Toyota CEO: Trump threat 'makes me feel sad'

WASHINGTON — Toyota CEO Akio Toyoda defended the automaker's role in the American economy as the Trump administration continues to consider labeling imported vehicles as a national security threat.

"I just don't know why they call it a national security threat. That really makes me feel sad," Toyoda said through an interpreter at the Economic Club of Washington, D.C. "I hope that this kind of conversation can go away."

The Japanese automaker is concerned about the possibility of increased tariffs on imported vehicles, which may be the Trump administration's next step after the national-security threat decision.

That Toyoda himself came to Washington to discuss the automaker's commitment to America illustrates the depth of the company's concern. Toyoda makes few high-profile public appearances in the U.S. aside from the annual Detroit auto show.

Toyota CEO Akio Toyoda speaks at the 2017 Detroit auto show. (Photo: Toyota Motor Corporation)

Since Trump began attacking foreign imports after taking office, Toyota has taken steps to emphasize its U.S. investments. The automaker announced Thursday that it will invest $13 billion in the U.S. from 2017 to 2022, up from a previous plan of $10 billion.

Toyota ups investments: Will spend $3B more in U.S. manufacturing operations

It's back: Toyota Supra is revived at Detroit auto show

But the automaker continues to import about half of the vehicles it sells in the U.S., exposing the company to potentially steep costs if the Trump administration imposes increased duties.

"Regardless of the direction we go, we will never leave the United States," Toyoda said. "We will stay here."

Follow USA TODAY reporter Nathan Bomey on Twitter @NathanBomey.

Insys Therapeutics Inc (INSY) Files 10-K for the Fiscal Year Ended on December 31, 2018

Insys Therapeutics Inc (NASDAQ:INSY) files its latest 10-K with SEC for the fiscal year ended on December 31, 2018. Insys Therapeutics Inc develops and commercializes drugs delivery systems targeting the oncology space. The company manufactures cannabinoid formulation, and sublingual spray drug delivery technology for the US and Europe markets. Insys Therapeutics Inc has a market cap of $421.852 million; its shares were traded at around $5.68 with and P/S ratio of 4.32.

For the last quarter Insys Therapeutics Inc reported a revenue of $16.4 million, compared with the revenue of $31.49 million during the same period a year ago. For the latest fiscal year the company reported a revenue of $82.1 million, a decrease of 41.7% from the previous year. For the last five years Insys Therapeutics Inc had an average revenue decline of 7.1% a year.

The reported loss per diluted share was $1.68 for the year, an increase of -46.8% from previous year. The Insys Therapeutics Inc had an operating margin of -135.17%, compared with the operating margin of -42.18% a year before. The 10-year historical median operating margin of Insys Therapeutics Inc is -42.18%. The profitability rank of the company is 5 (out of 10).

At the end of the fiscal year, Insys Therapeutics Inc has the cash and cash equivalents of $31.6 million, compared with $32.0 million in the previous year. The company had no long term debt. The interest coverage to the debt is 1.9, which is not a favorable level. Insys Therapeutics Inc has a financial strength rank of 6 (out of 10).

At the current stock price of $5.68, Insys Therapeutics Inc is traded at close to its historical median P/S valuation band of $5.99. The P/S ratio of the stock is 4.32, while the historical median P/S ratio is 4.52. The stock lost 22.03% during the past 12 months.

For the complete 20-year historical financial data of INSY, click here.

Cramer's grocery list: Buy Amazon and Costco. Sell Kroger

Amazon has plans to make another big splash in the grocery industry and Costco may be the only company prepared to defend its market share, CNBC's Jim Cramer said Monday.

The "Mad Money" host recommended that investors can buy shares of both Amazon and Costco, but they should sell their stake in Kroger. Although Amazon is already bagging groceries with Whole Foods, Cramer called the new supermarket venture "icing on the cake."

"Now I did some digging over the weekend and ... I now feel pretty confident to say Amazon will be making a major, major push into the supermarket space probably sooner rather than later," he said. "My sources suggest that Amazon's expansion here may be much more significant than what we initially thought after reading that [Wall Street] Journal article."

Competition in a crowded supermarket segment has begun eating into the Kroger franchise, Cramer said. The chain's stock price plunged double digits last Thursday after it came up short on earnings and revenue in its fiscal fourth quarter. Revenue was down 9.5 percent compared to the same quarter a year prior and 2019 earnings guidance was as much as 4.8 percent lower than what Wall Street expected.

