Category

COVID-19

stocks

Markets Live Recap: Bad Jobs Data Snaps the Stock Market's Win Streak

By , Money Morning - • Print | Email

Another 1.88 million Americans filed for unemployment benefits over the last week (compared to Dow Jones estimate of 1.78 million).

42.6 million citizens have now filed for unemployment since the start of the pandemic 11 weeks ago.

More concerning, however, were the 21.5 million people who filed continuing claims. That's a gain of 649,000 over the past week, which is also worse than Wall Street expected.

These statistics definitely weighed on investors sentiment, who have been confident that the economy will be able to successfully reopen over the summer.

Here's how our experts - Chris Johnson and Shah Gilani - see things playing out in the economy, plus the stocks you can buy or sell to profit today.

stocks

The 3 Best Stocks to Buy Before We Discover a COVID-19 Vaccine Offer 200% Upside

By , Executive Producer, Money Morning - • Print | Email

Some of the economy and stock market segments that have been decimated by the pandemic will come roaring back once a vaccine is widely available.

Even though many of these hard-hit stocks have jumped this week, they have a long way to go before they reach last year's high watermarks.

Travel will come roaring back when a vaccine allows the economy to function at full speed.

Some cruise lines are reporting strong bookings for cruises in late 2020 and into 2021.

The Walt Disney Co. (NYSE: DIS) is shooting to reopen its theme parks on July 1.

People like to travel and love their vacations, after all.

That's why these three stocks will shoot higher as soon as the virus is credibly contained.

If you're confident we'll get a vaccine sooner or later, then these are the stocks to stock up on right now...

Technology

The "Zoom of Healthcare" May Be the Greatest Company You Haven't Heard Of

By , Executive Editor, Money Morning - • Print | Email

Virtually everyone has heard of Zoom Video Communications Inc. – the came-out-of-nowhere winner of the coronavirus pandemic.

With its work-from-anywhere software, Zoom has changed the way we look at our jobs.

And that promises to change the American workplace and the U.S. economy moving forward.

Well, there's also another innovator out there – a tech firm that promises to have a bigger-and-longer-lasting impact on a different sector – the $1.7 trillion U.S. healthcare market.

This company – which I'm referring to as the "Zoom of Healthcare" – could be one of the biggest winners of the COVID-19 pandemic.

But many investors have never even heard of it. So today, our Bill Patalon sat down with tech expert Michael Robinson to talk about just how big this is for investors...

stocks

Markets Live Recap: Stocks Rise Another 2% Despite Record Jobless Claims

By , Money Morning - • Print | Email

Stocks surged to close the week higher as investors think the worst of coronavirus is behind us.

That's even after the U.S. unemployment rate soared to 14.7%, the worst since the Great Depression.

Here's what our experts – Chris Johnson, D.R. Barton, Jr., and Shah Gilani – saw in the markets today.

And how they think investors should be positioning themselves heading into next week…

And how they think investors should be positioning themselves heading into next week...

Technology

Next Stop for Amazon (AMZN) Stock: $3,000 a Share

By , Defense + Tech Specialist, Money Morning • @Robinson_STI - • Print | Email

The coronavirus panic has most of the economy in a deep freeze.

Brick-and-mortar retail stores are getting hammered.

The food-supply-chain is under pressure.

Unemployment is rising.

And all the signs suggest that the U.S. economy is headed for a recession.

With the opportunity matrix changing for investors, the COVID-19 pandemic is transforming one heavyweight into an absolute juggernaut.

We're talking about Amazon.com Inc. (NASDAQ: AMZN), which has become the essential retailing icon of the pandemic.

In fact, our Michael Robinson is predicting that we'll eventually see Amazon at $3,000 a share as a result of the market.

And the stock will move even higher from there.

Here's why...

stocks

Markets Live Recap: Our Experts Cover Oil, Earnings, and How to Trade Options

By , Money Morning - • Print | Email

The Down fell another 630 points today after another oil plunge – but this time that focus was on the June 2020 contracts.

Yesterday, the May 2020 contracts fell as far as negative $40. Today, they were up to a positive $9.

But the June contracts fell 36% to $13 today as investors are beginning to realize that the "new normal" is likely lower oil prices for longer as Saudi Arabia and Russia aggressively try to drive U.S. producers out of business.

In addition to oil, earnings were in focus today.

Here's what our experts - Chris Johnson, Tom Gentile, D.R. Barton, Jr., and Shah Gilani - saw in the oil markets, think about upcoming earnings, and how to profit off implied options volatility in any market.

Oil

What to Do After the Greatest Collapse in Any Commodity Ever

By , Technical Trading Specialist, Money Morning • @DRBarton_Stocks - • Print | Email

What happened to oil yesterday was the greatest collapse I've ever seen in any commodity, ever.

And barring some unforeseen apocalypse, we'll never see it again.

This just doesn't happen in the commodities market. Every once in a while in a stock, sure, you'll get a case of fraud or someone goes bankrupt. The stock will go to $0 over time.

In the commodities world, there's a bottom for prices. This doesn't happen. Until it did.

Oil futures traded at a negative price for the first time in history.

We had the perfect storm for an oil collapse.

Demand is down. No one is traveling, and global manufacturing has plummeted.

There's a price war. Saudi Arabia drove production way up, and Russia joined them. Now there's estimates of up to 30 million barrels a day of extra oil being produced. Even with a production cut, there will be 20 million barrels a day being produced with nowhere to go.

All that oil needs to be stored somewhere, and world is running out of places to put it.

Futures contracts are tied to physical delivery of a commodity. Everyone dumped them because they have nowhere to put that oil.

No one wants oil right now.

And that's why this oil story is so troubling – it's very much a demand story, not an oversupply story…

What to Do When No One Wants Oil

An oil trading firm in Singapore, Hin Leong, kicked off oil's trouble. Hin Leong buys and sells large super tankers filled with physical oil to distribute through Asia.

Sunday night, it told the world it had a non-disclosed $800 million loss from trading oil. To cover the loss, it had to liquidate oil futures – a fire sale. It had to sell… Full Story

Sunday night, it told the world it had a non-disclosed $800 million loss from trading oil. To cover the loss, it had to liquidate oil futures - a fire sale. It had to sell...

Options

This Options Strategy Is a Win-Win for Today's Turbulent Markets

By , Money Morning - • Print | Email

The market seems to make less and less sense everyday.

Stocks have rallied by 25% over the last three weeks despite unemployment claims smashing through historic records each week.

It's an unprecedented rally for the economic numbers we're seeing.

It's hard to know whether to sit on the sidelines, waiting for than next leg down or jump in as the market makes a sharp recovery.

It could go either way.

But what if you could profit from either of these scenarios with one trade?

It's not as crazy as it sounds.

We have a strategy than can do just that...

Earnings

Why Earnings Per Share Estimates Can't Be Trusted Right Now

By , Associate Editor, Money Morning • @DavidGZeiler - • Print | Email

Earnings per share estimates are badly out of whack right now, which is skewing valuation metrics investors use to judge whether stocks are properly valued.

The market volatility from the coronavirus pandemic has created a lot of uncertainty that has caused a delay in analyst updates of their EPS estimates.

That has stocks looking cheaper than they really are.

And the gap is shockingly huge...