Leading medical devices player, Medtronic (MDT) has progressed with respect to its renal denervation program. The company began a clinical trial with the system in Japan for patients with treatment-resistant hypertension. The trial will be conducted across 11 centers in Japan. Patients in the trial will be equally divided to be treated with renal denervation […]
Archives for October 2012
October 2012 - Page 18 of 20 - Money Morning - Only the News You Can Profit From
Acquisitions Buoy Worthington 1Q - Analyst Blog
Worthington Industries, Inc.’s (WOR) first-quarter fiscal 2013 (ended August 31) earnings of 49 cents per share beat the Zacks Consensus Estimate by a couple of cents and exceeded the year-ago quarter’s earnings of 35 cents. Profit shot up 32% year over year to roughly $34 million, boosted by the synergies of recent acquisitions and increased […]
Rock-Tenn Co. - Value
Rock-Tenn Co. (RKT) reported revenue growth of 67% in its fiscal third quarter thanks in part to last year’s acquisition of Smurfit-Stone, which should keep it poised for even more growth moving forward. With low valuation metrics, including a low price-to-sales (P/S) ratio of 0.6, this Zacks #1 Rank (Strong Buy), paper and packaging company […]
Ben Bernanke's Misguided Focus on Housing is Like a Bad Joke
It's a little early for April Fools, but Ben Bernanke might just be a prankster at heart.
I say this because he recently told the Economic Club of Indiana in Indianapolis that the Fed's plans for QE3 would help create more economic activity and higher home prices. Then he added, almost as an afterthought, that this would help many more savers than it would hurt.
I was waiting for the punch line…or the laugh track…or maybe an old bada-boom from Paul Schaeffer's band offstage. Only it never came.
It's like he was making a bad joke, "but QE is good for savers. No, really! I swear…"
Why the Fed chief keeps linking housing prices to savings and, by implication, to an economic recovery defies logic.
No matter how hard he tries, he can't solve our nation's economic woes by making the same mistakes all over again.
Part of the reason housing blew up in the first place is that people began to view rising home prices as personal ATM machines. Now Bernanke is simply putting a new face on the same monster.
Think about it…
We already have a multi-year oversupply in homes on the market and ridiculous amounts of construction are still going on in parts of the country where there are quite literally no buyers. If you've been to Las Vegas or parts of Florida you know exactly what I'm talking about.
How many homes do we really need at a time when values remain 30%-50%, and in some places even 70% below their peak?
Certainly not the millions of new homes that Bernanke thinks we do while unemployment remains high and actual buying power has been dramatically reduced.
And millions of strapped American families two paychecks away from bankruptcy surely don't care.
Bernanke's False Bottom
Now I know the media is very excited about recent data showing a recovery in housing prices, but let's take a deep breath. Seasonal demand accounts for a good portion of the bump. So does bargain hunting.
This suggests a new round of speculators has entered the game — and those folks are buying with cash, making mortgages irrelevant.
As a result, prices are being bid up even though overall demand remains relatively constant.
Then there are the banks. All of them claim they want to lend money, yet find every excuse not to. While they will claim otherwise, practically speaking they're saying one thing and doing another.
This, too, speaks to a massive disconnect.
To continue reading, please click here...
Kraft Spinoff Doubles Your Profit Potential
Kraft spinoff Mondelez International Inc. (Nasdaq: MDLZ) – like its parent company – is looking like a tasty treat for investors.
Ahead of its first official day of trading on Tuesday, several Wall Street firms were hungry for shares of Mondelez, the snack-food division of Kraft Foods Group Inc. (Nasdaq: KRFT).
JPMorgan Chase & Co (NYSE: JPM) and Goldman Sachs Group Inc. (NYSE: GS) both rated Mondelez a "Buy" and expect the company to post healthy earnings.
Jason English, a Goldman Sachs analyst, placed Mondelez on the firm's "Conviction Buy" list Monday, its top rating.
Here's why Wall Street is eager to get a piece of Kraft spinoff Mondelez.
To continue reading, please click here...
