Merger mania is alive and well on Wall Street. A slew of top firms including J.P. Morgan, Deloitte, Morgan Stanley and PwC have predicted that 2019 will continue to see strong deal activity after a banner 2018, when global merger and acquisition activity posted over $4 trillion in volumes.Several mega-deals have already hit the market in the first half of 2019, including Bristol-Myers Squibb’s...
Continue reading >>
Insurance companies are piling into exchange-traded funds. Over a third of U.S. insurance companies were invested in ETFs in 2018, according to a survey conducted by analytics firm Greenwich Associates. In total, they held 372 million shares, up 7% from the prior year.The uptick was driven in part by mega-cap companies — those with over $50 billion in admitted assets, as defined by the...
Continue reading >>
U.S. markets showed strength throughout much of Thursday’s action following a goldilocks GDP report and a stable jobless claims number. Near-term resistance levels held ahead of the late day weakness that came in the final hour of trading. The major indexes held the majority of their gains with the small-caps being the weak link. Volatility relaxed after closing above a key support level but...
Continue reading >>
...
Continue reading >>
...
Continue reading >>
U.S. markets closed slightly higher on Friday while holding positive territory throughout much of session despite disappointing factory data. The S&P 500 showed some mild weakness after the open and was the only index that dipped into negative territory before returning to strength. President Trump bolstered market sentiment after he said certain restrictions against Chinese tech companies...
Continue reading >>