Trader Talk
- Stocks Lurking Near New Highs Again
- Risk Trade Is Back On
- This Week's Biggest Story: The Dollar
- Corporate Issuance Continues at Torrid Pace
- The Bernanke Dollar Bounce & Gross Says Forget About Rate Hike
- Colgate Really Sparkles After Hours
- Light Volume Has Traders Complaining
- Gold Shatters Another Record
- Have Retailers Reached Their Limits?
- The Retail Mind Game
TRADER TALK RSS FEED
MOST SHARED
- No Thanksgiving Rest for Retailers in Sales Race
- US Markets Bracing for Selloff On Worries About Dubai's Debt
- Attraction of Switzerland to Businesses
- More Asia Executives Resigned to Economy Flights: Survey
- Banks Play Down Dubai Exposure, Investors Still Wary
- UK's Darling to Downgrade 2009 Growth Forecast
- Dubai Debt Delays Revive Fear of Financial Crisis
- ING Prices Share Issue at Hefty Discount
- 4 Thanksgiving Week Buys For Your Portfolio: Market Pros
- There's a 'Great Chance' For a Double-Dip Recession: Strategist
- Revenge of the Gangsta Nerds
- Will TCU See The "Flutie Effect?"
- Retail Earnings and Sales to Improve in Q4: Analyst
- Consumers Catching the Holiday Spirit
- It's Beginning To Look A Lot More Riskless
- Crescenzi: Claims Level Suggests End to Job Losses
- Hedge Funds Take Early Lead in Warren Buffett's 'Big Bet'
- Car Insurance Scofflaws Raise Health Reform Doubt
- Rush Starts as Holiday Shopping Season Revs Up
- US Markets Bracing for Selloff on Dubai Debt Worries
- US Dollar Falls to 14-Year Low Against the Yen
- ING Prices Share Issue at Hefty Discount
- UK's Darling to Downgrade 2009 Growth Forecast
- Tommy Hilfiger's Estate in Conn. Sells for $20 Million
- Cheap Robotic Hamsters Are Holiday's Unlikely Craze
- Fannie Mae to Tighten Lending Standards: Report
Text Size 
CNBC Reporter
S&P futures up pre-open on two drivers: 1) new lows for the dollar and 2) strong Chinese economic numbers.
1) Several Fed officials yesterday (including Dallas Fed President Fisher last night) talked about either the lack of inflation or implied that monetary policy will remain easy for some time. Predictably, the Dollar Index is hitting new lows, commodities and commodity stocks are again up.
2) These days, we watch Chinese Industrial Production as closely as U.S. Industrial Production...the Chinese October IP was up 16.1 percent (a 19-month high), though a separate statistic showed investment and loan growth had slowed. Japanese Machine Orders were also up over 10 percent.
Elsewhere:
1) Several technicians wrote to say that 10,330 on the Dow is a good target to shoot for (we closed yesterday at 10,246). That 10,330 level would mark the 50 percent retracement of the previous selloff from the October 2007 high (14,198) through the March 2009 low (6,469).
2) Macy's [M
Loading...
()
] down 4 percent pre-open, reported a loss for the fourth quarter that was not as great as expected, but fourth quarter guidance of $1.00-$1.05 is below consensus of $1.17, even though comp store guidance was a bit better than expected. Revenues down 4 percent, same store sales down 7.5 percent.
3) UPS [UPS
Loading...
()
] CEO Scott Davis told Reuters volumes will turn positive next year as the economy improves, and that he will increase shipping prices as well. Fedex also announced that they would increase prices earlier.
4) Toll Brothers [TOL
Loading...
()
] is up 10 percent pre-open after reporting strong preliminary Q4 results. A string of good news: the homebuilder's signed contracts were up 42 percent from last year and even 17 percent above levels from two years ago. Its cancellation rate was also back to "pre-downturn historical averages," coming in at 6.9 percent in the quarter. While the number of home deliveries still fell 20 percent, that was better than the company had previously forecasted.
Despite the good Q4 results, the builder sees further improvement happening "slowly and through choppy waters" as demand continues to be "volatile" due to continued high unemployment and ongoing economic concerns.
5) We knew you were making a lot of money, but...Barrick Gold [ABX
Loading...
()
] CFO told Reuters that he sees the
potential for record margins in the fourth quarter, as gold prices hit new peaks and costs are stable or lower.
6) Fast-food chain CKE Restaurants [CKR
Loading...
()
] saw its same-store sales decline accelerate as they slumped 5.3 percent in October. Burger price wars and broader economic woes continued to weigh on its operations.
Business at its West coast chain Carl's Jr. was particularly weak, with same-store sales dropping 7.0 percent. Out in the Midwest and Southeast, same-store sales at its Hardee's chain fell a more moderate, but still discouraging, 3.4 percent.
7) Meat producer Tyson [TSN
Loading...
()
] is lowered to "neutral" from "overweight" by JPMorgan on a valuation call. Analyst Ken Goldman also cites concerns over rising corn and hog prices and increased supply from competitor Sanderson Farms [SAFM
Loading...
()
] as reasons for the downgrade.
_____________________________
_____________________________
Questions? Comments?
POPULAR TRADER TALK POSTS
- Stocks Lurking Near New Highs Again
- Risk Trade Is Back On
- This Week's Biggest Story: The Dollar
- Corporate Issuance Continues at Torrid Pace
- The Bernanke Dollar Bounce & Gross Says Forget About Rate Hike
- Colgate Really Sparkles After Hours
- Light Volume Has Traders Complaining
- Gold Shatters Another Record
- Have Retailers Reached Their Limits?
- The Retail Mind Game
Data is a real-time snapshot *Data is delayed at least 15 minutes