Interpublic Buyout Will Have to Wait
The Interpublic Group of Companies Inc. (NYSE: IPG) is giving back on Friday’s gains after hopes of an acquisition have been put on the back burner. Publicis was quoted over the weekend as having…
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Jon C. Ogg
Altria Debt Tender Lowers Payments Ahead of Dividend Hike Decision (MO, RAI, VGR)
Altria Group Inc. (NYSE: MO) is lowering the average coupon on its debt, or at least that is the plan of a new debt tender offer. The American tobacco giant is commencing a $2…
Details Emerge of Best Buy Founder Buyout Offer
Best Buy Co. Inc. (NYSE: BBY) is surging this morning. Bloomberg first reported, now confirmed in a press release, that founder Richard Schulze is sending a letter to the board of directors saying that he…
Top Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades (AWK, AMTG, NLY, BZH, CHK, CXS, CRY, F, KFT, L, PGR, RF, TICC, WMT)
Jon OggThese are some of the top analyst upgrades, downgrades and initiations seen from Wall St. research calls this Monday morning. American Water Works Company Inc. (NYSE: AWK) raised to Outperform at Baird. Apollo…
Knight Capital Survives the Weekend, with Exponential Dilution (KCG, BX, SF, AMTD, JEF)
Reports were out over the weekend that Knight Capital Group Inc. (NYSE: KCG) was raising some $400 million in bailout and survival capital. The company confirmed this in an SEC filing on Monday morning,…
Treasury Selling $4.5 Billion More In AIG Shares
American International Group, Inc. (NYSE: AIG) is just one more step closer to being a self-governing company without the oversight of taxpayers and the government. Still, AIG owes all of us taxpayers but it…
EA Sues Zynga Over Copyright of The Ville (EA, ZNGA, FB)
ZyngaZynga, Inc. (NASDAQ: ZNGA) needs all the help it can get, but perhaps not today. It appears that Electronic Arts Inc. (NASDAQ: EA) is going after Zynga on copyright infringement and the case involves…
Stock Options Signaling Big Pressure on Goodyear ?
Goodyear Tire & Rubber Co. (NYSE: GT) is up on a normal trading day and everything looks fine on the surface. But… A 1.45% gain to $11.19 on 4.4 million shares past the mid-point…
Will Tropical Storm (or Hurricane) Ernesto Pose More Offshore Oil Rig Threats?
The National Hurricane Center has been tracking Tropical Storm Ernesto and the latest advisory shows Ernest moving westward at 18 knots. The current advisory shows a slowing of its advance but a strengthening due…
Navistar Snags Another Downgrade Despite Pop in Shares
Navistar International Corp. (NYSE: NAV) is trading higher today after some of yesterday’s big trading losses, but a research note is likely going to weigh on the shares even if it is from a…
ISM Nonmanufacturing Shows Upside
The Institute For Supply Management is out with its July reading on the services sector. The ISM’s nonmanufacturing report came in at 52.6% for the overall index. This was up from the 52.1% reading…
Big Bounce for Knight Capital Group at Open
Knight Capital Group Inc. (NYSE: KCG) is surging this Friday morning. The gain is based on news headlines that the trading firm has secured a line of credit and that the firm is telling…
Strong Jobs Data Lowers Chances of Mandatory QE3
Today was J-DAY! Jobs Day. The report from the Labor Department indicated that in the month of July the unemployment rate ticked up to 8.3% from 8.2%. The big surprise came in the form…
Semiconductor Association Sees Sales Declines and Uncertainties (INTC, ADI, AMD, QCOM, MU, TXN)
A fresh report from the Semiconductor Industry Association (SIA), which is representative of U.S. leadership in semiconductor manufacturing and design, showed that worldwide semiconductor sales posted a slight drop of 0.1% to $24.38 billion,…
Top Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades (NLY, MT, CAP, CRAI, HOS, MPC, MELI, MTG, NOK, JWN, OPEN, PH, SKS, SXL, TDC, WFM, INT, ZIP)
Jon OggThese are some of the top analyst upgrades, downgrades and initiations seen from Wall St. research calls this Friday morning. Annaly Capital Management Inc. (NYSE: NLY) cut to Hold at Wunderlich. ArcelorMittal (NYSE:…
P&G Delivers Earnings; No Word of Activist Efforts
P&GThe Procter & Gamble Company (NYSE: PG) has reported earnings, and the company managed to increase organic sales for the quarter by 3%. That was said to be due to price increases but also…
LinkedIn Raising 2012 Revenue Targets
LinkedIn Corporation (NYSE: LNKD) is seeing its shares rise after its earnings report as the social network for professionals met earnings estimates and beat revenue estimates. The company also raised its full 2012 revenue…
Dividend (Distribution) Investors Need to Watch for More MLP Secondary Offerings (KYN, EPD, KMR, PAA, AMJ, AMLP)
Kayne Anderson MLP Investment Company (NYSE: KYN) is a closed-end investment fund that invests exclusively in the realm of Master Limited Partnerships with the focus almost being entirely in various aspects of the oil…
Kraft Confirms 2012 Targets, Sets Spin-Off Terms for Kraft and Mondelez
Kraft Foods Inc. (NASDAQ: KFT) has reported earnings of $ $0.58 EPS, but its operating earnings came to $0.68 EPS; revenue was down 4% to $13.3 billion on a net basis and the food…
Despite Gains, ‘Strong Sell’ Downgrade Seen in First Solar
What is worse than when an analyst issues a “Sell” rating? Not much, but how about this… A “Strong Sell!” S&P Capital IQ has ratings ranging from “Strong Sell” as the worst rating all…