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  • Best Stocks Under Obama
    , January 19th, 2012 at 9:53 am

    Here are the 250 best-performing stocks since Barack Obama became president. The stocks are sorted by total return. I’ve also included each stock’s capital gain.

    Stock Symbol 1/20/2009 1/18/2012 Cap Gain Total Return
    Dollar Thrifty Automotive DTG $1.11 $73.18 6,492.80 6,492.80
    Pier 1 Imports Inc. PIR $0.41 $15.27 3,624.39 3,624.39
    Cardtronics Inc. CATM $0.92 $26.59 2,790.21 2,790.21
    Dana Holding Corp. DAN $0.55 $14.51 2,538.18 2,538.18
    Pharmasset Inc. VRUS $5.33 $136.97 2,471.27 2,471.27
    Avis Budget Group Inc. CAR $0.66 $12.98 1,866.66 1,866.66
    Jazz Pharmaceuticals Inc. JAZZ $1.20 $47.34 1,739.74 1,739.74
    Boise Inc. BZ $0.47 $7.73 1,544.68 1,712.56
    Valassis Communications Inc. VCI $1.20 $20.61 1,617.50 1,617.50
    Liberty Media Corp LMCA $5.10 $85.45 1,575.49 1,575.49
    TriMas Corp. TRS $1.18 $19.51 1,553.39 1,553.39
    Tenneco Inc. TEN $1.88 $29.80 1,485.10 1,485.10
    Crocs Inc. CROX $1.19 $18.79 1,478.99 1,478.99
    Ulta Salon Cosmetics & Fragrance ULTA $5.94 $75.75 1,175.25 1,175.25
    Entropic Communications Inc. ENTR $0.43 $5.41 1,158.14 1,158.14
    Dillard’s Inc. Cl A DDS $3.79 $46.29 1,121.37 1,153.25
    Ariad Pharmaceuticals Inc. ARIA $1.18 $14.45 1,124.58 1,124.58
    Buckeye Technologies Inc. BKI $3.06 $36.22 1,083.66 1,099.88
    Virtus Investment Partners Inc. VRTS $6.92 $79.58 1,050.00 1,050.00
    TRW Automotive Holdings Corp. TRW $3.61 $37.54 939.89 939.89
    Tempur-Pedic International Inc. TPX $6.05 $60.60 901.65 901.65
    Temple-Inland Inc. TIN $3.50 $31.80 808.57 889.33
    Dupont Fabros Technology Inc. DFT $2.56 $24.13 842.58 885.37
    The Providence Service Corp. PRSC $1.51 $14.80 880.13 880.13
    Northern Oil & Gas Inc. NOG $2.70 $26.00 862.96 862.96
    Cirrus Logic Inc. CRUS $2.22 $20.75 834.68 834.68
    Aruba Networks Inc. ARUN $2.16 $20.18 834.26 834.26
    Las Vegas Sands Corp. LVS $5.04 $46.83 829.17 829.17
    Rackspace Hosting Inc. RAX $4.66 $43.28 828.76 828.76
    Quantum Corp. QTM $0.29 $2.63 806.90 806.90
    KapStone Paper & Packaging KS $1.99 $17.89 799.00 799.00
    Gulfport Energy Corp. GPOR $3.66 $32.47 787.16 787.16
    La-Z-Boy Inc. LZB $1.49 $13.17 783.89 783.89
    American Axle & Manufacturing AXL $1.30 $11.14 756.92 756.92
    Inhibitex Inc. INHX $0.33 $24.86 742.71 742.71
    Allied Nevada Gold Corp. ANV $3.90 $32.84 742.05 742.05
    Oxford Industries Inc. OXM $6.25 $48.85 681.60 730.72
    Polypore International Inc. PPO $6.61 $54.09 718.31 718.31
    VeriFone Systems Inc. PAY $4.92 $39.18 696.34 696.34
    Berry Petroleum Co. Cl A BRY $6.05 $46.38 666.61 696.11
    Rosetta Resources Inc. ROSE $5.85 $46.03 686.84 686.84
    priceline.com Inc. PCLN $66.04 $518.83 685.63 685.63
    NewMarket Corp. NEU $27.91 $209.66 651.20 685.42
