Daily Archives: March 11, 2009

Metals Weakness Persists (STLD)

burning-money-pic18Steel Dynamics, Inc. (Nasdaq: STLD) gave updated guidance reading for its first quarter tonight.  It is hard to get excited about the metals sector and Steel Dynamics in particular.
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Posted on: March 11, 2009 – 5:22 pm in Earnings Warning, Metals,

24/7 Wall St.–Channel Checkers Survey: Strength At Wal-Mart (WMT)

bank9Wal-Mart (WMT) has outperformed the rest of the retail market for several months, due primarily to strong margins based on its buying power and it sability to offer relatively high-quality goods and services at prices below almost all of its competition.

The new 24/7 Wall St.–Channel Checkers survey shows that the big box retailer’s strength continued into March. Read More »

Posted on: March 11, 2009 – 5:18 pm in Research, Retail,

eBay Pretends It Has Visibility To 2011 (EBAY)

eBay Inc. (NASDAQ: EBAY) rose in after-hours trading after the online auction offered bulish guidance out to 2011 at its analysts’ day.  There are many caveats.
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Posted on: March 11, 2009 – 4:45 pm in Internet,

Lexington Realty Files To Raise Cash (LXP)

money-stack-image23It has been a rough ride for the former high-flying and now road kill REIT sector.  LEXINGTON REALTY TRUST (NYSE: LXP) has been far from immune from all of the carnage that hit Wall Street and Main Street.  The self-managed and self-administered manager of office, industrial, and retail properties has filed to possibly raise cash.
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Posted on: March 11, 2009 – 4:04 pm in REIT, Secondary Offering,

T. Boone Pickens & Bullish Oil Call (T, CLNE)

pickens-pic1Maria Bartoromo just had a quick interview with oil baron T. Boone Pickens.  This was after the announcement that AT&T Inc. (NYSE: T) said it plans to spend up to $350 million over five years to buy more than 8,000 vans and trucks and will then convert them to run on compressed natural gas.  Pickens didn’t note it, but this is right up the alley of his Clean Energy Fuels Corp. (NASDAQ: CLNE).
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Posted on: March 11, 2009 – 3:43 pm in Alternative Energy, Interview, Oil & Gas, ,

Freddie Burns Another $23.9 Billion (FRE, FNE)

burning-money-pic17If you are in the financial watch community and not feeling well, you might not want to read the financial statement from Freddie Mac (NYSE: FRE).  And it will rub off on Fannie Mae (NYSE: FNM) as well.
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Posted on: March 11, 2009 – 3:26 pm in Earnings, Economy, Financial Stocks, ,

The 52-Week Low Club (LDK)(ABT)(EXC)(FMCN)

bear5LDK Solar (LDK) Write-down and poor forecast. Drops to $4.01 from 52-week high of $52.40.

Abbott Laboratories (ABT) No special news. Just drifting down. Falls to $44.51 from 52-week high of $59.95.

Exelon Corp (EXC) Analyst downgrade. Sells off to $38.41 from 52-week high of $92.13.

Focus Media  (FMCN) China-based advertising firm being hit like US counterparts. Drops to $4.84 from 52-week high of $46.92.

Douglas A. McIntyre

Posted on: March 11, 2009 – 2:56 pm in HI/LOW, , , ,

Moody’s Takes Jab At Pfizer (PFE)

pfizer-logoPfizer Inc. (NYSE: PFE) just got its long-term ratings downgraded by Moody’s.  It is amazing that bond ratings agencies still get to operate in a business as usual manner, but they do.  Long gone are the old “AAA” days.
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Posted on: March 11, 2009 – 1:57 pm in Analyst Calls, Drug companies,

Jamie Dimon Plays Offense (JPM)

burning-money-pic16money-stack-image22Jamie Dimon, Chairman & CEO of JPMorgan Chase & Co. (NYSE: JPM), gave a powerful speech to the US Chamber in Washington D.C. today.  Mr. Dimon spoke of many of the issues that got into the current economic mess.  And he had many ideas and suggestions for what lies ahead.  Sounds like the administration and Congress just got some free advice.
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Posted on: March 11, 2009 – 1:07 pm in Banking, Economy,

Retail & Consumer Stocks That Should Double (ANF, M, SHLD, SONC, WFMI)

money-stack-image21This week 24/7 Wall St. is picking several stocks from major sectors that are likely to double off of their lows we have recently seen. Today, let’s discuss the retail sector.   We are also including two food companies that have suffered along with the rest of the retail sector.

