Wall Street to Main Street News, Opinions, and Comments: April 19, 2006
It is Wednesday April 19, 2006 and the market recovered in yesterday’s session ignoring higher crude prices and rising, the Dow Jones closed higher from 194.99 to 11,268.77 while the Nasdaq closed higher from 44.98 to close at 2,356.14. We may see a follow-up in this morning trading session.
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Political front
Like the Rolling Stones, Chinese President Hu Jintao was greeted with all the fan and media attention he could ask for. Yesterday he stepped on US soil and was received by the founder of Microsoft (NASDAQ: MSFT), Bill Gates. This meeting seemed to have gone well, as President Hu promised that action would be taken regarding software piracy.
Another note on China, they have set limits on how much a certain region can invest in the United States, and China can reportedly lift that limit to encourage more global business. This is sure to boost M&A activity in China and the United States. This is one of the reasons why brokerage firms like Goldman Sachs (NYSE: GS) and banks like Citigroup (NYSE: C) have gone to great lengths to establish themselves in the region over the last year.
As concern grows over a possible conflict in Iran, the price of crude oil soars to record highs. We mentioned a few companies to see that position to benefit from rising crude oil prices and here is just a brief summary, the companies to consider are Energy Partners Limited (NYSE: EPL), Forest Oil Corp (NYSE: FST) and Occidental. Oil (NYSE: OXY).
Korea and Japan are building a wall of tension while Korea warns Japan that it will take “severe” action against Japan if they carry out their plans for a marine survey of the islands between the two countries.
Motors and agitators
Some of the main drivers in yesterday’s trading session include Imation Corp (NYSE: IMN) rose $ 6.40 to close at $ 47.30, Intercontinental Exchange (NYSE: ICE) rose $ 829 to close at $ 66.16, Peabody Energy (NYSE: BTU) traded up $ 5.39 to close at $ 56.75, RSA Security (NASDAQ: RSAS) was up $ 3.73 to close at $ 20.55, Franklin Electric (NASDAQ: FELE) was up $ 7.77 to close at $ 60.77 and Timken Co (NYSE: TKR ) rose $ 3.04 to close at $ 34.45.
IBM back on track
International Business Machines Corp, better known as IBM (NYSE: IBM) beat analysts’ first quarter estimate of $ 1.05 to reach $ 1.08 or $ 1.71 billion, now this compares to 84 cents or $ 1.4 billion for the same previous period. year.
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Yahoo meets estimates
Now Yahoo (NASDAQ: YHOO) posted a 22 percent loss compared to the same period a year ago. The company posted first-quarter earnings of 11 cents a share, which was in line with analyst estimates, compared to 14 cents a year earlier.
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Tidbits
Texas Instruments (NYSE: TXN) hits one out of the park when they reported their first-quarter results, posting earnings of 36 cents a share or $ 585 million, compared to 24 cents or $ 411 million in the same period a year ago. This growth was due to an increase in phone chip sales.
Amgen (NASDAQ: AMGN) hits the billion dollar earnings mark, as the company posted earnings of 82 cents a share compared to 67 cents a share for the same period a year ago. This fell short of analysts’ estimates at 89 cents a share. Excluding items, Amgen would have earned 91 cents a share.
United Technologies (NYSE: UTX) and General Dynamics (NYSE: GD) are scheduled to report before the bell this morning.
Readers speak
We got an email from one of our Abe reader / listeners in West Palm Beach, Florida, and he wanted to know if Wall Street to Main Street would start featuring micro-cap companies that trade below a dollar.
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The bottom line is that we try to bring our readers / listeners closer to companies that could put the profits in their piggy bank and not in the coal, so we try not to leave a stone unturned.
We can’t emphasize enough that investors should do their due diligence, call the companies, get the information, check with their investment advisor, and if you don’t have one, consider getting one. Spend as much time researching these companies as when you buy a new TV, it is for your protection only. When it comes to under-traded securities, stagger your orders or place a limit order to avoid a rally.
Note from NAMC Newswire
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Luis Victor
NAMC Newswire
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