The oil exporter is moving quickly to ramp up sales to Asia

TransCanada s (NYSE:TRP) stalled Keystone XL pipeline took another interesting twist this weekend when Speaker John Boehner said Republican lawmakers will include an approval of the pipeline in a new highway bill. The Obama Administration denied the pipeline builder a permit due to various environmental concerns and put off making a decision on the project until 2013.

A provision in the payroll-tax bill forced President Obama to make an early verdict on the project, which led to its cancellation. While the pipeline may ultimately be built, investors shouldn t focus on the politics. The real winner in this drama is the nation that is exporting the oil: Canada.

While the U.S. bickers about the fate of Keystone, Canada has made the smart decision to move forward. Canada, which accounts for over 90% of all proven energy reserves outside of the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries, has put out an  open for business  sign.

Canadian Prime Minister Steven Harper is working hard to reduce his nation s dependency on the U.S. Currently, around 99% of Canada s crude oil exports go south, and U.S. and many Canadian officials want to shrink that share. Harper has stressed that his country’s capacity to export energy is a national priority, and he has pledged to speed regulatory approval of energy projects. In a phone call to President Obama, the Prime Minster said that  Canada will continue to work to diversify its energy exports.

In order to diversify those exports, Canada has begun to look toward Asia as major buyer. According to a University of Calgary study, accessing emerging markets in Asia would help Canadian E&P companies realize a $13.60 a-barrel price gain by 2030. Harper will meet next month with Chinese President Hu Jintao to discuss energy export options.

Public support for Enbridge s (NYSE:ENB) Northern Gateway pipeline has surged since the Keystone denia! l. The 6 50-mile pipeline would move oil from Alberta s rich oil sands to British Columbia s coast, where it would be exported to Asian markets via a new port. Overall, Canadian commodity exports to Asian-Pacific nations rose nearly 60% during 2011 and should continue to rise as the nation makes emerging Asia a priority.
Focusing On the Energy Superpower

With Prime Minister Harper and host of other officials focused on moving crude oil and natural gas to Asia, the time could be right to add some Canadian energy companies to your portfolio. Most U.S. investors are heavily underweighted in Canada despite its proximity and global standing. Both Enbridge and the broad-based Guggenheim Canadian Energy Income ETF (NYSE:ENY) could be good bets. Odds are that the Northern Gateway pipeline will be built and start exporting to Asia. The Guggenheim fund tracks 34 different firms, including Penn West Petroleum (NYSE:PWE), and it provides a great overall play in Canadian oil-sands E&P producers. The ETF yields roughly 2.8% and charges 0.65% in expenses.

Another value in the Canadian energy sector might be giant EnCana (NYSE:ECA). After spinning off its oil assets as Cenovus Energy (NYSE:CVE), the now pure natural gas player has seen its share price dwindle in the face of record low natural gas prices. However, the company has already begun construction near Kitimat, British Columbia, of an?LNG export facility.

Given Canada s new fondness for Asia and Asia s growing appetite for LNG, EnCana could be in a great future position to provide those exports. Shares currently yield over 4%. Similarly, oil-sands-focused producer Suncor (NYSE:SU) could be a great buy. Shares of Suncor have been punished due to a writedown in the value of some of its Libyan assets and the abandonment of a $1.2 billion gas project in Syria. However, no matter which pipeline is built (Keystone or Northern Gateway), Suncor should see increased demand for it! s bitume n crude.

Teledyne Awarded $595 Million Missile Defense Agency Objective Simulation Framework Contract

 THOUSAND OAKS, Calif.–(CRWENEWSWIRE)– Teledyne Technologies Incorporated (NYSE:TDY) announced today that its subsidiary, Teledyne Brown Engineering, Inc., in Huntsville, Ala., was awarded by the Missile Defense Agency (MDA) its Objective Simulation Framework (OSF), an IDIQ contract with a potential value of $595 million over five years beginning September 1, 2011.

Under the contract, Teledyne will design, develop, test, implement and maintain the OSF. It will be the centerpiece test and simulation framework for all elements of the missile defense system. The OSF will be capable of supporting full scale simulations, ground tests and live fire events. For the first time, it will tie together the Digital Simulation Architecture with the Single Stimulation Framework.

 Winning this significant contract reflects well on our capabilities for designing and developing test systems for complex applications such as missile defense,  said Robert Mehrabian, chairman, president, and chief executive officer of Teledyne Technologies.  We expect similar test technologies will have use in other markets we serve including energy, marine, aviation, space and environmental applications.

Teledyne Brown developed the first digital and Hardware-in-the-Loop (HWIL) test and assessment capabilities for missile defense. Through the years, Teledyne Brown developed and supported advancements in test frameworks that established ground test standards for missile defense systems. The company also developed an OSF prototype that incorporates legacy digital and HWIL capabilities to support Ballistic Missile Defense System (BMDS) test and assessment activities. Teledyne Brown has executed BMDS tests and assessments at its headquarters in Huntsville, Ala. and at other locations.

About Teledyne Technologies Incorporated

Teled yne Technologies is a leading provider of sophisticated instrumentation, digital imaging products and software, aerospace and defense electronics, and engineered systems. Teledyne Technologies  operations are primarily located in the United States, Canada, the United Kingdom and Mexico. For more information, visit Teledyne Technologies  website at www.teledyne.com

Forward-Looking Statements Cautionary Notice

This press release contains forward-looking statements, as defined in the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995, relating to a contract award. Actual results could differ materially from these forward-looking statements. Many factors, including funding, continuation and award of government programs, and cuts to defense spending resulting from future deficit reduction measures, including potential automatic cuts to defense spending that may be triggered by the Budget Control Act of 2011, could change the anticipated results. Various risks, including risks associated with government contracts, are identified in Teledyne s 2010 Annual Report on Form 10-K.

Introducing the 24/7 Wall St. Wire

from BioHealth Investor

The upcoming week will be a big one for Hollis Eden Pharmaceuticals (HEPH), a company I've written about previously. The company was founded in 1992 and they've not advanced a single drug to a Phase 3 clinical trial.

