Forex News Feeds

Microchip Remains Outperform
Following robust earnings in its latest quarter, we have reiterated our Outperform recommendation on Microchip Technology Inc. (NASDAQ:MCHP).   Microchip reported solid results for the first quarter of fiscal 2011 driven by broad-based growth across all geographical regions as well as the three product lines – Microcontrollers, Analog and Serial electrically erasable programmable read only memory products ...

H&R Block Beats Zacks Consensus
H&R Block’s (NYSE:HRB) fiscal first-quarter loss from continuing operations came in at 36 cents per share, lower than the Zacks Consensus Estimate for a loss of 41 cents a share as well as the year-ago loss of 39 cents per share. Net loss from continuing operations for the quarter was $114.8 million versus a loss ...

Atheros Completes Opulan Acquisition
Atheros Communications Inc. (NASDAQ:ATHR) announced that it has completed the previously announced acquisition of privately-held Opulan Technologies Corp. for approximately $72 million.  Atheros might pay additional cash to shareholders in the coming twelve months only if Opulan meets certain business targets. California based Atheros develops semiconductor system solutions for communication products. Its products include solutions for wireless ...

Applied DNA Initiated At Outperform
Unique Anti-Counterfeiting Technology Applied DNA Sciences, Inc. (APDN) is a biotech company engaged in the research, development and commercialization of botanical-DNA based security and authentication solutions that can help protect the products, brands and intellectual property of companies, governments and consumers from theft, counterfeiting, fraud and diversion. The company has authentication labs and manufacturing facilities in ...

Cooper Profit Grows, Lifts View
Eye-care and surgical product maker Cooper Companies Inc. (NYSE:COO) reported better-than-expected third-quarter fiscal 2010 (ended July 31, 2010) results with adjusted earnings per share of 91 cents outshining the Zacks Consensus Estimate of 71 cents and the year-ago earnings of 54 cents. Adjusted earnings exclude litigation settlement charges, restructuring costs and acquisition expenses. Net profit zoomed ...

LUK Takes Fortescue To Court
Leucadia National Corporation (NYSE:LUK) sued Fortescue Metals Group Ltd., an Australian iron-ore miner, its subsidiary Chichester Metals Pty Ltd., and Andrew Forrest, its CEO in an effort to stop them from raising more funds through an issue of additional subordinated notes.   Fortescue Metals Group claims that the company is entitled to issue unlimited amount of notes ...

Praxair Rejects CADE Allegations
Praxair Inc.’s (NYSE:PX) Brazilian subsidiary, White Martins was fined R$2.2 billion (US$1.3 billion) by the Brazilian Administrative Council for Economic Defense (CADE) for its alleged anticompetitive activity in Brazil. Apart from Praxair, the council imposed fines on four other industrial gas companies in Brazil .   Reaction of disbelief followed after the fines were imposed and Praxair ...

Boeing Dreams Big
Boeing Company (NYSE:BA), with a steady recovery in the U.S. and Canadian economies, dreams big for its commercial airlines business. The bullishness was reflected in Boeing’s 2010 North America (U.S. and Canada) market outlook forecast on September 2, 2010. Boeing forecasts that air carriers in North America will take delivery of about 7,200 new airplanes ...

Pat Dorsey: Competitive Advantages For Superior Companies
Pat Dorsey, CFA, is Director of Equity Research at Morningstar, Inc. He played an integral part in the development of the Morningstar Rating for stocks, as well as Morningstar’s economic moat ratings. Dorsey is also the author of three excellent books;The Five Rules for Successful Stock Investing:, and The Little Book That Builds Wealth.Heholds a master’s ...

Walter Projects Lower Sales In 2010
Premier coal producer and exporter Walter Energy (NYSE:WLT) slashed its fiscal 2010 coking coal sales guidance to 7.2 – 7.5 million tons, from the previous guidance range of 7.7 – 7.9 million tons.  This lower guidance results from poorer expectations of coking coal production volumes in 2010.   Walter expects coking coal production volumes to total about ...

Honeywell Wins Contract
A group company of Honeywell International Inc. (NYSE:HON), UOP LLC, has been selected to provide its process technology for the conversion of biomass to transportation fuels in Rentech Inc.’s Rialto Renewable Energy Center. UOP LLC is a worldwide leading provider of process technology used to transform petroleum feedstocks to fuels and chemicals and has even developed ...

VeriFone Acquires WAY Systems
VeriFone Systems Inc. (NYSE:PAY) recently announced its acquisition of the assets of WAY Systems Inc. for $6 million. The purchase price also includes an earn-out of up to an additional $3 million payable in one year subject to certain targeted performances. Founded in 2002, WAY Systems provides mobile Point of Sale (POS) solutions and gateway services ...

WPP Group Upgraded
We have upgraded our rating for WPP Group Plc (NASDAQ:WPPGY) from Underperform to Neutral based on a positive outlook for the second half of 2010.   First Half 2010 Highlights   WPP Group plc’s first half 2010 net results soared 48.1% year over year to ₤0.191 per share ($1.46 per ADR) compared with ₤0.129 per share ($0.96 per ADR) ...

Hot Stock Option Plays For Friday 3 September: Tyson Foods, The Blackstone Group, Collective Brands, SPDR S&P Retail ETF
Tyson Foods, Inc. (NYSE:TSN) - Call options on the food products company are a hot commodity this morning for bullish players positioning for a near-term rally in the price of the underlying shares. Tyson Foods’ shares rallied as much as 1.7% at the start of the session to an intraday high ...

OMAB Begins New Terminal Operation
Mexican airport operator, Grupo Aeroportuario del Centro Norte, S.A.B. de C.V. (NASDAQ:OMAB) began operation at its new Terminal B at Monterrey International Airport, where Aeromexico and Aeromexico Connect were the first to operate flights. Later in September, the company is expected to start Delta Airlines and Northwest.   The new terminal would definitely help increase passenger traffic ...

Allscripts Merges With Eclipsys
Allscripts Healthcare Solutions Inc. (NASDAQ:MDRX), a leading vendor focused on healthcare information technology, has announced the completion of its merger with peer Eclipsys Corporation. The combined organization will focus on empowering providers collaborate through connected healthcare communities, thereby providing enhanced care and controlling cost.   Allscripts had adjusted revenues of about $1.2 billion in fiscal year 2009. ...

MiFi Enters Comcast Network
Novatel Wireless Inc. (NASDAQ:NVTL) recently entered into a Master Purchase Agreement with Comcast Corp. (NASDAQ:CMCSA) through which the company will supply MiFi 2200 Intelligent Mobile Hotspots and Ovation MC760 USB modems to Comcast. At present, Comcast is rolling-out its 4G WiMAX-based High-Speed 2go network throughout the U.S. Both MiFi 2200 and MC760 are now commercially ...

Nabors’ Credit Facility Approved
Nabors Industries Ltd. (NYSE:NBR) announced that it has received the commitment letter regarding an unsecured revolving credit facility. The principal amount of the facility totals up to $700 million and will be valid for four years.   With the help of an accordion feature that also forms a part of the facility, Nabors will be able to add ...

Near-Term PC Growth Not Visible
Gartner’s View Research firm Gartner Inc. (NYSE:IT) lowered its worldwide personal computer (PC) growth expectations to 15.3% year over year in the second half of 2010, down 2 percentage points from its previous outlook. Lower consumer demand for PCs in established or mature markets and caution at PC suppliers has led to a dramatic change in the ...

Digital River Extends MSFT Deal
In a recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), Digital River Inc. (NASDAQ:DRIV) stated that it has extended its e-commerce deal with Microsoft Corporation (NASDAQ:MSFT) through October 31, 2013. The agreement was originally scheduled to end in June 2012.   As per the new agreement, Digital River will build, host and manage an e-commerce store ...

Owens-Illinois Buys Brazilian Co.
Owens-Illinois Inc. (NYSE:OI) increased it ambit in Brazil, South America’s largest economy and container market, with the acquisition of Brazilian glassmaker Companhia Industrial de Vidros. The deal is valued at $603 million, which includes future tax benefits with an estimated present value of $140 million. These tax benefits include federal and state incentives for development ...

Retailers Gain In August
The nation’s retailers have reported unexpectedly strong August sales numbers as back-to-school requirements kept shoppers from restraining their spending plans. Retailers posted strong results on the heels of solid traffic and sales, albeit backed by heavy promotion and discounting in the back-to-school season. Further, tax-free holidays also provided a boost to the overall sales of ...

