Congress is set to pass new stimulus checks — here's when to expect yours

Votes are likely as early as Sunday. How much will you get — and when?

Dow Jones Futures: Stock Market Rally Awaits Stimulus Deal Vote; Three Dow Giants Set To Jump

A stimulus deal vote could come Sunday, with Nike, Goldman and JPMorgan set to jump on news. The Moderna vaccine is being shipped. Tesla joins the S&P 500.

These are the 17 worst companies to work for in America

Whether it's a toxic culture or abysmal pay, the message is clear: Stay away.

Trump Signs Bill That Could Lead To Delisting Of Chinese Stocks Including Nio, Li, Xpeng, Alibaba

U.S. President Donald Trump has signed a bill calling for the delisting of foreign companies that don't adhere to the same accounting transparency standards that securities regulators impose on public U.S. firms.Why It Matters: The Holding Foreign Companies Accountable Act takes aim at Chinese companies and drew rare strong bipartisan support in the U.S. Congress before arriving on Trump's desk.The act says delisting could happen if a given company doesn't comply with audit inspections three years in a row.China's government does not allow the board to perform audit inspections of Chinese companies listed in the US. Audit inspections are performed on other U.S.-listed companies by the Public Company Accounting Oversight Board, set up after accounting scandals such as the one that blew up Enron in the early 2000s.Chinese companies listed in the U.S. have been embroiled in financial scandals in the past -- including Luckin Coffee Inc - ADR (OTC: LKNCY) this year, which led to a Nasdaq delisting.Sixteen Chinese companies have delisted since February 2019, according to a government report in October.Carson Block, who has made himself a short-selling star through his investigations into Chinese companies, has called for the delisting of Chinese firms, saying to Bloomberg last month: "This is China and the Chinese stock promotion, manipulation fraud machine laughing in the face of the SEC."What's Next: Markets now await any news on specific delistings. The bill could affect 217 Chinese companies, including popular stocks such as Alibaba Group Holding Ltd - ADR (NYSE: BABA), JD.Com Inc (NASDAQ: JD), Nio Inc - ADR (NYSE: NIO), Xpeng Inc - ADR (NYSE: XPEV) and Li Auto Inc. (NASDAQ: LI).But because of the three-year compliance timeline in the act, delistings may not be imminent.The author of this article holds shares in Luckin Coffee and an inverse ETF that tracks the downward performance of Chinese companies listed in Hong Kong.Photo credit: Xpeng Motor Technology Ltd.See more from Benzinga * Click here for options trades from Benzinga * Klarna Could Follow Affirm Holdings In Delaying Anticipated 'Buy Now, Pay Later' Fintech IPO * FTSE Russell To Drop 8 Chinese Companies From Some Indices, In Response To US Blacklist(C) 2020 Benzinga.com. Benzinga does not provide investment advice. All rights reserved.

Here Are Barron’s 10 Top Stocks for the New Year

The group offers good appreciation potential, while providing some downside protection if the stock market falters in 2021.

Bearish Bets: 2 Stocks You Really Should Consider Shorting This Week

Using technical analysis of the charts of those stocks, and, when appropriate, recent actions and grades from TheStreet's Quant Ratings, we zero in on five names. While we will not be weighing in with fundamental analysis, we hope this piece will give investors interested in stocks on the way down a good starting point to do further homework on the names. Overstock.com Inc. recently was downgraded to Sell with a D+ rating by TheStreet's Quant Ratings.

Escape from NY: Analyst warns exodus means the city won’t be a ‘billionaire playground’ anymore

The ensuing exodus for less expensive areas that offer lifestyle and tax benefits won't be temporary, according to one Wall Street watcher.

These Are The 5 Best Stocks To Buy And Watch Now

Buying a stock is easy, but buying the right stock without a time-tested strategy is incredibly hard. So what are the best stocks to buy now or put on a watchlist?

