Late-Night Headlines
Bloomberg:
- Deutsche Bank AG analyst Mike Mayo said he has become more positive on the prospects for the banking business as banks reported better-than-expected second quarter earnings without raising new capital. Mayo upgraded Citigroup Inc. to ``hold'' from ``sell'' and reiterated his ``buy'' rating on Wachovia Corp. He's become less ``negative'' as banks report second-quarter results without raising fresh capital, margins better than expected and ``problems have not spread as much as feared,'' he wrote in a note to clients today.
- The cost of protecting Japanese and Australian corporate bonds from default declined, according to traders of credit-default swaps. The Markit iTraxx
- Donald Straszheim, vice chairman of Roth Capital Partners, says global stocks are in a ‘bottoming process’ and commodity prices will ‘stall out’ or ‘fall’. (video)
- Nickel prices may plunge as much as 46 percent this year as steelmakers increase production of low-nickel content products, said Jindal Stainless Ltd., India's largest stainless steel producer. The metal is headed for a second straight annual drop, after last year's 21 percent decline as stainless-steel mills resorted to products containing less nickel. The use of nickel in making stainless steel may fall 9.5 percent this year, metals research firm Heinz H. Pariser said July 9. Last year, global nickel production was 1.43 million tons, compared with demand of 1.33 million tons, said Adam Rowley, an analyst at Macquarie Group Ltd. in London. China accounts for a quarter of the global demand, he said.
- Sugar fell for a fifth straight session, its longest decline in two months, as a drop in the price of crude oil renewed speculation that demand will slow for fuel made from sugar cane. Sugar has dropped 14 percent in the past week, a decline Streible blames on banks selling investments to raise money after mortgage-related losses. ``Financial companies needed to raise capital and they were selling some of their investments like natural gas and sugar and crude,'' he said.
- Former U.S. Secretary of State Henry Kissinger said the biggest danger to Iraq would be to set a schedule for the withdrawal of American troops.
- Crude oil was little changed near a six-week low after falling more than $3 a barrel yesterday on forecasts a Gulf of Mexico hurricane will miss fields and as the dollar rebounded against the euro, reducing commodities' appeal. The number of outstanding oil futures in New York dropped to the lowest in 17 months as oil companies, refiners and institutional investors exited the market. Open interest fell 2.6 percent July 21 to 1.23 million contracts on the Nymex, according to data from the exchange.
- U.S. lawmakers reached agreement on a rescue plan for Fannie Mae(FNM) and Freddie Mac(FRE) that the House may vote on tomorrow, Representative Barney Frank said.
- Japan, the world's largest grain importer, plans to boost production of rice for feed and flour, as part of a strategy to reduce corn and wheat imports. The country wants to become less dependent on overseas grain supplies to protect it from soaring international prices and ensure long-term security of supply, Yuji Sawa, vice minister of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries, said in an interview.
- Australian inflation accelerated in the second quarter to the fastest pace in two years, adding to pressure on the central bank to leave borrowing costs at a 12- year high.
- Mexico's central bank Governor Guillermo Ortiz said inflation at the fastest in more than three years is still under pressure even as food and energy prices ease.
- Nissan Motor Co., planning to offer electric cars in the U.S. as early as 2010, said Tennessee and its main electric utility may set up charging stations to promote use of non-polluting vehicles.
- Intuitive Surgical(ISRG) climbed 11% to $312 in after-hours trading. The maker of a robot to aid in surgery said in a statement on Prime Newswire that second-quarter profit increased 67 percent, more than analysts expected, on higher sales of the machine and its related equipment.
- Illumina Inc.(ILMN), maker of a machine that analyses genes, raised its 2008 forecast after reporting a 66 percent gain in profit on sales of equipment to study DNA. Second-quarter net income rose to $15.4 million, or 23 cents a share, from $9.3 million, or 16 cents, San Diego-based Illumina said today in a statement. Revenue jumped 66 percent to $140.2 million. Results beat analysts' estimates by 15 cents. Illumina rose $7.90, or 9.4 percent, to $92 at 4:09 p.m. New York time in extended trading after the close of the Nasdaq Stock Market. The company today also announced a two-for-one stock split.
