Credit Suisse to sell its London property. JCG quarter better than expected; FBR expects short-covering, raises target to $25. USB target raised to $21 by Citigroup. Oppenheimer believes auto parts retailers are “fully owned”. Mortgage rates have risen 42 points since Tuesday. GS target raised to $166 by Keefe Bruyette. Goldman cuts packing sector to [...]
Personally I thought the idea of people paying to use coin counting machines was insane. But I was wrong. They put those Coinstar (CSTR) machines in and the people came. There were lines at the supermarket to use it. I couldn’t believe it. But that was then. The “change” [...]
Durable goods orders up 1.9% vs. 0.5% consensus. Initaial unemployment claims beat consensus by 5k, prior revised up 5k, continuing claims continue to rise. BAC to 200 million shares of common for preferred. Speculation that Obama administration may give okay FNM and FRE to buy mortgages up to $1mm. LVS may have financing to finish [...]
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PNC raises $600 million through sale of 15 million shares of common. Chain store sales up 0.8% – ICSC/Goldman; down 0.5% – Redbook. AEO in-line; guides lower for Q2. DLTR beats. MON guides lower for Q3. TTWO initiated at Buy by Brean Murray, $13 target. JPM says card losses will near 9% for Q2, increase [...]
Barron’s Online reports FSLR profits and shares could get cut in half by falling silicon prices; estate of John Walton (an initial investor) sells $425 million worth of stock, 10% of it’s position. WSJ – Mortgage modification fails to halt defaults. Oppenheimer believes UTHR’s Adcirca PAH treatment has been undervalued by the street. YGE upgraded [...]
STP offering 20 million ADS at $12.50. C looks to slash tech costs. Merriman would be buying FSLR at current level, target $250-290. Citigroup upgrades POT, AGU, & MOS. AAPL tablet expected to be released in early 2010, priced in range of $500-700. T considering lower cost limited use data plan for iPhone. FBR say [...]
WYN initiated at Buy by Soleil, target $20. HRL beats on net, misses on revenues, maintains guidance. AGU begins construction on specialty nitrogen production facility. Senate HELP committee gives okay to FDA regulation of tobacco. FCX upgraded by JPMorgan, target $58. Renewable energy industry wants Obama to speed loan guarantees. Chinese steel mills want Brazilian [...]
Congress allows FDIC to borrow up to $100 billion from the Treasury; raises insured deposit limit to $250k through 2013. Airline traffic falls for sixth straight month. MGM signs deal to brand and manage hotels developed and built by others – hopes it will generate $100 million a year. TGT beats on net, misses on [...]
WSJ reports CC issuers need to devise plan to cut costs and improve profitability of each account. MA shows weakness on the open, less CC accounts mean less card use. LOW upgraded by Jefferies (target $23). STT prices offering of 51.3 million shares at $39; upgraded by Credit Suisse with a target of $52. SKS [...]
WMT re-doing its electronics department to do battle with BBY – separate sections for NOK and AAPL. BIDU employees put strike on hold. AGU says offer for CF delivers more value to (CF) shareholders than any alternative. AN downgraded by Goldman. JASO downgraded by BoA/Merrill. DPTR upgraded by KeyBanc. SPWRA downgraded by Soleil, target $21. [...]
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FBR says bank foreclosure inventory could put pressure on housing prices. Eurozone GDP contracts by 2.5% in Q1. LVS expected to Hong Kong IPO of Macau assets. Goldman says gaming stocks are overvalued at current levels, but raises targets (Huh?). GOOG router malfunction affects 14% of users. GS Whitehall Street Globe RE L.P. needs $1 [...]
Never trust what the words say.
Example: Brookfield Properties Initiates Dividend Reinvestment Plan
Translation: Brookfield Properties Has No Cash to Pay Dividends
ANR downgraded by BMO. AIG plans to sell Taiwanese life insurer. Nan Shan Life. KSS beats. WMT in-line. MGM to offer 143 million shares at $7.00; $650 million in notes at 10.375%; and $850 million in notes at 11.125% (I do not expect it to survive as it has never generated sufficient income to cover [...]
POT target raised to $150 by FBR. RIMM target raised to $95 by Caris. VIP reports 81¢ a share loss, revenues rise 27% but fail to meet consensus expectations. STT a Citigroup “top pick”. MBA mortgage applications down 8.2% vs. down 2% prior. STV trading in Asia suspended pending announcement of change in ex-dividend date. [...]
ANR buying FCL in all stock deal. JRCC up 10%. GS target raised to $200 by Rochdale. ICICI Bank and V announce relationship to distribute debit cards. China exports fall 23% in April. GOOG gives up on radio ad sales. Chain store sales up 0.3% vs. 0.7% prior – Goldman/ICSC. Goldman downgrades IVZ, JNS, upgrades [...]
AGU raises offer for CF to $40 plus one share. MSFT to offer 5/10/30 year debt. BAC selling CCB stake. Kaufmann raises target for AAPL to $160. PCX misses. USB to offer 2.5 billion shares of common. Bernstein downgrades HD & LOW. ENER beats on net, misses on revenue. IPI downgraded at Soliel, target lowered [...]
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Bank of Amentia’s Ken Lewis says stress tests are pretty aggressive. BAC to offer 1.25 billion shares. WFC to offer 272 million shares at $22. DRYS downgraded by Oppenheimer and Jefferies. Initial unemployment claims 539k vs. 600k consensus, prior revised up from 663k to 699k. Total unemployment hits 8.9%. 149k manufacturing jobs lost, 110k construction. [...]
Are you kidding me?
