Friday, April 13, 2012

DailyMarkets.com - Retaining Sigma-Aldrich At Neutral

DailyMarkets.com - Retaining Sigma-Aldrich At Neutral

Retaining Sigma-Aldrich At Neutral

Posted: 13 Apr 2012 03:50 PM PDT

We are maintaining our Neutral recommendation on global lab chemical and life sciences company Sigma-Aldrich Corporation (NASDAQ:SIAL) following its mixed fourth-quarter 2011 results. Its earnings of 91 cents a share for the quarter topped the Zacks Consensus Estimate of 89 cents. Sales rose 5% year over year to $610 million, but missed the Zacks Consensus Estimate.
Revenues from Sigma-Aldrich's Research Chemicals business rose 3% in the fourth quarter. The company's U.S. research business was … [visit site to read more] or compare Credit Card Rewards and Best Credit Cards

Anadarko Expands NGL Portfolio

Posted: 13 Apr 2012 03:50 PM PDT

Independent oil and gas producer Anadarko Petroleum Corporation (NYSE:APC) has inked a contract with Enterprise Products Partners L.P. (NYSE:EPD) and DCP Midstream, LLC for designing and building a natural gas liquids ("NGL") pipeline, stretching from Denver-Julesburg Basin ("DJ Basin") in Weld County, Colorado to Skellytown, in Carson County, Texas. The new Front Range Pipeline will span 435 miles.
The deal will enable the companies to generate roughly 150,000 barrels per day ("bpd") of … [visit site to read more] or compare Credit Card Rewards and Best Credit Cards

Earnings Preview: Yahoo! Inc.

Posted: 13 Apr 2012 03:50 PM PDT

Yahoo! Inc. (NASDAQ:YHOO) is scheduled to announce its first-quarter 2012 results on April 17, 2012. We witness upward movements in analyst estimates in the build-up to the release.
Prior-Quarter Synopsis
Yahoo's fourth-quarter non-GAAP earnings were up 18.7% sequentially, better than what most investors were expecting. The primary reasons for the earnings growth were lower-than-expected operating expenses, a lower tax rate and lower share count.
Revenue was up 8.8% sequentially and down 13.2% … [visit site to read more] or compare Credit Card Rewards and Best Credit Cards

Legg Mason March AUM Up Marginally

Posted: 13 Apr 2012 03:35 PM PDT

Baltimore-based Legg Mason Inc. (NYSE:LM) experienced a slight rise in its in March 2012 assets under management (AUM) on a sequential basis, driven by growth in liquidity assets. This was preceded by a rise in both February and January 2012 AUM.
Preliminary month-end AUM came in at $643 billion, up 0.8% from the prior month. Compared with the prior month, the company witnessed a growth in liquidity AUM and equity AUM which were partly offset by a fall in fixed income AUM.
Legg Mason's equity … [visit site to read more] or compare Credit Card Rewards and Best Credit Cards

Nokia Downgraded To Underperform

Posted: 13 Apr 2012 03:25 PM PDT

Nokia Corp. (NYSE:NOK) is currently in difficult straits. Recently, Nokia issued a revised financial guidance for the first half of 2012, which was significantly below its earlier guidance.
Nokia is in a transition phase for its legacy Symbian software-based mobile feature phones to Windows software-based smartphones and tablets. However, we remain very much skeptical regarding the success of the Nokia-Microsoft mobile venture.
Though Lumia smartphones are much improved offerings from Nokia, we … [visit site to read more] or compare Credit Card Rewards and Best Credit Cards

Hot Option Plays: Market Ends Worst Week Of 2012 On Friday The 13th

Posted: 13 Apr 2012 03:22 PM PDT

Cusick’s Corner 04-13-2012
This has been a tough week — the S&Ps finished down 2%, but we did have two days of strength to the upside, plus two financial heavyweights reported better than accepted. This pullback after a big two day push is not too surprising. Technically this market appears to still be in a bull phase and with the Fed still very much in play, it is going to potentially take a major headline to get the bears roaring. Have a great weekend.
Stock market averages fell at the … [visit site to read more] or compare Credit Card Rewards and Best Credit Cards

