Penny Stocks, OTC Stocks, Stocks Alert Newsletter by OTCPicks - Penny Stocks, OTC Stocks, Stocks Alert Newsletter by OTCPicks

ITALY SOLD BONDS AT RECORD HIGH

Thu, 03 Nov 2011 01:31:21 +0000

Despite the deal contained the Eurozone debt crisis, Italy's cost of borrowing has a record high. On Friday, at an auction Italy paid 6.06% to borrow for 10 years since the euro was created in 1999. The rate edged over 5.86% which was the previous record high-at its last auction a month back. the auction emerged as stock markets were not successful to foolow up on their global rally on Thursday, with shares in many European banks narrowing.

An interest rate of 6% and more adds to unsustainablity. The Italian Treasury too failed to live up to its borrowing target, having hoped to sell as much as 8.5bn euros ($12.1bn, £7.5bn) of bonds. They could manage to sell only 7.9bn euros of the 10-year benchmark debt.

Amidst flat growth, Italy has the highest total debt in the eurozone. However it has benefits, as most of its debts are owed to its own people rather than outside investors. after the auction results were announced losses on the Italian stock market sparked. On Thursday, eurozone leaders agreed to expand the single currency's bailout fund to 1tn euros, and to take measures to recapitalise banks. To protect themselves against losses resulting from any future blunders banks must raise more capital, as per the terms of the Brussels deal thrashed out by EU. At the same hour some banks accepted a loss of 50% on their Greek debt.

"The best we can say is that the EU have engineered a temporary reprieve but there is no guarantee of a final resolution to the crisis," said Neil MacKinnon of VTB Capital.

SAMSUNG TAKES AN EDGE OVER APPLE

Fri, 28 Oct 2011 18:07:06 +0000

Samsung Electronics co beats Apple Inc to become world's top smartphone maker in July-September period. Research shows that Samsung sold 27.8 million smartphones in the three month period, compared with 17.1 million from Apple and 16.8 million from Nokia. It was also reported that Apple's growth was crippled by customers waiting for the launch of iPhone 4s.

Samsung only entered the smartphone market in earnest last year, but its sales have catapulted. All to a sleek production system that rapidly brings new products to market. Apple introduced its first iPhone in 2007. Nokia was the top handset seller with a 27.3% market share, followed by Samsung with 22.6% and LG with 5.4%. Shipments of smartphones jumped 44 percent from the preceding quarter to 27.8 million units, up nearly four times from a year ago, according to research firm Strategy Analytics.

The report came immediately after the release of Samsung's third-quarter results, which depicted profits going down 23% as strong growth in its mobile phone business was overshadowed by a poor performance in the memory chip arm.

Handset profits more than doubled to 2.52tn won ($2.3bn; £1.4bn) on strong sales from its Galaxy smartphones.

"Samsung's rise has been driven by a blend of elegant hardware designs, popular Android services, memorable sub-brands and extensive global distribution," said Alex Spektor from Strategy Analytics. Shipments of smartphones jumped 44 percent from the preceding quarter to 27.8 million units, up nearly four times from a year ago, according to research firm Strategy Analytics.

"Samsung has demonstrated that it is possible, at least in the short duration, to differentiate and grow by using the Android ecosystem."

Nokia's market share for smartphones narrowed from 33% in third quarter to 14% this time round. Yet the recent launch of the new Microsoft Lumia portfolio has helped to raise Nokia's profile.

BP EDGES SALES AS THIRD QUARTER PROFITS SURGES

Wed, 26 Oct 2011 06:51:00 +0000

BP's Chief Executive officer Bob Dudley boosted the company's target for asset sales, after the oil giant reported a surge in profit for the third quarter. BP says it has reached " a turning point" for its oil and gas production and operations. On BP's third quarter profits of $5.14bn (ú3.2bn), almost thrice of the $1.85bn replacement cost profit it made in the same period a year ago, Bob Dudley said in a preview of a presentation to the financial community that operations were "regaining momentum" and the firm had "greater confidence".

