We've got a flurry of SEC filings from Philip Falcone's hedge fund Harbinger Capital Partners. While the update below covers its U.S. equity positions, we just this morning updated its UK holdings for those interested. That aside, let's dive right into the U.S. equity filings:

Firstly, Harbinger has filed an amended 13D on Leap Wireless (LEAP) and is now showing a 5.7% ownership stake with 4,451,100 shares. The filing was made due to activity on September 16th, 2009. It shows them selling shares on the 29th and 30th of July, as well as the 16th and 17th of September. The transactions occurred in Harbinger's Master Fund and Special Situations Fund and here is a screenshot of its sales:

In an SEC filing made due to activity on August 28th, 2009, Philip Falcone's hedge fund firm Harbinger Capital Partners has disclosed a 42% ownership stake in Spectrum Brands (SPC). Its 13D shows that Harbinger now own 12,604,216 shares.

This filing is interesting because it details how SPEB filed for reorganization relief under Chapter 11 bankruptcy back in February. Then just recently, back in late August the plan became active. When this occurred, SPEB's old common stock and its various notes (some of which Harbinger owned) were deemed surrendered and exchanged for an aggregate of 11,405,281 shares to Harbinger. SPEB then issued an additional 2,970,000 shares to participants in a supplemental loan to the issuer in consideration for their participation.

We've got two portfolio adjustments to cover regarding the holdings of quant focused D.E. Shaw & Co. Firstly, in a 13G filed with the SEC, David E. Shaw's hedge fund firm has disclosed a 5.1% ownership stake in Priceline.com (PCLN). Shaw now owns 2,096,755 shares and the filing was made due to activity on August 31st, 2009. The fund has boosted its stake in this name because as of June 30th, 2009 (Shaw's 13F filing), it owned 336,302 shares of common stock as well as 411,100 shares represented by Calls in options markets. Additionally, Shaw also owned 202,000 shares worth of Puts on PCLN. So, in the last 3 months, the hedge fund has certainly boosted its holdings and has acquired a sizable stake. This is interesting to see mainly because numerous other prominent hedge funds we track have entered large positions in Priceline.

Secondly, we see that D.E. Shaw & Co has filed a 13G on Spectrum Brands (SPC) as well. The hedge fund now shows a 14% ownership stake with 4,201,138 shares. In addition to the 13G, Shaw also filed a Form 4 to show that its current share tally was achieved by selling 25,000 shares at $23 per share and selling 40,000 shares at $22.40 per share, with both transactions taking place on the 3rd of September. While Shaw sold a few shares, it still obviously has a large stake left. Shares of SPEB trade on the OTC Bulletin Board.

This is the 1st Quarter 2009 edition of our ongoing hedge fund portfolio tracking series. Before reading this update, make sure you check out the Hedge Fund 13F filings series preface.

Harbinger Capital Partners is a $6 billion firm ran by Philip Falcone. Harbinger was started in 2000 with seed capital from Harbert Management ($25 million). We've learned that Falcone is buying out Harbert to be the owner of the firm. Falcone made a name for himself in 2007 when he started shorting subprime mortgages and returned 117%. He focuses on intensive credit research, on bankruptcies and proxy fights, and was previously involved with high yield debt trading. Lately, he's been focused on equities it seems, but Harbinger's new fund will redirect his focus back to his roots.

After providing several hundred billion in second liens and other subordinated tranches to some of the worst companies in existence over the past 5 years, a result of a complete lack of investing discipline which nearly brought parent General Electic (GE) down, GE Capital Corp. is back in the game, and this time it plans to win it. Bankrupt commodity product rollup extraordinaire Spectrum Brands (SPC) (provider of such deflation worthless products as Remington shavers and Rayovac batteries) announced it has secured a $242 million exit financing as part of its emergence into a "normal" company, with none other than perma-glutton for punishment, GE Capital.

The company went bankrupt after several Goldman led refies in 2007 straddled it with over $4 billion in debt. One can bet that Goldman syndicated any exposure faster than you can say Lllloyd: Zero Hedge would not be surprised if it was GE Capital itself that ended up being on the receiving end of the soon to be worthless paper.

This is the 4th Quarter 2008 edition of our ongoing hedge fund portfolio tracking series. Before reading this update, make sure you check out the Hedge Fund 13F filings preface.

