Jim Cramer Blog

Here are 7 stocks for traders for Monday from TradingMarkets.com:
Alberto-Culver (NYSE:ACV - News) reports earnings on Monday morning before the bell, with analysts looking for $0.35 EPS. ACV's PowerRating (for Traders) is 4.
When Kellogg (NYSE:K - News) announces quarterly results on Monday morning, watch for $0.73 EPS. K's PowerRating (for Traders) is 5.
Analysts are expecting RadioShack (NYSE:RSH - News) to report $0.26 EPS on Monday morning before the market opens. RSH's PowerRating (for Traders) is 4.
Schnitzer Steel (NasdaqGS:SCHN - News) reports earnings on Monday morning; watch for $1.35 EPS. SCHN's PowerRating (for Traders) is 5.
Verizon (NYSE:VZ - News) is looking to announce $0.62 EPS on Monday morning. VZ's PowerRating (for Traders) is 5.
United Health (NYSE:UHS - News) and Actuate (NasdaqGM:ACTU - News) both report earnings after the bell on Monday, so watch for heightened price action and volatility ahead of the close. UHS's PowerRating (for Traders) is 5, and ACTU's PowerRating (for Traders) is 4.

Labels: ACTU, ACV, Hot Stocks, K, RSH, SCHN, UHS, VZ

Labels: ACTU, BEAS, BIDU, DISCA, FCSX, Jim Cramer, Lightning Round, Mad Money, MOT, NLY, NOK, RSH, WB, WNG

Here are 7 stocks for traders for Friday from TradingMarkets.com:
Oracle (NasdaqGS:ORCL - News) beat earnings expectations on Thursday afternoon, announcing $0.22 EPS over an expected $0.21 EPS. ORCL's PowerRating (for Traders) is 5.
Tektronix (NYSE:TEK - News) also beat earnings with $0.22 EPS over an expected $0.21 EPS. TEK's PowerRating (for Traders) is 5.
Circuit City (NYSE:CC - News) fell 17% on Thursday after missing earnings in the morning. Rivals Best Buy (NYSE:BBY - News) and Radioshack (NYSE:RSH - News) also dropped, in an industry-wide slip. CC's PowerRating (for Traders) is 4, BBY's PowerRating (for Traders) is 4 and RSH's PowerRating (for Traders) is 4.
General Motors (NYSE:GM - News) fell over 1% on reports of continued haggling over a union-run retiree health-care fund with the United Auto Workers. GM's PowerRating (for Traders) is 5.
Motorola (NYSE:MOT - News) gained over 3% on Thursday on analyst reports that rival Samsung is out of stock, giving MOT more room to sell products. MOT's PowerRating (for Traders) is 4.
PowerRatings (for Traders) are courtesy of TradingMarkets.com

Labels: BBY, Best Buy Co. Inc., CC, Circuit City Stores Inc., General Motors Corp., GM, MOT, Motorola Inc., Oracle Corp., ORCL, RSH, Stocks to Watch, TEK, Tektronix

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
Our research shows that stocks exhibiting this price behavior, while trading above their 200-day moving average, have on average, shown positive returns 1-day, 2-days and 1-week later. Historically, these stocks have provided traders with a significant edge. To learn more about our research into stocks exhibiting this type of behavior, go to TradingMarkets.com.
Gaps Down 5% or More: Radioshack (NYSE:RSH - News). RSH's PowerRating is 8.
Laps Down 5% or More: Elan (NYSE:ELN - News). ELN's PowerRating is 8.
5+ Consecutive Down Days: Harvest Natural Resources (NYSE:HNR - News). HNR's PowerRating is 9.
5+ Consecutive Lower Lows: Checkpoint Systems (NYSE:CKP - News). CKP's PowerRating is 9.
2-Period RSI Below 2: O2Micro International (NasdaqGS:OIIM - News). OIIM's PowerRating is 9.
Bearish
Our research shows that stocks exhibiting this price behavior, while trading below their 200-day moving average, have on average, shown negative returns 1-day, 2-days and 1-week later. Historically, these stocks have provided traders with a significant edge.
5+ Consecutive Up Days: Nomura (NYSE:NMR - News). NMR's PowerRating is 3.
Stocks Up 10% or More: Vertex Pharmaceuticals (NasdaqGS:VRTX - News). VRTX's PowerRating is 3.

