U.S. mega-banks are all dressed up with few places to grow. Citigroup, JPMorgan and Wells Fargo kicked off the year with results that exceeded expectations. Loan growth is slowing and credit costs may soon rise. JPMorgan generated annualized return on equity of 11 percent and Wells Fargo’s clocked in at 11.5 percent. These credit costs are now exceptionally low and will, as JPMorgan boss Jamie Dimon puts it, soon “normalize.”

Bond expert Bill Gross shared his views on the economy, President Donald Trump and the Federal Reserve in an interview Thursday on CNBC’s “Power Lunch.” He’s got three to five appointments going forward in terms of the Fed,” Gross said about Trump’s Federal Reserve policy. “You know, I would expect him to appoint dovish types of governors and presidents so expect a dovish Fed going forward and easy money policy as well.” On the Treasury bond yield dip: “Perhaps the markets are beginning to antic

Some strategists see further upside for a commodity that typically trends higher in times of geopolitical and economic unrest. Gold rallied to its highest level in five months in Wednesday trading, gaining over $9 per ounce in the session as tension mounted around the world. Bullion is highly sensitive to U.S. interest rates, which raise the opportunity cost of holding nonyielding, dollar-denominated gold. Gold will likely gain 4 to 5 percent in the next six months, said Chad Morganlander, portf

The Japanese yen’s relationship to the U.S. dollar may be at a critical level, potentially signaling a warning for the equity market. The dollar dropped in Friday trading to 108.71 against the yen , its lowest level since mid-November. Chad Morganlander, portfolio manager at Washington Crossing Advisors, echoes Schlossberg’s sentiment concerning the yen triggering pressure on equities. He said the dollar/yen could fall to 105 over the next three months, and calls the S&P 500 “frothy” at these le

RBC research analyst Amit Daryanani says there’s an off chance that Apple could acquire Disney, but some investment professionals think it’s an exceptionally off chance indeed. “One large company buying another large company really just isn’t good business sense,” Erin Gibbs, equity chief investment officer at S&P Global, said Thursday on CNBC’s “Power Lunch.” One would more likely expect an acquisition to increase the growth rate rather than lower it.” After all, Apple’s biggest-ever acquisitio

In a market confused by President Donald Trump’s policy moves and counteracting earnings, Jim Cramer found one stock with 44 percent growth that may be the new hot play in tech. That’s why the “Mad Money” host sat down with Robert Bernshteyn, CEO of Coupa Software, for his take on business and how the company plans to maintain its rapidly accelerating growth. “We maintain it one customer at a time, and we think about our business by removing every variable to faster growth that may be stopping u

I say keep your half, and then when it yields — go by yield — 3.75 [percent], you buy the other half, and not until then. I think you have to accept the fact there might be one or two points downside, but then I think you’re going to have a long run. I don’t mind a spec, as long as you recognize it is pure spec, because you’ve got to get the crane business going. AmTrust Financial Services: “Whenever you see something that says that they’re not aware of any investigation in accounting, I don’t k

In the first quarter, the Tennessee-based bank saw a slight rise in loan growth and a major boost in efficiency, suggesting that there is money still to be made despite loan growth that may be slow to come. “In fact, we think it adds something like $175,000 to $200,000 per day in average daily revenue.” “I think the key thing for the economy and really boosting growth is lower taxes, and I think just pulling back the impact of regulation a little bit,” Jordan said. And I think if the president a

Cramer said this ripple effect stemmed from the market’s setup, effectively a day-to-day referendum on President Donald Trump and his administration. “Right now, investors are confused about Trump,” Cramer said. And while Trump’s reversals were actually “music to Wall Street’s ears,” his willingness to backpedal so swiftly worried investors and voters alike, Cramer said. Simple: when stocks go up, not down, on good news,” the “Mad Money” host continued. Mad Money Twitter – Jim Cramer Twitter – F

A string of life sciences companies have attempted to develop sensors that can monitor blood sugar without drawing blood. Biotechnology experts said such a breakthrough would make the Apple Watch a must-have device for millions of people with diabetes. The market opportunity is huge, but many are skeptical about whether such technology is viable — at least in the near-term. One of its experimental efforts is a contact lens, which reads blood sugar levels in tears. This is “the most expensive he

