Market Currents

Real-time commentary on the market, with links to key sources.

Wednesday, August 20 2008
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  • 1:06 PM Perhaps the only constant in the current market has been indecisiveness. "It's one of those periods where you look at news and see the reaction in the market, and say that the punishment doesn't seem to fit the crime, or the reward does not fit the news release."
  • 12:55 PM The extent of NBC's (GE) Olympic success has surprised ESPN (DIS) VP John Skipper. "On a scale of 1 to 10, I’d have to say it's been a 10.5."
  • 12:41 PM It's unclear, Dean Baker says, that slow growth is the best remedy for inflation - considering the main cause is global commodity prices. Is anyone else sick of economists espousing how an anemic economy is good for us?
  • 12:26 PM "In some ways our greatest strength has become somewhat of a challenge in that our stores are fun and unique... and during these tough economic times, some of our consumers don’t want to be tempted as much as they have in the past." Target (TGT) CEO Gregg Steinhafel
  • 12:09 PM Oil and gas insiders think the energy selloff is overdone: "Investors have thrown the baby out with the bath water," Energy Transfer Partners L.P. (ETP) CEO Kelcy Warren says. Heavy recent insider buying may be a tipoff.
  • 11:55 AM The Fed's Jeffrey Lacker would like to see core inflation (2.5%) at about 1.5%. It's a lofty target - one we've rarely seen during the past 50 years - and about as realistic as a $10 fill-up.
  • 11:42 AM Daimler (DAI) shares are down more than 45% over the past year, and it may be in more trouble than previously thought. A takeover target? It doesn't think so, "but we cannot totally exclude the possibility," a spokesman says.
  • 11:28 AM McClatchy (MNI) -4.7%. Revenue slid 16% in July as the newspaper publisher's advertising woes continued. Online revenue was up 13% - or 59% if you factor out weakening job ads.
  • 11:24 AM Crude slides to -1% - $113.35.
  • 11:14 AM Monday's Fannie (FNM) and Freddie (FRE) selloff, on a Barron's diss, proved it didn't take much to pound the GSEs, David Gaffen says. Today's drop (-12.5% and -10.5%) proves it doesn't take any news at all.
  • 11:02 AM Stocks bounce back from initial weakness, encouraged by the huge crude build. Dow +0.7%. S&P +0.65%. Nasdaq +0.95%. Crude +0.2% to $114.76. Gold -0.93% to $809.20.
  • 10:54 AM Stoked by NBC's (GE) record Olympics ratings, ESPN (DIS) wants TV rights to the 2014 and 2016 Olympics. It says it would broadcast more events live. "Our DNA is different than theirs."
  • 10:40 AM Crude futures are off previous highs of $117.03 after the surprisingly large crude build, but still up substantially. +1.13% to $115.80.
  • 10:37 AM EIA oil inventories: Crude +9.39M vs. +0.9M. Gasoline -6.2M vs. -3M. Distillate +0.5M vs. +0.3M.
  • 10:31 AM Home improvement retailers like Home Depot (HD) and Lowe's (LOW) are seeing consumers turn their focus to basic home repairs and improvements. They're counting on back-to-basics to create revenue during the housing slump.
  • 10:22 AM Sector ETF weakness: Regional Banks– KRE -2.3%, Commercial Banks– KBE -1.3%, Industrials– XLI -1.2%, Insurance– KIE -0.9%.
  • 10:20 AM Sector ETF strength: Solar– TAN +2.5%, Coal– KOL +2.5%, Steel– SLX +2.3%, Energy– IYE +2.2%, Oil Services– OIH +2.2%.
  • 10:19 AM Oil inventories at 10:35. Consensus (Reuters): Crude +900,000. Gasoline -3M. Distillate +300K.
  • 10:17 AM Goodyear (GT) to close 92 underperforming retail stores by the end of the year, cutting $9M of annual losses.
