SchaeffersResearch.com Daily Market Blog

Standard & Poor's Lifts Ratings on Wachovia (WB) on Wells Fargo (WFC) Deal

Fri, 10 Oct 2008 19:32:00 GMT

Shares of Wachovia (WB: sentiment, chart, options) have rallied more than 38% and Wells Fargo (WFC: sentiment, chart, options) is up nearly 4% after Standard & Poor's Ratings Services upgraded WB's counterparty credit rating to "A+/A-1" from "BBB-/A-3." The move follows on the heels of WFC's announcement that it is proceeding with its plan to buy Wachovia...(Read More)

Abercrombie & Fitch Receives an Upgrade and a Price-Target Cut

Fri, 10 Oct 2008 15:52:00 GMT

Bit of a mixed bag for Abercrombie & Fitch (ANF: sentiment, chart, options) this morning, as it received an upgrade and a price-target cut...(Read More)

Evergreen Solar Slumps to 52-Week Low on Downgrade, Price-Target Cut

Fri, 10 Oct 2008 15:44:00 GMT

Evergreen Solar (ESLR: sentiment, chart, options) was one of many stocks within the solar group to feel the wrath of analysts today...(Read More)

Morgan Stanley Plunges to New Low on Moody's Warning, Despite Bove's Vote of Confidence

Fri, 10 Oct 2008 15:37:00 GMT

There's no shortage of news from Morgan Stanley (MS: sentiment, chart, options) this morning, and most of it is bleak...(Read More)

Cowen Cuts AT&T's Price Target

Fri, 10 Oct 2008 15:27:00 GMT

This morning, Cowen & Co. felt it prudent to cut its earnings estimate for AT&T (T: sentiment, chart, options), noting that strong iPhone sales were costing the company money through subsidies...(Read More)

Federal Regulators Eyeing AIG's Spending Habits After Controversial Spa Retreat

Fri, 10 Oct 2008 15:26:00 GMT

After some controversy erupted about a pricey spa getaway for top-producing insurance agents and their spouses, government regulators are reportedly keeping a close eye on the spending habits of American International Group (AIG: sentiment, chart, options) ...(Read More)

U.S. Trade Deficit Narrows; Energy Declines Pull Import Prices Lower

Fri, 10 Oct 2008 13:12:00 GMT

On the economic front today, we have the latest word on the U.S. trade deficit for August and September's import prices...(Read More)

General Motors (GM) Placed on 'Credit Watch Negative' at Standard & Poor's

Thu, 09 Oct 2008 20:01:00 GMT

I get the feeling that my afternoon blog spot is turning into the Microsoft and General Motors (GM: sentiment, chart, options) show, after back-to-back days of news on the software giant and the Detroit darling...(Read More)

Microsoft's September Xbox 360 Sales Top Sony's PS3 in Japan!

Thu, 09 Oct 2008 19:34:00 GMT

Brokerage firms have recently taken an interest in the video-game sector. Earlier this week, Kaufman Brothers upgraded both Electronic Arts and Activision Blizzard to "buy" from "hold." In the land of video-game consoles, you can't have software without hardware, and Microsoft (MSFT: sentiment, chart, options) has found a way to surge ahead of the competition during the past month: cut the prices on its Xbox 360 units.The move had paid off in spades for MSFT, as Xbox 360 sales doubled in the U.S., rose 62% in Europe, and soared more than five-fold in Japan, according to a report at Silicon Alley Insider...(Read More)

Steel Dynamics Downgraded by Goldman Sachs

Thu, 09 Oct 2008 16:30:00 GMT

Goldman Sachs decided to take its downgrade stick to the steel sector this morning, sharply cutting its forecast for steel prices...(Read More)

Bank of America Upgraded

Thu, 09 Oct 2008 15:43:00 GMT

At first glance today, it seemed that the big banks were going to help lead the market higher ... that has since changed...(Read More)

Jobless Claims Stuck at 7-Year Peak; Wholesale Inventories Rise as Sales Slide

Thu, 09 Oct 2008 14:55:00 GMT

Economic reports on employment and wholesale inventories have hit the Street today...(Read More)

