Jim Cramer Blog

SAN FRANCISCO (Menafn - MarketWatch) - Among the companies whose shares are expected to see active trade in Monday's session are Blackstone Group L.P., Sysco Corp and DTE Energy.
Blackstone Group L.P. BX is expected to report second-quarter earnings of 46 cents a share, according to analysts polled by Thomson Financial.
Bob Evans Farms Inc. BOBE is seen posting a fiscal first-quarter per-share profit of 36 cents a share.
DeVry Inc.'s DV fiscal fourth-quarter results are expected to show a per-share profit of 25 cents.
Domtar Corp. UFS is expected to post a profit of 10 cents a share for its second-quarter.
DTE Energy Co. DTE is seen reporting per-share earnings of 47 cents for its second quarter.
Sysco Corp.'s SYY fiscal fourth-quarter results are expected to show a profit of 46 cents a share.
Valspar Corp. VAL is expected to report fiscal third-quarter earnings of 56 cents a share.
Watch list
Cognex Corp. CGNX said it will delay the filing of its Form 10-Q for the second quarter ended July 1 due to its internal review of previously announced irregularities it discovered in certain transactions originating at its Japanese subsidiary. Natick, Mass.-based Cognex, which makes machine vision systems, said it's unable to predict at this time when it will file is quarterly report.
Countrywide Financial Corp.'s CFC stock price fell Friday after the Calabasas, Calif.-based company said that problems in the U.S. mortgage market pose a serious threat to its earnings and financial condition. See full story.
McClatchy Co. MNI late Friday said it filed its Form 10-Q with the Securities and Exchange Commission and revised its second-quarter earnings downward to $35.2 million, or 43 cents a share, from $39.95 million, or 49 cents a share, originally reported on July 19, to include a non-cash 6-cent litigation charge. The Sacramento-based media company said the charge stems from a settlement between Seattle Times Co., of which it owns 49.5%, and Hearst Corp.'s Seattle newspaper. On a continuing operations basis, the Sacramento-based media company posted earnings of $34.5 million, or 42 cents a share.
Neoware Inc. NWRE said it swung to a fiscal fourth-quarter net loss of $801,000, or 4 cents a share, from a year-ago net profit of $401,000, or 2 cents a share. Excluding certain items, the company posted breakeven results on a per-share basis versus 9 cents a share last year. The King of Prussia, Pa-based provider of thin client computing products said revenue in the three months ended June 30 slipped to $23 million from $23.6 million last year. Analysts polled by Thomson Financial were expecting, on average, a per-share profit of 5 cents on revenue of $23.2 million.
Published By MarketWatch

Labels: BOBE, BX, CGNX, DTE, DV, MNI, NWRE, Stocks to Watch, SYY, UFS, VAL

Here are 7 trading ideas for today. These lists come directly from the TradingMarkets Stock Indicators page and are based upon our latest quantitative research.
Bullish
5+ Consecutive Down Days: These are stocks that have closed down for five or more consecutive days and are trading above their 200-day moving average. Our research shows that stocks trading above their 200-day moving average that close down for five or more days have shown positive returns, on average, 1-day, 2-days and 1-week later. Historically, these stocks have provided traders with a significant edge.

