Southwest Airlines Gives $LUV to Shareholders

“Reuters) – Southwest Airlines Co topped Wall Street estimates with a 42 percent rise in quarterly profit on Thursday, helped by higher fares, and said demand was solid despite the fragile economy.

U.S. airlines have merged, raised ticket prices and shown discipline in cutting back flights to match demand to return to stability over the past two years.

“Southwest and the rest of the airlines are really focusing in on the routes that are higher-yielding and more profitable, and as a whole that has helped the industry,” saidMatthew Jacob, an airline analyst with ITG Investment Research.”

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The U.S. post office will need $5.5 billion in order to stay afloat….

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No keeping up with the Joneses here; Americans areturning to pay day loans just ot pay for basics like food and energy.

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Inventories climbed 0.2%, 30 year mortgage drops to 5.32%…..

“According to Societe Generale Cross Asset Research by Albert Edwards, the United States is already in a recession given the drop to below 30% in their Analyst Optimism index which tends to be a leading indicator of economic performance.”

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Leading Indicators down 0.3%

“WASHINGTON – More than 1.5 million older Americans have lost their homes, and millions more are at risk as the national housing crisis takes its toll on those who are among the least able to weather the storm, an AARP report says.”

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“(AP) DETROIT – Honda is recalling 172,200 small SUVs and cars in the U.S. because the doors may not close.

The recall affects 166,000 CR-V SUVs from the 2012 model year and 6,200 Acura ILX small luxury cars from the 2013 model year.”

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“Some people fear public speaking.  Others fear spiders.

Peter Schiff’s single greatest fear is that over-regulation, too much Fed intervention, and anti-business sentiment will eventually cause capitalism to come to an end.

Schiff spoke to King World News about it.

My biggest worry is that capitalism and the free markets will get the blame when it really hits the fan.  When we get the real crash and everything implodes, and it’s really Armageddon style collapse, my fear (again) is that capitalism and free markets take the blame for problems that were created by government.”

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“BEIJING (AP) — China’s population of Internet users, already the world’s biggest, has risen to 538 million, driven by rapid growth in wireless Web surfing, an industry group said Thursday.

The latest figure represents an 11 percent increase from a year earlier, according to the report by theChina Internet Network Information Center. The government sanctioned group said that raised the share of China’s population that uses the Internet to 39.9 percent.

The number of people who go online from mobile phones and other wireless devices rose to 388 million, the group said. That was up 22 percent from a year earlier.”

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Default rates are up 70% in the past few years. Currently the problem only amounts to $37 billion a year, but is a bad scenario for those raiding their nest egg.

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“(Reuters) – Central bankers and regulators will hold talks in September on whether the troubled global Libor interest rate can be reformed or whether it is so damaged that the benchmark of borrowing costs should be scrapped.

Bank of England Governor Mervyn King told fellow central bankers in a letter that it was “very clear that radical reforms of the Libor system are needed”.

Fed Chairman Ben Bernanke and global financial regulator Mark Carney, who is also governor of the Bank of Canada, on Wednesday floated possible alternatives to the London interbank offered rate, which some bankers manipulated in the 2007-09 financial crisis.

“There are different alternatives if Libor cannot be fixed,” Carney told a news conference in Ottawa.”

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“Verizon Communications reported quarterly earnings in line with forecasts on Thursday, but revenue topped Wall Street’s expectations.”

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“WASHINGTON (AP) — Pharmacy chain Walgreens says it will begin filling prescriptions from customers in the Express Scripts network starting in September under a new multiyear contract between the companies.

Walgreen had stopped filling prescriptions for Express Scripts after a contract between the companies ended last year.

Shares of Walgreen Co. jumped 14 percent in premarket trading while Express Scripts shares rose 3 percent.”

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Gapping up 

MLNX +37.1%, SCSS +17.1%, SWKS +10.7%, NOK +6.4%, QCOM +5.8%,

EBAY +5.3%, EDU +4.2%, TPX +3%, IBM +2.8%, BHP +2.2%, MT +2%,

RIG +1.7%, BBL +1.7%, NVS +1.3%,  RENN +2.4%, ERIC +2.3% , NWSA +0.6%,

AMZN +0.4% ,  PG +0.3%, ORCL +0.5%,  ALU +4.6% , BRCM +3.3%, WAG +14.8%,

ESRX +7.6%, GG +1.8%, SLV +1%, RIO +0.9%, GLD +0.7%,  GGC +7.5%, PPG +1.6% ,

UNH +2.2%, AN +2.1%, FCX +1.6%, NVS +1.5%, PM +1.3%,

Gapping down

IRG -15.2%, DCIX -14.6%, ANTH -13.5%, GHL -10.1%, CS -3.5%, SYK -2.5%,

YUM -2.4%, NSPH -2.3%, FFIV -1.8%, XLNX -1%, PWR -2.1%, RVBD -0.4%,

NSPH -2.3%, CVS -5.7%,  DCIX -14.6% , POOL -7.6%, JCI -6.4%, MS -4.9% ,

GHL -4.5%, FFIV -1.8%, VZ -1.6%, XLNX -1%, AXP -0.5%,

ANR, BSFT, CMS, D, ERIC, KBR, KCG, NWSA, POT, SIRI, SONS, DDD, USB, XEL,

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In Play ,

On the Wires 

$MS missed by $0.09 per share….

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“UnitedHealth Group Inc. (UNH), the biggest U.S. health insurer, boosted its profit outlook for this year on the strength of rising enrollment for government-backed Medicare and Medicaid policies.

UnitedHealth forecast profit of $4.90 to $5 a share for 2012 in a statement today, the second time this year the Minnetonka, Minnesota-based insurer raised the guidance. The company reported second-quarter net income rose 5.5 percent to $1.34 billion, or $1.27 a share, beating analyst estimates.”

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WTI is up $1.19 @ $91.06…

“Oil rose a seventh day in New York, the longest run of gains since February, after U.S. gasoline supplies unexpectedly shrank and housing starts climbed, signaling fuel demand may increase amid an economic recovery.

Futures advanced as much as 1.5 percent to the highest level in seven weeks. Gasoline stockpiles decreased 1.8 million barrels last week, the Energy Department said in a report. They were forecast to climb by 1.2 million, according to a Bloomberg News survey. Crude inventories also fell and petroleum consumption rose for the third week. New U.S. home construction increased in June to the highest level in almost four years, figures from the Commerce Department showed.”

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