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Tuesday, February 9 2010  |  08:07 EDT  | 
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Market Currents Tuesday, August 26, 2008 Today's
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  • 05:54 PM ValueClick (VCLK) in an SEC filing said that it is launching a tender offer for up to 4.9 million employee stock options. The options, which were issued in 2007, are deeply out of the money. Comment!
  • 05:30 PM Ross Perot is back, and you can see and hear what he thinks at PerotCharts. Comment!
  • 05:04 PM "You only learn who has been swimming naked when the tide has turned." - Warren Buffett Comment!
  • 04:13 PM Assuming we limp through the rest of the summer, what happens after Labor Day? Historically, "September is the worst-performing month for the S&P," Credit Suisse says. Its average return is -0.57%. Comment!
  • 04:11 PM Oil +1.01% to 116.27. Gold +0.29% to 822.20. Comment!
  • 04:07 PM After a kiddie-rollercoaster day, markets end up pretty close to where they started: Dow +0.23% to 11412.30. S&P +0.36% to 1271.46. Nasdaq -0.15% to 2361.97. Comment!
  • 03:50 PM New cost-saving cutbacks at Citigroup (C) include canning offsite meetings, reducing color photocopies - and pre-approval on BlackBerrys (RIM). "It's not material, but a worthwhile exercise," one strategist says. Comment!
  • 03:38 PM Airlines (AMR, UAUA, CAL, DAL...) have breathed a collective sigh of relief at crude $30 off its peak. Next task: To extricate themselves from their hyper-dependence on oil prices. Comment!
  • 03:22 PM "It's a bit difficult to believe that confidence will improve further if the job market continues to weaken," strategist Matthew Carniol says of today's jump in Consumer Confidence. Comment!
  • 03:08 PM Pali's Rich Greenfield thinks News Corp. (NWS) has a winner in MySpace's revamped home-page. The new layout "has created a far more compelling advertising proposition for leading brand advertisers." Comment!
  • 03:01 PM Markets are largely unmoved by the Fed's preoccupation with inflation. Into the last hour, Dow -0.25%. S&P -0.18%. Nasdaq -0.76%. Comment!
  • 02:57 PM 117 banks are now on the FDIC's 'trouble list' - up from 90 in Q1. Assets are $78.3B, up from $28.6B, largely due to the inclusion of IndyMac. Comment!
  • 02:53 PM FOMC minutes are pretty clear where we're going from here: "Members generally anticipated that the next policy move would likely be a tightening," although the timing is still up in the air. Comment!
  • 02:43 PM FOMC minutes reveal the Fed's quite worried about inflation. "A number of participants worried about the possibility that core inflation might fail to moderate next year unless the stance of monetary policy was tightened sooner than currently anticipated by financial markets." Comment!
  • 02:26 PM All three major markets now in the red: Dow -0.21%. S&P -0.12%. Nasdaq -0.58%. Comment!
  • 02:15 PM Goldman says Japanese markets (EWJ) could fully recover by mid-2009. Still, Steven Towns notes, "while the perception of attractive value exists in Japan, the reality of realizing or unlocking this value remains elusive." Comment!
  • 02:03 PM The IMF notes dollar bulls continue to increase their bets the greenback will keep gaining against the euro, yen and pound. Comment!
  • 01:48 PM With a record $871B in bonds maturing through 2009, the U.S. finance industry will shell out $23B more in interest vs. a year ago due to the punitive corporate/Treasury yield spread. Comment!
  • 01:34 PM Claymore/Delta Global's Shipping Index ETF (SEA) becomes the first ETF to give investors dedicated access to global shipping. Comment!
  • 01:17 PM Morgan Stanley (MS) will help Verizon Wireless (VZ) sell overlapping assets as a result of its proposed merger with Alltel. Said assets could be worth $3-4B. Comment!
  • 12:59 PM Not so long ago, economists feared mass abandonment by nations who peg their currencies to the dollar. Now, after a modest comeback, the crisis appears over. "The peg is here to stay, no ifs or buts." Comment!
  • 12:54 PM Oil +0.99% to 116.25. Gold +0.76% to 826. Comment!
  • 12:50 PM Markets at lunchtime are giving back early gains. Dow +0.19%. S&P +0.3%. Nasdaq +0.03%. Comment!
  • 12:41 PM UBS (UBS) expects to cut its salary and bonus budget by a third to save $4B, as it adjusts to a reduced staff and shrinking income from many of its core businesses. Over 2,600 employees have left UBS in the past year, 12% of the total staff. Comment!
  • 12:23 PM Michael Shedlock asks: Is the China growth story coming unglued? Comment!
  • 12:04 PM Singapore's $130B SWF Temasek says the global credit crunch will continue to constrain economic growth for another 24 months. "It's not just subprime; it can affect credit cards and other asset classes." Comment!
  • 11:47 AM Ticketmaster (TKTM) says a record 6.8M tickets were sold globally for the Beijing Olympics. The company handled all domestic ticket sales, and plans to use this opportunity to expand into the young ticket-brokering market in China. Comment!
