Wednesday, December 3, 2014

"risk is the price we pay for opportunity"

US futures off its overnight highs as markets trade mixed around the world and both gold and oil move into positive territory. US traders await a plethora of economic data this morning and the Beige Book
this afternoon.

ON THE ECONOMIC CALENDAR:
7AM: MBA Mortgage Applications
8:15AM: ADP Jobs Report
8:30AM: Gallup US Job Creation Index
8:30AM: Productivity : forecast is 2.5%
8:30AM: Unit Labor Costs: forecast is -0.9%
9:45AM: PMI Services Index
10AM: ISM Non-Manufacturing Index: forecast is 57.7%
10:30AM: EIA Petroleum Inventories
11AM: Global Composite PMI
11AM: Global Services PMI
12:30AM: Fed's Plosser speaks: US Economic Outlook
2PM : Fed's Reserve Gov Leal Brainard on "Financial Stability"
2PM: Fed's Beige Book

EARNINGS:
ANF earnings: Abercrombie & Fitch: Q3 EPS of $0.42 beats by $0.01.Revenue of $911M (-11.6% Y/Y) misses by $5M : Gross profit rate -80 bps to 62.2% on increased promotional activity : U.S. comp was down 5% and the international comp sank 15%

NEWS: 
Some notable earnings after today's close: ARO, AVGO, GES, NWY, PSUN, PVH, SEAC, SNPS, VRNT

TGT: GOOG: Target announces partnership with Google on Art, Copy and Code project, reports Business Wire

DAL: Delta November traffic results disappoint

POT: Potash conducting strategic review of equity investments worth $4.5B

IBM: WPPGY: IMB strikes $1.5B deal, expands alliance with ad giant WPP

DDD: infringement lawsuit dismissed
DDD: Chairman Walter Lowenbaum has disclosed he bought 4800 shares last Friday: he also bought 26,479 shares in November

SCTY: SUNE: TSL: SPWR: VSLR: Deutsche Bank analyst sees "almost no impact" on solars from low oil prices : recommends 5 solar companies

CYTR: aldoxorubicin trial placed on partial clinical hold by FDA

DDD: SSYS: XONE: Medical applications for 3D printing faces 3 challenges, reports DigiTimes

ARMK: files to sell 22.5M shares of common stock for holders

UPGRADES & DOWNGRADES: 

SPN: upgrade; inline to outperform: Imperial Capital: NOTE: pt cut from $30 to $28
NTLS: upgrade; underperform to market perform: FBR Capital: $6.50
LOCO: upgrade; underperform to equal perform: Morgan Stanley: $25
ROST: removed from Goldman's Conviction Buy list BUT pt raised from $96 to $99AVNR: downgrade: buy to neutral: Mizuho: $17
TASR: downgrade; overweight to neutral: JP Morgan: $20
DISH: downgrade; hold to sell: Wunderlich: $67

WFT: initiated: outperform: Oppenheimer: $19
HAL: initiated: outperform: Oppenheimer: $71
SLB: initiated: outperform: Oppenheimer: $114
BHI: initiated: perform: Oppenheimer: $71
SNDK: initiated: buy: Citigroup: $125

KEG: pt cut from $4 to $2.50: Imperial Capital
UNH: pt raised from $95 to $100: FBR Capital
EMES: pt cut from $130 to $100: Wunderlich
AVGO: pt raised from $100 to $105 : Citigroup
PBYI: pt cut from $292 to $263: Citigroup

Tuesday, December 2, 2014

US futures follow European and Chinese shares higher amid speculation that the country's central bank will ease monetary policy as traders await retail sales data later this morning.  Oil has resumed it's decline as commodity volatility hit a 2 year high. This years Cyber Monday sales slowed from a projected 13-15% to 8%.

ON THE ECONOMIC CALENDAR: 
VARIOUS TIMES: Auto Sales
7:45AM: ICSC Retail Store Sales
8:30AM: Gallup US ECI
8:55AM: Redbook Chain Store Sales
10AM: Construction Spending

NEWS: 
DRYS: DryShips repays 5% convertible notes due 2014

AAPL: opening statements for Apple's antitrust trial are schedules for today

AVNR: Otsuka to acquire Avanir for $17/share

AV: Aviva and Friends Life have agreed on a $8.8B merger, creating the UKs largest insurance, savings and asset management company

FBI warns of 'destructive' malware in wake of Sony attack, reports Reuters

WMT: Wal-Mart planning 250 job cuts in China division, WSJ reports
WMT: reports record online sales on Cyber Monday

BMRN: SPRT: Deutsche Bank says BioMarin is likely to assert its intellectual property in the U.S. to keep Sarepta's Etelipersen off of the market or demand royalty on the drug

HMC: reports sales in China during November fell 12.1% Y/Y to 72,973 vehicles

U.S. ICSC Goldman Sachs chain store sales index declined 1.8%

EARNINGS: 

GWPH earnings: GW Pharmaceuticals: FQ4 EPS of $0.Revenue of $12.03M (+4.4% Y/Y) misses by $2.52M

BMO earnings: Bank of Montreal: FQ4 EPS of C$1.63 misses by C$0.04.Revenue of C$4.34B (+3.6% Y/Y) misses by C$10M : Quarterly dividend boosted by $0.02 to $0.80. Announces 15M share repurchase plan, roughly 2.3% of the float

UPGRADES & DOWNGRADES: 

ACGL: upgrade: neutral to buy: BofA/Merrill: pt raised from $61 to $64
SYK: added to Goldman's Conviction Buy list
MLNX: upgrade: equal weight to overweight: Barclays: pt raised from $50 to $57

PKI: downgrade; conviction buy to neutral: Goldman: $47 (thats a double downgrade): $47
PCLN: downgrade: outperform to market perform: FBR Capital: $1225
APA: downgrade: buy to neutral: Mizuho: $70
PH: downgrade; buy to neutral: Goldman: $131

DATA: initiated: overweight: JP Morgan: $100
DATA: initiated: overweight: Barclays: $97

MSFT: initiated: overweight: JP Morgan: $53
CPE: initiated: buy: Roth Capital: $13.50
CRM: initiated: overweight: JP Morgan: $74

FRPT: initiated: buy: Canaccord: $20
FRPT: initiated; buy: Stifel: $20
FRPT: initiated: buy: Goldman:
FRPT: initiated: outperform: Baird

FANG: coverage resumed: buy: Roth Capital: $87.50
KORS: reiterates; buy: Jefferies: $100

SNA: pt raised from $140 to $160:  Wunderlich
TTWO: pt raised from $25 to $32: Piper Jaffray
EA: pt raised from $44 to $47: Piper Jaffray
FDX: pt raised from $190 to $210: Citigroup
FDX: added to US 1 List at BofA/Merrill
AAPL: pt raised from $120 to $135: Canaccord
AAPL: pt raised from $120 to $130: BofA/Merrill
PHM: pt raised from $25 to $26: Top Pick: BofA/Merrill
AVGO: pt raised from $87 to $105: Brean Capital
GNW: pt cut from $18 to $11: JP Morgan

Monday, December 1.2014

US futures follow the rest of the world markets into negative territory at this 6AM hour  as traders return from a 4 day holiday to a rash of negative headlines, from oil prices collapsing anew, to downbeat data from China, and to weaker Black Friday sales

ON THE ECONOMIC CALENDAR FOR TODAY:
8;30AM: Gallup US Consumer Spending
9:45AM: PMI Manufacturing Index
10AM: ISM Manufacturing Index
11AM: Global Manufacturing PMI

NEWS:
China PMI drops to 50.3, an 8 month low

Moody's downgrades Japan's sovereign debt rating from Aa3 to A1 (one notch)

INTC: Intel will power the next version of Google Glass expected out next year, reports the WSJ

FEYE: Sony has hired FEYE's Mandiant forensics division to help restore the studio's computer network nearly a week after a massive cyber attack paralyzed the company's systems

AAPL: 2015 to see drop in iPad shipments, says DigiTimes

AMZN: Amanzon reports strong Kindle and Fire sales on Black Friday

EBAY: AMZN: Channel Advisor checks find online sales +22% over last year : Amazon was the winner while eBay loses ground

C: BAC: JPM: WFC: GS: USB: US Banks get an upgrade to overweight at UBS 

MYL : GILD: enter into licensing agreement

REGN: FDA accepts diabetes drug, EYLEA,  for priority review

Macau Gaming Inspection and Coordination Bureau reports November gross gaming rev -19.6% YoY

GPS: Wedbush out positive on Gap stores Black Friday sales

TTEK: awarded $216M USAID gender equity contract

POZN: SNY:  Pozen and Sanofi terminate US partnership for PA8140/PA32540

RTN: announces a foreign military sales contract from the U.S. Air Force to design and implement an Air and Missile Defense Operation Center for Qatar

ISR: reports positive brain cancer results of it Cesium-131

UPGRADES & DOWNGRADES: 

AMED: upgrade: underperform to sector perform: RBC Capital: pt raised from $10 to $23
DE: upgrade; underweight to neutral: JP Morgan: pt raised from $83 to $90
SDRL: upgrade: underperform to market perform: Wells Fargo: NOTE pt cut from $20-26 range to $13-16 range
JBLU: upgrade: underperform to buy: BofA/Merrill: pt raised from $10.50 to $17
AAL: upgrade; neutral to buy: BofA/Merrill: $55
GRPN: upgrade: neutral to buy: BofA/Merrill: $9.50


BIG: downgrade: overweight to neutral; JP Morgan: $51
MNST: downgrade; Top Pick to Outperform: RBC Capital: NOTE: pt raised from $118 to $121
DPS: downgrade: sector perform to underperform: RBC Capital: $55
DWA: downgrade: market perform to underperform: FBR Capital: $14


THOR: pt raised from $30 to $36: Canaccord
VRTX: pt raised from $122 to $148: Maxim
AET: pt raised from $87 to $100: Leerink
ULTA: pt raised from $125 to $135: Baird
AAPL: pt raised from $120 to $140: Barclays
MU: pt raised from $36 to $41: JP Morgan
DB: pt cut from $33 to $30: RBC Capital
CDW: pt raised from $37 to $38: RBC Capital

Friday, November 28. 2014

US futures down at this hour with oil and energy stocks getting crushed after a decision yesterday from  OPEC to maintain its production target sent oil prices collapsing. With a 1 PM EST closing, this is an historically low volume day today on the US market with nothing on the economic calendar

NEWS:

PFE:AZN:Pfizer's  attempt to gain control of AstraZeneca  through a £69.4B ($110B) takeover bid in May would have collapsed on changes to U.S. tax inversion laws, announced Astrazeneca's chief exec, cooling off speculation of another bid for the U.K. pharmaceutical company

RIO:After years of heavy spending, Rio Tinto says it is committing to give significantly more money back to shareholders in 2015 despite a sharp slide in iron-ore prices

AMZN: Thanksgiving online shopping +18.6%, led by Amazon

AMZN: Amazon launches marketplace for service providers

EBAY: monthly users drops to 3 year low

BABA: Foxconn to cooperate with Alibaba, 21 Vianet to set up Wi-Fi network in southwestern China, reports DigiTimes

CREE: LEDS: API: Digitimes reporting that global LED lighting production value in 2015 to grow 30%, say Taiwan makers

VMW: VMware tying up with China Telecom to offer hybrid cloud services, reports Digitimes

MU: SNDK: DRAM market to grow 34% in 2014, says JP Morgan

LMT: The DoD has awarded Lockheed Martin three contracts with a total value of $626.3M

NVS: The European Medicines Agency's CHMP grants accelerated assessment to Novartis' LCZ696, an investigational drug for the treatment of heart failure with reduced ejection fraction

NVS: Italian drug regulator suspends two batches of Novartis flu vaccine after deaths


UPGRADES & DOWNGRADES:

AMZN: pt raised from $350 to $400: Piper Jaffray
WGL: pt raised from $48 to $52: Brean Capital
SBUX: pt raised from $90 to $100: Piper Jaffray

CTRP: downgrade: overweight to equal weight: Morgan Stanley: $57
CTRP: downgrade: overweight to neutral: JP Morgan: $57

Thanksgiving 2014

"I would maintain that thanks are the highest form of thought, and that gratitude is happiness doubled by wonder." - G. K. Chesterton 

GOOD MORNING AND HAPPY THANKSGIVING TO ALL ! 


Oil futures sank to new four-year lows overnight ahead of an OPEC meeting in Vienna

Shanghai shares hit a three-year high today, extending their rally after a surprise interest rate cut last week

GSK: Ebola vaccine from Glaxo passes early safety test, reports reuters

TKMR: files to sell  $150M worth of shares through future offerings

BABA:Renewing its push into the Internet TV market, Alibaba and partner Haier Electronics have launched new TVs in China that provide users with access to the e-commerce company’s Taobao and Tmall online marketplaces as well as movies and video games

Wednesday, November 26, 2014

US futures move higher with overseas markets mostly in positive territory as traders await a deluge of economic reports out today, including home sales data and durable goods report. 

US markets, including the bond market are closed tomorrow for the Thanksgiving holiday. The stock market will have a shortened day on Friday. Closing will be at 1PM EST.

NEWS:

NFLX: YHOO: Netflix sues Yahoo CIO for alleged kickbacks

TWTR: Twitter has reportedly held talks with Shots, a Justin Bieber backed developer of IOS/Android apps for taking and sharing selfies, reports Business Insider

SDRL: suspends dividends to help reduce debt

HTZ: Icahn ups Hertz stake to 10.8%

"OPEC leader Saudi Arabia signaled on Wednesday it was unlikely to push for a major change in oil output at the producer group's meeting this week" reports Reuters

GS: HSBC: Complaint filed in the US accusing Goldman, BASF and HSBC of price fixing in the metals, report Reuters

MBA mortgage applications : Composite Index: -4.3% vs. +4.9% last week : Purchase Index: -10% vs. +12%

ON THE ECONOMIC CALENDAR FOR TODAY:

7AM: MBA Mortgage Applications
8:30AM: Durable Goods : expecting -0.7%
8:30AM: Initial Jobless Claims : analysts expecting 288K
8:30AM: Personal Income and Outlays : expecting 0.4%
8:30AM: Consumer Spending: expecting 0.3%
9:45AM: Bloomberg Consumer Comfort Index
9:45AM: Chicago PMI
9:55AM: Reuters/UofMichigan Consumer Sentiment : expecting 90.1
10AM: Pending Home Sales
10AM: New Home Sales: expecting 469K
10:30AM: EIA Petroleum Inventories
12PM: EIA Natural Gas Inventory
1PM: $29B 7 Year Note Auction
3PM: USDA Ag Prices

EARNINGS:

SOL earnings: ReneSola : Q3 EPS of -$0.06 misses by $0.11.Revenue of $372.46M (-11.2% Y/Y) misses by $45.6M

SDRL earnings: Seadrill:  Q3 EPS of $0.31 may not be comparable to consensus of $0.67.Revenue of $1.29B (+0.8% Y/Y) beats by $60M : suspends dividends

DE earnings: Deere: FQ4 EPS of $1.83 beats by $0.26. Revenue of $8.97B (-5.1% Y/Y) : Q4 Agriculture & Turf sales down 13% to $682M

UPGRADES & DOWNGRADES:

ZAYO: initiated: overweight: Barclays: $30
ZAYO: added to Goldman's Conviction Buy list
ZAYO: initiated: buy: Citigroup: $30
ZAYO: initiated: overweight: Morgan Stanley: $28

ACT: assumes coverage: equal weight: Barclays: $268
DSW: pt raised from $34 to $37: Telsey Advisory Group
KEYS: initiated: outperform: Baird: $41
CTRP: pt cut from $88 to $49: Piper Jaffray
VEEV: pt raised from $32 to $35: JPMorgan
CNK: downgrade: buy to hold: Topeka Capital: $39
LPX: downgrade: sector perform to underperform: RBC Capital: $13
AVGO: pt raised from $99 to $109: RBC Capital
GPRO: Piper Jaffray positive on the company into the holiday season
AGU: downgrade: neutral to underperform: BofA/Merrill: $99

Tuesday, November 25, 2014

US futures up slightly at this hour following europe into positive territorry as traders are closely watching for surprises in US GDP data today, while keeping an eye on the oil market ahead of OPEC's meeting in Vienna later this week

on the economic calendar for today:
7:45AM: ICSC Retail Store Sales
8:30AM: GDP Q3 revision
8:3AM: Corporate Profits
8:55AM: Rebook Chain Store Sales
9AM: FHFA Home Price Index
9AM: S&P Case Shiller Home Price Index
10AM: Consumer Confidence Index
10AM: Richmond Fed  Manufacturing
1PM $13B, 2 Year FRN Auction
1PM: $35B, 5 Year Note Auction

EARNINGS:
FRO earnings: Frontline : Q3 EPS of -$0.15 beats by $0.05.Revenue of $65.94M (+28.5% Y/Y) beats by $3.58M

DANG earnings: E-Commerce China Dangdang: Q3 EPS of $0.05 misses by $0.01.Revenue of $326.3M (+30.9% Y/Y) beats by $2.86M

TIF earnings: Tiffany: Q3 EPS of $0.76 misses by $0.01.Revenue of $959.59M (+5.3% Y/Y) misses by $10.43M : guides  FY14 EPS $4.20-$4.30 ex-items, consensus $4.34 : Sees worldwide net sales increasing by a mid-to-high-single-digit percentage versus the previous high-single-digit forecast.

DSW earnings: DSW : Q3 EPS of $0.56 beats by $0.04.Revenue of $669.87M (+7.2% Y/Y) beats by $8.86M: :authorized additional $50M  share repurchase program

CPB earnings: Campbell Soup : FQ1 EPS of $0.74 beats by $0.02.Revenue of $2.26B (+4.1% Y/Y) beats by $40M

MOV earnings: Movado: Q3 EPS of $0.87 beats by $0.01.Revenue of $188.56M (-0.6% Y/Y) in-line:  announces it will increase its share buyback program to $100M from $50M

CHS earnings: Chico's FAS : Q3 EPS of $0.17 in-line.Revenue of $665.57M (+1.5% Y/Y) misses by $7.84M

CBRL earnings: Cracker Barrel : FQ1 EPS of $1.42 beats by $0.13.Revenue of $683.43M (+5.3% Y/Y) beats by $17.93M

-----
NEWS:

LO:PM:MO:VGR: RAI: China is considering a broad ban on smoking, including tobacco advertising, smoking in public places, prohibiting vending machine sales of cigarettes and cutting smoking scenes in film and TV

TWX: NFLX:  Looking to expand its audience in China, HBO  has signed a deal with Tencent to distribute its TV dramas and movies through the Chinese Internet giant’s online video site

VRX: announces FDA approval of Onexton gel

CSG: Chambers Street sells two more non-core assets (Orlando and the UK)

AMZN: MakerBot offering 3D printed products

GDP revision: U.S. growth in third quarter raised to 3.9% from 3.5%

WTSL: the company announces it was exploring strategic alternatives

FDA to Require Calorie Counts at Restaurants: Final Labeling Rules, to be Unveiled today, Will Apply to Movie Theaters, Convenience Stores, reports the WSJ

September FHFA Housing Price Index: flat M/M at 213.9 vs. consensus +0.5%, +0.4% prior (revised from +0.5%)

S&P Case-Shiller Home Price Index: +0.3% M/M in line with consensus,  -0.1% prior

SCOK:  SinoCoking announced that its aboveground facility for the conversion of carbon dioxide into clean-burning syngas has achieved its initial production target of 25,000 cubic meters per hour, reports briefing investor

UPGRADES & DOWNGRADES:

PANW: pt raised from $105 to $121: FBR
PANW: pt raised from $100 to $125: Deutsche Bank
PANW; pt raised from $125 to $130: Stephens
PANW: pt raised from $110 to $135: Credit Suisse
PANW: momentum appears sustainable, says Roth Capital

WDAY: pt cut from $110 to $100: FBR
WDAY: pt cut from $100 to $94: Jefferies
WDAY: A buy on weakness, says JMP Securities
WDAY: Workday guidance likely conservative, says UBS

BMRN: pt raised from $67 to $103: RBC Capital
BMRN: pt raised from $87 to $100: Jefferies

AAPL: raises pt from $115 to $130: Stifel
MDT: pt raised from $73 to $81: RBC Capital
NFLX: downgrade: buy to hold: Stifel: better risk/reward in low 300s
CYBR: downgrade; buy to neutral: Normura: $36 pt
CYBR: initiated: underperform: Imperial Capital: $40
BBW: pt raised from $18 to $23: Piper Jaffray
LEN: pt raised from $43 to $54: RBC Capital
BRCD: downgrade; buy to hold: Wunderlich: $12
GE: initiated: outperform: RBC Capital: $30
CFX: initiated: sector perform: RBC Capital: $58
CR: initiated: outperform: RBC Capital: $75
TJX: upgrade: neutral to overweight: JPMorgan: pt raised from $63 to $75
URI; pt raised from $117 to $135: Jefferies
NLNK: pt raised from $41 to $48: Cantor
JACK; pt raised from $77 to $85: Wunderlich
RFMD: pt raised from $15 to $20: Pacific Crest
CMCSA: Comcast is added to the U.S. 1 List of best investment ideas at Bank of America

Monday, November 24, 3014

US futures +0.2% at this 6AM EST hour, following mostly green arrows around the world as European and Asian markets continue to rise in the afterglow of fast week’s hints at further stimulus from Mario Draghi, and China’s central-bank's surprise cut in interest rates. Markets could remain quiet  and volume weak on this shortened US Thanksgiving holiday week.

on the economic calendar for today:
8:30AM: Chicago Fed National Activity Index
9:45AM: PMI Service Index Flash
10:30AM: Dallad Fed Manufacturing Outlook
1PM: $28B, 2 Year Note Auction 

TSLA:Tesla is in talks with BMW over possible partnership in battery technology, reports Der Spiegel

GPS: Gap as struck a deal with Zalando, Europe's largest online fashion retailer, to sell tis core brand starting next May

US oil imports of crude oil from OPEC nations are at their lowest level in almost 30 years. reports the Financial Times

INTC: Intel shares are likely to rise 30% over the next two years, says Barrons

DDD: CIMT: 3D Systems announces agreement to purchase CIMT at $8;97/share

YGE: announces plans to provide 120MW of solar panels to a solar park in France

JKS: announces agreement to supply 7MW solar PV modules to plant in Mexico

AAPL: Cantor positive on Apple into the holiday season

YHOO: Yahoo acquires Cooliris, terms not disclosed 

RSX: "We're losing around $40B a year because of geopolitical sanctions, and about $90B-$100B from oil prices falling by 30%," announced Russia's Finance Minister

