NEC to cut 10,000 workers. (Reuters)

Nintendo posts poor earnings and cuts forecasts. (Reuters)

Warren Buffett says higher taxes on the rich are a way to bring the burden on Americans back inline. (Reuters)

George Soros criticizes efforts to put austerity over growth in Europe. (Reuters)

Netflix (NASDAQ: NFLX) shares rise on news its subscriber base rose sharply. (Reuters)

Tokyo Electric Power will get a $13 billion bailout. (Reuters)

George Soros buys Italian bonds because of high yields coupled with deflation. (Reuters)

U.S. officials are looking at HSBC (NYSE: HBC) for money laundering. (Reuters)

German consumer morale reaches a 10-month high. (Reuters)

Creditors may accept a lower yield on Greek bonds to end negotiations to keep the nation out of default. (Reuters)

The International Monetary Fund says a halt to Iran’s oil flow would push crude prices up 30%. (Reuters)

Nintendo will have the new Wii in markets before the end of the year. (Reuters)

Strategy Analytics says Google (NASDAQ: GOOG) Android-based tablets have narrowed the sales gap with Apple’s (NASDAQ: AAPL) iPad. (Reuters)

SAP (NYSE: SAP) says it will do more to target Oracle (NASDAQ: ORCL) customers. (Reuters)

Public pensions have increased their investment in private equity, according to the Wilshire Trust Universe Comparison Service. (WSJ)

Roche’s offer for Illumina (NASDAQ: ILMN) is based on the belief that doctors will use genetic products on a more regular basis. (WSJ)

U.S. bond yields reached near record lows. (WSJ)

The U.S. Department of Agriculture releases data that show winters have been warmer recently. (WSJ)

A new Wall Street Journal poll shows better results for Obama. (WSJ)

Merkel says labor reforms and closer ties among EU nations were key to the success of austerity programs to close national deficits. (WSJ)

A drop in output shows the UK is closer to recession. (WSJ)

U.S. auto makers have returned to U.S. labor because of foreign exchange rates and low wages. (WSJ)

Samsung’s chip business is growing even faster than its cellphone division. (WSJ)

Farmers are planting more wheat despite droughts. (WSJ)

The Fed’s message is that a recovery may be years away. (NYT)

There is an oversupply of freighters, in part because it takes so long to make them. (NYT)

Citigroup (NYSE: C) says EU banks have raised $52.8 billion in new capital since the third quarter to meet regulatory demands. (NYT)

Hedge funds are dumping Greek debt. (NYT)

Apple thinks the Chinese market could sharply increase its sales. (FT)

Iran may block oil exports ahead of sanctions. (FT)

As EU-based banks keep cash on their balance sheets, more companies may default because of lack of capital. (Bloomberg)

Geithner says he will leave office after Obama’s first term. (Bloomberg)

Airbus begins to fix cracks in wings of its A380. (Bloombeg)

Ford (NYSE: F) may post its largest profit since 1998. (Bloomberg)

Douglas A. McIntyre

It has been generally assumed that manufacturing and exports are absolutely critical to China’s future GDP expansion. However, one concern about this advance is that the success of these businesses has caused widespread agitation for higher wages. Even President Obama recently said the price of Chinese labor would cause a return of manufacturing to America. It is not so simple. America does not have China’s manufacturing infrastructure, although it once did. The U.S. would need years to create the capacity. Nonetheless, wages have become a problem in China. Nothing solves that problem more than slower growth.

China’s central government will make money more available, as a means to cushion a slow economy. Access to capital will help the manufacturing sector build for the time when the global economy needs it, while current slow growth will cap wage increases. The formula is not as good as outright growth, but it is a reasonable bridge. Global GDP will not remain halting forever. In fact, consumer and business activity in the $14 trillion U.S. economy has already gained speed. That will not entirely offset problems in Europe, but it gives China a ready and improving market.

China is in the midst of a fairly serious contraction of its manufacturing sector, which has no precedent in recent years. But there are some silver linings that could keep the People’s Republic from a landing that is entirely hard.

