Boeing Extends Its 2018 Order Lead at the Farnborough Airshow

Airbus (NASDAQOTH:EADSY) has captured more firm orders than Boeing (NYSE:BA) in each of the past five years. This allowed Airbus to extend its backlog to more than 7,000 firm orders by the end of 2017, compared with fewer than 6,000 firm orders for Boeing. (A decade ago, the two were evenly matched.)

However, Boeing has started to mount a comeback in 2018. During the first half of the year, it booked 460 net firm orders, compared with just 206 for Airbus. The U.S. aerospace giant appears to have extended its advantage in the annual order race at the recent Farnborough Airshow.

Lots of commitments but few firm orders for Airbus

Airbus had a solid showing last week, but most of the deals it announced were commitments that still need to be finalized, rather than firm orders. These commitments are often firmed up within a few months, but sometimes they just disappear.

In total, Airbus said that it received 93 firm orders and 338 additional commitments at the air show. Most of the firm orders were smaller deals. The most important by far was an order for 34 additional A330neos from AirAsia X. That brings AirAsia X's A330neo backlog to 100 aircraft. More importantly, it ensures that the carrier won't defect to Boeing's 787 Dreamliner.

Airbus was able to prevent AirAsia X from defecting to Boeing's 787 Dreamliner. Image source: Airbus.

Meanwhile, major commitments announced last week included a deal for 80 A320neos with an undisclosed aircraft leasing company, a commitment for an additional 75 A320neos and 25 A321neos from an existing customer, and a commitment from airline industry veteran David Neeleman's U.S. airline start-up for 60 A220-300s.

Including a firm order for 60 A220-300s placed by JetBlue a week before the air show, Airbus has now captured more than 750 firm orders and commitments year to date. A little more than half are commitments, but 2018 is shaping up to be another good year for Airbus, as long as it can convert most of those commitments to firm orders by year's end.

Solid order intake for Boeing -- despite some funny counting

Boeing reported an even stronger order haul at the Farnborough Airshow, with a total of 673 firm orders and commitments. However, it exaggerated its performance with some dubious counting methodology.

For example, Boeing announced a firm order from Jet Airways for 75 additional 737 MAXes -- but it had already added this order to its backlog last month. It used the same trick in reporting some of its 14 777F orders and commitments from DHL. Meanwhile, Boeing appears to have counted an order for 30 737 MAX 10s from GOL that was actually a conversion of existing 737 MAX 8 orders.

Boeing counted some deals in its air show order total that it had booked previously. Image source: Boeing.

That said, even without fudging the numbers, Boeing captured more than 500 new firm orders and commitments last week. Notable deals included a commitment for an extra 100 737 MAXes from VietJet, a commitment from an undisclosed customer for 100 additional 737 MAXes, and a 78-aircraft deal with Air Lease, consisting of a firm order for three 787s and 20 737 MAXes, plus a commitment for another 55 737 MAX aircraft.

If Boeing can make progress on finalizing some of its outstanding commitments by year's end, it will have a good shot at surpassing 1,000 net firm orders in 2018. It hasn't broken the 1,000-order mark since 2014.

Raising production is now key

As usual, the A320neo and 737 MAX families accounted for the vast majority of the orders and commitments announced over the past week. The backlogs for these popular models continue to swell, despite efforts by both Airbus and Boeing to ramp up production.

By the end of next year, Airbus hopes to be building 63 A320-family aircraft per month, while Boeing plans a monthly 737 production rate of 57. Both aircraft manufacturers recognize that they risk losing orders unless they can increase output even further. However, some of their suppliers -- particularly engine makers -- are struggling just to meet their existing production targets.

It's a great sign that demand for Airbus and Boeing narrowbodies is still red-hot among airlines and leasing companies. But unless the two aerospace giants can satisfy that demand in a timely fashion by raising production further, the annual order race will remain a somewhat meaningless contest.

Osborne Partners Capital Management Buys DowDuPont Inc, AT&T Inc, Broadcom Inc, Sells Invesco FTSE R

San Francisco, CA, based Investment company Osborne Partners Capital Management buys DowDuPont Inc, AT&T Inc, Broadcom Inc, CVS Health Corp, Evergy Inc, FMC Corp, Tiffany, Vanguard S&P 500, Uranium Energy Corp, Vanguard Small-Cap, sells Invesco FTSE RAFI US 1000, Time Warner Inc, Invesco DWA Momentum ETF, LyondellBasell Industries NV, Lowe's Inc during the 3-months ended 2018-06-30, according to the most recent filings of the investment company, Osborne Partners Capital Management. As of 2018-06-30, Osborne Partners Capital Management owns 147 stocks with a total value of $677 million. These are the details of the buys and sells.

