Feb 23, 2010

Daily Markets - Financial News And Opinions

Daily Markets - Financial News And Opinions

Silver Forming An Interesting Potential Reversal Pattern

Posted: 23 Feb 2010 05:50 PM PST

Silver prices are forming an interesting potential reversal (or downside continuation) pattern that’s worth a look, as we’re coming up into the key resistance level that will make or break the current short-term bear flag pattern that has formed within a larger term “rounded reversal.”

Let’s take a quick look at Silver’s Daily Chart:

I post frequently about Rounded Reversal structures because those are among my favorite trading patterns - they reflect a smooth transfer from demand … [visit site to read more]

Daily ETF Roundup: VXX Rises, GDX Sinks

Posted: 23 Feb 2010 05:47 PM PST

Equity markets sunk to start the last week of February, with most indexes finishing down more than 1%. This came after a sharp decline in consumer confidence, as the widely-followed index fell to 46 from a reading of 56.5 in January. A reading of 55 was expected, indicating that the data release was a major setback for investors hoping for consumer spending to sustain the rally. In more positive news for consumers, oil prices dropped almost 2% and the Case-Shiller 20-city home price index rose … [visit site to read more]

Silver Could Decline To As Low As $12 Or $13

Posted: 23 Feb 2010 05:30 PM PST

Throughout this bull market, Silver has formed the same corrective pattern over and over again. Currently, Silver is repeating the same pattern but on a much larger scale. Note that Silver’s decline in 2008 and ensuing recovery are a larger fractal of preceding corrections. See the chart below.

So what now? The pattern implies that Silver will grind lower over the next four to six months, before beginning another impulsive advance. Judging from past corrections, Silver could decline … [visit site to read more]

Outlook On The Japanese Stock Market And AUD/JPY

Posted: 23 Feb 2010 05:01 PM PST

Over the last few weeks, investors have been focusing on the negative outlook for peripheral Euro Zone countries, especially Greece, due to their high deficit and public debt. However, albeit at a slower pace, uncertainties over the future of public accounts concern a vast majority of developed countries. For instance, public debt, in % of the GDP, may rise to 65% in the USA, 88.2% in the UK in 2011 and 83.7% in the Euro Zone as a whole.

Notwithstanding the above, the country that may … [visit site to read more]

Forex Trading: Potential Bearish Trend Continuation In EUR/JPY

Posted: 23 Feb 2010 04:21 PM PST

Price action on EUR/JPY, a daily chart of which is shown, has been entrenched in a relatively strong downtrend since the mid-January highs. In the process of this downtrend, several key support levels have been broken down, including key levels around the 127.00 and 125.00 price regions. After breaking swiftly and strongly below the 125.00 area in early February, price action toyed with the 122.00 support/resistance region before consolidating in a bullish retracement that has taken the form of … [visit site to read more]

Stock Picks For Wednesday 24 February: Alcatel-Lucent, Cell Therapeutics, Hemispherx BioPharma

Posted: 23 Feb 2010 04:05 PM PST

( click to enlarge )

Cell Therapeutics (CTIC) - The short term scenario for CTIC is not encouraging, but we might see some bounce up at this level. The stochastics continued to move down in the oversold zone, but there are some technical indicators showing positive divergences. If you are a short-term trader, use a stop loss at $0.648.

( click to enlarge )

Hemispherx BioPharma (HEB) traded slightly higher on tuesday as the stock hit a high of $0.71 on the day. This high is … [visit site to read more]

Gold, Silver And Copper ETFs: Play The Olympic Medals

Posted: 23 Feb 2010 04:01 PM PST

The cost of various metals has risen so much that the Vancouver Olympic’s gold medals are the highest they’ve been in recent years. One thing that doesn’t change: it’s easier to get metals exposure in exchange traded funds (ETFs) instead.

