Developing….

More to ponder over this crash….

Coins are cumbersome….no? 

Global credit contraction is what Gross  is talking about in his latest letter to investors…

Source

Amazon.com Inc. (AMZN) sank 9 percent to $176.70. The world’s largest Internet retailer missed analysts’ fourth- quarter revenue estimates and reported a 57 percent decline in profit, dragged down by shipping costs and the money-losing Kindle Fire.

AOL Inc. (AOL) : The Internet company’s fourth-quarter profit dropped 66 percent as the fourth straight increase in online display advertising sales failed to offset declines from the Internet-access division.

Aspen Technology Inc. (AZPN) : The maker of software for oil and chemical companies reported earnings in the second- quarter of 6 cents a share, excluding some items, beating the average analyst estimate of a loss of 5 cents.

Broadcom Corp. (BRCM) rose 2.8 percent to $35.30. The maker of chips that help mobile devices connect to the Internet forecast first-quarter sales that may exceed analysts’ estimates amid stronger demand for parts for Apple Inc.’s iPhone.

C.H. Robinson Worldwide Inc. (CHRW) : The transportation- services company reported fourth quarter earnings of 67 cents a share, missing the average analyst estimate of 68 cents.

Dendreon Corp. (DNDN) advanced 6 percent to $14.40. The maker of the prostate-cancer drug Provenge named John H. Johnson of Savient Pharmaceuticals Inc. (SVNT) as chief executive officer and president, succeeding Mitchell H. Gold.

Savient fell 3.2 percent to $2.45.

Energizer Holdings Inc. (ENR) : The battery maker reported first-quarter earnings of $2.05 a share, excluding some items, beating the average analyst of $1.93.

Fortinet Inc. (FTNT) surged 10 percent to $25.19. The maker of network-security systems said fourth-quarter earnings excluding some items were 14 cents a share, exceeding the average analyst estimate of 12 cents.

IAC/InterActiveCorp. (IACI) (IACI US) gained 1.1 percent to $43.53. The operator of Websites including Match.com and Ask.com reported fourth-quarter profit that topped analysts’ estimates as traffic increased for its search and online-dating sites.

Marathon Petroleum Corp. (MPC) (MPC US) jumped 9.9 percent to $42. The crude refiner that spun off from Marathon Oil Corp. (MRO) reported a fourth-quarter loss of 21 cents a share, excluding some items, compared with an average analyst estimate of a loss of 5 cents.

Morgan Stanley (MS) advanced 2.9 percent to $19.20. The owner of the world’s largest brokerage was chosen to take the lead on the planned initial public offering of Facebook Inc., according to three people with knowledge of the matter.

Nasdaq OMX Group Inc. (NDAQ) : The second-largest U.S. equity exchange operator posted fourth-quarter earnings that beat analyst estimates as revenue climbed and the company bought back $100 million in shares.

Northrop Grumman Corp. (NOC) : The maker of the U.S. military’s Global Hawk drone forecast 2012 earnings that fell short of analysts’ estimates.

Silgan Holdings Inc. (SLGN) : The manufacturer of consumer goods packaging forecast first-quarter earnings of no more than 47 cents a share, excluding some items, below the average analyst estimate of 50 cents.

Whirlpool Corp. (WHR) rallied 8 percent to $58.64. The world’s largest maker of household appliances forecast that it would earn at least $6.50 a share from continuing operations in 2012, compared with the $5.80 average of analyst estimates compiled by Bloomberg.