    Clearwater Paper Corp. CLW $4.73 $37.00 683.07 683.07
    W.R. Grace & CO. GRA $6.30 $49.10 679.36 679.36
    Chart Industries Inc. GTLS $7.91 $61.45 676.87 676.87
    Acme Packet Inc. APKT $3.64 $28.10 671.98 671.98
    XL Group PLC XL $2.88 $20.06 596.53 662.32
    Golar LNG Ltd. GLNG $5.94 $39.65 591.12 660.69
    Brunswick Corp. BC $2.73 $20.29 643.22 651.11
    Fossil Inc. FOSL $12.16 $90.49 644.16 644.16
    Kulicke & Soffa Industries Inc. KLIC $1.49 $10.97 636.24 636.24
    CAI International Inc. CAP $2.40 $17.54 630.83 630.83
    Asbury Automotive Group Inc. ABG $3.26 $23.58 623.31 623.31
    Chipotle Mexican Grill Inc. CMG $49.60 $356.82 619.40 619.40
    Twin Disc Inc. TWIN $6.00 $40.37 572.83 616.55
    Whole Foods Market Inc. WFM $11.22 $77.87 594.03 600.11
    Ashland Inc. ASH $9.11 $61.17 571.46 599.01
    SuccessFactors Inc. SFSF $5.72 $39.91 597.73 597.73
    RightNow Technologies Inc. RNOW $6.15 $42.76 595.29 595.29
    Wyndham Worldwide Corp. WYN $6.08 $39.43 548.52 587.17
    Pioneer Natural Resources Co. PXD $14.65 $99.60 579.86 583.71
    Sinclair Broadcast Group Inc. Cl A SBGI $2.05 $12.64 516.58 582.78
    Limited Brands Inc. LTD $8.22 $41.61 406.20 581.97
    HSN Inc. HSNI $5.42 $36.64 576.01 578.38
    Ashford Hospitality Trust AHT $1.30 $8.40 546.15 574.59
    B&G Foods Inc. BGS $4.27 $23.62 453.16 571.76
    National Financial Partners Corp. NFP $2.32 $15.29 559.05 559.05
    Virgin Media Inc. VMED $3.80 $23.86 527.89 549.47
    Sirius XM Radio Inc. SIRI $0.11 $2.16 548.54 548.54
    Sonic Automotive Inc. Cl A SAH $2.57 $16.16 528.79 534.79
    Ruby Tuesday Inc. RT $1.16 $7.33 531.90 531.90
    Rockwood Holdings Inc. ROC $7.18 $45.15 528.83 528.83
    Group 1 Automotive Inc. GPI $8.80 $54.39 518.07 526.74
    Herbalife Ltd. HLF $9.80 $57.18 483.47 522.26
    Green Mountain Coffee Roasters GMCR $8.26 $51.39 521.82 521.82
    NxStage Medical Inc. NXTM $2.96 $18.36 520.27 520.27
    Polaris Industries Inc. PII $11.04 $62.22 463.84 519.44
    lululemon athletica inc. LULU $3.32 $60.51 519.31 519.31
    Riverbed Technology Inc. RVBD $4.51 $27.77 516.43 516.43
    MCG Capital Corp. MCGC $0.85 $4.31 407.06 513.29
    PolyOne Corp. POL $2.33 $14.04 502.58 510.28
    United Rentals Inc. URI $5.70 $34.77 510.00 510.00
    Salix Pharmaceuticals Ltd. SLXP $8.04 $49.00 509.45 509.45
    DineEquity Inc. DIN $7.60 $46.11 506.71 506.71
    Domino’s Pizza Inc. DPZ $5.44 $32.77 502.39 502.39
    Graphic Packaging Holding Co. GPK $0.81 $4.85 498.77 498.77
    Measurement Specialties Inc. MEAS $5.19 $30.93 495.95 495.95
    Sauer-Danfoss Inc. SHS $7.41 $44.08 494.87 494.87
    Elizabeth Arden Inc. RDEN $5.97 $35.44 493.64 493.64
    Ford Motor Co. F $2.13 $12.34 479.34 479.34
    Liberty Interactive LINTA $2.98 $17.25 478.86 478.86
    Questcor Pharmaceuticals Inc. QCOR $6.56 $37.68 474.39 474.39
    Sourcefire Inc. FIRE $5.55 $31.82 473.33 473.33
