“Toyota Motor Corp. (7203) began recalling about 7.43 million vehicles worldwide after the company detected a possible flaw that could lead the power-window switch to melt or catch fire.

The recall affects about 2.47 million vehicles in the U.S., 1.4 million in China and 1.39 million inEurope, said Joichi Tachikawa, a Tokyo-based spokesman. The Corolla and Camry are among the 14 models — some produced as far back as 2007 — subject to inspection and repair, he said. The company hasn’t received any reports of accidents because of the issue, he said.

Full article

Gapping up 

RSH +15.4%, QCOR +4.7%, RIO +1.9%, LLY +1.4%, TRN +1.6%,  UNH +0.7%,

NOK +3.7%,  STM +4.7%, SPB +6.9%,

Gapping down 

EW -15.8%, ANGO -6.4%, NFLX -3.9%, ZNGA -2.1%, MDT -1.4%, DELL -0.5%,

JNJ -1.5%, BIDU -3.8%, LXK -1%,  NFLX -4%

A recommendation of mine a while back that helped me bank some serious coin. Looks like this company is doing better than i thought for the long term investment. After a recent earnings stumble the stock is back to the levels where i first found interest. I’ll be buying over time and not price for another moon shot down the road.

Full article 

In order to help those who do not have access to proper financial and banking services the two companies will offer a pre-paid debit card called Bluebird. Competitor debit card companies saw their stocks fall on the news this morning.

Full article 

“(Reuters) – The largest U.S. weapons maker, Lockheed Martin Corp (LMT.N), said it plans to split its electronic systems business into two separate operations focused on missiles and training, a move it said would save $50 million and eliminate 200 jobs.

The change, effective December 31, will give Lockheed five business areas: aeronautics, space systems, information systems, missiles and fire control, and mission systems and training.

Marillyn Hewson, who currently heads the electronic systems business, is scheduled to take over as president and chief operating officer of Lockheed on January 1.”

Full article 

Apple Inc. is anticipating a smash hit with the iPad mini. They have ordered 10mn units from suppliers according to sources.

Full article  

Gapping up

RIO +2.3%, MT +0.9% , WETF +2.5%, OI +2.3,  INFA+0.8%, CCL +2.4%, RCL +1.3%,

ATK +2.3%, SYMC +1.3%, ENB +0.5%, ACI +2.4%, ANR +1.5%,  STZ +3.7%,  ETP +1.5,

RF +2%, BCS +1.7%, SAN +1.3% DB +0.6%, HBC +0.6%, BAC +0.6%, ING +0.5%,

RIO +2.3%, GOLD +1.2%, BHP +1.1%, BBL +1.1%

Gapping down 

ZNGA -18.1%, DTLK -14.3%, CTIC -11.8%, VSCP -11.8%, MRCY -11.8%, ABR -5%,

GRPN -4.2%, FB -2.5%,  LLTC -2.2%,  FFIV -1.7%, BIIB -0.6%, ALV -0.6%

Pink slips will not be a cost effective way of trimming down expenses at Motorola says Google Inc. The costs of closing plants will be more than expected.

Full article 

“NEW YORK (AP) — Americans may have slowed their spending in September after splurging during the start of the busy back-to-school shopping season in the month before. But most importantly, they were still spending.

September sales rose 3.9 percent — a slowdown from the 6-percent rise in August — as 22 retailers like Macy’s and Costco reported mixed results, according to the International Council of Shopping Centers. Still, given the economic and political uncertainty that weighs on many Americans right now, analysts say the results are an encouraging sign for stores as they head into what’s traditionally the busiest shopping period of the year in November and December.

“This should set up to be a good holiday season,” said Ken Perkins, president of Retail Metrics LLC, a research firm.

Retailers’ monthly sales figures are based on revenue at stores opened at least a year. That measure, which is considered to be an indicator of a retailer’s health because it excludes results from stores recently opened or closed, offers insights into how Americans are spending during the slow economic recovery.

But only a handful of merchants representing about 13 percent of the $2.4 trillion U.S. retail industry report monthly revenue. And that list is dwindling: Target Corp. on Thursday said that it will no longer report monthly figures starting next year.”

Full article

“A Credit Suisse Group AG (CSGN) unit was accused in a lawsuit by a U.S. credit union regulator of selling faulty mortgage-backed securities to three credit unions, causing them to collapse.

Credit Suisse Securities misrepresented the securities’ risks, leading the credit unions to believe there was little chance of losing money when they bought $715 million worth of them, the National Credit Union Administration said in a complaint filed yesterday in federal court in Kansas City, Kansas.”

