Daily Markets - Sasol Keeps Neutral Rating

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• Sasol Keeps Neutral Rating
• PetMed Downgraded To Underperform
• Petrobras Profit Up, Beats Forecast
• Aon Borrows $2.5B For Hewitt Deal
• Pessimism Not Slowing Copper Down
• Summer Salary Survey For The College Class Of 2010
• Former ConAgra Unit Fined
• Medco To Acquire Research Firm
• Lobbying Charges Shrink For Humana
• Forex Trading: USDCAD Below 200 Hour MA, Above 100 Day MA. A Break Of 1.0317 Eyed
• Urban Outfitters Tops Estimate
• Home Depot Beats Zacks Estimate
• YRC Worldwide Offloads Logistics Unit
• Stock Market News Briefs: Baker Hughes Incorporated, Bank Of America, BHP Billiton Limited, CF Industries Holdings, Goldman Sachs Group, Home Depot, Potash Corporation Of Saskatchewan, Target, Wal-Mart Stores
• Beloit College Mindset List For The Class Of 2014
• Swiss Franc: Under Pressure
• Japanese Yen: The Downside Prevails
• British Pound: Under Pressure
• Euro: The Downside Prevails
• Doubleheaders, Starting Times And Gender Equity
• GBP Traders Shift Focus To BoE Minutes After U.K. Inflation Slows In July
• Forex Trading: USDJPY And The Major JPY Crosses Coiling For A Move?
• Valuation-Informed Indexing:The Curious Case Of The Market Price That Is Not The True Market Price
• Forex Trading: EURUSD Finds Support Against The 100 Hour MA
• Goldman Sachs And Uncle Sam’s “Games People Play”
• Active ETF Basics: Active ETF Expenses

Sasol Keeps Neutral Rating Posted: 17 Aug 2010 08:05 AM PDT We are maintaining our Neutral recommendation on Sasol Ltd. (SSL) ADRs with a target price of $42. Sasol is the largest oil and chemical concern in South Africa, engaged in diversified and highly profitable activities along the energy chain. The company specializes in gas-to-liquids (GTL) and coal-to-liquids (CTL) technologies, which produce synthetic fuels in commercial quantities from low-grade natural gas and natural coal. Recently, these technologies have been attracting attention as they … [visit site to read more]

PetMed Downgraded To Underperform Posted: 17 Aug 2010 07:35 AM PDT We have recently downgraded PetMed Express (NASDAQ:PETS) to Underperform with a target price of $15.00. PetMed Express, the largest Pet Pharmacy in the US, began fiscal 2011 on a disappointing note. The company reported fiscal first quarter 2011 EPS of $0.32, below the Zacks Consensus Estimate of $0.38 and last year’s $0.36. Net sales of the company declined 3.6% year over year to $74.4 million. Sales were adversely affected due to increased retail and online competition and the lack … [visit site to read more]

Petrobras Profit Up, Beats Forecast Posted: 17 Aug 2010 07:35 AM PDT Brazilian state-run energy giant Petroleo Brasileiro S.A. (NYSE:PBR), or Petrobras S.A., announced second quarter earnings of R$ 8.3 billion or R$ 0.95 per share, compared with R$8.2 billion or R$0.93 per share in the year-earlier quarter. Earnings per ADR came in at $1.07 (Exchange rate: US$1.00 = R$1.7695, 1 ADR = 2 shares), ahead of the Zacks Consensus Estimate of $1.03. Petrobras' net operating revenues of R$53.6 billion was up 20.2% from the second quarter 2009 level. Positive … [visit site to read more]

Aon Borrows $2.5B For Hewitt Deal Posted: 17 Aug 2010 07:35 AM PDT Moving ahead with its latest deal, Aon Corp. (AON) is arranging funds for the acquisition of Hewitt Associates Inc. (NYSE:HEW) through some credit agreements with a financial syndicate, which are estimated to be worth approximately $2.5 billion. The deal is scheduled to close by mid-November. Accordingly, Aon borrowed $1 billion by entering into a three-year term credit agreement with Credit Suisse AG (NYSE:CS) that acted as the administrative agent. In addition, Morgan Stanley Senior Funding Inc. … [visit site to read more]

Pessimism Not Slowing Copper Down Posted: 17 Aug 2010 07:17 AM PDT Fundamentals Someone apparently forgot to tell the Copper market about the economic jitters engulfing the equity and commodity markets. The more pessimistic sentiment from central banks and concerns that China’s real estate market may be softening have done little to slow down the price of the red metal in recent weeks. Copper did retreat last week after the FOMC policy statement, but traders have shifted their focus on the destocking of COMEX and LME inventories this week. Orders to take from … [visit site to read more]

