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Monthly Archives: January 2012

Upgrades and Downgrades This Morning

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Acme Packet, Inc. (NASDAQ: APKT) Cut to Neutral at Wedbush; estimates and targets lowered after revenue warnings from Morgan Keegan and Wells Fargo.
Affymetrix Inc. (NASDAQ: AFFX) Raised to Neutral from Underweight at JPMorgan.
AK Steel Holding Corporation (NYSE: AKS) Raised to Neutral at Bank of America Merrill Lynch.
Apple Inc. (NASDAQ: AAPL) Reiterated Outperform with $500 target and raised estimates at Credit Suisse.
Crown Castle International Corp. (NYSE: CCI) Started as Buy at Stifel Nicolaus.
EMC Corporation (NYSE: EMC) added to the U.S. Focus List at Credit Suisse.
General Dynamics Corporation (NYSE: GD) Raised to Overweight at JPMorgan.
Green Mountain Coffee Roasters Inc. (NASDAQ: GMCR) Reiterated Buy with $94 target at Canaccord Genuity.
Lockheed Martin Corporation (NYSE: LMT) Cut to Underperform by RBC Capital Markets.
Mosaic Co. (NYSE: MOS) Cut to Neutral at Citigroup.
NetApp Inc. (NASDAQ: NTAP) Cut to Neutral from Outperform at Credit Suisse.
Potash Corp. of Saskatchewan, Inc. (NYSE: POT) Started as Underperform at National Bank.
Steel Dynamics Inc. (NASDAQ: STLD) Raised to Buy at Bank of America Merrill Lynch.
TiVo Inc. (NASDAQ: TIVO) Raised to Overweight at Evercore Partners.

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Gapping Up and Down This Morning

Gapping Up 

QGEN +3.3%, AKS +1.1%, TIVO +14%, ARNA +13%, RYAAY +3.2%, MBI +2.1%, BP +1.9%,  AEO +1%,  LULU +3.4%,

UQM +5.6%,  TISI +2.7%, COG +3.2%,  LCAV +8.1%

Gapping Down 

NATI -6.1%, FRO -5.5%, VTR -3.2%, RVBD -3%, FFIV -2.8%, JNPR -1.7%, YHOO -1.2%, LPHI -19.9%, APKT -17%,

BMTI -10.7%, PRGS -8.6%,  ENR -1.4% , AMRN -7.7%, LMT -1.2%, MOS -1.1%, POT -1.2%, VMED -1.1%,

SD -2.4%, NTAP -4.4%, ALU -4.7%,  TRID -49.2%, AMRN -7.7%, CHD -2.1%,

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Greenspan: U.S. Faces a “True Revolution”

“The United States faces a “true revolution” in the choices it will have to make to secure its fiscal future now that the welfare state has run up against a “brick wall of economic reality”, former Federal Reserve Chairman Alan Greenspan said on Wednesday.

In an opinion piece for the Financial Times, Greenspan argued that the political landscape in the United States was more divided than ever, resulting in political paralysis as the Tea Party’s influence had created “an effective veto of new legislation before the current heavily Republican House of Representatives”.

The failure last year of the Super Committee — a congressional committee tasked with finding spending cuts to cut the United States’ ballooning budget deficit — to reach a deal underscores this shift in U.S. politics, Greenspan said.

“A political tsunami has emerged out of our past in the form of the Tea Party, with its ethos reminiscent of rugged individualism and self-reliance,” Greenspan wrote.”

Full article

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Bank Deposits Continue to Grow at the ECB

“FRANKFURT—Banks’ deposits at the European Central Bank’s overnight facility reached a new all-time high Tuesday, while borrowing from the overnight lending facility marginally increased compared with Monday.

Banks parked €453.18 billion ($591 billion) in the ECB’s overnight deposit facility, which pays a 0.25% interest rate, up from €446.26 billion Monday, ECB data showed Wednesday. That breaks the all-time record set last week of €452.03 billion.”

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Romney Takes Iowa Caucus by a Slim Margin

DES MOINES, Iowa—Mitt Romney pulled out a razor-thin victory by just eight votes in the Iowa caucuses, edging out Rick Santorum and opening the Republican primary season with a dose of momentum going into a New Hampshire primary he is heavily favored to win.

Mr. Santorum’s performance was in some ways more remarkable, as the former Pennsylvania senator vaulted to the top just weeks after he had been little more than a footnote in the race. By effectively tying Mr. Romney, he made at least a tentative case for himself as the conservative alternative to the front-running former Massachusetts governor. Still, many Republicans don’t believe Mr. Santorum has the resources for a drawn-out campaign.

Texas Rep. Ron Paul put together a strong third-place finish, assembling an unusual coalition that relied in part on an influx of independents into the GOP race.”

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NYC Apartment Sales Fall 12%

“Manhattan apartment sales fell 12 percent in the fourth quarter from a year earlier as Europe’s debt crisis and sluggish U.S. job growth dimmed buyer appetites.

Purchases of condominiums and co-ops declined to 2,011 from 2,295 in the fourth quarter of 2010, New York appraiser Miller Samuel Inc. and broker Prudential Douglas Elliman Real Estate said in a joint report today. The median price of units that changed hands in the final three months of 2011 climbed 1.2 percent from a year earlier, to $855,000.

“Consumers paused to see how things play out with all the information that’s coming at them right now,” Jonathan Miller, president of Miller Samuel, said in an interview. “Europe, the impasse in Washington over economic policy, the stagnant nature of the economy — there’s a lot of conflicting economic news, and if you’re on the fence, maybe you wait a little bit.”

Full article

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The Euro Falls on Inflation Data and a Weak German Bond Auction

“The euro fell from near a one-week high against the dollar after a European report showed inflation slowed, backing the case for the region’s central bank to cut interest rates.

The 17-nation currency dropped toward an 11-year low against the yen after demand at a German auction of 10-year bonds was lower than the average over the past five years. The currency also slid after the El Pais newspaper reported the Spanish government helped the Valencia region make an overdue payment to Deutsche Bank AG. Hungary’s forint weakened to a record on concern talks between the government and the European Union over financial aid will be delayed.

“The euro has slipped a little after yesterday’s rally,” said Jane Foley, a senior foreign-exchange strategist at Rabobank International in London. “The CPI data was in line with expectations. It’s still above the ECB target at 2 percent, but moving in the right direction. The bund auction wasn’t brilliant, and that dampened sentiment.”

The euro fell 0.5 percent to $1.2988 at 6:55 a.m. in New York after rising to $1.3077 yesterday, the highest level since Dec. 28. The common currency slipped 0.5 percent to 99.61 yen. It dropped to 98.66 yen on Jan. 2, the weakest since December 2000. The dollar was little changed at 76.70 yen.”

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Inflation Slows in Europe Giving the ECB Some Wiggle Room

Euro-region inflation (ECCPEMUY) slowed for the first time in five months in December, giving the European Central Bank room to lower borrowing costs further as the economy edges toward a recession.

The inflation rate (ECCPEMUY) in the 17-nation euro area fell to 2.8 percent from 3 percent in November, the European Union’s statistics office in Luxembourg said in an initial estimate today. Euro-area services and manufacturing output contracted less than initially estimated last month and French consumer spending unexpectedly declined in November from October, separate reports showed.”

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