Next up, we have Harbinger Capital, a $13 Billion firm ran by Philip Falcone. Harbinger was started in 2000 with seed capital from Harbert Management ($25 million). And, just recently, we've learned that Falcone is buying out Harbert to be the owner of the firm. Falcone made a name for himself in 2007 when he started shorting subprime mortgages and returned 117%. He focuses on intensive credit research, on bankruptcies and proxy fights, and was previously involved with high yield debt trading. Lately, Falcone has been focused on equities it seems, but Harbinger's new fund will redirect Falcone's focus back to his roots.

The answer is a simple yes and no.

Economists seem split on this Great Recession. The median consensus seems to be that the Great Recession will end late this year. As we all know, a recession ends when the economy stops falling – not when we recover.

F4Q08 Earnings Call

November 11, 2008 4:30 pm ET

• Little progress on Big Three bailout. House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, arguing General Motors (GM) is too big to fail, urges 'immediate action' to help automakers, but faces resistant Republicans and a noncommittal White House. Pelosi wants to include automakers in TARP, but without bipartisan support, the measure is unlikely to pass until a new congressional session begins in January. The Treasury too has been hesitant to aid automakers, concerned that expanding a rescue to include non-financial companies would raise expectations of assistance from other industries facing a slowdown. Meanwhile, General Motors' (GM) shares sank to their lowest levels in 65 years as the company warned it may run out of operating cash by the end of the year.
• Help for homeowners. The Federal Housing Finance Agency, the regulator for Fannie Mae (FNM) and Freddie Mac (FRE), unveiled plans yesterday to stem foreclosures by easing mortgage payments for potentially over 400,000 homeowners. Homeowners spending more than 38% of their income on mortgage payments and delinquent by 90 days or more could be eligible to have their mortgage rate cut, the life of their loans extended or their principal reduced. FDIC's Sheila Bair said the measure is 'a step in the right direction, but falls short of what is needed,' arguing the Fannie/Freddie focus is too narrow and ignores the 60% of seriously delinquent mortgages held by Wall Street firms and other investors. MBA Chief Economist Jay Brinkmann says a 50% success rate in the loan modification program would be 'a good result.'
• Banks win with AIG's new terms. Many banks that had bought protection from AIG (AIG) on mortgage-backed securities will be able to recoup their investments under AIG's revised rescue which will see a new facility buy around $70B of these securities. Companies that had previously sought and received collateral from AIG (including GS, MER, UBS, DB), much of which came when AIG received government funds in September, will be able to keep their collateral. Banks which participate in selling securities to the new facility will be compensated for the full, or par, value. "It's like a home run for some of the banks," says Carlos Mendez of ICP Capital. "They bought insurance from a company that ran into trouble and still managed to get all, or most, of their money back."
• AmEx looks to TARP. Sources say American Express (AXP), which just this week received approval to become a bank holding company, is requesting $3.5B in federal aid under TARP. The card issuer has not been directly impacted by the housing crisis, but faces slowing consumer spending and rising defaults. The TARP funds would allow AmEx greater flexibility in funding its operations while it deals with the market downturn. AmEx has not announced its application for aid, and federal regulators won't disclose which companies have been approved or denied for assistance.
• Changing TARP on the fly. The Treasury is considering adding a private enterprise element to TARP, say sources familiar with the matter, which would require firms to raise private capital in order to qualify for public assistance. The condition would probably not apply to the existing $250B capital repurchase program, but may become relevant for future capital investments. The same sources said the Treasury is unlikely to conduct auctions to buy troubled assets, as originally intended under TARP, and instead will continue to inject capital directly into the financial sector. These modifications could be officially announced as early as today.
• Fed wants clearinghouse role. As pressure mounts to build a central credit-default swaps clearinghouse, the Federal Reserve is angling to become its lead regulator. Sources involved in private talks between the Fed, the SEC, the Treasury and the Commodity Futures Trading Commission said the agencies discussed a memorandum that would outline clearinghouse oversight, and a regulatory structure announcement could come by the end of the week. CME Group (CME), which is competing with Intercontinental Exchange of Atlanta (ICE) and NYSE Euronext (NYX) to create a system, says it is open to Fed oversight.
• Execs want more regulation and less. A survey released earlier today shows over 75% of company executives believe credit-rating agencies must be regulated. The survey also showed support for lifting global bans on short-selling, as well as for beefing up supervision of hedge funds and structured-finance products. Respondents were divided on the need for a global financial regulator. The survey was timed for this weekend's G-20 summit in the hopes that global leaders will consider the opinions of business executives before enacting broad regulations.
• Microsoft's Verizon grab. Microsoft (MSFT) is nearing a deal to become the default search provider for Verizon Wireless' (VZ) mobile phones. A successful deal would be a slap in the face to rival Google (GOOG), which has been in negotiations with Verizon for months. Under its current offer, Microsoft would share ad revenue with Verizon and would guarantee payments of $550-$650M over five years, roughly twice Google's offer. Verizon is still in discussions with Google, but sources say Microsoft's offer is favored.
• If at first you don't succeed, try a hostile bid. After its $6.1B takeover bid was rejected earlier this week, Exelon (EXC) launches a hostile bid for NRG Energy (NRG). Exelon will take its offer directly to shareholders, will file a lawsuit against NRG and its directors and will try to nominate its own directors to the board. NRG had rejected the original bid after arguing it undervalued the company and pointing to Exelon's recent credit downgrade, but had left the door open to a higher bid which would include debt refinancing. NRG advised shareholders not to take any action while it reviews the proposed exchange offer.
• Hedge funds get clobbered. Hedge funds lost an average 5.52% in October, the fifth consecutive down month. The average hedge fund has lost 15.3% in 2008 so far, putting the industry on track for its worst year ever. October was an especially bad month as hedge funds were forced to sell assets at sharply reduced prices to cover redemption requests. Many investors are shocked by the size of the losses after being promised by money managers that their funds could make money in any market.
• Recession metrics. A survey of economists says the current U.S. slowdown will be the longest in three decades, and the drop in consumer spending could be the worst ever. The respondents expect the economy to shrink an annualized 3% in Q4 after 'the economy fell off a cliff in October' and for growth to decline at a 1.5% pace in Q1 2009. The odds of an official contraction occurring within the next twelve months rose to 100%.
• Confidence rises. Consumer confidence roared back in November. The IBD/TIPP Economic Index jumped 23.6% – the biggest one-month increase in the index's eight-year history - to reach 50.8. Any readings above 50 indicate optimism, and the index showed gains in all three of its key components. Confidence improved on falling gas prices, the government's economic rescue plans and possibly on hope connected to the U.S. presidential election.
• Chain store sales. In the slowest weekly growth since April, chain store sales rose 0.4% last week vs. a year ago, and fell 1.0% vs. the week before, ICSC says. Consumers continued to buy everyday items but scaled back on other purchases. Redbook reported national chain store sales fell 1.2% in the first week of November vs. the previous month and fell 1% vs. a year ago.

