Here is a list of stocks which traded higher Tuesday November 10, 2009 on unusually higher volume. I will keep an eye on these stocks Wednesday to see if there is continued buying pushing the stocks higher. This method is just one of the ways I use to pick stocks to structure particular option trades. This post requires the knowledge of stock options. To learn more about the option strategies outlined in this post, risks, pricing, calculations, other strategies, and options in general, click here.

The table below shows the company, ticker, per share % increase, and volume increase (% increased compared to 50 day average). For your convenience I have ranked the stocks in order from greatest to least volume % change.

Instead of focusing on Warren Buffett and Burlington Northern (BNI) today, I am making a Buffett-like bet.

I have written about CNA Financial Corp. (CNA) in the past recommending a trade involving selling put options with a $7.50 strike. It was the biggest risk-reward trade I could find at the time. Turned out to be a good trade.

Q3 2009 Earnings Call

November 2, 2009; 10:00 am ET

Bullish Events:

1. July-2009 ISM manufacturing data posted 48.9 vs. consensus estimates of 46.5;
2. June-2009 Construction Spending improved to 0.3% vs. consensus estimates of -0.5%;
3. July-2009 motor vehicle sales rose 15% to 8.3mm annualized units vs. previous month’s 7.1mm; and
4. economists in the private sector, e.g. Alan Greenspan and notorious Dr. Doom aka Nouriel Roubini, are also seeing plausible light at the end of an economic tunnel of darkness.

Bearish Events: N/A

Q2 2009 Earnings Call

August 3, 2009 10:00 am ET

Loews Corp. (L – $27.50), sometimes referred to as a mini Berkshire Hathaway (BRK.A) (BRK.B), “is a diversified holding company rooted in the principles of value investing and focused on building long-term value as a means of generating wealth for our shareholders.” It is attractively priced and has provided long term shareholders with excellent returns. “Over the past 50 years, Loews has delivered annualized price appreciation of 16.10 %, versus 5.70% for the S&P 500 Index.” (Annual Report 2008)

As a contributor to Seeking Alpha, I feel a certain obligation to discuss one of my largest positions - Loews (NYSE:L). Barron's hightlights this company every six months or so - if you get a chance, I would recommend reading.

As a fan of Warren Buffett's, there are several characteristics I look for in a company, including:

Q1 2009 Earnings Call

May 4, 2009 10:00 am ET

Loews (L) is the closest company I can find to Berkshire Hathaway (BRK.A). I base this comparison on the following:

1. Both are conglomerates
2. Both companies take advantage of float
3. Both companies have well respected managers that look for value opportunities
4. Beyond insurance, both companies are in the gas pipeline business

Loews is a company that basically owns: 90% of CNA Insurance (CNA), 50% of Diamond Offshore, 70% of Boardwalk Pipeline (BWP), 100% of Highmount Energy and 100% of Loews Hotels.

CNA Financial Corporation (CNA) is a property and casualty insurer that trades for around $10 per share. At the $10 per share price, the market capitalization is under $3 billion.

Here is what I find interesting:

Q4 2008 Earnings Call

February 9, 2009 10:00 am ET

• Geithner, Obama wait for Senate stimulus. Obama has postponed unveiling his financial recovery plan until tomorrow to allow Congress to give its full attention to the stimulus debate today. Obama stressed the importance of rapid passage in the Senate, and then rapid merger between the House and Senate versions of the bill. Economic adviser Lawrence Summers added "ninety percent of these bills are essentially overlapping" and urged lawmakers not to focus on "the bit of difference." Senate Democrats expressed confidence they can push for a vote on the amended $827B stimulus bill, and will likely do so today. Tomorrow, Treasury's Geithner will announce the administration's plans for the second half of TARP funds, plans that are expected to include efforts to draw private investment back into the economy, as well as help for homeowners.
• No sun at Nissan. Hurting from slumping demand and a strengthening Yen, Nissan (NSANY) said it will cut 20,000 jobs, or 9% of its workforce, will cut production and will post its first loss in nine years. It also eliminated its H2 dividend, may shorten its work week to four days and is seeking a U.S. federal loan under a program for fuel-efficient autos. The company is forecasting a net loss of ¥265B ($2.91B) for the fiscal year ending March 31, compared with earlier forecasts for a ¥160B net income. Sales in the U.S., Nissan's biggest market, fell 31% in January, as CEO Carlos Ghosn warned "our worst assumptions on the state of the global economy have been met or exceeded." He cited declining consumer confidence and tight credit as "the most damaging factors." Shares closed -5.8% in Japan.
• Forced bankruptcy possible for GM, Chrysler. The U.S. government has hired a law firm with bankruptcy expertise to provide advice on how to restructure General Motors (GM) and Chrysler. The two carmakers may have to be forced into bankruptcy to assure repayment of $17.4B in government loans, as U.S. taxpayers currently take a back seat to prior creditors including Citigroup (C), JPMorgan Chase (JPM) and Goldman Sachs (GS). Federal officials are working to change their place in line for repayment, but failing to do so, could make bankruptcy a requirement of any additional aid.
• Mortgage rescues on the way? Sources say the Obama administration is creating a mortgage-rescue program that would have Fannie Mae (FNM) and Freddie Mac (FRE) ease payments for hundreds of thousands of borrowers, creating a model for Wall Street firms to replicate. Officials were working with Fannie and Freddie to agree on standards for who would be eligible for relief and how to get other companies to follow suit with similar plans. Industry sources say efforts thus far by Fannie and Freddie to rewrite home loans have been a disappointment, while officials in Obama's administration believe as many as 1.5M people could remain in their homes this year if their loans were modified.
• Barclays beats consensus. Barclays' (BCS) H2 profit rose by more than analysts expected, buoyed by one-off gains from the purchase of Lehman assets and the sale of an insurance unit. Net income rose to £2.66B ($3.9B), up 49% from the year before, vs. analyst estimates of £2.05B. For the full year, net income declined less than 1% to £4.38B. Barclays will scrap 2008's final dividend to help the bank meet new capital requirements in the U.K. The bank reported its results more than a week ahead of schedule in an attempt to clamp down on losses speculation that has pushed down the company's share price. Shares +9.5% premarket (7:00 ET).
• Swiss banks set for heavy losses. According to Swiss media reports, UBS (UBS) and Credit Suisse (CS) will post massive 2008 losses of 21B Swiss francs ($18B) and 8B Swiss francs ($6.9B). UBS is expected to announce the loss tomorrow, and if reports are correct it will mark the largest loss in Swiss history. UBS will also announce 5,000-8,000 new job cuts in addition to the 9,000 cuts already planned. Credit Suisse will announce its annual results on Wednesday.
• Rio loses its director. Rio Tinto (RTP) director Jim Leng has quit and will not become chairman as previously planned after objecting to a deal with top shareholder Chinalco (ACH). Leng disagreed with how to cut Rio's heavy debt load of around $39B, after the company held talks last week with Chinalco about selling it convertible notes and stakes in some assets. Leng was named as Rio's next chairman less than a month ago. Rio shares -6.9% premarket (7:00 ET).
• Using the D-word. The world's advanced economies are "already in depression," at least according to IMF chief Dominique Strauss-Kahn. The "worst cannot be ruled out," he said, adding that the IMF could further cut its global growth forecasts. Strauss-Kahn's remarks are markedly more pessimistic than IMF forecasts released as recently as Jan. 28.

