24/7 Wall St. » MNST

24/7 Wall St. Closing Bell (ORCL, NOV, MMM, TEVA, JDSU, AMCX, MT, HNR, KSS, WIN, DDS, JKS, PGR, SOL, URRE, MNST, WFR)

Paul Ausick — Thu, 10 May 2012 20:04:02 +0000

The major US stock indexes opened significantly higher this morning as investors were heartened by yesterday’s nationalization of Spain’s Bankia. The Bank of England also keps rates and asset purchases stable. This morning’s report on new US claims for unemployment benefits was in-line with expectations (our coverage here). US natural gas inventories rose last week, but the increase was also in-line with expectations (our coverage here).The US dollar index rose today, now up 0.01% at 80.077. The GSCI commodity index is down fractionally at 648.28, with commodities mostly higher on the small change in the dollar. WTI crude oil closed up 0.3% at $97.08/barrel and Brent crude trades down -0.37% at $112.78/barrel. Gold settled up 0.1% today, at $1,595.50/ounce.

The unofficial closing bells put the DJIA up nearly XX points to XXX (XX%), the NASDAQ rose more than XX points (XXX%) to XXX, and the S&P 500 rose XX% or nearly X points to XXX.

There were several analyst upgrades and downgrades today, including Oracle Corp. (NASDAQ: ORCL) cut to ‘hold’ at ThinkEquity; National Oilwell Varco Inc. (NYSE: NOV) maintained ‘buy’ with a lowered target price of $90 at Argus; 3M Co. (NYSE: MMM) cut to ‘market perform’ at Bernstein; Teva Pharmaceuticals Industries Ltd. (NASDAQ: TEVA) cut to ‘hold’ at Needham; and JDS Uniphase Corp. (NASDAQ: JDSU) raised to ‘buy’ at UBS.

Earnings reports since markets closed last night have led to some price changes as of the last half hour of trading today: AMC Networks Inc. (NASDAQ: AMCX) is up 2.4% at $40.58; ArcelorMittal (NYSE: MT) is up 1.9% at $16.42; Harvest Natural Resources Inc. (NYSE: HNR) is down -1.6% at $5.71 after posting a new 52-week low of $5.44 earlier today; Kohl’s Corp. (NYSE: KSS) is down -4.6% at $48.52; and Windstream Corp. (NASDAQ: WIN) is down -10.3% at $10.10 after posting a new 52-week low of $9.42 earlier today.

On Friday we are scheduled to get earnings from Dillard’s Inc. (NYSE: DDS), Jinkosolar Holding Co. Ltd. (NYSE: JKS), Nvidia Corp. (NASDAQ: NVDA), Progressive Corp. (NYSE: PGR), ReneSola Ltd. (NYSE: SOL), and Uranium Resources Inc. (NASDAQ: URRE).

Other standouts from today include the following stocks:

Monster Beverage Corp. (NASDAQ: MNST) is up 9.2% at $71.34 in a 52-week range of $32.35-$83.96. The energy drinks company posted strong results, but buyout rumors continue to lead the charge. More coverage here.

MEMC Electronic Materials Inc. (NYSE: WFR) is down -24.3% at $2.46 after posting a new 52-week low of $2.41 earlier today. The solar component supplier posted bad results and a weak outlook. More coverage here.

We also took a detailed look today at short interest in a number of stocks — big names, volume leaders, and cult stocks.

Stay tuned for Friday. Dallas Fed President Richard Fisher is giving a speech. We have noted the following events on the schedule (all times Eastern):

8:30 a.m. – Producer price index
9:55 a.m. – Reuters/University of Michigan consumer sentiment

Paul Ausick

Filed under: HI/LOW, Market Close Tagged: AMCX, DDS, HNR, JDSU, JKS, KSS, MMM, MNST, MT, NOV, ORCL, PGR, SOL, TEVA, URRE, WFR, WIN

Monster… A Tale of Earnings Clouded By M&A Dreams (MNST, KO, PEP)

Administrator — Thu, 10 May 2012 13:02:00 +0000

Monster Beverage Corporation (NASDAQ: MNST) is looking like a monster all on its own after earnings this morning. The specialty energy drink maker is seeing shares rise in the double-digit percentages after this company managed to handily beat earnings expectations on Wednesday evening.