  • 11:32 AM Glowing news of Freddie Mac's $2B debt sale yesterday is suspect, at best, Across the Curve notes. Comment!
  • 11:18 AM Sources say Amazon (AMZN) plans to unveil a larger-screen model of its Kindle e-book reader in the coming months. The new model, aimed at students, is said to be significantly thinner and more stylish. Comment!
  • 11:02 AM Dallas Fed's Richard Fisher says U.S. growth could slow to zero, or turn negative in H2 - but he's more worried about persistent inflation. Comment!
  • 10:48 AM Darden Restaurants (DRI) is down 15%. It cut its 2009 outlook, saying its previous forecast was overly optimistic. Darden and its peers (RUTH, MSSR, RRGB...) are taking it on both cheeks: Higher food prices, and tighter-fisted diners. Comment!
  • 10:33 AM Sector ETF weakness: Solar– TAN -1.5%, Base Metals– DBB -1.2%, Agriculture– DBA -1.1%, Semis– SMH -0.9%, Industrials– XLI -0.9% Comment!
  • 10:32 AM Sector ETF strength: Gasoline– UGA +2.7%, Heating Oil– UHN +2.6%, Energy– XLE +2.4%, Oil Services– OIH +2.2%, Energy– IYE +2.2% Comment!
  • 10:30 AM Dow laggards: BA -1.7%, MCD -1.3%, GE -0.9%, IBM -0.9%, VZ -0.8% Comment!
  • 10:29 AM Dow leaders: XOM +1.3%, AIG +1.1%, DD +0.9%, MRK +0.8% Comment!
  • 10:25 AM Richmond Fed's Manufacturing Index holds steady at -16. Among the index's components, shipments were +10 to -13, new orders were -5 to -22, and jobs were -7 to -12. Optimism inched higher. Comment!
  • 10:13 AM Ofheo also notes the rate of home price declines slowed in Q2. Prices fell 1.4% from Q1 - less steep than the prior quarter's -1.7% - and fell 4.8% from last year. Director James Lockhart expects positive growth by Q4. (Also: S&P/Case-Shiller) Comment!
  • 10:09 AM Consumer Confidence improved in August. The Conference Board's index moved to 56.9 from 51.9, vs. 53 consensus. The economy remains stuck in neutral, but may show signs of improvement by early 2009. Comment!
  • 10:06 AM S&P/Case-Shiller says broad-based declines in U.S. home prices continue. Q2 prices fell a record 15.4% vs. a year ago. It does see the decline moderating, and a possible bottom in some regions. Comment!
  • 10:04 AM Markets still looking for direction. Dow -0.14%. S&P +0.22%. Nasdaq +0.09%. Comment!
  • 10:03 AM Crude rallies off a low of $112.36 to $117.89. Currently +1.63% to $117. Gold 0.00% to $825.80. Comment!
  • 09:45 AM Starbucks (SBUX) is looking for a jolt from the new Clover brewing system it will begin testing in Boston and Seattle. It hopes the sophisticated machine will help grab customers from its major competitor, Dunkin' Donuts. Comment!
  • 09:35 AM Redbook says U.S. retail sales fell 1.8% in the first three weeks of August vs. July but rose 1.5% vs. a year ago. Contrast with ICSC's retail sales, also released today. Comment!
  • 09:26 AM The Korea Development Bank may walk away from tentative merger talks with Lehman (LEH). The state-run bank is under pressure from government officials who feel the deal is too risky at a time when the priority is propping up the falling won. Comment!
  • 09:17 AM Futures are flat approaching the open. Dow +0.03%. S&P 0.00%. Nasdaq -0.09%. Crude +0.56% to $115.77. Gold -0.85% to $818.80. Comment!
  • 09:11 AM As of Monday's close markets priced in a 12% chance of a rate hike by the next FOMC meeting (Sept. 16); a 25% chance of a 25 bps hike by year-end; and 92% odds of a 50 bps raise by June 2009. Comment!
  • 09:03 AM ESPN (DIS) will pay an astonishing $2.25B over the next 15 years for TV rights to college basketball's Southeastern Conference [SEC], giving it all the SEC's content not already taken by CBS (CBS). So much for a conference network. Comment!
  • 08:57 AM Corinthian Colleges (COCO): FQ4 EPS of $0.11 beats by $0.02. Revenue of $274M (+18.3%) vs. $277M. Shares -4.3%. [PR] Comment!
  • 08:53 AM Bank Of Montreal (BMO), the first Canadian bank to report FQ3 earnings, says profits fell for the fifth straight quarter; EPS of C$1 failed to meet the C$1.20 consensus. Comment!
  • 08:47 AM Credit Suisse (CS) takes a $384M majority stake in AMF, a U.S. firm that provides capital for fund managers. The deal underscores CS's strength compared to ravaged rivals like UBS (UBS). Comment!
  • 08:38 AM Amazon (AMZN) acquires Shelfari, an online social network for book lovers. Amazon had helped fund the startup, and also owns a stake in LibraryThing, Shelfari's main rival. Comment!