Earnings Preview: Gannett

Posted: 13 Apr 2012 03:15 PM PDT

Gannett Company, Inc. (NYSE:GCI), the publisher of one of the country’s largest-selling daily newspapers, USA Today, and an S&P 500 company, is scheduled to report its first-quarter 2012 financial results before the market opens on Monday, April 16, 2012.
The current Zacks Consensus Estimate for the quarter is 31 cents a share, which reflects a decline of 24.4% from the prior-year quarter's earnings. The estimates in the current Zacks Consensus range between a low of 29 cents and a high of … [visit site to read more] or compare Credit Card Rewards and Best Credit Cards

Raven Realigns Assets

Posted: 13 Apr 2012 03:05 PM PDT

In line with its long-term growth strategy, Raven Industries, Inc. (NASDAQ:RAVN) has decided to realign its business segments. It will deploy the assets and team members of the Electronic Systems segment to the Aerostar and Applied Technology segments for the purpose.
After the completion of the restructuring process, Raven will operate through three business segments (the Aerostar, Applies Technology and Engineered Films segments) instead of four.
Contract electronics manufacturing services will be … [visit site to read more] or compare Credit Card Rewards and Best Credit Cards

Chicago Bridge & Iron Stays Neutral

Posted: 13 Apr 2012 03:05 PM PDT

We are reaffirming our Neutral recommendation on Chicago Bridge & Iron Company, or CB&I (NYSE:CBI). The company delivered a solid fourth-quarter performance with earnings up 11% year over year and top-line growth of 32%. CBI benefited from the rising demand worldwide for energy infrastructure, especially in the LNG, gas processing and oil sands markets.
Projects from around the world drove the upside during the year. Chicago Bridge & Iron is very positive about the increase in order … [visit site to read more] or compare Credit Card Rewards and Best Credit Cards

Earnings Preview: The Thick Of Q1 Earnings Season

Posted: 13 Apr 2012 02:50 PM PDT

We are jumping right into the thick of the first quarter reporting cycle this week, with more than 250 companies coming out with results, including 89 companies from the S&P 500.

We will have representation from the who's who of the corporate world, with a number of bellwether players on tap to come out with results. By the end of the week, we will have results from roughly one third of the S&P 500 companies, which will give us a fairly representative sample to judge this earnings … [visit site to read more] or compare Credit Card Rewards and Best Credit Cards

Biogen’s Fampyra Launched In Canada

Posted: 13 Apr 2012 02:50 PM PDT

Biogen Idec (NASDAQ:BIIB) recently announced the launch of Fampyra in Canada. Fampyra gained approval in Canada in February 2012 for the symptomatic improvement of walking ability in adult multiple sclerosis (MS) patients.
Biogen has a licensing deal with Acorda Therapeutics, Inc. (NASDAQ:ACOR) for the development and commercialization of Fampyra in ex-US markets. Biogen is currently working on launching Fampyra in additional markets in the EU, where it gained conditional approval in July 2011.
Fampyra, … [visit site to read more] or compare Credit Card Rewards and Best Credit Cards

Montpelier Upgraded To Neutral

Posted: 13 Apr 2012 02:40 PM PDT

We are upgrading Montpelier Re Holdings Ltd. (NYSE:MRH) by a notch to Neutral from Underperform on the back of better performance in the fourth quarter.
In spite of Montpelier's operating loss being narrower than the Zacks Consensus loss, the quarter suffered largely due to catastrophe losses, resulting from the Thailand floods.  Nevertheless, favorable prior-year loss reserve movements were a partial offset.
In an effort to increase focus on its short tail reinsurance underwriting, … [visit site to read more] or compare Credit Card Rewards and Best Credit Cards

Monetary Policy Week In Review – 14 April 2012

Posted: 13 Apr 2012 02:35 PM PDT

The past week in monetary policy saw 12 central banks announce interest rate decisions.  Those that cut rates were: Vietnam -100bps to 13.00% and Mozambique -25bps to 13.50%, while Ghana increased +100bps to 14.50%.  Those that held interest rates unchanged were: Russia 8.00%, Japan 0.10%, Armenia 8.00%, Indonesia 5.75%, Fiji 0.50%, Pakistan 12.00%, Korea 3.25%, Serbia 9.50%, and Peru 4.25%.  Also making headlines in monetary policy was an announced monetary policy tightening by … [visit site to read more] or compare Credit Card Rewards and Best Credit Cards

Earnings Preview: Earnings Preview For The Week Of 4-16

Posted: 13 Apr 2012 02:30 PM PDT

We are jumping right into the thick of the first quarter reporting cycle this week, with more than 250 companies coming out with results, including 89 companies from the S&P 500.