New Purchases: DWDP, EVRG, TIF, UEC, Added Positions: T, AVGO, CVS, JNJ, FMC, LNG, EXPE, VIG, VOO, VTI, Reduced Positions: LYB, LOW, QCOM, JPM, TMO, SHPG, AAPL, MSFT, PEP, SLB, Sold Out: PRF, TWX, PDP, MON, GXP, PBE, PGF, AEP, IWM, XLK,

For the details of OSBORNE PARTNERS CAPITAL MANAGEMENT's stock buys and sells, go to http://www.gurufocus.com/StockBuy.php?GuruName=OSBORNE+PARTNERS+CAPITAL+MANAGEMENT

These are the top 5 holdings of OSBORNE PARTNERS CAPITAL MANAGEMENTSPDR S&P 500 (SPY) - 129,054 shares, 5.17% of the total portfolio. Shares added by 0.13%Microsoft Corp (MSFT) - 334,964 shares, 4.88% of the total portfolio. Shares reduced by 1.92%Apple Inc (AAPL) - 120,154 shares, 3.29% of the total portfolio. Shares reduced by 3.08%JPMorgan Chase & Co (JPM) - 207,491 shares, 3.19% of the total portfolio. Shares reduced by 4.58%Danaher Corp (DHR) - 179,744 shares, 2.62% of the total portfolio. Shares reduced by 2.19%New Purchase: DowDuPont Inc (DWDP)

Osborne Partners Capital Management initiated holding in DowDuPont Inc. The purchase prices were between $62.04 and $70.04, with an estimated average price of $66.14. The stock is now traded at around $65.68. The impact to a portfolio due to this purchase was 0.72%. The holding were 74,040 shares as of 2018-06-30.

New Purchase: Evergy Inc (EVRG)

Osborne Partners Capital Management initiated holding in Evergy Inc. The purchase prices were between $50.65 and $57.04, with an estimated average price of $53.33. The stock is now traded at around $56.38. The impact to a portfolio due to this purchase was 0.12%. The holding were 14,683 shares as of 2018-06-30.

New Purchase: Tiffany & Co (TIF)

Osborne Partners Capital Management initiated holding in Tiffany & Co. The purchase prices were between $94.2 and $137.89, with an estimated average price of $113.91. The stock is now traded at around $136.14. The impact to a portfolio due to this purchase was 0.04%. The holding were 2,045 shares as of 2018-06-30.

New Purchase: Uranium Energy Corp (UEC)

Osborne Partners Capital Management initiated holding in Uranium Energy Corp. The purchase prices were between $1.28 and $1.79, with an estimated average price of $1.59. The stock is now traded at around $1.57. The impact to a portfolio due to this purchase was 0.01%. The holding were 57,470 shares as of 2018-06-30.

Added: AT&T Inc (T)

Osborne Partners Capital Management added to a holding in AT&T Inc by 292.35%. The purchase prices were between $31.4 and $36.14, with an estimated average price of $33.25. The stock is now traded at around $31.47. The impact to a portfolio due to this purchase was 0.64%. The holding were 182,243 shares as of 2018-06-30.

Added: CVS Health Corp (CVS)

Osborne Partners Capital Management added to a holding in CVS Health Corp by 28.96%. The purchase prices were between $60.71 and $72.18, with an estimated average price of $65.94. The stock is now traded at around $66.51. The impact to a portfolio due to this purchase was 0.25%. The holding were 119,307 shares as of 2018-06-30.

Added: Broadcom Inc (AVGO)

Osborne Partners Capital Management added to a holding in Broadcom Inc by 26.98%. The purchase prices were between $225.25 and $270.23, with an estimated average price of $245.06. The stock is now traded at around $209.55. The impact to a portfolio due to this purchase was 0.25%. The holding were 32,546 shares as of 2018-06-30.

Added: FMC Corp (FMC)

Osborne Partners Capital Management added to a holding in FMC Corp by 25.56%. The purchase prices were between $74.99 and $92.4, with an estimated average price of $85.54. The stock is now traded at around $86.26. The impact to a portfolio due to this purchase was 0.11%. The holding were 42,791 shares as of 2018-06-30.

Added: Vanguard S&P 500 (VOO)

Osborne Partners Capital Management added to a holding in Vanguard S&P 500 by 64.45%. The purchase prices were between $236.48 and $256.33, with an estimated average price of $248.26. The stock is now traded at around $257.28. The impact to a portfolio due to this purchase was 0.04%. The holding were 2,641 shares as of 2018-06-30.

Added: Vanguard Small-Cap (VB)

Osborne Partners Capital Management added to a holding in Vanguard Small-Cap by 27.68%. The purchase prices were between $143.38 and $160.91, with an estimated average price of $153.01. The stock is now traded at around $160.96. The impact to a portfolio due to this purchase was 0.01%. The holding were 2,818 shares as of 2018-06-30.

