Archive for June, 2011
(EBAY) eBay Settles GSI Commerce Investor Claims
E-commerce service provider, eBay Inc. (EBAY) has reached an agreement with GSI Commerce Inc. (GSIC) to settle claims made by shareholders of the latter. The claims, which were related to eBay’s proposed acquisition of GSI, had been filed in the Delaware state court. Per the...
16Jun2011 | vitalstocks | 0 comments | Continued(CAR) Avis Budget Group to Buy Avis Europe
Avis Budget Group Inc. (CAR) announced that it is acquiring Avis Europe for 635 million pounds or $1.0 billion. After 25 years, the company again intends to unite the two businesses. The acquisition, which is expected to close in October 2011 and is subject to shareholder approval,...
16Jun2011 | vitalstocks | 0 comments | Continued(GOOG) Google Grows in Display Ad Market
IDC reported last month that in the first quarter of 2011, Google Inc’s (GOOG) display market share had grown into the largest. Google has been gradually narrowing the gap between itself and the now second-largest player, Yahoo! Inc. (YHOO). While the market shares of Google...
16Jun2011 | vitalstocks | 0 comments | Continued(PRA) ProAssurance Gets Rating Endorsement
Yesterday, ProAssurance Corp. (PRA) stated that the financial strength ratings (FSR) of the company and its subsidiaries have been asserted by rating agency A.M. Best. Accordingly, the rating agency has affirmed the “A” (Excellent) rating, which was assigned to ProAssurance...
16Jun2011 | vitalstocks | 0 comments | Continued(CNI) Canadian National Railway Company Building New Logistics Park
The largest Canadian railroad, Canadian National Railway Company (CNI) announced that it will begin construction of the first Calgary Logistics Park. The new park is meant to facilitate intermodal transportation to and from Calgary. The estimated cost of the project is C$200...
16Jun2011 | vitalstocks | 0 comments | Continued(TCO) Taubman Centers Makes Secondary Offering
Taubman Centers Inc. (TCO), a real estate investment trust (REIT), has recently announced a secondary offering of 1.75 million common shares to raise cash and repay debt. The company will also grant The Goldman Sachs Group, Inc. (GS) – the sole underwriter for the offering,...
16Jun2011 | vitalstocks | 0 comments | Continued(AZO) AutoZone Increases Share Buyback to $10.4 Billion
AutoZone Inc. (AZO) announced that its board of directors has authorized the repurchase of up to an additional $500 million of common stock under its existing share buyback program. Since the inception of the repurchase program in 1998, AutoZone has authorized $10.4 billion worth...
16Jun2011 | vitalstocks | 0 comments | Continued(RDY) Dr. Reddy’s Laboratories Announces FDA Warning Letter
Dr. Reddy’s Laboratories (RDY) recently announced that the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) issued a four item warning letter regarding the company’s chemical manufacturing facility at Cuernavaca, Mexico, which produces Intermediates and Active Pharmaceutical Ingredients. In...
16Jun2011 | vitalstocks | 0 comments | Continued(ALTR) Altera Analyst Upgrades Shares to Outperform
We recently upgraded our recommendation on Altera Corp (ALTR) to Outperform from Neutral. We view Altera as a play on the secular trend of programmable logic devices (PLDs) replacing application-specific integrated circuit (ASIC), which provides a strong opportunity for future...
16Jun2011 | vitalstocks | 0 comments | Continued(PKX) POSCO Offers Korea First Synthetic Natural Gas Plant
Korean steel producer POSCO (PKX) is on its way to giving Korea its first synthetic natural gas (SNG) plant by the end of year 2013. The company commenced construction of the plant on June 7 at Gwangyang Steelworks. POSCO E&C will be responsible for the construction of the...
16Jun2011 | vitalstocks | 0 comments | Continued(INCY) Incyte Corporation Analyst Maintains Neutral on Shares
We are maintaining our Neutral recommendation on Incyte Corporation (INCY) with a target price of $18.00. Incyte is a Wilmington, Delaware-based drug discovery and development company with a focus on oral compounds to treat HIV, inflammation and cancer. The company’s lead...
16Jun2011 | vitalstocks | 0 comments | Continued(RTN) Raytheon Aquires Ktech Non-Kinetic
Raytheon Company (RTN) with a view to bolster its capabilities and opportunities in the non-kinetic effects products market has acquired related business assets of Ktech Corporation. Located in Albuquerque, New Mexico, Ktech will become part of Raytheon Company’s Missile...
16Jun2011 | vitalstocks | 0 comments | Continued(HWAY) Healthways Announces Insurance Deal for Wisconsin Fitness Drive
Healthways (HWAY), the well-being enhancement company, recently announced a new agreement with WPS Health Insurance (a non-profit health insurer in Wisconsin), whereby over 38,000 Wisconsin residents will gain access to the well-known SilverSneakers Fitness Program. As of the...
16Jun2011 | vitalstocks | 0 comments | Continued(HDB) HDFC Bank Limited – ADS – Bear of the Day
HDFC Bank, Ltd.’s (HDB) fiscal fourth quarter 2011 (ended March 31, 2011) net earnings were up 33.2% year over year. However, higher operating expenses were among the negatives. The company is still exposed to the threat related to higher cost of funds. Also, growing competition...
16Jun2011 | vitalstocks | 0 comments | Continued(MAN) Manpower Group – Bull of the Day
Manpower Group’s (MAN) first-quarter 2011 results topped Zacks expectations on the heels of revenue growth across all geographies with several European and emerging markets portraying robust trends. Management now expects second-quarter 2011 earnings between $0.74 and $0.82...