HP Wins 3PAR Bid, Dell Loses
After a long, drawn-out bidding battle with rival Dell Inc. (NASDAQ:DELL), Hewlett-Packard Co. (NYSE:HPQ) has managed to secure the 3PAR Inc. (PAR) acquisition. Bidding wars are rare in the technology sector. In the last notable bidding war in the tech industry, EMC Corp. (NYSE:EMC) outbid NetApp Inc. (NASDAQ:NTAP) last year to buy Data Domain for $2.4 ...

Vale Loses Paranapanema Bid
Brazil’s largest miner, Vale S.A. (VALE), lost its bid at $6.75 per share to acquire the majority stake in Brazilian base metals and fertilizers holding company Paranapanema (PMAM3) on account of invalid tender. At R$6.75, Vale was able to attract only 38% of the shares, when it was supposed to pull 51% shares in order ...

Kansas City Southern Raises Outlook
Kansas City Southern (NYSE:KSU), a leading rail transportation company in the U.S., Mexico, and Panama, has announced that its second half 2010 revenue will increase by nearly 20% year over year due to significant growth in freight volume. According to Kansas City Southern, performance with respect to carloadings in August was the best so far ...

Verizon Ups Dividend, Concerns Remain
Verizon Communications (NYSE:VZ), the second largest U.S. phone company, raised its quarterly dividend by 2.6% to 48.75 cents per share. However, this is the smallest increase in four years due to slowing sales growth.   The dividend equates to $1.95 per share on an annualized basis, up from the $1.90 per share paid in August. Verizon will ...

BJ’s Posts Soft Sales
BJ’s Wholesale Club Inc. (NYSE:BJ), a leading warehouse club operator in the United States, recently posted soft sales for the four-week period ended August 28, 2010.  BJ’s August & Year-to-date Sales Performance   After registering a growth of 2.8% in July 2010, BJ’s experienced soft comparable club sales growth of 2.4% in August. For the thirty-week period comps ...

Australian Dollar: Caution
Update on supports and resistances.

Dell Aims To Secure SMBs
Round Rock Texas-based PC maker Dell Inc. (NASDAQ:DELL) is reportedly expanding its reach in Web security. Recently, Dell tied up with leading Internet Content Security vendor, Trend Micro Inc., to enrich its security-solutions portfolio.   Tokyo-based Trend Micro provides its customers (both corporate and consumer) with timely, easy and effective threat protection at reduced administrative costs.   With Trend ...

Hot Stock News For Friday 3 September: Apple, Google, BP, Royal Dutch Shell, HSBC
BP (NYSE:BP) - Co. says cost of oil spill response so far is USD 8bln, and no new oil flowed into Gulf since 15 July (Sources) UK Royal Dutch Shell (RDS-A) - Co. may sell Swedish Gas stations to Finland’s ST1. (SVT) HSBC (NYSE:HBC) - Co. may move its headquarters from Britain if the ...

Forex Trading: GBPUSD Trades Between The Goal Posts As The Week Heads To The Close
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Del Monte Q1 Profit Slips
Del Monte Foods Co. (NYSE:DLM), producer, distributor and marketer of branded pet products and food products, posted weaker top-line and earnings results for the first-quarter of 2011, a 13-week quarter ending on August 1, 2010. Quarterly Details San Francisco-based Del Monte’s earnings slipped to 29 cents from 30 cents a share in the year-ago period and missed ...

Ross’ August Comps Ups 5%
Off-price retailer of apparels and home accessories, Ross Stores Inc.’s (NASDAQ:ROST), comparable store sales (comps) for August increased 5% versus a 6% increase in the year-earlier period. The increase was attributable to attractive bargains on a variety of products for back-to-school customers. August comps also surpassed the company’s expectation of a 3% – 4% increase. ...

Costco Sustains Momentum
Costco Wholesale Corporation (COST), one of the leading U.S. warehouse club operators, recently posted healthy sales data for the four-week period ended August 29, 2010.   The company sustained its sales momentum. After a 6% increase in July 2010, Costco’s comparable-store sales for August rose 7%, reflecting comparable sales growth of 6% at its U.S. locations and ...

The Great Jobs Depression Worsens, And The Choice Ahead Grows Starker
The Great Jobs Depression continues to worsen. The Labor Department reports this morning that companies created ony 67,000 new jobs in August. That’s down from the 107,000 they created in July. And because the government laid off temporary Census workers, the economy as a whole lost 54,000 jobs. To put this into perspective, we need 125,000 net ...

Canadian Dollar: Bullish Bias Above 1035
Update on supports and resistances.

Long Weekend For Bond Traders On Hold
Fundamentals Bond traders will be glued to their computer screens Friday morning, instead of leaving early for the beach ahead of the long Labor Day weekend in the US, as important economic data is scheduled to be released at 7:30 am Chicago time — the widely anticipated non-farm payrolls report for August. Analysts expect payrolls fell ...

Stock Market News Briefs: Campbell Soup Company, Goldcorp Incorporated, H&R Block, Hewlett-Packard Company, Piper Jaffray Companies, W.R. Grace & Company, CommVault Systems, Dell, Isilon Systems, Take-Two Interactive Software
 H&R Block (NYSE:HRB) posted nickel higher than expected fiscal first quarter results, with a loss of 36 cents on revenues of $275 million, off 0.4% from a year ago but up from estimates of $265 million  Dell (NASDAQ:DELL) quit the eighteen-day bidding war with Hewlett-Packard (NYSE:HPQ) for 3PAR (PAR). Dell’s exit fed rumors the firm may ...

Rating Action On CINF
Yesterday, the rating agency Fitch Ratings affirmed the issuer default rating (IDR) as well as senior debt rating of “A-” and “BBB+” on Cincinnati Financial Corporation (NASDAQ:CINF). Along with this, the rating agency also affirmed the issuer financial strength (IFS) rating of A+ on three of its subsidiaries –– the Cincinnati Insurance Co., the Cincinnati Casualty ...

Campbell Soup EPS Beats
Campbell Soup Co. (NYSE:CPB) reported fiscal 2010 fourth-quarter adjusted earnings of 33 cents per share, topping the Zacks Consensus Estimate of 30 cents. Quarterly earnings also came in ahead of the year-ago result of 30 cents per share. Campbell’s net sales during the quarter declined by a modest 0.7% year-over-year to $1.52 billion, which missed the ...

American Phys. Goes To ProAssurance
Yesterday, medical professional liability insurer American Physicians Service Group Inc. (NASDAQ:AMPH) agreed to be acquired by ProAssurance Corporation (NYSE:PRA). Per the agreement, the shareholders of American Physicians will receive $32.50 per share in cash from the acquirer and the transaction is expected to close in the fourth quarter of 2010. Excluding one-time transaction and restructuring ...

Forex Trading: EURUSD Tests 38.2% Fibo Resistance At 1.2871 Level
The EURUSD is up testing the 38.% retracement of the move down from the August 6th high to the low on August 24th. That level comes in at the 1.2871 level. The high for the day reached 1.2872 minutes after the NFP report. A break above will target the 1.2900 level where the trendline off ...

Job Losses Beat Expectations
For the third month in a row, the U.S. has posted negative jobs growth. In August, the Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) reported that nonfarm payrolls fell by 54,000 jobs — the same as the revised number for July — while expectations were for around 120,000 job losses. The private sector showed a net jobs increase ...

Ulta Beats; Outlook Strong
Ulta Salon, Cosmetics & Fragrance Inc. (NASDAQ:ULTA) posted its second-quarter 2010 adjusted earnings of 25 cents per share, which were well ahead of the Zacks Consensus Estimate of 19 cents. Including one-time compensation charges, Ulta Salon recorded a quarterly net income of $13.1 million or 22 cents per share, well above $5.8 million or 10 ...

Private-Sector Jobs Increase For The 7th Month, First Time Since 2007; +763,00 Jobs This Year
Some highlights of today’s employment report for August: 1. Private-sector jobs have increased in each month this year, and by 67,000 in August, bringing the total to 763,000 private-sector jobs that have been created this year.  This is the first time since January to August 2007, three years ago, of seven consecutive monthly gains in private-sector employment (see ...

Forex Trading: USDCAD Tests Support At 1.0425 Level.
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Coca Cola Acquires Nidan
The Coca Cola Company (NYSE:KO) has acquired Nidan, the fourth largest juice manufacturing company in Russia. The acquisition is a part of the company’s strategic plan to expand its presence in the fast growing emerging markets through strategic acquisitions. Nidan’s products include Moya Semya, Da! and Caprice; and the company has its facilities in Moscow ...

