Posted by optiondragon for myhappytrading.com
From briefing.com
Periodicals Wrap-Up for Monday, October 27th
WALL STREET JOURNAL: According to a person familiar with the matter, the Wall Street Journal reported that Goldman Sachs (GS) approached Citigroup (C) in September about the possibility of merging the firms’ operations. The sources said a “brief call” between Goldman CEO Lloyd Blankfein and Citi CEO Vikram Pandit didn’t result in further talks…The Wall Street Journal also reported that Jeffrey Immelt, General Electric’s (GE) CEO, said that the company intends to cut costs and favor manufacturing over financial services in its business mix…NEW YORK TIMES: The New York Times reported that JP Morgan’s (JPM) Highbridge Capital has laid off 35 employees as the hedge fund environment continues to be difficult…UK TIMES: Industry automobile experts said Ford (F) may have to sell Volvo (VOLVY) to raise cash. Sources close to Ford and BMW said there have been preliminary talks, the UK Times reported…BLOOMBERG: Bloomberg reported that Mistubishi UFJ (MTU) may seek to raise $10.7B to shore up its balance sheet…
Asia Markets Wrap-Up for Monday, October 27
Stocks in Asia continued their retreat on concerns that economic stimulus won’t arrest the worldwide slowdown. Among markets there only South Korea’s Kospi gained. New Zealand, Singapore and Malaysia were closed for holidays…JAPAN: The Nikkei 225 Stock Average tumbled 486.18, or 6.4%, to 7,162.90, while the broader Topix index slid 59.65, or 7.4%, to 746.46. Both closing numbers were the lowest in over 20 years. Mitsubishi UFJ Financial Group (MTU) and Mizuho (MFG) each plunged 15%. Sumitomo Mitsui fell 11% to Y385,000. Aozora Bank declined 31% to Y66. Aiful dropped 14% to Y355. Orix Corp. (IX) slumped 17% to Y8,840. T&D Holdings sank 14% to Y3,030. Isuzu dived 22% to Y124. Fuji Heavy slipped 18% to Y262. Nintendo Co.(NTDOY) dropped 11% to Y24,400…CHINA: The CSI 300 Index was down 126.93, or 7.1%, to 1,654.67. Aluminum Corp. (ACH) lost 10% to 5.91 yuan. Datang also lost 10% to 5.25 yuan. China Construction Bank fell 5.1% to 3.69 yuan. Bank of Communications Co. slid 9.5% to 4.17 yuan. Shanghai Pudong Development Bank Co. sank 9.3% to 11.01 yuan. China Shenhua Energy Co. tumbled 1.91 yuan, or 10%, to 17.15. Beijing Hualian Hypermarket Co. slumped 0.76 yuan, or 10%, to 6.80…AUSTRALIA: The S&P/ASX 200 Index was down 60.20, or 1.56%, to 3,809.20…AROUND ASIA: The Hang Seng Index lost 1,602.54, or 12.70%, to 11.015.84.
Technology Trader: Q4 will bring grim tidings - Barron’s
Columnist Eric Savitz says that Q3 numbers aren’t disastrous, but they aren’t all that impressive, either. As expected, the real issue is fourth-quarter guidance. Savitz says, Q3 was mediocre, Q4 is going to be bad, and no one knows what happens after that. Here are some key takeaways from the first batch of earnings news: The job cuts have only just begun. Xerox (XRX), eBay (EBAY), and Yahoo! (YHOO) all announced workforce reductions. And while Google (GOOG) didn’t cut headcount, they certainly aren’t hiring either. Microsoft (MSFT) Chairman Bill Gates recently said the jobless rate could hit 9%. The rally in the dollar is biting companies with significant non-U.S. revenue. The holiday selling season is shaping up to be the worst in years. Examples of this came from eBay and Amazon.com (AMZN) - both with disappointing guidance. Lastly,while many corporate balance sheets are flush with cash, many companies are postponing/avoiding buybacks, acquisitions, and investment in the business — instead look for execs to hold on to or hoard the cash to get through the credit crisis.