Source

Amazon.com Inc. (NASDAQ: AMZN) Maintained Neutral but cut target to $190 at Credit Suisse; Maintained Outperform but lowered estimates at Baird; Lowered target to $225 at Jefferies.
Applied Micro Circuits Corporation (NASDAQ: AMCC) Cut to Perform at Oppenheimer.
Ashland Inc. (NYSE: ASH) named as the Value Stock of the Day at Zack.
Bank of America Corp. (NYSE: BAC) named as Bear of the Day with under current price objective target by Zacks.
Citigroup, Inc. (NYSE: C) Raised to Outperform at Wells Fargo.
Caterpillar, Inc. (NYSE: CAT) named as Bull of the Day with way above-consensus price target at Zacks.
Deutsche Bank AG (NYSE: DB) Started as Outperform at Credit Suisse.
Exxon Mobil Corporation (NYSE: XOM) Cut to Hold at Argus.
Monster Worldwide, Inc. (NYSE: MWW) Cut to Perform at Oppenheimer.
Newmont Mining Corporation (NYSE: NEM) Cut to Hold at Stifel Nicolaus.
Seagate Technology plc (NASDAQ: STX) Raised to Buy at Stifel Nicolaus.
SunCoke Energy Inc. (NYSE: SXC) Reinstated as Outperform at Credit Suisse.
Websense Inc. (NASDAQ: WBSN) Cut to Market Perform at Wells Fargo.
Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated (NASDAQ: VRTX) Reiterated Outperform and raised target at $42 at Credit Suisse.

Gapping up 

KTCC +28.4%, AZPN +11%, FTNT +9.6%, NVS +3%, WFT +2.7%, DB +2.6%, BRCM +2.6%, SI +2.2%, BCS +1.8%, MT +1.8%, SLV +1.8%, ACE +1.7%,

WHR +8.6%, STX +7.4%, MTW +5.6%, ALV +5.6%, TMO +3.9%,  AOL +3.6%, BEAV +1.1%, NAV +1.1%, RBS +4.5%, NBG +2.7%, STD +2.7%,  BAC +1%,

MT +2.3%, SLV +1.8%, CLF +1.7%, AA +1.6%, GOLD +1.2%, GLD +0.2%, WLT +2.7%, PCX +2.6%, WFT +2.2%, RIG +2.2%, JRCC +1.7%, SD +0.5%, MCP +4.9%,

MDVN +17.3%,  SGMO +7% ,  DNDN +4.6%, RIO +0.9%,  MGM +2.3% ,

Gapping down

PLT -14.7%, JDAS -9.2%, AMZN -8.7%, UBNT -8.6%, BDSI -8.2%, MPW -5.8%, STLY -4%, SLGN -3.8%, HLIT -1.4%, KEYN -1.1%,  UIS -6.5%, CHRW -5.9%, MPW -5.8%,

TUP -1.7%, GGC -5.2%,  BDSI -8.2%, KWK -7.8%, TROW -2.2%,

In Play 

On the Wires 

Anything can be done when balance is in power…

(via)

Teens, after being friended by parents, grandparents, aunts and uncles on Facebook, have moved to Twitter to get a little more privacy.

Until recently, Twitter was thought of as mainly for those promoting their business or themselves, but a recent Pew Internet & American Life Project study showed that teens 12 to 17 doubled their presence on Twitter in the last two years. While still relatively small, jumping from 8 to 16 percent, it shows a growing trend.

 “I love twitter, it’s the only thing I have to myself … cause my parents don’t have one,” Britteny Praznik, a 17-year-old from just outside Milwaukee, tweeted.

From the Dr. Ron Paul

Post Holdings Inc. (POST-W) (POST-W US) will replace Comstock Resources Inc. (CRK) in the S&P MidCap 400 Index, and Comstock will take THQ Inc. (THQ)’s (THQI US) place in the S&P SmallCap 600 Index, after trading closes on Feb. 3, S&P said.

The change is being made because Ralcorp Holdings Inc. (RAH) is spinning off Post in a transaction expected to be completed on or about Feb. 3, S&P said in a statement.

Align Technology Inc. (ALGN) : The maker of a teeth- straightening product forecast first-quarter profit excluding some items of no more 21 cents a share, below the average analyst estimate of 22 cents in a Bloomberg survey.

Archer-Daniels-Midland Co. (ADM) fell 3.1 percent to $28.80. The world’s largest grain processor posted a second- quarter profit that missed analysts’ estimates after oilseed earnings fell and corn costs rose.

Biogen Idec Inc. (BIIB) retreated 3.1 percent to $113. The world’s largest maker of multiple sclerosis medicines said it sees earnings in 2012 of no more than $6.20 a share, excluding some items, missing the average analyst estimate of $6.31.