Ball Corp. To Close Canadian Plant
Ball Corporation (NYSE:BLL) announced that owing to sluggish market demand it has decided to close its Richmond, British Columbia plant, effective first quarter of fiscal 2011. As a result of the closure, Ball Corporation will record a total non-cash, after-tax charge of approximately $7 million, of which $3 million will be incurred in the third ...

Swiss Franc: Under Pressure
Update on supports and resistances.

Japanese Yen: The Downside Prevails
Update on supports and resistances.

British Pound: Rebound
Update on supports and resistances.

Euro: Caution
Update on supports and resistances.

Salix Settles MoviPrep Lawsuit
Salix Pharmaceuticals Ltd. (NASDAQ:SLXP) and partner Norgine BV recently announced that they settled a patent litigation with Novel Laboratories, which was looking to bring a generic version of MoviPrep to market. MoviPrep is a liquid bowel cleansing agent. The case is currently pending in the US District Court for the District of New Jersey.   Upon the ...

Forex Trading: GBPUSD Can’t Conquer 38.2% Retracement And Comes Back Off
The price is back between the trendlines now and down toward the 200 day MA at … [visit site to read more]

Forex Trading: EURUSD Remains Contained Between Support And Resistance
1.2812 remains support 1.2871 remains resistance. Noise in … [visit site to read more]

Forex Trading: GBPUSD Breaks 200 Hour MA…1.5467 Next Target (38.2% Retracement)
…and trendline.  Looking for increased upside momentum with 1.5468 the next target to get through. The high on Wednesday came in at 1.5488. The close last week was 1.5511 and 50% retracement is … [visit site to read more]

Forex Trading: EURUSD Using The 38.2% First Resistance
The level comes in at 1.2871.  A break above targets the 1.2896 trendline … [visit site to read more]

Burger King To Be Bought By 3G
Burger King Holdings Inc. (NYSE:BKC), the world’s second-largest hamburger chain after McDonald’s Corp. (NYSE:MCD), announced that it is being acquired by a private investment firm 3G Capital for $24 per share, or $4.0 billion, including the debt of the company. The offer price is at a 46% premium to the share price before the speculation of ...

PDLI Gives Third-Quarter Outlook
PDL BioPharma Inc. (NASDAQ:PDLI) recently announced that it expects to generate third-quarter 2010 (ending September 30) revenue of $86.0 million, representing an increase of 20% over the year-ago revenue of $71.4 million.   The increase is primarily attributable to higher sales of Avastin, Herceptin, Lucentis and Tysabri during the second quarter, on which PDL BioPharma will receive ...

Health Care Reality Will Be Ongoing Economic Drag
I have often thought that staying physically fit is not only a good way to live but also makes enormous economic sense as well. Not that staying fit will keep one’s healthcare premiums totally in check, but the simple fact is the cost of healthcare insurance in our country is downright scary. Staying fit is ...

Global Manufacturing Production: Momentum Rapidly Decelerating!
The August manufacturing PMIs came in mixed. The U.S. and China surprised on the upside while Japan disappointed with its manufacturing sector barely growing. Country Manufacturing PMI August 2010 July 2010 Trend United States 56.3 55.5 Higher, expanding Euro zone 55.1 56.7 Lower, expanding Germany 58.2 61.2 Robust, slowing France 55.1 53.9 Higher, expanding Greece 43.0 45.3 Weaker, contracting Italy 52.8 54.4 Softer, expanding Spain 51.2 51.6 Softer, expanding … [visit site to read more]

Ritholtz: What Obama Should Do Next
What President Obama should do next for the economy, with Barry Ritholtz, author of The Big Picture … [visit site to read more]

Quote Du Jour: Dylan Grice – Focus On Things We Know
I referred to some comments by Albert Edwards from Société Générale in a post a few days ago. Today’s quote of the day comes from his colleague on the SocGen Global Strategy Team, Dylan Grice. Not only is Grice brilliant at his game but also a wordsmith of note. “Some have said that the key risk ...

Thank You For The Money!
A little boy wanted to know what it was like to have $1, 000. His mother told him to pray to God for it. He prayed for two weeks but nothing turned up. Then he decided perhaps he should write God a letter requesting the $1,000. When the post office received the letter addressed to God, ...

ECRI Watch: Be Prepared For A Shocker!
The ECRI Weekly Indicator for the week ended August 20 came in at 120.9 compared to the previous week’s downward adjusted 120.7. The closely watched ECRI WLI Smoothed Annualised Growth Rate came in at -9.91% compared to the downward adjusted -10.1% (previously -10.0%) of the previous week. That compares to our forecast of “weakened”. In the ...

Mobius: Learning From Past Crises
The paragraphs below come courtesy of Mark Mobius, emerging markets guru and executive chairman of Templeton Asset Management. On the heels of the global financial crisis, as Europe discusses the implementation of painful austerity measures and the U.S. deliberates the continuation of expensive government spending, I cannot help but draw attention to the relatively good fiscal ...

Laugh Out Loud: Economy – Have The Reducing Pills, First!
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Forex Trading: Euro Retail Sales M/m
The market had a limited reaction to worse than expected retail sales coming in at 0.1%; 0.3% survey and 0.0% prior … [visit site to read more]

Forex Trading: Eurozone Final Services PMI
As the euro trades on session highs against the USD, Eurozone final services PMI was 55.9; slightly better than the survey and prior showing of … [visit site to read more]

Fear Leads Inflation Expectations Lower
By Cees Bruggemans, Chief Economist of FNB. It looks like there were ultimately two moments of truth in recent times. The moment of panic crisis (back in late 2008), and again very recently once past the initial recovery bounce when faced by the sustained recovery question. It turns out that not every disturbed soul switched back on ...

Forex Trading: U.S. Dollar Under Pressure Prior To Payrolls Report
U.S. Dollar Under Pressure Prior to Payrolls Report The euro and high-yielding currencies held firm on Friday after an improvement in U.S. housing and jobless claims data bolstered investor appetite for risk ahead of key U.S. jobs data today at 12:30 GMT. Economic News USD - Dollar Slips against the Euro and the Yen The U.S currency was on ...

Crude Oil Rises On GOM Explosion, Gold Unfazed By Equity Rally
Commodities – Energy Crude Oil Rises on GOM Explosion Crude Oil (WTI) - $74.75 // $0.27 // 0.36% Commentary: Crude oil added $1.11, or 1.5% on Thursday after a rig exploded in the shallow waters of the Gulf of Mexico. Early in the morning crude oil was modestly lower, but then proceeded to rebound after news came out ...

Bear Of The Day: BB&T Corporation (BBT)
We are downgrading our recommendation on BB&T (NYSE:BBT) to Underperform based on concerns related to rising non-interest expenses and deteriorating credit quality. Second quarter 2010 earnings were in line with the Zacks Consensus Estimate. A higher non-interest expense was among the negatives. Current challenges related to housing market and pressure on the credit quality raise concerns ...

Momentum Stock: Kraton Performance Polymers, Inc.
Kraton Performance Polymers, Inc.’s (KRA) share price is up more than 100% since going public in December of 2009. The company’s recent Q2 earnings surprise and rising estimates make this Zacks #1 rank stock a solid momentum pick. Company Description Kraton Performance Polymers, Inc., through its subsidiaries, sells a line of specialty chemicals for industrial and consumer ...

Bull Of The Day: Cummins, Inc. (CMI)
Cummins (NYSE:CMI) is set to benefit from fuel economy improvements, new emission standards and increased prices. Liquidity is also improving. The company reported strong results in the most recent quarter, driven by continued strength in the non-U.S. markets. It also surpassed the Zacks Consensus Estimate by $0.36 during the quarter. These factors have led us to continue ...

Growth & Income Stock: Coach Inc.
Coach Inc. (NYSE:COH) is making a big move into China as its U.S. and Japanese operations face more difficult growth trends. COH saw double digit revenue growth in its Chinese retail stores in the fiscal fourth quarter. Coach is a specialty retailer which used to be known for its solid leather handbags but has since expanded ...

Aggressive Growth Stock: UFP Technologies
UFP Technologies, Inc. (NASDAQ:UFPT) posted record results in the last quarter after growing through acquisition and organically. Company Description UFP Technologies makes protective packaging of fabricated foams, plastics and other materials. Customers are in the medical, auto, electronics and other markets. Record-Setting Quarter On Aug 3 UFP Technologies reported its best second quarter yet. Sales came in at a ...

