Using very large crude carriers (VLCCs) as floating storage tanks is usually expensive and, therefore, only occasionally used. There are exceptions to that generalization, but no trader wants to pay the day rate for…
DRAM price trends were not exactly going that great for chip makers this summer. It was brutal. Now we are seeing some production cuts, so even if demand is slack this is offering some…
Northern Trust Corporation (NASDAQ: NTRS) is supposed to be one of the premier trust bank operations that caters to the wealthy and to pension funds. The current economy and low rate environment appears to…
Smartphone adoption in the US market has reached 35% of US adult mobile phone users, and 42% of all mobile phone owners. In Europe’s five leading markets (France, Germany, Italy, Spain, and the UK),…
Molycorp, Inc. (NYSE: MCP) is one of the kings of the cult stocks as rare earths continue to remain a relevant issue for supply and demand in the years ahead. China’s curbs on exports…
Jon OggThese are some of this Wednesday’s top analyst upgrades, downgrades, and initiations seen having an impact from Wall Street research calls. Alkermes, Inc. (NASDAQ: ALKS) Removed from US 1 List but maintained Buy…
Medical device maker Boston Scientific Corp. (NYSE: BSX) has named a new president who will take over on October 17th and who will then be elevated to CEO on November 1, 2012. Was Boston…
General Electric Co. (NYSE: GE) is making good on a promise it made earlier this year: it is paying back Warren Buffett. An SEC filing after the closing bell shows that GE mailed to…
Dell Inc. (NASDAQ: DELL) is going to try to be a bit opportunistic, but this time in buying its own stock on the cheap. The PC giant (and IT-services player) has authorized a share…
The Census Bureau is out with the 2010 figures on income, poverty, and health insurance. About all you can hope for is that 2011 is magically better than 2010 because many of the figures…
If we can’t get the Chinese to ease up on US solar panel makers, at least we’re getting them to eat our food. A new research note indicates that McDonald’s Corp. (NYSE: MCD) is…
When it comes to defensive investing, food and beverages are two of the go-to sectors for getting equity market exposure but protecting your assets. The logic is simple enough: “You gotta eat and you…
After popping to an intra-day high near $5/thousand cubic feet (tcf) in early June, natural gas prices have dropped back to around $4/tcf and hovered there for about six weeks. It’s not likely that…
There are five companies that dominate the oil field services industry, and all have a market cap above $10 billion. The five are Schlumberger Ltd. (NYSE: SLB), Halliburton Co. (NYSE: HAL), National Oilwell Varco,…
Restoration HardwareRestoration Hardware Holdings Inc. has filed to come public via an initial public offering. The long and short is that this should :filed to come public again!” The company’s most recent filing shows…
ReneSola Ltd. (NYSE: SOL) is a solar stock that has beaten up so bad that it could be screened out as a value stock. Just yesterday we gave a list of new value stocks…
If you can’t dazzle them with your brilliance, then try baffling them with your footwork. That appears to be how Best Buy Co., Inc. (NYSE: BBY) is selling its weak second quarter earnings this…
Apple Inc. (NASDAQ: AAPL) has been one of our dividend offenders for quite some time, but it is hard to argue that the company’s equity-investor strategy has been wrong. After all, its stock has…
Last week carmaker Toyota Motor Corp. (NYSE: TM) said that it had no plans to introduce an all-electric car into the Chinese market. Unlike both Ford Motor Co. (NYSE: F) and General Motors Co.…
Jon OggThese are some of this Tuesday’s top analyst upgrades, downgrades, and initiations seen having an impact from Wall Street research calls. American Capital Mortgage Investment Corp. (NASDAQ: MTGE) Started as Hold at Citigroup;…