Ryerson (NYSE:RYI) & St. Joe Company (NYSE:JOE). RYI's PowerRating is 7, and JOE's PowerRating is 7.
5+ Consecutive Lower Lows: These are stocks that have made a lower low for five or more consecutive days and are trading above their 200-day moving average. Our research shows that stocks trading above their 200-day moving average that make lower lows for five or more days have shown positive returns, on average, 1-day, 2-days and 1-week later. Historically, these stocks have provided traders with a significant edge.
Nicor (NYSE:GAS). GAS's PowerRating is 6.
2-Period RSI Below 2: These are stocks that have a 2-period RSI reading below 2 and are trading above their 200-day moving average. Our research shows that stocks trading above their 200-day moving with a 2-period RSI reading below 2 have shown positive returns, on average, 1-day, 2-days and 1-week later. Historically, these stocks have provided traders with a significant edge.
Hasbro (NYSE:HAS) & ImClone (NasdaqGS:IMCL). HAS's PowerRating is 7, and IMCL's PowerRating is 8.
Bearish
5+ Consecutive Up Days: These are stocks that have closed up for five or more consecutive days and are trading below their 200-day moving average. Our research shows that stocks trading below their 200-day moving average that close up for five or more days have shown negative returns, on average, 1-week later. Historically, these stocks have provided traders with a significant edge. Historically, these stocks have provided traders with a significant edge.
McClatchy (NYSE:MNI). MNI's PowerRating is 3.
5+ Consecutive Higher Highs: These are stocks that have made a higher high for five or more consecutive days and are trading below their 200-day moving average. Our research shows that stocks trading below their 200-day moving average that make higher highs for five or more days have shown negative returns, on average, 1-day, 2-days and 1-week later. Historically, these stocks have provided traders with a significant edge.
Canetic Resources Trust (NYSE:CNE). CNE's PowerRating is 3.
PowerRatings are courtesy of PowerRatings.net

Labels: CNE, GAS, HAS, Hot Stocks, IMCL, JOE, MNI, RYI

Stocks drifted through the morning session on mixed economic news, then gained strength in the afternoon on M&A activity. The Blue Chip Dow Jones Industrial Average made the boldest move, with tamer advances from the Nasdaq composite and S&P 500 indexes. The price of crude oil, as well as the 10-year Treasury note, both declined.
The private Institute for Supply Management's April manufacturing index came in at 54.7, which was stronger than last month and also above Wall Street forecasts. A reading above 50 shows the manufacturing sector is expanding. It also makes it less likely that the Federal Reserve will see the need to cut interest rates to stimulate the economy. On the downside, housing and autos remain weak. The National Association of Realtors said pending sales of existing homes fell by another -4.9% in March.
Meanwhile, U.S. carmakers reported another month of slow sales. Ford Motor (NYSE: F - News) said its domestic sales in April slid -12.9% from a year ago. Car sales at General Motors (NYSE: GM - News) fell -9.5%. Even Toyota Motor (NYSE: TM - News), which has had a seemingly endless string of increased monthly sales, reported a -4.4% sales decline. There were two less selling days in April 2007 than the previous year.
In a rare occurrence, Dow Jones & Co. (NYSE: DJ - News) was more newsworthy than the stock index that bears its name. Shares of the publisher of The Wall Street Journal rocketed up 54.7% after news of a $5 billion unsolicited takeover bid from Rupert Murdoch's News Corp. (NYSE: NWS - News). The $60-a-share offer, which was submitted to the company's board in mid-April, marks a substantial premium over where the stock has traded in the last year. Dow Jones is controlled by the Bancroft family through a two-tier stock system and cannot be sold without its consent. The family was said to be studying the offer.
Other newspaper publishing companies gained today as well, as investors eyed the sector for further consolidation. Moving higher today were shares of New York Times (NYSE: NYT - News), McClatchy (NYSE: MNI - News), Gannett (NYSE: GCI - News), and the Washington Post (NYSE: WPO - News). News Corp., however, traded lower.
On the earnings front, Procter & Gamble (NYSE: PG - News) reported a 14% increase in its fiscal Q3 net, but those results disappointed investors who had become accustomed in recent quarters to results from the consumer products company that came in above forecast. With its Q3 figures only matching Wall Street's expectations, the shares declined -2.2%. Subscribers can read our take on P&G's earnings in today's issue.
Electronics retailer Circuit City (NYSE: CC - News) shed -5.3% after it withdrew its guidance for the first half of the year after announcing that April sales were "substantially" lower than what the company expected. Circuit City is facing intense competition from the larger Best Buy (NYSE: BBY - News) and is in the midst of a restructuring effort.
By the BullMarket.com Staff