Earnings: Wednesday Before Open

• ING Group (ING): Confirms a Q3 loss of €478M following "steep declines in equity markets, widening credit spreads, declining property prices and the failure of several banks." Consensus was for -€499.50. "Markets continue to be turbulent, so we expect pressure on asset prices to continue to impact results in the fourth quarter," chairman Michel Tilmant said, "while weakening economic conditions will put pressure on results into 2009." Shares +2.1% in Amsterdam. (PR)
• JA Solar Holdings (JASO): Q3 EPS of $0.26 misses by $0.01. Revenue of $312M (+149.4%) vs. $304M. (PR)

Earnings: Tuesday After Close

• Spectrum Brands (SPC): FQ4 EPS of $0.06 misses by $0.09. Revenue of $706M (+7.2%) vs. $685M. (PR)
• Hologic (HOLX): FQ4 EPS of $0.30 in-line. Revenue of $442M (+118.4%) in-line. Sees 2009 EPS of $1.22-1.24 vs. $1.30. (PR)
• Petrobras (PBR): Q3 net income of R$10.85B, up 96% from a year ago. Total production +6% from a year ago and +2% from last quarter. (.pdf)
• Intrepid Potash (IPI): Q3 EPS of $0.66 misses by $0.07. Revenue of $146M (+176.6%) vs. $143M. (PR)

Today's Markets

• Asia markets closed mostly down. Nikkei -1.3% to 8,695. Hang Seng -0.7% to 13,939. Shanghai +0.8% to 1,859. BSE -3.1% to 9,536.
• In Europe at midday, London +1.4%. Paris +1.2%. Frankfurt +0.7%.
• U.S. futures: Dow +0.7%. S&P +0.8%. Nasdaq +0.3%. Crude -1.7% to $58.33. Gold +0.04% to $733.10.

