Daily Markets - Financial News Updates

---

• MasterCard Misses Badly « Zacks Investment Research »
• Stock Pick: After Switching CEO, Novartis Seems To Be Making All The Right Moves « William Patalon III »
• CB Richard Ellis Beats « Zacks Investment Research »
• The Obama Budget And The Horse You Rode In On « Daily Reckoning »
• China Helps Yum! Beat « Zacks Investment Research »
• Stock Market News Briefs: Allergan, Inc., Avon Products, Inc., Burger King Holdings, Inc., CIGNA Corporation, Moody’s Corporation, Starwood Hotels & Resorts Worldwide, Inc. « Zacks Investment Research »
• Brightpoint Beats Zacks Estimate « Zacks Investment Research »
• Forex Trading: USDCAD Racing Higher Away From Converged 100 And 200 Hour MAs « Greg Michalowski »
• Equifax Exceeds Expectation « Zacks Investment Research »
• Forex Trading: EURUSD Looks Toward Support At 1.3800 « Greg Michalowski »
• Morning News Notes: 2/4/2010 « Guy Lerner »
• Swiss Franc: Continuation Of The Rebound « Trading Central »
• Australian Dollar: Bounce « Trading Central »
• Canadian Dollar: Continuation Of The Rebound « Trading Central »
• Japanese Yen: The Upside Prevails « Trading Central »
• British Pound: The Upside Prevails « Trading Central »
• Euro: The Upside Prevails « Trading Central »
• Akamai Beats, Outlook Disappoints « Zacks Investment Research »
• End Quantitative Easing, But Not Because Of Inflation « Capitalists@Work »
• AvalonBay Quarterly FFO Rises « Zacks Investment Research »
• Shell Disappoints, Freezes Dividend « Zacks Investment Research »
• Visa Beats On Higher Transactions « Zacks Investment Research »
• Cisco Results Trending Up « Zacks Investment Research »
• Stock Picks For 04 February « Antonio Costa »
• Forex Trading: EURUSD Consolidating At Lower Levels Prior To ECB Rate Decision « Greg Michalowski »
• Financial Stocks Are Still Not In The Clear « Kevin Grewal »
• Forex Trading: GBPUSD Moves Higher On The BOE Decision « Greg Michalowski »
• Mutual Funds: Top Real Estate Funds « Zacks Investment Research »
• Stock Buy: Tyco Electronics, Ltd. « Tracey Ryniec »
• Bull Of The Day: Emergency Medical Services (EMS) « Zacks Investment Research »
• Stock Buy: Danvers Bancorp Inc. « Zacks Investment Research »
• Stock Buy: Korn/Ferry International, Inc. « Michael Vodicka »
• Bear Of The Day: Vulcan Materials (VMC) « Zacks Investment Research »

MasterCard Misses Badly « Zacks Investment Research » Posted: 04 Feb 2010 07:03 AM PST MasterCard Incorporated's (MA) fourth-quarter earnings (excluding special items) of $2.24 per share came in substantially below the Zacks Consensus Estimate of $2.47. However, this compares favorably with the earnings of $1.85 per share in the year-ago quarter. Earnings for the reported quarter included an after-tax severance charge of $0.19 per share. The results for the reported quarter improved over the prior-year quarter due primarily to better pricing, an increased number of … [visit site to read more]

Stock Pick: After Switching CEO, Novartis Seems To Be Making All The Right Moves « William Patalon III » Posted: 04 Feb 2010 07:01 AM PST The list of former CEOs is a long one, and has grown substantially as a result of the global financial crisis. Investors find it easy to remember such names as John Thain, G. Kennedy Thompson, Charles O. “Chuck” Prince III, James E. “Jimmy” Cayne and E. Stanley “Stan” O’Neal. Needless to say, the memories aren’t always pleasant. During the past several years, the departure of a company’s chief executive was almost always a sign of a company in the midst of a shakeup - and an … [visit site to read more]

