DailyMarkets.com - Steve Keen, Debunking Economics

Steve Keen, Debunking Economics
NEM To Deliver Akyem Project On Time
Watson Settles Patent Dispute
Debrief: 20 Sells/Short Sales This Past Week
Total System Upgrades Tinkoff
Pepsi Restructuring Hits Profits
Earnings Preview: Housing And Inflation In The Spotlight
Retaining Luminex At Neutral
Earning Scorecard: Harris Corp.
Hot Option Plays: Greece Lightning
Hot Option Plays: Opa! Will Market Break A Plate And Move On?
Urban’s Pre Results Look Positive
Goldman Invests In Mongolian Bank
Cardinal’s New Surgical Mask
Earnings Preview: Equinix Inc.
WFC Settles Foreclosure Mess
Citi To Continue Investing In China
Integra’s New Extremity Offering
Anything But Normal
Falling Nat Gas Prices Offset Higher Gasoline Prices
Osiris Provides Update On Sanofi Deal
Earnings Scorecard: VeriSign
Oracle’s $1.9bn Deal To Buy Taleo
Wall Street Drops As Greek Talks Stall
Incyte In Neutral Lane
Invesco’s January AUM Perks Up
Dow & BioDuro Enter Research Deal
Didn’t Get W-2 And It’s Needed To Apply For Mortgage
SCANA Stands At Neutral
U.S. OKs 1st Nuke Plant In 34 Years
Limited Brands Cheers Higher Same-Store Sales
Monetary Policy Week In Review – 11 February 2012
Christie On Education: “How Disgusted I Am”
Beacon Beats Estimates
Analyst Interviews: Insurance Industry Stock Update
Tenneco Misses But Profits Up 68%
Arch Coal Lags Top And Bottom Lines
Buckeye Slips On EPU, Sales Top
UDR Marginally Beats Estimates
Meritor Makes Profits But Misses
Record 2011 EPS At The Andersons
Montpelier Beats Est., Incurs Loss
PPL Corp. Beats Estimates
Petrobras Misses Badly, Net Sinks
LabCorp Beats On EPS, Revs Miss
5 Reasons Why Investors Should Forget About The Facebook IPO
The Trend Trader For Stock Trading On Monday, February 13, 2012
The Trend Trader For Forex Trading On Monday, February 13, 2012
The Trend Trader For ETF Trading On Monday, February 13, 2012
The Trend Trader For Futures Trading On Monday, February 13, 2012

Posted: 10 Feb 2012 04:45 PM PST

A profession that has completely failed as a service to society has been economics. When we need it most, wise counsel, full and clear explanatons, non political motivations, the Economist went missing in action !

Steve Keen of DebtDeflation.com explains the truth about economics. For the investor you need to know economics so the Economist cant fool you !

A long video, but worth every … [visit site to read more] or compare Credit Card Rewards and Best Credit Cards

NEM To Deliver Akyem Project On Time

Posted: 10 Feb 2012 04:05 PM PST

Newmont Mining Corp.'s (NYSE:NEM) Akyem project in Ghana is expected to be completed on time and under budget.
The company's Akyem project (100% owned) is located approximately 80 miles (125 kilometers) northwest of Accra. In January 2010, Newmont received the mining lease. Upon permit approval, production is slated to begin in late 2013 or early 2014. On December 31, 2010, Newmont reported 7.2 million ounces of gold reserves.
The Akyem reserve is one of West Africa’s underdeveloped resources … [visit site to read more] or compare Credit Card Rewards and Best Credit Cards

Watson Settles Patent Dispute

Posted: 10 Feb 2012 04:05 PM PST

Watson Pharmaceuticals Inc. (NYSE:WPI) recently announced that it has reached a settlement with Janssen Pharmaceuticals, Inc., a subsidiary of Johnson & Johnson (NYSE:JNJ), on a patent litigation related to Watson Pharma’s generic version of Janssen's birth control pill, Ortho Tri-Cyclen Lo.
According to the settlement agreement, Janssen will manufacture and supply an authorized generic version of Ortho Tri-Cyclen Lo to Watson Pharma, which will in turn market and distribute the authorized … [visit site to read more] or compare Credit Card Rewards and Best Credit Cards

Debrief: 20 Sells/Short Sales This Past Week

Posted: 10 Feb 2012 04:05 PM PST

I have concluded my tabulations for the change in price this week of the 20 Sells/Short Sales I presented last weekend on the basis of their daily chart negative divergence SELL signal each possessed at that time. I used the closing price going into last weekend as the constant by which each day’s closing price this week was compared.

