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Monthly Archives: January 2012

FLASH: $JCP TO SLASH THOUSANDS OF JOBS UNDER FORMER $AAPL EXEC

(via NY POST)

JCPenney’s new CEO has come out swinging in 2012 — the ax, that is.

Former Apple exec Ron Johnson — who on Wednesday is slated to unveil a top-secret strategy for a dramatic overhaul of the aging department store — has begun the new year by slashing thousands of jobs nationwide, The Post has learned.

As 52-year-old Johnson replaces Penney’s decades-old use of traditional sales and clearance events with a new “everyday pricing” strategy, sources said he’s firing workers who had long been responsible for re-tagging merchandise and plastering stores with temporary signs and displays.

GETTY IMAGES
Ron Johnson, JCPenney’s new CEO, formerly worked as an executive for Apple.
The fresh bloodbath, announced internally this month and effective today, will affect employees at nearly all of Penney’s 1,200 stores nationwide — in many instances, hitting dozens of workers at a single location, according to insiders.

“As planned, we held over some seasonal holiday hires to help us with the re-ticketing of merchandise,” a JCPenney spokeswoman said.

“As this project comes to a close over the next several weeks, the temporary employment of these seasonal hires will come to an end.”

The firm declined to comment further, but sources said cutbacks are affecting entire teams of permanent staff.

“Many employees were given an option . . . to either leave the company or be moved to a different shift,” according to a source briefed on Penney’s plans. However, some were forced to quit because they couldn’t work the oddball shifts they were offered, the source added.

Insiders said fears of further firings are rippling through the ranks — from store associates to execs at the retailer’s headquarters in Plano, Texas — as Johnson beats the drum about transforming Penney’s sleepy corporate culture.

“They’ve got a lot of industry veterans there, and they’re all worried they’re going to lose their job because they’re over 40,” according to an executive at one Penney supplier.

As previously reported by The Post, Johnson last month announced a 10-year deal with Martha Stewart without bothering to tell Chris Madden, Penney’s own celebrity home-furnishings designer for the past eight years.

Sources said Johnson is being prodded to trim the fat by Penney’s two biggest shareholders — hedge-fund tycoon Bill Ackman and property magnate Steve Roth, who heads real-estate giant Vornado.

Since the duo disclosed big Penney positions more than a year ago, the retailer has shuttered laggard warehouses, outlets and call centers, as well as its catalog business.

Ackman and Roth “are licking their chops to cut costs, and this is an example of what they see as ‘low-hanging fruit,’” a source said of the layoffs slated for today.

Indeed, some investors speculate that Penney will announce across-the-board cuts this week, paring advertising spending and slimming company divisions that design private-label clothing. Last week, the retail chain eliminated weekly circulars for the first time in a year, according to Deutsche Bank analyst Charles Grom, who notes that two years ago Penney spent more than twice the competition on marketing. Penney has cut orders for new inventory by as much as 10 percent, according to several manufacturers.
Read more: http://trade.cc/abpy

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Money Flows, Heat Map, S&P A/D Line

