The TARP Queen
Why we should all bow before Elizabeth Warren (even if you’ve never heard of her). By James Scurlock of The Big Money Five years from now, when Tesla Sedans and Facebook and American Idol…
All Work
Douglas A. McIntyre
Over $150 Billion Coming In Treasury Auctions
The US Treasury is ready to open the floodgates next week in its planned Treasury auctions. This pertains to its T-Bills and to coupon maturity notes. The total tab looks like it will come…
Is UPS Foreshadowing For Amazon.com Earnings? (UPS, AMZN)
United Parcel Service, Inc. (NYSE: UPS) is trading off after the company reported poor earnings this morning. There is an interesting angle here that could reflect on Amazon.com Inc. (NASDAQ: AMZN) ahead of its…
Exelon Results Mixed, But Maintains 2009 Outlook (EXC, NRG, RRI)
Electricity generator Exelon Corporation (NYSE:EXC) this morning reported EPS of $1.08 on revenue of $4.77 billion. Analysts’ estimates averaged EPS of $1.14 and revenue of $4.62 billion. Non-GAAP EPS was $1.20.
Driller and Services Firm Beat the Street (NOV, DO)
Two oilfield services players reported earnings this morning. National Oilwell Varco, Inc. (NYSE:NOV) and Diamond Offshore Drilling Inc. (NYSE:DO) both beat expectations, but only Diamond is getting a boost this morning.
SunPower Soaks Up Florida Sun Ahead of Earnings (SPWRA, FPL)
Solar PV maker SunPower Corp. (NASDAQ: SPWRA) has won a two-year supply agreement with FPL Group (NYSE: FPL) for solar panels and tracking technology. The contract begins next year. SunPower has also agreed to…
Oil Earnings Clear the Low Bar (OXY, COP)
Occidental Petroleum Corp. (NYSE:OXY) and ConocoPhillips Corp. (NYSE:COP) reported a mixed bag of first quarter 2009 earnings this morning. Net income met analysts’ expectations, but revenue did not.
Analysts & Charts Capitulate in VMware (VMW)
VMware, Inc. (NYSE: VMW) is down sharply this morning on fairly aggressive selling. The company’s guidance is the culprit, and that is on top of soft revenues. Then this morning we have seen many…
Jobless Claims Show Double-Digit Unemployment Still Coming
The Labor Department has released its figures on weekly jobless claims, and the results are a gain of 27,000 to 640,000. The numbers from last week’s huge drop went from 610,000 to a revised…
Geithner’s Protections Are Banking Opportunities Lost
By John Tamny of RealClearMarkets MIT economist Lester Thurow once observed that, “One man’s security is another man’s lack of opportunity.” Thurow’s words take on greater relevance today given the seeming reluctance on the…
Top10 Analyst Upgrades & Downgrades (ABB, APD, BP, BRCD, NAT, OSG, OVTI, TEVA, TRMB, WBS)
These are ten of the top analyst upgrades and downgrades that are independent of earnings news from Wall Street this Thursday morning: ABB (ABB) Cut to Hold at Societe Generale. Air Products (APD) Raised…
If Banks Can Challenge Stress Tests, Are They Really Tests At All?
The purpose of the government’s stress tests of the nation’s 19 largest banks is to find out which will need capital. The evaluations are based on several artificial, and, perhaps, unrealistic criteria. One is…
Treasury Talks With Chrysler May Foul Up GM (GM) Negotiations
The Treasury has started to sweeten terms for Chrysler creditors in an attempt to keep the car company out of Chapter 11. According to The Wall Street Journal, “The Treasury now proposes that the…
How Ken Lewis of B of A (BAC) Saved The Global Financial System
Ken Lewis, head of Bank of America (BAC), may be the most reviled financial executive in the United States. He bought Merrill Lynch when it was hemorrhaging money. He let big bonuses to Merrill…
The Land Mine On Bank Balance Sheets
When General Growth, the big mall owner, declared bankruptcy last week, experts speculated that large banks were about to face another string of losses from commercial real estate. Bank stocks have been down over…
Apple (AAPL): Why Brands Matter
As the executives at Apple (AAPL) were passing around the Dom Perignon, their counterparts at other companies which design and manufacture smartphones were putting all sharp objects out of reach. In a recession, there…
Media Digest 4/23/2009 Reuters, WSJ, NYTimes, FT, Bloomberg
According to Reuters, a bill to restrict credit card charges cleared a key committee in Congress. Reuters reports that Ken Lewis of Bank of America (BAC) says his firm what urged by the Treasury…
Asia Markets And Europe Open 4/23/2009
Markets in Asia were mostly higher. The Nikkei was up 1.4% to 8,847. The Hang Seng was 1.5% to 15,094. The Shanghai Composite rose .1% to 2,464. At the open in Europe, the FTSE…
Apple (AAPL): The iPhone Saves The Day
Apple (AAPL) posted financial results for its fiscal 2009 second quarter ended March 28, 2009. Revenue was $8.16 billion and net quarterly profit was $1.21 billion, or $1.33 per share. These results compare to revenue of…
eBay Lackluster, But Not Too Pessimistic (EBAY)
eBay Inc. (NASDAQ: EBAY) has just posted its first quarter earnings. The online auction giant reported a non-GAAP earnings of $0.39 EPS and $2.02 billion in revenue. Thomson Reuters had estimates at $0.34 EPS…