Author: Dorian Holden

The trade war scare has faded – we think.

Just hours ago, White House trade advisor, Peter Navarro said the trade deal with China was “over.”  Of course, that created big panic, and plenty of chest pain among investors.  Investors feared the worst.  Markets began to crash.

“It was at a time when they had already sent hundreds of thousands of people to this country to spread that virus, and it was just minutes after wheels up when that plane took off that we began to hear about this pandemic,” Navarro said, as quoted by CNBC.

But as it turns out, it may not have been true at all.

Just a couple hours ago, according to Navarro not long after, he said, “My comments have been taken wildly out of context.  They had nothing at all with the Phase 1 trade deal, which continues in place.  I was simply speaking to the lack of trust we now have of the Chinese Communist Party after they lied about the origins of the China virus and foisted a pandemic upon the world,” as quoted by Zero Hedge.

President Trump also said, “The China Trade Deal is fully intact.  Hopefully, they will continue to live up to the terms of the agreement.”

There’s nothing quite like chest-pain early in the morning when the initial news surfaced.

As part of the first phase of the trade deal, China did agree to increase its purchases of American products by $200 billion over the next two years.

The post No, The Trade War Deal with China Isn’t Over appeared first on Morningology.

Virus cases are still spiking around the world.

Just over the last 24 hours, the world has seen another 183,000 new cases, says the World Health Organization.  Brazil reported 54,771 cases in a day.  The U.S. reported 36,.617.  And India reported an increase of 15,400.

In the U.S., we’re seeing big spikes in Alaska, Arkansas, Arizona, Georgia, Montana, North Carolina, Nevada, Oklahoma, Oregon, South Carolina, Texas, Utah, Washington, and Wyoming.

Worse, the World Health Organization just issued a new warning.

“The pandemic is still accelerating,” WHO’s director general Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus said. “We know that the pandemic is much more than a health crisis, it is an economic crisis, a social crisis and in many countries a political crisis. 

Arizona Gov. Doug Ducey even just noted, ““Looking at the last two weeks of data, there is a trend. And the trend is headed in the wrong direction and the actions we’re going to take are intended to change that direction and reverse this trend.”

At the same time, demand for masks is increasing again.

California Gov. Gavin Newson just tweeted, “Californians are now REQUIRED to wear face coverings in public spaces.” 

And, according to NPR, Newsom added, “Our numbers are going up, not going down. Hospitalization numbers are just starting to creep back up, and I’m very concerned by what we’re seeing.  We think the most impactful thing we can do, short of going back to a stay-at-home order, is wearing face coverings when we can’t practice physical distancing.”

Even the mayors of Tucson and Phoenix just ordered mandatory face coverings after recent spikes in cases.  “This piece of protection may even save your life,” North Carolina Democratic Governor Roy Cooper said, “adding that he was considering statewide obligatory mask use on a day when statewide COVID-19 hospitalizations set a new high,” as noted by Reuters.

With demand only likely to increase, stocks like Alpha Pro Tech (APT) and 3M (MMM) are a couple of the prime beneficiaries.

The post WHO Just Warned of an “Accelerating Pandemic” appeared first on Morningology.

The coronavirus dominated much of the headlines again.

Mounting cases around the world, and in several states are stoking fears of a second round of a virus that just won’t die.  Worse, according to former US FDA Commissioner, Dr. Scott Gottlieb, some states may be “on the cusp of losing control.”

“The question is ‘can we keep this from getting out of control.’ This is a virus that wants to infect a very large portion of the population,” Gottlieb told CNBC. “They’re on the cusp of losing control of those outbreaks in certain parts of those states. Arizona, Houston, Austin, parts of Florida certainly look very concerning right now.”

As a result, some states are mandating that people wear face coverings at all times.

News like that is a positive catalyst for stocks such as 3M (MMM) and Alpha Pro Tech (APT).

California Gov. Gavin Newson just tweeted, “Californians are now REQUIRED to wear face coverings in public spaces.” 

And, according to NPR, Newsom added, “Our numbers are going up, not going down. Hospitalization numbers are just starting to creep back up, and I’m very concerned by what we’re seeing.  We think the most impactful thing we can do, short of going back to a stay-at-home order, is wearing face coverings when we can’t practice physical distancing.”

Even the mayors of Tucson and Phoenix just ordered mandatory face coverings after recent spikes in cases.  “This piece of protection may even save your life,” North Carolina Democratic Governor Roy Cooper said, “adding that he was considering statewide obligatory mask use on a day when statewide COVID-19 hospitalizations set a new high,” as noted by Reuters.

