Latest news with #economicconcerns
Yahoo
04-08-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Beat the Market the Zacks Way: Oracle, Credo Tech, Palantir in Focus
Last Friday, the three most widely followed benchmark indexes closed a losing week. The Dow Jones Industrial Average, the S&P 500 and the Nasdaq Composite lost 2.9%, 2.4% and 2.2%, respectively. Dow Jones marked its steepest weekly decline since early April, while the S&P 500 snapped a 2-week winning streak. U.S. markets declined last week due to a combination of economic concerns, geopolitical tensions and earnings disappointments. A weaker-than-expected July jobs report raised fears about slowing economic momentum. Meanwhile, President Trump's announcement of new tariffs on EU and Canadian imports fueled worries of renewed trade tensions. Rising bond yields, with the 10-year Treasury climbing above 4.7%, pressured equity valuations and shifted investor preference toward safer assets. Disappointing earnings from major firms like Boeing and Meta added to the negative sentiments. Together, these factors led to profit-booking and a rotation out of high-growth sectors, dragging down the benchmark indices for the week. Regardless of market conditions, we, here at Zacks, provide investors with unbiased guidance on how to beat the market. As usual, Zacks Research guided investors over the past three months with its time-tested methodologies. Given the prevailing market uncertainty, you may want to look at our feats to prepare better for your next action. Here are some of our key achievements: Credo Tech and Pegasystems Surge Following Zacks Rank Upgrade Shares of Credo Technology Group Holding Ltd CRDO have gained 40.7% (versus the S&P 500's 4.3% increase) since it was upgraded to a Zacks Rank #1 (Strong Buy) on June 5. Another stock, Pegasystems Inc. PEGA, which was also upgraded to a Zacks Rank #1 on June 4, has returned 14.8% (versus the S&P 500's 4.3% increase) since then. A hypothetical portfolio of Zacks Rank # 1 (Strong Buy) stocks returned +3.39% in 2025 (through July 7th) vs. +5.19% for the S&P 500 index and +3.63% for the equal-weight version of the index. This portfolio returned +22.4% in 2024, vs. +28% for the S&P 500 index and +19.9% for the equal-weight version of the S&P 500 index. This hypothetical portfolio returned +20.65% in 2023 vs. +24.83% for the S&P 500 index and +15% for the equal-weight S&P 500 index. The Zacks Model Portfolio - consisting of Zacks Rank #1 stocks – has outperformed the S&P index by more than 12 percentage points since 1988 (through June 2nd, 2025, the Zacks # 1 Rank stocks generated an annualized average return of +23.5% vs. +11% for the S&P 500 index). You can see the complete list of today's Zacks Rank #1 stocks here >>> Check Credo Tech's historical EPS and Sales here>>> Check Pegasystems' historical EPS and Sales here>>> Image Source: Zacks Investment Research Zacks Recommendation Upgrades Cochlear and Virtu Financial Shares of Cochlear Limited CHEOY and Virtu Financial, Inc. VIRT have surged 13% and 5.5% (versus the S&P 500's 3% rise), respectively, since their Zacks Recommendation was upgraded to Outperform on June 13. While the Zacks Rank is our short-term rating system that is most effective over the one- to three-month holding horizon, the Zacks Recommendation aims to predict performance over the next 6 to 12 months. However, just like the Zacks Rank, the foundation for the Zacks Recommendation is trends in earnings estimate revisions. The Zacks Recommendation classifies stocks into three groups — Outperform, Neutral and Underperform. While these recommendations are determined quantitatively, our analysts have the flexibility to override them for the 1100+ stocks they closely follow based on their better judgment of factors such as valuation, industry conditions and management effectiveness than the quantitative model. To access our research reports with Zacks Recommendations for the 1100+ stocks we cover, click here>>> Zacks Focus List Stocks Ulta Beauty, Palantir Shoot Up Shares of Ulta Beauty, Inc. ULTA, which belongs to the Zacks Focus List, have gained 28.3% over the past 12 weeks. The stock was added to the Focus List on March 25, 2020. Another Focus-List holding, Palantir Technologies Inc. PLTR, which was added to the portfolio on March 26, 2024, has returned 24.1% over the past 12 weeks. The S&P 500 has advanced 9.7% over this period. The 50-stock Focus List portfolio returned 8.84% in 2025 (through June 30th, 2025) vs. +6.21% for the S&P 500 index and +4.82% for the equal-weight version of the index. The Zacks Focus List portfolio returned +18.41% in 2024 