Archive for September, 2009
(CMCSA) Comcast Launches TV Everywhere Nationwide
Comcast Corp. (CMCSA) is likely to start its nationwide TV Everywhere service, named “On Demand Online”, within the next couple of months. TV Everywhere is basically a broadband video service that will enable pay-TV subscribers to watch premium cable programming online...
10Sep2009 | vitalstocks | 0 comments | Continued(T) AT&T Upgrading 3G Network
AT&T (T) announced its 3G network upgrade plans yesterday as the US telecom giant targets to increase network throughput across six US cities by the end of 2009. The company will launch 3G services in Charlotte, Chicago, Dallas, Houston, Los Angeles and Miami, which will...
10Sep2009 | vitalstocks | 0 comments | Continued(STJ) St. Jude Medical Receives Product Approval
St. Jude Medical, Inc. (STJ) received the CE (Conformite Europeenne) Mark approval for the world’s smallest, longest-lasting rechargeable deep brain stimulation [DBS] device, known as Brio neurostimulator. The device is used for treating symptoms of Parkinson’s disease. The...
10Sep2009 | vitalstocks | 0 comments | Continued(MCD) McDonald’s Sales Growth Loses Momentum
McDonald’s Corporation’s (MCD) comparable sales growth lost momentum in the month of August 2009. After increasing 4.3% in the month of July, the rise in comps was restricted at 2.2%, exposing its sensitivity to rising unemployment, the economic downturn and the discount...
10Sep2009 | vitalstocks | 0 comments | Continued(DELL) Dell Launches Servers for Small and Medium Business
Dell Inc. (DELL) has introduced a family of servers specially targeted at the Small and Medium Business [SMB] segment. This is the eleventh generation of its PowerEdge servers and PowerVault NX300 storage servers. We believe that these cost-efficient products could help the company...
10Sep2009 | vitalstocks | 0 comments | Continued(WMGI) Wright Medical Group Launches New Device
Wright Medical Group, Inc. (WMGI) launched a new product for surgical treatment of foot and ankle fractures, the ORTHOLOC Polyaxial Locked Plating System. The new product will be marketed in the U.S. by the company’s specialized foot and ankle sales force, with the full rollout...
10Sep2009 | vitalstocks | 0 comments | Continued(XL) XL Capital Credit Rating Strength Reaffirmed
XL Capital Group’s (XL) financial strength rating [FSR] of “A” (Excellent) and issuer credit ratings (ICR) of “a” were reaffirmed today by the rating agency A.M. Best. The outlook for all ratings is “stable”. The rating reaffirmation is followed by XL’s...
10Sep2009 | vitalstocks | 0 comments | Continued(TMO) Thermo Fisher Scientific Inc Buys BRAHMS
Thermo Fisher Scientific Inc. (TMO) recently agreed to acquire B.R.A.H.M.S. AG for 330 million Euros or about $470 million. B.R.A.H.M.S. is a leading provider of specialty in-vitro diagnostic tests based on its patented biomarkers for sepsis, cardiovascular and pulmonary diseases,...
10Sep2009 | vitalstocks | 0 comments | Continued(AEM) Agnico-Eagle Exploration Update
On September 8th, Canadian gold producer, Agnico-Eagle Mines Limited (AEM) released an update on its 2009 exploration program. The company stated that new discoveries have increased the size of the mineralized envelopes of several deposits. The company expects to increase its...
10Sep2009 | vitalstocks | 0 comments | Continued(LFL) LAN Airlines S.A. Flies Smoothly
Earlier this week, LAN Airlines S.A. (LFL) and its subsidiaries reported its preliminary monthly traffic statistics and punctuality indicators for August. While passenger traffic rose 4.4% year over year, capacity jumped 7.4%. However, its load factor dropped 2.2 points to 76.5%....
10Sep2009 | vitalstocks | 0 comments | Continued(EWJ) Japan’s Historic Moment Creates Historic Confusion
by Ryan Cole, Investment U Research Team The dust is settling in Japan, and the only thing we know for sure is that no one can agree… on anything. With the new government in office – the first real time Japan has been ruled by any group other than the Liberal Democratic...
10Sep2009 | InvestmentU | 0 comments | Continued(NAV) Navistar International Hit by Weak Truck Market
Navistar International Corporation (NAV) has showed a net loss of $35 million, or 49 cents per share for the third quarter of fiscal 2009 ended Oct. 31, 2009. The results include increased provisions for income taxes and exclude the extraordinary gain from the asset acquisition...
10Sep2009 | vitalstocks | 0 comments | Continued(CENT) Central Garden & Pet Company Beat Earnings and Estimates Are Rising
Central Garden & Pet Company (CENT) is surging on higher estimates and another solid quarter that produced earnings that were better than expectations. Company Description Central Garden & Pet Company produces and markets branded products for the lawn and garden and pet...
10Sep2009 | vitalstocks | 0 comments | Continued(AIZ) Assurant, Inc.- Bear of the Day
Assurant’s (AIZ) second-quarter earnings were worse than the Zacks Consensus Estimate, reflecting weak performance of all its business segments, a trend that is expected to remain in place for some time. The company’s leading position in specialty markets, solid balance...
10Sep2009 | vitalstocks | 0 comments | ContinuedTop International Bond Funds – Mutual Fund Commentary
Today we are featuring top-performing “International Bond” Fixed Income mutual funds, which primarily invest in foreign and U.S. bonds in pursuit of current income. Investors can find such funds by checking out the entire list of the Zacks #1 Rank International Bond Fixed...