This year’s Olympic medals are some of the most expensive in recent history- that’s partly because metals prices have skyrocketed, and also in part because these medals are the heaviest in history, say Robert Hum and Ariel Nelson for CNBC. The price for one … [visit site to read more]

Schlumberger Scores One For The Oil Biz

Posted: 23 Feb 2010 04:00 PM PST

According to Addison Wiggin at The 5 Minute Forecast, "Schlumberger just pulled off a super-sized acquisition of Smith Intl. In an all-stock, $11 billion transaction, SLB is now by far the world's biggest oil service company. Should revenues stay the same, Schlumberger will be double the size of Halliburton, its closest competitor."
This deal says two things to me. First, it's tailor-made to help the oil and gas business exploit tough-to-get-at resources, such as shale gas and … [visit site to read more]

The Eight Economic Indicators Investors Need To Know

Posted: 23 Feb 2010 03:05 PM PST

Housing starts. PPI. Same-store sales. Weekly jobless claims. Philly Fed. Lagging indicators. Core CPI. Industrial production.

When it comes to economic indicators, the list is almost endless. One economic indicator follows another, filling an entire calendar - weekly, monthly, quarterly, annually. But on the specific day an indicator is announced, it seems to be the biggest deal going: Commentators comment, pundits pontificate, analysts and economics analyze, predict and forecast, … [visit site to read more]

Cartoon: The Hell-In-A-Handbasket Ride

Posted: 23 Feb 2010 03:01 PM PST

Source: Jerry Holbert, Comics.com, February 20, … [visit site to read more]

Stock Market Rallies: Nothing Lasts Forever

Posted: 23 Feb 2010 03:00 PM PST

People hear my clear, clarion call for them to buy gold, silver and oil as their protection from the monetary and fiscal stupidities which abound – abound! – all around us, and they have questions, such as the one that is burned into my brain from an altercation this morning outside of the hardware store, where I was telling some idiot to buy gold, silver and oil, and which elicited the response, "Why are you yelling at us in such a deafening manner? Can't you see that we are standing … [visit site to read more]

Commercial Real Estate Loans Drive More Banks Onto FDIC’s “Problem List”

Posted: 23 Feb 2010 03:00 PM PST

Over 700 banks in the US are distressed according to the FDIC, the largest number since 1993. The latest additions to the "problem list" are largely resulting from commercial real estate loans gone sour. The FDIC anticipates bank difficulties continuing to worsen in 2010 before there's any chance of the situation beginning to improve.
According to MarketWatch:
"Based on the result, roughly one in 11 of the approximately 8,000 U.S. banks are on this list, with regulators expecting a … [visit site to read more]

Earnings Preview: R.R. Donnelley

Posted: 23 Feb 2010 02:59 PM PST

R.R. Donnelley & Sons (NYSE:RRD), a leader in the commercial printing industry, is scheduled to report fourth-quarter 2009 results on February 24, before the market opens.
R.R. Donnelley is the largest printing company in the U.S., providing various global printing services to a wide variety of businesses worldwide, as well as related services such as logistics and distribution for print customers and mailers.
During the third quarter earnings release, management said that it expects … [visit site to read more]

Sonic Auto Beats Estimates

Posted: 23 Feb 2010 02:43 PM PST

Sonic Automotive (NYSE:SAH) has revealed a profit of $7.2 million or 18 cents per share (excluding special items) for the fourth quarter of 2009, in stark contrast to a loss of $10.2 million or 21 cents per share (excluding special items) in the year-ago period.
With this, the company has surpassed the Zacks Consensus Estimate of a profit of 15 cents per share. The improvement was attributable to rise in sales volumes in the company's both new and used vehicle businesses.
Total revenue for the … [visit site to read more]

Ingram Micro EPS Exceeds

Posted: 23 Feb 2010 02:20 PM PST

Ingram Micro (NYSE:IM) reported fourth quarter 2009 EPS of 64 cents, exceeding the Zacks Consensus Estimate of 52 cents per share.
Revenues
The company reported fourth-quarter 2009 revenues of $8.81 billion, up 1.0% from $8.68 billion reported in the year-ago quarter. The year-over-year increase in revenue may be attributed to good sales growth in North America. Foreign currency translation had a positive impact of six percentage points.
 
