Mar 18, 2010

Daily Markets - Financial News And Opinions

Daily Markets - Financial News And Opinions

Cartoon: Would The Economy Have Been Worse Without Treatment?

Posted: 18 Mar 2010 04:01 PM PDT

Source: Ted Rall, SlateV.com, March 16, … [visit site to read more]


Progressive’s Income Falls

Posted: 18 Mar 2010 03:21 PM PDT

Auto insurer Progressive Corporation's (NYSE:PGR) earnings for February fell to 15 cents per share from 19 cents in the year-ago period. The decline reflects a decrease in realized gains on securities in the reported month compared with the prior-year period.
The company, which reports earnings on a monthly basis, disclosed an income of $98.1 million, down 22% from $125.7 million in the prior-year period. However, net premiums written were up 11% to $1.2 billion while net premiums earned … [visit site to read more]

ProShares Launches First Inverse China, Real Estate, Materials ETFs

Posted: 18 Mar 2010 03:10 PM PDT

ProShares launched three new inverse ETFs on Thursday, bringing the number of single inverse equity and bond ETFs to 14. The new funds are the first to offer single inverse exposure to Chinese equities, real estate, and the basic materials sector. "Our existing double inverse ETFs based on these indexes are popular, but some investors prefer the lower volatility of single inverse exposure," said Michael L. Sapir, Chairman and CEO of ProShare Advisors LLC, ProShares' investment advisor. … [visit site to read more]

Why The Greek ‘Bailout’ Is Flawed

Posted: 18 Mar 2010 03:01 PM PDT

We have opined, perhaps incessantly, that the Greek 'bailout’ is flawed - beyond the typical political hostility, the structure of the plan has two weak links:

1. The austerity measures are based on raising taxes - but the measures are expected to clip GDP and create a smaller revenue pool to tax. The higher the taxes, the lower the pool and never the two shall meet.

2. Without an explicit contingent bailout package the Greek’s have more incentive to side with a population that is … [visit site to read more]

GameStop Earnings Drop, Stock Up

Posted: 18 Mar 2010 02:59 PM PDT

GameStop Corporation (NYSE:GME), the leading video game and entertainment software retailer, recently reported fourth-quarter 2009 results that came a penny ahead of the Zacks Consensus Estimate, but fell year-over-year.
The quarterly earnings of $1.29 per share beat the Zacks Consensus Estimate of $1.28 marginally, but dropped 3.7% from $1.34 delivered in the prior-year quarter due to an increase in SG&A expenses (up 11.5%) and a rise in depreciation and amortization (up 13.9%), partially … [visit site to read more]

Ross Stores Reports In Line

Posted: 18 Mar 2010 02:40 PM PDT

Ross Stores Inc. (NASDAQ:ROST) reported results for the fourth quarter and full fiscal 2009. For the fourth quarter, the company reported earnings of $1.16 per share, which were in line with the Zacks Consensus Estimate.
Quarterly earnings were up 52.6% year-over-year. For fiscal 2009, Ross reported earnings of $3.54 per share, which were up 51.9% from fiscal 2008.
Net sales for the quarter increased 14% to $1.98 billion from $1.73 billion in the prior-year quarter. Comparable same store sales were … [visit site to read more]

Daily ETF Roundup: UNG Slides, IYT Rises

Posted: 18 Mar 2010 02:37 PM PDT

U.S. markets finished the day flat as the Dow extended its winning streak to eight sessions and the S&P 500 finished down slightly. The Dow was boosted by strength out of Boeing and DuPont, both of which saw gains after the Federal Reserve Bank of Philadelphia said that manufacturing and business activity rose in the mid-Atlantic region. Also in focus were firms in the health care sector which trended higher in anticipation of a vote on a $940 billion health care package overall this … [visit site to read more]

Nexus One Heading To Sprint

Posted: 18 Mar 2010 02:23 PM PDT

Google's (NASDAQ:GOOG) so-called "superphone” Nexus One will soon get a second official US carrier as Sprint Nextel (NYSE:S) is reportedly planning to market the device in near future. The third largest US carrier will unveil pricing and the launch date shortly.
Manufactured by Taiwanese handset vendor HTC, Nexus One is Google's own branded Android smartphone launched in January 2010. The current GSM version of Nexus One is being sold through Google's website for an unsubsidized price of $530 … [visit site to read more]

Kraft To Reduce Sodium By 2012

Posted: 18 Mar 2010 02:04 PM PDT

Kraft Foods Inc. (NYSE:KFT) announced plans to reduce sodium by an average of 10% across its products primarily in North America over the next two years. Management stated that a number of U.S. consumers are concerned about their sodium intake and this move by Kraft should help them achieve their target.
Reduction of salt is not new to Kraft foods. To date, the company has already reduced sodium between 5% and 30% in many products. Furthermore, the company has more than 100 products that contain … [visit site to read more]

FINRA’s Enforcement Chief, Susan Merrill, Quits; How About A Subpoena?

Posted: 18 Mar 2010 02:01 PM PDT

Will Susan Merrill provide America with a window into the scams perpetrated by Wall Street on the American investing public? Who is Susan Merrill? Let’s navigate.

