Wednesday, December 8, 2010

DailyMarkets.com - Forex – EUR/USD Up During The Asian Session

DailyMarkets.com - Forex – EUR/USD Up During The Asian Session

Forex – EUR/USD Up During The Asian Session

Posted: 08 Dec 2010 06:05 PM PST

Forex Pros – The Euro was higher against the U.S. Dollar on Thursday.

EUR/USD was trading at 1.3312, up 0.38% at time of writing.

The pair was likely to find support at 1.3180, Wednesday's low, and resistance at 1.3423, Monday's high.

Meanwhile, the Euro was up against the British Pound and the Japanese Yen, with EUR/GBP gaining 0.21% to hit 0.8410 and EUR/JPY rising 0.10% to hit … [visit site to read more] or compare Best Credit Cards and Best CD Rates

Crude Oil Inventory Watch: Surplus Drops For A Sixth Week, Refinery Utilization Surges

Posted: 08 Dec 2010 05:58 PM PST

Inventories
The Department of Energy reported that in the week ending December 3rd, 2010, U.S. crude oil inventories decreased by 3.8 million barrels, gasoline inventories increased by 3.8 million barrels, distillate inventories increased by 2.1 million barrels, and total petroleum inventories declined by 5.3 million barrels.

This was the sixth week in a row of declines in the total petroleum surplus, with inventories now 67 million, or 6.5%, above the 5-year average, down from 6.9% last … [visit site to read more] or compare Best Credit Cards and Best CD Rates

The Secret To Improving Your Investment Process

Posted: 08 Dec 2010 05:35 PM PST

A single conversation with a wise man is better than ten years of study.

- Chinese Proverb
I do not know about you, but as time goes by I appreciate the works of remarkable people, in any field, more and more.

It allows me to start any subject not as a complete beginner, but as someone with a good or even great fundamental knowledge by reading a few good books.

A major part, practical experience, is still missing, but just imagine what you would have to go through if you did not have … [visit site to read more] or compare Best Credit Cards and Best CD Rates

Forex – EUR/JPY Up During The Asian Session

Posted: 08 Dec 2010 05:35 PM PST

Forex Pros – The Euro was higher against the Japanese Yen on Thursday.

EUR/JPY was trading at 111.47, up 0.02% at time of writing.

The pair was likely to find support at 109.58, Tuesday's low, and resistance at 111.53, today's high.

Meanwhile, the Euro was up against the U.S. Dollar and the British Pound, with EUR/USD gaining 0.24% to hit 1.3294 and EUR/GBP rising 0.15% to hit … [visit site to read more] or compare Best Credit Cards and Best CD Rates

Stock Picks For Thursday: DryShips, VIVUS, Cisco, ARCA Biopharma, Eastman Kodak

Posted: 08 Dec 2010 05:06 PM PST

( click to enlarge )
DryShips Inc. (NASDAQ:DRYS)  suffered another day of profit taking with a 1.83% pull back but traders bought the dip at $5.90. Today’s stock price action looks like further consolidation after Friday morning’s big spike up. The technical picture is mixed but the medium-term trend is bullish and I suspect that DRYS is poised to move higher from here. My first target to take profits is at $6.83.

( click to enlarge )
The big news with VIVUS, Inc.(NASDAQ:VVUS) today was … [visit site to read more] or compare Best Credit Cards and Best CD Rates

Forex – AUD/USD Up On Economic Data

Posted: 08 Dec 2010 04:55 PM PST

Forex Pros – The Australian Dollar was higher against the U.S. Dollar on Thursday after the release of Australian data on Unemployment Rate.

AUD/USD was trading at 0.9844, up 0.49% at time of writing.

The pair was likely to find support at 0.9753, Wednesday's low, and resistance at 0.9965, Tuesday's high.

Earlier in the day, official data showed that Australia's unemployment rate fell to a seasonally adjusted 5.20% last month from 5.40% in the preceding month.

Analysts had expected … [visit site to read more] or compare Best Credit Cards and Best CD Rates

Forex – GBP/JPY Down During The Asian Session

Posted: 08 Dec 2010 04:45 PM PST

Forex Pros – The British Pound was lower against the Japanese Yen on Thursday.

GBP/JPY was trading at 132.75, down 0.05% at time of writing.

The pair was likely to find support at 129.55, Tuesday's low, and resistance at 132.95, Wednesday's high.

