Diversified Banks

In his “Lightning Round,” Jim Cramer said that Coca-Cola Enterprises (NYSE: CCE) and ACME Packet (NASDAQ: APKT) are completely played out and it is time traders search for the next big thing. While CCE’s shares fell 0.20% to $25.55, APKT jumped 3.17% in after hours trading. Cramer finds Insituform...

HSBC Holdings PLC (NYSE: HBC), Europe’s largest bank, registered a 2% rise in it’s net profit, on the back of improved operational efficiency and good results from it’s Investment Banking divisions. The company made an after tax profit of $5.83 Billion compared to the $5.73 Billion made last year...

Last Wednesday the markets were comforted by Fed chairman Ben Bernanke’s comments that the US economy is in a nascent recovery that requires interest rates to be kept low. Banks are breathing a sigh of relief that the recent rise in the discount rate will not lead to significant rate increase....

Shanda Games Limited (ADR) (NASDAQ: GAME) decreased 9.07% to $7.52 in the pre-market session. Shanda Games reported a fourth-quarter profit of 415.2 million yuan, or 0.72 yuan a share, from 288.1 million yuan, or 0.72 yuan per share, for the same quarter last year. Analysts had expected GAME to...

Vanguard offers two ETFs that can be described as "value plays" and on the surface, both offerings may appear to be twins. With that, let's take a look at the Vanguard Value ETF (NYSE: VTV) and the Vanguard Dividend Appreciation ETF (NYSE: VIG). VTV offers an expense ratio of 0.1% and has $3.13...

General Electric Company (NYSE: GE) is planning to offload its stake in Turkish company Garanti Bank. GE (GE) currently holds a 20.85% stake in the bank. General Electric is currently in talks with Banco Santander (NYSE: STD) for the deal. The Turkish banking sector is in good health and the deal...

By 1:08 p.m., Dow had lost 8.39, or 0.08%, to 10,312.64, while the broader Standard & Poor's 500 index slipped 0.71, or 0.06%, to 1,102.22. The Nasdaq composite index rose 0.44, or 0.02%, to 2234.66. The industries that are driving the market today are: Textile Industrial: The top gainer of the...

Royal Bank of Scotland Group Plc. (ADR) (NYSE: RBS) reported lower-than-expected net loss of £3.6 billion for 2009, compared to the consensus estimate of £5.2 billion. RBS said its loan impairments appear to have now peaked as its losses shrank from £24.3 billion in 2008. The group’s investment...

Direxion Daily Financial Bear 3X Shares(ETF) (NYSE: FAZ) dropped 4.61% as financial stocks traded on the upside today. Wells Fargo & Company (NYSE: WFC) gained 1.36% today, while Morgan Stanley (NYSE: MS) spiked 2.5%. PowerShares DB Crude Oil Double Short ETN (NYSE: DTO) closed 4.26% down as...

The CFO of Dell (NASDAQ: DELL) foresees a "dramatic" improvement in its consumer business. He added that the company is poised to become "more acquisitive." DELL has successfully integrated mid-sized deals, such as its $1.4 billion acquisition of EqualLogic in 2008. Apple (NASDAQ: AAPL) has been...

US stock futures held steady today, pointing to a lower opening, as traders awaited Fed Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke's testimony and remained unwilling to commit in the market. While futures on S&P 500 lost 1.5 points to 1095.70, those on Nasdaq 100 gained three-quarters of a point to 1801.70...

The S&P/Case-Shiller 20-city index on Tuesday showed a mixed recovery in the housing market. The 20-city index declined 0.2 percent in December and had an annualized drop of 3.1 percent. Analysts were expecting prices would be unchanged for December and down 3.2 percent annually. On a...

Financial and oil ETFs led the gainers among the ETFs today. Direxion Daily Energy Bear 3X Shares(ETF) (NYSE: ERY) gained 4.15% on the weakness of Chevron Corporation (NYSE: CVX) and Schlumberger Limited (NYSE: SLB). Chevron (CVX) fell 1.47% and Schlumberger (SLB) dropped 3.65%. Direxion Daily...

KBW analysts raised estimates for Comerica Inc. (NYSE: CMA) after meeting with management in Texas. The target price for Comerica is $38.00, and KBW currently rates the stock at Market Perform. “We came away with a positive view of continued improvement in its asset quality, and possibility for NIM...

Today the market is essentially unchanged, but has been swinging back and forth from the green to the red. Hot sectors for today’s trading session include: Financials – - American international Group (NYSE: AIG) up 8.62% - Amtrust Financial (NASDAQ: AFSI) up 5.92% - National Bank of Greece (NYSE...