Falling Short: Q2 2008 S&P 500 Earnings
July 27, 2008
We knew it was going to be bad, but we didn’t think it was going to be this bad. If you aren’t very familiar with the stock market or stock market analysts for that matter, you should know that they are often too bullish on earnings estimates. One of the best money managers I know takes the yearly S&P 500 earnings estimates and cuts them by 5%-8% to get what he believes to be the real earnings level. This number has Read more
Who Is To Blame For High Gasoline Prices?
July 25, 2008
With only the possibility of John McCain and Barack Obama, I would say that whose to blame for high gasoline prices has been the most played news story across every media network over the last month or two. The national average for gasoline peaked earlier this month around $4.11 per gallon or regular 87 octane and has recently come down to about $4.03 per gallon. This obviously is a stark increase from Read more
The International Gold Rush – A Commodity Poised for Growth
July 25, 2008
In a week marked by a furthered short-term collapse of oil and a stronger U.S. dollar, the gold market saw prices drop off by $40 to settle near $925 an ounce. Investors seem quick to point the finger at the commodities market, using any sign of weakness as a cause for a stock market rally, but is the gold rush of late actually winding down? Read more
Earnings Recap: Becton Dickinson, Health Care’s Safe Bet
July 25, 2008
The word on the street is that big pharma is hurting and investors maybe wondering where t
hey can see growth. I personally enjoy the investing challenges health care presents, it just means more research and better timing to find the diamonds in the rough. Do not get me wrong, big pharma is not bad, in fact most companies are expanding their reach by acquiring small biologic shops or seeking fruitful deals to grow in the generic drug Read more
University of Michigan Sentiment Index Deceptively Positive
July 25, 2008
So, today the University of Michigan Consumer Sentiment Index took an unexpected rise to 61.2, vs consensus estimates of 56.4 (which was a 28 year low), due primarily to the recent pullback in oil prices and slight recovery in the equities market. Read more
Spectra Energy: Believe in It
July 25, 2008
We all know about natural gas. It is one of the most traded and talked about commodities in the market today. More often than not however, all of the light is shined on the companies that produce the gas. Today, I am writing about a company that does not get a lot of attention yet, but definitely should not be ignored: Spectra Energy Corp. [SE: 16.85, +0.29 (+1.75%)]. Spectra is a North American company based out Read more
Freeport Fails to Impress
July 25, 2008
Freeport McMoRan Copper & Gold [FCX: 28.22, +1.48 (+5.53%)] failed to impress as quarterly earnings dropped 14%. Thi
s is the second quarter in a row that they have not only missed Street expectations, but quarterly earnings dropped as well. In a stressful commodities market with energy concerns and financial woes looming over everyone’s head Freeport’s shares definitely paid the price for not meeting Street expectations. Read more
Big Pharma Hurting…What about Abbott?
July 25, 2008
So Big Pharma is hurting? Well, Standard & Poor’s does estimate that patent expiration losses in 2008 will exceed $20 billion. I cannot even remember the last time Merck got something approved or did not report poor results from a clinical trial. Does Pfizer have a strategy going forward to make up for the loss of Read more
IBM Grabs Globalization BUY the Horns
July 24, 2008
IBM [IBM: 86.82, -0.55 (-0.63%)] the great bellwether that has developed computing from the very first mainframes to present day integrated IT soluti
ons used by corporations worldwide. IBM has diversified not only its product offerings but also the regions in which it operates. Out of all the IT companies out there, it seems that IBM has truly harnessed the power of globalization and the results can be seen in the stock price. The latest earnings have revealed that the management Read more
Unemployment and Housing Data Point to Bleak Outlook
July 24, 2008
Existing home sales fell to 4.86 million units, about 2.6% below consensus estimates of 4.94 million units. The report also cited a huge deterioration in median home prices, down to $215,000 or down over 6% from last year. This highlights the bleak outlook for the housing market, as the housing market has yet to find a bottom. With mortgage rates set to only head higher in the coming months, Read more
 
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