Earlier this year was the trend of hiking dividends, but now that so many companies have raised their quarterly payouts we are seeing the ‘other’ shareholder-friendly action taking place. Buybacks are still coming strong. …
Hewlett-Packard Co. (NYSE: HPQ) had already telegraphed its earnings and revenue expectations when it dropped the ball over the Mark Hurd fiasco. Today was the official release and earnings were $1.08 EPS and $30.7…
The arguments and debates over deflation versus hyper-inflation continue. The argument over real slow sluggish growth versus a double-dip recession also continues. Standard & Poor’s has issued a report called “How Severe is the…
Starbucks Corporation (NASDAQ: SBUX) has just announced that it is taking control of Starbucks Brazil. The company has assumed 100% ownership and 100% operating control of Starbucks Brazil through the acquisition of Cafés Sereia…
First Niagara Financial Group Inc. (NASDAQ: FNFG) is on its way to becoming a super-regional bank rather than just a regional bank. That is after its announced $1.5 billion acquisition this morning of NewAlliance…
Dell Inc. (NASDAQ: DELL) and Hewlett-Packard Company (NYSE: HPQ) are both slated to report earnings today right after the close. Poor economic data followed by a poor market response has expectations for guidance even…
If you have gone through earnings season and listened to conference calls and read through conference call transcripts in the manner we have and compared the corporate outlooks to economic data, then you will…
If no one wants to borrow money even as long-term interest rates are low and going lower, then it’s hard to see how a bank is going to make money. That, at least, is…
Berkshire Hathaway Inc. (NYSE: BRK-B) is not a stock that most investors have traditionally thought of as a stock which can be influenced by stock options. After all, stock option trading in the shares…
Day traders and active traders have many movers this Wednesday morning to choose from. The top alerts were seen in Symantec Corporation (NASDAQ: SYMC), Check Point Software Technologies Ltd. (NASDAQ: CHKP), Brocade Communications Systems,…
The Labor Department is out with its latest round of weekly jobless claims. It is uglier than a hat full of toes and fingers. The new figure was 500,000 for the most recent weak,…
Intel Corporation (NASDAQ: INTC) has made a game changing event. It announced that it is acquiring McAfee, Inc. (NYSE: MFE) via a Business Wire press release. The $7.68 billion deal comes to $48.00 per…
These are some of this Thursday’s top analyst calls with upgrades, downgrades, and initiations seen from Wall Street research firms: Abercrombie & Fitch Co. (NYSE: ANF) Raised to Accumulate at Standpoint. Aruba Networks, Inc.…
Yingli Green Energy Holding Co. Ltd. (NYSE: YGE) was indicated higher after earnings, but the trading volume is still too thin to make a judgment. Yingli looks like it is about to join other…
GM’s largest problem for the IPO seems to be investor skepticism. Late yesterday came the SEC filing paperwork from General Motors for its long awaited initial public offering. There has been a debate real…
RadioShack Corporation (NYSE: RSH) has had a buyout premium for some time as reports had been out that buyers from Best Buy Company Inc. (NYSE: BBY) to private equity groups were interested in the…
Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ: AMAT), the chip equipment giant, is out with earnings and so far there is a very muted reaction to the news. Net sales rose again to $2.52 billion and its…
General Motors is out with its S-1 filing. In short, its IPO filing is now out and official. Terms are not disclosed and the amount listed for filing purposes was $100 million in common…
What happens when large hedge funds shut down? They unload their holdings, at least assuming the clients say they would prefer to receive share distributions. Stanley Druckenmiller is shutting down his Duquesne Capital Management…
The relationship between gold and platinum has been a tenuous one. When things got really bad in 2008 platinum lost its longstanding premium to the shiny yellow stuff. The market is far smaller and…