Business

Authored by Cyril Widdershoven via OilPrice.com,

There are still two to three days before the peak flooding - and damage - in Houston arrives, yet already Wall Street is trying to calculate how much the worst natural disaster in decades befalling the 4th largest American city will impact US GDP. Or rather boost it, because in two notes out late in the day Monday, one from Goldman and one from JPM, the authors come to two polar opposite conclusions: Goldman claims that the Houston natural disaster will reduce Q3 GDP by as much as 0.2%, while JPMorgan predicts that the "net impact on Q3 and Q4 GDP should be positive."

It seems as though the practice of using one's home as a personal ATM machine is making a 'yuge' comeback of late thanks, at least in part, to the same aggressive lending terms and attractive teaser rates that nearly sank the world economy just under a decade ago.  According the Wall Street Journal and Equifax, home equity originations soared to $46 billion in 2Q 2017, the highest level since the market collapsed in 2008.

Ten days after Foot Locker stock cratered on terrible guidance and dreadful commentary on the state of the retail industry, today its peer Finish Line cratered after hours, plunging more than 20% after it pre-released Q2 results while slashing full year EPS guidance by 50%.

For Q2, FINL reported net sales of $469.4 million, down 3.3% Y/Y driven by a 4.6% drop in Finish Line comparable sales. Based on the decline in sales and pressure on gross margin from increased markdowns, the company now expects to report second quarter earnings per share in the range of $0.08 to $0.12.

The governor of the Bank of Mexico believes bitcoin and other digital currencies should be classified as commodities, not currencies, echoing the conclusion of the US Commodity Futures Trading Commission, which decreed in 2015 that cryptocurrencies would be treated like commodities.