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Bad September, good Q3 for consumer spending, what's next?

Consumer spending had its largest fall this year, thanks to the end of the "Cash for Clunkers" program. And, incomes were flat. No change to the money coming in and a drop in the cash going out translates to an impediment to economic recovery.

In September, consumer spending fell 0.5%, the first decline in five months and the worst in nine. Wages and salaries dropped 0.2%, effectively offsetting the 0.2% up-tick in August. The economy did grow in the third quarter of 2009, hinting that the worst recession in 70 years may be coming to a close, but the tough September suggests we still have some work in front of us.

Continue reading Bad September, good Q3 for consumer spending, what's next?

Analyst upgrades, downgrades and initiations: AXP, CL, DLTR, PG, RIMM, UAUA ...

Analyst upgrades:

  • FBR Capital upgraded McAfee (NYSE: MFE) to Outperform from Market Perform after channel checks indicated the company's September quarter deal flow has been stronger than expected. FBR raised its target on shares to $50 from $41.
  • Thomas Weisel upgraded Adtran (NASDAQ: ADTN) to Overweight from Market Weight, citing increased wireless backhaul capex spending by Tier-1 carriers. The firm raised its target to $32 from $21.
  • RBC Capital upgraded Brunswick (NYSE: BC) to Outperform from Sector Perform as the firm thinks the company no longer has liquidity risk and can generate significant profits by 2012. The firm set a $17 target on the stock.
  • Bronco Drilling (NASDAQ: BRNC) was upgraded to Hold from Underperform at Jefferies.
  • LSI Corp. (NYSE: LSI) was upgraded to Buy from Hold at Deutsche Bank.
  • UBS upgraded U.S. Airways (NYSE: LCC) and UAL Corp. (NASDAQ: UAUA) to Buy from Neutral.

Continue reading Analyst upgrades, downgrades and initiations: AXP, CL, DLTR, PG, RIMM, UAUA ...

Analyst upgrades, downgrades and initiations: ANN, BBY, CBS, CL, MRVL, NOK, Q ...

Analyst upgrades:

  • FBR Capital upgraded Ann Taylor (NYSE: ANN) to Outperform from Market Perform to reflect a recovery in the missy sector and the company's product improvement. The firm raised its target on shares to $19 from $13.
  • Roth Capital upgraded Marvell Tech (NASDAQ: MRVL) to Buy from Hold based on product cycle strength in wireless and Ethernet, HDD share gains, and a return of PC growth. Target is $22.
  • Goldman upgraded Colgate (NYSE: CL) to Buy from Neutral citing valuation and expectations for a pick-up in unit growth. The firm raised its price target to $85 from $83. Note that Goldman downgraded Clorox to Neutral from Buy.
  • Cadbury (NYSE: CBY) was upgraded to Neutral from Underweight at HSBC.
  • Garmin (NASDAQ: GRMN) was upgraded to Buy from Underperform at BofA/Merrill.
  • Qwest (NYSE: Q) was upgraded to Market Weight from Underweight at Thomas Weisel.

Continue reading Analyst upgrades, downgrades and initiations: ANN, BBY, CBS, CL, MRVL, NOK, Q ...

Analyst upgrades, downgrades and initiations: PG, MCD, TLB, CL, JTX, HD, IPCM, MYRG and NFLX

Analyst upgrades:
  • Barclays believes Procter & Gamble's (NYSE: PG) portfolio mix provides better leverage to stabilizing macro trends. The firm upgraded shares to Overweight from Equal weight and raised its target to $60 from $56. Note the firm downgraded Colgate (NYSE: CL) to Equal Weight from Overweight.
  • Deutsche Bank upgraded McDonald's (NYSE: MCD) to Buy from Hold as it finds the risk/reward on shares compelling at current levels and sees upcoming catalysts from McCafe and easing commodity pressures. The firm raised its target price to $65 from $60.
  • FBR Capital upgraded Talbots (NYSE: TLB) to Outperform from Market Perform to reflect an attractive risk/reward, reduced risk of a bankruptcy, and merchandise improvements. The firm raised its target price to $4 from $2.
  • Nokia (NYSE: NOK) was upgraded to Buy from Hold at Deutsche Bank.
  • Analog Devices (NYSE: ADI) was upgraded to Neutral from Underperform at Baird.