Meanwhile, the British Pound was up against the U.S. Dollar and the Euro, with GBP/USD gaining 0.11% to hit 1.5821 and EUR/GBP falling 0.06% to hit … [visit site to read more] or compare Best Credit Cards and Best CD Rates

Australian Unemployment Rate Falls

Posted: 08 Dec 2010 04:35 PM PST

Australia's unemployment rate fell last month, official data showed on Thursday.

In a report, Australian Bureau of Statistics said that Australian unemployment rate fell to a seasonally adjusted 5.20%, from 5.40% in the preceding month.

Analysts had expected Australian unemployment rate to fall to 5.20% last … [visit site to read more] or compare Best Credit Cards and Best CD Rates

GOL Linhas Traffic Surges

Posted: 08 Dec 2010 04:05 PM PST

Brazil's largest low-fare airline operator, GOL Linhas Aereas Inteligentes S.A. (NYSE:GOL) reported passenger traffic for November 2010 in comparison with November 2009. Total traffic surged 5.4% with domestic traffic increasing 2.9% and International traffic up 27.2% year over year.
The prime reason for the significant increase in passenger traffic was the recovery in market conditions and particularly the emerging economies like Latin America. Secondly, domestic traffic was moved by the … [visit site to read more] or compare Best Credit Cards and Best CD Rates

Forex – NZD/USD Down During The Asian Session

Posted: 08 Dec 2010 03:50 PM PST

Forex Pros – The New Zealand Dollar was lower against the U.S. Dollar on Wednesday.

NZD/USD was trading at 0.7468, down 0.07% at time of writing.

The pair was likely to find support at 0.7436, today's low, and resistance at 0.7675, Friday's high.

Meanwhile, the New Zealand Dollar was down against the Australian Dollar and up against the Euro, with AUD/NZD gaining 0.03% to hit 1.3106 and EUR/NZD falling 0.02% to hit … [visit site to read more] or compare Best Credit Cards and Best CD Rates

Jacobs’ Three New Contracts

Posted: 08 Dec 2010 03:36 PM PST

Jacobs Engineering Group Inc. (NYSE:JEC) has received contracts from Gatwick Airport Limited (GAL), Federal Aviation Administration (FAA), and CPC Corporation (CPC).
Jacobs is supposed to provide architecture and engineering design services to GAL till 2013, which can be extended for a year.  The contract value was not made public.  
The second contract from FAA was the basic ordering agreement (BOA) of $271.0 million for a period of five years with an option to extend it to an … [visit site to read more] or compare Best Credit Cards and Best CD Rates

CIGNA Prices Notes

Posted: 08 Dec 2010 03:35 PM PST

In relation to the buyback of $350 million 8.5% senior notes, CIGNA Corp. (NYSE:CI) announced yesterday that it will pay the holders of the notes $1,307.54 per $1,000 principal amount. Apart from the purchase price, CIGNA will also pay accrued and unpaid interests on Notes purchased up to, but not including the settlement date.
CIGNA expects to utilize funds from offering of $250 million of 4.375% senior notes due 2020 to buyback a part or whole of the $350 million Notes. Interest on the new Notes … [visit site to read more] or compare Best Credit Cards and Best CD Rates

The Day Ahead: US Jobless Claims, Wholesale Trade

Posted: 08 Dec 2010 03:30 PM PST

12/09/10 The stories, data, and stocks that may have the greatest impact during the next trading … [visit site to read more] or compare Best Credit Cards and Best CD Rates

Celgene Presents Data

Posted: 08 Dec 2010 03:05 PM PST

Celgene Corporation (NASDAQ:CELG) continued presenting data on its drugs/pipeline candidates at the annual conference of the American Society of Hematology.
Recently, data from an observational study revealed no significant difference in the risk of progression to acute myeloid leukaemia (AML) in patients treated with Revlimid compared to patients treated before Revlimid was available. The comparative study evaluated patients suffering from lower risk myelodysplastic syndromes (MDS) with a deletion … [visit site to read more] or compare Best Credit Cards and Best CD Rates

Cheesecake Factory Secures Credit

Posted: 08 Dec 2010 03:05 PM PST

California-based Cheesecake Factory Inc. (NASDAQ:CAKE) announced that it received new $200 million revolving credit facility. The company has fully paid the amount outstanding on its previous credit facility. The new unsecured credit facility will mature in 5 years and is at an interest rate lower than the prior credit.  
Under the new facility, the company can also raise anadditional $50 million if required, under certain conditions. Thus, the new facility expands the company’s ability to … [visit site to read more] or compare Best Credit Cards and Best CD Rates

