Jim Cramer Blog

JP Morgan Chase (NYSE:JPM) reported first quarter earnings of $0.68, beating estimates by $0.04. JPM's Short term PowerRating is 5.
Intel (NasdaqGS:INTC) also beat estimates by $0.04 and issued Q2 guidance in-line. INTC's Short term PowerRating is 5.
comScore reported the number of people clicking Google's paid search ads fell for the third straight month. Google (NasdaqGS:GOOG) is scheduled to report earnings after the close on Thursday. GOOG's Short term PowerRating is 5.
After the market close, eBay (NasdaqGS:EBAY) reported earning of $0.42, beating estimates by $0.03. EBAY's Short term PowerRating is 4.
And, International Business Machines (NYSE:IBM) beat estimates by $0.20 and issued an upbeat forecast. IBM's Short term PowerRating is 5.
Before the market open, Merrill Lynch (NYSE:MER) is scheduled to report, with analysts looking for a loss of -$1.99 per share. MER's Short term PowerRating is 5.
Pfizer (NYSE:PFE) is also due to report and expectations are pegged at $0.66. PFE's Short term PowerRating is 4.

Labels: Ebay, GOOG, IBM, MER, pfe, Stocks to Watch

Cramer Cries Foul:
United Technologies (UTX), Microsoft (MSFT), Honeywell (HON), IBM (IBM), Fluor (FLR), Union Pacific (UNP), CSX (CSX)
Cramer declared he was sick and tired of taking abuse from people who say I've gotten it wrong, specifically Robert Samuelson who wrote in a recent Newsweek article that Cramer advocates rate cuts only to create a short-term lift for stocks. Cramer argued he has been advocating rate cuts for a year, and band-aid stimulus packages that give away taxpayer monies that we don't have are not the solution. Instead, he advocates a rate reduction of 1.75% and said the Fed was unsophisticated, arrogant and incredibly reckless. Cramer said in the current environment, he would consider buying UTX, MSFT, HON, IBM, FLR, UNP, CSX.
Excuses, Excuses: Motorola (MOT), Nokia (NOK)
Sometimes a loser company's excuses can bring down good companies. Cramer cited MOT, which reported abysmal numbers last week, admitted mobile sales were down 38% and blamed the economy. As a result, there was a huge selloff of MOT and NOK, even though NOK reported a 44% increase in sales, bigger market share and strength in foreign markets. Nokia should not be punished for Motorla's sins, particularly since MOT makes products no one wants to buy and lacks vision.
CEO Interview: Emanuel Chirico of Phillips-Van Heusen (PVH) also with stocks Liz Claiborne (LIZ), VF Corp (VFC), Jones Apparel (JNY)
Cramer says retail is the place to be if there will be another rate cut and mentions he likes LIZ, VFC and JNY in addition to PVH. Emanuel Chirico said although his company was one of the first in the sector to issue warnings about a sluggish consumer, PVH recently beat its estimates by two cents a share. While inventories are up slightly, Chirico highlighted PVH's successful buyback program and its renaming Continental Airlines Area to Izod Arena, which will be a strong marketing tool. While Cramer likes all the retail names he mentioned, he adds PVH is the cheapest in the group.
Published By SeekingAlpha

Labels: CSX, FLR, HON, IBM, Jim Cramer, JNY, LIZ, Mad Money, MOT, MSFT, NOK, PVH, UNP, UTX, VFC

InterContinental Exchange's price had risen dramatically since Cramer recommended the stock on "Mad Money," but has since returned to previous levels, Cramer said. Neither stock has responded favorably to today's news that the CME, which operates the Chicago Mercantile Exchange and the Chicago Board of Trade, is in talks to buy ICE. "What is the ICE doing down?" Cramer asked.
Cramer also believes the economy is not headed for a recession. He named earnings calls from Honeywell (HON), Caterpillar (CAT), Parker Hannifin (PH) and others as signs of the market's health.
Cramer also noted that the KBW Bank Index and the PHLX Housing Sector Index are rallying because of the rate cuts.
In spite of the positive news, Cramer said he believes more action is needed. Given "the losses that we saw for the quarterlies from a Bank of America (BAC) or a Wachovia (WB) ... I genuinely feel that we are too close to the precipice to stop.
"That doesn't mean that a Honeywell isn't doing fine without it," Cramer cautioned. "It's like 1998, when the economy was booming. ... We had to stop the decline [in the financials] ."
Cramer believes the bank woes may remain independent of the broader economy. "The problems are not with IBM (IBM) or Verizon (VZ) ... AT&T (T ) ... Nokia (NOK) ... Microsoft (MSFT)."
Cramer added that the Federal Reserve's 75-basis-point rate cut last week was helpful. "You needed that cut to be able to raise all that money last week." However, the crisis isn't over. "Home price appreciation is nonexistent. ... We saw that number today. ... The oil futures are saying no recession. I think the Fed cuts are needed again."
Published By TheStreet.com

