Seeking Alpha

MARKET CURRENTS

  • 3:40 PM The loonie (FXC -0.3%) is overvalued by 5-10% given current levels of commodity prices, says BMO's Doug Porter, speaking at a Bloomberg conference on Canada. "We are literally getting hammered by prices in North America," says Enbridge (ENB) CEO Al Monaco at the same event. Comment! [Global & FX]
  • 3:34 PM Major hedge funds have suddenly turned bullish, reportedly buying massive amounts of OTC call options on the S&P 500 (SPY). The purchases have been large enough to send the VIX (VXX) higher even as stocks continue to gain. An important milestone - the implied volatility of S&P calls is now greater than that of puts, a true rarity since 2007. Comment!
  • 3:30 PM Shares of GameStop (GME -6%) trade lower after the Microsoft Xbox One is unveiled (I, II, III). The new gaming console won't be friendly to the used game business with the game disc mostly useless after the initial install. The system also appears to be another step toward cloud processing and storage, although not the giant leap some forecast. 1 Comment [Consumer]
  • 3:28 PM Shares of Pacific Ethanol (PEIX +20.2%) and BioFuel Energy (BIOF +11.5%) surge after the most recent EIA supply report shows ethanol stockpiles at 16.4M barrels in the week ended May 10, the lowest level since Dec. 2010. Production of ethanol also is at below-average levels for this time of year, Bloomberg data shows. Comment! [Energy, On the Move]
  • 3:26 PM JPMorgan Chase (JPM) declares $0.38/share quarterly dividend, 26% increase from prior dividend of $0.30. Forward yield 2.85%. For shareholders of record July 5. Payable July 31. Ex-div date July 3. (PR) Comment! [Dividends]
  • 3:22 PM Parexel (PRXL -0.4%) slips on a tepid Neutral initiation at ISI today. The firm says that despite the potential tailwinds, current valuation is already reflective of the market's enthusiasm for the stock, and most of the near term good news has already been baked-in. Comment! [Healthcare]
  • 3:16 PM Viad Corp (VVI) declares $0.10/share quarterly dividend, in line with previous. Forward yield 1.56%. For shareholders of record June 7. Payable July 1. Ex-div date June 5. (PR) Comment! [Dividends]
  • 3:00 PM On the hour: Dow +0.5%. 10-yr +0.08%. Euro +0.14% vs. dollar. Crude -0.8% to $96.16. Gold -0.76% to $1373.55. Comment!
  • 2:59 PM Battle back on: 19 retailers say they will opt out of a $7.25B settlement with Visa (V +0.2%) and MasterCard (MA +0.7%) over interchange fees and will consider additional legal action against the companies. The highly-anticipated move from the heavyweight retailers (WMT, GPS, COST, NKE) comes about a week before a court deadline in the case. Comment! [Consumer]
  • 2:56 PM A good deal of MetLife's (MET -0.9%) investor day presentation (webcast) (slides) focuses on limiting risk in variable annuities. The insurer's biggest lever to lower cost of equity capital, says CEO Steve Kandarian is addressing VA risk - among the steps is reducing VA sales ($28B in 2011 to $10B-$11B expected in 2013). The company also plans to merge 3 life insurance subsidiaries and one foreign reinsurer into a larger, well-capitalized, more transparent company that also satisfies Dodd-Frank rules. Comment! [Financials]
See more Market Currents »

STOCKTALKS

140 characters
Sign in to view StockTalks by people you follow
TOP ARTICLES4:41 AM ET SUNDAY NOV 25
DIA 1.19%
SPY 1.22%
QQQ 1.34%
GLD 1.31%

PORTFOLIO

Manage your portfolio with Seeking Alpha iPhone portfolio app »
SymbolPriceChg% Chg

Latest Portfolio Headlines

    Add Stocks
    SEE / EDIT DETAILED PORTFOLIO

    LATEST ARTICLES

    More Latest Articles »

    ALPHA-RICH IDEAS

    More Alpha-Rich Ideas »

    MACRO VIEW

    More Macro View »

    DIVIDENDS & INCOME

    More Dividends & Income »

    ETFs & PORTFOLIO STRATEGY

    More ETFs & Portfolio Strategy »

    INVESTING IDEAS

    More Investing Ideas »

    MARKET PERFORMANCE VIA ETFs

    WHERE TO GO NEXT...