Jan 6, 2010

Daily Markets - Financial News & Opinions

Daily Markets - Financial News & Opinions

AngioDynamics Beats Estimate

Posted: 06 Jan 2010 01:10 PM PST

AngioDynamics, Inc. (ANGO) reported second quarter fiscal 2010 earnings per share of 13 cents, beating the Zacks Consensus Estimate of 11 cents and the year-ago earnings of 12 cents. The company also reported an expansion in its top-line and raised the sales outlook for the entire year.
Sales
 
Net sales in the second quarter increased 10% year over year to $53.5 million. Growth was registered across all the business segments.
Peripheral Vascular sales increased 6% year over year to … [visit site to read more]


Alcoa Cutting Jobs At 2 Plants

Posted: 06 Jan 2010 07:52 AM PST

U.S. aluminum giant Alcoa Inc. (AA) has plans to eliminate jobs at its Tennessee operations due to lower demand for aluminum can sheet. The company is cutting 90 jobs at its Blount County plant and 145 jobs at a sister operation in Indiana as it seeks to trim its work force to fit anticipated weak demand in 2010.
The reductions would take place during the first quarter at the company’s rigid packaging operations in Blount County and in Warrick, Indiana. The Blount County plant, which produces … [visit site to read more]

Macy’s To Close 5 Stores

Posted: 06 Jan 2010 07:34 AM PST

Macy's, Inc. (M), one of the leading department store retailers in the United States, recently announced the closure of five underperforming stores located in Boise, Idaho; Waterford, Michigan; St. Ann, Missouri; Missoula, Montana and Burlington, New Jersey.
 
Following the closures, Macy's will operate 849 stores, including 809 Macy’s and 40 Bloomingdale’s. Clearance sales at the closed stores will begin on Jan. 10, 2010, and will run for nearly 60 days. The closures will affect 307 … [visit site to read more]

Earnings Preview For Tenneco

Posted: 06 Jan 2010 07:19 AM PST

Tenneco (TEN) is scheduled to release its sales and earnings results for the fourth quarter and full year 2009 before the market opens on Thursday, Feb 4, 2010. The Lake Forest, Illinois-based manufacturer and supplier of emission control and ride control systems showed an improvement in third quarter profit to $3 million or 7 cents per share, compared to less than $1 million or a penny per share a year ago.
 
Earnings was better than the Zacks Consensus Estimate of 4 cents … [visit site to read more]

Video: 01/06 FX Options Report

Posted: 06 Jan 2010 05:17 PM PST

The USD and the JPY weakened against the major currencies, as the U.S. equity market continued to trade mixed. … [visit site to read more]

U.S. Auto Industry Stands Up

Posted: 06 Jan 2010 07:01 AM PST

The U.S. auto industry showed signs of revival last month in the absence of any federal government incentive program such as "Cash for Clunkers.” Auto sales soared 15% to 1.03 million in December after the market bottomed in November. Sales exceeded 1 million for the second time in the year, trailing only August – the month of Clunkers program.
 
Most of the prominent automakers, except General Motors and Chrysler, reported a sales gain during the month. Among the domestic automakers, … [visit site to read more]

Betting Against The US Treasury

Posted: 06 Jan 2010 12:00 PM PST

In Monday's edition of The Daily Reckoning, Bill Bonner offered his new "Trade of the Decade." In all probability, this trade will not deliver a result as dazzling as his last "Trade of the Decade."
Back in 2000, Bill urged the Daily Reckoning faithful to "sell stocks; buy gold." As fate would have it, stocks produced a LOSS during the ensuing ten years, while the gold price quadrupled. Good call!
Bill has gazed into his crystal ball once again, and he is offering a brand new … [visit site to read more]

EMC Buys Archer Technologies

Posted: 06 Jan 2010 06:45 AM PST

EMC Corp. (EMC), a leading information infrastructure solutions provider and data storage company announced the acquisition of Kansas-based Archer Technologies, a privately-held governance, risk and compliance (GRC) software provider. Financial terms of the deal were not disclosed.
 
