In trading on Thursday, hospital & medical practitioners shares were relative leaders, up on the day by about 1.7%. Leading the group were shares of Sun Healthcare Group (SUNH), up about 35.8% and shares of Skilled Healthcare Group (SKH) up about 5.5% on the day.
Red Hat (RHAT) announced a 15 percent increase in first-quarter profit and better-than-expected revenue. However, the company reported weaker-than-expected billings.
P&G lowered its guidance for fiscal 4th quarter, which ends on 6/30. CEO Bob McDonald said sales excluding add-ons from acquisitions and foreign exchange will grow 3%, lower than the previous estimate of 5%. EPS for the quarter should max out at 79c, lower than the previous estimate of 84c, which would make this quarter the weakest in two years.P&G is a popular defensive stock, but its top line is taking a hit from the weakness in Europe. Shares dropped more than 3% today, which is a large move when ATM volatility is only in the mid-teens. YTD it dropped 6.7%. I’m always a fan of this company, I think it has world-class manufacturing lines that are unparalleled, but what do you think of the stock? What would be the alternative if you get out of this name? Send in your thoughts to our show or tweet me (@juliasun_onair). I’m Julia Sun for the Financial News Network, we’ll be right back after the break.
NV Energy (NVE) was upgraded today by Bank of American/Merrill Lynch (BAC) to buy from neutral with a price target of $19 as the firm believes that the company can grow its dividend faster than the competition, and has solid earnings. Shares are higher by about two tenths of a percent.
As the saying goes, there are many possible reasons for an insider to sell a stock, but only one reason to buy — they expect to make money. So let’s look at two noteworthy recent insider buys.
Yahoo! Washington Bureau Chief David Chalian talks to Education Secretary Arne Duncan..
The Commerce Department reported Tuesday housing starts are up, boosting the stock market and causing optimism among investors.In the month of May, U.S. builders started work on more single-family homes and requested the most permits to build homes and apartments in three and a half years. There was a 3.2% rise in building projects on homes, the third straight month of increases.In terms of permits, those increased to a seasonally adjusted rate of 780,000, the most since September of 2008.These numbers are in line with the increase in the confidence index which we reported on yesterday. The Commerce Department’s report could finally mean the start of a true recovery in the housing market, something that hasn’t really recovered since the financial crisis in 2008.Markets are up on this news. The S&P and the Nasdaq both up over one percent and the Dow with triple digit gains, currently trading up 122 points.
As the saying goes, there are many possible reasons for an insider to sell a stock, but only one reason to buy — they expect to make money. So let’s look at two noteworthy recent insider buys.
JP Morgan CEO Jamie Dimon went before the House Committee on Financial Services today answering questions about a possible bill for exemptions from derivative transactions made by offshore branches of U.S. banks. Dimon was being questioned on this issue because J.P. Morgan’s massive trading losses, amounting to $2 billion dollars, were performed out of their London offices. Dimon says he supports congresses bill.Dimon was also asked as to whether may be clawbacks against him and certain traders involved in the catastrophic losses that took place. Dimon said that the board will do whatever they see is appropriate. Finally, Dimon, in response to the Volcker rule, said he supports a provision of allowing portfolio-hedging with a banks exposure to certain types of companies. Dimon said it would be impossible to limit exposure to a group of similar companies individually, something that a tough Volcker rule will prohibit.
This is what’s in the news for Monday, June 18 2012. The Wall Street journal reports Greek voters narrowly endorsed pro-bailout forces in a momentous election, easing fears for now of an imminent rupture with the euro zone. The Wall Street Journal also reports a U.S. government program that helps struggling homeowners take advantage of low interest rates to cut monthly mortgage payments is providing an unexpected revenue boost to major banks such as Wells Fargo (NYSE:WFC) and J.P. Morgan Chase (NYSE:JPM). Reuters reports AXA Private Equity (PINK:AXAHY) says it raised $8B for two of its funds, most of which it will use to take assets off the hands of banks cutting down their exposure in the face of rampant regulation. Reuters also reports British supermarket giant Tesco Plc (PINK:TSCDY) says it will sell 50% of its Japanese business to the country’s Aeon Corp. for a nominal sum, ending an eight-year attempt to break into Japan’s retail market. Finally, Bloomberg also reports Deutsche Boerse AG (PINK:DBOEY) asked an EU court to overturn a ban on its planned merger with NYSE Euronext (NYSE:NYX), saying regulators made errors when reviewing the deal that would have created the world’s biggest exchange.