    Stein Mart Inc. SMRT $1.23 $6.68 443.09 473.19
    Sunrise Senior Living Inc. SRZ $1.14 $6.52 471.93 471.93
    Incyte Corp. INCY $3.08 $17.57 470.45 470.45
    Acacia Research ACTG $2.97 $42.69 461.71 461.71
    Ruth’s Hospitality Group Inc. RUTH $1.10 $6.17 461.69 461.69
    Starbucks Corp. SBUX $8.89 $48.04 440.38 456.24
    IPG Photonics Corp. IPGP $9.37 $52.00 454.96 454.96
    3D Systems Corp. DDD $3.15 $17.45 453.97 453.97
    Wellcare Health Plans Inc. WCG $10.58 $58.57 453.59 453.59
    Liquidity Services Inc. LQDT $6.64 $36.62 451.51 451.51
    Universal Display Corp. PANL $7.39 $40.75 451.42 451.42
    DSW Inc. Cl A DSW $9.22 $48.42 425.16 451.20
    Williams-Sonoma Inc. WSM $6.85 $34.86 408.90 449.79
    Apple Inc. AAPL $78.20 $429.11 448.73 448.73
    SL Green Realty Corp. SLG $13.77 $71.37 418.30 446.69
    CVR Energy Inc. CVI $4.40 $23.99 445.23 445.23
    OYO Geospace Corp. OYOG $16.10 $87.72 444.84 444.84
    Advance America Cash Advance AEA $1.74 $7.84 350.58 443.85
    Signet Jewelers Ltd. SIG $8.32 $45.11 442.19 443.46
    Nu Skin Enterprises Inc. Cl A NUS $9.65 $48.61 403.73 436.83
    Akorn Inc. AKRX $2.16 $11.56 435.18 435.18
    Entegris Inc. ENTG $1.82 $9.74 435.16 435.16
    MIPS Technologies Inc. MIPS $1.06 $5.57 425.47 425.47
    Louisiana-Pacific Corp. LPX $1.74 $9.02 418.39 418.39
    NetSuite Inc. N $7.92 $40.89 416.29 416.29
    BE Aerospace Inc. BEAV $8.15 $41.96 414.85 414.85
    Ann Inc. ANN $4.62 $23.74 413.85 413.85
    Regeneron Pharmaceuticals Inc. REGN $15.38 $78.92 413.13 413.13
    CEVA Inc. CEVA $5.50 $28.05 410.00 410.00
    Concho Resources Inc. CXO $19.85 $100.94 408.51 408.51
    Safeguard Scientifics Inc. SFE $3.30 $16.74 407.27 407.27
    Tractor Supply Co. TSCO $16.28 $81.29 399.32 406.93
    Krispy Kreme Doughnuts Inc. KKD $1.40 $7.07 405.00 405.00
    F5 Networks Inc. FFIV $21.51 $108.46 404.23 404.23
    Wright Express Corp. WXS $11.20 $56.39 403.48 403.48
    NetLogic Microsystems Inc. NETL $9.94 $49.80 401.26 401.26
    Domtar Corp. UFS $17.88 $86.67 384.73 397.93
    Intuitive Surgical Inc. ISRG $94.65 $470.86 397.48 397.48
    Credit Acceptance Corp. CACC $16.50 $81.60 394.55 394.55
    Veeco Instruments Inc. VECO $4.97 $24.44 391.75 391.75
    Ultimate Software Group Inc. ULTI $13.70 $67.14 390.07 390.07
    Casual Male Retail Group Inc. CMRG $0.40 $3.28 388.31 388.31
    CBRE Group Inc CBG $3.50 $17.05 387.14 387.14
    Lattice Semiconductor Corp. LSCC $1.41 $6.85 385.82 385.82
    SanDisk Corp. SNDK $10.74 $52.07 384.82 384.82
    Taleo Corp. (Cl A) TLEO $7.61 $36.87 384.49 384.49
    Rex Energy Corp. REXX $2.27 $10.99 384.14 384.14
    Bottomline Technologies Inc. EPAY $5.47 $26.48 384.09 384.09
    CTC Media Inc. CTCM $3.26 $9.50 379.14 383.08
    Venoco Inc. VQ $2.15 $10.38 382.79 382.79
    Lufkin Industries Inc. LUFK $15.95 $73.74 362.47 382.47
