Why Formalize Your Investment Thesis?
For one thing, writing your ideas down helps you maintain a steady investment focus.
Later on, it provides a way for an individual investor to “look back” at each investment made over time. It’s an excellent way to assess and make a fresh examination of the reasons for making an original investment.
- Are those reasons still valid and believable?
- Is there still a firm basis for continued risk of capital, now that some time has passed?
- Have things changed, and if so, how?
Pfizer Inc. and partner BioNTech SE , the companies behind a two-dose Covid-19 vaccine, are seeking clearance from the Food and Drug Administration to provide booster shots to the general public. If the FDA greenlights the shots, the first doses could be distributed in September, the people said, as the first Americans who were vaccinated reach the eight-month window.
The S&P 500 has been in a long-term uptrend since the March 2020 pandemic lows. In September and October 2020, price began forming a rising wedge. However, each time the bottom trendline of the wedge was tested, the index was bought, and price moved back inside the wedge. Tuesday was no different. Price broke below the bottom trendline near 4440 and closed just above it. Notice that volume has been declining, as price has been moving higher, since May. The RSI has been moving lower as well.
Pharma Exposure Trimmed: The billionaire investor shed nearly half of its position in Merck & Co as it sold 666,398 shares in the pharma company, lowering the total stake to $712 million in the quarter ended June, from $1.38 billion a quarter ago.
In Bristol-Myers, Berkshire Hathaway reduced the investment by 15.3% to about 26.3 million shares in the second quarter, lowering the total stake to $1.76 billion from $1.96 billion at the end of the first quarter.
The veteran investor's firm, which managed assets worth $293 billion in the second quarter, also shed all of its positions in Biogen Inc (NASDAQ: BIIB) that was worth about $180 million. It also reduced the investment in AbbVie by 10% to $2.3 billion.
The investment firm added about 21% shares in the supermarket chain Kroger, whose shares have jumped about 37% this year. Berkshire Hathaway held about 61.8 million shares, worth $2.37 billion, in Kroger at the end of June.
“We had another strong quarter in every part of our business. Our global eCommerce sales are on track to reach $75 billion by the end of the year, further strengthening our position as a leader in omnichannel. We grew market share in U.S. grocery, added thousands of new sellers to our marketplace, rapidly grew advertising businesses around the world, and we’re finding innovative ways to commercialize our data and build technology. We have a unique ecosystem of products and services designed to serve customers in broader, deeper ways, and we’re grateful to our associates for making it all happen.”
Even after unprecedented growth over the last two years, we see much more opportunity ahead of us, and we're leaning into opportunities to invest in the long-term growth and resiliency of our business. Our team and operating model can seamlessly adapt to changes in the environment, and we're well-positioned to deliver outstanding performance in the back half of the year."
The Company now expects its full year operating income margin rate will be 8 percent or higher.
“Looking ahead, there remains much uncertainty regarding the sustainability of the positive external factors that benefited our first half results as well as the potential risks we may face from the spread of COVID variants and worsening industry-wide supply chain congestion. As a result, we are forecasting third quarter same store sales to be up 5% to 7% with earnings per share in the range of $0.61 to $0.69. This guidance reflects our expectation for escalating freight and supply chain costs, and ongoing COVID-related operating expenses.”
"(By 2023) the Spiritwood complex is expected to produce 600 million pounds of refined soybean oil annually, enough feedstock for 75 million gallons of renewable diesel per year."
"We believe renewable diesel demand may be as much as 5 billion gallons by 2025," said Ken Campbell, ADM's president of North America Oils, Biodiesel and Renewable Chemicals.


"We have gotten past that euphoria-type of rally where everything, all asset classes and all stocks, continued to rally," said Megan Horneman, director of portfolio strategy at Verdence Capital Advisors, which oversees about $3 billion in assets. Now “you have to be a bit more selective.”
Among investors’ key worries is the risk that the Fed, faced with stronger-than-expected inflation, begins pulling back on its support for the economy just as growth starts ebbing and the coronavirus’ Delta variant threatens to rollback reopenings across the country.
Walgreens is now offering flu shots for everyone ages 3 and up by walk-in or appointment at more than 9,000 store locations nationwide to help protect communities from vaccine-preventable illnesses such as influenza
Among the employers who announced vaccine mandates on Monday were CVS Health, which said it would require certain employees to be vaccinated by October 31, and New York City’s Department of Education, which will require all employees to receive their first dose by September 27. A Pentagon spokesperson said Monday the Department of Defense, the world’s largest employer, would mandate vaccines soon.
S&P MidCap 400 constituent Bio-Techne Corp.(NASD:TECH) will replace Maxim Integrated Products Inc. (NASD:MXIM) in the S&P 500
S&P 500 constituent Analog Devices Inc. (NASD:ADI) is acquiring Maxim Integrated Products in a deal pending final conditions.
Data showed the investigational HIV vaccine regimen did not provide sufficient protection against HIV infection in a population of young women in sub-Saharan Africa at high risk of acquiring HIV. The investigational vaccine was found to have a favorable safety profile with no serious adverse events.
ADM achieved net carbon neutral status at its U.S. mills through a combination of energy efficiencies, purchase of renewable energy certificates, and sequestration of carbon dioxide at the company’s commercial carbon capture and storage facility.