Archer’s software helps companies develop business software, data and security policies for complying with industry and government regulations. Archer will provide EMC with a flexible platform of broad … [visit site to read more]

Sohu Upped To Neutral

Posted: 06 Jan 2010 06:27 AM PST

We are upgrading Sohu.com, Inc. (SOHU) to Neutral from our previous Underperform rating and setting a price target of $65. Strength in the company's online games and portal business is encouraging. We expect the company to achieve the estimates for 2009 and advise investors to wait for a more favorable exit point.
 
Sohu is the third-largest internet portal and a leading online brand in China. The strength in its online games and portal business are expected to be the strongest … [visit site to read more]

Goodrich Wins Supply Contract

Posted: 06 Jan 2010 11:10 AM PST

Goodrich Corp. (GR) received a $49 million supply contract from Northrop Grumman Corp. (NOC) to provide a number of composite components for eight Virginia Class nuclear fast attack submarines, collectively referred to as Block III.
 
Goodrich’s Engineered Polymer Products team in Jacksonville, Florida is building components to support the construction of one ship per year in 2009 and 2010, raising it to two ships per year from 2011 through 2013. The components include the bow dome, … [visit site to read more]

Recession Over. Depression Continues.

Posted: 06 Jan 2010 06:09 AM PST

If you read the papers you're likely to think that the recession is over…we're in full recovery mode…with rising sales, rising production, and rising prices. This year is going to be a good one for stocks…and the US economy is coming back stronger than expected.
Is it true?
Well, it's sort of true. The recession is over…the depression continues. As we keep saying, if you're going to make a royal mess of things, you need taxpayer support. And with the unwitting and unwilling … [visit site to read more]

A Note To Bernanke: Sorry Ben, More Bureaucracy Isn’t The Answer

Posted: 06 Jan 2010 11:01 AM PST

U.S. Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke’s latest thesis is that the home mortgage bubble had little to do with record low interest rates, and was actually much more a problem of regulation.

It sounds plausible - until you give it some real thought. After all, I believe that humanity has already tried a system with tight, vigorously enforced regulations, and no price mechanism.

It was called the Soviet Union.

Okay, that was a bit of a cheap shot - to some extent. Bernanke stated … [visit site to read more]

Video: Crude Trades Above $83 For The First Time Since Fall ‘08

Posted: 06 Jan 2010 04:00 PM PST

Despite a rise in crude inventories for last week, front month crude prices rallied this session as cold weather across the nation paved the way for an increase in demand. … [visit site to read more]

Video: After Changing Recipes, Domino’s TO Also Chang Its CEO

Posted: 06 Jan 2010 03:57 PM PST

After more than a decade as CEO of Domino’s Pizza incorporated, CEO David A. Brandon announced that he will be stepping down March 7th to become an athletic director for the University of Mississippi. … [visit site to read more]

Video: Market Movers: FDO, WOR, SCHN, BZH, AOL

Posted: 06 Jan 2010 03:55 PM PST

The latest news and information on U.S. stocks that are moving the market. … [visit site to read more]

Patterson Initiated As Neutral

Posted: 06 Jan 2010 05:52 AM PST

We recently initiated coverage on Patterson Companies Inc. (PDCO) with a Neutral recommendation. We rate the stock as Neutral with a target price of $30 based on a P/E of roughly 15.5x our fiscal 2011 EPS estimate of $1.94.
 
Patterson reported second quarter fiscal 2010 earnings per share of 41 cents, in line with the Zacks Consensus Estimate and higher than the year-ago figure by a cent. The company also witnessed growth in its top-line. Total sales in the reported quarter increased 7% … [visit site to read more]

H&R Block Settles IRA Lawsuit

Posted: 06 Jan 2010 05:36 AM PST

H&R Block Inc. (HRB) has settled a lawsuit that alleged the company of fraudulently marketing its Express Individual Retirement Account (Express IRA) product that had hidden fees and low interest rates.
 
