Continue reading U.S. Stock Futures Gain as Investors Await Economic Data

U.S. Stock Futures Gain as Investors Await Economic Data originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Thu, 17 Mar 2011 08:35:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

The Federal Open Market Committee (FOMC) meets again this week to review economic conditions and set monetary policy. On whether the Fed should end quantitative easing or extend it, Atlanta Fed chairman Dennis Lockhart recently said that the Fed should remain flexible given the rising energy prices, which could be a sign of coming inflation. Either at this meeting or the next, the Fed could signal that interest rates will rise as a hedge against inflation.

Inflation will also be the focus when the Department of Labor releases the Producer Price Index (PPI) and Consumer Price Index (CPI) this week. Back in January the core PPI (which excludes energy and food costs) had its biggest jump in two years, and the core CPI had its largest uptick in more than year, the second month in a row in which consumer prices jumped.

Continue reading Week in Preview: Inflation, the FOMC and Nike Earnings

Week in Preview: Inflation, the FOMC and Nike Earnings originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Sun, 13 Mar 2011 12:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Alcoa (AA), Intel (INTC) and JPMorgan Chase (JPM) will kick off a new earnings season this week when they report their results for the fourth quarter of 2010. Here's a quick look at what analysts surveyed by Thomson Reuters expect to see, followed by a glance at what's coming up on the economic calendar.

Alcoa

During its fourth quarter, Alcoa saw increased demand in emerging markets, sold surplus properties, and shared revenue targets with investors. Analysts forecast that earnings for the period will come to 19 cents per share, up from just a penny per share in the same quarter of last year. The New York-based aluminum producer also is expected to post revenue of $5.7 billion for the three months that ended in December, which is 4.5% more than a year earlier.

Continue reading Week in Preview: Alcoa, Intel, JPMorgan Kick Off New Earnings Season

Week in Preview: Alcoa, Intel, JPMorgan Kick Off New Earnings Season originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Sun, 09 Jan 2011 12:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Moody's gave a warning to Spain and the Greeks rioted again. CPI showed tame inflation and industrial capacity was close to two-year highs. We also had at least four IPOs and the Senate passed the Bush tax-cut extension for two years. The markets looked set for a rally but the end of day trading again failed to materialize into a win for the bulls. Here were today's closing bell levels:

DJIA: 11,457.47, -19.07 (0.17%)
S&P 500: 1.235.23, -6.36 (0.51%)
NASDAQ: 2,617.22, -10.50 (0.40%)

Top Analyst Upgrades & Downgrades

Continue reading Closing Bell: Concerns Outweigh Tax Cuts (ARAY, BIDU, BP, CYPB, JOYG, FSLR)

Closing Bell: Concerns Outweigh Tax Cuts (ARAY, BIDU, BP, CYPB, JOYG, FSLR) originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Wed, 15 Dec 2010 16:20:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

FedEx Corp. (FDX), the world's leading package delivery service and an ostensible bellwether of the U.S. economy, will dance its way onto the earnings stage this week. Also, with the holiday shopping season well underway, Best Buy Co. (BBY) and Discover Financial Services (DFS) are scheduled to offer up their most recent quarterly results.

Here's a closer look at what the analysts surveyed by Thomson Reuters are expecting from these three, plus a peek at the week's economic calendar.

Continue reading Week in Preview: FedEx, Best Buy, Discover to Deliver Earnings

Week in Preview: FedEx, Best Buy, Discover to Deliver Earnings originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Sun, 12 Dec 2010 12:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

The earnings season kicked off last week with better-than-expected results from Alcoa (AA) and Yum! Brands (YUM), while Marriott (MAR) and Pepsico (PEP) met consensus EPS estimates. This week, bellwether companies Intel (INTC), General Electric (GE), Google (GOOG) and JPMorgan Chase (JPM) are scheduled to report their third-quarter results, and analysts polled by Thomson Reuters are looking for earnings growth from all of them.

Santa Clara, Calif.-based Intel announced the acquisition of McAfee and joint ventures with General Electric and Nokia (NOK) during its third quarter. Analysts forecast earnings for that period to come to 50 cents per share, which is up 34.0% from the same period of last year. The number one semiconductor maker's revenue for the three months ended in September is expected to total $11.0 billion, or 17.1% more than a year earlier. Looking ahead to the full year, the forecast thus far is for earnings of $1.94 per share (+44.8%) and $43.3 billion in revenue (+23.4%). The per-share earnings topped analysts' expectations in the past four quarters, by as much as a dime per share.

Continue reading Week in Preview: Earnings Expectations for Intel, GE, Google and JPMorgan

Week in Preview: Earnings Expectations for Intel, GE, Google and JPMorgan originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Sun, 10 Oct 2010 12:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

The Labor Department reported that consumer prices rose 0.3% in August. The core Consumer Price Index (CPI) was flat.

These number suggest that inflation is subdued and does not pose an immediate threat to the economy. Now, analysts are speculating about Federal Reserve policies going forward.

The report on consumer prices follows a 0.4% rise in producer prices, after a 0.2% rise in July, as reported in the New York Times.

Continue reading Consumer Prices Flat in August; Inflation Is Subdued

Consumer Prices Flat in August; Inflation Is Subdued originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Fri, 17 Sep 2010 12:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Last week, the Fed's Beige Book report confirmed that the economy continues to grow, but at a slower pace than in previous periods. This week will bring plenty of economic data to either support or contrast with the Fed's findings.

• Monday: Federal government budget balance for August
• Tuesday: Business inventory numbers from July, TIPP Economic Optimism Index for September, retail sales data from August
• Wednesday: Industrial production in August, Empire State Manufacturing Survey for September, Import Price Index for August
• Thursday: Producer Price Index for August, Philly Fed Survey for September, the Current Account Balance in the second quarter, jobless claims for last week
• Friday: preliminary University of Michigan Consumer Sentiment Index, Consumer Price Index for August, real earnings data for August

Continue reading The Week in Preview: FedEx, Best Buy, Oracle and Lots of Economic Data

The Week in Preview: FedEx, Best Buy, Oracle and Lots of Economic Data originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Sun, 12 Sep 2010 12:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

The Labor Department reported that producer prices rose 0.2% in July. Excluding food and energy, core producer prices rose 0.3%. Core prices are up 1.5% the the past year.

Last Friday the Labor Department reported that consumer prices rose in July.

The Labor Department's numbers for core prices are real joke. We spend most of our income on basics: food and energy. If you think there is no inflation, look at these numbers:

Continue reading U.S. Producer Prices Rise in July: Who Says There's No Inflation?

U.S. Producer Prices Rise in July: Who Says There's No Inflation? originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Tue, 17 Aug 2010 10:15:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

The Labor Department announced Thursday morning that U.S. consumer prices dropped 0.2% in May. May was the second-straight month in which prices dropped, as prices fell 0.1% during April as well. The price drop was precipitated by a 2.9% drop in energy prices, a result of lower gasoline prices.

Although energy prices dropped, the core CPI, which excludes food and energy prices, increased 0.1%. This slight increase was only the second monthly increase this year, and it matched the consensus estimate.

Continue reading Consumer Prices Fall for a Second-Straight Month

Consumer Prices Fall for a Second-Straight Month originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Thu, 17 Jun 2010 11:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

The inflation hawks, hard-pressed to find inflation in either the consumer price index or the producer price index, or their core rates, have not given up their mission to find inflation when it doesn't exist, and isn't likely to for a long time.

CPI is running at a 2.2% annual rate, and the core rate is 0.9%. PPI is running at a high annual rate, 5.5%, but exclude food and energy, and the core rate is up just 1.0%.

The typical, alternate argument forwarded? When cash-flush banks start lending in a big way again, we'll have many more dollars chasing essentially the same amount of goods, and inflation will zoom to much higher levels.

Continue reading Is U.S. Inflation About to Heat-Up?

Is U.S. Inflation About to Heat-Up? originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Wed, 26 May 2010 13:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Continue reading Consumer Prices Slip During April

Consumer Prices Slip During April originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Wed, 19 May 2010 10:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Continue reading Is Inflation Threat on The Horizon?

Is Inflation Threat on The Horizon? originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Tue, 18 May 2010 18:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

With institutional bulls and bears engaged in a battle over Dow 11,000 and with market's bull run showing signs of getting a little long in the tooth, investors are legitimately asking whether now is good time to exit certain stocks that have registered impressive gains, in anticipation of a correction.

The major unknown, of course, is whether a correction is up ahead. What's one act that will add ammunition to the bears' argument? The U.S. Federal Reserve's monetary policy.

Continue reading Inflation Level, Not Q1 Earnings, to Determine Rally's Fate

Inflation Level, Not Q1 Earnings, to Determine Rally's Fate originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Sun, 11 Apr 2010 11:40:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Continue reading U.S. Consumer Prices Unexpectedly Fall

U.S. Consumer Prices Unexpectedly Fall originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Fri, 19 Feb 2010 10:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Even in a holiday shortened week so close to the end of the calendar year, there are still some earnings reports dribbling in. Question is, will any of the companies reporting quarterly results this week offer up a gift for investors?

Apropos of the season, analysts surveyed by Thomson Reuters have high expectations for American Greetings Corp.'s (AM) fiscal third quarter 2010 earnings. The nation's second largest provider of greeting cards announced record second quarter results and declared a quarterly dividend during the three months that ended in November. American Greetings is expected to report that earnings rose 43.9% from a year ago to $0.66 per share. Revenue for the quarter is expected to total $445.4 million, or 1.9% lower than a year ago. So far, the full-year forecast is for its profit to more than double to $2.00 per share while revenue falls 5.6% from a year ago to $1.6 billion. This Cleveland-based company creamed earnings estimates in the past two quarters.

Continue reading The Week in Preview: Pre-holiday Earnings from Walgreen, American Greetings ...

The Week in Preview: Pre-holiday Earnings from Walgreen, American Greetings ... originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Sun, 20 Dec 2009 12:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Core CPI also rose .2% The core index excludes food and energy.

There were price increases in used cars and trucks, apparel and medical care. Energy prices climbed .8% in September.

Continue reading Consumer prices rise in September

Consumer prices rise in September originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Thu, 15 Oct 2009 15:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Continue reading Which is more likely in 2010: Deflation or inflation?

Which is more likely in 2010: Deflation or inflation? originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Wed, 07 Oct 2009 18:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Don't be confused by the rhetoric you read and see in the media. We are definitely in a deflationary spiral. Who says so? And what data are you looking at?

Let's read a few quotes from leading traders and analysts:

• Nobel laureate Joseph Stiglitz said: "Deflation is definitely a threat right now."
• Charles Evans, Federal Reserve bank president says: "Disinflationary winds are blowing with gale force effect."

Continue reading Is deflation the real threat to our economy?

Is deflation the real threat to our economy? originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Fri, 02 Oct 2009 18:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Continue reading Hotel room rates slump in the first half of 2009

Hotel room rates slump in the first half of 2009 originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Wed, 16 Sep 2009 10:20:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.