Daily Archives: March 10, 2009

Stocks That Should Double: Media (DISH)(TSCM)(CBS)(GCI)

newspaper9This week 24/7 Wall St. is picking several stocks that are likely to double off of their lows.  The  time frame is by the end of 2010, which is meant to coincide with some form of economic recovery next year.  This is not based on a sharp turn up in the economy. A number of the credit and financial issues facing the markets will be in place for the near-term or longer.  The other assumption used for choosing the stock prices is a market bottom of 600 on the S&P 500 Index.

These are the media stocks. Read More »

Posted on: March 10, 2009 – 5:11 pm in Internet, Media, Old Media, , , ,

The 52-Week Low Club (MTG)(JCI)(CMTL)

oil1MGIC Investment (MTG) Worries about mortgage defaults. Drops to $.93 from $15.

Johnson Controls (JCI)  Moody’s downgrade. Off to $8.35 from 52-week high of $36.49.

Comtech Telecommunications (CMTL)- Ugly earnings. Drops to $19.56 from 52-week high of $51.21

Douglas A. McIntyre

Posted on: March 10, 2009 – 3:11 pm in HI/LOW, , ,

Meredith Whitney Double-Slams Credit, Sort Of… (GS, MS, C, BAC)

whitney-cnbc-picInfluential bank analyst Meredith Whitney just gave a Maria Bartoromo an interview on CNBC after her op-ed piece in the WSJ called credit cards and credit lines the next wave of problems for financial institutions.  Whitney has been very negative on banks, and she appears to have her Darth Vader mask handy to review their financial results.  But she is lightening up on her statements,  saying the companies might make a good trade but not an investment.
Read More »

Posted on: March 10, 2009 – 3:06 pm in Analyst Calls, Banking, Interview, , , ,

Bernanke Says “If”

bear2The market is enthusiastic about Ben Bernanke’s comments that the economy could begin to rebound later this year or early next.

People using the comments to press the idea that good times are just around the quarter have missed the key word in his comments. “If”. If the banks become stable, the economy may turn.

Big “if”.

Douglas A. McIntyre

Posted on: March 10, 2009 – 1:47 pm in Economy

Was The Wall Street Journal Completely Wrong About Citigroup (C)?

bank4Vikram Pandit, CEO of Citigroup (C), said that the bank made money in the first two months of the year.  Primarily on the strength of those comments, the firm’s stock is up 36% to $1.43.

But, this morning, The Wall Street Journal ran a piece saying, “ Barely a week after the third rescue of Citigroup Inc., U.S. officials are examining what fresh steps they might need to take to stabilize the bank if its problems mount.”

The WSJ article would indicate that the federal government has some passing concern about the bank’s future. What Pandit did not say is what the bank’s write-offs for bad loans and toxic assets might be.

Douglas A. McIntyre

Posted on: March 10, 2009 – 1:35 pm in Banking,

Battle Over GE (GE) Heats Up (Update)

As shares of GE (GE) jumped up today, the number of skeptics about the balance sheet of the firm’s financial unit seemed to go up.

GE was up almost 20% at one point during the day,  but according to the AP, .”Analyst C. Stephen Tusa Jr. of J.P. Morgan Securities Inc. reiterated a “Neutral” rating for the Fairfield, Conn.-based company. Tusa said GE outlined several new risk factors for its finance unit that he said are “unsurprising given the environment, but new nonetheless.”

AP updated and corrected its story Read More »

Posted on: March 10, 2009 – 1:25 pm in Conglomerates,

Energy Stocks That Should Double (VLO, CHK, FSLR, COP, BHI)

money-stack-image20oil-well-image2solar-panel-pic11This week 24/7 Wall St. is picking several stocks from major sectors that are likely to double off of their lows.  The time frame is by the end of 2010, which is meant to coincide with some form of economic recovery next year.  This is not based on a sharp turn up in the economy. A number of the credit and financial issues facing the markets will be in place for the near-term or longer.  The other assumption used for choosing the stocks is a market bottom of roughly 600 on the S&P 500 Index.