Labels: BBY, CC, DJ, F, GCI, GM, MNI, NWS, NYT, PG, TM

Wall Street eked out a modest advance Tuesday after investors found little motivation in remarks by Federal Reserve officials and also shrugged off a warning from chip maker National Semiconductor Inc.
Major indexes squeaked by with gains after spending most of the session extending Monday's losses. Investors have been left looking for direction after the Fed held interest rates steady last week, and as corporate earnings season winds down.
Fed Chairman Ben Bernanke did not address interest rates when he spoke before the Omaha Chamber of Commerce. Similarly, speeches by two other central bankers and Treasury Secretary Henry Paulson also had little news to sway investors.
National Semi warned that sales will fall steeper than expected; the news initially cast a shadow across the market, but by the close of trading, even the tech-dominated Nasdaq composite index had recovered.
"I get the sense investors are waiting to see what the market is going to do next, and aren't entirely convinced that a slight pullback is going to manifest itself," said Mike Malone, trading analyst at Cowen & Co. "There really wasn't any expectation that something would come from Bernanke. But the fact its over leaves investors looking around for what's next."
According to preliminary calculations, the Dow rose 4.57, or 0.04 percent, to 12,666.31.
Broader stock indicators finished narrowly higher. The Standard & Poor's 500 index added 1.01, or 0.07 percent, to 1,448.00, and the Nasdaq rose 0.89, or 0.04 percent, to 2,471.49.
Stocks got some support from a decline in bond yields as fixed-income investors place bets on where interest rates are headed. The bond market had hoped to glean more from speeches by Bernanke and Treasury Secretary Henry Paulson.
The yield on the benchmark 10-year Treasury note fell to 4.77 percent from 4.81 percent late Monday. The dollar was lower against other major currencies, while gold prices advanced.
Oil prices continued to climb on concerns that a blast of arctic weather in the Midwest and Northeast might linger, and drive up demand for heating fuel. A barrel of light sweet crude rose 14 cents to $58.88 on the New York Mercantile Exchange.
A jump in demand could lead to higher energy costs, but also greater profits for energy producers. However, any benefit to big oil companies was offset by disappointing results from BP PLC.
Britain's biggest refiner fell 54 cents to $63.25 after reporting fourth-quarter profit slipped 22 percent, and slashed its growth targets for this year. Anadarko Petroleum Corp. shares fell 48 cents to $42.47 after it said fourth-quarter profit doubled due to a one-time gain on the sale of a Canadian unit.
Exxon Mobil Corp., a component of the Dow Jones industrials, fell 21 cents to $75.46, while Chevron Corp. shed 41 cents to $73.37.
Matt Kelmon, portfolio manager of the Kelmoore Strategy Funds, said investors will be looking at further fluctuations in the energy sector as one way the market might pick a direction. He also said there will be continued scrutiny over corporate earnings, although many major companies have already reported.
"The market is not expensive, it's not dirt cheap, and the catalyst over the past few weeks has been earnings," he said. "Everything is really on hold until the market finds something else to talk about, but there's still no huge sign of an imminent pullback."
Technology stocks were among the market's biggest decliners, led by the semiconductor sector. National Semi fell 64 cents, or 2.8 percent, to $22.68 after it predicted lower-than-expected sales in the third quarter because of lower shipments to the Asia Pacific region.
Rival Advanced Micro Devices Inc. fell 28 cents to $15.32, while Texas Instruments Inc. shed 37 cents to $31.22. Intel Corp., the worlds largest chip maker for personal computers, rose 3 cents to $21.31.
In other corporate news, Avon Products Inc. rose $3.38, or 9.8 percent, to $38 after the maker of beauty products said its fourth-quarter profit edged up from a year ago as the company struggled with restructuring costs.
McClatchy Co., the nation's second-largest newspaper publisher, rose 53 cents to $39.29 after its operating earnings surpassed Wall Street projections.
Las Vegas Sands Corp. fell $3.41, or 3.3 percent to $100.68 after the casino company reported fourth-quarter profit was boosted by an unexpected $30 million gain from its high-rollers table. Advancing issues outnumbered advancers by about 2 to 1 on the New York Stock Exchange, where volume came to 1.47 billion shares.
The Russell 2000 index of smaller companies rose 3.34, or 0.41 percent, to 810.03. The index surpassed 800 for the first time last week, and reached an all-time high of 810.49 in the previous session.
Overseas, Japan's Nikkei stock average closed up 0.36 percent. At the close, Britain's FTSE 100 was up 0.45 percent, Germany's DAX index added 0.02 percent, and France's CAC-40 fell 0.08 percent.
Published by Joe Bel Bruno, AP Business Writer

