Mar 31, 2010

Daily Markets - Financial News And Opinions

Daily Markets - Financial News And Opinions

MS And MTU JV Begins May’10

Posted: 31 Mar 2010 08:00 AM PDT

On Tuesday, the two leading entities, Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) and Mitsubishi UFJ Financial Group Inc. (NYSE:MTU), together announced the merger of their brokerage operations in Japan by arriving at a final agreement according to which their joint venture (JV) operations are expected to start from May 1, 2010. 

The JV follows the global strategic alliance entered in Oct 2008, whereby MTU closed a $9 billion equity investment in MS, owning a 21% stake in the company on a fully diluted basis. … [visit site to read more]


MoneyGram Expands In Turkey

Posted: 31 Mar 2010 07:45 AM PDT

Expanding its presence in Turkey, on Tuesday, MoneyGram International Inc. (NYSE:MGI) has announced its partnership with Bank Asya in Turkey, to enhance its money transfer service business by extending its service to the bank's 160 domestic branches across the country, over a period of time. Through this alliance, MoneyGram has grown its network to 190,000 agent locations in 190 countries and territories.
 
Money transfer business remains the driving force for MoneyGram. The company has … [visit site to read more]

Is Gold Going To Finish Its Secular Bull Market?

Posted: 31 Mar 2010 07:40 AM PDT

I’ve got to say when I read this I had a good laugh. Apparently the whole premises for these nutty manipulation theories all boils down to the shoulda, coulda, woulda defense.

If it hadn’t been for government manipulation then gold shoulda done this. Or gold coulda rallied to … Or gold woulda been much higher if only….

I asked in my earlier post how gold could possibly rally from $250 to over $1200 and the best response they gave was a “controlled retreat” Seriously? A … [visit site to read more]

Android Gaining Popularity In India

Posted: 31 Mar 2010 07:30 AM PDT

Google Inc (NASDAQ:GOOG) developed Android operating system for mobile phone is gaining rapid momentum in India . Recently, LG Electronics launched a new mobile phone ‘LG GW620' and Motorola Inc. (NYSE:MOT) launched a smartphone called "Milestone” in India. Both of these handsets are based on the Android operating system. Sony Ericsson, a joint venture between Sony Corp. (NYSE:SNE) and L.M. Ericsson AB (NASDAQ:ERIC); HTC, and Samsung Electronics have already introduced their respective Android-based … [visit site to read more]

Wet Seal Tops Zacks Estimate

Posted: 31 Mar 2010 07:15 AM PDT

The Wet Seal, Inc. (NASDAQ:WTSLA) reported fourth-quarter fiscal 2009 (ended January 30, 2010) earnings of 10 cents per share (excluding special items) which surpassed the Zacks Consensus Estimate by 2 cents. The company earned 9 cents in the year-ago quarter. Net sales in the reported quarter came in at $151 million as against $154.9 million in the year-ago quarter, down approximately 2.5%. Consolidated comparable store sales declined 4.5% for the quarter.
 
Segment-wise, Wet Seal net sales … [visit site to read more]

Stock Market News Briefs: Citigroup Inc., Peabody Energy Corporation, Rite Aid Corporation, Toyota Motor Corporation, Apple Inc., Jos. A. Bank Clothiers, Inc., Research In Motion Limited

Posted: 31 Mar 2010 07:13 AM PDT

 Peabody Energy (NYSE:BTU) submitted a non-binding proposal to buy Australia’s MacArthur’s Coal for $3 billion. MacArthur’s Coal rejected the bid, citing growing demand for coal

 Rite Aid (NYSE:RAD) reported a fourth quarter loss of 24 cents a share, wider than the Zacks expectations of a 19 cents loss, on inline revenues of $6.5 billion

 Dollar General (DG) posted better-than-expected earnings of 51 cents, ahead of Zacks estimates of 43 cents, on revenues of $3.19 billion, … [visit site to read more]

Mutual Funds: Top 5 Invesco Aim Funds

Posted: 31 Mar 2010 07:12 AM PDT

With over $423 billion of assets under management, Invesco Aim is one of the world's largest and most diversified investment management firms. The company prides itself on a disciplined investment process, based on insight gathered through on the ground research in over thirteen countries. The fund's diversified investment approach spans equity, fixed income and cash management based strategies as well as alternative holdings such as real estate, commodities and natural resources.
Below we … [visit site to read more]