Their lead compound, called Neumune, prevents loss of white blood cells (neutropenia), loss of platelets (thrombocytopenia), and loss of red blood cells (anemia). This drug has been demonstrated safe in several Phase 1 clinical trials. The biggest indication for Neumune is protection against acute radiation syndrome (ARS).

Project Bioshield, a response to potential terrorist attacks, was signed into law in July 2004. One of the purviews of Project Bioshield is to develop and stockpile drugs to protect Americans from biological, chemical, and nuclear attacks. The anthrax scares in Washington DC are a chilling reminder of why this may be important: I'll leave comments about feasibility aside.

Sensing opportunity, Hollis Eden has been seeking to provide the Government (specifically the Department of Health and Human Services, HHS) with Neumune to protect against a radiation attack. At first glance, this was a smart strategy. Implementation, however, has not been so easy.

HEPH has been trading wildly (according to Yahoo Finance beta = 5.42) over the past few years, due in large part to their attempts to secure a contract for Project Bioshield. In my opinion Hollis Eden has an extremely weak pipeline, and this procurement is their last hope. Trouble is, much like Lucy pulling the football away before Charlie Brown can ever kick it, HHS keeps moving the deadline back. Initially a target date of September 30th 2006 was set, which was pushed back to November 30th, which was pushed back to January 31st next Wednesday.

So, while I would never recommend HEPH as an investment, I think it will be a fun stock next week for day traders (take a look at Friday afternoon's minute-by-minute chart) and those looking to speculate next week. If HHS! awards a contract to Hollis Eden the stock will take a nice spike. If they don't deliver on a contract, or delay it a third time, I think the stock will take a substantial dive.

There are a couple of ways to play this. A good volatility play is a straddle with March $5 options: open interest on February options is very low, and March options, while still illiquid have a higher open interest.

Now, Project Bioshield has hit some hiccups. A debacle in which a $1B contract was cancelled sent Vaxgen's stock (VXGN.PK) to the Pink Sheets. There have also been calls, by Senators Collins and Lieberman, for a congressional investigation into Project Bioshield.

But here's another twist. A week after announcing the November delay in the HHS procurement, Hollis Eden announced it was selling $26M worth of shares at $6.50, a substantial discount then. The company had $48M in cash at the end of Q3, and were burning on average $6M per quarter: there certainly was danger of running out before the January 31st tentative date set by HHS. Waiting until after a contract award would have meant a higher share price, and a bigger infusion of cash.

One can speculate endlessly about what the secondary offering of stock means about management's confidence in obtaining the contract. To be clear, according to a November press release, Hollis Eden is "not aware of any other company that remains in the competitive range for this contract award".

Whether or not HEPH gets a contract next week is pure speculation. The stock is trading near $6, so shorting it can be risky shorts I recommended on Avanir Pharmaceuticals (AVNR) and Encysive Pharmaceuticals (ENCY) were both in this range, and both paid off very well! This is a situation where I like to buy puts, and I have purchased some. To be clear, this is highly speculative, but I like the odds of betting on government inaction. Should be a fun week!

Top Basic Materials Sector Stock Holdings of Canyon Capital

Following is information on Canyon Capital Advisors  top holdings in the Basic Materials sector:

    * Chemtura Corp. (NYSE:CHMT): On 3/31/11 Canyon Capital Advisors reported holding 4,905,317 shares with a market value of $84,371,456. This comprised 5.09% of the total portfolio. On 6/30/11, Canyon Capital Advisors held 5,679,181 shares with a market value of $103,361,099. This comprised 7.85% of the total portfolio. The net change in shares for this position over the two quarters is 773,864. About the company: Chemtura Corporation manufactures plastics and other chemicals. The Company produces urethane polymers; plastic additives, including flame retardants; pool and spa products; seed treatment and miticides; and petroleum additives. Chemtura operates worldwide.
    * Packaging Corp. of America (NYSE:PKG): On 3/31/11 Canyon Capital Advisors reported holding 1,717,529 shares with a market value of $49,619,412. This comprised 2.99% of the total portfolio. On 6/30/11, Canyon Capital Advisors held 1,717,529 shares with a market value of $48,073,636. This comprised 3.65% of the total portfolio. The net change in shares for this position over the two quarters is 0,000. About the company: Packaging Corp of America manufactures containerboard and corrugated packaging products for use in protecting goods during shipment. The Company also produces multi-color boxes and displays, as well as meat boxes and wax-coated boxes for the agricultural industry.
    * LyondellBasell Industries NV (NYSE:LYB): On 3/31/11 Canyon Capital Advisors reported holding 263,398 shares with a market value of $10,417,391. This comprised 0.63% of the total portfolio. On 6/30/11, Canyon Capital Advisors held 263,398 shares with a market value of $10,146,091. This comprised 0.77% of the total portfolio. The net change in shares for this position over the two quarters is 0,000. About the company: LyondellBasell Industries NV is a manufacturing company. The Company produces che! micals, fuels, and polymers used for packaging, clean fuels, durable textiles, medical applications, construction materials, and automotive parts. LyondellBasell Industries operates globally and is headquartered in the Netherlands.
    * Graphic Packaging Holding Company (NYSE:GPK): On 3/31/11 Canyon Capital Advisors reported holding 0,000 shares with a market value of $0. This comprised 0.00% of the total portfolio. On 6/30/11, Canyon Capital Advisors held 1,500,000 shares with a market value of $8,160,000. This comprised 0.62% of the total portfolio. The net change in shares for this position over the two quarters is 1,500,000. About the company: Graphic Packaging Holding Company is an integrated provider of paperboard and integrated paperboard packaging solutions to multinational beverage and consumer products companies. The Company manufactures folding cartons for frozen and non-frozen food and beverage products.

The Gilded Age of Wall Street Remains Intact

For decades, Wall Street offered the allure of big league paydays and behind-the-scenes power.

But since the 2008 financial crisis there's been a growing sense - or even hope - that The Street's stride had been broken. After all, demand for a financial system overhaul, regulatory reform, and a crackdown on Wall Street pay must take some toll.

Not hardly. Wall Street hasn't changed its ways and it never will.

Take it from a man who has spent decades on The Street, seeing everything firsthand.