Sold Out: Invesco FTSE RAFI US 1000 (PRF)

Osborne Partners Capital Management sold out a holding in Invesco FTSE RAFI US 1000. The sale prices were between $107.92 and $116.01, with an estimated average price of $112.71.

Sold Out: Time Warner Inc (TWX)

Osborne Partners Capital Management sold out a holding in Time Warner Inc. The sale prices were between $92.18 and $98.77, with an estimated average price of $95.01.

Sold Out: Invesco DWA Momentum ETF (PDP)

Osborne Partners Capital Management sold out a holding in Invesco DWA Momentum ETF. The sale prices were between $51.25 and $57.65, with an estimated average price of $54.76.

Sold Out: Monsanto Co (MON)

Osborne Partners Capital Management sold out a holding in Monsanto Co. The sale prices were between $116.6 and $127.95, with an estimated average price of $124.68.

Sold Out: Great Plains Energy Inc (GXP)

Osborne Partners Capital Management sold out a holding in Great Plains Energy Inc. The sale prices were between $30.5 and $34.1, with an estimated average price of $32.03.

Sold Out: Invesco Dynamic Biotech & Genome (PBE)

Osborne Partners Capital Management sold out a holding in Invesco Dynamic Biotech & Genome. The sale prices were between $46.88 and $56.15, with an estimated average price of $50.84.

Here is the complete portfolio of OSBORNE PARTNERS CAPITAL MANAGEMENT. Also check out:

1. OSBORNE PARTNERS CAPITAL MANAGEMENT's Undervalued Stocks
2. OSBORNE PARTNERS CAPITAL MANAGEMENT's Top Growth Companies, and
3. OSBORNE PARTNERS CAPITAL MANAGEMENT's High Yield stocks
4. Stocks that OSBORNE PARTNERS CAPITAL MANAGEMENT keeps buying

These MLPs Are on Fire Today

What happened

Shares of several master limited partnerships (MLPs) took off on Thursday after the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC)� finalized a new policy relating to the tax code overhaul passed at the end of 2017. Leading the way higher were TC Pipelines (NYSE:TCP) and Dominion Energy Midstream Partners (NYSE:DM), which were up 28% and 30%, respectively at 9:45 a.m. EDT. Fellow midstream majors Enbridge Energy Partners (NYSE:EEP) and Spectra Energy Partners (NYSE:SEP) were also up on the news, with shares of both rising more than 6% in early morning trading.

So what

In March, FERC dropped a bombshell on MLP investors by reversing a long-standing policy that had allowed these entities to collect an additional fee to cover income taxes as part of their cost-of-service rates on long-haul pipelines. This rule change weighed heavily on MLPs that were majority-owned by other energy companies, since they used this rate structure to cover the taxes they would pay on the income received from their MLPs. Among the hardest hit were Dominion Energy Midstream Partners -- owned by utility Dominion Energy (NYSE:D) -- and TC Pipelines, controlled by Canadian pipeline giant TransCanada (NYSE:TRP). Meanwhile, Enbridge Energy Partners and Spectra Energy Partners, which are both sponsored by Canadian pipeline giant Enbridge (NYSE:ENB), also sold off on that early-spring news, which subsequently led Enbridge to offer to acquire its MLPs.

Image source: Getty Images.

However, on Wednesday night, the regulator finalized a new policy on gas pipelines. Under the final ruling, FERC provides operators of interstate natural gas pipelines with options to address the revenue changes that resulted from the elimination of the tax allowance, which could lead to an adjustment of rates to a "just and reasonable level" for both pipeline companies and customers. This means they'll be able to mitigate much of the impact the policy change would otherwise have had on their cash flow.

Simply put, this adjustment could make MLPs viable funding vehicles for energy companies once again, since they could drop down natural gas pipelines to these entities without seeing significant drops in income. Dominion Energy, for example, had hoped to drop down up to $8 billion in assets to Dominion Energy Midstream to support its long-term financing plan, which would have grown the MLP's distribution at a 22% compound annual rate through 2020. The rule change initially had Dominion exploring an alternative funding plan. However, that might not be necessary now that FERC has provided it with options to address the lost cash flow from the tax allowance.

Now what

The initial FERC policy change caused energy companies to rethink their views on the MLP structure as a way to finance growth. While the finalized policy provides them with methods to cushion the blow, it's still unclear if it will be enough to make MLP's viable funding vehicles once again. Because of that, investors should hold off on opening positions in Enbridge Energy Partners, Spectra Energy Partners, Dominion Energy Midstream, and TC Pipelines until there's more clarity on what Enbridge, Dominion, and TransCanada plan to do with those entities.