Time For The Bulls To Reconsider

Posted: 31 Mar 2010 07:01 AM PDT

Based on data going back 90 years, whenever the 12-month rate of change (ROC) in the Dow Jones Industrials Average has exceeded 40 percent, it has generally signaled trouble ahead.
In three cases, a 12-month ROC above that level has only marked a short-term pause, after which the market traded higher.
But on 11 other occasions, similarly rapid advances have been followed by notable corrections, including the collapses that followed the 1929 and dot-com era peaks, as well as the 1987 … [visit site to read more]

Stanley Acquires Black & Decker

Posted: 31 Mar 2010 07:00 AM PDT

A few months back, The Stanley Works announced the acquisition of Black & Decker Corporation (BDK), and has recently completed the merger. According to the agreement, each outstanding share of BDK will be converted into 1.275 shares of Stanley Works.
 
Stanley's shareholders will own approximately 50.5% of the equity of the combined company and Black & Decker shareholders will own the balance. The combined company will be traded as Stanley Black & Decker (NYSE:SWK) on the … [visit site to read more]

Cosi Misses Zacks Estimate

Posted: 31 Mar 2010 06:45 AM PDT

Amid a sluggish economic environment plagued by heavy job losses and lower consumer discretionary spending Cosi, Inc. (NASDAQ:COSI), a premium casual dining restaurant chain, recently reported dismal fourth-quarter 2009 results.
 
Cosi has reported a quarterly loss of 7 cents a share that missed the Zacks Consensus Estimate of a loss of 4 cents, and was more protracted than the loss of 5 cents delivered in the prior-year quarter. 
 
On a reported basis, including one-time items, Cosi … [visit site to read more]

FDIC May Impede JPM’s Tax Refund

Posted: 31 Mar 2010 06:30 AM PDT

Federal Deposit Insurance Corp. (FDIC) is trying to oppose a proposed $1.4 billion tax refund for the second largest U.S. bank JPMorgan Chase & Co. (NYSE:JPM) in relation to its takeover of banking operations of Washington Mutual in 2008, according to a Wall Street Journal report.
 
Bankrupt lender Washington Mutual was taken over by JPM for $1.9 billion. The tax refund was expected from a clause in the economic stimulus bill. The law allows companies to apply for tax refunds against … [visit site to read more]

Forex Trading: EURUSD In A Steep Channel Up

Posted: 31 Mar 2010 06:28 AM PDT

The EURUSD trended higher today off the back of better employment out of Germany and higher CPI Flash data out of Eurozone.  The pair has been following a channel to the upside with current trendline support at the 1.3492 level and the upper trendline at the 1.3527 level.  Other support to watch comes in at 1.3482 which is the 61.8% retraceement of the move up from the 2009 low to the 2009 off the daily chart. 

The trend is up today unless the trendline … [visit site to read more]

Swiss Franc: The Upside Prevails

Posted: 31 Mar 2010 06:18 AM PDT

Update on supports and resistances. … [visit site to read more]

Japanese Yen: The Upside Prevails

Posted: 31 Mar 2010 06:17 AM PDT

Update on supports and resistances. … [visit site to read more]

British Pound: The Upside Prevails

Posted: 31 Mar 2010 06:17 AM PDT

Update on supports and resistances. … [visit site to read more]

Euro: The Upside Prevails

Posted: 31 Mar 2010 06:17 AM PDT

Update on supports and resistances. … [visit site to read more]

Forex Trading: USDCAD Moves Lower On The Better Data

Posted: 31 Mar 2010 05:40 AM PDT

GDP rose better than expected. That coupled with the lower dollar tone has the pair moving back down. However,we are seeing a rebound off the lows.  Nevertheless, the stronger data should bring back into focus the parity level back for the pair. 
If the US has a weak employment report that mimics the ADP report this morning and the Canada data continues to show strength, the trend for the pair seems firm. Oil is also up above $83 which is also a benefit. The BOC has said that the … [visit site to read more]

Forex Trading: USDJPY Falls Below The 93.12

Posted: 31 Mar 2010 05:18 AM PDT

The 50% retracement of the move down from the 2009 high to the low comes in at 93.12. The market has moved back down to test this level.  Look for some sellers against this level with stops on a move above 93.18

