Las Vegas Sands (LVS) is a developer, owner and operator of destination casino resorts. It operates in the U.S., Macau, and Singapore. Competitors include Wynn Resorts, Limited (WYNN), MGM Resorts International (MGM), SJM (HKG:0880), Galaxy (HKG:0027) and Harrah's among others.

Continue reading Coverage Launch: $57.50 Trefis Price Estimate for Las Vegas Sands

Coverage Launch: $57.50 Trefis Price Estimate for Las Vegas Sands originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Fri, 25 Feb 2011 17:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

"Five years ago, we presented a strong case for investing in China; we felt so compelled by the opportunity that we expanded our research team and opened a regional research office in Hong Kong," says Jim Oberweis, Jr.

The money manager and editor of The Oberweis Report reviews his current outlook on China, as well as some of his favorite U.S.-listed small cap Chinese companies that are currently in our portfolio.

The advisor explains, "We just recently celebrated the five-year anniversary of our Oberweis China Opportunities Fund; since its inception, the fund returned an average annualized gain of 22.94%.

Continue reading Favorite Small Caps from China Opportunities Fund

Favorite Small Caps from China Opportunities Fund originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Tue, 16 Nov 2010 13:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Continue reading Emerging Markets Seen Leading 2010 Global Air Travel Rebound

Emerging Markets Seen Leading 2010 Global Air Travel Rebound originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Thu, 11 Mar 2010 17:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Continue reading Prudential to Pick up AIG Asia Unit for $35 Billion

Prudential to Pick up AIG Asia Unit for $35 Billion originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Mon, 01 Mar 2010 08:50:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

American International Group (AIG) trimmed its tab to the American people by $25 billion on Tuesday. The insurance company, plagued by fallout from the financial crisis for more than a year, moved two subsidiaries -- American International Assurance and American Life Insurance -- into special units that are used to separate a business from its parent company. A spinoff or sale is the next logical step.

For now, AIG is holding on to the companies and giving the U.S. government preferred equity in the two life insurers. When AIG decides to send the companies public or divest via a private transaction, the feds (and taxpayers) will be able to cash in. Before becoming too optimistic, keep in mind that a timetable hasn't been set.

Continue reading AIG moves two life insurers, suggests a liquidity event

AIG moves two life insurers, suggests a liquidity event originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Wed, 02 Dec 2009 08:40:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Here's a shocker: India's central bank just bought 200 tons of gold.

India paid $6.7 billion to the International Monetary Fund for the gold, securing the equivalent of 8% of the world's annual production. India's move is a clear signal that Asia is moving away from the U.S. dollar.

India's finance minister said the reason for the purchase was that the economies of Europe and the US had "collapsed."

Continue reading Why is gold trading at record levels? Look to India for the answer

Why is gold trading at record levels? Look to India for the answer originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Tue, 03 Nov 2009 18:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Continue reading Closing Bell: A great day that may feel empty (AA, PEP, VG, LEN, RPRX, PLUG, MMM, WFC)

Closing Bell: A great day that may feel empty (AA, PEP, VG, LEN, RPRX, PLUG, MMM, WFC) originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Thu, 08 Oct 2009 16:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Continue reading Fidelity International's Bolton sees multi-year bull market, led by developing world

Fidelity International's Bolton sees multi-year bull market, led by developing world originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Tue, 06 Oct 2009 15:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Higher fuel prices and slipping demand for air travel have prompted a change. The International Air Transport Association revised its forecast of global airline losses for the year from $9 billion to $11 billion. Revenues for the air travel industry are expected to fall 15% to $455 billion worldwide. Passenger traffic is anticipated to fall by 4%, with cargo dropping 14% for the year.

Financially, IATA CEO Giovanni Bisignani says the impact of the financial crisis has been more severe than the terror attacks of eight years ago.

Continue reading IATA revises airline industry losses by $2 billion more

IATA revises airline industry losses by $2 billion more originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Thu, 17 Sep 2009 11:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

• Thomas Weisel upgraded SanDisk (NASDAQ: SNDK) to Overweight from Market Weight due to accelerating manufacturing cost declines, potential NAND flash sourcing upside at Toshiba (OTC: TOSBF) and Samsung and an increase in 2H09 demand.
  
• Oppenheimer upgraded Quality Systems (NASDAQ: QSII) to Perform from Underperform to reflect potential benefits from the stimulus package and channel checks that indicated IT budgets are stabilizing. The firm raised its target price on shares to $54 from $40.
  
• RBC Capital upgraded OSI Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ: OSIP) to Outperform from Sector Perform following positive Tarceva survey results and cites valuation.
• Marriott (NYSE: MAR) was upgraded to Outperform from Market Perform at JMP Securities.
  
• Grainger (NYSE: GWW) was upgraded to Buy from Neutral at BofA/Merrill.
  
• Duncan Energy Partners (NASDAQ: DEP) was upgraded to Buy from Neutral at UBS.

Continue reading Analyst upgrades, downgrades and initiations: SNDK, POT, BK, ASIA ...

Analyst upgrades, downgrades and initiations: SNDK, POT, BK, ASIA ... originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Mon, 13 Jul 2009 11:45:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Continue reading Kimberly-Clark is undervalued

Kimberly-Clark is undervalued originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Mon, 22 Jun 2009 17:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

"The Chinese Dragon strikes again," says small cap expert Jim Oberweis, Jr., adding, "So far in 2009, the MSCI China Index is up 30% and our Oberweis China Opportunities Fund (OBCHX) has gained 62%."