Today’s review includes Abercrombie & Fitch Co. (NYSE: ANF), Macy’s, Inc. (NYSE: M), Sears Holdings Corporation (NASDAQ: SHLD), Sonic Corp. (NASDAQ: SONC), and Whole Foods Market, Inc. (NASDAQ: WFMI).
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Posted on: March 11, 2009 – 9:44 am in Consumer Goods, Food, Retail, Value Investing, , , , , , , , , , ,

24/7 Wall St.–Channel Checkers Survey: Target (TGT) Unusually Strong

bank7Over the last week, the 24/7 Wall St.–Channel Checkers Survey questioned 30 Target (TGT) stores about their sales trends.

Based on the results, Target is doing better than most analysts had expected.

Only 53% of respondents stated that the weak housing market or the weak economy overall was hurting business at their store location. Read More »

Posted on: March 11, 2009 – 9:01 am in Research, Retail,

Just Like That, Gold Lost Its Luster (ABX, NEM, GG, RGLD, GLD)

gold-imageShare prices for gold miners and gold bullion mostly dropped yesterday as traders thought it was a good day to take on more risk. In London this morning, gold prices have jumped back above $900/ounce after trading under that mark earlier.

The CEO of Barrick Gold Corp. (NYSE:ABX) recently said that the supply of gold will continue to drop, even as the price continues to be volatile. That’s not exactly earth-shattering news, but Barrick stock dropped almost $2/share (7%). Newmont Mining Corp. (NYSE:NEM) also fell about 7%, Goldcorp Inc. (NYSE:GG) dropped 8%, and Royal Gold Inc. lost about 4%. Even ETF bullion buyer SPDR Gold Shares (NYSE:GLD) fell by about 1%.
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Posted on: March 11, 2009 – 8:55 am in Commodities, Metals, , , , ,

Citi Maintains a ‘Buy’ Rating on Transocean (RIG), Adds to Top Picks Live List

Citi maintains a ‘Buy’ rating on Transocean Inc (NYSE: RIG), adds to Top Picks Live list with a $98 price target, citing several positive trends in the offshore drilling including capacity constraints which are driving increases in day rates.

Citi analyst says, “Our revised energy price forecast calls for a barrel of WTI crude oil to average $47 in 2009, $55 in 2010, $60 in 2011, and $65 in 2012. Under this price progression, which is consistent with the forward curve in oil futures, the deepwater drilling play is underpinned by solid economic returns on investment. We expect deepwater drilling to remain the highest growth market in oil services…”

Read more…

Posted on: March 11, 2009 – 8:44 am in Uncategorized,

Green News: Can Coal Be Cleaned Up?

coal-image1The US coal industry has not (yet) suffered the same put-downs from the Obama administration as the oil and gas industry. No delays on drilling or leases, no increases in royalty rates, no new taxes, unless you count the carbon cap-and-trade proposal. The President himself still talks about clean coal. But is there such a thing?

Thatdepends on who you ask. Most environmental organizations believe that clean coal is an oxymoron. Coal is dirty, and nothing is going to change that. On the other side, coal companies optimistically tout the day when burning coal will not emit one ounce of carbon dioxide.
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Posted on: March 11, 2009 – 7:52 am in Alternative Energy, Commodities, Green Biz

Apple in You Ear, For $79 (AAPL)

ipod-shuffle-imageApple Inc. (NASDAQ: AAPL) looks like it is bringinig on its own line-up recession-proof products.  Its newest product is a smaller iPod Shuffle.  It is so small you might not be able to find the thing if you put it down somewhere.  It is about half the size of the prior Shuffle.  As if that prior Shuffle wasn’t small enough.  It also speaks the artist’s name and song, is smaller than a “AA” Battery, holds up to 1,000 songs, and is supposed to have a 10-hour battery life.  To compensate for the size, the controls are located all on the earphone cord.   The 4GB iPod shuffle has a suggested retail price of $79.00.