D: CSIQ: Canadian Solar sells solar facility in California to Dominion

NLNK: MRK: Merck and NewLink enter into licensing agreement for ebola vaccine

BMRN: RNA: BioMarin to buy Prosensa for $17.75/share

EARNINGS: 
TSL earnings: Trina Solar : Q3 EPS of $0.34 beats by $0.19.Revenue of $616.8M misses by $28.88M:
narrows its full-year shipment guidance to between 3.61 and 3.66 gigawatts from its previous guidance of 3.6 to 3.8 gigawatts


BOOT: initiated: buy: Jefferies: $24
BOOT: initiated: outperform: Baird: $23
BOOT: initiated: buy; Piper Jaffray: $24
BOOT: initiated: buy: Stifel: $23
LCI: pt cut from $66 to $60: Roth Capital
LL: upgrade: equal weight to overweight: Morgan Stanley: $85
JEC: downgrade; neutral to sell: Goldman: pt cut from $46 to $40
CBI: downgrade: neutral to sell: Goldman: $46
COST: removed from Goldman's Conviction Buy list NOTE: pt raised from $145 to $148
SCTY: upgrade: neutral to outperform: Baird: $83
XOM: downgrade: outperform to market perform: Raymond James: $106
WB: initiated: overweight: HSBC:: $25
HES: upgrade; market perform to outperform: Raymond James: $100
KATE: upgrade; neutral to buy: BofA/Merrill: $34
CVX: downgrade; strong buy to outperform: Raymond James: $140
DISH: pt raised from $69 to $81: RBC Capital
CSCO; pt raised from $28 to $29: RBC Capital
TYC: downgrade: outperform to market preform: FBR Capital: pt cut from $44 to $42
OXY: upgrade: outperform to strong buy: Raymond James: $105
DENN: upgrade; neutral to buy: Janney: pt raised from $7 to $11
CUDA: Pacific Crest out positive on CUDA on expectation of growth accelerating
AAPL: pt raised from $120 to $135: Susquehanna
HPQ: pt raised from $40 to $45: Deutsche Bank

Friday, November 21, 2014

US futures surge to record highs following green arrows around the world after Mario Draghi signaled that the ECB is ready to expand its asset purchasing with aggressive easing measures if inflation shows signs of staying too low. Positive news out of China with reports that the PBOC, China's central bank his ready to inject funds and signaled that it will provide liquidity support through multiple monetary policies when necessary. China cutting its lending rates for the first time in more than 2 years.

on the economic calendar for today:
11AM: Kansas City Fed Manufacturing Survey

RYCEY:DAL: Rolls-Royle wins $5B contract to supply engines for Delta

AMZN: Amazon looking to dip its toes into the travel industry, reports Skift
CELG: receives positive CHMP opinion for OTEZLA, reports business wire

SIRO earnings: Sirona Dental Systems: FQ4 EPS of $0.93 beats by $0.03.Revenue of $290M beats by $3.68M : guides FY15 adjusted EPS $3.95-$4.05 vs consensus $4.08

FL earnings: Foot Locker : Q3 EPS of $0.83 beats by $0.04.Revenue of $1.73B beats by $10M

ANN earnings:  Q3 EPS of $0.72 beats by $0.04.Revenue of $646.81M  misses by $1.46M

BBY: upgrade: market perform to outperform: Telsey Advisory Group: pt raised from $37 to $45
BBY: pt raised from $36 to $43: Citigroup
MBLY: pt raised from $52 to $55: RBC Capital
ADSK: pt raised from $65 to $70: Canaccord
GME: downgrade: outperform to market perform: Telsey Advisory Group: pt cut from $51 to $45
ROST: pt raised from $78 to $95: FBR Capital
ROST: pt raised from $80 to $95: BofA/Merrill
INTC: pt raised from $36 to $40: FBR Capital
INTU: pt raised from $89 to $97: JPM
INTC: pt raised from $34 to $36: Cowen
JBLU: pt cut from $20 to $16: Imperial Capital
CAT: initiated: Buy: Stifel: $122
AMZN: initiated: Buy: Nomura: $410
VMW: initiated: Buy: Jefferies: $130
CRM: initiated: underperform: Jefferies: $48
SPLK: pt raised from $68 to $80: Pacific Crest
SPLK: pt raised from $78 to $83: FBR Capital
SPLK: pt raised from $65 to $75: Stifel
DISH; pt raised from $79 to $94: Citigroup
DLTR: pt raised from $64 to $72: Stifel
REGN: pt raised from $418 to $462: BofA/Merrill