The next target will come in at 92.85. Better support comes in at the 92.65-92.72 area which was a base yesterday and where the 100 hour MA on the 5 minute chart comes in (at 92.65 currently).  The market will have to stay above this level to keep the bullishness in … [visit site to read more]

Forex Trading Review For 31/03/2010

Posted: 31 Mar 2010 04:32 AM PDT

USD Dollar (USD)

The Dollar gained versus the Euro and the Yen and weakened versus the Pound after better than expected Consumer Confidence gave a positive tone for the Dollar. NASDAQ and Dow Jones gained by 0.26% and 0.11% respectively after strong earnings from Apple and Verizon. Crude Oil gained by 0.54% closing at 82.61$ a barrel. Gold (XAU) weakened by -0.65% closing at 1,102.8$ an ounce. Today, ADP Non Farm Employment Change is expected positive with 40K versus -20K prior. Factory … [visit site to read more]

Stock Buy: Nelnet

Posted: 30 Mar 2010 10:00 PM PDT

Nelnet (NYSE:NNI) has a Zacks #1 Rank and trades at 7.3x 2011 consensus EPS estimates.
Company Description
Nelnet is a transaction processing and finance company. It provides education-related products and services including student loan servicing, claim processing, and post-default collections.
The federal government recently eliminated the role of private lenders in originating federal student loans. However, Nelnet is expected to play a major role as a participant in the Department of … [visit site to read more]

Bear Of The Day: Diamond Offshore (DO)

Posted: 30 Mar 2010 10:00 PM PDT

We are downgrading our recommendation for Diamond Offshore (NYSE:DO) shares to Underperform from Neutral. Though the recent contract awards by Brazil’s Petrobras highlight the company’s focus on building backlog, a tentative near-term outlook for contracting activity, declines in dayrates for new contracts, a weak utilization rate and the company’s unfavorable cost guidance are likely to further weigh on the stock.
Diamond is the most exposed driller to the midwater drilling market and the special … [visit site to read more]

Stock Buy: Corn Products International Inc.

Posted: 30 Mar 2010 10:00 PM PDT

Corn Products International, Inc. (NYSE:CPO) is seeing volumes rebound, especially in the South America and Asia/Africa segments. CPO is trading with a forward P/E of 14.6.
Company Description
Corn Products is the largest producer of dextrose in the world and manufactures starches, high fructose corn syrups and glucose.
The company provides a variety of ingredients to customers in 60 industries including food, beverages, pharmaceuticals, animal feed, corrugating, paper and textiles.
Corn Products … [visit site to read more]

Stock Buy: Ulta Salon Cosmetics & Fragrance

Posted: 30 Mar 2010 10:00 PM PDT

Ulta Salon Cosmetics & Fragrance (NASDAQ:ULTA) is pressuring its 52-week high at $23.45 after reporting better than expected Q4 results in mid March that included a 13% earnings surprise.
Company Description
Ulta Salon, Cosmetics & Fragrance, Inc. operates as a retailer of prestige, mass and solon products in the united States. The company was founded in 1990, operates 346 stores in 36 states and has a market cap of $1.35 billion.
Fourth-Quarter Results
Shares of ULTA gapped open higher on … [visit site to read more]

Bull Of The Day: Deere & Co. (DE)

Posted: 30 Mar 2010 10:00 PM PDT

We are upgrading our recommendation on Deere & Co. (NYSE:DE) to Outperform from Neutral as we anticipate it to perform well above the broader market. Deere is one of the largest manufacturers of agricultural equipment and commands a strong worldwide presence.
The company is expected to continue benefitting from a strong global agricultural cycle as well as encouraging support programs from the Chinese and Brazilian governments. Moreover, Deere has a consistent track record of returning cash to … [visit site to read more]

Stock Buy: Aeropostale, Inc.

Posted: 30 Mar 2010 10:00 PM PDT

Aeropostale, Inc (NYSE:ARO) shares are pressuring 52-week highs on the recent quarter’s results. Increasing sales lead to record earnings.
Company Description
Aeropostale is a mall-based, retailer of casual apparel and accessories, principally targeting teenagers. The Company provides customers with a focused selection of high-quality, active-oriented, fashion and fashion basic merchandise at compelling values.
Record-Setting Quarter
On Mar 11 Aeropostale reported its fourth-quarter results that … [visit site to read more]
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