Week of Nov 4 2016 Weekly Recap & The Week Ahead
“If all you have is a hammer, everything looks like a nail.” Bernard Baruch
1. No Oil Output Deal for Non-OPEC Producers — Non-OPEC producers made no specific commitment on to join OPEC in limiting oil output levels to prop up prices – a stance that suggests they want the group to first solve its differences. A day earlier, OPEC members themselves were unable to agree on how to implement a deal to limit production amid objections by Iran which has been reluctant to even freeze its output. Discussions will continue late next month, just days ahead of the upcoming OPEC meeting on Nov. 30.
2. 2016 Presidential Election — over 23M votes have already been cast in the 2016 Presidential Election nationwide, with 11.5M submitted in 12 key battleground states. Democratic-affiliated voters have so far outpaced Republican voters in Colorado, Iowa, Michigan, North Carolina, Nevada, Ohio, Virginia and Wisconsin, but in Arizona, Florida, Georgia and Pennsylvania, Republican-affiliated voters have overtaken Democrats.
3. Valeant ex-CEO and ex-CFO Focus Of Criminal Probe — Bloomberg news reported that ex-CEO Michael Pearson and ex-CFO Howard Schiller are the focus of a DOJ fraud investigation. According to Bloomberg, the nature of the charges are related to the company’s hidden ties to now-defunct Philidor, a specialty pharmacy that used dubious tactics to increase insurance reimbursements for Valeant (NYSE:VRX) products.
4. Volvo S90 Production Moves to China — Volvo Cars is moving S90 production from Sweden to China, as well as commencing production for future 40 and 60 series models in the East Asian country. Bringing manufacturing under the same roof is the latest effort to tighten ties between Volvo and its Chinese owner by transferring European know-how to Geely (OTCPK:GELYY) while maintaining the Swedish automaker’s business and reputation.
5. DOJ Charges for Generic Drug-Makers Colluded on Drug Pricing — according to Bloomberg, the Department of Justice may file charges in its generic-drug investigation by the end of the year. A number of companies including Mylan and Teva Pharmaceuticals have disclosed subpoenas and are cooperating with authorities. Shares of Mylan(MYL), Teva (TEVA) and Endo (ENDO) and Allergan (AGN) plunged after the news.
6. AAII Sentiment Record No. of Weeks Below 40% (1987-2016) — according to BIG, a record number of 53 consecutive weeks of bullish sentiments that stay below 40%. Also, the S&P 500 logged its first nine-day losing streak in almost 36 years. However, the 6- and 12-month returns following eight or more consecutive days of declines are usually positive and impressive. See charts below.
The week ahead — Economic data from Econoday.com: