ECB "Injection" Boosting Stocks, Pressures Bonds

Merry Christmas! The ECB's decision to inject half a trillion (trillion!) into the global marketplace (technically, they are providing what is essentially unlimited loans at a fixed fate for the next couple weeks) is definitely giving equities a shot in the arm this morning. This should put some pressure on bonds, lower LIBOR rates, and maybe prop up the dollar a bit.

Housing starts and permits about in line with expectations.

Goldman Sachs up 2 percent pre-open, they beat estimates, but more important is the details:

1) Record net revenues all around, not just in Investment Banking, Equities, Principal Investments, and Asset Management, but even in Fixed Income, Currency and Commodities

2) Over one-half of its pre-tax earnings were generated outside the Americas.

Bear in mind that yesterday the Board authorized a 60 million share buyback.

Best Buy up as they beat estimates on strong November comp store sales, international revenue up 32 percent vs. domestic up 15 percent, they raised guidance for the year to $3.10-$3.20, Street at $3.12, but much of this is due to the fact that it beat this quarter. Video games, flat panel TVs, laptops, and GPS sales were the leaders.

Changing of the guard at Lilly . Lilly CEO Sidney Taurel will be retiring effective March 31, 2008. Taurel will remain Chairman until the end of 2008. Taurel has been with Lilly for nearly 37 years and been CEO for the last ten. John C. Lechleiter, currently president and COO, will become CEO as of April 1, 2008.

And at Sprint Nextel , where Dan Hesse will be the new CEO. Gary Forsee stepped down in October. Hasse was CEO of Embarq, a local phone company spun out of Sprint last year.

Update: On the surface, Best Buy had an excellent quarter (see my prior remarks). So why is the stock barely moving? Possibly because they have raised their guidance for the full year, but only because they beat estimates for the third quarter. If Q4 comes in in-line with expectations at $1.82, then earnings for the full year would come in at roughly $3.29. That seems unlikely, given that the company is giving guidance of $3.10-$3.20 and the Street consensus is $3.12.

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