The Morgan Stanley Global Franchise Fund has released its first-quarter portfolio for 2020. Changes include new buys of Procter & Gamble Co. (PG) and LVMH Moet Hennessy Louis Vuitton SE (XPAR:MC), a sale of the existing Church & Dwight Co. Inc. (CHD) holding and additions to the Philip Morris International Inc. (PM) and Abbott Laboratories (ABT) positions.

The team follows a distinct and disciplined investment process based on bottom-up stock selection, with sector, industry and stock weightings driven by the team's assessment of each stock's quality and valuation characteristics. The team monitors signs of franchise abuse, including failing to

The global financial markets are facing an inevitable meltdown amid the coronavirus pandemic. Millions of people have already lost their jobs because of the deadly virus, while a slew of businesses have been forced to close.

The trend demonstrated by the non-farm payroll (NFP) numbers of the last three months indicates that the U.S. unemployment rate could reach the high single digits by the end of the year. This follows the assumption that more people will regain employment to push the rate below the current level of about 13%. Earlier on Wednesday, the International Monetary Fund released

The Yacktman Fund (Trades, Portfolio) sold shares of the following stocks during the first quarter of 2020.

Samsung Electronics

The firm cut the Samsung Electronics Co. Ltd (XKRX:005935) position by 14.71%. The portfolio was impacted by -1.89%.

Procter & Gamble

The guru's firm curbed its Procter & Gamble Co. (PG) holding by 38.3%. The portfolio was impacted by -1.88%.

The consumer product manufacturer has a market cap of $284 billion and an enterprise value of $306.27 billion.

GuruFocus gives the company a profitability

The Dow Jones Industrial Average closed at 23,664.64 on Wednesday with a loss of 218.45 points or -0.91%. The S&P 500 closed at 2,848.42 for a loss of 20.02 points or -0.70%. The Nasdaq Composite closed at 8,854.39 for a gain of 45.27 points or 0.51%. The VIX Volatility Index was higher at 33.98 for a gain of 0.37 points or 1.10%.

Wednesday’s market movers

Stocks closed mostly lower with the ADP private sector employment report showing a decrease in payrolls of 20.236 million in April. Coronavirus cases increased to over 1,220,200. Meanwhile, states continued reopening plans. President Trump said

Consumer essentials is a space that has been relatively more resilient to the Covid-19 pandemic and subequent quarantine measures than many other sectors. With consumers stocking essentials all over the world amidst the lockdown, Fast-Moving Consumer Goods (FMCG) giants like The Procter & Gamble Company (PG) are witnessing a temporary spike in revenues.

Procter & Gamble recently released strong results for its third quarter of fiscal 2020, while its stock price also showed good recovery from the market slump. The company’s range of products related to hygiene and cleanliness have got a strong boost.

Company overview

Procter & Gamble is

Procter & Gamble Co. (PG) released its third-quarter earnings before the market opened on April 17.

While the consumer goods manufacturer edged past earnings expectations, revenue lagged. The company cited a stronger dollar as the reason for the mixed results. Sales were driven higher as consumers bought large quantities of household items such as toilet paper, diapers and paper towels as a result of the coronavirus outbreak.

By the numbers

The consumer products giant recorded adjusted earnings of $1.17 per share, which reflected growth of 10.4% from the same period last year. Revenue of $17.2 billion rose 4.5% on

Amid the chaos caused by the Covid-19 pandemic, the agriculture sector has gotten a boost in recent weeks and could continue to rise heading into Easter weekend.

While consumers were stocking up on basic food staples like eggs, milk, chicken and flour, leading to shortages, Congress and the Trump administration were busy working on a $2 trillion stimulus bill that included up to $23.5 billion in assistance for farmers.

Although farmers and ranchers are intended to be the direct benefactors of the stimulus bill, several big farm products companies have seen their stocks gain since it was passed by Congress

The Dow Jones Industrial Average closed at 21,917.16 on Tuesday with a loss of 410.32 points or -1.84%. The S&P 500 closed at 2,584.59 for a loss of 42.06 points or -1.60%. The Nasdaq Composite closed at 7,700.10 for a loss of 74.05 points or -0.95%. The VIX Volatility Index was lower at 53.26 for a loss of 3.82 points or -6.69%.

For the month of March, the Nasdaq was down 10.1%, the S&P 500 fell 12.5% and the Dow Jones had a return of 13.7%. For the quarter, the Nasdaq was down 14.2%, the S&P 500 was down 20%

With markets alternating large swings up or down nearly every trading day for the past few weeks, investors continue to see the values of their retirement portfolios seesaw back and forth. This can be a paralyzing experience for some. As I write this, the S&P 500 is down more than 22% for the year.

I have focused on acquiring shares of the safer, more recession proof stocks for my own personal portfolio, like consumer staples, health care and utilities, during this time. While Covid-19 has resulted in many states ordering people to stay home unless traveling for work, medical care

Since the U.S. stock market peaked on Feb. 19, the S&P 500, which is often used as a benchmark, has fallen approximately 30% as of market opening on March 24. The SPDR S&P 500 (SPY) ETF, an exchange-traded fund that allows investors to easily buy into the S&P 500 companies, was also down 30% over the same time frame.