The geographic distribution of revenues was as … [visit site to read more]

Natural Gas Down On Weather Worries

Posted: 23 Feb 2010 02:15 PM PST

The federal government's Energy Information Administration (EIA) reported an in line decline in natural gas supplies. Stockpiles held in underground storage in the lower 48 states fell by 190 billion cubic feet (Bcf) for the week ended Feb. 12, 2010.
The inventory decline was the eleventh in as many weeks. This has finally started to erode the record-high storage amounts, as frigid temperatures continue to chill major gas-consuming regions in the U.S.
Though the heating season officially … [visit site to read more]

Goldman Bets Against The Assets It Sold To AIG

Posted: 23 Feb 2010 02:11 PM PST

"This is half-baked justice at best," US District Judge Jed Rakoff wrote in an opinion yesterday afternoon. The SEC sued Bank of America for lying to their shareholders over the company having been forced to buy Merrill Lynch.
In a move that smacks of some backroom deal you and I will never be privy to, the SEC sued for only $150 million. That's 2.4% of the $3.6 billion in 11th-hour bonuses Merrill execs awarded themselves days before they merged with BofA. It's an even smaller fraction … [visit site to read more]

Video: NYSE Closing Bell Market Monitor: HD, TGT, M

Posted: 23 Feb 2010 02:03 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]

Why Do These Clowns Still Have Jobs?

Posted: 23 Feb 2010 02:03 PM PST

Earlier today, the Conference Board published its consumer confidence index for February, and the “experts” were — shall I say — “shocked” to learn that consumers are not as upbeat as they are about the state of the economy.
As before, the Present Situation index — which represents an average of responses to questions about current business and employment conditions — remained in the doldrums, hitting its lowest level since February, 1983.

In fact, the percentage of respondents who … [visit site to read more]

Sub-Advisors Step Up: RiverPark Files For Two Active ETFs

Posted: 23 Feb 2010 02:01 PM PST

On Feb 17, 2010, RiverPark Advisors filed for exemptive relief to launch two actively-managed ETFs - the RP Short Term High Yield Bond ETF and the RP Energy ETF. Previously, RiverPark has been the sub-advisor to 4 Active ETFs launched by Grail Advisors, in Oct 2009. However, evidently the arrangement between RiverPark and Grail was not exclusive as RiverPark is now planning to launch Active ETFs of its own.

The planned RP Short Term High Yield Bond ETF will invest in short-term high … [visit site to read more]

Progress For Dynavax Pipeline

Posted: 23 Feb 2010 01:56 PM PST

Dynavax Technologies Corporation (NASDAQ:DVAX) announced recently it has selected the molecule DV1179 for clinical development in its endosomal Toll-like Receptor (TLR) inhibitor collaboration with GlaxoSmithKline (NYSE:GSK). Currently, IND (Investigational New Drug)-Enabling Studies are underway for DV1179, a bifunctional TLR inhibitor. The selected molecule is expected to be tested in humans later this year.
The two companies are collaborating on the development of novel inhibitors of endosomal TLRs … [visit site to read more]

Medtronic Beats Zacks Estimate

Posted: 23 Feb 2010 01:38 PM PST

Medtronic, Inc. (NYSE:MDT) recently reported third quarter fiscal 2010 earnings per share of 77 cents, beating the Zacks Consensus Estimate of 76 cents and the year-ago earnings of 71 cents.
Sales
Total revenues in the third quarter increased 10% year over year to $3.851 billion. Medtronic witnessed sales growth across all its seven business segments. Cardiac Rhythm Disease Management (CRDM) revenues increased 6% year over year to $1.243 billion, driven by strong demand for implantable … [visit site to read more]

Denbury Beats By A Penny

Posted: 23 Feb 2010 01:21 PM PST

Denbury Resources Inc. (NYSE:DNR) reported better-than-expected fourth quarter results, driven primarily by higher oil prices. Earnings per share, excluding non-cash items, came in at 18 cents, a penny above the Zacks Consensus Estimate. Before adjusting one-time items, Denbury posted a profit of one cent per share.
On a year-over-year basis, the company's adjusted earnings per share increased approximately 29%, while revenue was up 20% to $270.8 million.
Estimate Revisions Trend
We see a mixed … [visit site to read more]

Vornado Quarterly FFO Improves

Posted: 23 Feb 2010 01:07 PM PST

Vornado Realty Trust (NYSE:VNO), a leading real estate investment trust (REIT), reported break-even fourth quarter 2009 FFO (funds from operations) compared to -57 cents per share 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. After adjusting items for comparability, FFO during the quarter was $1.04 per share, compared to $1.07 in the … [visit site to read more]