Money Morning Capital Wave Strategist and retired hedge-fund manager Shah Gilani says that in the short-term, firms will have to deal with new rules and slimmer paychecks, but ultimately, they will still find a way to prosper.

"The bloom is off the rose and Wall Street is showing its thornier side, but the Street is still paved with gold," said Gilani. "On any relative basis, unless you're a rock star, star athlete or Hollywood heavy, there's no place like Wall Street to make your fortune. That's not going to change any time soon."

Wall Street Sidesteps Obstacles

Wall Street faces a new regulatory environment, pay cuts and angry public protests - but the effects won't be nearly as damaging as many critics had hoped.

For instance, the new Volcker Rule regulations, part of the Dodd-Frank financial oversight law, will go into effect next year. Its restrictions are perhaps the sternest to emerge from the campaign for reform.

The rule aims to ban proprietary trading, in which the banks traded for their own benefit rather than for the benefit of their customers, but also will address other areas such as hedge fund investing.

When all is said and done, the Volcker Rule could slam fixed-income operations revenue by as much as 25%.

Of course, JPMorgan Chase & Co. (NYSE: JPM), Bank of Ame! rica Cor p. (NYSE: BAC), and Citigroup Inc. (NYSE: C) aren't exactly quivering, since they derive less than 10% of their revenue from such activity.

And the firms with the most to lose - Goldman Sachs Group Inc. (NYSE: GS) and Morgan Stanley (NYSE: MS) - already are devising ways to avoid the regulations by dumping their "bank holding company" classifications

In 2008, the banks converted from securities firms to bank holding companies to qualify for bailouts. Now they simply intend to switch back.

These Wall Street heavyweights are also dealing with increased scrutiny of executive compensation, but continue to allocate a large percentage of profits for salaries and bonus pools.

Goldman Sachs' third quarter profit fell about 75%, but the firm only reduced compensation expenses by 25% for the quarter. Profit totaled $1.5 billion, down from $5.5 billion the year prior, but the company still spent $10 billion on compensation. Average pay for each Goldman employee was $292,000.

Goldman isn't the only firm to keep paying, despite efforts to curb Wall Street compensation. Average pay for JPMorgan employees is $290,000 according to third-quarter earnings. Citigroup's average pay went up 6% -- despite flat revenue.

"I wouldn't shed too many tears for Wall Street," Neil Barofsky, the former special inspector general for the Troubled Asset Relief Program (TARP), told Bloomberg News. "The systemic advantage that the too-big-to-fail banks enjoyed in the lead-up to the financial crisis may be diminished in the near term, but the structure is still essentially the same and will almost certainly help catapult them to record profits and bonuses once the good times return."

Wall Street: The Only Place to Really Make Money

Indeed, Wall Street may have taken a beating, but it still offers something most other careers don't: a chance to generate vast amounts of wealth without risking y! our own money.

"At the end of the day, it usually takes money to make money, so if you don't have any but you want to make a lot of it, Wall Street is the only place where you can make money with other people's capital," said Gilani.

Even amid a global protest movement, Wall Street's ability to attract customers and turn profits overshadows its troubles.

"While some grads may be rethinking their options, it's unlikely too many who look to the Street of Dreams are going to wake up to all the bad press Wall Street has been getting and decide to take some higher road," Gilani said.

And where there's a promise of riches, there's corruption.

"All power corrupts. It's impossible to weed out corruption and greed on Wall Street, money does strange things to some people," said Gilani.

Of course, that's exactly why it helps to have someone like Gilani on your side. As a former Wall Street insider, Gilani knows how Wall Street operates and how to spot the "catch" when something sounds too good to be true. If you want to make money but need help separating the suspects from the prospects, you can turn to Gilani in his new publication, Wall Street Insights & Indictments.

His goal simply is to show you what's really going on in the markets, so you can "know the story" and make some money.

And the best part is, this new service is absolutely free. Just sign up by clicking here. You'll also receive Gilani's latest report: "5 Ways to Trade the Coming EU Collapse - And Make a Killing."

Work-Life Balance: Can You Have It All?

Excerpted from OFF BALANCE: Getting Beyond the Work-Life Balance Myth to Personal and Professional Satisfaction by Matthew Kelly. Published by arrangement with Hudson Street Press, a member of PenguinGroup (USA), Inc. Copyright (c) Beacon Publishing, 2011.

By Matthew Kelly
It is a common and childish mistake to believe that satisfaction is allabout getting what we want. In truth, we have all gotten what we want onmany occasions and not been satisfied. The very basis of satisfaction isa value structure, or a set of priorities, around which to live yourlife.
Can you have it all? Any reasonable person knows the answer tothis question is no. It is one of the earliest lessons we learn inchildhood, and yet, most of us as adults can be quite childish at times.
The reason you cannot have it all is not because you are ill equippedfor life, or lack talent, or because you don't have enough money. It issimply because one of the governing principles of the universe dictatesthat there are an infinite number of possibilities for any day, year, orlife -- and every day, year, or life is finite. And so, part of growingto maturity, part of growing up, requires that we recognize and acceptthat we cannot have it all.
Most of us recognize that we cannot have it all, but often wesubconsciously fall back into moments of non-acceptance. We know wecan't have it all but we refuse to accept that. You can see how thiskind of pattern could lead to a great deal of frustration at the veryleast and real insanity if taken to the extreme.
The work-life balance discussion has failed to adequately make clearthat you cannot have it all. Just because we started talking aboutwork-life balance and encouraging it, does not mean that people can allof a sudden have everything. I cannot play tennis and golf at the sametime. The finite nature of a certain period of time requires that Ichoose to play tennis or golf! this af ternoon. I cannot do both at once.We have to choose between many options in deciding what to do on anygiven day or in any given hour.
The other way this idea plays out is that excellence in any fieldrequires that we miss out on other things. If you want to be the besttennis player in the world you are going to have to sacrifice a greatmany other things in order to achieve that. Hopefully you have to decidewith a clear head that the things you are giving up are less importantthan becoming the best tennis player in the world.
Success always hasand always will require sacrifice. If success were easy it would becommon. It is difficult and that is why it is rare. More people have thetalent than you would think. Few are willing to make the sacrificesnecessary. This is an easy example because it is far from us. But let usbring it closer. Make it real and personal.