16Jun2011 | vitalstocks | 0 comments | Continued(JPM) JPMorgan Chase Changes Retail Management
On Tuesday, JPMorgan Chase & Co. (JPM) announced the shuffling of its retail banking management. The company has taken such a step to bring in-house talent to the fore and rebuild its business, which is still wrestling with soured mortgages. Mainly, Charlie Scharf, CEO of...
16Jun2011 | vitalstocks | 0 comments | Continued(WPPGY) WPP Expands Digital Arm
Advertising titan WPP plc. (WPPGY) announced that it has acquired 70% stake in Brazil based F.biz Ltda. The financial terms of the transaction were not disclosed. Founded in 1999, F.biz Ltda. is the largest independent digital advertising agency in Brazil. Employing 200 people,...
15Jun2011 | vitalstocks | 0 comments | Continued(STO) Statoil ASA to Offload Gassled Stake
Statoil ASA (STO) announced plans to divest majority of its stake in the Gassled joint venture for 17.35 billion kroner, or about $3.25 billion, in an effort to streamline its portfolio. The deal is subject to approvals from the Norwegian Ministry of Petroleum and Energy as well...
15Jun2011 | vitalstocks | 0 comments | Continued(IP) Temple-Inland Responds to International Paper Bid
To ward off International Paper Co’s (IP) offer of $3.3 billion or $30.60 per share in cash made earlier this week, Temple-Inland Inc. (TIN) has adopted a stockholder rights plan and declared dividend distribution of preferred share purchase rights on each outstanding share...
15Jun2011 | vitalstocks | 0 comments | Continued(GM) General Motors Renovating Cadillac Showrooms
General Motors Company (GM) has planned to introduce a fresh and new design for its Cadillac dealerships. The plan, a part of the company’s brand makeover initiative, is expected to be designed and implemented over the next two years. The makeover has been planned with the...
15Jun2011 | vitalstocks | 0 comments | Continued(NSM) National Semiconductor Has Good Fourth Quarter
National Semiconductor Corporation’s (NSM) earnings for the fourth quarter ended May 2011 were 4 cents higher than the Zacks Consensus estimate of 27 cents. National’s revenues were strong, despite the disaster in Japan, enabling the company to exceed the guidance provided...
15Jun2011 | vitalstocks | 0 comments | Continued(BAC) Federal Reserve Requires More Stress Tests
The Federal Reserve requires more banks to submit their capital plans annually to prove their financial ability to confront another recession. The Federal Reserve will also hold the right to ban capital deployment activities of unsuccessful banks. This is part of Federal Reserve’s...
15Jun2011 | vitalstocks | 0 comments | Continued(BA) Boeing Opens 787 Assembly Plant
The Boeing Co. (BA), on Friday, inaugurated its new 787 Dreamliner Final Assembly building in North Charleston, South Carolina. The company said that the building will help assemble the finest, most technologically advanced commercial widebody airplane in history. The new Final...
15Jun2011 | vitalstocks | 0 comments | Continued(IMF) International Monetary Fund Computer Systems Hacked
The International Monetary Fund (IMF) is the latest victim of cyber crime, as reported by Bloomberg. The report highlighted a series of attacks on companies such as EMC Corp. (EMC), Lockheed Martin Corp. (LMT), Google Inc. (GOOG), Sony Corp. (SNE) and Citigroup Inc. (C). Bloomberg...
15Jun2011 | vitalstocks | 0 comments | Continued(TTWO) Video Gaming Industry Shrinks in May
Just a month after posting robust sales in April 2011, the video games industry fell off the cliff to a new low since October 2006, in May. According to market research company, The NPD Group, US retail sales of the video game industry shrank 14% in May 2011 from the comparable...
15Jun2011 | vitalstocks | 0 comments | Continued(TWC) Time Warner Cable Plans Inorganic Growth
Time Warner Cable Inc. (TWC), the second-largest cable operator in the U.S. after Comcast Corporation (CMCSA), is planning to acquire cable operation from NewWave Communications. The transaction is expected to cost Time Warner $260 million and will be closed by the end of 2011,...
15Jun2011 | vitalstocks | 0 comments | Continued(CEG) Constellation Energy Analyst Reiterates at Neutral
Constellation Energy’s (CEG) merchant energy business provides a relatively stable and growing earnings stream through wholesale energy-related products and services. The company has a diversified fleet of power generating units, strong balance sheet compared to its peers and...
15Jun2011 | vitalstocks | 0 comments | Continued(BAC) Time Extended on Foreclosure Plans
The Office of the Comptroller of the Currency (OCC) said on Monday that regulators are about to allow the nation’s major banks 30 more days to submit their foreclosure plans to address mortgage servicing malpractices. In April, OCC entered into an agreement with 14 major...
15Jun2011 | vitalstocks | 0 comments | Continued(USM) U.S. Cellular Launchs HTC Windows 7 Phone
U.S. Cellular (USM), the leading telecom service provider has launched its HTC 7 Pro smartphone. This also marks U.S. Cellular’s debut into the Microsoft (MSFT) Windows 7 platform. The smartphone will cost around $199.99 after a $100 mail-in rebate and features a 3.6-inch screen,...
15Jun2011 | vitalstocks | 0 comments | Continued(AN) AutoNation Sales Dip on Supply Crunch
AutoNation Inc. (AN) reported a 15% fall in new vehicle sales to 16,347 vehicles in May due to shortages in supply of vehicles, especially from Japan that accounts for 52% of its sales. The Japanese automotive industry has been hit hard by the earthquake and tsunami on March...
15Jun2011 | vitalstocks | 0 comments | Continued