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Zacks Analyst Blog Highlights: Apple Inc., KT Corp., SK Telecom, China Unicom and American Express Company – Press Releases

Zacks Market Commentaries — Fri, 20 Nov 2009 13:00:31 +0000

For Immediate Release

Chicago, IL – November 20, 2009 – Zacks.com announces the list of stocks featured in the Analyst Blog. Every day the Zacks Equity Research analysts discuss the latest news and events impacting stocks and the financial markets. Stocks recently featured in the blog include: Apple Inc. (AAPL), KT Corp. (KTC), SK Telecom (SKM), China Unicom (CHU) and American Express Company (AXP).

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Here are highlights from Thursday’s Analyst Blog:

South Korea Welcomes iPhone

Apple Inc.’s (AAPL) iPhone is finally reaching the hands of South Korean mobile users. The country’s telecom regulator Korea Communications Commission (“KCC") has granted Apple the license to sell the iconic handset in the domestic cell phone market. KCC has also lifted the restrictions that prohibited location-based services on smartphone devices such as the Google Maps application on iPhone.

South Korea’s second-largest wireless carrier KT Corp. (KTC) will start booking Internet order for iPhone (3G & 3GS) soon and begin selling it from Nov 28, 2009. The company targets to initially sell 150,000 units priced between KRW250,000 and KRW300,000 (US$216 and US$260). KT’s peer SK Telecom (SKM), the largest mobile operator in the country, is still negotiating with Apple for securing distribution rights.

South Korean wireless market is technologically advanced and relatively mature with roughly 47 million total subscribers, representing 96% penetration of the country’s population. Currently, the country’s cellular handset market is dominated by local companies such as Samsung and LG Electronics, two of the world’s leading handset manufacturers.

With KCC’s approval, South Korea is set to become one of the last major Asian countries to get the iPhone. The device has been already launched by China Unicom (CHU) in China in October 2009. Additionally, iPhone is also being sold in other major markets such as India, Japan and Australia.

KCC’s approval to allow foreign handset vendors to enter the domestic market is aimed at increasing the options for brand-conscious cell phone users rather than just limiting their choice to indigenously manufactured devices. In April 2009, the Korean government cleared the path for foreign handset vendors by abolishing a mandate requiring all mobile handsets sold locally to use a home-grown software platform.

AmEx to Buy Revolution Money

American Express Company (AXP) said on Wednesday that it will acquire Internet payment platform Revolution Money for about $300 million.

The deal is expected to close in early 2010. Following the closure of the deal, Revolution Money would operate as a subsidiary of AmEx. The founder and chief executive of Revolution Money, Jason Hogg, will continue as president and chief executive.

St. Petersburg-based Revolution Money was founded by AOL co-founder Steve Case’s Revolution LLC in 2007. Revolution Money provides payments through an internet-based platform and issues prepaid cards that can be used for offline payments or to withdraw cash from ATMs in the U.S. Additionally, Revolution Money offers MoneyExchange, a service to remit money by people using social and instant messaging networks.

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AmEx to Buy Revolution Money – Analyst Blog

Zacks Market Commentaries — Thu, 19 Nov 2009 17:00:25 +0000

American Express Company (AXP) said on Wednesday that it will acquire Internet payment platform Revolution Money for about $300 million.

The deal is expected to close in early 2010. Following the closure of the deal, Revolution Money would operate as a subsidiary of AmEx. The founder and chief executive of Revolution Money, Jason Hogg, will continue as president and chief executive.

St. Petersburg-based Revolution Money was founded by AOL co-founder Steve Case’s Revolution LLC in 2007. Revolution Money provides payments through an internet-based platform and issues prepaid cards that can be used for offline payments or to withdraw cash from ATMs in the U.S. Additionally, Revolution Money offers MoneyExchange, a service to remit money by people using social and instant messaging networks.

According to AmEx management, this acquisition would keep AmEx at the cutting edge in terms of new payments products and platforms. The company seeks to attract young customers who want to pay for goods and services using new technologies. Revolution Money will help expand AmEx’s reach to a young generation of consumers as they are more comfortable transferring money online, than using card products. Also, the internet-based payment system under Revolution Money cuts costs for merchants who pay billions of dollars in fees each year for traditional credit-card transactions.

American Express Company initially intends to focus on rolling out Revolution Money products across the U.S. , with the ultimate goal of expanding overseas. The company is also trying to integrate its existing customers into this alternative payment system.