CSC Taking Over Image Solutions

Posted: 08 Dec 2010 03:05 PM PST

Virginia-based Computer Sciences Corp. (NYSE:CSC) announced that it has inked a deal to acquire privately held information technology outsourcing company Image Solutions Inc. Financial details were not divulged. The deal is pending approval from Image Solutions' shareholders and is expected to be wrapped up by the end of this month.
The acquisition will enable Computer Sciences to advance in the health care space.  Founded in 1992, Image Solutions has become a recognized name in the field … [visit site to read more] or compare Best Credit Cards and Best CD Rates

Vale’s New Plant In Chile

Posted: 08 Dec 2010 02:35 PM PST

Brazilian mining giant Vale S.A. (VALE) introduced a copper plant, Tres Valles, in Chile, which has an annual production capacity of 18.5 kilo tons of copper cathodes. The project, whose construction began in 2005, has cost around $140 million to Vale.
The Tres Valles plant has an open-pit mine and an underground mine named Don Gabriel and Papomono, respectively.
Considerable improvement in the economic conditions and the all-time high metal prices encourages Vale to boost its investment so … [visit site to read more] or compare Best Credit Cards and Best CD Rates

Stocks For A Comfortable Retirement

Posted: 08 Dec 2010 02:35 PM PST

One of the true joys of long-term investing is that eventually you can end up with a yield on your original investment that is well into the double digits. For someone aged 45, for instance, a portfolio of stocks bought with solid dividends (and dividends that rise year after year) could provide them with a very comfortable retirement income.

It helps to start with companies that are already have a competitive yield. That does not mean that one has to just fill up one’s portfolio with a bunch … [visit site to read more] or compare Best Credit Cards and Best CD Rates

Regions Financial’s New Risk Head

Posted: 08 Dec 2010 02:35 PM PST

Regions Financial Corp. (NYSE:RF) has named Matthew Lusco as the Chief Risk Officer yesterday. This appointment follows the exit of its three senior executives in the Risk management division last month.
Lusco, 53, who has been named as senior executive vice president and Chief Risk Officer, will join the company in early 2011. He will serve as a member of the company's Executive Council and Operating Committee. Lusco comes from KPMG where he was the managing partner in offices in Birmingham, … [visit site to read more] or compare Best Credit Cards and Best CD Rates

Shell To Drill 10 Wells In Brazil

Posted: 08 Dec 2010 02:05 PM PST

The president of the Brazilian unit of Royal Dutch Shell (RDS.A) confirmed drilling of ten wells in the next one and half years, raising optimism on the division. The company plans to increase investments in Brazil and will take part in future field auctions.
Although the numbers have not been revealed, Shell has outlined plans to boost its focus on the more lucrative and well performing upstream businesses. The group expects its annual worldwide production to reach 3.7 million barrels of oil … [visit site to read more] or compare Best Credit Cards and Best CD Rates

Luminex, One Lambda Renew Tie

Posted: 08 Dec 2010 02:05 PM PST

Luminex Corporation (NASDAQ:LMNX), a developer of biological testing technologies, has renewed its long-standing strategic collaboration with leading transplant diagnostic products maker One Lambda Inc. The partnership, which began in 2000, focuses on developing technologies for human leukocyte antigen ("HLA") testing and antibody screening for the organ transplantation market.
HLA testing (also called HLA typing) detects antigens (genetic markers) on white blood cells. The test is used to … [visit site to read more] or compare Best Credit Cards and Best CD Rates

Markets In Everything: Pre-Paid Lab Tests; It’s Like Using Amazon.com To Buy Your Lab Tests

Posted: 08 Dec 2010 02:05 PM PST

(CNN) — Day after demoralizing day, Dr. Doug Lefton watched uninsured patients leave his office needing laboratory tests but unlikely to have them done because of the cost. So the Fairlawn, Ohio, family physician decided to do something about it. Working with other doctors and an online marketer, Lefton devised a way to slash the cost of lab tests not only for his patients but for almost anyone, anywhere. 

Working with the Summit County Medical Society, Lefton struck a deal with LabCorp, … [visit site to read more] or compare Best Credit Cards and Best CD Rates

Forex – EUR/USD Down At The End Of U.S. Session

Posted: 08 Dec 2010 01:55 PM PST

Forex Pros – The Euro was lower against the U.S. Dollar on Wednesday.

EUR/USD was trading at 1.3260, down 0.01% at time of writing.

The pair was likely to find support at 1.3180, today's low, and resistance at 1.3438, Friday's high.

