Posted By optiondragon for myhappytrading.com, the ultimate site made by traders for traders!
From Briefing.com
Periodicals Wrap-Up for Wednesday, August 20
WALL STREET JOURNAL: A venture led by residential land company LandCap Partners is buying $40M of land and construction loans from Wachovia (WB). FINANCIAL TIMES: Barclays (BCS) would consider buying a U.S. wealth management company, Barclays President Bob Diamond said. However, it is “highly unlikely” that the British bank will bid for a U.S. investment bank, Diamond added. WALL STREET JOURNAL: eBay (EBAY) said it would reduce its fees for products on its web site with fixed prices. The online auction company is making the move in order to become more competitive with rival web sites. BLOOMBERG: Fannie Mae (FNM) and Freddie Mac’s (FRE) ability to repay a combined $223B of their bonds due by the end of Q3 may determine whether they will need to be bailed out by the federal government.
Q3 debt payments may determine Fannie and Freddie’s fate-Bloomberg
Fannie Mae (FNM) and Freddie Mac’s (FRE) ability to repay $223B of their bonds due by the end of Q3 could determine whether the companies will need to be bailed out by the U.S. government. Fannie has about $120B of debt maturing this quarter, and Freddie has $103B of debt maturing in the same period.
Asian Markets Wrap-Up for Wednesday, August 20
Asian stocks advanced as most markets gained. The Chinese government is said to be considering moves to jump-start growth for its economy..JAPAN: The Nikkei 225 Stock Average fell 13.36, or 0.1%, to 12,851.69, while the broader Topix index lost 2.17, or 0.2%, to 1,233.37. Shipping lines lead the losers as Nippon Yusen, dropped 2.7% to Y852. Mitsui O.S.K. Lines slid 2.5% to Y1,262. Sony (SNE) tumbled 2.8% to Y4,130. Matsushita Electric Industrial Co. (MC) sank 2.4% to Y2,255. Toyota (TM) was down 3.6% to Y4,830. Inpex was up 2.5% to Y1,134,000. Sumitomo Metal Mining Co. jumped 4.3% to Y1,426…CHINA: The Chinese government may spend up to 400B yuan, or about $58B, to help stimulate the economy and may ease monetary policy this year, according to a research note from J.P. Morgan. The CSI 300 Index advanced 184.47, or 7.9%, to 2,532.94. China Vanke Co. rose 8.4% to 7.46 yuan. Gemdale Corp. jumped 8.2% to 7.40 yuan. Ping An Insurance Co. was up 9.5% to 44.96 yuan…AUSTRALIA: The S&P/ASX 200 Index advanced 63.10, or 1.30%, to 4,929.50. BHP Billiton (BHP) added 4.7% to A$38.73. Rio Tinto Group (RTP) climbed 4.8% to A$116.70. James Hardie (JHX) lost 1.6% to A$4.43…AROUND ASIA: The Hang Seng Index gained 446.89, or 2.18%, to 20,931.26. Cnooc (CEO) added 5.4% to HK$10.64. PetroChina Co.(PTR) increased 3% to HK$9.89.
Lehman came close to raising $5B from South Korean funds, institutions-NY Post
Lehman Brothers (LEH) CEO Dick Fuld almost made a deal to raise almost $5B from South Korean wealth funds and institutions, but the deal fell through earlier this month, inside sources said.
Treasury’s next move: Doing something about high mortgage rates-WSJ
The Wall Street Journal’s “Heard on the Street” says that with everything that has been done to help the housing market, the rate on a 30 year mortgage now is 6.52%, unchanged from a year ago. If cheaper borrowing costs are key to the housing turnaround mortgage rates with have to go lower. Enter Fannie Mae (FNM) and Freddie Mac (FRE): If the government pumps large sums of money into them, or takes them over, that could ease the pressure. Risks abound but investors also want to know that the burden will not fall on them alone.
Goldman reiterates year end WTI crude forecast of $149 a barrel-CNBC
Oil fundamentals, not USD to drive oil prices@GSCO
Goldman said they expect declining trend oil supply growth and emerging market demand to drive rising oil prices. The firm reiterated their year end WTI oil price forecast of $149/bbl.
U.S. equity futures continue to point to a higher open
U.S. equity futures continue to point to a slightly higher open this morning as crude oil prices start to move higher. Goldman Sachs (GS) earlier today reiterated their year end price target for crude at $149 a barrel; the price is now above $116. That could change after the release of today’s Department of Energy Inventory report at 10:35 am. Analysts are predicting a build-up of 1.0M barrels of crude and a draw-down of 3.0M barrels of gasoline. Any major variation from those numbers could cause volatile price swings in both commodities.
U.S. cellphone sales fall 13%-WSJ
Second quarter sales of cellphones in the U.S. were down 13% as about 28M were sold when compared to the same quarter in 2007, according to NPD Group, a research firm, the lowest quarterly total since they began tracking in 2005. The phones that were sold generally were more expensive, meaning the total value of the market was off 2% to $2.4B, reports the Wall Street Journal. Motorola (MOT) products were the most popular.
Intel focuses on performance over power usage-WSJ
Intel Corp. (INTC) is focused on boosting computing performance without using more power, and it has a new “turbo” technology on future chips which basically speeds up chips that may have four or more, reports the Wall Street Journal.