Convertible Bond ETF (CWB) Under The Microscope

Posted: 23 Feb 2010 01:05 PM PST

Fixed income investments are a crucial component of any well diversified portfolio. Depending on investor age and time until retirement, most financial professionals recommend that at least half of your portfolio to be in fixed income securities, mostly low risk government bonds and high quality corporate securities. Yet, with yields hovering around zero and choppy equity markets as of late, some investors are seeking a third option, a middle path between equities and fixed income.
One middle … [visit site to read more]

Video: Ron Paul Wins Presidential Straw Poll

Posted: 23 Feb 2010 01:00 PM PST

Beating out Mitt Romney (22%), Sarah Palin (7%), Tim Pawlenty (6%) and others by a wide margin, Dr. Ron Paul was elected with 31% of the vote by the 2010 Conservative Political Action Conference (CPAC) as best conservative candidate for president in 2012. Previously, Mitt Romney had won the straw poll the three years in a row.
Two of the questions covered in the video follow up below:
Q: …what do you feel America needs changed to get back on track?
A: …we do need some changes, and we … [visit site to read more]

Housing Prices Show Small Rise

Posted: 23 Feb 2010 12:46 PM PST

The Case-Schiller housing price indexes were released this morning, and both the Composite 10 (C-10) and the Composite 20 (C-20) showed monthly increases of 0.3% on a seasonally adjusted basis.
Since there is a fair amount of seasonality in housing prices, the seasonally adjusted numbers are the ones to look at. On a year-over-year basis, the C-10 is down 2.4% and the C-20 is down 3.1%. From the peak, the C-10 is down 30.3% and the C-20 is off by 29.4%.
The consensus expectation was that the … [visit site to read more]

States Of Distress

Posted: 23 Feb 2010 12:34 PM PST

In the fourth quarter total revenues for the States declined by 4.1% relative to a year ago, according to a new report from the Rockefeller Institute of Government. (http://www.rockinst.org/pdf/government_finance/state_revenue_report/2010-02-23-State_Revenue_Flash.pdf).
Total revenues were down in 39 of the 46 states for which data was available, and all three of the major sources of state revenue declined. Corporate income taxes were down the most, falling 5.8%, followed by individual income … [visit site to read more]

American Public Education Up

Posted: 23 Feb 2010 12:18 PM PST

American Public Education, Inc. (NASDAQ:APEI) recently delivered better-than-expected fourth-quarter 2009 results, helped by an increase in net course registrations, up 39% year-over-year to 58,000. Management now expects net course registrations to rise between 35% and 38% in fiscal year 2010, and between 32% and 35% in fiscal year 2011.
The quarterly earnings of 44 cents a share surpassed the Zacks Consensus Estimate of 42 cents, and soared 63% from 27 cents posted in the prior-year quarter. Net … [visit site to read more]

Forex Trading: EURUSD Continues To Keep The 1.3531 Level As Resistance

Posted: 23 Feb 2010 12:16 PM PST

The EURUSD made the break below the 1.3531 level and rushed to the low for the day at the 1.3500 level and this stopped the slide.  The price moved back higher but has been able to maintaind the price below the 1.3531 level. This keeps the pressure to the downside as the price continues to trade below the key moving averages as defined by the 100 bar moving averaged on the 5 minute and 1 hour charts.  Those levels come in respectively at the  1.3544 and the 1.3577 levels … [visit site to read more]

Video: United Nations Warns Of “Electronic Waste Timebomb”

Posted: 23 Feb 2010 12:13 PM PST

A report from the UN Environmental Programme announced that growing numbers of e-waste has already shown the potential to become a serious environmental issue in the coming years for a number of countries. … [visit site to read more]

Aluminum Stocks: As Another Contango Begins, Here’s The Best Way To Play It

Posted: 23 Feb 2010 12:08 PM PST

Aluminum is the Earth's most abundant metal. Over the decades, inventors have put the soft, durable, lightweight and malleable metal to good use in everything from airplanes to soda cans to baking accessories.
Not to be outdone, Wall Street found its own use for the metal, turning the industrial staple into a lucrative financial instrument. Right now, it has 75% – 90% of the world's physical aluminum stocks tied up in financial arbitrage. In fact, according to Klaus Kleinfeld, the CEO of … [visit site to read more]