Meanwhile, the Euro was down against the British Pound and up against the Japanese Yen, with EUR/GBP shedding 0.31% to hit 0.8390 and EUR/JPY rising 0.66% to hit … [visit site to read more] or compare Best Credit Cards and Best CD Rates

McDonald’s Serves Up Strong November Sales

Posted: 08 Dec 2010 08:50 AM PST

12/08/10 Led by strong sales of its coffees and McRib promotion, McDonald’s served up a rise in November same-store sales figures. However, the rise did fall short of … [visit site to read more] or compare Best Credit Cards and Best CD Rates

Closing Bell Market Monitor: DANG, YOKU, MCD

Posted: 08 Dec 2010 01:43 PM PST

12/08/10 The latest in news, commentary, and information on what’s moving the US equities markets. Watch this broadcast LIVE at 4:00 pm EST daily @ … [visit site to read more] or compare Best Credit Cards and Best CD Rates

Forex – USD/JPY Up Toward The End Of U.S. Session

Posted: 08 Dec 2010 01:40 PM PST

Forex Pros – The U.S. Dollar was higher against the Japanese Yen on Wednesday.

USD/JPY was trading at 84.02, up 0.62% at time of writing.

The pair was likely to find support at 82.34, Tuesday's low, and resistance at 84.30, today's high.

Meanwhile, the U.S. Dollar was down against the Euro and the British Pound, with EUR/USD gaining 0.05% to hit 1.3267 and GBP/USD rising 0.30% to hit … [visit site to read more] or compare Best Credit Cards and Best CD Rates

Toyota To Expand Thailand Capacity

Posted: 08 Dec 2010 01:35 PM PST

Toyota Motor Corp. (NYSE:TM) announced that it will enhance its production capacity in Thailand by 20% to 600,000 vehicles per annum by mid-2011 in order to boost its sales in Southeast Asia. According to the Nikkei business daily, the Ban Pho facility – one of the three assembly facilities of Toyota in Thailand – will see an expansion in production capacity by 120,000 units to 200,000 vehicles per year.
Apart from China, India and Japan, other Asian countries including Indonesia and Thailand … [visit site to read more] or compare Best Credit Cards and Best CD Rates

NCI Building Suffers Loss In 2010

Posted: 08 Dec 2010 01:35 PM PST

NCI Building Systems Inc. (NYSE:NCS) reported an adjusted loss of 72 cents per share in the fourth quarter fiscal 2010, a stark decline from earnings of $1.86 per share in the year-ago quarter. The loss per share was, however, a tad lower than the Zacks Consensus Estimate of a loss 77 cents.
For the third consecutive year, industry-wide demand was affected by weak economic conditions, and NCI Building's strongest markets – commercial and industrial – bore the brunt.
The adjusted loss per … [visit site to read more] or compare Best Credit Cards and Best CD Rates

Forex – EUR/USD Up Toward The End Of U.S. Session

Posted: 08 Dec 2010 01:25 PM PST

Forex Pros – The Euro was higher against the U.S. Dollar on Wednesday.

EUR/USD was trading at 1.3261, up 0.001% at time of writing.

The pair was likely to find support at 1.3180, today's low, and resistance at 1.3438, Friday's high.

Meanwhile, the Euro was down against the British Pound and up against the Japanese Yen, with EUR/GBP shedding 0.30% to hit 0.8390 and EUR/JPY rising 0.64% to hit … [visit site to read more] or compare Best Credit Cards and Best CD Rates

U.S. Markets Close Higher; Dow Jones Up 0.12%

Posted: 08 Dec 2010 01:10 PM PST

Forex Pros – U.S. stocks were up after the closing bell on Wednesday.

At the close of U.S. trade, the Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 0.12%, the S&P 500 index gained 0.37%, while the Nasdaq 100 index climbed 0.51%.

Meanwhile, across the Atlantic, European stock markets were mixed at close. France's CAC 40 was up 0.56%; Germany's DAX shed 0.37%; Britain's FTSE 100 declined 0.24%; and the EURO STOXX 50 rose … [visit site to read more] or compare Best Credit Cards and Best CD Rates

MoneyGram Proved Innocent

Posted: 08 Dec 2010 01:05 PM PST

On Tuesday, MoneyGram International Inc. (NYSE:MGI) received a reversal of $16.5 million as the verdict that was passed against it in a patent-infringement lawsuit filed by Western Union Inc. (NYSE:WU) in 2009 was proved invalid. The US Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit in Washington ruled out the verdict that was passed by the lower court of Texas in 2009.
Previously, Western Union had charged MoneyGram of contravening certain patents related to money transfer through telephones and other … [visit site to read more] or compare Best Credit Cards and Best CD Rates