Labels: CKP, ELN, HNR, Hot Stocks, NMR, OIIM, RSH, VRTX

Here are 7 stocks for traders for Monday from TradingMarkets.com:
Archer-Daniels Midland (NYSE:ADM - News) reports earnings on Monday before the bell; watch for $0.59 EPS. ADM's PowerRating is 5.
Cameco (NYSE:CCJ - News) looks to report $0.42 EPS on Monday morning before the bell. CCJ's PowerRating is 6.
Humana (NYSE:HUM - News) is expected to announce $1.39 EPS on Monday morning. HUM's PowerRating is 6.
Monster Worldwide (NasdaqGS:MNST - News) is looking to report $0.34 EPS when the company announces earnings on Monday morning. MNST's PowerRating is 7.
RadioShack (NYSE:RSH - News) should report $0.24 EPS early Monday. RSH's PowerRating is 7.
CF Industries (NYSE:CF - News) and Titanium Metals (NYSE:TIE - News) both report after the bell on Monday. Watch for heightened price and volume. CF's PowerRating is 9 and TIE's PowerRating is 5.
PowerRatings (for Traders) are courtesy of TradingMarkets.com

Labels: ADM, CCJ, CF, HUM, MNST, RSH, TIE

Here are 7 stocks for traders for Monday from TradingMarkets.com:
Archer-Daniels Midland (NYSE:ADM - News) reports earnings on Monday before the bell; watch for $0.59 EPS. ADM's PowerRating is 5.
Cameco (NYSE:CCJ - News) looks to report $0.42 EPS on Monday morning before the bell. CCJ's PowerRating is 6.
Humana (NYSE:HUM - News) is expected to announce $1.39 EPS on Monday morning. HUM's PowerRating is 6.
Monster Worldwide (NasdaqGS:MNST - News) is looking to report $0.34 EPS when the company announces earnings on Monday morning. MNST's PowerRating is 7.
RadioShack (NYSE:RSH - News) should report $0.24 EPS early Monday. RSH's PowerRating is 7.
CF Industries (NYSE:CF - News) and Titanium Metals (NYSE:TIE - News) both report after the bell on Monday. Watch for heightened price and volume. CF's PowerRating is 9 and TIE's PowerRating is 5.
PowerRatings (for Traders) are courtesy of TradingMarkets.com

Labels: ADM, CCJ, CF, Hot Stocks, HUM, MNST, RSH, TIE

Gilead Sciences (NasdaqGS: GILD):' ... at $81 - a nice little pullback.'Celgene (NasdaqGS: CELG): ' ... has not only not let us down, but now has a cure for the heartbreak of psoriasis.'Patterson-UTI Energy (NasdaqGS: PTEN): 'PTEN is a land driller and, I think, has room to catch up to King Halliburton.'Halliburton (NYSE: HAL - News)Saks (NYSE: SKS - News): 'If you add the $8 in dividends, plus the appreciation, we almost have a double right here. Let the stock come in ... I was not concerned about the gross margins. I think it's a chance to buy, but we only double down when things have been cut, and cut, and cut. You do a schnitzel, my friend, not a full buy.'Schering-Plough (NYSE: SGP - News): 'I should have taken half off, and let the rest run. My advice to you, to take half off and let the rest run. This stock's a double, but it's still going up.'BP (NYSE: BP - News): ' BP, with a 3+% yield... BP, with still some good properties, with the possibility that they're restructuring... I say you pull the trigger right here.'Cisco (NasdaqGS: CSCO): ''Lets just stick with Cisco.It's down three straight points. That's the better... I like best of breed.'RadioShack (NYSE: RSH - News): ' ... give Julian Day the benefit of the doubt. He's the CEO ... He's rationalizing the stores... He is making it so it's a profitable enterprise. The answer is: Stay long!'
Bearish calls:
RH Donnelley (NYSE: RHD - News): 'It's been too high. I've watched the private equity rumor, over and over again. There's been too much hype in the name... I want to sell RHD.'Geron (NasdaqGM: GERN):'Stem cell speculation... Not for me. Sell, sell, sell! I don't want to come near it. It's up too high.'Tellabs (NasdaqGS: TLAB): 'TLAB's was one of the worst quarters I have heard.'Marvell Technology (NasdaqGS: MRVL): ' ... when you look at a stock like MRVL, I bought it... What was I doing? The financials weren't clean. There is a sign on my desk... and what it says is... Accounting irregularities equals sell. Did I look at that before I bought the stock? I did not.'Sally Beauty Holdings (NYSE: SBH - News): 'It's a 'don't buy, don't buy...' I didn't like their quarter. I did take a hard look at it though.'Crystallex (AMEX: KRY - News): 'No. Chavez don't give a darn about his people... sell, sell, sell! I want you out of that stock now. Enough with him. Enough with that country, unless they come around to our ways.'SunPower (NasdaqGM: SPWR)
Published by SeekingAlpha

