Feb 19, 2010

Daily Markets - Financial News And Opinions

Daily Markets - Financial News And Opinions


Morning News Notes: 2/19/2010

Posted: 19 Feb 2010 07:10 AM PST

The “Morning News Notes” as prepared by TL… Fed action and comments, bank profits, Greece, Volcker rule, and health care.
Just click on the link or the coffee mug below.

“Morning News Notes”: February 19, … [visit site to read more]


Throw This Squirrel A Nut

Posted: 19 Feb 2010 07:04 AM PST

Every now and then, even this squirrel will catch a nut. My “call” on the Dollar Index on January 19 has been prescient, and it appears that the Dollar can still move higher as key price levels (i.e., resistance) continue to fall. See figure 1, a weekly chart of the Dollar Index.

Figure 1. Dollar Index/ weekly

The bullish set up of a weekly close over three key pivot points (i.e., the pivot points with the black and yellow dots) is identified on the chart. The down draft seen in … [visit site to read more]


Intuit Tops, Raises Outlook

Posted: 19 Feb 2010 07:00 AM PST

Intuit Inc. (NASDAQ:INTU) reported revenue of $837 million in the second quarter of fiscal 2010, up 8% year over year and was more than the top-end of the guidance provided by management by $20 million. Intuit is a leading provider of business and financial management solutions for small and medium-sized businesses, consumers, accounting professionals and financial institutions.
The flagship products and services of the company include QuickBooks, Quicken and TurboTax, simplify small business … [visit site to read more]


J.C. Penney Beats, Outlook Positive

Posted: 19 Feb 2010 06:51 AM PST

J.C. Penney Company Inc. (NYSE:JCP), a leading retailer of apparel and footwear, accessories, fashion jewelry, beauty products and home furnishings, reported fiscal 2009 fourth-quarter results before the opening bell on Friday.

Quarterly earnings came in at 84 cents per share, which declined 10.6% from 94 cents recorded in the year-ago quarter. However, the result surpassed the Zacks Consensus Estimate of 82 cents derived from 13 covering analysts as well as the recent management guidance of 77 … [visit site to read more]


Wright Beats Zacks Estimate

Posted: 19 Feb 2010 06:45 AM PST

Wright Medical Group, Inc. (NASDAQ:WMGI) reported fourth quarter and full fiscal 2009 results. For the fourth quarter, earnings per share were 27 cents, beating the Zacks Consensus Estimate of 19 cents. However, earnings were lower than the year-ago figure of 31 cents.  For fiscal 2009, earnings per share were 85 cents, compared to the Zacks Consensus Estimate of 60 cents and the year-ago figure of 92 cents.
 
Quarterly results
 Total revenues in the fourth quarter increased 8.0% … [visit site to read more]


Forex Trading: USDJPY Consolidates After The Sharp Move Higher Yesterday

Posted: 19 Feb 2010 06:33 AM PST

The USDJPY has been well behaved in trading today. The high for the day comes in at 92.08.  The low has come in at 91.61.  The 91.67 level has been more of a floor for the pair with a number of bars on the 5 minute chart at that level. Let's call support at 91.61-67.  On the topside, the 100 and 200 bar MA on the 5 minute chart is at 91.83.  This will be the watched today.  As long as the price remains below the 91.83 the bias remains to the downside with support at … [visit site to read more]


ANADIGICS Beats Estimates

Posted: 19 Feb 2010 06:30 AM PST

ANADIGICS, Inc. (NASDAQ:ANAD) reported revenues of $41.8 million in the fourth quarter of 2009, down 7.6% from a year ago but up 13.9% sequentially and surpassed management's revenue growth guidance of 5% – 8%.
The growth in revenues came from higher-than-expected shipments in each of the main product categories of wideband CDMA, wireless LAN, WiMAX, and cable products.
Wireless revenues came in at $24.9 million, down 5.7% sequentially. Broadband revenues came in at $16.9 million, up 64.4% … [visit site to read more]


Stock Market News Briefs: CBS Corporation, Chesapeake Energy Corporation, KeyCorp, Liz Claiborne, Inc., Schlumberger N.V., Smith International, Inc., Toyota Motor Corporation, Adobe Systems Incorporated, Dell Inc.