Earnings: Monday Before Open

• AGCO (AG): Q4 EPS of $1.08 beats by $0.07. Revenue of $2.16B (-0.6%) vs. $2.36B. (PR)
• Alexandria Real Estate Equities (ARE): Q4 EPS of $1.55 in-line. Revenue of $127M (+17.6%) vs. $114M. (PR)
• Beazer (BZH): FQ1 EPS of -$2.08 misses by $0.25. Revenue of $232.4M (-53.6%) vs. $273.1M. (PR)
• Energy Conversion Devices (ENER): FQ2 EPS of $0.33 beats by $0.02. Revenue of $103M (+82.8%) vs. $102M. (PR)
• Hasbro (HAS): Q4 EPS of $0.62 misses by $0.13. Revenue of $1.23B (-5.1%) vs. $1.27B. (PR)
• Hewitt Associates (HEW): FQ1 EPS of $0.68 beats by $0.08. Revenue of $771M (-2.9%) vs. $807M. (PR)
• Loews (L): Q4 loss of $958M ($2.20/share) including $754M in writedowns on its HighMount Exploration business and a $283M loss on its 90% stake in CNA Financial (CNA). Revenue fell 23% to $2.74B. (PR)
• NYSE Euronext (NYX): Q4 EPS of $0.52 misses by $0.03. Revenue of $1.2B (+20.8%) in-line. (PR)
• Rohm and Haas Company (ROH): Q4 EPS of $0.67 beats by $0.02. Revenue of $2.0B (-13.4%) vs. $2.3B. (PR)
• Sohu.com (SOHU): Q4 EPS of $1.35 beats by $0.19. Revenue of $121.6M (+86.2%) vs. $121M. (PR)
• Whirlpool (WHR): Q4 EPS of $0.60 misses by $0.18. Revenue of $4.3B (-19.0%) vs. $4.9B. (PR)
• W.R. Berkley (WRB): Q4 EPS of $0.62 misses by $0.16. Revenue of $1.1B (-22.9%) vs. $1.2B. (PR)

Today's Markets

• Asia markets closed mostly up. Nikkei -1.3% to 7,969. Hang Seng +0.8% to 13,769. Shanghai +2.0% to 2,225. BSE +3.0% to 9,584.
• In Europe at midday, London +1.15%. Paris -0.2%. Frankfurt -0.1%.
• U.S. futures: Dow -0.7%. S&P -0.8%. Nasdaq -0.4%. Crude +0.4% to $40.33. Gold -1.1% to $904.40.

Monday's Economic Calendar

• 8:45 Fed's Fisher speaks about the global financial crisis
  8:00 PM Obama speaks about his economic recovery plan
• Notable earnings before Monday's open: AG, ARE, BZH, ENER, HAS, HEW, LO, NYX, ROH, SOHU, WHR, WRB
• Notable earnings after Monday's close: AXS, CPT, CRK, CRL, CUZ, GNW, LNC, NUAN, PEG, PLD, PPDI, TWTC, UDR, VMC

Seeking Alpha editor Eli Hoffmann contributed to this post.

At the end of each trading week, Hillbent scans the market for extremely overbought stocks with a proprietary "E" (weakest) or "D" (next weakest) ranking in terms of negative fundamentals for revenue and earnings stability. The generated result is better known as the "Weekly Dogs With Fleas" watchlist.

Past observations have revealed that such candidates may experience reversal corrections to the downside once the market reconfirms that their fundamentals remain relatively poor.

The government and the FDIC is trying to support the housing market by offering loan modifications for delinquent borrowers. If you can pay your mortgage, no help for you... Good behavior punished for the greater good of fewer foreclosures and a supported housing market...

Q3 FY08 Earnings Call

October 27, 2008, 10:00 AM ET

I thought it would be interesting to take a look at what a Lehman (LEH) take-over would imply for the valuation of financials.

I ran a screen for financials with market caps above $900m that trade in the US and trade below current book value. I then removed some of the more obscure names to narrow down the list and make it more succinct.

Quotes Of The Day 

“Credit quality across many loan classes has begun to deteriorate with declining house prices and slowing economic growth.” - The IMF’s latest Global Financial Stability Report Market Update. The IMF said that despite capital raising by financials, balance sheets are still under stress and equity prices have falled sharply. (Housing Wire, July 28^th)

Q2 FY08 Earnings Call

July 28, 2008, 10:00 AM ET

Both the property and casualty [P&C] insurers and the reinsurers are getting cheap. 

I ran a screen of 26 P&C insurers and reinsurers.  These are the price to book and price to tangible book values of the companies.

Q1 FY08 Earnings Call

April 28, 2008, 10:00 AM ET