Labels: BP, CELG, GERN, GILD, HAL, Jim Cramer, KRY, Lightning Round, MRVL, PTEN, RHD, RSH, SBH, SGP, SKS, SPWR, TLAB

Stocks with Fizz: Hansen Natural (NasdaqCM: HANS) and Jones Soda (NasdaqCM: JSDA)
Cramer made a comparison between HANS, a stock that moved all the way from 13 cents to $50, and JSDA, which has moved from 81 cents to $20. He would use a recent pull back to buy JSDA as a speculative play because it has room to run, even though it has doubled. Cramer notes both HANS and JSDA have western-centered markets, appeal to a younger demographic, and adds when HANS was starting out, the company, like JSDA, had only a few analysts covering it. Although Jones is focusing on the lackluster soda business rather than getting into energy drinks, it could take business from Coke or Pepsi, and its lack of expansion is indicates there is room to grow.

Benefit of the Doubt: RadioShack(NYSE: RSH - News) CEO Julian Day and Sears Holdings (NasdaqGS: SHLD) CEO Eddie Lampert
Continuing his series on CEOs who deserve the benefit of the doubt, Cramer discussed Radio Shack's CEO Julian Day and Sears Holdings' CEO Eddie Lampert, both of whom treat their retail companies as real business and work on making money rather than mindlessly putting up new stores and focusing on same-store sales to please analysts. Cramer praises Day for "restoring profitability" rather than expanding before RSH is ready, and says Lampert has a "Wall Street edge." He would buy both stocks.

Next Week's Game Plan: Veraz Networks, Comverge, Best Buy (NYSE: BBY - News), Circuit City (NYSE: CC - News), GameStop (NYSE: GME - News)
Cramer says Veraz Networks, a new IPO which will trade under the symbol VRAZ, is telco equipment and internet infrastructure company worth buying. While it works with voice over internet, it is not to be compared with Vonage which Cramer considers "the single worst IPO of my lifetime," since Vonage is just a retailer while Veraz works with infrastructure. It should be priced from $10 to $12, but Cramer would be willing to spend up to $14. However, he thinks new IPO, Comverge, which will trade under the symbol COMV, is too expensive at $15 to $17. He likes the fact that the Comverge's technology increases profits for utilities companies, but would not pay more than $12.50. Cramer would pay attention to BBY's earnings report on Wednesday, because CC is blinking, and would buy BBY if it declines. However, he doesn't like BBY as much as GME, "the hottest part of consumer tech."
Mad Mail: Dell (NasdaqGS: DELL), Hewlett-Packard (NYSE: HPQ - News), CarMax (NYSE: KMX - News), AutoNation (NYSE: AN - News), AAR Corp (NYSE: AIR - News), GOL Linhas Areas Inteligentes (NYSE: GOL - News)
Cramer says Dell is "dead money" and would buy HPQ because it is cheaper and better. Concerning KMX's "worrisome" conference call, Cramer says the company's permanent margins may be coming down and now prefers AN. Finally, Cramer said he is not backing away from AIR and told another viewer to get back into GOL which should move from $30 to $40.
Published By SeekingAlpha