Beware Of Light Shinning On Retail ETFs
Despite a weak job market, consumers opened their wallets and started spending once again, shinning a ray of light on exchange traded funds [[ETFs]] which track the retail sector, such as the SPDR S&P Retail ETF (XRT), the Retail HOLDRs (RTH) and the PowerShares Dynamic Retail Portfolio (PMR).  According to Thompson Reuters, comparable sales for retail ...

Not Coming Back
The “Money” section of USA Today has a cover story by Adam Shell, “Could Investors Fleeing Stocks Become a Lost Generation?” featuring insights from yours truly. Among other things, I argue that “the lost generation is not coming back” and highlight several reasons why the average Joe may well be on the right side of ...

Distribution Agreement For KCI
Medical technology company Kinetic Concepts’ (NYSE:KCI) business unit, LifeCell Corporation, entered into an agreement with Novadaq Technologies to distribute the latter’s SPY imaging system in North American surgical markets. The imaging system is focused at breast reconstruction, head and neck, and colorectal surgical specialties – an area with immense potential where more than half a ...

Top 5 Things Highschool Doesn’t Teach You About Finance
Highschool is an important part of preparing for the real world, but they don’t teach you everything you need to know about finance before you leave highschool. There are important things that everybody should understand before taking charge of there own economic destiny. Here are the five most important things to understand. 1. Compound Interest Compound interest ...

CSC Looks Evenly Poised
The winning spree for Computer Sciences Corporation (NYSE:CSC) does not seem to end, as the company has again won a deal worth $50.0 million to provide analytics modernization services to the Department of Defense (DoD). This is a subcontract awarded to Computer Sciences, by a California-based company, Northrop Grumman Corporation (NYSE:NOC), which will provide analytics ...

Walgreen To Acquire Pharmacies
Walgreen (NYSE:WAG), one of the largest retail pharmacies in the US, entered into an agreement with Graymark Healthcare (NASDAQ:GRMH) to acquire the latter’s retail pharmacy business, 18 ApothecaryRx pharmacies of 5 states – Colorado, Oklahoma, Minnesota, Missouri and Illinois. The transaction is expected to close in the fourth quarter of 2010. While financial terms of the ...

IBM Develops Fastest Chip
International Business Machines Corp. (NYSE:IBM) announced the availability of world’s fastest microprocessor that will begin shipping to customers from Sep 10, 2010. The z196 processor is a four-core chip that contains 1.4 billion transistors on a 512-square milimeter (mm) surface. The chip was manufactured by using 45 nanometer (nm) silicon on insulator (SOI) processor technologies. The microprocessor ...

Alexion Remains Neutral
We are maintaining our Neutral recommendation on Alexion Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:ALXN) with a target price of $61. Alexion Pharmaceuticals, based in Cheshire, Connecticut, is a biopharmaceutical company formed in 1992. The company focuses on a strong scientific and product development base for the development of novel antibody therapeutics that target the treatment of patients with a wide ...

Martek Tops Zacks Consensus
Martek Biosciences Corporation’s (NASDAQ:MATK) third-quarter fiscal 2010 earnings (excluding special items) of 38 cents per share surpassed the Zacks Consensus Estimate by 2 cents and the year-ago earnings by 11 cents. On a reported basis (including special items), the company earned 35 cents per share in the reported quarter as against 27 cents in the year-ago ...

G-III Apparel Beats, Lifts Guidance
G-III Apparel Group Ltd. (NASDAQ:GIII) swung to a net income of $3.0 million or 15 cents per share in the second quarter of fiscal 2011 from a net loss of $2.8 million or 17 cents per share in the year-ago period. Quarterly result also surged past the Zacks Consensus Estimate for a loss of 2 ...

Sherwin Expanding Inorganically
The Sherwin-Williams Company (SHW) has acquired Sweden-based Becker Industrial Products AB, a subsidiary of AB Wilh for SEK 1.7 billion (US$227 million). Becker is Europe’s leading manufacturer of industrial coatings for metals and plastics as well as products for surface treatment of wood, and the world leader in artists’ materials. It is also a technology ...

Buffett Bids $500M For Wesco Stake
Following up on his intention of buying 19.9% of Wesco Financial Corp.’s (WSC) holding, Warren Buffett — Chairman and CEO of Berkshire Hathaway Inc. (BRK.A, BRK.B) — yesterday formally announced a bid to that effect. The offer laid down by Buffet to buy the rest of Wesco includes a combination of Class-B shares (Buffet uses Class-B ...

Earnings Scorecard: WPP Group
Ireland-based advertising titan WPP Group plc. (NASDAQ:WPPGY) reported encouraging results for the first half of 2010. Its results were driven by strength across all geographies except for a modest decline in the European region. Expectations of revenue outperformance for the rest of 2010 are to some extent offset by worries over the Eurozone crisis and ...

Instead Of Marching, Let’s End The War On Drugs
“Every time I see one of these marches or forums covered as significant, what occurs to me is that there is one thing we should all be focused on instead. It is, of all things, the War on Drugs. The most meaningfully pro-black policy today would be a white-hot commitment to ending its idiocy. 1. The ...

Canadian Solar Misses Estimate
Canadian Solar Inc. (NASDAQ:CSIQ) adjusted EPS of 7 cents in the second quarter of fiscal 2010 ending June 30, 2010, fell short of the Zacks Consensus Estimate of 15 cents and way behind the year-ago quarterly number of 49 cents. The downside came from a sharp rise in expenses, which offset higher shipments year over ...

Caterpillar Expands In Brazil
Caterpillar Inc. (CAT) announced that it has acquired an industrial facility, with further plans for expansion, located in Campo Largo, Paraná State. The company will also enhance capacity at its existing Piracicaba facility. Both these endeavors are in tune with Caterpillar’s strategy to expand in Brazil and meet the increasing demand in the Latin American ...

Strong Data For Transdel Pharma
Phase III Data Presented at the 13th World Congress on Pain On September 2, 2010, Transdel Pharmaceuticals (TDLP) presented the full data from the company’s phase III program, TDLP-110-001, at the 13th World Congress on Pain. The trial enrolled 364 patients with acute soft tissue injuries (sprains & strains) randomized at 26 clinical sites in the ...

Jacobs Expands In India
Recently, Jacobs Engineering Group Inc. (NYSE:JEC) has received a second engineering contract from IOT Infrastructure & Energy Services Ltd. (IOT) (formerly Indian Oiltanking). Earlier it was for the Delayed Coker Unit (DCU) project to be erected at Indian Oil Corporation Ltd.’s (IOCL) Guwahati refinery, India. This time it is for the Cavern Project at the ...

New International Small-cap ETFs To Know
You won’t be surprised when I say the U.S. markets are lousy right now. Can you find niches that are performing well? Sure - I often highlight these for you when I see them. But most U.S. stocks and sectors are going sideways at best. Moreover, I don’t see the situation ...

Oil And Gold Advance In Tandem As Speculative Volatility Recedes Pre-NFP
North American Commodity Update Commodities - Energy Positive Momentum Carries Oil to the Boundary of Congestion, Leaving NFPs Responsible for Direction from Here Crude Oil (LS Nymex) - $75.02 // $1.11 // 1.50% Compared to the high correlation and definitive speculative momentum Wednesday; the capital markets were far more tame today. That being said, most of the growth and ...

Magellan Closes $289M Acquisition
Magellan Midstream Partners L.P. (NYSE:MMP) announced the completion of the acquisition of petroleum storage and pipelines from BP Pipelines (North America), a subsidiary of BP plc (NYSE:BP). The partnership acquired 7.8 million barrels of crude oil storage and more than 100 miles of active petroleum pipelines for a total cost of $289 million.   Magellan is also ...

Burger King Soars On Buyout Talk
Burger King Holdings Inc. (NYSE:BKC) shares jumped 16.7% to $19.19 on Wednesday pre-market trading, on the news that the company is in talks with potential buyers. The two interested parties can be a British private-equity firm 3i Group Plc, and a private investment firm 3G Capital Management. One potential candidate 3i Group Plc confirmed that it is ...

Kinross-Red Back Merger?
On a request from Institutional Shareholder Services, Kinross Gold Corporation (NYSE:KGC) provided details of the proposed merger with Red Back Mining Inc., a leading African gold producer, announced in early August this year. Kinross’ Story Kinross is on its way to acquire the Red Back Mining Inc for $7.1 billion. With this merger, Kinross will acquire two ...

