At its investor conference call, Monsanto Company (MON) indicated that it will accelerate launches for its Genuity SmartStax corn and Genuity Roundup Ready 2 Yield soybean products. The company emphasized its growth strategy from 2010 through 2012, which includes three operational imperatives: the conversion to Genuity SmartStax in U.S. corn, the upgradation to the Genuity Roundup Ready 2 Yield platform in U.S. soybeans, and increased penetration in Latin America. Monsanto now anticipates its new Genuity SmartStax corn seed will launch on more than 4 million acres in 2010, compared to its previous expectation of 3 million to 4 million acres. As a part of the accelerated adoption of Genuity SmartStax, the company unveiled a new portfolio of product upgrades for key U.S. corn segments. For the Genuity Roundup Ready 2 Yield platform in U.S. soybeans, Monsanto increased its launch-year expectation for 2010 to 8 - 10 ...

• Goldman Sachs (NYSE:GS) added Cytec Industries (NYSE:CYT) to its Conviction Sell List, with a target of $31.  The analyst warned of the bleak outlook for the late-cycle aerospace industry, and economic uncertainties in Europe, which represents 40% of sales

• JP Morgan (NYSE:JPM) plans to reinstate 401K matching programs starting with 2009 as well as plans to hire 1,200 mortgage officers

• Yahoo (NASDAQ:YHOO) CEO Bartz said the company is hiring again as the firm expects to increase its operating profit margin to the 15-20% range on cost cutting and sales growth

• Adobe Systems (NASDAQ:ADBE) said it plans to cut 680 jobs, or about 9% of its workforce, as part of a restructuring plan.  The company said the move would result in pre-tax charges of $65 million to $71 million, with $18 million to $20 million to be taken in the fourth quarter

• Monsanto (NYSE:MON) confirmed its full-year 2010 earnings outlook

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Monsanto Company (MON) has signed a long-term supply contract with Air Products (APD), the leading global hydrogen provider. According to the contract, Air Products will build a new world-scale hydrogen production plant to be located at Monsanto's Luling, Louisiana, Roundup facility. The new hydrogen plant is scheduled to be on-stream in Jan 2012.  Air Products will build a steam methane reformer (SMR) producing over 100 million standard cubic feet per day (MMSCFD) of hydrogen. The SMR will be connected to Air Products' East Gulf Coast pipeline network, which supplies refineries with hydrogen needed to make cleaner burning transportation fuels, in addition to meeting the hydrogen needs of the local petrochemical industry. In addition, the facility will produce additional hydrogen via a clean-up of a hydrogen-rich off-gas feed coming from Monsanto. Monsanto will use steam from Air Products' SMR process to benefit its Roundup production plant. ...

Today before the market opened, Monsanto Co. (MON), the largest chemicals and biotech seed maker reported results for the fourth quarter of fiscal year 2009, ended August 31, 2009. Excluding one-time items (on an ongoing basis), the company reported earnings of 2 cents per share, compared to a loss of 3 cents per share in the year-ago quarter. This was above the Zacks Consensus Estimate of 1 cent per share. However, the company posted a wider loss in the quarter, which increased to 43 cents per share on an as-reported basis, from 31 cents in the year-ago quarter, due to restructuring charges and the divestiture of the company's sunflower operations. Restructuring lowered earnings by 53 cents. During the quarter, the company also increased the restructuring reserve to the $550 - $600 million range to support its cost-cutting effort. SG&A as a percentage of revenue was ...

Third-quarter earnings season officially starts on Wednesday afternoon with Alcoa's (AA) report. The aluminum maker is expected to announce revenues of $4.5 billion and a loss of 11 cents per share. The results will look awful compared to last year because the commodity bubble peaked in Q308.

Joining AA will be 6 other S&P 500 members: Costco (COST), Family Dollar (FDO), Marriott (MAR), Monsanto (MON), Pepsi Bottling (PBG), PepsiCo (PEP) and Yum! Brands (YUM). We have confirmed scheduled reports from a total of 24 companies.

Economic data will largely take a backseat to the earnings news. There is comparatively little on the calendar, with the most newsworthy release being the September ISM services index. The weekly energy and mortgage applications reports could still influence trading, however.