vs. +25.04% for the S&P 500 index and +13% for the equal-weight S&P 500 index. The portfolio had returned +29.54% in 2023 vs. +26.28% for the S&P 500 index and +13.61% for the equal-weight S&P 500 index. In 2022, the portfolio returned -15.2% vs. the S&P 500 index's -17.96%. The portfolio leads the broader market over the preceding one, three, five and 'since 2004' periods. These annualized return comparisons are: +22.27% for the Focus List vs. +15.18% for the index over the one-year period, +22.61% vs. +19.71% over the 3-year period, +17.79% vs. +16.64% over the 5-year period, and +11.85% vs. +11.44% since 2004. Since 2004, the Focus List portfolio has produced an annualized return of +11.60% (through the end of May 2025). This compares to a +10.22% annualized return for the S&P 500 index and +9.41% for the equal-weight version of the index in the same time period. Unlock all of our powerful research, tools and analysis, including the Focus List, Zacks #1 Rank List, Equity Research Reports, Zacks Earnings ESP Filter, Premium Screener and more, as part of Zacks Premium. Gain full access now >> Zacks ECAP Stocks Oracle & Thermo Fisher Scientific Make Significant Gains Oracle Corporation ORCL, a component of our Earnings Certain Admiral Portfolio (ECAP), has jumped 62.2% over the past 12 weeks. Thermo Fisher Scientific Inc. TMO has followed Oracle with 9.3% returns. The Zacks Earnings Certain Admiral Portfolio (ECAP), which consists of 30 concentrated, ultra-defensive, long-term Buy-and-Hold stocks, returned +3.20% in the first quarter of 2025 vs. the S&P 500 index's -4.30% decline (SPY ETF). For the year 2024, the portfolio returned +16.26% vs. +24.89% for the S&P 500 index (SPY ETF). In 2023, the portfolio returned +12.17% vs. +26.28% for the S&P 500 index. The portfolio returned -4.7% in 2022 vs. the S&P 500 index's -17.96%. With little to no turnover and annual rebalance periodicity, ECAP seeks to minimize capital loss by holding shares of companies whose earnings streams exhibit a proven 20+ year track record of surviving recessionary periods with minimal impact on aggregate earnings growth relative to the overall S&P 500. The ECAP and many other model portfolios are available as part of Zacks Advisor Tools, a cloud-based solution to access Zacks award-winning stock, mutual fund and ETF research. Click here to schedule a demo. Zacks ECDP Stocks Tractor Supply and Fastenal Outperform Peers Tractor Supply Company TSCO, which is part of our Earnings Certain Dividend Portfolio (ECDP), has returned 13.4% over the past 12 weeks. Another ECDP stock, Fastenal Company FAST, has climbed 10.7% over the same time frame. Of course, the inclination of investors toward quality dividend stocks to secure an income stream amid heightened market volatility contributed to this performance. Check Tractor Supply's dividend history here>>> Check Fastenal's dividend history here>>> With an extremely low beta and a history of minimum earnings variability over the last 20+ years, this 25-stock portfolio helps significantly mitigate risk. The Zacks Earnings Certain Dividend Portfolio (ECDP) returned -3.17% in 2025 Q2 vs. the S&P 500 index's +10.94% gain and the Dividend Aristocrats ETF's (NOBL) -0.09% return. Year-to-date (through June 30th), the portfolio returned +2.38% vs. +2.18% gain for the Dividend Aristocrat ETF. For the full-year 2024, the portfolio returned +6.95% vs. +24.89% for the S&P 500 index and +6.72% for NOBL. The portfolio returned -0.9% in 2023 vs. +26.28% for the S&P 500 index and +8.11% for NOBL. The portfolio returned -2.3% in 2022 vs. -17.96% for the S&P 500 index and -8.34% for NOBL. Click here to access this portfolio on Zacks Advisor Tools. Zacks Top 10 Stock Stride Delivers Solid Returns Stride, Inc. LRN, from the Zacks Top 10 Stocks for 2025, has jumped 24.4% year to date compared with the S&P 500 Index's 6.1% increase. The Top 10 portfolio returned +11.8% this year (through the end of June 2025) vs. +6.2% for the S&P 500 index and +4.8% for the equal-weight version of the index. The Top 10 portfolio returned +62.98% in 2024, vs. +25.04% for the S&P 500 index and +13% for the equal-weight version of the index. The portfolio had returned +25.15% in 2023 vs. +26.28% for the S&P 500 index. Since 2012, the Top 10 portfolio has produced a cumulative return of +2,246.8% through the end of June 2025 vs. +502.3% for the S&P 500 index and +373.4% for the equal-weight version of the index. The portfolio has produced an average return of +26.3% in the period 2012 through June 30, 2025, vs. +14.3% for the S&P 500 index and +12.2% for the equal-weight version of the index. Want