At the moment, global COVID-19 cases are up to 8.5 million, with 454,522 unfortunate deaths.  In the U.S., we’re up to nearly 2.2 million cases.  In Brazil, it’s up to 978.142.  In Russia, cases are up to 568,292.  India is now up to 380,532. 

Hopefully, the world is nearing a vaccine.  

If not, we could be “on the cusp of losing control,” as noted by Gottlieb.  

The post Round Two: U.S. States Mandating Face Coverings at All Times appeared first on Morningology.

The U.S. Supreme Court has ruled against the Trump Administration.

All over the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals, or DACA.  Per Chief Justice John Roberts’ opinion, the Trump Administration’s termination of the program was “arbitrary and capricious,” as quoted by CNBC, in violation of federal law.

DACA shields about 800,000 young immigrants, or “Dreamers.”

And, according to NBC News:

“DACA’s defenders had argued that federal law required the Trump administration to give a detailed explanation before trying to shut the program down — an action that would affect hundreds of thousands of people and the businesses that employ them. Instead, they said, the government simply declared the program illegal. More than 100 business groups, including Apple and Microsoft, sought to preserve DACA, arguing many of their employees are part of the program.”

The news was just released moments ago.  Stay tuned for more information.  

The post U.S. Supreme Court Blocks President Trump from Ending DACA appeared first on Morningology.

Nikola Corporation (NKLA) is under fire in the press.

Reportedly, company founder Trevor Milton exaggerated the readiness of the Nikola One, its debut truck.  In fact, according to Bloomberg, “the truck didn’t even have a fuel cell in it. Milton even confirmed that the prototype never drove under its own power.”

“That the truck was inoperable wouldn’t have been a big deal — plenty of concepts aren’t functional beyond some lights and seats, some not even that much. Based on Milton’s statements, it would seem to us that he was dishonest and that now, some three-and-a-half years later, he’s profiting on that dishonesty to the tune of $7.8 billion,” as noted by CNET.

Milton Says He “Never Deceived Anyone”

With the company expecting to begin production this year, Milton says, he “never deceived anyone” and that parts had been removed from the vehicle for safety reasons.

Milton isn’t too pleased with Bloomberg contributor Edward Ludlow over the story either.

In a series of tweets, he noted:

“This is sad. @EdLudlow should be let go. He will never set foot in my building or events Nikola puts on. No one in Bloomberg either. His editor was even on the phone to hear my responses.”

“The best part is, the interview was recorded so it will be fun suing the s** out of them now. I can’t wait to subpoena him and his editor. I am going to set an example for anyone who is a hackjob like @EdLudlow . Make no mistake, this article was intentional and pre meditated.”

He’s also moving forward with legal action against Bloomberg.  His attorney’s letter to Bloomberg can be found here.

At the moment, shares of NKLA are down about 65 cents to $63.43 after rocketing from a low of $10.40 to a high of nearly $94.

Stay tuned for more on this developing story.

The post War of Words: Nikola May Have Overstated Functionality of Nikola One appeared first on Morningology.

We’re nearing a potential solution to the coronavirus chaos.

Just yesterday, the University of Oxford said a steroid called dexamethasone could be the first treatment for reducing mortality in severely ill patients.  

According to The New York Times, “The drug appears to reduce inflammation caused by the immune system, protecting the tissues. In the study, dexamethasone reduced deaths of patients on ventilators by one-third, and deaths of patients on oxygen by one-fifth.”

That’s not the only good news on the vaccine front.

Moderna CEO Stephane Bancel says there’s “high probability of success” with its vaccine.

“It works on MERS, Zika and CMV and so on. When you have the right sequence … you will get neutralizing antibodies,” he told CNBC.

And, according to the company there are top reasons why its vaccine could be a success.  For one, messenger RNA can deliver genetic instructions to body cells to make proteins, reports CNBC.  Two, this is now the tenth vaccine the company has brought to human trials.  

And three, says CNBC, the company’s previous work on MERS was caused by the same virus in the same coronavirus family, as COVID.

Right now, Moderna (MRNA) is advancing a late-stage development of its coronavirus vaccine.  Better, it just finalized the Phase 3 study protocol based on feedback from US FDA.

