Archive for October, 2009
(LUV) Southwest’s Standard & Poor’s Ratings Ratings Go South
Standard & Poor’s Ratings Services has lowered its ratings on Southwest Airlines Co. (LUV), lowering the debt ratings to ‘BBB’ from ‘BBB+’ and placing it with negative implications. However, Southwest has retained its investment grade rating. The...
17Oct2009 | vitalstocks | 0 comments | Continued(TM) Toyota Motor Teams With its Subsidiary Daihatsu on an Emerging-Market Car
Toyota Motor (TM) has teamed up with its subsidiary Daihatsu to develop a compact car for emerging markets. The car, which would be priced under ¥1 million ($11,000) will be offered for sale in India, Brazil, China and other markets in the first half of the next decade. The...
17Oct2009 | vitalstocks | 0 comments | Continued(WAG) Walgreen’s Announces $2 Billion Share Repurchase Program
Yesterday, Walgreen Co. (WAG) announced a new $2 billion share repurchase program which will expire at the end of 2013. Earlier, in January 2007 the company had initiated a $1 billion share buyback program, of which approximately $655 million is left. The new plan, replacing...
17Oct2009 | vitalstocks | 0 comments | Continued(AOS) A. O. Smith Corporation Tops Consensus Estimates by 43%
A. O. Smith Corp. (AOS) posted third quarter results before the opening bell today. The company’s GAAP net income surged to $34.6 million from $5.8 million in the year-ago quarter, primarily due to lower raw material costs and aggressive cost reduction initiatives. Excluding...
17Oct2009 | vitalstocks | 0 comments | Continued(SNY) Sanofi-Aventis’ Pediatric Influenza A (H1N1) Vaccine Effective
Sanofi Pasteur, the vaccines division of Sanofi-Aventis (SNY), yesterday provided an interim analysis of clinical data on the company’s U.S. licensed Influenza A (H1N1) 2009 Monovalent Vaccine. The study is being conducted in infants and children 6 months through 9 years of...
17Oct2009 | vitalstocks | 0 comments | Continued(ESV) ENSCO International Launches Deepwater Rig
ENSCO International Inc. (ESV) on Thursday announced the commencement of operations of its second ultra-deepwater semisubmersible rig ENSCO 8501. The rig began operations in the Gulf of Mexico (GoM) on Oct 8 under a three-and-a-half year contract with Nexen Inc. (NXY) and Noble...
17Oct2009 | vitalstocks | 0 comments | Continued(ELOS) Syneron Medical to Acquire Primaeva Medical
Syneron Medical Ltd. (ELOS) is set to acquire Primaeva Medical, Inc., an aesthetic technology firm based in Pleasanton, CA. The acquisition is expected to close before the end of 2009. Per the agreement, Syneron will acquire Primaeva for $7 million in cash and up to $23 million...
17Oct2009 | vitalstocks | 0 comments | Continued($SI) Siemens AG Acquires Solel Solar Systems
Siemens AG (SI) is set to acquire the solar thermal power company Solel Solar Systems Ltd. To date, the majority stake has been held by Ecofin Ltd., a London-based investment firm, and another major shareholder. The purchase price is about $418 million (currently equivalent to...
17Oct2009 | vitalstocks | 0 comments | Continued(QCOM) Qualcomm Wins Mobile Banking Deal From MetroPCS Communications
Qualcomm Inc. (QCOM) recently entered into an agreement with MetroPCS Communications Inc. (PCS), through which the latter will offer mobile banking services to its customers using Qualcomm’s mobile banking applications. Qualcomm provides mobile banking solutions through its...
17Oct2009 | vitalstocks | 0 comments | Continued(CTSH) Cognizant Buys UBS’ India Service Centre Private Limited
Cognizant (CTSH) recently announced a definitive agreement to acquire UBS India Service Centre Private Limited for about $75 million. Based in India, UBS ISC is a captive service provider to UBS AG (UBS) and currently employs 2,000 associates. Headquartered in Zurich and Basel,...
17Oct2009 | vitalstocks | 0 comments | Continued(MICC) Millicom International Cellular S.A. Quits Asia
Millicom International Cellular S.A. (MICC) is all set to complete the full divestment of its Asian operations by end 2009. Last June, the company took a strategic decision to get rid of its Asian businesses in the face of increased competition and an extremely tight credit market....
17Oct2009 | vitalstocks | 0 comments | Continued(CHL) China Mobile Triples 3G Spending Plans for 2010
Chinese wireless giant China Mobile (CHL) is reportedly planning to spend more on 3G terminal subsidies in 2010. The company has tripled the amount of subsidies from the current year level and is expected to spend up to RMB30 billion (US$4.4 billion) next year. This move will...
17Oct2009 | vitalstocks | 0 comments | Continued($CIEN) Ciena Gets Approval to Bid For Nortel Network’s Optical and Ethernet Division
The telecommunications and network equipment company Ciena Corporation (CIEN) has received the Court’s approval to begin bidding for Nortel Network Corp.’s (NT) optical and Ethernet division. The judges also said that Nov. 9 will be the deadline for bids and scheduled...
17Oct2009 | vitalstocks | 0 comments | Continued(AMB) AMB Property Corporation Continues Mexico Leasing
AMB Property Corp. (AMB), a leading real estate investment trust (REIT), has recently signed leasing agreements for approximately 271,000 square feet in Mexico, signifying the probable redemption of investor confidence across the country. About 118,000 square feet were leased...
16Oct2009 | vitalstocks | 0 comments | Continued(HST) Host Hotels & Resorts Inc Earnings Disappoint
Host Hotels & Resorts Inc. (HST), the largest lodging real estate investment trust (REIT) in the U.S., reported disappointing results for the third quarter of 2009, with year-over-year decrease in revenue and earnings per share. Total revenue decreased $227 million or 19.9%...