BP's profits and reputation were badly edged by last year's Gulf Mexico Oil spill. BP also plans to extend its asset selling programme to $40bn, with current programme being $30bn. To pay for the clean-up operation in the Gulf of Mexico and to compensate victims, it had decided to sell non core assests. BP's profits were boosted by higher oil prices, with Brent crude currently trading at $110 a barrel, compared with $84 a barrel in October 2010. This helped in lowering production levels. Due to the cessation of production in the Gulf, Oil production in the July to September period lowered by 12% on the same quarter last year to 3.3m barrels per day.

The company, which went on an asset sale spree following the Gulf of Mexico oil spill, said disposal proceeds, including deposits received in the period, were $2.1 billion for the third quarter. Even allowing for the businesses BP is selling, production fell by 8%, but the company said it expected output to pick up in the fourth quarter.

Dudley added "The past year has been unprecedented in its challenges, and BP has responded well". "We have laid firm foundations for the future - in safety, in our organisation and in developing new growth opportunities. "As our extended turnaround programme moves towards completion we are seeing production return, particularly from Angola, the UK North Sea and the US Gulf of Mexico, where we produce our higher-value barrels."

Oracle Buys RightNow Technologies for $1.5 Billion in a move that will expand the software giant’s footprint in the cloud

Tue, 25 Oct 2011 06:49:00 +0000

Oracle has bought online customer service company RightNow Technologies, a producer of cloud CRM and customer support applications, for $1.5 billion.

Oracle offered to pay $43 a share for RightNow, which is about 20 percent more than the company’s closing price on Oct 21st. The deal is expected to close later this year or early 2012.

Oracle is interested in RightNow mainly because of its multi-channel customer support capabilities that work across call centers, social networks and the world-wide-web.

The acquisition, Oracle’s largest since its $7.4 billion takeover of Sun Microsystems in 2010, is part of a larger push by the company to build out its cloud-based software services called the Oracle Public Cloud, which delivers software on the internet via cloud computing. The cloud is becoming increasingly important to Oracle.

“RightNow's leading customer service cloud is a very important addition to Oracle's Public Cloud. The acquisition will allow Oracle to have superior customer experience at every contact and across every channel” Redwood City, California-based Oracle said in the statement.

Oracle's purchase of RightNow will also make it a "more direct competitor and formidable threat to SalesForce.com's service cloud offering", said analyst Brad Reback from Oppenheimer.

Monday, Oracle shares surged by 75 cents, or by 2.3%, to $32.87 as of 4.pm trading on the Nasdaq where as RightNow shares gained by $6.98, or by 19%, to $42.94.

Earlier this year, Oracle’s CEO, Lawrence J. Ellison, announced that he was restraining his finances and looking into organic growth by focusing on smaller deals and building on its existing products. Even though the company has made a number of acquisitions this year, it has focused on smaller, privately held firms.

GOOGLE CONSIDERS BID TO BUY YAHOO, ACCORDING TO REPORTS

Mon, 24 Oct 2011 06:50:00 +0000

The technology giant is in talks with several private equity firms for a piece of the troubled rival Yahoo. Google is exploring the possibility of lending financial support to private equity firms interested in buying Yahoo Inc's core business, according to a report by The Wall Street Journal.

Citing an unidentified source close to the situation, the paper reported that Google and prospective partners have held early-stage discussions, but haven't put together a formal proposal.

The source added that Google might end up not pursuing a bid. It is unclear which private-equity firms the internet search company has talked to. Google representatives were unavailable to comment on the matter.

Any involvement by Google in a Yahoo acquisition is likely to draw antitrust scrutiny from regulators, because of both companies' shares in the Internet search business.

Google is primarily interested in what they could reap from teaming up with Yahoo, which is selling some advertising across Yahoo's website.

Microsoft is another player that has shown interest in providing financial assistance to a private equity firm in a bid for a part of Yahoo.

Yahoo has been in trouble since the sacking of its former CEO Carol Bartz earlier in September this year. The company is weighing strategic options with the help of the investment banking firm Allen & Co and has reportedly hired the executive search firm Heidrick & Struggles in search for a new CEO.

Silver Lake Partners, Providence Equity Partners, Bain Capital, Hellman & Friedman, Blackstone Group, and KKR are among the several private equity firms that are said to be considering buyout offers for Yahoo.

