Dec 28, 2009

Daily Markets - Financial News & Opinions

Daily Markets - Financial News & Opinions


What The Yield Curve Says About ETFs

Posted: 28 Dec 2009 09:45 AM PST

Signs of economic recovery are blossoming everywhere, and one key indicator is showing strong numbers. The indicator also reveals that investors are no longer so pessimistic about the future and feeling inclined to take on more risk in the markets and exchange traded funds (ETFs).

The yield curve, which measures the difference between shorter-term 2-year notes and longer-term 10-year note yields, narrowed a little after touching a record high on Tuesday, reports Hibah Yousuf for … [visit site to read more]


Accenture Revs Down, EPS Beats

Posted: 28 Dec 2009 09:00 AM PST

Accenture (ACN) has reported first quarter 2010 EPS of 67 cents, exceeding the Zacks Consensus Estimate of 65 cents.
Revenue

Accenture reported first quarter 2010 total revenue of $5.75 billion, down 11.0% from $6.47 billion reported in the year ago quarter. Revenue declined across all its operating groups, with Communication & High Tech revenue declining 15.0% from the year ago quarter. Financial Services revenue declined 11.0% year-over-year, Health & Public Services revenue … [visit site to read more]


GM To Compensate For Opel?

Posted: 28 Dec 2009 03:45 AM PST

The Russian bank, Sberbank, has asked for voluntary compensation from General Motors (GM) for the scrapped deal to sell 55% of the latter's stake in Opel to the former. The bank has threatened to sue the automaker otherwise. 

Last month, GM halted its plan to sell a 55% stake in Opel to Magna (MGA), backed by Russia's Sberbank, and decided to continue running the unit on its own. 

GM had been in a dilemma while choosing Magna as the preferred bidder for Opel. The German … [visit site to read more]


PMI Sells Entire RAM Holdings

Posted: 28 Dec 2009 03:30 AM PST

PMI Mortgage Insurance Co., a division of PMI Group Inc. (PMI), said on Thursday that it has sold its entire investment in RAM Holdings Ltd. (RAMR), the holding company for RAM Reinsurance Ltd. 

PMI had impaired its investment in RAM Holdings in 2008 and reduced the carrying value of the investment to zero. The proceeds from the sale would primarily add to PMI's liquidity. 

The move is in line with PMI’s focus on its core U.S. mortgage insurance operations. PMI Group had … [visit site to read more]


India’s Mobile Users Exceed 500M

Posted: 28 Dec 2009 03:15 AM PST

India's telecom sector has reached a major milestone recently with the country's mobile user base surpassing 500 million, boosted by a staggering 17.7 million new activations in Nov 2009. 

According to the Telecom Regulatory Authority of India ("TRAI”), India's mobile customer base crossed 506 million at the end of November. Currently, 43 out of every 100 Indians own a cell phone. Including roughly 37 million fixed lines, India now has a total of 543 million telephone lines, a … [visit site to read more]


Korea Electric Wins UAE Deal

Posted: 28 Dec 2009 03:00 AM PST

Korea Electric Power Corp. (KEP) led consortium has won a $20.4 billion contract for developing a civilian nuclear program for the United Arab Emirates. Other members of the Korea Electric Power consortium are Hyundai Engineering and Construction, Samsung and Doosan Heavy Industries. The consortium beat a number of prominent bidders like General Electric Co. (GE), Hitachi Ltd. (HIT).
Under the agreement, the Korea Electric Power consortium will design and construct four 1,400 MW units, … [visit site to read more]


Berkshire Cuts Jobs

Posted: 28 Dec 2009 02:45 AM PST

Year to date, Warren Buffet's Berkshire Hathaway Inc. (BRK.A) – a conglomerate of 77 operating companies – has shed approximately 8.6% of its workforce. A number of Berkshire subsidiaries have announced job cuts affected by the weakening economy. 

Netjets, the unprofitable plane-leasing unit, cut approximately 800 jobs as its business got drained by reduced demand for flights. 

Fruit of the Loom reported that excess inventory has led the company to eliminate approximately … [visit site to read more]


Stocks To Watch On Monday 28 December

Posted: 28 Dec 2009 07:40 AM PST

( click to enlarge )

ADC Telecommunications (ADCT) had a very bullish move last week breaking several resistance lines with large volume. The stock has broken out of a 4 month downtrend. ADCT has made a transition from down trend to uptrend. The price is currently above the 5 day simple moving average, 10 day simple moving average and 20 day simple moving average respectively. The MACD chart is still showing an up trend with the MACD indicator above its signal line and is … [visit site to read more]


Bunge’s Expansion Binge In Brazil

Posted: 28 Dec 2009 02:30 AM PST

Bunge Limited (BG), a leading global agribusiness and food company in the U.S., has recently acquired 100% ownership in Usina Moema Participacoes S.A., a holding company that wholly owns one sugarcane mill in Brazil and has ownership interests in five others. With the acquisition, Bunge has obtained approximately 60% effective share of the total capacity of the facilities, which altogether have an annual crushing capacity of 15.4 million metric tons. 