Wednesday's Economic Calendar

• 7:00 MBA Mortgage Applications
  10:30 Treasury Secretary Paulson to give update on the financial rescue package
  11:00 Fed's Donald Kohn Speaks on Financial Services
  1:00 PM Fed's Stern Speaks in Minneapolis
• Notable earnings before Wednesday's open: DSX, JASO, M
• Notable earnings after Wednesday's close: AMAT, CROX, CSC, GA, NTAP, NTES, SINA

Seeking Alpha editor Eli Hoffmann contributed to this post.

F3Q08 Earnings Call

August 7, 2008 5:00 pm ET

• Citigroup, Merill Lynch buy back $17B in ARSs; UBS may be next. As part of a settlement with state and federal regulators, Citigroup (C) agreed Thursday to buy back $7.3B of illiquid auction-rate securities that it marketed to clients as being as safe as cash. Hours later, Merill Lynch (MER) announced a buy-back plan for up to $10B in similar securities. Other banks are likely to follow suit as more than 20 banks and brokerage firms are under investigation by the SEC over auction-rate securities, including Bank of America (BAC), Goldman Sachs (GS), Lehman Brothers (LEH), JPMorgan Chase (JPM), Morgan Stanley (MS), Wachovia (WB), and UBS (UBS). UBS may be close to reaching a settlement that could cover as much as $25B in ARS. Update: Boston Globe reports UBS has agreed to repurchase $19.4B in ARS, and will pay $150M in fines.
• DreamWorks nears deal to leave Viacom. Amid rising tensions between Steven Spielberg's DreamWorks (DWA) and Viacom's (VIA) Paramount, DreamWorks is nearing a deal with an outside investor that would allow it to split from Paramount as early as November. The $550M investment deal with Indian billionaire Anil Ambani could be reached as soon as next week. The studio would then borrow $400M, and will not need any more outside equity. A new distributor, possibly General Electric's (GE) Universal Pictures, would release DreamWorks films.
• MBIA posts gain on CDS hedges. MBIA returns to profitability, pulling in $3.32B in unrealized hedging gains. MBIA also restarted a $340M share-repurchase program it suspended a year ago. CEO Jay Brown said that while "the rest of this year, and perhaps next, will be bumpy" until credit markets stabilize, "MBIA has the resources to meet whatever challenges may lie ahead." Shares are up 8.4% premarket.
After you finish reading Wall Street BreakfastSeeking Alpha's Market Currentswill keep you current all day long.
• Downgrade threat socks Amex. Shares of American Express (AXP) fell 4.2% after Moody's placed the company's long-term debt rating under review for a possible downgrade. Losses from soured credit-card loans could see its A1 rating drop one level, Moody's said, affecting $89B in securities and deposits. It noted AXP is particularly prone to loan losses in U.S. areas hardest hit by home price declines. Shares are off 30% YTD.
• Airplane problem can't be taken sitting down. Having battled with complex assembly issues that have delayed their upcoming jets, Airbus and Boeing (BA) are now being saddled by a shortage of mundane items like as seats, toilets and galleys, WSJ says. The two say that companies manufacturing such equipment are frequently small, and unable to quickly ramp up production as demand picks up as it did over the past two years.
• July retail sales disappoint. Discounters were the bright spot in July same-store sales that generally fell short of expectations. Sales were hurt by weak consumer confidence as stimulus-check spending winds down. Teen retailers' sales were notably weak. "The July results and the August outlook indicate that most kids will be returning to school in last year's duds," Lazard's Todd Slater says. (Table: how retailers fared)
• DB's gamble. Deutsche Bank (DB) foreclosed on Ian Bruce Eichner's $3.5B Vegas casino. MGM (MGM) or Hilton may help run it. "No doubt the banks will take on more homes, casinos and even ski resorts before this is over," KBW's Matthew Clark says.
• Ethanol mandate stays. The EPA refused the State of Texas's request to rescind the federal mandate for ethanol use in gasoline, driving crude down and corn prices up. Ethanol producer Pacific Ethanol (PEIX) gained 12.2%, while Pilgrim's Pride (PPC), a major force behind the move to defeat the mandate, fell 8.4%.
• The euro fell through critical support at $1.52, and is now down 1.3% to $1.5096. Nybot's dollar index +1.19% in overnight trade. Evidence is mounting that non-U.S. economies are in equally bad shape - giving the greenback a boost. Also, the yen carry trade continues to unwind.
• Jobless Claims climbed to 455,000 vs. 425,000 consensus. Last week: 448K. 4-week moving average jumps 26,750 to 419,500. One factor that may be distorting jobless claims, S&P economist David Wyss says, is the extended benefits program that caused many to drop out and then reapply. Of course, they would have previously skewed jobless claims the other way.
• Pending Home Sales rose 5.3% from May to June, the biggest jump since last October, but remain 12.3% lower than a year ago. "With a tax credit now available to first-time home buyers, increases in home sales could be sustained with the momentum carrying into 2009," NAR's Lawrence Yun says. The downside of stronger-than-expected pending home sales: "I think a lot of the increase has to do with foreclosure sales, which are selling at quicker pace and have a faster turnaround time," Lehman economist Michelle Meyer says.
• EIA Natural Gas storage was up 56 billion cubic feet (Bcf) to 2,517 Bcf, less than the +62 Bcf consensus. Stocks are down 353 Bcf from a year ago.
• China's Shanghai Composite dove 4.5% to 2,606 on Friday. Investors had expected Beijing would do something to prop up markets - down 50% YTD - ahead of the Games. Disappointed, they seem to have taken their money and go home.

