tyb
thought somebody said give them 10min to set up?
The Controversy Around Stock Buybacks Explained
At face value, the notion of companies buying back shares in their own stock may seem pretty benign.
But as soon as trillions of dollars are being poured into any single cause – regardless of how innocuous it may sound – there is always the potential to make a lightning rod for controversy.
With stock buybacks totaling $1.1 trillion in 2018, they’re at the center of discussion more than ever before.
What are Stock Buybacks?
When publicly-traded companies want to return money to shareholders, they generally have two options.
The first is to declare a dividend, but the other is to repurchase its own shares on the open market.
Although it seems meta, stock buybacks are a way for companies to re-invest in themselves. Each buyback decreases the amount of shares outstanding, with the company re-absorbing the portion of ownership that was previously distributed among investors.
In other words, buybacks are somewhat analogous to buying out a business partner – they allow the remaining partners to own a higher share of the company.
Pro vs. Con
With the amount of stock buybacks rising to historic highs, they have been front and center in 2019. Here are what proponents and opponents are arguing about.
Pro Case:
Proponents of buybacks say that if they are done rationally, buybacks (like dividends) are just another way to return cash to shareholders. Stock prices for companies that have bought back shares are also higher, in general, than other companies on major indices like the S&P 500.
Con Case:
Opponents of stock buybacks say that they increase inequality, and that executives make short-term oriented decisions around buybacks that allow them to maximize personal gain. In other words, when a company probably should be investing in its people or its business, the company is instead giving money back to the wealthy owners – and only they benefit.
The Bottom Line
While both sides make a compelling argument for different reasons, the only real way to evaluate stock buybacks is based on the merits of individual companies.
If the company is returning money to shareholders because it is the best allocation of capital, then it can make perfect sense. If the company is doing it at the expense of growing its business and the wages of employees, one can see why stock buybacks may rub people the wrong way.
https://www.visualcapitalist.com/stock-buybacks-explained/
you need something to be gathered or brought forward tag me.
click
Not all insider buys have a goal of increasing EPS for bonus collection. Most of these are in solid business's like Kinder Morgan, Seagate etc.
https://www.finviz.com/insidertrading.ashx?or=10&tv=1000000&tc=1&o=-transactionValue
o7
U.S. trade deficit hits 10-year high in 2018 on record imports
WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The U.S. trade deficit surged to a 10-year high in 2018, with the politically sensitive shortfall with China hitting a record peak, despite the Trump administration slapping tariffs on a range of imported goods in an effort to shrink the gap.
The Commerce Department said on Wednesday that an 18.8 percent jump in the trade deficit in December had contributed to the $621.0 billion (472.4 billion pounds) shortfall last year. The 2018 deficit was the largest since 2008 and followed a $552.3 billion gap in 2017.
The trade deficit has deteriorated despite the White House's protectionist trade policy, which President Donald Trump said is needed to shield U.S. manufacturers from what he says is unfair foreign competition.
The United States last year imposed tariffs on $250 billion worth of goods imported from China, with Beijing hitting back with duties on $110 billion worth of American products, including soybeans and other commodities. Trump has delayed tariffs on $200 billion worth of Chinese imports as negotiations to resolve the eight-month trade war continue.
The United States has also slapped duties on imported steel, aluminium, solar panels and washing machines. The goods trade deficit with China increased 11.6 percent to an all-time high of $419.2 billion in 2018. The United States had record imports from 60 countries in 2018, led by China, Mexico and Germany. Imports of good hit a record $2.6 trillion last year.
The December trade deficit of $59.8 billion was the largest since October 2008 and overshot economists' expectations for a $57.9 billion shortfall, as exports fell for a third straight month and imports rebounded.
The release of the December report was delayed by a 35-day partial shutdown of the government that ended on Jan. 25.
https://www.marketscreener.com/news/U-S-trade-deficit-hits-10-year-high-in-2018-on-record-imports–28119782/?countview=0
chek'em
they seem to come in bunches. hit three or four then none.
i 'member
you see last night?
inferring that in a public place is a bit too disingenuous. I see this too but keep it schtum