Monday: September ISM services survey Wednesday: August consumer credit, September treasury budget, weekly crude inventories, weekly mortgage

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• McDonald's (NYSE:MCD), reported August same-store-sales rose 2.2%, but noted US comps were up a less-than-expected 1.7%, noting rising unemployment levels and increased competition from price-cutting rivals hurt revenues

• Apple's (NASDAQ:AAPL) San Francisco event once again saw the shares move lower, this year off 1%, despite the welcome appearance of Jobs, and iPod price cuts and improvements.  An 8 GB iPod Nano will include built-in video and an FM radio; price cuts of as much as $120 were made.  This morning JP Morgan (NYSE:JPM) upped its rating on Apple to "outperform" from "market perform," with a $200 price target

• Texas Instruments (NYSE:TXN) raised its third quarter earnings and sales guidance, with third quarter guidance increased to 37 cents to 41 cents a share from prior range of 29 cents to 39 cents a share; revenues guidance was lifted to $2.73 billion to $2.87 billion from prior $2.5 billion to $2.8

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Michigan-based chemical giant Dow Chemical (DOW) announced that its agricultural arm Dow AgroSciences has received regulatory approvals in the U.S. and Canada to launch its genetically modified (GM) corn seed – SmartStax. The all-in-one corn trait platform is scheduled for a commercial launch in 2010.   SmartStax is a high-yielding package for weed and bug control in corn. It features a unique combination of insect control traits that significantly reduces the risk of resistance for pests both above and below ground. It also protects the crop from being damaged by some weed and grass control chemicals. The GM seed combines as many as 8 different herbicide tolerance and pest protection genes.   SmartStax is jointly developed and marketed by Dow AgroSciences and Missouri-based agricultural solutions provider Monsanto (MON) following a cross licensing and research and development collaboration agreement in 2007.   SmartStax has received registration from the ...

* JP Morgan (NYSE:JPM) upgraded shares of Sallie Mae (NYSE:SLM) to "overweight," citing improved earnings visibility from its transition to primarily a loan service providers, which will lower interest-rate and funding risks

* Quantas Airlines cancelled orders for 15 Boeing (NYSE:BA) 787 Dreamliners scheduled for 2014-2015 delivery, and deferred orders for 15 more, citing the tough economic environment

* Potash (NYSE:POT) lowered its earnings guidance for the second quarter from $1.10-$1.50 to 70 cents, citing substantially lower than expected potash sales volume on deferrals by its global customers and lower realized prices for phosphate fertilizers

* UBS (NYSE:UBS) warned of a second quarter net loss, announcing $3.48 billion in capital-raising with a 293.3 million share offering at $11.91, a 6.9% discount to yesterday's close

* Goldman Sachs (NYSE:GS) lowered its 2010 earnings estimate and price target on Monsanto (NYSE:MON), citing lower glyphosate profits and lower seed price gains. The 2010 estimate was cut 50

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For Immediate Release

Chicago, IL - June 22, 2009 - Zacks.com releases the list of companies likely to issue earnings surprises. This week's list includes Oracle (ORCL), Micron (MU), Monsanto (MON), Bank of America (BAC), KB Home (KBH), Lennar (LEN) and CKE Restaurants (CKR). To see more earnings analysis, visit http://at.zacks.com/?id=3207.

Every day, Zacks.com makes 4 stock picks available, free of charge. To see them, go to http://at.zacks.com/?id=5612.

The Week's Events

We'll see another round of early second-quarter results this week. A total of 42 companies are scheduled to report, including 14 S&P 500 members. Oracle (ORCL), Micron (MU) and Monsanto (MON) will be among the mostly closely-watched reports.

The Fed will also grab traders' attention. A 2-day meeting is scheduled for

...

For Immediate Release

Chicago, IL - June 22, 2009 - Zacks.com releases the list of companies likely to issue earnings surprises. This week's list includes Oracle (ORCL), Micron (MU), Monsanto (MON), Bank of America (BAC), KB Home (KBH), Lennar (LEN) and CKE Restaurants (CKR). To see more earnings analysis, visit http://at.zacks.com/?id=3207.

Every day, Zacks.com makes 4 stock picks available, free of charge. To see them, go to http://at.zacks.com/?id=5612.

The Week's Events

We'll see another round of early second-quarter results this week. A total of 42 companies are scheduled to report, including 14 S&P 500 members. Oracle (ORCL), Micron (MU) and Monsanto (MON) will be among the mostly closely-watched reports.

The Fed will also grab traders' attention. A 2-day meeting is scheduled for

...