Today’s share price reaction to the earnings news is enough that you might wonder if those old buyout rumors might be surfacing again. The question is whether or not The Coca-Cola Company (NYSE: KO) or another outfit wants to pay more than $12 billion for an acquisition.

Earnings came in up 38% to $0.41 EPS and revenues came to $454.6 million. We had estimates of $0.38 EPS and $447.1 million in revenues. There was also an impressive operating margin gain which grew to 27.8% from 24.8% as growth in Asia is paying off. Shares closed at $65.31 on Wednesday and the pre-market action has shares up 12% at $73.20. The market cap at yesterday’s close was $11.4 billion and the 52-week trading range is $32.35 to $83.96.

From an outsider’s view, Monster looks like a beverage company where the time to acquire it may have come and gone. Monster trades at well over 30-times expected 2012 earnings against about 18-times earnings for Coca-Cola and about 16-times expected earnings for Pepsico, Inc. (NYSE: PEP). Coca-Cola has finally come back in favor for defensive investors, and Pepsico is in a state of flux where many feel it has lost its way. It seems like for now these two beverage giants would not be wanting to spend well over $12 billion to buy an energy drink outfit, but in the end everything may just boil down to price.

JON C. OGG

Filed under: Earnings, Food, Mergers and Buy Outs Tagged: KO, MNST, PEP

Media Digest (5/1/2012) Reuters, WSJ, NYT, FT

247wallst — Tue, 01 May 2012 10:34:28 +0000

China’s PMI rises to a 13-month high. (Reuters)

BP (NYSE: BP) profits fall as it sells some assets to pay for the Gulf spill. (Reuters)

New York state pension funds vote against five Walmart (NYSE: WMT) directors. (Reuters)

Microsoft (NASDAQ: MSFT) takes a position in the Barnes & Noble (NYSE: BKS) e-reader operation. (Reuters)

Two top Federal Reserve officials say there will be no more easing by the central bank. (Reuters)

A shareholder sues Google (NASDAQ: GOOG) to stop a stock split that would favor management control. (Reuters)

Bank of America (NYSE: BAC) will cut a large number of investment and commercial bankers. (WSJ)

Sales of cars in Japan jumps in April. (WSJ)

Economies of scale, still enjoyed because of Nokia’s (NYSE: NOK) size, may help turn around the company. (WSJ)

Home ownership falls to a 15-year low. (WSJ)

A large number of management departures hurts the ability of Freddie Mac and Fannie Mae to recover. (WSJ)

St. Jude Medical (NYSE: STJ) continues to wrestle with problems with one of its heart devices. (WSJ)

Coca-Cola (NYSE: KO) may buy Monster Beverage (NASDAQ: MNST), an energy drink company. (WSJ)

General Electric (NYSE: GE) sales in Australia rivals its Chinese revenue. (WSJ)

Caterpillar (NYSE: CAT) may face a large strike. (WSJ)

Delta Air (NYSE: DAL) finally decides to buy a northwest refiner. (WSJ)

Banks sharply increase loans to companies with junk-bond ratings. (WSJ)

The S&P 500 posts its first monthly loss since November. (NYT)

Germany continues to insist that austerity is the best means to improve the finances of troubled EU nations. (FT)

Groupon (NASDAQ: GRPN) will add two financial experts to its board. (FT)

Douglas A. McIntyre

Filed under: Press Digest Tagged: BAC, BKS, BP, CAT, DAL, GE, GOOG, GRPN, KO, MNST, MSFT, NOK, STJ, WMT

Coke Ready to Swallow a Monster? (KO, MNST, PEP, DPS)

Paul Ausick — Mon, 30 Apr 2012 18:53:45 +0000

When the largest soft-drink company in the US can’t make a competitive product in a growing market, it looks around for a company it can buy. It appears that the Coca-Cola Co. (NYSE: KO), with its dismally performing Full Throttle brand of energy drinks, is now taking a hard look at Monster Beverage Corp. (NASDAQ: MNST).

