Monthly Archives: April 2011
IBM Ups Dividend by 15% and Adds $8 Billion to Buy Back Program
Google’s Android Has Captured 50% of All Smartphone Usage in the Past 6 Months
Shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals Soar on Expected FDA Approval for Hepatitis C Drug
“A drug like telaprevir does an amazing job clearing the virus, but there’s a small portion that is just intrinsically less responsive and it’s the job of the older drugs to clear up that mess that’s left behind,” said Dr. Cailla Graham, Vertex’s vice president for global medical affairs.
Comments »Another Chinese Fraud Report: GFRE
The stock is down 33% on this article.
Comments »Today’s Winners and Losers
No. Ticker % Change
1 ECYT 31.89
2 REDF 24.13
3 IIVI 19.74
4 HSTM 19.11
5 VTRO 18.82
6 WTI 18.41
7 IGC 17.71
8 USAT 15.22
9 ONSM 14.75
10 KND 14.32
11 KUTV 14.00
12 UCTT 13.80
13 ARNA 12.60
14 SMOD 12.53
15 REFR 12.38
16 VRTX 12.09
17 PRGX 11.69
18 VICL 10.77
19 CRDN 10.60
20 CRS 10.56
21 IDN 10.42
22 MSPD 10.13
23 YRCW 10.05
24 DAL 10.00
25 GRA 9.96
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No. Ticker % Change
1 GFRE -32.73
2 WIBC -18.38
3 HEI -18.18
4 LXK -14.73
5 VDSI -14.64
6 TZOO -12.91
7 ROSG -12.50
8 RCII -11.59
9 UIS -11.33
10 MNI -11.27
11 LFT -11.20
12 ININ -10.79
13 IMN -10.09
14 BXDD -10.03
15 ACPW -9.75
16 CTC -9.36
17 PLXT -9.29
18 UA -9.01
19 SCEI -8.99
20 CABL -8.26
21 APP -8.23
22 LWSN -8.12
23 BBH -8.11
24 AMCF -8.09
25 GPI -7.84
Geithner: Surging Oil Prices Will Not Derail Global Recovery
“Oil prices at current levels will not derail the global economic recovery, U.S. Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner said Tuesday.
“At current levels, on its own, it won’t put the recovery at risk,” Geithner told an event sponsored by the Council on Foreign Relations when asked to rate oil prices as a global risk.
He also said the U.S. economy is still healing and faces new headwinds from the soaring oil prices.”
Comments »China’s Economic Policy and Over Confident Central Banks Spell Equal Real Inflation Concerns
Consumer Confidence: Prior 63.4, Consensus 64.4, Actual 65.4
More on the Fate of a Fiat currency
There’s been some discussion over the last few days of what is going to happen if China starts reducing its position in US Treasuries. Seeking Alpha has a good summation of the problem:
“In response, during a recent summit, the leaders of Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa (the BRICS) announced that they want to trade between themselves in their own currencies. This comes amid a growing chorus in China pushing for a limit of dollar reserves to $1.3 trillion.”
Comments »Defense Stocks Lagging Overall Market; Should You Be Worried ?
Public Pensions Face Precedence On Budget Cuts
“When an arbitrator ruled this month that Detroit could reduce the pensions being earned by its police sergeants and lieutenants, it put the struggling city at the forefront of a growing national debate over whether the pensions of current public workers can or should be reduced.”
Comments »Morning April 26 S&P ratings actions
Ratings Assigned To VW Leasing’s VCL 13 German Auto-Lease ABS Transaction 26-Apr-2011
08:15 EST
Mondi Finance €1.5 Bil. EMTN Program Rated ‘BB+’; Recovery Rating On €500 Mil. Unsecured Notes Revised To ‘3’ 26-Apr-2011
08:02 EST
Russian Steel Producer OJSC NLMK ‘BBB-‘ Rating Affirmed On Agreement To Buy Additional 50% Stake In SIF; Outlook Stable 26-Apr-2011
07:10 EST
Preliminary Rating Assigned To BPCE SFH’s First Covered Bond Issuance Under The New French SFH Legal Framework 26-Apr-2011
06:39 EST
French Real Estate Company Societe Fonciere Lyonnaise Rated ‘BBB-/A-3’ On Strong Business Risk Profile; Outlook Stable 26-Apr-2011
06:13 EST
China Resources Power Proposed Perpetual Subordinated Guaranteed Capital Securities Assigned ‘BB’ Rating 26-Apr-2011
06:07 EST
Rating Assigned To Tap Issuance Of Aquarius + Investments’ Series 2010-2 26-Apr-2011
05:52 EST
Various Rating Actions Taken On Cash Flow CDO Of ABS Transaction FAXTOR ABS 2005-1 26-Apr-2011
05:23 EST
Fosun International Ltd. And Proposed Notes Assigned ‘BB+’ Rating; Outlook Stable 26-Apr-2011
02:53 EST
MIE Holdings Co. Ltd. And Proposed Notes Assigned ‘B+’ Rating; Outlook Stable 26-Apr-2011
02:22 EST
Rating On JLOC XXVIII Class B Placed On CreditWatch Negative; Three Classes Affirmed 26-Apr-2011
02:19 EST
Japan Finance Corp.’s Series 16, 17, And 18 Bonds Rated ‘AA-‘ 26-Apr-2011
01:08 EST
Ratings On Sunshine Trust’s Class A1 To Class E Beneficial Interests Affirmed 26-Apr-2011
00:44 EST
Brian Belski says buy the dollar
Interesting thought, to say the least. Here’s what the article has written.