Fed Decision Could Bring Bank Stocks Into Bull Market

Traders waiting for a better moment to get into bank stocks may have gotten one.What Happened: The U.S. Federal Reserve Board released a statement after markets closed on Friday that clears the way for major banks to restart share repurchases.The decision was part of the Fed's stress-testing of banks amid the economic uncertainty of the pandemic. The board, seeing healthy capital reserves among the banks, passed the 33 firms it tested while also allowing them to restart limited share repurchasing. Such purchases had been paused earlier in the pandemic.Why It Matters: Though they have not done poorly, bank stocks haven't benefited as much from the 2020 bull market as other some other industries.The decision could change this going into the new year, as stock repurchases add support to share prices by boosting demand.According to Bloomberg, six biggest U.S. banks could buy back as much as $11 billion of shares in the first quarter of next year.Trading Action: The Fed announcement came at 4:30 EST on Friday. The Financial Select Sector SPDR Fund (NYSE: XLF), which includes major banks JPMorgan Chase & Co. (NYSE: JPM), Bank of America Corp (NYSE: BAC), Citigroup Inc (NYSE: C), Wells Fargo & Co (NYSE: WFC), Goldman Sachs Group Inc (NYSE: GS), and Morgan Stanley (NYSE: MS) in its holdings, closed up 3% in afterhours trading from Friday's close of $28.49. Photo credit: Joe Mabel, WikimediaSee more from Benzinga * Click here for options trades from Benzinga * Klarna Could Follow Affirm Holdings In Delaying Anticipated 'Buy Now, Pay Later' Fintech IPO * Ouch. Airbnb Hosts Missed Email Offering Them Pre-IPO Shares: NPR(C) 2020 Benzinga.com. Benzinga does not provide investment advice. All rights reserved.

Santa Claus Rally, holiday-shortened week: What to know in the week ahead

This week is set to be quiet as traders wind down for the holidays. Relatively few economic and earnings reports are set for release, and virtually all of these will be packed into the first three days of the week.

Learn a Lesson From Luckin Coffee — and Avoid It in the Process

You may remember Luckin Coffee (OTCMKTS:LKNCY) as the ticker symbol LK. That’s no longer the case. After revelations this past year, Luckin Coffee stock was relegated to the over-the-counter market.  Source: NewsToday / Shutterstock.com This was once a promising growth stock, but it led investors astray when top management was dishonest about sales, among other things. While the company looked like it was about to go from modest coffeehouse to perennial powerhouse, Luckin just couldn’t resist cooking the books.  So, rather than burning its coffee, the company burned its investors. And while it was a great growth story then and showed plenty of promise, it was also a dishonest representation of the opportunity investors are seeing in China. InvestorPlace - Stock Market News, Stock Advice & Trading Tips My point? Let Luckin Coffee stock serve as your reminder to do your due diligence.  Luckin Coffee Stock in a Nutshell Before it got caught, there was writing on the wall for Luckin Coffee stock. Specifically, Muddy Waters had published research about its questionable accounting practices. That work was published on Jan. 31. 

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The report came just a few weeks after Luckin hit an all-time high and the news sent a jolt of volatility into the share price. Shares fell as much as 27% in a single day. However, Luckin was able to recover some of those losses, ending lower by “just” 10.7% on the day.  Then on Feb. 3, the company denied the report, buying investors some time to assess the news.  However, the truth always catches up. On Apr. 2, shares plunged as low as 81% after the company said it had accounting irregularities regarding its revenue. Days later, it was halted for more than a month.  The worst part about all of this? Not only did the company defraud investors, but it hadn’t even been public for a year at that point. It’s stint on the public market was impressive and had bulls looking for a long-term home run. Instead, they were beaned in the batter’s box and rather than trotting to first, they were ruled out.  What can we take out of this?

