Archive for September, 2009
(AAPL) Top Global Equity Funds – Mutual Fund Commentary
Today we are featuring top-performing “Global” equity mutual funds, which primarily invest in equity securities of both US and foreign companies. Investors can find such funds by checking out the entire list of the Zacks #1 Rank Global Equity Funds. 3 Worldly Picks RS...
3Sep2009 | vitalstocks | 0 comments | Continued(CPWM) Cost Plus Incorporated – Bear of the Day
Second quarter net sales for Cost Plus, Inc. (CPWM) declined 13.0% compared to the second quarter of last year, while same-store sales decreased 10.9%. The specialty retailer also reported a net loss of $20 million. The company is closing stores, cutting costs, and trying to...
3Sep2009 | vitalstocks | 0 comments | Continued(ITT) ITT Corporation – Bull of the Day
We are initiating coverage on ITT Corporation (ITT) with an Outperform rating and $57 target price. The company exceeded its second quarter earnings guidance due to strong results overall. Total defense organic orders improved 29% year over year on strong product activities....
3Sep2009 | vitalstocks | 0 comments | Continued(MS) Rating Agencies Face Class Action Lawsuit
Negative news flow continues for the U.S credit rating agencies, as a U.S. federal judge rejected the appeal by Morgan Stanley (MS), Moody’s Corporation (MCO) and McGraw-Hill’s (MHP) Standard & Poor’s to dismiss the fraud charges brought against them for not disclosing...
3Sep2009 | vitalstocks | 0 comments | Continued(ABM) ABM Industries Beats Estimates
ABM Industries (ABM) reported fiscal third quarter earnings of 36 cents per share, beating the Zacks Consensus Estimate of 34 cents per share and 16% higher that the prior year earnings of 31 cents per share. Despite lower year-over-year revenues in all the four segments, ABM...
3Sep2009 | vitalstocks | 0 comments | Continued(BAC) Banks to Begin Accepting California IOUs Again
Bank of America Corporation (BAC) and Wells Fargo & Co. (WFC) said on Wednesday that they will start accepting California state-issued IOUs from customers as deposit, which both banks had stopped accepting in early July. According to the State Treasurer, these actions by...
3Sep2009 | vitalstocks | 0 comments | Continued(RPI) National Restaurant Association Reports Restaurants Improved in July
A recent survey by the National Restaurant Association revealed a marginal improvement in the Restaurant Performance Index (RPI) for the month of July 2009. The index rose 0.3% to 98.1 from June. The index has remained below 100 for 21 consecutive months. An index of more than...
3Sep2009 | vitalstocks | 0 comments | Continued(SNE) Have You Read Any Good E-Books Lately?
by Tony Daltorio, Research, Investment U There is a thrilling, real-life business drama being written as you read this article; a drama revolving around the battle for dominance in the electronic books industry. Some of the major “characters” in this story include: Sony...
3Sep2009 | InvestmentU | 0 comments | Continued(PSS) Collective Brands Reports In-Line with Estimates
Amid a sluggish retail environment, Collective Brands, Inc. (PSS), a wholesaler and retailer of footwear and related accessories, recently reported second quarter 2009 results. Despite lower operating costs and inventory management, the company continues to experience diminishing...
3Sep2009 | vitalstocks | 0 comments | Continued(RTN) Raytheon Set to Acquire BBN Technologies
Raytheon Company (RTN) is planning to acquire privately held BBN Technologies to boost its advanced networking and speech and language technologies. Raytheon expects to complete the transaction by year’s end. BBN Technologies was set up in 1984 by Massachusetts Institute...
3Sep2009 | vitalstocks | 0 comments | Continued(BAC) Bank of America Retains Top Rank by Total Assets
Based on a ranking analysis released on Wednesday by Virginia-based research firm SNL Financial, Bank of America Corporation (BAC) still remains the highest ranked banking institution in U.S. by second-quarter total assets. The analysis was based on the filings of Federal Deposit...
3Sep2009 | vitalstocks | 0 comments | Continued($JOYG) Joy Global Beats Consensus Estimates
Joy Global (JOYG) posted an EPS of $1.21 for the third quarter FY 2009, surpassing the Zacks Consensus Estimate of 96 cents and $1.03 recorded in the year-ago quarter, primarily driven by better pricing, improved supply chain management and cost control measures. Operating margin...
3Sep2009 | vitalstocks | 0 comments | Continued(CVX) Energy Information Administration Reports Mixed Petroleum Inventory Data
Yesterday, the federal government’s Energy Information Administration (EIA) reported mixed inventory data. The crude drawdown was below expectations and distillate stocks were up more than anticipated. On the positive side, gasoline supplies dropped steeply and total U.S. oil...
3Sep2009 | vitalstocks | 0 comments | Continued(TUTR) Plato Learning Reports Modest Surprise
Plato Learning (TUTR), a leading provider of computer-based and e-learning instruction for kindergarten, reported results for the third quarter with earnings of 1 cent per share. Earnings were better than the Zacks Consensus Estimate of a net loss of 1 cent, and a net loss of...
3Sep2009 | vitalstocks | 0 comments | Continued(SKS) Initial Jobless Claims Hovering
Last week (8/29), there were 570,000 initial claims for unemployment insurance — down from 574,000 the week before, but that 574,000 was revised up from 570,000, so it really is about flat with last week. The four-week moving average ticked up again, for the third week...