  • 10:15 AM Dow laggards: GE -2.1%, C -1.6%, UTX -1.3%, INTC -1.3%, PFE -1.2%, JPM -1.2%.
  • 10:13 AM Dow leaders: HPQ +3.7%, CVX +1.2%, AA +1.1%.
  • 10:06 AM General Motors (GM) significantly upgrades its warranty plan on used vehicles, hoping to attract customers wary of Detroit-built cars, or holding back from big purchases during the economic downturn.
  • 9:50 AM Stocks struggle in the early-going: Dow -0.33% S&P -0.31%. Nasdaq -0.12%.
  • 9:49 AM A Lehman (LEH) deal to raise $5B from South Korean wealth funds falls apart at the last minute. Lehman needs the extra cash as protection against expected mortgage-securities losses.
  • 9:39 AM BoE's Monetary Policy Committee [MPC] signals a possible rate cut in the coming months. The MPC is optimistic that lower gas and oil prices could help check inflation.
  • 9:31 AM Eaton Vance (EV): FQ3 EPS of $0.40 misses by $0.06. Revenue of $282M in-line. Shares +0.3%. [PR]
  • 9:26 AM Futures point to a slightly higher open. Dow +0.19%. S&P +0.14%. Nasdaq +0.34%. Crude +1.24% to $115.95. Gold +0.45% to $820.50.
  • 9:24 AM Citigroup adds Omniture (OMTR) to its Top Picks Live. "The stock is down 47% YTD despite successfully navigating the crucial first two quarters... During this period, the company has hit the high end of revenue guidance for both Q1 and Q2." Shares +12% premarket.
  • 9:21 AM Libya's top oil official warns that OPEC may cut oil production amid weakening demand. OPEC's Iran governor threatened the same earlier this week.
  • 9:19 AM Federal Reserve economists say foreign holders of U.S. asset-backed securities are exposed to potential losses of about $75B. This represents only a small fraction of foreign-held U.S. assets.
  • 9:11 AM Ross Stores (ROST): Q2 EPS of $0.54 in-line. Revenue of $1.64B (+13.6%) in-line. Shares +0.9%. [PR]
  • 9:00 AM Despite promises to withdraw troops from Georgia, any Russian pull-back looks like it might only be partial, leading to an expansion of pro-Russian South Ossetia or even Russia proper.
  • 8:51 AM Intel (INTC) unveiled technology that will allow it to to increase performance without using more power. 'Turbo' technology-based multi-core chips will turn off some segments, and speed up others.
  • 8:41 AM eBay (EBAY) announces plans to focus on fixed-price sales over auctions. eBay is hoping the move will help it compete more effectively against online retailers like Amazon (AMZN).
  • 8:31 AM ArcelorMittal (MT), the world's biggest steelmaker, will spend $850M on an iron ore mine and port in Brazil. MT aims to increase iron-ore self-sufficiency to 75-80% by 2014. Shares +1.6% premarket.
  • 8:23 AM Ericsson (ERIC) and STMicro (STM) are combining their chip and mobile-apps businesses into a 50/50 fabless JV that will serve their existing customers, such as Nokia (NOK), Sony (SNE) Ericsson and Sharp. A potential threat to TXN and/or QCOM.
  • 8:10 AM Mentor Graphics (MENT): Q2 EPS of -$0.02 beats by $0.10. Revenue of $182M vs. $175M. Shares +4.2%. [PR]
  • 7:56 AM MBA Mortgage Applications fell 1.5% from last week. The 30-yr. fixed mortgage rate fell to 6.47% from 6.57%.
  • 7:49 AM In the next few weeks, the SEC plans to propose new, broader rules aimed at restricting manipulative short sales of stocks.
  • 7:14 AM U.S. futures are trading higher. Dow +0.4%. S&P +0.28%. Nasdaq +0.42%. Crude +0.19% to $114.75. Gold +0.02% to $817.
  • 7:13 AM Europe bourses are up at midday. London +0.95%. Paris +0.55%. Frankfurt +0.42%.