Well, I’d love to sit here and say every investor should do their forensic due diligence. However, the reality is that many won’t because it’s too hard or takes up too much time. Heck, look at how many pros missed this one.  But where there’s smoke, there’s fire. Bulls had a few months to bail out on Luckin once the reports were published. Many didn’t. So, while not every published short report equates to fraud, I’m suggesting we look at even our favorite stocks with an open mind.  Now What? Click to EnlargeSource: Chart courtesy of StockCharts.com Now traded on OTCMKTS, shares in Luckin Coffee stock were up 79% as of Dec. 16 from the August low. Then on Dec. 17, shares rocketed higher by almost 100% on the day. Today, the stock is even higher at $10.24. So, is that a sign to jump in? No — it’s time to move on. Whether you were burned by this name or not, investors should part ways with the coffee company.  Why? Because once a stock is relegated to the pink sheets, there’s a very good reason that it’s there. So, while Luckin may further recover, it’s too tainted to buy. Don’t get sucked into a low-liquidity over-the-counter asset by trying to catch this falling knife.  Instead, just take Luckin as a lesson learned to do better due diligence, no matter how bullish or bearish the market is on a particular security.  Moreover, there’s something else to keep in mind with this stock. The news with Luckin dealt a blow to the reputation of Chinese stocks and that’s not fair. Luckin was the first Chinese stock with accounting issues and it won’t be the last. But as investors, we can’t paint the entire group of Chinese stocks with the same brush. So, while the Luckin situation reminds us to be wary, it also doesn’t discredit the many Chinese businesses that are absolutely crushing it. Remember, China has a population of 1.4 billion. Its economic growth also outpaces most of the developed world, while its middle class is larger than the entire U.S. population.  There is opportunity in China. Just no longer with Luckin Coffee stock.  On the date of publication, neither Matt McCall nor the InvestorPlace Research Staff member primarily responsible for this article held (either directly or indirectly) any positions in the securities mentioned in this article.  Matthew McCall left Wall Street to actually help investors –by getting them into the world’s biggest, most revolutionary trends BEFORE anyone else. Click here to see what Matt has up his sleeve now. More From InvestorPlace

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The post Learn a Lesson From Luckin Coffee — and Avoid It in the Process appeared first on InvestorPlace.

Ray Dalio says son killed in Connecticut car accident

Billionaire hedge fund investor Ray Dalio has tweeted about the death of his 42-year-old son, killed this week in a car accident.

Will AT&T Or Verizon Stock Grow More By 2022?

Every week, Benzinga conducts a sentiment survey to find out what traders are most excited about, interested in or thinking about as they manage and build their personal portfolios.We surveyed a group of over 300 Benzinga investors on whether shares of AT&T Inc. (NYSE: T) or Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE: VZ) stock would grow the most by 2022.AT&T Vs. Verizon Stock In 2020 wireless communication remains AT&T's largest business, contributing nearly 40% of revenue. As the second-largest U.S. wireless carrier, AT&T connects more than 100 million devices, including 63 million regular customers and 16 million prepaid customers.The consumer and entertainment segment, the company's second-largest revenue stream, includes the consumer fixed-line and DirecTV satellite television businesses, serving 20 million television and 14 million internet access customers.Meanwhile, Verizon is primarily a wireless business (70% of revenue and nearly all operating income). The company serves about 89 million regular and 4 million prepaid customers. Verizon connects another 24 million data devices, like tablets, via its nationwide network, making it the largest U.S. wireless carrier.As AT&T and Verizon are the nation's largest wireless carriers, it's expected they will be the most viable companies competing for the largest market share of 5G cellular technology in the coming years.Many respondents cited how they see Verizon leading the way in providing the most reliable 5G coverage in the near-term, and also noted the current video streaming partnership the company holds with Walt Disney Co (NYSE: DIS) and music streaming partnership with Apple Inc (NYSE: AAPL) as reasons Verizon is all the more attractive in 2021. Among the respondents, 62% told us Verizon will grow more over the next year, while 38% believe AT&T will experience greater gains by the end of 2022.This survey was conducted by Benzinga in December 2020 and included the responses of a diverse population of adults 18 or older.Opting into the survey was completely voluntary, with no incentives offered to potential respondents. The study reflects results from over 300 adults.Photo from Pixabay. See more from Benzinga * Click here for options trades from Benzinga * Will GE's Stock Reach By 2022? * Will Xpeng Or Li Auto Stock Grow More By 2022?(C) 2020 Benzinga.com. Benzinga does not provide investment advice. All rights reserved.

