Tobacco

BOSTON (TheStreet) -- Corporate profits are soaring, but that's not enough for investors. S&P 500 companies boosted second-quarter earnings by 34%, analysts surveyed by Bloomberg estimate, and almost two dozen will publish results this week. Investors, ultimately, are concerned about a double-...

• BP (NYSE:BP) is reportedly in talks to sell up to $12 billion in assets • Weyerhaeuser (NYSE:WY) declared a special $5.6 billion dividend, tied to its REIT conversion • AON (NYSE:AON) plans to purchase Hewitt (NYSE:HEW) for $4.9 billion, or $50.00 per share in cash • Goldman Sachs (NYSE:GS) added...

1. All Options are Extremely Risky Even though options are becoming more and more mainstream, there is still a large faction of the investing crowd that believes all options are extremely risky.  In fact, there are many options strategies that are less risky than the underlying stocks they derive...

Whether you are an investor or a trader, opportunities to make money on the long side have been few and far between in 2010. For the most part, the name of the game has been to not lose money. Year-to-date, the SPDR S&P 500 ETF has fallen 7.35%. One way that investors can try to protect...

Hitting the top of today’s Options Hotlist is Motorola (NYSE:MOT), which is seeing a rush of put buying at the October 8 put strike. This put volume has been trickling in through the session and currently stands at more than 21,000 contracts.  The in-the-money puts are currently up 11 cents on the...

At 11:11 am, the Dow lost 1.40% to 9,636.85, the broader Standard & Poor's 500 index moved down 1.75% to 1,012.63 and the NASDAQ composite index fell 1.92% to 2,068.77. The industries that are faring well in the market today are: Beverages-Brewers: This industry gained 0.52% by 11:11 am. The...

Below are the top cigarettes stocks on the NYSE and the NASDAQ in terms of gross margin. The trailing-twelve-month gross margin at British American Tobacco Plc (AMEX: BTI) is 72.21%. BTI’s trailing-twelve-month revenue is $20.57 billion. The trailing-twelve-month gross margin at Philip Morris...

Micron Technology (NYSE: MU) surged 5.92% to $10.02 ahead of the company's earnings report which was released after the close of trading on the New York Stock Exchange on Monday. In the after hours, however, Micron is headed right back down, falling 6% to $9.42 after releasing the report. Volume...

Cusick’s Corner The market has been in a tight but whippy range going into the Midday. I am keeping an eye on four key sectors, Consumer Discretionary (XLY), Financials (XLF), Tech (XLK), and Industrials (XLI). If this market is going to see any potentially meaningful market shift to the upside,...

Shares of CardioNet (NASDAQ: BEAT) dipped about 11.3% after the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) proposed that the technical component of mobile cardiovascular telemetry should continue to be carrier-priced for 2011. BEAT expected to receive national reimbursement rate for its...

Shares of Mosaic Co. (NYSE: MO) are lower on the session by 1.63%, currently trading at $41.75. The stock has been drifting lower and lower for the past four months. MOS is nearing support around the $40.00 level. Options traders are favoring the call side today. Action can be seen on the $45.00...

At 10:48 am, the Dow gained 19.95 points, or 0.20%, to 10,163.76 and the broader Standard & Poor's 500 index moved up 1.03, or 0.10%, to 1,077.79. The NASDAQ composite index rose 3.83, or 0.17%, to 2,227.31. The industries that are driving the market today are: Accident & Health Insurance:...

Shares of Reynolds American Inc. (NYSE: RAI) are higher on the session by 4.63%, currently trading at $53.75. The stock has been trading lower over the past few weeks, but has managed to regain the 50-day moving average as of late. Options traders were buying the July $55.00/50.00 put spread today...

The market has made a nice turn around this morning; while it looked like the S&P 500 (NYSE: SPY) was beginning another sell off, traders have come in to support stocks around the 1,068 level. The S&P is currently higher by 3 points, at 1,079. Here are your options volume leaders… 1....