iShares Core S&P Total US Stock Mkt

Valero Energy (VLO) has witnessed a rise in its stock price since February 2016. In this series, we will provide you with an update on the company’s operations, financials, and market performance.

The first week of May is packed with key macro events. On the monetary front, we have the FOMC meeting scheduled during the week and the all-important April jobs numbers set to come out on Friday.

Tesoro (TSO) achieved a 92% refinery utilization rate in 1Q17—the highest among our select group of four major US refiners.

As a group, policymakers seem utterly confused regarding their reading of the economic situation, inflation, and the labor market.

Most investors focus much of their time on picking assets that have the potential to win. However, limiting downside risk is just as important.

Falling oil prices have led to many projects’ becoming unviable for BP and other integrated energy companies such as Petrobras, Chevron, and Royal Dutch Shell.

Tesoro noted a fall in its gross refining margin of $3.4 per barrel YoY to $15.7 per barrel in 2Q16. Its operating costs fell $0.9 per barrel YoY to $5 per barrel.

About 41% of the surveyed analysts who cover Phillips 66 (PSX) rate the company a “buy.” Another 53% rate it a “hold.”

Following its BG Group acquisition, Royal Dutch Shell produced 3.7 MMboepd (million barrels of oil equivalent per day) in 1Q16 from its worldwide operations.

The ISM New Order Index for April was reported at 61.2, which represented the fourth consecutive monthly decline for the index.

This ISM New Order Index is a diffusion index, and the respondents are asked to rate the conditions of their industry as either good or bad.

The ISM publishes a monthly manufacturing report on changes in new orders, supplier deliveries, inventories, production, and employment.

The Institute of Supply Management’s New Orders Index The ISM’s (Institute of Supply Management) New Orders Index is a monthly report on changes in new orders, supplier deliveries, inventories, production, and employment. New orders are a measure of future activity in any industry (VIS), as companies’ production depends on incoming orders. The ISM’s New Orders […]

The ISM New Order Index for October was reported to be 63.4 compared to a reading of 64.6 in September.

On October 31, 2017, IBM (IBM) announced the addition of another $3.0 billion to its stock buyback program.

The ISM New Orders Index for September was reported at 64.6 compared to 60.3 in August.

New Orders Index The Institute for Supply Management (or ISM) collects data from 400 industries across the United States to construct its New Orders Index. The monthly index, which tracks changes in new orders, is a diffusion index, which means it tracks differences between the number of positive and negative responses. A reading above 50, which means […]

New Orders Index The ISM[1.Institute for Supply Management] New Orders Index tracks changes in the number of orders across 400 industrial companies. The ISM conducts a monthly survey to monitor changes in employment, production, inventories, supplier deliveries, and new orders. It is a diffusion index, meaning it tracks the net difference between the number of […]

Risks seen by the International Monetary Fund In its WEO (World Economic Outlook) update, the International Monetary Fund (or IMF) listed risks to its forecasts. This report, released on July 23, contains updates to the IMF’s projections for many global economies. In a summary of all the risks faced by the global economy, the IMF […]

Yellen’s financial outlook remained upbeat, but she pointed to the availability of substantial amounts of capital and liquidity in the banking system as potential vulnerabilities.

The Fed’s decision had a limited impact on the S&P 500 (SPY), which closed last week at 2,433.2, a gain of 0.06% for the week.

Although ETF (VTV) ownership increased substantially during the last 20 years, it still isn’t high enough to meaningfully impact stock prices.

US markets (ITOT) have continued to rise since the US election and have remained in positive territory in the last six months.

CFTC data released on Friday indicated that commercial traders maintained a net position of 5,756 contracts in the previous week.

Market participants and analysts received welcome relief after the results of the second round of the French elections didn’t result in a surprise like the Brexit poll or the US election results.

The FOMC has stuck to the script written by markets (SPY) and left interest rates unchanged at its May meeting.

Institutional holdings in Valero Energy (VLO) stand at ~81% currently.

Correlation coefficient In this series, we’ve analyzed Chevron’s (CVX) Mafumeira Sul project, stock movement, dividend yield, PEG (price-to-earnings-to-growth), ratio, beta, short interest, implied volatility, institutional holdings, and valuation. In this part, we’ll see how Chevron’s stock correlates with oil prices. The correlation coefficient shows the relationship between two variables. A correlation coefficient value of zero […]

Refiners’ throughput and utilization rates indicate the quantity of oil and other feedstock processed as a percentage of total refining capacity.

Integrated energy companies such as Chevron are affected by volatility in crude oil prices. To what degree they’re affected varies from company to company.

In this series, we’ll focus on Yellen’s remarks at Jackson Hole last week and what tools the Fed had before and during the Great Recession. We’ll also see what Yellen expects in the future.

Coty (COTY) reported a decline in its gross margin in 4Q16 as well as fiscal 2016. The reported gross margin came in at 56.7% for 4Q16.

In this series, we’ll look at the Janus Asset Allocation team’s views on inflation, policy measures, and asset allocation (ITOT) (NEAR), given its assertion that inflation pressures are building.

The iShares Core S&P Total U.S. Stock Market ETF (ITOT) saw by far the largest inflows within our ETF universe last week.

In its fiscal 3Q16 earnings release, Procter & Gamble (PG) announced continued investment in innovation, new user trials, and improved consumer value.

According to the EIA, gasoline and distillate stocks fell by a massive 15.4 million barrels and 12.2 million barrels, respectively, on June 3, 2016 from their highs of February 26, 2016.

Estée Lauder’s (EL) fragrance segment’s reported revenue rose 4.6% in reported terms and 7% on a constant-currency basis to $0.3 billion in fiscal 3Q16.

Looking at Tesoro’s forward valuations, we see that it’s trading at a two-year forward PE ratio of 9.8x, above its peer average of 8.6x.

In 1Q16, analysts expect Papa John’s to post EPS (earnings per share) of $0.63. This represents growth of 14.5% from $0.55 in 1Q15.

For fiscal 2015, Lincoln Electric (LECO) successfully gave back $486 million to its shareholders.

For fiscal 2015, Lincoln Electric (LECO) successfully gave back $486 million to its shareholders.

Lincoln Electric (LECO) has been successful in keeping a low debt-to-equity ratio. This shows the company is using less leverage and has a strong equity position.

Integrated energy stocks have been rising since February 2016. From February 11, 2016, until April 1, 2016, Eni (E) saw its stock price rise by 17%.

Valero Energy (VLO) is currently trading at a forward EV-to-EBITDA of 4.9x, below its peer average of 5.8x.

In fiscal 2015, Lincoln Electric’s (LECO) Europe Welding segment contributed approximately 13% to its total revenue, as well as 8% to its consolidated operating profit.

Petrobras (PBR) posted a net loss of $9.4 billion in 4Q15 and a loss of $9.7 billion in 4Q14.

Royal Dutch Shell (RDS.A) produced 3 MMboepd (million barrel of oil equivalent per day) from its worldwide operations in 4Q15.

If oil starts its upward journey, Chevron, with production growth insight and a strong projects portfolio, could likely emerge as a fundamentally stronger player.

I believe that consumption demand patterns among millennials, including an emphasis on quality of life, is somewhat influencing this demand for travel and leisure, tech products and personal services.