Diamond Foods (DMND) acquired the Pringle brand product from Proctor & Gamble (PG) for $2.35 billion, as reported in Dealbook.

When we think of Diamond Foods we think of nuts, edible nuts. Diamond's two main brands are Diamond and Emerald. It produces all kinds of nut products for cooking and eating. Among them are almonds, Brazil nuts, hazelnuts, pecans, pine nuts and peanuts. The product line also includes microwave popcorn and potato chips.

Continue reading What Will Pringles Do for Diamond Foods?

What Will Pringles Do for Diamond Foods? originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Wed, 06 Apr 2011 11:20:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Continue reading America Movil to Expand Growth with Pre-Paid Data Plans

America Movil to Expand Growth with Pre-Paid Data Plans originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Tue, 05 Apr 2011 17:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Much has been written about rare earth metals. They are used in electronics, batteries and specialized magnets. China controls more than 90% of rare earth production and has put a ban on exports of the minerals.

The largest miner of rare earths outside China is Molycorp (MCP), a U.S.-based company. The company mines lanthanide and molydenum. Lanthanides include cerium, lanthanum and yttrium. These exotic elements are used in cell phones, computers, X-ray film and TV glass.

Continue reading Rare Earth Miner Molycorp Acquires 90% of AS Silmet

Rare Earth Miner Molycorp Acquires 90% of AS Silmet originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Tue, 05 Apr 2011 12:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Fourth quarter GDP ended on a uptrend, coming in at 3.1%. The state of the economy was healthy and it looked like growth would continue to match or exceed Q4. Based on that scenario, Bank of America (BAC) analyst Ethan Harris, forecast first-quarter 2011 GDP to come in at 3.3%.

But in the few short months of 2011, the world is getting turned upside down. The conflict in Libya has cut OPEC oil production and sent oil prices skyrocketing. In turn, the price of gasoline is nearing $4.00 per gallon. And food processors are raising prices due to higher raw commodity prices. These two factors have put a dent in the household budget.

Continue reading Bank of America Cuts First-Quarter GDP Forecast

Bank of America Cuts First-Quarter GDP Forecast originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Tue, 05 Apr 2011 11:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Continue reading Texas Instruments Acquires National Semiconductor

Texas Instruments Acquires National Semiconductor originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Tue, 05 Apr 2011 09:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Here's an interesting story, which speaks volumes about the psychological dynamic of the markets. On Friday the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) will report on end-of-season inventories, often called 'ending stocks.' Traders are getting word the report may show inventories are lower-than-usual. Against that backdrop, as a trader you certainly don't want to take a short position. So what to do? You buy, of course.

Monday's buying drove corn prices to a record high of $7.6025 per bushel, up 24.25 cents, as reported in the Wall Street Journal. Country Hedging, a brokerage firm, said: "Federal forecasters could drop the projection to less than 500 million bushels from last month's 675 million. This is a 15 year low."

Continue reading Supply Concerns Send Corn Prices to a Record High

Supply Concerns Send Corn Prices to a Record High originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Mon, 04 Apr 2011 18:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

• OPEC production fell 411,000 barrels per day to 29,343 million bpd.
• Libya's production fell 343,000 barrels per day, from 1,396,000 bpd.
• Nigeria fell 107,000 barrels per day due to Royal Dutch (RDS) Oil maintenance.

Continue reading Brent Crude Oil Explodes to $120 Per Barrel

Brent Crude Oil Explodes to $120 Per Barrel originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Mon, 04 Apr 2011 15:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Continue reading Interpublic Discloses Its Stake in Facebook

Interpublic Discloses Its Stake in Facebook originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Mon, 04 Apr 2011 14:20:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Do you want to watch television on your iPad? No problem. Just download an app. Cablevision (CVC) claims that its customers can watch 300 channels at home, according to Reuters.

The interesting feature of this program is that you don't need the Internet. Cablevision uses a digital code to deliver content to an Apple (AAPL) iPad. The app allows you to search channels by genre and record programs.

Continue reading Cablevision App Lets You Watch TV on Your iPad

Cablevision App Lets You Watch TV on Your iPad originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Mon, 04 Apr 2011 11:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Copper was the darling of commodity traders. The price rallied from about $6,400 per ton to a record $10,190 in the past year, The Financial Times reports. Momentum was strong and it looked like there was no end in sight. But now, prices have dropped off a bit and miners are worried that the rally has hit a brick wall. The main concern is that what drove drove prices skyward -- China's demand -- may be slowing, according to the FT.

One indication of the slowdown is the amount of stocks held in exchange warehouses. At the LME Asia + Shanghai exchange warehouses, copper stocks have increased from below 150,000 to over 325,000 tons. That buildup has worried miners. The companies affected are Freeport MeMoRan (FCX), BHP Billiton (BHP), Xstrada (XSRAF), Anglo American and Brazil's Codelco, according to the Financial Times.

Continue reading Miners Hedge Copper Inventories as Demand from China Slows

Miners Hedge Copper Inventories as Demand from China Slows originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Mon, 04 Apr 2011 10:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Essentially, there are two ways to keep investors happy. One is share price appreciation, and the other dividend payments. Investors experienced the first with a powerful stock rally in the past year and half. Now, its time for dividends to play a part, writes Rachel Beck of the Associated Press.