Posted: 19 Feb 2010 06:23 AM PST

 Reports say Schlumberger (NYSE:SLB) is in talks to buy Smith International (NYSE:SII) for an estimated $9 billion

 CBS (NYSE:CBS) posted inline four quarter earnings of 25 cents ex-items on revenues of $3.50 billion, up from Zacks estimates of $3.44 billion

 Dell (NASDAQ:DELL) reported adjusted fourth quarter results of 28 cents, one cent ahead of Zacks estimates, on revenues of $14.9 billion, beating Zacks estimates of $13.8 billion on improving notebook PC shipments

 FBR … [visit site to read more]


Swiss Franc: Continuation Of The Rebound

Posted: 19 Feb 2010 06:17 AM PST

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


Japanese Yen: Rebound

Posted: 19 Feb 2010 06:17 AM PST

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


British Pound: The Upside Prevails

Posted: 19 Feb 2010 06:17 AM PST

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


Euro: The Upside Prevails

Posted: 19 Feb 2010 06:17 AM PST

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


Stalemate!

Posted: 19 Feb 2010 06:17 AM PST

Fundamentals
It appears that Natural Gas traders are already looking towards spring and an end to the traditional gas storage draw season, as not even the withdrawal of 190 billion cubic feet (bcf) last week could spark a rally in Natural Gas futures. The 190 bcf withdrawal appeared bullish — especially when compared to last year’s 44 bcf draw and the 5-year average of 129 bcf of gas taken out of storage. The particularly brutal winter weather in the eastern half of the U.S. has certainly … [visit site to read more]


Loss Widens At Medicines Co.

Posted: 19 Feb 2010 06:15 AM PST

The Medicines Company (NASDAQ:MDCO) reported a fourth-quarter loss of $1.40 per
share and a full year loss of $1.38, including the impact of stock-based
compensation expense. Fourth quarter loss was wider than the year-ago loss
of 8 cents and the Zacks Consensus Estimate of a loss of 15 cents.
Although revenues increased, the company reported a wider loss due to the
ApoA-1 Milano deal, milestone payments, license payments, and other costs,
charges related to the Cleviprex recall and its decision to … [visit site to read more]


BIS Economists On “The Future Of Public Debt”

Posted: 19 Feb 2010 06:01 AM PST

Public debt and spending has become a particularly hot topic recently. The key driver is a ballooning of fiscal deficits on the back of the crisis. Governments around the world have transferred troubled assets from the private sector to the public sector in order to prevent a major meltdown, they have also taken large moves to stimulate demand. But this has worsened existing vulnerabilities in terms of fiscal sustainability. Hot spots have flared up like Greece and Dubai. The worse may … [visit site to read more]


Solid Quarter For Goodyear

Posted: 19 Feb 2010 06:00 AM PST

Goodyear Tire (NYSE:GT) posted a net income of $107 million or 14 cents per share (excluding special items) for the fourth quarter of 2009 in stark contrast to the loss of $287 million or $1.18 (excluding special items) in the same quarter a year ago and the Zacks Consensus Estimate of a loss of 6 cents. The company believes lower raw material costs, improved sales volumes and cost-reduction initiatives contributed to earnings growth.
 
Sales in the quarter rose 7% to $4.4 billion. It … [visit site to read more]


Schlumberger To Buy Smith Int’l?

Posted: 19 Feb 2010 05:58 AM PST

Oilfield services leader Schlumberger Ltd. (NYSE:SLB) is in advanced level of discussion to buy Smith International Inc. (NYSE:SII), as per this morning’s Wall Street Journal report. The deal still has chances of not materializing, according to the report.

Though the final numbers have yet to come out, the deal price is hovering around $9 billion, by taking a typical deal premium of 20% on the current market capitalization of Smith.