Technology Stocks: a glimmer of light in an otherwise bleak sector - Barron’s
Following Friday’s precipitous market drop, the Morgan Stanley tech index is down 45% this year, compared to the Standard & Poor’s 500’s 40% decline. While Friday’s market wasn’t good for growth companies like technology outfits, there are some pockets of opportunity that investors should pay close attention to. Thomas Laming, pres/CIO of TrendStar Advisors and portfolio manager of the AFBA Science & Technology Fund actually thinks tech will do well over the next few years, as the incumbents now have fewer start-ups challenging them. Laming and a number of other tech specialists emphasize that it’s best to look for well-run companies with strong balance sheets and outstanding technology to see them through several tough quarters. Laming’s pick: Varian Medical (VAR), target $60. Picks from the other tech specialists are as follows. Walter Price, managing director of Allianz Global Investors and co-manager of the Allianz RCM Technology Fund - picks: Hewlett-Packard (HPQ), target $60; Amazon.com (AMZN), target $600; Qualcomm (QCOM), target $60; Energy conversion Devices (ENER), Price says many of these solar stocks will double or triple eventually. Dan Chung, CEO of Fred Alger Management - picks: Cognizant (CTSH), target $27 to $35 range; Apple (AAPL), target $150 to $180; Nintendo (NTDOY), target $55 to $65 range; Atheros Communications (ATHR), target $27 to $35 range. Lastly, Ray Conley, technology fund manager for Palo Alto Investors - pick: Ceragon Networks (CRNT), target $29 to $36 within two years. There will be big winners and losers coming out of this recession as well. It’s a good bet the companies mentioned above will be among the winners.
Weekly additions to the Investors Business Daily-100
The following are additions to the Investors Business Daily-100 list for the week of October 24: Petmed Express (PETS), Celgene Corp. (CELG), Clean Harbors (CLHB), Balchem (BCPC), Celcom (CEL), Genzyme (GENZ), Baxter International (BAX), Tractor Supply (TSCO), Amgen (AMGN), Enterprise Products (EPD), Covanta Holding corp (CVA), Burlington Northern (BNI), C H Robinson Worldwide (CHRW), C R BARD (BCR), Edwards Lifesciences (EW), Exxon Mobil (XOM), Partner Communications (PTNR), Monro Muffler Brake (MNRO), Capital Federated Finl (CFFN), Nicor (GAS), Avista (AVA), First Source Corp (SRCE), Cephalon (CEPH), Chesapeake Utilities (CPK), Proctor & Gamble (PG), Novartis (NVS), Northewest Bancorp (NWSB), ACE Lmt. (ACE), NBT Bancorp (NBTB), Ralcorp Holdings (RAH), Silgan Holdings (SLGN), DPL Inc (DPL), Nippon Tel (NTT), Comtech Telecomm (CMTL), Davita Inc (DVA), Duff & Phelps (DUF), Johnson & Johnson (JNJ), Kinder Morgan (KMP ), Bank of the Ozarcks (OZRK ), Laboratory Corp. Of America (LH), Connecticut Water Svc (CTWS), Wasteconnections (WCN), First Financial Bancshares (FFIN), Kroger (KR), ICU Medical (ICUI),
Weekly subtractions from the Investor’s Business Daily-100
The following are subtractions from the Investors Business Daily-100 list for the week of October 24: American Public Education (APEI), Buffalo Wild Wings (BWLD), Quality Systems (QSII), Cash America (CSH), Websense (WBSN), Healthspring (HS), Wabtec (WAB), Hudson City Bancorp (HCBK), Stanley (SXE), Mantech International (MANT), NCI Inc (NCIT), FPIC Insurance Group (FPIC), Psychiatric Solutions (PSYS), Express Scripts (ESRX), Microsemi Corp (MSCC),Global Payments(GPN), Iris International (IRIS), Shanda Interactive (SNDA), Perrigo (PRGO), Westwood Holdings group (WHG), Grainger (GWW), Netease.com (NTES), UMB Financial (UMBF), MWI Veterinary (MWIV), Standard Parking Corp (STAN), FTI Consulting (FCN), Franklin Electric (FELE), SWS Group (SWS), Centene Corp (CNC), LHC Group (LHCG), Pioneer Southwest Energy (PSE), Hain Celestial Group (HAIN), Hanger Orthopedic Group (HGR), Medicines Company (MDCO), Exponent (EXPO), Wolverine World Wide (WWW), Charles Schwab (SCHW), Nike (NKE), Telecom De Sao Paulo (TSP), Boston Beer Company (SAM), Haemonetics (HAE), Calgon Carbon Corp. (CCC), Stifel Financial(SF). Novo Nordisc (NVO), Astrazeneca (AZN)
Treasury Department considers buying stakes in insurance companies-WSJ
The U.S. is considering taking equity stakes in insurance companies as the government’s bailout plan is being pulled in many directions, reports the Wall Street Journal. The worldwide credit crisis now means the U.S. is getting requests from not only insurance companies, but auto makers, state governments and transit agencies. For starters, MetLife (MET) and Prudential Financial (PRU) want to explore a sale of equity stakes to the government, say insiders.