New York Attorney General Andrew Cuomo said that over 600,000 Express IRA accounts were opened since 2000. Cuomo alleged that around 85% of the customers ended up with losing money as the fees charged by the company was more compared to the interest paid by it. Customers who closed … [visit site to read more]

Dynegy Repurchases Notes

Posted: 06 Jan 2010 05:19 AM PST

Dynegy Inc. (DYN) through its wholly-owned subsidiary, Dynegy Holdings Inc. repurchased approximately $830 million of its senior unsecured notes. The notes consist of $420 million of its outstanding 6.875% Senior Unsecured Notes due 2011 and approximately $410 million of its outstanding 8.75% Senior Unsecured Notes due 2012. This represents 83% of the company's Senior Unsecured Notes due 2011 and 2012. The total consideration for the transaction, inclusive of consent fees, was … [visit site to read more]

Video: Dollar Rises As Yen Slumps

Posted: 06 Jan 2010 03:07 PM PST

The US dollar was on the upside this session on positive economic data as the Japanese yen continued to slide on news of the resignation of the Financial Minister. … [visit site to read more]

InterMune Drug Gets Priority

Posted: 06 Jan 2010 10:03 AM PST

InterMune, Inc. (ITMN) recently announced  that the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) granted a priority review to pirfenidone, its candidate for treating idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis (IPF), a fatal lung disease. The U.S. agency is expected to decide on whether to approve pirfenidone for this indication by May 4, 2010 (action date). Preclinical and in-vitro evidence revealed that pirfenidone possesses both anti-fibrotic and anti-inflammatory effects.
 
In November 2009, … [visit site to read more]

Chart Of The Day: No Signs Of Imminent Fed Rate Hike

Posted: 06 Jan 2010 10:01 AM PST

The interesting graph below by Morgan Stanley strategist Teun Draaisma, courtesy of The Money Game - The Business Insider, looks at the last few recessions, and specifically the timing of three subsequent economic events: first positive non-farm payroll statistic, the peak in ISM new orders minus inventories, and then finally the first rate hike. As shown, the first two items have not yet taken place. Also, subsequent to recent recessions, rate hikes (green bar) came significantly after … [visit site to read more]

ISM Services Index Up

Posted: 06 Jan 2010 04:47 AM PST

The Institute for Supply Management's non-manufacturing (services) index rose to 50.1 in December from 48.7 in November, effectively saying that the service side of the economy is neither expanding nor contracting (50.0 is the dividing line). This is in marked contrast to the Manufacturing index it released on Monday.
The service side covers far more of the economy than does the manufacturing side, but the service index is much newer and does not have the same sort of predictive history that … [visit site to read more]

ACE Issues Earnings Guidance

Posted: 06 Jan 2010 04:46 AM PST

Yesterday, ACE Ltd. (ACE) issued its earnings guidance for full fiscal 2010, which was well below the Zacks Consensus Estimate. The company expects earnings per share to range between $6.25 and $6.75 for 2010. This compares with the Zacks Consensus Estimate of $7.63 per share.
 
ACE's earnings guidance, however, includes $390 million in pretax catastrophe losses ($317 million after-tax). The guidance excludes any estimate for prior-period reserve development.
 
ACE is expected to … [visit site to read more]

Can The Battered Auto Sector Mount A Real Recovery In 2010?

Posted: 06 Jan 2010 09:34 AM PST

This analysis is from Sheena Martin, Contributing Editor, Investment U
After another brutal year, the auto industry summoned up some end-of-year strength in 2009, with analysts projecting annualized sales of cars and trucks to top 11 million in December.
If that number holds true, it would mark the second-best month of 2009 behind August's government-assisted sales burst. It would also beat the December 2008 sales figure of 10.3 million, plus a month-to-month increase over the 10.9 million … [visit site to read more]

Smith Gets Petrobras Contract

Posted: 06 Jan 2010 04:30 AM PST

Smith International (SII) through one of its subsidiaries – PathFinder Energy Services – won a contract from Brazil's oil giant Petrobras (PBR). The contract represents an estimated $80 million to $100 million of revenue over the 3-year term. 