$1.06 EPS Expected for C.H. Robinson Worldwide Inc (CHRW) This Quarter

Equities research analysts expect that C.H. Robinson Worldwide Inc (NASDAQ:CHRW) will post $1.06 earnings per share (EPS) for the current quarter, according to Zacks. Eight analysts have issued estimates for C.H. Robinson Worldwide’s earnings. The lowest EPS estimate is $1.00 and the highest is $1.10. C.H. Robinson Worldwide reported earnings per share of $0.78 in the same quarter last year, which would suggest a positive year over year growth rate of 35.9%. The company is scheduled to announce its next earnings report after the market closes on Tuesday, July 31st.

On average, analysts expect that C.H. Robinson Worldwide will report full-year earnings of $4.38 per share for the current year, with EPS estimates ranging from $4.21 to $4.50. For the next financial year, analysts expect that the business will post earnings of $4.85 per share, with EPS estimates ranging from $4.27 to $5.04. Zacks Investment Research’s EPS averages are an average based on a survey of sell-side research analysts that follow C.H. Robinson Worldwide.

Get C.H. Robinson Worldwide alerts:

C.H. Robinson Worldwide (NASDAQ:CHRW) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, May 1st. The transportation company reported $1.01 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.00 by $0.01. C.H. Robinson Worldwide had a return on equity of 36.63% and a net margin of 3.41%. The business had revenue of $3.93 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $3.85 billion. During the same period last year, the business earned $0.86 EPS. The business’s revenue was up 14.9% on a year-over-year basis.

CHRW has been the topic of several recent analyst reports. BidaskClub upgraded C.H. Robinson Worldwide from a “buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, March 22nd. ValuEngine upgraded C.H. Robinson Worldwide from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, April 2nd. Zacks Investment Research upgraded C.H. Robinson Worldwide from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $103.00 price objective on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, April 3rd. Morgan Stanley dropped their price objective on C.H. Robinson Worldwide from $70.00 to $68.00 and set an “underweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, April 6th. Finally, Robert W. Baird restated a “hold” rating and set a $100.00 price objective on shares of C.H. Robinson Worldwide in a research note on Tuesday, April 10th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have assigned a hold rating and nine have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. The company currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $86.60.

C.H. Robinson Worldwide traded up $0.40, hitting $87.70, during trading hours on Tuesday, MarketBeat.com reports. 1,265,900 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,456,065. The company has a current ratio of 1.30, a quick ratio of 1.30 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.51. C.H. Robinson Worldwide has a one year low of $63.41 and a one year high of $100.18. The stock has a market cap of $12.08 billion, a PE ratio of 25.20, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.20 and a beta of 0.42.

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, June 29th. Stockholders of record on Friday, June 1st were paid a dividend of $0.46 per share. This represents a $1.84 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.10%. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, May 31st. C.H. Robinson Worldwide’s payout ratio is 52.87%.

C.H. Robinson Worldwide announced that its board has approved a share buyback program on Thursday, May 10th that allows the company to buyback 15,000,000 outstanding shares. This buyback authorization allows the transportation company to purchase shares of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback programs are generally a sign that the company’s board of directors believes its stock is undervalued.

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. BlackRock Inc. raised its stake in shares of C.H. Robinson Worldwide by 2.3% during the 1st quarter. BlackRock Inc. now owns 11,163,127 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $1,046,098,000 after purchasing an additional 248,268 shares during the period. First Eagle Investment Management LLC raised its stake in shares of C.H. Robinson Worldwide by 0.7% during the 1st quarter. First Eagle Investment Management LLC now owns 6,449,795 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $604,410,000 after purchasing an additional 42,487 shares during the period. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company raised its stake in shares of C.H. Robinson Worldwide by 4.5% during the 1st quarter. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company now owns 1,553,291 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $145,559,000 after purchasing an additional 66,810 shares during the period. Schwab Charles Investment Management Inc. raised its stake in shares of C.H. Robinson Worldwide by 17.3% during the 1st quarter. Schwab Charles Investment Management Inc. now owns 904,307 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $84,743,000 after purchasing an additional 133,193 shares during the period. Finally, Saratoga Research & Investment Management raised its stake in shares of C.H. Robinson Worldwide by 0.9% during the 1st quarter. Saratoga Research & Investment Management now owns 707,153 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $66,267,000 after purchasing an additional 6,093 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 90.59% of the company’s stock.

C.H. Robinson Worldwide Company Profile

C.H. Robinson Worldwide, Inc, a third party logistics company, provides freight transportation services and logistics solutions to companies in various industries worldwide. The company operates through three segments: North American Surface Transportation, Global Forwarding, and Robinson Fresh. It offers transportation and logistics services, such as truckload; less than truckload transportation which include the shipment of single or multiple pallets of freight; intermodal transportation, which is shipment service of freight in trailers or containers by a combination of truck and rail; and non-vessel ocean common carrier or freight forwarding services, as well as organizes air shipments and provides door-to-door services.

