $709.2 billion, representing the sixth successive year of real expansion in restaurant sales, per National Restaurant Association. If online sales are considered, Thanksgiving Day is expected to see an 18% year-over-year rise to $1.6 billion. It will be the ‘fastest growing online sales day for the second consecutive year’, per Adobe . So food and beverage companies are pinning their hopes on this Thanksgiving for huge profits. This is a key business-boosting occasion for these stocks and the related ETFs. Let’s take a look at the stocks and ETFs investors can gobble up for some gains throughout the holiday season. Stock Picks B&G Foods Inc. (NYSE: BGS ) The company makes and markets packed and easy-to-store food and household products. Its products basket carries hot cereals, fruit spreads, canned meats and beans, bagel chips, spices, seasonings, hot sauces, wine vinegar, Mexican-style sauces, pickles, peppers, salad dressings, dry soups, puffed corn and rice snacks and many more. The list clearly indicates why the stock should be a hit on Thanksgiving. B&G has a Zacks Rank #1 (Strong Buy) and is up over 23% so far this year (as of November 24, 2015). Constellation Brands Inc. (NYSE: STZ ) The company, along with its subsidiaries, brews and markets beer, wine, and spirits in North America, Mexico, New Zealand and Italy. Wine’s compatibility with turkey at Thanksgiving dinner has put this company in focus. Constellation Brands has a Zacks Rank #2 (Buy) and a Growth score of ‘A’. STZ is up over 44% so far this year. The Kroger Co. (NYSE: KR ) Kroger, with its subsidiaries, operates as a retailer in the U.S. and abroad. It is the manufacturer and processor of food that is sold in its supermarkets. Kroger has a Zacks Rank #2, a Growth score of ‘B’ and a Value Score of ‘B’. KR is up about 16% so far this year. Ruth’s Hospitality Group Inc. (NASDAQ: RUTH ) The restaurateur’s Chris Steak House concept is among the bunch of eateries, which will remain open on Thanksgiving. The Florida-based company has a Zacks Rank #2 and a Value score of ‘A’. The stock is up over 15%. ETF Picks PowerShares Dynamic Food & Beverage Portfolio ETF (NYSEARCA: PBJ ) This product offers exposure to the stocks that are engaged in the manufacture, sale or distribution of food and beverage products, agricultural products and products related to the development of new food technologies. The $244.3-million ETF puts about 5% weight in Starbucks (NASDAQ: SBUX ), PepsiCo (NYSE: PEP ), Kroger, Mondelez (NASDAQ: MDLZ ) and Sysco (NYSE: SYY ) each. PBJ charges 58 bps in fees and is up 7.4% in the year-to-date frame (as of November 24, 2015). PBJ has a Zacks ETF Rank #3 (Hold) with a Medium risk outlook. The Restaurant ETF (NASDAQ: BITE ) This is a new ETF that gives investors access to the ‘food-away-from’ industry. No stock accounts for more than 3.09% weight of the 45-stock portfolio. At present, McDonald’s (NYSE: MCD ) takes the top spot. BITE charges 75 bps in fees. Market Vectors-Agribusiness ETF (NYSEARCA: MOO ) This $963-million ETF gives investors exposure to the overall performance of the global agribusiness industry. The U.S. makes up over half of the basket. Stocks like Monsanto (NYSE: MON ) and Syngenta (NYSE: SYT ) take over 8% each in the fund. MOO charges 57 bps in fees and is down 7.8% so far this year. Consumer Staples Select Sector SPDR ETF (NYSEARCA: XLP ) This is the most popular consumer ETF with about $7.8 billion of assets. The fund charges 14 bps in fees per year from investors. Food & Staples Retailing takes over 24% of the basket followed by beverages with over 21% weight. Food products take about 15.8% of the fund. XLP is up about 2.4% and has a Zacks ETF Rank #3 with a Medium risk outlook. Original Post

A Taste Of Turkey ETF Before Thanksgiving

The great quote ‘what’s in a name?’ by William Shakespeare probably falls inappropriate in some cases. Let us say why. Thanksgiving is just around the corner, and demand for turkey is high. While turkey is good only for a blessed dinner, investors can give special attention to a specific country named ‘Turkey’ on Thanksgiving – for any insightful investing opportunity – thanks to the similarity in name with the bird turkey, which is a must for most Americans on the special day. For those investors, we would like to dish out the economic and the stock market outlook of the equities and ETFs of Turkey. The timing is also apposite as the pure-play Turkey ETF, the iShares MSCI Turkey ETF (NYSEARCA: TUR ), has gained about 2% in the last one month (as of November 23, 