“A growing appetite for risk is prompting some Wall Street banks and investment firms to show interest in buying the most complex and troubled assets tied to the bailout of American International Group Inc.

The $47 billion face value in assets, held by the Federal Reserve Bank of New York, are the same kinds of financial instruments that were at the heart of the financial crisis and caused record losses across the financial industry. Plunging values of the securities, called collateralized debt obligations, or CDOs, caused AIG’s near collapse and a government rescue in 2008. ….”

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Full article

Gapping up 

COGO +61.9%, PWRD +27.6%, FRO +2.8%, BTU +2.2%,  COMV +10.4%, DOLE +2.3%, CS +1.8%, RF +1.8%, LYG +1.3%, BAC +1.3%, HBC +1.1%,

ING +1.1%, FRO +5.2%, DRYS +3.8%, NAT +2.3%, EXM +1.5%, CYTX +13.1%,  THLD +10%,  JVA +5.3% ,  EBAY +2.1%, NOV +1% , RBS +4.5%,

SHPGY +1.7%,  AAPL +0.6% ,

Gapping down

DSCO -10%, PRMW -9.6%, OGXI -8.8%, QTWW -7%, AIXG -4.4%, TICC -4.1%, SCLN -3.5%, CIM -1.3%, PKT -1.3%, IMOS -8.8%, ATPG -7.3%,

GLD -1%, EGO -0.9%, IAG -0.9%, SLV -0.5%, MT -0.5%,  CCO -31.2%, TICC -4.8%, AXAS -1.7%,  BWLD -1.3%

In Play 

On the Wires 

Tech junkies crowd the streets as the new iPads go on sale…

“(Reuters) – Dynegy Inc said it was “disappointed” by a court-appointed examiner’s report that alleged of fraudulent practices by the company before its unit filed for bankruptcy.

Last week, in a scathing report, the examiner said Dynegy Inc harmed creditors by fraudulently transferring some coal-powered plant assets to itself before putting a unit into bankruptcy, and urged that the transfer be reversed.

In a filing early on Friday, the company said the report was not the conclusion of any court.

Dynegy added that the examiner improperly assumes insolvency of Dynegy Holdings at the time of the transactions and has ignored critical evidence to the contrary.

The examiner, Susheel Kirpalani, had issued his report on the events leading to the bankruptcy of the independent power producer’s Dynegy Holdings LLC unit.

Dynegy Inc said the examiner’s conclusion of a fraudulent transfer is incorrect and that documents and evidence show that there was “no intent to hinder or delay creditors” in the transfer of assets….”

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The embarrassing tongue-lashing Goldman Sachs (GS: 122.68, +2.31, +1.92%) received this week from a former employee in the Op-Ed pages of The New York Times seemingly presents a unique opportunity for the Wall Street firm’s rivals.

Yet bankers at JPMorgan Chase (JPM: 44.72, +1.14, +2.62%) have been warned not to seize upon so-called Muppetgate, which erupted after a former Goldman employee resigned and bashed Goldman as a “toxic” place to work full of self-interested people.

According to Reuters, JPMorgan CEO Jamie Dimon warned employees in an internal memo not to try to take advantage of the “alleged” issues raised by the Op-Ed written by Greg Smith.

“I want to be clear that I don’t want anyone here to seek advantage from a competitor’s alleged issues or hearsay — ever. It’s not the way we do business,” Dimon wrote in the memo, the news service reported.

The Dimon memo, which urged workers to focus on the company’s own standards, greeted Asian employees as they arrived for work Thursday morning and was later forwarded to wider parts of the business, Reuters reported.

Source

NEW YORK (CNNMoney) — Shares of publisher Scholastic Corp. spiked on Thursday, fueled by strong sales of its Hunger Games series ahead of the film version’s release next week.

Scholastic (SCHL) released its quarterly results on Thursday morning, its $467 million in revenue marking a 22% increase from the same period a year prior. Excluding one-time charges, the company posted a loss of four cents a share, an improvement on its 64-cent-per-share loss a year ago.

