Morning Wire — US Stock-Index Futures Higher
US stock-index futures are higher this morning following a mixed reaction to this morning’s sale of Italian debt. Yields on the 3-year and 10-year debt were lower than the November sale, but Italy failed…
All Work
Paul Ausick
24/7 Wall St. Closing Bell (BHP, MCP, CCL, SHLD, PKD, DLPH, PNY, RDI, ACAT, DCTH, END, LEDS)
Stocks open slightly higher this morning, but quickly reversed course to begin falling in less than five minutes of trading. The DJIA hit a morning low just before noon and has bounced around off…
Top Oil & Gas Stock Picks for 2012 (XOM, CVX, COP, RRC, TSO, PXD, APC, CHK, APA, OXY)
Crude oil prices have risen this year, although they have been tapering off in the past couple of months. Pump prices have been driven by the price differential between Brent crude and WTI crude,…
Fears Ease of Closure to Strait of Hormuz
Iran’s threat to close the Strait of Hormuz if sanctions are imposed on the country’s oil exports has been mitigated somewhat by a statement from a Saudi official that other Gulf states will make…
Google+ Adding 625,000 Users Every Day (GOOG)
The latest figure for the number of users of the Google+ social network from Google Inc. (NASDAQ: GOOG) is more than 62 million. The sign-up rate for the Facebook competitor has reached about 625,000…
New Biofuels Fail to Meet Government-Mandated Quantities (CDXS, AMYR, GEVO, SZYM, KIOR, ADM, VLO, PEIX)
In 2007, the U.S. Congress established mandates for the amount of cellulosic ethanol and other biofuels to be used in the nation’s transportation fuel supply. Cellulosic ethanol and fuels based on algae are made…
Consumer Spending Up During Holiday Season
Daily US consumer spending rose 4.1% in the period between Thanksgiving and Christmas according to a recent survey conducted by Gallup. The rise is roughly equivalent to the 3.8% expected increase in spending predicted…
China to Cut Rare Earths Exports
China has once again said that the country will cut its exports of rare earth minerals by nearly a third in 2012. The country said the same thing last year, when it announced a…
Morning Wire — US Stock-Index Futures Rise
Stock-index futures are higher this morning following a successful auction of 4-week Italian treasury bills. The auction, for $11.8 billion in debt, had a bid-to-cover ratio of 1.7, up from 1.47 a month ago,…
BP Dodges Charges in Alaska Oil Spill (BP)
In August 2006, a pipeline owned by BP plc (NYSE: BP) ruptured and spilled more than 5,000 barrels of crude oil on Alaska’s North Slope. The company pleaded guilty to a misdemeanor and was…
24/7 Wall St. Closing Bell (VMW, YHOO, SNE, EA, SRE, DLPH, CALM, DMAN, SHLD, CSC, PARL, WHR, MHR)
US equity markets rose rather steeply in the first hour of trading this morning, but weren’t able to sustain the momentum for long. Consumer confidence indexes rose this month, but home prices fell according…
GE Buys Retail Banking Web Site (GE, MET)
The GE Capital arm of General Electric Co. (NYSE: GE) has struck a deal MetLife Inc. (NYSE: MET) to buy MetLife’s online retail banking group called MetLife Bank. Financial terms of the deal were…
Iran Renews Threat to Close Strait
Just two weeks ago, the government of Iran sort of threatened to close the Strait of Hormuz, the narrow chokepoint at the mouth of the Persian Gulf. The threat wasn’t taken too seriously because…
The Good & Bad of 8.1% December New Car Sales Growth (GM, F, HMC, TM)
New car sales in the US for December are forecast to rise 8.1%, including fleet sales, to an annual seasonally adjusted sales rate of 13.5 million new vehicles. The annualized sales rate is down…
KKR, Quicksilver in Deal for Canadian Gas Project (KKR, KWK, RRC, SD)
US based oil and gas producer Quicksilver Resources Inc. (NYSE: KWK) has formed a partnership with investment firm Kohlberg Kravis Roberts & Co. (NYSE: KKR) to further the development of Quicksilver’s Horn River project.…
Consumer Confidence at Highest Since April
The consumer confidence index published by the Conference Board reached an eight-month high of 64.5 in December, up significantly from a revised reading of 55.2 in November. And the good news doesn’t stop there:…
Morning Movers (SHLD, PARL, MHR, CSC, END)
There are several stocks trading more heavily than usual this morning, and also experiencing large gains or drops in share prices. These include Sears Holdings Corp. (NASDAQ: SHLD), Parlux Fragrances Inc. (NASDAQ: PARL), Magnum…
Case-Shiller Report… Housing Pain Remains (KBH, DHI, TOL, LEN, PHM)
The monthly S&P/Case-Shiller Home Price Indices for the month of October were released this morning, and the results failed to meet already low expectation. The annual decline in home prices in the 10- and…
Gallup Says Economic Confidence Rising
The latest Gallup poll of around 3,500 Americans indicates that US confidence in the nation’s economy is rising, but that it still remains low. The Economic Confidence Index now stands at -38, about 10…
Sears Cuts Outlook, Will Close Stores… Long Slow Death March (SHLD, WMT, TGT)
Retailers were hoping to put a solid close to the holiday shopping season with plentiful day-after-Christmas sales aimed at wringing out shoppers’ last dollar. That was probably wishful thinking at Sears Holdings Corp. (NASDAQ:…