Daily Markets - Financial News & Opinions

Freddie Mac HR Head’s $2.7 Million Payday Stinks
Call For An Audit - The Blank Check For Freddie And Fannie Must Be Tracked
GMAC To Get Additional $3.5 Billion TARP Bailout
Forex Commentary: US Dollar Ekes Out Small Gain After Choppy Session
Stocks To Watch On Thursday 31 December
False Hope In The Real Estate Comeback
Broadcom Settles Lawsuit
Zions Replaces Cash With Stock
Video: NYSE Closing Bell Market Monitor: X, PFE, FCX
Russia: The RE-Emerging Market
Video: Crude Prices Rise As Inventory Drops
Video: US Imposes Duties On Chinese Steel Imports
AppliedMicro Selects Cadence
Good News For Vical Candidate
McAfee’s Cybercrime Predictions
Goldman May Shift Staff From UK
Donnelley Initiated At Outperform
The 4 Best Real Estate Investments For 2010
Shareholders Vote For ACS, Xerox
Video: 12/30 FX Options Report
GMAC Likely Getting More Aid
AYE Withdraws From Virginia PATH
Taxpayer-Supported Colossal Blunders
Will Oil, Natural Gas ETFs Stage A Comeback In 2010?
Santarus Receives $20 Million
Textron To Build Knight Vehicles
Coming Soon: The Bill For The Massive U.S. National Debt
Australian Dollar: The Bias Remains Bullish
Canadian Dollar: Bounce
Swiss Franc: Bullish Bias Above 102
Japanese Yen: The Upside Prevails
British Pound: Continuation Of The Rebound
Euro: The Upside Prevails
Australian Dollar: The Bias Remains Bullish
Canadian Dollar: Bounce
Swiss Franc: Bullish Bias Above 102
Japanese Yen: The Upside Prevails
British Pound: Continuation Of The Rebound
Euro: The Upside Prevails
Australian Dollar: Continuation Of The Rebound
Canadian Dollar: Bounce
Swiss Franc: Bullish Bias Above 102
Japanese Yen: Up Turn
British Pound: Continuation Of The Rebound
Euro: The Upside Prevails
M&I Bonuses Now Stock Awards
CNOOC Making Deepwater Base
Intuitive Surgical Downgraded
Video: Data & Fed Speculation Allows Dollar Rally To Continue
Statoil Accords Stake Hike
Unicom’s 3G Users To Reach 3M
Forex Trading: EURUSD Has Intraday Support At 1.4327/35

Freddie Mac HR Head’s $2.7 Million Payday Stinks

Posted: 30 Dec 2009 06:07 PM PST

Freddie Mac (FRE) and Fannie Mae (FNM) have served as Washington’s piggy bank for far too long. The issuance of a blank check by Uncle Sam on Christmas Eve to cover losses at Freddie and Fannie through 2012 only cements the legacy of the pigs who have fed at the Freddie and Fannie trough.

While the sty is mighty big, don’t think for a second that the pillaging and plundering of these organizations is restricted to the high and mighty politicos who pretend to know how to develop … [visit site to read more]

Call For An Audit - The Blank Check For Freddie And Fannie Must Be Tracked

Posted: 30 Dec 2009 05:28 PM PST

Who will reveal the truth and consequences embedded in the operations of Washington’s newly designed slush funds housed within Freddie Mac (FRE) and Fannie Mae (FNM)? The Washington Way all too often pays off those who promote the administration’s interests (both Republican and Democrat alike) while sticking future generations with an ever larger bill.

Is slush fund too harsh a characterization for a Washington-issued blank check? In my opinion, a blank check in Washington has never … [visit site to read more]

GMAC To Get Additional $3.5 Billion TARP Bailout

Posted: 30 Dec 2009 05:19 PM PST

The U.S. government is negotiating to provide GMAC Financial Services with approximately $3.5 billion in bailout funds in addition to the $12.5 billion the company has already received, according to multiple reports.

