Congress reaches a tentative deal to keep the government open. (Reuters)

Bill Gross’s PIMCO Total Return Fund continues to do poorly. (Reuters)

The maker of Angry Birds may have its IPO in Hong Kong. (Reuters)

Deutsche Bank (NYSE: DB) will begin the sale of its asset management business. (Reuters)

Research In Motion (NASDAQ: RIMM) delays its QNX system until 2012, an unexpected development. (Reuters)

Apple (NASDAQ: AAPL) struggles to gain market share in China. (Reuters)

Salesforce.com (NYSE: CRM) enters the HR software industry. (Reuters)

Sony (NYSE: SNE) will launch its Vita device. (WSJ)

Battelle Memorial Institute reports that R&D spending should increase next year. (WSJ)

The International Monetary Fund’s Lagarde says all major nations must help Europe. (WSJ)

United, Delta (NYSE: DAL)  and US Airways (NYSE: LCC) begin to challenge Southwest (NYSE: LUV) at the low end of the price market. (WSJ)

The CEO of the New York Times Company (NYSE: NYT) departs. (WSJ)

Investors in Sino-Forest ask the CEO to leave. (WSJ)

Facebook will release new software to make it easier for advertisers to use the social network. (WSJ)

MF Global’s Jon Corzine says he knew about fund transfers to Europe. (WSJ)

Japanese regulators again attack Citigroup (NYSE: C) over its mutual fund sales. (WSJ)

Property prices in Asia fall quickly. (WSJ)

Morgan Stanley (NYSE: MS) cuts 1,600 jobs. (WSJ)

Some retailers will have “Super Saturday” before Christmas. (NYT)

Kinder Morgan (NYSE: KMI) to bet its $21 billion buyout of El Paso Corp. (NYSE: EP) will give it a chance to enter the booming natural gas market. (NYT)

Russia may invest $20 billion in an EU bailout, with the money moving through the IMF. (NYT)

The co-CEOs of RIM will cut their salaries to $1. (FT)

Fitch cuts the ratings of Bank of America (NYSE: BAC), Goldman Sachs (NYSE: GS) and Barclays (NYSE: BCS). (Bloomberg)

PSA Peugeot Citroen , Fiat SpA and General Motors (NYSE: GM) lead a drop in European car sales. (Bloomberg)

Douglas A. McIntyre

AutoNation Inc. (NYSE: AN) 38.1% year-to-date; caution: at $38.94 the consensus price target is $31.28.

Ross Stores Inc. (NASDAQ: ROST) 38.7% year-to-date; caution: at $87.73 the consensus price target is $85.00.

Limited Brands, Inc. (NYSE: LTD) 39.0% year-to-date; at $42.71 the consensus price target is $44.71.

Goodrich Corporation (NYSE: GR) 39.2% year-to-date; This is being acquired, so no color.

Tesoro Corporation (NYSE:TSO) 39.9% year-to-date; at $25.94 the consensus price target is $20.31.

EQT Corporation (NYSE:EQT) 41.6% year-to-date; at $63.50 the consensus price target is $72.28.

Electronic Arts Inc. (NASDAQ: ERTS) 42.6% year-to-date; at $23.35 the consensus price target is $25.63. This was previously listed as our top pick for the best video game stock for 2011.

Whole Foods Market, Inc. (NASDAQ: WFM) 42.6% year-to-date; at $72.12 the consensus price target is $74.47.

Ralph Lauren Corporation (NYSE: RL) 43.2% year-to-date; caution: at $158.79 the consensus price target is $150.00.

Teradata Corporation (NYSE: TDC) 44.9% year-to-date; at $59.66 the consensus price target is $60.56.

Range Resources Corporation (NYSE: RRC) 53.0% year-to-date; at $68.84 the consensus price target is $76.50.

Mastercard Incorporated (NYSE: MA) 54.9% year-to-date; at $347.24 the consensus price target is $374.82.  It seems odd to see one financial stock here.

Humana Inc. (NYSE: HUM) 55.1% year-to-date; at $84.89 the consensus price target is $88.71. Health insurance has not been as bad of a business as the administration was looking for.

Chipotle Mexican Grill, Inc. (NYSE: CMG) 58.1% year-to-date; caution: at $336.12 the consensus price target is $328.45.  The growth continues, but it is at or close to being fully valued.

V.F. Corporation (NYSE: VFC) 60.4% year-to-date; at $138.22 the consensus price target is $144.33.

