Martha’s Company Stock Up 12% On Speculation
Stocks were higher
Tuesday.
The Fed increased rates by
1/4 point, as expected. It was the third interest rate rise this year.
Housing starts rose +0.6%
in August, more than expected and to the highest level in five months. Building
permits, however, fell more than expected.
New highs today include
Amerada Hess
(
AHC |
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PowerRating) and Conoco Phillips
(
COP |
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PowerRating).
Morgan Stanley issued a
report saying utilities are overpriced and cited insider selling outpacing
buying. The Utility Index
(
UTY.X |
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News |
PowerRating) is trading near 52-week highs.
A Wall Street Journal survey of
corporate recruiters ranked the University of Michigan the top business
school in the country. Graduates’ first- year average annual salary is $85,000,
plus a $15,000 bonus. Carnegie Mellon (Tepper) and Dartmouth
(Tuck) were #2 and #3. Purdue (Krannert) was named the #1 regional
business school. The full survey comes out in Wednesday’s Journal.
The government is in court today with a $280
billion civil racketeering suit against tobacco companies. The government claims
tobacco companies ran the most elaborate public relations scam in history.
Altria Group
(
MO |
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PowerRating) is trading down 1.04 at 46.04.
Home Depot
(
HD |
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PowerRating) will hire up to 10,000
veterans this year. CEO Bob Nardelli told Fortune Magazine the company
had “tremendous success” with hiring veterans.
Martha Stewart will begin her 5-month prison term
on October 8, either at Danbury, CT, or Coleman. FL. MSO shares rose 12% on
speculation she might do a TV show with “Survivor” producer Mark Burnett, who
was quoted as saying “I’m very interested in reinventing her show.”
Bill Gates gets a raise. The Microsoft CEO
received $901.667 in salary for the fiscal year ended June, up 4% from the year
earlier. Gates’ net worth is estimated at $46 billion. In November, the
Microsoft is scheduled to pay out a special $3/share dividend.
For the first time in seven years, beer sales
declined, down 0.3% to 2.8 billion cases. The low carb diet fad and more
competition from spirits and wine are cited.
Autozone
(
AZO |
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PowerRating) missed by 0.03 and was
light on revenues; the stock is trading down after hours. Scholastic Corp.
(
SCHL |
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PowerRating) beat by 0.07. Biomarin
(
BMRN |
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PowerRating) guided lower for 2004.Tibco
(
TIBX |
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Chart |
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PowerRating) beat by 0.02. Jabil Circuit
(
JBL |
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PowerRating) beat by a penny, as did
Christopher & Banks
(
CBK |
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News |
PowerRating).
| Dow | +40.04 | 10244.93 |
| S&P 500 | +7.10 | 1129.30 |
| Nasdaq | +13.10 | 1921.17 |
Strong today were: Oil
(
XOI.X |
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Chart |
News |
PowerRating)
+2.94%, Homebuilders
(
HGX.X |
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Chart |
News |
PowerRating)
+2.59%, Brokers
(
XBD.X |
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Chart |
News |
PowerRating) +2.55%.
Weak were: Consumer
(
CMR.X |
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Chart |
News |
PowerRating)
-0.17%.
10-year Notes were +025 at 113 095
The dollar
was -0.90 at 88.05
Gold was +3.80 at 408
Crude Oil was +0.56 at 46.76
Volume was 1.31 billion
on the NYSE and 1.53 billion on the Nasdaq.
Market breadth was positive.
| NYSE | Issues | |
| Advancing | 2321 | Up Vol 960 |
| Declining | 970 | Down Vol 341 |
| Ratio | 2.39 | 2.81 |
| Nasdaq |
||
| Advancing | 2021 | Up Vol 437 |
| Declining | 1059 | Down Vol 267 |
| Ratio | 1.90 | 1.63 |
Stocks in the News
Lehman Brothers
(
LEH |
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PowerRating) reported higher quarterly earnings.
Goldman Sachs
(
GS |
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News |
PowerRating) reported Q3 of $1.74 vs. $1.43, beating handily.
General MIlls
(
GIS |
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News |
PowerRating) reported a larger than expected drop in
quarterly earnings. The company cited higher ingredient costs.
Adobe Systems
(ADBE)
beat by 0.04 and guided higher.
Palm One
(
PLMO |
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Chart |
News |
PowerRating) beat by 0.23 and guided lower.
KB Home
(
KBH |
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Chart |
News |
PowerRating) beat estimates, but sales were off estimates.
BJ Services
(
BJS |
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News |
PowerRating) was upgraded at Smith Barney
InVision
(INVN)
won a contract from the Department of Homeland Security to develop an
automated system to identify air-borne pathogens.
Power Integrations
(POWI)
lowered guidance for Q3.
Red Hat
(RHAT)
beat by a penny but was light on revenues. The
company also guided conservatively going forward.
RF Micro Devices (RFMD) cut its Q2 revenue
forecast and guidance.
Ask Jeeves (ASKJ) unveiled a personalized web
search feature.
Brice Wightman