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America Movil to Expand Growth with Pre-Paid Data Plans

Carlos Slim, America Movil's (AMX) largest shareholder, became the world's richest man in part from his investments in wireless phone service. His empire spans 18 countries and has 200 million subscribers.

Let's look at America Movil's spectacular growth. The company's markets are primarily in Latin America. American Movil controls 74% of wireless service in Mexico under its Telcel brand, which has 60 million subscribers. Brazil is second with 45 million subscribers. It also is the largest provider in the Caribbean with four million users.

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

Rare Earth Miner Molycorp Acquires 90% of AS Silmet

Molycorp (MCP) logoMuch 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

Bank of America Cuts First-Quarter GDP Forecast

Bank of America (BAC)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

Supply Concerns Send Corn Prices to a Record High

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

After a Long Absence, Dividends Are Back

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

Banks Lobby Against Risk Retention on the Loans They Make

banksLet'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

Dow Hits New 2011 High: What's Next?

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?

Why Did ServiceSource's IPO Jump 22%?

Do you remember the dot-com IPOs? Just the term dot-com captured the imagination of investors. Prices of some dot-com IPOs doubled in a matter of hours.

With the current financial crisis, the market for IPOs has slowed down to a trickle. But we still have investing ideas that capture our imagination. Just mention the word term 'cloud' these days, and you are off and running.

Such is the case with cloud computing ServiceSource (SREV), reported in Investors.com The issue was for 1.9 million shares, to be priced at $10 per share.

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

The Case for Apple to Reach $540

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

Unemployment Rate Falls to Two-Year Low

Department of LabortSome good news for everyone out there looking for a job: unemployment fell to a two-year low in March, down to 8.8%.

While an 8.8% percent unemployment rate is still nothing to celebrate, it is a clear indication that we are headed in the right direction. Companies hired new employees at the fastest two-month pace since before the recession began.

Continue reading Unemployment Rate Falls to Two-Year Low

Stock Futures Higher Ahead of ADP Employment Data

U.S. stock futures are higher this morning, as investors await ADP employment data. Futures for the Dow Jones Industrial Average surged 51 points to 12,276.00, and those for the S&P 500 index gained 6.20 points to 1,322.70. Futures for the Nasdaq 100 index added 16.50 points to 2,339.00.

Overseas, positive sentiment ruled the European markets today. While STOXX Europe 600 Index has gained 0.79%, London's FTSE 100 Index moved up 0.50%.

Continue reading Stock Futures Higher Ahead of ADP Employment Data

Consumer Confidence Hits Three-Month Low

consumer confidenceConsumer confidence fell more than expected during the month of March, hitting a new three-month low as high gasoline prices weigh on the minds on consumers.

The Conference Board's consumer confidence index read 74 during February, but dipped in March all the way down to 63.4. Going into today's reading, analysts had been expecting to see the consumer confidence index decline, but only to 65.

Continue reading Consumer Confidence Hits Three-Month Low

Stock Futures Slightly Higher Ahead of Data

U.S. stock futures are slightly higher this morning, as investors are awaiting data on home prices and consumer confidence. Futures on the Dow Jones Industrial Average gained 18 points to 12,132.00 and S&P 500 index futures climbed 1.80 points to 1,304.00. Nasdaq 100 futures rose 5 points to 2,300.75.

Negative sentiment ruled the European markets today. While STOXX Europe 600 Index has dropped 0.51%, London's FTSE 100 Index moved down 0.30%. Most Asian markets ended lower, with Japan's Nikkei Stock Average dropping 0.21%, Australia's S&P/ASX 200 gaining 0.40% and China's Shanghai Composite falling 0.87%. Hong Kong's Hang Seng index lost 0.03% and India's Sensex surged 177.66 points.

Continue reading Stock Futures Slightly Higher Ahead of Data

Closing Bell: Stocks Give Up Gains (ALU, EBAY, GSIC, FSLR, EWJ, CCJ, PKD)

U.S. markets were mixed most of Monday with what felt like very directionless trading on light volume. A selloff late in the day erased the small gains, and markets closed in the red today.

Another weak housing figure did not manage to cause too much harm as -- by now -- investors are conditioned to expect poor housing data. Consumer spending and income rose in February, topping expectations. U.S. investors also continued to expect that oil infrastructure would keep growing based upon Middle East build-outs for expanded production.

Continue reading Closing Bell: Stocks Give Up Gains (ALU, EBAY, GSIC, FSLR, EWJ, CCJ, PKD)

WikiLeaks Cable Cites Iran's Gold Buying

The Financial Times has seen a U.S. diplomatic cable from WikiLeaks that states that Iran has bought significant amounts of gold. The word is that Tehran holds 300 tons of gold, up from 169 tons in 1996.

Gold, oil and the U.S. dollar: The oil-rich Middle East sells oil throughout the world. Oil is priced in dollars. The U.S. dollar is the reserve currency for oil. That means that Mideast countries are loaded with U.S. dollars.

Continue reading WikiLeaks Cable Cites Iran's Gold Buying

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Symbol Lookup
IndexesChangePrice
DJIA+138.3815,318.23
NASDAQ+30.053,482.18
S&P 500+12.771,651.81

Last updated: June 19, 2013: 07:31 AM

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