Intuitive Surgical, Inc. (NASDAQ: ISRG) 68.3% year-to-date; caution: at $433.86 the consensus price target is $419.27.  DaVinci sales remain robust as more surgeons are looking for robotic surgery capabilities.

Biogen Idec Inc. (NASDAQ: BIIB) 73.5% year-to-date; caution: at $116.36 the consensus priced target is $115.22.  Here is how this compared to the rest of its peers before earnings season.

El Paso Corp. (NYSE: EP) 81.8% year-to-date; being acquired so no color.

Cabot Oil & Gas Corporation (NYSE: COG) 105.3% year-to-date; ; at $77.72 the consensus price target is $91.32.

Your email address

subscribe

terms and conditions

JON C. OGG

The SPDR S&P 500 (NYSE: SPY) rose by 10.9%. but the gain from trough to peak was far more.  We have offered some color on each and shown how much implied upside is there to the Thomson Reuters consensus analyst price target as well.  These gainers are listed lowest to highest on a percentage basis for the month.

Denbury Resources Inc. (NYSE: DNR) rose by 36.5% as shares rose from $11.50 to $15.70. Analysts have a consensus price target of $24.40. The company acquires and develops oil and gas properties in the Gulf Coast states.  The company announced a $500 million share buyback during October, but it also announced that its President & COO has left the company.

Valero Energy Corporation (NYSE: VLO) saw a 38.4% gain as the stock rose from $17.78 at the end of September to $24.60 at the end of October.  Analysts have a consensus price target of $31.50.  Valero was the subject of buyout speculation and its shares have not really sold off after word came that one rumored acquirer was not looking o acquire it.

National Oilwell Varco Inc. (NYSE: NOV) saw a 39.3% rise from $51.22 at the end of September to $71.33 at October’s end.  Analysts have a consensus price target of $89.75. If the offshore oil market is going to be opened back up, having a an offshore rig manufacturing business is going to be robust again.

Joy Global, Inc. (NASDAQ: JOYG) saw a gain of 39.8% from $62.38 on September 30 up to $87.20 at the end of October.  Analysts have a consensus price target of $102.00.

Juniper Networks, Inc. NYSE: JNPR) rose by 41.8% in October $24.47 versus $17.26.  The turnaround in networking is being seen in the stock. Analysts have a consensus price target of $25.03. Juniper has risen off of lows just as many other networking equipment players have seen.

Goodyear Tire & Rubber Co. (NYSE: GT) rolled on and on for a 42.3% gain as shares went from $10.09 at the end of September to $14.36 at the end of October.  Analysts have a consensus price target of $18.69.  Goodyear is back to profits and shares are actually still very cheap at about 7-times a blended forward P/E for 2011 and 2012 estimates.

El Paso Corp. (NYSE: EP) saw a 43.1% gain for the month but we would not that this is due mostly to the acquisition of the company.

F5 Networks, Inc. (NASDAQ: FFIV) had a very large run as the network equipment player bounced hard off its lows.  A move from $71.05 at the end of September to $103.95 was up 46.3%. Analysts have a consensus price target of $106.67.

Nabors Industries Ltd. (NYSE: NBR) was one of the top performers for October as the shares rose from $12.26 to $18.33, generating a 49.5% gain. The $100 million payout for the CEO exit is under criticism, but the oil and gas driller did beat earnings and has reorganized its management structure.  Analysts have a consensus price target of $27.33.

Harman International Industries Inc. (NYSE: HAR) saw a rise of 51.5% as the stock rose from $28.53 on a dividend-adjusted basis up to $43.16. Analysts have a consensus price target of $47.25.  In late October came word of higher 2012 guidance as well as a buyback of up to $200 million in its stock over the next year.

Your email address

subscribe

terms and conditions

JON C. OGG

Several large shareholders may fight to oust part of the News Corp. (NYSE: NWS) board. (Reuters)

Apple (NASDAQ: AAPL) says rumors about the new iPhone launch date hurt sales in its most recent quarter. (Reuters)

Samsung and Google (NASDAQ: GOOG) to release the latest Android-powered phone. (Reuters)

Groupon’s IPO could happen as soon as next week. (Reuters)

America’s largest banks, including Goldman Sachs (NYSE: GS), were hurt by write-offs and low investment bank and trading results. (WSJ)

Yahoo!’s (NASDAQ: YHOO) revenue continues to fall. (WSJ)