My stated hypothesis was: “My expectation is that the majority of these ticker symbols will indeed be lower this week. And I think there is a fairly … [visit site to read more] or compare Credit Card Rewards and Best Credit Cards

Total System Upgrades Tinkoff

Posted: 10 Feb 2012 03:45 PM PST

On Thursday, Total System Services Inc. (NYSE:TSS) announced that Tinkoff. Credit Systems Bank's licensing platform has been upgraded to PRIME 4, which is Total System's latest solution for card issuing and merchant management. Moscow-based Tinkoff is the first company to establish a mono line credit card business in Russia.
Tinkoff has been using the PRIME platform in order to issue its MasterCard-branded Tinkoff Platinum credit card for a long time and has issued over 1.7 million credit … [visit site to read more] or compare Credit Card Rewards and Best Credit Cards

Pepsi Restructuring Hits Profits

Posted: 10 Feb 2012 03:35 PM PST

In an effort to revive the beverage business in North America, PepsiCo Inc. (NYSE:PEP) has planned to slash 8,700 jobs across 30 countries and increase advertising and marketing spending on its beverages.
As part of the restructuring plan, 3% of the global work force will be reduced, which will help the company save $1.5 billion through 2014, in addition to $1.5 billion; already in its planned saving scheme over that period.
Pepsi also estimated to raise advertising and marketing expenses by $500 … [visit site to read more] or compare Credit Card Rewards and Best Credit Cards

Earnings Preview: Housing And Inflation In The Spotlight

Posted: 10 Feb 2012 03:20 PM PST

Earnings Preview 2/10/12

Earnings season will be still going on this next week. 422 firms are scheduled to report, and 50 of those are members of the S&P 500. By the end of the week we will be over 80% done with earnings season.

Many large and significant companies will be reporting this week. They include: Applied Materials (NASDAQ:AMAT), Apache (NYSE:APA), CBS (NYSE:CBS), Deere (NYSE:DE), Devon Energy (NYSE:DVN), Duke Energy (NYSE:DUK), Masco (NYSE:MAS) and Met Life (NYSE:MET).

It … [visit site to read more] or compare Credit Card Rewards and Best Credit Cards

Retaining Luminex At Neutral

Posted: 10 Feb 2012 03:20 PM PST

We reaffirm our Neutral recommendation on Luminex Corporation (NASDAQ:LMNX) following its fourth-quarter 2011 results. Earnings of 11 cents a share for the quarter outperformed the Zacks Consensus Estimate of 7 cents. Profit (up roughly 8% year over year) was driven by double-digit growth in sales.
Top-line growth (up 16%) in the quarter was led by strong assay sales, supported by the contributions of EraGen acquisition. Assay sales zoomed 77%, paced by the cystic fibrosis and respiratory viral … [visit site to read more] or compare Credit Card Rewards and Best Credit Cards

Earning Scorecard: Harris Corp.

Posted: 10 Feb 2012 03:20 PM PST

Harris Corp. (NYSE:HRS) reported mixed second quarter 2012 financial results, where earnings per share (EPS) beat the Zacks Consensus Estimate but revenues missed the same.
First Quarter Highlights
Reported GAAP net income in the quarter was $133.1 million or $1.16 per share compared with $151.1 million or $1.18 per share in the year-ago quarter. Quarterly adjusted (excluding acquisition related cost) earnings per share (EPS) of $1.22 surpassed the Zacks Consensus Estimate by 4 cents.
Consolidated … [visit site to read more] or compare Credit Card Rewards and Best Credit Cards

Hot Option Plays: Greece Lightning

Posted: 10 Feb 2012 03:19 PM PST

Cusick’s Corner 02-10-2012
I was not surprised that there were some profits cut and that bonds ticked higher throughout the morning, but apparently fear is not a major factor, VIX 20.40. I look at this as an orderly pullback, holding critical support, 1332 on the S&Ps. I will be watching the After Hours trade for the bid to come in and tighten up on the early morning shorts. Crude on the other hand is taking on some pressure, so I will be keeping an eye on that market. See you After … [visit site to read more] or compare Credit Card Rewards and Best Credit Cards

Hot Option Plays: Opa! Will Market Break A Plate And Move On?

