BP's (BP) headache continues over its planned share swap with Russian-owned Rosneft. According to a report from Sky News, the Association of British Insurers (ABI) announced its concerns over the impact of the swap. ABI reportedly controls 10% to 15% of the U.K. stock market.

ABI's reservations also include a Swedish court's decision to block BP's planned venture with Rosneft in the Arctic. Perhaps most concerning of all -- and not just to ABI -- is Wednesday's report announcing that U.S. prosecutors are considering manslaughter charges against BP for its Gulf of Mexico oil spill. Eleven oil workers were killed as a result of the spill.

Continue reading With BP's Problems, Who Enters the Void?

With BP's Problems, Who Enters the Void? originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Wed, 30 Mar 2011 17:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Things look to be pretty quiet on the economic calendar this week. Here are the highlights:

• Tuesday: Weekly chain-store sales
• Wednesday: Federal budget balance for January
• Thursday: Wholesale trade data in December
• Friday: Trade balance in December and the weekly inflation survey

However, three iconic companies -- Walt Disney (DIS), Coca-Cola (KO) and Hasbro (HAS) -- highlight this week's quarterly results. Here's a look at what analysts surveyed by Thomson Reuters are anticipating from these and others.

Continue reading Week in Preview: Coca-Cola, Disney and Hasbro Earnings

Week in Preview: Coca-Cola, Disney and Hasbro Earnings originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Sun, 06 Feb 2011 12:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Analyst Calls

• Medtronic (MDT) to buy from neutral and 1-800-Flowers.com (FLWS) to neutral from sell at Goldman.
• CarMax (KMX) to outperform from perform at Oppenheimer.
• Points International (PTSEF) to buy from neutral at Merriman.
• Nokia (NOK) to market perform from underperform at Morgan Keegan.
• Amdocs (DOX) to overweight from equal weight at Barclays.
• Western Alliance (WAL) to outperform from sector perform at RBC Capital.
• Carbo Ceramics (CRR) to outperform from market perform at BMO Capital.
• Rackspace (RAX) to buy from hold at Benchmark Co.
• Brinker (EAT) to equal weight from underweight at Morgan Stanley.

Continue reading Analyst Calls: BP, EAT, JBLU, KMX, MDT, MYGN, NOK, NTRS, RAX, RDS.A, T ...

Analyst Calls: BP, EAT, JBLU, KMX, MDT, MYGN, NOK, NTRS, RAX, RDS.A, T ... originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Fri, 28 Jan 2011 11:20:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Analyst Upgrades

• Soleil upgraded Hologic (HOLX) to buy from hold on expectations the company's next-generation breast tomosynthesis instrument is likely to receive FDA approval. The firm raised its target price for shares to $20 from $16.
• ING Group upgraded Total (TOT) to buy from hold.
• BofA/Merrill raised Medicis (MRX) to neutral from underperform.
• CPFL Energia (CPL) was upgraded to buy from hold at Deutsche Bank.

Continue reading Analyst Calls: AMGN, ARST, CPB, FE, GMAN, HOLX, NWL, TOT, XOM ...

Analyst Calls: AMGN, ARST, CPB, FE, GMAN, HOLX, NWL, TOT, XOM ... originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Tue, 14 Sep 2010 12:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Analyst Upgrades

• Auriga upgraded Leap Wireless (LEAP) to buy from hold following the company's Q2 results and analyst day, citing valuation, longer-term potential for consolidation and prospects for business improvements. Despite upgrading, the firm lowered its target for shares to $16 from $19.
• Goldman upgraded Barnes & Noble (BKS) to neutral from sell following the company's announcement to explore strategic alternatives. The firm raised its price target to $15 from $12.
• RBC Capital upgraded ESCO Technologies (ESE) to sector perform from underperform following the better-than-expected Q3 report. The firm raised its price target to $30 from $28.
• MetLife (MET) was upgraded to buy from neutral at BofA/Merrill.
• Priceline.com (PCLN) was upgraded to buy from hold at Stifel Nicolaus.
• HSBC (HBC) was upgraded to outperform from underperform at CLSA.

Continue reading Analyst Calls: AMD, BKC, BKS, BP, DOW, HBC, LEAP, LLY, MET, PCLN, ...

Analyst Calls: AMD, BKC, BKS, BP, DOW, HBC, LEAP, LLY, MET, PCLN, ... originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Wed, 04 Aug 2010 11:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Until recently, my largest positions were in financial stocks Citigroup (C), Wells Fargo (WFC) and Bank of America (BAC). As a contrarian investor, I do buy on fear and sell on greed as "my pal Warren" has advised for many years. This has worked out to be very profitable over the past 18 months. However, in the past 30 days the financial stocks have dropped to second place in favor of oil and gas stocks.

I think the economic recovery is moving at a snail's pace, lowering anticipated demand for oil while gas was already depressed based on the same factors and the addition of numerous new large supplies. Add to this the mess in the Gulf of Mexico and the public's already negative sentiment about oil companies and you have the makings of depressed pricing in the sector.

Continue reading Chasing Value: Buffett Must Be Buying Oil

Chasing Value: Buffett Must Be Buying Oil originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Mon, 02 Aug 2010 11:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Continue reading Diamond Offshore (DO) and Total (TOT): Oversold Buys

Diamond Offshore (DO) and Total (TOT): Oversold Buys originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Tue, 22 Jun 2010 14:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Analyst Upgrades

• Auriga upgraded Intel (INTC) to buy from hold to reflect the stock's relative valuation after channel checks indicated PC shipment plans continue to be solid. The firm raised its target price on shares to $24 from $20.
• Deutsche Bank upgraded RenaissanceRE (RNR) to buy from hold on valuation and believes stock buybacks and reserve releases will drive the company's growth. The firm raised its target price on shares to $65 from $59.
• UBS upgraded Philip Morris (PM) to buy from neutral based on increased confidence in its earnings outlook and relative valuation. The firm raised its target to $54 from $49.
• Chevron (CVX) was raised to outperform from market perform at Bernstein.
• Barnes & Noble (BKS) was upgraded to sell from conviction sell at Goldman Sachs.
• Deutsche Bank (DB) was upgraded to outperform from neutral at Credit Suisse.

Continue reading Analyst Upgrades, Downgrades and Initiations: ADI, CI, COP, CVX, DB, INTC, JCP, PM ...

Analyst Upgrades, Downgrades and Initiations: ADI, CI, COP, CVX, DB, INTC, JCP, PM ... originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Tue, 16 Feb 2010 11:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Unconventional energy -- which comes from hard-to-get sources like shale -- is red hot. The biggest sign of this is Exxon's (XOM) recent deal to pay $30 billion for XTO (XTO).

As a result, the expectation is that there will be many more deals in the sector. This week Total SA (TOT), which is one of the largest oil companies in the world, agreed to form a joint venture for natural gas with Chesapeake Energy (CHK). The deal may involve as much as $2.25 billion.

Continue reading Total Gets a Piece of Chesapeake

Total Gets a Piece of Chesapeake originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Mon, 04 Jan 2010 15:20:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Analyst Upgrades

• Baird upgraded Visa (V) to outperform from neutral and raised its target to $100 from $88, citing valuation and an improvement in key trends that include transactions, volume and international travel.
• FBR Capital upgraded Illinois Tool Works (ITW) to outperform from market perform to reflect valuation and expectations for earnings upside in the first half of 2010. The firm raised its target on shares to $58 from $55.
• Goldman added Brookdale Senior Living (BKD) to its conviction buy list based on a bottom in fundamentals and positive senior housing trends. The firm raised its target to $22 from $20.
• Exxon Mobil (XOM) was upgraded to buy from hold at Societe Generale.
• Newfield Exploration (NFX) was upgraded to overweight from equal weight at Barclays.
• PPD (PPDI) was upgraded to buy from hold at Jefferies.

Continue reading Analyst upgrades, downgrades and initiations: AOL, BBT, ITW, THOR, TOT, V, XOM ...

Analyst upgrades, downgrades and initiations: AOL, BBT, ITW, THOR, TOT, V, XOM ... originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Mon, 14 Dec 2009 11:15:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Continue reading Under the radar: Gasoline demand seen falling in U.S., Europe

Under the radar: Gasoline demand seen falling in U.S., Europe originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Mon, 21 Sep 2009 15:20:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Who said big oil was a dying business? Fortune has released its Global 500, their "annual ranking of the world's largest corporations," and topping the charts is Royal Dutch Shell (NYSE: RDS.A), which, much like a Mariah Carey song, bumped up into the coveted number-one slot after some time at number three. The Netherlands-based oil company trumped its U.S. rival, Exxon Mobil (NYSE: XOM) by $15 billion in sales and saw its revenue spike nearly 29% from 2007.

Speaking of Exxon, the company once again had a tiger in its tank, ranking number two in the world as oil futures bounced around in a nearly $100-dollar range, hitting $146 per barrel at its heights.

Continue reading Royal Dutch Shell crowned world's largest corporation

Royal Dutch Shell crowned world's largest corporation originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Wed, 08 Jul 2009 13:10:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Q. Cynthia, your stated strategy is a fundamental, bottom-up approach, focusing on international companies. With that in mind, which are the three most important criteria that you use to determine whether a company's stock has the right stuff?

A. Our approach is both fundamental and quantitative, but we focus mainly on company-specific factors. Over the years we have consistently focused on four areas: valuation, growth, quality, and sentiment. For 2008, we were more active in looking at debt levels of companies and price momentum.

Continue reading Global Q&A: Using both fundamentals and momentum

Global Q&A: Using both fundamentals and momentum originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Fri, 27 Feb 2009 16:20:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

I am the Global Editor at MoneyShow.com and each week I interview an investing expert. This week, I spoke with Heiko Böhmer, editor of Privatfinanz-Letter, who says it's not yet time to return to the German stock markets.

Q. The German economy entered a recession in the third quarter of 2008. Recent projections estimate that it will shrink by 2.25% this year, its worst performance since World War II. With that in mind, which, if any, sectors do you see actually growing in 2009?

A. It's not easy to find growing sectors in this tough economic environment. But I think that utilities and basic goods will show some growth this year. On the other hand, it will be very tough for the most important German sectors-cars and car suppliers.

Continue reading Global Q&A: Cautious on Germany and Europe

Global Q&A: Cautious on Germany and Europe originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Wed, 18 Feb 2009 17:20:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Continue reading Stock pick and pans for troubled times: TIVO, MCD, BAA, SJM, AVP, SYK, CL ...

Stock pick and pans for troubled times: TIVO, MCD, BAA, SJM, AVP, SYK, CL ... originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Fri, 30 Jan 2009 18:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Not that long ago, investing in the oil sector was a no-brainer. It was an easy way to make some quick bucks.

But, now, there's mostly doom and gloom as oil prices have plunged since reaching a peak in July.

So, is it time to come back into the market? Well, this is the view from the front-page story in this week's Barron's [a paid publication].

However, for the next year, the forecasts for oil are wide-ranging. After all, it's really dependent on if the economy comes back. And, does anyone have a good grasp of that?

Instead, investors need to take a long-view of things. Yes, eventually the economy will rev again. And, at the same time, OPEC will find ways to cut back on production.

Yet, it's still important to focus on global oil operators, because they have the resources to expand their platforms as well as maintain dividends. And, according to Barron's, the top ones include companies like: ExxonMobil (NYSE: XOM), Total (NYSE: TOT) and BP (NYSE: BP).

Tom Taulli is the author of various books, including The Complete M&A Handbook and The Streetsmart Guide to Short Selling: Techniques the Pros Use to Profit in Any Market. He is also the founder of BizEquity, a valuation website.

Barron's: Time to double down on oil? originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Sat, 24 Jan 2009 11:40:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Q. Charles, global markets have really taken it on the chin recently, yet you have bravely launched two new funds, IVA Worldwide (IVWAX) and IVA International (IVIOX). Does that mean that you are near-term optimistic on the markets?

A. The October 1st launch date of our two new funds was somewhat coincidental. We realized this spring that the private funds IVA offered were not sufficient and that there was a considerable demand for mutual funds. It took us a few months to get the registration of these mutual funds effective. But, though we believe our strategy is resilient to downturns, we are thrilled to launch these two funds now that stocks have become so much more attractive than a year ago.

