Ilija Rankovic

The UK equity market seems to be benefitting from all the chaos that Brexit has caused. While the other markets are being negatively affected by the uncertainty, the equity market seems to be shrugging off all the negative estimates for corporate earnings growth. Patrik Schowitz, the global multi-asset strategist at JPMorgan Asset Management, said that “It’s the one market in the world where forecasts are going up.” JPMorgan Asset Management seems to view the UK equity markets very positively. The improved forecasts are mostly the result of the falling exchange rate of the British pound. This is because the vast majority of revenues for companies in the FTSE 100 (UK’s index similar to the US' S&P 500) are made outside of the UK. The British pound lost 1.7% of its value against the US dollar since the start of 2019.

Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) is rumoured to be investigating BitMEX, which is the biggest cryptocurrency trading platform by volume. CFTC suspects BitMEX of allowing US residents to use the platform to trade. Allowing citizens to trade on BitMEX would be against the law as the US is currently one of the countries that doesn’t have the option to use BitMEX and similar crypto-based financial services due to the regulations that the country imposes. However, some American residents may have tried and succeeded to bypass the geoblock, which prevents them to access BitMex. The investigation details have not been revealed or confirmed yet by either BitMEX or the CFTC. BitMEX remains in the spotlight after a verbal altercation between BitMEX’s CEO Arthur Hayes and a serial bitcoin non-believer Nouriel Roubini.

East West Bancorp (NASDAQ:EWBC) reported its Q2 2019 financial results, and most of them were in line with the estimates. The company has reported its adjusted EPS to be $1.24. This figure was in line with the Zacks Consensus Estimate. When compared to the previous year’s result, the figure went up by 5.1%. The earnings year-over-year growth can be attributed to the increasing revenues as well as continuous improvement in loans and deposits. The company has reported its net income at $150.4m. This figure decreased by 12.7% when compared to the previous year’s quarter. Net revenues came out at $420.1m which surpassed the Zacks Consensus Estimate of $416.4m. The current figure represented a gain of 7.7% Shares of East West Bancorp stock gained 5.2% after the company released its Q2 2019 financial results.

The decision of whether a certain stock is a good addition to a portfolio can be a difficult one but can only be made by you, the investor. However, taking a look at some figures can only help when it comes to judging whether a company's shares can be considered a good value investment. America's Car-Mart (NASDAQ:CRMT) has its twelve-month P/E ratio currently at 12.9, which compares favourably to the market in general. The P/E ratio is in a better spot than the S&P 500’s P/E ratio of 18.63 and the Retail-Wholesale sector’s ratio of 28.31. These results show undervalued trading compared to its peers, at least to some degree. America’s Car-Mart’s P/S ratio is currently 0.9 which, when compared to its figures in the recent past, is some way below its all-time highs and it has been lower than those levels for a few years now. The result is currently indicating undervalued trading, at least to some degree. Analysts rate the stock with a Zacks Value Score of A and a Zacks Rank #3 (Hold).

Progressive (NYSE:PGR) released its financial results for the second quarter and they were better than expected. The quarterly earnings came out at $1.66 per share. This figure surpassed the Zacks Consensus Estimate of $1.43 per share. This quarterly report also topped analysts’ estimates and represents a positive surprise of 16.08%. The previous quarter was also good for the company, as it delivered a surprise of 32.61%. Over the last four quarters, Progressive managed to beat consensus EPS estimates three times. The firm posted revenues of $9.27bn in its Q2 report, which beat Zacks Consensus Estimate by 1.13%. The company has topped the consensus revenue estimates three out of the last four quarters. As a result of good fundamentals, shares of Progressive stock gained 39.4% in 2019. In comparison, the S&P 500 gained 19.8% in the same period.

Blockstream’s chief strategy officer, Samson Mow said that Facebook should have used bitcoin (BTC) as a platform instead of developing its stable cryptocurrency. He criticised the new project in a series of tweets yesterday. Mow also said that Libra is in a bad spot at the moment because of all the possible regulatory actions against it. He says that he believes Mark Zuckerberg had no clear idea of what he is building. “Libra can't be everything for everyone, and it can't be both open and closed at the same time” Mow said. Mow also pointed out that the creators of Libra have to control its cryptocurrency in order to fulfil all their promises. However, that defeats the purpose of it being a cryptocurrency, as one of the main attributes of cryptocurrencies is that they are decentralised.

Determining if a stock is a good investment or not can be hard, but should ultimately be the decision of the portfolio manager themselves. However, we can take a look at some numbers and see if the supermarket is considered a good value investment by analysts. WM Morrison’s (OTCMKTS:MRWSY) twelve-month P/E ratio is currently sitting at 15.09. The figure can be compared favourably to the market in general, as the S&P 500’s P/E ratio currently sits at 18.62 and the Retail-Wholesale sector’s ratio of 28.21. These results show undervalued trading compared to its peers, at least to some degree. WM Morrison’s P/S ratio is currently 0.26. The P/S ratio can be compared to itself throughout history to determine where the stock is price-wise right now. In terms of its all-time highs, the stock has been below those levels for a few years now. The result is currently indicating undervalued trading, at least to some degree. Analysts rate the the stock with a Zacks Value Score of A and a Zacks Rank #3 (Hold).