Labels: AIR, AN, BBY, CC, COMV, DELL, GME, GOL, HANS, HPQ, Jim Cramer, KMX, Mad Money, RSH, SHLD, VRAZ

Reliance Steel (NYSE: RS - News), U.S. Steel (NYSE: X - News), Lone Star (NYSE: LSS - News): Cramer suggests buying RS which was up 3% on the deal between X and LSS, but is still "the cheapest that's left" in the consolidation-driven steel sector. Concerning the acquisition of LSS, Cramer said "What a deal!"
GlobalSantaFe (NYSE: GSF - News): Cramer thinks a "monster seller" is doing investors a favor by giving them an opportunity to buy GSF, which Cramer thinks may be a takeover or merger targetfor Seadrill.
Tata Motors (NYSE: TTM - News), Frozen Food Express (NasdaqGM: FFEX), RadioShack (NYSE: RSH - News): Cramer likes TTM as a secular growth story and doesn't think it will be affected by India's overheated economy. Cramer is looking into FFEX because of Bob Olstein's recommendation; "This guy, you've got to take down everything he says. That's how great he is." Cramer also likes RSH.

Labels: GSF, Jim Cramer, Jim Cramer's Stop Trading, LSS, RS, RSH, TTM, X

A sharp decline in the Chinese stock market overnight, a suicide bomb attack in Afghanistan that the Taliban claimed was directed at Vice President Dick Cheney, followed by a weaker-than-expected reading on durable goods orders this morning, coalesced to provided the initial catalyst for a steep decline in the U.S. equities markets. By the end of a volatile day, the Dow Jones Industrial Average lost -3.3%, while the broader S&P 500 was off -3.5% and the Nasdaq composite declined -3.9%. Money, as expected, flowed to the safe haven of the bond market. The yield on the benchmark 10-year Treasury note fell 10 bp to 4.51%.
Market sentiment tended towards bearishness over the last few sessions, and comments by former Federal Reserve head Alan Greenspan about a possible recession later in the year added to a gloomy start to the week yesterday. But then China's stock market went into a tailspin in the U.S. overnight hours. The benchmark Shanghai Composite Index shed -8.8% of its value, or more than $100 billion in market capitalization, and the selling pressure spread westward to European markets and then the U.S. The day was exacerbated by a tabulation delay by Dow Jones data systems due to a bottleneck in order flow that appeared to cause an over -200 point drop in the Dow within a few minutes after the system was switched over to a backup system that instantly registered the outsized move.
On the economic front, the Commerce Department said that orders for big-ticket items like appliances and airplanes plunged -7.8%, or twice the decline that economists expected, in January to a seasonally adjusted $204 billion. The drop came on the heels of a 2.8% increase in December, which was revised from a previous estimate of a 2.9% increase. It was an -18% decline in orders in the transportation sector, especially airplanes, that was the major driver of the decline. On a more positive note, the National Association of Realtors reported that sales of existing homes increased in January at their fastest pace in seven months, though selling prices dropped as the market continues to seek equilibrium.
As expected, major industrial companies were hard hit today as were most tech sector bellwethers. Apple (Nasdaq: AAPL - News) shed -5%, but part of its decline may have been exacerbated by an announcement, late yesterday, that it would delay shipment of its Apple TV device until mid-March. Among the declining industrial stocks were General Motors (NYSE: GM - News), off -5%; Alcoa (NYSE: AA - News), down -4%; and Caterpillar (NYSE: CAT - News) down -4%. Given the weak durable goods report, Boeing (NYSE: BA - News) did well in only declining -2%.
In one of the day's bright spots, electronics retailer Radio Shack (NYSE: RSH - News) climbed 12% after the company reported a 64% increase in its Q4 profit and offered bullish guidance for the rest of the year. The company said cost cutting offset a drop in revenue and same-store sales. The retailer, which is several months into a turnaround plan, said it earned $84.5 million in Q4, or 62 cents per share, compared with $51 million, or 38 cents per share, a year earlier.
Sirius Satellite Radio (Nasdaq: SIRI - News) followed potential merger partner XM Satellite Radio Holdings (Nasdaq: XMSR - News) in reporting a narrower Q4 loss. Sirius reported a net loss of -$246 million, or -17 cents a share, against a loss of -$311 million, or -23 cents per share, last year. Revenue rose to $193 million from $80 million a year earlier. XM reported a narrower Q4 loss yesterday.
Published By BullMarket.com

Labels: AA, AAPL, BA, CAT, GM, RSH, SIRI, XMSR

Brocade (NasdaqGS:BRCD - News) reported fiscal first-quarter earnings tripled on 32% higher revenue.

