Wynn Resorts And Tesla Post Big Gains As Fed Chairman's Comments Buoy Stock Market
Federal Reserve Bank Chairman Jerome Powell said today that the Fed "will act as appropriate to sustain the expansion" of the economy. The market is currently pricing in two cuts in interest rates by the Fed before year-end. Powell's message along with encouraging comments from Chinese and Mexican officials about reaching trade deals with the U.S. The Nasdaq Composite index was up 2.65 percent after a sharp drop yesterday. The Dow and S&P 500 indexes were up 2.06 percent and 2.14 percent respectively. The Entrepreneur Index closed the day with a gain of 2.29 percent. The technology sector led the market today after one of its worst days of the year yesterday. The tech stocks most sensitive to the economy and to trade tensions had some of the biggest gains today. Semiconductor chip-makers NVIDIA Corp. Analog Devices were up 6.89 percent and 5.1 percent respectively. The FAANG stocks all traded higher, though their gains were smaller than the rest of the tech sector. They were down sharply yesterday on fears of anti-trust investigations by the government.
Netflix, not in the crosshairs of government regulators, had the biggest gain in the group today rising 4.98 percent. Other stocks down recently on fears about trade wars were up nicely today. Ford Motor Co. and truck-maker PACCAR Inc., both expected to be hurt by potential tariffs against Mexico, were up 3.23 percent and 3.61 percent respectively. Fedex Corp., a good barometer of global economic sentiment, was up 4.76 percent. The apparel makers, most of whom source products in China and other overseas markets, also had strong gains. L Brands (5.49 percent), Ralph Lauren Corp. Wynn Resorts had the biggest gain on the index today, rising 8.98 percent. Shares in Wynn, which operates three casinos in Macau, were down more than 25 percent in May as trade negotiations between the U.S. China broke down. They are still up 14.1 percent for the year. Tesla also had a big jump today, gaining 8.17 percent and halting the stock's free-fall over the last month. Optimism about trade may have helped, but the plunge in the share price may have finally attracted some value investors who still believe in the future of the electric vehicle pioneer. The shares are down 42.1 percent this year. REITs were the only notably weak sector in the market today, accounting for four of the five declines on the Entrepreneur Index. With long-term interest rates rising sharply today, REITs and their high dividend yields look relatively less attractive. Equity Residential (-1.0 percent) and Extra Space Storage (-0.64 percent) had the biggest losses in the sector and on the index today. The Entrepreneur Index collects the top 60 publicly traded companies founded and run by entrepreneurs. The entrepreneurial spirit is a valuable asset for any business, and this index recognizes its importance, no matter how much a company has grown.
But the faster you go, the harder it pushes back, until eventually at north of 200 mph, the air is so thick that you may as well be driving through Jell-o. To help make vehicles slippery enough to cope, aerodynamics play a huge role in achieving the goal of speed. The more aerodynamically efficient a vehicle is, the easier it slides through thick air - it鈥檚 why engineers are so obsessed with improving the drag coefficient of a car. But there鈥檚 a flipside to aerodynamics - the art of controlling airflow over the sheet metal of a vehicle at speed. To aid grip, aerodynamics are used to create downforce - an invisible force that sucks the vehicle to the ground to maximize grip and allow a vehicle to corner faster without breaking the limits of adhesion. But while grip may seem like a good thing, aerodynamic downforce is the enemy of pure speed - it makes a car less slippery in order to generate grip. If manufacturers were to focus on outright speed rather than cornering grip, you鈥檇 see cars like the Ford GT cracking north of 230 mph rather than the 216 mph top speed it currently bears. But there鈥檚 one more aspect to speed, one deciding factor that seemingly no one ever thinks of. In the pursuit for V-max, the single most limiting factor is something as simple as a gearbox. You can only go as fast as the final drive ratio can turn when driven by an engine. As addictive as it is and as simple as it may seem, there鈥檚 an altogether separate world when it comes to the pursuit of it. It鈥檚 more than just big numbers that make it happen - it鈥檚 an exact science, an engineering marvel. It鈥檚 an art form all of its own - the art of speed.
I promised my readers an article about Aston Martin, Jaguar and Maserati earlier this week and here it is! For some odd reason, research for some cars is much easier than for others. It's not because the ones not so written about aren't appealing - I know not why it's much more difficult to find a performance review for the Maserati GranTrismo. Yet, when searching the internet for the Aston Martin V8 Vantage GT, article after article seemed to be thrown at me. 110,000 range. The F-type is supplied by a supercharged 3.0-liter V-6 that encourages 340 hp, while the S models get a boost to 380 hp. The rear wheel drive has a six-speed manual and the new all-wheel-drive model has an eight-speed automatic. The Aston Martin V8 Vantage is the result of a 10 year-long line of serious road consuming automobiles. 117,225 for the roadster. A six-speed manual and a seven-speed single-clutch SportShift II automated manual are the transmissions available to Aston's lovely drivers. The GranTurismo Maserati was a little more difficult to peal the skin of, and although I'd call it my favorite choice of the three, it's a rather well-hidden treat. 132,825-182,009. You can literally spend as much on it as the highest end pricing of its competition to nearly twice the lowest end of the competition's pricing. This car is equipped with a 454-hp 4.7-liter V-8 making you think you fit in nicely with the Jaguar and the Aston Martin, yet, you can also run along class with the Gallardo and its well-known cousin Ferrari. Neither the Jaguar nor the Aston fit into this prestigious category. All in all, if you want to fit in to the world of auto drivers without being checked out by every single bling-seeking maniac, the Jaguar will keep you feeling the most conservative. Although the two share so much in common, including chassis and engine, Aston has finally taken itself a little higher and supplied it's very own likes.