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Bitcoin jumps after report suggests BlackRock is getting serious about the cryptocurrency market

The price of bitcoin surged Monday after a report said that BlackRock has set up a working group to explore ways of taking advantage of the cryptocurrency market.

The world��s most valuable virtual currency by market value jumped more than 4 percent to around $6,612, according to industry website CoinDesk, which tracks prices from a number of different exchanges.

The prices of ethereum and ripple, the second and third-largest digital assets by market capitalization respectively, also got a boost. Ethereum was up by more than 5 percent while ripple jumped 4 percent.

London��s Financial News newspaper, citing two unnamed sources, said that BlackRock has formed a team from different parts of the business to investigate cryptocurrencies and blockchain, the technology that underpins them.

According to one of the sources, the asset management giant will study whether it should invest in bitcoin futures. The sources also said that BlackRock��s working group will keep a close eye on what its competitors are doing in regard to cryptocurrencies and blockchain.

"Like most financial institutions, BlackRock has a working group that meets periodically to exchange information on blockchain and consists of employees from various parts of the business," a spokesperson for the company said in an emailed statement.

"We have been looking at blockchain technology for several years, recognizing potential for shared processes and data across market participants, clearing, settlement and reconciliation and simplified securities issuance.��

CNBC understands that the working group is not a new development and has, in fact, existed since 2015.

show chapters What five bullish experts have to say about bitcoin    4:52 PM ET Fri, 13 July 2018 | 04:29

Following the report, BlackRock Chief Executive Larry Fink threw any speculation that the investment manager is looking to buy into bitcoin out of the window.

"I don��t believe any client has sought out crypto exposure," he told Bloomberg on Monday. "I��ve not heard from one client who says, ��I need to be in this.��"

Fink has previously railed against bitcoin, calling it an ��index of money laundering.��

The news follows a report by Fortune magazine that hedge fund billionaire Steve Cohen��s venture arm Cohen Private Ventures invested in Autonomous Partners, a cryptocurrency-focused investment fund.

Many industry experts believe that increased involvement from institutional investors in the cryptocurrency space will boost confidence in an otherwise dubious market.

��It definitely is causing some excitement,�� Mati Greenspan, senior market analyst at eToro, said of the report on Monday. ��The idea of big financial firms moving into crypto certainly isn��t new and this is a trend we��ve been noticing gaining strength since November.��

Last year, two trading giants, CME Group and the CBOE, launched bitcoin futures products, lifting hopes of institutional involvement in cryptocurrencies.

Virtual currencies have been shrouded in doubt due to excessive volatility in the market resulting in wild price swings. Bitcoin soared close to $20,000 late last year, but has declined since, with transaction volumes falling significantly.

Financial regulators around the world are concerned about the speculative nature of cryptocurrencies, and their possible use for illicit activities. China and South Korea have both banned a practice known as an initial coin offering (ICO), for instance, which is a means of start-ups selling new digital tokens to propel their business.

Wells Fargo's scandals are hurting its bottom line

Wells Fargo's earnings keep getting dinged by a laundry list of scandals.

Profit, loans, deposits and revenue all shrank last quarter, Wells Fargo (WFC) said on Friday.

One thing that is going up is expenses. Wells Fargo said operating losses surged 77% last quarter because of various problems in its auto lending, wealth management, mortgage and currency businesses. Overall expenses rose by 3%.

Meanwhile, Wells Fargo said profit declined by 12% during the second quarter, missing Wall Street's expectations. The bank's stock, which has lagged behind the rest of the market, tumbled 3% in premarket trading.

Wells Fargo was also hurt by a $481 million income tax bill linked to a recent Supreme Court ruling that allows states to force online retailers to collect sales taxes.

One bright spot: Wells Fargo is returning gobs of money to shareholders thanks to the corporate tax cut and a clean bill of health from the Fed's stress tests. The bank said it plans to raise its dividend by 10% and buy back up to $24.5 billion of stock.

Still, Wells Fargo's results stand in stark contrast to America's biggest bank. JPMorgan Chase (JPM)said on Friday its profits jumped by 18% to $8.3 billion. That's just shy of JPMorgan's first-quarter haul of $8.7 billion -- which was a record for any US bank.

It's been a very difficult nearly two years for Wells Fargo. A wave of controversy, kicked off by the fake-accounts scandal, have hurt Wells Fargo's reputation, raised its legal expenses and drawn the ire of regulators.

The Federal Reserve harshly penalized Wells Fargo in February by imposing sanctions that prevent the bank from growing its balance sheet. The bank doesn't expect to escape the asset cap until next year.

Regulators also charged Wells Fargo a $1 billion fine for forcing customers into unneeded auto insurance and charging them unnecessary mortgage fees.

