Week of Nov 7 2014 Weekly Recap & The Week Ahead
Monday, November 10th, 2014“Rule No. 1: Never lose money. Rule No. 2: Never forget Rule No. 1.” — Warren Buffett
1. Argentina accuses Procter & Gamble of tax fraud and suspends operations – Reuters, Argentine authorities have said that they have suspended Procter & Gamble’s (NYSE:PG) operations in the country after accusing the company of tax fraud. The AFIP tax agency has alleged that P&G over-billed $138M of imports in order to get currency out of the country and hide taxable income. Procter & Gamble operates three manufacturing plants in Argentina and two distribution centers.
2. Midterm Elections Market Performance — Bloomberg, since the end of World War II, the Oct. 31 to April 30 period has proved to be the strongest period for stocks, with an average 7.1% gain for the S&P 500 SPX, -0.17% according to data compiled by Bank of Montreal.
3. Republicans Recapture Senate from Democrats — Republicans roared back in the midterm elections on Tuesday, capturing control of the Senate from Democrats, winning crucial governor races and solidifying their majority in the U.S. House. The night’s biggest prize—control of the Senate—went to Republicans with Joni Ernst’s victory in Iowa, giving her party its first majority in eight years. The GOP picked up seven Senate seats and more were possible, with Alaska still counting votes and Louisiana headed to a Dec. 6 runoff. The results ensured that Republicans will control both chambers of Congress for the remainder of President Barack Obama’s term.
4. Saudi Square-Off Over U.S. Shale Frackers Over Low Oil Prices — Bloomberg, the U.S. companies believe they have a lot more staying power than many of Saudi Arabia’s partners in the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries, or OPEC over the latest OPEC price war to reclaim market share and chill competition. Several producers plan on increasing production. Execs at several large U.S. shale producers, including CHK, EOG Resources (NYSE:EOG) and Whiting Petroleum (NYSE:WLL) say they plan to maintain and even raise production.
5. Latest American Association of Individual Investors (AAII) Survey — courtesy of BIG, bullish sentiment rose to 52.69% this week, up from last week’s reading of 49.4%. This is the highest reading of bullish sentiment we have seen all year.
The week ahead — Economic data from Econoday.com: