Kraft Foods Inc. (KFT), a leading manufacturer and marketer of packaged food and grocery products worldwide, announced its plans to invest about €15 million (approximately $20 million) to establish a new biscuit research and development (R&D) center in Saclay , France , a suburb of Paris . The new facility is expected to serve as the company's European Center of Expertise for Biscuits. The primary focus being on innovation and new product development for many of Europe's most loved biscuit brands, including LU, Mikado, Oreo, Prince, Saiwa and TUC. The facility will also be responsible for bringing forward major biscuit technology platforms for the European market and beyond. The new R&D center, once completed will add to the other 11 existing Kraft Foods R&D centers that support its businesses around the globe. The new center that is scheduled to open during the first half of ...

Kraft Foods Inc. (KFT), a leading manufacturer and marketer of packaged food and grocery products worldwide, has outlined several cost saving strategies to position itself as a strong bidder for the possible takeover of Cadbury Inc (CBY).   Kraft Foods and Cadbury combined would create a company with annual revenues of $50 billion (£30 billion), beating Nestle as the world’s leading food group. Kraft on Monday had proposed a takeover of Cadbury for $16.2 billion (£10.2 billion). However, Cadbury rejected the offer on grounds of it being significantly undervalued. Management at Kraft is pursuing the takeover, for which it is working on an $8 billion finance program through Citigroup (C) and Deutsche Bank (DB). In addition to this, the company is focusing on procurement strategies and is in the processes of reducing its supplier base by almost 50%. Furthermore, the company plans ...

Kraft Foods Inc.’s (NYSE: KFT) $16.7 billion unsolicited takeover attempt of Cadbury PLC (NYSE ADR: CBY) is the latest sign of consolidation in the highly competitive food industry, and will likely lead to two things: A bidding war for Cadbury and further consolidation in the sector.

The world’s second-largest foodmaker went public with its bid for Cadbury earlier this week after being snubbed privately. Kraft’s offer – a 31% premium to the chocolate maker’s Friday closing price of $37.46 a share, but less than  – “fundamentally undervalues” Cadbury, it said. The offer is less than 15 times Cadbury’s 2008 earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and amortization (EBITDA).

“Any follow-up offer by Kraft would likely involve a higher price,” Moody’s Investor Service senior analyst Brian Weddington said in a note. “The increased leverage that would result under the proposed transaction would be considerable.”

Increased leverage could be a boon to Cadbury

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PennyOmega.com Hot Stock News & Alerts!

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FREE Daily Stock Alerts From PennyOmega.com

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Monday September 7, 2009

PennyOmega.com X-Tra Hot Stock Alert!

ERIC, NWMT, KFT, PWRM

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ERIC, LM Ericsson Telephone Co.

ERIC is the world’s leading provider of technology and services to telecom operators. ERIC is the leader in 2G, 3G and 4G mobile technologies, and provides support for networks with over 1 billion subscribers and has a leading

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Stock-PR Stock Report

Hess Corporation (HES) Hess Corporation, together with its subsidiaries, engages in the exploration, development, production, purchase, transportation, and sale of crude oil and natural gas worldwide.

Kraft Foods Inc. (KFT) Kraft Foods Inc., together with its subsidiaries, manufactures and markets packaged food products and grocery products worldwide

The Dow Chemical Company (DOW) The Dow Chemical Company engages in the manufacture and sale of chemicals, plastic materials, agricultural, and other specialized products and services worldwide.

THIS IS NOT A RECOMMENDATION TO BUY OR SELL ANY SECURITY! Disclaimer: Never invest in any stock featured on our site or emails unless you can afford to lose your entire investment. Stock-PR.com publisher and its affiliates and contractors are not registered investment advisers or broker/dealers. Our disclaimer is to be read and fully understood before using our site, reading our newsletter or joining our email list at www.stock-pr.com. Release of Liability: Through use of this

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General Motors' (GM) official bankruptcy filing on Monday marked the end of an era. The Dow Jones Industrial Average (DJIA) replaced the company with Cisco Systems Inc. (CSCO), dropping the last automaker from the most eminent benchmark for U.S. stocks.

Along with this much anticipated move, which is a natural corollary of the beleaguered firm's entry into bankruptcy court, the benchmark stock index also removed Citigroup Inc. (C) from its lineup to make way for the second-largest U.S. commercial insurer Travelers Co. (TRV). Both GM and Citigroup will be formally taken out from the average at the opening of trade on Jun 8.

While swapping companies on the index usually takes years, the worst financial crisis since the Great Depression has claimed many of its components as victims. The last change came when Kraft Foods Inc. (KFT) replaced the ailing American International Group Inc.

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Chairman John Roberts, an Executive Director of Macquarie, has been the Global Head of Macquarie Capital Funds since August 2003. Joining the company in 1991, he is both Joint Head of the Macquarie Capital Advisers division and directly responsible for the Macquarie Capital Funds group. In addition to Macquarie, Mr. Roberts is a director of a number of listed and unlisted entities around the world that manage infrastructure investments.

Alternate Chairman Stephen Mentzines is an Executive Director of Macquarie and Head of Macquarie Capital Funds operations in North America. Prior to heading the North American operations, Mr. Mentzines was Global Chief Operating Officer (COO) of Macquarie Capital Funds. His responsibilities included new fund development, capital raisings and management, asset management, operations, finance, legal, compliance, tax, structuring, investor relations, communications and public affairs activities.

Director Norman Brown is currently a Member and Senior Managing Director of Brock Capital Group LLC. Prior to that,

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The Mac-N-Cheese Economic Indicator?

by The Investment U Research Team

If you’re looking for a clutch economic indicator, try Mac-N-Cheese sales.

Seriously. They soared 10% in the first quarter, reflecting the consumer weakness we witnessed elsewhere, which ultimately drove the markets lower in January and February.

Last spring and summer they surged 20% ahead of the market collapse, as economic fears mounted. And they jumped in 1990, as the economy headed into a slowdown.

In other words, check the grocery store each week. If the Mac-N-Cheese shelf is bare, sell your stocks. When it’s packed full, start buying back in.

I bet you dollars-to-donuts, it would be a more profitable market-timing strategy than other ones I’ve seen touted. (Like those terrible infomercials promoting 4X Made Easy, for instance).

At the very least, it would give you a compelling “Buy” or “Sell”

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Bernanke Sees Late-09 Turnaround; Canadian Dollar Hits Six-Month High; Kraft Beats 1Q Estimates; South Africa Unemployment Hits 23.5%; Service Sector Gains Ground; AIG’s First Quarter Loss Expected to Shrink; Some Traders Oppose Up-Tick Rule; Chile’s Peso Rallies to 7-Month High Against Dollar

U.S. Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke said the U.S. economy will begin to “turn up later this year,” contingent upon the financial sector’s continued improvement, Reuters reported. Speaking to a congressional committee, Bernanke said the housing market may be bottoming out and pointed to improving consumer spending. The Canadian dollar hit its highest point since November. “The market is now willing to embrace risk and move clean of the safety associated with the U.S. dollar,” Stewart ...

Kraft Foods Inc. (KFT) presented at the CAGNY (Consumer Analysts Group of New York) in Boca Raton. The company reaffirmed 2009 guidance, which had been lowered when reporting 4th quarter results. The company expects organic net revenue growth of approximately 3%, down from the previous expectation of at least 4%. The lower guidance is due to a lower-than-expected contribution from dairy product (from lower pricing as input costs have declined).Management expects 2009 earnings to be $1.88 per diluted share, which includes greater-than-expected negative currency impact and higher pension costs. The crisis of consumer confidence is expected to generate a volume decline in the first quarter of up to 5%. However, management expects volume trends to improve in subsequent quarters.Management's growth model still targets organic net revenue growth over 4%, manufacturing efficiencies to add 2% to 3% to growth, and leverage and a lower tax ...