Earnings: Friday Before Open

• AES (AES): Q2 EPS of $0.27 misses by $0.03. Revenue of $4.15B (+24.1%) vs. $3.38B. [PR]
• Beazer (BZH): FQ3 EPS of -$2.85 misses by $0.51. Revenue of $456M (-39.5%) vs. $430M. [PR]
• Fannie Mae (FNM): Q2 EPS of -$2.54 vs. consensus of -$0.69. Revenue of $3.96B (+45.8%) vs. $3.4B. Shares -18%. [PR]
• MBIA (MBI): Q2 EPS of $0.96 vs. consensus of -$1.37. Revenue of $3.29B vs. $389M. [PR]

Earnings: Thursday After Close

• CROCS (CROX): Q2 EPS of $0.06 beats by $0.01. Revenue of $223M (-0.7%) vs. $219M. [PR]
• Clearwire (CLWR): Q2 EPS of -$1.21 misses by $0.20. Revenue of $58.6M (+65.1%) vs. $54.2M. [PR]
• Heelys (HLYS): Q2 EPS of -$0.01 misses by $0.03. Revenue of $18.2M (-75.5%) vs. $24.5M. [PR]
• Jones Soda (JSDA): Q2 EPS of -$0.10 misses by $0.03. Revenue of $14M (+5.6%) vs. $14.4M. [PR]
• Live Nation (LYV): Q2 EPS of $0.02 beats by $0.22. Revenue of $1.16B vs. $1.05B. [PR]
• Spectrum Brands (SPC): FQ3 EPS of $0.06 vs. consensus of $0.25. Revenue of $730M (+10.5%) vs. $694M. [PR]

Today's Markets

• Asia markets were mixed Friday, while Shanghai dropped sharply (see above). Nikkei +0.33% to 13,168. Hang Seng -0.99% to 21,885. Shanghai -4.47% to 2,606. BSE +0.33% to 15,168.
• Europe: London is flat at midday. Paris +0.6%. Frankfurt +0.2%.
• U.S. equity futures are higher at 7:00. Dow +0.29%. S&P +0.32%. Nasdaq +0.33%.
• Crude -2.03% to $117.58. Gold -1.09% to $868.20.
• Friday's economic calendar:
  8:30 Productivity and Costs
  10:00 Wholesale Inventories
• Notable earnings before Friday's open: AYR, CCOI, CDE, EIX, FNM, IAG, LPNT, MBI, UFS, WIN, WR

Seeking Alpha editor Rachael Granby contributed to this post.