Source

Advanced Micro Devices Inc. (AMD) gained 2.4 percent to $7.95. The second-largest maker of processors for personal computers was moved to buy from hold at Jefferies & Co., which increased the 12-month price estimate to $10.50 from $7.

Apple Inc. (AAPL) increased 1.3 percent to $597.20. The world’s largest technology company had its share price estimate raised to $718 from $670 at Piper Jaffray Cos.

Capital One Financial Corp. (COF) dropped 0.8 percent to $51.90. The McLean, Virginia-based credit-card issuer said it’s selling $1.25 billion of its shares to help fund the acquisition of HSBC Plc’s U.S. credit-card portfolio. Morgan Stanley, Barclays Plc, Citigroup Inc. and Credit Suisse Group AG are working on the offering, Capital One said.

Guess? Inc. (GES) (GES US) plunged 11 percent to $32.49. The clothing retailer forecast fiscal 2013 earnings of no more than $2.65 a share, below the average analyst estimate of $3.16 a share, according to a Bloomberg survey.

Level 3 Communications Inc. (LVLT) rose 2.7 percent to $25.60. The broadband-services provider was raised to buy from neutral at Bank of America Corp.

Rue21 Inc. (RUE) : The teen specialty retailer forecast first-quarter earnings of 42 cents a share to 44 cents a share. That compares with the average analyst estimate of 44 cents a share, Bloomberg data show.

Vera Bradley Inc. (VRA) fell 7.1 percent to $34.50. The seller of women’s fashion accessories forecast first-quarter earnings per share of no more than 29 cents, missing the average analyst estimate of 32 cents.

Wave Systems Corp. (WAVX) : The provider of products to help businesses with online commerce and security postponed its 2011 earnings announcement because of accounting errors in the statements of its Safend Ltd. subsidiary, which it acquired on Sept. 22.

Gapping up

ORCC +18.2%, AIXG +10.1%, AERL +4.4%, TSPT +4%, TWER +21.2% , ORCC +18.2%, YONG +5.9%, AERL +4.4%, TSPT +4%, AFFY +0.6% ,

AEG +5.9%, IRE +1.1%, RF +1%, BAC +1%, GS +0.9%, CS +0.6%, C +0.4%, MT +1.9%, VALE +1.8%, SWC +1.4%, AU +1.2%, BHP +1%, AUY +0.9%,

RIO +0.8%, SLV +0.8%, GLD +0.4%,  PBR +1.6%, NBL +1.4%, E+1.1%, SDRL +1.1%, RIG +1%, NCT +17.6% , HOGS +2.3% , IDCC +1.3%,  BWLD +0.5% ,

AIXG +10.2%,  AMD +3.1% ,  LVLT +2.7%, OMG +2%, AAPL +1.2%,

Gapping down

GES -11.2%, VRA -5.8%, RUE -5.4%, ROYL -3.8%, COF -1.5%, ROYL -13.1%, GES -11.7%, VRA -6%, RUE -5.4%, VVTV -2.2%, COF -1.5%, PER -4.5%,

XPO -2.2% ,  APU -1.1%, JOY -1.3%,  EBAY -0.7%,

In Play 

On the wires

via Zero Hedge

A company whose value is dependent on the continued success of two key products, now has a larger market capitalization (at $542 billion), than the entire US retail sector (as defined by the S&P 500). Little to add here.

See the chart here.

Source

“It was bound to happen sooner or later, but it looks like all the heated conversation we’ve seen over user privacy in mobile apps has now finally boiled over into a class action lawsuit, filed this week in the Western Division of the U.S. District Court, Austin Division.

A list of 13 plaintiffs, acting “on  behalf  of  themselves  and  all others  similarly situated,” have filed a suit against a series of high-profile companies that make some of the most popular mobile apps around today. The list names 18 companies in all: Path,  Twitter, Apple, Facebook, Beluga, Yelp!, Burbn, Instagram, Foursquare, Gowalla, Foodspotting, Hipster, LinkedIn, Rovio, ZeptoLab, Chillingo, Electronic  Arts and Kik  Interactive. Coincidentally, the suit was filed on Monday, the same day that Yahoo filed a patent infringement suit against Facebook.

