Business News of the Week 1/26/20-2/1/20

Vivo Overtakes Samsung for 2^nd Spot in Indian Smartphone Market 1/26

Chinese smartphone firm Vivo has taken the second spot in the Indian market after surpassing rival Samsung!
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Vivo’s annual smartphone shipment totals rose an impressive 76% from the previous year.
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Samsung continues to struggle with lower price competition from Chinese smartphone producers as they have now fallen from first to third in the Indian market over just a few years.

Wall Street in the Red as Coronavirus Fear Spreads 1/27

Stocks are down today as fear of the coronavirus and middle east tensions have sparked market risk and uncertainty!
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The S&P 500 opened up down about 2% and many blue chip stocks are down on the day including Apple, Nvidia, Microsoft, Alibaba, and nearly every other big stock except Beyond Meat and Next Era Energy.
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If worsening news about the disease outbreak continues to pour in then the market could be in for a significant slide.

Abbvie’s Acquisition of Allergan Making Strides 1/27

Pharmaceutical giant Abbvie’s acquisition of the medical drug maker Allergan is moving closer to finalizing after Allergan has now divested two of their recent treatment products to Nestle and AstraZeneca.
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The $63 billion acquisition will serve to cement Abbvie as a leader in the healthcare sector for years to come

Raytheon-United Technologies Merger Announcement Coming Soon 1/28

The EU has announced that antitrust enforcers will rule on the Raytheon-United Technologies merger by February 28th.
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The gigantic $120 billion merger would be the 3rd largest acquisition of all time!
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Both companies have sold off various subsidiaries to address competition concerns and are hopeful the deal will be finalized soon!

Fed Keeps Rates in Check 1/29

The Federal Reserve has just announced that interest rates will remain at their current mark.
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This was the Fed’s first policy meeting of the year and it seemed to closely echo the recent December meeting’s statements. Chairman Jerome Powell pointed to a strong job market and continued economic growth as catalysts for the current health of the economy.
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This decision was expected and with no sign of rising inflation on the horizon we expect rates to remain steady for the time being.

Boeing Posts First Loss in over Two Decades 1/29

Boeing has just posted an annual loss for the first time in over two decades as the 737 Max crisis has cost the company an estimated $19 billion!
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This morning’s earnings report included an ugly loss of $2.33 per share for the fourth quarter, however the stock was up about 2% on the day as this loss was highly anticipated.

Amazon Smashes Earnings 1/30

Amazon absolutely crushed earnings today after hours and the stock is up $185 (9.8%).
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They posted an earnings per share of $6.47 which smashed projections of $4.03 while also seeing a 21% increase in revenue from Q4 of the prior year!
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Amazon’s investments into one-day shipping and Amazon Web Services are paying off big time and they have now reclaimed their position in the trillion dollar market cap club!

Dow Slips After WHO Declares CV a National Emergency 1/31

The Dow has plummeted today and stocks across all sectors are down as the coronavirus numbers have worsened!
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The WHO has just declared the virus a national emergency and many flights have been canceled as a result.
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This is the first major roadblock the otherwise flourishing market has encountered in many months.
We are eager to see how the market will respond on Monday!