Monthly Archives: September 2011
Germany court strikes bailout lawsuit, parliament approval required
Comments »BERLIN (Reuters) – Germany’s top court handed its country’s parliament a greater say over euro zone bailouts, potentially hampering Berlin’s ability to act decisively against a debt crisis which Chancellor Angela Merkel said needed a fundamental rethink to solve.
The Constitutional Court rejected a series of lawsuits aimed at blocking the participation of Europe’s biggest economy in emergency loan packages but said the government must get approval from parliament’s budget committee before granting such aid.
“This was a very tight decision. But it should not be mistakenly interpreted as a constitutional blank check authorizing further rescue measures,” the judge told plaintiffs, government officials and members of parliament in the courtroom in Karlsruhe.
The euro briefly rose against the dollar in response.
“Today’s ruling should bring some relief to financial markets as a total chaos scenario has been avoided, but it should not lead to euphoria,” said Carsten Brzeski at ING.
“The ruling confirms our view that the German piecemeal approach on the debt crisis is not likely to change but eventually the German parliament will vote in favor of a second Greek bailout package and the beefed-up EFSF (euro zone rescue fund).”
Bunge to buy West Memphis Grain Elevator
Comments »The sale is set to close by the end of 2011, but Bunge will begin operating the facility immediately under an agreement with Stuttgart, Ark.-based Riceland and the West Memphis Crittenden County Port Authority.
Financial terms were not disclosed. The facility’s seven employees will transfer to Bunge, according to a company statement. All open contracts with Riceland customers will be assigned to Bunge as well.
“Bunge will continue our strong relationship with Riceland with a through-put agreement for the West Memphis facility,” said Doug McNeely, Bunge Grain’s Center Gulf Region manager, in a statement. “With an elevator located across the river in Memphis, we already have a good relationship with growers in the region. We hope to build on that success with our commitment to customer service.”
The elevator is located in the Crittenden County Port and has a storage capacity of 625,000 bushels. It can handle corn, soybeans, wheat, milo and rice.
Upgrades and Downgrades This Morning
Upgrades
UBS – UBS AG upgraded to Buy from Hold at Collins Stewart
COF – Capital One upgraded to Outperform at Oppenheimer
WSM – Williams-Sonoma upgraded to Outperform from Neutral at Cowen
DKS – Dick’s Sporting Goods initiated with a Buy at Canaccord Genuity
SWKS – Skyworks reinstated with a Buy at BofA/Merrill
SAPE – Sapient upgraded to Outperform from Market Perform at BMO Capital
CJES – C&J Energy initiated with Overweight at JP Morgan
RFMD – RF Micro Device reinstated with an Underperform at BofA/Merrill
GM – General Motors Added to Top Picks Live list at Citigroup
TWX – Time Warner upgraded to Overweight from Equal Weight at Barclays
CVX – Chevron upgraded to Buy from Outperform at Credit Agricole
IRDM – Iridium Communications initiated with an Outperform at William Blair
LVS – Las Vegas Sands upgraded to Buy from Neutral at Goldman
L – Loews Corp initiated with a Buy at BGB Securities
Downgrades
DRI – Darden Restaurants downgraded to Outperform from Strong Buy at Raymond James
LMT – Lockheed Martin initiated with a Neutral at Lazard
CPNO – Copano Energy downgraded to Equal Weight from Overweight at Morgan Stanley
ORBK – Orbotech initiated with a Neutral at JP Morgan
VDSI – VASCO Data Security downgraded to Hold at Wunderlich
DOV – Dover downgraded to Underweight from Neutral at JP Morgan
SONC – Sonic downgraded to Market Perform from Outperform at William Blair
BUD – Anheuser-Busch InBev downgraded to Neutral from Buy at Goldman
FRAN – Francesca’s initiated with a Neutral at JP Morgan
ALR – Alere downgraded to Market Perform from Outperform at Leerink Swann
Comments »Gapping Up and Down This Morning
Gapping up
BCS +1.4%, CS +2.3%, HBC +1.8%, UBS +1.8%, ING +1.4%, TWO +1.1%, SAP +1, LYG +4.6%, MELA +78.6%,
WLT +10%, YHOO +7.7%, BAC +6.4%, NVDA +5.5%, FST +3.8%, WMB +3.8%, SDRL +3.2%,
PAY +2.8%, RCL +2.4%,
Gapping down
GLD -2.1%, SLV -1.8%, ACOR -4%, NNN -2.3%, GDX -2.1%, DRI -3.3%, PBY -3%, URBN -3%, ALTR -2.5%,
Comments »In Play and On the Wires
Bond Markets Say “Fiscal Skies are Falling;” In Other Words “Borrow and Spend”
Jim Rogers Says the Swiss Franc Peg to th Euro is a “Huge Mistake”
Rogers said it will work for a period of time, but in the end the SNB will eat a huge loss.
Comments »Soros: Crisis ‘Worse Than Lehmans’
Soros feels the current European situation is worse than the Lehman Bros. crisis sighting tight liquidity problems and Europe’s ability to actually handle the crisis.
Comments »Italian Bond Yields Fall for a Second Day
Industrial Production Rises in Germany
Short Term Funding Needs for French Banks Drops by 26%
Commodities Rise Across the Board
Low interest rates are being used as an excuse for global recovery, but a reflex rally and value buying is probably more like it.
Comments »Gold Falls as Investor Appetite Turns Toward Equities
World Markets Bounce on a Weak Dollar, Upcoming Obama Speech, and Technical Oversold Conditions
Finland Will Likely not Participate in a Second Greek Bailout if No Collateral is Provided
German Court rejects Challenge to Euro Rescue
OMG: Woman Catches Formation of Tornado on Tape (VIDEO)
She is an aspiring meteorologist who got more than she bargained for.
[youtube:http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Qsa3PLYUBJo&feature=related 603 500] Comments »FLASH: Asian Markets Ripping Tits
Symbol | Name | Last Trade | Change | Related Info |
---|---|---|---|---|
^AORD | All Ordinaries | 4,241.209:34PM EDT | 80.50 (1.93%) | Components, Chart, More |
^SSEC | Shanghai Composite | 2,489.209:39PM EDT | 18.68 (0.76%) | Chart, More |
^HSI | Hang Seng | 19,881.319:39PM EDT | 170.81 (0.87%) | Components, Chart, More |
^BSESN | BSE 30 | 16,862.816:30AM EDT | 0.00 (0.00%) | Chart, More |
^JKSE | Jakarta Composite | 3,889.975:00AM EDT | 0.00 (0.00%) | Components, Chart, More |
^KLSE | KLSE Composite | 1,459.049:38PM EDT | 4.67 (0.32%) | Components, Chart, More |
^N225 | Nikkei 225 | 8,721.859:34PM EDT | 131.28 (1.53%) | Chart, More |
^NZ50 | NZSE 50 | 3,293.619:38PM EDT | 23.05 (0.70%) | Components, Chart, More |
^STI | Straits Times | 2,808.939:34PM EDT | 34.60 (1.25%) | Components, Chart, More |
^KS11 | Seoul Composite | 1,817.789:34PM EDT | 51.07 (2.89%) | Components, Chart, More |
^TWII | Taiwan Weighted | 7,493.189:34PM EDT | 125.99 (1.71%) | Chart, More |
Bartz Memo to Employees: Fired by Phone
She sent the memo, ironically, via iPad.
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