CB Richard Ellis Beats « Zacks Investment Research » Posted: 04 Feb 2010 07:00 AM PST CB Richard Ellis Group Inc. (CBG) reported fourth quarter earnings of 21 cents per share after the closing bell on Wednesday. Excluding one-time charges, the company earned 28 cents per share, which surpassed the Zacks Consensus Estimate of 18 cents. The company had earned 37 cents on an adjusted basis in the year-ago quarter.   CB Richard Ellis reported a net income of $64.3 million or 21 cents a share, compared to a net loss of $1,089.4 million or $4.70 per share a year earlier. The … [visit site to read more]

The Obama Budget And The Horse You Rode In On « Daily Reckoning » Posted: 04 Feb 2010 07:00 AM PST From the AP I read the astonishing item that "In a face-to-face encounter, President Barack Obama chastised Republican lawmakers Friday for opposing him on health care, economic stimulus and other major issues." Hahahaha! This is too rich! Hahaha! Composing myself for just a moment and taking a quick look to see if my zipper is up, I stand up and say, "Let me be the first to tell that arrogant commie bastard that Republican lawmakers are not the only ones opposing his arrogant, insane … [visit site to read more]

China Helps Yum! Beat « Zacks Investment Research » Posted: 04 Feb 2010 06:52 AM PST The operator of Taco Bell, Pizza Hut, and KFC fast food chains, Yum! Brands, Inc. (YUM), recently reported fourth-quarter 2009 results that modestly surpassed the Zacks Consensus Estimate on the heels of commodity deflation, lower costs and growth across China and International divisions. Results were offset by a sluggish performance in the U.S. division. Yum!'s quarterly earnings of 50 cents a share exceeded the Zacks Consensus Estimate of 48 cents, and was up 4 cents from the prior-year … [visit site to read more]

Stock Market News Briefs: Allergan, Inc., Avon Products, Inc., Burger King Holdings, Inc., CIGNA Corporation, Moody’s Corporation, Starwood Hotels & Resorts Worldwide, Inc. « Zacks Investment Research » Posted: 04 Feb 2010 06:51 AM PST  CIGNA (CI) reported quarterly numbers of $1.03, versus Zacks estimates of 96 cents, and up from 49 cents a year ago on revenues of $4.64 billion. The company reaffirmed full year guidance of $3.75-$4.15  Starwoods (HOT) reported earnings of 51 cents a share, versus estimates of 22 cents on revenues of $1.28 billion, ahead of Zacks projections of $1.16 billion. Full year outlook was set at 63 cents  Allergan (AGN) reported one penny better earnings of the fourth … [visit site to read more]

Brightpoint Beats Zacks Estimate « Zacks Investment Research » Posted: 04 Feb 2010 06:45 AM PST Yesterday, after market close, Brightpoint Inc. (CELL) declared solid financial results for the fourth quarter of 2009. Quarterly GAAP net income was $19.3 million or 24 cents per share compared to a net loss of $343.4 million or $4.35 per share in the prior-year quarter. Adjusted (excluding special items) EPS in the fourth quarter 2009 was 21 cents, significantly above the Zacks Consensus Estimate of 15 cents. This was primarily due to effective cost management strategy adopted by … [visit site to read more]

Forex Trading: USDCAD Racing Higher Away From Converged 100 And 200 Hour MAs « Greg Michalowski » Posted: 04 Feb 2010 06:45 AM PST The 100 and 200 bar MA on the 1 hour chart converged with the price earlier today and when this happens normally the market looks to move away.  We call it "Three's a Crowd" at FXDD and the idea is the market is in perfect harmony at that point, and therefore is time to create a disharmonious situation. This manifests itself in a move higher or lower.  The market has chosen the upside. Normally, the move will extend for a period of time that is more than the current hourly … [visit site to read more]