Summer Salary Survey For The College Class Of 2010 Posted: 17 Aug 2010 07:07 AM PDT According to the National Association of Colleges and Employers (NACE) Summer Salary Survey for the college Class of 2010: 1. Engineering degrees account for four of the five most highly paid majors among the college Class of 2010. 2. Accounting services employers extended the greatest number of offers to this year's crop of bachelor's degree graduates, followed by engineering services and financial services 3. The overall starting salary offer to Class of 2010 bachelor's degree … [visit site to read more]

Former ConAgra Unit Fined Posted: 17 Aug 2010 07:05 AM PDT ConAgra Trade Group, a former unit of ConAgra Foods Inc. (NYSE:CAG), has been fined $12 million by the U.S. Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) for artificially bidding up the price of crude. On January 2, 2008, ConAgra's trader bought an oil contract at $100 per barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange when actually oil was trading at $99.60 per barrel. Moreover, the broker was directed to continue bidding at $99.90 a barrel, close to $100 per barrel, so that the original contract … [visit site to read more]

Medco To Acquire Research Firm Posted: 17 Aug 2010 07:05 AM PDT Medco Health Solutions (NYSE:MHS), a leading health pharmacy benefit management (PBM) company in the US, entered into an agreement to acquire privately-held United BioSource Corporation for $730 million. The transaction, subject to regulatory approvals, is expected to close during the third quarter of 2010. Excluding one-time items and amortization, this acquisition is expected to be slightly accretive in 2011. United BioSource caters to pharmaceutical and biotechnology companies and guides them … [visit site to read more]

Lobbying Charges Shrink For Humana Posted: 17 Aug 2010 07:05 AM PDT Humana Inc. (NYSE:HUM) spent $270,000 during the second quarter 2010 to encourage programs of health promotion or disease prevention. The lobbying charges were down by more than half from the $580,000 spent during the second quarter of 2009, while it increased 9% from $248,000 in the first quarter of 2010. Humana lobbied Congress on the Healthy Hunger-Free Kids Act to improve the food services provided in schools; the Fitness Integrated with Teaching (FIT) Kids Act to deal with childhood … [visit site to read more]

Forex Trading: USDCAD Below 200 Hour MA, Above 100 Day MA. A Break Of 1.0317 Eyed Posted: 17 Aug 2010 06:35 AM PDT … [visit site to read more]

Urban Outfitters Tops Estimate Posted: 17 Aug 2010 06:35 AM PDT Urban Outfitters, Inc. (NASDAQ:URBN) recently posted second-quarter 2010 results that exceeded expectations due to top-line growth and effective inventory and cost management. Quarterly earnings for this retailer of apparel, footwear, and accessories reached 42 cents per share, surpassing the Zacks Consensus Estimate of 39 cents and surging 44.8% from 29 cents last year. Urban Outfitters, which competes with Gap Inc. (NYSE:GPS) and Abercrombie & Fitch Co. (NYSE:ANF), said that total net … [visit site to read more]

Home Depot Beats Zacks Estimate Posted: 17 Aug 2010 06:35 AM PDT The Home Depot Inc. (NYSE:HD) posted second-quarter 2010 earnings of 72 cents per share, beating the Zacks Consensus Estimate by a penny and up 7.5% from 67 cents last year. The prior-year quarter excludes one-time items.   Home Depot, the world's largest improvement retailer, now expects fiscal 2010 earnings to increase 22.6% year over year to $1.90 per share, which remains in line with the current Zacks Consensus Estimate supported by 29 analysts following the stock. The company had … [visit site to read more]

YRC Worldwide Offloads Logistics Unit Posted: 17 Aug 2010 06:35 AM PDT YRC Worldwide Inc. (NASDAQ:YRCW), a leading provider of truck transportation throughout the world, yesterday announced that it completed the divestment of the majority of YRC Logistics division to the private equity firm Austin Ventures. Gross proceeds from the deal were $38.7 million. Out of this, YRCW received the initial proceeds of $33.6 million in cash. For the remaining $5.1 million of payment, $2.3 million is in escrow to cover the transferring ownership of foreign subsidiaries and $2.8 … [visit site to read more]

