Reuters: Senate Democrats unveiled their healthcare plan.
Reuters: Hedge fund manage Griffin has rebounded from losses.
Reuters: GM must pay its debt and become profitable before an IPO.
Reuters: Kraft (NYSE:KFT) is still considered the front-runner to buy Cadbury. Read More
American Express Company (NYSE: AXP) is about to get larger in the credit arena, and in a new path than its traditional high-end clients. The company announced that it has agreed to acquire Revolution Money, which was launched by AOL Co-founder Steve Case in 2007. The purchase price is expected to be approximately $300 million. This may just be the first of several reach-down initiatives from AmEx.
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Berkshire Hathaway Inc. (NYSE: BRK-A)(BRK-B) has shown its Q3-2009 holdings as of September 30, 2009. We had already seen how his securities holdings were up on the books in the holdings with earnings. There are also some portfolio changes that have taken place since the September 30 cut-off date. These have been broken down into 3 groups of ‘A to F’ and ‘G to O’ and ‘P to Z’ so it is more concise and clear. Here are Warren Buffett’s holdings and accompanying notes for the group ‘A ot F.’
Eaton Corp. (NYSE: ETN) was NOT LISTED ANY LONGER, so sold from holdings.
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JON C. OGG
The CEO of American Express (NYSE:AXP) Kenneth Chenault said that credit card spending by his customer was up 3% in October compared to September and up 1% from October of last year. That is barely a rounding error. Amex shares rose on the news.
Fedex (NYSE:FDX) said it expects shipping traffic to move up during the holidays. One executive at the company said, “The levels of expectation are a bit higher.” But, that is only a bit Read More
Reuters: Japan Airlines faces $8.8 billion in excess debt if liquidated.
Reuters: Amazon (NASDAQ:AMZN) beat Wall St. estimates.
Reuters: GM’s CEO will get a pay raise.
Reuters: Nokia (NYSE:NOK) sued Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL) over patent infringement. Read More
American Express Company (NYSE: AXP) and Capital One Financial Corporation (NYSE: COF) have both reported earnings this afternoon. We saw estimates rise in recent days as many lenders were discussing better credit metrics starting to be evident. These numbers are mixed on the credit metrics but look amazing on some fronts.
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We still have two DJIA components to report earnings this week. If you can believe it this week marked 12 of the 30 components reporting earnings, and that takes us to a total of 18 of the 30 components that will have reported earnings after the end of the week. This afternoon we have American Express Company (NYSE: AXP) on deck with earnings, and Microsoft Corporation (NASDAQ: MSFT) is on deck tomorrow morning. Also on deck Friday morning is Honeywell International Inc. (NYSE: HON), a former-DJIA component which many traders feel should have never been taken out of the DJIA.
We have compiled data using Thomson Reuters consensus data and added in color on options expectations, analyst calls, and technical analysis where appropriate. We have also included share performance from June 30, and then provided performance since the March 9 close that traders are using as the official date of the end of the death spiral in the financial markets.
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There are a number of ways to rank brand values. One of the most important is the level at which a brand contributes to the market value of a public company.
24/7 Wall St. asked Corebrand, the brand research and consulting firm, to look at the top 100 brands based their contribution to market capitalizaton. Using this method, the hardest working brand was Hershey (NYSE:HSY), followed by Coca-Cola (NYSE:KO) and Harley-Davidson (NYSE:HOG)
Corebrand described the process briefly to 24/7 Wall. St.
24/7 Wall St.: Corebard often refers to the brands on this list as the”hardest working brands”. How did you come to that description?
Corebrand: There are a lot of people measuring and examining the “strongest brands” or the “most valuable brands”. Our opinion is that examining one without the other is somewhat meaningless. How “strong” a brand is nice to know but not very relevant unless you understand how that strength benefits business. Similarly, “value” is little more than a measure of corporate size unless you understand the drivers of that value and how to influence it. By examining the strength of the brand and it’s contribution to total market value, we can help companies and their leadership manage that strength and value over time.
24/7 Wall St.: Is there any advantage or disadvantage to having a brand value be a very large percentage of market cap in the present and as an indication of a company’s future performance?
