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Closing Bell: The Yo-Yo market (ENER, ITT, F, GS, UNH, RA, FIG)

Today was another trading day bare of major economic data. Shares were all over the place today with the indexes not giving any clear direction at any point of the day. It was not until right before the close that you had a real feel for whether we would close up or down today.

Here are the unofficial closing bell levels:

Dow 9,874.31 -11.49 (-0.12%)
S&P 500 1,073.56 -2.63 (-0.24%)
Nasdaq 2,140.22 +1.08 (0.05%)

Top Analyst Upgrades
Top Analyst Downgrades
Top Stock Rumors
Day Trader Alerts

Continue reading Closing Bell: The Yo-Yo market (ENER, ITT, F, GS, UNH, RA, FIG)

Analyst upgrades, downgrades and initiations: AXP, FCX, FIG, JPM, LYG, RTP ...

Analyst upgrades:

  • Citigroup upgraded American Express (NYSE: AXP) to Buy from Hold and added the stock to its Top Picks Live list following the company's investor day. Citi believes American Express' credit trends are improving and raised its price target on shares to $36 from $28.
  • Janney Montgomery upgraded Gardner Denver (NYSE: GDI) to Buy from Neutral after meeting with management to reflect expectations for EPS growth in 2010 and valuation. The firm has a $38 target on the stock.
  • BofA/Merrill upgraded Freeport McMoRan (NYSE: FCX) to Buy from Underperform and raised its target to $87 from $49 based on strong copper fundamentals.
  • Cbeyond (NASDAQ: CBEY) was upgraded to Overweight from Equal Weight at Stephens.
  • Gibraltar Industries (NASDAQ: ROCK) was upgraded to Outperform from Neutral at Baird.
  • Fortress (NYSE: FIG) was upgraded to Outperform from Market Perform at Keefe Bruyette.

Continue reading Analyst upgrades, downgrades and initiations: AXP, FCX, FIG, JPM, LYG, RTP ...

Fortress Investment Group looks to Mudd for new leadership

Fortress Investment Group (NYSE: FIG) has named former Fannie Mae CEO Daniel Mudd as its new top guy.

Yes, that's right: Daniel Mudd. The same guy who was pushed out as CEO of Fannie Mae after driving it into insolvency and a federal takeover. Mr. Mudd had been CEO since 2004 and was responsible for the company's disastrous push into higher risk mortgages, which makes him an interesting choice to run a $300 million public company (that used to be a $3 billion public company, but hey).

That makes him a very strange choice for the title of CEO at Fortress, even though he already serves on the company's board of directors (and a lot of good that's done). With the share price in the toilet and its operations in a state of flux, this seems unlikely to do much in the way of building up confidence in the company and its operations. Worse, Mr. Mudd may still be the target of SEC and Justice Department investigations into disclosures at Fannie Mae prior to its demise.

Continue reading Fortress Investment Group looks to Mudd for new leadership

Fortress storms a bank

Not long ago, the private equity firm, Fortress Investment Group LLC (NYSE: FIG), appeared to be in deep trouble. But things are looking better now, as the stock price has gone from $1 to $4.65 this year.

In fact, Fortress is now pulling the trigger on some deals. Just this week, the firm teamed up with Crestview Partners LP and Lightyear Capital LLC to invest $450 million in First Southern Bancorp (Lightyear is operated by Donald Marron, who was the former chief of PaineWebber Group).

Continue reading Fortress storms a bank

New taxes to soak private equity and hedge funds

Who's going to pay for the massive budget deficits? Well, how about the rich folks?

This is certainly a theme in President Barack Obama's 2010 budget. Thus, if you are an alternative asset manager – that is, you operate a private equity firm or hedge fund -- then you may have to pay some big-time taxes. In fact, the bite could add up to $24 billion over the next nine years.

Continue reading New taxes to soak private equity and hedge funds

Earnings highlights: Target, Heinz, Barnes & Noble, Pepsi, Disney and others

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

Continue reading Earnings highlights: Target, Heinz, Barnes & Noble, Pepsi, Disney and others

Analyst calls: PEP, FIG, PUK, BEN, ASML, X, RDS.A, CHU, SVR ...

Analyst upgrades:
  • PepsiCo (NYSE: PEP) was upgraded to Buy from Hold at Deutsche Bank.
  • Fortress (NYSE: FIG) was upgraded at Citigroup to Hold from Sell.
  • Prudential (NYSE: PUK) was lifted to Overweight from Neutral at JP Morgan.
  • Keefe Bruyette upgraded Franklin Resources (NYSE: BEN) to Outperform from Market Perform and added shares to their Best Ideas List on valuation as they see an attractive risk/reward at current levels.
  • UBS upgraded ASML Holding (NASDAQ: ASML) to Buy from Neutral on valuation as they believe the company remains a market leader.
  • Oppenheimer raised Seattle Genetics (NASDAQ: SGEN) to Outperform from Perform on valuation following the recent weakness as they expect positive clinical news flow beginning in December.
Analyst downgrades:
  • UBS downgraded U.S. Steel (NYSE: X) to Sell from Buy and lowered its target to $30 from $60 citing deteriorating U.S. conditions and concerns about the company's high fixed costs in a falling steel price environment.
  • Royal Dutch Shell (NYSE: RDS.A) was downgraded to Underperform from Neutral at Credit Suisse.
  • China Unicom (NYSE: CHU) was lowered to Underweight from Neutral at JP Morgan.