Posted: 10 Feb 2012 03:19 PM PST

Cusick’s Corner 02-10-2012
The late day bid popped in and got the market to finish off the lows. I saw the Green Bay Packers win 13 in a row, drop one and go 15 and 1, and I won’t even bring up the post season… The reason I bring this up is that the market this year has had a similar streak and next week will be the first test of this bullish resolve. I see this as a healthy pullback, barring a major headline from the EU, we could see some decent momentum for the bulls. Next week is February … [visit site to read more] or compare Credit Card Rewards and Best Credit Cards

Urban’s Pre Results Look Positive

Posted: 10 Feb 2012 03:15 PM PST

Urban Outfitters Inc. (NASDAQ:URBN), the retailer of apparel, footwear, and accessories, recently announced its fourth quarter and fiscal 2011 sales result. The company, which competes with Gap Inc. (NYSE:GPS) and Abercrombie & Fitch Co. (NYSE:ANF), stated that total net sales for the fourth quarter increased 9% year over year to $731 million, reflecting solid performance across every brand. However, sales were below the Zacks Consensus Estimate of $743 million.
As per the company, comparable retail … [visit site to read more] or compare Credit Card Rewards and Best Credit Cards

Goldman Invests In Mongolian Bank

Posted: 10 Feb 2012 03:05 PM PST

On Thursday, Reuters reported that New York-based The Goldman Sachs Group Inc. (NYSE:GS) has agreed to purchase 4.8% stake in Mongolia's Trade and Development Bank. The terms of the deal were not disclosed.
Founded in 1990, Trade & Development Bank was the first lending bank in Mongolia. In 2004, Asian Development Bank and International Finance Corp. have invested $11 million in the bank. As of September 2011, the bank had $1.3 billion worth of assets. Under the new Dodd-Frank rules, … [visit site to read more] or compare Credit Card Rewards and Best Credit Cards

Cardinal’s New Surgical Mask

Posted: 10 Feb 2012 02:50 PM PST

Cardinal Health (NYSE:CAH) recently revealed the marketing of its Smart-Seal surgical mask created for reduction of fog on eyewear and better fitment. The mask represents Cardinal's latest addition to its line-up of facial protection products.
It incorporates vital parameters from the company's Secure-Gard mask besides providing improved features for fog protection and fitment. The company stated that it created the mask keeping in mind that users consider fogging to be a problem. … [visit site to read more] or compare Credit Card Rewards and Best Credit Cards

Earnings Preview: Equinix Inc.

Posted: 10 Feb 2012 02:50 PM PST

Equinix Inc. (NASDAQ:EQIX) is scheduled to announce its fourth quarter 2011 results on February 15, 2011, after the market closes. We see some movement in analyst estimates at this point.
Third Quarter Overview
Equinix delivered a mediocre third quarter, with earnings falling short of the Zacks Consensus Estimate by 54.5%.
Equinix' revenues in the reported quarter were $417.6 million, up 26.4% from the year-ago quarter. Quarterly results included a contribution of $17.9 million from the newly … [visit site to read more] or compare Credit Card Rewards and Best Credit Cards

WFC Settles Foreclosure Mess

Posted: 10 Feb 2012 02:50 PM PST

Wells Fargo & Co. (NYSE:WFC) has reached a $5.3 billion settlement with states and federal authorities over alleged abuses in foreclosure practices. The company along with four other large mortgage servicers––Bank of America Corp. (NYSE:BAC), Citigroup Inc. (NYSE:C), JPMorgan Chase & Co. (NYSE:JPM) and Ally Financial have reached a settlement worth $25 billion in total with the attorneys general from 49 states and several federal agencies.
WFC's settlement is valued at approximately $5.3 … [visit site to read more] or compare Credit Card Rewards and Best Credit Cards

Citi To Continue Investing In China

Posted: 10 Feb 2012 02:50 PM PST

According to a Reuters report, Citigroup Inc. (NYSE:C) intends to continue its investments in China and increase its workforce there. The move comes as part of the company's effort to tap opportunities in one of the world's fastest growing economies. The Reuters report cited an interview with Citi CEO Vikram Pandit in China Daily.
Faced with a slowdown in the U.S. market, Citi is emphasizing on growth in the international markets. The company has an impressive overseas presence and is making … [visit site to read more] or compare Credit Card Rewards and Best Credit Cards