Analysts are posting their forecasts about Capital One (NYSE:COF) as the scheduled day for its financial report announcement draws closer. Capital One will announce its Q2 2019 financial results on 18th July after the market closes. Analysts don’t seem too positive about the stock and predict a year-over-year decline for both its earnings and revenues. If we take a look at the past, Capital One’s results have surpassed the Zacks Consensus Estimate in the last reported quarter. On top of that, the company has an impressive earnings surprise history, having surpassed the analysts’ estimates in three of the last four quarters. If that’s not impressive enough, the average positive surprise came out to an amazing 4.1%. However, if analysts are pessimistic even after these results, something must be going wrong. Capital One currently has a Zacks Rank #3, which is a good thing and usually indicates a positive market surprise if it comes with a positive ESP. However, the ESP for Capital One is currently -0.13%, making the positive surprise quite unlikely in the eyes of the analysts.

Binance does seem keen on setting up a company branch in South Korea. Binane is the biggest cryptocurrency exchange by volume and is rumoured to be working with local partners in South Korea to launch another exchange in the country. The rumours remain unconfirmed even after CEO Changpeng Zhao gave an interview on the 16th July, where he was asked about the South Korea exchange. He told the public that Binance does not know the details of the establishment of the new office in South Korea. On the other hand, a global representative of Binance completely denies the news report. He said that the crypto platform has not discussed if or when they want a Korean subsidiary.

The bet is still active, but the stakes seem to have changed. John McAfee has doubled down on his prediction of $1m per bitcoin (BTC) by 2020. He also predicted that there'll soon be no fiat currencies anywhere in the world and that everything will be cryptocurrency 10 years from now. He tweeted that people shouldn’t be worried about the daily and weekly fluctuations. He told his audience to “look at the past few months" and take note that the price is "rising drastically." He went on to say that he was still certain about his prediction of bitcoin being worth $1m by the end of 2020. Bitcoin has had a rough couple of days as it dropped in price after Donald Trump tweeted that he doesn’t like cryptocurrencies. However, if we disregard daily fluctuations, the biggest cryptocurrency is up from the $3700 range it was at the start of the year. If we take a look at this month alone, bitcoin managed to register a 23% gain.

Infosys Limited’s (NYSE:INFY) reported adjusted earnings of $0.13 per share in its Q1 fiscal 2020 financial results. This figure represents an increase of 3.2% year-over-year. When compared to the Zacks Consensus Estimate, the result has hit the mark. The company delivered revenues of $3.131bn, which is a 10.6% increase year-over-year. On top of that, it surpassed the Zacks Consensus Estimate of $3.098bn. In terms of constant currency (CC), revenues went up by 12.4%. Both analysts and the company expect great things for fiscal 2020. Revenues are expected to grow anywhere from 8.5% to 10% at constant currency. This forecast was revised upwards from a range of 7.5% to 9.5% predicted earlier.

Determining which stock to invest in can be hard, but should ultimately be the decision of the portfolio manager. However, we can take a look at some numbers and see how the stock is doing at the moment and evaluate whether it’s considered a good value investment. Dave & Buster's (NASDAQ:PLAY) twelve-month P/E ratio is currently sitting at 13.60. The figure tops both the S&P 500’s P/S ratio of 18.63 and the Retail-Wholesale sector’s ratio of 28.21. The comparisons show undervalued trading in relation to its peers, at least to some degree. Dave & Buster’s P/S ratio is currently 1.19. The P/S ratio can be compared to itself throughout history to determine where the stock is price-wise right now. To some degree, the stock has been shown to have been way below its previous highs for a few years now, indicating undervalued trading. Analysts rate the PLAY stock with a Zacks Value Style Score of A and a Zacks Rank #3 (Hold).

As it is already known, Chinese police arrested 22 suspects for allegedly mining cryptocurrencies illegally. The illegal mining has reportedly cost the country $3m in energy. Over 4,000 hardware units have reportedly been confiscated by police in the Jiangsu region, which were being used to mine cryptocurrencies at nine factories. Officers investigated a sudden spike in electricity consumption, which was ultimately traced to the illegal activity at the factories. The investigation lasted almost two months. A lot of electricity is required to run the cryptocurrency mining rigs as each mining unit was deploying 25 to 50 kilowatt hours of electricity per day. At industrial prices, the estimated loss of electricity translated into dollars came out at just over $2.9m. This information was reported by the Zhenjiang-based power supply company.

Chewy (NYSE:CHWY) will announce its Q1 fiscal 2019 financial results on 18th July. The company, which is one of the most trusted online destinations for pet food and other pet supplies, has just recently been listed on the New York Stock Exchange. Chewy’s IPO consisted of 46.5 million shares, each priced $22. The company is looking to be in great shape from the perspective of sales, as the pet industry seems to be booming. Pet ownership rates have increased, which greatly benefits the company. However, the company is facing some strong competition, which is likely to make matters a bit more difficult. The Zacks Consensus Estimate for the Q1 2019 forecasting a loss of $0.06 per share. The Zacks Consensus Estimate estimates revenues to come out at $1.1bn. Chewy carries a Zacks Rank #3 (Hold). However, its Earnings ESP is currently 0.00%, which makes analysts less confident about whether the company will beat the estimates.

First Republic Bank (NYSE:FRC) has not yet reported its Q2 2019 financial results but the company is scheduled to do so before 15th July. However, the firm is expected to report that its revenues and earnings have grown year over year. Looking at the Q1 2019 results, we can see that First Republic surpassed the Zacks Consensus Estimate on earnings and revenues. On top of that, the company has a great earnings surprise history, with an average positive surprise in the past four quarters of 2.7%. The company has topped the consensus estimate for earnings in three of the trailing four quarters. Analysts revised the Q2 2019 forecasts downwards in the past 30 days, but that should not be a bad thing, rather a correction. The Zacks Consensus Estimate for earnings is currently pegged at $1.26. This figure would suggest earnings growth of 5% from the year-ago quarter.