CBS Corp. (NYSE:CBS - News) swung to a fourth-quarter profit from a year-earlier loss, raised its dividend 10% and plans to buy back up to $1.5 billion of stock
CDI Corp. (NYSE:CDI - News) said it earned $6.8 million, or 34 cents a share, in the fourth quarter, up from $3.3 million, or 16 cents a share, in the same period a year ago. The Philadelphia-based staffing company said revenue rose to $321 million from $290.7 million. Analysts polled by Thomson Financial were forecasting earnings of 28 cents a share on revenue of $311.2 million. "A healthy capital spending environment,plus our current pipeline of new business wins, could produce organic revenue growth in the range of 7% to 9% for 2007," CEO Roger Ballou said in a statement. CDI is expecting first-quarter revenue growth of 7% to 9%.
Cogent Inc., (NasdaqGS:COGT - News) the South Pasadena, Calif., provider of fingerprint-biometric services, reported fourth-quarter net income fell 34% as revenue decreased 8.5%.
HealthExtras Inc.'s (NasdaqGS:HLEX - News) fourth-quarter net income rose 94% as the Rockville, Md., pharmacy-benefits-management company's revenue more than doubled to $396.2 million. For 2007, the company sees earnings of $1 to $1.06 a share on revenue of $1.8 billion.
Herbalife Ltd.'s (NYSE:HLF - News) fourth-quarter net income rose 39% on 19% higher sales.
Marvell Technology Group Ltd. (NasdaqGS:MRVL - News) posted preliminary fourth-quarter net revenue of $622 million compared with $489 million during the year-ago period.
RadioShack (NYSE:RSH - News)reported fourth-quarter net income of 62 cents a shae, up from 38 cents in the year-earlier period. Revenue was $1.46 billion compared with $1.67 billion. Analysts surveyed by Thomson Financial had been estimating 43 cents on revenue of $1.47 billion.
Superior Energy Services Inc. (NYSE:SPN - News) fourth-quarter earnings more than tripled as revenue at the Harvey, La.-based provider of oilfield services and equipment rose to $319.1 million vs. $188 million. The year-ago results were hurt by Hurricanes Katrina and Rita.
TNS Inc. (NYSE:TNS - News) swung to a fourth-quarter net loss of 28 cents a share from earnings of 6 cents a share. Excluding charges the loss was 13 cents a share. The Reston, Va.-based provider of the data communications services posted revenue of $74.4 million vs. $65.6 million.

