Daily Archives: May 14, 2009

TARP Approved For Insurance Money: More Cash From The Taxpayer’s Pocket (LNC)(PRU)(HIG)(PFG)

bankThe Washington Post is reporting that the Treasury Department has granted approval for insurance companies to have access to TARP funds. It is not clear what that will do to the balance in the TARP “account.” By some estimates it is down to $115 billion. Some of the banks who have received funds plan to pay that money back in the coming months. Other banks may need additional capital from the TARP.

The news does mean that the financial bailout is spreading and that the Treasury must believe that there is some systemic risk to a failure of one or more of the large insurance companies.

Earlier reports are that the Hartford (HIG), Prudential (PRU), Lincoln National (LNC), and Principal Financial Group (PFG) will receive capital.

Now taxpayers can own shares in all of those companies, too.

Douglas A. McIntyre

Posted on: May 14, 2009 – 6:38 pm in Banking, Financial Stocks, , , ,

Cramer Totally Changes His Stance On Yahoo! (YHOO, GOOG, ADSK, MSFT)

Cramer ImageYahoo LogoIf you can believe it, Jim Cramer came on CNBC’s nightly MAD MONEY and changed his tune on Yahoo! Inc. (NASDAQ: YHOO).  Cramer has been anti-Yahoo! for longer than memory serves.  He is now a Yahooligan it sounds like.  Imagine Cramer recommending a tech stocks besides Google Inc.
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Posted on: May 14, 2009 – 5:49 pm in Analyst Calls, Cramer, Internet, , , ,

Previewing 2009 ASCO Abstracts (ABII, ALTH, ARQL, CLDX, CTIC, CGRB, LLY, EXEL, GHDX, GSK, IMGN, MEDX, MDVN, OGXI, OSIP, PPHM, PFE, SNTA, ZIOP)

We are just about to get the first round of abstracts from companies presenting data at this year’s American Society of Clinical Oncology meeting for 2009.  At BioHealthInvestor.com we compiled a brief summary for companies such as Abraxis BioScience, Inc. (NASDAQ:ABII), Allos Therapeutics, Inc. (NASDAQ: ALTH), Arqule Inc. (NASDAQ: ARQL), Celldex Therapeutics (NASDAQ: CLDX), Cell Therapeutics (NASDAQ: CTIC), Cougar Biotechnology, Inc. (NASDAQ: CGRB), Eli Lilly and Company (NYSE:  LLY), Exelixis (NASDAQ: EXEL), Genomic Health, Inc. (NASDAQ: GHDX), GlaxoSmithKline (NYSE: GSK) , Immunogen (NASDAQ: IMGN), Medarex (NASDAQ: MEDX), Medivation, Inc. (NASDAQ: MDVN), OncoGenex Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (NASDAQ: OGXI), OSI Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ: OSIP), Peregrine Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (Nasdaq: PPHM), Pfizer Inc. (NYSE: PFE), Synta Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ: SNTA), and ZIOPHARM Oncology (NASDAQ: ZIOP).

You can see that full pre-report here at BiohealthInvestor.com.  As always be advised that there may be new sets of data released between now and the actual meeting from May 29 to June 2, 2009 in Orlando, Florida.

Posted on: May 14, 2009 – 4:56 pm in Biotech, Drug companies, Medical, Pharmaceuticals, , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

Craziest Market Call Yet: 1,000 DJIA (DIA)

Burning Money PicJohn Browne of Euro Pacific Capital made perhaps one of the ballsiest market calls or one of the craziest market calls yet in the entire bear market or in most peoples’ careers if they are 50-years-old or younger.  He came on CNBC on Thursday and he stated a target of 1,000 on the Dow Jones Industrial Average.  Yes, that was a “1″ as in a 1,000 call.  If you were buying the DIAMONDS Trust, Series 1 (NYSE: DIA) ETF on his call if he is right, you’d get to pay $10.00 per share.
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Posted on: May 14, 2009 – 4:18 pm in Analyst Calls, Banking, Brokerage Firms, Charts, ETF, Economy, Entertainment, Index, Interview, Media, Technical Analysis

McDonald’s CEO Nets Millions In Options Gain (MCD)

Money Stack ImageMcDonald’s Corp. (NYSE: MCD) had a substantial insider sale today that may catch some eyes.  Chief Executive Officer Jim Skinner unloaded some 150,000 shares via exercised stock options.  Insider sales usually are not a red flag at a company like McDonald’s, but the size here would fit the screen for most CEO and Insider Selling searches that might merit a closer look.
Read More »

Posted on: May 14, 2009 – 3:28 pm in Food, Insider Activity, Retail,

Wal-Mart’s (WMT) Own Dollar Menu

bearMcDonald’s (MCD) did so well with its dollar menu that Wal-Mart (WMT) decided it will have one, too. The difference is that the Wal-Mart version will be merchandise and not food.

