A proposal in Rome to issue small-denomination bonds to help pay back its debts could have disastrous consequences for the Italian economy, an analyst has told CNBC. The Italian government is considering a proposal that would see the treasury issue securities — so-called mini-BOTs (short-term treasury bills) — that could be used by recipients to pay taxes or to buy goods or services from state-owned companies.

Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer has reached a new low, by suing the victims of the Las Vegas shooting.In defense of MGM, over two-thousand people are threating to sue the media conglomerate, so the company needed to take some action to defend themselves. 

Unfortunately for MGM shareholders, the stock wasn’t able to maintain that momentum and has been trending lower since the February high. Looking at the daily chart we see that by connecting the February high with the April high we get a downward sloped trend line.After rallying for the last few weeks, the stock is now hitting that trend line and it is overbought based on the stochastic readings and the 10-day RSI. The Tickeron Trend Prediction Engine generated a bearish signal for MGM on June 14.

Shares of MoneyGram International soared on Tuesday, following blockchain startup Ripple’s plans to invest in the company. MoneyGram is a money transfer services company based in the U.S. Ripple has agreed to buy $30 million of MoneyGram's fresh shares at $4.10 a share.  It might also  purchase another $20 million at its discretion at a minimum of $4.10. MoneyGram’s services encompass 200 countries and territories, with around $600 billion processed in the global remittance market. Under the terms of the deal, MoneyGram will use Ripple’s XRP  technology to process cross-border transfers of digital funds for at least two years. With nearly $900 million in total debt, MoneyGram indicated that it is close to a refinancing of a loan and revolving credit facilities following the investment.  For Ripple, the deal could potentially spell a critical opportunity for it to prove the effectiveness of its crypto technology in lowering time and costs associated with fu

The Dow Jones Industrial Average gained 256 points at the open, led by Caterpillar and Exxon Mobil.The Dow was also within 1% of its record high, while the Nasdaq remained 1.3%.

The yield on the benchmark 10-year Treasury note fell below 2% for the first time since November 2016 overnight after the Federal Reserve on Wednesday signaled rate cuts were likely on the way.

Tesla shares declined Thursday, following a price cut by Goldman Sachs analysts. Goldman analyst David Tamberrino slashed his 12-month price target on Tesla to $158.00 from $200.00 while maintaining a "sell" rating for the electric carmaker’s stock. Tamberrino indicated that the current quarter’s car deliveries could meet market forecasts, but estimates for the second half of the year look stretched.He feels that there are  fewer levers (such as lower prices and leasing options) to use for stimulating demand going forward. Earlier this month, Tesla founder and CEO Elon Musk said there was a "decent chance" of a blockbuster quarter, which could include deliveries of between 90,000 and 100,000 clean-energy cars.

Darden Restaurants missed fiscal fourth-quarter revenue estimates, sending its share down -4% Thursday morning, The restaurant company’s quarterly revenue increased +4.5% year-over-year to $2.23 billion, but lagged  analysts’ estimates of $2.24 billion (based on Refinitiv poll of analysts). Total same-store sales growth across all of Darden’s restaurants came in at +1.6% for the quarter, falling short of analysts’ estimates of +2.3%.Darden mentioned a decline of -0.4% in  foot traffic to its Olive Garden locations open at least a year.It reported adjusted earnings per share of $1.76, compared to Wall Street’s estimates of $1.73. Looking ahead, the company expects same-store sales growth of 1% to 2%, and net earnings per share of $6.30 to $6.45.

Kroger's earnings surpassed analysts' forecasts for the fiscal first-quarter, but its shares fell  more than -0.3% Thursday. The grocery store chain reported adjusted earnings of 72 cents a share, compared to analysts’ estimates of 71 cents. Revenue of $37.3 billion came in higher than FactSet consensus of $37.19 billion.The grocery’s digital sales surged +42%. For full year 2019, Kroger reiterated its identical sales growth forecast range of +2.00% to 2.25%, and adjusted earnings-per-share projection range of $2.15 to $2.25. 

Oracle’s largest business segment, Cloud Services and License Support, generated $6.80 billion in revenue, beating consensus estimate of $6.76 billion (based on analysts’ poll by FactSet). Looking ahead, Oracle expects earnings in the range of 80 cents to 82 cents per share, excluding certain items, and revenue growth of flat to 2 percent for the first quarter of the 2020 fiscal year.Analysts polled by Refinitiv had predicted 80 cents per share for the quarter on 1.7% revenue growth.  For the full fiscal year 2020, the company projects that earnings per share would experience double-digit growth, and that revenue would grow faster compare to last year in constant currency.

Avalara (NYSE: AVLR) is a cloud-based software firm that specializes in tax compliance worldwide.The stock just hit the trend line on June 14 before bouncing sharply higher. The stock could see some resistance in the $75 range as it has attempted to move above that level on three different occasions without success. The Tickeron Trend Prediction Engine generated a bullish signal for Avalara on June 14 and the signal shows a confidence level of 90%.

Beyond Meat shares surged close to +5% on Tuesday, on news of it launching a new, plant-based beef variety that tenderizes the same way real ground beef does.  According to media reports, the new plant-based product will contain pea protein, mung bean protein and brown rice proteins.Last Wednesday, Canadian coffee chain Tim Hortons (a subsidiary of Restaurant Brands International ) announced that it was now serving breakfast sandwiches made with Beyond Meat’s meat substitutes at almost 4,000 of its locations.

The yield on the benchmark 10-year Treasury note fell to its lowest level since September 2017 on Tuesday as the Federal Reserve began its two-day policy meeting and European Central Bank President Mario Draghi promised further stimulus if inflation doesn’t meet its target in the euro zone.

European Central Bank (ECB) President Mario Draghi defended the tools that the institution has available on Tuesday, saying that it could cut interest rates again or provide further asset purchases if inflation doesn’t reach its target.

Are You? Also in this newsletter Healthcare sector ETF (XLV) trending lower since November A.I.It means evaluating myriad variables – post-retirement lifestyle, where to retire, cost of living, the rate of inflation, and more – then formulating a plan that considers current earnings and standard of living, in addition to… Read More… —————————————————————————————— Healthcare sector ETF (XLV) trending lower since November The overall market recovered from the selling that hit in December and that led the S&P 500 to a new all-time high on May 1.

Cronos Group (Nasdaq: CRON) is a rather unique company.Cannabis investing has been a prominent storyline over the last few years and that has helped the stock move up sharply in the last two years. Despite the rally, the stock has been trending lower in the last four and a half months.

Oil & gas equipment manufacturer Baker Hughes (NYSE: BHGE) has been trending lower in recent months, like many in the oil services industry.One thing that is different though is that a downward sloping trend channel has formed that seems to be defining the highs and lows within the overall trend. If you connect the highs from March and April you get the upper rail of a downward sloping channel.

The overall market recovered from the selling that hit in December and that led the S&P 500 to a new all-time high on May 1.The Healthcare Select Sector SPDR (NYSE: XLV) peaked just above $90 back in November and it has yet to get back to that point. In fact, if you connect the high from November with the highs from March and April, you can see the downward sloped trend line the ETF has formed.

UBS has lost a lead role on a U.S. dollar bond deal for state-backed China Railway Construction Corp, just days after a Chinese outcry over a senior UBS economist’s use of “pig” in connection with Chinese food price inflation.

Tesla and SpaceX CEO Elon Musk said in a tweet early Monday he “just deleted” his Twitter account. He made his statement in a tweet, but the account still appeared to be active after the post.