Cramer Shares His Thoughts On Wells Fargo, Caterpillar And More

On CNBC's "Mad Money Lightning Round," Jim Cramer said he believes in Charlie Scharf, the CEO of Wells Fargo & Co (NYSE: WFC). (The Federal Reserve Board gave banks the greenlight to restart share buybacks after the market close Friday.)MasTec, Inc. (NYSE: MTZ) is a winner, said Cramer. He likes infrastructure plays.Caterpillar Inc. (NYSE: CAT) could go to $200, said Cramer. He likes Deere & Company (NYSE: DE) more.Cramer likes Velodyne Lidar Inc (NASDAQ: VLDR) for that crowded space.Tupperware Brands Corporation (NYSE: TUP) is too hard to own, said Cramer. If he had bought it at a lower price, he would be selling now.Cramer would hold on to Freeport-McMoRan Inc (NYSE: FCX) even though it has already doubled. See more from Benzinga * Click here for options trades from Benzinga * 'Fast Money' Picks For December 21(C) 2020 Benzinga.com. Benzinga does not provide investment advice. All rights reserved.

Warren Buffett's 6 ways to keep your finances healthy during COVID

Here are lessons from the investing legend on how to survive the pandemic financially.

4 Chip Stocks That Can Rise Even More in 2021

The world’s growing appetite for 5G phones and other high-performance technology will mean more demand for semiconductors, according to Wells Fargo.

Advanced Micro Devices Looks Ready to Run to $100

The last time I wrote about Advanced Micro Devices (NASDAQ:AMD) was in mid-October. At the time, I argued that the company should use AMD stock for the entire Xilinx (NASDAQ:XLNX) acquisition, which at the time was still only a possibility, and not a sure thing. 

Source: Sundry Photography / Shutterstock.com InvestorPlace - Stock Market News, Stock Advice & Trading Tips Lo and behold, Chief Executive Officer Lisa Su announced on Oct. 27 that it would acquire Xilinx for $35 billion, with shareholders getting 1.7234 shares of AMD for every Xilinx share. Post-completion, AMD shareholders will own 74% of the combined company, while Xilinx shareholders will own the rest.  The purchase price values the combined entity at $135 billion. If it closes by the end of 2021, Lisa Su will continue as CEO of the combined company. Current CEO of Xilinx Victor Peng will become president and manage the Xilinx business along with some strategic growth initiatives.  Since the announcement, AMD stock is up 23% and is trading perilously close to $100. This is the stock’s second run at $100. Can it stick this time? 

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I’ll look at both sides of the argument.  AMD Stock Is Ready to Run Forget Xilinx for a moment, and consider AMD’s business so far in fiscal 2020.  AMD reported its third-quarter results at the same time as its acquisition of Xilinx. The company’s sales grew 56% year-over-year to $2.8 billion. Sequentially, they rose by 45%. In terms of operating income, its profits grew by 141% over last year to $449 million — a 160% increase on a sequential basis.  The business is much stronger today now that it routinely generates free cash flow (FCF) each quarter. In Q3 2020, it had FCF of $265 million, up from $179 million a year ago and $152 million at the end of June’s second quarter. In the first nine months of fiscal 2020, it had FCF of $297 million, up from -$124 million a year ago. 

Over the past three fiscal years, its trailing-12-month FCF has gone from -$130 million in 2018, to $280 million in 2019, to $700 million in 2020 through the first three quarters; it’s likely to go over $1 billion once the fourth-quarter results are in.  If you use enterprise values of $18.80 billion for 2018, $53.6 billion for 2019 and $115.8 billion for today, its FCF yield actually stayed around 0.6%, despite the fact its business has dramatically strengthened over the past 33 months.  To me, that suggests despite the big run, AMD stock is not overvalued relative to previous years. It might not be cheap, but based on its historical averages, I think the positives far outweigh the averages.  And that doesn’t even take into account what Xilinx could mean to its future growth.  Assuming the deal gets done in 2021, I think Xilinx investors can expect to be holding AMD shares worth more than $82.98 a share later in 2021.   It’s Ready to Take a Breather AMD’s performance over the past five years has been so off-the-charts good — its five-year annualized total return through Dec. 15 is 110.3% — that its year-to-date total return of 111% seems almost ordinary by comparison.  Yet, as I stated in my October article, up 3,849% over the past five years, it seems logical that regression to the mean would hit AMD stock at some point. Further, like Murphy’s Law says, it will rain on AMD’s Xilinx parade at some point in 2021.  After all, the share exchange ratio pegs AMD’s share price at $82.98 a share. As I write this, Xilinx shareholders sit on 16% unrealized gains on their future AMD stock. That’s good, no? The problem is, if the two companies hit regulatory hiccups, and AMD’s share price retreats into the low $70 range where it traded as recently as early November, the deal isn’t looking nearly as attractive for Xilinx shareholders.  As InvestorPlace’s Dana Blankenhorn stated at the time of the announcement, the risks to both companies’ shareholders are real. 