the latest recommendations from Zacks Investment Research? Today, you can download 7 Best Stocks for the Next 30 Days. Click to get this free report Fastenal Company (FAST) : Free Stock Analysis Report Thermo Fisher Scientific Inc. (TMO) : Free Stock Analysis Report Tractor Supply Company (TSCO) : Free Stock Analysis Report Oracle Corporation (ORCL) : Free Stock Analysis Report Ulta Beauty Inc. (ULTA) : Free Stock Analysis Report Pegasystems Inc. (PEGA) : Free Stock Analysis Report Stride, Inc. (LRN) : Free Stock Analysis Report Virtu Financial, Inc. (VIRT) : Free Stock Analysis Report Palantir Technologies Inc. (PLTR) : Free Stock Analysis Report Credo Technology Group Holding Ltd. (CRDO) : Free Stock Analysis Report CochLear Ltd. Unsponsored ADR (CHEOY) : Free Stock Analysis Report This article originally published on Zacks Investment Research ( Zacks Investment Research
Irish Times
16-07-2025
- Business
- Irish Times
Donald Trump asked lawmakers whether he should fire Fed's Jay Powell
US President Donald Trump asked lawmakers whether he should fire Federal Reserve chair Jerome Powell in a move that fuelled a fresh bout of concerns over the central bank's independence and hit the dollar. A White House official on Wednesday said Mr Trump asked Republican members of Congress during an Oval Office meeting late the previous day whether he should remove Mr Powell. Lawmakers supported the idea, the official said. Mr Trump later on Wednesday pushed back at the prospect that he would imminently sack Powell, who the president has relentlessly criticised in recent weeks for declining to cut interest rates. 'We're not planning on doing anything,' Mr Trump said in the Oval Office on Wednesday. READ MORE 'I don't rule out anything, but I think it's highly unlikely, unless he has to leave for fraud, and it's possible there's fraud,' the president added. Mr Trump said 'almost every one' of the lawmakers he met on Tuesday signalled he should remove the Fed chair before his current four-year term ends in May 2026. [ Trump says Federal Reserve chair Jerome Powell should 'resign immediately' Opens in new window ] The dollar swung in volatile trading, with an index tracking the currency against its peers sliding as much as 0.9 per cent, before trimming its losses to roughly 0.3 per cent. The odds on prediction market Polymarket that Mr Trump would fire Powell in 2025 shot up to as high as 40 per cent, before receding to 20 per cent before the president appeared to backtrack. Speculation that Mr Trump might fire Powell reached a fever pitch after Anna Paulina Luna, a Republican congresswoman from Florida, posted on X on Tuesday night that she was 'hearing' that the Fed chair would be fired, and his sacking would be 'imminent'. David McWilliams on how 'big incentives' to build could save Dublin city Listen | 36:51 Ms Luna was among 11 House Republicans who met Trump in the Oval Office late on Tuesday as the president tried to win over their support for legislation that would create a regulatory framework for stablecoin issuers. Mr Trump has insisted interest rates should be as much as 3 percentage points lower than their current levels of 4.25 per cent to 4.5 per cent, saying lower borrowing costs would help reduce the public debt burden of his 'big, beautiful' budget bill. However, Mr Powell and many other members of the Fed's policy-setting board are worried Mr Trump's tariffs could increase inflation. A report on Tuesday pointed to growing pressures on consumer prices. The White House has recently also opened up a new front in its attack on Powell, with officials criticising a $2.5 billion renovation of the central bank's Washington headquarters. Mr Trump's ally Russell Vought, director of the Office of Management and Budget, last week accused the Fed chair of 'grossly' mismanaging an 'ostentatious' renovation that was $700 million over budget. Worries over the Fed's independence have been bubbling on Wall Street. JPMorgan chief Jamie Dimon, one of the most influential executives in US finance, on Tuesday warned 'the independence of the Fed is absolutely critical – and not just for the current Fed chair, whom I respect, Jay Powell, but for the next Fed chair'. He added: 'Playing around with the Fed can often have adverse consequences, the absolute opposite of what you might be hoping for.' The Fed declined to comment. – Copyright The Financial Times Limited 2025
NHK
09-07-2025
- Business
- NHK
China's economy confronts deflationary threat
Prices have been falling in China as consumers grow fearful about their finances, stoking concerns the economy could be headed for a deflationary spiral.