In a market dominated by privately held Red Bull, Monster is #2, with privately held Rockstar at #3. And if Coke wants to play, it should want to play no lower than #2. Competitors Pepsico Inc. (NYSE: PEP) and Dr. Pepper Snapple Group Inc. (NYSE: DPS) are nowhere in the fast growing energy market either, and that has added even more fuel to the rumors of a Coke-Monster tie-up. Both Coke and Pepsi passed on making an offer for Monster last year, when it might have been cheaper.

Coke’s reasons not to buy Monster may be at least as good as its reasons to take the plunge. Monster’s shares have more than doubled in the past 12 months and the company’s forward P/E ratio is nearly 33. And the company’s share price at Friday’s close put its market cap at about $11.4 billion. That’s a pretty rich deal and would be Coke’s largest ever acquisition. The company acquired Vitaminwater maker Glaceau in 2007 for $4.2 billion.

Shares of Monster are up more than 15% in the late afternoon at $74.96 after pulling back from a new 52-week high of $83.96 set earlier today. At $75/share, Monster’s market cap is slightly more than $13 billion.

Paul Ausick

Filed under: Food, Mergers and Buy Outs, Rumors Tagged: DPS, KO, MNST, PEP

24/7 Wall St. Closing Bell (FSLR, MNST, TSL, ARMH, MAR, Y, CROX, DECK, MRVL, MCP, SPN, ANR, JCP, NEM, CHTP, BV, KCP, RBCN, KND)

Paul Ausick — Fri, 24 Feb 2012 21:08:15 +0000

After opening higher this morning, markets rebounded from an early dip following a better-than-expected reading on consumer confidence and a bullish report on US new home sales. But sellers took over in the afternoon and the three major indexes turned south, with the DJIA falling into negative territory for the day. Crude oil continues to set new multi-month highs, with WTI ending up 1.8% for the day at $109.77/barrel, and a gain for the week of 6.3%. Brent crude is up 1.42% at $125.37/barrel. Gold settled down -0.6% at $1,776.40/ounce, but posted a weekly gain of 2.9%.

The unofficial closing bells put the DJIA down nearly 2 points to 12,983.02 (-0.01%), the NASDAQ rose more than 6 points (0.23%) to 2,963.75, and the S&P 500 rose 0.17% or more than 2 points to 1,365.74.

There were several analyst upgrades and downgrades today, including First Solar Inc. (NASDAQ: FSLR) cut to ‘neutral’ at Susquehanna; Monster Beverage Corp. (NASDAQ: MNST) reiterated as ‘Conviction Buy List’ and estimates raised at Goldman Sachs; Trina Solar Ltd. (NYSE: TSL) cut to ‘market perform’ at Wells Fargo and cut to ‘negative’ at Susquehanna; ARM Holdings plc (NASDAQ: ARMH) started as ‘overweight’ at Piper Jaffray; and Marriott International Inc. (NYSE: MAR) raised to ‘Conviction Buy List” at Goldman Sachs.

Earnings reports since markets closed last night have led to some price changes as of the last half hour of trading today: Allegheny Corp. (NYSE: Y) is up 4.4% at $315.72; Crocs Inc. (NASDAQ: CROX) is down -5.8% at $19.24 (more coverage here); Deckers Outdoor Corp. (NASDAQ: DECK) is down -14.2% at $77.39; Marvel Technology Group Ltd. (NASDAQ: MRVL) is down -3.7% at $15.46; Molycorp Inc. (NYSE: MCP) is down -7.9% at $26.80 (more coverage here); Superior Energy Services Inc. (NYSE: SPN) is down -1.8% at $29.92; Alpha Natural Resources Inc. (NYSE: ANR) is down -2.9% at $20.40 (more coverage here); J.C. Penney Co. Inc. (NYSE: JCP) is down -0.72% at $41.63; and Newmont Mining Corp. (NYSE: NEM) is down -2.3% at $62.32.

