A Value Opportunity in Big Oil Stocks?
ThinkstockThe run-up in crude oil prices that got rolling in mid-April has pushed West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude prices from around $87 a barrel to almost $110 a barrel. That is a gain of…
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Paul Ausick
Chrysler: Contentious IPO Nears
Courtesy Chrysler Group LLCItaly’s Fiat SpA may hold an initial public offering (IPO) for Chrysler Group LLC as early as the first quarter of next year, according Fiat CEO Sergio Marchionne. But that is…
Thursday Closing Bell: Markets Fade at Close
September 12, 2013: U.S. markets opened mixed again Thursday morning with the Nasdaq Composite and the S&P 500 both just slightly better than last night’s close. The weekly report on new claims for jobless…
Price Rises Following Natural Gas Report
thinkstockThe U.S. Energy Information Administration (EIA) today reported the U.S. natural gas stocks increased by 65 billion cubic feet last week, compared with an expected build of about 67 billion cubic feet anticipated by…
New iPhones Already Discounted at Walmart
courtesy of Apple Inc.In what might be an unprecedented move by Apple Inc. (NASDAQ: AAPL), the company apparently has agreed to permit Wal-Mart Stores Inc. (NYSE: WMT) to sell the iPhone 5C and iPhone 5S…
Pandora Goes to Court on Both Offense and Defense
ThinkstockShares of Internet radio company Pandora Media Inc. (NYSE: P) are up sharply in premarket trading Thursday morning following last night’s introduction of Brian McAndrews as the company’s new CEO. Wall Street certainly is…
IDC: Cheap Is the Key as Tablets Overtake PCs
courtesy of Apple Inc.The day that most of us have expected is right around the corner. Research firm International Data Corp. (IDC) reported on Wednesday that shipments of tablet devices will surpass shipments of…
States with the Biggest Drops in Foreclosures
ThinkstockIn August, the number of homeowners entering the foreclosure process, known as foreclosure starts, fell below pre-recession levels for the first time. In some states, the decline in foreclosure starts has been even more…
Wednesday Closing Bell: Stocks Just Want to Go Higher, Even Without Apple
September 11, 2013: U.S. markets opened mixed on Wednesday morning with the Nasdaq Composite trailing as investors reacted to the new iPhone products announced yesterday by Apple Inc. (NASDAQ: AAPL). Analysts downgraded the stock for…
Crude Oil Supply Drop Clips Prices
ThinkstockThe U.S. Energy Information Administration (EIA) released its weekly petroleum status report Wednesday morning. U.S. commercial crude inventories decreased by 200,000 barrels last week, maintaining a total U.S. commercial crude inventory to 360 million…
Uncommon Value Lurking in Oil Field Services Companies
ThinkstockCost-cutting and price-cutting have been the major trends in the oil field services sector for at least the past year. It is hard to know which is the chicken and which the egg, but…
The Most Fuel-Efficient U.S. Airlines
ThinkstockAirlines hit hard by rising fuel costs have adopted many of the same countermeasures that drivers hit with higher fuel costs use: fewer trips and more efficient vehicles. The main difference is scale. An…
Mortgage Loan Rates Climb Again, Refinancing Stalls
ThinkstockThe Mortgage Bankers Association (MBA) released its weekly report on mortgage applications Wednesday morning, noting a decline of 13.5% in the group’s seasonally adjusted composite index following a rise of 1.3% for the previous…
Tuesday Closing Bell: Markets Post Another Solid Gain
September 10, 2013: U.S. markets opened higher on Tuesday morning following another strong release of economic data from China. Today’s big new was the expected announcement from Apple Inc. (NASDAQ: AAPL) of its new…
EIA Crude Price Forecasts Rise, Big Oil Stocks Don’t
ThinkstockThe U.S. Energy Information Administration (EIA) released the September revision to its Short-Term Energy Outlook on Tuesday, and the major change is that the EIA now expects the average price of a barrel of…
Coal: Bad, but Maybe Not Getting Worse
ThinkstockCoal mining stocks have had a couple of bad years. Actually, since peaking in mid-2008, Central Appalachian thermal coal prices have dropped from more than $140 a ton to around $50 a ton. Cheap…
Negative Home Equity Rate Falls in Second Quarter
ThinkstockThe number of U.S. homeowners who owe more on their mortgages than their houses are worth fell to 7.1 million at the end of the second quarter of 2013, an improvement of 2.5 million…
BlackBerry Adopts One Strategic Alternative: Fire People
Courtesy Research in Motion Ltd.Smartphone maker BlackBerry Ltd. (NASDAQ: BBRY) fired an unspecified number of its U.S. sales staff on Monday, according to The Wall Street Journal’s Digits blog. The move follows the July…
Small Business Optimism in the Doldrums
ThinkstockThe National Federation of Independent Business (NFIB) reported Tuesday morning that its small business optimism index for August came in at 94, essentially flat with July’s reading of 94.1. In May the index reached 94.4, its…
Monday Closing Bell: Stocks Higher as Syrian Concerns Subside
September 9, 2013: U.S. markets opened higher on Monday morning following a good report on consumer sentiment in the eurozone and a booming report on China’s trade surplus. Japan’s second-quarter GDP growth was revised…