10Sep2009 | vitalstocks | 0 comments | Continued(VR) Validus Holdings’ Credit Rating Affirmed
Validus Reinsurance, the principal operating subsidiary of Validus Holdings (VR), has been removed from under review by A.M. Best, with negative implications. The rating agency has affirmed the financial strength ratings of “A-” (Excellent) and issuer credit ratings (ICR)...
10Sep2009 | vitalstocks | 0 comments | Continued(JPM) JPMorgan Chase Advances Dedicated Prime Brokerage Team
JPMorgan Chase & Co. (JPM) on Wednesday said a team would now be dedicated for delivering its integrated prime brokerage and custody platform to clients. The team, Prime-Custody Solutions Group, will serve hedge funds and asset managers who look for a combination of prime...
10Sep2009 | vitalstocks | 0 comments | Continued(PKG) Packaging Corporation of America’s Consensus Estimate Spiked
Packaging Corporation of America (PKG) recently declared a quarterly dividend of 15 cents per share. The company offers a dividend yield of 2.9%, beating the industry average of 1.8%. Shares have been outpacing the market, closing in on a 52-week high. Company Description Packaging...
10Sep2009 | vitalstocks | 0 comments | Continued(MEND) Mircrus Endovascular Corporation Estimates Swing to Profit
Micrus Endovascular Corp (MEND) posted an unexpected profit last quarter and estimates have spiked. Company Description Micrus develops, manufactures, and markets implantable and disposable devices for that treat cerebral vascular diseases. The company’s footprint extends...
10Sep2009 | vitalstocks | 0 comments | Continued(CX) Cemex S.A.B. de C.V. Announces Public Offering
This week, Cemex S.A.B. de C.V. (CX) started a global public offering of 1,200 million Ordinary Participation Certificates [CPO], directly or in form of American Depositary Shares [ADS]. The world’s third-largest cement producer has also given underwriters to offer up to an...
10Sep2009 | vitalstocks | 0 comments | Continued(PWR) Quanta Services Buys Price Gregory
Quanta Services Inc. (PWR) recently agreed to acquire privately held Price Gregory Services Inc., a leading natural gas and oil transmission pipeline infrastructure service provider in North America, in a cash and stock transaction valued at about $350 million. According to...
10Sep2009 | vitalstocks | 0 comments | Continued(TXN) Texas Instruments Ups Guidance – Semiconductors Show Life
Texas Instruments (TXN) narrowed its third quarter revenue expectations to $2.73-$2.87 billion (a sequential increase of 9.7%-16.7%). Previous guidance was for revenue of $2.50-$2.80 billion (a sequential increase of 1.6%-13.8%). This effectively raises the mid-point of guidance...
10Sep2009 | vitalstocks | 0 comments | Continued(F) Ford Announces New Production in Romania
Ford Motor (F) recently said that it would begin production of its new compact van, Transit Connect, in Craiova, Romania. Two years ago, the company bought a 72.4% stake in the state-owned Automobile Craiova for $88 million. At that time, it had promised to invest $1 billion...
10Sep2009 | vitalstocks | 0 comments | Continued(WMB) Williams Companies to Expand Transco Pipeline
Williams Companies Inc. (WMB) said on Wednesday that the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) permitted it to extend its interstate Transco pipeline by 308.5 thousand dekatherms per day (Mdt/d) that will help the natural gas producer to reach southeastern US markets. The...
10Sep2009 | vitalstocks | 0 comments | Continued(APA) EnCana Corporation Shale Plays Bode Well
EnCana Corporation (ECA) has recently said that a significant exposure to the Horn River shale play (in a remote corner of northern British Columbia) should add substantial value to the company in the future. This shale play could hold as much as 500 trillion cubic feet (Tcf)...
10Sep2009 | vitalstocks | 0 comments | Continued(PXP) Plains Exploration & Production Consensus Estimate Soars
Plains Exploration & Production Company (PXP) is seeing production volumes pick up in the Haynesville Shale even as crude and natural gas prices remain far below 2008 prices. The company trades with a forward P/E of 9.02. Company Description Plains Exploration & Production...
10Sep2009 | vitalstocks | 0 comments | Continued(GE) FDIC May Extend Debt Guarantees
The Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC) may offer a six-month emergency extension to its debt-guarantee component of the Temporary Liquidity Guarantee Program (TLGP) that guarantees more than $270 billion of debt sold by U.S. banks. The FDIC is considering two alternatives....
10Sep2009 | vitalstocks | 0 comments | Continued(CHRT) Moody’s Puts Chartered Semiconductor Under Review
Moody’s senior analyst Ken Chan put Chartered Semiconductor’s (CHRT) speculative-grade Ba2 rating under review for a possible downgrade after Abu Dhabi’s nationalized investment firm, ATIC, proposed to buy the Singapore-based company for $1.8 billion. The acquisition would...
10Sep2009 | vitalstocks | 0 comments | Continued(ALU) WiMAX Losing Ground to Long-Term Evolution (LTE)
The much hyped next-generation (4G) technology of WiMAX is quickly losing ground to the alternative technology of Long-Term Evolution (LTE). Large telecom infrastructure equipment makers are gradually shifting from WiMAX to LTE, and as a result the WiMAX field is getting less...
10Sep2009 | vitalstocks | 0 comments | Continued(KFY) Korn Ferry International Posts Smaller Than Expected Loss
Korn/Ferry International (KFY) reported a narrower-than-expected fiscal first-quarter loss on lower operating expenses. The company posted a loss per share of 5 cents, excluding restructuring charges, which was a penny better than the Zacks Consensus Estimate. On a GAAP basis,...
10Sep2009 | vitalstocks | 0 comments | Continued