While ETFs do not have the same level of selectivity as investments in individual securities, they do offer a convenient means of diversification. Thus, ETFs in general are more defensive than common stock investments, and

The Dow Jones Industrial Average closed at 19,173.98 on Friday with a loss of 913.21 points or -4.55%. The S&P 500 closed at 2,304.92 for a loss of 104.47points or -4.34%. The Nasdaq Composite closed at 6,879.52 for a loss of 271.06 points or -3.79%. The VIX Volatility Index was lower at 66.04 for a loss of 5.96 points or -8.28%.

For the week, the Dow Jones was down 17.3%, the S&P 500 was down 14.9% and the Nasdaq fell 12.7%. For the year, the Dow Jones is down 29.6%, the S&P 500 is down 28.7% and the Nasdaq is

As February draws to a close, U.S. markets continue their downslide as fears of the new coronavirus (Covid-19) abound. In midday trading as of Feb. 28, the S&P 500 is down 13.09% from the previous week, marking the fastest correction since the financial crisis in 2008.

While stock prices inevitably take a hit during market corrections and recessions, their underlying companies may not all suffer as much as the general investing public fears. For example, people may buy fewer luxury goods in financially lean times, but few (if any) are going to stop buying essentials like food, toothpaste and toilet

The Dow Jones Industrial Average closed at 29,398.08 on Friday with a loss of 25.23 points or -0.09%. The S&P 500 closed at 3,380.16 for a gain of 6.22 points or 0.18%. The Nasdaq Composite closed at 9,731.18 for a gain of 19.21 points or 0.20%. The VIX Volatility Index was lower at 13.76 for a loss of 0.39 points or -2.76%.

For the week, the Dow Jones gained 2.2%, the S&P 500 gained 1.6% and the Nasdaq was up 1%. For the year, the Nasdaq is up 7%, the S&P 500 is up 3.8% and the Dow Jones is

The fast-moving consumer goods (referred to as “FMCG”) business is one of our favorite investable domains, as it produces small-ticket, everyday-use and nondurable items, the sales of which are repeatable, predictable and even non-cyclical in most cases.

You may find that this particular group has the most well-recognized, long-lasting brands as well as the most consistently high returns. However, that does not mean less competition (either within the group or from external forces), or a more promising growth prospect for all FMCG players equally. This is the primary reason why we remain highly selective in terms of picking long-term winners

How to identify and secure competitive advantages has been the theme of “Competition Demystified: A Radically Simplified Approach to Business Strategy.”

Yet, in chapter 18, the book’s final chapter, authors Bruce Greenwald and Judd Kahn focused on management and operational excellence. Why?

Because few companies enjoy solid competitive advantages, forcing most to compete every day with “a large and frequently elastic set of competitors.” Still, these companies without advantages can survive and even thrive by being as efficient and effective as possible in their business operations.

The rewards from excellent management, in both operational and administrative areas, can be as

An investor who finds a company with economies of scale may have found a company with a competitive advantage.

In chapter three of “Competition Demystified: A Radically Simplified Approach to Business Strategy,” Bruce Greenwald and Judd Kahn explored what economies of scale are, as well as their strengths and weaknesses. Investors will find this knowledge helpful when trying to determine if a company has a competitive advantage (aka a moat).

As noted in chapter one of the book, economies of scale is one form of a barrier-to-entry advantage; the other two are supply advantages and demand advantages, as described in

New Jersey-based Church & Dwight (CHD) is a leading U.S. consumer product business founded way back in 1846. The company mainly engages in the manufacturing and marketing of cleaning, hygiene and personal care products, such as baking soda, detergents, shampoos, pregnancy tests, toothbrushes and condoms. It sells its products domestically (82% of fiscal 2018 sales) and internationally (18%).

The main reason that we had Church & Dwight join our "Wonderful Business" universe is its predictability. The company has both an enduring competitive advantage and a consistent secular growth engine.

At Urbem, we appreciate easy-to-understand business models that sell

Procter & Gamble (PG) released its first-quarter results on Jan. 23 before market open.

While the company surpassed Wall Street’s bottom line expectations, revenue lagged. The company cited the stronger dollar as well as poor performance in the baby segment for the mixed results.

Despite the unsatisfactory quarterly results, the company has raised its outlook for 2020.

By the numbers

The consumer products giant recorded adjusted earnings of $1.42 per share, up 14% from the prior-year quarter. Net sales amounted to $18.2 billion, which reflected a gain of 5% on a year-over-year

The Dow Jones Industrial Average closed at 29,160.09 on Thursday with a loss of 26.18 points or -0.09%. The S&P 500 closed at 3,325.54 for a gain of 3.79 points or 0.11%. The Nasdaq Composite closed at 9,402.48 for a gain of 18.71 points or 0.20%. The VIX Volatility Index was higher at 13.00 for a gain of 0.09 points or 0.70%.

Thursday’s market movers

U.S. stocks closed mostly flat for a second day. In China, more cities were put on lockdown due to risks of an identified pneumonia virus. However, the World Health Organization has not yet designated the