Although the stock market is shattering records, and publically traded companies are more valuable than ever, much of Wall Street fears an upcoming “market correction." The general consensus is that September 2015 will mark the end of the Fed’s Quantitative Easing program, and the beginning of interest rate hikes (also known as the Federal Funds Rate). In response, investors are hesitant to invest capital in the stock market.
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Goldberg's SurveyMonkey Legacy
SurveyMonkey CEO Dave Goldberg unexpectedly passed away late Friday night due to head trauma from an exercise accident in Mexico. Goldberg was not just one of the most popular CEOs in the Silicon Valley, but he was also one of the most successful. Goldberg was married to Facebook (FB) COO Sheryl Sandberg and was just 47 years old at his time of passing.
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Earnings That Matter
Over the past two weeks, America’s largest and most successful companies have released their Q1 2015 earnings reports. First quarter earnings reports are a decent indicator of how a company will perform during the remaining fiscal year. This first quarter, as is typical, has failed to impress traders. A much strengthened U.S. dollar has weighed on revenues, costing multinational corporations billions in foregone profits.
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Ronald McDonald Is Dying
It’s 3 a.m. and you’re “Ubering” home from a late night out with the bros. Your stomach rumbles in search of something greasy to satisfy your monstrous appetite. Lucky for you, there is a McDonald’s at the upcoming intersection. In your heart of hearts, you know that dollar-menu cheeseburger will make you happier than any one-night stand, but then you realize the satisfaction of the fatty burger isn’t worth a morning run.
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Today's Most Important Apple Article
For the fourth consecutive quarter, Apple (AAPL) surpassed Wall Street's earnings expectations. In what has become habitual for America's largest company, Apple beat both earnings-per-share (EPS) and revenue estimates. After Monday's close, Apple reported Q2 EPS of $2.33 (vs. analyst expectations of $2.16) and reported Q2 revenue of $58.01B (vs. analyst expectations of $56.06B). Shares of Apple are already up over 20% YTD, and increased 1.5% in after-hours trading.
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Wall Street Hammers Chipotle
One of the most popular (and most traded) fast food restaurants, the Chipotle Mexican Grill (CMG), reported that its same-store sales (defined on a Y/Y basis) missed analyst expectations for Q1 2015 by 1.4%, thereby offsetting the company's otherwise impressive earnings results of $3.88/share on revenue of $1.09 billion. Although Chipotle’s same-store sales rose 10.4%, this metric fell far short of Wall Street’s expected 11.8% growth rate.
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Investors Interested In "Breastaurants"
In 1983, six businessmen incorporated a new type of restaurant under the brand name “Hooters.” Since first opening in 1983, the Hooters franchise has experienced rapid growth, amassing peak revenues of $960 million in 2007. Now, while I won’t call the founders of Hooters “revolutionary” geniuses, they did nonetheless introduce a new form of dining experience to the restaurant industry, one based on greasy bar food and beautiful young women in crop tops.
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