Full article

Gapping Up 

CLRX +52%, VRNG +3.3%, MAR +2.6%, CCL +2.3%, DEO +1.9%, TSLA +1.4%,

ASML +1.3%, MUR +1%, SLV +1%, FB +0.8% , ARMH +5.6%,

Gapping Down 

NUVA -14.2%, HMSY -8.2%, AVY -5.1%, GMED -4.6%, BWP -4.6%, FRO -2.1%, STWD -2%,

UPS -0.1%,  S -3.3%,  BAH -2.2%,

“The Board of Directors at Corning Inc. (NYSE:GLW) announced a 20 percent increase in the company’s quarterly common stock dividend today.  The move allows Corning to repay a portion of cash flow to its investors and improve their total shareholder return, something Chief Executive and President Wendell P. Weeks called a priority.

“Corning continues to generate strong cash flow from all our businesses and we have done so for some time now,” Weeks said. “We believe our operating cash flow generation will continue, and combined with lower capital spending, give the company more financial flexibility.”

Full report

“3M Co. (MMM)’s retreat from a $550 million office-products purchase amid regulatory pressure will let it focus on an even bigger acquisition while forcing deal partner Avery Dennison Corp. (AVY) to put the unit back on the block.

Avery fell as much as 7.8 percent in after-hours trading in New York yesterday following the announcement. Investors may be concerned that Avery will struggle to get another offer and a price that comes close to 3M’s, said Ghansham Panjabi, an analyst at Robert W. Baird & Co. in New York.

“When one of the national bidders is out of the process now, then by definition there are fewer bidders for the asset,” Panjabi said. “The likelihood of the sale is pretty high. The question is, ‘At what price does it get done?’”

3M terminated the Jan. 3 sale accord to buy Avery’s office- products business amid U.S. Justice Department opposition because of overlap between the companies. The move reversed 3M’s pledge last month to keep pursuing federal approval and came after Chief Executive Officer Inge Thulin agreed Oct. 1 to pay $860 million for ceramics maker Ceradyne Inc. (CRDN)”

Full article

“(Reuters) – Social media company Facebook Inc said on Thursday it reached the 1 billion active monthly users threshold last month, and is up by 45 million users since June.

Facebook, based in Menlo Park, California, hit the 1 billion milestone on September 14 at 12:45 p.m. Pacific time, the company said on its website. It added that it had 600 million mobile users, according to a fact sheet posted on its website

The 1 billion user count is up from the end of June, when it had 955 million active monthly users. The company also said it has seen 1.13 trillion “likes,” or endorsements by users, since the company launched the feature in February 2009. Many of the ad campaigns that companies conduct on Facebook are designed to garner likes.

It said 219 billion photos were uploaded as of September. Excluding deleted photos, about 265 billion photos have been uploaded since 2005.

About 17 billion location-tagged posts were made on the website, Facebook said, and 62.6 million songs have been played 22 billion times since September 2011.”

Full article

“The European Union’s top banking regulator told the bloc’s lenders to hold on to more than 200 billion euros ($258 billion) in capital raised to pave the way for tougher global standards.

The 27 banks that were required by the European Banking Authority to submit plans for their capital raising attained a total of 116 billion euros, the London-based EBA said yesterday. Including aid to Greek and Spanish banks, European lenders increased their capital reserves by more than 200 billion euros since 2011, according to an EBA report published on its website.”

$SRPT, $OCN, $LEAP, $JPM, $PCS,

Full article

Gapping up

ITMN +9.6%, BBY +6.1%, INVE +5.4%, RECN +4.6%, FIRE +2.2%,

PCS +2%, SVU +1.7%, DB +1.4%, SSYS +2.6%,  NFLX +2%, WPRT +1.5%,

NSC +0.7%, CSX +0.5%, SRPT +125.8%, VVUS +2%, MLNX +2%

Gapping down 

XRTX -13.8%, ATRS -10.7%, RIGL -5.3%, SPN -4%, ARI -2.9%, NYMT -2.3%,

BGS -1.9%, SDRL -1.4%, POT -1.5%, AMRN -1.4%,  ANN -1.3%, SNN -0.9%,

CIG -0.6%

“The boards of Deutsche Telekom AG and MetroPCS Communications Inc. have approved a deal to merge MetroPCS with the German operator’s U.S. subsidiary, T-Mobile USA, people familiar with the matter said Wednesday, a deal that would give the fourth-largest U.S. wireless carrier more scale as it tries to compete with the industry’s leaders.”

Source

“(Reuters) – Ranjana Bhandari and her husband knew the natural gas beneath their ranch-style home in Arlington, Texas, could be worth a lot – especially when they got offer after offer from Chesapeake Energy Corp.

Chesapeake wanted to drill there, and the offers could have netted the couple thousands of dollars in a bonus and royalties. But Bhandari says they ultimately declined the deals because they oppose fracking in residential areas. Fracking, slang for hydraulic fracturing, is a controversial method used to extract gas and oil.”

Full article

” Express Hits the Brakes in September

Clothing chain Express said business was going well in August, but then got detailed last month! As a result, third-quarter earnings will be no more than $0.20 a share, compared with previous guidance of $0.27 to $0.32. EXPR craters 17 percent before the bell on my tradeMONSTER platform.”

Full report