Fat Tuesday !!! For those that don't know, Mardis Gras is French for "Fat Tuesday .. and Today is Fat Tuesday.. It's the day before Ash Wednesday which starts the season of Lent in the Christian Religions. During Lent, Catholics (and many other Christians) spend the 40 days before Easter "reflecting" ..which basically means NOT Partying but fasting from foods and other things.. So, of course, that means before you do that.. you HAVE A PARTY and Pig Out and Drink and SIN SIN SIN!!!! .. So, what are you giving up for Lent? I used to give up cursing and put a dollar in the "Curse Cup" in the kitchen every time I cursed....but I went Broke !!! ..and..
Look out Beloooowwwww!!! Because the Coronavirus showed up in some places they could not explain.. and because Bernie Sanders chances of winning the White House went from 0% to .00000001% the US stock markets got nervous and plummeted. The World Health Organization wants you to know that the Coronavirus is NOT a pandemic! "... but maybe it's time to do what you would do to prepare for a pandemic". ..
A South Korean airline flight attendant was diagnosed with Coronavirus and now they are tracking the passengers on the flights she was on. Should you be worried? I think the answer is "a little but not a lot". There still have only been a handful of deaths outside of China.
Remember, people die from the Flu EVERY YEAR. LOTS of them. Between 10 million and 50 million Americans get the flu every year and some years 50,000 people die from it. So, don't go around licking handrails in airports near flights coming in from Beijing. But, don't lock yourself in the basement and panic ..
In Da Swamp: DEBATE NIGHT!!! Tonight will be the last Debate before the Saturday South Carolina Primary and also the last before SuperTuesday on March 3rd. Look for the candidates to attack Bernie because he is the "new front runner" (quick aside. It's laughable how much attention they give to "front runner" at this point. He has 45 Delegates. There are over 3900. He needs 1991 to win. He has 2.26% of what he needs. Yet, you see the Loser Media almost declaring him the candidate. Silly, right?). Anyways.. he'll get attacked.. They will continue to hammer Bloomberg (Prediction: He'll be better prepared) and the OTHER Billionaire, Tom Steyer, will get crapped on for being rich by OTHER rich people on stage. (Except for Mayor Pete.. who isn't rich.. just ask him). Biden will need a convincing debate and a convincing win Saturday ... and...
Sanders has responded to the people that are pointing out his "Plans" for Medicare for All will cost a staggering $50 Trillion by.. Get this.. unveiling MORE plans for stuff. That's right!!! "$50 Trillion?? How do you respond to that, Mr Sanders? Sanders: "Is that not enough? Should we make it more?? If $50 Trillion got me votes will $100 Trillion get me MORE??? " Now he wants Universal babysitting. His total "Plans" are now over $70 Trillion and counting.. ... and..
The Bloomberg Ads are EVERYWHERE. Yes, he is boring. Yes, he is spending Hundreds of Millions to BUY the nomination. But, the ads are hammering Donald Trump and saying all the things that the Countries Moderates want to hear. Nothing Radical.. Just, "Trump is Mean and a bad guy and we should be nicer to each other" .. oh.. that.. and he has Judge Judy out there campaigning for him. People do what she says because they are afraid of her !!!
Tuesday R.I.P.'s: RIP to "Hair Club for Men" "...not just the President but also a client" Sy Sperling, 78. ... and.. RIP to Model/Actress/"Life Coach" B.Smith, 70 who had early onset Alzheimers .. and.. R.I.P. to Larry Tesler. Who is Larry Tesler, you ask? Larry has saved you MORE TIME than anyone else in your life. Larry invented the "Cut, Copy and Paste" functions on computers. This allows me to bring you things to "Vote" on on the Celebridiots section !!! .. and R.I.P to former President of Egypt, Hosni Murabak, 91. Murabak was removed from office and jailed for corruption and abuse of power but eventually freed by Egypts high court .. and.. RIP ..nah.. Rest with the Devil, I guess, to former NY Mobster Sonny Franzese, 103. Sonny was an underboss in the Colombo Crime Family and a NY Gangster for decades. He was the producer of the famous Porn film, "Deep Throat". He spent most of the second half of his life in prison because he would never "Rat" on anyone... and.