We will have representation from the who's who of the corporate world, with a number of bellwether players on tap to come out with results. By the end of the week, we will have results from roughly one third of the S&P 500 companies, which will give us a fairly representative sample to judge this earnings … [visit site to read more] or compare Credit Card Rewards and Best Credit Cards

Senior Housing Declares Dividend

Posted: 13 Apr 2012 02:30 PM PDT

Senior Housing Properties Trust (NYSE:SNH), a real estate investment trust (REIT) which primarily owns private pay senior living communities and medical office buildings (MOBs) across the U.S., has recently declared a first quarter 2012 dividend of 38 cents per share or $1.52 on an annualized basis. The dividend is payable on May 10, 2012 to shareholders of record as on April 13, 2012.
A steady dividend payout facilitates the long-term strategy of Senior Housing to provide attractive risk-adjusted … [visit site to read more] or compare Credit Card Rewards and Best Credit Cards

General Cable Forays Into Brazil

Posted: 13 Apr 2012 02:20 PM PDT

General Cable Corporation (NYSE:BGC) expanded its reach in the Brazilian market with the acquisition of Delphia Produtos Eletricos Ltda. in São Bernardo do Campo, São Paulo State, Brazil. Delphia is engaged in the manufacture of automotive ignition wire harnesses.
The Delphia business will be part of General Cable Automotiva Brasil. Delphia generated revenues of $20 million in 2011.
The acquisition will help General Cable to expand its ignition wire harness business globally. The company … [visit site to read more] or compare Credit Card Rewards and Best Credit Cards

McDermott Upgraded To Neutral

Posted: 13 Apr 2012 02:10 PM PDT

We have upgraded energy-focused engineering and construction firm McDermott International (NYSE:MDR) shares to Neutral from Underperform, while being incrementally more positive on the company.
Incorporated in 1959, McDermott primarily serves the worldwide offshore oil and gas field development activities, including front-end design and detailed engineering, fabrication and installation of offshore drilling and production facilities, as well as installation of marine pipelines and subsea … [visit site to read more] or compare Credit Card Rewards and Best Credit Cards

Natural Gas Woes: No End In Sight

Posted: 13 Apr 2012 02:05 PM PDT

The U.S. Energy Department’s weekly inventory release showed a smaller-than-expected increase in natural gas supplies, as pipeline imports from Canada declined.
However, this is largely seen as a one-off shot, with mild April temperatures across the country restricting the commodity's requirement for power burn. The injection – fourth in 2012 – has added to the already bloated inventories, thereby pressuring spot prices that slipped to a new 31-month low.
Gas stocks – currently some 60% … [visit site to read more] or compare Credit Card Rewards and Best Credit Cards

Is Variable Pricing Coming For Movies?

Posted: 13 Apr 2012 02:01 PM PDT

LA Times — “It’s time for studios and the cinema industry to stop charging the same price to see any movie any day of the week, a media industry analyst said in a strongly worded research note Friday.

“Movie exhibitors are operating with the largest amount of excess capacity of any industry we could find in the free world,” wrote Todd Juenger, a senior analyst at Bernstein Research. Nearly 93% of theater seats go unfilled, he said, including 99% between Monday and Thursday.

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

Stocks Tumble To Close The Week On Chinese Growth Concerns

Posted: 13 Apr 2012 02:00 PM PDT

04/13/12 Stocks fell to close the week Friday after China posted slower-than- forecast economic growth and American consumer confidence … [visit site to read more] or compare Credit Card Rewards and Best Credit Cards

Travelers Downgraded To Underperform

Posted: 13 Apr 2012 01:50 PM PDT

We are downgrading our recommendation on The Travelers Companies Inc. (NYSE:TRV) to Underperform from Neutral given its exposure to catastrophe losses and low interest rate environment, which will continue to weigh on the results.
Cat loss almost quadrupled in the fourth quarter from the year-ago level due to early snowstorms in northeastern United States. A combination of higher cat loss, higher non-catastrophe weather-related losses and lower net favorable prior year reserve development resulted … [visit site to read more] or compare Credit Card Rewards and Best Credit Cards