Office Depot Reports Loss

Posted: 23 Feb 2010 12:02 PM PST

Office Depot Inc. (NYSE:ODP) reported discouraging results for fourth quarter and full year 2009.
During the quarter, total revenue declined 6% year over year to $3.1 billion. Full year 2009 revenues were $12.1 billion, down 16% from 2008, principally driven by adverse economic conditions throughout the company's sales territories.
However, gross profit improved 3.5% during the quarter due to a 9.6% decrease in the cost of goods sold. During full year 2009, gross profits fell 15.3% despite a … [visit site to read more]

Are The Credit Market Problems Really Over?

Posted: 23 Feb 2010 12:01 PM PST

Interestingly, the Fed raised the discount rate last week as bank credit for the week contracted by a further $9 billion, According to David Rosenberg, chief economist and strategist of Gluskin Sheff & Associates, “this brings the year-to-date decline to $115 billion, or a 14% annual rate, with every component from mortgages, to consumer credit, to business lending shrinking”.

Source: Breakfast with Dave - Gluskin Sheff & Associates, February 22, 2010.
“There is no way the … [visit site to read more]

The Sovereign Debt Disaster

Posted: 23 Feb 2010 12:00 PM PST

Wherever we look at the world economy today, we see a wall of risk…and potential financial catastrophe. We see a large number of virtually bankrupt major sovereign states (US, UK, Spain, Italy, Greece, Japan and many more) teetering atop a financial system that is bankrupt, but is temporarily kept alive with phony valuations and unlimited money printing. Increasingly, therefore, investors will want to exchange this funny money for gold.
Governments like the US and the UK are committed to … [visit site to read more]

Daimler Loses Nearly $4 Billion

Posted: 23 Feb 2010 11:46 AM PST

Daimler AG (NYSE:DAI) lost €2.6 billion ($3.7 billion) or €2.63 ($3.67) per share in 2009, in sharp contrast to a profit of €1.4 billion ($2 billion) or €1.41 ($1.97) per share in the previous year. The loss was attributable to a 24% decline in unit sales to 1.6 million vehicles due to the global economic crisis.
Revenue dipped 20% to €78.9 billion ($110 billion); adjusted for exchange-rate effects, the decrease was 21%. EBIT (earnings before interest and taxes) in the year was minus … [visit site to read more]

Nordstrom Earnings Improve

Posted: 23 Feb 2010 11:31 AM PST

Nordstrom Inc. (NYSE:JWN), a leading fashion specialty retailer, reported fiscal 2009 fourth quarter earnings of $172 million or 77 cents per share compared to $68 million or 31 cents in the year-ago quarter. The quarterly earnings marginally missed the Zacks Consensus Estimate by a penny.

For fiscal 2009, Nordstrom reported earnings of $441 million or $2.01 per share versus $401 million or $1.83 per share in the previous fiscal year. The fiscal earnings beat the Zacks Consensus Estimate by 5 … [visit site to read more]

Video: Crude Prices Slide On Profit Taking

Posted: 23 Feb 2010 11:21 AM PST

Front month crude prices were on the downside this session following investors cashing in on crudes recent rally. … [visit site to read more]

Tenet Healthcare Revenues Rise

Posted: 23 Feb 2010 11:12 AM PST

Tenet Healthcare Corporation (NYSE:THC) reported fourth quarter 2009 earnings (from continuing operations) of $24 million, or 3 cents per share compared to the Zacks Consensus Estimate of 1 cent. The company suffered a loss (from continuing operations) of $2 million or 1 cent per share in the year-ago quarter.

Net operating revenues in the reported quarter climbed 3.7% to $2.26 billion from $2.18 billion in the year-ago quarter. The company exited the quarter with cash and cash equivalents of … [visit site to read more]

Here’s How To Protect Yourself From A Bond ETF Bubble

Posted: 23 Feb 2010 11:01 AM PST

It’s going to happen sooner or later: interest rates can’t remain at record lows indefinitely. The Federal Reserve at some point is going to have to step in and raise them. If you’re holding bond exchange traded funds (ETFs), you need to understand the risks and how to cope.