Other standouts from today include the following stocks:

Chelsea Therapeutics International Inc. (NASDAQ: CHTP) is up 61% at $3.88. The drug maker yesterday received an FDA panel approval for a drug to treat symptoms of Parkinson’s disease.

Bazaarvoice Inc. (NASDAQ: BV) is up about 37% at $16.40. Today is the social commerce site’s IPO and trading volume has topped 8.1 million on an original issue of about 9.5 million shares at $12/share. More coverage here and here.

Kenneth Cole Productions Inc. (NYSE: KCP) is up about 19% at $15.55 after posting a new 52-week high of $16.00 earlier. The apparel maker is being taken private at $15/share. More coverage here.

Rubicon Technology Inc. (NASDAQ: RBCN) is down nearly -19% at $9.87. The LED maker missed estimates and offered weak guidance for the current quarter.

Kindred Healthcare Inc. (NYSE: KND) is down nearly -15% at $10.66. The healthcare services company posted a loss last night and announced that it would not renew 7 of 10 master leases with Ventas Inc. (NYSE: VTR).

Stay tuned for Monday. We have noted the following events on the schedule (all times Eastern):

10:00 a.m. – Pending home sales index
10:30 a.m. – Dallas Fed manufacturing survey
11:30 a.m. – 3- and 6-month Treasury bill auction

Have a great weekend!

Paul Ausick

Filed under: 24/7 Wall St. Wire Tagged: ANR, ARMH, BV, CHTP, CROX, DECK, FSLR, JCP, KCP, KND, MAR, MCP, MNST, MRVL, NEM, RBCN, SPN, TSL, Y

Top Analyst Upgrades & Downgrades (ARMH, AVB, GCI, DECK, FSLR, FST, MNST, MAR, NBR, POL, RRGB, SUN, CRM, TGT, TSL)

Administrator — Fri, 24 Feb 2012 13:22:03 +0000

These are some of this Friday’s top analyst upgrades, downgrades, and initiations seen in Wall Street research calls.

ARM Holdings PLC (NASDAQ: ARMH) Started as Overweight at Piper Jaffray.
AvalonBay Communities, Inc. (NYSE: AVB) Raised to Outperform at Credit Suisse.
Gannett Co., Inc. (NYSE: GCI) Started as Equalweight at Barclays.
Deckers Outdoor Corporation (NASDAQ: DECK) Cut to Neutral at Credit Suisse; Maintained Buy with $105 target at Canaccord Genuity.
First Solar, Inc. (NASDAQ: FSLR) Cut to Neutral at Susquehanna.
Forest Oil Corporation (NYSE: FST) Cut to Hold at Canaccord Genuity.
Monster Beverage Corporation (NASDAQ: MNST) Reiterated Conviction Buy List and raised estimates by Goldman Sachs.
Marriott International, Inc. (NYSE: MAR) Raised to Conviction Buy List at Goldman Sachs.
Nabors Industries Ltd. (NYSE: NBR) Raised to Buy with $30 target at Argus.
PolyOne Corporation (NYSE: POL) named as Value Stock of the Day at Zacks.
Red Robin Gourmet Burgers (NASDAQ: RRGB) named as Bull of the Day at Zacks.
Sunoco, Inc. (NYSE: SUN) Cut to Underperform as Bear of the Day at Zacks.
Salesforce.com (NYSE: CRM) Maintained Neutral but raised target to $145 on Credit Suisse; Raised to Buy at ThinkEquity; Reiterated Buy and raised target to $170 at Canaccord Genuity.
Target Corporation (NYSE: TGT) Raised to Buy at Jefferies.
Trina Solar Limited (NYSE: TSL) Cut to Market Perform at Wells Fargo; Cut to Negative at Susquehanna.