Intel-INTC: Concerned investors will price in a weaker 1H09@GSCO
Goldman said they expect INTC to report strong a strong Q3 and Q4 guidance but have concerns investors will begin to price in a weaker 1H09 given impact from higher capex.
Hewlett-Packard-HPQ estimates raised on the healthy quarter@PACS
PacCrest says PC end-demand remained healthy for HPQ, the world’s largest IT supplier. They view that as a positive for DELL (DELL) as well, and would be a buyer of the shares ahead of its quarter results. The shares of HPQ remain Sector Perform rated with a fair value of $41 to $48.
F5 Networks-FFIV: Continue to be bullish on L-T prospects; target $41@THNK
In view of new product cycles and market leadership, as well as the secular drivers surrounding the rapid increase of web applications, server consolidation and virtualization, ThinkPanmure thinks guidance appears conservative. The firm maintained their estimates and reiterated their Buy rating.
Myriad Genetics-MYGN target raised to $87 from $75@JMPS
After Myriad reported higher than expected EPS for its Q4, JMP Securities believes Myriad’s PM business is continuing to grow strongly. The firm expects the company’s PM business to become profitable and they reiterated their Outperform rating.
Brokers: Estimates lowered for GS, LEH, and MS@BERN
Bernstein lowered Q3 EPS estimates for GS and MS and Q3, Q4, and 2009 EPS estimates for LEH. The firm expects LEH to report Q3 writedowns of $3B.
Amylin Pharma-AMLN: Believe takeover is unlikely, maintain Sell@SBSH
Citigroup believes Lilly’s (LLY) advance of its own once weekly GLP-1 analog, LY2189265, makes AMLN a less appealing M&A target since the drug is a viable competitor to LAR. The firm maintains a Sell rating and $21 target.
Eli Lilly-LLY: See downside risk to Byetta/LAR estimates@SBSH
Citigroup sees downside risk due flattening prescription trends, safety concerns and rising competition. The firm maintains a Hold rating on the stock.
Amgen-AMGN coverage assumed with an Outperform@LEER
Leerink expects AMGN’s denosumab fracture data to be presented at ASBMR to be superior to expectations and that denosumab will be a major earnings driver starting in 2010.
Brokers: Estimates reduced on higher write-downs on mortgage assets@GSCO
Goldman lowered estimates for LEH, MS, MER, JPM and C citing higher write-downs for mortgage assets. The firm expects LEH’s Q3 write-down to be in the range of $2.5B-$3.5B and still sees any recovery in the group a few quarters away. They continue to recommend being long MS vs. short C.
Semis: Channel checks positive for iPhone chip suppliers@FBRC
Friedman Billings’ checks indicated iPhone calendar Q3 build volumes increased by 5% versus their prior checks and Q4 build volumes increased by 2%. The firm views these data points as positive for iPhone chip suppliers BRCM, MRVL, LLTC, NSM, IFX, SWKS.
Suntech Power-STP reports Q2 EPS 41c vs. consensus of 32c
STP reports Q2 revenue $480.2M vs. consensus of $439.33M.
Suntech Power-STP says PV cell production capacity was 660MW at end of Q2
STP says on track to reach 1GW PV cell capacity by end of 2008
STP raises 2008 sales guidance to $2.05B-$2.15B
Previous guidance was $1.9B-$2.1B and consensus estimate is $2.06B.
STP increases full year PV product shipment target
Suntech increases full year 2008 PV product shipment target from 530MW to approximately 550MW.
(Important note on how to use this upgrade/downgrade list with analyst comments and news….you must parse out the factual data (Factual data is the most important) from the opinionated data and always take all analyst comments with a grain of salt. Do not follow blindly with their recommendations. Remember that technicals are the most powerful force in short term direction for stock prices due to the law of supply and demand.)
Fast Money position recap: First Moves- Jeff says sell COST, Guy likes RTN long, Pete likes MER puts.
Adami Owns (C), (AGU), (BTU), (GS), (INTC), (MSFT), (NUE); Macke Is Short (TM); Macke Owns (MSFT), (WMT), (DIS), (CY); Najarian Owns (AAPL) And Is Short (AAPL) Calls; Najarian Owns (CSCO) Call Spread; Finerman Owns (GS); Finerman’s Firm And Finerman Own (C) Leap; Finerman’s Firm Owns (MSFT), (SUN), (TSO), (VLO); Finerman’s Firm Is Short (SPG), (COF), (IYR), (IWM), (IJR), (SPY), (MDY), (BBT).
Goldman came out with a note today saying oil prices are not dollar drive and maintain $150 oil by the end of the year. Market on shaky ground here with the financials and are now taking a cue from FNM. The market is moving in lock step to XLF and the brokers. Oil inventories will have an effect on the market and oil prices released at 7:30 am PT. Energy could find a boost here with Goldman’s call and favorable oil inventories. Brokers were downgraded and estimates were slashed by Bernstein and Goldman. The XLF, brokers and FNM
should be under pressure throughout the day, let’s see if that occurs. Pick plays with a high probability of success, have focus and patience and run technicals through supply and demand. Great luck and Happytrading!
Think Fractally, patterns are present in the market and in nature, both are run by formulas. Question is, what is the formula?
A fisheye lens captures arcs of light crowning the Canadian wilderness. Water refracts, or bends, the light, separating it into red, orange, yellow, green, blue, and violet.
Did you like this article?
Submitted By 
's
