Posted By Optiondragon for myhappytrading.com, a social network made by traders for traders.
From Briefing.com
Periodicals Wrap-Up for Thursday, August 21
BLOOMBERG: Temasek Holdings may consider increasing its stake in Merrill Lynch (MER), Temasek’s chairman said. FINANCIAL TIMES: Lehman Brothers (LEH) reportedly held secret talks to sell a stake of up to 50% in itself to Korean or Chinese entities earlier this month, but the talks stalled. WALL STREET JOURNAL: Responding to a rumor, the Federal Reserve last month called Credit Suisse (CS) to check whether it had eliminated a credit line to Lehman Brothers, according to sources. The bank told the Fed that it had not pulled the credit line and did not plan to do so. NEW YORK TIMES: Investment bank Evercore Partners (EVR) is close to a deal to obtain a $120M investment from Japan’s Mizuho Corporate Bank.
Political figures say Fannie and Freddie will have to be changed-NY Times
Most political policy makers believe that Fannie Mae (FNM) and Freddie Mac (FRE) will have to undergo substantial changes so that they cannot undermine the financial system. There have been proposals to nationalize Fannie and Freddie, eliminate them, or limit their activities to certain areas, such as affordable housing.
Asian Markets Wrap-Up for Thursday, August 21
Asian stocks declined and were dragged down by financial companies…JAPAN: The Nikkei 225 Stock Average fell 99.48, or 0.8%, to 12,752.21, while the broader Topix index lost 8.84, or 0.7% to 1,224.53. Sumitomo Mitsui dropped 2.1% to Y661,000. Resona Holdings was down 1.5% to Y129,100. Mitsubishi UFJ Financial Group (MTU) lost 0.9% to Y810. Orix Corp (IX).slid 2.9% to Y13,030. Nintendo (NTDOY) tumbled 3.6% to Y48,600. Inpex rose 2.7% to Y1.165M. Sojitz Corp. advanced 4.5% to Y32. CHINA: The CSI 300 retreated 3.5% to 2,443.98. Industrial & Commercial Bank of China fell 2.9% to 4.76 yuan. China Vanke Co. was down 5.2% to 7.07 yuan. Poly Real Estate Group Co. slumped 5% to 14.31 yuan. Citic Securities added 3.7% percent to 19.40 yuan. Haitong Securities Co. jumped 4.7% to 17.30 yuan…AUSTRALIA: The S&P/ASX 200 Index tumbled -54.30, or -1.10%, to 4,875.20. Babcock & Brown retreated a record 36% after posting its first earnings decline and its CEO resigned. OZ Minerals was down 7.9% to A$1.685. Qantas Airways gained 2.4 % to A$3.48…AROUND ASIA: In Hong Kong, the Hang Seng Index dropped -539.20, or -2.58%, to 20,392.06. Hutchison lost 1.3% to HK$70.55. China South Locomotive & Rolling Stock Corp. added 1.2% to HK$2.63.
U.S. equity futures continue to point to a lower open
Equity futures continue to point to a lower open on concerns surrounding the financial sector. Investors received employment news about initial jobless claims and continuing jobless claims. The initial jobless claims came in at 432,000 versus an expected 440,000. The continuing claims came in at 3.36M versus an expected 3.4M. The reports had a benign effect on the futures as they remain lower as the markets are more concerned with the financial sector and the rising price of oil. Crude oil is today up more than $2.50 at $118.15 a barrel.
Iran buys wheat from the U.S.-WSJ
For the first time in nearly three decades, Iran this summer bought over 1M tons of hard red winter wheat from the U.S., equal to between 3% and 4% of U.S. domestic wheat exports. U.S. government sanctions do not apply to agricultural exports to Iran, according to the Wall Street Journal. A drought in Iran is expected to cut its production by about a third.
