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November 2016

// October 11th, 2016 // Comments Off on November 2016 // Daily News

Investors facing a ‘hidden risk,’ JPMorgan strategist says
Michelle Fox | @MFoxCNBC

Investors are confronting a “hidden risk” when diversifying their portfolios because both bonds and certain stocks are highly valued, Dubravko Lakos-Bujas, JPMorgan’s head of U.S. equity strategy, said Tuesday.
“Bond valuations are obviously very, very high for various reasons. We have seen contagion into the equity space,” he told CNBC’s “Power Lunch.”

That’ because investors in search of yield have moved into stocks that pay dividends, causing the market to be “dislocated,” he added.
At this point, Lakos-Bujas believes diversification makes a lot of sense. However, historically that means investing in both bonds and equities.
“Today I think one of the hidden risks that we face is that if yields start to creep higher, especially if they start to creep higher for nongrowth reasons, be it central bank related, you could see bonds potentially getting deflated and you could see equities being pressurized, which means cash.”
JPMorgan has said it expects the S&P 500 to end the year at 2,000, with market leaders poised for the biggest fall.
It also projects some sector laggards to do relatively better, such as health care.
“We basically see superior growth in health care, on one hand. On the other hand, we see relatively attractive valuations,” Lakos-Bujas said.

Today’s Inspiration

Do What You Can Do

by Joyce Meyer – posted October 11, 2016

And there was a man called Zacchaeus, a chief tax collector, and [he was] rich. And he was trying to see Jesus, which One He was, but he could not on account of the crowd, because he was small in stature.
—Luke 19:2-3

You can’t add anything to your life by worrying. I enjoy people who don’t worry but are confident and really know who they are in Christ. That is why Zacchaeus is one of my favorite people in the Bible (see Luke 19).

Jesus was coming to town, and Zacchaeus wanted to see Jesus, but he was so short he couldn’t see over all the people in the huge crowd. I love what he did. He didn’t go sit down and have a pity party. Instead, he ran up ahead and climbed up in a sycamore tree. When Jesus came by He said, “Zacchaeus, come on down here. I’m going to your house for dinner!”

Instead of whining about what he thought was a problem in his life, Zacchaeus had a positive attitude about it. Instead of worrying about what he couldn’t do, he found something he could do. And God so loved that spirit of determination that He said, “Of all these people, I am going to go home with you!”

Stop worrying about what you can’t do. Stop comparing yourself to everybody else and wishing you were them and being jealous and envious of them. Whatever your inabilities are, say to them, “It is what it is. And I’m going to deal with it. Whatever I don’t have, God is going to make it up to me in another way.”

I like to talk; I am a good communicator and it is working out really well. I’ve got a lot of good common sense and some business sense and I’m good at managing people, but mainly I talk. I encourage you to start using the abilities that you do have, and don’t be concerned about the ones you don’t have.

Trust in Him: If you’ve already wasted much of your life worrying or comparing or complaining, make a decision today that you are going to trust God instead. Do what you can do and trust Him to do the rest.

October 2016

// October 4th, 2016 // Comments Off on October 2016 // Daily News

Here’s proof that elections make corporate America nervous

CNBC.com
Companies historically tend to slash guidance ahead of elections, according to a Bank of America Merrill Lynch Global Research report published Monday.
In the note, titled “Election uncertainty may overshadow 3Q earnings,” the bank forecasted third-quarter earnings would average $30.25, below analysts’ expectations.
And while growth should improve heading into the end of the year, as headwinds related to oil and the stronger dollar have tapered, sales trends are weak, and the election may negatively impact results due particularly to uncertainty, wrote the equity and quantitative strategy team at BofAML Global Research, headed by Savita Subramanian.
“Guidance trends this year have paralleled history, where we found that management has typically grown more negative in the months ahead of US elections,” the note read, citing a new “concerning” trend that management has largely pulled back on issuing guidance altogether. While September tends to be a light month for guidance, with 60-70 instances on average, Bank of America Merrill Lynch counts just 16 instances of guidance by S&P 500 companies last month.
This, according to the bank, is a record low for any month in 16 years.
So if management feels uncertain in the future, should investors feel similarly? Perhaps, but perhaps not.
“It’s an excuse of convenience. I think it’s a good example of companies under-promising so they can over-deliver later,” Eddy Elfenbein, editor of the Crossing Wall Street blog, said Monday on CNBC’s “Trading Nation.”
Elfenbein said Wall Street “loves excuses that are particularly external.”
“So if there is a problem, they can say, ‘It’s not our fault, it’s Washington’s fault,’ and if there turns out to be no problem, then they beat expectations and then management can say how wonderful they are,” Elfenbein added.
This is not a cause for worry, according to Elfenbein, who said this is just “how Wall Street works.”
The note highlighted weak overall sales trends and sales “barely” beating analysts’ expectations in the third quarter. Growth expectations may not entirely point to a downtrend, according to one portfolio manager.
“We don’t think that there’s going to be a massive sell-off going into the end of the year because earnings are going to be cut; we believe that the Federal Reserve will continue to raise interest rates in December right after the election, hence maybe there will be more volatility going into Q1 or Q2 of next year,” Chad Morganlander, portfolio manager at Stifel Nicolaus, said Monday on “Trading Nation.”
Uncertainty will prove to be a drag on the overall economy, Morganlander added, and growth will likely remain stagnant.
“But nonetheless, earnings growth is going to continue to be nonexistent in 2017 as well as revenue growth,” he said.

Today’s Inspiration

Shine On!

by Joyce Meyer – posted October 04, 2016

The Lord make His face to shine upon and enlighten you and be gracious (kind, merciful, and giving favor) to you,
— Numbers 6:25

As you go through your day, ask the Lord to make His face shine upon you. Ask Him to lift up His countenance upon you and give you peace. Ask Him to shine His glory upon you, as He did with Moses. Then let that light so shine before others that they may see it and glorify your heavenly Father (see Matthew 5:16 KJV).

Letting your light shine can be as simple as putting a smile on your face. Practice smiling at others and you will find most of them smiling back. The light of God’s glory is in you, but if you never show it outwardly, people won’t be blessed. It is amazing what will happen if you will just be thankful, smile, and be nice to people. Show favor as often as you can to as many as you can. By so doing, you will receive favor, because we are told that whatever we sow is what we will reap (see Galatians 6:7).

Prayer of Thanks: I thank You, Father, for the opportunity I have to be a light in a dark world. Let Your light and Your life shine through me for others to see. I am grateful that with Your help, my life can be a blessing to others.