Shares of Kroger are down nearly 11 percent this year and up about 1.8 percent year over year.

"Kroger's become a punching bag, and while the stock might seem cheap here about 11 times earnings, it's a value trap," Cramer said. "It's only cheap if you believe the company can actually hit those forecasts. I think that's a mighty big if."

To make matters worse, Kroger could be investing $3 billion into its business this year that will cut into earnings, the host said.

"Nobody on Wall Street wants to hear that you're about to have a so-called investment year. An investment year is the kiss of death for your stock price," he said. "[Kroger has] nothing that really sets it apart from the rest of the industry right now, which is why the company now needs to spend a fortune to fend off its rivals."

Costco, on the other hand, is telling a different story. In its latest quarterly earnings, the wholesale grocer reported that same-store sales grew 6.7 percent, compared to Wall Street's 5.5 percent estimate, and its margins expanded, Cramer said. Although the stock is down about $16 from its all time high it set last September, the price is up about 12 percent this year and about 21 percent in the past 12 months.

The host argued that Costco is poised to compete with whatever Amazon may have up its sleeve.

"I remain a big fan of Costco. I adore their membership model. I always re-up, which I think is one of the best value propositions out there right now, because the bargains at Costco are practically unbeatable," he said. "Costco can thrive because their membership model gives them a major edge."

Disclosure: Cramer's charitable trust owns shares of Amazon.

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The Week Ahead: Buy, Sell Or Hold?

&l;p&g;&l;img class=&q;dam-image getty size-large wp-image-1128614269&q; src=&q;https://specials-images.forbesimg.com/dam/imageserve/1128614269/960x0.jpg?fit=scale&q; data-height=&q;618&q; data-width=&q;960&q;&g; Traders work on the floor of the New York Stock Exchange (Photo credit should read JOHANNES EISELE/AFP/Getty Images)

Monday&s;s action set the tone for the whole week. In response to bullish hopes for a trade deal, the S&a;amp;P 500 opened ten points higher and made a significant rebound high at 2816.88. The high was made in the first thirty minutes of trading, but by 12 PM Eastern time, the S&a;amp;P 500 was down 25 points.

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The market tried to rebound Tuesday, but the sellers took over again on Wednesday. It was a rough week, with the Russell 2000 down 4.26%, and the Dow Jones Transportation Average down 3.3%. However, both are still showing a double-digit YTD gain.

That is also true for the Nasdaq 100, which held up better last week than the Dow Industrials or S&a;amp;P 500. The selling increased as the week progressed, and the much weaker-than-expected jobs report on Friday was not reassuring for investors or traders.

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There were some significant changes in the daily technical outlook last week. The iShares Russell 2000 (IWM), which led the other market-tracking ETF&s;s from the December lows, is already down 5.6% from the February 25&l;sup&g;th&l;/sup&g; high. The daily &l;a href=&q;http://www.viperreport.com/how-to-use-starc-bands-one-of-my-favorite-chart-tools-of-all-time/&q; target=&q;_blank&q;&g;starc- band&l;/a&g; has been tested for the last three days, which is a sign that IWM is oversold.

The former downtrend (line a) is now being tested with the next band of good support in the $147-148 area. There is first resistance at $154 and at the declining 20-day EMA. The daily Russell 2000 A/D line made a new high with prices in February but dropped below its WMA last Tuesday, March 5&l;sup&g;th&l;/sup&g; (line c). The A/D line has already reached the start of next good support (line b).

&l;img class=&q;size-full wp-image-20871&q; src=&q;http://blogs-images.forbes.com/tomaspray/files/2019/03/WA3-8cBigB.jpg?width=960&q; alt=&q;&q; data-height=&q;352&q; data-width=&q;720&q;&g;

With Wednesday&a;rsquo;s close, the daily &l;a href=&q;http://www.viperreport.com/ad-line-market-timing-stock-picking-trading/&q; target=&q;_blank&q;&g;advance/decline lines&l;/a&g; for the S&a;amp;P 500, Nasdaq 100, and NYSE (Stocks-Only) also dropped below their WMA&s;s. This turned my daily Viper A/D Trend analysis negative for the first time since January 4. By the end of the week, all of the A/D lines were below their WMA&s;s.