Continue reading Analyst upgrades, downgrades and initiations: PG, MCD, TLB, CL, JTX, HD, IPCM, MYRG and NFLX

Analyst upgrades, downgrades and initiations: DNDN, ANDE, the auto sector, DGX, MTB, ADVS, ITG, MF and PCLN

Analyst upgrades:
  • Merriman upgraded Dendreon (NASDAQ: DNDN) to Buy from Neutral on expectations shares will react positively to the full IMPACT data release on April 28. The firm thinks Provenge could represent the first cancer immunotherapy approved in the U.S. and raised its valuation range on the stock to $33-$34 from $18-$19.
  • Piper Jaffray upgraded Andersons (NASDAQ: ANDE) as it believes the valuation is attractive, investor expectations are low, and the company's fertilizer and rail segments could recovery in FY10. The firm has a $19 target on shares. Goldman upgraded the auto sector to Neutral from Cautious and added Ford (NYSE: F) to its Conviction Buy list. The analyst does not believe Ford will have to declare bankruptcy and sees the company benefiting from Chrysler share declines and GM's (NYSE: GM) reduced product offerings. Ford's price target is $6
  • Banc of America/Merrill upgraded U.S. Airways (NYSE: LCC) to Buy from Underperform.
  • Broadcom (NASDAQ: BRCM) was upgraded to Equal Weight from Underweight at Morgan Stanley.
  • Caterpillar (NYSE: CAT) was raised to Overweight from Neutral at JP Morgan.

Continue reading Analyst upgrades, downgrades and initiations: DNDN, ANDE, the auto sector, DGX, MTB, ADVS, ITG, MF and PCLN

Earnings highlights: Yahoo!, McDonald's, American Express, Pfizer, Delta and others

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

Continue reading Earnings highlights: Yahoo!, McDonald's, American Express, Pfizer, Delta and others

S&P 500 and Dow have worst month ever: Finding stocks going up

Both the S&P 500 and DJIA had their worst January on record. But, in the case of the S&P, 500 stocks is a lot of stocks. And, there is a lesson in that. Investors can still make money in a bear market. because even if 450 in the index's universe are down, 50 can be up.

ExxonMobil (NYSE: XOM) was actually up 2% for the month. That may not seem like much, but 2% over 20 days is actually a remarkable return in a market like this. Not all oil stocks were up, but shares in the most of the largest oil firms beat the Dow.

Continue reading S&P 500 and Dow have worst month ever: Finding stocks going up

Earnings highlights: BP, CBS, Kraft, Sony, Verizon, Colgate, Nintendo and others

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

Continue reading Earnings highlights: BP, CBS, Kraft, Sony, Verizon, Colgate, Nintendo and others

Battle of the Brands: Crest vs. Colgate

This post is part of our Battle of the Brands feature. Let us know which brand you prefer, and check out other Battle of the Brands posts.

As far as toothpaste goes, I was raised on Crest. My entire childhood, it was always Crest. Except when I spent the night at Grandma's and Grandpa's. They had Colgate. What a treat! Here are some facts about both...

Colgate toothpaste is the flagship product of Colgate-Palmolive Co. (NYSE: CL), an international operation in more than 200 countries. Total sales were almost $13.8 billion in 2007, the highest ever for the company, and it's notable that 75% of the sales were made outside the United States. Net income was up 28% to $1.7 billion for the year. Toothpaste is one of many personal care products that the company makes, including toothbrushes, soaps, and deodorants. The oral care products accounted for 40% of Colgate's sales in 2007.