Douglas A. McIntyre

IKEA posts a profit and grows in most regions of the world. (Reuters)

Greece and private creditors move closer to a debt deal. (Reuters)

Apple (NASDAQ: AAPL) says it will enter the digital textbook business. (Reuters)

IBM (NYSE: IBM) results show solid IT demand. (Reuters)

Angry Birds’ parent pushes back the date of its IPO. (Reuters)

The EC will decide whether to approve a Google buyout of Motorola Mobility (NYSE: MMI) by February 13. (Reuters)

Eastman Kodak’s (NYSE: EK) move into bankruptcy as a means to cut costs may not yield high value for its patents as well. (WSJ)

Credit Suisse (NYSE: CS) buys old AIG (NYSE: AIG) mortgage paper from the New York Federal Reserve. (WSJ)

AT&T’s (NYSE: T) new plan to raise data costs for subscribers may prompt some to switch to competitors. (WSJ)

HSBC’s (NYSE: HBC) Chinese PMI estimate shows slow manufacturing, with a 48.8 measurement compared to 48.7 in December. (WSJ)

Floods in Thailand do not dent Intel’s (NASDAQ: INTC) earnings much. (WSJ)

American homeowners finally begin to improve their property, according to IHS Global Insight. (WSJ)

China sets more deals with U.S. allies to strengthen its supply of oil. (WSJ)

The European Aviation Safety Agency says Airbus will do more safety inspections of its A380 superjumbo. (WSJ)

General Motors (NYSE: GM) says it is the largest car company in the world, but experts disagree on how to count affiliate sales. (WSJ)

The Energy Information Administration says exports of natural gas could drive U.S. prices up by 54% in 2018. (WSJ)

Google presses its effort in display ads, which could pressure Aol (NYSE: AOL) and Yahoo! (NASDAQ: YHOO). (WSJ)

General Electric (NYSE: GE) tries to improve its prospects, but its size and diversity may hurt that push. (WSJ)

Hedge fund investors pull more cash from the firms than they add in the last part of 2011. (WSJ)

Commerzbank, Banca Monte dei Paschi di Siena, and Spain’s Bankia must push to raise cash to meet regulations. (WSJ)

American Express (NYSE: AXP) and Capital One (NYSE: COF) earnings show consumers returning to the use of credit. (WSJ)

Dealogic says that companies have raised $44.2 billion this year — a record for the period. (WSJ)

Chris Dodd, the head of the Motion Picture Association of America, suggests that tech and content companies meet to explore their differences. (NYT)

Ireland says its economy will be troubled again this year as its tries to meet austerity goals. (NYT)

Italy’s banks borrow 50 billion euros from the European Central Bank. (FT)

International Monetary Fund’s Largarde warns that budget cuts linked to austerity could damage growth. (Bloomberg)

Douglas A. McIntyre

American Express Co. (NYSE: AXP) Reiterated Buy with $60 target at Argus.
Atmel Corporation (NASDAQ: ATML) Maintained Buy but cut target to $11 at Canaccord Genuity.
BlackRock Inc. (NYSE: BLK) Started as Buy at UBS.
Chevron Corporation (NYSE: CVX) Maintained Outperform but cut earnings estimates at Credit Suisse.
Continental Resources (NYSE: CLR) Cut to Hold with $79 target at Canaccord Genuity.
Entertainment Properties Trust (NYSE: EPR) Cut to Neutral at JPMorgan.
Equity Residential (NYSE: EQR) Cut to Neutral at JPMorgan.
France Telecom SA (NYSE: FTE) Cut to Underweight at JPMorgan.
HSBC Holdings PLC (NYSE: HBC) Cut to Underperform at BofA/ML.
Juniper Networks Inc. (NYSE: JNPR) Cut to Hold at Argus.
Lennar Corporation (NYSE: LEN) Cut to Market Perform at KBW.
Lincoln Electric Holdings, Inc. (NASDAQ: LECO) named as Value stock of the day at Zacks.
MarkWest Energy Partners (NYSE: MWE) named as Bull of the Day at Zacks.
Microsoft Corporation (NASDAQ: MSFT) Maintained Outperform but cut target to $34 from $35 at Credit Suisse; Maintained Hold and lowered estimates at Argus.
Oasis Petroleum (NYSE: OAS) Cut to Hold with $32 target at Canaccord Genuity.
SUPERVALU Inc. (NYSE: SVU) Maintained Neutral but cut target to $7 from $10 at Credit Suisse.

Your email address

subscribe

terms and conditions

JON C. OGG

It turns out that many stocks with high dividend yields are now more attractive than sovereign debt in the U.S. and abroad. Part of the allure, besides income or reinvestment, is that dividend stocks often hold up better than other investments during jittery markets. It is hard to imagine, but the high-yield utility sector was one of the top performers of the S&P in 2011. In some cases, half of an investor’s total return through time may come from dividends. Warren Buffett generally picks dividend-paying companies for Berkshire Hathaway Inc. (NYSE: BRK-A) after following some of the principles of Benjamin Graham.

The 24/7 Wall St. 2012 Model Dividend Portfolio includes the following stocks: American Electric Power Co., Inc. (NYSE: AEP); American Water Works Company, Inc. (NYSE: AWK); AT&T, Inc. (NYSE: T); General Electric Co. (NYSE: GE); Government Properties Income Trust (NYSE: GOV); Kimberly-Clark Corporation (NYSE: KMB); Senior Housing Properties Trust (NYSE: SNH); and Wal-Mart Stores Inc. (NYSE: WMT).

