August 20th, 2008
Hewlett-Packard announced a 14 percent increase in profits for the recently completed third quarter.
Some strong stats behind the earnings increase include: overall sales increased by 10 percent, printer supplies sales increased by 11 percent and laptop sales rose 26 percent.
While HP remains the world’s top seller of personal computers, it is encountering heated competition from Dell and Apple.
Shares of Hewlett-Packard are trading up over 5 percent at mid-day.
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By profsilver -- 0 comments
August 19th, 2008
Home Depot reported second quarter earnings dropped 24 percent versus Q2 2007. The drop was substantial, but less than expected. Overall, sales suffered a 5 percent decline and same-store sales dropped 7.9 percent.
Shares of Home Depot and its rival, Lowe’s (which announced better than expected earnings yesterday), have been down around 2 percent this morning.
Both companies cited the housing market slump for decreased sales in pricey items such as counter-tops and cabinets.
Even though the housing slump has yet to reverse, analysts seem to think the worst is over. We’ve heard that one before ;)
Tags: Earnings, home depot, housing, lowesShare This
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August 18th, 2008
The Dow is down over 200 points today as concerns were raised in the financial sector regarding a government bailout of Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac.
A report from Barron’s sent shares of Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac plunging to record lows. In response to the Barron’s article, the U.S. Treasury said it would not take the role of “backstop” for Fannie and Freddie, but it looks like their word isn’t worth much today!
During today’s session, Fannie Mae shares have traded down over 19 percent, while shares of Freddie Mac have lost as much as 21 percent.
Only time will tell if the rumors are true, but today the shareholders lose :(
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August 15th, 2008
Hot on the heels of July’s alarming increase in foreclosure filings, Donald Trump has stepped in to save one homeowner from losing his residence.
Ed McMahon, known as Johnny Carson’s sidekick, will now have Donald Trump for a landlord. Trump has agreed to buy the home and lease it to Mr. McMahon, who defaulted on his $4.8 million mortgage with Countrywide.
In an interview with the Los Angeles Times, Trump asked “How could this happen?”
The two were not acquainted but Mr. Trump decided to step in and help the former Star Search host anyway.
Tags: donald trump, ed mcmahon, foreclosureShare This
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August 14th, 2008
According to the National Association of Realtors, the median price of an existing single family home dropped 7.6 percent in the second quarter of 2008. RealtyTrac, Inc. reported that there were 55 percent more foreclosures filed in July 2008 than the same month last year.
The low median price is partially driven by the fact that approximately one third of all homes sales reported were foreclosures or short sales.
In a WSJ interview, former Federal Reserve Chairman Alan Greenspan projected that the housing market may not begin to stabilize until early 2009 or later. Greenspan pointed out that the excess supply of housing units is starting to run out.
The market seems to be ignoring the dismal housing news, probably because it was no surprise. By noon, the Dow was up over 100 points.
Tags: foreclosure, greenspan, home prices, short salesShare This
By profsilver -- 0 comments
August 14th, 2008
The National Association of Realtors reported that approximately one third of existing home sales for the second quarter of 2008 could be attributed to foreclosures or short sales. Here’s a very basic explanation of both:
Foreclosure - Can occur when a homeowner fails to make mortgage payments. The lender can sell or repossess your home as a result of you defaulting on the terms of the agreement.
TS says: Banks don’t really want to take back homes (they’re banks not property managers) so if you are in trouble try to negotiate.
Short sale - Can occur when the loan amount owed on a home exceeds the price the home can be sold for. Your lender may agree to accept less than what you owe to complete the sale.
TS says: This is an alternative to foreclosure but not to be entered into lightly. The lender can still choose to pursue you for the remaining balance or “deficiency” after the sale.
Tags: foreclosure, real estate, short saleShare This
By profsilver -- 1 comment
August 13th, 2008
It appears that the effects of the economic stimulus package are waning fast, as retail sales for July decreased by 0.1 percent.
Gas sales were up 0.8 percent last month, but even higher gas prices could not bring July’s sales into positive territory. Sales were driven down by a 2.4 percent decrease in vehicle sales.
U.S. auto sales reached a 16 year low in July, marking nine straight months of domestic sales declines.
The lackluster sales data helped the Dow shed over almost two percent this morning, but some of the morning’s losses have been reversed heading into the afternoon.
Tags: economic stimulus, gas, sales, vehiclesShare This
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August 12th, 2008
Longs Drug Stores has agreed to be acquired by CVS Caremark Corp.
CVS has over 6,000 stores nationwide and will acquire 521 Longs drugstore locations scattered across California, Hawaii, Arizona and Nevada. The deal will cost CVS approximately $2.9 billion.
Shares of Longs closed today at $54.04, but CVS offered to purchase the California based drug store chain for $71.50 per share. The news sent shares of Longs up over 30 percent in after-hours trading.
Anyone else wishing they had gone long on Longs?
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August 12th, 2008
Pilots at Delta and Northwest have approved a joint collective bargaining agreement, clearing one hurdle on the path to a friendly merger.
The new agreement covers approximately 12,000 pilots between the two airlines, and gained support of over 60 percent of Delta’s pilots and 86 percent of Northwest’s pilots. The agreement will take effect when the merger between the two airlines is completed. The merger is expected to close by the end of this year.
Shares of Delta are trading up over 5 percent on news of the agreement.
BTW, news of an upgrade from JP Morgan has helped other airline stocks rise today.
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August 11th, 2008
One by one, the nation’s largest investment banks are announcing plans to buy back auction-rate securities. Thick as thieves, aren’t they? ;)
Today’s announcement came from Morgan Stanley, which will buy back up to $4.5 billion worth of auction-rate securities from retail customers who purchased them before February 12th and sold the securities at a loss on or before August 11th.
Securities sold to institutional investors will not be a part of the buyback, but Morgan Stanley will attempt to help the largest of those led into the ARS market with other liquidity solutions.
Last week, Morgan Stanley agreed to pay $1.5 million to regulators in Massachusetts. Several states (twelve, as of today) are conducting investigations and more settlements are sure to follow.
Tags: ARS, buyback, morgan stanley, regulatorsShare This
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