Integra’s New Extremity Offering

Posted: 10 Feb 2012 02:40 PM PST

In an attempt to consolidate its position in the Extremity Reconstruction business, which has witnessed disappointing sales performance in the recent past, medical products company Integra LifeSciences Holdings Corporation (NASDAQ:IART) recently launched its new Allograft Wedge System.
Developed from human cancellous bone, the Integra Allograft Wedge is sterilized through the BioCleanse Tissue Sterilization Process. This is also terminally sterilized using a validated method to attain a Sterility … [visit site to read more] or compare Credit Card Rewards and Best Credit Cards

Anything But Normal

Posted: 10 Feb 2012 02:38 PM PST

In “Lack of Lending to Creditworthy Borrowers Restricting Housing: Bernanke,” HousingWire details remarks from the Fed Chairman on the state of the U.S. mortgage finance market.
Mortgage originators who are reluctant to extend credit to potential borrowers who meet underwriting standards set by Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac are hindering the nation’s economic turnaround.
Fed Chairman Ben Bernanke, speaking Friday at the International Builders Show in Orlando, Fla., said the wave of creditworthy … [visit site to read more] or compare Credit Card Rewards and Best Credit Cards

Falling Nat Gas Prices Offset Higher Gasoline Prices

Posted: 10 Feb 2012 02:33 PM PST

Detroit News — “Michigan’s Consumers Energy said today that its residential natural gas customers are writing checks to the utility that are down about 20 percent compared to a year ago because of a warmer winter and lower natural gas prices. The Jackson-based utility with 1.7 million customers said an average residential customer this month will pay about $146 for heat they used in January, compared to about $184 a year ago. Bills for natural gas use in December, paid in January, also … [visit site to read more] or compare Credit Card Rewards and Best Credit Cards

Osiris Provides Update On Sanofi Deal

Posted: 10 Feb 2012 02:25 PM PST

Osiris Therapeutics, Inc. (NASDAQ:OSIR) recently provided an update on its development and commercialization agreement with Genzyme, a Sanofi (NYSE:SNY) company, for its phase III candidate, Prochymal.
The update was triggered by Sanofi's R&D update in its fourth quarter press release. Sanofi, in its press release, said that it has discontinued the development of Prochymal, a mesenchymal stem cell being evaluated for graft-versus-host disease (GvHD). Osiris said that the announcement was made … [visit site to read more] or compare Credit Card Rewards and Best Credit Cards

Earnings Scorecard: VeriSign

Posted: 10 Feb 2012 02:15 PM PST

Earnings estimates for 2012 for VeriSign Inc. (NASDAQ:VRSN) have increased of late even though the company missed the Zacks Consensus Estimate in the fourth quarter of 2011.
VeriSign recently reported earnings of $0.35 per share in 4Q11, missing the Zacks Consensus Estimate of $0.38.
In the past few years, VeriSign decided to focus its attention on its core competencies to provide highly scaleable, reliable and secure Internet infrastructure services to customers around the world. Hence, the company … [visit site to read more] or compare Credit Card Rewards and Best Credit Cards

Oracle’s $1.9bn Deal To Buy Taleo

Posted: 10 Feb 2012 02:05 PM PST

Yesterday, Oracle Inc. (NASDAQ:ORCL) agreed to buy Taleo Corp. (NASDAQ:TLEO), a SaaS human resource software provider, for $1.9 billion or $46 per share.
Following this announcement, shares of Taleo were up nearly 17%, closing at $45.64, yesterday. Taleo has a clientele that spreads across 5000 organizations. Taleo's Talent Management Cloud helps organizations to enhance human resource capabilities, improve performance and drive growth.
We believe that this acquisition is further evidence of Oracle's … [visit site to read more] or compare Credit Card Rewards and Best Credit Cards

Wall Street Drops As Greek Talks Stall

Posted: 10 Feb 2012 02:00 PM PST

02/10/12 US stocks fell, snapping a five- week-rally for the Standard & Poor’s 500 Index, on concern that plans to help Greece avoid default are … [visit site to read more] or compare Credit Card Rewards and Best Credit Cards

Incyte In Neutral Lane

Posted: 10 Feb 2012 01:55 PM PST

We are maintaining our Neutral recommendation on Incyte Corporation (NASDAQ:INCY) with a target price of $18.00.
Incyte is a Wilmington, Delaware-based drug discovery and development company focused on oral compounds to treat inflammation and cancer.
We are pleased by the November 2011 US approval of Jakafi for treating patients suffering from intermediate or high-risk myelofibrosis (MF). Jakafi, which is also being studied for other indications, is under review in Europe for the MF indication. We … [visit site to read more] or compare Credit Card Rewards and Best Credit Cards