Same store sales down across all segments except discount, but better than expected. DEO reports 7% decrease in core sales. PRU beats. CVX confirms discovery off coast of Republic of Congo. WMT guides slightly lower for the quarter. KALU to further curtail production at Bellwood VA facility. DELL may use GOOG’s Android in future products. [...]
RIG beats, revs in-line. Zillow says one of five homeowners is underwater – Reuters. FRE receives favorable ruling from SEC allowing it to avoid $30B accounting charge. BX beats on net, misses on revs. VIP Telenor hearing adjourned until May 8th. ANR beat on net, misses on revs. CSC receives USAF logistics contract. ERTS net [...]
WYNN misses, sees net loss for quarter. BRCM commences $9.25 all cash offer for ELX. AAPL could be in deal to buy Twitter. Macau gaming down 8.5% in April YoY. Amazon Kindle for textbooks to be introduced tomorrow. FWLT wins contract for solar steam generation equipment in Spain. AKS lowers guidance. Kaufmann raises target for [...]
Banks reducing life of credit facilities. C may need another $10B. BAC denies it plans to raise another $10B. ELX rejects BRCM proposal. ICE reports futures ADV up 14% YoY. CME April ADV do 23% YoY – 80% of volume was electronic. WHO head says pandemic likely to be declared. CSIQ announces 5MW contract with [...]
Apple to introduce more affordable Macs. Telenor victorious in conflict with Alfa but still faces losing investment in VIP. FASB rule change means “net income” must be reported both before and after adding in income from investments in which it is a minority owner. SPG beats, maintains guidance, cuts dividend to 60¢ (cash component not [...]
I like Fauquier Banshares (FBSS) below $15, it only has an ADV of 1000 shares so be careful bidding. Lloyds Banking Group plc (LYG) at $7.25 is a good buy. My target for both is $25-$28 range.
September 17, 2009Personally I thought the idea of people paying to use coin counting machines was insane. But I was wrong. They put those Coinstar (CSTR) machines in and the people came. There were lines at the supermarket to use it. I couldn’t believe it. But that was then. The “change” must have run out. I haven’t seen one of those machines used in some time. Coinstar does have other machines and an investment in Red Box, but the easy money days of counting change appear to be over.
Costco (COST) saw decreased sales this quarter and missed their numbers, but the real reason I may downgrade — they are starting a trial at two NYC area stores to accept food stamps. Costco, because it charges a membership fee, is like an oasis in the urban jungle. If they start accepting food stamps, it will make it no different than any other large city retailer, think Target or K-Mart.
Mr. Gioia points to the Costco on Vernon Boulevard in Long Island City, Queens, in his district. First opened in 1996, the store is within walking distance for nearly 30,000 residents of three public housing projects: the Queensbridge, Ravenswood and Astoria Homes. “Why Doesn’t Costco Accept Food Stamps?”New York Times, November 11, 2008.
How could anyone not want to shop with them? One of Costco’s reason for never applying to sell food stamps is the $50 yearly fee. Considering the government uses debit cards for the food stamp program so that recipients aren’t shamed, they will probably cover the cost of the membership.
May 28, 2009With the advent of commodity based ETFs and their growth in popularity, gold now has the opportunity to be treated in the same manner as a tech stock.
Investment in gold is nearing 50% of all gold consumption, and one third of that is ETFs. The price of gold has been kind to ETFs. And ETFs have been kind to the price of gold. Investors invest in ETFs as the price of gold climbs. With gold showing recent weakness, I believe that we will begin to see investors “profit take” thus forcing ETFs to divest ….. divest …. liquidate ….. cash markets will have to absorb this inventory.
The skew on the puts currently reflects anticipation of increasing implied volatility. If the spot price continues breaking through levels of support look for an increase in implied volatility in gold ETF put options across all months.
March 4, 2009Just buy it. UBSI @ $15.32
CEO said forget the TARP funds.
CEO is a West Virginian who just bought more stock than he makes in a year.
Long 9 Sep Corn @ 377¼
vs.
Short 4 Sep Beans @ 860¾
Long 5 MS @ $20.00
Short 1 GS @ $80.00
Taken off now results in a net of $23.25 in the cash register. Cha-ching.
Price Target: $220
Position closed March 5, 2009: $220.00
January 7, 2009It’s always time to buy something, but what (is it time to buy now)?
Here’s what I like:
Genuine Parts Company (GPC) $37.35 – - 39¢ quarterly dividend
Equitable Resources Inc. (EQT) $32.20 – - 22¢ quarterly dividend
Olin Corp. (OLN) $16.95 – - 20¢ quarterly dividend
And here’s one I love:
BP Plc. (BP) $45.25 – - 84¢ quarterly dividend (this is almost a 7.5% dividend folks)
All have healthy dividends, strong stable balance sheets, and room for growth.
December 30, 2008Morgan Stanley: $16.00
Goldman Sachs: $73.00
The spread we bought for a credit of $3.25 is now at $7.00
November 10, 2008Long 5 shares of Morgan Stanley(MS) @ $26.25
vs.
Short 1 share of Goldman Sachs(GS) @ $134.50
Net cost: – $3.25
Can’t sell stock? Buy a deep put or sell a deep call for the GS leg.
Coca-Cola (KO) – Sell ($53.39)
Chesapeke Energy (CHK) – Buy ($38.57)
Alliance Resource Partners (ARLP) – Buy ($33.57)
Joy Global (JOYG) – Buy ($51.55)
Goldman Sachs (GS) – Sell ($108.00)
Morgan Stanley (MS) – Buy ($22.55)
Fifth Third (FITB) – Buy ($15.96)
I have my own research methods. Don’t ask.
September 19, 2008