By John Tamny of RealClearMarkets Writing about last week’s presidential election in Iran, the Wall Street Journal’s Bret Stephens observed that the plebiscite was “so transparently rigged that the only serious question is…
These are the top analyst upgrades and positive research calls we have seen from Wall Street this Thursday morning with about two hours until the market opens: Abercombie & Fitch (ANF) Raised to Buy…
These are the top pre-market analyst downgrades or cautious research calls we have seen from Wall Street this Thursday morning with about two hours until the market opens: AT&T (T) Started as Sell at…
S&P says it does not like the huge rise in US government indebtedness. But, it clearly thinks the Treasury can make its debt service and eventually pay those hundreds of billions of dollars back.…
Bank of America’s (BAC) addiction to giving its senior employees huge bonuses has not ended. These used to be based on “performance.” A banker who created toxic asset products that could be sold to…
A number of economists believe that GDP growth in China is a mirage. The nation’s $585 billion stimulus package is allowing factories to produce at levels that they could not normally afford with the…
The United States needs to find ways to cut its trade gap by raising exports. Rising exports tend to mean more manufacturing in the US. Manufacturing increases tend to create jobs. According to Reuters, weapons shipments to…
The Mortgage Bankers Association Weekly Mortgage Applications Survey for last week is grim reading. Interest rates in the US are rising, some believe due to the need for the Treasury to consistently be in…
Facing the blank sheet of paper that will eventually be the chronicle of his life in government and the success or failure of the Administration’s programs to radically overhaul the regulation of the financial…
Reuters: Obama proposed sweeping reform for financial industry. Reuters: A number of large banks repaid TARP. (JPM)(GS)(BBT)(COP)(STT)(AXP)(USB) Reuters: Consumer prices show inflation is in check. Reuters: China could still be a big buyer of…
Markets in Asia were mixed The Nikkei fell 1.4% to 9,704. Honda (HMC) dropped due to the dollar. HSBC (HBC) and other banks were down. The Hang Seng was off 1.2% to 17,861. The…
SIRIUS XM Radio (NASDAQ: SIRI) subscribers are only hours away from the launch that will allow the satellite radio monopoly subscribers to access content via the iPhone from Apple Inc. (NASDAQ: AAPL). Unfortunately, this…
Underscoring just how much big pharma will depend on biotech acquisitions for future revenue, an analysis published by Evaluate Pharma today suggests half of the top 100 drugs worldwide by 2014 – and all…
Jim Cramer came out with a healthcare maintenance stock tonight on CNBC’s MAD MONEY which he thinks will survive and perhaps thrive under the Obama healthcare plan. His pick in the healthcare maintenance sector…
Wal-Mart Stores Inc. (NYSE: WMT) is supposed to be the retail winner in a depression or recession as more and more consumers are forced to shop at the world’s largest retailer whether they want…
Quest Energy Partners, L.P. (NASDAQ: QELP) got hit hard on fairly innocent trading volume today. The partnership was formed by Quest Resource Corporation (NASDAQ: QRCP) to acquire, exploit and develop natural gas and oil…
If you’re a CEO of a small biotech company, raising money isn’t necessarily getting easier, but there are a few signs that money could be starting to loosen up a bit. The Boston Globe…
If you thought European stock news from companies doesn’t matter, this morning is proof against that notion. A German company called K+S warned of weak potash demand and announced price cuts and a drop…
Standard & Poor’s may still have at least some relevance in its debt ratings. This morning we saw a wave of downgrades at banks by the debt ratings agency on systematic-risk and non-systematic risk.…
comScore has released a new round of data showing that Microsoft Corp. (NASDAQ: MSFT) is still stealing from the boys over at Google Inc. (NASDAQ: GOOG) and other search leaders. It looks as though…