Invesco’s January AUM Perks Up

Posted: 10 Feb 2012 01:35 PM PST

Invesco Ltd. (NYSE:IVZ) reported a 3.7% increase in its preliminary month-end assets under management (AUM) for the month of January 2012. The company's AUM for the reported month was $648.3 billion, up from $625.3 billion at the end of December 2011.
Invesco's January AUM primarily benefited from positive market returns, foreign exchange and long-term net inflows. Foreign exchange led to a $2.2 billion rise in the AUM during the month under review.
Invesco's preliminary Active AUM stood at … [visit site to read more] or compare Credit Card Rewards and Best Credit Cards

Dow & BioDuro Enter Research Deal

Posted: 10 Feb 2012 01:35 PM PST

Dow AgroSciences LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of The Dow Chemical Company (NYSE:DOW), entered into a three-year research deal with PPD’s China-based drug discovery company, BioDuro.
The collaboration aims to generate novel molecules for synthesizing and testing fungicides, insecticides and herbicides across a variety of crops. The companies did not disclose any financial terms of the agreement.
The two companies are expected to utilize BioDuro's expertise in medicinal chemistry and … [visit site to read more] or compare Credit Card Rewards and Best Credit Cards

Didn’t Get W-2 And It’s Needed To Apply For Mortgage

Posted: 10 Feb 2012 01:33 PM PST

… [visit site to read more] or compare Credit Card Rewards and Best Credit Cards

SCANA Stands At Neutral

Posted: 10 Feb 2012 01:10 PM PST

We are maintaining a Neutral rating on SCANA Corporation (NYSE:SCG), based on its growth momentum and various upcoming projects, partially offset by risks related to the heavy debt level.
Columbia, South Carolina-based SCANA's operations include generation, transmission, distribution, and sale of electricity to retail and wholesale customers in South Carolina. The company also purchases, sells and transports natural gas to retail customers; provides energy-related risk management services; … [visit site to read more] or compare Credit Card Rewards and Best Credit Cards

U.S. OKs 1st Nuke Plant In 34 Years

Posted: 10 Feb 2012 01:00 PM PST

For the first time in over 30 years, the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) has approved licenses for the construction of two new nuclear reactors. In a long-awaited vote, the federal regulators decided 4-1 in favor of building the 1,100-megawatt units at power generator Southern Company's (NYSE:SO) existing nuclear site in Vogtle, Georgia.
The last nuclear plant to be given the go-ahead by NRC was way back in 1978, a year before the Three Mile Island accident in Pennsylvania. Although new … [visit site to read more] or compare Credit Card Rewards and Best Credit Cards

Limited Brands Cheers Higher Same-Store Sales

Posted: 10 Feb 2012 12:50 PM PST

Limited Brands Inc. (NYSE:LTD), a specialty retailer of women's intimate and other apparel, beauty and personal care products, posted better-than-expected sales results for the four-week period ended January 28, 2012, boosted by healthy sales at its Victoria’s Secret Stores. The company also updated its fourth-quarter 2011 earnings outlook.
January Sales
The owner of Victoria’s Secret Direct and La Senza chains has sustained its growth momentum. Limited Brands' comparable-store sales for … [visit site to read more] or compare Credit Card Rewards and Best Credit Cards

Monetary Policy Week In Review – 11 February 2012

Posted: 10 Feb 2012 12:49 PM PST

The past week in monetary policy saw just one bank lift rates; Jordan +50bps to 5.00%, and two banks cut rates; Belarus -200bps to 43.00%, and Indonesia -25bps to 5.75%. Meanwhile the banks that held rates unchanged were: Australia 4.25%, UK 0.50%, EU 1.00%, South Korea 3.25%, Serbia 9.50%, Iceland 4.75%, Poland 4.50%, and Peru 4.25%. Also making news was the Bank of England adding another GBP 50 billion to its quantitative easing program.

