Greenberg Begins Selling AIG Shares (AIG)
There had been hopes that Hank Greenberg was going to come with his own plan to save American International Group (NYSE: AIG). That was removed yesterday after the company agreed to the government plan. …
All Work
Douglas A. McIntyre
Drilling for Cash, Not Oil and Gas (PXP, OXY, CHK)
This morning Plains Exploration (NYSE:PXP) announced the sale of its oil and gas properties in the Permian and Piceance Basins for $1.25 billion to Occidental Petroleum (NYSE:OXY). This sale highlights two of the main…
Economic Trifecta: Rain Predicted For Tomorrow
Anyone hoping for backdated economic data relief today may have to turn to their local weatherman for good news. There were dismal reports on new home sales, weekly jobless claims, and in durable goods. …
Oracle Enters Hardware Market In Time For Slowdown (ORCL, HPQ)
There have been more press releases out of the Oracle OpenWorld conference in San Francisco this week than you can count. But one from Oracle Corp. (NASDAQ: ORCL) is perhaps the most interesting. It…
Michael Dell (DELL); Fortune-Teller (AAPL)(HPQ)
Dell (DELL) is going to grow faster than the other global PC companies. Why? Because Michael Dell says so. That means HP (HPQ), the big Chinese PC companies, and perhaps Apple (AAPL) better take…
Short Sellers Losing Conviction in Alternative Energy (CSIQ, CPST, CLNE, ESLR, FSLR, FTEK, FCEL, HOKU, LDK, SPWR, STP)
Many traders and short sellers have loved targeting solar power and other alternative energy stocks. Interestingly, bets against these companies have not risen dramatically even though many of them are under pressure from falling…
Short Selling Very Mixed In Oil Companies (BHI, CVX, XOM, HES, MRO, SLB, HAL, NOV, RIG, VLO)
As you will see below, there were many key changes to short sales in oil stocks. Some of these would have been expected to have gone up because oil was so weak. But there…
Top Analyst Upgrades & Downgrades (BIIB, COWN, MYL, PRX, SMBL, TEVA, CBY, CCL, DLB, JCP, JEF, PRSP)
Below are some of the top analyst calls we are seeing from Wall Street firms this Thursday morning: Biogen Idec (BIIB) Raised to Buy at Lazard. Cowen (COWN) Raised to Outperform at KBW. Mylan…
GE (GE) Cuts Guidance, Its Credibility Destroyed
GE (GE) was one of the alleged last safe harbors in corporate America. The company said the credit issues facing the economy would not damage GE Financial. The conglomerate indicated that it could make…
GM (GM): One Hundred Years And No Experience
GM (GM) is celebrating its 100th anniversary this year. Cake and candles. It has even introduced its new Volt electric car, which it says is the future of the company. In the midst of…
Hedge Funds Get Out Of The Hedge Fund Business
Hedge funds are concerned that the market as they know it may collapse. The Wall St. casino is closing. Risk can be taxed by total annihilation. The fun has gone out of becoming fabulous…
Morgan Stanley (MS) And Goldman Sachs (GS) Make Case For Private Bailout Of Industry
The Treasury is making the case that the financial industry needs $700 billion to take toxic assets off bank balance sheets. This should free up liquidity and ease credit problems. Treasury Secretary Henry Paulson…
Analysts Earnings Numbers For 2009 Border On Psychotic (SIRI)
No one has checked the water on Wall St. for traces of LSD and other hallucinogens. First, financial firms bet huge sums of their money on arcane mortgage-related paper and lost hundreds of billions…
Media Digest 9/25/2008 Reuters, WSJ, NYTimes, FT, Bloomberg
According to Reuters, Bush called an emergency meeting of Congressional leaders to push through bank bailout legislation. Reuters reports that Goldman Sachs (GS) and Morgan Stanley (MS) are preparing to take advantage of their…
Asia Markets 9/25/2008 (HMC)(TM)(LFC)(PTR)
Markets in Asia were mixed. The Nikkei fell .9% to 12,009. Honda (HMC) fell almost 4%. Toyota (TM) fell over 2%. The Hang Seng rose a fraction to 18,972. China Life (LFC) rose almost…
With Financial Stocks Off Limites, Shorts Move To Tech (AAPL)(DELL)(ORCL)(INTC)(AMD)(TXN)
The cut-off for the last short interest data was September 15, before a number of financial stocks got protection from the SEC. Before the ban, short sellers were already moving out of some bank…
Big Tobacco Goes On The Offensive (MO)
Philip Morris USA, part of Altria Group Inc. (NYSE: MO), has filed a rather interesting lawsuit which could act to set the precedent for case law for years ahead. Big Tobacco asked a federal…
Biotech Bonanza: Ligand Takes out Pharmacopeia (LGND, PCOP)
This might not be the biggest of biotech mergers out there, but deals are continuing in the bio-space. Ligand Pharmaceuticals Incorporated (NASDAQ: LGND) has entered into a definitive merger agreement to acquire Pharmacopeia (NASDAQ:…
Presidential Candidates Taking A Time-Out
As media reports started commenting today, it looks like both Presidential candidates are going to stop campaigning and go back to Washington D.C. to deal with this government bailout issue. John McCain is heading…
Nike, Just Did It (NKE)
NIKE, Inc. (NYSE: NKE) reported quarterly revenue rose 17% to $5.4 billion, although currency changes increased growth by 7%. Net income fell 10% to $510.5 million, as earnings per shareh fell 8% to $1.03. …