The randomized, 1:1 placebo-controlled trial is expected to include approximately 30,000 participants enrolled in the U.S. and is expected to be conducted in collaboration with the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID), part of the National Institutes of Health (NIH). Plus, Moderna has completed manufacture of vaccine required to start the Phase 3 study, and expects dosing in the Phase 3 study to begin in July.

According to the company, “With the Phase 3 dose being finalized at 100 μg, the Company remains on track to be able to deliver approximately 500 million doses per year, and possibly up to 1 billion doses per year, beginning in 2021 from the Company’s internal U.S. manufacturing site and strategic collaboration with Lonza.”

The post The World May Finally Have a COVID-19 Treatment appeared first on Morningology.

It doesn’t matter what’s happening around the world, U.S. markets want to rally.

Sure, coronavirus cases are spiking.

Authorities in Beijing say the latest situation is “extremely severe” with dozens more cases emerging from the city.  The resurgence is highlighting the need for greater vigilance among those easing COVID-19 restrictions.

Sure, North Korea is itching for war after blowing up a South Korean liaison office.  

According to Fox News, “The provocative move comes at a time of increased tensions between the two nations and stalled nuclear negotiations between North Korea and the United States, which at their high-points led to two peace summits and an in-person meeting between President Trump and Kim Jong Un in the Korean Demilitarized Zone (DMZ).”

But markets are rocketing – all thanks to President Trump and the Federal Reserve.

The Fed will now buy individual corporate bonds, on tops of the exchange-traded funds it’s been buying.  The program has the ability to buy up to $750 billion worth of corporate credit.  

“The decision to buy a broad portfolio of corporate bonds represents a shift to a more active strategy for the secondary market corporate credit facility, rather than the passive approach originally envisioned,” said Steven Friedman, senior macroeconomist at MacKay Shields, as quoted by CNBC.

Two, President Trump just ignited the market with a $1 trillion infrastructure proposal.  According to CNBC, reports say, “a preliminary version being prepared would set aside the majority of the money for traditional infrastructure projects such as roads and bridges, though funds would also be reserved for 5G wireless infrastructure and rural broadband.”

As we hear more on the plans, keep an eye on infrastructure stocks involved with steel, cement, and heavy equipment that’ll be needed, including Vulcan Materials (VMC), Nucor (NUE), and Caterpillar (CAT).

The post Top Ways to Trade a $1 Trillion Infrastructure Proposal appeared first on Morningology.

The coronavirus just won’t die.

Former FDA chief Dr. Scott Gottlieb, coronavirus hot spots “could quickly get out of control.”  

Already, new cases and hospitalizations are aggressively sweeping across Florida, California, Texas, Alaska, Arkansas, Kentucky, Mississippi, North Carolina, Oregon, and South Carolina.  Worse, the virus continues to infect about 20,000 people a day, says Gottlieb.

“We’re not going to be able to shut down the country again this summer. We’re probably not going to be able to shut down the country again this fall,” he added. “And so we’re going to need to try to isolate the sources of these outbreaks and take targeted steps. If we can’t do that, these will get out of control.”

Fortunately, we may be nearing a vaccine.

Moderna Inc. (MRNA), for example, just advanced late-stage development of its vaccine.  Better, it just finalized the Phase 3 study protocol based on feedback from US FDA.

The randomized, 1:1 placebo-controlled trial is expected to include approximately 30,000 participants enrolled in the U.S. and is expected to be conducted in collaboration with the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID), part of the National Institutes of Health (NIH). Plus, Moderna has completed manufacture of vaccine required to start the Phase 3 study, and expects dosing in the Phase 3 study to begin in July.

In addition, Israel is reportedly in talks to buy Moderna’s vaccine, according to Reuters.  And analysts at Piper Jaffray just reiterated a buy rating with a $100 price target.

Moderna Isn’t the Only Vaccine Stock Making Headlines

Aside from Moderna, BioNTech just received a 100 million euro loan from a European Union strategic investment fund, which will allow the company to build manufacturing for its vaccine candidate, which it is currently in clinical trials with Pfizer.

Johnson & Johnson also just announced it was accelerating its product development to start human trials in July 2020.   

“Based on the strength of the preclinical data we have seen so far and interactions with the regulatory authorities, we have been able to further accelerate the clinical development of our investigational SARS-CoV-2 vaccine, Ad26.COV2-S, recombinan,” says Paul Stoffels, M.D., Vice Chairman of the Executive Committee and Chief Scientific Officer.