Bond Insurers Ambac Financial and MBIA Inc. Slapped with Lawsuit in California

Thu, 09 Oct 2008 14:28:00 GMT

The hits just keep coming for struggling bond insurers. Dennis Herrera, City Attorney of San Francisco, filed suit yesterday to accuse 5 bond companies of selling worthless insurance policies to California municipalities...(Read More)

National City Shares Surge 11 Percent on Buyout Speculation

Thu, 09 Oct 2008 14:15:00 GMT

The shares of Cleveland-based National City Corp. (NCC: sentiment, chart, options) are up more than 11% this morning after The Wall Street Journal reported that it's in talks with a number of other banks about a potential sale...(Read More)

Citigroup, Wells Fargo Troubled by Wachovia's Bad-News Books

Thu, 09 Oct 2008 13:41:00 GMT

There's good news and bad news today in the merger melodrama surrounding Wachovia Corporation (WB: sentiment, chart, options)...(Read More)

Why Is Microsoft (MSFT) Sifting Through the Washington Mutual Leftovers?

Wed, 08 Oct 2008 20:14:00 GMT

While scanning the tech blogs this afternoon, I ran across something interesting over at Silicon Alley Insider...(Read More)

General Motors (GM) and Ford (F) Extend Declines, Both Cut to 'Sell' from 'Hold'

Wed, 08 Oct 2008 19:38:00 GMT

It has not been a good week for Detroit darlings General Motors (GM: sentiment, chart, options) and Ford Motor (F: sentiment, chart, options)...(Read More)

Target's Same-Store Sales Drop, Predicts Rough October

Wed, 08 Oct 2008 16:08:00 GMT

Kohl's wasn't alone in reporting same-store sales today, Target (TGT: sentiment, chart, options) also notified investors of its September performance...(Read More)

Kohl's Same-Store Sales Drop Less Than Expected

Wed, 08 Oct 2008 15:33:00 GMT

Caught up in all of the rate-cut/global-economy-meltdown hysteria? You may have missed a healthy dose of same-store sales data, and I am just the person to bring some of the reports to you...(Read More)

Citigroup Slashes Mortgage Business, Seeks Partners for Wachovia Bid

Wed, 08 Oct 2008 15:28:00 GMT

There's no shortage of headlines from Citigroup (C: sentiment, chart, options) this morning...(Read More)

Goldman Sachs Slashes Price Targets on MasterCard, Visa

Wed, 08 Oct 2008 15:10:00 GMT

Credit-card concerns MasterCard Inc. (MA: sentiment, chart, options) and Visa Inc...(Read More)

International Monetary Fund Warns of Global Recession; Pending Home Sales Jump

Wed, 08 Oct 2008 14:30:00 GMT

Mixed economic data is hitting the Street this morning, with a gloomy forecast from the International Monetary Fund (IMF) contrasting with a respectable report on pending home sales...(Read More)

Analysts Uneasy on Bank of America's Stock Offering, Dividend Cut

Wed, 08 Oct 2008 13:46:00 GMT

Bank of America (BAC: sentiment, chart, options) plummeted 26% yesterday after the Dow component slashed its dividend and unveiled a weak third-quarter earnings report...(Read More)

Electronic Arts (ERTS) and Activision Blizzard (ATVI) Upgraded to 'Buy' from 'Hold'

Tue, 07 Oct 2008 20:01:00 GMT

Despite the current economic turmoil, brokerage firm Kaufman Brothers apparently shares my belief that videogame addicts like me will find some way to fund their habit...(Read More)

Netflix Drops Thanks to Price-Target Cuts

Tue, 07 Oct 2008 17:16:00 GMT

A day after warning on its fourth-quarter revenue and of subscriber shortfalls, Netflix (NFLX: sentiment, chart, options) received 2 price-target cuts...(Read More)

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Fri, 10 Oct 2008 22:43:00 GMT

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Fri, 10 Oct 2008 22:43:00 GMT

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