National Bank of Greece ADR Resumed Trading on the OTC Market

Posted by David Hunkar on 10 December 2015, 3:21 am

On Nov 27, the NYSE announced the delisting of National Bank of Greece(NBG) ADR. Since then NBG investors could not trade the stock. As the ADR was delisted investors hoping to get out could not even sell the stock. However as of last Friday (Dec 4th), NBG started trading on the OTC market under the ticker NBGGY.

Today the stock closed down over 27% and ended the day at $0.42.

As announced earlier, a new reverse split of 1:15 was implemented on Dec 3, 2015. So the current price is after that revere split.

In addition, preference ADR holders can convert to common ADRs according to the depository BNY Mellon. Each Preferred ADR will receive one Common ADR. Full details on this conversion can be found here.

What to do if you hold NBG shares?

By now your broker would have converted the ticker to NBGGY and show the appropriate closing price. Investors planning to take a loss and move on, can now sell the shares on the OTC market to buyers.

Related:

Avoid National Bank of Greece After 3rd Reverse Split In 5 Years, Nov 21, 2015

Railroad Operator CSX to Move Listing from NYSE to Nasdaq

Posted by David Hunkar on 10 December 2015, 3:11 am

Eight railroad companies currently trade on the New York Stock Exchange. Out of these five are American railroads. Now CSX Corporation, one of the Class I railroads is moving its stock listing from the NYSE to NASDAQ effective after the market close of December 21, 2015. The ticker will continue to remain “CSX“.

Below is an excerpt the press release:

JACKSONVILLE, Fla., Dec. 9, 2015 /PRNewswire/ — CSX Corporation (NYSE: CSX) announced today that the company will voluntarily transfer its stock exchange listing from the New York Stock Exchange to The Nasdaq Global Select Market, effective after market close on December 21, 2015. The company’s common stock will continue to trade under its existing “CSX” symbol.

“Moving to The Nasdaq Global Select Market provides new opportunities and synergies for CSX, and more closely aligns with the platform where most of our trading activity already takes place,” said Frank Lonegro, executive vice president and chief financial officer, CSX. “This decision is consistent with our commitment to reduce costs and uphold consistently high standards of corporate governance.”

“CSX Corporation is a critical player in the global supply chain and represents the type of growth-oriented and industry-defining companies that call Nasdaq home,” said Nelson Griggs, Executive Vice President, Listing Services, Nasdaq. “We are proud to welcome CSX Corporation to the Nasdaq family and look forward to our long-term partnership with the company and its shareholders.”

More info can be found at the CSX investor relations site.

For investors this move will not impact in any way.

Disclosure: Long CSX

As the Oil and Commodities Crash Continues, Stocks To Consider For Investment

Posted by David Hunkar on 9 December 2015, 3:21 am

Crude oil prices fell to a six-year low today and traded under $37 today.Prices of other commodities such as Iron Ore, Copper, Coal, etc. have also declined heavily in the past few months hurting miners. The S&P 500 is flat year-to-date. Though the US market has been through trials and tribulations over the past 11 months, it has gone basically nowhere based on S&P 500 returns. Though US stocks are poor performers until so far this year many developed European markets had decent gains.

Some investors may be tempted to abandon the equity market. However that is not a good idea now. Here are three factors to consider before avoiding or selling stocks:

A few months ago world equity markets declined sharply due to the collapse of Chinese stock markets. However after China implemented policies to prop-up the equity markets, global markets recovered quickly within a short period of time. At one point during the China-triggered panic it seemed that China may push the global economy into a recession and may even cause a new Global Financial Crisis. But when investors realized that China can’t possibly trigger a worldwide meltdown, they returned to the markets. So simply dumping stocks because of China fears is not a wise move.
Though crude oil prices have plunged to multi-year lows, oil is one of the most volatile commodities in the world. So investors should take that into consideration before making any buy or sell decisions during high volatility.
Even when commodities and oil prices decline, there are winners and losers. For example, lower oil prices benefit heavy users of oil such as chemical manufacturers because oil is one of the major ingredients in the manufacture of chemicals.

Investors looking to deploy cash at current levels can consider researching some of the stocks mentioned below for potential additions:

Technip (TKPPY) – Most firms in the Oil Equipment & Services sector have seen their stocks crushed in the past year or so due to lower oil prices. France-based Technip is no exception. But trading under $12 now it is a good long-term bet since the order book is strong and the company took decisive actions recently including worker layoffs.

Bancolombia SA(CIB) – Colombia bank has a 4.98% dividend yield and currently trades at around $24 a share. The stock has fallen sharply recently since Colombia is a big oil producer and exporter.In addition, the decline in the value of peso has also contributed to fall in share price.

DBS Group Holdings Ltd (DBSDY) – Singapore-based bank has been affected due to the its exposure to China. But DBS is a strong bank with a solid management and has growing operations in other Asian countries outside of China.

Some of the other stocks that investors can keep on their radar ar: Empresa Nacional de Electricidad S.A. (EOC), Legal & General Group Plc (LGGNY), Fresenius Medical Care AG & Co. KGAA (FMS),LyondellBasell Industries N.V. (LYB) and BASF SE (BASFY).

Disclosure: Long TKPPY and CIB

Healthcare Costs Per Capita: U.S. vs Select Developed Countries

Posted by David Hunkar on 8 December 2015, 3:11 am

The U.S. spends more than twice on health care costs per person than the average developed country does, according to OECD data.

Click to enlarge

Source: Per Capita Healthcare Costs — International Comparison, Peter G.Peterson Foundation

One of the major failures of the Affordable Care Act passed a few years ago is that it does nothing to reduce the cost of healthcare. As a result healthcare costs continue to soar year after year for the majority of the people.