    RF Micro Devices Inc. RFMD $1.01 $4.85 380.20 380.20
    ION Geophysical Corp. IO $1.54 $7.39 379.87 379.87
    BJ’s Restaurants Inc. BJRI $9.50 $45.50 378.95 378.95
    Cabela’s Inc. CAB $5.24 $25.05 378.05 378.05
    Epoch Holding Corp. EPHC $5.64 $23.04 308.51 377.22
    Cepheid CPHD $7.37 $35.05 375.58 375.58
    TIBCO Software Inc. TIBX $5.07 $24.11 375.54 375.54
    Amerigon Inc. ARGN $3.10 $14.65 372.58 372.58
    Skyworks Solutions Inc. SWKS $4.07 $19.08 368.80 368.80
    Approach Resources Inc. AREX $7.05 $32.93 367.09 367.09
    MercadoLibre Inc. MELI $12.47 $86.95 366.32 366.32
    LSB Industries Inc. LXU $7.34 $34.17 365.53 365.53
    Greenbrier Cos. Inc. GBX $5.27 $24.36 362.24 365.44
    Deckers Outdoor Corp. DECK $18.10 $83.85 363.26 363.26
    Complete Production Services CPX $7.04 $32.55 362.36 362.36
    CBS Corp (Cl B) CBS $6.48 $28.29 336.57 362.31
    Steven Madden Ltd. SHOO $8.20 $37.88 361.70 361.70
    Loral Space and Communications LORL $14.41 $66.49 361.42 361.42
    Dorman Products Inc. DORM $8.65 $39.79 360.00 360.00
    Strategic Hotels & Resorts Inc. BEE $1.27 $5.84 359.84 359.84
    CarMax Inc. KMX $7.22 $33.02 357.34 357.34
    GeoResources Inc. GEOI $6.52 $29.80 357.06 357.06
    Oil States International Inc. OIS $17.64 $80.55 356.63 356.63
    Estee Lauder Cos. Cl A EL $26.12 $115.49 342.15 356.02
    OPNET Technologies Inc. OPNT $8.17 $32.90 302.69 354.91
    G-III Apparel Group Ltd. GIII $4.90 $22.18 352.65 352.65
    Stamps.com Inc. STMP $7.83 $30.83 293.74 352.20
    SM Energy Co. SM $16.86 $75.52 347.92 351.50
    Belo Corp. (Series A) BLC $1.82 $7.37 304.95 351.45
    Liz Claiborne Inc. LIZ $2.09 $9.39 349.28 349.28
    Key Energy Services Inc. KEG $3.36 $15.08 348.81 348.81
    Kansas City Southern KSU $15.98 $71.69 348.62 348.62
    Cavium Inc. CAVM $7.61 $34.08 347.77 347.77
    Interactive Intelligence Group Inc. ININ $6.01 $26.86 346.92 346.92
    AutoNation Inc. AN $7.91 $35.33 346.65 346.65
    Power-One Inc. PWER $1.07 $4.77 345.79 345.79
    Air Methods Corp. AIRM $18.13 $80.74 345.34 345.34
    Huntsman Corp. HUN $2.88 $11.21 289.24 344.61
    Cypress Semiconductor Corp. CY $4.27 $18.68 337.47 344.52
    Celanese Corp. (Series A) CE $11.22 $49.00 336.72 344.52
    Nordstrom Inc. JWN $12.01 $49.64 313.32 343.75
    PriceSmart Inc. PSMT $15.85 $65.98 316.28 343.21
    MarketAxess Holdings Inc. MKTX $7.40 $31.45 325.00 341.44
    iStar Financial Inc. SFI $1.57 $6.93 341.40 341.40
    Cummins Inc. CMI $24.05 $101.32 321.29 341.19
    Volterra Semiconductor Corp. VLTR $6.39 $28.19 341.16 341.16
    Solutia Inc. SOA $4.19 $18.41 339.38 339.38
    Sally Beauty Holdings Inc. SBH $4.65 $20.42 339.14 339.14
    Genesco Inc. GCO $13.61 $59.75 339.02 339.02
    Jabil Circuit Inc. JBL $5.46 $22.36 309.52 338.37
    PVH Corp. PVH $17.56 $76.01 332.86 337.26
    Human Genome Sciences Inc. HGSI $2.04 $8.92 337.26 337.26