Intel (NASDAQ: INTC) posts better-than-expected earnings. (WSJ)

Drought in the Southeast will cause severe storms there. (WSJ)

Consumer demand in China has helped its GDP growth recently. (WSJ)

The U.S. Post Service to consider non-mail services to increase revenue. (WSJ)

Slow production hurts the earnings of steel-makers. (WSJ)

The Kinder Morgan (NYSE: KMI)-El Paso (NYSE: EP) deal to face antitrust examinations. (WSJ)

Motorola Mobility (NYSE: MMI) to release a new smartphone with an old brand name — Razr. (WSJ)

Bank of America (NYSE: BAC) loses its position as the largest bank in the U.S. to JPMorgan Chase (NYSE: JPM). (WSJ)

High ticket prices alienate many air travelers but have helped save several airlines. (NYT)

The UAW approves a final four-year deal with Ford (NYSE: F). (NYT)

Ahead of a major summit later this week, France warns that the EU is in danger of collapse. (FT)

Research In Motion (NASDAQ: RIMM) to release a new BlackBerry operating system. (FT)

Several large EU-based banks say they will shrink by a combined total of $1 trillion to weather trouble in the region. (Bloomberg)

Bank of England chief Mervyn King says time has run short to address the global financial crisis. (Bloomberg)

Douglas A. McIntyre

The unofficial closing bells put the DJIA up triple digits with a gain of 178 points to 11,575.46, the NASDAQ rose more than 42 (1.6%) to 2,657.43, and the S&P 500 rose 2% or 24 points to 1,225.28.  Today’s top analyst upgrade and downgrade calls were numerous and included Charter Communications Inc. (NASDAQ: CHTR), Halliburton Company (NYSE: HAL), and more than a dozen other companies.

There has been a turnaround from the indicated loss in Bank of America Corporation (NYSE: BAC) after its earnings showed that book value managed to actually grow and the stock was up almost 10% at $6.63 late in the session.

Some food for thought… Now the MLP and pipeline sector may look cheap on the heels of the El Paso Corporation (NYSE: EP) buyout.

As far as the other big earnings report reactions today (prices within 20 minutes of the closing bell): The Coca-Cola Company (NYSE: KO) was down 0.3% at $66.79; International Business Machines Corporation (NYSE: IBM) was a huge drag on teh DJIA with shares still down 4.5% at $178.30; Johnson & Johnson (NYSE: JNJ) was up 1.2% at $64.54; State Street Corporation (NYSE: STT) was up 9% at $36.97.

Several other standouts from today are as follows…

American Public Education Inc. (NASDAQ: APEI) lost more than 20% of its value to $30.05 after the American Military University will see far lower tuition assistance from the U.S. Marine Corps.

Badger Meter Inc. (NYSE: BMI) was a loser even if it is supposed to be a water winner after missing earnings estimates.  Shares were down 13% at $29.08 in the final minutes of the day.

Crocs Inc. (NASDAQ: CROX) was a disaster after an earnings warning that would not have been so bad had the stock not been up 100% from its 52-week lows before the report.  The stock was down a massive 39% at $16.20 right before the close on more than 8-times normal volume of 25 million shares.

Halozyme Therapeutics Inc. (NASDAQ: HALO) was such a winner that it should be called “Master Chief” for its stock ticker.  Its subcutaneous Herceptin trial met the study goals and the stock was up over 18% at $7.34 right before the close.  This was not even a 52-week high.

Harley-Davidson Inc. (NYSE: HOG) was about 4% shy of sales targets in its earnings report and that had the stock down 7% to $34.56 right before the close.  With a 52-week high of $46.88, it seemed a bit harsh of a reaction even with slightly lower margin guidance.

Human Genome Sciences Inc. (NASDAQ: HGSI) was up over 15% at $12.95 on reports that a $25.00 per share buyout could be headed its way.  We gave a handicap on the odds of a deal happening.

USEC Inc. (NYSE: USU) broke a major run higher today and still no news exists.  The belief is that the loan approval from the DOE may get a better review now that solar loan fraud seems to be prevailing after Solyndra.  Shares were down 4% at $2.10 right before the close.  Still, this was a $1.30 stock just last Thursday.

