Financial Times (November 15)
“One of Asia’s sleepiest investment sectors has outperformed tech stocks.” Share prices have soared at Japanese banks and their earnings now “confirm the prescience of that rally…. Earnings at Japan’s five biggest banking groups rose 56 per cent to a record of about ¥2tn ($13bn).” Higher spreads and buybacks are part of the equation, “but the biggest driver of the rally has been rising hopes that the central bank may end its ultra-easy monetary policy soon.”
Tags: Asia, Banks, BOJ, Buybacks, Earnings, Investment, Japan, Outperformed, Rally, Share prices, Soared, Spreads, Tech stocks
Houston Chronicle (June 17)
“U.S. mortgage rates had their biggest one-week jump in 35 years…. The 30-year rate climbed from 5.23% last week to 5.78% this week, the highest its been since November of 2008 during the housing crisis.” This is likely to accelerate the trend as higher borrowing rates have already been cooling the housing market. “Sales of previously occupied U.S. homes slowed for the third consecutive month in April as mortgage rates surged, driving up borrowing costs for would-be buyers as home prices soared.”
Tags: 2008, 30-year rate, 5.78%, Borrowing, Buyers, Home prices, Housing crisis, Jump, Mortgage rates, Sales, Soared, U.S.
New York Times (June 3)
The movie theater chain AMC “has soared far higher and faster than GameStop and other meme stocks. AMC’s stock nearly doubled yesterday alone; it’s now worth nearly eight times its prepandemic high, a heady valuation for a business that was flirting with bankruptcy not long ago.” The meme stock frenzies may not be “one-off” events and, by eroding trust in the market, they “could have long-term implications beyond what happens with AMC, GameStop or any other stock in the headlines.”
Tags: AMC, Bankruptcy, Chain, GameStop, Heady, Meme stocks, Movie theater, One-off, Prepandemic, Soared, Trust, Valuation