Fitch Reasserts Regency Ratings

Posted: 13 Apr 2012 01:50 PM PDT

Fitch Ratings, the global credit rating firm, has reaffirmed the credit rating of BBB for Regency Centers Corporation (NYSE:REG), a real estate investment trust (REIT). The BBB-rating denotes a fairly stable outlook with a relatively strong credit quality, low default risk, and adequate capacity to meet current financial commitments.
While reaffirming Regency's credit rating, Fitch has considered its high quality asset portfolio, solid past operating performance, strong liquidity, adequate debt … [visit site to read more] or compare Credit Card Rewards and Best Credit Cards

Rating Action On DCF Global

Posted: 13 Apr 2012 01:50 PM PDT

Standard & Poor’s Ratings Services (S&P) allotted "B+" issuer credit rating (ICR) to DFC Global (NASDAQ:DLLR) with a stable outlook.
Concurrently, the credit rating agency also allotted "B+" rating to the company's expected $200 million notes issue.
DCF Global has also priced its proposed $200 million notes offering. The notes will carry a coupon of 3.25% with maturity scheduled for 2017.
The rating on DFC Global incorporates the company's solid market position along with its … [visit site to read more] or compare Credit Card Rewards and Best Credit Cards

Zimmer To Present At A Conference

Posted: 13 Apr 2012 01:50 PM PDT

Orthopedic medical devices company Zimmer Holdings (NYSE:ZMH) will participate in the upcoming Bank of America Merrill Lynch 2012 Health Care Conference in Las Vegas, Nevada, on May 16, 2012.
Although the musculoskeletal market is witnessing several challenges in the form of reduced procedure volume and pricing pressure, Zimmer, based in Warsaw, Indiana believes that clinically relevant and innovative products can still fetch premium pricing and reimbursement.
Besides the focus on Reconstructive … [visit site to read more] or compare Credit Card Rewards and Best Credit Cards

Ignorance…or Arrogance?

Posted: 13 Apr 2012 01:45 PM PDT

If the following headlines are any guide, a sizeable cohort of Wall Street types expects addditional Fed easing:
“Fewer Investors Rule Out QE3, Citi Survey Shows” (Businessweek)
“Gross to Gundlach Lead Bond Investors Seeing QE3 From Fed” (Businessweek)
“POLL-Most US dealers see Fed QE3 stimulus later this year” (Reuters)
“QE3 Is Still Coming” (TheStreet)
And yet, we have this:
“Flurry of Fed Comments Suggest Less Chance of Easing” (CNBC)
A week of voluminous Fed speak has confirmed market … [visit site to read more] or compare Credit Card Rewards and Best Credit Cards

Neutral On Atmel Corporation

Posted: 13 Apr 2012 01:30 PM PDT

We recently reiterated our recommendation on Atmel Corporation (NASDAQ:ATML)
Atmel is in the process of transforming itself into a purely microcontroller-based company, which it believes will improve its cost structure and unlock value. The company is focusing on its core Microcontroller business and is halting development in non-core areas with the aim of targeting high-growth and high-margin businesses. 
Atmel has a growing microcontrollers business that should contribute to the company’s … [visit site to read more] or compare Credit Card Rewards and Best Credit Cards

Altera Shipping 28-nm FPGAs

Posted: 13 Apr 2012 01:30 PM PDT

Altera Corporation (NASDAQ:ALTR) recently announced that one of its early customers in the Open CL for FPGAs program – goHDR has achieved successful results with the same.
Altera Corporation manufactures a wide array of products such as programmable logic devices (PLDs) which consist of field-programmable gate arrays (FPGAs) and complex programmable logic devices (CPLDs). These are standard semiconductor integrated circuits or chips which customers program to execute required logic … [visit site to read more] or compare Credit Card Rewards and Best Credit Cards