In the energy sector, we have outlined the assumptions and the reasons for Baker Hughes Inc. (NYSE: BHI), Chesapeake Energy Corporation (NYSE: CHK), ConocoPhillips (NYSE: COP), First Solar, Inc. (NASDAQ: FSLR), and Valero Energy Corp. (NYSE: VLO).
Read More »

Posted on: March 10, 2009 – 11:00 am in Alternative Energy, Green Biz, Oil & Gas, , , , , , , , , ,

Did Pandit Really Mean It? (C)

Vikram Pandit, CEO of Citigroup Inc. (NYSE: C) is being credited for most of today’s rally based upon a memo he sent to employees after last week’s debacle.  We have provided additional data, and a link for the full text of what Pandit really said.  As one trader said early this morning in response, “I’d like to go over that, there is some hair on those statements.”

Read More »

Posted on: March 10, 2009 – 9:12 am in Banking, Turnarounds,

Very Little Sunshine In Solar (JASO, FSLR)

solar-panel-pic10JA Solar Holdings Co., Ltd. (NASDAQ: JASO) reported a 2008 fourth quarter loss of -$0.11/share, lower than analysts’ estimates of a -$0.02 loss. Revenue for the quarter reached $143.5 million, beating expectations of $117.94 million, but nearly 7% lower than the year-ago quarter and nearly 54% lower sequentially.
Read More »

Posted on: March 10, 2009 – 8:32 am in Earnings, Green Biz, ,

Bernanke: Regulator of Last Resort?

bernanke-image1Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke has been giving a speech this morning at the Council on Foreign Relations in Washington D.C. about financial reform and systematic risk.   While Bernanke talked about additional steps being needed to avoid future crises, he also said that stable markets have to be in place for a recovery.  He noted that government actions should be coordinated when needed and that governments must keep taking forceful steps.

It is no surprise that Bernanke is urging an overhaul of rules and regulations for the largest firms in order to avoid systematic failure.  He also repeated his call for the Federal Reserve to have power over settlement systems.
Read More »

Posted on: March 10, 2009 – 8:22 am in Economy

Citigroup Downgrades Wal-Mart (WMT) On EFCA/Card Check Concerns

Citigroup downgrades Wal-Mart (NYSE: WMT) from Buy to Hold, saying concerns about the expected introduction of EFCA/card check legislation, which simplifies union formation, limits the upside for the stock.
 
The analyst said, “George Miller (D-CA) is expected to introduce EFCA/card check legislation into the House of Representatives as early as Tue., 3/10 …”

Read more…

Posted on: March 10, 2009 – 8:09 am in Uncategorized,

United Tech Slashing 11,600 Jobs; Cut Guidance Too (UTX)

united-tech-logoUnited Technologies Corp. (NYSE: UTX) is trading higher on what would have been considered bad news in other economies or in different times.  The company announced an additional $600 million of restructuring actions for 2009 to now come to a total of $750 million.  Yep, you guessed it: layoffs.  The company is cutting its global workforce by 11,600.  It is also slashed 2009 guidance.
Read More »

Posted on: March 10, 2009 – 7:52 am in Conglomerates, Earnings, Labor & Unions,

Mark-to-Market Doesn’t Destroy, It Reveals Destruction

By John Tamny  RealClearMarkets

Back during the Internet IPO boom, companies ranging from Netscape to Priceline to Expedia went public with no earnings to speak of whatsoever. Retail giant Amazon.com was jokingly referred to as ‘Amazon.org’ due to its lack of profits. Despite their heavy losses, investors bought into the aforementioned concepts based on the belief that in the future, their losses would turn into gains.

This is notable today given all the talk about mark-to-market (MTM) accounting. To its opponents, MTM lies at the heart of our economic difficulties. MTM naysayers argue that an accounting measure which requires firms to value assets at market prices discovered in very thin markets is in particular driving banks into insolvency. If a more liberal form of accounting were applied, presently insolvent banks would be healthier on paper and solvent.

Read more…

Posted on: March 10, 2009 – 7:11 am in Uncategorized

Top Analyst Downgrades (APOG, BJS, BJ, HAL, KEG, NBR, OMC, PTEN, PCG, SLB, WMT)

burning-money-pic15These are some of the top pre-market analyst downgrades and negative calls we have seen early this Tuesday morning:

  • Apogee (APOG) Cut to Sell at Piper Jaffray.
  • BJ Services (BJS) Cut to Sector Perform at RBC.
  • BJ’s Wholesale (BJ) Cut to Underperform at Credit Suisse.
  • Halliburton (HAL) Cut to Sector Perform at RBC.
  • Key Energy (KEG) Cut to Sector Perform at RBC.
  • Nabors (NBR) Cut to Sector Perform at RBC.
  • Omnicom (OMC) Cut to Sell at Deutsche Bank.
  • Patterson-UTI (PTEN) Cut to Underperform at RBC.
  • PG&E (PCG) Cut to Neutral at Credit Suisse.
  • Schlumberger (SLB) Cut to Sector Perform at RBC.
  • Wal-Mart (WMT) Cut to Hold from Buy at Citigroup.