While exchange-traded products have been avoided in the past, recent trends merit a look at the open-end or closed-end mutual funds and ETF products as follows: SPDR Barclays Capital High Yield Bond (NYSE: JNK); JPMorgan Alerian MLP Index ETN (NYSE: AMJ); ALPS Alerian MLP ETF (NYSE: AMLP); and PowerShares Financial Preferred (NYSE: PGF).

Lastly, there have been some exits due to upside price performance: Altria Group Inc. (NYSE: MO); Digital Realty Trust Inc. (NYSE: DLR); Enterprise Products Partners LP (NYSE: EPD); and Kinder Morgan Energy Partners LP (NYSE: KMP).

We have described the features and outlook for each component of our Model Dividend Portfolio.

Gardner Denver, Inc. (NYSE: GDI) named as the Value Stock of the Day at Zacks Investment Research. HSBC Holdings PLC (NYSE: HBC) was named as the Bear of the Day and AGCO Corporation (NYSE: AGCO) was named as the Bull of the Day by Zacks Investment Research.

Warner Chilcott plc (NASDAQ: WCRX) lowered price target to $25 and Forest Labs Inc. (NYSE: FRX) target cut to $40 at Bank of America Merrill Lynch.

Windstream Corporation (NASDAQ: WIN) Started as Neutral at Piper Jaffray.

Rayonier Inc. (NYSE: RYN) and Reliance Steel & Aluminum (NYSE: RS) were added to the #1 (Strong Buy) List at Zacks Investment Research.  The Zacks additions to the #5 (strong Sell List are as follows: Agnico-Eagle Mines Ltd. (NYSE: AEM); Badger Meter Inc. (NYSE: BMI); Kellogg Co. (NYSE: K); and Sears Holdings Corporation (NASDAQ: SHLD). 

Molycorp Inc. (NYSE: MCP) is one where we said earlier in the week that the efficient market theory cannot be applied, and Zacks included it on the Strong Sell ratings list this morning to close out 2011.

JON C. OGG

Agrium Inc. (NYSE: AGU) Cut to Sector Perform from Outperform at RBC Capital Markets.
Banco Latinoamericano de Comercio Exterior, S.A. (NYSE: BLX) named as value stock of the day at Zacks Investment Research.
Genworth Financial Inc. (NYSE: GNW) Downgraded to Underperform from Neutral at Zacks Investment Research.
HSBC Holdings PLC (NYSE: HBC) maintained Underperform but also named as Bear of the Day at Zacks Investment Research.
Jefferies Group, Inc. (NYSE: JEF) Cut to Hold from Buy by Meredith Whitney (Late-Wednesday call).
Micron Technology, Inc. (NASDAQ: MU) Maintained Buy with $11 target at Stern Agee; maintained as Outperform at Credit Suisse.
Norfolk Southern Corporation (NYSE: NSC) maintained Outperform as Bull of the Day at Zacks Investment Research.
Potash Corp. of Saskatchewan (NYSE: POT) Raised to Outperform from Sector Perform at RBC Capital Markets.
Saks Inc. (NYSE: SKS) Downgraded to Neutral from Outperform at Zacks Investment Research.
VIVUS, Inc. (NASDAQ: VVUS) Cut to Neutral from Buy at Roth Capital; Maintained as Outperform at Credit Suisse.

Your email address

subscribe

terms and conditions

JON C. OGG

Bank of Japan says it will hold to current policies as the economy in the Asian nation has weakened. (Reuters)

Amazon.com (NASDAQ: AMZN) considered buying Research In Motion (NASDAQ: RIMM). (Reuters)

Electronic Arts (NASDAQ: ERTS) puts a large investment into its new Star Wars: The Old Republic. (Reuters)

The Federal Reserve offers new rules to cut risk-taking by U.S. banks. (Reuters)

Oracle (NASDAQ: ORCL) misses estimates and shares fall 8%. (Reuters)

AT&T (NYSE: T) may buy Clearwire (NASDAQ: CLWR) or Dish Network (NASDAQ: DISH) now that its T-Mobile bid is over. (Reuters)

HTC begins to test new models after a patent suit loss to Apple (NASDAQ: AAPL). (Reuters)

Credit Suisse (NYSE: CS) buys HSBC’s (NYSE: HBC) Japan private bank. (Reuters)

Chinese hackers hit the U.S. Chamber of Commerce. (WSJ)