MGIC Stays Neutral

Posted: 13 Apr 2012 01:30 PM PDT

We continue to rate the shares of MGIC Investment Corp. (NYSE:MTG) at Neutral prior to its fourth quarter earnings release. The company's business performance is primarily dependent on the housing market, which is recovering gradually. However, MGIC's continuing weak performance, stressed capital position and uncertainty relating to new business growth keeps us on the sidelines.
For the past four years, MGIC has been hit hard by the deteriorating mortgage and housing markets. However, the … [visit site to read more] or compare Credit Card Rewards and Best Credit Cards

Covidien To Acquire Oridion Systems

Posted: 13 Apr 2012 01:20 PM PDT

Leading health care products maker Covidien (NYSE:COV) recently revealed a definitive agreement to take over Oridion Systems Ltd. The boards of the two companies have inked the deal. Subsequently, a full subsidiary of Covidien will furnish $23.00 for each share of Oridion.
The deal is valued at about $300 million. The agreement is designed like a merger and will be contingent to shareholder approval and other conditions. 
Oridion Systems is located in Israel. In 2011, the company had revenues … [visit site to read more] or compare Credit Card Rewards and Best Credit Cards

Domestic Fuel Supplies Plunge

Posted: 13 Apr 2012 01:05 PM PDT

The U.S. Energy Department’s weekly inventory release showed that crude stockpiles jumped to their highest level since June 2011 amid a 1.9% drop in refinery utilization.  However, on the bullish side, the agency's report revealed that refined product inventories – gasoline and distillate – dropped sharply from their previous week levels.
The Energy Information Administration (“EIA”) Petroleum Status Report, which contains data for the previous week ending Friday, outlines … [visit site to read more] or compare Credit Card Rewards and Best Credit Cards

Itron Reaches A New Milestone

Posted: 13 Apr 2012 01:05 PM PDT

Itron, Inc. (NASDAQ:ITRI) reached a new milestone with the installation of its four millionth smart meter by Southern California Edison (SCE). Earlier, SCE had installed Itron’s smart meters and associated smart metering systems to support various programs and services which allow customers to manage their electricity usage and cut energy usage and utility bills.
SCE is one of the nation’s largest electric utilities in California (central, coastal and southern part). Edison SmartConnect, the smart … [visit site to read more] or compare Credit Card Rewards and Best Credit Cards

Jeffrey Immelt:Outsourcing Based Only On Labor Costs Is Becoming An Outdated Business Model

Posted: 13 Apr 2012 12:57 PM PDT

Jeffrey Immelt, CEO of General Electric, in the HarvardBusiness Review article "On Sparking an American Manufacturing Renewal":

“One thing is clear: Outsourcing that is based only on laborcosts is yesterday's model. 

Today at GE we are outsourcing less and producing more inthe U.S. We created more than 7,000 American manufacturing jobs in 2010 and2011.  Our success on the factory floorrests on human innovation and technical innovation – the keys to leading anAmerican … [visit site to read more] or compare Credit Card Rewards and Best Credit Cards

Central Bank News Link List – 13 April 2012

Posted: 13 Apr 2012 12:51 PM PDT

Here’s today’s Central Bank News link list, click through if you missed the previous central bank news link list.  Remember, if you want to submit links for inclusion in the daily link list, just email them through to us or post them in the comments section below.

Singapore Monetary Authority Tightens Monetary Policy (RTT News)
Bank of Ghana Hikes Rate 100bps to 14.50% (Ghana Web)
Mozambique Central Bank Cuts Rate 25bps to 13.50% (Reuters)
Bank of Korea Holds Rate at 3.25% … [visit site to read more] or compare Credit Card Rewards and Best Credit Cards

Upbeat PC Shipment Numbers For 1Q

Posted: 13 Apr 2012 12:50 PM PDT

Market research firms IDC and Gartner recently came out with encouraging personal computer (PC) shipment numbers for the first quarter of 2012. As per the recent disclosure, worldwide personal computer shipments increased more than IDC's expectation during the first quarter.
However, the research firm believes that although the PC shipments surged during the quarter, the challenges facing the PC industry remain intact.
In a recent statement, Gartner Inc. noted that around 89.0 million PCs … [visit site to read more] or compare Credit Card Rewards and Best Credit Cards