If you enjoyed the top analyst upgrades and downgrades, you can sign up in the box below to join our morning email list to receive news directly in your inbox each morning. We include major analyst upgrades and downgrades, IPO and M&A news, special situation developments, observations on Warren Buffett and key market gurus, as well as special exclusive feature stories.

JON C. OGG

Filed under: 24/7 Wall St. Wire, Analyst Calls Tagged: ARMH, AVB, CRM, DECK, FSLR, FST, GCI, MAR, MNST, NBR, POL, RRGB, SUN, TGT, TSL

Top Analyst Upgrades & Downgrades (AAP, AZO, BAC, C, HFC, IMGN, JAKK, JPM, K, KEG, MEOH, MNST, MS, MYL, SPLS, TWX, WFM)

Administrator — Mon, 30 Jan 2012 13:34:56 +0000

These are some of the top analyst upgrades, downgrades, and initiations seen from Wall Street brokerage and research firms this Monday morning.

Advanced Auto Parts Inc. (NYSE: AAP) Raised to Buy at Goldman Sachs.
AutoZone, Inc. (NYSE: AZO) Raised to Buy at Goldman Sachs.
Bank of America Corporation (NYSE: BAC) Cut to Neutral at Goldman Sachs.
Citigroup , Inc. (NYSE: C) Raised to Buy at Goldman Sachs.
HollyFrontier Corporation (NYSE: HFC) Cut to Neutral with $27 target at Citigroup.
ImmunoGen Inc. (NASDAQ: IMGN) Reiterated Buy with $17 target at Canaccord Genuity.
JAKKS Pacific (NASDAQ: JAKK) Cut to Underperform as Bear of the Day at Zacks.
J.P. Morgan Chase & Co. (NYSE: JPM) Maintained Buy but removed from Conviction Buy List at Goldman Sachs.
Kellogg Co. (NYSE: K) Cut to Neutral at JPMorgan.
Key Energy Services (NYSE: KEG) Maintained Buy but raised estimates ($19 target) at Canaccord Genuity.
Methanex Corporation (NASDAQ: MEOH) named as Value stock of the day at Zacks.
Monster Beverage Corporation (NASDAQ: MNST) Cut to Neutral at SunTrust.
Morgan Stanley (NYSE: MS) Raised to Conviction Buy list at Goldman Sachs.
Mylan, Inc. (NASDAQ: MYL) Raised to Outperform as Bull of the Day at Zacks.
Staples Inc. (NASDAQ: SPLS) Cut to Sell at Goldman Sachs.
Time Warner Inc. (NYSE: TWX) Cut to Equal-Weight at Barclays.
Whole Foods Market. Inc. (NASDAQ: WFM) Maintained Buy but removed from Conviction BUy List at Goldman Sachs.

This is overseas, but BofA has downgraded Societe Generale and BNP Paribas to Neutral from Buy this morning.

Here were the top analyst calls of the last week condensed into one short piece.

If you enjoyed the top analyst calls, you can sign up in the box below to join our morning email list to receive news directly in your inbox each morning. We include major analyst upgrades and downgrades, IPO and M&A news, special situation developments, observations on Warren Buffett and key market gurus, as well as special exclusive feature stories.

JON C. OGG

Filed under: 24/7 Wall St. Wire, Analyst Calls Tagged: AAP, AZO, BAC, C, HFC, IMGN, JAKK, JPM, K, KEG, MEOH, MNST, MS, MYL, SPLS, TWX, WFM

Over 10 Big Stocks Hitting New All-Time Highs (AAPL, DLTR, ECL, MCD, MNST, NKE, PNRA, SBUX, AAP, AZO, ORLY)

Administrator — Wed, 18 Jan 2012 19:52:12 +0000

The logic from technical traders is simple: “Stocks hitting new highs tend to keep hitting new highs.” Eventually that comes to an end, sometimes a painful end. Until that end arrives it sure gives the bulls a lot to cheer about. When these are big companies of $10 billion and more hitting all-time highs, the bulls get even more excited. Here are just some of the all-time highs which have been seen today:

Apple Inc. (NASDAQ: AAPL) hit a new high this morning ahead of next week’s earnings. The new value is almost at $400 billion. The new high is $428.50 for now and the consensus price target from Thomson Reuters is now above $509.00.