Spectrum Brands, Inc. (SPC)

F2Q08 Earnings Call

• UBS swings to loss. UBS (UBS) reported a Q1 net loss of 11.535 billion Swiss francs ($11B). It said markets remain challenging, but that it would not need to raise more capital. UBS plans to cut about 5,500 jobs by mid-2009, including a 26% reduction in the size of its fixed-income unit. UBS said it is selling $15B in Alt-A mortgage-backed assets to BlackRock (BLK). Shares fell 4.3% in early Zurich trading.
• Miller: Microsoft isn't finished. Legg Mason's (LM) Bill Miller thinks Microsoft (MSFT) will come back to the table with another offer for Yahoo (YHOO). "I'm more puzzled by Microsoft's not going up to $37 than Yahoo's wanting to walk away," he said. Legg Mason is Yahoo's second largest stakeholder. Other shareholders were less generous in their assesment of Yahoo chief Jerry Yang, who said yesterday he's still open to a higher offer from Microsoft. Yahoo shares fell 15% yesterday to $24.37. Microsoft was up down 0.55% to $29.08.
• Microsoft, AOL talking. Sources say Microsoft (MSFT) is in preliminary talks with Time Warner (TWX) about buying AOL after abandoning its $47.5B Yahoo (YHOO) bid. Meanwhile Yahoo continues to negotiate with AOL about a possible merger.
• Vodafone customers to get iPhone option. Vodafone (VOD) will sell Apple's (AAPL) iPhone in ten markets: Australia, the Czech Republic, Egypt, Greece, Italy, India, Portugal, New Zealand, South Africa and Turkey. Media reports say Telecom Italia (TI) will bring the iPhone to Italy later this year.
• BofA to stay the course with Countrywide. Sources say Bank of America (BAC) plans to acquire Countrywide (CFC) without trying to reduce its $4.1B.
• Drug failure sparks layoffs at Merck. Merck (MRK) said it will reduce its U.S. sales force by 1,200 in order to trim costs. The move comes on the heels of a surprise rejection of Merck's experimental cholesterol drug Cordaptive. The move mirrors an identical set of layoffs at Wyeth (WY).
• Navistar lands Army deal. Navistar (NAVZ.PK) was awarded a $1.28B contract from the U.S Army for trucks to support rebuilding efforts in Afghanistan and Iraq. The three-year contract is for 7,072 medium tactical vehicles and parts.
• Sprint spinoff. Three years into its $35B takeover of Nextel, Sprint (S) is now mulling selling or spinning-off the troubled unit. Complicating the issue is yesterday's news that Deutsche Telecom (DT) is thinking of making a bid for Sprint. A divestment of Nextel would be a dramatic acknowledgement of the acquisition's failure.
• Bernanke pushes homeowner help. Fed Chairman Ben Bernanke urged the government and mortgage lenders to double down with their assistance to homeowners facing foreclosures. "Conditions in mortgage markets remain quite difficult, and mortgage delinquencies have climbed steeply," he said. "Realistic public- and private-sector policies must take into account the fact that traditional foreclosure-avoidance strategies may not always work well in the current environment." The Treasury meets today with banking executives to discuss a voluntary program that would speed up the ability of homeowners to modify their mortgages. Attendees include CFC, BAC, JPM, FNM and FRE.
• Crude oil should reach $150-200 a barrel over the next couple years, Goldman analysts say. Oil hit a new high of $121/barrel in overnight trading.
• AMD broadens case against Intel. AMD (AMD) filed an expanded list of antitrust allegations against Intel (INTC) that singles out Intel dealings with Dell (DELL), International Business Machines (IBM) and Hewlett-Packard (HPQ). AMD says it can document Intel "pays people not to deal with AMD."