Some $200 million may have been transferred from MF Global accounts to JPMorgan Chase (NYSE: JPM). (WSJ)

Nokia (NYSE: NOK) and Microsoft (NASDAQ: MSFT) considered a bid for RIM. (WSJ)

Wendy’s (NYSE: WEN) may pass Burger King in sales. (WSJ)

Honda (NYSE: HMC) to shift more production to the North America. (WSJ)

A lack of action by Congress could raise payroll taxes to 6.2% and eliminate long-term unemployment payments. (WSJ)

Fund Starboard Value attacks Aol (NYSE: AOL) for its ongoing plans to invest in content. (WSJ)

LightSquared pushes the FCC to approve its service, which some think interferes with GPS devices. (WSJ)

The Commodity Futures Trading Commission says firms must disclose data on trading over-the-counter securities. (WSJ)

Bill Gross’s Total Return Fund will have its first outflow since 1987. (WSJ)

Spain’s borrowing costs drop as it auctions new bonds. (WSJ)

EU banks probably will take advantage of new European Central Bank loans. (FT)

Troubled EU banks sell more mortgage securities. (FT)

French banks will try to raise $48 billion to satisfy debt needs. (Bloomberg)

Douglas A. McIntyre

Altria Group Inc. (NYSE: MO) Started as Buy at Deutsche Bank.
Advance America, Cash Advance Centers Inc. (NYSE: AEA) named as value stock of the day at under 10-times earnings by Zacks.
Crown Holdings Inc. (NYSE: CCK) Started as Outperform with $43 target and was added to the Focus List at Credit Suisse.
General Electric Co. (NYSE: GE) Raised to Outperform by Bernstein (call was made late Monday afternoon).
Hibbett Sporting Goods (NASDAQ: HIBB) maintained Outperform with $47 target and named as Bull of the Day at Zacks.
HSBC Holdings PLC (NYSE: HBC) started as Underperform and named as Bear of the Day at Zacks.
ITC Holdings Corp. (NYSE: ITC) Cut to Neutral from Outperform at Credit Suisse.
LinkedIn Corporation (NYSE: LNKD) Raised to Overweight at JPMorgan.
MetroPCS Communications, Inc. (NYSE: PCS) Raised to Outperform from Market Perform on valuation by William Blair.
SAP AG (NYSE: SAP) Cut to Hold at S&P Equity Research.
Sonoco Products Co. (NYSE: SON) Started as Neutral with $34.00 price target at Credit Suisse.
Tesoro Corporation (NYSE: TSO) Cut to Neutral with $34 target from Outperform at Credit Suisse.
Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE: VZ) Reiterated Buy with a $44 price target at Argus.

Your email address

subscribe

terms and conditions

JON C. OGG

Inflation in China drops in October. (Reuters)

Olympus investment losses may have gone above $1 billion. (Reuters)

Silvio Berlusconi leaves as prime minister of Italy. (Reuters)

Investors will focus on General Motors’ (NYSE: GM) $20 billion unfunded pension liability as it releases earnings. (Reuters)

Microsoft (NASDAQ: MSFT), Aol (NYSE: AOL) and Yahoo! (NASDAQ: YHOO) set a new advertising sales partnership. (Reuters)

Samsung will invest nearly $34 billion in R&D next year. (Reuters)

An Informa study for the Wireless Broadband Alliance says Wi-Fi hot spots will grow by four times by 2015. (Reuters)

Nvidia (NASDAQ: NVDA) releases new products for tablet PCs. (Reuters)

Yelp hires banks to take it public. (Reuters)

Carlyle Group sharply cuts fees as it tries to raise money for a $$2.3 billion real estate fund. (WSJ)

Investors aggressively sell Italian bonds. (WSJ)

Foreign markets help AB Inbev’s (NYSE: BUD) earnings. (WSJ)

Vivendi makes a bid for EMI. (WSJ)

Fannie Mae wants another $7.8 billion from the government. (WSJ)

The number of U.S. job openings rose to 3.4 million in September from 3.1 million in August. (WSJ)

President Obama approves very limited off-shore drilling. (WSJ)

The State Department may agree to move the Canada-to-U.S. pipeline around a section of Nebraska. (WSJ)

Amylin (NASDAQ: AMLN) and Eli Lilly (NYSE: LLY) kill their diabetes drug partnership. (WSJ)

Adobe (NASDAQ: ADBE) cuts 750 jobs. (WSJ)

Credit Suisse (NYSE: CS) will give the U.S. names of clients who may have evaded taxes. (WSJ)

The FCC wants to expand low-income family access to high-speed internet. (NYT)

The head of HSBC (NYSE: HBC) says Asia faces a shortage of available credit. (FT)

Douglas A. McIntyre