Wells Fargo said on Friday that it suffered $619 million of operating losses for "previously disclosed matters," including policies, practices and procedures in its foreign exchange business. Wells Fargo previously disclosed that the government has inquired about this unit. Other areas that Wells Fargo is spending money to clean up include its auto lending business and reviews into how it charges mortgage and wealth management fees.

Why Groupon Stock Has Lost 16% in 2018

What happened�

Groupon (NASDAQ:GRPN) stock trailed the market over the first half of the year, shedding 16% compared to a 2% uptick in the S&P 500, according to data provided by S&P Global Market Intelligence.

^SPX data by YCharts.

That slump contributed to intense volatility for the digital coupon specialist's shareholders, who've seen their stock returns range from 50% losses to 25% gains in the past three years.

So what

Investors aren't yet convinced that the company can build up a defensible position in the marketplace for local business advertising -- let alone one that throws off consistently strong� profits. Groupon earned a tiny $14 million in 2017 and has posted a net loss in three of the last five fiscal years. Its most recent quarter included a modest loss, too, but management said it was happy to see profitability improve thanks to cost cuts.�

Image source: Getty Images.

Now what

Groupon's global customer base has held steady at about 50 million over the past six months and even ticked down in the core U.S. market. The company will need those metrics to improve over time for its business trends to rebound. Instead, management is predicting that the customer pool�will shrink slightly in the second quarter as it aims to shift its marketing toward higher-spending shoppers.

BitSend (BSD) 24 Hour Trading Volume Hits $27,593.00

BitSend (CURRENCY:BSD) traded up 1.1% against the U.S. dollar during the 1 day period ending at 15:00 PM Eastern on July 9th. BitSend has a total market capitalization of $5.62 million and $27,593.00 worth of BitSend was traded on exchanges in the last 24 hours. Over the last week, BitSend has traded 0.2% higher against the U.S. dollar. One BitSend coin can now be purchased for $0.28 or 0.00004234 BTC on cryptocurrency exchanges including LiteBit.eu, SouthXchange, Upbit and Cryptopia.

Here’s how other cryptocurrencies have performed over the last 24 hours:

Get BitSend alerts: Dash (DASH) traded 4.5% lower against the dollar and now trades at $233.03 or 0.03471100 BTC. Enigma (ENG) traded down 4.8% against the dollar and now trades at $1.39 or 0.00020733 BTC. CPChain (CPC) traded down 3.5% against the dollar and now trades at $0.0690 or 0.00001027 BTC. I/O Coin (IOC) traded 2.5% lower against the dollar and now trades at $0.51 or 0.00007584 BTC. ATMChain (ATM) traded 8.7% lower against the dollar and now trades at $0.0013 or 0.00000020 BTC. PinkCoin (PINK) traded 29% higher against the dollar and now trades at $0.0158 or 0.00000236 BTC. EuropeCoin (ERC) traded down 0.5% against the dollar and now trades at $0.29 or 0.00004300 BTC. Memetic / PepeCoin (MEME) traded up 0.7% against the dollar and now trades at $0.0940 or 0.00001401 BTC. B3Coin (KB3) traded down 7.1% against the dollar and now trades at $0.0027 or 0.00000041 BTC. BlueCoin (BLU) traded down 5.1% against the dollar and now trades at $0.0028 or 0.00000042 BTC.

About BitSend

BitSend (BSD) is a PoW/PoS coin that uses the X11 hashing algorithm. BitSend’s total supply is 19,754,725 coins. BitSend’s official Twitter account is @Bit_send. The official website for BitSend is www.bitsend.info.

According to CryptoCompare, “Darksend InstantX “

BitSend Coin Trading

BitSend can be bought or sold on the following cryptocurrency exchanges: SouthXchange, Bittrex, Livecoin, LiteBit.eu, Cryptopia and Upbit. It is usually not possible to purchase alternative cryptocurrencies such as BitSend directly using U.S. dollars. Investors seeking to acquire BitSend should first purchase Ethereum or Bitcoin using an exchange that deals in U.S. dollars such as Coinbase, GDAX or Changelly. Investors can then use their newly-acquired Ethereum or Bitcoin to purchase BitSend using one of the aforementioned exchanges.

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Why Sorrento Therapeutics, Inc. Stock Sank Today

What happened

Shares of Sorrento Therapeutics, Inc. (NASDAQ:SRNE) are down 10.2% as of 3:12 p.m. EDT Thursday on higher-than-average volume, but it's not clear what's going on with the biotech. Sorrento announced on Tuesday morning that it was acquiring Kimberly Clark's Sofusa�lymphatic delivery technology, which consists of�nano-structured microneedles to deliver drugs into lymphatic capillaries beneath the skin.

However, that news had minimal impact�on the biotech's share price prior to the U.S. Independence Day holiday.

Image source: Getty Images.