Stay tuned for Wednesday.  We have speeches to watch from Rosengren and Lockhart on the docket as well as a hearing about ETFs.  Here are some economic releases due in the morning and throughout the day:

• 8:30 September CPI
• 8:30 Housing Starts
• 10:30 Weekly Oil Inventories
• 2:00 PM Beige Book

JON C. OGG

It also highlights outfits like Williams Companies, Inc. (NYSE: WMB) and other hard asset outfits which many may consider to be under the universe of partnerships or MLPs.  Some of the entities which investors may focus on in MLPs ar Plains All American Pipeline, L.P. (NYSE: PAA), Magellan Midstream Partners LP (NYSE: MMP), and Buckeye Partners LP (NYSE: BPL).

Plains All American Pipeline, L.P. (NYSE: PAA) is worth some $9.2 billion now and at $61.75 it has a 52-week range of $54.90 to $65.96.  Plains All American is in many aspects of transporting and storage, but one stat at the end of 2010 was that it had some 16,000 miles of active crude oil and refined products pipelines, as well as a fleet of trucks, trailers, and tugs various aspects of oil and natural gas.

Magellan Midstream Partners LP (NYSE: MMP) is worth some $7 billion and at $62.37 its 52-week range is $51.00 to $63.14.  Magellan has more than this, but as of the first quarter it operated roughly 9,600 miles of petroleum products pipeline system, 51 terminals, 6 marine petroleum terminals, 1 crude oil storage, 27 petroleum products inland terminals, and a 1,100-mile ammonia pipeline system and 6 associated terminals.

Buckeye Partners LP (NYSE: BPL) is now worth almost $6.1 billion and at $65.45 its 52-week range is $54.51 to $71.67.  Buckeye owns and operates approximately 5,400 miles of pipeline systems and has more than 60 liquid petroleum products terminals on last look. Another segment operates approximately 2,700 miles of third-party pipeline and terminals.

The merger also highlights the ETF (actually an ETN) of JPMorgan Alerian MLP Index ETN (NYSE: AMJ) and the closed-end fund of Kayne Anderson MLP Investment Company (NYSE: KYN).

So, as far as this concerns Williams Companies, Inc. (NYSE: WMB), the company is worth $16.5 billion.  At $28.05, its 52-week range is $20.20 to $33.47.  Williams has an exploration and production outfit like El Paso and it also has midstream assets and gas pipelines, although the company’s site notes that its MLP of by Williams Partners L.P. (NYSE: WPZ) owns and operates most of the company’s interstate gas pipeline assets.  Williams owns approximately 75 percent of Williams Partners, including the controlling general partner interest.  Its  pipelines deliver approximately 14% of the natural gas consumed in the United States.

Williams Companies has earnings estimates of $1.51 EPS for 2011 and $1.78 EPS for 2012, so its $28.05 share price generates a blended forward earnings multiple of about 17-times earnings.  The company has a 2.9% dividend yield and it trades at more than 2-times book value.  As far as how that compares to El Paso Corporation, El Paso’s blended estimates at the current price generates a forward multiple of close to 21-times earnings and more than 4-times its stated book value.

Not all pipeline assets will be acquired.  The value is just too high on a nominal basis for every deal that makes sense on the surface to make sense in raw dollars.  Some players also have provisions which might make a change of control less attractive for a buyer and these are just some of the other companies to consider in the sector.

JON C. OGG

Concern about China growth and the EU disaster push global stocks lower. (Reuters)

Federal Reserve officials argue about the future rate of inflation. (Reuters)

IBM (NYSE: IBM) earnings send its stock lower. (Reuters)

Apple (NASDAQ: AAPL) may beat earnings forecasts by double digits. (Reuters)

Boeing (NYSE: BA) hurt by cancellations of 787 Dreamliner orders. (Reuters)

The government may settle some mortgage claims with big banks in a deal that would see more underwater mortgages refinanced, which would help housing. (WSJ)

Hedges that involved MBIA (NYSE: MBI) hurt Morgan Stanley’s (NYSE: MS) balance sheet. (WSJ)

Angela Merkel of Germany smothers hopes of a quick and comprehensive resolution of EU financial problems. (WSJ)

ITC says Apple’s iPhone does not violate HTC patents. (WSJ)

Yahoo! (NASDAQ: YHOO) cuts some advertising prices by 5% to 15%. (WSJ)

Portugal announces plans for significant government expense cuts to bring down its deficit over the next two years. (WSJ)

Anadarko (NYSE: APC) to pay BP (NYSE: BP) $4 billion to settle claims from the Deepwater Horizon disaster. (WSJ)

Apple sells four million iPhone 4S models in the first three days it is available. (WSJ)

