Jan 25, 2010

Daily Markets - Financial News & Opinions

Daily Markets - Financial News & Opinions

Silver Approaches Key Support After Dive

Posted: 25 Jan 2010 07:45 PM PST

Price action on spot silver, a daily chart of which is shown, took a steep dive for most of last week after reaching resistance around the 18.80 price region. Price at that level approached, but fell short of, the 19.40 region long-term high that was reached in early December 2009. Currently, the price decline of last week has brought silver down to approach key support in the 16.70 price region.

In the process, it has also formed the rough pattern of a head-and-shoulders formation, with … [visit site to read more]


What The Chinese Want Even More Than Oil Or Gold

Posted: 25 Jan 2010 07:01 PM PST

I thought I was prepared for my first visit to China.

Back in 2006, I started visiting the country regularly for a business venture. But my first time there, I saw something completely unexpected…

It wasn’t the booming economy. Or the jungle of brand-new skyscrapers. Or even the sheer number of people.

No. What amazed me most was how much the Chinese love gambling. Gamblers are everywhere. At one of the factories I visited outside Shenzhen, I noticed groups of workers playing … [visit site to read more]

Video: The Day Ahead: Earnings Reports

Posted: 25 Jan 2010 07:00 PM PST

The stories, data, and stocks that may have the greatest impact during the next trading session. … [visit site to read more]

Will The Fed Strengthen The US Dollar?

Posted: 25 Jan 2010 06:01 PM PST

Over the last week the Euro exchange rate declined versus the major international currency : the Euro fell by 1.66% versus the US Dollar, by 0.53% versus the UK Sterling and by 2.61% versus the Japanese Yen. More limited was the fall against the so-called commodity currencies (Australian Dollar, Canadian Dollar, New Zealand Dollar and Norwegian Krone), as they felt the negative effect of lower commodity prices due to both the uptrend in the US Dollar and the tightening of monetary policy … [visit site to read more]

City Developments: JP Morgan’s Singapore Top Property Pick

Posted: 25 Jan 2010 05:25 PM PST

JP MORGAN’S (JPM) report on the Singapore property sector last week (Jan 21) said that the sector is in an up-cycle, and highlighted City Development as “the best way to play the residential property sector.”

On the macro front, it said the Singapore property cycle is in an upward phase that should last through 2011/12.

Property developers’ shares would move on RNAV upgrades. The share prices tend to close the gap (and may even trade at a premium) to RNAV estimates during market … [visit site to read more]

Obama’s Middle Class

Posted: 25 Jan 2010 05:00 PM PST

President Obama today offered a set of proposals for helping America's troubled middle class. All are sensible and worthwhile. But none will bring jobs back. And Americans could be forgiven for wondering how the President plans to enact any of these ideas anyway, when he can no longer muster 60 votes in the Senate.
But there's a bigger problem here.
In December 1994, Bill Clinton proposed a so-called "middle class bill of rights" including more tax credits for families with children, … [visit site to read more]

FINRA And ARS: Pot Calling Kettle Black

Posted: 25 Jan 2010 04:01 PM PST

Thanks to a loyal Sense on Cents supporter for sharing the most recent copy of Compliance Reporter, a publication of Institutional Investor, Inc.. The lead article this week,  FINRA Readies Slug of Enforcement Cases, addresses the fact that FINRA:
is targeting a slew of enforcement actions across a range of areas, including reverse convertibles and auction-rate securities.
Oh boy, here we go again. FINRA talking tough about auction-rate securities. Additionally, FINRA further flexes … [visit site to read more]

Daily ETF Roundup: GDX Sinks, VGK Surges

Posted: 25 Jan 2010 03:31 PM PST

Following a three day losing streak that saw some benchmarks slide as much as 5%, this week got off to an eventful start on Wall Street. Earnings season continued with Apple reporting higher revenues and profits while disappointing data on existing home sales sparked fresh concerns over the housing market's recovery. Bernanke's odds at a second term as Fed Chairman, which took a major hit last week, were revived by a wave of support from the White House. Elsewhere, anticipation continued to … [visit site to read more]

You Decide: Is Obama’s “Aid” Really Designed To Help The Middle Class?

Posted: 25 Jan 2010 03:01 PM PST

Earlier today President Obama offered details on his package of "Middle Class Aid." Whether or not the proposals are in the best interest of working Americans is yet to be determined. Of particular concern are the proposals that he suggests to help us "save for retirement."
As we've covered in the past, any tax "advantages" you receive from the government are coming directly from the selfsame tax collector. Due to that fact, it's difficult to believe the government's tax … [visit site to read more]

Dollar Value Sent To The Corn Fields

Posted: 25 Jan 2010 03:00 PM PST

Maybe this is the next leg down. Maybe it isn't. In either case, we don't want to be holding a lot of stocks and real estate when we find out.
If we're right about the depression/deleveraging…
And if we're right about the bear market…
You're probably going to see stocks lose another half of their value. Remember, a correction is equal and opposite to the deception that preceded it. That deception is almost a hundred years old…and has added trillions of (largely fictitious) … [visit site to read more]

Apple Surprises With Record Quarter

Posted: 25 Jan 2010 02:55 PM PST

Apple (AAPL) blew by the Zacks Consensus Estimate after the bell reporting fiscal first-quarter 2010 earnings per share of $3.67 compared to the estimate of $2.08.  The company saw both record revenue and profits.
It was almost a perfect quarter for the technology giant. iPhone and iPod sales were in line with estimates, even as iPod sales fell 8% compared to a year ago. Sales of the iPhone doubled compared to a year ago as the company rolled it out in new international markets like … [visit site to read more]