RIP to Katherine Johnson, 101. Johnson was a genius and one of the NASA women that were featured in the movie, "Hidden Figures" about three black women that were "secretaries" but became integral NASA scientists. She was a math whiz and helped NASA win the "Space Race" in the 1960's
SPORTS: The Memorial for Kobe Bryant and his daughter was yesterday at the Staples Center in LA. Lots of famous people and tears .. The photos of Michael Jordan while he gave his speech looked like that famous meme, "Crying Jordan" and he even SAID that during the speech!!! .... and..
MLB: Its starting in SPRING TRAINING games. The Astros (and former Astros that have been traded) are getting booed mercilessly. Jose Altuve was beaned (actually GRAZED by a pitch) yesterday. I tell you. MLB can warn teams all they want. If they don't cancel the Astros World Series win or punish the players more, the other teams are gonna retaliate... and.
Today in 1964 .. in Miami Beach, FL .. a young fighter named Cassius Clay becomes the Heavyweight Champion of the world by knocking out Sonny Liston. HERE .. Now, I have not done the research.. but I'll bet that THAT Iconic photo of THAT knockout is what led to what now gets you taunting penalties in Football and Basketball. Before that, when you made a great play or a Touchdown you just went back to the bench and got some water ...
CELEBRIDIOTS: Weinstein is in JAIL!!! (Actually, he was sent to Rikers by the Judge but then taken to Bellevue Hospital as a "precautionary measure". Im not sure if that means he was suicidal or if Jeffery Epstein was going to kill him) .. Weinstein managed to escape the major charges of Rape but was convicted of the lower charges of sexual assault. He could still face 25 years but will more likely get 5-8 years and be out in 2. He still has to face trial in LA .. and his lawyers are already preparing an appeal ... and..
I guess I should report that Jake Paul dissed Zayn Malik on social media and Gigi Hadid defended him. I don't care and no one else should but it is ALL OVER the tabloid news. .. and...
Jasmine Tookes EASILY won the NAACP Image Awards. HERE ... I would show you other pictures but my computer is MELTING!! HOT !!!!! ..and...
Former Actor, Jussie Smollett did NOT win the Image Awards because he is in Chicago where he pleaded NOT guilty to six charges of lying to police. He needs to do some jail time. He knows he is guilty and he is wasting the money of Chicago taxpayers. They need that money to fight crime...
***No Rant Tomorrow and Maybe Thursday.. Ill be traveling... RANT to yourself !!! ***
From SeekingAlpha.com
A relief rally was in the works overnight as investors retraced some of yesterday's historic losses, though markets are still trying to find their footing. Up by as much as 1% earlier, U.S. stock index futures are now hugging the flatline after briefly dipping into the red ahead of today's earnings from Home Depot (NYSE:HD) and Macy's (NYSE:M). Monday's coronavirus-driven plunge saw the Dow record its third-worst drop ever by tumbling more than 1,000 points, the S&P 500 shed $920B in value in a session that wiped nearly all YTD gains, and curve inversions deepen as bond yields hit fresh record lows. Go deeper: Think about what to buy, and not blindly sell, on these headlines, says David Lerner.
The more than $1B the White House is allocating for vaccine development is part of a broader $2.5B request to combat the coronavirus outbreak. The rest of the money would be used for therapeutics and the stockpiling of personal protective equipment such as masks. The DHHS had already tapped into an emergency infectious disease rapid response fund and is seeking the immediate transfer of more than $130M from other HHS accounts.
Diving deeper into the U.S. grocery industry, Amazon (NASDAQ:AMZN) is opening its first full-size, cashierless store in the Capitol Hill neighborhood of Seattle. The 10,400 sq. ft. location has been five years in the making, and will stock roughly 5,000 items, including fresh produce, meats, bakery treats and alcohol. It incorporates the same technology found in the two dozen or so Amazon Go locations, and will source some items similar to Whole Foods, which it paid $13.7B for in 2017. Go deeper: '2020 Will Be Amazon's Comeback Year' by D.M. Martins Research.
General Electric (NYSE:GE) shed almost 78,000 employees in 2019, or more than a quarter of its workforce, as divestitures left the conglomerate with the same number of personnel as it had in 1951. GE sold its oil and gas business to Baker Hughes (NYSE:BKR) in 2017 but kept a majority stake until last year, while its transportation business was merged with Wabtec (NYSE:WAB) in early 2019, transferring those workers. "Our work is by no means finished, but we are on the right path," CEO Larry Culp wrote in his second annual letter to shareholders. Go deeper: Revenue from GE's Life Sciences division continues to stagnate, writes Shock Exchange.