Labels: BAC, CAT, HON, IBM, ICE, Jim Cramer, MSFT, NOK, PH, Stop Trading, T, VZ, WB

Trish Regan started the show by stating that financials are up today, leading stocks to trade higher. The DOW is down about 5.3% for November. Nasdaq down 7.4% for November. Stocks are on pace for first 2 day winning streak this month. Next, the economy was discussed with Steve Liesman. He says the FED needs to take into account the market, despite dips in the credit institutions; flexible policymaking is required when dealing with volatility within the financial sector. AIG, American Express and IBM are the leaders in the financial sector today. Crude Oil reaches a two week low with a drop of almost 3%; at under $92/barrel. Freddie Mac and CITI Group are among the leaders for finances. The U.S currency index is up almost a point. Next, shareholders vs. the sec; Dan Pedrotty says that the sec is not following through to protect investors. Among these proxy proposals is the stipulation that shareholders, owning 5% or more of the company, can elect new company directors. The objective is to provide opportunities for involvement among the shareholders. Merrill Lynch is expected to have a good day. Next was the real estate market. Steve Liesman of CNBC says mortgage and interest rates are very tight. The mortgage lenders are demanding high equity loans, and those consumers who are aggressive can find the money they need, in the upcoming months. Next, David Fondrie of Heartland Investors says that Cimarex Energy (XEC) and Conocophillips (COP) would be good choices for buying today. Allan Hubbard resigns from his position as economic advisor to the Bush Administration. Keith Hennessey will be replacing him. Hubbard says he is leaving so he can spend more time with his children.

Labels: AIG, Citigroup Inc., CNBC, CNBC's The Call, COP, FED, IBM, MER, The Call, trish regan, XEC

Trish Regan hosted Tuesday's show. Weak dollar and its positive impact on the housing market was presented first. Foreign investors are purchasing second homes and vacation condos here in America. Real Estate brokers say that Europeans are experiencing low prices for there vacation home purchases in locations such as Miami, FL. Mark Vitner of Wachovia says that foreign investors will, in a way, pave the way for an improvement in the weak currency. Dow up 170 pts. and S&P up 20 pts. Wal-Mart, IBM, J.P Morgan and American Express are today's DOW leaders. November is still on track to be worst month ever for stocks in five years. Wal-Mart, Home Depot, Tahlbots, and Aeropostale are among top retailers. Margaret Brennan of CNBC says Wal-Mart's improvement can be accredited to slow traffic within the stores, and correction with inventory consideration. Jeffrey Schwartz, Prologis Chairman and CEO; says under good management, there is always a way to appeal to the interests of the consumer, not just their budgets. Sirius Satellite Radio shareholders vote to approve merger with XM Satellite. Sharp Pullback for Oil; Rebecca Jarvis of CNBC says that Crude Oil is down 2%. Next, Kozlowski, former TYCO CEO gives prison tell all to CNBC. After taking millions upon millions from TYCO, Dennis Kozlowski will sit behind bars for the remainder of his life. Dow has biggest one day gain since October. Next, in the Tech Sector: Micrsoft Zune vs. Apple IPOD. Jim Goldman of CNBC says The Microsoft Zune will never compete with anything Apple can release. Apple has sold over 100 million IPODS since 2002. Lance Ulanoff, editor-in-chief of PC magazine says they gave the Zune the product of the year award because of unique features including a FM radio Tuner. Jim Goldman adds that despite Microsoft’s low prices, people have shown through the years that the price on Apple products does not reflect a decrease in consumption. They love the iPOD! Next, Wendy Bounds of WSJ says Forum is a type of professional group therapy. In forum sessions, advice is not given, but similar stories are shared. With more than 60,000 members worldwide, Forum sessions are ever popular with entrepreneurs of the average age of 39.