Thursday, November 20.2014

US futures down 0.4%, following European markets to the downside at this hour after the eurozone PMI fell to 51.4, a 16-month low. News out of Asia wasn't much better with PMI date out of Japan weak, and China data showing factory activity declined in November. Investors braces for a full day of economic data itself including CPI and existing home sales.


on the economic calendar for today:
8:30AM: Consumer price index for Oct: forecast -0.1%
8:30AM: Core CPI:  forecast 0.2%
8:30AM: Weekly initial jobless claims: analysts expecting an unchanged reading of 290K
9AM: PMI manufacturing index flash
9:45AM: Bloomberg consumer comfort index
10AM: NY Fed Dudley speech to be released
10AM: Philly Fed business outlook for Nov: looking for a drop to 18.5 from Oct's 20.7
10AM: Existing home sales for Oct: forecast is for 5.15M, down from Sept's 5.17M
10AM: Leading indicators
10:30AM: EIA Natural Gas inventory

USDJPY: The yen continues its tumble, falling to 7-year lows against the dollar

GPRO: priced secondary at $75 late yesterday

BABA: AMZN: EBAY: Jack Ma ups his game and announces that he will estimable an international version of Alibaba's e-commerce marketplace, going head to head with Amazon and Ebay. Not only will consumers be able to sell to each other but the site will be offered in different languages.

REGN: SNY: Sanofi and Regeneron announce that Dupilumab has received FDA Breakthrough therapy designation in Atopic Dermatitis, reports Reuters

TEC: CGG: Technip makes $1.83B preliminary takeover offer to French oil-service company, CGG (7:45AM offer was rejected)

PRGO: files to sell $900M in ordinary shares

EARNINGS:
BBY earnings: Best Buy : Q3 EPS of $0.32 beats by $0.07.Revenue of $9.38B beats by $270MJKS earnings: JinkoSolar: Q3 EPS of $1.36 beats by $0.65.Revenue of $417.3M  misses by $42.5M: guides Q4 total solar module shipments 1,030MW-1,120MW vs. 708MW in Q3
MBLY earnings: Mobileye: Q3 EPS of $0.04 in-line.Revenue of $34.7M  beats by $4.4M
KIRK earnings: Kirkland's : Q3 EPS of $0.07 beats by $0.04.Revenue of $117.2M beats by $2.81M

CRM: pt raised from $71 to $74: Pivotal Research Group
LOW: pt raised from $60 to $67: Telsey Advisory Group
TGT: pt raised from $68 to $77: Telsey Advisory Group
WSM: pt raised from $67 to $71: Canaccord
JBLU: upgrade; underperform to neutral: Credit Suisse: $15
VIPS: reiterates: overweight: Morgan Stanley: $28
YUM: upgrade; neutral to buy: Janney: $88
CLF: downgrade; buy to hold: Deutsche Bank: $10
AAPL: pt raised from $120 to $135: Piper Jaffray
AAPL; pt raised from $115 to $126: Morgan Stanley
ATHN: downgrade; sector perform to underperform: RBC Capital: pt cut from $115 to $80
BXP: downgrade; outperform to neutral: Baird: $128
PETM: pt raised from $65 to $80: Telsey Advisory Group
REGN: pt raised from $390 to $450: Brean Capital

WELCOME TO "GOOD MORNING WALL STREET"

I have always believed that knowledge is a key element to successful trading. Visit my blog every morning and find out what is happening in the world.

Some evening news:

GPRO: secondary priced at $75
GRPN: insider buying 30K shares at $7.75
AAPL: pt raised from $115 to $126: Morgan Stanley