The markets seem to have forgotten the power of downgrades.
Comments »Bull Rally Defies Most Strategists, But Birinyi Expects a Strong 2012
Jim Oberweis Says Load the Boat With Small Caps
John Hussman Would Like to Point Out Why Leading Economic Indicators are WRONG
Jim O’Neil on Dollar Divergence and What to Expect From the January Effect
A Look Into The Recently Red Hot Home Building Sector
Jeff Saut of Raymond James: Divergance is Welcome
He is surprised of the strength in the markets and points out the markets must not be done going higher as equities moved up despite a strong dollar.
Comments »Upgrades and Downgrades This Morning
Akamai Technologies, Inc. (NASDAQ: AKAM) Cut to Sell from Neutral at Citigroup.
AGL Resources Inc. (NYSE: GAS) Started as Underperform and named as Bear of the Day at Zacks.
Apple Inc. (NASDAQ: AAPL) Reiterated Buy with $460.00 price target objective by Argus; maintained Conviction Buy List and target raised to $550 from $520 at Goldman Sachs.
ARM Holdings PLC (NASDAQ: ARMH) Started as Underperform at Bernstein.
Barnes Group Inc. (NYSE: B) named as value stock of the day at Zacks.
Costco Wholesale Corporation (NASDAQ: COST) Cut to Underperform at Bernstein.
Exxon Mobil Corporation (NYSE: XOM) Reiterated Buy at Goldman Sachs.
First Industrial Realty Trust (NYSE: FR) Cut to Neutral at Credit Suisse.
Hilltop Holdings, Inc. (NYSE: HTH) Raised to Outperform as Bull of the Day at Zacks.
Integra LifeSciences Holdings Corp. (NASDAQ: IART) Cut to Hold at Argus.
International Game Technology (NYSE: IGT) Removed from US Focus List at Credit Suisse.
Merck & Co. Inc. (NYSE: MRK) Downgraded to Hold at Jefferies.
Pandora Media Inc. (NYSE: P) Started as Buy at Needham.
Penn National Gaming Inc. (NASDAQ: PENN) Added to the US Focus List at Credit Suisse.
PVH Corporation (NYSE: PVH) Started as Buy at Stern Agee.
The Royal Bank of Scotland Group plc (NYSE: RBS) Raised to Neutral at JPMorgan.
Southern Copper Corporation (NYSE: SCCO) Cut to Hold at Deutsche Bank.
Thoratec Corporation (NASDAQ: THOR) Cut to Market Perform at Wells Fargo.
Gapping Up and Down This Morning
Gapping up
ACHN +34.5%, EBAY +0.3%, INHX +130.7%, FMCN +0.4%, QCOR +4.5%, STD +2.6%, VRUS +3.4%, QGEN +2.1%,
STO +1.6%, ORCT +18.1%, UL +1.1%, RBS +2.9%, ING +1.7%, BCS +0.7%, TESS +0.4%,
Gapping down
IPCM -1.4%, BHP -0.5%, NOK -2.3%, LULU -1.8%,
Comments »In Play and On the Wires
U.S. Equity Preview; CTRP, EBAY, HLS, INHX, IPCM, JOY, LULU, MMI, & RHI
Investors Would Profit From Pay Pal Being Split From EBay
The IMF Now Says Europe May Avoid Recession
The IMF’s Lagarde says there is reason to be upbeat as many things have changed over the last 18 months.
Comments »A Look at Credit Unions
Can they really replace traditional banking and finance ? I’ve had good experiences with credit unions, but I’m sporting and 820+
Comments »The Bears Have Gone Into Hibernation
A List of the Most Accurate Market Forecasters
Upgrades and Downgrades This Morning
Bull of the Day at Zacks.
Apollo Group Inc. (NASDAQ: APOL) Reiterated Outperform and Raised Target to $60 at Credit Suisse.
Boston Scientific Corporation (NYSE: BSX) Maintained Hold but lowered estimates at Argus.
Career Education Corporation (NASDAQ: CECO) Cut to Hold at Argus.
Dendreon Corporation (NASDAQ: DNDN) Reiterated Neutral with $10 target at Baird.
FedEx Corporation (NYSE: FDX) Started as Outperform at Wells Fargo.
Goldman Sachs Group Inc. (NYSE: GS) Cut to Market Perform by Wells Fargo.
Huntsman Corporation (NYSE: HUN) named as Value Stock of the Day at Zacks.
Illinois Tool Works. Inc. (NYSE: ITW) Cut to Neutral at Credit Suisse.
Intel Corporation (NASDAQ: INTC) Cut to Neutral at Stern Agee.
Kohl’s Corporation (NYSE: KSS) Cut to Hold at Argus.
SanDisk Corporation (NASDAQ: SNDK) Raised to Buy at Stern Agee.
TD AMERITRADE Holding Corporation (NASDAQ: AMTD) Raised to Buy at Deutsche Bank.
The Travelers Companies, Inc. (NYSE: TRV) Raised to Outperform at Wells Fargo.
United Parcel Service, Inc. (NYSE: UPS) Started as Market Perform at Wells Fargo.
Urban Outfitters Inc. (NASDAQ: URBN) Started as Underperform and named as Bear of the Day at Zacks.
Vodafone Group PLC (NYSE: VOD) Raised to Buy at Goldman Sachs.
Zhongpin, Inc. (NASDAQ: HOGS) Started as outperform at Oppenheimer.
Gapping Up and Down This Morning
Gapping up
VOD +0.9%, DEJ +8.1%, SNDK +1.4%, NWK +5%, REN +1.7%, ACHC +4.1%, VPHM +4.8%, JAZZ +4.2%, APOL +2%,
SD +1.4%, BSX +5.8%, DNDN +5.9%, DEJ +12.3%, E +1.6%, NOV +0.7%, BP +0.6%, XRTX +0.7%, RIG +0.4%, KITD +3.6%,
Gapping down
SWKS -4.5%, RT -4.5%, CHTP -4%, TQNT -3%,DRRX -47.9%, RFMD -15.8%, VICL -12.4%, IART -9.8%,
FDO -2.9%, AA -2.8%, BAC -1.7%, MT -1.7%,
Comments »
In Play and On the Wires
Are low yields pushing money into stocks
Comments »Near-zero interest rates aimed at pushing investors out of bonds and into stocks appeared to gain some traction as 2011 drew to a close, raising hopes that investors are ready to take on more risk.
Flows into stock-based exchange-traded funds accelerated late in the year even as the broader market meandered and money moved out of stock-based mutual funds.
That was a sign to some strategists that late-year sellers for tax purposes were moving not to the safety of bond funds or cash but rather staying in stocks. Those sellers opted for ETFs, which are more flexible than mutual funds as they can be traded like stocks, but more diversified than equities as they provide exposure to entire sectors rather than just individual companies.
“This follows a trend several industry sources have noted recently; namely, that tax-loss selling of single-stock investments as well as mutual funds tends to get recycled into exchange-traded products,” Nicholas Colas, chief market strategist at ConvergEx in New York, said in a note to clients.
Colas attributes the move in large part to low interest rates.
