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King posts

Some see a BOE 'swerve,' some see a prudent central bank action

Posted Jan 28th 2008 2:36PM by Joseph Lazzaro (RSS feed)
Filed under: International Markets, Federal Reserve

Mervyn King, governor of the Bank of England, and long-time inflation hawk, may stand out in history textbooks [subscription required] for all the wrong reasons, in the view of some monetarists, The Wall Street Journal reported Monday.

In August 2007, when markets nearly froze as Wall Street digested the first wave of subprime mortgage and related asset defaults, King initially was not moved. As the U.S. Federal Reserve and European Central Bank added billions in liquidity to the financial system, King refused to participate, arguing that the tactic would increase the intensity of future crises.

But events soon took on a momentum of their own, and King changed his stance. In September 2007, when Northern Rock experienced a bank run, King sensed a threat to the financial system and added liquidity, calming London's credit and equity markets. Still, Britain's press labeled him "Swervin' Mervyn."

Unwarranted criticism?

London-based economist Mark Chandler told BloggingStocks Monday the King criticism "is unfair, and unwarranted."

Continue reading Some see a BOE 'swerve,' some see a prudent central bank action

Analyst initiations 7-25-07: BIOF, ERTS and TTWO

Posted Jul 25th 2007 11:33AM by Kevin Shult (RSS feed)
Filed under: Analyst Reports, Electronic Arts (ERTS), Analyst Initiations

MOST NOTEWORTHY: VeraSun Energy (VSE), BioFuel Energy (BIOF), Electronic Arts (ERTS) and Take-Two Interactive Software (TTWO) were today's noteworthy initiations:

Citigroup initiated shares of VeraSun Energy (NYSE: VSE) and BioFuel Energy with Buy ratings, as the firm believes the ethanol industry is reaching an inflection point as profitability should be much improved in 2008.

BioFuel (NASDAQ: BIOF) was also initiated with a Hold rating at AG Edwards on valuation and an Overweight rating at JP Morgan, who believes BioFuel has good growth prospects but trades at a discount relative to peers.

Electronic Arts (NASDAQ: ERTS) was initiated with a Neutral rating at Cowen, citing the company's rich valuation and mixed growth outlook.

Cowen resumed coverage of Take-Two Interactive Software (NASDAQ: TTWO) with an Outperform rating, as the firm believes TTWO is positioned for a strong 2H07 given the Grand Theft Auto IV and other titles...

OTHER INITIATIONS:

CDC Corporation (NASDAQ: CHINA) was initiated with a Buy rating and $12 target at Montgomery.

Oppenheimer started shares of Chelsea Therapeutics (NASDAQ: CHTP) with a Buy rating and $12 target.

Banc of America initiated shares of Charming Shoppes (NASDAQ: CHRS) with a Neutral rating and $11 target.

Raymond James initiated shares of Geokinetics (AMEX: GOK) with a Market Perform rating.

King Pharmaceuticals (NYSE: KG) was initiated at Goldman Sachs with a Neutral rating and $19 target.

Analyst summaries provided by TheFlyOnTheWall.com (subscription required).

Analyst initiations 5-11-07: DOW, NILE, WINN and ZQK

Posted May 11th 2007 11:32AM by Kevin Shult (RSS feed)
Filed under: Before the Bell, Dow Chemical (DOW), Analyst Initiations

MOST NOTEWORTHY: Dow Chemical (DOW), Smart Modular (SMOD), Wolverine World Wide (WWW), Win-Dixie Stores (WINN) and Blue Nile (BLUE) were today's noteworthy initiations:

UBS is positive on the ethylene cycle over the next two years and believes Dow Chemical (NYSE: DOW) can beat 2008 consensus estimates, initiating shares with a Buy rating.

JMP Securities started Smart Modular (NASDAQ: SMOD) with a Strong Buy as a unit volume growth theme without much dependence on commodity memory chip pricing.

Citigroup expects further upside given Wolverine World Wide's (NYSE: WWW) strong portfolio of brands, further growth opportunities through line extensions and international growth. The firm started Wolverine World Wide with a Buy rating and $33 target.

Winn-Dixie Stores (NASDAQ: WINN) was started with a Market Perform rating, citing low levels of profitability and unproven ability to drive sustainable profitable sales.

American Technology believes the valuation of Blue Nile (NASDAQ: NILE) leaves little room for upside, despite a highly attractive business model and strong fundamentals, and started shares with a Sell rating and $45 target...

OTHER INITIATIONS:

Susquehanna started King Pharma (NYSE: KG), Sepracor (NASDAQ: SEPR) with Neutral ratings and Sciele Pharma (NASDAQ: SCRX) with a Positive rating.

Citigroup initiated shares of Quicksilver Inc (NYSE: ZQK) with a Hold rating.

Longbow started Mips Tech (NASDAQ: MIPS) with a Buy rating and $12 target.

Analyst summaries provided by TheFlyOnTheWall.com (subscription required).

Analyst upgrades 2-14-07: Applebee's gets a tip, FedEx delivers

Posted Feb 14th 2007 11:41AM by Kevin Shult (RSS feed)
Filed under: Before the Bell, Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades, Good news, Applied Materials (AMAT), Ciena Corp (CIEN), Coca-Cola Enterprises (CCE), FedEx Corp (FDX)

MOST NOTEWORTHY: FedEx Corp (FDX) and Applied Materials Inc (AMAT) were today's notable upgrades:

Morgan Keegan upgraded FedEx Corp (NYSE: FDX) to Outperform from Market Perform. The firm said recent data indicates that the company's core business segments are well-positioned for operational improvements given current initiative; data also indicates that we may have reached a bottom in the economy and can potentially expect a soft landing.

Applied Materials Inc (NASDAQ: AMAT) was upgraded to Buy from Hold with a $25 target at First Albany and Stanford, as they believe the company's memory cycle is better than investors may think.

OTHER UPGRADES:

Coca-Cola Enterprises Inc (NYSE: CCE) was upgraded to Market Perform from Underperform at Bernstein because the firm no longer sees any major negative catalysts ahead.

Apria Healthcare Group Inc (NYSE: AHG) was upgraded to Hold from Sell with a $30 target at Deutsche Bank. The firm said Apria reported a solid fourth quarter and near-term momentum was more clear.

JP Morgan upgraded King Pharmaceuticals inc (NYSE: KG) to Neutral from Underweight on valuation and the potential of a prolonged delay of generic Skelazin.

Citigroup upgraded Ciena Inc (NASDAQ: CIEN) to Buy from Hold, but still considers JDS Uniphase Corp (NASDAQ: JDSU) their top pick for capacity exposure.