Home Ownership No Longer a Federal Goal (FNMA, FMCC)
If the US government is truly able to exit the mortgage credit market, that move will be a seismic shift in a 75-year old government commitment to underwrite home ownership in the US. The…
All Work
Jon C. Ogg
Economist Aims and Fires at White House Budget
Beware the term “Saving Billions” in the new 2012 White House Budget. The term “saving” is only possible using government accounting. If the general public was presenting this budget, it would be called a…
Atmel Aims to be King of Touchscreens (ATML, NVDA, AAPL, HPQ, DELL, RIMM)
Atmel Corporation (NASDAQ: ATML) is trading marginally higher today on news that it is collaborating with NVIDIA Corporation (NASDAQ: NVDA). The collaboration is actually right in the sweet spot of the current technology market. …
AT&T Deal for Dish Network Still Okay After EchoStar/Hughes Merger? (SATS, HUGH, DISH, T, VZ, DTV, CMCSA, TWC, CVC)
EchoStar Corp. (NASDAQ: SATS) has agreed to acquire Hughes Communications Inc. (NASDAQ: HUGH) for about $2 billion, including debt, in a deal that would give EchoStar, which makes set-top boxes and satellites for Dish…
Under Armour Looks for the Cam Newton Effect (UA, NKE)
Under Armour, Inc. (NYSE: UA) is not seeing a Halo-effect from its latest athlete endorsement. CNBC has reported that Heisman Trophy winner Cam Newton of Auburn has signed an endorsement pact with the sporting…
The Plot Thickens at St. Joe (JOE)
Jon OggThe ongoing fight for how to run The St. Joe Company (NYSE: JOE) is heating up and taking a strange turn. Bruce Berkowitz, whose Fairholme Capital is a near-30% owner of St. Joe,…
Research Points To Starbucks & Green Mountain Tie-Up (SBUX, KFT, GMCR)
ThinkstockIt is no secret that the end of the relationship between Starbucks Corporation (NASDAQ: SBUX) and Kraft Foods Inc. (NYSE: KFT) has been without much love. In fact, Starbucks wanted out early and the…
Top Analyst Upgrades & Downgrades (CAH, CLX, DRYS, ENOC, EXPE, GME, MU, NOK, RLI, WMT)
These are some of the top analyst upgrades, downgrades, and initiations seen from Wall Street research calls this Monday morning. Cardinal Health Inc. (NYSE: CAH) Raised to Buy with $52 target at Argus. Clorox…
The Coming Week’s Must-See Stock Events (AAPL, T, VZ, BRK-A, BIG, BGP, CSCO, DVN, DISH, HRL, FLWS, UNTD, JDSU, JPM, EGPT, NYX, HAWK, SIRI)
We have many big events to watch for in the coming week at American Water Works Company, Inc. (NYSE: AWK), Apple Inc. (NASDAQ: AAPL), AT&T Inc. (NYSE: T), Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE: VZ), Berkshire…
Pandora Coming Public in IPO, What You Need to Know (SIRI, AAPL, RNWK, AMZN, MSFT)
Pandora Media, Inc. will likely soon be a public company. The leader in internet radio filed its preliminary IPO paperwork on Friday evening. Terms such as a share count and a price range were…
Carl Icahn Goes After Clorox (CLX)
Wikimedia Commons (Adina Firestone)If any activist investor is able to rattle a public company, it is Carl Icahn. He just disclosed that he owns 9% of Clorox Corporation (NYSE: CLX) totaling 12.5 million…
Freescale Files IPO Paperwork
Freescale Semiconductor Holdings I, Ltd. has just filed to come public in yet another large private equity re-IPO. The company filing is for up to $1.15 billion in common shares to be sold. While…
IPO Filing: NGL Energy Partners LP
NGL Energy Partners LP has just filed to come public via an initial public offering. Terms have not been disclosed at all for a share count or for a price target range other than…
Apple Working on Cheaper iPhone (AAPL, NOK, MSFT, GOOG)
Leave it to Apple Inc. (NASDAQ: AAPL) to grab a headline on the same day that Nokia Corp. (NYSE: NOK) reveals a tie-up with Microsoft Corp. (NASDAQ: MSFT). Bloomberg cites “people who have been…
Biodiesel Industry Looking Forward to 2011 (GEVO, AMRS, DD, CVX, BP, RDS-A, ADM)
Only a few years ago most of us associated biodiesel with recycling of used cooking oil to produce a transportation fuel that Willie Nelson used on his tour bus. The exhaust smelled an awful…
Food For Thought: Netflix or Amazon Should Buy Blockbuster (BLOAQ, NFLX, AMZN, CSTR)
Reports have been circulating since late yesterday that Blockbuster Inc. (Pink Sheets: BLOAQ) has put itself up for sale rather than trying to emerge as a new operating company that can healthily exit bankruptcy. …
Top Analyst Upgrades & Downgrades (ALU, ALXN, AWK, NILE, CELL, CMG, CSCO, EPOC, EXPE, GDOT, IFF, ONXX, SPR, S, TUP)
These are some of the top analyst upgrades, downgrades, and initiations seen from Wall Street research calls this Friday morning. Alcatel-Lucent (NYSE: ALU) Raised to Neutral at Nomura. Alexion Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (NASDAQ: ALXN) Cut…
Body Central Secondary, Discount Outweighs Dilution (BODY)
Body Central Corp. (NASDAQ: BODY) has a secondary offering which priced at a healthy discount for those who are getting shares. It should have come at a discount since almost the entire sale is…
Molycorp’s Painful Dilution (MCP, REMX, REE, AVL)
Molycorp, Inc. (NYSE: MCP) is finally bringing this secondary offering of common stock for holders and is selling some mandatory convertible preferred shares. The terms of the deal may be surprising to some, and…
Kinder Morgan IPO Premium Price, Still Leaving Some on the Table (KMI, GS, KMR, KMP, AMJ, FMO, KYN, AMLP)
We have been calling for a premium IPO and a higher share count deal for Kinder Morgan, Inc. (NYSE: KMI) and its highly anticipated IPO. Technically this is a re-IPO and is the largest…