Earnings Scorecard: BHP Billiton
BHP Billiton Ltd. (NYSE:BHP) reported better-than-expected results for fiscal 2010 with an EPADR of $4.47, much above the Zacks Consensus Estimate of $3.54. The gradual recovery in market demand as well as increase in the prices of commodities attributable to the new pricing system was the prime factor behind the encouraging results.   Analysts are optimistic about ...

Enterprise Inks EOG Deals
Enterprise Products Partners L.P. (NYSE:EPD), through its operating subsidiaries, entered into long-term agreements with EOG Resources Inc. (NYSE:EOG) to provide diverse midstream energy services in South Texas Eagle Ford Shale. The contracts are mainly intended to accommodate EOG’s mounting crude oil and associated liquids-rich natural gas production in the region. The company signed a 10-year firm ...

Waste Mgmt. Adds To Recycling Biz
Integrated waste management company Waste Management Inc. (NYSE:WM) increased its presence in the organics recycling business through the acquisition of a majority equity interest in Garick LLC. The acquisition will boost the processing capacity of Waste Management’s organic recycling business by one million ton.   Based in North America, Garick LLC is a distributor, processor and recycler ...

Investing In The Markets With The Threat Of A Double Dip Recession
Lee W. Appleton, CFA is Vice President, Portfolio Manager at Matco Financial Biography: Mr. Appleton is a member of the Matco investment committee and Matco’s Canadian Equity Group, which is responsible for managing the Canadian Equity, Small Cap, and Energy Portfolios. Prior to joining Matco, Mr. Appleton was with Computerized Portfolio Management Services Inc., one of ...

Tampa Electric To Lower 2011 Rates
Tampa Electric Company, a subsidiary of TECO Energy Inc. (NYSE:TE), has requested permission from Florida Public Service Commission (FPSC) to trim the fuel portion of all customers’ bills beginning January 2011.   If approved, Tampa Electric estimates that the new rates will lower the monthly bill for a residential customer using 1,000 kilowatt-hour (kWh) of electricity to ...

Rail Traffic At Highest Level Since 2008
WASHINGTON , D.C. – Sept. 2, 2010 – “The Association of American Railroads (AAR) today reported weekly rail traffic continues to set records with U.S. railroads posting their highest numbers for 2010 in both rail carloads and intermodal volume for the week ending Aug. 28. U.S. railroads originated 302,358 carloads for the week, up 5.8 ...

Starwood Debuts Aloft Hotel Europe
Starwood Hotels and Resorts Worldwide Inc. (NYSE:HOT) with its new lifestyle brand Aloft is finally opening its first hotel Aloft Brussels Schuman in Europe, as per the deal in 2007 with Thornsett Group Ltd, an Irish property development company. The hotel is located at Brussels, the capital of Belgium and the administrative center of the European ...

Will The US Stock Market Break Above August’s Highs?
I have been expecting the daily cycle to bottom on last Friday’s revision to GDP or possibly with Friday’s jobs report. Yesterday’s big rally more than likely confirmed the daily cycle low did come last Friday. Now we have a test coming. If the market can break above the August highs it ...

Gold Poised For A Bullish Breakout
Welcome to a brand new month of trading! In today’s feature is the monthly chart of gold. The month of August was a good one for the gold bulls as the price of gold was able to rebound after if fell to a low of $1,157.15 per ounce after tapping a new all-time high ...

Hain Celestial In Neutral Lane
A leader in natural food and personal care products categories with an extensive portfolio of well-known brands, The Hain Celestial Group Inc. (NASDAQ:HAIN) offers investors one of the strongest growth profiles in the industry. The stock is poised to surge once the economy rebounds and demand for healthier and natural food improves.   Acquisitions have been a ...

Apple’s New Pie, Old Recipe
Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) refreshed its iPod line, introducing new features to the iPod Touch, iPod Nano and iPod Shuffle at its event held in San Francisco yesterday. Apple also introduced iTunes 10 with Ping (quite unexpectedly), a social networking feature that enables users to follow, comment and recommend songs and albums. Most importantly, Apple launched a ...

BSDM Tissue Device Safety Compliant
Cancer treatment systems maker BSD Medical Corp (BSDM) has secured a certification which establishes that its recently approved MicroThermX Microwave Ablation System (MTX-180) for soft tissue ablation (destruction) is compliant with the “IEC 60601-1” safety standard.   IEC 60601-1 is an international standard for safety of medical devices and is a vital tool for demonstrating compliance with ...

Duke Realty Acquires Asset
Duke Realty Corp. (NYSE:DRE), a real estate investment trust (REIT), has recently completed the acquisition of Royal Palm at Southpointe, an office park spanning 465,492 square feet in South Florida, for $100.4 million or approximately $216 per square foot. The property comprised of two buildings built in 2001 and 2007.   The acquisition was in line with ...

2Q Productivity Falls 1.8%
Non-Farm Business Productivity in the second quarter was revised down to a decline of 1.8% from the previous estimate of a 0.9% drop (seasonally adjusted annual rate). This is a very significant slowdown from the 3.9% rate in the first quarter. That, in turn, was down from a 6.0% growth rate in the fourth quarter. In ...

Regency Centers Acquires Mall
Regency Centers Corporation (NYSE:REG), a leading operator and developer of grocery-anchored and community shopping centers across the U.S., recently purchased Glen Oak Plaza, a 62,443 square feet retail center in Chicago, for $18 million. The mall is currently 97% leased and is anchored by drugstore chain Walgreen Co. (NYSE:WAG) and specialty grocer store Trader Joe.   The ...

Heinz Reports In Line (revised)
H.J. Heinz Co. (NYSE:HNZ) posted robust earnings of 75 cents per share for the first quarter of fiscal 2011. The result was in line with the Zacks Consensus Estimate but came in ahead of the 68 cents per share recorded in the year-ago quarter. Profits were driven by strong performances in Emerging Markets and North ...

Accuray Beats, Outlook Disappoints
Accuray Inc. (NASDAQ:ARAY), a global leader in the field of radiosurgery, reported fourth-quarter fiscal 2010 (ended June 30) earnings per share of 8 cents, exceeding the Zacks Consensus Estimate of 5 cent and the year-ago earnings of 2 cents. Net income for the quarter quadrupled year-over-year to $5 million on the back of higher product sales ...

Mixed Signals At Accenture
Technology, outsourcing and consulting major Accenture Inc. (NYSE:ACN), recently secured a contract extension worth $160.0 million for 7 years from Educational Testing Service (ETS), which is an organization involved in education assessment and psychometric research. This contract extension empowers Accenture to manage the supply chain process of the company. As per the terms of the agreement, ...

BMC Software Wins Telecom Deal
Leading large enterprise software company BMC Software Inc. (NYSE:BMC) recently announced that the Swiss utility provider Wasserwerke Zug (”WWZ”) will deploy its Remedy Service Desk solutions. Wasserwerke Zug will integrate BMC Software’s solution into its telecom business to provide improved customer support to its growing customer base in central Switzerland. Strong customer service is a prerequisite in ...

Construction Spending Falls In July
Total Construction Spending fell in July to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of $805.2 billion, down 1.0% from June, and down 11.7% from a year ago. The decline was greater than the 0.7% decline that was expected. In addition, June was revised down to be 0.8% below May rather than the 0.1% increase originally reported. The ...

Dominion Issues $250M Debt
Energy utility Dominion Resources Inc. (NYSE:D) announced that it will sell $250 million in debentures. The debentures will mature on Sep 1, 2015, and will have an interest rate of 2.25%. Dominion Resources offered the debentures at 99.854% of face value and will yield 2.281% when held till maturity. The company intends to use the net ...

Manulife’s C$10B Offering
Manulife Financial Corporation (NYSE:MFC) has filed for a securities offering of $9.4 billion (C$10 billion) with the Canadian and U.S. regulators. In the latest instance, securities worth $3.8 billion (C$4 billion) were filed with the U.S. regulators. Previous Debt Offering Recently, Manulife Financial completed its offering of $871 million (C$900 million) in medium-term notes. The notes will ...

Comcast Expands 4G Networks
Based on the mammoth success of High-Speed 2go 4G offering introduced in May 2010, Comcast Corp. (CMCSA) has now launched 4G high-speed 2go wireless data service in the Boston area.   High-Speed 2go is a mobile Internet solution that provides the fastest available wireless Internet speeds in the nation via wireless data cards and comes in three ...