Dollar Tree, Inc. (NASDAQ: DLTR) is continuing with the trade-down economy and the secular growth of the dollar store (actually sub-$10) stores. The new high is $85.58 and the consensus price target is $86.27 from Thomson Reuters. Dollar Tree is now worth more than $10 billion in market capitalization.

Ecolab Inc. (NYSE: ECL) is worth almost $14 billion now, and the new high today of $60.45 compares to a Thomson Reuters consensus price target of $61.56.

McDonald’s Corporation (NYSE: MCD) gave solid same-store sales forecast and recently juiced up its dividend. The new high is $101.87 and the market cap is nearing $104 billion.

Monster Beverage Corporation (NASDAQ: MNST) recently announced a stock split and shares hit a new high this morning but have promptly backed off by close to 2%. The new high is $101.67 and the consensus analyst target is close to $105.00. It is hard to imagine, but Monster now has a market value of almost $8.7 billion.

Nike Inc. (NYSE: NKE) keeps doing it. A new high of $100.75 was put in today after a prior 52-week high of $99.44. Its market value now eclipses $46 billion.

Panera Bread Company (NASDAQ: PNRA) is up at stratosphere levels now for its healthier sandwich and destination approach. The new high is $151.93 and the consensus price target from Thomson Reuters is $146.68. Its market cap is now almost $4.5 billion.

Starbucks Corporation (NASDAQ: SBUX) has proven us very wrong on how high the valuation can go back up to. The new high is $48.15 and the consensus price target from Thomson Reuters is just under $48.00 and the market cap is now more than $35 billion.

Advance Auto Parts Inc. (NYSE: AAP) worth over $5 billion, AutoZone, Inc. (NYSE: AZO) worth over $13 billion, and O’Reilly Automotive, Inc. (NASDAQ: ORLY) worth over $10 billion… These all hit record high prices in their stocks on Wednesday. With a record age car fleet in America of more than 10 years, car parts stores and suppliers sure are going to have a lot of car owners to sell parts to that are long past the warranty and insurance coverage.

JON C. OGG

Filed under: HI/LOW, Technical Analysis, Trading Alert Tagged: AAP, AAPL, AZO, DLTR, ECL, MCD, MNST, NKE, ORLY, PNRA, SBUX

News Digest 9/28/2009 Reuters, WSJ, NYTimes, FT, Bloomberg

247wallst — Mon, 28 Sep 2009 08:04:40 +0000

Reuters: Solvay sold its drug unit to Abbott (ABT) foe $6.6 billion.

Reuters: Kraft (KFT) will launch a hostile bid for Cadbury.

Reuters: The World Bank said not to take the dollar’s role in the global economy for granted.

Reuters: Crucell got a $302 million investment from J&J (JNJ)

Reuters: The Fed will work with Congress on naming its borrowers.

WSJ: The White House is close to providing $35 billion to help housing agencies provide more mortgages.

WSJ: Profits for the third quarter are likely to beat estimates.

WSJ: World Bank President Robert Zoellick said the Treasury and not the Fed should be given more regulatory power

WSJ: HSN will begin to sell ads.

WSJ: The lack of a recovery at Hovnaian (HOV) is a drag on housing.

WSJ: The IMF said its battled the credit crisis well.

WSJ: China will probe chicken imports from the US.

WSJ: Businesses open for less than 90 days accounted for 14% of hiring from 1993 to 2008, but start-ups are way down this year, and are likely to stay down.

WSJ: More corporations are facing the fact that directors did not get majority votes.

WSJ: Monster’s (MNST) stock may be poised for a run.

WSJ: Federal health clinics are seeing a surge in visitors.

WSJ: States may be deprived of $9 billion in highway funds.