    BorgWarner Inc. BWA $17.25 $74.86 333.97 336.86
    Tenet Healthcare Corp. THC $1.15 $5.02 336.52 336.52
    BLYTH Inc. BTH $16.16 $64.04 296.29 335.31
    Ariba Inc. ARBA $6.69 $28.97 333.03 333.03
    Photronics Inc. PLAB $1.70 $7.32 330.59 330.59
    Alexion Pharmaceuticals Inc. ALXN $17.90 $76.99 330.23 330.23
    OSI Systems Inc. OSIS $12.65 $54.17 328.22 328.22
    Middleby Corp. MIDD $22.64 $96.52 326.33 326.33
    Finish Line Inc. Cl A FINL $4.82 $19.70 308.71 325.48
    Freeport-McMoRan FCX $11.07 $44.47 301.72 325.18
    Opko Health Inc. OPK $1.29 $5.48 324.81 324.81
    Diodes Inc. DIOD $5.59 $23.69 323.79 323.79
    VirnetX Holding Corp. VHC $1.44 $26.20 290.46 323.27
    FMC Technologies Inc. FTI $12.46 $52.52 321.51 321.51
    VMware Inc. VMW $20.28 $85.46 321.40 321.40
    Macy’s Inc. M $8.73 $35.37 305.15 321.11
    Coach Inc. COH $15.87 $64.55 306.74 320.72
    Westlake Chemical Corp. WLK $13.69 $56.01 309.13 320.58
    Sotheby’s BID $8.15 $32.70 301.23 319.73
    Vishay Intertechnology Inc. VSH $3.01 $11.43 319.69 319.69
    Rite Aid Corp. RAD $0.33 $1.38 318.18 318.18
    Continental Resources CLR $18.46 $77.16 317.98 317.98
    Hi-Tech Pharmacal Co. Inc. HITK $5.22 $37.03 316.07 316.07
    Charming Shoppes Inc. CHRS $1.19 $4.93 314.29 314.29
    Maxwell Technologies Inc. MXWL $4.65 $19.25 313.98 313.98
    FARO Technologies Inc. FARO $13.48 $55.73 313.43 313.43
    Salesforce.com Inc. CRM $26.07 $107.70 313.12 313.12
    E.W. Scripps Co. Cl A SSP $2.01 $8.30 312.93 312.93
    Sirona Dental Systems Inc. SIRO $11.20 $46.01 310.80 310.80
    Joy Global Inc. JOY $21.33 $83.86 293.15 310.61
    iRobot Corp. IRBT $7.64 $31.34 310.21 310.21
    Zumiez Inc. ZUMZ $7.32 $29.89 308.33 308.33
    Ascena Retail Group Inc. ASNA $8.66 $35.27 307.27 307.27
    OraSure Technologies Inc. OSUR $2.67 $10.84 305.99 305.99
    Federal-Mogul Corp. FDML $4.07 $16.51 305.65 305.65
    Expedia Inc. EXPE $16.28 $30.88 295.41 304.59
    Hexcel Corp. HXL $6.31 $25.44 303.17 303.17
    Seagate Technology Inc. STX $3.88 $19.75 295.62 302.42
    ACCO Brands Corp. ABD $2.41 $9.67 301.24 301.24
    Genworth Financial Inc. Cl A GNW $1.97 $7.82 296.95 296.95
    America’s Car-Mart Inc. CRMT $10.08 $40.01 296.92 296.92
    Ralph Lauren Corporation RL $37.25 $145.71 291.17 296.90
    Zoll Medical Corp. ZOLL $16.89 $67.00 296.68 296.68
    World Acceptance Corp. WRLD $17.33 $67.95 292.09 292.09
    MBIA Inc. MBI $3.23 $12.66 291.95 291.95
    CommVault Systems Inc. CVLT $12.11 $47.42 291.58 291.58
    Dendreon Corp. DNDN $3.58 $14.01 291.34 291.34
    Amazon.com Inc. AMZN $48.44 $189.44 291.08 291.08
    Advisory Board Co. ABCO $20.09 $77.75 287.01 287.01
    Health Management Associates HMA $1.53 $5.92 286.93 286.93
    General Moly Inc. GMO $0.85 $3.28 285.88 285.88
    Under Armour Inc. Cl A UA $18.98 $73.24 285.88 285.88
    TerreStar Corp. TSTRQ $0.40 $0.00 285.00 285.00