- VMware Inc.(VMW), the biggest maker of software that lets computers run multiple operating systems, cut its annual sales forecast amid competition from Microsoft Corp.(MSFT) and slowing technology spending.
- Broadcom Corp.(BRCM), the maker of chips for Nintendo Co.'s Wii video-game console, said profit jumped almost fourfold on higher sales of wireless chips. Expenses will rise this period, the company said, sending the shares lower.
- Yahoo! Inc.(YHOO), the Internet company that added activist investor Carl Icahn to its board yesterday, posted an 18 percent drop in second-quarter profit after spending more on developing new projects.
- Washington Mutual Inc.(WM), the biggest U.S. savings and loan, reported a $3.3 billion second-quarter loss on uncollectible loans as a record number of borrowers were unable to keep up with mortgage payments.
- Brazil's central bank will probably raise its interest rate for a third consecutive meeting today to slow inflation from a 2 1/2-year high.
Wall Street Journal:
- Three votes have now been cast in the Federal Communications Commission's review of the XM Satellite Radio Holdings Inc. and Sirius Satellite Radio Inc. merger, but the deal is still no closer to being done.
- Apple Inc.(AAPL) is ramping up its retail strategy in China after years of shying from one of the world's fastest-growing technology markets.
- Despite the rally in banks stocks, struggling banks are still trying to raise capital, and some of the hardest hit are now considering selling their lucrative money-management units to raise cash.
MarketWatch.com:
- Reading the VLMAP. An obscure market-timing indicator has turned positive.
- Schwab(SCHW) taps new CEO, hikes dividend.
NY Times:
- Food and Gas Prices Taking a Toll in Asia. While prices have been rising in the United States and Europe, the biggest increases are being felt in Asia, and countries like India and Vietnam are already having to deal with double-digit inflation. Sharp rises in global food and oil prices are now spilling over into wages and broader measures of inflation across Asia, as the Asian Development Bank noted in a report released Tuesday. “The epicenter of the inflationary storm is really in Asia,” said Cyd Tuano-Amador, the managing director of monetary policy at the Philippines Central Bank. In an interview Tuesday, Boediono, the governor of the Bank of Indonesia, called for a coordinated international move toward tighter monetary policy, including higher interest rates by the United States, so as to slow inflation. World oil prices could fall by 30 percent if countries took coordinated action to reduce liquidity, he said. He attributed much of the recent rise in global commodity prices to excess money in circulation.
- A federal appeals court Tuesday agreed with a lower court ruling that struck down as unconstitutional a 1998 law intended to protect children from sexual material and other objectionable content on the Internet. The decision by the 3rd U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in Philadelphia is the latest twist in a decade-long legal battle over the Child Online Protection Act. The fight has already reached the Supreme Court and could be headed back there.
CNNMoney.com:
- What’s Google(GOOG) News worth? $100 million.
Reuters:
- SemGroup LP declared bankruptcy on Tuesday after $3.2 billion in oil trading losses torpedoed the formerly 12th-largest private U.S. company. The Tulsa-based company racked up the massive losses as oil prices ran up record gains, undercutting short crude futures positions SemGroup bought to hedge against its 500,000 barrel-per-day trading business. To meet obligations, SemGroup plans to sell off oil and natural gas gathering, transportation, and storage assets worth an estimated $6.14 billion that were purchased in a whirlwind of acquisitions since it was founded in 2000.
- Awareness is low, but 63 percent of those who had a view on it favor a California ballot measure that would require half the state's electricity to come from renewable sources by 2025, a Field poll issued on Tuesday shows. Voter awareness of Proposition 7 on the November ballot is extremely low -- 82 percent of those interviewed said they did not know of the measure.