PathFinder will also buy all related directional drilling assets from San Antonio International do Brasil. Although PathFinder has been working for Petrobras in Brazil for several years, San Antonio had previously been the lead contractor … [visit site to read more]

Small-Cap Biotech Stocks: Why This Sector Is Set For A Huge Year

Posted: 06 Jan 2010 04:23 AM PST

Wednesday, January 6, 2010: Issue #1169
Now that we're into the first week of 2010, let's talk about the Super Bowl.
But not the one in Miami, featuring a bunch of guys with pads and helmets. I'm talking about the healthcare sector's version of the Super Bowl, taking place on the other side of the United States next week.
On Sunday, I'll be boarding a plane and escaping from the frozen tundra that is South Florida these days (seriously, 29 degrees last night) and on my way to San … [visit site to read more]

Brightpoint Gives Tepid Outlook

Posted: 06 Jan 2010 04:15 AM PST

Brightpoint Inc. (CELL) provided disappointing preliminary estimates of fourth quarter 2009 financial results. Income from continuing operations on a GAAP basis is likely to be within the range of 22 cents to 26 cents. However, adjusted (excluding special items) EPS will be within the range of 12 cents to 17 cents. 

The mid-point of this range, 14.5 cents, is significantly below the Zacks Consensus Estimate of 17 cents. Brightpoint is a leader in global distribution of wireless devices … [visit site to read more]

The Price Of Construction Materials Is About To Soar

Posted: 06 Jan 2010 09:01 AM PST

If you want to know what’s going on in the economy, you need to watch the price of lumber…

Housing is the most important asset class in America. When house prices fall, banks fail, consumers cut back, unemployment rises, and the economy collapses. But when house prices are strong, the economy rebounds.

In other words, the U.S. real estate market is the main pivot in the whole economic mess we’re in right now. If you can figure out what’s happening in real estate, you can figure … [visit site to read more]

BioMarin Drug Cleared In Europe

Posted: 06 Jan 2010 04:00 AM PST

BioMarin Pharma Inc. (BMRN) announced recently that its drug candidate 3, 4-diaminopyridine amifampridine phosphate (3,4-DAP), indicated for treating Lambert Eaton Myasthenic Syndrome (LEMS), has received marketing approval from the European Commission. In October 2009, the Committee for Medicinal Products for Human Use of the European Medicines Evaluations Agency gave a positive opinion and recommended the approval of amifampridine phosphate for LEMS. 

Amifampridine phosphate is the … [visit site to read more]

Cameron Wins CVX Subsea Deal

Posted: 06 Jan 2010 03:45 AM PST

Oil drilling equipment maker Cameron International Corp. (CAM) announced the receipt of a $230 million contract from energy behemoth Chevron Corp. (CVX). The deal calls for Cameron to provide subsea production systems to Chevron-operated Jack & St. Malo fields in the deepwater Gulf of Mexico.
 
Cameron further said that the contract includes 12 subsea trees, production control systems, four manifolds and associated connection systems, plus engineering and project management … [visit site to read more]

Why Even Debt Looks Better In Emerging Markets

Posted: 06 Jan 2010 08:41 AM PST

It's a new year, even if Wall Street doesn't seem to recognize it.
They still seem stuck on years gone by, when the west held all the power and didn't have quite so much to worry about in the form of debts and deficits.
In Wall Street's defense, the U.S. especially has kept its bonds temptingly liquid, advertising them as having practically risk-free rates: A dangerous illusion, considering how very unsafe they really are in countries like the U.S. and UK, where government debt has … [visit site to read more]

Are Fundamentals Creeping Back To The Currencies?