Money Flows

ISSUE GAINERS                 SYMBOL   EXCH   LAST PRICE   MONEY FLOW    RATIO 
                                                          (in millions) 
Apple                          AAPL    NASD      426.61       +51.5       1.17 
Google                         GOOG    NASD      585.11       +38.0       1.26 
Amazoncom                      AMZN    NASD      188.58       +16.1       1.44 
Caterpillar                    CAT     NYSE      107.14       +15.4       1.73 
JPMorgan Chase                 JPM     NYSE       37.89       +14.7       1.56 
SPDR S&P 500                   SPY     ARCA      132.09       +13.8       1.07 
Oracle                         ORCL    NASD       28.62       +11.6       2.13 
Bank Of America                BAC     NYSE        7.33       +11.5       1.14 
Halliburton                    HAL     NYSE       34.96       +11.2       1.28 
Occidental Pete                OXY     NYSE      100.87       +11.2       1.60 
ConocoPhillips                 COP     NYSE       70.91       +10.1       1.77 
Hewlett-Packard                HPQ     NYSE       28.77       +10.0       1.65 
Schlumberger                   SLB     NYSE       73.68        +8.5       1.45 
Grupo Televisa SAB             TV      NYSE       21.44        +8.2      10.55 
American Express               AXP     NYSE       50.50        +8.1       2.26 
Philip Morris Intl             PM      NYSE       74.43        +7.5       2.19 
iShrs MSCI Emerg Mkts          EEM     ARCA       41.85        +7.5       1.19 
Rydex S&P Equal Wght Hlth      RYH     ARCA       70.22        +7.0    1003.80 
Verizon Communications         VZ      NYSE       38.87        +7.0       1.98 
VISA  (Cl A)                   V       NYSE      100.13        +7.0       1.57 

ISSUE DECLINERS               SYMBOL   EXCH   LAST PRICE   MONEY FLOW    RATIO 
                                                          (in millions) 
Microsoft                      MSFT    NASD       29.92       -35.7       0.58 
Mattel Inc                     MAT     NASD       28.86       -35.4       0.04 
Intel                          INTC    NASD       26.67       -28.4       0.42 
Procter & Gamble               PG      NYSE       65.14       -23.7       0.42 
Gilead Sciences                GILD    NASD       47.27       -16.4       0.25 
General Electric               GE      NYSE       19.21       -15.4       0.47 
Wells Fargo                    WFC     NYSE       30.84       -14.6       0.48 
Chevron                        CVX     NYSE      107.08       -13.5       0.58 
Merck                          MRK     NYSE       38.99       -13.5       0.36 
McDonald's                     MCD     NYSE      101.30       -13.0       0.52 
Johnson & Johnson              JNJ     NYSE       65.24       -12.4       0.54 
3M                             MMM     NYSE       86.02       -10.5       0.41 
Wal-Mart Stores                WMT     NYSE       60.81       -10.2       0.38 
eBay                           EBAY    NASD       32.20        -9.2       0.38 
Morgan Stanley                 MS      NYSE       18.52        -8.4       0.58 
ExxonMobil                     XOM     NYSE       87.73        -8.2       0.73 
Cisco Systems                  CSCO    NASD       20.00        -7.9       0.64 
EQT Corp                       EQT     NYSE       49.41        -7.8       0.58 
pricelinecom                   PCLN    NASD      518.23        -7.6       0.62 
Johnson Controls               JCI     NYSE       31.50        -7.0       0.67