Published By MarketWatch

Labels: BRCD, CBS, CDI, COGT, HLEX, HLF, MRVL, RSH, SPN, TNS

Stocks climbed higher today, as investors shrugged off a sharp rise in crude oil prices and whatever anxiety they may have about the Federal Reserve's decision on interest rates, which is due tomorrow. Investors have for the most part resigned themselves to the fact the Fed is unlikely to cut interest rates in the near term; for now they will settle for a continuation of the central bank's steady-as-she goes policy of not raising them further. The 10-year Treasury note also found buyers in advance of the Fed's announcement.
Ordinary Americans, for their part, were upbeat about the state of the economy in January, a period when wages were moving up and oil prices were going down, according to the private Conference Board's monthly consumer confidence survey. Oil futures, however, rose more than $2 a barrel today on a report in The Wall Street Journal that Saudi Arabia would cut its production another 168,000 barrels a day starting February 1st, or almost 1 million barrels a day from last summer. Natural gas prices were also up sharply as artic cold settled in across the Midwest.
In earnings news, U.S. Airways Group (NYSE: LCC - News) swung to a profit in Q4, earning $12 million, or 13 cents per share, against a loss of -$261 million, or -$3.27 a share, during the corresponding 2005 quarter. The results included several special items, which if excluded, meant the company would have earned $86 million, or 91 cents a share. The stock dropped -2% despite the positive results. Fuel prices are the company's largest cost component, and today's increase in oil prices contributed to the selling pressure. Rival JetBlue Airways (Nasdaq: JBLU - News) also declined, falling -4% after it reported a return to profitability in Q4, earning $17 million, or 10 cents a share, against a year-earlier loss of -$42 million, or -25 cents a share.
Proctor & Gamble (NYSE: PG - News) reported a 12% increase in profits amid strong sales of razors and other high-margin products, and it increased its full-year guidance. Meanwhile, transportation bellwether United Parcel Service (NYSE: UPS - News) reported results that were in line with expectations, but it issued soft guidance for the current quarter and full year.
In the pharmaceutical sector, Merck (NYSE: MRK - News) said acquisition costs and the loss of patent protection for its anti-cholesterol drug Zocor cut its Q4 profit by -58%. Revenue, however, was up 5% on sharply increased sales of vaccines. Merck's profit dropped to $474 million, or 22 cents a share, from $1.1 billion, or 51 cents per share, a year earlier. Included in the results was a charge of -$466 million related to Merck's purchase of biotechnology company Sirna Therapeutics. Wyeth (NYSE: WYE - News), meanwhile, said its profits rose 17% on strong sales of its vaccine Prevnar and arthritis drug Enbrel, but its results were below analyst forecasts. Wyeth co-markets Enbrel Amgen (Nasdaq: AMGN - News).
Electronics retailer Radio Shack (NYSE: RSH - News) rose 5% after being upgraded from "sell" to a "buy" by Goldman Sachs, which called the company a "classic turnaround opportunity." Wireless phone maker Motorola (NYSE: MOT - News) also rose sharply, jumping 7% on news that activist investor Carl Icahn has taken a 1.4% stake in the company and was seeking a seat on its board. Motorola, the world's #2 cell phone maker, recently reported a -48% drop in its Q4 profits as prices for its popular Razr phones have plummeted. The stock has been trading near its 52-week low.

Labels: AMGN, JBLU, LCC, MOT, MRK, PG, RSH, UPS, WYE

Wall Street fell moderately in early trading Monday as crude oil prices rose on expectations that wintry weather will finally arrive in the U.S.
Oil prices fell below $56 a barrel on expectations the unusually warm weather seen so far this winter would curb energy demand. However, there are now forecasts that colder weather is on the way -- and that could increase demand for fuel like heating oil. A barrel of light sweet crude rose 89 cents to $57.20 on the New York Mercantile Exchange. The impact of higher oil offset a number of takeover deals announced that originally pushed stock futures higher before the opening bell.
In midmorning trading, the Dow Jones industrial average fell 33.08, or 0.27 percent, to 12,364.93.
Broader stock indicators also fell. The Standard & Poor's 500 index was down 2.24, or 0.16 percent, to 1,407.47, and the Nasdaq composite index dropped 3.65, or 0.15 percent, to 2,430.60.
Bonds fell, with the yield on the benchmark 10-year Treasury note rising to 4.66 percent from 4.65 percent late Friday. The dollar was mixed against other major currencies, while gold prices rose.
General Electric Co. fell 25 cents to $37.31 after agreeing to acquire oil and gas fields equipment supplier Vetco Gray for about $1.9 billion.
Pharmacy benefit manager Caremark Rx Inc. fell 74 cents to $55.61 after it rejected a $26 billion takeover bid from rival Express Scripts Inc. late Sunday. Caremark said it prefers a $22.2 billion offer from drug store chain CVS Corp. Express Scripts was off 31 cents at $68.55, while CVS rose 2 cents to $31.15.
Seattle Genetics Inc. rose $1.24, or 23 percent, to $6.54 after it struck a deal with Genentech Inc. on the development and commercialization of a cancer drug. Genentech fell 11 cents to $83.57.
RadioShack Corp. rose $1.82, or 10.3 percent, to $18.63 after saying its fourth-quarter profit will come in above year-earlier levels.
The Russell 2000 index of smaller companies was down 4.74,or 0.61 percent, at 771.13.
Overseas, Japan's stock market was closed for a holiday. In afternoon trading, Britain's FTSE 100 was down 0.26 percent, Germany's DAX index was up 0.12 percent, and France's CAC-40 was up 0.09 percent.
Declining issues outnumbered advancers by about 3 to 2 on the New York Stock Exchange, where volume came to 278 million shares.
By Joe Bel Bruno, AP Business Writer