It's possible that we're seeing a delayed reaction to this acquisition. No terms of the deal were announced, so perhaps some investors worried that Sorrento could be paying too much. Shareholders have learned that the fine print with Sorrento's transactions can be troubling, as seen earlier this year with a convertible note offering.�

Another possibility is that rising tensions over trade between the U.S. and China could be impacting Sorrento. The company announced in June that it planned to list on the Hong Kong stock exchange. Investors could have been spooked by worries about the new listing in light of the escalating war of words and tariffs.

So what

Should investors be concerned by the latest drop? Probably not -- at least not at this point. Perhaps more information will be revealed over the next few days that will help explain why Sorrento stock fell. It could be that, in a few months from now, regulatory filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission will show that a big institutional investor was selling shares, causing downward pressure on Sorrento's share price.

On the other hand, we might never know for sure why Sorrento stock sank on Thursday. The reality is that small-cap biotech stocks swing up and down by 10% or more fairly frequently without any discernible reason. Sorrento Therapeutics'�beta value of 3.51 shows just how volatile the stock is.�

Now what

Nothing has changed with the investing premise for Sorrento. If you like the stock, there's no reason to stop liking it. If you're down on Sorrento, there's no reason to make you more positive about it.

Bulls still are eagerly awaiting the biotech's planned U.S. launch of the Ztlido lidocaine topical system in the fourth quarter of 2018. They're also looking forward to Sorrento's phase 1 clinical studies of its CD38 chimeric antigen receptor T cell (CAR-T) therapy and resiniferatoxin in treating�osteoarthritis knee pain. Bears are wondering what's taking the company so long to launch Ztlido, since the drug won Food and Drug Administration approval in February 2018.

Bystanders, on the other hand, might be best served by staying on the sidelines, considering Sorrento's volatility. There are plenty of stocks out there, including biotech stocks, with clearer pathways to success and less uncertainty.

China's big bond experiment is about to go through a rough patch

One year ago, China made a major move to open up its domestic, or onshore, bond market. But the sector is now facing a trying time as investors brace for a greater number of payment defaults in the months ahead.

That��s coming at a time when the Chinese economy faces the threat of a further slowdown amid an escalating trade conflict with the U.S., which could rattle investors already cautious about putting money in yuan-denominated assets.

As it is, there are signs that investor sentiment on China has been hit, Hou Wey Fook, chief investment officer of Singapore��s DBS Bank, said Monday. He pointed to the recent sell-off in shares of Chinese companies listed in Shanghai. Last week, that market entered bear territory, meaning it had fallen at least 20 percent from recent highs.

That has happened even though bond defaults in the world��s second-largest economy are more ��idiosyncratic�� than widespread and the ��default rate is still very low,�� Hou told reporters at a briefing.

The first six months of this year saw 11 Chinese companies failing to pay the principal or interest on 20 bonds worth a total of 19.9 billion yuan ($3 billion), according to Reuters. That compares with 26 defaults worth 26 billion yuan in the whole of 2017.

Those numbers are likely to increase as China��s efforts to clean up its financial sector have made borrowing costs higher, and more companies will find it harder to repay their debt, experts said. In the coming quarter, more than 2,000 bonds valued at 2.3 trillion yuan ($342.72 billion) will mature, Chinese state-owned media China Daily reported, citing data from Wind Info.

China's opening up is still a work in progress

The increasing number of defaults coincides with the one-year anniversary of China's ��bond connect�� program, which the chief executive of Hong Kong's stock exchange, Charles Li, called a ��huge breakthrough�� ahead of its launch.

The initiative allows international investors to trade bonds in mainland China through Hong Kong with fewer limitations. Older programs have a cap on the investment amount, and require foreigners to go through a lengthy process involving account opening and finding a clearing agent with international settlement.

show chapters Shanghai composite falls in June, on track for worst year since 2011    3:13 AM ET Mon, 2 July 2018 | 02:24

There are now 356 overseas institutional investors registered to trade through the bond connect as of last month, while total foreign holdings of Chinese bonds �� not limited to those bought through the program �� grew 62.7 percent from July last year to 1.44 trillion yuan ($214.76 billion) in May 2018, according to official statistics.

But that��s still less than 2 percent of the roughly $12 trillion Chinese bond market, which is ��very small�� compared to the country��s economic importance, said Andy Seaman, partner and chief investment officer at Stratton Street.

��The fact that many firms have bigger investments in U.S. high yield and peripheral European bond markets than they do in Chinese government bonds remains perhaps the biggest mystery in global financial markets,�� Seaman told CNBC in an email.

He added there are several issues with the bond connect that have held back greater investor participation, including uncertainties over taxation, and a delay in the delivery of bonds and receipt of payment. Still, those issues are being ironed out and the program is ��already a major success�� in providing greater access to the world��s third-largest bond market, he said.