Posted: 06 Jan 2010 08:34 AM PST

Well, day two of 2010 was another sign that the fundamentals just might be creeping back into the markets… There was a piece of data that was a good sign for the US and the dollar got bought… Now… Was that so difficult to do? That's the way it's supposed to work!
The piece of data? Oh, you probably heard all about it, as the talking heads on cable news were all smiles and giggles over this one… Pending home sales plunged a seasonally adjusted 16% in November as a highly popular tax … [visit site to read more]

TV Everywhere With DISH Network

Posted: 06 Jan 2010 03:30 AM PST

DISH Network Corp. (DISH) has unveiled its unique TV Everywhere services. TV Everywhere is a suite of integrated products designed to maximize the convenience and ease of watching TV anytime and anywhere. The customers of DISH Network need to pay one time for the content and then can remain connected to this service. TV Everywhere services will enable DISH Network subscribers to access all their live and recorded programming on a laptop, mobile device, or anywhere in the home using DISH … [visit site to read more]

ADP Sees 84,000 Jobs Lost

Posted: 06 Jan 2010 03:29 AM PST

This morning, Automatic Data Processing (ADP), the largest processor of private sector payrolls, reported that the economy lost 84,000 more private sector jobs in December. This was somewhat worse than the consensus expectations of 75,000 lost jobs.
It was, however, a substantial improvement from their estimate that the economy lost 145,000 jobs in November, which was actually revised down from an initial estimate of 169,000 lost jobs. It was also the smallest job loss by ADP's calculations … [visit site to read more]

Forex Trading: USDCHF Back Below The 100 Day Moving Average But Off The Lows

Posted: 06 Jan 2010 03:19 AM PST

The USDCHF has moved back below the 100 day Moving average at the 1.0299 level (blue line in the chart above)  but is back up off the lows.  From a technical perspective we have to respect the bearish bias since the price is now below the key moving average, but will need to see further downside pressure this afternoon to kick start selling pressure.
Over the last 4 trading days the price has traded below the key moving average level and closed below the level once (on … [visit site to read more]

Australian Dollar: The Bias Remains Bullish

Posted: 06 Jan 2010 08:17 AM PST

Update on supports and resistances. … [visit site to read more]

Canadian Dollar: Caution

Posted: 06 Jan 2010 08:17 AM PST

Update on supports and resistances. … [visit site to read more]

Grupo Aeroportuario Traffic Up

Posted: 06 Jan 2010 03:15 AM PST

Earlier this week, Grupo Aeroportuario del Pacifico, S.A.B. de C.V. (PAC) announced an increase of 0.4% in total passenger traffic for December 2009, compared to the year-ago period. Domestic passenger traffic increased 1.8%, while international passenger traffic decreased 2.1% compared to December 2008. 

The increase in domestic passenger traffic resulted mainly from increase in passengers at the Merida, Cancun, Veracruz, Villahermosa and Cozumel airports, respectively. The decline in … [visit site to read more]

T-Mobile Speeds Up 3G Network

Posted: 06 Jan 2010 03:00 AM PST

The year 2010 promises to be the year of super-fast wireless networks. T-Mobile USA, the US subsidiary of German telecom giant Deutsche Telekom (DT), has joined the high-speed hoopla in the US as it has reportedly upgraded its nationwide 3G mobile broadband network to the HSPA 7.2 standard. 

HSPA 7.2 offers peak theoretical download speeds of 7.2 megabits per second (Mbps), which has effectively doubled network throughput from the existing 3.6 Mbps. However, as the available bandwidth … [visit site to read more]

Video: Beazer Homes To Issue Secondary Offering Of Stocks & Notes

Posted: 06 Jan 2010 12:56 PM PST

Beazer Homes USA Incorporated (BZH) announced that it will launch a secondary offering of stock and notes. … [visit site to read more]

Solid Outlook For China Industrial ETF

Posted: 06 Jan 2010 07:55 AM PST

China's Purchasing Managers Index rose for the tenth consecutive month in December, signaling a steady expansion in the country's manufacturing sector. According to the China Federation of Logistics and Purchasing, the index increased to 56.6 in December, up from 55.2 in November. A reading above 50 indicates growth, while a reading below 50 indicates contraction. Of the 11 categories that compose the PMI, nine rose, one fell, and one was unchanged in December compared with November.
While … [visit site to read more]

