Specialized Finance

On CNBC's Mad Money, Jim Cramer said during the Lightning Round that Siemens (NYSE: SI) has “always been one of my favorites. A lot of people are worried about Germany but I'm not." For Lululemon Athletica (NASDAQ: LULU), he said. "That downgrade was pretty powerful. I don't agree with the sell...

Here's what Benzinga's reading on our friend, TheStreet.com. What's Hot On TheStreet Goldman Sachs Sells Its 'Conviction Buys' A so-called Chinese Wall is supposed to exist between investment banks' research and asset-management divisions, but recent calls, especially coming from subprime-...

Jeff Aronson of Centerbridge Partners spoke at the Ira Sohn Conference, and gave an equity idea, despite Aronson being primarily a private equity guy. Aron said that he really likes CIT Group Inc. (NYSE: CIT), and has continued to purchase the stock since the company's bankruptcy a few years ago...

One new position to report this morning in Cummins (CMI) as I managed to get in at $102.03. The volume looks strong in it so far today, and there has been a descent bounce at this point in this trading session. The other setup is Moody's (MCO) which has been strong for most of this year, but has...

Shares of Moody's Corporation (NYSE: MCO) are trading lower on the session by 0.16%, trading at $37.84. With shares sitting on the 20-day moving average, you have to wonder where they are heading next… Bulls: Bulls will note that Moody's Corporation has been on a tear over the past 100 days, with...

Shares of KKR Financial Holdings (NYSE: KFN) are lower on the session by 1.83%, currently trading at $9.65. The stock has been moving largely higher over the past six months and is currently consolidating between the 50-day and 200-day moving averages. Options traders are buying puts on the name...

Piper Jaffray is out with its report today on Medallion Financial (NASDAQ: TAXI), maintaining Neutral. In a note to clients, Piper Jaffray writes, "We are updating our model following our review of TAXI's 1Q11 quarterly earnings release and 10-Q filing. TAXI reported 1Q11 GAAP EPS of $0.24, a...

Dominique Strauss-Kahn has resigned as head of the International Monetary Fund after being charged with attempted rape. The SEC is investigating into the NASDAQ (NASDAQ: NDAQ) and other electronic marketplaces to see whether control are sufficient, in hopes of preventing another "flash crash."

Shares of Moody's Corporation (NYSE: MCO) are higher on the session by 0.99%, trading at $38.71. Overall put volume is now running at 6.19x the daily average, with 41% of all puts traded being purchases on the offer. 8,198 contracts have traded on the session so far. Moody's Corporation is a...

On CNBC's Mad Money, Jim Cramer said during the Lightning Round that Solar Capital (NASDAQ: SLRC) is a “bank of many resorts. It's got a good yield and it seems to be working for them. I'll endorse it." For Chicago Mercantile Exchange (NASDAQ: CME), Jim said, "I think that the world of exchanges...

Cusick's Corner The Bulls have the Buck, UUP, finishing the After Hours at the worst levels of the day. Tech, QQQQ, was the drag as earnings came in strong but forecasts were guided down for future quarters. Finance, XLF, finished the day at its best levels, taking some of the pressure off of the...

Asset Acceptance Capital Corp. (NASDAQ: AACC), a leading purchaser and collector of charged-off consumer debt, today announced that it has decided to delay its pursuit of new senior secured credit facilities. Rion Needs, President and Chief Executive Officer, commented, “While we had built...

Compass Point LLC lowered its CIT Group (NYSE: CIT) rating from Buy to Neutral and maintained its CIT $46 price target in a research report published today. In the report, Compass Point LLC states, "We continue to believe the long-term risk/reward in owning the stock is favorable; however, we see...

After the NASDAQ OMX Group, Inc. (NASDAQ: NDAQ) retreated from its bid to acquire to the NYSE Euronext (NYSE: NYX), it may be looking to acquire a different exchange operator, experts argue. While NYSE CEO Bob Greifeld is likely on a tight rope after his joint bid with the IntercontinentalExchange...

Approaches used in baseball strategy are just as varied as they are in investing.  Some teams use a “small ball” approach to baseball, in which a premium is placed on methodically advancing runners around the bases with the help of bunts, bases on ball, stolen bases, sacrifice flies, and hit-and-...