  • Morning News: January 19, 2012
    , January 19th, 2012 at 6:37 am

    Hedge Funds May Sue Greece if It Tries to Force Loss

    Spain Passes Key Bond Test, France Also in Demand

    Commerzbank Says It Can Meet Capital Rules

    Mervyn King Faces Jobless Specter in 2012

    China Said to Consider Easing Lending Constraints, Capital Rules for Banks

    Falkland Islands Oil Could Triple U.K. Reserves

    Crude Oil Advances in New York on Shrinking Stockpiles, Iranian Risks

    S&P 500 Rallying Most Since 1987 as Bernanke Helps Offset Europe

    FBI Sweep Targets Big Funds

    In Fight Over Piracy Bills, New Economy Rises Against Old

    Warm Winter Deflates Prospects for Retailers

    Sony Ericsson Swings to Q4 Loss Before Ownership Change

    Kodak Files for Bankruptcy Protection

    TransCanada ‘Dead Money’ If Keystone XL Can’t Be Salvaged

    The ‘New American Home’ Continues Shrinking

    Joshua Brown: A Massive Multi-Year Breakout for Biotechs

    Stone Street: On the Upcoming Carlyle Group IPO: Is the Juice Worth the Squeeze (Glencore Redux)

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  • Bed Bath & Beyond Breaks $61 Per Share
    , January 18th, 2012 at 12:23 pm

    Here’s a real world lesson in investing. Last month, shares of Bed, Bath & Beyond ($BBBY) got knocked down after the company’s earnings report. I thought the earnings report was very good but the traders apparently disagreed. The shares were brought down from over $61 to under $57 within a few days. I said in CWS Market Review that the drop in the stock was hard to understand.

