The three major US stock indexes opened sharply higher this morning after a report from Brussels that the EU had agreed to proposal for bailing out the Eurozone’s banks (our coverage here). The impact…
It’s raining in Chicago today, and traders at the CBOT are behaving like it’s raining everywhere that corn is growing.From a high of well over $6.50/bushel on Wednesday, corn prices have moderated to around…
We’ve already posted our opinions on the agreement which is expected to create a TARP-style program to prop up Europe’s weak banks. In our view, the proposal is not big enough and it doesn’t…
Today’s report on consumer sentiment from the Reuters/University of Michigan survey was not what economists, or anyone else for that matter, were looking for. We were no exception. The chief economist for the survey…
A consortium led by Sony Corp. (NYSE: SNE) has received US Federal Trade Commission approval to acquire the music publishing arm of EMI from Citigroup Inc. (NYSE: C). Citigroup acquired the business following the…
Retailer Bed, Bath & Beyond Inc. (NASDAQ: BBBY) announced this morning that its tender offer of $22/share for Cost Plus Inc. (NASDAQ: CPWM), which expired last night, garnered approximately 92% of the outstanding shares…
In its report on personal income and spending for May, the US Bureau of Economic Analysis data shows that personal income in current dollars grew by 0.2%, while personal spending (called ‘personal consumption expenditures’…
The signals are multiplying that a recovery in home construction is taking place. Earlier this week the S&P Case-Shiller housing price index showed a gain for the first time in seven months. The US…
In electronic trading this morning WTI crude is up more than 3.3% at $80.38 and Brent crude is up more than 2.8% at $94.04. The rise is certainly due to the plan announced at…
Barely six weeks after an unsuccessful offer of $24.75/share for Avon Products Inc. (NYSE: AVP), Coty Inc. has filed a Form S-3 with the SEC today, revealing its plans for an IPO to raise…
The three major US stock indexes opened lower this morning and stayed in losing territory all day as investors first figured out that the two-day Eurozone summit meeting would very likely end with no…
In what might seem to be an anomaly, retail stocks are getting dumped on today following the US Supreme Court’s ruling upholding Obamacare. An retail group, the Retail Industry Leaders Association (RILA), has published…
Analysts at Dutch-based Rabobank have predicted that US corn prices could rise another 25% by the end of the year on lower yields due to hot, dry weather. That would raise prices to around…
Although the tensions between Iran and the US and Europe have relaxed somewhat in the past couple of months, not everyone is taking for granted that a long-term solution to the Iranian development of…
Ethanol producer Pacific Ethanol Inc. (NASDAQ: PEIX) is watching investors crush the company’s stock following this morning’s announcement of a secondary offering of 28 million units at a price of $0.43/unit. Each unit includes…
The US Energy Information Administration today reported the US natural gas stocks rose by a total of 57 billion cubic feet, above the 52 billion cubic feet increase that analysts had expected. Natural gas…
Pipeline partnership Energy Transfer Partners L.P. (NYSE: ETP) this morning priced a secondary offering of 13.5 million common units at $44.57/common unit, about -3% below last night’s closing price of $45.98. The company plans…
Discount retailer Family Dollar Stores Inc. (NYSE: FDO) reported results for its third fiscal quarter this morning that were pretty much in line with expectations. EPS came in at $1.06 compared with a consensus…
The announcement last February that Glencore International AG (OTC: GLCNF) would acquire mining giant Xstrata plc (OTC: XSRAY) has always faced one very big problem: just 17% of Xstrata shareholders voting against the deal…
The three major US stock indexes opened modestly higher this morning as investors appear to have high hopes that tomorrow’s summit meeting of European Union leaders will lead to a resolution of the continent’s…