After the markets close today, Yum! Brands (NYSE: YUM) will report its third-quarter earnings. Analysts are expecting EPS of $0.83 on revenue of $3.1 billion, compared with second-quarter EPS of $0.63 on revenue of…
Jon OggBen Bernanke is testifying this morning before the Joint Economic Committee, and his speech is titled “Economic Outlook and Recent Monetary Policy Actions.” Today should be taken as yet one more opportunity to…
AMRAMR Corporation (NYSE: AMR) may have been the victim of some aggressive reporting that turned into rumors of an impending bankruptcy filing. The company tried to refute this notion yesterday, but its own verbage…
It has become the newest game on Wall Street in the last month to lower global growth targets for 2011 and 2012 over the last six weeks. What is amazing is that there is…
Back in the day, a layaway plan made sense for many consumers who did not have the full purchase price of an item but could pay regular small installments until the item was fully…
Jon OggThese are some of this Tuesday’s top analyst upgrades, downgrades, and initiations seen having an impact from Wall Street research calls. Despite the weakness, there are still upgrades taking place. Agrium, Inc. (NYSE:…
It feels like Groundhog day in Europe. Greece fears are escalating and European markets are sharply lower. The Europeans are just unwilling or are unable to deal with their woes in a timely manner.…
The old saying goes, “When the U.S. sneezes, the rest of the world catches a cold.” But what about when Europe gets the flu and when China and India drink the tap water from…
The many problems facing Sprint Nextel Corp. (NYSE: S) are nearly enough to sink the company without any more help. A shrinking subscriber base, an expensive network upgrade, operating losses, and junk-rated debt. The…
On days when the Dow Jones Industrial Average is down 200 points or more, we generally look at the defensive stock sector to see if these are holding up. Many investors want equity exposure,…
The CBOE Volatility Index, or ‘The Fear Index,’ is reaching levels not seen since the height of the August selling panic. That peaked around 47 in August and we just briefly went back over the…
A decision is expected by the end of this year from the US State Department on whether or not the US will allow the Keystone XL pipeline to be built. TransCanada Corp. (NYSE: TRP)…
AMRAMR Corporation (NYSE: AMR) is in trouble. That is at least what the rumor mill is trying to signal. What may seem like aggressive reporting over the weekend has added fuel to the fire of…
TripAdvisor is supposed to be the next spin-off IPO and it in theory has kept a phantom premium under Expedia Inc. (NASDAQ: EXPE) during the market carnage of the last quarter. Today came news…
The markets opened in the red this morning but have recovered after the ISM Manufacturing data favored very low growth rather than recession. There were a number of stocks getting a boost right out of…
The International Air Transport Association (IATA) paints a bleak outlook for passenger and freight carriers as economic worries intensify. And the impact of that weak forecast is beginning to take its toll on airlines…
The Institute for Supply Management showed an above-red reading this morning in the manufacturing sector. This month’s ISM Manufacturing reading came in at 51.6% for September versus 50.6% in August. Bloomberg was calling for…
Japan’s manufacturers are facing threats on two fronts, and prospects for improvement on either are dim. The first front, which is affecting every one of the country’s exports, is the strengthening yen. The second…
Jon OggThese are some of this Monday’s top analyst upgrades, downgrades, and initiations seen having an impact from Wall Street research calls. Alcoa, Inc. (NYSE: AA) Cut to Hold at Deutsche Bank. Amazon.com Inc.…
European stocks are leading the markets this morning and the direction is lower. Greece projected that 2012 deficits will be above plan and the nation has effectively admitted that it will not meet deficit…