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Free Malaysia Today
26 minutes ago
- Business
- Free Malaysia Today
From TACO to FAFO, investors love parodies of Trump acronyms
US President Donald Trump was inaugurated in January after winning the November elections. (AP pic) NEW YORK : Four months into US President Donald Trump's second term, market observers have taken a cue from his fondness for condensing slogans into catchy acronyms like MAGA, DOGE and MAHA, and devised a few of their own that have been spreading across trading desks. Even those acronyms that do not directly reflect a specific trading strategy, still capture factors that traders say are important in Trump-era markets, such as volatility and uncertainty, that investors need to consider when making decisions. Some of the new labels are associated with investment strategies that aimed to capitalise on Trump's economic and trade policies, and international relations goals. Others riff off economic implications or his abrupt U-turns as markets and trade partners react to his proposals. The 'Trump trade' that played on the Make America Great Again theme in the wake of his November election victory and January inauguration, and contributed to record highs on Wall Street in February, is hardly discussed now that stocks, the dollar and treasury bonds have succumbed to worries about his tariff polices. 'Post the election, we heard a lot about YOLO (You Only Live Once), which seemed to promote taking outsize risks in a concentrated investment theme,' Art Hogan, strategist at B Riley Wealth, said. YOLO, is an acronym used to describe the tendency that was part of that Trump trade to chase high momentum strategies such as cryptocurrency. 'While the term YOLO was popular for a period of time, it goes against all traditional advice,' Hogan said. Here are a few more acronyms that have gotten play in the investment world in recent weeks: TACO (Trump Always Chickens Out) This one, coined by a Financial Times columnist, has been used as a way to describe Trump's to-ing and fro-ing on tariffs in the wake of his April 2 'Liberation Day' speech. When asked about TACO in a recent press conference, the president lashed out, calling the question 'nasty'. 'Where we end up might not be too far from what he promised on the campaign trail. So, does he always chicken out? I wouldn't go as far as to say that,' said Christian DiClementi, fixed income portfolio manager at AllianceBernstein. 'I think that he wants to rebalance the economy without pushing it off a cliff. And we're watching that being executed in real time. I think some of the ideas are thought out and some of them change on the fly.' MEGA (Make Europe Great Again) MEGA, first coined last year to address European competitiveness, resurfaced this spring as a way to describe the flurry of investor interest in and flows into European markets. MEGA hats, spoofing their MAGA counterparts, are easily purchased online It's been revived by investors and traders in light of the outperformance European stocks in the immediate aftermath of Trump's 'Liberation Day' tariffs bombshell. MAGA (Make America Go Away) While the original Trump trade was also known as the MAGA trade, this variation cribbed the president's motto, first appearing in response to vice-president JD Vance's brief and unfruitful visit to Greenland, the autonomous territory of Denmark, which Trump has expressed interest in annexing. At least one Canadian investor says that quip is making the rounds of trading desks in Toronto and Montreal and sparking 'wishful thinking' about simply boycotting US investments. FAFO (F*** Around and Find Out) Although the acronym also came into being well before Trump's inauguration, it is being heard with increasing frequency in trading desk conversations. It is used to capture the financial market's volatility and chaos that Trump's policymaking process has created. Mark Spindel, chief investment officer of Potomac River Capital LLC, described the market as being caught in a 'pinball machine as a result of that policymaking process'. When reached for comment, White House spokesman Kush Desai said in an email 'these asinine acronyms convey how unserious analysts have consistently beclowned themselves by mocking president Trump and his agenda that've already delivered multiple expectation-beating jobs and inflation reports, trillions in investment commitments, a historic UK trade agreement, and rising consumer confidence.'
Yahoo
2 hours ago
- Business
- Yahoo
Why Wall Street downgrades of Apple stock are about to pile up
Shares of Apple AAPL — already down 20% since the beginning of the year — are likely to fall even further in coming months. That prediction is based on the behavior of Wall Street analysts, who tend to react slowly to developments. Seven of the almost 50 analysts who regularly follow Apple's stock have downgraded it this year. That leaves a large group of analysts who potentially could join this group of seven, and whose downgrades could cause Apple's stock to fall even further. 'You never know what might happen': How do I make sure my son-in-law doesn't get his hands on my daughter's inheritance? Five emerging pillars of stock-market support that should keep investors from rushing the exits My ex-wife said she should have been compensated for working part time during our marriage. Do I owe her? My daughter's boyfriend, a guest in my home, offered to powerwash part of my house — then demanded money S&P 500 scores best May since 1990, but stocks end month with fresh tariff worries Analysts' sluggishness in responding to new information is tied to their career and compensation incentives. It's risky for them to deviate too far from the Wall Street consensus. If they're wrong, their reputation will suffer and they possibly could lose their job. As such, they are inclined to keep their earnings estimates and buy-hold-sell ratings in the middle of the pack. This herd instinct was famously described by the late British economist John Maynard Keynes as 'worldly wisdom teaches that it is better for reputation to fail conventionally than to succeed unconventionally.' This theory of analyst behavior leads to a number of empirical predictions