Equifax Exceeds Expectation « Zacks Investment Research » Posted: 04 Feb 2010 06:30 AM PST Equifax's (EFX) fourth quarter 2009 EPS of 61 cents exceeded the Zacks Consensus Estimate by 5 cents.   Revenue  Revenue for the quarter was $464.3 million, up 4.0% from $446.6 million reported in the year-ago quarter. Approximately 3.0% of the increase was due to the unfavorable effect of foreign exchange rates. This can be attributed to increase in revenue across most of its business segments except for "U.S. Consumer Information” and "North America … [visit site to read more]

Forex Trading: EURUSD Looks Toward Support At 1.3800 « Greg Michalowski » Posted: 04 Feb 2010 06:19 AM PST The 1.3800 level is 50% retracement support as well as a nice big figure number. This level is should find buyers against it with stops on  a move below. On the topside now, the 100 bar MA on the 5 minute chart comes in at 1.3850 and moving lower. This moving average will be watched retracements. Before that level however, clues may come from the 1.3826 level which was the low earlier today and the high correction price on the last move higher (see chart … [visit site to read more]

Morning News Notes: 2/4/2010 « Guy Lerner » Posted: 04 Feb 2010 06:19 AM PST The “Morning News Notes” as prepared by TL…jobless claims, V earnings, CSCO earnings, CLX earnings, and mortgage spreads. Just click on the link or the coffee mug below. “Morning News Notes”: February 4, … [visit site to read more]

Swiss Franc: Continuation Of The Rebound « Trading Central » Posted: 04 Feb 2010 06:18 AM PST Update on supports and resistances. … [visit site to read more]

Australian Dollar: Bounce « Trading Central » Posted: 04 Feb 2010 06:18 AM PST Update on supports and resistances. … [visit site to read more]

Canadian Dollar: Continuation Of The Rebound « Trading Central » Posted: 04 Feb 2010 06:17 AM PST Update on supports and resistances. … [visit site to read more]

Japanese Yen: The Upside Prevails « Trading Central » Posted: 04 Feb 2010 06:17 AM PST Update on supports and resistances. … [visit site to read more]

British Pound: The Upside Prevails « Trading Central » Posted: 04 Feb 2010 06:17 AM PST Update on supports and resistances. … [visit site to read more]

Euro: The Upside Prevails « Trading Central » Posted: 04 Feb 2010 06:17 AM PST Update on supports and resistances. … [visit site to read more]

Akamai Beats, Outlook Disappoints « Zacks Investment Research » Posted: 04 Feb 2010 06:15 AM PST   Akamai Technologies (AKAM) beat the Zacks Consensus expectation of $233.0 million in revenue and 35 cents in adjusted (normalized) earnings for the fourth quarter of 2009. The company reported $238.3 million in revenue and 46 cents a share in earnings.   Despite a difficult consumer spending environment, growth was observed in the in-digital media and e-commerce space, driven by holiday traffic and traction from high-margin value-added solutions, particularly, application … [visit site to read more]

End Quantitative Easing, But Not Because Of Inflation « Capitalists@Work » Posted: 04 Feb 2010 06:01 AM PST Surveying the blogs today there are some sound and not so sound comments. Guido is keen that we end Quantitative Easing today. Rightly, he points out that is is impossible to tell if it has really done anything. I can see a recovery in the stock market and a Government able to spend as a result, so it has done something. Whether those two things are worth £200 billion is another story. Here I am torn because personally I saw QE was going to put the market on rocket fuel and invested … [visit site to read more]

AvalonBay Quarterly FFO Rises « Zacks Investment Research » Posted: 04 Feb 2010 06:00 AM PST AvalonBay Communities Inc. (AVB), a leading real estate investment trust (REIT), reported fiscal 2009 fourth quarter funds from operations (FFO) of $52.7 million or 64 cents per share, compared to $23.0 million or 30 cents in the year-earlier quarter. Fund from operations, a widely used metric to gauge the performance of REITs, is obtained after adding depreciation and amortization and other non-cash expenses to net income. For full year 2009, FFO was $313.2 million or $3.89 per share … [visit site to read more]