OPEC and its allied oil-producing nations are still working to rebalance global crude markets amid speculation of tensions in the alliance over whether to cut output further. "We do communicate with each other and we did not run out of ideas," Saudi Energy Minister Prince Abdulaziz bin Salman said at the ICCUS conference. Crude tumbled more than 5% at its session low on Monday, falling into bear market territory as the number of coronavirus cases surged outside of China.
Juul Labs (JUUL) plans to present to federal regulators a new version of its vaporizer designed to unlock only for users at least 21 years old, WSJ reports. It's part of an application that the company must file to keep its products in the U.S. market as vape manufacturers face a May 12 deadline to submit their devices to the FDA for review. Marlboro maker Altria (NYSE:MO), which owns a 35% stake in Juul, has been assisting Juul with the application.
"Following our disappointing 2019 business performance... we recognize that we have been pursuing growth in an unhealthy and undisciplined way," Expedia (NASDAQ:EXPE) wrote to staff in an internal email. As a result, the travel group is laying off 12% of its workforce, or about 3,000 employees, in an effort to "streamline and focus" under chairman Barry Diller following the removal of its CEO and CFO late last year. The cuts are not connected to the coronavirus outbreak, though Expedia said earlier it expects a $30M-$40M loss in the current quarter due to the disease.
Mallinckrodt (NYSE:MNK) tanked 19% into the close on Monday following a report stating that the company was considering a Chapter 11 bankruptcy filing for its U.S. generics business. The company was also said to have begun confidential discussions with creditors as it deals with fallout (debt maturities and liabilities) from the opioid crisis. Shares are now up 19% in premarket trade after disclosing a settlement that would resolve all opioid-related claims, and earnings that beat expectations.
Shares of Mastercard (NYSE:MA) fell 3% in extended trading after the company warned that the coronavirus could hurt its 2020 revenue due to "cross-border travel, and to a lesser extent cross-border e-commerce growth." United Airlines (NASDAQ:UAL) further withdrew its FY 2020 guidance, citing "heightened uncertainty" surrounding the current outbreak. Moving in the opposite direction are shares of Moderna (NASDAQ:MRNA), which climbed 15% AH on news it shipped the first batch of its mRNA-1273 vaccine to U.S. government researchers to be used in a planned phase 1 study. Go deeper: Coronavirus fears are putting IPOs on hold.
The number of coronavirus cases in the U.S. has jumped to 53, most of them connected to the Diamond Princess (NYSE:CCL) cruise ship. Moving east... Hong Kong extended school closures till mid-April, a cabin crew member of Korean Air tested positive for the coronavirus and the CDC raised the U.S. travel advisory alert for South Korea, where cases have risen to 893. Japan's health minister also said it's too early to talk about canceling the 2020 Olympics, while China fully banned trade and consumption of illegal wildlife.
What else is happening...
Intuit (NASDAQ:INTU) shells out $7.1B for Credit Karma.
New revenues? Uber (NYSE:UBER) pilots vehicle ads.
Supreme Court questions blocked Atlantic Coast Pipeline.
Monday's Key Earnings
Hertz (NYSE:HTZ) -3.7% AH as EBITDA fell short. HP Inc. (HPQ) +3.4% AH on raised guidance, strategic plan. Palo Alto Networks (NYSE:PANW) -13.5% lowering outlook. Shake Shack (NYSE:SHAK) -12.9% AH posting its slowest revenue growth.
Today's Markets
In Asia, Japan -3.3%. Hong Kong +0.3%. China -0.6%. India -0.2%. In Europe, at midday, London -0.8%. Paris -0.9%. Frankfurt -0.9%. Futures at 6:20, Dow flat. S&P flat. Nasdaq flat. Crude -0.7% to $51.09. Gold -1.3% to $1655.70. Bitcoin -2.6% to $9518. Ten-year Treasury Yield -2 bps to 1.38%
Today's Economic Calendar
8:55 Redbook Chain Store Sales 9:00 S&P Corelogic Case-Shiller Home Price Index 9:00 FHFA House Price Index 9:45 Fed's Kaplan Speech 10:00 Consumer Confidence 10:00 Richmond Fed Mfg. 1:00 PM Results of $40B, 2-Year Note Auction 3:00 PM Fed’s Clarida Speech
Regards,
Roger “Raj” Searing rajsearing@gmail.com "Raj Searing”, "Read this First", and “TheRantroom.com” are Trademarks of RRRAJ, LLC. All Rights Reserved.
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