Wall Street Brunch- July 24
Seeking Alpha Analyst Since 2010
Over thirty years experience with the stock market and investing. Enjoy actively managing several portfolios. Looking for diversification in portfolios. Research and homework on stocks are enjoyable: BS Ed./MS- Thirty years of coaching HS Varsity Football- Proud husband to my beautiful wife - Dad to five amazing children- Keeper of two stunning Bengal cats and a handsome Cavapoo.
Summary
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Let's start with a little history, shall we?
On July 24, 1911, American archeologist Hiram Bingham gets his first look at the ruins of Machu Picchu, an ancient Inca settlement in Peru that is now one of the world’s top tourist destinations. Traveling on foot and by mule, Bingham and his team made their way from Cuzco into the Urubamba Valley, where a local farmer told them of some ruins located at the top of a nearby mountain. The farmer called the mountain Machu Picchu, which meant “Old Peak” in the native Quechua language. The next day—July 24—after a tough climb to the mountain’s ridge in cold and drizzly weather, Bingham met a small group of peasants who showed him the rest of the way. Led by an 11-year-old boy, Bingham got his first glimpse of the intricate network of stone terraces marking the entrance to Machu Picchu. The excited Bingham spread the word about his discovery in a best-selling book, sending hordes of eager tourists flocking to Peru to follow in his footsteps up the Inca trail. The site itself stretches an impressive five miles, with over 3,000 stone steps linking its many different levels. Today, more than 300,000 people tramp through Machu Picchu every year, braving crowds and landslides to see the sun set over the towering stone monuments of the “Sacred City” and marvel at the mysterious splendor of one of the world’s most famous man-made wonders.
On this day in 1959, during the grand opening ceremony of the American National Exhibition in Moscow, Vice President Richard Nixon and Soviet leader Nikita Khrushchev engage in a heated debate about capitalism and communism in the middle of a model kitchen set up for the fair. The so-called “kitchen debate” became one of the most famous episodes of the Cold War. As Nixon led Khrushchev through the American exhibition, the Soviet leader’s famous temper began to flare. When Nixon demonstrated some new American color television sets, Khrushchev launched into an attack on the so-called “Captive Nations Resolution” passed by the U.S. Congress just days before. The resolution condemned the Soviet control of the “captive” peoples of Eastern Europe and asked all Americans to pray for their deliverance. After denouncing the resolution, Khrushchev then sneered at the U.S. technology on display, proclaiming that the Soviet Union would have the same sort of gadgets and appliances within a few years. Nixon, never one to shy away from a debate, goaded Khrushchev by stating that the Russian leader should “not be afraid of ideas. After all, you don’t know everything.” The Soviet leader snapped at Nixon, “You don’t know anything about communism–except fear of it.” Nixon and Khrushchev continued their argument in the kitchen of a model home built in the exhibition. With their voices rising and fingers pointing, the two men went at each other. Nixon suggested that Khrushchev’s constant threats of using nuclear missiles could lead to war, and he chided the Soviet for constantly interrupting him while he was speaking. Taking these words as a threat, Khrushchev warned of “very bad consequences.” Perhaps feeling that the exchange had gone too far, the Soviet leader then noted that he simply wanted “peace with all other nations, especially America.” Nixon rather sheepishly stated that he had not “been a very good host.”
On July 24, 2005, American cyclist Lance Armstrong wins a record-setting seventh consecutive Tour de France and retires from the sport. After Armstrong survived testicular cancer, his rise to cycling greatness inspired cancer patients and fans around the world and significantly boosted his sport’s popularity in the United States. However, in 2012, in a dramatic fall from grace, the onetime global cycling icon was stripped of his seven Tour titles after being charged with the systematic use of performance-enhancing drugs. Throughout his career, Armstrong, like many other top cyclists of his era, was dogged by accusations of performance-boosting drug use, but he repeatedly and vigorously denied all allegations against him and claimed to have passed hundreds of drug tests. In June 2012 the U.S. Anti-Doping Agency (USADA), following a two-year investigation, charged the cycling superstar with engaging in doping violations from at least August 1998, and with participating in a conspiracy to cover up his misconduct. After losing a federal appeal to have the USADA charges against him dropped, Armstrong, while continuing to maintain he had done nothing wrong, announced on August 23 that he would stop fighting the charges. The next day, USADA banned Armstrong for life from competitive cycling and disqualified all his competitive results from August 1, 1998, through the present. After years of denials, Armstrong finally admitted publicly, in a televised interview with Oprah Winfrey that aired on January 17, 2013, he had doped for much of his cycling career, beginning in the mid-1990s through his Tour de France victory in 2005. He admitted to using a performance-enhancing drug regimen that included testosterone, human growth hormone, the blood booster EPO and cortisone.
Now for some stock and investing news-
Futures end the week with the Dow and S&P down 0.4% and the Nasdaq down 1.1%. Crude is up 0.7% and Gold is down fractionally.
Goldman Sachs (NYSE:GS) has agreed to a $3.9B settlement with the Malaysian government over the multibillion-dollar 1MDB scandal. Backdrop: Malaysian prosecutors filed charges in December 2018 against three Goldman units for misleading investors over bond sales totaling $6.5B that the bank helped raise for the sovereign wealth fund. However, Goldman has pleaded not guilty to the charges, saying that certain members of government and 1MDB lied to it about how proceeds from the bond sales would be used. Believe it or not, the stock is up 1.7% premarket.
Walmart (NYSE:WMT) says it plans to open at least six more Walmart Health clinics in greater Atlanta by the end of this year - making for a quick tripling of its current clinics, as its strategy to become a healthcare player takes shape.
For the first time since I can recall, there is no "news" on Tesla on WSB. Odd, given the fact that $TSLA is down over 5% premarket.
Off to Google Finance-
Back from Google Finance with nothing to add.
Where is Jon Corzine and is MF Global buying shares of PG&E today?
Where is Marissa Mayer and is her online sports betting company posting odds on MLB games?
Where is Elizabeth Holmes and how is her capital raise going?
Where is Elon Musk and how long before he takes to Twitter to stop the slide of $TSLA?
Have a great day and wonderful weekend everyone. Stay safe out there.
This is the day The Lord has made. Let us rejoice and be glad in it.
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