The world’s largest retailer is hoping to jack up Q2 sales by offering shoppers irresistible bargains. Wal-Mart reported flat earnings for Q1 at $.77 and said it expected to deliver a range of $.83 to $.88 in the current period. Same-store sales are expected to be between flat and up 3%.

Having a strong second quarter may be an uphill fight. Recent employment numbers and shrinking access to credit will hurt retail sales, although Wal-Mart probably has its share of people who pay cash. Read More »

Posted on: May 14, 2009 – 2:34 pm in Earnings, Retail, ,

Buffett & Berkshire Keep Unloading Constellation Energy (CEG, BRK-A, BRK-B)

Buffett ImageWarren Buffett isn’t hanging on to his relatively new shares of Constellation Energy Group, Inc. (NYSE: CEG).  Berkshire Hathaway Inc. (NYSE: BRK-A) (NYSE: BRK-B), via MidAmerican Energy, had been a seller of shares before after receiving about 20 million shares in the break-up or deal termination fee after Constellation decided to go with a better deal (or a different deal) from EDF from France in a joint venture rather than a merger.
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Posted on: May 14, 2009 – 11:37 am in Buffett, Insider Activity, Mergers and Buy Outs, Utilities, , ,

Can Systemax Make Shinola from Circuit City? (SYX)

Circuit City LogoSystemax Inc. (NYSE: SYX) is a lesser-known company for many investors, but that may change after developments from yesterday.  Multiple reports showed that the company won the auction for the rights and property of Circuit City.  Systemax is a direct marketer of brand name and private label products in technology, software, and industrial segments.
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Posted on: May 14, 2009 – 10:10 am in Consumer Electronics, Mergers and Buy Outs, Retail, Turnarounds,

Defending Cheerios, Cereal of Liberty

An FDA action has conservatives crying over spilled milk.

By Dan Mitchell of The Big Money

Disputes over food-label claims are always political. But the current, insane iteration of the American right has walked several steps past the crazy line with its collective reaction to the Food and Drug Administration’s demand that General Mills (GIS) tone down its health claims for Cheerios.

Read more…

Posted on: May 14, 2009 – 10:07 am in Uncategorized

Pepsi Deal Twist, Pepsi Bottling Group Makes Its Own Acquisition (PEP, PBG, PAS)

Pepsi LogoThere is a new twist in the Pepsico, Inc. (NYSE: PEP) ‘hopeful’ acquisition of Pepsi Bottling Group Inc. (NYSE: PBG). Pepsi Bottling Group Inc. has decided to make an acquisition of its own.  It could even possibly have ramifications for the proposed PepsiAmericas Inc. (NYSE: PAS) buyout, although that may be a stretch on a one-off basis.
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Posted on: May 14, 2009 – 9:21 am in Food, Mergers and Buy Outs, , ,

Mosaic’s BMO Ag Conference Presentation Summary (MOS)

Fertilizer maker, The Mosaic Company (NYSE: MOS), outlined its strategy for the coming months at the BMO Capital Markets 2009 Agricultural, Protein & Fertilizer Conference today.  We decided to prepare a quick-hit look at the highlights of Mosaic’s presentation to get a better post-earnings season feel for what to expect this summer from at least one of the top potash players for agriculture:

* Potash sales volumes will decline significantly in 2009 due to weak demand…. Long-term demand for potash will increase. (More to follow)
Read More »

Posted on: May 14, 2009 – 8:43 am in Agriculture,

Rambus Scores (RMBS)

Money Stack ImageRambus Inc. (NASDAQ:RMBS) is seeing a surge in trading this morning.  The chip process designer announced that the FTC issued an order dismissing the remainder of its case against Rambus after a recent denial of the Commission’s request for certiorari with the United States Supreme Court to review the Rambus case.  According to Rambus, this brings the seven-year matter to a close.
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Posted on: May 14, 2009 – 8:14 am in Law, Regulation, Semiconductor, Trading Alert,

Wholesale Inflation Still Running Tame

Money Stack ImageThe Labor Department has released the April Producer Price Index, otherwise known as the wholesale inflation number.  The nominal PPI came in at +0.3% and the the core PPI on an ex-food and ex-energy basis came in at +0.1%.  Bloomberg had consensus estimates from economists pegged at +0.1% on both the nominal PPI and on the ex-food and energy PPI.

This is a tad higher on the nominal basis rather than a core basis, but the core rate is in-line.  There was also no revision to the March rate of -1.2%.