With the deal, Bunge has fulfilled … [visit site to read more]


BofA Sues Mortgage Insurer MGIC

Posted: 28 Dec 2009 02:15 AM PST

Bank of America (BAC) has filed a lawsuit with the Securities and Exchange Commission against Mortgage Guaranty Insurance Corporation, the principal mortgage insurance subsidiary of MGIC Investment Corporation (MTG). It said in a filing that the mortgage insurer had rejected a meaningful number of claims filed on a portfolio of mortgages for reasons it considered inappropriate under its contract. Most of the claims rejections were for mortgages that were subprime or without documents, … [visit site to read more]


A.M. Best Affirms Allstate Ratings

Posted: 28 Dec 2009 07:00 AM PST

On Dec 22, 2009, A.M. Best Co. affirmed the ratings of Allstate Corporation's (ALL) subsidiary Allstate New Jersey Insurance Group (Allstate New Jersey) and its associates namely, Allstate New Jersey Insurance Co., Allstate New Jersey Property and Casualty Insurance Co., Encompass Insurance Co. of New Jersey and Encompass Property and Casualty Insurance Co. of New Jersey. 
The rating agency has affirmed the financial strength rating (FSR) of "A-” (Excellent) and issuer credit ratings … [visit site to read more]


Zions Finishes Exchange Offer

Posted: 28 Dec 2009 01:45 AM PST

In an attempt to enhance its financing position in the capital market, Zions Bancorporation (ZION) on Dec 22, 2009 announced its preliminary results of the stock exchange offer from its Series A Floating-Rate Non-Cumulative Perpetual Preferred Stock (Series A Preferred Stock) to its common stock. The company had offered approximately 5.6 million outstanding Depositary Shares representing its Series A Preferred Stock to common stock, with an aggregate liquidation preference of approximately … [visit site to read more]


China’s Exports To Return To Growth Next Year, But How Much Will It Matter?

Posted: 28 Dec 2009 06:31 AM PST

Shipments from the Red Dragon were hit hard in the first 11 months this year, falling 18.8% compared to a year earlier, but are expected to bounce back and grow 6% in 2010, China’s State Information Center said today (Monday).

However, exports from China, which is largely considered to be the world’s manufacturing floor, are becoming less and less relevant as the Red Dragon moves toward a more balanced economy.

For instance, imports are expected to grow 11% next year, reflecting a … [visit site to read more]


Navistar Exceeds Expectations

Posted: 28 Dec 2009 01:30 AM PST

Navistar International Corporation (NAV) showed a profit of $128 million or $1.77 per share, before special items, for the fourth quarter of fiscal 2009 ended Oct 31, 2009. With this, the truck maker exceeded the Zacks Consensus Estimate of $1.53 per share. The company has also fared well compared to the year-ago profit of $42 million or 56 cents per share, before special items. 

Navistar accredited the improvement in profit to the recouped commercial truck volume and sustained … [visit site to read more]


Leap Wireless Initiated As Neutral

Posted: 28 Dec 2009 01:16 AM PST

We initiate our coverage on Leap Wireless (LEAP) with a Neutral recommendation. The company is one of the prominent players in the low-cost unlimited prepaid wireless market serving roughly 4.7 million customers based on the latest quarterly statistics. However, the company reported disappointing results in the last quarter with net loss exceeding the Zacks Consensus Estimate. 

Leap Wireless, together with its subsidiaries, provides digital wireless communication services in 34 … [visit site to read more]


Stock Market News Briefs: Allstate Corporation (The), Deutsche Bank AG, Federal Home Loan Mortgage Corporation, International Business Machines Corporation, Natl Westminster Pfd, Piper Jaffray Companies, Apple Inc., Cal-Maine Foods, Inc., EBay Inc.

Posted: 28 Dec 2009 01:06 AM PST

 A number of health care IPOs were filed over the weekend, including a $90 million filing from Rules-Based Medicine (RULE), a $80 million IPO from Alimera Sciences (ALIM).  Dehaier Medical Systems (DHRM) expects its IPO to be price at $7-$9.

 The Royal Bank of Scotland (RBS) reportedly is planning to sell about $4.8 billion in assets over the coming months.

