The drop in commodities isn’t good for everyone apparently. Many metals stocks are on the list today, as are others. Here is a partial list of some semi-active stocks hitting 52-week lows today:
SunPower (SPWR) is making a move up of nearly 20% on substantially higher than normal volume. For details see the coverage at VSInvestor.com.
AMD (AMD) shareholders have on their rally caps. The shares are up 9% to $5.77.
PC sales growth for the last quarter was better than expected. MarketWatch writes, Worldwide shipments grew 3.1% from the first quarter, and 16.1% from the year-earlier period based on numbers from International Data Corp.
While many funds and money managers are under watch, Ken Heebner and the investments in his CGM FOCUS FUND (CGMFX) are perhaps more closely watched than any other in today’s current market. Some may love Warren Buffett and his no non-sense approach, but Ken Heebner actually has a better track record since inception and he is known for blowing out of sectors when he feels he should or can. In fact, you could almost think of the FOCUS FUND as being run more and more like a hedge fund with very loose guidelines on which stocks he can or can’t pick from. The fund also noted about 14% of the total assest that were sold short, so he does make bets against sectors as well. As of June 30, Heebner was still extremely focused on the commodity and global growth stories.
We went through to look for his positions in the Focus Fund that are worth more than $500 Million. Keep in mind that several other positions were just shy of the mark, so the overall values and holdings are better compared down further on at the full list. Here were his top holdings in the CGM FOCUS FUND: CONSOL Energy Inc. (NYSE: CNX), Peabody Energy Corp. (NYSE: BTU), Freeport-McMoRan (NYSE: FCX), Petroleo Brasileiro S.A. (NYSE: PBR), Hess Corporation (NYSE: HES), Schlumberger Limited (NYSE: SLB), Weatherford International (NYSE: WFT), and United States Steel Corp. (NYSE: X).
Robert Mellor, CEO of Building Materials (BLG) made over $850,000 in base compensation last year, according to the company proxy. There is no reason to think he will not do as well in 2008.
Over the course of the last 52-weeks, BLG has hit a 52-week high of $15.09 and now trades at $1.65. It is likely to drop at the open, due to a poor Q2. That will bring the company’s market cap down to about $45 million.
The maker of building products said it lost $31.9 million, or $1.10 per share, during the three months ending June 30. That compares with a year-ago profit of $19.4 million, or 66 cents per share. BLG also has over $379 million in long-term debt.
Perhaps next year, Mr. Mellor will work for $1.
Douglas A. McIntyre
These are some of the very early morning upgrades and positive calls we have seen from the analyst community this Friday morning:
Jon C. Ogg
August 15, 2008
These are some of the early analyst calls we are seeing early this Friday morning:
Jon C. Ogg
August 15, 2008
Car sales in China may not have gone negative year-over-year, but they are getting close. In July, sedan sales were only up 1.9%. If SUVs and light trucks are thrown in, the increase was 6.8%. So, less fuel-efficient vehicles are still leading the industry upward.
The problem with light trucks being at the cutting edge of sales increases is that China is slowly increasing the prices of gas and diesel to try to push down demand and to cut the subsidies it gives to its big oil companies to buy crude high and sell buy-products low. The practice costs the central government tens of billions of dollars a year.
It boggles the mind that US consumers could spend more on gas than they do on cars. But, that is precisely what happened two months ago. Gasoline accounted for about 4.4 percent of spending in June, compared with 3.9 percent for autos and motor parts, according to the U.S. Bureau of Economic Analysis.
Unless auto companies begin to give away free gas to bring in customers, the trend may get worse. Analysts now think the US market may only produce 14.5 milion vehicle sales this year, and if the economy gets worse that number could fall toward 13.5 million in 2009.
During the second quarter, the GDP of Hong Kong was up 4.2%. Analysts had forecast that number at 5.3%. While the "colony" is somewhat walled of from the mainland, the economies of the two are co-mingled to a great extent. What happens in Hong Kong does not stay in Hong Kong.
The news is not sparkling for the Chinese economy has a whole.
The New York Times reports that T-Mobile will be the first carrier to offer a cell phone powered by Google’s (GOOG) much-anticipated Android software. HTC will provide manufacturing, and the phone could be on sale as soon as October.
This is an important move for Google, and CEO Eric Schmidt recently told CNBC that he thinks the company can, eventually, earn more from mobile services than it can from desktops.
Harbinger Capital Management recently disclosed a 4.9% stake in Cablevision (NYSE: CVC), the broadcasting empire that has been criticized for a its self-serving, family-run management.
The Wall Street Journal quotes a few analysts who read great meaning into this investment:
"Everybody was wondering why Jimmy got religion all of a sudden. Now we know why." – Craig Moffett, an analyst at Sanford C. Bernstein & Co. "
According to Reuters, Ford (F) will build a news luxury crossover vehicle.
Reuters writes that Merrill Lynch (MER) will freeze all hiring through the end of the year.
Reuters reports that the FAA proposes a $7.1 million fine against AMR (AMR).
Reuters reports the consumer prices were up sharply as employment softened.
Markets in Asia were mixed. The Nikkei rose .5% to 13,019. Fijufilm fell 15.3% to 3430. Honda (HMC0 rose 11.7% to 3720.
The Hang Seng fell 1.3% to 21,112. Tencent Holding fell 4% to 62.40. Sino Land fell 2.9% to 13.96.
The Shanghai Composite rose .6% to 2,450.
Data from Reuters.
Douglas A. McIntyre
| Today’s top tickerspy Indexes | |
| Home Furnishing R... | +14.1% |
| Ethanol and Biofu... | +5.1% |
| Electronics Retai... | +2.1% |
| Diabetes Stocks | +2.0% |
| Memory Chip Stock... | +2.0% |
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