News

While geopolitical tensions rise and the Fed and European Central Bank hold important meetings, James Ragan, Director of Wealth Management Research for D.A. Davidson, helps investors drill down to what matters the most. Ragan discusses events’ effects on markets in “Stock market investors brace for week packed with Fed, ECB and North Korean drama,” a MarketWatch article by William Watts.Read the full article here.

Upcoming elections around the world are likely to start affecting markets soon, and D.A. Davidson’s Wealth Management Research Director, James Ragan, says U.S. investors are trying to price any changes into their decisions. Ragan addresses potential election effects in “A flood of upcoming elections around the globe could wreak havoc on the financial markets,” a CNBC article written by Fred Imbert.Read the full article here.

Can Swedish furniture retailer Ikea succeed with a new strategy? D.A. Davidson Research Analyst Tom Forte believes there is room in the online world for furniture sales. Forte addresses the issue in “Sorry, Glendale, Nashville, And Cary: Ikea Ain’t Opening Near You After All,” a Buzzfeed article written by Leticia Miranda.Read the full article here.

D.A. Davidson & Co. announced today that it has served as exclusive financial advisor to MediaPRO Holdings, LLC (“MediaPRO” or the “Company”), in securing a majority growth equity investment from Frontier Capital.

Microsoft has become the third most valuable company in the world by surging past Alphabet, which is Google’s parent company. Rishi Jaluria, Institutional Analyst for D.A. Davidson, outlines reasons for the increase in “Microsoft surpasses Google’s Alphabet to become 3rd most valuable company,” a Washington Post article written by Hamza Shaban.Read the full article here.

An increase in a key regulatory asset threshold for some banks could result in more banking mergers and acquisitions, according to speakers at D.A. Davidson’s recent Financial Institutions Conference in Denver. Rory McKinney, the firm’s Head of Investment Banking, said larger regional banks may be hungry for growth now that congressional action has removed a key factor that limited size. McKinney addressed the topic in “Will new banking law drive deals?” an article writte...

Apple Inc.’s new smart speaker is not quite taking the market by storm. However, Tom Forte, Institutional Analyst for D.A. Davidson, says it’s too early to discount the potential for Apple’s HomePod. Forte discusses the new product in “Apple’s HomePod Sales Trail Far Behind Those of Amazon Echo and Google Home,” an article by Francesca Fontana for TheStreet.com.Read the full article here.

The announcement that Fifth Third Bancorp Inc. would purchase MB Financial Inc. not only has boosted the stock price of MB Financial but also may have helped other banking shares move higher. Gene Katz, Investment Banker with D.A. Davidson, discusses the proposed merger’s possible effect on other banking stock prices, plus the effects of pending regulatory changes, in “Fifth Third-MB Financial deal boosts value of other Chicago area banks,” an article by Zachary Fox for S&P...

Hanmi Financial Corporation (NASDAQ: HAFC) has agreed to acquire Houston, Texas-based SWNB Bancorp, Inc., in a transaction valued at approximately $76.7 million.

What happens in other countries can affect U.S. markets more than we may assume, according to James Ragan, D.A. Davidson’s Director of Wealth Management Research. Ragan outlines the ways that geopolitics affects U.S. investors in “5 Geopolitical Hot Spots That Could Sway Markets,” a U.S. News & World Report article written by Coryanne Hicks.Read the full article here.