that have been borne out by research. One, as confirmed by this study, is that a downgrade of a given stock is more likely to be followed by another downgrade rather than an upgrade — and vice versa. This phenomenon is illustrated by the chart above, which plots the number of downgrades and upgrades of Apple stock over the trailing six months. Notice the preponderance of downgrades (the red columns) over the past few months. Another consequence of analyst sluggishness is that the stock market reacts more quickly than analysts to developments that affect a company's prospects. One study, for example, found that the analyst consensus on a given stock reflects just two-thirds of the information that the market itself has already taken into account. You might conclude from this result that equity analyst upgrades and downgrades should simply be ignored, since there would be no role for them to play if the stock market has already discounted all relevant new information. But the stock market isn't that perfect. Researchers have found that as analysts finally take into account the information the market has already incorporated, prices move even more. This is why it's a good bet there will be more downgrades of Apple stock in the coming months — and why shareholders will suffer even more than they have already. Mark Hulbert is a regular contributor to MarketWatch. His Hulbert Ratings tracks investment newsletters that pay a flat fee to be audited. He can be reached at More: Apple has been the worst Big Tech stock lately. Here's why investors are missing the big picture. Also read: Here's why Nvidia's stock is climbing despite a disappointing forecast It's my dream to travel to Africa. My husband says it's not on his bucket list. Do I pay for him or go alone? My friend is getting divorced. Her husband kindly said, 'Take the house.' Is there a catch? My husband used my money to renovate his house. Will I now get half of his property in a divorce? 'Is this a good tax strategy or a sham transaction?' My mother wants to give me her home. I have a plan to avoid taxes. Nvidia results are proof the tech sector is worth investor loyalty, says strategist who recommended buying at April lows Error in retrieving data Sign in to access your portfolio Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data
Entrepreneur
4 hours ago
- Business
- Entrepreneur
115 Great Reasons to Read this Investment Article
2025 has been a rough time for most investors. Yet those applying the 115 advantages of the Zen Ratings model have enjoyed much more success. This article will explain the... This story originally appeared on WallStreetZen The revolution has begun! I am talking about the Zen Ratings Revolution where we have discovered 115 different factors that lead to stock outperformance. These ratings really provide a 360 degree view of the attractiveness of a stock covering everything from Growth to Value to Momentum to Sentiment…even our proprietary AI factor which pinpoints stocks ready to rise. By now we have sent you many, many emails on the Zen Ratings digging into specifics of those 115 factors. However…perhaps we have bordered on information overload. So today I want to pull back to the big picture of why the Zen Ratings is such a valuable tool for stock investors. That is most easily explained by sharing this performance chart going back to 2003: There is no way to look at this chart without appreciating how the Zen Ratings consistently points out the best stocks to own…and the worst stocks to avoid. And for those wondering how the rating system held up in this recent rough and tumble market, I am glad to report it has produced a +22.52% gain during the volatile past year. 2 Simple Next Steps 1) Learn More: The better you understand the Zen Ratings…the better you will be at picking profitable stocks. That is why we put together this section all about the Zen Ratings. 2) Get 2 New Buy Recommendations That's right. On Wednesday morning June 4th I will unveil the next 2 buy rated stocks I have hand picked for the Zen Investor portfolio. This is where I use my greater than 40 years of investing experience to select the best Zen Ratings stocks for the current market environment. I have just lined up 2 perfect stocks to excel in the year ahead and can't wait to share them with you on Wednesday. Beyond those 2 new picks you will also find 18 other top Zen Rated stocks currently in my portfolio that have triple digit upside potential. Learn more about my stock picking process and how you can save up to 50% on the subscription price. Discover the Zen Investor + Top Stocks + Save Up to 50% > Wishing you a world of investment success! Steve Reitmeister…but everyone calls me Reity (pronounced 'Righty') Editor-in-Chief of WallStreetZen What to Do Next?
Bloomberg
4 hours ago
- Business
- Bloomberg
S&P 500 Whipsaws at End of Best May Since 1990
Bloomberg Television brings you the latest news and analysis leading up to the final minutes and seconds before and after the closing bell on Wall Street. Today's guests are Lara Castleton, Janus Henderson, Jennifer Lee, BMO Capital Markets, Jessica Reif Ehrlich, BofA Securities, George Kurian, NetApp CEO, Michael Halen, Bloomberg Intelligence, Gene Tannuzzo, Columbia Threadneedle, Eric Weiner, Bloomberg News, Hayden Brown, UpWork, Jared Weisfeld, RXO, Lauryn Bosstick, The Skinny Confidential, Shannon O'Neil, Council on Foreign Relations, Joe Mathieu, Bloomberg News, Josh Wingrove, Bloomberg News. (Source: Bloomberg)
Yahoo
5 hours ago
- Business
- Yahoo
Fed's Daly: April PCE inflation is a 'relief,' but incomplete, Fox Business
(Reuters) -San Francisco Federal Reserve Bank President Mary Daly said on Friday cooling inflation offers "relief" for Americans suffering from high prices, but that there are risks of higher inflation ahead. "The inflation number that printed today, that's good relief for American consumers," Daly said on Fox Business' "Maria Bartiromo's Wall Street," referring to the 2.1% rise in the personal consumption expenditure price index increase last month, the slowest annual increase in four years. Error in retrieving data Sign in to access your portfolio Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data
