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MARKET CURRENTS

  • 12:07 PM Caterpillar (CAT +1.2%) says its global machinery retail sales fell 9% in April, with a 20% drop in its Asia/Pacific segment and 18% drop in North America. Latin America was a bright spot in April, rising 28%. The surge in LatAm is encouraging, says Wells Fargo's Andrew Casey, especially when compared to last Aprils 12% increase. But, with demand in the other regions still contracting as heavily as they are, near-term hopes for CAT look dim regardless of how gangbusters the company is doing in South America. Comment! [Global & FX, On the Move]
  • 12:05 PM Royalty Pharma raises its offer for Elan (ELN +2.4%) to $12.50/share. Comment! [Healthcare, M&A]
  • 12:03 PM Range Resources (RRC +1%) and Rex Energy (REXX +3.5%) are both downgraded (I, II) to Hold from Buy at Stifel Nicolaus on valuation and a more cautious outlook on near-term natural gas markets. On RRC, while the firm says the strong set of Marcellus drilling locations, solid execution, and improving financial position warrant its highest premium valuation, it would not be aggressive buyers now. Comment! [Energy, Quick Ideas, On the Move]
  • 12:00 PM On the hour: Dow +0.18%. 10-yr -0.08%. Euro +0.24% vs. dollar. Crude +0.91% to $97.17. Gold +0.08% to $1365.75. Comment!
  • 11:58 AM Air T (AIRT) declares $0.30/share annual dividend. Forward yield 3.17%. For shareholders of record June 7. Payable June 28. Ex-div date June 5. (PR) Comment! [Dividends]
  • 11:56 AM First Financial Northwest. (FFNW) declares $0.04/share quarterly dividend. Forward yield 1.66%. For shareholders of record May 31. Payable July 14. Ex-div date May 29. The board authorized to repurchase 10% of the outstanding common stock. (PR) Comment! [Dividends]
  • 11:54 AM Maybe the best synthetic way to play the dramatic changes in Japan (yen down, stocks up) is U.S. ETF provider WisdomTree (WETF). It's up 2.5% today - pushing its YTD gain to nearly 125% - as its Japan Hedged Equity Fund (DXJ) moves past $10B in AUM. The once-tiny fund has received about $7B in inflows this year and now threatens EWJ ($12.26B AUM) for dominance in the Japan ETF space. Comment! [Financials, On the Move]
  • 11:54 AM Leap Wireless (LEAP -2%) slumps after Deutsche cuts shares to Sell while reiterating its $4 PT. The firm is worried about tougher prepaid competition from T-Mobile (via MetroPCS) and AT&T (via its new Aio prepaid brand), and a relatively high valuation (7.4x 2014E EV/EBITDA vs. 4.7x-7x for peers) in spite of "inferior growth prospects." Barclays launched coverage with an Underweight last Friday. Comment! [Tech, On the Move, Quick Ideas]
  • 11:53 AM National Oilwell Varco (NOV) declares $0.26/share quarterly dividend, 100% increase from prior dividend of $0.13. Forward yield 1.51%. For shareholders of record June 14. Payable June 28. Ex-div date June 12. (PR) Comment! [Dividends]
  • 11:49 AM Focus will shift to its Bakken assets after proposed changes at Hess (HES), but Raymond James analysts say any breakup value is priced in, and Occidental (OXY) offers a better opportunity for "future multiple re-rating via breakup." OXY, for a while embroiled in a tug of war for leadership, is talking about potential spinoffs now that CEO Steve Chazen has a firmer grip on the company. Comment! [Energy]
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TOP ARTICLES12:07 PM ET MONDAY MAY 20
DIA 0.27%
SPY 0.36%
QQQ 0.15%
GLD 2.37%
ETF Movers
EZM WisdomTree MidCap Earnings ETF 0.97%
BUND PIMCO Germany Bond Index ETF 0.74%

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