JON C. OGG

Posted on: March 11, 2009 – 7:42 am in Consumer Electronics, Technology Companies,

Top Analyst Downgrades (AXP, ADSK, DKS, IFF, RBS, SLB)

These are the top pre-market analyst downgrades and negative calls from Wall Street that we have seen this Wednesday morning:

  • American Express (AXP) Cut to Sell from Neutral at Goldman Sachs.
  • Autodesk (ADSK) Cut to Underweight from Hold at KeyBanc.
  • Dick’s Sporting Goods (DKS) Cut to Neutral at Piper Jaffray.
  • International Flavors (IFF) Cut to Underweight at Morgan Stanley.
  • Royal Bank of Scotland (RBS) Cut to Hold at Citigroup.
  • Schlumberger (SLB) Cut to Hold at Citigroup.

JON C. OGG

Posted on: March 11, 2009 – 6:52 am in Analyst Calls, , , , , ,

Top Analyst Upgrades (BIG, COF, DFS, HPQ, JBLU, MS, MOT, TSN, USB)

These are the top analyst upgrades and positive calls we have seen from Wall Street this Wednesday morning:

  • Big Lots (BIG) Raised to Overweight at JPMorgan.
  • Capital One (COF) Raised to Buy at Stifel Nicolaus.
  • Discover Financial (DFS) Raised to Buy at Stifel Nicolaus.
  • Hewlett-Packard (HPQ) Raised to Buy at UBS.
  • Jetblue (JBLU) Raised to Buy at B of A Merrill.
  • Morgan Stanley (MS) Raised to Buy at Goldman Sachs.
  • Motorola (MOT) Raised to Outperform at Oppenheimer.
  • Tyson Foods (TSN) Raised to Neutral from Underweight at JPMorgan.
  • US Bancorp (USB) Raised to Neutral from Sell at Goldman Sachs.

JON C. OGG

Posted on: March 11, 2009 – 6:47 am in Analyst Calls, , , , , , , , ,

The Rumor Mill That Never Stops: Apple (AAPL) Building New PC

blue-hills1It is not a real news day for the tech and financial press if there is not a new rumor about Apple (AAPL).

The latest speculation is the the consumer electronics company will come out with a small portable Mac with a touchscreen like the one used on the firm’s iPhone.

According to Reuters, “Apple will take third-quarter delivery of newly developed 10-inch touchscreens from Taiwan.” No one is willing to speculate that they might be used to build hub caps.

Douglas A. McIntyre

Posted on: March 11, 2009 – 6:47 am in Consumer Electronics, PC Companies,

If OPEC Cuts It May Not Get Desired Result

sunset2According to Reuters, “OPEC is likely to cut oil supply to support prices at its meeting on Sunday, a member of Kuwait’s Supreme Petroleum Council said.” A month ago, that might have been an indication that prices would rise. And, over the last week, they already have.

But, the rally will probably be short-lived. Read More »

Posted on: March 11, 2009 – 5:33 am in China

Wal-Mart’s (WMT) Bid To Save The Healthcare System

water-liliesThe AMA, the federal government, and most insurance companies and HMOs have been arguing that storing and updating medical records digitally is much more efficient than having them on paper. The argument is compelling. Transferring files and billing are done more easily when data are set up electronically. For most doctors it makes records easier to store and update.

Wal-Mart has decided that it can help save the medical system from relying on paper and make money as part of the process. Read More »

Posted on: March 11, 2009 – 5:01 am in Medical,