To be the best marketingexecutive in the world requires sacrifice, to be the best HR contact,the best salesperson, the best manager, the best employee, the bestaccount manager... All require sacrifice, and I am not sure that thework-life balance discussion of the last 20 years has adequately pointedout that excellence in any field requires sacrifice.
And perhaps you have no desire to be the best at what you do. Perhapswork is just work, something you have to do. In that state of mind youwill find it very difficult to experience professional satisfaction, andthat will be sure to have an impact on your personal satisfaction as thetwo are intimately linked. Nonetheless, lets bring the example one stepcloser. Perhaps uncomfortably close.
A mother who works cannot expect to be able to do everything for herchildren that a mother who stays at home does. That does not necessarilymean she is a bad mother or that her children are worse off. But thesimple fact remains that her work will require a certain amount of time,energy, and attention -- all of which canno! t be giv en to both work andher children. She may have plenty of time, energy, and attention for herchildren outside of work. Only she can decide that. But the mother whodoes not work will by simple math have more time, energy, and attentionto give her children. The reality is that a working mother cannot expectto do everything a stay at home mother does. There are trade offs thatneed to be made.
In a way the work-life balance discussion has made us feel that we couldhave it all, and we cannot. Most people don't want to hear this andcertainly our culture tell us incessantly that we can have it all, butthe truth is you can't. You cannot be in two places at one time, youcannot have it all, and so we must choose.
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Cramer Positive on VF Corp (VFC)

Tonight on CNBC’s MAD MONEY, Cramer said that VF Corp (VFC-NYSE) is one of his fallen angels because last week lost 7% on the guidance coming in light after it sold off a low-margin unit is too much.  He did talk to the CEO last week, so this is not exactly a huge mover on his part today.  He said it will grow 8% annually and 5% internationally.  Cramer said it can go back up to where it was easy and the way the company is followed on the street you may see many upgrades on it.  He would be a buyer ahead of the February 6 earnings report.  The stock did trade up 1% to $74.78 after Cramer noted this tonight.

Making a Short Trade

There are some trading issues far more important when shorting a stock, or playing the downside through buying puts, than holding a simple long position in a stock.
* Liquidity: You really should not short, in any form, a stock that is not highly liquid, which means many millions of shares outstanding and hundreds, if not thousands, of put option contracts trading each day at each available strike price.

Without liquidity, you can be right and wrong at the same time — right about the company but stuck in such a way that you cannot quickly liquidate your short position and get the profits you deserve. Liquidity should be a prime consideration when establishing short-side positions.
* Availability: Some stocks are hard to short because their shares are not easily available to borrow, for a variety of reasons. And if you are finding it hard to locate the shares to conduct the transaction, it means there is either a large short position in the stock already or the stock is not held by a large number of individual shareholders, which means it is less liquid than trading statistics may indicate.
* Outstanding Short Position: This is the number of shares of a company held short, measured in absolute numbers, or as a percentage of the float of the stock. If this position is large, more than 10% to 20% of a company’s shares, the word is out — bad news is already incorporated in the stock price. For the most part, I avoid stocks with large short positions, and so should you.
* Cash for Margin Calls: If a stock moves the wrong way (up) and you have shorted the stock outright instead of having bought put options, you are going to need cash to meet margin calls — perhaps daily. This is a nasty situation that ties up your capital, which is why I typically look toward puts or LEAP puts for shorting.
If you enter a short position! , be awa re that things can easily move the wrong way and you will need cash to fund the margin call or else you will have to go into the open market and buy the stock to cover your short position.
* Timing: Timing in life is almost everything (where would I be if I had not been invited to the party where I met my wife?), and the same is true for managing short positions. You should set time horizons for how long it will take a position to pan out and, if it does not, it is time to take some losses and move on.
Unlike long positions, where investors can wait out a slowdown in a stock’s appreciation or a dip in share value, short positions are expensive to maintain and puts are contracts that can expire worthless — the clock is always ticking.
Most good short positions take no more than three months to move in your favor; longer-term shorts, which should always be managed through LEAPS, can run much longer but are less typical than the six- to 12-week position.
How to Cover: Believe it or not, you can end up owning a stock and shorting it if you are not careful with your instructions to your broker. When you call or go online to cover a short position, you must specify that this purchase is to cover the open short position. If you do not, you could end up buying the shares and have them sit in your account and also have an open short position at the same time.
Because short-sellers might find themselves exiting their positions in a hurry, it’s important to take the time to ensure that you issue clear instructions to your broker so that you get out when you want to!
Let’s wrap up: The real issue, of course, is picking the right company that’s going south. But you need to mindful of all of the things I discussed today, and that requires some planning, some preparation, some discipline and some clarity of thought.
You used that on the long side; now, use it make short-side profits, as well.

Private Equity Firms Shovel Millions to Congress: MapLight Analysis

Political Action Committees and individuals connected to private equity and investment firms have given more than $17 million to lawmakers that have been serving since the 109th Congress adjourned in 2006, a report released last week by the nonpartisan political research firm MapLight shows.

From Jan. 1, 2007, to June 30, 2011, Democrats have taken in $10,871,919, while their Republican counterparts received $6,553,793, the report says. Of the Democrats’ total, President Barack Obama accounts for $1,921,490 while his 2008 Republican opponent for the White House, Sen. John McCain, R-Ariz., has accepted $1,246,575.

Mitt Romney, the current GOP presidential candidate front-runner, has been criticized by his rivals for his career in private business. Texas Gov. Rick Perry, Newt Gingrich and Jon Huntsman, who left the race on Monday, laid into Romney on Jan. 9 for his years at Bain Capital, the private-equity firm he ran until the mid-1990s. Both Perry and Gingrich accused Romney of having “looted” companies and firing workers for his own gain.

The accompanying chart reflects analysis conducted by MapLight, which shows contributions from private equity and investment firms to members of Congress. Contribution industry classification provided by OpenSecrets.

