Specialized Finance

Moody's (NYSE: MCO) downgraded the debt on Athens debt rating to B1 from Ba1. Yesterday Moody's cut Greece's debt by three notches.

QUALCOMM Incorporated (NASDAQ: QCOM) was downgraded by BMO Capital from "outperform" to "market perform." QCOM's shares closed at $57.58 yesterday. QUALCOMM's trailing-twelve-month ROA is 7.43%. Roth Capital downgraded Zhongpin Inc (NASDAQ: HOGS) from “buy” to “neutral.” HOGS' stock closed at $18....

Moody's slashed Greece's credit rating by three notches today. The rating agency cited the return of Hades as the reason for the cut, but did note that lots of ambrosia would be a positive going forward. The London Stock Exchange is looking at potentially buying the Nasdaq (NASDAQ: NDAQ), just...

Stifel Nicolaus is raising its PT on shares of CME Group Inc. (NASDAQ: CME) from $330 to $360. CME Group Inc. closed Friday at $304.80.

Piper Jaffray is reiterating its OW rating on The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. (NYSE: MHP) and Moody's Corp. (NYSE: MCO). “February debt issuance volumes remain solid, with 20%+ y/y gains in both the US and international markets based on preliminary data,” Piper Jaffray writes. “We remain bullish on...

The London Stock Exchange could be showing interest in Nasdaq (NASDAQ: NDAQ), The Sunday TImes reports

Below are the top large-cap investment brokerage-national stocks on the NYSE and the NASDAQ in terms of earnings estimate for the next quarter. The earnings estimate for CME Group Inc (NASDAQ: CME) for the June quarter is $4.24 per share. CME's trailing-twelve-month operating margin is 60.94%....

Encore Capital Group, Inc. (Nasdaq: ECPG) today announced the closing of the previously announced underwritten public offering of 2,454,734 shares of its common stock by JCF FPK I LP, Red Mountain Capital Partners II, L.P. and Red Mountain Capital Partners III, L.P., at a price to the public of $...

ZeroHedge has been kind enough to post that the CME Group (NYSE: CME) is raising margins on the various oil contracts. The margin for Nymex crude oil will go $6,750 per contract, up from $6,075 per contract. Heating oil margins rise to $6,413 from $5,063, and gasoline rises to $6,750 from $5,400....

IntercontinentalExchange (NYSE: ICE) clearing houses and over-the-counter markets, announced the authorisation by Brazil's financial regulator, the Comissao de Valores Mobiliarios, to provide access to ICE Futures Europe products via ICE's trading screens in Brazil. Direct access and Membership...

IntercontinentalExchange (NYSE: ICE) reported record volume and average daily volume across its futures exchanges in February 2011. Average daily volume (ADV) for ICE's futures markets rose 27% from the prior February to a record 1,738,199 contracts. For the second consecutive month, ICE Futures...

Encore Capital Group, Inc. (Nasdaq: ECPG) today announced the pricing for the previously announced underwritten public offering of 2,454,734 shares of it common stock by JCF FPK I LP, Red Mountain Capital Partners II, L.P. and Red Mountain Capital Partners III, L.P., at a price to the public of $26...

PHH Corp (NYSE: PHH) reports its Q4 EPS at $3.25, versus the consensus of $3.26. PHH reports its Q4 revenue at $918 million, versus the consensus of $913 million. PHH shares fell 0.88% to close at $24.68 yesterday. Read more from Benzinga's Company news.

PHH Corporation (NYSE: PHH) today announced that Chief Financial Officer Sandra E. Bell is leaving the company to pursue other opportunities. The company also announced that it has appointed David Coles, of the global professional services firm Alvarez & Marsal, to serve as interim CFO while it...

PHH Corporation (NYSE: PHH) today announced results for the three months ended December 31, 2010. Net revenues $ 918M EPS of $0.31