Labels: AME, CNBC, IBM, JPM, The Call, trish regan, Wal-Mart

Erin Burnett hosted. Melissa Lee of CNBC says the financial and tech sectors are down for the third day in a row. IBM and Hewlett Packard are among the top losses. Jeff Auxier, of Auxier Focus Inv. says volatility is normal an healthy because it takes out investors' egos. He says it is a great time to invest if you can be patient. Zimmer Holdings and Telef de Mexico are his top picks for the day. Next, David Malpass of Bear Sterns comments on the drowning dollar. He says the rest of the world is getting richer much quicker than our economy is growing right now. He says we have a small business economy with growth based in innovation, and with time we can improve our weak dollar situation. UPS is set to raise shipping rates by 5% by the beginning of 2008. Julia Boorstin of CNBC reports on the Writers Guild of America Strike on day 5. She says there is an upside for investors in the way of movie rentals and DVD mail order such as NetFlix. The logic behind this is the lack of new content and material for daily television, resulting in a consumer increase in theatre and rental establishments. Next topic was the growing oil prices. Crude Oil, at $96/barrel has obviously been a main concern of many consumers and investors. Bruno Stanziale of Bank of America says that ultimately, it is not possible that we will hit $100 a barrel before 2008. He says the oil prices are due to a lack of demand, as well as a change in market participation. Next, NovaGold of Alaska, announces deal with Barrick Gold to begin Donlin Creek Project. They will be working on projects in Alaska and Western Canada. They will mine gold copper and silver, and jointly owns or partnerships with Rio Tinto and Barrick Gold. Stop trading with Jim Cramer was next. ShawGroup (SGR), Foster Wheeler (FWLT), First Solar (FSLR), and MEMC Electronics (WFR) are his picks for the day.

Labels: CNBC, Crude Oil, Erin Burnett, FSLR, FWLT, HPQ, IBM, SGR, WFR

Today on The Call, they discussed how oil hit a record high of $92.22/barrel overnight. Up 30% YTD since mid-August. Microsoft, Hewlett Packard, IBM and Verizon are market leaders today. Dow is about 430 points lower than the October 9th week end. Scott Sperlingco president of Thomas H Lee Partners says private equity investments are getting worse. Oil Prices due more to speculators rather than fundamentals says, Chris Motroni, an independent investor. Leopard may compete with Vista operating systems. With 300 new features, and new backup system, Macintosh has seen a 30% increase since Leopards' release. Next up, Kudlow interviewed vice president Dick Cheney, discussing Iran sanctions and oil. Cheney says doing business with Iran causes problems with business done with America.
For $5,000 you can spend a day and a half test driving Lamborghini's, Ferraris, and Mercedes. (behindthewheel.cnbc.com)