Salesforce.com-CRM volatility Elevated at 62 into lower outlook
CRM is recently trading at $58.15 in pre-open trading, below its close of $65.30. CRM, the seller of subscriptions to business software, reported Q2 EPS below analyst expectations. CRM lowered forward guidance. CRM September option implied volatility of 62 is above its 26-week average of 55 according to according to Track Data, suggesting larger price movement.
Monsanto-MON: View weakness as a buying opportunity@ARGS
Argus views the recent weakness as a buying opportunity as seed prices trend up.
Google-GOOG: Search ad budgets remain intact@COWN
Following the Search Engine Strategies conference earlier this week, Cowen said they believe search ad budgets continue to exhibit good growth. The firm believes there some headwinds due to the economy but they believes their revenue estimates are achievable. Shares are Outperform rated.
Google-GOOG: Still comfortable with Street’s top-line estimates@KBRO
After conducting checks, Kaufman Bros. believes Google’s U.S. and Western Europe search advertising revenue is not being significantly impacted by economic headwinds. The firm maintained their Buy rating.
Gymboree-GYMB: Even in a weak mall environment, 2Q EPS beat estimates@FBRC
Even though there was a 42% growth in earnings, FBRC believes there is a shifting in the risk/reward scenario and will remain sidelined until the macro environment has greater clarity. At current levels, FBRC believes substantial share appreciation will be more difficult, but that 3Q08 guidance is attainable. The firm increased FY08 and reduced FY09 EPS estimates; target price decreased to $36 from $43 and Market Perform rating reiterated.
Celgene-CELG Vidaza receives expanded FDA approval
Celgene Corporation announced VIDAZA received expanded U.S. Food and Drug Administration approval to reflect new overall survival achieved in the AZA-001 survival study of patients with higher-risk myelodysplastic syndromes. This expanded indication supplements the 2004 FDA authorization of VIDAZA as the first therapy approved in the U.S. for the treatment of patients with all five French American British subtypes of MDS. VIDAZA is also the first and only drug to show a statistically significant and clinically meaningful extension of survival in higher-risk MDS patients.
Wellpoint-WLP initiated with a Buy, target $60@BOFA
Banc of America expects shares to expand from near trough valuations
American Int’l-AIG: Believe capital raise concerns are overdone@SBSH
Citigroup believes with the stock around $20, the market is discounting a capital raise of more than $20B. They think AIG could find capital relief through an asset sale and that the bear case for Q3 results is more than priced into shares. The firm maintains a Buy rating.
Amylin Pharma-AMLN removed from Conviction Buy List; maintain Buy@GSCO
Massey Energy-MEE upgraded to Buy from Neutral@UBSW
UBS upgraded ACI, FCL, and MEE based on valuation. MEE price target $77.
Fast Money position recap- First Moves: Guy likes SLB, Joe likes VLO, Pete likes USB.
Macke Owns (CY), (MSFT), (WMT); Adami Owns (AGU), (C), (BTU), (GS), (INTC), (MSFT), (NUE); Pete Najarian Owns (AAPL) And Is Short (AAPL) Calls; Pete Najarian Owns (CSCO) Call Spread; Pete Najarian Owns (LEH) Put Spread; Pete Najarian Owns (MS) And Is Short (MS) Calls; Pete Najarian Owns (NVDA) Calls And (NVDA) Call Spread; Terranova Owns (AAPL), (BNI), (CME), (EOG), (FCX), (GS), (GOOG), (INTC), (KOL), (NOV), (POT), (RIMM), (SA), (XLF), (SU), (X), (VLO), (YHOO); Terranova Owns (AIG) Puts; Terranova Is Short Crude Oil Time Spread (Short Dec. 2009, Long Dec. 2012); Terranova Is Long Crude Oil Futures (Dec. 2012).
(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.)
Think Fractally, patterns are present in the market and nature, both are run on formulas.
Sandbars flow into the Coral Sea at Whitsunday Island National Park in Queensland, Australia.
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