The Federal Reserve raised one of its rates last week, alerting millions of investors to the reality that other rates will be raised in the future, as well. Brett Arends for The Wall Street Journal says that such rate … [visit site to read more]

The New Phase Of Chinese Growth

Posted: 23 Feb 2010 11:00 AM PST

Recently we claimed that borrowing your way to national prosperity is a sure-fire way to servitude and political instability. Today, we aim to prove it. To do so, we cite this article from Reuters. It suggests that China is using or should use its large holdings of US Treasury bonds as a cudgel with which to bludgeon the United States, its strategic adversary/indispensable economic partner.
Figures in the People's Liberation Army want the financiers to sell US bonds as a way of punishing … [visit site to read more]

Common Sense Parable Of An America Gone Awry

Posted: 23 Feb 2010 10:54 AM PST

Charlie Munger, vice chairman of Warren Buffett's Berkshire Hathaway, shares many of the plain-spoken ways of his more famous business partner. Munger also grew up in Omaha, Nebraska, and has the kind of charm that seems to come from trying to do things right by keeping them simple.
Over the weekend he had a parable he wrote published by Slate… and it's outright depressing. He describes a nation, not unlike the US, that's been the envy of the world since its inception. It has gotten … [visit site to read more]

Target Beats Zacks Consensus

Posted: 23 Feb 2010 10:53 AM PST

Target Corporation (NYSE:TGT) reported fourth quarter results with earnings of $1.24 per share. Earnings were well above the Zacks Consensus Estimate of 77 cents and were up a robust 53.3% year-over-year. Profits were driven by better-than-expected holiday sales.

Total revenue for the quarter increased 3.2% to $20.1 billion, primarily driven by Retail segment sales. Retail sales grew 3.7% year-over-year to $19.7 billion However, revenue from the Credit Card segment fell 14.0% to $462 … [visit site to read more]

Video: Market Movers: ZLC, RDN, OWW, KFT, CPN, GLW

Posted: 23 Feb 2010 10:23 AM PST

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

Forex Trading: AUDUSD Tests Its Support Level After Falling Below The 200 Hour MA

Posted: 23 Feb 2010 10:14 AM PST

The AUDUSD broke through the 200 hour MA (at 0.8946) and has support at the 0.8882 level where the level has had around 7 or so lows/highs in the region over the last few weeks of trading (see chart above). The level is also the 38.2% retracement of the move up from the low on February 5th to the high today.   The level has slowed the decline but will it attract enough buying support against the level to scare the shorts? 
Look for upside resistance at the 0.8909/18 level … [visit site to read more]

Video: Market Confidence Down On Poor Confidence Figures

Posted: 23 Feb 2010 10:02 AM PST

Investors continued to seek safer-haven currencies this session following poor German business confidence and weak US consumer confidence figures. … [visit site to read more]

Economic Depression: A Better Definition

Posted: 23 Feb 2010 10:00 AM PST

"How can you keep talking about a depression," asks a Dear Reader, "when the economy is clearly recovering just as it should be."
Ah ha! We'll explain in a minute.
First, the latest from Wall Street: The Dow fell 18 points yesterday. We're still not sure whether the final, fading phase of the bear market has begun or not. This bounce took the Dow back to 10,725 on January 19th. It hasn't seen that level since. Was that it? Was that as high as it's going to get? Is it down from … [visit site to read more]

Forex Trading: USDCAD Tests Resistance At 1.0575 Level.

Posted: 23 Feb 2010 09:52 AM PST

The USDCAD surged higher today on the back of weaker global economy thoughts and the inability to push through materially through the 1.0405/15 support level.  The price move higher hs pushed the pair through the 100 day moving average level at the 1.0528 level and move the pair to the 50% retracement of the move down from the Feb 5th high of 1.0779 to the low reached yesterday. That level comes in a thte 1.0575 level. This level also corresponds with the prior highs/low from Feb 10th and … [visit site to read more]