Labels: CNBC, Crude Oil, HP, IBM, Kudlow, MSFT, The Call, VZ

Intel (INTC) reported strong quarterly earnings and traded up after hours on the robust numbers. Macke likes Intel's margins and revenue estimate bump, and Adami suggests buying Intel above $27 with a stop at $26.50. Their CFO, Andy Bryant, joined the show to discuss their numbers. Bryant says the company saw the highest quarter-to-quarter revenue growth in 10 years. Adami favors Dell (DELL) off this worldwide demand. Macke suggests getting into Microsoft (MSFT). Najarian thinks the trade off of Intel is Apple (AAPL). Yahoo (YHOO) also traded higher after hours. Adami says IBM (IBM) fell short a bit on gross margins and hardware revenue in other tech earnings.
Word on the Street
Tuesday the Dow dropped 71 points and oil hit another high above $88 a barrel on geopolitical concerns that Turkey might attack Iraq. The crew offered up their trades based on these events. In the health care sector, Bristol-Myers (BMY) received Food and Drug Administration approval for breast cancer treatment Ixempra. Najarian likes Bristol. Adami likes Pfizer (PFE) into earnings. Finerman bought some Biogen Idec (BIIB). Johnson & Johnson (JNJ) reported a drop in profits off of poor heart stent sales. In regards to oil Adami likes Apache (APA) and he believes it'll go to $105. Adami doesn't think the $80-to-$90 move in oil is a good thing for the overall stock market. Finerman still likes ConocoPhillips (COP) for a play on rising oil prices.
Banking: Najarian noticed some unusual options activity in some regional banks on Tuesday. He saw heavy trading in PNC Bank (PNC) options.
CSX Corp (CSX) reported strong third-quarter earnings after the bell. Macke says the railroad stocks have pulled back and could offer a decent entry here. Adami believes CSX is a buy. Finerman has been looking at FreightCar America (RAIL).
AT&T (T) has hired Goldman Sachs to look into buying EchoStar (DISH).
Ericsson (ERIC) crashed 24% after issuing an earnings warning.
Dennis Gartman, author of The Gartman Letter, joined the show to discuss his take on crude oil. He doesn't believe we will get $100 oil, but if it does move that high it won't last long. He would play natural gas with United States Natural Gas Fund (UNG), San Juan Basin Royalty Trust (SJT) and Pengrowth Energy Trust (PGH).
eBay (EBAY) is set to report earnings on Wednesday after the bell.
Kraft (KFT): Wall Street whale and activist shareholder Nelson Peltz could be ready to make some noise at Kraft.
Pops & Drops
Pops: Supervalu (SVU) traded up 6% on a strong profits report.
Bear Stearns (BSC) traded up 2% after a Chinese investment firm expressed interest in acquiring a stake in the brokerage.
Marriott (MAR) traded up 4% on rumors of a takeover.
E.W. Scripps (SSP) traded up 9% after the company announced plans to split into two companies. Macke advises selling the pop.
Saks (SKS) traded up 5% on takeover speculation. Finerman isn't buying the rumors.
Robbins & Myers (RBN) exploded up 18% on strong fourth-quarter profits. Finerman believes this is a great earnings story.
Drops: Amylin (AMLN) fell 5% after the FDA said diabetes drug Byetta might cause pancreatitis. Najarian says this is negative news.
Domino's Pizza (DPZ) crashed 14% after taking a hit on profits from the rising costs of cheese and declining customer visits. Macke advises getting long beer stocks shorting pizza stocks.
Final Trade
Macke recommends Microsoft.
Adami suggests buying Intel.
Finerman favors Kraft.
Najarian says the options activity in EchoStar has him bullish on the satellite firm.

Labels: AAPL, ATT. T, BIIB, BMY, CNBC, COP, DELL, ERIC, Fast Money, Fast Money Recap, IBM, INTC, MSFT, pfe, RAIL, YHOO

