The past weekend’s news that China will allow its currency, the yuan, to appreciate against the dollar sent positive waves through the market for much of Monday’s trading session. Aluminum and steel stocks were up, as were domestic consumer plays in mainland China. But,… Read More

Among the biggest losers in Tuesday’s early trading are Patriot Coal (NYSE: PCX), Walgreen (NYSE: WAG) and USG (NYSE: USG). Top Percentage Losers — Tuesday, June 22, 2010 Company Name (Ticker) Intra-Day Price Intra-Day % Loss 52-Week High 52-Week Low Patriot Coal (NYSE: PCX) $13.98 -13.7% $24.25 $4.97 Walgreen (NYSE: WAG) $28.33 -6.0% $40.69 $12.29 USG (NYSE: USG) $14.20 -5.4% $25.59 $8.71 *Table includes companies with minimum market capitalizations of $200 million and three month trading volumes of at least 100,000 shares. All percentage returns… Read More

Among the biggest losers in Tuesday’s early trading are Patriot Coal (NYSE: PCX), Walgreen (NYSE: WAG) and USG (NYSE: USG). Top Percentage Losers — Tuesday, June 22, 2010 Company Name (Ticker) Intra-Day Price Intra-Day % Loss 52-Week High 52-Week Low Patriot Coal (NYSE: PCX) $13.98 -13.7% $24.25 $4.97 Walgreen (NYSE: WAG) $28.33 -6.0% $40.69 $12.29 USG (NYSE: USG) $14.20 -5.4% $25.59 $8.71 *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 12:20PM Eastern Standard Time. Click on ticker symbols for up-to-the-minute price quotes and percentage gain data. Another Shoe drops for Walgreen Fast on the heels of a dust-up with rival and partner CVS Caremark (NYSE: CVS), Walgreen (NYSE: WAG) just delivered a sobering bit of news Tuesday morning: Quarterly sales are weak and expenses are too high. That combination led to a profit shortfall, pushing shares down -6%. #-ad_banner-#Some of the weakness is beyond management’s control. For example, it… Read More

Among the biggest winners in Tuesday’s early trading are Jefferies (NYSE: JEF), Lloyd’s (NYSE: LYG) and Lincare (Nasdaq: LNCR). Top Percentage Gainers — Tuesday, June 22, 2010 Company Name (Ticker) Intra-Day Price Intra-Day % Gain 52-Week High 52-Week Low Jefferies (NYSE: JEF) $24.79 +8.4% $30.99 $17.82 Lincare (Nasdaq: LNCR) $32.83 +6.7% $33.45 $13.88 Lloyd’s Group (NYSE: LYG) $3.48 +4.2% $7.47 $2.88 *Table includes companies with minimum market capitalizations of $200 million and three month trading volumes of at least 100,000 shares. All percentage… Read More

Among the biggest winners in Tuesday’s early trading are Jefferies (NYSE: JEF), Lloyd’s (NYSE: LYG) and Lincare (Nasdaq: LNCR). Top Percentage Gainers — Tuesday, June 22, 2010 Company Name (Ticker) Intra-Day Price Intra-Day % Gain 52-Week High 52-Week Low Jefferies (NYSE: JEF) $24.79 +8.4% $30.99 $17.82 Lincare (Nasdaq: LNCR) $32.83 +6.7% $33.45 $13.88 Lloyd’s Group (NYSE: LYG) $3.48 +4.2% $7.47 $2.88 *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 10:52AM Eastern Standard Time. Click on ticker symbols for up-to-the-minute price quotes and percentage gain data. Jefferies Posts a Great Quarter, but… Investment bank Jefferies (NYSE: JEF) delivered impressive quarterly results on Tuesday morning, and shares up +8%. Sales rose a moderate +13% from a year ago, while net income jumped a hefty +37%. Per-share profits of $0.41 were more than +10% ahead of forecasts. All of the upside came… 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

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

Among the biggest winners in early Friday trading are Covanta (NYSE: CVA), SMART Modular Technologies (Nasdaq: SMOD) and Walgreens (NYSE: WAG). Top Percentage Gainers — Friday, June 18, 2010 Company Name (Ticker) Intra-Day Price Intra-Day % Gain 52-Week High 52-Week Low Covanta (NYSE: CVA) $18.15 +8.2% $19.69 $14.43 SMART Modular Tech. (Nasdaq: SMOD) $6.86 +5.5% $8.75 $2.10 Walgreens (NYSE: WAG) $34.02 +3.9% $40.69 $27.89 *Table includes companies with minimum market capitalizations of $200 million and three month trading volumes of at least 100,000 shares. All… Read More

Among the biggest winners in early Friday trading are Covanta (NYSE: CVA), SMART Modular Technologies (Nasdaq: SMOD) and Walgreens (NYSE: WAG). Top Percentage Gainers — Friday, June 18, 2010 Company Name (Ticker) Intra-Day Price Intra-Day % Gain 52-Week High 52-Week Low Covanta (NYSE: CVA) $18.15 +8.2% $19.69 $14.43 SMART Modular Tech. (Nasdaq: SMOD) $6.86 +5.5% $8.75 $2.10 Walgreens (NYSE: WAG) $34.02 +3.9% $40.69 $27.89 *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 12:03PM Eastern Standard Time. Click on ticker symbols for up-to-the-minute price quotes and percentage gain data. Trash-to-Cash Announcement Cheers Shareholders Last night, energy-from-waste company Covanta Holding Corporation (NYSE: CVA) announced it would issue a special cash dividend of $1.50 per share. It also increased the company’s authorization to buy back up to $150 million in common shares. These bountiful gifts were well received, pushing CVA’s share price up +8.2% in early morning trading. Covanta operates about 60… 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