Labels: APC, AVP, Ben Bernanke, BP, CVX, INTC, LVS, MNI, TXN, XOM

Alaska Air Group Inc. (NYSE:ALK - News) said January traffic at its Alaska Airlines' unit fell 0.8% while its capacity rose 2.8%. That translated to a fall in load factor, or percentage of seats filled with paying passengers, to 66.5% from 69%. Horizon Air January traffic rose 0.3%, its capacity rose 2.6%, translating to a load factor fall to 63.3% from 64.7%.
Anadarko Petroleum (NYSE:APA - News) said it expects a charge of roughly $100 million related to Algeria's new "exceptional profits" tax, which applies when monthly average Brent Crude prices exceed $30 per barrel. The energy exploration and production company said Monday the charge represents an estimated liability for the period from Aug. 1 through Dec. 31. The Houston company expects a relief because Anadarko operates its Algerian assets under a production-sharing contract that includes a stabilization clause, which is designed to protect the investment and related asset value.
Bisys Group (NYSE:BSG - News) filed its Form 10-Q for the period ended Sept. 30, 2006, and reported net income of $14 million, compared with $13.4 million during the year-ago period. Revenue for the first fiscal quarter of 2007 was $211.5 million vs. $205.7 million.
British Airways (NYSE:BAB - News) reported a 2.8% drop in passenger traffic in January, due to flights being cancelled on the risk of a strike by its cabin crew. Its passenger load factor, a measure of passengers to available seats, dropped 3 percentage points to 69.5%. The market continues to show good demand in premium cabins. The weakness in some non-premium segments is also still a feature, the airline said.
Burger King Holdings Inc. (NYSE:BKC - News) filed to sell 20 million shares from selling stockholders, including entities managed by Bain Capital, Goldman Sachs and Texas Pacific Group. Based on its closing price of $20.28 a share on Friday, the stock offering will raise about $406 million. The offering comes after Burger King held its initial public offering of 25 million shares at $17 a share on May 18, 2006.
Columbia Laboratories' (NasdaqGM:CBRX - News) shares plummeted 69% to $1.44 in Monday morning trade after the Livingston, N.J.-based company announced late Sunday that its Phase III clinical trial of progesterone for the prevention of preterm birth did not achieve any reduction in the incidence of preterm birth at week 32, the primary endpoint. Progesterone also did not reduce the incidence of preterm birth at weeks 28, 35 and 37, the secondary endpoints of the study. Robert Mills, Columbia's chief executive, called the results "extremely disappointing."
Electronic Arts (NasdaqGS:ERTS - News) was downgraded to neutral from overweight at J.P. Morgan. The firm cited valuation and competition from a strong line up of games at its competitors. The broker added another possibility is that the industry could witness further hardware shipment cuts, which could limit demand for Electronic Arts' new titles.
Lexmark International (NYSE:LXK - News) was downgraded to reduce from neutral at UBS.
Majesco Entertainment Co. (NasdaqCM:COOL - News) said its financial statements for the fiscal year ended Oct. 31, 2006 contain a going concern modification. According to a Jan. 29 filing, the company's auditors have issued an opinion indicating that there is substantial doubt about the company's ability to continue as a going concern because Majesco has incurred net losses for the years ended Oct. 31, 2005 and 2006.
The McClatchy Co. (NYSE:MNI - News) was cut to market perform from outperform at Wachovia, which cited valuation and the continuing challenges in the advertising market, especially in the real estate category. "When we initiated coverage of the stock with an outperform rating, we thought the company would be able to increase its estimated cost savings related to the Knight Ridder deal. However, we now think any upside will be more than offset by revenue declines," Wachovia said. "While the stock has been weak, we think continued downward revisions of consensus estimates will make it difficult for the stock to trade materially higher," it added.
Midas Inc. (NYSE:MDS - News) said it plans to record a charge of $1.9 million in the fourth quarter related to closing six unprofitable company-owned shops in Florida. The company also said it expects a decline in U.S. comparable shop sales of 1.7% for the fourth quarter and 1.5% for the full year, citing lower advertising than in the year-ago period.