Corebrand: The brand will need to be in balance with the rest of the company’s assets. A company should strive to have it’s brand strong enough to fend off competitors or changing market conditions but not so strong that it becomes overly dependent on the brand as a single driver of value. If a company can achieve and maintain its appropriate maximum strength without becoming over-dependent, it will see greater returns in bull markets and retain greater value in bear markets.
The list: Read More
We have already run the 5 of the 30 DJIA components that reported earnings this morning. But we still have 7 more of the 30 DJIA components reporting during the rest of this week alone. The Boeing Company (NYSE: BA), 3M Company (NYSE: MMM), American Express Company (NYSE: AXP), AT&T, Inc. (NYSE: T), McDonald’s Corporation (NYSE: MCD), Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE: MRK), and Microsoft Corporation (NASDAQ: MSFT) are all on the earnings docket this week. We also have earnings from Altria Group, Inc. (NYSE: MO) and from Honeywell International Inc. (NYSE: HON), both of which are ex-DJIA components that many traders and investors still think of as Blue Chips.
We have created detailed earnings previews for each stock with consensus estimates from Thomson Reuters, as well as earnings data and color for what to watch out for where applicable. Also included is how much each stock has rallied since June 30 and since the March 9 close that all traders mark as the low index closing date and the end of the death-spiral bear market we were in earlier this year.
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Reuters: The pay czar plans to rework employee pay at large banks.
Reuters: Hewlett-Packard (NYSE:HPQ) may enter the tech M&A frenzy.
Reuters: Microsoft (NASDAQ:MSFT) says some Hotmail passwords were exposed.
Reuters: The US called for rigorous IMF surveillance to spot new investment bubbles. Read More
Personal bankruptcies posted a big increase in September, not a surprise as unemployment races toward 10%.
The American Bankruptcy Institute reports that the September 2009 consumer filings total reached 124,790, a 41% increase from the 88,663 consumer filings in September 2008. The number is also up 4% from August. Read More
Reuters: Ken Lewis will step down as CEO of Bank of America (BAC)
Reuters: Cisco (CSCO) bought Tandbeg for $3 billion.
Reuters: The IMF raised forecasts for US GDP but warned on its growing debt.
Reuters: Turnaround experts say the collapse of CIT (CIT) would be a mess. Read More
“We think that the American taxpayer will be fully repaid” under the company’s plan”—Ed Liddy, AIG CEO, May 13, 2009
“At the end of the day, we believe we will be able to pay back the government and we hope we will be able to do something for our shareholders as well.”– CEO Robert Benmosche, August 20, 2009
“Moreover, Federal Reserve and Treasury staff routinely monitor AIG’s operations and receive reports on AIG’s condition and restructuring. While these efforts are being made, the government remains exposed to risks, including credit risk and investment risk, which could result in the Federal Reserve and Treasury not being repaid in full.”– Government Accountability Office, September 21, 2009 Read More
Several consulting firms post annual figures for the world’s most valuable brands. The two best known are probably the Interbrand and BrandZ surveys. They are notably different, up until now at least. BrandZ includes a number of large brands from Asia. Interbrand does not.
24/7 Wall St. has put together a list of the most valuable brands of 2009 by looking at valuation calculations from a number of sources. Then a base valuation was taken from the 2008 Interbrand data to fix values for this year and changes from last.
Most methods take into account the future earnings of a brand for its parent company. This is fundamentally a guess particularly during a turbulent period in the global economy. Interbrand’s rule is that a brand most get at least a third of its revenue from outside its country-of-origin. That is arbitrary, particularly as it apply to brands in China.
24/7 Wall St. has made the assumption that the value of most brands have been hurt log-term by the deep recession. Forward earnings estimates for many of the firms on this list show that. Those brands which post value improvements show much more modest increases than they would be in a stable economy.
Looking at the Interbrand list from last year, it is fair to ask why firms like Nissan, Wal-Mart (WMT) and Red Bull are not present.
Because the brands on this list are taken from names on the Interbrand survey, we have not made a calculation about which companies may be new to their list in 2009 or which may drop off.
