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A Sideways View of the World
Friday, February 11, 2011 - 4:40pm | 2450By Vitaliy Katsenelson What Happens in a Sideways Market MOST PEOPLE (MYSELF INCLUDED) find discussions about stock markets a bit esoteric; for us, it is a lot easier to relate to individual stocks. Since a stock market is just a collection of individual stocks, let's take a look at a very...
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CBOE Holdings (CBOE): Trading the Takeover Rumors
Friday, February 11, 2011 - 10:28am | 1971Consolidating is brewing in the financial sector, as NYSE Euronext (NYX) is in advanced merger discussions with Deutsche Boerse. If this pairing comes to fruition, it would create the world's largest financial exchange, with trading capabilities on both sides of the Atlantic. This potential...
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Walmart to Offer iPhone 4 on the Verizon Wireless Network
Wednesday, February 9, 2011 - 9:05am | 96Walmart (NYSE: WMT) today announced that iPhone 4 on the Verizon Wireless (NYSE: VZ) network will be available in select Walmart stores starting Feb. 10, 2011. "We're excited to bring iPhone 4 on the Verizon Wireless network, one the most anticipated mobile phone launches in recent history, to...
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The Bid is Back 02-03-2011
Thursday, February 3, 2011 - 7:20pm | 888Cusick's Corner The VIX is down and trading 16.7 (see Index Trading) -- there's less fear in the marketplace than there was last week. Today's strong economic data and retail sales numbers overshadowed worries over events in Egypt. S&P 500 closed up on the day, nearer the day's highs with no...
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33 Defensive Stock Plays
Thursday, February 3, 2011 - 4:45pm | 196If you're looking for some nice defensive stocks to go along with the rest of your long positions in the portfolio, then take a look at the list of stocks below that are more defensive than growth oriented. They are stocks that shouldn't see a lot of volatility and won't fall through the floor,...
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Ever-Present Bid Coupled 02-03-2011
Thursday, February 3, 2011 - 3:43pm | 971Cusick's Corner Equities are becoming a more and more fickle trade these days. There is little debate over the bullishness that US equities are exhibiting. However, I still am seeing some decent sellers at these critical levels and Friday's volume is an excellent example. What is equally...
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Heavy Put Activity in Costco Wholesale (COST)
Thursday, February 3, 2011 - 3:41pm | 1511While dire weather forecasts may have sent anxious shoppers to Costco (NASDAQ:COST) to stock up on non-perishables, paper goods, and booze, an investor apparently took a bearish stance on the warehouse-style retailer in Wednesday's trading. Specifically, the March 70 put saw more than 26,000...
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Jobless Claims Yo-Yo Back Down - Analyst Blog
Thursday, February 3, 2011 - 12:31pm | 2418Initial Claims for Unemployment Insurance fell by 42,000 last week to 415,000 (last week was revised up by 3,000, so one could see it as a 39,000 decline). This was a bit better than the expected level of 425,000. This is a welcome turnaround, but only partially negates last week's big increase....
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Jobless Claims Yo-Yo Back Down - Analyst Blog
Thursday, February 3, 2011 - 12:15pm | 2418Initial Claims for Unemployment Insurance fell by 42,000 last week to 415,000 (last week was revised up by 3,000, so one could see it as a 39,000 decline). This was a bit better than the expected level of 425,000. This is a welcome turnaround, but only partially negates last week's big increase....
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Option Strategies for Trading Verizon Communications (NYSE:VZ)
Thursday, February 3, 2011 - 9:58am | 1933Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ) has seen a significant increase in volume in 2011. While part of this is attributable to an overall market increase in trading activity, the impending availability of the iPhone has also sparked interest among investors. Since the January 11 announcement that...
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Costco's January SSS Up 9%, Citigroup Maintains Hold
Thursday, February 3, 2011 - 9:32am | 170Citigroup has published a research report on Costco Wholesale Corporation (NASDAQ: COST) after the company reported better than expected January same store sales that increased by +9%. In the report, Citigroup writes "COST reported January SSS of +9%, above our 6 to 8% estimate, above consensus of...
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A Peek Into The Market Before The Trading Starts
Thursday, February 3, 2011 - 8:49am | 456Pre-open movers US stock futures are mixed this morning, as investors are awaiting jobless-claims data and earnings report. Futures on the Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 7 points to 11,992 and S&P 500 futures fell 1.80 points to 1,298.20. Nasdaq 100 futures fell 1.75 points to 2,318. A Peek...
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J.P. Morgan Comments on Costco's January Sales (COST)
Thursday, February 3, 2011 - 8:47am | 122J.P. Morgan is out with its report today on Costco's (NASDAQ: COST) January sales. In a note to clients, J.P. Morgan writes, "Costco produced a very impressive core comp of 6.0% in January, which beat our expectations by 200 bps and actually includes a 100-150 bps drag from adverse weather...
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BJ's Zooming Higher Pre-Market (BJ)
Thursday, February 3, 2011 - 8:44am | 204BJ's Wholesale Club, Inc. (NYSE: BJ) shares are zooming higher in the pre-market session, gaining almost 14% to $49.00, a gain of $5.99 after the company announced it was exploring strategic alternatives. The company has hired Morgan Stanley (NYSE: MS) to discuss potential alternatives. This...
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BJ's Wholesale Club January Comparable Store Sales up 2.7%
Thursday, February 3, 2011 - 8:41am | 75BJ's Wholesale Club, Inc. (NYSE: BJ) today reported that sales for January 2011 increased by 6.5% to $779.8 million from $732.5 million in January 2010. Comparable club sales for January 2011 increased by 2.7%, including a contribution from sales of gasoline of 2.4%. Excluding the impact of...