Editor's Choice for the Week of December 28, 2009: Paying for Healthcare, and Holiday Sales

The big news last week was the Senate passing the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act, its version of a healthcare reform bill, along strict party lines on Christmas Eve by a vote of 60-39 (Republican Jim Bunning, the baseball Hall of Fame pitcher and lameduck junior senator from Kentucky, had family commitments, of all things, and missed the vote). While both House and Senate are off until the week of January 5, much of the first month of the New Year will be taken up with a conference committee trying to come up with legislation that will pass muster in both chambers and, ideally, not add to your clients' tax burden or the federal deficit.

The Congressional Budget Office on December 19th estimated that if enacted, the legislation would increase to 94% (from 83%) the number of nonelderly Americans covered by some form of health insurance.

On December 23, the CBO director's blog released an estimate on what the Senate bill would mean for Medicare funding; it said the legislation would cut growth in Medicare payments to roughly 6% annually rather than at the 8% clip at which it has been growing.

This last holiday-shortened week of the year will also see reports on retail sales, the Conference Board consumer confidence index, the State Street Investor Confidence Index, the Case-Shiller home price index, and weekly jobless claims.

Boeing Refurbishes 500th Super Hornet Fighter Jet, Makes Plans for Looming Dubai Air Show

There’s a war against the bulls. A reconsideration of the four-month optimism. A regression to the mean. It’s a hiccup. The start of a long campaign of the kinds of dreary losses experienced in 2008. The beginning of the end. The pause that refreshes.
It’s certainly one of them.
The fact is, Wall Street has arrested the campaign of relentless losses that got launched back in March, when the S&P 500 (GSPC)vaulted 40% from its 12 1/2-year lows. Since then, it’s declined 7%. Which doesn’t, frankly, seem like much, given that anybody would anticipatethatthere’d be a retracement off that kind of rally.
Ifthe S&P goes back to 666, which is where it traded at its intraday lows March 6, we’ve got something else to talk about. Between here and the return of the demonic numerology, we’ve got a lot of ground to cover.
Some of which will be determined by the earnings reports that get underway in earnest on Tuesday, when Goldman Sachs (GS)posts its quarter. And there’s some reason for the bulls to be enthused, ifonly about that bank’s numbers. Goldman typically blows through its bogey, thanks to the leverage to its robust trading operations, and in a campaign in which trading – as well as equity underwriting – couldprovide some record-settling ballast, Goldman has a bright chance to surprise to the upside.
Something Meredith Whitney suggested herself on Monday.Whitney, the financial analyst, boosted her firm’s rating on the stock of Goldman, saying that she expected the quarter to come in well ahead of analysts’ forecasts: at$4.65 instead of the $3.48 that has been projected. Shares have risen 4% in premarket.
Investorsalso have kept an eye on shares of CIT Group (CIT). The business lender has struggled with insolvency concerns, and has spoken with regulators about means of improving its liquidity. Shares have declined another 18% in Mond! ay’ ;s premarket.
The biggest issue confronting Wall Street figured to be the challenge to risk appetite, something that’s been sorely lacking in recent sessions, as traders frightened by the downturn in energy prices, and scared by talkof another stimulus package, reflected some worries about lingering economic weakness by heading into safe havens like the Treasuries market and the dollar.

College football gets richer

NEW YORK (CNNMoney) -- Penn State likely will be playing before more empty seats than full ones when it takes the field for its bowl game on Monday -- just one sign of tougher financial times ahead for one of the nation's richest teams.
But big-time college football is likely to only get richer.
Penn State was No. 6 in revenue among college football teams last season, $72.7 million. And it was No. 2 in profit, behind only the University of Texas, with $53.2 million.
But following the child abuse scandal and the firing of iconic coach Joe Paterno, experts said the school could expect to lose millions in sponsorship, ticket and merchandise sales in coming years. Donations from alumni could also be hurt. Moody's put Penn State's debt rating under review for possible downgrade.
The first hit to Penn State's bottom line could come Monday with its appearance in the TicketCity Bowl in Dallas.
Penn State ended up in the game after some late season losses killed its chance of getting into one of the big dollar BCS bowls, and other higher-profile bowl spots reserved for Big 10 schools went to other teams.
Missing out on the bigger bowls won't hurt revenue too much, since the conference shares bowl money pretty much equally among the schools. But in going to a lower-profile bowl game far from home, Penn State was only able to sell about 4,000 of the 6,000 tickets it was allocated for the game, and will have to eat the rest.
Tom Starr, executive director of the bowl, said he doesn't think that the scandal hurt as much as the overall economy, adding that bowl game ticket sales are down nationwide.
"Fans don't have the money to travel to see a game," he said Friday. "And where we also are getting hurt is midlevel corporate sales."
But the bowls aren't the major source of revenue for the 122 teams in the Football Bowl Division. Instead the main dollars come from television rights, and revenue from sponsorships, ticket sales and licensed mercha! ndise.
An analysis by CNNMoney of figures filed by the schools with the Department of Education shows that revenue for the major football programs in the 2010-11 school year was up 5% to $2.7 billion.
Profit growth was a more modest 2%, but that still came to $1.1 billion in profits, for a 41% margin that any pro sports team would kill to have.
Revenue and profits should only grow as the big dollar conferences play a game of musical chairs to grab new schools. When the dust of the reorganization finally settles, the moves are expected to bring in even more revenue, especially from television deals.
Dan Fulks, a professor at Kentucky's Transylvania University who consults for the NCAA, said the additional money isn't going to flow evenly to all schools. It will mean that most of the major football programs are only going to get richer.
"It'll widen the gap between the haves and havenots," he said. "The new TV money is certainly going to help, but it's going to help Ohio State, not Bowling Green."

FedEx Delivers Another Good Quarter

In September, I told you about FedEx's (NYSE: FDX  ) fiscal-first-quarter earnings' growth story. In the second quarter, the company reported a bombastic 76% income growth compared to its previous-year quarter. The world's second-largest packaged delivery company posted better-than-expected results thanks to strong Thanksgiving weekend online sales and a better price/volume mix, sending the shares up after the announcement.
Let's dig deeper.
The quarter
Profits increased to $497 million, a 76% year-over-year rise. The company earned $1.57 per share, beating the Street expectation of $1.53 per share. FedEx also improved its operational margins to 7.4%, from 4.9% last year, helped by fewer flights and frequencies.
Overall sales inched up by 10%, to $10.59 billion. Sales at FedEx's largest business -- FedEx Express -- grew 10% and helped the company push up its revenue. Although international priority daily package volume was lower due to a weaker Asian market, the company still logged higher international priority revenues per package due to higher fuel surcharges, rate per pound, and weight per package.
Shopping and holiday mix
With an increase in online shopping during the Thanksgiving weekend, demand for residential delivery services shot up. The fact that online retailer Amazon.com is expected to have a strong holiday season is certainly good news for shipping companies like FedEx.
Looking beyond the quarter
Despite being hurt by a weak Asian market, FedEx has opened its largest express facility in China. The company sees China as an important market for express offerings as it can account for the bulk of FedEx's future growth. Rival United Parcel Service (NYSE: UPS  ) is also increasing capacity in Asia.
Apart from expanding in Asia, FedEx has been conscious of lowering its c! osts. Th e company is buying 27 new 767-300 freighter planes from Boeing (NYSE: BA  ) to replace its aging MD-10 planes. The new planes will be 30% more fuel-efficient and more reliable. The order is valued at $4.7 billion. This investment will reduce unit operating costs by 20%.
The Foolish bottom line
FedEx posted bright numbers this quarter due to a combination of strong Thanksgiving weekend e-commerce and higher margins. With well-planned investments in Asia and cost-efficient strategies, FedEx looks intriguing. The company expects to earn $1.25 to $1.45 per share this quarter as compared to the Street expectation of $1.31 per share.
FedEx looks to be a solid bet going into 2012, but if you'd like to take a look at the one company our chief investment officer has picked for tremendous growth in 2012, check out The Motley Fool's brand-new report, "The Motley Fool's Top Stock for 2012." It highlights a company that is revolutionizing commerce in Latin America. You can get instant access to the name of this company by?clicking here -- it's free.
Navjot Kaur does not own shares of any of the companies mentioned in this article. The Motley Fool owns shares of FedEx, United Parcel Service, and Amazon.com. Motley Fool newsletter services have recommended buying shares of FedEx and Amazon.com. Try any of our Foolish newsletter services free for 30 days. We Fools may not all hold the same opinions, but we all believe that considering a diverse range of insights makes us better investors. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy.

Amazon: JP Morgan Rebuts Goldman; Sales Set to Beat

JP Morgan analyst Doug Anmuth this afternoon reiterates an overweight rating on shares of Amazon.com (AMZN) in what amounts to a direct response to the somewhat negative remarks this morning by Goldman Sachs’s Heather Bellini.?
Bellini had written that comScore’s estimate of 15% growth this quarter might mean Amazon’s sales would miss expectations if the company turned in only its average upside of 23 percentage points above the that overall growth figure.?
But Anmuth observes that Amazon’s outperformance relative to comScore data has been expanding this year, averaging 33 percentage points in the last three quarters.?
Anmuth believes that means Amazon could deliver at least 32 percentage?points of growth above comScore’s figure, turning in 47% growth. That would put Amazon’s total sales growth ahead of the 44% that Bellini cited as the consensus that Amazon has to beat.?
Anmuth also points out the limits to comScore’s data set:

We note that comScore��s eCommerce data measures just US desktop-based eCommerce, which we believe makes it difficult to draw a conclusion on Amazon’s WW revenue growth. comScore��s eCommerce data excludes sales through mobile phones and tablets, which could represent ~5-10% of US eCommerce (and growing rapidly) in 4Q.

Amazon shares today are down 14 cents at $173.75.?

Cramer’s MAD MONEY Recap From Last Night

On Tuesday night’s MAD MONEY on CNBC , Jim Cramer added two morefavorite stocks to his favorite stocks, and he keyed in on #5 and #3. Monday he said he was doing only 4 picks this week, but he changedand said it would be 5 picks this week.
His #3 best pick out of foreign stocks is Bank of Nova Scotia (BNS) in Canada, he calls it a cheap way to play Latin and Caribbean growth.    His #4 pick in foreign stocks from Monday was CVRD (RIO); here is the logic behind his pick last night; his pick closed up 7% at $32.81 today after he touted it.  His #5 pick was NTL Inc. (NTLI-NASDAQ) as a catch-up play and tied it to Virgin.  Here was his logic on the rest; NTLI traded up 4% after he commented on it.
Cramer said that the IPO today AeroVironment (AVAV) was a sell at $25.00.  He thinks you can buy it back at $22.00 or so.  This was one we noted that seemed to high when it gapped up to $25.00 at the open, but rationale and valuations aren’t what rule IPO’s.
Cramer discussed the Tyco International (TYC) split-upcoming soon, and he thinks it could be worth 10% to 30% more in the break-up.
Cramer also called the CEO of VF Corp (VFC) after the drop today and Cramer defended the stock by saying the reaction was wrong on Wall Street.
Jon C. Ogg
January 23, 2007

Saudi prince purchases $300 million stake in Twitter

NEW YORK (CNNMoney) -- Saudi Prince Alwaleed bin Talal said Monday that he and his investment firm, Kingdom Holding Company, are purchasing a $300 million stake in Twitter.
The billionaire prince said the investment was made after "several months of negotiations" and would represent "a strategic stake" in the microblogging service.
"We believe that social media will fundamentally change the media industry landscape in the coming years. Twitter will capture and monetize this positive trend," KHC executive director of private equity and international investments Ahmed Halawani said in a press release.
The prince's Twitter shares were bought on the secondary market, according to Fortune reporter Dan Primack -- which means that Twitter didn't directly recieve any of the cash.
While it's unclear how much control Alwaleed's investment will provide, the prince's investment firm looks to become long-term investors in its portfolio investments and "seeks to work closely with the management of those companies and participate in strategic decisions," according to its site.
With a reported net worth of $21.3 billion, Prince Alwaleed has topped Arabian Business's Arab Rich list for eight consecutive years.
Alwaleed's investment firm, KHC, owns a 7% stake in News Corporation (NWS) along with a host of high-profile investments, including a 29.9% stake in Saudi Research and Marketing Group. KHC's other investments include CNNMoney parent company Time Warner (TWX, Fortune 500), Apple (AAPL, Fortune 500) and Citigroup (C, Fortune 500). Alwaleed also has plans to launch a privately owned news channel.
The Saudi prince invested in Citigroup in the early 1990s, when the financial services giant was reeling from a capital crunch. Since then, the billionaire has invested in a host of technology and media companies.
A significant stakeholder in News Corp., Alwaleed defended Rubert Murdoch and the company's future this year am! id accus ations that the paper had hacked into the voice mail accounts of thousands of people.
"I interact with News Corp and I see a lot of depth at the management level, and at all levels," he told CNN's Piers Morgan in July.

