Markets opened a few ticks lower this morning after a poor report on new claims for unemployment benefits in the US (our coverage here). The report that pending home sales jumped 4.1%…
Jon OggThese are some of the top analyst upgrades, downgrades and initiations seen in Wall Street research calls this Thursday. ABB Ltd. (NYSE: ABB) Cut to Neutral at JPMorgan. Air Products &…
Aircraft maker Boeing Co. (NYSE: BA) reported first quarter earnings this morning that handily beat expectations for EPS and revenues. EPS came in at $1.22 on revenue of $19.4 billion, compared with…
Courtesy of 20th Century FoxGlobal sales of arms and military services by the 100 largest defense contractors increased in 2010 to $411.1 billion, according to the Stockholm International Peace Research Institute. The…
Government contractors Lockheed Martin Corp. (NYSE: LMT), General Dynamics Corp. (NYSE: GD), and Raytheon Co. (NYSE: RTN) increased their lobbying costs by 10% in 2011, to $33.4 million, as the US defense…
All three major US indexes opened higher this morning, but enthusiasm tapered off quickly and steadily, if not sharply. A drop in the number of new home sales and a smaller-than-expected rise…
Jon OggThese are some of the top analyst upgrades, downgrades, and initiations seen from Wall Street brokerage and research firms this Thursday morning. Automatic Data Processing, Inc. (NYSE: ADP) Cut to Neutral…
The 10 most expensive weapons systems in the world total $868 billion in research and development and manufacturing costs. The Department of Defense has commissioned each of the weapons. The White House…
Markets opened lower today and stayed in negative territory until mid-afternoon. Car makers reported December sales throughout the day, with Ford Motor Co. (NYSE: F) and General Motors Co. (NYSE: GM) both…
Jon OggThese are some of the top analyst upgrades, downgrades, and initiations seen from Wall Street brokerage and research firms this Wednesday morning. Acme Packet, Inc. (NASDAQ: APKT) Cut to Neutral at…
It is no secret that Iran is a saber-rattling nation. The country wants to be relevant on the global stage so much that it keeps up with its nuclear ambitions regardless of…
Germany’s mixed bag. Two key economic figures out of Germany offset one another. GDP grew 0.5% in the third quarter. The number was up 2.6% from the same quarter last year. The advance…
The US House-Senate budget reduction committee, or the ‘super committee’, that is charged with recommending $1.5 trillion in budget cuts over the next 10 years has just another 10 days to deliver…
Although stock buybacks have never been among our most preferred methods of returning capital to investors, stock repurchase plans can indicate to investors that a company’s management believes the ship is not…
When economic softness spooks high-flying stocks, solid companies with good histories, solid return on equity, and above average dividends are a handy remedy. We screened five companies in the industrial sector, three…
