Trump Media & Technology Group Corp. (DOG)
DJT - Nasdaq
Donald Trump can’t catch a break. Not long ago, he was comfortably leading U.S. President Joe Biden in the polls, and his Trump Media & Technology Group Corp. was trading near record highs. Now, he’s trailing Vice-president Kamala Harris, and Trump Media, which owns the Truth Social platform, has tumbled about 75 per cent from its March peak. Mr. Trump’s declining popularity, Trump Media’s mounting losses and meagre revenues, and his August reappearance on X, formerly Twitter – a competitor to Truth Social – have all contributed to the collapse in the company’s share price, which has cost Mr. Trump more than US$4-billion of wealth. Owning this clunker is almost as bad as getting shocked by an electric motor boat or eaten by sharks.
Nvidia Corp. (DOG)
NVDA - Nasdaq
As every investor knows, past performance is not necessarily indicative of future returns. But who has time for sensible advice when a stock is making everyone else obscenely rich? Sadly for investors who were late to the Nvidia Corp. party, Tuesday’s nearly 10-per-cent plunge erased about US$279-billion of market value from the world’s largest producer of chips for artificial intelligence, marking the biggest single-day decline on record for any U.S. company. Seems valuations for Nvidia and other tech stocks were driven to unsustainable levels by the relentless hype around AI, which investors now realize may not solve all of the world’s problems after all. May we interest you in a 4-per-cent GIC?
Primo Water Corp. (STAR)
PRMW - TSX
Thanks to modern plumbing and purification methods, people in first-world countries can turn on a tap in their homes and enjoy fresh, clean drinking water at any time. Yet some folks prefer the fun and excitement of driving to the store and paying for water packaged in a plastic bottle, which is just fine with bottled water companies. Shares of Primo Water Corp. of Tampa, Fla., jumped after the company said a U.S. antitrust waiting period had ended, clearing a hurdle in its proposed acquisition of Stamford, Conn.-based BlueTriton Brands Inc., which sells bottled water under the Poland Spring, Pure Life and other brand names. With Primo gaining more than 50 per cent in the past year, investors will drink to that.
United States Steel Corp. (DOG)
X - NYSE
Apparently, the Steelers aren’t the only ones playing football in Pittsburgh these days. United States Steel Corp. has become something of a political football after Democratic presidential candidate Kamala Harris declared on Monday at a campaign event with union members in the city that the 123-year-old Pittsburgh company “should remain American-owned and American-operated”. With U.S. President Joe Biden reportedly preparing to block the company’s proposed US$14.1-billion acquisition by Japan Nippon Steel Corp., U.S. Steel is warning of plant closings and thousands of job losses if the deal is scuttled. The stock was just thrown for a big loss.
Dollar Tree Inc. (DOG)
DLTR - Nasdaq
Conventional wisdom: Dollar stores are largely immune to economic downturns, and they may even benefit as consumers seek out lower prices. Reality: U.S. dollar stores are getting their butts kicked just like everyone else. A week after Dollar General Corp. suffered its worst drop on record, rival Dollar Tree Inc. plunged after the retailer missed second-quarter earnings estimates and cut its full-year outlook, citing “immense pressures from a challenging macro environment” and higher liability claims related to “customer accidents and other incidents at our stores”. Unfortunately for investors, they won’t receive any compensation for the accident that is Dollar Tree’s stock chart.