October 31, 2011
Biotech Stocks Sharply Rise, Fall
 Several biotechnology stocks moved sharply upwards today with good news ranging from strong earnings reports to beneficial court rulings helping to drive buying activity despite a down day for markets worldwide. Several other companies, though, took major losses on the day. Court Ruling Buoys Momenta Momenta Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (MNTA) had a bullish day, seeing its stock jump 20.92 percent on news of a court ruling in Massachusetts that will ban Amphastar Pharmaceuticals, Inc., Watson Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (WPI), and International Medical Systems, Ltd. from selling a generic version of their drug Lovenox, which is used for treating blood clots in the legs. Momenta, a Cambridge, MA-based company specializing in the characterization and process engineering of complex molecules, saw its stock price spike in after hours trading Friday following news of the court ruling and the gains persisted into trading Monday. “In granting the (more)…
Automakers Slide In Spite of Sunny Sales Projections
 Bright projections for automakers from the car-shopping website Edmunds.com should have boosted shares of car companies on Monday, but instead, the majority of components in the subsector fell sharply alongside the broader market. Edmunds forecast that auto companies would post sales of a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 13.4 million vehicles, significantly beyond the 12.2 million annual rate a year ago, and beyond the impressive 13.1 million for September. Sales of cars have been climbing for the last several months and the predictions for October mark the highest annual rate since August of 2009, the final month of the federally run “Cash for Clunkers” program. The rising numbers bode well for the state of the economy, but renewed questions surrounding the euro debt crisis, specifically when and how the measures would be implemented weighed on consumer stocks regardless. U.S. auto (more)…
Equities Sector Coverage: Markets Close Out Strong Month With a Day of Losses
 The Chicago PMI came in at 58.4 in October slightly below consensus. The Dow Jones Industrial Average traded down from 12,229.29 towards 12,000 going into the final half hour of trading. The NASDAQ traded down from 2716.70 to below 2695 going into the final half hour of trading. Asian stocks slipped on Monday as the Japanese yen drops following intervention. The Nikkei 225 fell 0.69% to 8,988 with the Hang Seng down 0.77% to 19,865. European stocks were lower as the focus shifts to concerns over Italy’s debt burden and with Eurozone inflation above target. The FTSE 100 declined 1.99% to 5,589 with the DAX slumping 2.70% to 6,175 and the CAC 40 cascading lower by 2.83% to 3,254. The US Treasury 10-Year yield declined from 2.324 to 2.146 on Monday. Gold declined from $1746.5 the Troy ounce to $1705.5 (more)…
Stocks Left High and Dry After Thai Floods Peak
 Flooding in Thailand reached its high-water mark over the weekend, leaving inner Bangkok dry while soaking the city’s suburbs. Thailand, a center for manufacturing, has seen major disruptions of their industrial base that will have ripple effects across the globe. Major automakers and technology companies expect significant disruption to their supply chain that may seriously affect earnings and global supply. Honda Left High and Dry Honda Motor Company, Ltd. (HMC) expects to be seriously affected by the flooding, building nearly 5 percent of its cars in Thailand. The stock gapped down today, dropping nearly 8 percent as the company reported a severe drop in their second quarter earnings. Honda reported that its net income from Q2 fell 55 percent year-over-year to $788 million. These results were largely consistent with analyst expectations, caused by both the aftereffects of the Japanese earthquake (more)…
MF Global Files for Bankruptcy
 Broker/dealer MF Global (MF) has filed for bankruptcy, leading exchanges in New York and Chicago to ban their traders from the floor until further notice. MF Global went through rocky times last week when they reported a Q2 loss and had their credit downgraded because of their substantial holdings of European bonds, seeing their stock lose 67 percent of its value. Now, the company has filed for chapter 11 bankruptcy protection and trading of their shares has been halted. Rumored Buyout Falls Through The troubled firm was the subject of buyout rumors on Friday that persisted throughout the weekend, with speculation about possible buyers including Goldman Sachs (GS), State Street (STT), and Macquarie (MQG.AX). In the end, though, it was holding company Interactive Brokers Group (IBKR) that was reportedly close to a deal on Sunday to save the firm, according to (more)…
