Robert Hum's Market Musings
- Solid gains to start the month
- Dow closes at 4-year high
- 7 Dow stocks close at new highs
- Dow, S&P up on the first day of month for each of past 5 months
What Wall Street Is Talking About Tonight
CHESAPEAKE ENERGY SURPRISES WITH 1Q LOSS/WSJ – Paul Vigna: “Chesapeake Energy posted a first-quarter loss of 11 cents a share, or $71 million. That’s going to be a surprise to most people, since Street consensus was for earnings of 30 cents a share. … Not surprisingly, Chesapeake didn’t address the news that Aubrey McClendon was stepping down from the chairman post; it was an earnings report, after all. A conference call is set for 9 a.m. Wednesday. The open chairman post is sure to be a topic of discussion.”
FACEBOOK'S ROADSHOW TO START MONDAY; IPO SET FOR MAY 18/WSJ.com – Shayndi Rice & Anupreeta Das: “Facebook is planning to start its roadshow to pitch its stock to investors on Monday, as the social network enters the final stages of its coming public offering, said people familiar with the matter. Facebook Chief Executive Mark Zuckerberg will make some appearance on the roadshow, though he won't attend all meetings, said these people. Other top Facebook executives like Chief Operating Officer Sheryl Sandberg and Chief Financial Officer David Ebersman will handle the bulk of the roadshow meetings, these people said.”
HERBALIFE SAYS STOCK A 'BUYING OPPORTUNITY'/Marketwatch – Steve Gelsi: “Herbalife Said a 19.0% drop in its stock price on Tuesday represents a buying opportunity for the company and that its fundamentals remain sound.”
EINHORN WHACKS HERBALIFE: BUYING OPPORTUNITY?/Barron’s – Brendan Conway: “Tough day for weight-loss products company Herbalife, whose shares plunged 20%. The reason: Hedge-fund manager David Einhorn’s pointed questions on a conference call. The Greenlight Capital chief’s appearance clearly gave investors visions of his prescient 2007 call on Lehman Bros. as well as his attack last year on Green Mountain Coffee Roasters that sent the company’ stock a-plunging. ... It’s also old hat, say analysts who’ve been watching this company. Playing David(son) to Einhorn’s Goliath are D.A. Davidson analysts Timothy S. Ramey and Madeline Miller, who call today’s stock plunge “a major buying opportunity.”
DILLER, WELCH AND TRUMP OFFER THEIR SUPPORT FOR MURDOCH/NY Times - Amy Chozick: “Outlandish. Terrible. Outrageous. An attack on a “superb businessman.” These were some of the adjectives lobbed by two of the world’s most powerful moguls (and Donald Trump) on Tuesday in support of their friend Rupert Murdoch. Barry Diller and Jack Welch rallied behind Mr. Murdoch in response to a British parliamentary panel that declared him “not a fit person” to lead a major corporation. “Over our many years of dealings, I’ve seen nothing but integrity from him,” said Mr. Welch, the former longtime chairman and chief executive of General Electric, in a statement.”
BUYOUT KINGS SIZE UP THEIR SECTOR, THE ELECTIONS AND EUROPE/NY Times – Kevin Roose: “The private equity panel, one of the most anticipated events of the conference, brought together Apollo Management’s Leon D. Black, TPG Capital’s David Bonderman, Providence Equity Partners’ Jonathan Nelson, Leonard Green’s Jonathan Sokoloff and Thomas H. Lee Partners’ Scott Sperling to discuss the state of the buyout business. The abbreviated version of the 90-minute panel: Europe is a mess, Asia is exciting, emerging markets can be dangerous, the Obama administration has created uncertainty around regulation and taxes, and even though the debt markets are wide open and companies are flush with cash, few big buyouts are likely to happen until after the presidential election.”
SIRIUS XM TO LIBERTY MEDIA: '40 IS NOT THE NEW 50'/Investor's Business Daily – Kevin Harlan: “The chief of Sirius XM Radio said Tuesday he thought it unlikely that its largest shareholder, Liberty Media , would win control of key FCC licenses. Liberty Media owns 40% of Sirius and controls five of 13 board seats as a result of $530 million loan it provided in 2009 to help the satellite radio company stave off bankruptcy. In March it asked the FCC to declare it in de facto control of the broadcasters, and give it control of its FCC licenses. Questioned by analysts Tuesday, Sirius CEO Mel Karmazin said he didn't think that would happen. "Liberty's 40% is significant influence but not control," he said. "As we said in our filings, 40 is not the new 50." Both sides are waiting for a ruling from the FCC.”
Tomorrow's Earnings
Before the bell:
Comcast, Time Warner, UBS, MasterCard
After the bell:
Allstate, Continental Resources, Dreamworks Animation, Green Mountain Coffee, Visa, Weight Watchers, Whole Foods
Tomorrow's Economic Data
730am ET Challenger job-cut report
815am ET Apr ADP
1000am ET Mar Factory Orders
Tomorrow on CNBC
Arne Sorenson, Marriott International CEO, 4:10pm ET
Donald Knauss, Clorox Chairman & CEO, 4:30pm ET
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