As the second quarter winds down, investors are shifting their sights to macro themes. We’re about to get a better sense of whether the economy is building steam, or stalling out. Here’s a look at three economic items to watch this week: Housing: New vs. Used On Tuesday, we’ll get the latest reading on sales of existing homes for the month of May. A day later, sales of new homes will be in the spotlight. Economists think existing sales rose +5% sequentially, thanks to tax credits (that… Read More

As the second quarter winds down, investors are shifting their sights to macro themes. We’re about to get a better sense of whether the economy is building steam, or stalling out. Here’s a look at three economic items to watch this week: Housing: New vs. Used On Tuesday, we’ll get the latest reading on sales of existing homes for the month of May. A day later, sales of new homes will be in the spotlight. Economists think existing sales rose +5% sequentially, thanks to tax credits (that have since expired). But new home sales likely fell sharply, according to a consensus of economists’ forecasts. The ratio of existing homes for sale compared with the number of new homes has never been larger. The glut of unsold existing homes on the market needs to be whittled down before more new homes get built. Of these two data points, the existing homes figure is the one to track. If the number shows a surprising dip in the inventory of existing homes, then home builders may start to identify the time… Read More

Put that cork back in the champagne bottle. As the dust has settled, it’s increasingly clear that China’s bold actions this weekend regarding its currency may be less bold than it seems. Clearly, the Chinese yuan will get stronger and the U.S. dollar will get weaker, but it will take several years — or longer — for any real positive benefits to be felt. Nevertheless, you can identify the long-term winners and losers from a stronger Chinese currency. Watching Paint Dry The Chinese government announced over the weekend… Read More

Put that cork back in the champagne bottle. As the dust has settled, it’s increasingly clear that China’s bold actions this weekend regarding its currency may be less bold than it seems. Clearly, the Chinese yuan will get stronger and the U.S. dollar will get weaker, but it will take several years — or longer — for any real positive benefits to be felt. Nevertheless, you can identify the long-term winners and losers from a stronger Chinese currency. Watching Paint Dry The Chinese government announced over the weekend that it would loosen the fixed rate at which dollars and the yuan can be exchanged, responding to increasing pressure from lawmakers in the United States and elsewhere. That led to a quick +0.4% gain in Monday trading for the yuan. And that’s all you should expect for the near-term. From time to time, the Chinese government will slightly loosen the band further, and the currency will make another quick +0.4% to +0.5% move. But we may not see more than a handful of those moves each year. Translation: it may be several years before the yuan gains +10% from… Read More

Among the biggest losers in Monday’s early trading are California Pizza Kitchen (Nasdaq: CPKI), Ralcorp (NYSE: RAH) and BP (NYSE: BP). Top Percentage Losers — Monday, June 21, 2010 Company Name (Ticker) Intra-Day Price Intra-Day % Loss 52-Week High 52-Week Low California Pizza Kitchen (Nasdaq: CPKI) $17.02 -9.9% $22.92 $12.29 Ralcorp (NYSE: RAH) $57.71 -7.2% $69.86 $52.66 BP (NYSE: BP) $30.86 -2.8% $62.38 $29.00 *Table includes companies with minimum market capitalizations of $200 million and three month trading volumes of at least 100,000… Read More

Among the biggest losers in Monday’s early trading are California Pizza Kitchen (Nasdaq: CPKI), Ralcorp (NYSE: RAH) and BP (NYSE: BP). Top Percentage Losers — Monday, June 21, 2010 Company Name (Ticker) Intra-Day Price Intra-Day % Loss 52-Week High 52-Week Low California Pizza Kitchen (Nasdaq: CPKI) $17.02 -9.9% $22.92 $12.29 Ralcorp (NYSE: RAH) $57.71 -7.2% $69.86 $52.66 BP (NYSE: BP) $30.86 -2.8% $62.38 $29.00 *Table includes companies with minimum market capitalizations of $200 million and three month trading volumes of at least 100,000 shares. All percentage returns are listed as of 1:14PM Eastern Standard Time. Click on ticker symbols for up-to-the-minute price quotes and percentage gain data. A Bad Time for a Sales Slowdown Shares of California Pizza Kitchen (Nasdaq: CPKI) are slumping neary -10% after noting early Monday morning that May sales trends were sharply negative, pushing down second-quarter sales and earnings guidance. The company notes that May 2009 sales trends were notably strong thanks to a promotion, so a -7% drop in May… Read More

Among the biggest winners in Monday’s early trading are Century Aluminum (Nasdaq: CENX), United Micro (NYSE: UMC) and Perfect World (Nasdaq: PWRD). Top Percentage Gainers — Monday, June 21, 2010 Company Name (Ticker) Intra-Day Price Intra-Day % Gain 52-Week High 52-Week Low Century Aluminum (Nasdaq: CENX) $11.18 +11.4% $18.77 $4.70 Perfect World (Nasdaq: PWRD) $26.00 +8.5% $50.49 $21.49 United Micro (NYSE: UMC) $3.30 +6.1% $4.24 $2.31 *Table includes companies with minimum market capitalizations of $200 million and three month trading volumes of at least 100,000… Read More