Sales boost up, Nestle lifts full year outlook

Fri, 21 Oct 2011 21:29:00 +0000

Nestle SA, the world’s biggest food company, raised its 2011 sales estimate after nine month revenue rose better than expected pace. From January to September primary sales rose 7.3% a year ago which helped by higher prices and strong demand in emerging markets. Revenue on an akin basis will “slightly” thump a long-term target of 5 percent to 6 percent this year reported Nestle. Nestle's brands include Nescafe, KitKat and Perrier water le.

“Nestle is finally feeling the pinch of deteriorating consumer sentiment in the U.S.,” said Marco Gulpers, an analyst at ING Financial Markets.

Over first nine months, sales in Europe raised by 3.8% and in America rose by 5.6%. With sales in Asia, Oceania and Africa edging by robust growth of 11.7%, these emerging markets saw double digit growth.

Commodity prices will probably remain high, though price increases may be more “normal” going forward, Chief Executive Officer Paul Bulcke said.

"In a tough environment, we continued to build our capabilities and positions for the future while maintaining strong growth across regions and categories” said CEO Bulcke.

Perry leads among the Republican Presidential candidates in Cash leads

Mon, 17 Oct 2011 21:27:00 +0000

Mitt Romney has raised $14m (£9m) for his campaign in the third quarter to finance his run for the 2012 Republican presidential nomination, close to the $17m raised by Texas Governor Rick Perry. Though both have around $15m cash in hand, but their fundraising totals for the third quarter were dwarfed by President Barack Obama's $70m in the same period. These figures don’t include funds edged by interest groups. Among the Republicans seeking resources in the months leading up to the first salvos in the primary campaign, Mr Romney and Mr Perry have the largest war chests in New Hampshire and lowa. The fund will be needed to shell out staff, travel and advertising costs as the movement hauls on.

On Contrary, Mr Huntsman, the former governor of Utah, reported donations of just $4m, and has only $300,000 cash in the bank. Recently he congested his campaign office in Florida and refocused his endeavors in New Hampshire. Friday showed that he would stay away from emerging debate in Nevada and persist to campaign in New Hampshire. One day before the cut-off date to detail donations up unto 30^th September Michele Bachmann’s campaign has been unable to dispose third party quarter report. Though the New York Times reported that she told supporters that she had about 92,000 individual donations during the period averaging $42.

This would put her third quarter fundraising at a level around $4m which is similar to the level of Mr Huntsman. Candidates are suppose to file with the Federal Election Commission by 15 October.

Profits fall, Philips to blade 4500 jobs

Sat, 15 Oct 2011 21:25:00 +0000

Philips, the Dutch electronics group, will slice 4500 jobs as third quarter earnings fell and the result for its product persists to be vague. It announced that the fall is because of lower margins, falling sales and a loss at its TV division. Its group-wide net profit for the three months to 30 September was 74m euros ($103m; £65m), compared with 524m euros a year back. In past seven months Philips has been issued two profit warnings.

The slim down comes in the middle of slumped consumer confidence in Europe and the US which are two of Philips hub markets. Its share price has also plunged 40% over the last year as the company fights with lower-cost Asian rivals. Philips quarterly revenues were declined by 1.3%.

Philips employs 116,000 people across the world, including 2,200 in the UK. "We do not expect to realize a material performance improvement in the near term," said Philips chief executive Frans van Houten. Philips UK offices hail in Guildford, Surrey; Hamilton, South Lanarkshire; and Chichester, West Sussex. Of 4500 job layoffs 1400 would account to Netherlands. Whereas the balance has yet to be announced. Mr van Houten said the job cuts were "a regrettable but inevitable step to improve our operating model to become more agile, lean and competitive".

Further Philips added that the discussions with Hong Kong based TPV technology over the sale of a 70% majority stake in its television business was taking too long.

US SALES BOOST UP BY 1.1 PER CENT

Fri, 14 Oct 2011 21:19:00 +0000

US consumers rose their spending on retail goods at more than expected rate in September, with a hopeful sign of slothful economy. The sales went up by 1.1% over the last month. The consumer spending was more on autos, clothing and furniture. It was the largest gain in seven months as per the US Department of Commerce. Auto sales rose 3.6 percent to account the overall September increase. Still, excluding that category, sales increased a firm 0.6 percent. On contrary no all sectors gave positive figures. Grocery stores recorded a 0.3% monthly drop in sales. Sporting goods, hobby, book and music stores reported a similar fall.