Eli Lilly & Co. (LLY US) advanced 1.2 percent to $39.70. The pharmaceutical company whose schizophrenia drug Zyprexa lost patent protection in October said fourth-quarter profit excluding some items was 87 cents a share, beating the 81-cent average of 17 analyst estimates compiled by Bloomberg.

Hologic Inc. (HOLX) : The Bedford, Massachusetts-based maker of X-ray systems raised its 2012 profit forecast to as much as $1.38 a share, more than the average analyst estimate of $1.36 a share.

Mattel Inc. (MAT) gained 1.2 percent to $29.87. The maker of Barbie dolls reported fourth-quarter profit of $1.07 a share, excluding some items, beating the $1 average analyst estimate.

Parexel International Corp. (PRXL) : The tester of experimental medicines for drugmakers forecast third-quarter earnings of as much as 32 cents a share excluding some items, above the average analyst estimate of 30 cents a share, according to a Bloomberg survey.

Pfizer Inc. (PFE) increased 1.3 percent to $21.85. The world’s largest drugmaker beat analysts’ earnings estimates as the company’s non-pharmaceutical divisions helped make up for sales losses from generic competition to its best-seller Lipitor. The company lowered its 2012 forecast.

RadioShack Corp. (RSH) plunged 25 percent to $7.70. The consumer-electronics retailer suspended share repurchases and reported preliminary fourth-quarter earnings that trailed analysts’ estimates. Earnings fell to 11 cents to 13 cents a share last quarter. Analysts projected 37 cents, the average of 19 estimates compiled by Bloomberg. RadioShack cited “underperformance” in the Sprint Nextel Corp. (S) postpaid wireless business.

Rex Energy Corp. (REXX) : The oil and gas company with operations in the Illinois and Appalachian basin announced plans for a public offering of 7 million ordinary shares. Additional stock may dilute the value of existing shares.

Source

Source

Amgen Inc. (NASDAQ: AMGN) Reiterated Buy and Raised target to $80 at Argus.
AON Corporation (NYSE: AON) Raised to Neutral from Underperform at Credit Suisse.
EQT Corporation (NYSE: EQT) Raised to Hold from Sell with $50 target at Canaccord Genuity.
Exelixis, Inc. (NASDAQ: EXEL) Started as Outperform at Credit Suisse.
Intrepid Potash (NYSE: IPI) Cut to Sell at Goldman Sachs.
LM Ericsson Telephone Co. (NASDAQ: ERIC) Maintained Buy but target now at $14 from $19 at Argus.
Medivation, Inc. (NASDAQ: MDVN) Started as Outperform at Credit Suisse.
Nike Inc. (NYSE: NKE) Raised to Buy at Argus.
NII Holdings, Inc. (NASDAQ: NIHD) named as Bear of the Day at Zacks.
NYSE Euronext (NYSE: NYX) Cut to Sector Perform at RBC Capital.
Potash Corp. of Saskatchewan (NYSE: POT) Cut to Neutral at Goldman Sachs.
Rackspace Hosting Inc. (NYSE: RAX) named Momentum stock of the day at Zacks.
Range Resources Corporation (NYSE: RRC) Raised to Hold from Sell with $59 target at Canaccord Genuity.
Symantec Corporation (NASDAQ: SYMC) Reiterated Buy and $24.00 price target at Argus.
Tesla Motors, Inc. (NASDAQ: TSLA) Started as Buy at Jefferies.
Under Armour, Inc. (NYSE: UA) Raised to Buy at Needham.
UnitedHealth Group (NYSE: UNH) named as Bull of the Day at Zacks.

