Lou Gutheil

The financial world is in disarray today.  It all started with an unexpected and startling press release by the Swiss National Bank (SNB) that said: “The Swiss National Bank (SNB) is discontinuing the minimum exchange rate of CHF 1.20 per euro. At the same time, it is lowering the interest rate on sight deposit account balances that exceed […]

If Americans can hold out for just two more years, the Obama administration will be gone and the U.S. will be much more able to prosper economically once again. The only hope for the U.S. right now is the Republican majority in both houses of Congress. Obama’s overriding concerns for subjecting the United States to […]

The share price of industrial giant Alcoa (NYSE:AA) was up 2.0% yesterday in after-hours trading following the late afternoon release of its Q4 2014 results. Sentiment continued to be strong in pre-trading hours this morning, as it gained another 1.3%. Following a high of 16.53 shortly after 9:30 a.m. EST, the share price has receded […]

I noticed something strange as I browsed the financial news whilst enjoy my morning coffee. In London, Tesco’s share price (LSE:TSCO) had risen nearly 15%, partly on the report of good December sales and partly because CEO Dave Lewis had announced plans to close 43 of its stores in the UK. Then, “what before my […]

Call it fate. Call it irony. Call it coincidence. Call it whatever you want to call it, but on the day that I decide to catch up with Gulf Keystone Petroleum (LSE:GKP), my esteemed colleague, Azeez Mustapha has also published his Annual Trading Forecast on Gulf Keystone. But wait. We do not have the same perspective […]

Ryanair’s share price gained 1.53%, hitting a record high of 10.18 by midday, after the company (LSE:RYA) reported that it had carried one million more passengers in December 2014 than it had in December 2013. That is almost incomprehensible, so we must ask what that means. The answer is not all that difficult. The Numbers […]

The last day of 2014 has become the birth day of the new Walgreens Boots Alliance (NASDAQ:WBA). Walgreens, America’s leading pharmacy, has completed the acquisition of Alliance Boots, including delisting from the NYSE (it had been dual listed on the NYSE and NASDAQ) and conversion of its stock symbol from WAG to WBA. Walgreens generated […]

This December 26th marks the 30th consecutive year that I have lived somewhere that does not celebrate Boxing Day. The holiday season is just not the same – well, almost not the same – without it. It’s not all that much different in the States today. What with Christmas being on a Thursday this year, […]

Without Smith & Nephew (LSE:SN.), Christmas Eve at the London Exchange would have been ho-hum, but the company turned the half-day session into a ho-ho-ho. It’s always interesting news when a stock increases 7.7% in a single day, but when Smith & Nephew’s share price increased that amount it was more than interesting. It was […]

Just minutes after the New York Stock Exchange opened this morning (Tuesday, 23 December), Santa delivered an early Christmas present. The Dow Jones Industrial Average (DJIA) went flying past the 18,000 mark for the first time ever. Only a decade ago, and certainly following the 2008-2009 financial crisis, no one would have believed that 18,000 […]