some of you heathens had the audacity yesterday to suggest that Granny Klampett's Possum innard leftovers contained roadkill, well they didnt, and because of that, today's breakfast you are gunna witness Sweden's greatest ever Masterchef prepare a live animal, just to prove that it wasnt roadkill, the squeemish among you had better look away, you have been warned!!!!
anyway
Dow24813 plus 178
S&P 500 2746 plus 12.25
Nasdaq 7606 plus 52
Dax12770 plus 46
FTSE 7741 plus 39
Gold 1291 minus 2.84
Oil 64.88 minus 0.93
AUD 76.50
SPI Minus 23
Dunno why our futures are negative this morning, there's lots to cheer about, and lots of reasons why we are gunna rally this year, including this little bit of information
Cash-rich companies are set to pour $2.5 trillion into buybacks, dividends and M&A this year 1 Hour Ago | 00:53
Money is pouring into the U.S. economy and in turn helping provide support for the otherwise struggling stock market.
If current conditions persist, corporations are likely this year to inject more than $2.5 trillion into what UBS strategists term "flow" — the combination of share buybacks, dividends, and mergers and acquisitions activity.
The development comes as companies find themselves awash in cash, thanks primarily to years of stashing away profits plus the benefits of a $1.5 trillion tax break this year that slashed corporate rates and encouraged firms to bring back money idling overseas. Companies have nearly $2.5 trillion in cash parked domestically, according to the Federal Reserve, and as much as $3.5 trillion overseas, various estimates have shown.
Stock buybacks in 2018 to total $800 billion thanks to tax reform 3 Hours Ago | 02:50
When all is said and done for 2018, UBS expects dividend issuance to top $500 billion, buybacks to range from $700 billion to $800 billion, and M&A to constitute about $1.3 trillion. If the numbers pan out, they would equate to about 10 percent of the S&P 500's market cap and 12.5 percent of GDP.
"Assuming improving growth and stable rates, we expect the positive positioning/flow backdrop to support US equities, which is important as the daily corporate flow slows from mid-June to mid-July," UBS strategist Keith Parker said in a note.
Parker pointed out that the firm has overweight positions in both tech and health care as the two sectors are leading the buyback boom.
Buybacks specifically have been on a torrid pace and are helping provide a floor to a market that for much of 2018 had looked tired and volatile after a 20 percent S&P 500 gain the year before. Repurchases are up 83 percent year to date, far ahead of the 9 percent gain in dividends, while M&A activity involving U.S. companies has surged 130 percent, according to UBS.
The Nasdaq, which is heavily weighted to tech, is up about 9.5 percent year to date, easily topping the other major averages. Led by Apple's $100 billion, announced buybacks have jumped $160 billion in 2018, an increase of more than 200 percent from 2017.
Health-care shares, however, have lagged and are up less than 1 percent year to date
anyway,
happy punting
Breakfast, prepared by Sweden's greatest ever masterchef