16Oct2009 | vitalstocks | 0 comments | Continued(ININ) Interactive Intelligence’s Preannouncement Beats
Interactive Intelligence Inc. (ININ) announced preliminary third-quarter results after the closing bell yesterday. The company expects GAAP net income between $2.5 million and $2.9 million and earnings per share between 13 cents and 16 cents, compared to $924,000 ? or 5 cents...
16Oct2009 | vitalstocks | 0 comments | Continued(SIAL) Sigma-Aldrich Group Division SAFC Completes Expansion
The Pharma division of SAFC, a member of the leading Life Science and High Technology company, Sigma-Aldrich Group (SIAL) has completed the expansion of its Carlsbad, California facility. The facility conducts contract-manufacturing services for SAFC’s late phase and commercial...
16Oct2009 | vitalstocks | 0 comments | Continued(SNDK) SanDisk Ships New Memory Chips
SanDisk Corp. (SNDK) has begun shipping flash memory chips (X4) that contain 64 GB or 4 bits of data, which is double the amount currently available in the market. The X4 technology has been under development for the last five years. SanDisk is the largest supplier of flash storage...
16Oct2009 | vitalstocks | 0 comments | Continued(ACGY) Acergy S. A. Tops Expectations but Lowers 2010 View
Earlier today, London-based oilfield contractor Acergy S.A. (ACGY) reported significantly better-than-expected third-quarter (ending August 31, 2009) results on the back of solid margins, strong operational performance, and good project execution skills. Earnings per share from...
16Oct2009 | vitalstocks | 0 comments | Continued(CNMD) Conmed Corporation – Bear of the Day
Conmed (CNMD) operates in highly competitive markets against competitors that are much larger, technically competent and possess substantially more assets. Additionally, many of these competitors offer a range of products not matched by Conmed, which may make Conmed’s offerings...
16Oct2009 | vitalstocks | 0 comments | Continued(GS) Goldman Sachs Group Beats Consensus Estimate
Goldman Sachs Group Inc.’s (GS) third quarter 2009 (ended Sept. 25, 2009) earnings of $5.25 per share were significantly ahead of the Zacks Consensus Estimate of $4.13. Results reflected strong performance in the trading operations, which offset the decrease in investment...
16Oct2009 | vitalstocks | 0 comments | Continued(IBM) Neutral Rating on IBM Ahead of Earnings
International Business Machines Corp. (IBM) will report third-quarter earnings after market close today. We have a Neutral rating on the stock. Positives: • IBM has been growing its profits and stands to benefit from cost-cutting measures, strong liquidity position, operational...
16Oct2009 | vitalstocks | 0 comments | Continued(SWY) Safeway Reports 31 Cents vs. 30 Cents Estimate
Safeway Inc. (SWY) reported third quarter earnings of 31 cents per share, slightly above the Zacks Consensus Estimate of 30 cents per share. However, quarterly earnings were down 33% from prior-year earnings of 46 cents per share. Safeway’s sales fell 7.0% year over year to...
16Oct2009 | vitalstocks | 0 comments | Continued(GSK) GlaxoSmithKline Collaborates With Prosensa
Yesterday, GlaxoSmithKline (GSK) entered into an exclusive worldwide collaboration with Prosensa for the development and commercialization of ribonucleic acid (RNA) based therapeutics for Duchenne Muscular Dystrophy (DMD). Prosensa is a Dutch biopharmaceutical company which focuses...
16Oct2009 | vitalstocks | 0 comments | Continued(JCI) Johnson Controls Anticipates Growth for 2010
In its fiscal 2010 forecast meeting with financial analysts, Johnson Controls (JCI) has revealed that it anticipates commendable sales and earnings growth in the fourth quarter and in fiscal 2010 as markets recover. The management has commented that the company expects to earn...
16Oct2009 | vitalstocks | 0 comments | Continued(DUK) Duke Energy Corporation Going Green
Duke Energy Corporation (DUK) will install four solar panels in North Carolina in the first phase of its $50 million rooftop solar project. The four projects with a combined 4.6MW of annual capacity are expected to be completed by March 2010. Duke Energy is focusing on green...
16Oct2009 | vitalstocks | 0 comments | Continued(LSTR) Landstar System Inc Meets Expectations
Landstar System Inc. (LSTR) reported third-quarter results after the closing bell yesterday. The company’s net income declined 38.7% to $20.1 million, compared to $32.8 million in the year-ago quarter. Earnings per share of 39 cents was well below the year-ago result of 62...
16Oct2009 | vitalstocks | 0 comments | Continued(MT) ArcelorMittal Selling Stake in Wabush Mines
Earlier this week, ArcelorMittal (MT) signed a definitive agreement to divest its minority interest in Wabush Mines, Canada, for $34.28 million. ArcelorMittal’s 28.6% stake in the Wabush Mines joint venture is being sold to Consolidated Thompson Iron Mines Ltd. Consolidated...
16Oct2009 | vitalstocks | 0 comments | Continued(NOK) Nokia Hurt by Impairment Charges
Nokia Corp. (NOK) today declared financial results for the third quarter of fiscal 2009. Total revenue of Euro 9.8 billion was a decrease of 19.8% year-over-year as well as down 1% sequentially. The significant decline in year-over-year revenue is the result of the global economic...
16Oct2009 | vitalstocks | 0 comments | Continued(ALTH) Allos Therapeutics Closes New Share Offering
Yesterday, Allos Therapeutics (ALTH) announced the closure of an underwritten public offering of 14 million shares of newly issued common stock at $7.1 per share. The company received net proceeds of $93 million after deducting issue related expenses. We had forecasted that Allos...
16Oct2009 | vitalstocks | 0 comments | Continued