&l;img class=&q;size-full wp-image-20868&q; src=&q;http://blogs-images.forbes.com/tomaspray/files/2019/03/WA3-8d.jpg?width=960&q; alt=&q;&q; data-height=&q;745&q; data-width=&q;875&q;&g;

The weekly chart of the Spyder Trust (SPY) shows that it closed last week below the prior week&a;rsquo;s doji low of $277.48. This generated a weekly doji sell signal (&l;a href=&q;https://www.forbes.com/sites/tomaspray/2019/02/13/one-chart-formation-you-shouldnt-ignore/&q;&g;One Chart Formation You Shouldn&a;rsquo;t Ignore&l;/a&g;). The 20-week EMA is at $270.03, while the QPivot is at $258.96.

There were a number of other ETF&s;s that triggered weekly doji sell signals last week including: Invesco QQQ Trust (QQQ), First Trust Dow Jones Internet (FDN), iShares Russell 100 Growth (IWF) and Health Care Sector Select (XLV).

In a prior article (&l;a href=&q;https://www.forbes.com/sites/tomaspray/2017/06/24/avoid-market-noise-with-one-number-each-quarter/&q;&g;Investors Should Follow The Quarterly Trend&l;/a&g;), I discussed how a week-ending close above or below the QPivot can indicate a change in trend. I am not expecting the SPY to now drop another 5.6% to its QPivot but that is why I monitor the data daily. What&s;s more likely is a pullback to the WMA, similar to what occurred in June 2018 (point a). That decline was also triggered by a doji sell signal.

Given that Saturday was the 10-year anniversary of the March 9, 2009 market bottom, it is not surprising that there are a number of articles that are cautious or bearish on the stock market. As is often the case, the most bearish commentary is often &a;ldquo;sponsored content&a;ldquo; which seems designed to increase investor fear.

One interesting observation discusses the &l;a href=&q;https://papers.ssrn.com/sol3/papers.cfm?abstract_id=208623&q; target=&q;_blank&q;&g;&a;ldquo;Daylight Savings Anomaly&l;/a&g;&a;rdquo; which discusses the historically low returns on the Monday after the change to daylight savings time. The stock market&a;rsquo;s late rebound on Friday afternoon does suggest a more positive bias for Monday. The S&a;amp;P 500 had an intra-day low of 2722 on Friday, but then closed at 2743, while the advance/decline ratio improved all day.

The Friday rebound and technical data does favor an oversold rally this week. I will be watching the market internals closely for signs that the rebound is failing. Such a failure will make a drop below last week&a;rsquo;s lows much more likely. The positive readings from the weekly A/D lines do indicate that the correction will be a buying opportunity, as the intermediate- and long-term trends are still positive.

The yield on the 10-Year T-Note closed near the lows last week. As I predicted two weeks ago, this completed the flag formation (&l;a href=&q;https://thumbor.forbes.com/thumbor/960x0/https%3A%2F%2Fblogs-images.forbes.com%2Ftomaspray%2Ffiles%2F2019%2F02%2FWA2-25d.jpg&q; target=&q;_blank&q;&g;see chart&l;/a&g;). Momentum for the 10-Year Yield continues to point lower. We&s;ll have more on this market next week.

The very-weak jobs report is likely to be reversed in the coming months. The bearishness resulting from this month&s;s report is another caution to investors: don&s;t change your investing plan because of any one data point! On Monday, we get the January report on Retail Sales (remember, the very weak December drop caught the market by surprise). Also this week, we get the Consumer Price Index, Durable Goods, the Producer Price Index, New Home Sales, the Empire State Manufacturing Survey, Industrial Production, and Consumer Sentiment.

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Gold prices have pulled back sharply from the February 20 high, when the SPDR Gold Trust (GLD) reached $127.21. The 38.2% Fibonacci retracement support and 20-week EMA were tested last week before GLD gapped higher on Friday and closed strong.

There is next resistance at $124-$125, with the weekly starc+ band at $128.11. The weekly OBV turned positive in early October just after GLD closed above its QPivot. The OBV stayed positive on the pullback as it held well above its WMA. That is a sign of strength.