Citigroup (C) brought back fears of credit problems. Citigroup reported a 57% decline in profits. Finerman: not surprised at the report. Macke: no reason to be long Citigroup. Adami: $45 is still the exit on the stop out for the Citigroup trade. Najarian pointed out E*Trade (ETFC) and Knight Capital (NITE), which are reporting earnings on Wednesday.
Louise Yamada, who has been ranked the #1 technical analyst on Wall Street, joined the show to discuss the stock market. She likes Broadcom (BRCM). The charts tell her that technology is the best place to be right now. Najarian thinks Broadcom looks great because it was tearing higher in a negative tape on Monday. He also thinks that the market is starting to digest the fact that oil at $85 is probably not a great thing. He highlighted the strength in Exxon Mobil (XOM) and Oil Service HOLDRs (OIH). He also advised investors to keep an eye on coal stocks like Peabody Energy (BTU) and Massey Energy (MEE).
Technology: IBM (IBM), Yahoo! (YHOO) and Intel (INTC) are set to report earnings after the bell Tuesday. Macke: IBM will be the least surprising. Najarian: IBM options are pricing in a big move. Najarian favors Intel and deems them in the sweet spot. Macke: look at Yahoo! and any signs of the company breaking up will send the stock 10% higher.
Coca-Cola (KO) and Altria (MO) are set to report earnings on Wednesday. Finerman currently owns Altria. Adami: likes the dividend and agrees with Finerman on the valuation on Altria. Macke: Coca-Cola will benefit from a weak dollar and global growth. Najarian proposes Coca-Cola as a play on the growth in energy drinks.
Word on the Street
Chinese stocks continued to go higher Monday with the Hang Seng hitting record highs. PetroChina (PTR) passed up General Electric (GE) as the world's 2nd-largest company. Genentech (DNA) beat earnings estimates, but revenues fell short of Wall Street estimates. The former CEO of Children's Place (PLCE) has hired Bear Stearns to look at alternative options for the company. Macke would rather play Build-A-Bear Workshop (BBW) for a takeover play. SiRF Technology (SIRF) saw unusual options activity on Monday. Najarian participated by buying some SIRF call options Monday and feels the stock could move higher.
Pops & Drops
Pops- U.S. Steel (X) traded up 2.5%
Saks (SKS) traded up 4%. Macke advises investors to get out of Saks.
Drops- Level 3 (LVLT) dropped 11%. They're looking for a new CFO.
Medtronic (MDT) fell 11%. Najarian counsels viewers to stay away.
Sallie Mae (SLM) dropped 4% on news that buyout firms are getting cold feet
Eaton (ETN) fell 4% after cutting its 4th quarter outlook. Adami considers keeping an eye on Honeywell (HON) to see if the sector is in trouble.
Regional Bank ETF (KRE) dropped 3%. Adami feels positive about U.S. Bancorp (USB) into earnings, but the KRE drop has him concerned.
Mattel (MAT) fell 1% on poor earnings due to the Chinese toy recalls. Macke prefers Hasbro (HAS), which he is long.
Final Trade
Macke would buy NRG Energy (NRG)
Adami prefers Short Dow30 PROSHARES (DOG) for a short the Dow play.
Finerman is sticking with Flowserve (FLS).
Najarian recommends Cypress (CY).

Labels: BRCM, BTU, Citigroup Inc., CNBC, ETFC, Fast Money, Fast Money Recap, IBM, INTC, MEE, NITE, OIH, YHOO

Biogen (BIIB) announced plans to put the company up for sale after-hours. They hired Goldman Sachs and Merrill Lynch to search for a deal. Biogen management thinks that selling the company would represent a better value to shareholders. Adami offers Pfizer (PFE) as a possible buyer. Najarian suggests trading off the news with Elan (ELN). Merck (MRK) also traded up after-hours on winning FDA approval for a new HIV drug. Oracle (ORCL) announced a bid for rival software provider BEA Systems (BEAS) for $6.7 billion

Technology

CNBC Silicon Valley Bureau Chief Jim Goldman joined the show on Friday. Goldman doesn't expect anything big from Yahoo! (YHOO). In fact, he thinks they will disappoint. IBM (IBM) and Intel (INTC) will report good news. Goldman notes that a lot of people are concerned about eBay (EBAY) and the stock has already made a run. Adami agrees on Intel and thinks they can knock the cover off into earnings. Macke disagrees and thinks Yahoo! is setting up to work for a trade. Macke didn't agree on eBay because he thinks management is progressive. Najarian advises watching SanDisk (SNDK) for a takeover play.

Regional Banks

Regional bank names like Wells Fargo (WFC), US Bancorp (USB) Sovereign Bank (SOV), Washington Mutual (WM), PNC Bank (PNC) and Fifth Third Bancorp (FITB) will report earnings next week. Adami likes US Bancorp.

Nike (NKE) was selected as the chart of the day after hitting all-time highs on Friday. Happy 52-week high Nike.

Word on the Street

Technology stocks rallied back strong on Friday with names like Apple (AAPL), Google (GOOG) and Bidau.com (BIDU) all racking up solid gains. McDonald's (MCD) traded higher on Friday after reporting strong September sales. Macke is still bullish on MCD. Retail stocks continue to struggle even with Wal-Mart (WMT) finishing the week higher. Crude oil hit another record high this week trading up to $83.69. Adami thinks Tesoro (TSO) goes to $60 and he also likes Valero (VLO). Finerman continues to like ConocoPhillips (COP).

Pops & Drops

Pops- Monsanto (MON) traded up 3%

PetroChina (PTR) popped 13% even after Warren Buffett trimmed his stake in the Chinese oil giant.