Analysts Initiation Summary for Monday, October 27th
MOST NOTEWORTHY: EnerSys (ENS) and Syniverse (SVR) were today’s noteworthy initiations: B. Riley initiated EnerSys with a Buy rating and $16.50 target. The firm believes the company’s core business is gaining strength due to product innovation and continued expansion into new commercial and renewable energy applications. Oppenheimer believes Syniverse is well positioned with rising mobile services penetration given its leverage to roaming and data. Shares were assumed with an Outperform rating and $19 target…OTHER INITIATIONS: MAG Silver (MVG) and Northern Dynasty (NAK) were initiated with Speculative Buy ratings at Canaccord.
Analysts Downgrade Summary for Monday, October 27th
MOST NOTEWORTHY: U.S. Steel (X), Rick’s Cabaret (RICK) and Cache (CACH) were today’s noteworthy downgrades: UBS downgraded U.S. Steel to Sell from Buy and lowered its target to $30 from $60 citing deteriorating U.S. conditions and concerns about the company’s high fixed costs in a falling steel price environment. Merriman downgraded Rick’s Cabaret to Neutral from Buy to reflect the tough economic environment, potential weakness in Las Vegas and potential delays in acquisitions. B. Riley cut Cache to Neutral from Buy and lowered its target to $3.40 from $11 on concerns that comp declines have accelerated in October and will not get better for the holiday season…OTHER DOWNGRADES: China Unicom (CHU) was lowered to Underweight from Neutral at JP Morgan. Old Second Bancorp (OSBC) was cut to Underperform from Market Perform at Keefe Bruyette. Royal Dutch Shell (RDS.A) was downgraded to Underperform from Neutral at Credit Suisse.
Analysts Upgrade Summary for Monday, October 27th
MOST NOTEWORTHY: Franklin Resources (BEN), ASML Holding (ASML) and Seattle Genetics (SGEN) were today’s noteworthy upgrades: Keefe Bruyette upgraded Franklin Resources to Outperform from Market Perform and added shares to their Best Ideas List on valuation as they see an attractive risk/reward at current levels. UBS upgraded ASML Holding to Buy from Neutral on valuation as they believe the company remains a market leader. Oppenheimer raised Seattle Genetics to Outperform from Perform on valuation following the recent weakness as they expect positive clinical news flow beginning in December…OTHER UPGRADES: PepsiCo (PEP) was upgraded to Buy from Hold at Deustche Bank. Fortress (FIG) was upgraded at Citigroup to Hold from Sell. Prudential (PUK) was lifted to Overweight from Neutral at JP Morgan.
U.S. equity futures continue to point to a lower open
U.S. equity futures continue to point to a lower open. The global economic slowdown concerns has CEOs of companies giving tepid guidance, if at all, given the cloudy outlook. The price of crude oil continues to fall and is another sign of weak demand in a slowing worldwide economy. The price of crude is down more than $2 to $61.95 a barrel and is at its lowest price since May 1997. In a sign that the credit thaw may be continuing the Libor rate was down slightly. Investors will receive data today on new home sales at 10:00 am.
Pre-Market Top 5 Losers for October 27 2008
The following stocks were the top percentage losers before the open on solid volume of at least 50K shares, trading at over $10. THOR (-14.1%), XOM (-2.3%), GS (-2.3%), MS (-2.2%), INTC (-1.6%).
Pre-Market Top 5 Gainers for October 27 2008
The following stocks were the top percentage gainers before the open on solid volume of at least 50K shares, trading at over $10. VZ +3.66%, RIMM +0.5%. Only two stocks met the criteria this morning.
Did you like this article?
Submitted By 
's