What's really behind Twitter's staff exodus

The Saudi prince is the latest power player to bet that fast-growing Twitter will transform itself into a profitable business.
In August, the five-year-old social media company raised a "significant" funding round led by venture firm DST Global. The company amended its certificate of incorporation forms to authorize the issuance of up to 25 million new shares, priced at just over $16 per share. That would let the company raise around $400 million in new funding. Multiple reports pegged the company's valuation at $8 billion after the funding round.
With nearly 800 employees -- and around 100 hired in the last month -- Twitter is undergoing a transformation. After management shakeups and an exodus of early employees, the company is bolstering its engineering team and focusing on expanding its reach.
Twitter, along with Facebook, is being closely watched for signs that it may look to file for an initial public offering.
Several social media firms have gone public this year, including LinkedIn (LNKD) and Groupon (GRPN) -- but both stocks cooled after their first day of trading. And last Friday, shares of social gaming company Zynga (ZNGA) fell on their first day.

The Seismic Shift from Value to Growth

While Wall Street is focused on the Federal Reserve and all the talking heads are debating Ben Bernanke’s next move, I have to let you in on a secret—that’s not where the real action is. No, the really big development on Wall Street is the dramatic shift out of value stocks and into growth stocks.
Write this down because it’s going to be the leading market theme for the next several months. Institutional investors have been quietly dumping value stocks and are slowly picking up shares in many major growth stocks. Not only is this a big move, but it’s happening right under the noses of individual investors. Already this year, the Russell 1000 Growth Index is up 12.35%, which is twice as much as the Russell 1000 Value Index—and the gap is about to get much wider.

My money management firm just completed a thorough analysis of the growth and value sectors, and we still see enormous opportunities in growth stocks. Here’s what my analysts and I found: The ratio of the Russell 1000 Growth Index to the Russell 100 Value Index is at its lowest point in nearly 30 years. This tells us that despite growth’s rally this year, it’s still significantly lagged the market this cycle.
Not all growth stocks are created equal. It’s a big mistake for you to put all of your eggs in one growth basket. Our research has found that large-cap stocks are outperforming all other size sectors of the market. The market-cap phenomenon has been very dramatic through the first eight months of this year
My research team and I ranked every stock by market cap, and we then examined its one-month return. We found that the largest stocks have significantly outperformed smaller stocks on a year-to-date basis.
What’s causing this to happen? Well, for one, it’s very likely that the weak dollar combined with a strong institutional bias toward mega-caps and multinationals is accelerating t! his tren d.
We also looked at each stock’s price/earnings ratio compared with its projected earnings growth rate. This is also known as the PEG ratio. We did this for the entire universe of stocks. We then divided the market into ten groups ranked by market size. We found that the stocks in the largest market cap group had the lowest PEG ratio (meaning these are the best values). So even though large-cap stocks have had a good run, they still appear cheap relative to all other market cap ranges.
I’ll give you a great example of a large-cap growth stock that’s benefiting from the current market, especially the weak dollar. That stock is Monsanto (MON). The St. Louis-based company is one of the world’s leading multinational agriculture biotech stocks, and Monsanto loves the weaker dollar. As you might imagine, the company’s business is booming. By my estimate, earnings-per-share will be up about 50% this year.
The good news is that I don’t see Monsanto slowing down anytime soon. In fact, yesterday Monsanto predicted that it could triple the amount of farming acres planted worldwide with its genetically engineered seeds. Think about that!
According to the Biotechnology Industry Organization, biotech crop acreage increased 13% between 2005 and 2006. href="http://www.businessweek.com/ap/financialnews/D8RTHQK04.htm" target="_blank">Business Week notes:

Begemann said Brazil will be a hot spot for sales growth after Monsanto’s purchase of the Agroeste seed company. The acquisition boosts Monsanto’s market share in Brazil to 40 percent. That will give Monsanto the outlets it needs to introduce new strains of crops like YieldGard Corn Borer, he said.
Monsanto has increasingly invested in “advanced breeding” techniques to develop new crops without genetic engineering. Instead, the company uses gene markers and advanced computers to rapidly breed plants with desirable traits.
Subscribers to my Blue Chip Growth service have nearly tripled their money in Monsanto. Don’t think you arrived too late to the party. I currently rate Monsanto a strong buy for conservative investors up to $79 a share.
Another large-cap growth stock I favor in Blue Chip Growth is McDonald’s (MCD). This one may come as a shock to you because McDonald’s business hasn’t been very strong in the United States, but that’s not where the growth is coming. Instead, McDonald’s is incredibly popular overseas. Just like Monsanto, McDonald’s thrives in a weak-dollar environment.
McDonald’s also has another company in its sights—Starbucks. Believe it or not, some folks like the taste of McDonald’s coffee better than Starbucks’! For the past few weeks, analysts have been revising MCD’s earnings estimate higher. The consensus now sees earnings coming in at $3.05 a share. Personally, I think that might be too low since the weak dollar gives such a boost to shares of MCD. I rate McDonald’s a strong buy up to $59 a share.
My advice is to take full advantage of the market’s shift to growth stocks. This will be a major theme in 2008.
Next week is the first week of the fourth quarter. Soon the market will get a chance to digest third-quarter earnings reports. We’ll also get some initial guidance on how well the fourth quarter is shaping up. Until then, take advantage of Wall Street’s seismic shift to growth stocks.
2007 has been a fantastic year for href="/order/?pc=8UX113" target="_blank">Blue Chip Growth subscribers – look at a few of the gains we’ve locked in this year: Brookfield Asset +147%; Nucor Corp +37%; BG Group +114%; Suncor Energy +195%; Celgene +39%; PetroChina +42%; Cameco +118%; Transocean +56%.  Plus, we have many more winners just like Monsanto (triplers and doublers) still on our list.  Want the names of more winning s! tocks? T ry Blue Chip Growth risk free for 6 months!