2 Oil Companies with Earnings That Impressed
 Earnings from major oil companies have been less than impressive in spite of a considerable rise in profits as a result of high oil prices. The most recent earnings reports have revealed several oil and gas outfits that have come out stronger than competitors and could offer a strong potential upside in the remainder of the year. Occidental Petroleum (OXY)-Occidental succeeded in surpassing Wall St. earnings expectations and increasing North American production, among the goals of many domestic oil and gas companies, as the nation attempts to be more self-sufficient with energy creation. Third quarter 2011 operating earnings added a massive 47.3 percent to $2.18 per share from precious levels of $1.48 per share. Occidental underperformed last quarter, which has depleted the share price by around 17 percent over the last six month period. Now, the company could have significant (more)…
IBAGreen Has a Two-Pronged Profit Plan for Waste Management
 As of today there are an estimated 7 billion people living on planet earth. Accompanying this milestone is widespread concern surrounding the availability of clean water, food and resources. The U.N. estimates that by 2025 we’ll reach 8 billion worldwide and that by 2083, the earth will have 10 billion inhabitants. The rising population will put even greater pressure on the earth’s resources and increase the difficulty of waste management. Given the potential environmental detriment of what is equivalent to 4.5 pound of trash per person per day in the U.S. and the natural resources used in the creation of that trash, the concerns over the earth’s future are legitimate and sobering. Companies have long been attempting to leverage the demand for more efficient waste management into profits and much has changed within the waste management realm over the past (more)…
Sweet Candy Stocks for the Halloween Investor
 Much of the confectionary industry is made up of privately owned companies like Mars, Inc., Haribo, and the Farley & Sathers Candy Company. There are, however, still a few publicly traded companies that make candy which we’ll explore in celebration of the day’s spooky holiday. Hershey’s The Hershey Company (HSY) is easily the largest dedicated candy maker in the world. With a market capitalization of over $12 billion, Hersheys has a variety of different brands and candies including Hershey’s Kisses, Reece’s Peanut Butter Cups, 5th Avenue, Almond Joy, Cadbury chocolates, Heath, Good n’ Plenty, Carmello, Mounds, Jolly Rancher, Watchamcallit, Skor, and many others. Started as a chocolate plant in 1903 by founder Milton Snavely Hershey, Pennsylvania’s Hershey Company has grown into an international corporation that sells chocolate and candy across the globe. Hershey recently released their Q3 earnings reports and (more)…
Big week for Economic Indicators – Technical Correction Normal
 Brooksie’s Daily Stock Market blog – an edge before the open Monday, October 31, 2011 9:16 am EDT DJIA: 12,231.11 S&P 500: 1285.08 We got the big news out of Europe last week, which the market greeted with yet another breakout on the upside, before pausing on Friday to catch its breath. Since October 4, the DJIA is up 1,577 points (14.8%), and the S&P 500 up 186 points (16.9%). A good chunk of that was in anticipation of an agreement by European leaders to address their bank and sovereign debt issues. Critics, shorts, and doomsters will stop at nothing to find fault with the measures that were proposed to head off an international crisis. Some of their criticism is justified, so risks remain, What is really needed is more detail about funding the 1 trillion euro ($1.5 trillion) rescue plan, (more)…
Trick or Treat: Euphoria from Euro Rescue Plan Fades
 US stock futures point to a lower open Monday, following losses in European markets as the initial excitement fades over the Euro zone rescue package. Last week stocks soared after European officials hammered out a deal, but now investors are left to ask questions about whether the plan will provide a long-term solution to the ongoing sovereign debt crisis. After such a rapid ascent in October, this could be a case of traders simply locking in some gains. Our stated target zone on the S&P this year was 1250-1300, and now that we have nearly reached the upper end of that level, it is certainly a prudent time to take profits. We are currently set to open just below the 200-day moving average this morning, and it will be important to see how hard bulls fight to hold onto that (more)…
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