“Simultaneously, we are continuing our efforts to build important global partnerships and invest in our vaccine production technology and manufacturing capabilities. Our goal is to ensure we can deliver a vaccine to the world and protect people everywhere from this pandemic.”

The post Three of the Top Coronavirus Stocks Nearing a Vaccine appeared first on Morningology.

Here we go again.

Just weeks after global economies reopened, “second wave” coronavirus fears could send us all back indoors.  Several California counties reported an increase in cases.

Florida just saw a surge of 8,533 new cases reported.

We’re just beginning to see an explosion of cases in Alaska, Arkansas, Kentucky, Mississippi, North Carolina, Oregon, South Carolina, and Utah.  Phoenix Mayor Kate Gallego even just admitted, “We opened too much too early and so our hospitals are really struggling.”

If we see even more cases, it could force the economy to close up shop again.  And if that’s the case, coronavirus stocks could be thrust back into the spotlight.

Coronavirus Stock No. 1 – Alpha Pro Tech (APT)

If we see a resurgence of the coronavirus, demand for face masks could explode higher yet again.  The first time we saw explosive demand, APT exploded from a low of $5 to a high of $41.59.  While the stock has pulled back to $13.50, we could see another spike if the coronavirus threat makes another go at the global population.

Coronavirus Stock No. 2 – Teladoc Health (TDOC)

Of course, we could see even more demand for telehealth services.

All with hospitals, federal, and state governments around the world supporting telehealth programs to cut back on in-person meetings in in-patient and out-patient care settings.  Also, according to McKinsey & Co., 76% of consumers say they were now moderately or highly interested in using telehealth, as compared to 11% in 2019.  

Coronavirus Stock No. 3 – Moderna Inc. (MRNA)

According to Bloomberg, Moderna vaccine trials are moving fast with a final study set for July 2020.  “The final study, which will include 30,000 people, will be conducted in collaboration with the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases in the U.S. Its primary goal will be to show the vaccine prevents people from developing symptoms of Covid-19.” 

The post Second Wave: The Top 3 Coronavirus Stocks That Could Run Again appeared first on Morningology.

Gold may be one of the safest bets at the moment.

With a resurgence of COVID-19 cases and no vaccine to speak of, coupled with tensions with China, investors are piling back into the safe havens of gold.  In fact, gold last traded at $1,724 and could easily explode to $2,000, near-term.

Elliott Management’s Paul Singer says gold is “one of the most undervalued” assets available and that its fair value is “multiples of its current price.”

Greenlight Capital’s David Einhorn says, “We believe the implied negative interest rates are bullish for gold and for unlevered real assets with pricing power.”  Even Bank of America raised its 18-month price target on gold to $3,000.

The other catalyst for higher gold is the central banks, which have flooded the global economy with liquidity to keep it afloat. Plus, the U.S. Federal Reserve isn’t likely to tap the breaks on recent stimulus and quantitative easing any time soon either.

“The global economic recovery will still require further aid and gold prices should still be supported over the medium-term,” wrote Edward Moya, senior market analyst at brokerage Oanda, as quoted by MarketWatch. 

All Eyes on the Federal Reserve

When Fed boss Jerome Powell speaks later this week, here’s what you want to listen for.  One, listen for any policy adjustments.  

Even with signs of economic improvement, such as the latest jobs number, any suggestions of stimulus expiration could tank the market.  But we don’t expect for the programs to expire, especially with a good deal of uncertainty.

“No one expects rate increases soon, but expectations of higher rates in the next few years are starting to affect medium and longer-term borrowing costs, according to Guggenheim’s Scott Minerd. Explicit thresholds for unemployment, inflation, or other measures would be one way for the Fed to respond,” says Barron’s.

Two, we’re waiting to see what the Fed will say in its Summary of Economic Projections, which reveals what they believe will happen with growth, unemployment, and inflation. It’ll be interesting to see what they have to say about U.S. GDP and unemployment in the latest report.

And three, we want to see what the Fed has to say about the long-term consequences of the coronavirus on the economy, and how a possible COVID-19 resurgence could impact Fed policy, and the global economy.

Until there’s greater certainty in the markets, here are some of the top gold stocks to watch: 

• Barrick Gold (GOLD)
• Gold Fields (GFI)
• B2Gold (BTG)
• Kirkland Lake Gold (KL)
• VanEck Vectors Gold Miners ETF (GDX)

The post The Top 5 Safe-Haven Stocks to Watch on Economic Uncertainty appeared first on Morningology.