When the meltdown occurred, companies pushed the fear button and hoarded cash, now amounting to $940 billion, Beck writes. Now that the economy is on firmer footing companies can let go of some of this pile of money. In the first quarter, 117 companies issued dividends, compared with only 78 a year ago, according to the AP.

Continue reading After a Long Absence, Dividends Are Back

After a Long Absence, Dividends Are Back originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Mon, 04 Apr 2011 09:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Salesforce.com (CRM) provides applications that manage customer information for sales, marketing and customer support. It has a customer base of approximately 85,000 clients. Its service provides sales leads, maintaining customer information and tracking customer interactions.

Intuit (INTU) caters to small businesses with its QuickBooks and TurboTax software. As well, it provides payroll and financial software for small businesses. The company has about 50 million users of its products.

Continue reading Salesforce.com and Intuit Join Forces to Capture Small Business Clients

Salesforce.com and Intuit Join Forces to Capture Small Business Clients originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Sun, 03 Apr 2011 09:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Let's go back to the financial crisis and the practices that brought this country to its knees. Banks developed a fancy scheme whereby they absolved themselves of all risk from the loans they made. They simply wrapped them up in a bundle and sold them to someone else. What they were doing is essentially packaging and reselling "junk."

When the news of how bad things were became known, the markets froze and collapsed. No one knew who had which securities, and if they did, they didn't know their true value.

Continue reading Banks Lobby Against Risk Retention on the Loans They Make

Banks Lobby Against Risk Retention on the Loans They Make originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Sat, 02 Apr 2011 11:40:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Non-farm payrolls came in higher than analysts' forecasts and the unemployment rate fell to 8.8%. That good news sent the Dow Jones Industrial Average to a new 2011 high. At midday the Dow was up 78 points to 12,397 -- as reported by the Wall Street Journal.

Except for a brief sell-off to the 11,500 level, the market has moved quickly to regain lost ground and is now at new highs. Last week the USDA's crop report was bullish for grains. It's not surprising that Caterpillar (CAT) led the charge, up 1.7%. But there are always some losers. Office Depot (ODP) fell 11% after reporting a fourth quarter loss and Krispy Kreme Doughnuts (KKD), which also had a fourth quarter loss, fell 17%.

Continue reading Dow Hits New 2011 High: What's Next?

Dow Hits New 2011 High: What's Next? originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Fri, 01 Apr 2011 17:20:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Continue reading Why Did ServiceSource's IPO Jump 22%?

Why Did ServiceSource's IPO Jump 22%? originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Fri, 01 Apr 2011 15:50:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Two questions on investors' minds are: Should I buy Apple (AAPL), and where is the stock headed? Leading banks and financial advisory firms hire analysts, whose job it is to figure out the strengths and weaknesses of a given company -- and from that data make a recommendation and a projected stock price.

At Morgan Stanley that analyst is Katy Huberty. In a Fortune article she describes two possible scenarios for Apple. One is her best case. The other is her bearish take.

Continue reading The Case for Apple to Reach $540

The Case for Apple to Reach $540 originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Fri, 01 Apr 2011 15:25:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Slowly, an assessment of the damage to chip plants in Japan is emerging. This story tells about just one such plant. It sheds light on what we can expect in the way of future shipments.

The company is Renesas Electronics (RNECY). It is is important because it supplies the automotive industry with car navigation chips. In Japan, it provides 41% of the chips used by Japanese automakers,

Continue reading Damage to Renesa's Chip Plants Disrupts Auto Supply Chain

Damage to Renesa's Chip Plants Disrupts Auto Supply Chain originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Fri, 01 Apr 2011 14:20:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

As a result, The PC industry is bleeding badly. Look at these numbers:

• February revenue from PC makers in Taiwan is down 20%. The number is significant because Taiwan manufacturers 90% of all PCs.
• Hon Hai (HNHAF), which makes Apple products and PCs for Dell (DELL), saw shipments down 18% in February, as reported in Financial Times.
• Gartner, a research consultancy, lowered PC shipments by 5% to 387.8 million units this month.

Continue reading Acer Losing Market Share to Smartphones and Tablets

Acer Losing Market Share to Smartphones and Tablets originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Fri, 01 Apr 2011 13:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Continue reading Gold and Silver Hit New Highs

Gold and Silver Hit New Highs originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Fri, 01 Apr 2011 11:40:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

There's a big ballyhoo about oil these days. With the turmoil in the Middle East, especially in Libya, the price of West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude oil is priced over $100 per barrel. Gasoline at the pump is almost $4.00 per gallon.

Why then talk about an oil glut? We should first look at where our oil is coming from. Believe it or not, Canada is the biggest exporter of oil to the U.S. Canada is sending so much oil to the U.S. that our pipelines and storage facilities can't handle it. Reuters reports that our key storage facilities at Cushing Oklahoma are filled to capacity and are not equipped to handle the oil flow.

Continue reading Oil Glut at Cushing Oklahoma Could Last Two Years

Oil Glut at Cushing Oklahoma Could Last Two Years originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Fri, 01 Apr 2011 11:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.