Archive for October, 2010
(BHP) Rio Tinto-BHP Billiton Cancel Planned Joint Venture
The much awaited joint venture between BHP Billiton Ltd. (BHP) and Rio Tinto (RTP) to produce iron ore in Australia was mutually dissolved with no break fee. The joint venture, which was proposed in June, last year, came to an end after it was disapproved by some of the Australian...
18Oct2010 | vitalstocks | 0 comments | Continued(JPM) Regulators Close Three More Banks – U.S. Bank Failures Rise to 132 in 2010
Bank failures continue unabated as the U.S. regulators closed down three more banks on Friday. Out of the three failed banks, two were based in Missouri and one in Kansas. This brings the total number of bank failures to 132 so far in 2010, compared to 140 in 2009, 25 in 2008...
18Oct2010 | vitalstocks | 0 comments | Continued(AAPL) Stock Market News for October 18, 2010 – Market News
With fresh worries about the lurking foreclosure crisis keeping sentiments jittery, investors saw a bright spot in Google’s earnings and sent broader indices higher on a mixed day on Wall Street. In one single session, Google’s market capitalization soared by $19 billion...
18Oct2010 | vitalstocks | 0 comments | ContinuedU.S. Industrial Production – October 18, 2010 – Economic Highlights
Industrial Production decreased by 0.2% in September to an index value of 93.2 (2007=100), against expectations of a 0.2% increase, following a 0.2% increase in August. Over the year, the industrial production index is up by 5.4%. Capacity Utilization decreased to 74.7% for September...
18Oct2010 | vitalstocks | 0 comments | Continued(JNPR) Juniper Networks Third Quarter 2010 Earnings Preview
Juniper Networks Inc. (JNPR) is scheduled to announce its third quarter 2010 results on October 19 after market closes, and we do not see any variation in analyst estimates at this point. Second Quarter Overview Juniper reported modest second quarter 2010 numbers, with earnings...
18Oct2010 | vitalstocks | 0 comments | Continued(AXP) U.S. Trade Deficit Rose in August 2010 – Trouble Increasing?
The Trade Deficit rose in August to $46.35 billion after it fell in July to $42.58 billion, down from $49.76 billion in June. The rise in the trade deficit is very bad news for the economy. The trade deficit was also substantially larger than the $44.5 billion consensus expectation....
17Oct2010 | vitalstocks | 0 comments | Continued(CVD) Big Pharmaceutical Companies Outsourcing Research and Development
by Tony D’Altorio, Investment U Research Thursday, October 14, 2010 Big pharmaceutical companies seem to be taking tips from an unlikely source these days. A decade ago, big mining companies had a big problem on their hands in the form of declining prices. With less incoming...
17Oct2010 | InvestmentU | 0 comments | Continued(ITW) Illinois Tool Works Third Quarter 2010 Earnings Preview
Illinois Tool Works Inc. (ITW) is slated to release its third quarter 2010 results on Tuesday, October 19. The current Zacks Consensus Estimate for the third quarter earnings per share (EPS) is 82 cents, representing an annualized growth of 22.46%. With respect to earnings surprises,...
17Oct2010 | vitalstocks | 0 comments | Continued(TWC) Switched Digital Video Staging a Comeback
Switched Digital Video (SDV) technology is likely to boom in the near future as more and more large cable MSOs in the U.S. are gradually moving towards overall services convergence. SDV technology distributes digital video content through cable network in a cost-effective manner...
17Oct2010 | vitalstocks | 0 comments | Continued(ERTS) Electronic Arts’ Medal of Honor Game Gets Negative Reviews
Video game manufacturer and publisher, Electronic Arts Inc. (ERTS) shares fell 5.95% ($1.05) and closed at $16.61. The shares downfall was based on negative reviews for its flagship title Medal of Honor multiplayer game launched on October 12 in North America. Investors appeared...