"Retail sales may have received some boost following Hurricane Irene but this appears to be a solid report," said Ryan Sweet at Moody's Analytics

"All told, real spending will rise in September, which sets us up well for growth this quarter."

Though economy being at the risk of recession, stronger spending could help consumer to tamp down concerns. Consumer spending is closely watched because it accounts for 70 percent of economic activity. With 20^th consecutive month when stockpiles have risen, reports also show that US business inventories increased by 0.5%. This augment is boosting up the confidence as it suggests companies expected demand will continue to improve. US inventories totaled $1.54 tn the month, which counts nearly 17% higher than their September 2009 percentage.

Paul Dales cautioned that weak hiring will likely prevent consumers from spending at this rate on a month-to-month basis.

Europe fears the growth of China

Fri, 14 Oct 2011 01:28:03 +0000

The markets have been choppy over the week. With fears of US recession still hanging strong and worries of possible Euro Debt concerns and fresh trouble in the Middle East the markets could face troubled times in the near future.

In Europe, Italy has assured investors that the country is planning to bring in as series of austerity measures that could ease the debt fears. The yield on the Italian bonds have jumped up by 5.4% amid wider turmoil, this despite purchases of the bonds by the European Central Bank. Buying bonds supports prices and can take pressure of cash-strapped governments amid a market selloff. Meanwhile, G7 chiefs have vowed to support banks and help the slowing economy gain some momentum. Germany moved towards insulating their banks from possible fallout amid the Greece crisis by assuring funds inflow into the system. French Finance Minister Francois Baroin said today the Group of Eight countries will increase to $38 billion aid for Egypt, Tunisia, Morocco and Jordan following political turmoil earlier this year.

In the UK the inflation has increased considerably over the month adding more worries to the consumers. The situation is expected to worsen in the coming months. Inflation is currently at 4.5pc.

China has provided some positive news for the markets. The country trade growth accelerated despite weakening global demand. Export growth for the world's second-largest economy grew to 24.5 percent from July's 20.4 percent, while imports surged to 30.2 percent, up from July's 22.9 percent. This growth has been primarily because the country has been able to find new trade avenues in the African continent and not focus only on European shores as high debt and unemployment has affected consumer confidence in the US and Europe.

China’s big banks shares surged

Thu, 06 Oct 2011 01:45:00 +0000

China’s big banks shares elevated after the country’s sovereign wealth fund announced it was lifting its stake in them. The conjugal arm of China Investment Corporation, Central Huijiin, bought shares in four major banks on Monday, reported the official Xinhua news agency. Since the global financial crisis in 2008 this is the first share purchase. The main intend of this share rise was to enhance the confidence shaken by foreign markets and domestic policy. Shares in Agricultural Bank of China edged more than 12% on Hong Kong's main index, whereas Industrial and Commercial Bank of China rose 7% in early trade.

Victor Wang from Macquarie Securities said "They're showing confidence in the banks, and support from the central government,"

As per Financial Times Chinese banks shares have fallen 30% in recent months.

Though Chinese growth persists to show strength, analysts report investors are worried about the euro zone debt crisis and a slowdown in the US economy.

Details of the move by Central Huijin were given by four Chinese leaders later. Agricultural Bank of China, Industrial and Commercial Bank of China, China Construction Bank Corporation and Bank of China said 39.1 million, 14.6 million, 7.4 million and 3.5 million of their Shanghai-listed shares were bought on Monday

The figures only amount to a small boost in the stake held by Central Huijiin in the banks, which is by now the largest shareholder in the country’s big lenders. It also added in a report to the Hong Kong stock Exchange that it will keep on amplifying its holdings in the four banks over the next year

China’s big banks shares surged

Tue, 04 Oct 2011 17:19:00 +0000

Victor Wang from Macquarie Securities said "They're showing confidence in the banks, and support from the central government,"

As per Financial Times Chinese banks shares have fallen 30% in recent months.

Though Chinese growth persists to show strength, analysts report investors are worried about the euro zone debt crisis and a slowdown in the US economy.