Q. Your funds are not constrained by any particular sector or capitalization concentration, as long as the investments are value-oriented. What is your definition of value and in which sectors and countries are you currently investing the funds' money?

Continue reading Global Q&A: Plenty to Choose From!

Global Q&A: Plenty to Choose From! originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Mon, 24 Nov 2008 17:55:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Analyst upgrades:

• Deutsche Bank upgraded shares of UBS (NYSE: UBS) to Buy from Hold following the company's Q3 update as they believe the quarter marks a turning point.
• Merill raised BP Plc (NYSE: BP) and Total SA (NYSE: TOT) to Neutral from Underperform.
• DISH Network (NASDAQ: DISH) was lifted to Hold from Sell at Soleil.
  
• Friedman Billings upgraded Sovereign Bancorp (NYSE: SOV) to Market Perform from Underperform as they believe the company's deposits are showing stability despite the massive sell-off.
  
• Kaufman Bros. raised Longtop Financial (NYSE: LFT) to Buy from Hold on valuation as they believe Chinese software service stocks now reflect the investment risks.
• Lear (NYSE: LEA) was upgraded to Hold from Sell at Citigroup.

• Morgan Stanley downgraded eBay (NASDAQ: EBAY) to Equal Weight from Overweight citing checks that indicate deteriorating trends are worst than expected.
  
• Juniper (NASDAQ: JNPR) and Pediatrix Medical (NYSE: PDX) were downgraded to Market Perform from Outperform at Morgan Keegan.
  
• Merrill cut StatoilHydro (NYSE: STO) to Underperform from Neutral.
  
• HSBC (NYSE: HBC) was lowered to Market Perform from Outperform at Keefe Bruyette.

Continue reading Analyst calls: UBS, BP, TOT, DISH, EBAY, JNPR, HBC, HBAN ...

Analyst calls: UBS, BP, TOT, DISH, EBAY, JNPR, HBC, HBAN ... originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Thu, 02 Oct 2008 11:28:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Analyst upgrades:

• Goldman upgraded shares of BP Plc (NYSE: BP) to Buy from Neutral on valuation as they believe the recent pullback provides an attractive entry point.
  
• VF Corp. (NYSE: VFC) was raised to Outperform from Neutral at Credit Suisse citing its acquisition platform and international growth. The company's target was increased to $100 from $88.
  
• Deutsche Bank upgraded shares of Tenet Healthcare (NYSE: THC) to Buy from Hold and increased its target to $8.50 from $7 to reflect increased confidence in the company's ability to beat expectations over the next 12 months and reduce its net debt.
• US Steel (NYSE: X) was raised to Sector Outperformer from Sector Performer at CIBC.
  
• United Technologies (NYSE: UTX) was upgraded at UBS to Buy from Neutral.

Analyst downgrades:

Continue reading Analyst calls: BP, HD, SOLR, UTX, X, VOD . . .

Analyst calls: BP, HD, SOLR, UTX, X, VOD . . . originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Wed, 03 Sep 2008 12:15:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

MOST NOTEWORTHY:

• Citigroup upgraded shares of American International Group (NYSE:AIG) to Buy from Hold on valuation as they see limited downside at current levels. They believe the stock is "poised for over 35% upside in the next twelve months" and raised their target price to $42 from $41.
  
• Jefferies raised Energy East (NYSE:EAS) to Hold from Underperform to reflect the growing pressure from politicians to influence the final NYPSC order in the merger approval proceeding. The firm raised their target price to $25.50 from $16.50.
  
• Bernstein upgraded shares of BG Group (NASDAQ:BRGYY) to Outperform from Market Perform as they believe the company should benefit from the tightness in the global liquefied natural gas market.

• Total SA (NYSE:TOT) was upgraded to Buy from Neutral at Goldman and added to the Conviction Buy List.
  
• Wachovia lifted CarMax (NYSE:KMX) to Market Perform from Underperform.
  
• Pike Electric (NYSE:PEC) was raised to Outperform from Market Perform at Friedman Billings.

Analyst upgrades: AIG, EAS and BRGYY originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Thu, 19 Jun 2008 10:43:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.