Continue reading Analyst calls: PEP, FIG, PUK, BEN, ASML, X, RDS.A, CHU, SVR ...

Fortress ditches the dividend ... and doubles down on financials

Even with the huge federal government buyout, cash is still in short supply that the Federal Reserve recently loosened the restrictions on private equity firms in terms of investment stakes in banks.

In light of this, one of the top private equity operators, Fortress Investment Group LLC (NYSE: FIG), is eliminating its Q3 dividend payment of $0.225 per share. Basically, the firm wants as much capital as possible to capitalize on the opportunities -- Fortress has about $300 million in cash. The CEO, Wesley Edens, said he wants to put money into banks, insurance companies and asset management operations.

In other words, this may be an attempt to reformulate the structure of Fortress's private equity structure, making it look more like a traditional financial services firm. It certainly helps that Fortress has a lot of capital to put to work.

However, such investments can be volatile and take several years to come to fruition. Then again, the purpose of private equity is to seek out long-term returns, right?

Tom Taulli is the author of various books, including The Complete M&A Handbook and The Edgar Online Guide to Decoding Financial Statements. He is also the founder of BizEquity, a valuation website

Analyst calls: AIG, RACK, FIG, AAPL, BBBY ,IFX ...

Analyst upgrades:
  • Merrill upgraded shares of AstraZeneca (NYSE: AZN) to Neutral from Underperform to reflect the company's pipeline momentum and lack of negative catalysts.
  • Keefe Bruyette upgraded Deutsche Bank (NYSE: DB) to Outperform from Market Perform on valuation as they believe DB should trade at a higher multiple.
  • Royal Dutch Shell (NYSE: RDS.A) was raised at HSBC to Overweight from Neutral.
  • American International (NYSE: AIG) was upgraded to Buy from Neutral at UBS.
Analyst downgrades:
  • Merrill cut Novo Nordisk (NYSE: NVO) to Underperform from Neutral as the firm sees better opportunities elsewhere in the sector.
  • Merriman downgraded Rackable Systems (NASDAQ: RACK) to Neutral from Buy following the company's mixed Q2 results to reflect its customer concentration and fluctuating margins.
  • Janus Capital (NYSE: JNS) was downgraded at JP Morgan to Underweight from Neutral.
  • Fortress (NYSE: FIG) was cut to Sell from Hold at Citigroup.
Analyst initiations:
  • UBS believes Apple (NASDAQ: AAPL) has a competitive advantage and their checks indicate new Macs, new iPhone colors and potentially new iPods may come early on in the second half of 2008. The firm initiated shares with a Buy rating and $195 target. UBS also initiated Dell Inc. (NASDAQ: DELL) and Hewlett-Packard (NYSE: HPQ) at Neutral.
  • KeyBanc initiated Bed Bath & Beyond (NASDAQ: BBBY) with an Underweight rating and $25 target based on slowing core growth at Bed Bath and likely margin erosion from the ramp in growth at Christmas Tree Shops and buybuy Baby.
  • Infineon (NYSE: IFX) was initiated with a Buy rating at Deutsche Bank.

Cramer on BloggingStocks: Merrill starts process of CDO dumping

TheStreet.com's Jim Cramer says as long as there are other buyers of the paper, look for other similar deals.

Merrill's (NYSE: MER) (Cramer's Take) deal with Lone Star gives the first real stab of the private market value of this paper, 22 cents on the dollar. But when you add in the financing you can argue that it is about half that.

Why so low? Because even after a year and a half of stress, we still can't publicly value this stuff.

Remember the deal with Lone Star is a private one, where the investors have to wait five years for the paper to mature. We don't really know what a CDO is worth, you just know what they may have paid.

This is despite the fact that for years now, this stuff has existed, no one has come out and said "this CDO has a lot of Florida, so it is bad," or "this piece of paper has a 90% default rate," or "this debt is hindered by bad HELOC."

Without that info, we can't price it. Lone Star knows more than most, but basically had to put up very little. In this deal, Merrill said "here, we will pay you to take these off our hands."

Continue reading Cramer on BloggingStocks: Merrill starts process of CDO dumping

Cramer on BloggingStocks: KKR takes advantage

TheStreet.com's Jim Cramer says KKR will join the list of buyout firms that fleece the small investor by going public.

