Pending Home Sales No Cause For Celebration, Not Yet
The December pending home sales data is a bit dated, but there was a surprise gain by +6.3% for the month. The reading for the index was 87.7. What is more interesting than the…
All Work
Douglas A. McIntyre
Warren Buffett Keeps Riding the Reading Railroad (BRK-A, BNI)
A new SEC filing shows that Warren Buffett’s Berkshire Hathaway Inc. (NYSE: BRK-A) has acquired even more shares of Burlington Northern Santa Fe Corp. (NYSE: BNI). As the company’s shares have slid and slid,…
Citi Initiates Coverage on MGM Mirage (MGM) with a Sell, Next Shoe to Drop – Defaults at CityCenter
Citi initiates coverage on MGM Mirage (NYSE: MGM) with a Sell with a price target $2.50, citing the default rates at CityCenter. Citi analyst says, "20-30% default rate at CityCenter? — Completion of this…
BP, Gushing at First Glance (BP)
BP plc (NYSE:BP) announced its quarterly and annual results this morning. The company lost $3.34 billion in the quarter. That is on items as the company’s earnings per ADS totaled $0.84 (one ADS is…
Anadarko Tries Clawing In (APC)
Anadarko Petroleum Corp. (NYSE:APC) is reacting to bits of news, one in discovery and one in earnings. The company just yesterday reported a "substantial oil discovery" in the deepwater Gulf of Mexico. The company…
Upgrading the US Energy Grid: A Trillion Dollar Problem?
The new administration faces any number of sizable challenges. One thing President Obama proposes is to spend $150 billion "over the next ten years to catalyze private efforts to build a clean energy future."…
Did Citigroup (C) Have A Gun To Its Head When It Agreed to $25.7 Billion In Mortgages?
Citigroup (C) said it will put up $26.7 billion in capital for mortgage loans. It will also provide money for corporate loans, personal loans, credit cards, and student loans. The entire package totals $36.5…
PharmaNet Going Private (PDGI)
This may be far from a super-merger and may be far from a return or thrust from private equity. But it is a deal in the drug and research sector. PharmaNet Development Group, Inc.…
Motorola (MOT) Earnings Miss By A Mile (AAPL)(RIMM)(NOK)
Motorola (MOT) shipped only 19.2 million handsets in the last quarter. At its peak, when its RAZR was flying off the shelves, the number was over 50 million. That, in a nutshell ruined the…
Tuesday’s Top Analyst Upgrades & Downgrades (BJ, GLW, DRI, DTSI, ITW, RBS, VIA, BHP, COF, FITB, MAT, STO)
These are some of Tuesday morning’s top pre-market upgrades and downgrades we have seen from Wall Street analysts with more than two hours until the open: BJ’s Wholesale (NYSE: BJ) Raised to Buy at…
Will Dow Chemical (DOW) Use Results As Out For Rohm And Haas Deal?
Dow Chemical (DOW) posted earnings only a mother could love. The firm had a $1.55 billion loss in the last quarter and said low demand will continue "for several quarters and possibly beyond." Dow…
Creating A Single National Stock Brokerage Company (BAC)(UBS)(MS)(C)
When Bank of America (BAC) bought Merrill Lynch, one huge retail brokerage team was married with a smaller one. Morgan Stanley (MS) will probably take over the Smith Barney unit of Citigroup (C). The…
Restricting GE (GE) Salaries: Regulating Compensation Of Firms That Help Build The Economy
If the government is going to force salary caps on banks, financial firms, and car companies that will get federal money, it needs to go further. The argument for limited pay at firms like…
Destroying Bank Of America (BAC) While Saving It
While the battle between Bank of America (BAC) CEO Ken Lewis and former Merrill Lynch CEO John Thain goes on over who knew about large bonuses and large losses and when they knew it,…
Media Digest 2/3/2009 Reuters, WSJ, NYTimes, FT, Bloomberg
According to Reuters, Bank of America (BAC) and Merrill Lynch did agree on a bonus package for employees before the merger. There had been questions about the approval. Reuters reports that January could make…
Asia Markets And Europe Open 2/3/2009
Markets in Asia were mixed. The Nikkei fell .6% to 7,826. The Hang Seng was off .8% to 12,757. The Shanghai Composite moved up 2.4% to 2,061. In Europe, at the open, the FTSE…
Macy’s (M): The Retail Universe In A Box
Macy’s (M) said it would lay off 7,000 people, cut its dividend by about 60%, and begin a tender offer for some of its debt. After the announcement, Moody’s said it might cut Macy’s…
How The Recession May Fix GE (GE)
The financial year of 2008 is over for GE (GE) and investors are still debating whether the company will be able to both pay its dividend and keep its "Aaa" credit rating. Most of…
The 52-Week Low Club (IP)(MAT)(HAS)(ADCT)(HBAN)(RF)(NCX)
NOVA Chemicals (NCX) Ratings cut pushes shares down to $1.28 compard to a 52-week high of $32.46. Regions Financial (RF) Still falling after analyst downgrades. Falls to $2.67 from 52-week high of $25.84. International…
Tough Times At Sandisk (SNDK)
SanDisk reported Q4 net loss of $1.86 billion, or $8.25 a share, compared with a net profit of $106 million, or $.45, in the same period a year ago.. Revenue was $863.9 million, down…