Oracle Corp. (NASDAQ: ORCL) has turned up the heat in a lawsuit filed last May by Hewlett-Packard Co. (NYSE: HPQ) seeking to require that Oracle meet what HP says are its contractual obligations to…
Stocks got off on a positive note this morning, but resisted the temptation to climb based on a positive reading of the leading econonmic indicators and higher estimates of US GDP growth in the…
Share prices for the oil field services companies dipped in late July shortly after many of the companies had posted new 52-week highs. The stocks have been struggling since then, primarily as a result…
Mining giant Rio Tinto plc (NYSE: RIO) has gotten itself into another bidding war. This time the playing field favors Rio over Canadian uranium miner Cameco Corp. (NYSE: CCJ) mostly due to its size…
An over-supply of product leading to a steep drop in price has claimed another victim. No, this is not a story about a solar PV maker, but about shipping, where ships that were ordered…
Traders started off this morning on a bit of a selling spree, but for most of the morning the indexes were roughly flat. In the afternoon, however, selling picked up and all indexes were…
As the price differential between WTI and Brent crude oil continues to narrow, with WTI rising and Brent falling, big oil companies should see a gain in their realized prices for crude. This is especially true…
The last year or so has been good for IPOs in the biofuel and bioenergy sector. Beginning with Codexis, Inc. (NASDAQ: CDXS) in 2010, four other companies have successfully issued stock this year: Amyris…
The announcement from Enbridge Inc. (NYSE: ENB) that it would acquire the 50% stake in the Seaway pipeline system owned by ConocoPhillips Corp. (NYSE: COP) and reverse the pipeline’s flow direction, pushed up the…
Among the hundreds of technology stocks, there are a relative handful of companies that stand out as bellwethers for the entire industry. Some are on the list for historical reasons; others are simply too…
The markets opened lower this morning and not until mid-afternoon were equities able to put a mark above yesterday’s close. European stocks traded mixed all day, and that coupled with rising crude prices could…
US retailers expect holiday sales to experience weaker growth than last year’s 5.2% increase. For Black Friday, the day after Thanksgiving, retail sales growth is pegged at an increase of 1.6%. less than half…
Two earnings reports this morning offer a contrast in the fortunes of companies that are in different parts of the retail sales chain. Target Corp. (NYSE: TGT) reported adjusted EPS of $0.87 on revenue…
Mortgage interest rates remain historically low, but buyers are either unwilling or unable to take advantage of the low rates. After three straight weeks of increases in mortgage applications, borrowers backed off last week.…
Stocks opened lower this morning and stayed lower for nearly the entire first half of the day, with buyers most likely waiting to see what would happen with Italian bond rates. The bonds ended…
The earnings reports from telecom players are now mostly out and 24/7 Wall St. is looking up and down through the high-dividend sector to see which telecom players offer the most implied upside. Subscriber…
A number of retailers reported earnings this morning, and the results might be summarized as “mixed” at best. Wal-Mart Stores Inc. (NYSE: WMT), Home Depot Inc. (NYSE: HD), Saks Inc. (NYSE: SKS), The TJX…
The financial crisis in Europe and the lingering effects of the earthquake and tsunami in Japan have heightened the risk of a second recession in the US in the first half of 2012. That’s…
Shares only briefly broke above last week’s close today, as decliners outnumber gainers by about 4 to 1 in the late afternoon. Tech stocks held up fairly well early as news of Warren Buffet’s…
There are a wide variety of REITs involved in non-residential property ownership and management and a few of these are our focus today. These include general office space, technology company office space, buildings leased…