Video: Asian Markets Mostly Positive

Posted: 06 Jan 2010 12:55 PM PST

Asian markets were mostly on the upside this session following a boost in domestic stocks. … [visit site to read more]

Video: NYSE Opening Bell Market Monitor: DOW, KFT

Posted: 06 Jan 2010 12:53 PM PST

The latest in news, commentary, and information on what’s moving the US equities markets. Watch this broadcast LIVE at 9:30 am EST daily @ “http://www.nyx.com/marketmonitor” … [visit site to read more]

Suncor Sheds Rockies Assets

Posted: 06 Jan 2010 02:45 AM PST

Canada's Suncor Energy (SU) has entered into an agreement with Houston-based Noble Energy Inc. (NBL) to sell bulk of its Rocky Mountain oil and gas fields for $494 million. The total sold properties hold an estimated 53 million barrels of oil equivalent in proved reserves (45% liquids) and will add about 10,000 barrels of oil equivalent to Noble's daily production. Suncor acquired the assets through its C$19 billion purchase of Petro-Canada in August last year. The transaction is … [visit site to read more]

Neutral On Santarus

Posted: 06 Jan 2010 02:30 AM PST

We recently downgraded our recommendation on specialty pharmaceutical company Santarus Inc. (SNTS) to Neutral. Santarus is focused on the acquisition, development, and commercialization of proprietary products and therapies that have the potential to treat gastrointestinal diseases and disorders, including gastroesophageal reflux disease (GERD). Santarus primarily focuses on the commercialization of proprietary immediate-release proton pump inhibitor (PPI) products. 

Flagship product, … [visit site to read more]

Forex Trading: EURUSD Also Reverses Sharply Higher.

Posted: 06 Jan 2010 07:21 AM PST

The EURUSD has also benefitted as London/Europe look to head home. The price has moved back above the 100 hour MA at the 1.4371 level which has been going sideways for the last 4 days.  The move back above balances out the days high low range around that moving average but gives the market a bullish bias once again. 
Risk on the downside would be on a break back below the key moving average at the 1.4371 level.  There may also be some support at the prior high for the day at the … [visit site to read more]

AT&T Deploys 3G HSPA 7.2

Posted: 06 Jan 2010 02:15 AM PST

US telecom giant AT&T (T) has opened its New Year's account by offering blazing fast 3G network to its customers. The carrier has completed the software upgrade across its nationwide 3G cell sites that enable the deployment of the 3G HSPA 7.2 network. This follows the announcement of T-mobile USA, the US subsidiary of Deutsche Telekom (DT), which has reportedly launched its own HSPA 7.2 network nationwide. 

AT&T has already begun network deployments in six US cities - … [visit site to read more]

Forex Trading: GBPUSD Pushed Higher. Moves Through The 200 Hour MA

Posted: 06 Jan 2010 07:06 AM PST

The GBPUSD is moving through the 200 hour MA at the 1.6013 level. This moving average has been flatlining for the past 3-4 days suggesting a consolidating/non trending market.  Just 2 short hours ago the price was making new 4 day lows and the rebound seems to have caught the market off guard.  The quick rebound should be respected by the market traders. 
The next target is the 100 hour MA at the 1.6065 level. There may also be some resistance before that level at the … [visit site to read more]

Forex Trading: USDJPY Moves Higher On Cross Demand. EURJPY Moves Above The 100 And 200 Day MAs. GBPJPY Tests 100 Day MA At 148.00

Posted: 06 Jan 2010 01:17 AM PST

The USDJPY has reversed and moved up toward target resistance at the 92.61 level as buying in JPY crosses force up the pair.  The EURJPY surged higher and is back above the 100 and 200 day MA at the 132.89 and 133.03 levels respectively (blue and green line in the chart above).  If the price can hold these levels, there should be further upside momentum for the pair. Watch the level closely.

The GBPJPY has also moved higher on the move and is testing the 100 day moving average at … [visit site to read more]

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