Gold Prices Will Soar Past $2,500 As Central Banks Buy it Up
With governments all over the planet buying up gold over the past five years, it's no wonder gold prices have risen 142% since 2008.
Central banks bought 254.2 tons in the first half of 2012 and may add close to 500 tons for all of 2012, the World Gold Council said last month.
According to the International Monetary Fund (IMF), Russia added 18.6 metric tons of gold in July. South Korea bought 16 tons — a 30% increase. Kazakhstan increased their bullion reserves for a 12th consecutive month.
Turkey, Ukraine and the Kyrgyz Republic also joined the party.
And the buying continued in August, albeit at a more moderate pace, the IMF confirmed.
"Gold prices continue to be underpinned by growing demand from central banks…we believe this trend is likely to ramp up once liquidity increases in global markets," Justin Harper, markets strategist at IG Markets, told MarketWatch.
That means the cheap money policies by many of these same central banks, such as the Federal Reserve's recently announced QE3 program, will also help fuel the rise in gold prices.
Combine that with skyrocketing demand from the private sector, and government hoarding could easily push the price of bullion as high as $2,500 in 2013.
In fact, the rally could be similar to gold's big breakout move in 2007, when gold prices surged 60%, according to Citi FX Pro analyst Tom Fitzpatrick.
To continue reading, please click here...
QE3 and Low Interest Rates Help Savers? Bernanke Thinks So
U.S. Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke wants you to believe his cheap money, low interest policies like QE3 actually have benefits for savers.
America's savers, many of whom are retired or nearing retirement, would beg to differ.
You see, low rates at the Fed – which has pledged to keep its interest rates near zero at least through 2015 – means low rates on conventional savings vehicles like bank accounts, certificates of deposit, and money market funds.
Those rates affect $10 trillion in savings-like products, costing savers billions of dollars.
For example, if a saver had $100 in a savings account in 2008 that paid 0.35% interest, she'd have just $102 today. But with inflation, $100 worth of goods in 2008 now costs $107.
That's a loss of 5% in four years, the sort of math that eats away at a retiree's standard of living.
And the rates of 2008 look fantastic compared to what's available now.
The Fed's actions have pushed down interest rates to microscopic levels. The average savings account interest rate has fallen one-third in the last year alone, to 0.08%.
The average yield on five-year CDs last month dropped below 1% for the first time ever. Back in 2007, five-year CDs provided a yield of 4%.
And yet in a speech he gave at the Economic Club of Indiana on Monday, Bernanke said his policies are helping savers.
Here's why.
To continue reading, please click here...
Tonight's Presidential Debate: Time to Talk Economics
Tonight's presidential debate will be the first time incumbent President Barack Obama squares off against GOP challenger Mitt Romney, in a race that's still too close to predict.
According to a trio of national polls published Monday, the two candidates are running neck-and-neck ahead of tonight's presidential debate. The results show just three percentage points separate the two.
This first of three sessions focuses on domestic policy. It's divided into six 15-minute segments; the first three focus on the economy, then healthcare, the role of government, and governing.
While many political analysts say Romney's chances hinge on his performance tonight, President Obama doesn't have enough of a lead to sit comfortably.
Following are some key issues that each much address and explain in the first debate of Election 2012.
To continue reading, please click here...
Core Labs Trims 3Q Outlook - Analyst Blog
Core Laboratories N.V. (CLB) cut its view for the upcoming quarter owing to lower North American rig counts. The Amsterdam, Netherlands-based oilfield service company now expects its third quarter 2012 earnings in the band of $1.09 to $1.13 per share on the back of consolidated revenues of $240 million to $245 million. Earlier – during […]
CSIQ CS6P-P Modules for San Fermin - Analyst Blog
Canadian Solar Inc. (CSIQ) has supplied its CS6P-P solar power modules to Engineering, Procurement and Construction Contractor TSK Solar for the "San Fermin" solar power plant. The solar power plant with a generation capacity of 26 MW is developed by TSK Solar in collaboration with Uriel Renewables inc. and Coqui Power LLC. TSK Solar power […]