Among the biggest winners in Monday’s early trading are Century Aluminum (Nasdaq: CENX), United Micro (NYSE: UMC) and Perfect World (Nasdaq: PWRD). Top Percentage Gainers — Monday, June 21, 2010 Company Name (Ticker) Intra-Day Price Intra-Day % Gain 52-Week High 52-Week Low Century Aluminum (Nasdaq: CENX) $11.18 +11.4% $18.77 $4.70 Perfect World (Nasdaq: PWRD) $26.00 +8.5% $50.49 $21.49 United Micro (NYSE: UMC) $3.30 +6.1% $4.24 $2.31 *Table includes companies with minimum market capitalizations of $200 million and three month trading volumes of at least 100,000 shares. All percentage returns are listed as of 1:50AM Eastern Standard Time. Click on ticker symbols for up-to-the-minute price quotes and percentage gain data. Aluminum Stocks love a Stronger Yuan A wide range of aluminum and steel stocks are rallying this morning, led by a +11% gain for Century Aluminum (Nasdaq: CENX). Many of these firms, such as Alcoa (NYSE: AA), POSCO (NYSE: PKX) or U.S. Steel (NYSE: X) have struggled to raise prices while Chinese rivals flooded the market with lower cost products. Read More

Shares of Kroger (NYSE: KR) rose a smart +4% today as the nation’s largest standalone grocer beat profit estimates by 8% for the quarter ended May 22. Yet once you dig deeper into the numbers and get a sense of industry trends, it becomes apparent that shares could move sharply lower in the weeks and months ahead. It’s easy to look good when little is expected. Analysts were so bearish about the grocer’s rising cost picture that they lowered their profit forecasts well below… Read More

Shares of Kroger (NYSE: KR) rose a smart +4% today as the nation’s largest standalone grocer beat profit estimates by 8% for the quarter ended May 22. Yet once you dig deeper into the numbers and get a sense of industry trends, it becomes apparent that shares could move sharply lower in the weeks and months ahead. It’s easy to look good when little is expected. Analysts were so bearish about the grocer’s rising cost picture that they lowered their profit forecasts well below management guidance. So earnings were seemingly robust, but really only not as bad as feared. More important, earnings were more than 10% below year-ago results due to a sharp drop in gross margins. And gross margins are the real story here.  If you’ve shopped for groceries at a Wal-Mart (NYSE: WMT) store in the last year, you’ve probably noticed that produce was the one category that seemed unusually pricey. Yet as we noted earlier this week , Wal-Mart is rolling back prices thanks to a renewed emphasis on securing locally grown… Read More

For many years, investors had to sit and wait for profits as cable and satellite companies re-invested every spare penny into building their business. That wait is now over, most notably for investors in DirecTV (NYSE: DTV). The satellite TV provider is now throwing off large amounts of… Read More

More than a century ago, governments in the United States and Europe decided to pave over dirt roads. They knew that many citizens would soon be driving automobiles and would soon sour on bumpy, rutted dirt paths. Now, a similar move is afoot. A wide range of incentives are being enacted to enable a smooth transition to the age of the electric car. Luckily for patient investors, the companies that stand to benefit from the coming e-car revolution have already fallen out of favor, and their share prices stand near all-time lows. Putting the Pieces in Place… Read More

More than a century ago, governments in the United States and Europe decided to pave over dirt roads. They knew that many citizens would soon be driving automobiles and would soon sour on bumpy, rutted dirt paths. Now, a similar move is afoot. A wide range of incentives are being enacted to enable a smooth transition to the age of the electric car. Luckily for patient investors, the companies that stand to benefit from the coming e-car revolution have already fallen out of favor, and their share prices stand near all-time lows. Putting the Pieces in Place A number of auto makers have announced plans to sell electric and hybrid cars and trucks that utilize lithium-ion batteries. Toyota’s (NYSE: TM) popular Prius uses older heavier battery packs, but many of the planned cars will have driving ranges of less than 100 miles. So consumers will need access to frequent and convenient recharging stations. The U.S. House and the Senate have released separate bills that would provide millions of dollars to a handful of select cities that install a network of charging stations. The regions chosen will likely be the first ones to see robust… Read More

Among the biggest losers in Thursday’s early trading are Actuant (NYSE: ATU), Gammon Gold (NYSE: GRS) and DryShips (Nasdaq: DRYS). Top Percentage Losers –Thursday, June 17, 2010 Company Name (Ticker) Intra-Day Price Intra-Day % Loss 52-Week High 52-Week Low Gammon Gold… Read More

Among the biggest winners in Thursday’s early trading are Neurocrine Biosciences, (Nasdaq: NBIX), Pier One (NYSE: PIR) and Winnebago (NYSE: WGO). Top Percentage Gainers — Thursday, June 17, 2010 Company Name (Ticker) Intra-Day Price Intra-Day % Gain 52-Week High 52-Week Low Winnebago (NYSE:… Read More

Those prescient words, uttered by Chauncey the Gardener in the film Being There, is an annual rite of passage for tech stocks, which tend to rally each spring. Not this time. Instead of growth, the group has fallen sharply, thanks to a high degree of exposure to Europe and the… Read More