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Buying online content company CNET and building out internet sites for its legacy properties was supposed to help earnings at CBS (CBS). At least the company would have something to balance its huge, old-world TV and ratio operation. But, it hasn’t worked. Things are so bad CBS even had to cut its dividend. Read More
Daily Archives: February 18, 2009
Building An Interactive Business Does Not Help CBS (CBS) Earnings
More Cracks In H-P’s Armor (HPQ)
Hewlett-Packard Company (NYSE: HPQ) posted earnings of $0.93 EPS and $28.8 billion in revenue. Thomson Reuters (First Call) estimates were $0.93 EPS and $31.93 billion in revenue. While this is technically a “beat against earnings estimates” it does have many cracks showing here where we thought that the company was previously not being cautious enough.
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Whole Foods, Good Enough Considering (WFMI)
Whole Foods Market, Inc. (NASDAQ: WFMI) reported earnings of $0.20 EPS and $2.47 billion in revenue. Thomson Reuters (First Call) estimates were $0.15 EPS and $2.49 billion in revenue. These numbers might not be 100% comparable, and there are some guidance notes ahead.
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The 52-Week Low Club (CSE)(SGY)(CRA)(HERO)
CapitalSource (CSE) Ratings cut from Fitch. Drops to $2.02 from 52-week high of $17.04.
Stone Energy (SGY) Posts a loss for the last quarter. Sells down to $5.30 from 52-week high of $73.96.
Celera Corp (CRA) Outlook is below estimates. Plunges to $6.76 from 52-week high of $17.56.
Hercules Offshore (HERO) Still dropping after booking large impairment. Down to $1.95 from 52-week high of $39.47.
Douglas A. McIntyre
Jamie Dimon Endorses Stress Tests & Mortgage Relief (JPM)
Jamie Dimon, Chairman and CEO of J.P. Morgan Chase (NYSE: JPM) just gave a CNBC interview with Melissa Francis. While he would not give exact predictions on the environment and a turnaround, nor on how JPMorgan’s quarter is going, he did offer some insight into how the stimulus package and the financial rescue package and mortgage restructuring could go.
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Saving The Housing Market By Speeding Up Foreclosures
The federal government is most likely to create a safety net for the falling housing market with a plan that will allow people to stay in their homes by reducing their monthly payments. The FDIC and some members of Congress assume that residential real estate prices will decline more slowly this way and eventually begin to increase if houses are kept out of foreclosure. That may be true, but the plan could be quickly flanked by rising unemployment and the realization by people who can stay in their homes with federal help that they will never have the equity to pay down their principle. The government will have pushed them into the equivalent of “interest only” loans. Read More
Will November’s Lows Hold as Support?
As today’s market selling has picked up, we wanted to take a snapshot of some of the major November 20, 2008 and November 21, 2008 intra-day and closing lows for the major index levels in the U.S.
This morning we took a snapshot at 10:09 AM EST. Guess which levels are being tested on the DJIA… So far, the S&P and NASDAQ are still above those key levels.
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Chesapeake Still Faltering (CHK, BP)
The largest natural gas producer in the US, Chesapeake Energy Corporation (NYSE:CHK), reported a GAAP EPS loss of -$1.51 for the fourth quarter of 2008. On a non-GAAP basis, the company earned EPS of $0.73, compared with average estimates of $0.75. Falling prices for natural gas were blamed for the weak results. No surprise there.
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Off to a Rocky Start (CEG, BRK-A)
Constellation Energy Group, Inc. (NYSE:CEG) missed analysts’ estimates by a mile.
Fourth quarter EPS was $0.03 compared Wall Street consensus estimates of $1.24. For the full year, Constellation was expected to earn $4.84, but came in at $3.54. Revenue for the fourth quarter was lower than a year ago by about $400 million, and annual revenue was down by about $1.38 billion. Not a very good showing.
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Production & Capacity Head For The Hills
It probably won’t shock anyone any longer that industrial production is lower. It probably won’t shock anyone that capacity utilization is lower either. But the already-negative trend is only made worse when both were even worse than expected.
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Citi Upgrades Smith & Nephew (SNN) to Buy
Citi upgrades Smith & Nephew (NYSE: SNN) from Hold to Buy, saying core business areas have remained relatively immune to economic pressure.
Citi analyst says, “Q4 results provided reassurance that core business areas have remained relatively immune to economic pressure and that steps are already in place to control costs in those divisions more exposed to the economy, namely endoscopy…”
Online Brokerage Review: Day Traders Haven’t Avoided Market Malaise (ETFC, AMTD, SCHW)
We now have all three of the large online brokerage giants out with their monthly metrics for Janury. We wanted to compare E*TRADE FINANCIAL Corporation (NASDAQ: ETFC), TD AMERITRADE Holding Corporation (NASDAQ: AMTD), and The Charles Schwab Corporation (NASDAQ: SCHW). We did a basic apples-to-apples comparison where available, and we also included the Daily Average Revenue Trades, or DARTs, along with assets and numbers of accounts.