Following the finalization of the deal, if done, the joint … [visit site to read more]


Forex Trading: GBPUSD Trying To Bottom But Not Getting Very Far

Posted: 19 Feb 2010 05:48 AM PST

The GBPUSD fell sharply overnight, but has slowed the declines pace.  This has allowed the 100 bar MA on the 5 minute chart to catch up with the market and the price is currently trading at the level.  The pair did move above the 100 bar MA off the 8:30 data, but remained below the 200 bar MA at the 1.5425 level currently. A move above this level is needed to solicit additional dip buying interest.   A move above would next target the 1.5459 level.
Further up is the floor … [visit site to read more]


Analog Devices Beats Again

Posted: 19 Feb 2010 05:45 AM PST

Analog Devices' (NYSE:ADI) fiscal first quarter results beat the Zacks Consensus estimate by 7 cents. Shares were up over 4% in response to the news.
 
Revenue 
Revenue of $603.0 million was up 5.5% sequentially and 26.5% year over year. The sequential strength was driven by all markets except consumer, which saw some seasonal softness. The increase from the year-ago quarter reflects a higher level of business, particularly in the automotive and consumer segments.
 
Revenue by … [visit site to read more]


Discount Rate Increase NOT Tightening

Posted: 19 Feb 2010 05:36 AM PST

The Fed announced a surprise quarter point increase in its discount rate, taking the rate it charges banks for short-term loans to 0.75%. This is the first rate increase of any type by the Fed in almost four years.

But the discount rate should not to be confused with the more important Fed Funds rate, which is the primary building block of all the interest rates in the broader economy. The Fed Funds rate currently remains at an extremely low level (at the 0 to 0.25% range), and the Fed has … [visit site to read more]


Microsoft-Yahoo! Deal Finalized

Posted: 19 Feb 2010 05:30 AM PST

On Thursday, the long-discussed Microsoft (NASDAQ:MSFT)-Yahoo (NASDAQ:YHOO) deal was finally cleared by both European and U.S. regulators.
 
Microsoft shares jumped 1.33% in response to the news, but lost 1.1% after-hours. Yahoo shareholders appear to be viewing the news negatively, with shares rising just 0.65% during the day and losing 1.22% after-hours. Google Inc. (NASDAQ:GOOG) shares also followed the same pattern, but registered a net increase. The Nasdaq was up 0.69% yesterday and the S&P … [visit site to read more]


Forex Trading: EURUSD Back Above 1.3483 Level. 1.3531/38 Next Upside Resistance

Posted: 19 Feb 2010 05:10 AM PST

The EURUSD moved below the target at the 1.3483 level which was the 61.8% of the move up from the 2009 low to the 2009 high.  The price is moving toward the 1.3531/38 level which was the lows from February 12 and yesterday prior to the move lower.  This will be the next resistance level for the pair this morning.  Above the level the pair has room to head up toward the 1.3575-85 where the 38.2% of the move down and the floor lows going back to February … [visit site to read more]


ETFs That Could Potentially Be Affected By The Fed’s Discount Rate Hike

Posted: 19 Feb 2010 05:01 AM PST

The Federal Reserve hiked the interest rate it charges banks for emergency loans after the market closed Thursday. What does it mean, and which exchange traded funds (ETFs) could be affected by the move?

The Federal Reserve changed the interest rate it charges banks for emergency loans, making the first interest rate move since December 2008. The hike in the discount rate - from 0.50% to 0.75% - will not affect consumer or company loans, reports Reuters. The Fed insists this move isn’t akin … [visit site to read more]


Dell Revenue Up, EPS Exceeds

Posted: 19 Feb 2010 04:42 AM PST

Dell Inc. (NASDAQ:DELL) reported fourth quarter 2010 EPS of 28 cents, exceeding the Zacks Consensus Estimate of 27 cents.

Revenue

Revenue for the quarter was $14.9 billion, up 11.0% from $13.4 billion reported in the year-ago quarter and up 16.0% from $12.9 billion reported in the previous quarter. The company's fourth quarter revenue growth can be attributed to an improvement in revenue in all business segments, especially due to growth in the commercial business, fueled by growth in Enterprise … [visit site to read more]