And it looks like the lawyers representing the plaintiffs — the Austin firms of Edwards Law, Carl F. Schwenker, and the Jordan Law Firm — appear to have filed this week in an attempt at maximum effect: the suit was made public right in the middle of the SXSW interactive event that brings upwards of 20,000 tech types to the city, including those from the companies named in the suit, and of course exactly the kind of people who use these apps regularly.

Some of the defendant list seems to be intentionally doubling up actions: for example, Gowalla is now owned by Facebook; and Burbn is the developer behind Instagram…..”

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Energy costs are up 9.5% in February 

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“The US Federal Trade Commission has subpoenaed Apple in its antitrust probe on Google, reports Bloomberg.

The FTC is seeking information on how and why Apple makes Google the default search engine for its iOS devices when there’s no shortage of other search engines to choose from.

Google rivals such as Microsoft Bing obviously consider it an anti-competitive move.

Check out this video from Bloomberg for more:”

“(Reuters) – Cigarette maker Reynolds American Inc said it will reduce its U.S. workforce by 10 percent by the end of 2014, as it looks to cut costs to sustain profit growth.

Reynolds American, which makes Camel and Pall Mall branded cigarettes, expects to incur a pretax restructuring charge of about $110 million related to the job cuts in the first quarter.

By the end of this year, the company expects savings of $25 million from the move, an amount that will increase to about $70 million annually from 2015….”

Full article

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SCLN +12.6%, FRAN +12%, RVSN +10.3%, GWRE +9.7%, CLF +3.4%, BNHN +3.4%, BAMM +3.2%, CS +3%, RF +2.8%, DB +2.1%, BCS +1.2%, CCL +1.1%,

UBS +1%, HMNY +11.4% ,  FXCM +7.2%, ECYT +3.5% ,  BAMM +3.2%, LSI +3%, APC +1%, ALTR +0.9%,  FSLR +1.9%,  ALU +1.7%,  AAPL +1.2%,

CLNE +1% and CFR +0.7%, TSEM +3.4%, CXPO +3.9%, CLWR +3.7% ,
Gapping down 

MED -7.5%, HOGS -6.8%, LNG -5.4%, NOR -4.2%, STI -3.7%, C -2.6%, MTGE -2.5%, VLCCF -1%, PSUN -16.3%, MED -7.5%, HOGS -6.8%,  MET -4.4% ,

FITB -1.1%,  LNG -4.2%, ZNGA -1.6% ,  MTGE -2.4% ,  CHK -0.4%,  CCI -1.8%, JNPR -1%,  VOD -1.2%

Source

Anadarko Petroleum Corp. (APC) increased 2.2 percent to $85.45. The largest U.S. independent oil and natural-gas producer by market value was raised to buy from hold at Stifel Nicolaus & Co.

Apple Inc. (AAPL) gained 1.1 percent to $574.50. The world’s largest technology company had its share price estimate raised to $720 from $515 at Morgan Stanley.

Citigroup Inc. (C) fell 3.2 percent to $35.29 and MetLife Inc. (MET) dropped 3.1 percent to $38.25. SunTrust Banks Inc. (STI) fell 5.2 percent to $21.40. The Federal Reserve said the financial institutions failed to meet minimum capital requirements in a stress test.

Cheniere Energy Inc. (LNG) decreased 4.3 percent to $15.32. The liquefied natural-gas importer said it will sell 17 million shares to repay debt and for other purposes.

Cliffs Natural Resources Inc. (CLF) rose 4.8 percent to $68. The iron-ore miner said it will more than double its quarterly dividend as part of a new capital-allocation plan.

Francesca’s Holdings Corp. (FRAN) : The women’s apparel retailer forecast first-quarter adjusted earnings of 14 cents to 15 cents a share, more than the average analyst estimate of 13 cents in a Bloomberg survey.

Guidewire Software Inc. (GWRE) (GWRE US) surged 10 percent to $28.22. The developer of software for insurance companies reported second-quarter revenue of $55.1 million, exceeding the average analyst estimate of $45.9 million.

In Play

On the Wires 

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