• AIG International (NYSE:AIG) reported its first interim profit since the third quarter of 2007, beating estimates with adjusted earnings of $2.57 a share, topping projections of $1.67 on revenues of $2.95 billion ahead of revenue estimates of $19.9 billion

• Fannie Mae (NYSE:FNM) asked for an additional $10.7 billion cash infusion from the government, following its quarterly post of a $2.67 per share loss, or $15.2 billion

• NVIDIA (NASDAQ:NVDA) reported second quarter earnings of 7 cents a share, 9 cents ahead of estimates of a loss of 2 cents per share on revenues of $776.5 million, which beat estimates of $710.18 million

• Piper Jaffray (NYSE:PJC) upgraded shares of Crocs (NASDAQ:CROX) to "over-weight"

• Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) announced repurchase of $950 million of its warrants from the US Treasury, providing a 20% annualized return to US taxpayers

• CBS (NYSE:CBS) reported second quarter earnings of 8 cents a share, one penny ahead of

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div style="text-align: justify;"Piper Jaffray is upgradingspan style="font-weight: bold;" Crocs (NASDAQ:CROX) /spanto Overweight from Neutral with a $7.50 target price (prev $3)br /br /Piper expect share price appreciation to accompany consistent fundamental improvement amp; profitability potential in next 12 months. Q2 results outpaced estimates and guidance; clear signals that company is achieving early turnaround success.br /br /1) Strength in consumer demand (on lowered expectations) is encouraging; brand equity remains high; visibility limited but improving.br /br /2) Wholesale/retail, U.S./int'l, and product mix all contributing to better margin profile; mgmt reiterated its med-term mid-teens op margin target.br /br /3) International markets represent 60%-plus of revenues; Asia strength a key driver.br /br /4) Direct to consumer platform mitigates risk tied to domestic wholesale order volatility; DTC exceeds 50% of U.S. revenues; growth of 20%-plus is reasonable.br /br /5) Company is bank debt free; $60M in cash ($0.70/share); receivables collection much improved and inventory levels ...

Consumer sentiment is on the rise, but should it be? “Trend” investors are being led into a trap by some sneaky bears. Pay attention or they will get you too.

The power of the consumer is amazing. Before today’s opening bell, equity futures looked bleak.

Nuclear testing in North Korea spooked global markets. Housing data showed yet another double-digit decline in home prices. And we are down to the last few days before General Motors’ (NYSE:GM) big June 1 deadline.

But all it took was good news from consumers to get the markets surging by more than 2%. Even though the economic data does not show many signs of a long-term improvement, evangelical announcements of “green shoots” appear more than enough to convince Americans the worst is behind us.

With American sentiment on the rise, it is no wonder one of New York’s biggest movers is smack dab in the thick

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Maverick CapitalMaverick Capital Management Holdings AnalysisThis post is being written as part of HedgeFundBlogger.com's Investment Securities Tool which analyzes the holdings of hedge fund managers.Lee Ainslie started Maverick Capital back in 1993 with $38 million. Nowadays, the fund is worth $10 billion. Ainslie, like many of the other fund managers I've profiled, has a background rooted in learning from legendary great Julian Robertson at Tiger Management. So, due to the fact that these proteges learned from the best and have had great success running their own hedge funds, I continually try to find a reason not to follow these funds. And, needless to say I'm never successful. Some contacts over at Maverick have explained that their hedge fund strategy is straight up stock picking, both long and short. They made ...

Big Banks are dying, WaMu (NYSE:WM) hit $6.05 and BofA (NYSE:BAC) hit $29.34 today. It's one thing for Crocs Inc (NASDAQ:CROX) to hit $9.03, but our U.S. financial institutions?  Good Lord. Other 52-week lows include (via 247WallSt.com): AMBAC (ABK) Sells off to $2.02 after downgrades. The 52-week high was $89.33. MBIA (MBI) Also hit by downgrades and drops to $4.78 from 52-week high of $68.98. Wachovia (WB) Flamed. Down to $18.22 from 52-week high of $54.54. Gatehouse (GHS) Newspapers still hit hard. Falls to $3.50 from 52-week high of $19.64. McClatchy (MNI) Another newspaper company sells off to $7.77 from 52-week high ...