FDIC List Slows, More Banks Go Bust
According to a government report released on Tuesday, the number of banks on the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation’s (FDIC) list of problem institutions in the second quarter grew to 829 from 775 in the previous quarter and 416 in the year-ago quarter. This is the highest since the savings and loan crisis in the early ...

Brown-Forman Misses Expectations
Brown-Forman Corp. (BF.B), a leading global producer and distributor of premium alcoholic beverages, reported fiscal 2011 first-quarter earnings that declined 8.2% to $111.4 million or 76 cents per share, from $121.4 million or 81 cents in the prior-year quarter. The quarterly result also came in behind the Zacks Consensus Estimate of 84 cents per share. Quarterly ...

Aegon’s Dutch Payment
As agreed with the European Commission, Aegon NV (AEG) yesterday repaid €563 million — part of the €3 billion it received in support during the credit crisis in 2008 — to the Dutch government. Aegon has now paid back half of the loan money, the first repayment of €1 billion having been made in November ...

Valspar Downgraded
We are downgrading Valspar Corporation (VAL) to Neutral from our previous Outperform recommendation. Valspar’s net income of 70 cents in the third quarter of fiscal 2010 missed the Zacks Consensus Estimate by a penny. Higher raw material costs and pricing pressures hurt profits in the Paint segment. The Coatings business has experienced some momentum recently ...

Monsanto Trims Guidance
Monsanto Company (MON) reduced the higher-end of its EPS guidance for fiscal 2010 to $2.40-$2.45 from $2.40-$2.60 based on the restructuring expense that the company is expected to incur in relation to its Roundup business.   Earlier this year, Monsanto reduced the prices of Roundup herbicides to make them a more economical option for the farmers. The ...

Jacobs Wins Engineering Contract
Jacobs Engineering Group Inc. (JEC) has won a contract from Valley Metro Rail, Inc. (METRO) for the Central Mesa Light Rail extension project worth $12.5 million. For the initial two years, Jacobs will be assisting with its engineering services, which will be followed by the construction of the project. The entire project is expected to ...

AWS Acquisition Upgrades AAR
We have upgraded our recommendation on AAR Corp. (AIR) from Underperform to Neutral based on the Aviation Worldwide Services (AWS) acquisition, which is expected to be accretive to earnings and margins in fiscal 2011 and beyond.   The new acquisition has already started laying eggs with the increase in the total aircraft backlog, which increased to approximately ...

Forest Labs Presents Mixed Data
Recently, Forest Laboratories Inc. (NYSE:FRX) announced preliminary top-line data from an 8-week mid-stage study (n=233) of its candidate cariprazine (RGH-188). The study, designed to be exploratory, evaluated the efficacy, safety and tolerability of cariprazine versus placebo in patients suffering from bipolar depression. All 233 patients were enrolled from US clinical sites and were between 18 ...

Vicor Tech Q2 Disappoints
Second Quarter Earnings Vicor Technologies, Inc. (VCRT) reported earnings for the second quarter ending June 30, 2010 on August 16, 2010. Results were disappointing with revenue and system placements both well below our forecast. Vicor generated $8k in total revenue compared to our $202k forecast. The company did not break out instrument and testing revenue. However, based ...

Bull Of The Day: DST Systems, Inc. (DST)
DST Systems Inc. (NYSE:DST) reported good second quarter results, with earnings per share (EPS) exceeding our expectations. The company has supplemented internal growth with strategic acquisitions. We remain encouraged with the quarter’s revenue outperformance and solid cost structure. We believe that DST Systems leadership and scale in Financial Services will attract new customers based on the ...

Bear Of The Day: PPL Corporation (PPL)
PPL Corporation’s (NYSE:PPL) earnings of $0.62 per share in the second quarter of 2010 came in below the Zacks Consensus Estimate, impacted by weak performances at the Pennsylvania Delivery and International Delivery businesses. Going forward, we are apprehensive about the company given management’s lowered 2010 earnings guidance, due to the recent dilution in the company’s shares ...

Momentum Stock: JinkoSolar Holding Co. Ltd.
JinkoSolar Holding Co. Ltd. (JKS) is off to a hot start as a publicly traded company, with its share price up more than 200% since its May IPO. With a 41% Q2 earnings surprise driving shares, this Zacks #1 rank stock has plenty of upward momentum. Company Description JinkoSolar Co. Ltd. operates as a solar energy company ...

Growth & Income Stock: The Gorman-Rupp Company
The Gorman-Rupp Company (GRC) is expected to grow sales by an average of 19.3% over the next 5 years, well ahead of the industry average of 16.5%. The Gorman-Rupp Company is one of the leading manufacturer of pumps. It produces all kinds of pumps and pump related equipment such as pump and motor controls for use in ...

Aggressive Growth Stock: Albany International Corp
Albany International Corp (NYSE:AIN) analysts are feeling bullish after the latest earnings report. Estimates are up and the stock is a great entry point. Company Description Albany International is a textile and materials processing company. The company produces custom-designed fabrics and belts for the making paper and paperboard. Other areas include aerospace composites, building products, synthetics for ...

Cisco Planning To Acquire Skype
Networking gear maker Cisco Systems (NASDAQ:CSCO) has offered $5 billion for the Internet telephony company Skype, TechCrunch, a leading Silicon Valley blog, reported recently. The deal, if successful, would derail a planned initial public offering from Skype and redraw the battle lines in the lucrative market of video communications. Skype is reportedly looking for a ...

Mixed Results At Teen Retailers
In a season of steep discounting to lure shoppers, two teen retailers, Hot Topic Inc. (NASDAQ:HOTT) and Zumiez Inc. (NASDAQ:ZUMZ), posted improved same-store sales for the month of August 2010, helped by back-to-school buying and state sales-tax holidays. Tax free shopping days boosted mid-month sales though the lift was short-lived.   Zumiez   Zumiez remained the bright spot with ...

ALU Acquires OpenPlug
OpenPlug, a software developer specializing in tools for mobile applications, has been acquired by Alcatel-Lucent (NYSE:ALU). The acquisition strengthens Alcatel-Lucent’s portfolio of software development tools, increases the usage of OpenPlug’s mobile applications on different operating systems and boosts its availability in additional service provider stores. The companies did not disclose the term of the transaction.   With ...

Shutterfly Stays At Neutral
We maintain our Neutral recommendation on California-based Shutterfly Inc. (NASDAQ:SFLY), a leading provider of social expression and personal publishing services through the Internet.   Second Quarter Flashback   Shutterfly reported adjusted second quarter 2010 loss of 12 cents per share compared with the Zacks Consensus Estimate of 30 cents loss. Results reflected higher-than-expected demand for Photo Books. Contribution from ...

BP Offloads Malaysian Stakes
BP plc (NYSE:BP) is well on track to complete its $30 billion assets sale by end-2011 in order to meet the Gulf of Mexico (GoM) spill costs. Yesterday, the company said that it will sell the Malaysian petrochemical assets for $363 million. The assets include 15% stake in Ethylene Malaysia and 60% interest in Polyethylene ...

Stock Market News Briefs: Citigroup, Deutsche Bank AG, Hewlett-Packard Company, Moody’s, Open Joint Stock Company Vimpel-Communications”", Piper Jaffray Companies, PPL, Red Hat, Rio Tinto Plc, Texas Instruments Incorporated, Allscripts Healthcare Solutions Inc, Canadian Solar
 Canadian Solar (NASDAQ:CSIQ) reported worse-than-expected second-quarter earnings of 7 cents a share, below estimates of 15 cents, on better-than-estimated revenues of $328.7 million, versus estimates of $306 million  VimpelCom (NYSE:VIP) posted worse-than-anticipated second quarter results of 28 cents, below estimates of 40 cents, on inline revenues of $2.64 billion  JMP upgraded Hewlett-Packard (NYSE:HPQ) to “outperform” from “market ...

Unilife TB Syringe Gets FDA OK
Medical devices company Unilife Corporation (UNIS) recently obtained 510 (k) clearance from the U.S. Food & Drug Administration (FDA) for its Unitract Tuberculin (TB) Syringe, a variant of the Unitract 1mL Insulin Syringe for which the company received FDA clearance earlier in 2010.    While insulin syringes are mainly used by diabetic patients, TB syringes, on the ...

Citrix Penetrates Indian Market
Indian market is abuzz with the immense potential and scope of information technology (IT). The new cloud computing platform, a offering of IT with huge prospects, is gaining enormous popularity in India as it makes using software and application programs considerably easy and hassle free, given that these programs are available on Internet; thereby, the ...

