MainStreet Bank continues to sail through the recession and financial crisis, reporting $72,000 or $0.03, in net income for the quarter ending June 30, 2009. This brings its net income for the first six months of 2009 to $138,000 or $0.05 per share.

The bank grew total assets to $205 million, a 17% increase over last year’s second quarter. Total deposits increased 22% in the same time frame and are now at $160 million. MainStreet Bank reported other metrics that indicated strong asset quality. Its total non-performing loans were 0.64% of gross loans, and its total risk-based capital ratio was 14.81%.

Jeff W. Dick, the CEO of MainStreet Bank said, “In this economy, our primary objective is to remain profitable, while maintaining a well-managed balance sheet. In the meantime, we continue our efforts to position the bank to respond favorably when interest rates start to rise.

The strength of the

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Post Properties, Inc. (PPS), a leading real estate investment trust (REIT), has recently sold Post Ridge – a 434-unit garden-style apartment community in Atlanta. The property was sold to an entity affiliated with Centennial Holding Company LLC, a privately held real estate company, for a gross price of $44.8 million.   At the same time, the company also announced the sale of Post Forest – a 364-unit garden-style apartment community in Fairfax, Virginia. The property was sold to Pantzer Properties, Inc., a real estate investment and management company in New York, for a gross price of $57.5 million.   In view of the asset sales, Post Properties is expected to record net gains of $54.0 million in the third quarter of 2009. The company will utilize the proceeds to increase its liquidity and strengthen its balance sheet.   However, we think Post Properties will underperform its peers due ...

Gold held just under $950 an ounce today, Wednesday, as the dollar steadied against a basket of currencies with weakness in the euro underpinning prices, but gains were capped by lack of physical demand for the metal.

A slide in oil prices is also undermining support for gold, analysts said.

Spot gold was at $947.85 an ounce at 1402 GMT, against $948.15 an ounce late in New York on Tuesday. U.S. gold futures for August delivery on the COMEX division of the New York Mercantile Exchange were up $1.30 at $948.20 an ounce.

“We are stuck in a range,” said Afshin Nabavi, head of trading at MKS Finance in Geneva. “We have to break below $944 or above $955 in order to see some interest in the market.”

“With stocks opening lower and the euro not performing that (well), gold could test the lower end of its range,” he added.

The dollar <.DXY> was steady versus a

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ManTech International Corp. (...

The Zacks Rank Buys featured last week were: Questcor Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (...

Dollar tanks as Fed cuts interest rates to 0-0.25 pct… Oil traders eye OPEC production decision * SPDR Gold Trust bullion holdings rise again… Gold edged down in Europe on Wednesday as traders took profits after the previous session’s 2 percent gains on the back of a larger-than-expected interest rate cut from the U.S. Federal Reserve.

The market is awaiting fresh direction from the crude oil market, which rose ahead of an expected production cut from the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC).

Spot gold was quoted at $855.60/857.60 an ounce at 1024 GMT, little changed from $857.35 an ounce late in New York on Tuesday. U.S. gold futures for February delivery were up $14.70 at $857.40.

Gold is likely to consolidate after recent sharp moves, analysts said.

“We have jumped so much in a relatively short period of time without

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Gold surge fuelled by inflation fears… Deflation seen short-lived…  Platinum boosted, helped by auto sector optimism

Gold surged on Monday, helped by higher oil prices, a lower dollar and investor concern about inflationary pressures given the large amounts of money being pumped into the global economy.

Autocatalyst material platinum jumped more than 6 percent to $840 an ounce, while palladium gained more than 11 percent to $178 on growing optimism about a rescue for the auto industry in the United States.

Spot gold rose nearly 3 percent to $776.70 an ounce and was up at $773.90/775.90 at 1030 GMT from $754.60 in New York late on Friday, when it fell to $740.40, the lowest since November 20 in a commodities-wide sell-off.

To some, talk of inflation is premature given the world is currently grappling with the prospect of deflation, but forward looking investors are

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U.S. non-farm payrolls fall 533,000 in November… Oil slips more than 2 percent

Gold fell on Friday as investors sold assets after data showed a much larger-than-expected fall in U.S. November non-farm payrolls.

A sharp dip in the dollar in the immediate wake of the numbers initially sent gold higher, but it quickly gave up gains as the U.S. currency reversed direction.

The precious metal is often bought as an alternative investment to the dollar and tends to move in the opposite direction to it.

Spot gold was quoted at $752.30/754.30 an ounce at 1427 GMT, against $765.70 late in New York on Thursday, having earlier touched a low of $747.20.

“(The data) shows a worsening economic situation, and it is hard for assets to maintain value against that,” said John Meyer, an analyst at Fairfax investment bank.

U.S. non-farm payrolls fell by 533,000

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What a fantastic weekend for New Zealand sports fans. I’m conveniently ignoring the cricket. It did get me thinking about how well New Zealand companies do competing against Australian companies. Usually we’re crap. Just think of Air New Zealand, Telecom and The Warehouse and wince.

But maybe there’s hope. 

I’m a huge fan of TradeMe, as are many New Zealanders, but it is essentially a domestic company when we really need very big international companies if we are to catch up to Australia and grow incomes fast.

We need a Nokia. Fonterra was supposed to be our Nokia, but its high debt load, its disastrous Chinese foray and the reluctance of its farmer shareholders to allow in outside capital has shut down that prospect for now. Maybe TradeMe could become our Nokia.

There were various murmurings when Fairfax bought TradeMe in 2006 that it might be launched in Australia. But the nature of auction

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ManTech International Corp. (MANT) reported a 45% year-over-year increase in net income last quarter and has also raised full-year guidance for 2008. In August the company won a contract from the United States Army that could reach a value of $820 million.

Company Description

ManTech International Corp. provides a variety of information technology and other services to United States government agencies that focus primarily on national security. The company is involved in every phase from design and production to implementation and maintenance. Mantech's headquarters are located in Fairfax, Virginia, it has 7,400 full-time employees, and carries a market cap of $2.1 billion.

Net Income Up 45%

On July 30th ManTech announced second-quarter results which included net income of $21.9 million, a 45% year-over-year increase. Earnings per share were 62 cents, topping the consensus estimate of 60 cents. This was the third

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