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

After surging to a new all-time high of $1,258.58 an ounce on Friday, the yellow metal certainly could come under pressure from profit-taking or some other yet unknown exogenous event. However, for lots and lots of reasons, I like gold in this market. Here’s why: To begin… 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

The oil industry is in the midst of dealing with one of the largest spills in history. The consequences could be dire for firms focused on offshore drilling, with a current six-month moratorium on drilling in the United States and a slew of new regulations and safety procedures being prepared… Read More

With the market oscillating between down and flat for the year, an old friend of mine, Tom, asked the other day why I was so chipper about the market. He had just received his 401(k) statement and was very disappointed. “I’m up,” I told him. “I’m way… Read More

The word “bankruptcy” is anathema to most investors. Holding shares of a company in this position means investors are likely to be wiped out. Sometimes, however, a bankruptcy can be exactly the right thing for both the company and investors, if handled properly. Read More

Among the biggest losers in Friday’s early trading are Wimm-Bill-Dann Foods (NYSE: WBD) and HCP (NYSE: HCP). Top Percentage Losers — Friday, June 18, 2010 Company Name (Ticker) Intra-Day Price Intra-Day % Loss 52-Week High 52-Week Low Wimm-Bill-Dann Foods (NYSE: WBD) $19.67 -8.9% $78.57 $12.33 HCP (NYSE: HCP) $32.74 -4.7% $34.50 $19.65 *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… Read More

Among the biggest losers in Friday’s early trading are Wimm-Bill-Dann Foods (NYSE: WBD) and HCP (NYSE: HCP). Top Percentage Losers — Friday, June 18, 2010 Company Name (Ticker) Intra-Day Price Intra-Day % Loss 52-Week High 52-Week Low Wimm-Bill-Dann Foods (NYSE: WBD) $19.67 -8.9% $78.57 $12.33 HCP (NYSE: HCP) $32.74 -4.7% $34.50 $19.65 *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 1:48PM Eastern Standard Time. Click on ticker symbols for up-to-the-minute price quotes and percentage gain data. Russian Dairy Jilted for Another Pharmacy companies CVS Caremark (NYSE: CVS) and Walgreens (NYSE: WAG) kissed and made up last night. But that doesn’t seem to be the fate awaiting the dairy and baby food companies Wimm-Bill-Dann Foods (NYSE: WBD) and Danone. #-ad_banner-#The French company Danone owns an 18% stake in Russia’s WBD. But this week Danone announced a merger with one of WBD’s competitors, Unimilk. Read More

I apologize for the brevity of today’s article, but I have a long drive ahead of me. Most of you probably think I’m just a research fanatic that locks himself in the office for hours on end… well, you’re right. But fact is, I grew up on… Read More