Just what we need, a private-equity firm to go public. That worked just great with Fortress Investment (NYSE: FIG) (Cramer's Take), and it was terrific with Blackstone (NYSE: BX) (Cramer's Take). At least this one is some sort of reverse merger that might not inflict too much pain on the public.

Of course, folks in this business are displaying their usual lack of shame. It would be an excellent time for them to have a good reason beyond employee retention; I mean if you are making all of that money, what's the issue with retention? It would also be terrific if they were doing well, but there hasn't been a deal in so long that it would be a bit of an oddity if they were doing anything other than making a lot of fees.

But Kohlberg Kravis Roberts is a storied lot, so I figure the public will lap it up and all will be well until the losses start.

Or maybe this will be the one that's in the blue moon and the public will not be pants'd by the really smart bankers.

Continue reading Cramer on BloggingStocks: KKR takes advantage

Newspaper wrap-up: Barnes & Noble may bid for Borders

MAJOR PAPERS:
  • Barnes & Noble Inc (NYSE: BKS) is considering a bid for rival bookseller Borders Group Inc (NYSE: BGP), the Wall Street Journal reported, a move which would allow Barnes & Noble to improve profits and reduce costs. Antitrust issues could prevent a deal.
  • The Wall Street Journal also reported that Carl Icahn's effort to remove Yahoo! Inc's (NASDAQ: YHOO) board has picked up new supporters, including T. Boone Pickens, who acquired a 0.75% stake. Some Yahoo shareholders believe it is still too early to predict whether Icahn will be able to carry July 3's shareholder vote.
  • A Financial Times investigation discovered that Moody's Corporation (NYSE: MCO) incorrectly awarded top ratings to billions of dollars to debt products due to an error in its computer models. Moody's said it is in the process of "conducting a thorough review" of the rating of the constant proportion debt obligations, which should have been up to four notches lower.
OTHER PAPERS:
  • According to the people briefed on the matter, the New York Times reported that the buyout of Penn National Gaming Inc (NASDAQ: PENN) by Fortress Investment Group (FIG) and Centerbridge Parters may involve revised terms. The sources said the negotiations may "delay or even imperil" the deal.

Apollo Management to try its luck on the NYSE

Apollo Management, which is one of the largest private equity firms, has traded on Goldman Sach's (NYSE: GS) private exchange, GSTrUE OTC. Unfortunately, the shares are down 40% (since August). Of course, other alternative asset managers – such as Blackstone (NYSE: BX) and Fortress Investment Group (NYSE: FIG) – have suffered plunges as well.

So what's the next step for Apollo? Well, the firm plans to trade on the NYSE. The IPO filing calls for raising $475 million of capital.

Apollo got its start in 1990 and profited handsomely from distressed investments (keep in mind that this was after the buyout boom). Now, the firm manages $40.3 billion and has recently raised a fund for $12.5 billion. Over the past 18 years, Apollo has generated an impressive 29% net internal rate of return.

Continue reading Apollo Management to try its luck on the NYSE

Earnings highlights: Adobe, ConAgra, Lennar, Oracle, Tiffany, Darden and others

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

Also, auction-rate securities issues may hurt some tech company results. Analysts keep cutting earings estimates for the big banks, but some are eyeing Yum! Brands (NYSE: YUM) earnings prospects as it expands in China, as well as Archer Daniels Midland (NYSE: ADM) on soaring demand for commodities.

Upcoming results to watch for include Best Buy (NYSE: BBY), Monsanto (NYSE: MON), and Research in Motion (NASDAQ: RIMM).

Visit AOL Money & Finance for more earnings coverage.

Before the bell: WMT, TGT, TTM, BSC, TM ...

Before the bell: Futures lower, ahead of retail sales, Bernanke speech

Target Corp. (NYSE: TGT) said Wednesday that President Gregg Steinhafel would take over for retiring CEO Bob Ulrich, who would step down as CEO on May 1. He will remain as chairman through Jan. 31, 2009.

As CES winds down, all eyes turn their attention to next week's Macworld and speculation on what Apple will showcase and introduce this year -- after last year's iPhone debut -- are abundant, but mostly Apple Inc (NASDAQ: AAPL) is expected to introduce an ultra-slim laptop computer and online movie rentals at its biggest annual show next week.
Meanwhile, for interesting reading, Wired has a four-page piece on how the iPhone changed the wireless industry, turning the table around on carriers and giving power to manufacturers.

India's Tata Motors Ltd (NYSE: TTM), which is negotiating the purchase of Ford's (NYSE: F) luxury brands -- Jaguar and Land Rover -- unveiled the Nano, a 4-seater world's cheapest car with an engine around 625cc. The price tag will be about $2,500 and it will go on sale later this year.

Continue reading Before the bell: WMT, TGT, TTM, BSC, TM ...

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Symbol Lookup
IndexesChangePrice
DJIA-9.2210,441.73
NASDAQ-6.672,169.34
S&P 500-0.211,106.03

Last updated: November 24, 2009: 03:31 PM

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