Interesting point of view in handling debt….only time will tell.
Comments »Monthly Archives: July 2011
Marc Faber Calls for 1150 S&P
Americans Are Borrowing From Their Retirement
It is bad enough that many are surviving on credit cards, forgoing medical insurance, in addition to balance sheet repair, but it seems America is not saving for retirement and in some case raiding their 301ks…..
Comments »Greenspan: $2 Trillion in Stimulous Has Done Nothing to Grow Economy or Ease Credit Conditions
Unbelievable….
Apple and RIM Gather Nortel Patents for $4.5 Billion
Man’s Worst Enemy
That would be his greedy side. Design flaws of this importance should not be ignored for any reason….especially money.
Comments »ISM Manufacturing Index: Prior 53.5, Market Expects 51.1, Actual 55.3
Consumer Sentiment: Prior 71.8, Market Expects 71.8 -74.3, Actual 71.5
Upgrades and Downgrades This Morning
Upgrades
SCCO – Southern Copper resumed with Neutral at Goldman
VRTS – Virtus Investment Partners upgraded to Outperform at Keefe Bruyette
PPO- Polypore Intl initiated with a Buy at Capstone
WBK – Westpac Banking Corp. upgraded to Buy at UBS
FL – Foot Locker initiated with an Outperform at BMO Capital
MUR – Murphy Oil upgraded to Neutral at JPMorgan
ARTC – AtriCure tgt raised to $17 at Barrington
APOL – Apollo Group target raised to $47 at FBR Capital
NTAP – NetApp upgraded to Outperform at Atlantic Equities
Downgrades
RVBD – Riverbed Technology downgraded to Neutral from Buy at SunTrust
TQNT – TriQuint Semi initiated with Neutral at UBS
CGV – CGGVeritas downgraded to Neutral at Goldman
SONS – Sonus Networks initiated with a Hold at Capstone
ABCO – Advisory Board downgraded to Hold from Buy at Deutsche Bank
GIS – General Mills downgraded to Hold at Argus
SREV – ServiceSource Intl downgraded to Sell from Hold at Capston
DAR – Darling Intl downgraded to Equal Weight at boutique firm
Comments »Gapping Up and Down This Morning
Gapping Up
BBBB +12.8%, NBG +3.5%, SWHC +3.3%, FRO +2.3%,OSK +8.2%, KBH +2.2%, MBI +3.7%, RBS +2%, LYG +2.6%, CTIC +6.4%, HBC +1.6%, OSK +8.2%, APOL +3.1%, CS +1%.3, DNDN +6%, AREX +3.7%,
Gapping Down
DAR -2.8%, EK -14.8%,DRI -1.6%, PHG -1.4%, SI -1.2%, IRET -4.7%, MEA -1.7%, APOL -1.6%, CETV -2.2%, XRTX -5.4%, CLSN -6.5%, RVBD -1.5%,
In Play and On the Wires
Minnesota government shuts down
Comments »MINNEAPOLIS (Reuters) – Minnesota’s state government began a broad shut down on Friday going into the July 4 holiday after Democratic Governor Mark Dayton and Republican legislative leaders failed to reach a budget deal.
Parts of the government had already begun to shut down on Thursday ahead of the midnight budget deadline, including some websites and dozens of highway rest stops on one of the biggest travel days of the year.
The budget impasse means that some 23,000 of the roughly 36,000 Minnesota state employees will be furloughed and state parks and campgrounds closed ahead of what is usually their busiest stretch of the year for the July 4 holiday.
Dayton and Democratic legislative leaders Senator Tom Bakk and Representative Paul Thissen met for more than a week with Republican leaders including House Speaker Kurt Zellers and Senate Majority Leader Amy Koch. The leaders met several times on Thursday in the governor’s office.
Neither Dayton nor the Republican leaders gave any indication when they would meet next to discuss the budget.
“I deeply regret that the last week of intense negotiations between the Republican legislative leaders and Senator Bakk, Representative Thissen and myself have failed to bridge the divide between us,” Dayton said in a speech.
He said his last proposed two-year general fund budget was $35.7 billion, but the differences between his approach and the Republican leaders had not changed since January. The gap between the two sides stood at $1.4 billion, he said.
Macau revenue up 52 percent
Very nice for the game operations situated there.
Comments »Missouri American Water files for rate increase, consolidation
This has a lot to do with fuel prices; water doesn’t flow freely.
Comments »The company is asking to hike rates $19 per quarter, or $6.33 per month, for an average residential customer using 22,500 gallons of water per quarter in St. Louis County, and about $8.20 per month for an average residential customer using 7,000 gallons of water monthly in St. Charles County.
The Missouri PSC approved a $28 million rate increase for Missouri American Water last June.
The company said its rate filing Thursday also included a request for a consolidated rate structure, under which all customers in the same rate class pay the same rate for the same service.
Goldman Puts Out a Note on Why The Consumer Will Come Back With a Vengeance
Gas prices going down, house prices stabilizing, and balance sheet repair is underway….seems like this is a coin flip.
Comments »Nautilus Invest Cuts Stock Exposure to ZERO
Bruno Verstraete has had no stocks since April and will keep it that way for a few months as he sees volatility ruling…..
Comments »A Very Big Deal: GM Gets On Board With Natural Gas Vehicles
This is a major tectonic shift in the support of America’s move towards energy independence. This deserves a toast !
Of course it will take some time, but a great move for our country…..
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