BP (BP) popped 7% following crude oil prices.

General Motors (GM) and Ford (F) both traded up over 10% as the UAW settle strikes with GM and Chrysler.

Drops- Boeing (BA) fell 5% after delaying production of the Dreamliner.

JC Penney (JCP) fell 9% off of negative headlines.

SanDisk (SNDK) dropped 9%.

Final Trade

Najarian likes the global growth play in McDonald's (MCD)

Finerman would eat up Kraft (KFT).

Adami: Tesoro (TSO) and his $60 target.

Labels: BEAS, BIIB, CNBC, Ebay, Fast Money, Fast Money Recap, FITB, IBM, INTC, ORCL, SOV, WFC, WM

Technology
Najarian noted that Hewlett- Packard (HPQ) hit a 52-week high Monday and Research In Motion (RIMM), IBM (IBM) and VMware (VMW) all traded higher. Stacey Gilbert of Susquehanna Financial Group prefers Google (GOOG) whose call options are very active on the name. Najarian agreed and mentioned the Google December $750 calls were active on Monday. Other option notes: Najarian noticed some very unusual options activity in TJX Companies (TJX) on Monday, seeing 10,000 October $30 calls trade and also stepped-up activity in the November $30 calls. Macke predicts a big winner with TJX.
Keith O'Malley, a trader with Hold Brothers, came on the show to discuss his trading ideas. He declares that the Fed is done cutting interest rates. He likes Cisco Systems (CSCO) and Fluor Corp (FLR).
CEO's
Gasparino joined the show again to discuss his thoughts on CEOs who could lose their jobs. Gasparino gave out odds for how likely Chuck Prince, Jimmy Cayne and Stan O'Neal will lose their jobs. Prince is CEO of Citigroup (C), Cayne runs Bear Stearns (BSC) and O'Neal heads up Merrill Lynch (MER). He gave Prince 2-1 odds, Cayne 6-1 and O'Neal 10-1. Gasparino also said that John Thain, CEO of NYSE Euronext (NYX), is a candidate for CEO of Citigroup. CEO of Sprint Nextel (S) Gary Forsee has left the telecommunications firm. Sprint is a takeover stock with Chinese companies being possible buyers.
Word on the Street
Yum! Brands (YUM) traded higher Monday. Macke: 41% of sales came from China and recommends investors to buy the stock here.
Aeropostale (ARO) traded lower. You can sell retailers ahead of the numbers, according to Macke.
CTC Media (CTCM), Central European Media (CETV) and Cemex (CX). Seymour found these value names in the emerging markets. Seymour is committed and long CX.
Alcoa (AA): scheduled to report earnings Tuesday after the bell. Gilbert sees better plays in the titanium makers like RTI International (RTI) and Titanium Metals (TIE). Gilbert owns TIE.
China
The Shanghai Index has gone up a whopping 300% in the past 5 years. The Communist party will try to control the rise in food prices and make comments on the income gap between the wealthy and poor in the region. Seymour suggests buying dips in the iShares FTSE/Xinhua China 25 Index (FXI) on any negative headlines.
Pops & Drops
Pops- Research In Motion (RIMM) traded up 4%. Has more room to go higher.
Valero (VLO) traded up 4% after Citigroup upgraded the stock. Seymour: A sell into the upgrade.
AK Steel (AKS) popped 11% after settling a lawsuit.
Apple (AAPL) traded up 4%. Macke: buy some stock of the iPhone maker.
China Digital TV (STV) exploded higher by 41%.

Drops- Ryder Systems (R) fell 7% after missing profit estimates.
Freeport McMoRan (FCX) dropped 2% as copper prices fell on Monday.
LDK Solar (LDK) plummeted 26% after Barron’s ran a negative story on the Chinese solar play.
Final Trade
Macke: recommends McDonald's (MCD)
Gilbert: feels positive about Titanium Metals (TIE).
Seymour: sell Banco Itau (ITU).
Najarian: likes ValueClick (VCLK).