Video: Foreign Production For Japanese Automakers Reach Record Levels

Posted: 25 Jan 2010 02:21 PM PST

In December, the major Japanese carmakers managed to boost foreign production to record levels as more factories continued to move abroad. … [visit site to read more]

Video: NYSE Closing Bell Market Monitor: AKS, HAL, AXP

Posted: 25 Jan 2010 02:20 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]

Liberty Global To Quit Japan

Posted: 25 Jan 2010 02:18 PM PST

Liberty Global Inc. (LBTYA) has decided to disinvest its Japanese operations. Today the company announced that its has entered into an agreement with KDDI Corp. to sell its subsidiaries that directly or indirectly hold 37.8% ownership interest in Japan's Jupiter Telecommunications Co., Ltd.
Jupiter is a leading cable TV and broadband service provider in Japan. Liberty Global is expected to receive gross proceeds of approximately $4 billion in cash from this disinvestment subject to the … [visit site to read more]

Long-term Bullish Spread Unfolds On IBM

Posted: 25 Jan 2010 02:01 PM PST

IBM - International Business Machines Corp. - A long-term bullish transaction on IBM suggests one investor is positioning for a significant boost in share price at the computer services firm by expiration in January 2011. IBM’s shares are trading 0.75% higher this afternoon to $126.47. The optimistic trader purchased a ratio call spread on the stock, buying 5,000 calls at the January 2011 $135 strike for an average premium of $6.24 apiece, and selling 10,000 calls at the higher January … [visit site to read more]

The Scary Budget Numbers

Posted: 25 Jan 2010 02:00 PM PST

The recession and attendant financial shock appear to be easing as I write this. But in Washington, financial imprudence is part of the fabric of government. You can see that in a single document that gets updated every year: the US budget. In putting together the budget, the president and Congress set our national priorities and allocate resources among them. The results have been pretty consistent. Over the forty years ending in 2008, revenues have averaged about 18.3 percent of our economy … [visit site to read more]

Spectra Poised For Growth

Posted: 25 Jan 2010 02:00 PM PST

With the announcement of the 2010 financial outlook, Spectra Energy (SE) sees more than 20% earnings growth and expects to maintain at least its current annual dividend of $1.00 per share.
The company is targeting diluted earnings per share of $1.42 this year with a 2010–2012 compounded annual EPS growth rate in the range of 8% to 10%. Spectra announced capital expansion projects of $900 million this year, with a return on capital employed of more than 12%. For the 2010–2014 period, these … [visit site to read more]

Video: Crude Rises As New Week Begins

Posted: 25 Jan 2010 01:58 PM PST

Front month crude prices rose this session following an increase in equity markets. … [visit site to read more]

My Six Cents On Bernanke And The Fed

Posted: 25 Jan 2010 01:51 PM PST

Since everyone else is throwing in their two cents about 1) whether Ben Bernanke should be reappointed to a second term as Federal Reserve chairman; 2) what moves the FOMC will (or should) make next; and, 3) the policymaking and regulatory role the Fed will (or should) play in future, I figured I might as well do the same.
Although I didn’t quite plan it this way, below are three posts — my six cents, you might say — published today by Going Concern, Sense on Cents, and Wall St. Cheat … [visit site to read more]

Acorda Drug Gets FDA Clearance

Posted: 25 Jan 2010 01:40 PM PST

Recently, Acorda Therapeutics Inc. (ACOR) announced that the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has cleared its oral drug Ampyra (dalfampridine) which aims to improve walking speed in patients suffering from multiple sclerosis (MS). The company expects to launch the drug in the United States in March 2010. Ampyra is the first drug to get FDA approval for treating walking impairment in MS patients.
Ampyra, previously known as Fampridine-SR, is an extended release tablet formulation of … [visit site to read more]

Dean Foods Downgraded To Neutral

Posted: 25 Jan 2010 01:21 PM PST

We downgrade our recommendation for Dean Foods (DF) to Neutral, meaning the stock will perform in line with the broader market.
Earnings for the last quarter beat the Zacks Consensus Estimate by a penny, supported by the company's cost management initiatives. However, consolidated sales suffered due to the pass-on of lower dairy commodity costs to consumers in the form of lower prices and reduced sales volume in the WhiteWave-Morningstar segment.
Dean Foods has taken definitive actions to … [visit site to read more]

Swiss Ruling Worries UBS Investors

Posted: 25 Jan 2010 01:17 PM PST

Last Friday, a Swiss court ruled against the transfer of data of American clients of UBS AG (UBS). This ruling has raised doubts about the settlement that had enabled the US authorities to get the details of alleged tax-evading American clients of UBS AG.
According to the ruling, if a client fails to fill out a W-9 form in the U.S. to declare the funds, the failure is not considered a tax fraud in Switzerland. Hence, the detail of these clients won't be handed over to the U.S. … [visit site to read more]

Singapore Stock Market Update For Monday 25 January

Posted: 24 Jan 2010 05:20 PM PST

Morning Highlights
Singapore Shares fell kicked off the week on a weak note, with investors worried about the US economy following the worst three-day plunge of 552 points on Dow Industrials since Feb 2009. The STI gapped down 61.28 points to open at 2789.70. Support is seen at 2791.57 (Friday's low).

Lookout on Koon Holdings

Quoted from the Chart Analysis by the Edge:

Long Term is up; Medium Term and Short Term is down

There are 2 possible scenarios for index…
1st case … [visit site to read more]

FX Options Weekly Outlook

Posted: 24 Jan 2010 02:00 PM PST

Jason Ayres, founder of OptionSource.net, provides a look a head of this week’s FX activity. … [visit site to read more]
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