Stock Market News Briefs: Baker Hughes Incorporated, Bank Of America, BHP Billiton Limited, CF Industries Holdings, Goldman Sachs Group, Home Depot, Potash Corporation Of Saskatchewan, Target, Wal-Mart Stores Posted: 17 Aug 2010 06:35 AM PDT  BHP Billiton (NYSE:BHP) confirmed a bid for Potash (NYSE:POT), valued at $130 per share, or $38.5 billion.  Home Depot (NYSE:HD) announced second quarter results of 72 cents a share, one cent above Zacks estimates, and up from 66 cents a year ago; however, sales up 1.8% to $19.41 billion missed Zacks estimates of $19.58 billion. Same-store-sales rose 1.7%  Walmart (NYSE:WMT) reported second quarter earnings of 97 cents a share, 1-cent better than Zacks expectations, on revenues of … [visit site to read more]

Beloit College Mindset List For The Class Of 2014 Posted: 17 Aug 2010 06:35 AM PDT “Born when Ross Perot was warning about a giant sucking sound and Bill Clinton was apologizing for pain in his marriage, members of this fall's entering college class of 2014 have emerged as a post-email generation for whom the digital world is routine and technology is just too slow. Each August since 1998, Beloit College has released the Beloit College Mindset List. It provides a look at the cultural touchstones that shape the lives of students entering college this fall.” This year’s list … [visit site to read more]

Swiss Franc: Under Pressure Posted: 17 Aug 2010 06:18 AM PDT Update on supports and resistances. … [visit site to read more]

Japanese Yen: The Downside Prevails Posted: 17 Aug 2010 06:18 AM PDT Update on supports and resistances. … [visit site to read more]

British Pound: Under Pressure Posted: 17 Aug 2010 06:18 AM PDT Update on supports and resistances. … [visit site to read more]

Euro: The Downside Prevails Posted: 17 Aug 2010 06:18 AM PDT Update on supports and resistances. … [visit site to read more]

Doubleheaders, Starting Times And Gender Equity Posted: 17 Aug 2010 06:08 AM PDT Inside Higher Ed — “A sports conference that always scheduled weekday basketball doubleheaders in which women's teams played the first game — letting the men play in the later time slot — has altered the practice, after an anonymous sex discrimination complaint charged that this made the women's games appear to be a "warm-up" act for the men's games. Now, hoping to avoid possible gender equity suits, other athletic conferences are considering similar scheduling changes.  Last … [visit site to read more]

GBP Traders Shift Focus To BoE Minutes After U.K. Inflation Slows In July Posted: 17 Aug 2010 05:50 AM PDT  Fundamental Headlines • Home Starts Boost U.S. Stocks Futures – Wall Street Journal • BoJ Doesn't See Threat in Yen Rise – Wall Street Journal • Renewed Hopes for Recovery Stiffen Resolve - Financial Times • Housing Starts in U.S. Increased Less Than Economists Forecast Last Month - Bloomberg • King Obliged to Explain Inflation Plan as Rate Exceeds 3% for Fifth Month- Bloomberg GBP/USD: Annualized consumer prices in the U.K. slowed … [visit site to read more]

Forex Trading: USDJPY And The Major JPY Crosses Coiling For A Move? Posted: 17 Aug 2010 05:43 AM PDT … [visit site to read more]

Valuation-Informed Indexing:The Curious Case Of The Market Price That Is Not The True Market Price Posted: 17 Aug 2010 05:32 AM PDT by Rob Bennett Valuation-Informed Indexers change their stock allocations in response to big swings in stock prices. It's the sensible thing to do given Yale Professor Robert Shiller's finding that valuations affect long-term returns. If valuations affect long-term returns, the risk/reward ratio for stocks is ever changing. The investor who sticks with the same stock allocation at all times is permitting his risk profile to go wildly off the mark of what he determined it should be at an … [visit site to read more]

Forex Trading: EURUSD Finds Support Against The 100 Hour MA Posted: 17 Aug 2010 05:15 AM PDT … [visit site to read more]

Goldman Sachs And Uncle Sam’s “Games People Play” Posted: 17 Aug 2010 04:42 AM PDT Why does it seem that whenever something really dicey happens on Wall Street, the crowd at Goldman Sachs (NYSE:GS) is typically in the middle of it? How so? Let's enter the world of new issue equity undrewriting.    There is very little that is truly sacred on Wall Street. That said, one of the traditional "sacred untouchables" on the street of dreams has been the new issue equity underwriting spread. Maintaining this spread at between a cushy 2% to 3% level is typically … [visit site to read more]

Active ETF Basics: Active ETF Expenses Posted: 17 Aug 2010 04:00 AM PDT One of the most important factors to consider when analyzing and comparing ETF investment options is the expenses of the fund. The ETF arena now has so many investment options, that many areas in the market have become over-represented as more and more issuers come out with very similar looking ETFs competing solely on the basis of price. Comparing costs within actively-managed ETFs is just as important as it would be for index ETFs. The overall average expense ratio for actively-managed ETFs … [visit site to read more]

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