“No cash is being exchanged in the AMD-Xilinx deal. It’s all stock. For the $35 billion price to hold, AMD stock must stay strong through the end of 2021, because it will take a year to get this past American and (perhaps more important) Chinese regulators,” Dana wrote on Oct. 29.  “Meanwhile, the world will turn. Intel’s numbers were down because data centers slowed their spending. Large cloud companies increasingly dominate this market. There were 541 cloud data centers at mid-year with another 176 in the pipeline.” Essentially, Dana argues that Intel (NASDAQ:INTC) will rebound in 2021 as investors realize that the company will bounce back from its downturn in the past year. I find it hard to believe that AMD stock isn’t going to face some volatility in the year ahead. Trading at more than 13 times sales, about three times its average multiple over the past five years, any bad news could put $100 on ice for a significant chunk of time in 2021.  The Bottom Line I continue to believe in Lisa Su. As long as she’s in charge, it’s an excellent long-term hold.  “As I’ve noted several times in the past couple of years, she’s one of the best CEOs in America and worth every penny of her $58.5 million in 2019 total compensation,” I wrote in October.  And the fact Su was able to use 100% stock to pay for Xilinx is another feather in her cap. Transformative in nature, shareholders will forget about the dilution five years from now.  Do I think it will stick above $100? AMD reports its Q4 2020 results at the end of January. They’re going to be rock-solid. For this reason, I think it’s got a shot to stay in triple digits for an extended period. That said, if you don’t own AMD stock and are interested in buying, you might wait until you can get some in the $80 range. It’s bound to have a slump at some point in the first half of 2021.  Long-term, I continue to like AMD.  On the date of publication, Will Ashworth did not have (either directly or indirectly) any positions in the securities mentioned in this article.  Will Ashworth has written about investments full-time since 2008. Publications where he’s appeared include InvestorPlace, The Motley Fool Canada, Investopedia, Kiplinger, and several others in both the U.S. and Canada. He particularly enjoys creating model portfolios that stand the test of time. He lives in Halifax, Nova Scotia.   More From InvestorPlace

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Chip Stocks Fall On Report Microsoft Will Take Things In House

Microsoft Corp (NASDAQ: MSFT) is designing in-house processors for server computers running on the company's cloud services, a development which will reduce reliance on Intel Corporation's (NASDAQ: INTC) chip technology, according to a Bloomberg report.Several chips stocks fell on the news.Intel shares traded down 6.3% to $47.46. The stock has a 52-week high of $69.29 and a 52-week low of $43.61.Advanced Micro Devices, Inc. (NASDAQ: AMD) closed down 0.95% at $95.92 per share.Nvidia Corporation (NASDAQ: NVDA) shares traded down 0.52% to $530.88. The stock has a 52-week high of $589.07 and a 52-week low of $180.68.Xilinx, Inc. (NASDAQ: XLNX) shares traded down 1.76% to $149.19. The stock has a 52-week high of $154.12 and a 52-week low of $67.68.Micron Technology, Inc. (NASDAQ: MU) shares traded down 1.11% to $71.46. The stock has a 52-week high of $74.60 and a 52-week low of $31.13.See more from Benzinga * Click here for options trades from Benzinga * Why Tesla's Stock Is Trading Higher Today * Why DraftKings And Flutter Are Trading Lower Today(C) 2020 Benzinga.com. Benzinga does not provide investment advice. All rights reserved.

Apple and 5 More Stocks That Benefit as China’s Economy Keeps Surging

While most countries’ economies will shrink as a result of the coronavirus crisis, China’s gross domestic product is expected to grow 1.9% for 2020.