    Now let’s march forward a few weeks. Even though no important news has come out from the company in the last month, the shares have quietly recovered. Today BBBY got as high as $61.39. It’s almost as if nothing happened. Once again, a company’s true value will eventually win out. Though it may take a while.

    The S&P 500 is up again today. This could be our ninth rally in 11 days so far this year. The technology sector is especially strong today as are homebuilders. The major banks were sluggish yesterday but a strong earnings report from Goldman ($GS) is giving the sector a lift today. The S&P 500 has beaten estimates for the last 11 quarters in a row but this one may break the streak. In fact, there’s a very good chance that Q4’s earnings will come in below Q3’s.

  • Morning News: January 18, 2012
    , January 18th, 2012 at 5:39 am

    World Bank Cuts Outlook as Euro Region Contracts

    Greek Premier Says Creditors May Be Forced to Take Losses

    S&P Downgrades See Muted Market Response

    World Bank Warns Developing Nations of Slowing Growth

    Europe Leans Toward Blocking NYSE-Deutsche Borse Merger

    IEA Slashes Oil-Demand Forecast

    Protest on Web Uses Shutdown to Take On Two Piracy Bills

    Inspector General to Leave S.E.C.

    Fannie Fees Fail to Offset Record Low Lending Rates

    Yahoo Co-Founder Jerry Yang Exits Company

    Citigroup Earnings Fall Short of Expectations

    Wells Fargo’s Investment Bank Skirts Fourth-Quarter Cliffs

    Hedge Fund Giant Man Group Posts Further Outflows, To Cut $75 Million Costs

    Industry Weighs Effect of Ship Accident

    Jeff Miller: Positioning for 2012: Don’t Forget About Stocks

    Jeff Carter: Calculating the USA Mood

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  • The S&P 500 Breaks 1,300
    , January 17th, 2012 at 1:01 pm

    For the first time since August 1st, the S&P 500 broke above 1,300 today. The index is nearly 21% off its October low.

  • Morning News: January 17, 2012
    , January 17th, 2012 at 5:46 am

    U.K. Inflation Slowed to Six-Month Low of 4.2%

    ‘Bloated’ London Banks Shrink in the City

    Spain Borrowing Costs Fall at Auction

    Euro Officials Say EFSF Has Enough Funds After Downgrade

    Draghi Questions Role of Ratings Companies

    Bond Coupon Is ‘Prime Difference’ in Greek Debt Negotiations, IIF Says

    South Korea Frets as U.S. Ups Oil Pressure on Iran

    Nigerian Unions End Strike as President Offers Subsidy

    China Fourth-Quarter GDP Grows 8.9%

    Europe Seeks to Prevent U.S. Dominating Cloud

    Wikipedia to Go Dark on Wednesday to Protest Bills on Web Piracy

    Samsung Group to Expand Investment by 12%

    AIA Sizes Up Bid for $6 Billion ING Asia Insurance Unit

    Burberry Sales Jump Amid Tough Economy

    The Invisible Hand Behind Bonuses on Wall Street

    Olympus Panel Finds Auditors Liable

    Cullen Roche: Where Is Inflation Headed?

    Credit Writedowns: Greece and the IMF Appear to be Pushing For as Much as a 75% Haircut

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  • Morning News: January 16, 2012
    , January 16th, 2012 at 6:59 am

    Euro Leaders Race to Salvage Rescue Plans

    Euro Decoupling as Draghi Rate Cuts Fail to Restore Correlation Confidence

    Portuguese Bonds Lead Euro-Region Declines After S&P Ratings Downgrades

    Inefficient Economies Seen as Drag on Europe

    Wary Banks Boost ECB Deposits; Reserve Change Due

    China Developers Launch Funds to Bridge Finance Gap

    Nigeria’s Naira Falls; Trading Limited After Protests Suspended

    India Inflation at 2-Year Low

    Brent Supported as Iran Warns Gulf Exporters

    Bills to Stop Web Piracy Invite a Protracted Battle

    In Silicon Valley, the Ripe Scent of New Money

    Sorry, Here’s Why Raising The Retirement Age Won’t Save Social Security

    Carnival Falls as Cruise-Ship Disaster May Cost $95 Million

    China’s Pollution Is So Insane You Can See It From Space

    Epicurean Dealmaker: All’s Fair…

    Howard Lindzon: There is NEVER a Bubble in Schlepping

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  • Assorted Links
    , January 13th, 2012 at 6:33 pm

    The trading week is over and Wall Street has a three-day weekend.

