Diamonds and Dogs

7/16/18

Bank of America (BAC) shines today. The second-largest U.S. lender is up 3% after beating earnings estimates and hiking their dividend 25%. Bank of America was able to cut expenses while also growing loans and deposits on the back of a strengthening economy. Noninterest expense dropped 5 percent in the quarter from a year earlier as the bank trimmed headcount and worked on digitizing its retail operations to lower overhead.Bank of America will buy back $20 billion worth of stock in the next year. Impressive.

Oil taking a hit. Brent crude oil is down 4.5% and down 10% from its recent peak hit in May fitting the criteria of a correction. Monday's slump for crude comes amid growing demand concerns. Indeed, International Monetary Fund data show a slowdown in global economic growth, which could drive down appetite for the commodity. Moreover, reports have suggested that President Donald Trump is considering a release from the U.S. Strategic Petroleum Reserve, though a draw down from the stockpile of crude is not imminent.