Gapping Up

PRXL +10.5%, HOLX +7.1%, RTEC +6.8%, AEG +6.6%, ARMH +4.5%, SCMF +4.3%, ING +2.4%, RIO +2%, MT +1.8%, UBS +1.8%, RIG +1.4%, BP +1.3%,

GOLD +1.1%, BCS +1%, DB +1%, MCK +3.8%, LLY +3.2%, X +2%, UPS +1.3%, PFE +1%, AEG +6.6%, IBN +5.6%, NBG +4%, ING +2.4%, UBS +1.8%,

JPM +1.2%, BAC +1.1%, BCS +1%, DB +1%, C +0.9%, RIO +2%, MT +1.8%, BHP +1.4%, GOLD +1.1%, GLD +0.6%, SLV +0.5%, TOT +1.6%, RIG +1.4%, WLT +1.4%,

BP +1.3%, AVL +4.3%, REE +2.4%, MCP +2.2%,

Gapping Down

RSH -19.6%, ALGN -6.6%, RCII -5.9%, REXX -5.7%, ICUI -4%, ORA -3.7%, PCL -2.7%, PHYS -2%, CSTR -1.9%, BIDU -1.9%, ALGN -6.6%, KLIC -6.6%,

LXK -2.2%, IDTI -1.4%, POT -0.3%,  VIVO -1.2%,

In Play 

On the Wires

A lot to digest here….

via Naked Capitalism

A new ProPublica story, “Freddie Mac Betting Against Struggling Homeowners,” treats the fact that Freddie Mac retains the riskiest tranche of its mortgage bond offering, known as inverse floaters, as heinous and evidence of scheming against suffering borrowers.

The storyline in this piece is neat, plausible, and utterly wrong. And my e-mail traffic indicates that people who are reasonably finance savvy but don’t know the mortgage bond space have bought the uninformed and conspiratorial ProPublica thesis hook, line, and sinker.

Read the rest here.

Last weeks Feds pledge “isn’t a firm commitment”

Read here:

The technology sector is known for two things: growth potential and risk.

Apple’s trouncing of Wall Street earnings forecasts this past week suggests growth is still abundant. Yet Big Tech is looking less risky than it has in the past.

Here are four reasons conservative investors should consider adding exposure to tech stocks.

Valuation
Tech stocks have had more than a decade to work off the bloated share prices from the dot-com stock bubble of the 1990s, says Cliff Hoover, chief investment officer of Dreman Value Management in Jersey City, N.J., which manages $5 billion. Many have become a good home for safety-oriented investors, he says.

The information-technology sector of the Standard & Poor’s 500-stock index recently traded at 13 times estimated 2011 earnings, on par with the broad index, according to S&P data. The consumer staples and utilities sectors, typically considered safe and stodgy, fetch 14 times earnings. And Wall Street expects the tech sector to increase its earnings by almost 14% in 2012, versus 8% for consumer staples and 1% for utilities.

Volatility
Over the past five years, large pockets of the tech sector, including hardware makers, systems software firms and consulting shops, have been no more volatile in terms of share-price changes than the broad S&P 500 index, according to S&P data.

Financial strength
The tech sector of the S&P 500 sits on $380 billion in cash and equivalents, more than any other sector and equal to 15% of its market value, according to Howard Silverblatt, senior index analyst at S&P. That doesn’t include holdings in long-term securities. Apple holds a $67 billion portfolio that is “very liquid,” Mr. Silverblatt says.

The two largest companies in the sector, Apple and Microsoft, have forward price/earnings ratios in single digits after deducting their cash and investments from their stock-market values. Microsoft and Intel now have fatter “dividend yields,” or the percentage of share price paid out as dividends, than the 500 index average.

Mr. Hoover, who considers himself a “deep value” stock picker, likes Microsoft, Intel, Cisco Systems and Applied Materials. “They’re big free-cash-flow generators and pretty good dividend payers,” he says. Microsoft pays 2.7%, Cisco 1.2%, Intel 3.1% and Applied Materials 2.6%, versus 2% for the broad S&P 500.

Low expectations
With 37% of S&P 500 companies having announced December-quarter earnings results, 68% of the technology companies that have reported have beaten analysts’ estimates, versus 59% for the index and 40% for consumer-staples companies, according to a Friday report from Thomson Reuters. (Only three utilities have reported, with one beating estimates.)

Tech outfits are doing well in part because companies that delayed technology purchases during the 2008 financial crisis are starting to spend, says David B. Armstrong, co-founder of Monument Wealth Management in Alexandria, Va., which oversees $200 million.

“Technology has become more of a necessity, and companies can only delay investments for so long,” he says. “That helps make the sector more stable.”

Lots to be learned from recent conference calls…