Some of the key quotes and comments from … [visit site to read more] or compare Credit Card Rewards and Best Credit Cards

Christie On Education: “How Disgusted I Am”

Posted: 10 Feb 2012 12:41 PM PST

I wrote earlier today about the need for those in college to "not let their classwork get in the way of their education".
That said, in order to get to college or ahead in the world in the first place, each and every child in our nation needs a quality secondary education.
They are not getting it.
Obviously family structure and other factors play a significant role in our children's well being and development; however, when we have urban graduation rates of approximately 50%, the … [visit site to read more] or compare Credit Card Rewards and Best Credit Cards

Beacon Beats Estimates

Posted: 10 Feb 2012 12:40 PM PST

Beacon Roofing Supply Inc. (NASDAQ:BECN) reported adjusted EPS of 39 cents in the first quarter of fiscal 2012, way ahead of the Zacks Consensus Estimate of 29 cents, improving from the prior-year quarter of 22 cents. Reported EPS excluded a tax benefit in the reported quarter, including which the EPS stood at 41 cents compared with 22 cents in the year-ago quarter.
Higher sales leading to elevated gross margins benefited the quarter. However, the positives were somewhat offset by higher operating … [visit site to read more] or compare Credit Card Rewards and Best Credit Cards

Analyst Interviews: Insurance Industry Stock Update

Posted: 10 Feb 2012 12:35 PM PST

The impact of a series of natural disasters in 2011 and the ongoing economic uncertainty is still quite palpable in the performance of U.S. insurers. These impediments aside, there are fundamental challenges that are expected to come in the way insurers' efforts to meet growing investor expectations in the upcoming quarters. Among the possible way outs of such difficulties, rising rates and pricing flexibility are primary.

The overall health of the U.S. insurance industry has improved to … [visit site to read more] or compare Credit Card Rewards and Best Credit Cards

Tenneco Misses But Profits Up 68%

Posted: 10 Feb 2012 12:35 PM PST

Tenneco Inc. (NYSE:TEN) posted a 68% increase in profits to $32 million or 53 cents per share in the fourth quarter of 2011 from $19 million or 31 cents per share in the same quarter of 2010. However, the company's profit failed to meet the Zacks Consensus Estimate by 5 cents per share.
Total revenue in the quarter went up 13% to $1.8 billion and 13% to $1.4 billion excluding substrate sales and currency impact. Higher original equipment (OE) light vehicle production volumes, incremental revenue … [visit site to read more] or compare Credit Card Rewards and Best Credit Cards

Arch Coal Lags Top And Bottom Lines

Posted: 10 Feb 2012 12:35 PM PST

Coal producer Arch Coal Inc. (NYSE:ACI) reported pro forma earnings of 29 cents per share for the fourth quarter of 2011, down 12.1% from 33 cents earned a year ago. However, the earnings were below the Zacks Consensus Estimate of 31 cents.
The fourth quarter 2011 GAAP earnings were 33 cents versus 29 cents in the year-ago quarter.
The difference of 4 cents between pro forma and GAAP earnings was due to the amortization of acquired sales contracts charge of 8 cents, a 1 cent gain related to … [visit site to read more] or compare Credit Card Rewards and Best Credit Cards

Buckeye Slips On EPU, Sales Top

Posted: 10 Feb 2012 12:35 PM PST

Buckeye Partners L.P. (NYSE:BPL) announced fourth quarter and fiscal 2011 results before the bell. During the quarter operating earnings of 64 per limited partner unit fell short of our expectation by 20 cents. The results of the partnership were however much higher than the year-ago earnings of 19 cents per unit. The reported quarter did not experience the modification expense incurred in the fourth quarter of 2010 related to Buckeye’s merger with Buckeye GP Holdings L.P. (“BGH”).
Also, the … [visit site to read more] or compare Credit Card Rewards and Best Credit Cards

UDR Marginally Beats Estimates

Posted: 10 Feb 2012 12:25 PM PST

UDR, Inc. (NYSE:UDR), a leading multi-family real estate investment trust (REIT), reported fourth quarter 2011 FFO (funds from operations) of $80.2 million or 35 cents per share compared with $53.4 million or 28 cents in the year-earlier quarter. Funds from operations, a widely used metric to gauge the performance of REITs, is obtained after adding depreciation and amortization and other non-cash expenses to net income.
The reported FFO per share marginally beat the Zacks Consensus Estimate by a … [visit site to read more] or compare Credit Card Rewards and Best Credit Cards