Continue reading Battle of the Brands: Crest vs. Colgate

Earnings highlights: Verizon, Comcast, CBS, DreamWorks, IAC, Kodak and others

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

Continue reading Earnings highlights: Verizon, Comcast, CBS, DreamWorks, IAC, Kodak and others

Earnings highlights: Countrywide, Visa, MasterCard, KBR, Office Depot and others

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

Continue reading Earnings highlights: Countrywide, Visa, MasterCard, KBR, Office Depot and others

Earnings highlights: Exxon, GM, Time Warner, Starbucks, P&G, ADM and others

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

Continue reading Earnings highlights: Exxon, GM, Time Warner, Starbucks, P&G, ADM and others

Cramer on BloggingStocks: A slumping dollar will make earnings pop

TheStreet.com's Jim Cramer explains why lousy results from a U.K.-based firm bode well for American companies this reporting season.

Tate & Lyle's loss is our gain. That's the only way to think about the big decline in that U.K.-based sugar producer's stock this morning on news that the currency translation from dollars to pounds will kill it.

The declining dollar is going to make some of these earnings in the next few weeks jump off the chart. They will be so much higher than people think they will be for the big exporters, particularly those to Europe (we don't have much to go to Japan) that you are going to be blown away.

The big litmus test this earnings reporting period will be the exposure to these foreign currencies. We fret every day about the dollar, but it is a little ridiculous at this point -- meaning the currency is way too low.

Nevertheless, a Procter & Gamble (NYSE: PG) (Cramer's Take) will kill the numbers, so will a Coca-Cola (NYSE: KO) (Cramer's Take). I know these are at 52-week highs, but we are now going to have to start looking at stocks that haven't gone up that much this year. Take PG; it's only up 9%. That gives it some room. Same with Colgate (NYSE: CL) (Cramer's Take). Those still worth betting on; they can still run.

Oh, and don't forget, for the purposes of next quarter, Goldman Sachs (NYSE: GS) (Cramer's Take) will have more than 50% in earnings overseas. The firm is not going to report for while, but that's still another reason to own it -- and another reason to expect that a foreign company will take a stake in Bear Stearns (NYSE: BSC) (Cramer's Take) before long despite the Buffett denial. If a stake is taken, I doubt it will be domestic.

RELATED LINKS:
Jim Cramer is a director and co-founder of TheStreet.com. He contributes daily market commentary for TheStreet.com's sites and serves as an adviser to the company's CEO. At the time of publication, Cramer was long Goldman Sachs.

Analyst downgrades: AKAM, AVY, CKFR, CL and WMT

MOST NOTEWORTHY: CheckFree (CKFR), Colgate-Palmolive (CL), Wal-Mart (WMT), Thornburg Mortgage (TMA) and Avery Dennison (AVY) were today's noteworthy downgrades:
  • Suntrust downgraded CheckFree (NASDAQ: CKFR) to Neutral from Buy based on the Fiserv (FISV) acquisition.
  • Wal-Mart (NYSE: WMT) was cut to Neutral from Overweight at JP Morgan.
  • Jefferies, RBC Capital, Piper Jaffray, Friedman Billings and Credit Suisse downgraded Thornburg Mortgage (NYSE: TMA) to Underperform based on liquidity concerns.
  • Matrix cut Avery Dennison (NYSE: AVY) to Sell from Hold, and said Avery is being affected by the growing price competition in North America and Europe for self-adhesive labels and tabs...
OTHER DOWNGRADES:
  • Hambrecht cut Akamai (NASDAQ: AKAM) to Hold from Buy.
  • Raymond James downgraded Domtar (NYSE: UFS) to Outperform from Strong Buy.
Analyst summaries provided by TheFlyOnTheWall.com (subscription required).

Flash: Colgate-Palmolive posts in-line quarter

Colgate-Palmolive Co. (NYSE: CL) today reported second quarter profit of $415.8 million, or 76 cents per share, compared with $283.6 million, or 51 cents a year earlier. Excluding charges, profit was 84 cents. Revenue rose 13% to $3.4 billion. Wall Street analysts had expected profit of 84 cents on revenue of $3.31 billion. Click here for the earnings release, here for the MarketWatch story and here for the AP story. More detailed post later.

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Symbol Lookup
IndexesChangePrice
DJIA-17.2410,433.71
NASDAQ-6.832,169.18
S&P 500-0.591,105.65

Last updated: November 25, 2009: 07:02 AM

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