2007 has been a fantastic year for Blue Chip Growth subscribers – look at a few of the gains we’ve locked in this year: Brookfield Asset +147%; Nucor Corp +37%; BG Group +114%; Suncor Energy +195%; Celgene +39%; PetroChina +42%; Cameco +118%; Transocean +56%.  Plus, we have many more winners just like Monsanto (triplers and doublers) still on our list.  Want the names of more winning stocks? Try Blue Chip Growth risk free for 6 months!
And don’t miss Navellier’s new book, The Little Book That Makes You Rich. It’s a steal for less than $20!

AGL Resources Inc recently showed an Exceptional Trade - NYSE:AGL

AGL Resources Inc (NYSE:AGL) witnessed volume of 22.91 million shares during last trade however it holds an average trading capacity of 637,924 shares. AGL last trade opened at $39.38 reached intraday low of $38.40 and went +0.96% up to close at $39.76.
AGL has a market capitalization $3.12 billion and an enterprise value at $5.65 billion. Trailing twelve months price to sales ratio of the stock was 1.40 while price to book ratio in most recent quarter was 1.66. In profitability ratios, net profit margin in past twelve months appeared at 9.17% whereas operating profit margin for the same period at 20.74%.
The company made a return on asset of 4.00% in past twelve months and return on equity of 11.85% for similar period. In the period of trailing 12 months it generated revenue amounted to $2.21 billion gaining $28.43 revenue per share. Its year over year, quarterly growth of revenue was -14.70%.
According to preceding quarter balance sheet results, the company had $165.00 million cash in hand making cash per share at 2.10. The total of $2.70 billion debt was there putting a total debt to equity ratio 143.75. Moreover its current ratio according to same quarter results was 1.58 and book value per share was 23.68.
Looking at the trading information, the stock price history displayed that its S&P500 52 Week Change illustrated -0.41% where the stock current price exhibited down beat from its 50 day moving average price of $40.84 and remained below from its 200 Day Moving Average price of $40.39.
AGL holds 78.55 million outstanding shares with 78.15 million floating shares where insider possessed 0.58% and institutions kept 62.80%.

Market Dives Lower; Dow Drops More Than 200 Points

The stock market slid steadily throughout the morning, and had dropped more than 200 points by the early afternoon, as investors digested a dire warning from Moody’s about European sovereign debt, and the financial and energy sectors registered large losses.
Moody’s appeared unconvinced that Europe could solve its debt problems, and said it will reevaluate ratings at the beginning of next year. European indexes ended the day sharply lower, with the German DAX down 3.4%.
In the U.S., financial, energy and materials stocks were taking a large hit in afternoon trading. The Dow was recently down 238 points, or about 2%. Bank of America (BAC) fell 5%. Coal and oil service stocks tumbled, with Alpha Natural Resources (ANR) falling 12% and Halliburton (HAL) falling 6%.

(ABH, GBLHF, NVE, MS) Noticeable Stock by DrStockPick.com

AbitibiBowater Inc. (NYSE:ABH) plans to issue its third quarter financial results on October 31, 2011, in a press release to be issued at approximately 8:00 a.m. (ET). The Company will then hold a conference call to discuss those results at 9:00 a.m. (ET). The public is invited to join the call at 866 696-5910 (pass code 1038311) at least fifteen minutes before its scheduled start time.
AbitibiBowater Inc., a forest products company, manufactures and sells newsprint, coated mechanical and specialty papers, market pulp, and wood products.
Global Hunter (GBLHF.PK)
Copper was the first mineral that man extracted from the earth and as the ages and technology progressed the uses for copper increased. Copper has been in use at least 10,000 years, but more than 95% of all copper ever mined and smelted has been extracted since 1900.
Copper is an excellent conductor of electricity, as such one of its main industrial usage is for the production of cable, wire and electrical products for both the electrical and building industries.
Global Hunter’s focus is on strategic and base metals, with an advanced stage copper oxide project in Chile and a highly prospective molybdenum property in British Columbia, Canada. GBLHF teams are working on developing the Corona de Cobre property in Chile and the Rabbit south property in British Columbia.
Global Hunter Corp. (GBLHF.PK) is pleased to announce initial assay results from its previously announced surface sampling program. The results are encouraging with new gold showings as well as very positive copper oxide assays over wide-spread areas.
Highlights of the entire program
9 mineralized shear and/or alteration zones sampled total of 13.5 kilometers of strike ! length a long know copper bearing shear and alteration zones tested with 205 rock chip samples
Good grades of soluble copper (oxide) over a significantly large area have been identified, however they represent only about 50% of the total copper grade indicating a mixed oxide-sulphide zone. Numerous iron oxide structures have also been mapped but no iron assays have been received to date.
The Company is planning to re-assay samples for iron to determine if iron is present in significant quantities to represent another target.
For more information http://www.globalhunter.ca/homeabout.html
NV Energy, Inc. (NYSE:NVE) announced that it will redeem all of its outstanding 6 3/4% Senior Notes due 2017 (the “6 3/4% Notes”), totaling $191,500,000 in principal amount, on November 7, 2011 (the “Redemption Date”). Upon such redemption, there will not be any 6 3/4% Notes outstanding. The 6 3/4% Notes will be redeemed at a redemption price of 102.250% of the principal amount (the “Redemption Price”), plus accrued and unpaid interest up to but not including November 7, 2011.
NV Energy, Inc., through its subsidiaries, generates, transmits, and distributes electric energy in Nevada.
Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) plans to announce its third quarter 2011 financial results on Wednesday, October 19, 2011 at approximately 7:15 a.m. (ET). A conference call to discuss the results will be held on Wednesday, October 19, 2011 at 10:00 a.m. (ET).
Morgan Stanley, a financial holding company, provides various financial products and services to corporations, governments, financial institutions, and individuals worldwide. It operates in three segments: Institutional Securities, Global Wealth Management Group, and Asset Management.