M&A Is Back–Here’s Why
It’s all about mergers today, sending the indices
higher.
Symantec
(
SYMC |
Quote |
Chart |
News |
PowerRating)
is close to acquiring Veritas
(
VRTS |
Quote |
Chart |
News |
PowerRating), The New York Times reports.
Mergers and Acquisitions appear to be back after several quiet
years. M&A is an economically sensitive and cyclical business. Between
2001-2004, we had a recession, 2 wars, terrorism, a weak market and low business
confidence. Although the Fed s on a rate increase trend, this appears to be farÂ
less important than the major uncertainties the market faced in the past few
years. Three major players in the M&A business are Goldman Sachs (GS),
Merrill Lynch (MER) and JP Morgan JPM).
Electronic Arts
(
ERTS |
Quote |
Chart |
News |
PowerRating) signed a licensing agreement with teh NFL
that allows it to use NFL stadiums, teams and players in its video games.
It appears now that
Verizon (VZ)
and Vodafone (VOD)
are unlikely to make a bid for Sprint.
Schwab
(
SCH |
Quote |
Chart |
News |
PowerRating) said customer trading rose 25% in November
The Fed meets today and is widely expected to raise rates by 1/4 point.
Remember: options and futures expire on Friday.
Strong sectors were: Semis
(
SOX.X |
Quote |
Chart |
News |
PowerRating) +1.61%, Oil Services
(
OSX.X |
Quote |
Chart |
News |
PowerRating)
+1.09%, Brokers
(
XBD.X |
Quote |
Chart |
News |
PowerRating) +0.78%.
Weak sectors are: Gold
(
XAU.X |
Quote |
Chart |
News |
PowerRating) -1.50%, Oil
(
XOI.X |
Quote |
Chart |
News |
PowerRating)-0.62%%, Healthcare Providers
(
HMO.X |
Quote |
Chart |
News |
PowerRating)
-0.43%.
| Dow | +3.47 | 10,641.28 |
| S&P 500 | +2.03 | 1,200.68 |
| Nasdaq | +8.93 | 2,157.40 |
The dollar is +0.39 at
82.49
Crude Oil is +0.27 at
42.10
Gold is -2.20 to 435.70
1.093 billion on the Nasdaq.
Market breadth is positive.
| NYSE | Issues | |
| Advancing | 1607 | Up Vol 367 |
| Declining | 1502 | Down Vol 286 |
| Ratio | 1.06 | 1.28 |
| Nasdaq |
||
| Advancing | 1620 | Up Vol 514 |
| Declining | 1355 | Down Vol 499 |
| Ratio | 1.19 | 1.03 |
Stocks in the News
Pier One Imports
(
PIR |
Quote |
Chart |
News |
PowerRating) posted a sharp frop in Q3 earnings.
Cooper Cos.
(
COO |
Quote |
Chart |
News |
PowerRating) beat by 0.07 and said Q3 earnnigs rose 38%.
BlueLinx Holdings (BXC) priced its IPO of 9.5 million shares at $13.50,
under the expected $15 to $17 range.
Knoll Inc. (KNL) priced its IPO at $15, at the high end of the expected
$14 to $16 range. Goldman Sachs led the underwriting.
CKE Restaurants
(
CKR |
Quote |
Chart |
News |
PowerRating) reported a 13-fold increase in Q3 sales.
Goodrich
(
GR |
Quote |
Chart |
News |
PowerRating) said Boeing will use its cargo system on the 7E7 jet;
the deal is expected to generate $450 million in sales for GR through 2028.
Today in History
1911Â South Pole reached
1969Â Jackson 5 appears on the Ed Sullivan Show
2003Â Saddam Hussein captured
Brice Wightman