Meritor Makes Profits But Misses

Posted: 10 Feb 2012 12:20 PM PST

Meritor Inc. (MTOR) reported a profit of $11 million or 12 cents per share in the first quarter of fiscal 2012 compared with a loss of $3 million or 4 cents per share in the same quarter of prior fiscal year (all excluding restructuring charges). However, the profit was lower than the Zacks Consensus Estimate of 20 cents per share.
Including restructuring charges, profit was $13 million or 13 cents per share in the quarter under review compared with a loss of $6 million or 7 cents per share … [visit site to read more] or compare Credit Card Rewards and Best Credit Cards

Record 2011 EPS At The Andersons

Posted: 10 Feb 2012 12:20 PM PST

The Andersons Inc. (NASDAQ:ANDE) reported fourth quarter EPS of $1.17, a 16% decline from $1.39 reported in the year-ago quarter but way ahead of the Zacks Consensus Estimate of 97 cents.
Total revenue in the quarter was $1,298 million, up 12% from $1,154 million in the prior-year quarter, outperforming the Zacks Consensus Estimate of $1,280 million. The year-over-year improvement was primarily driven by higher sales across the company's segments besides price increases in the company’s … [visit site to read more] or compare Credit Card Rewards and Best Credit Cards

Montpelier Beats Est., Incurs Loss

Posted: 10 Feb 2012 12:20 PM PST

Montpelier Re Holdings Ltd. (NYSE:MRH) reported fourth quarter 2011 operating loss of 27 cents per share, narrower than the Zacks Consensus of a loss of 30 cents. Results compare unfavorably with earnings per share of 81 cents in the year-ago quarter. Operating loss was $16.2 million, tumbling from a profit of $53.9 million in fourth quarter 2010.
The quarter suffered largely due to catastrophe losses, resulting from Thailand floods. However, favorable prior-year loss reserve movements were … [visit site to read more] or compare Credit Card Rewards and Best Credit Cards

PPL Corp. Beats Estimates

Posted: 10 Feb 2012 12:10 PM PST

PPL Corporation's (NYSE:PPL) fourth quarter earnings of 70 cents per share were 8 cents higher than the Zacks Consensus Estimate of 62 cents but fell short of the year-ago results of 83 cents.
GAAP earnings during the quarter were 69 cents versus 73 cents in the year-ago quarter. The difference between GAAP and operating earnings of 1 cent was due to the net effect of a 12 cent charge in the international regulated business and a gain of 11 cents from the supply business.
For the full-year 2011, … [visit site to read more] or compare Credit Card Rewards and Best Credit Cards

Petrobras Misses Badly, Net Sinks

Posted: 10 Feb 2012 12:05 PM PST

Brazil’s state-run energy giant Petroleo Brasileiro S.A., or Petrobras (NYSE:PBR) announced its fourth quarter earnings of R$5.0 billion or R$0.39 per share, compared with R$10.6 billion or R$1.07 in the year-earlier quarter. Earnings per ADR came in at 42 cents (Exchange rate: U.S.$1.00 = R$1.86, 1 ADR = 2 shares), well behind the Zacks Consensus Estimate of 94 cents.
The company's results were dragged down by rising operating costs and impairment charges.
Petrobras' net operating revenues of … [visit site to read more] or compare Credit Card Rewards and Best Credit Cards

LabCorp Beats On EPS, Revs Miss

Posted: 10 Feb 2012 12:05 PM PST

Laboratory Corporation of America Holdings (NYSE:LH) reported an adjusted EPS of $1.56 (excluding amortization, restructuring and other special charges) for the fourth quarter of fiscal 2011. The result was higher than the Zacks Consensus Estimate of $1.53 and the previous year’s adjusted EPS of $1.46. For the fiscal, adjusted EPS came in at $6.37, ahead of the Zacks Consensus Estimate of $6.30 and $5.98 earned in the previous year. The current year takes into account full year of operations of … [visit site to read more] or compare Credit Card Rewards and Best Credit Cards

5 Reasons Why Investors Should Forget About The Facebook IPO

Posted: 10 Feb 2012 09:32 AM PST

With Facebook having finally announced plans for its long anticipated IPO this spring, speculation is already rife about the social network's likely gigantic valuation and how the shares will go on to perform. For investors with anything short of many millions of dollars to invest, the circus surrounding what is expected to be the largest ever tech IPO will be one to watch rather than partake in. But even assuming we all had the money and the invite, should the prospect of diving in to the … [visit site to read more] or compare Credit Card Rewards and Best Credit Cards