Wall St. still wonders what Apple will do with its $70 billion plus in cash. (WSJ)

Hedge fund manager David Einhorn attacks business practices at Green Mountain Coffee Roasters (NASDAQ: GMCR). (WSJ)

Banks begin to make more loans. (NYT)

Global climate change allows cargo ships to use an Arctic passage to cut their times to certain ports. (NYT)

The Kinder Morgan (NYSE: KMI) deal to buy El Paso (NYSE: EP) may have antitrust implications. (NYT)

Bank results raise the question of whether mortgage delinquencies have worsened. (FT)

France may lose its Aaa rating, based on comments by Moody’s. (Bloomberg)

Car sales in Europe rise as Volkswagen and BMW post strong results. (Bloomberg)

Douglas A. McIntyre

Icahn responded that these rumors get out there and often have no merit.  That was not a firm denial, but his firm denial came when he said that RIM is not on his radar and does not fit the mold of his targets.

Research in Motion shares were already lower on offering free apps and free support to those who were affected adversely by the severe Blackberry service outages of the prior week.  Now things are worse if Icahn is not going to be bullying the RIM board of directors to get things turned around.

RIM shares are down 5.7% at $22.60 but trading volume actually looks a bit unimpressive today.

Could RIM ever get to become a Carl Icahn activist target?  Probably, if the price ever becomes cheap enough.  RIM still has a market capitalization of close to $12 billion even after today’s drop in the share price.  If RIM does not become a target it could be because Yahoo! Inc. (NASDAQ: YHOO) proved to be such a painful experience.

JON C. OGG

The deal, which has been approved by the boards of both players, is expected to close in the second quarter of 2012. When it does, Kinder Morgan will have nearly twice the enterprise value of Enterprise, about the same spread as  that between Exxon Mobil Corp. (NYSE: XOM) and its nearest US competitor Chevron Corp. (NYSE: CVX).

The combination gives Kinder Morgan greater pipeline capacity to the US east coast market and additional capacity into southern Arizona and California. Kinder Morgan plans to proceed with plans that El Paso announced last year to sell off El Paso’s exploration and production assets. The sale of those assets will go to reduce the approximately $17 billion of debt Kinder Morgan is assuming from El Paso.

Kinder Morgan shares are up more than 5.5% in the first half hour of trading this morning, at $28.84, in a 52-week range of $23.51-$32.14, and Kinder Morgan Energy Partner shares are up nearly 3.5%, at $73.97, in a 52-week range of $63.42-$78.00. El Paso shares are up more than 23%, at $24.12, after posting a new 52-week high of $24.61 earlier. El Paso Pipeline Partners have seen a share-price drop of more than -10%, to $34.06, in a 52-week range of $31.34-$38.36. Both FBR Capital and Oppenheimer downgraded the shares this morning, from what were essentially ‘buy’ ratings to ‘hold’ ratings.

Paul Ausick

Philips Electronics said it will fire 4,500 people. Its third-quarter figures were below its expectations. Its plans to sell its TV division have failed. The prices of consumer electronics such as TV screens, which have become a commodity, have fallen faster than production costs. It may be that no one wants the Philips business because it cannot be made successful.

Kinder Morgan (NYSE: KMI) will buy rival El Paso (NYSE: EP) for $21.1 billion. The companies announced that the merger will allow them to eliminate $350 million per year in expenses. The firms have workforce structures that mirror one another. So count on the merger to result in the loss of thousands of jobs.

There has been some question about whether mass layoffs like those of 2009 will return. That answer is yes, although the force of the new ones may not be as great as those of two years ago. The 2009 employment disaster caused the loss of 500,000 jobs in the U.S. in some months. Since most of those jobs were never replaced, these new firings will dig a deeper joblessness hole. It just will not be dug as fast.

There has been some hopeful news about jobs in the past month. American retailers have added or will add about 400,000 temporary workers for the holidays. That is probably a false positive, though. Retail sales are only expected to rise between 2.5% and 3% this year. If that is true, almost none of the temporary jobs will become full-time ones.

And earnings season for the third quarter has begun. Fourth-quarter forecasts will come along with those reports. Most analysts who follow S&P 500 companies expect EPS results to be poor. That means margins for the final quarter of the year can only be protected by cost cuts.

If there is another surge in layoffs, it will happen in the next few weeks. The American economic recovery, as weak as it was, has run out of fuel.

Douglas A. McIntyre