17Oct2010 | vitalstocks | 0 comments | Continued(WMT) Initial Claims for Unemployment Insurance rose by 13,000 last week to 462,000
Initial Claims for Unemployment Insurance rose by 13,000 last week to 462,000. We just can’t seem to get out of the “trading range” that initial claims have been in for the last year. Last week, hopes were raised that we might finally be showing some real progress, as claims...
17Oct2010 | vitalstocks | 0 comments | Continued(UNP) Union Pacific Corporation – Revenue for the Period was Up 21% From Last Year
Union Pacific Corp. (UNP) just hit a new all-time high ahead of its Oct 21, Q3 results. With estimates climbing into the number and industry cohort CSX reporting another strong quarter, this Zacks #1 stock offers some nice upward momentum. Company Description Union Pacific Corp.,...
17Oct2010 | vitalstocks | 0 comments | Continued(KR) Consumer Price Index Report is Tame for September
The Consumer Price Index (CPI) rose by just 0.1% in September, down from increases of 0.3% in August and July. Year over year it is up just 1.1%. Almost all of the increase was due to energy prices, which rose 0.7% after increases of 2.3% in August and a 2.6% increase in July....
17Oct2010 | vitalstocks | 0 comments | Continued(GE) General Electric Earnings Beat Expectations on Lower Revenue
General Electric Company (GE) released its earnings results for third quarter of 2010 before the opening bell today, reporting earnings per share of 29 cents, beating the Zacks Consensus estimate of 27 cents. With a 32% year over year increase in its earnings, the company benefited...
17Oct2010 | vitalstocks | 0 comments | Continued(AMZN) Retail Sales Rise Better Than Expected in September
Retail Sales were better than expected in September, and the numbers for August were revised significantly higher. Total retail sales rose 0.6%, better than the 0.4% consensus expectation and are up 7.3% from a year ago. August was revised up from 0.4% growth to 0.7% growth,...
17Oct2010 | vitalstocks | 0 comments | Continued(BTU) Peabody Energy Earnings Preview
Coal miner Peabody Energy Corporation (BTU) will release its third quarter 2010 financial results on Tuesday, October 19, 2010. The Zacks Consensus Estimate for the third quarter is 91 cents, representing annual growth of 86.69%. Looking back, we note that Peabody has consistently...
17Oct2010 | vitalstocks | 0 comments | Continued(ALKS) Alkermes’ Vivitrol Earns US Food and Drug Administration Clearance
Alkermes Inc. (ALKS) received a boost when the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) cleared its drug Vivitrol (naltrexone for extended-release injectable suspension) for the prevention of relapse to opioid dependence after opioid detoxification. Opioid dependence refers to a...
17Oct2010 | vitalstocks | 0 comments | Continued(VIAB) Viacom Announces Restructuring of Film Division
The slumping U.S. movie box-office has taken a huge toll on Viacom Inc. (VIAB). The company continues to struggle with its Filmed Entertainment businesses. Management has decided to reduce headcount by 53 in its Paramount Pictures division. This will save around $10 million per...
17Oct2010 | vitalstocks | 0 comments | Continued(AMSC) American Superconductor Corporation Analyst Upgrades Shares to Outperform
We recently upgraded our long-term recommendation (6+ months) on American Superconductor Corporation (AMSC) from Neutral to Outperform. Our bullishness stems from a strong backlog of $952 million, solid financial position, acquisition of a quarter stake in Blade Dynamics and...
17Oct2010 | vitalstocks | 0 comments | Continued(ITRI) Itron Analyst Maintains Shar Rating at Neutral
We maintain our Neutral recommendation for Itron, Inc. (ITRI) which means the stock should perform mostly in line with the broader market. The AMI (advanced metering infrastructure) and AMR (automated meter reading) markets exhibit the maximum growth potential. Some ongoing projects...