Why Gold Is Still Bullish Despite Pundits Talking It Down

Posted: 19 Feb 2010 03:50 AM PST

A few weeks ago on February 4th, I penned an article for Kitco forecasting the gold correction trends and the likely outcomes. My opinion was that gold was pulling back to work off excessive optimism from the early December 09 highs. This type of pullback was orderly and there was a gap at 102.50 on the SPDR Gold Shares (GLD) ETF that I believed would fill. The following day, that gap filled and gold hit a bottom at 1042 and has rallied much higher since. I opined that the rally in the US … [visit site to read more]


Mutual Funds: Top 4 Ranked Federated Funds

Posted: 18 Feb 2010 11:40 PM PST

Since its inception in 1955, Federated Investors has used a disciplined approach to deliver superior value to investors in the U.S. and abroad. With more than $389.3 billion in assets under management, it is now one of the largest investment managers in the U.S. Federated offers a diversified product line, including 145 domestic and international equity, fixed-income and money market funds. These products are distributed through more than 5,200 financial intermediaries and institutions.
Below … [visit site to read more]


Stock Buy: Textainer

Posted: 18 Feb 2010 09:00 PM PST

Textainer (NYSE:TGH) is looking for industry conditions to improve throughout 2010.
Company Description
Textainer is the world’s largest lessor of intermodal containers with a total fleet of more than 1.3 million containers. The company leases containers to more than 400 shipping lines, including each of the world’s top 20 container lines.TGH is also the primary supplier of leased containers to the U.S. Military.
Improving Industry Fundamentals
Shipping consultancy firm, Drewry, expects to see … [visit site to read more]


Bull Of The Day: Chipotle Mexican Grill (CMG)

Posted: 18 Feb 2010 09:00 PM PST

Chipotle Mexican Grill (NYSE:CMG) has remained largely unruffled by the recent economic slowdown. The company is well-positioned to expand rapidly while generating improved earnings, margins and returns on invested capital.
With a strong balance sheet, consistent earnings and healthy cash flow, we think the stock provides relative safety and consistent growth. The company’s results have been stable relative to many of its peers, with same-store sales that appear to have held up over … [visit site to read more]


Stock Buy: Fairchild Semiconductor

Posted: 18 Feb 2010 09:00 PM PST

Fairchild Semiconductor (NYSE:FCS) is a Zacks #1 Rank (’strong buy’) company that’s less than a month removed from a very solid fourth-quarter report, which included another positive earnings surprise along with year-over-year improvements in EPS and revenue.
Earnings estimates moved sharply higher after the report, helped by an encouraging sales outlook for the current quarter. Furthermore, FCS has some nice value fundamentals, including a price-to-book of 1.24 and a forward P/E of … [visit site to read more]


Stock Buy: Celanese Corp.

Posted: 18 Feb 2010 09:00 PM PST

Celanese Corp (NYSE:CE) continued its excellent earnings streak as it returned to profitability. Estimates are up and projecting double-digit growth.
Company Description
Celanese is a chemical company that focuses on consumer and industrial applications. The company has significant geographic diversification with 73% of sales coming from outside of North America.
Back in the Black
On Feb 9 Celanese reported fourth-quarter results that showed an 8% increase in sales to almost $1.4 billion. This … [visit site to read more]


Stock Buy: Brown Shoes Co.

Posted: 18 Feb 2010 09:00 PM PST

Brown Shoes Co. (NYSE:BWS) is pressuring its 52-week high just above $13 as estimates rise ahead of the company’s early March, Q4 results.
Company Description
Brown Shoe Company, together with its subsidiaries, operates as a retailer and wholesaler of licensed, branded and private label footwear. The company owns over 1,400 stores under the name “Famous Footwear” in the United States, Canada and China and has a market cap of $545 million.
Third-Quarter Results
If Brown’s Q3 results from late … [visit site to read more]


Bear Of The Day: Nucor Corporation (NUE)

Posted: 18 Feb 2010 09:00 PM PST

Nucor Corporation (NYSE:NUE), the nation’s largest recycler of steel scrap, is suffering from continued low operating rates and high-cost pig iron inventories. Moreover, a slowdown in demand from the automobile sector and increased production in China are matters of concern.
Long-term contracts, cost reduction efforts and a dominant acquisition strategy could be positives in the company’s performance in the coming quarters. Nucor’s strong balance sheet positions the company well for the long term, … [visit site to read more]


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