Nobel Prize Economics shared by two US academics

Mon, 03 Oct 2011 17:17:00 +0000

Nobel Prize Economics for 2011 is been shared by two US academics Thomas Sargent and Christopher Sims.

The two conducted separately in the 1970s were efforts to model and quantify cause and effect in macroeconomics. Their study laid emphasis on how economic policy such as raising interest rates or cutting taxes affects microeconomic variables such as GDP and Inflation.

The award's official name is the Sveriges Riksbank Prize in Economic Sciences in Memory of Alfred Nobel. The five main prizes are in physics, chemistry, medicine, literature and peace. Thomas Sargent, 68, is a professor of economics at New York University.

The academy pointed to his work examining the post-World War II era, when many countries initially tended to implement a high-inflation policy, but eventually introduced systematic changes in economic policy and reverted to a lower inflation rate.

Sims, also 68 and now at Princeton, said of the world's present financial troubles: "If I had a simple answer to that I would have been spreading it around the world ... It requires a lot of slow work looking at data, unfortunately."

He urbanized a method based on “vector auto regression” to analyze how the economy copes up with the temporary changes in economic policy and other aspects like the effects of an increase in the interest rate set by a central bank.

Prof Sims said: "The methods that I have used and that Tom has developed are essential to finding our way out of this mess."

Peter Diamond, Dale Mortensen and Christopher Pissarides won the 2010 prize for their work on how regulation and policy affects jobs and wages.

California’s Dream Act passed

Sun, 02 Oct 2011 17:16:00 +0000

Jerry Brown, California State Governor has signed a bill allowing undocumented immigrants access to state funded college. The supporters of the measure “California Dream Act”, as it is known, say that it is going to prove beneficial for state economically. On contrary critics say that it ignores entry into the US without proper documentation. Governor Jerry Brown, a veteran Democrat, said the law would benefit the state and "the lives of all of us".

Critics also add that with a huge immigrant population this law encourages the illegal immigration by granting right to use the state resources previously reserved for legal residents.

Opponents of the California Dream Act have argued that public funds should not be used to help migrants who enter the country illegally, especially as California faces deep budget woes that have prompted cuts in education and higher tuition at the state's public colleges and universities.

The federal DREAM Act would give a six-year resident's permit to high school graduates who came to USA illegally, and let them pay the much cheaper residents' tuition rates or obtain a scholarship to attend a US university

The Republican Arnold Schwarzenegger, California’s last governor refused to sign the legislation.

US senate delays voting on Chinese currency Bill

Sat, 01 Oct 2011 17:15:00 +0000

Amidst the differences between the Republicans and Democrats, the US senate has adjourned its vote on the much-debated currency bill until next week. The bill would help imposing penalties on goods from Countries which keep their currencies intimately low. To gear up exports politicians and some business groups have accused China of using its policy of limiting the Yuan’s value.

"I think China needs to carefully think about and process the substance of what people are saying here on the floor of the United States Senate," said John Kerry, chairman of the Democratic Senate Foreign Relations Committee.

Despite the slowdown in the US economy, currency policy of China grabs all attention. President Barack Obama said "China has been very aggressive in gaming the trading system to its advantage and to the disadvantage of other countries, particularly the United States".

"It is indisputable that they [China] intervene heavily in the currency markets and that the RMB [yuan], their currency, is lower than it probably would be if they weren't making all those purchases in the currency markets."

The undervaluation of Yuan has not only proved unfairly advantageous to Chinese exporters, but it has also added to the payoff situation in the US., said the politicians and policy makers.

Mr Schumer added that if no action was taken against China's policies the US "may never recover as a country. This is serious stuff".

Mr Obama, however warned to maintain vigilance to solve the matter. He said, "My main concern and I've expressed this to Senator Schumer, is whatever tools we put in place, let's make sure that these are tools that can actually work, that they're consistent with our international treaties and obligations."

Additionally some politicians report that the bill may harm rather than benfit the US economy.

Bruce Josten of the US Chamber of Commerce wrote to the Senators earlier this week.

"Unilateral action by the United States will only serve to increase trade tensions and negatively impact the US economic recovery during this fragile period in the global economy,"