Those charged with protecting the public interest must be held to an appropriate standard. In order to promote public trust, these organizations and their executives must be held to account. If need be, that accounting should include legal discovery and, if warranted, a subpoena as well.

Susan Merrill, the head of … [visit site to read more]

Betting On Economic Recovery. Flirting With Disaster.

Posted: 18 Mar 2010 02:00 PM PDT

Markets were dallying last we checked, up a bit, but not enough to sway an opinion. The majors in the US are up on average 5% for the past month, aided, as far as we can tell, by slapdash political rhetoric, myopic investor optimism and cherry-picked data analysis. That said, a 5% gain is a good month by just about anybody's measure. So why are we so dour?
The short answer is, "we're not…we're just cautious."
In his terrific book, Fooled By Randomness: The Hidden Role of Chance in … [visit site to read more]

Video: NYSE Closing Bell Market Monitor: NKE, GME, BA

Posted: 18 Mar 2010 01:47 PM PDT

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

Citi Subsidiary Files $252M IPO

Posted: 18 Mar 2010 01:45 PM PDT

In an effort to shed its non-core operations, Citigroup Inc.'s (NYSE:C) wholly-owned subsidiary and life-insurance unit, Primerica Inc., has filed for an initial public offering (IPO) of 18 million shares.
The offering, which is expected to be priced in the range of $12 to $14 per share, would raise up to $252 million. Additionally, the underwriters have also been granted an option to purchase up to 2.7 million shares. This would result in total proceeds of $290 million, considering the higher … [visit site to read more]

Ford Shares Hit 5-Year High

Posted: 18 Mar 2010 01:30 PM PDT

Shares of Ford Motor Co. (NYSE:F) surged to $14.15 in afternoon trading yesterday for the first time in 5 years. The stock price rose 4.9% since January 2005 before it closed at $14.10 Wednesday.
The 5-year high was primarily driven by Moody’s Investors Service's (NYSE:MCO) upward revision of Ford’s corporate family rating and probability of default rating to "B2″ from "B3.” The agency also lifted the company's secured credit facility to "Ba2″ from "Ba3,” and its senior unsecured debt to … [visit site to read more]

China Mobile Beats Forecast

Posted: 18 Mar 2010 01:15 PM PDT

The world's largest wireless carrier by users, China Mobile (NYSE:CHL), announced full-year 2009 results with earnings per ADS of US$4.16 beating the Zacks Consensus Estimate of US$3.98. Net income increased 2.3% year-over-year to RMB115.2 billion (US$17 billion).
The Chinese wireless behemoth reported revenues of RMB452 billion (US$66 billion), up 9.8% year-over-year, partly driven by increased contribution from value-added services (29% of total sales). EBITDA increased 5.9% to RMB229 billion … [visit site to read more]

Beware Of Greek Gifts

Posted: 18 Mar 2010 01:01 PM PDT

Someone needs to warn the Fed of the Greek episode’s dangerous downside.

I’ve borrowed today’s headline from Homer’s tale wherein the Greeks, unable to conquer the Trojans with their vastly superior numbers, resorted to trickery and stealth. To wit, they parked a large wooden horse on the Trojan’s doorstep, a supposed nod to both sides’ common gods.

However, this particular sacred offering concealed wily Odysseus and his crack troop of latter-day commandos, who dropped out in the … [visit site to read more]

Acurox To Be Reviewed

Posted: 18 Mar 2010 01:00 PM PDT

King Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (NYSE:KG) and Acura Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (NASDAQ:ACUR) recently announced that the FDA has established a date for an advisory committee meeting which will discuss the new drug application for Acurox. The committee will also discuss the results of studies evaluating the addition of niacin for the purpose of reducing the misuse of oxycodone.

The meeting, scheduled to take place on April 22, will be a joint meeting of the Anesthetic and Life Support Drugs and the Drug Safety … [visit site to read more]

Is Your Money What You Think It Is?, Part II

Posted: 18 Mar 2010 01:00 PM PDT

Doug: There's a titanic battle right now between the forces of inflation and deflation. When a big corporation like General Motors, or Fannie or Freddie, defaults on its debt, hundreds of billions of dollars disappear. Assets people thought they had and could have been converted into cash disappear. That's deflationary. In a sound banking system, in which money is a commodity like gold, money can't disappear. It can change ownership, but it can't disappear. But in our current system, it … [visit site to read more]

Jon Stewart Dissects Senator Dodd’s New Watchdog

Posted: 18 Mar 2010 01:00 PM PDT

Senator Chris Dodd (D-CT) is finally ready with new financial regulation. However, before you get your hopes too high… according to him, it "will not stop the next crisis from coming." Instead, his plan is more to establish a new "watchdog" and when it's on duty, "we need to strengthen not only its bark, but also its bite."
Basically, the plan took two years to create, and it already sounds like a new mess in the making. Who better to parse out the key facts than Jon Stewart in … [visit site to read more]