    There were a few more items I wanted to cover so I’ll use this post to tie up some loose ends.

    My post on the Fed funds interest rate model drew a lot of attention. Professor Mankiw discussed it here which drew a response from Paul Krugman. Ryan Avent, Matthew Yglesias and Scott Sumner also added comments.

    Bloomberg conducted a survey of primary dealers and found that they think the Fed won’t raise rates until the second quarter of 2014.

    S&P downgrades several European countries.

    Lisa Du at Business Insider selected some highlights from Jamie Dimon’s earnings conference call. Glad to see Jamie coming out of his shell.

    Today, the Morgan Stanley Cylical Index (^CYC) snapped its 10-session streak of beating the S&P 500.

    DirecTV ($DTV) is raising rates.

    Hudson City ($HCBK) was downgraded by Nomura.

    Ford ($F) recalls 539,000 minivans, SUVs worldwide

    Williams-Sonoma ($WMS) cut its outlook which is bad for them. The problem is that it led to selling of Bed Bath & Beyond ($BBBY).

  • Five-Year Treasury Yield Hits All-Time Low
    , January 13th, 2012 at 1:51 pm

    The yield on the five-year Treasury got down to 0.77% today. That’s the lowest yield ever.

    In 1981, the five-year yielded 16.27%. Five years ago, it was close to 5% and 11 months ago, it was going for 2.4%.

  • JPMorgan Chase Earns 90 Cents Per Share
    , January 13th, 2012 at 10:17 am

    Disappointing, but it could have been much worse. The New York Times reports:

    The fourth-quarter slump was owed in part to declining revenue and a slowdown in JPMorgan’s sprawling investment bank, which suffered from the sluggish economic recovery in the United States and concerns that the European debt crisis will sweep across the continent.

    The investment bank booked a $567 million accounting loss in the fourth quarter tied to the perceived riskiness of its own debt, reversing a one-time gain from last quarter that propped up earnings across Wall Street. In all, the unit’s profits sank 52 percent to $726 million in the fourth quarter.

    Shares of JPMorgan were down more than 3 percent, to about 35.55, in morning trading.

    Despite the turmoil in the fourth quarter, Jamie Dimon, JPMorgan’s chairman and chief executive, highlighted the firm’s gradual progress since the financial crisis. He also sounded a note of cautious optimism about the broader economic recovery.

    “We have a mild recovery that might actually be strengthening,” Mr. Dimon said in a conference all with reporters, adding that the comeback appears to be “broad.”

    The bank’s earnings report comes a day after Mr. Dimon announced the second major shuffling of his management team in a year. Jay Mandelbaum, head of strategy and business development, will leave the bank. And Barry Zubrow, JPMorgan’s risk management chief who guided the bank through the financial crisis, will now head corporate regulatory affairs, among other changes.

    With the steady growth in profits last year, JPMorgan has emerged from the crisis as one of Wall Street’s most dominant firms. In 2011, JPMorgan stripped Bank of America of its title as the nation’s biggest bank by assets. Bank of America is still struggling to shed the legacy of the subprime mortgage mess.

    Investment banking isn’t stable so it wouldn’t be unusual to see that business, along with trading, come roaring back in the future. This really doesn’t tell us about the underlying strength of the bank.

    Jamie Dimon said that the Q4 results were “modestly disappointing.” I think that’s right. I still like JPM and the stock has a very good valuation. Watch for a dividend increase.