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Growth & Income Stock: The Gorman-Rupp Company

The Gorman-Rupp Company (GRC) is expected to grow sales by an average of 19.3% over the next 5 years, well ahead of the industry average of 16.5%.
The Gorman-Rupp Company is one of the leading manufacturer of pumps.
It produces all kinds of pumps and pump related equipment such as pump and motor controls for use in water, wastewater, construction, industrial, petroleum, original equipment, agriculture, HVAC, heating, and the military.
The company has customers in 100 countries. In 2009, … [visit site to read more]

2Q Productivity Falls 1.8%

Non-Farm Business Productivity in the second quarter was revised down to a decline of 1.8% from the previous estimate of a 0.9% drop (seasonally adjusted annual rate). This is a very significant slowdown from the 3.9% rate in the first quarter. That, in turn, was down from a 6.0% growth rate in the fourth quarter.
In fact, the rate of productivity growth has slowed in each quarter since the second quarter of 2009, when it was running at 8.4%. The string of increases from the second quarter of … [visit site to read more]

CFTC Decision On Retail Forex Trading Effective As Of October 18, 2010

After months of speculation, the CFTC finally released the rules regarding retail foreign exchange (Forex) transactions. The rules implement provisions of the Dodd-Frank legislation and provides the CFTC with broad authority to regulate Forex transactions. The rules are effective as of October 18, 2010.
In regards to leverage, there was a compromise to address the 10,000+ letters written by the public to the CFTC after they proposed a leverage reduction from 100:1 to 10:1. Leverage … [visit site to read more]

Aggressive Growth Stock: Albany International Corp

Albany International Corp (NYSE:AIN) analysts are feeling bullish after the latest earnings report. Estimates are up and the stock is a great entry point.
Company Description
Albany International is a textile and materials processing company. The company produces custom-designed fabrics and belts for the making paper and paperboard. Other areas include aerospace composites, building products, synthetics for outerwear markets and much more.
Beat the Street
On Aug 4 Albany International reported … [visit site to read more]

Regency Centers Acquires Mall

Regency Centers Corporation (NYSE:REG), a leading operator and developer of grocery-anchored and community shopping centers across the U.S., recently purchased Glen Oak Plaza, a 62,443 square feet retail center in Chicago, for $18 million. The mall is currently 97% leased and is anchored by drugstore chain Walgreen Co. (NYSE:WAG) and specialty grocer store Trader Joe.

The acquisition was in line with the long-term strategy of the company to own assets in high-income in-fill markets that are … [visit site to read more]

Factory Produced Rally

Fundamentals
Crude Oil futures posted solid gains yesterday, after the ISM manufacturing index posted a stronger number than analysts had expected. The positive news from the manufacturing sector was a welcome relief for traders, who have been inundated with negative economic data of late. All signs seemed to have begun pointing toward the possibility of a double-dip recession, so the report offers a ray of hope for the economy. Traders even shrugged off the EIA’s report showing another large … [visit site to read more]

Cisco Planning To Acquire Skype

Networking gear maker Cisco Systems (NASDAQ:CSCO) has offered $5 billion for the Internet telephony company Skype, TechCrunch, a leading Silicon Valley blog, reported recently. The deal, if successful, would derail a planned initial public offering from Skype and redraw the battle lines in the lucrative market of video communications. Skype is reportedly looking for a valuation of $5 billion.
Google (NASDAQ:GOOG) was also rumored to have considered making a bid for Skype, but antitrust concerns … [visit site to read more]

Heinz Reports In Line (revised)

H.J. Heinz Co. (NYSE:HNZ) posted robust earnings of 75 cents per share for the first quarter of fiscal 2011. The result was in line with the Zacks Consensus Estimate but came in ahead of the 68 cents per share recorded in the year-ago quarter. Profits were driven by strong performances in Emerging Markets and North American Consumer Products segments.
Quarterly Sales Details
During the quarter, Heinz recorded total sales growth of 1.6% to $2.48 billion from $2.44 billion in the prior-year … [visit site to read more]

Forex Trading: NZDUSD Double Top, But Good Support At 0.7134

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Mixed Results At Teen Retailers

In a season of steep discounting to lure shoppers, two teen retailers, Hot Topic Inc. (NASDAQ:HOTT) and Zumiez Inc. (NASDAQ:ZUMZ), posted improved same-store sales for the month of August 2010, helped by back-to-school buying and state sales-tax holidays. Tax free shopping days boosted mid-month sales though the lift was short-lived.

Zumiez

Zumiez remained the bright spot with positive same-store sales of 9.1% for August, handily surpassing a negative 12.1% in the same period last year. The … [visit site to read more]