Nathan's Famous Inc. (NasdaqGM:NATH - News) reported third-quarter earnings of $1.1 million, or 17 cents a share, up from a year-ago profit of $770,000, or 12 cents a share.
NewMarket (NYSE:NEU - News) shares fell after the Richmond, Va.-based maker of chemical additives late Friday reported fourth-quarter net earnings of $4.5 million, or 26 cents a share, down from $11.1 million, or 64 cents a share, in the year-ago period. Excluding special items, the company posted a per-share profit of 60 cents vs. 46 cents. Revenue rose to $306.2 million from $293.7 million.
Overstock.com (NasdaqGM:OSTK - News) filed a lawsuit in the Superior Court of California, County of San Francisco seeking damages of $3.48 billion against a group of companies it says control over 80% of the prime brokerage market. The company also reported a fourth-quarter loss that widened to $40.7 million, or $1.92 a share, from $6.28 million, or 33 cents a share, a year earlier, hurt by lower revenue and increased expenses. The Salt Lake City-based online closeout retailer said revenue fell 6% to $297.5 million from $318 million a year earlier on lower traffic rates and smaller gross margins. Analysts polled by Thomson Financial expected, on average, a fourth-quarter loss of 85 cents a share on revenue of $305.7 million.
PMI Group (NYSE:PMI - News) said fourth-quarter net income fell 7% to $100.5 million, though earnings per share rose 7% to $1.19 a share, in line with analyst forecasts. Revenue rose 12% to $318 million. The profit declines amid loss reserve additions in U.S. mortgage insurance operations and an increase in total incurred losses in PMI Australia.
Regal-Beloit Corp. (NYSE:RBC - News) reported fourth-quarter earnings of $23 million, or 68 cents a share, up from a year-ago profit of $20.3 million, or 63 cents a share. Net sales slipped 2.5% in the latest three months to $366.6 million from $376.2 million in the same period a year earlier. The average estimate of analysts polled by Thomson First Call was for a profit of 68 cents a share in the December period.
Royal Caribbean Cruises (NYSE:RCL - News) said fourth-quarter net income for the three months ended Dec. 31 rose to $46.6 million, or 22 cents a share, from a loss of $3.6 million, or 2 cents a share in the year-ago period. Revenue rose to $1.15 billion from $1 billion. Analysts surveyed by Thomson Financial forecast earnings of 20 cents a share and revenue of $1.16 billion, on average. The cruise line expects first-quarter income of 3 to 8 cents a share. The current analyst estimate is 32 cents a share. For the full year, Royal Caribbean forecast earnings of $3.05-$3.20, compared to the analyst estimate of $3.15 a share.
State Street Corp. (NYSE:STT - News) has agreed to buy Investors Financial Services Corp. (NasdaqGS:IFIN - News) for around $4.5 billion in stock. Investors Financial shareholders will receive 0.906 shares of State Street common stock for each share held, based upon the closing price of State Street common stock on February 2. Approximately 62 million State Street common shares will be issued in the transaction. The transaction is expected to be dilutive to State Street's operating earnings in 2007, neutral to earnings in 2008 on an operating basis, lift earnings in 2008 on a cash basis and lift operating earnings in 2009, based on anticipated pre-tax cost savings of approximately $345 million to $365 million during the first two years following closing. State Street expects to take restructuring charges of between $625 million to $675 million.
Transmeta Corp. (NasdaqGM:TMTA - News) shares tumbled after the company said it's streamlining its operations to focus on its core business of intellectual property licensing. The company plans to decrease its workforce by roughly 39% as part of the restructuring, shedding about 75 employees, mostly in its engineering services businesses.
Unitrin Inc. (NYSE:UTR - News) reported fourth-quarter net earnings of $61.6 million, or 91 cents a share, down 29% from $86.7 million, or $1.26 a share, in the year-ago period. Revenue at the Chicago-based financial services company rose to $763.9 million from $755.9 million.
YRC Worldwide (NasdaqGS:YRCW - News) was downgraded to neutral from outperform at Credit Suisse.

