Gold started moving higher last September as investors sought some safety as global equity markets started falling.It pulled back again last week but it looks like it is ready to rally again. The VanEck Vectors Junior Gold Miners ETF (NYSE: GDXJ) is highly correlated to the price of gold and it also rallied in the fourth quarter and through the February 20 high.

Internet retailer Wayfair (NYSE: W) seems to be defying the odds in my opinion.The stock has performed incredibly well over the last few months, but the fundamentals of the company are really weak compared to other companies. Looking at the daily chart, we see that Wayfair more than doubled from its December low to the recent high.

Chip stocks got beaten up pretty good in the last few weeks of March, but they bounced back on March 29 and again on April 1.Between the two lows, the stock rallied up to $112.98 and for the pattern to be confirmed, the stock will need to move above that level. The Tickeron AI Trend Prediction tool produced the bullish signal on March 29 and that prediction showed a confidence level of 83%.

Application software firm Splunk (Nasdaq: SPLK) has several positive attributes going for it right now.Another brief pullback caused the stochastic readings to fall again and now they have performed a bullish crossover and appear to be heading higher. The second positive attribute Splunk has going for it is a bullish signal from the Tickeron AI Trend Prediction tool.

At Home Group is reportedly looking at options, including a sale of the retail chain. Citing anonymous people familiar with the matter, Reuters reported that the home décor retail company has tied up with Bank of America to explore possibilities and engage with potential buyers.The laggard performance of the company’s shares is apparently making it an acquisition target, as hinted by the anonymous sources (according to Reuters).   

Office Depot’s estimate for its first quarter revenue and operating income falls short of analysts’ expectations. The office supplies company anticipates its quarterly revenue to come in at  $2.76 billion, which is lower than the $2.82 billion level analysts were expecting.The company indicated that it is working on improving the situation by reorganizing its customer-facing organization and realigning the sales team to identify new opportunities. According to Office Depot, its business solutions division faced headwinds from paper and paper-related cost increases.

Google has nixed its panel for discussing AI issues, one week after it was announced. Read More...

Jeff and MacKenzie Bezos announced Thursday that they have agreed to divorce terms, with MacKenzie Bezos set to hold on to a chunk of Amazon stock. Read More...

Libya’s eastern military leader has ordered his forces to march on Tripoli, sparking concerns that open war could soon break out between the main political factions in a key oil-producing nation. Read More...

After only 25 days in theaters, Disney’s (DIS) ‘Captain Marvel’ crossed the $1 billion mark last Tuesday with $645 million of earnings through international ticket sales.Domestically, the film earned $358 million. Similarly, other superhero films like DC’s “Aquaman” earned 70% of its $1.14 billion from markets outside the U.S., as did “Avengers: Infinity War,” which garnered $2.04 billion last year, more than 66% of which was from foreign markets. But credit should also go ‘Infinity War,’ which hinted at its cliff hanger ending that only a female superhero could defeat Thanos. Tickets for ‘Avengers: Endgame’  also sold quickly, as evidenced by Atom Tickets’ sales of this movie at three times more than ‘Infinity War’ last year. The Marvel movies have collectively earned more than $18.5 billion, or an average of $880 million per film.

In 2017, Amazon bought Whole Foods for nearly $14 billion in anticipation of turning shoppers into Prime members, along with gaining entry into the $860 billion U.S. grocery industry. Now the e-commerce giant is struggling to convince its Prime members to shop at Whole Foods, even after offering an extra discount on sale items exclusively for Prime shoppers along with splashy discounts on items like salmon and avocados. But despite these steps, only 18% of Prime members shop at Whole Foods and 70% Prime members never step into a Whole Foods. The major reason for this is Whole Foods’ high prices, as cheap natural foods have now gone mainstream and are available at much lower price at rival supermarkets. Taking the cue from Whole Foods, other grocers like Kroger (KR), Albertsons and Aldi have also expanded their organic aisle but when it comes to price they are generally cheaper than Whole Foods.Kroger's Simple Truth grew 15% last year and is now a $2.3 billion brand.

After a hiatus of 20 years, fast food giant McDonalds has returned to deal-making with back to back investments in technology. In a recent announcement, the company confirmed its acquisition of personalized data start up Dynamic Yield followed by a minority stake in mobile app vendor Plexure, which powers its mobile app in 48 countries outside of the U.S. Both deals are fairly small relative to McDonald's overall size, with its total market value of $143.73 billion. But both deals are in-line with the company’s strategy to acquire capabilities through third parties and avoiding costs of building them internally.Also, the company has a poor reputation in terms of its order accuracy and pace of delivery. This current investment might be considered McDonald’s initiation into the tech world.

In fact, it is now safe to say that 2018 was the worst year for the company who is now struggling to keep its physical stores relevant in the age of cloud gaming. In line with its poor performance, analysts’ price target now ranges between $5 - $12, as more and more gaming moves to streaming and other online models has made the need of physical stores redundant. Analysts cite a variety of reasons for the company’s sales decline.The major problem seems to be its shift to the market place that had some negative implications like declining hardware sales; continued declines in the usually profitable pre-owned games category; and too-slow growth in the collectibles segment. The company’s expertise is also in question now: used games, and whether it remains relevant in a changing video gaming and distribution practices.

Growth in the U.S. services sector fell more than expected and hit its slowest pace in more than a year, according to data from the Institute for Supply Management released Wednesday. The ISM non-manufacturing index fell to 56.1 in March, the weakest print since August 2017, down from 59.7 in February.READ MORE...

In another nail-biting vote in the U.K.’s Parliament, lawmakers voted by a majority of just one to force Prime Minister Theresa May to seek an extension to the Brexit process and avoid a no-deal departure.READ MORE...

Companies seem to have done a lot of hiring in March, and if Friday’s jobs report is as strong as expected, it could go a long way towards reducing speculation that a recession is coming and that the Fed will have to cut interest rates to stop it. Like every jobs report, this one is important, but economists say even more so, after the stunningly weak February report, with just 20,000 jobs created. That data added to growing concerns this winter that the economy could tip into a recession sometime in the next year.READ MORE...

Italian stock markets fell Thursday morning after a report that Italy is set to cut its 2019 growth forecast from 1% down to just 0.1%. Bloomberg on Thursday reported that Italy is preparing to cut its gross domestic product (GDP) forecast from an earlier target after similar reports in the Italian press last week.READ MORE...

Interest rates on U.S. 30-year fixed-rate mortgages moved higher from their lowest in over 14 months as bond yields have risen this week on encouraging economic data and optimism on a trade deal between China and the United States, Freddie Mac said.  Thirty-year mortgage rates averaged 4.08% in the week ended April, up from the prior week’s 4.06%, which was the lowest level since Jan. 18, 2018, the mortgage finance agency said.

JPMorgan Chase CEO Jamie Dimon is calling for reforms to U.S. public policy on education, infrastructure and mortgages to repair what he called the “fraying” American dream. “Governments must be better and more effective - we cannot succeed without their help,” Dimon wrote in his annual letter.“The rest of us could do a better job, too,” he added.  In this year's letter he highlighted 11 problems he said are impeding U.S. growth and opportunities. Dimon also called on the U.S. government to finish implementing the Fixing America’s Surface Transportation Act, which was passed in 2015 and is meant to provide $305 billion to improve America’s highways through 2020.

The number of Americans filing applications for unemployment benefits fell to a more than 49-year low last week, pointing to sustained labor market strength despite slowing economic growth. Read more...