Labels: CNBC, CSCO, Fast Money, Fast Money Recap, FLR, GOOG, HPQ, IBM, RIMM, TJX, VMW

CFCStocks meandered most of the day as credit concerns continued to pressure the market. Bulls were hesitant to keep the recent rally going as Bears attempted to gain control. At the close, the tug-of-war ended with the Dow ending essentially flat on the session. Both the Nasdaq and S&P finished in negative territory. Oil, on the other hand, rose 57 cents to close at $69.83.
In economic news, the Labor Department said that initial jobless claims fell by -2,000 to 322,000, the lowest level since August. The four-week average, meanwhile, rose by 4,750 to 317,750. The number of people continuing to collect unemployment benefits rose by 16,000 reaching 2.57 million.
In corporate news, shares of the nation's largest mortgage company Countrywide Financial (NYSE: CFC - News) rose 0.9% after it announced that banking behemoth Bank of America (NYSE: BAC - News) has invested $2 billion in the company. Under the terms of the deal, Bank of America has acquired $2 billion in the form of convertible preferred stock yielding 7.25% annually. It will not have any voting rights under the preferred shares. It will have the option of converting its shares into common shares of the company at a price of $18 a share, a steep discount to the current value of CFC's stock price. The investment comes in the midst of an industry-wide shakeout following a severe credit crunch.
With much of the earnings season in the books, specialty retailers seem to be the last in line to report. Clothing retailer Children's Place (Nasdaq: PCLE - News) today reported a loss of -$27.1 million on sales of $424.3 million for its second quarter. EPS numbers weren't supplied due to an SEC inquiry. Same-store sales fell -1%. It also cut its full-year profit forecast to $2.25-2.40 a share, well below its previous range of $3.45-3.55 a share. Shares plunged -16.9% on the earnings announcement and also on news that it is experiencing troubles with its licensing deal with Disney (NYSE: DIS - News).
Video game retailer GameStop (NYSE: GME - News), conversely, blew the cover off its second-quarter earnings. For Q2, it said net income reached $21.8 million, or 13 cents a share, significantly higher than the $3.18 million, or 2 cents a share, profit it recorded last year. Sales surged 39% to $1.34 billion from $963 million in the same period a year ago. Same-store sales grew by 29% in its latest quarter. The numbers beat analyst estimates of 9 cents a share on sales of $1.19 billion. Shares surged 9.3%.
On the M&A front, a couple of small deals were announced. Technology giant IBM (NYSE: IBM - News) said it acquired privately held WebDialogs, which specializes in Web conferencing. Financial terms of the deal were not publicly disclosed. WebDialogs will become part of IBM's software group. Elsewhere, food company Hormel Foods (NYSE: HRL - News) agreed to buy cooked meat producer Burke for $110 million. Hormel said the deal will be accretive to earnings in its fiscal year 2008 and will give $125 million in sales to the company. Shares rose 1.1%.
By the BullMarket.com Staff

Labels: BAC, CFC, DIS, GME, HRL, IBM, PCLE

Bullish Calls:
Aecom Technology (NYSE: ACM - News): 'This may be the cheapest of the infrastructure plays.'Jacobs Engineering Group (NYSE: JEC - News): ' ... at $61, should have been bought today... buy, buy, buy! Infrastructure rocks, as does agriculture!'Wachovia (NYSE: WB - News): 'They just raised the dividend, and they said that the bad loans are under control.'Schlumberger (NYSE: SLB - News): 'SLB, to me, is the cheapest. It went down today, along with the whole group. I feel like you can trade up to quality... you can trade up to SLB.'Transocean (NYSE: RIG - News)Tata Motors (NYSE: TTM - News): 'I think, at $15, TTM makes a huge amount of sense.'E*Trade Financial (NasdaqGS: ETFC - News): 'I would buy some here, and let it come down a bit ... There are many companies that have really bad exposure to this mortgage stuff. ETFC is not one of them.'American Capital Strategies (NasdaqGS: ACAS - News): 'I think that this company is a survivor... a lot of people have tried to call it out a lot of times. They're not going to be successful.'Hudson City Bancorp (NasdaqGS: HCBK - News): 'I think we're in dangerous territory with FSLR. Don't buy, don't buy.'Level 3 Communications (NasdaqGS: LVLT - News): 'I like LVLT for one reason... because I believe there's going to be a bandwidth shortage ... I am picking this as a long-term speculation and, when we run out of bandwidth, I'm not backing away.'Tessera Technologies (NasdaqGS: TSRA - News): 'I thought the quarter was going to be good. I got the quarter wrong. I like the story longer term. now, in the low $30s, I would definitely buy it.'Principal Financial Group (NYSE: PFG - News): 'A very cheap stock ... I really like this stock. I was going to buy it for my charitable trust... I didn't get a chance.'LCA-Vision (NasdaqGS: LCAV - News): 'Upgraded today by Raymond James... a big buyback coming... just finished a buyback. I like it.'IBM (NYSE: IBM - News)
Neutral calls:
Dean Foods (NYSE: DF - News): 'This has become a very problematic story and I've got to tell you something... don't buy, don't buy... I don't think it's over, and the company doesn't think the pain's over too.'Banco Popular (NasdaqGS: BPOP - News)Parker Drilling (NYSE: PKD - News)Foster Wheeler (NasdaqGS: FWLT - News): 'On a day like today, up $7, sell, sell, sell... on the conference call, they made it very clear that contracts were lumpy...every time the stock runs a little, I think it's going to run into selling pressure.'First Solar (FSLS)
Published By SeekingAlpha