Labels: ALK, APA, BAB, BKC, BSG, CBRX, COOL, ERTS, LXK, MDS, MNI, NATH, NEU, OSTK, PMI, RBC, RCL, STT

With only two days left in Santas officially sanctioned rally, much of that bull has already been put to rest. For the abbreviated and suspect work week, the NASDAQ Composite ($COMPQ) and S&P500 ($SPX) saw fit to tack on another .60% thereabouts and onto their existing yearly and not-so-ruff gainers of 10% to 14%.There were no Monday morning marriage agreements this past week, seeing how the home offices were closed for the holiday. However, the market did kick things off on the right foot Tuesday. Handily lower oil prices (USO) on a discounting of idle supply threats from Iran and mild weather on the east coast [down -2.40% on week] helped traders along with profit-engine leadership from the energy sector. The bulls had further help in a no headlines required situation, as an existing and well-positioned technical bounce and seasonal window were gifts left for Wall Streeters still watching the flickering red and green lights. Wednesday offered up some pleasant surprises with light fare M & A stories from Cenveo (CVO) and McClatchy (MNI), continued weakness in crude and the bottom is in cheer on the housing front (XHB). All told, the fodder was sufficient to keep the bulls happy for a second session of upside seasonal gifts. Call it a case of investor indigestion, schnitzeling or perhaps concern over what really matters in the investment decision: Thursday and Friday saw the few remaining investors, pressuring ever-so-slightly, Santas window of opportunity. In the weeks heaviest dose of economic realities, Thursdays better-than-expected economic reports were also apparently seen as the stronger-than-wanted variety. Call it a Catch-22 situation for market bulls intent on the Fed lowering rates in early 2007. That said, surprises pointing to a steadier economy courtesy of the Chicago PMI, existing home sales, weekly claims and a happy consumer resulted in across-the-board spikes on interest rate instruments and a definitive change of tune towards the possibility of the Fed easing its monetary policy. Speaking of investors changing their tune, closing out the week and a day without one iota of economic news, Apple (AAPL) received a tune up of sorts with more than a few folks doing more than just listening in. After two sessions of nefarious stock-option headlines that involved the man behind the music, Steve Jobs & Co. reached an agreement with the Feds. Apple announced that while Mr. Jobs did recommend favorable grants for a few key executives back in 2001, that he didnt personally partake in the inflated gratuities. As such, the company agreed to take an $84 million charge linked to the prior accounting mishap and the SEC, for their part, might have to go search for another high-profile whipping boy.
ON TAP THIS WEEK
The abbreviated work week of just three sessions will be a fairly busy one for economic watchdogs. Manufacturing on the national level courtesy of the ISM index will kick off the New Year for investors. With mixed regional reports of late and the index currently at the contraction/expansion level of 50, a reading removed from that key level will have the capacity to induce further rate debates amongst bulls and bears. The most important report however, or at least heralded, will be Fridays jobs data. Both the speed at which the slowdown is occurring, as well as possible wage-based inflation pressures will be the focus of the release and a Street torn as to what might be better for 2007s market-based Drive for Five.
Wednesday Economic: Construction Spend (-.6%), ISM Index (50), Auto / Truck Sales (5.2M, 7.3M) Earnings: Immucor (BLUD), Sonic (SONC), Merix (MERX)
Thursday Economic: Weekly Claims (318K), Factory Orders (1.4%), ISM Services (57) Earnings: Monsanto (MON), Texas Industries (TXI), Constellation Brands (STZ), Healthways (HWAY), Xyratex (XRTX)FridayEconomic: Nonfarm (110K), Unemployment (4.5%), Hourly Wages (.3%)Earnings: Shaw Group (SGR), Global Payment (GPN)
By Chris Tyler, Optionetics.com

Labels: AAPL, BLUD, CVO, GPN, HWAY, MERX, MNI, MON, SGR, SONC, SPX, STZ, TXI, USO, XHB, XRTX