You win some. And you lose some. And then you win some agaon. On Tuesday, the Dow Jones Industrial Average (^DJI 0.56%) slipped and the S&P 500 failed to set a record high for the first time in four trading sessions -- well, Wednesday was all about redemption, with the Dow gaining 15 points and the S&P 500 rising 4 as the stock market index set a fresh new record. Mazel Tov.
It was annual shareholder day Tuesday for electric-car company Tesla Motors (TSLA -1.92%). Even though Tesla's fearless leader, Elon Musk, told shareholders he would stay at the company for at least four or five more years, the stock slipped 0.4% Wednesday. Tesla is still up 36% this year, and the company has boomed to a market value of over $25 billion. Not too shabby.
Batteries are the big focus for Tesla right now. Arguably the most important part of the company's emissions-free car revolution is the battery -- the problem is they're expensive and a huge factor in affordability. Musk said that the decision on where to build a $5 billion "Gigafactory" to develop efficient new batteries was near. Until then, governors will continue trying to one-up each other with sweet incentives to bring the high-profile job-creator to their home states.
First comes S, then E, then X. Tesla's biggest product is the Model S, the sleek four-door sedan. It's developing a crossover SUV, the Model X, for those looking for a sexy but emission-free road romper. The model E was planned to complete the S-E-X trifecta, but Ford snagged the trademark back in 2000 and refuses to give it up, even though it has no plans to develop its own Model E. Musk said at the meeting that Ford's "killing sex."
2. Tommy Hilfiger owner plummets after earnings
If you're hitting up a wedding on Nantucket this weekend, you probably bought your clothing from Tuckernuck -- because you definitely didn't buy it from Tommy Hilfiger. PVH (PVH 0.44%), the preppy clothing conglomerate that owns Tommy and Izod, delivered an unattractive earnings report Wednesday that sent the stock down nearly 6% in after-hours trading.
So what were the details? Overall, PVH reported $1.96 billion in first-quarter revenue, which was just 4% higher than the same period last year and came in below analysts' expectations. While sales of the Calvin Klein brand were solid, the numbers were dragged down by the poor performance of Izod and even the Speedo swimsuit line (un-shocking).
The takeaway is that investors are concerned about PVH's projections. Since cold weather dampened most retailers' first-quarter performances, the big clothing brands are banking on a strong second and third quarter to make up for the poor start to the year. As those heavyweight companies dump money into marketing and promotions, PVH is concerned they won't put up much of a fight and lowered their second-quarter projections in anticipation. Tough move.
3. ADP predicts only 179K new jobs in May
The number of the day is 179,000. That's how many new jobs that payroll-tracking firm ADP estimates the U.S. added in May. Those six digits may look like a big number, but they're below the 210,000 economists are expecting and notably smaller than the surprisingly big 288,000 the economy added in April.
The takeaway is not to freak out and punch a toaster -- yet. The ADP figure released each month is considered only a rough estimate on Wall Street -- investors are way more concerned about the official number, which the Labor Department releases the first Friday of the month. Although there's overall consensus that the figure will be lower than April's, the jobs market continues to improve through 2014 so far.
As originally published on MarketSnacks.com