FDA Panel Backs OREX’s Contrave

Posted: 08 Dec 2010 01:05 PM PST

Orexigen Therapeutics Inc. (NASDAQ:OREX) received a boost when an advisory panel of the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) voted in favor of approving its obesity drug, Contrave. Contrave, a combination therapy, aims at addressing the physiological and behavioral causes of obesity.
The FDA's Endocrinologic and Metabolic Drugs Advisory Committee voted 13 – 7 in favor of approving the drug and concluded that the potential benefits associated with the use of the drug outweighed the potential … [visit site to read more] or compare Best Credit Cards and Best CD Rates

Sohu Begins Open Beta

Posted: 08 Dec 2010 01:05 PM PST

A leading online brand and Internet portal in China, Sohu.com Inc. (NASDAQ:SOHU) announced that its subsidiary Changyou.com Ltd (CYOU) has begun open-beta testing of San Jie Qi Yuan, Changyou’s second 2D turn-based cartoon-style, a massively multi-player online role-playing game (MMORPG) on December 3, 2010.
San Jie Qi Yuan was licensed from a game studio in China and is operated by Changyou’s wholly-owned subsidiary, I.C.E. Entertainment, the company said.
The game enables gamers to experience … [visit site to read more] or compare Best Credit Cards and Best CD Rates

Michael Mandel And The Jobs Opening Paradox

Posted: 08 Dec 2010 01:04 PM PST

The chart above shows that job openings have been increasing nicely since the recession ended, according to two different measures, one from the BLS (job openings) and another from the Conference Board (online advertised vacancies).  In contrast, the unemployment rate has barely moved from its peak a year ago of 10.1%. What’s going on here?  

Mike Mandel offers three possible explanations for why the jobless rate hasn’t improved much, despite the significant, ongoing … [visit site to read more] or compare Best Credit Cards and Best CD Rates

12/08 FX Options Report

Posted: 08 Dec 2010 12:53 PM PST

The USD gained vs. the EUR, JPY, as US bond yields spiked higher. Speculation over a rate hike from China continued to be in the … [visit site to read more] or compare Best Credit Cards and Best CD Rates

Forex – GBP/USD Up During The U.S. Session

Posted: 08 Dec 2010 12:45 PM PST

Forex Pros – The British Pound was higher against the U.S. Dollar on Wednesday.

GBP/USD was trading at 1.5800, up 0.26% at time of writing.

The pair was likely to find support at 1.5593, Friday's low, and resistance at 1.5823, today's high.

Meanwhile, the British Pound was up against the Euro and the Japanese Yen, with EUR/GBP shedding 0.30% to hit 0.8391 and GBP/JPY rising 0.96% to hit … [visit site to read more] or compare Best Credit Cards and Best CD Rates

El Paso, KKR Form Midstream JV

Posted: 08 Dec 2010 12:35 PM PST

El Paso Corporation (NYSE:EP), through its midstream unit El Paso Midstream Group Inc., has formed a new joint venture with Kohlberg Kravis Roberts & Co. (KKR) to develop natural gas processing plants and pipelines. The companies expect the deal to close by December 31, 2010.
Under the agreement, El Paso will act as the operator of the joint venture with both companies owning 50% interest each. As a part of the new venture, Kohlberg has agreed to invest $125 million gaining 50% interest in … [visit site to read more] or compare Best Credit Cards and Best CD Rates

Cooper Outperforms, Profit Zooms

Posted: 08 Dec 2010 12:35 PM PST

Eye-care and surgical products maker Cooper Companies Inc. (NYSE:COO) reported healthy fourth-quarter fiscal 2010 (ended October 31) results with adjusted earnings per share of $1.09 outdoing the Zacks Consensus Estimate of 86 cents and the year-ago earnings of 67 cents. For fiscal 2010, adjusted earnings per share of $3.10 also outperformed the Zacks Consensus Estimate of $2.87 while exceeding the year-ago earnings of $2.29.
Adjusted earnings exclude litigation settlement charges, restructuring … [visit site to read more] or compare Best Credit Cards and Best CD Rates

GAP’s Comparables Mount

Posted: 08 Dec 2010 12:35 PM PST

Gap Inc. (NYSE:GPS) reported a 4% jump in comparable-store sales for the month of November, after a 2.0% growth registered in both October and September 2010.
The 4.0% increase in same-store sales at Gap emanated from a growth of 5% each in Gap North America and Old Navy North America countered by 1% shrinkage at International comparable-store sales. Banana Republic North America recorded flat growth for the month.
After inching up 4.0% in October 2010 to $1.19 billion, total sales for the month … [visit site to read more] or compare Best Credit Cards and Best CD Rates