The Fed Raises The Discount Rate: What It Means For You

Posted: 23 Feb 2010 09:26 AM PST

Tuesday, February 23, 2010: Issue #1202
Last Thursday, the Federal Reserve suddenly raised the Discount Rate (the interest rate charged to member banks when they borrow from the Fed) from 0.50% to 0.75%. All members of the 12 Federal Reserve banks supported the decision.
In its decision, the Fed cited "continued improvement in financial market conditions," but warned Wall Street that the increase was "not expected to lead to tighter financial conditions for households and businesses and … [visit site to read more]

MasterCard Initiated As Neutral

Posted: 23 Feb 2010 09:21 AM PST

We are initiating coverage on MasterCard Inc. (NYSE:MA) with a Neutral recommendation. The company's fourth-quarter earnings of $2.24 per share came in substantially below the Zacks Consensus Estimate due to higher operating expenses that skewed the bottom-line. However, top-line growth was helped by better pricing, an increased number of processed transactions and a lower tax rate.
 
MasterCard continues to drive growth through increased cross-border volumes along with a consistent growth … [visit site to read more]

Iron Mountain Acquires Mimosa

Posted: 23 Feb 2010 09:06 AM PST

A data storage and information management company, Iron Mountain Incorporated (NYSE:IRM) announced that it has acquired Mimosa Systems Inc. for approximately $112 million in cash. Based in Santa Clara, California, Mimosa is a leader in enterprise-class content archiving solutions. It is also a leading provider of on-site digital storage services.
 
The acquisition will provide Iron Mountain with an integrated archive for email, SharePoint data and files, and will enable the company to offer … [visit site to read more]

Verizon Adds More FiOS TV Apps

Posted: 23 Feb 2010 08:58 AM PST

US wireless kingpin Verizon (NYSE:VZ) has announced major enhancements to its FiOS TV service by expanding Video-on-Demand ("VOD”) content and launching a premium service that offers integration between cell phones and TVs. The carrier has reportedly launched US entertainment and lifestyle network TV One's VOD services on its FiOS TV footprint.
 
Launched in 2004 and targeting the African-American population, TV One offers a wide range of real-life and entertainment-oriented programs, … [visit site to read more]

Lincoln Beats But Profits Lower

Posted: 23 Feb 2010 08:47 AM PST

Lincoln Electric Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ:LECO) reported fourth-quarter EPS of 65 cents, beating the Zacks Consensus Estimate of 60 cents. However, quarterly earnings were down 26.1% year over year, primarily due to lower sales in North America and Europe.
 
Quarterly net sales of $462.4 million were 12.1% lower than the prior-year sales of $526.2 million. The year over year decrease in sales reflected an 18.1% decline due to lower volumes and a 3.4% decrease due to price, partially offset by a … [visit site to read more]

OGE Energy Tops Expectations

Posted: 23 Feb 2010 08:33 AM PST

OGE Energy Corporation (NYSE:OGE) reported fourth quarter earnings per share (EPS) of 35 cents, topping the Zacks Consensus Estimate of 30 cents and the year-ago quarterly EPS of 23 cents. The uptrend was reflected in fiscal 2009 results as well where the EPS of $2.66 comfortably beat the fiscal 2008 EPS of $2.49.
 
Estimate Revisions Trend
 
OGE Energy has witnessed a consistent positive streak in earnings surprises over the past four quarters. The average is a positive at 19.89%, … [visit site to read more]

Chicago Bridge & Iron Beats

Posted: 23 Feb 2010 08:19 AM PST

Chicago Bridge & Iron (NYSE:CBI), a.k.a. CB&I, has reported fourth quarter 2009 results. Net income was $41.2 million, or 41 cents per share, topping the Zacks Consensus Estimate of 39 cents per share. Quarterly revenue was $1.0 billion. New awards totaled $3.4 billion in the quarter, comprising more than 50% of CB&I’s full year new awards.
 
New awards for 2009 totaled $6.1 billion, including the $1.4 billion Reficar refinery project in Colombia, the $1.0 billion gas plant … [visit site to read more]

St. Mary Surpasses Ests

Posted: 23 Feb 2010 08:02 AM PST

St. Mary Land & Exploration Co. (NYSE:SM) reported fourth-quarter earnings of 31 cents per share, beating the Zacks Consensus Estimate of 26 cents but down from the year-earlier earnings of 42 cents. Non-cash charges and impairments result in a reported net profit of 2 cents per share.
 