Labels: ACAS, ACM, BPOP, DF, ETFC, FWLT, HCBK, IBM, JEC, Jim Cramer, LCAV, Lightning Round, LVLT, Mad Money, PFG, PKD, SLB, TSRA, TTM, WB

Equities rallied across the board fueled by upbeat corporate earnings. The Dow ended the session up 82 points, while the Nasdaq gained 20.5. The benchmark S&P 500 also rallied, rising 7 points. For the Dow, it marks the first time the index has closed above 14,000. Investors' moods were not dampened by rising energy prices, as crude rose 87 cents to close at $75.92.
On the economic front today, the Conference Board said that U.S. leading economic indicators fell more than expected in June, dropping -0.3% after a revised gain of 0.2% in May. The decline was mostly due to slumping building permits. The index closely gauges the economy's outlook for the next 3-6 months.
On the earnings front, the nations second-largest bank, Bank of America (NYSE: BAC - News), reported a 5.2% rise in profits to $5.76 billion, or $1.28 a share. This compares to a year-ago profit of $5.48 billion, or $1.19 a share. Profits rose fueled by gains in private equity and investment banking revenue. Analysts were looking for earnings to come in at $1.20 a share.
Online auction site eBay (Nasdaq: EBAY - News) said a 34% revenue rise in its PayPal division helped its profit rise nearly 50% in the second quarter to $375.8 million, or 27 cents a share. In the same period a year ago, it earned $250 million, or 17 cents a share. Revenue climbed 30% to $1.83 billion. Excluding stock-based compensation and other costs, EPS would have been 34 cents a share, 2 cents ahead of analyst estimates. Wall Street, however, was unenthused, sending shares down -1.6% due to a continued slowdown in auction listings.
Software and hardware giant IBM (NYSE: IBM - News) reported a 12% rise in earnings compared to year-ago levels, as net income climbed to $2.26 billion, or $1.55 a share. Sales in its second quarter were $23.8 billion, beating analyst estimates of $23.1 billion. Strength in Big Blue's software division and improvements in its services unit helped drive profit in its second quarter.
Industrial heavyweight Honeywell (NYSE: HON - News), meanwhile, earned $611 million, or 78 cents a share, beating estimates of 75 cents a share. Sales climbed to $8.54 billion from $7.90 billion a year ago. The company also lifted its full-year 2007 earnings and sales forecast to $3.10-3.16 a share on revenue of $33.9 billion. Its Board also announced plans to buy back an additional $3 billion worth of its own stock. Shares finished the day higher by 0.7%.
Lastly, Continental Airlines (NYSE: CAL - News) said earnings rose due to strength in its transatlantic flights. Profit rose 15% to $228 million, or $2.03 a share. Excluding a settlement charge, EPS came in at $2.10, ahead of analyst estimates of $1.84. Revenue rose 5.8% to $3.7 billion. The stock slid -2.8% on reports that rising costs are in the cards in future quarters.
By the BullMarket.com Staff

Labels: BAC, CAL, Ebay, HON, IBM