Forex Trading: NZDUSD Moves Lower And Tests Key Support

Posted: 08 Dec 2010 12:10 PM PST

The comments from the Reserve Bank of New Zealand has sent the NZDUSD lower toward key support.  The trendline support off the June low comes in at 0.7448.  Belwo that is the 38.2% Fibonacci retracement at the 0.7433 and below that is the 100 Day MA at 0.7408 today.  The low off the announcement has taken the price to a low of 0.7442- so far.
The correction off the low has been limited so far. The prior low for the day has been 0.7456.  Staying below the 0.7456-62 level … [visit site to read more] or compare Best Credit Cards and Best CD Rates

Duke Energy Finances Wind Project

Posted: 08 Dec 2010 12:05 PM PST

Duke Energy Corporation (NYSE:DUK) has made available $231 million finance for its Top of the World wind power project in Wyoming. The non-recourse credit facilities at its disposal consist of an 18-year term loan worth $193 million, and nearly $38 million in letters of credit.
Located near Casper, Wyoming, the wind farm began operating in October 2010 and has a generation capacity of 200-megawatt (MW). Duke Energy Generation Services (DEGS), a Duke Energy Commercial Businesses unit, develops and … [visit site to read more] or compare Best Credit Cards and Best CD Rates

Bon-Ton’s November Sales Up

Posted: 08 Dec 2010 12:05 PM PST

The Bon-Ton Stores Inc. (NASDAQ:BONT) reported total sales of $319.1 million for the month of November 2010, which was 2.7% higher than $310.8 million in the year-ago quarter. The company's comparable store sales grew 2.9% for the month. The upside in revenues was driven by strong Black Friday sales and cold weather merchandise purchases.
In the month of November, the categories which performed well are coats, home, shoes, men's, children’s, cosmetics and fine jewelry. However, performance at … [visit site to read more] or compare Best Credit Cards and Best CD Rates

Forex – USD/CAD Down During The U.S. Session

Posted: 08 Dec 2010 12:05 PM PST

Forex Pros – The U.S. Dollar was lower against the Canadian Dollar on Wednesday.

USD/CAD was trading at 1.0109, down 0.15% at time of writing.

The pair was likely to find support at 1.0003, Friday's low, and resistance at 1.0141, today's high.

Meanwhile, the U.S. Dollar was up against the Euro and down against the British Pound, with EUR/USD shedding 0.04% to hit 1.3256 and GBP/USD rising 0.24% to hit … [visit site to read more] or compare Best Credit Cards and Best CD Rates

Forex Trading: EURUSD Tests The High At 1.3278 And Finds Sellers

Posted: 08 Dec 2010 11:58 AM PST

No End In Sight To The Money Printing, And The Surge In Gold

Posted: 08 Dec 2010 11:53 AM PST

The "grand compromise" between the Obama administration and Congressional Republicans to extend the Bush era tax cuts will have two extremely severe repercussions:

First, it means that the federal deficit will EXPLODE beyond the worst estimates of the most pessimistic deficit prognosticators. And in response, interest rates are already soaring, with 10-year Treasury yields jumping nearly a quarter of a point just yesterday!

Second, it means that Fed Chairman Ben Bernanke will be … [visit site to read more] or compare Best Credit Cards and Best CD Rates

“Market Is Confused, Trying To Find Direction”

Posted: 08 Dec 2010 11:51 AM PST

12/08/10 ICAP’s Kenneth Polcari weighs in on today’s equity market action and global … [visit site to read more] or compare Best Credit Cards and Best CD Rates

BP To Sell Foreign Currency Bonds

Posted: 08 Dec 2010 11:35 AM PST

BP plc (NYSE:BP) is planning to sell bonds to Chinese investors in an effort to diversify its funding sources. This is the latest move under the company's recent string of actions to raise funds to meet the Gulf of Mexico (GoM) spill costs.
This is not the first instance of bond issuance in foreign currency by BP. Earlier, the company sold bonds in Japanese and Australian currencies. In March, the company issued five-year notes in Australia for A$325 million ($433 million) at a coupon rate of … [visit site to read more] or compare Best Credit Cards and Best CD Rates