JON C. OGG

Posted on: March 10, 2009 – 6:41 am in Analyst Calls, , , , , , , , , , ,

Top Analyst Upgrades (BIG, GLW, DRIV, DUK, KSS, MEOH, PFE, STP, TRV, WYE)

money-stack-image19These are the top pre-market analyst upgrades and positive calls we have seen from analysts this Tuesday morning:

  • Big Lots (BIG) Raised to Buy at Soleil.
  • Corning (GLW) Raised to Buy at Collins Stewart.
  • Digital River (DRIV) Raised to Buy at Deutsche Bank.
  • Duke Energy (DUK) Raised to Outperform at Credit Suisse.
  • Kohl’s (KSS) Raised to Buy at BofA Merrill.
  • Methanex (MEOH) Raised to Outperform at CIBC.
  • Pfizer (PFE) Raised to Buy at UBS.
  • Suntech Power (STP) Raised to Market Weight at Thomas Weisel.
  • Travelers (TRV) Started as Outperform at Oppenheimer.
  • Wyeth (WYE)  Raised to Buy at UBS.

JON C. OGG

Posted on: March 10, 2009 – 6:33 am in Analyst Calls, , , , , , , , , ,

Pandit Says Citigroup (C) Off To Great Start For The Quarter

sunsetCitigroup (C) CEO Vikram Pandit says that the bank is having a great quarter. That must be true because he says it is, although his comments in the past have not always been spot on.

According to the FT, Pandit sent a note around to workers at the bank saying ‘We were profitable through the first two months of 2009 and are having are best quarter-to-date performance since the third quarter of 2007.” Read More »

Posted on: March 10, 2009 – 5:19 am in Banking, Earnings,

Credit Cards: Weighing Bad Debt Against Any Debt At All

bank3Bank uber-analyst Meredith Whitney wrote in The Wall Street Journal that the economy will have more problems as banks take credit cards away from people to prevent bad debt write-offs. She says “Just six months ago, I estimated that at least $2 trillion of available credit-card lines would be expunged from the system by the end of 2010. However, today, that estimate now looks optimistic, as available lines were reduced by nearly $500 billion in the fourth quarter of 2008 alone.” Read More »

Posted on: March 10, 2009 – 5:06 am in Economy, ,

“The Great Recession”: The Art Of Naming Things Before They Happen

winterThe head of the IMF is calling the period that the world is in now and is likely to stay in for some time “The Great Recession”. According to Reuters, he said “The IMF expects global growth to slow below zero this year, the worst performance in most of our lifetimes.”

That assessment may be correct, but there are a number of factors that could make it wrong. Read More »

Posted on: March 10, 2009 – 4:47 am in Economy

Another Look At The Fate Of The US Retail Industry

bear1AlixPartners, a turnaround firm, said at the beginning of the year that 10% to 26% of retailers were in financial distress and were in danger of filing for Chapter 11. It is worth considering how the researchers came up with that number, given that there are tens of thousands of retailers and hundreds of thousands of stores in America. Why wasn’t the number 9% or 27%? The answer is that the forecast is virtually useless, something like counting the number of poisonous snakes in an “Indian Jones” movie. Read More »

Posted on: March 10, 2009 – 4:26 am in Retail, , , , , ,

When China and Brazil Become A Better Investment Than The US

oilNow that most investors, both institutional and individual, have lost a large portion of their stock market holdings, all that most people want to know is how they can get their money back. The easy answer is that they probably won’t get their money back, at least not over the next five or ten years. But, that kind of answer is never satisfactory.

One well-known market analyst suggests that putting money into the stock markets in China and Brazil will pay off better than keeping capital in US equities. According to Reuters, Mohamed El-Erian, chief executive at Pimco, the world’s biggest bond fund manager, said about China and Brazil, “The case for optimism comes from the fact that these countries entered today’s global crisis with better initial conditions.” Read More »

Posted on: March 10, 2009 – 4:19 am in China, Economy