Tobacco Companies In Court — Here’s Why
Stocks are slightly
higher Tuesday ahead of the Fed announcement.
A 1/4 point increase is expected. Traders are hoping the Fed sticks to its
policy of “measured” increases. The decision is usually announced at 2:15 PM ET.
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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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.Â
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 prison term
on October 8, either at Danbury, CT, or Coleman. FL.
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.
| Dow | +9.74 | 10214.63 |
| S&P 500 | +3.22 | 1125.28 |
| Nasdaq | +4.35 | 1912.36 |
Strong today are: Oil
(
XOI.X |
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News |
PowerRating)
+2.58%, Homebuilders
(
HGX.X |
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Chart |
News |
PowerRating)
+1.89%, Brokers
(
XBD.X |
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Chart |
News |
PowerRating) +1.76%.
Weak are: Consumer
(
CMR.X |
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Chart |
News |
PowerRating)
-0.52%, Insurance
(
IUX.X |
Quote |
Chart |
News |
PowerRating) -0.33%, Healthcare
(
HMO.X |
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News |
PowerRating)
-0.21%.
10-year Notes are -060 at 113 010
The dollar
is -0.56 at 88.43
Gold is +4.80 at 409
Crude Oil is +0.31 at 46.50
Volume is 599 million on
the NYSE and 745 million on the Nasdaq.
Market breadth is positive.
| NYSE | Issues | |
| Advancing | 1891 | Up Vol 351 |
| Declining | 1213 | Down Vol 190 |
| Ratio | 1.55 | 1.84 |
| Nasdaq |
||
| Advancing | 1684 | Up Vol 437 |
| Declining | 1200 | Down Vol 267 |
| Ratio | 1.40 | 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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PowerRating) reported Q3 of $1.74 vs. $1.43, beating handily.
General MIlls
(
GIS |
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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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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