Waddell & Reed Upgraded By S&P
On Wednesday, Waddell & Reed Financial Inc.’s (NYSE:WDR) long-term counterparty credit rating was raised by the rating agency Standard & Poor’s Ratings Services to ‘BBB+’ from ‘BBB’. The outlook for the company remains ‘Stable’.   The upgrade is primarily based on the Waddell & Reed’s improved financial position and  strong second quarter results. The company’s financial strength ...

Omnicare Acquires CCRx
Leading pharmaceutical care provider Omnicare Inc (NYSE:OCR) has reportedly acquired Pennsylvania-based, privately-held institutional pharmacy provider Continuing Care Rx (CCRx) for an undisclosed price. This represents one of the major acquisitions by the omnipresent Kentucky-based company over the past few years.   CCRx (founded in 1996) is a leading provider of pharmacy services to the long-term care market ...

Initial And Total Jobless Claims Fall
Initial Claims for Unemployment Insurance fell to 472,000, a drop of 6,000 from last week. That is good news, but only in terms of the direction. After several weeks in a row of new claims shooting higher, the upward momentum has been stalled with two straight weeks of declines, but initial claims remain far too ...

AT&T Divests Japanese Operations
AT&T Inc. (NYSE:T) completed the divestiture of its domestic Japanese outsourcing services operations for ¥9.2 billion (US$109 million using exchange rate on August 31) to Internet Initiative Japan Inc. (NASDAQ:IIJI), according to plans announced in June 2010. The transaction involved the transfer of 1,600 domestic Japanese business customers and 245 employees.   The sale excludes AT&T’s infrastructure ...

Skechers-Olivet In Licensing Deal
Skechers USA Inc. (NYSE:SKX), the designer, marketer and distributor of footwear, recently entered into a licensing deal with the luggage maker, Olivet International, whereby the latter will design, produce and distribute suitcases, wheeled totes, duffle bags and garment bags bearing the Skechers logo.   The new luggage collection, which is slated to be launched in the fall ...

Norfolk Initiated At Neutral
We are initiating coverage on Norfolk Southern (NYSE:NSC) with a Neutral recommendation. Currently, the stock has a Zacks Rank of #3 (Hold).   In the reviving economy, we believe Norfolk is favorably positioned for the near term. Volume gains are also likely across most of the business segments as the economy continues to gain traction. The company is ...

Neutral On Overseas Shipholding
We initiate coverage on Overseas Shipholding Group Inc. (NYSE:OSG) with a Neutral recommendation, which means the stock will perform mostly in line with the broader market. The company reported mixed financial results for the second quarter 2010. Revenue beats the Zacks Consensus Estimate but earnings per share significantly fell below it.   As a market leader in ...

NTT Pursuing Global Ambitions
Nippon Telegraph & Telephone Corp. (NYSE:NTT), the largest integrated telecom operator in Japan, has taken a major strategic move to boost its cloud computing and integrated communications services businesses throughout the world. NTT’s strategy is to maintain its leadership position in the domestic telecom market and siege selected international opportunities to drive long-term growth. However, ...

Cooking Up An Inverse Head And Shoulder Reversal
What can I say without it sounding too much like I’m bragging. The market performed beautifully yesterday (if your one of those leaning to the bullish side of this boat we’re floundering in) and seems to have followed through today. Having said that, there isn’t sufficient indication to jump in with both feet yet. With the ...

Forex Trading: Eurozone Support For A Weaker Yen Not Discussed
This came over on the newswires attributed to a “Eurozone Official” who is not part of the policy board. The source  said “Do not pee into the wind only with it”.   I didn’t say it. The Eurozone source said it. What I say, is it is funny and breaks up a difficult trading day, but nothing to ...

Australian Dollar: Caution
Update on supports and resistances.

Canadian Dollar: Bullish Bias Above 1035
Update on supports and resistances.

Price Levels To Watch In Google Shares
It’s often helpful to pull the timeframe back to see what the weekly and sometimes monthly chart are showing about popular or volatile stocks. That’s especially the case right now in Google (NASDAQ:GOOG). Have you seen its monthly chart lately? Let’s take a quick look: A quick glance shows us a double chart confluence at the ...

CFTC Decision On Retail Forex Trading Effective As Of October 18, 2010
After months of speculation, the CFTC finally released the rules regarding retail foreign exchange (Forex) transactions. The rules implement provisions of the Dodd-Frank legislation and provides the CFTC with broad authority to regulate Forex transactions. The rules are effective as of October 18, 2010. In regards to leverage, there was a compromise ...

Factory Produced Rally
Fundamentals Crude Oil futures posted solid gains yesterday, after the ISM manufacturing index posted a stronger number than analysts had expected. The positive news from the manufacturing sector was a welcome relief for traders, who have been inundated with negative economic data of late. All signs seemed to have begun pointing toward the possibility of a ...

Forex Trading: NZDUSD Double Top, But Good Support At 0.7134
… [visit site to read more]

What Wall Street Secrets Will FCIC Reveal?
Information is everything. There is no doubt that the development of the internet and a wide array of websites has led to a significant increase in the amount and quality of information accessed and processed by many. That said, there is also no doubt that there is also an equally aggressive, if not public, effort to protect information, privileged or ...

Hot Stock News For Thursday 2 September: Ford, Apple, BP, BHP Billiton, Rio Tinto, AstraZeneca, Total
BP (NYSE:BP) - Co. expects to remove a failed blowout preventer atop its ruptured Gulf of Mexico oil well by Saturday or Sunday and later plug the leak for good, the top US official overseeing the spill response said. (RTRS) UK Energy Companies - Ofgem has received information suggesting that Npower, Scottish Power, Scottish ...

Swiss Franc: Under Pressure
Update on supports and resistances.

Japanese Yen: The Downside Prevails
Update on supports and resistances.

British Pound: Rebound
Update on supports and resistances.

Euro: Rebound
Update on supports and resistances.

Forex Market Awaits ECB Interest Rate Decision
The rally in risk appetite boosted by strong Chinese and Australian data yesterday was further encouraged after our last article by stronger than expected US ISM numbers. Forex risk correlated currencies, such as the Euro, moved lock-in-step with the data. EURUSD rallied above 1.2800 and the S&P climb above 1080. ...

7th Monthly Gain In Monster Employment Index
“The U.S. Monster Employment Index recorded its seventh consecutive month of positive year-over-year in August at a growth rate at 12.4 percent. The annual growth rate eased from July’s 21% growth possibly due to moderation in underlying job market drivers. The Index dropped two points (1 percent) in August to 136 (from 138 in July) as ...

Docs4PatientCare
Click arrow above to watch Dr. Hal Scherz’s “video for doctors” above from Docs4PatientCare.  See his editorial in yesterday’s WSJ here, about this “Waiting Room Letter for Physicians and Patients,” here’s an excerpt: “ObamaCare will bring major cost increases, rising insurance premiums, higher taxes, a decline in new medical techniques, a fall-off in the development of ...

British Pound Under Pressure Amid IMF Debt Concerns, Weak Housing Data
 Fundamental Headlines • SEC Investigates Canceled Trades – Wall Street Journal • European Markets Fall Ahead of ECB – Wall Street Journal • Rally Pauses as Traders Revisit Mixed Data - Financial Times • Economy Seen Avoiding Recession Relapse as U.S. Data Can’t Get Much Worse- Bloomberg • Trichet May Say ECB to Keep Emergency Lending Measures in Place Into ...

China Manufacturing PMI: Small Uptick In August
China’s CFLP Manufacturing PMI for August increased slightly to 51.7 from 51.2 – the first increase in 4 months. The uptick was in line with my forecast based on the historical seasonal pattern. Although the PMI is still above the critical level of 50, indicating continued growth in the manufacturing sector, the growth is weak ...

Faber: Fed And Japan Money Printing
Marc Faber, author of the Gloom Doom & Boom Report,  believes the greatest risk to global economy is the impending inflation that will occur due to easy central bank policy and money printing. Faber says Friday’s “key reversal day” was a sign that markets will perceive further government intervention as inflationary and will result in ...

Technical Talk: Contrarian Buy Signal?
The comments below were provided by Kevin Lane of Fusion IQ. As seen in the chart below, the American Association of Individual Investors (NASDAQ:AAII) equity allocation is currently 5% below its historical mean of 60%. Typically levels such as this suggest a fair amount of bearishness on the part of investors and commensurately a fair slug ...

