The weekly jobless claims data has surpassed the dreaded 600,000 mark. The last week’s unemployment lines were down 8,000 to 623,000. We had weekly jobless claims numbers expected as 610,000 versus an unrevised 626,0000…
If only the stock market was made up of companies like Coke (KO), McDonald’s (MCD), P&G (PG), and Wal-Mart (WMT). But, it isn’t. They are among the few firms which can still claim to…
By John Tamny RealClearMarket Desperate to sell his economic plan in order to be crowned a “winner” in a political culture that equates stature with one’s ability to fleece the taxpayers, Barack Obama defended…
These are some of this morning’s top pre-market analyst upgrades and positive research calls from Wall Street this Thursday morning with over two hours until the market opens: Axsys Technologies (AXYS) Raised to Overweight…
These are this Thursday’s early bird analyst downgrades and negative research calls with more than two hours until the market opens: ASML (ASML) Cut to Neutral at B of A Merrill Lynch. GSI Commerce…
Maybe GM (GM) won’t have to turn to Congress for a big rescue package. Putting in money may be of benefit to a company outside the US government. One of China’s largest car companies…
One of the cornerstones of the government bailing out the credit markets was that the Fed would buy up Treasuries and other bond instruments in an attempt to help improve the markets in these…
The Chinese government-controlled mining and metals company Chinalco is putting $19.5 billion into publicly traded peer Rio Tinto (TRP). A billion dollars of the cash will go to buying back a piece of RTP…
Congress, well-fed and self-satisfied, can catch its wind now. It has put together a $789 billion stimulus package to get the economy on the road again. The most interesting and obtuse comment about the…
Casino gambling is part of the American Dream. “The World Series of Poker” gets better ratings than the Super Bowl. But, even the gaming industry is in trouble. The people who have visions of…
According to Reuters, Congress is ready to pass the stimulus package. Reuters reports that Chinalco is putting $17.5 billion into Rio TInto (RTP). Reuters reports that Wall St. CEOs were attacked by Congress.
Markets in Asia fell. The Nikkei was off 3% to 7,705. The Hang Seng fell 2% to 13,266. The Shanghai Composite was off .6% to 2,248. At the open in Europe, the FTSE was…
Intrepid Potash, Inc. (NYSE:IPI) has announced that President and Chief Operating Officer, Patrick L. Avery, is leaving the company. This isn’t over management performance or over company developments. He apparently was “mistaken” about a…
Thursday morning we will get earnings from The Coca-Cola Company (NYSE: KO), and this will likely be the big set-up play for Friday’s Pepsico, Inc. (NYSE: PEP) earnings. We have prepared a detailed preview…
Modine Manufacturing (MOD) Losing money and problems with debt covenants. Drops to $.93 from 52-week high of $19.60. Great Plains Energy (GXP) Bad quarterly results. Very bad. Shares plunge to $14.53 from 52-week high…
The New York Times (NYT) is not a huge company by most measures It has less than 10,000 employees and a market cap of just over $600 million. NYT has three people who could act as…
Chicago is not representative of the entire Federal Reserve. But it is a key district for manufacturing and is frequently used for forecasting many sectors of the economy. Chicago Federal Reserve President Charles L.…
Level 3 Communications Inc. (NASDAQ: LVLT) managed to give an upside surprise to earnings this morning. Its guidance was much better than most expected. That includes yours truly.
Part of the federal government’s plan to stimulate home sales has been to bring mortgage rates down. It is not working. The Mortgage Bankers Association reports that 30-year fixed mortgage rates are still dropping…
Anadarko Petroleum Corp. (NYSE:APC) announced a capital spending budget of $4 billion to $4.5 billion for 2009. The company spent about $4.9 billion in 2008 and $4 billion in 2007.