The U.S. Treasury told the company to raise additional capital as part of government-led stress tests of large banks conducted earlier this year. The tests were designed to identify banking firms that would need more capital to continue lending if the economy faltered in … [visit site to read more]

Forex Commentary: US Dollar Ekes Out Small Gain After Choppy Session

Posted: 30 Dec 2009 05:13 PM PST

The U.S. Dollar finished higher after a choppy trading session, but well off its high. The Greenback opened higher after global equity markets weakened following an overnight drop in demand for higher risk assets. The Dollar surged to its high for the day against most major currencies after the release of a better than expected Chicago PMI report.
This report signaled that the U.S. economy is recovering from the recession. After the early morning rush to a new high, buying fizzled as … [visit site to read more]

Stocks To Watch On Thursday 31 December

Posted: 30 Dec 2009 04:58 PM PST

( click to enlarge )

Raser Tech (RZ) has been in a strong downtrend since June. The stock had an interesting day, as it broke out of the range and closed near the highs. Today’s high was $1.46, which is resistance for the continuation move on Thursday. There is a lot of upside in this trade, so keep RZ on your screen tomorrow.

( click to enlarge )

Entromedics (ETRM) had a very strong day on Wednesday, as the stock broke out of its channel on the way to closing up $0.17 on … [visit site to read more]

False Hope In The Real Estate Comeback

Posted: 30 Dec 2009 03:00 PM PST

The Los Angeles Times tells us that mortgage defaults in the prime category rose in the 3rd quarter. If you are wondering what might happen to housing prices in the US…should the depression continue…you might want to keep an eye on the default rate.
Housing prices are down about 30% nationwide. In some areas, they are down much more. But they had been going up for so long…this downswing still seems like an aberration. Hope has momentum…especially in the housing market. Housing prices … [visit site to read more]

Broadcom Settles Lawsuit

Posted: 30 Dec 2009 02:28 PM PST

Broadcom Corporation (BRCM) recently announced that it has agreed to settle the securities class action litigation pending against the company and certain of its current and former officers and directors. The class action was primarily related to the company’s historical stock option accounting practices.
The lawsuit was filed by investors who bought or acquired the company's shares between July 2005 and July 2006. Under the proposed settlement, Broadcom will need to pay $160.5 million in … [visit site to read more]

Zions Replaces Cash With Stock

Posted: 30 Dec 2009 02:11 PM PST

Focusing on damage control after the financial crisis, on Dec. 28, Zions Bancorporation (ZION) announced its decision of awarding bonus to its 25 top executives in the form of stock in lieu of cash payments. The decision has been made in order to conform to the regulations under the government's Troubled Asset Relief Program (TARP). Zions was bailed out by a TARP fund of $1.4 billion in Nov. 2008.
According to the rules set by the federal government, the executives of a beneficiary … [visit site to read more]

Video: NYSE Closing Bell Market Monitor: X, PFE, FCX

Posted: 30 Dec 2009 07:03 PM PST

The latest in news, commentary, and information on what’s moving the US equities markets. Watch this broadcast LIVE at 4:00 pm EST daily @ “http://www.nyx.com/marketmonitor” … [visit site to read more]

Russia: The RE-Emerging Market

Posted: 30 Dec 2009 02:00 PM PST

Pop quiz: Guess which BRIC nation paid off the biggest returns in the last ten years. No peaking…

Russia has a bad rep among its BRIC brethren. It's politically unstable, GDP there is actually plummeting, it's fate seems totally dependant on oil and gas revenues and it doesn't even fit the bill of a real emerging market… more like a wounded superpower stumbling back to economic relevance. But as we begin the process of wrapping up the decade, here's more proof that, as Rick Rule … [visit site to read more]

Video: Crude Prices Rise As Inventory Drops

Posted: 30 Dec 2009 06:55 PM PST

Front month crude prices were on the upside this sessin following a decline in crude inventories for last week according to the EIA’s Inventory Data Report. … [visit site to read more]