WSJ: The Commerce Department released standards for the smart grid which may help drive building.

NYT: Sinochem has made a $2.5 billion bid for Nufarm, an Australian chemical company.

NYT: A trustee will sue more members of the Madoff family.

NYT: GlobalPost, which has correspondents worldwide, will get paid by CBS (CBS) in a new partnership.

NYT: Sprint (S) is betting on WiMax to bring back market share.

NYT: Overseas affiliates are helping CNBC make money.

FT: US banks may face short-term lending rules to gauge risk to sharp market moves.

FT: The value of toxic assets is improving which will help banks increase the value of the paper.

FT: Goldman Sachs (GS) is pushing to increase the number of workers at its asset management arm.

FT: Moody’s (MCO) was hit by a wave of short selling.

Douglas A. McIntyre

Posted in Press Digest Tagged: ABT, CBS, GS, HOV, JNJ, KFT, MCO, MNST, S

Media Digest 9/3/2009 Reuters, WSJ, NYTimes, FT, Bloomberg

247wallst — Thu, 03 Sep 2009 08:02:29 +0000

Reuters: The sell-off in Chinese stocks may be overdone based on earnings.

Reuters: A report blamed the SEC for not doing its job investigating Madoff.

Reuters: The Fed says the risks to the American economy have dropped.

Reuters: A Pfizer (PFE) whistleblower made more than $51 million.

Reuters: YouTube (GOOG) may stream movie rentals from major studios.

Reuters: Morgan Stanley (MS), Moody’s (MCO), and S&P (MHP) must defend fraud claims involving subprime mortgages.

Reuters: AIG (AIG) board members are concerned about its CEO’s comments to the media.

Reuters: BP (BP) made a huge crude discovery in the Gulf of Mexico.

Reuters: Cerberus will ban withdrawals from its new fund.

Reuters: Berkshire Hathaway (BRK.A) and Leucadia National (LUK) will buy Capmark Financial Group’s mortgage operations.

WSJ: Brazilian beef giant JBS is negotiating a $2.5 billion deal for Pilgrim’s Pride.

WSJ: The WTO is expected to rule that European governments illegally aided Airbus.

WSJ: ”Treasury backed away from a standoff over the independence of the watchdog appointed to scrutinize how last year’s $700 billion financial bailout is being spent.”

WSJ: The pace of monthly job losses is slowing.

WSJ: The CFTC and SEC are seeking common ground

WSJ: GM believe that Opel will get aid from three countries in Europe.

WSJ: Cisco (CSCO) and EMC (EMC) may form a joint venture capital unit.

WSJ: Amazon (AMZN) has criticized a legal settlement between Google (GOOG) and book publishers.

WSJ: Nokia (NOK) will sell a premium-priced netbook.

WSJ: The WTO will hand Boeing (BA) a win over Airbus.

WSJ: The former president of Monster (MNST) was sentenced to prison for fraud.

WSJ: The recovery in housing will be uneven.

WSJ: Diane Sawyer will succeed Charles Gibson as anchor of ABC News (DIS).

WSJ: Las Vegas Sands (LVS) raised new capital to help its troubled balance sheet.

WSJ: GM expects 40% growth in China this year.

WSJ: Wal-Mart (WMT) will pay some workers with debit cards.

NYT: Customers of AT&T (T) are angry over the effect the Apple (AAPL) iPhone has on the telecom company’s network.

NYT: As older Americans keep jobs, jobs for the young are harder to find.

NYT: The Administration is proposing larger reserves for banks, which will hurt profits.

FT: Twenty percent of US shoppers are using coupons.

Bloomberg: Sony’s (SNE) music player outsold the Apple (AAPL) iPod in Japan last month.

Douglas A. McIntyre

Posted in Press Digest Tagged: AAPL, AIG, AMZN, BA, BP, BRK-A, CSCO, DIS, EMC, GOOG, LUK, LVS, MCO, MHP, MNST, NOK, PFE, SNE, T, WMT