  • 08:32 AM ICSC says retail sales were up 0.2% wk/wk and 2.3% from the same week last year. Falling gas prices continue to help prop up discretionary spending. Comment!
  • 08:16 AM American Eagle Outfitters (AEO): Q2 EPS of $0.29 beats by $0.01. Revenue of $689M (-2%) vs. $705.5M. Sees Q3 EPS of $0.31-0.36 vs. $0.39. Shares -6.2%. [PR] Comment!
  • 08:13 AM Legendary movie studio MGM (stakeholders: SNE, CMCSA) says it's "not for sale"; that there's "no asking price" for the company; and that it has hired Goldman (GS) to "explore enhancements to MGM's long-term capital structure," putting recent rumors to rest. Sort of. Comment!
  • 08:02 AM Regulators continue to put more struggling banks on probation, hoping it will force them to address their problems and avoid outright failure. More 'memorandums of understanding' have been issued YTD than in all of 2007. Comment!
  • 07:53 AM H1 profit more than doubled at Rio Tinto (RTP) on increased aluminum production and record high iron ore prices. Net income rose to $6.91B from $3.25B. Underlying earnings of $5.47B beat estimates of $5.15B. Comment!
  • 07:39 AM Chico's FAS (CHS): Q2 EPS of $0.04 beats by $0.01. Revenue of $405M (-7.1%) in-line. [PR] Comment!
  • 07:33 AM Equity futures float higher on oil weakness. Dow +0.3%. S&P +0.3%. Nasdaq +0.2%. Crude -1.8% to $113. Gold -1.4% to $814. Comment!
  • 07:32 AM Europe at midday: London -1.6%. Paris -0.4%. Frankfurt +0.02%. Comment!
  • 07:31 AM Asia markets closed mostly down. Nikkei -0.8% to 12,778. Hang Seng -0.2% to 21,056. Shanghai -2.6% to 2,350. BSE +0.3% to 14,493. Comment!
  • 07:12 AM Smithfield Foods (SFD): FQ1 EPS of -$0.02 beats by $0.02. Revenue of $3.14B (+20.1%) vs. $2.87B. [PR] Comment!
  • 07:09 AM Two separate investors from the Arab Gulf region have approached GM about a possible sale of its Hummer brand. A GM (GM) executive says such solutions "could be very realistic," but notes keeping the division is also a possibility. Comment!
  • 06:59 AM Shares of Teva Pharmaceutical (TEVA) gain 1.1% in Tel Aviv after a phase-III trial of its Parkison's drug Azilect shows patients who began treatment immediately saw significant improvement compared to those who started treatment nine months later. Comment!
  • 06:41 AM Big Lots (BIG): Q2 EPS of $0.32 beats by $0.05. Revenue of $1.11B (+1.9%) in-line. [PR] Comment!
  • 06:10 AM Q2 GDP fell 0.5% in Germany, the first contraction for Europe's biggest economy in almost four years. Q2 building investment fell 3.5%, while consumer spending was down 0.7%. Economists say they see no signs of a broad-based recovery in 2009. Comment!
  • 05:58 AM German business confidence fell to 94.8 in August - the lowest level since mid-2005 - from 97.5 in July. Economists expected a milder drop to 97.2. The euro's down 1.11% to $1.4575. Comment!
  • 05:42 AM London's FTSE 100 is down 2% after Societe Generale says U.K. 2009 GDP growth will be just 0.5-1.2%. The economy is "weakening rapidly and inflation is likely to peak in October, before collapsing in 2009," it says. BP -2.3%. RDS.A -3.4%. Comment!
  • 05:26 AM Looking to recover lost ground, Nokia (NOK) unveils the N79, N85 and N96 smartphones. They boast high-res screens, 5-megapixel cameras, and hefty prices. Comment!
  • 05:14 AM July U.K. mortgage approvals remain near their lowest in a decade, down 65% from a year ago. "It would be premature to think that the housing market will now start to recover, because overall approval activity continues to be very low," the BBA says. Comment!
  • 05:03 AM U.S. stock futures are flat. Crude -0.9% to $114.10. Gold -1% to $817.70. Comment!
  • 05:03 AM Markets in Europe are broadly lower in reaction to yesterday's U.S. drop. London -1.9% (it was closed Monday). Paris -0.9%. Frankfurt -0.4%. Comment!
  • 02:54 AM Asian markets are trading down: Nikkei -0.8%. Hang Seng -1.2%. Shanghai -3.0%. BSE -0.9%. Comment!
  • 12:10 AM Notable earnings after Tuesday's close: JCG Comment!
  • 12:05 AM Notable earnings before Tuesday's open: AEO, BIG, CHS, COCO, SFD Comment!
  • 12:00 AM Tuesday's economic calendar:
    7:45 ICSC Retail Store Sales
    8:55 Redbook Chain Store Sales
    9:00 S&P/Case-Shiller Home Price Index
    10:00 Consumer Confidence
    10:00 Ofheo House Price Index
    10:00 Richmond Fed's Manufacturing Index
    10:00 New Home Sales
    2:00 PM FOMC Minutes
    5:00 PM ABC Consumer Confidence Index Comment!
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