Heat map

A/D Line

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52 Week Highs and Lows

NYSE

New Highs 82 

COMPANY                       SYMBOL      HIGH                VOLUME 
-------                       ------      ----                ------ 
Aircastle Ltd                 AYR         14.38               21,550 
Alliance CA Municipal         AKP         15.10               11,139 
AllianceBrnstn NtlMun         AFB         15.12               15,981 
Amer Fincl Grp                AFG         37.80               15,543 
Amer Vanguard                 AVD         15.18                9,225 
Applied Indus Tech            AIT         38.88               32,421 
Banco De Chile                BCH         91.36                2,707 
Beam Inc                      BEAM        52.85               96,911 
BlackRock CA Municipal Tr     BFZ         15.16                9,507 
BlackRock Long-Term Muni      BTA         12.05                5,043 
BlkRk MuniHldgs II            MUH         16.07                6,874 
BlkRk MuniHldgs               MHD         17.28                7,185 
BlkRk MuniHldgs Quality       MUS         14.45                9,071 
BlkRk MuniYield               MYD         15.21               11,042 
Brown Forman B                BF/B        82.55               85,669 
Chubb Corp                    CB          71.44              226,480 
Citizens Inc                  CIA         10.21                6,060 
Cobalt Intl Engy              CIE         21.06              178,418 
DWS Muni Inco                 KTF         13.99               31,289 
Delphi Automotive             DLPH        25.42               18,444 
Digital Realty Trust          DLR         68.50               48,354 
Dreyfus Strat Muni Bond       DSM         8.88                18,808 
Ecopetrol                     EC          51.00               39,677 
Education Realty Trust        EDR         10.73               39,784 
Enterprise Pdts Partners      EPD         49.10              139,284 
Equifax Inc                   EFX         39.94               16,041 
Extra Space Storage           EXR         25.58               45,012 
FNB Corp                      FNB         12.54               86,497 
Fed Premier Intemediate       FPT         14.56                8,829 
Fidelity Ntl Financial        FNF         17.74              168,209 
Fst Niagara Finl Pfd B        FNFGpB      26.43                5,560 
Foot Locker                   FL          26.38              279,681 
HBFuller                      FUL         27.44               75,758 
Gazit-Globe                   GZT         10.06               15,835 
GE Cap 6.1% PINES 111532      GEC         26.08                7,370 
John Hancock Pfd Income       HPI         22.41                9,261 
John Hancock Pfd Inc III      HPS         17.95                6,548 
Health Net                    HNT         36.31               20,801 
InvenSense                    INVN        15.88              165,856 
Invesco Mun Prem Inc          PIA         9.06                 7,588 
Invesco Quality Mun Secs      IQM         15.14                4,056 
Invesco Value Mun Secs        IMS         15.18                2,540 
Invesco VK MuniOpp            VMO         14.88              235,664 
Inv Vn Km NJ                  VTJ         17.73                3,173 
Kayne Anderson Engy Dev       KED         21.89               16,857 
Kayne Andrsn Midstr Engy      KMF         25.94               20,780 
Kinder Morgan Energy          KMP         87.82               83,768 
Kinder Morgan                 KMI         34.25              147,401 
MFS Govt Mkts Income Tr       MGF         7.16                41,908 
MarkWest                      MWE         57.22               50,780 
Michael Kors Holdings         KORS        29.79              210,551 
Nike Inc                      NKE         102.54             401,511 
Nuveen CA Div Fnd             NAC         14.69               11,518 
Nuveen CA Investment          NQC         15.15                4,562 
Nuveen CA Muni Mkt            NCO         14.95                3,202 
Nuveen CA Performance         NCP         15.24                6,966 
Nuveen California Select      NVC         15.54                8,312 
Nuveen Div Fnd                NAD         14.79                7,718 
Nuveen Muni Mkt Opp           NMO         14.31               19,754 
Nuveen NJ Investment Qual     NQJ         14.67                7,094 
Nuveen Quality Income         NQU         14.94               16,536 
Old Natl Bancorp              ONB         12.55               33,904 
PVH Corp.                     PVH         77.44               37,816 
Pacific Drilling              PACD        10.04                2,200 
PIMCO CA                      PZC         10.29               14,761 
Pimco Muni Inc II             PML         12.34              392,907 
Plains All Amer Pipeline      PAA         75.98               45,827 
Precision Castparts           PCP         179.29              53,522 
Pretium Resources             PVG         16.32               13,861 
RSC Hldgs                     RRR         20.31              270,764 
Rentech Nitrogen Ptrs LP.     RNF         22.17               48,774 
Rex American Resources        REX         24.76                3,272 
Roper Indus                   ROP         95.23               46,157 
Sempra Energy                 SRE         56.59              423,715 
Sensient Tech                 SXT         40.34               10,102 
Sovran Self Storage           SSS         45.23                9,437 
SpectraEnergy                 SE          31.75              154,083 
Taubman Ctrs                  TCO         65.80               11,030 
Torchmark                     TMK         45.94               61,526 
Tyler Tech                    TYL         35.11                8,621 
Wstrn Asset Mngd Muni         MMU         13.90               20,068 
Williams Ptnrs un             WPZ         64.71               20,406 