Earnings: Monday After Close

• Anadarko Petroleum (APC): Q1 EPS of $1.55 beats consensus of $1.22. Revenue of $2.98B vs. consensus of $3.13B.
• Banco Santander (SAN): Q1 EPS of $0.95 vs. consensus of $0.91.
• China Security & Surveillance (CSR): Q1 EPS of $0.32 in-line. Revenue of $71.8M vs. consensus of $66.65M. Sees Q2 EPS of $0.36-0.38, in-line, and revenue of $85-87M vs. consensus of $81M.
• DivX (DIVX): Q1 EPS of $0.18 beats consensus of $0.14. Revenue of $25M in-line. Sees 2008 EPS of $0.52-0.58, up from $0.44-0.52 vs. consensus of $0.47. Sees Q2 EPS of $0.09-0.11 vs. consensus of $0.07.
• Drugstore.com (DSCM): Q1 EPS of -$0.03 just misses consensus of -$0.02. Revenue of $120.6M in-line.
• Kindred Healthcare (KND): Q1 EPS of $0.39 beats consensus of $0.26. Revenue of $1.06B vs. consensus of $1.03B. Sees Q2 EPS of $0.29-0.34, in-line. Sees full-year EPS of $1.40-1.50 vs. consensus of $1.34.
• McKesson (MCK): FQ4 EPS of $1.05 beats consensus of $1.00. Revenue of $26.2B vs. consensus of $26.83B. Sees full-year 2009 EPS of $3.75-3.90, better than consensus of $3.78.
• Principal Financial (PFG): Q1 EPS of $0.92 misses consensus of $0.98. Revenue of $2.64B vs. consensus of $2.87B.
• Virgin Mobile (VM): Q1 EPS of $0.07 just misses consensus of $0.08. Revenue of $304M vs. consensus of $317M. Sees Q2 EPS of -$0.01 to $0.03, short of consensus of $0.15, and revenue of $285-295M vs. consensus of $321M.
• Weight Watchers (WTW): Q1 EPS of $0.72 misses consensus of $0.75. Revenue of $437M vs. consensus of $444M. WTW raised the bottom end of its full-year EPS guidance by $0.05 to $2.85-$3.00, better than consensus of $2.90.

Earnings: Tuesday Before Open

• Aqua America (WTR): Q1 EPS of $0.11 misses consensus of $0.15. Revenue of $139M vs. consensus $146M.
• Barrick Gold (ABX): Q1 EPS of $0.62 beats consensus of $0.60. Revenue of $1.96B vs. consensus of $2.24B.
• Cleveland Cliffs (CLF): Q1 EPS of $0.60 misses consensus of $1.00. Revenue of $494M vs. consensus of $507M.
• Covidien (COV): FQ2 EPS of $0.66 beats consensus of $0.59. Revenue of $2.43B vs. consensus of $2.37B.
• Domtar (UFS): Q1 EPS of $0.05 beats consensus of $0.04. Revenue of $1.66B in-line.
• D. R. Horton (DHI): FQ2 EPS of -$4.14 misses consensus of -$0.43. Revenue of $1.62B vs. consensus $1.36B.
• Emerson Electric (EMR): FQ2 EPS of $0.69 misses consensus of $0.71. Revenue of $6.02B vs. consensus of $6.1B. raises full-year EPS outlook to $3.00-3.10 vs. consensus of $3.01.
• Estee Lauder (EL): FQ3 EPS of $0.46 just misses consensus of $0.47. Revenue of $1.88B in-line. Sees full-year EPS of $2.34-$2.40 in-line.
• Fannie Mae (FNM): Q1 EPS of -$2.57 misses consensus of -$0.81. Revenue of $3.78B vs. consensus of $1.26B. Fannie reduced its dividend to $0.25, and said it plans to raise $6 billion.
• Fuel-Tech (FTEK): Q1 EPS of $0.07 misses consensus of $0.09. Revenue of $20.5M vs. consensus of $22.3M. Sees full-year revenue of $88-93M vs. consensus of $92.7M.
• Great Atlantic & Pacific Tea (GAP): FQ4 EPS of -$1.40 misses consensus of -$0.65. Revenue of $2.2B in-line.
• James River Coal (JRCC): Q1 EPS of -$0.78 misses consensus of -$0.50. Revenue of $138M vs. consensus of $140M.
• Joy Global (JOYG): lowers full-year EPS guidance to $2.96-3.22 from $3.15-3.45 vs. consensus of $3.41.
• Lazard (LAZ): Q1 EPS of $0.14 misses consensus of $0.48. Revenue of $350M vs. consensus $450M.
• Legg Mason (LM): FQ4 EPS of -$1.81 misses consensus of -$0.27. Revenue of $1.07B vs. consensus of $1.12B.
• MetroPCS (PCS): Q1 EPS of $0.11 misses consensus of $0.14. Revenue of $662M in-line.
• MGM Mirage (MGM): Q1 EPS of $0.40 misses consensus of $0.43. Revenue of $2.06B vs. consensus of $1.9B.
• Molson Coors (TAP): Q1 EPS of $0.32 beats consensus of $0.28. Revenue of $1.36B vs. consensus of $1.31B.
• NYSE Euronext (NYX): Q1 EPS of $0.91 beats consensus of $0.83. Q1 revenue of $1.29B vs. consensus of $891M.
• R.R. Donnelley (RRD): Q1 EPS of $0.69 in-line. Revenue of $2.99B in-line. Sees full-year EPS of $3.08-3.15 vs. consensus of $3.13.
• Qwest (Q): Q1 EPS of $0.09 just misses consensus of $0.10. Revenue of $3.39B in-line.
• Saint Joe Co. (JOE): Q1 EPS of $0.40 beats consensus of $0.18. Q1 revenue of $117M vs. consensus $81M.
• Sara Lee (SLE): FQ3 EPS of $0.30 beats consensus of $0.24. Revenue of $3.2B vs. consensus $3.29B. Sees FQ3 EPS of $1.13-1.17, better than consensus of $1.00.
• Spectrum Brands (SPC): FQ2 EPS of -$0.14 beats consensus of -$0.23. Revenue of $647M vs. consensus $454M.
• Tenet Healthcare (THC): Q1 EPS of $0.04 beats consensus of $0.01. Revenue of $2.37B in-line.
• Teva Pharmaceutical (TEVA): Q1 EPS of $0.64 just beats consensus of $0.63. Revenue of $2.57B in-line.
• Vulcan Materials (VMC): Q1 EPS of $0.13 misses consensus of $0.56. Revenue of $817M vs. consensus of $905M. Sees full-year EPS of $3.85-4.35, short of consensus of $4.46.
• Vornado (VNO): Q1 EPS of $2.47 beats consensus of $2.36. Revenue of $653M vs. consensus of $744M.
• World Wrestling (WWE): Q1 EPS of $0.27 beats consensus of $0.26. Revenue of $163M vs. consensus $132M.

