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CME Group Rising On Heavy Volume (CME)
Thursday, August 26, 2010 - 10:30am | 169Shares of CME Group (NASDAQ: CME) are rising on unusual volume this morning. The stock has gained 2.14% to $251.14 in early trade. More than 238,000 CME shares have exchanged hands in the first hour of the session compared to a daily average of around 664,000. Look for volume to exceed the average...
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How To Play The Spread In Brent and West Texas Oil (USO, UCO)
Thursday, August 26, 2010 - 10:12am | 517Investors should pay attention to the spread in the two types of oil traded. It's very profitable if you know how to trade it. There are two types of oil traded around the world. West Texas Intermediate (WTI) and Brent North Sea (BNS) crude. WTI is the most commonly referred to oil here in the...
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Aetna Issues $750M in Notes - Analyst Blog
Wednesday, August 25, 2010 - 6:46pm | 491Aetna Inc. (AET), one of leading U.S. health care providers, yesterday announced the offering of 10-year notes amounting to $750 million. The size of the issue was originally $500 million. The proceeds from the issue will be used to retire commercial paper and for general corporate purpose. Aetna...
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Puts Purchased on KKR Financial (KFN)
Tuesday, August 24, 2010 - 10:11am | 157Shares of KKR Financial Holdings LLC (NYSE: KFN) are currently trading lower by 2.41%, currently trading at $7.70. The stock has been moving largely sideways for the past four months, though has come under selling pressure as of late. It is now trading below the 50-day moving average. Options...
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Moody's React to Fertilizer Buzz - Analyst Blog
Sunday, August 22, 2010 - 4:33pm | 596Ratings agency Moody's Investors Service, an affiliate of Moody's Corporation (MCO) has recently confirmed its 'Baa1' senior secured ratings on Potash Corporation of Saskatchewan (POT) and downgraded its outlook to "Developing" from "Stable", stated Reuters. Moody's 'Baa' rating is a medium grade...
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CME Group Inc. Director Buys 5,000 Shares of CME
Friday, August 20, 2010 - 4:36pm | 54In a Form 4 filed after the bell today, CME Group Inc. (NYSE: CME) Director, William R. Shepard, reported that he purchased 5,000 shares of CME on August 19th for an average price of $245.00. The transaction totaled $1,225,000. Mr. Shepard owns 35,708 direct shares of CME. Source: The Washington...
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First Niagara Acquires NewAlliance - Analyst Blog
Friday, August 20, 2010 - 9:36am | 859Regional bank First Niagara Financial Group Inc. (FNFG) said on Thursday that it will acquire NewAlliance Bancshares Inc. (NAL) in a $1.5 billion cash and stock deal that would boost its presence in New England. This is the largest unassisted deal announcement in U.S. Banking since the financial...
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Moody's Offers Unsecured Notes - Analyst Blog
Thursday, August 19, 2010 - 12:34pm | 883Moody's Corp. (MCO) announced that it has priced an underwritten public offering of $500 million aggregate principal amount of 5.50% senior unsecured notes due 2020. The offering is expected to close on August 19, 2010, subject to customary closing conditions. Moody's expects to use the net...
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What Straddle Pricing Can Tell Us 08-18-2010
Wednesday, August 18, 2010 - 6:31pm | 799Cusick’s Corner Not much has changed since the Midday, so I will keep this Corner short and sweet. The Claims data that comes out tomorrow morning could add some volatility pre-market, but at this stage it looks like an orderly expiration week. I spent some time looking at straddles today (option...
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Potash Discards BHP's Offer - Analyst Blog
Wednesday, August 18, 2010 - 3:10pm | 1338Shares of Potash Corporation of Saskatchewan Inc. (POT), the world’s largest fertilizer company by capacity, shot up 28% and closed at $143.17 on August 17, 2010 after rebuffed mining giant BHP Billiton Ltd’s (BHP) hostile acquisition proposal. It was a $38.6 billion (all in cash) offer, which...
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Sector Leaders 08-18-2010
Wednesday, August 18, 2010 - 2:49pm | 903Cusick’s Corner Walking into the Midday, all major Equity Indices are positive with clear leadership to the upside in Tech, QQQQ, Commodities, MOO/COW, and Retail, XRT/TGT. We want to see if the rest of the market starts to exhibit this strength to the upside into the After Hours. We are still...
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Gentiva Seals Odyssey Deal - Analyst Blog
Wednesday, August 18, 2010 - 1:41pm | 864Going ahead with its scheduled program, Gentiva Health Services Inc. (GTIV) completed the acquisition of Odyssey HealthCare Inc. (ODSY) on Tuesday for about $1.0 billion. This constituted an all cash transaction of about 370.4 million for Odyssey’s common stock at $27 per share. Gentiva reached a...
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Lessons to Learn from Potash (POT)
Tuesday, August 17, 2010 - 4:03pm | 1532Potash Corp. (NYSE:POT) spiked about $31 higher today after the company revealed it received an unsolicited, $130-per-share offer from BHP Billiton. The board of POT unanimously rejected this offer as “grossly inadequate.” POT closed yesterday (Monday) at $112.15. Why is the stock up so...
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Zacks Analyst Blog Highlights: Superior Industries International, Ford Motor, General Motors, Vulcan Materials Company and Moody's - Press Releases
Tuesday, August 17, 2010 - 11:47am | 1045For Immediate Release Chicago, IL – August 16, 2010 – Zacks.com Analyst Blog features: Superior Industries International, Inc. (SUP), Ford Motor Co. (F), General Motors (MTLQQ), Vulcan Materials Company (VMC) and Moody's Corp. (MCO ). Here are highlights from Friday’s Analyst Blog: Superior...
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Benzinga’s Top Upgrades (VLCM, EM, ICE, MDAS)
Monday, August 16, 2010 - 6:51am | 144Volcom Inc (NASDAQ: VLCM) was upgraded by RW Baird from "neutral" to "outperform." VLCM’s shares closed at $15.39 on Friday. Volcom’s trailing-twelve-month gross margin is 50.96%. Wells Fargo Securities upgraded Emdeon Inc (NYSE: EM) from "market perform" to "outperform." EM’s shares closed at $10....