2015), though the product is down about 23.8%. What’s Behind the Recent Bullishness? The Turkish market has been enjoying a bullish stretch recently thanks mainly to political hopes. Its ruling Justice and Development Party (AKP) won a surprising majority in this month’s election to rule till 2019. The significant win put an end to the months-long political unrest and boosted the demand for risky assets in anticipation of a stable government. In fact, consumer confidence in Turkey also leaped post AKP’s win. Economy Edges Up This once-woebegone economy is also sending positive vibes on the economic front. In October, its government doled out the Medium-term Economic Program and the Financial Plan for 2016-2018, wherein softer growth targets were mentioned but increased spending on social policies and defense areas was also hinted at, per Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD). Investors should note that the Turkish economy, normally known for its wide current account deficit, recorded the ‘ largest surplus in six years’ in September, breezing past both year-ago number and analysts’ expectations. Persistently weak oil prices and a soft import demand led to this jump. Notably, slumping oil prices is vital to the Turkish economy as the country imports more than 90% of oil for about 70% of its total energy needs. Imports fell 24.4% in the month – the steepest monthly plunge in five years – which in turn lowered trade deficit. Sky-high inflation – the key botheration in the Turkish economy – eased in October after hitting a four-month high in September. Turkey’s central bank guides inflation at 7.9% at the end of 2015 and at 6.5% in 2016. The economy stepped up in Q2 and grew 3.8% year over year, beating market expectations. The growth rate was the best since the first quarter of 2014 thanks to strong domestic demand . In the first quarter of this year also, the growth rate came ahead of forecasts. As per OECD , the economy’s GDP is likely to increase from 3% in 2015 to more than 4% in 2017 on abating political upheaval, improving job growth and a falling Turkish lira which in turn will boost exports in association with a global economic recovery. Lira has lost about 17.5% so far this year (as of November 23, 2015). Deterrents Despite this optimism, the market is exposed to risks. A spike in geopolitical crisis at the southern region, terror attacks in the Middle East and the related entry of refugees are huge threats to the economy, per OECD. Moreover, the Fed is preparing for a lift-off, though gradual, in December. This will lead to a flight of capital from the Turkish economy and weaken the currency further. In any case, the Turkish lira is one of the worst-performing currencies this year. Further weakness in the currency will put pressure on the country’s huge oil imports, exaggerate foreign exchange outflows and lead inflation to jump. Lira’s decline has already lowered the average Turkish income from more than $10,000 to around $9,000 . If this trend continues, it would be tough for Turkey to emerge out of this vicious cycle. All in all, though tensions persist, things are slowly turning for the better. Considering both pros and cons, investors should take a closer look at the Turkey ETF before investing. Below we highlight the key details of the fund. TUR in Focus The ETF follows the MSCI Turkey Investable Market Index and provides a pure play exposure to 76 Turkish stocks. The fund is highly concentrated on its top 10 holdings which make up for nearly 60% of assets. Financials dominate the fund’s returns with less than half of the portfolio while industrials and consumer staples take double-digit exposure in the basket. The fund has amassed around $359.6 million in its asset base and trades in solid volume of about 360,000 shares per day in average. The fund charges 62 bps in annual fees from investors and yields 2.59% annually (as of November 23, 2015). TUR has Zacks ETF Rank #3 with a ‘High’ risk outlook. Technical Look If we take a closer look at TUR, hopes for a surge find some basis. From a technical perspective, TUR is poised for a surge in the coming weeks. Its short-term moving average (9-Day SMA) is above the mid-term average (50-Day SMA), suggesting near-term bullishness. Further, RSI is close to 50, meaning that the fund is about to slip in the oversold territory and might reverse the trend anytime. TUR trades at a P/E (ttm) of 10 times, lower than the broader emerging market fund, the iShares MSCI Emerging Markets ETF’s (NYSEARCA: EEM ), P/E of 11. Original Post