New Lows 0 

COMPANY                       SYMBOL      LOW                 VOLUME 
-------                       ------      ----                ------

NASDAQ

New Highs 35 

COMPANY                       SYMBOL      HIGH                VOLUME 
-------                       ------      ----                ------ 
Altisource Ptfl Sol SA        ASPS        52.19               74,774 
American Dental Ptnrs         ADPI        18.99                3,481 
Ames National                 ATLO        20.80                  600 
Ascena Retail Group           ASNA        35.82               25,016 
Blackbaud                     BLKB        30.44                3,525 
Cal-Maine Foods               CALM        38.00               10,357 
Chemical Fincl                CHFC        22.42                2,703 
Churchill Downs               CHDN        54.92                3,256 
Comcast A Sp                  CMCSK       25.58              380,280 
Community Trust Bancorp       CTBI        31.00                4,717 
Cost Plus                     CPWM        13.11              197,743 
Curis                         CRIS        4.80                66,540 
Equinix                       EQIX        116.59             196,248 
Expedia                       EXPE        31.50              355,415 
Forward Air                   FWRD        36.41                8,955 
Fred's                        FRED        14.95               17,520 
Halozyme Therapeutics         HALO        10.88               50,775 
Hibbett Sports                HIBB        48.94                8,072 
Intel                         INTC        26.73           11,491,219 
Intl Bancshares               IBOC        19.97               17,467 
Intuit                        INTU        57.58              202,172 
Jacksonville Bancorp          JXSB        14.29                  300 
Lincoln Electric Hldgs        LECO        42.74                9,207 
magicJack VocalTec            CALL        15.96               23,640 
Microsoft                     MSFT        29.93           17,010,104 
Mid-Con Engy Ptrs L.P. Un     MCEP        19.70                6,599 
Mission West Properties       MSW         9.48                 1,700 
Monster Beverage              MNST        104.87              56,265 
Papa John's Intl              PZZA        39.26                6,323 
Pinnacle Fincl Partners       PNFP        16.99               20,598 
PwrShrs QQQ Tr Series 1       QQQ         60.10            5,063,411 
Superior Uniform              SGC         13.50                  700 
US Home Systems               USHS        8.00                31,053 
VOXX International            VOXX        13.07               42,248 
Volterra Semiconductor        VLTR        29.40              180,542 

New Lows 5 

COMPANY                       SYMBOL      LOW                 VOLUME 
-------                       ------      ----                ------ 
Columbia Laboratories         CBRX        0.65             5,086,833 
Dataram                       DRAM        0.77                   390 
Marchex   (Cl B)              MCHX        4.86                28,939 
NCI                           NCIT        7.60                51,261 
ProShr Ul Sh QQQ              SQQQ        15.69              221,979

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Most Active Options Trades

-CALLS- 
OPTION    EXP.DATE       STRIKE PRC.     VOLUME        LAST S/PRC.    NET CHANGE 
RDN        5/19/12           3.5000        2205            0.5000      up 0.0000 
JPM        1/19/13          45.0000        1647            1.5700      up 0.0500 
BAC        2/18/12           8.0000        1249            0.1200      up 0.0300 
ABX        4/21/12          50.0000        1243            1.3100      up 0.0900 
INHX       3/17/12          26.0000        1238            0.4000      dn 0.1000 
DTV        2/18/12          43.0000        1217            1.2500      up 0.1200 
BAC        2/18/12           7.0000        1176            0.5200      up 0.1500 
YHOO       2/18/12          16.0000        1145            0.4500      dn 0.1500 
GE         4/21/12          20.0000        1050            0.4300      dn 0.0200 
MHR        1/19/13          10.0000        1000            0.3200      dn 0.1300 