AmEx’s third quarter earnings of $0.44 per share were well ahead of the Zacks Consensus Estimate of $0.36, driven primarily by its re-engineering efforts and a diversified business model. We also noticed signs of improvement in credit trends. Charge-card losses have moderated in the U.S. and worldwide while past-due trends have improved. However, we expect the recovery to be sluggish thereby, restricting significant expansion of its top line in the near term.
Read the full analyst report on "AXP"
Zacks Investment Research

The hottest selling investor tools at www.investorideas.com; Global Stock Directories for Mining Stocks and Renewable Energy Stocks

Dawn Van Zant — Thu, 05 Nov 2009 13:00:00 +0000

DELTA, BC - November 5, 2009 - www.InvestorIdeas.com reports the hottest selling investor tools include the mining stocks directory and the renewable energy stocks directory, each directory listing over 900 publicly traded companies on the TSX, TSX Venture, OTC, NASDAQ, AMEX, NYSE, ASX, AIM and other leading Stock Exchanges.

Barron’s Spotlight on American Express (AXP)

Stockmasters Staff — Sun, 16 Nov 2008 17:42:38 +0000

American Express Company (NYSE:AXP) shares are down 50% in the last 3 months and trading under $20 a share. Why care? First off, Berkshire Hathaway is its largest stockholder with 151 million, or 13%, of AXP shares. Barron's says "Berkshire's stake suggests the company's stock may be near a bottom".

Vanguard ETFs To Move To NYSE Arca

IndexUniverse Staff — Mon, 15 Sep 2008 22:08:15 +0000

Market consolidation continues as AMEX and NYSE merge, shuffling some issues and creating different platforms for individual investors.

While many Americans may be moving in with relatives as a result of the housing crisis, the 38 Vanguard exchange-traded funds are set to begin rooming, listing and trading together, due to the acquisition of the American Stock Exchange by NYSE Arca.

The consolidation of all Vanguard ETF trading on NYSE Arca will commence this Friday morning.

There are already four Vanguard ETFs—Vanguard Mega Cap 300 ETF, Vanguard Mega Cap 300 Growth ETF, Vanguard Mega Cap 300 Value ETF and Vanguard Total World Stock ETF—trading on the NYSE Arca.

There have been many recent "housekeeping" moves in the ETF market as a result of the acquisition of AMEX by NYSE Arca. In at least one respect, the move of the AMEX-listed ETFs to NYSE Arca represents an important historical footnote for the ETF business.

AMEX was the original exchange home to the ETF market in its early days, at a time when many investors did not even know what a SPDR was and well before ideas like actively managed ETFs and hedge fund replication ETFs were even ideas in the product pipeline.

AMEX had seen its market share of ETF trading slip away in recent years as the bigger exchanges came to see the potential of the ETF business. ETF trading now represents 31% of all U.S. equities trading. (See related story.)

The dwindling of its share of the growing ETF market was one of the issues AMEX confronted in the days leading up to its decision to be acquired.

Vanguard has $51 billion in ETF assets, and its ETF family grew 25% in the year ended August 2008. Most notably, its Total Stock Market Fund, aided by rising assets of its ETF share class, recently passed its S&P 500 Index Fund as Vanguard's largest offering (see IU.com story).

Pipex Pharmaceuticals (PP) Appoints Co-Founder and Vice Chairman Nicholas Stergis as Chief Executive Officer

QualityStocks — Wed, 09 Jul 2008 12:12:11 +0000

Pipex Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (AMEX: PP) recently announced that Nicholas Stergis, co-founder and vice chairman of the board of directors, has joined the executive management team as chief executive officer, replacing Steve H. Kanzer who will continue to serve as the companyâ€™s chairman. In addition, the company announced the resignations of Daniel J. Dorman, a director, [...]

Uranium Energy Corp. (AMEX: UEC) Announces Addition to the Russell Microcap Index

QualityStocks — Mon, 07 Jul 2008 19:38:54 +0000

Uranium Energy Corp. is focused on becoming a near-term ISR uranium producer in the United States. The company has acquired, and is developing, uranium properties throughout the southwestern US. In today’s news, Uranium Energy Corp. announced that it is now listed in the Russell Microcap Index as part of Russell Investment Group’s annual reconstitution of [...]

EntrÃ©e Gold Inc. (AMEX:EGI) – Strategic Resource Exploration at its Finest

QualityStocks — Tue, 01 Jul 2008 19:12:15 +0000

EntrÃ©e Gold Inc. (EGI) is an American mining and exploration company with active copper and gold interests in both the United States and Mongolia. Of the company’s 179,000 hectares (or roughly 4.5 million acres) of prime mining property, 40,000 have been thoroughly explored and shown to be extremely promising. The land is part of a [...]

