BloggingStocks

Before the bell: Futures higher; stocks to extend rally (CSCO, CPS, JCP, SWY)

Melly Alazraki — Thu, 21 Feb 2008 07:39:00 EST

Filed under: Before the Bell, International Markets, Earnings Reports, Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades, Deals, Cisco Systems (CSCO), Market Matters, Penney (J.C.) (JCP), Safeway Inc (SWY), Economic Data, Federal Reserve

U.S. stock futures were higher this morning, looking to extend Wednesday's rally following the Federal Resereve's comments that the Fed's focus should remain on helping the economy, even at the expense of inflation. Still, the As the Fed has lowered its economic forecast, it seems committed to spurring growth.

Stocks had another roller-coaster session on Wednesday. Stocks started the day with declines following further signs of inflation and a non-encouraging housing report, as well as oil trading near $100 a barrel. The market then reversed course, especially after the Fed released the minutes from the last policy meeting that indicated the Fed is ready for further rate cuts. That boosted stocks and they finished higher with the Dow industrial closing 90 points higher, or 0.73%, the S&P 500 adding 11 points, or 0.83%, and the Nasdaq composite rising20 points, or 0.91%.

Several economic indicators are due out today.

At 8:30 a.m. EST, weekly jobless claims are due.
January leading indicators will be reported at 10:00 a.m., along with manufacturing in the Philadelphia region for February.

Continue reading Before the bell: Futures higher; stocks to extend rally (CSCO, CPS, JCP, SWY)

Before the bell: Futures higher; stocks to extend rally (CSCO, CPS, JCP, SWY) originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Thu, 21 Feb 2008 07:39:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Permalink | Email this | Comments

Earnings highlights: GM, Comcast, UBS, Best Buy, Hasbro, Marriott, and others

Trey Thoelcke — Sat, 16 Feb 2008 09:40:00 EST

Filed under: Earnings Reports, General Motors (GM), Applied Materials (AMAT), Best Buy (BBY), Campbell Soup (CPB), Comcast Cl'A' (CMCSA), Chipotle Mexican Grill'A' (CMG), Hasbro Inc (HAS), Marriott Intl'A' (MAR), Jones Apparel Group (JNY)

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

Applied Materials Inc. (NASDAQ: AMAT) first-quarter profits fell due to market conditions.
Best Buy Inc. (NYSE: BBY) lowered its earnings forecast on declining sales.
Campbell Soup Co. (NYSE: CPB) posted unexciting second-quarter results, but shares rose anyway.
Chipotle Mexican Grill Inc. (NYSE: CMG) posted solid results but fell short of expecations.
Comcast Corp. (NASDAQ: CMCSA) beat expectations and annouced it first dividend in a decade.
Denny's Corp. (NASDAQ: DENN) fourth-quarter results were dragged down by the sale of restaurants.
General Motors Corp. (NYSE: GM) posted a record loss and made a buyout offer to union employees.
Hasbro Inc. (NYSE: HAS) post better-than-expected fourth-quarter results on popularity of the Transformers.
Jones Apparel Group Inc. (NYSE: JNY) narrowed its loss in the fourth quarter as restructuring continued.
Lions Gate Entertainment Corp. (NYSE: LGF) missed earnings estimates despite strong revenue growth.
Marriott International Inc. (NYSE: MAR) profit fell on losses from discontinued operations.
Molson Coors Brewing Co. (NYSE: TAP) beat estimates as profits rose 75%.
PolyOne Corp. (NYSE: POL) beat expectations and raised its guidance.
Schering-Plough Corp. (NYSE: SGP) beat expectations, excluding a charge for acquistion costs.
UBS (NYSE: UBS) posted a big loss on write-downs due to the subprime crisis.
VNUS Medical Technologies Inc. (NASDAQ: VNUS) beat expectations on strength overseas.
World Wrestling Entertainment (NYSE: WWE) beat expectations despite weakness in its movie business.

Also, Jim Cramer defends his interest in GM after its record loss.

Upcoming results to watch for include Wal-Mart (NYSE: WMT), Hewlett-Packard (NYSE: HPQ), OfficeMax (NYSE: OMX), Whole Foods (NASDAQ: WFMI), MGM Mirage (NYSE: MGM), JCPenney (NYSE: JCP), and Safeway (NYSE: SWY).

Visit AOL Money & Finance for more earnings coverage.

Earnings highlights: GM, Comcast, UBS, Best Buy, Hasbro, Marriott, and others originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Sat, 16 Feb 2008 09:40:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Permalink | Email this | Comments

Analyst downgrades: AN, CFC, DRI and RARE

Kevin Shult — Fri, 17 Aug 2007 10:31:00 EST

Filed under: Before the Bell, Analyst Reports, Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades, Bad News, AutoNation Inc (AN), Countrywide Financial (CFC), Darden Restaurants (DRI), Stocks to Sell, Housing

MOST NOTEWORTHY: AutoNation (AN), Darden Restaurants (DRI), Rare Hospitality (RARE) and ChoicePoint (CPS) were today's noteworthy downgrades:

Goldman cut AutoNation (NYSE: AN) to Sell from Neutral based on potential for additional earnings shortfalls. The firm does not expect a sharp rebound in shares.

Bear Stearns downgraded Darden Restaurants (NYSE: DRI) to Peer Perform from Outperform following its acquisition of Rare Hospitality.

Rare Hospitality (NASDAQ: RARE) was cut to Hold from Buy at Keybanc following the acquisition offer from Darden.

ChoicePoint (NYSE: CPS) was cut to Reduce from Neutral at Suntrust, citing the difficult macro environment, which will impact revenue growth in its low-barrier commoditized non-insurance operations...

OTHER DOWNGRADES:

Alliance Holdings (NASDAQ: AHGP) was cut to Hold from Buy at AG Edwards.

UBS downgraded SL Green Realty (NYSE: SLG) and Boston Properties (NYSE: BXP) to Neutral from Buy.

Morgan Stanley downgraded Countrywide Financial (NYSE: CFC) to Equal Weight from Overweight.

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

Analyst downgrades: AN, CFC, DRI and RARE originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Fri, 17 Aug 2007 10:31:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Permalink | Email this | Comments