Comments »Oppenheimer Asset Management’s Brian Belski says that, when it comes to ending QE2, he thinks it won’t be such a clear cut, black or white, buy or sell decision, but rather something more nuanced and gradual.
“Bernanke is a data hound,” he says in the accompanying video, adding that he sees the Fed entering a period of market assessment followed by an orderly liquidation of its Treasury holdings to yield-hungry buyers.
If you like investing in big picture themes that will work for years rather than tips and hunches that might work for half a day, then Belski has a few ideas for you.
“The next great secular move is going to be a stronger dollar,” he says, adding that the notion that stocks and the U.S. currency can’t move higher together is outdated and wrong.
He says the same thing is true for interest rates after 20-plus years of decline. “It’ll be a slow grind higher, not a sudden surge to 7 percent,” he says, pointing out that, once investors get over the initial transitional shock, stocks should get over it too and do well on the backs of an improving economy.
And finally, if you’ve been thinking of a way to tap into the limitless largesse of high-end consumers, Belski says you’d be better off tapping the new-found frugality of the low end, where credit cards are vanishing, savings rates are up and legions of smart shoppers are spending in whole new ways.
Home prices decline for 8th straight month
Comments »NEW YORK (Reuters) – U.S. single-family home prices fell for an eighth straight month in February, inching closer to an April 2009 trough, a closely watched survey said on Tuesday.
The S&P/Case Shiller composite index of 20 metropolitan areas declined 0.2 percent in February from January on a seasonally adjusted basis, slightly better than economists’ median forecast for a drop of 0.3 percent.
The 20-city composite index was at 139.27, holding just a hair above its 2009 low of 139.26. Average home prices across the United States are back to levels where they were in the summer of 2003.
Crack Spreads are Soaring Again
Spreads are now up more than 4% to $25.31
Comments »Oil Reverses Early Losses and Crack Spreads Rip Higher
Netflix Price Target Upped to $300 at Canaccord
Canaccord Genuity raises their NFLX tgt to $300 from $250. Netflix’s Q1/11 results exceeded forecasts, though Q2/11 guidance was mixed, with the company’s forecast revenue and subscriber growth offset by cost increases. Lack of subscriber growth in Canada was the only real surprise in the quarter, as churn and ARPU rose slightly following the price increase in January. Firm continue to believes that NFLX is in the sweet spot between declining physical competition and rising digital competition.
Comments »Upgrades and Downgrades This Morning
Upgrades
PAAS – Pan Am Silver upgraded to Buy from Hold at Jefferies; tgt raised to $48 from $37
VECO – Veeco Instruments tgt raised to $60 at Kaufman following earnings
NOK – Nokia upgraded to Neutral from Sell at WestLB
CYOU – Changyou.com resumed with a Buy at Brean Murray; tgt raised to $53
DECK – Deckers Outdoor: Late start to spring may provide a lift to 1Q – RBC Capital Mkts
OXY – Occidental Petro upgraded to Buy from Hold at Deutsche Bank
MDRX – Allscripts-Misys Healthcare initiated with a Outperform at Oppenheimer
EBAY – eBay Q1 preview: expecting in-line results with stellar PayPal and solid Marketplaces growth – Wedbush
NTFL – Netflix target raised to $300 at Canaccord Genuity following last night’s results
JOBS – 51job initiated with a Market Perform at William Blair
Downgrades
NFLX – Netflix downgraded to Sell from Neutral at Janney Montgomery Scott
MO – Altria downgraded to Hold at Argus
ECA – EnCana downgraded to Sell at Ticonderoga; tgt $27
SOHU – Sohu.com resumed with a Hold at Brean Murray
ININ – Interactive Intelligence downgraded to Mkt Perform at Morgan Keegan
MGM – MGM Resorts downgraded to Underperform from Neutral at Credit Suisse
BEXP – Brigham Exploration downgraded to Hold at Stifel Nicolaus
CYH – Community Health downgraded to Hold from Buy at Citigroup
Comments »Gapping Up and Down This Morning
Gapping Up
UCTT +11.4%, MSO +6.1%, HXL +8%, UBS +7.2%,NVS +1.1%, AZN 1.0%, ITW +6.6%, HSTM +6.2%,MSPD +5.7%, VECO +5%, UCTT +11.4%, HXL +8%, UBS +7.2%, LXRX +7.1%, HSTM +6.2%, VECO +4.8%, CLMS +4.3%, CS +3.4%, AKS+2.3%, MSPD +2%, GOLD +1.5%, DB +1.3%, GE +1.3%, RIG +1%, CS +3.4%, DB +1.3%, IRE +1.5%, CMI +4.4%, F +4.2%, ACI +3.5%, KND +3.2%, UA +2.8%, DAL+2.2%, LO +2.2%, MMM +1%
Gapping Down
NFLX -5%, ARMH -1.1%, HWAY-1.1%SXCI -1.5%, ESRX -7.9%, AFOP -7.6%, , SANM -3.9%, HMA -3.8%, RCII -5.3%, AIB -5.1%, ELX -3.4%, ETFC -3.3%, AINV -1.8%, MHS -1.4%
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