Jan 12, 2010

Daily Markets - Financial News & Opinions

Daily Markets - Financial News & Opinions

12th Street Capital Prescient re: Mortgage Fraud

Posted: 12 Jan 2010 03:05 PM PST

Last August, our friends at 12th Street Capital highlighted the strong likelihood of increased mortgage fraud by brokers originating loans with FHA insurance. In my piece ”Fair and Fraudulent Mortgage Lending,” I referenced the stellar work and perspectives provided by KD and his 12th Street team. I wrote:
Where can one go to receive a fair deal in the process of getting mortgage financing? What parts of the mortgage market may represent the next wave of fraud? Which firms may currently … [visit site to read more]


Are China And Rural Canada The New “Odd Couple”?

Posted: 12 Jan 2010 03:00 PM PST

One of the more certain ideas on China hinges on its appetite for something very basic: food. We've talked a lot about the world's growing appetite for food and China's role in that. The shifting diets…the straining of water resources…the diminishing acreage of arable land…
All of these things put pressure on the food supply. We've got a few ideas that answer the bell here, but I want to focus for a minute on just one — Saskatchewan, Canada.
We took note of this rich prairie to … [visit site to read more]

CONSOL Sells First Coal To China

Posted: 12 Jan 2010 02:56 PM PST

Coal and natural gas company CONSOL Energy Inc. (CNX) made its first sale of high-volume coking coal to Asia from its Bailey Mine in Northern Appalachia. The sale was made by Xcoal, the exclusive representative of CONSOL in Asia, as a result of an Asian Marketing Initiative announced last month by CONSOL.
The sale of a Panamax vessel of approximately 82,000 short tons is destined for merchant coke plants in the Tianjin/Guafeng area of China. The vessel will be loaded at CONSOL’s Baltimore … [visit site to read more]

Nelnet’s CUnet To Buy Sparkroom

Posted: 12 Jan 2010 02:38 PM PST

CUnet, a subsidiary of Nelnet Inc.'s (NNI), announced yesterday that it has agreed to acquire Sparkroom, a provider of enrollment marketing automation and lead performance management solutions. The transaction is expected to close on Feb. 1, 2010. Terms of the deal were not disclosed.
Sparkroom co-founders Jamie McDonald and Jamie Shulman will remain with the company and will continue to lead Sparkroom and its associates from Toronto.
The Nelnet subsidiary provides online performance media … [visit site to read more]

Video: NYSE Closing Bell Market Monitor: AA, CVX, GAP

Posted: 12 Jan 2010 02:29 PM PST

The latest in news, commentary, and information on what’s moving the US equities markets. … [visit site to read more]

Glaxo Exercises Drug Option

Posted: 12 Jan 2010 02:21 PM PST

Recently, GlaxoSmithKline (GSK) exercised its option to obtain exclusive license regarding further development and commercialization of ChemoCentryx’s Traficet-EN, a specific CCR9 antagonist. The drug candidate is meant for the treatment of inflammatory bowel diseases, including Crohn’s disease.
Under the terms of the agreement, ChemoCentryx will receive an option exercise fee of $35 million as well as milestone payments. In addition, on successful commercialization, ChemoCentryx will receive … [visit site to read more]

Narrower Loss For Lennar

Posted: 12 Jan 2010 02:02 PM PST

Lennar Corporation (LEN) showed a loss per share of 26 cents (before special items) for the fourth quarter of the fiscal year ended November 30, 2009, compared to an earnings per share of 43 cents (before special items) in the same quarter a year ago. However, the loss was better than the Zacks Consensus Estimate of a loss of 56 cents per share.
Lennar benefited from a 3% increase in home orders to 2,652 homes during the quarter. This is, in fact, the homebuilder's first year-over-year gain … [visit site to read more]

Cartoon: A “Review” Of 2010

Posted: 12 Jan 2010 02:01 PM PST

Source: Patrick Chappatte, Cagle.com, January 5, … [visit site to read more]