Despite a 13% lower production volume, the company's results came in above our expectations on the back of improved oil prices and cost reduction intiatives. Revenues for the quarter were $242 million, … [visit site to read more]

Charles Schwab To Return To NYSE

Posted: 23 Feb 2010 07:46 AM PST

Charles Schwab Corp. (NASDAQ:SCHW) said on Monday that it will move its stock listing to the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE) from the Nasdaq on March 5, under its current symbol "SCHW”. Till then the shares of Schwab will continue to trade on the Nasdaq.
 
Schwab is returning to the NYSE to join its natural comparative set of household names in financial services. Schwab had moved from the NYSE to the Nasdaq Stock Market in 2005, when the battle of switch-over listings between the exchanges … [visit site to read more]

RadioShack Barely Beats

Posted: 23 Feb 2010 07:31 AM PST

RadioShack Corp. (NYSE:RSH) declared fourth quarter 2009 financial results yesterday after the closing bell. Overall the company performed well as both its top-line and bottom-line increased over the prior-year quarter. However, serious concerns remain regarding RadioShack's non-wireless product categories and RadioShack Kiosks sales. 

GAAP net income, in the fourth quarter, was $75.7 million or 60 cents per share, compared to a net income of $60.1 million or 48 cents per share in the … [visit site to read more]

Disappointing Quarter For Agrium

Posted: 23 Feb 2010 07:16 AM PST

Agrium Inc. (NYSE:AGU) saw a sharp drop in its net earnings in the fourth quarter of 2009. Earnings fell 76% to 19 cents per share in the quarter compared with 79 cents in the year-ago period, driven by one-time charges and weaker crop prices. This was partially offset by an increase in sales volumes and a lower cost of production. 

However, excluding one-time charges, the company posted earnings of 36 cents, far ahead of the Zacks Consensus Estimate of 26 cents. Full-year earnings fell 72% … [visit site to read more]

European Markets Fall On Weak Data - European Commentary

Posted: 23 Feb 2010 11:06 AM PST

(RTTNews) - The European markets fell for the second day on Tuesday after reports showed that German business confidence deteriorated unexpectedly in February and U.S. consumer sentiment declined to a 10- month low.

The Conference Board in the U.S. said its consumer confidence index fell to 46.0 in February from an upwardly revised 56.5 in January. Economists had been expecting the index to edge down to 55.0 from the 55.9 originally reported for the previous month.

The Ifo Institute in … [visit site to read more]

New Poll Shows 19.9% Of U.S. Workforce Underemployed In January

Posted: 23 Feb 2010 11:04 AM PST

(RTTNews) - A new Gallup poll released Tuesday showed that, during the month of January, 19.9% of the U.S. workforce was underemployed.

According to the poll, which surveyed 20,503 adults January 2 - 31, those who were underemployed spent 36% less than those who were employed. Those underemployed spent $48 per day compared to $75 per day spending for those who were employed.

In addition, only 29% of those underemployed felt good about the amount of money they have to spend. Comparatively, … [visit site to read more]

European Markets Fall On Weak Data - European Commentary

Posted: 23 Feb 2010 10:55 AM PST

(RTTNews) - The European markets fell for the second day on Tuesday after reports showed that German business confidence deteriorated unexpectedly in February and U.S. consumer sentiment declined to a 10- month low.

The Conference Board in the U.S. said its consumer confidence index fell to 46.0 in February from an upwardly revised 56.5 in January. Economists had been expecting the index to edge down to 55.0 from the 55.9 originally reported for the previous month.

The Ifo Institute in … [visit site to read more]

Singapore Stock Market Update For Tuesday 23 February

Posted: 22 Feb 2010 05:21 PM PST

Morning Highlights
There Are No Quick Picks For Today
Singapore market eased in opening trade on Tuesday, pressured by weakness in U.S. stocks as traders took in profits following gains in the major indexes in four of the last five trading sessions.
U.S equity markets fell for the first time in five days as lower natural gas and metal prices dragged down commodity shares, overshadowing gains in banks on speculation the Federal Reserve will leave interest rates at a record low…

Sembmarine … [visit site to read more]
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