 -PUTS- 
OPTION    EXP.DATE       STRIKE PRC.     VOLUME        LAST S/PRC.    NET CHANGE 
MMR        2/18/12          12.0000       10076            0.7000      dn 0.0900 
MMR        3/17/12          12.0000       10000            1.3400      up 0.0000 
IGT        2/18/12          16.0000        2037            0.4700      up 0.1200 
MPC        2/18/12          30.0000        1500            0.2000      up 0.0600 
BAC        2/18/12           8.0000        1383            0.7800      dn 0.2300 
GE         4/21/12          17.0000        1000            0.3300      up 0.0100 
YHOO       1/27/12          16.0000         898            0.4000      up 0.0300 
HAL        4/21/12          32.0000         853            1.5100      up 0.1800 
CPN        6/16/12          15.0000         742            1.0500      dn 0.0500 
FST        5/19/12          13.0000         650            1.4000      dn 0.4000 

 -VOLUME- 
 CALLS      PUTS           TOTAL 
242212    241575        483787
 -CALLS- 
OPTION    EXP.DATE       STRIKE PRC.     VOLUME        LAST S/PRC.    NET CHANGE 
BAC        2/18/12           8.0000         368            0.1200      up 0.0400 
SLB        1/27/12          72.5000         243            1.6900      dn 1.9100 
SLB        2/18/12          77.5000         243            0.6700      dn 0.1600 
BAC        2/18/12           7.0000         213            0.5200      up 0.1500 
TIF        2/18/12          77.5000         200            0.0500      up 0.0000 
HAL        2/18/12          35.0000         187            1.5500      dn 0.7200 
RIMM       2/18/12          14.0000         150            2.2500      dn 1.0000 
BAC        3/17/12           8.0000         127            0.2400      up 0.0700 
ABX        2/18/12          50.0000         123            0.3500      dn 0.1400 
SUN        5/19/12          42.0000         114            0.5000      dn 0.1000 

 -PUTS- 
OPTION    EXP.DATE       STRIKE PRC.     VOLUME        LAST S/PRC.    NET CHANGE 
HD         5/19/12          38.0000         680            0.7200      up 0.0200 
BAC        2/18/12           8.0000         480            0.7800      dn 0.2400 
HD         5/19/12          42.0000         340            1.5600      up 0.2100 
MSFT       2/18/12          30.0000         165            0.8300      dn 0.0600 
YHOO       1/27/12          16.0000         115            0.4100      up 0.0600 
SUN        5/19/12          30.0000         114            0.4700      dn 4.5300 
JPM        2/18/12          34.0000         104            0.1900      dn 0.0800 
CHK        2/18/12          21.0000          98            0.4400      dn 0.6300 
MSFT       1/27/12          28.0000          97            0.0100      dn 0.0300 
QCOM       2/18/12          57.5000          86            1.3000      dn 0.3700 

 -VOLUME- 
 CALLS      PUTS           TOTAL 
15570    11551        27121

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Lockouts Appear to Be Increasing as a Tactic of Corporate Negotiations

“America’s unionized workers, buffeted by layoffs and stagnating wages, face another phenomenon that is increasingly throwing them on the defensive: lockouts.

From the Cooper Tire factory in Findlay, Ohio, to a country club in Southern California and sugar beet processing plants in North Dakota, employers are turning to lockouts to press their unionized workers to grant concessions after contract negotiations deadlock. Even the New York City Opera locked out its orchestra and singers for more than a week before settling the dispute last Wednesday.

Many Americans know about the highly publicized lockouts in professional sports — like last year’s 130-day lockout by the National Football League and the 161-day lockout by the National Basketball Association — but lockouts, once a rarity, have been used in less visible industries as well.

“This is a sign of increased employer militancy,” said Gary Chaison, a professor of industrial relations at Clark University. “Lockouts were once so rare they were almost unheard of. Now, not only are employers increasingly on the offensive and trying to call the shots in bargaining, but they’re backing that up with action — in the form of lockouts.”