A healthier China in the making

In addition to the credit defaults and technical kinks in the bond connect program, the Chinese currency is expected to weaken further �� which gives foreign investors another reason to stay away because that threatens their potential monetary returns.

But China has to go through some pains to strengthen its financial industry, experts said. Allowing problematic companies to fail is necessary so that the remaining healthier firms can help to draw foreign investors into China, they added.

show chapters Concerns about China's economy are 'a bit overdone': Strategist    3:12 AM ET Mon, 2 July 2018 | 02:01

��We believe orderly bond defaults could foster healthier development of the onshore bond market, increasing its attractiveness to foreign investors and facilitating China's capital account liberalization over the longer run,�� Morgan Stanley analysts wrote in a report in June.

The defaults that have emerged among Chinese companies make up just 0.2 percent of the outstanding corporate bonds. That's ��significantly lower�� than the global corporate default rate of 1.2 percent in 2017, the analysts added.

But for a Chinese government used to coming to the rescue of companies, especially state-owned ones, letting more firms fail in the coming months will be a test of its ��commitment to reforms,�� ANZ analysts wrote in a June report.

��A major project of the government is to crack ��implicit guarantee��, to draw a clear line between fiscal and non-fiscal liability,�� they said. ��There will be many more credit default events reported by the media ... It will be a test of the government��s commitment to its reforms.��

Best China Stocks To Watch For 2019

tags:ETM,HCP,ALTAF,

Bitcoin got hammered yesterday after New York Attorney General Eric Schneiderman announced an investigation into some of the major cryptocurrency exchanges.

I��ve been warning about a coming government crackdown on bitcoin for several months, and now we��re seeing it happening around the world.

From China to Japan to South Korea and here in the U.S., the regulators are closing in on bitcoin. And all those who thought their bitcoin was invisible to the IRS are getting a rude awakening these days.

Bitcoin was the classic bubble. Market bubbles are nothing new. In the 17th and 18th centuries we had the Dutch tulip bubble, the French Mississippi bubble and the U.K.��s South Sea bubble.

The 19th century saw bubbles in canal building (1830s), gold (1869) and railroads (1890s). In the 20th and 21st centuries we have seen bubbles in Florida real estate (mid-1920s), stocks (late 1920s), dot-coms (2000) and mortgages (2007).

All of these episodes of investment mania crashed, causing enormous losses for investors. As always, some investors got in early and got out before the crash and walked away with their winnings. But most did not.

Best China Stocks To Watch For 2019: Entercom Communications Corporation(ETM)

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By Joseph Griffin]

  Entercom Communications (NYSE:ETM) was downgraded by research analysts at Noble Financial from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report released on Wednesday, The Fly reports.

• [By Lisa Levin]

  Entercom Communications Corp. (NYSE: ETM) shares dropped 18 percent to $8.75 following Q1 earnings.

  Shares of Hertz Global Holdings, Inc. (NYSE: HTZ) were down 17 percent to $18.505 after the company reported a wider-than-expected loss for its first quarter.

• [By Max Byerly]

  Keeley Teton Advisors LLC increased its stake in Entercom Communications Corp. (NYSE:ETM) by 64.5% during the first quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 202,992 shares of the company’s stock after acquiring an additional 79,580 shares during the quarter. Keeley Teton Advisors LLC owned approximately 0.15% of Entercom Communications worth $1,959,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Best China Stocks To Watch For 2019: HCP, Inc.(HCP)

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By Ethan Ryder]

  HCP (NYSE:HCP) was downgraded by analysts at Evercore ISI from an in-line rating to an underperform rating.

  Aurubis (ETR:NDA) was given a €90.00 ($104.65) target price by analysts at Nord/LB. The firm currently has a buy rating on the stock.

• [By Matthew Frankel]

  Healthcare real estate investment trust HCP (NYSE:HCP) hasn't exactly been a high-performing stock recently. In fact, while the S&P 500 has risen 26% over the past two years, HCP has fallen 23%.

• [By Nelson Hem]

  In "Raymond James Picks Welltower, Sabra Health In Underweighted Health Care REIT Sector," Shanthi Rexaline takes a look at why HCP, Inc. (NYSE: HCP) didn't make the cut among these health care REIT picks.

• [By Ethan Ryder]

  Swiss National Bank decreased its position in shares of HCP, Inc. (NYSE:HCP) by 13.1% in the first quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The fund owned 1,499,221 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock after selling 226,400 shares during the quarter. Swiss National Bank’s holdings in HCP were worth $34,827,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Best China Stocks To Watch For 2019: Altura Mining Limited (ALTAF)

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By ]

  Altura Mining [ASX:AJM] (OTC:ALTAF)

  On April 30, Altura Mining announced: "Stage 2 Definitive Feasibility Study at Pilgangoora delivers outstanding results." Highlights include: