Monday, August 23, 2010

Daily Markets - Smucker Beats Estimates

Daily Markets - Smucker Beats Estimates

Smucker Beats Estimates

Posted: 23 Aug 2010 11:35 AM PDT

The J.M. Smucker Company (NYSE:SJM) delivered earnings per share (EPS) of $1.04 for its first quarter fiscal 2011 ended July 31, 2010, outperforming the Zacks Consensus Estimate of 95 cents and the year-ago EPS of 92 cents. Stronger margins aided by a lower tax rate drove the outperformance.

For the first quarters of fiscal 2011 and 2010, EPS excluded restructuring and merger and integration costs of 18 cents and 9 cents, respectively. Including these items, the company reported EPS of 86 cents … [visit site to read more]

Goodyear Prices Senior Notes

Posted: 23 Aug 2010 11:35 AM PDT

Goodyear Tire & Rubber Company (NYSE:GT) has priced its offering of an additional $100 million aggregate principal amount of its 8.25% senior unsecured notes due August 15, 2020. The company will sell the notes at 100.75% of the principal amount.
 
It expects the offering to close on August 25, 2010, subject to customary closing conditions. Goodyear plans to utilize the net proceeds from this offering, along with current cash and cash equivalents, to redeem $260 million in principal … [visit site to read more]

Neutral On Medivation

Posted: 23 Aug 2010 11:35 AM PDT

We recently reiterated our Neutral recommendation on biopharmaceutical company Medivation Inc. (NASDAQ:MDVN). Medivation, which currently does not have any marketed product in its portfolio, focuses on the development of novel small molecule drugs for the treatment of serious diseases for which there are limited treatment options.
 
The company's lead pipeline candidates are Dimebon, which is being developed for the treatment of Alzheimer's and Huntington's diseases, and MDV3100, which … [visit site to read more]

Hibbett Misses Zacks Estimate

Posted: 23 Aug 2010 11:35 AM PDT

Hibbett Sports Inc. (NASDAQ:HIBB) reported fiscal second-quarter 2011 earnings of 14 cents, lagging the Zacks Consensus Estimate of 16 cents. Results, however, increased a whopping 257% from 4 cents reported in the prior-year quarter. Net income increased almost four fold to $4.0 million from $1.1 million in fiscal second-quarter 2010.
 
Net sales in the quarter were $139.8 million, up 13.6% from $123.1 million in fiscal second-quarter 2010. Comparable store sales increased 11.9% compared with … [visit site to read more]

Ann Taylor Q2 EPS Meets

Posted: 23 Aug 2010 11:35 AM PDT

Ann Taylor Stores Corp. (NYSE:ANN) recently reported fiscal 2010 second-quarter results. The company swung to adjusted earnings of 32 cents per share from an adjusted loss of 32 cents in the year-ago quarter primarily driven by higher sales, improved gross margin and management initiatives to contain costs. Quarterly earnings also matched the Zacks Consensus Estimate.

Quarterly Details

During the quarter, Ann Taylor's net sales grew 2.8% to $483.5 million from $470.2 million in the year-ago … [visit site to read more]

RC2 Upgraded To Outperform

Posted: 23 Aug 2010 11:05 AM PDT

We are upgrading our rating on RC2 Corp. (NASDAQ:RCRC), a leading designer, producer and marketer of innovative, high-quality toys, collectibles and infant and toddler products, to Outperform from Neutral.
The rating upgrade is based on second quarter 2010 earnings, which were well ahead of the Zacks Consensus Estimate, primarily driven by strong international sales. The company also raised the low end of its earnings guidance for fiscal 2010.
Moreover, we expect the company to benefit from its … [visit site to read more]

Whirlpool Announces Job Cuts

Posted: 23 Aug 2010 11:05 AM PDT

Whirlpool Corporation (NYSE:WHR) has revealed that it will begin a new round of layoffs at its refrigerator plant in Fort Smith, Arkansas in order to keep pace with a slowdown in demand. Although the company did not disclose the number of job cuts, the workers to be affected by the layoffs have already been informed last year.
 
The announcement comes on top of the company's decision to shut down a Michigan plant earlier this year. The plant closure, which is expected to be completed by … [visit site to read more]

IGT Offers New Games

Posted: 23 Aug 2010 11:05 AM PDT

A leader in designing, manufacturing and marketing games, International Game Technology (IGT) announced to launch new games and network system products at the 2010 Oklahoma Indian Gaming Association Tradeshow (OIGA) that will be held on August 23and 24 in … [visit site to read more]

TAM Remains Neutral

Posted: 23 Aug 2010 10:35 AM PDT

We reiterate our Neutral recommendation on TAM S.A. (NYSE:TAM) and remain optimistic on its proposed merger with LAN Airlines S.A. (NYSE:LFL), to be christened LATAM Airlines Group S.A. (LATAM). According to the agreement, LAN will become the parent company with a 73% stake in TAM and the shareholders of TAM will receive 0.9 shares of LATAM for each share of TAM. It will be an all-stock transaction of approximately $2.7 billion.
The merger is expected to provide annual synergies of approximately … [visit site to read more]

Gerdau Redeems All 8.875% Bonds

Posted: 23 Aug 2010 10:35 AM PDT

Brazilian steel producer, Gerdau S.A. (NYSE:GGB) has elected to redeem all its 8.875% Guaranteed Perpetual Bonds, resulting in a payment of approximately US$600 million along with accrued and unpaid interest. The payment will be maid on September 22, 2010.
Following the redemption, the Bonds will be cancelled and de-listed from the Singapore Exchange Securities Trading Limited.
Gerdau S.A. is the second largest steel producer in the world and the largest in the Americas. The company recently … [visit site to read more]

Jazz Pharma’s JZP-6 Faces Setback

Posted: 23 Aug 2010 10:35 AM PDT

Jazz Pharmaceuticals Inc. (NASDAQ:JAZZ) recently announced that the US Food and Drug Administration's (FDA) joint advisory committee voted against the approval of the company's fibromyalgia treatment, JZP-6. The agency's Arthritis Advisory Committee and the Drug Safety and Risk Management Advisory Committee voted 20-2 against the drug, saying that the risks of JZP-6 outweighed its benefits.
The FDA advisory committee also asked Jazz Pharma to review the Risk Evaluation Mitigation Strategy for … [visit site to read more]

Raytheon Wins Navy Contract

Posted: 23 Aug 2010 10:05 AM PDT

Aerospace and defense operator Raytheon Company (NYSE:RTN) announced that it has received a contract worth $56 million from the U.S. Navy to supply sonar equipment. The sonar technology is used primarily by Navy submarines, planes and ships to detect enemy vessels, and also for effective communication and navigation.
Raytheon's integrated defense unit in Portsmouth, Rhode Island, received the contract from the Defense Logistics Agency to supply the equipment. Raytheon is likely to deliver by … [visit site to read more]

California Pizza Kitchen Expands

Posted: 23 Aug 2010 10:05 AM PDT

California Pizza Kitchen Inc. (NASDAQ:CPKI), based in Los Angeles,  recently announced that it has opened a 3,000 square feet restaurant, which accommodates a seating arrangement for 110 guests in Seoul, South Korea.  This is California Pizza Kitchen's fourth restaurant in South Korea, which the company opened with its franchise partner Handuck Development. The company opened its first restaurant in South Korea in November 2007.
The new restaurant is opened at Cheongyangri Station Mall, … [visit site to read more]

Jacobs’ $103.3 Million Contract

Posted: 23 Aug 2010 10:05 AM PDT

Jacobs Engineering Group Inc. (NYSE:JEC) has recently won a $103.3 million contract from the U.S. Air Force for providing support work at the Eglin Air Force Base in Florida.
Jacobs has so far received a total of 9 contracts in August 2010. This continuous inflow of contracts will definitely pull Jacobs out of the current sluggish environment.
New contract wins are also expected to improve backlog, which has been continuously shrinking since the beginning of fiscal 2010. During the first quarter … [visit site to read more]

HP Counter-Bids For 3PAR

Posted: 23 Aug 2010 10:05 AM PDT

Within a week after Dell Inc. (NASDAQ:DELL) announced an agreement to acquire 3PAR Inc. (PAR) for a total consideration of $1.15 billion, the world's largest PC maker, Hewlett-Packard Co. (NYSE:HPQ) made a counter bid. The intense contest for 3PAR is reflective of both Dell and HP's goal to expand beyond personal computers to markets that could generate higher profits.
 
HP has offered a hefty $1.6 billion or $24 per outstanding common share of 3PAR. The total consideration reflects a 33% … [visit site to read more]

Earnings Preview: Housing Sales Key To Next Week

Posted: 23 Aug 2010 09:35 AM PDT

Earnings Preview 8/20/10

Earnings season is just about over, with just a few stragglers — mostly those with fiscal periods ending in July. Many of those are retailers and non-U.S. firms. There will be 111 firms reporting, including just 6 S&P 500 firms. Still, there are a few firms of general interest that will be reporting, including Big Lots (NYSE:BIG), Bank of Montreal (NYSE:BMO), BHP Billiton (NYSE:BHP), Medtronic (NYSE:MDT) and Novell (NASDAQ:NOVL).

It will also be a relatively light week for the … [visit site to read more]

Marvell Reports Encouraging 2Q

Posted: 23 Aug 2010 09:35 AM PDT

Marvell Technology Group Ltd. (NASDAQ:MRVL) reported second quarter fiscal 2011 adjusted earnings per share (EPS) of 36 cents, ahead of the Zacks Consensus Estimate of 35 cents. The adjusted earnings per share exclude amortization of intangible assets and restructuring charges, but include stock-based compensation expenses.
The outperformance in the quarter's results was driven by strong demand from the company's mobile and wireless end-markets.
Revenues
Marvell reported revenues of $896.5 … [visit site to read more]

AIG’s ILFC Unit Repays US Loan

Posted: 23 Aug 2010 09:35 AM PDT

International Lease Finance Corp. ("ILFC"), an aircraft-leasing wing of American International Group Inc. (NYSE:AIG), has repaid the US government loan of $3.9 billion, following the debt offering of $4.4 billion of secured and unsecured notes.
ILFC now has a principal loan balance of over $15 billion with the Federal Reserve Bank of New York, which it expects to repay without any support of its parent company AIG.
ILFC raised $4.4 billion of new debt on August 11, of which ILFC sold $3.9 … [visit site to read more]

Watson Pharma To Launch New Pill

Posted: 23 Aug 2010 09:35 AM PDT

Watson Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (NYSE:WPI) recently announced its plans to launch Ella, an emergency oral contraceptive (OC) pill that has been approved by the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) for the prevention of unplanned pregnancies for up to five days after unprotected intercourse. The pill, which has been developed by HRA Pharma, is indicated for emergency use only. Watson said that it will launch the product in the fourth quarter of 2010. The pill will be promoted by Watson Pharma in the … [visit site to read more]

The Price Of Everything, The Value Of Nothing

Posted: 23 Aug 2010 09:23 AM PDT

What is something worth? Very simply whatever somebody is willing to pay for it, correct? While regulations or the lack thereof have a big impact on overall levels of returns and compensation, all other things being equal, I do not begrudge those who take risk, work hard, and reap rewards. I applaud them. I view that process as the essence of capitalism. 
Does this line of thinking still work in our Uncle Sam economy circa 2010? One of the overriding themes … [visit site to read more]

Good News For Optimer Pipeline

Posted: 23 Aug 2010 09:05 AM PDT

Recently, Optimer Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (NASDAQ:OPTR) received a boost with the European Medicines Agency accepting the Marketing Authorization Application (MAA) filed by the company for its candidate fidaxomicin. Optimer is seeking marketing approval of the drug for treating patients suffering from clostridium difficile infection (CDI) and for the prevention of the recurrence of the infection in the European Union. The announcement of the submission of the MAA was made by Optimer on August 2, … [visit site to read more]

Manulife Closes $900M Note Offer

Posted: 23 Aug 2010 09:05 AM PDT

Manulife Financial Corporation (NYSE:MFC) completed its offering of $871 (C$900) million principal amount of medium-term notes. The notes will bear an interest of 4.079% maturing on August 20, 2015. The notes were issued under its medium-term note program.
 
The company will file in Canada a pricing supplement to its amended and restated short form base shelf prospectus dated May 8, 2009 (amending and restating its March 30, 2009 short form base shelf prospectus) and prospectus supplement … [visit site to read more]

Earnings Scorecard: DISH Network

Posted: 23 Aug 2010 09:05 AM PDT

Tremendous increase in subscriber related revenues led DISH Network Inc. (NASDAQ:DISH) to post excellent second quarter 2010 financial results. The results significantly beat the Zacks Consensus Estimate. However, the loss of net subscribers makes some analysts skeptical regarding DISH Network's future prospects.
 
Second Quarter Highlights
 
Total revenue increased 9.1% year over year to $3.17 billion and exceeded the Zacks Consensus Estimate of $3.12 billion.
 
Second quarter … [visit site to read more]

The Delta Blues

Posted: 23 Aug 2010 08:47 AM PDT

What happened in 08
Was yesterday's news.
What's happening now
Is the delta blues.
 
I'm mystified by the emphasis some pundits are placing on totals while ignoring recent changes in those totals—the deltas. Even though most of the growth in the Fed's balance sheet is almost two years old, some say its size is too big and must be shrunk. It's the same with bank reserves and the money supply. Many say we have plenty of money out there and dangerously high levels of bank … [visit site to read more]

A Solid First Half For Sinopec

Posted: 23 Aug 2010 08:35 AM PDT

China Petroleum and Chemical Corporation (NYSE:SNP), aka Sinopec, reported its interim results for the six-month period ended June 30, 2010. Earnings per share in the period were 0.403 yuan ($5.91 per ADS), up 6.1% year over year.
Net income in the period increased 5.0% from the comparable 2009 level to 34.9 billion yuan ($5.1 billion). The increase can be attributable to robust results from the Exploration and Production segment.
Sinopec's domestic peer, CNOOC Ltd. (NYSE:CEO) reported an … [visit site to read more]

Apache Completes Note Offering

Posted: 23 Aug 2010 08:35 AM PDT

U.S. energy firm Apache Corp. (NYSE:APA) closed its previously announced public offering of 30-year bonds – 5.10% notes due 2040 – totaling $1.5 billion in aggregate principal amount.
 
The company plans to use the net proceeds from this offering – approximately $1.47 billion after the underwriting discount and estimated offering expenses – to pay back the outstanding indebtedness under its bridge loan facility and commercial paper program, which were used to finance the purchase of … [visit site to read more]

ITT Wins Contract

Posted: 23 Aug 2010 08:35 AM PDT

ITT Corporation (NYSE:ITT) received contract of about $260 million for the enhanced night vision goggle (ENVG) system from the U.S. Army Research, Development & Engineering Command Acquisition Center.  This is the second contract received by the company from the U.S. Army.  ITT Corporation is among the three companies selected to design, develop and manufacture ENVG, the first sensor fused goggle.
 
The ENVG system fuses image-intensifying and thermal-imaging technologies, which … [visit site to read more]

Forex Trading: EURUSD Probes The Downside. Staying Below 1.2681 Is Needed To Keep Momentum Going.

Posted: 23 Aug 2010 08:29 AM PDT

Carrier Corp Gets Contract

Posted: 23 Aug 2010 08:05 AM PDT

Carrier Corp., a division of United Technologies Corporation (NYSE:UTX), has won a chiller purchasing contract from Dalian Wanda Group in China.
Carrier Corp in China was chosen by the Dalian Wanda Group to supply low-energy consuming equipment including up to 200 centrifugal chillers and 100 high efficiency screw chillers. All chillers will utilize environment-friendly, non-ozone depleting refrigerant HFC-134a.
The contract has an estimated value of $30 million over a one-year period.
Carrier is … [visit site to read more]

SOL Increases Taiwan Exposure

Posted: 23 Aug 2010 08:05 AM PDT

ReneSola Ltd. (NYSE:SOL) signed two wafer supply agreements to provide two major Taiwanese solar companies (Neo Solar Power Corporation and Solartech Energy Corporation) with approximately 836 MW of monocrystalline and multicrystalline solar wafers. ReneSola sells solar wafers to a global customer base of solar cell and module manufacturers. Taiwan continues to be a major market for the company. It generated 13.1% of its 2009 sales from Taiwan, next only to its largest market, China.
ReneSola will … [visit site to read more]

Laws Of Supply And Demand At Work In The Stock Market

Posted: 23 Aug 2010 07:38 AM PDT

A recurring theme over the past week has been the talk of the money flowing out of equities and into fixed income, like the following from Bloomberg:
“The amount of money flowing into bond funds is poised to exceed the cash that went into stock funds during the Internet bubble, stoking concern fixed-income markets are headed for a fall. Investors poured $480.2 billion into mutual funds that focus on debt in the two years ending June, compared with the $496.9 billion received by equity funds … [visit site to read more]

Forex Trading: GBPUSD Moves Between Support And Resistance As Non-trend Continues

Posted: 23 Aug 2010 07:23 AM PDT
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