It might sound like heresy to call the past week ?quiet? from a news perspective, given the election of a new Pope, the Dow?s impressive run to 10 consecutive up days, some fireworks on Capitol Hill surrounding JP Morgan, and a raft of market-related and other stories.
?(Image credit: Getty Images via @daylife)
But some of the drama surrounding the market?s head- and tailwinds over the past few weeks seemed to largely evaporate and was reflected in a VIX which had its lowest weekly close in years.
However, Samsung certainly attempted to inject its own brand of showmanship into the smartphone wars, with the launch event of the new Galaxy S4 at NYC?s historic Radio City Music Hall.
Fortune commented that, ?The lines to get in were longer that any Apple event? and ?The press presence was ridiculous?taking an hour to enter.?
A Forbes technology contributor, Larry Magid, called it ?the glitziest product introduction I?ve ever been to.?
And a Forrester Research piece, also in Forbes, punched a few holes in the fanfare surrounding the launch event:
Apple?s launch events may not have the singing and dancing that Samsung brought, but they do have a couple of things Samsung didn?t: details like pricing and a specific launch date by country and operator. Apple?s brand power allows it to ensure that these critical pieces of information come out at the launch ? and none of their competitors, not even Samsung, yet rises to that level.
The product itself, and the competitive challenge it poses to Apple, received tech and analyst reviews all over the place, ranging from ?the new king of smartphones? to ?not a game-changer.? You will just have to decide for yourself if the product lives up to Samsung?s co-CEO J.K. Shin?s lofty goal of introducing a device which is a ?Life Companion?which can join us on our life?s journey?with?innovations that make your life simpler and fuller.? (USA Today).
One analyst?s comments were watched particularly closely?those of noted tech analyst and seemingly perpetual Apple bull Gene Munster of Piper Jaffray. Munster showed some grudging respect but largely felt the Galaxy S4 was ?an incremental upgrade, with spec bumps mostly in line with expectations.? (Motley Fool). Munster added:
This is Samsung?s time right now. They are clearly gaining more attention this time around than they ever have? Despite the launch and fanfare around the Galaxy S4, we continue to believe that Apple will maintain a low 40% market share in the high-end smartphone market in CY13. (NY Times and Vancouver Sun).
The market voted with its wallet on Friday, ?selling the Samsung news,? with a rare recent day of AAPL gains on a market down day. For the week, AAPL put in a gain of +2.8%, much of that in Friday?s move higher. While breaking the win streak Friday, the major indices were modestly higher on the week: the S&P up +0.6%, the Dow +0.8%, and the Nasdaq Comp +0.1%.
Let?s take a look at what they were saying this week:
?Uh-oh, Greenspan sounds bullish.?? ?Barron?s on Saturday, a bit tongue-in-cheek, on the possible contra-indicator of former Fed Chairman Alan Greenspan?s interviews this week, adding, ?The Maestro declares stocks to be undervalued.?
?She has a grandiose plan to become the PowerPoint Pied Piper in Prada ankle boots reigniting the women?s revolution.?? ?A few weeks old editorial comment by the New York Times columnist Maureen Dowd, which was referenced constantly this week with the release of ?Lean In,??Facebook COO Sheryl Sandberg?s ?sort of Feminist Manifesto.?
?The banking system is in much better shape, able to absorb unexpected shocks and losses.?? ?former Fed Governor Randy Kroszner of the Univ. of Chicago Booth School of Business today on Maria Bartiromo?s ?On The Money,? reflecting on the latest round of bank stress test results released this week.
?The Incredible Burt Wonderstone has no humor up its sleeve.?? ?Various reviews, including USA Today, which all broke out any number of puns, from variations on ?It proves you can?t conjure up a plot? to ?You don?t have to be a Houdini to escape this movie.? (cinemadope.com). The film had its world premiere at the South by Southwest Conferences and Festivals but ?did not pull a white rabbit out of its top hat? at the box office on general release this weekend, looking to finish in third place. (EW.com)
?The number I reported (to the regulators) was the number that was given to me.?? ?former JP Morgan exec Ina Drew in testimony before Senator Carl Levin?s panel on the ?Whale Trading Loss? inquiry this week. (Huffington Post). While she stated she was ?sorry for the loss,? the general take was ?that Drew blamed the losses on executives under her watch who failed to control risks out of the London office.?
Rolling Stone?s columnist Matt Taibbi managed to work in a shot at nemesis Goldman Sachs in his panel blog coverage:
These early (JPM) witnesses are being smart, somberly nodding and agreeing with Levin every time he asks a question like, ?Weren?t you all being raving, irresponsible douchebags when you ignored these warnings of huge losses last year?? Big stylistic difference from the Goldman hearings, where the Goldman guys couldn?t resist letting their know-it-all attitudes leak out.
?There is reason to be optimistic (on a grand budget deal).?? ?Bloomberg interview with new U.S. Treasury Secretary Jack Lew, who stated, ?The President is putting in a great deal of effort on finding a bipartisan solution.?
?Disappointing recent numbers leave analysts divided about China?s growth prospects.?? ?WSJ, after China reported a surge in exports but relatively weak industrial production numbers, inflation concerns and softer domestic economic indications.
?More forceful action is warranted to cement recent gains in (European) market confidence and to end the crisis.?? ?an IMF statement this week (NY Times), lest we forget that European concerns have not totally disappeared amid the many analyst and commentator calls essentially seeing the ?start of a secular global equity bull market.?
?The GOP of old has grown stale and moss-covered. We don?t need to name names.?? ?Kentucky Senator Rand Paul at CPAC (Conservative Political Action Conference) this week in Maryland. (atlanticwire.com). NJ Governor Chris Christie was a notable non-invitee, but Politico called that perhaps ?a blessing in disguise?he will have plenty of time before 2016 to re-ingratiate himself with conservatives.?
?We are committed to continuing to maintain a first-rate compliance effort woven into the fabric of the firm.?? ?SAC Capital official press release after being hit with the SEC?s ?largest ever insider trading settlement? at around $600 million. (Forbes).
Let?s close it out there with just a quick look at some ?rumors? of the week.
There was continued speculation that a ?special dividend? was due shortly from Apple, that Yahoo had designs on Zynga, that Ron Johnson would shortly be relieved of CEO duties at JC Penney, and that Blackberry and Lenovo might get together. There were no definitive answers to these, although JCP adamantly dismissed the Johnson story (foxbusiness.com).
But we can definitively confirm the outcome of three of the more outrageous rumors:
-Dennis Rodman is not going to be appointed Special Envoy to the Vatican.
-Mayor Michael Bloomberg was likely not really sighted drinking a green-colored 32-oz. Slurpee at the NYC St. Patrick?s Day Parade.
-And despite what Jay Leno might have you believe, the Cardinals at the Papal Conclave did not break out in the ?Harlem Shake? at the end of deliberations. (See Tonight Show video here, courtesy NBC and YouTube).
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