Seeking Alpha

MARKET CURRENTS

  • 8:23 PM Japan reports holding a net $3.19T in foreign assets at the end of 2011, hanging on to its position as the world's top creditor nation. The position marks a rise from 2010, which may also dampen expectations on China overtaking the Japanese as the number one creditor anytime soon. Comment! [Global & FX]
  • 8:04 PM Japanese utilities plan to increase fees for peak-hour electricity usage in an effort to head off possible power shortages this summer following the closure of the nation's nuclear power plants. Starting in June rates for some power plants will be four to six times higher during the peak hours of 1 p.m. and 4 p.m. than those for night time hours. 2 Comments [Global & FX, Energy]
  • 7:50 PM A former Yahoo (YHOO) executive and a former fund manager at Ameriprise Financial have pleaded guilty today to insider trading. Robert Kwok, formerly Yahoo's senior director of business management, and Reema Shah, formerly a mutual fund manager at Ameriprise Financial, agreed to settle civil charges with the SEC, in addition to guilty pleas on related criminal charges for which they will be sentenced later. Comment! [Tech, U.S. Economy]
  • 7:03 PM Of the four "concerns" the EU has about Google's (GOOG) business practices, the company has taken steps to address two of them, and a third - the transferring of AdWords campaigns to other search engines - is one rivals don't seem to be worried about. But the issue that worries competitors the most - the preferential placement given to links for Google services within its search results - is one the company hasn't yet addressed. Comment! [Tech]
  • 7:02 PM According to AOL (AOL) CEO Tim Armstrong, the company plans to continue to partner with Yahoo (YHOO), but says a merger between the two is unlikely. It's a rumor that has been discussed multiple time over the years, but Armstrong wants to maintain the option to tout the abilities of both companies individually. Comment! [Tech]
  • 6:54 PM Hampton Roads Bankshares (HMPR) is raising up to $95M through a combined $50M common stock private placement and a public rights offering at $0.70 per share. Shares -15.9% AH. 1 Comment [Financials]
  • 6:49 PM Microsoft (MSFT) has quietly launched a social networking site called So.cl. Rather than directly competing with Microsoft partner Facebook (FB) a la Google+, So.cl focuses on the sharing of searches and the aggregation/discovery of multimedia content. The launch comes shortly after Microsoft revamped Bing to provide deeper Facebook/Twitter integration. (previous) 4 Comments [Tech]
  • 6:29 PM A CIA report drives home the huge role smartphones will play in driving Internet usage in emerging markets. While nations such as India, Russia, and Indonesia have seen mobile penetration rates surge well above 50%, their Internet penetration rates remain mired below 20% (or in India's case, 10%). However, smartphone sales to emerging markets are soaring - particularly for Android (GOOG) devices - and that creates an opening for broader Internet adoption. 1 Comment [Tech]
  • 6:28 PM After Allscripts' (MDRX) CEO refused to resign, Healthcor, one of MDRX's largest shareholders, announces it's suing and seeking a proxy fight. 1 Comment [Healthcare]
  • 6:15 PM Russia objects to findings that show the country's oil production fell sharply from 10.37M bbl/day in December to 9.92M in March, sending it below Saudi Arabia in world rankings. Russia has been pumping hundreds of thousands of bbl/day more than Saudi Arabia and believes it can increase output Y/Y, Russia's Energy Ministry claims its own data show. Comment! [Energy, Global & FX]
See more Market Currents »

STOCKTALKS

140 characters
Sign in to view StockTalks by people you follow
DIA 1.21%
SPY 1.74%
QQQ 2.83%
GLD 0.07%

PORTFOLIO

SymbolPriceChg% Chg

Latest Portfolio Headlines

    Add Stocks
    SEE / EDIT DETAILED PORTFOLIO

    MARKET PERFORMANCE VIA ETFs