The S&P 500 is starting off April with a bang, at its high for the year and now only about 2% from the old historic closing high of 2,930 on September 20th of last year.April is the best month for the Dow Industrials (up 13 straight years), and the third best month for the S&P 500 (after December and November).

 U.S. retail sales unexpectedly fell in February, but a rebound in factory activity in March and strong increase in construction spending offered hope the economy was not slowing as sharply as previously feared. Read more...

First quarter growth forecasts are now tracking solidly between 1 percent and 2 percent, following a recession scare that had some economists’ forecasting growth barely above zero. The CNBC/Moody’s Analytics Rapid GDP update median tracking forecast is now 1.5 percent, up 0.2 percentage points from last week.Economists also put second quarter growth at 2.7 percent.

Goldman Sachs CEO David Solomon said that the new jointly-created Apple Card is a major step in its journey to becoming a player in the consumer finance industry. Solomon, who attended Apple’s Monday event unveiling the card and other new services, addressed the joint effort in a memo to employees.READ MORE...

China’s State Council said on Sunday that the country would continue to suspend additional tariffs on U.S. vehicles and auto parts after April 1, in a goodwill gesture following a U.S. decision to delay tariff hikes on Chinese imports. Read More...

Walmart (NYSE: WMT) is shuttering at least 11 U.S. stores across eight states, according to Business Insider, which said the closing date for most of the affected outlets is April 19. Read More...

here is little doubt today that American superiority in the next generation of mobile communications, commonly called 5G, is a matter of extraordinary national concern.There is also little doubt that China is a strong competitor, already having outspent the United States by $24 billion and planning $411 billion in 5G investment over the next decade.  READ MORE...

Over the last six months, Brazil’s stock market has performed as well, if not better, than any market in the world.The fund jumped sharply on March 28 and that caused the daily stochastic readings to make a bullish crossover after reaching oversold territory. The Tickeron AI Trend Prediction tool generated a bullish signal on the EWZ on March 27 and that signal showed a confidence level of 70%.

With the Fed announcing plans to keep the Fed Funds rate at the current level for the foreseeable future, it hampered banks to a degree. When interest rates are rising, the spread grows between what banks charge on loans and what they pay on deposits.After that meeting, the KRE fell over 11% in three days. One regional bank that caught my eye was BB&T (NYSE: BBT).

Ciena Corporation (NYSE: CIEN) provides hardware, software, and services for networking systems worldwide.The company’s return on equity is average at 10.4% and so is the profit margin at 9.2%.

Analysts of Buckingham Research Group, as well as KeyBanc Capital Markets, maintain an optimistic stance on Five Below with a price target lifted from $135 to $145. Five Below’s earnings have demonstrated a consistent growth across all relevant metrics remarkable of which were an EPS of $1.59 versus an estimated $1.57 per share, and comparable store sales of 4.4% versus an estimate of 4.2%.However, management's full-year 2019 EPS guidance of $3.00 to $3.07 fell short of consensus estimates of $3.13, but factors such as multiple transitory cost pressures justly explained the drop. Analysts further add that as long as Five Below continues to show strong unit economics, positive comps, and unit growth, investors are safe to maintain their optimistic stance on the company’s shares. The company’s quarterly results also reveal that it is not just restricted to toys and games that account for its broad-based momentum.

Automaker giant Ford Motor Company announced its decision to stop producing passenger vehicles offered through a joint venture called Ford Sollers with Russian automaker Sollers PJSC while commercial vans will still continue to be produced.This restructuring of the deal between the companies is part of a larger move to boost profitability in Europe. Ford confirmed that the restructuring will come at a one-time pre-tax expense between $450 - $500 million out of which roughly $250-$300 million will be non-cash accounting charges, and the remainder roughly $200 million will be cash charges.

Breaking away from a prolonged 52 weeks low, Gap is ready for a comeback for the stock as shares of the company surged over 20% earlier this month after it announced the split of its Old Navy business from the rest of the company brands. Last Wednesday the company saw its average daily call volume increase two-fold despite the company announcing the closure of its 100 Arden Pl.Traders also highlighted that there was ample optimism surrounding the company after it recently announced its restructuring plan and expects GAP’s shares to reach $28.27 by June expiration, resulting into the purchase of 6,000 June 27- calls for $1.27 per options contract. However, Gap’s overall performance for the full year has been unremarkable as shares of Gap are up just over 1% this year in contrast to the broader retailer group’s gains of 10%. Interestingly at its current price point, the company’s market capitalization stood at $10.13 billion with 387.86 million shares outstanding.

While Google parent-company Alphabet pours capital into self-driving vehicles with its Waymo unit, the company is making real money in transportation right now. CapitalG, the late-stage investing arm of Alphabet, has doubled the value of its investment in Lyft, after the ride-hailing company made its stock market debut on Friday.READ MORE...

This quarter is one for the Wall Street history books — stocks are on track to post their best quarter since 2009 and best start to a year in more than two decades.However, investors shrugged it off. While the S&P is up nearly 13 percent so far this year, on pace for its best quarterly performance since the third quarter of 2009 and best start to a year since 1998, stock funds failed to attract new money.

Bed, Bath & Beyond slashed its workforce this week, apparently responding to consumers’ burgeoning preference for online shopping. “We were able to reassign many of those impacted by this realignment to other available store and corporate roles, but ultimately we had to reduce our headcount,”  a spokesperson for Bed Bath said in a statement.“This decision was a difficult but necessary step, and we are committed to treating all associates across the organization fairly and with respect.” The company did not officially release the exact number of workers affected. Citing an anonymous source familiar with the matter, CNBC reported that the home goods retail chain laid off 150 out of its 65,000 employees this week.

Analyst Kimberly Greenberger wrote in a note to clients, “at these levels the market appears to already price in the majority of YETI’s potential Ebit margin upside”, while still remaining optimistic on the drinks-holder & cooler maker’s long-term prospects. Greenberger also indicated that Morgan Stanley would consider reverting to its overweight rating on Yeti, only if the stock pulls back from its lofty levels.The stock is up around +130% from its December low. After Morgan Stanley’s downgrade, Yeti shares slumped -10% Friday. Despite the rating cut, Morgan Stanley upped its price target on the stock to $32 from $26.   

consumer spending grew the tiniest of margins at 0.1% in January, while incomes grew 0.2% in February. The Commerce Department said that the weak gain in consumer spending followed a 0.6% plunge in December that marked the biggest one-month drop in more than nine years.The 0.2% rise in incomes in February came after a 0.1% drop in incomes in January.  The government had also revised down gross domestic product growth to 2.2% in the fourth quarter.

AstraZeneca says it will pay up to $6.9 billion to work with Daiichi Sankyo Co Ltd on a new experimental treatment for breast cancer. Britain’s AstraZeneca plans to use some of the proceeds of a $3.5 billion share issue to fund the deal. Under the deal, AstraZeneca will make an upfront payment of $1.35 billion to Daiichi.They will share development and commercialization costs for the drug worldwide, with Daiichi retaining exclusive rights in Japan. AstraZeneca will also target patients with low levels of HER2, a much larger breast cancer subgroup with poor treatment options and the drug’s biggest market opportunity, as well as certain lung and gastric tumors.

President Donald Trump signed a memorandum on Wednesday directing federal agencies to develop a plan to overhaul the U.S. housing finance system, the White House said. Read more...