Video: US Imposes Duties On Chinese Steel Imports

Posted: 30 Dec 2009 06:52 PM PST

In another sign of conflict between the nations, the United States successfully agreed to impose duties on imported Chines steel pipes & tubes in an attempt to assist domestic steelmakers. … [visit site to read more]

AppliedMicro Selects Cadence

Posted: 30 Dec 2009 08:52 AM PST

Earlier this month, AppliedMicro Circuits Corporation (AMCC) announced that it has selected an Encounter Digital Implementation (EDI) System from Cadence Design Systems, Inc. (CDNS) for its complex advanced-node designs. This EDI System joins other multiprocessing-capable offerings from AMCC to form a standardized design infrastructure based set of tools.
Customers use Cadence software and hardware, methodologies and services to design and verify advanced semiconductors, consumer … [visit site to read more]

Good News For Vical Candidate

Posted: 30 Dec 2009 08:30 AM PST

Vical Inc. (VICL) announced recently that its cancer drug candidate Allovectin-7 has received a positive opinion from an independent safety review board. The board recommended the continuation of the late-stage study of Allovectin-7.
The study is being funded by Japan’s AnGes MG Inc., who has paid Vical the entire $22.6 million under the agreement. AnGes will exclusively market the drug in Japan and other key Asian countries on approval.
The safety monitoring board reached its decision that … [visit site to read more]

McAfee’s Cybercrime Predictions

Posted: 30 Dec 2009 01:09 PM PST

In a recent press release, McAfee Inc. (MFE) disclosed its 2010 Threat Predictions report. In this report the cyber security major stated that, it expects cybercriminals to target social networking sites and third-party applications and use more complex Trojans and botnets to build and execute attacks, and take advantage of HTML 5 to create emerging threats. The company is of the opinion that 2010 will be a good year for law enforcement's fight against cybercrime.

The company … [visit site to read more]

Goldman May Shift Staff From UK

Posted: 30 Dec 2009 07:43 AM PST

Goldman Sachs Group Inc. (GS) announced that it expects to move as many as 1,000 of its staff from its UK operations to Spain. The bank claimed that the sudden and retrospective tax on bonuses has damaged its confidence in the UK tax system.
Goldman's confidence has been dented by the 50% super-tax on all bonus payments above £25,000, the increase in the rate of income tax from 40% to 50% and banker-bashing comments by regulators. This new tax regime was announced by the U.K. government … [visit site to read more]

Donnelley Initiated At Outperform

Posted: 30 Dec 2009 07:17 AM PST

We have an Outperform rating on R.R. Donnelley & Sons Company (RRD), a leader in the commercial printing industry. We have set a price target of $25.00.
R.R. Donnelley is currently trading at 13.5x our 2010 earnings estimate of $1.65, a discount to the industry average. The company's current trailing 12-month earnings multiple is 12.5X, compared to the 14.1X average for the peer group and 28.3X for the S&P 500.
R.R. Donnelley is the largest printing company in the U.S., providing … [visit site to read more]

The 4 Best Real Estate Investments For 2010

Posted: 30 Dec 2009 12:00 PM PST

Next year is going to be the most exciting one real estate investors have seen in a decade. I've got my eye on four spots, in particular – diverse opportunities around the globe, each of which represents an excellent value play.
First up, Brazil. I'll show you a way to capitalize on that nation's continuing boom, particularly along the Northeast coast. That region boasts some of the world's most glorious beaches. With big infrastructure projects on the horizon, it's an area where … [visit site to read more]

Shareholders Vote For ACS, Xerox

Posted: 30 Dec 2009 11:53 AM PST

Affiliated Computer Services Inc. (ACS), a leading business process outsourcing firm, and Xerox Corporation (XRX) announced that shareholders will have the right to vote on Xerox's agreement to buy ACS.
Shareholders of both the companies on record as of Dec. 11 will be able to vote on the merger in a special meeting scheduled for Feb. 5, 2010.
In September, Xerox agreed to acquire Affiliated in a cash and stock transaction valued at $6.4 billion ($63.11 per ACS share in cash and Xerox … [visit site to read more]