Global Investing Roundups

Money Morning — Wed, 25 Jun 2008 22:01:52 +0000

New Home Sales Plummet; Mexico Staves off U.S. Slowdown; Monsanto Reaps Big Rewards; MasterCard Pays AmEx $1.8 Billion; Buffett Concerned About Stagflation; Reduced Damages for Exxon; Nike Strong... Money Morning is here to help investors profit han...

Asia Time Corp. (AMEX:TYM) Enters Prosperity

QualityStocks — Fri, 20 Jun 2008 17:33:35 +0000

Asia Time Corporation, a Chinese timepiece manufacturer, was featured in a trade alert issued today by Beacon Equity. The stock has traded from $4.50 to over $5.00 in just a few sessions, with indicators pointing toward a continuation of momentum. The company’s first quarter financial results were impressive, showing a marked improvement across the board, [...]

Dutton Associates Featured Company: Seabridge Gold Inc. (AMEX: SA)

QualityStocks — Fri, 20 Jun 2008 13:23:48 +0000

Seabridge Gold Incorporated is a mining company that engages in the acquisition, exploration, and development of mineral properties in Canada, Mexico, and the United States. The primary target for Seabridge Gold is gold itself, but several of its projects have copper as a byproduct of mining. With the value of copper rising along [...]

ETF Update: Any Place Left to Invest?

Jeffrey Miller — Mon, 16 Jun 2008 00:27:31 +0000

Looking at market sectors is a great way to get overall perspective. When sector breadth shrinks, as it has over the last few weeks, it is a warning. Our weekly ETF update takes a time frame of about one month....

The World is Protesting High Oil Prices, thus DUG

Ted Gottsegen — Tue, 10 Jun 2008 20:16:19 +0000

The world is all pissed off about high oil and gas prices; protesting is happening inÂ Scotland, Hong Kong, Nepal and Europe as I write.Â Spanish truck driversÂ are blockading their countryâ€™s border with France for crying out loud. There's only one way to play it - UltraShort Oil & Gas ProShares (AMEX:DUG).

Is $130 oil a bubble?

Eric Cheshier — Tue, 27 May 2008 18:09:19 +0000

It's a case of the Tuesdays today Stock Masters. Passing on this great article from cnn money on $130 oil. After reading this I'm thinking maybe it's time to check out the UltraShort Oil & Gas ProShares (Public, AMEX:DUG)?

Mexco Energy Corporation (AMEX:MXC) shares up 172% since Friday

Ted Gottsegen — Tue, 20 May 2008 15:57:47 +0000

You have to love a company with the ticker MXC, no its not Kenny, Vic, and Guy LeDouche running the company. Turns out Mexco Energy Corp. (AMEX:MXC) hit black gold in Texas after drilling a well to a depth of almost 6,680 feet.

The Heavy Metal Index: Unstoppable Stocks

Ted Gottsegen — Fri, 09 May 2008 16:03:25 +0000

The Metal Industry has been on fire and with the unstoppable world wide demand for metal, there appears more room to gain for the best players. The developing Nations need metal, and we've got your Heavy Metal Index in time for the weekend, Rock On.

FRO’s Debut Today

Faisal Laljee — Thu, 08 May 2008 18:58:00 +0000

I got an email today from American Stock Exchange that I wanted to pass along:AMERICAN STOCK EXCHANGE ANNOUNCES LAUNCH OF FIXED RETURN OPTIONS (FROs) ON THURSDAY MAY 8, 2008 New York , May 1, 2008 – The American Stock Exchange® (Amex®) announced to...

Strategy Session: Automation for Swing Trades

David Aferiat — Wed, 07 May 2008 14:21:00 +0000

The fast paced world of trading excites us - buyers vs. sellers, large capitalized players vs smaller and quicker/nimble players, etc.However we at Trade-Ideas recognize that for many in the investing public, trading twenty or thirty times a day is a l...

MARKET COMMENT

David Fry — Fri, 25 Apr 2008 11:53:37 +0000

“Unless there’s a financial Armageddon everything will be just fine.” SAM Advisors Truer words were never spoken. This is why I don’t watch financial TV during the day and am glad not to be a guest saying dumb things. So, we got some dollar pumping and related commodity weakness as the WSJ suggested that the Fed [...]