In his The Oberweis Report, he says, "China will be a great place to invest over the medium-to-long term, even if unpredictable in the short term."

Here, the advisor and money manager reveals four stocks that he considers "some of the most interesting Chinese ADRs to buy now: E-House (NYSE: EJ), Asia Info Holdings (NASDAQ: ASIA), New Oriental Education (NYSE: EDU), and Longtop Financial (NYSE: LFT).

Continue reading China expert picks four favorite ADRs

China expert picks four favorite ADRs originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Mon, 22 Jun 2009 12:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Continue reading Soros says world is witnessing end of pure, unregulated capitalism model

Soros says world is witnessing end of pure, unregulated capitalism model originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Mon, 23 Feb 2009 15:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Continue reading IMF now sees $2.2 trillion in toxic assets, 0.5% global GDP growth in 2009

IMF now sees $2.2 trillion in toxic assets, 0.5% global GDP growth in 2009 originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Wed, 28 Jan 2009 14:16:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Continue reading Oil drops on bearish inventory figures

Oil drops on bearish inventory figures originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Thu, 22 Jan 2009 15:15:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Continue reading Global economy: 'From boom to bust in one year'

Global economy: 'From boom to bust in one year' originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Fri, 19 Dec 2008 12:40:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Continue reading Freeport suspends dividend, cuts production on lower demand, prices

Freeport suspends dividend, cuts production on lower demand, prices originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Wed, 03 Dec 2008 08:58:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

While you were sleeping, Asian markets followed the U.S. down. Japan's Nikkei lost 9.6% as a real estate investment trust and an insurance company -- Yamoto Life -- filed for bankruptcy. Markets in Hong Kong, Korea, Australia, Singapore and Thailand fell between 6.5% and 8%. In Europe, markets opened down 10%. Fear is rampant with the volatility index (VIX), a measure of fear, closing at an all time high of 63.92.

By chance, there is a meeting of G7 finance ministers in Washington this weekend, and there will be a push to do something by Sunday night. I think it would be a triumph if everyone in the meeting could agree on a common definition of the key problem: the freezing up of short-term lending markets (the TED Spread, a measure of short-term lending risk, hit a record 4.23%), the lack of capital in the global banking system, or investors fleeing the stock market.

Why would this help? Part of the reason that global efforts so far have failed is that there does not appear to be a common understanding of what is wrong and what it will take to fix it. This has been reflected in uncoordinated tactics -- flooding the markets with liquidity, cutting interest rates, guaranteeing money market funds, injecting capital into banks -- in the UK only -- and our DOA $700 billion reverse auction plan.

Continue reading Red October: Asia, Europe down 10%

Red October: Asia, Europe down 10% originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Fri, 10 Oct 2008 07:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Q. Your Asia Focus Fund and China & Hong Kong Fund have stellar three- and five-year returns, but have not been immune from the recent global market slowdown. Many commentators have forecast the end of the China "bubble," cautioning that after the Olympics, China's fortunes may suffer. But you disagree, correct?

A. I believe China's growth prospects still look good in spite of the global slowdown. China's economy has benefited in the past from an export boom, and this will be hit by slowing demand from the US and Europe. But we should not forget that China has a substantial domestic economy which, although linked to external trade, does not depend on it exclusively. The Olympic Games caused production to slow as factories were closed to reduce pollution during the Games, but we now expect that to pick up.

China's prospects can still be heavily influenced by policy decisions which are backed up with significant reserves and budget surpluses. Since last year, the authorities have maintained a tightening bias as inflation rose to a peak of 8.7%. Now, [with inflation] at 6.3% in July and set to fall further, the government has shifted to a pro-growth bias. We expect to see some concrete announcements, which could include energy price adjustments to address the recent supply shortages of electricity and diesel fuel; tax boosts to support exporters; selected easing of bank lending controls, and slower currency appreciation against the US dollar.

Q. What is your near- and long-term forecast for the region?

Continue reading Global Q&A: A true believer in Asia

Global Q&A: A true believer in Asia originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Thu, 18 Sep 2008 17:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

One wouldn't call it the best week in the world for OPEC.

Once again, the world's best-known cartel has demonstrated that the coalition is not as cohesive or harmonious as a symphony orchestra.

Saudi Arabia, in confidential communications, let it be known that the kingdom would ignore the stated intent of other cartel members and continue to pump plenty of oil, The New York Times reported.

On Wednesday, OPEC announced that members would redouble effort to adhere to production quotas -- not exceed them as some members typically do -- an effort that, if effective, would be tantamount to a roughly 500,000-barrel per day cut in production, The Times reported.

OPEC's hawkish members said lower production is needed to eliminate what it believes is an oversupply in the market, and they cited this as the reason oil's price has fallen about 30% in two months to the $100-range, Bloomberg News reported. Oil closed Friday up 31 cents to $101.18 per barrel.

Continue reading Once again, as the Saudis go, so goes the price of oil

Once again, as the Saudis go, so goes the price of oil originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Sat, 13 Sep 2008 17:10:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.