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Housing Starts Show Market Is Far From Bottom
It may take a lot more than the new mortgage assistance program being put together by the Administration to stop the sickening fall in housing prices.
According to the Commerce Department, Construction on new U.S. housing units plunged 16.8% in January to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 466,000. The numbers are the worst since WWII.
As MarketWatch points out, “At this rate, starts would fall to zero by the end of the year. Starts are down a record 56% in the past year and are down 79% from the peak three years ago.”
Douglas A. McIntyre
Top Pre-Market Analyst Upgrades & Downgrades (COF, CELG, ROCK, MOD, SNN, AFL, AMX, SPSS, VQ, WMS)
These are ten of the top pre-market analyst calls for upgrades and downgrades we have seen from Wall Street this Wednesday morning with more than two hours until the market opens:
- Capital One (COF) Raised to Market Perform at FBR.
- Celgene (CELG) Started as Outperform at Oppenheimer.
- Gibralter Industries (ROCK) Raised to Neutral at Baird.
- Modine Manufacturing Co. (MOD) Raised to Neutral at Baird.
- Smith & Nephew (SNN) Raised to Buy at Citigroup.
- AFLAC (AFL) Cut to Market Perform at FBR.
- America Movil SA (AMX) Cut to Neutral at JPMorgan.
- SPSS (SPSS) Cut to Neutral at Baird.
- Venoco, Inc. (VQ) Cut to Underweight at JPMorgan.
- WMS Industries Inc. (WMS) Cut to Neutral at JPMorgan.
JON C. OGG
At GE (GE) Immelt Skips His Bonus
GE (GE) CEO Jeff Immelt voluntarily gave up a $12 million bonus. His salary was also frozen at $3.3 million.
While the announcement may play well with shareholders, the question is whether Immelt’s action is an admission that he managed the company poorly over the last year or a symbolic move to offset the resentment that the fall of GE’s stock has caused. Read More
China Pushes “Bad Bank” As Good Policy
Now that the economies of the West are near ruin, China likes to push its form of national financial management and monetary policy as a better road not taken by the champions of capitalism.
The China case for its own system over others neglects to acknowledge the fact that its economy is in crisis like almost every other. Read More
McDonald’s (MCD) Storms China
McDonald’s (MCD) is planning to open 500 new stores in China over the next three years. Why? Because it can.
McDonald’s is one of a tiny handful of large American companies which can actually take advantage of the recession to build market share and expand into attractive markets overseas. Read More
GM (GM): Trading $16.6 Billion For 47,000 Jobs
GM (GM) says it needs more money from the federal government or it will run out of cash next month. It has made some progress with its creditors and the UAW, but neither of those negotiations is final, so some of what GM can do to cut costs and improve its balance sheet will have to be taken on faith. Read More
Media Digest 2/18/2009 Reuters, WSJ, NYTimes, FT, Bloomberg
According, to Reuters, 
GM (GM) and Chrysler have asked for another $22 billion.
Reuters reports that the SEC has charged Alan Stamford with “massive fraud.”
Reuters reports that Trump’s image is being hurt by the bankruptcy of his casino company. Read More
Asia Markets And Europe Open 2/18/2009
Markets in Asia were mixed.
The Nikkei fell 1.5% to 7,734.
The Hang Seng was up .5% to 13,007.
The Shanghai Composite fell 4.7% to 2,210.
At the open in Europe, the FTSE was up .3%.
Data from Reuters and MarketWatch.
Douglas A. McIntyre
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Today’s top tickerspy Indexes Domestic Telecom ... +2.6% Stem Cell Stocks +2.3% Pain Management S... +2.1% Ethanol and Biofu... +1.9% Savings and Loan ... +1.8% 
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- Post-Black Friday: The Deals Continue
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- Foreigners Net Buyers Of VND221.4 Billion Of Vietnam Shares Wednesday
- CURRENCIES: Dollar Slips Against Rivals; Vietnam Devalues Dong
- France Telecom:Too Early To Say If Will Cut Jobs In Swiss Deal
- Unitas Received 9 Bids For Korean Retailer Buy The Way - Source
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- paidContent - TiVo Re-Entering UK With Co-Branded Virgin Media Box In 2010
- paidContent - A.H. Belo To Experiment With Pay Walls
- paidContent - IAB: Online Ad Spend Slipped 5.4 Percent In Q3; Signs Of Recovery Emerge—But Keep Hope In Check
- paidContent - WaPo Closes N.Y., L.A., Chicago Bureaus; Focus on DC Local & Politics
- paidContent - Microsoft-Yahoo Deal Gets Approval ... In Canada
- paidContent - Microsoft CFO Liddell To Leave
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