RadioShack (RSH: NYSE) By FBR Capital Markets ($14.57, July 24, 2009) WE WARM UP RadioShack (ticker: RSH) and upgrade the stock to Outperform [from Market Perform]. The premise here is that management will be able to strategically direct the company and find ways to offset the one-time sales benefit that the company has seen from digital-converter boxes over the last year (goes away third-quarter 2009). Wireless (33% …[Read more...]
By Ellis Mnyandu NEW YORK (Reuters) - Stocks were poised to open little changed on Monday as reduced outlooks from diversified manufacturer Honeywell Inc (HON.N) and health insurer Aetna Inc (AET.N) sparked caution. Honeywell shares fell 2.5 percent to $33.18 before the bell after the company cut its full-year profit forecast to the bottom of its prior range. No. 3 U.S. health insurer Aetna cut its full-year earnings outlook due to higher-than-projected medical costs and posted a 28 percent drop ..read more
WASHINGTON — The U.S. pay czar, now preparing to vet the compensation at businesses receiving major federal aid, will push to renegotiate contracts that he views as excessive or seek other ways to reduce overall outlays, said people familiar with the matter. The role of the government in setting pay is reaching a pivotal moment. Seven banks and industrial companies that received significant bailouts must submit proposals for their compensation packages by Aug. 13.: Citigroup Inc., Bank of America ..read more
(Reuters) - Stock index futures pointed to a slightly higher open on Wall Street on Monday, mirroring gains in Asia and Europe, on mounting optimism over a recovery in corporate profits that has fueled a sharp two-week rally on stock markets worldwide. At 5 a.m. ET, futures for the S&P 500, for the Dow Jones and for the Nasdaq 100 were up between 0.04 percent and 0.13 percent. Oil rose for a third session on Monday to hit its highest ..read more
As its hedge-fund and private-equity industries worry about new rules, the U.S. is quietly lobbying Europe to change the terms of proposed financial regulation that could place strict new rules on any U.S. hedge- or private-equity fund doing business in the region, according to a senior Treasury official. The move wades the U.S. into a fierce battle between the U.K. and other parts of Europe over how tough regulation should be. Some nations, led by Germany and France, are calling ..read more
ONCE THE POSTER CHILD FOR AN EXUBERANT real-estate market — and exuberant real-estate stocks — AvalonBay Communities has had its comeuppance. The real-estate investment trust’s shares have fallen 61% in the past two-and-a-half years, as higher financing costs, lower rental income and leverage combined to devastating effect. But there is some good news: At a recent 56, Avalon’s shares (ticker: AVB) reflect these challenges, and the deeply depressed state of the apartment-rental market generally. The stock is trading near the ..read more
HONG KONG — UBS AG hired Keith Magnus from Merrill Lynch to run the Swiss bank’s Singapore and Malaysia investment banking team, according to a person familiar with the situation, the latest blow to Bank of America Corp.’s efforts to keep its Asia investment banking team intact. Singapore is a key market for investment banks in Asia. The city-state is home to two of the world’s most important state-owned investment firms, Temasek Holdings Pte. Ltd. and Government of Singapore Investment ..read more
By Angela Moon NEW YORK (Reuters) - Wall Street may take a breather this week after an earnings-driven rally lifted the major U.S. stock indexes to their highest levels in months. The blue-chip Dow Jones industrial average .DJI climbed back above the 9,000 mark last week for the first time since January. And the Standard and Poor’s 500 Index .SPX ended Friday at 979.26 — up 44.7 percent from the 12-year closing low hit on March 9 — after a ..read more
By Ellis Mnyandu NEW YORK (Reuters) - The Nasdaq fell on Friday, halting a 12-day run-up, following Microsoft Corp’s (MSFT.O) disappointing quarterly results, but gains in pharmaceutical and energy shares lifted the Dow and the S&P 500 to fresh 8-month closing highs. Microsoft shares slid 8.3 percent to $23.45, a day after the software maker posted quarterly revenue below Wall Street’s estimates. Web retailer Amazon.com Inc (AMZN.O) also missed sales expectations, driving its stock down 7.9 percent to $86.49. The ..read more
Wyeth (WYE: NYSE) By Caris & Co. ($47.10, July 24, 2009) WYETH (ticker: WYE) reported second-quarter 2009 earnings per shares of 98 cents, ahead of the 85 cents consensus, and our 82 cents estimate. Sales also came in ahead at $5.7 billion versus the Street at $5.58 billion, and our $5.51 billion forecast, driven primarily by higher-than-expected Prevnar, Protonix, and Zosyn sales. A weak gross margin (80 basis points lower than we expected) and higher research-and-development costs were offset ..read more