After standing on the threshold for almost a week, the was S&P 500 index (SNPINDEX: ^ SPX) is back at a very high altitude. The index closed at 3389.78 on 18 August, up 7.8 points and above the previous high, reaching 19 February. This marks the fastest recovery of the bear market in history, with the index recovering all its losses in 126 trading days.
The index was leading today Amazon.com Inc (NASDAQ: AMZN), won 4% after reports came out yesterday that it was seeking to gain a minority stake Rackspace, the cloud service company known for quality customer service that often collaborates with Amazon’s AWS offering. Amazon also announced plans to invest $ 1.4 billion in rental and new office space. In other techniques, Oracle (NYSE: ORCL) is said to be introducing the offering of TikTok’s North American and some other assets.
On the earnings front are retail giants Walmart (NYSE: WMT) en Home Depot (NYSE: HD) published their latest quarterly results, reporting enormous growth in sales in the same store. In another news a closer look Berkshire Hathaway (NYSE: BRK.A)(NYSE: BRK.B) announcements show something surprising: Berkshire sold shares in 32 different companies in the first half of the year.
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Index fully recovered, most stocks still down
Today marks a major statistical and emotional moment, with the S&P 500 index recovering all its losses since mid-February. Of the 505 shares in the index, however, 284 are still below their prices at the beginning of the year. The influence of the tech giants at the top has buoyed the index. Amazon shares have been up 72% year-on-year, while Call has received 56% and Microsoft shares are up 33%. The three combine for more than $ 5 trillion in market cap, pulling the index higher while smaller laggards pull it down.
Is Oracle a player on TikTok bidding?
According to several news outlets, the database giant is apparently dealing with ByteDance, the owner of TikTok, and is ‘strongly considering’ making an offer to get the app for video sharing. Reports are that Oracle could offer as much as $ 50 billion for TikTok’s companies in North America, Australia and New Zealand.
Whether there are still merits to the rumors remains to be seen, and there seems to be no business reason for this deal. A cynical observer would think that Oracle automatically puts in the leading position. After all, big tech companies – including Oracle – have previously paid too much for purchases with bones that do not fit or create value.
Walmart, Home Depot wins coronavirus lockon
Millions of Americans sat at home in the second quarter, and two of the country’s largest retailers emerged as huge winners. Walmart reported that sales from the same store increased a massive 9.3%, with e-commerce sales almost doubling during the period. The mega-retailer, which offers almost everything under one roof, profited as a one-stop shop: Transactions fell 14%, but the average ticket grew 27% as people stocked up on items and made the most out of every store visit .
Home Depot sales went even higher. The home improvement giant reported that comps increased 25%, earning earnings per share up 27% as millions of homeowners took advantage of the lockdown to complete home improvement projects.
Berkshire sold shares in the first half of 2020
Berkshire Hathaway CEO Warren Buffett has long been Bullish on American business, and his track record of success over the past half century shows us how rewarding this Bullishness can be. However, Berkshire’s actions in the first half of 2020 were not exactly in line with Buffett’s usual sentiment.
As my colleague Sean Williams recently reported, Berkshire SEC published that the company sold shares in 32 separate companies in the first half of the year. This fully included selling his stake in nine companies, reducing double digits in another five, and more modest trimming of his stake in another 18.
Did Mrs. Warren miss the coronavirus crash? In a very real way, yes that seems to be the case. Buffett, however, clearly sees still some opportunity. Another claim revealed that more recently Berkshire has bought even more Bank of America (NYSE: BAC) shares. BofA is now Berkshire’s second largest holding, worth more than $ 25 billion, and it controls about 12% of the bank’s shares.
Has Buffett lost his touch? Do not give up so quickly. Berkshire’s best investment during the Global Financial Crisis occurred in 2010, more than a year after the stock reached the bottom.