JON C. OGG

Posted on: May 14, 2009 – 7:38 am in Economy

More Weekly Data Pointing To Double Digit Unemployment

Jobless Line PicThe Labor Department has released its weekly jobless claims.  It seems that the contraction in weekly claims is not running in a straight line.  This week’s report came in at 637,000 from a revised figure the week before of 605,000 (from 601,000).  Bloomberg had consensus estimates from economists pegged at 609,000 from an unrevised 601,000 reported the week before.

Read More »

Posted on: May 14, 2009 – 7:38 am in Economy, Labor & Unions

Host Of Companies Win In Strong DigitalGlobe IPO (DGI, MS, OZM, ORB, GEOY)

DigitalGlobe ImageDigitalGlobe is set to  open for trading this morning in another highly anticipated initial public offering.  The satellite imagery company will trade on the NYSE with the ticker “DGI.”  The IPO was priced at $19.00 for some 14.7 million shares.  Morgan Stanley (NYSE: MS), Och-Ziff Capital Management (NYSE: OZM), Orbital Sciences Corporation (NYSE: ORB) are among the public companies which are all listed as shareholders of DigitalGlobe.
Read More »

Posted on: May 14, 2009 – 7:23 am in IPOs, Satellite, , , , ,

Short Sales, and the Uptick Rule Revisited

By John Tamny of RealClearMarkets

While the recent rebound in share prices has perhaps reduced some of the more strident calls for its reinstatement, the abolishment of the uptick rule in 2007 is to many, part of the reason that stocks have struggled so much over the past year. Supposedly the alleged piling on among short sellers in down markets turned orderly share declines into routes.

That being the case, had the uptick rule been in place whereby bears could only have sold short shares whose price on the last printed trade had ticked upward, we could have supposedly avoided the sick-inducing market declines of the Fall. Notably, similar thinking carried the day during the Great Depression, and the uptick rule was created. The problem then was that it did not produce the desired effect when it came to improving the direction of markets.

Read more….

Posted on: May 14, 2009 – 7:07 am in Uncategorized

Medarex Positive Data in Rheumatoid Arthritis Trial (MEDX)

Medarex, Inc. (NASDAQ: MEDX) announced that its wholly owned MDX-1100 met its primary endpoints for patients receiving methotrexate in a Phase II ‘proof of concept’ trial in patients with active rheumatoid arthritis.  The trial indicated that three-times the number of patients treated with 10 mg/kg of MDX-1100 every two weeks achieved at least a 20% improvement in RA signs and symptoms at 12 weeks when compared to placebo.   So far we have shares indicated 3% higher on the news.

Read the full story at BioHealthInvestor.com.

Posted on: May 14, 2009 – 7:05 am in Biotech, Drug companies,

Top 10 Analyst Upgrades & Downgrades (AZN, BAS, BRNC, BCS, DB, PCS, MYL, PTEN, PDC, WSH)

These are the top 10 early bird analyst upgrades and downgrades we have seen in Wall Street research calls early this Thursday morning with over two hours until the market opens:

AstraZeneca (AZN) Cut to Underperform at Jefferies.
Basic Energy Services (BAS) Cut to Sell at UBS.
Bronco Drilling (BRNC) Cut to Sell at UBS.
Barclays (BCS) Raised to Overweight at Morgan Stanley.
Deutsche Bank (DB) Raised to Overweight at MOrgan Stanley.
MetroPCS (PCS) remains Sell at Auriga.
Mylan Labs (MYL) Cut to Underperform at Bernstein.
Patterson-UTI (PTEN) Cut to Sell at UBS.
Pioneed Drilling (PDC) Cut to Sell at UBS.
Willis Group (WSH) Started as Buy at Sun Trust Robinson Humphrey.

JON C. OGG

Posted on: May 14, 2009 – 6:24 am in Analyst Calls, , , , , , , , , ,

Wal-Mart (WMT) Defies Gravity

SunsetBased on Wal-Mart’s (WMT) earning for the quarter ending April 30, the world’s largest retailer did better than it was supposed to. The company reported EPS of $.77 at the highest end of the range it had set for itself. If it has not been for Wal-Mart’s international business, which carried the firm for several years, the numbers would have been even better. Read More »

Posted on: May 14, 2009 – 6:19 am in Earnings, Retail,

If Oil Demand Is Falling, Why Are Prices Going Up?

oilThe International Energy Agency, the gold standard for forecasting global supply and demand for crude oil, says that the world will need 2.56 million barrels per day less than it did in 2008. CNBC reports that the number is the largest drop since 1981.

Despite this reported lack of demand, the price of oil has moved up sharply and touch $60 a barrel this week. Read More »

Posted on: May 14, 2009 – 5:04 am in Oil & Gas