3M Provides 2011 Outlook

Posted: 08 Dec 2010 11:35 AM PST

3M Company (NYSE:MMM) has reaffirmed its earnings expectation for 2010 and declared its outlook for 2011. The company targets to achieve sales in the range of $29 billion to $30.5 billion in 2011, representing  a year-over-year organic growth of 5.5% to 7.5%. This includes positive currency effect of 1% to 2% and acquisitions related growth of 4% to 6%.
Earnings per share for 2011 are expected to be in the range of $5.90 to $6.10 per share. Increase in pension expense by $0.27 per share year … [visit site to read more] or compare Best Credit Cards and Best CD Rates

Government Job Growth And Population

Posted: 08 Dec 2010 11:35 AM PST

One of the major contentions being made about the deficit is that the primary cause is that government has gotten "too big." While often the charge is leveled at only the Federal government, it is often leveled at the lower levels as well, particularly when the topic of the grossly underfunded pension plans of the states come up.

How true is this contention? Well, one simple measure would be the number of people working for the government. As the population grows, it would be natural that … [visit site to read more] or compare Best Credit Cards and Best CD Rates

CAT Gets Bridge Loan For Bucyrus

Posted: 08 Dec 2010 11:35 AM PST

Caterpillar Inc. (NYSE:CAT) has entered into a bridge loan agreement of up to $8.6 billion from certain financial institutions led by JPMorgan Chase Bank, the investment bank arm of JPMorgan Chase & Co. (NYSE:JPM) to fund its previously announced acquisition of Bucyrus International Inc. (NASDAQ:BUCY).
Caterpillar, however, added it might not utilize the whole amount for the acquisition and instead may issue debt and/or equity. The company might use the loan to refinance Bucyrus’ debt and pay related … [visit site to read more] or compare Best Credit Cards and Best CD Rates

Water ETFs Poised To Grow

Posted: 08 Dec 2010 11:17 AM PST

Both macro and microeconomic forces suggest that the global water sector is destined to see exponential growth paving the path to opportunity for the PowerShares Water Resources (PHO), the PowerShares Global Water (PIO) and the Guggenheim S&P Global Water (CGW).
From a macro perspective, incomes in developing nations are expected to rise and populations around the world are expected to continue to expand pushing up demand for water. In fact, at current growth rates, it is expected … [visit site to read more] or compare Best Credit Cards and Best CD Rates

Forex – EUR/USD Down During The U.S. Session

Posted: 08 Dec 2010 11:15 AM PST

Forex Pros – The Euro was lower against the U.S. Dollar on Wednesday.

EUR/USD was trading at 1.3245, down 0.12% at time of writing.

The pair was likely to find support at 1.3180, today's low, and resistance at 1.3438, Friday's high.

Meanwhile, the Euro was down against the British Pound and up against the Japanese Yen, with EUR/GBP shedding 0.37% to hit 0.8385 and EUR/JPY rising 0.52% to hit … [visit site to read more] or compare Best Credit Cards and Best CD Rates

Some Good News For Onyx Pharma

Posted: 08 Dec 2010 11:05 AM PST

Onyx Pharmaceuticals Inc. (NASDAQ:ONXX) recently reported positive results from a mid-stage trial of carfilzomib, a next generation proteasome inhibitor, being studied for the treatment of patients with relapsed and refractory multiple myeloma. Onyx Pharma's shares responded positively to the news with the stock gaining 13.5%.
Patients enrolled in the phase IIb trial (003-A1) experienced an overall response rate of 24.1%, while the clinical benefit rate was 34.2%. The duration of response among … [visit site to read more] or compare Best Credit Cards and Best CD Rates

Total Sells Resin Units To Arkema

Posted: 08 Dec 2010 11:05 AM PST

Integrated oil and gas company, TOTAL S.A. (NYSE:TOT), announced that it will sell its photocure and coatings resins businesses to Arkema S.A. for €550 million ($736 million). These resin assets from TOTAL produce specialty products for paint, adhesives and industrial coatings markets.
TOTAL has decided to divest its Cray Valley and Cook Composites & Polymers coatings resins business and Sartomer’s photocure resins businesses to Arkema. These resin assets have operations in 13 countries and … [visit site to read more] or compare Best Credit Cards and Best CD Rates

Dollar Rebound Continues On Tax Cut Optimism

Posted: 08 Dec 2010 10:55 AM PST

12/08/10  The US dollar rallied this session following growing speculation that the extended US tax cuts will spur economic … [visit site to read more] or compare Best Credit Cards and Best CD Rates

