Charles Schwab Beats The Street
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The San Francisco company said its net income rose to $243 million, or 20 cents a share, in the three months ended March 31, from $6 million, or less than a penny a share, in the year-ago period. The 2010 quarter included a $126 million reserve for class action lawsuits.
Revenue climbed 23 percent to $1.21 billion from $978 million.
On average, analysts polled by FactSet expected earnings of 19 cents per share on $1.18 billion in revenue.”
Comments »The Week Ahead
“Earnings could make for a bumpy ride in U.S. stocks next week if more key companies undershoot expectations, possibly causing a spike in volatility.”
Comments »Lenny Dykstra is Out of His Mind
US Government Seizes Assets and Web Domains of Online Poker Sites
Rest Assured; You Should Have No More Feeling of Financial Stress
FHFA Out With Comments on Real Estate
And the Protests in Syria Continue (video)
Daraa, Syria chanting “leave, leave, leave”
[YouTube:http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=n6dH6eT1v-Q&sns=em 616 500] Comments »A Nifty Way To See Where Your Tax Dollars Go
Republicans Introduce Bills to Drill Gulf, But Taxpayers Still Lose on Royalties
“Just a week before the one-year anniversary of the BP oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico, legislation that would greatly speed the pace of offshore drilling permitting has been approved by the Republican-led House Natural Resources Committee.
The bill would require the Interior Department to approve or deny permit applications within 60 days; after that period, permits would be granted automatically.”
“Even as leaders grapple with the nation’s fiscal troubles and urge expanded drilling for natural resources, their failure to remedy decades-old systemic shortcomings at the Interior Department may have allowed billions of dollars in royalties from oil and natural gas companies to slip away, increasing the burden on taxpayers.
By law, energy companies must pay one-sixth to one-eighth of the value of oil and gas obtained on public lands and in federal waters off the nation’s coasts. In practice, government auditors and Interior’s inspector general believe the industry is paying less than it legally should. Exactly how much less is anybody’s guess, but it is believed to be at least hundreds of millions — and possibly tens of billions of dollars.”
Consumer Confidence: Prior 67.5, Market Expects 66.5, Actual 66
Hedge Fund Manager John Paulson: Financial Reform is a Failure
“The financial crisis came about as banks had an excessive amount of leverage and too many risky assets,” Paulson told French financial newspaper Les Echos.
“Trying to dictate what banks can or cannot do is not the solution. Instead, they should be made to strengthen their balance sheets to absorb potential losses and to hold fewer risky assets.”
Comments »Crack Spreads Rising; Up 2.29% @ $27.73
JP Morgan’s Smaller Cap Darlings
Obama: Republicans Will Make U.S. a Third World Country
“The attack came a day after Obama savaged Republican budget plans and unveiled his $4 trillion deficit reduction drive that aims to raise taxes on the wealthiest Americans in order to preserve key social services.”
Comments »China Continues to be a Net Seller of Treasuries
Net Long-Term TIC Flows: Prior $51.5B, Actual $26.9B
Industrial Production: Prior 0.0%, Market Expects 0.6%, Actual 0.8%
In Play and On the Wires
Upgrades and Downgrades This Morning
Upgrades
DNR – Denbury Resources initiated with a Positive at Susquehanna; tgt $30
HOG – Harley-Davidson upgraded to Neutral from Sell at Goldman
ATVI – Activision Blizzard initiated with Buy at Goldman
NBL – Noble Energy initiated with a Positive at Susquehanna
LINE – Linn Energy initiated with Buy at Janney Montgomery Scott; tgt $44
ROSE – Rosetta Resources upgraded to Buy from Hold at Canaccord
DGX – Quest Diagnostics initiated with an Outperform at Raymond James
SFNC – Simmons First National upgraded to Overweight at boutique firm
LL – Lumber Liquidators upgraded to Strong Buy from Market Perform at Raymond James
ACOR – Acorda Therapeutics: Stifel discusses patent update; raises fair value price by $4 to $27
SVVS – SAVVIS Comm initiated with a Buy at Stifel Nicolaus; tgt $45
ARLP – Alliance Resource initiated with a Neutral at Davenport; tgt $83
HAS – Hasbro upgraded to Buy at Morgan Joseph; tgt $54
AAPL – Apple: March quarter should serve to address uncertainty and possibly relieve pressure – Brigantine Advisors
HCA – HCA initiated with a Buy at Gleacher; tgt $40
BPL – Buckeye Partners upgraded to Buy from Neutral at UBS; tgt raised to $68 from $65
WY – Weyerhaeuser upgraded to Sector Perform from Underperform at Scotia
TSLA – Tesla Motors tgt raised to $40 at Dougherty following factory tour
CBS – CBS initiated with a Buy at Lazard – tgt $34
ATML – Atmel: Collins Stewart incrementally more positive on the stock following meetings with mgmt
Downgrades
GOOG – Google target lowered to $650 from $715 at Oppenheimer
MA – MasterCard downgraded to Neutral from Positive at Susquehanna
URBN – Urban Outfitters downgraded to Underperform from Hold at Jefferies
CSCO – Cisco Systems downgraded to Hold at Auriga U.S.A; tgt lowered to $19
CHL – China Mobile downgraded to Neutral from Outperform at Credit Suisse
CHA – China Telecom downgraded to Underperform from Neutral at Credit Suisse
T – 1Q11 likely uneventful for T and VZ – Collins Stewart
CSIQ – Canadian Solar target lowered to $18 from $20 at Auriga U.S.A
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