DFG Patches Up With Shareholders

Posted: 13 Apr 2012 12:50 PM PDT

Delphi Financial Group Inc. (NYSE:DFG) has agreed to settle a shareholder suit filed against the company concerning its buyout by Tokio Marine Holdings Inc. (TKOMY).
Delphi will be paying its class A shareholders and option holders their share of pro rata payment equal to $49 million, less plaintiffs' counsel fees and expenses.
The deal was announced in December 2011 when Tokio Marine expressed its intention to expand its presence in the U.S life insurance market. Per the … [visit site to read more] or compare Credit Card Rewards and Best Credit Cards

Valeant In Expansion Mode

Posted: 13 Apr 2012 12:50 PM PDT

Continuing with its strategy of making acquisitions and thereby expanding its portfolio Valeant Pharmaceuticals International, Inc. (NYSE:VRX) recently purchased US-based, privately owned specialty pharmaceutical company, Pedinol Pharmacal, Inc.
The deal, expected to boost Valeant's earnings immediately, is worth less than one and half times the sales recorded by Pedinol Pharma, a drug maker focused on foot-related disorders, in 2011. Pedinol Pharma's 2011 revenues came in at approximately $18 … [visit site to read more] or compare Credit Card Rewards and Best Credit Cards

Merrill Lynch: Time To Take Some ‘Risk Off’

Posted: 13 Apr 2012 12:40 PM PDT

With so many sectors of the market displaying significant correlation, investors and traders have come to define  market movements in general as 'risk on' and 'risk off'.
Despite the fact that central banks have provided endless amounts of fuel to prop markets, there are still points in time when indicators flash warning signals that markets are overextended. Is now one of those times?
According to Bank of America Merrill Lynch it is. 
I receive a daily commentary from … [visit site to read more] or compare Credit Card Rewards and Best Credit Cards

Earnings Preview: Stryker

Posted: 13 Apr 2012 12:40 PM PDT

Orthopedic major Stryker Corporation (NYSE:SYK) is slated to report its first quarter fiscal 2012 results after the closing bell on Tuesday, April 17. The current Zacks Consensus Estimate for the first quarter is 99 cents.
Fourth Quarter Flashback
Stryker's fourth-quarter 2011 adjusted earnings per share of $1.02 matched the Zacks Consensus Estimate and exceeded the year-ago earnings of 93 cents a share. The Michigan-based orthopedic devices major's profit (as reported) shot up 35.9% to $401 … [visit site to read more] or compare Credit Card Rewards and Best Credit Cards

Hot Option Plays: China’s Miss Pushes Market

Posted: 13 Apr 2012 12:22 PM PDT

Cusick’s Corner 04-13-2012
The market opened down on early news of a Chinese GDP miss. This news was generally unexpected and was the potential catalyst to today’s early downside move but not an overly huge impact by any means. The market did get early support off of good earnings in JPM and WFC, which keeps the Financials, XLF, in better standing and the sentiment of the market still mixed. I will be watching the Fed Chief’s comments today to see it he gives any tells on the potential of … [visit site to read more] or compare Credit Card Rewards and Best Credit Cards

CSIQ Launches Reseller Program

Posted: 13 Apr 2012 12:20 PM PDT

Canadian Solar Inc. (NASDAQ:CSIQ) announced the launch of a dedicated Authorized Reseller Program focused on Europe, the Middle East and Africa (“EMEA”). Canadian Solar plans to actively support its EMEA reseller partners with extensive technical product training, professional sales and marketing support.
This is a smart move on the part of the company to widen its distribution network. The Authorized Reseller Program will target registered companies to be part of the EMEA program.
Canadian Solar … [visit site to read more] or compare Credit Card Rewards and Best Credit Cards

A Hold On American Public Education

Posted: 13 Apr 2012 12:05 PM PDT

We maintained a Neutral recommendation on American Public Education, Inc. (NASDAQ:APEI) following appraisal of fourth quarter and full year 2011 results.
American Public Education recorded earnings of 71 cents per share in the fourth quarter, beating the Zacks Consensus Estimate by 11 cents. Earnings were also above the prior-year figure of 52 cents due to robust top-line growth and a low tax rate. Total revenue of $75.7 million surged 34% from the prior-year quarter, and also came in ahead of the … [visit site to read more] or compare Credit Card Rewards and Best Credit Cards
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