News broke last night that the U.S. will impose a 5% tariff on all Mexican imports beginning on June 10 unless Mexico agrees to do more to address illegal immigration problems.  The tariff will increase 5% each month, reaching a maximum of 25% in October. Trump tweeted the 25% level would hold there "until Mexico substantially stops the illegal inflow of aliens coming through its territory." General Motors (GM) saw its stock price fall over 4% this morning. Most U.S. automakers source many of their vehicles and parts from Mexico, so import tariffs threaten to raise their cost of production and disrupt their supply chains, especially depending on how Mexico's government responds. The Wall Street Journal provided an excellent summary of various [...]

Amgen (AMGN) was founded in 1980 and is one of the world's leading biotechnology companies with operations in more than 100 countries. The business develops and manufactures treatments for oncology/hematology, cardiovascular, inflammation, bone health, nephrology, and neurological diseases.  About 77% of the firm's sales are derived from the U.S., and Amgen's product portfolio is concentrated in a handful of drugs (top 5 = 69% of revenue). In the first quarter of 2019, the company's most important drugs included: Enbrel (treats rheumatoid arthritis): 22% of sales (grew 4%)Neulasta (bone marrow stimulant used in cancer patients) 19% of sales (-12% growth)Prolia (treats osteoporosis in postmenopausal women) : 11% of sales (grew 20%)Xgeva (protects bones of cancer patients): 9% of sales (grew 6%)Aranesp (bone marrow stimulant used during [...]

Shares of Qualcomm (QCOM) fell as low as $49 earlier this year as investors fretted over the significant legal risks the company's core licensing business faced. Simply put, the firm was accused by Apple and others of abusing its monopolistic position in wireless chips and charging excessive royalty rates. Investors received good news in April when Apple agreed to drop all litigationagainst the company and signed a new licensing agreement, sending Qualcomm's stock surging more than 20%.  Qualcomm shares topped out at $89 in earlier this month (up more than 80% since February) but have since come crashing down. The stock's initial tumble began in earnest on Monday following the White House's decision to ban U.S. companies from selling to Chinese telecom [...]

Founded in 1898, Archer Daniels Midland (ADM) procures, transports, and processes corn, oilseeds, wheat, and other commodities which are turned into products for food, beverage, animal feed, chemical, and energy uses around the world.  The firm's end products include vegetable oil, protein meal, flour, corn sweeteners, starch, ethanol, and many other food and feed ingredients.  Archer Daniels Midland has an extensive global network of over 750 processing, distribution, and storage facilities, which it uses to efficiently transport and process various commodities and products for customers around the word.  The company operates through four main business segments: Oilseeds (44% of operating profit): processes soybeans and soft seeds into vegetable oils and protein meals. These products can be sold “as is” or further [...]