Finance

Dividend Aristocrats In Focus Part 48: Ecolab

When I last analyzed Ecolab (ECL), the company had just come off strong 3rd quarter results with EPS up 16%. Ecolab is a global leader in energy, water, and hygiene services. The company has a market cap of $34 billion and is the largest publicly traded company in the Cleaning Products industry. The company has increased its dividend payments…

Yield Curve For November 28, 2014

It’s in a risk ‘OFF’ alignment with all durations dropping but the curve rising. 10, 5 & 2 year yields from Bloomberg Meanwhile, here’s the chart of the 30 vs. the 5 year spread.  Obviously risk is in a downtrend bigger picture, but it is a little bouncy today… Click on picture to enlarge While other…

The Coca-Cola Company, SABMiller Ink Africa Bottling Deal

Cola giant, The Coca-Cola Company (KO – Analyst Report) recently entered into an agreement with SABMiller plc (SAB.L) and Gutsche Family Investments, to merge their bottling operations in Southern and East Africa to form the largest Coca-Cola bottling entity in the continent- Coca-Cola Beverages Africa. SABMiller plc is one of the largest bottler of Coca-Cola drinks. On the other…

Small Cap Leadership Kaput

It’s  a monthly chart and these guys move like molasses on a cold winter day. But we might wonder how long it may take for the stock market’s loss of leadership to manifest in some problems. The chart is untouched and unchanged in status since it was produced a few months ago. So for bulls…

ISIS Wants To Introduce Gold Coins

We all more or less know what is going on in the world right now. There is the political turmoil between Ukraine and Russia, the fear surrounding the deadly Ebola virus, and the actions of the terrorist group ISIS are being monitored closely. Often, as an investor or trader, we do not take these conflicts…

Great Graphic: China Market Cap Surpasses Japan

This Great Graphic, composed on Bloomberg, shows that China’s market capitalization (white line) is greater than Japan’s (yellow line). This is the consequence of two forces.   Click on picture to enlarge First, the Chinese stock market has easily outperformed Japanese stocks this year, and by a wide margin. The Shanghai Composite is advanced 26.8% this year and…