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Benzinga’s Top Pre-Market Losers (ABK, CKR, RHT, BRCD)
Thursday, March 25, 2010 - 8:10am | 272Ambac Financial Group, Inc. (NYSE: ABK) decreased 17.10% to $0.660 in the pre-market session. The Wisconsin Office of the Commissioner of Insurance (OCI) today filed a petition to take control of and to rehabilitate the Segregated Account of Ambac Assurance Corporation (Segregated Account). The...
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Investors Need To Pay More Attention To Dividend ETFs In 2010
Wednesday, March 24, 2010 - 1:44pm | 1310“Stocks delivered nicely in 2009, with the S&P 500 ETF (NYSE:SPY) shooting up an impressive 23.5% and emerging markets were even more impressive. Even bond investors in high yield and junk debt performed admirably throughout the year. The real question now, is what will 2010 hold for investors...
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Heavy Options Activity in Vale (VALE) and a Brief Lesson in Risk Reversals
Tuesday, March 23, 2010 - 5:27pm | 1799Sales of existing homes fell for the third straight week, but it wasn’t as bad as analysts expected. This news is pushing the SPDR S&P Homebuilders ETF (XHB) lower by .07 cents to 16.73. Out of the box this morning we saw traders buying risk reversals in VALE (NYSE: VALE) and heavy volume in...
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AGO Seems To Be Gaining Momentum
Monday, March 22, 2010 - 3:45pm | 112Analysts at Piper Jaffray reiterate their ‘overweight’ rating on Assured Guaranty (NYSE: AGO), while raising their estimates for the company. The target price for AGO is set to $34. According to Piper Jaffray, Assured Guaranty enjoys a strong market position. As the company’s credit risks are...
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US Insurers Make Most Of “Raining Gold” In The Corporate Bond Market (BRK.A, ALL)
Friday, March 19, 2010 - 1:15pm | 413Bloomberg reports that in an annual letter to investors on February 27 Warren Buffett, the Chief Executive Officer of Berkshire Hathaway Inc. (NYSE: BRK.A), had said that Corporate and Municipal bonds “were ridiculously cheap relative to US Treasuries” in early 2009. He had added “Big opportunities...
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Old Republic International Corporation (ORI) Maintains Buy Rating
Friday, March 19, 2010 - 9:25am | 119Analyst Elizabeth C. Malone at Wunderlich Securities has released an update on Old Republic International Corporation (NYSE: ORI). Wunderlich Securities believes that the stabilization in the housing market would provide an upside for Old Republic International’s mortgage and title businesses. It...
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Tower Group, Inc. (TWGP) Maintains Buy Rating
Friday, March 19, 2010 - 9:06am | 102Analyst Elizabeth C. Malone at Wunderlich Securities has released an update on Tower Group, Inc. (NASDAQ: TWGP). Tower Group announced a $100 million share buyback program with its fourth-quarter results. The company also lowered its 2010 EPS guidance. It lowered EPS from $3.30-$3.70 to $3-$3.20....
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Strategists Warn About The Financial Sector As The Financial ETF Sets A New 52-Week High
Wednesday, March 17, 2010 - 6:49pm | 2087The rally in the Financial Select Sector SPDR Fund (XLF) on Wednesday means the exchange-traded fund has more than doubled in value from a year ago. The ETF set a new 52-week high of $15.97 a share on Wednesday. One year ago on March 17, 2009, the fund touched a session low of $7.87, according to...
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Sell Rating Maintained For Mercury General Corporation (MCY)
Wednesday, March 17, 2010 - 3:45pm | 84Analysts at Stifel Nicolaus have maintained their Sell rating for Mercury General Corporation (NYSE: MCY). Analysts believe that the threat of a reserve charge hampering operating EPS at the company next year is not minimal. Analysts estimate that the overall carried reserves of $967 million...
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Stocks That Created New 52-Week Highs (BWINB, BSET, BGCP, BIIB, BFLY)
Tuesday, March 16, 2010 - 3:23pm | 209Baldwin & Lyons Inc (NASDAQ: BWINB) shares added 0.47% to create a new 52-week high of $25.81. BWINB is involved in marketing and underwriting property and casualty insurance products in the US and Canada. Bassett Furniture Industries, Inc (NASDAQ: BSET) shares created a new high of $6.29,...
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Senator Dodd’s Newly Proposed Bill Will Hurt Financial ETFs
Tuesday, March 16, 2010 - 1:10pm | 2088“Although the future of reform legislation remains unclear, a recent bill proposed by Senator Christopher Dodd (D., Conn.) could potentially hinder the financial sector and its exchange traded funds,” Kevin Grewal Reports From The Street. Grewal goes on to say, “This new proposed reform, which is...
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Benzinga’s News Roundup (FDS, AVII, ABK, NSTC)
Tuesday, March 16, 2010 - 8:31am | 327FactSet Research Systems Inc. (NYSE: FDS) reported today a second-quarter profit of $36 million, or $0.75 per share, as compared to $35.6 million, or $0.71 per share, for the same quarter last year. Sales increased to $157 million, from $156.5 million in the year ago period. Analysts had expected...
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Heavy Options Activity in Amylin Pharmaceuticals (AMLN) and Allergan (AGN)
Monday, March 15, 2010 - 3:17pm | 1639The broad market is still relatively sideways with volume remaining light, even with triple-witching expiration this Friday. The market is beginning to weaken a bit here, but that trend has been reversing itself over the past week. The VIX is creeping back up towards 18.75% after being pressured...
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Options Action Heats Up in the Agriculture Sector
Friday, March 12, 2010 - 2:06pm | 1722At the risk of sounding like a broken record, it’s been another low volatility morning in the markets. All the major indices have been fluttering around unchanged and looking a bit tired as volume remains relatively low. Although the initial direction appeared bullish following a strong retail...
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Some Very Strange Things are Happening Under the Surface
Friday, March 12, 2010 - 11:15am | 942I am noticing some very strange things happening, and I simply have to think the algorithms don't care about individual stocks that much anymore, and are simply making sector bets. If you've been following the markets closely, you will know the financial sector has been on fire of late. In a...