This Semi Boosted Its Earnings By 200%

Stocks
are higher after 5 days of sell-offs.

Semtech
(
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reported a profit
of $12.5 million for the fourth quarter, a 201% net increase from the year-ago
period. Net sales rose 24% to $55.4 million. Rambus
(
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got a
lift after Judge Stephen McGuire rejected the government’s case, concluding that
RMBS did not illegally monopolize key computer chip technologies. Distributor
Ingram Micro

(
IM |
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announced $46.4 million profits on revenue of $6.76
billion, with 15% lower operating expenses at $282.3 million.

H&R Block
(
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reported earnings of $106.7 million, with $17 million from mortgage asset sales.
Revenue for the third quarter rose to $977.2 million. HRB reaffirmed full-year
earnings at $3.70 a share with a growth rate of 12%. Alan Greenspan recommended
that Congress deal with the massive fiscal deficit by cutting future social
security benefits.

Dow 26.03
10592.37
S&P 500
+2.64
1141.71
Nasdaq +8.97
2014.46

The day’s leading sectors are
Networking
(
NWX.X |
Quote |
Chart |
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PowerRating)
+1.84%, Disk Drives
(
DDX.X |
Quote |
Chart |
News |
PowerRating)
+1.74%,
Semis
(
SOX.X |
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Chart |
News |
PowerRating)
+1.26%, and Hardware
(
GHA.X |
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Chart |
News |
PowerRating)
+0.90%.

Weak today are Gold and
Silver

(
XAU.X |
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Chart |
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-2.50%, and Amex Gold Bugs
(
HUI.X |
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-2.44%.

Economic news releases included
lower existing home sales at 6.04 million.

10-year Notes are +35
at 115 050

The dollar
is +1.17 at 87.40

Gold is -9.50 at 395.30

Crude Oil is +1.07 at
35.65

The uuro
is -1.28 at 125.52

Volume is 630,000,000 on
the NYSE, and 863,000,000 on the Nasdaq.

Market breadth is positive.

NYSE Issues
Advancing 1715 Up Vol
369
Declining 1409 Down Vol
243
Ratio 1.21 1.56
Nasdaq
Advancing 1614 Up Vol
565
Declining 1412 Dow Vol
275
Ratio 1.14 2.07

Top Dow stocks are:

Eastman Kodak [EK|EK],
+1.37% at 28.79, McDonalds
(
MCD |
Quote |
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PowerRating)
, +1.28% at 27.98, Boeing [BA|I
BA]
+1.19% at 43.76, and United Tech [UTX|UTX
],
+1.02% at 92.81.

Stocks in the news:

Jeweler Tiffany
(
TIF |
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PowerRating)
reported
higher earnings of $110.4 million on a 18% rise revenue to $731.6
million. Strong holiday sales contributed to the positive numbers.

United Rentals
(
URI |
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Chart |
News |
PowerRating)
reported
earnings of 15 cents a share, missing expectations by a penny from higher
operating costs on continued weakness in demand. Revenue rose to $742 million
with equipment utilization at 58.3%.

Kimberly Clark
(
KMB |
Quote |
Chart |
News |
PowerRating)
may spin off
its paper products business to create a new company with about $650 million in
annual sales.


bricew@tradingmarkets.com