February 28, 2013
Sequestration Deadline: What Investors Need to Know
 On Friday, March 1st, the day that sequestration is supposed to kick in, President Obama will meet with a bipartisan group of congressional leaders, presumably in order to hammer out some sort of last minute deal to avoid the dreaded across-the-board spending cuts, or at least to reconfigure them in a manner that will preclude as much as possible the derailment of the timorous economic recovery that seems to be taking place in the U.S. Both sides of this debate have been fairly consistent in their framing and messaging, at least in terms of the broad outlines (and, certainly consistent in using the opportunity to do some finger-pointing): Democrats claim that Republicans will not compromise on closing tax loopholes and curtailing special interest tax breaks in order to achieve the deficit reduction they say they want so badly. The White (more)…
As Sam Sees It: Investors’ Fear of Missing Out May Be Overruling Their Fear of Uncertainty
 Each week, we tap the insight of Sam Stovall, Chief Equity Strategist for S&P Capital IQ, for his perspective on the current market. EQ: The S&P 500 received a bit of a scare earlier this week on Monday when it posted the largest single day drop since November 2012, as well as putting February’s pace for a positive close at risk. That said, it looks like stocks want to move higher from here. Was this bounce a good sign for bulls? Stovall: I think it was, because a lot of bulls as well as bears were expecting us to experience at least a decline of 5 percent, which would’ve put us down to about the 1425 level on the S&P 500. However, because we had what you would call a capitulation day in which the S&P 500 fell by more than (more)…
Bears and Bulls Face-Off as Stocks Hit a Crucial Point
 Investors and traders seem to have their eyes pegged on hitting all-time highs. Whether major economic headwinds will get in the way–primarily the drama on Capitol Hill as March approaches–remains to be seen. However, from a technical standpoint, stocks may be reaching a fork in the road in which bulls and bears could decide to make their stand. In this week’s interview with Toni Turner of TrendStar Trading Group, we discuss what indicators can help identify where the market wants to go, and what key groups are presenting actionable opportunities for traders and investors right now. EQ: The current rally seemed to hit a significant test this week after falling below 1500 on Monday, but the upward move seems to have resumed. What are you seeing from a technical perspective? Turner: We’re seeing a nice move Wednesday on the S&P (more)…
Is Economic Data Thursday Enough Fodder for Bulls to Hit Record High?
 The markets roared ahead on Wednesday with the Dow Jones Industrial Average resting at its highest level since 2007 and about 100 points from an all-time high. News from Washington Thursday morning looked to be giving the bulls something to chew on that would give them more energy as February winds to a close. In its revision of the “advanced” fourth quarter figures on gross domestic product – the output of goods and services produced by labor and property located in the United States – the Commerce Department reversed its estimate that the nation’s economy contracted by 0.1 percent during the October to December period and actually narrowly expanded by 0.1 percent. The original estimate provided in January of the U.S. GDP shrinking in the fourth quarter marked the first time in three and a half years of the economy (more)…
Markets Give Up Ground On Economic Data Release
 Red Giant Entertainment, Inc. – REDG Trading Higher On Heavy Volume. The markets gave up early gains on the futures this morning after economic data that was released showed the markets grew at the slowest pace in over a year in the quarter just completed. Red Giant Entertainment (REDG) was trading heavy volume in early trading on Wall Street and the stock was up north of 50 pcnt. We will keep an eye on shares of REDG, judging from the interest in the OTC markets today this stock will be in play for a number of sessions and we will keep you up to date with trading performance. If you would like to be updated on REDG and more companies like this you can sign up for Free Weekly picks and updates at www.clubpennystock.com Red Giant Entertainment, Inc. specializes in (more)…
Sears Shrinks Net Loss to Beat the Street