  • 7:13 AM Asia markets closed mostly higher, fueled by Shanghai. Nikkei -0.1% to 12,852. Hang Seng +2.18% to 20,931. Shanghai +7.63% to 2,523. BSE Sensex +0.92% to 14,678.
  • 7:10 AM BJ's Wholesale Club (BJ): Q2 EPS of $0.61 beats by $0.04. Revenue of $2.65B in-line. [PR]
  • 6:54 AM India's Reliance ADA Group is looking for U.S. acquisitions in the mobile-content market, hoping to extend its U.S. foothold from movie screens to mobile phone screens. Leading U.S. player: Glu Mobile (GLUU).
  • 6:38 AM India's info-tech industry, once growing at 40% a year, is suffering from the global slowdown and rising competition from other low-cost countries. Industry leaders to watch: InfoSys Technologies (INFY), Wipro (WIT).
  • 6:32 AM Wachovia (WB) is selling $40M in troubled loans to a joint venture led by LandCap Partners. The loans have a book value of $75-80M.
  • 6:32 AM VeriFone (PAY) shares soar 34% in after-hours trading after the company forecast better-than-expected earnings for the next two quarters thanks to growth at its international operations.
  • 6:32 AM Heelys (HLYS) rejects a second unsolicited takeover bid from Skechers (SKX), saying the $142.8M ($5.25/share) offer is too low. Heelys' share price was $5.30 at Tuesday's close.
  • 6:31 AM Nokia (NOK) is teaming up with travel-info Lonely Planet Publications to sell maps and city guides accessible by mobile phone.
  • 6:30 AM U.K. bank Alliance & Leicester sold $747M of high-quality mortgage securities this week, a rare sign of life in that market. Bankers, however, say they are not expecting a turnaround anytime soon.
  • 6:29 AM Infosys Technologies (INFY), India's second largest software exporter, has seen its revenue growth slow but says it's not facing downward pressure on billing rates.
  • 4:59 AM According to Bob Diamond, Barclays' (BCS) president, the U.K. bank would consider buying a U.S. wealth management company but is not likely to bid for an investment bank.
  • 4:37 AM Toyota (TM) will cut its 2009 global sales target to 9.8M vehicles from 10.4M, due to slowing North America demand.
  • 4:24 AM Following a drop in prices, China's manufacturers - the world's largest copper consumers - may increase copper imports by as much as 60% from June.
  • 4:12 AM In an effort to increase food self-sufficiency, Japan may introduce a point system encouraging consumers to buy domestic produce. Japan is the largest net food importer in the world.
  • 3:59 AM India says the global food crisis may be ending as farmers plant more crops, helping stockpiles pull up from thirty-year lows. An end to the crisis could help countries like India cool inflation and ease trade barriers. (ETF: INP)
  • 3:46 AM China's yuan rises the most in three weeks after U.S. Treasury's Paulson urges for appreciation, which he says would help rein in Chinese inflation - and would deter Congress from introducing trade penalties.
  • 3:45 AM Credit-default swaps show Asia-Pacific default risk at a five-week high.
  • 3:45 AM Explaining yesterday's unchanged interest rate, BoJ cuts its economic assessment and says Japan's economy is sluggish for the first time in a decade.
  • 3:41 AM Asian stocks rise from a two-year low on speculation China could inject up to $58B into the economy to spur growth in the world's fastest growing economy.
  • 2:53 AM Asian markets are mostly up: Nikkei -0.1%. Hang Seng +2.2%. Shanghai +7.4%. BSE +0.5%.
  • 12:10 AM Notable earnings after Wednesday's close: BYI, CRM, JDSU, LTD, PVH, SMTC, SNPS
  • 12:05 AM Notable earnings before Wednesday's open: BJ, EV, MENT, ROST, STP
  • 12:00 AM Wednesday's economic calendar:
    7:00 MBA Mortgage Applications
    10:35 EIA Petroleum Status Report
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