Video: 12/30 FX Options Report

Posted: 30 Dec 2009 04:53 PM PST

The fundamental & technical outlook for the USD in 2010. A brief recap of 2009 trends for the major FX option pairs. … [visit site to read more]

GMAC Likely Getting More Aid

Posted: 30 Dec 2009 06:33 AM PST

GMAC Inc. (GJM), the former finance arm of General Motors, has asked for further government help of $3.5 billion to meet buffer requirements. This plea followed the company's inability to raise funds from external sources.
If granted, this Government aid will constitute as a third taxpayer bailout in the past year, after having received $5 billion and $7.5 billion during Dec. 2008 and May 2009, respectively, under the Troubled Asset Relief Program (TARP). The company has been in talks with … [visit site to read more]

AYE Withdraws From Virginia PATH

Posted: 30 Dec 2009 11:12 AM PST

Allegheny Energy Inc. (AYE) has requested Virginia State Corporation Commission for permission to withdraw its previously submitted application to build the Potomac-Appalachian Transmission Highline (PATH) project in Virginia. The company has teamed up with American Electric Power Company Inc. (AEP) in the project.

Allegheny Energy's request for withdrawal from the project comes after considering new information provided by regional grid operator PJM Interconnection (PJM), … [visit site to read more]

Taxpayer-Supported Colossal Blunders

Posted: 30 Dec 2009 06:01 AM PST

The days really are dwindling down to a very precious few. Tomorrow is Near Year's Eve. And on Friday begins a new year…
What's ahead?
We were right all along. Sort of. Kind of. It must have been two years ago that we looked into the future and thought we saw where we were headed.
"Japan…then Zimbabwe…"
The de-leveraging process began in 2007. It's already been going on for more than two years. This is just what happened in Japan after the bubble burst in '89. And as in Japan, … [visit site to read more]

Will Oil, Natural Gas ETFs Stage A Comeback In 2010?

Posted: 30 Dec 2009 11:01 AM PST

The anticipated rebound in natural gas and other energy prices and exchange traded funds (ETFs) this year never really arrived, but analysts are keeping their optimism high heading into the new year.

Optimism that the oil and gas industry will bounce back in 2010 remains elevated. Natural gas prices plummeted in 2008 and demand waned, and have yet to recoup the losses. So, why get excited about what 2010 may bring for the energy sector, and natural gas specifically?

This month, the … [visit site to read more]

Santarus Receives $20 Million

Posted: 30 Dec 2009 05:47 AM PST

Santarus Inc. (SNTS) recently received a milestone payment of $20 million related to the approval of the over-the-counter (OTC) version of Zegerid on December 1, 2009. The OTC version has been developed under Santarus' agreement with Merck (MRK) whereby Merck gained exclusive rights for the development, manufacture and sale of Zegerid OTC products in the U.S. and Canada.

Zegerid OTC received approval from the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) for OTC treatment of frequent … [visit site to read more]

Textron To Build Knight Vehicles

Posted: 30 Dec 2009 05:29 AM PST

Textron Inc.'s (TXT) operating unit Textron Marine & Land Systems has received a contract to build 27 Armored Knight vehicles for U.S. Army Tank-automotive and Armaments Command (TACOM).

The firm fixed-price contract is indefinite and valued at approximately $10 million. The vehicles are scheduled for delivery by the end of 2010. The M1200 Armored Knight is a derivative of the Textron Marine & Land Systems Armored Security Vehicle (ASV).

Textron Marine … [visit site to read more]

Coming Soon: The Bill For The Massive U.S. National Debt

Posted: 30 Dec 2009 10:21 AM PST

Americans could be in for a rude awakening in coming months when they discover the true scope of the massive national debt racked up by the U.S. government.

In fact, the $1.6 trillion deficit expected for 2010, which is above 10% of gross domestic product (GDP), is only the beginning.

Since the current economic crisis began in late 2007, the U.S. Federal Reserve has tripled the size of its balance sheet, creating enormous amounts of new money by lending to hundreds of ailing banks … [visit site to read more]