May crude oil dropped to a low of $54.87 early Friday, but closed at $56.43, up slightly for the week. The weekly technical studies are positive for crude oil, but the daily indicators are negative. The energy ETF&s;s are not acting well, as the SPDR S&a;amp;P Oil &a;amp; Gas Exploration and Production (XOP) closed down 7.7% for the week.

As for taking new market positions, I will be looking for both the A/D and volume analysis to signal that the worst of the selling is over before taking new long positions. I will be focusing on those sector ETF&s;s where the monthly technical studies are the strongest. A rebound early in the week should provide an opportunity to reduce trading positions while investors should be looking for good buy points at lower levels.

For those who followed the four-week dollar-cost averaging plan I recommended &l;a href=&q;https://www.forbes.com/sites/tomaspray/2018/12/23/will-there-be-a-not-going-out-of-business-rally/&q;&g;before Christmas&l;/a&g;, you should have sold 25% of the position on 2/25, as the S&a;amp;P 500 moved above 2805 and had a high of 2813.

The average entry price based on the S&a;amp;P 500 was 2497, so this position generated a 12% profit. I would hold the remaining long position as long as the S&a;amp;P 500 does not have a week-ending close below the QPivot at 2597. This stop will be changed in April.

In my &l;a href=&q;http://guides.viperreport.com/viper-etf/&q; target=&q;_blank&q;&g;Viper ETF Report&l;/a&g; and the &l;a href=&q;http://guides.viperreport.com/viper-hot-stocks/&q; target=&q;_blank&q;&g;Viper Hot Stocks Report&l;/a&g;, I provide my A/D line analysis twice each week with specific buy and sell advice. New subscribers also receive six trading lessons for just $34.95 each per month.

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Aegeus Market Capitalization Tops $60,647.00 (AEG)

Aegeus (CURRENCY:AEG) traded 2.5% lower against the dollar during the one day period ending at 18:00 PM Eastern on March 9th. Aegeus has a total market capitalization of $60,647.00 and $375.00 worth of Aegeus was traded on exchanges in the last day. One Aegeus coin can currently be purchased for approximately $0.0021 or 0.00000053 BTC on popular exchanges including CryptoBridge, Crex24, Graviex and CoinExchange. In the last seven days, Aegeus has traded 19.3% lower against the dollar.

Here’s how similar cryptocurrencies have performed in the last day:

Get Aegeus alerts: XRP (XRP) traded 1.3% higher against the dollar and now trades at $0.31 or 0.00007931 BTC. Binance Coin (BNB) traded 3% higher against the dollar and now trades at $14.56 or 0.00368154 BTC. Tether (USDT) traded down 0.2% against the dollar and now trades at $1.01 or 0.00025464 BTC. Stellar (XLM) traded up 3.1% against the dollar and now trades at $0.0897 or 0.00002269 BTC. TRON (TRX) traded up 1.6% against the dollar and now trades at $0.0229 or 0.00000580 BTC. Bitcoin SV (BSV) traded 1.9% higher against the dollar and now trades at $66.85 or 0.01690456 BTC. NEO (NEO) traded 1.6% higher against the dollar and now trades at $9.01 or 0.00227840 BTC. VeChain (VET) traded up 9.8% against the dollar and now trades at $0.0048 or 0.00000122 BTC. Basic Attention Token (BAT) traded 10.7% higher against the dollar and now trades at $0.21 or 0.00005346 BTC. TrueUSD (TUSD) traded down 0.1% against the dollar and now trades at $1.01 or 0.00025620 BTC.

About Aegeus

Aegeus’ total supply is 34,470,140 coins and its circulating supply is 29,197,378 coins. The official website for Aegeus is aegeus.io. Aegeus’ official Twitter account is @Aegeus_Coin and its Facebook page is accessible here. The Reddit community for Aegeus is /r/Aegeus_Coin_Official and the currency’s Github account can be viewed here.

Buying and Selling Aegeus

Aegeus can be traded on these cryptocurrency exchanges: CoinExchange, Graviex, CryptoBridge and Crex24. It is usually not presently possible to purchase alternative cryptocurrencies such as Aegeus directly using US dollars. Investors seeking to trade Aegeus should first purchase Ethereum or Bitcoin using an exchange that deals in US dollars such as Gemini, Coinbase or Changelly. Investors can then use their newly-acquired Ethereum or Bitcoin to purchase Aegeus using one of the aforementioned exchanges.

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