17Oct2010 | vitalstocks | 0 comments | Continued(AMD) Advanced Micro Devices Earnings Doubles Forecast
Advanced Micro Devices (AMD) reported third quarter earnings of 12 cents a share (excluding the impact of GlobalFoundries), beating the Zacks Consensus estimate of 6 cents, despite falling revenues. Shares moved up 4.5% in after-hours trading, but have been moving down since...
17Oct2010 | vitalstocks | 0 comments | Continued(NTT) Nippon Telegraph & Telephone Gets Dimension Data
Nippon Telegraph & Telephone Corp. (NTT), the largest integrated telecom operator in Japan, has received a shot in its arm to boost its cloud computing and integrated communications services business. Last July, NTT had taken a strategic move to acquire South Africa-based...
17Oct2010 | vitalstocks | 0 comments | Continued(GOOG) Google Earnings Slam Homerun in Third Quarter
Internet search giant Google, Inc. (GOOG) posted a huge 3rd quarter earnings surprise after the closing bell Thursday, with GAAP earnings of $6.72 per share on net revenues of $5.48 billion. These results far outpaced the Zacks Consensus Estimates of $5.93 per share on $5.285...
17Oct2010 | vitalstocks | 0 comments | Continued(F) Ford Motor Company Plans to Trim a Third of Their Lincoln Dealers
Ford Motor Co. (F) plans to eliminate a third of its 1,200 Lincoln dealers in the U.S. The automaker has 500 Lincoln dealerships in the metropolitan markets while 700 dealerships are located in rural areas. So far, 175 dealerships from the urban areas have been reported to be...
17Oct2010 | vitalstocks | 0 comments | Continued(CLB) Core Laboratories N.V. Analyst Maintains Neutral Rating on Shares
We are maintaining our Neutral recommendation on Core Laboratories N.V. (CLB) shares with a target price of $91. Amsterdam, Netherlands-based Core Labs is an oilfield services firm that provides reservoir management and production enhancement services to the oil and gas industry...
17Oct2010 | vitalstocks | 0 comments | Continued(NOK) Nokia Begins C7 Smartphone Shipments
NokiaCorp. (NOK) started shipment of C7 based on its Symbian platform. This is the second smartphone shipped after the N8. Both C7 and N8 compete with Reasearch in Motion Ltd.’s (RIMM) Blackberry and Apple Inc.’s (AAPL) iPhone, which is based on Google Inc.’s (GOOG)...
17Oct2010 | vitalstocks | 0 comments | Continued(TTEK) Tetra Tech Makes Third Major Canadian Acquisition
Tetra Tech (TTEK) made its third major acquisition in Canada by acquiring engineering and consulting firm BPR based in Quebec. The previous two were those of EBA Engineering Consultants in August 2010 and Wardrop Engineering in January 2009. BPR caters to water, energy, industrial...
17Oct2010 | vitalstocks | 0 comments | Continued(CMCSA) Comcast Decides to Launch “Xfinity Online TV” in October 2010
Comcast Corp. (CMCSA), the largest cable multi-system operator (MSO) in the U.S., has decided to launch its TV Everywhere service called “Xfinity Online TV” in October 2010. Comcast introduced the beta version of this service long back in December 2009. The company will now...
17Oct2010 | vitalstocks | 0 comments | Continued(DNR) Denbury Resources Divests Non-Core Haynesville Assets
Denbury Resources Inc. (DNR) is stepping forward to complete the planned divestiture of non-core oil and gas properties of Encore Acquisition Company acquired in March. Yesterday, the company said that it will sell its Haynesville and East Texas natural gas assets to a private...
17Oct2010 | vitalstocks | 0 comments | Continued(DDS) Dillard’s Reports 3% Increase in September Same-Store Sales
U.S. departmental store chain Dillard’s Inc. (DDS) experienced a 3% increase in its same store sales as well as net sales figures for the five weeks ended October 2, 2010. Sales in comparable stores decreased 6% in September, 2009. The company generated sales of $532.3 million...
17Oct2010 | vitalstocks | 0 comments | Continued