David Ross

What I Think I Learned Last Week #6

Take this job and shove it. I ain’t working here no more. Federal Reserve Vice Chair Stanley Fischer went Johnny Paycheck and is quitting on October 13. This will leave four of the seven spots on the Federal Reserve Board of Governors vacant.

A Dollar Ain’t a Dollar Anymore. Following the European Central Bank meeting where Mario Draghi indicated that plans to start tapering the quantitative easing program were in the works, the euro hit a 33-month high against the dollar.

Less space in aerospace. United Technologies is buying Rockwell Collins for $23 billion, the largest-ever aerospace deal as consolidation continues.

A sticky situation: HB Fuller, an adhesives maker, is buying Royal Adhesives & Sealants for $1.58 billion.

Say what? A recent report from a research firm made the following statement: “As many as 40% of the companies in Oil Field Services can still be considered distressed.” Yet, out of the nine companies the analyst follows, only one has an underperform rating.

What’s this aboot, eh? Canada’s GDP was 4.5% annualized for the second quarter, well above consensus forecasts calling for 3.7%.

Trump that! Despite President Trump’s insistence that China is manipulating its currency, the renminbi rose to a 16 month high against the dollar last week and it has risen 6.6% against the dollar in 2017.

That stinks! China has banned several dozen French cheeses after health officials told quarantine officials that the bacteria colonies found in the cheese were not on an approved import list. They still eat cats and dogs for dinner, and they snack on spiders, but say ‘non’ to French cheese.

Orders Up! Japanese machine orders bounced 8% in July, well ahead of forecasts calling for 4.4% growth and the fastest pace in 18 months.

Oh Deere. Deere is buying, for $305 million, robot-maker Blue River Technology. Blue River makes “see & spray” robots that use computer vision to identify plants that need doses of fertilizer or pesticides.

NY Daily News sells paper for a $1. That’s news? Yes, when it is for the whole company and not just a single paper. Tronc, previously known only for being the worst-named company ever, bought the company for $1.

They just can’t hack it anymore. Equifax shares fell 13% after reports that hackers stole data on 143 million people, including birth dates, addresses, driver license numbers and social security numbers.

That was a close shave: Last week marked the 319th anniversary of Russia’s Peter the Great putting a tax on beards. An answer to France’s current budget problems perhaps?

And that’s what I think I learned last week…