Big Jumps In The Chinese Auto Market

Posted: 12 Jan 2010 02:00 PM PST

China as the biggest exporter in the world? Aw c'mon…that's, like, so yesterday's news. Today's buzz is that the Middle Kingdom has convincingly usurped the US as the world's largest auto market; something that would surely have ol' Henry Ford turning in his grave.
Vehicle sales in China jumped 46% for 2009, compared to a 21% slump in the American market. Sales of passenger cars, buses and trucks rose to a whopping 13.6 million. The US managed to move only 10.1 million vehicles … [visit site to read more]

3 Tips For Inflation Survival You Can Learn From Currency Devaluation In Venezuela

Posted: 12 Jan 2010 01:46 PM PST

When I visited Venezuela in May 2009, it cost about $24 to buy a burger, according to the official exchange rate, versus a more reasonable $8 or so at the black market rate. The bolivar currency was already wildly out of whack at the time, and it's no surprise to anyone familiar with the country to see the recent correction take place. In order to gain more perspective on the matter, I spoke with a friend who has spent many years in Venezuela working for a large multinational American … [visit site to read more]

Citi Reshuffles Senior Management

Posted: 12 Jan 2010 01:46 PM PST

Citigroup Inc. (C) has reshuffled its senior management team. Citi has announced yesterday that Teresa A. “Terri” Dial will step down as the Chief Executive Officer of Consumer Banking in North America for personal reasons, and will become a senior advisor.
Her stepping down follows an external review of Citi's management that questioned her managerial skills. 
She will be succeeded by Manuel Medina-Mora. He has been appointed the Chief Executive Officer of Citi Consumer Banking for … [visit site to read more]

Molina Warns Of Tough Q4

Posted: 12 Jan 2010 01:28 PM PST

Molina Healthcare, Inc. (MOH) recently announced preliminary (unaudited) results for the fourth quarter as well as for fiscal 2009 (ended December 31). The company expects to suffer losses between 10 cents per share and 25 cents per share in the quarter, which is much worse than the Zacks Consensus Estimate of a 27-cent profit. Molina Healthcare now expects to earn between $1.12 and $1.26 in fiscal 2009. The Zacks Consensus Estimate is $1.65 per share.
The poor preliminary results are … [visit site to read more]

Novartis Sees Profits In Alcon… Why You Should Too

Posted: 12 Jan 2010 01:25 PM PST

Back in October, I wrote about how pharmaceutical companies captured the financial world's attention with a myriad of lucrative mergers and acquisitions last year.
Some of the more memorable deals included Pfizer Inc. (PFE) snatching up Wyeth Labs in January for $68 billion and Johnson & Johnson (JNJ) purchasing Cougar Biotech in May for $1 billion.
Not to be left out, Novartis ADR (NVS) announced its own intentions in April to purchase eye care company Alcon (ACL) for $50 … [visit site to read more]

KB Home Posts Mixed Bag

Posted: 12 Jan 2010 01:10 PM PST

KB Home (KBH) shares are weak today after the company reported weaker-than-expected net order numbers for the fourth quarter 2009. Quarterly earnings, on the other hand, came in much better than expected, helped in large part by revenue from land sales.
 
KBH has revealed a net income of $100.7 million or $1.31 per share in the fourth quarter of fiscal 2009 ended November 30, 2009, in sharp contrast to a net loss of $307.3 million or $3.96 per share in the fourth quarter of the prior … [visit site to read more]

CTS Plants A Flag In India

Posted: 12 Jan 2010 12:50 PM PST

With an eye toward India's motorcycle expansion, CTS Corp. (CTS) expands its Asian growth.
Following India’s growing openness, the arrival of new and existing models, easy availability of finance at relatively low rates of interest, and price discounts offered by the dealers and manufacturers all have stirred the demand for vehicles and a strong growth of the Indian automobile industry.
Government has liberalized the norms for foreign investment and import of technology, and that appears to … [visit site to read more]