 Sears Holdings Corp. (SHLD) reported Thursday a smaller-than-expected net loss during the fourth quarter ended February 2, 2013 as the retailer continues to fight the uphill battle back towards profitability under new leadership. For the quarter, Hoffman Estates, Illinois-based Sears said its revenue contracted by $224 million to $12.26 billion from $12.48 billion in the year prior quarter, largely because of fewer Sears and K-Mart stores, as well as 1.6 lower domestic same-store-sales. Net loss for the latest quarter was $489 million, or $4.61 per share, down sharply from a net loss of $2.4 billion, or $22.63 per share, in the fourth quarter of 2011. Excluding items, adjusted earnings per share were $1.12, more than doubling the 54 cents EPS from the last year’s quarter. The revenue an earnings per share figures both topped Wall Street expectations of 98 cents (more)…
Stocks Under $10: Hold Rated Biomed/Genetics in the Medical Sector
 At www.ValuEngine.com we show that the Medical sector 10.6% overvalued with the Medical Biomed / Genetics 12.3% overvalued. All 16 stocks in today’s table have complete ValuEngine data and have enough price data to have most value levels, risky levels and pivots. Achillion Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (ACHN) – has only been below $10 since February 21, 2013. Affymetrix Inc. (AFFX) – has been below $10 since the week of October 24, 2009. Agenus Inc. (AGEN) – has been below $10 since the week of April 24, 2010. Arena Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (ARNA) – has only been below $10 since January 23, 2013. Array BioPharma, Inc. (ARRY) – has been below $10 since the week of December 29, 2007. AVEO Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (AVEO) – has been below $10 since the week of October 13, 2012. BioDelivery Sciences International, Inc. (BDSI) – has been below $10 since the week of October (more)…
6 Small and Mid-Cap Industrial Goods Stocks to Watch Over the Next Year
 Considering factors as disparate as a housing market that appears to be on the rebound (in the United States at least), combined with dramatically increasing global need for infrastructure spending in both developed and developing countries, the industrial goods sector has a number of companies that can be extremely relevant to the future demands that are implied by these trends. The following six stocks from the industrial goods sector have been chosen based on their small to mid-cap size (between $300 million and $10 billion), high average annual sales growth over the past five years (exceeding 25 percent), a current quarterly performance over 13 percent, and projected earnings-per-share growth for the next year greater than 13 percent. Based on this information, it is a plausible thesis that these companies are likely to continue on their current growth trajectories, and might (more)…
J.C. Penney Gets Even Worse in Q4
 Embattled department store chain J.C. Penney (JCP) failed to impress Wall Street after whiffing on fourth quarter results. Shares fell about 15 percent in afterhours trading Wednesday to around $18 per share. J.C. Penney’s results indicated that Q4 revenues for stores open for at least one year was down 31.7 percent against the same period the previous year, whereas Wall Street had forecasted a loss of 26.1 percent. The company lost $552 million, or $2.51 per share, compared with Q4 of 2011’s loss of $87 million, or $0.41 per share. On an adjusted basis, the company still lost $427 million, or $1.95 per share, for the quarter. Revenue fell 28.4 percent to $3.88 billion. Analysts had expected a loss of 23 cents on revenue of $4.08 billion. The Q4 figures come in the context of a full year of quarterly losses for JCP; (more)…
Keep an Eye on Cyprus
 If you haven’t paid much attention to Cyprus’s bailout negotiations, I suggest you start: There’s a plan afoot that could, if enacted, set a dangerous precedent for private property rights in the eurozone. I refer to an idea tabled by eurozone finance ministers: Forcing foreign depositors in Cypriot banks to take a haircut. Yes, you read that right—forced losses on cash deposits. Here’s how it would work. Deposits would be seized (at least in part) and replaced with bank debt securities—a “bail-in” bond, in industry lingo (similar to the “bail-in” bonds eurozone bank execs may be forced to take in the event of any future bank failures in the currency union under the forthcoming regulatory scheme). Those bail-in bonds would almost immediately be subject to a giant haircut. Domestic depositors would be exempt, but foreigners would get whacked. You see, (more)…
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