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Jefferies Provides Preview for Metal Service Centers 2Q Earnings
Monday, July 19, 2010 - 2:28pm | 222In a report this morning, Jefferies announced “they expect strong earnings reports across the board from the four metal service centers in our coverage universe due to the rising price environment that was prevalent throughout most of the quarter.” A rising price environment that was prevalent...
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Puts Purchased on Gerdau Ameristeel (GNA)
Monday, July 19, 2010 - 2:12pm | 112Shares of Gerdau Ameristeel Corp. (NYSE: GNA) are higher on the session by 0.23%, currently trading at $10.96. The stock has been moving largely sideways for the past two months following a privatization offer. Options traders are picking up some puts today. The September $10.00 put was purchased...
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Just Shorted SCHN at $42.05
Monday, July 19, 2010 - 11:06am | 107There was a plethora of stocks to choose from this morning for shorting. My first goal was to see if I could get a good, solid entry on the two short plays I posted earlier this morning. But I couldn't get the entry that I was wanting so I passed on both of them. However, I did manage to add...
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Basic (But Dismal) Math - Analyst Blog
Monday, July 19, 2010 - 8:45am | 1765Let’s start with the basic definition of GDP (Y). It is equal to the sum of spending by the consumer (C), business investment (I), government (G) and the difference between exports (X) and Imports (M). The last two items taken together are the trade deficit (X-M). Thus the change in GDP, or...
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Looking at the Big Picture
Saturday, July 17, 2010 - 9:40pm | 763One of the tools we use day in day out to look at the markets is multiple timeframe analysis. What this means is looking at our charts in different timeframes. This could mean a 15min chart, a daily chart, or a weekly chart. Each timeframe tells a slightly different story, it is the combination...
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A Look Ahead at Earnings Next Week
Friday, July 16, 2010 - 2:23pm | 970With the S&P 500 grasping at 1070, and yet another "90% day" as the student body has run back to the left ("risk off" stampede), let's take a look ahead at the key reports next week; both for the greater market and what we have our eyes on. The next 3 weeks are the heart of the earnings season...
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Dollar Weakens...And So Do Commodities (FCX, X, AA)
Thursday, July 15, 2010 - 2:39pm | 169The U.S. dollar is coming under pressure today after soft inflation and economic data spurred worries that the U.S. recovery may be sputtering out. Data today showed the third straight monthly decline in producer prices. The PPI now has its longest losing streak since the worst days of the...
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Market Waiting On JPM Earnings 07-14-2010
Wednesday, July 14, 2010 - 6:11pm | 873Cusick’s Corner The market stayed in a choppy consolidation range after the release of mixed economic data and FOMC revisions on GDP. The market is waiting for JPM earnings tomorrow which are due out around 7:30am ET. One important note -- the last time both Intel and JPM Chase beat earnings was...
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Unemployment Impacting Retail Sales 07-14-2010
Wednesday, July 14, 2010 - 3:03pm | 724Cusick’s Corner Intel was impressive but was not enough overnight to hold up the market. This could be in part to the due to the low Retail Sales data that is potentially showing the pressure of continued high unemployment and the fact that there are a lot of unemployed who are losing benefits....
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Goldman Sachs Upgrades AK Steel Holding to Buy (AKS)
Wednesday, July 14, 2010 - 12:38pm | 164In a recent report, analysts at Goldman Sachs have upgraded AK Steel (AKS) to “buy” from “neutral.” Given the current upgrade, they are sticking with their six-month target price of $17.00, which implies 27% upside from current levels. Analysts gave two reasons for upgrading AKS, “(1) persistent...
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Benzinga’s Top Upgrades (ENR, CRM, VVUS, AKS)
Wednesday, July 14, 2010 - 11:04am | 148Energizer Holdings Inc (NYSE: ENR) was upgraded by UBS from “neutral” to “buy.” ENR’s shares closed at $53.83 yesterday. Energizer Holdings’ trailing-twelve-month gross margin stands at 46.29%. UBS upgraded Salesforce.com Inc (NYSE: CRM) from “neutral” to “buy.” CRM’s shares closed at $93.65...
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“Mad Money Lightening Round:” Jim Says AMT Set To Surge
Wednesday, July 14, 2010 - 5:29am | 277In his “Mad Money Lightening Round” on Tuesday, Jim Cramer said that American Tower (NYSE: AMT) stock has been stuck at $45 for a long time and is ready to shoot off. “I think this one is a house of pleasure and I say...pull the trigger." Jim advised traders to sell American Capital Agency (NASDAQ...
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Why Analysts Will Remain Bullish on Steel (MTL, X)
Tuesday, July 13, 2010 - 11:48am | 151NEW YORK (TheStreet) -- Analysts could be bullish on steel stocks for the remainder of 2010 because of demand concerns and the offsetting effect of bargaining opportunities. The key triggers for steel stock ratings changes during the second half will be data provided by American Iron and Steel...
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Earnings Season Has Begun
Tuesday, July 13, 2010 - 8:23am | 413As usual Alcoa(AA) has kicked off the earnings season. Alcoa beat the street’s forecast for earnings per share for the second quarter with .13 per share against a .10 forecast. They reported stronger volumes and, favorable currency and energy costs that more than offset lower aluminum prices. ...
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Alcoa Driving Metals Higher (AA, X, FCX, CENX)
Monday, July 12, 2010 - 4:49pm | 105Alcoa (NYSE: AA) led off earnings season with a nice top and bottom-line beat. Revenue rose 22% year over year to $5.19 billion versus the $5.05 billion consensus. Earnings came in at 13 cents per share, a penny ahead of expectations. In after hours trading shares of Alcoa jumped 3.5% to $11.27....