Full article

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Gapping Up and Down This Morning

Gapping up

MFN +23.3%, NBG +6.1%,  CS +2.5%,  RIMM +5.3%, ING +1.7%, RBS +1.7%, DB +3.5%, AXL +2.2%, UBS +2.2%, BAC +1.8%, BP +1.5%, UXG +3.6%, CHK +3.1%,

SVM +1.9%, KGC +1.9%, SLW +1.6%, RIO +1.2%, AG +1.1%, SLV +0.9%, GLD +0.4%, BBL +0.4%, GDX +0.3%, PVA +2.9%, SWN +2.5%, BP +1.7%, FST +1.7%,

COG +1.6%,

Gapping down

CBRX -58.2%, IGOI -27.1%, CCL -3%, HAL -1%, GAME -19.5%, COP -0.9% , PG -0.5%,  FSC -4.2%

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Upgrades and Downgrades This Morning

Source

Amgen Corporation (NASDAQ: AMGN) Cut to Neutral at JPMorgan.
Comerica Inc. (NYSE: CMA) Cut to Neutral at Susquehanna.
ConocoPhillips (NYSE: COP) Cut to Sell at UBS.
Google Inc. (NASDAQ: GOOG) Reiterated Buy with $730 price target at Argus.
Jive Software, Inc. (NASDAQ: JIVE) Started as Buy at Citigroup; Started as Neutral at UBS; Started as Outperform at Wells Fargo; Started as Overweight at Morgan Stanley.
Johnson Controls Inc. (NYSE: JCI) Cut to Equal Weight at Barclays.
NuVasive, Inc. (NASDAQ: NUVA) Raised to Buy at Canaccord Genuity.
Procter & Gamble (NYSE: PG) Cut to Hold at Stifel Nicolaus.
PulteGroup (NYSE: PHM) Cut to Equalweight at Barclays.
Research in Motion Ltd. (NASDAQ: RIMM) Raised to Hold from Sell at Deutsche Bank; Reiterated as Hold at Canaccord Genuity.
Sanchez Energy Corporation (NYSE: SN) Started as Buy at Canaccord Genuity; Started as Buy at Stifel Nicolaus.
SIRIUS XM Radio Inc. (NASDAQ: SIRI) Cut to Equal Weight at Morgan Stanley.
ViroPharma Incorporated (NASDAQ: VPHM) Cut to Neutral at JPMorgan.

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Largarde Says the World Could Face a ‘1930s Moment’

“International Monetary Fund managing director, Christine Lagarde, has warned that the global economy “could easily slide into a ‘1930s moment’ unless global leaders take the actions that they know must be done. Lagarde’s speech in Berlin outlined what she thinks must be achieved in three areas: the Eurozone; the rest of the world; and the IMF’s role.

In Europe, “[t]here are three imperatives—stronger growth, largerfirewalls, and deeper integration.” For the US, which has a special role in the global economy, “The key policy priorities must be to relieve the burden of household debt and to deal decisively with the issue of public debt.” China “can help itself and the global economy by continuing to shift growth away from exports and investment, toward consumption.” The IMF should continue to push for more integration, and build up a loan fund of $500 billion to help meet what Lagarde sees as the need for $1 trillion in potential global financing needs.”

Read more

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A Recent Poll Shows Company Growth Ahead, But Very Little Hiring

“WASHINGTON (Reuters) – Few U.S. companies plan to step up hiring in the next six months although they do expect the economy to be a bit stronger this year, according to a poll released on Monday.

The National Association for Business Economics’ industry survey found that two-thirds ofrespondents expected no change in employment at their companies over the first half of the year. That was the highest share in recent quarters.

Although the U.S. jobless rate fell to a near three-year low of 8.5 percent in December, fewer businesses said they would hire more workers, compared with the previous industry poll.

The survey, which was conducted between December 15 2011, and January 5 2012, found that 65 percent of respondents expect gross domestic product growth to exceed 2 percent between the fourth quarter of last year and the last quarter of 2012.”

Full article

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