ADC Telecommunications Wins Contract

Posted: 08 Dec 2010 10:35 AM PST

ADC Telecommunications Inc. (NASDAQ:ADCT) recently won a contract from Halstad Telephone Co. to provide fiber connectivity and management solutions for Halstad's FTTP (fiber-to-the-premises) network.  The network deployment is expected to be completed by mid-2011 and will support residential and business data connectivity to 2,500 locations within Halstad's network. Halstad received $11.7 million under the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 that encourages telecom operators to … [visit site to read more] or compare Best Credit Cards and Best CD Rates

Aaron Combines Common Stock

Posted: 08 Dec 2010 10:35 AM PST

Aaron’s Inc. (AAN) is a leader in the sale and lease ownership and specialty retailing of residential furniture, consumer electronics, home appliances and accessories.  Recently, the company's CEO and president Robert Loudermilk bestowed his vote in support to convert all shares into the same class.
Earlier, the share class was divided into sections of shareholders that either held Class A Common Stock with voting rights or non-voting Common Stock.  The conversion will result in … [visit site to read more] or compare Best Credit Cards and Best CD Rates

Forex – AUD/USD Down During The U.S. Session

Posted: 08 Dec 2010 10:35 AM PST

Forex Pros – The Australian Dollar was lower against the U.S. Dollar on Wednesday.

AUD/USD was trading at 0.9787, down 0.43% at time of writing.

The pair was likely to find support at 0.9752, Friday's low, and resistance at 0.9965, Tuesday's high.

Meanwhile, the Australian Dollar was down against the Euro and up against the Japanese Yen, with EUR/AUD gaining 0.37% to hit 1.3542 and AUD/JPY rising 0.24% to hit … [visit site to read more] or compare Best Credit Cards and Best CD Rates

Options Fly At Fortune Brands, Inc.

Posted: 08 Dec 2010 10:16 AM PST

Options fly at Fortune Brands, Inc.
Today’s tickers: FO, XLK, KFN & SLE
Fortune Brands, Inc. (NYSE:FO) – The holding company for firms engaged in the manufacture, production and sale of distilled spirits, home and hardware products and golf products popped up on our scanners in the first half of the trading session after one strategist initiated a sizeable stock and option combination play. Fortune Brands’ shares rallied as much as 2.10% to hit an intraday- and new 52-week high of $62.44 on … [visit site to read more] or compare Best Credit Cards and Best CD Rates

Forex – NZD/USD Down During The U.S. Session

Posted: 08 Dec 2010 10:00 AM PST

Forex Pros – The New Zealand Dollar was lower against the U.S. Dollar on Wednesday.

NZD/USD was trading at 0.7474, down 1.27% at time of writing.

The pair was likely to find support at 0.7458, today's low, and resistance at 0.7675, Friday's high.

Meanwhile, the New Zealand Dollar was down against the Australian Dollar and the Euro, with AUD/NZD gaining 0.63% to hit 1.3063 and EUR/NZD rising 1.02% to hit … [visit site to read more] or compare Best Credit Cards and Best CD Rates

European Markets Mixed At Close; Dax Down 0.37%

Posted: 08 Dec 2010 09:55 AM PST

Forex Pros – European stocks were mixed after the closing bell on Wednesday.

At the close of European trade, Germany's DAX fell 0.37%, London's FTSE 100 shed 0.24%, France's CAC 40 climbed 0.56% and the EURO STOXX 50 was up 0.58%.

Meanwhile, on Wall Street, equity markets were mixed after the open. The Dow Jones Industrial Average was down 0.17%; the S&P 500 index shed 0.02%, while the Nasdaq 100 index climbed … [visit site to read more] or compare Best Credit Cards and Best CD Rates

Forex Trading: USDJPY. Is It Time For Another Leg Higher

Posted: 08 Dec 2010 09:54 AM PST

With yields on US treasuries moving higher, it might be a good time for the market to get the carry trade fever. If so, pairs like the USDJPY might start to benefit.
WIth the USDJPY looking like a good bet to close above the 100 day MA and the high for the last month at 84.40 in site, a break above might be in order. Look for a break of the 84.40 level to lead to increased upside momentum.
For the review,click on the following video link.
If you want to subscribe to my email … [visit site to read more] or compare Best Credit Cards and Best CD Rates

Dollar Gains & Inventory Figures Weighs Down On Crude

Posted: 08 Dec 2010 09:43 AM PST

12/07/10 Front month crude prices were slightly in the red, this after a rise in the dollar and a decline in … [visit site to read more] or compare Best Credit Cards and Best CD Rates
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