U.S. Bancorp Reports $0.52 Per Share on $4.56 Billion in Revenue

Loan loss reserves fall, and company is proceeding with dividend increase as well as a share buy back…..

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Down 4.43% to trade @ $27.25

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Call me crazy, but i love leaks…in the future all messages should just self destruct….

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Or do corporations ask for too much from the cash flow positive stronghold ?

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“We hope the U.S. government will take responsible policies and measures to safeguard investors’ interests,” the ministry said in a statement.

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Upgrades

LLY – Eli Lilly upgraded to Buy from Hold at Hapoalim

GDOT – Green Dot initiated with a Hold at Citigroup

AVP – Avon Products 1Q11 preview; perceived as a value trap – RBC Capital Mkts

INFA – Informatica target raised to $60 at Wedbush

FWRD – Forward Air upgraded to Overweight at boutique firm

HCA – HCA initiated with a Buy at Citigroup

GR – Goodrich upgraded to Outperform at Wedbush

Downgrades

TEVA – Teva Pharma downgraded to Market Perform from Outperform at First Global

AMX –  America Movil SA downgraded to Sector Perform from Outperform at Scotia

COG – Cabot Oil & Gas downgraded to Hold at Stifel Nicolaus

EXL – Excel Trust downgraded to Neutral from Buy at UBS

CRU – Crude Carriers downgraded to Underperform from Outperform at Wells Fargo

SFSF – SuccessFactors downgraded to Market Perform from Outperform at JMP Securities

BOX – SeaCube Container Leasing initiated with a Buy at Sterne Agee – tgt $20

Gapping Up

JNJ +3%,DANG +1.9%, YOKU +1.4%, QIHU +1.3%, BBL +1.2%, BHP +0.9%, MT +0.5%, BIDU +0.9%,  MICC +6%, CR +9.2%, NVS +3%, ALU +1.8%, S +1.3%, DEO +1.1%, X +1.8%, AKS +0.7%, X +1.8%, AKS +0.7%, SNE +6.0%, GS +1.4%, DEO +1.1%, SDRL +1.9%, STLD +5.4%, WWW +4.7%, ZION+4.5%

Gapping Down

HOG -2.8%, TXN -2.3%, INVE -5.1%, BMI -8.6%,NLST -2.5%,LOGI -2%

In Play

On the Wires

Company raised guidance…

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“Bank of NY Mellon, one of the world’s largest custody banks, said first-quarter profit rose 4 percent, helped by an increase in assets under custody and fee revenue.”

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Permits up 11.2% & Starts up 7 %

“Goldman Sachs reported sales and earnings well above Wall Street estimates Tuesday.

The Wall Street firm reported net income of $2.74 billion, or $1.56 a share, against $3.29 billion, or $5.59 a share, in the same period last year.

Revenue came in at $11.89 billion, against revenue of $12.77 billion a year ago.

Analysts who follow the company had expected earnings of 82 cents a share on sales of $10.22 billion, according to a survey conducted by Thomson Reuters.”

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European markets opened higher, roughly 0.5% across the board.

S&P futs are well off the session lows, now down just 1.5 points below fair value.

The U.S. & NATO  has had to ignore some chilling facts about who we are supporting…..but war is a dirty business for sure.

Warning these videos are only for the morbid, pathologists, and those who can put things out of mind.

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Non swine flu blues…a good thing for the planet, but not shareholders.

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Thought the recovery was moving along and that according to the bearded clam we were not to worry over inflation…..

“The Fed chief’s top two lieutenants said this month the economy and inflation are too weak to warrant the start of a monetary-policy reversal.”

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Counter punch article on the end of QE2

Multinationals do their bidding for worker bees over seas. Any doubt on where the growth is ?

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Perhaps this is why the stock was up in a bad tape today….

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Apparently Apple is not fond of copycats. Guess imitation is not the highest form of flattery.

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