Shiller: Double-dip Or Just Slow Growth?
Yale economist Robert Shiller says weakness in jobs and housing could cause the U.S. economy to fall back into a … [visit site to read more]

Picture Du Jour: Problem Banks Hit A New High
The chart below of the number of FDIC-insured “problem” institutions (courtesy of Clusterstock – Business Insider) clearly shows the industry still has a long convalescence period ahead. A new high was made in Q2 and a reversal obviously needs to be established before one can talk of a proper recovery in the industry. Despite the interbank ...

Subzidizing The Unemployed
Debating whether subsidizing unemployment will create more of it, with Robert Reich, former Labor Secretary, and Robert Barro of Harvard … [visit site to read more]

Roubini: No Chance Of A V-shaped Recovery
The report below comes courtesy of Nouriel Roubini’s team of analysts at RGE, taking a look at some recent monetary policy trends in advanced economies. This content is excerpted from a longer piece, “Global Monetary Policy Review,” which includes in-depth analysis of when the world’s emerging markets might shift interest rate strategy. However, the longer ...

Laugh Out Aloud: A Two-teared Economy …
… [visit site to read more]

Taylor’s Rule Points To Another Rate Cut
By Cees Bruggemans, Chief Economist of … [visit site to read more]

Forex Trading: Eurozone PPI And Revised GDP
The market was unchanged after Eurozone PPI (m/m) and revised GDP (q/q) both came in as expected with PPI reading 0.2% and GDP reading … [visit site to read more]

How Far Will $4,000 A Month Stretch For A Family Of Four In America Today?
When I was growing up, $50,000 sounded like a gigantic mountain of money to me. And it was actually a very significant amount of money in those days. But in 2010 it just does not go that far. Today, the median household income in the United States for a year is approximately ...

US Stock Market Conditions Ripe For Bulls To Stage A Rally
Early September is very important for the financial markets; especially for the bulls. Numerous elements are in place for a rally to take hold now. The markets have been weak and the bears have been in control. If the bulls cannot make a stand soon, it will be a bad sign ...

Crude Oil Weighed By Inventories, Gold Stalls As Equity Markets Rally
Commodities – Energy Crude Oil Weighed by Inventories Crude Oil (WTI) - $73.70 // $0.21 // 0.28% Commentary: Crude oil reversed a large part of Tuesday’s losses on Wednesday, but the commodity remains notably below the recent $75.58 high registered on Monday. One would have expected more from crude oil given the enormous 3% rally in U.S. equity ...

Forex Trading: Riskier Currencies Mute Gains In Overnight Trading
Riskier Currencies Mute Gains in Overnight Trading Currencies like the euro and UK pound muted gains made yesterday as investors appear to be waiting on a batch of economic data set to be released later today. Signs that the global economic recovery is speeding up may be reinforced today as the UK, euro zone and US ...

US Dollar Gets Crushed As Stock Markets Rally
Equities: Global equity markets got a boost from economic data from China which showed economic growth is continuing on track. Japan’s Nikkei 225 Average advanced 103pts to close at 8,927. Equity buying continued into the second session with FTSE 100 jumping2.70% to 5,366 while the Stoxx Europe 50 earned 2.62% to retake ...

US Stock Market: Sell Into Rally Or Buy Aggressively?
The bulls were looking for a reason to buy at these low levels and today provided that oversold opportunity. China PMI came in slightly better than expected and that was a big relief to most concerned over the continuous soft data we have seen recently. The bulls gapped-up on this news ...

Three Real Estate ETFs Worth A Look
Despite woes in residential real estate, the commercial real estate sector appears to be showing signs of stabilization shinning a light on the iShares Dow Jones US Real Estate (IYR), the Vanguard REIT ETF (VNQ) and the iShares Cohen & Steers Realty Majors (ICF) . In the month of July, vacancies in apartment buildings, office complexes, ...

Crude Oil Inventories Watch: Week Ending 08/27/2010
Inventories The Department of Energy reported that in the week ending August 27th, 2010, U.S. crude oil increased by 3.4 million barrels, gasoline inventories decreased by 0.2 million barrels, distillate inventories decreased by 0.7 million barrels, and total petroleum inventories increased by 4.0 million barrels. Total petroleum inventories moved further into multi-decade high territory. The surplus now ...

Aug. State Tax Revnues Booming: What Double-DIp?
1. Mississippi Tax Collections Beat Expectations in August 2. Kansas Taxes in August $38M More Than Expected 3. Pennsylvania Sees Signs of Growth in Its August Tax Collections 4. Maine Tax Revenue Bounces Back in August 5. Arkansas Governor Says State’s Finances Looking Better 6. Aug. Tax Revenue Collections Increase in West Virginia 7. Iowa: State Revenues Rosier Than … [visit ...

Another Installment Of ‘Scenes From A V-Shaped Recovery’
In honor of today’s single-positive-data-point-driven-triple-digit rally, I thought it would be a perfect time for another installment of “Scenes from a V-Shaped Recovery”: “Financial Depression Spreads Among Seniors” (Blacklisted News) President Obama has U.S. taxpayers paying billions to meet the costly payrolls of 50,000 troops and 190,000 contractors in Iraq while 20-million-plus jobless are looking for work in ...

Aug. Online Ads Increase By 1 Million Vs. Apr. 2009
“Online advertised vacancies dropped 57,100 in August to 4,236,200, following an increase of 139,200 in July, according to The Conference Board Help Wanted OnLine (HWOL) Data Series released today. The gap between the number of unemployed and advertised vacancies (supply/demand rate) stood at 3.40 unemployed for every advertised vacancy in July (the last available unemployment ...

We’re Now Witnessing A Veritable Debt Explosion In The Developed World
The past 15 years have certainly been exciting for investors. During the second half of the 1990s we experienced one of the largest stock market bubbles of all times … and its bursting. Then, only a few years later, one of the biggest real estate bubbles … and its bursting. In the ...

The Stock Market Rally Versus The World’s Economic Fundamentals
What passes for business reporting in the United States is too often a series of breathless reports about the stock market. When the Dow rises precipitously, as it did today (Wednesday), the business press predicts an end to the Great Recession. When the stock market plummets, as it did last week, the Great Recession is ...

A New ETN To Hedge In Volatile Markets
On Wednesday, the newest weapon in Barclay’s arsenal, the Barclays ETN+ S&P Veqtor Exchange Traded Note (VQT), began trading giving investors yet another way to hedge against volatility in the S&P 500. The new ETN, which is a type of unsecured, unsubordinated debt security, tracks the S&P 500 Veqtor Index, which provides broad equity market exposure ...

Stock Market Valuation September 1st 2010
I update market valuations on a monthly basis. The point of this article is to measure the stock market based on six different metrics. This article does not look at the macro picture and try to predict where the economy is headed. It only uses these six metrics which have been very good past indicators ...

A Surge In Market Optimism Sweeps Oil Higher, Tempers Gold’s Advance
North American Commodity Update Commodities - Energy A Spark of Risk Appetite Throttles Oil Through Bloating Inventories, Questionable Data Crude Oil (LS Nymex) - $73.99 // $2.07 // 2.88% There was a blatant surge in investor sentiment across the capital markets Monday; and crude would certainly catch the bug of risk appetite. The nearly 3 percent rally from US-based ...

Liberty Obtains New Credit Facility
Liberty Property Trust (NYSE:LRY), a leading real estate investment trust (REIT), has recently obtained a new $500 million unsecured revolving credit facility due November 2013 that replaced its existing $600 million credit facility scheduled to mature in January 2011. The new facility also contains an accordion feature that allows Liberty Property to increase its credit ...

ABM Industries Misses Estimates
ABM Industries Inc. (NYSE:ABM) reported third-quarter 2010 operating earnings of 36 cents per share, lagging the Zacks Consensus Estimate of 41 cents by 5 cents. However, the results compare favorably with 30 cents reported in the prior-year quarter. Net operating income was $18.8 million, up 19.7% from $15.7 million in the third quarter of 2009. A ...

Neutral On Plexus
A leading provider of electronic manufacturing services, Plexus Corp. (NASDAQ:PLXS) exhibited incremental growth opportunities in the first nine months of 2010. Results were well above the Zacks Consensus Estimate.   We believe Plexus will remain well positioned for growth in 2011, based on new customer wins and improving end-market demand and contributions from the Coca-Cola (NYSE:KO) win.   However, ...

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