3Sep2009 | vitalstocks | 0 comments | Continued(BP) BP Makes Huge New Deepwater Oil Find
Oil major BP Plc (BP) has made a huge oil discovery in the deepwater Gulf of Mexico (GoM). The discovery well is located at its Tiber prospect, approximately 250 miles (400 kilometers) southeast of Houston and is in 4,132 feet (1,259 meters) of water. The well had oil in multiple...
3Sep2009 | vitalstocks | 0 comments | Continued(ABT) Abbott Expands Ophthalmic Portfolio
Abbott (ABT) yesterday entered into a definitive agreement whereby it will acquire Visiogen, Inc., a privately-held company, for $400 million in cash. Visiogen is focused on the development of innovative products for cataract and refractive patients. The deal will provide Abbott...
3Sep2009 | vitalstocks | 0 comments | Continued(PTR) PetroChina Joins with Huaneng Power on Natural Gas Power Generation
The world’s second largest oil and gas producer by market value, PetroChina Co. Ltd. (PTR), inked an agreement with China’s top power firm Huaneng Power International to join forces on natural gas power generation projects. The agreement will increase the proportion...
3Sep2009 | vitalstocks | 0 comments | Continued(VG) Apple Approves Vonage Mobile Application
Internet phone service provider, Vonage Holdings Corp. (VG) recently said that its mobile voice over internet protocol (VoIP) application will be used by Apple Inc. (AAPL) for its iPhone and iPod Touch devices. Vonage also said that it is currently conducting a beta test and...
3Sep2009 | vitalstocks | 0 comments | Continued(CHL) China Mobil Joins MediaTek in New Joint Venture
China Mobile (CHL) is reportedly setting up a joint-venture with MediaTek Inc, Taiwan ’s leading handset chip manufacturer, to design and develop key components for its 3G handsets. The Chinese wireless giant is expected to have 70% stake in the joint-venture with MediaTek...
3Sep2009 | vitalstocks | 0 comments | Continued(EMC) EMC & Cisco Join to Provide Data Center Services
According to Wall Street Journal, EMC Corp. (EMC) and Cisco Systems (CSCO) will form a new joint venture. EMC is a leader in the storage hardware and software segment while Cisco is a leading provider of IP-based networking and other products. The Journal cited that the joint...
3Sep2009 | vitalstocks | 0 comments | Continued(USB) US Bancorp Issues Senior Notes
On Sept. 2, 2009, US Bancorp (USB) announced the sale of 3.5 year senior notes worth $350 million. The size of the deal represents a 40% increase from the originally planned $250 million. Barclays (BCS) acted as the sole book-runner for the sale of these notes. The notes carry...
3Sep2009 | vitalstocks | 0 comments | Continued(SEPR) Dainippon Sumitomo Pharma Acquires Sepracor
Today morning, Japanese pharmaceutical company Dainippon Sumitomo Pharma Co., Ltd. confirmed that it signed a definitive agreement to buy U.S. pharmaceutical company Sepracor Inc. (SEPR). The deal has been valued at $23 per share or $2.6 billion. The market was abuzz with rumors...
3Sep2009 | vitalstocks | 0 comments | Continued(LAYN) Layne Christensen Beats Consensus by 92%
Layne Christensen Co. (LAYN) announced fiscal second-quarter results yesterday after the closing bell. The company reported GAAP net loss of $8.6 million or 45 cents per share, compared to GAAP net income of $15.1 million or 78 cents per share in the year-ago quarter. Excluding...
3Sep2009 | vitalstocks | 0 comments | Continued(JEC) Jacobs Engineering Group Lands New Orders
Jacobs Engineering Group Inc. (JEC) announced that it received a new framework to deliver a range of professional engineering services to the Manchester Airports Group (MAG) in the United Kingdom. MAG owns and operates four regional airports – Manchester, East Midlands,...
3Sep2009 | vitalstocks | 0 comments | Continued(NSC) Institute for Supply Management – Services Contracting Slower
The Institute for Supply Management’s non-manufacturing (Services) survey shows that the service sector of the economy is still contracting, but at a slower rate than it was in July. On Tuesday, its Manufacturing report (which has a much longer history) showed that the manufacturing...
3Sep2009 | vitalstocks | 0 comments | Continued(URS) URS Corporation Bags Navy Contract
URS Corp. (URS) announced that it is one of four firms that have been awarded an indefinite delivery and indefinite quantity contract by the U.S. Navy for construction projects at Department of Defense installations worldwide. The contract has a maximum potential value to all...
3Sep2009 | vitalstocks | 0 comments | Continued(APD) Air Products Buys New Hydrogen Plant
Air Products (APD) acquired a new steam methane reformer (SMR) hydrogen facility from MarkWest Energy Partners L.P. (MWE). The facility, which is under construction, is in Corpus Christi, Texas. The company did not disclose the financial details of the transaction. This acquisition...
2Sep2009 | vitalstocks | 0 comments | Continued(BAC) Federal Reserve Meeting Minutes – Key Points
Today, the Fed released the minutes of its meeting held in mid-August. Overall, the Fed saw that overall economic activity was starting to stabilize, but that the depth of the recession had been much worse than originally thought. Here are some of the key points: Employment...
2Sep2009 | vitalstocks | 0 comments | Continued(CAH) Cardinal Health Completes Spin-Off – Analyst Blog
Cardinal Health, Inc. (CAH) has completed the spin-off of its Clinical and Medical Products business to form a subsidiary, CareFusion Corporation (CFN). The spin-off was completed through a pro rata distribution of roughly 81% of CareFusion’s common stock. Roughly 222 million...
2Sep2009 | vitalstocks | 0 comments | Continued