Today's Markets

• In Asia, the Hang Seng gained 0.3% to 26,262. Shanghai fell 0.73% to 3,733.5. BSE Sensex was down 0.67% to 17,373. Nikkei was closed.
• European markets fell Tuesday. FTSE -0.93% to 6,157. CAC -0.82% to 5,022. DAX -1.05% to 6,978.
• U.S. futures are down just before the open. Dow -0.51% to 12,900. S&P -0.59% to 1,400. Nasdaq -0.34% to 1,973.5.
• Gold is up 0.26% to $876. Oil is up 0.33% to $120.36 after hitting an overnight high of just under $121.

F1Q08 Earnings Call

February 7, 2008 9:00 am ET

For traders with a more short term time horizon, we have compiled a list of the S&P 1,500 stocks which have the largest intraday high/low ranges (based on the average percent spread between the intraday high and low for the last fifty days). We then grouped the stocks based on whether they have a rising or falling fifty day moving average. Tickers highlighted in gray are new to the list since last month's screen.

As this month's screen highlights, the list is dominated by stocks in the housing related sector, and while some of these names have had strong gains in the last couple of weeks, the rallies aren't enough to reverse their longer term downtrends.

For traders with a more short term time horizon, we have compiled a list of the S&P 1500 stocks which have the largest intraday high low ranges (based on the average percent spread between the intraday high and low for the last fifty days). We then grouped the stocks based on whether they have a rising or falling fifty day moving average. Tickers highlighted in gray indicate that the stock is new this week to the list.

Reflecting the state of the market, this month's list is dominated with stocks in downtrends, indicating that not much money is being made trying to catch intraday moves on the long side.

In its June statement, the Fed noted that the economy is expected to expand at “a moderate pace” and that there was an “ongoing adjustment in the housing sector”. Both of these observations continue to hold true, while the pace of inflation probably has not slowed enough to convince the Fed that rising prices are no longer a threat.

Hickey and Walters (Bespoke) submit: For traders with a more short term time horizon, we have compiled our weekly list of the S&P 1500 stocks which have the largest intraday ranges (based on the average percent spread between the intraday high and low for the last fifty days). We then grouped the stocks based on whether they have a rising or falling fifty day moving average. Stocks highlighted in gray are new to the list this week.

One of this week's more notable additions is Take Two (TTWO). At a price of $19.86, the stock has pulled back from its March high of $24.80 and has been sitting right at its 50-day moving average.

The question is this: Were they punished fairly, or unfairly?