For Cramer, the biggest problem is the degree of speculation that went into the analyses. “Like ‘Aladdin,’ like ‘Lion King,’ the story is fiction,” he said. The short-sellers will be afraid to bet against Disney’s stock because of newfound fears of a takeover lurking. It really does put a bid underneath, simply because it was just too juicy to ignore,” Cramer concluded. Mad Money Twitter – Jim Cramer Twitter – Facebook – Instagram – VineQuestions, comments, suggestions for the “Mad Money” websit

American International Group board of directors declined to award Chief Executive Officer Peter Hancock a cash bonus for his work last year, after the company’s dismal financial performance roiled shareholders, according to a proxy filing on Thursday. He did receive his salary and a longer-term incentive in equities that will start to pay out in 2019. The insurance company’s board has also re-nominated Samuel Merksamer, who represents billionaire Carl Icahn, to serve on the board for another ter

North Korea celebrates the birth of its founder Kim Il Sung on Saturday. VIX 12-month performanceSource: FactSetThe fear index on Thursday hit 16.22, its highest since Nov. 10, after closing above its 200-day moving average on Monday for the first time since Nov. 8. “We expect the inversely correlated SPX to break its 50-day moving average in a short-term setback that will lead to a retest of March’s low” of 2,322, she said. A key factor for the renewed fear was concern about geopolitical events

The settlement covers the iconic Model 700 and a dozen other Remington models with similar designs. While Smith said he was “concerned” about the low claims rate, he concluded that Remington and plaintiffs’ attorneys had made “reasonable” efforts to notify the public. Attorneys for Frost and Denney did not respond to requests for comment, nor did attorneys for Remington. But as of Thursday afternoon, a special web site containing settlement information and claim forms was still operating, with n

Fast forward half-a-century and McCartney’s relaxed approach to the bottom line isn’t likely to be shared among the executives of music streaming service, Spotify. Spotify was a first mover in streaming and now manages a massive cloud-based distribution network that hosts the content from musicians. “Revenues are growing incredibly fast but costs are growing a little faster so the gross margins are shrinking. The analyst also said Spotify maybe “scraping the barrel” in order to raise the number

Both the S&P and Dow broke below their 50-day moving averages, a negative sign for some traders. The 50-day moving average is the average of the last 50 days of closing prices, and technical strategists look at a close below that average as a set up for a potential sell-off. “We challenged the 50-day moving averages and now we are re-challenging it. If we break below it on a meaningful basis, I think the market might test the 200-day moving average. We’re expecting first quarter earnings to be u

His advice on where to park some of that money can be summed up in four words: Go east, young investor. “The center of economic gravity continues to move away from the West to the East,” he told CNBC’s “Street Signs.” Perhaps, just like gravity, that makes sense to many: Billions of dollars have been flowing into Asia and, in particular, emerging markets in the region over the last year. Year-to-date, the MSCI Emerging Markets Index is up 11.96 percent and the MSCI Asia Ex-Japan Index has climbe

North Korea could conduct its sixth nuclear test as early as Saturday Thursday, 13 Apr 2017 | 9:08 AM ET | 00:47North Korea may undertake more nuclear activity as early as Saturday in response to Washington’s talk of pre-emptive strikes on the rogue nation and the strategic deployment of a U.S. aircraft carrier. “It is highly likely that North Korea would engage in some form of provocation, another missile launch or even a sixth nuclear test, on or around April 15,” Shawlin Chaw, senior analyst

White House press secretary details use of ‘mother of all bombs’ in Afghanistan Thursday, 13 Apr 2017 | 1:37 PM ET | 00:54The Pentagon said Thursday that it had dropped the largest non-nuclear bomb ever used in combat, prompting questions about what exactly this weapon is. Most of what is publicly available about the GBU-43 comes from a 2008 article from the Eglin Air Force Base. The bomb was rapidly developed by the Air Force starting in 2002 as a replacement for the BLU-82 Daisy Cutter. “What’

In an exclusive interview with The Associated Press in Pyongyang, Vice Minister Han Song Ryol also warned the U.S. against provoking North Korea militarily, saying, “We will go to war if they choose.” “If the U.S. comes with reckless military maneuvers then we will confront it with the DPRK’s preemptive strike,” Han said, referring to North Korea by its official name, the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea. Speaking through an interpreter provided by the foreign ministry, Han was calm and pol