Fox News
06-07-2025
- Business
- Fox News
NY Dem says he ‘disagrees' with Mamdani, makes comparison to Trump
Rep. Tom Suozzi, D-N.Y., says he disagrees with Zohran Mamdani when it comes to his positions, but said his fellow Democrats could learn something from the democratic socialist — something that reminds him of President Donald Trump. "You have to recognize that he tapped into something," Suozzi said on CBS' "Face the Nation" on Sunday. "He tapped into the same thing that Donald Trump tapped into, which is that people are concerned that the economy is not working for them." The "democratic capitalist," as he describes himself, said in a Wall Street Journal op-ed last week that Mamdani's win in the democratic mayoral primary should be a "loud wake-up call for Democrats." "Too often, Democrats are not perceived as being focused on affordability and the economy and the middle class and people aspiring to the middle class and their economic concerns," Suozzi told Weijia Jiang, who was filling in for Margaret Brennan. "They see Democrats as being primarily focused on reproductive rights and on LGBT protections, which are important issues, but they're not the issues that people think about every night when they're lying in bed thinking about paying their bills or when they are talking about how they're going to send their kids to school," he continued. While Suozzi does not believe Trump or Mamdani has the correct path forward when it comes to those issues, he said Democrats can learn to lean into root issues. "Everybody in America, whether you're a right-wing conservative or a left-wing progressive, should believe that in return for working hard, you make enough money so you can live a good life," he said. "You can buy a home. You can educate your children. You could pay for your health insurance. You can retire one day without being scared. People don't feel that currently, and we have to do a better job of communicating that."
Reuters
04-07-2025
- Business
- Reuters
UK shares fall amid domestic fiscal worries, looming tariff deadline
July 4(Reuters) - London's main stock indexes fell on Friday, weighed down by domestic fiscal worries and weaker global sentiment ahead of a looming tariff deadline. As of 0910 GMT, the benchmark FTSE 100 (.FTSE), opens new tab was down 0.3%, while the domestically-focussed FTSE 250 (.FTMC), opens new tab lost 0.7%. Both indexes are set to end the week lower. The midcap index ended the second quarter on Monday by logging its largest quarterly gain in over four years, but has since come under pressure as U-turns on welfare reforms have blown a hole in Finance Minister Rachel Reeves' budget plans. The reform bill passed on Tuesday, but with limited cost-reduction measures from the initially expected 5 billion pounds ($6.83 billion) in savings, leading to concerns of raised taxes or spending cuts elsewhere. S&P Global said the inability to make modest cuts to welfare spending showed the government's "limited budgetary room for manoeuvre." Among sectors, homebuilder stocks (.FTNMX402020), opens new tab led sectoral losses on Friday, dropping 2% after MJ Gleeson (GLEG.L), opens new tab warned of profit being at the lower end of market expectations for fiscal 2026 due to subdued demand. The group slumped 6.7% and was the top decliner on the smallcap index. Larger peers Vistry (VTYV.L), opens new tab, Persimmon (PSN.L), opens new tab and Taylor Wimpey (TW.L), opens new tab fell 3.1%, 1.6% and 1.5%, respectively. Industrial metal stocks (.FTNMX551020), opens new tab fell, tracking lower metal prices. Anglo American (AAL.L), opens new tab, Antofagasta (ANTO.L), opens new tab and Glencore (GLEN.L), opens new tab slipped over 1% each. Atalya lost 3%. On the economic data front, S&P's UK construction PMI showed Britain's construction industry downturn reduced in June with homebuilding growth, but commercial building tumbled due to economic worries. Elsewhere, global markets were subdued after U.S. President Donald Trump said Washington will start sending letters with tariff rates to countries on Friday. Britain remains one of the only countries to have cinched a deal with the U.S. Among individual stocks, greeting card and gifting retailer Moonpig (MOONM.L), opens new tab fell nearly 6% to the bottom of the midcap index after a rating downgrade by Deutsche Bank. ($1 = 0.7323 pounds)