The “Sucker Rally” Will Come To An End

Posted: 18 Mar 2010 01:00 PM PDT

It's refreshing to come across the sucker's rally concept again. It has been a long time now. It's slipped so far from all the headlines of late it seemed like we were the only people who still recalled that it's what we're seeing taking place.
The talented person with the sucker's rally insight? No less than Rick Rule, founder and chairman of Global Resource Investments and regular Agora Financial Investment Symposium speaker, who recently shared his current thoughts on the … [visit site to read more]

Brazil ETF (EWZ) In Focus After Central Bank Holds Rates Steady

Posted: 18 Mar 2010 12:56 PM PDT

As global economies grapple with the challenge of unwinding massive stimulus plans in an orderly manner, central bank meetings have taken on a new importance. Following a relatively uneventful meeting of the Federal Reserve, Brazil's central bank took center stage this week, deciding to keep rates steady at a record low of 8.75%. Some investors were surprised by the move since inflation, recently recorded at 4.83%, has surged above the Bank's target of 4.5%. The news had an interesting … [visit site to read more]

Sugar ETF (SGG) Bounces Back

Posted: 18 Mar 2010 12:44 PM PDT

The wild ride for sugar ETF investors is showing no signs of slowing down any time soon. After sugar prices hit 30 year highs in early February, prices in New York have slumped by nearly 40% over the last month. But prices have rebounded sharply in recent trading, reclaiming large chunks of the ground lost during the recent slide.
Pinpointing the exact cause of the sharp decline in sugar prices is difficult, but it appears that both fundamental and speculative forces are at work. Sugar output … [visit site to read more]

Breather For Medicines Co

Posted: 18 Mar 2010 12:40 PM PDT

The Medicines Company (NASDAQ:MDCO) received a much needed breather recently in the form of a favorable order issued by the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Virginia in the company’s lawsuit against the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office (PTO), the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) and the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services.
 
The Medicines Company is seeking to extend the term of its principal US patent for its lead product, Angiomax, which is scheduled to expire … [visit site to read more]

Shouldn’t Somebody Be Looking Into This?

Posted: 18 Mar 2010 12:40 PM PDT

A week ago, I highlighted a report from the Financial Times, “FedEx Warns on US Recovery,” in which the head of the U.S. transportation and logistics company expressed concerns about the health of the economy:

The nascent US recovery could falter because businesses are still reluctant to invest in new equipment and technology, the head of global delivery and logistics company FedEx has warned.
"Business investment went up somewhat in the fourth quarter but is far below what it ought to be … [visit site to read more]

Default, Deflation And Other Financial Curse Words

Posted: 18 Mar 2010 12:34 PM PDT

In the US, producer prices fell in February, more than expected. Core inflation was barely positive. That is not just a US trend. In Europe, price increases have fallen to the lowest level in 11 years. Japan is experiencing the biggest price drops in many years.
This sounds like a D-word to us…disinflation, almost deflation.
One report tells us that greater than 5% of Fannie Mae mortgages are 90 days in arrears – or more. Another report says it's 10%.
This too sounds like a D-word. … [visit site to read more]

St. Jude Remains Neutral

Posted: 18 Mar 2010 12:30 PM PDT

We maintain our Neutral recommendation for St. Jude Medical, Inc. (NYSE:STJ) with a target price of $41 based on a P/E of 14.9x our fiscal 2010 EPS estimate of $2.75. The earnings estimate revisions for this Zacks Rank #3 stock have been mixed in the past 30 days. 

During the past 30 days, three out of 29 analysts have upgraded their earnings estimates while two have downgraded their estimates for fiscal 2010. For fiscal 2011, three out of 25 analysts have upgraded their earnings estimates … [visit site to read more]

Live From Investment U: Get In On These Powerful Profit Plays Today

Posted: 18 Mar 2010 12:21 PM PDT

Thursday, March 18, 2010: Issue #1219
I could brag about the gorgeous weather we're enjoying here in San Diego (blue sky, 72 degrees, no humidity)…
Or the view of the magnificent 18-hole golf course here at The Grand Del Mar hotel…
But why beat around the bush? Let's talk about money! Specifically, how you can make more… and keep more… in 2010 and beyond.
Hi – Scott Brown back with you, reporting from the sold-out Investment U Conference.
And we've got a loaded issue today – … [visit site to read more]

Video: Crude Price Slide On Greece

Posted: 18 Mar 2010 11:13 AM PDT

Front month crude prices traded below $82 a barrel this session following growing concerns over Greece’s debt issues. … [visit site to read more]

Video: FedEx Delivers Strong Fiscal 3Q Profits

Posted: 18 Mar 2010 11:06 AM PDT

Package delivery company FedEx announced Thursday that its fiscal 3Q profit more than doubled. … [visit site to read more]

Video: Market Movers: GME, BKC, GLW, NKE, DIN

Posted: 18 Mar 2010 11:06 AM PDT

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

Video: Risk Aversion Rises On Jobless Claims Data

Posted: 18 Mar 2010 10:57 AM PDT

Risk Aversion strengthened this session following weak results in US jobless claims figures and growing concerns over Greece’s debt crisis. … [visit site to read more]
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