SON Increasing Paperboard Prices

Posted: 12 Jan 2010 12:33 PM PST

Sonoco Products Company (SON) announced that it will increase prices for all uncoated recycled paperboard grades and paperboard industrial converted products in the United States and Canada, effective February 1, 2010.
The company announced a price hike of $50 per ton for all uncoated recycled paperboard grades. Paperboard industrial converted products' price will go up by 4.5%. Sonoco attributed these price hikes to the recent increase in raw material costs. The cost of recovered paper, … [visit site to read more]

SUPERVALU Beats Zacks Estimate

Posted: 12 Jan 2010 12:16 PM PST

SUPERVALU Inc (SVU) reported results for the third quarter of fiscal 2010 with earnings of 51 cents per share. Earnings were above the Zacks Consensus Estimate of 48 cents, but were 17.7% below the prior-year quarter.
Net sales for the quarter declined 9.4% year-over-year to $9.2 billion primarily due to declines in the Retail Food segment and Supply Chain Services segment. Net sales in the Retail Food segment were down 9.4% to $7.1 billion due to a 6.5% negative impact from the same-store … [visit site to read more]

Ron Paul: End The Fed

Posted: 12 Jan 2010 12:01 PM PST

Richard Russell, old-timer writer of the Dow Theory Letters, this morning had the following to say about the US Federal Reserve:

We must never again allow a sinister group of individuals to seize control of our money system. The Founding Fathers foresaw the danger of paper money issued with no connection to gold. Moreover, it’s imperative that the discipline of gold be taught to all Americans so that the immoral concept of a Federal Reserve can never again be sneaked or thrust upon … [visit site to read more]

The Biggest Financial Deception Of The Decade

Posted: 12 Jan 2010 12:00 PM PST

Enron? Bear Stearns? Bernie Madoff? They're all big stories about big losses and have hurt a lot of employees and investors. But none come close to getting my vote for the decade's most dastardly deception…
First came Enron, with $65.5 billion in assets, going belly-up and becoming the largest bankruptcy in US history at that time. The stock went from a high of $84.63 in December 2000 to a whopping 26¢ one year later. And what had we been told by the media? Fortune magazine dubbed Enron … [visit site to read more]

Competitive Schizophrenia Market

Posted: 12 Jan 2010 11:59 AM PST

Recently, Novartis (NVS) launched Fanapt (iloperidone) in the U.S. Its twice daily tablets are for the treatment of schizophrenia in adults. Fanapt received approval from the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) in May 2009.
Clinical trials have shown that Fanapt improved symptoms in schizophrenic patients compared to a placebo therapy. The most common adverse drug reactions were dizziness, dry mouth, fatigue, nasal congestion, orthostatic hypotension, somnolence, tachycardia and weight … [visit site to read more]

Goldcorp Produces Record Gold

Posted: 12 Jan 2010 11:42 AM PST

Goldcorp Inc. (GG), the world's second-largest gold producer, yielded over 2.4 million ounces of gold in 2009, exceeding the previously announced guidance of 2.3 million ounces. The results were driven by the surge in gold prices in the latter half of 2009.
Fourth quarter 2009 gold production totaled 601,000 ounces. Total cash costs are expected to be about $295 per ounce of gold. The company ended the year with $865 million in cash.
Goldcorp has also provided production and cash cost … [visit site to read more]

Life Partners Matches Estimates

Posted: 12 Jan 2010 11:26 AM PST

Life Partners Holdings Inc. (LPHI) reported fiscal 2010 third quarter results on Monday. The company's net income grew 15.8% to $8.4 million, compared to $7.3 million in the year-ago quarter. Earnings per share of 57 cents easily surpassed the year-ago result of 49 cents, though it came in-line the Zacks Consensus Estimate.
 
Life Partners is a financial services company and the parent company of Life Partners Inc., which is engaged in the secondary market for life insurance known as … [visit site to read more]
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