- The U.S. Senate on Tuesday voted overwhelmingly to open debate on a bill to rein in energy market speculation blamed for high oil and gasoline prices. But final passage of the legislation looked difficult because of disagreements between its Democratic backers and Republicans who want to include other provisions designed to boost domestic oil production.
Financial Times:
- General Electric(GE) has joined the growing procession of US companies seeking solace from their domestic problems in the Middle East. But unlike Citigroup (C) , Merrill Lynch(MER) and the other troubled banks that headed east to ask for billions of dollars in rescue funds, GE is trying to harness its geographical and product reach to increase its exposure to the fast-expanding region.That is why GE's deal with Mubadala, Abu Dhabi's state investment vehicle, is both far-reaching and potentially controversial. In a US presidential year, the sight of a Middle Eastern investment fund buying up shares in a US corporate bellwether such as GE might cause a political backlash. Mr Immelt brushed away such suggestions on Monday, saying the partnership "was all about business". Over the past few years, Mr Immelt and his lieutenants have worked hard to build relationships in the region, in an effort to increase sales of GE's infrastructure such as oil and gas equipment, and other manufacturing products.
Australian Review:
- The number of Australians who spend more than half their income repaying their mortgage has more than doubled the past year, citing a survey. A quarter of people use more than half their income on repayments, know as ‘mortgage stress’, compared with 12% a year ago, citing a survey for Genworth Financial by Retail Financial Intelligence.
Nikkei:
- Toyota Motor’s(TM) first-half sales fell 7% in North America and
Late Buy/Sell Recommendations
Citigroup:
- Reiterated Buy on (UNH), target $35.
- Reiterated Buy on (CSGS), raised estimates, target $19.50.
- Reiterated Buy on (CAT), target $106.
- Reiterated Buy on (STLD), raised estimates, boosted target to $44.
Night Trading
Asian Indices are +.25% to +2.25% on average.
S&P 500 futures +.02%.
NASDAQ 100 futures +.01%.
Morning Preview
US AM Market Call
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Pre-market Commentary
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Before the Bell CNBC Video(bottom right)
Global Commentary
WSJ Intl Markets Performance
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Top 25 Stories
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Today in IBD
In Play
Bond Ticker
Economic Preview/Calendar
Daily Stock Events
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Rasmussen Business/Economy Polling
Earnings of Note
Company/EPS Estimate
- (APD)/1.31
- (ATI)/1.54
- (TRV)/1.46
- (EMC)/.18
- (GD)/1.44
- (NWA)/-.50
- (MCD)/.85
- (EXC)/1.01
- (PX)/1.046
- (R)/1.16
- (ETH)/.44
- (HSY)/.28
- (BTU)/.59
- (GENZ)/.97
- (WLP)/1.36
- (WHR)/1.43
- (PFCB)/.32
- (PM)/.83
- (WYE)/.86
- (BA)/1.22
- (T)/.76
- (COP)/3.48
- (FFIV)/.22
- (RHI)/.42
- (QCOM)/.54
- (MCK)/.80
- (CMG)/.75
- (ALL)/1.30
- (NE)/1.31
- (OSIP)/.51
- (VAR)/.46
- (
- (KNX)/.15
- (WFR)/1.01
- (RYL)/-.79
- (AMZN)/.26
- (AFL)/1.00
- (PHM)/-.97
- (BUD)/.93
- (SY)/.43
Upcoming Splits
- None of note
Economic Releases
10:35 am EST
- Bloomberg consensus estimates call for a weekly crude oil drawdown of -600,000 barrels versus a +2,952,000 barrel increase the prior week. Gasoline supplies are expected to rise by +200,000 barrels versus a +2,472,000 barrel increase the prior week. Distillate inventories are estimated to rise by +2,500,000 barrels versus a +3,189,000 barrel increase the prior week. Finally, Refinery Utilization is expected unch. versus a +.33% increase the prior week.
2:00 pm EST
- The Fed’s Beige Book.
Other Potential Market Movers
- The Fed’s Kohn speaking, Fed’s Mishkin speaking and weekly MBA mortgage applications report could also impact trading today.
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