Shell Disappoints, Freezes Dividend « Zacks Investment Research » Posted: 04 Feb 2010 05:51 AM PST Energy major Royal Dutch Shell PLC's (RDS.A) fourth-quarter earnings per ADR (on a current cost of supplies basis), excluding one-time items and gains or losses from inventories, came in at 91 cents, which fell quite some distance short of the year-ago result at $1.27 and also missed the Zacks Consensus Estimate of $1.32. The negative comparisons were due to poor upstream performance and sharply lower downstream profitability. Revenue remained flat at approximately $81.1 billion. Estimate … [visit site to read more]

Visa Beats On Higher Transactions « Zacks Investment Research » Posted: 04 Feb 2010 05:45 AM PST Visa Inc.'s (V) fiscal first quarter (ended Dec 31, 2010) earnings of $1.02 per class A common share were substantially ahead of the Zacks Consensus Estimate of 91 cents. This compares favorably with the earnings of 74 cents per class A common share in the year-ago quarter.   The results for the quarter primarily benefited from transaction growth, driven by the company's payments network and processing capabilities. Also, the overall economic hangover and new U.S. regulations have … [visit site to read more]

Cisco Results Trending Up « Zacks Investment Research » Posted: 04 Feb 2010 05:30 AM PST Cisco Systems' (CSCO) second quarter 2010 earnings beat the Zacks Consensus by 10 cents. Revenue beat by 4.6%.  Estimate revisions have been minimal over the last two months. Of the 35 analysts covering the stock, just two have made upward revisions and one a downward revision. Consequently, the Zacks Consensus estimate has remained steady at $30, a $0.01 increase over the year-ago quarter.   However, the surprise history is a positive 11.11%, indicating that the shares have … [visit site to read more]

Stock Picks For 04 February « Antonio Costa » Posted: 04 Feb 2010 05:12 AM PST ( click to enlarge ) (BIDU) broke out of a short-term consolidation range on Wednesday. The high of the day was $450.99, which is resistance for the continuation move. A break of this resistance level could see the stock testing its strong horizontal resistance line at $467.68. ( click to enlarge ) (GOOG) closed higher on Wednesday as the stock looks to be bouncing off support. The stock hit a high of $542.10 on Wednesday, which is resistance for Thursday's follow through move. … [visit site to read more]

Forex Trading: EURUSD Consolidating At Lower Levels Prior To ECB Rate Decision « Greg Michalowski » Posted: 04 Feb 2010 05:07 AM PST The price stepped down once again today falling below the 2010 low for the recent move lower at 1.3852 with the low reaching 1.3826.  Off the daily chart the 50% retracement of the move up in 2009 comes in at 1.3800. Keep this level in mind on the downside today.  The EURUSD continues to step down.  The pair has now trended down from the January high of 1.4579  to the low today of 1.3826.  During the move down, the pair has only had one test of the 200 hour MA. … [visit site to read more]

Financial Stocks Are Still Not In The Clear « Kevin Grewal » Posted: 04 Feb 2010 05:01 AM PST Despite stellar quarterly earnings reports by some financial services giants like Goldman Sachs (GS) and JP Morgan Chase (JPM), the financial sector as a whole fares better than it did a year ago, but is still not in the clear. Most recently, the nation’s largest life-insurer, Met Life (MET), disappointed Wall Street, as it reported a book value short of what was expected.  Many suggest that this was driven by the impact that financial derivatives have on balance sheets and the fact … [visit site to read more]