 Piper Jaffray (PJC) maintained its “overweight” advice on eBay (EBAY), with a $33 price … [visit site to read more]


Fannie & Freddie Find Support

Posted: 28 Dec 2009 01:01 AM PST

The U.S. Treasury announced late last week that it would offer significant new financial support to the stressed mortgage giants Fannie Mae (FNM) and Freddie Mac (FRE), notwithstanding their performances for the next 3 years. This move by the Fed follows the recent repayment of bailout money by the nation's biggest financial institutions. 

To keep Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac afloat, the Treasury has removed the $200 billion caps on the capital availability of both companies. … [visit site to read more]


Mutual Funds: Top Balanced Asset Allocation Funds

Posted: 27 Dec 2009 05:26 PM PST

Today we are featuring top-performing “Asset Allocation” balanced mutual funds, which primarily seek total return and use an optimization model to choose the best way to distribute assets among various classes.
Investors can find such funds by checking out the entire list of theZacks #1 Rank Asset Allocation Balanced Funds.
3 Solid Samples
Value Line Asset Allocation Fund A (VLAAX) seeks to achieve a high total investment return (current income and capital appreciation) consistent with … [visit site to read more]


Stock Buy: DeVry Inc.

Posted: 27 Dec 2009 04:00 PM PST

DeVry Inc. (DV) recently reported higher fall enrollment with total student enrollment jumping 22.7% to a record 64,003 students. The company is also seeing a higher Zacks Consensus Estimate since DV was last featured as a Growth and Income earlier this month.
Enrollment Spike Propelled Shares
In addition to the total enrollment jump, the university saw 19% more new students. Online coursetakers increased 22.5%.
DeVry’s Keller Graduate School of Management, Chamberlain College of Nursing and … [visit site to read more]


Stock Buy: OPNET Technologies

Posted: 27 Dec 2009 04:00 PM PST

OPNET Technologies, Inc. (OPNT)
Company Description
OPNET provides network management software to optimize performance and availability of communications networks. In contrast to most reactive services, the company offers proactive problem resolution and avoidance.
Estimates are Steady
Over the past month the Zacks Consensus Estimate has been pegged at 23 cents for fiscal 2010 and 41 cents for 2011. This shows a slight dip in EPS this year, but 76% growth next year.
Analyst Coverage
The … [visit site to read more]


Stock Buy: Zhongpin Inc.

Posted: 27 Dec 2009 04:00 PM PST

Zhongpin Inc. (HOGS) has been expanding its operations in China by building a new pork plant in Tianjin and a new food oil plant in Changge in the Henan province.
The pork producer has received cash subsidies from the Chinese government to aid in the expansion, including $3.1 million to construct the Tianjin plant which will produce chilled and frozen pork. The Tianjin plant is expected to open in January 2010.
Zhongpin has surprised on estimates 3 out of the last 4 quarters by an average of … [visit site to read more]


Bear Of The Day: The Andersons (ANDE)

Posted: 27 Dec 2009 04:00 PM PST

The Andersons, Inc. (ANDE) reported third-quarter earnings of 7 cents per share, well below the Zacks Consensus Estimate of 39 cents and the prior-year EPS of 70 cents. Apart from the Grain & Ethanol Group, all other segments posted an operating loss for the quarter.
Revenue declined 33.6% to $601.0 million from $905.7 million in the year-ago period, primarily due to lower grain and plant nutrient prices. The current economic slowdown is having an adverse impact on all of the company’s … [visit site to read more]


Stock Buy: RINO International Corp.

Posted: 27 Dec 2009 04:00 PM PST

Rino International Corp. (RINO) has continued to trend higher since last being featured as a momentum stock 2 months ago, remaining within striking distance of the 52-week high at $35 on strong Q3 results from mid November.
Third-Quarter Results
Sales for the period were up 41% from last year to $63.3 million. Earnings also came in strong at 78 cents, 31 cents ahead of the Zacks Consensus Estimate. The company has beat in each of the last three quarters by an average of 33%.
The company noted … [visit site to read more]


Bull Of The Day: DeVry, Inc. (DV)

Posted: 27 Dec 2009 04:00 PM PST

DeVry (DV) is a leading provider of post secondary education in North America and commands a strong portfolio of well-established brands. Moreover, DeVry is also taking initiatives to diversify revenue streams and optimize its real estate strategy, which augurs well for future operating performance.
The company has a consistent track record of returning cash to shareholders in the form dividends and share buybacks. Our long-term (6-month) recommendation on DeVry is Outperform as we anticipate … [visit site to read more]


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