Labels: CMX, CVS, DNA, ESRX, GE, RSH, SGEN

A rise in wholesale prices, combined with mixed reports from the housing industry, initially sparked selling on the stock market, but it didn't last and a rebound in the afternoon brought the major indices to a mixed close. The Dow Jones Industrial Average and S&P 500 indices posted increases, but the Nasdaq composite failed to keep pace. Treasury prices took the opposite course, rising during the morning session as traders chewed on the economic reports before fading in the afternoon. Crude oil prices also swung higher on expectations the Energy Department will report that U.S. crude inventories fell last week.
Investors were at first spooked by the Producer Price Index, a key inflation measure, which rose 2% in November, the Labor Department reported. The increase was 4x higher than the 0.5% increase economists were expecting. The core rate, excluding food and energy, rose 1.3%. The result was in contrast to last week's consumer price report, which was flat during the same period in large measure due to lower energy costs. That didn't carry over to the PPI, however, as energy prices at the wholesale level were up about 6%, the government said.
New data from the housing industry showed that new home construction increased by 6.7% in November, even while applications for permits to build new homes fell for the 10th consecutive month. The stocks of homebuilders also slumped after Hovnanian Enterprises (NYSE: HOV - News) reported a quarterly loss on Monday evening. The New Jersey-based builder reported a FQ4 loss of -$118 million, or -$1.88 per share, against last year's profit of $165 million, or $2.53 per share. Revenue in the quarter ended October 31st was $1.7 billion, down from $1.8 billion last year. The company booked impairment charges and land-use write-offs totaling -$315 million in the quarter. The company confessed to being surprised by how rapidly home prices had dropped during the year.
Morgan Stanley (NYSE: MS - News) moved higher after the company announced a 26% operating profit increase and said it would spin off its Discover credit card business. The investment bank's net income declined to $2.2 billion, or $2.08 a share, from $2.5 billion, or $2.32 per share, a year ago due to a $700 million gain last year from the sale of its aircraft leasing business. Discover is the nation's fourth-largest credit card brand.
Elsewhere on the earnings front, electronics retailer Circuit City (NYSE: CC - News) sank after the company reported an unexpected loss in F3Q ended November 30th. The stock shed -16% after Circuit City said a "fierce" market-share battle for TVs and other high-profile gadgets resulted in a net loss of -$16 million, or -9 cents a share, compared with a profit of $10 million, or 6 cents per share, a year ago. Last week, rival Best Buy (NYSE: BBY - News) reported a lower-than-expected profit. Best Buy also declined, losing -2% today, while Radio Shack (NYSE: RSH - News) was off -2%.
In merger news, Harrah's Entertainment (NYSE: HET - News) announced that it has agreed to sell itself to a private equity group for $17 billion, plus the assumption of about $11 billion in debt. Apollo Management and Texas Pacific Group agreed to pay $90 a share for the casino operator. The two private equity firms first bid $81 a share about two months ago. Shareholders of pan-European stock exchange Euronext approved a merger proposal from the NYSE Group (NYSE: NYX - News), which clears the way for the creation of the world's first trans-Atlantic stock market. The London Stock Exchange, meanwhile, urged its stockholders to reject a hostile bid from the Nasdaq Stock Market (Nasdaq: NDAQ - News). Management forecasted a 58% profit gain for 2006 if it remained independent, as it campaigned against the Nasdaq offer, which it again called "inadequate." Investors responded by sinking the suitor -5% in today's
By the BullMarket.com Staff

Labels: BBY, CC, HET, HOV, MS, NDAQ, NYX, RSH