Public firms which are part of this ranking include (KO)(IBM)(MSFT)(GOOG)(GE)(NOK)(TM)(INTC)(MCD)(DIS)(HPQ)(AXP)(C)(HMC)(ORCL)(AAPL)(SNE)(PEP)(HBC)(NKE)(UPS)(FDX)(SAP)(DELL)(JPM)(GS)(KL)(EBAY)(SI)(F)(AIG)(AMZN)(CAT)(AVP)(RIMM)(GPS)(TIF)(BP)(SBUX)(JNJ)(MAR)(V)
The 100: Read More
There were quite a few analyst upgrades and positive research calls this Monday morning. These are the calls we have seen from Wall Street firms early this morning with about two hours until the market opens:
Advanced Micro Devices (AMD) Raised to Buy at Citigroup.
American Express (AXP) Raised to Overweight at Barclays.
Arch Coal (ACI) Raised to Overweight at JPMorgan.
Ashland (ASH) Raised to Buy at KeyBanc.
Banco Santander (STD) Raised to Overweight at JPMorgan.
Brocade (BRCD) Raised to Buy at Argus.
Capital One (COF) Raised to Overweight at Barclays.
Discover Financial (DFS) Raised to Overweight at Barclays.
Hibbett Sports (HIBB) Raised to Overweight at JPMorgan.
Microsemi (MSCC) Raised to Overweight at Thomas Weisel.
Royal Caribbean (RCL) Raised to Buy at Argus.
Zimmer Holdings (ZMH) Raised to Overweight at Thomas Weisel.
If you wish to be reminded of daily upgrades and downgrades as well as other key market issues like mergers and top stories, you can join our open email distribution list to receive updates several times per week.
JON C. OGG
These are ten of the top analyst research upgrades, downgrades, and initiations seen early this Tuesday morning with about two hours until the market opens:
Aeterna Zentaris (AEZS) Cut to Sector Perform at RBC; cut at Canaccord and at Desjardins also.
American Express (AXP) Raised to Outperform at KBW.
Arthrocare (ARTC) Raised to Buy at Canaccord.
Brocade (BRCD) Raised to Strong Buy at S&P.
Corning (GLW) Raised to Outperform at Oppenheimer.
Crucell (CRXL) Cut to Sell at ING.
Goldman Sachs (GS) Raised to Buy at Pali.
International Game Tech (IGT) Raised to Overweight at JPMorgan.
Motorola (MOT) Started as Buy at Canaccord.
Terra Industries (TRA) Started as Overweight at JPMorgan.
JON C. OGG
AUGUST 18, 2009
Berkshire Hathaway Inc. (NYSE: BRK-A)(BRK-B) has shown its Q2-2009 holdings as of June 30, 2009. There are some portfolio changes that have been seen here from the end of Q1 and we have broken these down into 3 groups of ‘A to F’ and ‘G to O’ and ‘P to Z’ so these are easier to see on one page. Here are Warren Buffett’s holdings and accompanying notes for the group ‘A ot F.’
You can join our open email distribution list to hear more news on Buffett and other investment gurus, IPOs, secondary offerings, private equity, key analyst calls, and more.
JON C. OGG
AUGUST 14, 2009
Short sellers moved out of financial shares in great numbers.
As of August 11, the short interest in Citigroup (C) fell 71% to 343 million shares. Share sold short in GE (GE) fell 15% to 143 million. The short interest in Wells Fargo (WFC) was down by 9% to 99 million. Shares sold short in American Express (AXP) dropped 20% to 36 million. The short interest in Capitol One (COF) dropped 19% to 30 million. Shares sold short in Visa (V) dropped 22% to 15 million. Read More
Reuters: A college education no longer means easy employment in China.
Reuters: Fannie Mae (FNM) lost $14.8 billion.
Reuters: The auto “clunkers” legislation passed the Senate.
Reuters: Obama is in no rush to decide Bernanke’s appointment to a new term. Read More
Reuters: A bubble may be forming in the corporate bond market.
Reuters: Wall St. firms have made $1 billion on the break up of AIG (AIG). Morgan Stanley(MS), Goldman Sachs (GS), JP Morgan (JPM) and Blackstone (BX) could get large fees.
Reuters: A judge would not approve an SEC settlement with Bank of America (BAC) Read More
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