Forex Trading: GBPUSD Moves Higher On The BOE Decision « Greg Michalowski » Posted: 04 Feb 2010 04:36 AM PST When the BOE said they would not extend the Asset Purchase plan past 200 billion (at least for now), the price of GBPUSD moved sharply higer.  The low last night reached the low just prior to the announcement at 1.5804.  The high has been contained so far at by the 100 bar MA on the 5 minute chart at the 1.5872 level (at least for now).  A move above this level will look to the 200 bar MA at the 1.5887.  The  close from yesterday also comes in at 1.5889.  A … [visit site to read more]

Mutual Funds: Top Real Estate Funds « Zacks Investment Research » Posted: 03 Feb 2010 10:20 PM PST After a recent downturn the real estate sector is showing significant signs of revival. Real estate mutual funds allow investors a relatively cost effective way to invest in this sector since it typically requires a lower initial investment than investing in real estate itself. Until 2008, mutual funds in this sector had enjoyed tremendous growth and will continue to play a significant role in a long-term investment portfolio. Below we will share with you 5 top rated real estate funds. Each has … [visit site to read more]

Stock Buy: Tyco Electronics, Ltd. « Tracey Ryniec » Posted: 03 Feb 2010 09:00 PM PST Tyco Electronics, Ltd. (TEL) recently surprised on estimates for the 4th quarter in a row as customers replenish inventories around the world. Tyco is trading with a PEG ratio of just 0.96. Company Description Tyco Electronics is a Swiss-based manufacturer of about 500,000 engineered electronic components that go into consumer and industrial products in many industries including automotive, consumer electronics, telecommunications, aerospace, medical and alternative energy. Tyco Electronics … [visit site to read more]

Bull Of The Day: Emergency Medical Services (EMS) « Zacks Investment Research » Posted: 03 Feb 2010 09:00 PM PST Emergency Medical Services’ (EMS) third quarter earnings per share came in at $0.66, surpassing the Zacks Consensus Estimate of $0.60 but flat with the year-ago period. The company has performed well in both its segments, AMR and EmCare. We expect the growth momentum to continue with increased volume from new contracts, suitable acquisitions, better penetration in existing markets and operational efficiencies. We believe the industry dynamics are currently quite favorable for the company … [visit site to read more]

Stock Buy: Danvers Bancorp Inc. « Zacks Investment Research » Posted: 03 Feb 2010 09:00 PM PST Danvers Bancorp, Inc (DNBK) continues to expand organically and through acquisitions. Estimates are climbing and project earnings to double this year. Company Description Danvers is a holding company for banks in Massachusetts, with 25 branches. The company’s has $2.5 billion in assets and provides traditional banking services and non-deposit investment products and services. Income Surges Danvers reported quarter results on Jan 28 that showed net income of $2.6 million, up from a slight loss … [visit site to read more]

Stock Buy: Korn/Ferry International, Inc. « Michael Vodicka » Posted: 03 Feb 2010 09:00 PM PST Korn/Ferry International, Inc. (KFY) recently rebounded from a key trend line that has been supporting prices for most of the last 10 months to move back within striking distance of the 52-week high at$18 Company Description Korn/Ferry International operates as an executive recruitment and talent management agency worldwide. The company was founded in 1969 and has a market cap of $689 million. Korn Ferry saw a nice spike in both sales in earnings in its November Q2 results as stability in the … [visit site to read more]

Bear Of The Day: Vulcan Materials (VMC) « Zacks Investment Research » Posted: 03 Feb 2010 09:00 PM PST Despite being the largest producer of construction aggregates and a leading producer of other construction materials, Vulcan Materials (VMC) faces a challenging environment in the construction industry. The economic crisis, leading to a significant reduction in new home construction, continues to impact its sales volume. Furthermore, the company’s operations are highly susceptible to inclement weather and volatility in energy costs. Its cash position has also deteriorated. These have led us … [visit site to read more]

You are subscribed to email updates from Daily Markets To stop receiving these emails, you may unsubscribe now.	Email delivery powered by Google
Google Inc., 20 West Kinzie, Chicago IL USA 60610