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Have Americans Moved From Outrage To Resignation?

The human spirit is not physically or emotionally able to maintain a heightened sense of acuity for an extended stretch. Although periods of stress or pain will cause sharp responses, eventually the human body is forced to accept the pain and learns to mask it. In the midst of our current economic crisis, I believe this distinct reality is setting in across our land. Let’s rewind the tape and review the developments which emanated on Wall Street and then plundered Main Street.
Fall 2008 … [visit site to read more]

RANsquawk European Morning Briefing - Stocks, Bonds, FX etc. – 08/09/10

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Euro, British Pound Fall Sharply As USD/JPY Makes New 15-Year Low

Euro Dollar
The Euro fell heavily during yesterday’s Asian session, then it resumed the drop during the European session. After stopping just below the enormous resistance we talked about in Monday’s report 1.2920 (Monday’s high was 1.2916), we saw the Euro fall, breaking yesterday’s support 1.2777 and successfully reached the first suggested target at 1.2690. With this drop, the price has broken 3 critical levels at once: 1. the rising trend line from Aug 31st (which was broken at … [visit site to read more]

Werner Enterprises upgraded to "buy"

Submitted by RSS on September 8, 2010 - 4:56pm

NEW YORK, September 7 (newratings.com) - Analysts at Stifel Nicolaus & Company upgrade Werner Enterprises (ticker: WERN) from "hold" to "buy." The target price is set to $28. [more]

Hub Group upgraded to "buy"

Submitted by RSS on September 8, 2010 - 4:56pm

NEW YORK, September 7 (newratings.com) - Analysts at Stifel Nicolaus & Company upgrade Hub Group Inc (ticker: HUBG) from "hold" to "buy." The target price is set to $38. [more]

Brooks Automation downgraded to "equal weight"

Submitted by RSS on September 8, 2010 - 4:56pm

NEW YORK, September 7 (newratings.com) - Analysts at Barclays Capital downgrade Brooks Automation (ticker: BRKS) from "overweight" to "equal weight." The target price has been reduced from $13 to $6. [more]

NiSource downgraded to "hold"

Submitted by RSS on September 8, 2010 - 4:56pm

NEW YORK, September 7 (newratings.com) - Analysts at KeyBanc Capital Markets downgrade NiSource (ticker: NI) from "buy" to "hold." [more]

Live Nation downgraded to "hold"

Submitted by RSS on September 8, 2010 - 4:56pm

NEW YORK, September 7 (newratings.com) - Analysts at Stifel Nicolaus & Company downgrade Live Nation Inc (ticker: LYV) from "buy" to "hold." [more]

KLA-Tencor downgraded to "equal weight"

Submitted by RSS on September 8, 2010 - 4:56pm

NEW YORK, September 7 (newratings.com) - Analysts at Barclays Capital downgrade KLA-Tencor (ticker: KLAC) from "overweight" to "equal weight." The target price has been reduced from $45 to $30. [more]

Landstar System upgraded to "buy"

Submitted by RSS on September 8, 2010 - 4:56pm

NEW YORK, September 7 (newratings.com) - Analysts at Stifel Nicolaus & Company upgrade Landstar System (ticker: LSTR) from "hold" to "buy." The target price is set to $51. [more]

Millicom downgraded to "hold"

NEW YORK, September 7 (newratings.com) - Analysts at Stifel Nicolaus & Company downgrade Millicom (ticker: MICC) from "buy" to "hold." [more]

Live Nation downgraded to "hold"

NEW YORK, September 7 (newratings.com) - Analysts at Stifel Nicolaus & Company downgrade Live Nation Inc (ticker: LYV) from "buy" to "hold." [more]

Envestnet initiated with "equal weight"

NEW YORK, September 7 (newratings.com) - Analysts at Barclays Capital initiate coverage of Envestnet Inc (ticker: ENV) with an "equal weight" rating. The target price is set to $11. [more]

Green Dot initiated with "neutral"

NEW YORK, September 7 (newratings.com) - Analysts at UBS initiate coverage of Green Dot (ticker: GDOT) with a "neutral" rating. The target price is set to $50. [more]

Envestnet initiated with "buy"

NEW YORK, September 7 (newratings.com) - Analysts at UBS initiate coverage of Envestnet (ticker: ENV) with a "buy" rating. The target price is set to $14. [more]

Healthcare Realty initiated with "neutral"

NEW YORK, September 7 (newratings.com) - Analysts at Hilliard Lyons initiate coverage of Healthcare Realty (ticker: HR) with a "neutral" rating. [more]

Envestnet initiated with "buy"

NEW YORK, September 7 (newratings.com) - Analysts at Stifel Nicolaus & Company initiate coverage of Envestnet (ticker: ENV) with a "buy" rating. The target price is set to $15. [more]

Archipelago Learning initiated with "outperform"

NEW YORK, September 7 (newratings.com) - Analysts at Barrington Research initiate coverage of Archipelago Learning (ticker: ARCL) with an "outperform" rating. The target price is set to $15. [more]

Celadon upgraded to "buy"

NEW YORK, September 7 (newratings.com) - Analysts at Stifel Nicolaus & Company upgrade Celadon Group (ticker: CGI) from "hold" to "buy." The target price is set to $18. [more]

Amerigroup downgraded to "hold"

NEW YORK, September 7 (newratings.com) - Analysts at Collins Stewart downgrade Amerigroup (ticker: AGP) from "buy" to "hold." The target price has been reduced from $39 to $35. [more]

Krispy Kreme Beats, Raises Outlook

Krispy Kreme Doughnuts Inc.’s (KKD) second quarter fiscal 2011 earnings were 3 cents per share, which outdid the Zacks Consensus Estimate of zero per share. The company also reported profit of $2.2 million compared to a loss of $0.16 million posted in the prior-year quarter. The better-than-expected results were driven by a growth in the top line.

Total revenue climbed 6.3% year – over – year to $87.9 million and also out performed the Zacks Consensus Estimate of $84.0 million. All the … [visit site to read more]

MiFi Enters Comcast Network

Novatel Wireless Inc. (NASDAQ:NVTL) recently entered into a Master Purchase Agreement with Comcast Corp. (NASDAQ:CMCSA) through which the company will supply MiFi 2200 Intelligent Mobile Hotspots and Ovation MC760 USB modems to Comcast. At present, Comcast is rolling-out its 4G WiMAX-based High-Speed 2go network throughout the U.S. Both MiFi 2200 and MC760 are now commercially available through Comcast.

According to our view, launch of MiFi series of product in Comcast’s network is a major … [visit site to read more]

August Employment Report

It looks like Labor might actually have something to celebrate this Labor Day. OK, the celebration will not be with champagne — more like with Budweiser — but they still got something to cheer about in today’s employment report.
While the unemployment rate did tick up to 9.6% from the 9.5% level it was at in both July and June, that increase was due to more people entering the labor force — a reversal of the recent trend towards a declining civilian participation rate. The total number of … [visit site to read more]

Chart Suggests Temporary Pause In EUR/USD Ascent

Hiyo my avid forex fans! In my previous article about the euro, I mentioned that its recent rally after breaking down from what appears to be a head and shoulders formation could be over soon. However, a full blown breakdown and a reversal did not really pan out as the euro bulls were able to out-muscle the bears to place them back on top.
As you can see from the EURUSD’s 4-hour chart, the bears were forced to cover their short positions when the price of the euro went back above the … [visit site to read more]

Nabors’ Credit Facility Approved

Nabors Industries Ltd. (NYSE:NBR) announced that it has received the commitment letter regarding an unsecured revolving credit facility. The principal amount of the facility totals up to $700 million and will be valid for four years.

With the help of an accordion feature that also forms a part of the facility, Nabors will be able to add lenders and raise the aggregate principal amount up to $850 million. Based upon the company’s senior unsecured credit ratings, the interest margins … [visit site to read more]

August Employment Report (Part 2)

4 Different Lengths of Unemployment
The census bureau tracks four different groups by length of unemployment. The short-term unemployed are those that have been out of work for less than five weeks (blue line). Almost always this is the largest group of the unemployed.
The next biggest group is usually those that have been out of work between five and 14 weeks (red line). Being out of work for a month is really not that big a deal, but as the joblessness stretches on it becomes a bigger and … [visit site to read more]

High Roads To China

By Dian L. Chu, Economic Forecasts Opinions
Well, it is official now – in addition to the Great Wall, the Great Traffic Jam started on Aug. 14–60 miles and ten-day long on an “expressway” into Beijing from Inner Mongolia (see map)–has earned the capital of China the top spot among the cities with the world’s worst traffic…, at least according to Foreign Policy.
Although that logjam seemed to have cleared up, Reuters reported on Sep. 3 yet another similar 75-mile (120 … [visit site to read more]

Near-Term PC Growth Not Visible

Gartner’s View
Research firm Gartner Inc. (NYSE:IT) lowered its worldwide personal computer (PC) growth expectations to 15.3% year over year in the second half of 2010, down 2 percentage points from its previous outlook.
Lower consumer demand for PCs in established or mature markets and caution at PC suppliers has led to a dramatic change in the PC supply chain. Gartner cited weak economic conditions in the U.S. and Western Europe as the reason for the softer PC shipment outlook.
According to … [visit site to read more]

Petrobras Inks Oil-for-Shares Deal

Brazil’s state-run oil company, Petrobras (PBR) and the Brazilian government agreed to an oil-for-shares swap deal. As per the deal, Petrobras agreed to pay the Government $42.5 billion in new stock for the right to develop 5 billion barrels of offshore oil reserves.

Management said that the company’s proved reserves base will be increased by nearly 35% from the current level of approximately 14 billion barrels of oil equivalent. The transaction has set the stage for Petrobras’ … [visit site to read more]

Are Wall Street Analysts Contrary Indicators?

‘Boy these companies look pretty good, earnings are OK, they have plenty of cash. What if there’s a double dip?’
‘I’m no macroeconomist, but . . .’
Here is an intriguing possibility, one that should make any investor holding 80% cash a tad nervous: The Buy/Sell/Hold crowd of analysts are excessively cautious:
“For the first time since at least 1997, fewer than 29 percent of ratings for stocks covered by brokerages worldwide are “buys,” according to 159,919 recommendations … [visit site to read more]