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When Exxon Mobil Corp. (NYSE: XOM) announced that it was going to acquire XTO Energy Inc. (NYSE: XTO)for $31 billion in an all-stock transaction ($41 billion after debt assumption; with 0.7098 in the XOM/XTO ratio), the first thing that came to mind under the new administration was risks in antitrust issues. The Obama administration was believed to be, and is still believed to be somewhat, much more stringent when it comes to approving mergers and acquisitions. But that appears to be an issue which has come and gone. Hitting the tape this afternoon is that the merger has received the necessary approvals.
BJ Services Company (NYSE: BJS) and the pending acquisition by Baker Hughes Inc. (NYSE: BHI) has yet to face approval as the companies this week announced “The DOJ has raised issues with regard to the overlap between the stimulation/sand control businesses of Baker Hughes and BJ Services in the U.S. Gulf of Mexico.”
Women make up over 50% of the US workforce now, but the Bureau of the Census shows that women make, on average, only 77% of what men do based on measurements of annual salaries.
The notion that an integrated oil giant is issuing an earnings warning with oil above $80.00 per barrel may seem ludicrous to most on the Street. Yet that is exactly what is happening at Chevron Corp. (NYSE: CVX). Chevron said that its earnings drop was due to further deterioration in its refining margins, but the issue is that this is not really new and is part of an ongoing theme we have seen in the industry. This will of course tie into Exxon Mobil Corp. (NYSE: XOM) and to ConocoPhillips (NYSE: COP) because of the refining and exploration and production, but the real issue is that this only further highlights some of the major refineries like Valero Energy Corp. (NYSE: VLO), and may highlight some of the issues to a lesser degree also at Marathon Oil Corporation (NYSE: MRO), and Hess Corporation (NYSE: HES).
Jim Cramer came out on CNBC’s MAD MONEY this evening with an interesting grouping of stock trends to invest in for 2010 and he thinks this is the year of active investing. The first big trend to invest in is the coming energy shortage. Those are his words, “an energy shortage.” Specifically, Cramer believes in the recovery of natural gas versus oil. He interviewed Jim Hackett, CEO of Anadarko Petroleum Corp. (NYSE: APC), and while we are skipping the details Cramer did say that he would stick with the company’s management and track record despite this having risen 19% more since his August 24 interview.
It seems that the huge game-changing deal between Exxon Mobil Corp. (NYSE: XOM) and XTO Energy Inc. (NYSE: XTO) may have more than just one risk associated with it. The acquisition, announced on Monday, is a $31 billion all-stock transaction ($41 billion after debt assumption) for 0.7098 common shares of Exxon Mobil per share of XTO. While both boards of directors have approved the deal, it seems as though there are almost certainly cracks which may be in the road ahead of this merger.
Reuters: 
M&A activity picked up in the second half of 2009 as the market moved up and access to capital for big companies improved. Corporate debt offerings soared and banks began to make capital available for deals such as the proposed Kraft (NYSE:KFT) offer to buy Cadbury. Kraft has already lined up bridge loans for the potential buyout.
These are some of the top pre-market analyst upgrades and positive calls we have seen this Tuesday morning with well over two hours until the market opens:
