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Closing Bell: Bulls Currents Still Mixed (APSG, RTN, MI, BMO, HBAN, CHK)

This was one of those pre-holiday trading sessions where the closing bell outcome depended on which index you looked at. Tech stocks were up with the S&P 500, but the DJIA was a mixed bag throughout the trading day. This appears to have been a 3-year high for NASDAQ and a 2-year high for the S&P. As far as the holiday-shortened week is concerned, today may be a blueprint for trading here in the U.S. and abroad.

Here were today's unofficial closing bell levels:

Dow Jones 11,478.13 -13.78 (-0.12%)
S&P 500 1,247.08 +3.17 (0.25%)
Nasdaq 2,649.56 +6.59 (0.25%)

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Continue reading Closing Bell: Bulls Currents Still Mixed (APSG, RTN, MI, BMO, HBAN, CHK)

Options Update: eBay Traders Initiate Large January Put Position as Shares Near 30-Month High

eBay (EBAY) January 29 and 30 puts are active on flat volatility with total call volume of 37K contracts compared to 103K puts, according to Track Data. The increase in trading of the January 29 and 30 puts suggest traders anticipate movement into its Q4 January 19 EPS report.

BMO Financial Group (BMO) announced that it will acquire all outstanding shares of common stock of Marshall & Ilsley (MI) in a stock-for-stock transaction. Under the terms of the agreement, each outstanding share of M&I will be exchanged for 0.1257 shares of Bank of Montreal upon closing. BMO Financial Group overall option implied volatility of 21 is below its 26-week average of 27, according to Track Data, suggesting decreasing price movement.

CBOE Volatility Index (VIX) traded down 10% to at intra-day low of 15.46, an eight-month low.

Options Update is by Stock Specialist Paul Foster of theflyonthewall.com.

Closing Bell: Markets Indecisive as Tax Bill Passes Congress (ITMN, BMO, FCEL, SAPX, DLR)

The U.S. House of Representatives passed the tax bill that had already been approved by the Senate, but that did little, if anything, to put a charge into the market today. Better-than-expected earnings reported after markets closed yesterday from Oracle and Research in Motion didn't boost the opening today either. Later in the morning, the report on leading economic indicators from the Conference Board also showed improvement, rising 0.4% in October. The dollar rose slightly on the forex market following Moody's five-notch downgrade of Irish debt. All in all, a day of mixed news with mixed results.

Here are the numbers for late afternoon trading today:

Dow Jones 11,491.98 -7.27 (-0.06%)
S&P 500 1,243.91 +1.04 (0.08%)
Nasdaq 2,642.97 +5.66 (0.21%)

Continue reading Closing Bell: Markets Indecisive as Tax Bill Passes Congress (ITMN, BMO, FCEL, SAPX, DLR)

Week in Preview: Unemployment Rate, Fed's Beige Book, Canadian Banks

earnings expectationsBlack Friday has come and gone and the holiday shopping season is off and running. In addition to keeping on eye on how retailers are doing, there will be plenty of other economic data for analysts and investors to peruse on this week.

Continue reading Week in Preview: Unemployment Rate, Fed's Beige Book, Canadian Banks

Earnings Previews: Bank of Nova Scotia and Toronto-Dominion

Three of Canada's big five banks reported quarterly results last week. Canadian Imperial Bank of Commerce's (CM) profit surged, topping consensus estimates. However, Royal Bank of Canada (RY) missed estimates for the fourth straight time. And though Bank of Montreal's (BMO) net income grew, it too fell short of expectations.

So what does that do for expectations for Bank of Nova Scotia (BNS) and Toronto-Dominion (TD), which are scheduled to report this week?

Continue reading Earnings Previews: Bank of Nova Scotia and Toronto-Dominion

The Week in Preview: Eye on Tiffany, Canadian Banks, Semtech

earnings expectationsMost of the S&P 500 companies have already reported earnings results for the most recent quarter. But scheduled to release their results this week are Medtronic (MDT) and Novell (NOVL), which analysts surveyed by Thomson Reuters expect to post earnings per share (EPS) about same as last year, as well as JDS Uniphase (JDSU), Patterson Companies (PDCO) and Tiffany & Co. (TIF), for which analysts foresee year-over-year earnings growth. Of these, the expectations are highest for Tiffany.

During the three months that ended in July, Tiffany launched an iPhone app and increased its quarterly dividend. Analysts expect the New York-based specialty retailer to report that earnings per share came to 53 cents, a 26.4% increase from a year earlier. Second-quarter revenue is expected to have grown 12.8% to $690.8 million. So far, analysts predict full-year earnings of $2.61 per share (+22.9%) on $3.0 billion (+11.8%) in revenue. Earnings results topped consensus estimates in four of the past five quarters, by 11 cents per share in the first quarter.

Continue reading The Week in Preview: Eye on Tiffany, Canadian Banks, Semtech

Three Financial Stocks with +3% Yields

Financial stocks have been in focus after earnings from heavyweights Goldman Sachs (GS), JP Morgan Chase (JPM), Bank of America (BAC) and others. Earnings at these top banks have apparently taken a hit as profits from their trading divisions have lagged. But investors shouldn't have to count on the investment arm of a big bank to make money.

There are a number of high yield dividend stocks in the financial sector which offer plenty of payback no matter what the market does. These are financial stocks with big dividends that have managed to maintain high yields even as other financials have cut or eliminated their payouts in the wake of the financial crisis.

Continue reading Three Financial Stocks with +3% Yields

The Week in Preview: A Look at Costco, AutoZone, Canadian Banks, and more

Both Walmart (WMT) and BJ's Wholesale Club (BJ) reported strong quarterly results last week, suggesting that discount retailers are still doing well even as the economy seems to be coming around. This week, Costco (COST) and Big Lots (BIG) take their turns in the earnings spotlight, and analysts surveyed by Thomson Reuters expect a strong showing from them as well.

And we'll round out this preview of the coming week with a look at expectations for AutoZone (AZO), Canada's big banks, and Trina Solar (TSL).

Continue reading The Week in Preview: A Look at Costco, AutoZone, Canadian Banks, and more

The Week in Preview: Fed's Beige Book, More Retail Earnings and Canadian Banks

The Federal Reserve's next Beige Book report is scheduled to be released this week. This report is a compilation of anecdotal information on current economic conditions from each of the 12 Federal Reserve Bank districts, and it is released eight times a year. The data comes from interviews with business contacts, economists, market experts, and other sources. The previous report, released in January, showed some improvement in most districts and growth in consumer spending over the holiday period, though unemployment remained high. The December report showed modest improvement in eight of the districts.

Retailers were in the earnings spotlight last week and for the most part made a strong showing of it. Even as the earnings season winds down, some more retailers are scheduled to release quarterly results this week.

Continue reading The Week in Preview: Fed's Beige Book, More Retail Earnings and Canadian Banks

The week in preview: Canadian banks, Aeropostale, Shanda Interactive ...

It's been reported that Canadian banks have fared better than their U.S. and European counterparts recently. The Bank of Montreal (BMO) did report strong fourth-quarter results last week. This week, analysts surveyed by Thomson Reuters expect competitor Royal Bank of Canada (RY) to post modest earnings growth as well, while Canadian Imperial Bank of Commerce (CM) and Toronto Dominion Bank (TD) are expected to post earnings declines.

Analysts are looking for $0.98 per share (+6.1%) earnings from RBC, $1.25 per share (-7.4%) from Toronto Dominion and $1.36 per share (-21.8%) from Canadian Imperial. The long-term EPS growth forecast for these three banks is for ranges from 10% and 12%, which is in the same ballpark as U.S. rivals Bank of America Corp. (BAC) and Wells Fargo & Co. (WFC). Earnings multiples for these Canadian banks are 10x to 12x, but only Toronto Dominion has a First Call consensus recommendation of buy. The Motley Fool, though, recently commented on Royal Bank's steady income and reliability. All three banks are trading near their 52-week highs, and shares of all are up well more than 100% since March lows.

Continue reading The week in preview: Canadian banks, Aeropostale, Shanda Interactive ...

The week in preview: No turkey earnings from Tyson, Hormel, Cracker Barrel ...

Though the earnings season is winding down, and the coming week includes the Thanksgiving holiday in the U.S., plenty of reports are still due out. And analysts surveyed by Thomson Reuters don't seem to be expecting too many turkeys among this week's bunch.

Leading U.S. meat processor Tyson Foods Inc. (TSN), which has just named a new chief executive officer and a new chief operating officer, is expected to report fiscal fourth-quarter earnings of $0.26 per share, up from $0.14 in the same period of last year. But revenue is expected to total $6.9 billion, or 4.3% less than a year ago. The full-year forecast is for a profit of $0.25 per share (-16.7) on $26.4 billion (-3.9%) in sales. This dividend payer has offered upside surprises in the past two quarters, topping estimates by 11 cents per share in the third quarter.

Continue reading The week in preview: No turkey earnings from Tyson, Hormel, Cracker Barrel ...

The week in preview: Canadian banks in the earnings spotlight

Canadian banks are scheduled to step into the earnings spotlight this week, with third-quarter reports coming from Bank of Montreal (NYSE: BMO), Bank of Nova Scotia (NYSE: BNS), Canadian Imperial Bank of Commerce (NYSE: CM), Royal Bank of Canada (NYSE: RY), and Toronto-Dominion Bank (NYSE: TD). While Canadian banks on the whole held up better than their U.S. counterparts during the financial crisis, these five are expected to report that their earnings are still declining in the most recent quarter.

Analysts surveyed by Thomson Reuters are looking for EPS for these banks to have fallen from 15% to 25% from a year ago. Their long-term EPS growth forecast is for between 10% and 12%, which is in the same range as U.S. rivals JPMorgan Chase & Co. (NYSE: JPM) and Wells Fargo & Co. (NYSE: WFC), but better than Bank of America Corp. (NYSE: BAC) and Citigroup Inc. (NYSE: C). Earnings multiples for these Canadian banks are 10x to 12x, but none of them have a First Call consensus recommendation is to buy. The Motley Fool, though, considers TD as a value stock and RY a stock poised to pop. All of them are trading much closer to their 52-week highs than lows, and shares of all are up more than 100% since March lows.

Continue reading The week in preview: Canadian banks in the earnings spotlight

Earnings highlights: AutoZone, Costco, Dell, Heinz, Staples, Tiffany, Tivo and more

Here are some highlights from this past week's earnings coverage from BloggingStocks:

Continue reading Earnings highlights: AutoZone, Costco, Dell, Heinz, Staples, Tiffany, Tivo and more

Bank of Montreal and Canadian Solar beat expectations

It was good news, bad news Tuesday for maple leaf stocks Bank of Montreal (NYSE: BMO) and Canadian Solar Inc. (NYSE: CSIQ). While both reported better than expected quarterly results, Bank of Montreal reported lower second-quarter earnings and said it would lay off 1,100 employees, and Canadian Solar posted a first-quarter loss due to plunging revenues.

Bank of Montreal, Canada's fourth-largest bank, reported its profit declined to C$358 million (US$317 million), or 61 Canadian cents per share, in the quarter that ended April 30. Results included one-time charges of C$80 million for losses in BMO's backup financing operations and C$80 million in severance costs for job cuts. Adjusted earnings came to 93 Canadian cents per share, just above analysts' expectations.

Continue reading Bank of Montreal and Canadian Solar beat expectations

The week in preview: Canadian and U.S. banks, and more

After the Memorial Day holiday in the United States, the earnings spotlight turns to Canadian banks: Bank of Montreal (NYSE: BMO), Canadian Imperial Bank of Commerce (NYSE: CM), Royal Bank of Canada (NYSE: RY), and Toronto-Dominion Bank (NYSE: TD) are all scheduled to report their second-quarter results.

While banks north of the border of generally have held up better than their U.S. counterparts, analysts surveyed by Thomson Reuters expect the four listed above to report that earnings declined between 20% and 30% since the same period of last year. All four have P/E ratios around 10, and they are paying dividends. Shares of all four have surged 50% to 83% in the past three months, but are still 26% to 38% lower than a year ago.

Continue reading The week in preview: Canadian and U.S. banks, and more

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Symbol Lookup
IndexesChangePrice
DJIA-89.2312,801.23
NASDAQ-23.352,903.88
S&P 500-9.311,342.64

Last updated: February 10, 2012: 08:16 PM

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